15533	----	THE PRESENT PICTURE OF NEW SOUTH WALES, 1811 ILLUSTRATED WITH FOUR LARGE COLOURED VIEWS, FROM DRAWINGS TAKEN ON THE SPOT, OF SYDNEY, THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT: WITH A PLAN OF THE COLONY, TKEN FROM ACTUAL SURVEY BY PUBLIC AUTHORITY. BY D. D. MANN MANY YEARS RESIDENT IN SEVERAL OFFICIAL SITUATIONS. London, 1811 SOLD BY JOHN BOOTH, DUKE-STREET, PORTLAND-PLACE * * * * * CONTENTS -------- DEDICATION CHAPTER I Discovery of New South Wales.--Arrival of a Colony there from England.--Obstructions calculated to retard the Progress of the Settlement.--Departure of Governor Phillip.--Intervening Governors, until the Arrival of John Hunter, Esq. and his Assumption of the Government.--Printing Press set up.--Cattle lost, and Discovery of their Progeny in a wild State.--Playhouse opened.--Houses numbered.--Assessments for the building of a Country Gaol.--Town Clock at Sidney.--Natives.-- Convicts.--Improvement of the Colony.--Seditious Dispositions of the Convicts.--Departure of Governor Hunter.--His Character and Government.--Comparison of Stock, etc.--Governor King assumes the Command of the Settlement--Table of Specie Vessel laden with Spirits sent away.--Earthquake.--Inundation at the Hawkesbury.--First Criminal for Forgery executed.--Atlas struck by Lightning.--Tempests.--Desertions of the Convicts.--Newspaper established.--Murders.--Singular Execution.--Lieutenant--Governor Collins forms a new Settlement.--Insurrection of the Convicts.--The Introduction and Progress of Vaccination, and its subsequent Loss.--Influx of the Sea at Norfolk Island.--Limits of Counties defined.--Ship overset in a Tempest. CHAPTER II Abstract of General Orders.--Arrival of Governor Bligh.--George Barrington.--Blue Mountains.--Journey thither.--New Market at Sydney.--Vessels seized and carried away by the Convicts.--Natives.--Cruelty of the Savages in Bateman's Bay.--Arrival of Masters for the Orphan Schools.--New Storehouse built.--Murders. CHAPTER III Agriculture, etc. Price of Provisions and Ration Trade and Manufactures Population Natives Climate Natural History Religion Morals Amusements Military Force Building: with Reference to the particular Houses, etc. of the Individuals CHAPTER IV Hints for the Improvement of the Colony * * * * * [LIST OF PLATES Plan of the Settlements in New South Wales View of Sydney from the East Side of the Cove View of Sydney from the East Side of the Cove View of Sydney from the West Side of the Cove View of Sydney from the West Side of the Cove] * * * * * To JOHN HUNTER, ESQ. VICE-ADMIRAL OF THE BLUE AND LATE CAPTAIN-GENERAL AND GOVERNOR IN CHIEF IN AND OVER HIS MAJESTY'S COLONY OF NEW SOUTH WALES AND ITS DEPENDENCIES, etc. etc. etc. SIR, During the period of your government, the settlements of New South Wales beheld the sunshine of their prosperity. The liberal and enlightened measures adopted by you, consolidated the happiness, and increased the security of the colony; and the tears which were shed at your departure were the most grateful tributes which could be paid to your exalted worth. These considerations justify my selection of you as the Patron of this sketch; but, if a stronger motive were necessary, I have only to retrace the numerous and weighty instances in which you have displayed the most marked attention to my personal interests, and which will ever induce me to avow myself, With every sentiment of respectful admiration, SIR, Your very obliged, and faithfully devoted servant, D. D. MANN. 35, Queen-Street, Edgware-Road, Oct. 13, 1810 * * * * * NEW SOUTH WALES Chapter I. Discovery of New South Wales.--Arrival of a Colony there from England.--Obstructions calculated to retard the Progress of the Settlement.--Departure of Governor Phillip.--Intervening Governors, until the Arrival of John Hunter, Esq. and his Assumption of the Government.--Printing Press set up.--Cattle lost, and Discovery of their Progeny in a wild State.--Playhouse opened.--Houses numbered.--Assessments for the building of a Country Gaol.--Town Clock at Sidney.--Natives.--Convicts.--Improvement of the Colony.--Seditious Dispositions of the Convicts.--Departure of Governor Hunter.--His Character and Government.--Comparison of Stock, etc.--Governor King assumes the Command of the Settlement--Table of Specie Vessel laden with Spirits sent away.--Earthquake.--Inundation at the Hawkesbury.--First Criminal for Forgery executed.--Atlas struck by Lightning.--Tempests.--Desertions of the Convicts.--Newspaper established.--Murders.--Singular Execution.--Lieutenant--Governor Collins forms a new Settlement.--Insurrection of the Convicts.--The Introduction and Progress of Vaccination, and its subsequent Loss.--Influx of the Sea at Norfolk Island.--Limits of Counties defined.--Ship overset in a Tempest. The discovery of the eastern coast of New Holland was the result of that laudable and beneficial spirit of enterprize and investigation, which conferred on the name of Captain Cook so just a claim to posthumous gratitude and immortal renown. Four months of his first voyage round the world, this celebrated circumnavigator dedicated to the exploration of this hitherto unknown tract of the universe, stretching, from the north-east to the south-west, to an extent of nearly two thousand miles, to which he gave the name of _New South Wales_. After hovering about the coast for some time, he at length came to an anchorage in the only harbour which appeared to him commodious; and which, in consequence of the innumerable varieties of herbage which were found on shore, he called _Botany Bay_. In this spot he remained some days, employing himself in making those observations which suggested themselves to his capacious mind; and, from his report of the situation of the country--of its apparent extent, climate, and surface, the British Government was induced to relinquish those intentions which had been previously entertained, and to fix upon this spot, as the best adapted for the establishment of a settlement, whither those unhappy delinquents might be conveyed, whose offences against the laws had rendered their further residence in their native land, incompatible with the welfare of society. According to this determination, Governor Phillip was sent to this new continent, where he arrived on the 20th of January, 1788, with eight hundred convicts, and a portion of marines, and laid the foundation of the new settlement, which continued gradually to improve under his government, until the close of the year 1792. Numberless obstructions existed, during this early period, to check the growth of the colony; amongst the principal of which may be remarked:--1st, the discordant materials of which the settlement was to be constructed; 2dly, the disputes with the natives; and 3dly, the occasional pressure of want, which, for a long time, was unavoidable, on account of its remoteness from the European quarter. The continual disorders amongst the convicts, which no lenity could assuage, no severity effectually check, were injurious to the well-doing of the colony, whose true interests required a combination of reciprocal confidence and mutual exertion; but on men inured to crime, and hardened in guilt--on men almost divested of the common principles and feelings of their species--on those whom a course of depravity had rendered obnoxious to every other pursuit, it was not possible to make impressions of a liberal and enlightened nature. Their intentions uniformly tended to vice, and no good was to be expected from them, except such as was the effect of compulsory measures; so that the task which industry might have achieved with comparative ease, proved, under existing circumstances, a work of difficulty, requiring time and perseverance to bring it to the desired perfection. It was not to the commission of depredations upon each other that the restless and dishonest dispositions of the convicts confined themselves, even the poor and miserable natives of the country were made the dupes of a system of knavery which they could not penetrate; and their spears, their shields, their canoes, and their persons, were equally exposed to the violence of the new settlers. It was easy to foresee the consequences of such conduct: the natives at first discovered symptoms of justifiable reserve, and subsequently adopted steps of an hostile complexion, several unfortunate convicts being found murdered in the woods. In vain did the governor issue order after order, and proclamation after proclamation; insults still continued to be offered to the natives, and such acts of retaliation ensued as circumstances would allow. Governor Phillip, himself, was wounded by a spear which one of the savages threw at him, under the influence of a momentary apprehension. Another evil to which the colony was subjected, arose from the pressure of occasional scarcity, which relaxed the sinews of industry, where it did exist, or strengthened the pretexts of indolence: when men were reduced from a plentiful allowance, to a weekly ration, which scarcely sufficed to preserve existence; when the storehouses were almost empty of provisions, and the boundless ocean presented no object of relief to the aching and strained eyes of the sufferers; and when the busy mind painted to itself the dangers, inseparable from a voyage of such length, which might intervene to delay the arrival of succours, until horror and wretchedness should have been heightened to the utmost; no inclination to laborious exertion existed, and no hand had the power to wield and employ the implements of toil. The progress of the settlement towards maturity was necessarily retarded; and the operations which proceeded, at these periods of general debility, were compelled to move with a slowness which afforded but a faint promise of speedy perfection. Under this combination of disadvantages, it affords proof of no common perseverance to find, that the settlement had been scarcely established four years, before two towns were formed, and the colony seemed rapidly advancing to the appearance of maturity. Governor Phillip sailed to England on the 11th of December, 1792, when Lieutenant-Governor Grose succeeded to the government; and, during his period, the improvements in the settlement assumed a more decisive and favourable aspect. The settlers were now enabled to sell corn to the public stores, all of which the commissary received directions to purchase at a given price: passage-boats were licensed and established between the towns of Sydney and Parramatta, and the number of settlers began to increase in a rapid portion. On the 15th of December, 1794, Lieutenant-Governor Grose left the colony for England, and Captain Paterson, of the New South Wales corps, assumed the government until the arrival of Governor Hunter, who came out in the Reliance, on the 7th of September, 1795, and entered upon the functions of his important office without delay. One of the first acts of the new governor was the establishment of a printing-press, the advantages of which soon became obvious, in the more ready communication of all orders for the regulation of the settlement. The bulls and cows which had been originally brought over to the new continent had, by the carelessness of their keeper, been suffered to stray into the woods, and every subsequent search after them had proved ineffectual until this period, when a fine and numerous herd of wild cattle was discovered in the interior of the country, which was evidently the progeny of the animals which had been so long lost to the colony. The protection of this wild herd and its increase became a matter of public interest, since it would, hereafter, serve as a valuable resource, in case of necessity; and measures were accordingly adopted to prevent any encroachment on that liberty which it had preserved above seven years. In the commencement of the year 1796, a play-house was opened at Sydney, under the sanction of the governor, who, while he laboured to promote the public weal, was not less anxious to extend to individuals the enjoyments and privileges which were compatible with the good of the colony. Towards the close of the same year, the houses in Sydney and Parramatta were numbered, and divided into portions, each of which was placed under the superintendance of a principal inhabitant. The county of Cumberland was assessed, a few months afterwards, for the erection of a country gaol; and the peaceable inhabitants of the colony had the speedy satisfaction to perceive a building of such utility put into hand; for such had been the recent increase of crimes, and so greatly had the settlement been annoyed by the desperate and atrocious conduct of the disorderly part of the community, that it became an object of necessity to adopt some stronger measures than those which had hitherto been put in force, to secure the prosperity and tranquillity of a community which was now so rapidly growing in extent and importance. A town-clock was also erected in Sydney, a luxury which had been hitherto unknown, and affords evidence of the gradual maturation of the settlement; and, indeed, the whole of this enumeration is calculated to impress the reader with an idea of the rapid strides which the few last years had enabled the colonists to make in the path of respectability. The natives had been, of late years, perfectly reconciled to their new countrymen; and, although their attachment to their accustomed habits and situations induced them to abstain from taking up new residences, and from mixing indiscriminately with the Europeans, they had become comparatively social, and commenced an intercourse which was calculated to rivet the prosperity of the colony. Those insulting attacks and sanguinary recriminations which had disgraced the earlier years of the establishment, no longer existed, to disturb the tranquillity and excite the alarms of the settlers; many of the convicts had reformed their lives, and, instead of being examples of depravity, had turned to habits of industry, and endeavoured to benefit that society on which they had formerly preyed; while the apprehensions of famine had entirely vanished before the improvements in the agriculture of the country: the stock had increased wonderfully; the granaries and storehouses were amply supplied; and the ground brought forth more produce, as its nature became better understood, and the most advantageous methods of tillage were discovered. The peace of the colony was threatened, however, in the year 1800, by the seditious conduct of a number of Irish convicts who had recently arrived in this country, and who had laboured, with ceaseless exertions, to disseminate their pernicious and absurd doctrines amongst the prisoners. They had assembled frequently for the purpose of accelerating their diabolical views, and a Roman Catholic priest, named Harold, who was discovered to be one of the instigators and originators of the scheme of insurrection, was taken into custody. Voluntary associations were embodied, and every measure of prudent precaution was promptly adopted, to prevent the expansion of principles which are totally subversive of all order, and of the best interests of civilized society. It may easily be supposed, that amongst such characters as composed the colony, there must be numbers to whom these sentiments of insubordination must be congenial, and who would eagerly grasp at any projects, however absurd and impracticable, the proposed object of which was their emancipation from the punishment which their crimes had drawn upon them. Men who have obtained a proficiency in crime, and are callous to the voice of conscience, science, are seldom very choice as to the degree of the criminality which they are inclined to commit; and it is highly creditable to Governor Hunter's prudence and skilful management, that the settlement was at this moment preserved from the horrors and consequences of internal commotion. In September, 1800, Governor Hunter quitted the colony, having exercised the functions of government for the space of five years; during which his attention to the interests of the settlement was most unremitted; his humanity and condescension rendered him inestimably dear to every bosom, which confessed the influence of grateful feelings; and his cheerful vivacity and private worth caused him to stand highly in the estimation of those who were honoured by a participation in his hours of recreative enjoyment. The necessary consequence of his abstracted devotion to the service of the settlement, for a long period, was the obtainment of a thorough knowledge of every subject connected with its welfare; and in the application of that knowledge to the practical improvement of the settlement, no man could have been more happy, none more eminently successful. A more forcible illustration of the truth of this remark will, however, be found in the following statements of the situation of the colony before and after Governor Hunter's residence there, in an official capacity; and I am the more readily induced to give these details, as the reader may thence be enabled to form a judgement, by comparison, of the progressive prosperity of the colony, subsequent to that period, until the commencement of the year 1809, the date and termination of the facts which I shall elicit in the succeeding pages. At the close of the year 1795, the public and private stock of the colony consisted of 57 horses and mares, 101 cows and cow-calves, 74 bulls and bull-calves, 52 oxen, 1531 sheep, 1427 goats, and 1869 hogs: exclusive of this statement, the poultry was exceedingly numerous. The total of the land in cultivation amounted to 5419 acres; the quantity of which sown was somewhat below 3000 acres. At this period the storehouses were exhausted so completely, that, on the arrival of Governor Hunter, there were no salt provisions left in store, and the allowance of other food was much reduced; the state of the colony seemed about to assume a retrograde movement, and it was only the speedy arrival of a storeship at this critical and distressing moment, which saved it from destruction, in the eighth year of its establishment. But at the commencement of the nineteenth century, the state of the settlement was abundantly more prosperous. The live stock at this period, in the public and private possession, amounted to the following numbers:--60 horses, 143 mares; 332 bulls and oxen, 712 cows; 2031 male sheep, 4093 females; 727 male goats, 1455 females; 4017 hogs--a prodigious multiplication of the means of subsistence in about five years! The quantity of land sown with wheat was 46653/4 acres, of Indian corn 2930, and of barley 82 acres. In New South Wales and Norfolk Island the numbers of the colony had been swollen to the amount of six thousand, and the general prosperity appeared rapidly increasing. The moment of the governor's departure was a moment of sorrowful agitation: loved and honoured by all, he was attended by a numerous train of civil and military officers, as well as a long concourse of the grateful inhabitants, who, at this distressing instant, marked in the most unequivocal manner the sense they entertained of his public worth and his private benignity. On the secession of Governor Hunter, the government of the settlement devolved to Governor King, who had arrived from England in the Speedy, a few months previous to this time. Soon after his accession to this dignity, a quantity of copper coin was received from England and put into circulation, upon which occasion the following table of specie was issued:--A guinea, one pound two shillings, a johannes, four pounds; a half ditto, two pounds; a ducat, nine shillings and sixpence; a gold mohur, one pound seventeen shillings and sixpence; a pagoda, eight shillings; a Spanish dollar, five shillings; a rupee, two shillings and sixpence; a Dutch guilder, two shillings; an English shilling, one shilling and one penny: a copper coin of one ounce, two pence; a ditto of half an ounce, one penny; and a ditto of a quarter of an ounce, a halfpenny. No sum exceeding five pounds, in the copper coin, was to be considered as a legal tender; and the exportation or importation of copper coin above that amount, was prohibited under a penalty of thrice its value. The criminal addiction to the use of spirituous liquors had become so rooted, and was productive of such evil consequences, as to require some vigorous exertion to check its still further increase. In the month of December, 1800, two vessels laden with these destructive cargoes arrived in the harbour; but the governor, with a spirit and prudence creditable to his resolution and judgment, refused them permission to land the poisons, and forced them to quit the settlement before any evil consequences could ensue from their arrival. The variety of afflicting casualties consequent upon the immoderate use of these pernicious fluids, and their introduction of dreadful and fatal disorders, were considerations sufficient to justify the governor's conduct in this instance, to every rational mind. On the 17th of January, 1801, the settlement was menaced with destruction by the shock of an earthquake, which was felt severely through the whole colony, but, providentially, produced no injury. A slight concussion had been felt in the month of June, 1788; but never, until this moment, had the alarm been repeated. The affrighted inhabitants rushed out of their houses, in momentary expectation of destruction; nor did they dare to return until the shock had passed by, and the apprehensions which it had produced had entirely subsided. In the earlier days of the settlement, the settlers on the Hawkesbury (a river of great extent in the interior of the country, the course of which is traced in the annexed chart) had been much annoyed by the frequent overflowings of that capacious river. In the month of March, 1801, the most severe visitation of this nature had occurred, which had destroyed the promise of an abundant harvest, spread desolation through the farms in that district, destroyed numerous habitations, and caused the loss of several of the unfortunate settlers and others. At the melancholy period alluded to, the colony in this quarter was just reaching a degree of ease and comfort, from the judicious plans put into execution by that "father of the people" Governor Hunter, and the assistance he gave them as an encouragement to industrious exertion. Scarcely, however, had they begun to revive after this calamity--scarcely had they repaired the ravages occasioned by this tremendous inundation--scarcely had the desolated lands once more confessed the power of cultivation, before those ill-fated settlers were doomed to experience a repetition of the destructive calamity; and on the 2d of March, 1801, the river again overflowed its banks, and rushed impetuously to renew its former devastations. Flocks and herds were swept away by its irresistible influence; the houses, which had been re-built, were once more levelled to the earth; and a settler was deprived of his existence, after witnessing the catastrophe which had robbed him of the whole of his possessions. The waters of the Hawkesbury, at those periods of inundation, would rise seventy or eighty feet above their accustomed level; and it is easy for the mind to picture to itself the inexpressibly mournful consequences which must necessarily accrue from such a circumstance. Neither was this overflowing an event of rare occurrence, but was to be constantly expected after a long continuance of the rainy seasons, when the torrents which rushed from the mountainous ridges which overlooked the channel of the river never failed to produce a rapid swelling of its waters, and to cause an inundation of greater or less extent, and injury more or less destructive to the inhabitants of its vicinity. Amongst the crimes which existed in the settlement, that of forgery had recently made its appearance, and bills of a counterfeit description had been offered in the markets; and, at length, one of these forged draughts was traced to its source, and the delinquent was immediately apprehended and brought to trial for an offence so heinous in its nature, and so fraught with mischief in its consequences. Sufficient proof being adduced to place the prisoner's guilt beyond doubt, sentence of death was passed upon him, and the execution took place on the 3d of July; it being considered an act of necessary justice to make a severe example of the offender, in this case, in order to check in its infancy the growth of a practice, pregnant not only with general evil, but with individual ruin. Of all the different species of delinquency which had found their way into the colony, this might be considered as second to none but murder: the house-breaker and the midnight robber might be guarded against, and counteracted or detected immediately, the mischief was at most limited, and might be calculated; but the introduction of a system of forgery threatened more widely-wasting injuries: it required more than common vigilance, more than common perseverance, to discover a fraud of this description; and it was scarcely possible to ascertain the precise extent which it embraced, or to mark the end of its destructive progress. It was therefore, under this impression, considered expedient to make a severe example of the first offender who had been brought to trial, in order, if possible, to deter others from the pursuit of such an iniquitous career. A solitary sacrifice might prove salutary to future thousands. The storms of thunder and lightning are sometimes particularly terrific, but have seldom been productive of much damage. In some few instances, indeed, individuals had been killed by the electric fires, but these accidents have generally resulted from the too common and dangerous mode of seeking shelter under trees, which attracted and directed the lightning to its object, instead of affording that security which was sought for. A very singular circumstance happened at the close of the spring of 1802, when the Atlas, a ship commanded by Mr. Thomas Musgrove, was stricken by a flash on the 5th of November, and, although the bottom of the ship was immediately perforated by the stroke, not a man on board received any material injury: such a singular instance is almost without its parallel. At other periods, the tempestuous gales which have been experienced surpass the conception of those who have never witnessed the boisterous and tumultuous agitation of nature. Hailstones, exceeding six inches in circumference, have frequently fallen with such violence as to destroy the windows of those habitations which had neglected the adoption of measures of security, to kill the poultry, and lay level with the earth the shrubs and the corn. In fact, storms of this description never fail to occasion the most extensive devastation, and to commit injuries to the settlers, which the labour of months is scarcely sufficient to overcome. An absurd notion had uniformly existed amongst the convicts that it was possible, by penetrating into the interior, to discover a country, where they might exist without labour, and enjoy sweets hitherto unknown. This ridiculous opinion had induced numbers, since the establishment of the colony, to desert their employment, and to trust themselves in forests which were unknown to them, and where they generally wandered until the means of supporting further fatigue had failed them, and they perished from want--until they became the victims of the natives who fell in with them--or surrendered themselves to the parties who were sent in pursuit of them. Such was commonly the termination of these chimerical expeditions; yet these consequences were unable to expunge the impression alluded to from the minds of these obstinate people, and, in February, 1803, fifteen convicts once again ventured into the woods from Castle Hill, in search of this undiscovered country. Many of these bigotted fugitives were subsequently re-taken, after enduring every fatigue and privation which human nature is capable of sustaining; after bearing the complicated hardships of want, weariness, and pain; their feet blistered and bare, their hopes destroyed, their perseverance completely worn out, and their restless dispositions perfectly corrected into submission. The art of printing had been gradually improving from the period of its establishment, by the judicious care of Governor Hunter, and its advantages became daily more and more obvious. On the 5th of March, "The Sydney Gazette" was instituted by authority, for the more ready communication of events through the various settlements of the colony The utility and interest of such an establishment were speedily and universally acknowledged; and its commencement was soon succeeded by the publication of an almanack, and other works calculated to suit the general taste and increase the general stock of amusement. The general orders were also issued through the medium of the press, and a vigilant eye was kept upon it, to prevent the appearance of any thing which could tend to shake those principles of morality and subordination, on the due preservation of which depended the individual happiness, and the public security of the settlement; and which could be in no danger of subversion, until the press should become prostituted to base designs--a period much and sincerely to be deprecated by every real friend to the colony. In the month of August, a most inhuman murder was committed on the body of Joseph Luken, a constable, who, after going off his watch at the government-house, was beset by some villains who still remain undiscovered, and who buried the hilt of his own cutlass very deeply in his head. I was the second person at the spot, where the body of the unfortunate man was discovered; and, in attempting to turn the corpse, my fore-finger penetrated through a hole in the skull, into the brains of the deceased. Every possible search was made to discover the vile perpetrators of this diabolical act, but to no purpose, the measures of escape had been too well planned to be thwarted. Even the governor himself attended, and gave directions for the drums to beat to arms; the military to stop all avenues leading from the town, and different officers to search every house; but, although several were apprehended, no conviction could be brought home. Soon afterwards, another murder was committed on the body of a man belonging to one of the colonial craft, named Boylan. It appeared that he had been in a part of the town, called "The Rocks," and had been struck with some heavy weapon on the head, of which he immediately died. Upon this occasion, I sat as foreman of the jury, which was summoned soon after daylight, and continued to sit until nearly one o'clock the next morning, when two men and a woman were committed for trial; and a third man, in the progress of the investigation, was sent to gaol for prevarication. When the prisoners were arraigned at the bar, they all pleaded "Not guilty;" and, after an impartial trial, were acquitted. The singularity and cruelty of this man's murder appeared to be equal to that of Luken. A third murder was committed, nearly at the same time, by a woman named Salmon, on the body of her own child. It appeared that she wished to conceal her pregnancy; and, after delivering herself, had thrown the infant down the privy, where it was smothered. Suspicions of her situation having, however, been entertained by some persons, an investigation took place, and the body of the child was discovered. The woman was too ill to be brought to trial, and her subsequent dissolution rendered that event unnecessary: before her death, however, she made confession of her crime; and her body was afterwards carried to a grave under the gallows, by men belonging to the jail gang, with the greatest ignominy; nor was it without the greatest exertions of the police, that the corpse was permitted to be carried along the streets, so great was the abhorrence expressed by the inhabitants at the idea of such an unnatural, detestable, and abominable offence. In the month of September, Joseph Samuels, who had been convicted of a burglary, was three times suspended: the rope first broke, in a very singular manner, in the middle, and the suffering criminal fell prostrate on the ground; on the second attempt, the cord unrove at the fastening, and he again came to the ground; a third trial was attended with no better success, for at the moment when he was launched off, the cord again snapped in twain. Thomas Smyth, esq. the provost-marshal, taking compassion on his protracted sufferings, stayed the further progress of the execution, and rode immediately to the governor, to whom he feelingly represented these extraordinary circumstances, and his excellency was pleased to extend his majesty's mercy. Samuels was afterwards transported to another settlement, in consequence of his continuance in his dishonest career, and has subsequently lost his life on the coast, in making an attempt to escape from the colony. In the month of October, Lieutenant-Governor Collins arrived to form and command a settlement at Port Phillip: he was accompanied by detachments of marines and convicts; but the situation being found particularly ineligible, after communicating with the governor in chief, he removed to the river Derwent, where he arrived on the 19th of February, 1804, and a very extensive settlement was speedily formed there; as, in addition to the numbers of persons he took with him, a great many settlers and others went thither from Norfolk Island, since that place had been ordered to be evacuated. In the following April, a new settlement was formed at the Coal River, now called King's Town, Newcastle District, the county of Northumberland, and a short distance to the northward of Port Jackson. Previous to this period, some form of government had been adopted at that place, in order to enable vessels going there to procure cedar and coals with greater facility; but, on account of the increasing trade, the governor considered it expedient to found a regular settlement, and thus to establish a commercial intercourse of greater importance. At the commencement of the year 1804, the tranquillity of the colony experienced some interruption. I have mentioned in the beginning of this chapter the circumstances of the importation of Irish convicts in the year 1800, and of their attempts to disseminate amongst their fellow-prisoners the seeds of insubordination and riot. The vigilance and prudence of Governor Hunter, at that time, checked the rapid progress of the flame of sedition; but, although apparently extinguished, the fire was only smothered for a time. Discontent had taken root, and its eradication was a matter of more difficulty than could have been foreseen. The most unprincipled of the convicts had cherished the vile principles of their new companions, and only waited for the maturity of their designs to commence the execution of schemes which involved the happiness and security of the whole colony. The operations of these disaffected persons had hitherto been conducted with such secrecy, that no suspicion of their views was entertained, until the 4th of March in this year, when a violent insurrection broke out at Castle Hill, a settlement between Parramatta and Hawkesbury, and the insurgents expressed their determination to emancipate themselves from their confinement, or to perish in the struggle for liberty. Information of the extent and alarming appearance of this mutiny having reached the governor, it was deemed necessary, on the following day, to proclaim martial law; and a party of the troops, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel George Johnston, were directed to pursue the rebels. After a long march, the military detachment came up with the insurgents, near the Ponds, about half-way between Parramatta and Hawkesbury, and a short parley ensued, when the Colonel found it necessary to fire upon them; and, after killing several of the misguided rebels, and making prisoners of the principals who survived, the remainder made a rapid retreat. Ten of the leaders of this insurrection, who had been observed as particularly conspicuous and zealous in their endeavours to seduce the rest, were tried on the 8th of March, and capitally convicted. Three were executed on the same evening at Parramatta, since it was justly concluded, that measures of prompt severity would have a greater effect upon the minds of those who had forsaken their allegiance. On the following day, two other rebels were executed at Sydney, and three at Castle Hill: the two remaining criminals were respited, as they were the least corrupted, and had discovered symptoms of sincere remorse for the part which they had taken in the late operations. On the 9th, martial law was repealed; and from that moment no disturbance has again broken in upon the peace of the settlement of a serious nature, although it would be too much to suppose that the seeds of insubordination and disorder were entirely eradicated by the frustrated event of the first endeavour. Men of such desperate characters as are to be found in this colony, are not to be intimidated by punishment, nor discouraged by failure from the pursuit of that career of depravity, which is become dear to them from habit; nothing short of death can destroy, in those minds, the affection for vice, and the determination to gratify their ruling passion, in spite of obstacles, however alarming, or opposition, however strenuous and vigilant. Mr. Dixon, a Roman Catholic priest, who had been sent under an order of transportation from Ireland, for his principles, accompanted Colonel Johnston on this service, and proved to be of some utility in bringing back the insurgents to a proper sense of their duty. It cannot be too much to say, that the conduct of Mr. Dixon, before and after this business, was strictly exemplary. In May, the blessings of vaccination were introduced into the settlement, and all the young children were inoculated with success; but unfortunately, by some means as yet unaccounted for, the virtue has been lost, and the colony has been once more left without a protection from that most dreadful of all disorders, the small-pox; of the fatal consequences of which the natives have more than once afforded the most dreadful evidence, their loathsome carcases having been found, while this disorder was prevalent amongst them, lying about the beach, and on the rocks. In fact, such is the terror of this disorder amongst these untutored sons of nature, that, on its appearance, they forsake those who are infected with it, leaving them to die, without a friend at hand, or assistance to smooth the aspect of death, and fly into the thickest of the woods. Their superstition leads them to consider it as an infernal visitation; and its effects are such as to justify this idea, in some degree, for it seldom fails to desolate and depopulate whole districts, and strews the surface of the country with the unburied carcases of its wretched and deserted victims. In September, the limits of Northumberland, and of Cornwall and Buckinghamshire, on Van Diemen's Land, where a settlement had been made during the last year, were defined; and the lines of demarkation were fixed as follow:--The line of demarkation between Cumberland and Northumberland is the parallel of 33. 2. south latitude; and the line of demarkation between Buckinghamshire and Cornwall, on Van Diemen's Land, is the parallel of 42. south latitude. On the 15th of the following month, Lieutenant-Governor Paterson sailed to make and command a settlement at Port Dalrymple; and, in the course of a short period, the colony had the satisfaction to hear of the foundation of two towns, Yorkton and Launceston, which are making their progress to perfection with considerable rapidity. During the violence of a tempest in this month, a ship of five hundred tons, named the Lady Barlow, and belonging to Messrs. Campbell and Co. whilst lying in the Cove at her moorings, was completely overset by the irresistible fury of the gale; but, with some difficulty, she was raised again. Considerable damage also resulted from this tremendous storm in the interior of the settlement, where trees were rooted up, and the forests were almost depopulated of their most ancient tenants. Huts were blown down and houses unroofed, and the loss to numbers of the inhabitants was such as to afford a serious interruption to their prosperity. In the month of May, 1805, Norfolk Island experienced a considerable influx of the sea, which, from the extraordinary nature of the occurrence, is worthy of mention. The tide first ebbed to a great distance; when, suddenly, an unusual swell was seen coming in, which occasioned considerable alarm to the colony, to whom such a circumstance was entirely novel: it rose to a great height, and retired to its channel. A second time it revisited the shore, and flowed to a more considerable height than before: a second time it retreated; and once again returned, with a fury surpassing its former efforts; paralyzing the spectators with terror, who were unable to imagine where the extraordinary swellings might pause. For the last time, however, the ocean left the shores, without having caused any material damage; and, in its regress, it opened the secrets of the deep, and displayed to "mortal ken" rocks which had remained until now undiscovered. About this period, a mare, belonging to a settler named Roger Twyfield, at Hawkesbury, produced a foal, without any fore-legs, or the least appearance of any: it lived for some time, fed very well, and, exclusive of its natural deficiency, was in every respect a remakably well-made animal. Such a singular phoenomenon in nature has no parallel in my recollection; and I believe it is the only instance of an imperfect or deformed progeny in the settlement. Previous to the death of this singular animal, an appearance of a horn was discovered sprouting from its forehead; assimilating it, in some degree, to the supposed unicorn. Chapter II. Abstract of General Orders.--Arrival of Governor Bligh.--George Barrington.--Blue Mountains.--Journey thither.--New Market at Sydney.--Vessels seized and carried away by the Convicts.--Natives.--Cruelty of the Savages in Bateman's Bay.--Arrival of Masters for the Orphan Schools.--New Storehouse built.--Murders. Of the General Orders which were issued for the government of the settlement, I shall here give the following abridgment, as it will shew to the reader the nature of the regulations which were adopted in the colony:-- _Agreements_--not cognizable, unless written and registered; being witnessed by one person, not a prisoner. _Apprentices and Deserters_--forbid to be harboured or inveigled, under the penalty of six months hard labour, exclusive of penalties by law ordained, if free; and, if a prisoner, one hundred lashes, with other penalties, at discretion of a bench of magistrates. _Arms and Ammunition_--prohibited to be landed without permission, under the penalty of forfeiting bond and charter-party. _Assault_.--Every description of persons to obtain redress by action or indictment; and persons beating prisoners assigned them, to forfeit such future indulgence. _Assignments_--not cognizable, unless drawn up at the judge-advocate's office and registered. _Bakers_--to make bread of one quality only; viz. 24lbs. of bran to be taken from 100lbs. of wheat: to charge 4d. in money, or 2 1/2 lbs. wheat, for a loaf weighing 2lbs. 1oz. when new, and 2lbs. if one day old, under the penalty of 5L. and otherwise at discretion of a bench of magistrates.--[Since the above regulations were made, a much more regular system has been adopted to fix the price of bread. On every Saturday morning, a bench of magistrates assemble to hear the price of wheat, and affix that of bread for the ensuing week, according to the rate wheat has been sold at.] _Bakers_--not to pay more than one shilling per bushel for grinding wheat into flour. _Barrack Bedding and Furniture_--prohibited to be purchased: penalty--indictment for receiving stolen goods. _Boats_--belonging to individuals, to land only at the Hospital-wharf, unless by permission; nor must any convey spirits without a permit, under penalty of being seized. _Boats_--employed in the Hawkesbury trade, not to depart from thence, nor from Sydney, without three days notice of departure. In case of attack, to cut away masts and run on shore; and to be provided with an axe or tomahawk, under penalty of exemplary punishment. Those boats in the Hawkesbury river to be numbered, registered, and chained at night, and not to be rowed about after dark, under penalty of confiscation. No boat to convey any person on board a vessel after notice of departure, without permission from the governor or officer in command, under the penalty of the boat being forfeited to the informer, and five pounds to the Orphan School. And all boats must be registered and numbered, under the penalty of their being forfeited to the Orphans. _Boats_--forbid being in Cockle Bay or Farm Cove, either ashore or afloat, after sunset, under the penalty of being forfeited to the crown; and all boats to be moored within the Hospital wharf, and hulk. _Boats conveying Grain from Hawkesbury_.--No grain to be put into an open boat, or one that is not trust-worthy, or no complaint of damage therefrom cognizable; but if more grain be received than is consistent with safety, the master to make good all loss or damage, lose the freight, and pay five pounds for Orphans; and the same sum to that institution, if grain should appear to have been wetted, to increase its weight or measure. _British Seamen_--forbid shipping in foreign vessels, during the war, under the penalty of fifty pounds. _Butchers_.--None to vend carcase meat but such as are licensed, under the penalty of five pounds, and one year's imprisonment. Licenced butchers to enter into recognizances to observe as follows:--Not to kill any breeding stock; nor to send live stock, or carcase meat, on board vessels, without permission; to deliver to the governor a weekly return of stock killed, purchased, and sold; not to demand more than one shilling and eight-pence per pound for beef, one shilling per pound for mutton, and eight-pence halfpenny per pound for pork; and not to sell meat by the joint, but by weight, under the penalty of forfeiting their licences and recognizances; the latter to the informer. _Cedar_--growing at Hawkesbury, not to be cut down or removed without permission, under the penalty of confiscation, with that also of the boat or cart removing it, to public use. _Centinels_--to oblige every person (except an officer) to advance, when challenged, and to confine every person who presumes to answer "Officer," without authority; and when stores, etc. are to be placed in the charge of a centinel, application must be made to the serjeant of the guard, from whom he is to receive instructions, otherwise the centinel not to be accountable. _Certificates_.--No person to be employed unless he produces his certificate, if a freeman, or his ticket of leave, if a prisoner, under the penalty that his employer pays five pounds, and half-a-crown for each day the man has been employed; and should he prove to be a prisoner, without permission, the sum of twenty pounds, and half-a-crown a day to Orphans. Certificates will not be granted to persons about to leave the colony, unless their names be published one week previous to their leaving the Cove. _Coals_ (Newcastle) _and Timber_--the exclusive property of the crown. Coals prohibited to be worked by individuals, but to be procured by government at ten shillings per ton, and cedar at three halfpence per superficial foot, exclusive of other duties and fines; _viz._ Licence 2s. clearance 1s. harbour-dues at Sydney at established rates, entrance in and clearance from the river 2s. entrance at Sydney 1s. King's dues for Orphans: coals for home consumption, or for exportation, 2s. 6d. per ton; timber for home consumption 3L. per 1000 square feet, ditto for exportation 4L. per ditto; metage per ton on coals 2s.; measure of timber per 1000 feet 2s. No vessel to go to Hunter's River without a specific licence; and the masters to enter into recognizances, themselves in 50L. and two sureties in 25L. each, to abide by the following regulations; _viz_. To take a regular clearance; to observe the orders of the officer in command; not to interfere with people at public labour; not to be riotous or troublesome; not to land until permission be obtained; to use baskets which will contain one hundred weight of coals; to make daily returns to the commandant of the quantity of coals and timber taken in; to give two days notice of departure to the officer in command, and receive his certificate and letters; not to sail between dusk and daylight; to land at the place directed, only; to employ no prisoner without permission, and to pay 3s. 6d. per day for the ration of each permitted to be employed; to give no strong liquors to any prisoner; not to land any spirits without permit; likewise to enter into further recognizances, the master in 100L. and two sureties in 50L. each, to take no person on board without sufficient authority. _Colonial Vessels_--to be registered, and pay fees to Orphans: for register, ten shillings; for permission to go to Botany Bay or Hawkesbury, two shillings; for re-entry, two shillings; and, to go beyond Broken or Botany Bay, five shillings, and the same at re-entry. Colonial vessels clearing for or from any dependent settlement, prohibited taking any person on board, unless authorised, under the penalty of forfeiting bond and recognizances; nor is any colonial vessel to be allowed a clearance with more than eighty gallons of spirits for twenty-six men, fifty gallons for eighteen men, thirty gallons for twelve men, and eighteen gallons for six men, if going on a sealing or whaling voyage. Persons having families not to enter on board any colonial vessels, unless provision be made by the owners for their families whilst absent; the owners to find security also to return such persons when their engagement expires. The owners must likewise maintain their men while on shore, or the latter may relinquish their contract. The owners must also provide sufficient provisions for the support of their men, or be prosecuted at civil law. Colonial vessels not to depart for oiling and sealing, until bonds be entered into by the owners, binding themselves in five hundred pounds, and two sureties in fifty pounds each (to be renewed annually, for the conduct of masters in their employ), to perform as follows:--To take no person without permission and regular notice of departure; to obtain a clearance; not to navigate beyond the limits, namely, 10.37. and 43.39. south, and 135. east, from Greenwich; not to entice seamen, or entertain deserters; to provide sufficient provisions for the support of their men; not to break bulk, until entered and the fees paid; not to authorize strange vessels taking away British subjects from the gangs; not to purchase or receive more than twenty gallons of spirits from any vessel they may meet, without the governor's permission. _Constables_--forbid releasing persons taken in charge, until discharged by a magistrate. _Convicts_--not to employ others to do their work: to which all overseers are strictly to attend, under such punishment as a bench of magistrates may adjudge. Convicts not to strike or be struck by free persons: penalty, two hundred lashes the prisoner, and jail-gang twelve months; a free man to pay two pounds for the first offence, and be bound over; and, for the second offence, five pounds, and security doubled. Those prisoners assigned to individuals to be of no expence to the crown, nor can any convict's person be attached for debt. Those prisoners taken off the stores to be employed on their master's ground only, and in no case be permitted on their own hands, or let to hire: penalty to Orphans; the master to pay ten pounds, and half-a-crown for each day the servant has been absent from public labour. Servants, who are prisoners, are not to be beaten by their masters; who are to complain to a magistrate when necessary, on pain of forfeiting such future accommodation. Those prisoners off the stores who charge exorbitant prices for their labour, or misbehave in any other respect, will be recalled, and such other punishment inflicted according to the nature of the offence. Masters of convicts to clothe and maintain them with a ration equal to that issued by government; to provide for them a sheltered lodging; the servant to work, in his own time, for his master, in preference to any other person, and never absent himself without leave; in case of misbehaviour, the master is to prefer his complaint to a magistrate, who will order such punishment as the case shall require. Persons secreting or employing such servants during government hours, will be punished for a breach of public orders on that head. Those convict servants indented for, not to be suffered on their own hands; penalty, the master to pay half-a-crown per day, and one shilling for each day the servant shall be discharged before the time indented for expires. _Copper Coin_.--Importation or exportation, above five pounds, prohibited; penalty, treble the value. Also five pounds, and not above, to be considered a legal tender. _Cur Dogs_.--Such as are dangerous to stock, or apt to fly at horses, to be destroyed; and if damage be sustained, the owner of the dog to forfeit treble. _Debts_.--Wheat and live stock, at government prices, to be considered a legal tender. _Debts of deceased Persons_.--Priority of claims for: 1st, medical attendance; 2d, debts and duties to the king; 3d, judgments; 4th, recognizances; 5th, rents; 6th, obligations, bills final and protested; 7th, single bills; 8th, wages; 9th, book debts, etc. _Deeds, Bonds, etc._--to be executed by the judge advocate, as notary public: individuals prohibited the exercise of any part of such office, under the penalty of removal. _Detainers_.--All applications respecting detainers against persons leaving the colony, to be made at the secretary's office in writing, and to be lodged within ten days after notice of departure; otherwise not cognizable, unless the party about to depart remains twenty days after the notice has elapsed. _Extortion_--to be punished as circumstances may require. _Fees_.--High court of appeal before the governor: to provost marshal 1L. 1s. to secretary or clerk 1l. 1s. door-keeper 5s. Note. No appeal is allowed from the verdict of the civil court to the governor, unless the appellant gives good security to prosecute it, and to answer condemnation-money, with costs and damages, in case the verdict of the civil court be affirmed; nor from the governor's award to the King in council, without giving good security in twice the sum sued for, to prosecute the appeal in one year or as soon after as circumstances will admit, to answer condemnation-money, and such costs and damages as shall be awarded by his majesty in council, in case the sentence on judgment of the governor be approved.--Fees to provost marshal, in civil actions, executions, etc.: 5l. per cent. on proceeds of auctions in execution; 5l. per cent. levy money from 100l. downwards, 4l. per cent. ditto from 100l. to 500l., 3l. per cent. from 500l. to 1000l., 2 1/2 per cent. from 1000l. upwards; and for a man to keep possession, 2s. 6d. per day for five days.--Fees on civil actions: a writ, or warrant of execution, above 10l. and not exceeding 20l., 10s., to the judge advocate's clerk 1s.; ditto above 20l. and not exceeding 50l., with 1s. to clerk, 16s.; ditto above 50l. and with 2s. to clerk, 1l. 2s. Capias, for any sum not exceeding 30l., 13s.; ditto, above 30l. and not exceeding 50l., 17s.; and all above 50l., 1l. 2s. Summonses, under 40s., 4d.; above that sum, 6d. Witnesses, travelling from Hawkesbury to Sydney, 10s.; ditto, from Sydney to Hawkesbury, 10s.; to Sydney from Parramatta 5s., and back again the same sum; attending the court each day 2s. 6d.--Fees to secretary's clerks, receiving no salary: free pardons 5s. conditional ditto 2s. 6d.; and, on each person leaving the colony by certificate, 2s. 6d. _Female Stock_--prohibited to be sent from the territory, or its dependencies, under the same penalty as for breach of orders.--Female stock prohibited to be killed, under the penalty of 20L. to informer, and two months hard labour for the crown. _Fires_--No person to fire stubble, until his neighbours are warned and prepared; penalty, by action, remuneration of all damages: also, no person to smoke pipes, or make fires, near a stack, under the penalty of exemplary punishment. _Fire-arms_--forbid to be discharged between sun-set and sun-rise, under the penalty of a breach of general orders. _Fines_.--Persons removed to different settlements for misdemeanour, not to return until the expiration of sentence, under penalty of corporal punishment. _Foreigners_--not permitted to settle or reside in the colony, without permission. _Forgery_--subject to prosecution on a written, as well as on a printed form of note of hand; and persons concealing such offence, will be subject to the same penalty as persons compounding felony. _Fort Philip_.--Every person cautioned from purchasing, repairing, or building huts, near the Esplanade, the limits of which are to be explained by the assistant engineer. _Fustic_--growing at Newcastle, and its vicinity, forbid to be cut without permission from the governor. _Goats_--not to be suffered to range without a herd, under penalty of being forfeited to Orphans. _Grants of Land_--forbidden to be transferred within the term of five years, under the penalty of their being cancelled. _Grants and Leases_--of buildings erected at the public expence, and grounds allotted for public purposes, to revert to the crown, at the governor's discretion. _Guard_ sent on board merchant vessels--instructions to: to suffer no one to board but the pilot, naval officer, or officer authorized by the governor; and no article to be sent on shore, nor any person to go on board except the above, until the flag of admission is hoisted: not to suffer spirits, wines, or other strong drinks, to be sent from the ship, but by permit; to admit no unauthorized person on board, without a pass, at any time; and to suffer no shore-boats to board after sunset. If insulted or interrupted in their duty, to report the same to head-quarters. _Hospital Servants_--forbid vending or prescribing medicines; and all applications to be made to the medical gentlemen for relief. _Hogs_--forbid to be sent on board any vessel without permit. _Idlers_--loitering about the wharfs, to be sent to hard labour; and if after sunset, to be imprisoned. _Initials_--of the governor, commissary, and deputies, if forged, to be considered as full signatures. _Interest_--not more than eight per cent. to be exacted; and any persons demanding more, are subject to the laws against usury. _King's Stores_--articles granted for the use of families, comprising annual and extra supplies sent for barter, not to be retailed, under the penalty of forfeiting all further indulgences. _Licenced Persons_--bound by recognizance to the due assize of weight and measure; to permit no gaming, drunkenness, indecency, or disorder; to pay due respect to existing regulations; not to entertain persons from tap-too beating until the following noon, or during divine service, under the penalty of forfeiting licence and recognizances; the latter to informer, and five pounds to Orphans. Nor is any licenced person to credit more than twenty shillings, under forfeiture of debt; nor to sue soldiers, seamen, servants, or prisoners, under the penalty of nonsuit and treble charges. And any licenced person vending or receiving liquors distilled in the colony (that practice being strictly prohibited), they will forfeit their licence and recognizances; and all such persons receiving permits for spirits are to receive it themselves, and not to dispose of spirits on any other person's account, under the before-mentioned penalty, and all such spirits to become the property of the informer. _Merchandize_.--Not more than twenty per cent. on the importer's prices admitted on the retail; in doubtful cases, to be estimated by courts, if sued for, by allowing from 80 to 100 per cent. on the prime cost of English or India goods, and 20 per cent. on the retail. Notes of hand for debts so contracted not cognizable as evidence, unless the account of articles be produced with prices annexed. All merchandize to be landed at the Hospital wharf, and no where else, under penalty of confiscation; and those articles which are brought from the eastward of the Cape of Good Hope, are to pay five per cent. _ad valorem_ on the prices laid in at, exclusive of wharfage and wine and spirit duties. All British manufactures exempt. _Musters_.--Persons neglecting to attend musters, if free, to be treated as vagrants; and, if prisoners, jail-gang twelve months. Persons returning false accounts, to be dealt with according to the decision of a bench of magistrates. _Natives_--not to be treated with inhumanity or injustice, under the penalty of prosecution and indictment; and the natives of Otaheite, New Zealand, etc. are all to be considered as under the protection of the crown; to be properly treated and maintained by their employers, and not to be sent on any voyage without the governor's permission. _Parramatta._--Persons passing the barracks to give a satisfactory account of themselves to the commanding officer at that place, when required; and no person to carry a musket without permission from the magistrate. _Passage-boats._--Not to convey any person, unless a settler, without a pass; penalty, confiscation. The boats to be kept tight; carry four oars, one mast and sail; boatmen to treat passengers civilly; to give notice half an hour before they depart, by bell ringing; not to stop more than ten minutes by the way, nor to go alongside a vessel, without acquainting the wharfinger; and the proprietors to keep entry-books, under the penalty of forfeiting the bond and recognizances entered into at the time their license was granted. The following charges to be made: Each passenger to pay 1s.; children 6d.; luggage 1s. per cwt.; wheat or shelled maize 6d. per bushel; maize in cob 4d. per bushel; each chair 6d.; sheep and goats 6d. each; pigs and packages, according to their size; liquids 1d. per gallon; porter 3s. per hhd.; planks 2s. 6d. per 100 feet; fowls and ducks 1s. per dozen; geese and turkies 1s. 2d. per dozen; parcels weighing 2lbs. 3d.; and private letters 2d. each. The hire of the whole boat 1l. 1s. _Passes_.--No person, unless a settler, to leave his place of abode without a pass, which he is to produce to the chief constable at the settlement expressed in it, and return it to the officer who granted it, under the penalty of three months hard labour, if free; and, if a prisoner, corporal punishment, at discretion of one magistrate, not exceeding one hundred lashes. _Permits_--for removing half a gallon of spirits, etc. to be granted by commissioned officers, superintendants, and licensed retailers; and if any spirits be obtained by fraud and collusion, by any licensed person, if free, he will suffer the penalty of one year's hard labour for the crown, and forfeit his license; and, if a prisoner, he will undergo such punishment as a bench of magistrates may direct. _Petitions_--signed by more than one person, to be sanctioned by three magistrates, under the penalty of prosecution. _Prisoners_--not to be conveyed on board any vessel about to depart: penalty for breach of this order, forfeiture of the boat, and the person rowing it to be subject to two months imprisonment. Nor is any prisoner to be seduced or diverted from the public harvest, under the penalty of ten pounds, half of which to be paid to the informer. _Provisions_--including flour, bread, meat, wheat, etc. not to be sent on board vessels, but by permit for that purpose. _Public Registers_--applications respecting them to be made to the secretary only. _Public Roads_--not to be encroached upon: persons aggrieved thereby, to obtain redress by complaint to the nearest magistrate. _Rations_--allowed to prisoners, prohibited to be purchased or exchanged, under the penalty of being indicted; and, if bartered for spirits, all such found in the house will be staved; if a licensed person, forfeiture of license also: And if the ration is not applied for at the time of issue, it will not afterwards be given. _Sabbath_.--A strict observance of the sabbath, and general attendance at divine service required; during the performance of which all strollers are to be apprehended and confined. _School-house and Chapel at Hawkesbury, erected by Gorvernment for the Benefit of Settlers in that District_.--Those for whom the benefit is designed, invited to become subscribers, for supporting the institution, and maintaining the chaplain and preceptor, by the payment of two-pence for each acre of land they possess. All regulations to be determined by six subscribers, and two magistrates, one of whom to be the principal chaplain. _Seamen_.--Any person trusting or retaining any seaman, shall lose his or her money, and be proceeded against; and forfeit five pounds for each day and night (after the first offence), should he be a deserter; but if ignorant of his being such, penalty ten shillings a day, only. And any seaman deserting a ship, and discovered after her departure, shall be subject to thirty-one lashes, and hard labour for the crown. _Sedition_.--Transgressors amenable to existing laws; in addition to which the following regulations, for the effectual suppression of such crime against his majesty's government, and the public tranquillity, are strictly to be enforced; _viz_. Persons using seditious words or actions to receive exemplary punishment; and all persons knowing but concealing such offence, to be treated as accomplices. Any house in which seditious meetings are held, to be demolished. _Slop Clothing_--the sale and purchase thereof prohibited, under penalty of indictment for receiving stolen goods. _Spirits, and other strong Drinks_.--If landed without permit, penalty, forfeiture to informer wherever found, and all such discovered in the house; nor is any to be removed but by permit, penalty from the original vender 5L. to Orphans. Nor is any greater quantity of spirits to be removed than half a gallon, but by a permit, signed by a magistrate; penalty, forfeiture. And if spirits be landed by a master of a vessel without license, he will forfeit his bond, and be ordered immediately to depart the port. Persons licensed to retail spirits and other strong drinks, to pay 3L. for each license to the Orphans' fund, and 2s. to the clerk. Spirits drawn for domestic purposes, forbid to be transferred; penalty, forfeiture; and, if bartered for wheat, the wheat to be forfeited to the crown, with the spirits and premises. Spirits prohibited to be smuggled, landed without permit, or sold without a license, under the penalty of confiscation. And should any spirits be brought, without the governor's permission, from the eastward of the Cape of Good Hope, the following additional duties are to be paid; _viz_. If permitted to be landed, for every 100 gallons, 5L.; not to be charged more than 6s. per gallon, including duty of 2s. per gallon; 5L. per cent. _ad valorem_, and 5s. wharfage for each cask or case of 100 gallons. If not permitted to be landed, no colonial vessel within the limits to receive such spirits, under the penalty of confiscation, together with the vessel; half to the informer. Nor are any spirits to be sold or bartered for more than 20s. per gallon; penalty, the excess of 20s. to be returned, and future indulgence forfeited; and, if licensed, the license to be taken away. _Stallions_--not to be suffered to run loose; penalty, 5L. to informer, and 10s. for each night they are held in charge: If not claimed within a week, forfeited to Orphans. _Stock furnished by Government to Individuals_.--Oxen hired to such approved settlers as procure ploughs or carts, to be paid for in wheat each March quarter, in the proportion of ten bushels a year for two years, when each head is to be purchased for 70 bushels of wheat, or be returned to government; such cattle not to be ill-treated, or applied to any other than agricultural purposes, on pain of being reclaimed. In case of disease or accidental death, the superintendant of stock to be immediately informed thereof, or the settler responsible for the loss. Cows one remove from the Bengal breed valued at 28L. per head, occasionally to be bartered for as follows: To be paid for in wheat into the store, on delivery of each cow, or, if accepted, in two half-yearly payments; in failure of payment when due, the stock to be reclaimed, and the payment already made forfeited. The stock and produce to the third generation unalienable, unless by the governor's permission; and no person to purchase any such stock without the governor's sanction. Stock, if impounded, a description to be sent to the nearest magistrate, or constable of the district, immediately; to be properly fed, and, if near a town, made public thrice a week for one month by the common crier, under the penalty of 2L. for each head, and all other costs; but owners of stock running at large to pay all damage sustained. Any person who has received stock from government, and obtained permission for the sale thereof, must first tender the same to government at market prices, under the penalty of forfeiture, with twice the value from seller and buyer; the original stock to the crown, the other penalties to informer. _Stills_--prohibited to be used; penalty, if free, privation of indulgence and removal; if prisoners, at discretion of a bench of magistrates: Also all liquors and utensils found, to be seized and destroyed. _Stream running through the Tanks at Sydney_--no person to throw filth into, nor to wash, clean fish, or erect pigsties near; nor to take water up but at the tanks; under the penalty of 5L. to Orphans, if free, and the house razed; if a prisoner, imprisonment, and hard labour for the crown for twelve months. _Strikes_.--No strikes are to be used for measuring grain, but such as are stamped by superintending carpenters, who are to charge one shilling each; and in case of any other strike being used, the person offending to forfeit five pounds, and one shilling for every bushel which has been measured. _Sureties_.--Persons becoming sureties for individuals of indifferent character, to forfeit the full amount of their recognizance, if such decision is given before a bench of magistrates. _Swine_--found at large without ring and yoke, will be forfeited to the Orphans. _Taptoo-beating_.--Persons passing after, to answer centinels when challenged, and to carry a lantern. None but known householders to pass, except officers of vessels, who are to make themselves known, under penalty of confinement. _Timber_--to be taken, if wanted for government purposes, wherever found growing on grounds located by the crown to individuals. No private individual to damage or remove any timber, but by permission from the owner of the land, or from the governor, upon crown lands; penalty, prosecution. And all timber exported, to be paid for to Orphans 3L. per 1000 feet solid; returns of all embarked to be made to the wharfinger, under the penalty of 5L. for each neglect. Exotic timbers exempted from the general claim of government, and to be the exclusive property of the owner; but, if disposed of, the crown to have the preference. _Vagrants, and idle and disorderly Persons_--to be sent to public labour, for a time to be limited by the magistrates. _Vendue_--no person to sell goods by, unless licensed, those exempt by act of parliament excepted, under the penalty of 50L. to the Orphans. _Vendue Master_--to give a daily account of sales to the treasurer of the Orphan fund, to which institution 1 1/2 per cent. is to be paid from the proceeds of sales. He is also to furnish a list of articles to the treasurer, previous to the auction, under the penalty of forfeiture of recognizances he enters into at the time he is appointed to that situation. _Vessels_--to pay the following dues and fees on entry: To Orphans, an English merchant ship with merchandize, in government service, 15s.; ditto, not in government service, 1L. 10s.; a whaler, with merchandize, 15s.; ditto, with no articles for sale, 10s.; a foreign ship 2L. 10s. General permission to trade 10s.; each bond 3s. 6d.; to water on Orphan lands 10s.; to wood on ditto, or on government grounds, 10s.; on clearance and bonds being returned 5s.; for every permit to land or remove spirits 6d. To the Gaol fund: For every gallon of spirits landed, or removed from the vessel, 1s.; ditto for wine 6d. and beer 3d. Wharfage for every cask or package 6d. No vessel to break bulk until reported and entered at the naval officer's office; and every ship to hoist her colours on public days; in case of refusal, all intercourse to cease. Vessels taking spirits from hence, not to be allowed communication with any dependent settlement, unless the master produces a letter from the governor, or officer in command (to relieve distress excepted); and no spirits to be landed at the settlement he may touch at, unless the governor's certificate of price, etc. be produced. All commanders are also strictly forbid entering seamen from other ships, under the penalty of 15L. for each man; half to the king, and half to the informer. Masters of vessels, not colonial, to give security previous to any communication, themselves in 500L. and two sureties in 50L. each, to take no person away without regular authority, nor to depart without leave, under an additional penalty of 50L. The usual bond, not to lade from hence to India, China, etc. without certificate, to be also exacted. Masters shipping seamen, to make application to the secretary in writing, stating whether such men have been prisoners, and if so, the ship they came in, and where tried; nor is any communication to be held with any vessel after the clearance has been obtained, under the penalty of forfeiture of boat so trespassing, and two months imprisonment. The crews of all vessels to be put on ration, agreeable to existing circumstances.--Vessels not to be built within the limits of the territory, exceeding 14 feet keel, without permission from the governor (unless in case of shipwreck), under the penalty of confiscation.--Vessels under foreign colours not to be cleared for any sealing voyage, or to return hither, but to clear out for a port of discharge. And if any master disregard the colonial regulations, all intercourse to cease; to depart the port immediately, and not permitted to return. _Vouchers for Grain, etc. furnished the King's Stores_--to be finally settled quarterly, otherwise not cognizable; _viz_. 31st of March, 30th of June, 30th of September, and 31st of December. _Weights and Measures_--to be true, and stamped as such, under the penalty of ten pounds to Orphans, for every weight or measure which is defective. The internal regulations, from which the preceding abridgment was taken, are the leading features of the General Orders issued by all those who have administered the government of the colony up to the secession of Governor King, and are frequently altered, or annulled, according to the variations in the local circumstances of the country: since which period, however, a number of other orders and proclamations have been issued, by those who have subsequently held the command in the settlement; but the notice of which, as well as of all political matters, must unavoidably be deferred until some future period, from the peculiar circumstances under which I am at present placed. * * * * * On the 12th of August, 1806, Governor King was succeeded in his command at the settlement by Governor Bligh, who arrived from England for that purpose; at which period the colony was in a state of growing prosperity, notwithstanding the progress of cultivation was considerably retarded by the frequent overflowings of the Hawkesbury, which never failed to produce such extensive injury to the settlers on its banks, as would have been sufficient to discourage men of much more industry and perseverance than many amongst them. The death of Mr. George Barrington, who, for a long time, was in the situation of chief constable at Parramatta, ought to have been previously adverted to, as his decease took place some time before this period. During his residence in the colony, he had conducted himself with singular propriety of conduct; and, by his industry, had saved some money; but, for a considerable time previous to his death, he was in a state of insanity, and was constantly attended by a trusty person. The general opinion of those around him was, that he brought on this malady, so destructive to the majesty of man, by his serious and sorrowful reflexions on his former career of iniquity. His death, however, was that of a good man, and a sincere christian. He expressed a very considerable degree of displeasure, when he was in a state of sanity, at his name being affixed to a narrative, which he knew only by report, as being about to be published, and which subsequently did appear, under a deceptious mask. The Blue Mountains have never yet been passed, so that beyond those tremendous barriers, the country yet remains unexplored and unknown. Various attempts have, at different periods, been made to exceed this boundary of the settlement; but none of them have been attended with the wished-for effect. M. Barrallier, a French gentleman, late an engsign in the New South Wales corps, has been further across than any other individual; but he was compelled to return unsatisfied, before he had obtained any knowledge of the trans-mountaneous territory which he longed to behold. I myself made an excursion to these mountains, in the year 1807, accompanied by an European and three natives; but after mounting the steep acclivities for four days, until I found my stock of provisions sensibly diminishing, I thought it most prudent to re-trace my way to the habitable part of the settlement, and to leave the task of exploring them to some person more qualified, mentally as well as physically, for the arduous undertaking. In fine, from the specimen I had acquired during this journey, of the difficulties which surround this task, I think that, after travelling a few miles over them, their appearance (although so amazingly grand) is sufficiently terrific to deter any man of common perseverance from proceeding in his design. In the progress of my undulating, I ascended about four or five stupendous acclivities, whose perpendicular sides scarcely permitted me to gain the ascent. No sooner had I attained to the summit of one of these cliffs, flattering myself that I should there find the termination of my toil, than my eye was appalled with the sight of another, and so on to the end of my journey; when, after mounting with the utmost difficulty a fifth of these mountainous heights, I beheld myself, apparently, as remote from my ultimate object, as at the first hour of my quitting the level country beneath. Some of these ridges presented to the eye a brilliant verdure of the most imposing nature, while others had the appearance of unchanging sterility, relieved by the interposition of pools of stagnant water and running streams; there shrubs and trees enlivened the scene, and here barrenness spread its dreary arms, and encircled the space as far as the eye could reach. On my return, in sliding down the steep declivities, I so completely lacerated my clothes, that they scarcely contained sufficient power to cover me. I saw no other animals or reptiles, during this excursion, than those which are common throughout the country. Were it not for the existence of such insurmountable obstacles, is it to be supposed that persons who have resided above twenty years within sight of this Alpine chain of hills, would have so long suppressed a a curiosity, of the existence of which every day gives some evidence, and have remained so totally uninformed as to the nature of a country, from which the most distant part of the settlement is far from being remote? Or is it probable that the settlers, who reside at the very base of the mountains, would so long have remained ignorant of the space on the other side, if such impassable impediments did not intervene. In the commencement of the year 1808, a new market was established on a part called the Old Parade, near to the Orphan House, and every exertion was made to expedite the building of the shops. The marketdays are Wednesdays and Saturdays, when a considerable number of farmers, from the districts between Sydney and Parramatta, as well as from other quarters, attend with the produce of their lands: they also bring poultry, vegetables, fruit, etc.; and to prevent, as much as possible, the too frequent impositions practised, a clerk of the market has been appointed, to weigh all things that may be required. Of late years, a number of vessels have been seized and carried away by the convicts, amongst whom there must ever be numbers who will eagerly grasp at any project of emancipating themselves which occurs to their minds. Lately, the Venus, a brig belonging to Messrs. Robert Campbell and Co. laden with a quantity of provisions and stores to supply the settlements to the southward, and a very handsome brig, called the Harrington, from Madras, were seized and taken off. The former, when she had reached her place of destination, after coming to an anchor, and landing the master with dispatches for the Lieutenant-Governor, was seized by some convicts who had been placed on board, under confinement, aided by part of the crew, and was carried beyond the reach of re-capture. She has since been heard of, but without a probability of her recovery. The latter was cut out of Farm Cove, and was carried out to sea, before any information was received on the subject. This transaction was planned in a very secret manner, so that all the convicts boarded her about twelve o'clock at night; and, although the vessel lay in sight of some part of the town, and within the fire of two batteries, yet nothing was discovered of the circumstance until the following morning. Upon the representation being made to Colonel Johnston, that officer ordered several boats to be manned immediately, and a party of the New South Wales corps, with a number of inhabitants who had volunteered their services, to use every means to re-take the vessel, put out to sea; but, after rowing and sailing for several hours, they were at length obliged to return, without ever coming in sight of the Harrington. Other means were subsequently tried for the recovery of the vessel, but all to no effect; the convicts had managed their matters with such secrecy, promptitude, and skill, as totally prevented every endeavour to counteract their intention. The natives and our countrymen are now somewhat sociable, and there are not many outrages committed by either party. I believe that some of the white men would frequently be more severe with the Aborigines, when caught in the very act of committing depredations, but the circumstance of several settlers being capitally convicted of the murder of a native boy, in January, 1800, acts as a check on their violent dispositions, and prevents the recurrence of such sanguinary proceedings. Some years previous to this period, the Europeans at the Hawkesbury suffered considerably from the marauding inclinations of the natives, several of their huts being burned, and themselves severely wounded; their corn-fields were also frequently despoiled, and their future promise blasted. On these as well as subsequent occasions, the settlers, in defence of their persons and property, were compelled to have recourse to arms, the natural and necessary consequence of which was the destruction of some of the plundering tribes; but, in these instances, the circumstances justified the deed, and the governor sent assistance to them, rather than the contrary. In fact, so many atrocious deeds were committed by one of their leaders at Hawkesbury, who had long been a determined enemy to the Europeans, that Governor King found it necessary to issue an order, offering a reward to any person who should kill him and bring in his head. This was soon accomplished by artifice, the man received the reward, and the head was sent to England in spirits by the Speedy. Those practices, however, had now, in a great measure, been done away with, and it was seldom heard that any steps of violence were pursued on either side. But when thus speaking of the general good understanding which exists between the Europeans and natives, I must be understood to confine my meaning to the vicinity of the principal settlements; for about the remoter coasts they are still savages, as may be gathered from the following narrative of an occurrence in April, 1808:--The Fly, colonial vessel, being driven into Bateman's Bay by bad weather, had occasion to send three of her crew on shore to search for water; and it was agreed, previous to their departure, that in case of any appearance of danger, a musket should be fired from the vessel, as a signal for the immediate return of those who had landed. Shortly after the boat had reached the shore, a considerable body of natives assembled round the boat, and a musket was accordingly discharged. The men returned to the boat with the utmost precipitation, and without any obstruction; but they had no sooner put off from the shore, than a flight of spears pursued them, and was succeeded by others, until the whole of the three unfortunate men fell from their oars, and expired beneath the attacks of their enemies. The savages immediately seized and manned the boat; and, with a number of canoes, prepared for an attack upon the vessel itself, which narrowly escaped their unprovoked fury, by cutting the cable, with all possible expedition, and standing out to sea. The names of the unhappy men who were thus murdered, were Charles Freeman, Thomas Bligh, and Robert Goodlet. This melancholy circumstance affords a sufficient illustration of the dispositions of those natives which are remote from the settlements; and as no such occurrences have taken place amongst the neighbouring inhabitants of the country, it is but a fair presumption to conclude, that an association with Europeans has in some degree polished their native rudeness, has softened the cruelty and natural violence of their dispositions, and inculcated into their breasts some principles of humanity. By observing the conduct of the new settlers, the savages have learned to imitate their actions, and to discard a portion of that barbarity of manners, which allied them to the material creation. Just before I quitted the colony, two persons arrived; one as master of the female Orphan school, and the other to superintend the boys; but as the school for the latter was not yet erected, an advertisement was immediately given out by government, to ascertain the numbers of the youth of that description, in order that some correct idea might be formed of the extent of the projected building. The female school was established and occupied by the children, who were considered as proper objects of the charity, in the early months of the year 1801, soon after Governor King took the command of the settlement, and is a fine institution; and the late committee have so acted, as to reflect honour on the task which they have so feelingly undertaken. Nor can the children of that institution ever be sufficiently grateful to Mrs. Paterson, and Major Abbott, as well as to some few others of the several committees, whose judicious measures and well-adapted plans, have not only contributed to their present comfort, but laid a foundation for their being brought up in a life of virtue and industry, instead of becoming the objects of prostitution and infamy. It is supported by different duties levied on merchandize--by fines, fees, etc. (as may be seen by a reference to my abridgment of the General Orders), and is of no expense to the crown. The establishment of these benevolent asylums for the offspring of misery, confers a high degree of credit on their originators, as well as on the people amongst whom they flourish, and afford a powerful argument to combat those weak and obstinate prejudices which have been raised against this colony, by persons of little information and less liberality, who, reasoning on narrow principles, and with obscure views of the subject, are incredulous of the good which exceeds the horizon of their own bounded perspective, and are ever amongst the foremost to exclaim, "Can any good come out of Nazareth?" About the same period, a complete range of storehouses was completed on the banks of the Parramatta river, and another had been commenced close by the wharf at Sydney. The necessity for some new buildings of this description had been evident for some time, as the chief part of the King's storehouses, which had been previously erected, were unfortunately so remote from the water-side, as to occasion much superfluous labour, as well as to render the unloading of ships extremely burdensome and expensive. These inconveniences have, however, been considerably lessened by the new arrangements; and the pursuance of a similar system will speedily render the port infinitely more commodious, and effectually remove those grievances which were calculated to restrict the influx, _and increase the estimated_ value of merchandize. Some short time also before I left the settlement, two murders were committed, by men named Brown and Kenny; the former of whom had killed several men at the southward, and was brought from thence to Port Jackson for trial, where he was convicted, executed, and subsequently hung in chains on Pinch-gut, a small island in the centre of the harbour leading to Sydney Cove. The latter was arraigned for the murder of a woman named Smith, who, after he had perpetrated the deed, endeavoured to consume the body of his victim, by thrusting it in the fire. He was executed, and hung in chains at Parramatta.--Several other murders have been committed; but as it is my intention to touch only on the most particular occurrences, I have forborne to name more than those I conceived to be the most atrocious. * * * * * Such is as accurate a sketch of the progress of the colony as it comes within the compass of my limits or intention at present to depict. I have omitted numerous occurrences of a trivial nature, considering their detail altogether superfluous, as the interesting narratives of Governor Hunter and Lieutenant-Governor Collins, are sufficient to give the minute inquirers into the rise of the colony a perfect acquaintance with the nature of the general occurrences therein; a continuation of which details would, in fact, be little more than their repetition. I believe I have touched upon the most interesting points in the history of this yet unmatured settlement, subsequent to the valuable relations of these esteemed officers, except such as relate to politics, and other topics, which may hereafter be subjects of contemplation; and my principal object has been, to carry to the mind of the reader an idea of the progressive maturation of the colony, without fatiguing his eye with _minutioe_ which might render the work tedious, and induce him to regret the hour which he has devoted to its perusal. It now remains for me to depict the state of the colony, at the close of the autumn of 1809 (March), when I sailed for England; and, in the execution of this part of my task, I shall endeavour so to arrange my subject as to preserve an interest, unbroken and unfailing, throughout the whole. By a rigid adherence to facts, I shall enable the reader, by a comparison of my various statements with the previous details of the luminous narrators above mentioned, to form just and indisputable estimates of the increase of the settlement; of its growth in population and extent, as well as in the means of supporting its increased members. This division of my subject will also afford the political philosopher new materials for calculation, on a subject so interesting, so important to the civilized world, as the colonization and cultivation of those remote parts of the universe, which may, at some future period, be made the seats of new empires, by draining off from the old world that superfluity of population which, like an insupportable burden of fruit on a tree, unless removed, would tend to depress and destroy the trunk which produced and supported it. Chapter III. Present State of the Colony. Agriculture, etc. The account of land in cultivation, as it appeared at the last muster taken by me, according to direction which I received from his Honour Lieutenant-Governor Foveaux, and making a part of the several tracts granted by the crown to settlers, etc. as described in the survey, stood as follows:-- Belonging to the Crown--100 acres in wheat. Belonging to Officers--326 1/2 acres of wheat, 178 acres of maize, 22 1/2 acres of barley, 13 acres of oats, 13/4 acres of pease and beans, 191/4 acres of potatoes, 65 acres of orchard, and 6 acres of flax and hemp. Belonging to Settlers--6460 1/2 acres of wheat, 32111/4 acres of maize, 512 acres of barley, 79 1/2 acres of oats, 983/4 acres of pease and beans, 2813/4 acres of potatoes, 13 acres of turnips, 4811/4 acres of garden and orchard, and 28 1/2 acres of flax, hemp, and hops. Total.--6887 acres of wheat, 33891/4 acres of maize, 534 1/2 acres of barley, 92 1/2 acres of oats, 100 1/2 acres of pease and beans, 301 acres of potatoes, 13 acres of turnips, 5461/4 acres of orchard and garden, 34 1/2 acres of flax, hemp, and hops. The following is the general course of cultivation adopted, and justified by experience:-- _January_.--The ground intended for wheat and barley to be sown in, ought to be now broken up; carrots should also be sown, and potatoes planted in this month are most productive for the winter consumption. _February_.--A general crop of turnips for sheep, etc. should be sown this month, the land having been previously manured, cleared, ploughed, etc. This is also the proper month for putting Cape barley in the ground, for green food for horses, cattle, etc. _March_.--Strawberries should be planted this month, and onions for immediate use should be sown. All forest land should be now sown with wheat; and turnips, for a general crop, in the proportion of one pound of seed to an acre of land. _April_.--From the middle of this month, until the end of May, is the best season for sowing wheat in the districts of Richmond Hill, Phillip, Nelson, and Evan, as it is not so subject to the caterpillar, smut, rust, and blight. Oats may also be sown now for a general crop. Asparagus haulm should also be cut and carried off the ground, and the beds dunged. _May_.--Pease and beans for a field crop should be sown in this month; but, in gardens, at pleasure, as you may be supplied with them, as well as most other vegetable productions, sallads, etc. nearly at all times of the year. _June_.--This is the best season for transplanting all kinds of fruit-trees, except evergreens; layers may also be now made, and cuttings planted from hardy trees. Spring barley should be sown this month upon all rich land, three bushels to an acre. _July_.--Potatoes which were planted in January are now fit for digging. Stocks to bud and plant upon should now be transplanted; cabbage and carrots may be sown; and strawberries should be cleaned, and have their spring dressing. _August_.--Potatoes must now be planted for general summer use; the ground prepared for clover at this season is best. Cucumbers and melons of all kinds should now be sown, and evergreens transplanted. Vines ought to be cut and trimmed early in this month. Ground may this month also be ploughed for the reception of maize, and turnip land prepared for grass. _September_.--This is the best season for grafting fruit-trees, and the ground should be entirely prepared for planting with maize. Grass-seed or clover should be sown in the beginning of this month, if the weather is favourable, and there is a prospect of rains. _October_.--All fruit-trees now in bearing should be examined, and where the fruit is set too thick, it must be reduced to a moderate quantity. The farmer should plant as much of his maize this month as possible, and clean ground for potatoes. _November_.--In this month the harvest becomes general throughout the colony, and no wheat ought to be stacked upon the ground, as the moisture which arises from the earth ascends through the stack, and tends much, in this warm climate, to increase the weevils, which prove very destructive to the wheat. Evergreens may now be propagated by layers, and cabbage, lettuce, and turnips sown. _December_.--The stubble-ground is frequently planted with maize in this month, so that it produces a crop of wheat and another of maize in the same year; but the policy of thus forcing the ground is much questioned by many experienced agriculturists, and is supposed to have led to the ruin of some of these avaricious farmers. Cauliflower and brocoli seeds may now be sown. The prices paid for planting, clearing ground, etc. is as follows, according to the regulations specified in the general orders:--For felling forest timber, 10s. per acre; for burning off ditto, 25s. per acre; for breaking up new ground, 24s. per acre; for breaking up stubble or corn land, 13s. 4d. per acre; for chipping in wheat, 6s. 8d. per acre; for reaping ditto, 8s. per acre; for threshing ditto, 7d. per bushel; for planting maize, 6s. 8d. per acre; for hilling ditto, 6s. 8d. per acre; and for pulling and husking ditto, 5d. per bushel.--The hours of public labour are from sunrise to eight o'clock, and (Sundays excepted) from nine to three. On Saturdays, on account of the stores being open for the issue of provisions, the hours are from sunrise to nine o'clock. Yearly wages for servants, with board, 10L.; weekly ditto, with provisions, 6s.; daily wages, with board, 1s.; and daily wages, without board, 2s. 6d. The following is an accurate account of Live Stock, taken at the same time as the preceding statement of land in cultivation:-- Belonging to the Crown--28 male horses, 19 female ditto; 21 bulls, 1791 cows; 1800 oxen; 395 male sheep, and 604 female ditto. Belonging to Officers--81 male horses, 146 female ditto; 38 bulls, 1111 cows; 696 oxen; 2638 male sheep, 5298 female ditto; 40 male goats, 73 female ditto; 486 male pigs, and 537 female ditto. Belonging to Settlers--258 male horses, 329 female ditto; 40 bulls, 1906 cows; 1172 oxen; 7449 male sheep, 15,327 female ditto; 799 male goats, 1670 female ditto; 7693 male pigs, and 7435 female ditto. Belonging to Persons not holding Land--44 male horses, 35 female ditto; 19 bulls, 307 cows; 103 oxen; 325 male sheep, 1222 female ditto; 97 male goats, 296 female ditto; 1641 male pigs, and 1576 female ditto. Total of Stock--411 male horses, 529 female ditto; 118 bulls, 5115 cows; 3771 oxen; 10807 male sheep, 22,451 female ditto; 936 male goats, 2039 female ditto; 9820 male pigs, and 9548 female ditto. The common lands to the various districts, which were located in perpetuity in 1804, are now felt very serviceable, and were just granted at a period that prevented any of the settlers from being thoroughly enclosed, so that every grazier has now an opportunity of feeding his stock thereon, without confining himself to the quantity of land he chooses to cultivate on his own farm. From the above statements it will most certainly appear, that the colony is in a very flourishing state, and, no doubt, will soon become independent of the mother country, if those methods are pursued which are best calculated to promote this end. No one step has latterly been taken to facilitate this desirable object more than the measures adopted by Colonel Johnstone and Lieutenant-Governor Foveaux, who distributed the breeding cattle amongst the industrious and deserving settlers; a step which has produced benefits of a two-fold nature--laying the foundation for the more rapid increase of stock, and affording a stimulus to meritorious exertion. In the districts about Hawkesbury, the grain yields abundantly; but at the other settlements it is less productive: The reason of this distinction must be chiefly obvious to the reader of the preceding sketch, in the liability of the soil at the former settlement to frequent inundations, which serve every purpose of manure, and uniformly keep the ground in a mellow state. It has been erroneously stated, that the average produce of the land in New South Wales is sixty bushels of wheat per acre; but I can take upon myself to say, that twenty-five bushels an acre will be found the full extent of the average produce. When a comparison is made between the present state of the country and its former condition, the improvements will appear considerable in agriculture, and almost incredible in every other respect. The season for the gathering in of the wheat has been gradually accelerated, ever since the commencement of the colony; and the harvest of the last year previous to my departure from the settlement, commenced nearly a month sooner than it did at the first: The fruit seemed also later. Prices of Provisions, and Ration. The following was the current price of Articles of Food, in the year 1809:--Wheat 12s. per bushel; maize 5s. per bushel; barley 5s. per bushel; oats 4s. 6d. per bushel; potatoes 10s. per cwt.; turnips 4d. per bunch; carrots 6d. per bunch; cabbages 3d. each; lemons 6d. per dozen; peaches 2d. per dozen; apples 2s. per dozen; pears 3s. per dozen; strawberries 1s. per quart; quinces 2s. per dozen; water melons 9d. each; musk and other melons 1s. each; apricots 1s. per dozen; mulberries 1s. per quart; Cape gooseberries 8d. per quart; native currants 8d. per quart; oranges, raspberries, grapes, plums, almonds, pomegranates, limes, shaddocks, citrons, pine-apples, nectarines, and guavas, are to be procured; but their prices are variable, some of them being more scarce than others. Cucumbers 1d. each, mushrooms 8d. per quart, French beans 4d. per quart, onions 20s. per cwt. peas 1s. per quart, beans 9d. per quart, asparagus 2s. per hundred, artichokes 6d. each, spinage 1s. per dish, pumpkins 6d. each, cauliflowers 6d. each, brocoli 6d. per dish, figs 3d. per dozen. Beet-root, lettuces, raddishes, sallad of all kinds, horse-raddish, samphire, watercresses, celery, endive, and herbs of every description, are extremely plentiful, and to be purchased at reasonable rates. Animal food is to be procured at the following prices:--Beef 1s. 3d. per lb.; mutton 1s. 3d. per lb.; pork 1s. per lb.; lamb 1s. 3d. per lb.; kangaroo 8d. per lb. (the flesh of this animal is somewhat similar in taste to English beef, but rather inferior, owing to the want of fat); goat mutton 1s. per lb.; turkeys 10s. each; geese 8s. each; ducks 4s. each; Muscovy ducks 5s. each; fowls 2s. 6d. each; wild ducks 2s. each; teal 1s. 3d. each; rabbits 4s. each; roasting pigs 5s. each; pigeons 1s. 3d. each; kids 5s. each; eggs 1s. 6d. per dozen; butter 6s. per lb.; milk 1s. per quart; cheese 2s. 6d. per lb.; oysters 1s. per quart; and lobsters 1s. each. Fish is exceedingly numerous of every description, and is very good as well as moderate in charge. A turtle was caught recently in Broken Bay, with a hook, weighing seven hundred weight, which was retailed to the inhabitants at 4d. per lb. The following is to be considered as a full weekly Ration, which is issued from the stores whenever there is a sufficiency without a prospect of want, to those who are in the employ of government:--Seven pounds of salt beef, or four pounds of salt pork; eight pounds of flour or meal, or an addition of a quarter of a pound of wheat to each pound, if it cannot be ground; pease or other pulse, three pounds; six ounces of sugar in lieu of butter. The same quantity is to be given by their employer to those who are indented to settlers, etc.; but as frequent alterations are necessarily made, according to the pressure of circumstances, the deficiency is generally made up with maize. Trade and Manufactures. A manufactory has been established for coarse woollen blanketing or rugs, and coarse linen called drugget; a linen of a very good quality has also been produced, which has been disposed of to settlers, etc. and issued from the stores to those who labour for the crown. The spinning has been done by the female convicts, and the weaving, etc. by the male. The person who superintended this department, for some time, was George Mealmaker, a well-known political character in North Britain; but he has been dead some years, and the manufactory, which adjoins the goal at Parramatta, has been almost entirely destroyed by fire; consequently, the progress which would have been made in this manufacture has been greatly retarded. When I left the colony, however, a very deserving, respectable, and persevering settler, at Hawkesbury, was about to commence in that way on a very extensive scale; for which laudable purpose he had sown several acres with flax and hemp, and I am hopeful his exertions will tend to benefit the colony, to which the establishment of a manufactory of this description has been long an object ardently to be desired; and it is to be hoped, that the effort of this new speculator will be crowned with that success which it so eminently deserves. The leather made from the skins of cattle, kangaroo, seal, etc. are extremely good, and are tanned by a bark which grows in the settlement, much sooner than a similar operation is performed in England. The sole leather, in my opinion, cannot be surpassed in point of goodness; and every improvement which can arise from competition may be naturally expected, since there are several persons who follow this line of business both at Sydney and Parramatta. Several potteries have been established; but the most celebrated manufacturer of this description, named Skinner, lately died. His dishes, plates, basons, covers, cups and saucers, teapots, and chimney ornaments, were in a very superior style of workmanship; and other useful articles equally handsome. Tobacco-pipes, which, some years ago, at the cheapest periods cost sixpence each, are now manufactured in the settlement, of a very good quality, and are retailed for one penny each. The great propensity to smoking which prevails throughout the colony, causes an astonishing consumption of this article, and has well repaid the original speculator. Salt is made in great abundance from salt water; and large salt-pans have been erected at Rose Bay, whence, and at Newcastle, great quantities are made and sent to Sydney. A plan, however, had been proposed to the governor, for making it by evaporation, which it was supposed would be carried into effect; it was in agitation, and was nearly brought to perfection when this statement was made. Some very palatable beer is brewed in the settlement, at four extensive breweries; one at Sydney, one at Kissing Point, one at Parramatta, and the other at Hawkesbury; and a number of persons brew their own beer. Some improvements here may yet be looked for, since at present the grain is malted very badly in the colony, which I attribute more to the want of proper utensils than any deficiency of ability. In a short time also they will be enabled to grow a sufficiency of hops in the settlement for every purpose, without being compelled, as at present, to have recourse to the mother country for this necessary article. Eight wind-mills have been erected for the purpose of grinding corn; and a water-mill, which had been erected at Parramatta, has, most unfortunately, been destroyed by a flood, which came on some time previous to my leaving the colony. There are four auctioneers, or vendue masters, in the settlements; two at Sydney, one at Parramatta, and one at Hawkesbury: They usually charge five per cent. on sales. The shops are particularly respectable, and decorated with much taste. Articles of female apparel and ornament are greedily purchased; for the European women in the settlement spare no expense in ornamenting their persons, and in dress, each seems to vie with the other in extravagance. The costliness of the exterior there, as well as in most other parts of the world, is meant as the mark of superiority; but confers very little grace, and much less virtue, on its wearer, when speaking of the dashing belles who generally frequent the Rocks, who may often be seen of an evening attired in the greatest splendour, and on the following morning are hid from public view with extremely mean attire. Spirits are also bought up with astonishing rapidity; and, when prohibited, will ever be obtained by some means or other, and I have known it to sell as high as thirty shillings per bottle; the general price by the retailer, however, is from ten to sixteen shillings per bottle. Most of the people in the colony, male and female, give way to excessive drinking. Wines are not so eagerly sought after, and are therefore more reasonable than might be expected; but if the rage for luxuries continues to increase in the same proportion as it has done for the last few years, it must soon obtain an enhanced price, and a more rapid sale. The evils consequent upon the unrestrained use of these articles, are such as to justify the most poignant regrets that they should be held in such estimation by all descriptions of persons, since they have proved from their first introduction into the colony, and still continue to be, the fertile sources of social disorder, of domestic misery, of disorders, and of death. It is to no purpose that the higher orders set examples of sobriety and temperance; it is of no avail that the governor uses every prudent exertion to restrain the immoderate traffic in these pernicious liquors; threats, intreaties, and punishments, are equally useless; and while spirits are to be procured, the inhabitants will possess them at the price of every other comfort of life. While on this subject, I shall just take occasion to advert to a singular circumstance respecting the specie of the settlement. The copper coin which was sent out by government, and was originally issued at the close of the year 1800, has most surprisingly decreased, as very little indeed is now used currently. This occurrence is so strange in itself, that I am totally at a loss to account for it, on any principles whatever. Considering its rapid diminution, I cannot conjecture by what means the circulation is still kept up; nor, on the other hand, can I suppose that the coin is caught up for the purposes of exportation, as it was issued in the colony, in the first instance, at one hundred per cent. above its real value. The scarcity of this specie, at all events, operates as an obstruction to trade; and I think that some steps ought to be taken to remove the cause of complaint, by filling up the deficiency which has so unaccountably taken place. Population. There are nine thousand three hundred and fifty-six inhabitants in the settlement, out of which number upwards of six thousand support themselves, and the rest are victualled and clothed at the expense of the crown. Most men of a trade or profession pursue their calling; and labourers are either employed by settlers to cultivate their lands, and in various occupations, or work in different gangs, where they can be serviceable. When a transport arrives with prisoners, their irons are immediately knocked off (if this has not been previously done), unless some powerful reason exists to justify an exception from this rule. The muster is taken by the commissary, who gives receipts for every thing belonging to the crown; the list, with remarks, is given to the governor, who orders them to what part of the settlement he thinks proper, where the deficiency of hands in agricultural or other employments renders such an acquisition desirable. The behaviour of the prisoners has recently been much less exceptionable than in the earlier days of the settlement, and they seem to have accommodated their dispositions, in a great degree, to their new situations; those who are guilty of theft have latterly been transported to some remote settlement, and this system of punishment has been found more efficacious than the infliction of castigation, or any other corporal punishment, since they feel an unconquerable repugnance to the idea of a separation from their old connections and companions, and a removal to a solitary scene, where they cannot hope for any opportunities of re-commencing those pursuits which are so truly congenial to their dispositions. Natives. Speaking generally of the natives, they are a filthy, disagreeable race of people; nor is it my opinion that any measures which could be adopted would ever make them otherwise. Their wars are as frequent as usual, and are attended with as much cruelty both towards men and women. They are still ready at all times to commit depredations upon the Indian corn, whenever there is a probability of their attempts being attended with the desired success; and this predatory disposition renders it frequently necessary to send detachments of the military to disperse them; but the utmost care is taken to prevent any fatal circumstances from attending these acts of needful hostility, and orders are uniformly issued never to fire upon the natives, unless any particularly irritating act should render such a measure expedient. They are amazingly expert at throwing the spear, and will launch it with unerring aim to a distance of thirty to sixty yards. I myself have seen a lad hurl his spear at a hawk-eagle (a bird which, with wings expanded, measures from seven to ten feet), flying in the air, with such velocity and correctness as to pierce his object, and bring the feathered victim to the earth. This circumstance will tend to shew how soon the youth of these tribes are trained to the use of the spear, and the dexterity to which they attain in this art before they reach the age of manhood. Indeed, instances are by no means uncommon, where an army of natives is seen following a youthful leader of fifteen or sixteen years of age, and obeying his directions implicitly, because his previous conduct had been characterized by remarkable vigour of body, and intrepidity of mind--virtues which qualify natives of every age and rank for the highest honours and the most marked distinctions amongst these untutored sons of nature. Their attachment to savage life is unconquerable; nor can the strongest allurements tempt them to exchange their wild residences in the recesses of the country, for the comforts of European life. A singular instance of this fact occurred in the case of Be-ne-long, who was brought to England by Governor Phillip, and returned with Governor Hunter. For some time after his return, it is true, he assumed the manners, the dress, and the consequence of an European, and treated his countrymen with a distance which evinced the sense he entertained of his own increased importance; and this disposition was encouraged by every method which suggested itself to the minds of those of the colony with whom he associated; but, notwithstanding so much pains had been taken for his improvement, both when separated from his countrymen, and since his return to New South Wales, he has subsequently taken to the woods again, returned to his old habits, and now lives in the same manner as those who have never mixed with the civilized world. Sometimes, indeed, he holds intercourse with the colony; but every effort uniformly fails to draw him once again into the circle of polished society, since he prefers to taste of liberty amongst his native scenes, to the unsatisfactory gratification which arises from an association with strangers, however kind their treatment of him, and however superior to his own enjoyments. Yet there are many of the natives who feel no disinclination to mix with the inhabitants occasionally--to take their share in the labours and the reward of those who toil. Amongst these there are five in particular, to whom our countrymen have given the names of Bull Dog, Bidgy Bidgy, Bundell, Bloody Jack, and another whose name I cannot call to recollection, but who had a farm of four acres and upwards, planted with maize, at Hawkesbury, which he held by permission of Governor King; and the other four made themselves extremely useful on board colonial vessels employed in the fishing and sealing trade, for which they are in the regular receipt of wages. They strive, by every means in their power, to make themselves appear like the sailors with whom they associate, by copying their customs, and imitating their manners; such as swearing, using a great quantity of tobacco, drinking grog, and other similar habits. These natives are the only ones, I believe, who are inclined to industrious behaviour, and they have most certainly rendered more essential services to the colony than any others of their countrymen, who, in general, content themselves with assisting to draw nets for fish, for the purpose of coming in for a share of the produce of others toil. The general pursuits of the natives, their manners and customs, have been so accurately described by preceding writers on the subject, that I shall forbear from entering into more minute particulars, which would swell my sketch far beyond its intended limits, and could add nothing to the knowledge of which the well-informed reader is already possessed. It will be sufficient to remark, that such as the inhabitants of the interior of New Holland were represented ten years since, they still remain, as the antecedent remarks must sufficiently illustrate: The jealousy of the new settlers, which originally existed, has indeed entirely vanished; but the proximity of a civilized colony has not tended in the least to polish the native rudeness and barbarism, which mark the behaviour of the original inhabitants of this remote spot of the universe. Climate. Although the climate is variable, yet it is very healthy, and uncommonly fine for vegetation. Most of the disorders which exist in the settlement are the fruits of intemperance and debauchery, the necessary result of that fatal addiction to drunkenness, which produces mental imbecility and bodily decay. Frost is known but little; at least, ice is very seldom seen; and, I believe, snow has never yet appeared since the establishment of the colony: Yet on the highest ridges of the remoter mountains, to which I have had occasion to allude as never yet having been passed, snow is to be seen for a long time together; and this circumstance is a proof of their elevation. The usual weather in New South Wales is uncommonly bright and clear, and the common weather there, in spring and autumn, is equal to the finest summer day in England. This purity and warmth of atmosphere, it may be naturally inferred, must be particularly favourable to the growth of shrubs and plants, which flourish exceedingly, and attain to a degree of perfection and beauty which is unknown to the inhabitants of this country. The woods and fields present a boundless variety of the choicest productions of nature, which gratify the senses with their fragrance and magnificence; while the branches of the trees display a brilliant assemblage of the feathered race, whose plumage, "glittering in the sun," dazzles the eye of the beholder with its unmatched loveliness and lustre, and presenting, on the whole, a scene too rich for the pencil to pourtray--too glowing and animated for the feeble pen of mortal to describe with half the energy and beauty which belong to it, and without which description is unfaithful. Natural History. This subject has been so well treated, and the various species of animals, etc. have been so accurately described, by those who have treated on the history of this colony, that it would be superfluous in me to re-tread the ground which has been already so ably trodden. I shall therefore content myself with describing the few natural productions of the country of New Holland, which have been discovered subsequent to the latest publication on the subject, and concerning which, consequently, no information of an accurate and public nature has yet been transmitted to this country. The exploration of the works of nature in this immense tract of the universe, is however still incomplete; and I have no doubt but the lapse of a few years will tend greatly to the augmentation of the knowledge we now possess on this interesting subject, and will prove the fertile source of new delight and instruction to the mind which can derive enjoyment from that pure source, the contemplation of nature in her varied and astonishing works. The Koolah, or Sloth, a singular animal of the Opossum species, having a false belly, was found by the natives, and brought into the town alive, on the 10th of August, 1803. This is a very singular animal; for when it ascends a tree, at which it is astonishingly expert, it will never quit it until it has cleared it of its leaves. It is mostly found in the mountains and deep ravines to the southward and northward of Broken Bay, and the natives instantly discover its concealment by observing the leaves of the Gum-tree eaten off, this being the tree which it usually selects. It is astonishingly indolent, and is uniformly found with a companion, locked in each other's arms, as it were. Its claws are very strong, and are of material service in assisting it to climb trees; its length from eighteen inches to two feet; and two stuffed specimens are to be seen in Mr. Bullock's Museum. Latterly also, a species of the Hyena has been found at Port Dalrymple, which is extremely ferocious in appearance, has a remarkably large mouth, is striped all over, very strongly limbed, and its claws strong, long, and sharp. This animal is likewise of the Opossum kind, having, like the generality of subjects found in New Holland, a false belly. Notwithstanding its apparent ferocity, it has never yet ventured to attack any human being, but has confined its ravages to sheep and poultry, amongst which it has committed frequent and very serious depredations. No one of these animals, I believe, has hitherto been brought over to England, either alive or dead, since their native fierceness renders them less easy of capture than the Koolah. Flying Mice are likewise found, in considerable numbers, in this country, of a very handsome appearance, and also of the Opossum species. The tail of this interesting little animal resembles a feather; its belly is white, and its back brown; and it is covered with a down as soft as satin. It flies like an Opossum. This subject is much regarded for its beauty. The Porcupine Ant-eaters are found in most parts of the country, and are esteemed very good eating; they burrow in the earth, and have a tongue of remarkable length, which they put out of their mouth, and the ants immediately crowd upon it, as if lured by some particular attraction, and when it appears to be pretty well covered, it is drawn in with rapidity, and the insects are expeditiously swallowed.--Stuffed specimens of these are also to be seen in the Museum of Mr. Bullock. Black and white mottled Fern tree was found at the head of Lane Cove, by Colonel Paterson, about five years since; but it does not run to any considerable size. It is esteemed a very handsome wood for the purposes of veneering. The Spice tree has also been found to the southward: It is a very strong aromatic, and possesses a more pungent quality than pepper. This tree produces a berry, which, as well as the bark, is of a very powerful spicy nature. Fustic has been discovered at Newcastle--a wood which makes the finest yellow dye; but it has been hitherto confined to New South Wales. Indigo was also found in different parts of the country; but, after a thorough trial of its properties by a French gentleman of much patience and experience, as well as by some other individuals of research, it was found impossible to derive any benefit from it. Native green currants grow wildly, and make an uncommonly fine jelly. A wild cherry is also found in the settlement, growing with the stone on the outside, of a red colour, but nearly unfit to eat; as also a wild fig, equally nauseous, full of seed, but eaten by the natives. Strawberries grow to fine perfection; but no English currant, gooseberry, or cherry trees, are to be seen in the country: Some were brought from England by Captain Kent, of the royal navy, and were in a flourishing state, with some gingers, from Rio de Janeiro, when a fire happened upon that gentleman's farm, and consumed the whole, which has been a very great loss to the colony. Pines, far exceeding in size those of England, are now growing there, but they are scarce; melons, on the contrary, are very large and plentiful. Botany Bay greens are procured in abundance; they much resemble sage in appearance, and are esteemed a very good dish by the Europeans, but despised by the natives. The bark of a tree called Carajong, which grows like a willow, is manufactured into ropes of considerable strength. A single nectarine tree only has been known to bear fruit, which is in the Government Garden. Some coffee trees were planted by a Frenchman (Mons. Declambe), but he unfortunately died before he could bring them to perfection. The shrubs and plants of this country are all evergreens, and numbers of them are to be seen, covered with beautiful blossoms, at all seasons of the year. Jeraniums flourish in such abundance, that, in various parts of the settlement, they are made into hedges, and are so thick as to be almost impenetrable; they are always in leaf and flower, and emit an odour of the most fragrant nature, perfuming the surrounding atmosphere. Cedar, and coals, of a very fine quality, are the produce of the Newcastle district, and are procured with very little trouble. Manna has also been found near Port Dalrymple, made by the locusts on the trees, from which it drops in very considerable quantities. But the most prizable subjects which have been discovered here are, the valuable stones; of which the white, yellow, and large brilliant Topazes, are considered of far greater worth than those which are produced in any part of the Brazils; since I was informed, when at Rio Janeiro, in the month of August, 1809, by a number of gentlemen of the best information, amongst whom were the Marquis de Pomball and the Judge Consalvadore, that none which had been found on that coast, could bear a comparison with those of New Holland. The other animals of this country; the numerous, curious, and beautiful birds, which abound there; and the various reptiles which have been discovered, have been already sufficiently described: More of the latter, however, have subsequently been discovered to be of a venomous nature than was formerly conjectured; and the bite of several species of the Coluber, or Snake, have proved, in various instances, fatal, in the course of a very few minutes after the wound has been received. It is to be wished that some mode of cure could be discovered.--It is worthy of remark, that at Norfolk Island, a spot where a settlement was made, and which has been subsequently evacuated, about three hundred leagues from the nearest coast of New South Wales, no reptiles of any description are to be found; while at Phillip Island, only seven miles from Norfolk Island, several species of reptiles exist in abundance, such as the Centipede, Tarantula, etc. Religion. The religion most generally followed in the colony of New South Wales, is that established according to the usage of the Church of England; and it is a subject of satisfaction to observe that the churches are, generally speaking, well attended. A great part of the military corps, with their officers, uniformly attend divine service.--A Roman Catholic priest (the Rev. Mr. Dixon) was formerly allowed by government to preach in public, but this indulgence has been subsequently withdrawn from some cause or other; and I am somewhat inclined to attribute this alteration to the seditious conduct of the Irish prisoners, some years since, in which it was proved that another priest (Mr. Harold) bore a conspicuous part, upholding and encouraging the designs of those who entertained schemes inimical to the existing government, and subversive of the welfare of the colony. Some of the Missionary Society preach at the out-settlements, frequently on a Sunday, with various success; and it is much to be lamented, that in the selection of these men, who are sent out to enlighten and instruct the ignorant, greater attention is not paid to their qualifications; and the abuses which are practised under the cloak of religion, in these remote parts of the world, call loudly for a close investigation, and a total reformation of the system. That there are amongst these Missionaries men of strict fidelity, whose hearts are engaged in the task they have undertaken, and whose conduct has justly gained them the esteem and veneration of all classes, is a fact which no dispassionate observer can deny; but it is also equally notorious, that there are too many of an opposite description, who practise every vice, and do the most serious injury to that sacred cause to which they have been delegated, and have engaged to support. If greater pains were taken in the choice of servants, the Missionary institution might tend to the more rapid promotion of the knowledge of religion; but the work will be retarded while improper instruments are used. A Missionary, of irreproachable character, was unhappily murdered a few years since, by some persons whom he had served, and who adopted this new and inhuman method of repaying the obligation which had been conferred upon him. The natives are in general very superstitious, and entertain some singular notions respecting their deceased friends and countrymen, of which very ample accounts are given in Lieutenant-Governor Collins's interesting publication. Their funeral ceremonies are extremely impressive, and every mark of respect, which suggests itself to their untaught minds, is paid to the body of the deceased. A barbarous custom, however, prevails, which is sanctioned by their rude ideas of religion:--When a mother dies, while giving suck to an infant, the living babe is uniformly thrown into the grave of the parent, and the father having cast a stone upon it, the earth is cast into the pit, and thus the innocent offspring is immolated to an erroneous and superstitious prejudice. Amongst the convicts the influence of superstition is less prevalent, although, amongst many of the lower orders of Irish, the traces of it are to be discovered; it leads, however, to no injurious consequences, and deserves encouragement, in preference to those totally irreligious principles which might naturally be expected to shew themselves amidst a body of men, of characters and dispositions so hostile to every thing which is virtuous, dignifying, and good. Morals. The morals of the colony are by no means so debauched as the tongue of prejudice has too frequently asserted; on the contrary, virtuous characters are not rare, and honourable principles are not less prevalent here than in other communities of equal extent and limited growth. The instances of drunkenness, dishonesty, and their concomitant offences, are not more common than in the mother country; and those amongst the convicts who are disposed to return to their old habits, and re-commence their depredations upon society are deterred by the severe punishment which awaits their detection: There are many also amongst the prisoners themselves, who are now striking examples of probity, industry, temperance, and virtue; and some have obtained a remission of the punishment which occasioned their residence in the settlement, in consequence of the signal and radical change which had taken place in their inclinations and behaviour. Where there is society their must exist offences; but, on the whole, considering the nature of the colony of New South Wales, the morals of the people are as free from glaring defects, as those of any other tract of equal population in the habitable world; and the characters which are celebrated for their virtues are as numerous, in proportion, as those which are to be found in other countries, where civilization and prosperity have made greater progress, and where individuals have greater inducement to labour, and the prospect of a brighter reward for their industrious exertions. Amusements. The erection of a play-house was noticed in the preceding part of this sketch; the abuses which were uniformly committed on the nights of performance, subsequently rendered that a nuisance which was originally intended for an innocent recreation. When the inhabitants were engaged in this enjoyment, their property was left unwatched, and there were ever numbers of dishonest individuals who were ready to seize upon these opportunities to gratify their vicious dispositions. It was also a common practice to give provisions to obtain entrance, if money was scarce; and thus, by the frequent privations of their regular food, many of the convicts were unable to pursue their labour with proper energy and activity. Other abuses also resulted from the establishment of the theatre, which induced the governor to recal the permission which had been given for the performances, and the playhouse itself was soon afterwards levelled to the ground. Since the destruction of this building, the sources of amusement have been confined to cricket, cards, water-parties, shooting, fishing, hunting the kangaroo, etc. or any other pleasures which can be derived from society where no public place is open for recreations of any description. The officers of the colony have also built a private billiard-room, by subscription, for their own use; and if these amusements possess not that degree of attraction which is attached to dramatic representations, they cannot, on the other hand, be liable to those abuses, and produce those injurious consequences, which previously existed. Amongst the convicts, indeed, gaming is carried, too frequently, to the most deplorable excesses; and, in some cases, the most abandoned of the prisoners have actually staked the clothes which they wore, and when those were lost, stood amongst their companions in a state of nudity, thus reducing themselves to a level with the natives of the woods. The most severe measures were called for by this unprincipled practice, and the most gross part of the custom was done away; but it was impossible to put a total stop to the gratification of this gaming disposition, which is still pursued with equal avidity in some way or other, and which may be said, next to drinking, to constitute the chief pleasure and amusement of the lowest classes of the prisoners. The amusements of the natives need no recital here, as they have been fully detailed in other publications. Military Force. The whole of the military in the colony consists of the New South Wales corps (now the 102d regiment), two volunteer associations, and a body-guard of troopers for the governor, commanded by a serjeant. In fact, the inutility of a larger military force must be obvious to every man of common reflection, since it is merely required for the purposes of preserving domestic peace, which might be in danger of continual interruptions, in case of the absence of military power altogether, from the turbulent dispositions of many of the convicts. This inclination to revolt, however, is repressed by the appearance of a few organized troops; and a sufficient check is kept upon the natives, who still continue to make occasional incursions, and commit their depredations upon the India corn of the settlers, whenever an opportunity offers itself: At these periods the soldiers are called in, and a few of them are found sufficient to drive back the plunderers, who hate and fear the approach of a soldier. Buildings. The buildings are of stone, brick, and lath and plaister; weather-boarded; and the houses are durable. There are two churches; one, St. Philip's, which possesses a very handsome service of communion plate, presented by his Majesty, and received by the Calcutta, on the 8th of October, 1803; and the other, St. John's, at Parramatta: There are likewise a school and chapel at Hawkesbury, where divine service is performed. Two jails have also been erected in the colony. A house has been built for the governor at each of the principal settlements; which also possess several very commodious barracks, with many other public buildings, and a great number of extensive and handsome houses, the property of private individuals. There are a stone bridge, and several very substantial wooden ones, which, if not celebrated for beauty, are found extremely serviceable, and well calculated for all the present purposes of the colony, which is not yet sufficiently advanced in prosperity to prefer ornament to use. A new stone citadel is in a course of building, on which the Royal Standard, for the first time in these settlements, was hoisted on the 4th of June, 1803; and several batteries are erected.--For a more particular account of the buildings at Sydney, I must refer the reader to the following explanation of the Views of Sydney, the principal seat of government, which accompany this sketch:-- In the View of Sydney, from the East side of the Cove, No. I. the house under two birds, as r r, is the Residence of the Governor in Chief, which is built of brick, plaistered over; has very convenient stables and outhouses, and is a very pleasant and comfortable residence; the garden and shrubbery extend to about four acres. The Flag-staff near the gardenhouse bears the Union on holidays, and different signal-colours are used there to form a communication between the shore and the king's vessels in the Cove. The Pine tree growing in the garden is from Norfolk Island, and runs to an amazing height and thickness; the knots from this tree are used instead of flambeaux, and burn remarkably well. The buildings under three birds, as r r r, extending some distance right and left, and forming a square, are the Military Barracks, built of brick, the largest of which was erected by Lieutenant-Governor Foveaux: This is an extensive well-built place, and was finished in far less time than any building ever begun upon by government in that settlement, considering its magnitude. The White House and Warehouses, which appear immediately under that building, although a considerable distance on this side, belong to Mr. Simeon Lord; they are built of stone, and the dwelling-house is by far the most magnificent in the colony. The road leading through Barrack-square is the high road to Parramatta. The house at the head of Government-wharf, shewing four windows on the ground floor, is a Dry Storehouse belonging to the crown, and is used for depositing articles for barter, etc. in, which are sent out by government for that purpose. The small yellow house behind it belongs to government, and is inhabited by Mr. John Gowen, one of his majesty's store-keepers in that settlement. The yellow house, on the right of the Barrack-square, and having nine windows in front on each floor, is an extensive Government Granary, and was built of brick, plaistered over, under the direction of his excellency Governor Hunter. Attached to this building, on the right, is a very useful Military Store; and, on the left, a Store for the issue of Provisions. The red house, to the right, built of brick, with two wings, is the Female Orphan-house, which is a very convenient building, and was purchased from Captain Kent, of the royal navy, but great additions have been made to it subsequent to its purchase. The long building above the Orphan-house, of which only a part of the front is seen, is built of brick, and belongs to Garnham Blaxcell, Esq. whose zeal for the colony, and whose industry, have equally entitled him to the esteem and praise of all. The house a little to the right of the Orphan-house, and appearing to have a wing, is the Dwelling, and, attached to it, are the Warehouses of Mr. James Underwood; they are built of brick, and are extremely commodious and comfortable. The building above is the Church, as the tower denotes; it is built of stone, and has a peal of eight bells therein, but they are not very harmonious. On the right of the one road leading to the church, the building with four windows and two doors in front, and the erection above it, are two Government Store-houses, built of brick and plaister; the first is generally used for bonding of spirits in, for naval stores, etc.; and the other for the reception of salt provisions, when any arrive from England. The Windmill on the hill is built of stone, and belongs to government; and the building on the right, which is continued in View, No. II. with a wall round it, is built of stone, and forms part of the County Gaol. In the fore ground, six of the Natives are in the attitude of throwing the spear; two with spears; one with a spear and helemon, or shield; and two sitting down.--Of the dexterity with which they hurl this weapon, some notice has been taken in a preceding part of this sketch. In View, No. II. taken from the East side of the Cove, the long building, with a flight of steps, is the County Gaol, of which a part is seen in No. I. The White Building, to the right of the Prison, of which only three windows in front, and the warehouses around it, are discovered, belongs to Mr. Henry Kable, who, with Messrs. Lord and Underwood, have been very industrious and enterprising men in the oil and sealskin trade, etc. and possess a number of vessels and considerable estates in the colony. The two small Houses, rather to the right, below the Gaol, built of brick, are used for the boats' crews. The Warehouses which hide part of these huts, and the House above, belong to Mr. Isaac Nichols; they are very extensive and commodious, and are built of stone. The House, still further to the right, with a door, four windows, and two side-lights, in front, and kitchen detached, belongs to Mr. Thomas Moore, the principal shipwright, a man of unshaken integrity and large property. The wharf near this part, is called the Hospital Wharf, where all merchandize, etc. is directed to be landed. The Road leading on the hill, takes different directions to the houses and streets on the rocks. The three long buildings, on the right of the road, are the General Hospitals; and in the front of them is the Government Dock-yard. Next, to the right of the Hospitals, one building with eight windows and two doors in front, and the other with four windows and a door, with side-lights, in front, are the Barracks occupied by the Medical Staff. The two next buildings are not tenanted by their late possessors. The large buildings to the right, at the water's edge, are the House and extensive Warehouses of Robert Campbell, Esq. a merchant, where a ship of large dimensions can load or unload, with any tide, alongside his wharf. Near this place a vessel belonging to that gentleman some time ago caught fire, and after a great deal of trouble she was sunk, by which means the fire was extinguished; she was afterwards got up, and underwent such repairs as soon enabled her to proceed on her voyage. Where the yellow flag is seen flying, on Dawes's Point, there is a Battery, and Lookout-house, to communicate with the signals for ships in the offing at South Head. The River round the point leads to several agricultural and farming districts, and to Parramatta. On the hill is the Citadel, with the union flag flying, and two Government Wind-mills, one built of wood and the other of stone, the latter of which is unserviceable. The other buildings belong to individuals indiscriminately. The Canoes, with fires in them, belong to the natives. In View, No. I. taken from the West side of the Cove, on one side of the land which is farthest seen, is the Harbour; and on the other, is an amazing expanse of sea. There is a carriage-road made from Sydney to the extreme point, which is South Head, and a great many carriages and horsemen frequently go down there to spend the day, or to see any vessels which may appear off the land. On South Head are, a Flag-staff, a Lookout-house, and an Obelisk; and betwixt it and the North Head, is a narrow entrance, by which vessels enter the port, about seven miles from Sydney. The small island in the centre is called Pinch-gut, which name originated from some persons being placed there on an allowance of provisions for some offence, where they built an oven, the remains of which are yet to be seen: At this time there is a man named Brown, before spoken of, hung in chains on this spot, for committing several murders. The other islands, between these and the heads, are called Garden, Shark's, and Clark's Islands. On the land to the right of Pinch-gut, called Be-ne-long's Point, the native of that name, who was once in England, had a hut built by government; but he soon left it, and it was destroyed: There are also the remains of a battery there. Under two birds, as r r, are two Houses on a point of land leading from Farm Cove, the next cove to the eastward of Sydney. Under a large flight of birds, are three Wind-mills, and an extensive Bakehouse; two of which, and the bake-house, belong to John Palmer, Esq. and the other to Mr. Henry Kable. Beneath them is Government House, and part of the offices, and grounds. To the right of the Government wharf are the Dry Stores spoken of in No. I. from the east side. The building above that, of brick, is the Main Guard-house, and is a very convenient place for that purpose. The Stone-house, and offices, to the right of the Dry Stores, with five windows on a floor, belong to Mr. Thomas Reiby; the brick House, nearly adjoining, to Mr. Andrew Thompson; and the large Stone-house and Warehouses, to Mr. Simeon Lord, spoken of in No. I. of the other Views; in the front of which buildings is the principal road leading to Government House, where are houses and offices for the Judge Advocate, Commissary, Clergyman, and Surveyor-General; but they are mostly hidden in this View by the trees and large buildings before them. The stone building at the stern of the Sloop, comprises the Warehouse and part of the House belonging to Mr. Isaac Nichols, spoken of in No. II. of the other Views, and continued in the next of this. The buildings concealed by part of the long shed near, but on this side Mr. Nichols's, is the back part of the Assistant-Surgeon's Barracks. The house behind the trees is the back of the Barracks of the principal Surgeon. The house near the Natives, who are fighting, is not occupied by any person of particular consequence; and the one, partly hidden by the rocks, was occupied by Mr. Moore, but is going to decay. In View, No. II. taken from the West side of the Cove, the lofty House of which a part is seen, and which was spoken of in No. II. of the other Views, and I. of this, belongs to Mr. Isaac Nichols; and the buildings on this side are the back of the General Hospital. The Bridge, the only one built of stone in the whole colony, is a very bad structure; the walls on each side of the arch inclose the grounds belonging to the Orphan-house and Mr. Simeon Lord. The road seen on the other side of the bridge is called Spring-row; it leads to several streets, and joins the main road to Parramatta, etc.; below the paling of which there are very large Tanks, cut in rocks, to supply the town and shipping with water; but there is another watering-place for ships on the north side of the Cove, very commodious, and the permission to use which produces a small annual income to the Orphan fund. The rows, commencing above the foot of the Bridge, on the east side, are called Chapel, Pitt's, and Serjeant-Major's rows, the latter of which, under the two birds, runs to the Brick-fields, towards Parramatta. The House on the right, at this end of the longest street, seen in this View, with three windows and a door visible, belongs to Garnham Blaxcell, Esq. spoken of in No. I. of the other Views. The building, the eastern end of which is partly covered by a tree, is the most southern Military Barrack. The two lofty red houses at the west foot of the Bridge, in the rise, are side-views of the Orphan-house and Mr. James Underwood's, spoken of in No. I. of the other Views. The houses on the right, a spot called the Rocks, belong to different individuals, and some of them are very comfortable habitations. Over the south creek at Hawkesbury a floating-bridge has been erected, which has proved greatly beneficial to the public; since, previous to its completion, every person who had occasion to go to that settlement, and in many cases from one farm to another, was obliged to pass to and fro in a boat. As this bridge was constructed by an individual (Mr. Andrew Thompson, a settler) at his own expense, the following tolls are allowed to be demanded:--For every foot-passenger, four-pence, or ten shillings per annum; for each horse, single or in draught, two shillings and sixpence, or two pounds ten shillings per annum; for waggons, or other four-wheel carriages, with not more than half a ton lading, one shilling and sixpence, or one pound ten shillings per annum; for carts, or carriages with two wheels, laden or not, each one shilling and sixpence, or one pound ten shillings per annum; for sheep, under a score, two-pence each, and by the score two shillings and sixpence, or two pounds ten shillings per annum; swine and goats, the same as sheep. Passengers, horses, carts, and carriages, are allowed to pass and re-pass, during the same day, with one ticket; and a considerable income is derived from this toll. * * * * * The children born in this colony from European parents, are very robust, comely, and well made; nor do I recollect a solitary instance of one being naturally deformed. They are remarkably quick of apprehension; learn any thing with uncommon rapidity; and greatly improve in good manners, promising to become a fine race of people. The Duke of Northumberland has sent over some Teeswater sheep, and one stallion, very recently, to Colonel Johnston, which have greatly improved the breed of both. Mr. Mac Arthur took over some Merino sheep, from the King's flock, which are thriving, and the wool of which is extremely fine; several samples have been produced in England. The deer in this colony (originally, I believe, from India) thrive very well, but are of the Rein species, and rather inclined to be small: I have seen some very good venison, and of a superior flavour to any I ever eat in England, though not so fat; the breed might be much improved by a few being sent of a larger quality. Some time ago several made their escape from a park belonging to Mr. Harris, who has for many years been surgeon of the regiment there, and before I left the colony, they were breeding and running wild in the woods. Several foreign vessels have within these few years arrived here on discovery; but nothing material has resulted from their observations, with which the reader has not been made acquainted. Chapter IV. Hints for the Improvement of the Colony. Having thus touched upon the progress of the Colony and its present state, I shall now beg to add such Hints respecting its future improvement, as have suggested themselves to my mind during a residence of ten years in the settlement, in which period I have been enabled, from the nature of the various situations I have held there, to render myself intimately acquainted with all those particulars which are essential to the formation of a correct opinion on this interesting subject. And to the execution of this task I feel the more particularly urged, since I have beheld, with pain, that those who seem to be most deeply impressed with the necessity which exists, for the adoption of some measures to further the interests of the colony, have entirely mistaken the line which ought to be followed, and have marked out to themselves a course of procedure, which is founded on a total misconception of the nature of the colony, and a very superficial knowledge of its present state. That a period of twenty-two years has not been sufficient to render New South Wales independent of the mother country, is a reflection which must produce strong and ungenial suspicions of the prudence of those methods which have been pursued to accelerate such a desirable end; and the continuance of the late system, the inefficiency of which has been amply illustrated by recent events, and facts which are incontrovertible, is, of all evils, the most sincerely to be deprecated and guarded against. Of the capability of the settlement to produce adequate means for the subsistence of its members, there can be but a single opinion amongst persons who are enabled, from experience, to judge of the nature and fertility of the soil; and it must, consequently, form an evident conclusion, that some unnatural check must have sprung up to impede the ordinary course of proceedings. My object, however, is not to deprecate the opinions of others, but to give to the public those ideas of improvement which have arisen in my own mind, and which have been confirmed by the approbation of others, who are equally as well or better qualified to decide upon this important subject. Complaints having been made by the government of the expenses of the colony, which have accumulated, rather than diminished, with the increasing growth of the settlement, I shall first enter into a statement of the causes of this augmented expense, part of which, as I shall hope to demonstrate with clearness, has arisen out of the nature of things, and the other part may be attributed to various causes. 1st, As to the retarded progress of public buildings, and the diminution in the labour of the convicts.--This decrease in the quantity of labour performed, is to be attributed to the natural falling-off in the strength of the convicts employed in government labour, from deaths, desertions, and their becoming free. Those who were first sent to the colony, and had been originally transported for seven and fourteen years had served their times, the former in 1793, and the latter in 1800; numbers had been released from their servitude on account of their exemplary behaviour, or of services done to the colony; and all who became settlers being allowed one, two, or more convicts to assist in the cultivation of the tracts assigned to them, the reduction in those who laboured for the crown must necessarily have been very considerable, and must still continue in an increasing degree, owing to the great numbers of free settlers who have been allowed to go out from England, many of whom have only been a great expense to government, and an hindrance to the settlement. From a correct estimation taken in the year 1800, it was ascertained that three-fourths of the convicts employed in the service of government at the close of 1792, had been subsequently discharged. From that period to the year 1800, 1259 new male convicts arrived, effective and non-effective, a number which was insufficient to fill up the deficiencies occasioned by those who had obtained their liberations in consequence of having completed their terms of servitude, and the emancipations which had taken place, the number of which together amounted to 1264, without including the deaths, casualties, and escapes, which may be taken at an equal number; nor were there more employed by the crown than 710 when Governor King was succeeded in the command of the colony (although a great many had arrived between those periods), including the vast number allowed to officers, settlers, and others, and but few of the remainder were either mechanics or persons adapted to the improvement of the colony; therefore from these causes it must be evident to every rational mind, that the progress of the colony towards perfection and prosperity has, in fact, been as rapid as could be expected, considering the circumstances of the settlement; and an opinion of a contrary nature must have been grounded upon an exaggerated estimate of the means which existed, and an entire ignorance of the due proportion which they have borne to the labour required at their hands. 2dly, As to the expenditure of the stores which were forwarded to the colony, in the interval which elapsed from the departure of Governor Phillip, in December, 1792, to the arrival of Governor Hunter, in September, 1795.--It has been subsequently ascertained, that in this lapse of two years and three-quarters, a sufficiency of stores had been received to supply the real wants of the settlement for a period nearly thrice as long; whereas the whole was expended, and the store-houses were found empty at the arrival of the latter governor from England. In consequence of the profusion which had thus been practised, although it might at that time be deemed needful, his excellency Governor Hunter was reduced to the necessity of purchasing new stores at an expensive market, where every advantage was taken of the necessity which had induced the demand, and the most exorbitant prices were charged for each article. I have understood from very good authority, that two pounds were paid for a pair of men's shoes, and thirty shillings for women's; tobacco was forty shillings per lb.; soap twelve shillings, and sugar eight shillings; a beaver hat and a coarse jacket, fetched five pounds each, and every other article in an equal proportion. A great deal of time was also lost in endeavouring to make implements of husbandry, mechanical tools, and other requisites of a similar description. The reduced state of the colony at this period was also rendered still more deplorable, by the neglect of the government in England to comply with the urgent requisitions of Governor Hunter for such supplies as were necessary. The exhaustion of the stores of clothing and beds and blankets, assisted to fill the hospital with patients, and rendered the purchase of these articles absolutely indispensable at any price, and on any terms on which they might be procured. I feel myself inclined to suppose, that the backwardness which displayed itself at this time in the government to dispatch the stores which were demanded, arose from a conviction that the supplies which had been previously sent in such abundance were sufficiently ample for all the immediate wants of the colony, and, consequently, that the pressure of necessity could not be so great as was represented; for it was not to be expected that those officers who administered the government of the colony, on the arrival of their successors, would depict the situation of the settlement, and the state of the stores, in any other than a favourable light, particularly to his Majesty's ministers at home; a line of conduct which tended considerably to enhance the mischiefs which had been already showered upon the inhabitants, by the perhaps too liberal distribution which had been displayed in the issuing of the various necessaries during their administration. 3dly, As to the custom of allowing to settlers a certain number of convicts, for years, to assist in the tillage, and continuing to victual those servants out of the public stores.--I am clearly of opinion, that much evil has arisen from the unrestrained issue of this indulgence. The original object of this grant was, to enable the young farmer to clear the tract which was assigned to him, and to bring it into a condition which would enable it to produce a maintenance for its possessor; then he was required to take the convicts which he thought it necessary to retain, entirely off the public stores, and to victual and clothe them at his own cost. The abuse of this indulgence, however, has arisen from the extension of its advantages to an unlimitted term; so that the farmer is interested in retarding the efforts which he might otherwise be induced to make for the improvement of his land, in order to save himself from the burden of supporting his servants; and thus a spirit of indolence is promoted, and the original intention of the measure is totally perverted. The continuance of this pernicious system, previous to the administration of Governor Hunter, had induced the settlers to look upon it as a right, rather than an indulgence. Numbers of useful mechanics, whose services might have been turned to advantage, in the exercise of their different professions for the public benefit, were thus given to those who cultivated lands, until their term was expired; and no sooner did they recover their freedom, than they quitted the service of government for more lucrative employments; the consequence was, artificers at a high price were to be hired by the governor, to build those store-houses which might have been erected before, and to repair the towns of Parramatta and Toongabbee, which were falling into ruins, on account of the necessary repairs having been neglected at a proper season: This was a new expense entailed upon government, and many thousands were expended, which foresight and prudent policy might have saved. A 4th cause of superfluous expense to the crown, was to be found in the employment of the convicts to perform the public service by task-work, which was completed by nine or ten o'clock in the morning, and thus left the hands free to assist in the cultivation of those tracts of land which had been granted to different descriptions of persons. Thus was the government labour protracted in a most shameful degree; the labour of little more than a week requiring the lapse of a month to complete it; and thus, also, several were induced, by their attention to their individual interests, to neglect the service of the colony. The consequence of this innovation was, the rapid clearing and cultivation of such persons' estates, and the erection of comfortable residences and the acquisition of further accommodations, which they must otherwise have waited some time to obtain; while the buildings which were required to be raised for the security of the stores, and for other purposes of equal necessity, were greatly retarded. I am confident also that this conduct tended to relax the discipline which ought to have been rigidly preserved amongst the convicts, and produced a general carelessness of the general interest; and it was not without some difficulty that Governor Hunter succeeded in the adoption of a contrary line of behaviour. Habits of dissipation and indolence resulted from this pernicious mode of bartering the public for individual interest, which had taken such deep root, as to render their complete eradication matter of the most extreme difficulty: The encroachments on the hours of labour for the crown has, however, been done away by Governor Hunter, and a a more regular system has been adopted in the allowance of convicts and other indulgences to settlers, etc. by order of the Secretary of State, since his excellency's departure. The custom of imprisoning for debt those persons who are employed in the public service, constitutes the 5th article of notice; and this practice had been carried to such a pitch, that dealers would readily give credit to convicts, or any servants of the crown, under the idea that they might sue the debtors for the amount, and imprison them, or obtain the benefit of their labour until the debt was liquidated. The necessities of the convicts frequently compelled them to seek for credit, and thus to throw themselves into the power of those iniquitous designers. In consequence of the prevalence of this practice many of the convicts were immured continually, and thus the public was deprived of their services; since they preferred remaining indolently in confinement to making those complaints to the governor, which would have led to their release, and reinstation in their former situations of labour. Governor Hunter no sooner made himself acquainted with the mischievous extent to which this conduct was carried, than he published an order, in which he prohibited every person in trade from "crediting the servants of the crown, under the plea of their being at liberty to imprison their persons; if such credit was given, it was to be understood as being done at the risk of the creditor, on the good faith he entertained of the integrity of the persons he so entrusted, but that the public should not be deprived of the labour of its servants for the partial accommodation of individuals." This order was dated the 4th of October, 1798, three years after the return of Governor Hunter to the administration of his high and responsible office; and the regulation was justified by the situation of the colony, and the abuses which had sprung out of the custom. After the publication of this order, however, I saw many persons committed to prison for debt, whose situation, as convicts, exempted them from incarceration; but this apparent breach of the regulation was entirely attributable to the ignorance of the court which had thus decided, that the person against whom their warrant was directed, was at the time a bond-servant, and, consequently, within the reach of this clause. Whenever a commitment of this description came to the governor's knowledge (which was always the case in a few days, when the report of the prisoners for debt was delivered to him), the delinquent was immediately enlarged, since his confinement was illegal, as contrary to the order which had been published on the subject. Another cause of expense, comprising the 6th in this enumeration, arose out of the number of orphan children in the settlement, who were allowed full ration and clothing at the charge of government. This evil has, however, experienced a very natural reduction, from the judicious measures adopted by Governor Hunter, who laid the foundation of a fund for the benefit of these orphans; the consequence of which has been, the completion of a school for the education and maintenance of female children of that description, and which is now supported by various imposts upon merchandize, and other taxations or fines for certain offences against the general orders. The children embraced by this charity are not simply the offspring of deceased parents, but such other children, also, as have been left unprovided for, by the desertion of those whose duty it was to foster them, or from the circumstance of their being found to be worthless and profligate characters, or by their having betrayed a carelessness and indifference as to the moral improvement of their children; where such a disposition displayed itself, the offspring were taken from them, and their subsequent progress was made the care of this institution, which provided for their support and improvement; and I am happy to say, that there is every appearance of a great good arising from this foundation, by rescuing from infamy and shame, and bringing up to a life of virtue and industry, a number of fine young girls, whom it is earnestly hoped will strive to repay the paternal care that has been taken of them in their juvenile days, by a strict adherence to every pure inclination as they rise in age, and a grateful remembrance of those from whom their happiness has sprung. 7thly, The establishment of a most injurious monopoly amongst the inhabitants of the settlement, which has tended to the ruin of fair trade.--The commencement of this baleful system is traced back to the administration of Governor Phillip, at which time I was not in the settlement. In a very scarce period, when all classes were labouring under every kind of privation, the officers prayed leave of the governor to charter the ship Britannia for the Cape of Good Hope, to bring back cattle and other articles on their account, for which speculation a considerable sum was subscribed, in equal shares. The governor assented to the proposition, in consequence of the peculiar state of the colony at that time; but scarcely had the Britannia sailed upon her voyage, when the governor, having received leave of absence, left the settlement, and the government immediately changed its form, from a naval to a military system. In consequence of this variation, permission was readily obtained for the disposal of the cargo thus imported on its arrival, and after its passing through the hands of the importers, the chief part of the merchandize produced from 1000L. to 2000L. per cent. to the private retailer. These extraordinary advantages could but be attended with evil and destructive consequences to the settlement at large; nor does the system of monopoly, which was so early introduced in the colony, cease to spread its baleful influence; by which means the settlers, who were deserving of the most marked encouragement and indulgence, still remain in far less affluent circumstances than they otherwise might have been. This topic deserves serious attention, and the mild hand of legislative authority, to check its further pernicious effects. Having spoken thus on the subject of monopoly, which I shall at a future period fully establish, and which has occasioned the sacrifice of the public, to individual interest, I shall proceed to advert, 8thly, to the loss which the government has sustained in the dereliction of some of its most valuable servants, who have been allured, by the rapid fortunes made by several individuals, to quit the service of the public, and to embark in traffic. The inferior officers of the settlement, and the non-commissioned officers and privates of the regiment, have been infected with the itch for dealing; and many of the settlers themselves have either disposed of their farms or deserted them, to obtain the means or the leisure to devote themselves to a species of dealing which never failed to turn to good account. Many who had also served their terms of transportation, instead of remaining to aid the public service, withdrew themselves from the stores, and turned their thoughts to trade. The consequence of this universal inclination to one object, and that of such an evil nature, being chiefly confined to the sale of spirits, soon became obvious in the desertion of those farms which had been previously tilled with so much advantage, and in the neglect of all duties, whether of a public or private nature. The immense profits made by this pursuit served as a new stimulus to its continuance: One dealer was known to have cleared twelve hundred pounds sterling in four weeks, and chiefly by the sale of spirits; and an inhabitant of the lowest order, who commenced dealing with five pounds, has been known to realize five hundred pounds in the course of six months. It must naturally be inferred, that the most base imposition must have been practised to render this business so extremely lucrative, and the article itself must have been diluted away to excessive weakness; but while the temptation remained so strong, it is not to be wondered at that such numbers of persons, in a colony of this or any other description, should be found to quit every other object for a free and full pursuit of one so full of attraction. Many of the convicts soon acquired property in this way, and some of those who had been in that unfortunate situation, by their good conduct are now considered as respectable characters, and are in possession of horses, carriages, and servants, with a sufficiency to secure their independence during the remainder of their lives. The military have also made considerable wealth by the same course, and the consequence was the instilment into every bosom of a consciousness of independence, which was fatal to that strict subordination which ought to be maintained and enforced. Non-commissioned officers were the principal actors in this department, and being connected by the ties of common interest, they formed a combination which interfered with the middle class of inhabitants, since they could get on board any vessels on account of their rank, which gave them the privilege of doing so, without being under the necessity of obtaining a written pass for that purpose. The principle of allowing a servant to enter into traffic, is fraught with the most serious mischief; since he is not only led to neglect the duties he has undertaken to perform, but gradually becomes independent in his feelings and opinions, and substitutes insolence of conduct for the respect which ought to mark his behaviour. The value of an article also becomes greatly enhanced to the consumer, when it is permitted to pass through so many hands, each individual of whom must place upon it a profit which he deems adequate to his labour or his ingenuity. Allowing liberty to a prisoner to pursue this kind of avocation is productive of another evil; it leads him, by gradual steps, from becoming careless of his proper duty, to the assumption of a degree of importance and independence which induces him to place himself above his master, and thus controverts the natural and necessary distinctions of society. This traffic has also originated numerous frauds of a pecuniary description, amongst which may be mentioned, as the most notorious, the custom of indorsing notes of hand over to persons, without receiving any consideration for the same, and thus making them the plaintiffs in the suits which they were permitted to institute. From all these practices it has resulted, that numerous settlers have been induced to neglect or quit their farms, which, with industrious management, were competent to the supply of all their necessary wants, and thus to diminish the means of procuring subsistence for the colony; and they have become dissatisfied with a country, which is capable of being made the most lovely and prolific in the world. Amongst the inhabitants, also, was introduced the vice of gaming--a natural consequence of the astonishing increase of wealth in men of little principle and no economy; drunkenness was the ready way to this crime, and so addicted were many of every class of society to it, that they scrupled not, after losing the property which they possessed, to stake that which they did not possess. Some persons, however, either favoured by fortune, or possessing more prudence than their unfortunate companions, contrived to retain the property they had gained, and by applying it to traffic are now in a state of affluence of which few persons can form an accurate conception. The 9th item of expense is to be found in the provisions and spirits issued to parties on command; a custom which has been esteemed proper and necessary in cases where such parties have been employed in particular services for the public benefit, and in no other cases have they been issued during the administrations of governors Phillip and Hunter. These services were of various descriptions, parties being frequently detached in pursuit of those who had absconded, either into the woods, or had carried off boats, and endeavoured to escape over the ocean; others were oftentimes employed in excursions into the interior, to obtain a more perfect and comprehensive acquaintance with the nature and productions of the country; others again were sent, at times, to reconnoitre the herds of wild cattle, to remark their progress, and see that no attempts were made to destroy such an useful resource; the inspection of the various settlements also occupied some detachments; small divisions were dispatched to cruize and survey the coast; and the crews of colonial vessels, which were engaged in going to and from the Hawkesbury, as well as to the more distant settlements, were in the habit of receiving these extra supplies, as they had no other means of increasing their common allowance, when such augmentation was necessary: Certain customary rations were also given to the settlers while they were employed in making and repairing the different roads which led to the settlements, and at which periods they received allowances in proportion to the number of days during which their services were required. It had also been usual to give one pint of spirits weekly to each of the clerks employed in the offices of the governor, secretary, commissary, and judge advocate; a similar portion was also issued to the constables of the crown and the overseers; and also to such constables of districts as were chosen out of the inhabitants who were not prisoners, and who, with their families, were victualled from the public stores; but some of these have been subsequently done away with, being considered by Governor King as a superfluous addition to the already excessive expenses of the colony. There are also many other occasional duties, the persons employed in which would be entitled to the extra allowances, from a sense of their indispensable necessity, since it is sufficiently evident that men who are called upon and expected to perform services of more than common exertion, must receive additional means of increasing their physical strength, and of enabling them to execute the task assigned to them. A 10th cause of loss to the crown, and of the expenses of the colony, resulted from the abuses formerly practised in the medical department of the colony; amongst which it was customary to screen the convalescent labourers in the Hospital, and to employ them for individual benefit, so that the patients were thus kept under the hands of medical men longer than was requisite for the establishment of their health: An imposition of this nature called for immediate steps on the part of the governor, but unfortunately his excellency Governor Hunter did not receive information of this iniquitous practice until he had delivered up his executive power and was embarked, or otherwise he expressed his determination to have put a stop to the disgraceful proceeding; it has, however, subsequently been done away with. At one time, it was ascertained, there were forty or fifty convicts who were thus kept in the Hospital, and were employed by a medical man in the furtherance of his private interests, and such other occupations as he marked out for them, to the loss of eleven pounds five shillings a day to the crown. Such a circumstance as this, from a quarter so totally unexpected, afforded an additional proof of the general disposition which prevailed amongst almost every class of society to push their individual interests, to the detriment of the public service; and, instead of giving their full assistance to promote the prosperity of the colony, to retard its progress, and make its necessities the source of their profit. The 11th cause of loss to the crown, and of the expenses of the colony, arises from the dependent settlements within the limits of that territory; and although the governments at the River Derwent and Port Dalrymple are allowed to draw separate Treasury bills for their internal expenses, yet, the great quantity of wheat, maize, salt provisions, slop clothing, and other stores, it is absolutely necessary to send from the principal seat of government to those places, added to the conveyance and other unavoidable charges, enhances the expenses at Sydney to an amount that no person would believe but such as have had an opportunity of being an eye-witness to the mode in which such immense sums are disposed of, or upon strictly investigating the voluminous official documents which are transmitted from that colony. As the accounts of the expense of the settlement at Newcastle are wholly included in those at Port Jackson, I shall forbear to make any regular estimate thereupon; but it must be evident, that where the subsistence of such distant places chiefly depend upon a settlement but a short time colonized, the expenses must be very considerable, and the supplies must be given out and used with the greatest caution, to prevent the necessity of applying to a market where their charges are generally exorbitant, and in most cases optional. The last source of expense to the government which I shall mention, and which, although now also done away, has been the means of an astonishing increase in the expenditure of the colony. From the fertility of its soil, Norfolk Island was for some time considered a great acquisition to the principal settlement; but subsequent experience has proved the futility of this idea, since the price of grain, instead of lowering in proportion to the additional trouble bestowed on the cultivation of the soil, remained the same just before its evacuation as it had been eight years before. As a place for raising swine this island, indeed, might have proved of much utility, if the establishment there had been almost entirely reduced, and the attention of the colony had been confined to this subject, and to the curing of pork for the consumption of all the other settlements; but as this method was not adopted, it proved, from the time of its establishment, a continual check upon the prosperity of the principal colony, draining those resources which ought to have been applied to different purposes, where the hope and probability of some recompense, adequate to the expense, might have been more sanguine, and less unlikely. Norfolk Island, so far from returning any proportionate recompense for those supplies, had not, in the course of thirteen years, sent to New South Wales property of any description exceeding in value 2000L.; during which period all the expenses of that island were included in the general account of the whole country with the Lords Commissioners of his Majesty's Treasury. So far from being in itself a flourishing colony. Governor Hunter, who called there in his way to England in 1800, found that the whole of the public, and numbers of private erections, were in a most miserable condition; and his excellency declared that he had scarcely seen a negro town in the West Indies with half such a wretched appearance. The grain here and there displayed a promising appearance, and swine were in some considerable numbers; but the coast was dangerous, Governor Hunter being himself once wrecked upon it in the Sirius, and nearly lost with all his ship's crew; and this circumstance is calculated to deter vessels from touching at the island in quest of wood and water, which are both plentiful, but which may be procured in equal abundance in any of the other islands of the Pacific ocean where there are fewer rocks and breakers to contend with, and where the acquiescence of the natives might easily be purchased. In addition to the above obstacles and inauspicious appearances, vessels at this place have no anchorage, but are obliged always to keep under sail; and I have known them to be blown off the island for several weeks together, with very little provision on board, whilst a part of the crew have been on shore; and by those means not only a considerable loss has accrued to the merchants or owners, but the lives of a number of fellow-creatures have been exposed to the most imminent danger. To the existence of these, with other subsequent causes, it may be attributed that the colony of New South Wales has not made a more rapid progress towards independence, but has so long hung, as it were, upon the breast, and derived its sole nourishment from the food, of the mother country. To raise the settlement from this state of dependence; to expunge from its early page that stain which must be affixed to it by remoter ages; to stimulate its growth, and impel it along the path which leads to greatness, must be the object, the desire, and the hope, of every one who feels an interest in its prosperity; and if a long residence in the colony, a full consciousness of its capacity, and an unshaken affection for the country, can entitle any one to a rank amongst the friends of this infant empire, I flatter myself that my claim must be allowed; and I shall therefore proceed to suggest those further ideas of improvement which are founded in a thorough knowledge of the subject from experience. To facilitate the rise of New South Wales to a state of consequence and independence, its interests must be entrusted to a governor who has no private or mercenary views, and will seek after nothing but the welfare of the colony; who will thoroughly support the trust and honour reposed in him, as the representative of our most gracious Sovereign; who will not treat, nor suffer others to treat, the officers serving under him with indignity; who will not study the rapid rise of one man, and the sudden downfal of another, but will administer, and cause justice to be administered impartially to all descriptions of persons, and only shew his favour to those whose conduct is such as to merit his distinguished notice. Under such a man, the industrious settlers should receive the most liberal encouragement to induce them to pay every attention to the cultivation of their lands and to the rearing of stock; and I am of opinion, that when the price of grain has been reduced under ten shillings per bushel for wheat, five shillings for maize and barley, and four shillings and sixpence for oats, the grower has very frequently been a loser, without admitting that in the course of the season there had been any flood, blight, insect, or rust, to injure the growing crops. I speak this from the general knowledge I have of the country, having taken every settler's and other muster there for a number of years, and from the concurrent opinions of several of the first and most independent farmers throughout the settlement; nor can any man who is acquainted with the exorbitant wages demanded by every class of labourers, who are not prisoners assigned by the crown to their employers, in that part of the world, and the great difficulties attending the various occupations he has to encounter before his grain can be brought to the market, judge otherwise. The government stores should also be open at all times to receive the grain, which would not only enable the commissary to send the requisite supplies to the dependent settlements, but would also afford a powerful security against the fatal and frequent losses which are occasioned by the floods, so destructive to property of every description, but more particularly to the grain; and it would also set aside the necessity of issuing short allowance to those prisoners who are necessarily supported by the crown, by which means government labour is sometimes retarded, in consequence of the reduction of the hours of work in proportion to the diminution in the weekly ration. If government were also to decline farming, it would excite a greater degree of perseverance in the settlers, and would, in my opinion, eventually disburden the crown of a very considerable expense, as those employed in agriculture, on the government account, are generally that description of persons who only care how little they work, and are equally as indifferent as to the manner in which their labour is performed; besides which, very few of these individuals are at all acquainted with the art of husbandry, particularly that system which ought to be adopted in a colony, the climate, soil, and produce of which, are so essentially different to those of the mother country; and those few, as soon as they have attained a knowledge of the regular method necessary there to be pursued, are generally taken away by some cause or other, or claim their freedom, from the original term of their transportation being expired, so that little better than a succession of new hands have to perform a task of which the chief part are totally ignorant. By the opening of the stores, and the prevention of the losses before mentioned, the Southseamen, and other vessels touching at Port Jackson, might at all times receive ample supplies of such refreshments as they stood in need of, in exchange for articles more serviceable to the inhabitants than any recompense of a pecuniary nature; and, indeed, absolutely necessary to the comfort and prosperity of the colony. In case of a war in these seas, or in any part of India, this settlement would prove a very desirable _depot_, and place of rendezvous. Soldiers and seamen would at all times be healthy, without great fatigue, free from scorbutic complaints so prevalent after a long voyage, and would not suffer from a change of climate, which too frequently brings on dysentery, or other fatal diseases; these circumstances would naturally render them more fit to enter a field of battle, and better qualified, in every respect, to endure the wearisome fatigues and dangers of war. Several ships which have touched at the settlement under the pressure of necessity, have been denied the requisitions which they have made for bread and other provisions; and, although the local circumstances of the colony rendered that denial absolutely necessary, yet, had the settler been guaranteed by any means against loss, or could he have received any sufficient security for his grain, every ship which had been in need, as well as every one touching there in future, would have been, and might be, amply provided for. The influx of American vessels, and ships from the East Indies, has recently suffered a very considerable diminution; the former, at one period, nearly supplied the colony with articles of almost every description, at very reasonable prices, but, from some cause or other, vessels from the United States seldom now arrive at the settlement with merchandize for sale; the Indian vessels have also ceased to arrive in the same numbers as formerly, and the supplies have consequently fallen off materially, which naturally injures all descriptions of persons, not only by preventing an immediate intercourse between those countries, but also by lessening very considerably the consumption of stock, grain, etc. so that the settler, in planting his land, has now no other views than to raise a sufficiency of grain for the consumption of his own family, and the liquidation of his debts. He has no longer a stimulus to labour; he calculates that the time and toil are wasted which are spent in raising an article for which he has no vent; his industrious disposition is consequently cramped; his present exertions are without hope of reward; and his prospects are divested of the supporting promise of future comfort or competence. Such a system as this evidently and rapidly tends to ruin; these symptoms are the obvious marks of a diseased economy; and, if decay appears in the present unripe state of the country, with what propriety--with what hope--on what grounds, can the mind calculate upon future prosperity? The vessels of neutral powers ought to be encouraged, in my opinion, to trade to the settlement; they would serve the colony, by giving encouragement to the settlers; there would once again be a beneficial competition; there would be a channel for the carrying off the surplus produce of the country, and industry might again look forward with joyous expectation to the harvest of its toil. These vessels might be laden back with spermaceti or other oils, seal skins, coals, ship-timber, fustic, or any other articles the produce of the settlements and the Southern Seas; and thus a traffic might be established and carried on with reciprocal benefit, and the independence of New South Wales must be greatly aided in consequence of these beneficial regulations. It may perhaps be argued, that the indiscriminate admission of the trade of neutral vessels might tend to injure the British ships trading to this colony; but such a consequence, I think, may easily be averted, since the governor has power to prevent those ships from selling any such articles as he may deem it expedient to prohibit; and no injury could consequently be sustained, while it would hold out the necessity of selling the European goods at a reasonable rate, or the wants of the colony might be supplied from another market. The arrival of neutral ships with merchandize would also tend to prevent the too frequent monopolies which take place in this quarter, of the nature of which and their mischievous effects upon the general prosperity of the colony, I have spoken in a former part of this chapter; and I feel a great regret that circumstances at this moment prevent me from enlarging upon so destructive a subject, and exposing the very root of so pernicious an evil, which has latterly been fostered by those whom nothing more than suspicion could ever have attached to, but by recent events; and I am anxious that a full exposition of the plans which had been adopted to facilitate the rapid rise of a mercenary and powerful few, to the serious injury and almost inevitable downfal of the country, will be held up to the public view of every impartial man; by which means the grand promoters of so nefarious a practice will bring upon their own heads that disgrace, dishonour, and infamy, which their vile projects had formed for others to bear the burthen of. It has been truly said, that by means of those ships a great quantity of spirits have been introduced into the settlement of Port Jackson, and on this plea the prohibition of their sales, it is said, has taken place, but which I do not strictly believe: However, the landing of those noxious cargoes might easily be prevented; or they might be suffered to be brought on shore, and lodged in one of his majesty's store-houses, under a bond, so that, whenever the vessel was about to sail from the port, she might receive it again, having some trusty and vigilant person placed on board, to see that no smuggling transactions were carried on, and where he should be ordered to remain until the ship quits the Heads. By these means, which would be no expense to the crown, the dry goods, etc. which had been brought to the market, might be readily disposed of, without any risk being incurred of the introduction of too much of that maddening liquor, generally brought by these vessels, to be distributed amongst the inhabitants of the colony. It must be obvious to every man of reason, that the early days of a colony require as much attention and assistance as human infancy, and that a course of improper and unskilful treatment at the outset must undoubtedly lay the foundation of future imbecility and ultimate destruction. Much evil has already been done in the settlement, but it is not yet too late to apply the remedy; the malady which threatens the existence of the colony has not yet attained to an incurable height, and if the proper measures are adopted, prosperity and happiness may yet be seen, where adversity and apprehension are at present discovered; and the seeds of a new and powerful nation may not be doomed to perish, before they have scarcely broken the ground which was intended for the scene of their growth and expansion. I shall, however, without farther digression, endeavour to point out other means of improving the settlement than such as relate to its agriculture. The establishment of a post-office for the receipt of all letters and parcels for private individuals, and for the dispatch of those which are transmitted from the colony, would be productive of essential service to the general interests, and could be entrusted to some person of respectability, whose remuneration might arise from a certain tax or postage: Such an institution would prevent a number of letters from being lost, delivered to wrong persons, or illegally obtained by such for the purpose of sending to the friends of the person for whom they were intended, with a view to obtain money or other property. It has frequently occurred that boxes, etc. have been gained under false pretensions, from on board ships which had arrived in the port, and the contents of which have been worth a very considerable value: The persons guilty of this crime, by some means obtain the information as to the packages which are on board, and then personate, or cause some of their connexions to personate, those to whom the packages are addressed, on which they obtain the property by only signing a receipt to the officer on board. An office of this description would effectually prevent the recurrence of such fraudulent practices, and would give a security for the regular delivery or transmission, as well as the security, of the letters, etc. which were entrusted to its care. An oath might be administered to the superintendent. The unfit clothing sent out for the convicts has been a subject of sincere complaint, as being dispatched without any regard to quality or comfort. I am therefore of opinion, that it would be highly expedient to send out a considerable portion of wearing apparel unmade, so that there would be an absolute saving of the cost of making; for the wearers would feel much greater satisfaction from being allowed to receive it in the piece, that they might suit it to their respective wants, as well as consult their own comforts: Those who might have less leisure than their fellow-prisoners, could have their clothing made by the tailors of the different settlements, while the others would be happy to make their own. If this plan were to be carried into execution, it might be necessary to find a person properly qualified to take the superintendence of this mechanical department; and such an one might readily be found in the mother country, whose disposition, owing to adverse circumstances, might lead him to accept this situation in the colony; thus a proper quantity of work would be completed, and economy would be much promoted. The indiscriminate distribution of the clothing sent over is also another evil which requires a remedy, and this might easily be provided, by supplying the prisoners only with such articles as were necessary to them; since those who had received superfluous garments have been in the habit of resorting with them to gaming, or sell them, being unable to apply them to any purpose of wear, as their scanty make will not allow of a change; this, however, would not be the case if the clothing was given to them unmade, since every man would find himself enabled to turn it to some beneficial purpose. The clothing has materially fallen off, in point of quality and suitableness for the climate, of late years; but the evil complained of would, in my opinion, cease to exist, if articles similar to those originally distributed in the time of Governor Phillip (of which I have seen several suits) were now to be issued annually. Many of the females indeed are the slaves of vanity and pride, and being in the custom of cohabiting with persons in affluent circumstances, never appear in the dress originally given them by the crown; from such as these the issue is now withheld, and they are struck off the victualling list. The consequence of these regulations would be the obtainment of more comfortable clothing to the convicts, and a considerable diminution in the sick list, which has been filled as much from this as from any other cause; and a degree of content and carefulness would be instilled into the minds of the prisoners, in lieu of the negligence, slovenliness, and discontent, which have recently prevailed amongst them on that account. A very considerable saving in the expenses of the colony would be effected by the consolidation of the two offices of Ship-owner and Contractor into one, and the undertaking to land all stores which are liable to injury in the colony, in a perfect state, at his own risk; for it is a notorious fact, as I have often had occasion to observe in an official capacity, that vast quantities of clothing, stores, and provisions, are landed out of every vessel which arrives in the port, in such a damaged state as to be actually unserviceable; the necessary consequence of which very often is, the total loss of the articles to government; nor has it unfrequently happened, that boxes containing stores have been broke open on the passage, and articles of various descriptions thereby have been purloined to a very great amount. It cannot be doubted that there are many ship-owners who would not scruple to enter into an engagement of the kind to which I have alluded, by sending out his own vessels, and might undertake to convey the stores safely at a very reduced expense. The saving which would thus be effected is surely sufficient to justify the experiment, since the security of the articles, which are in general the most damaged, might be easily guarded by the adoption of a few measures of prudent precaution, and by a careful attention during the voyage. A considerable advantage might also accrue to the merchant from employing his vessels in the Southern Whale-fishery, and a strong probability would exist of his procuring freights from India for his ships, on account of the East India Company: The adoption of this plan seems to be practicable, and there cannot be a reasonable doubt entertained of its superiority over every other in point of economy. A commissioner or agent might be appointed for the purposes of inspecting the stores and various articles sent to New South Wales, whose duty it would be to see the articles shipped correctly, and thus to prevent those omissions which are daily in the habit of occurring, and which are of more consequence than may, at first glance, be imagined. This person might also be beneficially employed in comparing the stores shipped with the receipts of the masters, so as to preclude all possibility of practices which are inconsistent with the welfare of the government, but which are too common, and can only be prevented by the adoption of such a measure as the one which I now propose. Whenever the governor of the colony should send over a requisition, this agent ought immediately to be furnished with an extract from his excellency's correspondence, so that by these means the requisition would not be liable to neglect, and much trouble would be spared to the Public Office, whose province it had previously been to attend to this department. The reduction of expense which would result from this appointment would be much more than adequate to the increased expense incurred by the appointment and remuneration of a gentleman of probity and respectability to this office. The method of conveying convicts from England is so very inhuman, that some better and more benevolent measure ought to be adopted. The lives of these unfortunate victims of depravity ought surely to be regarded with as much care as those of any other class of his Majesty's subjects; the contrary of this has, however, been too frequently the case, and some of the masters of the transports who have been entrusted with these captives, have treated them with such uniform rigour that numbers have perished through the intensity of their sufferings. This want of care is to be attributed to the former custom of contracting for the transport of the convicts at so much per head, so that the master has no interest in the preservation of those entrusted to his care. This evil, too, might also be remedied by the contract being made only for the number which might be landed in New South Wales, and by which means the owner of the transport would study to preserve the life of each individual with the most studious attention, since the loss of a single life would be a diminution of his profit, and there could no longer be a danger of the unhappy prisoners being suffered to perish from any negligence or severity. In addition to this, the surgeon and the master might receive a reward for each person whom they delivered in good order, if their humanity was such as to require a pecuniary stimulus. I believe this has been tried in some instances, at least report has so stated, and, if so, there must have been sufficient evidence gained of the superiority of the method over that which was formerly adopted. It might not be a bad plan to try if some of the superfluous frigates in the service might not be converted into good transports; for there could be no doubt that, in vessels of this description, the accommodations which might be afforded to the convicts would much exceed those of the common transport ships, and the prisoners would of course be sooner fit for duty, and less liable to the attacks of disease. Out of several ships that have arrived, not two-thirds of the number of convicts originally put on board have reached their place of destination; and this mortality, it is feared, must have been occasioned by the embezzlement of the provisions and stores which were intended for the use of the captives. It is also much to be feared that an undue degree of severity has oftentimes been exercised towards the convicts, under the pretence of some attempts to mutiny and effect their escape, and such methods of throwing censure upon the innocent, to excuse wantonness and cruelty, cannot be too severely reprehended, if reprehension be all that can be inflicted upon the perpetrators of such diabolical deeds. The treatment has been directly reverse where a King's officer has been placed on board the transport, who evinced an unshaken resolution to perform his duty. The convicts which came out on board the Royal Admiral, Captain Bond, met with a treatment, and arrived in a condition, which reflected the highest honour on the humanity and prudence of her esteemed commander, and might be properly held forth as a model and an example to the masters of all transports who may in future be employed in the service. Every attention was paid to their cleanliness in particular, care was taken to provide them with the most wholesome provisions, and their messes were so varied as to prevent any dislike arising from repetitions with too much frequency; on the slightest appearance of indisposition, some nourishing broths, wine, etc. were constantly ordered; twice a day they were mustered on deck, and the ship was completely fumigated: The whole arrived in the most excellent health and spirits imaginable. If every master had displayed a similar good conduct, there would have been no ground for the present complaint, nor any room for the remedy which I suggest in the preceding part of this article. A number of gentlemen, of small fortunes, might be appointed, whose characters will bear the strictest investigation, and whose talents are adequate to the task, to go over to the colony as justices of the peace, in order that the general welfare and individual security of the colony should be promoted. To these persons many indulgences might be granted, and a respectable salary ought to be attached to the office, so as to enable them to support that degree of respectability and dignity which their situation requires; so as to make their interest totally unconnected with those pursuits which have led so many to sacrifice their principles, and to neglect their duty, for the sake of pursuing the search after independence. The incorruptibility which ought to characterise the conduct of a magistrate should be so fortified by every prudent precaution, that it may at no time, however remote, be in danger of agitation; nor would it be prudent, in another point of view, to permit these gentlemen to mingle in occupations which must have an evident tendency to distract their attention from those arduous tasks which they would be called upon to fulfil, in a country where criminals must naturally abound. Numbers of persons are doubtless to be found in Great Britain who would gladly accept these appointments, whose educations have taught them to look above situations to which unforeseen and unavoidable calamity may have reduced them; men who have preserved their principles and integrity unshaken by the attacks of adversity, and who, consequently, must be eminently qualified to fill such offices as those which I have here suggested. The example which these persons would hold out to the rest of the settlement, could not fail of producing very beneficial effects upon the moral conduct of those who copy the models of their superiors; and would also be of service in assisting to create a society of power and independence, which might operate as a check upon the influence of all other descriptions of persons. As instances of the irregularities that have been practised by some of those in magisterial capacities, I need repeat none others than that I have known men without trial to be sentenced to transportation, by a single magistrate at his own barrack; and free men, after having been acquitted by a court of criminal judicature, to be banished to one or other of the dependent settlements: And I have heard a magistrate tell a prisoner who was then being examined for a capital offence, and had some things found upon him which were supposed to have been stolen, and for which he would not account, that, were he not going to be hanged so soon, he (the magistrate) would be d----d if he would not make him say from whence he got them. Nor do I believe it less true, that records of an examination, wherein a respectable young man was innocently engaged, have been destroyed by that same magistrate before whom the depositions were taken. These and numerous other cases which I could enumerate, cannot admit of a doubt but that such a regulation must tend greatly to the preservation of the liberty of the subject, the property of all classes of the inhabitants, and the general interest and security of the colony at large. I should also strongly advise, that nine or ten of the principal officers of government should be authorized to act in the capacity of council, to whom the governor could resort, in all periods of difficulty and delicacy, for advice how to shape his conduct, by which means he would not, in any future instance, be left wholly dependent upon his own judgment. The good effects of this arrangement must soon be evident, since the issuing of an order of council could not fail to carry with it much additional weight to that which would be attached to an act of the governor alone, and would tend to the speedy suppression of any appearance of insubordination, and discourage those who should incline so to act as to originate a spirit of dissatisfaction in the settlement. To a want of this council, it may not be too much to attribute the present unsettled state of the colony, and the maturation of a faction which has perverted the streams of justice, and which has impeded the growth of opulence throughout the settlement, merely to enrich a select party at the expense of the general welfare, and consequently to spread vice and ruin through a land, whose prosperity has never become their care, although it was a solemn pledge of their leaders to support and cherish it to the very utmost of their ability. In addition to this council composed of the chief officers of the government, I consider it essentially requisite that a barrister should be appointed as a counsellor to the governor, at all times when his excellency is referred to in matter of doubtful disputation, which must oftentimes occur in the colony, and which frequently reduces him to an unpleasant dilemma. Aided by a legal adviser, however, his judgment must be strengthened, and his decision would be more weighty, without creating in his breast those uneasy sensations which must arise under different circumstances. In the present conformation of the government, the governor has no legal adviser to have recourse to when an appeal is made to his decision, which is not rarely the case, except the judge advocate, and this officer having previously given his opinion in the court below cannot, of course, be again consulted on the same subject. In consequence of this default of advice, the governor must give his own opinion, which may or may not be in conformity with the laws of the mother country, just as it may happen, and according to the knowledge he may possess of the principles and practice of jurisprudence, which is seldom very deep in persons whose inclinations are so opposite to this kind of study as the officers of the navy and army, from whom the governors of the colony have hitherto been selected. This counsellor could be selected from those who might be induced to listen to such a proposal, as may place before them a certain liberal competence, with the opportunity of rising to independence in a sphere where the number of competitors would be so low as to render final success less precarious. It is needless to expatiate more amply upon the benefits which must accrue from an appointment of this nature, which would impose but a trifling additional burden on the crown, since it is extremely possible that a barrister might be obtained for the salary of 150L. per annum, which, together with the victualling of himself and his family and servants from the public stores, and residence in the colony rent-free, added to the other customary indulgences given to persons from whose services utility is expected to be derived, would not make his situation worth less than 500L. per annum, a temptation which must possess some weight in the minds of those who meet with inadequate encouragement in England. The legislative code of the colony requires a careful revision, since the numerous residents who have arrived in the settlement, and their increasing respectability and opulence, render such a measure necessary. That system which would suit the original establishment, composed only of two classes, the officers of government and the convicts, will scarcely be expected to adapt itself to the wants and wishes of a community advanced in civilization: In the former case, the principal object was to punish delinquency; in the latter, to secure property, and insure the safety of that wealth which now began to shew itself in the multiplication of luxuries, and the augmentation of individual splendour. The present system is so liable to abuse, and has given just occasion for so many complaints on the part of those traders who visit the colony in great numbers, as well as of the more respectable classes of the inhabitants themselves, that it is become highly expedient to substitute in its place one which shall be incorruptible, and which, from its own importance, may command a greater degree of respect. At the head of this court ought to be placed a chief justice, who, by the respectability of his salary, should be effectually placed above the reach of every motive of an improper or injurious nature; and in order to lighten this expense to the crown, certain court fees might be established which would materially assist to swell the amount of the remuneration which ought to be attached to this high office, so as to render it worthy the notice of men who are fitted, by habit and education, to execute its duties in a correct and honourable manner. The rent of the residence appointed to this gentleman ought to be taken from his shoulders, and the public stores should find provisions for himself, his family, and his servants, together with fuel and candles; the wages of a limited number of domestics might also be paid by government; and thus he would be exonerated from so many burthens of a pecuniary nature, that a salary which might at the first glance seem inadequate to the trust reposed, would, on considering every circumstance, appear less exceptionable, and more equal to the dignity which would externally be attached to the office. It is almost superfluous to mention, that the utmost care should be taken in the choice of a proper person to fill this situation, since his character, his conduct, and his general habits, ought to be such as to render him like Caesar's wife--"not only free from suspicion, but free from the suspicion of being suspected." With a person of this description to superintend the court of judicature, there could no longer exist causes to fear the introduction of party motives and malicious prejudices, to contaminate the stream of justice; a strict impartiality would direct every decision, and those who were doomed to meet with disappointment in their views, while they writhed under its decision, would not be able to impeach its integrity. If it were found necessary to adopt any further measures to preserve their honour unsullied, the rendering their situations limited might probably produce a good effect; and a pension might be allowed to them on their return to England, if they were able to produce certificates from the governors and lieutenant-governors who had held command in the colony during their residence, attesting the incorruptibility of their conduct, and the zeal which they had displayed in the due execution of their duty. A farm might also be allowed to the individual placed in this important office, if it were thought expedient, under certain restrictions which should prevent him from abstracting his attention from his official duties, at periods when his professional avocations might require his presence in the service of the public. A salary of 500L. per annum, with the addition of these indulgencies, would be equal to 1200L. a year. An alteration in the judicial code appears also to be necessary, or at least highly expedient. In the criminal court, the judge advocate and six naval and military officers are at present empowered to decide and try delinquents; and although I believe that their opinions on verdicts have latterly been almost unanimous, yet I cannot but call to recollection a period when, painful to relate, the naval and the military were too frequently, if not generally, opposite in their determinations: Nor is this the least part of the evil; for evidence is on record of persons having been bribed, or controlled, by one or more of the members of the court then sitting in judgment, to accuse their industrious neighbour, upon oath, of crimes which he had never committed, in order to lay a ground for the ruin of the unfortunate individual, merely because his industry and prosperity in trade were objects of envy. If such a system is not suppressed, it is not possible for the human mind to calculate upon the termination of the mischiefs which may ensue from it; it is not possible for humanity to look upon the probable consequences, without emotions of horror and dismay. To prevent, therefore, the recurrence of any circumstance so flagrant and unjust, it is absolutely necessary to take some measures to render the criminal and civil courts free from every kind of prejudice; for what argument can justify the committal of the existence or the fortunes of individuals, to the mercy or the caprice of men who are blinded by prejudice.--Prejudice and party must be fatal to the progress of justice; and as the preceding remarks are nothing more than the details of facts which are notorious to every individual who has lived long in the colony, there is no occasion for my saying much in addition, to prove that a necessity does exist for some change in the judicial code of the settlement; and it is much to be wished and desired, that by that change the power may be vested in honest and incorruptible hands, which may be held out equally to punish the guilty, and to protect the oppressed; to curb the insolence of pride, and foster humble merit; and, finally, to render New South Wales an exact copy from that fine picture of freedom and justice which is represented in the mother country. That the trial by jury should be introduced into the colony, has long been a _desideratum_ amongst the best-informed inhabitants of the colony; since its effects could not be otherwise than beneficial where such universal iniquity prevails, and where even in the courts of law many enter with impure motives and unclean hands; since the greater part of the community are more or less implicated in the notorious and impoverishing impositions which are continually practised amongst all classes. When I say that this blessing has been desired by the _well-informed_, I must also be understood to mean the _well-intentioned_ only; for its establishment in the settlement would unavoidably prove fatal to that ruinous traffic, from which several of the superior classes have derived their opulence and consequence, and it is not therefore to be expected, that such as these would wish to behold the approach of that scourge which would remove from them the power of extending universal evil for the promotion of their individual good. By these persons the admission of the trial by jury is sincerely and ardently deprecated, while it is wished for with equal fervency by others, and particularly those oppressed inhabitants, whose miseries and necessities have been the means of increasing the wealth, and hardening the feelings of those who have so long pursued the destructive system of monopoly. It would not have been practicable to introduce the trial by jury at the commencement of the settlement, since there were none but convicts, and a few free persons who were paid and supported by the crown; but the case is now materially altered, and the great influx of free, independent, and respectable inhabitants, which the later years of the colony have witnessed, not only render such a measure practicable and prudent, but loudly call for it as a step rendered indispensable to the welfare of the community. Numbers have also served their terms of transportation, or have been made objects of royal bounty on account of their signal good conduct, and have thus swelled the numbers of free residents; so that there could be no difficulty in making out a list of jurors, sufficient for every purpose, even if the assizes were ordered to be held monthly, which is a more frequent occurrence than in the mother country. Objections may be started to the propriety of receiving those, who have been convicted and have suffered the sentence of the law, as jurors; but if this description of persons are worthy to be received as evidence at all in a court of justice, and there are instances sufficient on record to prove this to have been the case; and where this evidence of persons so objected to and proscribed, has been the sole means of the conviction to death of the accused, surely it could afford no room for cavil that a jury should in part be composed of persons, whose conduct during the term of their punishment has been such as to give general satisfaction, and who have proved by their conduct that they have reformed their dispositions, corrected their principles, and are likely to become useful, and consequently valuable, members of society; and none others should be admitted on the list. Besides, even allowing this objection to have some weight, will reason and policy justify the carrying of this principle to such a length, as to exclude from this privilege those free settlers who have been guilty of no crime, and have suffered no punishment? Shall these, in return for their voluntary exile from their native land to promote the interest of the colony, lose the benefit of this inestimable distinction, which operates as a security to the freedom of Englishmen, and renders it so far superior to the boasted independence of any other nation in the world? If it were thought inexpedient to admit twelve jurors, in consequence of the limited population of the settlement, eight might be allowed in the first instance, and the rest could be added when circumstances would permit; so that the principle of the system would be established, and these could be instructed in the laws of the land from the bench. In each of the settlements there are a great many persons competent to fill the office of jurors, and it is to be hoped that no long interval will be suffered to elapse without the colony being permitted to participate in those inestimable privileges which render the mother country the envy of the world. The admission of the bankrupt laws into the colony would tend still more to the perfecting of the system of jurisprudence, and appears to be a very desirable object of solicitude. For want of some legal system of this kind, many families have been reduced to the lowest extremes of misery and want, the heads being immured in prison, without the ability to liquidate the claims of their unfeeling creditors, or to provide support for their perishing families. The necessary consequence was, the individuals fell to the charge of the government, since they must not be suffered to starve. The obduracy of the creditors may be assigned as the sole cause of this wretchedness; for although, in such circumstances, the unfortunate debtor had been willing to relinquish all his possessions; to surrender his land, his cattle, his stock, and every thing else of which he could boast of the possession; nothing short of payment in money could satisfy; and the ill-fated was doomed to experience the accumulated horrors of personal suffering, in addition to that which must arise from the idea that his sorrows extended themselves, with equal or superior bitterness, to those who were dear to him. Such occurrences as these have tended to multiply considerably the expenses of government, who have frequently found it necessary to extend their assistance to the whole of the unfortunate debtor's family, to preserve them from actual destruction; and who could not, by any authority which was vested in them, compel the hard-hearted and inhuman creditor to accede to the only proposal which it was in the ability of the prisoner to offer. The introduction of the bankrupt laws could not fail to afford an effectual relief to persons reduced to this unfortunate condition, and must be productive of much future benefit, in consequence of the continual augmentation of the trade of the settlement, and the increasing numbers of the dealers; circumstances of themselves which must carry to every rational mind the strong necessity which exists for the adoption and introduction of some legal code, assimilated as much as possible to the bankrupt laws of the mother country, if it should be considered imprudent to copy precisely after this exquisite model. The encouragement of a few barristers to go over to the settlement, who have not met with success adequate to their wishes in the mother country, but who are, notwithstanding, persons of unimpeached moral character (for nothing could be more impolitic in any case than to import persons of doubtful characters into a colony of this description), and whose legal knowledge would be amply sufficient for every purpose in New South Wales; such an importation would be attended with very great advantages to the inhabitants. For the want of such persons has, in numerous instances, been very severely felt by those who have had occasion to come into the courts of law. Many instances have occurred, within my observation, where the persons accused might, by the assistance of a counsel who possessed the ability to penetrate the motives and intentions of the prosecutor, have escaped the punishment which he has been compelled to endure. Evidence is frequently mis-stated and misrepresented in the courts, and this, owing to the great ignorance of numbers who are brought forward as witnesses, is a circumstance of no rare occurrence; the questions being taken down in writing, and, in the attempt to give them some grammatical connection, ideas being frequently perverted, and taken directly opposite to their original meaning, without any intention whatever to enter into a mis-statement. Now it must be sufficiently obvious that the allowing of counsel would tend to do away this evil, since he would himself be in the habit of taking notes of the evidence, and would thus not only be able to detect any misrepresentation, but would convey satisfaction to the mind of the prisoner himself; and convince the spectators (who, by the bye, frequently retire under very different impressions), that the accused has at least been treated throughout with fairness. It cannot be necessary to enter into reasoning to prove that this mis-statement of evidence is an evil which calls for redress; and I think the reader will concur with me in opinion, that no better plan can be devised than the introduction of counsel into the courts, who might keep a vigilant watch over the progress of the trial, and not only insure the correct statement of the various depositions, but be ready to take immediate advantage of any circumstances which might arise of a favourable complexion to the person accused, by which means many prisoners might be rescued from the punishment which, from a want of legal aid, they have been compelled to submit to. In the answers of witnesses, I have myself heard of "No" being substituted for "Yes;" and what guarantee can there be for the obtainment of justice, where a possibility exists of the occurrence of such mistakes--mistakes on which the existence of a fellow-creature might hinge! If then the criminal court needs so strongly the introduction of counsel, the court of civil judicature is equally in want of similar aid, where subjects of the most complicated nature are frequently brought for decision, and where the difficulty of deciding correctly is almost, if not totally, insuperable. Considerable sums here depend upon the issue of a question, of the nature of which no one present is qualified to judge; and an appeal from the decision which ensues is frequently made to the governor, who is thus left singly to decide what has caused so much difficulty to a whole court! The utility, nay the necessity, then, of a professional assistant in these cases, must surely be evident to every one, and without such aid it is not possible that justice can be impartially administered. The ignorance of many suitors, even men of great opulence and respectability, is so deplorable that they cannot make you comprehend their own case, when called upon to state their grievance; but the possibility of having their cause pleaded by a counsellor would not only save the court itself a serious loss of time and a considerable degree of perplexity, but must surely lead to a more correct decision in cases of difficulty. By these means the discontent which now universally displays itself in the person who has lost the cause, would be completely done away, and he could no longer attribute his defeat to the partiality of the judges, when he should have experienced the full benefit which he might derive from a communication with, and the able aid of, a legal adviser. If two, three, or more barristers, could be induced to depart for the colony merely as private settlers, receiving from government a free passage; victualling from the stores for themselves, families, and servants; and every other indulgence which is usually granted to settlers, there could be no doubt that they would soon find their endeavours successful; and the allowance of government, with the emoluments which they would derive from their practice, which might safely be calculated at 200L. or 300L. per annum; having a farm allowed them to cultivate, would render their situations not only comfortable, but eminently respectable; and their introduction would be attended with no extraordinary expense to government, beyond what is generally allowed to settlers in the colony. To encourage gentlemen of education and ability to make this attempt, it might not be an improper extension of liberality to allow them a free passage back to England, if, upon a fair and sufficient trial, it should be discovered that the speculation which induced them to embark for the colony should not turn out productive enough to reward them for their exertion, and to offer them that genteel support to which they would be entitled, on account of the superiority of their situation, and according with the habits of their former life. In the trial of civil causes, it had, until latterly, been the custom of the court to insert in writing only the amount of the debt sought to be recovered, the damages which have been awarded, the names of the plaintiff and defendant, and the adjudication of the court; but in the opinion of many persons of consequence and respectability in the colony, it is absolutely requisite to cause all the _viva voce_ evidence which is given in all civil cases to be taken down in writing. The following reasons are given for this alteration in the former custom, and their full weight has been allowed to them whenever I have heard an opinion given upon the subject. It occurs very frequently that appeals are made from the decision of the civil court to the governor, and, in consequence of the evidence which has been given before the court not being taken down, the witness has an opportunity of correcting, enlarging, or otherwise altering his depositions, so as to make his own case appear in a very different point of view to that which it bore in the former instance, and thus a temptation is held out to perjury, which is too strong for the weak morality of many in the colony to resist, and the current of public justice may, by this method, be completely turned out of its proper channel; and the decision of the civil court is at all times liable to be disputed and reversed. No writ of court is issued for less than ten pounds, so that the necessity of taking down the evidence in a suit instituted for a sum beneath that amount, does not appear to be so strikingly obvious; although an appeal may be made to the governor from the civil court, for any sum, even less than ten pounds; but this is not very often done, although some instances have occurred in my recollection. Where the sum sued for exceeds 300L. a court of appeal may be demanded, and if the plaintiff is dissatisfied with the decision of the governor, he has the right of appealing to the King in council; and here the necessity of taking down the evidence brought before the court becomes still more strong, since the character of the court itself may be involved in the issue of the legal decision. Suits to this amount are not now very rare, but they may be expected to become much more frequent in the thriving state of the colony. The affixing a greater degree of respectability to the office of chief constable at Sydney, and the attachment of a salary to the situation from the crown, would be a desirable measure, since on this officer depends, in a great measure, the peace, the internal security, and good order of the colony; and it is therefore worthy of consideration whether the trust, inferior in importance to scarcely any in the settlement, ought not to be reposed in a person of some respectability, and who, by the receipt of an adequate remuneration, might be enabled to devote his time and attention to the duties of his office. To this situation so much responsibility is attached, and from it so much good is expected, that the person who fills it ought to be enabled to preserve a respectable appearance, and to embrace the comforts of life, without being permitted to have recourse to traffic or other pursuits which might contaminate his principles, or render him less zealous in his exertions for the good order of the colony. The benefit which must arise from the conscientious discharge of the duties of this office is much more than can be imagined at first sight; and the evils, on the other hand, which flow from its mal-execution, are in an opposite extremely baleful, and calculated more to promote excesses and tumults than to repress them. That prisoners who are transported for life are in general indifferent to their future fate, and careless of their conduct, is a fact well known to all persons who have resided in the settlement; and it therefore becomes a naturally interesting question, by what means these convicts may be brought to discharge their duties with more readiness, and to follow a course of life more fraught with happiness to themselves, and more satisfactory to those who are placed near them. The best method which suggests itself to me, is that of employing prisoners for life on government labour for a limited time only, at the expiration of which period they should be made free of the country, and, in case their conduct had been such as to merit approbation, should be allowed to become settlers, with the usual indulgences, and thus have the means once again placed before them of raising themselves to a respectable rank in society, in that country to which they had been banished. Those, on the other hand, who are found to be dissolute and abandoned characters when their term of labour had expired, might be made free also; but, instead of being allowed to become settlers and to receive indulgences, they might be taken off the stores, and be compelled to labour for their daily bread. Such an amelioration of the punishment of those unhappy delinquents who have incurred this heavy vengeance of the laws of their country, would induce numbers to look forward into futurity with a satisfaction which they had not possessed previously, arising out of the distant hope of becoming opulent and respectable, and of making the renewal, in the decline of their existence, of those prospects which, in their earlier years, had been eluded and destroyed by their vices; and this idea would not fail to stimulate them to a conduct more laudable, and calculated to accelerate the accomplishment of their wishes. It may be brought against this measure, as an argument, that it would reduce the extent of the power of government to grant pardons to deserving convicts, and that government would thus lose the advantage which was derived from the labour of those prisoners; but to the former objection it may be replied, that the certainty of an alleviation, and of the advantages which would attend a meritorious conduct during the specified period of punishment, would prove a powerful incentive to the convicts, and would tend to produce more good members of society and useful settlers than could be expected, unless some reward was to be the certain result of meritorious conduct; without this stimulus, there might be, as there has been, some good characters to reward, but their numbers would be comparatively insignificant: To the latter objection it will only be necessary to say, that if government loses the labour of these convicts, it also disburdens itself of the weight of supporting them and of providing them clothing, etc. Against the perpetual imprisonment of convicts the following reasons may be brought forward:--The restlessness and indifference which generally pervade the conduct of delinquents of this description, who, seeing no termination to their captivity, lose the inclination to labour, if they ever possessed it, and become indolent and careless as to the colour of their future fate; the impossibility of any governor, however diligent and compassionate, being enabled to discover all the meritorious convicts of this description who might be entitled to their liberation in pursuance of the present system, since he could not possibly, at any time, keep an eye upon the whole, scattered as they are through the settlements, and in the employ of various persons; many deserving prisoners, having never been in the service of an officer, have none to recommend them, and remain, consequently, unnoticed, although they may be more meritorious than even some who are emancipated; and the numerous desertions which take place amongst those convicts who have no prospect of amelioration in view, and who are, therefore, indifferent what becomes of them, placing upon a level the dangers of destruction and the prospect of toiling away existence, without the hope of freedom or of happiness, to the close of their days. Such a conduct as this is truly not to be wondered at, when the behaviour of some criminals at the bar of their country is recalled to mind, where they have declined that mercy which has been extended to them, and preferred death to a perpetual banishment from that society which they had injured. If any of the liberated convicts should afterwards attempt to make their escape from the colony, they might be returned to the public labour, or be sentenced to such other punishment as may be thought adequate to the importance of their offence. What the consequence of the amelioration of the rigour of punishment would be may easily be imagined; instead of continually murmuring at the gloomy prospect before them--of displaying indifference to the future--of beholding before them no limitation of their slavery, nothing but misery, toil, and death; instead of these cheerless contemplations, they would begin to display a degree of contentedness with the situation to which their delinquency had reduced them, and their progress would be marked by utility to the government and to the community, instead of being chequered by continual efforts to elude the vigilance of their overseers, and to escape from a scene of uniform hardships, unillumined by a single ray of hope. The best interests of the colony would be greatly forwarded, if government were to select some clergymen, of unequivocal piety and zeal, to inculcate religious and moral principles. For this purpose, they should be chosen of unblemished character, whose respectability and exemplary conduct would assist to give weight to the doctrines which flow from their lips. Much good cannot be derived from the efforts of men, who are chiefly engaged in farming and traffic, and who will sell a bottle of spirits, or _oblige_ some of those very persons with it, to whom they have just before been preaching the duty of temperance, and whose learning and appearance are better adapted to less important avocations, than fulfilling the sacred functions it is intended they should perform.--The future prosperity of the settlement also greatly depends upon the manner in which the rising generation are instructed. The education of youth is, at present, much neglected, through the want of four or five schoolmasters of sufficient capacity. There cannot be a doubt that persons qualified for this profession would meet with very liberal encouragement, as the children are numerous, and there are but few parents who cannot afford to educate their offspring respectably. The want of some able superintendants in different branches of business is at present much felt, since such individuals might be usefully employed in training up youth to the pursuits of industry; by which means the commission of crimes would be rendered less frequent, and the dispositions of children would receive a proper bias. An arrangement of this nature would also remove the severe inconvenience occasioned by the extreme scarcity of able mechanics throughout the colony. It will be immediately admitted by every unprejudiced mind, that the salaries of the deputy-commissaries should be increased, when the circumstances under which they are placed are duly considered. They have now only five shillings a day; a sum so totally inadequate to the services they perform, as to excite surprize in all who witness the extent of the trust reposed in them. This daily pay is barely sufficient to purchase a dinner in the colony, as they are obliged to appear in every respect as gentlemen; and the necessary consequence is, they are compelled to enter into other occupations, unless they have a better source of income than their salaries, in order to meet their own unavoidable expenditure, and to maintain (as is generally the case there) a wife and large family. The impolicy of giving small salaries must be obvious, when it is considered that individuals who are thus sparingly rewarded for their labour, abstract from their official duties some portion of that attention which ought to be wholly devoted to them. A different arrangement with respect to the grants and leases of land would also be productive of beneficial consequences. Whenever any of those deeds have been made, under the hand and seal of the governor, or of the colonial seal, they ought to be considered as secured to the grantee or lessee, their heirs, etc. and, under no pretence whatever, except a failure in the fulfilment of the conditions expressed therein, ought the governor, or any succeeding governor, to retain the power of taking that land away. The existence of such a power, indeed, is, upon its surface, arbitrary; and, in its effect, totally destructive of the spirit of improvement; for there scarcely exists a man who would bestow his whole exertions and property in increasing the value of buildings and land, which he holds by such an uncertain tenure. In the midst of his expectations, just as he has impoverished himself with the hope of reaping a future recompense, he may, by the sudden whims or caprice of an individual, be deprived at once of the means of gaining future subsistence, and plundered of every thing which he may have done with a view to his own benefit, and the bettering of the estate. It is surely unwise to leave a power (which, it is to be hoped, is without authority) of this description, in the hands of any man, however exalted his character, and however conspicuous his love of justice. The whole of the contingent expenses which would result from these improvements, might be paid by duties laid on importations, exportations, etc. which are at present by no means inconsiderable, but might be greatly increased, to the mutual advantage of the colonist and the government. To expatiate largely on the benefits which would result from the establishment of a free trade, is altogether superfluous to men whose minds can embrace the increased stimulus which would be given to industry, the influx of wealth and population, the improvements in agriculture, commerce, and the arts and sciences, and the rapid advancement of the best interests of the colony, which must result from such a measure. The strong necessity for some considerable alteration in the internal arrangement and policy of the colony, to various parts of which I have drawn the reader's attention, can but be apparent to all unprejudiced persons, who have but a superficial knowledge of the settlement. The suggestions I have now presumed to offer to the public, as my opinion for means of improvement, I beg to state, are as unbiassed as my statements are faithful; and which are the result of some reflection, founded upon the experience of a long, and, I should hope, an unimpeachable residence, in the fulfilment of some important duties, thereby obtaining more than common means of observation. With these assurances, I have to trust that due credit will be given to my intentions, which had their principal stimulus from an anxious wish that the mother country should receive every possible benefit, in the adoption of so promising and highly interesting a part of the uncivilized globe to its fostering care. The End 
27113	----	NARRATIVE OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA; OF A SHIPWRECK ON BOARD THE LADY CASTLEREAGH; AND A _DESCRIPTION OF NEW SOUTH WALES_. BY W. B. CRAMP. LONDON: PRINTED FOR SIR RICHARD PHILLIPS AND Co. BRIDE-COURT, BRIDGE-STREET. 1823. * * * * * NARRATIVE OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA, &c. &c. &c. * * * * * SECTION I. THE AUTHOR'S DEPARTURE FROM ENGLAND--DESCRIPTION OF THE CEREMONY ON CROSSING THE EQUINOCTIAL LINE, AND HIS ARRIVAL AT MADRAS. On the 8th or 9th of January, 1815, we proceeded, in the Princess Charlotte, Indiaman, to North-fleet Hope, and received on board our cargo. On February 28th, we sailed to Gravesend, in company with the Company's ships Ceres, Lady Melville, Rose, and Medcalfe, and arrived at the Downs on the 3d of March. Our dispatches not being expected for some time, we moored ship. Our time passed on very pleasantly till the 27th inst., when the weather became rather boisterous, and accompanied by a heavy swell. On the evening of the 28th, as the Hon. Company's ship Tarva, from Bengal, was rounding the Foreland, she struck on the Goodwin Sands, and was forced to cut away her masts to lighten her, and get her clear off. The Ceres drifted almost on board us; we slipped our cables, and with difficulty escaped the Goodwin Sands. On the 1st of April the pursers joined their respective ships, and on the 3d we made sail with a fair breeze, and soon cleared the English channel. Nothing was now heard but confusion; the pilot having just left the ship, the hoarse voice of the captain resounded through a speaking trumpet, while the seamen were busy in making sail. We had a fine steady breeze till we made the Bay of Biscay, when we had a strong gale for three days. After the hurry and bustle of the gale was over, we had a fine steady breeze; I then began to feel an inward pleasure, and to rejoice in the predilection I had imbibed from my earliest years. We arrived on the equinoctial about eight o'clock in the evening of the 19th of April, when one of the oldest seamen is deputed Neptune; when he went into the head and hailed the ship in the usual form, Ship, hoa! ship, hoa! what ship is that? The chief officer replied, The Hon. Company's ship Princess Charlotte of Wales, and that he would be glad of his company on the morrow. Gladly would I have dispensed with it. On his quitting the vessel, as is supposed, a pitch cask was thrown overboard on fire, which had the appearance of a boat till lost to view. The next morning, about nine A. M., Neptune hailed the ship again, when he was invited on board (from the head). On the fore-part of the gang-way and after-part of the long-boat, a boom was placed across, and a tarpauling was hung in form of a curtain, so that when they were in readiness they took it down, and the procession moved on towards the cuddy, twelve of the officers walking in the front, two by two with staves (broomsticks); next followed Neptune's car, (a grating with a chair covered with sheep skins) with Neptune, and his wife and child, (a recruit's child, as we had 250 on board, of his majesty's 46th regiment) Neptune bearing in his hand the granes with forks uppermost, and the representation of a dolphin on the middle prong, and Neptune's footman riding behind (barber) his carriage, dragged by the constables. The captain and officers came out to meet him, and presented him with a glass of gin, which was on this occasion termed wine. After the captain's health was drank, he desired them to proceed to business, and to make as much haste as possible; they then proceeded to the starboard gang-way, and Neptune placed himself upon his throne (on the boom, close to the long-boat and wash-deck tub) the slush tub being filled with balls, and lather made of slush, and the barber standing ready to begin his work with a razor made of a long piece of iron hoop well notched; the engine was brought on the quarter deck, and began to play, to force those below that had not crossed the line. I had not been long below before an officer from Neptune came to me, and demanded me, in his name to appear before him at the starboard gang-way, whose summons must not be disobeyed. On my arrival at the gang-way, the usual questions were asked me, whether I had been that way before? Without waiting for an answer they placed me on the wash-deck tub, and the barber rubbed me with the back of his razor and then let me go, upon my previously having given an order upon my bottle. I had hardly got upon the poop, when one of the men was brought upon deck who was neither beloved by the men nor officers; they then placed him upon the tub, and asked him several questions, and while he was in the act of answering them, they thrust some black balls into his mouth, and then rubbed his face and neck over with lather, and scraped it in an unmerciful manner till the blood run in several places; they next pushed him into the tub of water and kept him under for the space of a minute, which tended to smart and inflame the wounds. It was at least a fortnight before he could wash himself perfectly clean; but now several more shared the same fate. The sun was setting fast before the amusements of the day were finished. The clouds presented the most beautiful appearance, and the rippling of the sea, together with the flying fish, scudding along the surface of the water, afforded the mariner a great field of thought. At so grand a display of the great and wonderful works of God, what mortal can be unmoved, or deny the existence of a BEING which nature herself proclaims! The evening was very fine and beautifully star-light, and the moon shone with resplendent brightness. After the company had withdrawn to their evening refreshments, I amused myself with walking on the solitary poop. The sea appeared to be an immense plain, and presented a watery mirror to the skies. The infinite height above the firmament stretched its azure expanse, bespangled with unnumbered stars, and adorned with the moon '_walking in brightness_;' while the transparent surface both received and returned her silver image. Here, instead of being covered with sackcloth,[A] she shone with resplendent lustre; or rather with a lustre multiplied in proportion to the number of beholders. [Footnote A: I must be excused for the ideal extravagance of "clothing" this nocturnal luminary in "SACKCLOTH," on adverting to that unlimited flight of poetic imagination, which speaks of "_Heaven peeping through the blanket of the deep_." _Vide Shakspeare's Macbeth._] Such I think is the effect of exemplary behaviour in persons of exalted rank; their course as it is nobly distinguished, so it will be happily influential; others will catch the diffusive rays, and be ambitious to resemble a pattern so commanding. Their amiable qualities will not terminate in themselves, but we shall see them reflected in their families. My readers, I trust, will not wonder at my meditations on these sublunary objects, when they consider that they are the seaman's guide, and from them the greatest sources of nautical information are derived. In the midst of these pleasing reveries, I was aroused by the ship being taken a-back, the watch being completely intoxicated, and it was only with difficulty that they could do their duty. Nothing material happened till our arrival at the Cape, when we experienced a severe gale for three days. The sea being heavy, she pitched her portals under water. We were running at the rate of ten knots per hour, under bare poles; and we soon after made the trade winds. On the 23d of June we arrived in Madras roads; from the deck the view of the land has a magnificent appearance; the different offices have, to the beholder, the appearance of stone, and they are formed along the beach in a beautiful manner; they are built with piazzas and verandahs, and they extend about one mile along a sandy beach, while the natives parading along the shore, and the surf spraying upon the beach, gave the scene a very picturesque appearance. The surf beats here with so much violence that it is impossible for any ship's boats to land without being dashed to pieces. On our making land we espied a small craft, called a kattamaran, making towards us; it was manned with two of the natives naked, except a handkerchief round their waist, and a straw round cap (turban) made with a partition in it to keep letters dry. This bark is made of three long hulls of trees, about ten or twelve feet in length, tied together with a rope so as to make in the centre a little hollow; they sit upon their knees in the centre, and have a long flat piece of wood, about five feet in length and five inches in width, which they hold in the centre, and keep continually in motion, first on one side and then on the other, and in that manner they force the kattamaran swiftly through the water. It is very remarkable that these poor creatures risk themselves through the surf for a mere trifle, to carry letters for the different commanders to their respective vessels, at a time when the surf is at a dreadful height. When these poor fellows lay themselves flat on the kattamaran, and then trust themselves to the mercy of the surf, they are often driven back with great force, and they as often venture again, till they effect their purpose. They generally get their living by fishing, which is done by hook and line, and they offer them alongside the different ships for sale. For two days the surf being so violent no boats could come off; but early on the third morning there were several came off with debashees (merchants) on board. They brought such things as might be wanted by the ship's company and officers. Their boats are made to carry passengers and cargo. There is not a vestige of a nail to be seen in them, their seams, instead of being nailed, are sewed together with coir rope; and they are generally manned with six or eight men. SECTION II. THE AUTHOR'S DEPARTURE FROM MADRAS AND ARRIVAL AT BENGAL--DEPARTURE THEREFROM--HIS VESSEL RUNS ASHORE ON THE PULICAT SHOALS, AND GETS SAFE AFLOAT AGAIN, AFTER BEATING SIX HOURS AND FORTY MINUTES--HIS SAFE ARRIVAL AT MADRAS, AND DESCRIPTION OF THE DIVERS--ARRIVAL AT BOMBAY--THE SHIP BEING DOCKED, THE AUTHOR IS SENT TO BUTCHER'S ISLAND WITH THE SHIP'S COMPANY--A DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND OF ELEPHANTA--HIS JOINING THE SHIP AFTER HER LEAVING THE DOCK--HIS WORDS WITH HIS COMMANDER, AND BEING TURNED BEFORE THE MAST IN CONSEQUENCE--HIS DEPARTURE FROM BOMBAY, AND AFTER A SHORT PERIOD HE IS REPLACED IN HIS FORMER SITUATION--AND ARRIVES AT MADRAS. We sailed from Madras, August 23d, and arrived at Bengal on the 30th. The scenery on the entrance up the river was indeed sublime, and inspired us with a sensation of gratitude to the Giver of all good. I went up to Calcutta with a craft of cargo; but having been sent down immediately, I could form no idea of the place. On the 20th December we sailed from Bengal bound to Madras, in company with the Honourable Company's ship Marquis of Wellington. We kept a-head of her on the morning of the 25th, till she was almost mast down, and expected to bring-to about twelve o'clock in the Madras roads; but our expectations were greatly damped by the following circumstances:--At 8 A. M. the ship struck on the Pulicat rocks with such great violence, as to knock almost every man off his legs; the lead was immediately called, which, to the disgrace of some one, was not on deck; in the course of two minutes she struck again with as much violence as before; sail was immediately taken in, and after sounding, we found we drew about three and a half feet water. We then made signal of distress, by hoisting the ensign union downwards, and firing a gun. The Marquis of Wellington by this time hove in sight; all was confusion and consternation, the ship having beat several times with great violence. The Wellington hove to, and sent their cutter with four men and a second mate to our assistance, and then made sail and passed us, without rendering us any other assistance. The pinnace and long-boats, booms and spars, were immediately sent over the side, and the kedge-anchor was placed in the long-boat; but she leaked so very fast, that with all the united efforts of the seamen they could not keep her above water. The weather was now very cloudy and black, and threatened a severe gale; so that our present situation became very disagreeable, as no assistance could be rendered us off shore, should necessity require it. But owing to the exertions of the officers and men, we effectually swung her head to the wind, which was blowing strong from the shore, and by 7 P. M. we anchored safe in the roads. On the following morning we were busily employed in discharging our cargo and sending it on board its destined ships, (Honourable Company's ships Stratham and Rose.) After our clearance, the divers were expected from off shore, to examine the damage the ship's bottom had received; but, owing to the inclemency of the weather, it was impossible for them to get off from shore. A seaman on board, by birth a West Indian, engaged to dive under the ship's bottom, and to acquaint us with the state of it, which was gladly accepted. In his youth he had been a fisherman on the coast of the island of Jamaica: the weather being rough, it was thought unsafe for him to venture; but on the following morning, it being quite calm, he prepared himself for his expedition: after he had jumped overboard, he walked, or rather trod water, round the ship; he informed us the copper was much battered above water, and in many places whole sheets of it were broken off; and after he had made us perfectly acquainted with the damages we had received above, he dived under her counter, and abreast of the after, main, and fore hatchways;--when he came on board, he informed us, that about twelve feet of our false-keel was knocked off, and about six feet of our copper abreast of the main-hatchway, besides a quantity of copper in different places, all of which we found to be true after we were docked. We received considerable damage on board; the bolts were started from her side about three inches, and the main-beams sprung. Three days after he had dived, the captain came on board with two native divers, and several officers of the different vessels lying in the roads, to survey the ship. When they went under they brought up the same account as our man had first given. After about an hour's consultation, our ship was ordered to Bombay to be docked, it being the most convenient one for a ship of our burden. In a few days after we proceeded on our passage, and arrived in safety, keeping the pumps in continual motion during our passage. The Island of Bombay is situated on the west coast of the ocean, and one of the three Presidencies belonging to the Honourable East India Company, and is in Lat. 18° 55' N. and Lon. 72° 54' E. of Greenwich. As soon as we had discharged all our cargo, and the ship was docked, the ship's company and officers were sent to Butcher's Island. Butcher's Island is a small island situated about four miles and a half to the westward of Bombay, and is in circumference about one mile and a half, and has been a very formidable garrison. In the centre is a small fort and two barracks, the latter we took possession of for the ship's company. Soon after our landing on the island, a party of us went over to the Island of Elephanta. The Island of _Elephanta_ is about one mile and a half to the west of Butcher's Island, and is inhabited by 100 poor Indian families. It contains one of the most stupendous antiquities in the world: the figure of an elephant of the natural size, cut coarsely in black stone, appears in an open plain, near the landing place, from which an easy slope leads to an immense subterraneous cavern, hewn out of the solid rock, eighty or ninety feet long and forty broad, the roof of which is cut flat, and supported by regular rows of pillars, about ten feet high, with capitals resembling round cushions, and at the farther end of it are three gigantic figures, mutilated by the bigoted zeal of the Portuguese, when this island was in their possession. After spending the day very pleasantly we returned. The Sergeant (an old invalid) who had charge of the fort, had a beautiful little garden; thither in the morning I frequently resorted, to enjoy one of the most charming pieces of morning scenery that I had ever witnessed. "Awake! the morning shines, and the fresh fields Call you; ye lose the prime to mark how spring The tender plants; how blows the citron grove; What drops the myrrh, and what the balmy reed; How nature paints her colours; how the bee Sits on the bloom, extracting liquid sweets." MILTON'S PARADISE LOST. How delightful this fragrance. It is distributed in the nicest proportion; neither so strong as to depress the organs, nor so faint as to elude them. We are soon cloyed at a sumptuous banquet, but this pleasure never loses its poignancy, never palls the appetite; here luxury itself is innocent; or rather, in this case, indulgence is not capable of excess. Our amusements for the forenoon were our nautical studies, and in the afternoon officers and men joined in cricket. In the evening, after my duty of the day was dispatched, and the sultry heats were abated, I enjoyed the recreation of a walk in one of the finest recesses of the Island, and in one of the pleasantest evenings which the season produced. The trees uniting their branches over my head, formed a verdant canopy, and cast a most refreshing shade; under my feet lay a carpet of Nature's velvet; grass intermingled with moss, and embroidered with the evening dew; jessamines, united with woodbines, twined around the trees, displaying their artless beauties to the eye, and diffusing their delicious sweets through the air. On either side, the boughs rounding into a set of regular arches, opened a view into the distant seas, and presented a prospect of the convex heavens. The little birds all joyous and grateful for the favours of the light, were paying their acknowledgments in a tribute of harmony, and soothing themselves to rest with songs. All these beauties of Nature were for a while withdrawn. The stars served to alleviate the frown of night, rather than to recover the objects from their obscurity. A faint ray scarcely reflected, and only gave the straining eye a very imperfect glimpse. The day following that the ship came out of dock we joined her. Our labours were now unremitted, to get her in readiness for sea. Amidst all our exertions it was impossible to give any satisfaction; our chief mate was very arbitrary, and vented his spleen upon the defenceless midshipmen, besides making the backs of the poor seamen sore with _starting_. Starting is a term used for rope's-ending a man, or otherwise laying a _Point_ severely across their shoulders till they have not the strength to wield it any longer; a point is a flat platted rope, made for the purpose of taking in reefs, or otherwise to fasten the sail upon the yards. At length my life became so truly miserable, that I was determined in my own mind not to endure it, if there was any possibility of avoiding it. For that purpose I wrote on board his Majesty's frigate, Revolutionnaire, for a situation, when Captain Wolcombe generously offered me one, provided I could get permission of Captain Craig to leave my present ship. I was at length forced to leave Bombay, through this and other circumstances. On our arrival at Madras every preparation was made for receiving our cargo on board, which was speedily done, and in a short time was ready for sea. SECTION III. THE AUTHOR'S DEPARTURE FROM MADRAS, DESCRIPTION OF A WATER-SPOUT--HIS ARRIVAL AT ST. HELENA AND DEPARTURE THEREFROM, ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND--JOINS HIS MAJESTY'S TRANSPORT SHIP, TOTTENHAM, BOUND FOR NEW SOUTH WALES--HER RUNNING ON SHORE IN THE RIVER AND PUTTING BACK TO DOCK--HE AFTERWARDS JOINS HIS MAJESTY'S TRANSPORT SHIP, LADY CASTLEREAGH. HIS DEPARTURE FROM DEPTFORD AND ARRIVAL AT PORTSMOUTH--HIS DEPARTURE THEREFROM AND ARRIVAL AT NEW SOUTH WALES. As soon as our dispatches were in readiness, we proceeded on our passage for England; the morning was beautiful, and as the men were heaving up the anchor, my heart felt an inward sensation of joy and gratitude to our Creator, that he had been pleased to bring us so far safe on our voyage; we made sail with a steady breeze, and soon lost sight of land. After we had been at sea about two days, close on our weather-bow we observed a water-spout; when we first saw it, it was whole and entire, and was in shape like a speaking trumpet, the small end downwards, and reaching to the sea, and the large end terminating in a black thick cloud: the spout itself was very black, and the more so the higher up; it seemed to be exactly perpendicular to the horizon, and its sides perfectly smooth, without the least ruggedness where it fell. The spray of the sea rose to a considerable height, which had somewhat the appearance of smoke; from the first time we saw it, it continued whole about a minute, and till it was quite dissipated three minutes; it began to waste from below, and gradually up, while the upper part remained entire, without any visible alteration, till at last it ended in black clouds, upon which a heavy rain fell in the neighbourhood. There was but little wind, and the sky was otherwise serene. On our rounding the Cape we experienced a very heavy gale, which continued for the space of ten days. We arrived at St. Helena in about ten days after clearing the Cape of Good Hope. The approach to this Island is tremendous, it being an immense large rock in the midst of the sea, on which there is not the least appearance of verdure, houses, or indeed any sign of inhabitants, till you arrive at the anchorage, which is to leeward of the Island; and in turning round the corner of the rock is a fort, close to the water's edge, from whence they make all ship's heave to, till they have sent a boat on board from the Admiral; and in case no attention is paid to their signal, they fire a shot. After proceeding a little way, the town is discovered in the midst of a valley, and has a very picturesque appearance. The produce of the Island is potatoes and yams. The yams are used in time of great scarcity of wheat, for bread; the inhabitants are under the necessity of boiling them 12 hours and baking them, before they can eat them; and in fact, many of the Islanders prefer them to bread. The coast produces an amazing quantity of fish, particularly mackarel, which are in great abundance, and run in shoals about six fathom under water. At this time Napoleon resided at Longwood. After staying here 12 days, we proceeded on our passage to England, and arrived there in six weeks and two days.--The distressed state of England, and scarcity of employment determined me again to try my fortune abroad, and for that purpose I made several applications to the different owners, but for some time was very unsuccessful. At length I was engaged by Messrs. Robinson, to join his Majesty's Ship Tottenham, bound to New South Wales with 200 convicts. On June the 8th I joined her. After receiving all the ship's and government stores on board, we proceeded to Woolwich, and received on board 50 of our number, and in the afternoon of the same day we made sail, and on a sudden struck on a reef at low water; we were lying high and dry; every means was used to get her off, but without success, till we sent our convicts up to the hulks, and discharged our stores into the different crafts sent for that purpose, and by that means lightened her so, that at the flood she drifted; she was so materially damaged, it was deemed necessary she should return back to Deptford to Dock. I had not waited long in London, before another vacancy occurred on board His Majesty's Transport Ship Lady Castlereagh, lying at Deptford, bound to the same Port. Shortly after I had joined her, we sailed to Woolwich, and received on board our guard, which was composed of a detachment of his Majesty's 46th regiment of foot, and after receiving a portion of our convicts, we proceeded on our passage to Portsmouth: we received another portion from Sheerness, and in two days arrived at Portsmouth. The remainder of our prisoners not being in readiness, we were forced to bring up and moor ship a cable each way. Spithead is a spacious road for shipping, between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, and where they in general lie after they are in readiness for sea. I went on shore to see the town of Portsmouth. It is situated inland of Portsea; the streets are generally narrow, and rather dirty, owing to their not being properly paved. The Dock-yards, as there are several, resemble distinct towns, and are under a government separate from the garrison. Here is a commodious arsenal for laying up cannon, and the fortress may be justly considered as the most regular one in Great Britain. The number of men employed in the different rope-yards generally is considered to be between eight or nine hundred, and the garrison is very large. The town of Portsmouth contains about 40,000 inhabitants, and the harbour is reckoned one of the finest in the world, as there is water sufficient for the largest ships, and is so very capacious that the whole of the British navy may ride in safety. The principal branch run up to Fareham, a second to Pouchester and a third to Portsea Bridge; besides these channels there are several rithes, or channels, where the small men of war lie at their moorings. Opposite the town is the spacious road of Spithead. On the 20th of December we received our convicts, and the following day we made sail and passed through the Needles, which are two sharp-pointed rocks at the N. W. end of the Isle of Wight, so called from their sharp extremities. The prisoners, during their voyage, behaved themselves with great propriety, considering the variety of characters which we had on board. We arrived at New South Wales on the 26th of April, 1818, after a pleasant passage. SECTION IV. DESCRIPTION OF NEW SOUTH WALES--DEPARTURE THEREFROM--ARRIVAL AT VAN DIEMAN'S LAND. We now made for the eastern coast of New Holland, southward of Port Jackson; the coast has a most beautiful appearance, being constantly green during the year. From the south cape, about five leagues to the northward, is a most spacious bay with good anchorage, and sheltered from all winds. The natives are very ferocious; few vessels put in without partially suffering by their depredations, particularly seamen who, having ventured from their parties, have been by them cut off, robbed, and murdered. This place is called Two-fold Bay; ten leagues farther north is Bateman's Bay. Here is good anchorage and plenty of fresh water, but it lies open to the E. N. E. winds, and when they prevail they are accompanied by a heavy swell, so that it is impossible for vessels to lie secure. Seventeen leagues farther north is Jervis's Bay, and an excellent harbour and good shelter from all winds, with a fine sandy bottom. Round two small islands, at the mouth of the bay, there are two very large kinds of fish, which are caught in abundance with hook and line, called king fish and snappers. The next harbour to the northward is Botany Bay, which is a capacious bay, with excellent anchorage for shipping; but the entrance is very dangerous to those commanders who are strangers to the coast. At the head of the bay is George's River, which extends about sixty miles up the country, and is navigable for small vessels of about 40 tons burden; on the banks of this river there are several settlements, which I shall hereafter describe. Nine miles farther north are the heads of Port Jackson; on approaching the heads from sea, the entrance is so narrow, and the rocks so perpendicular, that the opening is not perceivable at a distance. On the south head is a look-out house, and a flag staff, on which a yellow flag is hoisted on the approach of any vessels from sea, which is answered by another signal staff on a battery at the north end of the town, called Davis's Point Battery, which is to be seen from all parts of the town, so that a vessel is known to be approaching before she enters the port. After entering the heads, the river runs due south for six miles, it then turns short round a point of land on the north shore, called Bradley's Head, which runs due west for twenty-four miles. After rounding Bradley's Head, the town of Sydney is perceivable, about three miles distant on the south shore. The anchorage is a small cove, as still as a mill-pond, land-locked around on all sides; the principal buildings in view are the stores and dwelling of Mr. Campbell, a Bengal merchant; they are built of white stone and have a noble appearance: the next is the government stores, a large stone building, at the end of which is the hospital, wharf, and stairs, the only public-landing place in the cove; here are two centinels continually parading the quay. From the landing place is a fine wide street, called George Street, with several fine stone and brick buildings, extending a mile and a half long, and joining the race ground. The public buildings in this line are the governor's secretary's office, an orphan school for female children, and the military barracks, with many fine private buildings, shops, &c. On the S. E. side of the cove is the government house, a low but very extensive building, surrounded with verandahs, and built in the eastern style, with an extensive park and garden surrounded with a high stone wall. About a quarter of a mile south of the government house is the general hospital, a large and extensive building, erected without any expense to government, the whole having been completed and paid for by three private gentlemen of the colony, for the grant of certain privileges. One mile further S. E. is Wallamolla, a fine brick and stone mansion, the property and dwelling house of John Palmer, Esq., formerly Commandant-general of the colony. Between the general hospital and Wallamolla is the race ground, a fine level course three miles long, planned and laid out after the model of Doncaster race course, by order of his excellency Lochlin Macquarie. The races commence on the 12th of August, and last three days, during which time the convicts are exempt from all government duties. Convicts that are placed in the town of Sydney are in many respects happier than those farther inland; those who are employed in the service of government are under the inspection of the superintendent of the public works; they assemble at the ringing of a bell, in the government-yard, soon after day-light, and are mustered by their respective overseers and conducted to their work by them, having received their orders from the superintendent on the preceding evening. The overseers are themselves convicts of good character, and perfect masters of their different trades. They labour from day-light until nine o'clock, and they have then one hour allowed them to breakfast, then they return and work till three in the afternoon, and from that time they are at liberty to work for whom they think proper. On leaving Sydney, the next settlement is Rose Hill, or, called by the natives, Paramatta, and it is situated due west up the river. Between Sydney and Paramatta there is but one settlement, about half way, which is called Kissing Point, and close on its banks is a large farm, kept by Mr. Squires, who likewise carries on an extensive brewery. The principal edifice at Paramatta is the government stores, a large stone building; close to the landing-place, and leading into the town, is a street about a mile long. They are generally small cottages, and are mostly inhabited by the convicts; and to each is attached a small garden, which they are compelled to keep in good order. There is also a large manufactory of flax, the produce of the country, of which they make coarse cloth of different descriptions. This town is under the direction of the bishop of New South Wales (Samuel Marsden) and is the place where the noted George Barrington resided many years as chief constable, and died in the year 1806, highly respected by the principal men of the colony. At eight miles distance, in a westerly direction, is the village of Galba, which is a very fertile soil, the farms being in high cultivation, the ground clear of timber, and numbers of sheep and oxen seen grazing in its fields. Two miles south of Galba is the village of Castle Hills, in appearance resembling Galba; and a number of farm houses scattered about as far as the eye can reach. About fourteen miles, in a S. E. direction, is the town of Liverpool, on the banks of George's River; here cultivation is making rapid progress; and on each side of the river are numerous farms, till the traveller arrives at its termination. From George's River a branch runs in a N. W. direction, is about twenty miles in length, and is called the Nepean River. Here the eye of the agriculturist would be highly delighted at the verdure that constantly appears in view; the farms are but thinly dispersed, as the Nepean is not navigable. At the extremity of the Nepean is the most extensive tract of land that has yet been discovered. This tract is laid out in pastures, which are literally covered with wild cattle, the produce of six cows and a bull which escaped from the colony about forty years ago. They were discovered by a runaway convict, who returned to the settlement and reported his discovery, for which they pardoned him his crime of desertion. After leaving the cow pastures, due north is the town of Windsor, the most productive place in the colony for grain of every description, which is brought to be shipped on the River Hawksborough, in small crafts for that purpose. Windsor is sixty miles from Sydney, and the river is navigable all the way from the sea; its entrance is called Broken Bay, and is fourteen miles north of Port Jackson, and thirty miles north of Broken Bay. The town of Newcastle is situated about seven miles up the river, called the Coal River, in consequence of coals being found there in great abundance, of very good quality. This town is a place where all are sent to that prove refractory, or commit any crimes or misdemeanors in the colony, and is much dreaded by the convicts as a place of punishment. Newcastle is the last settlement to the northward of Sydney; the natives are black, and appear to be a most miserable race of people: they live entirely naked, both men, women, and children, and they possess not the least shame. They carry fish and game to the different towns and villages inhabited by the English, which they barter for bread, tobacco, or spirits; they are, in general, of a light make, straight limbed, with curly black hair, and their face, arms, legs, and backs are usually besmeared with white chalk and red ochre. The cartilage of their nose is perforated, and a piece of reed, from eight to ten inches long, thrust through it, which seamen whimsically term their spritsail-yard. They seem to have no kind of religion; they bury their dead under ground, and they live in distinct clans, by the terms Gull, Taury Gull, or Uroga Gull, &c. They are very expert with their implements of war, which are spears made of reed, pointed with crystal or fish bone; they have a short club made of iron wood, called a waday, and a scimeter made of the same wood. Those inhabiting the coast have canoes; but the largest I ever saw would not hold more than two men with safety. Their marriage ceremony is truly romantic; all the youth of a clan assemble, and are each armed with wadays; they then surround the young woman, and one seizes her by the arm, he is immediately attacked by another, and so on till he finds no combatant on the field, and then the conquering hero takes her to his arms. The different kinds of game which the colony produces, are several kinds of kangaroos, of the same species, but differing in size and colour. Beasts of prey have never been seen in the colony. The birds are, parrots, cockatoos, and a large one called _emus_, which have very long legs and scarcely any wings; they in general live upon fern, and weigh from seventy to eighty pounds; there are likewise a number of black swans. The woods abound with a number of dangerous reptiles, such as centipedes and scorpions. Government not being disposed to receive all our convicts, we were taken up to proceed to Van Diemen's Land, with a crew of two hundred convicts, besides a detachment of one hundred and sixty rank and file of his Majesty's 46th regiment of foot. We sailed from hence, and arrived at Van Diemen's Land after a pleasant passage of six days. Van Diemen's Land is situated south of the Cape of New Holland, and is a dependency under the control of the Governor-General. Here is a Deputy-Governor, who resides at the principal town, called Hobart's Town, situated about thirty miles up the Derwent; it is a town at present consisting of small cottages, or huts, built of wood, and with but few free inhabitants. The soil of the country is good; but there is a very inconsiderable trade. The Derwent runs ninety miles due west up the country. North of the Derwent, about twenty miles, is Frederick Henry's Bay, an immense deep bay, with good anchorage and shelter for shipping; and north-west of Henry's Bay is another fine river, called Port Dalrymple; it runs south-west ninety miles inland; at the head of it is a town, called Launceston; the inhabitants are principally convicts, and are employed in clearing the land for government. The native inhabitants of Van Diemen's Land are nearly the same as those of New Holland; and they at present hold no intercourse with the European inhabitants. After our prisoners were received on shore, they sent us another detachment of 150 rank and file of his Majesty's 46th regiment for Madras, and we began to prepare for sea. SECTION V. DEPARTURE FROM VAN DIEMEN'S LAND AND ARRIVAL AT MADRAS--AN ACCOUNT OF A SEVERE GALE, AND THE GREAT DANGER OF SHIPWRECK, TOGETHER WITH HER WONDERFUL ESCAPE FROM IT, AND HER SAFE ARRIVAL IN CUDDALORE. The morning was beautiful, and the noise of the crew weighing the anchor, created much life and bustle; and as we proceeded out of the harbour Nature seemed to smile, and bid us welcome to the watery element we had been so long traversing. A few days after, we entered the Endeavour Straits, which are about ten leagues long and five broad. We had several canoes off from the shore of New Guinea. It is a long narrow island of the South Pacific Ocean, and north of New Holland, from which it is separated by this strait, except on the north-east entrance, where it is counteracted by a group of islands, called the Prince of Wales's Islands. The land is generally low, and covered with an astonishing luxuriance of wood and herbage. The inhabitants resemble those of New Holland, omitting the quantity of grease and red-ochre with which the New Hollanders besmear their skins. Their canoes are neatly carved, and are about twelve feet in length; they have outriggers to keep them firm on the water, and they are formed out of the hulls of trees; they carry about five or six men. They brought on board a quantity of shells, bows, arrows, and clubs, besides other trifling articles, and they would exchange with us for bits of old iron-hoops, or in fact any old thing, however trifling. The breeze freshening, we soon lost sight of the native merchants. We arrived at Madras on the 12th of September, 1818, after a tedious passage. Owing to General Munro's intended departure for England, our cargo was immediately got ready, and as expeditiously received by us, and we were ready for sea on the 20th of October; but our dispatches not being in readiness, we were forced to remain at our anchorage, and on the morning of the 24th the clouds looked very black, and threatened a severe storm; but no preparations were made on board, and at 4 P. M. signal was made from the shore for all ships to leave the roads, which unfortunately was not noticed by many of the officers of the different vessels. At 5 P. M. the gale commenced; but through neglect the royal and top-gallant yards were not sent down, nor could the officer commanding be persuaded that any danger would arise from remaining at our anchorage; the ship's company now came aft and expostulated; but the officer in command called them all cowards, and said he would not start her anchor if it blew the masts out of her. About 2 A. M. on the 25th, the gale commenced with the utmost fury, and she rode her scuttles under water, but as they were not secure, the sea came inboard and made very fast upon us. At 6 A. M. the water was three feet on the lee-side of our gun-deck, and from the continual working of the ship the chests broke from their fastenings. After seeing a vessel go down at her anchors close on our starboard bow, the officer then gave orders for our cable to be slipped, which was immediately put into execution. John Gardener, a seaman, wishing to go aloft, and not taking proper hold, was blown from the rigging, and never seen again. We set the fore-sail, which immediately split; the mainsail, met with the same fate; the gaskets of the topsails gave way, and the sails split. At half past eight we found we had sprung a leak, owing to the ship's labouring so much; in the course of ten minutes we sounded, and found three feet water in the hold. The pumps were choaked; by 9 A. M. they were cleared, and by this time we had eight feet water in the well, and three on the gun-deck; the ship rolled very much, and the chests, guns, and water-casks, being all cast adrift, were dashing from larboard to starboard with the greatest fury. At 10 A. M. the ship labouring so much, and her being eight streaks of her main-deck under water, abreast of her main-hatchway, so that we had very little prospect of her living two minutes above water, it was thought necessary to send her mizen-mast by the board, in order to righten her; but while going, the mizen-mast heeled to windward and caught her royal-yards in the top-sail tye, and stayed her so, that we were compelled to cut away the main-mast, which carried the fore-top-mast and jib-boom; and, while in the act of going by the board, it knocked an invalid down and killed him on the spot. The ship rightened a little; but the sea was very boisterous, and we appeared to be in a valley in the midst of a number of tremendous high mountains, which to all appearance seemed ready to fall and crush us. The carpenter came forward, and informed us, that we had sprung another leak, and that we had ten feet water in the well; the men, as by one accord, dropped the pumps, and appeared to despair; we might all have well exclaimed with the poet, "Heaven have mercy here upon us! For only that can save us now." "The atmosphere was hurled into the most tremendous confusion, the aerial torment burst itself over mountains, seas, and continents. All things felt the dreadful shock; all things trembled under her scourge, her sturdy sons were strained to the very nerves, and almost swept her headlong to the deep." It would be in vain to attempt to give a description of our feelings at this critical moment, tortured as we were with anguish and despair. Every man seemed now as if all was given over for lost, when the carpenter came forward and informed us the leak was found out, and that with a little exertion it might be stopped; the men then rose with great vigour, flew to the pumps with renovated strength, and gave three cheers. The cabins were all washed down, and a party of men were busily employed throwing every thing overboard,--self was not considered,--the very last rag was committed to the furious elements without a sigh. At 11 A. M. the sea struck her starboard quarter-gallery and forced it from its birth, and as we were busily employed, a cry was heard, the starboard fore-mast port was carried away, and the sea forced itself with great rapidity along the deck; but the seamen flew to meet this new misfortune with the vigour of tigers, not considering the dangers they had to encounter, and thus effectually succeeded in stopping the leak. While the seamen were busily employed, the troops were desired to pump, which they firmly refused, and said they would sooner sink, except a poor blind man, who could not keep from them; his reply was truly noble, and, I am sure, my readers will excuse my repeating it. "I am unworthy of the life I have if I do not exert myself in this hour of distress; if it has pleased God to deprive me of the blessing of sight, he has not of the feelings of a Christian." At half past eleven the gale greatly abated, and by this time the carpenter had stopped the leak, by using all the gunny bags and blankets that could be found; the damage was occasioned by the masts beating under her counter. By 12 A. M. it was a perfect calm; the men were now busily employed clearing the gun-deck, and securing every port-hole and scuttle in which they effectually succeeded by 1 P. M. "For a moment the turbulent and outrageous sky seemed to be assuaged; but it intermitted its wrath only to increase its strength; soon the sounding squadrons of the air returned to their attack, and renewed their ravages with redoubled fury; and the stately dome rocked amidst the wheeling clouds. The impregnable clouds tottered on its basis, and threatened to overwhelm those whom it was intended to protect, the vessel was almost rent in pieces, and scarcely secure; where then was a place of safety? Sleep affrighted flew, diversion was turned into horror; all was uproar in the elements; all was consternation among us, and nothing was seen but one wide picture of rueful devastation. "The ocean swelled with tremendous commotions; the ponderous waves were heaved from their capacious beds, and almost lay bare the unfathomed deep; flung into the most rapid agitation, they swept over us, and tossed themselves into the clouds. We were rent from our anchors, and with all our enormous load were whirled swift as an arrow along the vast abyss. Now we climb the rolling mountains, we plough the frightful ridge, and seem to skim the skies; anon we plunge into the opening gulf, we reel to and fro, and stagger in the jarring decks, or climb the cordage, whilst bursting seas foam over the decks. Despair is in every face, and death sits threatening in every surge." The whistling of the wind and roaring of the sea, together with the voice of despairing seamen, and the dreadful shrieks of the women, made us truly miserable; but we were forced to exert ourselves with assumed courage and vigour, which could only be imagined but by those placed in a similar situation,--our exertions were for life or death, knowing that if they once failed, that nothing was to be expected but to perish in a watery grave. We kept the water under to about three feet during the time of this dreadful gale; about 4 P. M. it abated, and about 5 P. M. it blew a steady breeze from the south-west; and at 6 P. M. we went round her to examine the damage we had sustained; when, dreadful to relate, we found that a man and child had been washed out of their hammocks and perished; on proceeding along the waste we found two invalids had been jammed to death between two water-casks and the ship's sides, making a total of six lives lost during the storm. The hatches were opened about 8 P. M.; but the provisions being so salt and sodden with the sea water, they could not be eaten, on account of the scarcity of fresh water. After the watch was set we laid ourselves down upon the upper-deck with no other covering than the starry heavens. On the following day we commenced clearing the wreck, and rigging up jurymasts, which we happily effected before sun-set; and on the 28th we arrived at Sadras, which lay south by west of Madras, distant fifteen miles. We lay here till the 30th without any tidings of the captain. The men from fatigue and pain, from sleeping on the wet decks, and continual pumping, came aft, and said the clouds threatened another storm, and that the monsoons were growing very strong, and in case the weather should alter for the worse, they had not strength left to work the ship in another gale, from want of nourishment; and that provided the officers did not think proper to remove to a place of safety, they were determined to take charge of her and proceed to Trincomalee, and deliver the vessel into the hands of the under-writers. All our remonstrances to them were in vain, until the chief mate pledged his word and honour, that if the captain did not join her the next morning, he would, ill as he was, take charge of her and proceed there himself. On the following morning the captain joined her, with the hon. L. G. K. Murray, secretary to the board of trade at Madras, when they brought on board a quantity of provisions, which we stood very much in need of, and immediately made sail and arrived the same day at Pondicherry. The governor sent us on board a new anchor, as our own was sprung. Pondicherry is a town of Hindostan, under the French government, and situated on the coast of Coromandel, seventy-five miles S. S. W. of Madras. On the following day we run into Cuddalore, a little above the first bar. Cuddalore is a town of Hindostan, one hundred miles S. S. W. of Madras. Thirty of the ship's company being sick, they, with me, were compelled to leave the ship, and forced to proceed on shore to the hospital. I was about this time seized with a violent fit of the cholera morbus. It is supposed to originate from the cold damp airs which are very prevalent at this time of the season. A gentleman's bungalow was humanely given up as a hospital, or friendly receptacle, for our incapacitated seamen, during our sojourn at Cuddalore. The possibility of visiting the native town was precluded by the peculiar strictness of the regulations imposed upon us. SECTION VI. THE AUTHOR'S DEPARTURE FROM CUDDALORE AND ARRIVAL AT PONDICHERRY--DEPARTURE THEREFROM, AND ARRIVAL AT MADRAS, WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE SAME--ACCOUNT OF THE RELIGION, CUSTOMS, AND MANNERS OF THE NATIVES--DEPARTURE FROM MADRAS, ON HIS ROUTE TO NAGPORE,--ARRIVAL AT PONAMALEE, AND DESCRIPTION OF THE SAME--HIS DEPARTURE AND ARRIVAL AT CUDDAPAH. After I had thoroughly recovered, through the interest of a young German widow, I obtained my acquittal from the ship, and then proceeded to New Town for my passport. New Town lies about two miles and a half E. N. E. of Cuddalore, and is the residence of the Europeans in that neighbourhood; the houses of the Europeans are generally built of brick and those of the natives of wood. The day after I had obtained my passport I proceeded on my route and arrived at Pondicherry the same evening. Pondicherry is about four leagues in extent; the houses are built with brick, but the Indians use only wood, in the manner which we call lath and plaster. In a few days after I arrived in Madras, and took up my residence with a friend in Pursevaulkum. A few days after my arrival I proceeded with my friend to town. Madras, or Fort St. George, is a fort and town of the peninsula, on the coast of Coromandel. It is the principal settlement of the English on the east side of the peninsula, and is a fortress of great extent, including within it a regular well-built city. It is close to the sea shore, from which it has a rich and beautiful appearance, the houses being covered with a stucco, called _chunam_, which, in itself, is as compact as the finest marble, bears as high a polish, and is equally as splendid as that elegant material. There is a second city, called Black Town, nearly four miles in circumference, separated from Madras by the breadth of a proper esplanade. Madras, in common with all the European settlements on this coast, has no port for shipping, the coast forming nearly a straight line, and being incommoded with a high and dangerous surf. The citadel is situated in the middle of the White, or English Town, and is one of the best fortresses in the British possessions. The town is also encompassed with a strong wall of the same stone as that with which the citadel is built, and is defended by bastions, batteries, half-moons, flankers, and mortars. Opposite the west gate of the citadel are barracks and a convenient hospital for the company's soldiers, and at the other end is a mint where the company coin gold and silver. I was shortly after engaged as an overseer in the Madras Advertiser printing office, and as an assistant to the Madras Nautical Academy; but not agreeing with my employer I left it, and obtained permission to stop in the country as a free merchant. Mr. M. R----, with whom I resided, used all his interest to obtain for me some permanent situation under government, but it could not be effected. At length, being tired of an indolent life, I opened a school, which succeeded very well, when I was forced to relinquish it, owing to my ill state of health the confinement and severity of the weather brought on a languishing complaint, which would have terminated in my death had I persisted in continuing in my present employment. My friend being obliged to quit Madras, left me and his brother in charge of his house. My friends, during his absence, greatly contributed to my amusement, and, in short, spared no expense. One morning, passing through Vessory Bazar, I was greatly shocked at seeing the nabob's elephant take up a little child in his trunk and dash its brains out against the ground; the only reason that could be observed was, that the child had thrown some pebble stones at it; and the only redress the poor disconsolate mother could obtain was a gift of fifty pagodas from the nabob, which is about equal to twenty pounds sterling. During my friend's absence his mother and brother were carried off with the cholera morbus. The general estimate of deaths through the settlement is at least three hundred and fifty in one day; the natives have been known to sacrifice in one day and at one pagoda, fifty cocks and fifty kids, to appease their angry gods, and, in fact, some of the poor deluded creatures will go with a sword run through their cheeks in the fleshy part, and kept hanging in that position for some days, continually dance backwards and forwards through the different bazars; others have the palms of their hands pierced with a sword; others have their breasts burnt, and others again have an instrument run through their tongue in order to calm the wrath of their offended deities; nor can they, in their opinions, put themselves to sufficient torture. Shortly after my friend returned, I went to reside with a friend at Royaporum, south of Black Town, and soon afterwards I was engaged as an examiner in the accountant-general's office. After I had been a short time in this employ, I received an order to prepare for my departure for Nagpore, in the service of his highness the Rajah. On my return from the Fort St. George, I was greatly surprised at seeing an old man standing with his bare feet upon two pieces of wood in the form of a pair of pattens, with pointed pegs uppermost; he stood in that position for several days, with the blood running in torrents, and several of those who passed by gave him what their circumstances could well afford. A few days after I was invited to witness an Hindoo ceremony. We took our station at the top of a rich Persian's house, opposite a spacious esplanade and contiguous to a large pagoda; in the centre of the esplanade was fixed a capstern, with a pole about sixty feet long, which was fixed so as to be occasionally raised or lowered. Shortly after our arrival, a native, decorated with flowers, proceeded slowly towards the pagoda with tom-toms, and all kinds of Asiatic music; after he had prostrated himself in the pagoda, the Brahmin, a kind of priest, struck his side with a leather thong till it swelled to a considerable size, and then forced a butcher's hook through his side; he then composedly walked to the machine, and suffered himself to be fastened to a rope and suspended in the air with no other support than the butcher's hook; he went at least three times round a circle of about one hundred feet, and he kept his arms continually in motion during the whole time, fencing and throwing flowers among the bye standers, which were immediately picked up by them and kept as a religious relic. This ceremony is performed yearly for the purpose of those who have lost their cast, and may regain it by voluntarily undergoing this treatment. Eleven of them went through this torturing ceremony. I now began to put myself in readiness for my departure. On the morning of the 8th I dispatched my baggage and tents, together with a guard of eight peons (native police), which my friends had obtained for me, through their interest with the superintendent of the police. By the time I had taken leave of all my friends, and thanked them for their disinterested protection to a distressed seaman, I proceeded on my route (after receiving several more marks of their favours, Mr. C---- having presented me with an Arab horse, four baggage bullocks, and five hundred rupees, besides several letters of introduction) at eight o'clock in the evening. I travelled about five miles down the Ponamalee Road, and stopped at a village a little below the main guard, a small place with scarcely any fodder for the cattle. On the following morning, at a very early hour, we proceeded on our march, and arrived at Ponamalee about eight o'clock, where I found several of my friends waiting to take leave, as they expected that Ponamalee would have been the first stage. After having taken farewell of each other they returned back to Madras, and I hired for the day a small bungalow (or garden house) opposite the fort, where I determined to stay. Ponamalee is about fourteen miles W. S. W. of Madras. This small and beautiful town is situated upon a rising ground, which commands an extensive view of the adjacent country. The number of Europeans residing here is but few, as it is entirely out of the road for traffic. There is a fort which is situated upon a rising ground, and gives the village a romantic appearance. It forms a complete square, and on each angle is a small place erected in form of the body of a wind-mill, which was used formerly for the purpose of solitary confinement when the troops were quartered here, but is now occupied as lumber rooms; the fort is garrisoned by pensioners. The grand entrance is on the south side, and a small wicket is usually on the west. The fort is surrounded by a large moat about thirty feet in depth, the water is very clear and good, and is drank by the natives. The inner part is far from being roomy, owing to the extreme width of the ramparts. There are two or three small buildings for the use of the commanding officers, but now the residence of a school-master and two sergeants; in the centre is a small building with a dome on the top, which was used formerly for a chapel, but is now converted into a school for the instruction of the poor soldiers' children, and the two barracks are occupied by pensioners. On the following morning, about two o'clock, we prepared for our journey, and in a few days arrived at Naggery, a distance of about two hundred miles W. N. W. of Madras. The natives here are Hindoos, and the village is remarkably clean. The pagoda, or place of worship, is a fine large building, built in an oblong form, and beautifully gilt and carved all round with monkeys and apes. The Hindoos, in their manner of diet, are very abstemious, refraining from flesh; in fact, they will not eat any animal food; they are very regular in their morning ablutions, which they do by washing and marking themselves with chunam in the centre of their foreheads, according to the mark of their different casts. If any one neglects it he is immediately turned out of the cast, and his relations disown him, nor will they permit him once to enter their house. Such is their strictness, that the father has refused to see his son and the mother her daughter; and if they happen to perceive him at any distance they fly from him as they would from a serpent, thinking that his touch would pollute them. The roads here are very bad, being principally jungle; their principal cultivation is paddy (a kind of oats). On my arrival at Nundihall I was determined to rest for a couple of days, as two of my servants were in a very ill state of health. Nundihall is a beautiful town, the houses are built of brick, and are generally from three to four stories high; the streets were very dirty, owing to the number of paddy fields that surround the city, as the growth of it requires that the earth should be completely covered with water. The natives are generally Hindoos and Moors. The town is surrounded by a high brick wall. After leaving the town of Nundihall the roads were very bad, owing to the quantity of stones, and hills which were very steep and difficult to ascend. On the roads I had several disputes with the natives passing through Wuntimuttall, owing to my servants and the peons stealing the toddy from the trees. Toddy is a liquor which is extracted from the top veins of the cocoa-nut trees, which runs continually into a pot placed for that purpose. The liquor is very pleasant, and is reckoned very wholesome when drank early in the morning in a small quantity; if drunk in the heat of the day it causes acidity in the bowels, and often is the cause of the death of many Europeans. The natives drink it continually, and often get quite intoxicated with it. We arrived at Cuddapah on the 21st instant; it is a large and commodious town, and is inhabited by Mussulmen. Cuddapah is situated N. W. of Madras, one hundred and fifty-one miles distant, and the general estimate of inhabitants is at about two hundred thousand. The principal houses are built of brick and the inferior ones of mud. The Mahometans divide their religion into two general parts, faith and practice, of which the first is divided into six distinct branches--belief in God, in his angels, in his scriptures, in his prophets, in the resurrection and final judgment, and lastly, in God's absolute decrees. The points relating to practice, are prayer with washings, &c., alms, fasting, pilgrimages, and circumcision. The Mahometans pray five times in twenty-four hours, viz.: in the morning before sun-rise, when noon is past and the sun begins to decline from the meridian, in the afternoon before sun-set, in the evening after sun-set and before day is closed, and again in the evening and before the watch of the night. They fast with great strictness during the whole month of Ramadan, from the time the new moon first appears, during which period they must abstain from eating, drinking, and all other indulgences, from day-break till night or sun-set. The Europeans reside about two miles to the west of the native town, and have commodious houses, with fine spacious gardens; they are built of brick and much after the form of a gentleman's seat in England, but on a larger scale. I proceeded to the house of the collector, and on my road, my horse taking fright, I was thrown, and lost my purse containing all my money. My distress was now indescribable. Being left pennyless in the midst of a people totally destitute of Christian feeling, and without the probable means of obtaining the common necessaries of life, I arrived, in this miserable state of mind, bordering on despair, at the collector's, Mr. Hanbury, and after making him acquainted with my circumstances, he generously rendered me his assistance, paid my servants' wages that were in arrear, and kindly advanced what I thought sufficient to defray my expenses, having previously sent my peons back to Madras, and supplied me with fresh ones to proceed with me to Hydrabad. On the following day the rain came down in torrents, accompanied with thunder and lightning, which kept me within my tent and caused me to exclaim with Dr. Henry, "O, ye lightnings, that brood and lie couchant in the sulphureous vapours, that glance with forked fury from the angry gloom, swifter and fiercer than the lion rushes from his den, or open with vast expansive sheets of flame, sublimely waved over the prostrate world, and fearfully lingering in the affrighted skies!" "Ye thunders, that awfully grumble in the distant clouds, seem to meditate indignation, and from the first essays of a far more frightful peal; or suddenly bursting over your heads, rend the vault above and shake the ground below with a hideous and horrid crack!" In the evening the weather began to clear up, which induced me to walk out, when taking two peons as a guard, I proceeded south of the town, on a beautiful plain: the pleasantness of the weather, and the stillness of the evening, tempted me to prolong my walk, and inspired my mind to contemplate on the wonderful works of Providence, who had so lately showered down his blessings upon me, in preserving me from want in the midst of a heathen world. The sun had almost finished his daily course, and sunk lower and lower till he seemed to hover on the verge of the sky! The globe is now half immured beneath the dusky earth; or, as the ancient poet speaks, "is shooting into the ocean, and sinks into the western sea." The whole face of the ground was overspread with shades, and what the painters of nature call "dun obscurity." Only a few superior eminences, tipt with streaming silver, the tops of groves and lofty towers that catch the last smiles of day, were still irradiated by the departing beams. But, O how transient is the destination--how momentary the gift! like all the blessings which mortals enjoy below, it is gone almost as soon as granted. How languishingly it trembled on the leafy spire, and glimmered with dying faintness on the mountain's sable brow! till it expired and resigned the world to the gradual approaches of night. SECTION VII. THE AUTHOR'S DEPARTURE FROM CUDDAPAH--DESCRIPTION OF THE DIFFERENT VILLAGES, AND ARRIVAL AT HYDRABAD--DESCRIPTION OF HYDRABAD, AND DEPARTURE THEREFROM--ARRIVAL AT NERMUL. On the morning of the 27th, I proceeded on my route over the chain hills, with which the town of Cuddapah is surrounded; the roads are very good, but the steepness of the hills made it very fatiguing: in six hours I arrived at Batoor, a distance of twelve miles. Batoor is a large village, the houses are built of mud and bamboo, and form a motley group; the only protection they have from the number of robbers which infest that part, is a small fort, about two hundred square feet; the ramparts are about fourteen feet in thickness, and at each angle a small gun is mounted upon a pivot, about three feet from its walls; the fort in general is very much out of repair; the inhabitants are Hindoos, and are very indolent; the land is quite barren and free from cultivation. The cruelty with which Europeans in general act towards these poor captives is really disgraceful, and cannot but be censured by all who cherish the least trait of humanity with their breast. When an European passes through any of the villages, and is in want of any coolies, or porters, to carry his baggage, he orders his guards to press every man he can meet with, and compel him to carry whatever his barbarous protector chooses he should labour under, and if there is not sufficient men, to press the women, without considering whether they have any family to provide for. It has been frequently known, that the mother has been forced to leave her infant babe from her breast upon the bare earth to provide for itself, to carry the baggage of a merciless enemy, whose only payment, after going fifteen or sixteen Indian miles, is, if she complains, a _bambooing_, (that is a caning,) and, perhaps, after she gets home, which cannot be till the next day, she finds her poor infant dead for want. We passed through Parmunsa, and arrived at Moorkandah, which is a small village, and in a very ruinous condition, as it is at the foot of the Ghaut; the inhabitants are but few in number, and are principally Brahmins, consequently provisions are very scarce; on my requesting the cutwall, or headman of the village, to bring some fowls, he refused, and said there were none in the place, although I repeatedly heard the crowing of a cock. The impudent manner in which the man answered me, made me doubt the truth of what he said; in order to ascertain it, I took two peons and my gun and went round the village, and found a full grown cock; I caught it, and ordered it to be carried to my tent and killed; the natives by this time were in arms, and before any of us were aware of it, they had secured the peons and surrounded me, demanding the cock: when they were informed of its death, they all began to weep and raised a most lamentable cry, and said it was devoted to their god, and that the heaviest curses would follow me. I expected their denunciations would have paid for it; but in that I was greatly mistaken, for they demanded payment for it; and to avoid any injury to my peons, I offered them one rupee, considering that it would be equal to the price of eighteen cocks; but they disdainfully refused it, and said that they must offer gifts to their god to appease his anger, and to pay their sadura to intercede in their behalf. I remonstrated with them; but to no avail, as they would not take less than ten rupees. I tried all in my power to make my escape from them; but when they perceived my intentions, they drew their scimitars, and held them to my breast, and said, provided I did not accede to their offer, they would not spare the lives of my peons nor myself, as they could not get it replaced for forty times that sum, which was presented to them by their rajah. The price I considered to be extortionate, (but I paid it,) as fowls are sold in the different villages round that neighbourhood for one penny each, sheep for ten-pence, and every other article in proportion. On the following morning, at a very early hour, I crossed the Ghaut; in the centre there is a very great declivity on each side the road, about two hundred feet in depth, and the Ghaut is very steep, and covered with flint-stone, which made it very difficult for the horse and cattle to pass: it is about twelve miles in length, and at the foot of it is the village of Badnapore. The inhabitants are very peaceable, and the village is close on the borders of Khristnah river. We made all possible haste to cross, which was effected by means of a large round basket, which is continually whirling round in the river. The river is about a quarter of a mile in width, but the heavy current carried us nearly two miles down; and owing to the exertions of the cattle, we encamped close on its banks. On the following day we passed Pungall-hill fort, which is situate on the summit of a very steep mount, and is built of mud, and large enough to contain ten thousand troops; it is only accessible on the north-east angle, which is easily blockaded in case of necessity. In five days we arrived at Hydrabad. Hydrabad lies about 350 miles north-west of Madras; the houses are built of brick, and generally run four and five stories high. The inhabitants are principally Mahometans interspersed with Hindoos. The Mahometans will not suffer a Christian to touch their cooking utensils or fuel by any means, and if such should be done, they consider them as polluted, and they will instantly break and destroy them; and while they are in the act of eating, if touched by any one of another sect, they will not swallow what is even in their mouth, but will throw it out, and go through a regular purification by washing and prayer. After I had been at Hydrabad a few days, I joined a small party to view the interior: while we were taking breakfast, a cavalcade of elephants came up to the door with a number of peons. After we had mounted them we proceeded through the south gate into the city; the streets were particularly dirty, owing to there being no drains. The town is supplied with water by a well about two hundred feet in circumference. On our entrance into the minister's house we were surprised at seeing a battalion of female sepoys (soldiers) presenting arms to us. We stood to see them go through their military manoeuvres, which they did with dexterity; we then proceeded towards the house, which is built entirely of cedar-wood, but in a very ordinary manner, owing to the number of apartments: every room is carved in a beautiful and masterly style, from the ceiling to the floor. This ornament is very common among the lower classes, who have the devices of their gods carved on the doors of their houses. The apartments form a complete square, and in the centre is a stone tank. We next proceeded to a gallery of looking-glasses; the only one worthy of notice is about eighteen feet long and sixteen wide; there is likewise a whole length painting of Earl Moira, Governor-General of India. We afterwards proceeded to the palace of the Rajah: on our entrance into the inner court, we were agreeably surprised at seeing a quantity of tea-cups, saucers, &c. of various colours, placed against the wall in form of elephants, tigers, serpents, &c. in the most superb manner; in the centre is a large tank, containing a great quantity of salmon-trout. I had the honour of being introduced to the Rajah's sons, but his Highness was not present. After having obtained a guard of twelve sepoys and two naigues, I proceeded on my route, and in a few days arrived at Nermul. Nermul is a large and beautiful city, surrounded by a fort, and is about three miles in circumference, and is on a rising ground, 205 miles north-north-east of Hydrabad, and in the heart of the jungle, it is under the command of Major Woodhouse. The inhabitants are principally Moors. I pitched my tent in the middle of a burying-ground, by the side of a running stream, and owing to the fatigue I had experienced, I now resolved to sojourn for two days. This place suited my present state of mind. My attention was soon attracted by a magnificent tomb, and upon examining the inscription, it proved to be a rajah's. The gardens were ingeniously planned, and a thousand elegant decorations designed; but, alas! their intended possessor is gone down "to the place of sculls!" While I am recollecting, many, I question not, are experiencing the same tragical vicissitude. The eyes of the Sublime Being, who sits upon the circle of the earth, and views all its inhabitants with one incomprehensive glance, even now behold as many tents in affliction as overwhelmed the Egyptians in that fatal night when the destroying angel sheathed his arrows in all the pride of their strength; some sinking to the floor from their easy chair, and deaf even amidst the piercing shrieks of their distracted relations; some giving up the ghost as they retired, or lay reclined under the shady harbour to taste the sweets of the flowery scene; some as they sail with a party of pleasure along the silver stream and through the laughing meads! nor is the grim intruder terrified though wine and music flow around. "Those who received vast revenues, and called whole lordships their own, are reduced to half a dozen feet of earth, or confined in a few sheets of lead! Rooms of state and sumptuous furniture are resigned for no other ornament than the _shroud_, for no other apartment than the darksome _niche_! Where is the star that blazed upon the breast, or the glittered sceptre? The only remains of departed dignity are the weather-beaten hatchment. I see no splendid retinue surrounding this solitary dwelling. The princely equipage hovers no longer about their lifeless master, he has no other attendant than a dusty _statue_; which, while the regardless world is as gay as ever, the sculptor's hand has taught to weep." SECTION VIII. THE AUTHOR'S DEPARTURE FROM NERMUL AND ARRIVAL AT NAGPORE--HIS DEPARTURE, AND ARRIVAL AT JAULNAH--THE AUTHOR'S DEPARTURE FROM JAULNAH AND ARRIVAL AT POONAH, AND DESCRIPTION OF THE VILLAGES WITH THEIR RELIGION--HIS ARRIVAL AT BOMBAY, AND HIS DISTRESS--SKETCH OF BOMBAY AND ACCOUNT OF THE PERSIAN RELIGION--HE JOINS THE HONOURABLE COMPANY'S SHIP MARQUIS OF HUNTLY, AS CAPTAIN'S CLERK--HIS DEPARTURE FROM BOMBAY AND ARRIVAL AT BENGAL. After remaining two days, I proceeded on my route; and on the following day arrived at Wadoor, a distance of fourteen miles, across a long succession of hills, the roads over which are very rugged and covered with stones; Wadoor lies in a valley, at the foot of a large mountain, and is hardly perceivable from the top. On the 20th December, we travelled along a beautiful and finely cultivated country, the produce of which is cholum and paddy, which grows in great quantities; the inhabitants are very civil, and principally Moor men. On the 25th December, 1821, I arrived at Nagpore, and on the same evening was seized with the Nagpore fever, which is always accompanied by fits of the ague. The fever is supposed to originate from the excessive heats of the day, and the extreme cold of the night. I endeavoured as much as possible that my ill state of health should not keep me from my employment, but attended to it very assiduously; which I persevered in till the 27th of March, when the doctor informed me, that I had better leave the Presidency or I should endanger my life, as the hot winds generally set in in the middle of April, which frequently prove very dangerous to European invalids. On the 2nd of April, after having previously obtained my passport and a guard of twelve Seapoys, I proceeded on my route, and towards evening arrived at Tukea, where, owing to my ill state of health, I was compelled to stop two days. On the 12th I arrived at Ouronty, which is S. W. by W. of Nagpore, about 100 miles. The town is very large, and is surrounded by a brick wall; the houses are built of brick, and are generally three stories high. The inhabitants are Mussulmen. In the afternoon I went to the palace of the Rajah, (Rajah ram.) His palace outside is very dirty, owing to his guard making fires against the walls for cooking. On my desiring to see the Rajah, I was conducted through a long dreary passage, with the walls, to all appearance, covered with grease and filth, at the end of which is a large court-yard, which has a very different appearance, the Rajah's apartments being all round; at the end were six Peons waiting to conduct me to his highness, with silver staves, about eleven feet long, with a device of Mahomet on the top; on my introduction to the Rajah's apartment, he was sitting cross-legged with his hooker; at my entrance he arose and made three salams in token of respect to the British nation. After questioning me where I was going to, and my reasons for so doing, he presented me with two camel-hair shawls, by placing them across my shoulder; then taking his leave. On the following day, I proceeded on my route, and on the 20th arrived at Luckenwarry; where there is good encampment and water, and the natives are principally Hindoos. Early on the following morning we began to cross the Luckenwarry Ghaut; the roads were steep and not above ten feet wide, and on each side a vacuity of about 250 feet deep. The light in the lantern being extinguished, and the moon being obscured, my horse, had it not been for the horse-keeper, would have precipitated me to the bottom; I instantly dismounted, and the horse-keeper led him till he was clear of the Ghaut. On the centre is a large gate, which stands about forty feet high, and which, during the war, had withstood a three months' siege. Passing through the jungle between the villages of Currone and Chickly, we were greatly surprised at seeing a large party on camels; we hailed them and enquired who they were, but we could not by any means obtain an answer; when finding they persisted in their obstinacy, the Naigues suspected them of belonging to the party of Sheik Dullah, a noted robber who had already committed many depredations in that neighbourhood, and on our desiring them to move to the left of us if they were friends, they made a sudden halt; the sepoys then drew up in a line, and the followers began to guard their baggage, but when they saw our number, they went off to the left of us, grumbling. On the 24th, we arrived at Jaulnah. It bears W. by S., of Nagpore, distant 180 miles. On the following day, after I had taken sufficient rest, I presented my passport to the Adjutant-General, and delivered up the guard, having previously obtained another. Jaulnah is a large town, surrounded by a brick wall, about twenty feet in height; the houses are generally of brick, and from three to four stories; the inhabitants are principally Hindoos, interspersed with Persians and Mussulmen. The cantonment is the head quarters of the British army on this side the Deccan.--Jaulnah has a civil and military government. After staying two days, I proceeded on my route, and on the 19th of May I arrived at Poonah. It bears S. S. E. of Bombay, and is in the territories of the Peishwa: it is about forty miles distant from Bombay. I took up my residence with a friend, commander of the Sebundaries; during my route, I passed through Armigabad, Amednagur, and Seroor; which is the residence of Europeans, and has detachments of different regiments quartered at each town: their houses are in general of brick and stone, their religion is Hindoo. The Hindoos are divided into four tribes, first the Brahmin; second, the Khatry; third, the Bhyse; fourth, the Sooders; all these have their distinct sects, and cannot intermingle with each other; but for some offences they are expelled their sects, which is the highest punishment they can suffer. In this manner a kind of fifth sect, called Pariah, is formed of the dregs of the people, who are employed only in the meanest capacity. There is a kind of division which pervades the four sects indiscriminately; which is taken from the worship of their gods VISHNOU and SHEEVAH; the worshippers of the former being named Vishnou bukht, and of the latter, Sheevah bukht. Of these four sects the Brahmins have the superiority, and all the laws show such a partiality towards them, as cannot but induce us to suppose that they have had the principal hand in framing them. They are not allowed the privilege of sovereignty; but are solely kept for the instruction of the people. They are alone allowed to read the Veda or Sacred Books. The Khatries or sect next in dignity, being only allowed to hear them read, while the other two read the Satras, or commentaries upon them; but the poor Chandalas are not allowed to enter their temple, or to be present at any religious ceremony. In point of precedence, the Brahmins claim a superiority even to princes, the latter being chosen of Khatry or second sect. In fact the Brahmin claims every privilege, and the inferior sects give place to him; the Hindoos are allowed to eat no flesh nor to shed blood. Their food is rice and dholl, and other vegetables, dressed with ghee (dholl is a kind of split pea, ghee, a kind of butter, melted and refined to make it capable of being kept a long time) and seasoned with ginger and other spices. The food which they most esteem is milk, as coming from the cow; an animal for which they have the most extravagant veneration, insomuch that it is enacted in the code of Gentoo laws, that any one who exacts labour from a bullock that is hungry or thirsty, or shall oblige him to labour when fatigued, is liable to be fined by the magistrates. The Hindoos are remarkable for their ingenuity in all kinds of handicraft; but their utensils are simple and in many respects inconvenient, so that incredible labour and patience are necessary, for the accomplishment of any work; and for this the Hindoos are remarkable. The religion of the Hindoos is contained in certain books, called Vedas; and, though now involved in superstition, seems to have been originally pure, inculcating the belief of an Eternal Being, possessed of every divine perfection. Their subordinate deities, Brahma, Vishnou, and Sheevah, are only representatives of the wisdom, goodness, and power of the supreme god Brahma; whom they call the principles of Truth, the spirit of Wisdom, and the Supreme Being; so that it is probable that all their idols were at first only designed to represent these attributes: they believe in ten Avators, or incarnation of the Deity, nine of which have taken place for the punishment of tyrants, or removing some great natural calamity; and the tenth is to take place at the dissolution of the universe. Several of the Avators inculcate the transmigration of souls, and the ninth of them, which forbids the sacrifices of animals, gave rise to the religion of Gauda Boodma, or Fo. Their deities are extremely numerous, and are generally supposed to have first originated in Italy and Greece. After stopping six days, I proceeded to Bombay, and on the 30th of May I arrived there. After delivering my passport, I made application for a ship for England, and was some time before I could get one; and the great expense I incurred in living at a tavern, made me entirely pennyless, so that I was forced to dispose of the shawls which I had presented me by the Rajah of Omrouty, and for which I received three hundred rupees each. But before I was finally settled, I had not above ten rupees left. Bombay is an island of Hindostan, on the west coast of the Deccan, seven miles in length, and about twenty-one miles in circumference; the ground is barren, and good water scarce; it was formerly considered very unhealthy, but by draining the swamps and bogs the air is much improved; the inhabitants are of several nations and very numerous, but are principally Persians. The religion of the Persians is, generally, Paganism, directed principally by the priests of magi, men of strict austere life, forbidding the use of either ornament or gold; making the ground their bed, and herbs their food. Their whole time is spent in offering to the gods the prayers and sacrifices of the people, as they only might be heard. The people are _Gentiles_; as to their religion, they worship the sun and moon, and various heavenly bodies, from whom they suppose they derive every blessing of light and warmth; and every morning they gather themselves round the beech and present their morning oblations, by pouring into the sea quantities of milk and odoriferous flowers, and prostrating themselves with their faces to the earth, as a mark of adoration to their rising deity (the sun.) Besides other gods which the Gentiles worship, they are great idolaters of fire, which they offer sacrifices to in time of peace, and carry it with them, as their tutelar deity in time of war. Their adoration is so great, that the first candle they see lighted, let it be in whose place it will, they immediately stop and repeat a prayer. In their habitation they never put it out after it is once lighted. Besides the town of Bombay, which is about a mile in length, with mean houses (a few only excepted), there is a capacious harbour or bay, reckoned the finest haven in the east, where all ships may find security from the inclemency of the different seasons. After remaining here for the space of three months, I was engaged as captain's clerk on board the Hon. Company's Ship Marquis of Huntly. We sailed from hence July 25, 1820, and arrived at the new anchorage in nineteen days' sail; soon after I went up to Calcutta on duty for the ship. Calcutta, or _Fort William_, the emporium of Bengal, and principal seat of India, is situated on the western side of the Hoogely river, at about ninety-six miles from its mouth, which is navigable up to the town for large ships. This extensive and beautiful town is supposed to contain between four and five hundred thousand inhabitants. The houses are variously built, some of brick, others of mud and cow-dung, and a great number with bamboos (a large kind of reed or cane) and mats. The bamboos are placed as stakes in the ground, and crossed with others in different ways, so as to enable them to make the matting fast, when for the roofing they lay them one upon the other, when a large family lie in that small compass of about six feet square, which makes a very motley appearance. The mixture of European and Asiatic manners observed in Calcutta is wonderful; coaches, phaetons, hackeries, two-wheeled carriages drawn by bullocks, palanquins carried by the natives, and the passing ceremonies of Hindoos, and the different appearance of the faquirs, form a diversified and curious appearance. The European houses have, many of them, the appearance of palaces or temples, and the inhabitants are very hospitable. After the cargo was sent on board I returned to the ship, but on our passage down the river we were compelled to lie out in the river, owing to the great boar, as it is called; it is a quick overflowing of the water, which rises in a great body and with such violence that it breaks down all before it. It arises from the narrowness of the river, and the force which it makes from the sea; in the course of two minutes it rises to the height of four or five feet. Lying in one of the creeks till the tide was turned, I was greatly alarmed by the men getting into the boat in great disorder and telling me that it was a crocodile which I had for a long time observed, and mistaken for the hull of a tree. A crocodile is an amphibious voracious animal, in shape resembling a lizard. It is covered with very hard scales, which cannot but with difficulty be pierced, except under the belly, where the skin is tender. It has a wide throat, with several rows of teeth, sharp and separated, which enter one another. On my arrival on board every thing was in confusion, as we expected to sail in a few days. SECTION IX. THE AUTHOR'S DEPARTURE FROM CALCUTTA, AND ARRIVAL AT CHINA--AN ACCOUNT OF THEIR RELIGION, CUSTOMS, AND MANNERS, AND OF HIS BEING ROBBED ON DANES' ISLAND--THE AUTHOR'S DEPARTURE FROM CHINA AND ARRIVAL AT ANJURE POINT--THE CUSTOMS AND MANNERS OF THE MALAYS--DEPARTURE THEREFROM, AND ARRIVAL AT ST. HELENA--DESCRIPTION OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON'S TOMB AND HOUSES--DEPARTURE FROM ST. HELENA, AND ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND. We sailed from Bengal in company with the Hon. Company's Ship Dunira, October 19th, 1820, with a fine breeze, and arrived at Pulo Penang, or Prince of Wales's Island, on the 6th of November. The houses have a noble appearance, and are built after the form of those in Calcutta. The inhabitants are principally Malays; of them I shall speak more hereafter. After having received on board a quantity of rattan, as private trade for the captain, we made sail and arrived at Macao, on January 26th, 1821, after a long and tedious voyage. Macao, a town of China, in the province of Canton, is seated in an inland at the entrance of the river Tae. The Portuguese have been in possession of the town and harbour since the early part of the seventeenth century. The houses are low and built after the European manner; the Portuguese are properly a mixed breed, having been married to Asiatic women. Here is a Portuguese Governor as well as a Chinese Mandarin. The former nation pays a great tribute to choose their own magistrates. The city is defended by three forts, built upon eminences; and the works are good and well planted with artillery. On the 29th we anchored off the second bar, and found lying here the Hon. Company's Ship Canning, and two or three other Company's ships; on the 30th weighed and made sail, but there not being water enough, removed back to our old station. On the following day we crossed Whampo. After the cargo was discharged I went up to Canton. Canton is a large and populous city, situated in one of the first rivers in the empire. It is the capital of the province of Quan-tong, and the centre of the European trade in that country. The streets are long and straight, paved with flag stones, and adorned with lofty arches. The houses are remarkably neat, but consist only of one story, and they have no windows to the streets. The covered market place is full of shops. The inhabitants are estimated at about 1,000,000; many of whom reside in barks, which touch one another, form a kind of floating city, and are so arranged as to form streets. Each bark lodges a family and their grand children, who have no other dwelling. At break of day all the people who inhabit them depart to fish or to cultivate their rice. The frugal and laborious manner in which the great live, the little attention which is paid to the vain and ridiculous prejudice of marrying below rank; the ancient policy of giving distinction to men and not to families, by attaching nobility only to employments and talents, without suffering it to be hereditary; and the decorum observed in public, are admirable traits in the Chinese character. There is little distinction in the dress of men and women; rank and dignity are only distinguished by the ornaments they wear, and they dare not presume to wear any thing without proper authority, without being severely chastised for it. Their dress in general consists of a long vest, which reaches to the ground, one part of it, on the left side, folds over the other, and is fastened to the right by four or five small gold or silver buttons placed at a little distance from one another. The sleeves are wide towards the shoulder, and grow narrow towards the wrist--they terminate in the form of a horse-shoe--round their middle they wear a large girdle of silk, the ends of which hang down to their knees; from this girdle is suspended a sheath, containing a knife, and over all they wear a loose jacket down to the middle, with loose short sleeves, generally lined with fur, and under all they wear a kind of net to prevent it from chafing. The general colour of these dresses is black or blue. Their religion is idolatry, their principal idol is _Fong Chon_, and they are very superstitious, believing in magic and invocation of spirits, and the art of foretelling events by divination. While receiving our cargo on board, a Chinaman belonging to one of the craft, stole a box of tea, but, by the exertion of our officers, the culprit was taken and immediately sent on shore to Dane's Island to the mandarine. He was found guilty of the crime, and his punishment three dozen blows with the bastinado. The instrument of correction, called pan-tsee, is a bamboo a little flattened, broad at the bottom, and polished at the upper extremity, in order to manage it more easily with the hand. The culprit, after the mandarin has given the signal for punishment, is seized and stretched out with his belly flat on the ground, his breeches are pulled down to his heels, and on the mandarine throwing down a stick, of which he has a number by him, one of the officers in attendance uses the pan-tsee, and gives him five severe blows, which are succeeded by several others till the number is complete. When it is over, the criminal must throw himself on his knees, incline his body three times to the earth, and thank his judge for the trouble he has taken in his correction. The mandarins are of two classes, viz.; those of letters, and the inferior sort are styled mandarins of arms. The latter class do not enjoy the same consideration as the former. The Chinese in general are much addicted to commit depredations on the pockets, or, in fact, on any unguarded property. After all our cargo was received on board, I went in company with two midshipmen, Mr. C---- and Mr. R----, on Dane's Island. After we landed some Chinese came and decoyed us to their village, which was at the back of a number of hills and out of sight of the shipping, under a promise that they would let us have some of their country fruit, such as they sent us on board. The length of time that some of them were absent, and the sun going down fast, made us rather doubt the sincerity of their intentions; those that were with us begged that we would stop till the sun was down, but we began to be afraid of our lives. When the men saw that we were determined to wait no longer, they gave a dreadful whoop, which was answered by others stationed on the hills; they immediately seized hold of us and rifled our pockets. On March 25th we sailed down to Macao, and on the following day we took our departure, and on the 24th of April arrived at Anjier point, and is a settlement belonging to the Dutch; it lies to the east of Batavia. The houses are generally built of bamboo; the inhabitants are of various casts, Pagans, Mahometans, and Chinese. The barbarism of the Batta Tribes is horrible, for they kill and eat their criminals or prisoners of war, or even sacrifice their own relations when aged and infirm, not so much with a view to gratify their appetites, as to perform a pious ceremony. Thus, when a man becomes infirm and weary of the world, he is said to invite his own children to eat him when salt and limes are cheapest. He then ascends a tree, round which his friends and offspring assemble, and as they shake the tree they join in a funeral dirge, the import of which is, the season is come, the fruit is ripe, and it must descend. The victim descends, and those that are nearest deprive him of life, and devour his remains in a solemn banquet. In a few days we made sail. We arrived at St. Helena, on the 10th of July, 1821. This island is situated in the South Atlantic Ocean, its circumference is about twenty miles, and at a distance it has the appearance of a large rock rising out of the sea. On rounding the island it has a very romantic appearance; the town lying in a valley presents to the eye a beautiful chain of scenery. It has some very high mountains, particularly one called Diana's Peak, which is covered with wood to the very summit. There are other hills also, which bear a volcanic appearance, and some have huge rocks of lava, and a kind of half-vitrified flags. James Town is erected in a valley at the bottom of a bay, between two steep dreary mountains, and has from the shipping a noble appearance. Accommodations are tolerably good, and the inhabitants, generally speaking, are very hospitable. Their villas are pleasantly situated, and have a fine view of the sea; the whole face of the country is really romantic; the hills are immensely high, and the valleys very narrow; and in many of them there are a few houses, which give the whole island a very picturesque appearance. After obtaining a passport from the Adjutant-General, I went over a long succession of hills to see the habitations of the late Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. The roads were very difficult to ascend, and particularly rugged. The remains of this great and illustrious personage are buried in a deep valley, about three miles from James town, and about two miles from his late residence at Longwood, under the peaceful shade of three weeping willows, and which also, (as in respect to his dust,) lend a solemn air of reverential darkness to the memorable _well_, from which, during his pilgrimages, he was wont to receive his refreshing draughts. No stately monument marks the spot; no polished alabaster, or the mimicry of sculptured marble marks his grave: the real excellency of the patriot is written on the minds of his countrymen; it will be remembered with applause as long as the nation subsists, without this artificial expedient to perpetuate it. Let the poor pass by his grave, and thankfully acknowledge, there lies the man who gloriously fought for his country and his subjects, to free them from the galling yoke of tyranny and oppression: no tablets are written to mark his actions, but those which are written in the heart of his subjects. The depth of his tomb is about twenty feet, and his coffin rests upon two pedestals, ten feet high. His body is enclosed in four coffins, first lead, second deal, third mahogany, and fourth marble. What is very remarkable is, that part of his tomb is made of the flag-stones of his new house, taken out of one of the kitchens. After viewing the tomb of the man who was the most brilliant meteor in the political world, I proceeded up to Longwood, to take a view of the habitation in which he died. After presenting my passport I had permission to inspect the premises: the officer took great pains in shewing me the very spot on which he quitted his troubles and persecutions, when he kindly left me to make what sort of reflections I thought proper. The darkness of the room gave it a very solemn appearance, and suited the mind to contemplate upon this late extraordinary character;--but a short period past he was the terror of the world, and now, alas! what is he? He is laid low in the tomb, unregretted and unpitied by his merciless enemies. A gleam of light through the casements reflected a dead glimmer through the gloomy mansion. The _most illustrious_ have claimed the _tomb_ for their last retreat; rooms of state are resigned! the sceptre has ceased to wield, and sumptuous banquets are neglected for no other ornament than the winding sheet! "Where is the star that blazed upon his breast, or the coronet that glittered round his temples?" Alas! they are resigned and given over, through the power of the tyrant hand of death. I have often walked between the impending promontory's craggy cliff; I have sometimes trod the vast spaces of the lonely desert, and penetrated the inmost recesses of the dreary cavern; but never beheld Nature lowering with so dreadful a form; never felt impressions of such awe striking cold on my heart, as under this roof; every thing seemed to participate in grief for their deceased lord. The rooms were very dirty and much neglected. The plants in his late garden seemed to droop their heads in sorrow for the loss of the hand that reared them. I next proceeded to the palace which had been sent from England, and really it would have reflected honour on the British nation, and no sovereign in the world need wish for a more magnificent one, had it been placed in a more healthy part of the island. We sailed for England on the 29th, and arrived on the 13th of September, 1821, after a speedy and pleasant passage. THE END. * * * * * 
15100	----	The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson and Norfolk Island; compiled from Authentic Papers, which have been obtained from the several Departments to which are added the Journals of Lieuts. Shortland, Watts, Ball and Capt. Marshall with an Account of their New Discoveries, embellished with fifty five Copper Plates, the Maps and Charts taken from Actual Surveys, and the plans and views drawn on the spot, by Capt. Hunter, Lieuts. Shortland, Watts, Dawes, Bradley, Capt. Marshall, etc. London Printed for John Stockdale, Piccadilly 1789 TO THE MOST NOBLE THE MARQUIS OF SALISBURY, LORD CHAMBERLAIN OF HIS MAJESTY'S HOUSEHOLD, ETC., ETC. THIS VOLUME, CONTAINING ALL THAT IS YET KNOWN OF THE SETTLEMENT AT SYDNEY COVE, IS MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, BY HIS LORDSHIP'S MUCH OBLIGED, AND MOST FAITHFUL HUMBLE SERVANT, JOHN STOCKDALE. NOVEMBER 25, 1789. ANECDOTES OF GOVERNOR PHILLIP. Arthur Phillip is one of those officers, who, like Drake, Dampier, and Cook, has raised himself by his merit and his services, to distinction and command. His father was Jacob Phillip, a native of Frankfort, in Germany, who having settled in England, maintained his family and educated his son by teaching the languages. His mother was Elizabeth Breach, who married for her first husband, Captain Herbert of the navy, a kinsman of Lord Pembroke. Of her marriage with Jacob Phillip, was her son, Arthur, born in the parish of Allhallows, Bread-street, within the city of London, on the 11th of October, 1738. Being designed for a seafaring life, he was very properly sent to the school of Greenwich, where he received an education suitable to his early propensities. At the age of sixteen, he began his maritime career, under the deceased Captain Michael Everet of the navy, at the commencement of hostilities, in 1755: and at the same time that he learned the rudiments of his profession under that able officer, he partook with him in the early misfortunes, and subsequent glories of the seven years war. Whatever opulence Phillip acquired from the capture of the Havannah, certain it is, that, at the age of twenty-three, he there was made a Lieutenant into the Stirling-castle, on the 7th of June, 1761, by Sir George Pococke, an excellent judge of naval accomplishments. But of nautical exploits, however they may raise marine officers, there must be an end. Peace, with its blessings, was restored in 1763. And Phillip now found leisure to marry; and to settle at Lyndhurst, in the New Forest, where he amused himself with farming, and like other country gentlemen, discharged assiduously those provincial offices, which, however unimportant, occupy respectably the owners of land, who, in this island, require no office to make them important. But sailors, like their own element, are seldom at rest. Those occupations, which pleased Phillip while they were new, no longer pleased him when they became familiar. And he hastened to offer his skill and his services to Portugal when it engaged in warfare with Spain. His offer was readily accepted, because such skill and services were necessary amidst an arduous struggle with a too powerful opponent. And, such was his conduct and such his success, that when the recent interference of France, in 1778, made it his duty to fight for his king, and to defend his country, the Portugueze court regretted his departure, but applauded his motive. His return was doubtless approved by those who, knowing his value, could advance his rank: For he was made master and commander into the Basilisk fireship, on the 2d of September, 1779. But in her he had little opportunity of displaying his zeal, or of adding to his fame. This step, however, led him up to a higher situation; and he was made post-captain into the Ariadne frigate, on the 13th of November, 1781, when he was upwards of three and forty. This is the great epoch in the lives of our naval officers, because it is from this that they date their rank. In the Ariadne, he had little time for active adventures, or for gainful prizes, being appointed to the Europe of sixty-four guns, on the 23d of December, 1781. During the memorable year 1782, Phillip promoted its enterprises, and shared in its glories. And in January, 1783, he sailed with a reinforcement to the East Indies, where superior bravery contended against superior force, till the policy of our negotiators put an end to unequal hostilities by a necessary peace. The activity, or the zeal of Phillip, was now turned to more peaceful objects. And when it was determined to form a settlement on that part of New Holland, denominated New South Wales, he was thought of as a proper officer to conduct an enterprize, which required professional knowledge, and habitual prudence. His equipment, his voyage, and his settlement, in the other hemisphere, will be found in the following volume. When the time shall arrive that the European settlers on Sydney Cove demand their historian, these authentic anecdotes of their pristine legislator will be sought for as curious, and considered as important. ERRATA (These have been corrected in this eBook) Page, line 1, 15, for enterprizes, read enterprises. 13, penult. for only fifty, read an hundred. Ibid. ult. for Penryn, read Penrhyn. 75, 7, for Surprize, read Surprise. 87, 14, after 17, dele th. 96, 13, for into, read in. 149, 10, for Kangooroo, read Kanguroo. The orthography of a word derived only from oral sound is in some degree arbitrary; but it ought to be consistant. The plates, by mistake, have Kangooroo. 185, 14, for it were were, read if it were. 203, 3, for Fobn, read Thomas. 213, 10, for four, read forty. 228, 23, bis, for Macauley, read Macaulay. 231, 15, for Patri, read Pabi. 252, Margin, for May, read June. 253, Ditto. 255, Margin, for July, read June. 256, Ditto. 232, 18, for Taha, read Toha. 242, 9, for who, read whom. 246, 25, for veer'd, read near'd. N. B. Some of the early impressions of the plates have erroneously Wulpine Oppossum for Vulpine Opossum. After a few were work'd off the fault was perceived, and corrected. ADVERTISEMENT. The arrangement of materials in this volume being in some respects less perfect than might be wished, it is necessary that something should be said to obviate any imputation of negligence. The truth will be the best, and, as it ought, the only apology. The official papers of Governor Phillip, which were liberally communicated by Government, formed at first our principal source of intelligence. These, from their nature, could contain but little information on subjects of natural history, and many other points, concerning which the curiosity of every reader would naturally be excited. The efforts of the publisher to give satisfaction to the public in these respects produced a gradual influx of materials; and the successive arrival of different vessels from the Indian seas, occasioned additions to the work, which made it necessary to engrave new plates. While, therefore, the completion of the book was anxiously pressed by many who were eager to possess it, that desirable point has constantly been deferred by the communications of those who were studious to render it more valuable; and the word Finis, has seemed to fly from us, like Italy before the wandering Trojans. From the combination of these circumstances it has arisen, that every separate part has been hurried on in the execution; and yet, in the finishing of the whole, more time has elapsed, than would have been necessary to complete a much more ample volume. The defects that proceed from these causes, it is hoped, the reader will forgive, and accept with complacency a volume in which, it is confidently hoped, nothing material has been omitted that is connected with its principal object, the formation of a settlement promising both glory and advantage to this country; in which several important discoveries are announced; no small accession is made to the stores of natural history; and interesting notices are communicated of countries visited before, and persons in whose fate the public has long felt an interest. The publisher thinks it his duty, in this place, to return thanks to the following noblemen and gentlemen, for their kind assistance and free communications. The Marquis of Salisbury, Viscount Sydney, Lord Hood, Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. Mr. Rose, Mr. Nepean, Mr. Stephens, Sir Charles Middleton, Sir Andrew Snape Hammond, Mr. Dalrymple, and Mr. Chalmers: but, to Mr. Latham particularly, the most grateful acknowledgements are due, for having furnished many drawings and accurate descriptions, which stamp a value on the natural history contained in this work, and must for ever render it an object of attention to all lovers of that science: and to Lieutenant Shortland, Lieutenant Watts, and Captain Marshall, of the Scarborough transport, the public owe whatever important discoveries and useful knowledge may be found in their journals, which they communicated with a disinterestedness that the publisher will be always happy to acknowledge. ACCOUNT OF THE VIGNETTE. The elegant vignette in the title-page, was engraved from a medallion which the ingenious Mr. Wedge-wood caused to be modelled from a small piece of clay brought from Sydney Cove. The clay proves to be of a fine texture, and will be found very useful for the manufactory of earthern ware. The design is allegorical; it represents Hope encouraging Art and Labour, under the influence of Peace, to pursue the employments necessary to give security and happiness to an infant settlement. The following verses upon the same subject, and in allusion to the medallion, were written by the author of The Botanic Garden, and will speak more powerfully for themselves than any encomium we could bestow. VISIT OF HOPE TO SYDNEY-COVE, NEAR BOTANY-BAY. Where Sydney Cove her lucid bosom swells, Courts her young navies, and the storm repels; High on a rock amid the troubled air HOPE stood sublime, and wav'd her golden hair; Calm'd with her rosy smile the tossing deep, And with sweet accents charm'd the winds to sleep; To each wild plain she stretch'd her snowy hand, High-waving wood, and sea-encircled strand. "Hear me," she cried, "ye rising Realms! record "Time's opening scenes, and Truth's unerring word.-- "There shall broad streets their stately walls extend, "The circus widen, and the crescent bend; "There, ray'd from cities o'er the cultur'd land, "Shall bright canals, and solid roads expand.-- "There the proud arch, Colossus-like, bestride "Yon glittering streams, and bound the chasing tide; "Embellish'd villas crown the landscape-scene, "Farms wave with gold, and orchards blush between.-- "There shall tall spires, and dome-capt towers ascend, "And piers and quays their massy structures blend; "While with each breeze approaching vessels glide, "And northern treasures dance on every tide!"-- Then ceas'd the nymph--tumultuous echoes roar, And JOY's loud voice was heard from shore to shore-- Her graceful steps descending press'd the plain, And PEACE, and ART, and LABOUR, join'd her train. VIEW of the FLEET and ESTABLISHMENT sent out with GOVERNOR PHILLIP to NEW SOUTH WALES. Captain ARTHUR PHILLIP of the Navy, Governor and Commander in Chief of the territory of New South Wales, and of his Majesty's ships and vessels employed on that coast. Major Robert Ross, Lieutenant Governor. Richard Johnson, Chaplain. Andrew Miller, Commissary. David Collins, Judge Advocate. John Long, Adjutant. James Furzer, Quarter-Master. *George Alexander, Provost Martial. John White, Surgeon. Thomas Arndell, Assistant Ditto. William Balmain, Ditto Ditto. His Majesty's ship Sirius, Captain Arthur Phillip. Captain John Hunter. His Majesty's armed tender Supply, Lieutenant H. L. Ball. Six transports carrying the convicts. Alexander 210 men convicts. women convicts. Scarborough 210 men convicts. Friendship 80 men convicts. 24 Charlotte 100 men convicts. 24 Prince of Wales -- -- 100 Lady Penrhyn -- -- 102 Each transport had a detachment of marines on board. Three store ships: The Golden Grove, Fishburn, and Borrowdale; With provisions, implements for husbandry, cloathing, etc. for the convicts. Lieutenant John Shortland, agent for the transports. The garrison is formed from the marines. Distribution of the Detachment of MARINES for NEW SOUTH WALES, with the Number embarked on board of each of the Transports upon that Service. Ships |Names |Captains |Subs|Serj-|Corp-|Drum and|Privates|Embarked| Names |of Officers | | |eants|orals|fife | | | Lady Captain Campbell 1 2 0 0 0 3 Portsmouth Penrhyn Lieut G. Johnston Lieut. Wm Collins Scarb- Captain Shea 1 2 2 2 1 26 Portsmouth orough Lieutenant Kellow Lieutenant Morrison Friend- Capt. Lieut. Meredith 1 2 2 3 1 36 Plymouth ship Lieutenant Clarke Lieutenant Faddy Charl- Captain Tench 1 2 3 3 1 34 Plymouth otte Lieutenant Cresswell Lieutenant Poulden Alex- Lieutenant J. Johnston 0 2 2 2 1 30 Woolwich. ander Lieutenant Shairp Prince Lieutenant Davy 0 2 2 2 1 25 of Lieutenant Timmins Wales Provost Martial --------------------------------------- 4 12 11 12 5 154 put on board his Majesty's ship 0 0 1 0 3 6 Sirius, as supernumeraries. --------------------------------------- Total of the detachment 4 12 12 12 8 160 --------------------------------------- Forty women, wives to the Marines, permitted to go out with the Garrison. CONTENTS Chapter I. Public utility of voyages--Peculiar circumstances of this--New Holland properly a continent--Reasons for fixing our settlement there--Transportation to America, its origin, advantages, and cessation--Experiments made--The present plan adopted--Disadvantages of other expedients. Chapter II. Preparation of the fleet ordered to Botany Bay.--Particulars of its arrangement.--Departure and passage to the Canary Isles. Chapter III. Reasons for touching at the Canary Isles--Precautions for preserving Health--Their admirable Success--Some Account of the Canaries--Fables respecting them--Attempt of a Convict to escape--Departure. Report of the Marines and Convicts under medical treatment, June 4, 1787 Chapter IV. Attempt to put in at Port Praya--Relinquished--Weather--Sail for Rio de Faneiro--Reasons for touching at a South American port--The Fleet passes the Line--Arrives at Rio de Faneiro--Account of that Place--Transactions there--Departure. Chapter V. Prosperous passage from Rio to the Cape--Account of the Harbours there--The Cape of Good Hope not the most Southern point--Height of Table Mountain and others--Supineness of the European nations in neglecting to occupy the Cape--Live stock laid in--Departure--Separation of the fleet--Arrival of the Supply at Botany Bay. Chapter VI. First interview with the natives--the bay examined--arrival of the whole fleet--Port Jackson examined--second interview with the natives--and third--Governor Phillip returns to Botany Bay--and gives orders for the evacuation of it. Chapter VII. Removal from Botany Bay--Arrival of two French ships--Account of them--Preparations for encampment--Difficulties--Scurvy breaks out--Account of the red and yellow gum trees. Chapter VIII. Description of Port Jackson and the adjacent country--The Governor's commission read--his Speech--his humane resolutions respecting the Natives--difficulties in erecting huts and other buildings--departure of Lieutenant King to Norfolk Island. Instructions for P. G. King, Esq; Superintendant and Commandant of the Settlement of Norfolk Island Chapter IX. A Criminal Court held--Broken Bay explored by Governor Phillip--Interviews with the Natives--Peculiarities remarked--Friendly behaviour and extraordinary courage of an old man. Chapter X. Departure of the French Ships--Death of M. Le Receveur--Return of the Supply from Norfolk Island--Description of that Place--Howe Island discovered. Particulars of the life of P. G. King, Esq Chapter XI. Three of the transports cleared--Two excursions made into the country, on the fifteenth of April, and on the twenty-second--Huts of the natives--Sculpture, and other particulars. Description of the Kanguroo. Dimensions of the stuffed Kanguroo, in the possession of Mr. Stockdale. Account of the live stock in the settlement at Port Jackson, May 1, 1788 Chapter XII. The Supply returns from Lord Howe Island--Some convicts assaulted by the natives--excursion of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay by Land--interview with many natives--the fourth of June celebrated--some account of the climate. Return of Sick, &c. June 30, 1788 Chapter XIII. Particular description of Sydney Cove--Of the buildings actually erected--and of the intended town--A settlement made at the head of the harbour. Chapter XIV. Fish violently seized by the natives--Another expedition of the Governor--Further account of the manners and manufactures of the native inhabitants of New South Wales--Difficulty of obtaining any intercourse. Remarks and Directions for sailing into PORT JACKSON, by Capt. J. HUNTER, of the SIRIUS. Height of neap and spring tides, at full and change of the moon. Chapter XV. Some Specimens of Animals from New South Wales; description of The spotted Opossum; Vulpine Opossum; Norfolk Island Flying-Squirrel. Blue Bellied Parrot; Tabuan Parrot; Pennantian Parrot; Pacific Parrakeet; Sacred King's-fisher; Superb Warbler, male; Superb Warbler, female; Caspian Tern; Norfolk Island Petrel; Bronze-winged Pigeon; White-fronted Heron; Wattled Bee-Eater; Psittaceous Hornbill; dimensions of a large Kanguroo. Chapter XVI. Papers relative to the settlement at Port Jackson.--General return of marines.--Return of officers.--Artificers belonging to the Marine Detachment.--List of officers and privates desirous of remaining in the country.--Return of provisions.--Return of Sick. Chapter XVII. Nautical directions, and other detached remarks, by Lieutenant Ball, concerning Rio de Janeiro, Norfolk Island, Ball Pyramid, and Lord Howe Island. Chapter XVIII. Concise account of Lieutenant Shortland--His various services--Appointed agent to the transports sent to New South Wales--Ordered by Governor Phillip to England, by Batavia--Journal of his voyage--New discoveries. Chapter XIX. August 1788 to February 1789 Appearance of the scurvy--The boats land at one of the Pelew Islands--Account of the Natives who were seen, and conjectures concerning them--Distresses--The Friendship cleared and sunk--Miserable condition of the Alexander when she reached Batavia.--Conclusion. Chapter XX. Lieutenant Watts's Narrative of the Return of the Lady Penrhyn Transport; containing an Account of the Death of Omai, and other interesting Particulars at Otaheite. Chapter XXI. The Scarborough leaves Port Jackson--Touches at Lord Howe's Island--Joins the Charlotte--Falls in with a large Shoal--Discover a number of Islands--Short account of the Inhabitants--Canoes described--Ornaments-- Discover Lord Mulgrave's Islands--Arrival at Tinian--Sick people sent on shore--Departure from Tinian--Arrival in Mocao Roads. CHAPTER XXII. Supplemental Account of Animals from New South Wales, containing, Descriptions of the Bankian Cockatoo; Red-shouldered Parrakeet; Crested Goat Sucker; New Holland Cassowary; White Gallinule; Dog from New South Wales; Spotted Martin; Kanguroo Rat; Laced Lizard; Port Jackson Shark; Bag Throated Balistes; Unknown Fish from New South Wales; Watts's Shark; Great Brown Kingsfisher.--Additional Account of the Kanguroo--Anecdote of Captain Cook and Otoo, by Mr. Webber.--Dr. Blane's Account of the good Effects of the Yellow Gum.--Botany Bay Plants.--Lieut. Watts's Account of the Weather at Botany Bay and Port Jackson.--Conclusion. CONTENTS OF THE APPENDIX. Table I. Route of the Alexander, Lieutenant Shortland, from the Cape of Good Hope to Botany Bay Table II. Route of the Supply, Lieut. Ball, after parting with the Alexander, to Botany Bay Table III. Route of the Supply, Lieut. Ball, from Port Jackson to Norfolk Island Table IV. Route of the Supply from Norfolk Island to Port Jackson Table V. Route of the Supply from Port Jackson to Lord Howe Island, and from thence to Port Jackson Table VI. Route of the Alexander, Lieut. Shortland, from Port Jackson to Batavia Table VII. Route of the Lady Penrhyn, Capt. Sever, from Port Jackson to Otaheite Table VIII.Route of the Lady Penrhyn, Capt. Sever, from Otaheite to China Table IX. Route of the Scarborough, Capt. Marshall, from Port Jackson to China List of the Convicts sent to New South Wales A LIST OF THE SUBSCRIBERS A. ANDREWS, James Pettit, Esq. F. A. S. Apsley, Viscount, M. P. Aubrey, Sir John, Bart. M. P. Allen, Robert, Esq. Aylesford, Earl of A'Court, William Pierce Ashe, Esq. M. P. Aldersey, William, Esq. Andrews, Sir Joseph, Bart. Addington, Right Hon. Henry, Speaker of the House of Commons Arden, John, Esq. Arden Hall Addington, John Hiley, Esq. M. P. Arden, Sir Richard Pepper, M. P. Master of the Rolls Anson, George, Esq. M. P. Adams, Mr. James Blake Arnold, George, Esq. Astley, Sir Edward, Bart. M. P. Annesley, Hon. 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Silvester, Mr. John, architect Smith and Gardner, booksellers Simmons and Kerby, booksellers, Canterbury Swinney, Mr. bookseller, Birmingham Smart and Cowslade, booksellers, Reading Steele, Thomas, Esq. M. P. Secker, George, Esq. Swain, Rev. John Hadley Scowen, James, Esq. Staunton, G. T. Esq. Sumner, John, Esq. Society, the Philosophical, Derby Stockdale, Mr. Jeremiah Selkirk, Lord Sumner, George, Esq. M. P. Stanley, John Thomas, Esq. Stalker, Mr. bookseller, 12 copies Southern, Mr. bookseller, 3 copies T Townsend, Hon. John Thomas, M. P. Thomson, Rev. Doctor, Kensington Temple, Grenville, Esq. Tullock, Mr. Turnor, John, Esq. Gray's-inn Tattersall, Mr. jun. Townley, Charles, Esq. Todd, Mr. bookseller, York, 6 copies Tutte, Rev. Mr. Townson, Lieutenant Thorkelin, Dr. G. J. Tessyman, Mr. bookseller, York Trewman, Mr. bookseller, Exeter Trotman, Fiennes, Esq. M. P. Thorold, Sir John, Bart. M. P. Temple, Sir John, Bart. Thornton, Mr. bookseller, 6 copies V Vansittart, George, Esq. M. P. Vansittart, Nicholas, Esq. Vernor, Mr. bookseller, 18 copies W. Weymouth, Lord Warren, Sir John Borlase, Bart. Wolfe, Arthur, Esq. Attorney-General, Ireland Walsh, John, Esq. Wentworth, Lord Willis, H. N. Esq. Wright, Mr. Woodford, Col. John Wray, Sir Cecil, Bart. Willis, Rev. Thomas Wolfe, Lewis, Esq. Watts, Lieutenant John, R. N. Watts, Mr. D. P. Wilton, George, Esq. Wale, G. Esq. Watts, Mr. Thomas Warren, Sir George, M. P. Walter, Mr. bookseller, 12 copies Webber, Mr. John Walker, James, Esq. Watson, Serjeant Welch, Mr. Joseph White and Son, booksellers, 12 copies Ware and Son, booksellers, White-haven Woodmason, Mr. Williamson, Captain Wright, Mr. Thomas Walcot, John, Esq. Wood, Mr. bookseller, Shrewsbury Wilson, Mr. Wetton, Mr. bookseller, Chertsey Wenman, Mr. bookseller, 3 copies Wigglesworth, John, Esq. Wedgewood, Josiah, Esq. Wheeler, Mr. G. Wanstead Wilkie, Mr. bookseller, 6 copies Whieldon, Mr. bookseller, 12 copies Williams, Mr. bookseller, 6 copies Walker, Mr. bookseller, 3 copies Wynne, Mr. bookseller, 6 copies Y Yorke, Hon. Philip, M. P. Yorke, Charles, Esq. Young, Sir Wm. Bart. M. P. Yorke, the Hon. Mrs. Sydney-Farm Young, William, Esq. Yonge, Right Hon. Sir George, Bart. M. P. Younge, Major William, Little Darnford Place. LIST OF THE PLATES. 1. Head of Governor Phillip 2. View of Botany Bay 3. Yellow Gum Plant 4. View in Port Jackson 5. Caspian Tern 6. Natives of Botany Bay 7. Chart of Norfolk Island 8. Lieutenant King 9. Hut in New South Wales 10. The Kanguroo 11. View in New South Wales 12. Sketch of Sydney Cove 13. Axe, Basket, and Sword 14. Plan of Port Jackson 15. Spotted Opossum 16. Vulpine Opossum 17. Flying Squirrel 18. Blue-bellied Parrot 19. Tabuan Parrot 20. Pennantian Parrot 21. Pacific Parrakeet 22. Sacred Kings-fisher 23. Male Superb Warbler 24. Female Superb Warbler 25. Norfolk Island Petrel 26. Bronze-winged Pigeon 27. White-fronted Heron 28. Wattled Bee-eater 29. Psittaceous Hornbill 30. Skeleton of the Head of the Kanguroo and Vulpine Opossum 31. Map and View of Lord Howe Island 32. Ball's Pyramid 33. Lieutenant Shortland 34. Chart of the Track of the Alexander 35. Shortland's Chart of New Georgia 36. Curtis's Isles 37. Macaulay's Isles 38. Track of the Scarborough 39. A Canoe, &c. Mulgrave's Range 40. Bankian Cockatoo 41. Red Shouldered Parrakeet 42. New Holland Goat-sucker 43. New Holland Cassowary 44. White Gallinule 45. Dog of New South Wales 46. Martin Cat 47. Kanguroo Rat 48. Laced Lizard 49. Bag-throated Balistes 50. Fish of New South Wales 51. Port Jackson Shark 52. Watt's Shark 53. Great brown Kingsfisher 54. Black flying Opossum 55. Vignette in title page.--For an explanation see the Preface. Chapter I. Public utility of voyages--Peculiar circumstances of this--New Holland properly a continent--Reasons for fixing our settlement there--Transportation to America, its origin, advantages, and cessation--Experiments made--The present plan adopted--Disadvantages of other expedients. From voyages undertaken expressly for the purpose of discovery, the public naturally looks for information of various kinds: and it is a fact which we cannot but contemplate with pleasure, that by the excellent publications subsequent to such enterprises, very considerable additions have been made, during the present reign, to our general knowledge of the globe, of the various tribes by which it is peopled, and of the animals and vegetables to which it gives support. An expedition occasioned by motives of legislative policy, carried on by public authority, and concluded by a fixed establishment in a country very remote, not only excites an unusual interest concerning the fate of those sent out, but promises to lead us to some points of knowledge which, by the former mode, however judiciously employed, could not have been attained. A transient visit to the coast of a great continent cannot, in the nature of things, produce a complete information respecting its inhabitants, productions, soil, or climate: all which when contemplated by resident observers, in every possible circumstance of variation, though they should be viewed with less philosophical acuteness, must yet gradually become more fully known: Errors, sometimes inseparable from hasty observation, will then be corrected by infallible experience; and many objects will present themselves to view, which before had escaped notice, or had happened to be so situated that they could not be observed. The full discovery of the extent of New Holland, by our illustrious navigator, Capt. Cook, has formed a singular epocha in geography; a doubt having arisen from it, whether to a land of such magnitude the name of island or that of continent may more properly be applied. To this question it may be answered, that though the etymology of the word island,* and of others synonymous to it, points out only a land surrounded by the sea, or by any water, (in which sense the term is applicable even to the largest portions of the habitable globe) yet it is certain that, in the usual acceptation, an island is conceived to signify a land of only moderate extent, surrounded by the sea.** To define at what point of magnitude precisely, a country so situated shall begin to be a continent, could not answer any purpose of utility; but the best and clearest rule for removing the doubt appears to be the following: As long as the peculiar advantages of an insular situation can be enjoyed by the inhabitants of such a country, let it have the title of an island; when it exceeds those limits let it be considered as a continent. Now the first and principal advantage of an island, is that of being capable of a convenient union under one government, and of deriving thence a security from all external attacks, except by sea. In lands of very great magnitude such an union is difficult, if not impracticable, and a distinction founded on this circumstance, is therefore sufficient for convenience at least, if*** not for speculative accuracy. If we suppose this extent to be something about one thousand miles each way, without, however, affecting much rigour in the limitation, the claim of New Holland to be called a continent, will be indisputable: The greatest extent of that vast country being, from East to West, about two thousand four hundred English miles, and, from North to South, not less than two thousand three hundred.**** [* Insula, from which island is derived, is formed from in sulo, in the sea; and, the corresponding word in Greek, is usually deduced from to swim, as appearing, and probably having been originally supposed to swim in the sea.] [** Thus when Dionysius Periegetes considers the whole ancient world as surrounded by the sea, he calls it, an immense island; on which Eustathius remarks, that the addition of the epithet immense was necessary, otherwise the expression would have been low and inadequate.] [*** We do not here consider whether a country be actually united under one government, but whether from its size it might be so conveniently. If we might derive from, or to inhabit, the etymological distinction would be complete on these principles. An island being one distinct habitation of men; and a continent land continued from one state to another. The former derivation might be rendered specious by remarking how singularly Homer and others use with, as if they had a natural connection. See II. B. 626. and, Sophoc. Ajax. 601.] [**** In or near the latitude of 30° South, New Holland extends full 40 degrees of longitude, which, under that parallel, may be estimated at 60 English miles to a degree. The extent from York Cape to South Cape is full 33 degrees of latitude, which are calculated of course at 69½ English miles each.] To New South Wales England has the claim which a tacit consent has generally made decisive among the European States, that of prior discovery. The whole of that Eastern coast, except the very Southern point, having been untouched by any navigator, till it was explored by Captain Cook. This consideration, added to the more favourable accounts given of this side of the continent than of the other, was sufficient to decide the choice of the British government, in appointing a place for the banishment of a certain class of criminals. The cause of the determination to send out in this manner the convicts under sentence of transportation, was, as is well known, the necessary cessation of their removal to America; and the inconveniences experienced in the other modes of destination adopted after that period. Virginia, greatly in want, at its first settlement, of labourers to clear away the impenetrable forests which impeded all cultivation, was willing, from very early times, to receive as servants, those English criminals whom our Courts of Law deemed not sufficiently guilty for capital punishment.* The planters hired their services during a limited term; and they were latterly sent out under the care of contractors, who were obliged to prove, by certificates, that they had disposed of them, according to the intention of the law. [* Banishment was first ordered as a punishment for rogues and vagrants, by statute 39 Eliz. ch. 4. See Blackst. Com. IV. chap. 31. But no place was there specified. The practice of transporting criminals to America is said to have commenced in the reign of James I; the year 1619 being the memorable epoch of its origin: but that destination is first expressly mentioned in 18 Car. II. ch. 2.--The transport traffic was first regulated by statute 4 George I. ch. II. and the causes expressed in the preamble to be, the failure of those who undertook to transport themselves, and the great want of servants in his Majesty's plantations. Subsequent Acts enforced further regulations.] The benefits of this regulation were various. The colonies received by it, at an easy rate, an assistance very necessary; and the mother country was relieved from the burthen of subjects, who at home were not only useless but pernicious: besides which, the mercantile returns, on this account alone, are reported to have arisen, in latter times, to a very considerable amount.* The individuals themselves, doubtless, in some instances, proved incorrigible; but it happened also, not very unfrequently, that, during the period of their legal servitude, they became reconciled to a life of honest industry, were altogether reformed in their manners, and rising gradually by laudable efforts, to situations of advantage, independence, and estimation, contributed honourably to the population and prosperity of their new country.** [* It is said, forty thousand pounds per annum, about two thousand convicts being sold for twenty pounds each.] [** The Abbe Raynal has given his full testimony to the policy of this species of banishment, in the fourteenth Book of his History, near the beginning.] By the contest in America, and the subsequent separation of the thirteen Colonies, this traffic was of course destroyed. Other expedients, well known to the public, have since been tried; some of which proved highly objectionable;* and all have been found to want some of the principal advantages experienced from the usual mode of transportation.--The deliberations upon this subject, which more than once employed the attention of Parliament, produced at length the plan of which this volume displays the first result. On December 6, 1786, the proper orders were issued by his Majesty in Council, and an Act establishing a Court of Judicature in the place of settlement, and making such other regulations as the occasion required, received the sanction of the whole legislature early in the year 1787. [* ¶ Particularly, the transporting of criminals to the coast of Africa, where what was meant as an alleviation of punishment too frequently ended in death.] To expatiate upon the principles of penal law is foreign to the purpose of this work, but thus much is evident to the plainest apprehension, that the objects most to be desired in it are the restriction of the number of capital inflictions, as far as is consistent with the security of society; and the employment of every method that can be devised for rendering the guilty persons serviceable to the public, and just to themselves; for correcting their moral depravity, inducing habits of industry, and arming them in future against the temptations by which they have been once ensnared. For effectuating these beneficial purposes, well regulated penitentiary houses seem, in speculation, to afford the fairest opportunity; and a plan of this kind, formed by the united efforts of Judge Blackstone, Mr. Eden, and Mr. Howard, was adopted by Parliament in the year 1779. Difficulties however occurred which prevented the execution of this design: a circumstance which will be something the less regretted when it shall be considered, that it is perhaps the fate of this theory, in common with many others of a very pleasing nature, to be more attractive in contemplation than efficacious in real practice. A perfect design, carried on by imperfect agents, is liable to lose the chief part of its excellence; and the best digested plan of confinement must in execution be committed, chiefly, to men not much enlightened, very little armed against corruption, and constantly exposed to the danger of it. The vigilance which in the infancy of such institutions effectually watches over the conduct of these public servants, will always in a little time be relaxed; and it will readily be conceived that a large penitentiary house, very corruptly governed, would be, of all associations, one of the most pernicious to those confined, and most dangerous to the peace of society. In some countries, malefactors not capitally convicted, are sentenced to the gallies or the mines; punishments often more cruel than death, and here, on many accounts, impracticable. In other places they are employed in public works, under the care of overseers. This method has been partially tried in England on the Thames, but has been found by no means to produce the benefits expected from it. There is, therefore, little temptation to pursue it to a further extent. The employment of criminals in works carried on under the public eye, is perhaps too repugnant to the feelings of Englishmen ever to be tolerated. Reason, indeed, acquiesces in the melancholy necessity of punishing, but chains and badges of servitude are unpleasing objects, and compassion will always revolt at the sight of actual infliction. Convicts so employed would either by an ill placed charity be rewarded, or the people, undergoing a change of character far from desirable, would in time grow callous to those impressions which naturally impel them to give relief. It remains therefore, that we adhere as much as possible to the practice approved by long experience, of employing the services of such criminals in remote and rising settlements. For this purpose the establishment on the eastern coast of New Holland has been projected, and carried on with every precaution to render it as beneficial as possible. That some difficulties will arise in the commencement of such an undertaking must be expected; but it is required by no moral obligation that convicts should be conveyed to a place of perfect convenience and security; and though the voluntary emigrants and honourable servants of the state, must in some measure, be involved for a time in the same disadvantages, yet to have resisted difficulties is often finally an advantage rather than an evil; and there are probably few persons so circumstanced who will repine at moderate hardships, when they reflect that by undergoing them they are rendering an essential and an honourable service to their country. Chapter II. March 1787 to June 1787 Preparation of the fleet ordered to Botany Bay.--Particulars of its arrangement.--Departure and passage to the Canary Isles. 16 March 1787 The squadron destined to carry into execution the above design, began to assemble at its appointed rendezvous, the Mother Bank, within the Isle of Wight, about the 16th of March, 1787. This small fleet consisted of the following ships: His Majesty's frigate Sirius, Captain John Hunter, and his Majesty's armed tender Supply, commanded by Lieutenant H. L. Ball. Three store-ships, the Golden Grove, Fishburn, and Borrowdale, for carrying provisions and stores for two years; including instruments of husbandry, clothing for the troops and convicts, and other necessaries; and lastly, six transports, the Scarborough, and Lady Penrhyn, from Portsmouth; the Friendship, and Charlotte, from Plymouth; the Prince of Wales, and the Alexander, from Woolwich. These were to carry the convicts, with a detachment of Marines in each, proportioned to the nature of the service; the largest where resistance was most to be expected, namely, in those ships which carried the greatest number of male convicts. Altogether they formed a little squadron of eleven sail. They only who know the nature of such equipments, and consider the particular necessity in the present instance for a variety of articles not usually provided, can judge properly of the time required for furnishing out this fleet. Such persons will doubtless be the least surprised at being told that nearly two months had elapsed before the ships were enabled to quit this station, and proceed upon their voyage: and that even then some few articles were either unprepared, or, through misapprehension, neglected. The former circumstance took place respecting some part of the cloathing for the female convicts, which, being unfinished, was obliged to be left behind; the latter, with respect to the ammunition of the marines, which was furnished only for immediate service, instead of being, as the Commodore apprehended, completed at their first embarkation: an omission which, in the course of the voyage, was easily supplied. This necessary interval was very usefully employed, in making the convicts fully sensible of the nature of their situation; in pointing out to them the advantages they would derive from good conduct, and the certainty of severe and immediate punishment in case of turbulence or mutiny. Useful regulations were at the same time established for the effectual governing of these people; and such measures were taken as could not fail to render abortive any plan they might be desperate enough to form for resisting authority, seizing any of the transports, or effecting, at any favourable period, an escape. We have, however, the testimony of those who commanded, that their behaviour, while the ships remained in port, was regular, humble, and in all respects suitable to their situation: such as could excite neither suspicion nor alarm, nor require the exertion of any kind of severity. When the fleet was at length prepared for sailing, the complement of convicts and marines on board the transports was thus arranged. The Friendship carried a Captain and forty-four marines, subalterns and privates, with seventy-seven male and twenty female convicts. The Charlotte, a Captain and forty-three men, with eighty-eight male and twenty female convicts. In the Alexander, were two Lieutenants and thirty-five marines, with two hundred and thirteen convicts, all male. In the Scarborough, a Captain and thirty-three marines, with male convicts only, two hundred and eight in number. The Prince of Wales transport had two Lieutenants and thirty marines, with an hundred convicts, all female. And the Lady Penrhyn, a Captain, two Lieutenants, and only three privates, with one hundred and two female convicts. Ten marines, of different denominations, were also sent as supernumeraries on board the Sirius. The whole complement of marines, including officers, amounted to two hundred and twelve; besides which, twenty-eight women, wives of marines, carrying with them seventeen children, were permitted to accompany their husbands. The number of convicts was seven hundred and seventy-eight, of whom five hundred and fifty-eight were men. Two, however, on board the Alexander, received a full pardon before the departure of the fleet, and consequently remained in England. 13 May 1787 Governor Phillip, on his arrival at the station, hoisted his flag on board the Sirius, as Commodore of the squadron: and the embarkation being completed, and the time requiring his departure, at day break on the 13th of May, he gave the signal to weigh anchor. To the distance of about an hundred leagues clear of the channel, his Majesty's frigate Hyena, of twenty-four guns, was ordered to attend the fleet, in order to bring intelligence of its passage through that most difficult part of the voyage; with any dispatches which it might be requisite for the Governor to send home. 20 May 1787 On the 20th of May, the ships being then in latitude 47° 57', and longitude 12° 14' west of London, the Hyena returned. She brought, however, no exact account of the state of the transports; for the sea at that time ran so high, that the Governor found it difficult even to sit to write, and quite impracticable to send on board the several ships for exact reports of their situation, and of the behaviour of the convicts. All, however, had not been perfectly tranquil; the convicts in the Scarborough, confiding probably in their numbers, had formed a plan for gaining possession of that ship, which the officers had happily detected and frustrated. This information was received from them just before the Hyena sailed, and the Governor had ordered two of the ringleaders on board the Sirius for punishment. These men, after receiving a proper chastisement, were separated from their party by being removed into another ship, the Prince of Wales. No other attempt of this kind was made during the voyage. We may now consider the adventurers in this small fleet as finally detached, for the present, from their native country; looking forward, doubtless with very various emotions, to that unknown region, which, for a time at least, they were destined to inhabit. If we would indulge a speculative curiosity, concerning the tendency of such an enterprize, there are few topics which would afford an ampler scope for conjecture. The sanguine might form expectations of extraordinary consequences, and be justified, in some degree, by the reflection, that from smaller, and not more respectable beginnings, powerful empires have frequently arisen. The phlegmatic and apprehensive might magnify to themselves the difficulties of the undertaking, and prognosticate, from various causes, the total failure of it. Both, perhaps, would be wrong. The opinion nearest to the right was probably formed by the Governor himself, and such others among the leaders of the expedition, as from native courage, felt themselves superior to all difficulties likely to occur; and by native good sense were secured from the seduction of romantic reveries. To all it must appear a striking proof of the flourishing state of navigation in the present age, and a singular illustration of its vast progress since the early nautical efforts of mankind; that whereas the ancients coasted with timidity along the shores of the Mediterranean, and thought it a great effort to run across the narrow sea which separates Crete from Egypt, Great Britain, without hesitation, sends out a fleet to plant a settlement near the antipodes. 3 June 1787 The high sea which had impeded the intercourse between the ships, as they were out of the reach of rocks and shoals, was not, in other respects, an unfavourable circumstance. On the whole, therefore, the weather was reckoned fine, and the passage very prosperous from Spithead to Santa Cruz, in the Isle of Teneriffe, where the fleet anchored on the 3d of June. Chapter III. June 1787 Reasons for touching at the Canary Isles--Precautions for preserving Health--Their admirable Success--Some Account of the Canaries--Fables respecting them--Attempt of a Convict to escape--Departure. 3 June 1787 The chief object proposed by Governor Phillip in touching at Teneriffe, was the obtaining a fresh supply of water and vegetables. It was adviseable also at this period to give the people such advantages and refreshments, for the sake of health, as this place would readily supply, but which can only be obtained on shore. In this, and every port, the crews, soldiers, and convicts, were indulged with fresh meat, fruit, vegetables, and every thing which could conduce to preserve them from the complaints formerly inevitable in long voyages. The allowance was, to the marines, a pound of bread, a pound of beef, and a pint of wine per man, daily: the convicts had three quarters of a pound of beef, and of bread, but no wine. The fruits obtained here were only figs and mulberries, but these were plentiful and excellent. How successfully precautions of every kind, tending to this great end, were employed throughout the voyage, the reports of the number of sick and dead will sufficiently evince. Captain Cook had very fully shown, how favourable such expeditions might be made to the health of those engaged in them; and Governor Phillip was happy enough to confirm the opinion, that the success of his great predecessor, in this essential point, was not in any degree the effect of chance, but arose from that care and attention of which he has humanely given us the detail; and which, in similar circumstances, may generally be expected to produce the same result. If the number of convicts who died between the time of embarkation and the arrival of the fleet at this place, should seem inconsistent with this assertion, it must be considered that the deaths were confined entirely to that class of people, many of whom were advanced in years, or labouring under diseases contracted in prison or elsewhere, while they were yet on shore. A week was passed at this place, during which time the weather was very moderate, the thermometer not exceeding 70° of Fahrenheit's scale. The barometer stood at about 30 inches. The Governor of the Canaries, at this time, was the Marquis de Brancifort, by birth a Sicilian. He was resident as usual at Santa Cruz, and paid to Governor Phillip, and the other officers, a polite attention and respect equally honourable to all parties. The port of Santa Cruz, though not remarkably fine, is yet the best in the Canaries, and the usual place at which vessels touch for refreshment; the residence of the Governor General is therefore fixed always in Teneriffe, for the sake of a more frequent intercourse with Europe: in preference to the great Canary Isle, which contains the Metropolitan church, and the palace of the Bishop. The Marquis de Brancifort has lately established some useful manufactures in Teneriffe. To enter into much detail concerning the Canary Islands, which lie exactly in the course of every ship that sails from Europe to the Cape, and consequently have been described in almost every book of voyages, must be superfluous. A few general notices concerning them may, perhaps, not be unacceptable. They are in number about fourteen, of which the principal, and only considerable are, Canary, Teneriffe, Fortaventure, Palma, Ferro, Gomera, Lancerotta. Their distance from the coast of Africa is from about forty to eighty leagues. The circumference of Teneriffe is not above one hundred and twenty miles, but that of Canary, or as it is usually called, the Great Canary, is one hundred and fifty. They have been possessed and colonized by Spain from the beginning of the 15th century. There is no reason to doubt that these are the islands slightly known to the ancients under the name of Fortunate: though the mistake of Ptolemy concerning their latitude has led one of the commentators on Solinus to contend, that this title belongs rather to the Islands of Cape Verd. Pliny mentions Canaria, and accounts for that name from the number of large dogs which the island contained; a circumstance which some modern voyagers, perhaps with little accuracy, repeat as having occasioned the same name to be given by the Spaniards. Nivaria, spoken of by the same author, is evidently Teneriffe, and synonymous, if we are rightly informed, to the modern name*. Ombrion, or Pluvialia, is supposed to be Ferro; where the dryness of the soil has at all times compelled the inhabitants to depend for water on the rains. [* Occasioned by the perpetual snows with which the Peak is covered. Tener is said to mean snow, and itte or iffe a mountain, in the language of the island.] If the ancients made these islands the region of fable, and their poets decorated them with imaginary charms to supply the want of real knowledge, the moderns cannot wholly be exempted from a similar imputation. Travellers have delighted to speak of the Peak of Teneriffe, as the highest mountain in the ancient world, whereas, by the best accounts, Mont Blanc exceeds it* by 3523 feet, or near a mile of perpendicular altitude. The Isle of Ferro, having no such mountain to distinguish it, was celebrated for a century or two on the credit of a miraculous tree, single in its kind, enveloped in perpetual mists, and distilling sufficient water for the ample supply of the island.** But this wonder, though vouched by several voyagers, and by some as eye-witnesses, vanished at the approach of sober enquiry, nor could a single native be found hardy enough to assert its existence. The truth is, that the Canary Isles, though a valuable possession to Spain, and an excellent resource to voyagers of all nations, contain no wonders, except what belong naturally to volcanic mountains such as the Peak, which, though it always threatens, has not now been noxious for more than eighty years***. [* The height of Mont Blanc, on a mean of the best accounts, is 15,673 English feet from the level of the sea, Teneriffe 12,150.] [** Clipperton speaks of it as a fact, Harris's Voyages, Vol. I. p. 187. Mandelsloe pretended to have seen it, ibid. p. 806. Baudrand was the first who by careful enquiry detected the fiction. An account of this imaginary tree, curious from being so circumstantial, is here given from a French book of geography, of some credit in other respects. "Mais ce qu'il-y-a de plus digne de remarque, est cet arbre merveilleux qui fournit d'eau toute l'isle, tant pour les hommes que pour les bêtes. Cet arbre, que les habitans appellent Caroë, Garoë, ou Arbre Saint, unique en son espéce, est gros, et large de branches; son tronc a environ douze pieds de tour; ses feuilles sont un peu plus grosses que celles des noiers, et toujours vertes; il porte un fruit, semblable à un gland, qui a un noiau d'un goût aromatique, doux et piquant. Cet arbre est perpétuellement convert d'un nuage, qui l'humecte partout, en sorte que l'eau en distille goutte à goutte par les branches et par les feuilles, en telle quantité qu'on en peut emplir trente tonneaux par jour. Cette eau est extrémement fraiche, claire, fort bonne a boire, et fort saine. Elle tombe dans deux bassins de pierre que les insulaires ont bâtis pour la recevoir. La nuage qui couvre cet arbre ne se dissipe pas; settlement dans les grandes chaleurs de l'été il se diminue un peu; mais en échange la mer envoie une vapeur epaisse, qui se jette sur l'arbre, et qui supplée a ce manquement." Du Bois Geogr. Part. iii. ch. 17. Can all this have arisen from Pliny's arbores ex quibus aquae exprimantur?] [*** See Captain Glasse's elaborate account of the Canaries, and Captain Cook's last Voyage.] The capital of Teneriffe is Laguna, or more properly San Christoval de la Laguna, St. Christopher of the Lake, so called from its situation near a lake. Both this and Santa Cruz are built of stone, but the appearance of the latter is more pleasing than that of Laguna. They are distant from each other about four miles. The capital of the Great Canary, and properly of the whole government, is the City of Palms: But that place has been for some time the centre of ecclesiastical government only. The custom of reckoning the first meridian as passing through these isles was begun by Ptolemy; and perhaps it is still to be wished that the French regulations on that subject were generally adopted. 9 June 1787. Our ships were at length preparing to depart, when on the evening of the 9th of June, a convict belonging to the Alexander, having been employed on deck, found means to cut away the boat, and make a temporary escape; but he was missed and soon retaken. It is not probable that he had formed any definite plan of escape; the means of absconding must have been accidentally offered, and suddenly embraced; and for making such an attempt, the vague hope of liberty, without any certain prospect, would naturally afford sufficient temptation. 10 June 1787 By the 10th of June the ships had completed their water, and early the next morning, the Governor gave the signal for weighing anchor, and the fleet pursued its course. Report of the marines and convicts under medical treatment, given in to Governor Phillip, June 4th, 1787. Charlotte, -- Marines 4 Convicts 16 Alexander, -- Marines 2 Convicts 26 Scarborough, -- Marine 1 Convicts 9 Friendship, -- Convicts 13 Lady Penrhyn, Convicts 11 Prince of Wales, Marines 2 Convicts 7 --- Total Marines 9 Convicts 72 Convicts dead since the first embarkation 21 Children of convicts 3 Of these only fifteen, and one child, had died since the departure from Spithead. Chapter IV. June 1787 to September 1787 Attempt to put in at Port Praya--Relinquished--Weather--Sail for Rio de Faneiro--Reasons for touching at a South American port--The Fleet passes the Line--Arrives at Rio de Faneiro--Account of that Place--Transactions there--Departure. Vegetables not having been so plentiful at Santa Cruz as to afford a sufficient supply, it was the intention of Governor Phillip to anchor for about twenty-four hours in the Bay of Port Praya. The islands on this side of the Atlantic, seem as if expressly placed to facilitate the navigation to and from the Cape of Good Hope: by offering to vessels, without any material variation from their course, admirable stations for supply and refreshment. About latitude 40, north, the Azores; in 33, the Madeiras; between 29 and 27, the Canaries; and between 18 and 16, the Islands of Cape Verd, successively offer themselves to the voyager, affording abundantly every species of accommodation his circumstances can require. On the Southern side of the Equator, a good harbour and abundance of turtles give some consequence even to the little barren island of Ascension; and St. Helena, by the industry of the English settlers, has become the seat of plenty and of elegance. Without the assistance derived, in going or returning, from some of these places, the interval of near forty degrees on each side of the line, in a sea exposed to violent heat, and subject to tedious calms, would be sufficient to discourage even the navigators of the eighteenth century. 18 June 1787 On the 18th of June, the fleet came in sight of the Cape Verd Islands, and was directed by signal to steer for St. Jago. But the want of favourable wind, and the opposition of a strong current making it probable that all the ships would not be able to get into the Bay, the Governor thought it best to change his plan. The signal for anchoring was hauled down, and the ships were directed to continue their first course; a circumstance of much disappointment to many individuals on board, who, as is natural in long voyages, were eager on every occasion to enjoy the refreshments of the shore. As an additional incitement to such wishes, the weather had now become hot; the thermometer stood at 82°, which, though not an immoderate heat for a tropical climate, is sufficient to produce considerable annoyance. But, unmoved by any consideration except that of expedience, Governor Phillip persisted in conducting his ships to their next intended station, the harbour of Rio de Janeiro. It may appear perhaps, on a slight consideration, rather extraordinary, that vessels bound to the Cape of Good Hope should find it expedient to touch at a harbour of South America. To run across the Atlantic, and take as a part of their course, that coast, the very existence of which was unknown to the first navigators of these seas, seems a very circuitous method of performing the voyage. A little examination will remove this apparent difficulty. The calms so frequent on the African side, are of themselves a sufficient cause to induce a navigator to keep a very westerly course; and even the islands at which it is so often convenient to touch will carry him within a few degrees of the South American coast.--The returning tracks of Captain Cooks's three voyages all run within a very small space of the 45th degree of west longitude, which is even ten degrees further to the west than the extremity of Cape St. Roque: and that course appears to have been taken voluntarily, without any extraordinary inducement. But in the latitudes to which Governor Phillip's squadron had now arrived, the old and new continent approach so near to each other, that in avoiding the one it becomes necessary to run within a very moderate distance of the opposite land. In the passage from the Cape Verd Islands, the fleet suffered for some time the inconvenience of great heat, attended by heavy rains. The heat, however, did not at any time exceed the point already specified,* and the precautions unremittingly observed in all the ships happily continued efficacious in preventing any violent sickness. Nor did the oppression of the hot weather continue so long as in these latitudes might have been expected; for before they reached the equator the temperature had become much more moderate. [* 82°, 51. It is not unusual in England, to have the thermometer, for a day or two in a summer, at 81°.] 5 July 1787 On July 5, 1787, being then in long. 26° 10' west from Greenwich, the Botany Bay fleet passed from the Northern into the Southern Hemisphere. About three weeks more of very favourable and pleasant weather conveyed them to Rio de Janeiro. 5-6 August 1787 On the 5th of August they anchored off the harbour, and on the evening of the 6th were at their station within it. The land of Cape Frio had been discovered some days before, but a deficiency of wind from that time a little slackened their course. Rio de Janeiro, or January River, so called because discovered by Dias de Solis on the feast of St. Januarius, (Sept. 19) 1525, is not in fact a river, though its name denotes that it was then supposed to be so: it is an arm of the sea, into which a considerable number of small rivers descends. The city of Rio de Janeiro, called by some writers St. Sebastian, from the name of its tutelar patron, is situated on the west side of this bay, within less than a degree of the tropic of Capricorn, and about 43° west of Greenwich. It is at present the capital of all Brasil, and has been for some time the residence of the Viceroy. These distinctions it obtained in preference to St. Salvador, which was formerly the capital, by means of the diamond mines discovered in its vicinity, in the year 1730. The place increasing rapidly by the wealth thus brought to it, was fortified and put under the care of a governor in 1738. The port is one of the finest in the world, very narrow at the entrance, and within capacious enough to contain more ships than ever were assembled at one station. It has soundings from twenty to one hundred and twenty fathoms. A hill shaped like a sugar loaf, situated on the west side, marks the proper bearing for entering the harbour: the situation of which is fully pointed out at the distance of two leagues and a half by some small islands, one of which, called Rodonda, is very high, and in form not unlike a haycock. The mouth of the harbour is defended by forts, particularly two, called Santa Cruz and Lozia; and the usual anchorage within it is before the city, north of a small island named Dos Cobras. There are in this port established fees, which are paid by all merchant ships, Portuguese as well as strangers: 3l. 12s. each on entering the bay, the same on going out, and 5s. 6d. a day while they remain at anchor. The entrance fee was demanded for the transports in this expedition, but when Governor Phillip had alledged that they were loaded with King's stores, the payment was no more insisted upon. Nevertheless, the Captain of the Port gave his attendance, with his boat's crew, to assist the ships in coming in, there being at that time only a light air, hardly sufficient to carry them up the bay. In the narrative of Captain Cook's Voyage in 1768, we find, on his arrival at this place, great appearance of suspicion on the part of the Viceroy, harsh prohibitions of landing, even to the gentlemen employed in philosophical researches, and some proceedings rather of a violent nature. The reception given by the present Viceroy to Governor Phillip and his officers was very different: it was polite and flattering to a great degree, and free from every tincture of jealous caution. Don Lewis de Varconcellos, the reigning Viceroy, belongs to one of the noblest families in Portugal; is brother to the Marquis of Castello Methor, and to the Count of Pombeiro. Governor Phillip, who served for some years as a Captain in the Portuguese navy, and is deservedly much honoured by that nation, was not personally unknown to the Viceroy, though known in a way which, in a less liberal mind, might have produced very different dispositions. There had been some difference between them, on a public account, in this port, when Governor Phillip commanded the Europe: each party had acted merely for the honour of the nation to which he belonged, and the Viceroy, with the true spirit of a man of honour, far from resenting a conduct so similar to his own, seemed now to make it his object to obliterate every recollection of offence. As soon as he was fully informed of the nature of Governor Phillip's commission, he gave it out in orders to the garrison that the same honours should be paid to that officer as to himself. This distinction the Governor modestly wished to decline, but was not permitted. His officers were all introduced to the Viceroy, and were, as well as himself, received with every possible mark of attention to them, and regard for their country. They were allowed to visit all parts of the city, and even to make excursions as far as five miles into the country, entirely unattended: an indulgence very unusual to strangers, and considering what we read of the jealousy of the Portuguese Government respecting its diamond mines, the more extraordinary. Provisions were here so cheap, that notwithstanding the allowance of meat was fixed by Governor Phillip at twenty ounces a day, the men were victualled completely, rice, fresh vegetables, and firing included, at three-pence three-farthings a head. Wine was not at this season to be had, except from the retail dealers, less was therefore purchased than would otherwise have been taken. Rum, however, was laid in; and all such seeds and plants procured as were thought likely to flourish on the coast of New South Wales, particularly coffee, indigo, cotton, and the cochineal fig.* As a substitute for bread, if it should become scarce, one hundred sacks of cassada were purchased at a very advantageous price. [* Cactus Cochinilifer, of Linnaeus.] Cassada, the bread of thousands in the tropical climates, affords one of those instances in which the ingenuity of man might be said to triumph over the intentions of nature, were it not evidently the design of Providence that we should in all ways exert our invention and sagacity to the utmost, for our own security and support. It is the root of a shrub called Cassada, or Cassava Jatropha, and in its crude state is highly poisonous. By washing, pressure, and evaporation, it is deprived of all its noxious qualities, and being formed into cakes becomes a salubrious and not an unpalatable substitute for bread. By the indulgence of the Viceroy, the deficiency in the military stores observed at the departure of the transports from England, was made up by a supply purchased from the Royal arsenal; nor was any assistance withheld which either the place afforded, or the stores of government could furnish. The circumstances, which in this place most astonish a stranger, and particularly a Protestant, are, the great abundance of images dispersed throughout the city, and the devotion paid to them. They are placed at the corner of almost every street, and are never passed without a respectful salutation; but at night they are constantly surrounded by their respective votaries, who offer up their prayers aloud, and make the air resound in all quarters with the notes of their hymns. The strictness of manners in the inhabitants is not said to be at all equivalent to the warmth of this devotion; but in all countries and climates it is found much easier to perform external acts of reputed piety, than to acquire the internal habits so much more essential. It must be owned, however, that our people did not find the ladies so indulgent as some voyagers have represented them. It was near a month before Governor Phillip could furnish his ships with every thing which it was necessary they should now procure. At length, on the 4th of September he weighed anchor, and as he passed the fort, received from the Viceroy the last compliment it was in his power to pay, being saluted with twenty-one guns. The salute was returned by an equal number from the Sirius; and thus ended an intercourse honourable to both nations, and particularly to the principal officer employed in the service of each. Chapter V. September 1787 to January 1788 Prospercus passage from Rio to the Cape--Account of the Harbours there--The Cape of Good Hope not the most Southern point--Height of Table Mountain and others--Supineness of the European nations in neglecting to occupy the Cape--Live stock laid in--Departure--Separation of the fleet--Arrival of the Supply at Botany Bay. 4 September 1787 A Prosperous course by sea, like a state of profound peace and tranquility in civil society, though most advantageous to those who enjoy it, is unfavourable to the purposes of narration. The striking facts which the writer exerts himself to record, and the reader is eager to peruse, arise only from difficult situations: uniform prosperity is described in very few words. Of this acceptable but unproductive kind was the passage of the Botany Bay fleet from Rio de Janeiro to the Cape of Good Hope; uniformly favourable, and not marked by any extraordinary incidents. This run, from about lat. 22° south, long. 43 west of London, to lat. 34° south, long. 18° east of London, a distance of about four thousand miles, was performed in thirty-nine days: for having left Rio on the 4th of September, on the 13th of October the ships came to anchor in Table Bay. Here they were to take their final refreshment, and lay in every kind of stock with which they were not already provided. In this period no additional lives had been lost, except that of a single convict belonging to the Charlotte transport, who fell accidentally into the sea, and could not by any efforts be recovered. 13 October 1787 Table Bay, on the north-west side of the Cape of Good Hope, is named from the Table Mountain, a promontory of considerable elevation, at the foot of which, and almost in the centre of the Bay, stands Cape Town, the principal Dutch settlement in this territory. This Bay cannot properly be called a port, being by no means a station of security; it is exposed to all the violence of the winds which set into it from the sea; and is far from sufficiently secured from those which blow from the land. The gusts which descend from the summit of Table Mountain are sufficient to force ships from their anchors, and even violently to annoy persons on the shore, by destroying any tents or other temporary edifices which may be erected, and raising clouds of fine dust, which produce very troublesome effects. A gale of this kind, from the south-east, blew for three days successively when Capt. Cook lay here in his first voyage, at which time, he informs us, the Resolution was the only ship in the harbour that had not dragged her anchors. The storms from the sea are still more formidable; so much so, that ships have frequently been driven by them from their anchorage, and wrecked at the head of the Bay. But these accidents happen chiefly in the quaade mousson, or winter months, from May 14 to the same day of August; during which time few ships venture to anchor here. Our fleet, arriving later, lay perfectly unmolested as long as it was necessary for it to remain in this station. False Bay, on the south-east side of the Cape, is more secure than Table Bay, during the prevalence of the north-west winds, but still less so in strong gales from the south-east. It is however less frequented, being twenty-four miles of very heavy road distant from Cape Town, whence almost all necessaries must be procured. The most sheltered part of False Bay is a recess on the west side, called Simon's Bay. The Cape of Good Hope, though popularly called, and perhaps pretty generally esteemed so, is not in truth the most southern point of Africa. The land which projects furthest to the south is a point to the east of it, called by the English Cape Lagullus; a name corrupted from the original Portugueze das Agulhas, which, as well as the French appellation des Aiguilles, is descriptive of its form, and would rightly be translated Needle Cape. Three eminences, divided by very narrow passes, and appearing in a distant view like three summits of the same mountain, stand at the head of Table Bay.--They are however of different heights, by which difference, as well as by that of their shape, they may be distinguished. Table Mountain is so called from its appearance, as it terminates in a flat horizontal surface, from which the face of the rock descends almost perpendicularly. This mountain rises to about 3567 feet above the level of the sea. Devil's Head, called also Charles mountain, is situated to the east of the former, and is not above 3368 feet in height; and on the west side of Table Mountain, Lion's Head, whose name is also meant to be descriptive, does not exceed 2764 feet. In the neighbourhood of the latter lies Constantia, a district consisting of two farms, wherein the famous wines of that name are produced. Our voyagers found provisions less plentiful and less reasonable in price at Cape Town than they had been taught to expect. Board and lodging, which are to be had only in private houses, stood the officers in two rix-dollars a day, which is near nine shillings sterling. This town, the only place in the whole colony to which that title can be applied with propriety, is of no great extent; it does not in any part exceed two miles: and the country, colonized here by the Dutch, is in general so unfavourable to cultivation, that it is not without some astonishment that we find them able to raise provisions from it in sufficient abundance to supply themselves, and the ships of so many nations which constantly resort to the Cape. When we consider the vast advantages derived by the Dutch colonists from this traffic, and the almost indispensible necessity by which navigators of all nations are driven to seek refreshment there, it cannot but appear extraordinary, that from the discovery of the Cape in 1493, by Barthelemi Diaz, to the year 1650, when, at the suggestion of John Van Riebeck, the first Dutch colony was sent, a spot so very favourable to commerce and navigation should have remained unoccupied by Europeans. Perhaps all the perseverance of the Dutch character was necessary even to suggest the idea of maintaining an establishment in a soil so burnt by the sun, and so little disposed to repay the toil of the cultivator. The example and success of this people may serve, however, as an useful instruction to all who in great undertakings are deterred by trifling obstacles; and who, rather than contend with difficulties, are inclined to relinquish the most evident advantages. But though the country near the Cape had not charms enough to render it as pleasing as that which surrounds Rio de Janeiro, yet the Governor, Mynheer Van Graaffe, was not far behind the Viceroy of Brazil in attention to the English officers. They were admitted to his table, where they were elegantly entertained, and had reason to be pleased in all respects with his behaviour and disposition. Yet the minds of his people were not at this time in a tranquil state; the accounts from Holland were such as occasioned much uneasiness, and great preparations were making at the fort, from apprehension of a rupture with some other power. In the course of a month, the live stock and other provisions were procured; and the ships, having on board not less than five hundred animals of different kinds, but chiefly poultry, put on an appearance which naturally enough excited the idea of Noah's ark. This supply, considering that the country had previously suffered from a dearth, was very considerable; but it was purchased of course at a higher expence considerably than it would have been in a time of greater plenty. 12 November 1787 On the 12th of November the fleet set sail, and was for many days much delayed by strong winds from the south-east. 25 November 1787 On the 25th, being then only 80 leagues to the eastward of the Cape, Governor Phillip left the Sirius and went on board the Supply tender; in hopes, by leaving the convoy, to gain sufficient time for examining the country round Botany Bay, so as to fix on the situation most eligible for the colony, before the transports should arrive. At the same time he ordered the agents for the transports, who were in the Alexander, to separate themselves from the convoy with that ship, the Scarborough and Friendship, which, as they were better sailors than the rest, might reasonably be expected sooner: in which case, by the labour of the convicts they had on board, much might be done in making the necessary preparations for landing the provisions and stores. Major Ross, the Commandant of Marines, now left the Sirius, and went on board the Scarborough, that he might accompany that part of the detachment which probably would be landed first. Captain Hunter, in the Sirius, was to follow with the store-ships, and the remainder of the transports; and he had the necessary instructions for his future proceedings, in case the Supply had met with any accident. Lieutenant Gidley King, since appointed Commandant of Norfolk Island, accompanied Governor Phillip in the Supply. 3 January 1788 From this time to the 3d of January, 1788, the winds were as favourable as could be wished, blowing generally in very strong gales from the north-west, west, and south-west. Once only the wind had shifted to the east, but continued in that direction not more than a few hours. Thus assisted, the Supply, which sailed but very indifferently, and turned out, from what she had suffered in the voyage, to be hardly a safe conveyance, performed in fifty-one days a voyage of more than seven thousand miles. On the day abovementioned she was within sight of the coast of New South Wales. But the winds then became variable, and a current, which at times set very strongly to the southward, so much impeded her course, that it was not till the 18th that she arrived at Botany Bay. Chapter VI. January 1788 First interview with the natives--the bay examined--arrival of the whole fleet--Port Jackson examined--second interview with the natives--and third--Governor Phillip returns to Botany Bay--and gives orders for the evacuation of it. 18 January 1788 At the very first landing of Governor Phillip on the shore of Botany Bay, an interview with the natives took place. They were all armed, but on seeing the Governor approach with signs of friendship, alone and unarmed, they readily returned his confidence by laying down their weapons. They were perfectly devoid of cloathing, yet seemed fond of ornaments, putting the beads and red baize that were given them, on their heads or necks, and appearing pleased to wear them. The presents offered by their new visitors were all readily accepted, nor did any kind of disagreement arise while the ships remained in Botany Bay. This very pleasing effect was produced in no small degree by the personal address, as well as by the great care and attention of the Governor. Nor were the orders which enforced a conduct so humane, more honourable to the persons from whom they originated, than the punctual execution of them was to the officers sent out: it was evident that their wishes coincided with their duty; and that a sanguinary temper was no longer to disgrace the European settlers in countries newly discovered. The next care after landing was the examination of the bay itself, from which it appeared that, though extensive, it did not afford a shelter from the easterly winds: and that, in consequence of its shallowness, ships even of a moderate draught, would always be obliged to anchor with the entrance of the bay open, where they must be exposed to a heavy sea, that rolls in whenever it blows hard from the eastward. Several runs of fresh water were found in different parts of the bay, but there did not appear to be any situation to which there was not some very strong objection. In the northern part of it is a small creek, which runs a considerable way into the country, but it has water only for a boat, the sides of it are frequently overflowed, and the low lands near it are a perfect swamp. The western branch of the bay is continued to a great extent, but the officers sent to examine it could not find there any supply of fresh water, except in very small drains. Point Sutherland offered the most eligible situation, having a run of good water, though not in very great abundance. But to this part of the harbour the ships could not approach, and the ground near it, even in the higher parts, was in general damp and spungy. Smaller numbers might indeed in several spots have found a comfortable residence, but no place was found in the whole circuit of Botany Bay which seemed at all calculated for the reception of so large a settlement. While this examination was carried on, the whole fleet had arrived. The Supply had not so much outsailed the other ships as to give Governor Phillip the advantage he had expected in point of time. On the 19th of January, the Alexander, Scarborough, and Friendship, cast anchor in Botany Bay; and on the 20th, the Sirius, with the remainder of the convoy*. These ships had all continued very healthy; they had not, however, yet arrived at their final station. [* The annexed view of Botany Bay, represents the Supply, etc. at anchor, and the Sirius with her convoy coming into the bay.] The openness of this bay, and the dampness of the soil, by which the people would probably be rendered unhealthy, had already determined the Governor to seek another situation. He resolved, therefore, to examine Port Jackson, a bay mentioned by Captain Cook as immediately to the north of this. There he hoped to find, not only a better harbour, but a fitter place for the establishment of his new government. But that no time might be lost, in case of a disappointment in these particulars, the ground near Point Sutherland was ordered immediately to be cleared, and preparations to be made for landing, under the direction of the Lieutenant Governor. These arrangements having been settled, Governor Phillip prepared to proceed to the examination of Port Jackson: and as the time of his absence, had he gone in the Supply, must have been very uncertain, he went round with three boats; taking with him Captain Hunter and several other officers, that by examining several parts of the harbour at once the greater dispatch might be made. 22d January, 1788. On the 22d of January they set out upon this expedition, and early in the afternoon arrived at Port Jackson, which is distant about three leagues. Here all regret arising from the former disappointments was at once obliterated; and Governor Phillip had the satisfaction to find one of the finest harbours in the world, in which a thousand sail of the line might ride in perfect security. The different coves of this harbour were examined with all possible expedition, and the preference was given to one which had the finest spring of water, and in which ships can anchor so close to the shore, that at a very small expence quays may be constructed at which the largest vessels may unload. This cove is about half a mile in length, and a quarter of a mile across at the entrance. In honour of Lord Sydney, the Governor distinguished it by the name of Sydney Cove. On the arrival of the boats at Port Jackson, a second party of the natives made its appearance near the place of landing. These also were armed with lances, and at first were very vociferous; but the same gentle means used towards the others easily persuaded these also to discard their suspicions, and to accept whatsoever was offered. One man in particular, who appeared to be the chief of this tribe, shewed very singular marks both of confidence in his new friends, and of determined resolution. Under the guidance of Governor Phillip, to whom he voluntarily intrusted himself, he went to a part of the beach where the men belonging to the boats were then boiling their meat: when he approached the marines, who were drawn up near that place, and saw that by proceeding he should be separated from his companions, who remained with several of the officers at some distance, he stopped, and with great firmness, seemed by words and gestures to threaten revenge if any advantage should be taken of his situation. He then went on with perfect calmness to examine what was boiling in the pot, and by the manner in which he expressed his admiration, made it evident that he intended to profit by what he saw. Governor Phillip contrived to make him understand that large shells might conveniently be used for the same purpose, and it is probable that by these hints, added to his own observation, he will be enabled to introduce the art of boiling among his countrymen. Hitherto they appear to have known no other way of dressing food than broiling. Their methods of kindling fire are probably very imperfect and laborious, for it is observed that they usually keep it burning, and are very rarely seen without either a fire actually made, or a piece of lighted wood, which they carry with them from place to place, and even in their canoes.* The perpetual fires, which in some countries formed a part of the national religion, had perhaps no other origin than a similar inability to produce it at pleasure; and if we suppose the original flame to have been kindled by lightning, the fiction of its coming down from heaven will be found to deviate very little from the truth. [* In Hawksw. Voy. vol. iii. p. 234, it is said that they produce fire with great facility, etc. which account is the more correct, time will probably show.] In passing near a point of land in this harbour, the boats were perceived by a number of the natives, twenty of whom waded into the water unarmed, received what was offered them, and examined the boat with a curiosity which impressed a higher idea of them than any former accounts of their manners had suggested. This confidence, and manly behaviour, induced Governor Phillip, who was highly pleased with it, to give the place the name of Manly Cove. The same people afterwards joined the party at the place where they had landed to dine. They were then armed, two of them with shields and swords, the rest with lances only. The swords were made of wood, small in the gripe, and apparently less formidable than a good stick. One of these men had a kind of white clay rubbed upon the upper part of his face, so as to have the appearance of a mask. This ornament, if it can be called such, is not common among them, and is probably assumed only on particular occasions, or as a distinction to a few individuals. One woman had been seen on the rocks as the boats passed, with her face, neck and breasts thus painted, and to our people appeared the most disgusting figure imaginable; her own countrymen were perhaps delighted by the beauty of the effect. During the preparation for dinner the curiosity of these visitors rendered them very troublesome, but an innocent contrivance altogether removed the inconvenience. Governor Phillip drew a circle round the place where the English were, and without much difficulty made the natives understand that they were not to pass that line; after which they sat down in perfect quietness. Another proof how tractable these people are, when no insult or injury is offered, and when proper means are to influence the simplicity of their minds. 24 January 1788 January 24th, 1788. On the 24th of January, Governor Phillip having sufficiently explored Port Jackson, and found it in all respects highly calculated to receive such a settlement as he was appointed to establish, returned to Botany Bay. On his arrival there, the reports made to him, both of the ground which the people were clearing, and of the upper parts of the Bay, which in this interval had been more particularly examined, were in the greatest degree unfavourable. It was impossible after this to hesitate concerning the choice of a situation; and orders were accordingly issued for the removal of the whole fleet to Port Jackson. That Botany Bay should have appeared to Captain Cook in a more advantageous light than to Governor Phillip, is not by any means extraordinary. Their objects were very different; the one required only shelter and refreshment for a small vessel, and during but a short time: the other had great numbers to provide for, and was necessitated to find a place wherein ships of very considerable burthen might approach the shore with ease, and lie at all times in perfect security. The appearance of the place is picturesque and pleasing, and the ample harvest it afforded, of botanical acquisitions, made it interesting to the philosophical gentlemen engaged in that expedition; but something more essential than beauty of appearance, and more necessary than philosophical riches, must be sought in a place where the permanent residence of multitudes is to be established. Chapter VII. January 1788 Removal from Botany Bay--Arrival of two French ships--Account of them--Preparations for encampment--Difficulties--Scurvy breaks out--Account of the red and yellow gum trees. 24 January 1788 Preparations for a general removal were now made with all convenient expedition: but on the morning of the 24th the greatest astonishment was spread throughout the fleet by the appearance of two ships, under French colours. In this remote region visitors from Europe were very little expected, and their arrival, while the cause of it remained unknown, produced in some minds a temporary apprehension, accompanied by a multiplicity of conjectures, many of them sufficiently ridiculous. Governor Phillip was the first to recollect that two ships had been sent out some time before from France for the purpose of discovery, and rightly concluded these to be the same. But as the opposition of the wind, and a strong current prevented them at present from working into the harbour, and even drove them out of sight again to the south, he did not think proper to delay his departure for the sake of making further enquiry. 25 January 1788 On the 25th of January therefore, seven days after the arrival of the Supply, Governor Phillip quitted Botany Bay in the same ship, and sailed to Port Jackson. The rest of the fleet, under convoy of the Sirius, was ordered to follow, as soon as the abatement of the wind, which then blew a strong gale, should facilitate its working out of the Bay. The Supply was scarcely out of sight when the French ships again appeared off the mouth of the harbour, and a boat was immediately sent to them, with offers of every kind of information and assistance their situation could require. It was now learnt that these were, as the Governor had supposed, the Boussole and the Astrolabe, on a voyage of discovery, under the conduct of Monsieur La Perouse. 26 January 1788 On the 26th, the transports and store ships, attended by the Sirius, finally evacuated Botany Bay; and in a very short time they were all assembled in Sydney Cove, the place now destined for their port, and for the reception of the new settlement. The French ships had come to anchor in Botany Bay just before the departure of the Sirius; and during the intercourse which then took place, M. la Perouse had expressed a strong desire of having some letters conveyed to Europe. Governor Phillip was no sooner informed of this, than he dispatched an officer to him with full information of the time when it was probable our ships would sail, and with assurances that his letters should be punctually transmitted. By this officer the following intelligence was brought back concerning the voyage of the Astrolabe and Boussole. These vessels had sailed from France in June 1785. They had touched at the Isle of Santa Catharina on the coast of Brasil, from thence had gone by the extremity of South America into the Pacific Ocean, where they had run along by the coasts of Chili and California. They had afterwards visited Easter Island, Nootka Sound, Cook's River, Kamschatka, Manilla, the Isles des Navigateurs, Sandwich and the Friendly Islands. M. la Perouse had also anchored off Norfolk Island, but could not land, on account of the surf. In this long voyage he had not lost any of his people by sickness; but two boats crews had unfortunately perished in a surf on the north-west coast of America; and at Masuna, one of the Isles des Navigateurs, M. L'Angle, Captain of the Astrolabe, had met with a fate still more unfortunate. That officer had gone ashore with two long boats for the purpose of filling some water casks. His party amounted to forty men, and the natives, from whom the French had received abundance of refreshments, and with whom they had been uniformly on the best terms, did not on their landing show any signs of a change of disposition. Malice unprovoked, and treachery without a motive, seem inconsistent even with the manners of savages; the French officers therefore, confiding in this unbroken state of amity, had suffered their boats to lie aground. But whether it were that the friendly behaviour of the natives had proceeded only from fear, or that some unknown offence had been given, they seized the moment when the men were busied in getting out the boats, to make an attack equally furious and unexpected. The assault was made with stones, of which prodigious numbers were thrown with extraordinary force and accuracy of direction. To this treachery M. L'Angle fell a sacrifice, and with him twelve of his party, officers and men, the long-boats were destroyed, and the remainder of those who had gone ashore escaped with difficulty in their small boats. The ships in the mean time were under sail, and having passed a point of land that intercepted the view, knew nothing of this melancholy and unaccountable affray till the boats returned. This fatal result from too implicit a confidence, may, perhaps very properly, increase the caution of Europeans in their commerce with savages, but ought not to excite suspicion. The resentments of such people are sudden and sanguinary, and, where the intercourse of language is wanting, may easily be awakened by misapprehension: but it seems possible to treat them with sufficient marks of confidence, without abandoning the guards of prudence. Offence is often given by the men, while the officers are most studious to preserve harmony, and against the transports of rage which arise on such occasions, it is always necessary to be prepared. Perhaps, also, a degree of awe should always be kept up, even to preserve their friendship. It has been uniformly remarked by our people, that defenceless stragglers are generally ill-treated by the natives of New South Wales, while towards parties armed and on their guard, they behave in the most amicable manner. The debarkation was now made at Sydney Cove, and the work of clearing the ground for the encampment, as well as for the storehouses and other buildings, was begun without loss of time. But the labour which attended this necessary operation was greater than can easily be imagined by those who were not spectators of it. The coast, as well as the neighbouring country in general, is covered with wood; and though in this spot the trees stood more apart, and were less incumbered with underwood than in many other places, yet their magnitude was such as to render not only the felling, but the removal of them afterwards, a task of no small difficulty. By the habitual indolence of the convicts, and the want of proper overseers to keep them to their duty, their labour was rendered less efficient than it might have been. 26 January 1788 In the evening of the 26th the colours were displayed on shore, and the Governor, with several of his principal officers and others, assembled round the flag-staff, drank the king's health, and success to the settlement, with all that display of form which on such occasions is esteemed propitious, because it enlivens the spirits, and fills the imagination with pleasing presages. From this time to the end of the first week in February all was hurry and exertion. They who gave orders and they who received them were equally occupied; nor is it easy to conceive a busier scene than this part of the coast exhibited during the continuance of these first efforts towards establishment. The plan of the encampment was quickly formed, and places were marked out for every different purpose, so as to introduce, as much as possible, strict order and regularity. The materials and frame work to construct a slight temporary habitation for the Governor, had been brought out from England ready formed: these were landed and put together with as much expedition as the circumstances would allow. Hospital tents were also without delay erected, for which there was soon but too much occasion. In the passage from the Cape there had been but little sickness, nor had many died even among the convicts; but soon after landing, a dysentery prevailed, which in several instances proved fatal, and the scurvy began to rage with a virulence which kept the hospital tents generally supplied with patients. For those afflicted with this disorder, the advantage of fish or other fresh provisions could but rarely be procured; nor were esculent vegetables often obtained in sufficient plenty to produce any material alleviation of the complaint. In the dysentery, the red gum of the tree which principally abounds on this coast, was found a very powerful remedy. The yellow gum has been discovered to possess the same property, but in an inferior degree. The tree which yields the former kind of gum is very considerable in size, and grows to a great height before it puts out any branches. The red gum is usually compared to that called sanguis draconis, but differs from it by being perfectly soluble in water, whereas the other, being more properly a resin, will not dissolve except in spirits of wine. It may be drawn from the tree by tapping, or taken out of the veins of the wood when dry, in which it is copiously distributed. The leaves are long and narrow, not unlike those of a willow. The wood is heavy and fine grained, but being much intersected by the channels containing the gum, splits and warps in such a manner as soon to become entirely useless; especially when worked up, as necessity at first occasioned it to be, without having been properly seasoned. The yellow gum as it is called, is strictly a resin, not being at all soluble in water; in appearance it strongly resembles gamboge, but has not the property of staining. The plant that produces it is low and small, with long grassy leaves; but the fructification of it shoots out in a singular manner from the centre of the leaves, on a single straight stem, to the height of twelve or fourteen feet. Of this stem, which is strong and light, like some of the reed class, the natives usually make their spears; sometimes pointing them with a piece of the same substance made sharp, but more frequently with bone. The resin is generally dug up out of the soil under the tree, not collected from it, and may perhaps be that which Tasman calls "gum lac of the ground." The form of this plant is very exactly delineated in the annexed plate, and its proportion to other trees may be collected from the plate, entitled, A View in New South Wales, in which many of this species are introduced. The month of February was ushered in by a very violent storm of thunder and rain. The lightning struck and shivered a tree, under which a shed had been erected for some sheep, and five of those animals were at the same time unfortunately destroyed by it. The encampment still went on with great alacrity, so that in the beginning of this month the work of building public storehouses was undertaken; and unremitting diligence began, though very gradually, to triumph over the obstacles which the nature of the place presented. Chapter VIII. February 1788 Description of Port Jackson and the adjacent country--The Governor's commission read--his Speech--his humane resolutions respecting the Natives--difficulties in erecting huts and other buildings--departure of Lieutenant King to Norfolk Island. A View in Port Jackson. Port Jackson was not visited or explored by Captain Cook; it was seen only at the distance of between two or three miles from the coast: had any good fortune conducted him into that harbour, he would have found it much more worthy of his attention as a seaman, than that in which he passed a week. Governor Phillip himself pronounces it to be a harbour, in extent and security, superior to any he has ever seen: and the most experienced navigators who were with him fully concur in that opinion. From an entrance not more than two miles across, Port Jackson gradually extends into a noble and capacious bason; having soundings sufficient for the largest vessels, and space to accommodate, in perfect security, any number that could be assembled. It runs chiefly in a western direction, about thirteen miles into the country, and contains not less than an hundred small coves, formed by narrow necks of land, whose projections afford admirable shelter from all winds. Sydney Cove lies on the South side of the harbour, between five and six miles from the entrance. The necks of land that form the coves are mostly covered with timber, yet so rocky that it is not easy to comprehend how the trees could have found sufficient nourishment to bring them to so considerable a magnitude; but the soil between the rocks is very good, and into those spaces the principal roots have found their way. The soil in other parts of the coast immediately about Port Jackson is of various qualities. That neck of land which divides the south end of the harbour from the sea is chiefly sand. Between Sydney Cove and Botany Bay the first space is occupied by a wood, in some parts a mile and a half, in others three miles across; beyond that, is a kind of heath, poor, sandy, and full of swamps. As far as the eye can reach to the westward, the country is one continued wood. The head of the bay in Port Jackson, seemed at first to offer some advantages of ground, but as it is partly left dry at low water, and as the winds are much obstructed there by the woods and by the windings of the channel, it was deemed that it must probably be unhealthful, till the country can be cleared. There are several parts of the harbour in which the trees stand at a greater distance from each other than in Sydney Cove; some of these which have small runs of water, and a promising soil, Governor Phillip purposed to cultivate as soon as hands could be spared; but the advantage of being able to land the stores and provisions with so much ease, unavoidably determined his choice of a place for the principal settlement. Had it been attempted to remove those necessaries only one mile from the spot where they were landed, the undertaking probably would have been fruitless; so many were the obstacles to land carriage. At the head of Sydney Cove, therefore, Governor Phillip had fixed the seat of his government; but intent upon providing the best and earliest accommodation for those who were to be encamped with him; and wholly occupied by the continual necessity of giving directions, he had not yet found leisure for assuming regularly his powers and title of Governor. At length the hurry of the first preparations gave way to this more tranquil business. 7 February 1788 The 7th of February, 1788, was the memorable day which established a regular form of Government on the coast of New South Wales. For obvious reasons, all possible solemnity was given to the proceedings necessary on this occasion. On a space previously cleared, the whole colony was assembled; the military drawn up, and under arms; the convicts stationed apart; and near the person of the Governor, those who were to hold the principal offices under him. The Royal Commission was then read by Mr. D. Collins, the Judge Advocate. By this instrument Arthur Phillip was constituted and appointed Captain General and Governor in Chief in and over the territory, called New South Wales; extending from the northern cape, or extremity of the coast, called Cape York, in the latitude of ten degrees, thirty-seven minutes south, to the southern extremity of the said territory of New South Wales, or South Cape, in the latitude of forty-three degrees, thirty-nine minutes south, and of all the country inland to the westward, as far as the one hundred and thirty-fifth degree of east longitude, reckoning from the meridian of Greenwich, including all the islands adjacent in the Pacific Ocean, within the latitudes aforesaid of 10°. 37'. south, and 43°. 39'. south, and of all towns, garrisons, castles, forts, and all other fortifications, or other military works which may be hereafter erected upon the said territory, or any of the said islands. The act of Parliament establishing the courts of judicature was next read; and lastly, the patents under the great seal, empowering the proper persons to convene and hold those courts whenever the exigency should require. The Office of Lieutenant Governor was conferred on Major Ross, of the Marines. A triple discharge of musquetry concluded this part of the ceremony; after which Governor Phillip advanced, and addressing first the private soldiers, thanked them for their steady good conduct on every occasion: an honour which was repeated to them in the next general orders. He then turned to the convicts, and distinctly explained to them the nature of their present situation. The greater part, he bade them recollect, had already forfeited their lives to the justice of their country: yet, by the lenity of its laws, they were now so placed that, by industry and good behaviour, they might in time regain the advantages and estimation in society of which they had deprived themselves. They not only had every encouragement to make that effort, but were removed almost entirely from every temptation to guilt. There was little in this infant community which one man could plunder from another, and any dishonest attempts in so small a society would almost infallibly be discovered. To persons detected in such crimes, he could not promise any mercy; nor indeed to any whom, under their circumstances, should presume to offend against the peace and good order of the settlement. What mercy could do for them they had already experienced; nor could any good be now expected from those whom neither past warnings, nor the peculiarities of their present situation could preserve from guilt. Against offenders, therefore, the rigour of the law would certainly be put in force: while they whose behaviour should in any degree promise reformation, might always depend upon encouragement fully proportioned to their deserts. He particularly noticed the illegal intercourse between the sexes as an offence which encouraged a general profligacy of manners, and was in several ways injurious to society. To prevent this, he strongly recommended marriage, and promised every kind of countenance and assistance to those who, by entering into that state, should manifest their willingness to conform to the laws of morality and religion. Governor Phillip concluded his address, by declaring his earnest desire to promote the happiness of all who were under his government, and to render the settlement in New South Wales advantageous and honourabe to his country. This speech, which was received with universal acclamations, terminated the ceremonial peculiar to the day. Nor was it altogether without its proper effect: For we are informed, that in the course of the ensuing week fourteen marriages took place among the convicts. The assembly was now dispersed, and the Governor proceeded to review the troops on the ground cleared for a parade: after which, he gave a dinner to the officers, and the first evening of his government was concluded propitiously, in good order and innocent festivity, amidst the repetition of wishes for its prosperity. A rising government could not easily be committed to better hands. Governor Phillip appears to have every requisite to ensure the success of the undertaking intrusted to him, as far as the qualities of one man can ensure it. Intelligent, active, persevering with firmness to make his authority respected, and mildness to render it pleasing, he was determined, if possible, to bring even the native inhabitants of New South Wales into a voluntary subjection; or at least to establish with them a strict amity and alliance. Induced also by motives of humanity, it was his determination from his first landing, to treat them with the utmost kindness: and he was firmly resolved, that, whatever differences might arise, nothing less than the most absolute necessity should ever compel him to fire upon them. In this resolution, by good fortune, and by his own great address, he has happily been enabled to persevere. But notwithstanding this, his intentions of establishing a friendly intercourse have hitherto been frustrated. M. De la Peyrouse,* while he remained in Botany Bay, had some quarrel with the inhabitants, which unfortunately obliged him to use his fire-arms against them: this affair, joined to the ill behaviour of some of the convicts, who in spite of all prohibitions, and at the risque of all consequences, have wandered out among them, has produced a shyness on their parts which it has not yet been possible to remove, though the properest means have been taken to regain their confidence. Their dislike to the Europeans is probably increased by discovering that they intend to remain among them, and that they interfere with them in some of their best fishing places, which doubtless are, in their circumstances, objects of very great importance. Some of the convicts who have straggled into the woods have been killed, and others dangerously wounded by the natives, but there is great reason to suppose that in these cases the convicts have usually been the aggressors. [* This is the right form of that officer's name; it was printed otherwise in a former passage by mistake.] As the month of February advanced heavy rains began to fall, which pointed out the necessity of procuring shelter for the people as soon as possible. To have expedited this work in the degree which was desirable a great number of artificers would have been required. But this advantage could not be had. Only sixteen carpenters could be hired from all the ships; among the convicts no more than twelve were of this profession, and of them several were sick. These therefore together formed but a small party, in proportion to the work which was to be done. One hundred convicts were added as labourers; but with every effort, it was found impossible to complete either the barracks for the men, or the huts for the officers, as soon as was desired. As late as the middle of May these were yet unfinished, as well as the hospital, and the storehouse for those provisions which were not landed at first. The Governor himself at that time was still lodged in his temporary house of canvas, which was not perfectly impervious either to wind or weather. 14 February 1788. On the 14th of February a party was sent out in the Supply, to settle on a small island to the north-west of New Zealand, in latitude 29° south, and longitude 168°. 10'. east from London, which was discovered and much commended by Captain Cook, and by him named Norfolk Island, in honour of the noble family to which that title belongs. To the office of superintendant and commandant of this island, and the settlement to be made upon it, Governor Phillip appointed Philip Gidley King, second lieutenant of his Majesty's ship Sirius, an officer much esteemed by him as of great merit in his profession; and highly spoken of in his letters as a man, whose perseverance in that or any other service might fully be depended on. As it was known that there were no inhabitants on Norfolk Island, there was sent with Lieut. King only a small detachment, consisting of one subaltern officer, and six marines, a very promising young man who was a midshipman, a surgeon,* two men who understood the cultivation and dressing of flax, with nine men and six women convicts. That the nature of this settlement may be fully understood, a copy of the instructions delivered to Mr. King at his departure is subjoined to this chapter. [* The surgeon's name is Jamison, whose intelligent letters to Lewis Wolfe, Esq; were kindly lent to the publisher, and have afforded much useful information.] INSTRUCTIONS for PHILIP GIDLEY KING, Esq; Superintendant and Commandant of the Settlement of NORFOLK ISLAND. With these instructions you will receive my Commission, appointing you to superintend and command the settlement to be formed in Norfolk Island, and to obey all such orders as you shall from time to time receive from me, his Majesty's Governor in Chief, and Captain General of the territory of New South Wales and its dependencies, or from the Lieutenant-Governor in my absence. You are therefore to proceed in his Majesty's armed tender Supply, whose commander has my orders to receive you, with the men and women, stores and provisions necessary for forming the intended settlement; and on your landing on Norfolk Island you are to take upon you the execution of the trust reposed in you, causing my commission, appointing you superintendant over the said settlement, to be publicly read. After having taken the necessary measures for securing yourself and people, and for the preservation of the stores and provisions, you are immediately to proceed to the cultivation of the Flax Plant, which you will find growing spontaneously on the island: as likewise to the cultivation of cotton, corn, and other plants, with the seeds of which you are furnished, and which you are to regard as public stock, and of the increase of which you are to send me an account, that I may know what quantity may be drawn from the island for public use, or what supplies it may be necessary to send hereafter. It is left to your discretion to use such part of the corn that is raised as may be found necessary; but this you are to do with the greatest oeconomy; and as the corn, flax, cotton, and other grains are the property of the Crown, and as such are to be accounted for, you are to keep an exact account of the increase, and you will in future receive directions for the disposal thereof. You are to inform yourself of the nature of the soil, what proportion of land you find proper for the cultivation of corn, flax, and cotton, as likewise what quantity of cattle may be bred on the island, and the number of people you judge necessary for the above purpose. You will likewise observe what are the prevailing winds in the different seasons of the year, the best anchorage according to the season, the rise and fall of the tides, likewise when the dry and rainy seasons begin and end. You will be furnished with a four oared boat, and you are not on any consideration to build, or to permit the building of any vessel or boat whatever that is decked; or of any boat or vessel that is not decked, whose length of keel exceeds twenty feet: and if by any accident any vessel or boat that exceeds twenty feet keel should be driven on the island, you are immediately to cause such boat or vessel to be scuttled, or otherwise rendered unserviceable, letting her remain in that situation until you receive further directions from me. You will be furnished with six months provisions, within which time you will receive an additional supply, but as you will be able to procure fish and vegetables, you are to endeavour to make the provisions you receive serve as long as possible. The convicts being the servants of the Crown, till the time for which they are sentenced is expired, their labour is to be for the public; and you are to take particular notice of their general good or bad behaviour, that they may hereafter be employed or rewarded according to their different merits. You are to cause the Prayers of the Church of England to be read with all due solemnity every Sunday, and you are to inforce a due observance of religion and good order, transmitting to me, as often as opportunity offers, a full account of your particular situation and transactions. You are not to permit any intercourse or trade with any ships or vessels that may stop at the island, whether English or of any other nation, unless such ships or vessels should be in distress, in which case you are to afford them such assistance as may be in your power. Given under my hand, at Head Quarters in Port Jackson, New South Wales, this 12th day of February, 1788. (Signed) ARTHUR PHILLIP. Chapter IX. February 1788 to March 1788 A Criminal Court held--Broken Bay explored by Governor Phillip--Interviews with the Natives--Peculiarities remarked--Friendly behaviour and extraordinary courage of an old man. Governor Phillip soon found with great regret, though doubtless without much surprise, that in the community committed to his care the strict enforcement of the sanctions of law was peculiarly necessary. There were in it many individuals whom neither lenity could touch, nor rigour terrify; who, with all sense of social duty, appeared to have lost all value for life itself, and with the same wantonness exposed themselves to the darts of the savages, and to the severe punishments which, however reluctantly, every society must inflict when milder methods have been tried without success. Towards the latter end of February a criminal court was convened, in which six of the convicts received sentence of death. One, who was the head of the gang, was executed the same day; of the rest, one was pardoned; the other four were reprieved, and afterwards exiled to a small island within the bay, where they were kept on bread and water. These men had frequently robbed the stores, and the other convicts. He who suffered, and two others, had been detected in stealing from the stores the very day that they had received a week's provision; at a time when their allowance, as settled by the Navy Board, was the same as that of the soldiers, spirituous liquors excepted. So inveterate were their habits of dishonesty, that even the apparent want of a motive could not repress them. 2 March 1788 On the 2d of March Governor Phillip went with a long boat and cutter to examine the broken land, mentioned by Captain Cook, about eight miles to the northward of Port Jackson, and by him named Broken Bay. This bay proved to be very extensive. The first night they slept in the boats, within a rocky point in the north-west part of the bay, as the natives, though friendly, appeared to be numerous; and the next day, after passing a bar that had only water for small vessels, they entered a very extensive branch, from which the ebb tide came out so strong that the boats could not row against it in the stream; and here was deep water. This opening appeared to end in several small branches, and in a large lagoon which could not then be examined, as there was not time to seek a channel for the boats among the banks of sand and mud. Most of the land in the upper part of this branch was low and full of swamps. Pelicans and various other birds were here seen in great numbers. Among the rest an uncommon kind, called then the Hooded Gull, and supposed to be a non descript; but it appears from a drawing sent to England, a plate from which is here inserted, to be of that species called by Mr. Latham the Caspian Tern, and is described by him as the second variety of that species.* [* Latham's Synopsis of Birds, vol. vi. p. 351.] Leaving this north-west branch they proceeded across the bay, and went into the south-west branch. This is also very extensive; and from it runs a second opening to the westward, affording shelter for almost any number of ships. In this part, as far as could then be examined, there is water for vessels of the greatest burthen, the soundings being at the entrance seven fathoms, and in going up still more. Continual rains prevented them from taking a survey. The land here was found much higher than at Port Jackson, more rocky, and equally covered with timber. Large trees were seen growing even on the summits of the mountains, which appeared accessible only to birds. Immediately round the headland that forms the southern entrance into the bay, there is a third branch, which Governor Phillip thought the finest piece of water he had ever seen; and which therefore he thought worthy to be honoured with the name of Pitt Water. This, as well as the south-west branch, is of sufficient extent to contain all the navy of Great Britain. But on a narrow bar which runs across the entrance it has only eighteen feet depth at low water. Within the bar there are from seven to fifteen fathoms. The land is not so high in this part as in the south-west branch, and there are some good situations where the land might be cultivated. Small springs of water were seen in most of the coves, and three cascades falling from heights, which the rains at that time rendered inaccessible. In this excursion some interviews with the natives took place. When the party first landed in Broken Bay several women came down to the beach with the men. One of these, a young woman, was very talkative and remarkably cheerful. This was a singular instance, for in general they are observed on this coast to be much less cheerful than the men, and apparently under great awe and subjection. They certainly are not treated with much tenderness, and it is thought that they are employed chiefly in the canoes, in which women have frequently been seen with very young children at the breast. The lively young lady, when she joined the party the second day in her canoe, stood up and gave a song which was far from unpleasing. The men very readily gave their assistance to the English in making a fire, and behaved in the most friendly manner. In a bay where Governor Phillip and his company landed to draw the seine, a number of the natives again came to them. It was now first observed by the Governor that the women in general had lost two joints from the little finger of the left hand. As these appeared to be all married women, he at first conjectured this privation to be a part of the marriage ceremony; but going afterwards into a hut where were several women and children, he saw a girl of five or six years of age whose left hand was thus mutilated; and at the same time an old woman, and another who appeared to have had children, on both of whom all the fingers were perfect. Several instances were afterwards observed of women with child, and of others that were evidently wives, who had not lost the two joints, and of children from whom they had been cut. Whatever be the occasion of this mutilation, it is performed on females only; and considering the imperfection of their instruments, must be a very painful operation. Nothing has been seen in the possession of these people that is at all calculated for performing such an amputation, except a shell fixed to a short stick, and used generally for pointing their spears, or for separating the oysters from the rocks. More fingers than one are never cut; and in every instance it is the same finger that has suffered.* [* In Patterson's Travels in Africa, lately published, we are told, that he met with a tribe of Hottentots near Orange River, all of whom had lost the first joint of the little finger: the reason they gave for cutting it off was, that it was a cure for a particular sickness to which they were subject when young. Fourth Journey, p. 117. It would be a curious coincidence of customs should it be discovered that the natives of New Holland do it for any similar reason.] The men are distinguished in a different manner: their fingers are not mutilated, but most of them, as other voyagers have observed, want the right front tooth in the upper jaw. Governor Phillip having remarked this, pointed out to them that he had himself lost one of his front teeth, which occasioned a general clamour; and it was thought he derived some merit in their opinion from this circumstance. The perforation of the cartilage that divides the nostrils, and the strange disfiguring ornament of a long bone or stick thrust through it, was now observed, as described by Captain Cook; and the same appellation of sprit-sail yard, was ludicrously applied to it by the sailors. But several very old men were seen in this excursion who had not lost the tooth, nor had their noses prepared to receive that grotesque appendage: probably, therefore, these are marks of distinction: ambition must have its badges, and where cloaths are not worn, the body itself must be compelled to bear them. Whether the scars raised upon the skin were of this kind, or as Captain Cook understood by their signs, marks of sorrow for deceased friends, could not now be learnt. They are of a very singular nature: sometimes the skin is raised from the flesh for several inches, appearing as if it were filled with wind, and forming a round surface of more than a quarter of an inch diameter. Their bodies are scarred in various parts, particularly about the breast and arms, and frequently on the instep. Nor does the head always escape; one man in particular, putting aside the hair on the forepart of his head, showed a scar, and then pointing to one on the foot, and to others on different parts of the body, seemed to intimate that he thought himself much honoured by having these marks upon him from head to foot. The women did not appear equally forward to produce the mutilated finger; nor was it always possible to ascertain whether they had lost the joints or not. For though they made no attempt to secrete themselves, nor seemed impressed with any idea that one part of the body more requires concealment than another, yet there was a shyness and timidity among them which frequently kept them at a distance. They never would approach so readily as the men, and sometimes would not even land from their canoes, but made signs that what was offered should be given to the men. We are not yet enough acquainted with the manners of the people to decide whether this reserve proceeds from the fears of the women, or from the jealousy of their husbands, by whom they are evidently kept in great subordination. One of their modes of fishing was now observed: their hooks are made of the inside of a shell resembling mother of pearl. When a fish which has taken the bait is supposed to be too strong to be landed with the line, the canoe is paddled to shore, and while one man gently draws the fish along, another stands prepared to strike it with a spear: in this attempt they seldom fail. In the plate which represents this action, the engraver has inadvertently left the bodies of the figures rather too white; in other respects it is very accurate. When the southern branch of Broken Bay was first visited, the getting round the headland that separates the branches, was attended with some difficulty, on account of very heavy squalls of wind, accompanied with rain. An attempt was made to land, where there proved not to be sufficient water for the boat. During this transaction, an old man and a youth were standing on the rocks where the boat was trying to approach. Having seen how much our men had laboured to get under land, they were very solicitous to point out the deepest water. Afterwards they brought fire, and seemed willing to render any service in their power. Two of the officers suffered themselves to be conducted by the old man to a cave at some distance, but declined going in, though he invited them by all the signs he could invent. This was rather unfortunate, as the rain was falling very violently, and the cave was found next day sufficiently large to have sheltered the whole party. The old man certainly took great pains to make this understood, but the motive of his earnestness unluckily was mistaken, and his visitors suffered for their suspicions. He afterwards assisted in clearing away the bushes, and making preparations for the party to sleep on shore, and next morning was rewarded with presents for his very friendly behaviour. Two days afterwards, when Governor Phillip returned to the same spot, the old man met him with a dance and a song of joy. His son was with him, and several of the natives; a hatchet was given them and other presents; and as the Governor was to return next day to Port Jackson, it was hoped that the friendship thus begun, and so studiously cultivated, would have continued firm. But as soon as it was dark, the old man stole a spade, and was caught with it in his hand. Governor Phillip thought it necessary, on this occasion, to shew some tokens of displeasure, and therefore when the delinquent approached, he gave him two or three slight slaps on the shoulder, and then pushed him away, at the same time pointing to the spade. This gentle chastisement at once destroyed their friendship. The old man immediately seized a spear, and coming close up to the Governor, poized it, and seemed determined to strike. But seeing that his threats were disregarded, (for his antagonist chose rather to risk the effects of his anger than to fire upon him) or perhaps dissuaded by something the other natives said, in a few moments he dropped the spear and went away. It was impossible not to be struck with the courage displayed by him on this occasion, for Governor Phillip at the time was not alone, but had several officers and men about him. From this and other similar events, personal bravery appears to be a quality in which the natives of New South Wales are not by any means deficient. The old man returned the next morning with many other natives, but, in order to convince him of his fault, he was less noticed than his companions, who were presented with hatchets and various other articles. 9 March 1788 It was now the 9th of March, and Governor Phillip returned to Port Jackson: having gained some useful knowledge of the country, and maintained an intercourse with the natives without departing from his favourite plan of treating them with the utmost kindness. He had endeavoured at the same time to gain their confidence, if possible, and secure their friendship. If these humane endeavours were afterwards rendered fruitless by the wanton profligacy of some depraved individuals, however he might regret it, he could have no reason to reproach himself. The rain, which was almost constant, prevented the Governor from returning by land, which otherwise he meant to have done, for the sake of exploring a part of the country which appeared to be good and free from timber. Chapter X. March 1788 Departure of the French Ships--Death of M. Le Receveur--Return of the Supply from Norfolk Island--Description of that Place--Howe Island discovered. 10 March 1788 On the 10th of March, the French ships sailed from Botany Bay. M. De la Peyrouse during his stay there had set up two long boats, the frames of which he had brought with him from Europe. There had not been much intercourse between the French and English in this interval: both being too busily employed to waste their time in parties of pleasure. Captain Clonard had waited on Governor Phillip with the letters which were to be forwarded to the French ambassador; and a few of the English officers had gone over by land about the same time to pay a visit in Botany Bay; both parties were of course received with politeness and hospitality. Some few of the convicts contrived to abscond, and endeavoured to get admitted into the French ships, but were, with great propriety, rejected. Those vessels returned towards the north, where they were to make another voyage. During the stay of M. De la Peyrouse in Botany Bay, Father Le Receveur, who had come out in the Astrolabe as a naturalist, died. His death was occasioned by wounds which he received in the unfortunate rencounter at the Navigator's Islands. A slight monument was erected to his memory, with the following inscription. Hic jacet LE RECEVEUR, E. F. F. Minimis Galliae Sacerdos, Physicus in circumnavigatione Mundi, Duce DE LA PEYROUSE, Ob. 17 Feb. 1788. The monument being soon after destroyed by the natives, Governor Phillip caused the inscription to be engraved on copper, and affixed to a neighbouring tree. M. De la Peyrouse had paid a similar tribute of respect to the memory of Captain Clerke, at the harbour of St. Peter and Paul in Kamtschatka. 19 March 1788 On the 19th of this month, Lieutenant Ball arrived in the Supply from Norfolk Island. He had made that island on the 29th of February, but was five days off the coast before a place could be found at which it was possible to land the stores and provisions. So completely do the rocks surround the island, that it was not easy to find a place even to land a man. At length, however, they succeeded, having discovered at the south-west end, a small opening in a reef that runs across a bay. Here the people, provisions and stores were all put on shore in perfect safety. The Commandant wrote in high spirits at the promising appearance of his new territory; and subsequent accounts have proved, that the opinion he then formed was not erroneous. He described Norfolk Island as one entire wood, or rather as a garden overrun with the noblest pines, in straightness, size, and magnitude, far superior to any he had ever seen. Nothing can exceed the fertility of its soil. Wherever it has been since examined, a rich black mould has been found to the depth of five or six feet: and the grain and garden seeds which have been sown, such only excepted as were damaged in the carriage, or by the weevil, have vegetated with the utmost luxuriance. To prevent repetitions, it may perhaps be best to unite in this place the accounts which have been received of this island, though many of them will easily be perceived to be greatly posterior to this first return of the Supply. Norfolk Island is about seven leagues in circumference, and if not originally formed, like many other small islands, by the eruption of volcanic matter from the bed of the sea, must doubtless have contained a volcano. This conclusion is formed from the vast quantity of pumice stone which is scattered in all parts of it, and mixed with the soil. The crater, or at least some traces of its former existence, will probably be found at the summit of a small mountain, which rises near the middle of the island. To this mountain the Commandant has given the name of Mount Pitt. The island is exceedingly well watered. At, or near Mount Pitt, rises a strong and copious stream, which flowing through a very fine valley, divides itself into several branches, each of which retains sufficient force to be used in turning mills: and in various parts of the island excellent springs have been discovered. The climate is pure, salubrious, and delightful, preserved from oppressive heats by constant breezes from the sea, and of so mild a temperature throughout the winter, that vegetation continues there without interruption, one crop succeeding another. Refreshing showers from time to time maintain perpetual verdure; not indeed of grass, for none has yet been seen upon the island, but of the trees, shrubs, and other vegetables which in all parts grow abundantly. On the leaves of these, and of some kinds in particular, the sheep, hogs, and goats, not only live, but thrive and fatten very much. To the salubrity of the air every individual in this little colony can bear ample testimony, from the uninterrupted state of good health which has been in general enjoyed. When our settlers landed, there was not a single acre clear of wood in the island, and the trees were so bound together by that kind of creeping shrub called supple jack, interwoven in all directions, as to render it very difficult to penetrate far among them. The Commandant, small as his numbers were at first, by indefatigable activity soon caused a space to be cleared sufficient for the requisite accommodations, and for the production of esculent vegetables of all kinds in the greatest abundance. When the last accounts arrived, three acres of barley were in a very thriving state, and ground was prepared to receive rice and Indian corn. In the wheat there had been a disappointment, the grain that was sown having been so much injured by the weevil, as to be unfit for vegetation. But the people were all at that time in commodious houses; and, according to the declarations of Mr. King himself, in his letters to Governor Phillip, there was not a doubt that this colony would be in a situation to support itself entirely without assistance, in less than four years: and with very little in the intermediate time. Even two years would be more than sufficient for this purpose, could a proper supply of black cattle be sent. Fish are caught in great plenty, and in the proper season very fine turtle. The woods are inhabited by innumerable tribes of birds, many of them very gay in plumage. The most useful are pigeons, which are very numerous, and a bird not unlike the Guinea fowl, except in colour, (being chiefly white,) both of which were at first so tame as to suffer themselves to be taken by hand. Of plants that afford vegetables for the table, the chief are cabbage palm, the wild plantain, the fern tree, a kind of wild spinage, and a tree which produces a diminutive fruit, bearing some resemblance to a currant. This, it is hoped, by transplanting and care, will be much improved in size and flavour. But the productions which give the greatest importance to Norfolk Island are the pines and the flax plant, the former rising to a size and perfection unknown in other places, and promising the most valuable supply of masts and spars for our navy in the East Indies; the latter not less estimable for the purposes of making sail-cloth, cordage, and even the finest manufactures; growing in great plenty, and with such luxuriance as to attain the height of eight feet.* The pines measure frequently one hundred and sixty, or even one hundred and eighty feet in height, and are sometimes nine or ten feet in diameter at the bottom of the trunk. They rise to about eighty feet without a branch; the wood is said to be of the best quality, almost as light as that of the best Norway masts; and the turpentine obtained from it is remarkable for purity and whiteness. The fern tree is found also of a great height for its species, measuring from seventy to eighty feet, and affords excellent food for the sheep and other small cattle. A plant producing pepper, and supposed to be the true oriental pepper, has been discovered lately in the island, growing in great plenty; and specimens have been sent to England, in order to ascertain this important point. [* The flax plant is thus described in Captain Cook's first voyage, vol. iii. p. 39. as found at New Zealand. "There is, however, a plant that serves the inhabitants instead of hemp and flax, which excels all that are put to the same purposes in other countries. Of this plant there are two sorts; the leaves of both resemble those of flags, but the flowers are smaller and their clusters more numerous; in one kind they are yellow, and in the other a deep red. Of the leaves of these plants, with very little preparation, they make all their common apparel; and of these they also make their strings, lines, and cordage for every purpose, which are so much stronger than any thing we can make with hemp, that they will not bear a comparison. From the same plant, by another preparation, they draw long slender fibres which shine like silk, and are as white as snow: of these, which are also surprizingly strong, the finer clothes are made; and of the leaves, without any other preparation than splitting them into proper breadths and trying the strips together, they make their fishing nets; some of which, as I have before remarked, are of an enormous size." It is added, that it is found in every kind of soil. It is perennial, and has a bulbous root. Some of the roots have lately been sent to England.] The chief disadvantage experienced by those who are sent to Norfolk Island, is the want of a good landing place. The bay which has been used for this purpose is inclosed by a reef of coral rock, through which there is a passage only for a boat; and during the tide of flood, when the wind is westerly, the landing is rather dangerous. In one of the debarkations a midshipman, who was ordered to lie within the reef, that he might attend the boats coming to shore, imprudently suffered his own boat to drive into the surf, and was lost, with four men. He had been once before overset in consequence of a similar inattention, and then had lost one man. On the coast of the island are several small bays, and there are still hopes that a better landing place may be discovered; but the necessity of employing all the men in sheltering themselves and the stores from the weather, or in clearing ground for various purposes, has hitherto prevented Mr. King from sending out any persons to complete the examination. Should this enquiry prove unsuccessful, it is proposed to attempt the blowing up of one or two small rocks, by which the reef is rendered dangerous. If this expedient also should fail, the evil must be borne with patience. In summer the landing will generally be sufficiently secure; and seamen, who have seen the bay of Riga, in the Baltic, declare, that it will at all times be safer for a ship to load with masts and spars at Norfolk Island, than in that place, where so many ships are freighted yearly. Rats are the only quadrupeds which have been found in this island; and from these, as well as from the ants, it was feared the crops might suffer; but no great inconvenience has yet been experienced from them; and proper exertions seldom fail in a short time to reduce the number of such enemies, enough to make their depredations very inconsiderable. On the whole, Norfolk Island certainly deserves to be considered as an acquisition of some importance, and is likely to answer even the most sanguine expectations. Some canoes have been found on the rocks, which were supposed to have been driven from New Zealand; but the appearance of a fresh cocoa nut and a small piece of manufactured wood, which seemed to have been only a small time in the water, has lately suggested an idea that probably some inhabited island may lie at no great distance. There has not been as yet any opportunity to determine whether this opinion be well founded or not. A small island, but entirely uninhabited, was discovered by Lieutenant Ball in his passage to Norfolk Island. In his return he examined it, and found that the shore abounded with turtle, but there was no good anchorage. He named it Lord Howe Island. It is in 31° 36' south latitude, and 159° east longitude. Part of this island being very high may be seen at the distance of sixteen leagues, and a rock to the south-east of it, may be discerned even at eighteen leagues. In latitude 29° 25' south, longitude 159° 59' east, a very dangerous reef has since been seen. The ship from which it was observed was then four leagues to the southward, and it could not at that time be ascertained how far it extends to the northward. To expedite the cultivation of Norfolk Island a fresh detachment was sent thither in October, consisting of an officer and eight marines, with thirty convicts, consisting of ten women and twenty men: Thus, there existed on this islet, when the last accounts were transmitted, forty-four men and sixteen women, who, having eighteen months provisions, lived comfortably on this sequestered spot, under the prudent management of a youthful ruler, of whose busy life the reader may wish to know all the particulars, which at present can be authentically told. Philip Gidley King, who had the honour to conduct the original settlers to Norfolk Island, was born at Launceston in Cornwall, on the 23d of April, 1758. He is the son of Philip King, of that town, draper, who married the daughter of John Gidley, of Exeter, attorney at law. Much as he owes to his parents, he is indebted for his scholastic learning to Mr. Bailey at Yarmouth. He derives, probably, some advantages from making an early choice of his profession. At the age of twelve, he went to the East Indies on board the Swallow frigate, Captain Shirley, by whom he was rated a midshipman. From this station he returned to England, at the end of five years, with much knowledge of his business, and some acquaintance with the world. In 1775, he entered upon real service; and has continued in active employment from that period to this great epoch of his life. He went to Virginia with Captain Bellew, in the Liverpool, during the year 1775; with whom he continued till the shipwreck of that frigate in Delaware Bay. And having entered on board the Princess Royal, in October 1778, he was made a Lieutenant by Admiral Byron, in the Renown, on the 26th of November following. He returned to England in the subsequent year; and served in the Channel on board the Kite cutter, and Ariadne frigate, till the beginning of 1783. With Captain Phillip he went to the East Indies, as Lieutenant of the Europe, in January 1783; from whence he returned on the restoration of complete peace, in May 1784. In this service it was, that Phillip and King became acquainted with the merit of each other. And when the expedition to New South Wales was projected, King was appointed Lieutenant of the Sirius, on the 25th of October, 1786, at the same time that Phillip was nominated Commander of the voyage. Chapter XI. March 1788 to May 1788 Three of the transports cleared--Two excursions made into the country, on the fifteenth of April, and on the twenty-second--Huts of the natives--Sculpture, and other particulars. 25 March 1788 On the 25th of March, the Charlotte, Lady Penrhyn, and Scarborough transports, having been cleared of all their stores, were discharged from government service, and left at liberty to proceed for China, whenever their commanders should think proper. The other ships were of necessity detained till the store-houses could be finished. 15 April 1788 The month of April was not distinguished by any events that deserve to be related, except two expeditions of Governor Phillip for the purpose of exploring the country. On the first of these excursions he set out on the 15th with provisions for four days; attended by several officers, and a small party of marines. They landed at the head of a small cove, called Shell Cove, near the entrance of the harbour on the north side. Proceeding in this direction they arrived at a large lake, which they examined, though not without great labour. It was surrounded by a considerable extent of bog and marshy ground, in which, in the course of their progress, they were frequently plunged up to the waist. On this lake they first observed a black swan, which species, though proverbially rare in other parts of the world, is here by no means uncommon, being found on most of the lakes. This was a very noble bird, larger than the common swan, and equally beautiful in form. On being shot at, it rose and discovered that its wings were edged with white: the bill was tinged with red. In three days, with great difficulty, they passed the swamps and marshes which lie near the harbour. Nothing can more fully point out the great improvement which may be made by the industry of a civilized people in this country, than the circumstances of the small streams which descend into Port Jackson. They all proceed from swamps produced by the stagnation of the water after rising from the springs. When the obstacles which impede their course can be removed, and free channels opened through which they may flow, the adjacent ground will gradually be drained, and the streams themselves will become more useful; at the same time habitable and salubrious situations will be gained in places where at present perpetual damps prevail, and the air itself appears to stagnate. On leaving these low grounds, they found them succeeded by a rocky and barren country. The hills were covered with flowering shrubs, but by means of various obstacles the ascending and descending was difficult, and in many parts impracticable. At the distance of about fifteen miles from the sea coast Governor Phillip obtained a very fine view of the inland country and its mountains, to several of which he now gave names. The most northern of them he named Carmarthen Hills, the most southern Lansdown Hills; one which lay between these was called Richmond Hill. From the manner in which these mountains appeared to rise, it was thought almost certain that a large river must descend from among them. But it was now necessary to return, without making any further examination. 22 April 1788 On the 22d another excursion of the same kind was undertaken: Governor Phillip landed with his party near the head of the harbour. Here they found a good country, but in a short time arrived at a very close cover; and after passing the chief part of the day in fruitless attempts to make their way through it, were obliged to relinquish the attempt, and return. The next day, by keeping close to the banks of a small creek for about four miles, they contrived to pass the cover, and for the three succeeding days continued their course to the west-ward. The country through which they travelled was singularly fine, level, or rising in small hills of a very pleasing and picturesque appearance. The soil excellent, except in a few small spots where it was stony. The trees growing at the distance of from twenty to forty feet from each other, and in general entirely free from underwood, which was confined to the stony and barren spots. On the fifth day they ascended a small eminence, whence, for the first time in this second expedition, they saw Carmarthen and Lansdown Hills. The country round this hill was so beautiful, that Governor Phillip gave it the name of Belle-vue. They were still apparently thirty miles from the mountains which it had been their object to reach, and not having found it practicable, with the tents, arms, and other necessaries, to carry more than six days provisions, were obliged to return. Even with this small stock, the officers as well as men, had been under the necessity of carrying heavy loads. Water for the use of the day was always taken; for though it happened in every instance that pools of water were found which had remained after the rains, yet this was a supply on which they could not previously depend. The extraordinary difficulty of penetrating into this country had now been fully experienced; where unexpected delays from deep ravines and other obstacles, frequently force the traveller from his direct course, and baffle every conjecture concerning the time required for passing a certain tract. The utmost extent of this excursion in a direct line had not been more than thirty miles, and it had taken up five days. The return of the party was effected with much more ease; the track was made, and the trees marked the whole way where they had passed; with these assistances they reached their boats in a day and a half. It was still the general opinion that the appearance of the country promised the discovery of a large river in that district, whenever the line now taken could be fully pursued. Another expedition was therefore planned, in which it was determined, if possible, to reach either Lansdown or Carmarthen Hills: and the hope of so important a discovery as that of a river made every one anxious to go, notwithstanding the great fatigue with which these undertakings were attended. But this design was for the present unavoidably deferred. Governor Phillip, who had not been perfectly well even at the time of setting out on the excursion to Broken Bay, had then contracted a severe pain in his side, by sleeping frequently on the wet ground. This complaint had in the two last journeys received so much increase, that he found it absolutely necessary to allow himself the respite of a few weeks, before he again encountered so much fatigue. The country explored in this last journey was so good and so fit for the purposes of cultivation, that the Governor resolved to send a detachment to settle there, as soon as a sufficient number could be spared from works of more immediate necessity. But notwithstanding the goodness of the soil it is a matter of astonishment how the natives, who know not how to avail themselves of its fertility, can subsist in the inland country. On the coast fish makes a considerable part of their food, but where that cannot be had, it seems hardly possible that with their spears, the only missile weapon yet observed among them, they should be able to procure any kind of animal food. With the assistance of their guns the English gentlemen could not obtain, in the last six days they were out, more than was barely sufficient for two meals. Yet, that these parts are frequented by the natives was undeniably proved by the temporary huts which were seen in several places. Near one of these huts the bones of a kanguroo were found, and several trees were seen on fire. A piece of a root resembling that of the fern tree was also picked up by Governor Phillip; part of this root had been chewed, and so recently that it was thought it could not have been left many minutes. It seemed evident by several marks, that the natives had only fled at the approach of the English party, but so effectually did they conceal themselves that not one was seen. The number of the natives in these inland parts must, however, be very small. Whether these reside by choice where they must encounter so many difficulties, or whether they are driven from the society of those who inhabit the coast, has not yet been discovered. The huts seen here consisted of single pieces of bark, about eleven feet in length, and from four to six in breadth, bent in the middle while fresh from the tree, and set up so as to form an acute angle, not a little resembling cards set up by children. In the plate inserted here, not only the huts, but some of the spears of the natives are introduced. It was conjectured, that the chief use of these imperfect structures might be, to conceal them from the animals for which they must frequently be obliged to lie in wait. They may also afford shelter from a shower of rain to one or two who sit or lie under them. The bark of many trees was observed to be cut into notches, as if for the purpose of climbing; and in several there were holes, apparently the retreat of some animal, but enlarged by the natives for the purpose of catching the inhabitant. The enlargement of these holes with their imperfect instruments, must itself be a work of time, and must require no little patience. In some places, where the hole was rather too high to be reached from the ground, boughs of trees were laid to facilitate the ascent. The animals that take refuge in those places are probably the squirrel, the opossum, or the kanguroo-rat. At the bottom of one of these trees, the skin of a flying squirrel was found. In many places fires had lately been made; but in one only were seen any shells of oysters or muscles, and there not more than half a dozen. Fish-bones were not found at all, which seems to prove, that in their journies inland these people do not carry with them any provisions of that kind. Kanguroos were frequently seen, but were so shy that it was very difficult to shoot them. With respect to these animals, it is rather an extraordinary circumstance, that, notwithstanding their great shyness, and notwithstanding they are daily shot at, more of them are seen near the camp than in any other part of the country. The kanguroo, though it resembles the jerboa in the peculiarity of using only the hinder legs in progression, does not belong to that genus. The pouch of the female, in which the young are nursed, is thought to connect it rather with the opossum tribe. This extraordinary formation, hitherto esteemed peculiar to that one genus, seems, however, in New Holland not to be sufficiently characteristic: it has been found both in the rat and the squirrel kind. The largest kanguroo which has yet been shot weighed about one hundred and forty pounds. But it has been discovered that there are two kinds, one of which seldom exceeds sixty pounds in weight: these live chiefly on the high grounds: their hair is of a reddish cast, and the head is shorter than in the larger sort. Young kanguroos which have been taken, have in a few days grown very tame, but none have lived more than two or three weeks. Yet it is still possible that when their proper food shall be better known, they may be domesticated. Near some water, in this journey, was found the dung of an animal that fed on grass, which, it was supposed, could not have been less than a horse. A kanguroo, so much above the usual size, would have been an extraordinary phaenomenon, though no larger animal has yet been seen, and the limits of growth in that species are not ascertained. The tail of the kanguroo, which is very large, is found to be used as a weapon of offence, and has given such severe blows to dogs as to oblige them to desist from pursuit. Its flesh is coarse and lean, nor would it probably be used for food, where there was not a scarcity of fresh provisions. The disproportion between the upper and lower parts of this animal is greater than has been shown in any former delineations of it, but is well expressed in the plate inserted here. The dimensions of a stuffed kanguroo in the possession of Mr. Nepean, are these, f. in. Length from the point of the nose to the end of the tail, 6 1 -- of the tail, 2 1 ---- head, 0 8 ---- fore legs, 1 0 ---- hinder legs, 2 8 Circumference of the forepart, by the legs, 1 1 ---- lower parts, ---- 3 2 The middle toe of the hind feet is remarkably long, strong, and sharp. The natives of New South Wales, though in so rude and uncivilized a state as not even to have made an attempt towards clothing themselves, notwithstanding that at times they evidently suffer from the cold and wet, are not without notions of sculpture. In all these excursions of Governor Phillip, and in the neighbourhood of Botany Bay and Port Jackson, the figures of animals, of shields, and weapons, and even of men, have been seen carved upon the rocks, roughly indeed, but sufficiently well to ascertain very fully what was the the object intended. Fish were often represented, and in one place the form of a large lizard was sketched out with tolerable accuracy. On the top of one of the hills, the figure of a man in the attitude usually assumed by them when they begin to dance, was executed in a still superior style. That the arts of imitation and amusement, should thus in any degree precede those of necessity, seems an exception to the rules laid down by theory for the progress of invention. But perhaps it may better be considered as a proof that the climate is never so severe as to make the provision of covering or shelter a matter of absolute necessity. Had these men been exposed to a colder atmosphere, they would doubtless have had clothes and houses, before they attempted to become sculptors. In all the country hitherto explored, the parties have seldom gone a quarter of a mile without seeing trees which had been on fire. As violent thunder storms are not uncommon on this coast, it is possible that they may have been burnt by lightning, which the gum-tree is thought particularly to attract; but it is probable also that they may have been set on fire by the natives. The gum-tree is highly combustible, and it is a common practice with them to kindle their fires at the root of one of these trees. When they quit a place they never extinguish the fire they have made, but leave it to burn out, or to communicate its flames to the tree, as accidental circumstances may determine. Governor Phillip, on his return from this excursion, had the mortification to find that five ewes and a lamb had been killed very near the camp, and in the middle of the day. How this had happened was not known, but it was conjectured that they must have been killed by dogs belonging to the natives. The loss of any part of the stock of cattle was a serious misfortune, since it must be a considerable time before it could be replaced. Fish affords, in this place, only an uncertain resource: on some days great quantities are caught, though not sufficient to save any material part of the provisions; but at times it is very scarce. An account of the live stock at this time in the settlement is subjoined to this chapter. The three transports bound to China, sailed the 5th, 6th, and 8th of May; and the Supply having been caulked, sailed on the 6th to Lord Howe Island for turtle, in hopes of giving some check to the scurvy, with which the people were still so much affected that near two hundred were incapable of work. From the great labour which attended the clearing of the ground it proved to be impracticable to sow at present more than eight or ten acres with wheat and barley*: and it was apprehended that even this crop would suffer from the depredations of ants and field mice. In the beginning of May it was supposed, as it had been once or twice before, that the rainy season was set in; but in about a week the weather became fine again. [* Besides what was sown by the Lieutenant Governor and other individuals, for the support of their own stock: to assist whom, the labour of the convicts was occasionally lent.] AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIVE STOCK IN THE SETTLEMENT AT PORT JACKSON, MAY 1ST, 1788. Government Stallions 1 Mares 2 Bulls 2 Cows 2 Sheep: Ram 1 Ewes 12 Wethers 3 Goats 1 Hogs: Boar 1 Sows 19 Governor Mares 1 Colts 3 Cows 2 Sheep: Ewe 1 Lamb 1 Hogs 10 Rabbits 3 Turkies 5 Geese 8 Ducks 17 Fowls 22 Lieutenant Governor Goats 1 Hogs 1 Pigs 7 Turkies 5 Geese 6 Ducks 4 Fowls 9 Officers and men belonging to the detachment Cows 1 Goats 12 Hogs 10 Pigs 17 Rabbits 2 Turkies 6 Geese 9 Ducks 8 Fowls 55 Chickens 25 Staff Sheep 11 Goats 5 Hogs 7 Pigs 1 Turkies 2 Geese 6 Ducks 6 Fowls 36 Chickens 62 Other individuals Hogs 1 Totals Stallions 1 Mares 3 Colts 3 Bulls 2 Cows 5 Sheep 29 Goats 19 Hogs 49 Pigs 25 Rabbits 5 Turkies 18 Geese 29 Ducks 35 Fowls 122 Chickens 87 (Signed,) ANDREW MILLER, Commissary. Chapter XII. May 1788 to June 1788 The Supply returns from Lord Howe Island--Some convicts assaulted by the natives--excursion of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay by Land--interview with many natives--the fourth of June celebrated--some account of the climate. 25 May 1788 On the 25th of May, the Supply tender returned from Lord Howe Island, but unfortunately without having been able to procure any turtle. She had met with squally weather, and had been obliged to cut away her best bower anchor, but suffered no other damage. The three transports bound for China had all appeared off the island while the Supply remained there. About this time one of the convicts who, in searching for vegetables, had gone a considerable way from the camp, returned very dangerously wounded in the back. He said, that another man who had gone out for the same purpose, had been carried off by the natives in his sight, after having been wounded in the head. A shirt and hat were afterwards found, both pierced with spears, in one of the huts of the natives; but no intelligence of the man could be gained. There could be little doubt that the convicts had been the aggressors, though the man who returned strongly denied having given any kind of provocation. 30 May 1788 On the thirtieth of May, two men who had been employed in collecting rushes for thatch at some distance from the camp, were found dead. One of them had four spears in his body, one of which had pierced entirely through it: the other had not any marks of violence upon him. In this case it was clearly proved that the first injury had been offered by the unfortunate men, who paid so dearly for their dishonesty and disobedience of orders; for they had been seen with a canoe, which they had taken from one of the fishing places. These events were much regretted by Governor Phillip, as tending entirely to the frustration of the plan he had so much at heart, of conciliating the affections of the natives, and establishing a friendly intercourse with them. As the rush-cutters tools had been carried away, the Governor thought it might be possible to discover the natives who had been concerned in this unfortunate affray; and to make them understand that the conduct of their assailants had been entirely unwarranted, and was very highly disapproved. He judged the attempt to be at least worth making, as it seemed the only way to restore that confidence which must have been interrupted by this affair. The next day, therefore, he went out with a small party, consisting altogether of twelve persons, and landed at the place where the men were killed. After traversing the country for more than twenty miles, they arrived at the north shore of Botany Bay, without having met with one of the natives. In this place, at length, they saw about twenty canoes employed in fishing: and when the fires were made, and the party encamped to pass the night upon the beach, it was fully expected that some of those in the canoes would have joined them, but not one appeared. The next morning, though fifty canoes were drawn up on the beach, not a single person could be found belonging to them. Governor Phillip had now determined to return to Port Jackson; but as he went, keeping for some time near the sea coast, he discovered a great number of the natives, apparently more than could belong to that district, assembled at the mouth of a cave. The party was within ten yards of them before they were perceived, and the Governor had hardly time to make his people halt before numbers appeared in arms. The man who seemed to take the lead, as he advanced made signs for the English to retire, but when he saw Governor Phillip approach alone, unarmed, and in a friendly manner, he gave his spear away and met him with perfect confidence. In less than three minutes the English party found itself surrounded by two hundred and twelve men; but nothing occurred in this transaction which could in the least confirm the idea, that the natives were accustomed to act with treachery, or inclined to take any cruel advantage of superiority in numbers. The moment the offered friendship was accepted on their side, they laid down their spears and stone hatchets, and joined the party in the most amicable manner. Numbers of women and children remained at a small distance, some of whom the men afterwards brought down to receive the little articles which were offered as presents. Nothing was seen among these people which could at all prove that any of them had been engaged in the affray with the rush-cutters; and the Governor parted with them on the most friendly terms, but more convinced than ever of the necessity of treating them with a proper degree of confidence, in order to prevent disagreement. Had he gone up with all his party, or had he even hesitated a moment before he advanced himself, making the signals of friendship, a lance would probably have been thrown, after which nothing could have prevented a rencounter, which in such circumstances must have been fatal. Here was seen the finest stream of water that had hitherto been discovered in the country, but the cove into which it runs lies very open to the sea. When the natives saw that the English were going forward towards the next cove, one of them, an old man, made signs that he might be allowed to go first. He did so, and as soon as he had ascended the hill, called out, holding up both his hands, (the usual signal of amity among these people) to signify to the natives in the next cove that they who were advancing were friends. The Governor's party did not, however, descend to that cove, but saw about forty men, so that, unless they had assembled themselves on some particular occasion, they must be more numerous in that part than had been before imagined. Governor Phillip had calculated before, from the parties he had seen, that in Botany Bay, Port Jackson, Broken Bay, and all the intermediate country, the inhabitants could not exceed one thousand five hundred. In crossing the hills at this time between Botany Bay and Port Jackson, smoke was seen on the top of Lansdown Hills, which seems to prove beyond a doubt, that the country is inhabited as far as those mountains, which are not less than fifty miles from the sea. Further enquiries having given some reason to suppose, that one of the natives had been murdered, and several wounded, previously to the attack made upon the rush-cutters, Governor Phillip on his return, proclaimed the reward of emancipation to any convict who should discover the aggressors. This step, if it did not in this instance procure any information, seemed likely to prevent such acts of violence in future. No very good fortune had hitherto attended the live stock belonging to the settlement, but the heaviest blow was yet to come. About this time the two bulls and four cows, belonging to Government, and to the Governor, having been left for a time by the man who was appointed to attend them, strayed into the woods, and though they were traced to some distance, never could be recovered. This was a loss which must be for some time irreparable. 4 June 1788 The fourth of June was not suffered to pass without due celebration. It was a day of remission from labour, and of general festivity throughout the settlement. At sun-rise the Sirius and Supply fired each a salute of twenty-one guns, and again at one o'clock, when the marines on shore also saluted with three vollies. At sunset the same honours were a third time repeated from the ships; large bonfires were lighted, and the whole camp afforded a scene of joy. That there might not be any exception to the happiness of this day, the four convicts who had been reprieved from death, and banished to an island in the middle of the harbour, received a full pardon, and were sent for to bear their part in the general exultation. The Governor, in his letters, with that humanity which so strongly distinguishes his character, says, he trusts that on this day there was not a single heavy heart in this part of his Majesty's dominions. His own house was the centre of conviviality to all who could be admitted to that society, nor was any thing neglected which in such a situation could mark a day of celebrity, consistently with propriety and good order. Perhaps no birth-day was ever celebrated in more places, or more remote from each other, than that of his Majesty on this day. It was now, it seems, first generally known, that the name of Cumberland County had been given by the Governor to this part of the territory. This name had been fixed before the assembling of the first courts, for the sake of preserving regularity in the form of the public acts, in which it is usual to name the county. The boundaries fixed for Cumberland County were, on the west, Carmarthen and Lansdown Hills: on the north, the northern parts of Broken Bay; and to the southward, the southern parts of Botany Bay. Thus including completely these three principal bays, and leaving the chief place of settlement at Sydney Cove nearly in the centre. On the 22d of June was a slight shock of an earthquake, which did not last more than two or three seconds. It was felt by most people in the camp, and by the Governor himself, who heard at the same time a noise from the southward, which he took at first for the report of guns fired at a great distance. 24 June 1788 On the 24th, a convict who had absconded on the 5th, having been guilty of a robbery, returned into the camp almost starved. He had hoped to subsist in the woods, but found it impossible. One of the natives gave him a fish, and then made signs for him to go away. He said, that afterwards he joined a party of the natives, who would have burnt him, but that with some difficulty he made his escape; and he pretended to have seen the remains of a human body actually lying on a fire, but little credit can be given to reports from such a quarter. He was of opinion that the natives were at this time in great distress for food, and said, that he had seen four of them dying in the woods, who made signs for something to eat, as if they were perishing through hunger. It is certain that very little fish could be caught at this time, and the convict seemed desirous to suggest the notion that they supplied their necessities occasionally with human flesh; but there seems to be no good foundation for such an opinion. This man was tried for his offence, pleaded guilty, and suffered with another criminal. It was now sufficiently ascertained, that though the necessity of subsisting so long chiefly upon salt provisions, and of remaining encamped in very wet weather had produced the scurvy, and other disorders common in such circumstances, the climate itself wherein this new settlement is fixed is mild and salubrious. Heavy rains had generally attended the changes of the moon during the winter months, but there had not been any time that could properly be called a rainy season. The clearing away of the woods will of course assist the circulation of air, and continually increase the healthfulness of the place. Violent storms of thunder and lightning sometimes happened, and Governor Phillip observed the variation of his thermometer, in the shade, to amount frequently to thirty-three degrees, between eight in the morning and two in the afternoon. The report of the surgeon at this time is subjoined. A RETURN OF SICK, ETC. JUNE 30, 1788. Marines sick in the hospital 4 Convalescents in the hospital 2 Marines sick in camp 18 Convalescents in the hospital 6 Wives and children of marines sick in the hospital 6 Total belonging to the battalion under medical treatment 36 Of marines dead from the time of embarkation to landing 1 Women dead from the time of embarkation to landing 1 Children dead from the time of embarkation to landing 1 Marines dead since landing 3 Women dead since landing 0 Children dead since landing 2 Total dead from the time of embarkation to the present date 8 Convicts sick in the hospital 20 Convalescents in the hospital 4 Convicts sick in camp 26 Convalescents in the hospital 16 Total of convicts under medical treatment 66 Male convicts dead from the time of embarkation to landing 36 Female convicts dead from the time of embarkation to landing 4 Convicts children dead from the time of embarkation to landing 5 Total 45 Male convicts dead since landing 20 Female convicts dead since landing 8 Convicts children dead since landing 8 Total dead, from the time of embarkation to the present date 81 Convicts unfit for labour, from old age, infirmities, etc. 52 JOHN WHITE, Surgeon. Sydney Cove, Port Jackson. Chapter XIII. June 1788 to July 1788 Particular description of Sydney Cove--Of the buildings actually erected--and of the intended town--A settlement made at the head of the harbour. There are few things more pleasing than the contemplation of order and useful arrangement, arising gradually out of tumult and confusion; and perhaps this satisfaction cannot any where be more fully enjoyed than where a settlement of civilized people is fixing itself upon a newly discovered or savage coast. The wild appearance of land entirely untouched by cultivation, the close and perplexed growing of trees, interrupted now and then by barren spots, bare rocks, or spaces overgrown with weeds, flowers, flowering shrubs, or underwood, scattered and intermingled in the most promiscuous manner, are the first objects that present themselves; afterwards, the irregular placing of the first tents which are pitched, or huts which are erected for immediate accommodation, wherever chance presents a spot tolerably free from obstacles, or more easily cleared than the rest, with the bustle of various hands busily employed in a number of the most incongruous works, increases rather than diminishes the disorder, and produces a confusion of effect, which for a time appears inextricable, and seems to threaten an endless continuance of perplexity. But by degrees large spaces are opened, plans are formed, lines marked, and a prospect at least of future regularity is clearly discerned, and is made the more striking by the recollection of the former confusion. To this latter state the settlement at Sydney Cove had now at length arrived, and is so represented in the plan annexed. Lines are there traced out which distinguish the principal street of an intended town, to be terminated by the Governor's house, the main guard, and the criminal court. In some parts of this space temporary barracks at present stand, but no permanent buildings will be suffered to be placed, except in conformity to the plan laid down. Should the town be still further extended in future, the form of other streets is also traced in such a manner as to ensure a free circulation of air. The principal streets, according to this design, will be two hundred feet wide; the ground proposed for them to the southward is nearly level, and is altogether an excellent situation for buildings. It is proposed by Governor Phillip that when houses are to be built here, the grants of land shall be made with such clauses as will prevent the building of more than one house on one allotment, which is to consist of sixty feet in front, and one hundred and fifty feet in depth. These regulations will preserve a kind of uniformity in the buildings, prevent narrow streets, and exclude many inconveniences which a rapid increase of inhabitants might otherwise occasion hereafter. It has been also an object of the Governor's attention to place the public buildings in situations that will be eligible at all times, and particularly to give the storehouses and hospital sufficient space for future enlargement, should it be found necessary. The first huts that were erected here were composed of very perishable materials, the soft wood of the cabbage palm, being only designed to afford immediate shelter. The necessity of using the wood quite green made it also the less likely to prove durable. The huts of the convicts were still more slight, being composed only of upright posts, wattled with slight twigs, and plaistered up with clay. Barracks and huts were afterwards formed of materials rather more lasting. Buildings of stone might easily have been raised, had there been any means of procuring lime for mortar. The stone which has been found is of three sorts: A fine free stone, reckoned equal in goodness to that of Portland; an indifferent kind of sand stone, or firestone; and a sort which appears to contain a mixture of iron. But neither chalk, nor any species of lime-stone has yet been discovered. In building a small house for the Governor on the eastern side of the Cove, (marked 1 in the plan) lime was made of oyster shells, collected in the neighbouring coves; but it cannot be expected that lime should be supplied in this manner for many buildings, or indeed for any of great extent. Till this difficulty shall be removed by the discovery of chalk or lime-stone, the public buildings must go on very slowly, unless care be taken to send out those articles as ballast in all the ships destined for Port Jackson. In the mean time the materials can only be laid in clay, which makes it necessary to give great thickness to the walls, and even then they are not so firm as might be wished. Good clay for bricks is found near Sydney Cove, and very good bricks have been made. The wood, from the specimens that have been received in England, appears to be good; it is heavy indeed, but fine grained, and apparently strong, and free from knots. The imperfections that were found in it at first arose probably from the want of previous seasoning. The hospital is placed on the west side of the Cove, in a very healthful situation, entirely clear of the town; and is built in such a manner as to last for some years. On the high ground between the hospital and the town, if water can be found by sinking wells, it is the Governor's intention to erect the barracks, surrounding them with proper works. These were to have been begun as soon as the transports were cleared, and the men hutted, but the progress of work was rendered so slow by the want of an adequate number of able workmen, that it was necessary to postpone that undertaking for a time. The ground marked out for a church lies still nearer to the town, so that this edifice will form in part one side of the principal parade. The design which demanded the most immediate execution was that of a storehouse, which might be secure from the danger of fire. In a country exposed to frequent storms of thunder and lightning, it was rather an uneasy situation to have all the provisions and other necessaries lodged in wooden buildings, covered with thatch of the most combustible kind. On the point of land that forms the west side of the Cove, and on an elevated spot, a small observatory has been raised under the direction of Lieutenant Dawes, who was charged by the Board of Longitude with the care of observing the expected comet. The longitude of this observatory is ascertained to be 159° 19' 30" east from Greenwich, and the latitude 32° 52' 30" south. A small house, built by the Lieutenant Governor for himself, forms at present the corner of the parade; the principal street will be carried on at right angles with the front of this building. Instead of thatch, they now use shingles made from a tree in appearance like a fir, but producing a wood not unlike the English oak. This, though more secure than thatching, is not enough so for storehouses. For these, if slate-stone should not be found, tiles must be made of the clay which has been used for bricks. The principal farm is situated in the next cove to the east of the town, and less than half a mile from it. When the plan was drawn it contained about nine acres laid down in corn of different kinds. Later accounts speak of six acres of wheat, eight of barley, and six of other grain, as raised on the public account, and in a very promising way. Sydney cove lies open to the north-east, and is continued in a south-west direction for near a thousand yards, gradually decreasing from the breadth of about one thousand four hundred feet, till it terminates in a point, where it receives a small stream of fresh water. The anchorage extends about two thousand feet up the cove, and has soundings in general of four fathoms near the shore, and five, six, or seven, nearer the middle of the channel. It is perfectly secure in all winds; and for a considerable way up on both sides, ships can lie almost close to the shore: nor are there, in any part of it, rocks or shallows to render the navigation dangerous. Such a situation could not fail to appear desireable to a discerning man, whose object it was to establish a settlement, which he knew must for some time depend for support on the importation of the principal necessaries of life. It is supposed that metals of various kinds abound in the soil on which the town is placed. A convict, who had formerly been used to work in the Staffordshire lead mines, declared very positively, that the ground which they were now clearing, contains a large quantity of that ore: and copper is supposed to lie under some rocks which were blown up in sinking a cellar for the public stock of spirituous liquors. It is the opinion of the Governor himself that several metals are actually contained in the earth hereabouts, and that mines may hereafter be worked to great advantage: but at present he strongly discourages any search of this kind, very judiciously discerning, that in the present situation of his people, which requires so many exertions of a very different nature, the discovering of a mine would be the greatest evil that could befal the settlement. In some places where they dug, in making wells, they found a substance which at first was taken for a metal, but which proving perfectly refractory in a very strong and long continued heat, has since been concluded to be black lead. The kind of pigment called by painters Spanish brown, is found in great abundance, and the white clay with which the natives paint themselves is still in greater plenty. The Abbe le Receveur was of opinion, that this clay, if cleared from the sand, which might easily be separated, would make excellent porcelain. The climate at Sydney Cove is considered, on the whole, as equal to the finest in Europe. The rains are not ever of long duration, and there are seldom any fogs: the soil, though in general light, and rather sandy in this part, is full as good as usually is found so near the sea-coast. All the plants and fruit trees brought from Brasil and the Cape, which were not damaged in the passage, thrive exceedingly; and vegetables have now become plentiful, both the European sorts and such as are peculiar to this country. In the Governor's garden are excellent cauliflowers, and melons very fine of their kinds. The orange trees flourish, and the fig trees and vines are improving still more rapidly. In a climate so favourable, the cultivation of the vine may doubtless be carried to any degree of perfection; and should not other articles of commerce divert the attention of the settlers from this point, the wines of New South Wales may, perhaps, hereafter be sought with avidity, and become an indispensable part of the luxury of European tables. The rank grass under the trees, unfortunately proved fatal to all the sheep purchased by Governor Phillip, on his own and on the public account. Those which private individuals kept close to their own tents, and fed entirely there, were preserved. Hogs and poultry not only thrive but increase very fast; black cattle will doubtless succeed as well, and it will be easy in future to secure them from straying. The horses have not met with any accident. The last dispatches from Governor Phillip bring an account of his having sent a small detachment up to that ground at the upper end of Port Jackson, which he discovered in one of his excursions to be so highly fit for cultivation. This party consisted of a captain, two lieutenants of marines, with twenty-five non-commissioned officers and privates: about fifty convicts were added as labourers. This spot is very pleasant, and has been named by the Governor, Rose-hill. The flax-plant, which was seen at the first arrival of our people, has not been found since in any great abundance. A most ample supply of this valuable article may, however, always be obtained from Norfolk Island. Governor Phillip, when he judged the seeds to be ripe, ordered them to be collected, but at that time very few of the plants were found, and not any in the places where the greatest quantity had been seen. It is thought that the natives pull up the plant when it is in flower to make their fishing lines. On the whole, notwithstanding the difficulties and disadvantages at first experienced, which, though great, were not more than must naturally be expected to occur in such an undertaking; notwithstanding the sicknesses which from various causes prevailed for some time among the people, the settlement at Sydney Cove wore a very promising aspect at the time when the last accounts were sent; and there can be no doubt that it will be found hereafter fully to answer every expectation which was formed when the design was projected. The scantiness of the streams of fresh water was thought at first unfavourable, but good springs have since been found by digging. The house built for Governor Phillip stands about fifty-six feet above high-water mark, and there, by sinking a well about fifteen feet in the rock, an excellent spring of pure water has been obtained. Chapter XIV. July 1788 to October 1788 Fish violently seized by the natives--Another expedition of the Governor--Further account of the manners and manufactures of the native inhabitants of New South Wales--Difficulty of obtaining any intercourse. 9 July 1788 On the ninth of July, an effort was made by a party of natives, which seems to indicate that they were still distressed for provisions, or that they very highly resent the incroachments made upon their fishing places. A general order had been issued to those sent out on fishing parties, to give a part of what was caught to the natives if they approached, however small the quantity taken might be; and by these means they had always been sent away apparently satisfied. But on this day, about twenty of them, armed with spears, came down to the spot where our men were fishing, and without any previous attempt to obtain their purpose by fair means, violently seized the greatest part of the fish which was in the seine. While this detachment performed this act of depredation, a much greater number stood at a small distance with their spears poized, ready to have thrown them if any resistance had been made. But the cockswain who commanded the fishing party, very prudently suffered them to take away what they chose, and they parted on good terms. This is the only instance in which these people have attempted any unprovoked act of violence, and to this they probably were driven by necessity. Since this transaction, an officer has always been sent down the harbour with the boat. Governor Phillip went out about this time with a small party, to examine the land between Port Jackson and Broken Bay. Here were found many hundred acres of land, free from timber, and very fit for cultivation. He proceeded as far as Pitt Water, and saw several of the natives, but none of them chose to approach. When the party returned to the boats near the mouth of the harbour, about sixty of these people, men, women, and children, were assembled there. Some hours were passed with them in a peaceful and very friendly manner, but though in all this time they discovered no uneasiness, they seemed best pleased when their visitors were preparing to depart. This has always been the case, since it has been known among them that our people intend to remain on the coast. Many of the women were employed at this time in fishing, a service which is not uncommonly performed by them, the men being chiefly occupied in making canoes, spears, fish-gigs, and the other articles that constitute their small stock of necessary implements. Two women were here observed to be scarred on the shoulders like the men; this was the first instance in which they had been seen so marked. The sailors who waited on the beach to take care of the boat saw about two hundred men assembled in two parties, who after some time drew themselves up on opposite sides, and from each party men advanced singly and threw their spears, guarding themselves at the same time with their shields. This seemed at first to be merely a kind of exercise, for the women belonging to both parties remained together on the beach; afterwards it had a more serious aspect, and the women are said to have run up and down in great agitation uttering violent shrieks. But it was not perceived that any men were killed. As it had been supposed that many of the natives had left this part of the coast, on account of the great scarcity of fish, the different coves of the harbour were examined in one day. At this time, not more than sixty-seven canoes were counted, and about one hundred and thirty of the people were seen. But it was the season in which they make their new canoes, and large parties were known to be in the woods for that purpose. A few days after this examination, Governor Phillip himself went again to explore the coast between Port Jackson and Botany Bay. In this journey few of the natives were seen, but new proofs were observed of their having been distressed for food. In the preceding summer they would not eat either the shark or the sting-ray, but now even coarser meat was acceptable, and indeed any thing that could afford the smallest nourishment. A young whale had just been driven upon the coast, which they were busily employed in carrying away. All that were seen at this time had large pieces of it, which appeared to have been laid upon the fire only long enough to scorch the outside. In this state they always eat their fish, never broiling it for more than a few minutes; they broil also the fern root, and another root, of which the plant is not yet known; and they usually eat together in families. Among the fruits used by them is a kind of wild fig; and they eat also the kernels of that fruit which resembles a pine-apple. The latter, when eaten by some of the French seamen, occasioned violent retchings; possibly the natives may remove the noxious qualities, by some process like those employed upon the cassada. The winter months, in which fish is very scarce upon the coast, are June, July, August, and part of September. From the beaten paths that are seen between Port Jackson and Broken Bay, and in other parts, it is thought that the natives frequently change their situation, but it has not been perceived that they make any regular migrations to the northward in the winter months, or to the south in summer. In consequence of the very extraordinary shyness of these people since the arrival of our settlement, little addition has been made to the knowledge of their manners attained by Captain Cook: but most of his observations have been confirmed. The whole, indeed, that can be known of a people, among whom civilization and the arts of life have made so small a progress, must amount to very little. The assertion that they have no nets*, is amongst the very few that have been found erroneous. Some small nets have been brought over, the manufacture of which is very curious. The twine of which they are made, appears to be composed of the fibres of the flax plant, with very little preparation; it is very strong, heavy, and so admirably well twisted as to have the appearance of the best whipcord. Governor Phillip mentions having had lines of their manufacture, which were made from the fur of some animal, and others that appeared to be of cotton. The meshes of their nets are formed of large loops, very artificially inserted into each other, but without any knots. At a small distance they have exactly the appearance of our common nets, but when they are closely examined the peculiar mode in which the loops are managed is very remarkable. Some ladies who have inspected one of these nets lately imported, declare that it is formed exactly on the same principle as the ground of point lace, except that it has only one turn of the thread, instead of two, in every loop. This net appears to have been used either as a landing net, or for the purpose of carrying the fish when taken. They have also small hoop nets, in which they catch lobsters, and sea crayfish. Their canoes and other implements are very exactly described by Captain Cook. [* Cook's first voyage, Hawkesworth, Vol. III. p. 233.--If it was only meant that they have no large nets for fishing, like the feine, as the New Zealanders have, the remark is certainly true.] The inhabitants of New South Wales have very few ornaments, except those which are impressed upon the skin itself, or laid on in the manner of paint. The men keep their beards short, it is thought by scorching off the hair, and several of them at the first arrival of our people seemed to take great delight in being shaved. They sometimes hang in their hair the teeth of dogs, and other animals, the claws of lobsters, and several small bones, which they fasten there by means of gum; but such ornaments have never been seen upon the women. Though they have not made any attempt towards clothing themselves, they are by no means insensible of the cold, and appear very much to dislike the rain. During a shower they have been observed to cover their heads with pieces of bark, and to shiver exceedingly. Governor Phillip was convinced by these circumstances that clothing would be very acceptable to them, if they could be induced to come enough among the English to learn the use of it. He has therefore applied for a supply of frocks and jackets to distribute among them, which are to be made long and loose, and to serve for either men or women. The bodies of these people in general smell strongly of oil, and the darkness of their colour is much increased by dirt. But though in these points they shew so little delicacy, they are not without emotions of disgust, when they meet with strong effluvia to which their organs are unaccustomed. One of them, after having touched a piece of pork, held out his finger for his companions to smell, with strong marks of distaste. Bread and meat they seldom refuse to take, but generally throw it away soon after. Fish they always accept very eagerly. Whether they use any particular rites of burial is not yet known, but from the following account it seems evident that they burn their dead. The ground having been observed to be raised in several places, like the ruder kind of graves of the common people in our church yards, Governor Phillip caused some of these barrows to be opened. In one of them a jaw bone was found not quite consumed, but in general they contained only ashes. From the manner in which these ashes were disposed, it appeared that the body must have been laid at length, raised from the ground a few inches only, or just enough to admit a fire under it; and having been consumed in this posture, it must then have been covered lightly over with mould. Fern is usually spread upon the surface, with a few stones, to keep it from being dispersed by the wind. These graves have not been found in very great numbers, nor ever near their huts. When the latest accounts arrived from Port Jackson, the natives still avoided all intercourse with our settlement, whether from dislike or from contempt is not perfectly clear: They think perhaps that we cannot teach them any thing of sufficient value to make them amends for our encroachments upon their fishing places. They seem to be among themselves perfectly honest, and often leave their spears and other implements upon the beach, in full confidence of finding them untouched. But the convicts too frequently carry them off, and dispose of them to vessels coming to England, though at the hazard on one side of being prosecuted for theft, and on the other for purchasing stolen goods. Injuries of this nature they generally revenge on such stragglers as they happen to meet; and perhaps have already learnt to distinguish these freebooters, by their blue and yellow jackets, as they very early did the soldiers by their red clothes. Beyond these attacks they have not yet committed any open acts of hostility, except the seizing of the fish in the instance above related. They have not attempted to annoy the settlers by setting fire to the grass, as they did when Captain Cook was on the coast; nor have they, which is more important, shown any desire to burn the crops of corn. So absolutely indispensable to the welfare of the settlement is the preservation of the grain, that an attempt of this kind must at all events be counteracted; but in no other case will any harsh measures be adopted, or any effort made to drive them to a greater distance. Conciliation is the only plan intended to be pursued: But Governor Phillip, when he last wrote, seemed to despair of getting any of them to remain among his people, long enough for either to acquire the language of the other, except by constraint. Hitherto he has been unwilling to take this method, but if it can be done in such a manner as not to create any general alarm among them, it will probably turn out to be the kindest piece of violence that could be used. Whenever it shall be practicable, by any means, to explain to them the friendly disposition of Governor Phillip and his people towards them, and to make them understand, that the men from whom they receive occasional injuries, are already a disgraced class, and liable to severe punishment for such proceedings, they will then perhaps acquire sufficient confidence in their new countrymen to mix with them, to enrich themselves with some of their implements, and to learn and adopt some of the most useful and necessary of their arts. It may, indeed, admit of a doubt whether many of the accommodations of civilized life, be not more than counterbalanced by the artificial wants to which they give birth; but it is undeniably certain that to teach the shivering savage how to clothe his body, and to shelter himself completely from the cold and wet, and to put into the hands of men, ready to perish for one half of the year with hunger, the means of procuring constant and abundant provision, must be to confer upon them benefits of the highest value and importance. According to the latest advices from Governor Phillip, the Sirius sailed for the Cape on the 2d of October, 1788, to purchase grain, flour, and other necessaries. Live stock was not to be procured by this ship, as being less wanted in the present state of the settlement, which had provisions in store for eighteen months, but not grain enough for seed, and for the support of cattle. The Fishburn and Golden Grove storeships sailed in November for England; the Supply was detained in Port Jackson for occasional use. At this time the officers were all in separate houses, and the whole detachment comfortably lodged, though the barracks were yet unfinished. Nothing more, that requires to be related, has yet been heard from the settlement. * * * * * REMARKS and DIRECTIONS for SAILING into PORT JACKSON, by Capt. J. HUNTER, of the Sirius. In coming in with Port Jackson, you will not immediately discover where the harbour is: Steer right in for the outer points, for there is not any thing in the way but what shows itself by the sea breaking on it, except a reef on the south shore which runs off a small distance only: when you are past this reef and are a-breast the next point on the same side, you will open to the south-ward of you an extensive branch of the harbour, into which you will sail; taking care to keep the shore on either side well on board, for there is a reef which dries at low water and lies very near the mid-channel, right off the first sandy cove on the east shore; this reef is pretty broad athwart, as well as up and down the channel, and shoals very gradually: The marks for it are, the outer north point and inner south point touching, Green Point will then be on with a remarkable notch in the back land. To avoid it to the eastward, pass the inner south head a cable's length from it, and when you open any part of the sandy beach of Camp Cove, haul short in for it until you bring the inner north head and inner south head on with each other; that mark will carry you up in five and six fathom: But if you cannot weather the reef, tack and stand into Camp Cove, which shoals gradually. If you pass to the westward of the reef, steer in for Middle Cape, which is steep too, then steer up for the next point above it on the same side; when you are that length, you may take what part of the channel you please, or anchor where you like. It flows Full and Change a quarter past eight. Rises 4 6 Neap Tide. Rises 6 0 Spring Tide. Chapter XV. The great advantage of a scientific eye over that of the unlearned observer, in viewing the productions of nature, cannot be more strongly exemplified than by the present state of the natural history of Botany Bay, and its vicinity. The English who first visited this part of the coast, staid there only a week, but having among them persons deeply versed in the study of nature, produced an account, to which the present settlers, after a residence of near eleven months when the last dispatches were dated, have been able to add but very little of importance. The properties and relations of many objects are known to the philosopher at first sight, his enquiries after novelty are conducted with sagacity, and when he cannot describe by name what he discovers, as being yet unnamed, he can at least refer it to its proper class and genus. The observation of unskilful persons is often detailed by trivial resemblances, while it passes by the marks which are really characteristic. Governor Phillip, in one of his letters, remarking the prodigious variety of vegetable productions then before his eyes, laments, that among all the people with him there happens not to be one who has any tolerable knowledge of botany. This circumstance is perhaps less to be regretted than a deficiency in any other branch of natural knowledge. The researches of some gentlemen among the first voyagers were particularly directed to botanical discoveries, and a work which is now preparing, in a style of uncommon accuracy and elegance by one of the most illustrious of them, will probably discover that there was little left undone, even in their short stay, towards completing that branch of enquiry. Of quadrupeds the whole stock contained in the country appears to be confined to a very few species: Wolves have not been seen, though the tracks of them were so frequently thought to be detected on this coast by Captain Cook's party. Birds are numerous, but they belong in general to classes already known to naturalists; a few drawings however, and specimens of both, have been sent over. These, to gratify, as far as possible, the curiosity of those readers whose attention is particularly directed to natural history, have been engraved, and a short account of them is thrown together in this chapter. Of reptiles few have been seen that are at all curious. A large Lizard, of the Scincus kind, with the remarkable peculiarity of a small spine or horn standing near the extremity of the tail, is said to be among some specimens sent over as private presents; and also a kind of frog, whose colour is blue; but these do not in other respects differ materially from the usual form of their respective species. The ants are fully described in Captain Cook's first voyage. * * * * * QUADRUPEDS. The KANGUROO has been particularly described already. THE SPOTTED OPOSSUM. The annexed plate represents a small animal of the opossum kind, which has not before been delineated. It is perhaps the same which is slightly described in Captain Cook's first voyage as resembling a polecat, having the back spotted with white; and is there said to be called by the natives Quoll.* The colour however is darker, being rather black than brown. [* Hawkesw. iii. p. 222.] The Spotted Opossum, for so it may properly be named, is in length from the nose to the extremity of the tail about twenty-five inches, of which the tail itself takes up about nine or ten. The general colour of the animal is black, inclining to brown beneath; the neck and body spotted with irregular roundish patches of white; the ears are pretty large, and stand erect, the visage is pointed, the muzzle furnished with long slender hairs; the fore, as well as hind legs, from the knees downward, almost naked, and ash-coloured; on the fore feet are five claws, and on the hind, four and a thumb without a claw; the tail, for about an inch and an half from the root, covered with hairs of the same length as those on the body, from thence to the end with long ones not unlike that of a squirrel. The specimen from which the above account was taken, is a female, and has six teats placed in a circle, within the pouch. Another animal of the opossum kind has been sent alive to the Rev. Dr. Hamilton, Rector of St. Martin's, Westminster, and is now living in the possession of Mr. J. Hunter. It appears to be of the same sort as that mentioned in Captain Cook's first voyage,* and that also which was found near Adventure Bay, represented in the eighth plate of Captain Cook's third voyage, and slightly described in Vol. I. p. 109 of that work: but it must be owned, that neither its form nor character is very well expressed in that plate. [* Hawkesw. vol. iii. p. 182.] The countenance of this animal much resembles that of a fox, but its manners approach more nearly to those of the squirrel. When disposed to sleep, or to remain inactive, it coils itself up into a round form; but when eating, or on the watch for any purpose, sits up, throwing its tail behind it. In this posture it uses its fore feet to hold any thing, and to feed itself. When irritated, it sits still more erect on the hind legs, or throws itself upon its back, making a loud and harsh noise. It feeds only on vegetable substances. This specimen is a male. The fur is long, but close and thick; of a mixed brown or greyish colour on the back, under the belly and neck, of a yellowish white. Its length is about eighteen inches, exclusive of the tail, which is twelve inches long, and prehensile. The face is three inches in length, broad above and very pointed at the muzzle, which is furnished with long whiskers. The eyes are very large, but not fierce. On the fore feet are five claws; on the hind, three and a thumb. The teeth are two in the front of the upper jaw, and two in the lower; the upper projecting beyond the under. In the Kanguroo it is remarkable that there are four teeth in the upper jaw, opposed to two in the under. The testicles are contained in a pendulous scrotum, between the two thighs of the hind legs, as in the common opossum. The affinity of almost all the quadrupeds yet discovered on this coast to the opossum kind, in the circumstance of the pouch in which the female receives and suckles her young, seems to open a field of investigation most interesting to the naturalist: and the public will doubtless learn with pleasure, that it is the intention of the most able comparative anatomist of the age, to give a paper on this subject to the Royal Society. It cannot, therefore, be necessary at present to pursue the enquiry any farther. THE VULPINE OPOSSUM. This is not unlike the common fox in shape, but considerably inferior to it in respect to size, being, from the point of the nose to the setting on of the tail, only twenty-six inches; the tail itself fifteen inches: the upper parts of the body are of a grisly colour, arising from a mixture of dusky and white hairs, with rufous-yellow tinge; the head and shoulders partaking most of this last colour: round the eyes blackish: above the nostrils ten or twelve black whiskers, four inches or more in length: all the under parts of the body are of a tawny buff-colour, deepest on the throat, where the bottom of the hairs are rust-colour: the tail is of the colour of the back for about one quarter of its length, from thence to the end, black: the toes on the fore feet are five in number, the inner one placed high up: on the hind feet four toes only: with a thumb, consisting of two joints, without a claw, placed high up at the base of the inner toe. The whole foot serving the purpose of a hand, as observable in many of the opossum genus. The legs are much shorter in proportion than those of the common fox: the ears about one inch and an half in length: in the upper jaw are six cutting teeth, and four grinders, with two small canine teeth placed at an equal distance between them: in the under jaw two long cutting teeth, not unlike those of a squirrel, and four grinders to answer those in the upper jaw, but no canine teeth.--A representation of the mouth and teeth may be seen in one of the following plates. NORFOLK ISLAND FLYING SQUIRREL. Size of the American grey squirrel, and the general colour of the upper parts very nearly resembling that animal; the under parts white: from the nose to the tail runs a streak of dusky black, and another springs on each side of the head behind the nostrils, passing over the eyes and finishing behind them: ears not rising from the head: on each side of the body is a broad flap or membrane, as in other flying squirrels, which is united to both the fore and hind legs, as usual in many of this division: this membrane is black, fringed on the outer edge with white: the tail for two-thirds of the length, is of an elegant ash colour, paler than the body, from thence to the end dusky black: the toes on the fore legs are five in number; those of the hinder uncertain, as the legs behind were wanting: length from head to rump nine inches; the tail is ten inches. BIRDS. BLUE BELLIED PARROT. Order II. Pies. Genus V. Species XIV. Var. B. BLUE BELLIED PARROT. Described thus by Mr. Latham. "The length of this beautiful parrot is fifteen inches. The bill is reddish: orbits black: head and throat dark blue, with a mixture of lighter blue feathers: back part of the head green; towards the throat yellow green: back and wings green: prime quills dusky, barred with yellow: breast red, mixed with yellow: belly of a fine blue: thighs green and yellow: tail cuneiform; the two middle feathers green; the others the same, but bright yellow on the outer edges: legs dusky. Inhabits Botany Bay in New Holland." Latham's Synopsis, vol. i. p. 213. To this account little need be added, except that in our present specimens the parts there said to be blue are rather a bright lilac: the bill is a deep orange; and there are red spots on the back between the wings, and a few near the vent feathers. TABUAN PARROT. Order and Genus the same. Species XVI. A Variety. The bird here represented has been seen by Mr. Latham, and was by him referred to this species; of which however it seems a very remarkable variety: The prevalent colour of the head, neck and breast, being, instead of a deep crimson or purplish red, as in his description and plate, as well as in a fine specimen now in his own collection, a very bright scarlet: the blue mark across the lower part of the neck appears the same; but the blue feathers in the wings are entirely wanting; and the bill is not black. (See Latham's Synopsis, vol. i. p. 214.) The specimen here delineated may be thus described. Length twenty-four inches: bill brown, the upper mandible tinged with red: the head, neck, and all the under parts of the body a bright scarlet: the back and wings a fine green. On the lower part of the neck, between that and the back, a crescent of blue: the tail long and cuneiform, most of its feathers deep blue: the legs ash coloured: on the upper part of the wings a narrow line of lighter green. PENNANTIAN PARROT. Order and Genus the same. Species, 134. Size of the scarlet lory, length sixteen inches: the bill of a blueish horn colour; the general colour of the plumage scarlet; the base of the under mandible and the chin covered with rich blue feathers: the back black, the feathers edged with crimson: wings blue, down the middle much paler than the rest: the quills and tail black, the feathers edged outwardly with blue, and three of the outer tail feathers, from the middle to the end, of a pale hoary blue: the tail is wedge shaped, the middle feathers eight inches in length; the outermost, or shortest, only four: the bottom of the thighs blue, legs dusky, claws black. This beautiful bird is not unfrequent about Port Jackson, and seems to correspond greatly with the Pennantian Parrot, described by Mr. Latham in the supplement to his General Synopsis of Birds, p. 61. differing in so few particulars, as to make us suppose it to differ only in sex from that species. PACIFIC PAROQUET. Order and Genus the same. Species L VI. A new variety. Mr. Latham's description is this: "Length twelve inches, bill of a silvery blue; end black: in some, the forehead and half the crown; in others, the forehead only, of a deep crimson: behind each eye a spot of the same colour: on each side of the vent a patch of the same: the plumage in general of a dark green, palest on the under parts: the tail is cunei-form; the two middle feathers are five inches and an half in length; the outer ones two inches and an half; upper parts of it the same green with the body; beneath ash colour: the outer edge of the wings, as far as the middle of the quills, deep blue; the ends of the quills dusky: legs brown: claws black." Latham's Synopsis, vol. I. p. 252. The variety here represented has a brown bill, tinged with red at the end, and a cap of azure blue at the back of the head, interspersed with a few small feathers of a yellowish green; the top of the wings is of a yellow hue, and there are no blue feathers in the wings. THE SACRED KING'S FISHER. Order of Birds II. Pies. Genus XXIII. Species 12. The following description is extracted from Mr. Latham's Synopsis of Birds, vol. ii. p. 623. The specimen here represented, being the same as his fourth variety of that species marked D. "This in size is rather less than a blackbird: the bill is black; the lower mandible yellowish at the base: head, back, wings, and tail, blue tinged with green: the under parts of the body white, extending round the middle of the neck like a collar: legs blackish." To which account we may add, that the bill is very strong at the base, and sharp at the point; that the feathers immediately above the bill are tinged with yellow; and that the toes, as in most of this species, are three before and one behind. SUPERB WARBLER, MALE. Birds, Order III. Passerine. Genus XLI. Warbler. Species 137. A new variety. "The length of this beautiful species is five inches and a half: the bill black: the feathers of the head are long, and stand erect like a full crest; from the forehead to the crown they are of a bright blue; from thence to the nape, black like velvet: through the eyes from the bill, a line of black; beneath the eye springs a tuft of the same blue feathers; beneath these and on the chin, it is of a deep blue almost black, and feeling like velvet: on the ears is another patch of blue, and across the back part of the head a band of the same, (in some specimens, the patches of blue under the eye and on the ear unite together, and join with the band at the nape, as in the plate*) the whole giving the head a greater appearance of bulk than is natural: the hind part of the neck and upper parts of the body and tail, deep blue black; the under, pure white: wings, dusky; shafts of the quills chesnut: the tail, two inches and a quarter long, and cuneiform; the two outer feathers very short: legs dusky brown: claws black." Latham's Synopsis, vol. iv. p. 501. [* Latham's Synopsis, vol. iv. pl. 53.] The disposition of the blue is found to differ in most of the specimens. In the present variety, the whole head is enveloped in blue, which terminates in an irregularly waving line, and is continued below the eye in a broad band, edged in the same manner, and running almost to a point, as low as the bottom of the neck on each side; but there is no band continued round the neck, which, both above and below, is of the deep blue like velvet, mentioned by Mr. Latham. Some feathers of a very bright orange lie immediately under that blue, and above the wings*. [* The Specimens from which Mr. Latham took his descriptions were met with at Van Diemen's Land, the most southern part of New Holland.] SUPERB WARBLER, Female. When Mr. Latham's Synopsis was published, the female of this species was entirely unknown; and it was conjectured by that author that the disposition of the blue might possibly mark the sexes. The female is now discovered to be entirely destitute of all the fine blue colours, both pale and dark, by which the male is adorned, except that there is a very narrow circle of azure round each eye, apparently on the skin only: all the upper feathers consist of shades of brown, and the whole throat and belly is pure white. Except from the shape and size, this bird would not be suspected at first sight to belong to the same species as the male: the epithet of superb applies very ill to the female. CASPIAN TERN. Birds, Order IX. Webfooted. Genus LXXXVIII. Species I. Variety B. The plate of this bird is inserted at pag. 77. Mr. Latham's description is as follows. "Length nineteen or twenty inches: bill three inches, stout and of a pale yellow: nostrils pervious: the crown of the head black; the feathers longish, and forming a kind of pensile crest at the nape; the rest of the head, neck, and under parts of the body, white: back and wings pale cinereous grey: quills grey, with the ends dusky; the inner webs, half way from the base, white: tail grey, forked; the end half of the other feathers white; the last is exceeded by the first an inch: legs black. Supposed to inhabit China; seen also, or very similar, from the Friendly Isles; also found at Hapaee, one of the Sandwich Islands." Syn. Vol. vi. p. 351. NORFOLK ISLAND PETREL. Order IX. Web-Footed. Genus Xc. Length sixteen inches, bill one inch and an half long, black, and very hooked at the tip: the head as far as the eyes, the chin and throat, waved, brown and dusky white: the rest of the body on the upper parts of a sooty brown, the under of a deep ash colour; the inner part of the quills, especially next the base, very pale, nearly white, and the wings, when closed, exceed the tail by about an inch: the tail is much rounded in shape, and consists of twelve feathers, of the same colour as the upper parts of the body: the legs are pale yellow, the outer toe black the whole length, the middle one half way from the tip, the webs also correspond, the outer one being black, except just at the base; and the inner one black for about one third from the end: the claws black; the spur, which serves in place of a back toe, is also black. This inhabits Norfolk Island, and burrows in the sand like a rabbit, lying hid in the holes throughout the day, and coming out of evenings in quest of food. This bird appears to differ so very little from the dark grey Petrel of Cook's Voyage, vol. i. p. 258. that it is not improbable it may prove to be the same species. This is described in the General Synopsis of Birds, vol. vi. p. 399. under the name of Grey Petrel; as also another species, in p. 400. by the name of White-breasted Petrel, differing only in the breast from our specimen. BRONZE-WINGED PIGEON. Order IV. Columbine. Genus XLVI. Size of a large dove-house pigeon: general colour of the plumage ash-coloured, brown on the upper parts, the feathers margined with pale rufous; the under parts pale ash-colour, with very pale margins: the wing coverts are much the same colour as the back, but the greater ones, or lower series, have each of them a large oval spot of bronze on the outer webs near the ends, forming together, when the wings are closed, two bars of the most brilliant and beautiful bronze, changing into red, copper, and green, in different reflections of light: several of the feathers also among the other coverts have the same spots on them, but are irregularly placed: the quills are brown, with the inner webs, from the middle to the base, pale rufous; as are the sides of the body and all the under wing coverts: the tail consists of sixteen feathers; the two middle ones are brown, the others pale lead, or dove colour, with a bar of black near the tips: the bill is of a dull red: the forehead very pale, nearly white, passing a little way under the eye: the chin and throat pale grey: the legs are red. This bird inhabits Norfolk Island; and is clearly a non-descript species. WHITE-FRONTED HERON. Order VII. Cloven-footed. Genus LXV. This is little more than half the size of the common Heron: length 28 inches: the general colour of the plumage is bluish ash, inclining to lead colour: top of the head black, and a trifle crested; the forehead, sides of the head, chin, and throat white, passing downwards, and finishing in a point about the middle of the neck before: on the lower part of the neck the feathers are long and loose, and of a pale rufous cinnamon colour; all the under parts of the body also incline to this last colour, but are much paler: the quills and tail are dark lead colour, nearly black: on the back the feathers are long and narrow, and hang part of the way on the tail: the bill is four inches long, and black; but the base half of the under mandible is yellowish: the legs are formed as in other herons, of a yellowish brown colour, and the claws are black. This bird was sent from Port Jackson in New Holland, and as it has not been noticed by any author, we consider it as a new species. WATTLED BEE-EATER. Order II. Pies. Genus XXVI. The size of this bird is nearly that of a cuckow: length fourteen inches and a half: the bill one inch long, and of nearly the same shape and size as in the Poe Bird; the colour black: the general colour of the plumage is brown, palest on the under parts; most of the feathers are pointed in shape, and have a streak of white down the middle: the fore part of the head, as far as the eyes, is smooth, but the rest of the head appears full, the feathers being longer: from the gape of the bill a broad streak of silvery white passes under the eye, and beneath this, on each side of the throat, hangs a pendulous wattle, about half an inch in length, and of an orange colour: the wings, when closed, reach about one third on the tail, which is about half the length of the bird, and cuneiform in shape: both the quills and tail feathers are of a darker brown than the rest of bird, and have the tips white: the middle of the belly is yellow: the legs are of a pale brown, the hind toe very stout, and the outer toe connected to the middle one as far as the first joint. The above inhabits New Holland; it was received from Port Jackson, and is no doubt a non-descript species. PSITTACEOUS HORNBILL. Order II. Pies. Genus VIII. The bird is about the size of a crow: the total length two feet three inches: the bill is large, stout at the base, much curved at the point, and channelled on the sides; the colour pale brown, inclining to yellow near the end: the nostrils are quite at the base, and are surrounded with a red skin, as is the eye also, on the upper part: the head, neck, and under parts of the body are pale blue-grey; the upper parts of the body, wings, and tail, ash colour; and most of the feathers are tipt with dusky black, forming bars of that colour across the wings: the wings, when closed, reach to near three-quarters of the length of the tail: the tail itself is long, and cuneiform, the two middle feathers measuring eleven inches, and the outer one on each side little more than seven; a bar of black crosses the whole near the end, and the tips of all the feathers are white: the legs are short and scaly, and the toes placed two forwards, and two backwards, as in those of the toucan or parrot genus: the colour of legs and claws black.* [* Mr. Latham, who has been kind enough to give his sentiments on this occasion, is of opinion that this bird does not strictly belong to any of the present established genera. The make indeed is altogether that of an hornbill, and the edges of the mandible are smooth, but the toes being placed two forwards and two backwards, seem to rank it with the Parrots or Toucans; and it has been unlucky that in the specimen from which the description was taken, the tongue was wanting, which might in a great measure have determined the point: but the inducement for placing it with the hornbills has had the greater weight, as not a single species of the toucan tribe has yet been met with in that part of the world.] This bird was killed at Port Jackson, and we believe it to be hitherto non-descript. * * * * * Such is the account of the birds of which drawings or specimens have been obtained from Port Jackson or from Norfolk Island. Wild ducks, teal, quails, and other common species are numerous in both places, and the variety, as well as number of the small birds is considerable. Birds of the Cassowary or Emu kind have very frequently been seen; but they are so shy, and run so swiftly, that only one has yet been killed. That bird was shot near the camp, while Governor Phillip was absent on his first expedition to Broken Bay, and was thought by him to differ materially both from the ostrich and cassowary; the skin was sent over, but at the time when this sheet was printed off, had not been stuffed, or put into form. Should it, on examination, exhibit any remarkable peculiarities, we shall endeavour to obtain a description of it, to subjoin at the conclusion of this volume. * * * * * Since stating the dimensions of the kanguroo, in page 106, Lord Sydney has received from Governor Phillip, a male of a much larger size, which measures as follows. f. in. Length from the point of the nose to the end of the tail, 8 5 Length of the tail, 3 1 -- head, 0 11 -- fore legs, 2 0 -- hind legs 3 7 Circumference of the fore part by the legs, 1 9 ---- lower parts -- 4 5 Round the thicker part of the tail, which gradually tapers to the end. 1 1 The above is the largest kanguroo that has yet been seen, and there is every reason to believe that even this had not nearly attained its full growth. Lieutenant Shortland describes them as feeding in herds of about thirty or forty, and assures us, that one is always observed to be apparently upon the watch, at a distance from the rest. Chapter XVI. No. I. PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE SETTLEMENT AT PORT JACKSON. General Return of the four Companies of Marines, doing duty in the settlement of New South Wales. Return of the OFFICERS. * * * * * No. II. Artificers belonging to the Marine Detachment, employed from the 17th May to the 30th September, 1788, both Days inclusive. [These tables are not included here. Refer to html version of this ebook available from http://gutenberg.org] These artificers were employed on the representation of the Lieutenant-Governor to Governor Phillip, that it was impossible to erect the barracks necessary for the officers and men of the detachment, without employing such artificers for that purpose as could be found among themselves. It was at the same time represented, that these men could not properly be retained at such work, unless they were to be paid in the customary manner of paying all troops employed on extra works for the public service: and more especially, as it was known that the artificers taken from the ships of war and transports were to be paid for all work done on shore. Governor Phillip agreed entirely as to the necessity of employing the artificers, and with respect to their pay, had no doubt that the matter must be decided by custom: In consequence of which he issued an order for that purpose on the 17th of May, 1788. * * * * * No. III. The Right Hon. the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, in a letter, dated the 8th of October, 1786, addressed to the commanding officers of each division of the marines, directed them to signify to such marines as would make a voluntary tender of their service for Botany Bay, that they should at the expiration of their station of three years be entitled to their discharge on their return to England, provided their good behaviour during this service should have merited such marks of favour: Or that, if they preferred it, they should at the time of relief be discharged in New South Wales, and permitted to settle there. In consequence of this, at the date of the following paper, the question was put by the Lieutenant Governor to all the officers and men, whether they chose to remain in the country, either as soldiers or settlers. Before this question was asked, Major Ross applied to Governor Phillip to know what encouragement Government held out to those who should wish to remain in either capacity. To this application it was answered by the Governor, that the proper instructions and authorities for giving every reasonable encouragement to such of the military and others as should be desirous to remain in New South Wales, and for making grants of land, were to be sent from England as soon as Government being sufficiently informed of the actual state of the country, and the quality of the soil, at and near the settlement, could determine what was the most eligible mode of granting the lands. Those documents having been received, the amplest powers are now to be sent out to Governor Phillip, that he may make such grants and give such encouragement as may be proportioned to the merits of those who apply, and satisfactory to every individual. The following list exhibits the result of the question put by the Lieutenant Governor to the officers and men of the marines, concerning their desire to return, or to remain in New South Wales. LIST of such OFFICERS, NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS, DRUMMERS, and PRIVATES, as are desirous of remaining in this Country, after the time when their Lordships the Commissioners of the Admiralty intended to relieve the Detachment, as expressed in their Letter of the 8th October, 1788. NEW SOUTH WALES, 1st October, 1788. Names and quality. Desirous of remaining in this country. Watkin Tench, Capt. Lieutenant, as a soldier for one tour more of three years. George Johnstone, First Lieutenant, having been so short a time in this country, cannot determine whether he would wish to remain or not, as to settling can say nothing. John Johnstone, ditto, having been so short a time in this country, cannot determine whether he would wish to remain another tour or not, as to settling can say nothing, till he knows on what terms. James Maitland Shairp, ditto, being so short a time in the country, he cannot yet judge whether he would wish to remain or not another tour, as to settling, until he knows the terms and nature of the grants, cannot determine. William Dawes, Second Lieutenant, as a soldier for one tour more of three years. William Baker, Serjeant, as a soldier. George Flemming, private, as a soldier for three years more. Isaac Tarr, ditto, as a settler. James Manning, as a soldier. All the officers, non-commissioned officers, drummers, and private men of the detachment, whose names are not expressed in the above list, wish to return to England, at the time proposed by their Lordship's letter of the 8th October, 1786, or as soon after as their Lordships may find it convenient. R. ROSS, MAJOR. * * * * * No. IV AN ACCOUNT OF PROVISIONS REMAINING IN HIS MAJESTY'S STORES, AT SYDNEY COVE, NEW SOUTH WALES, 30TH SEPTEMBER, 1788. Flour, 414,176 pounds, is 62 weeks ration. Rice, 51,330 -- -- 15 -- Beef, 127,608 -- -- 43 -- Pork, 214,344 -- -- 128 -- Pease, 2,305 bushels, -- 58 -- Butter, 15,450 pounds, -- 49 -- Number of Persons victualled. Men, 698. Women, 193. Children, 42. Provisions at Norfolk Island, twenty months. Number of Persons victualled. Men,44. Women, 16. ANDREW MILLER, Commissary. * * * * * No. V. Return of Sick, September 27th, 1788. Marines sick in hospital 4 ---- camp 21 Marine women and children in camp 5 Deaths since last return 0 Total belonging to the battalion under medical treatment 30 Male convicts sick 62 Female ditto and children 31 Total of convicts under medical treatment 93 Male convicts dead since the last report of June 30 6 Female convicts ditto since ditto 4 Total convicts dead since ditto 10 Convicts unserviceable from old age, infirmities, etc. 53 Chapter XVII. Nautical directions, and other detached remarks, by Lieutenant Ball, concerning Rio de Janeiro, Norfolk Island, Ball Pyramid, and Lord Howe Island. Some notice has already been taken in the preceding sheets of Rio de Janeiro, Norfolk Isle, and Lord Howe Isle; but since they were committed to the press, the following particulars respecting those places have very obligingly been communicated to the editor, by Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball. As these remarks are the result of minute observation, they cannot fail of being useful and interesting to the seafaring reader, which, it is presumed, will be a sufficient apology for giving them a place here. There is no danger in going up the harbour to Rio de Janeiro but what may easily be seen. The course up the harbour is north-west by north; you anchor before the town in seventeen fathoms water, over a muddy bottom; the middle of the town bearing west by north, west, or west by south, about a mile and an half distant from the watering place, and the Fort Saint Cruz bearing south-east. No pilot is necessary; the soundings a-breast of St. Cruz Fort are twenty-two fathoms, and shoal gradually to seventeen fathoms, where the ships moored a-breast of the town. The tide flows two hours and thirty minutes at full and change, and rises in general about eight feet. In going into the harbour, it is necessary to keep the starboard shore best aboard, as the tide sets on the other side, till you get nearly a-breast of St. Cruz Fort, and in that situation you must be on your guard, if going in with the flood, as the passage is narrow: and there are whirlpools in many places, which will take all command from the rudder. Water is procured at a pipe, by which it is conveyed from a fountain situated in the large square near the principal landing place, which is opposite the palace. This pipe is continued down to the waterside, and you fill your casks in boats: the water is so plentiful, that a fleet might be supplied in a short time. Bullocks, sheep, and Portugal wine, may be had here in plenty; there is also an excellent market for poultry and vegetables every day; in short, every refreshment that is necessary for a fleet may be procured in great abundance, and very cheap. The whole harbour, as well as the town, is defended by a number of strong fortifications; and as far as Lieutenant Ball had an opportunity of examining the harbour, the draft of it published in the East India chart is very true, the soundings right, and the bearings very accurate. Their trade is chiefly to Portugal, and consists of bullion, indigo, sugar, rum, tobacco, brazil wood, whale-oil, whale bone, spermaceti, etc. and of late years diamonds and many other valuable commodities. In approaching Norfolk Island there is no danger: Lieut. Ball anchored in nineteen fathoms, over a bottom of coarse sand and coral, the north-east end of the island bearing west south-west quarter west; the easternmost rocks east south-east, about a mile distant from the nearest shore: at this place Capt. Cook landed. Ships have anchored also at south end of the isle in twenty-two fathoms, the westernmost point of Phillip Isle south south-east, the body of Nepean's Isle east north-east half east, and the south point of Norfolk Isle north-east by east. They anchored again in eighteen fathoms, over a bottom of sand and coral, the west point of Phillip Isle bearing south, the easternmost point of it south south-east half east, and the south point of Norfolk Isle north-east. The pine trees on this island are of an immense size, measuring from twenty to twenty-seven and even thirty feet in girth, and so tall that it was not easy to form any exact judgment of their height. This place affords vast numbers of cabbage trees, and amazing quantities of fish may be procured on the banks that lie on the west side of the small island; those they got on board the Supply were of the snapper kind, and very good, yet they were caught in such abundance that many of the people were as much satiated with them as the sailors are with cod on the banks of Newfoundland. The only places where it was found practicable to land was a-breast of their first station (which is the place described by Captain Cook, and where the people landed with the utmost difficulty,) and at Sydney Bay on the south end of the isle, the outer breaker off the westernmost point in sight bearing north-west by west half west. Lord Howe Island was discovered by Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball, Commander of his Majesty's tender Supply, on the 17th February, 1788, and was so named by him, in honour of the Right Honourable Lord Howe. At the same time he observed a remarkably high pyramidical rock at a considerable distance from the island, which has been named Ball's Pyramid; from a correct drawing of this rock and others near it, the annexed engraving was taken. There is no danger in approaching Lord Howe island, the Supply anchored there in thirteen fathoms, sand and coral; but there lies about four miles from the south-west part of the pyramid, a dangerous rock, which shows itself a little above the surface of the water, and appears not to be larger than a boat. Lieutenant Ball had no opportunity of examining whether there is a safe passage between them or not. The island is in the form of a crescent, the convex side towards the north-east. Two points at first supposed to be separate islands, proved to be high mountains on its south-west end, the southernmost of which was named Mount Gower, and the other Mount Lidgbird; between these mountains there is a very deep valley, which obtained the name of Erskine Valley; the south-east point was called Point King, and the north-west point, Point Phillip. The land between these two points forms the concave side of the island facing the south-west, and is lined with a sandy beach, which is guarded against the sea by a reef of coral rock, at the distance of half a mile from the beach, through which there are several small openings for boats; but it is to be regretted that the depth of water within the reef no where exceeds four feet. They found no fresh water on the island, but it abounds with cabbage-palms, mangrove and manchineal trees, even up to to the summits of the mountains. No vegetables were to be seen. On the shore there are plenty of ganets, and a land-fowl, of a dusky brown colour, with a bill about four inches long, and feet like those of a chicken; these proved remarkably fat, and were very good food; but we have no further account of them. There are also many very large pigeons, and the white birds resembling the Guinea fowl, which were found at Norfolk Island, were seen here also in great numbers. The bill of this bird is red, and very strong, thick, and sharp-pointed. Innumerable quantities of exceeding fine turtle frequent this place in the summer season, but at the approach of winter they all go to the northward. There was not the least difficulty in taking them. The sailors likewise caught plenty of fish with a hook and line. Chapter XVIII. July 1788 to August 1788 Concise account of Lieutenant Shortland--His various services--Appointed agent to the transports sent to New South Wales--Ordered by Governor Phillip to England, by Batavia--Journal of his voyage--New discoveries. We have been induced to subjoin in this place a concise account of Lieutenant Shortland, as well because his experience as an officer has been great, as from the consideration that his journal has been deemed, by those who best know its value, of very serious importance. Lieutenant John Shortland very early in life had a strong predilection for the Navy, and in 1755, at the age of sixteen, he entered into his Majesty's service, on board the Anson, a sixty gun ship, which went out in the fleet under the command of Admiral Boscawen. On the Banks of Newfoundland this fleet fell in with, and took the Alcide and Ly's, two French ships, of seventy-four guns. On his return from this expedition, he went on board the Culloden, a seventy-four gun ship, and was in the fleet under Admiral Byng, off Minorca. Shortly afterwards, he went into the Hampton Court, commanded by Capt. Harvey, in which ship he was present at the taking of the Foudroyant and Arpè. On his arrival in England, he went on board the Vanguard, Commodore Swanton, to the West Indies, in the fleet under Admiral Rodney, and was present at the reduction of Martinique, the Grenades, and the other islands which were then captured. In 1763, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant by Admiral Swanton; since which period he has always been employed in active and important services. During the late war, and for some time afterwards, he was chiefly employed in going to and from America, except in the year 1782, when he was appointed to command the transports with the 97th regiment on board, destined for the relief of Gibraltar, under convoy of his Majesty's ships Cerberus and Apollo: he was not only successful in getting all the transports in safe, but he also landed the men without any loss. On Lieutenant Shortland's return home from this service, in endeavouring to get through the Gut of Gibraltar in the night, he was chased by a squadron of Spanish frigates, who took three of the transports in company, but he was so fortunate as to escape in the Betsey transport, and arrived safe in England, without either loss or damage. In the year 1786, he was appointed Agent to the transports sent by Government to New South Wales, at which place he arrived in January, 1788. After remaining six months at the new settlement at Port Jackson, he was ordered to England by way of Batavia, by his Excellency Governor Phillip, who honoured him with the official dispatches for Government, and he arrived in England on the 29th of May, 1789. This summary recapitulation of Mr. Shortland's services sufficiently points out his merit and ability as an experienced seaman, without any further elogium; which, it were were wanted, might be abundantly supplied from the subsequent account of his passage from Port Jackson to Batavia. * * * * * The Alexander, the Friendship, the Prince of Wales, and the Borrowdale, were got ready in the beginning of July, 1788, to sail for England, under the care and conduct of Lieutenant Shortland; at which time Governor Phillip took the opinions of the masters of those transports concerning their route. The season was thought to be too far advanced for them to attempt the southern course, by Van Diemen's Land; and the passage by Cape Horn was objected to by the Governor. It was therefore agreed unanimously that they should go to the northward, either through Endeavour Straits, or round New Guinea. Unfortunately the ships were ill prepared to encounter the difficulties, which were to be expected in every mode of return; their complement of men was small, only six to an hundred tons, officers included; they were without a surgeon, and unprovided with those articles which have been found essential to the preservation of health in long voyages, such as bore-cole, sour-crout, portable soup, and the other antiseptics recommended by the Royal Society. It cannot therefore be wondered, though it must be deeply regretted, that the sailors should have suffered so dreadfully from the scurvy, in the length of time necessary for exploring a passage through an unknown sea perplexed with islands, where they were destitute of assistance from charts, or observations of former navigators; and were not fortunate enough to obtain a supply of salutary refreshments. 14 July 1788 Lieutenant Shortland, in the Alexander transport, sailed out of the harbour of Port Jackson, on Monday, July 14, 1788, directing his course to the east-north-east, with intention to touch at Lord Howe Island, and there to appoint each ship a place of rendezvous in case of separation. This necessary step, which ought to have been previously taken, had been prevented by the hurry of preparation; the Alexander not having been able to join the other transports till the evening before their departure. Even then, the boats, booms, and spare anchors, were stowed loose between decks, in a manner which must have produced the most dangerous consequences, had the ship been exposed in that condition to the heavy sea which it was likely she would meet with off the shore. To the very last moment, therefore, the men and officers were most busily employed in providing against this danger; and as soon as the weather appeared tolerably favourable for working out of the harbour, Lieutenant Shortland made the signal to the masters of the other transports to get under way, without waiting for his ship. When the transports had cleared the harbour they were obliged to carry a press of sail in order to get off the coast, the vessels being very light, and a powerful swell then setting in upon the shore. The wind was at the same time strong from the south-east, and continued so for two days, with the same heavy swell, which made it very difficult to keep the ships off shore. 16 July 1788 At eight, A. M. on the 16th of July, the rocks off the entrance of Port Stephens bore north-west by west distant three leagues. Lieutenant Shortland very much regretted that this place had not been surveyed; had it been known to afford safe anchorage, it would have been much more prudent to put in there and wait for a change of wind, than to attempt keeping the sea in circumstances so very unfavourable, with ships so little calculated to run along a great extent of lee shore. This day the Prince of Wales being two or three miles to the leeward, the signal was made for her to tack into the fleet. At nine in the evening the wind coming to the east-south-east, Lieutenant Shortland fired a gun, and made the signal to veer ship and sail on the other tack. At this time the Prince of Wales was about five miles on the lee bow of the Alexander, and the Borrowdale and Friendship close in company; but by twelve at midnight the Friendship only was in sight. At two, the wind shifting again to the south-south-east, the signal was once more made to veer ship, and change the tack, as lying off east would clear the coast; a strong current setting to the southward. 19 July 1788 Lieutenant Shortland, having now lost sight of the Prince of Wales and Borrowdale, was fully determined to go to Lord Howe Island to wait a day or two for them, expecting that they might probably touch there with similar intentions. On the 19th, therefore, he steered a direct course for that island, with a strong gale at south-west, but as this wind, which was exactly favourable to the intended course of the voyage, and made the anchoring place off Lord Howe Island a lee shore, continued unvaried, and blew very hard on the 20th, it appeared best to relinquish the design of calling there. At two in the afternoon, therefore, Lieutenant Shortland again altered his course and sailed north-east by north. The Prince of Wales and Borrowdale transports, were seen no more throughout the voyage, and it has since been known that they took another course; but the Friendship continued close in company with the Alexander. About noon this day, the men at the mast head discovered a very extensive shoal on the larboard beam, bearing from north by west to north by south, distant between two and three leagues. It trended north by east and south by west, and was judged to be in length about three leagues and a half. The breadth could not be ascertained, for, while the ship ran along it, the sand bank was seen to extend as far as the eye could discern. It lies in latitude 29°. 20'. south, and in longitude 158°. 48'. east, and was named by Lieutenant Shortland, Middleton Shoals. 21 July 1788 At ten in the morning, on Monday July 21, the master of the Friendship went on board the Alexander, and Carteret's harbour in New Ireland, was appointed by Lieutenant Shortland as the place of rendezvous. The same day, at half past five in the afternoon, land was discovered, bearing from south-west by west, to west half south, at the distance of about eight leagues. It trended to the north-north-west, and was about six or seven leagues in length, the land very high, with a remarkable peak, which bore south-south-west. This island was now named Sir Charles Middleton's Island: It lies in latitude 28°. 10. south, and in longitude 159°. 50. east. Lieutenant Shortland thinks it probable that the reef seen on the preceding day may be connected with this island, as it trended in a right direction for it; but it must, in that case, be of very great extent. The island was still in sight on the morning of the 22d. 24 July 1788 On Thursday July 24th, they had an accurate observation of the sun and moon to determine the longitude, and found the effect of a current to have been so great as to set the ship two degrees of longitude to the eastward of the dead reckoning. The longitude of Sir Charles Middleton's Island must therefore be corrected by that observation, and placed considerably further to the east. The latitude may be depended upon, as the bearing was observed when the sun was on the meridian. 27 July 1788 Many land birds being seen on the 27th and 28th, when the ship was by reckoning and observation near the north-west end of New Caledonia, Lieutenant Shortland very reasonably concluded that he must have passed very close to that land, though it did not happen to be discerned: probably it is low at that extremity. 31 July 1788 At noon, on Thursday the 31st, land was discovered, bearing from north half west to east-north-east, and distant about five or six leagues. As the ship was now in latitude 10°. 52'. south, Lieutenant Shortland at first conjectured it might be Egmont Island, which was seen by Capt. Carteret, notwithstanding a considerable difference in longitude, which might be accounted for from the effect of currents, as they had been for some time very strong. The longitude laid down by Captain Carteret was 164°. 49'. east; that of the Alexander at this time about 161°. 11'. It proved however that the difference was real, and that this was another island. Lieutenant Shortland now kept a north-west course, in which direction the land trended. He ran along the coast about six or seven leagues, and found it formed into an island by two points, the south-east of which he called Cape Sydney, the north-west, Cape Phillip. Having passed this point, he continued steering in a north-west direction till about seven o'clock the same afternoon, when the men who were reefing the top-sails for the night, discovered land bearing exactly in the ship's course. On receiving this intelligence he immediately brought to, with the ship's head off from the land, and gave a signal for the Friendship to do the same. They lay to all night, and the next morning were surprised with the sight of a most mountainous coast, bearing from north-east by east to west-north-west, about five or six leagues distant. This proved sufficiently that the land seen the preceding day could not be Egmont Island, and Lieutenant Shortland was inclined to think that this was united to it. At six in the morning he bore away west by north, and west by north half north, as the land trended, running along the shore at five or six leagues distance. The most eastern point of this land he called Cape Henslow, the most western which was then in sight, Cape Hunter. Between these two points the land is very singularly mountainous, the summits of the mountains rising among the clouds to a prodigious height. It may be known by one summit more elevated than the rest, which, from being discovered on the first of August, was named Mount Lammas, and is thought in height to equal, if not to exceed the Peak of Teneriffe. This day the latitude was by observation 9°. 58'. south, and the longitude 160°. 21'. east. More land still continued to open to the west-north-west, and the same course was therefore kept at an equal distance from the shore till three in the afternoon, when the water appearing suddenly of a different colour, they brought to, and sounded, but found no ground at 120 fathoms. At four, a part of the land which had the appearance of a harbour, bore north-north-east distant seven leagues. The land still continued mountainous, and at six o'clock bore from north-east to north-west by west. The furthest land then in sight appeared to be at the distance of about thirteen or fourteen leagues, and was named Cape Marsh. At half past six the ships were brought to, and lay to for the night, the weather being very squally, with violent thunder, lightning, and rain. 2 August 1788 Soon after five in the morning of August the 2d, the ships made sail again, and bore away west by north, but the weather being hazy, no land was then in sight; many flying fish were seen at this time. At eleven, there being a prospect of clearer weather, Lieutenant Shortland endeavoured to make the land again. At noon the latitude was, by observation, 9°. 40'. south, and the longitude 158°. 42'. east. Lieutenant Shortland continued to steer north-west to discover whether he had reached the utmost extent of the land, and at eight in the evening spoke to the Friendship, and told the master that he intended to bring to at nine. 3 August 1788 At three in the morning, on Sunday August 3, land was discovered bearing from north-north-east to north-west, on which the ships stood off again with a light air of wind. At six, the land in sight appeared like several islands, and an endeavour was made to pass between them to the north, but on approaching sufficiently near, it was discovered that all these points were joined together by a low neck of land covered with trees. As the land rose in nine roundish points, which seamen call hummocks, this place was named Nine Hummock Bay. At noon on this day, the ship then standing to the south-west, in latitude 8°. 55'. south, and longitude 158°. 14'. east, the extreme points of land bore from east by north to west, when Lieutenant Shortland named the western point Cape Nepean, and the eastern Cape Pitt. The intermediate land may, he says, easily be known by the nine hummocks, and the exact resemblance they bear to islands when seen from the distance of five or six leagues. They had now light airs and calm weather, but at two in the afternoon a breeze sprung up from the eastward, and at four Cape Nepean bore north-west, half west, distant five or six leagues. At six the Alexander shortened sail, and stood off and on for the night under double reefed top-sails, Lieutenant Shortland imagining that he had reached the utmost extent of this land. At five, on Monday morning, the 4th of August, he made sail again, and at six a bluff point of the island bore north-north-west, distant five or six leagues: this he called Point Pleasant. At noon the latitude was by observation 8°. 54'. south, the longitude 154°. 44'. east. Point Pleasant then bore east by north; at four, the most western point of land in sight, which was then supposed to be the extreme point of the island, but proved not to be so, bore north-west by north, distant four or five leagues. From this mistake it was named Cape Deception. Under the persuasion that he had reached the extremity of the land, but desirous to ascertain that point, Lieutenant Shortland kept the ships standing under an easy sail all night. Some islands lying close to Cape Deception, and seeming to form a good harbour, were called Hammond's Isles. At day light on the 5th of August, land was again discovered, bearing from east north-east to west by north half north, and forming a very deep bay. This land appeared in six hummocks, like islands, but was joined by a low neck of sand. Not knowing how far it might trend to the north-west, Lieutenant Shortland stood out to the south. At eleven o'clock, the longitude was observed to be 157° 30' east; and at noon the latitude was also determined by observation to be 8° 44' south. At the same time, Cape Deception bore north-east four or five leagues distant; and two remarkable hills, from their similiarity called the Two Brothers, forming the most western point then in view, bore north-west half north, distant ten leagues. At three in the afternoon, they bore away for the two Brothers, which at six bore north-west by north, distant seven leagues. At eight, the ships lay to for the night. 6 August 1788 At five o'clock in the morning of Wednesday, August 6th, they made sail again to the north-west; and at eight discerned a rock which had exactly the appearance of a ship under sail, with her top-gallant sails flying. So strongly were all the Alexander's people prepossessed with this imagination, that the private signal was made, under the supposition that it might be either the Boussole or Astrolabe, or one of the two transports which had parted from them on the coast of New South Wales. Nor was the mistake detected till they approached it within three or four miles. This rock bore from the Two Brothers south south-west, distant one league. Between ten and eleven, some canoes were seen with Indians in them, who came close up to the ship without any visible apprehension. Ropes were thrown to them over the stern, of which they took hold, and suffered the ship to tow them along; in this situation they willingly exchanged a kind of rings which they wore on their arms, small rings of bone, and beads of their own manufacture, for nails, beads, and other trifles, giving however a manifest preference to whatever was made of iron. Gimlets were most acceptable, but they were also pleased with nails, and pieces of iron hoops. They dealt very fairly, not betraying the least desire to steal or to defraud. But though they so readily suffered themselves to be towed after the ship, they could not by any means be prevailed upon to go along side, and whenever an attempt was made to haul up a canoe by one of the ropes, the men in it immediately disengaged themselves from that rope, and took hold of another. At the same time they appeared extremely desirous that our people should anchor on the coast, and go ashore with them; and, by way of enticement, held up the rind of an orange or lemon, the feathers of tame fowls, and other things, signifying that they might be procured on shore. They presented also to Lieutenant Shortland, a fruit, which he conceived to be the bread-fruit; it was about the size of a small cocoa-nut, brown on the outside and white within, and contained a kind of soft pithy substance which stuck between the teeth, and was rather troublesome to chew, besides three or four kernels not unlike chesnuts, but very white. The leaves of the plantain served the Indians to make boxes or small cases, of which every man had one to contain his small rings and beads. At noon a point of land which runs from the Two Brothers, and was now named Cape Satisfaction, bore north north-east; and the rock which had been mistaken for a ship was called the Eddystone, and bore north by west, distant four leagues. The Eddystone bears from Cape Satisfaction south south-west, distant two leagues. As the land from Cape Satisfaction began to trend northward, Lieutenant Shortland again entertained hopes of finding a passage. It was understood from the natives that they called the island from which they came, Simboo; for whenever an attempt was made to put that question to them, they pointed to the land near Cape Satisfaction, and uttered that word. Of these men, Lieutenant Shortland remarks, that they were remarkably stout and well built, from which appearance he very judiciously drew a favourable conclusion with respect to the goodness and plenty of their food. Their superiority over the New Hollanders in size and strength, he says, was very striking. Their canoes, which contained from six to fourteen men, seemed to be well put together, the bows and stems very lofty, carved with various figures, and stained with a kind of red paint; in a word, they were to all appearance formed exactly upon the same model and construction as those of Otaheite. The ornaments worn by the inhabitants of Simboo were large rings of a white bone, one or more of which every man had upon his wrist, and a shell with a feather, which was tied upon the head. Lieutenant Shortland was desirous to purchase one of their lances, but could not obtain it. About two in the afternoon his visitors, finding perhaps that they had followed the ship as far as they could venture to trust themselves, left him, and made immediately for the shore. From what was seen in the possession of these people, there can be no doubt that their land produces cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, bananas, and most other vegetables of the Society and Friendly Isles. Nor was it without the greatest regret that Lieutenant Shortland declined the invitations of the natives, and proceeded without touching for refreshments, which doubtless might have been obtained in plenty; but the length and uncertainty of his passage seemed to forbid the least delay; nor was it at this time foreseen how much superior to every other consideration the acquirement of a wholesome change of diet would be found. The bay from which these men had come he named Indian Bay. At three P. M. the longitude was, by lunar observation, 156° 55' east; and at six the furthest land in sight bore north, Cape Satisfaction east by south half east, and the body of the land north-east, distant five or six leagues. The furthest point of land north was named Cape Middleton. 7 August 1788 After lying to in the night, the ships made sail again at four in the morning of August 7th, and bore away to the north by west. At five, they saw the land which they had left the preceding night, and six or more small islands bearing from north-east to west. These were called the Treasury Isles; they are moderately high and seemed to be well clothed with trees and herbage. At noon, the latitude was by observation 7° 24' south, the longitude 156° 30' east; and the north-west extremity of the land then in sight, which was named Cape Allen, bore east by south, distant six leagues: Cape Middleton, south-east, distant eight leagues. Off Cape Allen lies a small island, to which the name of Wallis Island was given. At six in the afternoon the extremes of the islands in sight bore from north-east by east to west by north; and the entrance between two islands, which formed a passage or strait, bore north by east, distant five or six leagues. The Alexander and the Friendship had now run from the latitude of 10° 44' south, and longitude 161° 30' east, to the latitude of 7° 10' south, and longitude 156° 50' east, the whole way nearly in sight of land. As, therefore, proceeding westward, to the south of the next land, might have entangled them with New Guinea, Lieutenant Shortland determined to try the passage which was now before him; and being very well convinced, before it was dark, that the way was clear, kept under a commanding sail all night. At ten o'clock in the evening, the Alexander was nearly a-breast of the two points that form the passage, and the soundings were very irregular, from ten to thirty fathoms, on a soft, sandy bottom: the anchors were therefore cleared, that they might immediately be dropped if it should prove necessary. 8 August 1788 At two in the morning of August the 8th, a strong ripple of a current was very plainly to be perceived; and by five the ship had nearly cleared the straits. She had then the following bearings: Cape Alexander, south-east; some islands and rocks that lie off the most western island of those which form the straits, west by south; and the remotest point in sight to the north-westward, north-west by north, distant fourteen or fifteen leagues. This point is remarkably high and forms the centre of a large body of land, between the first and last point of the straits on the western side, which were called Cape Friendship, and Cape Le Cras. These straits Lieutenant Shortland judged to be between four and five leagues in length, and about seven or eight miles broad, running in a north-west direction; and, conceiving himself to be the first navigator who had sailed through them, he ventured to give them the name of Shortland's Straits. On comparing his account with the narrative of M. Bougainville, which he had not then by him, there seems to be reason to suspect that this is the same passage through which that navigator sailed at the latter end of June, 1768; and that the island supposed to be called Simboo, is the same which was then named Choiseul Island. To corroborate this suspicion, M. Bougainville's description of the canoes and persons of the natives agrees entirely, as far as it goes, with that given by Mr. Shortland*. A small difference in longitude affords the chief reason for doubting the identity of the passage, which, should it be proved, will not detract at all from the merit of the latter navigator, who proceeded entirely by his own attention and sagacity, in a sea unknown to himself and those who were with him, which, if not wholly unexplored, had not, however, been surveyed before with equal minuteness of observation. [* Some of the vessels indeed were larger. "Il y avoit vingt-deux hommes dans la plus grande, dans les moyennes, huit ont dix, deux ou trois dans les plus petites. Ces pirogues paroissoient bien faites; elles ont I'avant et I'amere fort relévés, etc. Ils portent des bracelets, et des plaques au front et sur le col. J'ignore de quelle matiere, elle m'a paru etre blanche." Boug. Chap. v. p. 264.] Lieutenant Shortland now congratulated himself on having cleared this large tract of land, which he had the greatest reason to suppose united the whole way from the place at which he first fell in with it; as in sailing at a very moderate distance from the coast, he had made every effort in his power to find a passage to the northward. A place called by one of the French navigators, Port Surville, is probably a part of it, as well as Choiseul Bay, but the points seen and described by the French discoverers are very few; and for the knowledge of the form and bearings of the rest of the coast, throughout the whole extent of near three degrees of latitude, and full five of longitude, we are indebted entirely to the researches of our own countryman, as we are for the beautiful delineation of the whole coast, to the care and ingenuity of his son, Mr. John George Shortland. The only places in which Lieutenant Shortland suspected there might possibly be a passage which had escaped his observation, was between Cape Phillip and Cape Henslow, and again between the capes Marsh and Pitt. The ascertaining of these matters he leaves to other navigators, at the same time recommending the route he took as the safest and most expeditious passage within his knowledge from Port Jackson to China; Middleton Shoal, on the coast of New South Wales, being the only place of danger he had hitherto discovered. Should any objection be made to passing through a strait, where a more open sea can be obtained, he would recommend the much wider channel between Egmont Island and Simboo, and not by any means the whole circuit to the east of the New Hebrides. To the whole of this land, consisting of the two principal islands on each side of the straits, and the Treasury Isles between them, Lieutenant Shortland gave the name of New Georgia. There is, indeed, an island of Georgia, to the east of Staten Land, so named by Captain Cook in 1775: but between these, it seems to be a sufficient distinction to call the one the Isle of Georgia, and the other New Georgia. The land on the western side of Shortland's Straits, continued to be very high, and extended as far as the eye could reach; from these circumstances, and from the direction in which it trended, no doubt was entertained of its joining that which was called by Captain Carteret, Lord Anson's Isle. With respect to the charts here given of these discoveries, Lieutenant Shortland, though he cannot, from the distance at which they were taken, presume to vouch for the laying down of every single point, as if the coast had undergone a regular survey, undertakes to promise, that they are sufficiently accurate for the direction of any future navigators; as he had, in the course of his progress along it, many opportunities of taking lunar observations. 9 August 1788 At six in the afternoon of Saturday, August 9th, the extreme point in sight of the high land to the westward of the passage, bore south-west by south, distant twelve or fourteen leagues: and two islands which the ship had just made, bore north-west by north, distant five or six leagues. They are supposed to lie in latitude 4° 50' south, and longitude 156° 11' east. At day light on Sunday August 10th, Lieutenant Shortland set his steering sails, and bore away to the north-west, in order to make more distinctly the islands seen the preceding evening. 10 August 1788 At six in the morning, four were in sight, and bore south-west, distant six leagues. It was at first thought that they would prove to be the nine islands seen by Captain Carteret; but as neither the number nor the longitude was found to correspond, Lieutenant Shortland afterwards concluded they were not the same; and determined, as the weather appeared squally and unsettled, not to attempt pursuing the tract of that officer through St. George's Channel, but to go round New Ireland. Chapter XIX. August 1788 to February 1789 Appearance of the scurvy--The boats land at one of the Pelew Islands--Account of the Natives who were seen, and conjectures concerning them--Distresses--The Friendship cleared and sunk--Miserable condition of the Alexander when she reached Batavia.--Conclusion. 10 August 1788 Hitherto no difficulties had been encountered but such as necessarily attend the exploring of new coasts, wherein the anxiety is fully compensated by the satisfaction of becoming a discoverer: but a dreadful scourge now hung over our navigators, the severity of which cannot easily be conceived, even by those who have been placed in similar scenes, so much did it exceed in degree every thing of the same kind that has been usually experienced. It was about this time, the 10th of August, that the scurvy began to make its appearance, which, for want of the proper remedies, increased to a malignity that was destructive of many lives, rendered it necessary to sacrifice one of the ships, and finally reduced the consolidated crews of both in the remaining transport to such a state of weakness, that without immediate assistance they must have perished even in port, or would have been driven adrift again, from total inability to take the necessary steps for their own preservation. 13 August 1788 On the thirteenth of August, five seamen of the Alexander were already on the sick list, complaining of pains in the legs and breast, with their gums so swelled, and their teeth so loose that they could not without difficulty eat even flour or rice. The weather was now very variable, often sultry, at other times squally, with occasional showers. The ships were probably at no great distance from some land, as birds were frequently seen in great numbers; and on the 16th the Friendship made the signal for seeing land, but it could not be descried from the Alexander. Sharks were also caught with the hook, and now and then some floating wood and vegetables were observed. On this day the two transports passed the equator. On the 24th, Lieutenant Shortland found by observation, that a current had set the ship to the west north-west or north-west by west of her account, at the rate of eleven miles a day since the 13th, when the last lunar observation had been taken. The scurvy gained ground rapidly in the Alexander, notwithstanding the precautions of smoking the ship, washing with vinegar, and distributing porter, spruce-beer, and wine among the seamen. On the 2d of September six men and a boy, on the 5th eight, and on the 8th ten, were disabled by it from performing any duty. An increase of this kind, in the midst of all the efforts that could be made to counteract the malignity of the disorder, gave but too certain a prognostic of the ravages it was afterwards to make. 10 September 1788 About noon on the 10th of September, the looming of land was discerned to the westward, which an hour after was clearly perceived, bearing west north-west, at the distance of six leagues. As the ships were then in latitude about 6° 49' north, and longitude 135° 25' east, it is evident that this must have been one of the Pelew Islands, lately so much celebrated for their hospitable reception of Captain Wilson and his crew. As the account of that voyage was not then published, and Lieutenant Shortland had no charts with him that noticed these islands, he concluded that he was among the most southern of the New Carolines; but finding his longitude, from accurate observation, to be more westerly than the situation of those islands, he conceived their longitude to be laid down in the charts erroneously. 11 September 1788 At six in the morning, September 11th, a small island not seen before, bore west south-west, distant five leagues; and the wind coming round to the south south-west, Lieutenant Shortland bore away for the passage between the two islands. At nine, having entered the passage, he founded and found thirteen fathoms, with a fine sandy bottom, and a strong current setting through very rapidly. Many cocoa-palms were seen on the shore, and excited an earnest expectation of procuring effectual refreshment for the sick: a boat from each of the ships was therefore manned and sent out. While the boats were sounding a-head, many Indians approached in their canoes, and by signs invited our people to shore, giving them to understand that they might be supplied with cocoa nuts and many other things; but when they attempted to land at a place which had the appearance of a Morai or burying-place, they would not suffer it, insisting that they should proceed further one way or the other. In the mean time many persons of both sexes swam off from shore, holding up bamboos* full of water, which they imagined the ships to want. Mr. Sinclair, the Master of the Alexander, being in the boat, brought the following account of this expedition. "Finding I could not make them understand that I wanted cocoa-nuts, and not water, I was resolved to land, and therefore put on shore as soon as I found a convenient place, amidst a concourse of between three and four hundred people. I immediately fixed upon an old man, (whom, from an ornament of bone upon his arm, I concluded to be a chief) and made him a present of some nails and beads, which were accepted with evident pleasure, and immediately conciliated his friendship. This was a fortunate step, as he afterwards often showed his authority by checking the most insolent of his people when they pressed forward and endeavoured to steal whatever they could seize. One seaman holding his cutlass rather carelessly had it snatched from him, and the thief had so well watched his opportunity, that he was almost out of sight before he was distinguished. Notwithstanding the offers of the natives in the canoes, I could not procure above thirty cocoanuts, and those green; whether it was that the people did not comprehend my signs, or that they were not inclined to carry on the traffic. These islanders were well limbed men, moderately tall, with long hair: many of them chewed the betel nut, and these were all furnished with a small hollow stick, apparently of ebony, out of which they struck a kind of powder like lime* Their arms were a lance, and a kind of adze hung over the shoulder; some men carrying one, and others two. These adzes were of iron, and evidently of European manufacture. As the place where we landed was very rocky and unpleasant for walking, when I found myself unsuccessful in the chief object for which I was sent out, I returned as expeditiously as I could. In return for my presents, the old chief gave one to me which was not equally acceptable. It was a mixture of fish, yams, and many other things, the odour of which, probably from the staleness of the composition, was very far from being agreeable. When we first landed, many of the natives repeated the word, Englees, as if to enquire whether we were of that nation, but when they understood that we were they shook their heads and said, Espagnol: possibly, therefore, the discovery of our nation might prevent them from being as courteous on shore as they had been in their canoes." [* Bamboos were the only water vessels in the Pelew Islands. See Wilson, chap. xxv. p. 312.] [* This was the Chinam, or coral, burnt to lime, always used with the betel. See Wilson's Account, p. 27. The Areca is the nut, the leaves only of betel are used. These are produced by different plants.] From some of the above circumstances it is undeniably evident that these people have had intercourse with Europeans, and probably with the Spaniards; and from the aversion which they expressed to the English, it seems not an unfair conjecture that this island might perhaps be Artingall, where our countrymen had distinguished themselves five years before by the assistance they gave to a hostile state*: but if so, their knowledge of the Spaniards must have been posterior to the departure of the English, who from the narrative must have been the first Europeans seen there. Had the adventures of the Antelope's crew been then made known to the world, Lieutenant Shortland would with joy have presented himself before the beneficent Abba Thulle; and probably by obtaining a stock of fresh provisions and vegetables might have preserved the lives of many of his companions, and prevented the sufferings of the rest; but he was not fortunate enough to know that so propitious a retreat was within so small a distance. [* It might, perhaps, be thought by some readers, that if this had been the case they would now have endeavoured to take revenge, but we find from Captain Wilson's narrative, that all animosity was dropped as soon as peace had been established with the inhabitants of Pelew. See that work, Chap. xvi. p. 192.] 23 September 1788 His people were doomed to find their distresses augmented instead of diminished. Towards the latter end of September, agues and intermittent fevers began to prevail among them; the proportion of those disabled by the scurvy was constantly great, some deaths had happened, and the few men who still had health enough to carry them with difficulty through the necessary duty, were subject to the swelling of the legs, and harrassed by violent pains in the breast. Hitherto the Friendship had been much more happily circumstanced. On the 23d of September she was spoken to, and had then only one man disabled by the scurvy: but this advantage was of short duration, and the more rapid increase of the malady made a fatal compensation for the greater delay of its commencement. 27 September 1788-19 October 1788 On the 27th of September, about noon, the Alexander made the land of Mindanao. It bore from west by north to north-west by west, distant fourteen leagues. Part of it was remarkably high, and at this distance appeared like a separate island, but on a nearer approach was found to be all connected. On the 30th, about four in the afternoon, Hummock Island bore west by south, half south, distant six or seven leagues. In all this sea a strong current constantly set the ship considerably to the south of her reckoning. On the third of October the wind fell suddenly, and the Alexander being in great danger of driving with the current upon the shore of Karkalang or Sanguir Island, was obliged to drop her anchor, which happily brought her up in forty fathoms water. In the evening of the 17th, the Friendship actually struck upon a reef on the coast of Borneo, when the Alexander immediately cast anchor, and sent a boat to her assistance; but at day light the next morning it appeared that she also lay so encompassed with sand-keys and shoals, that it was difficult to discern how she had sailed into that situation, or what track she must pursue to be extricated from it. The Friendship, however, fortunately got off from the reef without sustaining any material damage: and in the morning of the nineteenth a narrow channel was found, through which the Alexander with difficulty sailed out of her dangerous station. Attempts had been made to weigh anchor the preceding day, but the wind failing, the force of the currents prevented it. The ships were at this time not more than eight leagues from the coast of Borneo. The scurvy had now brought both the crews to a most pitiable situation. The Alexander had lost eight of her complement, and was reduced to two men in a watch, only four seamen and two boys being at all fit for duty: and though these were willing to do their best, and further encouraged by the promise of double wages when they should arrive at Batavia, their utmost exertions were inadequate to the necessities of the ship, which they were hardly able to put about; nor could they have weighed even a small anchor had the currents obliged them to bring to again. The Friendship had only five men not disabled, and was by no means well provided with provisions. In this melancholy state of both ships, the western monsoon being expected soon to set in, it was indispensably necessary to give up one for the sake of preserving the other. Upon this subject the masters consulted, and after some time came to an agreement. As the Friendship was the smaller vessel, and would be cleared more easily than the Alexander, having fewer stores on board, Mr. Walton, her master, consented that she should be evacuated and sunk, on condition that he should be allowed half freight of the Alexander. In four days the Friendship had her crew and stores transferred to the Alexander, after which she was bored and turned adrift. The ships company thus made out from both vessels was of no great strength, not amounting to half the proper complement of the Alexander, nor was it more than, allowing for the further ravages of disease, was absolutely necessary to work that ship to Batavia. The following list contains the whole number of persons now on board the Alexander. BELONGING TO THE ALEXANDER. In Health. Lieutenant Shortland, Commander. Duncan Sinclair, Master. W. A. Long, first Mate. T. G. Shortland, second ditto. John Winter, Seamen. Ant. Hedley, Edward Waters, John Lewis, Thomas Frazer, Boys. John White Sick. Charles Clay, Seamen. James Stockell, Robert Ranson, William Dixon, Boy. FROM THE FRIENDSHIP. Well. Francis Walton, Master. Robert Laurence, first Mate. J. Walton, second Mate. Robert Barnes, Boatswain. William Hern, Steward. William Bruce, Cook. James Craven, Seamen. William Allen Sick. John Philpot, Corp. Corn. Du Heg, Seamen. R. Smith, Robert George, Rich. Sandell, John Morris, Robert Cockran, Lieutenant Collins, a passenger. 29 October 1788 On the 29th of October, at five in the morning, a land wind springing up from the coast of Borneo, within six miles of which the Alexander had lain at anchor, she got again under way, and at ten was abreast of the point that forms the entrance into the harbour of Pamanookan. At five in the afternoon Pulo Laoot bore from south-south-west to south-west by south, distant twelve or fourteen leagues; but the wind being now southerly, and the current strongly against the vessel, she did not get round this island till November the 5th. 1 November 1788 Wine was constantly served in due proportions to the sick and well, but neither that, nor any other remedy that could be tried amended the condition of the people. Sickness continued to spread among them, insomuch that in the beginning of November only one man besides the officers was able to go aloft. A short alarm by no means added to the comfort of their condition: on the first of this month four large boats, three of which rowed eighteen oars, and the fourth not less than twelve or fourteen, bore down upon the ship, apparently with hostile intentions. When they approached within about a mile they lay to, as if to consult with each other, and then continued to row and sail after the Alexander. Lieutenant Shortland hoisted English colours, which one of the boats answered by hoisting Dutch, and another Portugueze colours. They continued in chase till five in the afternoon, and it was imagined that their design was to board and seize the ship in the night. During the pursuit the little strength that could be raised was put in motion, all were stationed at their quarters, and the carronades and great guns put in order. When these preparations were made, Lieutenant Shortland determined to show his own resolution, and to try that of his assailants, by firing a shot in a direct line over them. This was done accordingly, and fully answered the intention, for they immediately desisted from the pursuit, and made hastily for the shore. Had the Alexander been at this time a very few days sail more distant from Batavia, she must inevitably have been lost, not from any stress of weather, or danger of coasts or shoals, but merely from inability to conduct her into port, as every man on board must have been totally disabled. 17 November 1788 On the 17th of November only one man was fit for work, besides the officers; a very little longer continuance would have reduced her to the condition of floating at the mercy of winds and waves, without any possibility of assisting, impeding, or directing her course. At six that evening, the wind being too scanty to carry her into the roads of Batavia, an effort was made by all indiscriminately who were able to work, and anchor was cast between the islands of Leyden and Alkmara; soon after a gun was fired, and a signal made for assistance. At two in the afternoon on the 18th, as no assistance arrived, the still greater effort of weighing anchor was tried, and the task performed with the utmost difficulty; after which, standing in with the sea breeze, the ship came again to anchor at five, in nine fathoms. The boat was now hoisted out, and sent to beg assistance from the Dutch Commodore, the crew of the Alexander being so much reduced as to be unable to furl their own sails. A party was immediately sent to assist, and six of the Dutch seamen remained on board all night, lest any blowing weather should come on. Never, perhaps, did any ship arrive in port more helpless, without being shattered by weather, from the mere effects of a dreadful and invincible disorder. 19 November 1788-7 December 1788 At five in the morning of the 19th, the welcome sight appeared of a boat from the Dutch Commodore, which he had humanely laded with refreshments. She brought also a boatswain's mate and twelve seamen to assist in refitting the ship for sea. The sick were sent on the 20th to the hospital, where several of them died, being too far gone for any accommodation or skill to recover. From the Bridgewater and Contractor East Indiamen, which lay in the road when the Alexander arrived; and from the Raymond, Asia, and Duke of Montrose, which came in a few days after; with the assistance of a few men from the Dutch Commodore, a fresh crew was at length made up, in which only four of the original seamen remained, the rest being either dead, or not enough recovered to return with the Alexander, when she sailed again on the 7th of December. 18 February 1789 The remaining part of the voyage was attended with few circumstances worthy of notice, and was made in a track sufficiently known to all navigators to permit us to dispense with a minute description of it. At the Cape they met with Captain Hunter, in the Sirius, who, when the Alexander arrived, on the 18th of February, 1789, had been in Table Bay six weeks. From him Lieutenant Shortland learned that the Borrowdale and the Prince of Wales transports, which had parted from him on the coast of New South Wales, had returned by the southern passage, and had been heard of from Rio de Janeiro. In Table Bay the Alexander remained at anchor till the 16th of March, when she sailed again, and arrived off the Isle of Wight on the 28th of May. Thus concluded a voyage, the first part of which was enlivened and rendered important by discoveries; the next involved in gloom through the virulent attacks of distemper, and the frequent inroads of death. Much was certainly performed, and very much was suffered, but from the whole we are authorized to conclude, that the settlement of our countrymen on the new southern continent, must powerfully tend to the improvement of navigation, and the extension of geographical knowledge. Nor is it necessary, that any ill-omened apprehensions should be excited by the misfortunes of the Alexander and the Friendship. It may not happen again that ships shall quit Port Jackson so ill prepared with antidotes against the malignant poison of the scurvy: nor, if they should, is it by any means certain that their visitation will be equally severe. LATITUDES and LONGITUDES of CAPES, HEADLANDS, ISLANDS, and SHOALS, according to the Track of the ALEXANDER, under the Directions of Lieutenant JOHN SHORTLAND, Agent for Transports. [Table not included in this ebook] Chapter XX. Lieutenant Watts's Narrative of the Return of the Lady Penrhyn Transport; containing an Account of the Death of Omai, and other interesting Particulars at Otaheite. 5 May 1788-17 May 1788 The Lady Penrhyn, Capt. Sever, left Port Jackson on the 5th of May, 1788. In the evening of the 7th, imagining they saw a fire on shore, they sounded, but found no bottom with ninety fathoms of line. By their observation at noon, on the 9th, they found a current had set the vessel eighty miles to the southward since their leaving Port Jackson. The scurvy began already to make its appearance amongst them; one man was rendered unfit for duty, and several others complained very much. The weather in general was squally, with thunder, lightning, and rain. In the morning of the 14th they saw an island bearing north-east, half north, 18 or 20 leagues distant, which made in two detached hummocks: At seven in the afternoon, the island seen in the morning was about nine leagues distant, on which they brought to for the night, and next morning made sail and stood for it. At noon they spoke to the Supply, Lieutenant Ball, who informed them that this island is named Lord Howe's Island. During the afternoon and night they stood off and on, and at nine o'clock the next morning a boat was hoisted out, and Lieutenant Watts with a party went on shore in search of turtle, but they could distinguish no traces of any, though the different bays were very closely explored: about noon, Mr. Watts returned on board. This disappointment did not deter them from making another effort, as some turtle would have been a very valuable acquisition: accordingly Mr. Anstis went with a party in the pinnace to try his success in the night. About noon the next day Mr. Anstis returned without having seen one turtle, but to make some amends, the party had met with great success in fishing, having caught a sufficient quantity to serve the ship's company three or four days. Lord Howe's Island was discovered by Lieutenant Ball on his passage to Norfolk Island in the month of February, and on his return he stopt and surveyed it; at that time he caught a quantity of fine green turtles, of which there were great numbers: this induced Governor Phillip to send the Supply a second time to this island, but she then was unsuccessful, the weather probably being so cold as to occasion the turtle to remove to the northward. The island is about two leagues in extent, and lies in the direction of north 30° west, and south 30° east; the south-east end making in two very high mounts, which may be seen at the distance of more than twenty leagues, and at first appear like two detached isles. About three leagues from these, and nearly in a south-east direction, is a remarkably high and pointed rock,* which may be seen at least twelve leagues off; from this there are dangerous rocks extending three or four miles, both in a south-east and south-west line; those to the south-west not shewing themselves above water: there are also rocks extending four or five miles off the north-west and north-east ends of the island, which is of a moderate height. Both extremes are bluff, and there appears to be much foul ground about them: within the north-west point lies a rock with eleven fathoms water close to it, and there is a passage between it and the island. The reef on the west side extends nearly to both extremes with breaks in it, through which boats may pass with safety, but within the reef it is in general very shoaly. The island is tolerably broad at each end, and very narrow, with low land in the center, forming two bays, that should the wind be from south-east to north-east, or south-west to north-west, a ship may always be secure by running to the leeward of the island. There are regular soundings on the west side, but the ground is too hard for holding well, being coral rocks. The east side they did not examine. The low narrow part has evidently been overflowed and the island disjointed, for in the very center, as they walked across, they saw large beds of coral rocks, and shells in great abundance; and on the east side, which seems in general to be the weather side, the sea has thrown up a bank of sand, from twenty-five to thirty feet in height, which serves as a barrier against future inundations. The island has likewise every appearance of having undergone a volcanic revolution, as they found great quantities of burnt stone and pumice stone; and Mr. Anstis, who landed on the reef which shelters the west bay, at dead low water, found the whole a burnt up mass. [* Ball's Pyramid.] The inhabitants of this island were all of the feathered tribe, and the chief of these was the ganet, of which there were prodigious numbers, and it should seem that this is the time of their incubation, the females being all on their nests: these are places simply hollowed in the sand, there not being a single quadruped that could be found upon the island to disturb them. The people brought numbers of their eggs on board. Very large pigeons were also met with in great plenty; likewise beautiful parrots and parroquets; a new species, apparently, of the coote, and also of the rail, and magpie; and a most beautiful small bird, brown, with a yellow breast and yellow on the wing; it seemed to be a species of humming bird: there was also a black bird, like a sheerwater, with a hooked bill, which burrows in the ground. Numbers of ants were seen, which appeared the only insect at this place, except the common earth worm. The soil is of a sandy nature, and fresh water extremely scarce in those places which they had an opportunity of examining. This island is well covered with wood, the chief of which is the large and dwarf mangrove, the bamboo, and the cabbage tree. The different vegetables met with were scurvy grass, wild celery, spinach, endive, and samphire. 31 May 1788 From the mean of all their observations they found this island to be situated in 31°. 30'. 49". south latitude, and by comparing their lunar observations with those of Lieutenant Ball, they found its longitude to be 159°. 10'. 00". east of Greenwich. The mean state of the thermometer, during their short stay, was 66°. and the variation of the compass, by many observations, was found to be 10°. east. In the afternoon the pinnace was hoisted in, and they made sail to the eastward with a fresh breeze at south-west. Nothing material occurred till the 31st, when about three o'clock in the afternoon they saw two islands, one bearing north-east, half east, seven leagues, and the other east by south, about six leagues distant. Not having an opportunity of getting well in with the land before night came on, they plied occasionally under an easy sail, and at day-light next morning [1 June 1788] made sail and bore up for it. On approaching the southernmost land, they found it to form two barren isles, separated by a channel about a quarter of a mile over, and apparently free from danger: the north island lies in a north half east direction from these, and about five leagues distant. At noon, the body of the north island bore north-east by north three miles distant: their latitude at that time was 30°. 11'. south, and the longitude by lunar observation 180°. 58'. 37". east. At one o'clock they bore round the west end of the island, and hove to near the center of it, about a mile off shore. They were in hopes, from the appearance of the island at a distance, that they should have found it productive of something beneficial to the people, (the scurvy gaining ground daily) but they were greatly disappointed; both the north and south sides are surrounded by rocks, over which the water flows, without the least opening for a boat; however, Capt. Sever ordered the small boat to be hoisted out, and went on shore accompanied by Mr. Anstis: they found great difficulty in landing, and, when upon the rocks, they had to mount a very dangerous precipice, in order to gain the level part of the island. This island forms very high at the west end, and slopes gradually to the east end, where it terminates in a cliff of a moderate height: both sides have a range of these cliffs extending the whole length, which are chiefly composed of white sand. The whole of the island bears the strongest marks of being a volcanic production, having great quantities of pumice stone on it, and the rocks quite burnt up. The top of the land was covered with a coarse kind of grass, and the place affords great plenty of the wild mangrove. The extent of this island is about two miles and an half, nearly in the direction of east-south-east and west-north-west; the soil a mixture of mould and sand. The inhabitants are the brown gull, the light-grey bird, ganets, and a parroquet of the same species with those met with at Lord Howe's Island. The gentlemen could scarcely walk a step without being up to the knee in holes: they saw a great number of rats and mice, and found many birds lying dead at the entrances of their burrows: they saw no appearance of fresh water, though from the gullies that were formed in various parts, the island must certainly be subject to very heavy rains. This island was named Macaulay's Island, after G. M. Macaulay, Esq; and the two islands to the southward, Curtis's Isles, after Timothy and William Curtis, Esqrs. At five in the afternoon, the Captain returning on board, the boat was hoisted in, and they made sail, standing to the eastward with a moderate breeze at south-west. Macaulay's Island is situated in 30°. 09'. south latitude, and 180°. 58'. 37''. east longitude. 6 June 1788-10 July 1788 The scurvy now began to spread very fast among the crew, and by the 6th, they had nine men unable to get out of their hammocks, and many others complained very much: swelled gums, the flesh exceeding black and hard, a contraction of the sinews, with a total debility; were the general appearances. Wine was daily served out to them, and there was sour-krout on on board, but the people refused to eat it. From this to the 17th they had little variety; by that time the people were in a deplorable state, for with every person on board, the Captain included, they could only muster ten men able to do duty, and some of them were in a very weakly state: sour-krout, which before had been refused, now began to be sought after, and they had all the Captain's fresh stock, himself and officers living solely on salt provisions; and to add to their melancholy situation the wind hung almost constantly in the eastern board, so that they could scarcely make any progress. For several days they had very squally unsettled weather, attended with almost constant heavy rain, and frequent storms of thunder and lightning. On the 24th, being then in 32°. 12'. south latitude, and 207°. 28'. east longitude, the wind shifted to the westward, but the weather still continued squally and unsettled. On the 7th July, in 21°. 57'. south latitude, they fell in with the south-east trade wind, and as the people were in a very weak condition, it was determined to make Otaheite as soon as possible. At six o'clock in the morning of the 9th, they saw Osnaburgh Island, bearing north by east, half east, four or five leagues distant. At seven they bore up for Otaheite, and at ten o'clock that island made its appearance, bearing west by north; by five in the afternoon they were abreast of Oaitepeha Bay, and ten canoes presently came alongside with bread-fruit, cocoa nuts, etc. The Indians pressed them very much to come to an anchor there, but as they were not able to purchase their anchor again when once let go, Mr. Watts advised the Captain to stand on for Matavai Bay. During the night they wore occasionally, and at day-light in the morning of the 10th stood in for the land. At noon, Point Venus bore south-west by south about three miles distant. In standing into Matavai Bay the ship got rather too close on the Dolphin Bank, having only two and a half fathoms water for several casts, over a hard bottom, but she deepened at once to seventeen fathoms, and they stood over to the south side of the bay, in hopes by making a board, to fetch the Resolution's old birth, which would have made the watering place very handy; but the ship missing stays, they were obliged to let go the anchor, and content themselves in their situation. They anchored at nine o'clock in eight fathoms water, over a soft bottom, Point Venus bearing north-north-east, and One Tree Hill south by east, half east, distant from shore about half a mile. On approaching the bay, they could perceive a prodigious number of the natives on Point Venus, and round the beach, and several canoes put off from the shore, the Indians waving pieces of white cloth and making signs for them to come into the bay. When anchored they had only three men in one watch, and two in the other besides the mates, and two of these ailing; the rest of the crew were in a truly deplorable state. Their first care was naturally to procure some refreshments, and it was a pleasing circumstance for them to see the natives flock round the ship, calling out "Tayo Tayo," which signifies friends; and "Pabii no Tutti," Cook's ship; and bringing in very great plenty cocoa nuts, bread-fruit, plantains and taro, and a fruit known by the name of the Otaheite apple; they also brought some hogs and fowls. All the Indians appeared glad to see them, and disposed of their various commodities on very moderate terms, and indeed their whole behaviour indicated the most friendly intentions. In the evening, the Chief of Matavai came on board, and in him Lieutenant Watts recollected an old friend: the Chief was greatly pleased to see Mr. Watts, as he was the only person in the ship who had been here before, except the steward, who had been before the mast in the Resolution; therefore, when Mona (which was the chief's name) saw his old acquaintance, he explained to his companions who he was, and that he had been with Capt. Cook, and they seemed very glad to have some of their old visitors again. Mr. Watts learnt from Mona, that O'too was still living, that he was always called Earee Tutti, and then was absent on a visit to the eastward, but expected to return in four or five days: At the same time, he said, messengers had been sent to acquaint him of the ship's arrival. He also informed Mr. Watts, that Maheine, the chief of Eimeo, to retaliate the mischief done him by Capt. Cook, had, after the departure of the Resolution and Discovery from the islands, landed in the night at Oparree, and destroyed all the animals and fowls he could lay hold of, and that O'too was obliged to fly to the mountains. He likewise intimated that the Attahooroo men joined Maheine in this business. Indeed, it occurred to Mr. Watts, that when here in the Resolution, Toha, the chief of that district, threatened something of the kind in a quarrel with O'too, and probably smothered his resentment only for a time, fearful of Capt. Cook revenging it, should it come to his knowledge. 11 July 1788 The next day, Oediddee agreeably surprised them with a visit on board: he was greatly rejoiced to see them, and enquired after all his friends in a very affectionate manner: He took great pleasure in recounting his route in the Resolution, had treasured up in his memory the names of the several places he had been at in her, nor had he forgot his English compliments. He informed them that no ship had been at the islands since Capt. Cook: therefore, they concealed his death, and Capt. Sever made Oediddee a present, as coming from Capt. Cook. Oediddee confirmed the report of the cattle, etc. being destroyed by Maheine, and likewise informed them that Omai, and the two New Zealand boys had been dead a considerable time through illness, and that one horse only was alive at Huaheine, but they could not learn any further particulars from him. 13 July 1788 In the evening of the 13th, a messenger came on board with a present from O'too of a small pig, a dog, and some white cloth, and intimated that he would be at Matavai the next day. Early in the next morning but few canoes came off to the ship, and the natives were observed assembling on the shore in prodigious numbers: soon afterwards, a canoe came alongside and informed them that O'too was on the beach; on this, the Captain and Mr. Watts went on shore immediately, and found him surrounded by an amazing concourse of people, amongst whom were several women cutting their foreheads very much with the shark's tooth, but what both surprised and pleased them very much, was, to see a man carrying the portrait of Captain Cook, drawn by Webber in 1777. Notwithstanding so much time had elapsed since the picture was drawn, it had received no injury, and they were informed that O'too always carried it with him wherever he went. After the first salutations were over, Mr. Watts asked O'too to accompany him to the ship, to which he readily agreed; but previously to his entering the boat he ordered the portrait in, and when he got alongside the ship he observed the same ceremony. When on board he appeared much pleased, asked after his old friends, and was very particular in his enquiries after Capt. Cook. He visited the ship between decks, was astonished to see so few people on board, and the greatest part of them in a debilitated state, and enquired if they had lost any men at sea. He acquainted them with the revenge taken by the Eimeo people, and asked why they had not brought out some cattle, etc. He also mentioned the death of Omai, and the New Zealand boys, and added, that there had been a skirmish between the men of Uliatea and those of Huaheine, in which the former were victorious, and that a great part of Omai's property was carried to Uliatea. O'too was considerably improved in his person, and was by much the best made man of any that they saw; nor was he, as yet, disfigured by the baneful effects of the ava. He preserved his original character in supplying the ship with provisions of every kind in the most liberal manner; and when any of the natives who had come from a considerable distance, begged his intercession with them on board to take their hogs, etc. off their hands, which, on account of the few people they had, they were often obliged, much against their inclination, to refuse, he was very moderate: indeed, he generally left the matter to themselves, and whenever he undertook to dispose of another person's property was always well paid for his trouble. During their stay at Otaheite he daily paid them a visit, and importuned the Captain very much to move the ship into the Resolution's old birth: where she then lay, she was nearly in the situation of the Dolphin on her first anchoring; and though at some distance from the watering place, yet, considering the small number of people on board, and their weak situation, the Captain judged it prudent to remain where he was, as in case of necessity he could put to sea instantly. O'too was always accompanied by a woman, whose advice he asked upon every occasion; she was by no means handsome, neither did she possess that delicacy, or those engaging manners that so much distinguish her countrywomen in general: she was of the Earree class, and seemed to have great authority; but whether or no she was his wife they did not learn, though Mr. Watts was rather inclined to think they were married, and he appeared to be greatly attached to her. The king and all the chiefs were very urgent for Captain Sever to go to Eimeo, and revenge their quarrel, and several of them offered to get a stock of provisions and accompany him; however, to this request he gave a positive refusal. About three days before they quitted Matavai Bay, O'too brought the ring of an anchor on board, observing it might be made into small hatchets: Mr. Watts upon examining it, recollected that it certainly belonged to an anchor which Captain Cook bought of Opooni, at Bola Bola, in 1777: as there was no forge on board the Lady Penrhyn, the Captain offered O'too three hatchets for it, which he readily took. When Captain Cook bought the anchor just mentioned it wanted the ring and one of the palms, and at that time they knew that it had been carried from Otaheite, and belonged to Mons. Bougainville: how O'too came by the ring, Mr. Watts could not learn, but had he possessed it when the Resolution was here, it is reasonable to suppose he would have brought it to Captain Cook, and the more so as at that time the natives used to bring many large pieces of iron (which they had obtained from the Spaniards) to be either worked up or exchanged for trinkets. Though from the season of the year they had reason to expect a scarcity of vegetables, yet they were agreably surprised to find them in the greatest plenty and profusion; hogs were multiplied amazingly, and from the proceedings of the natives, Mr. Watts was induced to think they were desirous to thin them, as they brought none to barter but sows, and the greatest part of them were with pig: fowls were obtained in tolerable plenty, but they were all cocks, and old; the natives likewise brought goats alongside for sale, and some of them brought cats and offered them in barter. Captain Sever purchased a fine male and milch goat with two kids. Cocoa nuts are a never failing article at this place, and the bread-fruit, which was so scarce when the Endeavour was here at the same season of the year, was now exceedingly plentiful, and in high perfection, as was the Otaheite apple; plantains, both ripe and green, and taro, the natives brought in great quantities, but yams and sweet potatoes were very scarce. They purchased seven or eight dozen of pumkins, and a quantity of chilipods, which were some of the produce of the Resolution's garden, and one of the Indians brought some cabbage leaves on board, but the cabbages, as well as sundry other vegetables, were gone to ruin for want of proper care and attention. The natives could not be enticed to eat any of the pumkins, and the chilipods they said poisoned them. It already has been observed, that no ship of any nation had visited this island since Captain Cook, and from appearances, the iron which the natives obtained at that time was pretty well exhausted, as the only iron now seen was the blade of a table-knife; neither did they bring any tools on board to be sharpened, which certainly would have been the case had they been possessed of any, and such was their avidity to obtain hatchets, knives, etc. that every produce the island afforded was purchased at very reasonable rates, nor were the first prices given, attempted to be altered during their stay. Besides hatchets, knives, and nails, the natives were very desirous to have gimlets, files, and scissars; they also asked for looking-glasses, and white transparent beads, but of these latter articles they had none on board: red feathers, which had formerly been held in great esteem, were now of no value; they would accept them as presents indeed, but would not barter any one article for them. As their situation was not a very eligible one, Mr. Watts did not think it prudent to go any great distance from the ship, or even to be much on shore, so that he was prevented from gaining much information, or seeing into many matters that might have enabled him to judge whether the whole of their report respecting Omai, and the loss of his property, etc. was true or not; however, he was inclined to think that the cattle and all the animals were killed, except goats, as Oediddee, when he confirmed the revenge of the Eimeo people, never mentioned that any one animal was saved: goats, indeed, had been left on former voyages, and from increase had become the property of many, but Maheine's resentment, it seems, was levelled at O'too only. 23 July 1788 Great numbers of the natives had been carried off by the venereal disease, which they had caught from their connections with the crews of the Resolution and Discovery; nor were the women so free from this complaint as formerly, especially the lowest class, the better sort seemingly not wishing to hazard the catching so terrible a disorder. The people having recovered in a most astonishing manner, and being now able to assist in the duties of the ship, Captain Sever thought it adviseable to run down amongst the Society Isles, as they had got a plentiful supply of provisions on board; accordingly, they got under way before daylight in the morning of the 23d. The natives soon took the alarm, and the breeze slackening, they were soon crowded with visitors, none of whom came empty handed. Their friends parted from them with great reluctance, and the suddenness of their departure seemed to disappoint the natives greatly; indeed, they would not have left the place so abruptly, had they not been apprehensive that if their intention was known, the Indians would have flocked on board in too great numbers, and have been troublesome. They had the satisfaction of leaving this Island in perfect amity with the natives, and it is but doing them justice to say, that during the time the Lady Penrhyn lay here, not one occasion offered to induce them to fire a musquet. Oediddee regretted their departure exceedingly, and importuned the Captain very much to take him to Uliatea, but O'too (whatever were his reasons) begged that he might by no means be taken from Otaheite; the Captain promised he should not, and taking leave of Oediddee, put him into his canoe, on which he shed tears in abundance, said he was very unhappy, and when he put from the ship never once turned to look at her: his situation was much to be pitied, and he truly merited every friendship that could be shown him; during the time they lay here, he was a constant visitor, and daily brought on board a supply of ready drest provisions. O'too was one of the earliest on board in the morning, and did not leave the ship till they had cleared the reef; he expressed great sorrow at their departure, mentioned how much time had elapsed since the Resolution and Discovery were at Otaheite, begged they would not be so long absent any more, and desired very much to have some horses brought to him, more particularly than any other animal: just before he quitted the ship, he asked for a few guns to be fired, with which the Captain complied. A breeze now springing up, their friends took a last farewell, and they stood to the north-west for Huaheine; at noon, Point Venus was about five miles distant. It may, perhaps, be lamented, that Lieutenant Watts (whose acquaintance with the Chiefs, and knowledge of their language, rendered him a proper person to make enquiries) should not have been able to give a more full account of matters, at an island that has so much engaged the public notice; but, when the short stay of the ship, and her situation are considered, it will be natural to imagine, that the officers found their time very fully employed: such particulars, however, as have been above related may be depended on as facts. 25 July 1788 At noon on the 25th, they saw the island, Huaheine, bearing west three-quarters north, fourteen leagues distant: from this time they had very light winds, and those westerly, which prevented their reaching the island before noon on the 26th; when the extremes of it bore from west half north to south by west half west, off shore three miles. They kept standing off and on, on the east side (the wind continuing in the western board) till the 29th, during which time the natives brought off plenty of refreshments, but they were far more exorbitant in their demands than their neighbours. 29 July 1788 In the morning of the 29th, the wind veering to the south south-east, they stood round the north end of the island, and brought to off Owharree harbour; the natives appeared perfectly friendly, and constantly supplied them with every article except bread-fruit, which they said had failed that season: they were very importunate for them to go into the harbour, but as Captain Sever did not intend to stay more than a day or two, he did not think it worth the trouble. In the evening, an elderly chief, who went by the name of Tutti, and whom Mr. Watts recollected to have frequently seen with Captain Cook, came on board; he confirmed the reports they had heard at Otaheite, and told them, that after Omai had got perfectly settled, he found himself under the necessity of purchasing a great quantity of cloth, and other necessaries, for himself and family, of which his neighbours took advantage, and made him pay extravagantly for every article he purchased; that he frequently visited Uliatea, and never went empty handed, so that by these means he expended much of his treasure: he died at his own house, as did the New Zealand boys, but in what order their deaths had happened, Tutti could not give information. Upon Omai's decease, the Uliatea men came over and attacked them for his property, alledging that as he was a native of their island they had an undoubted right to it. Tutti said they carried away a considerable part of his remaining property, and particularly his musquets, the stocks of which they broke, and took the powder and buried it in the sand: he added, that the conflict had been very fierce, and that great numbers were slain on both sides, nor were they friends even at this time. Three of the natives who came on board, had the os frontis fractured in a terrible manner, but they were then perfectly recovered of their wounds. The house that Captain Cook had built for Omai was still in being, and was covered by a very large one built after the country fashion; it was taken possession of by the chief of the island. With respect to the horses, the mare had foaled, but died soon afterwards, as did the foal, the horse was still living though of no benefit: thus were rendered fruitless the benevolent intentions of his Majesty, and all the pains and trouble Captain Cook had been at in preserving the cattle, during a tedious passage to these islands. 2 August 1788-24 August 1788 Having recruited their stock of provisions, and added a large quantity of yams and sugar cane, and the wind coming to the eastward (which had not been the case more than four or five days since their first anchoring in Matavai Bay) they on the 2d of August took leave of their friends, and stood to the northward until noon, when they steered north-west. They carried away from these hospitable islands, sixty hogs, weighing from seventy to two hundred and twenty pounds each, besides near fifty small pigs, ten dozen of fowls, an immense quantity of cocoa-nuts, green plantains, sugar cane, taro, and yams, and about eight dozen of pumkins; the people were all perfectly recovered, and from the plentiful stock of provisions on board there was reason to hope that they would not be any more alarmed for their safety. At day light in the Morning of the 8th, they saw a low flat island, bearing from east to north-east seven or eight miles distant; it appeared to be well clothed with trees, but the weather at that time being squally allowed them a very imperfect view. Captain Sever named it Penrhyn's Island; it is situated in 9°. 10'. south latitude, and 202°. 15'. east longitude. In the afternoon of the 20th, the Captain and some others imagining they saw land, and the sun setting in a fog-bank, which prevented them ascertaining the reality, they shortened sail, and lay by for the night; but at five o'clock the next morning no land being in sight, they made sail and stood to the north-west by west, with a fine breeze at north-east. In the evening of the 23d, being near the situation of an island and reef, as laid down in Lord Anson's chart, they brought to for the night. A number of ganets and other birds were flying about the next day, but no land appeared in sight: their latitude at noon was 9° 30' north, and 179° 18' east longitude. 15 September 1788 Nothing occured worthy of note till the 15th of September, when about noon they saw the island of Saypan, bearing west half north, twelve leagues distant. The next day at noon the south end of Tinian was about four leagues distant: in the afternoon the small boat was hoisted out, and Mr. Anstis went in her to sound a small bay round the south point of Saypan; he returned at seven o'clock, having found from ten to twenty fathoms water about a mile off shore, but the ground hard. The next morning, Mr. Anstis went on shore in the small boat to endeavour to procure a bullock, great numbers of which were seen grazing on the island Tinian. At six in the afternoon, they stood round the south point of Tinian, but finding they could not fetch into the road, they brought to for the night. In the evening, Mr. Anstis returned with the best part of a young bullock. The next morning at day light, they made sail and stood in for the road, and at nine o'clock came to anchor in eighteen fathoms, over a bottom of coral, about a mile and an half distant from shore. Soon after they anchored, a party were sent on shore to hunt. 25 September 1788-29 September 1788 From this to the 25th, they had light winds varying from south to east, with frequent showers over the land, and the flies so very troublesome that they found Captain Byron's account of them perfectly just. On coming to an anchor, they observed a buoy a little to the southward, with a slip buoy to it, they swept for the anchor, weighed it, and found it belonged to the Charlotte (Gilbert, master) one of the ships from Port Jackson bound to China; there were two-thirds of a cable to it. The party on shore also found some spars, apparently erected for a tent, and three water casks, one of which was full: it is most likely the Charlotte was blown out of the road, and could not regain her station again. Observing that their anchor was foul, on the 25th they hove it up to clear, and let it go again; presently afterwards, finding the ship adrift, they sounded, and had twenty-five fathoms, but as she was at the edge of the bank, they hove the anchor up, and made a stretch to the southward, but did not again fetch the bay till the evening of the 26th. The two following days they had dark heavy weather with very hard squalls, and almost continual rain, the wind from north-east to south-east. At day light in the morning of the 29th, the wind veered round to the south south-west, and soon afterwards, a very severe squall, attended with heavy rain, set the ship adrift, and the tide making strong to the north-west with a large hollow sea, they veered the reef very fast; however, the squall something abating, and fortunately backing round to the south south-east, they got their anchor up (which they otherwise would not have been able to have effected) and bore away to the north north-west. At noon the body of Tinian bore east half south, about four leagues distant. During their stay at Tinian, filling water took up the whole of their time, the well not affording more than three tons a day, sometimes only two tons: the water was rather brackish, but otherwise not ill tasted. They found the fowls and hogs very shy, and the cattle had quite deserted the south part of the island, owing, as was imagined, to the alarm the Charlotte's people had occasioned among them. They obtained two bulls, eight hogs, and about a dozen fowls; they also got bread fruit, but it was at some distance up the country, and the generality of it not ripe: there was abundance of guavas but they were not in season; limes and sour oranges were also very plentiful. Cocoa-nut trees were in abundance, but those within a moderate distance from the beach were cut down, so that the distance they had to go for any was attended with too much fatigue to compensate for the advantages which could be derived from them, as they experienced from two or three attempts of the kind: the season in general seemed very backward. In addition to the animals of this place, they found wild cats, The country had exactly the same appearance as when Captains Byron and Wallis visited it, but many of the pyramidical pillars had fallen down and were much decayed. The mean state of the thermometer during their stay, was 87°. In their passage from hence to China, no material circumstance occurred, and on the 19th of October they anchored in Macao Roads. Chapter XXI. May 1788 to September 1788 The Scarborough leaves Port Jackson--Touches at Lord Howe's Island--Joins the Charlotte--Falls in with a large Shoal--Discover a number of Islands--Short account of the Inhabitants--Canoes described--Ornaments-- Discover Lord Mulgrave's Islands--Arrival at Tinian--Sick people sent on shore--Departure from Tinian--Arrival in Mocao Roads. 6 May 1788-22 May 1788 The Scarborough transport, Captain Marshall, left Port Jackson on the 6th of May 1788, and proceeded towards China, being engaged to take in a cargo of teas at Canton for the East India Company. For several days they had very unsettled weather, with frequent squalls and heavy rain. In the afternoon of the 16th, they saw Lord Howe's Island, bearing east by south seven leagues distant; and the next day at noon, they found the Supply brig, the Lady Penrhyn, and the Charlotte, standing off and on under the island. By two o'clock the Scarborough was close in with the land, but the weather not permitting them to go on shore, the night was spent in standing off and on. Early the next morning, Captain Marshall sent his boat with the chief mate and six men on shore at Lord Howe's Island, in expectation of procuring some turtle, as the Supply, Lieutenant Ball, had caught a large quantity at this island in February: however, they were not able, after the most diligent search, to meet with any turtle; but this excursion was not altogether a fruitless one, for they brought off a quantity of fine birds, sufficient to serve the ship's crew three days; many of them were very fat, somewhat resembling a Guinea hen, and proved excellent food. Having procured such refreshments as the island afforded, they made sail at four o'clock, with the Charlotte in company, and stood to the eastward, with a moderate breeze at south-west. At eight o'clock in the morning of the 22d, they saw Norfolk Island, bearing east by south twelve leagues distant. At two o'clock, they were within one mile of the land, and had soundings in sixteen fathoms water over a hard bottom: the Charlotte being a considerable distance a-stern, Captain Marshall lay to for her to come up, and when she joined the Scarborough he stood under an easy sail to the distance of six leagues westward of the island, and carried soundings from sixteen to twenty-five fathoms, the ground various; in some places being soft, in other parts a corally bottom, and sometimes coarse white sand, intermixed with broken shells. 26 May 1788 After leaving Norfolk Island, they stretched to the northward and eastward, and at one o'clock on the twenty-sixth they saw a small island bearing north north-east eight or nine leagues distant; when about four miles from the island, they sounded with fifty fathoms of line, but got no bottom. Towards evening, Captain Marshall was close in with the island, and being desirous to examine it, he plied occasionally during the night. At day light the next morning, he was close to the land, and found it to be a barren rock, not more than half a mile over in the broadest part; it is very high, and was entirely covered with birds of various kinds, but there was no possibility of landing on account of a frightful surf that entirely surrounded it. This rock was seen first by Captain Gilbert, of the Charlotte, in the forenoon of the 26th, and named by him, Matthew's Island; it is situated in 22° 22' south latitude, and 170° 41' longitude, east of Greenwich. 30 May 1788-13 June 1788 On the 30th, in 17° 13' south latitude, and 172° 43' east longitude, they passed several large trees, and a number of cocoa-nuts floating in the water, but no land was to be seen. Nothing occurred worthy of note till the 4th of June, when the water appearing coloured, they sounded and struck the ground in fifteen fathoms water, although no land was to be seen: a man was then sent to the mast-head, who could plainly discern that the shoal run to the westward, on which Captain Marshall altered his course and stretched to the eastward, carrying soundings from fifteen to thirty fathoms water, over a rocky bottom, and in many places they could see the ground very distinctly. After running to the eastward, about eight miles, they found no bottom with seventy fathoms of line, which occasioned the Captain to tack and stand to the southward. Vast numbers of birds of different kinds were flying to the westward of the shoal, so that there probably is an island near that situation. The east part of this shoal is situated in 173° 12' east longitude, and the south part of it in 15° 50' south latitude, but how far it extends to the westward and northward is very uncertain, though doubtless to a considerable distance, as the water had a white appearance from the mast head as far as the eye could reach. Being now entirely free from the shoal, they stood to the northward, with a light easterly breeze, and moderate weather. On the 9th, in 7° 59' south latitude, the wind shifted to the westward and continued in the western board till the 13th when it again changed to the eastward. 18 June 1788 At six o'clock in the morning of the 18th they saw an island right a-head, bearing north half west eight or nine miles distant: they sounded when about six miles from the land, but got no bottom with sixty fathoms of line; at this time Captain Marshall perceived several canoes with their sails set, and two or three men in each canoe, coming towards the ship, but they presently put back again and made for the shore. This island is very low and level, and extends north-east, and south-west, terminating at each end in a low, flat point, with an appearance of a large bay in the middle; the Captain named it Hopper's Island; it is situated in 00° 03' south latitude, and 173° 43' longitude east from Greenwich. At seven o'clock they saw another island smaller than the former, lying about six miles to the south-west of Hopper's Island, and nearly the same in appearance; this was named Henderville's Island. Towards noon, another island made its appearance, which Captain Marshall named Woodle's Island, situated three miles to the north-west of Henderville's Island. Five large canoes with sails set put off from Woodle's Island, and came towards the ship, but when about four miles distant, they turned back and stood for the shore. The wind blowing off the land prevented them from getting in with the shore, so as to enable them to give a particular description of these islands; they seemed to abound with cocoa-nut, and a variety of other trees. At three o'clock in the afternoon, the Scarborough being within three miles of Henderville's Island, they sounded with sixty fathoms of line, but got no ground. Several large fires were lighted up on the shore, and the natives assembled in vast numbers on the beach, many of them pointing at the ship with looks of wonder and surprise; presently afterwards, nineteen canoes, with five or six men in each, came off from the shore and made towards the ship, on which Captain Marshall lay to, in hopes they would come along side; several of them came within a quarter of a mile of the ship, and then taking down their sails, they stopt to gaze at the vessel, but nothing would induce them to come alongside; however, as more canoes were seen coming from the island, Captain Marshall determined to lay to till they all returned on shore, as there was a probability of his procuring some refreshments from them: two of the last canoes made for the ship without the least hesitation; on this, the Captain ordered his people out of sight that the natives might not be intimidated. When the canoes were close to the ship, the Indians began to talk, and made signs for them to bring the ship nearer the island. After talking with the natives some time, the Captain shewed them a few small nails, a quart bottle, and a looking-glass, all of which they seemed very desirous to obtain; however, they could not be prevailed on to bring their canoes along-side, but three of them jumped out and swam to the ship; a rope was given them to take hold of, but they could not be persuaded to come on board. On receiving their little presents they laughed very heartily, and by way of exchange gave the Captain some beads and teeth of beasts or animals, which they wore about their necks as ornaments: this circumstance serves to show that they have some idea of barter. After making signs a second time for them to bring the ship nearer the island, they took their leave, and presently afterwards all the canoes returning towards the shore, Captain Marshall made sail and stood to the northward. The situation of these islands has already been mentioned, they lie in nearly a north-west and south-east direction: Hopper's Island appears to be about ten leagues in length, Henderville's Island six leagues, and Woodle's Island the same. It is to be lamented that Captain Marshall had not an opportunity of surveying these islands more minutely, as there is scarcely a doubt of their affording a variety of refreshments; for though nothing of the kind was seen in the canoes, yet the natives were plump and fleshy, and seemed to live at their ease: there is also an appearance of a most excellent harbour at Hopper's Island. The inhabitants seem to be a fine set of people; they are of a copper colour, stout and well made; their hair is long and black, with black eyes and eye brows, and they seem to have very fine teeth. The only ornaments seen amongst them were necklaces made of beads intermixed with teeth, and many of them had their faces painted white. If we may judge of these people from the construction of their canoes, they certainly possess a considerable share of contrivance and ingenuity: many of them are large enough to contain sixteen or twenty people; they are narrow, and built to sail very fast, yet there is not the least danger of their oversetting, as they are steadied with an out-rigger resembling a ladder on the weather side, to one end of which a log of wood is fastened, cut sharp at each end in the form of a boat; this not only serves to keep the canoe upright, but likewise holds her to windward. At the other end of the out-rigger, a stout rope is fixed, which leads up to the mast head and serves as a shroud; and when the wind blows fresh, two or more men, according to the size of the canoe, go out upon the ladder to keep her upright. Though these canoes always sail on the same side, yet they are so contrived as to sail one way as well as the other, and the Indians manage them with such dexterity that they put about much sooner than our boats. Every canoe has a sail, which in general is very large; they appear to be made of raw-silk, neatly sewed together, and are cut in the form of our shoulder of mutton sail, with a yard at the fore-leach, and another at the foot, so that when they want to put their canoe about, they only have to shift their tack and bring it to leeward of the mast: in short, from what little Captain Marshall saw of these people, they appeared to be lively, ingenious and expert. 20 June 1788 After quitting these new discovered Islands, Captain Marshall stood to the northward, with a light breeze at east north-east, and at five o'clock in the morning of the 20th, they saw an island bearing east north-east, eight miles distant; it appeared very low, and almost level with the water, so that when only four miles distant they could perceive nothing but trees. When Captain Marshall got close in with the land, he found it to be a chain of islands, extending from south-east to north-west for the distance of more than thirty leagues. Having a favourable breeze, they run along the islands about three miles from shore, and several canoes with sails set, came after the ship, but none of them would come near her. Great numbers of the natives presently assembled on the beach, in order to gratify their curiosity in looking at the ship; this induced Captain Marshall to lay to in expectation of the natives coming along-side, but not one of them ventured near the ship: at one time he had an intention of sending his boat on shore in order to procure some refreshments, as many of his crew were laid up with the scurvy; however, he prudently declined taking this step, as it certainly would have been hazarding too much to have sent a few men amongst an ignorant multitude, with whose temper and disposition they were perfectly unacquainted. The centre of these islands is situated in 1° 50' north latitude, 173° 00' east longitude. They are very low, and yet it is rather remarkable, that on sounding, when not more than a mile from the land, there was no bottom found with eighty fathoms of line. Within the islands there appeared to be some fine harbours, and they probably afford a variety of refreshments. The natives seemed to be nearly black, and their canoes were constructed much in the same manner as those already described. 22 June 1788 There being no prospect of procuring any refreshments from these people, Captain Marshall made sail, and at noon on the 22d they saw land in the direction of north by east, eight miles distant; it appeared very low, flat, and full of trees. By four o'clock, they were close in with the southernmost land, and saw a great number of canoes sailing close to the shore, some of which came towards the ship, and two of them very near, but nothing would entice them to come along-side. The people appeared much the same as those at Henderville's Island, and their canoes were of a similar construction; one of them had a kind of vane at the mast head, which appeared to be made of the same materials as their sail. In running along shore, they found it to consist of six different islands, extending from north by east to south by west, to the length of fourteen or fifteen leagues; the centre of them is situated in 2° 58' north latitude, and 173° 00' east longitude. The southernmost island, Captain Marshall named Allen's Island; the second, Gillespy's Island; the third, Touching's Island; the fourth, Clarke's Island; the fifth, Smith's Island; and the northernmost, Scarborough Island. They ran along these islands about three miles distant from the land, and kept the lead constantly going, but could get no bottom, which appeared rather extraordinary as the land is very low. There appears to be good anchorage between these islands, and the water very smooth, and they seem to abound with cocoa-nut and cabbage trees. By the time they were abreast of Scarborough Island, it grew so dark that they could not see the land; luckily, however, the Indians lighted two very large fires which enabled them to get entirely clear of all the islands. 23 June 1788 At six o'clock in the afternoon of the 23d, more land made its appearance, bearing north to north-west, four leagues distant, but night coming on, they tacked and stood to the southward. 24 June 1788 By two o'clock the next day, they were within two miles of the land, and found it to be a chain of islands, extending from east to nearly west for more than twenty-five leagues; and they perceived a reef from the easternmost point of land, which ran at least three leagues into the sea. The shore on the north-west side of these islands is bold and steep; the Scarborough coasted along within a mile of the land, and frequently sounded with an hundred fathoms of line, but could get no bottom; at the same time they saw the water break near the shore, and a vast number of the natives were collected on the beach. About three o'clock, a small canoe with two men in her came off from the shore, on which Captain Marshall hove to, in order to give them an opportunity of coming up with the ship, but when they were about one hundred yards from the vessel, they put back again as fast as possible, seemingly very much frightened: these men had skins wrapped round their waists, and their hair was ornamented with shells and beads. After they left the ship, Captain Marshall made sail, being desirous to make the westward part of the islands if possible before the night came on; but in this he was disappointed, as the wind grew light and baffling. Several large canoes now put off from the shore with eight or ten men in each; it already has been observed that the Charlotte, Captain Gilbert, was in company with the Scarborough; at this time she was some distance a-stern, and the canoes all went along-side her; several of them went on board the Charlotte, and ran fore and aft, stealing every thing that lay in their way; one of them in particular, got hold of the pump-break, and attempted to jump over-board with it, but was stopped by one of the sailors. They appeared to be very civilized, and all of them had coverings round the waist: their ornaments were necklaces made of beads, to which a cross was suspended, in the same manner as those worn by the Spaniards. 25 June 1788-27 June 1788 Captain Marshall distinguished these islands by the name of Lord Mulgrave's Islands, in honour of the Right Honourable Lord Mulgrave. The southernmost of them is situated in 5° 58' north latitude, and 172° 3' east longitude, and the northernmost in 6° 29' north latitude, and 171° 10' east longitude. At noon on the 25th, they got round the westernmost island, and thought themselves entirely clear of them all, as the day was very fair, and no land could be seen from the mast-head; at the same time they had a long swell: on this, Captain Marshall stood on under an easy sail during the night, but was very much surprised at daylight the next morning to see land on the weather quarter, and a large island on the lee quarter, between which they must have passed in the night, and certainly very near that on their lee, though they sounded every half hour, but never struck the ground. Lord Mulgrave's Islands abound with cocoa-nut-trees, and they could perceive remnants of oranges and various other sorts of fruit, although the natives offered nothing of the sort to barter. These islanders had not any offensive weapons whatever, so that they probably are on very friendly terms with each other. With a light easterly breeze, they kept their course to the northward, and at noon on the 27th, in 7° 25' north latitude, and 171° 10' east longitude, they saw land bearing from north by east to north north-west. Having now a fresh breeze, Captain Marshall run in with the land, and found it to be a cluster of small islands lying east and west of each other, but no appearance was seen of their being inhabited. 28 June 1788 At noon on the 28th, more islands were seen, bearing from north to north-west by west, three or four leagues distant, their latitude at that time was 8° 02' north, and 170° 57' east longitude. The weather being very hazy, with constant rain, they wore, and stood from the land; however, the afternoon proving tolerably clear, they again stood towards it, and by four o'clock were close in with the westernmost island. Two large canoes were lying on a sandy beach, but they did not perceive any inhabitants. At five o'clock they saw several more islands, bearing north north-east, five or six leagues distant. During the night, Captain Marshall stood under an easy sail, and at day-light the next morning land was seen a-head bearing north by east six leagues, and some land bearing east seventeen leagues distant. These islands, like all they had yet seen, were very low, and entirely covered with lofty trees; on sounding, they got no ground with an hundred fathoms of line. Their latitude at noon was 8° 59' north, and 170° 24' east longitude. 30 June 1788 At five in the afternoon, more islands were seen, bearing north, five leagues distant, but night coming on they wore and stood to the southward. In the forenoon of the 30th, they ran between two islands, about five leagues distant from each other, and surrounded by a number of breakers: by eleven o'clock they were entirely clear of all the land. Their observation at noon gave 9° 34' north latitude, and the longitude was 169° 22' east. These last islands were supposed by Captain Marshall to be those which Lord Anson discovered, and named Barbadoes Islands. 31 July 1788 Having now a clear navigation, they prosecuted their voyage without meeting with any thing worthy of notice till the 31st of July, when at six clock in the morning they saw the island of Saypan bearing west by south six leagues distant. Having light baffling winds, they did not get in with the land till the approach of evening, so that the night was spent in standing off and on. At day-light the next morning, Captain Marshall sent his boat on shore, with the chief mate and four seamen, to procure some refreshments, and look for anchorage. At two o'clock in the afternoon, the boats returned loaded with cocoa-nuts and cabbage, both, as the men reported, from the same tree, but they could find no place for a vessel to anchor in, the water being very deep close to the land, with a rocky bottom, and so heavy a surf that the boat did not land without great difficulty. Not meeting with a harbour at Sapan, the Captain determined to make the best of his way to Tinian, where he might come to anchor and get his sick people on shore, having no less than fifteen men laid up with the scurvy, and the rest of his crew were so weak that they could scarcely work the ship: the wind, however, was so variable, that they did not reach the south-west side of that island till afternoon on the 4th, when they anchored in twenty-five fathoms water, and soon afterwards the Charlotte came to anchor a small distance from the Scarborough. 5 August 1788-8 August 1788 Early the next morning, Captain Marshall sent his sick people on shore, with a tent, and a sufficient quantity of provisions to serve them five days. After landing the sick, and erecting their tent, the boats crew walked about the island, and saw a great number of cattle, hogs, and fowls, but they only caught a calf, one hog, and a fowl or two, and loaded the boat with cocoanuts, oranges, and limes. On the 6th, the chief mate was sent on shore to look for fresh water; he soon found out the well, mentioned in Lord Anson's voyage, but it was quite dry, and there was not any fresh water to be met with within two miles of the landing place. The boat returned at noon, loaded with fruit of different sorts. Toward evening the wind came round to south south-west blowing very strong, which sent a heavy sea rolling into the bay, and occasioned the Scarborough to pitch very much. The wind still blowing strongly into the bay, Captain Marshall sent his boat on shore on the 7th, to bring off the sick people, which they accomplished with much danger and difficulty; in the mean time, every thing was got ready for sea, the Captain being determined to get away the moment the wind shifted to south or south by east, so that they could clear the west part of the island. During the night, they had so heavy a gale at south-west that they expected every minute to be driven on shore; fortunately, however, at day-break, the wind shifted to south south-east, on which they immediately cut the cable and ran clear of the land: Captain Gilbert cut both his cables and followed the Scarborough. Scarce had they cleared the land before the wind again shifted to south-south-west, and blew a complete hurricane, so that had the vessels then been at anchor, they must inevitably have been driven on shore. Though Captain Marshall's people were on land so short a time, they found amazing benefit from it, their strength gradually returned, and soon afterwards they were perfectly restored to health. 7 September 1788 No particular occurrence happened during their passage from Tinian to China; they saw the Lema Islands in the afternoon of the 7th of September, and came to anchor in Macao Roads the following afternoon. Chapter XXII. Supplemental Account of Animals BIRDS. NO. 139. BANKIAN COCKATOO. Order II. Pies. Genus V. Parrot. This is about the size of the great white cockatoo; the length twenty-two inches. The bill is exceedingly short, and of a pale lead-colour. The head feathers are pretty long, so as to enable the bird to erect them into a crest at will: The colour of the head, neck, and under parts of the body are dusky brown, inclining to olive, darkest on the belly: the feathers of the top of the head and back part of the neck are edged with olive; the rest of the plumage on the upper part of the body, the wings, and tail, are of a glossy black; the last is pretty long and a little rounded at the end; the two middle feathers are wholly black; the others of a fine vermilion in the middle for about one-third, otherwise black; the outer edge of the exterior feather black the whole length. Legs black. This bird was met with in New South Wales, and is supposed to be a variety, if not a different sex, from the Bankian Cockatoo described in the General Synopsis of Birds, Supplement, p. 63. pl. 109. It varies, however, in not having the feathers of the head or those of the wing-coverts marked with buff-coloured spots; nor is the red part of the tail crossed with black bars, as in that bird. With the above specimen was sent the head of another, which differed in having a mixture of yellow in various parts of it. We have been informed, that the red part of the tail in this last is barred with black, not unlike that described by Mr. Latham in the Synopsis. From these circumstances, it may be presumed, that this bird is subject to great variety. RED SHOULDERED PARROT. Order II. Pies. Genus V. This bird is about the size of the Guinea Parrakeet. Total length ten inches and a half: the general colour of the plumage is green, inclining to yellow on the under parts: the top of the head, the outer edge of the wing, and some parts of the middle of the same are deep blue: all round the base of the bill crimson, with a mixture of the same on the fore part of the neck, but between the bill and eye is a mixture of yellow: the shoulders, and under parts of the wings are blood red: two or three of the inner quills, and the vent pale red: the greater quills dusky, fringed outwardly with yellow: the tail is greatly wedged in shape, the feathers at the base chesnut, towards the end dull blue: the bill and legs are brown. This species inhabits New South Wales; and we believe it to be hitherto non-descript. CRESTED GOAT SUCKER. Order III. Passerine. Genus XLV. This bird is somewhat smaller than our European species, measuring only nine inches and a half in length. The general colour of the plumage on the upper parts is dark-brown, mottled and crossed with obscure whitish bars: the quills are plain brown, but five or six of the outer ones marked with dusky white spots on the outer webs: the tail is rounded in shape, and marked with twelve narrow bars of a dusky white, mottled with black, as are the various whitish marks on the upper parts: the under parts of the body are more or less white; but the fore part of the neck and breast are crossed with numerous dusky bars: the bill is black, but the gape and within yellow; the sides of the mouth furnished with bristles, as in other goat-suckers; besides which, at the base of the bill are ten or twelve erect stiff bristles, thinly barbed on their sides, and standing perfectly upright as a crest, giving the bird a singular appearance: the legs are weak, longer than in most of the tribe, and of a pale yellow colour; claws brown. NEW HOLLAND CASSOWARY. Order VI. Struthious. Genus LIX. Cassowary. This is a species differing in many particulars from that generally known, and is a much larger bird, standing higher on its legs, and having the neck longer than in the common one. Total length seven feet two inches. The bill is not greatly different from that of the common Cassowary; but the horny appendage, or helmet on the top of the head, in this species is totally wanting: the whole of the head and neck is also covered with feathers, except the throat and fore part of the neck about half way, which are not so well feathered as the rest; whereas in the common Cassowary, the head and neck are bare and carunculated as in the turkey. The plumage in general consists of a mixture of brown and grey, and the feathers are somewhat curled or bent at the ends in the natural state: the wings are so very short as to be totally useless for flight, and indeed, are scarcely to be distinguished from the rest of the plumage, were it not for their standing out a little. The long spines which are seen in the wings of the common sort, are in this not observable,--nor is there any appearance of a tail. The legs are stout, formed much as in the Galeated Cassowary, with the addition of their being jagged or sawed the whole of their length at the back part. This bird is not uncommon in New Holland, as several of them have been seen about Botany Bay, and other parts. The one from which the plate was taken, was shot within two miles of the settlement at Sydney Cove, and the drawing made on the spot by Lieutenant Watts. The skin being sent over to England in spirits, has been put into attitude, and is now the property of Sir Joseph Banks, to whom it was presented by Lord Sydney. Although this bird cannot fly, it runs so swiftly, that a greyhound can scarcely overtake it. The flesh is said to be in taste not unlike beef. WHITE GALLINULE. Order VII. Cloven-footed. Genus LXXV. This beautiful bird greatly resembles the purple Gallinule in shape and make, but is much superior in size, being as large as a dunghil fowl. The length from the end of the bill to that of the claws is two feet three inches: the bill is very stout, and the colour of it, the whole of the top of the head, and the irides red; the sides of the head round the eyes are reddish, very thinly sprinkled with white feathers; the whole of the plumage without exception is white. The legs the colour of the bill. This species is pretty common on Lord Howe's Island, Norfolk Island, and other places, and is a very tame species. The other sex, supposed to be the male, is said to have some blue on the wings. Genus XII. Canis.--Lin. Syst. Nat. Genus XVII. Dog.--Penn. Hist. Quad. DOG OF NEW SOUTH WALES. The height of this species, standing erect, is rather less than two feet: the length two feet and a half. The head is formed much like that of a fox, the ears short and erect, with whiskers from one to two inches in length on the muzzle. The general colour of the upper parts is pale brown, growing lighter towards the belly: the hind part of the fore legs, and the fore part of the hinder ones white, as are the feet of both: the tail is of a moderate length, somewhat bushy, but in a less degree than that of the fox: the teeth are much the same as is usual in the genus, as may be seen in the top of the plate where the animal is represented. This species inhabits New South Wales. The specimen from which the annexed plate was taken, (a female) is now alive in the possession of the Marchioness of Salisbury, at Hatfield-House, and was sent over as a present to Mr. Nepean, from Governor Phillip. It has much of the manners of the dog, but is of a very savage nature, and not likely to change in this particular. It laps like other dogs, but neither barks nor growls if vexed and teized; instead of which, it erects the hairs of the whole body like bristles, and seems furious: it is very eager after its prey, and is fond of rabbits or chickens, raw, but will not touch dressed meat. From its fierceness and agility it has greatly the advantage of other animals much superior in size; for a very fine French fox-dog being put to it, in a moment it seized him by the loins, and would have soon put an end to his existence, had not help been at hand. With the utmost ease it is able to leap over the back of an ass, and was very near worrying one to death, having fastened on it, so that the creature was not able to disengage himself without assistance; it has been also known to run down both deer and sheep. A second of these is in the possession of Mr. Lascelles, of which we have received much the same account in respect to its ferocity; whence it is scarcely to be expected that this elegant animal will ever become familiar. Genus XV. Mustela.--Lin. Syst. Nat. Genus XXIII. Weesel.--Penn. Hist. Quad. SPOTTED MARTIN. The species is about the size of a large polecat, and measures from the tip of the nose to the setting on of the tail eighteen inches; the tail itself being nearly the same length. The visage is pointed in shape, and the whole make of the animal does not ill resemble that of the Fossane. The general colour of the fur is black, marked all over with irregular blotches of white, the tail not excepted, which has an elegant appearance, and tapers gradually to a point. The situation of the teeth and jaws is much the same as in the rest of the genus, as may be seen in the upper part of the plate. Inhabits the neighbourhood of Port Jackson. Genus XVII. Didelphis.--Lin. Syst. Nat. Genus XXII. Opossum.--Penn. Hist. 2uad. KANGUROO RAT. The upper jaw of this species has two cutting teeth in front, with three others on each side of them, and at a distance one false grinder, sharp at the edge, and channelled, or fluted, on the sides, and close to these, two true grinders: in the lower jaw are two long cutting teeth, formed like those of the squirrel, with three grinders, corresponding with those in the upper jaw. The general shape of the body is not widely different from that of the Kanguroo, both in respect to the shortness of the fore legs and the peculiar construction of the hind ones; but the visage being strongly similar to that of the rat, and the colour of the whole not ill resembling that animal, it has obtained the name of the Kanguroo Rat. This is an inhabitant of New Holland, and two of the species are now to be seen alive at the curious exhibition of animals over Exeter Exchange. One of these, being a female, has brought forth young, one of which is represented in the same plate with the adult animal. On the upper part of the same plate is figured the jaw of a full grown subject. Genus CXXII. Lacerta.--Lin. Sist. Nat. THE LACED LIZARD. This most elegant species is in length, from the nose to the end of the tail, about forty inches: in the mouth are a few weak teeth, though rather sharp, at about a quarter of an inch distance one from another: the tongue is long and forked: the general shape is slender; and the ground colour of the skin, on the upper parts, a brownish or bluish black, whimsically marked with golden yellow; in some parts this colour is beautifully mottled or freckled, like some kinds of lace-work; in others, striped in various directions, particularly on the legs, which seem as if striped across with black and white: the under parts are yellow, crossed with single bars of black on the chin and throat, and double clouded ones on the belly: the toes are five in number on each foot, barred across with black and yellow, as the legs, and each furnished with a crooked black claw: the tail measures more in length than the whole of the body; towards the base, clouded and marked as the rest; but the further half banded with black and yellow, each band three inches broad, the end running to a very sharp point. This beautiful Lizard is not uncommon at Port Jackson, where it is reputed a harmless species. Individuals vary much one from another, in respect to the length of the tail, as also in the colour of the markings; some having those parts marked with a pure silvery white, which in the above described are yellow. Genus CXXXV. Balistes.--Lin. Syst. Nat. BAG-THROATED BALISTES. The size of the fish figured in the plate is uncertain, as we have only obtained a drawing of it without any description.--It agrees in many things with others of the genus, and does not greatly differ from one figured in Willughby's Icthyologia, Tab. 1. 22. but has the body longer in proportion. The erect horn or spine is placed over, and a little behind the eyes, as in Willughby's figure, attended with two shorter ones directly behind the first: the long spine is quite straight, sharp at the point, and deeply sawed on the back part. Another singularity presents itself in this species, which is, a deep pouch-like appendage beneath the throat, in shape not unlike what is called Hippocrates's sleeve, or rather a jelly bag. This fish is found pretty commonly on the coast of New South Wales, and was called by the sailors the Old Wife, having much resemblance in many things to the species so named. When skinned, it was thought pretty good eating. A FISH OF NEW SOUTH WALES. Of this fish it can only be said, that the ground colour is much the same as that of our mackarel, marked with several round, blue and white spots; and that, in the plate, it is represented faithfully from a drawing by Daniel Butler sent from New South Wales, where it is in great plenty, and is thought to taste much like a dolphin. As to the genus, it is difficult to say with certainty to which it belongs, as it is deficient in the characteristics of those generally known; it is therefore left to the reader to settle this matter according to his own opinion. Genus CXXXI. Squalus.--Lin. Syst. Nat. PORT JACKSON SHARK. The length of the specimen from which the drawing was taken, is two feet; and it is about five inches and an half over at the broadest part, from thence tapering to the tail: the skin is rough, and the colour, in general, brown, palest on the under parts: over the eyes on each side is a prominence, or long ridge, of about three inches; under the middle of which the eyes are placed: the teeth are very numerous, there being at least ten or eleven rows; the forward teeth are small and sharp, but as they are placed more backward, they become more blunt and larger, and several rows are quite flat at top, forming a kind of bony palate, somewhat like that of the Wolf-fish; differing, however, in shape, being more inclined to square than round, which they are in that fish: the under jaw is furnished much in the same manner as the upper: the breathing holes are five in number, as is usual in the genus: on the back are two fins, and before each stands a strong spine, much as in the Prickly Hound, or Dog, fish: it has also two pectoral, and two ventral fins; but besides these, there is likewise an anal fin, placed at a middle distance between the last and the tail: the tail itself, is as it were divided, the upper part much longer than the under. At first sight, the above might be taken for the Prickly Hound-fish, or Squalus Spinax of Linnoeus, of which a good figure may be seen in Willughby's Icthyol. Tab. B. 5. f. 1, but it differs, first, in having the prominent ridge over the eyes, of a great length; secondly, in the formation of the teeth; thirdly, in having an anal fin, of which the Prickly Hound is destitute; all these circumstances concur to prove it a new species. This was taken at Port Jackson, but to what size it may usually arrive cannot be determined; perhaps not to a great one, as the teeth appear very complete. Some sharks, however, of an enormous size have been seen and caught thereabouts, though of what sort cannot here be determined. Genus CXXXI. Squalus.--Lin. Syst. WATTS'S SHARK. This, we believe, is a species which has hitherto escaped the researches of our Icthyologists. The length of the specimen is nineteen inches: the head is broad, and angular in shape; but the body rounded, and nearly equal in its dimensions for above half the length, when it suddenly grows very small, and so continues to the end of the tail: the colour of the body is brown in different shades, and there are three rows of large pale spots, of an irregular shape, most of them dark within; one row passes down the middle, the others are on each side; besides which there are others below them less conspicuous. The mouth is placed nearer the end of the head than in most of the genus, and furnished in the front with nine sharp crooked teeth, in three rows, and a great number of small ones on each side. The eyes project considerably above the rest of the head, and are placed on the upper part of it; the space between is hollowed or sunk in: at the most forward part of the head are two cartilaginous appendages, jagged at the end, with four others, nearly similar, on each side between the first and the breathing holes: the pectoral fins are placed beneath these last; the abdominal about the middle of the body; and the anal, more than half way between the last and the tail; besides which, the under part is finned from that place to the end: on the upper part of the body are two fins, both placed uncommonly far back, as in the figure. This fish was met with in Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, by Lieutenant Watts, and is supposed to be full as voracious as any of the genus, in proportion to its size; for after having lain on the deck for two hours, seemingly quiet, on Mr. Watts's dog passing by, the shark sprung upon it with all the ferocity imaginable, and seized it by the leg; nor could the dog have disengaged himself had not the people near at hand come to his assistance. Order II. Pies. Genus XXIII. Kingsfisher. GREAT BROWN KINGSFISHER.--Lath. Syn. ii. p. 603, No. 1. The length of this species is from sixteen to eighteen inches: the bill, three inches and an half, or even more; the upper mandible is brown, and the under white, but brown at the base: the head is pretty full of feathers, sufficiently so to form a crest when erected; the colour whitish, and most of the feathers either tipped or crossed with black: the neck and under parts of the body are much the same in colour, crossed on the sides with dusky lines: over the forehead the colour is dusky brown, almost black, passing backwards in an irregular shaped streak a good way behind the eye: the back, and major part of the wing, is black or dusky, but the middle of the wing is of a glossy blue-green, as is also the lower part of the back and rump: the tail is barred with pale rust-colour and black, inclining to purple, and towards the end whitish: the legs are of a dusky yellow, the claws are black. These birds vary much, the colours being more or less brilliant, and in some of them the tail is wholly barred with white and black, and the legs brown or blackish. This species inhabits various places in the South Seas, being pretty common at New Guinea; but the specimen from which our figure was taken, was sent from Port Jackson in South Wales, where, likewise, it is not unfrequently met with. We believe it has not yet been figured in any British work. KANGUROO. This very curious animal being naturally an object of particular curiosity, we are happy to be enabled, before this book is given to the world, to correct some errors which had crept into our account and representation of it. In page 149 it is stated, that the Kanguroo has four teeth (by which were meant cutting teeth) in the upper jaw, opposed to two in the under. The truth is, that there are six opposed to two, as may be perceived in the engraved representation of the skeleton of a Kanguroo's head, inserted at page 168. The same arrangement of teeth takes place in the Opossum, described in that page, which is there, still more erroneously, said to have only two cutting teeth opposed to two. This latter mistake arose from the difficulty of examining the mouth of the living animal. It is since dead, and the teeth are found to be disposed as now stated, and as represented in the scull of the Vulpine Opossum, in the same plate with that of the Kanguroo. But the most important error is in the position of the Kanguroo, as represented in our plate at page 106. The true standing posture of the Kanguroo is exactly the same as that of the Kanguroo Rat, delineated at page 277; namely, with the rump several inches from the ground, (in large specimens, not less than eight) and resting entirely on the long last joint of the hinder legs, the whole under side of which is bare and callous like a hoof. This mistake was occasioned merely by the adherence of the engraver to the drawing from which he worked; which, among others, came from Mr. White, the surgeon at Port Jackson: too implicit reliance being placed on an authority which, in this respect, turned out delusive. With respect to the representations of the Kanguroo which have hitherto been published, it may be observed, that nothing is wanting to that in Captain Cook's first voyage, except the character of the toes of the hinder legs, and in particular the distinguishing of a minute, but very characteristic circumstance, in the inner claw of each, which is divided down the middle into two, as if split by some sharp instrument. The same remark is applicable to the plate in Mr. Pennant's History of Quadrupeds, which appears to have been copied from the other. Mr. Pennant was the first author who gave a scientific description of the Kanguroo, in his History of Quadrupeds, p. 306. No. 184. and of the New Holland Opossum, p. 310. No. 188. Zimmerman, in his Zoologia Geographica, p. 527, confounds the Kanguroo with the great Jerboa of Africa, described by Allamand, in his additions to Buffon; and by Mr. Pennant, History of Quadrupeds, p. 432. No. 293. Our own plate of the Kanguroo very accurately expresses the form and character of that animal, and is deficient only in the position, which unfortunately was not remarked till the plate was worked off, and the book almost ready for delivery. ANECDOTE OF CAPTAIN COOK AND O'TOO. As nothing can be devoid of interest which relates to a man so justly admired as Captain Cook, the reader will probably be pleased to find here, though out of its proper place, an anecdote communicated by Mr. Webber. It exhibits in a pleasing point of view the friendship which subsisted between that great navigator and the Otaheitean chief O'too, a circumstance highly to the honour of both; since it displays in them the power of discerning real merit, though obscured by diversity of manners, and that of being able to impress a steady attachment, where nothing more was to be expected than transient regard. Under every species of disparity, goodness of heart supplies both a medium of attraction, and an indissoluble bond of union. Every reader must have seen with pleasure the charming proof of O'too's tender and inviolable friendship for Captain Cook, which appears in page 233 of this work; where he is described as attended by a man carrying the portrait of that illustrious Englishman, without which he never moves from one place to another. That portrait, as Mr. Webber assures us, was obtained in the following manner. O'too, by the Captain's particular desire, sat to Mr. Webber, in order to furnish such a memorial of his features, as might serve for the subject of a complete whole length picture, on the return of the ship to England. When the portrait was finished, and O'too was informed that no more sittings would be necessary, he anxiously enquired of Captain Cook, and Captain Clerke, what might be the particular meaning and purpose of this painting. He was informed, that it would be kept by Captain Cook, as a perpetual memorial of his person, his friendship, and the many favours received from him. He seemed pleased with the idea, and instantly replied, that, for the very same reasons, a picture of Captain Cook would be highly acceptable to him. This answer, so unexpected, and expressed with strong tokens of real attachment, made both Captain Clerke and Mr. Webber his advocates; and Captain Cook, charmed with the natural sincerity of his manner, complied with his request much more readily than on any other occasion he would have granted such a favour. When the portrait was finished it was framed, and with a box, lock, and key, by which it was secured, was delivered to O'too; who received it with inexpressible satisfaction. He readily, and, as the event has proved, most faithfully promised that he would preserve it always with the utmost care; and would show it to the commanders of such ships as might in future touch at the Society Islands. Who can fail to love a character like that of O'too, in which unalterable steadiness of affection is as conspicuous, as honest and natural ardour? Long may he enjoy his authority and his health; and preserve the honourable memorial of his friend, without being afflicted by the knowledge of that melancholy catastrophe which terminated the career of his glory! * * * * * With respect to the yellow gum, or resin, mentioned in page 60, we are informed by Dr. Blane, physician to St. Thomas's Hospital, that he has found it remarkably efficacious in the cure of old fluxes; and this not only in a few instances, but in many obstinate cases. Of the plants in general which have been brought from Botany Bay, and the adjacent country, no notice has been taken in this work, as it would have led to such a detail as must too considerably have extended its limits. Many of them are now to be seen in the highest perfection at the nursery gardens of that eminent and learned botanist, Mr. Lee, of Hammersmith: who still retains enough of zeal for his favourite science, to regret that the discovery of those countries was not made at a period of his life, when he could have gone personally to reap the glorious harvest they afford. * * * * * The following account of the weather in Botany Bay and Port Jackson, communicated by Lieutenant Watts, may perhaps be found important. During the seven days we were in Botany Bay the weather was generally fine, and very warm. The thermometer on a mean stood at 78°. it never exceeded 80°. and one day, which was thick and rainy, the wind blowing strongly from the south, it fell to 63°. In Port Jackson the weather was at first much the same, but afterwards, the days became very hot, and the nights constantly brought on tremendous thunder, lightning, and rain. The thermometer, at eleven o'clock in the forenoon, was generally about 80°. but when the sea breezes set in it usually fell two or three degrees. One very sultry day was felt soon after the arrival of the fleet. The thermometer, on board, stood at 88°. and on shore, though in the shade, at 92°. On the 15th of March was a terrible squall of wind, accompanied by thunder, lightning, and rain. The thermometer then fell from 80° to 50°. and in other squalls it frequently fell 15 or 20 degrees. Such are the principal notices hitherto received from the new settlement on the southern continent, which, if from unavoidable circumstances, they are a little deficient in point of order, will, it is hoped, make ample amends by their novelty, importance, and authenticity. Genus XVII. Didelphis. Lin. Syst. Nat. Genus XXII. Opossum. Penn. Hist. Quad. BLACK FLYING OPOSSUM. The following is, according to every appearance, a new animal of this genus. The length from the tip of the nose, which is pointed in shape, to the root of the tail, is twenty inches; of the tail itself twenty-two inches, at the base quite light, increasing gradually to black at the end: the width across the loins sixteen inches: the ears are large and erect: the coat or fur is of a much richer texture or more delicate than the sea-otter of Cook's River: on the upper parts of the body, at first sight, appearing of a glossy black, but on a nicer inspection, is really what the French call petit gris, or minever, being mixed with grey; the under parts are white, and on each hip may be observed a tan-coloured spot, nearly as big as a shilling; at this part the fur is thinnest, but at the root of the tail it is so rich and close that the hide cannot be felt through it. The fur is also continued to the claws: the membrane, which is expanded on each side of the body, is situated much as in the grey species, though broader in proportion. The jaws are furnished with teeth, placed as in some others of this genus: in the upper jaw forwards are four small cutting teeth, then two canine ones, and backwards five grinders: the under jaw has two long large cutting teeth, like the Vulpine Opossum, [See skeleton on the plate at page 168.] five grinders, with no intermediate canine ones, the space being quite vacant. The fore legs have five toes on each foot, with a claw on each; the hinder ones four toes, with claws, (the three outside ones without any separation) and a thumb without a claw, enabling the animal to use the foot as a hand, as many of the opossum tribe are observed to do. See the skeleton of the foot in the annexed plate. This beautiful quadruped inhabits New South Wales. The specimen from which the above account has been taken, is a male, and the property of Henry Constantine Nowell, Esq. of Shiplake, in Oxfordshire. The fur of it is so beautiful, and of so rare a texture, that should it hereafter be found in plenty, it might probably be thought a very valuable article of commerce. APPENDIX [Tables of the Route taken by each of the ships of the First Fleet after leaving Port Jackson--not included in this ebook.] A LIST OF CONVICTS SENT TO NEW SOUTH WALES, IN 1787. Name. Where Convicted. Date Of Conviction. Years. Abel, Robert London 23 Feb. 1785. 7 Abrams, Henry Abrahams, Esther London 30 August, 1786 7 Abell, Mary, alias Tilley Worcester 5 March, 1785 7 Acres, Thomas Exeter 14 March, 1786 7 Adams, John London 26 May, 1784 7 Adams, Mary Ditto 13 Decem. 1786 7 Agley, Richard Winchester 2 March, 1784 7 Allen, John Hertford 2 March, 1786 7 Allen, William Ormskirk 11 April, 1785 7 Allen, Charles London 7 July, 1784 7 Allen, Susannah Ditto 18 April, 1787 7 Allen, Mary Ditto 25 October, 1786 7 Allen, Jamasin, alias Boddington Ditto 25 Oct. 1786 7 Allen, Mary, alias Conner Ditto 10 Jan. 1787 7 Anderson, John Exeter 20 March, 1786 7 Anderson, Elizabeth London 10 Jan. 1787 7 Anderson, John Ditto 26 May, 1784 7 Anderson, Fanny Winchester 7 March, 1786 7 Archer, John London 26 May, 1784 7 Arscott, John Bodmin 18 August, 1783 7 Atkinson, George London 21 April, 1784 7 Ault, Sarah Ditto 21 Feb. 1787 7 Ayners, John, alias Agnew Ditto 26 May, 1784 7 Ayres John Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Bartlett, James Winchester 1 March, 1785 7 Barsby, George Ditto 1 March, 1785 Life Barnett, Henry, alias Barnard, alias Burton Warwick 21 March, 1785 7 Bails, Robert Reading 28 Feb. 1785 Life Barnes, Stephen York 9 July, 1785 7 Bannister, George London 1 April, 1784 7 Barferd, John Ditto 14 Decem. 1784 7 Barland, George Ditto 7 July, 1784 7 Balding, James, alias William Ditto 23 Feb. 1785 7 Bason, Elizabeth, wife of William Bason New Sarum 24 July, 1784 7 Bayley, James Ditto 11 March, 1786 7 Bazley, John Exeter 12 Jan. 1785 7 Baker, Thomas Ditto 10 Jan. 1786 7 Barrett, Thomas Ditto 24 May, 1784 Life Batley, Caten Ditto 24 May, 1784 7 Barsby, Samuel Ditto 20 March, 1786 7 Ball, John Ditto 20 March, 1786 7 Barry, John Bristol 23 Novem. 1785 7 Barret, Daniel Barber, Elizabeth Baldwin, Ruth, alias Bowyer London 20 August, 1786 7 Baker, Martha Ditto 30 August, 1786 7 Bell, William Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Benear, Samuel Ditto 26 May, 1784 7 Bellett, Jacob Ditto 12 Jan. 1785 7 Beardsley, Ann Derby 5 August, 1786 5 Best, John Beckford, Elizabeth London 10 Jan. 1787 7 Bellamy, Thomas Worcester 9 July, 1785 7 Bird, James Croydon 20 July, 1785 7 Bird, Samuel Ditto 20 July, 1785 7 Bishop, Joseph Bingham, John, alias Baughan Bingham, Elizabeth, alias Mooring London Bird, Elizabeth, alias Winisred Maidstone 14 March, 1787 7 Blackhall, William Abingdon 6 March, 1786 7 Blunt, William London 10 Decem. 1783 7 Blake, Francis Ditto 26 May, 1784 7 Blatherhorn, William Exeter 24 May, 1784 Life Bloedworth, James Kingstone 3 Oct. 1785 7 Blanchett, Susannah Ditto 2 April, 1787 7 Bond, Peter London 23 Feb. 1785 7 Boyle, John London 23 Feb. 1785 7 Boggis, William Bond, William Exeter 18 July, 1785 7 Bond, Mary, wife of John Bond Wells 19 August, 1786 7 Boulton, Rebecca Lincoln 16 July, 1784 7 Bonner, Jane London 18 April, 1787 7 Bolton, Mary Shrewsbury 12 March, 1785 7 Brown, James Hertford 2 March, 1785 7 Brown, William Southwark 10 Jan. 1786 7 Brindley, John Warwick 21 March, 1785 7 Brown, Richard Reading 15 July, 1783 7 Brough, William Stafford 9 March, 1789 7 Bradley, James London 29 June, 1785 7 Bradley, James Ditto 6 May, 1784 7 Brown, Thomas Ditto 10 Septem. 1783 7 Bradbury, William Ditto 10 Septem. 1783 7 Bryant, Thomas Maidstone 15 March, 1784 7 Bryant, William Launceston 20 March, 1784 7 Brown, Thomas Exeter 24 May, 1784 7 Bradford, John Ditto 9 Jan. 1786 7 Brannegan, James Ditto 24 May, 1784 7 Bruce, Robert Ditto 24 May, 1784 7 Brown, William Ditto 24 May, 1784 7 Bryant, John Ditto 14 March, 1786 7 Brewer, William Ditto 20 March, 1786 7 Brice, William Bristol 11 Feb. 1785 7 Brand, Curtis Bryant, Michael Brand, Lucy, alias Wood London 19 July, 1786 7 Branham, Mary Ditto 23 Feb. 1785 7 Bruce, Elizabeth Ditto 10 Jan. 1787 7 Burleigh, James Ditto 7 July, 1784 7 Burn, Peter Ditto 10 Septem. 1783 7 Burne, James Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Butler, William Ditto 7 July, 1784 7 Buckley, Joseph Dorchester 16 March, 1786 7 Burridge, Samuel Ditto 3 August, 1786 7 Burn, Patrick Burn, Simon Busley, John Bunn, Margaret London 26 April, 1786 7 Burkitt, Mary Ditto 20 August, 1786 7 Burdo, Sarah Ditto 25 Oct. 1786 7 Carver, Joseph Maidstone 13 March, 1786 7 Castle, James London 7 July, 1784 7 Campbell, James, alias George Ditto 23 Feb. 1785 7 Campbell, James Guildford 11 August, 1784 7 Carney, John Exeter 22 July, 1782 7 Carty, Francis Bodmin 14 August, 1786 7 Carey, Ann Taunton 30 March, 1786 7 Carter, Richard, alias Michael Cartwright Shrewsbury 13 March, 1784 7 Cable, Henry Carroll, Mary, wife of James Carroll London 25 Oct. 1786 7 Cesar, John Maidstone 14 March, 1785 7 Chields, William Chaddick, Thomas London 7 July, 1784 7 Church, William Dorchester 16 March, 1786 7 Chaaf, William Exeter 20 March, 1786 7 Chinery, Samuel Ditto 7 August, 1786 7 Chanin, Edward Ditto 7 August, 1786 7 Clough, Richard Durham 19 July, 1785 7 Clements, Thomas London 7 July, 1784 7 Clark, John, alias Hosier Ditto 6 April, 1785 7 Clark, William Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Clarke, John Exeter 7 August, 1786 7 Cleaver, Mary Bristol 4 April, 1786 7 Clear, George Clark, Elizabeth Connelly, William Bristol 3 Feb. 1785 7 Cormick, Edward Hertford 2 March, 1786 7 Corden, James Warwick 21 March, 1785 7 Colling, Joseph London 7 July, 1784 7 Cole, William Ditto 7 July, 1784 7 Cox, John Matthew Ditto 23 Feb. 1785 7 Collier, Richard Kingstone 24 March, 1784 7 Connolly, William Bodmin 14 August, 1786 7 Conelly, Cornelius Exeter 7 August, 1786 7 Colman, Ishmael Dorchester 16 March, 1786 7 Coffin, John Exeter 9 Jan. 1786 7 Cole, Elizabeth Ditto 20 March, 1786 7 Cox, James Ditto 24 May, 1784 Life Copp, James Ditto 20 March, 1786 7 Coombes, Ann, wife of Samuel Coombes Taunton 30 March, 1786 7 Cole, Elizabeth London 26 April, 1786 7 Colley, Elizabeth London 23 Feb. 1785 14 Cooke, Charlotte Ditto 10 Jan. 1787 7 Cooper, Mary Worcester 19 July, 1785 7 Colpitts, Ann Durham 2 Oct. 1786 7 Cross, John New Sarum 25 March, 1785 7 Cropper, John London 14 Decem. 1784 7 Cross, William Coventry 21 March, 1783 7 Creamer, John Exeter 12 Jan. 1785 7 Creek, Jane London 14 Septem. 1785 7 Cunningham, Edward Ditto 7 July, 1784 7 Cullen, James Bryen Ditto 6 April, 1785 7 Cullyhorn, John Exeter 22 July, 1782 7 Cudlip, Jacob, alias Norris Bodmin 25 July, 1785 7 Cuss, John, alias Hanaboy New Sarum 11 March, 1786 7 Cuckow, William Davis, Aaron Bristol 29 March, 1785 7 Day, Richard Reading 24 July, 1786 7 Davies, Edward Stafford 27 July, 1785 7 Day, Samuel Glocester 23 March, 1785 14 Davis, Samuel Ditto 13 July, 1785 7 Davis, William Davis, James London 8 Decem. 1784 7 Daniells, Daniel Ditto 6 May, 1784 7 Daley, James Ditto 26 May, 1784 7 Davidson, John Ditto 23 Feb. 1785 7 Davis, William Brecon 15 July 1785 Life Davis Richard Daley, Ann, wife of Gore Daley, alias Ann Warburton Nether Knutsford 3 Oct1786 7 Darnell, Margaret London 18 April, 1787 7 Davis, Ann Ditto 26 April, 1786 7 Dalton, Elizabeth Ditto 14 Sept. 1785 7 Davidson, Rebecca, wife of Robert Davidson Ditto 25 Oct. 1786 7 Dawson, Margaret Ditto 10 Jan. 1787 7 Davis, Frances Chelmsford 6 March, 1786 14 Davies, Sarah Worcester 2 August, 1783 7 Davies, Mary Shrewsbury 12 March, 1785 7 Dennison, Michael Poole 15 April, 1785 7 Denison, Barnaby Bristol 30 April, 1783 7 Delany, Patrick Dickson, Thomas, alias Ralph Raw Durham 19 July, 1785 7 Discall, Timothy Bodmin 25 July, 1785 7 Dixon, Mary London 31 May, 1786 7 Dickenson, Mary Southwark 8 Jan. 1787 7 Douglas, William Lincoln 9 July, 1785 7 Dowland, Ferdinand London 23 Feb. 1785 7 Dodding, James, alias Doring Dring, William Kingston upon Hull 7 Oct. 1784 7 Dunnage, Joseph London 21 April, 1784 Life Dudgens, Elizabeth Dundass, Jane London 18 April, 1787 7 Dutton, Ann Ditto 26 April, 1786 7 Deyer, Leonard Southwark 10 Jan. 1786 7 Dykes, Mary London 26 April, 1786 7 Earle, William New Sarum 5 March, 1785 7 Eagleton, William, alias Bones Kingston 22 March, 1786 7 Eaton, Mary, alias Shephard Early, Rachel Reading 24 July, 1786 7 Eaton, Martha Eccles, Thomas Guildford 22 July, 1782 Life Edmunds, William Monmouth 21 March, 1785 7 Edwards, William Eggleston, George Maidstone 13 March, 1786 7 Ellam, Peter Ormskirk 18 July, 1785 7 Elliot, William Croydon 18 August, 1783 7 Elliot, Joseph Bristol 24 Nov. 1784 7 Ellam, Deborah Chester 30 August, 1784 7 English, Nicholas London 8 Decem. 1784 7 Everett, John Hertford 2 March, 1786 7 Everingham, Matthew London 7 July, 1784 7 Evans, Williams Shrewsbury 12 March, 1785 7 Evans, Elizabeth London 13 Decem. 1786 7 Farrell, Phillip London 15 Sep. 1784 7 Farley, William Bristol 10 Feb. 1785 7 Farmer, Ann London Fentum, Benjamin Ditto 10 Oct. 1783 7 Ferguson, John Exeter 20 March, 1786 7 Fillesey, Thomas Bristol 29 April, 1783 7 Fitzgerald, Jane, alias Phillips Ditto 4 April, 1786 7 Field, William Finlow, John, alias Hervey Field, Jane London Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Ditto 13 Decem. 1786 7 Flyn, Edward Flarty, Phebe London 21 Feb. 1787 7 Fowkes, Francis Ditto 13 Decem. 1785 7 Forrester, Robert Ditto 10 Sept. 1783 7 Foyle, William New Sarum 9 July, 1785 7 Fowles, Ann London 6 April, 1785 7 Fownes, Margaret Shrewsbury 4 August, 1784 7 Forbes, Ann Kingston 2 April, 1787 7 Freeman, James Hertford 3 March, 1784 7 Freeman, Robert London 10 Decem. 1784 7 Francis, William Ditto 14 Decem. 1784 7 Francisco, George Ditto 8 Decem. 1784 7 Fry, George Fryer, Catherine, alias Prior Fraser, William Manchester Jan. 1787 7 Fraser, Ellen Ditto Jan. 1787 7 Fuller, John Ditto 15 March, 1784 7 Gardner, Francis London 21 April, 1784 7 Garth, Edward Ditto 23 Feb. 1785 7 Garland, Francis Exeter 24 May, 1784 7 Garth, Susannah, alias Grath Gabel, Mary Southwark 13 Jan. 1784 7 Gascoygne, Olive Worcester 5 March, 1785 7 Gearing, Thomas Oxford 8 March, 1786 Life Gess, George Glocester 24 March, 1784 7 George, Anne London 11 May, 1785 7 Glenton, Thomas Northallerton 5 April, 1785 7 Gloster, William London 29 June, 1785 7 Gordon, Daniel Winchester 5 April, 1785 7 Goodwin, Edward London 21 April, 1784 7 Goodwin, Andrew Ditto 7 July, 1784 7 Gould, John Exeter 20 March, 1786 7 Gray, Charles Southwark 16 Feb. 1785 7 Griffiths, Samuel, alias Briscow, alias Butcher Gloucester 24 March, 1784 7 Greenwell, Nicholas London 10 Decem. 1784 7 Green, John Reading 11 July, 1786 7 Griffiths, Thomas London 15 Septem. 1784 7 Granger, Charles Plymouth 20 Decem. 1786 7 Grace, James Green, Hannah Groves, Mary Lincoln 9 July, 1785 7 Green, Mary London 18 August, 1787 7 Green, Ann Ditto 13 Decem. 1786 7 Greenwood, Mary Ditto 13 Decem. 1786 7 Gunter, William Bristol 4 August, 1783 7 Handford, John Winchester 1 March, 1785 7 Hatcher, John Ditto 1 March, 1785 7 Hatfield, William Maidstone 14 March, 1785 7 Hawkes, Richard Reading 28 July, 1785 7 Harris, William Maidstone 11 July, 1785 7 Hatch, John Reading 10 Jan. 1786 7 Hartley, John Oxford 2 March, 1785 7 Hart, John Stafford 27 July, 1785 7 Haines, Joseph Gloucester 13 July, 1785 7 Hathaway, Henry Ditto 24 March, 1784 7 Hayes, Dennis London 10 Decem. 1784 7 Hall, Samuel Ditto 12 March, 1785 7 Harbine, Joseph Harper, Joshua London 10 Septem. 1783 7 Hayton, George, alias Clayton Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Harrison, Joseph Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Hart, John Ditto 12 Jan. 1785 7 Harris, John Ditto 23 Feb. 1785 Life Hayes, John Guildford 11 August, 1784 7 Hattom, Joseph Harrison, Joseph Hamlin, William Exeter 12 Jan. 1784 7 Hall, Joseph Ditto 12 Jan. 1784 Life Hall, John Ditto 24 May, 1784 7 Hadon, John Ditto Hares, William Handy, Cooper Haynes, William Hervey, Elizabeth Hall, Margaret Hart, Frances Harrison, Mary Lincoln 6 March, 1784 7 Heading, James Chelmsford 7 March, 1785 Life Headington, Thomas Abingdon 7 July, 1785 7 Herbert, John London 21 April, 1784 7 Hart, Catherine Ditto 23 Feb. 1785 7 Herbert, John Exeter 14 March, 1786 7 Handland, Dorothy, alias Gray London 22 Feb. 1786 7 Hall, Sarah Ditto 10 Jan. 1787 7 Hamilton, Maria Ditto 19 October, 1785 7 Harrison, Mary Ditto 19 October, 1785 7 Harwood, Esther, alias Howard Ditto 20 August, 1786 7 Hayward, Elizabeth Ditto 10 Jan. 1787 7 Hall, Elizabeth Newcastle 18 Jan. 1786 7 Herbert, Jane, alias Rose, alias Jenny Russell London 30 August, 1786 7 Henry, Catherine Ditto 10 Jan. 1787 7 Hill, John Maidstone 14 March, 1785 Life Hindley, William, alias Platt Ormskirk 18 July, 1785 7 Hindle, Ottiwell Preston 6 Oct. 1785 7 Hill, John London 6 May, 1784 7 Hill, Thomas Ditto 7 July, 1784 7 Hilt, William Exeter 18 July, 1785 Life Hill, Thomas 7 Hipsley, Elizabeth London 23 Feb. 1785 7 Hill, Mary Ditto 25 Oct. 1786 7 Hollister, Job Bristol 10 Feb. 1785 7 Hawell, Thomas Stafford 5 Oct. 1785 7 Holmes, William London 7 July, 1784 7 Holloway, James Ditto 24 Aug. 1784 7 Howard, Thomas Ditto 12 Jan. 1785 7 Hogg, William Ditto 23 Feb. 1786 14 Howard, John Ditto 23 July, 1783 7 Hortop, James Exeter 20 March, 1786 7 Holland, William Ditto 7 August, 1786 7 Holmes, Susannah Hollogin, Elizabeth London 18 April, 1787 7 Hughes, Hugh Southwark 16 Feb. 1785 7 Humphrey, Edward London 8 Decem. 1784 7 Husband, William Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Hughes, John Maidstone 15 March, 1784 7 Hurley, Jeremiah Exeter 22 July, 1782 7 Hubbard, William Humphreys, Henry Exeter 20 March, 1786 7 Hughes, Thomas Hudson, John Hussey, James Hughes, Frances Ann Lancaster 6 March, 1787 7 Hussnell, Susannah Worcester 2 Oct. 1786 7 Humphries, Mary Hylids, Thomas Guildford 1 Aug. 1784 7 Jackson, William Durham 19 July, 1785 7 Jacobs, David London 20 Oct. 1784 7 Jacobs, John Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Jackson, Hannah Bristol 27 July, 1785 7 Jameson, James Jackson, Jane, alias Esther Roberts London 29 June, 1785 7 Jackson, Mary Ditto 20 August, 1786 7 Jeffries, Robert Devizes 5 April, 1785 7 Jefferies, John Maidstone 11 July, 1785 7 Jenkins, Robert, alias Brown Ditto 13 March, 1786 7 Jepp, John London 10 Decem. 1784 7 Jenkins, William Exeter 20 March, 1786 7 Ingram, Benjamin London 8 Decem. 1784 7 Inett, Ann Worcester 11 March, 1786 7 Jones, Francis Winchester 12 July, 1785 7 Jones, Thomas Warwick 21 March, 1785 7 Johnson, Charles Manchester 14 April, 1785 7 Jones, Edward London 15 Septem. 1784 7 Josephs, Thomas Ditto 10 Septem. 1783 7 Johnson, William Kingston 24 March, 1784 7 Johns, Stephen Launceston 25 March, 1786 7 Jones, Margaret Ditto 8 March, 1783 14 Johnson, Edward Dorchester 16 March, 1786 7 Jones, John Exeter 24 May, 1784 14 Jones, William Shrewsbury 12 March, 1785 7 Jones, Richard Ditto 4 August, 1784 7 Jones, Thomas Bristol 30 March, 1784 14 Johnson, Catherine London 18 April, 1787 7 Johnson, Mary Ditto 26 April, 1786 7 Irvine, John, alias Aderson, alias Law Lincoln 6 March, 1784 7 Kelly, Thomas Pontefract 13 Jan. 1785 7 Kellan, John, alias Keeling London 10 Septem. 1783 Life Kennedy, Martha Kingston 2 April, 1787 7 Kidney, Thomas Bristol 20 Oct. 1783 7 Kilby, William Reading 16 Jan. 1784 7 King, John London 21 April, 1784 7 Kilpack, David Ditto 10 Septem. 1783 Life Kimberley, Edward Coventry 20 March, 1783 7 Knowler, John Maidstone 14 March, 1785 7 Knowland, Andrew Lankey, David London 26 May, 1784 7 Lane, Richard Winchester 2 March, 1784 7 Lawrell, John Bodmin 18 August, 1783 7 Lane, William Chelmsford 8 July, 1784 7 Larne, James Exeter 12 July, 1785 7 Lambeth, John Bristol 31 May, 1785 7 Lavell, Henry Lara, Flora London Laycock, Carolina Ditto Langley, Jane Ditto 14 Sept. 1785 7 Lawrence, Mary Ditto 23 Feb. 1785 7 Lemon, Isaac Chelmsford 7 March, 1785 7 Levy, Joseph London 6 May, 1784 7 Leary, John Winchester 3 March, 1783 7 Legg, George Dorchester 16 March, 1786 7 Leary, Jeremiah Bristol 30 March, 1784 14 Legrove, Stephen Lee, Elizabeth London 23 Feb. 1785 7 Lewis, Sophia Ditto 25 Oct. 1786 7 Leonard, Elizabeth Ditto 23 Feb. 1785 7 Levy, Amelia Southwark 9 Jan. 1787 7 List, George, London 10 Septem. 1783 Life Limeburner, John New Sarum 9 July, 1785 7 Limpus, Thomas Exeter 24 May, 1784 Life Lightfoot, Samuel Ditto 14 March, 1786 7 Longstreet, Joseph Marlborough 5 Oct. 1784 7 Long, Joseph Glocester 23 March, 1785 14 Lockley, John London 10 Jan. 1787 7 Long, Mary Ditto 21 Feb. 1787 Life Love, Mary Maidstone 14 March, 1785 7 Lock, Elizabeth Gloucester 26 March, 1783 7 Lucas, Nathaniel London 7 July, 1784 7 Lynch, Humphry New Sarum 25 March, 1785 7 Lynch, Ann Bristol 20 March, 1786 14 Lyde, John May, Richard New Sarum 25 March, 1785 7 Martin, Stephen Bristol 28 April, 1783 7 Mansfield, John Chelmsford 6 March, 1786 7 M'Lean, Francis Guildford 11 August, 1784 7 M'Lean, Thomas Ditto 11 August, 1784 7 Maton, Thomas Maidstone 11 July, 1785 7 M'Donnaugh, James Ditto 11 July, 1785 7 Mariner, William Oxford 8 March, 1786 7 Marrott, John Gloucester 24 March, 1784 7 M'Laughlin, Charles Durham 19 July, 1785 7 Macintire, John Ditto 19 July, 1785 7 Martin, John London 3 July, 1782 7 M'Donald, Alexander Ditto 10 Decem. 1784 7 Marney, William Ditto 7 July, 1784 7 Marshall, Joseph Ditto 21 April, 1784 14 M'Lean, Edward Maidstone 15 March, 1784 7 Martin, Abraham New Sarum 11 March, 1786 7 Martin, Thomas Exeter 24 May, 1784 7 Martyn, James Ditto 20 March, 1786 7 M'Cormick, Sarah Manchester 4 May, 1786 7 M'Cormack, Mary Liverpool 12 Aug. 1784 7 Mason, Betty Gloucester 23 March, 1785 14 M'Grah, Redman M'Deed, Richard M'Na Mar, William Mackrie, James Marriott, Jane London 18 April, 1787 7 Mather, Ann Ditto 18 April, 1787 7 Mather, Mather Ditto 18 April, 1787 7 Mason, Susannah, alias Gibbs Ditto M'Cabe, Eleanor Ditto 11 May, 1785 7 Marshall, Mary Ditto 23 Feb. 1785 Life Marshall, Mary Ditto 10 Jan. 1787 7 Martin, Ann Southwark 9 Jan. 1787 7 Meynell, John, alias William Radford Nottingham 10 March, 1785 7 Messiah, Jacob Meech, Jane, wife of William Meech Exeter 20 March, 1786 7 Milton, Charles Maidstone 14 March, 1785 7 Midgley, Samuel Lancaster 22 March, 1785 7 Middleton, Richard London 23 Feb. 1785 7 Mitchell Nathaniel Dorchester 3 August, 1786 7 Mills Matthew Mitchcraft, Mary Kingston 2 April, 1787 7 Mitchell, Mary Ditto 3 Oct. 1785 7 Morris, Peter Bristol 12 July, 1784 7 Mowbray, John Lincoln 5 March, 1785 7 Morgan, Richard Glocester 23 March, 1785 7 Morrisby, John London 7 July, 1784 7 Moore, William Ditto 21 Jan. 1785 7 Morley, John Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Moorin, John Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Morgan, Robert Ditto 6 May, 1784 7 Mobbs, Samuel Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Morgan, William Ditto 15 Septem. 1784 7 Mould, William Guildford 11 August, 1784 7 Mollands, John Launceston 20 March, 1784 7 Moyle, Edward Ditto 19 March, 1785 7 Mood, Charles Mortimore, John Exeter 20 March, 1786 7 Morley, Joseph Morton, Mary London 23 Feb. 1785 7 Mullock, Jesse New Sarum 25 March, 1785 7 Murphy, William Liverpool 26 Jan. 1785 7 Munroe, John, alias Nurse London 21 April, 1784 7 Mullis, Stephen Exeter 12 Jan. 1785 7 Murphy, James 7 Munro, Lydia Kingston 2 April, 1787 14 Mullens, Hannah London 10 Jan. 1787 Life Nettleton, Robert Kingston upon Hull 12 October, 1784 7 Newland, John London 21 April, 1784 7 Neal, John Ditto 26 May, 1784 7 Neal, James Bristol 10 Feb. 1785 7 Needham, Elizabeth London 19 July, 1786 7 Nicholls, John Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Norton, Phebe Ditto 25 Oct. 1786 7 Nunn, Robert Ditto 7 July, 1784 7 O'Craft, John Exeter 24 May, 1784 7 Ogden, James Manchester 20 Jan. 1785 7 Okey, William Gloucester 24 March, 1784 7 Oldfield, Thomas Manchester 20 July, 1786 7 Oldfield, Isabella Ditto 20 July, 1786 7 Opley, Peter Maidstone 13 March, 1786 7 Orford, Thomas London 7 July, 1784 7 Osborne, Thomas Ditto 14 Decem. 1784 7 Osborne, Elizabeth, alias Jones Ditto 30 August, 1786 7 Owles, John Croydon 20 July, 1785 7 Owen, John London 10 Septem. 1783 7 Owen, Joseph Shrewsbury 12 March, 1785 14 Page, Paul Lincoln 11 March, 1786 7 Pane, William Nottingham 10 March, 1785 7 Parry, Edward Stafford 27 July, 1785 7 Parr, William Liverpool 17 Jan. 1785 7 Palmer, John Herry London 10 Jan. 1786 7 Parker, John Ditto 1 April, 1784 7 Parish, William Ditto 20 Oct. 1784 7 Partridge, Richard Ditto 10 Sep. 1783 Life Parris, Peter Exeter 17 March, 1783 7 Paget, Joseph Ditto 10 Jan. 1786 7 Parkinson, Jane, alias Partington, alias Ann Marsden Manchester 21 July, 1785 7 Parker, Elizabeth Gloucester 23 March, 1785 7 Parsley, Ann London 21 Feb. 1787 7 Parker, Mary Ditto 26 April, 1786 7 Partridge, Sarah, alias Roberts Ditto 23 Feb. 1785 7 Parry, Sarah Ditto 10 Jan. 1787 Life Perrot, Edward Bearcroft Bristol 3 Feb. 1785 7 Petrie, John London 14 Jan. 1784 7 Peyton, Samuel Ditto 26 May, 1785 7 Percival, Richard Ditto 7 July, 1784 7 Pettitt, John Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Peaulet, James Ditto 7 July, 1784 7 Peet, Charles Ditto 23 Feb. 1785 Life Peck, Joshua Exeter 20 March, 1786 7 Perkins, Edward Plymouth 26 Jan. 1785 7 Petherick, John Plymouth 26 Jan. 1785 7 Penny, John 7 Phillimore, William London 10 Sept. 1783 7 Phillips, Richard Ditto 10 Decem. 1783 7 Phillips, Mary Taunton 30 March, 1786 7 Phyfield, Roger, alias Twyfield Shrewsbury 12 March, 1785 7 Phyn, Mary London 14 Septem. 1785 7 Pigott, Samuel Exeter 20 March, 1786 7 Pinder, Mary Lincoln 13 Jan. 1787 7 Pipkin, Elizabeth London 7 Piles, Mary Ditto 6 April, 1785 7 Pope, David Southwark 16 Feb. 1785 7 Power, John London 14 Decem. 1786 7 Pontie, John Ditto 23 Feb. 1785 Life Poole, Jane Wells 19 August, 1786 7 Power, William Powley, Elizabeth Powell, Ann London 13 Decem. 1786 7 Price, John Southwark 16 Feb. 1785 7 Prior, Thomas Reading 16 Jan. 1784 7 Price, James Gloucester 13 July, 1785 7 Pritchard, Thomas Pugh, Edward Gloucester 5 Oct. 1784 7 Randall, John Manchester 14 April, 1785 7 Reymond, George London 12 Jan. 1785 7 Ramsey, John Kingston 24 March, 1784 7 Repeat, Charles Warwick 21 March, 1785 7 Read, William Croydon 18 August, 1783 7 Reardon, Bartholemew Winchester 15 July, 1783 7 Read, Ann London 23 Feb. 1785 Life Risdale, Thomas, alias Crowder Bristol 29 March, 1785 Life Richard, James East Grinstead 20 March, 1786 7 Richardson, James Maidstone 14 March, 1785 7 Risby, Edward Gloucester 24 March, 1784 7 Richardson, William London 10 Decem. 1784 7 Richardson, Hardwicke Ditto 25 Oct. 1785 7 Richardson, John Ditto 7 July, 1784 7 Richard, David Ditto 26 May, 1784 7 Richardson, Samuel Ditto 15 Septem. 1784 7 Rickson, William Chelmsford 8 July, 1784 7 Richards, John, alias Williams Winchester 2 March, 1784 7 Richard, James Launceston 25 March, 1786 7 Rice, John Exeter 18 July, 1785 7 Rope, Anthony Chelmsford 7 March, 1785 7 Rogers, Daniel Croydon 20 July, 1785 7 Robinson, George Lincoln 9 July, 1785 7 Rogers, Isaac Gloucester 23 March, 1785 14 Robinson, Thomas Kingston upon Hull 7 Oct. 1784 7 Robert, John Liverpool 26 Jan. 1785 7 Robinson, George London 21 April, 1784 7 Romain, John, Ditto 15 Septem. 1784 7 Rowe, John Launceston 19 March, 1785 7 Rowe, William Ditto 19 March, 1785 7 Roberts, William Bodmin 14 August, 1786 7 Robinson, William Exeter 24 May, 1784 7 Roach, Henry Ditto 24 May, 1784 7 Robins, John, alias Major Ditto 18 July, 1785 7 Rous, Walton, alias Batley Rolt, Mary London Rosson, Isabella Ditto 10 Jan. 1787 7 Russel, John Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Ruglass, John Ditto 23 Feb. 1785 Life Russler, John Ditto 23 Feb. 1785 Life Ruce, James Bodmin 29 July, 1782 7 Ruth, Robert Exeter 14 March, 1786 7 Ryan, John Saltmarsh, William Kingston 28 March, 1785 7 Sanderson, Thomas Lincoln 9 July, 1785 7 Sands, William Ditto 9 July, 1785 7 Sampson, Peter London 7 July, 1784 7 Sandlin, Ann, alias Lynes, alias Pattens Ditto 13 Decem. 1786 7 Scattergood, Robert Stafford 6 Oct. 1785 7 Scott, Elizabeth London 21 Feb. 1787 7 Selshire, Samuel Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Seymour, John Sherborne 25 April, 1786 7 Shearman, William Reading 7 Oct. 1785 7 Shaw, Joseph Stafford 27 July, 1785 7 Shepherd, Robert Durham 19 July, 1785 7 Sharpe, George Ditto 19 July, 1785 7 Shore, William Lancaster 22 March, 1785 7 Shore, John Shiers, James London 23 Feb. 1785 Life Silverthorn, John New Sarum 6 March, 1784 7 Sideway, Robert Slater, Sarah London 23 Feb. 1785 7 Smart, Richard Gloucester 10 Jan. 1786 7 Smart, Daniel Ditto 10 Jan. 1786 7 Smith, Thomas Lancaster 22 March, 1785 7 Smith, William Liverpool 26 Jan. 1785 7 Smith, Edward London 15 Oct. 1784 7 Smith, William Ditto 10 April, 1783 7 Smith, Thomas, alias Haynes Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Smith, James Ditto 23 Feb. 1785 7 Smith, John Guildford 11 August, 1784 7 Smith, William Bodmin 25 July, 1785 7 Smith, Ann, wife of John Smith Winchester 1 March, 1785 7 Smith, Hannah Ditto 5 April, 1785 7 Smith, William Dorchester 16 March, 1786 7 Smith, Edward Exeter 14 March, 1786 7 Smith, John Ditto 14 March, 1786 7 Small, John Ditto 14 March, 1786 7 Smith, Ann London 18 April, 1787 7 Smith, Catherine Ditto 18 April, 1787 7 Smith, Ann Ditto 30 August, 1786 7 Smith, Catherine Ditto 10 Jan. 1787 7 Smith, Mary Ditto 10 Jan. 1787 7 Snaleham, William Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Sparks, Henry Spencer, Daniel Dorchester 3 August, 1786 14 Spencer, John, alias Pearce Spence, Mary Wigan Jan. 1786 5 Sprigmore, Charlotte London 19 August, 1785 7 Springham, Mary Ditto 25 October, 1786 7 Squires, James Kingston 11 April, 1785 7 Stanley, William New Sarum 25 March, 1785 7 Strong, James Dorchester 10 March, 1784 7 Stow, James Lincoln 9 July, 1785 7 Stone, Martin Warwick 21 March, 1785 7 Stokee, John Durham 19 July, 1785 7 Stone, Charles London 10 Decem. 1784 7 Stone, Henry Ditto 10 Decem. 1784 7 Stogdell, John Ditto 20 Decem. 1784 14 Stuart, James Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Stanton, Thomas, alias Ebden Launceston 20 March, 1784 7 Stephens, John Morris Dorchester 16 March, 1786 7 Stewart, Margaret Exeter 28 August, 1786 7 Strech, Thomas Shrewsbury 16 August, 1783 7 Summers, John Gloucester 13 July, 1784 7 Taylor, Joshua Manchester 14 Oct. 1784 7 Taylor, Henry Taylor, Sarah Kingston 2 April, 1787 7 Tenant, Thomas Hilton, alias Phillip Divine Chelmsford 6 March, 1786 7 Teague, Cornelius Bodmin 25 July, 1785 7 Tenchall, James, alias Tenninghill Thompson, William Durham 19 July, 1785 7 Thomas, James London 10 Decem. 1784 7 Thompson, James Ditto 7 July, 1784 7 Thomas, James Ditto 10 Septem. 1783 7 Thomas, John Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Thompson, William Ditto 26 May, 1784 7 Thackery, Elizabeth Manchester 4 May, 1786 7 Thoudy, James Thomas, Elizabeth Wigan Jan. 1787 7 Thornton, Ann London 13 Decem. 1786 7 Tunmins, Thomas Warwick 21 March, 1785 7 Tilley, Thomas Stafford 27 July, 1785 7 Till, Thomas London 23 Feb. 1785 7 Todd, Nicholas Ditto 21 April, 1784 7 Trotter, Joseph Maidstone 13 March, 1786 7 Trace, John Exeter 20 March, 1786 7 Trippett, Susannah London 20 August, 1786 7 Turner, Ralph Manchester 14 April, 1785 7 Tuso, Joseph London 23 Feb. 1785 Life Turner, John Tucker, Moses Plymouth 7 June, 1786 7 Turner, Thomas Turner, John Turner, Mary Worcester 5 March, 1785 7 Twyneham, William Reading 10 Jan. 1786 7 Twyfield, Ann, since said to be married to William Dawley, a convict Shrewsbury 4 August, 1784 7 Tyrrell, William Winchester 1 March, 1785 7 Vandell, Edward East Grinstead 22 March, 1784 7 Vincent, Henry London 21 April, 1784 7 Vickery, William Exeter 20 March, 1786 7 Underwood, James New Sarum 11 March, 1786 14 Usher, John Maidstone 14 March, 1785 7 Waterhouse, William Kingston 28 March, 1785 7 Watsan, John Maidstone 13 March, 1786 7 Ward, John Lowth 11 July, 1786 7 Wall, William Oxford 8 March, 1786 7 Wager, Benjamin London 20 Oct. 1784 7 Walsh, William Ditto 15 Septem. 1784 7 Walker, John Ditto 20 Oct. 1784 7 Walbourne, James Ditto 10 Septem. 1783 7 Watson, Thomas Exeter 20 March, 1786 7 Ware, Charlottee Watkins, Mary Wainwright, Ellen, alias Estther Eccles Preston Jan. 1787 7 Ward, Ann London 19 Decem. 1786 7 Wade, Mary, alias Cacklane Ditto 19 July, 1786 14 Welch, James Maidstone 14 March, 1785 7 Welch, John Durham 19 July, 1785 7 West, Benjamin London 10 Decem. 1784 7 Westwood, John Ditto 20 October, 1784 7 Welch, John Ditto 26 May, 1784 7 Welch, John Ditto 10 Septem. 1783 Life Westlale, Edward Exeter 20 March, 1786 7 Waddicomb, Richard Ditto 20 March, 1786 7 Wheeler, Samuel Croydon 20 July, 1785 7 Whitaker, George Maidstone 14 March, 1785 7 Whiting, William Gloucester 23 March, 1785 7 Whitton, Edward Maidstone 10 March, 1783 Life White, James Ditto 11 August, 1783 7 Wilcocks, Samuel Dorcester 10 March, 1784 7 Wilton, William Bristol 12 Jan. 1784 7 Wilson, Peter Manchester 20 Jan. 1785 7 Wilson, John Wigan 10 Oct. 1785 7 Williams, Charles London 7 July, 1784 7 Williams, James Ditto 11 May, 1785 7 Wilson, Charles Ditto 10 Septem. 1783 Life Williams, John, alias Black Jack Maidstone 2 August, 1784 7 Williams, Robert Launceston 25 March, 1786 7 Williams, John, alias Floyd Bodmin 18 August, 1783 7 Wilding, John, alias Warren Bury 23 March, 1784 7 Wickham, Mary New Sarum 2 August, 1788 14 Williams, Peter, alias Flaggett, alias Creamer Exeter 24 May, 1784 7 Wilcocks, Richard Ditto 20 March, 1786 7 Williams, John Ditto 7 August, 1786 7 Wisehammer, John Bristol 10 Feb. 1785 7 Williams, Daniel Preston 23 March, 1785 7 Williams, Frances Mold 2 Septem. 1783 7 Williams, Mary London 22 Feb. 1786 7 Wood, George Ditto 20 Oct. 1784 7 Woodcock, Peter Ditto 7 July, 1784 7 Woodham, Samuel Ditto 23 Feb. 1785 Life Worsdell, William Launceston 22 March, 1783 7 Woolcot, John Exeter 18 July, 1785 Life Woodcock, Francis Shrewsbury 13 March, 1784 7 Wood, Mark Wright, Thomas Reading 28 Feb. 1785 7 Wright, Benjamin London 6 May, 1784 7 Wright, Joseph Ditto 26 May, 1784 7 Wright, William Ditto 15 Sept. 1783 7 Wright, James Maidstone 11 August, 1783 7 Wright, Ann London 23 Feb. 1785 7 Yardsley, Thomas, Shrewsbury 4 August, 1784 7 Yates, Nancy York 9 July, 1785 7 Young, John London 20 Oct. 1784 7 Young, Simon Ditto 23 Feb. 1785 7 Youngson, Elizabeth Lancaster 6 March, 1787 7 Youngson, George Ditto 6 March, 1787 7 The End 
3535	----	whitespace; small checks; poetry; italics; dashes; gut; A NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION TO BOTANY BAY by Watkin Tench INTRODUCTION In offering this little tract to the public, it is equally the writer's wish to conduce to their amusement and information. The expedition on which he is engaged has excited much curiosity, and given birth to many speculations, respecting the consequences to arise from it. While men continue to think freely, they will judge variously. Some have been sanguine enough to foresee the most beneficial effects to the Parent State, from the Colony we are endeavouring to establish; and some have not been wanting to pronounce the scheme big with folly, impolicy, and ruin. Which of these predictions will be completed, I leave to the decision of the public. I cannot, however, dismiss the subject without expressing a hope, that the candid and liberal of each opinion, induced by the humane and benevolent intention in which it originated, will unite in waiting the result of a fair trial to an experiment, no less new in its design, than difficult in its execution. As this publication enters the world with the name of the author, candour will, he trusts, induce its readers to believe, that no consideration could weigh with him in an endeavour to mislead them. Facts are related simply as they happened, and when opinions are hazarded, they are such as, he hopes, patient inquiry, and deliberate decision, will be found to have authorised. For the most part he has spoken from actual observation; and in those places where the relations of others have been unavoidably adopted. He has been careful to search for the truth, and repress that spirit of exaggeration which is almost ever the effect of novelty on ignorance. The nautical part of the work is comprized in as few pages as possible. By the professional part of my readers this will be deemed judicious; and the rest will not, I believe, be dissatisfied at its brevity. I beg leave, however, to say of the astronomical calculations, that they may be depended on with the greatest degree of security, as they were communicated by an officer, who was furnished with instruments, and commissioned by the Board of Longitude, to make observations during the voyage, and in the southern hemisphere. An unpractised writer is generally anxious to bespeak public attention, and to solicit public indulgence. Except on professional subjects, military men are, perhaps, too fearful of critical censure. For the present narrative no other apology is attempted, than the intentions of its author, who has endeavoured not only to satisfy present curiosity, but to point out to future adventurers, the favourable, as well as adverse circumstances which will attend their settling here. The candid, it is hoped, will overlook the inaccuracies of this imperfect sketch, drawn amidst the complicated duties of the service in which the Author is engaged, and make due allowance for the want of opportunity of gaining more extensive information. Watkin Tench, Capt. of the Marines. Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, New South Wales, 10 July, 1788. CHAPTER I From the Embarkation of the Convicts, to the Departure of the Ships from England. The marines and convicts having been previously embarked in the River, at Portsmouth, and Plymouth, the whole fleet destined for the expedition rendezvoused at the Mother Bank, on the 16th of March 1787, and remained there until the 13th of May following. In this period, excepting a slight appearance of contagion in one of the transports, the ships were universally healthy, and the prisoners in high spirits. Few complaints or lamentations were to be heard among them, and an ardent wish for the hour of departure seemed generally to prevail. As the reputation, equally with the safety of the officers and soldiers appointed to guard the convicts, consisted in maintaining due subordination, an opportunity was taken, immediately on their being embarked, to convince them, in the most pointed terms, that any attempt on their side, either to contest the command, or to force their escape, should be punished with instant death; orders to this effect were given to the centinels in their presence; happily, however, for all parties, there occurred not any instance in which there was occasion to have recourse to so desperate a measure; the behavior of the convicts being in general humble, submissive, and regular: indeed I should feel myself wanting in justice to those unfortunate men, were I not to bear this public testimony of the sobriety and decency of their conduct. Unpleasant as a state of inactivity and delay for many weeks appeared to us, it was not without its advantages; for by means of it we were enabled to establish necessary regulations among the convicts, and to adopt such a system of defence, as left us little to Apprehend for our own security, in case a spirit of madness and desperation had hurried them on to attempt our destruction. Among many other troublesome parts of duty which the service we were engaged on required, the inspection of all letters brought to, or sent from the ships, was not one of the least tiresome and disagreeable. The number and contents of those in the vessel I was embarked in, frequently surprised me very much; they varied according to the dispositions of the writers: but their constant language was, an apprehension of the impracticability of returning home, the dread of a sickly passage, and the fearful prospect of a distant and barbarous country. But this apparent despondency proceeded in few instances from sentiment. With too many it was, doubtless, an artifice to awaken compassion, and call forth relief; the correspondence invariably ending in a petition for money and tobacco. Perhaps a want of the latter, which is considered a great luxury by its admirers among the lower classes of life, might be the more severely felt, from their being debarred in all cases whatever, sickness excepted, the use of spirituous liquors. It may be thought proper for me to mention, that during our stay at the Mother Bank, the soldiers and convicts were indiscriminately served with fresh beef. The former, in addition, had the usual quantity of beer allowed in the navy, and were at what is called full allowance of all species of provisions; the latter, at two thirds only. CHAPTER II. From the Departure, to the Arrival of the Fleet at Teneriffe. Governor Phillip having at length reached Portsmouth, and all things deemed necessary for the expedition being put on board, at daylight on the morning of the 13th, the signal to weigh anchor was made in the Commanding Officer's ship the Sirius. Before six o'clock the whole fleet were under sail; and, the weather being fine and wind easterly, proceeded through the Needles with a fresh leading breeze. In addition to our little armament, the Hyena frigate was ordered to accompany us a certain distance to the westward, by which means our number was increased to twelve sail: His Majesty's ships 'Sirius', 'Hyena', and 'Supply', three Victuallers with two years stores and provisions on board for the Settlement, and six Transports, with troops and convicts. In the transports were embarked four captains, twelve subalterns, twenty-four serjeants and corporals, eight drummers, and one hundred and sixty private marines, making the whole of the military force, including the Major Commandant and Staff on board the Sirius, to consist of two hundred and twelve persons, of whom two hundred and ten were volunteers. The number of convicts was five hundred and sixty-five men, one hundred and ninety-two women, and eighteen children; the major part of the prisoners were mechanics and husbandmen, selected on purpose by order of Government. By ten o'clock we had got clear of the Isle of Wight, at which time, having very little pleasure in conversing with my own thoughts, I strolled down among the convicts, to observe their sentiments at this juncture. A very few excepted, their countenances indicated a high degree of satisfaction, though in some, the pang of being severed, perhaps for ever, from their native land, could not be wholly suppressed; in general, marks of distress were more perceptible among the men than the women; for I recollect to have seen but one of those affected on the occasion, "Some natural tears she dropp'd, but wip'd them soon." After this the accent of sorrow was no longer heard; more genial skies and change of scene banished repining and discontent, and introduced in their stead cheerfulness and acquiescence in a lot, now not to be altered. To add to the good disposition which was beginning to manifest itself, on the morning of the 20th, in consequence of some favorable representations made by the officers commanding detachments, they were hailed and told from the Sirius, that in those cases where they judged it proper, they were at liberty to release the convicts from the fetters in which they had been hitherto confined. In complying with these directions, I had great pleasure in being able to extend this humane order to the whole of those under my charge, without a single exception. It is hardly necessary for me to say, that the precaution of ironing the convicts at any time reached to the men only. In the evening of the same day, the Hyena left us for England, which afforded an early opportunity of writing to our friends, and easing their apprehensions by a communication of the favourable accounts it was in our power to send them. From this time to the day of our making the land, little occurred worthy of remark. I cannot, however, help noticing the propriety of employing the marines on a service which requires activity and exertion at sea, in preference to other troops. Had a regiment recruited since the war been sent out, sea-sickness would have incapacitated half the men from performing the duties immediately and indispensably necessary; whereas the marines, from being accustomed to serve on board ship, accommodated themselves with ease to every exigency, and surmounted every difficulty. At daybreak, on the morning of the 30th of May we saw the rocks named the Deserters, which lie off the south-east end of Madeira; and found the south-east extremity of the most southerly of them, to be in the latitude of 32 deg 28 min north, longitude 16 deg 17 1/2 min west of Greenwich. The following day we saw the Salvages, a cluster of rocks which are placed between the Madeiras and Canary Islands, and determined the latitude of the middle of the Great Salvage to be 30 deg 12 min north, and the longitude of its eastern side to be 15 deg 39 min west. It is no less extraordinary than unpardonable, that in some very modern charts of the Atlantic, published in London, the Salvages are totally omitted. We made the island of Teneriffe on the 3d of June, and in the evening anchored in the road of Santa Cruz, after an excellent passage of three weeks from the day we left England. CHAPTER III. From the Fleet's Arrival at Teneriffe, to its Departure for Rio de Janeiro, in the Brazils. There is little to please a traveller at Teneriffe. He has heard wonders of its celebrated Peak, but he may remain for weeks together at the town of Santa Cruz without having a glimpse of it, and when its cloud-topped head emerges, the chance is, that he feels disappointed, for, from the point of view in which he sees it, the neighbouring mountains lessen its effect very considerably. Excepting the Peak, the eye receives little pleasure from the general face of the country, which is sterile and uninviting to the last degree. The town, however, from its cheerful white appearance, contrasted with the dreary brownness of the back ground, makes not an unpleasing coup d'oeil. It is neither irregular in its plan, nor despicable in its style of building; and the churches and religious houses are numerous, sumptuous, and highly ornamented. The morning of our arrival, as many officers as could be spared from the different ships were introduced to the Marquis de Brancifort, Governor of the Canary Islands, whose reception was highly flattering and polite. His Excellency is a Sicilian by birth, and is most deservedly popular in his government. He prefers residing at Teneriffe, for the conveniency of frequent communication with Europe, to the Grand Canary, which is properly the seat of power; and though not long fixed here, has already found means to establish a manufactory in cotton, silk, and thread, under excellent regulations, which employs more than sixty persons, and is of infinite service to the common people. During our short stay we had every day some fresh proof of his Excellency's esteem and attention, and had the honour of dining with him, in a style of equal elegance and splendor. At this entertainment the profusion of ices which appeared in the desert was surprising, considering that we were enjoying them under a sun nearly vertical. But it seems the caverns of the Peak, very far below its summit, afford, at all seasons, ice in abundance. The restless importunity of the beggars, and the immodesty of the lowest class of women, are highly disgusting. From the number of his countrymen to be found, an Englishman is at no loss for society. In the mercantile houses established here, it is from gentlemen of this description that any information is derived, for the taciturnity of the Spaniards is not to be overcome in a short acquaintance, especially by Englishmen, whose reserve falls little short of their own. The inland country is described as fertile, and highly romantic; and the environs of the small town of Laguza mentioned as particularly pleasant. Some of our officers who made an excursion to it confirmed the account amply. It should seem that the power of the Church, which has been so long on the decline in Europe, is at length beginning to be shaken in the colonies of the Catholic powers: some recent instances which have taken place at Teneriffe, evince it very fully. Were not a stranger, however, to be apprized of this, he would hardly draw the conclusion from his own observations. The Bishop of these islands, which conjunctively form a See, resides on the Grand Canary. He is represented as a man in years, and of a character as amiable as exalted, extremely beloved both by foreigners and those of his own church. The bishopric is valued at ten thousand pounds per annum; the government at somewhat less than two. In spite of every precaution, while we lay at anchor in the road, a convict had the address, one night, to secrete himself on the deck, when the rest were turned below; and after remaining quiet for some hours, let himself down over the bow of the ship, and floated to a boat that lay astern, into which he got, and cutting her adrift, suffered himself to be carried away by the current, until at a sufficient distance to be out of hearing, when he rowed off. This elopement was not discovered till some hours after, when a search being made, and boats sent to the different parts of the island, he was discovered in a small cove, to which he had fled for refuge. On being questioned, it appeared he had endeavoured to get himself received on board a Dutch East Indiaman in the road; but being rejected there, he resolved on crossing over to the Grand Canary, which is at the distance of ten leagues, and when detected, was recruiting his strength in order to make the attempt. At the same time that the boats of the fleet were sent on this pursuit, information was given to the Spanish Governor of what had happened, who immediately detached parties every way in order to apprehend the delinquent. Having remained a week at Teneriffe, and in that time completed our stock of water, and taken on board wine, &c. early on the morning of the 10th of June we weighed anchor, and stood out to sea with a light easterly breeze. The shortness of our stay, and the consequent hurry, prevented our increasing much any previous knowledge we might have had of the place. For the information of those who may follow us on this service, it may not, however, be amiss to state the little that will be found of use to them. The markets afford fresh meat, though it is neither plentiful nor good. Fish is scarce; but poultry may be procured in almost any quantity, at as cheap a rate as in the English sea-ports. Vegetables do not abound, except pumpkins and onions, of which I advise all ships to lay in a large stock. Milch goats are bought for a trifle, and easily procured. Grapes cannot be scarce in their season; but when we were here, except figs and excellent mulberries, no fruit was to be procured. Dry wines, as the merchants term them, are sold from ten to fifteen pounds a pipe; for the latter price, the very best, called the London Particular, may be bought: sweet wines are considerably dearer. Brandy is also a cheap article. I would not advise the voyager to depend on this place for either his hogs or sheep. And he will do well to supply himself with dollars before he quits England, to expend in the different ports he may happen to touch at. Should he, however, have neglected this precaution, let him remember when he discounts bills, or exchanges English money here, not to receive his returns in quarter dollars, which will be tendered to him, but altogether in whole ones, as he will find the latter turn to better account than the former, both at Rio de Janeiro and the Cape of Good Hope. The latitude of the town of Santa Cruz is 28 deg 27 1/2 min north, the longitude 16 deg 17 1/2 min west of Greenwich. CHAPTER IV. The Passage from Teneriffe to Rio de Janeiro, in the Brazils. In sailing from Teneriffe to the south-east, the various and picturesque appearances of the Peak are beautiful to the highest degree. The stupendous height, which before was lost on the traveller, now strikes him with awe and admiration, the whole island appearing one vast mountain with a pyramidal top. As we proceeded with light winds, at an easy rate, we saw it distinctly for three days after our departure, and should have continued to see it longer, had not the haziness of the atmosphere interrupted our view. The good people of Santa Cruz tell some stories of the wonderful extent of space to be seen from the summit of it, that would not disgrace the memoirs of the ever-memorable Baron Munchausen. On the 18th of June we saw the most northerly of the Cape de Verd Islands, at which time the Commodore gave the fleet to understand, by signal, that his intention was to touch at some of them. The following day we made St. Jago, and stood in to gain an anchorage in Port Praya Bay. But the baffling winds and lee current rendering it a matter of doubt whether or not the ships would be able to fetch, the signal for anchoring was hauled down, and the fleet bore up before the wind. In passing along them we were enabled to ascertain the south end of the Isle of Sal to be in 16 deg 40 min north latitude, and 23 deg 5 min west longitude. The south end of Bonavista to be in 15 deg 57 min north, 23 deg 8 min west. The south end of the Isle of May in 15 deg 11 min north, 23 deg 26 min west; and the longitude of the fort, in the town of Port Praya, to be 23 deg 36 1/2 min west of Greenwich. By this time the weather, from the sun being so far advanced in the northern tropic, was become intolerably hot, which, joined to the heavy rains that soon after came on, made us very apprehensive for the health of the fleet. Contrary, however, to expectation, the number of sick in the ship I was embarked on was surprisingly small, and the rest of the fleet were nearly as healthy. Frequent explosions of gunpowder, lighting fires between decks, and a liberal use of that admirable antiseptic, oil of tar, were the preventives we made use of against impure air; and above all things we were careful to keep the men's bedding and wearing apparel dry. As we advanced towards the Line, the weather grew gradually better and more pleasant. On the 14th of July we passed the Equator, at which time the atmosphere was as serene, and the temperature of the air not hotter than in a bright summer day in England. From this period, until our arrival on the American coast, the heats, the calms, and the rains by which we had been so much incommoded, were succeeded by a series of weather as delightful as it was unlooked for. At three o'clock in the afternoon of the 2nd of August, the 'Supply', which had been previously sent a-head on purpose, made the signal for seeing the land, which was visible to the whole fleet before sunset, and proved to be Cape Frio, in latitude 23 deg 5 min south, longitude 41 deg 40 1/4 min west. Owing to light airs we did not get a-breast of the city of St. Sebastian, in the harbour of Rio de Janeiro, until the 7th of the month, when we anchored about three quarters of a mile from the shore. CHAPTER V. From the Arrival of the Fleet at Rio de Janeiro, till its Departure for the Cape of Good Hope; with some Remarks on the Brazils. Brazil is a country very imperfectly known in Europe. The Portugueze, from political motives, have been sparing in their accounts of it. Whence our descriptions of it, in the geographical publications in England, are drawn, I know not: that they are miserably erroneous and defective, is certain. The city of St. Sebastian stands on the west side of the harbour, in a low unhealthy situation, surrounded on all sides by hills, which stop the free circulation of air, and subject its inhabitants to intermittents and putrid diseases. It is of considerable extent: Mr. Cook makes it as large as Liverpool; but Liverpool, in 1767, when Mr. Cook wrote, was not two-thirds of its present size. Perhaps it equals Chester, or Exeter, in the share of ground it occupies, and is infinitely more populous than either of them. The streets intersect each other at right angles, are tolerably well built, and excellently paved, abounding with shops of every kind, in which the wants of a stranger, if money is not one of them, can hardly remain unsatisfied. About the centre of the city, and at a little distance from the beach, the Palace of the Viceroy stands, a long, low building, no wise remarkable in its exterior appearance; though within are some spacious and handsome apartments. The churches and convents are numerous, and richly decorated; hardly a night passes without some of the latter being illuminated in honour of their patron saints, which has a very brilliant effect when viewed from the water, and was at first mistaken by us for public rejoicings. At the corner of almost every street stands a little image of the Virgin, stuck round with lights in an evening, before which passengers frequently stop to pray and sing very loudly. Indeed, the height to which religious zeal is carried in this place, cannot fail of creating astonishment in a stranger. The greatest part of the inhabitants seem to have no other occupation, than that of paying visits and going to church, at which times you see them sally forth richly dressed, en chapeau bras, with the appendages of a bag for the hair, and a small sword: even boys of six years old are seen parading about, furnished with these indispensable requisites. Except when at their devotions, it is not easy to get a sight of the women, and when obtained, the comparisons drawn by a traveller, lately arrived from England, are little flattering to Portugueze beauty. In justice, however, to the ladies of St. Sebastian, I must observe, that the custom of throwing nosegays at strangers, for the purpose of bringing on an assignation, which Doctor Solander, and another gentleman of Mr. Cook's ship, met with when here, was never seen by any of us in a single instance. We were so deplorably unfortunate as to walk every evening before their windows and balconies, without being honoured with a single bouquet, though nymphs and flowers were in equal and great abundance. Among other public buildings, I had almost forgot to mention an observatory, which stands near the middle of the town, and is tolerably well furnished with astronomical instruments. During our stay here, some Spanish and Portuguese mathematicians were endeavouring to determine the boundaries of the territories belonging to their respective crowns. Unhappily, however, for the cause of science, these gentleman have not hitherto been able to coincide in their accounts, so that very little information on this head, to be depended upon, could be gained. How far political motives may have caused this disagreement, I do not presume to decide; though it deserves notice, that the Portuguese accuse the Abbee de la Caille, who observed here by order of the King of France, of having laid down the longitude of this place forty-five miles too much to the eastward. Until the year 1770, all the flour in the settlement was brought from Europe; but since that time the inhabitants have made so rapid a progress in raising grain, as to be able to supply themselves with it abundantly. The principal corn country lies around Rio Grande, in the latitude of 32 deg south, where wheat flourishes so luxuriantly, as to yield from seventy to eighty bushels for one. Coffee also, which they formerly received from Portugal, now grows in such plenty as to enable them to export considerable quantities of it. But the staple commodity of the country is sugar. That they have not, however, learnt the art of making palatable rum, the English troops in New South Wales can bear testimony; a large quantity, very ill flavoured, having been bought and shipped here for the use of the garrison of Port Jackson. It was in 1771 that St. Salvador, which had for more than a century been the capital of Brazil, ceased to be so; and that the seat of Government was removed to St. Sebastian. The change took place on account of the colonial war, at that time carried on by the Courts of Lisbon and Madrid. And, indeed, were the object of security alone to determine the seat of Government, I know but few places better situated in that respect than the one I am describing; the natural strength of the country, joined to the difficulties which would attend an attack on the fortifications, being such as to render it very formidable. It may be presumed that the Portuguese Government is well apprized of this circumstance and of the little risque they run in being deprived of so important a possession, else it will not be easy to penetrate the reasons which induce them to treat the troops who compose the garrison with such cruel negligence. Their regiments were ordered out with a promise of being relieved, and sent back to Europe at the end of three years, in conformity to which they settled all their domestic arrangements. But the faith of Government has been broken, and at the expiration of twenty years, all that is left to the remnant of these unfortunate men, is to suffer in submissive silence. I was one evening walking with a Portuguese officer, when this subject was started, and on my telling him, that such a breach of public honour to English troops would become a subject of parliamentary enquiry, he seized my hand with great eagerness, "Ah, Sir!" exclaimed he, "yours is a free country--we"!----His emotions spoke what his tongue refused. As I am mentioning the army, I cannot help observing, that I saw nothing here to confirm the remark of Mr. Cook, that the inhabitants of the place, whenever they meet an officer of the garrison, bow to him with the greatest obsequiousness; and by omitting such a ceremony, would subject themselves to be knocked down, though the other seldom deigns to return the compliment. The interchange of civilities is general between them, and seems by no means extorted. The people who could submit to such insolent superiority, would, indeed, deserve to be treated as slaves. The police of the city is very good. Soldiers patrole the streets frequently, and riots are seldom heard of. The dreadful custom of stabbing, from motives of private resentment, is nearly at an end, since the church has ceased to afford an asylum to murderers. In other respects, the progress of improvement appears slow, and fettered by obstacles almost insurmountable, whose baneful influence will continue, until a more enlightened system of policy shall be adopted. From morning to night the ears of a stranger are greeted by the tinkling of the convent bells, and his eyes saluted by processions of devotees, whose adoration and levity seem to keep equal pace, and succeed each other in turns. "Do you want to make your son sick of soldiering? Shew him the Trainbands of London on a field-day." Let him who would wish to give his son a distaste to Popery, point out to him the sloth, the ignorance, and the bigotry of this place. Being nearly ready to depart by the 1st of September, as many officers as possible went on that day to the palace to take leave of his Excellency, the Viceroy of the Brazils, to whom we had been previously introduced; who on this, and every other occasion, was pleased to honour us with the most distinguished marks of regard and attention. Some part, indeed, of the numerous indulgencies we experienced during our stay here, must doubtless be attributed to the high respect in which the Portuguese held Governor Phillip, who was for many years a captain in their navy, and commanded a ship of war on this station: in consequence of which, many privileges were extended to us, very unusual to be granted to strangers. We were allowed the liberty of making short excursions into the country, and on these occasions, as well as when walking in the city, the mortifying custom of having an officer of the garrison attending us was dispensed with on our leaving our names and ranks, at the time of landing, with the adjutant of orders at the palace. It happened, however, sometimes, that the presence of a military man was necessary to prevent imposition in the shopkeepers, who frequently made a practice of asking more for their goods than the worth of them. In which case an officer, when applied to, always told us the usual price of the commodity with the greatest readiness, and adjusted the terms of the purchase. On the morning of the fourth of September we left Rio de Janeiro, amply furnished with the good things which its happy soil and clime so abundantly produce. The future voyager may with security depend on this place for laying in many parts of his stock. Among these may be enumerated sugar, coffee, rum, port wine, rice, tapioca, and tobacco, besides very beautiful wood for the purposes of household furniture. Poultry is not remarkably cheap, but may be procured in any quantity; as may hops at a low rate. The markets are well supplied with butcher's meat, and vegetables of every sort are to be procured at a price next to nothing; the yams are particularly excellent. Oranges abound so much, as to be sold for sixpence a hundred; and limes are to be had on terms equally moderate. Bananas, cocoa nuts, and guavas, are common; but the few pineapples brought to market are not remarkable either for flavour, or cheapness. Besides the inducements to lay out money already mentioned, the naturalist may add to his collection by an almost endless variety of beautiful birds and curious insects, which are to be bought at a reasonable price, well preserved, and neatly assorted. I shall close my account of this place by informing strangers, who may come here, that the Portuguese reckon their money in rees, an imaginary coin, twenty of which make a small copper piece called a 'vintin', and sixteen of these last a 'petack'. Every piece is marked with the number of rees it is worth, so that a mistake can hardly happen. English silver coin has lost its reputation here, and dollars will be found preferable to any other money. CHAPTER VI. The Passage from the Brazils to the Cape of Good Hope; with an Account of the Transactions of the Fleet there. Our passage from Rio de Janeiro to the Cape of Good Hope was equally prosperous with that which had preceded it. We steered away to the south-east, and lost sight of the American coast the day after our departure. From this time until the 13th of October, when we made the Cape, nothing remarkable occurred, except the loss of a convict in the ship I was on board, who unfortunately fell into the sea, and perished in spite of our efforts to save him, by cutting adrift a life buoy and hoisting out a boat. During the passage, a slight dysentery prevailed in some of the ships, but was in no instance mortal. We were at first inclined to impute it to the water we took on board at the Brazils, but as the effect was very partial, some other cause was more probably the occasion of it. At seven o'clock in the evening of the 13th of October, we cast anchor in Table Bay, and found many ships of different nations in the harbour. Little can be added to the many accounts already published of the Cape of Good Hope, though, if an opinion on the subject might be risqued, the descriptions they contain are too flattering. When contrasted with Rio de Janeiro, it certainly suffers in the comparison. Indeed we arrived at a time equally unfavourable for judging of the produce of the soil and the temper of its cultivators, who had suffered considerably from a dearth that had happened the preceding season, and created a general scarcity. Nor was the chagrin of these deprivations lessened by the news daily arriving of the convulsions that shook the republic, which could not fail to make an impression even on Batavian phlegm. As a considerable quantity of flour, and the principal part of the live stock, which was to store our intended settlement, were meant to be procured here, Governor Phillip lost no time in waiting on Mynheer Van Graaffe, the Dutch Governor, to request permission (according to the custom of the place) to purchase all that we stood in need of. How far the demand extended, I know not, nor Mynheer Van Graaffe's reasons for complying with it in part only. To this gentleman's political sentiments I confess myself a stranger; though I should do his politeness and liberality at his own table an injustice, were I not to take this public opportunity of acknowledging them; nor can I resist the opportunity which presents itself, to inform my readers, in honor of M. Van Graaffe's humanity, that he has made repeated efforts to recover the unfortunate remains of the crew of the Grosvenor Indiaman, which was wrecked about five years ago on the coast of Caffraria. This information was given me by Colonel Gordon, commandant of the Dutch troops at the Cape, whose knowledge of the interior parts of this country surpasses that of any other man. And I am sorry to say that the Colonel added, these unhappy people were irrecoverably lost to the world and their friends, by being detained among the Caffres, the most savage set of brutes on earth. His Excellency resides at the Government house, in the East India Company's garden. This last is of considerable extent, and is planted chiefly with vegetables for the Dutch Indiamen which may happen to touch at the port. Some of the walks are extremely pleasant from the shade they afford, and the whole garden is very neatly kept. The regular lines intersecting each other at right angles, in which it is laid out, will, nevertheless, afford but little gratification to an Englishman, who has been used to contemplate the natural style which distinguishes the pleasure grounds of his own country. At the head of the centre walks stands a menagerie, on which, as well as the garden, many pompous eulogiums have been passed, though in my own judgment, considering the local advantages possessed by the Company, it is poorly furnished both with animals and birds; a tyger, a zebra, some fine ostriches, a cassowary, and the lovely crown-fowl, are among the most remarkable. The table land, which stands at the back of the town, is a black dreary looking mountain, apparently flat at top, and of more than eleven hundred yards in height. The gusts of wind which blow from it are violent to an excess, and have a very unpleasant effect, by raising the dust in such clouds, as to render stirring out of doors next to impossible. Nor can any precaution prevent the inhabitants from being annoyed by it, as much within doors as without. At length the wished-for day, on which the next effort for reaching the place of our destination was to be made, appeared. The morning was calm, but the land wind getting up about noon, on the 12th of November we weighed anchor, and soon left far behind every scene of civilization and humanized manners, to explore a remote and barbarous land; and plant in it those happy arts, which alone constitute the pre-eminence and dignity of other countries. The live animals we took on board on the public account from the Cape, for stocking our projected colony, were, two bulls, three cows, three horses, forty-four sheep, and thirty-two hogs, besides goats, and a very large quantity of poultry of every kind. A considerable addition to this was made by the private stocks of the officers, who were, however, under a necessity of circumscribing their original intentions on this head very much, from the excessive dearness of many of the articles. It will readily be believed, that few of the military found it convenient to purchase sheep, when hay to feed them costs sixteen shillings a hundred weight. The boarding-houses on shore, to which strangers have recourse, are more reasonable than might be expected. For a dollar and a half per day we were well lodged, and partook of a table tolerably supplied in the French style. Should a traveller's stock of tea run short, it is a thousand chances to one that he will be able to replenish it here at a cheaper rate than in England. He may procure plenty of arrack and white wine; also raisins, and dried fruits of other sorts. If he dislikes to live at a boarding-house, he will find the markets well stored, and the price of butcher's meat and vegetables far from excessive. Just before the signal for weighing was made, a ship, under American colours, entered the road, bound from Boston, from whence she had sailed one hundred and forty days, on a trading voyage to the East Indies. In her route, she had been lucky enough to pick up several of the inferior officers and crew of the Harcourt East-Indiaman, which ship had been wrecked on one of the Cape de Verd Islands. The master, who appeared to be a man of some information, on being told the destination of our fleet, gave it as his opinion, that if a reception could be secured, emigrations would take place to New South Wales, not only from the old continent, but the new one, where the spirit of adventure and thirst for novelty were excessive. CHAPTER VII. The Passage from the Cape of Good Hope to Botany Bay. We had hardly cleared the land when a south-east wind set in, and, except at short intervals, continued to blow until the 19th of the month; when we were in the latitude of 37 deg 40 min south, and by the time-keeper, in longitude 11 deg 30 min east, so that our distance from Botany Bay had increased nearly an hundred leagues since leaving the Cape. As no appearance of a change in our favour seemed likely to take place, Governor Phillip at this time signified his intention of shifting his pennant from the Sirius to the 'Supply', and proceeding on his voyage without waiting for the rest of the fleet, which was formed in two divisions. The first consisting of three transports, known to be the best sailors, was put under the command of a Lieutenant of the navy; and the remaining three, with the victuallers, left in charge of Captain Hunter, of his Majesty's ship Sirius. In the last division was the vessel, in which the author of this narrative served. Various causes prevented the separation from taking place until the 25th, when several sawyers, carpenters, blacksmiths, and other mechanics, were shifted from different ships into the 'Supply', in order to facilitate his Excellency's intention of forwarding the necessary buildings to be erected at Botany Bay, by the time the rest of the fleet might be expected to arrive. Lieutenant Governor Ross, and the Staff of the marine battalion, also removed from the Sirius into the Scarborough transport, one of the ships of the first division, in order to afford every assistance which the public service might receive, by their being early on the spot on which our future operations were to be conducted. From this time a succession of fair winds and pleasant weather corresponded to our eager desires, and on the 7th of January, 1788, the long wished for shore of Van Diemen gratified our sight. We made the land at two o'clock in the afternoon, the very hour we expected to see it from the lunar observations of Captain Hunter, whose accuracy, as an astronomer, and conduct as an officer, had inspired us with equal gratitude and admiration. After so long a confinement, on a service so peculiarly disgusting and troublesome, it cannot be matter of surprise that we were overjoyed at the near prospect of a change of scene. By sunset we had passed between the rocks, which Captain Furneaux named the Mewstone and Swilly. The former bears a very close resemblance to the little island near Plymouth, whence it took its name: its latitude is 43 deg 48 min south, longitude 146 deg 25 min east of Greenwich. In running along shore, we cast many an anxious eye towards the land, on which so much of our future destiny depended. Our distance, joined to the haziness of the atmosphere, prevented us, however, from being able to discover much. With our best glasses we could see nothing but hills of a moderate height, cloathed with trees, to which some little patches of white sandstone gave the appearance of being covered with snow. Many fires were observed on the hills in the evening. As no person in the ship I was on board had been on this coast before, we consulted a little chart, published by Steele, of the Minories, London, and found it, in general, very correct; it would be more so, were not the Mewstone laid down at too great a distance from the land, and one object made of the Eddystone and Swilly, when, in fact, they are distinct. Between the two last is an entire bed of impassable rocks, many of them above water. The latitude of the Eddystone is 43 deg 53 1/2 min, longitude 147 deg 9 min; that of Swilly 43 deg 54 min south, longitude 147 deg 3 min east of Greenwich. In the night the westerly wind, which had so long befriended us, died away, and was succeeded by one from the north-east. When day appeared we had lost sight of the land, and did not regain it until the 19th, at only the distance of 17 leagues from our desired port. The wind was now fair, the sky serene, though a little hazy, and the temperature of the air delightfully pleasant: joy sparkled in every countenance, and congratulations issued from every mouth. Ithaca itself was scarcely more longed for by Ulysses, than Botany Bay by the adventurers who had traversed so many thousand miles to take possession of it. "Heavily in clouds came on the day" which ushered in our arrival. To us it was "a great, an important day," though I hope the foundation, not the fall, of an empire will be dated from it. On the morning of the 20th, by ten o'clock, the whole of the fleet had cast anchor in Botany Bay, where, to our mutual satisfaction, we found the Governor, and the first division of transports. On inquiry, we heard, that the 'Supply' had arrived on the 18th, and the transports only the preceding day. Thus, after a passage of exactly thirty-six weeks from Portsmouth, we happily effected our arduous undertaking, with such a train of unexampled blessings as hardly ever attended a fleet in a like predicament. Of two hundred and twelve marines we lost only one; and of seven hundred and seventy-five convicts, put on board in England, but twenty-four perished in our route. To what cause are we to attribute this unhoped for success? I wish I could answer to the liberal manner in which Government supplied the expedition. But when the reader is told, that some of the necessary articles allowed to ships on a common passage to West Indies, were withheld from us; that portable soup, wheat, and pickled vegetables were not allowed; and that an inadequate quantity of essence of malt was the only antiscorbutic supplied, his surprise will redouble at the result of the voyage. For it must be remembered, that the people thus sent out were not a ship's company starting with every advantage of health and good living, which a state of freedom produces; but the major part a miserable set of convicts, emaciated from confinement, and in want of cloaths, and almost every convenience to render so long a passage tolerable. I beg leave, however, to say, that the provisions served on board were good, and of a much superior quality to those usually supplied by contract: they were furnished by Mr. Richards, junior, of Walworth, Surrey. CHAPTER VIII. From the Fleet's Arrival at Botany Bay to the Evacuation of it; and taking Possession of Port Jackson. Interviews with the Natives; and an Account of the Country about Botany Bay. We had scarcely bid each other welcome on our arrival, when an expedition up the Bay was undertaken by the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, in order to explore the nature of the country, and fix on a spot to begin our operations upon. None, however, which could be deemed very eligible, being discovered, his Excellency proceeded in a boat to examine the opening, to which Mr. Cook had given the name of Port Jackson, on an idea that a shelter for shipping within it might be found. The boat returned on the evening of the 23rd, with such an account of the harbour and advantages attending the place, that it was determined the evacuation of Botany Bay should commence the next morning. In consequence of this decision, the few seamen and marines who had been landed from the squadron, were instantly reimbarked, and every preparation made to bid adieu to a port which had so long been the subject of our conversation; which but three days before we had entered with so many sentiments of satisfaction; and in which, as we had believed, so many of our future hours were to be passed. The thoughts of removal banished sleep, so that I rose at the first dawn of the morning. But judge of my surprize on hearing from a serjeant, who ran down almost breathless to the cabin where I was dressing, that a ship was seen off the harbour's mouth. At first I only laughed, but knowing the man who spoke to me to be of great veracity, and hearing him repeat his information, I flew upon deck, on which I had barely set my foot, when the cry of "another sail" struck on my astonished ear. Confounded by a thousand ideas which arose in my mind in an instant, I sprang upon the barricado and plainly descried two ships of considerable size, standing in for the mouth of the Bay. By this time the alarm had become general, and every one appeared lost in conjecture. Now they were Dutchmen sent to dispossess us, and the moment after storeships from England, with supplies for the settlement. The improbabilities which attended both these conclusions, were sunk in the agitation of the moment. It was by Governor Phillip, that this mystery was at length unravelled, and the cause of the alarm pronounced to be two French ships, which, it was now recollected, were on a voyage of discovery in the southern hemisphere. Thus were our doubts cleared up, and our apprehensions banished; it was, however, judged expedient to postpone our removal to Port Jackson, until a complete confirmation of our conjectures could be procured. Had the sea breeze set in, the strange ships would have been at anchor in the Bay by eight o'clock in the morning, but the wind blowing out, they were driven by a strong lee current to the southward of the port. On the following day they re-appeared in their former situation, and a boat was sent to them, with a lieutenant of the navy in her, to offer assistance, and point out the necessary marks for entering the harbour. In the course of the day the officer returned, and brought intelligence that the ships were the Boussole and Astrolabe, sent out by order of the King of France, and under the command of Monsieur De Perrouse. The astonishment of the French at seeing us, had not equalled that we had experienced, for it appeared, that in the course of their voyage they had touched at Kamschatka, and by that means learnt that our expedition was in contemplation. They dropped anchor the next morning, just as we had got under weigh to work out of the Bay, so that for the present nothing more than salutations could pass between us. Before I quit Botany Bay, I shall relate the observations we were enabled to make during our short stay there; as well as those which our subsequent visits to it from Port Jackson enabled us to complete. The Bay is very open, and greatly exposed to the fury of the S.E. winds, which, when they blow, cause a heavy and dangerous swell. It is of prodigious extent, the principal arm, which takes a S.W. direction, being not less, including its windings, than twenty four miles from the capes which form the entrance, according to the report of the French officers, who took uncommon pains to survey it. At the distance of a league from the harbour's mouth is a bar, on which at low water, not more than fifteen feet are to be found. Within this bar, for many miles up the S.W. arm, is a haven, equal in every respect to any hitherto known, and in which any number of ships might anchor, secured from all winds. The country around far exceeds in richness of soil that about Cape Banks and Point Solander, though unfortunately they resemble each other in one respect, a scarcity of fresh water. We found the natives tolerably numerous as we advanced up the river, and even at the harbour's mouth we had reason to conclude the country more populous than Mr. Cook thought it. For on the Supply's arrival in the Bay on the 18th of the month, they were assembled on the beach of the south shore, to the number of not less than forty persons, shouting and making many uncouth signs and gestures. This appearance whetted curiosity to its utmost, but as prudence forbade a few people to venture wantonly among so great a number, and a party of only six men was observed on the north shore, the Governor immediately proceeded to land on that side, in order to take possession of his new territory, and bring about an intercourse between its old and new masters. The boat in which his Excellency was, rowed up the harbour, close to the land, for some distance; the Indians keeping pace with her on the beach. At last an officer in the boat made signs of a want of water, which it was judged would indicate his wish of landing. The natives directly comprehended what he wanted, and pointed to a spot where water could be procured; on which the boat was immediately pushed in, and a landing took place. As on the event of this meeting might depend so much of our future tranquillity, every delicacy on our side was requisite. The Indians, though timorous, shewed no signs of resentment at the Governor's going on shore; an interview commenced, in which the conduct of both parties pleased each other so much, that the strangers returned to their ships with a much better opinion of the natives than they had landed with; and the latter seemed highly entertained with their new acquaintance, from whom they condescended to accept of a looking glass, some beads, and other toys. Owing to the lateness of our arrival, it was not my good fortune to go on shore until three days after this had happened, when I went with a party to the south side of the harbour, and had scarcely landed five minutes, when we were met by a dozen Indians, naked as at the moment of their birth, walking along the beach. Eager to come to a conference, and yet afraid of giving offence, we advanced with caution towards them, nor would they, at first approach nearer to us than the distance of some paces. Both parties were armed; yet an attack seemed as unlikely on their part, as we knew it to be on our own. I had at this time a little boy, of not more than seven years of age, in my hand. The child seemed to attract their attention very much, for they frequently pointed to him and spoke to each other; and as he was not frightened, I advanced with him towards them, at the same time baring his bosom and, shewing the whiteness of the skin. On the cloaths being removed, they gave a loud exclamation, and one of the party, an old man, with a long beard, hideously ugly, came close to us. I bade my little charge not to be afraid, and introduced him to the acquaintance of this uncouth personage. The Indian, with great gentleness, laid his hand on the child's hat, and afterwards felt his cloaths, muttering to himself all the while. I found it necessary, however, by this time to send away the child, as such a close connection rather alarmed him; and in this, as the conclusion verified, I gave no offence to the old gentleman. Indeed it was but putting ourselves on a par with them, as I had observed from the first, that some youths of their own, though considerably older than the one with us, were, kept back by the grown people. Several more now came up, to whom, we made various presents, but our toys seemed not to be regarded as very valuable; nor would they for a long time make any returns to them, though before we parted, a large club, with a head almost sufficient to fell an ox, was obtained in exchange for a looking-glass. These people seemed at a loss to know (probably from our want of beards) of what sex we were, which having understood, they burst into the most immoderate fits of laughter, talking to each other at the same time with such rapidity and vociferation as I had never before heard. After nearly an hour's conversation by signs and gestures, they repeated several times the word whurra, which signifies, begone, and walked away from us to the head of the Bay. The natives being departed, we set out to observe the country, which, on inspection, rather disappointed our hopes, being invariably sandy and unpromising for the purposes of cultivation, though the trees and grass flourish in great luxuriancy. Close to us was the spring at which Mr. Cook watered, but we did not think the water very excellent, nor did it run freely. In the evening we returned on board, not greatly pleased with the latter part of our discoveries, as it indicated an increase of those difficulties, which before seemed sufficiently numerous. Between this and our departure we had several more interviews with the natives, which ended in so friendly a manner, that we began to entertain strong hopes of bringing about a connection with them. Our first object was to win their affections, and our next to convince them of the superiority we possessed: for without the latter, the former we knew would be of little importance. An officer one day prevailed on one of them to place a target, made of bark, against a tree, which he fired at with a pistol, at the distance of some paces. The Indians, though terrified at the report, did not run away, but their astonishment exceeded their alarm, on looking at the shield which the ball had perforated. As this produced a little shyness, the officer, to dissipate their fears and remove their jealousy, whistled the air of Malbrooke, which they appeared highly charmed with, and imitated him with equal pleasure and readiness. I cannot help remarking here, what I was afterwards told by Monsieur De Perrouse, that the natives of California, and throughout all the islands of the Pacific Ocean, and in short wherever he had been, seemed equally touched and delighted with this little plaintive air. CHAPTER IX. The taking Possession of Port Jackson, with the Disembarkation of the Marines and Convicts. Our passage to Port Jackson took up but few hours, and those were spent far from unpleasantly. The evening was bright, and the prospect before us such as might justify sanguine expectation. Having passed between the capes which form its entrance, we found ourselves in a port superior, in extent and excellency, to all we had seen before. We continued to run up the harbour about four miles, in a westerly direction, enjoying the luxuriant prospect of its shores, covered with trees to the water's edge, among which many of the Indians were frequently seen, till we arrived at a small snug cove on the southern side, on whose banks the plan of our operations was destined to commence. The landing of a part of the marines and convicts took place the next day, and on the following, the remainder was disembarked. Business now sat on every brow, and the scene, to an indifferent spectator, at leisure to contemplate it, would have been highly picturesque and amusing. In one place, a party cutting down the woods; a second, setting up a blacksmith's forge; a third, dragging along a load of stones or provisions; here an officer pitching his marquee, with a detachment of troops parading on one side of him, and a cook's fire blazing up on the other. Through the unwearied diligence of those at the head of the different departments, regularity was, however, soon introduced, and, as far as the unsettled state of matters would allow, confusion gave place to system. Into the head of the cove, on which our establishment is fixed, runs a small stream of fresh water, which serves to divide the adjacent country to a little distance, in the direction of north and south. On the eastern side of this rivulet the Governor fixed his place of residence, with a large body of convicts encamped near him; and on the western side was disposed the remaining part of these people, near the marine encampment. From this last two guards, consisting of two subalterns, as many serjeants, four corporals, two drummers, and forty-two private men, under the orders of a Captain of the day, to whom all reports were made, daily mounted for the public security, with such directions to use force, in case of necessity, as left no room for those who were the object of the order, but to remain peaceable, or perish by the bayonet. As the straggling of the convicts was not only a desertion from the public labour, but might be attended with ill consequences to the settlement, in case of their meeting the natives, every care was taken to prevent it. The Provost Martial with his men was ordered to patrole the country around, and the convicts informed, that the severest punishment would be inflicted on transgressors. In spite, however, of all our precautions, they soon found the road to Botany Bay, in visits to the French, who would gladly have dispensed with their company. But as severity alone was known to be inadequate at once to chastize and reform, no opportunity was omitted to assure the convicts, that by their good behaviour and submissive deportment, every claim to present distinction and future favour was to be earned. That this caution was not attended with all the good effects which were hoped from it, I have only to lament; that it operated in some cases is indisputable; nor will a candid and humane mind fail to consider and allow for the situation these unfortunate beings so peculiarly stood in. While they were on board ship, the two sexes had been kept most rigorously apart; but, when landed, their separation became impracticable, and would have been, perhaps, wrong. Licentiousness was the unavoidable consequence, and their old habits of depravity were beginning to recur. What was to be attempted? To prevent their intercourse was impossible; and to palliate its evils only remained. Marriage was recommended, and such advantages held out to those who aimed at reformation, as have greatly contributed to the tranquillity of the settlement. On the Sunday after our landing divine service was performed under a great tree, by the Rev. Mr. Johnson, Chaplain of the Settlement, in the presence of the troops and convicts, whose behaviour on the occasion was equally regular and attentive. In the course of our passage this had been repeated every Sunday, while the ships were in port; and in addition to it, Mr. Johnson had furnished them with books, at once tending to promote instruction and piety. The Indians for a little while after our arrival paid us frequent visits, but in a few days they were observed to be more shy of our company. From what cause their distaste: arose we never could trace, as we had made it our study, on these occasions, to treat them with kindness, and load them with presents. No quarrel had happened, and we had flattered ourselves, from Governor Phillip's first reception among them, that such a connection might be established as would tend to the interest of both parties. It seems, that on that occasion, they not only received our people with great cordiality, but so far acknowledged their authority as to submit, that a boundary, during their first interview, might be drawn on the sand, which they attempted not to infringe, and appeared to be satisfied with. CHAPTER X. The reading of the Commissions, and taking Possession of the Settlement, in form. With an Account of the Courts of Law, and Mode of administering Public Justice in this Country. Owing to the multiplicity of pressing business necessary to be performed immediately after landing, it was found impossible to read the public commissions and take possession of the colony in form, until the 7th of February. On that day all the officers of guard took post in the marine battalion, which was drawn up, and marched off the parade with music playing, and colours flying, to an adjoining ground, which had been cleared for the occasion, whereon the convicts were assembled to hear His Majesty's commission read, appointing his Excellency Arthur Phillip, Esq. Governor and Captain General in and over the territory of New South Wales, and its dependencies; together with the Act of Parliament for establishing trials by law within the same; and the patents under the Great Seal of Great Britain, for holding the civil and criminal courts of judicature, by which all cases of life and death, as well as matters of property, were to be decided. When the Judge Advocate had finished reading, his Excellency addressed himself to the convicts in a pointed and judicious speech, informing them of his future intentions, which were, invariably to cherish and render happy those who shewed a disposition to amendment; and to let the rigour of the law take its course against such as might dare to transgress the bounds prescribed. At the close three vollies were fired in honour of the occasion, and the battalion marched back to their parade, where they were reviewed by the Governor, who was received with all the honours due to his rank. His Excellency was afterwards pleased to thank them, in public orders, for their behaviour from the time of their embarkation; and to ask the officers to partake of a cold collation at which it is scarce necessary to observe, that many loyal and public toasts were drank in commemoration of the day. In the Governor's commission, the extent of this authority is defined to reach from the latitude of 43 deg 49 min south, to the latitude of 10 deg 37 min south, being the northern and southern extremities of the continent of New Holland. It commences again at 135th degree of longitude east of Greenwich, and, proceeding in an easterly direction, includes all islands within the limits of the above specified latitudes in the Pacific Ocean. By this partition it may be fairly presumed, that every source of future litigation between the Dutch and us will be for ever cut off, as the discoveries of English navigators alone are comprized in this territory. Nor have Government been more backward in arming Mr. Phillip with plenitude of power, than extent of dominion. No mention is made of a Council to be appointed, so that he is left to act entirely from his own judgment. And as no stated time of assembling the Courts of justice is pointed out, similar to the assizes and gaol deliveries of England, the duration of imprisonment is altogether in his hands. The power of summoning General Courts Martial to meet he is also invested with, but the insertion in the marine mutiny act, of a smaller number of officers than thirteen being able to compose such a tribunal, has been neglected: so that a Military court, should detachments be made from headquarters, or sickness prevail, may not always be found practicable to be obtained, unless the number of officers, at present in the Settlement, shall be increased. Should the Governor see cause, he is enabled to grant pardons to offenders convicted, "in all cases whatever, treason and wilful murder excepted," and even in these, has authority to stay the execution of the law, until the King's pleasure shall be signified. In case of the Governor's death, the Lieutenant Governor takes his place; and on his demise, the senior officer on the spot is authorised to assume the reins of power. Notwithstanding the promises made on one side, and the forbearance shewn on the other, joined to the impending rod of justice, it was with infinite regret that every one saw, in four clays afterwards, the necessity of assembling a Criminal Court, which was accordingly convened by warrant from the Governor, and consisted of the judge Advocate, who presided, three naval, and three marine officers. As the constitution of this court is altogether new in the British annals, I hope my reader will not think me prolix in the description I am about to give of it. The number of members, including the judge Advocate, is limited, by Act of Parliament, to seven, who are expressly ordered to be officers, either of His Majesty's sea or land forces. The court being met, completely arrayed and armed as at a military tribunal, the Judge Advocate proceeds to administer the usual oaths taken by jurymen in England to each member; one of whom afterwards swears him in a like manner. This ceremony being adjusted, the crime laid to the prisoner's charge is read to him, and the question of Guilty, or Not guilty, put. No law officer on the side of the crown being appointed, (for I presume the head of the court ought hardly to consider himself in that light, notwithstanding the title he bears) to prosecute the criminal is left entirely to the party, at whose suit he is tried. All the witnesses are examined on oath, and the decision is directed to be given according to the laws of England, "or as nearly as may be, allowing for the circumstances and situation of the settlement," by a majority of votes, beginning with the youngest member, and ending with the president of the court. In cases, however, of a capital nature, no verdict can be given, unless five, at least, of the seven members present concur therein. The evidence on both sides being finished, and the prisoner's defence heard, the court is cleared, and, on the judgement being settled, is thrown open again, and sentence pronounced. During the time the court sits, the place in which it is assembled is directed to be surrounded by a guard under arms, and admission to every one who may choose to enter it, granted. Of late, however, our colonists are supposed to be in such a train of subordination, as to make the presence of so large a military force unnecessary; and two centinels, in addition to the Provost Martial, are considered as sufficient. It would be as needless, as impertinent, to anticipate the reflections which will arise in reading the above account, wherein a regard to accuracy only has been consulted. By comparing it with the mode of administering justice in the English courts of law, it will be found to differ in many points very essentially. And if we turn our eyes to the usage of military tribunals, it no less departs from the customs observed in them. Let not the novelty of it, however, prejudice any one so far as to dispute its efficacy, and the necessity of the case which gave it birth. The court, whose meeting is already spoken of, proceeded to the trial of three convicts, one of whom was convicted of having struck a marine with a cooper's adze, and otherwise behaving in a very riotous and scandalous manner, for which he was sentenced to receive one hundred and fifty lashes, being a smaller punishment than a soldier in a like case would have suffered from the judgement of a court martial. A second, for having committed a petty theft, was sent to a small barren island, and kept there on bread and water only, for a week. And the third was sentenced to receive fifty lashes, but was recommended by the court to the Governor, and forgiven. Hitherto, however, (February) nothing of a very atrocious nature had appeared. But the day was at hand, on which the violation of public security could no longer be restrained, by the infliction of temporary punishment. A set of desperate and hardened villains leagued themselves for the purposes of depredation, and, as it generally happens, had art enough to persuade some others, less deeply versed in iniquity, to be the instruments for carrying it on. Fortunately the progress of these miscreants was not of long duration. They were detected in stealing a large quantity of provisions at the time of issuing them. And on being apprehended, one of the tools of the superiors impeached the rest, and disclosed the scheme. The trial came on the 28th of the month, and of four who were arraigned for the offence, three were condemned to die, and the fourth to receive a very severe corporal punishment. In hopes that his lenity would not be abused, his Excellency was, however, pleased to order one only for execution, which took place a little before sun-set the same day. The name of the unhappy wretch was Thomas Barret, an old and desperate offender, who died with that hardy spirit, which too often is found in the worst and most abandoned class of men. During the execution the battalion of marines was under arms, and the whole of the convicts obliged to be present. The two associates of the sufferer were ordered to be kept close prisoners, until an eligible place to banish them to could be fixed on; as were also two more, who on the following day were condemned to die for a similar offence. Besides the Criminal court, there is an inferior one composed of the Judge Advocate, and one or more justices of the peace, for the trial of small misdemeanours. This court is likewise empowered to decide all law suits, and its verdict is final, except where the sum in dispute amounts to more than three hundred pounds, in which case an appeal to England can be made from its decree. Should necessity warrant it, an Admiralty court, of which Lieutenant Governor Ross is judge, can also be summoned, for the trial of offences committed on the high seas. From being unwilling to break the thread of my narrative, I omitted to note in its proper place the sailing of the 'Supply', Lieut. Ball, on the 15th of the month, for Norfolk Island, which the Governor had instructions from the ministry to take possession of. Lieut. King of the Sirius was sent as superintendent and commandant of this place, and carried with him a surgeon, a midshipman, a sawyer, a weaver, two marines, and sixteen convicts, of whom six were women. He was also supplied with a certain number of live animals to stock the island, besides garden seeds, grain, and other requisites. CHAPTER XI A Description of the Natives of New South Wales, and our Transactions with them. I doubt not my readers will be as glad as I feel myself, to conclude the dull detail of the last chapter. If they please, they may turn from the subtle intricacies of the law, to contemplate the simple, undisguised workings of nature, in her most artless colouring. I have already said, we had been but very few days at Port Jackson, when an alteration in the behaviour of the natives was perceptible; and I wish I could add, that a longer residence in their neighbourhood had introduced a greater degree of cordiality and intermixture between the old, and new, lords of the soil, than at the day on which this publication is dated subsists. From their easy reception of us in the beginning, many were induced to call in question the accounts which Mr. Cook had given of this people. That celebrated navigator, we were willing believe, had somehow by his conduct offended them, which prevented the intercourse that would otherwise have taken place. The result, however, of our repeated endeavours to induce them to come among us has been such as to confirm me in an opinion, that they either fear or despise us too much, to be anxious for a closer connection. And I beg leave at once, to apprize the reader, that all I can here, or in any future part of this work, relate with fidelity of the natives of New South Wales, must be made up of detached observations, taken at different times, and not from a regular series of knowledge of the customs and manners of a people, with whom opportunities of communication are so scarce, as to have been seldom obtained. In their persons, they are far from being a stout race of men, though nimble, sprightly, and vigorous. The deficiency of one of the fore teeth of the upper jaw, mentioned by Dampier, we have seen in almost the whole of the men; but their organs of sight so far from being defective, as that author mentions those of the inhabitants of the western side of the continent to be, are remarkably quick and piercing. Their colour, Mr. Cook is inclined to think rather a deep chocolate, than an absolute black, though he confesses, they have the appearance of the latter, which he attributes to the greasy filth their skins are loaded with. Of their want of cleanliness we have had sufficient proofs, but I am of opinion, all the washing in the world would not render them two degrees less black than an African negro. At some of our first interviews, we had several droll instances of their mistaking the Africans we brought with us for their own countrymen. Notwithstanding the disregard they have invariably shewn for all the finery we could deck them with, they are fond of adorning themselves with scars, which increase their natural hideousness. It is hardly possible to see any thing in human shape more ugly, than one of these savages thus scarified, and farther ornamented with a fish bone struck through the gristle of the nose. The custom of daubing themselves with white earth is also frequent among both sexes: but, unlike the inhabitants of the Islands in the Pacific Ocean, they reject the beautiful feathers which the birds of their country afford. Exclusive of their weapons of offence, and a few stone hatchets very rudely fashioned, their ingenuity is confined to manufacturing small nets, in which they put the fish they catch, and to fish-hooks made of bone, neither of which are unskilfully executed. On many of the rocks are also to be found delineations of the figures of men and birds, very poorly cut. Of the use or benefit of cloathing, these people appear to have no comprehension, though their sufferings from the climate they live in, strongly point out the necessity of a covering from the rigour of the seasons. Both sexes, and those of all ages, are invariably found naked. But it must not be inferred from this, that custom so inures them to the changes of the elements, as to make them bear with indifference the extremes of heat and cold; for we have had visible and repeated proofs, that the latter affects them severely, when they are seen shivering, and huddling themselves up in heaps in their huts, or the caverns of the rocks, until a fire can be kindled. Than these huts nothing more rude in construction, or deficient in conveniency, can be imagined. They consist only of pieces of bark laid together in the form of an oven, open at one end, and very low, though long enough for a man to lie at full length. There is reason, however, to believe, that they depend less on them for shelter, than on the caverns with which the rocks abound. To cultivation of the ground they are utter strangers, and wholly depend for food on the few fruits they gather; the roots they dig up in the swamps; and the fish they pick up along shore, or contrive to strike from their canoes with spears. Fishing, indeed, seems to engross nearly the whole of their time, probably from its forming the chief part of a subsistence, which, observation has convinced us, nothing short of the most painful labour, and unwearied assiduity, can procure. When fish are scarce, which frequently happens, they often watch the moment of our hauling the seine, and have more than once been known to plunder its contents, in spite of the opposition of those on the spot to guard it: and this even after having received a part of what had been caught. The only resource at these times is to shew a musquet, and if the bare sight is not sufficient, to fire it over their heads, which has seldom failed of dispersing them hitherto, but how long the terror which it excites may continue is doubtful. The canoes in which they fish are as despicable as their huts, being nothing more than a large piece of bark tied up at both ends with vines. Their dexterous management of them, added to the swiftness with which they paddle, and the boldness that leads them several miles in the open sea, are, nevertheless, highly deserving of admiration. A canoe is seldom seen without a fire in it, to dress the fish by, as soon as caught: fire they procure by attrition. From their manner of disposing of those who die, which will be mentioned hereafter, as well as from every other observation, there seems no reason to suppose these people cannibals; nor do they ever eat animal substances in a raw state, unless pressed by extreme hunger, but indiscriminately broil them, and their vegetables, on a fire, which renders these last an innocent food, though in their raw state many of them are of a poisonous quality: as a poor convict who unguardedly eat of them experienced, by falling a sacrifice in twenty-four hours afterwards. If bread be given to the Indians, they chew and spit it out again, seldom choosing to swallow it. Salt beef and pork they like rather better, but spirits they never could be brought to taste a second time. The only domestic animal they have is the dog, which in their language is called Dingo, and a good deal resembles the fox dog of England. These animals are equally shy of us, and attached to the natives. One of them is now in the possession of the Governor, and tolerably well reconciled to his new master. As the Indians see the dislike of the dogs to us, they are sometimes mischievous enough to set them on single persons whom they chance to meet in the woods. A surly fellow was one day out shooting, when the natives attempted to divert themselves in this manner at his expense. The man bore the teazing and gnawing of the dog at his heels for some time, but apprehending at length, that his patience might embolden them to use still farther liberties, he turned round and shot poor Dingo dead on the spot: the owners of him set off with the utmost expedition. There is no part of the behaviour of these people, that has puzzled us more, than that which relates to their women. Comparatively speaking we have seen but few of them, and those have been sometimes kept back with every symptom of jealous sensibility; and sometimes offered with every appearance of courteous familiarity. Cautious, however, of alarming the feelings of the men on so tender a point, we have constantly made a rule of treating the females with that distance and reserve, which we judged most likely to remove any impression they might have received of our intending aught, which could give offence on so delicate a subject. And so successful have our endeavours been, that a quarrel on this head has in no instance, that I know of, happened. The tone of voice of the women, which is pleasingly soft and feminine, forms a striking contrast to the rough guttural pronunciation of the men. Of the other charms of the ladies I shall be silent, though justice obliges me to mention, that, in the opinion of some amongst us, they shew a degree of timidity and bashfulness, which are, perhaps, inseparable from the female character in its rudest state. It is not a little singular, that the custom of cutting off the two lower joints of the little finger of the left hand, observed in the Society Islands, is found here among the women, who have for the most part undergone this amputation. Hitherto we have not been able to trace out the cause of this usage. At first we supposed it to be peculiar to the married women, or those who had borne children; but this conclusion must have been erroneous, as we have no right to believe that celibacy prevails in any instance, and some of the oldest of the women are without this distinction; and girls of a very tender age are marked by it. On first setting foot in the country, we were inclined to hold the spears of the natives very cheap. Fatal experience has, however, convinced us, that the wound inflicted by this weapon is not a trivial one; and that the skill of the Indians in throwing it, is far from despicable. Besides more than a dozen convicts who have unaccountably disappeared, we know that two, who were employed as rush cutters up the harbour, were (from what cause we are yet ignorant) most dreadfully mangled and butchered by the natives. A spear had passed entirely through the thickest part of the body of one of them, though a very robust man, and the skull of the other was beaten in. Their tools were taken away, but some provisions which they had with them at the time of the murder, and their cloaths, were left untouched. In addition to this misfortune, two more convicts, who were peaceably engaged in picking of greens, on a spot very remote from that where their comrades suffered, were unawares attacked by a party of Indians, and before they could effect their escape, one of them was pierced by a spear in the hip, after which they knocked him down, and plundered his cloaths. The poor wretch, though dreadfully wounded, made shift to crawl off, but his companion was carried away by these barbarians, and his fate doubtful, until a soldier, a few days afterwards, picked up his jacket and hat in a native's hut, the latter pierced through by a spear. We have found that these spears are not made invariably alike, some of them being barbed like a fish gig, and others simply pointed. In repairing them they are no less dexterous than in throwing them. A broken one being given by a gentleman to an Indian, he instantly snatched up an oyster-shell, and converted it with his teeth into a tool with which he presently fashioned the spear, and rendered it fit for use: in performing this operation, the sole of his foot served him as a work-board. Nor are their weapons of offence confined to the spear only, for they have besides long wooden swords, shaped like a sabre, capable of inflicting a mortal wound, and clubs of an immense size. Small targets, made of the bark of trees, are likewise now and then to be seen among them. From circumstances which have been observed, we have sometimes been inclined to believe these people at war with each other. They have more than once been seen assembled, as if bent on an expedition. An officer one day met fourteen of them marching along in a regular Indian file through the woods, each man armed with a spear in his right hand, and a large stone in his left: at their head appeared a chief, who was distinguished by being painted. Though in the proportion of five to one of our people they passed peaceably on. That their skill in throwing the spear sometimes enables them to kill the kangaroo we have no right to doubt, as a long splinter of this weapon was taken out of the thigh of one of these animals, over which the flesh had completely closed; but we have never discovered that they have any method of ensnaring them, or that they know any other beasts but the kangaroo and dog. Whatever animal is shewn them, a dog excepted, they call kangaroo: a strong presumption that the wild animals of the country are very few. Soon after our arrival at Port Jackson, I was walking out near a place where I observed a party of Indians, busily employed in looking at some sheep in an inclosure, and repeatedly crying out, 'kangaroo, kangaroo!' As this seemed to afford them pleasure, I was willing to increase it by pointing out the horses and cows, which were at no great distance. But unluckily, at the moment, some female convicts, employed near the place, made their appearance, and all my endeavours to divert their attention from the ladies became fruitless. They attempted not, however, to offer them the least degree of violence or injury, but stood at the distance of several paces, expressing very significantly the manner they were attracted. It would be trespassing on the reader's indulgence were I to impose on him an account of any civil regulations, or ordinances, which may possibly exist among this people. I declare to him, that I know not of any, and that excepting a little tributary respect which the younger part appear to pay those more advanced in years, I never could observe any degrees of subordination among them. To their religious rites and opinions I am equally a stranger. Had an opportunity offered of seeing the ceremonies observed at disposing of the dead, perhaps, some insight might have been gained; but all that we at present know with certainty is, that they burn the corpse, and afterwards heap up the earth around it, somewhat in the manner of the small tumuli, found in many counties of England. I have already hinted, that the country is more populous than it was generally believed to be in Europe at the time of our sailing. But this remark is not meant to be extended to the interior parts of the continent, which there is every reason to conclude from our researches, as well as from the manner of living practised by the natives, to be uninhabited. It appears as if some of the Indian families confine their society and connections within their own pale: but that this cannot always be the case we know; for on the north-west arm of Botany Bay stands a village, which contains more than a dozen houses, and perhaps five times that number of people; being the most considerable establishment that we are acquainted with in the country. As a striking proof, besides, of the numerousness of the natives, I beg leave to state, that Governor Phillip, when on an excursion between the head of this harbour and that of Botany Bay, once fell in with a party which consisted of more than three hundred persons, two hundred and twelve of whom were men: this happened only on the day following the murder of the two convict rush cutters, before noticed, and his Excellency was at the very time in search of the murderers, on whom, could they have been found, he intended to inflict a memorable and exemplary punishment. The meeting was unexpected to both parties, and considering the critical situation of affairs, perhaps not very pleasing to our side, which consisted but of twelve persons, until the peaceable disposition of the Indians was manifest. After the strictest search the Governor was obliged to return without having gained any information. The laudable perseverance of his Excellency to throw every light on this unhappy and mysterious business did not, however stop here, for he instituted the most rigorous inquiry to find out, if possible, whether the convicts had at any time ill treated or killed any of the natives; and farther, issued a proclamation, offering the most tempting of all rewards, a state of freedom, to him who should point out the murderer, in case such an one existed. I have thus impartially stated the situation of matters, as they stand, while I write, between the natives and us; that greater progress in attaching them to us has not been made, I have only to regret; but that all ranks of men have tried to effect it, by every reasonable effort from which success might have been expected, I can testify; nor can I omit saying, that in the higher stations this has been eminently conspicuous. The public orders of Governor Phillip have invariably tended to promote such a behaviour on our side, as was most likely to produce this much wished-for event. To what cause then are we to attribute the distance which the accomplishment of it appears at? I answer, to the fickle, jealous, wavering disposition of the people we have to deal with, who, like all other savages, are either too indolent, too indifferent, or too fearful to form an attachment on easy terms, with those who differ in habits and manners so widely from themselves. Before I close the subject, I cannot, however, omit to relate the following ludicrous adventure, which possibly may be of greater use in effecting what we have so much at heart, than all our endeavours. Some young gentlemen belonging to the Sirius one day met a native, an old man, in the woods; he had a beard of considerable length, which his new acquaintance gave him to understand, by signals, they would rid him of, if he pleased; stroaking their chins, and shewing him the smoothness of them at the same time; at length the old Indian consented, and one of the youngsters taking a penknife from his pocket, and making use of the best substitute for lather he could find, performed the operation with great success, and, as it proved, much to the liking of the old man, who in a few days after reposed a confidence in us, of which we had hitherto known no example, by paddling along-side the Sirius in his canoe, and pointing to his beard. Various arts were ineffectually tried to induce him to enter the ship; but as he continued to decline the invitation, a barber was sent down into the boat along-side the canoe, from whence, leaning over the gunnel, he complied with the wish of the old beau, to his infinite satisfaction. In addition to the consequences which our sanguine hopes led us to expect from this dawning of cordiality, it affords proof, that the beard is considered by this people more as an incumbrance than a mark of dignity. CHAPTER XII. The Departure of the French from Botany Bay; and the Return of the 'Supply' from Norfolk Island; with a Discovery made by Lieutenant Ball on his Passage to it. About the middle of the month our good friends the French departed from Botany Bay, in prosecution of their voyage. During their stay in that port, the officers of the two nations had frequent opportunities of testifying their mutual regard by visits, and every interchange of friendship and esteem. These ships sailed from France, by order of the King, on the 1st of August, 1785, under the command of Monsieur De Perrouse, an officer whose eminent qualifications, we had reason to think, entitle him to fill the highest stations. In England, particularly, he ought long to be remembered with admiration and gratitude, for the humanity which marked his conduct, when ordered to destroy our settlement at Hudson's Bay, in the last war. His second in command was the Chevalier Clonard, an officer also of distinguished merit. In the course of the voyage these ships had been so unfortunate as to lose a boat, with many men and officers in her, off the west of California; and afterwards met with an accident still more to be regretted, at an island in the Pacific Ocean, discovered by Monsieur Bougainville, in the latitude of 14 deg 19 min south, longitude 173 deg 3 min 20 sec east of Paris. Here they had the misfortune to have no less than thirteen of their crews, among whom was the officer at that time second in command, cut off by the natives, and many more desperately wounded. To what cause this cruel event was to be attributed, they knew not, as they were about to quit the island after having lived with the Indians in the greatest harmony for several weeks; and exchanged, during the time, their European commodities for the produce of the place, which they describe as filled with a race of people remarkable for beauty and comeliness; and abounding in refreshments of all kinds. It was no less gratifying to an English ear, than honourable to Monsieur De Perrouse, to witness the feeling manner in which he always mentioned the name and talents of Captain Cook. That illustrious circumnavigator had, he said, left nothing to those who might follow in his track to describe, or fill up. As I found, in the course of conversation, that the French ships had touched at the Sandwich Islands, I asked M. De Perrouse what reception he had met with there. His answer deserves to be known: "During the whole of our voyage in the South Seas, the people of the Sandwich Islands were the only Indians who never gave us cause of complaint. They furnished us liberally with provisions, and administered cheerfully to all our wants." It may not be improper to remark, that Owhyee was not one of the islands visited by this gentleman. In the short stay made by these ships at Botany Bay, an Abbe, one of the naturalists on board, died, and was buried on the north shore. The French had hardly departed, when the natives pulled down a small board, which had been placed over the spot where the corpse was interred, and defaced everything around. On being informed of it, the Governor sent a party over with orders to affix a plate of copper on a tree near the place, with the following inscription on it, which is a copy of what was written on the board: Hic jacet L. RECEVEUR, E.F.F. minnibus Galliae, Sacerdos, Physicus, in circumnavigatione mundi, Duce De La Perrouse. Obiit die 17 Februarii, anno 1788. This mark of respectful attention was more particularly due, from M. De Perrouse having, when at Kamschatka, paid a similar tribute of gratitude to the memory of Captain Clarke, whose tomb was found in nearly as ruinous a state as that of the Abbe. Like ourselves, the French found it necessary, more than once, to chastise a spirit of rapine and intrusion which prevailed among the Indians around the Bay. The menace of pointing a musquet to them was frequently used; and in one or two instances it was fired off, though without being attended with fatal consequences. Indeed the French commandant, both from a regard to the orders of his Court as well as to our quiet and security, shewed a moderation and forbearance on this head highly becoming. On the 20th of March, the 'Supply' arrived from Norfolk Island, after having safely landed Lieutenant King and his little garrison. The pine-trees growing there are described to be of a growth and height superior, perhaps, to any in the world. But the difficulty of bringing them away will not be easily surmounted, from the badness and danger of the landing place. After the most exact search not a single plant of the New Zealand flax could be found, though we had been taught to believe it abounded there. Lieutenant Ball, in returning to Port Jackson, touched at a small island in latitude 31 deg 36 min south, longitude 159 deg 4 min east of Greenwich, which he had been fortunate enough to discover on his passage to Norfolk, and to which he gave the name of Lord Howe's Island. It is entirely without inhabitants, or any traces of any having ever been there. But it happily abounds in what will be infinitely more important to the settlers on New South Wales: green turtle of the finest kind frequent it in the summer season. Of this Mr. Ball gave us some very handsome and acceptable specimens on his return. Besides turtle, the island is well stocked with birds, many of them so tame as to be knocked down by the seamen with sticks. At the distance of four leagues from Lord Howe Island, and in latitude 31 deg 30 min south, longitude 159 deg 8 min east, stands a remarkable rock, of considerable height, to which Mr. Ball gave the name of Ball's Pyramid, from the shape it bears. While the 'Supply' was absent, Governor Phillip made an excursion to Broken Bay, a few leagues to the northward of Port Jackson, in order to explore it. As a harbour it almost equals the latter, but the adjacent country was found so rocky and bare, as to preclude all possibility of turning it to account. Some rivulets of fresh water fall into the head of the Bay, forming a very picturesque scene. The Indians who live on its banks are numerous, and behaved attentively in a variety of instances while our people remained among them. CHAPTER XIII. Transactions at Port Jackson in the Months of April and May. As winter was fast approaching, it became necessary to secure ourselves in quarters, which might shield us from the cold we were taught to expect in this hemisphere, though in so low a latitude. The erection of barracks for the soldiers was projected, and the private men of each company undertook to build for themselves two wooden houses, of sixty-eight feet in length, and twenty-three in breadth. To forward the design, several saw-pits were immediately set to work, and four ship carpenters attached to the battalion, for the purpose of directing and completing this necessary undertaking. In prosecuting it, however, so many difficulties occurred, that we were fain to circumscribe our original intention; and, instead of eight houses, content ourselves with four. And even these, from the badness of the timber, the scarcity of artificers, and other impediments, are, at the day on which I write, so little advanced, that it will be well, if at the close of the year 1788, we shall be established in them. In the meanwhile the married people, by proceeding on a more contracted scale, were soon under comfortable shelter. Nor were the convicts forgotten; and as leisure was frequently afforded them for the purpose, little edifices quickly multiplied on the ground allotted them to build upon. But as these habitations were intended by Governor Phillip to answer only the exigency of the moment, the plan of the town was drawn, and the ground on which it is hereafter to stand surveyed, and marked out. To proceed on a narrow, confined scale, in a country of the extensive limits we possess, would be unpardonable: extent of empire demands grandeur of design. That this has been our view will be readily believed, when I tell the reader, that the principal street in our projected city will be, when completed, agreeable to the plan laid down, two hundred feet in breadth, and all the rest of a corresponding proportion. How far this will be accompanied with adequate dispatch, is another question, as the incredulous among us are sometimes hardy enough to declare, that ten times our strength would not be able to finish it in as many years. Invariably intent on exploring a country, from which curiosity promises so many gratifications, his Excellency about this time undertook an expedition into the interior parts of the continent. His party consisted of eleven persons, who, after being conveyed by water to the head of the harbour, proceeded in a westerly direction, to reach a chain of mountains, which in clear weather are discernible, though at an immense distance, from some heights near our encampment. With unwearied industry they continued to penetrate the country for four days; but at the end of that time, finding the base of the mountain to be yet at the distance of more than twenty miles, and provisions growing scarce, it was judged prudent to return, without having accomplished the end for which the expedition had been undertaken. To reward their toils, our adventurers had, however, the pleasure of discovering and traversing an extensive tract of ground, which they had reason to believe, from the observations they were enabled to make, capable of producing every thing, which a happy soil and genial climate can bring forth. In addition to this flattering appearance, the face of the country is such, as to promise success whenever it shall be cultivated, the trees being at a considerable distance from each other, and the intermediate space filled, not with underwood, but a thick rich grass, growing in the utmost luxuriancy. I must not, however, conceal, that in this long march, our gentlemen found not a single rivulet, but were under a necessity of supplying themselves with water from standing pools, which they met with in the vallies, supposed to be formed by the rains that fall at particular seasons of the year. Nor had they the good fortune to see any quadrupeds worth notice, except a few kangaroos. To their great surprize, they observed indisputable tracks of the natives having been lately there, though in their whole route none of them were to be seen; nor any means to be traced, by which they could procure subsistence so far from the sea shore. On the 6th of May the 'Supply' sailed for Lord Howe Island, to take on board turtle for the settlement; but after waiting there several days was obliged to return without having seen one, owing we apprehended to the advanced season of the year. Three of the transports also, which were engaged by the East India Company to proceed to China, to take on board a lading of tea, sailed about this time for Canton. The unsuccessful return of the 'Supply' cast a general damp on our spirits, for by this time fresh provisions were become scarcer than in a blockaded town. The little live stock, which with so heavy an expense, and through so many difficulties, we had brought on shore, prudence forbade us to use; and fish, which on our arrival, and for a short time after had been tolerable plenty, were become so scarce, as to be rarely seen at the tables of the first among us. Had it not been for a stray kangaroo, which fortune now and then threw in our way, we should have been utter strangers to the taste of fresh food. Thus situated, the scurvy began its usual ravages, and extended its baneful influence, more or less, through all descriptions of persons. Unfortunately the esculent vegetable productions of the country are neither plentiful, nor tend very effectually to remove this disease. And, the ground we had turned up and planted with garden seeds, either from the nature of the soil, or, which is more probable, the lateness of the season, yielded but a scanty and insufficient supply of what we stood so greatly in need of. During the period I am describing, few enormous offences were perpetrated by the convicts. A petty theft was now and then heard of, and a spirit of refractory sullenness broke out at times in some individuals: one execution only, however, took place. The sufferer, who was a very young man, was convicted of a burglary, and met his fate with a hardiness and insensibility, which the grossest ignorance, and most deplorable want of feeling, alone could supply. CHAPTER XIV. From the Beginning of June, to the Departure of the Ships for Europe. Hours of festivity, which under happier skies pass away unregarded, and are soon consigned to oblivion, acquire in this forlorn and distant circle a superior degree of acceptable importance. On the anniversary of the King's birthday all the officers not on duty, both of the garrison and his Majesty's ships, dined with the Governor. On so joyful an occasion, the first too ever celebrated in our new settlement, it were needless to say, that loyal conviviality dictated every sentiment, and inspired every guest. Among other public toasts drank, was, Prosperity to Sydney Cove, in Cumberland county, now named so by authority. At day-light in the morning the ships of war had fired twenty-one guns each, which was repeated at noon, and answered by three vollies from the battalion of marines. Nor were the officers alone partakers of the general relaxation. The four unhappy wretches labouring under sentence of banishment were freed from their fetters, to rejoin their former society; and three days given as holidays to every convict in the colony. Hospitality too, which ever acquires a double relish by being extended, was not forgotten on the 4th of June, when each prisoner, male and female, received an allowance of grog; and every non-commissioned officer and private soldier had the honor of drinking prosperity to his royal master, in a pint of porter, served out at the flag staff, in addition to the customary allowance of spirits. Bonfires concluded the evening, and I am happy to say, that excepting a single instance which shall be taken notice of hereafter, no bad consequence, or unpleasant remembrance, flowed from an indulgence so amply bestowed. About this time (June) an accident happened, which I record with much regret. The whole of our black cattle, consisting of five cows and a bull, either from not being properly secured, or from the negligence of those appointed to take care of them, strayed into the woods, and in spite of all the search we have been able to make, are not yet found. As a convict of the name of Corbet, who was accused of a theft, eloped nearly at the same time, it was at first believed, that he had taken the desperate measure of driving off the cattle, in order to subsist on them as long as possible; or perhaps to deliver them to the natives. In this uncertainty, parties to search were sent out in different directions; and the fugitive declared an outlaw, in case of not returning by a fixed day. After much anxiety and fatigue, those who had undertaken the task returned without finding the cattle. But on the 21st of the month, Corbet made his appearance near a farm belonging to the Governor, and entreated a convict, who happened to be on the spot, to give him some food, as he was perishing for hunger. The man applied to, under pretence of fetching what he asked for, went away and immediately gave the necessary information, in consequence of which a party under arms was sent out and apprehended him. When the poor wretch was brought in, he was greatly emaciated and almost famished. But on proper restoratives being administered, he was so far recovered by the 24th, as to be able to stand his trial, when he pleaded Guilty to the robbery with which he stood charged, and received sentence of death. In the course of repeated examinations it plainly appeared, he was an utter stranger to the place where the cattle might be, and was in no shape concerned in having driven them off. Samuel Peyton, convict, for having on the evening of the King's birth-day broke open an officer's marquee, with an intent to commit robbery, of which he was fully convicted, had sentence of death passed on him at the same time as Corbet; and on the following day they were both executed, confessing the justness of their fate, and imploring the forgiveness of those whom they had injured. Peyton, at the time of his suffering, was but twenty years of age, the greatest part of which had been invariably passed in the commission of crimes, that at length terminated in his ignominious end. The following letter, written by a fellow convict to the sufferer's unhappy mother, I shall make no apology for presenting to the reader; it affords a melancholy proof, that not the ignorant and untaught only have provoked the justice of their country to banish them to this remote region. Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, New South Wales, 24th June, 1788. "My dear and honoured mother! "With a heart oppressed by the keenest sense of anguish, and too much agitated by the idea of my very melancholy condition, to express my own sentiments, I have prevailed on the goodness of a commiserating friend, to do me the last sad office of acquainting you with the dreadful fate that awaits me. "My dear mother! with what agony of soul do I dedicate the few last moments of my life, to bid you an eternal adieu! my doom being irrevocably fixed, and ere this hour to-morrow I shall have quitted this vale of wretchedness, to enter into an unknown and endless eternity. I will not distress your tender maternal feelings by any long comment on the cause of my present misfortune. Let it therefore suffice to say, that impelled by that strong propensity to evil, which neither the virtuous precepts nor example of the best of parents could eradicate, I have at length fallen an unhappy, though just, victim to my own follies. "Too late I regret my inattention to your admonitions, and feel myself sensibly affected by the remembrance of the many anxious moments you have passed on my account. For these, and all my other transgressions, however great, I supplicate the Divine forgiveness; and encouraged by the promises of that Saviour who died for us all, I trust to receive that mercy in the world to come, which my offences have deprived me of all hope, or expectation of, in this. The affliction which this will cost you, I hope the Almighty will enable you to bear. Banish from your memory all my former indiscretions, and let the cheering hope of a happy meeting hereafter, console you for my loss. Sincerely penitent for my sins; sensible of the justice of my conviction and sentence, and firmly relying on the merits of a Blessed Redeemer, I am at perfect peace with all mankind, and trust I shall yet experience that peace, which this world cannot give. Commend my soul to the Divine mercy. I bid you an eternal farewell. "Your unhappy dying Son, "SAMUEL PEYTON." After this nothing occurred with which I think it necessary to trouble the reader. The contents of the following chapters could not, I conceive, be so properly interwoven in the body of the work; I have, therefore, assigned them a place by themselves, with a view that the conclusions adopted in them may be more strongly enforced on the minds of those, to whom they are more particularly addressed. CHAPTER XV. The Face of the Country; its Productions, Climate, &c. To the geographical knowledge of this country, supplied by Captain Cook, and Captain Furneaux, we are able to add nothing. The latter explored the coast from Van Diemen's land to the latitude of 39 deg south; and Cook from Point Hicks, which lies in 37 deg 58 min, to Endeavour Streights. The intermediate space between the end of Furneaux's discovery and Point Hicks, is, therefore, the only part of the south-east coast unknown, and it so happened on our passage thither, owing to the weather, which forbade any part of the ships engaging with the shore, that we are unable to pronounce whether, or not, a streight intersects the continent hereabouts: though I beg leave to say, that I have been informed by a naval friend, that when the fleet was off this part of the coast, a strong set-off shore was plainly felt. At the distance of 60 miles inland, a prodigious chain of lofty mountains runs nearly in a north and south direction, further than the eye can trace them. Should nothing intervene to prevent it, the Governor intends, shortly, to explore their summits: and, I think there can be little doubt, that his curiosity will not go unrewarded. If large rivers do exist in the country, which some of us are almost sceptical enough to doubt, their sources must arise amidst these hills; and the direction they run in, for a considerable distance, must be either due north, or due south. For it is strikingly singular that three such noble harbours as Botany Bay, Port Jackson, and Broken Bay, alike end in shallows and swamps, filled with mangroves. The general face of the country is certainly pleasing, being diversified with gentle ascents, and little winding vallies, covered for the most part with large spreading trees, which afford a succession of leaves in all seasons. In those places where trees are scarce, a variety of flowering shrubs abound, most of them entirely new to an European, and surpassing in beauty, fragrance, and number, all I ever saw in an uncultivated state: among these, a tall shrub, bearing an elegant white flower, which smells like English May, is particularly delightful, and perfumes the air around to a great distance. The species of trees are few, and, I am concerned to add, the wood universally of so bad a grain, as almost to preclude a possibility of using it: the increase of labour occasioned by this in our buildings has been such, as nearly to exceed belief. These trees yield a profusion of thick red gum (not unlike the 'sanguis draconis') which is found serviceable in medicine, particularly in dysenteric complaints, where it has sometimes succeeded, when all other preparations have failed. To blunt its acrid qualities, it is usual to combine it with opiates. The nature of the soil is various. That immediately round Sydney Cove is sandy, with here and there a stratum of clay. From the sand we have yet been able to draw very little; but there seems no reason to doubt, that many large tracts of land around us will bring to perfection whatever shall be sown in them. To give this matter a fair trial, some practical farmers capable of such an undertaking should be sent out; for the spots we have chosen for experiments in agriculture, in which we can scarce be supposed adepts, have hitherto but ill repaid our toil, which may be imputable to our having chosen such as are unfavourable for our purpose. Except from the size of the trees, the difficulties of clearing the land are not numerous, underwood being rarely found, though the country is not absolutely without it. Of the natural meadows which Mr. Cook mentions near Botany Bay, we can give no account; none such exist about Port Jackson. Grass, however, grows in every place but the swamps with the greatest vigour and luxuriancy, though it is not of the finest quality, and is found to agree better with horses and cows than sheep. A few wild fruits are sometimes procured, among which is the small purple apple mentioned by Cook, and a fruit which has the appearance of a grape, though in taste more like a green gooseberry, being excessively sour: probably were it meliorated by cultivation, it would become more palatable. Fresh water, as I have said before, is found but in inconsiderable quantities. For the common purposes of life there is generally enough; but we know of no stream in the country capable of turning a mill: and the remark made by Mr. Anderson, of the dryness of the country round Adventure Bay, extends without exception to every part of it which we have penetrated. Previous to leaving England I remember to have frequently heard it asserted, that the discovery of mines was one of the secondary objects of the expedition. Perhaps there are mines; but as no person competent to form a decision is to be found among us, I wish no one to adopt an idea, that I mean to impress him with such a belief, when I state, that individuals, whose judgements are not despicable, are willing to think favourably of this conjecture, from specimens of ore seen in many of the stones picked up here. I cannot quit this subject without regretting, that some one capable of throwing a better light on it, is not in the colony. Nor can I help being equally concerned, that an experienced botanist was not sent out, for the purpose of collecting and describing the rare and beautiful plants with which the country abounds. Indeed, we flattered ourselves, when at the Cape of Good Hope, that Mason, the King's botanical gardener, who was employed there in collecting for the royal nursery at Kew, would have joined us, but it seems his orders and engagements prevented him from quitting that beaten track, to enter on this scene of novelty and variety. To the naturalist this country holds out many invitations. Birds, though not remarkably numerous, are in great variety, and of the most exquisite beauty of plumage, among which are the cockatoo, lory, and parroquet; but the bird which principally claims attention is, a species of ostrich, approaching nearer to the emu of South America than any other we know of. One of them was shot, at a considerable distance, with a single ball, by a convict employed for that purpose by the Governor; its weight, when complete, was seventy pounds, and its length from the end of the toe to the tip of the beak, seven feet two inches, though there was reason to believe it had not attained its full growth. On dissection many anatomical singularities were observed: the gall-bladder was remarkably large, the liver not bigger than that of a barn-door fowl, and after the strictest search no gizzard could be found; the legs, which were of a vast length, were covered with thick, strong scales, plainly indicating the animal to be formed for living amidst deserts; and the foot differed from an ostrich's by forming a triangle, instead of being cloven. Goldsmith, whose account of the emu is the only one I can refer to, says, "that it is covered from the back and rump with long feathers, which fall backward, and cover the anus; these feathers are grey on the back, and white on the belly." The wings are so small as hardly to deserve the name, and are unfurnished with those beautiful ornaments which adorn the wings of the ostrich: all the feathers are extremely coarse, but the construction of them deserves notice--they grow in pairs from a single shaft, a singularity which the author I have quoted has omitted to remark. It may be presumed, that these birds are not very scarce, as several have been seen, some of them immensely large, but they are so wild, as to make shooting them a matter of great difficulty. Though incapable of flying, they run with such swiftness, that our fleetest greyhounds are left far behind in every attempt to catch them. The flesh was eaten, and tasted like beef. Besides the emu, many birds of prodigious size have been seen, which promise to increase the number of those described by naturalists, whenever we shall be fortunate enough to obtain them; but among these the bat of the Endeavour River is not to be found. In the woods are various little songsters, whose notes are equally sweet and plaintive. Of quadrupeds, except the kangaroo, I have little to say. The few met with are almost invariably of the opossum tribe, but even these do not abound. To beasts of prey we are utter strangers, nor have we yet any cause to believe that they exist in the country. And happy it is for us that they do not, as their presence would deprive us of the only fresh meals the settlement affords, the flesh of the kangaroo. This singular animal is already known in Europe by the drawing and description of Mr. Cook. To the drawing nothing can be objected but the position of the claws of the hinder leg, which are mixed together like those of a dog, whereas no such indistinctness is to be found in the animal I am describing. It was the Chevalier De Perrouse who pointed out this to me, while we were comparing a kangaroo with the plate, which, as he justly observed, is correct enough to give the world in general a good idea of the animal, but not sufficiently accurate for the man of science. Of the natural history of the kangaroo we are still very ignorant. We may, however, venture to pronounce this animal, a new species of opossum, the female being furnished with a bag, in which the young is contained; and in which the teats are found. These last are only two in number, a strong presumptive proof, had we no other evidence, that the kangaroo brings forth rarely more than one at a birth. But this is settled beyond a doubt, from more than a dozen females having been killed, which had invariably but one formed in the pouch. Notwithstanding this, the animal may be looked on as prolific, from the early age it begins to breed at, kangaroos with young having been taken of not more than thirty pounds weight; and there is room to believe that when at their utmost growth, they weigh not less than one hundred and fifty pounds. A male of one hundred and thirty pounds weight has been killed, whose dimensions were as follows: ------------------------------------------------------------------ Feet. Inches. Extreme length 7 3 Ditt of the tail 3 4 1/2 Ditto of the hinder legs 3 2 Ditto of the fore paws 1 7 1/2 Circumference of the tail of the root 1 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------ After this perhaps I shall hardly be credited, when I affirm that the kangaroo on being brought forth is not larger than an English mouse. It is, however, in my power to speak positively on this head, as I have seen more than one instance of it. In running, this animal confines himself entirely to his hinder, legs, which are possessed with an extraordinary muscular power. Their speed is very great, though not in general quite equal to that of a greyhound; but when the greyhounds are so fortunate as to seize them, they are incapable of retaining their hold, from the amazing struggles of the animal. The bound of the kangaroo, when not hard pressed, has been measured, and found to exceed twenty feet. At what time of the year they copulate, and in what manner, we know not: the testicles of the male are placed contrary to the usual order of nature. When young the kangaroo eats tender and well flavoured, tasting like veal, but the old ones are more tough and stringy than bullbeef. They are not carnivorous, and subsist altogether on particular flowers and grass. Their bleat is mournful, and very different from that of any other animal: it is, however, seldom heard but in the young ones. Fish, which our sanguine hopes led us to expect in great quantities, do not abound. In summer they are tolerably plentiful, but for some months past very few have been taken. Botany Bay in this respect exceeds Port Jackson. The French once caught near two thousand fish in one day, of a species of grouper, to which, from the form of a bone in the head resembling a helmet, we have given the name of light horseman. To this may be added bass, mullets, skait, soles, leather-jackets, and many other species, all so good in their kind, as to double our regret at their not being more numerous. Sharks of an enormous size are found here. One of these was caught by the people on board the Sirius, which measured at the shoulders six feet and a half in circumference. His liver yielded twenty-four gallons of oil; and in his stomach was found the head of a shark, which had been thrown overboard from the same ship. The Indians, probably from having felt the effects of their voracious fury, testify the utmost horror on seeing these terrible fish. Venomous animals and reptiles are rarely seen. Large snakes beautifully variegated have been killed, but of the effect of their bites we are happily ignorant. Insects, though numerous, are by no means, even in summer, so troublesome as I have found them in America, the West Indies, and other countries. The climate is undoubtedly very desirable to live in. In summer the heats are usually moderated by the sea breeze, which sets in early; and in winter the degree of cold is so slight as to occasion no inconvenience; once or twice we have had hoar frosts and hail, but no appearance of snow. The thermometer has never risen beyond 84, nor fallen lower than 35, in general it stood in the beginning of February at between 78 and 74 at noon. Nor is the temperature of the air less healthy than pleasant. Those dreadful putrid fevers by which new countries are so often ravaged, are unknown to us: and excepting a slight diarrhoea, which prevailed soon after we had landed, and was fatal in very few instances, we are strangers to epidemic diseases. On the whole, (thunder storms in the hot months excepted) I know not any climate equal to this I write in. Ere we had been a fortnight on shore we experienced some storms of thunder accompanied with rain, than which nothing can be conceived more violent and tremendous, and their repetition for several days, joined to the damage they did, by killing several of our sheep, led us to draw presages of an unpleasant nature. Happily, however, for many months we have escaped any similar visitations. CHAPTER XVI. The Progress made in the Settlement; and the Situation of Affairs at the Time of the Ship, which conveys this Account, sailing for England. For the purpose of expediting the public work, the male convicts have been divided into gangs, over each of which a person, selected from among themselves, is placed. It is to be regretted that Government did not take this matter into consideration before we left England, and appoint proper persons with reasonable salaries to execute the office of overseers; as the consequence of our present imperfect plan is such, as to defeat in a great measure the purposes for which the prisoners were sent out. The female convicts have hitherto lived in a state of total idleness; except a few who are kept at work in making pegs for tiles, and picking up shells for burning into lime. For the last time I repeat, that the behaviour of all classes of these people since our arrival in the settlement has been better than could, I think, have been expected from them. Temporary wooden storehouses covered with thatch or shingles, in which the cargoes of all the ships have been lodged, are completed; and an hospital is erected. Barracks for the military are considerably advanced; and little huts to serve, until something more permanent can be finished, have been raised on all sides. Notwithstanding this the encampments of the marines and convicts are still kept up; and to secure their owners from the coldness of the nights, are covered in with bushes, and thatched over. The plan of a town I have already said is marked out. And as freestone of an excellent quality abounds, one requisite towards the completion of it is attained. Only two houses of stone are yet begun, which are intended for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor. One of the greatest impediments we meet with is a want of limestone, of which no signs appear. Clay for making bricks is in plenty, and a considerable quantity of them burned and ready for use. In enumerating the public buildings I find I have been so remiss as to omit an observatory, which is erected at a small distance from the encampments. It is nearly completed, and when fitted up with the telescopes and other astronomical instruments sent out by the Board of Longitude, will afford a desirable retreat from the listlessness of a camp evening at Port Jackson. One of the principal reasons which induced the Board to grant this apparatus was, for the purpose of enabling Lieutenant Dawes, of the marines, (to whose care it is intrusted) to make observations on a comet which is shortly expected to appear in the southern hemisphere. The latitude of the observatory, from the result of more than three hundred observations, is fixed at 33 deg 52 min 30 sec south, and the longitude at 151 deg 16 min 30 sec east of Greenwich. The latitude of the south head which forms the entrance of the harbour, 33 deg 51 min, and that of the north head opposite to it at 33 deg 49 min 45 sec south. Since landing here our military force has suffered a diminution of only three persons, a serjeant and two privates. Of the convicts fifty-four have perished, including the executions. Amidst the causes of this mortality, excessive toil and a scarcity of food are not to be numbered, as the reader will easily conceive, when informed, that they have the same allowance of provisions as every officer and soldier in the garrison; and are indulged by being exempted from labour every Saturday afternoon and Sunday. On the latter of those days they are expected to attend divine service, which is performed either within one of the storehouses, or under a great tree in the open air, until a church can be built. Amidst our public labours, that no fortified post, or place of security, is yet begun, may be a matter of surprise. Were an emergency in the night to happen, it is not easy to say what might not take place before troops, scattered about in an extensive encampment, could be formed, so as to act. An event that happened a few evenings since may, perhaps, be the means of forwarding this necessary work. In the dead of night the centinels on the eastern side of the cove were alarmed by the voices of the Indians, talking near their posts. The soldiers on this occasion acted with their usual firmness, and without creating a disturbance, acquainted the officer of the guard with the circumstance, who immediately took every precaution to prevent an attack, and at the same time gave orders that no molestation, while they continued peaceable, should be offered them. From the darkness of the night, and the distance they kept at, it was not easy to ascertain their number, but from the sound of the voices and other circumstances, it was calculated at near thirty. To their intentions in honouring us with this visit (the only one we have had from them in the last five months) we are strangers, though most probably it was either with a view to pilfer, or to ascertain in what security we slept, and the precautions we used in the night. When the bells of the ships in the harbour struck the hour of the night, and the centinels called out on their posts "All's well," they observed a dead silence, and continued it for some minutes, though talking with the greatest earnestness and vociferation but the moment before. After having remained a considerable time they departed without interchanging a syllable with our people. CHAPTER XVII. Some Thoughts on the Advantages which may arise to the Mother Country from forming the Colony. The author of these sheets would subject himself to the charge of presumption, were he to aim at developing the intentions of Government in forming this settlement. But without giving offence, or incurring reproach, he hopes his opinion on the probability of advantage to be drawn from hence by Great Britain, may be fairly made known. If only a receptacle for convicts be intended, this place stands unequalled from the situation, extent, and nature of the country. When viewed in a commercial light, I fear its insignificance will appear very striking. The New Zealand hemp, of which so many sanguine expectations were formed, is not a native of the soil; and Norfolk Island, where we made sure to find this article, is also without it. So that the scheme of being able to assist the East Indies with naval stores, in case of a war, must fall to the ground, both from this deficiency, and the quality of the timber growing here. Were it indeed possible to transport that of Norfolk Island, its value would be found very great, but the difficulty, from the surf, I am well informed, is so insuperable as to forbid the attempt. Lord Howe Island, discovered by Lieut. Ball, though an inestimable acquisition to our colony, produces little else than the mountain cabbage tree. Should a sufficient military force be sent out to those employed in cultivating the ground, I see no room to doubt, that in the course of a few years, the country will be able to yield grain enough for the support of its new possessors. But to effect this, our present limits must be greatly extended, which will require detachments of troops not to be spared from the present establishment. And admitting the position, the parent country will still have to supply us for a much longer time with every other necessary of life. For after what we have seen, the idea of being soon able to breed cattle sufficient for our consumption, must appear chimerical and absurd. From all which it is evident, that should Great Britain neglect to send out regular supplies, the most fatal consequences will ensue. Speculators who may feel inclined to try their fortunes here, will do well to weigh what I have said. If golden dreams of commerce and wealth flatter their imaginations, disappointment will follow: the remoteness of situation, productions of the country, and want of connection with other parts of the world, justify me in the assertion. But to men of small property, unambitious of trade, and wishing for retirement, I think the continent of New South Wales not without inducements. One of this description, with letters of recommendation, and a sufficient capital (after having provided for his passage hither) to furnish him with an assortment of tools for clearing land, agricultural and domestic purposes; possessed also of a few household utensils, a cow, a few sheep and breeding sows, would, I am of opinion, with proper protection and encouragement, succeed in obtaining a comfortable livelihood, were he well assured before he quitted his native country, that a provision for him until he might be settled, should be secured; and that a grant of land on his arrival would be allotted him. That this adventurer, if of a persevering character and competent knowledge, might in the course of ten years bring matters into such a train as to render himself comfortable and independent, I think highly probable. The superfluities of his farm would enable him to purchase European commodities from the masters of ships, which will arrive on Government account, sufficient to supply his wants. But beyond this he ought not to reckon, for admitting that he might meet with success in raising tobacco, rice, indigo, or vineyards (for which last I think the soil and climate admirably adapted), the distance of a mart to vend them at, would make the expense of transportation so excessive, as to cut off all hopes of a reasonable profit; nor can there be consumers enough here to take them off his hands, for so great a length of time to come, as I shall not be at the trouble of computing. Should then any one, induced by this account, emigrate hither, let him, before he quits England, provide all his wearing apparel for himself, family, and servants; his furniture, tools of every kind, and implements of husbandry (among which a plough need not be included, as we make use of the hoe), for he will touch at no place where they can be purchased to advantage. If his sheep and hogs are English also, it will be better. For wines, spirits, tobacco, sugar, coffee, tea, rice, poultry, and many other articles, he may venture to rely on at Teneriffe or Madeira, the Brazils and Cape of Good Hope. It will not be his interest to draw bills on his voyage out, as the exchange of money will be found invariably against him, and a large discount also deducted. Drafts on the place he is to touch at, or cash (dollars if possible) will best answer his end. To men of desperate fortune and the lowest classes of the people, unless they can procure a passage as indented servants, similar to the custom practised of emigrating to America, this part of the world offers no temptation: for it can hardly be supposed, that Government will be fond of maintaining them here until they can be settled, and without such support they must starve. Of the Governor's instructions and intentions relative to the disposal of the convicts, when the term of their transportation shall be expired, I am ignorant. They will then be free men, and at liberty, I apprehend, either to settle in the country, or to return to Europe. The former will be attended with some public expense; and the latter, except in particular cases, will be difficult to accomplish, from the numberless causes which prevent a frequent communication between England and this continent. POSTSCRIPT Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, New South Wales. October 1st, 1788. Little material has occurred in this colony since the departure of the ships for England, on the 14th July last. On the 20th of that month His Majesty's ship Supply, Captain Ball, sailed for Norfolk Island, and returned on the 26th August. Our accounts from thence are more favourable than were expected. The soil proves admirably adapted to produce all kinds of grain, and European vegetables. But the discovery which constitutes its value is the New Zealand flax, plants of which are found growing in every part of the island in the utmost luxuriancy and abundance. This will, beyond doubt, appear strange to the reader after what has been related in the former part of my work: and in future, let the credit of the testimony be as high as it may, I shall never without diffidence and hesitation presume to contradict the narrations of Mr. Cook. The truth is, that those sent to settle and explore the island knew not the form in which the plant grows, and were unfurnished with every particular which could lead to a knowledge of it. Unaccountable as this may sound, it is, nevertheless, incontestably true. Captain Ball brought away with him several specimens for inspection, and, on trial, by some flax-dressers among us, the threads produced from them, though coarse, are pronounced to be stronger, more likely to be durable, and fitter for every purpose of manufacturing cordage, than any they ever before dressed. Every research has been made by those on the island to find a landing-place, whence it might be practicable to ship off the timber growing there, but hitherto none has been discovered. A plan, however, for making one has been laid before the Governor, and is at present under consideration, though (in the opinion of many here) it is not such an one as will be found to answer the end proposed. Lieut. King and his little garrison were well when the 'Supply' left them: but I am sorry to add, that, from casualties, their number is already five less than it originally was. A ship from hence is ready to sail with an increase of force, besides many convicts for the purpose of sawing up timber, and turning the flax-plant to advantage. So much for Norfolk. In Port Jackson all is quiet and stupid as could be wished. We generally hear the lie of the day as soon as the beating of the Reveille announces the return of it; find it contradicted by breakfast time; and pursue a second through all its varieties, until night, welcome as to a lover, gives us to sleep and dream ourselves transported to happier climes. Let me not, however, neglect telling you the little news which presents itself. All descriptions of men enjoy the highest state of health; and the convicts continue to behave extremely well. A gang of one hundred of them, guarded by a captain, two subalterns and 20 marines, is about to be sent up to the head of the harbour, at the distance of 3 leagues, in a westerly direction, from Sydney Cove, for the purpose of establishing a settlement there. The convicts are to be employed in putting the land around into cultivation, as it appears to be of a more promising nature than that near the encampment. Indeed this last hitherto succeeds but very indifferently, though I do not yet despair, that when good seeds can be procured, our toil will be better rewarded. But as this is an event at a distance, and in itself very precarious, Governor Phillip has determined on procuring a supply of flour and other necessaries from the Cape of Good Hope, as our stock on hand is found to be, on examination, not quite so ample as had been reckoned upon. To execute this purpose his Excellency has ordered the Sirius to prepare for the voyage; by which conveyance the opportunity of writing to you is afforded me. It was at first intended to dispatch the Sirius to some of the neighbouring islands (the Friendly or Society) in the Pacific Ocean, to procure stock there, but the uselessness of the scheme, joined to the situation of matters here, has, happily for us, prevented its being put into execution. 
3534	----	whitespace; small checks; italics; poetry; dashes A COMPLETE ACCOUNT OF THE SETTLEMENT AT PORT JACKSON by Watkin Tench PREFACE When it is recollected how much has been written to describe the Settlement of New South Wales, it seems necessary if not to offer an apology, yet to assign a reason, for an additional publication. The Author embarked in the fleet which sailed to found the establishment at Botany Bay. He shortly after published a Narrative of the Proceedings and State of the Colony, brought up to the beginning of July, 1788, which was well received, and passed through three editions. This could not but inspire both confidence and gratitude; but gratitude, would be badly manifested were he on the presumption of former favour to lay claim to present indulgence. He resumes the subject in the humble hope of communicating information, and increasing knowledge, of the country, which he describes. He resided at Port Jackson nearly four years: from the 20th of January, 1788, until the 18th of December, 1791. To an active and contemplative mind, a new country is an inexhaustible source of curiosity and speculation. It was the author's custom not only to note daily occurrences, and to inspect and record the progression of improvement; but also, when not prevented by military duties, to penetrate the surrounding country in different directions, in order to examine its nature, and ascertain its relative geographical situations. The greatest part of the work is inevitably composed of those materials which a journal supplies; but wherever reflections could be introduced without fastidiousness and parade, he has not scrupled to indulge them, in common with every other deviation which the strictness of narrative would allow. When this publication was nearly ready for the press; and when many of the opinions which it records had been declared, fresh accounts from Port Jackson were received. To the state of a country, where so many anxious trying hours of his life have passed, the author cannot feel indifferent. If by any sudden revolution of the laws of nature; or by any fortunate discovery of those on the spot, it has really become that fertile and prosperous land, which some represent it to be, he begs permission to add his voice to the general congratulation. He rejoices at its success: but it is only justice to himself and those with whom he acted to declare, that they feel no cause of reproach that so complete and happy an alteration did not take place at an earlier period. CHAPTER I. A Retrospect of the State of the Colony of Port Jackson, on the Date of my former Narrative, in July, 1788. Previous to commencing any farther account of the subject, which I am about to treat, such a retrospection of the circumstances and situation of the settlement, at the conclusion of my former Narrative, as shall lay its state before the reader, seems necessary, in order to connect the present with the past. The departure of the first fleet of ships for Europe, on the 14th of July, 1788, had been long impatiently expected; and had filled us with anxiety, to communicate to our friends an account of our situation; describing the progress of improvement, and the probability of success, or failure, in our enterprise. That men should judge very oppositely on so doubtful and precarious an event, will hardly surprise. Such relations could contain little besides the sanguineness of hope, and the enumeration of hardships and difficulties, which former accounts had not led us to expect. Since our disembarkation in the preceding January, the efforts of every one had been unremittingly exerted, to deposit the public stores in a state of shelter and security, and to erect habitations for ourselves. We were eager to escape from tents, where a fold of canvas, only, interposed to check the vertic beams of the sun in summer, and the chilling blasts of the south in winter. A markee pitched, in our finest season, on an English lawn; or a transient view of those gay camps, near the metropolis, which so many remember, naturally draws forth careless and unmeaning exclamations of rapture, which attach ideas of pleasure only, to this part of a soldier's life. But an encampment amidst the rocks and wilds of a new country, aggravated by the miseries of bad diet, and incessant toil, will find few admirers. Nor were our exertions less unsuccessful than they were laborious. Under wretched covers of thatch lay our provisions and stores, exposed to destruction from every flash of lightning, and every spark of fire. A few of the convicts had got into huts; but almost all the officers, and the whole of the soldiery, were still in tents. In such a situation, where knowledge of the mechanic arts afforded the surest recommendation to notice, it may be easily conceived, that attention to the parade duty of the troops, gradually diminished. Now were to be seen officers and soldiers not "trailing the puissant pike" but felling the ponderous gum-tree, or breaking the stubborn clod. And though "the broad falchion did not in a ploughshare end" the possession of a spade, a wheelbarrow, or a dunghill, was more coveted than the most refulgent arms in which heroism ever dazzled. Those hours, which in other countries are devoted to martial acquirements, were here consumed in the labours of the sawpit, the forge and the quarry*. [* "The Swedish prisoners, taken at the battle of Pultowa, were transported by the Czar Peter to the most remote parts of Siberia, with a view to civilize the natives of the country, and teach them the arts the Swedes possessed. In this hopeless situation, all traces of discipline and subordination, between the different ranks, were quickly obliterated. The soldiers, who were husbandmen and artificers, found out their superiority, and assumed it: the officers became their servants." VOLTAIRE.] Of the two ships of war, the 'Sirius' and 'Supply', the latter was incessantly employed in transporting troops, convicts, and stores, to Norfolk Island; and the 'Sirius' in preparing for a voyage to some port, where provisions for our use might be purchased, the expected supply from England not having arrived. It is but justice to the officers and men of both these ships to add, that, on all occasions, they fully shared every hardship and fatigue with those on shore. On the convicts the burden fell yet heavier: necessity compelled us to allot to them the most slavish and laborious employments. Those operations, which in other countries are performed by the brute creation, were here effected by the exertions of men: but this ought not to be considered a grievance; because they had always been taught to expect it, as the inevitable consequence of their offences against society. Severity was rarely exercised on them; and justice was administered without partiality or discrimination. Their ration of provisions, except in being debarred from an allowance of spirits, was equal to that which the marines received. Under these circumstances I record with pleasure, that they behaved better than had been predicted of them--to have expected sudden and complete reformation of conduct, were romantic and chimerical. Our cultivation of the land was yet in its infancy. We had hitherto tried only the country contiguous to Sydney. Here the governor had established a government-farm; at the head of which a competent person of his own household was placed, with convicts to work under him. Almost the whole of the officers likewise accepted of small tracts of ground, for the purpose of raising grain and vegetables: but experience proved to us, that the soil would produce neither without manure; and as this was not to be procured, our vigour soon slackened; and most of the farms (among which was the one belonging to government) were successively abandoned. With the natives we were very little more acquainted than on our arrival in the country. Our intercourse with them was neither frequent or cordial. They seemed studiously to avoid us, either from fear, jealousy, or hatred. When they met with unarmed stragglers, they sometimes killed, and sometimes wounded them. I confess that, in common with many others, I was inclined to attribute this conduct, to a spirit of malignant levity. But a farther acquaintance with them, founded on several instances of their humanity and generosity, which shall be noticed in their proper places, has entirely reversed my opinion; and led me to conclude, that the unprovoked outrages committed upon them, by unprincipled individuals among us, caused the evils we had experienced. To prevent them from being plundered of their fishing-tackle and weapons of war, a proclamation was issued, forbidding their sale among us; but it was not attended with the good effect which was hoped for from it. During this period, notwithstanding the want of fresh provisions and vegetables, and almost constant exposure to the vicissitudes of a variable climate, disease rarely attacked us; and the number of deaths, was too inconsiderable to deserve mention. Norfolk Island had been taken possession of, by a party detached for that purpose, early after our arrival. Few accounts of it had yet reached us. And here I beg leave to observe, that as I can speak of this island only from the relations of others, never having myself been there, I shall in every part of this work mention it as sparingly as possible. And this more especially, as it seems probable, that some of those gentlemen, who from accurate knowledge, and long residence on it, are qualified to write its history, will oblige the world with such a publication. CHAPTER II. Transactions of the Colony from the sailing of the First Fleet in July, 1788, to the Close of that Year. It was impossible to behold without emotion the departure of the ships. On their speedy arrival in England perhaps hinged our fate; by hastening our supplies to us. On the 20th of July, the 'Supply' sailed for Norfolk Island, and returned to us on the 26th of August; bringing no material news, except that the soil was found to suit grain, and other seeds, which had been sown in it, and that a species of flax-plant was discovered to grow spontaneously on the island. A survey of the harbour of Port Jackson was now undertaken, in order to compute the number of canoes, and inhabitants, which it might contain: sixty-seven canoes, and 147 people were counted. No estimate, however, of even tolerable accuracy, can be drawn from so imperfect a datum; though it was perhaps the best in our power to acquire. In July and August, we experienced more inclement tempestuous weather than had been observed at any former period of equal duration. And yet it deserves to be remarked, in honour of the climate, that, although our number of people exceeded 900, not a single death happened in the latter month. The dread of want in a country destitute of natural resource is ever peculiarly terrible. We had long turned our eyes with impatience towards the sea, cheered by the hope of seeing supplies from England approach. But none arriving, on the 2d of October the 'Sirius' sailed for the Cape of Good Hope, with directions to purchase provisions there, for the use of our garrison. A new settlement, named by the governor Rose Hill, 16 miles inland, was established on the 3d of November, the soil here being judged better than that around Sydney. A small redoubt was thrown up, and a captain's detachment posted in it, to protect the convicts who were employed to cultivate the ground. The two last of the transports left us for England on the 19th of November, intending to make their passage by Cape Horn. There now remained with us only the 'Supply'. Sequestered and cut off as we were from the rest of civilized nature, their absence carried the effect of desolation. About this time a convict, of the name of Daly, was hanged, for a burglary: this culprit, who was a notorious thief and impostor, was the author of a discovery of a gold mine, a few months before: a composition resembling ore mingled with earth, which he pretended to have brought from it, he produced. After a number of attendant circumstances, too ludicrous and contemptible to relate, which befell a party, who were sent under his guidance to explore this second Peru, he at last confessed, that he had broken up an old pair of buckles, and mixed the pieces with sand and stone; and on assaying the composition, the brass was detected. The fate of this fellow I should not deem worth recording, did it not lead to the following observation, that the utmost circumspection is necessary to prevent imposition, in those who give accounts of what they see in unknown countries. We found the convicts particularly happy in fertility of invention, and exaggerated descriptions. Hence large fresh water rivers, valuable ores, and quarries of limestone, chalk, and marble, were daily proclaimed soon after we had landed. At first we hearkened with avidity to such accounts; but perpetual disappointments taught us to listen with caution, and to believe from demonstration only. Unabated animosity continued to prevail between the natives and us: in addition to former losses, a soldier and several convicts suddenly disappeared, and were never afterwards heard of. Three convicts were also wounded, and one killed by them, near Botany Bay: similar to the vindictive spirit which Mr. Cook found to exist among their countrymen at Endeavour River, they more than once attempted to set fire to combustible matter, in order to annoy us. Early on the morning of the 18th of December, word was brought that they were assembled in force, near the brick-kilns, which stand but a mile from the town of Sydney. The terror of those who brought the first intelligence magnified the number to two thousand; a second messenger diminished it to four hundred. A detachment, under the command of an officer was ordered to march immediately, and reconnoitre them. The officer soon returned, and reported, that about fifty Indians had appeared at the brick-kilns; but upon the convicts, who were at work there, pointing their spades and shovels at them, in the manner of guns, they had fled into the woods. Tired of this state of petty warfare and endless uncertainty, the governor at length determined to adopt a decisive measure, by capturing some of them, and retaining them by force; which we supposed would either inflame the rest to signal vengeance, in which case we should know the worst, and provide accordingly: or else it would induce an intercourse, by the report which our prisoners would make of the mildness and indulgence with which we used them. And farther, it promised to unveil the cause of their mysterious conduct, by putting us in possession of their reasons for harassing and destroying our people, in the manner I have related. Boats were accordingly ordered to be got ready, and every preparation made, which could lead to the attainment of our object. But as this subject deserves to be particularly detailed, I shall, notwithstanding its being just within the period of time which this chapter professes to comprise, allot it a separate place, in the beginning of the next. Nor can I close this part of my work without congratulating both the reader and the author. New matter now presents itself. A considerable part of the foregoing chapters had been related before, either by others or myself. I was however, unavoidably compelled to insert it, in order to preserve unbroken that chain of detail, and perspicuity of arrangement, at which books professing to convey information should especially aim. CHAPTER III. Transactions of the Colony, from the Commencement of the Year 1789, until the End of March. Pursuant to his resolution, the governor on the 31st of December sent two boats, under the command of Lieutenant Ball of the 'Supply', and Lieutenant George Johnston of the marines, down the harbour, with directions to those officers to seize and carry off some of the natives. The boats proceeded to Manly Cove, where several Indians were seen standing on the beach, who were enticed by courteous behaviour and a few presents to enter into conversation. A proper opportunity being presented, our people rushed in among them, and seized two men: the rest fled; but the cries of the captives soon brought them back, with many others, to their rescue: and so desperate were their struggles, that, in spite of every effort on our side, only one of them was secured; the other effected his escape. The boats put off without delay; and an attack from the shore instantly commenced: they threw spears, stones, firebrands, and whatever else presented itself, at the boats; nor did they retreat, agreeable to their former custom, until many musquets were fired over them. The prisoner was now fastened by ropes to the thwarts of the boat; and when he saw himself irretrievably disparted from his countrymen, set up the most piercing and lamentable cries of distress. His grief, however, soon diminished: he accepted and ate of some broiled fish which was given to him, and sullenly submitted to his destiny. When the news of his arrival at Sydney was announced, I went with every other person to see him: he appeared to be about thirty years old, not tall, but robustly made; and of a countenance which, under happier circumstances, I thought would display manliness and sensibility; his agitation was excessive, and the clamourous crowds who flocked around him did not contribute to lessen it. Curiosity and observation seemed, nevertheless, not to have wholly deserted him; he shewed the effect of novelty upon ignorance; he wondered at all he saw: though broken and interrupted with dismay, his voice was soft and musical, when its natural tone could be heard; and he readily pronounced with tolerable accuracy the names of things which were taught him. To our ladies he quickly became extraordinarily courteous, a sure sign that his terror was wearing off. Every blandishment was used to soothe him, and it had its effect. As he was entering the governor's house, some one touched a small bell which hung over the door: he started with horror and astonishment; but in a moment after was reconciled to the noise, and laughed at the cause of his perturbation. When pictures were shown to him, he knew directly those which represented the human figure: among others, a very large handsome print of her royal highness the Dutchess of Cumberland being produced, he called out 'woman', a name by which we had just before taught him to call the female convicts. Plates of birds and beasts were also laid before him; and many people were led to believe, that such as he spoke about and pointed to were known to him. But this must have been an erroneous conjecture, for the elephant, rhinoceros, and several others, which we must have discovered did they exist in the country, were of the number. Again, on the other hand, those he did not point out, were equally unknown to him. His curiosity here being satiated, we took him to a large brick house, which was building for the governor's residence: being about to enter, he cast up his eyes, and seeing some people leaning out of a window on the first story, he exclaimed aloud, and testified the most extravagant surprise. Nothing here was observed to fix his attention so strongly as some tame fowls, who were feeding near him: our dogs also he particularly noticed; but seemed more fearful than fond of them. He dined at a side-table at the governor's; and ate heartily of fish and ducks, which he first cooled. Bread and salt meat he smelled at, but would not taste: all our liquors he treated in the same manner, and could drink nothing but water. On being shown that he was not to wipe his hands on the chair which he sat upon, he used a towel which was gave to him, with great cleanliness and decency. In the afternoon his hair was closely cut, his head combed, and his beard shaved; but he would not submit to these operations until he had seen them performed on another person, when he readily acquiesced. His hair, as might be supposed, was filled with vermin, whose destruction seemed to afford him great triumph; nay, either revenge, or pleasure, prompted him to eat them! but on our expressing disgust and abhorrence he left it off. To this succeeded his immersion in a tub of water and soap, where he was completely washed and scrubbed from head to foot; after which a shirt, a jacket, and a pair of trousers, were put upon him. Some part of this ablution I had the honour to perform, in order that I might ascertain the real colour of the skin of these people. My observation then was (and it has since been confirmed in a thousand other instances) that they are as black as the lighter cast of the African negroes. Many unsuccessful attempts were made to learn his name; the governor therefore called him Manly, from the cove in which he was captured: this cove had received its name from the manly undaunted behaviour of a party of natives seen there, on our taking possession of the country. To prevent his escape, a handcuff with a rope attached to it, was fastened around his left wrist, which at first highly delighted him; he called it 'bengadee' (or ornament), but his delight changed to rage and hatred when he discovered its use. His supper he cooked himself: some fish were given to him for this purpose, which, without any previous preparation whatever, he threw carelessly on the fire, and when they became warm took them up, and first rubbed off the scales, peeled the outside with his teeth, and ate it; afterwards he gutted them, and laying them again on the fire, completed the dressing, and ate them. A convict was selected to sleep with him, and to attend him wherever he might go. When he went with his keeper into his apartment he appeared very restless and uneasy while a light was kept in; but on its extinction, he immediately lay down and composed himself. Sullenness and dejection strongly marked his countenance on the following morning; to amuse him, he was taken around the camp, and to the observatory: casting his eyes to the opposite shore from the point where he stood, and seeing the smoke of fire lighted by his countrymen, he looked earnestly at it, and sighing deeply two or three times, uttered the word 'gweeun' (fire). His loss of spirits had not, however, the effect of impairing his appetite; eight fish, each weighing about a pound, constituted his breakfast, which he dressed as before. When he had finished his repast, he turned his back to the fire in a musing posture, and crept so close to it, that his shirt was caught by the flame; luckily his keeper soon extinguished it; but he was so terrified at the accident, that he was with difficulty persuaded to put on a second. 1st. January, 1789. To-day being new-year's-day, most of the officers were invited to the governor's table: Manly dined heartily on fish and roasted pork; he was seated on a chest near a window, out of which, when he had done eating, he would have thrown his plate, had he not been prevented: during dinner-time a band of music played in an adjoining apartment; and after the cloth was removed, one of the company sang in a very soft and superior style; but the powers of melody were lost on Manly, which disappointed our expectations, as he had before shown pleasure and readiness in imitating our tunes. Stretched out on his chest, and putting his hat under his head, he fell asleep. To convince his countrymen that he had received no injury from us, the governor took him in a boat down the harbour, that they might see and converse with him: when the boat arrived, and lay at a little distance from the beach, several Indians who had retired at her approach, on seeing Manly, returned: he was greatly affected, and shed tears. At length they began to converse. Our ignorance of the language prevented us from knowing much of what passed; it was, however, easily understood that his friends asked him why he did not jump overboard, and rejoin them. He only sighed, and pointed to the fetter on his leg, by which he was bound. In going down the harbour he had described the names by which they distinguish its numerous creeks and headlands: he was now often heard to repeat that of 'Weerong' (Sydney Cove), which was doubtless to inform his countrymen of the place of his captivity; and perhaps invite them to rescue him. By this time his gloom was chased away, and he parted from his friends without testifying reluctance. His vivacity and good humour continued all the evening, and produced so good an effect on his appetite, that he ate for supper two kangaroo rats, each of the size of a moderate rabbit, and in addition not less than three pounds of fish. Two days after he was taken on a similar excursion; but to our surprise the natives kept aloof, and would neither approach the shore, or discourse with their countryman: we could get no explanation of this difficulty, which seemed to affect us more than it did him. Uncourteous as they were, he performed to them an act of attentive benevolence; seeing a basket made of bark, used by them to carry water, he conveyed into it two hawks and another bird, which the people in the boat had shot, and carefully covering them over, left them as a present to his old friends. But indeed the gentleness and humanity of his disposition frequently displayed themselves: when our children, stimulated by wanton curiosity, used to flock around him, he never failed to fondle them, and, if he were eating at the time, constantly offered them the choicest part of his fare. February, 1789. His reserve, from want of confidence in us, continued gradually to wear away: he told us his name, and Manly gave place to Arabanoo. Bread he began to relish; and tea he drank with avidity: strong liquors he would never taste, turning from them with disgust and abhorrence. Our dogs and cats had ceased to be objects of fear, and were become his greatest pets, and constant companions at table. One of our chief amusements, after the cloth was removed, was to make him repeat the names of things in his language, which he never hesitated to do with the utmost alacrity, correcting our pronunciation when erroneous. Much information relating to the customs and manners of his country was also gained from him: but as this subject will be separately and amply treated, I shall not anticipate myself by partially touching on it here. On the 2nd of February died Captain John Shea of the marines, after a lingering illness: he was interred on the following day, with the customary military honours, amidst the regret of all who knew him. In consequence of his decease, appointments for the promotion of the oldest officer of each subordinate rank were signed by the major commandant of the marine battalion, until the pleasure of the lords of the admiralty should be notified.* [*These appointments were confirmed by the admiralty.] On the 17th of February the 'Supply' again sailed for Norfolk Island. The governor went down the harbour in her, and carried Arabanoo with him, who was observed to go on board with distrust and reluctance; when he found she was under sail, every effort was tried without success to exhilarate him; at length, an opportunity being presented, he plunged overboard, and struck out for the nearest shore: believing that those who were left behind would fire at him, he attempted to dive, at which he was known to be very expert: but this was attended with a difficulty which he had not foreseen: his clothes proved so buoyant, that he was unable to get more than his head under water: a boat was immediately dispatched after him, and picked him up, though not without struggles and resistance on his side. When brought on board, he appeared neither afraid or ashamed of what he had done, but sat apart, melancholy and dispirited, and continued so until he saw the governor and his other friends descend into a boat, and heard himself called upon to accompany them: he sprang forward, and his cheerfulness and alacrity of temper immediately returned, and lasted during the remainder of the day. The dread of being carried away, on an element of whose boundary he could form no conception, joined to the uncertainty of our intention towards him, unquestionably caused him to act as he did. One of the principal effects which we had supposed the seizure and captivity of Arabanoo would produce, seemed yet at as great a distance as ever; the natives neither manifested signs of increased hostility on his account, or attempted to ask any explanation of our conduct through the medium of their countryman who was in our possession, and who they knew was treated with no farther harshness than in being detained among us. Their forbearance of open and determined attack upon can be accounted for only by recollecting their knowledge of our numbers, and their dread of our fire-arms: that they wanted not sufficient provocation to do so, will appear from what I am about to relate. March, 1789. Sixteen convicts left their work at the brick-kilns without leave, and marched to Botany Bay, with a design to attack the natives, and to plunder them of their fishing-tackle and spears: they had armed themselves with their working tools and large clubs. When they arrived near the bay, a body of Indians, who had probably seen them set out, and had penetrated their intention from experience, suddenly fell upon them. Our heroes were immediately routed, and separately endeavoured to effect their escape by any means which were left. In their flight one was killed, and seven were wounded, for the most part very severely: those who had the good fortune to outstrip their comrades and arrive in camp, first gave the alarm; and a detachment of marines, under an officer, was ordered to march to their relief. The officer arrived too late to repel the Indians; but he brought in the body of the man that was killed, and put an end to the pursuit. The governor was justly incensed at what had happened, and instituted the most rigorous scrutiny into the cause which had produced it. At first the convicts were unanimous in affirming, that they were quietly picking sweet-tea*, when they were without provocation assaulted by the natives, with whom they had no wish to quarrel. Some of them, however, more irresolute than the rest, at last disclosed the purpose for which the expedition had been undertaken; and the whole were ordered to be severely flogged: Arabanoo was present at the infliction of the punishment; and was made to comprehend the cause and the necessity of it; but he displayed on the occasion symptoms of disgust and terror only. [*A vegetable creeper found growing on the rocks, which yields, on infusion in hot water, a sweet astringent taste, whence it derives its name: to its virtues the healthy state of the soldiery and convicts must be greatly attributed. It was drank universally.] On the 24th instant the 'Supply' arrived from Norfolk Island, and Lord Howe Island, bringing from the latter place three turtles. An awful and terrible example of justice took place towards the close of this month, which I record with regret, but which it would be disingenuous to suppress. Six marines, the flower of our battalion, were hanged by the public executioner, on the sentence of a criminal court, composed entirely of their own officers, for having at various times robbed the public stores of flour, meat, spirits, tobacco, and many other articles. CHAPTER IV. Transactions of the Colony in April and May, 1789. An extraordinary calamity was now observed among the natives. Repeated accounts brought by our boats of finding bodies of the Indians in all the coves and inlets of the harbour, caused the gentlemen of our hospital to procure some of them for the purposes of examination and anatomy. On inspection, it appeared that all the parties had died a natural death: pustules, similar to those occasioned by the small pox, were thickly spread on the bodies; but how a disease, to which our former observations had led us to suppose them strangers, could at once have introduced itself, and have spread so widely, seemed inexplicable.* Whatever might be the cause, the existence of the malady could no longer be doubted. Intelligence was brought that an Indian family lay sick in a neighbouring cove: the governor, attended by Arabanoo, and a surgeon, went in a boat immediately to the spot. Here they found an old man stretched before a few lighted sticks, and a boy of nine or ten years old pouring water on his head, from a shell which he held in his hand: near them lay a female child dead, and a little farther off, its unfortunate mother: the body of the woman shewed that famine, superadded to disease, had occasioned her death: eruptions covered the poor boy from head to foot; and the old man was so reduced, that he was with difficulty got into the boat. Their situation rendered them incapable of escape, and they quietly submitted to be led away. Arabanoo, contrary to his usual character, seemed at first unwilling to render them any assistance; but his shyness soon wore off, and he treated them with the kindest attention. Nor would he leave the place until he had buried the corpse of the child: that of the woman he did not see from its situation; and as his countrymen did not point it out, the governor ordered that it should not be shown to him. He scooped a grave in the sand with his hands, of no peculiarity of shape, which he lined completely with grass, and put the body into it, covering it also with grass; and then he filled up the hole, and raised over it a small mound with the earth which had been removed. Here the ceremony ended, unaccompanied by any invocation to a superior being, or any attendant circumstance whence an inference of their religious opinions could be deduced. [*No solution of this difficulty had been given when I left the country, in December, 1791. I can, therefore, only propose queries for the ingenuity of others to exercise itself upon: is it a disease indigenous to the country? Did the French ships under Monsieur de Peyrouse introduce it? Let it be remembered that they had now been departed more than a year; and we had never heard of its existence on board of them. Had it travelled across the continent from its western shore, where Dampier and other European voyagers had formerly landed? Was it introduced by Mr. Cook? Did we give it birth here? No person among us had been afflicted with the disorder since we had quitted the Cape of Good Hope, seventeen months before. It is true, that our surgeons had brought out variolous matter in bottles; but to infer that it was produced from this cause were a supposition so wild as to be unworthy of consideration.] An uninhabited house, near the hospital, was allotted for their reception, and a cradle prepared for each of them. By the encouragement of Arabanoo, who assured them of protection, and the soothing behaviour of our medical gentlemen, they became at once reconciled to us, and looked happy and grateful at the change of their situation. Sickness and hunger had, however, so much exhausted the old man, that little hope was entertained of his recovery. As he pointed frequently to his throat, at the instance of Arabanoo, he tried to wash it with a gargle which was given to him; but the obstructed, tender state of the part rendered it impracticable. 'Bado, bado' (water), was his cry: when brought to him, he drank largely at intervals of it. He was equally importunate for fire, being seized with shivering fits; and one was kindled. Fish were produced, to tempt him to eat; but he turned away his head, with signs of loathing. Nanbaree (the boy), on the contrary, no sooner saw them than he leaped from his cradle, and eagerly seizing them, began to cook them. A warm bath being prepared, they were immersed in it; and after being thoroughly cleansed, they had clean shirts put on them, and were again laid in bed. The old man lived but a few hours. He bore the pangs of dissolution with patient composure; and though he was sensible to the last moment, expired almost without a groan. Nanbaree appeared quite unmoved at the event; and surveyed the corpse of his father without emotion, simply exclaiming, 'boee' (dead). This surprised us; as the tenderness and anxiety of the old man about the boy had been very moving. Although barely able to raise his head, while so much strength was left to him, he kept looking into his child's cradle; he patted him gently on the bosom; and, with dying eyes, seemed to recommend him to our humanity and protection. Nanbaree was adopted by Mr. White, surgeon-general of the settlement, and became henceforth one of his family. Arabanoo had no sooner heard of the death of his countryman, than he hastened to inter him. I was present at the ceremony, in company with the governor, captain Ball, and two or three other persons. It differed, by the accounts of those who were present at the funeral of the girl, in no respect from what had passed there in the morning, except that the grave was dug by a convict. But I was informed, that when intelligence of the death reached Arabanoo, he expressed himself with doubt whether he should bury, or burn the body; and seemed solicitous to ascertain which ceremony would be most gratifying to the governor. Indeed, Arabanoo's behaviour, during the whole of the transactions of this day, was so strongly marked by affection to his countryman, and by confidence in us, that the governor resolved to free him from all farther restraint, and at once to trust to his generosity, and the impression which our treatment of him might have made, for his future residence among us: the fetter was accordingly taken off his leg. In the evening, captain Ball and I crossed the harbour, and buried the corpse of the woman before mentioned. Distress continued to drive them in upon us. Two more natives, one of them a young man, and the other his sister, a girl of fourteen years old, were brought in by the governor's boat, in a most deplorable state of wretchedness from the smallpox. The sympathy and affection of Arabanoo, which had appeared languid in the instance of Nanbaree and his father, here manifested themselves immediately. We conjectured that a difference of the tribes to which they belonged might cause the preference; but nothing afterwards happened to strengthen or confirm such a supposition. The young man died at the end of three days: the girl recovered, and was received as an inmate, with great kindness, in the family of Mrs Johnson, the clergyman's wife. Her name was Booron; but from our mistake of pronunciation she acquired that of Abaroo, by which she was generally known, and by which she will always be called in this work. She shewed, at the death of her brother more feeling than Nanbaree had witnessed for the loss of his father. When she found him dying, she crept to his side, and lay by him until forced by the cold to retire. No exclamation, or other sign of grief, however, escaped her for what had happened. May 1789. At sunset, on the evening of the 2d instant, the arrival the 'Sirius', Captain Hunter, from the Cape of Good Hope, was proclaimed, and diffused universal joy and congratulation. The day of famine was at least procrastinated by the supply of flour and salt provisions she brought us. The 'Sirius' had made her passage to the Cape of Good Hope, by the route of Cape Horn, in exactly thirteen weeks. Her highest latitude was 57 degrees 10 minutes south, where the weather proved intolerably cold. Ice, in great quantity, was seen for many days; and in the middle of December (which is correspondent to the middle of June, in our hemisphere), water froze in open casks upon deck, in the moderate latitude of 44 degrees. They were very kindly treated by the Dutch governor, and amply supplied by the merchants at the Cape, where they remained seven weeks. Their passage back was effected by Van Diemen's Land, near which, and close under Tasman's Head, they were in the utmost peril of being wrecked. In this long run, which had extended round the circle, they had always determined their longitude, to the greatest nicety, by distances taken between the sun and moon, or between the moon and a star. But it falls to the lot of very few ships to possess such indefatigable and accurate observers as Captain Hunter, and Mr. (now Captain) Bradley, the first lieutenant of the 'Sirius'. I feel assured, that I have no reader who will not join in regretting the premature loss of Arabanoo, who died of the smallpox on the 18th instant, after languishing in it six days. From some imperfect marks and indents on his face, we were inclined to believe that he had passed this dreaded disorder. Even when the first symptoms of sickness seized him, we continued willing to hope that they proceeded from a different cause. But at length the disease burst forth with irresistible fury. It were superfluous to say, that nothing which medical skill and unremitting attention could perform, were left unexerted to mitigate his sufferings, and prolong a life, which humanity and affectionate concern towards his sick compatriots, unfortunately shortened. During his sickness he reposed entire confidence in us. Although a stranger to medicine, and nauseating the taste of it, he swallowed with patient submission innumerable drugs,* which the hope of relief induced us to administer to him. The governor, who particularly regarded him, caused him to be buried in his own garden, and attended the funeral in person. [*Very different had been his conduct on a former occasion of a similar kind. Soon after he was brought among us he was seized with a diarrhoea, for which he could by no persuasion be induced to swallow any of our prescriptions. After many ineffectual trials to deceive, or overcome him, it was at length determined to let him pursue his own course, and to watch if he should apply for relief to any of the productions of the country. He was in consequence observed to dig fern-root, and to chew it. Whether the disorder had passed its crisis, or whether the fern-root effected a cure, I know not; but it is certain that he became speedily well. **The regard was reciprocal. His excellency had been ill but a short time before, when Arabanoo had testified the utmost solicitude for his case and recovery. It is probable that he acquired, on this occasion, just notions of the benefit to be derived from medical assistance. A doctor is, among them, a person of consequence. It is certain that he latterly estimated our professional gentlemen very highly.] The character of Arabanoo, as far as we had developed it, was distinguished by a portion of gravity and steadiness, which our subsequent acquaintance with his countrymen by no means led us to conclude a national characteristic. In that daring, enterprising frame of mind, which, when combined with genius, constitutes the leader of a horde of savages, or the ruler of a people, boasting the power of discrimination and the resistance of ambition, he was certainly surpassed by some of his successors, who afterwards lived among us. His countenance was thoughtful, but not animated: his fidelity and gratitude, particularly to his friend the governor, were constant and undeviating, and deserve to be recorded. Although of a gentle and placable temper, we early discovered that he was impatient of indignity, and allowed of no superiority on our part. He knew that he was in our power; but the independence of his mind never forsook him. If the slightest insult were offered to him, he would return it with interest. At retaliation of merriment he was often happy; and frequently turned the laugh against his antagonist. He did not want docility; but either from the difficulty of acquiring our language, from the unskillfulness of his teachers, or from some natural defect, his progress in learning it was not equal to what we had expected. For the last three or four weeks of his life, hardly any restraint was laid upon his inclinations: so that had he meditated escape, he might easily have effected it. He was, perhaps, the only native who was ever attached to us from choice; and who did not prefer a precarious subsistence among wilds and precipices, to the comforts of a civilized system. By his death, the scheme which had invited his capture was utterly defeated. Of five natives who had been brought among us, three had perished from a cause which, though unavoidable, it was impossible to explain to a people, who would condescend to enter into no intercourse with us. The same suspicious dread of our approach, and the same scenes of vengeance acted on unfortunate stragglers, continued to prevail. CHAPTER V. Transactions of the Colony until the Close of the Year 1789. The anniversary of his majesty's birth-day was celebrated, as heretofore, at the government-house, with loyal festivity. In the evening, the play of 'The Recruiting Officer' was performed by a party of convicts, and honoured by the presence of his excellency, and the officers of the garrison. That every opportunity of escape from the dreariness and dejection of our situation should be eagerly embraced, will not be wondered at. The exhilarating effect of a splendid theatre is well known: and I am not ashamed to confess, that the proper distribution of three or four yards of stained paper, and a dozen farthing candles stuck around the mud walls of a convict-hut, failed not to diffuse general complacency on the countenances of sixty persons, of various descriptions, who were assembled to applaud the representation. Some of the actors acquitted themselves with great spirit, and received the praises of the audience: a prologue and an epilogue, written by one of the performers, were also spoken on the occasion; which, although not worth inserting here, contained some tolerable allusions to the situation of the parties, and the novelty of a stage-representation in New South Wales. Broken Bay, which was supposed to be completely explored, became again an object of research. On the sixth instant, the governor, accompanied by a large party in two boats, proceeded thither. Here they again wandered over piles of mis-shapen desolation, contemplating scenes of wild solitude, whose unvarying appearance renders them incapable of affording either novelty or gratification. But when they had given over the hope of farther discovery, by pursuing the windings of an inlet, which, from its appearance, was supposed to be a short creek, they suddenly found themselves at the entrance of a fresh water river, up which they proceeded twenty miles, in a westerly direction; and would have farther prosecuted their research, had not a failure of provisions obliged them to return. This river they described to be of considerable breadth, and of great depth; but its banks had hitherto presented nothing better than a counterpart of the rocks and precipices which surround Broken Bay. June, 1789. A second expedition, to ascertain its course, was undertaken by his excellency, who now penetrated (measuring by the bed of the river) between 60 and 70 miles, when the farther progress of the boats was stopped by a fall. The water in every part was found to be fresh and good. Of the adjoining country, the opinions of those who had inspected it (of which number I was not) were so various, that I shall decline to record them. Some saw a rich and beautiful country; and others were so unfortunate as to discover little else than large tracts of low land, covered with reeds, and rank with the inundations of the stream, by which they had been recently covered. All parties, however, agreed, that the rocky, impenetrable country, seen on the first excursion, had ended nearly about the place whence the boats had then turned back. Close to the fall stands a very beautiful hill, which our adventurers mounted, and enjoyed from it an extensive prospect. Potatoes, maize, and garden seeds of various kinds were put into the earth, by the governor's order, on different parts of Richmond-hill, which was announced to be its name. The latitude of Richmond-hill, as observed by captain Hunter, was settled at 33 degrees 36 minutes south. Here also the river received the name of Hawkesbury, in honour of the noble lord who bears that title. Natives were found on the banks in several parts, many of whom were labouring under the smallpox. They did not attempt to commit hostilities against the boats; but on the contrary shewed every sign of welcome and friendship to the strangers. At this period, I was unluckily invested with the command of the outpost at Rose Hill, which prevented me from being in the list of discoverers of the Hawkesbury. Stimulated, however, by a desire of acquiring a further knowledge of the country, on the 26th instant, accompanied by Mr. Arndell, assistant surgeon of the settlement, Mr. Lowes, surgeon's mate of the 'Sirius', two marines, and a convict, I left the redoubt at day-break, pointing our march to a hill, distant five miles, in a westerly or inland direction, which commands a view of the great chain of mountains, called Carmarthen hills, extending from north to south farther than the eye can reach. Here we paused, surveying "the wild abyss; pondering our voyage." Before us lay the trackless immeasurable desert, in awful silence. At length, after consultation, we determined to steer west and by north, by compass, the make of the land in that quarter indicating the existence of a river. We continued to march all day through a country untrodden before by an European foot. Save that a melancholy crow now and then flew croaking over head, or a kangaroo was seen to bound at a distance, the picture of solitude was complete and undisturbed. At four o'clock in the afternoon we halted near a small pond of water, where we took up our residence for the night, lighted a fire, and prepared to cook our supper: that was, to broil over a couple of ramrods a few slices of salt pork, and a crow which we had shot. At daylight we renewed our peregrination; and in an hour after we found ourselves on the banks of a river, nearly as broad as the Thames at Putney, and apparently of great depth, the current running very slowly in a northerly direction. Vast flocks of wild ducks were swimming in the stream; but after being once fired at, they grew so shy that we could not get near them a second time. Nothing is more certain than that the sound of a gun had never before been heard within many miles of this spot. We proceeded upwards, by a slow pace, through reeds, thickets, and a thousand other obstacles, which impeded our progress, over coarse sandy ground, which had been recently inundated, though full forty feet above the present level of the river. Traces of the natives appeared at every step, sometimes in their hunting-huts, which consist of nothing more than a large piece of bark, bent in the middle, and open at both ends, exactly resembling two cards, set up to form an acute angle; sometimes in marks on trees which they had climbed; or in squirrel-traps*; or, which surprised us more, from being new, in decoys for the purpose of ensnaring birds. These are formed of underwood and reeds, long and narrow, shaped like a mound raised over a grave; with a small aperture at one end for admission of the prey; and a grate made of sticks at the other: the bird enters at the aperture, seeing before him the light of the grate, between the bars of which, he vainly endeavours to thrust himself, until taken. Most of these decoys were full of feathers, chiefly those of quails, which shewed their utility. We also met with two old damaged canoes hauled up on the beach, which differed in no wise from those found on the sea coast. [*A squirrel-trap is a cavity of considerable depth, formed by art, in the body of a tree. When the Indians in their hunting parties set fire to the surrounding country (which is a very common custom) the squirrels, opossums, and other animals, who live in trees, flee for refuge into these holes, whence they are easily dislodged and taken. The natives always pitch on a part of a tree for this purpose, which has been perforated by a worm, which indicates that the wood is in an unsound state, and will readily yield to their efforts. If the rudeness and imperfection of the tools with which they work be considered, it must be confessed to be an operation of great toil and difficulty.] Having remained out three days, we returned to our quarters at Rose-hill, with the pleasing intelligence of our discovery. The country we had passed through we found tolerably plain, and little encumbered with underwood, except near the river side. It is entirely covered with the same sorts of trees as grow near Sydney; and in some places grass springs up luxuriantly; other places are quite bare of it. The soil is various: in many parts a stiff and clay, covered with small pebbles; in other places, of a soft loamy nature: but invariably, in every part near the river, it is a coarse sterile sand. Our observations on it (particularly mine, from carrying the compass by which we steered) were not so numerous as might have been wished. But, certainly, if the qualities of it be such as to deserve future cultivation, no impediment of surface, but that of cutting down and burning the trees, exists, to prevent its being tilled. To this river the governor gave the name of Nepean. The distance of the part of the river which we first hit upon from the sea coast, is about 39 miles, in a direct line almost due west. A survey of Botany Bay took place in September. I was of the party, with several others officers. We continued nine days in the bay, during which time, the relative position of every part of it, to the extent of more than thirty miles, following the windings of the shore, was ascertained, and laid down on paper, by captain Hunter. So complete an opportunity of forming a judgment, enables me to speak decisively of a place, which has often engaged conversation and excited reflection. Variety of opinions here disappeared. I shall, therefore, transcribe literally what I wrote in my journal, on my return from the expedition. "We were unanimously of opinion, that had not the nautical part of Mr. Cook's description, in which we include the latitude and longitude of the bay, been so accurately laid down, there would exist the utmost reason to believe, that those who have described the contiguous country, had never seen it. On the sides of the harbour, a line of sea coast more than thirty miles long, we did not find 200 acres which could be cultivated." September, 1789. But all our attention was not directed to explore inlets, and toll for discovery. Our internal tranquillity was still more important. To repress the inroads of depredation; and to secure to honest industry the reward of its labour, had become matter of the most serious consideration; hardly a night passing without the commission of robbery. Many expedients were devised; and the governor at length determined to select from the convicts, a certain number of persons, who were meant to be of the fairest character, for the purpose of being formed into a nightly-watch, for the preservation of public and private property, under the following regulations, which, as the first system of police in a colony, so peculiarly constituted as ours, may perhaps prove not uninteresting. I. A night-watch, consisting of 12 persons, divided into four parties, is appointed, and fully authorized to patrol at all hours in the night; and to visit such places as may be deemed necessary, for the discovery of any felony, trespass, or misdemeanor; and for the apprehending and securing for examination, any person or persons who may appear to them concerned therein, either by entrance into any suspected hut or dwelling, or by such other measure as may seem to them expedient. II. Those parts in which the convicts reside are to be divided and numbered, in the following manner. The convict huts on the eastern side of the stream, and the public farm, are to be the first division. Those at the brick-kilns, and the detached parties in the different private farms in that district, are to be the second division. Those on the western side of the stream, as far as the line which separates the district of the women from the men, to be the third division. The huts occupied from that line to the hospital, and from there to the observatory, to be the fourth division. III. Each of these districts or divisions is to be under the particular inspection of one person, who may be judged qualified to inform himself of the actual residence of each individual in his district; as well as of his business, connections, and acquaintances. IV. Cognizance is to be taken of such convicts as may sell or barter their slops or provisions; and also of such as are addicted to gaming for either of the aforesaid articles, who are to be reported to the judge advocate. V. Any soldier or seaman found straggling after the beating of the tattoo; or who may be found in a convict's hut, is to be detained; and information of him immediately given to the nearest guard. VI. Any person who may be robbed during the night, is to give immediate information thereof to the watch of his district, who, on the instant of application being made, shall use the most effectual means to trace out the offender, or offenders, so that he, she, or they, may be brought to justice. VII. The watch of each district is to be under the direction of one person, who will be named for that purpose. All the patrols are placed under the immediate inspection of Herbert Keeling. They are never to receive any fee, gratuity, or reward, from any individual whatever, to engage their exertions in the execution of the above trust. Nor will they receive any stipulated encouragement for the conviction of any offender. But their diligence and good behaviour will be rewarded by the governor. And for this purpose their conduct will be strictly attended to, by those who are placed in authority over them. VIII. The night-watch is to go out as soon as the tattoo ceases beating: to return to their huts when the working drum beats in the morning: and are to make their report to the judge advocate, through Herbert Keeling, of all robberies and misdemeanors which may have been committed. Any assistance the patrols may require, will be given to them, on applying to the officer commanding the nearest guard; and by the civil power, if necessary; for which last, application is to be made to the provost martial. IX. Any negligence on the part of those who shall be employed on this duty, will be punished with the utmost rigour of the law. X. The night-watch is to consist of 12 persons. Every political code, either from a defect of its constitution, or from the corruptness of those who are entrusted to execute it, will be found less perfect in practice than speculation had promised itself. It were, however, prejudice to deny, that for some time following the institution of this patrol, nightly depredations became less frequent and alarming: the petty villains, at least, were restrained by it. And to keep even a garden unravaged was now become a subject of the deepest concern. For in October our weekly allowance of provisions, which had hitherto been eight pounds of flour, five pounds of salt pork, three pints of pease, six ounces of butter, was reduced to five pounds five ounces of flour, three pounds five ounces of pork, and two pints of pease. In order to lessen the consumption from the public stores, the 'Supply' was ordered to touch at Lord Howe Island, in her way from Norfolk Island, to try if turtle could be procured, for the purpose of being publicly served in lieu of salt provisions. But she brought back only three turtles, which were distributed in the garrison. December, 1789. At the request of his excellency, lieutenant Dawes of the marines, accompanied by lieutenant Johnston and Mr. Lowes, about this time undertook the attempt to cross the Nepean river, and to penetrate to Carmarthen mountains. Having discovered a ford in the river, they passed it, and proceeded in a westerly direction. But they found the country so rugged, and the difficulty of walking so excessive, that in three days they were able to penetrate only fifteen miles, and were therefore obliged to relinquish their object. This party, at the time they turned back, were farther inland than any other persons ever were before or since, being fifty-four miles in a direct line from the sea coast when on the summit of mount Twiss, a hill so named by them, and which bounded their peregrination. Intercourse with the natives, for the purpose of knowing whether or not the country possessed any resources, by which life might be prolonged*, as well as on other accounts, becoming every day more desirable, the governor resolved to make prisoners of two more of them. [*One of the convicts, a negro, had twice eloped, with an intention of establishing himself in the society of the natives, with a wish to adopt their customs and to live with them: but he was always repulsed by them; and compelled to return to us from hunger and wretchedness.] Boats properly provided, under the command of lieutenant Bradley of the 'Sirius', were accordingly dispatched on this service; and completely succeeded in trepanning and carrying off, without opposition, two fine young men, who were safely landed among us at Sydney. Nanbaree and Abaroo welcomed them on shore; calling them immediately by their names, Baneelon (Bennelong), and Colbee. But they seemed little disposed to receive the congratulations, or repose confidence in the assurances of their friends. The same scenes of awkward wonder and impatient constraint, which had attended the introduction of Arabanoo, succeeded. Baneelon we judged to be about twenty-six years old, of good stature, and stoutly made, with a bold intrepid countenance, which bespoke defiance and revenge. Colbee was perhaps near thirty, of a less sullen aspect than his comrade, considerably shorter, and not so robustly framed, though better fitted for purposes of activity. They had both evidently had the smallpox; indeed Colbee's face was very thickly imprinted with the marks of it. Positive orders were issued by the governor to treat them indulgently, and guard them strictly; notwithstanding which Colbee contrived to effect his escape in about a week, with a small iron ring round his leg. Had those appointed to watch them been a moment later, his companion would have contrived to accompany him. But Baneelon, though haughty, knew how to temporize. He quickly threw off all reserve; and pretended, nay, at particular moments, perhaps felt satisfaction in his new state. Unlike poor Arabanoo, he became at once fond of our viands, and would drink the strongest liquors, not simply without reluctance, but with eager marks of delight and enjoyment. He was the only native we ever knew who immediately shewed a fondness for spirits: Colbee would not at first touch them. Nor was the effect of wine or brandy upon him more perceptible than an equal quantity would have produced upon one of us, although fermented liquor was new to him. In his eating, he was alike compliant. When a turtle was shown to Arabanoo, he would not allow it to be a fish, and could not be induced to eat of it. Baneelon also denied it to be a fish; but no common councilman in Europe could do more justice than he did to a very fine one, that the 'Supply' had brought from Lord Howe Island, and which was served up at the governor's table on Christmas Day. His powers of mind were certainly far above mediocrity. He acquired knowledge, both of our manners and language, faster than his predecessor had done. He willingly communicated information; sang, danced, and capered, told us all the customs of his country, and all the details of his family economy. Love and war seemed his favourite pursuits; in both of which he had suffered severely. His head was disfigured by several scars; a spear had passed through his arm, and another through his leg. Half of one of his thumbs was carried away; and the mark of a wound appeared on the back of his hand. The cause and attendant circumstances of all these disasters, except one, he related to us. "But the wound on the back of your hand, Baneelon! How did you get that?" He laughed, and owned that it was received in carrying off a lady of another tribe by force. "I was dragging her away. She cried aloud, and stuck her teeth in me." "And what did you do then?" "I knocked her down, and beat her till she was insensible, and covered with blood. Then..." Whenever he recounted his battles, "poised his lance, and showed how fields were won", the most violent exclamations of rage and vengeance against his competitors in arms, those of the tribe called Cameeragal in particular, would burst from him. And he never failed at such times to solicit the governor to accompany him, with a body of soldiers, in order that he might exterminate this hated name. Although I call him only Baneelon, he had besides several appellations, and for a while he chose to be distinguished by that of Wolarawaree. Again, as a mark of affection and respect to the governor, he conferred on him the name of Wolarawaree, and sometimes called him 'Beenena' (father), adopting to himself the name of governor. This interchange we found is a constant symbol of friendship among them*. In a word, his temper seemed pliant, and his relish of our society so great, that hardly any one judged he would attempt to quit us, were the means of escape put within his reach. Nevertheless it was thought proper to continue a watch over him. [*It is observable that this custom prevails as a pledge of friendship and kindness all over Asia, and has also been mentioned by Captain Cook to exist among the natives in the South Sea Islands.] CHAPTER VI. Transactions of the Colony, from the Beginning of the Year 1790 until the End of May following. Our impatience of news from Europe strongly marked the commencement of the year. We had now been two years in the country, and thirty-two months from England, in which long period no supplies, except what had been procured at the Cape of Good Hope by the 'Sirius', had reached us. From intelligence of our friends and connections we had been entirely cut off, no communication whatever having passed with our native country since the 13th of May 1787, the day of our departure from Portsmouth. Famine besides was approaching with gigantic strides, and gloom and dejection overspread every countenance. Men abandoned themselves to the most desponding reflections, and adopted the most extravagant conjectures. Still we were on the tiptoe of expectation. If thunder broke at a distance, or a fowling-piece of louder than ordinary report resounded in the woods, "a gun from a ship" was echoed on every side, and nothing but hurry and agitation prevailed. For eighteen months after we had landed in the country, a party of marines used to go weekly to Botany Bay, to see whether any vessel, ignorant of our removal to Port Jackson, might be arrived there. But a better plan was now devised, on the suggestion of captain Hunter. A party of seamen were fixed on a high bluff, called the South-head, at the entrance of the harbour, on which a flag was ordered to be hoisted, whenever a ship might appear, which should serve as a direction to her, and as a signal of approach to us. Every officer stepped forward to volunteer a service which promised to be so replete with beneficial consequences. But the zeal and alacrity of captain Hunter, and our brethren of the 'Sirius', rendered superfluous all assistance or co-operation. Here on the summit of the hill, every morning from daylight until the sun sunk, did we sweep the horizon, in hope of seeing a sail. At every fleeting speck which arose from the bosom of the sea, the heart bounded, and the telescope was lifted to the eye. If a ship appeared here, we knew she must be bound to us; for on the shores of this vast ocean (the largest in the world) we were the only community which possessed the art of navigation, and languished for intercourse with civilized society. To say that we were disappointed and shocked, would very inadequately describe our sensations. But the misery and horror of such a situation cannot be imparted, even by those who have suffered under it. March, 1790. Vigorous measures were become indispensable. The governor therefore, early in February, ordered the 'Sirius' to prepare for a voyage to China; and a farther retrenchment of our ration, we were given to understand, would take place on her sailing. But the 'Sirius' was destined not to reach China. Previously to her intended departure on that voyage, she was ordered, in concert with the 'Supply', to convey Major Ross, with a large detachment of marines, and more than two hundred convicts, to Norfolk Island, it being hoped that such a division of our numbers would increase the means of subsistence, by diversified exertions. She sailed on the 6th of March. And on the 27th of the same month, the following order was issued from headquarters. Parole--Honour. Counter sign--Example. The expected supply of provisions not having arrived, makes it necessary to reduce the present ration. And the commissary is directed to issue, from the 1st of April, the under-mentioned allowance, to every person in the settlement without distinction. Four pounds of flour, two pounds and a half of salt pork, and one pound and a half of rice, per week. On the 5th of April news was brought, that the flag on the South-head was hoisted. Less emotion was created by the news than might be expected. Every one coldly said to his neighbour, "the 'Sirius' and 'Supply' are returned from Norfolk Island." To satisfy myself that the flag was really flying, I went to the observatory, and looked for it through the large astronomical telescope, when I plainly saw it. But I was immediately convinced that it was not to announce the arrival of ships from England; for I could see nobody near the flagstaff except one solitary being, who kept strolling around, unmoved by what he saw. I well knew how different an effect the sight of strange ships would produce. April, 1790. The governor, however, determined to go down the harbour, and I begged permission to accompany him. Having turned a point about half way down, we were surprised to see a boat, which was known to belong to the 'Supply', rowing towards us. On nearer approach, I saw captain Ball make an extraordinary motion with his hand, which too plainly indicated that something disastrous had happened; and I could not help turning to the governor, near whom I sat, and saying, "Sir, prepare yourself for bad news." A few minutes changed doubt into certainty; and to our unspeakable consternation we learned, that the 'Sirius' had been wrecked on Norfolk Island, on the 19th of February. Happily, however, Captain Hunter, and every other person belonging to her, were saved. Dismay was painted on every countenance, when the tidings were proclaimed at Sydney. The most distracting apprehensions were entertained All hopes were now concentred in the little 'Supply'. At six o'clock in the evening, all the officers of the garrison, both civil and military, were summoned to meet the governor in council, when the nature of our situation was fully discussed and an account of the provisions yet remaining in store laid before the council by the commissary. This account stated, that on the present ration* the public stores contained salt meat sufficient to serve until the 2nd of July, flour until the 20th of August, and rice, or pease in lieu of it, until the 1st of October. [*See the ration of the 27th of March, a few pages back.] Several regulations for the more effectual preservation of gardens, and other private property, were proposed, and adopted and after some interchange of opinion, the following ration was decreed to commence immediately, a vigorous exertion to prolong existence, or the chance of relief, being all now left to us. Two pounds of pork, two pounds and a half of flour, two pounds of rice, or a quart of pease, per week, to every grown person, and to every child of more than eighteen months old. To every child under eighteen months old, the same quantity of rice and flour, and one pound of pork.** [**When the age of this provision is recollected, its inadequacy will more strikingly appear. The pork and rice were brought with us from England. The pork had been salted between three and four years, and every grain of rice was a moving body, from the inhabitants lodged within it. We soon left off boiling the pork, as it had become so old and dry, that it shrunk one half in its dimensions when so dressed. Our usual method of cooking it was to cut off the daily morsel, and toast it on a fork before the fire, catching the drops which fell on a slice of bread, or in a saucer of rice. Our flour was the remnant of what was brought from the Cape, by the 'Sirius', and was good. Instead of baking it, the soldiers and convicts used to boil it up with greens.] The immediate departure of the 'Supply', for Batavia, was also determined. Nor did our zeal stop here. The governor being resolved to employ all the boats, public and private, in procuring fish--which was intended to be served in lieu of salt meat--all the officers, civil and military, including the clergyman, and the surgeons of the hospital, made the voluntary offer, in addition to their other duties, to go alternately every night in these boats, in order to see that every exertion was made, and that all the fish which might be caught was deposited with the commissary. The best marksmen of the marines and convicts were also selected, and put under the command of a trusty sergeant, with directions to range the woods in search of kangaroos, which were ordered, when brought in, to be delivered to the commissary. And as it was judged that the inevitable fatigues of shooting and fishing could not be supported on the common ration, a small additional quantity of flour and pork was appropriated to the use of the game-keepers; and each fisherman, who had been out during the preceding night had, on his return in the morning, a pound of uncleaned fish allowed for his breakfast. On the 17th instant, the 'Supply', captain Ball, sailed for Batavia. We followed her with anxious eyes until she was no longer visible. Truly did we say to her "In te omnis domus inclinata recumbit." We were, however, consoled by reflecting, that every thing which zeal, fortitude, and seamanship, could produce, was concentred in her commander. Our bosoms consequently became less perturbed; and all our labour and attention were turned on one object--the procuring of food. "Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war" were no more. The distress of the lower classes for clothes was almost equal to their other wants. The stores had been long exhausted, and winter was at hand. Nothing more ludicrous can be conceived than the expedients of substituting, shifting, and patching, which ingenuity devised, to eke out wretchedness, and preserve the remains of decency. The superior dexterity of the women was particularly conspicuous. Many a guard have I seen mount, in which the number of soldiers without shoes exceeded that which had yet preserved remnants of leather. Nor was another part of our domestic economy less whimsical. If a lucky man, who had knocked down a dinner with his gun, or caught a fish by angling from the rocks, invited a neighbour to dine with him, the invitation always ran, "bring your own bread." Even at the governor's table, this custom was constantly observed. Every man when he sat down pulled his bread out of his pocket, and laid it by his plate. The insufficiency of our ration soon diminished our execution of labour. Both soldiers and convicts pleaded such loss of strength, as to find themselves unable to perform their accustomed tasks. The hours of public work were accordingly shortened or, rather, every man was ordered to do as much as his strength would permit, and every other possible indulgence was granted. May, 1790. In proportion, however, as lenity and mitigation were extended to inability and helplessness, inasmuch was the most rigorous justice executed on disturbers of the public tranquillity. Persons detected in robbing gardens, or pilfering provisions, were never screened because, as every man could possess, by his utmost exertions, but a bare sufficiency to preserve life*, he who deprived his neighbour of that little, drove him to desperation. No new laws for the punishment of theft were enacted; but persons of all descriptions were publicly warned, that the severest penalties, which the existing law in its greatest latitude would authorise, should be inflicted on offenders. The following sentence of a court of justice, of which I was a member, on a convict detected in a garden stealing potatoes, will illustrate the subject. He was ordered to receive three hundred lashes immediately, to be chained for six months to two other criminals, who were thus fettered for former offences, and to have his allowance of flour stopped for six months. So that during the operation of the sentence, two pounds of pork, and two pounds of rice (or in lieu of the latter, a quart of pease) per week, constituted his whole subsistence. Such was the melancholy length to which we were compelled to stretch our penal system. [*Its preservation in some cases was found impracticable. Three or four instances of persons who perished from want have been related to me. One only, however, fell within my own observation. I was passing the provision store, when a man, with a wild haggard countenance, who had just received his daily pittance to carry home, came out. His faltering gait, and eager devouring eye, led me to watch him, and he had not proceeded ten steps before he fell. I ordered him to be carried to the hospital, where, when he arrived, he was found dead. On opening the body, the cause of death was pronounced to be inanition.] Farther to contribute to the detection of villainy, a proclamation, offering a reward of sixty pounds of flour, more tempting than the ore of Peru or Potosi, was promised to any one who should apprehend, and bring to justice, a robber of garden ground. Our friend Baneelon, during this season of scarcity, was as well taken care of as our desperate circumstances would allow. We knew not how to keep him, and yet were unwilling to part with him. Had he penetrated our state, perhaps he might have given his countrymen such a description of our diminished numbers, and diminished strength, as would have emboldened them to become more troublesome. Every expedient was used to keep him in ignorance. His allowance was regularly received by the governor's servant, like that of any other person, but the ration of a week was insufficient to have kept him for a day. The deficiency was supplied by fish whenever it could be procured, and a little Indian corn, which had been reserved was ground and appropriated to his use. In spite of all these aids, want of food has been known to make him furious and often melancholy. There is reason to believe that he had long meditated his escape, which he effected in the night of the 3rd instant. About two o'clock in the morning, he pretended illness, and awaking the servant who lay in the room with him, begged to go down stairs. The other attended him without suspicion of his design; and Baneelon no sooner found himself in a backyard, than he nimbly leaped over a slight paling, and bade us adieu. The following public order was issued within the date of this chapter, and is too pleasing a proof that universal depravity did not prevail among the convicts, to be omitted. The governor, in consequence of the unremitted good behaviour and meritorious conduct of John Irving, is pleased to remit the remainder of the term for which he was sentenced to transportation. He is therefore to be considered as restored to all those rights and privileges, which had been suspended in consequence of the sentence of the law. And as such, he is hereby appointed to act as an assistant to the surgeon at Norfolk Island. CHAPTER VII Transactions of the Colony in June, July, and August, 1790. At length the clouds of misfortune began to separate, and on the evening of the 3rd of June, the joyful cry of "the flag's up" resounded in every direction. I was sitting in my hut, musing on our fate, when a confused clamour in the street drew my attention. I opened my door, and saw several women with children in their arms running to and fro with distracted looks, congratulating each other, and kissing their infants with the most passionate and extravagant marks of fondness. I needed no more; but instantly started out, and ran to a hill, where, by the assistance of a pocket glass, my hopes were realized. My next door neighbour, a brother-officer, was with me, but we could not speak. We wrung each other by the hand, with eyes and hearts overflowing. Finding that the governor intended to go immediately in his boat down the harbour, I begged to be of his party. As we proceeded, the object of our hopes soon appeared: a large ship, with English colours flying, working in, between the heads which form the entrance of the harbour. The tumultuous state of our minds represented her in danger; and we were in agony. Soon after, the governor, having ascertained what she was, left us, and stepped into a fishing boat to return to Sydney. The weather was wet and tempestuous but the body is delicate only when the soul is at ease. We pushed through wind and rain, the anxiety of our sensations every moment redoubling. At last we read the word 'London' on her stern. "Pull away, my lads! She is from Old England! A few strokes more, and we shall be aboard! Hurrah for a bellyfull, and news from our friends!" Such were our exhortations to the boat's crew. A few minutes completed our wishes, and we found ourselves on board the 'Lady Juliana' transport, with two hundred and twenty-five of our countrywomen whom crime or misfortune had condemned to exile. We learned that they had been almost eleven months on their passage, having left Plymouth, into which port they had put in July, 1789. We continued to ask a thousand questions on a breath. Stimulated by curiosity, they inquired in turn; but the right of being first answered, we thought, lay on our side. "Letters, letters!" was the cry. They were produced, and torn open in trembling agitation. News burst upon us like meridian splendor on a blind man. We were overwhelmed with it: public, private, general, and particular. Nor was it until some days had elapsed, that we were able to methodise it, or reduce it into form. We now heard for the first time of our sovereign's illness, and his happy restoration to health. The French revolution of 1789, with all the attendant circumstances of that wonderful and unexpected event, succeeded to amaze us*. Now, too, the disaster which had befallen the 'Guardian', and the liberal and enlarged plan on which she had been stored and fitted out by government for our use, was promulged. It served also, in some measure, to account why we had not sooner heard from England. For had not the 'Guardian' struck on an island of ice, she would probably have reached us three months before, and in this case have prevented the loss of the 'Sirius', although she had sailed from England three months after the 'Lady Juliana'. [*These words bring to my mind an anecdote, which, though rather out of place, I shall offer no apology for introducing. Among other inquiries, we were anxious to learn whether M. de la Peyrouse, with the two ships under his command, bound on a voyage of discovery, had arrived in France. We heard with concern, that no accounts of them had been received, since they had left Botany Bay, in March, 1788. I remember when they were at that place, one day conversing with Monsieur de la Peyrouse, about the best method of treating savage people, "Sir," said he, "I have sometimes been compelled to commit hostilities upon them, but never without suffering the most poignant regret; for, independent of my own feelings on the occasion, his Majesty's (Louis XVI) last words to me, de sa propre bouche, when I took leave of him at Versailles, were: 'It is my express injunction, that you always treat the Indian nations with kindness and humanity. Gratify their wishes, and never, but in a case of the last necessity, when self-defence requires it, shed human blood.' Are these the sentiments of a tyrant, of a sanguinary and perfidious man?" A general thanksgiving to Almighty God, for his Majesty's recovery, and happy restoration to his family and subjects, was ordered to be offered up on the following Wednesday, when all public labour was suspended; and every person in the settlement attended at church, where a sermon, suited to an occasion, at once so full of gratitude and solemnity, was preached by the Reverend Richard Johnson, chaplain of the colony. All the officers were afterwards entertained at dinner by the governor. And in the evening, an address to his excellency, expressive of congratulation and loyalty, was agreed upon; and in two days after was presented, and very graciously received. The following invitation to the non-commissioned officers and private soldiers of the marine battalion, was also about this time published. In consequence of the assurance that was given to the non-commissioned officers and men belonging to the battalion of marines, on their embarking for the service of this country, that such of them as should behave well, would be allowed to quit the service, on their return to England; or be discharged abroad, upon the relief taking place, and permitted to settle in the country--His Majesty has been graciously pleased to direct the following encouragement to be held up to such non-commissioned officers and privates, as may be disposed to become settlers in this country, or in any of the islands comprised within the government of the continent of New South Wales, on the arrival of the corps raised and intended for the service of this colony, and for their relief, viz: To every non-commissioned officer, an allotment of one hundred and thirty acres of land, if single, and of one hundred and fifty acres, if married. To every private soldier, an allotment of eighty acres, if single, and of one hundred acres if married; and also an allotment of ten acres for every child, whether of a non-commissioned officer, or of a private soldier. These allotments will be free of all fines, taxes, quit-rents, and other acknowledgments, for the space of ten years; but after the expiration of that period, will be subject to an annual quit-rent of one shilling for every fifty acres. His Majesty has likewise been farther pleased to signify his royal will and pleasure, that a bounty of three pounds be offered to each non-commissioned officer and soldier, who may be disposed to continue in this country, and enlist in the corps appointed for the service of New South Wales; with a farther assurance, that in case of a proper demeanour on their part, they shall, after a farther service of five years, be entitled to double the former portion of land, provided they then choose to become settlers in the country, free of all taxes, fines, and quit-rents, for the space of fifteen years; but after that time, to be subject to the beforementioned annual quit-rent of one shilling for every fifty acres. And as a farther encouragement to those men who may be desirous to become settlers, and continue in the country, his Majesty has been likewise pleased to direct, that every man shall, on being discharged, receive out of the public store, a portion of clothing and provisions, sufficient for his support for one year; together with a suitable quantity of seeds, grain, etc. for the tillage of the land; and a portion of tools and implements of agriculture, proper for their use. And whenever any man, who may become a settler, can maintain, feed, and clothe, such number of convicts as may be judged necessary by the governor, for the time being, to assist him in clearing and cultivating the land, the service of such convicts shall be assigned to him. We were joyfully surprised on the 20th of the month to see another sail enter the harbour. She proved to be the Justinian transport, commanded by Captain Maitland, and our rapture was doubled on finding that she was laden entirely with provisions for our use. Full allowance, and general congratulation, immediately took place. This ship had left Falmouth on the preceding 20th of January, and completed her passage exactly in five months*. She had staid at Madeira one day, and four at Sao Tiago, from which last place she had steered directly for New South Wales, neglecting Rio de Janeiro on her right, and the Cape of Good Hope on her left; and notwithstanding the immense tract of ocean she had passed, brought her crew without sickness into harbour. When the novelty and boldness of such an attempt shall be recollected, too much praise, on the spirit and activity of Mr. Maitland, cannot be bestowed. [*Accident only prevented her from making it in eighteen days less, for she was then in sight of the harbour's mouth, when an unpropitious gale of wind blew her off. Otherwise she would have reached us one day sooner than the 'Lady Juliana'. It is a curious circumstance, that these two ships had sailed together from the river Thames, one bound to Port Jackson, and the other bound to Jamaica. The Justinian carried her cargo to the last mentioned place, landed it; and loaded afresh with sugars, which she returned with, and delivered in London. She was then hired as a transport, reladen, and sailed for New South Wales. Let it be remembered, that no material accident had happened to either vessel. But what will not zeal and diligence accomplish!] Good fortune continued to befriend us. Before the end of the month, three more transports, having on board two companies of the New South Wales corps, arrived to add to our society. These ships also brought out a large body of convicts, whose state and sufferings will be best estimated by the following return. Names of No. of people No. of persons who died No. landed sick Ships embarked on the passage at Port Jackson ----------------------------------------------------------------- Neptune 530 163 269 Surprise 252 42 121 Scarborough 256 68 96 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1038 273 486 ----------------------------------------------------------------- N.B. Of those landed sick, one hundred and twenty-four died in the hospital at Sydney. On our passage from England, which had lasted more than eight months and with nearly an equal number of persons, only twenty-four had died, and not thirty were landed sick. The difference can be accounted for, only by comparing the manner in which each fleet was fitted out and conducted. With us the provisions, served on board, were laid in by a contractor, who sent a deputy to serve them out; and it became a part of duty for the officers of the troops to inspect their quality, and to order that every one received his just proportion. Whereas, in the fleet now arrived, the distribution of provisions rested entirely with the masters of the merchantmen, and the officers were expressly forbidden to interfere in any shape farther about the convicts than to prevent their escape. Seventeen pounds, in full of all expense, was the sum paid by the public for the passage of each person. And this sum was certainly competent to afford fair profit to the merchant who contracted. But there is reason to believe, that some of those who were employed to act for him, violated every principle of justice, and rioted on the spoils of misery, for want of a controlling power to check their enormities. No doubt can be entertained, that a humane and liberal government will interpose its authority, to prevent the repetition of such flagitious conduct. Although the convicts had landed from these ships with every mark of meagre misery, yet it was soon seen, that a want of room, in which more conveniences might have been stowed for their use, had not caused it. Several of the masters of the transports immediately opened stores, and exposed large quantities of goods to sale, which, though at most extortionate prices, were eagerly bought up. Such was the weakly state of the new corners, that for several weeks little real benefit to the colony was derived from so great a nominal addition to our number. However, as fast as they recovered, employment was immediately assigned to them. The old hours of labour, which had been reduced in our distress, were re-established, and the most vigorous measures adopted to give prosperity to the settlement. New buildings were immediately planned, and large tracts of ground, at Rose-hill, ordered to be cleared, and prepared for cultivation. Some superintendents who had arrived in the fleet, and were hired by government for the purpose of overlooking and directing the convicts, were found extremely serviceable in accelerating the progress of improvement. July, 1790. This month was marked by nothing worth communication, except a melancholy accident which befell a young gentleman of amiable character (one of the midshipmen lately belonging to the 'Sirius') and two marines. He was in a small boat, with three marines, in the harbour, when a whale was seen near them. Sensible of their danger, they used every effort to avoid the cause of it, by rowing in a contrary direction from that which the fish seemed to take, but the monster suddenly arose close to them, and nearly filled the boat with water. By exerting themselves, they baled her out, and again steered from it. For some time it was not seen, and they conceived themselves safe, when, rising immediately under the boat, it lifted her to the height of many yards on its back, whence slipping off, she dropped as from a precipice, and immediately filled and sunk. The midshipman and one of the marines were sucked into the vortex which the whale had made, and disappeared at once. The two other marines swam for the nearest shore, but one only reached it, to recount the fate of his companions. August, 1790. In the beginning of this month, in company with Mr. Dawes and Mr. Worgan, late surgeon of the 'Sirius', I undertook an expedition to the southward and westward of Rose Hill, where the country had never been explored. We remained out seven days, and penetrated to a considerable distance in a S.S.W. direction, bounding our course at a remarkable hill, to which, from its conical shape, we gave the name of Pyramid-hill. Except the discovery of a river (which is unquestionably the Nepean near its source) to which we gave the name of the Worgan, in honour of one of our party, nothing very interesting was remarked. Towards the end of the month, we made a second excursion to the north-west of Rose Hill, when we again fell in with the Nepean, and traced it to the spot where it had been first discovered by the party of which I was a member, fourteen months before, examining the country as we went along. Little doubt now subsisted that the Hawkesbury and Nepean were one river. We undertook a third expedition soon after to Broken Bay, which place we found had not been exaggerated in description, whether its capacious harbour, or its desolate incultivable shores, be considered. On all these excursions we brought away, in small bags, as many specimens of the soil of the country we had passed through, as could be conveniently carried, in order that by analysis its qualities might be ascertained. CHAPTER VIII. Transactions of the Colony in the Beginning of September, 1790. The tremendous monster who had occasioned the unhappy catastrophe just recorded was fated to be the cause of farther mischief to us. On the 7th instant, Captain Nepean, of the New South Wales Corps, and Mr. White, accompanied by little Nanbaree, and a party of men, went in a boat to Manly Cove, intending to land there, and walk on to Broken Bay. On drawing near the shore, a dead whale, in the most disgusting state of putrefaction, was seen lying on the beach, and at least two hundred Indians surrounding it, broiling the flesh on different fires, and feasting on it with the most extravagant marks of greediness and rapture. As the boat continued to approach, they were observed to fall into confusion and to pick up their spears, on which our people lay upon their oars and Nanbaree stepping forward, harangued them for some time, assuring them that we were friends. Mr. White now called for Baneelon who, on hearing his name, came forth, and entered into conversation. He was greatly emaciated, and so far disfigured by a long beard, that our people not without difficulty recognized their old acquaintance. His answering in broken English, and inquiring for the governor, however, soon corrected their doubts. He seemed quite friendly. And soon after Colbee came up, pointing to his leg, to show that he had freed himself from the fetter which was upon him, when he had escaped from us. When Baneelon was told that the governor was not far off, he expressed great joy, and declared that he would immediately go in search of him, and if he found him not, would follow him to Sydney. "Have you brought any hatchets with you?" cried he. Unluckily they had not any which they chose to spare; but two or three shirts, some handkerchiefs, knives, and other trifles, were given to them, and seemed to satisfy. Baneelon, willing to instruct his countrymen, tried to put on a shirt, but managed it so awkwardly, that a man of the name of M'Entire, the governor's gamekeeper, was directed by Mr. White to assist him. This man, who was well known to him, he positively forbade to approach, eyeing him ferociously, and with every mark of horror and resentment. He was in consequence left to himself, and the conversation proceeded as before. The length of his beard seemed to annoy him much, and he expressed eager wishes to be shaved, asking repeatedly for a razor. A pair of scissors was given to him, and he shewed he had not forgotten how to use such an instrument, for he forthwith began to clip his hair with it. During this time, the women and children, to the number of more than fifty, stood at a distance, and refused all invitations, which could be conveyed by signs and gestures, to approach nearer. "Which of them is your old favourite, Barangaroo, of whom you used to speak so often?" "Oh," said he, "she is become the wife of Colbee! But I have got 'bulla muree deein' (two large women) to compensate for her loss." It was observed that he had received two wounds, in addition to his former numerous ones, since he had left us; one of them from a spear, which had passed through the fleshy part of his arm; and the other displayed itself in a large scar above his left eye. They were both healed, and probably were acquired in the conflict wherein he had asserted his pretensions to the two ladies. Nanbaree, all this while, though he continued to interrogate his countrymen, and to interpret on both sides, shewed little desire to return to their society, and stuck very close to his new friends. On being asked the cause of their present meeting, Baneelon pointed to the whale, which stunk immoderately, and Colbee made signals, that it was common among them to cat until the stomach was so overladen as to occasion sickness. Their demand of hatchets being re-iterated, notwithstanding our refusal, they were asked why they had not brought with them some of their own? They excused themselves by saying, that on an occasion of the present sort, they always left them at home, and cut up the whale with the shell which is affixed to the end of the throwing-stick. Our party now thought it time to proceed on their original expedition, and having taken leave of their sable friends, rowed to some distance, where they landed, and set out for Broken Bay, ordering the coxswain of the boat, in which they had come down, to go immediately and acquaint the governor of all that had passed. When the natives saw that the boat was about to depart, they crowded around her, and brought down, by way of present, three or four great junks of the whale, and put them on board of her, the largest of which, Baneelon expressly requested might be offered, in his name, to the governor. It happened that his excellency had this day gone to a landmark, which was building on the South-head, near the flag-staff, to serve as a direction to ships at sea, and the boat met him on his return to Sydney. Immediately on receiving the intelligence, he hastened back to the South-head, and having procured all the fire-arms which could be mustered there, consisting of four muskets and a pistol, set out, attended by Mr. Collins and Lieutenant Waterhouse of the navy. When the boat reached Manly Cove, the natives were found still busily employed around the whale. As they expressed not any consternation on seeing us row to the beach, governor Phillip stepped out unarmed, and attended by one seaman only, and called for Baneelon, who appeared, but, notwithstanding his former eagerness, would not suffer the other to approach him for several minutes. Gradually, however, he warmed into friendship and frankness, and presently after Colbee came up. They discoursed for some time, Baneelon expressing pleasure to see his old acquaintance, and inquiring by name for every person whom he could recollect at Sydney; and among others for a French cook, one of the governor's servants, whom he had constantly made the butt of his ridicule, by mimicking his voice, gait, and other peculiarities, all of which he again went through with his wonted exactness and drollery. He asked also particularly for a lady from whom he had once ventured to snatch a kiss; and on being told that she was well, by way of proving that the token was fresh in his remembrance, he kissed Lieutenant Waterhouse, and laughed aloud. On his wounds being noticed, he coldly said, that he had received them at Botany Bay, but went no farther into their history. Hatchets still continued to be called for with redoubled eagerness, which rather surprised us, as formerly they had always been accepted with indifference. But Baneelon had probably demonstrated to them their superiority over those of their own manufacturing. To appease their importunity, the governor gave them a knife, some bread, pork, and other articles, and promised that in two days he would return hither, and bring with him hatchets to be distributed among them, which appeared to diffuse general satisfaction. Baneelon's love of wine has been mentioned; and the governor, to try whether it still subsisted, uncorked a bottle, and poured out a glass of it, which the other drank off with his former marks of relish and good humour, giving for a toast, as he had been taught, "The King." Our party now advanced from the beach but, perceiving many of the Indians filing off to the right and left, so as in some measure to surround them, they retreated gently to their old situation, which produced neither alarm or offence. The others by degrees also resumed their former position. A very fine barbed spear of uncommon size being seen by the governor, he asked for it. But Baneelon, instead of complying with the request, took it away, and laid it at some distance, and brought back a throwing-stick, which he presented to his excellency. Matters had proceeded in this friendly train for more than half an hour, when a native, with a spear in his hand, came forward, and stopped at the distance of between twenty and thirty yards from the place where the governor, Mr. Collins, Lieutenant Waterhouse, and a seaman stood. His excellency held out his hand, and called to him, advancing towards him at the same time, Mr. Collins following close behind. He appeared to be a man of middle age, short of stature, sturdy, and well set, seemingly a stranger, and but little acquainted with Baneelon and Colbee. The nearer the governor approached, the greater became the terror and agitation of the Indian. To remove his fear, governor Phillip threw down a dirk, which he wore at his side. The other, alarmed at the rattle of the dirk, and probably misconstruing the action, instantly fixed his lance in his throwing-stick*. [*Such preparation is equal to what cocking a gun, and directing it at its object, would be with us. To launch the spear, or to touch the trigger, only remains.] To retreat, his excellency now thought would be more dangerous than to advance. He therefore cried out to the man, Weeeree, Weeree, (bad; you are doing wrong) displaying at the same time, every token of amity and confidence. The words had, however, hardly gone forth, when the Indian, stepping back with one foot, aimed his lance with such force and dexterity, that striking* the governor's right shoulder, just above the collar-bone, the point glancing downward, came out at his back, having made a wound of many inches long. The man was observed to keep his eye steadily fixed on the lance until it struck its object, when he directly dashed into the woods and was seen no more. [*His excellency described the shock to me as similar to a violent blow, with such energy was the weapon thrown.] Instant confusion on both sides took place. Baneelon and Colbee disappeared and several spears were thrown from different quarters, though without effect. Our party retreated as fast as they could, calling to those who were left in the boat, to hasten up with firearms. A situation more distressing than that of the governor, during the time that this lasted, cannot readily be conceived: the pole of the spear, not less than ten feet in length, sticking out before him, and impeding his flight, the butt frequently striking the ground, and lacerating the wound. In vain did Mr. Waterhouse try to break it; and the barb, which appeared on the other side, forbade extraction, until that could be performed. At length it was broken, and his excellency reached the boat, by which time the seamen with the muskets had got up, and were endeavouring to fire them, but one only would go off, and there is no room to believe that it was attended with any execution. When the governor got home, the wound was examined. It had bled a good deal in the boat, and it was doubtful whether the subclavian artery might not be divided. On moving the spear, it was found, however, that it might be safely extracted, which was accordingly performed. Apprehension for the safety of the party who had gone to Broken Bay, now took place. Lieutenant Long, with a detachment of marines, was immediately sent to escort them back, lest any ambush might be laid by the natives to cut them off. When Mr. Long reached Manly Cove, the sun had set; however, he pursued his way in the dark, scrambling over rocks and thickets, as well as he could, until two o'clock on the following morning, when he overtook them at a place where they had halted to sleep, about half-way between the two harbours. At day-break they all returned, and were surprised to find tracks in the sand of the feet of the Indians, almost the whole way from the place where they had slept to the Cove. By this it should seem as if these last had secretly followed them, probably with hostile intentions but, on discovering their strength, and that they were on their guard, had abandoned their design. On reaching Manly Cove, three Indians were observed standing on a rock, with whom they entered into conversation. The Indians informed them, that the man who had wounded the governor belonged to a tribe residing at Broken Bay, and they seemed highly to condemn what he had done. Our gentlemen asked them for a spear, which they immediately gave. The boat's crew said that Baneelon and Colbee had just departed, after a friendly intercourse. Like the others, they had pretended highly to disapprove the conduct of the man who had thrown the spear, vowing to execute vengeance upon him. From this time, until the 14th, no communication passed between the natives and us. On that day, the chaplain and lieutenant Dawes, having Abaroo with them in a boat, learned from two Indians that Wileemarin was the name of the person who had wounded the governor. These two people inquired kindly how his excellency did, and seemed pleased to hear that he was likely to recover. They said that they were inhabitants of Rose Hill, and expressed great dissatisfaction at the number of white men who had settled in their former territories. In consequence of which declaration, the detachment at that post was reinforced on the following day. A hazardous enterprise (but when liberty is the stake, what enterprise is too hazardous for its attainment!) was undertaken in this month by five convicts at Rose Hill, who, in the night, seized a small punt there, and proceeded in her to the South Head, whence they seized and carried off a boat, appropriated to the use of the lookout house, and put to sea in her, doubtless with a view of reaching any port they could arrive at, and asserting their freedom. They had all come out in the last fleet; and for some time previous to their elopement, had been collecting fishing tackle, and hoarding up provisions, to enable them to put their scheme into execution*. [*They have never since been heard of. Before they went away, they tried in vain to procure firearms. If they were not swallowed by the sea, probably they were cut off by the natives, on some part of the coast where their necessities obliged them to land.] CHAPTER IX. Transactions of the Colony in part of September and October, 1790. From so unfavourable an omen as I have just related, who could prognosticate that an intercourse with the natives was about to commence! That the foundation of what neither entreaty, munificence, or humanity, could induce, should be laid by a deed, which threatened to accumulate scenes of bloodshed and horror was a consequence which neither speculation could predict, or hope expect to see accomplished. On the 15th a fire being seen on the north shore of the harbour, a party of our people went thither, accompanied by Nanbaree and Abaroo. They found there Baneelon, and several other natives, and much civility passed, which was cemented by a mutual promise to meet in the afternoon at the same place. Both sides were punctual to their engagement, and no objection being made to our landing, a party of us went ashore to them unarmed. Several little presents, which had been purposely brought, were distributed among them; and to Baneelon were given a hatchet and a fish. At a distance stood some children, who, though at first timorous and unwilling to approach, were soon persuaded to advance, and join the men. A bottle of wine was produced, and Baneelon immediately prepared for the charge. Bread and beef he called loudly for, which were given to him, and he began to eat, offering a part of his fare to his countrymen, two of whom tasted the beef, but none of them would touch the bread. Having finished his repast, he made a motion to be shaved, and a barber being present, his request was complied with, to the great admiration of his countrymen, who laughed and exclaimed at the operation. They would not, however, consent to undergo it, but suffered their beards to be clipped with a pair of scissors. On being asked where their women were, they pointed to the spot, but seemed not desirous that we should approach it. However, in a few minutes, a female appeared not far off, and Abaroo was dispatched to her. Baneelon now joined with Abaroo to persuade her to come to us, telling us she was Barangaroo, and his wife, notwithstanding he had so lately pretended that she had left him for Colbee. At length she yielded, and Abaroo, having first put a petticoat on her, brought her to us. But this was the prudery of the wilderness, which her husband joined us to ridicule, and we soon laughed her out of it. The petticoat was dropped with hesitation, and Barangaroo stood "armed cap-a-pee in nakedness." At the request of Baneelon, we combed and cut her hair, and she seemed pleased with the operation. Wine she would not taste, but turned from it with disgust, though heartily invited to drink by the example and persuasion of Baneelon. In short, she behaved so well, and assumed the character of gentleness and timidity to such advantage, that had our acquaintance ended here, a very moderate share of the spirit of travelling would have sufficed to record, that amidst a horde of roaming savages, in the desert wastes of New South Wales, might be found as much feminine innocence, softness, and modesty (allowing for inevitable difference of education), as the most finished system could bestow, or the most polished circle produce. So little fitted are we to judge of human nature at once! And yet on such grounds have countries been described, and nations characterized. Hence have arisen those speculative and laborious compositions on the advantages and superiority of a state of nature. But to resume my subject. Supposing, that by a private conversation, she might be induced to visit Sydney, which would be the means of drawing her husband and others thither, Abaroo was instructed to take her aside, and try if she could persuade her to comply with our wish. They wandered away together accordingly, but it was soon seen, that Barangaroo's arguments to induce Abaroo to rejoin their society, were more powerful than those of the latter, to prevail upon her to come among us; for it was not without manifest reluctance, and often repeated injunctions, that Abaroo would quit her countrywomen; and when she had done so, she sat in the boat, in sullen silence, evidently occupied by reflection on the scene she had left behind, and returning inclination to her former habits of life. Nor was a circumstance which had happened in the morning interview, perhaps, wholly unremembered by the girl. We had hinted to Baneelon to provide a husband for her, who should be at liberty to pass and repass to and from Sydney, as he might choose. There was at the time, a slender fine looking youth in company, called Imeerawanyee, about sixteen years old. The lad, on being invited, came immediately up to her, and offered many blandishments, which proved that he had assumed the 'toga virilis'. But Abaroo disclaimed his advances, repeating the name of another person, who we knew was her favourite. The young lover was not, however, easily repulsed, but renewed his suit, on our return in the afternoon, with such warmth of solicitation, as to cause an evident alteration in the sentiments of the lady. To heighten the good humour which pervaded both parties, we began to play and romp with them. Feats of bodily strength were tried, and their inferiority was glaring. One of our party lifted with ease two of them from the ground, in spite of their efforts to prevent him, whereas in return, no one of them could move him. They called him 'murree mulla' (a large strong man). Compared with our English labourers, their muscular power would appear very feeble and inadequate. Before we parted, Baneelon informed us that his countrymen had lately been plundered of fish-gigs, spears, a sword, and many other articles, by some of our people, and expressed a wish that they should be restored, promising, that if they were, the governor's dirk should be produced and returned to us to-morrow, if we would meet him here. Accordingly on the following day we rowed to the spot, carrying with us the stolen property. We found here several natives, but not Baneelon. We asked for him, and were told that he was gone down the harbour with Barangaroo to fish. Although disappointed at his breach of promise, we went on shore, and mingled without distrust among those we found, acquainting them that we had brought with us the articles of which they had been plundered. On hearing this account, they expressed great joy, and Imeerawanyee darting forward, claimed the sword. It was given to him, and he had no sooner grasped it, than he hastened to convince his mistress, that his prowess in war, was not inferior to his skill in courtship. Singling out a yellow gum-tree for the foe, he attacked it with great fierceness, calling to us to look on, and accompanying his onset with all the gestures and vociferation which they use in battle. Having conquered his enemy, he laid aside his fighting face, and joined us with a countenance which carried in it every mark of youth and good nature. Whether Abaroo's coyness, and preference of another, had displeased him, or it was owing to natural fickleness, he paid her no farther attention, but seemed more delighted with us. He had no beard, but was highly gratified in being combed and having his hair clipped. All the stolen property being brought on shore, an old man came up, and claimed one of the fish-gigs, singling it from the bundle, and taking only his own; and this honesty, within the circle of their society, seemed to characterize them all. During this time, it was observed, that one of the Indians, instead of mixing with the rest, stood aloof, in a musing posture, contemplating what passed. When we offered to approach him, he shunned us not, and willingly shook hands with all who chose to do so. He seemed to be between 30 and 40 years old, was jolly, and had a thoughtful countenance, much marked by the smallpox. He wore a string of bits of dried reed round his neck, which I asked him to exchange for a black stock. He smiled at the proposal, but made no offer of what I wanted; which our young friend, Imeerawanyee, observing, flew to him, and taking off the necklace, directly fixed it about my neck. I feared he would be enraged, but he bore it with serenity, and suffered a gentleman present to fasten his black stock upon him, with which he appeared to be pleased. To increase his satisfaction, some other trifle was given to him. Having remained here an hour we went in quest of Baneelon, agreeably to the directions which his companions pointed out. We found him and Barangaroo shivering over a few lighted sticks, by which they were dressing small fish, and their canoe hauled up on the beach near them. On first seeing the boat, they ran into the woods; but on being called by name, they came back, and consented to our landing. We carried on shore with us the remaining part of the fish-gigs and spears which had been stolen, and restored them to Baneelon. Among other things, was a net full of fishing lines and other tackle, which Barangaroo said was her property and, immediately on receiving it, she slung it around her neck. Baneelon inquired, with solicitude, about the state of the governor's wound, but he made no offer of restoring the dirk; and when he was asked for it, he pretended to know nothing of it, changing the conversation with great art, and asking for wine, which was given to him. At parting, we pressed him to appoint a day on which he should come to Sydney, assuring him, that he would be well received, and kindly treated. Doubtful, however, of being permitted to return, he evaded our request, and declared that the governor must first come and see him, which we promised should be done. The governor did not hesitate to execute the engagement which we had contracted for him. But Baneelon still resisted coming among us, and matters continued in this fluctuating state until the 8th of October, when a fire, which they had agreed to light as a signal for us to visit them, was observed. The eager desire by which we were stimulated to carry our point of effecting an intercourse had appeared. Various parties accordingly set out to meet them, provided with different articles, which we thought would prove acceptable to them. We found assembled, Baneelon, Barangaroo, and another young woman, and six men, all of whom received us with welcome, except the grave looking gentleman before mentioned, who stood aloof in his former musing posture. When they saw that we had brought hatchets, and other articles with us, they produced spears, fish-gigs, and lines, for the purpose of barter,* which immediately commenced, to the satisfaction of both parties. I had brought with me an old blunted spear, which wanted repair. An Indian immediately undertook to perform the task, and carrying it to a fire, tore with his teeth a piece of bone from a fish-gig, which he fastened on the spear with yellow gum, rendered flexible by heat. [*It had long been our wish to establish a commerce of this sort. It is a painful consideration, that every previous addition to the cabinet of the virtuosi, from this country, had wrung a tear from the plundered Indian.] October, 1790. Many of them now consented to be shaved by a barber whom we had purposely brought over. As I thought he who could perform an operation of such importance must be deemed by them an eminent personage, I bade him ask one of them for a fine barbed spear which he held in his hand; but all the barber's eloquence was wasted on the Indian, who plainly gave him to understand that he meant not to part with his spear, without receiving an equivalent. Unfortunately, his price was a hatchet, and the only one which I had brought with me was already disposed of to the man who had pointed my spear. In vain did I tempt him with a knife, a handkerchief, and a hat; nothing but a hatchet seemed to be regarded. 'Bulla mogo parrabugo' (two hatchets to-morrow) I repeatedly cried; but having probably experienced our insincerity, he rejected the proposal with disdain. Finding him inflexible, and longing to possess the spear, I told him at length that I would go to Sydney and fetch what he required. This seemed to satisfy, and he accompanied me to my boat, in which I went away, and as quickly as possible procured what was necessary to conclude the bargain. On my return, I was surprised to see all our boats rowing towards home, and with them a canoe, in which sat two Indians paddling. I pulled to them, and found that Baneelon, and another Indian, were in one of the boats, and that the whole formed a party going over to visit the governor. I now learned, that during my absence, the governor had passed in a boat, on his return from Rose Hill, near the place where they were standing; and that finding he would not come to them, although they had called to him to do so, they had at once determined to venture themselves unreservedly among us. One of the men in the canoe was the person to whom I was to give the hatchet I had been to fetch; and directly as he saw me, he held up his spear, and the exchange took place, with which, and perhaps to reward me for the trouble I had taken, he was so delighted that he presented me with a throwing-stick 'gratis'. Not seeing Barangaroo of the party, I asked for her, and was informed that she had violently opposed Baneelon's departure. When she found persuasion vain, she had recourse to tears, scolding, and threats, stamping the ground, and tearing her hair. But Baneelon continuing determined, she snatched up in her rage one of his fish-gigs, and dashed it with such fury on the rocks, that it broke. To quiet her apprehensions on the score of her husband's safety, Mr. Johnson, attended by Abaroo, agreed to remain as a hostage until Baneelon should return. We landed our four friends opposite the hospital, and set out for the governor's house. On hearing of their arrival, such numbers flocked to view them that we were apprehensive the crowd of persons would alarm them, but they had left their fears behind, and marched on with boldness and unconcern. When we reached the governor's house, Baneelon expressed honest joy to see his old friend, and appeared pleased to find that he had recovered of his wound. The governor asked for Wileemarin, and they said he was at Broken Bay. Some bread and beef were distributed among them but unluckily no fish was to be procured, which we were sorry for, as a promise of it had been one of the leading temptations by which they had been allured over. A hatchet apiece was, however, given to them, and a couple of petticoats and some fishing tackle sent for Barangaroo, and the other woman. The ceremony of introduction being finished, Baneelon seemed to consider himself quite at home, running from room to room with his companions, and introducing them to his old friends, the domestics, in the most familiar manner. Among these last, he particularly distinguished the governor's orderly sergeant, whom he kissed with great affection, and a woman who attended in the kitchen; but the gamekeeper, M'Entire*, he continued to hold in abhorrence, and would not suffer his approach. [*Look at the account of the governor being wounded, when his detestation of this man burst forth.] Nor was his importance to his countrymen less conspicuous in other respects. He undertook to explain the use and nature of those things which were new to them. Some of his explanations were whimsical enough. Seeing, for instance, a pair of snuffers, he told them that they were "Nuffer* for candle,"--which the others not comprehending, he opened the snuffers, and holding up the fore-finger of his left hand, to represent a candle, made the motion of snuffing it. Finding, that even this sagacious interpretation failed, he threw down the snuffers in a rage, and reproaching their stupidity, walked away. [*The S is a letter which they cannot pronounce, having no sound in their language similar to it. When bidden to pronounce sun, they always say tun; salt, talt, and so of all words wherein it occurs.] It was observed, that a soft gentle tone of voice, which we had taught him to use, was forgotten, and his native vociferation returned in full force. But the tenderness which (like Arabanoo) he had always manifested to children, he still retained; as appeared by his behaviour to those who were presented to him. The first wish they expressed to return, was complied with, in order to banish all appearance of constraint, the party who had conducted them to Sydney returning with them. When we reached the opposite shore, we found Abaroo and the other woman fishing in a canoe, and Mr. Johnson and Barangaroo sitting at the fire, the latter employed in manufacturing fish-hooks. At a little distance, on an adjoining eminence, sat an Indian, with his spear in his hand, as if sentinel over the hostages, for the security of his countrymen's return. During our absence, Barangaroo had never ceased whining, and reproaching her husband. Now that he was returned, she met him with unconcern, and seemed intent on her work only, but this state of repose did not long continue. Baneelon, eyeing the broken fish-gig, cast at her a look of savage fury and began to interrogate her, and it seemed more than probable that the remaining part would be demolished about her head had we not interposed to pacify him. Nor would we quit the place until his forgiveness was complete, and his good humour restored. No sooner, however, did she find her husband's rage subsided, than her hour of triumph commenced. The alarm and trepidation she had manifested disappeared. Elated at his condescension, and emboldened by our presence and the finery in which we had decked her, she in turn assumed a haughty demeanour, refused to answer his caresses, and viewed him with a reproaching eye. Although long absence from female society had somewhat blunted our recollection, the conduct of Barangaroo did not appear quite novel to us, nor was our surprise very violent at finding that it succeeded in subduing Baneelon who, when we parted, seemed anxious only to please her. Thus ended a day, the events of which served to complete what an unhappy accident had begun. From this time our intercourse with the natives, though partially interrupted, was never broken off. We gradually continued, henceforth, to gain knowledge of their customs and policy, the only knowledge which can lead to a just estimate of national character. CHAPTER X. The arrival of the 'Supply' from Batavia; the State of the Colony in November, 1790. Joy sparkled in every countenance to see our old friend the 'Supply' (I hope no reader will be so captious as to quarrel with the phrase) enter the harbour from Batavia on the 19th of October. We had witnessed her departure with tears; we hailed her return with transport. Captain Ball was rather more than six months in making this voyage, and is the first person who ever circumnavigated the continent of New Holland. On his passage to Batavia, he had discovered several islands, which he gave names to and, after fighting his way against adverse elements and through unexplored dangers, safely reached his destined port. He had well stored his little bark with every necessary and conveniency which he judged we should first want, leaving a cargo of rice and salt provisions to be brought on by a Dutch snow, which he had hired and freighted for the use of the settlement. While at Batavia, the 'Supply' had lost many of her people by sickness, and left several others in the general hospital at that place. As the arrival of the 'Supply' naturally leads the attention from other subjects to the state of the colony, I shall here take a review of it by transcribing a statement drawn from actual observation soon after, exactly as I find it written in my journal. Cultivation, on a public scale, has for some time past been given up here, (Sydney) the crop of last year being so miserable, as to deter from farther experiment, in consequence of which the government-farm is abandoned, and the people who were fixed on it have been removed. Necessary public buildings advance fast; an excellent storehouse of large dimensions, built of bricks and covered with tiles, is just completed; and another planned which will shortly be begun. Other buildings, among which I heard the governor mention an hospital and permanent barracks for the troops, may also be expected to arise soon. Works of this nature are more expeditiously performed than heretofore, owing, I apprehend, to the superintendants lately arrived, who are placed over the convicts and compel them to labour. The first difficulties of a new country being subdued may also contribute to this comparative facility. Vegetables are scarce, although the summer is so far advanced, owing to want of rain. I do not think that all the showers of the last four months put together, would make twenty-four hours rain. Our farms, what with this and a poor soil, are in wretched condition. My winter crop of potatoes, which I planted in days of despair (March and April last), turned out very badly when I dug them about two months back. Wheat returned so poorly last harvest, that very little, besides Indian corn, has been sown this year. The governor's wound is quite healed, and he feels no inconveniency whatever from it. With the natives we are hand and glove. They throng the camp every day, and sometimes by their clamour and importunity for bread and meat (of which they now all eat greedily) are become very troublesome. God knows, we have little enough for ourselves! Full allowance (if eight pounds of flour and either seven pounds of beef, or four pounds of pork, served alternately, per week, without either pease, oatmeal, spirits, butter, or cheese, can be called so) is yet kept up; but if the Dutch snow does not arrive soon it must be shortened, as the casks in the storehouse, I observed yesterday, are woefully decreased. The convicts continue to behave pretty well; three only have been hanged since the arrival of the last fleet, in the latter end of June, all of whom were newcomers. The number of convicts here diminishes every day; our principal efforts being wisely made at Rose Hill, where the land is unquestionably better than about this place. Except building, sawing and brickmaking, nothing of consequence is now carried on here. The account which I received a few days ago from the brickmakers of their labours, was as follows. Wheeler (one of the master brick-makers) with two tile stools and one brick stool, was tasked to make and burn ready for use 30000 tiles and bricks per month. He had twenty-one hands to assist him, who performed every thing; cut wood, dug clay, etc. This continued (during the days of distress excepted, when they did what they could) until June last. From June, with one brick and two tile stools he has been tasked to make 40000 bricks and tiles monthly (as many of each sort as may be), having twenty-two men and two boys to assist him, on the same terms of procuring materials as before. They fetch the clay of which tiles are made, two hundred yards; that for bricks is close at hand. He says that the bricks are such as would be called in England, moderately good, and he judges they would have fetched about 24 shillings per thousand at Kingston-upon-Thames (where he resided) in the year 1784. Their greatest fault is being too brittle. The tiles he thinks not so good as those made about London. The stuff has a rotten quality, and besides wants the advantage of being ground, in lieu of which they tread it. King (another master bricklayer) last year, with the assistance of sixteen men and two boys, made 11,000 bricks weekly, with two stools. During short allowance did what he could. Resumed his old task when put again on full allowance and had his number of assistants augmented to twenty men and two boys, on account of the increased distance of carrying wood for the kilns. He worked at Hammersmith, for Mr. Scot, of that place. He thinks the bricks made here as good as those made near London, and says that in the year 1784, they would have sold for a guinea per thousand and to have picked the kiln at thirty shillings.' Such is my Sydney detail dated the 12th of November, 1790. Four days after I went to Rose Hill, and wrote there the subjoined remarks. November 16th. Got to Rose Hill in the evening. Next morning walked round the whole of the cleared and cultivated land, with the Rev. Mr. Johnson, who is the best farmer in the country. Edward Dod, one of the governor's household, who conducts everything here in the agricultural line, accompanied us part of the way, and afforded all the information he could. He estimates the quantity of cleared and cultivated land at 200 acres. Of these fifty-five are in wheat, barley, and a little oats, thirty in maize, and the remainder is either just cleared of wood, or is occupied by buildings, gardens, etc. Four enclosures of twenty acres each, are planned for the reception of cattle, which may arrive in the colony, and two of these are already fenced in. In the centre of them is to be erected a house, for a person who will be fixed upon to take care of the cattle. All these enclosures are supplied with water; and only a part of the trees which grew in them being cut down, gives to them a very park-like and beautiful appearance. Our survey commenced on the north side of the river. Dod says he expects this year's crop of wheat and barley from the fifty-five acres to yield full 400 bushels. Appearances hitherto hardly indicate so much. He says he finds the beginning of May the best time to sow barley,* but that it may continue to be sown until August. That sown in May is reaped in December; that of August in January. He sowed his wheat, part in June and part in July. He thinks June the best time, and says that he invariably finds that which is deepest sown, grows strongest and best, even as deep as three inches he has put it in, and found it to answer. The wheat sown in June is now turning yellow; that of July is more backward. He has used only the broad-cast husbandry, and sowed two bushels per acre. The plough has never yet been tried here; all the ground is hoed, and (as Dod confesses) very incompetently turned up. Each convict labourer was obliged to hoe sixteen rods a day, so that in some places the earth was but just scratched over. The ground was left open for some months, to receive benefit from the sun and air; and on that newly cleared the trees were burnt, and the ashes dug in. I do not find that a succession of crops has yet been attempted; surely it would help to meliorate and improve the soil. Dod recommends strongly the culture of potatoes, on a large scale, and says that were they planted even as late as January they would answer, but this I doubt. He is more than ever of opinion that without a large supply of cattle nothing can be done. They have not at this time either horse, cow, or sheep here. I asked him how the stock they had was coming on. The fowls he said multiplied exceedingly, but the hogs neither thrived or increased in number, for want of food. He pointed out to us his best wheat, which looks tolerable, and may perhaps yield 13 or 14 bushels per acre**. Next came the oats which are in ear, though not more than six inches high: they will not return as much seed as was sown. The barley, except one patch in a corner of a field, little better than the oats. Crossed the river and inspected the south side. Found the little patch of wheat at the bottom of the crescent very bad. Proceeded and examined the large field on the ascent to the westward: here are about twenty-five acres of wheat, which from its appearance we guessed would produce perhaps seven bushels an acre. The next patch to this is in maize, which looks not unpromising; some of the stems are stout, and beginning to throw out large broad leaves, the surest sign of vigour. The view from the top of the wheat field takes in, except a narrow slip, the whole of the cleared land at Rose Hill. From not having before seen an opening of such extent for the last three years, this struck us as grand and capacious. The beautiful diversity of the ground (gentle hill and dale) would certainly be reckoned pretty in any country. Continued our walk, and crossed the old field, which is intended to form part of the main street of the projected town. The wheat in this field is rather better, but not much, than in the large field before mentioned. The next field is maize, inferior to what we have seen, but not despicable. An acre of maize, at the bottom of the marine garden, is equal in luxuriancy of promise to any I ever saw in any country. [*The best crop of barley ever produced in New South Wales, was sown by a private individual, in February 1790, and reaped in the following October.] [**As all the trees on our cleared ground were cut down, and not grubbed up, the roots and stumps remain, on which account a tenth part of surface in every acre must be deducted. This is slovenly husbandry; but in a country where immediate subsistence is wanted, it is perhaps necessary. None of these stumps, when I left Port Jackson, showed any symptoms of decay, though some of the trees had been cut down four years. To the different qualities of the wood of Norfolk Island and New South Wales, perhaps the difference of soil may in some measure be traced. That of Norfolk Island is light and porous: it rots and turns into mould in two years. Besides its hardness that of Port Jackson abounds with red corrosive gum, which contributes its share of mischief.] The main street of the new town is already begun. It is to be a mile long, and of such breadth as will make Pall Mall and Portland Place "hide their diminished heads." It contains at present thirty-two houses completed, of twenty-four feet by twelve each, on a ground floor only, built of wattles plastered with clay, and thatched. Each house is divided into two rooms, in one of which is a fire place and a brick chimney. These houses are designed for men only; and ten is the number of inhabitants allotted to each; but some of them now contain twelve or fourteen, for want of better accommodation. More are building. In a cross street stand nine houses for unmarried women; and exclusive of all these are several small huts where convict families of good character are allowed to reside. Of public buildings, besides the old wooden barrack and store, there is a house of lath and plaster, forty-four feet long by sixteen wide, for the governor, on a ground floor only, with excellent out-houses and appurtenances attached to it. A new brick store house, covered with tiles, 100 feet long by twenty-four wide, is nearly completed, and a house for the store-keeper. The first stone of a barrack, 100 feet long by twenty-four wide, to which are intended to be added wings for the officers, was laid to-day. The situation of the barrack is judicious, being close to the store-house, and within a hundred and fifty yards of the wharf, where all boats from Sydney unload. To what I have already enumerated, must be added an excellent barn, a granary, an inclosed yard to rear stock in, a commodious blacksmith's shop, and a most wretched hospital, totally destitute of every conveniency. Luckily for the gentleman who superintends this hospital, and still more luckily for those who are doomed in case of sickness to enter it, the air of Rose Hill has hitherto been generally healthy. A tendency to produce slight inflammatory disorders, from the rapid changes* of the temperature of the air, is most to be dreaded. [*In the close of the year 1788, when this settlement was established, the thermometer has been known to stand at 50 degrees a little before sunrise, and between one and two o' clock in the afternoon at above 100 degrees.] 'The hours of labour for the convicts are the same here as at Sydney. On Saturdays after ten o'clock in the morning they are allowed to work in their own gardens. These gardens are at present, from the long drought and other causes, in a most deplorable state. Potatoes, I think, thrive better than any other vegetable in them. For the public conveniency a baker is established here in a good bakehouse, who exchanges with every person bread for flour, on stipulated terms; but no compulsion exists for any one to take his bread; it is left entirely to every body's own option to consume his flour as he pleases. Divine service is performed here, morning and afternoon, one Sunday in every month, when all the convicts are obliged to attend church, under penalty of having a part of their allowance of provisions stopped, which is done by the chaplain, who is a justice of the peace. 'For the punishment of offenders, where a criminal court is not judged necessary, two or more justices, occasionally assemble, and order the infliction of slight corporal punishment, or short confinement in a strong room built for this purpose. The military present here consists of two subalterns, two sergeants, three corporals, a drummer, and twenty-one privates. These have been occasionally augmented and reduced, as circumstances have been thought to render it necessary. Brick-kilns are now erected here, and bricks manufactured by a convict of the name of Becket, who came out in the last fleet, and has fifty-two people to work under him. He makes 25,000 bricks weekly. He says that they are very good, and would sell at Birmingham, where he worked about eighteen months ago, at more than 30 shillings per thousand. Nothing farther of public nature remaining to examine, I next visited a humble adventurer, who is trying his fortune here. James Ruse, convict, was cast for seven years at Bodmin assizes, in August 1782. He lay five years in prison and on board the 'Dunkirk' hulk at Plymouth, and then was sent to this country. When his term of punishment expired, in August 1789, he claimed his freedom, and was permitted by the governor, on promising to settle in the country, to take in December following, an uncleaned piece of ground, with an assurance that if he would cultivate it, it should not be taken from him. Some assistance was given him, to fell the timber, and he accordingly began. His present account to me was as follows. I was bred a husbandman, near Launcester in Cornwall. I cleared my land as well as I could, with the help afforded me. The exact limit of what ground I am to have, I do not yet know; but a certain direction has been pointed out to me, in which I may proceed as fast as I can cultivate. I have now an acre and a half in bearded wheat, half an acre in maize, and a small kitchen garden. On my wheat land I sowed three bushels of seed, the produce of this country, broad cast. I expect to reap about twelve or thirteen bushels. I know nothing of the cultivation of maize, and cannot therefore guess so well at what I am likely to gather. I sowed part of my wheat in May, and part in June. That sown in May has thrived best. My maize I planted in the latter end of August, and the beginning of September. My land I prepared thus: having burnt the fallen timber off the ground, I dug in the ashes, and then hoed it up, never doing more than eight, or perhaps nine, rods in a day, by which means, it was not like the government farm, just scratched over, but properly done. Then I clod-moulded it, and dug in the grass and weeds. This I think almost equal to ploughing. I then let it lie as long as I could, exposed to air and sun; and just before I sowed my seed, turned it all up afresh. When I shall have reaped my crop, I purpose to hoe it again, and harrow it fine, and then sow it with turnip-seed, which will mellow and prepare it for next year. My straw, I mean to bury in pits, and throw in with it every thing which I think will rot and turn to manure. I have no person to help me, at present, but my wife, whom I married in this country; she is industrious. The governor, for some time, gave me the help of a convict man, but he is taken away. Both my wife and myself receive our provisions regularly at the store, like all other people. My opinion of the soil of my farm, is, that it is middling, neither good or bad. I will be bound to make it do with the aid of manure, but without cattle it will fail. The greatest check upon me is, the dishonesty of the convicts who, in spite of all my vigilance, rob me almost every night. The annexed return will show the number of persons of all descriptions at Rose Hill, at this period. On the morning of the 17th, I went down to Sydney. Here terminates the transcription of my diary. It were vain to suppose, that it can prove either agreeable or interesting to a majority of readers but as this work is intended not only for amusement, but information, I considered it right to present this detail unaltered, either in its style or arrangement. A return of the number of persons employed at Rose Hill, November 16th, 1790. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How Employed | Troops | Civil dept | Troops | Convicts | | | |Wives | Children| Men | Women | Children| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Storekeeper 1 Surgeon 1 Carpenters 24 Blacksmiths 5 Master Bricklayer 1 Bricklayers 28 Master Brickmaker 1 Brickmakers 52 Labourers 326* Assistants to the provision store 4 Assistants to the hospital 3 Officers' servants 6 Making Clothing 50 Superintendants 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total number of persons 552| 29 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 450 | 50 | 13 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [*Of these labourers, 16 are sawyers. The rest are variously employed in clearing fresh land; in dragging brick and timber carts; and a great number in making a road of a mile long, through the main street, to the governor's house.] CHAPTER XI. Farther Transactions of the Colony in November, 1790. During the intervals of duty, our greatest source of entertainment now lay in cultivating the acquaintance of our new friends, the natives. Ever liberal of communication, no difficulty but of understanding each other subsisted between us. Inexplicable contradictions arose to bewilder our researches which no ingenuity could unravel and no credulity reconcile. Baneelon, from being accustomed to our manners, and understanding a little English, was the person through whom we wished to prosecute inquiry, but he had lately become a man of so much dignity and consequence, that it was not always easy to obtain his company. Clothes had been given to him at various times, but he did not always condescend to wear them. One day he would appear in them, and the next day he was to be seen carrying them in a net slung around his neck. Farther to please him, a brick house of twelve feet square was built for his use, and for that of such of his countrymen as might choose to reside in it, on a point of land fixed upon by himself. A shield, double cased with tin, to ward off the spears of his enemies, was also presented to him, by the governor. Elated by these marks of favour, and sensible that his importance with his countrymen arose in proportion to our patronage of him, he warmly attached himself to our society. But the gratitude of a savage is ever a precarious tenure. That of Baneelon was fated to suffer suspension, and had well nigh been obliterated by the following singular circumstance. One day the natives were observed to assemble in more than an ordinary number at their house on the point, and to be full of bustle and agitation, repeatedly calling on the name of Baneelon, and that of 'deein' (a woman). Between twelve and one o'clock Baneelon, unattended, came to the governor at his house, and told him that he was going to put to death a woman immediately, whom he had brought from Botany Bay. Having communicated his intention, he was preparing to go away, seeming not to wish that the governor should be present at the performance of the ceremony. But His Excellency was so struck with the fierce gestures, and wild demeanour of the other, who held in his hand one of our hatchets and frequently tried the sharpness of it, that he determined to accompany him, taking with him Mr. Collins and his orderly sergeant. On the road, Baneelon continued to talk wildly and incoherently of what he would do, and manifested such extravagant marks of fury and revenge, that his hatchet was taken away from him, and a walking-stick substituted for it. When they reached the house, they found several natives, of both sexes lying promiscuously before the fire, and among them a young woman, not more than sixteen years old, who at sight of Baneelon, started, and raised herself half up. He no sooner saw her than, snatching a sword of the country, he ran at her, and gave her two severe wounds on the head and one on the shoulder, before interference in behalf of the poor wretch could be made. Our people now rushed in and seized him; but the other Indians continued quiet spectators of what was passing, either awed by Baneelon's superiority or deeming it a common case, unworthy of notice and interposition. In vain did the governor by turns soothe and threaten him. In vain did the sergeant point his musquet at him. He seemed dead to every passion but revenge; forgot his affection to his old friends and, instead of complying with the request they made, furiously brandished his sword at the governor, and called aloud for his hatchet to dispatch the unhappy victim of his barbarity. Matters now wore a serious aspect. The other Indians appeared under the control of Baneelon and had begun to arm and prepare their spears, as if determined to support him in his violence. Farther delay might have been attended with danger. The 'Supply' was therefore immediately hailed, and an armed boat ordered to be sent on shore. Luckily, those on board the ship had already observed the commotion and a boat was ready, into which captain Ball, with several of his people stepped, armed with musquets, and put off. It was reasonable to believe that so powerful a reinforcement would restore tranquillity, but Baneelon stood unintimidated at disparity of numbers and boldly demanded his prisoner, whose life, he told the governor, he was determined to sacrifice, and afterwards to cut off her head. Everyone was eager to know what could be the cause of such inveterate inhumanity. Undaunted, he replied that her father was his enemy, from whom he had received the wound in his forehead beforementioned; and that when he was down in battle, and under the lance of his antagonist, this woman had contributed to assail him. "She is now," added he, "my property: I have ravished her by force from her tribe: and I will part with her to no person whatever, until my vengeance shall be glutted." Farther remonstrance would have been wasted. His Excellency therefore ordered the woman to be taken to the hospital in order that her wounds might be dressed. While this was doing, one of the natives, a young man named Boladeree, came up and supplicated to be taken into the boat also, saying that he was her husband, which she confirmed and begged that he might be admitted. He was a fine well grown lad, of nineteen or twenty years old, and was one of the persons who had been in the house in the scene just described, which he had in no wise endeavoured to prevent, or to afford assistance to the poor creature who had a right to his protection. All our people now quitted the place, leaving the exasperated Baneelon and his associates to meditate farther schemes of vengeance. Before they parted he gave them, however, to understand that he would follow the object of his resentment to the hospital, and kill her there, a threat which the governor assured him if he offered to carry into execution he should be immediately shot. Even this menace he treated with disdain. To place the refugees in security, a sentinel was ordered to take post at the door of the house, in which they were lodged. Nevertheless they attempted to get away in the night, either from fear that we were not able to protect them, or some apprehension of being restrained from future liberty. When questioned where they proposed to find shelter, they said they would go to the Cameragal tribe, with whom they should be safe. On the following morning, Imeerawanyee* joined them, and expressed strong fears of Baneelon's resentment. Soon after a party of natives, known to consist of Baneelon's chosen friends, with a man of the name of Bigon, at their head, boldly entered the hospital garden, and tried to carry off all three by force. They were driven back and threatened, to which their leader only replied by contemptuous insolence. [*This good-tempered lively lad, was become a great favourite with us, and almost constantly lived at the governor's house. He had clothes made up for him, and to amuse his mind, he was taught to wait at table. One day a lady, Mrs. McArthur, wife of an officer of the garrison, dined there, as did Nanbaree. This latter, anxious that his countryman should appear to advantage in his new office, gave him many instructions, strictly charging him, among other things, to take away the lady's plate, whenever she should cross her knife and fork, and to give her a clean one. This Imeerawanyee executed, not only to Mrs. McArthur, but to several of the other guests. At last Nanbaree crossed his knife and fork with great gravity, casting a glance at the other, who looked for a moment with cool indifference at what he had done, and then turned his head another way. Stung at this supercilious treatment, he called in rage, to know why he was not attended to, as well as the rest of the company. But Imeerawanyee only laughed; nor could all the anger and reproaches of the other prevail upon him to do that for one of his countrymen, which he cheerfully continued to perform to every other person.] Baneelon finding he could not succeed, withdrew himself for two days. At length he made his appearance, attended only by his wife. Unmindful of what had so recently happened, he marched singly up to the governor's house, and on being refused admittance, though unarmed, attempted to force the sentinel. The soldier spared him, but the guard was instantly sent for, and drawn up in front of the house; not that their co-operation was necessary, but that their appearance might terrify. His ardour now cooled, and he seemed willing, by submission, to atone for his misconduct. His intrepid disregard of personal risk, nay of life, could not however, but gain admiration; though it led us to predict, that this Baneelon, whom imagination had fondly pictured, like a second Omai, the gaze of a court and the scrutiny of the curious, would perish untimely, the victim of his own temerity. To encourage his present disposition of mind, and to try if feelings of compassion towards an enemy, could be exerted by an Indian warrior, the governor ordered him to be taken to the hospital, that he might see the victim of his ferocity. He complied in sullen silence. When about to enter the room in which she lay, he appeared to have a momentary struggle with himself, which ended his resentment. He spoke to her with kindness, and professed sorrow for what he had done, and promised her future protection. Barangaroo, who had accompanied him, now took the alarm: and as in shunning one extreme we are ever likely to rush into another, she thought him perhaps too courteous and tender. Accordingly she began to revile them both with great bitterness, threw stones at the girl and attempted to beat her with a club. Here terminated this curious history, which I leave to the reader's speculation. Whether human sacrifices of prisoners be common among them is a point which all our future inquiry never completely determined. It is certain that no second instance of this sort was ever witnessed by us. CHAPTER XII. Transactions of the Colony in Part of December, 1790. On the 9th of the month, a sergeant of marines, with three convicts, among whom was McEntire, the governor's gamekeeper (the person of whom Baneelon had, on former occasions, shown so much dread and hatred) went out on a shooting party. Having passed the north arm of Botany Bay, they proceeded to a hut formed of boughs, which had been lately erected on this peninsula, for the accommodation of sportsmen who wished to continue by night in the woods; for, as the kangaroos in the day-time, chiefly keep in the cover, it is customary on these parties to sleep until near sunset, and watch for the game during the night, and in the early part of the morning. Accordingly, having lighted a fire, they lay down, without distrust or suspicion. About one o'clock, the sergeant was awakened by a rustling noise in the bushes near him, and supposing it to proceed from a kangaroo, called to his comrades, who instantly jumped up. On looking about more narrowly, they saw two natives with spears in their hands, creeping towards them, and three others a little farther behind. As this naturally created alarm, McEntire said, "don't be afraid, I know them," and immediately laying down his gun, stepped forward, and spoke to them in their own language. The Indians, finding they were discovered, kept slowly retreating, and McEntire accompanied them about a hundred yards, talking familiarly all the while. One of them now jumped on a fallen tree and, without giving the least warning of his intention, launched his spear at McEntire and lodged it in his left side. The person who committed this wanton act was described as a young man with a speck or blemish on his left eye That he had been lately among us was evident from his being newly shaved. The wounded man immediately drew back and, joining his party, cried, "I am a dead man". While one broke off the end of the spear, the other two set out with their guns in pursuit of the natives; but their swiftness of foot soon convinced our people of the impossibility of reaching them. It was now determined to attempt to carry McEntire home, as his death was apprehended to be near, and he expressed a longing desire not to be left to expire in the woods. Being an uncommonly robust muscular man, notwithstanding a great effusion of blood, he was able, with the assistance of his comrades, to creep slowly along, and reached Sydney about two o'clock the next morning. On the wound being examined by the surgeons, it was pronounced mortal. The poor wretch now began to utter the most dreadful exclamations, and to accuse himself of the commission of crimes of the deepest dye, accompanied with such expressions of his despair of God's mercy, as are too terrible to repeat. In the course of the day, Colbee, and several more natives came in, and were taken to the bed where the wounded man lay. Their behaviour indicated that they had already heard of the accident, as they repeated twice or thrice the name of the murderer Pimelwi, saying that he lived at Botany Bay. To gain knowledge of their treatment of similar wounds, one of the surgeons made signs of extracting the spear, but this they violently opposed, and said, if it were done, death would instantly follow. On the 12th, the extraction of the spear was, however, judged practicable, and was accordingly performed. That part of it which had penetrated the body measured seven inches and a half long, having on it a wooden barb, and several smaller ones of stone, fastened on with yellow gum, most of which, owing to the force necessary in extraction, were torn off and lodged in the patient. The spear had passed between two ribs, and had wounded the left lobe of the lungs. He lingered* until the 20th of January, and then expired. On opening the corpse, it was found that the left lung had perished from suppuration, its remains adhering to the ribs. Some pieces of stone, which had dropped from the spear were seen, but no barb of wood. [*From the aversion uniformly shown by all the natives to this unhappy man, he had long been suspected by us of having in his excursions, shot and injured them. To gain information on this head from him, the moment of contrition was seized. On being questioned with great seriousness, he, however, declared that he had never fired but once on a native, and then had not killed, but severely wounded him and this in his own defence. Notwithstanding this death-bed confession, most people doubted the truth of the relation, from his general character and other circumstances.] The governor was at Rose-hill when this accident happened. On the day after he returned to Sydney, the following order was issued: Several tribes of the natives still continuing to throw spears at any man they meet unarmed, by which several have been killed, or dangerously wounded, the governor, in order to deter the natives from such practices in future, has ordered out a party to search for the man who wounded the convict McEntire, in so dangerous a manner on Friday last, though no offence was offered on his part, in order to make a signal example of that tribe. At the same time, the governor strictly forbids, under penalty of the severest punishment, any soldier or other person, not expressly ordered out for that purpose, ever to fire on any native except in his own defence; or to molest him in any shape, or to bring away any spears, or other articles which they may find belonging to those people. The natives will be made severe examples of whenever any man is wounded by them; but this will be done in a manner which may satisfy them that it is a punishment inflicted on them for their own bad conduct, and of which they cannot be made sensible if they are not treated with kindness while they continue peaceable and quiet. A party, consisting of two captains, two subalterns, and forty privates, with a proper number of non-commissioned officers from the garrison, with three days provisions, etc. are to be ready to march to-morrow morning at day-light, in order to bring in six of those natives who reside near the head of Botany Bay; or, if that should be found impracticable, to put that number to death. Just previous to this order being issued, the author of this publication received a direction to attend the governor at head quarters immediately. I went, and his excellency informed me that he had pitched upon me to execute the foregoing command. He added that the two subalterns who were to be drawn from the marine corps, should be chosen by myself; that the sergeant and the two convicts who were with McEntire, should attend as guides; that we were to proceed to the peninsula at the head of Botany Bay; and thence, or from any part of the north arm of the bay, we were, if practicable, to bring away two natives as prisoners; and to put to death ten; that we were to destroy all weapons of war but nothing else; that no hut was to be burned; that all women and children were to remain uninjured, not being comprehended within the scope of the order; that our operations were to be directed either by surprise or open force; that after we had made any prisoners, all communication, even with those natives with whom we were in habits of intercourse, was to be avoided, and none of them suffered to approach us. That we were to cut off and bring in the heads of the slain; for which purpose hatchets and bags would be furnished. And finally, that no signal of amity or invitation should be used in order to allure them to us; or if made on their part, to be answered by us: for that such conduct would be not only present treachery, but give them reason to distrust every future mark of peace and friendship on our part. His excellency was now pleased to enter into the reasons which had induced him to adopt measures of such severity. He said that since our arrival in the country, no less than seventeen of our people had either been killed or wounded by the natives; that he looked upon the tribe known by the name of Bideegal, living on the beforementioned peninsula, and chiefly on the north arm of Botany Bay, to be the principal aggressors; that against this tribe he was determined to strike a decisive blow, in order, at once to convince them of our superiority and to infuse an universal terror, which might operate to prevent farther mischief. That his observations on the natives had led him to conclude that although they did not fear death individually, yet that the relative weight and importance of the different tribes appeared to be the highest object of their estimation, as each tribe deemed its strength and security to consist wholly in its powers, aggregately considered. That his motive for having so long delayed to use violent measures had arisen from believing, that in every former instance of hostility, they had acted either from having received injury, or from misapprehension. "To the latter of these causes," added he, "I attribute my own wound, but in this business of McEntire, I am fully persuaded that they were unprovoked, and the barbarity of their conduct admits of no extenuation; for I have separately examined the sergeant, of whose veracity I have the highest opinion, and the two convicts; and their story is short, simple, and alike. I have in vain tried to stimulate Baneelon, Colbee, and the other natives who live among us, to bring in the aggressor. Yesterday, indeed, they promised me to do it, and actually went away as if bent on such a design; but Baneelon, instead of directing his steps to Botany Bay, crossed the harbour in his canoe, in order to draw the foreteeth of some of the young men; and Colbee, in the room of fulfilling his engagement, is loitering about the lookout house. Nay, so far from wishing even to describe faithfully the person of the man who has thrown the spear, they pretended that he has a distorted foot, which is a palpable falsehood. So that we have our efforts only to depend upon; and I am resolved to execute the prisoners who may be brought in, in the most public and exemplary manner, in the presence of as many of their countrymen as can be collected, after having explained the cause of such a punishment; and my fixed determination to repeat it, whenever any future breach of good conduct on their side shall render it necessary." Here the governor stopped, and addressing himself to me, said if I could propose any alteration of the orders under which I was to act, he would patiently listen to me. Encouraged by this condescension, I begged leave to offer for consideration whether, instead of destroying ten persons, the capture of six would not better answer all the purposes for which the expedition was to be undertaken; as out of this number, a part might be set aside for retaliation; and the rest, at a proper time, liberated, after having seen the fate of their comrades and being made sensible of the cause of their own detention. This scheme, his Excellency was pleased instantly to adopt, adding, "if six cannot be taken, let this number be shot. Should you, however, find it practicable to take so many, I will hang two and send the rest to Norfolk Island for a certain period, which will cause their countrymen to believe that we have dispatched them secretly." The order was accordingly altered to its present form; and I took my leave to prepare, after being again cautioned not to deceive by holding signals of amity. At four o'clock on the morning of the 14th we marched The detachment consisted, besides myself, of Captain Hill of the New South Wales Corps, Lieutenants Poulder and Dawes, of the marines, Mr. Worgan and Mr. Lowes, surgeons, three sergeants, three corporals, and forty private soldiers, provided with three days provisions, ropes to bind our prisoners with, and hatchets and bags to cut off and contain the heads of the slain. By nine o'clock this terrific procession reached the peninsula at the head of Botany Bay, but after having walked in various directions until four o'clock in the afternoon, without seeing a native, we halted for the night. At daylight on the following morning our search recommenced. We marched in an easterly direction, intending to fall in with the south-west arm of the bay, about three miles above its mouth, which we determined to scour, and thence passing along the head of the peninsula, to proceed to the north arm, and complete our Search. However, by a mistake of our guides, at half past seven o'clock instead of finding ourselves on the south-west arm, we came suddenly upon the sea shore, at the head of the peninsula, about midway between the two arms. Here we saw five Indians on the beach, whom we attempted to surround; but they penetrated our design, and before we could get near enough to effect our purpose, ran off. We pursued; but a contest between heavy-armed Europeans, fettered by ligatures, and naked unencumbered Indians, was too unequal to last long. They darted into the wood and disappeared. The alarm being given, we were sensible that no hope of success remained, but by a rapid movement to a little village (if five huts deserve the name) which we knew stood on the nearest point of the north arm, where possibly someone unapprised of our approach, might yet be found. Thither we hastened; but before we could reach it three canoes, filled with Indians, were seen paddling over in the utmost hurry and trepidation, to the opposite shore, where universal alarm prevailed. All we could now do was to search the huts for weapons of war: but we found nothing except fish gigs, which we left untouched. On our return to our baggage (which we had left behind under a small guard near the place where the pursuit had begun) we observed a native fishing in shallow water not higher than his waist, at the distance of 300 yards from the land. In such a situation it would not have been easily practicable either to shoot, or seize him. I therefore determined to pass without noticing him, as he seemed either from consciousness of his own security, or from some other cause, quite unintimidated at our appearance. At length he called to several of us by name, and in spite of our formidable array, drew nearer with unbounded confidence. Surprised at his behaviour I ordered a halt, that he might overtake us, fully resolved, whoever he might be, that he should be suffered to come to us and leave us uninjured. Presently we found it to be our friend Colbee; and he joined us at once with his wonted familiarity and unconcern. We asked him where Pimelwi was, and found that he perfectly comprehended the nature of our errand, for he described him to have fled to the southward; and to be at such a distance, as had we known the account to be true, would have prevented our going in search of him, without a fresh supply of provisions. When we arrived at our baggage, Colbee sat down, ate, drank, and slept with us, from ten o'clock until past noon. We asked him several questions about Sydney, which he had left on the preceding day*; and he told us he had been present at an operation performed at the hospital, where Mr. White had cut off a woman's leg. The agony and cries of the poor sufferer he depicted in a most lively manner. [*He had it seems visited the governor about noon, after having gained information from Nanbaree of our march, and for what purpose it was undertaken. This he did not scruple to tell to the governor; proclaiming at the same time, a resolution of going to Botany Bay, which his excellency endeavoured to dissuade him from by every argument he could devise: a blanket, a hatchet, a jacket, or aught else he would ask for, was offered to him in vain, if he would not go. At last it was determined to try to eat him down, by setting before him his favourite food, of which it was hoped he would feed so voraciously, as to render him incapable of executing his intention. A large dish of fish was accordingly set before him. But after devouring a light horseman, and at least five pounds of beef and bread, even until the sight of food became disgusting to him, he set out on his journey with such lightness and gaiety, as plainly shewed him to be a stranger to the horrors of indigestion.] At one o'clock we renewed our march, and at three halted near a freshwater swamp, where we resolved to remain until morning: that is, after a day of severe fatigue, to pass a night of restless inquietude, when weariness is denied repose by swarms of mosquitoes and sandflies, which in the summer months bite and sting the traveller, without measure or intermission. Next morning we bent our steps homeward; and, after wading breast-high through two arms of the sea, as broad as the Thames at Westminster, were glad to find ourselves at Sydney, between one and two o'clock in the afternoon. The few remarks which I was able to make on the country through which we had passed, were such as will not tempt adventurers to visit it on the score of pleasure or advantage. The soil of every part of the peninsula, which we had traversed, is shallow and sandy, and its productions meagre and wretched. When forced to quit the sand, we were condemned to drag through morasses, or to clamber over rocks, unrefreshed by streams, and unmarked by diversity. Of the soil I brought away several specimens. Our first expedition having so totally failed, the governor resolved to try the fate of a second; and the 'painful pre-eminence' again devolved on me. The orders under which I was commanded to act differing in no respect from the last, I resolved to try once more to surprise the village beforementioned. And in order to deceive the natives, and prevent them from again frustrating our design by promulgating it, we feigned that our preparations were directed against Broken Bay; and that the man who had wounded the governor was the object of punishment. It was now also determined, being full moon, that our operations should be carried on in the night, both for the sake of secrecy, and for avoiding the extreme heat of the day. A little before sun-set on the evening of the 22nd, we marched. Lieutenant Abbot, and ensign Prentice, of the New South Wales corps, were the two officers under my command, and with three sergeants, three corporals, and thirty privates, completed the detachment. We proceeded directly to the fords of the north arm of Botany Bay, which we had crossed in our last expedition, on the banks of which we were compelled to wait until a quarter past two in the morning, for the ebb of the tide. As these passing-places consist only of narrow slips of ground, on each side of which are dangerous holes; and as fording rivers in the night is at all times an unpleasant task, I determined before we entered the water, to disburthen the men as much as possible; that in case of stepping wrong every one might be as ready, as circumstances would admit, to recover himself. The firelock and cartouche-box were all that we carried, the latter tied fast on the top of the head, to prevent it from being wetted. The knapsacks, etc. I left in charge of a sergeant and six men, who from their low stature and other causes, were most likely to impede our march, the success of which I knew hinged on our ability, by a rapid movement, to surprise the village before daybreak. The two rivers were crossed without any material accident: and in pursuit of my resolution, I ordered the guides to conduct us by the nearest route, without heeding difficulty, or impediment of road. Having continued to push along the river-bank very briskly for three quarters of an hour, we were suddenly stopped by a creek, about sixty yards wide, which extended to our right, and appeared dry from the tide being out: I asked if it could be passed, or whether it would be better to wheel round the head of it. Our guides answered that it was bad to cross, but might be got over, which would save us more than a quarter of a mile. Knowing the value of time, I directly bade them to push through, and every one began to follow as well as he could. They who were foremost had not, however, got above half over when the difficulty of progress was sensibly experienced. We were immersed, nearly to the waist in mud, so thick and tenacious, that it was not without the most vigorous exertion of every muscle of the body, that the legs could be disengaged. When we had reached the middle, our distress became not only more pressing, but serious, and each succeeding step, buried us deeper. At length a sergeant of grenadiers stuck fast, and declared himself incapable of moving either forward or backward; and just after, Ensign Prentice and I felt ourselves in a similar predicament, close together. 'I find it impossible to move; I am sinking;' resounded on every side. What to do I knew not: every moment brought increase of perplexity, and augmented danger, as those who could not proceed kept gradually subsiding. From our misfortunes, however, those in the rear profited. Warned by what they saw and heard, they inclined to the right towards the head of the creek, and thereby contrived to pass over. Our distress would have terminated fatally, had not a soldier cried out to those on shore to cut boughs of trees*, and throw them to us--a lucky thought, which certainly saved many of us from perishing miserably; and even with this assistance, had we been burdened by our knapsacks, we could not have emerged; for it employed us near half an hour to disentangle some of our number. The sergeant of grenadiers in particular, was sunk to his breast-bone, and so firmly fixed in that the efforts of many men were required to extricate him, which was effected in the moment after I had ordered one of the ropes, destined to bind the captive Indians, to be fastened under his arms. [*I had often read of this contrivance to facilitate the passage of a morass. But I confess, that in my confusion I had entirely forgotten it, and probably should have continued to do so until too late to be of use.] Having congratulated each other on our escape from this 'Serbonian Bog,' and wiped our arms (half of which were rendered unserviceable by the mud) we once more pushed forward to our object, within a few hundred yards of which we found ourselves about half an hour before sunrise. Here I formed the detachment into three divisions, and having enjoined the most perfect silence, in order, if possible, to deceive Indian vigilance, each division was directed to take a different route, so as to meet at the village at the same moment. We rushed rapidly on, and nothing could succeed more exactly than the arrival of the several detachments. To our astonishment, however, we found not a single native at the huts; nor was a canoe to be seen on any part of the bay. I was at first inclined to attribute this to our arriving half an hour too late, from the numberless impediments we had encountered. But on closer examination, there appeared room to believe, that many days had elapsed since an Indian had been on the spot, as no mark of fresh fires, or fish bones, was to be found. Disappointed and fatigued, we would willingly have profited by the advantage of being near water, and have halted to refresh. But on consultation, it was found, that unless we reached in an hour the rivers we had so lately passed, it would be impossible, on account of the tide, to cross to our baggage, in which case we should be without food until evening. We therefore pushed back, and by dint of alternately running and walking, arrived at the fords, time enough to pass with ease and safety. So excessive, however, had been our efforts, and so laborious our progress, that several of the soldiers, in the course of the last two miles, gave up, and confessed themselves unable to proceed farther. All that I could do for these poor fellows, was to order their comrades to carry their muskets, and to leave with them a small party of those men who were least exhausted, to assist them and hurry them on. In three quarters of an hour after we had crossed the water, they arrived at it, just time enough to effect a passage. The necessity of repose, joined to the succeeding heat of the day, induced us to prolong our halt until four o'clock in the afternoon, when we recommenced our operations on the opposite side of the north arm to that we had acted upon in the morning. Our march ended at sunset, without our seeing a single native. We had passed through the country which the discoverers of Botany Bay extol as 'some of the finest meadows in the world*.' These meadows, instead of grass, are covered with high coarse rushes, growing in a rotten spongy bog, into which we were plunged knee-deep at every step. [*The words which are quoted may be found in Mr. Cook's first voyage, and form part of his description of Botany Bay. It has often fallen to my lot to traverse these fabled plains; and many a bitter execration have I heard poured on those travellers, who could so faithlessly relate what they saw.] Our final effort was made at half past one o'clock next morning; and after four hours toil, ended as those preceding it had done, in disappointment and vexation. At nine o'clock we returned to Sydney, to report our fruitless peregrination. But if we could not retaliate on the murderer of M'Entire, we found no difficulty in punishing offences committed within our own observation. Two natives, about this time, were detected in robbing a potato garden. When seen, they ran away, and a sergeant and a party of soldiers were dispatched in pursuit of them. Unluckily it was dark when they overtook them, with some women at a fire; and the ardour of the soldiers transported them so far that, instead of capturing the offenders, they fired in among them. The women were taken, but the two men escaped. On the following day, blood was traced from the fireplace to the sea-side, where it seemed probable that those who had lost it, had embarked. The natives were observed to become immediately shy; but an exact knowledge of the mischief which had been committed, was not gained until the end of two days, when they said that a man of the name of Bangai (who was known to be one of the pilferers) was wounded and dead. Imeerawanyee, however, whispered that though he was wounded, he was not dead. A hope now existed that his life might be saved; and Mr. White, taking Imeerawanyee, Nanbaree, and a woman with him, set out for the spot where he was reported to be. But on their reaching it, they were told by some people who were there that the man was dead, and that the corpse was deposited in a bay about a mile off. Thither they accordingly repaired, and found it as described, covered--except one leg, which seemed to be designedly left bare--with green boughs and a fire burning near it. Those who had performed the funeral obsequies seemed to have been particularly solicitous for the protection of the face, which was covered with a thick branch, interwoven with grass and fern so as to form a complete screen. Around the neck was a strip of the bark of which they make fishing lines, and a young strait stick growing near was stripped of its bark and bent down so as to form an arch over the body, in which position it was confined by a forked branch stuck into the earth. On examining the corpse, it was found to be warm. Through the shoulder had passed a musquet ball, which had divided the subclavian artery and caused death by loss of blood. No mark of any remedy having been applied could be discovered. Possibly the nature of the wound, which even among us would baffle cure without amputation of the arm at the shoulder, was deemed so fatal, that they despaired of success, and therefore left it to itself. Had Mr. White found the man alive, there is little room to think that he could have been of any use to him; for that an Indian would submit to so formidable and alarming an operation seems hardly probable. None of the natives who had come in the boat would touch the body, or even go near it, saying, the mawn would come; that is literally, 'the spirit of the deceased would seize them'. Of the people who died among us, they had expressed no such apprehension. But how far the difference of a natural death, and one effected by violence, may operate on their fears to induce superstition; and why those who had performed the rites of sepulture should not experience similar fears and reluctance, I leave to be determined. Certain it is (as I shall insist upon more hereafter), that they believe the spirit of the dead not to be extinct with the body. Baneelon took an odd method of revenging the death of his countryman. At the head of several of his tribe, he robbed one of the private boats of fish, threatening the people, who were unarmed, that in case they resisted he would spear them. On being taxed by the governor with this outrage, he at first stoutly denied it; but on being confronted with the people who were in the boat, he changed his language, and, without deigning even to palliate his offence, burst into fury and demanded who had killed Bangai. CHAPTER XIII. The Transactions of the Colony continued to the End of May, 1791. December, 1790. The Dutch snow from Batavia arrived on the 17th of the month, after a passage of twelve weeks, in which she had lost sixteen of her people. But death, to a man who has resided at Batavia, is too familiar an object to excite either terror or regret. All the people of the 'Supply' who were left there sick, except one midshipman, had also perished in that fatal climate. The cargo of the snow consisted chiefly of rice, with a small quantity of beef, pork, and flour. A letter was received by this vessel, written by the Shebander at Batavia, to governor Phillip, acquainting him that war had commenced between England and Spain. As this letter was written in the Dutch language we did not find it easy of translation. It filled us, however, with anxious perturbation, and with wishes as impotent, as they were eager, in the cause of our country. Though far beyond the din of arms, we longed to contribute to her glory, and to share in her triumphs. Placed out of the reach of attack, both by remoteness and insignificancy, our only dread lay lest those supplies intended for our consumption should be captured. Not, however, to be found totally unprovided in case an enemy should appear, a battery was planned near the entrance of Sydney Cove, and other formidable preparations set on foot. The commencement of the year 1791, though marked by no circumstances particularly favourable, beamed far less inauspicious than that of 1790 had done. January, 1791. No circumstance, however apparently trivial, which can tend to throw light on a new country, either in respect of its present situation, or its future promise, should pass unregarded. On the 24th of January, two bunches of grapes were cut in the governor's garden, from cuttings of vines brought three years before from the Cape of Good Hope. The bunches were handsome, the fruit of a moderate size, but well filled out and the flavour high and delicious. The first step after unloading the Dutch snow was to dispatch the 'Supply' to Norfolk Island for captain Hunter, and the crew of the 'Sirius' who had remained there ever since the loss of that ship. It had always been the governor's wish to hire the Dutchman, for the purpose of transporting them to England. But the frantic extravagant behaviour of the master of her, for a long time frustrated the conclusion of a contract. He was so totally lost to a sense of reason and propriety, as to ask eleven pounds per ton, monthly, for her use, until she should arrive from England, at Batavia. This was treated with proper contempt; and he was at last induced to accept twenty shillings a ton, per month (rating her at three hundred tons) until she should arrive in England--being about the twenty-fifth part of his original demand. And even at this price she was, perhaps, the dearest vessel ever hired on a similar service, being totally destitute of every accommodation and every good quality which could promise to render so long a voyage either comfortable or expeditious. February, 1791. On the 26th, Captain Hunter, his officers and ship's company joined us; and on the 28th of March the snow sailed with them for England, intending to make a northern passage by Timor and Batavia, the season being too far advanced to render the southern route by Cape Horn practicable*. [*They did not arrive in England until April, 1792.] Six days previous to the departure of captain Hunter, the indefatigable 'Supply' again sailed for Norfolk Island, carrying thither captain Hill and a detachment of the New South Wales corps. A little native boy named Bondel, who had long particularly attached himself to captain Hill, accompanied him, at his own earnest request. His father had been killed in battle and his mother bitten in two by a shark: so that he was an orphan, dependant on the humanity of his tribe for protection*. His disappearance seemed to make no impression on the rest of his countrymen, who were apprized of his resolution to go. On the return of the 'Supply' they inquired eagerly for him, and on being told that the place he was gone to afforded plenty of birds and other good fare, innumerable volunteers presented themselves to follow him, so great was their confidence in us and so little hold of them had the amor patriae. [*I am of opinion that such protection is always extended to children who may be left destitute.] March, 1791. The snow had but just sailed, when a very daring manoeuvre was carried into execution, with complete success, by a set of convicts, eleven in number, including a woman, wife of one of the party, and two little children. They seized the governor's cutter and putting into her a seine, fishing-lines, and hooks, firearms, a quadrant, compass, and some provisions, boldly pushed out to sea, determined to brave every danger and combat every hardship, rather than remain longer in a captive state. Most of these people had been brought out in the first fleet, and the terms of transportation of some of them were expired. Among them were a fisherman, a carpenter, and some competent navigators, so that little doubt was entertained that a scheme so admirably planned would be adequately executed*. When their elopement was discovered, a pursuit was ordered by the governor. But the fugitives had made too good an use of the intermediate time to be even seen by their pursuers. After the escape of Captain Bligh, which was well known to us, no length of passage or hazard of navigation seemed above human accomplishment. However to prevent future attempts of a like nature, the governor directed that boats only of stated dimensions should be built. Indeed an order of this sort had been issued on the escape of the first party, and it was now repeated with additional restrictions. [*It was my fate to fall in again with part of this little band of adventurers. In March 1792, when I arrived in the Gorgon, at the Cape of Good Hope, six of these people, including the woman and one child, were put on board of us to be carried to England. Four had died, and one had jumped overboard at Batavia. The particulars of their voyage were briefly as follows. They coasted the shore of New Holland, putting occasionally into different harbours which they found in going along. One of these harbours, in the latitude of 30 degrees south, they described to be of superior excellence and capacity. Here they hauled their bark ashore, paid her seams with tallow, and repaired her. But it was with difficulty they could keep off the attacks of the Indians. These people continued to harras them so much that they quitted the mainland and retreated to a small island in the harbour, where they completed their design. Between the latitude of 26 degrees and 27 degrees, they were driven by a current 30 leagues from the shore, among some islands, where they found plenty of large turtles. Soon after they closed again with the continent, when the boat got entangled in the surf and was driven on shore, and they had all well nigh perished. They passed rough the straits of Endeavour and, beyond the gulf of Carpentaria, found a large freshwater river, which they entered, and filled from it their empty casks. Until they reached the gulf of Carpentaria, they saw no natives or canoes differing from those about Port Jackson. But now they were chased by large canoes, jitted with sails and fighting stages, and capable of holding thirty men each. They escaped by dint of rowing to windward. On the 5th of June 1791 they reached Timor, and pretended that they had belonged to a ship which, on her passage from Port Jackson to India, had foundered; and that they only had escaped. The Dutch received them with kindness and treated them with hospitality. But their behaviour giving rise to suspicion, they were watched; and one of them at last, in a moment of intoxication, betrayed the secret. They were immediately secured and committed to prison. Soon after Captain Edwards of the Pandora, who had been wrecked near Endeavour straits, arrived at Timor, and they were delivered up to him, by which means they became passengers in the Gorgon. I confess that I never looked at these people without pity and astonishment. They had miscarried in a heroic struggle for liberty after having combated every hardship and conquered every difficulty. The woman, and one of the men, had gone out to Port Jackson in the ship which had transported me thither. They had both of them been always distinguished for good behaviour. And I could not but reflect with admiration at the strange combination of circumstances which had again brought us together, to baffle human foresight and confound human speculation.] April, 1791. Notwithstanding the supplies which had recently arrived from Batavia, short allowance was again proclaimed on the 2nd of April, on which day we were reduced to the following ration: Three pounds of rice, three pounds of flour and three pounds of pork per week. It was singularly unfortunate that these retrenchments should always happen when the gardens were most destitute of vegetables. A long drought had nearly exhausted them. The hardships which we in consequence suffered were great, but not comparable to what had been formerly experienced. Besides, now we made sure of ships arriving soon to dispel our distress. Whereas, heretofore, from having never heard from England, the hearts of men sunk and many had begun to doubt whether it had not been resolved to try how long misery might be endured with resignation. Notwithstanding the incompetency of so diminished a pittance, the daily task of the soldier and convict continued unaltered. I never contemplated the labours of these men without finding abundant cause of reflection on the miseries which our nature can overcome. Let me for a moment quit the cold track of narrative. Let me not fritter away by servile adaptation those reflections and the feelings they gave birth to. Let me transcribe them fresh as they arose, ardent and generous, though hopeless and romantic. I every day see wretches pale with disease and wasted with famine, struggle against the horror's of their situation. How striking is the effect of subordination; how dreadful is the fear of punishment! The allotted task is still performed, even on the present reduced subsistence. The blacksmith sweats at the sultry forge, the sawyer labours pent-up in his pit and the husbandman turns up the sterile glebe. Shall I again hear arguments multiplied to violate truth, and insult humanity! Shall I again be told that the sufferings of the wretched Africans are indispensable for the culture of our sugar colonies; that white men are incapable of sustaining the heat of the climate! I have been in the West Indies. I have lived there. I know that it is a rare instance for the mercury in the thermometer to mount there above 90 degrees; and here I scarcely pass a week in summer without seeing it rise to 100 degrees; sometimes to 105; nay, beyond even that burning altitude. But toil cannot be long supported without adequate refreshment. The first step in every community which wishes to preserve honesty should be to set the people above want. The throes of hunger will ever prove too powerful for integrity to withstand. Hence arose a repetition of petty delinquencies, which no vigilance could detect, and no justice reach. Gardens were plundered, provisions pilfered, and the Indian corn stolen from the fields where it grew for public use. Various were the measures adopted to check this depredatory spirit. Criminal courts, either from the tediousness of their process, or from the frequent escape of culprits from their decision, were seldomer convened than formerly. The governor ordered convict offenders either to be chained together or to wear singly a large iron collar with two spikes projecting from it, which effectually hindered the party from concealing it under his shirt; and thus shackled, they were compelled to perform their quota of work. May, 1791. Had their marauding career terminated here, humanity would have been anxious to plead in their defence; but the natives continued to complain of being robbed of spears and fishing tackle. A convict was at length taken in the fact of stealing fishing-tackle from Daringa, the wife of Colbee. The governor ordered that he should be severely flogged in the presence of as many natives as could be assembled, to whom the cause of punishment should be explained. Many of them, of both sexes, accordingly attended. Arabanoo's aversion to a similar sight has been noticed; and if the behaviour of those now collected be found to correspond with it, it is, I think, fair to conclude that these people are not of a sanguinary and implacable temper. Quick indeed of resentment, but not unforgiving of injury. There was not one of them that did not testify strong abhorrence of the punishment and equal sympathy with the sufferer. The women were particularly affected; Daringa shed tears, and Barangaroo, kindling into anger, snatched a stick and menaced the executioner. The conduct of these women, on this occasion, was exactly descriptive of their characters. The former was ever meek and feminine, the latter fierce and unsubmissive. On the first of May, many allotments of ground were parcelled out by the governor to convicts whose periods of transportation were expired, and who voluntarily offered to become settlers in the country. The terms on which they settled, and their progress in agriculture, will be hereafter set forth. CHAPTER XIV. Travelling Diaries in New South Wales. From among my numerous travelling journals into the interior parts of the country, I select the following to present to the reader, as equally important in their object, and more amusing in their detail, than any other. In April 1791 an expedition was undertaken, in order to ascertain whether or not the Hawkesbury and the Nepean, were the same river. With this view, we proposed to fall in a little above Richmond Hill*, and trace down to it; and if the weather should prove fine to cross at the ford, and go a short distance westward, then to repass the river and trace it upward until we should either arrive at some spot which we knew to be the Nepean, or should determine by its course that the Hawkesbury was a different stream. [*Look at the map for the situation of this place (Unfortunately, there is no map accompanying this etext. Ed.)] Our party was strong and numerous. It consisted of twenty-one persons, viz. the governor, Mr. Collins and his servant, Mr. White, Mr. Dawes, the author, three gamekeepers, two sergeants, eight privates, and our friends Colbee and Boladeree. These two last were volunteers on the occasion, on being assured that we should not stay out many days and that we should carry plenty of provisions. Baneelon wished to go, but his wife would not permit it. Colbee on the other hand, would listen to no objections. He only stipulated (with great care and consideration) that, during his absence, his wife and child should remain at Sydney under our protection, and be supplied with provisions. But before we set out, let me describe our equipment, and try to convey to those who have rolled along on turnpike roads only, an account of those preparations which are required in traversing the wilderness. Every man (the governor excepted) carried his own knapsack, which contained provisions for ten days. If to this be added a gun, a blanket, and a canteen, the weight will fall nothing short of forty pounds. Slung to the knapsack are the cooking kettle and the hatchet, with which the wood to kindle the nightly fire and build the nightly hut is to be cut down. Garbed to drag through morasses, tear through thickets, ford rivers and scale rocks, our autumnal heroes, who annually seek the hills in pursuit of grouse and black game, afford but an imperfect representation of the picture. Thus encumbered, the march begins at sunrise, and with occasional halts continues until about an hour and a half before sunset. It is necessary to stop thus early to prepare for passing the night, for toil here ends not with the march. Instead of the cheering blaze, the welcoming landlord, and the long bill of fare, the traveller has now to collect his fuel, to erect his wigwam, to fetch water, and to broil his morsel of salt pork. Let him then lie down, and if it be summer, try whether the effect of fatigue is sufficiently powerful to overcome the bites and stings of the myriads of sandflies and mosquitoes which buzz around him. Monday, April 11, 1791. At twenty minutes before seven o'clock, we started from the governor's house at Rose Hill and steered* for a short time nearly in a north-east direction, after which we turned to north 34 degrees west, and steadily pursued that course until a quarter before four o'clock, when we halted for the night. The country for the first two miles, while we walked to the northeast, was good, full of grass and without rock or underwood. Afterwards it grew very bad, being full of steep, barren rocks, over which we were compelled to clamber for seven miles, when it changed to a plain country apparently very sterile, and with very little grass in it, which rendered walking easy. Our fatigue in the morning had, however, been so oppressive that one of the party knocked up. And had not a soldier, as strong as a pack-horse, undertaken to carry his knapsack in addition to his own, we must either have sent him back, or have stopped at a place for the night which did not afford water. Our two natives carried each his pack, but its weight was inconsiderable, most of their provisions being in the knapsacks of the soldiers and gamekeepers. We expected to have derived from them much information relating to the country, as no one doubted that they were acquainted with every part of it between the sea coast and the river Hawkesbury. We hoped also to have witnessed their manner of living in the woods, and the resources they rely upon in their journeys. Nothing, however, of this sort had yet occurred, except their examining some trees to see if they could discover on the bark any marks of the claws of squirrels and opossums, which they said would show whether any of those animals were hidden among the leaves and branches. They walked stoutly, appeared but little fatigued, and maintained their spirits admirably, laughing to excess when any of us either tripped or stumbled, misfortunes which much seldomer fell to their lot than to ours. [*Our method, on these expeditions, was to steer by compass, noting the different courses as we proceeded; and counting the number of paces, of which two thousand two hundred, on good ground, were allowed to be a mile. At night when we halted, all these courses were separately cast up, and worked by a traverse table, in the manner a ship's reckoning is kept, so that by observing this precaution, we always knew exactly where we were, and how far from home; an unspeakable advantage in a new country, where one hill, and one tree, is so like another that fatal wanderings would ensue without it. This arduous task was always allotted to Mr. Dawes who, from habit and superior skill, performed it almost without a stop, or an interruption of conversation: to any other man, on such terms, it would have been impracticable.] At a very short distance from Rose Hill, we found that they were in a country unknown to them, so that the farther they went the more dependent on us they became, being absolute strangers inland. To convey to their understandings the intention of our journey was impossible. For, perhaps, no words could unfold to an Indian the motives of curiosity which induce men to encounter labour, fatigue and pain, when they might remain in repose at home, with a sufficiency of food. We asked Colbee the name of the people who live inland, and he called them Boorooberongal; and said they were bad, whence we conjectured that they sometimes war with those on the sea coast, by whom they were undoubtedly driven up the country from the fishing ground, that it might not be overstocked; the weaker here, as in every other country, giving way to the stronger. We asked how they lived. He said, on birds and animals, having no fish. Their laziness appeared strongly when we halted, for they refused to draw water or to cleave wood to make a fire; but as soon as it was kindled (having first well stuffed themselves), they lay down before it and fell asleep. About an hour after sunset, as we were chatting by the fire side and preparing to go to rest, we heard voices at a little distance in the wood. Our natives caught the sound instantaneously and, bidding us be silent, listened attentively to the quarter whence it had proceeded. In a few minutes we heard the voices plainly; and, wishing exceedingly to open a communication with this tribe, we begged our natives to call to them, and bid them to come to us, to assure them of good treatment, and that they should have something given them to eat. Colbee no longer hesitated, but gave them the signal of invitation, in a loud hollow cry. After some whooping and shouting on both sides, a man with a lighted stick in his hand advanced near enough to converse with us. The first words which we could distinctly understand were, 'I am Colbee, of the tribe of Cadigal.' The stranger replied, 'I am Bereewan, of the tribe of Boorooberongal.' Boladeree informed him also of his name and that we were white men and friends, who would give him something to eat. Still he seemed irresolute. Colbee therefore advanced to him, took him by the hand and led him to us. By the light of the moon, we were introduced to this gentleman, all our names being repeated in form by our two masters of the ceremonies, who said that we were Englishmen and 'budyeeree' (good), that we came from the sea coast, and that we were travelling inland. Bereewan seemed to be a man about thirty years old, differing in no respect from his countrymen with whom we were acquainted. He came to us unarmed, having left his spears at a little distance. After a long conversation with his countrymen, and having received some provisions, he departed highly satisfied. Tuesday, April 12th, 1791. Started this morning at half past six o'clock, and in two hours reached the river. The whole of the country we passed was poor, and the soil within a mile of the river changed to a coarse deep sand, which I have invariably found to compose its banks in every part without exception that I ever saw. The stream at this place is about 350 feet wide; the water pure and excellent to the taste. The banks are about twenty feet high and covered with trees, many of which had been evidently bent by the force of the current in the direction which it runs, and some of them contained rubbish and drift wood in their branches at least forty-five feet above the level of the stream. We saw many ducks, and killed one, which Colbee swam for. No new production among the shrubs growing here was found. We were acquainted with them all. Our natives had evidently never seen this river before. They stared at it with surprise, and talked to each other. Their total ignorance of the country, and of the direction in which they had walked, appeared when they were asked which way Rose Hill lay; for they pointed almost oppositely to it. Of our compass they had taken early notice, and had talked much to each other about it. They comprehended its use, and called it 'naamoro,' literally, "to see the way"; a more significant or expressive term cannot be found. Supposing ourselves to be higher on the stream than Richmond Hill, we agreed to trace downward, or to the right hand. In tracing, we kept as close to the bank of the river as the innumerable impediments to walking which grow upon it would allow. We found the country low and swampy; came to a native fireplace, at which were some small fish-bones; soon after we saw a native, but he ran away immediately. Having walked nearly three miles we were stopped by a creek which we could neither ford, or fall a tree across. We were therefore obliged to coast it, in hope to find a passing place or to reach its head. At four o'clock we halted for the night on the bank of the creek. Our natives continued to hold out stoutly. The hindrances to walking by the river side which plagued and entangled us so much, seemed not to be heeded by them, and they wound through them with case; but to us they were intolerably tiresome. Our perplexities afforded them an inexhaustible fund of merriment and derision: Did the sufferer, stung at once with nettles and ridicule, and shaken nigh to death by his fall, use any angry expression to them, they retorted in a moment, by calling him by every opprobrious name* which their language affords. Boladeree destroyed a native hut today very wantonly before we could prevent him. On being asked why he did so, he answered that the inhabitants inland were bad; though no longer since than last night, when Bereewan had departed, they were loud in their praise. But now they had reverted to their first opinion; so fickle and transient are their motives of love and hatred. [*Their general favourite term of reproach is 'goninpatta', which signifies 'an eater of human excrement'. Our language would admit a very concise and familiar translation. They have, besides this, innumerable others which they often salute their enemies with.] Wednesday, April 13th, 1791. We did not set out this morning until past seven o'clock, when we continued to trace the creek. The country which we passed through yesterday was good and desirable to what was now presented to us. It was in general high and universally rocky. 'Toiling our uncouth way', we mounted a hill, and surveyed the contiguous country. To the northward and eastward, the ground was still higher than that we were upon; but in a south-west direction we saw about four miles. The view consisted of nothing but trees growing on precipices; not an acre of it could be cultivated. Saw a tree on fire here, and several other vestiges of the natives. To comprehend the reasons which induce an Indian to perform many of the offices of life is difficult; to pronounce that which could lead him to wander amidst these dreary wilds baffles penetration. About two o'clock we reached the head of the creek, passed it and scrambled with infinite toil and difficulty to the top of a neighbouring mountain, whence we saw the adjacent country in almost every direction, for many miles. I record with regret that this extended view presented not a single gleam of change which could encourage hope or stimulate industry, to attempt its culture. We had, however, the satisfaction to discover plainly the object of our pursuit, Richmond Hill, distant about eight miles, in a contrary direction from what we had been proceeding upon. It was readily known to those who had been up the Hawkesbury in the boats, by a remarkable cleft or notch which distinguishes it. It was now determined that we should go back to the head of the creek and pass the night there; and in the morning cut across the country to that part of the river which we had first hit upon yesterday, and thence to trace upward, or to the left. But before I descend, I must not forget to relate that to this pile of desolation on which, like the fallen angel on the top of Niphates, we stood contemplating our nether Eden, His Excellency was pleased to give the name of Tench's Prospect Mount. Our fatigue to-day had been excessive; but our two sable companions seemed rather enlivened than exhausted by it. We had no sooner halted and given them something to eat than they began to play ten thousand tricks and gambols. They imitated the leaping of the kangaroo; sang, danced, poised the spear and met in mock encounter. But their principal source of merriment was again derived from our misfortunes, in tumbling amidst nettles, and sliding down precipices, which they mimicked with inimitable drollery. They had become, however, very urgent in their inquiries about the time of our return, and we pacified them as well as we could by saying it would be soon, but avoided naming how many days. Their method of testifying dislike to any place is singular: they point to the spot they are upon, and all around it, crying 'weeree, weeree' (bad) and immediately after mention the name of any other place to which they are attached (Rose Hill or Sydney for instance), adding to it 'budyeree, budyeree' (good). Nor was their preference in the present case the result of caprice, for they assigned very substantial reasons for such predilection: "At Rose Hill," said they, "are potatoes, cabbages, pumpkins, turnips, fish and wine; here are nothing but rocks and water." These comparisons constantly ended with the question of "Where's Rose Hill? Where?" on which they would throw up their hands and utter a sound to denote distance, which it is impossible to convey an idea of upon paper. Thursday, April 14th, 1791. We started early and reached the river in about two hours and a half. The intermediate country, except for the last half mile, was a continued bed of stones, which were in some places so thick and close together that they looked like a pavement formed by art. When we got off the stones, we came upon the coarse river sand beforementioned. Here we began to trace upward. We had not proceeded far when we saw several canoes on the river. Our natives made us immediately lie down among the reeds, while they gave their countrymen the signal of approach. After much calling, finding that they did not come, we continued our progress until it was again interrupted by a creek, over which we threw a tree and passed upon it. While this was doing, a native, from his canoe, entered into conversation with us, and immediately after paddled to us with a frankness and confidence which surprised every one. He was a man of middle age, with an open cheerful countenance, marked with the small pox, and distinguished by a nose of uncommon magnitude and dignity. He seemed to be neither astonished or terrified at our appearance and number. Two stone hatchets, and two spears he took from his canoe, and presented to the governor, who in return for his courteous generosity, gave him two of our hatchets and some bread, which was new to him, for he knew not its use, but kept looking at it, until Colbee shewed him what to do, when he eat it without hesitation. We pursued our course, and to accommodate us, our new acquaintance pointed out a path and walked at the head of us. A canoe, also with a man and a boy in it, kept gently paddling up abreast of us. We halted for the night at our usual hour, on the bank of the river. Immediately that we had stopped, our friend (who had already told us his name) Gombeeree, introduced the man and the boy from the canoe to us. The former was named Yellomundee, the latter Deeimba. The ease with which these people behaved among strangers was as conspicuous, as unexpected. They seated themselves at our fire, partook of our biscuit and pork, drank from our canteens, and heard our guns going off around them without betraying any symptom of fear, distrust or surprise. On the opposite bank of the river they had left their wives and several children, with whom they frequently discoursed; and we observed that these last manifested neither suspicion or uneasiness of our designs towards their friends. Having refreshed ourselves, we found leisure to enter into conversation with them. It could not be expected that they should differ materially from the tribes with whom we were acquainted. The same manners and pursuits, the same amusements, the same levity and fickleness, undoubtedly characterised them. What we were able to learn from them was that they depend but little on fish, as the river yields only mullets, and that their principal support is derived from small animals which they kill, and some roots (a species of wild yam chiefly) which they dig out of the earth. If we rightly understood them, each man possesses two wives. Whence can arise this superabundance of females? Neither of the men had suffered the extraction of a front tooth. We were eager to know whether or not this custom obtained among them. But neither Colbee nor Boladeree would put the question for us; and on the contrary, showed every desire to wave the subject. The uneasiness which they testified, whenever we renewed it, rather served to confirm a suspicion which we had long entertained, that this is a mark of subjection imposed by the tribe of Cameragal, (who are certainly the most powerful community in the country) on the weaker tribes around them. Whether the women cut off a joint of one of the little fingers, like those on the sea coast, we had no opportunity of observing. These are petty remarks. But one variety struck us more forcibly. Although our natives and the strangers conversed on a par and understood each other perfectly, yet they spoke different dialects of the same language; many of the most common and necessary words used in life bearing no similitude, and others being slightly different. ------------------------------------------------------------ English Name on the sea coast Name at the Hawkesbury ------------------------------------------------------------ The Moon Yeneeda Condoen The Ear Gooree Benna The Forehead Nullo Narran The Belly Barang Bindee The Navel Muneero Boombong The Buttocks Boong Baylee The Neck Calang Ganga The Thigh Tara Dara The Hair Deewara Keewara ------------------------------------------------------------- That these diversities arise from want of intercourse with the people on the coast can hardly be imagined, as the distance inland is but thirty-eight miles; and from Rose Hill not more than twenty, where the dialect of the sea coast is spoken. It deserves notice that all the different terms seemed to be familiar to both parties, though each in speaking preferred its own*. [*How easily people, unused to speak the same language, mistake each other, everyone knows. We had lived almost three years at Port Jackson (for more than half of which period natives had resided with us) before we knew that the word 'beeal', signified 'no', and not 'good', in which latter sense we had always used it without suspecting that we were wrong; and even without being corrected by those with whom we talked daily. The cause of our error was this. The epithet 'weeree', signifying 'bad', we knew; and as the use of this word and its opposite afford the most simple form of denoting consent or disapprobation to uninstructed Indians, in order to find out their word for 'good', when Arabanoo was first brought among us, we used jokingly to say that any thing, which he liked was 'weeree', in order to provoke him to tell us that it was good. When we said 'weeree', he answered 'beeal', which we translated and adopted for 'good'; whereas he meant no more than simply to deny our inference, and say 'no'--it is not bad. After this, it cannot be thought extraordinary that the little vocabulary inserted in Mr. Cook's account of this part of the world should appear defective--even were we not to take in the great probability of the dialects at Endeavour River and Van Diemen's land differing from that spoken at Port Jackson. And it remains to be proved that the animal called here 'patagaram' is not there called 'kangaroo'.] Stretched out at ease before our fire, all sides continued to chat and entertain each other. Gombeeree shewed us the mark of a wound which he had received in his side from a spear. It was large, appeared to have passed to a considerable depth, and must certainly have been attended with imminent danger. By whom it had been inflicted, and on what occasion, he explained to Colbee; and afterwards (as we understood) he entered into a detail of the wars, and, as effects lead to causes, probably of the gallantries of the district, for the word which signifies a woman was often repeated. Colbee, in return for his communication, informed him who we were; of our numbers at Sydney and Rose Hill, of the stores we possessed and, above all, of the good things which were to be found among us, enumerating potatoes, cabbages, turnips, pumpkins, and many other names which were perfectly unintelligible to the person who heard them, but which he nevertheless listened to with profound attention. Perhaps the relation given by Gombeeree, of the cure of his wound, now gave rise to the following superstitious ceremony. While they were talking, Colbee turned suddenly round and asked for some water. I gave him a cupful, which he presented with great seriousness to Yellomundee, as I supposed to drink. This last indeed took the cup and filled his mouth with water, but instead of swallowing it, threw his head into Colbee's bosom, spit the water upon him and, immediately after, began to suck strongly at his breast, just below the nipple. I concluded that the man was sick; and called to the governor to observe the strange place which he had chosen to exonerate his stomach. The silent attention observed by the other natives, however, soon convinced us that something more than merely the accommodation of Yellomundee, was intended. The ceremony was again performed; and, after having sucked the part for a considerable time, the operator pretended to receive something in his mouth, which was drawn from the breast. With this he retired a few paces, put his hand to his lips and threw into the river a stone, which I had observed him to pick up slily, and secrete. When he returned to the fireside, Colbee assured us that he had received signal benefit from the operation; and that this second Machaon had extracted from his breast two splinters of a spear by which he had been formerly wounded. We examined the part, but it was smooth and whole, so that to the force of imagination alone must be imputed both the wound and its cure. Colbee himself seemed nevertheless firmly persuaded that he had received relief, and assured us that Yellomundee was a 'caradyee', or 'Doctor of renown'. And Boladeree added that not only he but all the rest of his tribe were 'caradyee' of especial note and skill. The Doctors remained with us all night, sleeping before the fire in the fullness of good faith and security. The little boy slept in his father's arms, and we observed that whenever the man was inclined to shift his position, he first put over the child, with great care, and then turned round to him. Friday, April 15th, 1791. The return of light aroused us to the repetition of toil. Our friends breakfasted with us, and previous to starting Gombeeree gave a specimen of their manner of climbing trees in quest of animals. He asked for a hatchet and one of ours was offered to him, but he preferred one of their own making. With this tool he cut a small notch in the tree he intended to climb, about two feet and a half above the ground, in which he fixed the great toe of his left foot, and sprung upwards, at the same time embracing the tree with his left arm. In an instant he had cut a second notch for his right toe on the other side of the tree into which he sprung, and thus, alternately cutting on each side, he mounted to the height of twenty feet in nearly as short a space as if he had ascended by a ladder, although the bark of the tree was quite smooth and slippery and the trunk four feet in diameter and perfectly strait. To us it was a matter of astonishment, but to him it was sport; for while employed thus he kept talking to those below and laughing immoderately. He descended with as much ease and agility as he had raised himself. Even our natives allowed that he was a capital performer, against whom they dared not to enter the lists; for as they subsist chiefly by fishing they are less expert at climbing on the coast than those who daily practice it. Soon after they bade us adieu, in unabated friendship and good humour. Colbee and Boladeree parted from them with a slight nod of the head, the usual salutation of the country; and we shook them by the hand, which they returned lustily. At the time we started the tide was flowing up the river, a decisive proof that we were below Richmond Hill. We had continued our march but a short time when we were again stopped by a creek, which baffled all our endeavours to cross it, and seemed to predict that the object of our attainment, though but a very few miles distant, would take us yet a considerable time to reach, which threw a damp on our hopes. We traced the creek until four o'clock, when we halted for the night. The country, on both sides, we thought in general unpromising; but it is certainly very superior to that which we had seen on the former creek. In many places it might be cultivated, provided the inundations of the stream can be repelled. In passing along we shot some ducks, which Boladeree refused to swim for when requested, and told us in a surly tone that they swam for what was killed, and had the trouble of fetching it ashore, only for the white men to eat it. This reproof was, I fear, too justly founded; for of the few ducks we had been so fortunate as to procure, little had fallen to their share except the offals, and now and then a half-picked bone. True, indeed, all the crows and hawks which had been shot were given to them; but they plainly told us that the taste of ducks was more agreeable to their palates, and begged they might hereafter partake of them. We observed that they were thoroughly sick of the journey, and wished heartily for its conclusion: the exclamation of "Where's Rose Hill, where?" was incessantly repeated, with many inquiries about when we should return to it. Saturday April 16th, 1791. It was this morning resolved to abandon our pursuit and to return home; at hearing of which our natives expressed great joy. We started early; and reached Rose Hill about three o'clock, just as a boat was about to be sent down to Sydney. Colbee and Boladeree would not wait for us until the following morning, but insisted on going down immediately to communicate to Baneelon and the rest of their countrymen the novelties they had seen. The country we passed through was, for the most part, very indifferent, according to our universal opinion. It is in general badly watered. For eight miles and a half on one line we did not find a drop of water. RICHMOND HILL Having eluded our last search, Mr. Dawes and myself, accompanied by a sergeant of marines and a private soldier, determined on another attempt, to ascertain whether it lay on the Hawkesbury or Nepean. We set out on this expedition on the 24th of May, 1791; and having reached the opposite side of the mouth of the creek which had in our last journey prevented our progress, we proceeded from there up to Richmond Hill by the river side; mounted it; slept at its foot; and on the following day penetrated some miles westward or inland of it until we were stopped by a mountainous country, which our scarcity of provisions, joined to the terror of a river at our back, whose sudden rising is almost beyond computation, hindered us from exploring. To the elevation which bounded our research we gave the name of Knight Hill, in honour of the trusty sergeant who had been the faithful indefatigable companion of all our travels. This excursion completely settled the long contested point about the Hawkesbury and Nepean. We found them to be one river. Without knowing it, Mr. Dawes and myself had passed Richmond Hill almost a year before (in August 1790), and from there walked on the bank of the river to the spot where my discovery of the Nepean happened, in June 1789. Our ignorance arose from having never before seen the hill, and from the erroneous position assigned to it by those who had been in the boats up the river. Except the behaviour of some natives whom we met on the river, which it would be ingratitude to pass in silence, nothing particularly worthy of notice occurred on this expedition. When we had reached within two miles of Richmond Hill, we heard a native call. We directly answered him and conversed across the river for some time. At length he launched his canoe and crossed to us without distrust or hesitation. We had never seen him before; but he appeared to know our friend Gombeeree, of whom he often spoke. He said his name was Deedora. He presented us with two spears and a throwing-stick, and in return we gave him some bread and beef. Finding that our route lay up the river, he offered to accompany us and, getting into his canoe, paddled up abreast of us. When we arrived at Richmond Hill it became necessary to cross the river; but the question was, how this should be effected? Deedora immediately offered his canoe. We accepted of it and, Mr. Dawes and the soldier putting their clothes into it, pushed it before them, and by alternately wading and swimming, soon passed. On the opposite shore sat several natives, to whom Deedora called, by which precaution the arrival of the strangers produced no alarm. On the contrary, they received them with every mark of benevolence. Deedora, in the meanwhile, sat talking with the sergeant and me. Soon after, another native, named Morunga, brought back the canoe, and now came our turn to cross. The sergeant (from a foolish trick which had been played upon him when he was a boy) was excessively timorous of water, and could not swim. Morunga offered to conduct him, and they got into the canoe together; but, his fears returning, he jumped out and refused to proceed. I endeavoured to animate him, and Morunga ridiculed his apprehensions, making signs of the ease and dispatch with which he would land him; but he resolved to paddle over by himself, which, by dint of good management and keeping his position very steadily, he performed. It was now become necessary to bring over the canoe a third time for my accommodation, which was instantly done, and I entered it with Deedora. But, like the sergeant, I was so disordered at seeing the water within a hair's breadth of the level of our skiff (which brought to my remembrance a former disaster I had experienced on this river) that I jumped out, about knee-deep, and determined to swim over, which I effected. My clothes, half our knapsacks, and three of our guns yet remained to be transported across. These I recommended to the care of our grim ferrymen, who instantaneously loaded their boat with them and delivered them on the opposite bank, without damage or diminution. During this long trial of their patience and courtesy--in the latter part of which I was entirely in their power, from their having possession of our arms--they had manifested no ungenerous sign of taking advantage of the helplessness and dependance of our situation; no rude curiosity to pry into the packages with which they were entrusted; or no sordid desire to possess the contents of them; although among them were articles exposed to view, of which it afterwards appeared they knew the use, and longed for the benefit. Let the banks of those rivers, "known to song", let him whose travels have lain among polished nations produce me a brighter example of disinterested urbanity than was shown by these denizens of a barbarous clime to a set of destitute wanderers on the side of the Hawkesbury. On the top of Richmond Hill we shot a hawk, which fell in a tree. Deedora offered to climb for it and we lent him a hatchet, the effect of which delighted him so much that he begged for it. As it was required to chop wood for our evening fire, it could not be conveniently spared; but we promised him that if he would visit us on the following morning, it should be given to him. Not a murmur was heard; no suspicion of our insincerity; no mention of benefits conferred; no reproach of ingratitude. His good humour and cheerfulness were not clouded for a moment. Punctual to our appointment, he came to us at daylight next morning and the hatchet was given to him, the only token of gratitude and respect in our power to bestow. Neither of these men had lost his front tooth. THE LAST EXPEDITION Which I ever undertook in the country I am describing was in July 1791, when Mr. Dawes and myself went in search of a large river which was said to exist a few miles to the southward of Rose Hill. We went to the place described, and found this second Nile or Ganges to be nothing but a saltwater creek communicating with Botany Bay, on whose banks we passed a miserable night from want of a drop of water to quench our thirst, for as we believed that we were going to a river we thought it needless to march with full canteens. On this expedition we carried with us a thermometer which (in unison with our feelings) shewed so extraordinary a degree of cold for the latitude of the place that I think myself bound to transcribe it. Monday, 18th July 1791. The sun arose in unclouded splendor and presented to our sight a novel and picturesque view. The contiguous country as white as if covered with snow, contrasted with the foliage of trees flourishing in the verdure of tropical luxuriancy*. Even the exhalation which steamed from the lake beneath contributed to heighten the beauty of the scene. Wind SSW. Thermorneter at sunrise 25 degrees. The following night was still colder. At sunset the thermometer stood at 45 degrees; at a quarter before four in the morning, it was at 26 degrees; at a quarter before six at 24 degrees; at a quarter before seven, at 23 degrees; at seven o'clock, 22.7 degrees; at sunrise, 23 degrees, after which it continued gradually to mount, and between one and two o'clock, stood at 59.6 degrees in the shade. Wind SSW. The horizon perfectly clear all day, not the smallest speck to be seen. Nothing but demonstration could have convinced me that so severe a degree of cold ever existed in this low latitude. Drops of water on a tin pot, not altogether out of the influence of the fire, were frozen into solid ice in less than twelve minutes. Part of a leg of kangaroo which we had roasted for supper was frozen quite hard, all the juices of it being converted into ice. On those ponds which were near the surface of the earth, the covering of ice was very thick; but on those which were lower down it was found to be less so, in proportion to their depression; and wherever the water was twelve feet below the surface (which happened to be the case close to us) it was uncongealed. It remains to be observed that the cold of both these nights, at Rose Hill and Sydney, was judged to be greater than had ever before been felt. [*All the trees of New South Wales, may I apprehend, be termed evergreen. For after such weather as this journal records, I did not observe either that the leaves had dropped off, or that they had assumed that sickly autumnal tint, which marks English trees in corresponding circumstances.] CHAPTER XV. Transactions of the Colony to the end of November, 1791. The extreme dryness of the preceding summer has been noticed. It had operated so far in the beginning of June that we dreaded a want of water for common consumption most of the little reservoirs in the neighbourhood of Sydney being dried up. The small stream near the town was so nearly exhausted (being only the drain of a morass) that a ship could not have watered at it, and the 'Supply' was preparing to sink casks in a swamp when rain fell and banished our apprehensions. June, 1791. On the second instant, the name of the settlement, at the head of the harbour (Rose Hill) was changed, by order of the governor, to that of Parramatta, the native name of it. As Rose Hill has, however, occurred so often in this book, I beg leave, to avoid confusion, still to continue the appellation in all future mention of it. Our travelling friend Boladeree, who makes so conspicuous a figure in the last chapter, about this time committed an offence which we were obliged to notice. He threw a spear at a convict in the woods, and wounded him. The truth was, some mischievous person belonging to us had wantonly destroyed his canoe, and he revenged the injury on the first of our people whom he met unarmed. He now seemed to think the matter adjusted; and probably such is the custom they observe in their own society in similar cases. Hearing, however, that an order was issued to seize him, or in case that could not be effected, to shoot him, he prudently dropped all connection with us and was for a long time not seen. But if they sometimes injured us, to compensate they were often of signal benefit to those who needed their assistance: two instances of which had recently occurred. A boat was overset in the harbour Baneelon and some other natives, who saw the accident happen, immediately plunged in, and saved all the people. When they had brought them on shore, they undressed them, kindled a fire and dried their clothes, gave them fish to eat and conducted them to Sydney. The other instance was of a soldier lost in the woods, when he met a party of natives. He at first knew not whether to flee from them, or to implore their assistance. Seeing among them one whom he knew, he determined to communicate his distress to him and to rely on his generosity. The Indian told him that he had wandered a long way from home, but that he would conduct him thither, on the single condition of his delivering up a gun which he held in his hand, promising to carry it for him and to restore it to him at parting. The soldier felt little inclination to surrender his arms, by which he would be put entirely in their power. But seeing no alternative, he at last consented; on which the whole party laid down their spears and faithfully escorted him to the nearest part of the settlement, where the gun was given up, and they took their leave without asking for any remuneration, or even seeming to expect it. The distressful state of the colony for provisions continued gradually to augment until the 9th of July, when the Mary Anne transport arrived from England. This ship had sailed from the Downs so lately as the 25th of February, having been only four months and twelve days on her passage. She brought out convicts, by contract, at a specific sum for each person. But to demonstrate the effect of humanity and justice, of 144 female convicts embarked on board only three had died, and the rest were landed in perfect health, all loud in praise of their conductor. The master's name was Munro; and his ship, after fulfilling her engagement with government, was bound on the southern fishery. The reader must not conclude that I sacrifice to dull detail, when he finds such benevolent conduct minutely narrated. The advocates of humanity are not yet become too numerous: but those who practise its divine precepts, however humble and unnoticed be their station, ought not to sink into obscurity, unrecorded and unpraised, with the vile monsters who deride misery and fatten on calamity. July, 1791. If, however, the good people of this ship delighted us with their benevolence, here gratification ended. I was of a party who had rowed in a boat six miles out to sea, beyond the harbour's mouth, to meet them; and what was our disappointment, on getting aboard, to find that they had not brought a letter (a few official ones for the governor excepted) to any person in the colony! Nor had they a single newspaper or magazine in their possession; nor could they conceive that any person wished to hear news; being as ignorant of everything which had passed in Europe for the last two years as ourselves, at the distance of half the circle. "No war--the fleet's dismantled," was the whole that we could learn. When I asked whether a new parliament had been called, they stared at me in stupid wonder, not seeming to comprehend that such a body either suffered renovation or needed it. "Have the French settled their government?" "As to that matter I can't say; I never heard; but, damn them, they were ready enough to join the Spaniards against us." "Are Russia and Turkey at peace?" "That you see does not lie in my way; I have heard talk about it, but don't remember what passed." "For heaven's sake, why did you not bring out a bundle of newspapers? You might have procured a file at any coffee house, which would have amused you, and instructed us?" "Why, really, I never thought about the matter until we were off the Cape of Good Hope, when we spoke a man of war, who asked us the same question, and then I wished I had." To have prosecuted inquiry farther would have only served to increase disappointment and chagrin. We therefore quitted the ship, wondering and lamenting that so large a portion of plain undisguised honesty should be so totally unconnected with a common share of intelligence, and acquaintance with the feelings and habits of other men. By the governor's letters we learned that a large fleet of transports, with convicts on board, and His Majesty's ship Gorgon, (Captain Parker) might soon be expected to arrive. The following intelligence which they contained, was also made public. That such convicts as had served their period of transportation, were not to be compelled to remain in the colony; but that no temptation should be offered to induce them to quit it, as there existed but too much reason to believe, that they would return to former practices; that those who might choose to settle in the country should have portions of land, subject to stipulated restrictions, and a portion of provisions assigned to them on signifying their inclinations; and that it was expected, that those convicts who might be possessed of means to transport themselves from the country, would leave it free of all incumbrances of a public nature. The rest of the fleet continued to drop in, in this and the two succeeding months. The state of the convicts whom they brought out, though infinitely preferable to what the fleet of last year had landed, was not unexceptionable. Three of the ships had naval agents on board to control them. Consequently, if complaint had existed there, it would have been immediately redressed. Exclusive of these, the 'Salamander', (Captain Nichols) who, of 155 men lost only five; and the 'William and Anne' (Captain Buncker) who of 187 men lost only seven, I find most worthy of honourable mention. In the list of convicts brought out was Barrington, of famous memory. Two of these ships also added to our geographic knowledge of the country. The 'Atlantic', under the direction of Lieutenant Bowen, a naval agent, ran into a harbour between Van Diemen's land, and Port Jackson, in latitude 35 degrees 12 minutes south, longitude 151 degrees east, to which, in honour of Sir John Jervis, Knight of the Bath, Mr. Bowen gave the name of Port Jervis. Here was found good anchoring ground with a fine depth of water, within a harbour about a mile and a quarter broad at its entrance, which afterwards opens into a basin five miles wide and of considerable length. They found no fresh water, but as their want of this article was not urgent, they did not make sufficient researches to pronounce that none existed there.* They saw, during the short time they stayed, two kangaroos and many traces of inhabitants. The country at a little distance to the southward of the harbour is hilly, but that contiguous to the sea is flat. On comparing what they had found here afterwards, with the native produce of Port Jackson, they saw no reason to think that they differed in any respect. [*Just before I left the country, word was brought by a ship which had put into Port Jervis, that a large fresh water brook was found there.] The second discovery was made by Captain Wetherhead, of the 'Matilda' transport, which was obligingly described to me, as follows, by that gentleman, on my putting to him the underwritten questions. "When did you make your discovery?" "On the 27th of July, 1791." "In what latitude and longitude does it lie?" "In 42 degrees 15 minutes south by observation, and in 148 1/2 east by reckoning" "Is it on the mainland or is it an island?" "It is an island, distant from the mainland about eight miles." "Did you anchor?" "Yes; and found good anchorage in a bay open about six points." "Did you see any other harbour or bay in the island?" "None." "Does the channel between the island and the main appear to afford good shelter for shipping?" "Yes, like Spithead." "Did you find any water on the island?" "Yes, in plenty." "Of what size does the island appear to be?" "It is narrow and long; I cannot say how long. Its breadth is inconsiderable." "Did you make any observations on the soil?" "It is sandy; and many places are full of craggy rocks." "Do you judge the productions which you saw on the island to be similar to those around Port Jackson?" "I do not think they differ in any respect." "Did you see any animals?" "I saw three kangaroos." "Did you see any natives, or any marks of them?" "I saw no natives, but I saw a fire, and several huts like those at Port Jackson, in one of which lay a spear." "What name did you give to your discovery?" "I called it, in honour of my ship, Matilda Bay." November, 1791. A very extraordinary instance of folly stimulated to desperation occurred in the beginning of this month among the convicts at Rose Hill. Twenty men and a pregnant woman, part of those who had arrived in the last fleet, suddenly disappeared with their clothes, working tools, bedding, and their provisions, for the ensuing week, which had been just issued to them. The first intelligence heard of them, was from some convict settlers, who said they had seen them pass, and had enquired whither they were bound. To which they had received for answer, "to China." The extravagance and infatuation of such an attempt was explained to them by the settlers; but neither derision, nor demonstration could avert them from pursuing their purpose. It was observed by those who brought in the account that they had general idea enough of the point of the compass in which China lies from Port Jackson, to keep in a northerly direction. An officer with a detachment of troops, was sent in pursuit of them; but after a harassing march returned without success. In the course of a week the greatest part of them were either brought back by different parties who had fallen in with them, or were driven in by famine. Upon being questioned about the cause of their elopement, those whom hunger had forced back, did not hesitate to confess that they had been so grossly deceived as to believe that China might easily be reached, being not more than 100 miles distant, and separated only by a river. The others, however, ashamed of the merriment excited at their expense, said that their reason for running away was on account of being overworked and harshly treated, and that they preferred a solitary and precarious existence in the woods to a return to the misery they were compelled to undergo. One or two of the party had certainly perished by the hands of the natives, who had also wounded several others. I trust that no man would feel more reluctant than myself to cast an illiberal national reflection, particularly on a people whom I regard in an aggregate sense as brethren and fellow-citizens; and among whom, I have the honour to number many of the most cordial and endearing intimacies which a life passed on service could generate. But it is certain that all these people were Irish. CHAPTER XVI Transactions of the colony until 18th of December 1791, when I quitted it, with an Account of its state at that time. The Gorgon had arrived on the 21st of September, and the hour of departure to England, for the marine battalion, drew nigh. If I be allowed to speak from my own feelings on the occasion, I will not say that we contemplated its approach with mingled sensations: we hailed it with rapture and exultation. The 'Supply', ever the harbinger of welcome and glad tidings, proclaimed by her own departure, that ours was at hand. On the 26th of November she sailed for England. It was impossible to view our separation with insensibility: the little ship which had so often agitated our hopes and fears, which from long acquaintance we had learned to regard as part of ourselves, whose doors of hospitality had been ever thrown open to relieve our accumulated wants, and chase our solitary gloom! In consequence of the offers made to the non-commissioned officers and privates of the marine battalion to remain in the country as settlers or to enter into the New South Wales corps, three corporals, one drummer and 59 privates accepted of grants of land, to settle at Norfolk Island and Rose Hill. Of these men, several were undoubtedly possessed of sufficient skill and industry, by the assistance of the pay which was due to them from the date of their embarkation, in the beginning of the year 1787, to the day on which they were discharged, to set out with reasonable hopes of being able to procure a maintenance. But the only apparent reason to which the behaviour of a majority of them could be ascribed was from infatuated affection to female convicts, whose characters and habits of life, I am sorry to say, promise from a connection neither honour nor tranquillity. The narrative part of this work will, I conceive, be best brought to a termination by a description of the existing state of the colony, as taken by myself a few days previous to my embarkation in the Gorgon, to sail for England. December 2nd, 1791. Went up to Rose Hill. Public buildings here have not greatly multiplied since my last survey. The storehouse and barrack have been long completed; also apartments for the chaplain of the regiment, and for the judge-advocate, in which last, criminal courts, when necessary, are held; but these are petty erections. In a colony which contains only a few hundred hovels built of twigs and mud, we feel consequential enough already to talk of a treasury, an admiralty, a public library and many other similar edifices, which are to form part of a magnificent square. The great road from near the landing place to the governor's house is finished, and a very noble one it is, being of great breadth, and a mile long, in a strait line. In many places it is carried over gullies of considerable depth, which have been filled up with trunks of trees covered with earth. All the sawyers, carpenters and blacksmiths will soon be concentred under the direction of a very adequate person of the governor's household. This plan is already so far advanced as to contain nine covered sawpits, which change of weather cannot disturb the operations of, an excellent workshed for the carpenters and a large new shop for the blacksmiths. It certainly promises to be of great public benefit. A new hospital has been talked of for the last two years, but is not yet begun. Two long sheds, built in the form of a tent and thatched, are however finished, and capable of holding 200 patients. The sick list of today contains 382 names. Rose Hill is less healthy than it used to be. The prevailing disorder is a dysentery, which often terminates fatally. There was lately one very violent putrid fever which, by timely removal of the patient, was prevented from spreading. Twenty-five men and two children died here in the month of November. When at the hospital I saw and conversed with some of the 'Chinese travellers'; four of them lay here, wounded by the natives. I asked these men if they really supposed it possible to reach China. They answered that they were certainly made to believe (they knew not how) that at a considerable distance to northward existed a large river, which separated this country from the back part of China; and that when it should be crossed (which was practicable) they would find themselves among a copper-coloured people, who would receive and treat them kindly. They added, that on the third day of their elopement, one of the party died of fatigue; another they saw butchered by the natives who, finding them unarmed, attacked them and put them to flight. This happened near Broken Bay, which harbour stopped their progress to the northward and forced them to turn to the right hand, by which means they soon after found themselves on the sea shore, where they wandered about in a destitute condition, picking up shellfish to allay hunger. Deeming the farther prosecution of their scheme impracticable, several of them agreed to return to Rose Hill, which with difficulty they accomplished, arriving almost famished. On their road back they met six fresh adventurers sallying forth to join them, to whom they related what had passed and persuaded them to relinquish their intention. There are at this time not less than thirty-eight convict men missing, who live in the woods by day, and at night enter the different farms and plunder for subsistence. December 3rd, 1791. Began my survey of the cultivated land belonging to the public. The harvest has commenced. They are reaping both wheat and barley. The field between the barrack and the governor's house contains wheat and maize, both very bad, but the former particularly so. In passing through the main street I was pleased to observe the gardens of the convicts look better than I had expected to find them. The vegetables in general are but mean, but the stalks of maize, with which they are interspersed, appear green and flourishing. The semicircular hill, which sweeps from the overseer of the cattle's house to the governor's house, is planted with maize, which, I am told, is the best here. It certainly looks in most parts very good--stout thick stalks with large spreading leaves--but I am surprised to find it so backward. It is at least a month later than that in the gardens at Sydney. Behind the maize is a field of wheat, which looks tolerably for this part of the world. It will, I reckon, yield about twelve bushels an acre. Continued my walk and looked at a little patch of wheat in the governor's garden, which was sown in drills, the ground being first mixed with a clay which its discoverers pretended was marle. Whatever it be, this experiment bespeaks not much in favour of its enriching qualities; for the corn looks miserably, and is far exceeded by some neighbouring spots on which no such advantage has been bestowed. Went round the crescent at the bottom of the garden, which certainly in beauty of form and situation is unrivalled in New South Wales. Here are eight thousand vines planted, all of which in another season are expected to bear grapes. Besides the vines are several small fruit trees, which were brought in the Gorgon from the Cape, and look lively; on one of them are half a dozen apples as big as nutmegs. Although the soil of the crescent be poor, its aspect and circular figure, so advantageous for receiving and retaining the rays of the sun, eminently fit it for a vineyard. Passed the rivulet and looked at the corn land on its northern side. On the western side of Clarke's* house the wheat and maize are bad, but on the eastern side is a field supposed to be the best in the colony. I thought it of good height, and the ears well filled, but it is far from thick. [*Dod, who is mentioned in my former journal of this place, had died some months ago. And Mr. Clarke, who was put in his room, is one of the superintendants, sent out by government, on a salary of forty pounds per annum. He was bred to husbandry, under his father at Lewes in Sussex; and is, I conceive, competent to his office of principal conductor of the agriculture of Rose Hill.] While I was looking at it, Clarke came up. I told him I thought he would reap fifteen or sixteen bushels an acre; he seemed to think seventeen or eighteen. I have now inspected all the European corn. A man of so little experience of these matters as myself cannot speak with much confidence. Perhaps the produce may average ten bushels an acre, or twelve at the outside. Allowance should, however, be made in estimating the quality of the soil, for the space occupied by roots of trees, for inadequate culture, and in some measure to want of rain. Less has fallen than was wished, but this spring was by no means so dry as the last. I find that the wheat grown at Rose Hill last year weighed fifty-seven pounds and a half per bushel. My next visit was to the cattle, which consists of two stallions, six mares, and two colts; besides sixteen cows, two cow-calves, and one bull-calf, which were brought out by the Gorgon. Two bulls which were on board died on the passage, so that on the young gentleman just mentioned depends the stocking of the colony. The period of the inhabitants of New South Wales being supplied with animal food of their own raising is too remote for a prudent man to calculate. The cattle look in good condition, and I was surprised to hear that neither corn nor fodder is given to them. The enclosures in which they are confined furnish hardly a blade of grass at present. There are people appointed to tend them who have been used to this way of life, and who seem to execute it very well. Sunday, December 4th, 1791. Divine service is now performed here every Sunday, either by the chaplain of the settlement or the chaplain of the regiment. I went to church today. Several hundred convicts were present, the majority of whom I thought looked the most miserable beings in the shape of humanity I ever beheld. They appeared to be worn down with fatigue. December, 5th. Made excursions this day to view the public settlements. Reached the first, which is about a mile in a north-west direction from the governor's house. This settlement contains, by admeasurement, 134 acres, a part of which is planted with maize, very backward, but in general tolerably good, and beautifully green. Thirteen large huts, built in the form of a tent, are erected for the convicts who work here; but I could not learn the number of these last, being unable to find a superintendant or any person who could give me information. Ponds of water here sufficient to supply a thousand persons. Walked on to the second settlement, about two miles farther, through an uncleared country. Here met Daveney, the person who planned and now superintends all the operations carried on here. He told me that he estimated the quantity of cleared ground here at 300 acres. He certainly over-rates it one-third, by the judgment of every other person. Six weeks ago this was a forest. It has been cleared, and the wood nearly burnt off the ground by 500 men, in the before-mentioned period, or rather in thirty days, for only that number have the convicts worked. He said it was too late to plant maize, and therefore he should sow turnips, which would help to meliorate and prepare it for next year. On examining the soil, I thought it in general light, though in some places loamy to the touch. He means to try the Rose Hill 'marle' upon it, with which he thinks it will incorporate well. I hope it will succeed better than the experiment in the governor's garden. I wished to know whether he had chosen this ground simply from the conveniency of its situation to Rose Hill, and its easy form for tillage, and having water, or from any marks which he had thought indicated good soil. He said that what I had mentioned no doubt weighed with him, and that he judged the soil to be good, from the limbs of many of the trees growing on it being covered with moss. "Are," said I, "your 500 men still complete?" "No; this day's muster gave only 460. The rest are either sick and removed to the hospital, or are run away in the woods." "How much is each labourer's daily task?" "Seven rods. It was eight, but on their representing to the governor that it was beyond their strength to execute, he took off one." Thirteen large huts, similar to those beforementioned, contain all the people here. To every hut are appointed two men, as hutkeepers, whose only employment is to watch the huts in working hours to prevent them from being robbed. This has somewhat checked depredations, and those endless complaints of the convicts that they could not work because they had nothing to eat, their allowance being stolen. The working hours at this season (summer) are from five o'clock in the morning until ten; rest from ten to two; return to work at two; and continue till sunset. This surely cannot be called very severe toil; but on the other hand must be remembered the inadequacy of a ration of salt provisions, with few vegetables, and unassisted by any liquor but water. Here finished my remarks on every thing of a public nature at Rose Hill. But having sufficient time, I determined to visit all the private settlers to inspect their labours, and learn from them their schemes, their hopes and expectations. In pursuance of my resolution, I crossed the country to Prospect Hill, at the bottom of which live the following thirteen convicts, who have accepted allotments of ground, and are become settlers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Men's names. | Trades. | Number of | Number of acres | | acres in each | in cultivation. | | allotment. | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ John Silverthorne Weaver 40 1 3/4 Thomas Martin " 40 1 1/2 John Nichols Gardener 40 2 William Butler*, and his wife Seaman 50 ) ---- Lisk* Watchmaker 40 ) 4 William Parish, wife, and a child Seaman 60 2 3/4 William Kilby, and his wife Husbandman 60 1 1/4 Edward Pugh, wife, and two children Carpenter 70 2 1/2 Samuel Griffith John Herbertt** James Castle Joseph Marlow*** John Williams, and his wife ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [*In partnership.[Butler and Lisk] [**Not out of his time; but allowed to work here at his leisure hours, as he has declared his intention of settling.] [***In a similar predicament with Herbert.] The terms on which these allotments have been granted are: that the estates shall be fully ceded for ever to all who shall continue to cultivate for five years, or more; that they shall be free of all taxes for the first ten years; but after that period to pay an annual quit-rent of one shilling. The penalty on non-performance of any of these articles is forfeiture of the estate, and all the labour which may have been bestowed upon it. These people are to receive provisions, (the same quantity as the working convicts), clothes, and medicinal assistance, for eighteen months from the day on which they settled. To clear and cultivate the land, a hatchet, a tomahawk, two hoes, a spade and a shovel, are given to each person, whether man or woman; and a certain number of cross-cut saws among the whole. To stock their farms, two sow pigs were promised to each settler, but they almost all say they have not yet received any, of which they complain loudly. They all received grain to sow and plant for the first year. They settled here in July and August last. Most of them were obliged to build their own houses; and wretched hovels three-fourths of them are. Should any of them fall sick, the rest are bound to assist the sick person two days in a month, provided the sickness lasts not longer than two months; four days labour in each year, from every person, being all that he is entitled to. To give protection to this settlement, a corporal and two soldiers are encamped in the centre of the farms, as the natives once attacked the settlers and burnt one of their houses. These guards are, however, inevitably at such a distance from some of the farms as to be unable to afford them any assistance in case of another attack. With all these people I conversed and inspected their labours. Some I found tranquil and determined to persevere, provided encouragement should be given. Others were in a state of despondency, and predicted that they should starve unless the period of eighteen months during which they are to be clothed and fed, should be extended to three years. Their cultivation is yet in its infancy, and therefore opinions should not be hastily formed of what it may arrive at, with moderate skill and industry. They have at present little in the ground besides maize, and that looks not very promising. Some small patches of wheat which I saw are miserable indeed. The greatest part of the land I think but indifferent, being light and stoney. Of the thirteen farms ten are unprovided with water; and at some of them they are obliged to fetch this necessary article from the distance of a mile and a half. All the settlers complain sadly of being frequently robbed by the runaway convicts, who plunder them incessantly. December 6th. Visited the settlements to the northward of the rivulet. The nearest of them lies about a mile due north of Mr. Clarke's house. Here are only the undernamed five settlers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Men's names. | Trades. | Number of | Number of acres | | acres in each | in cultivation. | | allotment. | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thomas Brown*, wife, and child --- 60 ) William Bradbury* --- 30 ) 3 1/2 William Mold* --- 30 ) Simon Burne, and wife Hosier 50 3 ----Parr, and wife Merchant's clerk 50 3 1/2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [*These three cultivate in partnership.(Brown, Bradbury, Mold.)] These settlers are placed on the same footing in every respect which concerns their tenure and the assistance to be granted to them as those at Prospect Hill. Near them is water. Parr and Burne are men of great industry. They have both good houses which they hired people to build for them. Parr told me that he had expended thirteen guineas on his land, which nevertheless he does not seem pleased with. Of the three poor fellows who work in partnership, one (Bradbury) is run away. This man had been allowed to settle, on a belief, from his own assurance, that his term of transportation was expired; but it was afterwards discovered that he had been cast for life. Hereupon he grew desperate, and declared he would rather perish at once than remain as a convict. He disappeared a week ago and has never since been heard of. Were I compelled to settle in New South Wales, I should fix my residence here, both from the appearance of the soil, and its proximity to Rose Hill. A corporal and two privates are encamped here to guard this settlement, as at Prospect. Proceeded to the settlement called the Ponds, a name which I suppose it derived from several ponds of water which are near the farms. Here reside the fourteen following settlers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Men's names. | Trades. | Number of | Number of acres | | acres in each | in cultivation. | | allotment. | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thomas Kelly Servant 30 1 1/2 William Hubbard, and wife Plasterer 50 2 1/4 Curtis Brand, and wife Carpenter 50 3 John Ramsay, and wife Seaman 50 3 1/2 William Field --- 30 2 1/2 John Richards* Stone-cutter 30 ) 4 1/2 John Summers* Husbandman 30 ) ----Varnell --- 30 1 Anthony Rope**, and wife, and two children Bricklayer 70 1 Joseph Bishop, and wife None 50 1 1/2 Mathew Everingham, and wife Attorney's clerk 50 2 John Anderson, and wife --- 50 2 Edward Elliot*** Husbandman 30 ) 2 Joseph Marshall*** Weaver 30 ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [*They (Richards and Summers) cultivate in partnership.] [**A convict who means to settle here; and is permitted to work in his leisure hours.] [***They (Elliot and Marshall) cultivate in partnership.] The Prospect Hill terms of settlement extend to this place. My private remarks were not many. Some spots which I passed over I thought desirable, particularly Ramsay's farm; and he deserves a good spot, for he is a civil, sober, industrious man. Besides his corn land, he has a well laid out little garden, in which I found him and his wife busily at work. He praised her industry to me; and said he did not doubt of succeeding. It is not often seen that sailors make good farmers; but this man I think bids fair to contradict the observation. The gentleman of no trade (his own words to me) will, I apprehend, at the conclusion of the time when victualling from the store is to cease, have the honour of returning to drag a timber or brick cart for his maintenance. The little maize he has planted is done in so slovenly a style as to promise a very poor crop. He who looks forward to eat grapes from his own vine, and to sit under the shade of his own fig-tree, must labour in every country. He must exert more than ordinary activity. The attorney's clerk I also thought out of his province. I dare believe that he finds cultivating his own land not half so easy a task as he formerly found that of stringing together volumes of tautology to encumber, or convey away, that of his neighbour. Hubbard's farm, and Kelly's also, deserve regard, from being better managed than most of the others. The people here complain sadly of a destructive grub which destroys the young plants of maize. Many of the settlers have been obliged to plant twice, nay thrice, on the same land, from the depredations of these reptiles. There is the same guard here as at the other settlements. Nothing now remains for inspection but the farms on the river side. December 7th. Went to Scheffer's farm. I found him at home, conversed with him, and walked with him over all his cultivated ground. He had 140 acres granted to him, fourteen of which are in cultivation, twelve in maize, one in wheat and one in vines and tobacco. He has besides twenty-three acres on which the trees are cut down but not burnt off the land. He resigned his appointment and began his farm last May, and had at first five convicts to assist him; he has now four. All his maize, except three acres, is mean. This he thinks may be attributed to three causes: a middling soil; too dry a spring; and from the ground not being sufficiently pulverized before the seed was put into it. The wheat is thin and poor: he does not reckon its produce at more than eight or nine bushels. His vines, 900 in number, are flourishing, and will, he supposes, bear fruit next year. His tobacco plants are not very luxuriant: to these two last articles he means principally to direct his exertions. He says (and truly) that they will always be saleable and profitable. On one of the boundaries of his land is plenty of water. A very good brick house is nearly completed for his use, by the governor; and in the meantime he lives in a very decent one, which was built for him on his settling here. He is to be supplied with provisions from the public store, and with medical assistance for eighteen months, reckoning from last May. At the expiration of this period he is bound to support himself and the four convicts are to be withdrawn. But if he shall then, or at any future period, declare himself able to maintain a moderate number of these people for their labour, they will be assigned to him. Mr. Scheffer is a man of industry and respectable character. He came out to this country as superintendant of convicts, at a salary of forty pounds per annum, and brought with him a daughter of twelve years old. He is by birth a Hessian, and served in America, in a corps of Yaghers, with the rank of lieutenant. He never was professionally, in any part of life, a farmer, but he told me, that his father owned a small estate on the banks of the Rhine, on which he resided, and that he had always been fond of looking at and assisting in his labours, particularly in the vineyard. In walking along, he more than once shook his head and made some mortifying observations on the soil of his present domain, compared with the banks of his native stream. He assured me that (exclusive of the sacrifice of his salary) he has expended more than forty pounds in advancing his ground to the state in which I saw it. Of the probability of success in his undertaking, he spoke with moderation and good sense. Sometimes he said he had almost despaired, and had often balanced about relinquishing it; but had as often been checked by recollecting that hardly any difficulty can arise which vigour and perseverance will not overcome. I asked him what was the tenure on which he held his estate. He offered to show the written document, saying that it was exactly the same as Ruse's. I therefore declined to trouble him, and took my leave with wishes for his success and prosperity. Near Mr. Scheffer's farm is a small patch of land cleared by Lieutenant Townson of the New South Wales corps, about two acres of which are in maize and wheat, both looking very bad. Proceeded to the farm of Mr. Arndell, one of the assistant surgeons. This gentleman has six acres in cultivation as follows: rather more than four in maize, one in wheat, and the remainder in oats and barley. The wheat looks tolerably good, rather thin but of a good height, and the ears well filled. His farming servant guesses the produce will be twelve bushels,* and I do not think he over-rates it. The maize he guesses at thirty bushels, which from appearances it may yield, but not more. The oats and barley are not contemptible. This ground has been turned up but once The aspect of it is nearly south, on a declivity of the river, or arm of the sea, on which Rose Hill stands. It was cleared of wood about nine months ago, and sown this year for the first time. [*I have received a letter from Port Jackson, dated in April 1792, which states that the crop of wheat turned out fifteen bushels, and the maize rather more than forty bushels.] December 8th. Went this morning to the farm of Christopher Magee, a convict settler, nearly opposite to that of Mr. Scheffen. The situation of this farm is very eligible, provided the river in floods does not inundate it, which I think doubtful. This man was bred to husbandry, and lived eight years in America; he has no less than eight acres in cultivation, five and a half in maize, one in wheat, and one and a half in tobacco. From the wheat he does not expect more than ten bushels, but he is extravagant enough to rate the produce of maize at 100 bushels (perhaps he may get fifty); on tobacco he means to go largely hereafter. He began to clear this ground in April, but did not settle until last July. I asked by what means he had been able to accomplish so much? He answered, "By industry, and by hiring all the convicts I could get to work in their leisure hours, besides some little assistance which the governor has occasionally thrown in." His greatest impediment is want of water, being obliged to fetch all he uses more than half a mile. He sunk a well, and found water, but it was brackish and not fit to drink. If this man shall continue in habits of industry and sobriety, I think him sure of succeeding. Reached Ruse's farm,* and begged to look at his grant, the material part of which runs thus: "A lot of thirty acres, to be called Experiment Farm; the said lot to be holden, free of all taxes, quit-rents, &c. for ten years, provided that the occupier, his heirs or assigns, shall reside within the same, and proceed to the improvement thereof; reserving, however, for the use of the crown, all timber now growing, or which hereafter shall grow, fit for naval purposes. At the expiration of ten years, an annual quit-rent of one shilling shall be paid by the occupier in acknowledgment." [*See the state of this farm in my former Rose Hill journal of November 1790, thirteen months before.] Ruse now lives in a comfortable brick house, built for him by the governor. He has eleven acres and a half in cultivation, and several more which have been cleared by convicts in their leisure hours, on condition of receiving the first year's crop. He means to cultivate little besides maize; wheat is so much less productive. Of the culture of vineyards and tobacco he is ignorant; and, with great good sense, he declared that he would not quit the path he knew, for an uncertainty. His livestock consists of four breeding sows and thirty fowls. He has been taken from the store (that is, has supplied himself with provisions) for some months past; and his wife is to be taken off at Christmas, at which time, if he deems himself able to maintain a convict labourer, one is to be given to him. Crossed the river in a boat to Robert Webb's farm. This man was one of the seamen of the 'Sirius', and has taken, in conjunction with his brother (also a seaman of the same ship) a grant of sixty acres, on the same terms as Ruse, save that the annual quit-rent is to commence at the expiration of five years, instead of ten. The brother is gone to England to receive the wages due to them both for their services, which money is to be expended by him in whatever he judges will be most conducive to the success of their plan. Webb expects to do well; talks as a man should talk who has just set out on a doubtful enterprise which he is bound to pursue. He is sanguine in hope, and looks only at the bright side of the prospect. He has received great encouragement and assistance from the governor. He has five acres cleared and planted with maize, which looks thriving, and promises to yield a decent crop. His house and a small one adjoining for pigs and poultry were built for him by the governor, who also gave him two sows and seven fowls, to which he adds a little stock of his own acquiring. Near Webb is placed William Read, another seaman of the 'Sirius', on the same terms, and to whom equal encouragement has been granted. My survey of Rose Hill is now closed. I have inspected every piece of ground in cultivation here, both public and private, and have written from actual examination only. But before I bade adieu to Rose Hill, in all probability for the last time of my life, it struck me that there yet remained one object of consideration not to be slighted: Barrington had been in the settlement between two and three months, and I had not seen him. I saw him with curiosity. He is tall, approaching to six feet, slender, and his gait and manner, bespeak liveliness and activity. Of that elegance and fashion, with which my imagination had decked him (I know not why), I could distinguish no trace. Great allowance should, however, be made for depression and unavoidable deficiency of dress. His face is thoughtful and intelligent; to a strong cast of countenance he adds a penetrating eye, and a prominent forehead. His whole demeanour is humble, not servile. Both on his passage from England, and since his arrival here, his conduct has been irreproachable. He is appointed high-constable of the settlement of Rose Hill, a post of some respectability, and certainly one of importance to those who live here. His knowledge of men, particularly of that part of them into whose morals, manners and behaviour he is ordered especially to inspect, eminently fit him for the office. I cannot quit him without bearing my testimony that his talents promise to be directed in future to make reparation to society for the offences he has heretofore committed against it. The number of persons of all descriptions at Rose Hill at this period will be seen in the following return. A return of the number of persons at Rose Hill, 3rd of December 1791 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Quality. |Men.|Women.| Children | | | of 10 years | of 2 years | under 2 years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Convicts* 1336 133 0 9 17 Troops 94 9 1 5 2 Civil Department 7 0 0 0 0 Seamen Settlers 3 0 0 0 0 Free Persons 0 7 2 1 2 Total number of persons 1440 149 3 15 21 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [*The convicts who are become settlers, are included in this number.] Of my Sydney journal, I find no part sufficiently interesting to be worth extraction. This place had long been considered only as a depot for stores. It exhibited nothing but a few old scattered huts and some sterile gardens. Cultivation of the ground was abandoned, and all our strength transferred to Rose Hill. Sydney, nevertheless, continued to be the place of the governor's residence, and consequently the headquarters of the colony. No public building of note, except a storehouse, had been erected since my last statement. The barracks, so long talked of, so long promised, for the accommodation and discipline of the troops, were not even begun when I left the country; and instead of a new hospital, the old one was patched up and, with the assistance of one brought ready-framed from England, served to contain the sick. The employment of the male convicts here, as at Rose Hill, was the public labour. Of the women, the majority were compelled to make shirts, trousers and other necessary parts of dress for the men, from materials delivered to them from the stores, into which they returned every Saturday night the produce of their labour, a stipulated weekly task being assigned to them. In a more early stage, government sent out all articles of clothing ready made; but, by adopting the present judicious plan, not only a public saving is effected, but employment of a suitable nature created for those who would otherwise consume leisure in idle pursuits only. On the 26th of November 1791, the number of persons, of all descriptions, at Sydney, was 1259, to which, if 1628 at Rose Hill and 1172 at Norfolk Island be added, the total number of persons in New South Wales and its dependency will be found to amount to 4059.* [*A very considerable addition to this number has been made since I quitted the settlement, by fresh troops and convicts sent thither from England.] On the 13th of December 1791, the marine battalion embarked on board His Majesty's ship Gorgon, and on the 18th sailed for England. CHAPTER XVII. Miscellaneous Remarks on the country. On its vegetable productions. On its climate. On its animal productions. On its natives, etc. The journals contained in the body of this publication, illustrated by the map which accompanies it (unfortunately, there is no map accompanying this etext), are, I conceive, so descriptive of every part of the country known to us, that little remains to be added beyond a few general observations. The first impression made on a stranger is certainly favourable. He sees gently swelling hills connected by vales which possess every beauty that verdure of trees, and form, simply considered in itself, can produce; but he looks in vain for those murmuring rills and refreshing springs which fructify and embellish more happy lands. Nothing like those tributary streams which feed rivers in other countries are here seen; for when I speak of the stream at Sydney, I mean only the drain of a morass; and the river at Rose Hill is a creek of the harbour, which above high water mark would not in England be called even a brook. Whence the Hawkesbury, the only fresh water river known to exist in the country, derives its supplies, would puzzle a transient observer. He sees nothing but torpid unmeaning ponds (often stagnant and always still, unless agitated by heavy rains) which communicate with it. Doubtless the springs which arise in Carmarthen mountains may be said to constitute its source. To cultivate its banks within many miles of the bed of the stream (except on some elevated detached spots) will be found impracticable, unless some method be devised of erecting a mound, sufficient to repel the encroachments of a torrent which sometimes rises fifty feet above its ordinary level, inundating the surrounding country in every direction. The country between the Hawkesbury and Rose Hill is that which I have hitherto spoken of. When the river is crossed, this prospect soon gives place to a very different one. The green vales and moderate hills disappear at the distance of about three miles from the river side, and from Knight Hill, and Mount Twiss,* the limits which terminate our researches, nothing but precipices, wilds and deserts, are to be seen. Even these steeps fail to produce streams. The difficulty of penetrating this country, joined to the dread of a sudden rise of the Hawkesbury, forbidding all return, has hitherto prevented our reaching Carmarthen mountains. [*Look at the Map. (There is no map accompanying this etext)] Let the reader now cast his eye on the relative situation of Port Jackson. He will see it cut off from communication with the northward by Broken Bay, and with the southward by Botany Bay; and what is worse, the whole space of intervening country yet explored, (except a narrow strip called the Kangaroo Ground) in both directions, is so bad as to preclude cultivation. The course of the Hawkesbury will next attract his attention. To the southward of every part of Botany Bay we have traced this river; but how much farther in that line it extends we know not. Hence its channel takes a northerly direction, and finishes its course in Broken Bay, running at the back of Port Jackson in such a manner as to form the latter into a peninsula. The principal question then remaining is, what is the distance between the head of Botany Bay and the part of the Hawkesbury nearest to it? And is the intermediate country a good one, or does it lead to one which appearances indicate to be good? To future adventurers who shall meet with more encouragement to persevere and discover than I and my fellow wanderer[s] did, I resign the answer. In the meantime the reader is desired to look at the remarks on the map (there is no map accompanying this etext), which were made in the beginning of August 1790, from Pyramid Hill, which bounded our progress on the southern expedition; when, and when only, this part of the country has been seen. It then follows that from Rose Hill to within such a distance of the Hawkesbury as is protected from its inundations, is the only tract of land we yet know of, in which cultivation can be carried on for many years to come. To aim at forming a computation of the distance of time, of the labour and of the expense, which would attend forming distinct convict settlements, beyond the bounds I have delineated; or of the difficulty which would attend a system of communication between such establishments and Port Jackson, is not intended here. Until that period shall arrive, the progress of cultivation, when it shall have once passed Prospect Hill, will probably steal along to the southward, in preference to the northward, from the superior nature of the country in that direction, as the remarks inserted in the map will testify. Such is my statement of a plan which I deem inevitably entailed on the settlement at Port Jackson. In sketching this outline of it let it not be objected that I suppose the reader as well acquainted with the respective names and boundaries of the country as long residence and unwearied journeying among them, have made the author. To have subjoined perpetual explanations would have been tedious and disgusting. Familiarity with the relative positions of a country can neither be imparted, or acquired, but by constant recurrence to geographic delineations. On the policy of settling, with convicts only, a country at once so remote and extensive, I shall offer no remarks. Whenever I have heard this question agitated, since my return to England, the cry of, "What can we do with them! Where else can they be sent!" has always silenced me. Of the soil, opinions have not differed widely. A spot eminently fruitful has never been discovered. That there are many spots cursed with everlasting and unconquerable sterility no one who has seen the country will deny. At the same time I am decidedly of opinion that many large tracts of land between Rose Hill and the Hawkesbury, even now, are of a nature sufficiently favourable to produce moderate crops of whatever may be sown in them. And provided a sufficient number of cattle* be imported to afford manure for dressing the ground, no doubt can exist that subsistence for a limited number of inhabitants may be drawn from it. To imperfect husbandry, and dry seasons, must indubitably be attributed part of the deficiency of former years. Hitherto all our endeavours to derive advantage from mixing the different soils have proved fruitless, though possibly only from want of skill on our side. [*In my former narrative I have particularly noticed the sudden disappearance of the cattle, which we had brought with us into the country. Not a trace of them has ever since been observed. Their fate is a riddle, so difficult of solution that I shall not attempt it. Surely had they strayed inland, in some of our numerous excursions, marks of them must have been found. It is equally impossible to believe that either the convicts or natives killed and ate them, without some sign of detection ensuing.] The spontaneous productions of the soil will be soon recounted. Every part of the country is a forest: of the quality of the wood take the following instance. The 'Supply' wanted wood for a mast, and more than forty of the choicest young trees were cut down before as much wood as would make it could be procured, the trees being either rotten at the heart or riven by the gum which abounds in them. This gum runs not always in a longitudinal direction in the body of the tree, but is found in it in circles, like a scroll. There is however, a species of light wood which is found excellent for boat building, but it is scarce and hardly ever found of large size. To find limestone many of our researches were directed. But after repeated assays with fire and chemical preparations on all the different sorts of stone to be picked up, it is still a desideratum. Nor did my experiments with a magnet induce me to think that any of the stones I tried contained iron. I have, however, heard other people report very differently on this head. The list of esculent vegetables, and wild fruits is too contemptible to deserve notice, if the 'sweet tea' whose virtues have been already recorded, and the common orchis root be excepted. That species of palm tree which produces the mountain cabbage is also found in most of the freshwater swamps, within six or seven miles of the coast. But is rarely seen farther inland. Even the banks of the Hawkesbury are unprovided with it. The inner part of the trunk of this tree was greedily eaten by our hogs, and formed their principal support. The grass, as has been remarked in former publications, does not overspread the land in a continued sward, but arises in small detached tufts, growing every way about three inches apart, the intermediate space being bare; though the heads of the grass are often so luxuriant as to hide all deficiency on the surface. The rare and beautiful flowering shrubs, which abound in every part, deserve the highest admiration and panegyric. Of the vegetable productions transplanted from other climes, maize flourishes beyond any other grain. And as it affords a strong and nutritive article of food, its propagation will, I think, altogether supersede that of wheat and barley. Horticulture has been attended in some places with tolerable success. At Rose Hill I have seen gardens which, without the assistance of manure, have continued for a short time to produce well grown vegetables. But at Sydney, without constantly dressing the ground, it was in vain to expect them; and with it a supply of common vegetables might be procured by diligence in all seasons. Vines of every sort seem to flourish. Melons, cucumbers and pumpkins run with unbounded luxuriancy, and I am convinced that the grapes of New South Wales will, in a few years, equal those of any other country. 'That their juice will probably hereafter furnish an indispensable article of luxury at European tables', has already been predicted in the vehemence of speculation. Other fruits are yet in their infancy; but oranges, lemons and figs, (of which last indeed I have eaten very good ones) will, I dare believe, in a few years become plentiful. Apples and the fruits of colder climes also promise to gratify expectation. The banana-tree has been introduced from Norfolk Island, where it grows spontaneously. Nor will this surprise, if the genial influence of the climate be considered. Placed in a latitude where the beams of the sun in the dreariest season are sufficiently powerful for many hours of the day to dispense warmth and nutrition, the progress of vegetation never is at a stand. The different temperatures of Rose Hill and Sydney in winter, though only twelve miles apart, afford, however, curious matter of speculation. Of a well attested instance of ice being seen at the latter place, I never heard. At the former place its production is common, and once a few flakes of snow fell. The difference can be accounted for only by supposing that the woods stop the warm vapours of the sea from reaching Rose Hill, which is at the distance of sixteen miles inland; whereas Sydney is but four.* Again, the heats of summer are more violent at the former place than at the latter, and the variations incomparably quicker. The thermometer has been known to alter at Rose Hill, in the course of nine hours, more than 50 degrees; standing a little before sunrise at 50 degrees, and between one and two at more than 100 degrees. To convey an idea of the climate in summer, I shall transcribe from my meteorological journal, accounts of two particular days which were the hottest we ever suffered under at Sydney. [*Look at the journal which describes the expedition in search of the river, said to exist to the southward of Rose Hill. At the time we felt that extraordinary degree of cold were not more than six miles south west of Rose Hill, and about nineteen miles from the the sea coast. When I mentioned this circumstance to colonel Gordon, at the Cape of Good Hope, he wondered at it; and owned, that, in his excursions into the interior parts of Africa, he had never experienced anything to match it: he attributed its production to large beds of nitre, which he said must exist in the neighbourhood.] December 27th 1790. Wind NNW; it felt like the blast of a heated oven, and in proportion as it increased the heat was found to be more intense, the sky hazy, the sun gleaming through at intervals. At 9 a.m. 85 degrees At noon 104 Half past twelve 107 1/2 From one p.m. until 20 minutes past two 108 1/2 At 20 minutes past two 109 At Sunset 89 At 11 p.m. 78 1/2 [By a large Thermometer made by Ramsden, and graduated on Fahrenheit's scale.] December 28th. At 8 a.m. 86 10 a.m. 93 11 a.m. 101 At noon 103 1/2 Half an hour past noon 104 1/2 At one p.m. 102 At 5 p.m. 73 At sunset 69 1/2 [At a quarter past one, it stood at only 89 degrees, having, from a sudden shift of wind, fallen 13 degrees in 15 minutes.] My observations on this extreme heat, succeeded by so rapid a change, were that of all animals, man seemed to bear it best. Our dogs, pigs and fowls, lay panting in the shade, or were rushing into the water. I remarked that a hen belonging to me, which had sat for a fortnight, frequently quitted her eggs, and shewed great uneasiness, but never remained from them many minutes at one absence; taught by instinct that the wonderful power in the animal body of generating cold in air heated beyond a certain degree, was best calculated for the production of her young. The gardens suffered considerably. All the plants which had not taken deep root were withered by the power of the sun. No lasting ill effects, however, arose to the human constitution. A temporary sickness at the stomach, accompanied with lassitude and headache, attacked many, but they were removed generally in twenty-four hours by an emetic, followed by an anodyne. During the time it lasted, we invariably found that the house was cooler than the open air, and that in proportion as the wind was excluded, was comfort augmented. But even this heat was judged to be far exceeded in the latter end of the following February, when the north-west wind again set in, and blew with great violence for three days. At Sydney, it fell short by one degree of what I have just recorded: but at Rose Hill, it was allowed, by every person, to surpass all that they had before felt, either there or in any other part of the world. Unluckily they had no thermometer to ascertain its precise height. It must, however, have been intense, from the effects it produced. An immense flight of bats driven before the wind, covered all the trees around the settlement, whence they every moment dropped dead or in a dying state, unable longer to endure the burning state of the atmosphere. Nor did the 'perroquettes', though tropical birds, bear it better. The ground was strewn with them in the same condition as the bats. Were I asked the cause of this intolerable heat, I should not hesitate to pronounce that it was occasioned by the wind blowing over immense deserts, which, I doubt not, exist in a north-west direction from Port Jackson, and not from fires kindled by the natives. This remark I feel necessary, as there were methods used by some persons in the colony, both for estimating the degree of heat and for ascertaining the cause of its production, which I deem equally unfair and unphilosophical. The thermometer, whence my observations were constantly made, was hung in the open air in a southern aspect, never reached by the rays of the sun, at the distance of several feet above the ground. My other remarks on the climate will be short. It is changeable beyond any other I ever heard of; but no phenomena sufficiently accurate to reckon upon, are found to indicate the approach of alteration. Indeed, for the first eighteen months that we lived in the country, changes were supposed to take place more commonly at the quartering of the moon than at other times. But lunar empire afterwards lost its credit. For the last two years and a half of our residing at Port Jackson, its influence was unperceived. Three days together seldom passed without a necessity occurring for lighting a fire in an evening. A 'habit d'ete', or a 'habit de demi saison', would be in the highest degree absurd. Clouds, storms and sunshine pass in rapid succession. Of rain, we found in general not a sufficiency, but torrents of water sometimes fall. Thunder storms, in summer, are common and very tremendous, but they have ceased to alarm, from rarely causing mischief. Sometimes they happen in winter. I have often seen large hailstones fall. Frequent strong breezes from the westward purge the air. These are almost invariably attended with a hard clear sky. The easterly winds, by setting in from the sea, bring thick weather and rain, except in summer, when they become regular sea-breezes. The 'aurora australis' is sometimes seen, but is not distinguished by superior brilliancy. To sum up: notwithstanding the inconveniences which I have enumerated, I will venture to assert in few words, that no climate hitherto known is more generally salubrious*, or affords more days on which those pleasures which depend on the state of the atmosphere can be enjoyed, than that of New South Wales. The winter season is particularly delightful. [*To this cause, I ascribe the great number of births which happened, considering the age and other circumstances, of many of the mothers. Women who certainly would never have bred in any other climate here produced as fine children as ever were born.] The leading animal production is well known to be the kangaroo. The natural history of this animal will, probably, be written from observations made upon it in England, as several living ones of both sexes, have been brought home. Until such an account shall appear, probably the following desultory observation may prove acceptable. The genus in which the kangaroo is to be classed I leave to better naturalists than myself to determine. How it copulates, those who pretend to have seen disagree in their accounts: nor do we know how long the period of gestation lasts. Prolific it cannot be termed, bringing forth only one at a birth, which the dam carries in her pouch wherever she goes until the young one be enabled to provide for itself; and even then, in the moment of alarm, she will stop to receive and protect it. We have killed she-kangaroos whose pouches contained young ones completely covered with fur and of more than fifteen pounds weight, which had ceased to suck and afterwards were reared by us. In what space of time it reaches such a growth as to be abandoned entirely by the mother, we are ignorant. It is born blind, totally bald, the orifice of the ear closed and only just the centre of the mouth open, but a black score, denoting what is hereafter to form the dimension of the mouth, is marked very distinctly on each side of the opening. At its birth, the kangaroo (notwithstanding it weighs when full grown 200 pounds) is not so large as a half-grown mouse. I brought some with me to England even less, which I took from the pouches of the old ones. This phenomenon is so striking and so contrary to the general laws of nature, that an opinion has been started that the animal is brought forth not by the pudenda, but descends from the belly into the pouch by one of the teats, which are there deposited. On this difficulty as I can throw no light, I shall hazard no conjecture. It may, however, be necessary to observe that the teats are several inches long and capable of great dilatation. And here I beg leave to correct an error which crept into my former publication wherein I asserted that, "the teats of the kangaroo never exceed two in number." They sometimes, though rarely, amount to four. There is great reason to believe that they are slow of growth and live many years. This animal has a clavicle, or collar-bone, similar to that of the human body. The general colour of the kangaroo is very like that of the ass, but varieties exist. Its shape and figure are well known by the plates which have been given of it. The elegance of the ear is particularly deserving of admiration. This far exceeds the ear of the hare in quickness of sense and is so flexible as to admit of being turned by the animal nearly quite round the head, doubtless for the purpose of informing the creature of the approach of its enemies, as it is of a timid nature, and poorly furnished with means of defence; though when compelled to resist, it tears furiously with its forepaws, and strikes forward very hard with its hind legs. Notwithstanding its unfavourable conformation for such a purpose, its swims strongly; but never takes to the water unless so hard pressed by its pursuers as to be left without all other refuge. The noise they make is a faint bleat, querulous, but not easy to describe. They are sociable animals and unite in droves, sometimes to the number of fifty or sixty together; when they are seen playful and feeding on grass, which alone forms their food. At such time they move gently about like all other quadrupeds, on all fours; but at the slightest noise they spring up on their hind legs and sit erect, listening to what it may proceed from, and if it increases they bound off on those legs only, the fore ones at the same time being carried close to the breast like the paws of a monkey; and the tail stretched out, acts as a rudder on a ship. In drinking, the kangaroo laps. It is remarkable that they are never found in a fat state, being invariably lean. Of the flesh we always eat with avidity, but in Europe it would not be reckoned a delicacy. A rank flavour forms the principal objection to it. The tail is accounted the most delicious part, when stewed. Hitherto I have spoken only of the large, or grey kangaroo, to which the natives give the name of 'patagaran'.* But there are (besides the kangaroo-rat) two other sorts. One of them we called the red kangaroo, from the colour of its fur, which is like that of a hare, and sometimes is mingled with a large portion of black: the natives call it 'bagaray'. It rarely attains to more than forty pounds weight. The third sort is very rare, and in the formation of its head resembles the opossum. The kangaroo-rat is a small animal, never reaching, at its utmost growth, more than fourteen or fifteen pounds, and its usual size is not above seven or eight pounds. It joins to the head and bristles of a rat the leading distinctions of a kangaroo, by running when pursued on its hind legs only, and the female having a pouch. Unlike the kangaroo, who appears to have no fixed place of residence, this little animal constructs for itself a nest of grass, on the ground, of a circular figure, about ten inches in diameter, with a hole on one side for the creature to enter at; the inside being lined with a finer sort of grass, very soft and downy. But its manner of carrying the materials with which it builds the nest is the greatest curiosity: by entwining its tail (which, like that of all the kangaroo tribe, is long, flexible and muscular) around whatever it wants to remove, and thus dragging along the load behind it. This animal is good to eat; but whether it be more prolific at a birth than the kangaroo, I know not. [*kangaroo was a name unknown to them for any animal, until we introduced it. When I showed Colbee the cows brought out in the Gorgon, he asked me if they were kangaroos.] The Indians sometimes kill the kangaroo; but their greatest destroyer is the wild dog,* who feeds on them. Immediately on hearing or seeing this formidable enemy, the kangaroo flies to the thickest cover, in which, if he can involve himself, he generally escapes. In running to the cover, they always, if possible, keep in paths of their own forming, to avoid the high grass and stumps of trees which might be sticking up among it to wound them and impede their course. [*I once found in the woods the greatest part of a kangaroo just killed by the dogs, which afforded to three of us a most welcome repast. Marks of its turns and struggles on the ground were very visible. This happened in the evening, and the dogs probably had seen us approach and had run away. At daylight next morning they saluted us with most dreadful howling for the loss of their prey.] Our methods of killing them were but two; either we shot them, or hunted them with greyhounds. We were never able to ensnare them. Those sportsmen who relied on the gun seldom met with success, unless they slept near covers, into which the kangaroos were wont to retire at night, and watched with great caution and vigilance when the game, in the morning, sallied forth to feed. They were, however, sometimes stolen in upon in the day-time and that fascination of the eye, which has been by some authors so much insisted upon, so far acts on the kangaroo that if he fixes his eye upon any one, and no other object move at the same time, he will often continue motionless, in stupid gaze, while the sportsman advances with measured step, towards him, until within reach of his gun. The greyhounds for a long time were incapable of taking them; but with a brace of dogs, if not near cover a kangaroo almost always falls, since the greyhounds have acquired by practice the proper method of fastening upon them. Nevertheless the dogs are often miserably torn by them. The rough wiry greyhound suffers least in the conflict, and is most prized by the hunters. Other quadrupeds, besides the wild dog, consist only of the flying squirrel, of three kinds of opossums and some minute animals, usually marked by the distinction which so peculiarly characterizes the opossum tribe. The rats, soon after our landing, became not only numerous but formidable, from the destruction they occasioned in the stores. Latterly they had almost disappeared, though to account for their absence were not easy. The first time Colbee saw a monkey, he called 'wurra' (a rat); but on examining its paws he exclaimed with astonishment and affright, 'mulla' (a man). At the head of the birds the cassowary or emu, stands conspicuous. The print of it which has already been given to the public is so accurate for the most part, that it would be malignant criticism in a work of this kind to point out a few trifling defects. Here again naturalists must look forward to that information which longer and more intimate knowledge of the feathered tribe than I can supply, shall appear. I have nevertheless had the good fortune to see what was never seen but once, in the country I am describing, by Europeans--a hatch, or flock, of young cassowaries with the old bird. I counted ten, but others said there were twelve. We came suddenly upon them, and they ran up a hill exactly like a flock of turkeys, but so fast that we could not get a shot at them. The largest cassowary ever killed in the settlement, weighed ninety-four pounds. Three young ones, which had been by accident separated from the dam, were once taken and presented to the governor. They were not larger than so many pullets, although at first sight they appeared to be so from the length of their necks and legs. They were very beautifully striped, and from their tender state were judged to be not more than three or four days old. They lived only a few days. A single egg, the production of a cassowary, was picked up in a desert place, dropped on the sand, without covering or protection of any kind. Its form was nearly a perfect ellipsis; and the colour of the shell a dark green, full of little indents on its surface. It measured eleven inches and a half in circumference, five inches and a quarter in height, and weighed a pound and a quarter. Afterwards we had the good fortune to take a nest. It was found by a soldier in a sequestered solitary situation, made in a patch of lofty fern about three feet in diameter, rather of an oblong shape and composed of dry leaves and tops of fern stalks, very inartificially put together. The hollow in which lay the eggs, twelve in number, seemed made solely by the pressure of the bird. The eggs were regularly placed in the following position. O O O O O O O O O O O O The soldier, instead of greedily plundering his prize, communicated the discovery to an officer, who immediately set out for the spot. When they had arrived there they continued for a long time to search in vain for their object, and the soldier was just about to be stigmatized with ignorance, credulity or imposture, when suddenly up started the old bird and the treasure was found at their feet. The food of the cassowary is either grass, or a yellow bell-flower growing in the swamps. It deserves remark, that the natives deny the cassowary to be a bird, because it does not fly. Of other birds the varieties are very numerous. Of the parrot tribe alone I could, while I am writing, count up from memory fourteen different sorts. Hawks are very numerous, so are quails. A single snipe has been shot. Ducks, geese and other aquatic birds are often seen in large flocks, but are universally so shy, that it is found difficult to shoot them. Some of the smaller birds are very beautiful, but they are not remarkable for either sweetness, or variety of notes. To one of them, not bigger than a tomtit, we have given the name of coach-whip, from its note exactly resembling the smack of a whip. The country, I am of opinion, would abound with birds did not the natives, by perpetually setting fire to the grass and bushes, destroy the greater part of the nests; a cause which also contributes to render small quadrupeds scarce. They are besides ravenously fond of eggs and eat them wherever they find them. They call the roe of a fish and a bird's egg by one name. So much has been said of the abundance in which fish are found in the harbours of New South Wales that it looks like detraction to oppose a contradiction. Some share of knowledge may, however, be supposed to belong to experience. Many a night have I toiled (in the times of distress) on the public service, from four o'clock in the afternoon until eight o'clock next morning, hauling the seine in every part of the harbour of Port Jackson: and after a circuit of many miles and between twenty and thirty hauls, seldom more than a hundred pounds of fish were taken. However, it sometimes happens that a glut enters the harbour, and for a few days they sufficiently abound. But the universal voice of all professed fishermen is that they never fished in a country where success was so precarious and uncertain. I shall not pretend to enumerate the variety of fish which are found. They are seen from a whale to a gudgeon. In the intermediate classes may be reckoned sharks of a monstrous size, skait, rock-cod, grey-mullet, bream, horse-mackarel, now and then a sole and john dory, and innumerable others unknown in Europe, many of which are extremely delicious, and many highly beautiful. At the top of the list, as an article of food, stands a fish, which we named light-horseman. The relish of this excellent fish was increased by our natives, who pointed out to us its delicacies. No epicure in England could pick a head with more glee and dexterity than they do that of a light-horseman. Reptiles in the swamps and covers are numerous. Of snakes there are two or three sorts: but whether the bite of any of them be mortal, or even venomous, is somewhat doubtful. I know but of one well attested instance of a bite being received from a snake. A soldier was bitten so as to draw blood, and the wound healed as a simple incision usually does without shewing any symptom of malignity. A dog was reported to be bitten by a snake, and the animal swelled and died in great agony. But I will by no means affirm that the cause of his death was fairly ascertained. It is, however, certain that the natives show, on all occasions, the utmost horror of the snake, and will not eat it, although they esteem lizards, goannas, and many other reptiles delicious fare. On this occasion they always observe that if the snake bites them, they become lame, but whether by this they mean temporary or lasting lameness I do not pretend to determine. I have often eaten snakes and always found them palatable and nutritive, though it was difficult to stew them to a tender state. Summer here, as in all other countries, brings with it a long list of insects. In the neighborhood of rivers and morasses, mosquitoes and sandflies are never wanting at any season, but at Sydney they are seldom numerous or troublesome. The most nauseous and destructive of all the insects is a fly which blows not eggs but large living maggots, and if the body of the fly be opened it is found full of them. Of ants there are several sorts, one of which bites very severely. The white ant is sometimes seen. Spiders are large and numerous. Their webs are not only the strongest, but the finest, and most silky I ever felt. I have often thought their labour might be turned to advantage. It has, I believe, been proved that spiders, were it not for their quarrelsome disposition which irritates them to attack and destroy each other, might be employed more profitably than silk-worms. The hardiness of some of the insects deserves to be mentioned. A beetle was immersed in proof spirits for four hours, and when taken out crawled away almost immediately. It was a second time immersed, and continued in a glass of rum for a day and a night, at the expiration of which period it still showed symptoms of life. Perhaps, however, what I from ignorance deem wonderful is common. ***** The last but the most important production yet remains to be considered. Whether plodding in London, reeking with human blood in Paris or wandering amidst the solitary wilds of New South Wales--Man is ever an object of interest, curiosity and reflection. The natives around Port Jackson are in person rather more diminutive and slighter made, especially about the thighs and legs, than the Europeans. It is doubtful whether their society contained a person of six feet high. The tallest I ever measured, reached five feet eleven inches, and men of his height were rarely seen. Baneelon, who towered above the majority of his countrymen, stood barely five feet eight inches high. His other principal dimensions were as follows: Girth of the Chest. 2 feet 10 inches Girth of the Belly. 2 feet 6 1/2 inches Girth of the Thigh. 18 1/8 inches Girth of the Leg at the Calf. 12 1/8 inches Girth of the Leg at the Small. 10 inches Girth of arm half way between the shoulder and elbow. 9 inches Instances of natural deformity are scarce, nor did we ever see one of them left-handed. They are, indeed, nearly ambidexter; but the sword, the spear and the fish-gig are always used with the right hand. Their muscular force is not great; but the pliancy of their limbs renders them very active. "Give to civilized man all his machines, and he is superior to the savage; but without these, how inferior is he found on opposition, even more so than the savage in the first instance." These are the words of Rousseau, and like many more of his positions must be received with limitation. Were an unarmed Englishman and an unarmed New Hollander to engage, the latter, I think, would fall. Mr. Cook seems inclined to believe the covering of their heads to be wool. But this is erroneous. It is certainly hair, which when regularly combed becomes soon nearly as flexible and docile as our own. Their teeth are not so white and good as those generally found in Indian nations, except in the children, but the inferiority originates in themselves. They bite sticks, stones, shells and all other hard substances, indiscriminately with them, which quickly destroys the enamel and gives them a jagged and uneven appearance. A high forehead, with prominent overhanging eyebrows, is their leading characteristic, and when it does not operate to destroy all openness of countenance gives an air of resolute dignity to the aspect, which recommends, in spite of a true negro nose, thick lips, and a wide mouth. The prominent shin bone, so invariably found in the Africans, is not, however, seen. But in another particular they are more alike. The rank offensive smell which disgusts so much in the negro, prevails strongly among them when they are in their native state, but it wears off in those who have resided with us and have been taught habits of cleanliness. Their hands and feet are small*, especially the former. [*I mentioned this, among other circumstances, to colonel Gordon when I was at the Cape, and he told me that it indicated poverty and inadequacy of living. He instanced to me the Hottentots and Caffres. The former fare poorly, and have small hands and feet. The Caffres, their neighbours, live plenteously and have very large ones. This remark cannot be applied to civilized nations, where so many factitious causes operate.] Their eyes are full, black and piercing, but the almost perpetual strain in which the optic nerve is kept, by looking out for prey, renders their sight weak at an earlier age than we in general find ours affected. These large black eyes are universally shaded by the long thick sweepy eyelash, so much prized in appreciating beauty, that, perhaps hardly any face is so homely which this aid cannot in some degree render interesting; and hardly any so lovely which, without it, bears not some trace of insipidity. Their tone of voice is loud, but not harsh. I have in some of them found it very pleasing. Longevity, I think, is seldom attained by them. Unceasing agitation wears out the animal frame and is unfriendly to length of days. We have seen them grey with age, but not old; perhaps never beyond sixty years. But it may be said, the American Indian, in his undebauched state, lives to an advanced period. True, but he has his seasons of repose. He reaps his little harvest of maize and continues in idleness while it lasts. He kills the roebuck or the moose-deer, which maintains him and his family for many days, during which cessation the muscles regain their spring and fit him for fresh toils. Whereas every sun awakes the native of New South Wales (unless a whale be thrown upon the coast) to a renewal of labour, to provide subsistence for the present day. The women are proportionally smaller than the men. I never measured but two of them, who were both, I think, about the medium height. One of them, a sister of Baneelon, stood exactly five feet two inches high. The other, named Gooreedeeana, was shorter by a quarter of an inch. But I cannot break from Gooreedeeana so abruptly. She belonged to the tribe of Cameragal, and rarely came among us. One day, however, she entered my house to complain of hunger. She excelled in beauty all their females I ever saw. Her age about eighteen, the firmness, the symmetry and the luxuriancy of her bosom might have tempted painting to copy its charms. Her mouth was small and her teeth, though exposed to all the destructive purposes to which they apply them, were white, sound and unbroken. Her countenance, though marked by some of the characteristics of her native land, was distinguished by a softness and sensibility unequalled in the rest of her countrywomen, and I was willing to believe that these traits indicated the disposition of her mind. I had never before seen this elegant timid female, of whom I had often heard; but the interest I took in her led me to question her about her husband and family. She answered me by repeating a name which I have now forgotten, and told me she had no children. I was seized with a strong propensity to learn whether the attractions of Gooreedeeana were sufficiently powerful to secure her from the brutal violence with which the women are treated, and as I found my question either ill understood or reluctantly answered, I proceeded to examine her head, the part on which the husband's vengeance generally alights. With grief I found it covered by contusions and mangled by scars. The poor creature, grown by this time more confident from perceiving that I pitied her, pointed out a wound just above her left knee which she told me was received from a spear, thrown at her by a man who had lately dragged her by force from her home to gratify his lust. I afterwards observed that this wound had caused a slight lameness and that she limped in walking. I could only compassionate her wrongs and sympathize in her misfortunes. To alleviate her present sense of them, when she took her leave I gave her, however, all the bread and salt pork which my little stock afforded. After this I never saw her but once, when I happened to be near the harbour's mouth in a boat, with captain Ball. We met her in a canoe with several more of her sex. She was painted for a ball, with broad stripes of white earth, from head to foot, so that she no longer looked like the same Gooreedeeana. We offered her several presents, all of which she readily accepted; but finding our eagerness and solicitude to inspect her, she managed her canoe with such address as to elude our too near approach, and acted the coquet to admiration. To return from this digression to my subject, I have only farther to observe that the estimation of female beauty among the natives (the men at least) is in this country the same as in most others. Were a New Hollander to portray his mistress, he would draw her the 'Venus aux belles fesses'. Whenever Baneelon described to us his favourite fair, he always painted her in this, and another particular, as eminently luxuriant. Unsatisfied, however, with natural beauty (like the people of all other countries) they strive by adscititious embellishments to heighten attraction, and often with as little success. Hence the naked savage of New South Wales pierces the septum of his nose, through which he runs a stick or a bone, and scarifies his body, the charms of which increase in proportion to the number and magnitude of seams by which it is distinguished. The operation is performed by making two longitudinal incisions with a sharpened shell, and afterwards pinching up with the nails the intermediate space of skin and flesh, which thereby becomes considerably elevated and forms a prominence as thick as a man's finger. No doubt but pain must be severely felt until the wound be healed. But the love of ornament defies weaker considerations, and no English beau can bear more stoutly the extraction of his teeth to make room for a fresh set from a chimney sweeper, or a fair one suffer her tender ears to be perforated, with more heroism than the grisly nymphs on the banks of Port Jackson, submit their sable shoulders to the remorseless lancet. That these scarifications are intended solely to increase personal allurement I will not, however, positively affirm. Similar, perhaps, to the cause of an excision of part of the little finger of the left hand in the women, and of a front tooth in the men;* or probably after all our conjectures, superstitious ceremonies by which they hope either to avert evil or to propagate good, are intended. The colours with which they besmear the bodies of both sexes possibly date from the same common origin. White paint is strictly appropriate to the dance. Red seems to be used on numberless occasions, and is considered as a colour of less consequence. It may be remarked that they translate the epithet white when they speak of us, not by the name which they assign to this white earth, but by that with which they distinguish the palms of their hands. [*It is to be observed that neither of these ceremonies is universal, but nearly so. Why there should exist exemptions I cannot resolve. The manner of executing them is as follows. The finger is taken off by means of a ligature (generally a sinew of a kangaroo) tied so tight as to stop the circulation of the blood, which induces mortification and the part drops off. I remember to have seen Colbee's child, when about a month old, on whom this operation had been just performed by her mother. The little wretch seemed in pain, and her hand was greatly swelled. But this was deemed too trifling a consideration to deserve regard in a case of so much importance. The tooth intended to be taken out is loosened by the gum being scarified on both sides with a sharp shell. The end of a stick is then applied to the tooth, which is struck gently several times with a stone, until it becomes easily moveable, when the 'coup de grace' is given by a smart stroke. Notwithstanding these precautions, I have seen a considerable degree of swelling and inflammation follow the extraction. Imeerawanyee, I remember, suffered severely. But he boasted the firmness and hardihood with which he had endured it. It is seldom performed on those who are under sixteen years old.] As this leads to an important subject I shall at once discuss it. "Have these people any religion: any knowledge of, or belief in a deity?--any conception of the immortality of the soul?" are questions which have been often put to me since my arrival in England: I shall endeavour to answer them with candour and seriousness. Until belief be enlightened by revelation and chastened by reason, religion and superstition, are terms of equal import. One of our earliest impressions is the consciousness of a superior power. The various forms under which this impression has manifested itself are objects of the most curious speculation. The native of New South Wales believes that particular aspects and appearances of the heavenly bodies predict good or evil consequences to himself and his friends. He oftentimes calls the sun and moon 'weeree,' that is, malignant, pernicious. Should he see the leading fixed stars (many of which he can call by name) obscured by vapours, he sometimes disregards the omen, and sometimes draws from it the most dreary conclusions. I remember Abaroo running into a room where a company was assembled, and uttering frightful exclamations of impending mischiefs about to light on her and her countrymen. When questioned on the cause of such agitation she went to the door and pointed to the skies, saying that whenever the stars wore that appearance, misfortunes to the natives always followed. The night was cloudy and the air disturbed by meteors. I have heard many more of them testify similar apprehensions. However involved in darkness and disfigured by error such a belief be, no one will, I presume, deny that it conveys a direct implication of superior agency; of a power independent of and uncontrolled by those who are the objects of its vengeance. But proof stops not here. When they hear the thunder roll and view the livid glare, they flee them not, but rush out and deprecate destruction. They have a dance and a song appropriated to this awful occasion, which consist of the wildest and most uncouth noises and gestures. Would they act such a ceremony did they not conceive that either the thunder itself, or he who directs the thunder, might be propitiated by its performance? That a living intellectual principle exists, capable of comprehending their petition and of either granting or denying it? They never address prayers to bodies which they know to be inanimate, either to implore their protection or avert their wrath. When the gum-tree in a tempest nods over them; or the rock overhanging the cavern in which they sleep threatens by its fall to crush them, they calculate (as far as their knowledge extends) on physical principles, like other men, the nearness and magnitude of the danger, and flee it accordingly. And yet there is reason to believe that from accidents of this nature they suffer more than from lightning. Baneelon once showed us a cave, the top of which had fallen in and buried under its ruins, seven people who were sleeping under it. To descend; is not even the ridiculous superstition of Colbee related in one of our journies to the Hawkesbury? And again the following instance. Abaroo was sick. To cure her, one of her own sex slightly cut her on the forehead, in a perpendicular direction with an oyster shell, so as just to fetch blood. She then put one end of a string to the wound and, beginning to sing, held the other end to her own gums, which she rubbed until they bled copiously. This blood she contended was the blood of the patient, flowing through the string, and that she would thereby soon recover. Abaroo became well, and firmly believed that she owed her cure to the treatment she had received. Are not these, I say, links, subordinate ones indeed, of the same golden chain? He who believes in magic confesses supernatural agency, and a belief of this sort extends farther in many persons than they are willing to allow. There have lived men so inconsistent with their own principles as to deny the existence of a God, who have nevertheless turned pale at the tricks of a mountebank. But not to multiply arguments on a subject where demonstration (at least to me) is incontestable, I shall close by expressing my firm belief that the Indians of New South Wales acknowledge the existence of a superintending deity. Of their ideas of the origin and duration of his existence; of his power and capacity; of his benignity or maleficence; or of their own emanation from him, I pretend not to speak. I have often, in common with others, tried to gain information from them on this head; but we were always repulsed by obstacles which we could neither pass by or surmount. Mr. Dawes attempted to teach Abaroo some of our notions of religion, and hoped that she would thereby be induced to communicate hers in return. But her levity and love of play in a great measure defeated his efforts, although every thing he did learn from her served to confirm what is here advanced. It may be remarked, that when they attended at church with us (which was a common practice) they always preserved profound silence and decency, as if conscious that some religious ceremony on our side was performing. The question of, whether they believe in the immortality of the soul will take up very little time to answer. They are universally fearful of spirits.* They call a spirit 'mawn'. They often scruple to approach a corpse, saying that the 'mawn' will seize them and that it fastens upon them in the night when asleep.** When asked where their deceased friends are they always point to the skies. To believe in after existence is to confess the immortality of some part of being. To enquire whether they assign a 'limited' period to such future state would be superfluous. This is one of the subtleties of speculation which a savage may be supposed not to have considered, without impeachment either of his sagacity or happiness. [* "It is remarkable," says Cicero, "that there is no nation, whether barbarous or civilized, that does not believe in the existence of spirits".] [**As they often eat to satiety, even to produce sickness, may not this be the effect of an overloaded stomach: the nightmare?] Their manner of interring the dead has been amply described. It is certain that instead of burying they sometimes burn the corpse; but the cause of distinction we know not. A dead body, covered by a canoe, at whose side a sword and shield were placed in state, was once discovered. All that we could learn about this important personage was that he was a 'Gweeagal' (one of the tribe of Gweea) and a celebrated warrior. To appreciate their general powers of mind is difficult. Ignorance, prejudice, the force of habit, continually interfere to prevent dispassionate judgment. I have heard men so unreasonable as to exclaim at the stupidity of these people for not comprehending what a small share of reflection would have taught them they ought not to have expected. And others again I have heard so sanguine in their admiration as to extol for proofs of elevated genius what the commonest abilities were capable of executing. If they be considered as a nation whose general advancement and acquisitions are to be weighed, they certainly rank very low, even in the scale of savages. They may perhaps dispute the right of precedence with the Hottentots or the shivering tribes who inhabit the shores of Magellan. But how inferior do they show when compared with the subtle African; the patient watchful American; or the elegant timid islander of the South Seas. Though suffering from the vicissitudes of their climate, strangers to clothing, though feeling the sharpness of hunger and knowing the precariousness of supply from that element on whose stores they principally depend, ignorant of cultivating the earth--a less enlightened state we shall exclaim can hardly exist. But if from general view we descend to particular inspection, and examine individually the persons who compose this community, they will certainly rise in estimation. In the narrative part of this work, I have endeavoured rather to detail information than to deduce conclusions, leaving to the reader the exercise of his own judgment. The behaviour of Arabanoo, of Baneelon, of Colbee and many others is copiously described, and assuredly he who shall make just allowance for uninstructed nature will hardly accuse any of those persons of stupidity or deficiency of apprehension. To offer my own opinion on the subject, I do not hesitate to declare that the natives of New South Wales possess a considerable portion of that acumen, or sharpness of intellect, which bespeaks genius. All savages hate toil and place happiness in inaction, and neither the arts of civilized life can be practised or the advantages of it felt without application and labour. Hence they resist knowledge and the adoption of manners and customs differing from their own. The progress of reason is not only slow, but mechanical. "De toutes les Instructions propres a l'homme, celle qu'il acquiert le plus tard, et le plus difficilement, est la raison meme." The tranquil indifference and uninquiring eye with which they surveyed our works of art have often, in my hearing, been stigmatized as proofs of stupidity, and want of reflection. But surely we should discriminate between ignorance and defect of understanding. The truth was, they often neither comprehended the design nor conceived the utility of such works, but on subjects in any degree familiarised to their ideas, they generally testified not only acuteness of discernment but a large portion of good sense. I have always thought that the distinctions they shewed in their estimate of us, on first entering into our society, strongly displayed the latter quality: when they were led into our respective houses, at once to be astonished and awed by our superiority, their attention was directly turned to objects with which they were acquainted. They passed without rapture or emotion our numerous artifices and contrivances, but when they saw a collection of weapons of war or of the skins of animals and birds, they never failed to exclaim, and to confer with each other on the subject. The master of that house became the object of their regard, as they concluded he must be either a renowned warrior, or an expert hunter. Our surgeons grew into their esteem from a like cause. In a very early stage of intercourse, several natives were present at the amputation of a leg. When they first penetrated the intention of the operator, they were confounded, not believing it possible that such an operation could be performed without loss of life, and they called aloud to him to desist; but when they saw the torrent of blood stopped, the vessels taken up and the stump dressed, their horror and alarm yielded to astonishment and admiration, which they expressed by the loudest tokens. If these instances bespeak not nature and good sense, I have yet to learn the meaning of the terms. If it be asked why the same intelligent spirit which led them to contemplate and applaud the success of the sportsman and the skill of the surgeon, did not equally excite them to meditate on the labours of the builder and the ploughman, I can only answer that what we see in its remote cause is always more feebly felt than that which presents to our immediate grasp both its origin and effect. Their leading good and bad qualities I shall concisely touch upon. Of their intrepidity no doubt can exist. Their levity, their fickleness, their passionate extravagance of character, cannot be defended. They are indeed sudden and quick in quarrel; but if their resentment be easily roused, their thirst of revenge is not implacable. Their honesty, when tempted by novelty, is not unimpeachable, but in their own society there is good reason to believe that few breaches of it occur. It were well if similar praise could be given to their veracity: but truth they neither prize nor practice. When they wish to deceive they scruple not to utter the grossest and most hardened lies.* Their attachment and gratitude to those among us whom they have professed to love have always remained inviolable, unless effaced by resentment, from sudden provocation: then, like all other Indians, the impulse of the moment is alone regarded by them. [*This may serve to account for the contradictions of many of their accounts to us.] Some of their manufactures display ingenuity, when the rude tools with which they work, and their celerity of execution are considered. The canoes, fish-gigs, swords, shields, spears, throwing sticks, clubs, and hatchets, are made by the men. To the women are committed the fishing-lines, hooks and nets. As very ample collections of all these articles are to be found in many museums in England, I shall only briefly describe the way in which the most remarkable of them are made. The fish-gigs and spears are commonly (but not universally) made of the long spiral shoot which arises from the top of the yellow gum-tree, and bears the flower. The former have several prongs, barbed with the bone of kangaroo. The latter are sometimes barbed with the same substance, or with the prickle of the sting-ray, or with stone or hardened gum, and sometimes simply pointed. Dexterity in throwing and parrying the spear is considered as the highest acquirement. The children of both sexes practice from the time that they are able to throw a rush; their first essay. It forms their constant recreation. They afterwards heave at each other with pointed twigs. He who acts on the defensive holds a piece of new soft bark in the left hand, to represent a shield, in which he receives the darts of the assailant, the points sticking in it. Now commences his turn. He extracts the twigs and darts them back at the first thrower, who catches them similarly. In warding off the spear they never present their front, but always turn their side, their head at the same time just clear of the shield, to watch the flight of the weapon; and the body covered. If a spear drop from them when thus engaged, they do not stoop to pick it up, but hook it between the toes and so lift it until it meet the hand. Thus the eye is never diverted from its object, the foe. If they wish to break a spear or any wooden substance, they lay it not across the thigh or the body, but upon the head, and press down the ends until it snap. Their shields are of two sorts. That called 'illemon' is nothing but a piece of bark with a handle fixed in the inside of it. The other, dug out of solid wood, is called 'aragoon', and is made as follows, with great labour. On the bark of a tree they mark the size of the shield, then dig the outline as deep as possible in the wood with hatchets, and lastly flake it off as thick as they can, by driving in wedges. The sword is a large heavy piece of wood, shaped like a sabre, and capable of inflicting a mortal wound. In using it they do not strike with the convex side, but with the concave one, and strive to hook in their antagonists so as to have them under their blows. The fishing-lines are made of the bark of a shrub. The women roll shreds of this on the inside of the thigh, so as to twist it together, carefully inserting the ends of every fresh piece into the last made. They are not as strong as lines of equal size formed of hemp. The fish-hooks are chopped with a stone out of a particular shell, and afterwards rubbed until they become smooth. They are very much curved, and not barbed. Considering the quickness with which they are finished, the excellence of the work, if it be inspected, is admirable. In all these manufactures the sole of the foot is used both by men and women as a work-board. They chop a piece of wood, or aught else upon it, even with an iron tool, without hurting themselves. It is indeed nearly as hard as the hoof of an ox. Their method of procuring fire is this. They take a reed and shave one side of the surface flat. In this they make a small incision to reach the pith, and introducing a stick, purposely blunted at the end, into it, turn it round between the hands (as chocolate is milled) as swiftly as possible, until flame be produced. As this operation is not only laborious, but the effect tedious, they frequently relieve each other at the exercise. And to avoid being often reduced to the necessity of putting it in practice, they always, if possible, carry a lighted stick with them, whether in their canoes or moving from place to place on land. Their treatment of wounds must not be omitted. A doctor is, with them, a person of importance and esteem, but his province seems rather to charm away occult diseases than to act the surgeon's part, which, as a subordinate science, is exercised indiscriminately. Their excellent habit of body*, the effect of drinking water only, speedily heals wounds without an exterior application which with us would take weeks or months to close. They are, nevertheless, sadly tormented by a cutaneous eruption, but we never found it contagious. After receiving a contusion, if the part swell they fasten a ligature very tightly above it, so as to stop all circulation. Whether to this application, or to their undebauched habit, it be attributable, I know not, but it is certain that a disabled limb among them is rarely seen, although violent inflammations from bruises, which in us would bring on a gangrene, daily happen. If they get burned, either from rolling into the fire when asleep, or from the flame catching the grass on which they lie (both of which are common accidents) they cover the part with a thin paste of kneaded clay, which excludes the air and adheres to the wound until it be cured, and the eschar falls off. [*Their native hardiness of constitution is great. I saw a woman on the day she was brought to bed, carry her new-born infant from Botany Bay to Port Jackson, a distance of six miles, and afterwards light a fire and dress fish.] Their form of government, and the detail of domestic life, yet remain untold. The former cannot occupy much space. Without distinctions of rank, except those which youth and vigour confer, theirs is strictly a system of 'equality' attended with only one inconvenience--the strong triumph over the weak. Whether any laws exist among them for the punishment of offences committed against society; or whether the injured party in all cases seeks for relief in private revenge, I will not positively affirm; though I am strongly inclined to believe that only the latter method prevails. I have already said that they are divided into tribes; but what constitutes the right of being enrolled in a tribe, or where exclusion begins and ends, I am ignorant. The tribe of Cameragal is of all the most numerous and powerful. Their superiority probably arose from possessing the best fishing ground, and perhaps from their having suffered less from the ravages of the smallpox. In the domestic detail there may be novelty, but variety is unattainable. One day must be very like another in the life of a savage. Summoned by the calls of hunger and the returning light, he starts from his beloved indolence, and snatching up the remaining brand of his fire, hastens with his wife to the strand to commence their daily task. In general the canoe is assigned to her, into which she puts the fire and pushes off into deep water, to fish with hook and line, this being the province of the women. If she have a child at the breast, she takes it with her. And thus in her skiff, a piece of bark tied at both ends with vines, and the edge of it but just above the surface of the water, she pushes out regardless of the elements, if they be but commonly agitated. While she paddles to the fishing-bank, and while employed there, the child is placed on her shoulders, entwining its little legs around her neck and closely grasping her hair with its hands. To its first cries she remains insensible, as she believes them to arise only from the inconvenience of a situation, to which she knows it must be inured. But if its plaints continue, and she supposes it to be in want of food, she ceases her fishing and clasps it to her breast. An European spectator is struck with horror and astonishment at their perilous situation, but accidents seldom happen. The management of the canoe alone appears a work of unsurmountable difficulty, its breadth is so inadequate to its length. The Indians, aware of its ticklish formation, practise from infancy to move in it without risk. Use only could reconcile them to the painful position in which they sit in it. They drop in the middle of the canoe upon their knees, and resting the buttocks on the heels, extend the knees to the sides, against which they press strongly, so as to form a poise sufficient to retain the body in its situation, and relieve the weight which would otherwise fall wholly upon the toes. Either in this position or cautiously moving in the centre of the vessel, the mother tends her child, keeps up her fire (which is laid on a small patch of earth), paddles her boat, broils fish and provides in part the subsistence of the day. Their favourite bait for fish is a cockle. The husband in the mean time warily moves to some rock, over which he can peep into unruffled water to look for fish. For this purpose he always chooses a weather shore, and the various windings of the numerous creeks and indents always afford one. Silent and watchful, he chews a cockle and spits it into the water. Allured by the bait, the fish appear from beneath the rock. He prepares his fish-gig, and pointing it downward, moves it gently towards the object, always trying to approach it as near as possible to the fish before the stroke be given. At last he deems himself sufficiently advanced and plunges it at his prey. If he has hit his mark, he continues his efforts and endeavours to transpierce it or so to entangle the barbs in the flesh as to prevent its escape. When he finds it secure he drops the instrument, and the fish, fastened on the prongs, rises to the surface, floated by the buoyancy of the staff. Nothing now remains to be done but to haul it to him, with either a long stick or another fish-gig (for an Indian, if he can help it, never goes into the water on these occasions) to disengage it, and to look out for fresh sport. But sometimes the fish have either deserted the rocks for deeper water, or are too shy to suffer approach. He then launches his canoe, and leaving the shore behind, watches the rise of prey out of the water, and darts his gig at them to the distance of many yards. Large fish he seldom procures by this method; but among shoals of mullets, which are either pursued by enemies, or leap at objects on the surface, he is often successful. Baneelon has been seen to kill more than twenty fish by this method in an afternoon. The women sometimes use the gig, and always carry one in each canoe to strike large fish which may be hooked and thereby facilitate the capture. But generally speaking, this instrument is appropriate to the men, who are never seen fishing with the line, and would indeed consider it as a degradation of their pre-eminence. When prevented by tempestuous weather or any other cause, from fishing, these people suffer severely. They have then no resource but to pick up shellfish, which may happen to cling to the rocks, and be cast on the beach, to hunt particular reptiles and small animals, which are scarce, to dig fern root in the swamps or to gather a few berries, destitute of flavour and nutrition, which the woods afford. To alleviate the sensation of hunger, they tie a ligature tightly around the belly, as I have often seen our soldiers do from the same cause. Let us, however, suppose them successful in procuring fish. The wife returns to land with her booty, and the husband quitting the rock joins his stock to hers; and they repair either to some neighbouring cavern or to their hut. This last is composed of pieces of bark, very rudely piled together, in shape as like a soldier's tent as any known image to which I can compare it: too low to admit the lord of it to stand upright, but long and wide enough to admit three or four persons to lie under it. "Here shelters himself a being, born with all those powers which education expands, and all those sensations which culture refines." With a lighted stick brought from the canoe they now kindle a small fire at the mouth of the hut and prepare to dress their meal. They begin by throwing the fish exactly in the state in which it came from the water, on the fire. When it has become a little warmed they take it off, rub away the scales, and then peal off with their teeth the surface, which they find done and eat. Now, and not before, they gut it; but if the fish be a mullet or any other which has a fatty substance about the intestines, they carefully guard that part and esteem it a delicacy. The cooking is now completed by the remaining part being laid on the fire until it be sufficiently done. A bird, a lizard, a rat, or any other animal, they treat in the same manner. The feathers of the one and the fur of the other, they thus get rid of.* [*They broil indiscriminately all substances which they eat. Though they boil water in small quantities in oyster shells for particular purposes, they never conceived it possible until shown by us, to dress meat by this method, having no vessel capable of containing a fish or a bird which would stand fire. Two of them once stole twelve pounds of rice and carried it off. They knew how we cooked it, and by way of putting it in practice they spread the rice on the ground before a fire, and as it grew hot continued to throw water on it. Their ingenuity was however very ill rewarded, for the rice became so mingled with the dirt and sand on which it was laid, that even they could not eat it, and the whole was spoiled.] Unless summoned away by irresistable necessity, sleep always follows the repast. They would gladly prolong it until the following day; but the canoe wants repair, the fish-gig must be barbed afresh, new lines must be twisted, and new hooks chopped out. They depart to their respective tasks, which end only with the light. Such is the general life of an Indian. But even he has his hours of relaxation, in seasons of success, when fish abounds. Wanton with plenty, he now meditates an attack upon the chastity of some neighbouring fair one; and watching his opportunity he seizes her and drags her away to complete his purpose. The signal of war is lighted; her lover, her father, her brothers, her tribe, assemble, and vow revenge on the spoiler. He tells his story to his tribe. They judge the case to be a common one and agree to support him. Battle ensues; they discharge their spears at each other, and legs and arms are transpierced. When the spears are expended the combatants close and every species of violence is practiced. They seize their antagonist and snap like enraged dogs, they wield the sword and club, the bone shatters beneath their fall and they drop the prey of unsparing vengeance. Too justly, as my observations teach me has Hobbes defined a state of nature to be a state of war. In the method of waging it among these people, one thing should not, however, escape notice. Unlike all other Indians, they never carry on operations in the night, or seek to destroy by ambush and surprise. Their ardent fearless character, seeks fair and open combat only. But enmity has its moments of pause. Then they assemble to sing and dance. We always found their songs disagreeable from their monotony. They are numerous, and vary both in measure and time. They have songs of war, of hunting, of fishing, for the rise and set of the sun, for rain, for thunder and for many other occasions. One of these songs, which may be termed a speaking pantomime, recites the courtship between the sexes and is accompanied with acting highly expressive. I once heard and saw Nanbaree and Abaroo perform it. After a few preparatory motions she gently sunk on the ground, as if in a fainting fit. Nanbaree applying his mouth to her ear, began to whisper in it, and baring her bosom, breathed on it several times. At length, the period of the swoon having expired, with returning animation she gradually raised herself. She now began to relate what she had seen in her vision, mentioning several of her countrymen by name, whom we knew to be dead; mixed with other strange incoherent matter, equally new and inexplicable, though all tending to one leading point--the sacrifice of her charms to her lover. At their dances I have often been present; but I confess myself unable to convey in description an accurate account of them. Like their songs, they are conceived to represent the progress of the passions and the occupations of life. Full of seeming confusion, yet regular and systematic, their wild gesticulations, and frantic distortions of body are calculated rather to terrify, than delight, a spectator. These dances consist of short parts, or acts, accompanied with frequent vociferations, and a kind of hissing, or whizzing noise. They commonly end with a loud rapid shout, and after a short respite are renewed. While the dance lasts, one of them (usually a person of note and estimation) beats time with a stick on a wooden instrument held in the left hand, accompanying the music with his voice; and the dancers sometimes sing in concert. I have already mentioned that white is the colour appropriated to the dance, but the style of painting is left to every one's fancy. Some are streaked with waving lines from head to foot; others marked by broad cross-bars, on the breast, back, and thighs, or encircled with spiral lines, or regularly striped like a zebra. Of these ornaments, the face never wants its share, and it is hard to conceive any thing in the shape of humanity more hideous and terrific than they appear to a stranger--seen, perhaps, through the livid gleam of a fire, the eyes surrounded by large white circles, in contrast with the black ground, the hair stuck full of pieces of bone and in the hand a grasped club, which they occasionally brandish with the greatest fierceness and agility. Some dances are performed by men only, some by women only, and in others the sexes mingle. In one of them I have seen the men drop on their hands and knees and kiss the earth with the greatest fervor, between the kisses looking up to Heaven. They also frequently throw up their arms, exactly in the manner in which the dancers of the Friendly Islands are depicted in one of the plates of Mr. Cook's last voyage. Courtship here, as in other countries, is generally promoted by this exercise, where every one tries to recommend himself to attention and applause. Dancing not only proves an incentive, but offers an opportunity in its intervals. The first advances are made by the men, who strive to render themselves agreeable to their favourites by presents of fishing-tackle and other articles which they know will prove acceptable. Generally speaking, a man has but one wife, but infidelity on the side of the husband, with the unmarried girls, is very frequent. For the most part, perhaps, they intermarry in their respective tribes. This rule is not, however, constantly observed, and there is reason to think that a more than ordinary share of courtship and presents, on the part of the man, is required in this case. Such difficulty seldom operates to extinguish desire, and nothing is more common than for the unsuccessful suitor to ravish by force that which he cannot accomplish by entreaty. I do not believe that very near connections by blood ever cohabit. We knew of no instance of it. But indeed the women are in all respects treated with savage barbarity Condemned not only to carry the children but all other burthens, they meet in return for submission only with blows, kicks and every other mark of brutality. When an Indian is provoked by a woman, he either spears her or knocks her down on the spot. On this occasion he always strikes on the head, using indiscriminately a hatchet, a club or any other weapon which may chance to be in his hand. The heads of the women are always consequently seen in the state which I found that of Gooreedeeana. Colbee, who was certainly, in other respects a good tempered merry fellow, made no scruple of treating Daringa, who was a gentle creature, thus. Baneelon did the same to Barangaroo, but she was a scold and a vixen, and nobody pitied her. It must nevertheless be confessed that the women often artfully study to irritate and inflame the passions of the men, although sensible that the consequence will alight on themselves. Many a matrimonial scene of this sort have I witnessed. Lady Mary Wortley Montague, in her sprightly letters from Turkey, longs for some of the advocates for passive obedience and unconditional submission then existing in England to be present at the sights exhibited in a despotic government. A thousand times, in like manner, have I wished that those European philosophers whose closet speculations exalt a state of nature above a state of civilization, could survey the phantom which their heated imaginations have raised. Possibly they might then learn that a state of nature is, of all others, least adapted to promote the happiness of a being capable of sublime research and unending ratiocination. That a savage roaming for prey amidst his native deserts is a creature deformed by all those passions which afflict and degrade our nature, unsoftened by the influence of religion, philosophy and legal restriction: and that the more men unite their talents, the more closely the bands of society are drawn and civilization advanced, inasmuch is human felicity augmented, and man fitted for his unalienable station in the universe. Of the language of New South Wales I once hoped to have subjoined to this work such an exposition as should have attracted public notice, and have excited public esteem. But the abrupt departure of Mr. Dawes, who, stimulated equally by curiosity and philanthropy, had hardly set foot on his native country when he again quitted it to encounter new perils in the service of the Sierra Leona company, precludes me from executing this part of my original intention, in which he had promised to co-operate with me; and in which he had advanced his researches beyond the reach of competition. The few remarks which I can offer shall be concisely detailed. We were at first inclined to stigmatised this language as harsh and barbarous in its sounds. Their combinations of words in the manner they utter them, frequently convey such an effect. But if not only their proper names of men and places, but many of their phrases and a majority of their words, be simply and unconnectedly considered, they will be found to abound with vowels and to produce sounds sometimes mellifluous and sometimes sonorous. What ear can object to the names of Colbee, (pronounced exactly as Colby is with us) Bereewan, Bondel, Imeerawanyee, Deedora, Wolarawaree, or Baneelon, among the men; or to Wereeweea, Gooreedeeana, Milba*, or Matilba, among the women. Parramatta, Gweea, Cameera, Cadi, and Memel, are names of places. The tribes derive their appellations from the places they inhabit. Thus Cemeeragal, means the men who reside in the bay of Cameera; Cedigal, those who reside in the bay of Cadi; and so of the others. The women of the tribe are denoted by adding 'eean' to any of the foregoing words. A Cadigaleean imports a woman living at Cadi, or of the tribe of Cadigal. These words, as the reader will observe, are accented either on the first syllable or the penultima. In general, however, they are partial to the emphasis being laid as near the beginning of the word as possible. [*Mrs. Johnson, wife of the chaplain of the settlement, was so pleased with this name that she christened her little girl, born in Port Jackson, Milba Maria Johnson.] Of compound words they seem fond. Two very striking ones appear in the journal to the Hawkesbury. Their translations of our words into their language are always apposite, comprehensive, and drawn from images familiar to them. A gun, for instance, they call 'gooroobeera', that is, a stick of fire. Sometimes also, by a licence of language, they call those who carry guns by the same name. But the appellation by which they generally distinguished us was that of 'bereewolgal', meaning men come from afar. When they salute any one they call him 'dameeli', or namesake, a term which not only implies courtesy and good-will, but a certain degree of affection in the speaker. An interchange of names with any one is also a symbol of friendship. Each person has several names; one of which, there is reason to believe, is always derived from the first fish or animal which the child, in accompanying its father to the chase or a fishing, may chance to kill. Not only their combinations, but some of their simple sounds, were difficult of pronunciation to mouths purely English. Diphthongs often occur. One of the most common is that of 'ae', or perhaps, 'ai', pronounced not unlike those letters in the French verb 'hair', to hate. The letter 'y' frequently follows 'd' in the same syllable. Thus the word which signifies a woman is 'dyin'; although the structure of our language requires us to spell it 'deein'. But if they sometimes put us to difficulty, many of our words were to them unutterable. The letters 's' and 'v' they never could pronounce. The latter became invariably 'w', and the former mocked all their efforts, which in the instance of Baneelon has been noticed; and a more unfortunate defect in learning our language could not easily be pointed out. They use the ellipsis in speaking very freely; always omitting as many words as they possibly can, consistent with being understood. They inflect both their nouns and verbs regularly; and denote the cases of the former and the tenses of the latter, not like the English by auxiliary words, but like the Latins by change of termination. Their nouns, whether substantive or adjective, seem to admit of no plural. I have heard Mr. Dawes hint his belief of their using a dual number, similar to the Greeks, but I confess that I never could remark aught to confirm it. The method by which they answer a question that they cannot resolve is similar to what we sometimes use. Let for example the following question be put: 'Waw Colbee yagoono?'--Where is Colbee to-day? 'Waw, baw!'--Where, indeed! would be the reply. They use a direct and positive negative, but express the affirmative by a nod of the head or an inclination of the body. Opinions have greatly differed, whether or not their language be copious. In one particular it is notoriously defective. They cannot count with precision more than four. However as far as ten, by holding up the fingers, they can both comprehend others and explain themselves. Beyond four every number is called great; and should it happen to be very large, great great, which is an Italian idiom also. This occasions their computations of time and space to be very confused and incorrect. Of the former they have no measure but the visible diurnal motion of the sun or the monthly revolution of the moon. To conclude the history of a people for whom I cannot but feel some share of affection. Let those who have been born in more favoured lands and who have profited by more enlightened systems, compassionate, but not despise their destitute and obscure situation. Children of the same omniscient paternal care, let them recollect that by the fortuitous advantage of birth alone they possess superiority: that untaught, unaccommodated man is the same in Pall Mall as in the wilderness of New South Wales. And ultimately let them hope and trust that the progress of reason and the splendor of revelation will in their proper and allotted season be permitted to illumine and transfuse into these desert regions, knowledge, virtue and happiness. CHAPTER XVIII. Observations on the Convicts. A short account of that class of men for whose disposal and advantage the colony was principally, if not totally, founded, seems necessary. If it be recollected how large a body of these people are now congregated in the settlement of Port Jackson and at Norfolk Island, it will, I think, not only excite surprise but afford satisfaction, to learn, that in a period of four years few crimes of a deep dye or of a hardened nature have been perpetrated. Murder and unnatural sins rank not hitherto in the catalogue of their enormities, and one suicide only has been committed. To the honour of the female part of our community let it be recorded that only one woman has suffered capital punishment. On her condemnation she pleaded pregnancy, and a jury of venerable matrons was impanneled on the spot, to examine and pronounce her state, which the forewoman, a grave personage between sixty and seventy years old, did, by this short address to the court; 'Gentlemen! she is as much with child as I am.' Sentence was accordingly passed, and she was executed. Besides the instance of Irving, two other male convicts, William Bloodsworth, of Kingston upon Thames, and John Arscott, of Truro, in Cornwall, were both emancipated for their good conduct, in the years 1790 and 1791. Several men whose terms of transportation had expired, and against whom no legal impediment existed to prevent their departure, have been permitted to enter in merchant ships wanting hands: and as my Rose Hill journals testify, many others have had grants of land assigned to them, and are become settlers in the country. In so numerous a community many persons of perverted genius and of mechanical ingenuity could not but be assembled. Let me produce the following example. Frazer was an iron manufacturer, bred at Sheffield, of whose abilities as a workman we had witnessed many proofs. The governor had written to England for a set of locks to be sent out for the security of the public stores, which were to be so constructed as to be incapable of being picked. On their arrival his excellency sent for Frazer and bade him examine them telling him at the same time that they could not be picked. Frazer laughed and asked for a crooked nail only, to open them all. A nail was brought, and in an instant he verified his assertion. Astonished at his dexterity, a gentleman present determined to put it to farther proof. He was sent for in a hurry, some days after, to the hospital, where a lock of still superior intricacy and expense to the others had been provided. He was told that the key was lost and that the lock must be immediately picked. He examined it attentively, remarked that it was the production of a workman, and demanded ten minutes to make an instrument 'to speak with it.' Without carrying the lock with him, he went directly to his shop, and at the expiration of his term returned, applied his instrument, and open flew the lock. But it was not only in this part of his business that he excelled: he executed every branch of it in superior style. Had not his villainy been still more notorious than his skill, he would have proved an invaluable possession to a new country. He had passed through innumerable scenes in life, and had played many parts. When too lazy to work at his trade he had turned thief in fifty different shapes, was a receiver of stolen goods, a soldier and a travelling conjurer. He once confessed to me that he had made a set of tools, for a gang of coiners, every man of whom was hanged. Were the nature of the subject worthy of farther illustration, many similar proofs of misapplied talents might be adduced. Their love of the marvellous has been recorded in an early part of this work. The imposture of the gold finder, however prominent and glaring, nevertheless contributed to awaken attention and to create merriment. He enjoyed the reputation of a discoverer, until experiment detected the imposition. But others were less successful to acquire even momentary admiration. The execution of forgery seems to demand at least neatness of imitation and dexterity of address. On arrival of the first fleet of ships from England, several convicts brought out recommendatory letters from different friends. Of these some were genuine, and many owed their birth to the ingenuity of the bearers. But these last were all such bungling performances as to produce only instant detection and succeeding contempt. One of them addressed to the governor, with the name of Baron Hotham affixed to it, began 'Honored Sir!' A leading distinction, which marked the convicts on their outset in the colony, was an use of what is called the 'flash', or 'kiddy' language. In some of our early courts of justice an interpreter was frequently necessary to translate the deposition of the witness and the defence of the prisoner. This language has many dialects. The sly dexterity of the pickpocket, the brutal ferocity of the footpad, the more elevated career of the highwayman and the deadly purpose of the midnight ruffian is each strictly appropriate in the terms which distinguish and characterize it. I have ever been of opinion that an abolition of this unnatural jargon would open the path to reformation. And my observations on these people have constantly instructed me that indulgence in this infatuating cant is more deeply associated with depravity and continuance in vice than is generally supposed. I recollect hardly one instance of a return to honest pursuits, and habits of industry, where this miserable perversion of our noblest and peculiar faculty was not previously conquered. Those persons to whom the inspection and management of our numerous and extensive prisons in England are committed will perform a service to society by attending to the foregoing observation. Let us always keep in view, that punishment, when not directed to promote reformation, is arbitrary, and unauthorised. CHAPTER XIX. Facts relating to the probability of establishing a whale fishery on the coast of New South Wales, with Thoughts on the same. In every former part of this publication I have studiously avoided mentioning a whale fishery, as the information relating to it will, I conceive, be more acceptably received in this form, by those to whom it is addressed, than if mingled with other matter. Previous to entering on this detail, it must be observed that several of the last fleet of ships which had arrived from England with convicts, were fitted out with implements for whale fishing, and were intended to sail for the coast of Brazil to pursue the fishery, immediately on having landed the convicts. On the 14th of October, 1791, the 'Britannia', Captain Melville, one of these ships, arrived at Sydney. In her passage between Van Diemen's Land and Port Jackson, the master reported that he had seen a large shoal of spermaceti whales. His words were, 'I saw more whales at one time around my ship than in the whole of six years which I have fished on the coast of Brazil.' This intelligence was no sooner communicated than all the whalers were eager to push to sea. Melville himself was among the most early; and on the 10th of November, returned to Port Jackson, more confident of success than before. He assured me that in the fourteen days which he had been out, he had seen more spermaced whales than in all his former life. They amounted, he said to many thousands, most of them of enormous magnitude; and had he not met with bad weather he could have killed as many as he pleased. Seven he did kill, but owing to the stormy agitated state of the water, he could not get any of them aboard. In one however, which in a momentary interval of calm, was killed and secured by a ship in company, he shared. The oil and head matter of this fish, he extolled as of an extraordinary fine quality. He was of opinion the former would fetch ten pounds per ton more in London than that procured on the Brazil coast. He had not gone farther south than 37 degrees; and described the latitude of 35 degrees to be the place where the whales most abounded, just on the edge of soundings, which here extends about fifteen leagues from the shore; though perhaps, on other parts of the coast the bank will be found to run hardly so far off. On the following day (November 11th) the 'Mary Anne', Captain Munro, another of the whalers, returned into port, after having been out sixteen days. She had gone as far south as 41 degrees but saw not a whale, and had met with tremendously bad weather, in which she had shipped a sea that had set her boiling coppers afloat and had nearly carried them overboard. November 22d. The 'William and Anne', Captain Buncker, returned after having been more than three weeks out, and putting into Broken Bay. This is the ship that had killed the fish in which Melville shared. Buncker had met with no farther success, owing, he said, entirely, to gales of wind; for he had seen several immense shoals and was of opinion that he should have secured fifty tons of oil, had the weather been tolerably moderate. I asked him whether he thought the whales he had seen were fish of passage. "No," he answered, "they were going on every point of the compass, and were evidently on feeding ground, which I saw no reason to doubt that they frequent." Melville afterwards confirmed to me this observation. December 3rd, the 'Mary Anne' and 'Matilda' again returned. The former had gone to the southward, and off Port Jervis had fallen in with two shoals of whales, nine of which were killed, but owing to bad weather, part of five only were got on board. As much, the master computed, as would yield thirty barrels of oil. He said the whales were the least shy of any he had ever seen, "not having been cut up". The latter had gone to the northward, and had seen no whales but a few fin-backs. On the 5th of December, both these ships sailed again; and on the 16th and 17th of the month (just before the author sailed for England) they and the 'Britannia' and 'William and Anne' returned to Port Jackson without success having experienced a continuation of the bad weather and seen very few fish. They all said that their intention was to give the coast one more trial, and if it miscarried to quit it and steer to the northward in search of less tempestuous seas. The only remark which I have to offer to adventurers on the above subject, is not to suffer discouragement by concluding that bad weather only is to be found on the coast of New South Wales, where the whales have hitherto been seen. Tempests happen sometimes there, as in other seas, but let them feel assured that there are in every month of the year many days in which the whale fishery may be safely carried on. The evidence of the abundance in which spermaceti whales are sometimes seen is incontrovertible: that which speaks to their being 'not fish of passage' is at least respectable and hitherto uncontradicted. The prospect merits attention--may it stimulate to enterprise. The two discoveries of Port Jervis and Matilda Bay (which are to be found in the foregoing sheets) may yet be wanting in the maps of the coast. My account of their geographic situation, except possibly in the exact longitude of the latter (a point not very material) may be safely depended upon. A knowledge of Oyster Bay, discovered and laid down by the 'Mercury' store-ship, in the year 1789, would also be desirable. But this I am incapable of furnishing. Here terminates my subject. Content with the humble province of detailing facts and connecting events by undisturbed narration, I leave to others the task of anticipating glorious, or gloomy, consequences, from the establishment of a colony, which unquestionably demands serious investigation, ere either its prosecution or abandonment be determined. But doubtless not only those who planned, but those who have been delegated to execute, an enterprise of such magnitude, have deeply revolved, that "great national expense does not imply the necessity of national suffering. While revenue is employed with success to some valuable end, the profits of every adventure being more than sufficient to repay its costs, the public should gain, and its resources should continue to multiply. But an expense whether sustained at home or abroad; whether a waste of the present, or an anticipation of the future, revenue, if it bring no adequate return, is to be reckoned among the causes of national ruin."* [*Ferguson's Essay on the History of Civil Society.] A list of the Civil and Military Establishments in New South Wales Governor and Commander in Chief, His Excellency Arthur Phillip, Esq. Lieutenant Governor, Robert Ross, Esq. Judge of the Admiralty Court, Robert Ross, Esq. Chaplain of the Settlement, the Rev. Richard Johnson. Judge Advocate of the Settlement, David Collins, Esq. Secretary to the Governor, David Collins, Esq. Surveyor General, Augustus Alt, Esq. Commissary of Stores and Provisions, Andrew Miller, Esq. Assistant Commissary, Mr. Zechariah Clarke. Provost Martial, who acts as Sheriff of Cumberland County, Mr. Henry Brewer. Peace Officer, Mr. James Smith. MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT. His Majesty's Ship 'Sirius', John Hunter, Esq. Commander. Lieutenants, Bradley, King, Maxwell. His Majesty's armed Brig, 'Supply', Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball, Commander. FOUR COMPANIES OF MARINES Major Robert Ross, Commandant. CAPTAINS COMMANDING COMPANIES James Campbell, John Shea, Captain Lieutenants, James Meredith, Watkin Tench. FIRST LIEUTENANTS George Johnson, John Johnson, John Creswell, James Maltland Shairp, Robert Nellow, Thomas Davey, James Furzer, Thomas Timins, John Poulden. SECOND LIEUTENANTS Ralph Clarke, John Long, William Dawes, William Feddy. Adjutant, John Long. Quarter Master, James Furzer. Aide de Camp to the Governor, George Johnson. Officer of Engineers and Artillery, William Dawes. HOSPITAL ESTABLISHMENT. Surgeon General of the Settlement, John White, Esq. First Assistant, Mr. Dennis Considen. Second Assistant, Mr. Thomas Arndell. Third Assistant, Mr. William Balmain. 
57162	----	produced from scans of public domain works at The National Library of Australia.) +-------------------------------------------------+ |Transcriber's note: | | | |Obvious typographic errors have been corrected. | | | +-------------------------------------------------+ [Illustration: JAMES JOHNSON, THE SOLE SURVIVOR OF THE DUNBAR. (_From a Photograph by_ FREEMAN BROTHERS.)] SPECIAL EDITION. FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY. A NARRATIVE OF THE MELANCHOLY WRECK OF THE "DUNBAR," MERCHANT SHIP, ON THE SOUTH HEAD OF PORT JACKSON, AUGUST 20TH, 1857, WITH ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PRINCIPAL LOCALITIES. Warning not heard or seen--no help at hand-- The wide dark bosom of the angry deep With irresistible and cruel force Received them all. _One_ only cast alive, Fainting and breathless on the fatal rocks-- To weeping friends and strangers afterwards Thus told his melancholy tale-- SYDNEY: PUBLISHED FOR THE PROPRIETORS BY JAMES FRYER. 1857. THE ILLUSTRATIONS. In the preparation of our illustrations it will be at once seen that no expense or trouble has been spared. The drawings are by distinguished Artists, and most truthfully do they represent the principal localities of this shipwreck, being exquisitely engraved by our respected fellow-citizen, W. G. Mason, formerly connected with the _Illustrated London News_. The following are the places thus graphically set before our readers--_The Gap_, (on Saturday, the 22nd instant) near which the awful calamity occurred taken from a spirited drawing upon the spot by Mr. Angas, and showing some of the painful incidents. _The Wreck_ (or principal fragment of the Wreck) _in Middle Harbour_ after an excellent drawing by Mr. Thomas. _The Rescue of the survivor, Johnson_, after a masterly sketch also by Mr. Angas. _An Outline Sketch of the Coast on which the Dunbar was lost_, by Thomas. And lastly, a small _Outline Map_, by means of which strangers, and such colonists as are not well acquainted with the coast and outer part of Port Jackson, may best be given to understand how and where this most deplorable affair took place. [Illustration: THE GAP. JACOB'S LADDER. WRECK. FLAG STAFF. The above outline sketch of the brink of the cliffs, under which the Dunbar was lost, is useful as serving to point out the exact spot where the vessel struck--about 35 feet distant in a direct line from the main road leading to Watson's Bay.] NARRATIVE OF THE WRECK OF THE "DUNBAR." Warning not heard or seen--no help at hand-- The wide, dark bosom of the angry deep With irresistible and cruel force Received them all. _One_ only cast alive, Fainting and breathless on the fatal rocks-- To weeping friends and strangers afterwards Thus told his melancholy tale-- During the last few days a dark, mysterious gloom has fallen upon our beautiful city, caused by one of the most awful and heartrending calamities which has ever appealed to the feelings of our common humanity, or carried desolation and agony into the sacred precincts of domestic life. A magnificent, first-class passenger ship, under a most able and experienced commander--her cargo alone invoiced at £72,000--has been so utterly cast away within a mile or two of our very doors, that but _one_ has been saved alive out of a crew of upwards of 120 souls--one only, as it were, to throw some faint light upon the causes of this frightful disaster. Death in its mildest form is terrible; but, accompanied with such strange and horrible circumstances as those with which so many of us are now familiar, it becomes a thing which the boldest cannot contemplate without dismay. Nothing is perhaps a more faithful reflex of the anxiety and consternation of the public mind than the vague, hurried, and contradictory manner in which our journals have given the details of this melancholy shipwreck; so different from that clear, calm tone in which they usually furnish the news of the day--facts and fictions, conjectures and repetitions, being successively laid before the reader, as if the writers themselves involuntarily participated in the universal excitement; or were wholly unequal to the task of satisfying that eager, restless craving for further information herein which appears to have seized upon all classes of society. We shall endeavour, as far as may be, to remedy this by a short _resumé_ of the chief particulars--a narrative which will serve to give those as yet partially acquainted with this sad affair a more correct idea of what has taken place; taking care, of course, in doing so to avoid giving offence to the most fastidious delicacy, or to trespass in any way upon the sorrows of our afflicted fellow citizens, for whom we feel such a sincere but unavailing sympathy. FRIDAY.--On Friday, the 21st of August, rumours were current through the city that one, if not two ships had been wrecked during the previous night off the entrance to the harbour, and the greatest excitement prevailed in consequence; especially as the reports stated that one of the vessels was the "Vocalist," an emigrant ship with over 500 persons on board. The state of the weather for a day or two past had been such as to justify the most serious apprehensions. The day previous it had been particularly stormy, and the wind had shifted to nearly every point of the compass, having been during the fore part of the day, in the N.E. quarter, with a heavy sea from the eastward. Towards the evening it shifted to the W. and N.W., and by midnight it blew a gale at S., veering to S.E. towards the morning, with a tremendous sea setting in dead upon the land. The ship "Europa," from Bremen, which arrived in Sydney on Thursday morning, reported having been in company with a large ship for five days off this coast, and a steamer that came in the same day, also gave information of having seen a "large ship" near the land, bearing East; but neither of them could report her name. The steamer "Grafton," Captain Wiseman, from the Clarence River, while entering Port Jackson this morning (Friday), was the first who gave the alarm. Captain W. reported that he had passed, floating between the Heads, numerous pieces of ship timbers, bedding, bales of goods, and other articles, denoting a recent wreck. At about half-past seven a.m., however, Mr. Hydes, one of the pilots stationed at Watson's Bay, perceived indications of a shipwreck in the vicinity, and, in company with another pilot, Mr. Robson, whom he immediately informed of the circumstance, he at once proceeded to examine carefully the rocky coast, and at length discovered the portion of a large vessel ashore between the "Gap" and the Lighthouse; they supposed her to have been of at least 1000 tons burthen, and of American build, the fittings that could be seen being of unpainted white deal, similar to that ordinarily used in emigrant ships, the fastenings of copper, figure head a gilt scroll, masts and bowsprit hooped. There had been washed ashore a quantity of sundry articles, such as carpeting, hats, candles, silk, children's toys, shirts, prints, clothing, bagging, and linen drapery; but on none of them at this time could any brand be seen by which the name of the vessel could be traced. This could not long continue to be the case. In the course of the day part of the wooden lid of a pickle case, branded -- and Co., in half a diamond S over 228; a parchment label, used for luggage on the English Railways, with the address, "Mylne, passenger, Edinburgh;" a handkerchief with the name "Howell;" a lady's night-dress, marked "Dobelle;" and a cabin door numbered 68, were found near the Heads. Tho rumours as to the fact of a dreadful shipwreck having just occurred soon assumed distinct shape and certainty. At length it became generally known in Sydney that numerous dead, and mutilated bodies of men, women, and children, were to be seen floating in the heavy surf at the "Gap," thrown by immense waves to a great height, and dashed pitilessly against the rugged cliffs, the returning water sweeping them from the agonised sight of the horrified spectators. The scene is described by parties present to have exercised a sort of hideous fascination, that seemed to bind them to the spot; while at the fearful spectacle of the remains of fellow beings in so awful a position--immediately before their eyes and yet out of their reach--each determination to leave the fatal locality became overpowered by a desire for farther knowledge, many dreading lest they should have to recognise the familiar face of friend or relative. While uncertainty continued as to the name of the unfortunate vessel, the most contradictory opinions were promulgated; some averring that she was an Emigrant ship, others, a Merchant vessel, some that she was of North American build, and again others, that she was British; the intense excitement increased, and the road to South Head, notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather, was hastily traversed by hundreds of anxious persons. Meanwhile, important facts became known at Middle Harbour, appearing to remove all doubts as to the name of the lost vessel; a mail bag marked "No. 2, per DUNBAR, Plymouth, May 29"; a cask of tripe marked "DUNBAR"; the top of a case, marked J.C.; a quantity of pork; boxes of candles; several boys' cricket bats; and a great quantity of general cargo, were either found floating there, or washed ashore. Captain Pockley, the newly appointed Harbour Master, reported that twelve bodies had been found, one of them evidently an officer, the gilt buttons of his coat marked W.B.W., with a crest; there had also been picked up the body of a boy, about four years of age, quite naked, his hair black. Near the Sand Spit, Middle Harbour, the bodies of two well dressed men, and of a woman, with a ring on one of her fingers, had been taken up by Mr. Isaac Moore; also two or three beer cask heads, with Tooth's brand. A cow, surrounded by sharks was seen floating near this place, and two cows and a horse were here cast ashore. A large portion of the wreck floated into Middle Harbour, (_see Engraving_) and went ashore at Hunter's Bay, near the residence of Mr. Edwards, where it still lies. It consists of about 40 or 50 feet of the keel, and flooring timber of massive construction, copper fastened, two or three sheets of the copper still adhering to the woodwork. The enormous force with which the ship had been driven ashore is evinced by this relic of her former stately proportions; the powerful teak timbers are rent and shivered at their sides and ends, as though they were of the most fragile material, and the copper bolts, nearly two inches in diameter, twisted like pieces of thin wire; a gangway board, with a lion carved on it, was also picked up. The energetic and efficient officer, Captain M'Lerie, Inspector General of Police, remained at Middle Harbour until half-past 12 o'clock on Friday night, having arranged for the removal of the bodies that had been found to Sydney on Saturday morning.--A party of mounted police, by his directions, remained to guard the recovered property, and it was rumoured that parties detected in wrecking had been arrested. No reasonable doubt remained but that the ill-fated vessel was indeed the DUNBAR, reported in the _Home News_ of the 16th of June, as having sailed for Sydney from Plymouth on the 2nd of that month, with a large list of passengers, comprising many well-known and much respected colonists; and several families in our city were at once plunged into the deepest affliction. It was remarked as a singular circumstance that the blue light of the unfortunate vessel had actually been seen off the coast from Sydney, although not observed by the Pilots; and it was also said that the dog of the lighthouse keeper was noticed to be very uneasy during the night, and had run to the edge of the cliffs and barked loudly. Possibly this may have occurred at the time of the awful catastrophe. SATURDAY.--On the morning of Saturday, the 22nd instant, the lingering hopes of those who trusted that the wreck might not be that of the DUNBAR were utterly annihilated. It became but too evident even to all, that it was indeed that splendid vessel, and it seemed from many circumstances also sure that she must have struck on the rocks, either at the Gap, or between that spot and the Lighthouse--have been almost instantly dashed to pieces, not a single person being saved to tell the melancholy story. The following is an amended list of the passengers, so far as it can be ascertained, being compiled from the newspapers of the day:--Mr. and Mrs. Kilner Waller, six children and servant; Mr. and Mrs. A. Meyers, six children and servant; Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Peek; Mrs. Egan, son, and daughter; Mr. Hyacinth Macquoid; Mr. Severn; the two Misses Hunt; Captain Steine, R.N.; Mr. Adrian De Young James; Mr. Downey, architect; Mr. Isaac Simmons; Mr. C. Troughton; Miss Logan and two Masters Logan; Mr. and Mrs. Mylne, and Misses A. and E. Mylne; Mr. C. Davidson; Mr. F. Tyndal. Twenty-four second and third cabin passengers; the crew being about sixty. Of the foregoing, Mr. Kilner Waller was the brother of Mr. J. G. Waller, of Wynyard Square, in this city, and the author of several valuable letters on emigration recently published in the columns of the _Sydney Morning Herald_. Mr. A. Meyers was the brother of a gentleman of that name at Bathurst. Mr. and Mrs. S. Peek were were well known colonists; Mr. Peek having been for many years a large importer, and formerly in business with Mr. Robert Porter in this city. Mrs. Egan was the wife of Daniel Egan Esquire, M.P. of this city, and accompanied by her relatives, Mr. and Miss Cahuac. Mr. Macquoid was the son of the late Sheriff, who so honourably liquidated his fathers debts--he was accompanied by his friend Mr. Severn. Mr. James was the much lamented and only son of H. K. James, Esq., of this city. This young gentleman had been studying in England, previous to taking holy orders. Mr. Isaac Simmons was the second son of the late Mr. James Simmons, and was returning to the colony to take possession of a large fortune. Miss Logan, and the two masters Logan, were the children of Mrs. Logan, a resident in this city. Mr. Mylnes is believed to have been a squatter of the Northern district. In the second cabin was Mrs. W. K. Brown and child, a Mr. and Mrs. Healing and three children, and also, it is thought, a Mr. Bynon. Mrs. Green, the Captain's wife, was at first supposed to have been lost in this vessel, but there is reason to hope that she did not accompany her husband in this, his last and fatal voyage. The excitement in the city continued very great all day, and thousands of persons went down to the Heads. The description of what had been so appalling to the gazing multitude on Friday, still remained but too strictly applicable to the same scene in the vicinity of the Gap at the foot of the rocks (_see Engraving_). To quote the vivid language of the _Era_ Newspaper.--"It was manifest that the ill-fated vessel must have struck when all on board had retired to rest, as the majority of the bodies were in a state of complete nudity or only covered with night dresses. Corpses of men, women, and children, some of them fearfully mutilated, were dashed against the beetling crags, and as rapidly borne back again by the relentless surge, while here and there, heads or limbs which had been torn off by repeated concussions against the rocks, were thrown up as if in jeering mockery by the very element that had caused their destruction. The sea was strewn with portions of the wreck, bedding, and wearing apparel; in fact, it was impossible for a vessel to move a yard without encountering fresh evidence of the extent of the heart-rending calamity." At about noon, it was reported that a solitary survivor from the wreck had been seen alive, far below, under the cliffs, and that exertions were being promptly made in the hope of rescuing him from his dreadful situation. Coffins were sent off down the harbour by the Washington, for the dead, and such mangled remains as could be recovered, and tackle &c., to draw up the living man, if such there were, to the top of the precipice. This report as to one poor fellow having escaped, proved true, but it gave rise to many others, as to three or four similar cases having occurred, which were unhappily without foundation. More than four or five brave hearts signalized themselves in this affair, and in their hazardous and often successful efforts at rescuing the lifeless bodies from the action of the waves. The man thus found alive and comparatively uninjured (although of course in a very exhausted state) gave his name as James Johnson, one of the crew of the Dunbar as soon as he came a little to himself. An interesting account of this will be found subjoined in the form of a letter, from the Mayor of Sydney, published in the "Herald" Newspaper of Monday. He seemed to think that the Captain must have mistaken the Gap for the true entrance to the harbour, as he went on all sails set. He remembered little or nothing after, until he found himself on the ledge of the rocks, stunned and stupid. Further particulars were now constantly received of portions of the wreck, which, from want of space, we cannot here state in detail. The following particulars appeared in the second supplement of the "Herald" of this day (Saturday.) [FROM A VISITOR TO THE HEADS.] Having arrived at the scene of this melancholy disaster--the South Head--about quarter to eleven, this morning, I, like most of the spectators, mingled in the general excitement then prevalent, which may be far more easily imagined than described; and, after walking about for some time, listening to the fears here and hopes there--hopes that some one or more might yet be found living to clear up the awful mystery that must ever hang over such a disaster uncleared by such testimony--when behold, the joy of everybody was expressed by a shout of "A man on the rocks! A live man on the rocks! There he is! there he is!" And sure enough there he was. This was about eleven o'clock. It was soon reported that four others, among them a woman, were seen; but up till about two o'clock it was not definitely known whether any others were there or not, although it was very prevalently believed there were. [Illustration: SCENE IN THE GAP ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 22ND, AT SUNRISE.] Of course the authorities were soon upon the spot, with ropes and a boy to lower to him; and, after much anxiety and various attempts to bring it within his reach, they at last succeeded, and soon brought him on _terra firma_. He was then brought to the Marine Hotel, where he was immediately attended to by Dr. West. The following were some of the particulars elicited from him, in reference to the sad disaster. They were coming in under close reef topsail about midway between the two Heads, at a few minutes before twelve o'clock, on Thursday night, when the Captain ordered the foresail to be hauled up, which being done, she lost head way so fast that they drove over, and struck the rock, and almost immediately broke up. In answer to inquiries he said, "There were no cannons fired, but blue lights were burnt. I (James Johnson) believe all the others are lost. I have seen no others alive--only their dead bodies. I had a little sleep on the rocks." Dr. West now thought it best for us to retire, and let him have sleep, which we did. I may state that the Doctor pronounced him to be perfectly sane, and he looked better far than might naturally have been expected. He is about thirty years of age, and a strong, tall, powerfully-built Irishman. 5 o'clock p.m. Seventeen bodies were found on the North Shore. One has been recognised as Mr. Downey, the architect. On his linen his name was written "J. Downey." The body of Mrs. Kilner Waller was recognised by her brother-in-law, Mr. J. G. Waller. The body of Captain Steine, R.N., was also known by marks on his linen and braces. There were two Jewish children identified as belonging to Mr. Meyers. The body of a midshipman, named Ward, was also known. The Supplement which gave these particulars also contained a copy of the manifest of the ship, but this, so important in a commercial point of view, was almost overlooked in the contemplation of the sudden and frightful loss of life consequent upon this sorrowful shipwreck. Captain Green, the commander of this ill-fated vessel, was well known and much esteemed by a large number of the inhabitants of the colony. For several voyages in the Agincourt and Waterloo, he was mate with Captain Neatby. For two voyages he commanded the Waterloo; subsequently he has been in the Vimiera; and this was his second trip as master of the Dunbar.--_Herald._ SUNDAY 23rd.--At ten o'clock this morning an inquest was commenced on the bodies which had been recovered and placed in shell coffins in the dead house on the Circular Quay. The gentlemen of the Jury were in attendance according to summons, at the King's Arms Hotel, Lower George Street, and after the ceremony of swearing them in, the following bodies were identified:--Mrs. Waller, Mr. Meyers, 32 years of age, and a lad about 12 years, by Mr. Jacobs; Mr. I. Simmons, aged 21 years, by one of the family, and Mr. Downey by his Father. The bodies lay in the dead house. The scene was most distressing,--one of the jurors fainted and was carried away, whilst others were so deeply moved that they were compelled to leave the place. The bodies of two of the females and of one of the men were in such a state as to make them easily recognizable by their friends, but they were not identified. The Steamer Black Swan chartered by the Government left Sydney about the same hour as the inquest commenced, and proceeded down the harbour in search of the remains of the ill-fated passengers and crew of the Dunbar, Captain McLerie, Captain Pockley and other officials, persons more or less concerned also being on board. The Steamer first made for the North Shore, and began to explore the various bays, successively visiting Taylor's Bay, Chowder Bay, and finally Watson's Bay, on the opposite side. At the latter place two shells were left, and the survivor James Johnson received on board. Middle Harbour was the next spot, and there the steamer waited a considerable time. A numerous party landed near the spit, where we may remind our readers Mrs. Waller, a Midshipman, and Mr. Downey had been picked up. Here the principal part of the wreck and cargo seem to have been washed. The shore is literally white with candles, and the rocks covered a foot or more deep with articles of every kind--boots, panama hats, and bonnets are here in abundance. Drums of figs, hams, pork, raisins, drapery, boots, and pieces of timber, piled in heaps, and lining the shore for a considerable distance, give a vivid idea of the havoc created. Among other things there were a barrel of brandy and another of red wine perfectly uninjured. Here also was picked up an interesting relic--a child's straw hat with a feather in it which when shown to Johnson (the survivor) was by him identified as worn by one of the children in the Tropics. We have heard that a piece of crochet-work with the needle stuck in it, and a reel of cotton attached, was picked up at North Harbour. This relic of the calamity seems as if it were only just laid aside by the fair fingers that but a few moments after must have been lifeless. The steamer after calling at Manly Beach and sending a boat up North Harbour (which however discovered nothing) stretched straight across for Watson's Bay and received on board the bodies of three men, evidently seamen by the marks on the arms--one, with the exception of the top of the scull, and the loss of part of the left arm, was entirely whole, and seemed to have been a fine man. The other two were only trunks, the mutilated remains of unfortunate sailors. Mr. P. Cohen of the Manly Beach Hotel reported that he saw two bodies floating and tried to recover them, but in consequence of the number of sharks, and the ferocity with which they fought for their prey, he was unable to do so. The steamer having thus closely searched every nook and corner, returned to Campbell's Wharf in the evening; leaving the bodies brought up to Sydney at the Dead-house for identification. Thousands of people in vehicles and on horseback, and an immense number on foot visited the heads during the day. The appearance of the Gap is described as having undergone a considerable change. Fragments of the wreck were fast disappearing, and the sea having greatly abated, several boats had approached close to the base of the fatal spot. An intrepid fellow named Mulhall, in his skiff ran down the coast to a considerable distance past the Semaphore, but without seeing indications of any survivors from the wreck. Nearly abreast of the Signal Staff several spars are to be seen, and as the sea recedes portions of sail became visible shewing that some part of the hull remains here. Part of a woman's apparel, marked J. Logan, was picked up near the body of some poor unfortunate in a sadly disfigured state. MONDAY, 24th. The principal item of news this morning connected herewith was a communication addressed by the Right Worshipful the Mayor, to the Editor of the _Sydney Morning Herald_, comprising the statement of Johnson, the sole survivor. This letter was to the following effect. [LETTER FROM THE MAYOR OF SYDNEY TO THE "SYDNEY MORNING HERALD."] SIR--I have been all day down at the scene of the wreck of the DUNBAR, and had a long interview with Johnson, the man who was saved. If the statement he made to me, and which I carefully noted, be of any service to you as information of a correct character for the public, who all feel a deep interest in this melancholy event, I shall be glad that I have taken this course to forward it. He stated that they were off Botany at half-past eight o'clock p.m., Thursday; the captain then stood off shore, on the starboard tack, ship with double-reefed fore and main topsails; a very dirty dark, and rainy night, two men were placed at the wheel; Captain Green instructed them to keep their luff; he (Captain Green) had not been off the deck for two hours since they first made land, some days previously; at half-past eleven p.m., the captain gave orders to square away, which was done; the ship then ran under close-reefed fore and main topsails and foresail. As they neared the "light" the captain ordered the foresail to be clewed up, sent the second mate to the foresail to keep a look-out, then very dark; told him to "keep a good look-out for the North Head." The captain asked if he could see the Head. The mate replied no, it was solid darkness. The second mate suddenly called out "Breakers a-head." The captain ordered the helm to be put hard to starboard to bring the ship round, then blowing strong; ship on a dead lee shore, having such small sail upon her, the ship would not come round, (this was about 12 o'clock), and the sea lifting her in, she almost immediately struck; the passengers, who had been in bed, rushed up on deck in their night dresses; their shrieks were dreadful (Johnson describes the scene at this time the most terrible part of the whole; the ladies asked the captain, and entreated the seamen to know if there was any hope; the ship was still holding together, and the men thought and said there was hope.) Almost immediately after, as if in angry denial of that expression, the decks burst up from the pressure of the water, the ship was rent into a thousand pieces, and all on board (except him) were hurried into the foaming terrific sea. [Illustration: THE SAILOR RESCUED.] Johnson, with the old boatswain, and two Dutch seamen, were about the last who were washed from the wreck, they four holding on a piece of plank, from which the two Dutchmen were soon after washed; a huge sea then threw Johnson and the boatswain on shore amongst some pieces of timber, from which Johnson scrambled to a higher shelving rock to avoid the next sea, which he did, but the poor old boatswain, less active, was carried way, and perished. Johnson then climbed to a still higher position, and, being much exhausted, laid down and slept. The next day he saw a steamer (the Grafton) go into the Heads; he made signals to her, but was not seen. During the day he saw another steamer (the Washington) pass, and tried to attract her attention; as, also, that of a schooner running in. Friday night was passed in this state. On Saturday morning he endeavoured to get along the rocks; he could see people on the cliffs above, but could not make himself seen, until a brave lad, (Antonio Wollier, an Icelander,) who had gone down "Jacob's Ladder," and along the rocks, noticed Johnson waving a handkerchief; relief came, and he was soon after hauled up to the top of the cliffs, which are there about 200 feet high. The noble fellow, Wollier, was then hauled up, and received the hearty manifestations of the thousands there assembled. I opened a subscription, which was suggested by Captain Loring, of H.M. ship Iris, and in a few minutes, about £10 was collected, and handed over to the courageous boy, who, in answer to my compliment when handing him the money, said, in broken English, "He did not go down for the money, but for the feelings of his heart." Johnson says that a blue light was burned when the ship struck, but it was very dim, and could scarcely be seen; Captain Green must have taken the bluff north end of the Gap for the North Head, for, in ordering the helm to starboard, he must have supposed that to have been his position, and North Head a lee shore; for had the helm been put to port, the ship would have cleared, and run for the entrance to the Heads. Afterwards, at the "Gap," another brave fellow, whose name I have not yet learned, volunteered to go down to send up some of the mangled corpses, now and then lodging on the rocks beneath us--now a trunk of a female, from the waist upwards--then the legs of a male, the body of an infant, the right arm, shoulder, and head of a female, the bleached arm, and extended hand, with the wash of the receding waters almost as 'twere in life, beckoning for help! then a leg, a thigh, a human head would be hurled along, the sea dashing most furiously, as if in angry derision of our efforts to rescue its prey; one figure, a female, tightly clasping an infant to the breast, both locked in the firm embrace of death, was for a moment seen, then the legs of some trunkless body would leap from the foaming cataract, caused by the receding sea, leaping wildly, with feet seen plainly upward in the air, to the abyss below, to be again and again tossed up to the gaze of the sorrowing throng above. We procured a rope, lowered the man, with some brave stout hearts holding on to the rope above, and in this manner several portions of the mutilated remains were hauled up to the top of the cliff, until a huge sea suddenly came, and nearly smothered those on the cliff, wetting them all to the skin. I caused the man to be hauled up, thinking it too dangerous to continue. It was a heartrending scene and I was glad to leave it, which I did soon after, and returned to Sydney about dark. Wonderful to say, Johnson has not as much as a scratch about him, and is otherwise quite well. He states that there were a great many bodies near to one place where he was rescued, and his great fear was that he would be starved. The ship was eighty-one days out. Saturday evening. THE INQUEST. At nine o'clock a.m. (on the 24th), Captain M'Lerie attended by a body of Inspectors and several other persons repaired to the Dead House, and began the harrowing task of attempting to identify the bodies. A large crowd surrounded the place, who unfeignedly, so far as deportment and general appearance went, sympathised with the mourners who sought among the mutilated remains inside for relatives and friends. This continued up to eleven o'clock, when all that it was possible to identify were marked off, and in some cases given to their friends, the remainder with the unknown and unrecognisable being placed in shells and viewed by the jury already sworn on the inquest. These gentlemen, attended by the coroner, assembled in the large room of the King's Arms (Mrs. Stone's), a little after eleven, for the purpose of resuming the inquiry adjourned from yesterday morning. Thirteen gentlemen had been sworn on the jury, and these all attended, Mr. J. V. Gorman being foreman. The first witness called was-- James Johnson, seaman, late of the DUNBAR, being sworn, stated, Belonged to the DUNBAR, commanded by Captain Green. We sailed for Plymouth first; the DUNBAR, is a first-class Ship; we sailed from Plymouth on the 31st May, with general cargo; would not say how many passengers--there were cabin passengers, male and female; there were also second-class passengers, male and female, on board; I cannot state the exact number on board; am positive of the day of sailing; we sailed on Sunday morning; there were fifty-nine seamen on the ship's articles, including captain, officers, able-bodied seamen, boys, and all; the chief officer's name was Mr. Struthers; we had a prosperous voyage till we reached the coast of New Holland; we first made King's Island a week last Sunday, the 16th August, the wind fresh and blowing from west, under double-reefed topsails; we had been looking out for land, and we made it out according to the captain's calculation; there was a watch kept on deck, and time called every half-hour; King's Island was the land we first expected to make; we saw the island very plain; when first seen the wind was from the westward; we then shaped our course for the Straits; from where we made the land the weather was thick, wet, and hazy; the sails were shortened from stress of weather; two reefs of the topsail were taken; we did not shorten sail to meet the land; I cannot exactly say what was the course we shaped; we made the Straits that night, the 16th; King's Island was the land we were looking out for before; we made it according to the captain's calculation, and saw the island very plain; the wind, at this time, was from the westward; we then shaped our course through the Straits; from the time we made the land the weather was thick and squally the whole time, and sail was shortened from stress of weather; our course was somewhere to the east, but I cannot say the point we steered exactly; we made the Straits that same night; we saw a light about two o'clock the next morning that was said to be upon some land in the middle of the Straits; we also saw the land; we did not alter our course; the light was rather on our port bow; no change took place till next day, when the wind headed us, and we made two boards which carried us clear of the islands, I have never been here before, but I have been in Melbourne; I am an able seaman, and have been eleven years at sea; I served my time on the coast of England, out of Lancashire, principally trading between England and Ireland; after we passed Kent's Group the next land we saw was the light at Cape Howe; I was told that was the Cape Howe light; we made this light in the evening; I do not know that there was any change of course; we were under double reefed topsails, with all the yards braced sharp up; there was no great stress of weather at the time; it was thick, hazy weather; we saw the land at times, but not always; there was no heavy sea on; a correct look-out was kept from the time we made the land; a person was stationed forward, but there was no look-out from aloft; I have never seen looks-out from aloft in ships that I have been in; we carried the same sail throughout until we made the land at Botany; this was on the Thursday evening: all hands saw the land distinctly; after that the Captain ordered us to close reef the topsails, and we were close hauled to the wind; the wind was then about E. and by S.; we were close to the wind and lying about N.E. and by N., and lying along the coast; at the time we made this land to the best of my opinion we were about ten or twelve miles off, and the ship had her starboard tacks aboard; we were under easy sail, sail having been shortened after we saw the land; we had on no topgallant-sails, and we had three reefs in the main, and four reefs in the fore-topsail; the mizen-topsail was stowed, and the spanker was brailed up; the inner jib, and the maintopmast-staysail, were taken in; the weather was squally with thick rain; when we made the land at Botany, we kept on our course; this was between six and seven o'clock, and when night came on, we still kept our course, and shortly afterwards we saw the Sydney light; I saw it about seven o'clock, shortly after getting supper; it was known to be the Sydney Head light; the vessel was then lying a course about N.E. and by N.; she was lying her course in that sort of manner that we had no difficulty--we had plenty of room; she was not at all labouring with the sail she had on; I know that she was making heavy lee-way; it is my impression that she had not got enough sail on her, to prevent her making this lee-way; this was not said on board ship, but I think so; Captain Green was on the deck; they were not shaking the ship up into the wind, but keeping her clear full; the Captain was not conning the ship; the chief officer was on the poop likewise; the watch on deck went below according to orders, and were relieved at eight o'clock; it was raining hard; the light was only seen at intervals, but distinctly; it is a revolving light; I was on deck at eight o'clock, as I belonged to the chief officer's watch; the captain remained on deck when the watch was relieved, and gave orders the same as usual; everything was attended to, and his orders were punctually obeyed; everything went straightforward, and there was no annoyance of any kind; all the men were quite correct and obeyed orders; we stood along the coast till we fetched the light up to the lee mizen rigging; the vessel was not labouring: she came to her helm willingly; one man only was at the wheel until we began to square yards, when two men were sent there; the lee mizen rigging was on the port side of the ship; the Captain was on the weather side of the deck; he had no night glass, but the second mate had a case of what we call opera-glasses; when the light was brought to bear upon the lee mizen rigging, all hands were piped up by the boatswain; the hands turned up; the boatswain sung out for "All hands to wear ship;" these were the words that were passed along; the usual orders were given; when we came on deck, orders were given to square away the yards; we got the orders to square away; after a short time, the Captain gave orders to haul up the foresail; it was then reefed; the ship then kept before the wind; the light was clearly visible at times; when the words were given to square the yards, the light had previously been seen; the vessel was running in on a heavy sea; it was blowing very fresh in squalls, with thick small rain; it was about eleven o'clock when the hands were called up; there were two men on the forecastle with the third mate, on the look-out for the land; the third mate was on the forecastle with the two men, and the second mate was afterwards sent there also; the captain sang out "Do you see anything of the North Head?" and the mate said "No, I see nothing of it;" I was on the poop at this time, standing by the braces; she had the light a bit on her port bow when I saw it at this time; then the captain sang out to the man at the wheel to keep his luff; the yards were about a point or so to port; I heard these words; it was done; the course of the ship was changed a small bit by this; shortly after this the second mate sang out "Breakers ahead;" this was a few minutes afterwards; the captain sung out to the man at the wheel to port his helm; we were all at the braces: he told us to haul in the port braces, and brace the yards sharp up; it was done quickly, without delay; there were thirteen able seaman in each watch; there was no want of hands; we were well manned, and we could see the light; it appeared to be right over us; I heard no further orders given; a few minutes after we hauled the yards round--about two minutes after--she went side on to the rocks; she was trying to stretch out to the eastward, her head lying along the land to the north; then we struck, and then the screaming began, the passengers running about the deck screaming for mercy; the captain was on the poop; he was cool and collected; there was great confusion and uproar on the deck with the shrieks of the passengers; with the first bump the three topmasts fell; the first sea that came over us stove in the quarter-boats; none were lowered; the mizen-mast went first, then the main-mast. The foremast stood a long time; it was not more than five minutes after she struck that she began to break up; I was on the poop at the time; I caught hold of the mizen chains; when these gave way, I made for the cabin, but the sea was coming down there enough to smother one; I went below and got out of the cabin skylight to leeward, and got up the side of the chain-plates of the fore-rigging; this broke up at last, and I was thrown over still holding by the chain plates, which held some four planks together, and I was thrown upon the rocks in a heap of timber and rubbish; we made one signal before we struck; we burnt a blue-light; the steward held it in a bit of paper and burnt it all; he held it over the port side; this light was visible for three or four minutes; he got orders from the captain to do this before the vessel struck; no one was near me when I was washed away; she kept breaking up from aft, and I kept getting forward until at last I reached the chain plates of the fore-rigging; I was washed away with planks and broken timber upon a shelf of rock, but immediately on the sea receding I got up a bit higher out of reach of the back current; we saw no vessel; we could not stand off the land more than we were doing; I heard nothing said about the captain not wishing to get further off the land for fear of being driven to the northward; the captain could not stand off the land more than he did; he did all that he could to keep off the land so far as I can judge; I expected, when we squared away, that we were going into the entrance of the harbour; I did not hear anybody say this, but I thought from the squaring away that we were so; nobody said that they saw the North Head; there was no opening that I could see that would lead any one to believe that they were going into port; I only saw the light; I was not frightened of anything; I thought it was all right, and that we were going into harbour; this was my idea until the second mate gave the alarm; the part that struck first was the port bow; she struck the rocks below first, and then bumped heavily over them; the vessel herself could not have formed a breakwater for lowering boats to the leeward; besides, the boats went with the first sea; the sea did not break right over her, and even when the weather side broke up the lee side offered some shelter; there is no truth in the report that the long boat was launched, and that some of the passengers were put into it; I am sure there had been no drinking aboard; we had a glass of grog at 12 o'clock; the men were all very steady; they were good men, and many of them were working their passages out at a shilling a month, intending to stop in the country; when I got ashore I could see nothing, for the rain and darkness, and I could hear nothing but the roaring of the surf; I saw nobody besides myself anywhere; the first thing I saw in the morning was the dead bodies brought in by the sea, and carried out by the under tow; the ship was completely broken up, nothing remained but her fore yard; I could see no persons; I was about ten yards above the sea, and the spray came over me as the seas broke below; there was no hollow or anything; underneath me, on the lower ledge, you could go a long way in under the rock, but I liked to get higher up rather than to go in under there; I had on a blue shirt, a singlet, and drawers; I hove everything off--boots, trousers, and pea coat, when the first alarm was given; we saw the light only a few minutes before the vessel struck. The witness, who was further interrogated at some length by the Coroner and the Foreman, gave his testimony in a very frank and straightforward manner, and was followed by Captain Wiseman, of the Grafton, steamer, at the conclusion of whose evidence the Court adjourned for the purpose of allowing the jury to attend the funeral procession. When the inquest was subsequently resumed, Mr. A. Fletcher (master of the Nora Creina Steamer, trading to Shoalhaven) gave his evidence, followed by Messrs. Gorman and Raphael. In the course of the melancholy enquiry, the Coroner took occasion to speak in high terms of the zeal exhibited by Captain M'Lerie, Mr. North, Inspectors Brown, Weale, and Cowell, and the police and citizens generally, in the painful task of recovering the bodies of the sufferers, and in preserving the property belonging to the wreck. The evidence having been finished the Coroner addressed the Jury on the duty they owed to the public, themselves, and the lamented captain of the wrecked vessel, and urged upon them the necessity of acting justly and conscientiously in the discharge of their important functions. THE VERDICT.--After some deliberation, the following verdict was returned:--"The jury find that the bodies viewed are those of some of the passengers and crew of the ship Dunbar, out of London, commanded by Captain Green, and bound to this port, and that the ship Dunbar was wrecked outside the Sydney Heads, close to the Gap, on the night of Thursday, the 20th August last, causing the death of the said parties; there may have been an error of judgment in the vessel being so close to the shore at night in such bad weather, but the jury do not attach any blame to Captain Green or his officers for the loss of the Dunbar. The jury consider it their duty to put on record their opinion that the present Pilot arrangements for this port are most inadequate, and desire to draw the attention of the Government to the matter." This concluded the proceedings, and the jury were discharged. THE FUNERAL. The procession moved from the dead-house at a little before five o'clock. There were seven hearses, preceded by two officers of the Mounted Police force. Each hearse was attended on its side by mounted policemen, under the command of Captain M'Lerie. The last hearse contained the remains of Captain Steine, a retired naval officer, and the coffin was wrapped in the Union Jack, and was followed by a company of sailors and two officers of her Majesty's ship _Herald_ and _Iris_. There were four mourning coaches and a long string of carriages, of which that of the Hon. Stuart A. Donaldson took the lead. One of the mourners attending the funeral was Captain Macbeth, uncle to the late Captain Green. The band of the Artillery Companies formed a part of the procession, and played the "Dead March from Saul" with fine effect. A company of Artillery with two officers, between whom rode his Excellency the Governor's Aide-de-Camp followed. The footpaths throughout the streets of this city were literally walled with people. In proportion to the number of inhabitants, never can we recollect a scene in which the feeling of the people was so keenly and manifestly exhibited. The shops were, with one or two exceptions, closed along the whole line of road, and the streets thronged with silent and awe-struck spectators, many of whom seemed much moved, while the knell, sounding from some of the church bells, and flags hoisted half mast high, added materially to the general gloom. It was night before the funeral reached the Cemetery at O'Connell Town, where the last sad obsequies were performed. The Rev. C. C. Kemp read the service for the dead, in portions of which the large concourse joined reverently: and, having taken a last look at the grave, began slowly to disperse. It has been remarked that, although the _time_ had not been specially chosen for the ceremony, the calmness of a dim moonlight seemed not unsuited to the close of one of the most painful tragedies which has yet taken its place in the annals of our Colony. Opinions are of course somewhat divided as to the manner in which (judging from Johnson's evidence and other circumstances) the ill-fated Dunbar was commanded and manoeuvred on that dark and memorable night; as to the amount of censure (if any) to be attached to Captain Green, and as to numerous material facts, a large number of persons exonerate the captain altogether; others, although delivering themselves with moderation and delicacy, feel compelled to consider that much lamented gentleman to have been in some degree to blame for his orders and arrangements previous to the catastrophe. This latter view of the matter has found a forcible but temperate expression in the columns of the _Sydney Morning Herald_, on the 25th instant, in striking and eloquent language. The justice however of such a view has not been generally recognised, either by the public, or the friends of Captain Green. It is easy for landsmen and other self-constituted critics to pass sentence now on that brave man, whose cause must be judged in his absence--the inexorable King of Terrors having forbidden him to enter upon his defence, or even to hear his accusers. Nevertheless, it should be borne in mind that the land at Botany, seen at about 7 p.m. on Thursday night, was made by mere dead reckoning, the commander not having (as it would appear) seen the sun for several days; the time when it was so made being already night, the weather dark, tempestuous, and rainy. What if the land thus seen through the murky atmosphere were but so imperfectly observed that Captain Green might well be deceived as to its real distance, and reasonably suppose himself to be a mile or two nearer to, or farther off from it than he actually was? Would not that very probable circumstance interfere with the course to be pursued, and justify (nay even demand) measures, which have under adverse circumstances, been attended with such unhappy results? Dead upon a lee shore at an uncertain distance, and with a most uncertain light, the wind and sea both setting in fearfully towards the land, it may have been an awful fact, known only to one brave heart who fought it out to the last, that under all these conjunctures the sailing qualities of the Dunbar would _not_ permit her to keep out to sea that night. Hour after hour, minute after minute, notwithstanding all careful steering she made a lee-way, which, no change of wind occurring, must at last have thrown her bodily somewhere upon the coast. This lee-way could not be securely calculated upon, even by him who knew the Dunbar so well, because his first idea of distance when he sighted Botany was, to say the least, uncertain, if not untrue. Captain Green shaped his course for the North Head (it was of that he spoke at the last), but he only fetched the fatal rocks at the Gap. It seems doubtful to many if he could have done anything more than what he did do, and thus his duty to the utmost performed, Green met his death with calmness, as a brave man should. The only particular pang that might then have shot through him would be this--that he would be more or less condemned unheard, carrying with him his own strong, unanswerable defence. God alone knows all he had to struggle against, and to weigh in his mind that night. One good result of this will probably be that we shall at length have proper arrangements for lighting the rocky portal of our harbour, and for something less feeble and inefficient than our present Pilot system; crying defects for which it is ungenerous and unjust to blame a Government recently formed, and still struggling against a powerful Opposition. These two discreditable items are legacies for which, others are virtually, although no longer legally, responsible. The following practical remarks from a well known Colonial author on these matters appeared in the _Sydney Morning Herald_ of the 26th instant, and seem to merit particular attention. "I begin," says the writer, "by denying the assertion often made, that Sydney Heads are safe to enter in any weather; still, let it be understood that I speak of nightwork only. With the wind off the land, smooth water, moon, stars, and all other assistances of that kind, it may be well enough, but even then it is fit to shake the nerves of a man coming off a long voyage, when he gets fairly in the entrance--for the light is then lost--and sees nothing but the towers of black rock in one unbroken line frowning defiance at him. If such be the coast when a weather-shore, what must it be when a lee one. The harbour is well enough to _make_, no one can contradict that, but with a strong wind blowing on the land--the ship scudding, and thick sudden showers of rain, the characteristic of our east winds, making the darkness impenetrable; there perhaps is not another port in the world more terribly confusing to a seaman to _enter_ than the loudly-lauded one of Sydney. In most other ports, or estuaries, many mistakes may be made, and yet with little or no loss of life; here there only can be one made, but that is the final and fatal one. An error of a little half-mile, as in the case of the poor Dunbar, and all is lost; a single look from the most inexperienced eye reads on that rampart of cliffs nothing but rude and mangled death. If I have said anything to shake the general belief that Sydney is such a safe port to enter, let us now see what may be done to make it safer, and to prevent, if possible, by human means, the recurrence of two such shipwrecks as have slain their hundreds before our eyes. [Alluding to the wreck of the Edward Lombe in 1834.] Although with only an interval of some twenty-three years between them, methinks we have had time to think over the matter, and now to move ourselves. Prevention the first.--_More lights._ Had I--or any other, a twelvemonth ago, written as much, we should have been "pooh poohed" for our pains; had we been able to advance the matter in the House of Parliament, we should have been told by the Opposition, or the Government, whichever had the economical perplexity at the time, that "the country could not afford any more lights." But "the country" can't, and the people won't afford any more losses like the last one, and therefore now it can be both boldly said and written, that something must and shall be done in the matter. As to the situation of any more lights for the entrance to Port Jackson, no doubt there will be many opinions. The North Head has been mentioned as a site for this leading light, but my own convictions, borne out by the judgment of others of great experience, goes against the North Head _only_ being lighted; and if only one light should be added, that there is another situation preferable. Because every seaman knows that a light on a high cliff in thick rain squalls, which is the weather we have here to dread, is not so easily seen as a light placed a moderate distance above the water's edge. Therefore, if one light only should be added, that light should be placed where the turning point of the entrance takes place--in this case the _low_ point of the South Reef--a red light visible eight miles. And perhaps it would not be at all amiss to say, in the Sailing Directions for the Port of Sydney (a copy of which, by the way, I have not seen for a long time in places of resort for seamen, being very likely out of print), that unless such leading light is seen, no sailing vessel with an east wind at night (coasters excluded) should attempt the entrance without a pilot, as long as she can keep to sea.--Having stumbled upon the word pilot, we may write-- Prevention second.--A more effective system of pilotage at Port Jackson Heads. Let me be understood when I say effective system of pilotage, because I do not for a moment throw blame or slur upon the pilots now at the Heads, but I think it disgraceful to the Government of New South Wales that such a paltry _system_ should be kept alive when I see the way they manage things in Melbourne. It strikes me very forcibly that a pilot-cutter--one of those crafts that can keep the sea in any weather, would be very beneficial in preventing any more wrecks like that of the Dunbar. And I venture it as my opinion, that had such a vessel, with six, or any other number of good men and true in her, been cruising off the Sydney Heads, we should not now have to lament the loss of the ship Dunbar, and all hands, save one, on the night of August 20th, 1857. That cutter would have been cruising on such a night with Sydney lights bearing from N.N.W. to W.N.W., or thereabouts, distant from 10 to 15 miles, she would in all probability have put a pilot on board the Dunbar (if Johnson's account is correct) with daylight, and before the gale came on. Had the cutter not been able to board the ship, the latter would have been ordered to answer the flash-light which all pilot vessels burn every half-hour, and there is little doubt that men intimately acquainted with coasting work, which long-voyage ship-masters cannot possibly be, would have seconded the first order by an urgent request to make more sail and keep to sea, if possible; or, had the pilots deemed the entrance at all practicable, yet without being able to board the ship, the latter would have been directed to follow in the wake of the cutter, as is continually done on the coast of England. D. P." * * * * * More bodies have been discovered in the North Harbour, since the compilation of the foregoing narrative, but they have not, it is believed, been yet identified. The matter of wreck was mentioned in the House of Assembly, on Tuesday evening last. A debate thereon seemed at one time likely to supervene, but the discussion was very properly stopped by the Speaker as irregular. Our readers may be interested to learn that poor Johnson has a trade (that of a rough carpenter) and does not purpose for the present, at all events, to return to the dangers of a seafaring life. We beg to suggest that a _shilling subscription_ be set on foot in his behalf, so as to buy him tools and clothing, and thus set him up in business. We feel confident that if the subscription be made, thus low, hundreds will willingly contribute. The Right Worshipful the Mayor, Captain McLerie, and the Police Magistrates, who have already taken so warm an interest in the sad event would doubtless not refuse their aid and sanction to what is now proposed. * * * * * A short description of the locality where the late melancholy catastrophe occurred may be interesting to those not acquainted with it. From the outer South Head (near which the lighthouse stands) to the South Reef, at the entrance of Port Jackson, the distance is about a mile and a half. It is between these two points that the catastrophe occurred. The coast is very high and steep, and, indeed, may be said to be inaccessible. Next to the South Reef is a small bight, commonly known as the Gap, and here are large table rocks nearly level with the surface of the water, and as smooth as if cut by the chisel of the mason. Here, more perhaps than anywhere else, the breakers roll in with excessive violence. The Gap is a very short distance from the flagstaff at South Head, near which place it is supposed the DUNBAR struck. In the fearful sea that was running on Thursday night it is a miracle that a single soul has been saved. Here in fact, must have been the place where the ship went ashore, as on the morning of the wreck no traces of the ship could be seen further south. When, however, the ebb tide made, the wreck would of course be sent towards the entrance of the port, and the easterly wind and sea, assisted by the subsequent flood tide, would drift the bodies and floating masses into Middle Harbour, where, indeed, the greater portion of the debris and a number of bodies were found to be deposited. James Fryer, Machine and General Printing Office, 322, George-street, Sydney. [Illustration: Map] 
27014	----	TRADE AND TRAVEL IN THE FAR EAST; OR RECOLLECTIONS OF TWENTY-ONE YEARS PASSED IN JAVA, SINGAPORE, AUSTRALIA, AND CHINA. BY G. F. DAVIDSON. LONDON: MADDEN AND MALCOLM, LEADENHALL STREET. 1846. LONDON: PRINTED BY MADDEN AND MALCOLM, 8 LEADENHALL STREET. PREFACE. The following pages were written to beguile the tediousness of a long voyage from Hong Kong to England, during the spring and summer of 1844. When I state, that the whole was written with the paper on my knee, for want of a desk, amid continual interruptions from three young children lacking amusement during their long confinement on ship-board, and with a perpetual liability to be pitched to leeward, paper and all,--I shall have said enough to bespeak from every good-natured reader a candid allowance for whatever defects may attach to the composition. It is necessary, however, that I should also premise, that the sketches are drawn entirely from memory, and that the incidents referred to in the earlier chapters, took place some twenty years ago. That my recollection may have proved treacherous on some minor points, is very possible; but, whatever may be the merits or demerits of the work in other respects, it contains, to the best of my knowledge and belief, nothing but truth in the strictest sense of that term; and, as imbodying the result of my own personal observations in the countries visited, it may possess an interest on that account, not always attaching to volumes of higher pretensions. My wanderings have been neither few nor short, and, perhaps, verify the old proverb, that a rolling stone gathers no moss. I have crossed the Ocean in forty different square-rigged vessels; have trod the plains of Hindostan, the wilds of Sumatra, and the mountains of Java; have strolled among the beautiful hills and dales of Singapore and Penang; have had many a gallop amid the forests and plains of Australia; have passed through the labyrinth of reefs forming Torres' Straits; and have visited the far-famed Celestial Empire. My first idea, in endeavouring to retrace my journeyings and adventures, was, that the personal narrative might serve to amuse a circle of private friends. But the notices relating to the openings for Trade in the Far East, and to the subject of Emigration, together with the free strictures upon the causes of the recent depression in our Australian colonies, will, I venture to hope, be not unacceptable to those who are interested in the extension of British commerce, and in the well-being of the rising communities which form an integral part of the mighty Empire now encircling the Globe. Some parts of the work refer to coming events as probable, which have since become matters of fact; but I have not deemed it necessary to suppress or to alter what I had written. I am more especially happy to find that my suggestions respecting Borneo have, to some extent, been anticipated; and that the important discovery of its coal-mines has been taken advantage of by Her Majesty's Government in the very way pointed out in observations written at sea fifteen months ago. Since my arrival in England, I have learned also, that the feasibility of the navigation of Torres' Straits from west to east, has struck others more competent to form a correct judgment than myself. Captain T. Blackwood, commander of Her Majesty's ship, Fly, at present employed in surveying the coast of New Holland, the Straits, and parts adjacent, has expressed his determination, after refitting at Singapore, to endeavour to enter the Pacific Ocean, during the north-west monsoon, by sailing through Torres' Straits from the westward. I trust that this enterprising Officer will succeed in the attempt, and thereby put beyond question the practicability of the passage; which would not only shorten the distance between Australia and our Indian territories, but contribute, more than any thing else could do, to facilitate the transit of the Overland Mail to Sydney. The Australians, I find, are still sanguinely bent upon discovering an overland route from the present frontiers of the Colony to Port Essington; but, although I heartily wish them success, my opinion, as expressed in the subsequent pages, remains unaltered. I observe, that the Singaporeans are already complaining of the decrease of the number of square-rigged vessels that have visited their port during the recent season, and of the falling-off of the Chinese-junk trade, which they correctly attribute to the opening of the trade with China; thereby verifying my predictions. I fear that they will have still greater cause for complaint before twelve months shall have rolled away. But the merchants of Singapore, it gives me pleasure to add, are taking advantage of the times, by entering upon the China trade, and seem determined not to suffer loss, if they can help it, by the effect of Sir Henry Pottinger's famous Treaty. This is as it should be. With these few remarks on the motives which have induced me to write and give to the world the following sketches, I now commit them to their fate; trusting that they may serve to beguile an hour, to some of my numerous friends in the different parts of the world they refer to, and that, to the reader unacquainted with those countries, they may prove both useful and entertaining. Before taking leave of the reader, however, I must apologize for an unfortunate error my printer has fallen into, (at p. 3 note), in misprinting the name of Mr. Mercus, one of the best men that ever ruled a Colony, whether Dutch or English. This name has been converted into Minns; and the error was not detected, till the sheet had passed through the press. As for the critics.--for any kind or friendly remarks they may make, I shall feel grateful; while any of a contrary nature will neither surprise nor displease me. HULL, _January 1846_. CONTENTS. PREFACE P. i CHAPTER I. JAVA. FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BATAVIA--NARROW POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT--DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND NEIGHBOURHOOD--ROADS AND POSTING SYSTEM--STATE OF SOCIETY--CLIMATE AND SEASONS--TROPICAL FRUITS 1 CHAPTER II. JAVA. SAMARANG--A TIGER FIGHT--JAVA PONEYS--EXCURSION TO SOLO--WILD SPORTS--DJOCKDJOCARTA--REMAINS OF THE ANCIENT PALACE--IMPERIAL ELEPHANTS--EXPERIMENT IN INDIGO-PLANTING--JAVANESE EXECUTION--A PET BOA--ALLIGATORS--FOREST LABOUR--SLAVERY IN JAVA--OPIUM-SMOKING--TEA--THE UPAS-TREE 16 CHAPTER III. SINGAPORE. ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION OF SINGAPORE--CULTIVATION OF THE NUTMEG AND COCOA-NUT--ROADS AND SCENERY-- MOTLEY POPULATION--EUROPEAN RESIDENTS--CHINESE EMIGRANTS--KLINGS--SAMPAN-MEN--PLACES OF WORSHIP--TIGERS 39 CHAPTER IV. SINGAPORE. TRADE OF SINGAPORE--CHINESE TRADERS--BUGIS TRADERS--SIAMESE AND COCHIN CHINESE--ARAB SMUGGLERS--BORNEO--TRADE WITH CALCUTTA-- COMMERCIAL PROSPECTS. 53 CHAPTER V. DUTCH SETTLEMENTS. DUTCH SETTLEMENT OF RHIO--ISLAND OF BANCA-- BENCOOLEN--PADANG--CHINESE SLAVE-TRADE--NATIVE TRIBES OF SUMATRA--PEPPER TRADE 73 CHAPTER VI. MALACCA AND PENANG 94 CHAPTER VII. CALCUTTA. FIRST VIEW OF CALCUTTA--STATE OF SOCIETY-- MERCANTILE CHANGES--UNPLEASANT CLIMATE--SIGHTS AT AND NEAR CALCUTTA--IMPROVEMENTS IN TRANSIT AND NAVIGATION--CUSTOM-HOUSE NUISANCE--PILOT SERVICE--CHARACTER OF THE BENGALEES--RIVER STEAMERS 101 CHAPTER VIII. NEW SOUTH WALES. VOYAGE FROM SINGAPORE TO SYDNEY--PORT JACKSON--FIRST IMPRESSIONS PRODUCED BY SYDNEY--THE PUBLIC-HOUSE NUISANCE--SYDNEY JURIES--CATTLE-DEALERS--TOWN IMPROVEMENTS--LAWYERS, DOCTORS, AND CLERGY 117 CHAPTER IX. NEW SOUTH WALES. TOWNSHIP OF MAITLAND--THE PATERSON DISTRICT--WINTER SPORTS--THE KANGAROO--AUSTRALIAN HUSBANDRY--CONVICT SERVANTS--BENEFIT OF ENFORCING AN OBSERVANCE OF SUNDAY--THE HOT SEASON 128 CHAPTER X. NEW SOUTH WALES. BUSH-RANGERS--THE DROUGHT OF 1838-9--THE SETTLER'S TROUBLES--ORNITHOLOGY OF AUSTRALIA--ABORIGINAL TRIBES 139 CHAPTER XI. NEW SOUTH WALES. THE HOT WINDS--PROJECTED MAIL-ROAD FROM SYDNEY TO PORT ESSINGTON--SHEEP-FARMS--GRAZING IN AUSTRALIA--HORSE-STOCK 155 CHAPTER XII. NEW SOUTH WALES. CAUSES OF THE RECENT DISTRESSES--CONDUCT OF THE BANKS--MANIA FOR SPECULATION--LONG-ACCOUNT SYSTEM--BAD SEASONS 169 CHAPTER XIII. NEW SOUTH WALES. ELEMENTS OF PROSPERITY STILL EXISTING--HINTS TO THE COLONISTS--FUTURE PROSPECTS 182 CHAPTER XIV. NEW SOUTH WALES. CLASSES OF SOCIETY IN SYDNEY--DISAPPOINTMENT OF EMIGRANTS--CHARACTERISTICS OF IRISH AND BRITISH EMIGRANTS--AVAILABLENESS OF CHINESE LABOURERS--AUSTRALIAN COAL MONOPOLY--TORRES' STRAITS THE BEST PASSAGE FOR STEAMERS--BOTANY BAY--PASSAGE FROM SYDNEY TO BATAVIA 195 CHAPTER XV. CHINA. DESCRIPTION OF MACAO--ITS MONGREL POPULATION-- FREQUENCY OF ROBBERIES--PIRACIES--COMPRADORE SYSTEM--PAPUAN SLAVE-TRADE--MARKET OF MACAO-- NUISANCES--SIR HENRY POTTINGER'S REGULATION DEFENDED--ILLIBERAL POLICY OF THE PORTUGUESE, AND ITS RESULT--BOAT-GIRLS--BEGGARS--PICTURESQUE SCENERY 216 CHAPTER XVI. CHINA. ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION OF HONG KONG--THE OPIUM TRADE--IMPORTANCE OF THE STATION IN THE EVENT OF A FRESH WAR--CHUSAN--HOW TO RAISE A REVENUE-- CAUSES OF ALLEGED INSALUBRITY--RAPID PROGRESS OF THE SETTLEMENT--PICTURESQUE SCENERY-- MARKETS--SANATORY HINTS 237 CHAPTER XVII. CHINA. FIRST VIEW OF CANTON--DESCRIPTION OF THE EUROPEAN QUARTER--HOSTILE FEELINGS OF THE PEOPLE--COMMERCIAL PROSPECTS OF CANTON--AMOY--FOO CHOW--NINGPO-- SHANG-HAE--MR. MEDHURST--RESULTS OF THE TREATY WITH CHINA 266 CHAPTER XVIII. NECESSITY OF APPOINTING BRITISH CONSULS IN THE SPANISH AND DUTCH COLONIES--NEW SETTLEMENT ON THE WESTERN COAST OF BORNEO--IMPORTANT DISCOVERY OF COAL ON THE NORTH-WEST COAST--CONCLUDING REMARKS 287 APPENDIX I. PLAN FOR THE ACCELERATION OF THE CHINA MAILS (_i. e._ THEIR CONVEYANCE FROM _SUEZ viâ CEYLON_ TO _HONG KONG direct_) 303 APPENDIX II. MEMORANDUM ON BORNEO, AND MR. BROOK'S SETTLEMENT ON THAT ISLAND 305 TRADE AND TRAVEL IN THE FAR EAST. CHAPTER I. JAVA. FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BATAVIA--NARROW POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT--DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND NEIGHBOURHOOD--ROADS AND POSTING SYSTEM--STATE OF SOCIETY--CLIMATE AND SEASONS--TROPICAL FRUITS. Early in the year 1823, I left England, quite a youngster, full of life and spirits, bound for that so-called grave of Europeans, Batavia. Of my passage out, I shall say nothing more, than that it lasted exactly five months, and was, in point of wind and weather, similar to nine-tenths of the voyages made to the same region. Well do I remember the 5th of October 1823, the day on which I first set foot on the lovely and magnificent island of Java. How bright were then my prospects, surrounded as I was with a circle of anxious friends, who were not only able, but willing also, to lend me a helping hand, and who now, alas! are, to a man, gone from me and all to whom they were dear. I was then prepared--I might say determined--to be pleased with every thing and every body. At this distance of time, I can scarcely remember what struck me most forcibly on landing; but I have a vivid recollection of being perfectly delighted with the drive, in a light airy carriage drawn by two spirited little Java poneys, from the wharf to the house of the friend with whom I was to take up my abode. The pluck with which those two little animals rattled us along quite astonished me; and the novel appearance of every thing that met the eye, so bewildered and delighted me, that I scarcely knew how to think, speak, or act. What a joyous place was Batavia in those days, with every body thriving, and the whole town alive and bustling with an active set of merchants from all parts of the world! The Dutch Government, at that time, pursued a more liberal system than they have of late adopted; and, instead of monopolizing the produce of the Island, sold it by public auction regularly every month. This plan naturally attracted purchasers from England, the Continent of Europe, and the United States of America, who brought with them good Spanish dollars to pay for what they purchased; so that silver money was as plentiful in Netherlands India, in those days, as copper doits have since become. The enlightened individual who now governs Java[1] and its dependencies, is, I have good reason to think, opposed to the monopolizing system pursued by his Government: his hands, however, are tied, and he can only remonstrate, while the merchants can but pray that his remonstrances may be duly weighed by his superiors. Java exports one million _peculs_[2] of coffee per annum, one million _peculs_ of rice, and one million _peculs_ of sugar; besides vast quantities of tin, pepper, hides, indigo, &c. Were its trade thrown open to fair competition, as formerly, it is as certain that His Majesty the King of the Netherlands would be a gainer, as that his adopting the more liberal system would give satisfaction to every mercantile man connected in any way with his East-Indian possessions. The experience of the last three years ought to have taught His Majesty this lesson; and we may hope he will take warning from the miserable result of his private speculations during that period. Batavia is not the unhealthy place it has been usually deemed. The city itself is certainly bad enough; but no European sleeps a single night in it out of a twelvemonth. [Footnote 1: 1845. His Excellency Mr. Minns, since dead.] [Footnote 2: A _pecul_ is a Chinese weight used all over the Eastern Archipelago, and is equal to 133-1/3 lbs. avoirdupoise.] From four to five o'clock every evening, the road leading from the town to the suburbs is thronged with vehicles of all descriptions, conveying the merchants from their counting-houses to their country or suburban residences, where they remain till nine o'clock the next morning. These country residences are delightfully situated to the south of Batavia, properly so called, extending inland over many square miles of country. Every one of them has a garden (called here a compound) of considerable extent, well stocked with plants, shrubs, and trees, which serve to give them a lively and elegant appearance, and to keep them moderately cool in the hottest weather. Servants' wages being very low here, every European of any respectability is enabled to keep up a sufficient establishment, and to repair to his office in his carriage or hooded gig, in which he may defy the sun. Many of them, particularly Dutchmen, have an imprudent practice of driving in an open carriage, with an umbrella held over their heads by a native servant standing on the foot-board behind his master. Having resided several years in the suburbs of Batavia, I have no hesitation in saying, that, with common prudence, eschewing _in toto_ the vile habit of drinking gin and water whenever one feels thirsty, living generously but carefully, avoiding the sun's rays by always using a close or hooded carriage, and taking common precautions against wet feet and damp clothing, a man may live--and enjoy life, too--in Batavia, as long as he would in any other part of the world. Many people may think this a bold assertion; nevertheless, I make it without fear of contradiction from any one acquainted by experience with the country. One great and invaluable advantage over all our Eastern Colonies, Batavia, in common with every part of Java, possesses, in the facilities that exist for travelling from one part of the Island to another. Throughout Java, there are excellent roads, and on every road a post establishment is kept up; so that the traveller has only to apply to the post-master of Batavia, pointing out the road he wishes to travel, and to pay his money according to the number of miles: he obtains, with a passport, an order for four horses all along his intended line of route, and may perform the journey at his leisure, the horses, coachmen, &c. being at his command night or day, till he accomplishes the distance agreed for. Thus, a party going overland from Batavia to Samarang, a distance of three hundred miles, may either perform the journey in three days, or extend it to three weeks, should they wish to look about them, and to halt a day or two at various places as they go along. In no part of British India is there any thing approaching to such admirable and cheap facilities for travelling. And what an inestimable blessing they are to the Batavian invalid, who can thus, in a few hours, be transported, with perfect ease and comfort, into the cool and delightful mountainous regions of Java, where he may choose his climate, by fixing himself at a height varying from one thousand to seven thousand feet above the level of the sea! Java, from east to west and from north to south, is a favourite region with me, and, I believe, with every Englishman who ever visited it. Gin and brandy have killed five-sixths of all the Europeans who have died in Batavia within the last twenty years; but with pleasure I can add, that this destructive habit has almost entirely disappeared: hence the diminished number of deaths, and the more robust and ruddy appearance of the European inhabitants. The surrounding country is both salubrious and beautiful, rising gradually as you proceed inland, till you reach Buytenzorg, forty miles S.S.E. of Batavia, where the Governor-General of Netherlands India generally resides, in a splendid palace, surrounded with extensive and magnificent gardens. The climate is cool and pleasant, more particularly in the mornings and evenings, and the ground is kept moist by daily showers; for it is a singular fact, that scarcely a day in the year passes without a shower in this beautiful neighbourhood. Buytenzorg is a favourite resort of the merchants of Batavia, who take advantage of the facilities for travelling to visit it on the Saturday afternoon, remaining the whole of Sunday, and returning to town, and to the renewal of their labours, on the following morning. The scenery is magnificent; and the view (well known to every visiter) from the back verandah of the inn, is the finest that can be imagined. Standing on the steps of this verandah, you have, immediately under your foot, an extensive plain, thoroughly cultivated, sprinkled with villages, each village being surrounded with evergreen trees, and the whole almost encircled by a river. To the left of this valley rises an extensive and picturesque mountain, cultivated almost to the summit, and dotted here and there with villages and gentlemen's houses. Looking into the valley at early morn, you will see the lazy buffalo, driven by an equally indolent ploughman, dragging a Lilliputian plough through the slimy paddy-field; the lazy Javanese labourer going to his work in the field; the native women reaping, with the hand only, and stalk by stalk, the ripe paddy (rice) in one field, while those in the next are sowing the seed; the adjoining fields being covered with stubble, their crops having been reaped weeks before. Upon the declivity of the mountain is seen the stately coffee-tree, the plantations of which commence about 1300 feet above the level of the sea, and proceed up the hill till they reach the height of 4000 feet. Nothing can be more beautiful than a full-grown coffee-plantation: the deep green foliage, the splendid bright-red berry, and the delicious shade afforded by the trees, render those spots altogether fit for princes; and princely lives their owners lead. One is always sure of a hearty welcome from these gentlemen, who are ever glad to see a stranger. They give him the best horse in the stable to ride, the best room in the house to occupy, and express regret when his visit is drawing to a close. I speak from experience, having put the hospitality of several of them to the test. During my first stay at Batavia, from 1823 to 1826, the celebrated Java war broke out, the so-called rebel army being headed by a native Chief of Djockdjocarta, named Diepo Nogoro. Shortly after the first outbreak, the then Governor-General, Baron Vander Capellen, called on all Europeans between the ages of sixteen and forty-five to serve in the _schuttery_, or militia. An infantry and a cavalry corps were formed, and I joined the latter, preferring a ride in the evening to a walk with a fourteen-pound musket over my shoulder. After a probation of pretty tight drilling, we became tolerable soldiers, on "nothing a day and finding ourselves," and had the good town of Batavia put under our charge, the regular troops being all sent away to the scene of war. As I do not intend to return to the subject, I may as well mention here, that the war lasted five years, and that it would have lasted five years longer, had Diepo Nogoro not been taken prisoner--I fear by treachery. I saw him landed at Batavia, in 1829, from the steamer which had brought him from Samarang. The Governor's carriage and aides-de-camp were at the wharf to receive him. In that carriage he was driven to gaol, whence he was banished no one knows whither; and he has never since been heard of. Such is the usual fate of Dutch prisoners of state! Diepo Nogoro deserved a better fate. He was a gallant soldier, and fought bravely. Poor fellow! how his countenance fell--as well it might--when he saw where the carriage drew up! He stopped short on putting his foot on the pavement, evidently unwilling to enter the gloomy-looking pile; cast an eager glance around; and, seeing there was no chance of escape, walked in. Several gentlemen followed, before the authorities had the door closed, and saw the fallen chief, with his _two wives_, consigned to two miserable-looking rooms. Java has been quite tranquil ever since. The society of Batavia, at the time I am referring to, was both choice and gay; and the influence of my good friends threw me at once into the midst of it. The Dutch and English inhabitants did not then (nor do they now) mix together so much as would, in my opinion, have been agreeable and mutually advantageous. A certain jealousy kept the two parties too much apart. Nevertheless, I have been present at many delightful parties in Dutch families, the pleasures of which were not a little heightened by the presence of some ten or a dozen charming Dutch girls. Charming and beautiful they certainly are while young; but, ere they reach thirty, a marvellous change comes over their appearance: the fair-haired, blue-eyed, laughing romp of eighteen has, in that short period of ten or twelve years, become transformed into a stout and rather elderly-looking matron, as unlike an English woman of the same age as one can well fancy. When I look back on those gay and pleasant parties, and think how few of the individuals who composed them are now alive, the reflection makes me sad. What a different class its English inhabitants of the present day are from those of 1823-1826! I may be prejudiced in favour of the former state of society; but, in giving the preference to it, I shall be borne out by any of the few survivers who knew Batavia at both periods. From 1823 to 1835, the Governor's parties were thronged with our countrymen and countrywomen. Let any one enter His Excellency's ball-room now-a-days, and he will not meet with more than one or two English of the old school, and not one of the new. The causes of this change are obvious: it arises from the different class of people that now come out from Liverpool, Manchester, and Glasgow, compared with the British merchant of former times, and from the total deficiency of the most common civility, on the part of our countrymen, towards the many highly respectable, agreeable, and intelligent Dutch families that form the society of the place. It is with pain I write this; but, as a citizen of the world, who has seen a good deal of life, in recording my sentiments on these matters, I cannot avoid telling the plain truth as it struck me from personal observation. The vicinity of Batavia affords the most beautiful drives; and hundreds of vehicles, from the handsome carriage and four of the Member of Council to the humble buggy of the merchant's clerk, may be seen every evening, from five till half-past six, that being the coolest and best time for taking out-of-door exercise. The roads are excellent, lined on both sides with trees, which keep them shaded and cool nearly all day. The scene is altogether gay, and affords a gratifying indication of the wealth and importance of this fine colony. By seven o'clock, the drives are deserted; and, immediately afterwards, lights may be seen glittering in every dwelling in the neighbourhood, while, in every second or third house, the passer-by may observe parties of pleasure assembling for the evening. The Dutch have adopted the social plan of exchanging friendly visits in the evening, avoiding our more formal ones of the morning. At these chance evening parties (if I may so term them), the company are entertained with music and cards, and other diversions; and should the visiter be too old to join the young folks in their gayety, he will find one or two of his own standing snugly seated in the far corner of the verandah, where he is sure to be supplied with a good cigar and the very best wine. These groupes are perfect pictures of comfort and content. With all his good qualities, however, "John Dutchman" is jealous of "John Bull," and cannot help shewing it, particularly in commercial matters. How short-sighted his policy is, in this point of view, it would be no difficult task to prove. The pleasantest months of the year, in Batavia, are, June, July, and August, when the sun is to the northward. I have frequently found a blanket necessary at this season: indeed, the nights, throughout Java, are generally sufficiently cool to allow the European to enjoy a refreshing sleep, after which he will find no difficulty in getting through a hot day. The public health is generally very good from May till September inclusive. In April and October, strangers, particularly the recently arrived European, are apt to suffer from colds and fever, caused, in a great measure, by the breaking-up of the monsoon, which takes place in those months. In November or December, the north-west monsoon brings on the rains, which certainly then come down in torrents, and render the city of Batavia a perfect charnel-house for those poor Natives and Chinese who are unfortunately compelled to remain in it. I have seen it entirely flooded with water, to the depth of four or five feet in some parts. The malaria occasioned by the deposit of slimy mud left all over the town by the water, on its retiring, causes sad havoc among the poorer Chinese and Malays, who reside in the lowest parts of the town, and inhabit wretched hovels. These floods seldom annoy the inhabitants of the suburbs; yet I well remember, in the season of 1828, a friend of mine lay down on a sofa and went to sleep, about eight o'clock in the evening: at three next morning, he awoke with the water just reaching his couch, much to his surprise and no small alarm, till, on becoming collected, he bethought him of the cause. The neighbouring river had risen, from mountain rains, whilst he was asleep, and had completely flooded his house, to the depth of eighteen inches, together with the garden and neighbourhood. I know no market, east of the Cape of Good Hope, better supplied with fruit than that of Batavia. Among the choicest, I would name the mangistan, the durian, and the pumaloe or shaddock. The first is unknown beyond eight degrees from the Equator, and is, perhaps, the best fruit with which nature has blessed the tropical regions. It is about the size of an orange, its rind of a dark purple, and its pulp divided into parts like the contents of an orange, as white as driven snow. Its taste I cannot attempt to describe, knowing nothing to which I can compare it. The best quality of the mangistan is its perfect harmlessness. The patient suffering from fever, liver complaint, consumption, or any of the numerous ills that flesh is heir to, may, with perfect impunity, cool his parched tongue with a dozen of this delightful fruit; and no one who has not been laid on a sick bed within the tropics, can appreciate this blessing. The rind, when dried, and made into tea, is an excellent tonic, and is often successfully used in cases of dysentery, by Native as well as European practitioners. The durian is a favourite fruit with most people who can overcome its smell, which certainly is no very easy matter. Natives of all classes are passionately fond of this fruit, and almost subsist on it when in plenty. Strange to say, goats, sheep, poultry, and even the royal tiger, eagerly devour the durian, of which I confess myself, notwithstanding the aforesaid smell, an admirer, in common with many of my countrymen. Its size is that of a cocoa-nut, husk and all; its rind is very thick, of a pale green colour, and covered with strong sharp thorns; its interior is divided into compartments, each of which contains three or four seeds about the size of a pullet's egg; these seeds are covered, to the thickness of a quarter of an inch, with a pale yellow pulp, which is the part eaten. The taste resembles, according to the description of those who like the fruit, that of a very rich custard, and, according to those who have never succeeded in overcoming their antipathy to the smell, that of a mixture of decayed eggs and garlic. This fruit cannot be eaten in large quantities with impunity by Europeans, being of a very heating nature. With me it never agreed; nor do I remember a single instance of its agreeing with my countrymen, when eaten freely. Half a one is as much as most people can manage at a time. The durian seeds, when roasted, make an excellent substitute for chestnuts. The shaddock of Java is a magnificent fruit, and surpasses those of any other country with which I am acquainted. In addition to these three prime fruits of Java, I may mention the pine-apple, soursop, rambutan, rose-apple, guava, dookoo, and sixty different kinds of plantain and banana. These, and many others, thrive and abound on this favoured island. With poultry, butchers' meat, fish, and vegetables, Batavia and Java generally are abundantly supplied; while the residents on its mountains may enjoy strawberries and cream in perfection. CHAPTER II. JAVA. SAMARANG--A TIGER FIGHT--JAVA PONEYS--EXCURSION TO SOLO--WILD SPORTS--DJOCKDJOCARTA--REMAINS OF THE ANCIENT PALACE--IMPERIAL ELEPHANTS--EXPERIMENT IN INDIGO-PLANTING--JAVANESE EXECUTION--A PET BOA--ALLIGATORS--FOREST LABOUR--SLAVERY IN JAVA--OPIUM-SMOKING--TEA--THE UPAS-TREE. Between three and four hundred miles eastward of Batavia, on the north coast of Java, is the small, neat, old-fashioned town of Samarang, which, when I visited it in 1824, was the residence of several English merchants: now, there is only a single one remaining, so completely has monopoly destroyed mercantile enterprise! The harbour is a safe one in the south-east monsoon, but the reverse when the north-west winds prevail. It is, however, constantly visited by European shipping, which take cargoes of coffee, sugar, rice, &c. &c., to all parts of Europe, Australia, Singapore, and China. The circumstance at this distance of time most clear and distinct in my memory, in connection with my first visit to Samarang, is a tiger-fight, which I will attempt to describe. The exhibition took place on an extensive plain near the town, just after daybreak. A square of men, armed with the native spear, was formed three deep, and one hundred yards across. Inside this square was placed a box resembling in shape a coffin, but much larger, containing a royal tiger fresh from his native forests, which had been brought to town the day previously for this express purpose. Imagine every thing ready, the square formed, the box in its centre, and a silent multitude looking on,--some perched on trees, some on the coach-boxes of the numerous carriages, others on horseback, and thousands on foot; whilst the native chief of the district, with his friends, and the European officials of the place, occupied a gay pavilion, placed in an advantageous situation for viewing the coming strife. A native Javan, in full dress, is now seen advancing into the square, followed by two coolies or porters, one carrying a bundle of straw, the other a lighted torch. The straw is thrown over the box, and the torch-bearer stands ready to set fire to it at the end where the tiger's head is, the box being too narrow to permit his turning round in it. The leading native then lifts a sliding door at the other extremity of the box, carefully covering the opening thus made with mats, to prevent the light from penetrating, and inducing his royal highness to back out too soon. This operation completed, the straw is set on fire. The native and his two coolies now retire slowly, keeping time to Javanese music as they make their way outside the square. By this time, the fire has got fair hold of the box, filling it with smoke, and the tiger begins his retreat, his berth becoming rather warm. Presently, his hind quarters appear issuing through the sliding doorway, its covering of mat readily yielding to the pressure: by degrees, his hind feet gain firm footing outside, and his whole body is soon displayed. On appearing, he seemed rather confused for a few seconds, and, laying himself quietly down, looked all round upon his foes, and gave a roar that made the welkin ring, and my young heart quake a little. He then rose, deliberately shook himself, turned towards the rising sun, set off first at a walk, then at a trot, which he gradually increased to a smart canter, till within a few yards of the points of the spears pointed at him; he then came to the charge, and made a spring that surprised me, and, I fancy, every one present. I am afraid to say how high he leaped, but he was on the _descent_ before a single spear touched him. This leap was evidently made with the intention of getting clear over the heads of the men and their spears too; and he most certainly would have accomplished it, had he not leaped too soon, and fallen within the square, the height of the spring being quite sufficient for the purpose. As it was, when on the descent, the spears of the six men nearest him being pointed at his breast, one of them inflicted a frightful wound. On reaching the ground, the noble beast struggled hard for his liberty; but, finding his efforts of no avail, he ultimately started off at full gallop to the opposite side of the square, where he renewed his exertions, though with less vigour than that displayed on his first attempt, and with no better success. He then galloped twice round the square, just at the point of the spears. Not a man advanced to touch him, it being the rule, that the tiger must come within the range of the spears before they can be used. He was ultimately killed while making a third attempt to escape; and thus ended the sport. His first charge was very brilliant and exciting; his second much less so; his third and last was very feeble. Immediately after the tiger's death, the same ceremonies were gone through with a leopard, who took the spear-men rather by surprise, and, instead of trying to leap over their heads, darted in under their spears, got among their feet, and effected his retreat, to the no small consternation of the surrounding multitude, who soon scattered in all directions. He was, however, pursued by the men he had baffled, and was killed under a bridge in the immediate neighbourhood. Tigers are frequently pitted by the native chiefs of Java against buffaloes, but I never was fortunate enough to witness one of those conflicts. The buffalo is generally the conqueror, and is sure to be so, if he succeeds in getting one fair butt at his adversary, whom he tosses in the air, and butts again on his fall. Occasionally, the tiger declines the combat altogether, when his tormentors rouse him by the application of lighted torches to the tenderest parts of his body: but even this extreme measure has been known to fail; in which case the terrified animal is withdrawn, and another is put forward in his place. These are cruel pastimes, though they may be thought not more so than dog-fighting and cock-fighting, which were formerly so much practised in Britain; and not so barbarous as a pugilistic combat between two hired brutes called prize-fighters. The society of Samarang is neither so extensive nor so attractive as that of Batavia: it is, however, a pleasant and healthy place, notwithstanding its proximity to an extensive swamp. Its safeguard against the malaria we might naturally look for in this situation, is the tide, which flows over the marsh twice a day, and keeps it sweet. During the Java war, a small volunteer corps of cavalry was formed here, the members of which, in their zeal, offered their services to join a party who were proceeding to Damak, (a small village about forty miles off,) to put down a body of armed rebels. Poor fellows! they went out in high spirits, but trusted too much to their unbroken horses, which took fright, and threw them into inextricable confusion on hearing the first volley. The sad consequences of this rash though gallant day's work, were, the death of seven young English gentlemen, all highly respected, and sincerely regretted by their countrymen. They were all personal friends of my own. I well remember the gloom which the intelligence cast over the society at Batavia. In and about Samarang may be collected any number of the beautiful Java poneys, animals unsurpassed for symmetry in any part of the world.[3] The work they perform is beyond belief. Ten miles an hour is the common rate of travelling post: four of them are generally used for this purpose, and the stages are from seven to nine miles, according to the nature of the country. When within half-a-mile of the first house where relays are kept, the native coachman cracks his long, unwieldy whip, which can be heard at a great distance. At this signal, the grooms harness the four poneys whose turn for work it is; and, by the time your carriage halts under the shed that crosses the road at every post-house, the fresh poneys are to be seen coming out of the stable, all ready for the next stage. Your attention is then attracted by a man with a stout bamboo, some eight feet long, in his hand, full of water, which he pours over the naves of the wheels, to cool them. By this time, the tired poneys are unhooked, the fresh ones put-to, and away rattles the carriage again with its delighted passengers. I know nothing more exciting and agreeable than a ramble amongst the mountains of this favoured isle, under the direction of the post establishment. [Footnote 3: The Java poney in Her Majesty's stable at Windsor, is certainly no fair specimen, being the worst-favoured brute under the sun.] From Samarang, early in 1824, I posted with a friend to Solo and Djockdjocarta, the ancient seats of the Emperors and Sultans of this part of Java. They are now shorn of their splendour; but they still possess novelty enough to attract a stranger. On our route, we visited some beautiful coffee-plantations, and passed through the pretty and romantic-looking village of Salatiga.[4] We had a splendid view of the far-famed _Gunung Marapi_, or fire-mountain; and, on every side, we saw evidence of the thriving condition of this magnificent part of Java. At Solo, I was so fortunate as to be present at the then Emperor's marriage; a scene which brought painfully to mind the fallen state of the chiefs of this neighbourhood, by its being superintended by the Dutch Resident at the Court. There were three days' feasting, royal salutes from the imperial guard, Javanese music, and dancing girls in great numbers; but I found the whole affair very fatiguing. Fallen as was the Emperor's state at that time, it subsequently became much more reduced, in consequence of his having been found guilty of being secretly concerned in the late war or rebellion. He has long since followed his friend and coadjutor, Diepo Nogoro. A tool of the Dutch Government now reigns in his stead, who cannot even leave his house for twenty-four hours without permission from the Resident at his Court. [Footnote 4: A name derived from the Malay words, _sallah_, "a fault or crime," and _tiga_, the numeral "three"; consequently meaning the "third fault." How this pretty spot came by such a name, I never heard.] One day, I accompanied a party of friends to see the Emperor's tigers, a number of which animals he generally had ready for exhibitions similar to those already described. We found one very noble fellow confined in a house some fifteen feet square, formed of the trunks of cocoa-nut trees, placed about five inches apart. On looking through, we saw the tiger in the position usually chosen by a dog when he wants to warm his face at the fire. Hearing our approach, he stared us steadily in the face for about a minute, and then made a spring at us, so suddenly that he came with his whole force against the bars, before we had time to move a step. The shock shook the building, as well as our nerves, not a little, though we were of course scatheless. At Solo, I first tasted the Javanese "Findhorn haddock," which is, in fact, a trout caught in the beautiful Solo river. After being cleaned, it is wrapped up in a bundle of rice-straw, which is forthwith set on fire; and as soon as the straw is consumed, the fish is ready for eating, and really resembles in flavour its celebrated name-sake. In the neighbourhood of Solo, a bold sportsman may find game to his liking, and willing natives to guide him in his search after tigers, wild hogs, the huge boa, deer, snipe, and quail. In pursuit of the last, too many a fever is caught, through the imprudence of young men in staying out too late in the day, and in keeping on their wet and soiled clothes and shoes during their ride or drive home. A little attention to such apparent trifles would save many a valuable life. Deer and wild-hog are generally pursued and shot by a party armed with rifles, who post themselves along one side of a jungle, while a party of natives advance from the opposite, driving the game before them with long poles and shouting. Great care must be taken by the sportsman, on these occasions, not to fire too soon: if he fires into the jungle, he runs the risk of shooting one of the bush-beaters; if to the right or left, he may plant his bullet in the breast of one of his companions. He must reserve his fire till the game is fairly out of the bush, and in rear of the line of rifles, when he may turn round and deliver his charge. I recollect a fatal accident happening near Salatiga, through a gentleman's deviating from the strict rule, never to change your position when once placed by the leading sportsman. A party were out after hogs by moonlight, when one gentleman, thinking he heard a noise as of an approaching porker on his left, very imprudently got on his hands and knees to crawl round in the hope of getting the first shot. The sportsman stationed next to him got a glimpse of him on the path, and mistaking him in the uncertain light for a hog or other wild animal, fired his rifle without a moment's hesitation, and mortally wounded his unfortunate friend, who lived just long enough to acknowledge his error, and to beg that no blame might be attached to the individual who caused his death. Poor fellow! he paid dearly for his imprudence. Solo is protected by a small fort, which is always garrisoned by European troops, the Government not choosing to trust native soldiers in that part of the country. For this, no one can blame the Dutch; for the chiefs require looking after, and are apt to give trouble. While the Island was held by the British Government, a mutiny broke out at Solo among the Bengal sepoys: on its suppression, it was found they had been tampered with by these chiefs, and that numbers had been gained over to their cause. Nothing can exceed the hospitality of the Dutch inhabitants of this part of Java: their houses are always open to the stranger, of whom they think too much cannot be made. The Resident's establishment is a splendid one, and to his liberality and hospitality I can testify from personal experience. Indeed, our countrymen, in many parts that I could name, might, with great advantage to themselves and to travellers in their districts, take lessons from their Dutch brethren in office. From Solo, I went to Djockdjocarta, distant forty miles, in a gig. A kind friend having placed relays of horses on the road for me, I performed the journey with perfect ease, without the aid of a whip, in four hours. The poney I had the last stage, was the best little animal in harness I ever sat behind: he literally flew along the road. At one point, I came to a bridge, which, as I could see at some distance, had been broken, so as to render it impassable. While meditating how I was to get across the river, not knowing there was a ford in the neighbourhood, my poney, which had come the road in the morning to meet me, settled the question, by suddenly darting off, through a gap in the hedge at the road-side, down the river bank, at the top of his speed, and, before I could collect my scattered senses, was across the stream and up the opposite bank, to my no small surprise and pleasure. He was a noble little animal, of a mouse colour; and was originally purchased from a native dealer for twenty-eight guilders (about 2l. 6s. 8d.). At Djockdjocarta are to be seen many ancient residences of the Javanese Chiefs; amongst others, the celebrated _Cratan_ or palace, the taking of which, in 1812, cost General Gillespie a hard struggle. It is surrounded with a high wall, which encloses an area of exactly one square mile: outside the wall runs a deep, broad ditch. The place could offer but a feeble resistance against artillery, in which arm Gillespie was deficient when he attacked and took it. Another curious building is that in which the Sultans, in days of yore, used to keep their ladies: it is composed entirely of long narrow passages, with numerous small rooms on each side; each of which, in the days of their master's glory, was the residence, according to tradition, of a beautiful favourite. To prevent the escape of the ladies, or the intrusion of any gallants, the whole pile is surrounded with a canal, which used to be filled with alligators: the only entrance was by a subterranean passage beneath this canal, and which ran under it for its whole length. When I visited the place in 1824, the canal, passage, &c. were all in good order, though the latter was getting damp from neglect;--a proof that the masons and plasterers of Java, in old times, must have been very superior workmen. Djockdjocarta was the birth-place of Diepo Nogoro, and the scene of his earliest warlike movements against the Dutch. So unexpected and sudden was his first attack, that he caught the garrison napping, and had them within his grasp before they knew he was in the field. In the _Cratan_, the Sultan had, in 1824, three noble elephants, each kept under a separate shed. I went, with three other visitors, to see those animals; and we passed sometime amusing ourselves by giving them fruit and other dainties. We did not remark, however, that one of our friends had been for sometime teasing one of them, by offering him a plantain, and constantly withdrawing it just as the poor animal was laying hold of it with his trunk. We had not gone twenty yards from the spot, when the elephant's keeper approached, and gave him a couple of cocoa-nuts, (minus the husk, but with the shells,)--part of his daily food, I presume. The elephant took one of these, and, with a wicked look at the gentleman who had been teasing him, threw the nut at him with great force. Fortunately he missed his aim. The nut struck a post within six inches of the teaser's head, and was literally smashed: had it struck where doubtless it was meant to do, it would certainly have proved as fatal as an eighteen-pound shot. So much for teasing elephants. We beat a speedy retreat, not choosing to risk a second shot. Djockdjocarta can hardly be called a town; yet it is more than a village. The houses of the European inhabitants are much scattered, and many of them occupy very pretty situations. The climate is delicious; and exercise on horseback may be taken with impunity from six to nine A. M., and from three to seven P. M. It is not uncommon to see Europeans riding about during the intervening hours; but this is generally avoided by old residents. A successful attempt was made here, by a countryman of mine, in 1823, to grow indigo. The quantity produced was limited, but the quality was excellent; and, but for some vexatious regulations of the Government regarding the residence of foreigners in this part of Java, which drove the spirited individual alluded to from the neighbourhood, I have no doubt he would speedily have realized a handsome fortune. Since that period, indigo-planting has been carried on in various parts of Java to a large extent. The quantity produced annually is now about one million and a half of pounds; and the quality is such as to command the first prices in the continental markets. Indeed, the Bengal planters are becoming quite jealous of those of Java. Shortly before my arrival at Djockdjocarta, a daring house-robbery, by a band of Javanese, took place in the neighbourhood. Six of the robbers were afterwards caught, tried, convicted, condemned, and executed _à la Javan_ on the scene of their crime: they were tied hands and feet to separate stakes, and _krissed_ by a native executioner, who performed his dreadful office so scientifically that his victims died without a groan. The cool indifference with which five of the unfortunates witnessed the execution of the first sufferer, and successively received the _kriss_ in their own bosoms, was quite surprising, and shewed with what stoical composure the Mohammedan fatalist can meet a violent death. The forests of Java are inhabited by the rhinoceros, tiger, black tiger, leopard, tiger-cat, boa-constrictor, and a variety of animals of milder natures. The elephant is not found in its wild state in these woods, though numerous in those of the neighbouring island. I am not aware of any other animal that may be called dangerous to man in these unrivalled forests; nor is there much to be apprehended from occasionally coming in contact with either of those above-named, though accidents happen now and then. I have known a carriage and four attacked on the main road between Batavia and Samarang, by a tiger, and one of the poneys killed by the fierce onset. This, however, is a rare occurrence, and can happen only when the tiger is hard pressed for food; which is seldom the case in the woods of Java, overrun as they are with deer, wild-hog, and other royal game. The boa is harmless to man, unless his path is crossed, when a speedy retreat is advisable. A friend of mine in Samarang once kept one of these monsters as a pet, and used to let him crawl all over the garden: it measured exactly nineteen feet. It was regularly fed twice a month, viz. on the 1st and the 15th. On the first day of the month, a moderate-sized goat was put into his house. The poor animal would scream, and exhibit every symptom of extreme terror, but was not kept long in suspense; for the snake, after eyeing his victim keenly, would spring on it with the rapidity of thought, coil three turns round the body, and in an instant every bone in the goat's skin was broken. The next process was, to stretch the carcass to as great a length as he could before uncoiling himself; then to lick it all over; and he commenced his feast by succeeding, after some severe exertion, in getting the goat's head within his mouth. In the course of twenty minutes, the whole animal was swallowed: the snake would then lie down, and remain perfectly dormant for three or four days. His lunch (as I may call it) on the fifteenth of the month, used to consist of a duck. This snake was given, in 1815, to Lord Amherst, on his return from China, and reached the Cape in safety: there it was over-fed to gratify the curious visitors, and died in consequence before the ship reached St. Helena. While on the subject of wild animals, I may mention a leopard that was kept by an English officer in Samarang, during our occupation of the Dutch colonies. This animal had its liberty, and used to run all over the house after its master. One morning, after breakfast, the officer was sitting smoking his hookah, with a book in his right-hand, and the hookah-snake in his left, when he felt a slight pain in the left hand, and, on attempting to raise it, was checked by a low angry growl from his pet leopard: on looking down, he saw the animal had been licking the back of his hand, and had by degrees drawn a little blood. The leopard would not suffer the removal of the hand, but continued licking it with great apparent relish, which did not much please his master; who, with great presence of mind, without attempting again to disturb the pet in his proceeding, called to his servant to bring him a pistol, with which he shot the animal dead on the spot. Such pets as snakes nineteen feet long and full-grown leopards are not to be trifled with. The largest snake I ever saw was twenty-five feet long, and eight inches in diameter. I have _heard_ of sixty-feet snakes, but cannot vouch for the truth of the tale. In my enumeration of animals dangerous to man, I omitted the alligator, which infests every river and muddy creek in Java, and grows to a very large size. At the mouth of the Batavia river, they are very numerous and dangerous, particularly to Europeans. It strikes one as extraordinary, to see the copper-coloured natives bathing in the river within view of a large alligator: they never seem to give the animal a thought, or to anticipate injury from his proximity. Yet, were a European to enter the water by the side of the natives, his minutes in this world would be few. I recollect an instance that occurred on the occasion of a party of troops embarking at Batavia for the eastward, during the Java war. The men had all gone off, with the exception of three sergeants, who were to follow in the ship's jolly-boat, which was waiting for them at the wharf: two of them stepped into the boat; but the third, in following, missed his footing, and fell with his leg in the water, and his body over the gunwale of the boat. In less than an instant, an alligator darted from under the wharf, and seized the unfortunate man by the leg, while his companions in the boat laid hold of his shoulders. The poor fellow called out to his friends, "Pull; hold on; don't let go"; but their utmost exertions were unavailing. The alligator proved the strongest, and carried off his prize. The scene was described to me by a bystander, who said, he could trace the monster's course all the way down the river with his victim in his immense mouth. The inhabitants of Java are, generally speaking, a quiet, tractable race, but rather lazy withal. The Dutch Government could never have made the Island produce half the quantity it now yields of either sugar, coffee, or rice, without a little wholesome coercion;--coercion that seemed somewhat tyrannical at first, but which has ultimately pleased all parties concerned, and done wonders for Java. If my memory serves me, it was in the time of Governor Vandenborch that this system of coercion commenced. The inhabitants of the villages, in various parts of the Island, were compelled by an armed force, when milder means had failed, to turn out at day-light, and labour in the fields planted either by Government itself or by Government contractors, which naturally caused a great deal of discontent; but, as the labourers were regularly paid in cash for their day's work every evening, they very soon became reconciled to a system that not only provided amply for their families, but gave them the means of indulging in their favourite pastime, gambling. To this vice, all classes are passionately addicted; and nothing is more common than to see a gang of coolies sit down in the middle of the road, and gamble for hours on the few pieces they may have just earned for having carried a heavy burthen a couple of miles. The inhabitants of the districts in which the coercion I speak of has been put in force, are now better satisfied with their rulers than ever they were before. The extent to which the growth of coffee and sugar has been carried, has rather checked that of rice, which has been twenty-five per cent. dearer the last fifteen years, than during the preceding twenty: it is, however, still cheap enough as an article of food, though the price is too high to compete, in the China or Singapore markets, with the produce of Lombok, Bally, Siam, or Cochin China.[5] [Footnote 5: By the last overland papers from Singapore (Sept. 1845), I observe, the Dutch Government has been importing rice from Pondicherry to Java;--a proceeding quite unprecedented in my time, and to be accounted for only by the extent to which the cultivation of sugar, indigo, and coffee is carried, in order to satisfy the constant demands on the colonies of the Netherlands for money. To this cause may be added, however, the occurrence of one or two dry seasons;--a rare phenomenon within the tropics, and attributable, probably, in some degree, to the vast extent of country recently cleared of forest and jungle to make way for the plough. No policy can be so blind as that which compels the poor Javanese to eat imported rice, while living in a country capable of yielding food for all Europe.] Slavery still exists in Java, and every Dutch family has its domestic slaves. The law forbids the importation of fresh ones, and provides for the good treatment of those now in bondage. It also prohibits the slave-owner from separating a family; so that the wife and husband cannot be parted from each other, or from their children, except in the case of a crime having been committed by a member of the family. In that case, the guilty party is, on application to the chief magistrate, put up to auction, and sold to the highest bidder. This, however, is a rare occurrence, though I have witnessed such sales. The slaves, knowing well the consequence of an act of dishonesty, are cautious how they venture to trespass on the rights of _meum_ and _tuum_. I may safely say, I have never, in all my wanderings, seen a race of people better treated than the slaves of Java: they are well fed and well clothed; and adults of both sexes receive a monthly allowance of two guilders (3s. 4d.) under the name of pocket-money. This sum may seem small; but, when we take into consideration, that a free man can be hired for eight guilders per month in Batavia, and for six in the country, on which sum he has to feed and clothe himself and his wife and children, it will be sufficiently evident that the slave's allowance is ample, his master feeding and clothing him and his family. I object _in toto_ to slavery in any form; but I confess I do not think the slaves of Java would be benefitted, were their liberty given them to-morrow. The natives of Java are by no means free from that prevalent Eastern vice, or luxury, opium-smoking; and the Dutch Government derives an immense revenue from the article. I have, in various parts of the Eastern world, seen the evil effects of opium-smoking; but am decidedly of opinion, that those arising from gin-drinking in England, and from whisky-drinking in Ireland and Scotland, far exceed them. Let any unprejudiced European walk through the native towns of Java, Singapore, or China, and see if he can find a single drunken native. What he will meet with are, numbers of drunken English, Scotch, and Irish seamen, literally rolling in the gutters, intoxicated, not from opium, but from rum and other spirits sent all the way from England for the purpose of enabling her worthy sons to exhibit themselves to Chinese and other nations in this disgraceful light. That spirit-drinking at home is no excuse for opium-smoking abroad, I admit; but I would recommend the well-intentioned persons who have of late been raising such an outcry on the subject of opium, to begin at home, and attempt to reform their own countrymen: they may then come to China with a clear conscience, and preach reform to the poor opium-smoker. Among other improvements in Java, its rulers have lately turned their attention to the cultivation of tea, and with considerable success so far as regards the quality, I have no means of ascertaining the quantity of tea at present produced yearly; but have no doubt it will, before long, become an important article of export from the Island. Before quitting Java, I must say a word about the far-famed upas-tree. Such a tree certainly exists on the island; but the tales that are told of its poisoning the air for hundreds of yards round, so that birds dare not approach it, that vegetation is destroyed beneath its branches, and that man cannot come near it with impunity, are perfectly ridiculous. To prove their absurdity, a friend of mine climbed up a upas-tree, and passed two hours in its branches, where he took his lunch and smoked a cigar. The tree, however, does contain poison, and the natives extract the sap, with which they rub their spear and _kriss_ blades: wounds inflicted with blades thus anointed, are mortal. Such I believe to be the origin of the many fabulous stories that have passed from hand to hand, and from generation to generation, about the upas-tree of Java. CHAPTER III. SINGAPORE. ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION OF SINGAPORE--CULTIVATION OF THE NUTMEG AND COCOA-NUT--ROADS AND SCENERY-- MOTLEY POPULATION--EUROPEAN RESIDENTS--CHINESE EMIGRANTS--KLINGS--SAMPAN-MEN--PLACES OF WORSHIP--TIGERS. In the month of May 1824, I returned from my trip to the eastward, and was kept tightly at work in Batavia, till fate sent me wandering in July 1826. Singapore was the first place I visited; and to it, therefore, I must devote the next few pages of these retrospective lucubrations. Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles deserved a great deal of credit and praise from the mercantile community of Britain, for having established this emporium of trade. A more lovely or better situation could not have been chosen; and its surprising prosperity has more than realized its founder's expectations, sanguine as they were. Since 1826, I have resided some considerable time in Singapore; have witnessed its progress towards its present nourishing condition; and am sufficiently well acquainted with its trade and its inhabitants to enable me to speak confidently respecting them. The Island itself, though only seventy-six miles from the Equator, enjoys a delightful climate, and is remarkable for salubrity. Its proximity to the Line secures frequent refreshing showers, and its foliage is in consequence always in the full bloom of summer. During an acquaintance with it of eighteen years, I have never known a drought of more than three weeks' duration. Its soil, with little tillage, produces the nutmeg, the clove, coffee, the cocoa-nut, the sugar-cane, the pepper-vine, gambia or terra japonica, and all the fruits common to Malacca and Java. The East-India Company's regulations regarding land checked, for a few years, the spirit of the agriculturist; but, within the last ten years, a few spirited and praiseworthy individuals have laid out considerable sums of money in nutmeg, coffee, sugar, and cocoa-nut plantations. It is a somewhat doubtful point, in my opinion, whether sugar or coffee plantations on this island will ever pay; but, of the nutmeg and cocoa-nut groves, I have the best opinion, and think their proprietors have a very fair chance of ultimately being well paid for their outlay. Of the nutmeg gardens, that of Dr. Oxley's is by far the finest on the island. This gentleman has spared neither trouble nor expense in bringing his plants forward, and has now five thousand of the very finest nutmeg-trees I ever saw. Nothing can be finer than their beautiful position, tasteful outlay, and luxuriant foliage. It is now eighteen months since I last saw those trees: they were then just coming into bearing; and they are now, I hope, paying their spirited proprietor for his monthly outlay at all events, though it may be a few years yet before they return him interest for his money, and adequate remuneration for his trouble. A plantation of ten or fifteen thousand cocoa-nut trees is a more valuable property than many people imagine. As soon as they come into bearing, which they do in five years from seed, they are worth three-quarters of a dollar each per annum net profit, after paying the labourers: thus, fifteen thousand of them will yield their proprietor 10,250 dollars per annum, (_i. e._ at the moderate calculation of 4s. 2d. to the dollar, 2135l. 8s. 4d. sterling,) a sum that would cover all the outlay incurred during the five nonproductive years, and be a secure revenue to the owner of the estate for ever, provided that he is careful in replacing the old trees, as fast as they die, with new plants. My reasons for doubting the success of coffee-plantations in Singapore are, that there is not sufficient depth of soil for the tree, and that, if there were, labour is too high to enable the planters to compete with those of Java. As regards sugar, Singapore being a sugar-importing colony, its own produce pays, on being imported into England, 8s. per hundred-weight more duty than the produce of non-importing British colonies.[6] The high price of labour is also against the sugar-planter. An able-bodied labourer costs, in Singapore, four dollars per month, while the same man can be had in the mountains of Java for three guilders in money, and the value of two in rice. Thus, the Singapore planter pays more than double the rate of wages for his labour; and, as his lands are not so rich as his neighbour's, he stands, I fear, but a poor chance in the competition with him. [Footnote 6: Since my arrival in England, an Act has been passed, removing, in some measure, this bar to the prosperity of the Singapore sugar-planter;--I allude to the recent reduction in the duty on all sugars, excepting slave-grown. The Singaporeans are naturally anxious to be allowed to send their sugars to the English market on the same terms as their brethren of Prince of Wales' Island have lately been permitted to do. This they can hardly expect, however, while they continue to be such large importers of Siam and other foreign sugars as they are and always have been. To require them to give up this foreign trade, would do them far more injury than the granting of their planters' petition would benefit them.] To the eastward of the town of Singapore, extends a considerable plain, on which the sugar and cocoa-nut plantations stand. To the westward and inland of the town, the country consists almost entirely of hill and dale; and its aspect is very striking and picturesque. On many of these miniature (for they are but miniature) hills, stand pretty _bungalows_, surrounded with nutmeg and fruit trees: they are delightful residences, and have the very great advantage of cool nights, when the tired planter or merchant can enjoy a sound sleep after the fatigues of a hot day. A great deal has been done for Singapore by gangs of convicts from Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, who, under an experienced and able superintendent, have cut and made excellent roads, that now extend east, west, north, and south, for several miles. Cutting these roads has drained, and thereby rendered available, large tracts of land that were recently quite valueless: they also add much to the enjoyment of the Singaporean, by enabling him to extend his ride or drive of an evening. The scenery along the different roads consists of hills and dales, covered with the richest and most luxuriant foliage, with here and there a clearing, where some industrious China-man has squatted, in defiance of tigers and East-India Company's regulations. Now that land can be got on better terms than formerly, these clearings are being purchased by Europeans of the squatter,--whose prior right the Government always protects to the extent of a fair remuneration for his labour,--and are being turned into gardens or plantations. This drives back the squatter, who, like his brethren all over the world, is ever willing to sell and move further inland; thus materially increasing the extent of cleared land from year to year. The primeval jungles of Singapore are so thickly timbered and covered with underwood and large, tough creepers, that the man who undertakes to clear them has before him an Herculean task. According to the best information I could obtain, it requires a cash outlay of sixty dollars to clear a single acre; and even that large sum does not thoroughly stump it (_i. e._ clear off all the large roots and stumps of the larger trees) for the planting of coffee, nutmegs, or pepper. For these, however, this is less necessary, as the plants are placed at a considerable distance from each other: for sugar, it is very desirable to have every stump taken out. Swamps abound on the island: fortunately, they are all salt-water swamps, and flooded daily by the tide, which keeps them sweet, so that no one suffers from residing in their neighbourhood. A full description of the inhabitants of Singapore would fill a volume, they are of so many countries. Here may be seen, besides Europeans of different nations, and Americans, the Jew, the Armenian, the Persian, the Parsee, the Arab, the Bengalee, the Malabaree, the China-man, the Malay, the Javanese, the Siamese, the Cochin Chinese, with the native of Borneo, of Macassar, and of every island of the Eastern Archipelago; all in the costumes of their respective countries, and forming motley groupes that can nowhere be surpassed. With the exception of the Europeans, Americans, and Armenians, each class occupies a distinct quarter of the town, mixing but little with the rest, except in business hours, when one and all may be seen in eager converse on the all-important subject of money-making. Europeans generally live in garden-houses in the suburbs. The favourite situation is along the beach to the eastward of the town, from which the merchant has a full view of the harbour, as well as of both its entrances, and can see every vessel that comes or goes. Pleasant, however, as is this part of the suburbs, it is gradually being deserted for country situations, where the hot winds of July, August, and September are not so much felt, and where the nights are cooler than on the sea-shore. The houses generally occupied by these gentlemen, are large and roomy, with verandahs in front and rear, enclosed with Venetian blinds: these are kept shut from ten A. M. till four P. M., which darkens the house so much that a visiter can with difficulty see his host or hostess for two or three minutes after entering a room, till the pupils of his eyes, contracted by the glare on the road, expand, and enable him to distinguish objects. This custom keeps the house wonderfully cool, and is universally adopted by newcomers after the first few months of their residence. The Chinese occupy the next best part of the town, and many of them have built substantial and commodious houses. A portion of this class are the descendants of Chinese who settled at Malacca two hundred years ago: they have never been to China, and speak Malay much more fluently than they do their own language. Numbers of them keep their families at Malacca, having superstitious objections to a final removal far from the graves of their ancestors. The real Chinese emigrant looks on Singapore only as a temporary home, and invariably remits something every year, according to his means, to his aged parents, wife, or sisters. He usually consoles himself for his absence from his wife, by taking to himself another of the country he resides in: the offspring of this second marriage is always properly cared for on the father's return to China, where he probably takes the eldest boy to be educated. The Chinese junks bring annually to this part of the world, from six to eight thousand emigrants, ninety-nine-hundredths of whom land without a sixpence in the world beyond the clothes they stand in. The consequence of this is, that those who cannot succeed in obtaining immediate employment, take to thieving, from necessity; and some daring gang robberies are committed every year. They do not, however, long continue this mode of life; for the eight thousand new comers soon scatter, and find employment either on the Island, in the tin-mines of Banca, or on the Malayan peninsula. Ship-loads of these men have been sent to the Mauritius, where they have given general satisfaction; and no better class of emigrants could be found for the West Indies. A tight curb on a China-man will make him do a great deal of work: at the same time, he has spirit enough to resist real ill treatment. All the mechanics and house-builders, and many boatmen and fishermen of Singapore, are Chinese. Of the other inhabitants, the most numerous are the Malabarees, who are principally employed as shopkeepers, and are as knowing in the art of bargain-driving as any tradesmen of London or Paris. They generally go here under the denomination of "_Klings_," an appellation synonymous, in the Singapore vocabulary, with "scamp," to which I have no inclination to dispute their title. The boats employed to carry cargoes to and from the shipping in the harbour, are almost all manned by these _Klings_; and excellent boatmen they are. When pulling off a heavily-laden boat, they cheer their labour by a song, led, in general, by the steersman, the crew joining in chorus. They are a willing, hard-working race, though rather given to shut their eyes to the difference between _meum_ and _tuum_. The original Malay inhabitants of this Island are now the most insignificant, both as to numbers and as to general utility, of the many races that are found on it. From this remark must be excepted, however, the _sampan_-men, who are of great service to the mercantile community. In their fast-sailing _sampans_ (a superior sort of canoe, peculiar to the place), they go out ten, fifteen, and even twenty miles, to meet any ship that may be signalized as approaching the harbour. They are usually employed to attend a ship during her stay here, few masters choosing to trust their crews on shore in boats. Of late years, reports have been in circulation of a suspected connection between the sampan-men and the Malay pirates in the neighbourhood; but I question their having any foundation in fact. Those Malay families whose young men are thus employed as _sampan_-men, are called _Orang-Laut_, or "People of the sea," from their living entirely afloat. The middle of the river just opposite the town of Singapore, is crowded with boats about twenty feet long by five wide, in which these poor people are born, live, and die. They are wretched abodes, but are preferred, from long custom I fancy, by their inhabitants, who, if they chose, could find room on shore to build huts that would cost less than these marine dwellings. Each different class of the inhabitants of the Island have their own place of worship. The English Church, built in 1836 by a contribution from the Government and a subscription among the European inhabitants, is a handsome building in a central situation, capable of holding four times as many people as are likely to be ever collected within it: it is neatly fitted up, but lacked a steeple, or even a belfry. This deficiency, however, is about to be supplied by a subscription raised at the suggestion of the Bishop of Calcutta, during his last official visit to this portion of his immense diocese.[7] [Footnote 7: Since this was written, the Chapel has been much improved, and an elegant steeple added to it. There seems to be some fatality attaching to Clergymen at Singapore. The last three incumbents, Messrs. Burn, Darrah, and White, all died young, and of the same complaint, namely, diseased liver. My own opinion is, that they were all three too strict adherents to teetotalism. In warm climates, a moderate and rather liberal allowance of wine, I believe to be absolutely necessary.] The Chinese pagoda is a splendid building, according to the celestial taste in such matters, and is really well worth seeing: the carving and general fitting-up of the interior are very beautiful, and substantial enough to make one believe they will last a thousand years, as the Chinese say they will. In the centre, the Queen of Heaven is seen decked forth in robes of the most superb figured satin, richly embroidered with gold; robes that the wealthiest dames of the proudest cities of Europe might envy, but the like to which they never can possess. Her Majesty was brought from China; and the owner of the junk in which she came, would not receive a penny as freight for the room she occupied. On her arrival in Singapore harbour, the whole Chinese population of the Island turned out to see her land, and paraded her through the town, with all the noise they could by any possibility extract from about a thousand gongs. The building in which she has taken up her quarters, cost 40,000 Spanish dollars, and does credit to the Chinese workmen of Singapore. One day, shortly after the building of this temple, I asked an intelligent and wealthy Chinese, how often he went to it. His answer, in broken English, ran thus: "Sometime one moon, sometime two moon. Suppose I want ask God for something, I go churchee. Suppose I no want ask any thing, what for I go?" On my asking whether he never went to return thanks for past favours, he seemed to think my question a very silly one, and said, "No use." The American Chapel is a remarkably neat little building. Besides these, there is no other place of worship in Singapore worthy of notice. Before quitting the subject of the inhabitants of this land of perpetual summer, I must mention one class which the others would gladly get rid of: I allude to the tigers of a large size which abound here, and which, having cleared the jungles of wild-hog and jackalls, and nearly so of deer, have lately commenced preying on man, to whom they have become a most formidable and dreaded foe. Were I to set down the number of unfortunate individuals who have, since 1839, been killed by these lords of the forests, I should scarcely expect to be credited. Let any one look over the newspapers of the Island for the last five or six years, and they will tell him a tale of horror that will make his blood freeze. Many of the more distant gambia-plantations have been deserted by their proprietors in consequence of the ravages of these monsters. Government, in the hope of remedying or mitigating the evil, offered a reward of one hundred dollars for every tiger brought in alive or dead; but so dense are the jungles in which they seek shelter, that their pursuers have hitherto been far from successful. One is brought in now and then, for which the captor receives his reward, and sells the flesh for some forty dollars more; for the reader must know, that the flesh of a tiger is readily purchased and eagerly eaten by the Chinese, under the notion that some of the courage of the animal will be thereby instilled into them. Some time before I left the Island, a Malay fell in with two tiger cubs in the woods, and captured one of them: next day, he went back, like a fool, alone, in search of the other, when the dam captured and made a meal of him; a lesson to his countrymen, which has effectually cured them of meddling with tiger-whelps. On another occasion, a China-man, having set a trap for tigers, took a walk out about midnight, to see if his plan had been successful. He paid dearly for his temerity, being carried off by some prowling monster; and his mangled body was found near the place a few days afterwards. CHAPTER IV. SINGAPORE. TRADE OF SINGAPORE--CHINESE TRADERS--BUGIS TRADERS--SIAMESE AND COCHIN CHINESE--ARAB SMUGGLERS--BORNEO--TRADE WITH CALCUTTA-- COMMERCIAL PROSPECTS. The trade of Singapore has, until within the last three years, gone on increasing; but it has now, in the opinion of many people, reached its ultimatum. The harbour is visited regularly by native vessels from all the neighbouring islands, as well as from the Continent; and I shall proceed to notice the nature and value of their trade, respectively, class by class. And first as to the China junks. These unwieldy vessels visit the Island in numbers varying from one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty per annum, their size ranging from fifty to five hundred tons: they are manned and navigated entirely by Chinese. They of course come with the monsoon, and reach Singapore in the months of January, February, and March. Their cargoes form a very material item in the trade of the place, and consist of tea, raw silk, camphor, Nankin (both yellow and blue), immense quantities of coarse earthenware, and supplies of all kinds for the myriads of Chinese that reside on this and the neighbouring islands. The season of their arrival is one of great activity in the Chinese bazaars, and gives an impulse to the trade of the importer of Manchester and Glasgow manufactures. Their commanders and supercargoes are cautious dealers, and usually sound the market well before disposing of their commodities. Sometimes, however, they overstand their market, and suffer by refusing the first offers made. This was particularly the case in the season of 1841, in the article of tea, which fell in price with every overland mail that came in, making these wary men rue their having declined the offers that had been made them previously. Most of them are opium-smokers; and their countrymen, with whom they deal, take care to keep them well supplied with this luxury, and obtain many a good bargain from them when under its influence. The export cargoes of this class of vessels consist principally of raw cotton, cotton yarn, cotton goods, opium, béche-de-mer or sea slug, pepper, tin, rattans, edible birds'-nests, deers' sinews, sharks' fins, fish maws, &c. Of the first three articles, they have of late taken annually the following quantities:--raw cotton, 20,000 bales of 300 lbs. each; cotton goods, 50,000 pieces of 40 yards each; opium, 2000 chests of 164 lbs. each; the aggregate value of which I put down, in round numbers, at two millions of dollars. Many of the small junks that arrive with the last of the north-east monsoon in April, are fast-sailing craft, and come expressly for opium, to pay for which they bring nothing but bullion: they take their departure early in May, and smuggle the drug into Canton by paying the usual bribe to the Mandarins. All the large junks have sailed on their return voyage by the end of June. Some few of them that waited in 1841 till the middle of July, in the hope of getting opium cheaper than their neighbours who sailed earlier, encountered heavy gales in the Chinese sea; and one or two of them were lost with valuable cargoes. This lesson has not been lost upon their successors, who have since taken care to run no such risks. Advantage is taken of the opportunity afforded by the return of these junks, every season, by the Chinese residents, to make remittances to their families in China; and the masters of them are entrusted with their remittances, which usually consist of money, though, occasionally, rice and other useful articles are sent. The shipper pays the master a per-centage on the sum transmitted; and instances of fraud on the part of the latter are extremely rare. A boy about fourteen years of age whom I had as a servant in my house at Singapore, used to ask me for a month's wages in advance, to send to his mother in Macao. Hundreds of similar instances might be adduced. This is one of the bright traits in the Chinese character. The native traders next in importance to the Chinese, are the Bugis. These arrive in October and November, bringing in their uncouth-looking vessels, large quantities of coffee of very good quality, gold-dust, tortoise-shell, native clothes (celebrated all over the Archipelago for their durability), béche-de-mer, deer-sinews, rice, &c. They come from the different ports on the islands of Celebes, &c., but principally from Macassar. They are a shrewd race, but are no match for their Chinese competitors. On the arrival of a boat, her _hakoda_ (or commander) lands with nearly every man on board; and he may be seen walking all over the place for a few days before making any bargain. They are a troublesome set to deal with, and require the exercise of more patience than a European in these parts generally possesses. They are, however, always received with a hearty welcome by the Chinese of the Island, who, inviting them to be seated, immediately hand round the _siri-box_ (betel-nut, arica leaf, &c.) among them; and over this universal luxury, they will sit and talk on business matters for hours, during which time it may be fairly calculated that both host and guests tell a lie per minute, without betraying by their countenances the slightest consciousness of having been thus engaged. This strange sort of preliminary negotiation goes on, probably, for a week; at the end of which the passer-by may see the contents of the different Bugis boats entering the Chinese shops or stores, as the case may be. On getting rid of his import cargo, the Bugis trader takes a few days more to rest and refresh himself, before he begins looking round for a return cargo, which usually consists of opium, iron, steel, cotton yarn, cotton goods, gold thread, &c. He seldom or never takes money away with him. On an average, two hundred of these boats come to Singapore in the fall of the year, each manned by about thirty men. Their crews are not allowed to land armed with the _kriss_ or any other weapon; a wise precaution, as they are rather too fond of having recourse to them in the event of any quarrel or misunderstanding with those with whom they deal. Notwithstanding this salutary regulation, I have witnessed serious disturbances, ending, on more than one occasion, in bloodshed, between these traders and the bazaar shopkeepers of Singapore. What I refer to occurred many years ago, however, and is not very likely to happen again, as the reins are kept much tighter over them than of yore. They are essentially a maritime people, and are not, as far as I have ever heard, addicted to piracy. They generally sail in small fleets, and are quite prepared to defend themselves against the common Malay pirate, who meets a stout resistance when he meddles with them. Like most, or, I may say, all the inhabitants of this part of the world, they deal more or less in slaves; and it would not be difficult to prove their having sold boys and girls in Singapore within these ten years, though I firmly believe that the disgraceful traffic has been put an entire stop to of late. These men visit, during the months in which the south-east monsoon prevails, Torres Straits, and the numerous islands in that neighbourhood, for the purpose of gathering béche-de-mer and tortoise-shell. They pick up, also, slaves from Papua (New Guinea), for whom they find a ready market in Celebes. Our settlement of Port Essington has long been a favourite resort of the Bugis trader; and were the Government to encourage Chinese and other settlers, by giving them grants of land, to establish themselves there, there can be no doubt that it would soon become a very important place, instead of a mere military station, or rather place of banishment, for some fifty royal marines. As for its being a refuge for shipwrecked seamen, I have never heard of an instance of a crew of the numerous vessels annually lost in Torres Straits seeking shelter there. This state of affairs would be altered, however, were the port thrown open to the commercial world. As it is, a shipwrecked crew landing there, might have to remain a twelvemonth for an opportunity to get away again; consequently, every seaman placed in that unfortunate position, pushes on in his open boat to the Dutch settlements on the island of Timor. Next in importance to the Bugis, I may rank the Siamese and Cochin Chinese traders, who arrive at Singapore during the north-east monsoon. The trade of these two countries used to be carried on entirely in junks peculiar to each of them respectively; but the state of things has been materially altered of late. The sovereigns of Siam and Cochin China have recently built and fitted-out several square-rigged vessels, those of Siam being commanded by Europeans, and manned by natives of that country. These vessels are the private property of the kings whose flags they bear, and are loaded on their account and at their risk. Their cargoes consist principally of sugar and rice, which find ready purchasers in Singapore. The sugar of Siam is of very superior quality, and is sent up in large quantities to Bombay, whence it finds its way up the Indus and the Persian Gulf. The rice of Siam is a superior article, and has of late been sent in considerable quantities to London. The grain is liable to the disadvantage of not keeping so well as that of Bengal or Java; but this fault might, I think, be obviated, partially at all events, by adopting the Calcutta plan of putting a pound or two of rice-dust and lime into each bag: this not only tends to preserve the rice, but repels the destructive weavil; a little black insect that makes its appearance in wheat and rice, in immense numbers, in those warm latitudes. The Cochin Chinese ships generally bring each four thousand _peculs_ of sugar, which is of three qualities; namely, sixteen hundred _peculs_ of first quality, the same quantity of second, and eight hundred _peculs_ of the third sort. The first two are good articles, though not equal to the sugars of Siam. The cargoes of these ships are so carefully put up, that I have purchased and re-shipped them without opening or weighing more than five bags out of each hundred, and have never had cause to repent the confidence thus placed in the seller, who is an _employé_ of His Cochin Chinese Majesty. In addition to sugar and rice, the Siamese vessels bring gamboge and cocoa-nut oil of a superior quality: the former is bought up for the London and Continental markets, and the latter for consumption in the Straits' settlements. Notwithstanding the monopolizing system of the sovereigns of the two countries just mentioned, the trade by junks is still carried on to a limited extent: their cargo consists of the same articles as the kings' ships bring; and their owners make money in spite of monopoly and of the iron rod with which they are ruled. At the commencement of the rupture between Great Britain and China, His Siamese Majesty thought proper to follow the example of his Celestial Brother, and to interdict the trade in opium, which used to flourish in his dominions. His proclamation prohibiting the trade, came so suddenly upon the parties concerned in it, and took effect so immediately, that many of the opium-traders went into his capita of Bang-kok with their usual cargoes, in utter ignorance of what had taken place, and found their vessels seized, their cargoes confiscated, and themselves put in irons and thrown into prison, where they were kept till the interference of the Singapore Government procured their release as British subjects trading under the English flag. The restriction on this trade has not yet been removed (1844); nor is it likely to be, till the king finds himself in want of money, when he will be glad to allow his subjects to resume a traffic that yielded him a large revenue in former days. Siam produces teak timber of excellent quality, which can be had on very reasonable terms; and of this, the ship-builders of Singapore do not fail to take advantage. A portion of the Cochin Chinese trade is carried on in vessels so small and so frail, that it is astonishing that men can be found to navigate with them the dangerous Chinese Sea: they do not exceed thirty tons burthen. Being wholly unprovided with defensive weapons of any description, many of them are annually taken by the Malay pirates as soon as they make their appearance inside Point Romania, at the mouth of Singapore Strait. They are lateen-rigged with mat sails, are fast sailers, hold a good wind, and have a very pretty appearance when entering the harbour in fleets of fifteen or twenty sail. Singapore is annually visited by a large fleet of vessels from all parts of Java: the most important of these are what are commonly called Arab ships, that is, ships fitted out and owned by Arabs residing in Java. They carry the Dutch flag, are commanded by Arabs, and manned by Javanese. If fame does not belie them, these Arab commanders are notorious smugglers. This is certain; that they take goods from Singapore in exchange for the coffee, sugar, rice, &c., which they bring from Java, and that they give prices that would leave them no margin for profit, if His Netherlands Majesty's duties were paid on them. For this sort of illicit trade, the coast of Java offers many facilities in its numerous small rivers, with which the Arab ship-master is intimately acquainted. The article of opium, though strictly prohibited by the authorities of Java, is taken by the Arabs from Singapore in considerable quantities, notwithstanding the pains and penalties attached to its being found on board their vessels; and smuggled into Java the drug most undoubtedly is, let the Dutchmen boast of their spies and custom-house establishment as they will. These Arab ships are built of teak, ranging from one hundred and fifty to five hundred tons per register, and are altogether remarkably fine vessels. From the islands of Lombok and Bally, directly eastward of Java, the market of Singapore receives a large annual supply of rice of fair quality, a small quantity of coffee, and some coarse native cloths, to which I may add, a few good stout poneys. The boats from these islands resemble those from Celebes, and are sometimes classed among the Bugis traders: they carry back, as return cargoes, opium, muskets, copper cash, a little gold and silver thread, cotton yarn, and cotton manufactures. These islands have their own Rajahs and laws, but are narrowly watched and kept in check by their neighbours, the Dutch. Borneo, notwithstanding its vast extent and immense internal wealth, has but a limited external trade. Boats from Sambas, Pontianack, and Borneo Proper, visit Singapore every year, from May till October, and bring with them black pepper, Malay camphor, gold-dust, rattans, &c. Most wretched boats they are, and, according to the accounts given to me by their _hakodas_ (commanders), very difficult to keep afloat when laden. Little can be said in favour of the natives of the sea-coast of Borneo, which is, and has been for ages, the haunt of pirates. Many vessels, particularly native _proas_, have been plundered, and their crews murdered or carried into slavery, by the marauders of this inhospitable shore; and it is not twenty years since a visit to it was considered as highly dangerous even in a well-armed vessel. Whole fleets of piratical boats ascend from time to time the rivers of this island, and plunder the native villages, carrying off the females and children as slaves, murdering the adult males, and setting fire to the houses. The proceedings of these vagabonds have received some severe checks, of late years, from the operations of a spirited and enterprising individual, Mr. James Brooke, whose well-known zeal and activity are beyond all praise. An occasional visit also from one of Her Majesty's ships, has done much good; and the recent operations of Capt. Keppel of the Dido, gave them a check they will not soon get over. The ascertained existence of extensive veins of coal on the banks of the river of Borneo Proper, will render that neighbourhood of great importance, on the completion of the line of steam communication from Ceylon to Hong Kong, _viâ_ Singapore. I believe there is no doubt either as to the large quantity of coal to be had there, or as to its superior quality. But, upon the subject of Borneo, I shall have a few words more to say hereafter. The trade between Calcutta and the Straits' settlements, is both extensive and important. Vessels from the Hooghly visit Singapore throughout the year, bringing large supplies of raw cotton, Indian cotton goods, opium, wheat, &c. In return, they carry back vast quantities of gold-dust, tin, pepper, sago, gambia, and treasure. It is no unfrequent occurrence, to find the Singapore market pretty nearly cleared of the circulating medium after the departure of two or three clippers for the "City of Palaces." Indeed, treasure and gold-dust are, in nine cases out of ten, the only safe remittance from the Straits of Malacca to Calcutta; and those who remit in other modes, frequently sustain heavy losses, which not only affect the individuals concerned, but check the trade generally. I have now given a rapid view of the principal features of the native trade of Singapore, without pretending to give a perfect account of it. Before taking leave of this pretty little Island, I will add a few general remarks upon its condition and prospects. Its actual state, when I left it in 1842, was far from being as prosperous as I could wish. An emporium of the trade of the whole of the Eastern Archipelago, its aggregate imports and exports may be estimated, in round numbers, at three millions sterling per annum. Trade by barter is the system generally adopted; and notwithstanding long-continued exertions on the part of the European mercantile community to establish the cash system, their success has been so very partial, that nine-tenths of the remittances to Europe and India in return for goods consigned here for sale, are made in produce. Severe losses have been sustained here, from time to time, by the European mercantile firms, in consequence of their giving credit, to an almost unlimited extent, to Chinese and other dealers, many of them mere men of straw. During last year, these losses have amounted to very considerable sums. This has led to renewed and more strenuous exertions to establish a cash system, but, I fear, with indifferent success. The present state of the bazaars is very far from satisfactory: my last accounts state, that no one knows who can be trusted. The natural consequence of such a state of things is, a serious decrease in the amount of sales; and had it not been for the demand for Glasgow and Manchester manufactures, caused by the high price of those articles in China, the importers would have had four-fifths of their stocks left on hand. Of the state of the public health in Singapore, I am able to report most favourably. Let any one go there and see the European residents of sixteen and twenty years' standing, and he will be able to judge for himself. During an intimate acquaintance of eighteen years with this part of the world, I have never known any endemic disease to prevail; never heard of more than one European dying of cholera, or of more than three Europeans being attacked with that disease; never knew but one or two cases of liver-complaint in which the sufferers had not their own imprudence to thank for the attack; and, as far as my memory serves me, cannot reckon up two deaths among the European inhabitants in that long period. Some one may here whisper, "Look at the state of your Singapore burying-ground." My reply is, that it is filled by the death of numbers who have, from time to time, arrived from Calcutta and other parts of India in a dying state, and who would have died six months sooner, had they not come to breathe the pure air of Singapore. On this point, I boldly challenge contradiction. As to the commercial prospects of this Island, I have some misgivings. The recent establishment, by Her Majesty's Government, of the British colony of Hong Kong, and the opening of the northern ports on the coast of China, will, I fear, give its commerce a check: indeed, it seems inevitable that it should suffer from these causes. When we consider the vast importance of the Chinese junk-trade to Singapore, and take into account the cheaper rate we can supply them, now their ports are open, at their own doors, with every commodity they require from the Malay islands, the risk, trouble, and expense they will save by supplying their wants or disposing of their superfluities, in the harbours of Shang Hae, Ningpo, Foo Chow, or Amoy, instead of undertaking the long voyage to the Straits of Malacca for that purpose,--one is at a loss to conceive on what grounds the sanguine expectation can rest, that the opening of China will do Singapore no harm. Some of its merchants evidently share in my anticipation, as they have completed arrangements for forming establishments at Hong Kong, in order to avail themselves of the change they expect to take place in the course of the trade. It will not be this year, nor, probably, the next, that this change will take place; but, that it must ultimately come to pass, I can see no room to doubt.[8] [Footnote 8: Sept. 1845.--Recent accounts from Singapore in some measure confirm this view. It is noted, among other things, that the quantity of tea imported by the Chinese junks in the season of 1844-45 was only 6000 quarter-chests; whereas, in that of 1843-44, the imports exceeded twenty times that quantity. Camphor, however, continues to come in as large quantities as ever. The opium trade again, has diminished three-fourths; and my prediction that pepper &c. would be carried to the northern ports of China in European vessels, has been fulfilled, though, from this branch of commerce, Singapore, or its merchants, will still derive benefit as carriers. The Chinese of Singapore have taken up this trade with great spirit, and will doubtless continue it.] In other branches of its trade, Singapore will, probably, not suffer so much from the late arrangements with China; but it will suffer more or less. It is extremely likely, that a large portion of the rice of Bally and Lombok, the pepper of Borneo, and the béche-de-mer of Celebes, will be carried direct to China in European vessels, instead of passing, as hitherto, through the hands of the Singapore merchants. Whenever a new mart is opened, there is no want of men, money, or ships to take advantage of it; and we can place pepper from Borneo, and rice from Bally, in any port on the coast of China, for less money, by carrying them there direct from the place of growth, than the Chinese can by carrying them from Singapore in their junks. These vessels only make one voyage in the year; whereas a square-rigged vessel can make three with ease; and it is on account of the greater service performed by the latter, that she can carry goods to market cheaper than a junk. I repeat, therefore, that I think the trade of Singapore has reached its maximum; and that the town has attained to its highest point of importance and prosperity. Indeed, it is at this moment rather over-built. A beautiful and healthy town, however, it is; and that it may not suffer materially or permanently from the causes above mentioned, but continue to prosper as formerly, is a wish that comes from the very bottom of my heart. Singapore is under a Governor, (who also rules over Malacca and Penang,) Resident Councillors, a Police Magistrate, and some half-dozen under-strappers. The establishment is altogether an economical one, and, on the whole, well conducted. It has, moreover, a Court of Justice, with civil, criminal, and Admiralty jurisdiction, which is presided over by a Recorder appointed by the Home Government. His authority also extends over the neighbouring settlements of Malacca and Penang. The Governor and three Resident Councillors are members of this court. In the absence of the Recorder, they can and do hold court, and, in extreme cases, carry into execution sentences of death passed on their own responsibility. The late Governor, the Honourable S. G. Bonham, held the post for many years, and left the Island with the good wishes of every inhabitant. To his credit and honour be it said, that, out of the many hundreds of civil cases tried and adjudicated by him, I never heard of one in which his decision was reversed, in the event of the parties petitioning for and obtaining a new trial from the Recorder. Such petitions, owing to the well-known love of litigation inherent in the Asiatic character, were very numerous; but, in nine cases out of ten, the Recorder saw no reason to grant a new trial; and the few who succeeded in obtaining new trials, would have been better off without them, as Mr. Bonham's verdict was always confirmed. Five, ten, fifteen years ago, the society of Singapore was much more agreeable than it is now. Not that the parties who composed it then, were more pleasant people than the present residents; but we met oftener in those days, and were more sociable when we did meet, and, perhaps, opened our doors to the stranger oftener than is practised at the present time. One is apt, however, to be biassed in favour of the times and the people that seemed to ourselves the most agreeable; I shall therefore say no more on this delicate subject. The revenue of Singapore is more than sufficient to pay its expenses: it arises principally from land-sales and land-tax; from farming out the privilege of retailing opium and spirits; from the rent paid for public markets; and from pawnbrokers' licenses. The sums derived from these sources are increasing every year. The local police are paid, and roads and bridges are maintained, from a fund raised by an assessed tax of eight per cent, on the annual value of fixed property. From this fund, Mr. Tom C---- withdraws a few thousand dollars occasionally, in order to build a new bridge or to make a new road; a proceeding that does not give entire satisfaction to the rate-payers, and is indeed hardly fair towards them, since the new bridges and roads render available large tracts of land that would otherwise be valueless, and for which Tom C----'s honourable masters obtain a handsome price in consequence. The inhabitants grumble at these proceedings, but can do no more, the sole and whole management of the fund in question being in the hands of the local Government. Singapore is a free port; and vessels of all kinds and from all nations come and go, without paying one penny to Government in any shape. All that is required of them is, to give in a list of the goods they either land or ship. This regulation is intended to enable the authorities to keep a correct statement of the trade of the place; but it is, I am sorry to add, often evaded by ship-masters and their consignees, who seem to think that no trade can be profitably conducted without a certain portion of mystery attaching to it. CHAPTER V. DUTCH SETTLEMENTS. DUTCH SETTLEMENT OF RHIO--ISLAND OF BANCA-- BENCOOLEN--PADANG--CHINESE SLAVE-TRADE--NATIVE TRIBES OF SUMATRA--PEPPER TRADE. In September 1826, I visited China for the first time; but, having recently paid that country a much more extended visit, I shall reserve for a future chapter my observations upon Chinese affairs; and shall now proceed to give an account of some of the smaller Dutch colonies or settlements which I visited about this time. About forty miles to the eastward of Singapore, on the island of Bintang (Star), is Rhio, a small Dutch settlement, producing a large quantity of gambia and some thirty thousand _peculs_ of black pepper per annum. The bulk of the former article finds its way to Java, where it is extensively used for dying purposes. Nearly all the pepper is sent to Singapore in small trading-boats, and is bought up there for the London and Calcutta markets. My visit to Rhio lasted only thirty-six hours, during which time I was too busy to be able to look much about me; but I have since frequently sailed past the town, and through the beautiful strait of the same name, and can vouch for it, that the lovers of picturesque scenery will find objects in abundance to attract their attention. Shortly after entering Rhio straits from the southward, the navigator is completely land-locked, and appears to be sailing in a large lake, amid the richest possible scenery; nor can he discern the slightest appearance of an outlet from this fairy scene, till he is within half a mile of the west end of the island of Luborn, when, all at once, the view opens at that part which leads him into the straits of Singapore. Rhio has the character of being very healthy, and, from its soil and position, might be rendered productive. It is governed by a Dutch Resident, and protected by a small garrison and fleet. Of the activity of this little fleet against the neighbouring pirates, I am glad to be able to speak most favourably; and I am bound to add a word in testimony to its Commander's hospitality and kindness to shipwrecked British seamen, which have been frequently put to the test of late years, and have on more than one occasion called forth from the Singapore Chamber of Commerce a vote and letter of thanks. Shortly after the establishment of Singapore, the Dutch Government proclaimed Rhio a free port. This measure, fortunately for us, was adopted rather too late in the day to do any injury to the trade of Sir Stamford Raffles's pet settlement, or much good to its neighbour. It must be somewhat galling to the good folk of Rhio, to see some hundreds of vessels of all descriptions under the Dutch flag sail past their harbour every year, bound for Singapore, where they transact business to a large amount; favouring this port, probably, with a short visit on their return, for the purpose of purchasing a few hundred _peculs_ of gambia for the Java market. On the north-east point of Bintang, is a dangerous reef, on which the clipper-bark Sylph struck in 1835, and on which she lay for four months, defying the fury of the north-east monsoon and the heavy rolling swell from the Chinese Sea; thus proving beyond a doubt the great strength of a teak-built ship. An English ship in the same circumstances would not have held together a week; as was subsequently proved in the case of the Heber. Mintow (Muntok according to the Dutch) is the capital of the island of Banca, so long celebrated for its tin-mines. This is a poor town, and very unhealthy: it is situated on the west side of the island, and faces the straits of Banca, having the low, swampy shore of Sumatra opposite. When Banca was occupied in common with the other Dutch colonies by the British, it proved fatal to nearly the whole of the garrison. The Banca fever is, perhaps, one of the most dangerous diseases with which man is afflicted: those who are fortunate enough to recover from it, are subject for life to severe nervous attacks at the full and change of the moon. I well remember two gentlemen in Batavia, who could scarcely lift their hands to their heads at these periods, though twenty years had elapsed since they had had this terrible fever. The Dutch troops still continue to suffer severely from this cause; and to be sent to Banca from Java, is looked upon as the hardest lot that can befall a soldier. Its tin-mines continue to be very productive, and yield 60,000 _peculs_ of pure metal per annum. From this source, the Dutch authorities derive a considerable revenue. They employ Chinese miners, to whom they pay six dollars for every _pecul_ of tin delivered on the coast in a pure state, which they sell readily in Java for sixteen dollars per _pecul_; thus getting ten dollars clear profit, less about half a dollar per _pecul_, which it costs to send the tin to Batavia for sale. As far as I know, Banca yields nothing else; and the rice eaten by the Chinese miners, is sent regularly from Java. The rivers on this island are infested by very large alligators, which, from the scarcity of food, become highly dangerous. Their hunger drives them sometimes to attack boats, as they are rowed up the rivers; and serious accidents occur from time to time in this way. I could tell one or two marvellous tales about the ferocity and bold attacks of these river-monsters, but refrain from doing so, lest they should lead the incredulous reader of these rambling sketches to doubt my veracity. The straits of Banca were at one time the resort of numerous Malay pirates: the activity of the Dutch cruisers has, however, rendered their once dangerous neighbourhood perfectly safe, so far as the attacks of these marauders are concerned. I have sailed many times through the straits of Sunda, Banca, Rhio, Dryan, Malacca, and Singapore, since 1823, and have known some few European vessels and many native proas taken; but, in all my voyages up and down, I never saw a boat or proa that I felt certain was a pirate. I have, indeed, seen many very suspicious-looking craft off Singin, and between that island and the north end of Banca; but, as they never molested us, I am willing to let their characters pass free, so far as I am concerned. The once thriving settlement of Bencoolen, (or Fort Marlborough,) which I visited at different times between 1828 and 1830, I found, even then, to have declined very seriously from its former prosperity. Previously to its transfer, in 1825, to the Dutch, great exertions were made to render this settlement important for its exportation of spices of all descriptions; and, so far as regards nutmegs, mace, and cloves, those exertions were eminently successful. Planters and others, however, soon found that, on the hauling down of the British flag, and the hoisting of the Dutch, their prospects underwent a very material change, arising from duties and other charges laid on the commerce of the place. Most of the capitalists retired with the British establishment, of which, indeed, they formed a part. A hard struggle was maintained by those planters who remained behind, but without success; and the place is now very little more than a station for a Dutch Assistant-Resident and a small garrison. Bencoolen harbour is a dangerous one, particularly during the prevalence of the boisterous north-west monsoon, which blows with such violence on this part of the west coast of Sumatra. Ships generally anchor close under the lee of Rat Island and reef, where they find smooth water, unless the weather is unusually severe. This anchorage is seven miles from the wharf where merchandise is landed, and considerable risk is occasionally incurred by the cargo boats in making good this short distance. In very stormy weather, ships and boats also are compelled to seek shelter in Pulo Bay; a vile, unhealthy place situated about twelve miles south-east of Rat Island, and surrounded with a low, swampy, agueish-looking country. The Siamese suffer severely in this harbour from fever and ague, and ship-masters are glad to leave it as soon as the weather moderates. In my time, there was a convenient covered wharf at Bencoolen for landing goods, but not a vestige now remains: it was originally built by the English, and the Dutch have not cared to preserve or replace it. In the present wretched state of the settlement, indeed, it is of trifling consequence, since little difficulty can be found by the few merchants from Java who from time to time visit Bencoolen, in landing the small quantities of goods they may have to dispose of. The climate of Bencoolen is the worst it has been my fortune to encounter since I left Europe. The land wind that sets in about seven P. M., is the most trying breeze I ever encountered. To sit in an open verandah when it is blowing, is quite out of the question; at least with impunity. I tried the experiment more than once, and never escaped without a severe seizure of trembling something like ague, within less than half an hour. The injurious effects of this land wind may be traced to the swamps between the hills in the vicinity of the town, which, unlike those of Singapore, are formed by fresh water, and are no better than stagnant puddles. In passing over these, the wind becomes of course charged with malaria, which it distributes in every house between it and the sea; and woe betide the European who fails to keep out of its way! Most places that I have visited, have a healthy, as well as an unhealthy season. Bencoolen is an exception to this rule, being unhealthy all the year through. Even vegetation suffers here from the south-east monsoon; and a nutmeg-plantation exposed to its dry, parching influence, has the appearance of a plantation of heather-brooms more than of any thing else.[9] The natives do not appear to suffer from the climate, but seem to be as healthy and long-lived as Asiatics generally. Of the character of these natives, I can say little that is favourable. They are indolent, proud, though poor, gamblers, vindictive, and far too ready with the knife on little or no provocation; they are very fond of dress, and not over scrupulous how they gratify this taste; for which purpose I have known them have recourse to theft, lying, robbery, and even murder. Had they one single spark of energy in their composition, they might be a thriving and contented people, possessing as they do a boundless extent of rich virgin soil, which they are too lazy to clear and cultivate. The place is overrun with a race of petty Rajahs and other nobles, who are a social pest, being poor, and yet too proud to strain a nerve to support themselves and their families. Sir Stamford Raffles succeeded in rousing the ambition of these men a little, by giving some of them commissions in the local corps, which gratified their taste for gay attire, and supplied them with a few hundred rupees per month to keep up a little state. From my sweeping reproach of the chiefs, I would except these _Radins_[10] with whom I have spent many pleasant evenings, and who really possessed gentleman-like feelings and tastes. [Footnote 9: This remark applies to the side of the tree that faces the south-east only. The north-west side is perfectly healthy-looking and green, when its opposite is the very picture of blight and decay.] [Footnote 10: Radin, a noble next in rank, in the Malay world, below a Rajah.] The transfer of this settlement to the Dutch (in exchange for Malacca) in 1825, was a severe blow and great disappointment to all the natives, both high and low. At a meeting of chiefs held at the Government house, at which the English and Dutch authorities were both present, for the purpose of completing the transfer, the senior Rajah rose to address the assembly, and spoke to the following effect:--"Against this transfer of my country I protest. Who is there possessed of authority to hand me and my countrymen, like so many cattle, over to the Dutch or to any other power? If the English are tired of us, let them go away; but I deny their right to hand us over to the Dutch. When the English first came here, they asked for and got a piece of land to build warehouses and dwelling-houses upon. That piece of land is still defined by its original stone wall, and is all they (the English) ever got from us. We were never conquered; and I now tell the English and Dutch gentlemen here assembled, that, had I the power, as I have the will, I would resist this transfer to the knife. I am, however, a poor man, have no soldiers to cope with yours, and must submit. God's will be done." This was a bold, straight-forward speech; but it was thrown away upon the callous ears of the hearers. Delivered in pure Malay, it sounded stronger than in this translation. The speaker was an old man, with whose power and will for mischief, in former days, the British had good cause to be acquainted.[11] [Footnote 11: This chief will long be remembered in Bencoolen for his reckless daring, when a desire of vengeance for any insult, real or imaginary, stirred the devil within him. Many a midnight murder was laid at his door, and with justice too, if I am not very much mistaken. The last time I saw him, he was very near his end, and spoke of his death as calmly and tranquilly as if he had lived the purest life imaginable. He is long since in his grave, and his family has sunk into insignificance. I do not believe a more thorough villain ever walked the earth.] The country round Bencoolen is, with the exception of the spice-plantations, covered with a thick forest. The soil is rich, and, as I have said, might be turned to good account, by means of a small portion of energy on the part of the natives. The forests abound with the tiger and the elephant. The former finds plenty of game to feed on, and, consequently, seldom molests man. It is not an unusual occurrence for a single tiger to attack a herd of cattle when grazing in the neighbourhood of their owner's grounds: singling out his intended victim, he pursues it to the last, without, in general, attempting to injure any of the rest As soon as the cattle see or smell the approaching tiger, they become quite wild, and run at their full speed towards their herdsman, whom they surround apparently for their own protection, and continue in great commotion, though without attempting to run, till their enemy is either driven away, or has succeeded in capturing one of their number. The elephant is here of a large size, and is occasionally caught in snares by the natives for the sake of his tusks, which I have seen weighing one hundred and twenty pounds each. This huge animal is not dangerous to man, unless his path is crossed, when, particularly if a single male one, he becomes a formidable neighbour. He is easily tamed; but the native here is too indolent to trouble himself with the task. The only one I ever saw made use of, was sent by the King of Acheen to Sir Stamford Raffles, and was, in my time, the property of my friend, Mr. Robert Bogle. Strange stories are told of the power, sagacity, and cunning of this monarch of the woods. Among other feats, the natives say, it is not uncommon for one elephant to lie down, and let another stand upon his back, in order that he may reach higher up a cocoa-nut tree, and have a better chance of pushing it down. I tell the tale as it was told to me, not caring to vouch for its truth. Bencoolen is occasionally visited by the hill tribes from the mountains in its neighbourhood: they come down in bands of ten, fifteen, or twenty men, bringing with them gold-dust to barter for opium. As neither rice nor cocoa-nuts grow in the elevated region inhabited by them, they usually bring also a few bags of potatoes to exchange for those luxuries. They are a hardy race of men, strongly built, of middle stature, and have very thick black beards; a singular feature in an inhabitant of this island. I am sorry to add, that they sometimes visit the coast for other and less legitimate purposes than barter; and that their kidnapping children to make slaves of, is no uncommon occurrence. Several instances of this kind took place in 1829, within my certain knowledge. I have frequently heard it said, "Go where you will, you are sure to find a rat and a Scotchman." My having visited Bencoolen enables me to contradict this aphorism; for I there found abundance of rats, one Englishman, and not a single Scot. I must confess, however, that this is the only place in which I have ever found the Englishman without the Scot. Cock-fighting is carried on to a great extent here, and is indulged in by the natives, high and low. On market-days, vast numbers of natives may be seen wending their way to the cock-pit attached to each market or bazaar, with one of the celebrated Malay game-cocks under their arms. At the pit, some hundreds of these birds may be seen in the hands of the fanciers, who weigh and examine them thoroughly before betting on them. As soon as the bets are arranged, the two birds first on the list are brought into the centre of the pit, and armed by their owners with a fearful spur about four inches long, of the shape of a scythe, and as sharp as a razor. The combat seldom lasts a minute, the first charge generally rendering one, and frequently both the combatants _hors-de-combat_, by inflicting on them mortal wounds. Then begins the most disgusting part of the scene. The owner of each bird takes him up, blows into his mouth and eyes, and uses every exertion to make the poor tortured victim give the last peck to his adversary. Failing this last peck, the battle is a drawn one. Bets are usually paid, particularly in the country, in gold dust, which is weighed out in small ivory steelyards kept for the purpose. The Dutch, with their usual policy, derive a revenue from every cock-pit within their boundary here. For my own part, I am not inclined to blame them, and think our revenue at all the three Straits' settlements might be materially increased, and the scamps of those places kept in better order, by having every gambling-house in them registered and subjected to a tax. To put a stop to gambling in any Asiatic town, is beyond the power of man; and the attempt to do so, only drives the gamester to the secret haunts where he may indulge his propensity, and where, I fear, too often he becomes a witness of, if not a participator in deeds of blood. As a grand juror in Singapore, I have had evidence enough of this. From Bencoolen, I proceeded to Padang, another Dutch settlement, about two hundred miles up the coast of Sumatra. Padang, as its name implies, is situated in a plain, and is a very few feet above the level of the sea; yet, it is a healthy place. It was once in possession of a considerable trade, but this has diminished of late years, in most articles, except coffee, of which I am told it now exports 60,000 _peculs_ per annum. The harbour or anchorage is about five miles from the mouth of the small river on the banks of which the town stands, and is a dangerous one in boisterous weather, having little or no protection from the fury of the north-west monsoon. The trade from Java to this part of Sumatra, consists principally of rice, salt, native clothing, and a few supplies for the European and Chinese inhabitants of the place: in return, it sends coffee and pepper. There is a disgraceful traffic carried on between Padang and the island of Nias, a little further up the coast, by Chinese, who visit that island, and purchase hundreds of its inhabitants, for whom they find markets all along the coast. Those brought to Padang, are not, indeed, sold as slaves; but they are registered at the Resident's office, and held as bond-debtors for different terms of seven, fifteen, and even twenty years: during this servitude, they are treated as slaves, but are free at its expiration; they have also the option of buying their liberty in the meantime, if they can raise the means; and the proprietor is not at liberty to refuse a sum equivalent to the value of the unexpired term of service. This value is fixed thus: on the registering of a debtor, a certain sum is put down as his value or debt; say 400 rupees; of this sum, a certain proportion, say 20 rupees, is placed to his credit for every year he serves; so that, if he serves his master for five years, his debt is reduced to three hundred rupees; and this sum, the master is compelled to accept as the price of his liberation. If a debtor has a hard master, he is at liberty to induce another to buy his services; and the transfer cannot be declined, if the sum due is forthcoming. These Nias people are, men and women, a much fairer race than Malays, and speak a language of their own. Many of the men become expert carpenters, bricklayers, blacksmiths, &c., which enables them to earn money and purchase their freedom; and for such skilled artisans, the master can demand no more as the price of their freedom than the balance due upon their services. I have seen boat-loads of these poor creatures landed at Padang, consisting of old men, women, boys, girls, and mere infants, looking wretched enough, and marched off to the police-office to be registered and sold. This is a black spot in the Dutch administration of affairs in Sumatra. The proceedings of the Dutch on the coast of Sumatra, are a sore subject to the Singaporeans, as having interfered with their trade with the north-west coast of the island. By means of the extension of the Dutch posts from Padang into the interior, they compel the native to carry his coffee thither, instead of taking it, as formerly, down the Siak river, and thence to Singapore. This accounts, in a great degree, for the increase in the export of that berry from Padang, from thirty to sixty thousand _peculs_ per annum, between the year 1828 and 1838. Padang is very subject to frequent earthquakes, being surrounded with volcanic mountains. To look at its houses, one would think that a single shock would level the whole town. The best of them consist of a frame of wood, each post standing on a single stone, which is simply laid on the ground, not let into it; the vacancies between the posts and the cross-pieces of framework, are filled up with lath and plaster; and the roof is almost invariably of thatch. They resemble huge stools resting upon stones, to keep the legs from sinking into the earth, and look as if the first breeze would upset them. An earthquake shakes them, and makes them vibrate, but seldom or ever injures them; whereas a brick and mortar house, subjected to the same severe trial, would certainly give way, unless it were of very substantial workmanship. I have experienced several severe shocks of earthquakes, both here and at Bencoolen, and at first felt very much disposed to quit the house; but custom reconciles one to almost every thing, even to seeing your dwelling-house dancing, or "Jumping _Jim Crow_." Since the Dutch got possession of this part of Sumatra, they have almost constantly been at war with a neighbouring tribe of natives, who, from their fanatical zeal in the cause of the Mohammedan faith, have obtained the name of _Padres_; and the war is called the _Padre_ war. These men have occasioned the Government a vast deal of trouble, and cost it a mint of money, as well as many valuable lives. When beaten in the field, they suddenly disperse and retreat to their mountain fastnesses, where they remain to strengthen themselves, and watch their opportunity to make a fresh attack on the Dutch posts. In this manner they harass their opponents, and occasionally inflict upon them a very severe blow. I heard at Padang, that, when the country was ceded to the Dutch, in 1818, these _Padres_ had said, they would never submit to their power; and well have they kept their word. Sumatra, were it under a European power, and peopled as well as Java is, would soon rival that island. Its soil is, for the most part, equally fertile, and yields coffee, pepper, nutmegs, &c. Only a small portion of the territory is subject to the Dutch: the remainder is inhabited by various tribes, who speak different languages, and mix but little together. They are mostly an indolent people, and require driving by their chiefs to make them work for a day or two now and then. The comparatively small produce exported from this large and fertile island, is obtained almost entirely by forced labour. The pepper trade of the ports to the northward of Padang, has ceased to be a profitable one, and is now neglected. European shipmasters used to complain bitterly of the roguery practised upon them by the native dealers; but who taught the native his roguish tricks? Who introduced false weights? Who brought to the coast 56lb. weights with a screw in the bottom, which opened for the insertion of from ten to fifteen pounds of lead, _after their correctness had been tried by the native in comparison with his own weights_? Who made it a regular rule, in their transactions with the native dealer, to get 130 _catties_ of pepper to the _pecul_, thus cheating him of thirty per cent, of his property? I challenge contradiction, when I assert, that English and American shipmasters have for thirty years been addicted to all these dishonest practices. The cunning and deceit of the native traders, at the pepper ports of Sumatra, have been taught them by their Christian visiters, and forced upon them in self-defence. An acquaintance of mine, who had made some purchases from a native, went on shore next morning to receive the goods. When the pepper was being weighed, he told the native clerk, he was cheating. The man denied it, and told the party he lied. The European raised his fist, and threatened to chastise the native, who coolly put his hand on his ever-ready _kris_, and said, "Strike, sir." The raised hand dropped to its owner's side, and well it was that it did so; or the party would not have lived to tell the tale of his having threatened the clerk of a Sumatra Rajah. A large portion of the pepper used to be paid for in dollars; and it is a singular fact, that, notwithstanding the number imported in this way, no one ever saw a single dollar exported, or seems to know what becomes of them. It is generally supposed, that the Rajahs buy them, and that they often die without revealing where their treasure is deposited. Be this as it may, it is very difficult, under any circumstances, to extract a dollar from the chiefs of this coast. The trader in this part of the world, works hard for whatever he may earn, having to encounter much severe weather, and to go through a heavy surf every time he lands. Indeed, so heavy and dangerous is the surf, that few ships' boats are fit to go through it. The shipmaster generally rows to the back of it in his own boat, and obtains one from the shore to land in. Of this, the native does not fail to take advantage in the event of any dispute, knowing that his customer cannot leave the shore without a boat, to be had only through his influence; and it is no uncommon thing for the European to be detained all night, and made to settle accounts in the morning before going off. The coast of Sumatra, from Acheen Head to Flat Point,(its two extremes in this direction,) is a highly dangerous one, being iron-bound, with a heavy surf and many reefs off it. I envy not the man who has to make his voyage here against the north-west monsoon. The Dutch are extending their ports on the sea-board from Padang northward, and will ere long reach Acheen Head; when they will have a struggle, if the Acheenese people possess a moderate portion of their ancient gallantry and hatred of Europeans.[12] [Footnote 12: Since my return home, I have seen an account of the proceedings of two of Her Majesty's sloops on the coast of Sumatra from Acheen eastward. Sir W. Parker, with his usual promptitude, sent them there from Penang, to punish the perpetrators of some acts of piracy lately committed on British vessels. The service has been most effectually performed; and the marauding native has been taught, that, distant as he may be, punishment is the certain result of meddling with the flag of England. The ships of war in and about the straits of Malacca, would do much good to the commerce of their country by an occasional visit to Acheen and the coast of Pedir. There is nothing like the sight of a few eighteen-pounders for keeping the domineering Malay Rajah in check.] CHAPTER VI. MALACCA AND PENANG. Malacca, which I first visited in 1829, and have repeatedly revisited, is completely shorn of its ancient glory, and is no longer of the slightest importance, either as a military position or as a trading mart. Penang, at one end of the Straits, and Singapore at the other, have destroyed its prosperity; and it is now a poverty-stricken place, with little or no trade. The town is built in the old Dutch fashion, each house with its out-offices forming a square with a yard in the centre. The Government offices are still held in the ancient Stadt-House, a venerable pile built by the worthy Dutch burghers some hundred and fifty years ago, and retaining to this day its ancient furniture of ebony, many pieces of which, by the way, have lately supplied patterns for modern sofas and other furniture. The European population is composed almost entirely of the civil servants of the Government and the military men, who reside principally in the immediate neighbourhood of the town, not liking their Malay neighbours well enough to feel inclined to spread far into the country. Some few attempts have been made, within the last fifteen years, to establish nutmeg and other plantations at Malacca; I fear, without much success. Not that the trees do not thrive, but that labour is scarce, owing to the prevailing indolence of the people in this part of the world. Moreover, occasional disturbances among the natives render a residence on the spot (without which little success can be expected) any thing but pleasant. The place is a burthen to the East-India Company, as its revenues do not pay half its expenses. The country round Malacca is mountainous, and covered with large timber. In its neighbourhood are several tin-mines, which yield a metal some twenty per cent. inferior to that of Banca. This tin finds its way, like every thing else in the Archipelago, to Singapore, where it has of late fetched only thirteen dollars and a half _per pecul_. There is a race of men at Malacca, who appear to be the descendants of some natives of Malabar who settled there a century ago, and Malay women; a bad breed certainly, and the men I speak of seem to possess all the _devilry_ of both races. Numbers of them visit Singapore from time to time, bringing among other things, thousands of the Malacca canes which are so much esteemed in England. They have other employments, if fame does not belie them, not quite so creditable to their characters. Here, also, may be found many descendants of the old Portuguese inhabitants, who have here, as elsewhere all over the East, degenerated sadly, and, but for their dress, could not be distinguished from the other natives, except that the latter are a much finer race. These Portuguese are, for the most part, wretchedly poor, and, apparently, will soon become extinct. Very few of the descendants of the old Dutch inhabitants are to be found here now: those still remaining are principally shopkeepers, and are much more respectable in every way than their Portuguese fellow subjects. Slavery, until lately, existed in a domestic form in Malacca; it has, however, been completely done away with through the representations and exertions of the late Governor, Mr. Bonham. Malacca forms a pretty picture from the sea, and, to the passer-by, seems an attractive spot: his disappointment, on landing, however, would be great, and few inducements to prolong his stay will be found, excepting the climate. This, to the invalid from Bengal, is a treat, on which I have heard many expatiate in glowing terms after their return, with renewed health, to Calcutta. Penang, or Prince of Wales Island, is, perhaps, the most beautiful of the three Straits settlements, though it is certainly not the most salubrious, being occasionally visited by a very severe fever, which, in my time, carried off many of the European inhabitants.[13] [Footnote 13: At this moment, I cannot recal to recollection a single existing resident of Penang who has not arrived there since 1829. The Europeans of that time have all, or nearly all, been removed by death.] Here, the nutmeg and the clove come to perfection; and the produce of Penang commands higher prices in the London market, than the spice of any other country with which I am acquainted. The estates of Mr. Brown are the finest on the Island; and the hospitality of their proprietor is unsurpassed. Of late years, the profits of spice-plantations have become somewhat precarious, as the supply in the European markets has exceeded the demand. This has turned the attention of several of the leading people on the Island to the sugar-cane, which thrives here well, and is now to be seen covering large tracts which very recently were lying waste. The sugar-planter here, however, labours under the same disadvantage, as to import-duty in England, as his brother planter of Singapore, which, if not altered, will mar his prospects. Strong representations on the subject have been made to the Bengal Government, and (I believe) to the Court of Directors, as yet without effect. The revenue of Penang is derived from the same sources as that of Singapore, but falls short of the annual expenses of the place. This may be accounted for by the falling off in its trade, and the decrease in its population, since the establishment of the last-named settlement. It still retains a considerable trade with Sumatra, the coast of Coromandel, and Calcutta, but its direct trade with England is almost entirely cut up. It is also the _dépôt_ for the tin collected at Junkseylon, and other places on the Malay coast immediately opposite. Altogether, however, the establishment of Singapore has very much injured Penang, and thinned its population, rendering its houses of little or no value, and giving to its streets a deserted appearance from which they will never recover. The plain on which the town stands, is bounded on two sides by the sea, and, beyond the town, is dotted over with pretty garden-houses: it is intersected in all directions by good roads, which are lined throughout with the prettiest of all hedges, composed of the dwarf bamboo. Beyond this plain, the country becomes hilly and covered with woods, except a spot here and there, where the spice-planter has made his clearing, and built his bungalow. On the tops of several of these hills, which are higher and more extensive than those of Singapore, may be seen bungalows for convalescents, approachable only by a bridle path, up which the stout little poneys of the Island carry bravely the health-seeking or pleasure-seeking party. These spots are delightful residences; and the climate is cool enough at night to make a blanket on the bed most welcome and comfortable, I have my doubts whether these are fit places for the invalid to resort to, particularly if his complaint be of a pulmonary nature. Immediately after sun-set, the hill top is enveloped in a dense fog, which makes every thing in the house feel damp, and which does not disappear till ten A. M. next day. It were worth while to ride up one of these hills, for the sole purpose of watching the clearing off of the fog in the morning: the visiter taking his stand in the verandah about nine A. M., and looking down, in the direction of the plain, on the dense mass of fog hanging over the town and suburbs, sees it by degrees clear away like a curtain slowly withdrawn, and the houses, roads, bridges, &c., appear below him as if springing up there by magic. Add to this, the fleet of shipping in the harbour, the opposite plains of Province Wellesley, and the distant mountains towering in the sky beyond, and a scene may be imagined, that can scarcely be described; at least, not by my feeble pen. When I first visited Penang, Province Wellesley was a wilderness, inhabited only by a thin Malay population and numerous tigers.[14] It now wears another and more pleasing aspect, large tracts of its fertile soil having been cleared and brought under cultivation. I know no better spot for the culture of sugar; and if it does not pay the planter here, those of Penang or Singapore have but a poor prospect.[15] Penang harbour is a very commodious and safe one, formed by the narrow strait between that island and the main land. Ships of three hundred tons may here lie within pistol-shot of the wharf in perfect safety. I have never seen the phosphoric light occasionally thrown out by salt-water, so brilliant as it is here. I recollect being very much struck with it, while sailing out of the harbour about eight o'clock P. M. We had a fresh breeze, and each tiny wave looked like a flash of very bright flame, while the ship's wake resembled the tail of a brilliant comet, more than any thing else. I leave the naturalist to account for this. [Footnote 14: Although the jungles of Penang abound with tigers, I have seldom heard of their preying on man, as they do in the neighbouring settlement.] [Footnote 15: Oct. 1845.--Penang has increased in importance since the foregoing was written. Its sugar-planters have continued their exertions with energy, sparing neither trouble nor expense to make their plantations profitable investments. It gives me much pleasure to be able to add, that their success seems certain, and that their perseverance in petitioning Government on the subject of duties, has at length been rewarded, as it ought sooner to have been.] CHAPTER VII. CALCUTTA. FIRST VIEW OF CALCUTTA--STATE OF SOCIETY-- MERCANTILE CHANGES--UNPLEASANT CLIMATE--SIGHTS AT AND NEAR CALCUTTA--IMPROVEMENTS IN TRANSIT AND NAVIGATION--CUSTOM-HOUSE NUISANCE--PILOT SERVICE--CHARACTER OF THE BENGALEES--RIVER STEAMERS. In 1829, I visited for the first time the far-famed city of Calcutta, and have since then paid it four visits. So much, however, has been written about the "City of Palaces," that it must be nearly as well known to the English reader as London itself; and I shall therefore say less respecting it. The feeling I experienced on first making the land at the mouth of the Hooghly, was extreme disappointment. To a stranger coming, as I did, from Java, Singapore, and Penang, nothing can have a more dreary and desolate appearance than the land about and below Kedgeree. The very sight is almost enough to bring on the ague; and the abominably filthy water of the holy stream heightens the feeling of disgust. From Kedgeree to Diamond Harbour, the view on the low banks of the river improves but little. Above Diamond Harbour, the river banks are somewhat higher, buildings are more numerous, and the country appears more cleared and brought under cultivation. On arriving at Garden Reach, the stranger may begin to imagine that not wholly without reason Calcutta has acquired the proud title of the "City of palaces." From the lower part of this Reach, on the right, the river bank is laid out in large gardens, each with a handsome mansion in its centre; and the whole scene speaks of opulence and splendour. Of late years, these magnificent residences have been much neglected, and what was once the most fashionable part of the suburbs, has been nearly deserted by the great folk. The reason assigned for this, is, that the river, in very wet seasons, overflows its banks, breeding malaria and fever, from which, at the time of my second visit, the inhabitants suffered not a little. For a year or two, these mansions stood empty; but, when I last saw them, in 1840, they were nearly all occupied by mercantile men, who find them pleasant retreats from the bustle of the city, and seem willing to brave the chance of fever. On approaching the head of Garden Reach, the stranger all at once beholds Fort William and the town of Calcutta spread out before him; and a splendid view it is. Should he arrive in the month of November or December, he will behold, perhaps, the finest fleet of merchant shipping the world could produce. Here are seen, besides the flag of Old England, those of America, France, Holland, Spain, Portugal, and Arabia. I must not forget to mention the floating taverns or large passenger ships, which carry home from twenty to forty passengers every voyage; and besides the fleet of large ships, the river presents steamers, pleasure-boats, and native craft of all sorts and sizes, from the gay _budgerow_, to the wretched and more than half rotten _dhingy_. The scene has, however, its drawbacks. The stranger is shocked and disgusted at the sight of some half-dozen dead bodies floating down the river, in all stages of decomposition, some with a vulture perched on them, gorging himself as he floats down the stream on his hideous raft. Government has placed people above the town, for the express purpose of sinking dead bodies and similar nuisances; but they have not succeeded in effecting their object The last time I went up the river, four human corpses passed my boat between Kradd's Dock and Colvin's Grant, a distance of two miles. Nothing strikes the stranger, on landing for the first time in Calcutta, so much as the extraordinary aggregation of palaces and mansions, ordinary dwelling-houses, warehouses, shops, bazaars, stables, huts, and hovels, all mingled together in glorious confusion, a few streets forming the only exception. This is a great eye-sore even to the old resident. I know no part of the world where society is divided into so many ranks and classes as it is here, nor where pride and pomp hold their heads higher. To hear some of the great ones of this city talk, you would think they had sprung from a long line of princely, or, at least, of noble ancestors. It is often observed, however, that they seldom or never mention their immediate progenitors, nor the whereabouts of their birth-place, which, in nine cases out of ten, would be found to be some humble cottage on the bank of a modest brook in England, or burn in Scotland. The more obscure or lowly their origin, the more difficult of access they are generally found. The real gentleman is easily discovered by his superior breeding and genuine urbanity. In former days, a young man arriving at Calcutta as a writer, had no difficulty in raising money by borrowing from some wealthy _circar_; and many of those very young men are still hampered with debts they can never pay: though high in office, and enjoying large salaries, they are tied to the country by their creditors, to whom they are obliged to give a large portion of their earnings. Times have now changed, and the native has learned from dear-bought experience, that the European is not always so worthy of confidence as he at one time thought him. When I first knew Calcutta, some half-dozen mercantile firms swayed the trade of the place, and carried every thing before them. Their influence with the monied natives was great, and their command of ready cash was proportionably large. This led them into all sorts of wild speculations, and ultimately proved their ruin, the whole of these houses having failed (if my memory does not deceive me) before the end of 1832. In spite of these failures, (which ruined hundreds of widows and orphans,) the confidence of the natives was not utterly shaken till very recently, when another batch of similar misfortunes took place, in which many of the old hands were concerned under new firms. This has entirely broken up the system, and scattered the commerce of Calcutta among numerous smaller establishments, setting the wits of the native capitalist to work to find other employment for his cash. Many of them have entered upon the opium trade, principally as speculators on the spot, who buy at the public sales, and re-sell at a small profit; preferring this to running the risk of the China market. Previously to the mercantile break-up just mentioned, the members of the leading firms were, with few exceptions, as exclusive in their society as the leading civilians: their fall has upset these lofty pretensions, and the mercantile society of the place is much improved in consequence. For the hospitality of Calcutta I cannot say much; nor do I know a place where a friendless stranger landing without good introductory letters, would meet with a more chilling reception. I do not speak from experience, having fortunately been properly provided with credentials; but I do not say it without good authority. Of the hospitality of the military gentlemen of the Presidency, and especially of the Dum Dum Artillery, I have pleasure in reporting more favourably. Calcutta has its theatre, its clubs, its races, and its fox-hounds. On the race-course may be seen some fine specimens of the Arab horse, small compared to the English racer, but unsurpassed for spirit and symmetry. Its amusements and attractions, however, are so outweighed by its wretched climate, that I would rather pass my days growing sugar in Singapore, than live amid all the splendour of this proud city. From April to October inclusive, the weather is oppressively hot, with a closeness in the atmosphere that renders respiration difficult, and existence, without a punkah, almost insupportable. I have sat for days suffering from the heat, and longing for sun-set in hope of relief which never came; for, even through the long night, the thermometer did not fall one degree. This extreme heat is occasionally relieved by a thunder-storm accompanied with a deluge of rain, which clears the atmosphere, cools the burning soil, and renders breathing an easy process. The European inhabitants have many ways of rendering the interior of their dwellings cooler than the external air; but, with all their means and appliances, they are generally terribly exhausted before bed-time comes. During this period, the European lady suffers more than the gentleman, and, by the time the cold weather approaches, looks haggard and woebegone. Children also suffer much during the summer. In November, the weather becomes cool, and people begin to think of balls and other gayeties. The winter, however, is not, in my opinion, a healthy season, as the bills of mortality will indicate. A heavy fog then settles over the city and neighbourhood every night, through which, at sun-rise, one can hardly see ten yards, producing not a bracing cold, but a chilling damp. This does not last all day, for the heat is severe from ten A. M. till three P. M., even in mid-winter. The lower class of natives suffer much, and great numbers die during this season of the year, as they are very careless, bathe in the river daily as usual, and are too poor to make any change in their dress, which is far from sufficient to protect them from the damp nights. The wealthier native wraps his shoulders in an ample cashmere shawl; but even he leaves his legs and the lower half of his person with only summer clothing. During the autumn, Calcutta is a very gay place, and makes up for its dullness during the summer. This is the season for horse-racing, hunting, shooting, and theatrical amusements, into which the numerous indigo-planters who come to town from their plantations about this time, enter with spirit, if the crops have been good and prices fair. Among the sights in and around Calcutta, I would recommend the visiter to make a point of seeing, the Mint, the native Bazaars, the Dum Dum Artillery Station, the Ishapoor Gunpowder Manufactory, and Mr. Wakefield's farm at Acra. I mention these as having been myself gratified with examining them. The Mint is, perhaps, the finest in the world. Captain (now Colonel) Forbes, who kindly shewed me over every part of it, said, I think, they could turn out 500,000 coins in twenty-four hours. In the different bazaars, the stranger will find the most extraordinary collection of commodities, Indian, European, American, Chinese, and of other countries, that he could ever have conceived. The zeal of the different vendors in crying up and bepraising their own goods at the expense of their neighbours, will amuse him, while he will feel not a little surprised at the cheapness of many European articles, such as crockery, millinery, hosiery, &c. &c. Should he be a military man, his visit to Dum Dum will delight him, that station being the head-quarters of the Bengal Artillery, and its officers are celebrated for their kindness and hospitality to strangers. With my visit to Ishapoor, I had every reason to be pleased. I not only saw the whole process of powder-manufacture on a very large scale, but met with a hearty welcome from Major Timbrel, of the Artillery, who at that time superintended the establishment. The river scenery near Ishapoor is much superior to what it is lower down; and a good view of the pretty town of Chinsurah,[16] on the opposite bank of the Hooghly, is commanded from Major Timbrel's verandah. Acra farm is situated some twelve or fifteen miles below Calcutta. I visited it as a stranger, while waiting in a ship for the flood tide; and its proprietor gave me a most hospitable reception. Mr. Wakefield has completely established the practicability of curing meat all through the year in this climate, so as to keep at sea for three years. He told me, he killed 25,000 hogs per annum; and, on my asking whether he suspended operations during the hot months, his reply was, "No, we go on at all seasons." I can vouch for the goodness of the hams, bacon, sausages, lard, &c. &c., which he exports, and shall be very glad if these remarks should lead a purchaser to his door. The muddy creeks near Acra farm swarm with alligators, (whether attracted by the smell of blood or not, I cannot say,) and they occasionally become very troublesome. The day before my visit, Mr. Wakefield had had a mortal combat with one sixteen feet long, which he succeeded in destroying single-handed, and had brought home in proof of his prowess. [Footnote 16: Chinsurah was, until 1825, a Dutch settlement; and we then obtained it and Malacca in exchange for Bencoolen.] One of the most remarkable objects in or near Calcutta, is the celebrated Banian-tree in the East-India Company's Botanical Garden on the banks of the Hooghly, immediately opposite Garden Reach. This tree is, without exception, the most splendid vegetable production I ever saw: and its immense size and great age may be judged of, when I mention, that a friend in whom I place the utmost confidence told me, he measured the circumference of the space it shaded at noon-day, and found that, allowing eighteen inches square per man, there was sufficient room for eighteen thousand men to stand under the shade of this venerable patriarch of the forest. This could be effected, however, only by removing the many stems of the tree which now occupy nearly the whole space covered by the branches, and are so numerous and thick, that it is impossible to trace the parent one. It is a mighty tree, and worthy of the proud place it occupies in the first botanical garden in the world. What a wonderful change a few short years bring about in these days of improvement! When I first knew Calcutta, there was no such thing as an overland conveyance for letters; and, as for sending a ship to China against the monsoon, no one ever dreamed of it. The whole world is now a witness of the regularity of the monthly communication with England _viâ_ the Red Sea; and the passage to and from China is made at all seasons of the year, in defiance of monsoons and all other impediments. The spirited owner and commander of the barque, "Red Rover," has the credit of first shewing to the world, that the north-east monsoon in the Chinese Sea was to be conquered by perseverance in a small vessel: his success exceeded, I believe, his own sanguine expectations, and it is pleasing to add, that he was amply rewarded in a pecuniary point of view for his exertions. His example was soon followed by other parties connected with the opium-trade; and the communication between China, Calcutta, and Bombay is now regularly kept up all the year through, by as fine a fleet of clippers as ever rode the sea, commanded by men who appear to defy the weather. They make their passages in a wonderfully short period of time, and stand high in the opinion of the mercantile community of India. They are well paid, as they deserve to be, for the trying work they have to go through; and many of them have recently returned to their native country with comfortable, if not ample independencies. Another improvement of great importance to the trade of Calcutta, is the facility with which powerful steamers can now be procured, to tow ships up and down the Hooghly. Any one who has gone up and down this river, must be aware of the dangerous nature of its navigation, owing to the many mud banks, shifting sands, and very rapid current; and must be sensible of the comfort of having a powerful steamer towing ahead. The saving of time by leaving the port under steam, is immense. I remember, on one occasion, overtaking, in thirty-six hours from town, two ships that had left three weeks before us. The number of lives saved every year by these steamers, is beyond calculation. This is now so well understood, that passengers make a point of ascertaining whether a steamer is to be employed, before taking their passage in any ship; and the under-writers willingly contribute towards the expense thus incurred, considering themselves as repaid by the great saving in what is called "River Risk." I have heard many complaints against Dutch Custom-houses, but the Customs in Calcutta, I can state from my own knowledge, are far more troublesome and unreasonable. Go to any Dutch Custom-house in Netherlands India, and produce your invoice through some known agent; your goods will be cleared and passed without further trouble. At Calcutta, no man's word is taken, but every package landed or shipped must actually _pass through_ the Custom-house. Even opium purchased from Government, and delivered to the purchaser from a Government warehouse, is subjected to this annoying process. Surely the authorities might allow merchandize purchased from themselves, and delivered from their own premises, to be taken direct to the wharf, and put on board ship. A Custom-house officer might accompany the drug, if it was deemed necessary, and see it fairly afloat before leaving it. The present arrangement involves a useless waste of the merchant's time and trouble. The Semaphore established from Kedgeree to Calcutta, is of very great advantage to the shipping interest of the place. Any vessel getting on shore, or coming from sea in distress, can send intelligence of her situation to town in fifteen minutes, and have a steamer down to aid her in twelve hours. It would hardly be fair to leave Calcutta without saying a word in praise of the pilot service. The pilots here are paid by Government, and are a highly respectable body of men: they enter the service when very young, as volunteers, and rise by degrees to the rank of masters and branch pilots, the latter being the highest grade. Branch pilots generally command pilot brigs, which cruise off the mouth of the Hooghly for the purpose of supplying vessels that come from sea with pilots to take them up the river, and of taking the pilots out of ships bound to sea. Master pilots, mates, and second mates are engaged in taking vessels out and in, while the youngsters are employed in heaving the lead, and studying the navigation of the rivers. The whole service is remarkably well conducted. The work undergone by its members is very hard during the south-west monsoon; and they are generally short-lived. This may be easily accounted for, in such a climate, by their constant exposure to heat and rain, to say nothing of gales of wind and frequent sound duckings from the spray of the sea. The natives of Bengal are not favourites of mine: they are much given to lying and thieving, and are sad cowards. It is true, they are not pirates, like the Malays; but this is owing, I suspect, to want of courage, more than of inclination. A Malay servant, should his master threaten to strike him, will say: "Cut my pay, sir, or turn me away if I am in fault, but (emphatically) don't strike me." A Bengalee, under similar circumstances, would cringe under his master's feet, _salaam_ to the ground, beg to be whipped, but "Oh," would be his cry, "don't cut my pay, sir." Nothing used to annoy me so much as this excessive servility of the Bengalee servants: they will do any thing for _pice, pice_; that word being repeated by them at least ten times oftener than any other in their vocabulary. With all this, they are lazy, and require more looking after than any other servants I know. They certainly work for little pay, but that little is sufficient to supply their families with the necessaries of life, and to leave a trifle to put by, if the head of the family does not gamble. The palanquin-bearers are the most useful men to a stranger: for thirty-five rupees (3l. 10s.) he will get a palanquin and six men who will carry him all over the town, a whole month, for that trifling sum; they will take him out in an evening, wait patiently in the street till he is ready to return home, and be at his door by six the next morning, ready to obey his orders. The _circar_, too, is a useful character, but, generally, a sad scamp: he will conduct the stranger all over this vast city, shew him where any thing is to be had, pay his bills for him, and save him a world of trouble; which he makes answer his purpose by deducting one _pice_, or about two per cent, from every rupee you may order him to pay for you, and by charging a _moderate_ per-centage on what he may be commissioned to procure for "Master." It is astonishing how quickly these _circars_ find out when an old customer or "Master" returns to Calcutta. I have been visited by mine within an hour after reaching town. In one instance, I had come up the river in an express boat, and had arrived as soon as the mail; but, presently, in came Master's _circar_, bowing low, and "hoping Master has had a pleasant voyage, and made too much money." The mighty current of the sacred Ganges is now thoroughly conquered by all-powerful Steam; and the Indian officer ordered up the river to join his corps, can now perform in three weeks, the journey that, fifteen years ago, would have taken him as many months. Never having travelled in the river steamers, I can say nothing about the voyage; but, from their being constantly filled with passengers and cargo, I presume they give entire satisfaction. The fact of their carrying the European traveller so much more rapidly than the native boats can do, through the unhealthy Sunderbunds, is of itself sufficient to induce every wayfarer to take advantage of them. CHAPTER VIII. NEW SOUTH WALES. VOYAGE FROM SINGAPORE TO SYDNEY--PORT JACKSON--FIRST IMPRESSIONS PRODUCED BY SYDNEY--THE PUBLIC-HOUSE NUISANCE--SYDNEY JURIES--CATTLE DEALERS--TOWN IMPROVEMENTS--LAWYERS, DOCTORS, AND CLERGY. Circumstances induced me, in the early part of 1836, to proceed to New South Wales, where I passed three years; at the expiration of which I returned to the Straits in much better health than I had enjoyed for years before. The voyage from Singapore to Sydney, _viâ_ Java Head and Bass's Straits, occupies generally from sixty to seventy days; a much longer period than it ought to do, considering the distance, but much time and space are lost in getting southward from Java Head. Crossing the south-east trade-wind, a ship makes nearly as much westing as she does southing, and of course has all the former to run back again on getting the westerly winds in the latitude of 38° to 40° south. We were unfortunate in this part of our voyage, and got no westerly winds till we reached the forty-first parallel of south latitude: from that point they took us to within a few miles of the entrance to Bass's Straits, where we met a strong easterly gale, which detained us several days. This was in March; and I would advise ships bound from India to New South Wales, in the month of January, February, or March, to go to the southward of Van Diemen's Land altogether: they will thus carry the strong westerly winds longer, avoid the easterly gales that blow during these months in Bass's Straits, and probably shorten their passage ten or twelve days. Up the bold and iron-bound shore of this mighty island, from its south-east promontory to the heads of Port Jackson, we ran with a strong southerly gale, and entered the most magnificent of harbours after a seventy days' passage. The entrance into Port Jackson is between two rocky heads, called, the North and South Head. As the former projects rather further into the Pacific than the latter, and somewhat overlaps it, the stranger would have some difficulty in finding his port, were it not for the light-house on the South Head; but, even with this guide, the inexperienced eye cannot perceive the entrance till right opposite it. We ran in with a heavy sea outside, and had scarcely got a ship's length inside the Heads, when we were in water as smooth as a mill-pond. The steep black rocks on our right looked fearfully near to us, but the water is deep close to them, and no difficulty is experienced in beating up to Sydney Cove, a distance of six miles. The only danger in the way is a shoal or reef, bearing the strange name of the "Sow and Pigs": on it, however, there is a light-vessel, so that it may be safely passed, even at night. Were all the fleets in the world congregated in Port Jackson, they would not half occupy it. From the Heads to a mile above Sydney Cove, there is a succession of beautiful bays, with deep water close to the rocks, and good anchorage in all directions. The scenery is magnificent, though, to an eye accustomed to that of Singapore, the green is not quite brilliant enough. A succession of hill and dale, with here and there a neat cottage perched on some rocky point, the soil clothed with trees, the waters of the many bays glistening in the sun, and the distant view of the heights and windmills beyond Sydney, form a picture that can scarcely be surpassed. On landing in Sydney, the traveller from India is ready to exclaim, Surely this is not a town some seventeen thousand miles from England! Every thing reminds him of home: he sees English servants, English tradesmen, English shops; in a word, a regular English town, with its inns and every thing conducted on the English principle. I took up my quarters with my family at the Pulteney Hotel, where we were made very comfortable, and found the terms moderate: the only thing that disappointed us was, the smallness of the bed-rooms. Sydney is a regularly built town, its spacious streets running at right angles with each other. The houses are well built, close to each other, with narrow fronts, and generally three stories high. Here we have George street, Prince's street, King street, Pitt street, Hyde Park, the Surrey Hills,--all recalling, by their appellations, the mother country. Hyde Park, though it comes far short of its namesake in London, is nevertheless a very pleasant spot for a promenade, being nicely shaded by trees planted during Sir R. Bourke's government, and is an ornament to the town. "Government Domain" is a piece of ground in the rear of the Governor's house, reserved by Government for a garden and pleasure-grounds: it is tastefully laid out, and intersected with numerous walks, which are open to the public; and many a pleasant party is formed by the industrious classes, who have only Sunday to spare for a little recreation in the open air. The Surrey Hills are being fast covered with gentlemen's houses, for which a better situation could scarcely be chosen. _Woolloomoolloo_, or Darlinghurst, as it is now called, is the favourite suburb, and boasts of many handsome mansions, each with its garden. Among these are the respective residences of the Chief-Justice, the Bishop of Australia, and other members of the _élite_ of this metropolis. These houses all command a fine view of the harbour with its shipping and the surrounding scenery. Sydney has its theatre, its club-house, its stage and mail coaches, while steamers ply all about the harbour, and up and down the coast; an immense convenience to the inhabitants of the northern districts of the Colony. It has a large and well-supplied market, where the gardeners, farmers, &c. from the neighbourhood collect their produce for sale, and where, in good seasons, (that is, seasons in which rain has been abundant,) the housekeeper may procure supplies on reasonable terms. There is also, immediately outside the town, a hay and cattle market, where large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep are constantly for sale, and generally find ready buyers among the numerous emigrants who are daily landing on these shores. The greatest drawback upon the prosperity of the lower orders in Sydney, arises from the public-houses, of which there are some three hundred, nearly all filled, from morning to night, with men and women, too often spending the last penny they possess in the world. The magnitude of this evil may be estimated from the fact, that, in 1838, the revenue derived from ardent spirits and public-house licences amounted to the enormous sum of 110,000l. sterling. No stranger can take a walk through Sydney without remarking with astonishment the number of these nuisances; and the list of drunkards exhibited at the police every Monday morning, will increase his surprise and disgust. So enormous is this evil on the sabbath-day, that bands of constables patrole the streets for the purpose of clearing them of drunken men and women, whom they consign to the "lock-up." These constables, by the way, are extremely brutal in their manner of handling any unfortunate wight that may fall into their hands; and I have been frequently disgusted at their barbarity. What better conduct, however, can be expected from men, nine-tenths of whom either are or have been convicts? When I was at Sydney, the jail was a most wretched place, not half large enough for the many unfortunate beings it had occasionally to receive. A more commodious one has since been erected, with space enough to allow of the separate classification of debtors, highway robbers, bush-rangers, and felons, which could not be always attended to in the old building. The jail is cleared four times a year by holding criminal courts. The calendar is usually very heavy, and the crimes are generally of a heinous nature. The prisoner has the privilege of choosing whether he will be tried by a civil or by a military jury. Many prefer the latter, knowing that, whatever the verdict may be, it will be a conscientious one. The civil jury is generally composed of publicans, and is always chosen by the Sydney scamps, in the hope that a _chum_ or _pal_ may be found in the list, which is not unfrequently the case. The hardest task the Attorney-General has to perform, is, to get together a respectable jury. When it is composed of civilians, the prisoner is sure to challenge every respectable man in the box. By this means, he generally succeeds in getting twelve men sworn, of whom two or three are of the stamp he requires,--men that will, in vulgar phrase, "swear through a six-inch plank" to get him off. It is no uncommon case for Sydney jurors, on retiring to consider their verdict, to exclaim that their minds are made up, and that they will be d----d if they will give a verdict of guilty. Another source of trouble to all persons concerned with a court of justice here, is the extreme difficulty experienced in extracting truth from witnesses. It is almost impossible to conceive the effrontery with which nine-tenths of these men will swear any thing: they invariably prevaricate and contradict themselves when cross-examined, and are not unfrequently sent from the witness-box to prison, to take their trial for perjury. I remember, on one occasion, seeing a father, mother, and three grown-up daughters, who came into court to sustain a charge against a farmer for an assault on one of the daughters, committed for perjury, while the prisoner was released without a stain on his name. The crime of cattle-stealing, probably, comes oftener before the Judges of New South Wales than any other, particularly since the punishment for it has been changed from death to banishment for life. When death was the penalty, many graziers put up with their loss, rather than prosecute the offender: now, the cattle-stealer is shewn no mercy, from one end of the Colony to the other. The Judge has no discretionary power with this class of offenders, but, in the event of a verdict of guilty, must pass the sentence of banishment for life. If the prisoner came free to the colony, he is banished to Van Diemen's Land: if, on the other hand, he is an old convict, he is sent to rusticate for the remainder of his days on Norfolk Island. Whole droves of stolen cattle are, nevertheless, continually offered for sale in the neighbourhood of Sydney, and ready purchasers are found for them, the risk of being brought up as a receiver not being so great as might be supposed. The regular cattle-stealer has stations in the bush, where he collects his ill-gotten herds, defaces and alters their brands, and keeps them till the new brand has healed and assumed the usual appearance; he then boldly starts for market in open day, and, though he may be met by the former owners of the beasts he is driving, he fears nothing, proof of identity being a difficult task, when a P has been made into a B, and, perhaps, three or four other brands have been added. During the administration of Sir Richard Bourke, great improvements were made in the streets of Sydney, particularly in the direction of the different wharfs, from which the ascent used to be frightfully steep. To remedy this evil, and at the same time to improve the appearance of the town, Sir Richard cut away the brows of the ridges, and filled up the hollows with the rubbish. This proceeding caused a great outcry among those persons who had property where the cuttings took place, and whose dwellings, in some cases, were many feet above the new level of the street. In the course of time, these proprietors descended from their airy posts, knocked down their old unsightly tenements, cut down their ground to the proper level, and built new and more sightly houses; so that the Governor's proceedings have improved both the streets and the general appearance of the town, as well as enhanced the value of the property wherever the cuttings were made. Sydney abounds with doctors, lawyers, and parsons, all of whom thrive here. The lawyer especially reaps a rich harvest among a population notoriously fond of litigation, and prone to give cause for it in various ways. As usual, however, the supply has of late exceeded the demand; and the barristers do not now lounge in such stylish carriages as they were accustomed to be seen in some years ago. The medical men's harvest, a sickly season, is not a rare occurrence in Sydney, though the Colony generally is remarkable for its salubrity. The last summer I spent there, the deaths were very numerous, and cast a gloom over the place. Influenza and fevers were the prevailing complaints, and were probably attributable to the dry, hot winds prevalent at the time, together with the badness of the water in common use, and the intemperate habits of the people. The want of a supply of good water is much felt. Every house has its pump, but the water is not fit for any thing but washing, and is, for the most part, so hard, that soap will not dissolve in it. Government had commenced laying pipes to supply the town with this necessary article; but, when I left the Colony, they had not been brought nearer than to within a mile; and I have not heard of their being since carried any further. Water-carts go round, selling water at a penny or sometimes three halfpence per bucket, which is of a good quality. Previously to the arrival of Sir Richard Bourke, the clergy of the Church of England were the only persons in the Colony that were authorized to marry, to bury, or to christen. Sir Richard put an end to this extraordinary state of affairs, by his celebrated Church Act; and now, every one may be married by the minister of his own persuasion, and follow, in religious matters, the dictates of his conscience. Strange as it may appear, Sir Richard's proceedings in this matter gave great offence to the magnates of the Church of England; and the Archdeacon went home to remonstrate with Her Majesty's Government on the subject. His Reverence took nothing, however, by his motion, Lord Glenelg, the then Secretary for the Colonies, highly approving of all that had been done. But the Archdeacon returned to the Colony a Bishop, and, when I left it, was busily engaged in erecting a cathedral by public subscription. CHAPTER IX. NEW SOUTH WALES. TOWNSHIP OF MAITLAND--THE PATERSON DISTRICT--WINTER SPORTS--THE KANGAROO--AUSTRALIAN HUSBANDRY--CONVICT SERVANTS--BENEFIT OF ENFORCING AN OBSERVANCE OF SUNDAY--THE HOT SEASON. From Sydney, I proceeded northward, by steam, to Maitland, on the river Hunter, and thence up the country bordering on those pretty little rivers, the Paterson and the Allyn. Maitland puts a Scotchman in mind of the "lang toon of Kirkaldy," consisting of merely one long street. From its situation, at the head of the navigation of the Hunter, and the centre of the very first agricultural district of New South Wales, it is likely to become a large, thriving, and important place. The country in the immediate neighbourhood is flat, and the soil rich, yielding most luxuriant crops of wheat and Indian corn. The season of 1838-39 was a poor one for the farmer: flour rose in price to 60s. the cwt.; and the quartern loaf, before I left the Colony, was selling as high as two shillings and eight-pence. This was a time to test the fertility of the soil round Maitland, as well as the benefit it derives from its proximity to the sea. During this summer, the whole district was favoured with occasional refreshing showers; its crops were forward, and the yield good; and while crops in the southern districts had failed from drought, the Hunter-river farmers were sending their surplus produce to Sydney for sale. The township of Maitland is divided into two towns or villages, called, East and West Maitland. The former has been fixed upon as the site of the town by Government, and the latter by the public, who have, as usual, shewn more wisdom in their choice than their masters have, inasmuch as they have planted their town within a few hundred yards of the head of the navigation; whereas the Government town is three miles further up the river, and is unapproachable by steamers, or even by small craft. The two, however, will be joined together ere long, (most likely they are by this time,) as they are rising rapidly into importance. For the beauty of the country between Maitland and the sea, I cannot say much: it used to remind me of Lower Bengal, being so very flat, and, in some places, so low as to be frequently flooded. Like the houses in almost all new towns, those in Maitland form a motley assemblage of buildings of all sizes, shapes, and colours. Many of the smaller and inferior ones were, however, disappearing, even in 1839; and more sightly as well as more commodious buildings were rising up in their place. The traveller will find comfortable accommodation at either the Union or the Rose Inn; and the charges are moderate. He will also have the advantage of meeting settlers from all parts of the neighbouring country, from whom he will readily obtain any information he may require. Frequent cattle-sales are held here; and the beasts are, without trouble or much expense, conveyed to Sydney by steam in twelve hours. The country from Maitland, going up the Paterson, is undulating and generally fertile; particularly the flat lands on the banks of the river. As you proceed towards the village of Paterson, you observe numerous prettily situated farm-houses with their smiling gardens in front, and fields of wheat between them and the river. At the village, the navigation of this little river ceases; and the country becomes more and more hilly as you proceed higher up: the banks of the river, however, maintain their high character for fertility all the way to its source, and many thriving establishments are seen as the traveller pursues his journey. This part of New South Wales, being so hilly, and consequently somewhat humid, does not answer the sheep-farmer's purposes; but the grazier finds his cattle and horses thrive well on these hills, and the agriculturist finds the valleys yield him excellent crops of tobacco, wheat, and maize. The first is becoming an article of great importance to the Paterson farmer, and has helped many of those gentlemen through the difficulties from which the Colony has been recently suffering. Land on the Upper Paterson was selling, in 1837, at 20s. per acre, in lots of six hundred and forty acres, of which not more than forty or fifty were arable land, the rest being what is called here, common bush land, thinly covered with trees, and affording tolerable pasture for cattle. Purchasers of land at the above-named rate, have, I believe, found their bargains profitable, notwithstanding the heavy expense they had to incur in clearing and fencing the arable portion of it, in addition to the outlay for a dwelling, out-offices, &c. The settler on a small farm of this description is almost sure to do well, if he is industrious, and provided that he keeps clear of that colonial pest, the public-house. He will have very hard work the first two years; but his returns will well repay him even in moderately favourable seasons, while, in good times, they will be very profitable. A neighbour of mine raised, in the season of 1837-38, on eighteen acres of fresh cleared land, a crop of tobacco, which he cured and manufactured into negro-head on the spot: it yielded one hundred and fifty kegs of 100lb. weight each; and the whole was sold at 1s. 4d. per pound, thus giving a total of 900l. This farmer had fifteen hands, who, in addition to the tobacco, enabled him to cultivate wheat and maize sufficient to supply the farm, and to leave 200l. worth for sale. The outlay for the twelve months, including every thing, did not exceed 350l.; and I have shewn the returns to have been 1100l. This slight sketch will afford an idea of what an industrious farmer may do in the Paterson district. As soon as he can collect a few pounds, they may be profitably invested in the purchase of some good cows, which will not only supply him and his family with butter and milk, but will pay well by their annual increase. In 1838, stock was worth, in this neighbourhood, as under:--Cows, 5l.; Fat Cattle, 7l. 10s.; Working Oxen, 10l.; Brood Mares, 40l.; good Roadsters, 40l.; Sheep,--Ewes, 2l., Wethers, 17s. 6d. Things have changed since that time: but more of this hereafter. During the three years I resided in Australia, I lived almost entirely on the banks of the Paterson, and the reader may therefore depend upon the correctness of my information regarding every thing in that neighbourhood. It bears a high character for the salubrity of its climate; and very justly so, according to my experience. Not a member of my establishment was ill the whole time we were there; nor do I recollect a serious case of illness among our neighbours. The winter is mild,--just cold enough to make a fire comfortable; while the fine frosty mornings do great good to one who has arrived from India. I used to enjoy them exceedingly, and invariably walked out before breakfast to breathe the fine clear air. The cold weather sets in in April, and continues till September. This is the season to enjoy a gallop in chase of that most extraordinary animal, the kangaroo. Notwithstanding that this part of the country is rather hilly, the hardy horses manage to carry their riders across it in safety. The river abounds with wild duck at this season, as well as with perch and a small fish here called herring, from its resemblance to that fish. The settler may thus not only find amusement for himself in shooting or fishing, but may make a very agreeable addition to his bush fare by his morning's ramble. The flesh of the kangaroo is literally good, for nothing: the tail makes very good soup, but the carcass of the full-grown animal is otherwise of no value to the European, though the native contrives to make an occasional meal of it. The young kangaroo of two or three months old, makes a tolerable substitute for jugged hare, and is frequently on the tables of the settlers. As population advances up the country, the kangaroo retires. I have, however, seen some hundreds of a large size in their native woods, skipping about, and bounding off on the approach of man. The notion, that a kangaroo makes use of his tail in leaping, is a mistaken one. I have watched them bounding along a plain, and could see distinctly that the tail never touched the ground. The female, when pursued, will retain its young one in the pouch with which nature has provided it, till very closely pressed by the dogs: it will then drop the little one, leave it to chance, and make off with increased speed. A full-grown male ("old man," the aboriginals call them) is more than a match for a single dog, and will frequently severely punish a couple of assailants before surrendering. These animals are easily tamed, and make very pretty pets in a garden. Speaking of a garden, we had an excellent orchard, which supplied us with abundance of apricots, peaches, nectarines, figs, green-gages, apples, pears, and oranges, while the garden furnished many a dish of strawberries: for gooseberries, the climate is not cold enough. In March and April, the farmer is busied in preparing his fields for wheat-sowing, which ought to be finished by the middle of May. Of this grain, the ground here yields a fair crop, though not equal to that usually reaped near Maitland: it is, however, generally more than sufficient for the use of the district, which may be called a grain-exporting one. Some farmers sow wheat on land from which they have just reaped a crop of Indian corn: this proves, I need scarcely say, in the long run, very bad economy. On a farm where wheat, corn, and tobacco are grown, there is always abundance of employment for old and young. Should field labour be suspended by the inclemency of the weather, or by any other cause, the farmer finds his servants full occupation in husking maize, threshing wheat, stripping, shifting, and curing tobacco. I used to keep my convict-labourers employed in light work, such as the above-mentioned, till ten o'clock at night: this I had no _right_ to exact; but my plan was, to keep a regular account current with every convict on the place, giving him credit so much for every extra hour he worked, and letting him know, every Saturday night, how much was due to him, which I allowed him to take out in any shape but money or spirits. Giving him the former, would have enabled him to procure the latter. It was generally taken out in tea and sugar; and I never had the slightest trouble in settling these little accounts. I had ten convicts assigned to me by Government; and I confess that I would rather have had those men than most of the free emigrants that came to the Colony. Over the convict, the master has great power, the knowledge of which on the part of the servant, with good treatment and a firm hand held over him, will make him do a great deal of work. The Government allowance of rations does not include tea, sugar, or tobacco; but most masters allow two ounces of the first and last, and one pound of the second per week; which not only makes the men contented, but gives the master more hold over them, as they stand in fear of his stopping the indulgence in the event of misconduct. From my own observation I should say, that nine-tenths of the misdoings amongst convict-servants, that one hears of in New South Wales, arises from bad masters. What, for instance, can be expected from men assigned to a drunkard, who not only drinks himself, but makes a point of inducing his servants, whether free or bond, to take out their earnings in rum, of which he has always a plentiful supply on hand? What from the servants of a master who neither pays any attention to the Sabbath himself, nor makes those under him observe it; who, on the slightest provocation, drags his men before the magistrate, and swears literally to any thing, to have them flogged; who never affords them the slightest indulgence, and whose whole aim is, to get the greatest possible quantity of work out of them for the smallest possible outlay? Nothing tends more directly to promote the good order of a farm, than mustering everybody on it at noon on Sunday, for the purpose of reading Divine service to them. Setting aside the moral benefit that this practice may be supposed to produce, it puts an effectual stop to distant wandering on that day. A man who has to appear cleanly dressed on Sunday at noon, cannot stray far from home either before or after that hour. On farms where this custom is not kept up, the convict starts at daylight for some haunt where spirits are to be had, to pay for which he has most probably robbed his master; there he spends the day in riot and ribaldry, and reels home about midnight in a state that renders him very unfit for resuming his work on Monday morning. The convict-servant soon finds out what sort of a master he has to deal with, and, to use their own slang, after trying it on for a bit, in nine cases out of ten, he yields to circumstances. Two of mine tried a few of their old pranks at starting; but a timely, though moderate application of "the cat," put an entire stop to them. It is, however, useless to say more on this subject, as the system of assigning servants to private individuals has been done away with by orders from the Home Government. The female convicts are much more difficult to manage than the men, and often set their masters at defiance: they are generally of the lowest and most wretched class of women. The summer sets in in October, and wheat harvest begins in November. The weather then becomes exceedingly hot, and the heat is occasionally increased by the hot winds that blow from the north-west. These generally (I speak of what I have observed on the Paterson) blow for three days successively, with considerable violence, and do no small injury to the farmer: they are very dry, make the lips crack, and the skin feel as if about to crack; and should they come across a field of wheat just shewing the ear, they would blight it to a certainty. After expending their force for three days, they are usually succeeded by a sharp southerly gale, which is frequently accompanied with rain, and soon makes every thing not actually blighted look green again. Though the sun, during summer, has, apparently, as much power as in India, I have never experienced any injurious effects from it, though frequently exposed to its rays all day, both on foot and on horseback. The European labourer works in the field here through the day, the same as in England, and does not seem to suffer from the heat. During the hot winds, indeed, he is liable to an almost unquenchable thirst, to relieve which, he may drink with perfect impunity a large quantity of sugar and water; but those who have recourse to water only, are sure to suffer for their imprudence, though not seriously. November and December are the busy months at sheep-stations, all hands being then employed in clipping the wool and preparing it for market. CHAPTER X. NEW SOUTH WALES. BUSH-RANGERS--THE DROUGHT OF 1838-9--THE SETTLER'S TROUBLES--ORNITHOLOGY OF AUSTRALIA--ABORIGINAL TRIBES. On the Paterson, we were never troubled with those dangerous characters called in the Colony, Bush-rangers. I can give no reason for their avoiding this neighbourhood, but know that they did avoid it, and that none of the residents in the district ever gave them a thought. Other parts of the Colony are not so fortunate; and loud complaints are constantly being made, of want of protection against those daring marauders. They are runaway convicts, who take to the bush, either to get clear of hard masters, or from a love of old habits; and, now and then, they keep a whole county in a state of alarm. Frequent instances of their daring occurred during my residence in Australia, some of a ferocious character, while others tended more to excite laughter. Three of those scamps visited, at noon-day, a settler's house, and, coolly walking in, called for luncheon, and made themselves quite at home. While thus regaling themselves, they happened to see a violin hanging against the wall, and asked their _host_, whether he could play. On being answered in the affirmative, they made him strike up, while they danced to his music. When tired of this amusement, they helped themselves to whatever struck their fancy, and then went to the stable, picked out three of the best horses, leaving their own tired jades behind, and rode off. The master of the house was the only person at home at the time, and was unarmed; all his men were engaged in a distant field; and he was threatened with instant death, should he give the slightest alarm. Resistance, therefore, was impossible. Such depredations have latterly been much checked by the exertions of the mounted police. This very efficient body is composed of men drafted from Her Majesty's regiments stationed in the Colony, who are mounted and dressed at the expense of the local Government, and trained for their work. They patrole the country in all directions, and have captured and brought to justice many of the most desperate Bush-rangers, as well as given a check to the several organized bodies of cattle-stealers. Those parts of the Colony most distant from the capital, are, naturally, most annoyed by bad characters of all description; and many of the settlers trust to their own strength, more than to the police, to defend their property. A friend of mine residing in Wellington Valley, three hundred and fifty miles west of Sidney, used to arm himself and his groom, and sally out in search of any desperate character he might have heard of as being in the neighbourhood: he was more than once successful, and became quite a noted man among the Bush-ranging fraternity, who took good care to keep at a respectable distance from him. Were some other settlers blessed with as much nerve and courage as the gentleman I allude to, Bush-rangers would soon become less numerous. A settler's life in an agricultural district, is pleasant enough, but it has its drawbacks. A season of drought makes sad work in his fields, and among his flocks. In the season of 1838-39, water became so scarce, that many of the best pasture-lands in our neighbourhood were of necessity abandoned, and the sheep as well as cattle were kept down on the banks of the river, then reduced to a mere chain of pools, the intervening channel being quite dry. The herbage was completely eaten up, and the trees in many parts were cut down, in order that the hungry animals might eat the leaves. One of my neighbours, to save his flocks, turned them on his half-grown crop of wheat, by which means he saved some thousands of sheep, but lost his wheat. Tens of thousands of sheep and cattle, all over the country, died during this season; and grain crops failed everywhere, except on the banks of my three favourite rivers; namely, the Hunter, the Paterson, and the Allyn. There was scarcely a settler on either of these rivers, that had not a little to spare; while, in less favoured parts of the Colony, the farmer had to pay enormous prices for flour to feed his men; and the cart-hire came to nearly as much as the cost of the flour. I knew one gentleman who despatched from Sydney four drays loaded with stores for his stations near Bathurst, each dray drawn by seven oxen; and so great was the scarcity of water and fodder on the road, that only four of the poor animals reached their journey's end, the others having died on the road from sheer starvation. Flour rose during this season to 60l. per ton, and the quartern loaf in Sydney was sold at 3s. 4d. One of the greatest discomforts attendant upon a summer's residence in the bush of Australia, arises from the swarms of flies, large and small, that infest the house. The large blow-fly is a serious nuisance: many a good joint of meat they spoil, in spite of every precaution. These insects find their way everywhere, and destroy whatever they come near. In the dairy, the greatest care is necessary to prevent these pests from reaching the milk and butter, which they will taint in a second. Scarcely less of a plague than the swarms of flies, are the myriads of fleas which torment the tired farmer, and cheat him out of many an hour's sleep: these noisome disturbers are in the soil, and not all the care the best housewife can bestow, can diminish the number. While on the subject of the settler's troubles, I may mention, that the cockatoos annoy the farmer in Australia, as much as the crows do in England: they attack his wheat and maize when the grain is ripening, by hundreds; indeed, I may say, by thousands; and it requires a very active watchman to keep them from doing serious injury to the crop, not so much from the quantity they eat, as from what they destroy and scatter. These birds, which, by the bye, furnish an excellent dish that occasionally formed part of our dinner, are remarkably cunning: while the flock are busily feeding on the farmer's wheat, two of their number are left on some neighbouring trees to keep watch; these, on the approach of danger, give a loud, shrill scream, which at once puts the thieves to flight, and renders it very difficult for the sportsman to get a shot at one of them. Besides the common white red-crested cockatoo, the woods are the home of the black species; a rare bird, that I have never seen elsewhere. Those brought to Singapore by the Celebes traders, are a bastard species. On what they feed, I am not aware, never having seen them in the wheat or maize fields. During the winter months, neither white nor black cockatoos are to be seen; nor have I ever heard to what place they migrate. The bird-fancier might here make as beautiful a collection as I have ever seen. The different varieties of the parrot tribe are countless, and extremely pretty: the king-parrot, the lowrie, and the mountain parrot, are, perhaps, the most beautiful. Then, there is the pretty little diamond sparrow, so called from its size, its habits, resembling those of the common sparrow, and its plumage, which exhibits a diamond pattern of black, white, and blue. Of the hawk tribe, the varieties are numerous: the largest is the eagle-hawk, which now and then carries off a lamb from the flocks of careless shepherds. Were I an ornithologist, I might write a goodly volume on the birds of this country; but I must content myself with these few notices; not forgetting, however, to mention the stately black swan, a bird becoming every year more rare. We used frequently to be visited by tribes of the aboriginal inhabitants of this vast continent. They are, without exception, the most complete savages I have ever come across. They have no homes, no occupation beyond procuring food for the day, and think nothing of to-morrow, which they literally leave to take care of itself. They resist almost every attempt to induce them to labour, and, if clothed to-day by some good Samaritan, will, in all probability, appear naked at his door to-morrow, having given away their clothes to some convict, in exchange for a pound of flour or an ounce of tobacco. In their habits, they are literally wanderers on the face of the earth, shifting their camp from place to place as game grows scarce. In rainy weather, the only precaution I ever saw them take, with a view to protect themselves from wet, was the building a small hut, not much larger than a bee-hive, constructed of the boughs of trees, with a small aperture on one side, into which the "black-fellow"[17] thrusts his head and shoulders, and sleeps as sound as a top, his legs and the lower half of his body being exposed to wind and rain. In winter, they may be seen encamped round a fire after their day's hunting, all naked, and stretched on the ground, with their feet towards the fire; the men smoking, if they have any thing to smoke, and the wretched-looking women composing themselves to sleep in the same _natural_ state as their lords and masters.[18] They suffer much, occasionally, from hunger, and may then be induced to do a day's work about the farm, for which they will consider themselves well paid by a pound of flour and an ounce of tobacco each. This reward must not be given them, however, till their work is done: give it beforehand, and not a hand's turn will they do, but decamp at once to enjoy their dinner. As soon as they have eaten their bread, they light the pipes, and never cease smoking till their tobacco is finished. Some of the men are remarkably well made, and strong, able-bodied fellows. One who spent a week now and then in my kitchen, doing any thing the cook told him, for the promise of a supper, was a tall, good-looking fellow, named Jamie. They are one and all christened in the bush by any European they may ask for a name. A father applied to me one day for a name for his little boy, and I forthwith called him "Donald;" at which the old man and the rest of the tribe laughed heartily, saying, "All same your horse." I had then a pony called Donald. To resume: Jamie was frequently clothed by me, and was asked to sleep in the kitchen, or in one of the out-offices, but all to no purpose: his clothes, he never kept a week, and he invariably took his departure at sun-set to sleep in the open air. In our district, I believe, the blacks were harmless people; but, on the Upper Hunter, on Liverpool Plains, they have been not only very troublesome, but even dangerous neighbours. Many settlers have suffered severely from their depredations; and several shepherds and stock-keepers have been murdered by them. Would they content themselves with killing a single bullock or two or three sheep, when suffering from hunger, one might excuse them; but I have known twenty-five cows killed by a single tribe in one night, the fat and kidneys taken away, and the carcases left on the ground. This, to say the least of it, was a mischievous waste of property; and such proceedings naturally led the settlers to retaliate. The consequences were serious, and led to extreme measures, ending, in more than one instance, in bloodshed. There seems to be no room for doubt, that many of these poor creatures have been murdered by stock-keepers on the mere suspicion of being concerned in such crimes. This fact, however, does not justify the Government in offering a hundred pounds reward for the discovery of the offender, when a black happens to be murdered by a white, and only twenty-five pounds reward, when the murderer is black, and the victim white. [Footnote 17: The name given to the aborigines in Australia.] [Footnote 18: It is a singular fact, that the aboriginal natives of New South Wales, as well as the cattle that roam at large in its woods, invariably choose the top of a moderately elevated hill to sleep on during the winter months. The reason is, that the hills are _always_ warmer than the valleys, and are consequently resorted to in winter; while the latter are chosen in summer as camping-ground by man and beast. I have often been surprised, when riding about the bush in winter, at feeling a current of warm air on the top of a range of hills, having myself just ascended from the neighbouring valley where the breeze was chilling. These warm breezes on the hill tops blow from the north-west, and may be nearly related to the summer hot winds, cooled on reaching the latitude of 34° in the winter season. Be that as it may, they are not strong enough to warm the valleys, though their influence on the hills is very agreeable to the traveller.] What would my fair countrywomen say to the "black-fellow's" mode of taking unto himself a wife? On making up his mind as to the object of his choice, he proceeds by night to the camping-ground of the _fair_ one's tribe; searches her out among the sleeping beauties; deals her a blow on the head with his club, (to which an Irishman's shillelah is a twig,) and carries off the stunned and senseless wretch to his own camp. This ceremony makes them man and wife, and no further notice is taken of the affair. The different tribes are constantly at war: but I have never heard of any very serious consequences arising from their feuds. The day of battle is generally spent in painting themselves red, dancing the war-dance in presence of their foes, and, probably, exchanging a few spears towards its close. Their arms consist of spears, clubs, and the _boomerang_. The latter is a very extraordinary weapon, which they throw to a great distance, making it _return to the thrower_ when it has described its revolution, and probably hit some unfortunate wight on the head in its course through the air. This weapon is of hard wood, about three feet long, two inches broad, a quarter of an inch thick, and in the form of a crescent: it is thrown against the wind, and describes a circle in its course. The spear is of cane, hardened by fire at the end, and is thrown with great force and dexterity. No black who can by any means obtain a tomahawk, is ever without one, generally of English make: with this, they are very expert at felling trees, and, with its aid, will climb a tree which it would take two pair of arms to encircle. The "black-fellow" cuts a small notch about three feet from the ground; in this, he inserts the toe of one foot, holding on by one hand while he cuts another hole three feet further up to receive the other foot; and thus he proceeds till he reaches the top. The dead trees of Australia, which are all hollow, are a favourite resort of the opossum. In search of them, the black-fellow will ascend a tree in the manner just described; and there he will sit while his companions below dig under the roots, and light a fire, the smoke from which ascending the trunk of the tree, as a chimney, speedily dislodges the game. This is dexterously pounced upon by "blacky," the moment its head appears peeping from the aperture at the top of some of the branches. I have never known the tomahawk thrown by them, as it is by the Indian of America. My family was once thrown into considerable alarm by an ill-looking tribe of blacks who formed their camp immediately in front of our cottage: they were strangers, and had no business there. On making inquiries about them, I found that they came from a neighbouring district, and were endeavouring to evade the police, who were in search of them for the murder of an unfortunate shepherd. Not at all liking such neighbours, I took advantage of their absence, one day, when they were gone kangaroo-hunting, and set fire to their bee-hive huts. On their return at sun-set, they took the hint, and we saw no more of them. Among these tribes, it is a rule, that blood must be had for blood; and this leads them, when one of their number falls by the hand of a white man, to kill the first European they happen to meet, in retaliation. It would scarcely be reasonable to expect these ignorant savages to see the injustice of this proceeding; yet, it is hard, that an unoffending person like the shepherd above referred to should be slaughtered in revenge of the murder of a man he had never seen. The number of dialects, or apparently different languages, spoken by the aborigines of Australia, is very remarkable. Those residing in and about Sydney cannot converse with those on the Hunter, who, in their turn, are ignorant of the dialect spoken on Liverpool Plains; and this is the case throughout the Colony. When Sir Edward Parry was manager of the Australian Agricultural Company's affairs, he made a tour of inspection through its estates, taking with him some few black followers as guides. They were not fifty miles from their home, when, to Sir Edward's astonishment, he heard them speaking English to their countrymen of the districts through which they were passing. On inquiring the reason, he was told, that the two parties were entirely ignorant of each other's language. I never could make out the religious notions of these aboriginal tribes, further than that they believe in a future state. They do not appear to have much affection for their children, if one may judge from the way in which they treat them; yet, the mother bemoans the loss of one of her little ones very piteously, daubs her face and arms with lime in token of mourning, and spends many days in the neighbourhood of the grave. In common with all savage nations, the Australian blacks treat their women ill. These poor creatures get the worst of all their food, with the hardest of all their work; and are frequently very severely beaten by their hard and ruthless taskmasters. Degraded as are these aborigines generally, those in the immediate vicinity of Sydney are a more abject race than their more fortunate brethren who inhabit the distant parts of the Colony. This may be partly, if not wholly accounted for, by the facility with which at Sydney they can obtain ardent spirits, to procure which they will do almost any thing. I have never seen human beings elsewhere reduced to a state of such utter degradation and misery as these poor people exhibit. To shew how much they dislike any thing like labour, I may mention, that Government, on one occasion, set aside a piece of land for a tribe near Sydney, and had it cleared, tilled, and planted with maize for their use, exacting from them a promise that they would tend the growing corn, keep it clean, and gather the crop when ripe: they did neither the one nor the other, but, when called on to gather the grain that was to be their own, said, it was too much trouble. The result was, that the corn was plucked for them; and no further attempt was made to induce them to work. Several praiseworthy individuals have from time to time endeavoured to educate and civilize young boys of this unhappy race. One was sent to England, where he was kept at school till he was fifteen years of age; and he then returned to his native country. He had not been two days on shore in Sydney, when, meeting with some of his countrymen, he threw off his European clothing, and started for the bush, whence there was no getting him back. Like most savages, the natives are seldom if ever known to express surprise or astonishment under any circumstances. Shortly before leaving the Colony, I saw a native, early in the morning, standing on one of the heights overlooking the harbour of Sydney. On my asking what he was about, his reply was: "I belong big river (300 miles distant); first time come Sydney; come here see ship; _budgerie su_ (pleasant sight); never see ship or salt water before." This poor savage had come three hundred miles on foot, assisting a drover with a herd of cattle; he had never before seen either the sea or a ship in his life; and yet there he stood, looking at these, to him, most extraordinary objects, with a countenance as placid and unmoved as if they had been daily sights from his infancy. On questioning him, I could extract nothing further from him: he _would not_ allow that he was astonished, but simply repeated, "_budgerie su_." While idling away an hour one day in the criminal court, I saw an aboriginal black tried for murder. Nothing could exceed the perfect indifference that he exhibited throughout the whole scene. When called upon, through an interpreter, to plead guilty or not guilty, his reply was: "I did it because he (the deceased) stole my wife." He would not condescend to deny an act which he considered himself justified in committing. This plea of justification, the learned Judge directed to be taken as one of not guilty; and the result was, the prisoner's acquittal. Sir F. L. Mitchell, the Surveyor-General of New South Wales, in his admirable journal of his three celebrated expeditions into the interior of Australia, has described the aboriginal inhabitants of that portion of the country named by him, "Australia Felix," as a race of men altogether superior to those found in other parts of this continent. This race may, and probably will be found formidable neighbours for the first settlers to encounter. Their country, from the description given by its discoverer, must be a very fine one; and should it prove to be regularly refreshed by rain, it will be an invaluable addition to the Colony. The fate of the tribes I have been endeavouring to describe, is a melancholy one: they are fast disappearing from the face of the earth; and one or two more generations will, in all human probability, see the last of them. CHAPTER XI. NEW SOUTH WALES. THE HOT WINDS--PROJECTED MAIL-ROAD FROM SYDNEY TO PORT ESSINGTON--SHEEP-FARMS--GRAZING IN AUSTRALIA--HORSE-STOCK. I have often heard the question raised in Australia, Whence proceed the hot winds? Hitherto, this inquiry has not, to my knowledge, been satisfactorily answered. These winds invariably blow from the north-west; but the question is, Whence do they derive the heat they are charged with? In the months during which they prevail, the north-west monsoon is blowing in the Java sea, and thence all the way to Torres' Straits; and northerly winds are prevalent on the eastern coast of Australia. The weather in those seas, at that season, is wet and cold for the latitude; consequently, the north-west wind, when it first reaches the northern coast of Australia, is the reverse of a hot one: whence, then, the heat it brings with it to the thirty-fourth degree of south latitude? From Torres' Straits to this latitude, the distance is, in southing alone, fifteen hundred miles, twelve hundred of which are entirely unexplored. I have heard it suggested, that, in this space, may, and probably does exist, a great inland desert, the crossing of which heats and dries the wind. Whether such a desert does or does not exist, is a problem that may not be solved for many years to come; unless, indeed, the expedition now in contemplation, for the survey of the country in search of a practicable overland route from Sydney to Port Essington, should lead to its earlier solution. To this expedition, should it ever start, I wish every possible success, though I have my misgivings as to its favourable result, and question the soundness of the judgment that advises the undertaking at this time. Supposing the route should prove practicable simply as a mail line, is the Colony at present in circumstances to bear the expense of keeping it up? The object is, to have the overland Indian mail carried from Singapore by steam to Port Essington, thence to Sydney overland; the distance being, in round numbers, two thousand miles, three-fourths of the way through an uninhabited and unknown country. To keep up such a line, the outlay would be enormous, and would far exceed any return that could be expected for the next fifty years. The good folks of Sydney seem bent on trying it, however; and on being refused pecuniary aid from the Government, they resolved on carrying it through at their own expense; but they have since cooled in their ardour. At least, I have not heard of the money being forthcoming.[19] [Footnote 19: The expedition just alluded to has never been attempted; and I think very wisely. The great commercial crisis under which the Colony of New South Wales, in common with all the Australian Colonies, has been suffering of late, has given the Colonists other and more pressing matters to think of; and if they will take the advice of one who wishes them well, they will look to some other route for quicker communication with the Mother Country, than that _viâ_ Port Essington.--October, 1845.] I shall now proceed to offer a few observations upon sheep and sheep-stations. A sheep-station is, probably, the most desolate place at which a man could be sent to pass his time. Fancy three men in charge of one thousand sheep, which range over five square miles of country, of which five miles those three outcasts are literally the only inhabitants, and, strange as it may seem, seeing but little of each other. One is the watchman, who remains by the hut all day, shifts the folds, and sleeps between them at night, to protect their occupants from the prowling native dog: the other two are shepherds, who start every morning at daylight, in different directions, each in charge of his flock; they do not return to the hut till sun-down, when they are tired, weary, and eager for supper and bed. Thus, day after day, and month after month, pass in solitary wretchedness, relieved only on the Saturday for a couple of hours, when a man with the week's rations arrives at the station. These men live all the year round on salt beef and bread, the latter baked by themselves: they have no change either of diet, of employment, or of any thing else; for, be it known, a really good sheep-station in Australia yields nothing but grass and gum-trees, the soil being dry and poor. A shepherd on the hills of Scotland, who returns every night to his _bothie_, and finds a _warm_ supper cooked for him by some kind female hand, is a prince compared to the exile of Australia, who comes home tired and sleepy at sun-down, and may then either chop wood to cook his meal, or go supperless to bed, as suits his fancy. It is under these circumstances that those unhappy connections are formed with native women, the offspring from which are invariably killed by the mother. Against these connections, the present Governor has very properly set his face, and positively interdicted them. Although he may check, he cannot, however, do away with the evil; which leads not only to the murder of helpless infancy, but to bloodshed and wrangling between the whites and the blacks. Sheep, when I arrived in Australia in 1836, were in great request, and ewes with lambs at their feet were worth 30s. each, while wool was at 2s. 2d. per pound. In 1837-38 and 1838-39, stock of every kind rose in price; and in the former year, I paid as high as 3l. per head for a flock of four hundred ewes with lambs five months old at their feet. This purchase was not a safe one; it was made when I knew but little of the value of stock, but acted under the advice of others, and when the colony was in the very midst of that wild career of mad speculation which has since worked so much misery to thousands. I suffered in common with many others who invested money in sheep at the same time, and who left the Colony. Nevertheless, I look upon sheep as one of the best descriptions of stock in which a man can speculate, provided that he keeps within reasonable bounds as to price. Good ewes purchased from 20s. to 25s. per head, will, nine times out of ten, pay their proprietor from fifteen to twenty per cent, for his outlay. To do this, they must of course be properly tended, and be kept on what is here called, a good run, _i. e._ fine dry pasture on rather an elevated tract of country. The sheep-farmer ought to have a good homestead in an agricultural part of the Colony, (this, in my opinion, is indispensable to his success,) where he may grow grain sufficient not only to render him almost independent of bad seasons and high prices, but, generally, to give him a few hundred bushels of surplus wheat and maize with which to buy tea, sugar, and clothing. Hundreds of sheep-farmers have of late been ruined by having to purchase the actual necessaries for their stations on credit. Cash they had none, being unwilling to part with even their surplus stock at the miserably low prices alone obtainable. Another error that sheep-farmers fall into from time to time, is, the allowing their establishments to outgrow themselves, as it were, by not selling every year's surplus stock. I have known establishments become quite unmanageable from this cause, and have heard large proprietors frequently say, they were losers by holding so large a number of sheep: still, they went on in spite of their own better judgment, from year to year, without selling a single head of stock. This loss attendant upon overgrown establishments, arises as much from the difficulty of getting good and trustworthy servants, as from any other cause. The master's eye cannot be everywhere, and the overseer's is seldom to be trusted. Lazy shepherds keep sheep in till ten A. M. in place of turning them out at six. Idle watchmen shift the folds twice a week, instead of every day. Fifty other cases of this kind take place on a large sheep-farm, that never could occur on a small establishment. In damp weather, the watchman's neglecting to shift the folds, is sure to do harm. One of its first evil effects is to give the sheep toe-rot; a troublesome complaint that lames the animal, and is not easily got rid of. Then, a careless shepherd will allow his flock to stray on your neighbour's run, which may have been fed over by scabby sheep the day before. If no rain has fallen during the night, the disease is sure, in that case, to be caught by the trespassers, as I can testify from dear-bought experience. Scab, here, is a very different disease from what the sheep-farmer at home is acquainted with, and is much more difficult to cure. The remedies applied for it are severe, and of a kill-or-cure description: indeed, it requires a strong sheep to bear this application. Rubbing with tar, as practised in Scotland, has been found utterly useless. In advising sheep-farmers to have a good agricultural homestead, I am aware I am recommending what hundreds have not the power to obtain. As a general rule, however, it is a golden one; and I would adhere to it, even were I compelled to have three hundred miles between my stations and the homestead. Indeed, I have known those two establishments separated by two hundred miles. Since 1838-9, sheep have been sold in New South Wales as low as ninepence a head: this, however, was under very extraordinary circumstances, and is not likely to happen again; more especially since the proprietor has found out that, by slaughtering the animal, and boiling down the carcase, he can get 3s. 6d. for the tallow it yields. During the recent distresses, thousands of sheep have been disposed of in this way, the proprietors being so much reduced as to be literally unable either to pay or to feed men to look after their flocks. I know many parties who purchased sheep between the years 1837 and 1840, at the rates then current, at three years' credit, paying ten per cent, per annum for the indulgence, who, after keeping their purchases and their increase for three years, were compelled, when their acceptances became due, to sell off original stock, increase, and all, and then had not half enough to satisfy their creditor. This, as I said before, arose from peculiar circumstances, being caused by the prevailing panic. I shall advert again to this subject, in offering a few remarks upon the recent distresses and their causes. Now as to cattle. The English or Scotch grazier, who has his cattle brought home and housed every night, can have no idea of the sort of work his brother grazier in Australia has to go through. Here, the climate is so mild, that cattle are never housed, but wander in the bush from year's end to year's end. The proprietor of five hundred head of horned cattle, must command the run of five thousand acres of pasture-land, of fair quality, as the grass in the woods of Australia is so thin, that it takes three acres to feed a sheep, and ten for a bullock. He generally employs two men, called stock-keepers, to look after them: these are mounted, and ought to employ their time in riding over and roundabout their master's run, to see that his cattle do not stray, and that his grass is not trespassed on by others. This, however, is more than most of these gentry condescend to do, many of them preferring the company of cattle-stealers and other vagabonds, with whom they are frequently leagued; and if I may judge from the money I have seen in possession of stock-keepers, they share largely in the cattle-stealers' plunder. With the exception of some twenty cows and calves usually kept about the house, to give milk, which are called the milking herd, the grazier sees nothing of his herds but on muster-days, which occur twice a year. For some time previously to muster-day, the stock-keepers have been very busy drawing their herds by degrees as near the stock-yard as possible; and when the day arrives, the whole are driven into the yard to be inspected. All the yearlings are then branded, and fat bullocks are picked out for sale or slaughter. At this time, the stock-keeper and his horse have no sinecure; for the cattle they have to collect, are as wild, and nearly as swift as deer; so much so, that a cattle-hunt in Australia is nearly as much enjoyed by the young men as a fox-hunt in Old England. Some breeds of cattle are much more easily managed than others, being naturally quieter; but, generally speaking, the wild way in which the Australian herds are reared, makes them intractable and troublesome. In spite of all this thieving and trouble, however, cattle-stock is a good investment for money in ordinary times. In extraordinary times like the last year or two, no investment is safe, except to the man who can hold on till things mend. In 1838, cattle were worth from 3l. 10s. to 5l. per head, for a herd consisting of cows, steers, and heifers from one to three years old, and calves under six months. Very superior herds were worth more; but I speak generally. Since that time, thousands of cattle have been killed and boiled down for their tallow. But times are mending, and this stock, like every other, is not likely to be again so unsaleable. It is of the greatest possible importance to a grazier, to have his herds near some place where there is communication by water with Sydney. In this respect, Hunter's river and Port Macquarie have the pre-eminence over the rest of the Colony. The possessor of fat cattle, in either of those districts, can at all times send them to market by steam, without their losing much flesh; whereas I knew in 1839, when fodder was so scarce, a man having three hundred head of beasts fit for the knife, running in Wellington valley, which, could he have got them into Sydney, would have brought 8l. per head ready cash, but which were utterly valueless to him, from the impossibility of driving them through a country almost bare of pasture. Had this man been on the banks of either of my favourite rivers, he could have turned his cattle into cash in three days. The wild way in which cattle are reared in Australia, makes the young steer a troublesome animal to break in for the plough; and then, the absurd system of turning all the working bullocks into the bush to feed after their day's work, adds very much to the farmer's cares. These bullocks are very cunning, and at daylight, when they well know the ploughman will be after them, invariably conceal themselves in some snug corner. I have had men out for hours, looking for a team of bullocks in this way, and have frequently been vexed to see them return as late as noon with only half the number. Were I again to turn Australian farmer, I would stable my working cattle, keep a man to take care of them, grow ten acres of Lucerne hay to feed them, save their manure, (an article almost universally thrown away in Australia,) get double work out of them, and have the satisfaction of seeing my ploughs going at regular hours, in place of being worried "from July to eternity," as Sam Slick says, by having to search for the cattle in the bush. It often struck me, that the Australian grazier loses a chance of making a good deal of money by neglecting his dairy produce. Had he a regular establishment in the bush where his herds run, to milk the cows and make butter and cheese, it would not only, in my opinion, pay well for the trouble, but would make his cattle much less wild. His having forty or fifty cows brought home every evening to milk, would not only make their calves quiet and tractable, but would also compel the stock-keeper to be more active, would keep him at his duty, and, I feel satisfied, would save the proprietor a great deal in the course of the year. The butter and cheese here are both of excellent quality, and might be made in large quantities; yet, both are regularly imported into Sydney from the Derwent (Van Diemen's Land) and Port Phillip; a state of things the settlers of New South Wales ought to be ashamed of. Many a fine cattle-run is rendered useless in dry seasons, by want of water. Nature has provided, all over the country, reservoirs (or tanks) for water, which are filled by every heavy rain; and their contents last a long time: still, in a very dry season, these fail; and many a thirsty bullock loses his life by tumbling, from excessive weakness, into one of those pits. Some parts of the country have no tanks, (or water-holes, as they are called,) except a few muddy puddles at the foot of the hills, and thus become unavailing sooner than other parts. This inconvenience might in a great measure be remedied, at trifling cost, by constructing dams at properly chosen places in the ravines or gulleys that intersect the hills from top to bottom, every two or three hundred yards. In one instance, I have seen this plan adopted with success. The owners of property between Sydney and Paramatta are compelled to make tanks, the water in the river being salt, and that procured by digging wells being very little better. Water, Water, is the cry, in dry seasons, all over this otherwise highly favoured country; and till the end of time, this want will prevent New South Wales from becoming a densely populated country. The horse-fancier may invest a few hundreds very profitably in the purchase of some really good brood mares. From these, he will not only draw a good return for his money, but will also derive a great deal of pleasant pastime in superintending the breaking-in of his colts and fillies. Horse-stock, like every other, has fallen much in price lately, but will doubtless recover itself when times improve. I am acquainted with more than one proprietor who has made no inconsiderable sum of money by rearing horses. There is a constant demand for them; and of late, a good market has been found in India for those suited for cavalry. Another profitable investment for money is to be found, in Sydney, in the way of mortgage. Ten and twelve per cent, is paid regularly, and security given of an undoubted character,--security that has not in one instance failed the mortgagee, even in the recent desperate times. Large sums may be invested in this way; and for the absent capitalist, it is the mode of investment I would recommend in preference to any other. Bank Shares used to be in great favour with monied men when I was in Australia. The holders have, however, had a severe lesson since then, having suffered seriously by some failures among those establishments. CHAPTER XII. NEW SOUTH WALES. CAUSES OF THE RECENT DISTRESSES--CONDUCT OF THE BANKS--MANIA FOR SPECULATION--LONG-ACCOUNT SYSTEM--BAD SEASONS. I will now proceed to offer a few remarks on the causes of the late terrible distresses in New South Wales, and on what I consider as the best means of preventing the recurrence of such lamentable scenes. The three main causes of those distresses were, undoubtedly:-- First, Harsh and illiberal conduct on the part of the Banks. Secondly, A wild speculation-mania that took possession of the entire population. Thirdly, The system that had obtained, of giving long credit to purchasers of stock, &c. While I look upon these three as the primary and principal causes of by far the greater part of the suffering the Colony has recently undergone, I must specify another, though certainly a secondary cause; namely, two successive bad seasons. This last cause is, I am aware, by many persons, regarded as the chief source of all their distresses and losses; but I think I can shew that those parties are wrong in this opinion, which springs from their anxiety to frame an excuse for their very imprudent speculations. In the first place, then, I accuse the Banks of harsh and illiberal conduct; and I will state my reasons for this charge. When I arrived in Sydney in 1836, the Banks, without exception, but more particularly the Commercial Bank (then under the management of a would-be shrewd Aberdonian), were doing every thing in their power to induce parties to open accounts with them. Bills for discount were eagerly sought after, and little attention was paid to the respectability of the names of either drawer or endorser. Cash-advances were publicly advertised by the Commercial Bank. Parties, to my certain knowledge, were stopped in the street by the Aberdonian just alluded to, who solicited their business with a very bland smile. In short, no stone was left unturned by these money-seekers to add to their half-yearly dividends. This system went on till the latter end of 1839. I need scarcely say, that this unbecoming and greedy canvassing for business, tempted many an unwary merchant and settler to venture beyond his depth, and ultimately led to ruin and a prison. The amount of money represented by absolutely valueless paper at this time, is quite beyond calculation. Renewals were a matter of course. Cash payments, even in part, were the reverse of common. Bank-directors overdrew their accounts with perfect impunity to a large amount; and the whole Colony seemed intoxicated with the fond notion that the Banks would never fail them, and that, in those fountains, they would at all times find a never-ending supply of "the needful." In the midst of this mad career, the day of reckoning came suddenly upon them. The Banks took the alarm: they began to think they had allowed the kite-flying system to go too far; and they commenced a system of unparalleled harshness and oppression towards their _gulls_. Cash advances were not merely stopped, but those previously made were called in. Renewals would no longer be accepted, even for half or a quarter of the amount due; and the unfortunate "kite-flier" was, in hundreds of cases, ruined by the very men who had in the most unprincipled manner led him into the mire, and then left him. The Banks now took up a position the very opposite of that hitherto occupied by them; and, instead of trusting everybody, put no faith in any one. This conduct ultimately recoiled upon themselves; their shares fell in value; some of them became bankrupt, while the others had a hard struggle to avoid that catastrophe; and the public lost all confidence in banks and bankers. The worst part of the tale remains to be told; namely, that many widows and orphans, whose all was invested in bank shares, were utterly ruined and reduced to destitution by the failures alluded to. I come now to the second main cause of Australian distress, viz. the speculation-mania that took possession of the entire population of this fine Colony. No one who did not witness the effects of this mania, can imagine to what an extent it was carried. Scarcely a day passed without one or more public auctions of stock of all descriptions; and not a sale took place, that was not crowded with eager purchasers. Many large stock-holders took advantage of the high prices obtained at those sales, to sell off, in the delusive hope that they would in this way be enabled to retire from active life, and perhaps to return to their native country. The terms offered at those public sales, were such as to induce many persons who never even dreamed of sheep or cattle farming, to enter the market and purchase to a large extent. These terms were, in general, something like the following:-- Ten per cent, on the fall of the hammer; Thirty per cent, by bill at twelve months; Thirty per cent, by bill at two years; Thirty per cent, by bill at three years: these bills bearing interest at ten per cent, per annum. I have seen tens of thousands of sheep and cattle sold in this way, many of the buyers being men who had never even seen one of the animals they were bidding for, and who knew literally nothing about the management of flocks and herds; being tempted to make the purchase by the long credit given. But, strange to say, many old settlers were led, with their eyes open, into extensive purchases at most exorbitant rates, thinking that nothing could check the career of splendid prosperity upon which the Colony was then supposed to have entered. How dearly those parties have paid for their folly, the world generally, and their creditors in particular, well know. Besides the numerous public sales of stock all over the Colony, and the large amount of property that changed hands on those occasions, many important private sales took place about the same time. There was not a sheep, cow, or horse in the Colony, too old or too bad to find a purchaser! Any thing would sell, provided only that _time_ was given to find the money. Nothing could exceed the madness of the people, buying, selling, and exchanging accommodation-paper from end to end of the land. Then came the land-jobbers, a set of sharks who did great harm. It was a common practice with those jobbers, or rather robbers, to apply to the Surveyor-General's department, to have lots of land put up for sale, which they were aware that certain landed proprietors could never allow to fall into the hands of strangers, and then to go to the party whose estate the sale of the land in question would injure, and demand a bribe to stop their bidding against him. If this quietus was refused, these scamps would attend the sale, and bid the land up to some exorbitant price, knowing that their victim must be the buyer. Land once advertised by Government must be put up to auction; and the jobber's victim was obliged either to purchase, or to run the risk of having a stranger sit down as the proprietor of a few hundred acres in the midst of his thousands. Another class of scamps used to attend land-sales, who would conspire to keep down the prices of lots they wanted, by not bidding against each other, and by playing various other tricks, to the detriment of the revenue. The Attorney-General got hold of half a dozen of those gentry in 1839, and prosecuted them for conspiracy. He obtained a verdict of guilty against them, but assented to their petition for a new trial. Again they were convicted, and they were fined a hundred pounds each; the Court telling them, that the penalty would have been much heavier, had not the judge taken into consideration their humble petition for mercy, and the heavy expenses they had incurred in standing two trials. This system of selling by auction and by private sale, large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep at high prices, went on till some of the twelve-month's paper became due. Cash not being then forthcoming, renewals were asked for in many instances, which somewhat damped the ardour of speculation; but the wild career did not receive any very serious check, till the two-years' paper began to come into play. Very little cash could be got from the drawers, who were, in many cases, obliged to bring a large portion of their stock to the hammer, in order to meet their acceptances for thirty per cent, of the purchase money. This alarmed people. The price of stock began to fall; and, long before the three-years' paper became due, ewes that had cost the buyers 3l. per head, could be got for 7s. 6d. Thus, many a poor fellow, after labouring hard for three years to keep his flocks and their increase together, had to part with the whole, and still had not enough wherewith to satisfy his original creditors. Hundreds of instances of this kind might be specified, did I feel at liberty to publish names. As to the operation of the third main cause of the distress, the system that obtained, of giving long credit to purchasers of stock, the evils arising from this practice have been partly exposed in the foregoing remarks; but I will proceed to point out a few other evil consequences, as they occur to me. To begin with one that more than once came under my own notice; many persons of property, trusting to the long prices obtainable for stock of every description when sold on credit, and forgetting that there was absolutely no _cash price_ at the time, deemed themselves much richer men than they were in reality. Giving to their overseers the charge of their country residences, they took and furnished houses in Sydney for their families, set up their carriages, and commenced a style of living far beyond their means. This fact (the want of cash) came upon them the moment the first half-year's bills for rent, household supplies, &c., became due: these proved to the deluded settler, that, though he had flocks and herds, he had no money, nor could any be got, except at a sacrifice. To a man, they had to sell off and return to their estates, where dire necessity has since compelled them to remain, and where, I hope, renewed prosperity and common sense will induce them to stay. Another evil caused by the long-credit system, was its inducing many persons to purchase stock for the purpose of raising money upon it. This practice was carried to a ruinous extent, and caused immense distress in this way. A hundred head of cattle might be parted with to day, by a needy settler, say, at 3l. per head, six months' credit; the seller took the buyer's note of hand for the purchase money, 300l., which was immediately taken to the bank, and discounted; and the settler returned to his farm, satisfied that he had made a good sale of his beasts. The buyer, having no use for the cattle, re-sold them, taking the second buyer's note for the money, which, like that of the first, went at once to the bank. This transaction was frequently repeated six or eight times, before the cattle found a _bonâ fide_ purchaser; and it was no uncommon thing, to find paper in the market to the amount of 1800l. or 2000l., the only representative for which was the hundred head of cattle originally sold by the settler; the whole of the parties concerned being, with the exception of the first seller and the last buyer, mere men of straw. When the six months expired, not a single bill of the six or eight negotiated, was taken up, excepting, perhaps, the last one: all the others had to be renewed; and it was the forcing the payment of such bills, that ruined so many people, and ultimately shook the credit of every bank in Australia. The credit system also led many mercantile men into speculations which they never would have entered into under a wholesome system of trade. From these many serious losses resulted, which have led to ruinous failures. Any man with a hundred pounds in his pocket, could get credit for a thousand; and numbers of adventurers of all descriptions, taking advantage of the times, opened stylish shops well-filled with goods bought on credit, carried on a flourishing trade till within a few days of their bills falling due, and then decamped, leaving their unfortunate and silly creditors to get paid from the wreck of the stock left in the shop. I knew an auctioneer who played this nefarious trick, leaving his creditors _minus_ the enormous sum of 70,000l. He did not, however, long retain his ill-gotten wealth: how he got rid of it, I do not know; but I found him two years ago in Singapore, where he kept a small grog-shop, and lived in great wretchedness; and I have since met with him knocking about the streets of Macao, a disgrace to his country in a foreign settlement. The credit system ruined two thirds of the respectable auctioneers in Sydney, and upset the Australian Auction Company, absorbing every shilling of its paid-up capital. In addition to the evils inflicted on this Colony by these main causes, great losses were sustained by settlers through their becoming shippers of their own wool. At the time I speak of, wool was worth, in Sydney, from 2s. 1d. to 2s. 2d. per pound, and, in England, some 6d. or 8d. more. These high rates would not satisfy some settlers, who foolishly took an advance upon their clips, letting them go home on their own account, and at the risk of the agents of the parties who advanced the money in Sydney. In the meantime, wool fell in the English markets to 1s. and 15d. per pound. The nett proceeds of the shipment did not nearly cover the advance made; and the hapless shipper, already in debt to his agent for supplies, and without a penny of cash at his command, was called upon to make good the difference, which he was unable to do. His agent, pressed by others, must press him; his flocks are brought to the hammer, and sold at the now ruinous current prices; and he becomes a bankrupt. Dozens of cases like this, occurred during the late wretched times. I come now to the consideration of the bad seasons of 1838-39 and 1839-40. While I maintain that they were far from being the sole, or even the chief cause of distress, I allow that they added to it very materially. To shew that they were not the sole cause, I may mention, that, among my own personal friends in the Colony, not one who avoided speculation and putting his name on paper, has failed; while those who followed the stream have sunk, every one of them. During those years, every thing the unfortunate grazier had to sell, was cheap beyond all precedent; while every article he was compelled to purchase, was very dear. Tea, owing to the China war, rose from 5l. to 15l. per half-_pecul_ chest of hyson skin. Flour of the very coarsest description could not be had under from 30l. to 35l. per ton of two thousand pounds weight,--a colonial cheat, calling two thousand pounds a ton! Sugar and other necessaries were equally high; and many a poor settler who had never refused his hard-worked servants their tea, sugar, and tobacco, was compelled to stop those indulgences. To the working-classes in Sydney and other towns, the bad seasons were ruinous. Provisions were so dear, that many a father of a family found his earnings far from sufficient to provide food for his wife and children. Building was almost entirely put a stop to; and thus, hundreds of industrious men were thrown out of employment. To so serious an extent did this distress reach, that Government was called upon to afford pecuniary relief to the starving poor; a circumstance altogether unprecedented in Australian history. So low had these evils sunk the Colony and all its inhabitants, that failures of merchants and settlers continued to be of almost daily occurrence up to the end of the year 1843. No one durst push his neighbour for payment of debt: were such a thing attempted, an immediate surrender of his affairs to the official trustee of the Insolvent Court, was the consequence. Several of the first and oldest merchants in the Colony have sunk under the long-continued pressure; and, at the date of the last accounts, more failures were looked for. These, however, were expected as the result of old causes, not of new or recent transactions. Upon the whole, I am disposed to think, that Australia has seen its darkest day, and that things are likely soon to improve, if, indeed, they have not already mended. The price of stock was looking up; and ewes that had actually been sold as low as 9d. each, were worth 7s. 6d. Men of capital lately arrived from England with ready money, had commenced purchasing land and stock; and their operations had given an impetus to affairs in general, that could not fail to be beneficial. CHAPTER XIII. NEW SOUTH WALES. ELEMENTS OF PROSPERITY STILL EXISTING--HINTS TO THE COLONISTS--FUTURE PROSPECTS. Notwithstanding the terrible shock from which Australia has been suffering ever since 1839, I still retain a high opinion of the Colony as an advantageous field for the employment of the spare capital of the mother country. The elements of prosperity still exist, and require only a little nursing in order to effect its recovery from the recent depression. The emigrant with a capital of three or four thousand pounds, must not, indeed, expect to make a fortune in a few years; but he may with perfect confidence look to make himself an independent man, at a much more rapid rate than he could by means of double that sum in England. If he is prudent, nurses his capital, sticks to his business as a settler, avoids _tempting_ bargains of things he has no use for, and, above all, refrains from obliging his neighbours with the occasional loan of his name to a bill, I see not what can by possibility prevent his succeeding in such a country, even allowing that every third season should prove one of drought. To the industrious farmer with a small capital of 500l. or 1000l., New South Wales offers a fine field: he can obtain a hundred acres of the finest arable land in the world on a clearing-lease, with two years free for the clearing, and three or five years more on a moderate rent. A capital even of 500l. will enable him to fence his land, build himself a _bush_-house and out-offices, and maintain his family for two years; by which time it will be hard indeed, if he has not land enough under crop to return him something handsome. I have known many settlers of this kind thrive, and many others "go to the wall:" the former had a small capital to start with, while the latter commenced upon credit for the very bread required for their families; a plan I never knew to succeed. Let but the settler stick to his business; the merchant be content with smaller profits than used to satisfy him, and cease giving long credit to all and everybody; let the banker be less grasping, and not quite so hard a creditor when he finds one of his customers in difficulties or reverses; let every one avoid speculations out of his strict line of business, and beware of accommodation-paper; and let the lower and middle classes avoid the public-house; and there is nothing to fear for Australia. It has had a severe lesson administered to it, that ought to be a warning to all its inhabitants for the future. I have no hesitation in saying, that nine-tenths of the evils from which the Colonists have suffered of late, have arisen from their own imprudence, and that these may be avoided in future by common caution, in spite of dry seasons and occasional failures of crops. Now that colonization is extending up the coast from Sydney northwards, and the inhabited parts of the Colony already approach the tropic of Capricorn, New South Wales ought, in a few years, to be a rice and sugar-growing country. The soil on the banks of the rivers in the neighbourhood of Moreton Bay, is, from all accounts, equal to any thing hitherto known in the Colony; and the climate is very highly spoken of. Should the winter there prove too long or too severe for sugar-growing, (I do not see why it should be so,) parties anxious to try the culture of the cane as a means of making money, must in that case just move a little further north. There is an extensive field to explore, before they reach Torres' Straits. That New South Wales will become an extensive wine-growing country, I conceive there is no room to doubt. Its vineyards are magnificent, in every sense of the word. I have visited several of them, and was struck with the abundance and variety of their produce. Two proprietors of my acquaintance have been for years in the practice of making wine of different sorts, but principally of the lighter kinds resembling the Rhenish. I can vouch for their being very palatable, particularly during the summer months. One of the gentlemen alluded to has also made very good port wine and brandy. The greatest drawback on the commerce of New South Wales, is the deficiency of exports, the balance of trade being greatly against the Colony. Its wool and oil are what merchants have hitherto principally depended upon, though other exports are now coming into play; viz. cedar-timber, hides, tallow, and salt provisions. Still, I do not think that, even with these additions, the merchants of the Colony can manage to make their exports equal in value to their imports; and were it not for the very considerable sums drawn for on the Home Government, by the military department, for the pay and provisions of the troops, necessity would compel the merchants of England to reduce their shipments to Australia. The great fall in the price of the principal colonial staple, wool, has added very materially to the difficulties arising out of this state of affairs, by reducing the value of remittances made in that article to one half of what it used to be. The quantity of wool increases, it is true, from year to year, but not to such an extent as to counterbalance the fall in price; and it must be borne in mind, that, as fast as the wool increases, so does the population, and consequently the amount of imports in the shape of supplies, which have all to be remitted for. Since the opening of the coast of China to the commerce of the world, (the result of our late struggle with that country,--a struggle so much condemned by those who were ignorant of the merits of the case,) the merchants of Sydney seem to have entertained the idea, that their trade will benefit by the change. No one would rejoice more than myself at their anticipations proving correct; but I confess my judgment differs from theirs; and if we may judge by the result of their trial shipments, which arrived prior to my leaving China, it is to be feared they will find, to their cost, that they have reckoned without their host. The Sydney merchants, from what I have heard, expect to find in China a market for horses, cattle, and sheep, coarse woollens, wine, and salt provisions. The first three have been tried, and the experiment has proved an utter failure: the horses were sent to Calcutta, not a purchaser being found for one of them in Hong Kong. Cattle are out of the question: they cannot be transported five thousand miles to undersell the Chinese butcher, who gives fifteen pounds of good beef for a dollar--about 3-1/2d. per pound. This price, the Sydney speculator cannot compete with, particularly as his beasts would certainly land in poor condition after so long a voyage, and either put him to the expense of fattening them, or compel him to sell at the low price of lean cattle. Sheep have also been tried by several ship-masters, and did not answer: the last lot that came, were slaughtered and sold in the market, the only way in which they could be got rid of, and which would not answer the purpose of a large importer. For coarse woollens, a market may certainly be found in China; but whether a profitable one, or not, to the Australian manufacturer, is, in my opinion, somewhat doubtful. Labour is so much cheaper in Britain than it is in Australia, that, I fear, the Sydney manufacturer would have but a poor chance, when his goods came into competition with those of Manchester, either in the Chinese or in any other market. Whatever kinds of goods may be required on the coast of China, will soon be supplied from Manchester and Glasgow at the lowest possible figure, the object of the manufacturers of those places being, I presume, a large trade with moderate profits; so moderate, indeed, as to leave the Sydney manufacturer no chance of competing with the means at the command of the British manufacturer. Australian wool, like Indian cotton, may be taken to England, be manufactured there, and sent out and sold in China, or anywhere else, for less money than it would cost the Sydney capitalist to produce the manufactured article. As to wine, it will be a long time before New South Wales has much to export; and the limited European population of China will not consume a sufficient quantity to be of importance to the Australian vine-grower. The Chinese cannot be counted upon as purchasers: they are not wine-drinkers, generally speaking; and the little they do consume, is manufactured to suit their own palates, in China. For salt provisions, there is a considerable demand in China, among the European shipping that visit its ports: they must, however, be cheaper in Sydney than they were in my time, to answer the purpose of even a remittance. The Americans bring to China excellent beef and pork, which they sell at ten and twelve dollars (about 42s. to 54s.) per barrel of two hundred pounds weight. If these prices will remunerate the Sydney shipper, he may try his luck as soon as he likes; but he must not send an inferior article: if he does, he will sink his capital. Cedar-timber has been tried recently, and has answered very well to a small extent: this, however, will last only till the town of Victoria on the island of Hong-Kong is completely built. By every fresh outlet for surplus stock that can be pointed out to the Australian grazier, we shall be rendering him a substantial service. Sir Robert Peel's new tariff will enable him to dispose of many a spare fat bullock. Of this opening he has already taken advantage, by sending trial shipments of salt beef to England. It appears to me, that the imports and exports of Australia ought to be much nearer a balance than they are. To bring about this desirable state of things, it will be requisite to reduce the amount of the imports, which may be effected by giving up the importation of hams, bacon, cheese, butter, tobacco, and, in a great measure, grain. To see a pastoral country like New South Wales importing butter and cheese, is an anomaly, and only proves the waste and carelessness of the owners of herds numerous enough to supply all Europe with dairy produce. The importation of hams and bacon is another absurdity and evidence of wasteful husbandry. I have seen fruit, barn-sweepings, butter-milk, bran, &c. &c. wasted about a farm in Australia, in quantities sufficient to feed and fatten a hundred pigs, which would have kept the establishment in meat for half the year. Indeed, it is a common saying in the Colony, that the waste on one of its farms, would make an English farmer's fortune. These may seem minor articles, but vast sums of money are annually paid for them to London dealers. Besides these, are imported, pickles, preserved fruits, sweetmeats, shoes, clothing, and a thousand other articles, every one of which might be as well and as economically made in the Colony, thereby saving thousands per annum. A coat or other article of dress can be made in Sydney as well and as cheap as in London; and though the cloth must be obtained from England, there is no reason that the London tailor should benefit by the making, when the Sydney one is in want of work, and is willing to work as cheap as his London brother. Employing colonial workmen would keep vast sums of money in the country, that now go out of it. Tobacco and snuff ought never to be imported, the Colony being quite equal to producing more than sufficient for its own consumption. The quality of colonial tobacco used to be complained of; but that objection no longer exists. Moreover, people who cannot complete their remittances for necessaries, have no right to be nice in their choice of luxuries. I am confident that I am within the mark, when I say, that 50,000l. sterling per annum are paid to Americans and others who import snuff and tobacco! This is a sum assuredly worth saving, and which the Colonists could easily save, by encouraging the growth and consumption of their own produce. After what I have written upon the subject of Australian agriculture, I may be thought to be making a bold assertion in saying, that the necessity for the importation of grain might, in a great measure, be done away with in Australia. Nevertheless, such is my opinion; and I will proceed to give my reasons. In the first place, there is a great waste of wheat, as well as of every thing else, on every farm in the Colony. There is no gleaning; and what with the bad and careless threshing and the ill-thatched and worse-built stacks, which admit the rain, whereby thousands of bushels of wheat are destroyed, the waste is beyond any one's conception who has not actually witnessed it. In the second place, there is not nearly so much wheat grown in Australia as there might and ought to be. A simple process of irrigation, such as the Chinese or the Javanese, the machinery for which would not cost 5l., and would employ only two men when in operation, applied to the wheat-fields in dry seasons once a month, would save many a crop. All, or nearly all the wheat in the Colony, is grown on the banks of rivers, which, though they cease to flow in a season of drought, have always water in the deep parts of the channel or "water-holes." It requires no argument to prove, that irrigation, in such situations, is a very simple matter. Two Javanese, by means of a long lever attached to a tall tree on the bank of a river, with a large bucket and string at one end, and a string to hoist up by at the other end, will keep a small stream of water running over and fertilizing the neighbouring paddy-fields all day long, without fatiguing themselves. The Chinese water-wheel is also a simple and cheap contrivance, and would throw up water enough, in two hours, to irrigate, or even to inundate a tobacco or wheat-field. All that is wanted, besides the labour of two men, is a series of wooden troughs to convey the water from the river bank to the highest part of the field, whence it is easily guided over the other parts. A little attention to irrigation might, in my humble opinion, very soon make New South Wales independent of imported wheat. Another means of doing away with the importation of grain and flour, may be found in paying more attention to the cultivation of maize. Large quantities of it are grown at present, but they might easily be doubled.[20] And here, irrigation would answer splendidly, the drills forming such convenient water-courses. Large as is the quantity of maize grown in Australia, it is not used as food for man;--why, I know not, but such is the fact;--and I have known a convict turn up his nose when offered corn-meal. Every one knows how extensively this article is used in America, and how wholesome a food it is. Were the Australian farmers firmly and unanimously to determine upon making their dependents take at least half their weekly allowance in maize-meal, in place of wheaten flour, the latter would soon become fond of it. There would then be an inducement to extend its cultivation; and the large sums of money annually remitted to Van Diemen's Land, Valparaiso, and Bengal, for wheat, would very shortly be reduced to a small cipher. [Footnote 20: I do not mean to say, that irrigating an acre of wheat or maize would double the yield of grain, but that double the number of acres now under the plough would in a few years, after the irrigating system had been fairly tried and found to answer, be brought under cultivation. In the neighbourhood of Bathurst, and in many other parts of the Colony where rain is very uncertain, there are thousands of acres of alluvial land lying waste, which, upon my plan, would yield tens of thousands of bushels of wheat and maize.] To urge this most desirable object any further upon the Colonists of New South Wales, would be to insult their good sense. I will only express a wish that they may at once adopt measures to equalize their imports and exports, and that the few hints here thrown out to them, may be of use. The supply of tea and sugar to the Australian Colonies, has, on the whole, been a profitable trade to the parties engaged in it; but it has, of late, been overdone. The quality of the tea and sugar now sent to Sydney, is far superior to what it used to be; and the coarser sorts of both are going out of use; a clear proof that the population are improving in respectability. Formerly, nothing in the shape of either article was too bad to send out to Australia. Things have changed, however, and several speculators have been serious losers within the last three years, by sending goods that would have suited admirably six years ago. When I first went into the Bush, you might visit a dozen of the most respectable houses without being able to get any thing better than the most common hyson-skin tea and very dark moist sugar. A cup or two of the liquid made from these, would poison an old Indian; and I never ventured to drink it. A friend of mine, who absolutely dreaded being compelled to drink this stuff, used always to carry a paper of good black tea in his pocket, whenever he left his own house. He was in the right, though often laughed at. Mauritius sugar used to be the favourite at the time I speak of; but now, Manilla, Singapore, and Batavia are looked to for the supply of a better and cheaper article. From Manilla the Colonists import small supplies of coffee, chocolate, reed hats, and cheroots. Singapore and Batavia send them, in addition to sugar, quantities of rice, spices, Dutch gin, tea brought thither by Chinese junks, planks, &c. &c. Singapore sends also a ship or two annually to South Australia, Port Philip, and Van Diemen's Land. CHAPTER XIV. NEW SOUTH WALES. CLASSES OF SOCIETY IN SYDNEY--DISAPPOINTMENT OF EMIGRANTS--CHARACTERISTICS OF IRISH AND BRITISH EMIGRANTS--AVAILABLENESS OF CHINESE LABOURERS--AUSTRALIAN COAL MONOPOLY--TORRES' STRAITS THE BEST PASSAGE FOR STEAMERS--BOTANY BAY--PASSAGE FROM SYDNEY TO BATAVIA. To obtain admission to good society in Sydney, when my family first arrived there, was no easy matter. Not that there was any lack of it in the place, but the residents were, very properly, shy of strangers, unless provided with testimonials as to their respectability. Fortunately for us, a kind friend in Singapore, who had been in New South Wales, and knew the value of the favour he was conferring, supplied us with a whole packet of introductory letters to the first families in the place; while we were further aided in the matter by my old friend, Thos. Macquoid, Esq., then Sheriff of the Colony. In a place like Sydney, where society is formed of such varied and extraordinary materials suspicion of strangers, on the part of the really respectable portion of the community, is natural enough; and those who have not been sufficiently wary in this respect, have had cause to regret their want of caution. The tide of emigration is now bringing numerous highly respectable families to Australia, as well as thousands of hard-working, honest labourers, while the importation of felons has ceased. This state of things will, in time, do away with the necessity for such extreme caution and mistrust. It will, however, take a number of years to clear the Colony of the half-reformed villain who still hankers after his old ways,--of the _emancipist_, whom the law looks upon as a reformed character, but whom experience has taught the world to look upon with a very different eye,--and of the convicts for life, who still amount to thousands. Until the Colony is pretty well weeded of such characters, society will not, and cannot, dismiss the suspicion with which it is now rendered necessary, by circumstances, to regard the unintroduced stranger. I found no lack of agreeable society, both male and female, in any part of New South Wales that I visited. In many instances, the conversation certainly turned rather too much upon sheep and cattle; but this ought to be excused, where ninety-nine hundredths earn their daily bread by means of those animals. In Sydney, we found the dinner and evening parties highly agreeable, and composed of elegant, accomplished, and intelligent persons of both sexes. What more can be said of any community? During the government of Sir Richard Bourke, an attempt was made by him to introduce into his own parties some emancipist families; and on one occasion, the grand-daughter of a late Sydney hangman actually made her appearance at a ball at Government-house. This fact being found out by the heads of families present, a representation was made to His Excellency through his aide-de-camp, and, after some show of opposition on the part of the Governor, a stop was put to it. I do not mean to say that, among the class called emancipists, consisting of persons who have been convicts, there may not be found men and women who have become thoroughly reformed and fit to adorn society. This, however, is the exception, not the rule. A large majority of the class in question are quite unfit for any company but that of a low pot-house. Some of the most stylish equipages in Sydney are the property of men who came to the Colony with fetters on their legs. In them may be seen, any and every day, gayly-dressed women, driving about the town, shopping and lounging away their idle mornings. Whether they are the wives, daughters, or mistresses of the owners of the carriages, it is difficult to tell; but the conclusion that every second one contains a mistress, would not be far from the truth. Such is the society the unwary stranger sometimes falls into, before he knows what he is about; nor does he become fully aware of the evil consequences of his imprudence, till he finds out with whom he has been associating, and that all access to the really respectable society of the place is closed against him. It is quite as requisite for a stranger arriving in Sydney to be on his guard as to his associates, as it is for residents to be careful whom they may admit into their families. There are many wealthy families in and near Sydney, whose heads came as convicts to the Colony. The days when such men could make rapid fortunes, are gone by; and the convict who looks for any thing of the kind now-a-days, will find himself wofully mistaken. There are too many respectable tradesmen in Sydney for ex-felons to have much chance; and the time when a shopkeeper would not condescend to take a piece of cloth off his shelf to satisfy a customer, but would point to a lot with his stick, and ask, "Which will you have?" has also gone by. Every attention is now shewn to customers by Sydney shopkeepers, some of whom are not a whit behind their London brethren in the art of recommending their wares. New South Wales had been for many years a British Colony, before any Israelites found their way thither as _free_ men; and I have heard, that it was the return of a Jewish convict with well-lined pockets, that first attracted their attention to his place of exile. Be this as it may, there are more Jews than enough in Sydney now; they are to be found in every quarter of the town; and certainly, they keep up their ancient character for perseverance in search of their idol, money. I do not think, however, that I ever came across a Jewish settler: why they seem to avoid that occupation, I know not. It is common, in Australia, to hear persons talk of the Colony as their adopted country, and so forth. No faith ought to be put in these declarations; nor do I believe there is a family in the Colony, who do not entertain some hope of once more seeing their native land. During the time that high prices were obtainable for stock, hundreds of settlers who were wont to talk of their adopted country, used every exertion to realize their property in order to return to England. Many succeeded, and actually left the Colony, rejoicing in the idea of once more planting their foot on British ground. The exceptions to this general rule, are to be found in the emancipist class; in the persons of notorious scamps who could not shew their face in respectable society in England, and who have sense enough to know that they are better off in the southern, than, by any chance, they could be in the northern hemisphere. From extensive experience, I am convinced, that a very large majority of emigrants are lamentably disappointed on reaching the shores of Australia. Not that I think they have cause for half the complaints they make; but they have received, before leaving home, such flattering representations of the good fortune that is in store for them, that their expectations are raised to a pitch far beyond the probable, and disappointment is the natural consequence. The tales told them prior to their embarkation, render them difficult to please on their arrival; they demand exorbitant wages, and more rations than they could possibly consume without waste; and the consequence of this is, that many of them remain weeks and months in Sydney, out of employment, living upon the little money brought from home, although, in the meantime, eligible offers may have been made them. This stay in Sydney not only empties the emigrant's pocket, but breeds idle habits, leading him to the public-house, where his last penny is soon extracted from him. Then comes want, with all the horrors of a starving wife and family; grown-up daughters are driven to prostitution; and the emigrant himself is ultimately compelled to accept any offer made him in his degraded state. This is no overdrawn or rare picture, as any one acquainted with the subject can testify. Emigrants that come to the Colony in what are called Government ships, and who are brought out at the public expense, are provided for on their arrival, till employment offers for them; but, the moment they are known to have refused a fair offer, Government aid ceases. Even that circumstance, however, has little or no effect upon the more stubborn of them, who abate or yield in their demands only when compelled by necessity. Many emigrants, from their fondness for a town life, refuse good offers of employment in the country. Great evils arise from this: one is, that it frequently happens, that Sydney is overrun with idle labourers in search of employment, while the settlers in the country are all crying out for help. To such a height had this evil risen, and to such distress were numbers of infatuated men reduced by remaining idle in town, that Government was recently applied to for its interference, and actually paid the expense of sending hundreds of men into the country, where they got immediate employment, which they might have had many months before, had they been reasonable in their demands. It is remarked all over the Colony, that the emigrants generally are very difficult to satisfy in the matter of rations; and that the man who had been the worst fed at home, was the most difficult to please abroad. An Irishman is generally found the chief grumbler here; a Scotchman ranks second; while an English peasant, who has all his life fared better than either, is found, in Australia, to be most easily satisfied. I do not attempt to explain or account for this; I have, however, not only frequently observed it, but have heard my neighbours make the same remark. I hired an Irish labourer and his wife, to whom I gave the following pay and rations:--22l. a year to the man; 12l. a year to his wife; weekly between the two, 14 lbs. of beef, 20 lbs. of flour, 3 lbs. of sugar, 6 oz. of tea, and 4 oz. of tobacco. With this allowance, for half of which thousands of families in England would be thankful, the couple were not satisfied, and actually complained that they had not enough to eat. It was summer time when they came to my farm; and they were warned, that the blow-flies would destroy their meat, if it was not covered up: they were too lazy, however, to take the slightest care of it; and, as I saw their second week's allowance lying on a table the day after it was served out, covered with a mass of blow-flies, I took them severely to task for their wanton waste and neglect. But it was of no avail. And this couple had lived upon potatoes and butter-milk all their lives! It is but just to add, that, on mentioning to a major in an Irish regiment, whom I subsequently met in China, the difficulty usually found in satisfying his countrymen in New South Wales, he expressed his astonishment, and remarked that the reverse was generally found to be the case with Irishmen in the army. Several ships with emigrants from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, arrived at Sydney during the years 1838 and 1839. These people were, in general, unwilling to accept of employment in any shape, but preferred taking clearing-leases of small patches of land on their own account. This plan, many of them succeeded in carrying into execution, much to the disappointment and annoyance of the community at whose expense they had been brought to the Colony; and it was reasonably complained, that these men, in place of supplying the labour-market, as was intended, actually created an increased demand for labour, by requiring aid in their own operations before the first twelvemonth had passed over them. Be this as it may, they are a hard-working, industrious set of men; and whether their plans raise or depress wages, they have added materially to the quantity of grain grown in the colony. Now that we have a footing in China, I would draw the attention of the inhabitants of New South Wales to Hong Kong for an unlimited supply of cheap labour. There, by means of an agent on the spot, they may procure thousands of able-bodied labourers, who will go to Australia for five dollars (22s. 6d.) per month, with their food. This rate of pay is much lower than what is paid to European labourers; and the ration of rice for the China-man might be procured from Java, Bally, or Lombak, and laid down in Sydney at (or under) three halfpence per pound; which is as cheap as No. 3 flour in the most abundant seasons, and much cheaper than that article usually is. For field-work, the China-man is fully equal to the European labourer. I speak advisedly, having tried them together, side by side, for months at a time. In a recent Singapore paper I find it stated, that the Home Authorities have authorised an agent to treat for the transmission of Chinese labourers from the Straits' settlements to the West Indies; and, from my knowledge of those places, I have no doubt that thousands of men will be induced to avail themselves of this new market for their labour. Had New South Wales the same permission from Government, she might be equally, and probably more successful, because China-men always prefer emigrating to a country having frequent communication with their own. This advantage, New South Wales possesses over the West Indies, for as many as twenty or thirty vessels annually leave Sydney for China. There would be no difficulty in getting the Chinese labourer bound for five years, his pay to begin from the day he landed in Sydney, and his passage down to be paid by his employer. This last charge would add 30s. per annum to his wages; but even then, he would be the cheapest labourer within reach of the Australian farmer. Many gentlemen have turned their attention to Bengal for a supply of labour. The men procurable from that country, are not equal in physical strength to the China-men, nor are they to be had for lower pay. I had six Bengal Coolies in my employ in the Bush, and have no hesitation in saying, that three China-men would have done their work. The proper immigrant to obtain from Bengal, if the Colonists choose to apply to that part of the world, is the Pariah, the man of no caste, who will eat any thing, apply himself to any kind of work, even to the killing, curing, or eating a pig, and give far less trouble than any of the high-caste men. The best season for despatching ships with emigrants from China to New South Wales, is from November till February, both inclusive. A source of vast wealth will open to Australia on the expiration of the Agricultural Company's coal-monopoly. That body, on its establishment in the Colony, obtained the privilege of working coal for thirty years, to the exclusion of all others. The injustice of granting such a privilege to a Company who do not work more than one coal-mine, when there are literally thousands on the eastern coast of this Continent, is too obvious to require comment. Many landed proprietors who have rich veins of coal on their estates, are, under the present regulation, actually compelled to purchase the Agricultural Company's coal for the use of their own kitchens. It may well be imagined, that the money is paid with a very bad grace. Up to the time I left Sydney, the only coal-pit in operation was one at Newcastle, at the mouth of the river Hunter. From this source, an abundant supply of very fair quality was obtained, for which, if I mistake not, 12s. per ton was demanded at the pit's mouth. The Company's coal waggons descend the hill from the pit, by an inclined plane, on iron rails, the descending waggon dragging up the empty one. At the foot of this inclined plane, a wharf or jetty runs a little way into the sea, so that vessels of four or five hundred tons burthen can haul alongside, and have their cargoes shot by waggon-loads down their hatches. All this is as it should be; and when forty or fifty such pits are in full work, Australia may expect to reap some benefit from her mineral riches. The importance of a never-failing supply of coal in these days of steam travelling, is too evident to require a single word of remark. Talking of steam puts me in mind of the anxiety felt in Australia to secure the advantage of the Indian Overland Mail, and of a plan for effecting their object which I have frequently thought of. On the arrival of the mail at Port Essington, from Singapore, why should it not be sent to Sydney in a steamer by sea, _viâ_ Captain King's _inner passage_ through Torres' Straits, instead of adopting the far more expensive and _uncertain_ overland route formerly mentioned? This may seem a bold, and, to most people, an extraordinary suggestion; the plan is, however, in my opinion, practicable at all seasons of the year, though more particularly so during the fine or south-east monsoon. I have sailed through Torres' Straits, and would not hesitate a moment to undertake to carry a powerful steamer from Port Essington to Sydney, through the admirably surveyed channel just mentioned. During the south-east monsoon, from April till September, the wind would be against her; but she would have the benefit of moderate and clear weather, and find no difficulty in seeing and evading every danger. In the north-west monsoon, the steamer would have a fair wind, but hazy weather, with frequent squalls to contend against. The thick weather would undoubtedly be a disadvantage, as it would render objects less easily distinguishable; but then, the strong north-west winds and squalls would knock up a heavy sea, which would make the water break on every reef, thereby rendering them easily both seen and _heard_ in the thickest weather. On the coast of Sumatra, I have heard the breakers seven miles off. Allowing that they can be heard half that distance, this would give a steamer plenty of time and space to keep clear of them. Running in the night would, of course, be out of the question in any season. It appears to me, that there is as much real danger in beating through the Palaware passage in November and December, which dozens of vessels do every year, as there possibly could be to a steamer in passing to and fro between Port Essington and Sydney, at any season of the year, by King's inner passage. The weather in the Palaware, during the months I have mentioned, is as thick and stormy as can well be imagined; and the reefs, shoals, and other perils of navigation are numerous enough. The best route for passengers proceeding to Australia from Suez, would be _viâ_ Ceylon, whence a steamer would run down south-south-east to the fortieth parallel of south latitude in thirteen days, under steam: then she would get the prevailing strong westerly winds, which would take her under canvas to Hobart Town in ten or twelve days: let her stop two days there to take in coal and land passengers, and, in three days more, she would be in Sydney. By this route, the passenger for Sydney would find himself at his journey's end in sixty-three or sixty-five days from Southampton, while the mail _viâ_ Marseilles would be of four days shorter date. I have my doubts, indeed, whether New South Wales is in a position to bear the expense of such a plan: it certainly could not be a profitable venture for years to come; and whether the Colonists would be willing to be so much per annum out of pocket, in the meantime, remains to be seen. In describing Port Jackson, I omitted to notice the neighbouring harbour, called Botany Bay, originally discovered by Captain Cook, and subsequently abandoned for its rival. It is a noble and beautiful bay, entered through a gap in the cliff facing the Pacific. This being much wider than that leading into Port Jackson, and the heads not overlapping each other in the least, Botany Bay is exposed to the fury of the easterly gales, which renders it, during their prevalence, an unsafe harbour. From its great width, I was induced to suppose that this evil might be obviated by ships seeking shelter behind the heads; but, on inquiry, I learned, that the depth of water does not admit of this: the water is shallow all round the bay, which compels vessels to anchor a considerable distance from the shore, and leaves them exposed to the eastward. In short, as a harbour, it will not bear comparison with Port Jackson. The name of Botany Bay was given to it from the very great variety and beauty of the native flowers found on its shores. I am not botanist enough to describe these flowers, but I noticed them with surprise and admiration. I saw nothing else, however, to attract any one to the neighbourhood: the soil is wretchedly poor, principally covered with scrub, and, with the exception of a few spots in the hollows, utterly valueless to the farmer. A few half-starved cows only, belonging to Sydney families, and called the town herd, may be seen picking up the poor and scanty herbage. In this neighbourhood, the Sydney hounds meet, and occasionally amuse their proprietors, by chasing a miserable "native dog" to death. The only buildings of any interest on the shores of this bay, are, the monument built by the French Government to the memory of the unfortunate La Perouse, and a solitary mill on the banks of a little stream that runs into it from the westward. How this mill is employed in such a lonely place, where no cultivation is to be seen, I cannot imagine, but should not wonder if a few pounds' weight of tobacco and gallons of spirits found their way into the Colony hereabout, without benefiting the revenue. In April 1839, I left the shores of Australia, with my family, bound for Batavia and Singapore _viâ_ Torres' Straits. We had a fine run up the coast, and made the celebrated Barrier Reef on the morning of the fourteenth day after leaving Sydney. We were fortunate in finding a magnificent entrance into the Straits, in latitude 12° 18' South, and were fairly inside the barrier by nine A. M. This entrance, which is at least three miles wide, it is worth any ship's while to seek for: it may be known by two small rocks on the south side, as you enter, resembling hay-cocks in shape and size: we saw them three miles off, and they were the only objects visible above water, on the portion of the Barrier within our view. From our entrance, we had a fine run, and found nothing to stop us for a minute (during daylight), till clear of Booby Island at the western end of the Straits, which we passed at 10 A. M. on the seventeenth day from Sydney. These celebrated Straits pick up and destroy some half a dozen ships annually, and are so much dreaded by underwriters, that they refuse to insure loaded vessels through them. From my own observation, and what I have heard from others who have passed through Torres' Straits on various occasions, it appears to me, that a great proportion of this loss of property arises from carelessness on the part of ship-masters. The current in the Pacific Ocean runs very strong to the north-west in the neighbourhood of the Barrier; and this current is often forgotten or not sufficiently allowed for by ship-masters the night before they expect to make the reef. At sun-down, the night before we made it, we were eighty miles from it; we went under easy sail all night, and, from the distance _logged_ during the night, expected to make the reef at noon, having made all sail at daylight; instead of which, we came _suddenly_ on it at 8 A. M., thus having been thrown four hours out of our reckoning since sun-set the night before. Many ships, by not heaving-to at all, or not doing so in time, the night previous to making the reef, drift too far to the northward during the night, miss the passage they were endeavouring to make, and are compelled to run along the reef in search of another; for there is no getting back to the southward against wind and current. This neglect throws many a vessel up to the Murray Islands' passages, which are notoriously the most dangerous, and are now generally avoided by shipping. Then there is hazy weather occasionally in those parts, even in the finest months: during its continuance, no vessel ought to approach the Barrier, though many are imprudent enough to do so, and too frequently pay the penalty. In the Barrier, there are many gaps, called "horse-shoes," which, in thick weather, look like real entrances, the breakers at the bottom of them not being visible from the ship. I have known many vessels lost by taking a horse-shoe for a real entrance in hazy weather. Other vessels get wrecked from paying too little attention to the dangers that beset them, after getting safe through the Barrier. There are small patches of reef here and there, in the middle of the many channels that run between the main reefs: these pick up many vessels that might be saved, were a careful look-out kept on board. I could give instances of losses happening in each of these ways; but the careless have suffered so severely from their neglect, that I would not hurt them by naming the ships. We had a fine run to Batavia, where we arrived in thirty-one days from Sydney. A sail from Australia to any part of the Malayan Archipelago, during the south-east monsoon, is, perhaps, the pleasantest voyage a traveller could undertake: he has smooth water and a fair wind all the way, with a constant succession of magnificent scenery among the numerous islands of perpetual summer with which those seas are studded. I have heard many seamen talk lightly of the dangers of Torres' Straits and the Barrier Reef, and have known more than one of those over-confident gentry subsequently wrecked there. For my own part, I have a great awe of those dangers, and can vouch for some ship's crews having the same feeling. On our approach to the Barrier, our crew, which consisted of as rattle-pated a set as sailors usually are, were doubly active, obeyed every order with alacrity, and so quietly, that the fall of a pin might have been heard at any part of the ship. Some ships avoid entering the Barrier towards sun-set: this precaution is unnecessary, if they are sure that the entrance they are approaching is a true one. Although, outside the Barrier, there are no soundings at a hundred fathoms, a ship is not twice her own length _inside_ it, before she is in good anchorage with eighteen to twenty-five fathoms water. There, she may drop her anchor, and ride in perfect safety till daylight enables her to pursue her course. Were she to keep outside all night, the current would drift her to the northward, and compel her to seek a fresh entrance next day. The Barrier Reef extends from the coast of New Holland to that of Papua or New Guinea, with numerous gaps or entrances in it, which appear to be kept open by the current that, for six months in the year, runs through them from the Pacific to the Indian Seas, and in the contrary direction during the other six. Notwithstanding this current, however, I think it extremely probable, that the industrious coral insect, whose labours never cease within the Tropics, will, sooner or later, fill up the entire space, close Torres' Straits, and join those two mighty islands, between which the Barrier Reef, or, more properly, Reefs, now stand like a line of gigantic stepping-stones. The gaps in the Reef, in and about the ninth and tenth parallels of south latitude, are much narrower than those further south, some of them being not twenty yards wide; which looks as if, agreeably to my theory, the minute architect had commenced operations on the coast of Papua, and was gradually working his way southward. What a magnificent line for a rail-road this Reef will then make, with the boundless Pacific on one side, and the reefs and islands of the Straits on the other! What a splendid thoroughfare would this highway form to New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland, and the countless islands in their immediate vicinity! But I shall be thought to be looking _rather too far_ into futurity. On our passage from Booby Island to the Java Sea, we passed through the Straits of Alas, which run between the Islands of Lombak and Sambawa. The scenery in these straits is very fine. On the left, you have Lombak Hill, 7000 feet high, sloping gradually from the peak to the sea, and covered with thick forest. On the right, is the coast of Sambawa, exhibiting the most extraordinary collection of sugar-loaf hills I ever saw: they look as if they had been dropped there at random in a shower. The whole collection would hardly be seen on the top of Lombak hill. Half this island was laid completely waste in 1816, by an eruption of one of its volcanic mountains: thousands of the inhabitants, with their cattle and poneys, were killed; and the effects are visible on the spot to this day. Sambawa is celebrated for its race of poneys, which are certainly very fine, spirited little animals. Hundreds of them are brought by the native boats every year to Batavia and Singapore, at both which places they meet with a ready market. CHAPTER XV. CHINA. DESCRIPTION OF MACAO--ITS MONGREL POPULATION-- FREQUENCY OF ROBBERIES--PIRACIES--COMPRADORE SYSTEM--PAPUAN SLAVE-TRADE--MARKET OF MACAO-- NUISANCES--SIR HENRY POTTINGER's REGULATION DEFENDED--ILLIBERAL POLICY OF THE PORTUGUESE, AND ITS RESULT--BOAT-GIRLS--BEGGARS--PICTURESQUE SCENERY. I have referred, in a former chapter, to the occasion of my first visit to the Celestial Empire. My last visit took place shortly after Sir Henry Pottinger had brought the Chinese to terms, off the city of Nankin, and before the treaty had been ratified by the Sovereigns of both countries. My stay there was protracted till the ratification took place, the supplementary treaty published, and Her Majesty's Consuls stationed at each of the five ports, with the exception of Foo Chow. I had thus an opportunity of witnessing the first start of the free trade; of which I shall have a few words to say hereafter. I shall now begin with Macao. This once celebrated Portuguese settlement is built on two small hills of a peninsula about thirty-five miles below the Bocca Tigris, or mouth of the Canton river: it is irregularly built, the streets being very narrow and crooked, and, until very recently, badly paved with rough granite stones of all shapes, the corners generally pointing upwards, as if to teach the inhabitants to walk with caution. It possesses a healthy climate, though the summer is very hot, the thermometer ranging in the shade from 85° to 90°. Many of the houses occupied by the wealthier portion of the inhabitants, are large, airy, and convenient residences. Since the war with China broke out, Macao, which had greatly declined from its ancient importance, has thriven, and many of its citizens have become wealthy in consequence of the British trade to China being thrown by circumstances into its harbour. The local Government have taken advantage of the times, to improve the town, to re-pave the streets, to build a new and handsome Custom-house, and to make other improvements at John Bull's expense. The Portuguese inhabitants of Macao amount to about five thousand, not two hundred of whom are of pure European blood. The general population are, with few exceptions, of a mongrel breed; a mixture of Chinese, Portuguese, and Negroes, which it is difficult to describe. Nine-tenths of them are very poor, but all of them are very proud, and fond of show and dress. It is quite amusing to see the pompous strut of the men on a Sunday, as they walk to mass in their ill-made silk coats, with gold-headed sticks in hand. Both men and women are the worst-favoured race I ever saw: their flat, unmeaning countenances, small, lacklustre eyes, strong, upright, black hair, resembling hogs' bristles more than aught else, and yellow skins, form a _tout ensemble_ any thing but pleasing. The men adopt the European fashions. The ladies wear the mantilla; and the women of the poorer classes wear a petticoat and small jacket, generally of British chintz, with a mantilla of coarser material. The very poorest of them may be seen, on Sunday morning, going to mass in silk stockings. The wealthier Portuguese reside in large and comfortable houses, but the lower orders inhabit wretched hovels, and suffer very severely from sickness, particularly the small-pox; a scourge that carried off, during the winter and spring of 1842-3, one thousand people,--just a fifth of the whole Portuguese population. Their habits are idle and dirty. I am not aware, indeed, of ever having seen a more filthy town than Macao. No one seems to think that the streets were made for any other purpose than to serve as reservoirs for all the filth of the houses that line them. Heaps of abominable rubbish are seen here and there, which would be still more numerous, were it not for the occasional heavy rains, which wash down the steep streets, and carry off the accumulated masses to the sea. A few days before Christmas 1842, the town underwent a general sweeping; an event that did not take place again till that time twelvemonth. The other inhabitants of Macao are, Chinese, Negroes, and a few English and Americans. The Chinese here are nearly all of the lower orders, and, for the most part, are not over-scrupulous how they get their living: in proof of which I may mention, that four highway robberies, accompanied with violent assault, took place in the immediate neighbourhood, in open day, during the stay of six weeks which I made there in the autumn of 1842. The shopkeepers and boatmen are all Chinese; and among them may be found some as thorough-bred scoundrels as ever disgraced humanity. During the year 1843, the following crimes were perpetrated by Chinese in and about Macao: they were clearly brought home to them, and, in all probability, do not form a tenth of what might with justice be laid to their charge:-- 1. Mr. Sharpe's _lorcha_ (trading-boat), on her voyage from Macao to Canton, was piratically attacked within ten miles of the former place, and plundered of her cargo of opium; Mr. Sharpe was murdered, and five of his crew; the rest, being Chinese, were taken off by the pirates, (they subsequently proved to be their associates,) and the _lorcha_ was burned. 2. A _lorcha_ bound from Hong Kong to Macao, manned by Macao Chinese, and loaded with spice and other valuable property, was carried off by her crew, (who murdered an English doctor on board,) the cargo plundered, and the vessel burned. 3. Another _lorcha_, bound from Macao to Hong Kong, with a general cargo and two passengers, was carried off in the same way, plundered, and then burned: the unfortunate passengers (two respectable young men; one an Irishman, named Clark, the other from Shetland, a Mr. Clunis) were in like manner murdered. 4. A boat was sent off from Macao with a box of treasure containing some 12,000 dollars, under the charge of a Parsee clerk of the firm to whom the money belonged. They left the shore at two P. M., and the ship they were bound to was at anchor only five miles off. The non-appearance of the treasure which was expected on board, caused the captain to go on shore to make inquiries about five in the afternoon: his questions alarmed the Parsee merchant, who had sent off the money and his clerk at two. Strict inquiry was instituted, and the result was, the certainty that the poor man had been murdered and thrown overboard by the boat's crew, who made off with the money. 5. A boat was sent from a ship in the harbour called the _Typa_, to one in the outer roads, to transship fourteen chests of opium: the crew consisted of four Chinese and one Lascar, with the second mate in charge. The opium was taken in, and the boat started on her return to the _Typa_ about two P. M. When about half way between the two harbours, the four Chinese suddenly dropped their oars, seized the mate and Lascar, stunned them with the boat's tiller, and threw them overboard: their bodies were picked up next day, and gave the first intimation of their fate. Two of the pirates were subsequently caught and executed; but the property, worth 10,000 dollars, was irretrievably lost. 6. A British merchant in Macao sent an order off to his ship in the _Typa_, to bring on shore, in the course of the day, a box containing 6000 dollars: the money was put into a boat belonging to the vessel at ten in the forenoon, and started for the inner harbour, about an hour's pull. She was attacked by a fast-pulling Chinese boat, when about half way between the ship and the shore, and robbed of the dollars; but no violence was offered to the crew, who were China-men. When this money was being packed and put into the boat, some Chinese sailors on board the ship were observed making signs as if to some one at a distance: no notice was taken of this circumstance at the time, though it was remarked upon when too late. I could enumerate other cases of a similar nature; but these six are sufficient for my present purpose. The Chinese servants in the employ of Europeans at Macao, Canton, and Hong Kong, are, without exception, the most consummate set of scamps it has ever been my fortune to encounter. Their whole study from morning to night and from night to morning, is, how to cheat their masters. There is not an article put upon the table, that is not charged at four times its value. If you keep a cow, or even a dozen cows, not one drop of milk can you obtain, more than barely enough for daily use; and should any attempts be made to punish either the cowkeeper or the head servant for their villany, ten to one that your cows are poisoned before another week passes over your head. This state of things might be, in a great measure, put a stop to, were masters to pay more attention to their domestic affairs; but most of the European merchants of China, being men of wealth, and engaged in mercantile transactions of great importance, deem such matters beneath their notice; and thus, the system goes on to the serious loss and inconvenience of less wealthy men. I knew one instance in which a housekeeper by perseverance reduced his market-bill from 150 dollars per month to 45 dollars; but the consequence was, that his servants to a man left him: he could obtain no good ones in their place, and was ultimately obliged to give in. As a set-off against this crying evil, I may mention the practice which prevails, of the _compradore_ (or head servant) becoming security for those under him, and finding security on his own part to a certain amount, varying according to circumstances; so that, if any of the under-servants steal the plate or any other property of their master's, the _compradore_, as a matter of course, makes good its value. The Negroes here, as in most other parts of the world where they are met with, are slaves, poorly fed, hard worked, and occasionally very severely flogged. Every house in Macao occupied by a man of any substance, has its slaves; and the Government is a large slave-holder. All the porters at the Custom-house and other public offices are slaves. These unfortunate creatures are brought from Papua by Portuguese vessels, which pay an annual visit to the settlements of their countrymen on the Island of Timor. How they are obtained from Papua, I am not aware; but that some hundreds of them are carried to Macao every season, and sold there, is a fact beyond contradiction. This abominable traffic received a check last season (1843) from the Java Government. It appears that a Portuguese barque called the _Margaretta_, the owner of which was a wealthy inhabitant of Macao, sailed from Timor for Macao in the month of September, with some fifty slaves on board, _all children under ten years of age_. Some accident compelled her to call at Batavia for repairs, where her master reported the children as having been sent by the authorities at Timor to Macao, to be brought up in the Roman-Catholic faith. The suspicions of the Dutch Authorities were, however, awakened, and the proceedings of the Portuguese ship-master were narrowly watched. A few days only had elapsed, when he was detected in endeavouring to sell two of the unfortunate infants to a Chinese for 500 guilders (42l.) each. This led to the examination of his bills of lading and other papers, when it was found, that the children had been regularly shipped and _manifested_ as slaves. The result was, the confiscation of ship and cargo, and the liberation of the young captives, who, I presume, (though I am not sure on the point,) were, as usual, apprenticed out as domestic servants to families in want of them. I gave the admiral on the China station full particulars of this event; and hope that he will cause a sharp look-out to be kept on the Portuguese vessels returning from Timor next autumn. The market of Macao is well supplied with game, butchers' meat, pork, poultry, fruit, and vegetables: all these might be had on very reasonable terms, if the Chinese seller were allowed his own way; but, before he reaches the market from his home, he is taxed and re-taxed by every petty rogue of a Mandarin whose station he may happen to pass on his way. On reaching the market, he is taxed again, and is compelled to sell to the general dealer, who squeezes him to the last _cash_, and re-sells at an exorbitant profit to the Englishman's _compradore_, who charges his master, on a moderate calculation, four times what he gave; so that, by the time the Englishman's dinner is on his table, it costs him no trifle. Game is plentiful only in winter, which sets in in November. Wild ducks, teal, pheasants, partridges, snipe, with an occasional deer, are to be had, all fat and in prime order, at this season. The Chinese bullock is a compact little animal, and, when fattened, yields remarkably good beef. Macao, like all Portuguese towns, is well stocked with priests; and were we to judge from the number of them who are seen parading the streets, as, also, from that of women constantly bending their steps church-ward, the inhabitants must be a very devout race. From seven in the morning till dusk, the streets are rarely free from church-going ladies; many of them followed by Negro slaves carrying their kneeling-rugs and prayer-books. One of the greatest nuisances in Macao is the perpetual ringing or tolling of church-bells, day and night: as soon as one stops, another begins; and the sleep-killing ding-dong is kept up at a rate that, in the warm nights of summer, is enough to drive a stranger frantic. Every house has a watchman, who goes his rounds from eight in the evening till daylight next morning, and, every half hour, beats a hollow bamboo with a heavy stick, making noise enough to disturb the soundest sleeper. This keeping a watchman is neither more nor less than paying black-mail. Any housekeeper who should seek to evade the imposition by doing without a guardian of the night, would infallibly be plundered in a week or two, the thieves being, most probably, conducted to his premises by some neighbour's watchman. The streets of Macao being narrow, rough, crooked, and, in general, very steep, wheel-carriages of any description are entirely unknown. Their place is supplied by sedan-chairs of Chinese make, carried by Chinese porters: these may be hired for a dollar per day, and are very convenient, either in wet or in extremely hot weather. The bearers, like those of their profession in England, are apt to impose upon strangers, who must be on their guard till they become acquainted with the ways of the place. Macao is infested with loathsome beggars, who scruple not to expose their ulcerated legs, arms, &c. for the purpose of exciting the charitable feelings of the passer-by. They make a point of stopping at the door of any shop in which they see a European, whose ears they immediately assail with the most discordant noise, by beating a hollow bamboo with a stick; a mode of annoyance which the law of China allows, and which is carried on in Macao; but, in the neighbouring British settlement, an entire stop has been put to it. This, they well know, will soon cause the shopkeeper to give them a _cash_[21] or two, or his customer to leave the premises. In China, no native can turn a beggar from his door, till he has given him something in the shape of charity: the merest trifle, however, is sufficient to authorize the forcible expulsion of the applicant. I have seen as little as a tea-spoonful of rice given on such occasions, when the sulky and grumbling mendicant took his reluctant departure towards the next door, where he would, perhaps, meet similar treatment with a repetition of "curses not loud, but deep." [Footnote 21: One thousand of these make a dollar, so that the value of one is less than a quarter of a farthing.] The Portuguese of Macao made a great ado on Sir Henry Pottinger's declaring their settlement, in as far as British subjects were concerned, part of the dominions of the Emperor of China: this, at first sight, appeared strange to many people besides the Macao citizens, but, when the subject received due consideration, Sir Henry was found to be quite correct in the view he had taken of it. Macao is _not_ a Portuguese settlement, in the proper sense of that word, but only a territory leased to that Power on certain terms, for which an annual tribute or rent is paid to this day. The Chinese laws are in force here; their Mandarins levy duties, and tax every article sold in its markets; its porters, boatmen, _compradores_, &c. require Chinese licenses, but not Portuguese: in short, the Chinese are lords of the manor, and the Portuguese are mere tenants, with leave to build forts, and to levy certain duties on the commerce of the place. Looking at the matter in this light, every unprejudiced person must admit, that Sir Henry Pottinger, in exercising the power vested in him by Her Majesty's Government, and in framing regulations for the wholesome restraint of Her Majesty's subjects visiting China, (some of whom, it may be remarked, are troublesome and very unruly characters,) was perfectly right in including the peninsula of Macao in the dominions of His Celestial Majesty. The Portuguese were very indignant; at least, they pretended to be so; but it never would have done, to allow British subjects, fleeing from their creditors or from justice, to have an asylum where they could safely evade the laws of their own country, at a foreign station scarcely forty miles from the new British settlement of Hong Kong.[22] [Footnote 22: The present Governor of Hong Kong, Sir John Davis, has gone even further than Sir Henry Pottinger, and has given notice to the Authorities at Macao, that British subjects are no longer amenable to their laws. This is as it should be, and as it ought to have been a hundred years ago.] The trade of Macao was of very little importance, and its revenues never paid its expenses, till the late Chinese war broke out. Circumstances then drove the British merchants from Canton, and nearly the whole of them took up their abode in Macao, where they continued till the Portuguese Government was called upon by the Chinese to refuse them further protection. They were then compelled to seek shelter on board the shipping of their country, where many of them remained for nearly twelvemonths, till the course of events allowed of their returning to Macao. Their presence soon attracted hundreds of wealthy and respectable Chinese dealers, and quadrupled the trade of the place, as well as its revenue; which enabled the Portuguese Governor to make a handsome remittance to Lisbon, in place of drawing upon that city for some 40,000 dollars annually, as he had hitherto been in the constant practice of doing, to rebuild many of the public edifices, and to improve the town generally, while it added much to the wealth and comfort of almost every woman and child in the place. This was a piece of good fortune the Portuguese of Macao most certainly did not deserve, their system, as regards foreign commerce, being as illiberal as can well be imagined. During the time they were reaping this rich harvest from British trade, British subjects were not permitted to land or ship a single package of goods nor to have their names entered in the Custom-house books. On the arrival of a ship with goods suited to the Macao market, the English consignee was obliged to employ a Portuguese citizen to enter and pass them through the Custom-house, before a package could be landed. The duties, also, were exorbitant; and, strange as it may appear, they even taxed money, which could not be imported without paying one per cent. duty. I have elsewhere seen an _export_ duty put on treasure; but the Macao Government is the only one I ever knew to impose any restrictions on the importation of a commodity which most Governments, as well as individuals, are generally anxious to receive, in unlimited quantity, without taxing those who bring it to them. No English vessel was allowed to enter their inner harbour: this privilege was reserved for Spaniards and Portuguese. On one occasion, a small British schooner of war was proceeding into this haven, her commander never imagining that the restriction put on the merchant vessels of his country could possibly extend to Her Britannic Majesty's pennant: he was mistaken, however, and the first battery he came near, threatened to fire into him. The threat was of course disregarded, and the little schooner, in defiance of Portuguese batteries, quietly pursued her way. How this state of things could be so long put up with by the British Government, it is hard to understand. When one considers that Portugal owes its very existence as a nation to England; that Macao, on more than one occasion, was saved from the fury of a Chinese army and rabble, during the late war, by British ships and men; that nine-tenths of the money that passes through its coffers, is English money; that Portuguese citizens visiting the different ports of British India, are free to come and go, land and ship their goods in their own names, hold houses and other fixed property, and act in all respects as British subjects, and as seemeth most for their own interest; when, I say, these facts are considered, one is utterly at a loss to conceive why Great Britain should suffer her subjects to be cramped in their mercantile pursuits by so very insignificant a power as Portugal. Now that it is too late, the Authorities of Macao have discovered their error, and mended their manners, by opening the inner harbour to British shipping, by allowing British merchants to land and ship goods in their own names, and by lowering the duties on several articles of British manufacture. These changes, which would have been accepted as boons two years before, were adopted only when the Portuguese found nearly every British merchant building warehouses and private dwellings in Hong Kong. Had they been made prior to the commencement of those buildings, I have good reasons for supposing, that many of them never would have been begun, their proprietors having a great dislike to the new British settlement on account of its reputed unhealthiness,--a reputation, I am sorry to say, it has too well sustained. Dozens of houses in Macao are already vacant; dozens more will be so before another six months shall elapse; hundreds of families who have depended on their house-rent and on money earned in other ways from British subjects for their daily bread, will be reduced to want; many of them will and must emigrate to Hong Kong; and Macao, with its streets of new houses, built in anticipation of the continued residence of foreign merchants, will sink into utter insignificance, and become as a place that has been, but is no more. Its Governor will again have to draw, for the means of paying the expenses of the place, on his Royal Mistress at Lisbon, who will then reap the well-merited reward of an illiberal and short-sighted policy. If a passenger, on his arrival at Macao, lands in the inner harbour, he has to pass his baggage through the Portuguese Custom-house, where it will be not only thoroughly examined, but also, very probably, plundered. A trunk of my own, which _I saw_ carried into this building along with several others, never came out again: its contents were valuable, and were much missed by my family. What became of them, I know not; but certain I am, that the Custom-house authorities of Macao made away with them. If the passenger chooses to land at the outer harbour, he encounters the _Chinese_ Custom-house, where he is charged so much for each package, in the shape of duty, and is allowed to pass on without bare-faced robbery. Some sixteen years ago, this Chinese Custom-house was in the practice of levying a dollar per package on a passenger's luggage, a similar sum on his wife, and on every female child, while the boys passed free. This does not tell to the credit of Chinese gallantry. Things are altered now, however; and ladies with their daughters are permitted to land without let or hinderance. When a foreign vessel anchors in Macao Roads, (a very exposed anchorage by the way,) she is speedily visited by three or four _compradores'_ boats, which come out in search of employment, and with offers to supply the ship with fresh provisions, &c., during her stay. The _compradore_ is a very useful fellow, but, in nine cases out of ten, a great rogue, who scruples not to swell out his bill against the ship by various means the reverse of fair. They all speak broken English. In moderate weather, they go twenty or thirty miles out to sea in quest of inward-bound vessels. The first time I went to China, we were boarded by a _compradore's_ boat previously to making the land. A fresh breeze was blowing at the time, before which the ship was going eight knots an hour: this, however, did not prevent the Chinese boatmen from dashing alongside in very smart style, hooking on by the fore-chains with their own rope, and disdaining the aid of a line thrown from the vessel to hang on by. Mr. _Compradore_ appeared on the poop, "_chin-chinning_," while we strangers were looking with admiration at the activity of his men in the boat. The captain engaged him to attend the ship, on which he immediately started for Macao, and was alongside again by daylight next morning, with a most welcome supply of fresh beef, vegetables, &c. In the _compradore's_ boat, passengers can generally get a passage on shore, or, rather, to within a few hundred yards of the beach. The boatmen are afraid to approach nearer, on account of the Mandarins, who are apt to _squeeze_ them, if they are seen landing foreigners. The remaining distance is usually got over in small _tancea_, or ferry-boats, numbers of which ply about Macao in all directions, invariably guided by women, called, from their mode of life, "_Tancea-girls_." Poor things! They work hard for their daily bread, being constantly exposed to the sun in summer, and to cold in winter. They live in their boats, which, at night, are snugly covered up with a roof made of a bamboo frame, the interstices filled up with thick matting, and, in the whole course of their lives, never pass a night on shore. They are said to be of a peculiar race, and never intermarry with the real Chinese, who look down upon them with contempt. The scenery round Macao is striking, and some of the views are particularly so: that from the hill immediately behind the town, is perhaps the best. From this spot you have a bird's-eye view of the whole town, the beach, with its hundreds of large and small Chinese boats, on your left; further on, in the same direction, Macao Roads with the foreign shipping; while, beyond these, the islands of Lingting, Lantow, and numerous others of smaller size, are seen in the distance: to the right, you catch an occasional glimpse of the numerous rivers and arms of the sea, with numbers of picturesque Chinese boats gliding about, literally among the hills and dales; and, here and there, a Chinese village is seen, with its little patch of cultivation, its herds of buffaloes and pigs, and countless groupes of little Celestials. Casting your eye along this view from north to south, you come to the harbour called "_Typa_" in which there are generally some thirty or forty vessels at anchor, and which, though an arm of the sea, looks here like an inland lake. This view, on a clear day, would delight the painter, though it has one great deficiency, namely, the entire absence of trees. The hills in the neighbourhood, far and near, are completely bare. Such is Macao, a miserable, dirty, crowded town, rendered important for a while by its locality, but now fast sinking back into its native insignificance, owing to the gross stupidity of the Portuguese Authorities, more than to any other cause. Proceed we now to the new British settlement of Hong Kong. CHAPTER XVI. CHINA. ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION OF HONG KONG--THE OPIUM TRADE--IMPORTANCE OF THE STATION IN THE EVENT OF A FRESH WAR--CHUSAN--HOW TO RAISE A REVENUE-- CAUSES OF ALLEGED INSALUBRITY--RAPID PROGRESS OF THE SETTLEMENT--PORTUGUESE PENURY-- MARKETS--SANATORY HINTS. Having spent twelve months in Hong Kong, I will now endeavour to give an impartial sketch of its situation as to trade, its importance in the event of another Chinese war, and of its climate, general appearance, and commercial progress. Situated as this island is at the mouth of the Canton river, and in the immediate neighbourhood of an immense trade, one can hardly question the prudence of the choice that fixed upon it for a British settlement. It has not yet (July 1844) been two years in our possession; and already its magnificent harbour is crowded with the ships of England, America, and other nations, while its warehouses on shore are filled with the manufactures of those countries, brought here direct from the places where they are produced, to be distributed to the different Chinese ports recently opened to the commerce of the world by the arms of Great Britain. Hundreds, nay, thousands of Chinese boatmen, fishermen, porters, bricklayers, carpenters, blacksmiths, shoemakers, tailors, bakers, shopkeepers, &c., are already earning their bread here. Since the ratification of Sir Henry Pottinger's Treaty, and the confirmation of the cession of the Island as part and parcel of the dominions of Queen Victoria, many wealthy Chinese merchants have been making arrangements for the establishment of branch-houses here; and more than one of them had, previously to my departure last March, chartered British ships, and despatched them to the northern ports, loaded with British goods. As a _dépôt_ for goods intended for the Chinese market, I conceive the situation of Hong Kong to be unrivalled, and, in this single point of view, of great importance. On the arrival of a ship from London, Liverpool, or Glasgow, with a general cargo of British goods, the consignees unload them, and send the ship home again with tea or such other produce as they may have ready for her, storing and holding the goods in readiness for any opening that may present itself: such portion of them as may be suited for markets in the immediate vicinity, are either sold on the spot, or sent to Canton, while the rest is shipped off in fast-sailing vessels, kept for the purpose of making sure of their voyage against the monsoon, to Amoy, Chusan, and other ports to the northward. Great complaints used to be made at Canton and Macao, because goods could not be landed, unless they were sold, or the consignees chose to advance the duty, and let the articles lie till an opportunity of disposing of them occurred: in other words, the want of a bonding system was universally felt and complained of. The establishment of Hong Kong completely obviates this inconvenience, and enables the ship from Great Britain or elsewhere to dispose of her cargo in a few days after her arrival, and proceed home again, thus saving time, expense, and trouble to an incalculable extent. A decisive proof of the eligibility of Hong Kong as a place of trade, and of its importance in the eyes of the Chinese themselves, is afforded by the immense sums paid by some of them for ground on which to build _Hongs_, where they can deposit their goods with safety, beyond the reach of their grasping Mandarins. This advantage to a China-man is something so new, and so far beyond any thing he ever dreamed of enjoying, that I conceive the benefits likely to accrue from it to Hong Kong to be incalculable. Goods stored in Canton or Macao, the property of a China-man, were never safe in the event of their owner getting into trouble with the Chinese Authorities; and, if the property of foreigners, they could not be insured against fire, the risk arising from the universal carelessness of the Chinese, and the consequent very frequent occurrence of extensive conflagrations, being considered too great by the under-writers. Both these difficulties are completely obviated in Hong Kong; and every substantially built house and warehouse, together with the property in them, were insured against fire, previously to my quitting the Island. One China-man had, in March last, completed buildings for the storage of property collected from the different ports on the coast, on which upwards of 40,000 dollars had been laid out; and what is more, they were already well filled. As a convenient and safe _dépôt_ for opium, (a trade, in my opinion, quite as legitimate and honourable as that in brandy, gin, and other spirits,) Hong Kong is admirably situated: the purchaser from the western ports, as well as from the northeastern, finds the distance he has to travel moderate, and, on his arrival, has no one to dread, no Mandarin daring to shew his face on shore. The ships that bring the drug from India, here find a safe and commodious harbour, where they can unload their cargoes in open day, without hinderance or molestation, and where they are not driven to the necessity of carrying on their operations in the dark. Were the opium-trade actually one of mere smuggling, I would be as ready as any one to condemn it, and to raise my voice against those concerned in it; but when one considers that not a hundredth part of the quantity sold annually is really smuggled,--that ninety-nine chests out of every hundred pay a heavy duty, (mis-called a bribe,)--that the Chinese Government derives from it indirectly, but not the less certainly, a very considerable revenue,--and finally, that large quantities of it are known to be consumed within the walls of the imperial palace at Pekin,--I confess I see no reason for the clamorous indignation with which this traffic has of late been assailed by European moralists. I have said, that the Chinese Government derives a considerable revenue from the opium trade; and I will prove it. A Mandarin who pays for his situation, and is left to make the most of it by squeezing the inhabitants of his district, will give a great deal more for an appointment where an extensive opium-trade is carried on, than he would for any other. Knowing the handsome sums paid by the dealers in the drug, to "make Mandarin shut eye," he hesitates not for a moment about paying his Imperial Master in proportion for the situation which puts him in the way of reaping so rich a harvest. What is more; his said Imperial Master knows perfectly well what makes the situations in certain districts so much coveted, and enables the parties to pay so high for them. Away, then, with all the mawkish cant about corrupting the morals and ruining the health of the Chinese by selling them poison! The Chinese are just as capable of taking care of themselves as their would-be guardians are; and as for their morals, many of them lead lives that might be copied with advantage to themselves and families, by thousands of gin-drinking Englishmen. China is decidedly an over-populated country. Opium-smoking checks the increase, and thereby does good; a view of the question not altogether unworthy of attention. Checking the increase of population in this way is, at all events, better than adopting the plan of drowning female infants; not an uncommon one in China. The importance of Hong Kong in the event of another Chinese war, (an event, in the opinion of many, not very improbable,) cannot, I conceive, for a moment be doubted. Should our merchants again be expelled from the ports of China, they will here find a safe asylum for their persons and property, while their ships may ride in the harbour under the protection of two or three of Her Majesty's ships in perfect security, in defiance of all the marine of China. Here also Her Majesty's Government may have _dépôts_ of military stores, provisions, coals, &c., all stored in perfect safety, in place of being kept, as they were during the late war, in transports hired at an enormous expense for the purpose. Now that passages along the coast of China are made, even by sailing vessels, at all seasons of the year, in defiance of monsoons, a steamer sent from the seat of war (wherever it might be) to Hong Kong, would be sufficient, at any time, to procure ample supplies of money, ammunition, and other stores for the army, from India, if need be, in a few weeks. Every one at all acquainted with the inconvenience and expense suffered by the late Expedition for want of proper and regular supplies, will appreciate the value of the Island in this point of view. What was it that carried off so many of the Cameronians and Royal Irish stationed in Chusan during the first expedition to the North? Not the climate of that beautiful island, certainly; for the troops that have since occupied it, have been remarkably healthy; and I saw four hundred of them land at Hong Kong, _en route_ to England, much against their will, looking as rosy and stout as if they had just come from home! What occasioned the mortality among the troops, was, the want of a _dépôt_ from which they could obtain supplies to replace the putrid, ill-cured Calcutta beef and other unwholesome stores that were served out to convalescents, who died by hundreds for want of nourishing food to restore their exhausted frames. The diseases from which those unfortunate soldiers suffered, were originally contracted from improper food and bad accommodation; and all this took place on a Chinese island overrun with cattle, pigs, and poultry, and with the town of Ting Hae, deserted by nine-tenths of its inhabitants, under their feet. The Commander-in-Chief's over-scrupulous conscience would neither allow the cattle to be purchased, nor the empty houses in the town to be occupied by the sick and dying. No better stores were to be had nearer than Calcutta,--a six months' trip to and fro! So bad were the beef and pork, that I afterwards saw hundreds of casks of both sold by public auction at Singapore, for three quarters of a dollar (3s. 4-1/2d.) per cask. The meat was used for manure, and the barrels were used for firewood. The possession of Hong Kong will prevent the possible recurrence of any thing of this kind. I am not prepared to say that Chusan would not have been a better situation for a military _dépôt_ than Hong Kong. Her Majesty's Government, however, thought proper to prohibit the permanent occupation of the former, while that of the latter was sanctioned, so that we have now no choice. For mercantile purposes, the absolute and permanent possession of both these islands would have been highly advantageous. Chusan, I have never had the good fortune to visit, but have invariably heard it spoken of as a delightful place, in a high state of cultivation, possessing an extensive commerce, with fine harbours, and, lastly, with a numerous population already made acquainted with the difference between living under a free and enlightened Government and under that of a despot. These people (if one can credit even half of what one hears from them) are, one and all, anxious that Great Britain should retain their island, and seem to dread the day, now fast approaching, when, according to the Treaty, it must be evacuated by the British, consigning them again to the tender mercies of the Celestial Mandarins. Several English merchants have erected warehouses on Chusan, in the hope that it will ultimately be retained by Great Britain, or that the Chinese Authorities will not object to their remaining on the Island subsequently to its restoration to their Imperial Master. I hope that their expectations may not prove fallacious. Hong Kong is a free port, and, in my opinion, ought never to be otherwise than free. Let its harbour be a refuge for the shipping of all nations, and its stores will then be filled with their goods. I would not encumber the commerce of this Island with one single dollar of charges: no port-charges ought for a moment to be thought of; and, as for import and export duties, the most moderate charges of this kind would ruin the place. What brought Singapore forward so rapidly, was, the entire freedom of its trade. If Hong Kong is but treated in the same way, its progress will be, if possible, still more rapid than that of its sister settlement. A revenue more than sufficient to remunerate Government for the annual expenses of Hong Kong, may be raised on the spot, without hampering its commerce, by taxing the retail opium-trade, the retail spirit-trade, carriages and horses, licensed gambling-houses, rents from public markets, ground-rent on building and other lots, and an assessment on rents, say of five per cent. The revenue derived from such sources in Singapore, is cheerfully paid, and it more than pays the expenses of the place. That all the houses in which opium is smoked, spirits are drunk, and gambling is carried on, should be under a strict surveillance, is absolutely necessary. To check either the one or the other, is impossible; and, as they are legitimate objects for taxation, I see no reason why Government should not derive benefit from them. The opium-smoker and the rum-drinker pay as much for the indulgence of their appetites, under existing circumstances, as they would do, were the privilege of supplying them farmed out to individuals, who would be responsible to the Authorities for the good conduct of their establishments. I should advocate the suppression of gambling-houses _in toto_, did I not know the utter impossibility of effecting this among either a Chinese or a Malay population. As their existence, then, must be tolerated, and as they are, to my certain knowledge, the scene of robbery and murder, much more frequently than persons unacquainted with the criminal calendars in our Asiatic courts of justice suppose, I say, let them be registered, taxed, and made subject to the visits of the police at any hour of the night or day. By the means I have pointed out, a revenue amply sufficient for the purposes of the Hong Kong Government might be raised; and I should have no hesitation in undertaking to defray every fraction of its expenditure, had I the privilege of farming the opium-tax and the spirit-tax. Of the climate of Hong Kong, I have little that is favourable to report. Hitherto, it has been decidedly inimical to the European constitution; and hundreds of our countrymen are already buried there. Last summer (1843), from the first of August till the end of October, a very malignant fever raged among all ranks, and carried off soldiers, sailors, Government servants, mercantile men, and tradesmen. There were some peculiarities attendant upon this fever, however, which I shall mention, in the hope that my observations may lead future residents to be a little more careful of their health, than most of the present inhabitants have shewn themselves to be. In the first place, then, the fever, with few exceptions, was limited to particular localities. Secondly, not one European female died of it, and only two suffered from it severely. Thirdly, those who occupied spacious _upper-roomed_, well-aired houses, almost to a man escaped. Fourthly, those who exposed themselves to the sun, suffered most. And, lastly, the new comer from Europe was more subject to take this terrible fever, which the medical men characterize as a mixture of the yellow fever of the West and the bilious fever of the East Indies. A stranger landing in Hong Kong, particularly if coming from many parts of India, and acquainted generally with tropical countries and climates, would naturally, on hearing of its insalubrious climate, express surprise, since he could see no exciting cause. I have stated, that the fever attached itself to particular localities. These were, the eastern and western extremes of the town of Victoria. At the eastern end, to the eye the most delightful spot in or near the town, there are several patches of paddy-fields, situated in deep valleys between the hills, of limited extent, but which, under this climate, seem to generate malaria in quantities quite disproportionate to their size. In the morning, these valleys may be seen, from the middle of the town, completely filled with a dense fog, which rolls down from the neighbouring heights immediately after sun-set, settles upon them all night, and does not clear off till nine or ten o'clock in the morning. I know of no other reason why this neighbourhood should be unhealthy: that it proved so last summer, the number of its victims sufficiently testify. Of six gentlemen who took up their quarters here, five died; and the other had a very severe attack of fever, from which he ultimately recovered.[23] [Footnote 23: Since these remarks were penned, another summer has passed over Hong Kong. Sickness and death have again prevailed there to an unusual extent, and the neighbourhood just mentioned had its victims; amongst others, two English ladies whose husbands I had cautioned, in March 1844, respecting the spot they were taking their families to reside upon. The last mail from the East continues the outcry against the climate.] The land at the western extremity of the town is swampy, the grass, even on the declivities, being of a rank, spongy nature, and quite unfit for any thing. Here the Government built barracks, in which a detachment of Her Majesty's 55th regiment was for some time quartered: its ranks were decimated by fever, which latterly became so virulent, that the Authorities chartered shipping in the harbour, to receive the men still alive. Unfortunately, the poor fellows, being weakened from the effects of the summer, and having in all probability the seeds of disease in them before they embarked, died afloat in great numbers. It has been thought, that many lives might have been saved at West Point Barracks, had that building been raised off the ground so as to admit a free circulation of air _under_ the rooms. This, however, is but problematical, as the deaths at the other end of the town took place in two-storied houses. From what I observed at West Point, there appears to be a constant drain of water down the hills, about six inches under the surface of the soil. This water settles under improperly ventilated houses, rots the beams, and _throws up a crop of mildew in every room_, as I can testify from actual observation. That no European female has fallen a victim to this fever, is certainly a remarkable feature in its history; but it must be borne in mind, that there were no ladies residing in the immediate neighbourhood of the two localities just mentioned. Perhaps, the Morrison Education Hill may be an exception, where two families passed last summer. None of the females suffered a day's illness, though a young man living in the house, who was occasionally exposed to the sun, caught the fever and died. I have no doubt, (and I have heard others express a similar opinion,) that regular habits and non-exposure to the sun, are the principal causes to which those Europeans who have escaped illness when their friends and neighbours have sickened round them, owe their preservation. The occupants of spacious, two-storied, well-aired houses escaped, with only a single exception, in the case of a young man who probably brought on his illness by imprudent exposure to the sun for hours together, although he was repeatedly warned of the consequences. I know several instances of families passing last summer in houses of this description without any interruption of health. My own household was composed of two ladies, three children, myself, and a European female attendant: not one of us had an hour's illness during all the hot weather; yet we took no further care of ourselves than is customary with people who have resided for several years within the tropics. That exposure to the sun in that zone is uniformly prejudicial to the health of Europeans, does not admit of a question; but, in China, the sun's rays seem to exert a more injurious effect than in most other places I have visited. The residents in Hong Kong, it is true, were somewhat careless in the matter. Few, if any of them were provided with carriages or other conveyance to protect them from it when business called them abroad during the day; and it was quite common to see them moving about, on foot and on horseback, with no other precaution than an umbrella carried over the head, in spite of the daily examples of parties suffering from such imprudence. The number of European inhabitants in Hong Kong will this summer (1844) be trebled by the removal of most of the merchants from Macao; and the general health of the place will be anxiously watched. Should it prove as bad as last summer, (which God forbid,) it will drive many people away, and injure the settlement irreparably. The prejudicial effects of going into the sun might be avoided, almost entirely, even by men of business, were they to adopt the Calcutta system of note-writing. There, a merchant seldom or never moves from his office; and when he does, it is in a covered vehicle. Let the Hong Kong residents follow their example, and their numbers will not be thinned as they have hitherto been. That the European fresh from home, full-blooded, and in robust health, should be more liable to fever than his acclimated countrymen, is not to be wondered at; but many of the new comers might escape disease by common prudence. Confident in their strength of constitution, and wearied with a long confinement on ship-board, they sally forth, day by day, to take a walk, just as they would in England, heedless of the fierce luminary that is pouring his rays on their exposed heads, and bent only on amusement or variety. A week of such folly (to call it by no stronger name) has sufficed to bring many a youth to a premature grave. The weather begins to grow warm in China (I speak of Hong Kong, Macao, and Canton) about the middle of April; in June, it is oppressively hot; and during the following three months, which are the most unhealthy, the thermometer in the shade ranges from 85° to 90°. This is a degree of heat that ought not to be much felt by experienced Indians; and in Java, or in the Straits of Malacca, I should not complain of it; but there is a peculiarity, an oppressiveness, in the heat of China, that makes even respiration difficult, and excites such copious perspiration as to weaken the frame. In October, the weather becomes cooler, and, for the next five months, is sufficiently cold to render fires a comfort morning and evening; and occasionally during the whole day. Were it not for their winter, I know not what would become of the European residents in China: this season braces them up for the coming summer, and, in short, saves their lives. The progress made in Hong Kong since its occupation as a British Colony, is astonishing, and perhaps unsurpassed in the history of civilization. Owing to the peculiar features of the locality in which Victoria stands, that town has been extended along the beach, till it is now upward of four miles long, with three short streets extending a little way up the hills about its centre. The Queen's road extends along the beach the whole of this length, and has been cut with great labour and expense. The lots between this road and low-water mark are considered as the best for mercantile purposes, and are nearly all in the possession of mercantile men, who have built, in most cases, handsome warehouses with dwelling-houses above. There are, however, some exceptions, a portion of the ground being occupied by Chinese shopkeepers, who inhabit low ill-built houses, which, as ground with water-frontage becomes more valuable, will have to give way to better buildings, raised by a higher class, who will buy out the present occupants. The lots on the south side of Queen's Road are not so valuable as those opposite; nevertheless, they are nearly all in the possession of monied men, who will before long find it to their advantage to level the many wretched buildings that now disfigure the road, and to erect houses worthy of a town bearing the royal name. On my departure from the Island, building was going forward in all directions, notwithstanding the somewhat illiberal terms on which alone lots were obtainable; and I have no doubt that, by this time, many smiling cottages adorn the hills in and near the town, while more stately buildings rear their prouder elevation on the level below. House-rent, as might be expected, is very high, and will probably continue so for ten years to come. It took that time to reduce the rents in Singapore; and as I expect that Hong Kong will become a place of still greater trade, and attract a larger European population than the Straits' settlement, I see no reason that the owner of property in houses there should not look for a handsome return for his outlay for ten years, and for a fair remunerating price at the expiration of that time. Something like a hundred per cent. per annum has been got for the small houses occupied by Chinese shopkeepers, while twenty-five, thirty, and even forty per cent. is a common return for substantially-built warehouses. Some idea of the rapid progress which this settlement has made, may be formed by the reader, when I state, that one firm had laid out upwards of 40,000l. sterling in building, and was still laying out more, when I quitted it. This is, certainly, by far the largest expenditure that has been made by any single establishment: but many others have spent from 6000l. to 10,000l. in a similar way; and the outlay by individuals on speculation, is by no means inconsiderable. The Chinese population of Victoria and the neighbourhood amounted, last January, to ten thousand souls; certainly not the choicest collection that could be wished, as the number of robberies that take place in and about the town sufficiently testify. This evil the magistrates were, however, doing their best to remedy; and some scores of idle vagabonds had been sent across the Channel dividing the Island from the main land of China. Some of the chiefs of the robber-gangs had been apprehended and set to work on the roads, in irons; a proceeding that alarmed their confederates not a little.[24] [Footnote 24: An account of the capture of two of these scamps was given to me by the chief magistrate, the day before I left Victoria, and was to the following effect:--A China-man in the pay of the police, though never seen by any magistrate, came to the police compradore's house one evening, and said: "If you will send two European constables to a certain spot (which he named) at nine o'clock to night, I will shew them where they will find two robber-chiefs smoking opium and looking over their gains." This hint was immediately communicated to the chief magistrate, who at once resolved to act upon it, and sent the constables to the spot indicated. There, the spy met them, masked, and made signs for them to be silent and follow him. He guided them down past West Point upwards of a mile, when he turned up the hill by a footpath, which, in half an hour, brought the party to a small hut, through the crevices in the wall of which a light was visible. To the door of this hut, the guide significantly pointed, and instantly disappeared without uttering a word. The constables took the hint, and burst the door open, when they found what they had been led to expect; two men smoking opium, the room almost full of European clothing and other stolen property, quite sufficient to convict the smokers of unfair play towards the late owners of it. These men were of course secured; and the day I sailed from Hong Kong, I saw them at work on the roads in irons. Their apprehension caused a complete cessation of robberies for the time being, the sight of the noted chiefs on the roads having terrified their followers.] The general appearance of Hong Kong, from the sea, is picturesque and curious. That part of the Island on which the town is situated, is hilly, and, with the exception of the few paddy-fields already mentioned, presents no level space on which to build. The hills stretch completely down to the sea; and Queen's Road has been formed by cutting away their projecting spurs, throwing the earth into the sea in front, filling up the gaps on each side the spur, and thus forming a long strip of level. Above the level of Queen's Road, many terraces have been cut in the hills, upon which private dwellings have been perched; and to a person sailing into the harbour, these look suspended on the hill side, and inaccessible. To speak the truth, the approaches to them are not the most practicable; particularly in rainy weather, when, from the clayey nature of the soil, they become extremely slippery. Several water-courses descend from these hills, forming miniature ravines and a few water-falls, which have a pretty effect after a day's rain. They occasionally wash away an ill-built house; but this is the fault of the clumsy and foolish builders. Many of these hills are covered with a hard, tough, useless sort of whinstone, which adds considerably to the expense of building on them. Others are well stocked with granite, which the Chinese masons split very neatly into any shape, by driving innumerable wedges into the blocks. The adroitness with which they do this, is quite surprising. The China pine (or fir) grows all over Hong Kong; but the young trees no sooner attain the height of two or three feet, than they are cut down by the natives, and carried off in bundles to clean the bottoms of the countless boats that ply about the harbour. Thus, with one or two exceptions, these hills are quite bare, and, in winter more particularly, exhibit any thing but a lively spectacle. In summer, their green covering of coarse grass improves their appearance. The only thing that reconciles one to the site chosen for building the town of Victoria, is its beautiful harbour: in every other respect, the choice was decidedly bad. A more awkward place on which to erect a town, could not have been fixed upon; and its northern aspect adds, I suspect, to the unhealthiness of the place, as it exposes the town to the cold winds of winter, and completely shuts out the southerly breezes of summer, which are so much wanted to refresh the worn-out colonist There are situations in the Island much more eligible for a town, but their harbours are exposed, so that, when we consider how well the shipping are protected in Victoria bay, we feel disposed to allow that a better choice could not have been made under all the circumstances. The market of Hong Kong is well supplied with fish, flesh, and fowl, vegetables, fruit, and game; and those who choose to take the trouble of seeing to it themselves, may obtain supplies on reasonable terms: those who leave these matters to their servants, are of course robbed, and are apt, without making any inquiry, to come to the conclusion, that every thing here is dear. The retail price of every sort of provisions is pasted up on the market-gate, once a week, by authority of the magistrates, in Chinese and English characters; so that the exorbitant rates charged by _compradores_ may be easily detected and put a stop to. Chinese boats of all descriptions, sizes, and sorts may be hired at every wharf, at any hour from daylight till eight at night: their moving about after that hour, is prohibited by the Authorities, who had strong reason to suspect their being connected with the gangs of robbers that occasionally land from the opposite shore, commit some daring robbery, and disappear again before daylight. When the fleet of men of war and transports arrived here, from the North, in October 1842, the troops, amounting to upwards of fifteen thousand, were regularly supplied, during their stay in the harbour of Victoria, with fresh provisions, eggs, &c.; and no rise of prices took place. On the departure of the fleet, the daily supply was reduced by the Chinese to just sufficient for the consumption of the place. No portion of the supplies for the market is produced on the Island: the whole is brought from the innumerable creek and river-banks in the neighbourhood. It is to be hoped that this state of things will, before long, be altered, since, as matters now stand, the Cow Loon Authorities could, at any time, deprive the inhabitants of Hong Kong of their daily bread. American, French, and English Missionaries are already congregated in this infant settlement. The first have built a neat little chapel, where Divine service is performed every Sunday morning in the Presbyterian form, and, in the evening, in Chinese. The French Roman Catholics have built a stately and handsome chapel with a good dwelling-house attached to it: they have a large congregation among the Irish soldiery and the Portuguese from Macao. The English Missionaries had only just arrived with their establishment from Malacca, and, when I left the Island, had neither house nor chapel, but had commenced building. A chaplain of the Church of England had arrived, appointed by the Home Government: no English church, however, had even been commenced, and the congregation meet every Sunday in a neat house, where, if they escape fever during the summer, and colds and ague during the winter, they ought to deem themselves very fortunate. Grog-shops and other resorts for the depraved and idle, are already plentiful in Victoria. They are, however, all closed on Sunday; and the sailor ashore, on liberty on that day, is fain to content himself with a walk along the road, during which he may be heard muttering deep curses on the heads of those who framed this (according to his notion) unjust and tyrannical regulation. Before concluding my remarks on Hong Kong, I will add a few words on what I consider as the best means to be adopted with a view to render the settlement more healthy. Much must be done by the Government; and the rest may be left to the inhabitants themselves. In the first place, the paddy-fields at the east end of the town must be thoroughly drained, and the cultivation of paddy in the neighbourhood entirely stopped. Proclamations on this last subject had been published in March last. That the draining of these lands would decrease the quantity of malaria generated in the valleys, there can be no doubt; but, that it would entirely do away with it, I deem very problematical. At all events, it would not stop the volumes of fog that descend from the hill-tops at sun-set, and completely envelop the valleys and the houses. Draining, indeed, would do good, and ought to be tried at once. The owners of property in the neighbourhood were very sanguine as to the result of the experiment. More good, however, would be done in the way of purifying the air of these valleys, by entirely removing the small hill on which the Morrison Education buildings stand. The task, at first sight, may seem herculean; but is not so in reality. Thousands of men are to be hired in the villages on the opposite coast, who would gladly work for three dollars (13s. 6d.) per month. Were a couple of thousand of these put upon this job for a twelvemonth, there would not be much of the hill left. The pecuniary outlay would be considerable; but the returns would do much more than pay the interest on it. The base of the hill itself is of considerable extent; and the earth carried from its top, if thrown into the sea at its foot, would create a large level space for building, that would yield quit-rent enough to render the speculation (were the work undertaken by private individuals) a highly profitable one. This hill completely shuts up the largest of the paddy-growing valleys; and its removal would admit into it the easterly and northerly breezes, which might do more than any thing else towards preventing the descent of the fog. There are other hills, near the one alluded to, that might be levelled with great advantage to the neighbourhood, as well as to the parties who might undertake the task. In this case, there are individuals ready to execute the work on their own private account, who actually made offers to the Government on the subject; but their terms were rejected by the Authorities, and the hills remain in _statu quo_. The sea being very shallow at the base of these hills, the space filled up by cutting them down, would be very considerable, and the task by no means difficult. Sir Stamford Raffles removed one at Singapore, in size equal to the one known in Hong Kong as Leighton's Hill, without incurring a shilling of expense to his Government. To the parties who removed the soil, he gave the ground they had made, charging them the same quit-rent that others paid on the grants made to them. At West Point, draining seems to be the only plan that can be recommended to render the situation more salubrious. Neither there nor any where else in the Colony, is it safe to reside in houses having only a ground-floor. Of those who have done so, few have escaped the fever; and still fewer of those who caught it, recovered. Draining upon a large scale, is the part of the work I would leave to the Government: upon the inhabitants, I would impose the task of making proper sewers all over the town. The few that existed there last summer, were not simply a disgrace to every person connected with the place, but tended in no small degree to thin the population by the abominable effluvia they threw out. In the immediate vicinity of every house or shop belonging to the Chinese, might be seen a collection of impurities sufficient to create a pestilence anywhere, much more in a place with the thermometer frequently above 90° in the shade. The assessment of five per cent. on all rents, would create a fund sufficient to purify the town, to keep it clean, to provide a regular scavengers' establishment, and, moreover, to pay night watchmen to protect the property of its inhabitants from the gangs of robbers that infest the place. Were these suggestions carried out, if the citizens of Victoria were but careful to avoid the sun, and if not a few would but reduce by one-half their allowance of brandy-and-water and cigars, I will venture to predict, that the medical men of the place would have a comparative sinecure. Among other arrivals in Hong Kong during the year 1843, were some fifty or sixty emigrants from Sydney, (N. S. Wales,) consisting of mechanics of different descriptions. They alleged, that the bad times in Australia had driven them away. Poor fellows! I fear they have made a sad mistake in the change they have sought. Here, they will find times, for persons of their class, worse than those they have had to complain of, a climate to contend against, from which they have not the means of protecting themselves, and hundreds of Chinese artisans, who can afford to work for less than half what they can live upon. Most of them were badly housed; and it was to be feared, that the end of summer will see very many of their number in their graves. The colonists of New South Wales appear to hare formed the most extravagant ideas of the benefit they are to derive from the new settlement of Hong Kong. With the exception of salt provisions, I know of nothing they can send to the new settlement with even a chance of profit; and the prices of these must be lower than those ruling in Sydney by the last accounts, to yield a profit. Some small lots of timber have been found to answer; but the demand for this article will cease, when the buildings now in progress in Victoria shall have been completed. Cattle, horses, and sheep have been tried, and the experiment has proved an utter failure. CHAPTER XVII. CHINA. FIRST VIEW OF CANTON--DESCRIPTION OF THE EUROPEAN QUARTER--HOSTILE FEELINGS OF THE PEOPLE--COMMERCIAL PROSPECTS OF CANTON--AMOY--FOO CHOW--NINGPO-- SHANG-HAE--MR. MEDHURST--RESULTS OF THE TREATY WITH CHINA. The sail from Hong Kong to Canton is very interesting, particularly to a stranger. The numerous islands he passes, and the entirely new scenes that everywhere attract his eye, cannot fail to delight and amuse him. Here, the unwieldy Chinese junk; there, the fast-sailing Chinese passage-boat; now and then, the long snake-like opium-smuggler with his fifty oars; innumerable fishing-boats, all in pairs, with a drag-net extended from the one to the other; country boats of all descriptions passing to and fro, their crews all bent on money-getting, yet, never failing to cast a glance of mingled contempt and scorn at the "_Fan qui_"; the duck-boats on the river banks, their numerous tenants feeding in the adjacent rice-fields; a succession of little Chinese villages, with groupes of young Celestials staring at him with never-ending wonder; here and there, a tall pagoda rearing its lofty head high above the surrounding scenery, as if conscious of its great antiquity and of the sacred objects for which it was built; the Chinese husbandman with his one-handed plough, drawn by a single wild-looking buffalo; smiling cottages, surrounded with orange and other fruit-trees; the immense fleet of foreign ships anchored at Whampoa;--these and a thousand other objects, all equally strange and new, attract the attention of the stranger as he sails up the "Quang Tung" river. On nearing the city itself, he is still more astonished and pleased with the sights that literally confuse his ideas, making the whole scene to seem the creation of magic, rather than sober reality. Here, the river is absolutely crowded with junks and boats of all sorts and sizes, from the ferry-boat of six feet long, to the ferry-boat of a thousand tons burthen. Long rows of houses, inhabited principally by boat-builders and others connected with maritime affairs, and built on the river, line its right bank. Outside of these, are moored numerous flat-bottomed boats with high roofs: these come from the Interior with tea and other produce, and resemble what I fancy Noah's Ark must have been, more than any thing I have seen elsewhere. On the left bank, the shore is lined with boats unloading and loading cargoes, while the different landing-places are completely blocked up with ferry-boats seeking employment. The space in the centre of the river, is continually crowded with boats, junks, &c. proceeding up and down. The scene altogether is bewildering to the stranger. Busy as the scene is, which the Thames presents at London, its superior regularity and order, in my opinion, prevent its coming up to the scene I have just faintly traced, in the strange and excited feelings it calls up. Amidst all this, there is a constant clatter of tongues strongly recalling the confusion of Babel. A China-man never talks below his breath; and, if one may judge from the loud tones in which the whole community express their sentiments, whether in a house or shop or in the street, the only conclusion that can be come to is, that, in China, the word secret is not understood, or rather, that the idea corresponding to that word has no existence in their conceptions. Of the immense city itself, the home of a million of souls, what account can a traveller give, who has seen little more of it than the portion inhabited by foreigners? I must say a few words, however, about that part of it which I have seen. I begin with the foreign factories. These buildings stretch along the left bank of the river about three quarters of a mile, (or, rather, they did so, for one half of them have recently been destroyed by fire,) and extend back about two hundred yards. They are large, substantially built, and comfortable houses; but those situated behind the front row, must be (indeed I know they are) oppressively hot residences in the summer season. The space between the factories and the river, is reserved for a promenade, where foreigners may take a little recreation after their day's work. Although but a limited space, it is invaluable. Here, in the evening, may be seen Englishmen, Americans, Frenchmen, Spaniards, Dutchmen, Portuguese, Parsees, Moslem, and Hindoos; all enjoying the evening breeze, and talking over the affairs of the day or the news brought by the last overland mail, while a crowd of Chinese coolies surround the square, gaping with noisy wonder at the strangers attired in all the costumes of Europe and Asia. The streets principally resorted to by foreigners are, China Street (old and new) and Carpenter's Square. In the former, a very choice collection of Chinese articles may be purchased, either in the way of curiosities or of valuable merchandize. In Carpenter's Square, the new-comer may fit himself out with everlasting trunks, dressing-cases, &c.; or, if in search of furniture, he may here, in half an hour, furnish his house with well-made, substantial articles. The houses in these streets are all of two stories, with very narrow frontage, ground being valuable. A large quantity of timber is used in their construction, which renders any chance fire in this city so very destructive. The streets in Canton are all very narrow, most of those I have seen not exceeding six or seven feet in width: the two China Streets are probably twelve feet wide. The city does not cover half the space which a European one with the same population would do. Its streets, from their want of breadth, always appear, and indeed always are crowded; and the unwary passenger is very liable to get knocked down by some heavily laden porter running against him, if he does not keep a sharp look-out. Like Macao, it is infested with loathsome beggars, who are, if possible, still more clamorous in their demands for charity than those of that place. Here, the stranger will be surprised to see dogs, cats, and rats hawked about, dead and alive. I do not say that these animals form the daily food of the people of Canton, but they are daily and hourly hawked about its streets, and purchased by the poorer classes. The Canton market is, nevertheless, remarkably well supplied with the good things of this life; and the European who cannot live and be contented with the provisions procurable in it, must be hard to please. By nine o'clock at night, this huge city is perfectly quiet, and nine-tenths of its inhabitants are wrapped in sleep. At either end of each street is a gate, which is shut at that hour, and ingress or egress put a stop to for the night. This regulation, as may be supposed, is an excellent check upon night robbers, whose peregrinations can extend no further than the end of the street they live in. Another equally salutary regulation is that which makes the inhabitants of a street responsible for each other's good conduct. Thus, if A's servant steals any thing from B, A must make good the loss. Prowling being put a stop to during the night, I have seen robberies attempted and detected during the day; and I certainly never saw a poor thief treated elsewhere with such unrelenting cruelty. A China-man seems to have no mercy for a thief; nor is this feeling to be wondered at in an over-peopled country, where all have to work for their bread, and where idlers are sure to starve. During the winter, in Canton, the lower classes suffer severely from cold: they are poorly fed and worse clothed: and hundreds of them may be seen about the streets, shivering and looking the very picture of absolute wretchedness. Amongst these, a few old women may be seen sitting by the side of the streets, earning a scanty subsistence by mending and patching the clothes of people as poor as themselves. These poor women, having all undergone the barbarous operation of cramping the feet during infancy, are consequently unable to undertake any thing but sedentary employment to gain their bread. The very small size to which the feet of some of the Chinese females have been distorted by cramping them with bandages during the first six years of their lives, is almost beyond belief. I have seen a full-grown woman wearing shoes, and walking in them too, not more than 3-1/2 inches long. Their walk resembles that of a timid boy upon ice; it is necessarily slow; and, indeed, some of them require the aid of a staff in one hand, while they lean with the other on the shoulder of a female attendant. The smaller the eyes and feet of a Chinese beauty, the more she is admired. I once asked a respectable China-man, what he thought of this custom of cramping their daughters' feet: his reply was, "Very bad custom." On my inquiring further, whether he had any daughters, and whether their feet were treated in the same way, he answered in the affirmative, but asserted, that they had been subjected to the cruel ordeal by their mother, against his will. He added, that, in a China-man's house, where there were young girls, no peace could be had, night or day, for their cries, which lasted till they were six years old. He gave us a reason for the mother's insisting on her daughter's submitting to this long course of pain and suffering:--"Suppose _he_ no small foot, no man wantjee make _he_ number one wife." A respectable China-man, it appears, always chooses a small-footed woman for his principal wife, while, for Number two, three, and four, he contents himself with ladies whose feet are as nature made them, and who are consequently more able to make themselves useful in household matters. The inhabitants of Canton and its vicinity have displayed, since the war, more hostile feelings towards Englishmen, than those entertained by the natives of any of the northern ports. They still affect to believe, that Sir Hugh Gough durst not attack their city; and it is, perhaps, to be regretted, that he was hindered from shewing his strength on that occasion. Several riots and two extensive fires among the foreign factories, have taken place since that time; and it is the opinion of many persons, that, before long, Canton will require a lesson such as Amoy, Ning-po, and other places have received. That the first of the two fires alluded to was the work of incendiaries, there is no doubt; and so well satisfied were the native Authorities upon this point, that they made good the losses sustained by foreigners on the occasion. The proposal to grant land to foreigners in the neighbourhood of Canton, for the site of country residences, met with so energetic opposition from the natives, that the Authorities did not venture to carry the plan into execution. Inflammatory placards were posted all over the city, calling upon the people to protect their ancient rights, and threatening extermination to foreigners, and to the local Authorities themselves, in the event of their complying with the petition. It is probable, that the wealthy men and others connected with the commerce of Canton, felt that the arrangements then pending between Her Majesty's Government and that of their Imperial Master regarding the commerce of the two countries, would, if completed, affect their old privileges and monopoly; and that they adopted the measures above-mentioned in order to shew their displeasure. That their commerce will suffer in consequence of the arrangements since brought to an amicable conclusion, there can be no doubt; but it is not less certain, that Canton will continue to be the centre of an extensive trade. Its merchants must be content with a share of the loaf, in place of monopolizing, as heretofore, the whole. The days of Hong merchants and monopoly are at an end; and the benefits derived from Free-trade will shortly convince all but those connected with the late Hongs, that the changes recently effected in the relations of the Celestial Empire with other countries, are not deserving of the abuse that has been so abundantly lavished on them. The far-famed Bogue Forts, I observed, in passing up the river last March, to be rebuilt in the same clumsy style as that of the fortifications which Sir Gordon Bremmer knocked down. As a means of defending the river against any thing but Chinese junks, they are utterly useless; and one cannot help feeling surprised that so intelligent a people as the Chinese did not take a lesson from the perfect ease with which their forts were razed to the ground, and build their new ones on a better plan. The scenery at the Bogue is very pretty; and the forts, if of no other advantage, form a picturesque feature, viewed while sailing past them. Not having visited Amoy, Foo Chow, Ning-po, Chusan, or Shang-Hae, I am unable to give any description of those places. I can, however, state what I have heard about them, and give the mercantile reader some idea of their importance as places of trade. Short as is the time that these ports have been open to the commerce of Britain and other foreign nations, many cargoes of Indian cotton, different sorts of produce from Singapore and the islands of the Malayan Archipelago, manufactured goods, consisting of woollens, gray and white shirtings, chintz, &c., from Manchester and Glasgow, have been advantageously disposed of at one or another of them. Amoy has taken off several cargoes of Bengal and Bombay cotton, at prices considerably higher than those ruling at Canton. This branch of trade is likely to increase, and is one that will interfere with Canton to a considerable extent. As a residence, however, this place has a bad character in point of healthiness: at least, the troops, both European and Indian, suffered severely there from fever. They were stationed on the island of Koo Loong Soo, which is said to be more healthy than Amoy itself. None of our merchants had visited Foo Chow, up to the time of my departure from China; nor had a Consul been sent there; but this has, I presume, since taken place. The city has been described to me as large and populous, and the seat of a very extensive trade. It escaped the ravages of the late war; and its inhabitants may probably entertain a similar idea to that which possesses the people of Canton; namely, that we were afraid to attack them. Whether this notion will lead them to give Europeans an indifferent reception, or not, remains to be seen. Let us hope that they will act wisely in the matter, and not bring down vengeance on their own heads. Sir William Parker, by visiting their harbour in Her Majesty's ship Cornwallis, proved to them that they are not beyond the reach of European shipping, as they at one time thought. Some difficulty is experienced, I believe, in approaching Foo Chow, owing to the strength of the currents in the neighbourhood; but, as a seventy-four-gun ship has got over that difficulty, it is proved to be not an insurmountable one. Ning-po is also a large and wealthy city, admirably situated for trade, and surrounded with a beautiful country. It stands some forty miles from the sea, by the river, which is said to be navigable for ships of considerable burthen even beyond the town. The climate is salubrious, and the natives are quite awake to the benefits likely to arise from a free intercourse with Europeans. At this port, the first British vessel bound for the northern ports of China, from England direct, was loading, in March last, with tea and other Chinese produce. By how many hundreds she will ere long be followed, I leave the reader to imagine. It is said by those who have visited this port, that nothing can exceed the urbanity of the Chinese Authorities and merchants, or their anxiety to do all in their power to please and entertain European strangers. This, doubtless, in part arises from the severe lesson that was read them, on more than one occasion, by Sir Hugh Gough; a lesson which, it is hoped, they will long remember. An extensive and important trade is carried on between this place and Chusan, by which means our manufactures will find their way into that island, after its ports shall be closed against our shipping. Here, Russian manufacturers are met with; and a friend of mine informed me, that, in a Chinese shop at Ning-po, he purchased a few yards of superior Russian black broad cloth at the very cheap rate of two dollars and a-half (11s. 3d.) per yard. This price seems lower than that at which the British manufacturer could produce a similar article. Samples of the cloth have been sent to England, so that this question will soon be decided. Shang-Hae, the most northern of the five ports opened to foreign commerce, is, perhaps, the most important of the whole five. I have undoubted authority for asserting, that the number of Chinese junks, of more than a hundred tons burthen, that enter this port weekly, exceeds a thousand. The same authority speaks of the busy scene that this harbour daily presents, as quite beyond his powers of description. Many British, American, and other merchants have visited Shang-Hae since it became an open port; many cargoes of manufactures have been disposed of there; and already a considerable export trade on foreign account has commenced. A bold attempt was made by some influential and wealthy merchants from Canton, to prevent the mercantile men of the place from purchasing cargoes from the foreigners: in this, they succeeded for a time; and the Canton men were in hopes they should secure the northern trade for their own capital, as of yore; but they calculated beyond their mark. The Shang-Hae men listened to the tales that were told them, and kept aloof for some time, till they saw that the Europeans were quite determined not to leave their harbour without effecting sales. Suddenly they changed their minds, and said to the Canton men: "If the '_Fan-quis_' are such a wicked race, how comes it that you are so anxious to have their trade to yourselves?" In a week afterwards, every foreign vessel in the river was cleared of her cargo at remunerating prices. Shang-Hae is the principal port in the Empire for the export of raw silk. This fact is sufficient of itself to proclaim the vast importance of the place. The winter here, is described as being very severe; and the cold is said to be so intense, that hundreds of the very poorest sort of natives perish in the streets from its effect on their half-clad persons. The heat of summer is also intense; which renders the city unhealthy, situated as it is in a low, swampy country. Yet, I heard of no sickness among the Europeans who passed last summer there. The Missionaries have not been behind the merchants in occupying Shang-Hae; and Mr. Medhurst, so well known for his extensive knowledge of Chinese literature, had completed arrangements for removing his family thither in the early part of the present summer. He had previously visited the place, avowing the object of his visit, and had found no difficulty in procuring a commodious house, large enough for the comfortable accommodation of his family, as well as for a printing establishment, &c. Mr. Medhurst has been a personal friend of mine for these twenty years; and he will believe me when I say, that I heartily wish him all the success in his mission that he can wish for himself; but, of his success, I have my doubts. As to the benefits likely to accrue to the commerce of Great Britain from the Treaty lately concluded by Sir Henry Pottinger with the Chinese Government, I conceive there can be but one opinion, although the extent of those benefits is as yet uncertain. When I express an opinion, not penned in haste or without consideration, that the large quantities of grey shirtings, white ditto, chintz, cotton yarn, long ells, Spanish stripes, fine woollens, camlets, &c. now purchased of the British merchants by the Chinese, are likely, within the next three years, to be quadrupled, the manufacturers of my country will at once perceive what this celebrated Treaty is likely to accomplish for them.[25] We must, moreover, take into consideration, the extra tonnage that will be required to carry on this extended commerce; the number of seamen it will employ; the consequent increased demand for every description of stores taken to sea for the use of ships and men; the innumerable families that will thus be provided for; and the not improbable increased demand, over and above quadruple the present, for the goods named, when the new trade shall have had time thoroughly to develop itself. Nor must we overlook the benefit likely to result to British India, the cotton of which has hitherto been supplied to the Chinese _viâ_ Canton: it will now be carried to their doors in British vessels, and sold to them at far cheaper rates than could have been afforded when sent in the former round-about way. Taking this view of the case, it stands to reason, that the demand will increase; and though the merchant of Bombay, Madras, or Calcutta may not make larger profits than heretofore, he will do a much larger business, employ double the number of men and ships, and enjoy the prospect of returning to his native country some few years sooner than he dreamed of under the old regime. [Footnote 25: It must be borne in mind, that this was written at sea, before I had any knowledge of the reception which Sir Henry Pottinger's Treaty had met in Manchester and other manufacturing towns. Their subsequent reception of Sir Henry himself, proves how well satisfied they are with what he has done for them; and the extent of last summer's exports to China, demonstrates, beyond a doubt, that I was not far wrong in my predictions.] A trade suddenly thrown open with three hundred millions of human beings, is not likely to be completely developed in three, four, or five years; and I conceive that I am within the mark, when I hold out encouragement to my countrymen to quadruple their shipments to China. In April, May, and June, 1843, before the five ports of China were officially opened to foreign trade, and when visiting them was precarious, an unusually large quantity of British and American manufactures was poured into the China market. Ship after ship arrived from the manufacturing districts, with full cargoes; and the universal cry was, "What is to be done with all these goods?" I can tell the public what became of them. They were sold almost as fast as they arrived. Many of them were purchased, for the northern ports, by speculators, who, to a man, did well with them. Prices not only kept up, in spite of the heavy import duties, but actually continued to advance till the end of the year, when they were twenty per cent. higher than when all the cry was, "What is to become of these goods?" This spirited demand for goods at Canton and Hong Kong, continued up to March last, when I sailed from China. Whether the supply sent out this season, has exceeded the demand, or not, I have no means of ascertaining, while writing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean; but I have no fear as to the result of any shipments that may have been made. That the thanks of the mercantile world in general, and of its members in Great Britain in particular, are due to Sir Henry Pottinger for the very satisfactory conclusion to which he has brought the recent disturbances with China, and to Sir Hugh Gough and Sir William Parker for the gallant manner in which the warlike portion of the work was conducted, every unprejudiced man must allow. Though Sir Henry had not left China when I sailed, I presume that he will be in England before me _viâ_ Egypt; and nothing would give me greater pleasure on my arrival, than to find that he had been rewarded by his Sovereign by being made "Earl Nankin." His career has been a brilliant one; and that he may live many years to enjoy the fruits of his exertions, must be the wish of all that are likely to benefit by them.[26] [Footnote 26: No such honour has been paid to Sir Henry, though his reception by his Sovereign, the Government, and the public, has been such as must amply have gratified him and all his friends.] Whether or not we are shortly to have another Chinese war, is a problem I do not pretend to be able to solve: there are various opinions on the subject; but my own is, that every thing depends on the foreigners themselves. If the Consuls and others sent by Government to the five trading ports are firm and resolute men, who will never suffer the slightest infringement of the Treaty by the Chinese, without an energetic remonstrance,--if the captains of ships of war stationed at the five ports are strict in maintaining order among the masters and crews of the shipping of their nation,--if mercantile men take care, on the one hand, to give no cause of complaint by smuggling or otherwise, to the Chinese Authorities, and, on the other hand, to put up with nothing from them that is not borne out by the terms of the Treaty;--in short, if foreigners generally (under which term I include every person not a Chinese) unite together and stand up for the Treaty, the whole Treaty, and nothing but the Treaty,--I see no reason to suppose that it may not work well, and for many years to come. On the other hand, if Consuls vacillate in their intercourse with the Chinese authorities,--if captains of ships of war permit irregularities in the conduct of merchant seamen,--and if foreign merchants condescend to injure their fair fame by smuggling, in place of submitting to the very moderate duties imposed upon their trade by the new Chinese tariff,--all and each of them must take the consequences of their conduct; and they may rest assured, that the Chinese will always be ready to seize with avidity the slightest opportunity afforded them for charging foreigners with a breach of the Treaty. We must hope that foreigners resorting to China for the purposes of trade, or merely as travellers in search of health or of strange sights, will be sufficiently aware of the importance that is sure to be attached to their conduct, to avoid giving the Chinese just cause of complaint. Should they be careful on this point, and should the amicable relations now existing between the two countries remain uninterrupted, it will not take many years to convince the intelligent Chinese, that intercourse with what they are pleased to term the Barbarian nations of the earth, is not to be despised. As for the result of another war, there cannot, I imagine, be two opinions. That Great Britain would be the victor, and the _gainer_ too, after a struggle of half a summer, is pretty certain; and that she would make the Chinese pay dearer for their temerity than they were made to do before, seems probable, and would be but just. The possession of Chusan and other eligible mercantile positions on the coast, would open fresh fields for the enterprise of our merchants, and for the employment of hundreds of seamen and others; and the fleet and army, after satisfying the Chinese that they were as able and as willing to fight as ever, might, with great advantage to their country, take a trip to Japan, and try to prevail on the ruler of that _terra incognita_ to open his ports to foreign commerce. I would tell the Emperor of Japan, You shall either be my friend or my foe. If the former, you must permit your subjects to trade with my people; and if the latter, you must try your strength with me. While there are tens of thousands of unemployed operatives in Great Britain, her rulers should omit no opportunity of extending her commerce; and their suffering the Japanese sullenly to exclude our shipping, while the Dutch enjoy the sole privilege of trading to their country, seems to me putting up with a state of things that ought not to exist. CHAPTER XVIII. NECESSITY OF APPOINTING BRITISH CONSULS IN THE SPANISH AND DUTCH COLONIES--NEW SETTLEMENT ON THE WESTERN COAST OF BORNEO--IMPORTANT DISCOVERY OF COAL ON THE NORTH-WEST COAST--CONCLUDING REMARKS. It appears to me, that British commerce in the East, requires somewhat more care and attention from the Authorities in the mother country, than they have hitherto bestowed upon it. The trade carried on by British subjects with the Philippines, Siam, and the Dutch Colonies, is both extensive and important; but, not unfrequently, it suffers interruption from the Government of those countries, to the serious loss and inconvenience of the parties concerned. That a Consul or other properly authorised functionary is required to watch over the interests of British merchants trading to Manilla, Bang-kok, Batavia, Samarang, and Sourabaya in Java, and Padang on the west coast of Sumatra, is evident to every person at all acquainted with the trade of those places; and I will add a few facts by way of satisfying those who may be doubtful on the point. In the first place, then, British subjects residing in, or shipping resorting to Manilla, are subject to the most arbitrary proceedings on the part of the Spanish Government,[27] who order merchants from the place, and ships from the harbour, at a day's notice, without ever condescending to state their reasons for such proceedings. It was only the other day that the British subjects residing in Manilla were, by an unlooked for and arbitrary order of the Governor, deprived of the professional aid of the medical practitioners of their own country then resident among them. These professional men were not, indeed, ordered to quit the place; but they were informed by an official proclamation, that no medical man would in future be permitted to practice in Manilla, unless in possession of a diploma from the college at Cadiz. This, of course, was equivalent to an order to quit, as no English physician could be expected to have such a document in his possession. A friend of mine, writing to me on this occasion, represents the act as tantamount to a sentence of death upon all foreigners resident in the Philippines. While Spanish surgeons are allowed to practice among their countrymen in British Colonies, such a state of things ought not for a moment to be suffered by the British Government. [Footnote 27: This remark has recently been confirmed beyond the possibility of denial, by the unjust and cruel sentence passed by the Court of Justice in Manilla, on my esteemed friend, Mr. Robert Diggles, who, after having been led into great expense, and kept under the surveillance of the police for nearly two years, has been tried as a criminal, and sentenced to pay a fine of two thousand dollars, and banished the Philippines for six years. And for what, does the reader suppose? For kicking out of his house an impudent Spanish tailor who had presented himself there during a ball given by Mr. Diggles to Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker and Major-General Lord Saltoun, during their visit to Manilla in Her Majesty's ship Cornwallis. From Lord Saltoun, on his return to Hong Kong, I received an account of this matter; and Mr. Diggles also sent me the particulars in writing. From the testimony thus tendered to me by an eyewitness whose word cannot for a moment be doubted, and by the party principally concerned, in whose word I also place implicit confidence, I have no hesitation in making this public declaration, that Mr. Diggles has been partially, cruelly, unjustly, disgracefully, and tyrannically dealt with by the Government of Manilla. A letter I received yesterday from Singapore, gives room to hope that Mr. Diggles's banishment has been remitted, which I should be glad to hear confirmed, though it would be no adequate reparation for the injury he has sustained.--Hull, 1st November 1845.] Next, as to Siam. It is well known to every person acquainted with the trade of that country, that its Sovereign, in defiance of all treaties, monopolizes, by unjust and tyrannical means, nine-tenths of the commerce of his dominions; that his agents watch for and seize every boat that approaches the capital with produce; that the produce so seized is carried to the King's warehouses; that he pays whatever price he pleases for the contents of the boat; that the produce so seized is very generally the property of other persons, (frequently British subjects,) who have advanced money to the planter on his growing crop; that British and other shipping resorting to Bang-kok for the purchase of produce, are compelled to buy from the King on his own terms, or to leave the port in ballast; and finally, that these proceedings are in direct opposition to the terms of an existing Treaty between Great Britain and Siam. A Consul at Bang-kok, and a visit twice a year from one of the ships of war cruizing in the China Sea and the Straits of Malacca, would put an entire stop to His Siamese Majesty's unwarrantable proceedings, as far as British subjects are concerned. Let Americans and others look after themselves. Ill the Dutch Colonies, also, I can testify from personal observation, the British merchant is very frequently dealt with not less arbitrarily. The Dutch Authorities are not content with prohibiting the importation into their Colonies of warlike stores and opium, (which they have an undoubted right to do,) but their regulations render a ship seizable, that enters their ports with either of those forbidden articles on board. This seems unreasonably hard and it puts the British merchant to expense an trouble oftener than may be supposed. A ship bound from London, Liverpool, or Glasgow, to Batavia and Singapore, (a very common destination,) dares not receive on board as freight, either a chest of Turkey opium, or a single Birmingham musket. If she does, she must give up all idea of calling at Batavia, where she would be immediately seized, for having such articles on board as cargo. Only four years ago, the British barque Acdazeer, bound from Bombay to China, with a cargo consisting of thirteen hundred chests of opium, was dismasted in a gale in the China Sea, and bore up for the port of Sourabaya, which she entered in distress, for the purpose of repairs, and for stores to enable her to prosecute her voyage. My memory does not serve me so as to enable me to state, whether the Acdazeer's visit to Java was before or after the promulgation of the law prohibiting ships with opium and warlike stores entering any of the ports of Netherlands India; but I think it was _before_ that regulation was made public. Be that as it may, the ship was in distress; and, as a matter of course, her Commander thought he was entering a friendly port. His astonishment may be conceived, when he was ordered by the Authorities to land all his cargo in the bonded stores, before the slightest assistance could be rendered to his vessel. What was to be done? Resistance was useless; and to prosecute his voyage with a disabled ship, impracticable. The cargo was accordingly landed, and the vessel's repairs were proceeded with. When these were finished, the Commander reported his being ready to receive his cargo on board again, and to proceed on his voyage; when he was told, that, before doing so, he must pay an _entrepôt_ duty of one per cent. on the whole value. This he was compelled to do; and it amounted to the very considerable sum of 1300l. All goods landed in bond (or _entrepôt_), in any of the ports of His Netherlands Majesty's East-Indian territories, are subject to a duty of one per cent. on being re-exported; but who ever heard of a ship that had put into harbour in distress, being _compelled_ to land her cargo, under the pretence that it was to prevent the possibility of any portion of it being smuggled, and of its commander being afterwards told, that, as the goods had gone into _entrepôt_, the duty must be paid? These facts may be sufficient to shew, that the appointment of Consuls at the different ports above named, is urgently needed as a protection to the British shipping visiting them. I have been told, that the Spanish and Dutch Governments have refused to receive or acknowledge Consuls in their Eastern possessions. If this is the case, the evil might be remedied by a note from Downing Street. The other ports of Netherlands India are, perhaps, not of sufficient importance, as regards English commerce, to authorise the expense of Consular appointments. If the opinion of so humble an individual as myself could be supposed to reach the ears of the British Premier, I would respectfully but earnestly call his attention to the foregoing remarks. Another subject to which I am anxious to call the attention of the British Government, is, the advantages presented by establishing settlements on the north-western and western coasts of the Island of Borneo. The proceedings of my friend Mr. Brook[28] at Sarawak on the western coast, having been made public, it is only necessary for me here to remark, that Mr. Brook has already paved the way for the advantageous settlement of a British Colony in his neighbourhood, and to express a wish that Her Majesty's Government may take advantage of his spirited and praiseworthy exertions, and reward him for them. The influence which he has obtained over the wild and intractable natives (as they have been hitherto deemed) of that part of Borneo, the service which he has rendered to the mercantile interests of his country by his exertions in the suppression of piracy, the numbers of people whom he has induced literally to turn their swords into ploughshares, and the quiet, unostentatious way in which all this, and more than all this, has been effected, are not less surprising than creditable to his abilities, perseverance, and public spirit. [Footnote 28: See Appendix II.] The recent discovery of extensive veins of coal on the banks of the river of Borneo Proper, is my chief reason for calling public attention to the north-western coast of that island. The destruction by fire of the British ship Sultana, on her voyage from Bombay to China, and the subsequent imprisonment of Capt. Page, his wife, officers, passengers, and crew, by the Rajah of Borneo Proper, led to the discovery in question. The Singapore Government, on hearing of Capt. Page's captivity, sent a steamer to procure his release; and it was the captain of this steamer who discovered the coal, several tons of which he collected and used on board his vessel. He described them to me as being of excellent quality for steamers, and to be had in unlimited quantities by simply digging away the upper crust of the earth to the depth of six inches, under which the coals lie in masses. He was moreover informed, by the natives in the neighbourhood, (who, by-the-by, never use the coals, though they knew that they would burn, and called them "_Batu Api_" or fire-stones,) of the existence of much more extensive coal-veins a few miles further up the river. He had not time to visit the spot, but the natives assured him, that ships might be loaded from the surface. Of the depth or extent of the veins, they knew nothing; it is, however, more than probable, that, on the application of proper means, an unlimited supply of coals might be obtained. The importance of such a supply, now that Steam communication between Calcutta and Singapore has been established, and that the line will in all probability be shortly extended to China, requires no demonstration. In the event of a regular monthly overland mail being despatched from Hong Kong, to join the Calcutta line at Point de Galle[29] (Ceylon), it would not be out of the steamer's way, to touch and coal at Borneo: thence proceeding to Singapore, where she would not require coals, she would take in the mail, and proceed on her voyage. This plan would save the expense of forming a coal _dépôt_ at Singapore. All Her Majesty's steamers on the coast of China might be supplied with fuel from the same quarter, particularly as several empty ships go to China every season in search of freights homeward, which would gladly call at Borneo _en route_, and take in a cargo of coals, to be delivered at Hong Kong, at a moderate rate per ton. To establish this coal trade on a permanent footing, a treaty would require to be entered into with the Sultan of Borneo. This, I have no hesitation in saying, might be effected, and the requisite arrangements made with the Borneo Authorities by Mr. Brook, whose influence in that quarter is deservedly all-powerful. An establishment placed there, the chief or superintendent of which might be invested with Consular powers, would manage the coal business, and protect any unfortunate shipwrecked British seamen from ill treatment similar to that sustained by the captain and crew of the Sultana. So many vessels have from time to time disappeared and never been heard of, between Singapore and China, as to render it far from improbable, that there are numbers of British subjects now in confinement on the northern coasts of Borneo and Palawan. This probable or, at least, supposable case furnishes an additional argument in favour of placing some party, armed with power to protect such unfortunate persons, in some convenient spot in the neighbourhood. When I say, armed with power, I do not mean that arms should be put into the hands of those stationed to manage the coal-mines at Borneo, but that their superintendent should be empowered to use energetic language, and threats if need be, in the name of the British Government. The magic of a name is nowhere felt or understood more than among these same savages; in proof of which I may mention, that the Rajah of Borneo Proper gave up Capt. Page and his crew immediately on their being demanded in the name of the Governor of Singapore, though he had refused to listen for a moment to the proposals and demands previously conveyed by a well-armed schooner sent by Mr. Brook from Sarawak to treat for the release of the Sultana's people, on hearing of their captivity. Even His Majesty of Siam stands in awe of the British name; and I could tell instances of his having paid deference to a few lines from the Singapore Authorities. [Footnote 29: 1846; now in full operation. Vide Appendix I. p. 303.] The ships of war in these seas are too much in harbour; they might be far better employed in occasional visits to the different ports of Borneo, Palawan, the eastern coast of the Malayan Peninsula, Siam, and Cochin China. Visits to those countries twice or thrice a year, would not interfere in the slightest degree with their regular duty; it ought, indeed, to form part of it; and would be of incalculable value to British merchants. The Authorities of those different States, knowing that the visits of British ships of war were to be regular and frequent in future, would be cautious how they meddled with British subjects. With all the gasconade common to Orientals generally, the chiefs of the countries I have mentioned, are cowards at heart, tyrants as they are when opportunity offers; and they dread the sight of a ship of war in their harbours. No better check could be kept upon their conduct; and the plan proposed would not cost Great Britain a shilling, inasmuch as the ships required to carry it into execution, are in commission, and, as I said before, spend far too much time in port. Such a catastrophe as the loss of the Golconda, with four hundred souls on board, ought to be sufficient to call forth the utmost exertions on the part of our naval officers in the China Sea. This ship, a vessel of 800 tons, sailed from Singapore in September 1840 (or 1841), bound to China, with the head-quarters of the 37th Madras Native Infantry on board, and has never since been heard of. In my humble opinion, the China Sea and its coasts ought to have been thoroughly searched for any remains of this unfortunate ship, it being far from impossible, that some of her people may be in existence in Cochin China or on the neighbouring coasts or islands. When the unfortunate barque Fifeshire disappeared in the same mysterious way, on the same voyage, three of her men turned up from Cochin China, twelve months after she had been given up and paid for by the under-writers. No endeavour was made to trace the Golconda,--wherefore, let those explain, who had it in their power to cause due search to be made. Being unable to divine their reasons, I hope, for their own sakes, they were sufficient to quiet their own consciences. My wanderings are drawing near a close, and I have little more to say. On our passage down the China Sea, during the prevailing very light southerly winds of April, we exhausted a large portion of our fresh stock; and for replenishing it and our water we touched in Anjer Roads, of which, and the village of the same name, I shall now give a brief sketch. Nothing can be prettier than the sail into Anjer Roads from the northward, on a fine clear day. The scenery is equal to any thing I have ever seen. On your right, rises the high land of Sumatra, covered with wood to the very summit, and exhibiting all the different shades of green; on your left, are St. Nicholas Point and the high land of Java; while the two little isles called, "Cap and Button," add their minute features to the landscape. The land in this part of Java, though well wooded, is not covered with timber so thickly as the opposite coast of Sumatra; but, here and there, the scene is diversified by a clearing, where the Javanese may be seen at work in his rice-field, yam-patch, vegetable garden, or pinery. In front, the island of "Thwart-the-way" (well named, for it is right in mid-channel) relieves the eye from the glare of the sea; which, in these low latitudes, is a matter of some moment; while, further seaward, may be seen towering far above the surrounding objects, the islands of Pulo Bissie and Crockatooa, both visible from a great distance, and forming excellent land-marks for the mariner. On nearing the anchorage, the pretty little village of Anjer strikes the eye, its huts built in rows, and shaded by palms and other trees; the Dutch Resident's house, the fort, and the wharf, are all in view; and further back, about a mile from the sea, may be seen the tomb, erected by his shipmates, to the memory of Dr. ----, Assistant Surgeon of H. M. S. Alceste. The inscription informs the stranger, that Dr. ---- died here on his return from China, after the wreck of the Alceste. This tomb was the first thing that attracted my attention when I landed at Anjer in 1823, and has ever since been an object of interest to me. Anjer is a very convenient place for ships bound from China or Singapore for Europe to touch at for supplies, although many ship-masters avoid it during the prevalence of the north-west monsoon, when it is a lee shore. I have anchored there at all seasons of the year, and never found any difficulty in getting out of the harbour; but others have been less fortunate, and have got among the rocks. Here, the natives come off to passing ships, and bring fowls at two rupees per dozen; (a rupee here is equal to 1s. 8d. sterling;) ducks at three rupees per dozen; good-sized turtle one dollar each; yams one dollar per _pecul_ of 133 lbs.; eggs one dollar per hundred; and other articles in proportion. They are very fond of visiting an English ship, as they generally get paid by her Commander in Spanish or other dollars; a coin held in universal estimation in those parts. In my frequent visits to Anjer, I have invariably met with a polite and hospitable reception from the Dutch Resident, (the chief Civil authority,) who has always been willing and ready to render any aid in his power to strangers. Anjer, with all its beauties of scenery, is said to be unhealthy in the rainy season, when the showers and thunder-storms are both frequent and heavy: its natives are a puny race, and its European inhabitants look pale and sickly; so that, I suppose, it deserves the doubtful reputation generally given to it. During my last ramble in the vicinity of Anjer, I observed some natives at work in a plantation of young plants which, at first sight, and from their being sheltered from the sun by tall, wild-cotton trees, I took for coffee. On inquiring of the overseer, and looking more closely at the plants, I found they were young cinnamon-trees. The attention of the Dutch Government has long been given to the cultivation of this spice; and, from the very healthy appearance of the plants just mentioned, I should think that the ultimate success of the undertaking was far from doubtful. It will not surprise me to see, before ten years have elapsed, Java rivalling Ceylon in cinnamon, as it is now competing with Bengal in indigo. The Strait of Sunda, in which Anjer is situated, is certainly a beautiful channel for ships to sail through in fine weather, though, from the strength of its currents, an uglier place in a dark, squally night could scarcely be found. It used to be notorious for Malay pirates, but has been, of late years, clear of those pests. Talking of pirates, I may mention my own good fortune in never having fallen in with any of the fraternity in the many voyages I have made in the lake-like seas of the Malayan or Eastern Archipelago. This, however, does not tend to prove their non-existence in even recent days. Having completed our stores at Anjer, we sailed with a fair wind about 3 P. M. on the 14th May, and, next morning, were rolling about in a heavy sea off Java Head, (a bold and grand promontory forming the south-west corner of the Island,) where I bade adieu to my favourite sunny climes of the Far East. APPENDIX I. (See p. 295.) PLAN FOR THE ACCELERATION OF THE CHINA MAILS (_i. e._ THEIR CONVEYANCE FROM _SUEZ_, viâ _CEYLON_ TO _HONG KONG DIRECT_) SUBMITTED BY MR. HENRY WISE TO HER MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT SEPT. 14, 1843, ADOPTED JUNE 20, 1845, AND NOW IN ACTIVE AND SUCCESSFUL OPERATION. ---------------+--------------------+------+-----+----------------------+ Proposed Route | | |Av. | Interval | from Hong Kong | | |Rate | (days/hours) | to London, and | Course. |Dist. |per | | vice versâ. | |Miles.|Hour,| und. | at | Total | | | |Miles|weigh.|Anchor.| | ---------------+--------------------+------+-----+------+-------+-------+ | | | | | | | HONG KONG TO | | | | | | | PULO LABUAN | S. 2° .18' E. | 1009 | 7 | 6/- | 1/12 | 7/12 | | | | | | | | PULO LABUAN | | | | | | | TO SINGAPORE | S. 69° .23' W. | 707 | " | 4/6 | -/12 | 4/18 | | | | | | | | SINGAPORE |{S. 64° .48' W. 19}| | | | | | TO MALACCA |{N. 51° .41' W. 103}| 122 | " | -/18 | -/6 | 1/- | | | | | | | | MALACCA | | | | | | | TO PENANG | N. 30° .37' W. | 222 | " | 1/8 | -/16 | 2/- | | | | | | | | PENANG TO |{N. 82° .24' W. 303}| | | | | | CEYLON[A] |{S. 89° .45' W. 916}| 1219 | " | 7/6 | 1/12 | 8/18 | +--------------------+------+-----+------+-------+-------+ CEYLON | {As now performed by the Peninsula & Oriental} | | TO ADEN | { Steam Navigation Company, detention of } | 11/- | | { 2 days included. } | | | | | ADEN | | | TO SUEZ | -- -- -- 2 -- | 8/- | | | | SUEZ TO | | | ALEXANDRIA | -- -- all stoppages -- | 3/- | | | | ALEXANDRIA | | | TO MALTA | -- -- -- -- | 4/- | | | | MALTA TO | {H.M. Post-Office} | | MARSEILLES | -- -- { Packets } | 4/ | | | | MARSEILLES | {Regular course} | | TO LONDON | -- -- { of Post } | 5/- | | +-------+ {Total interval from HONG KONG to LONDON,} | | { and vice versâ, by the proposed Route} Days| 59/- | | | {Average interval of transmission of China Correspondence, } | | { viâ Calcutta and Bombay, during the last Twenty Overland} | 89/- | { Mails, viz. from the 10th October 1841, to 6th May 1843 } | | +-------+ Difference of Time in Favour of Proposed Route Days| 30/- | ----------------------------------------------------------------+-------+ ---------------+-----------------------------------------+ Proposed Route | | from Hong Kong | | to London, and | Duties at Anchor. | vice versâ. | | | | ---------------+-----------------------------------------+ | | HONG KONG TO | | PULO LABUAN | To receive Coal.[B] | | | PULO LABUAN | | TO SINGAPORE | To receive Coal, land & receive Mails. | | | SINGAPORE | | TO MALACCA | To land & receive Mails. | | | MALACCA | | TO PENANG | To receive Coal, land & receive Mails. | | | PENANG TO | | CEYLON | Ditto Ditto | ---------------+-----------------------------------------+ [Note A: Receiving at Ceylon, the Outward Overland Mail from England, and returning therewith to China.] [Note B: The Borneo Coal Mines would also serve to keep the Hong-Kong, Singapore, and Penang Stations supplied with Fuel for Steam Vessels carrying the Mails between Hong Kong and Suez direct. MEM.--I have adopted an average rate of seven miles per hour as a fair estimate of the speed that well-appointed Steam Vessels, of moderate size and power, will be enabled to accomplish and maintain, throughout the proposed route, at all seasons of the year; for, during the whole distance from Penang to Aden, and _vice versâ_, neither monsoon, from the course steered, becomes at any period a directly adverse wind; an advantage which the route hitherto observed does not possess. Assuming that the Honourable East-India Company continue the management of the Bombay line, and that the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company are encouraged to render their operations more comprehensive, by the establishment of Branch Steamers between Ceylon and Singapore, to which latter Port Her Majesty's Steam Vessels on the China Station could convey the Mails from Hong Kong, this all-important object might, without difficulty, be attained. The advantages to the Straits' Settlements, consequent on the adoption of improved arrangements, require no comment; and the _practicability_ of effecting a very considerable acceleration of the communication with China, is evident from the simple fact, that the average interval which has occurred in the transmission of letters from China, by the last twenty Overland Mails, (irrespective of the unfortunate July Mail from Bombay,) exceeds the period occasionally occupied by fast-sailing ships, in accomplishing the voyage _viâ_ the Cape of Good Hope. HENRY WISE. LONDON, Sept. 14, 1843. P.S.--Oct. 9, 1843.--The arrival at Suez, on the 16th ult., of the H. C. S. Akbar, in _forty-six_ days from Hong Kong, after accomplishing the passage down the China Seas, against the S.-W. monsoon,--unassisted also by any previously arranged facilities for coaling, exchange of Steamers at Aden, and other manifest advantages requisite for the proper execution of this important service,--confirms the correctness of my estimate for performing the voyage from Hong Kong to Suez, or _vice versâ_, viz. _forty-three_ days, including stoppages.--H. W. APPENDIX II. MEMORANDUM ON BORNEO, AND MR. BROOK'S SETTLEMENT ON THAT ISLAND. Mr. Brook has no warmer admirer than myself; and I trust the territory of Sarawak, which has been ceded to him by the Sultan of Borneo, will eventually become a flourishing British Colony. The Government of this country cannot but be fully alive to the value of such a point on the north-west coast of Borneo with reference to the protection and security of the vast trade carried on by British subjects to and from China; not to mention the great intrinsic advantages of an establishment on one of the largest and most valuable islands in the world. Little or nothing is yet known of the interior of this vast country; but what we do know already with regard to several portions of its coast must lead us to the conclusion that it will one day become of infinite importance in a political as well as commercial point of view. There is reason to believe that it contains the most rich, varied, and extensive mineral deposits, and is capable of producing, in the greatest abundance, every variety of tropical production, including some that appear to be peculiar to its soil and climate. Protection from the complicated evils of piracy and oppression is alone wanting in order to stimulate the growth and industry of the population, and to give a new aspect to the face of this fertile region. The very fact of a British Settlement being established would exercise a most powerful influence in bringing together all the elements of a rapid civilization amongst a people at present the prey of ignorance, superstition, and oppression. Considering the smallness of the means at his disposal Mr. Brook has already done much: the seeds have been sown, and, up to a point, nourished by the force of his character; for their further development the influence of the British Government unreservedly exercised, but with due caution, is alone required. As one of the very best means of defence against riot or disturbance in a country like Sarawak, whether held by Queen Victoria or by my friend Brook, I would recommend the raising of a corps of Hill Rangers, to be composed of 400 or 500 natives of the country, in their native dress; distinguished from their countrymen simply by a belt thrown over the shoulder, with S. H. R.[30] on a brass plate in the middle of it, and a small sword by their side; the whole under a European captain, four lieutenants, and a dozen native _jimedars_. Ten guilders per month, allowed as pay to each man, would secure the choice of the population; and no force would equal them for the maintenance of peace in such a country. Sir Stamford Raffles tried a similar plan at Bencoolen, and found it answer admirably. I need say no more in its favour. No better man exists for raising and organizing such a corps, than Mr. Brook himself: witness his performances of a similar nature during the Burmese war. These Hill Rangers must be divided into companies, and should be stationed at convenient places throughout the country, to keep their eyes on evil-doers, and to act as police-men more than as soldiers. Their captain must be _locomotive_, and superintend the whole corps. [Footnote 30: _i. e._ Sarawak Hill Rangers.] I will now proceed to state my ideas as to the way in which Mr. Brook can most profitably avail himself of the extensive territory of Sarawak. In the first place, he must have the whole District competently and correctly surveyed, and laid out in portions (not of square miles, New-South-Wales fashion, without any regard to natural boundaries, but) of different sizes according to the topographical features of the country. On the completion of this survey, the plan or map should be lithographed, to exhibit to parties intending to purchase or hold land. Mr. Brook should then publish in India his intentions, giving a sketch of the facilities he can offer, of the capabilities of the country, &c. &c. &c. Tenants will not suit him, in my opinion, so well as purchasers. The possession will be too unwieldy for him to hold, even as landlord: I speak from my experience in Java. The purchasers he wants, are men of capital, say from 5000l. to 10,000l. each, to whom he must give credit for the land, and leave them unhampered to carry on their operations. All lands fit for the growth of coffee or sugar must be worked by these capitalists on their own account: they must send to Java for experienced overseers, (Europeans,) to conduct the works; and to Bally, Lombok, or the Coromandel coast, for labourers. The natives of the former two are preferable, but, I fear, could not be obtained in sufficient numbers. Not a China-man should be employed on an estate of mine as a field-labourer, though the Chinese answer remarkably well, _under Europeans_, in sugar-mills. An experienced overseer from Java will point out to them the best lands for coffee and sugar, and the best modes of planting and rearing both. It is also a very good plan, to contract with a party to grow the cane, (the proprietor helping him with small advances,) which the landlord engages to take at so much per thousand when ripe, to be delivered at the mill door. The grower, in such cases, is generally a poor man, and require aid for the first year, to buy buffaloes, ploughs, and provisions. In Java, nine-tenths of the cane are produced in this way; and the landlord saves both risk and trouble by it. No cane, no pay, is the rule there; so that, although the mill-owner may lose his time in a bad season, he sacrifices no outlay. The Chinese cannot be trusted to _manufacture_ the sugar: they are conceited bunglers at that work, as stubborn as mules, and use too much lime, in spite of all one can say or do to prevent it. Coffee may also be planted by contract; though, in Java, where men can be got for three guilders per month and their rice, worth two guilders more, the plan is not generally adopted. A party purchasing land, ought to have it selected so as to have portions of it fit for coffee, sugar, and rice, and to try all three. In rice-cultivation, a different plan, however, must be pursued. In Java, a proprietor of rice-land encourages as many people to sit down on his property as he can possibly obtain; charges them no rent in money, but helps them each to build a hut; lends them money to buy two buffaloes; and gives them rations of rice and salt for the first twelve months; taking care, in the meantime, that the man, his wife, and his children are as busy as bees, planting and looking after a few rice-fields,--the more the better; seeing also, that the family do a fair day's work, and as much as they are well able to perform. From these fields, when harvest arrives, the squatter will pay his rent. And then is the time that the European overseer and his deputies require to have their eyes open, in order to see that fair play is dealt to the proprietor, who is entitled to one-fourth of the crop, by way of rent, delivered in bundles of paddy, at his barn-door, by the grower. The reaping and binding must be watched, and the bundles be counted on the field; otherwise the grower will, probably, carry more than his share to his own barn, in place of his master's. Now is the time, also, if the season has been a favourable one, to make the squatter pay off the whole, or a portion of his debt, for the advance made to him early in the year. If he gets well through the first year, he will, in all probability, take a liking to the place, and fix himself there for good. One of the very best plans for attaching Javanese to their residence on an estate, is, to see that lots of cocoa-nut and betel-nut trees are planted in every desirable locality. With half a dozen cocoa-nut trees, even in a bad season, a native family will manage tolerably well; and in all my wanderings among the Malayan islands, I never came to a place where even a single cocoa-nut was not current, like money, for its full value in rice. Another great advantage arising to the proprietor from rice-grounds well-occupied, is, that he is entitled, by immemorial custom, to the labour of every male on the estate one day in seven, in virtue of a sort of feudal law. A friend of mine in Java, on whose estate were fifteen thousand adults, seven thousand of whom were males, had thus the command of the labour of one thousand men per day _free_. On a new estate, these are the men to clear jungle, to make roads, to trim coffee-trees, and to take a turn with a hoe among the sugar-canes, when the hired labourers are busy at crop time, or when, from any other cause, labour may be scarce. Mr. Brook must take things leisurely. Let one capitalist be established with a fair prospect, and he will soon be followed by dozens, who will gradually creep into the forests, and make the place a second Java. Before these capitalists make their appearance, however, he must, by every means in his power, encourage squatters, and get them to work on patches of rice-land, here and there. Let him but treat those men kindly, help them through the first year, and set them fairly on their legs; they will then never leave the place. Touching the diamond and gold mines which Mr. Brook wants to work, I hardly know what to advise, but think that his best plan would be, to get my friend Tok Sing, or some other wealthy China-man in Singapore, to procure him "head men," whom he would _secure_, _i. e._ bind himself to make good any thing lost or stolen by them. This, of course, he would not do gratis; but his guarantee in such an undertaking would be invaluable: his wealth is very considerable, while his name and influence would be beyond calculation useful. Over every thing, Mr. Brook must himself keep a watchful eye; and, above all things, he must keep the peace. He must not attempt too much at first; but must raise his Rangers as they may be required; and, with his talent for such operations, a moderate share of patience and perseverance, and sufficient capital, all will go well, and he will meet with the complete success that he so richly merits. THE END. WILLIAM WATTS, PRINTER, CROWN COURT, TEMPLE BAR. Transcriber's Notes: Inconsistencies in the hyphenation of words preserved. (daylight, day-light; namesake, name-sake; Ninpo, Ning-po; roundabout, round-about; Shang Hae, Shang-hae; Shipmaster/s, ship-master/s; underwriters, under-writers) Units of Sterling currency "l.", "s." and "d." were italicised in the original text, except for two instances (probably typographical errors) on page 186 (3-1/2d. per pound) and page 206 (12s. per ton). In the plaintext version of this transcription, italic markup has not been added to Sterling currency units in order to reduce clutter and enhance readability. Table of Contents, Chapter V., "DUTCH SETTEMENTS" changed to "DUTCH SETTLEMENTS". Table of Contents, Chapter XVI., summary paragraph after Chapter Heading. In the table of contents, the third last phrase in the summary paragraph is "PICTURESQUE SCENERY" whereas in page 237 this phrase is replaced by "PORTUGUESE PENURY". The original text is retained in both cases. Table of Contents, Appendix I., page number changed from "299" to "303" to match page number at actual location. Table of Contents, Appendix II., page number changed from "391" to "305" to match page number at actual location. Pg. 64, "havet heir" changed to "have their". (have their own Rajahs) Footnote 8, "trad" changed to "trade". (The opium trade again, has diminished) Pg. 74, "testi-timony" changed to "testimony" (testimony to its Commander's) Pg. 88, inserted missing period. (balance due upon their services.) Pg. 96, "occa-onally" changed to "occasionally" (occasionally visited by a very severe fever) Pg. 134, inserted missing period. (called a grain-exporting one.) Pg. 196, "hundreths" changed to "hundredths". (ninety-nine hundredths) Pg. 219, added missing period. (the _lorcha_ was burned.) 
12668	----	Production note: ---------------- Notes (*) are shown in square brackets ([]) at the end of the paragraph in which the note is indicated. Italics are indicated by underscore characters (_) at the start and finish of the italicised words ====================================================================== AN ACCOUNT OF THE ENGLISH COLONY IN NEW SOUTH WALES, FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT IN 1788, TO AUGUST 1801: WITH REMARKS ON THE DISPOSITIONS, CUSTOMS, MANNERS, etc. OF THE NATIVE INHABITANTS OF THAT COUNTRY. TO WHICH ARE ADDED, SOME PARTICULARS OF NEW ZEALAND; COMPILED, BY PERMISSION, FROM THE MSS. OF LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR KING; AND AN ACCOUNT OF THE VOYAGE PERFORMED BY CAPTAIN FLINDERS AND MR. BASS; BY WHICH THE EXISTENCE OF A STRAIT SEPARATING VAN DIEMAN'S LAND FROM THE CONTINENT OF NEW HOLLAND WAS ASCERTAINED. ASBSTRACTED FROM THE JOURNAL OF MR. BASS. By LIEUTENANT-COLONEL COLLINS, OF THE ROYAL MARINES, LATE JUDGE ADVOCATE AND SECRETARY OF THE COLONY. ILLUSTRATED BY ENGRAVINGS. VOLUME II. Many might be saved who now suffer an ignominious and an early death; and many might be so much purified in the furnace of punishment and adversity, as to become the ornaments of that society of which they had formerly been the bane. The vices of mankind must frequently require the severity of justice; but a wise State will direct that severity to the greatest moral and political good. ANON. LONDON: PRINTED BY A. STRAHAN, PRINTERS-STREET, FOR T. CADELL JUN. AND W. DAVIES, IN THE STRAND. 1802. * * * * * TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE ROBERT LORD HOBART His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the War Department, One of the Commissioners for the Affairs of India, etc. MY LORD, Feeling myself highly flattered by your permission to inscribe the following pages to your Lordship, I now humbly presume to offer them to your perusal. The colonists of New South Wales will feel with me, who must ever take an interest in the welfare of the settlement, a high degree of satisfaction at finding the conduct of their affairs placed under the direction of a nobleman who has dignified the amiable virtues of private life by the acquisition of those more splendid talents which characterise a consummate statesman; thus at once rendering himself the object of veneration and of gratitude to his country. Your Lordship's services in the several high and important situations which you have filled, are too generally known, and too well remembered, to make me apprehensive lest my humble tribute of applause should be mistaken for other than the genuine feelings of one proud of this opportunity to unite his voice with that of a grateful nation. The settlement whose annalist I have been has had much to struggle with. Its distance from the protecting wing of the parent government, and the unprecedented war which that government, has so long had to conduct, have very much repressed its energies, and detracted from its natural vigour. But, although the distance must ever remain an obstacle, yet now, that your Lordship can uninterruptedly afford a portion of your valuable time and great abilities to the consideration of its interests, it will, I trust, be found to correct its bad habits, and to maintain, with a degree of respectability, its place among the colonial dominions of our much beloved and most gracious Sovereign. That your Lordship may long be permitted to dispense blessings to New South Wales and other distant countries, and to assist, instruct, and adorn your own, is the ardent and anxious wish of him who has the honour to be, with every sentiment of respect, MY LORD, Your Lordship's Most obedient, very humble, and devoted servant, DAVID COLLINS Beaumont Street, June 26, 1802 * * * * * ADVERTISEMENT London, 17th June 1802 The very flattering reception which my former _Account of the English Colony in New South Wales_ experienced from a candid and liberal public, has induced me to continue my labours in the character of its historian; having been favoured with materials for this purpose, on the authenticity of which I can safely stake my credit. Should the reader feel wearied with the detail of crimes and their consequences, the fault lies not with me. I have only to regret that a soil of so much promise has not produced better fruit. Such as there was, I have diligently gathered; and have endeavoured to render it as palatable as the nature of it would allow me. When we reflect that the exotics with which this new plantation is supplied are chiefly the refuse of our domestic nurseries; and duly consider that, however beneficial the act of transplantation may finally be found, it must for a time retard the growth, and will generally protract the fruit for a season, however fertile the original stock, we ought, perhaps, considerably to moderate our expectations. By patient culture, skillfully directed, in a climate so propitious, and a soil so favourable, much may yet be effected: after experience shall have once thoroughly ascertained all the dangers and difficulties necessary to be surmounted, before most judicious cultivators can completely avail themselves of the many local advantages of which the situation is undoubtedly susceptible. To relieve the mind as much as possible from the contemplation of enormities, and the disgustingly wretched picture which vice must ever exhibit, I have not only interspersed a few notices of rare and curious objects in Natural History peculiar to the Australian regions; but have also inserted the two voyages which were made in the little sloop Norfolk, by Captain Flinders and Mr. Bass, in the order of time in which they occurred, instead of placing them in an Appendix. The Natives too have contributed to assist me in this part of my undertaking; and some additional light is thrown upon their peculiar manners and customs in the course of the work. It were to be wished, that they never had been seen in any other state than that which the subjoined view of them presents, in the happy and peaceable exercise of their freedom and amusements. * * * * * CONTENTS CHAPTER I Recapitulation A log prison begun Various impositions practised at the store October Regulations and proceedings of the governor A man found dead A woman murdered Discontents among the Irish, followed by an order Character of the settlers at the river Houses numbered at Sydney Bennillong claims protection from the governor Weather in October November Two victuallers arrive from England Constables elected The _Francis_ returns from Norfolk Island Civil appointment A criminal court held Executions One man hung in chains Effect of this upon the natives Public works December Convicts secreted on board the _Sylph_ Reflections A general muster Regulations A native child murdered Weather CHAPTER II The governor visits Richmond-Hill His transactions there A stack of wheat burnt Sawyers punished Price of labour regulated General character of the settlers The clergyman's attention to the children Criminal court assembled Lawrence Davoran The governor goes to Botany Bay George's river Public works Lightning and its effects CHAPTER III The wind-mill tried A civil court assembled Difficulty respecting the convicts from Ireland The natives Some buildings begun Weather March Number of men not victualled by the Commissary, who had been convicts An extraordinary theft Court of criminal judicature twice held One man suffers death Price of labour fixed The natives attack the settlers Public works Weather CHAPTER IV Report revived of a white woman being with the natives A shoal seen Some civil regulations Natives troublesome The governor goes on an excursion Particulars thereof A valuable tree discovered Weather May The natives burn a house Consequences The Supply arrives from the Cape A ship wrecked to the southward Three of her people brought in by a fishing boat Particulars Two accidents The _Britannia_ arrives from England Vessels and assistance sent to the wreck Public works Cordage wanted The _Mercury_ sails June The Ganges arrives from Ireland Transactions Some runaways taken and brought to trial The _Reliance_ arrives from the Cape A strange desertion Public works New gaol finished CHAPTER V The _Francis_ returns from the wreck of the _Sydney Cove_ The _Eliza_ long-boat missing Gale of wind Cattle from the Cape landed Station altered Public works An officer dies Accident on board the _Schooner_ The ships sail for China Coal discovered Natives Bennillong Courts Of justice assembled The _Supply_ condemned The _Cumberland_ seized and carried off to sea Is pursued, but not retaken More coal found; and a new river The people left by Capt. Bampton at New Zealand arrive at Norfolk Is. Several runaway convicts landed there by the _Britannia_ The _Deptford_ arrives from Madras Excursion to the Cow-Pastures Walk from Mount Taurus to the sea coast Public works Weather CHAPTER VI Another boat seized and carried off Order in consequence The criminal court thrice assembled Particulars Three men stand in the pillory Perjury explained to the convicts Natives very troublesome; seize a boat Various works in hand An attempt to seize another boat frustrated Prospect of a fine harvest Wilson gives himself up Is made use of Two mares stolen The clergyman's servant attempts to rob him Information sent to India respecting the boats An amphibious animal discovered Description Accident Works Police Weather CHAPTER VII Bennillong and Cole-be Various particulars respecting the natives Ye-ra-nibe killed A settler's house burnt through malice Schools at Sydney Two settlers drink for a wager The body of a soldier found Criminal court The _Francis_ sails for the wreck Weather Houses burnt Public labour Harvest Account of live stock and ground in cultivation CHAPTER VIII Attempt of some Irish convicts to desert in search of a new settlement Some punished Steps taken to prevent future desertion A settler's boat stolen Particulars The _Francis_ returns from the southward Conjectures as to a strait Natives A convict providentially saved Public works Weather CHAPTER IX The _Francis_ again sails for the wreck Bennillong and his wife Report respecting the wild cattle An anonymous writing found Account of a journey to the westward Description of a new bird A general muster Mr Bass returns from an excursion in an open boat to the southward Particulars of it Three Irishmen picked up Public works Weather in February CHAPTER X Pe-mul-wy Strange idea respecting him Civil court meets; nature of the business brought before it Advice of the governor to the settlers The _Francis_ returns from Preservation Island A trusty person sent to look for a salt hill said to be to the westward The wild cattle seen A new animal, the Wombat, found; described Some Irish runaways give themselves up A seizure made of timber for government Transactions Weather April The criminal court meets Three men executed Reflections Accidents among the stock Discoveries prosecuted Settlers and their complaints An old woman accused of dreaming Works in hand Weather CHAPTER XI Some Irishmen providentially saved from perishing The _Nautilus_ arrives from Otaheite Missionaries Order respecting the sawyers The _Barwell_ arrives with convicts A judge-advocate sent out Information The _Reliance_ and _Schooner_ sail for Norfolk Island Information sent thither Natives Works and weather in May June Ground fixed on for the missionaries The Hunter arrives from Bengal Regulations The commander of the _Sydney Cove_ dies A decked boat arrives from Norfolk Island Maize harvest completed Weather CHAPTER XII Three southern whalers arrive, and an American from the Isle of France A transport with female convicts arrives from England _Reliance_ arrives from Norfolk Island Information John Raynor executed Profligacy of the female part of the settlement August Civil regulations The Sabbath neglected Attendance enforced Two whalers arrive Public works A native girl killed Consequences An extraordinary custom among them September The _Barwell_ sails for China, and the _Hunter_ for New Zealand The bones of two horses found Whalers sail Public works Weather Fears for the approaching harvest CHAPTER XIII The _Semiramis_ arrives from Rhode Island The church at Sydney burnt Reflections Some vessels sail; the _Norfolk_ for Van Dieman's Land; The _Francis_ for Norfolk Island Another fire in the town A ship arrives from the Cape with cattle Works in hand Bennillong The governor's steward destroys himself An order respecting the women A battery erected Weather State of the harvest Irish The _Francis_ returns; and the _Nautilus_ The _Eliza_ from Sea Information Three deaths One good character recorded Disorders Public works Great heat Returns of stock, and land in cultivation CHAPTER XIV Certificates granted to convicts Reasons for so doing Unruly behaviour of the Irish Agricultural concerns look ill The _Norfolk_ sloop returns from Van Dieman's Land Particulars Twofold Bay described The natives there Kent's Group Furneaux's Islands Preservation Island Curious petrifaction there Cape Barren Island The wombat described CHAPTER XV The _Norfolk_ proceeds on her voyage The Swan Isles; why so named Waterhouse Isle Discover Port Dalrymple Account of the country within it Natural productions Animals Sagacity and numbers of the black swan Inhabitants; inferior to those of the continent Range of the thermometer Pass Table Cape Circular head Three Hummock Island Albatross Island Hunter's Isles Proceed to the southward and westward CHAPTER XVI The _Norfolk_ passes the strait Observations thereon Proceeds to the southward Passes the S. W. Cape; and S. Cape Remarks on the latter De Witt's Isles Storm Bay Passage Tasman's Head Fluted Cape Frederick Henry Bay Enter the Derwent river, first seen in the ship _Duke_, of Bengal Observations on the Derwent Some natives seen Particulars of one Venomous snake One destroys itself Comparison between New South Wales and Van Dieman's Land Arrive at Port Jackson Advantages of the strait CHAPTER XVII Transactions Information from Norfolk Island A burglary committed The criminal court assembled A man tried for killing a native Two men executed The public gaol burnt Observations Stills ordered to be seized Settlers, their profligacy A man found dead Great drought A flood at the river Two whalers arrive Conduct of the labouring convicts A seaman killed A woman murdered by her husband Natives A Spanish prize arrives Norfolk Island Resources in New South Wales Public works CHAPTER XVIII The _Buffalo_ arrives from England, and brings cattle from the Cape A marine settler killed Natives A criminal court held Taylor executed Lowe punished A highway robbery Provisions in store Ration altered June, two whalers come in from sea Ideas of a whale-fishery Tempestuous weather Effects The _Albion_ whaler arrives from England Her passage July, a missionary murdered The murderers tried and executed Orders published State of the farms The _Hillsborough_ arrives from England Mortality on board Public works CHAPTER XIX The governor visits the settlers upon George's river The _Norfolk_ sloop returns from an excursion to the northward Account of her proceedings Enters Shoal Bay Particulars respecting it Description of a palm-nut tree Enters Glass-House Bay Lieutenant Flinders meets some natives Has an interview with them Particulars Point Skirmish Proceeds to a river in Glass-House Bay CHAPTER XX Further proceedings in Glass-House Bay Red Cliff point Nets of the natives Moreton Bay found to be an island The sloop prepared for an attack of the natives The Event Account of an island Enter Pumice-Stone river See some natives The leak in the sloop stopped Interviews with natives Mr. Flinders visits the Glass-House peaks Account of the country Return down the river Other interviews with natives Their manner of fishing Singing Dancing Other particulars of, and some conjectures respecting them Quit Pumice-Stone river, and Glass House Bay CHAPTER XXI The _Norfolk_ proceeds to Hervey's Bay Some account of it Curlew Island She returns to Port Jackson Observations on the currents and tides along the coast A criminal court assembled Order respecting the issuing of government notes Public works September A ship arrives from America The _Buffalo_ sails for the Cape The governor crosses the Nepean A calf killed October Convicts found on board the _Hillsborough_ and _Hunter_ The master of the _Hunter_ tried A young ox stolen Ration reduced Price of Grain fixed CHAPTER XXII The _Reliance_ sails for Norfolk Island The _Walker_ arrives with Lieutenant-Colonel Paterson from England Dispatches received Orders respecting bread Transactions Regulations Storm of wind December The _Britannia_ whaler sails for England Settlers dissatisfied A Spanish prize arrives The _Martha_ from Cape Barren Island A criminal court held Wheat continued at the former Price Gaol burnt at Parramatta Harvest begun Live stock CHAPTER XXIII The _Swallow_ Packet arrives on her way to China Articles sold The _Minerva_ arrives from Ireland with convicts The _Fhynne_ from Bengal Three settlers tried for murdering two natives Assessment fixed to complete the gaol February Military rations A soldier shoots himself A whaler from America, with a Spanish vessel, her prize The _Hunter_ from Calcutta The _Friendship_ with Irish convicts arrives Inutility of some of these prisoners Clothing issued Tax on spirits to complete the gaol Transactions A new magazine begun March The _Reliance_ sails for England A mountain eagle shot The _Martha_ arrives from Bass Strait Settlers sell their sheep Flood occasioned by bad weather April Criminal court held The _Speedy_ arrives from England with Lieutenant-Governor King The _Buffalo_ from the Cape Regulations CHAPTER XXIV Reports of seditious meetings among the Irish convicts The _Friendship_ sails for Bengal Letter from Lord Mornington respecting persons resident at Bengal, formerly in this colony Correspondence relative to Indian convicts, and persons at Calcutta wishing to become settlers in New South Wales Orders Criminal court held June Two men hanged for sheep-stealing The _Hunter_ sails with Major Foveaux for Norfolk Island The _Buffalo_ ordered for sea Public gaol July Three men executed General muster Cattle purchased The _Martha_ driven on shore August Survey of public stores Spirits landed and seized Death of Wilson September Rumours of Insurrection Volunteer corps Coal found The _John Jay_ arrives The governor quits the settlement Live stock, etc October The _Buffalo_ sails for England Touches at Norfolk Island CONCLUSION * * * * * LIST OF PLATES Chart of the three harbours of Botany Bay, Port Jackson and Broken Bay, showing the ground cultivated by the colonists, marking the late additions made thereto, and the country from the Cow Pasture plains in a direct line to the sea coast. A scene by moonlight Ornythorhynchus paradoxus Maenura superba Wombat A night scene in the neighbourhood of Sydney The Mountain Eagle Natives under a rock in bad weather The Emu of New South Wales Plan and elevation of the Church at Parramatta * * * * * AN ACCOUNT OF THE ENGLISH COLONY IN NEW SOUTH WALES CHAPTER I Recapitulation A log prison begun Various impositions practised at the store October Regulations and proceedings of the governor A man found dead A woman murdered Discontents among the Irish, followed by an order Character of the settlers at the river Houses numbered at Sydney Bennillong claims protection from the governor Weather in October November Two victuallers arrive from England Constables elected The _Francis_ returns from Norfolk Island Civil appointment A criminal court held Executions One man hung in chains Effect of this upon the natives Public works December Convicts secreted on board the _Sylph_ Reflections A general muster Regulations A native child murdered Weather 1796.] September.] In the former account of the English Colony of New South Wales, which was brought up to the 29th September, 1796, it will be seen, that on that day His Majesty's ship the _Reliance_ and the _Britannia_ hired transport, sailed, with the _Francis_ colonial schooner, for Norfolk island; whence, being there joined by the _Supply_, the _Reliance_ was to sail to the Cape of Good Hope, to return with cattle for the colony, and the _Britannia_ was to proceed to England. The frequent commission of the most atrocious crimes, together with the dissipated, turbulent, and abandoned disposition of the convicts, which had more than ever at this time been manifest, determining the governor to enforce the most rigid discipline, he resolved on constructing a strong and capacious Log Prison at each of the towns of Sydney and Parramatta. It being absolutely necessary that these should be erected as expeditiously as possible, the safety of the inhabitants and security of their property, rendering any delay extremely dangerous, and the public gangs being very weak, he called upon every officer, settler, and housekeeper within the above-mentioned districts, to furnish a certain number of logs for this purpose, which were to be delivered at Sydney, or Parramatta, as might be most convenient to each person's residence; and he had, in a very short time, the satisfaction of seeing the materials which were required brought in much faster than the carpenters could put them together. Among other crimes committed by these people, must be mentioned a variety of impositions which were practised to deceive the commissary in the issue of provisions. To detect these, an order was given about the end of the month, which directed that every person belonging to each different mess should attend personally at the store on the next serving-day. The convicts had always been divided into messes, containing a certain number of persons; one of whom out of each mess was to attend at the store, and receive provisions for the whole number belonging to it. On the day appointed, it appeared that many were victualled both at Sydney and Parramatta, and several other impositions were detected and abolished. In a settlement which was still in a great measure dependant upon the mother country for food, it might have been supposed that these people would have endeavoured by their own industry to have increased, rather than by robbery and fraud to have lessened, the means of their support: but far too many of them were most incorrigibly flagitious. The most notorious of these were formed into a gaol gang, which was composed of such a set of hardened and worthless characters, that, although Saturday was always given up to the convicts for their own private avocations, as well as to enable them to appear clean and decent on Sunday at church, this gang was ordered, as an additional punishment, to work on the Saturday morning in repairing the roads and bridges near the town. At the close of this month the stone tower of the Wind Mill, and the stone foundation of the Log Prison, were much advanced. October.] The governor, still turning his thoughts toward rectifying the abuses which had imperceptibly crept into the colony, arranged in the beginning of the following month (October) the muster lists which had lately been taken; and, many more impositions being detected, he ordered the delinquents to labour, after inflicting on them such punishments as their respective offences seemed to demand; by which means he was enabled considerably to increase the number of labouring people in the public gangs. On his going up to Parramatta, whither he was attended by Captain Johnston as his aid-de-camp, and Mr. Balmain (the surgeon) as a magistrate, he recovered at least one hundred men for government work. Exclusive of the advantage which attended the recruiting of the public gangs in this way, another point was established by this examination, the discovering of several who had been victualled from the stores beyond the period (eighteen months) which had been fixed and considered by government as a sufficient time to enable an industrious man to provide for himself. Directing his attention also toward the morality of the settlement, a point which he could not venture to promise himself that he should ever attain, he issued some necessary orders for enforcing attendance on divine service, and had the satisfaction of seeing the Sabbath better observed than it had been for some time past. But there were some who were refractory. A fellow named Carroll, an Irishman, abused and ill treated a constable who was on his duty, ordering the people to church; saying, that he would neither obey the clergyman nor the governor; for which, the next day, he was properly punished. On the morning of the 16th, the people of a boat which had been sent to the north shore for wood found a man's hat, and a large hammer lying by it. One side of the hat had apparently been beaten in with the hammer, which was bloody; and much blood was also found in the hat, as well as about the spot where it was discovered. It was immediately conjectured, that a man who had been working there with some carpenter's tools had been murdered; and upon its being made known to the governor, he sent several persons to search for the body, which was found thrown over the cliff, and near the water side. On its being examined by the surgeons, the skull was found beaten in, which must have been effected with the hammer, and occasioned his death. Some suspicion falling upon two people, they were secured, and an examination was the next day taken before the magistrates; but nothing transpired that could fix the offence upon them. This shocking circumstance was followed shortly after by another equally atrocious: a murder which was committed by a man on the person of a woman with whom he cohabited. It appeared that they had both been intoxicated, and had quarrelled on the night preceding and in the morning of the murder. This made the fifth circumstance of the kind which had occurred within the last twelve months; and so excessively abandoned were the people, that it was scarcely possible to obtain sufficient proof to convict the offenders. Strong presumptive proof, indeed, was frequently adduced; but the kind of evidence necessary to establish the offence was almost constantly withheld. About this time, some dissatisfaction appearing among the Irish convicts who were ordered to labour, and some threats having been made use of by them, the governor thought it necessary to inform the inhabitants of the colony in general, that, after having pointed out a number of people who had, by false pretences, and various impositions, obtained certificates of discharge from the commissary's books, he did not expect so soon to have occasion to enter again upon the same subject. He then, taking notice of those who had not hesitated to hold a language which implied a determination to resist all authority, declared, that if any officer, civil or military, any settler, or other person within the colony, should, after Monday, the 7th of November, retain in his or their service any one or more of the persons described in a former order, such persons should be considered as encouraging a set of lawless and seditious people, to the total subversion of all order and government, and to the weakening of His Majesty's authority in the settlement. He next informed the people whose conduct had occasioned this order, that if they were of opinion, that to threaten would be the best means of obtaining what they desired, they might repent that opinion when too late. That there would not be any difficulty found in furnishing them with a situation in the colony, or in some of its dependencies, where they would not be able to disturb the peace of their neighbours; and that if they were troublesome here, they should certainly be placed in that situation very soon. He concluded this order by informing all the inhabitants of the colony, whether in a civil or a military capacity, that he expected, as they valued His Majesty's authority, or the peace and civil government of the settlement, that they would exert every effort to preserve good order; and, to that end, that they should aid and assist the civil power when and wherever it might be necessary, and report all such persons as they might know to be in any way acting in opposition to this order. It was hoped by the governor, that this order would convince the people particularly styled defenders, that, if they continued to be troublesome, they would not very readily escape from the punishment to which their turbulent and restless conduct might entitle them. From the accession of numbers to the public gangs, the different works in hand at Sydney and Parramatta went rapidly on. At the former of these places the erection of a granary, 72 feet in length and 22 in breadth, was begun on the west side of the main street, there not being a building for the reception of grain yet prepared in that township. Boats were sent round to the Hawkesbury, for various articles wanted at Sydney. From that part of the settlement, the timber most useful for boat and other buildings was occasionally received; shingles also of a good sort were brought round; and frequently the boats returned loaded with grain. It has been shown, in the account of this colony already published, that the farms upon the fertile banks of that river were superior, in point of soil, to any near the principal settlement; and that, had they been in the hands of good and industrious characters, they would have produced abundant crops, and enriched their owners. But every day's experience evinced, that the people thus fortunately situated were, unluckily, some of the most profligate wretches in the colony; and their distance from the immediate seat of government added much to the inconvenience. Such of these farms as were situated on the low grounds were often overflowed after very heavy falls of rain; but this circumstance was in no way injurious to the farmer, unless it happened when the grain was ripening. Among other local arrangements which took place, and were extremely useful, must be reckoned the numbering of the houses of the towns of Sydney and Parramatta, and dividing them into portions; with a principal inhabitant at the head of each division, who was charged with the peace and good order of the district in which he lived. The frame of the Log Prison at Sydney was got up in the course of this month, to the great annoyance of the worthless, who seemed to anticipate the lodging in it which they merited. At Parramatta and Toongabbie a very few old stacks of wheat belonging to government were opened for the purpose of being thrashed out, when they were found to have been much injured by vermin. In the course of this month, Bennillong, who had returned to all the habits of savage life, claimed the protection of the governor from the menaces of several of his countrymen, who, he with much agitation informed him, had assembled in a considerable body near the Brickfields*, to lie in wait for him; and where, if possible, they intended to kill him; he having, as they suspected, killed a man near Botany Bay. This he positively denied having done, and the governor dispatched him to the place, guarded by some of the military, where he explained to his countrymen that he had not killed the man in question, or any man; and that the soldiers were sent with him, to convince them that the governor would not suffer him, his old friend and fellow voyager (it must be remembered that Bennillong returned from England with the governor in His Majesty's ship _Reliance_), to be ill treated by them on any false pretence; and that he was determined to drive every native away from Sydney who should attempt it. This threat had a good effect. Many of them were much alarmed when they saw in what manner and by whom Bennillong was attended; and to be driven from a place whence they derived so many comforts, and so much shelter in bad weather, would have been severely felt by most of them. [* Adjacent to the town of Sydney.] In the first part of the month the weather was not very good; about the middle some showers fell very seasonably for the harvest; and towards the latter part the regular land and sea breezes had set in, which kept the weather cool and pleasant. November.] The month of November opened with the arrival of the _Prince of Wales_, victualler, from England. She had been close in with Botany Bay the preceding day; but, there being little wind, the master had been obliged to stretch out from the land during the night; and the next morning, a pilot getting on board, she was brought in. She had sailed in company with the _Sylph_, which also had provisions for the settlement on board, but which did not arrive until the 17th. They brought the information, that a Dutch fleet, consisting of ten sail of ships of war, bound to the East Indies had been captured off the Cape of Good Hope, by His Majesty's fleet, under Admiral Sir Geo. Keith Elphinstone (now Lord Keith), which had followed them from England. The useful regulation of numbering the different houses in the town of Sydney, particularly those in the occupation of the convicts, was followed up by another equally serviceable, which directed the inhabitants of each of the four divisions of the town (for into that number it was portioned off) to meet, and from among themselves elect three of the most decent and respectable characters, who were to be approved by the governor, and were to serve for the ensuing year as watchmen, for the purpose of enforcing a proper attention to the good order and tranquillity of their respective divisions. Many of the soldiers being allowed to occupy houses for their families in the vicinity of the barracks, the commanding officer was desired to appoint his own watchmen for the military division of the town, and to order them to report to him. A few days previous to the arrival of the _Sylph_, the Colonial schooner returned from Norfolk Island, and brought letters from the _Reliance_, _Supply_, and _Britannia_, which ships left that island on the 25th of the last month, and the day following her arrival (the 14th) Richard Atkins, esq was directed to officiate as judge-advocate of the colony, in the absence of the gentleman who had filled that situation since the first establishment of the settlement, and who had now proceeded to England in the _Britannia_. This judicial appointment having taken place, a criminal court was held on the 23rd, and continued sitting, by adjournment, until the 29th, when sentence of death was passed upon eight prisoners who were capitally convicted; one, of the wilful murder of the man whose body had been found on the north shore the 16th of last month, and seven of robbing the public store-houses at Sydney, and the settlement at the Hawkesbury. Two others were found guilty of manslaughter. Of these miserable people five were executed pursuant to the sentence of the court. At Sydney*, Francis Morgan, for wilful murder, with Martin McEwen (a soldier) and John Lawler (a convict), for robbing the public stores. Matthew McNally and Thomas Doyle, convicts, suffered at Parramatta, on the following day, for the same offence. [* On the 30th of November, and the others on the 9th and 10th of December.] Having thus satisfied the public justice of the country, the governor extended the hand of mercy to the three others who had been capitally convicted of the same crime, viz John McDouall (another soldier), Thomas Inville, and Michael Doland (convicts), by granting them a conditional pardon. It was much to be lamented, that these people were not to be deterred by any example from the practice of robbing the public stores, which had of late been more frequent than heretofore, and for which there could not be admitted the shadow of an excuse; as the whole of the inhabitants of every description were at this very time on a full and liberal allowance of provisions and clothing, neither of which were in any scarcity in the settlement. But the cause was to be found in the too great indulgence in the use of spirituous liquors which had been obtained among them for a considerable time past. The different capital crimes which had lately been brought before the court of criminal judicature, together with the various petty offences that daily came under the cognisance of the magistrates, did not proceed from an insufficiency either of food or clothing; but from an inordinate desire of possessing, by any means whatsoever, those articles with which they might be able to procure spirits, 'that source--as the governor expressed himself in an order which he published directly after these executions--that source of the misfortunes of all those whom the laws of their country, and the justice that was due to others, had launched into eternity, surrounded with the crimes of an ill-spent life.' The court having ordered that Francis Morgan should be hung in chains upon the small island which is situated in the middle of the harbour, and named by the natives Mat-te-wan-ye, a gibbet was accordingly erected, and he was hung there, exhibiting an object of much greater terror to the natives, than to the white people, many of whom were more inclined to make a jest of it; but to the natives his appearance was so frightful--his clothes shaking in the wind, and the creaking of his irons, added to their superstitious ideas of ghosts (for these children of ignorance imagined that, like a ghost, this man might have the power of taking hold of them by the throat), all rendering him such an alarming object to them--that they never trusted themselves near him, nor the spot on which he hung; which, until this time, had ever been with them a favourite place of resort. The _Prince of Wales_, having been cleared of her cargo, sailed on the 23rd for China. Previous to her departure, the master having complained of the conduct of his ship's company, the governor appointed a day for their appearing before him; when the differences which subsisted between them were inquired into by his excellency, and settled to the satisfaction of all parties. The public works in which the people at Sydney had been employed during this month, consisted in receiving the cargoes of the two victuallers, and in clearing out the tanks or reservoirs for water, which had become a necessary work, as they never had been emptied or cleansed since they were first cut and filled in the year 1792.* [* The principal tank contained about 7996 gallons of water. Vide Vol I, Chapter XVII. "The works during this month . . ."] December.] On the 6th of December the _Sylph_, having been discharged from government employ, proceeded on her voyage to China. On searching her, two male convicts were found concealed, who were brought on shore, and punished for their attempt to escape from the place of their transportation. The ill success with which these attempts were attended might have been expected to deter others from risking the certain punishment which followed their being detected; but, as some were known to have eluded the strictest search, every one who could find a friend among the seamen to conceal him, hoped that he might prove the fortunate one who should escape. Although they every day saw that no obstacle was thrown in the way of the convict who had got through the period of his transportation with credit and a good character, but that he was suffered to depart with the master of any ship who would receive him, and a certificate given to him of his being a free man; yet, thoughtless, and dissatisfied with their present situation, be it what it might, they preferred encountering the hazard of being discovered and punished, or, even if they reached another country, the discredit with which they must appear, if it should be known that they were convicts from 'Botany Bay,' to waiting with patience until they could be dismissed from the colony with the reputation of having deserved the state of freedom at which they had arrived. On the 16th of the month, a general muster of all descriptions of persons took place over every part of the colony at the same hour; for it had been found, that in mustering one district at a time, a deception had been successfully practised by some, of running from one place to another, and answering to their names at each, thereby drawing provisions from both stores, having previously imposed themselves on the store-keepers as belonging to their district. This could not, indeed, have long continued, if the store-keepers had been properly attentive to the directions which they received; but it was almost impossible to guard against the artful and well-contrived deceptions which these people were constantly playing off, to impose upon propriety, regulation, and good order. It being at this time much wished to get four or five hundred acres of the ground belonging to government in a state to be sown the next season with wheat, the governor went up to Parramatta, to settle some necessary concerns there, and to endeavour, if possible, to get strength sufficient for that purpose. While here, he had the satisfaction of knowing that the stock of large cattle belonging to government were in excellent condition, having been sent to Toongabbie, where they had met with better food and more care than elsewhere. The preservation of these animals was an object of the greatest importance, as, independent of the large sums of money with which they had been purchased, their utility as a stock both for present labour, and future consumption, was incalculable. Several of the settlers having last year had occasion, from the failure of the preceding crop, to borrow seed for sowing their ground again with wheat, an order was issued on the 21st, reminding those settlers who had received this assistance from government, that it was expected they would, out of their first crops, pay this debt, and take up the receipts which they had given. That if any evasion should be attempted, or any delay made in the payment, such steps as the law pointed out would be taken against them, and the defaulters marked as undeserving of the aid of government on any future occasion; and, what was calculated to meet a trick which some of them had played, they were finally informed, that if any among them, in contemplation of getting rid of the debt, had sold their farms since receiving the grain from government, the land would still be considered as the debtor, and the purchaser responsible for the payment. The savage inhabitants of the country, instead of losing any part of their native ferocity of manners by an intercourse with the Europeans among whom they dwelt, seemed rather to delight in exhibiting themselves as monsters of the greatest cruelty, devoid of reason, and guided solely by the impulse of the worst passions. Toward the latter end of the month, the governor received information, that a little native girl, between six and seven years of age, who for some time had lived at the governor's house, had been most inhumanly murdered by two of her savage countrymen. The father and mother of this child belonged to a party of natives who had committed so many depredations upon the settlers at the Hawkesbury, attended with such acts of cruelty as to render them extremely formidable: insomuch that it became necessary to send an armed party in pursuit of them. They were soon found, and, being fired upon, the father and mother of this little female were among those who fell. She was with them at the time, and readily accompanied our people to the settlement, where she was received; and, being a well disposed child, soon became a great favourite with her protectors. This, and her being a native of the country near Broken Bay, excited the jealousy of some of the natives who lived at and about Sydney, which manifested itself in their putting her to death in the most cruel manner. The body was found in the woods near the governor's house, speared in several places, and with both the arms cut off; whence it was brought in and buried. No other conjecture could be formed of this atrocious act than what has been already mentioned. As she belonged to a tribe of natives that was hostile to the Sydney people, they could not admit of her partaking in those pleasures and comforts which they derived from their residence among the colonists, and therefore inhumanly put her out of the way. The governor was very much incensed at this proceeding; and, could he have found the offenders, would have most severely punished them; but they had immediately withdrawn into the woods. Among the public works in hand during this month must be mentioned, the laying of the last stone of the wind-mill tower at Sydney on the 21st; and on the following day the workmen began to get up the wood work of the top. On the 24th there was a general issue of clothing, and the 26th was observed as Christmas Day. The weather in the first and middle parts of the month had been very bad, heavy rains (which much retarded the getting in of the harvest) prevailing, with thunder and lightning, and winds strong at east. The latter part being moderate, the Colonial schooner took the opportunity to go round to the Hawkesbury for a cargo of wheat. CHAPTER II The governor visits Richmond-Hill His transactions there A stack of wheat burnt Sawyers punished Price of labour regulated General character of the settlers The clergyman's attention to the children Criminal court assembled Lawrence Davoran The governor goes to Botany Bay George's river Public works Lightning and its effects 1797.] January.] The governor, always anxious to promote the good of the settlement by every means in his power, having determined to visit at this season that part of it which was situated on the banks of the Hawkesbury, set off at the latter end of the last month, with a party of officers, by land to Broken Bay, where they got on board the Colonial schooner, and continued in her for two days, sailing up that pleasant river; but, finding her progress too slow, they quitted her for some boats which had accompanied them; and, by the first of this month, had reached as high up as some farms which had lately been evacuated in consequence of the depredations that the owners of them had been exposed to from numerous parties of natives. The ground hereabout was carefully examined, to see if it would admit such a number of settlers as might be sufficient for the purpose of mutual protection; but it was found inadequate to that end, the limits of it on the banks of the river, where the soil was excellent, being much too narrow. On the first of the month the governor had reached the principal settlement, having occasionally landed to examine into the state of the different farms, as well as to settle disputes relative to property, and differences between the settlers and their hired servants. Having had previous notice, a general muster of these people now took place; which being compared with one taken some time since, many impositions were detected and rectified. After the muster, they were reminded that several of them were considerably indebted to government for the seed from which their present abundant crops had been produced, and directed forthwith to return into the store a quantity equal to that which they had borrowed for the purpose. This it was absolutely necessary to point out and insist upon, as there were but few among them who would have been found with principle enough to have returned it of themselves. While they were here, the governor and his party went up the river, and ascended Richmond-hill, on the summit of which a large smoke was made at noon, at which time a similar smoke was made on Prospect-hill, that was very distinctly seen, and its bearings taken, to ascertain the relative situation of the two hills. This bearing, which was S 35 degrees 00 minutes E by compass, gave, with the latitude observed on each, the distance between the two hills about eighteen miles in a direct line. By this bearing, should there be occasion hereafter, a road through the woods, from the head of the Hawkesbury, might be cut in the shortest and most direct way to Parramatta. At the head of this river, and upon the banks of that named the Nepean, there was known to be a tract of excellent land, as rich as any on the banks of the Hawkesbury which was then under cultivation, and where, at some future period, a settlement might be advantageously established. The governor, on his return from this excursion, had the mortification of seeing a stack, containing about eight hundred bushels of wheat, burnt to the ground. This happened at Toongabbie, near which place the country was every where in flames, and where, unfortunately, much wheat belonging to government was stacked. The fire broke out about eight o'clock in the evening; the wind was high, the night extremely dark, and the flames had mounted to the very tops of the lofty woods which surrounded a field called the ninety acres, in which were several stacks of wheat. The appearance was alarming, and the noise occasioned by the high wind, and the crackling of the flames among the trees, contributed to render the scene truly awful. It became necessary to make every effort to save this field and its contents. The gaol-gang, who worked in irons, were called out, and told, that if the wheat was saved by their exertion, their chains should be knocked off. By providing every man with a large bush, to beat off the fire as it approached the grain over the stubble, keeping up this attention during the night, and the wind becoming moderate towards morning, the fire was fortunately kept off, and the promise to the gaol-gang was not forfeited.* [* In the month of December 1792, two days after the wheat had been reaped and got off the ground at Toongabbie, the whole of the stubble was burnt, the country being then, as at this time, every where on fire. See Vol I. Ch. XIX, viz: 'At Parramatta and Toongabbie also the heat was extreme; the country there too was every where in flames. Mr. Arndell was a great sufferer by it. The fire had spread to his farm; but by the efforts of his own people and the neighbouring settlers it was got under, and its progress supposed to be effectually checked, when an unlucky spark from a tree, which had been on fire to the topmost branch, flying upon the thatch of the hut where his people lived, it blazed out; the hut with all the out-buildings, and thirty bushels of wheat just got into a stack, were in a few minutes destroyed. The erecting of the hut and out-houses had cost £15 a short time before.'] Although at this season of the year there were days when, from the extreme heat of the atmosphere, the leaves of many culinary plants growing in the gardens have been reduced to a powder, yet there was some ground for supposing that this accident did not arise from either the heat of the weather, or the fire in the woods. The grain that was burnt was the property of government, and the destruction of eight hundred bushels of wheat made room for that quantity to be received into the stores from the settlers who had wheat to sell to the commissary; there were, moreover, at this time, some ill-designing people in the country, who were known not to have much regard for the concerns of the public. An enquiry was set on foot to discover, if possible, the perpetrators of this mischief, but nothing could be made of it. Several people who had been hired to saw timber on the public account having been detected in giving a false statement, and receiving payment for what they had not cut, were examined before two justices of the peace; when, the fraud being proved, they were sentenced to make up the deficiency, and to work for government, without being paid, for six months. One, the man who measured the work, and who of course had a confidence reposed in him, received the additional punishment of 200 lashes, which he amply merited. Some representations having been made to the governor from the settlers in different parts of the colony, purporting that the wages demanded by the free labouring people, whom they had occasion to hire, was so exorbitant as to run away with the greatest part of the profit of their farms, it was recommended to them to appoint quarterly meetings among themselves, to be held in each district, for the purpose of settling the rate of wages to labourers in every different kind of work; that, to this end, a written agreement should be entered into and subscribed by each settler, a breach of which should be punished by a penalty, to be fixed by the general opinion, and made recoverable in a court of civil judicature. It was recommended to them to apply this forfeiture to the common benefit; and they were to transmit to the head-quarters a copy of their agreement with the rate of wages which they should from time to time establish, for the governor's information; holding their first meeting as early as possible. It must appear from this, that every necessary and useful regulation was suggested that could promote the convenience and advantage of these people, who being in possession of land that yielded the most ample returns, nothing but the greatest worthlessness on their part could have prevented their getting forward, and becoming men of property. That too many of them were of this description will appear evident, from its being notorious that their crops were no sooner gathered, than they were instantly disposed of for spirits, which they purchased at the rate of three, nay, even four pounds per gallon, and of a spirit often lowered one fourth or more of its strength with water. It was also equally notorious, that some of them, when too idle and dissipated to hoe and properly prepare their ground for seed, have carelessly thrown the grain over the old stubble, and afterwards chipped it in, as they termed it, going lightly over the ground with a hoe, and barely covering the seed. Yet, with no greater assistance than this, the lands thus slovenly prepared have been known to yield abundant crops. On the 11th arrived the _Mercury_, an American brig, from Manilla, bound to the NW coast of America. Being extremely weak and leaky, the master put in here to refit, which he requested he might be allowed to do. He brought no other news than the detention of several English ships at Manilla, which seemed strongly to indicate the approach of hostilities between the two nations, the effect, no doubt, of French fraternity with the Spaniards. The infant part of the settlement having at this period become very numerous, with a view to save them, if possible, from that ruin in which the infamous examples of their abandoned parents were but too likely to plunge them, the clergyman, the Reverend Mr. Johnson, began to examine them publicly every Sunday in their catechism, and other points of religious duty, at the conclusion of the afternoon service. Some building that might serve as a school whereto children at a certain age might be removed from their parents, and receive education, was now become absolutely necessary; but many other works equally necessary were still in hand; and the labourers employed to erect them were comparatively so inefficient, that it was impossible to think of any other work until they were completed, though both the clergymen offered their services to superintend the erection of a building for this purpose. Such was the weakness of the public gangs, that it often became necessary to require the assistance of the officers and other persons who were allowed servants from government. In this way, by calling on each officer and settler to send in a certain number of men for three days in the week, the public roads between the different districts were put into good order. This, besides very much facilitating the carriage of goods by land, conduced very essentially to the detecting of thieves and vagrants, who in general were found to be very quick in their motions. Among other crimes which had been committed in this colony, that of forgery was by no means neglected. To this, the currency of the settlement, consisting almost entirely of paper, had opened a door. On the 20th one man was found guilty of uttering a bill, knowing it to be forged, and condemned to suffer death. The prisoner, whose name was Lawrence Davoran, had been sent from Ireland, with other convicts from that kingdom, where he had practised as an attorney, and had, it was said (unfortunately for them, if true) respectable connections by marriage. He was very far from being a good character. The governor, however, after ordering the execution to take place on a certain day, spared his life, on condition of his being transported to Norfolk Island during the remainder of his wretched existence. After celebrating the day on which her majesty's birth was observed with every demonstration of attachment and respect in his power, the governor set off on an excursion to Botany Bay, in order to explore George's river as far up as was practicable, and to examine the soil upon its banks, which he found to be of good quality, and considerable extent. This river, which was observed to run in a westerly direction about twenty-five miles up from Botany Bay, was, in many parts of its branches, exceedingly picturesque; and navigable, for small craft, for at least twenty miles up. Some of its creeks or branches reached within a small distance of Prospect Hill. Between this river and Parramatta, the governor, on his return, travelled through a thick bushy wood, covering an excellent soil. Erecting the granary, completing the wind-mill, and repairing the public roads, formed the principal works in hand during this month, in which the weather had been most uncomfortably hot, accompanied with some severe thunder storms; in one of which both the flagstaff at the South Head, and that at the entrance of the Cove, on Point Maskelyne, were shivered to pieces by the lightning. The vast blazes of fire which were seen in every direction, and which were freshened by every blast of wind, added much to the suffocating heat that prevailed. CHAPTER III The wind-mill tried A civil court assembled Difficulty respecting the convicts from Ireland The natives Some buildings begun Weather March Number of men not victualled by the Commissary, who had been convicts An extraordinary theft Court of criminal judicature twice held One man suffers death Price of labour fixed The natives attack the settlers Public works Weather February.] The wind-mill being nearly finished at the commencement of this month, it was tried with only two of its sails; when it ground, with one pair of stones, a bushel of wheat in ten minutes, and, considering the immense weight of the wood-work, its motion was found to be easy and convenient. It might not have been expected, that occasions for convening the court of civil judicature could frequently have occurred in an infant settlement such as this; or that, when assembled, it could have had business to occupy it above a day; yet one of these courts assembled on the first, and continued sitting by adjournments until the fourteenth, for the decision of many civil concerns. Among these was the recovery of debts, several of which had been contracted very improperly, and which were likely to involve many in ruin. It appeared, that, to obtain spirituous liquors, these people, the settlers, had incurred debts to so great an amount, as to preclude the most distant hope of liquidating them, except by selling their farms. Thus all their former industry must be sacrificed to discharge debts which were contracted for the temporary gratification of being steeped in beastly intoxication for a certain length of time. All the cautions which had occasionally been inserted in the public orders against this dangerous practice, had not proved of any advantage to those whose benefit they were intended to promote; and it was observed with concern, that several scenes of shameful imposition, which had been practised by the retail dealers in this article, were brought to light by this investigation. Several convicts, who had served their respective terms of transportation, having applied to be discharged from the victualling books of the colony, and allowed to provide for themselves, it was determined, that once during a given time certificates of their having so served their several sentences should be granted to them, together with the permission which they solicited. There was not any difficulty in ascertaining the term of the convicts sent from England, as correct lists of their several sentences from the Secretary of State's office accompanied them: but it was not so with those who had been sent from Ireland, and who were more likely to be dissatisfied with any disappointment on this rather nice subject, than any other, people in the settlement. This was an evil of some magnitude; and a representation of it had been made to the government of that kingdom, but as yet no answer had been received. The season for cropping the ground being near at hand, the settlers were informed, that such of them as had lent their men to repair the roads would have them returned for the time that would be required to sow the grain; after that was performed, they were expected again to come forward, and finish what they had so well begun. The natives excited some little degree of curiosity about this time, a large party from Broken Bay having assembled in the lower part of the harbour, whither those belonging to Sydney immediately repaired, for the purpose, it was reported, of meeting them in fight; but it turned out to be nothing more than the usual ceremony which a native of Broken Bay underwent, of having several spears thrown at him, for having, it was said, killed a person belonging to this part of the country. He went off unhurt, after sustaining the appearance of much rage and violence from the friends of the deceased. A gang having been for some time employed in making bricks, the foundation of a building for two assistant surgeons was marked in this month. This was one of the necessary works already mentioned, as the miserable quarters which those gentlemen occupied were originally constructed only of split cabbage trees, and were at this time quite decayed. Some heavy rain fell during the first and latter parts of the month, which it was hoped would extinguish the still glowing embers of the vast fires which had surrounded the place, and which, being scattered over the country every dry and windy day; occasioned new and dreadful conflagrations. There were not any arrivals during the month, except that of the Colonial schooner from the Hawkesbury, with a cargo of Indian corn, and some wheat that had been damaged by the weevil, an enemy which had been imported among the rice from India. March.] It appeared by the books in which were entered the certificates granted to the convicts who had again become free people, that there were at this time not less than 600 men off the store and working for themselves in the colony; forming a vast deduction of labouring people from the public strength, and adding a great many chances against the safety of private and public property, as well as personal security. An extraordinary theft was committed about the middle of the month, which very forcibly marked the inherent depravity of some of these miscreants. While the miller was absent for a short time, part of the sails belonging to the mill were stolen. Now this machine was at work for the benefit of those very incorrigible vagabonds who had thus, for a time, prevented its being of use to any one, and who, being too lazy to grind for themselves, had formerly been obliged to pay one third of their whole allowance of wheat, to have the remainder ground for them by hand mills, an expense that was saved to them by bringing their corn to the public mill. Twice during this month it became necessary to assemble the court of criminal judicature: at one of which, a man named Mobbs was capitally convicted of robbing the public stores, upon the evidence of an accomplice, who was admitted on the part of the crown. They had stolen at different times an incredible quantity of clothing, provisions, and various other articles, and ought to have been much sooner detected. Mobbs suffered death, and exhibited himself at the gallows as a wicked and hardened offender. For offenders not deserving of capital punishment, Norfolk Island had been for some time a place of banishment; and the convicts in general felt this second transportation more severely than the first: notwithstanding which, they continued to commit offences that they knew must end in that punishment. Four prisoners, one of them a soldier, were at this time sentenced to seven years exile to that island, for different offences; and when viewed in this light, as a place of confinement for some of her worst members, Norfolk Island might be considered as an useful appendage to the principal settlement. In pursuance of the order which was issued in January last, recommending the settlers to appoint meetings, at which they should fix the rate of wages that it might be proper to pay for the different kinds of labour which their farms should require, the settlers had met, and submitted to the governor the several resolutions that they had entered into; by which he was enabled to fix a rate that he conceived to be fair and equitable between the farmer and the labourer. The following prices of labour were now established, viz £ s d Falling forest timber, per acre 0 9 0 Do. in brush ground, do 0 10 6 Burning off open ground, do 1 5 0 Do. brush ground, do 1 10 0 Breaking up new ground, do 1 4 0 Chipping fresh ground, do 0 12 3 Chipping in wheat, do 0 7 0 Breaking up stubble or corn ground, 1 1/4d. per rod, or do 0 16 8 Planting Indian Corn, do 0 7 0 Hilling, do do 0 7 0 Reaping wheat, do 10 10 0 Threshing do per bushel, do 0 0 9 Pulling and husking Indian corn, per bushel 0 0 6 Splitting paling of seven feet long, per hundred 0 3 0 Do of five feet long do 0 1 6 Sawing plank, do 0 7 0 Ditching per rod, three feet wide and three feet deep 0 0 10 Carriage of wheat, per bushel, per mile 0 0 2 Do Indian corn, neat 0 0 3 Yearly wages for labour, with board 10 0 0 Wages per week, with provisions, consisting of 4 lib. of salt pork or 6 lib. of fresh, and 21 lib. of wheat, with vegetables 0 6 0 A day's wages, with board 0 1 0 Do without board 0 2 6 A government man allowed to officers or settlers in their own time 0 0 10 Price of an axe 0 2 0 New steeling do 0 0 6 A new hoe 0 1 9 A sickle 0 1 6 Hire of a boat to carry grain, per day 0 5 0 The settlers were reminded, that, in order to prevent any kind of dispute between the master and servant, when they should have occasion to hire a man for any length of time, they would find it most convenient to engage him for a quarter, half year, or year, and to make their agreement in writing; on which should any dispute arise, an appeal to the magistrates would settle it. A person, who absconding from his work had been ordered to labour a certain time in irons, having wrought upon the feelings of one of the magistrates to permit his working without them, and having given strong assurance of future diligence, was no sooner freed from his incumbrances than he took to the woods again. The frequent and unrestrained passing and repassing of idle and disorderly people from one part of the colony to another, and the mischievous correspondence which was kept up by such means, was productive of great evil. To check this as much as possible, all persons, the officers excepted, who were travelling from one district of the settlement to another, were required to furnish themselves with a passport, which, on a proper application, they would obtain without any difficulty. This was to be shown to and inspected by the constables in each district; and if found without it they were to be imprisoned during a month for the first offence, and otherwise punished if it was repeated. But the best local arrangements were set at defiance by those hardened vagabonds, who seemed daily to increase in number and in infamy. While the governor was endeavouring to guard against the injuries that might be done by these people, the settlers found themselves obliged to assemble for the purpose of repelling the attacks made upon them by the natives. The people at the northern farms had been repeatedly plundered of their provisions and clothing by a large body of savages, who had also recently killed a man and a woman. Exasperated at such cruel and wanton conduct, they armed themselves, and, after pursuing them a whole night, at sun-rise in the morning came up with a party of more than a hundred, who fled immediately on discovering that their pursuers were armed, leaving behind them a quantity of Indian corn, some musket balls, and other things of which the soldiers had been plundered. They continued to follow, and traced them as far as the outskirts of Parramatta. Being fatigued with their march, they entered the town, and in about an hour after were followed by a large body of natives, headed by Pe-mul-wy, a riotous and troublesome savage. These were known by the settlers to be the same who had so frequently annoyed them; and they intended, if possible, to seize upon Pe-mul-wy; who, in a great rage, threatened to spear the first man that dared to approach him, and actually did throw a spear at one of the soldiers. The conflict was now begun; a musket was immediately levelled at the principal, which severely wounded him. Many spears were then thrown, and one man was hit in the arm; upon which the superior effect of our fire-arms was immediately shown them, and five were instantly killed. However unpleasant it was to the governor, that the lives of so many of these people should have been taken, no other course could possibly be pursued; for it was their custom, when they found themselves more numerous and better armed than the white people, to demand with insolence whatever they wanted; and, if refused, to have recourse to murder. This check, it was hoped, would have a good effect; and Pe-mul-wy, who had received seven buck shot in his head and different parts of his body, was taken extremely ill to the hospital. This man was first known in the settlement by the murder of* John McIntire in the year 1790; since which he had been a most active enemy to the settlers, plundering them of their property, and endangering their personal safety. [* Vide Vol I Ch. XI viz: 'On the 10th, John McIntire, a convict who was employed by the governor to shoot for him, was dangerously wounded by a native named Pe-mul-wy, while in quest of game in the woods at some considerable distance from the settlement. When brought in he declared, and at a time when he thought himself dying, that he did not give any offence to the man who wounded him; that he had even quitted his arms, to induce him to look upon him as a friend, when the savage threw his spear at about the distance of ten yards with a skill that was fatally unerring. When the spear was extracted, which was not until suppuration took place, it was found to have entered his body under the left arm, to the depth of seven inches and a half. It was armed for five or six inches from the point with ragged pieces of shells fastened in gum. His recovery was immediately pronounced by Mr. White to be very doubtful'.] The people belonging to the crown were employed during this month in the following several works: At Toongabbie, upwards of 100 men were occupied in agriculture--a wind-mill was to be erected at Parramatta, where stone-masons and carpenters were preparing the materials. At Sydney, a gang was employed in making bricks, where also were completing a large granary and a strong log-prison. All the public brick buildings were likewise undergoing a repair, being crumbling into ruins; such as the barracks for the military, storehouses, officers' dwellings and others. Some people were also repairing the boats belonging to government; and bricks were bringing in for the barracks of the assistant surgeons (this part of the public labour was performed by a team of oxen). A new flag-staff was prepared and erected at the South Head during this month, the weather of which had for the greater part been very wet. CHAPTER IV Report revived of a white woman being with the natives A shoal seen Some civil regulations Natives troublesome The governor goes on an excursion Particulars thereof A valuable tree discovered Weather May The natives burn a house Consequences The _Supply_ arrives from the Cape A ship wrecked to the southward Three of her people brought in by a fishing boat Particulars Two accidents The _Britannia_ arrives from England Vessels and assistance sent to the wreck Public works Cordage wanted The _Mercury_ sails June The _Ganges_ arrives from Ireland Transactions Some runaways taken and brought to trial The _Reliance_ arrives from the Cape A strange desertion Public works New gaol finished April.] Some reports being again circulated, respecting the situation of Mary Morgan, the woman said to be detained among the natives to the northward of Broken Bay, a boat, with some people who had volunteered the service, was sent to the north part of that harbour where it was said she had been lately seen with some of her black friends. The people were directed, if possible, to bring her away, unless she preferred the life that she now led; upon which more than three years' experience of it would certainly enable her to decide. They were absent about 10 days, and returned without success, not even having heard any thing of her.* They went into the north arm of Broken Bay, and travelled to the northward as far as Cape Three Points; between which and the north head of Broken Bay, is a lagoon within the sea beach, of about twenty miles in length, and running parallel with the sea coast. [* Nor indeed could they very well; for at the time when this search was making after her in New South Wales she was leading a life in London, which she most certainly preferred to the society of either the black or white people in that country. She was taken from the settlement by Locke, the master of the _Resolution_, in the year 1794. Vide Vol I Ch. XXVII Page 332, viz: 'On the morning of the 9th the ships _Resolution_ and _Salamander_ left the cove, purposing to sail on their fishing voyage; soon after which, it being discovered that three convicts, Mary Morgan and John Randall and his wife, were missing, a boat was sent down the harbour to search the _Resolution_, on board of which ship it was said they were concealed. No person being found, the boat returned for further orders, leaving a sergeant and four men on board; but before she could return, Mr. Locke the master, after forcing the party out of his ship, got under way and stood out to sea. Mr. Irish, the master of the _Salamander_, did not accompany him; but came up to the town, to testify to the lieutenant-governor his uneasiness at its being supposed that he could be capable of taking any person improperly from the colony.' and Vol. I Ch. XXXII Page 406, viz:'The natives appeared less troublesome lately than they had been for some time past. The people of a fishing-boat, which had been cast on shore in some bad weather near Port Stephens, met with some of these people, who without much entreaty, or any hope of reward, readily put them into a path from thence to Broken Bay, and conducted them the greatest part of the way. During their little journey, these friendly people made them understand, that they had seen a white woman among some natives to the northward. On their reporting this at Sydney, this unfortunate female was conjectured to be Mary Morgan, a prisoner, who it was now said had failed in her attempt to get on board the _Resolution_ store-ship, which sailed from hence in 1794. There was indeed a woman, one Ann Smith, who ran away a few days after our sitting down in this place, and whose fate was not exactly ascertained; if she could have survived the hardships and wretchedness of such a life as must have been hers during so many years residence among the natives of New Holland, how much information must it have been in her power to afford! But humanity shuddered at the idea of purchasing it at so dear a price.'] A decked long boat, having been sent from Sydney to Norfolk island, in her passage thither fell in with a considerable shoal bearing from ENE to WNW distant from the vessel one mile. It extended to the northward as far as the eye could discern from the masthead, the rocks in many places appearing above the water. The south end of the shoal is in the latitude of 29 degrees 52 minutes south, and the longitude of 160 degrees 13 minutes east, bearing from Lord Howe Island, which they had seen the day before, north 27 degrees 40 minutes east, distant 39 leagues. This was supposed to be the same shoal that had been formerly seen by Lieutenant Shortland* in the _Alexander_, and by the master of the _Golden Grove_ transport in the year 1786. [* Vide Vol I Ch. VII, viz: 'Lieutenant Shortland, in his letter, noticed some discoveries which he had made; particularly one of an extensive and dangerous shoal, which obtained the name of Middleton Shoal, and was reckoned to be in the latitude of 29 degrees 20 minutes South, and in the longitude of 158 degrees 40 minutes East. He had also discovered an island, which he placed in the latitude of 28 degrees 10 minutes South, and in the longitude of 159 degrees 50 minutes East, and named Sir Charles Middleton Island: his other discoveries, not being so immediately in the vicinity of this territory, were not likely to be of any advantage to the settlement; but it was of some importance to it to learn that an extensive reef was so near, and to find its situation ascertained to be in the track of ships bound from hence to the northward; for if Sir Charles Middleton Island should hereafter be found to possess a safe and convenient harbour, it might prove an interesting discovery for this colony.'] In the beginning of this month, the settlers at the Hawkesbury sent round some grain, in part payment of the debts which were due from them to government for the seed which had been lent them last year to crop their grounds. In consequence of complaints which were laid before the governor, relative to some exorbitant demands made by the public bakers upon those who had occasion to employ them, and of the impositions practised as well in the quality as in the quantity of the bread returned in lieu of the flour or grain delivered to them, the judge-advocate and two other magistrates were directed to hold a meeting for the purpose of enquiring into the business, as well as for examining and regulating the weights and measures which were at present in use in the colony. An order was at the same time issued, recommending to the settlers of every district, that, as much pains had been taken to establish, agreeably to their wishes, the rate of wages to be paid for all kinds of labour, they should now attend strictly to this regulation, and no longer suffer themselves to be imposed upon. There were strong reasons for suspecting that, notwithstanding the bond which they had entered into, rigidly to adhere to the regulations which had been established for their benefit, some among them were so very deficient of even honest principles as to attempt by various means to evade the regulation, to the great injury of other more industrious and more deserving men. In order the more readily to detect a practice so shameful and iniquitous, the governor judged it requisite to hold out a reward to those who would come forward and give such information as should be sufficient to prove the offence, by offering one-third of the sum forfeited to the informer. The settlers were also called upon to give information of any labouring man who, on offering himself for hire, should refuse to accept the regulated wages. As such person must be incapable of living in this country without work, he was immediately to be apprehended as a vagrant, who, having no visible means of providing honestly for his support, must have recourse to robbery. The natives at the Hawkesbury were at this time very troublesome, burning a dwelling-house and a stack of wheat belonging to a settler there, after having plundered him of all his other possessions. On the 21st, as much wheat as the public granaries at Sydney, Parramatta, and the Hawkesbury could contain, having been received, they were closed until the month of August next. Towards the latter end of the month, the governor, accompanied by some gentlemen of the settlement, set off from Parramatta, on an excursion, in which he meant to obtain some knowledge of the ground between Duck river and George's river, with respect both to its quality and quantity. This tract was walked over, and much excellent land was found well provided with fresh water in chains of large deep ponds. On this ground some of the marine soldiers, who had enlisted for three years in the New South Wales corps, having completed their service, were desirous of being settled. This party, on their arrival at the banks of George's river, whither a boat had been previously sent with some provisions and a tent, found that at low water it was as fresh as that in the Hawkesbury, where the settlement stood. Having proceeded down the river, they stopped at a point near Botany Bay, where they met with several parties of natives, among whom was Pe-mul-wy, who, having perfectly recovered from his wounds, had escaped from the hospital with an iron about his leg. He saw and spoke with one of the gentlemen of the party; enquiring of him whether the governor was angry, and seemed pleased at being told that he was not: notwithstanding which, there could be but little doubt that his savage brutal disposition would manifest itself whenever excited by the appearance of an unarmed man. Some time in this month a tree was for the first time observed growing on the banks of the Hawkesbury, the bark of which, when soaked in water, and beaten, was found to be as good as hemp for cordage, spinning easily, and being remarkably strong. The tree grew from 50 to 70 feet high; its diameter was from the smallest size to a foot, and it appeared to be of quick growth. This was rather a fortunate discovery; for every kind of cordage belonging to the settlement was almost wholly expended. The court of criminal judicature was assembled once in this month, and three persons who had served their period of transportation were a second time transported; one for 14 years, for receiving stolen goods knowing them to be such; and two others for seven years. These two last were vagabonds who had taken up their abode in the woods, where they lived at the expense of the industrious, by committing every kind of depredation on their property. The public works continued the same as at the end of the last month. The foundation of the building for the reception of the assistant surgeons was laid, and the lower floor of the large granary at Sydney was nearly completed. Much rain fell during this month. On the morning of the 27th, a heavy squall of wind came on, which, for want of proper care and attention on the part of those employed at the wind-mill, set it going in such a violent manner, that while flying round with great velocity, one of the running stones was broken to pieces; one of which so severely wounded Davis the millwright in the head, that his life was despaired of. A gang of carpenters was immediately ordered to repair the damage it had sustained, and in a few days it was again at work. May.] Notwithstanding the example which had lately been made of the natives, they were exceedingly troublesome to the settlers in Lane Cove, burning a house and killing some hogs belonging to one of them. This was certainly committing a wanton injury; for neither the burnt house, nor the slaughtered animals, which they left on the spot, could be of any benefit to them. At Kissing Point, another district, they dangerously wounded a settler and his wife, first burning every article belonging to them. The settlers in Lane Cove were so much and so perpetually alarmed by these people, that they collected their whole force, and, a few soldiers being sent to their assistance, went out in the night; and, being directed by their fires to the place where they lay, they discovered a large body of natives, collected, no doubt, for the purpose of attacking and plundering the settlers. Being unwilling to take any of their lives, a volley of musketry was fired over their heads, which so alarmed and terrified them, that they instantly fled, leaving behind them their spears, etc. and about 20 bushels of Indian corn which they had stolen. It was distressing to observe, that every endeavour to civilise these people proved fruitless. Although they lived among the inhabitants of the different settlements, were kindly treated, fed, and often clothed, yet they were never found to possess the smallest degree of gratitude for such favours. Even Bennillong was as destitute of this quality as the most ignorant of his countrymen. It is an extraordinary fact, that even their children, who had been bred up among the white people, and who, from being accustomed to follow their manner of living, might have been supposed to ill relish the life of their parents, when grown up, have quitted their comfortable abodes, females as well as males, and taken to the same savage mode of living, where the supply of food was often precarious, their comforts not to be called such, and their lives perpetually in danger. As a proof of the little personal safety which they enjoyed, a young woman, the wife of a man named Ye-ra-ni-be, both of whom had been brought up in the settlement from their childhood, was cruelly murdered at the brick-fields by her husband, assisted by another native, Cole-be, who first beat her dreadfully about the head (the common mode of chastising their women), and then put an end to her existence by driving a spear through her heart. When spoken to or censured for robbing the maize-grounds, these people, to be revenged, were accustomed to assemble in large bodies, burn the houses of the settlers if they stood in lonely situations, and frequently attempted to take their lives; yet they were seldom refused a little corn when they would ask for it. It was imagined that they were stimulated to this destructive conduct by some run-away convicts who were known to be among them at the time of their committing these depredations. In order to get possession of these pests, a proclamation was issued, calling on them by name to surrender themselves within 14 days, declaring them outlaws if they refused, and requiring the inhabitants, as they valued the peace and good order of the settlement, and their own security, to assist in apprehending and bringing them to justice. The governor also signified his determination, if any of the natives could be detected in the act of robbing the settlers, to hang one of them in chains upon a tree near the spot as a terror to the others. Could it have been foreseen, that this was their natural temper, it would have been wiser to have kept them at a distance, and in fear, which might have been effected without so much of the severity which their conduct had sometimes compelled him to exercise towards them. But the kindness which had been shown them, and the familiar intercourse with the white people in which they had been indulged, tended only to make them acquainted with those concerns in which they were the most vulnerable, and brought on all the evils which they suffered from them. In the evening of the 16th, his Majesty's ship _Supply_ arrived from the Cape of Good Hope; from which place she sailed about the middle of last month, with a quantity of young cattle on board for the settlement. She had met with much bad weather on her passage, and, being exceedingly infirm, her pumps had been kept constantly at work. She landed 31 cows, five mares, and 27 ewe sheep, all of them in good health, though much weakened from the nature of their voyage: eight cows, two bulls, and 13 sheep had died. During the night of this day, a boat which had been fishing at a small distance to the southward of Botany Bay, brought up to the settlement three persons, late belonging to a ship called the _Sydney Cove_, which had sailed from Bengal with a cargo for this port upon speculation. The governor was informed by Mr. Clarke, the supercargo (one of the three who had arrived in the fishing boat), that the ship had sprung a dangerous leak before she had rounded the South Cape, which, as soon as they had got to the eastward of the southern part of the coast, increased to so great a degree as to render it absolutely necessary to haul in for the land. The wind being from the SE they were enabled to accomplish this, and reached it exactly in time to land the ship, when she was just dropping from under them, having actually sunk down to the fore channels, when they ran her upon the ground, which they did on an island in lat. 40 degrees 37 minutes south. They met with this misfortune in the middle of last February; soon after which a certain number of them resolved to attempt the reaching Port Jackson in the ship's long boat, leaving the commander and about thirty people to stay by the wreck. The boat being prepared, 17 people embarked in her, and sailed; but meeting with much bad weather they were again wrecked, being driven on shore on the coast near Point Hicks. Here they all landed, and endeavoured to travel northward, but dropped off one by one and lost each other daily, until the number was reduced to five, the three who had arrived (the supercargo, a sailor, and a Lascar), the first mate of the ship, who had undertaken the navigation of the long boat, and the carpenter. These two, from excessive fatigue, had been unable to proceed any further, and had stopped the day before their companions in this miserable journey had been taken up by the fishing boat. To look for these unfortunate people, a whale boat was dispatched the following day, properly provided with such comforts as were necessary for persons in their weak and wretched condition. The man who had met with the supercargo was sent in the whale boat, and they proceeded to the spot which Mr. Clarke had described as that where they had lost sight of their companions; but, after a long search, they could only find some trifling articles, which were known to have been in their possession; and, these being bloody, it was conjectured that they had been killed in this very helpless condition by the natives, whom, in the course of their long march, they had found frequently very kind, and at other times extremely savage. To add to the probability of this having been their end, Mr. Clarke mentioned the morose, unfeeling disposition of the carpenter, who often, when some friendly natives had presented him with a few fish, growled that they had not given him all, and insisted, that because they were black fellows, it would be right to take it by force. By some illiberal and intemperate act of this nature, there was too much reason to believe he had brought on himself, and his ill-fated companion, the mate (a man cast in a gentler mould), a painful and premature death. Mr. Clarke and the two other people who arrived with him were very much exhausted, and could not probably have borne up much longer against the toil that attends travelling in such a country as the unsettled part of New Holland every where presents. All possible attention, however, being paid to their situation, they quickly recovered their strength and spirits. In the account already published of this colony, several instances were given of the danger and difficulty that attended travelling through the woods, in which many people have either wandered till they died, or have been assassinated by the natives. Every caution that humanity could suggest had been given; yet even at this day an instance occurred that proved to how little purpose. A soldier who had taken his passage in a boat to go to the Hawkesbury prevailed on the crew to land him on the south shore of Broken Bay, intending to proceed to the settlement by land, but which he was never able to accomplish. Several parties of soldiers were sent to look after their comrade, but all returned without finding him. His end must have been truly deplorable; and not less so was that of the sergeant-major's daughter, a fine girl of about 10 years of age, who was burnt to death by a stubble field having taken fire while she was in the midst of it. The flames were so rapid, that she was totally unable to escape from them, and perished in this most extraordinary and terrible manner. In the evening of the 27th, the ship _Britannia_ anchored between the heads from Ireland, having on board 150 male and 50 female convicts from that kingdom, with an officer and 25 recruits for the New South Wales corps. She got up to the settlement the following day, and the prisoners were all landed on the 30th. A part of them were immediately sent up to Parramatta. On the same day the Colonial schooner, and a long-boat named the _Eliza_, sailed to the southward, to bring away the remainder of the ship's company belonging to the unfortunate _Sydney Cove_. Among other works in which the people were employed in this month, was the necessary one of erecting paling round the new gaol, now nearly completed, and round the fresh water, the original enclosure of which had gone to decay, by which means the stream was so exceedingly polluted, as to endanger the health of the inhabitants. Some necessary regulations were published to counteract this evil, and indeed they had long been loudly called for. The want of cordage has been already mentioned. The settlement was likewise so much distressed for canvas, that, the largest and best boat being in the Hawkesbury, it became necessary to dismantle another boat, in order to furnish sails to bring her round, those belonging to her having been split in some bad weather which she met with in her passage thither. The people were directed at the same time to procure some of the bark of the tree lately discovered, to be manufactured into cordage; for which purpose it was reckoned superior to any of the flax that had been brought from Norfolk island. The _Mercury_ sailed about the middle of the month; and, as some return for the liberty of refitting his ship, and remaining four months in the Cove, the master took away a female convict without the governor's permission. Very little rain fell during this month. June.] On the 2nd of June, the ship _Ganges_ arrived from Ireland, with convicts from that kingdom, and a detachment of recruits for the New South Wales corps. This ship had touched at the Cape of Good Hope, and was commanded by Mr. Patrickson, who had visited the settlement in the year 1792, in the _Philadelphia_, a small American brig. The convicts in this ship were observed to be in much better health than those on board of the _Britannia_. These people, indeed, complained so much of having been treated with great severity during the passage, that the governor thought it right to institute an enquiry into their complaints. It appeared, that they had been deserving of punishment, but that it had been administered with too much severity, in the opinion even of the surgeon who was present. As these punishments had been inflicted by the direction of the master, without consulting any of the officers on board as to the measure of them, he was highly censured, as was the surgeon, who could stand by and see them inflicted without remonstrating with the master, which he declined because he had not been consulted by him. 'Quis talia fando, temperet a lachrymis?' His Majesty's birthday, falling this year on a Sunday, was observed on the 5th, with all the honour that could be paid to it. The regiment was drawn out on the parade, and at noon fired three volleys. At one o'clock a royal salute was fired from the battery and the ships in the Cove; and all the officers, civil and military, with those belonging to the ships, spent the day at the government-house. Shortly after this the governor visited the settlement at Parramatta, for the purpose of examining that part of the country which he designed to cultivate on the public account; and to observe how the convicts who had lately arrived, the major part of whom had been sent thither, were provided for. The cattle which had been landed from the _Supply_ had been also sent thither, and were, with the government stock that was at Toongabbie, thriving exceedingly. The ground that it was proposed to clear on the public account was not more than two miles and a half from Parramatta, and most advantageously situated in point of fresh water, having a chain of large and excellent ponds in its vicinity. The deputy surveyor having accompanied the governor, the spot was marked out for erecting the necessary buildings; and the whole was named Portland Place, in honour of his Grace the Duke of Portland. In consequence of the proclamation which was issued in the last month, one of the run-away convicts delivered himself up to a constable, and another was taken and lodged in confinement: they appeared to be half starved; yet their sufferings were not sufficient to prevent similar desertions from work in others, nor a repetition of the offence in themselves; such was the strong aversion which these worthless characters had to any thing that bore the name of work. More labour would have been performed in this country by 100 people from any part of England or Scotland, than had at any time been derived from 300 of these people, with all the attention that could be paid to them. Had 200 families of decent labouring farmers been sent out as settlers a few years since, and had a few convicts to assist them been placed wholly under their direction and authority, the cultivation would have been much farther advanced; and, in point of provisions, those families would have been living in luxury. More grain than could be consumed would have been grown, instead of crops which in some years were barely sufficient to last until the following harvest. These people were brought to trial for a theft which they were stated to have committed, but of which there was not any positive proof, and they were acquitted. There was not any doubt of their having associated with and instructed the natives how to commit, with the least hazard to themselves, the various depredations which the settlers had sustained from them; yet there was no proof of this, at least no proof whereby they might have been capitally punished, nothing short of which would ever be sufficient to prevent this dangerous intercourse. After exciting some apprehensions for her safety, his Majesty's ship the _Reliance _anchored in the Cove on the 26th, from the Cape of Good Hope, having had a very stormy passage, with 26 cows, 3 bulls, and about 60 sheep on board, on government account. She had been extremely leaky all the voyage; and it must be remembered, that the other colonial ship, the _Supply_, arrived in a very infirm state.* [* At her departure from the Cape, it was generally conjectured that she would never reach the settlement; but her commander, Lieutenant William Kent, considered and felt the design of his voyage to be of so much importance to the colony, that he determined to run every risk; and fortunately, though with great difficulty, he succeeded.] A most unexpected and unaccountable desertion took place in the night after the arrival of the _Reliance_. Two boys belonging to that ship carried away a small two-oared boat, in which they intended to proceed to the southward, and there join the natives. Being pursued, they were brought back, and gave the above account of their scheme; to effect which, they had provided themselves with a boat-cloak to sleep in, a pair of pistols, a small quantity of gun-powder, and 50 cakes of portable soup. That any one who had been accustomed to the habits of civilised life should find charms in that led by the savages of this country, was unaccountable; for, admitting that idleness was the inducement, yet whoever associated with them must accompany them wherever they went, and they were generally on the move either by day or night. They were seldom provided with more food than was sufficient for the day; and in their treacherous visitations at night, for the purposes of revenge, the European might be easily mistaken for, or confounded with, the savage. But thus it was, to the great evil of the community to which these unthinking wretches belonged. The inhabitants of the town of Sydney having been assessed to supply thatch for the roof of the new gaol, and completed their respective proportions, the building was enclosed during this month with a strong and high fence. A building such as this had certainly been long wanted. It was 80 feet in length; the sides and ends were constructed of strong logs, a double row of which formed each partition. The whole was divided into 22 cells, the divisions of which were logs. The floor and the roof were of the same solid materials, over which was a coat 8 inches deep of stiff clay, and the roof besides was thatched. Every accommodation for prisoners was to be found in separate buildings in the prison yard, in which also was a distinct brick building for debtors, fenced off from the _felon side_ (to use an Old Bailey distinction) by a strong and high paling. This, enclosing a spot of ground which had been marked out on the west side of the Cove for a ship-yard, landing provisions from the transports, and completing the granary, formed the principal labour in which the public gangs were employed this month at Sydney. The weather was remarkably dry. CHAPTER V The _Francis_ returns from the wreck of the _Sydney Cove_ The _Eliza_ long-boat missing Gale of wind Cattle from the Cape landed Station altered Public works An officer dies Accident on board the _Schooner_ The ships sail for China Coal discovered Natives Bennillong Courts Of justice assembled The _Supply_ condemned The _Cumberland_ seized and carried off to sea Is pursued, but not retaken More coal found; and a new river The people left by Capt. Bampton at New Zealand arrive at Norfolk Is. Several runaway convicts landed there by the _Britannia_ The _Deptford_ arrives from Madras Excursion to the Cow-Pastures Walk from Mount Taurus to the sea coast Public works Weather July.] In the beginning of July, the _Francis_ returned from the wreck of the _Sydney Cove_, bringing the remainder of her crew, except six, whom Captain Hamilton, her commander (and the only European belonging to her, then alive,) had left in charge of the part of her cargo which had been saved. The _Eliza_ long-boat, which sailed from the island with them, had on board a few Lascars and some property; but having had to encounter a very heavy gale of wind, and not arriving with the schooner, many doubts were entertained of her safety. She was under the direction of Mr. Armstrong, the master of the _Supply_. On the 17th, twelve days after the return of the _Francis_, it came on to blow exceedingly hard at SE and SSE by which many large trees and several chimneys were blown down. The gale was attended with a deluge of rain, and was so heavy, that some of the ships, even in that secure cove, brought their anchors home. In addition to other damage done at this time, two of the vanes of the wind-mill were torn off by the violence of the wind. This gale considerably increased the apprehensions of every. one concerned for the safety of the long-boat. The cattle which arrived in the _Reliance_ were landed, and, considering that they had experienced much bad weather on the passage, looked extremely well. The two Colonial ships had been employed eight months on this voyage to and from the Cape, and had added 51 cows, 3 bulls, a few horses, and about 90 sheep, to the stock of domestic cattle in the colony. This species of provisions was multiplying largely; but the salt meat was decreasing so fast, that it became necessary to issue only half the usual ration of pork. The convicts were employed in enclosing the new ship yard, shingling the barracks for the assistant surgeons, clearing ground at Portland-place, where seventy men were at work, and completing the repair of the public roads, in which necessary labour, the settlers again assisted, having finished the cropping of their grounds for the ensuing season. The dry weather had been followed by several days' rain, by which the appearance of the wheat-grounds was very much improved. Ensign Birch, of the New South Wales corps, died on the 5th, and was buried with military honours. He arrived in the _Britannia_. August.] The Colonial schooner, having been dispatched with some stores which were wanted at Norfolk Island, left the Cove on the 7th; but the wind failing, she anchored in the lower part of the harbour. While lying here, some of her people became drunk, and insisted on taking the boat ashore. This being resisted, one of the crew fired a pistol at a soldier who was on board, which, it being dark at the time, missed him, but the ball went through the leg of a seaman belonging to the _Supply_, who had been lent to the schooner. He was brought up to the hospital, and the man who fired the pistol was conducted to prison, to answer for his rashness. The _Britannia_ and the _Ganges_ sailed on their respective voyages. The commander of the latter was permitted to take on board several convicts who had become free, and some of the marine soldiers who had been discharged from the New South Wales corps, having completed their second engagement in that regiment. They had talked of becoming settlers, and remaining some years longer in the country; but the restless love of change prevailed, and they quitted the colony by this opportunity. Mr. Clark, the supercargo of the ship _Sydney Cove_, having mentioned that, two days before he had been met by the people in the fishing boat, he had fallen in with a great quantity of coal, with which he and his companions made a large fire, and had slept by it during the night, a whale-boat was sent off to the southward, with Mr. Bass, the surgeon of the _Reliance_, to discover where an article so valuable was to be met with. He proceeded about seven leagues to the southward of Point Solander, where he found, in the face of a steep cliff, washed by the sea a stratum of coal, in breadth about six feet, and extending eight or nine miles to the southward. Upon the summit of the high land, and lying on the surface, he observed many patches of coal, from some of which it must have been that Mr. Clarke was so conveniently supplied with fuel. He also found in the skeletons of the mate and carpenter of the _Sydney Cove_, an unequivocal proof of their having unfortunately perished, as was conjectured. By the specimens of the coal which were brought in by Mr. Bass, the quality appeared to be good; but, from its almost inaccessible situation, no great advantage could ever be expected from it; and indeed, were it even less difficult to be procured, unless some small harbour should be near it, it could not be of much utility to the settlement. No circumstance deserving of attention had occurred for some time among the natives. On the 27th of this month, however, one of their young men stood the trial practised by his countrymen, for having, as it was said, killed some person in a quarrel. He stood manfully up against all their spears, and defended himself with great skill and address. Having had two shields split in his hand, by the spear passing quite through them, his friends, who were numerous, attacked his opponents, whom they disarmed, and broke their shields, with many of their spears. It had been intended to have thrown some spears at Bennillong at this time, from its having been reported that a woman, when she was dying, had declared she dreamed that Bennillong had killed her. Her friends, therefore, resolved to call him to an account, taking the business up on the supposition that the woman must have had some cause of complaint against him, or she would not have dreamed of his doing her an injury. To this accusation Bennillong pleaded not guilty, declaring that he was an entire stranger to the woman, and had never in his life offended her; but there were some who said that he actually wounded this very woman, and had been the cause of her death. To those gentlemen who were acquainted with the temper and disposition of this savage, there appeared much reason to credit the assertions of his countrymen; for he was now observed to have become so fond of drinking, that, whenever invited by any of the officers to their houses, he was eager to be intoxicated, and in that state was so savage and violent as to be capable of any mischief. On such occasions he amused himself with annoying the women and insulting the men, who, from fear of offending his white friends, spared those notices of his conduct which he so often merited, and which sooner or later he would certainly meet with. The court of criminal judicature was assembled once during this month, when three prisoners, one of whom was a seaman belonging to the _Britannia_, were transported to Norfolk Island for seven years. The civil court was also assembled, and went through much troublesome and litigious business, the effect of the spirit of trade which every where prevailed. The _Reliance_ having been cleared of her stores, and being now quite light, was yet found to make as much water as before; and it appeared, upon opening the ceiling, that the leak was in the guardboard streak, abreast of the main-mast, the water rushing in there with great force. A survey had been held upon her consort, the _Supply_, after which she was pronounced wholly unfit for further sea service. The brickmakers, bricklayers, carpenters, and blacksmiths, were all fully and variously employed at this time. For the latter, a large and convenient shop, capable of working six or seven forges, was erecting at Sydney. The different works which were in hand went on with a greater spirit and more expedition than could have been expected, when the great want of artificers and labouring people was considered. Some, though but a few, mechanics had arrived in the last ships. September.] This month began with a very vexatious circumstance. A boat named the _Cumberland_, the largest and best in the colony belonging to government, was, on her passage to the Hawkesbury, whither she was carrying a few stores, taken possession of by a part of the boat's crew; being at the same time boarded by a small boat from the shore, the people in which seized her and put off to sea, first landing the coxswain and three others, who were unwilling to accompany them, in Pitt Water in Broken Bay. Those men proceeded overland to Port Jackson, where they gave the first information of this daring and piratical transaction. Two boats, well manned and armed, were immediately dispatched after them, under the command of Lieutenant Shortland of the _Reliance_. One of these boats returned in a few days, without having seen any thing of them; but Lieutenant Shortland proceeded with the other, a whale boat, as far as Port Stephens, where he thought it probable they might have taken shelter; but on the 19th, having been absent thirteen days, he returned without discovering the smallest trace of them or the boat. His pursuit, however, had not been without its advantage; for on his return he entered a river which he named Hunter river, about ten leagues to the southward of Port Stephens into which he carried three fathoms water, in the shoalest part of its entrance, finding deep water and good anchorage within. The entrance of this river was but narrow, and covered by a high rocky island, lying right off it, so as to leave a good passage round the north end of the island, between that and the shore. A reef connects the south part of the island with the south shore of the entrance of the river. In this harbour was found a very considerable quantity of coal of a very good sort, and lying so near the water side as to be conveniently shipped; which gave it, in this particular, a manifest advantage over that discovered to the southward. Some specimens of this coal were brought up in the boat. About this time a small decked long boat arrived from Norfolk island, and brought an account that the master of the American snow _Mercury_ had landed there the remainder of the people who had been left by Captain Bampton in Dusky Bay. When the _Endeavour_ was wrecked there about 20 months before*, the governor, not having any vessel at Port Jackson fit for such a purpose, had expressed a wish to the master of the snow, to this effect, when he was about leaving New South Wales. The master made no objection, only stipulating that he might be permitted to take from the wreck such stores as he might be in want of, but to this the governor could not give his sanction, leaving him only to make what terms he could with any of the people belonging to her whom he might find alive. This service he performed under many difficulties, and brought off all that now remained of these unfortunate people, amounting to 35 in number, and landed them at Norfolk Island. [* Vide Vol I Ch. XXX Page 384, viz: 'By letters received from Mr. Bampton, who sailed from his place in the _Endeavour_ in the month of September last, we now heard, that on his reaching Dusky Bay in New Zealand his ship unfortunately proved so leaky, that with the advice and consent of his officers and people she was run on shore and scuttled.' and Vol I Ch. XXX Page 388, viz: 'On the 17th the vessel built by the shipwright Hatherleigh at Dusky Bay arrived, with some of the people left behind by Mr. Bampton. They were so distressed for provisions, that the person who had the direction of the vessel could not bring away the whole; and it was singularly fortunate that he arrived as he did, for with all the economy that could be used, his small stock of provisions was consumed to the last mouthful the day before he made the land.'] By this conveyance the governor was also informed, that the _Britannia_ had touched at the Island, and landed several convicts who had secreted themselves on board her while she lay in this harbour. Disappointed as these people generally were in their attempts to escape from the settlement in this manner, yet it had become so certain a system, that all the vigilance which could be exerted both on shore and afloat was insufficient to prevent them. As the masters were seldom refused permission to ship such as were free, it was their business to receive no more on board than they could feed; and during the run between Sydney and Norfolk island, the supernumeraries were generally discovered and brought up from below. Indeed, considering the description of people who formed the major or part of these deserters, it was not safe to have many of them on board, being a lawless, abandoned, daring set of wretches, to whom the commission of every crime was more familiar than the practice of any one virtue. On the 20th of the month, the _Deptford_, a small brig, arrived from Madras, with a cargo of goods upon speculation for the Sydney market. The spirit of trade which had for some time obtained in the colony afforded an opening for adventurers to bring their goods to this settlement. The voyage from India was short and direct; and, from the nature of their investments, they were always certain of finding a ready sale, and an ample return upon the original invoice. But this intercourse was found to be pregnant with great evil to the colony; for, preferring spirits to any other article that could be introduced from India, the owners never failed to make the rum of that country an essential part of every cargo which they sent upon speculation. And, though every necessary measure was adopted to prevent all that arrived from being landed, yet, such was the avidity with which it was sought after, that, if not permitted, it was generally got on shore clandestinely, and very few ships carried back any of what they had brought down. To this source might be traced all the crimes which disgraced, and all the diseases that injured the colony. Toward the latter end of the month a party set off on an excursion to the cow pasture plains. On reaching mount Taurus, a distinct herd of the wild cattle, 67 in number, was seen. It was conjectured, that this valuable collection of cattle had so considerably increased, as to find a convenience in dividing into different herds, thereby preventing those quarrels which might frequently happen among their males. This was confirmed by their falling-in with, in another place, a herd, in which there could not have been fewer than 170 of these animals. A couple of days were pleasantly occupied in examining this part of the country, which exhibited the beautiful appearance of a luxuriant and well-watered pasturage. The latitude of mount Taurus was found to be 34 degrees 16 minutes S and the river Nepean was discovered to take its course close round the south side of this hill. Two gentlemen who were of this party having, at their setting out, proposed to walk from mount Taurus in as direct a line as the country would admit, to the seacoast, a whale boat was ordered to wait for them about five leagues to the southward of Botany Bay. They expected to have reached the coast in one day, but they did not reckon on having full 25 miles of a rugged and mountainous road to cross. Making their course a little to the southward of east, they fell in with the boat very conveniently, and Mr. Bass, one of the gentlemen, described their route to have laid, the greatest part of the way, over nothing but high and steep ridges of hills, the land becoming more rocky and barren as they drew near the sea coast. In each of the valleys formed by these hills they found a run of fresh water, in some places of considerable depth and rapidity. The direction of these streams or runs being to the northward, they were supposed to fall into a harbour which lay about five or six miles to the southward of Port Solander, and had obtained the name of Port Hacking, the pilot of that name having had the honour of the discovery.* [* See the chart prefixed to this volume, where the route from Mount Taurus is laid down.] A church clock having been brought to the settlement in the _Reliance_ when that ship arrived from England, and no building fit for its reception having been since erected, preparations were now making for constructing a tower fit for the purpose; to which might be added a church, whenever at a future day the increase of labourers might enable the governor to direct such an edifice to be built. One mill not being sufficient to grind the flour required by the inhabitants at Sydney, the stone masons were employed in breaking out and preparing stone for another at that place. The blacksmith's shop, begun in the last month, was nearly completed at the end of this. The weather was observed to be growing warm. Toward the middle of the month strong southerly winds, with rainy and unsettled weather, prevailed, particularly at the change of the moon. CHAPTER VI Another boat seized and carried off Order in consequence The criminal court thrice assembled Particulars Three men stand in the pillory Perjury explained to the convicts Natives very troublesome; seize a boat Various works in hand An attempt to seize another boat frustrated Prospect of a fine harvest Wilson gives himself up Is made use of Two mares stolen The clergyman's servant attempts to rob him Information sent to India respecting the boats An amphibious animal discovered Description Accident Works Police Weather October.] The month of October opened with a repetition of the vexatious circumstances that marked the opening of the preceding month. In the night of the 2nd, a boat was taken from Parramatta by some people who got unobserved out of the harbour. The three men who were put on shore from the _Cumberland_ at the time she was seized upon, from an unwillingness to accompany them, being in this party, it was supposed they were connected in some way with those who were in that boat, and whom they might know where to find. An armed boat from the _Supply_ was immediately dispatched after them; but in three days returned, as unsuccessful as Lieutenant Shortland had unfortunately been in his search. From this circumstance there was reason to suppose that they had stood off from the land; in which case, as the weather since their departure had been unusually bad, the wind blowing a gale from the southward, with much rain, and their boat being a very bad one, it was probable they had perished. In these two boats 15 convicts had made their escape from the settlement; six of whom had been transported for life; six others were from Ireland, of whose term of transportation no account had been sent out; and of the remainder, one had to serve until the 23rd of May 1799, another until the 2nd of April 1801, and the third until the 15th of April 1804. Whatever might be the fate of these people, the evil was of great extent; since all that could be known of them to their fellow prisoners was, that they had successfully effected their escape. Had Bryan and his party, who went off with one of the King's boats in the year 1791, instead of meeting with the compassion and lenity which were expressed in England for their sufferings, been sent back and tried in New South Wales, for taking away the boat, and other thefts which they had committed, it was probable that others might have been deterred from following their example. On this occasion an order was published, stating that, as, for the private convenience of various individuals, permission had been granted for the building of boats under certain dimensions, yet those boats had been frequently found so improperly secured in the night, and left by their respective owners in situations so favourable to the views of those ignorant beings who were perpetually looking out for means to escape from the settlement, the governor therefore found it expedient positively to prohibit the building of a boat of any kind without having previously obtained his express permission; and to declare, that if any of the boats then in use in the settlement should thenceforward be found improperly secured at night, or left with oars, rudder, masts, or sails on board, they would be laid on shore and burnt. Such was the increase of crimes, that thrice in this month was the court of criminal judicature assembled. The offences that came under their cognisance were those of murder, perjury, forgery, and theft. Two men were tried for having killed a native youth, well known in the settlement*; but it appearing to the court that he had been accidentally shot, they were acquitted. The natives certainly behaved ill, and often provoked the death which they met with; but there was not any necessity for wantonly destroying them, a circumstance which it was feared had but too often occurred. On the acquittal of these prisoners, they were assured by the governor, that he was determined to make an example of the first person who should be convicted of having wantonly taken the life of a native. [* By the name of Tom Rowley (after one of the officers of the regiment). He had accompanied Mr. Raven, in the _Britannia_, to Bengal, in the year 1795.] Another prisoner, John Morris, was tried for the murder of Charles Martin, by violently kicking and beating him, so that he died the following day. He was found guilty of manslaughter, and sentenced to be burned in the hand and imprisoned for 12 months. One man was found guilty of uttering a bill knowing it to be forged, and adjudged to suffer death; and two others, for theft, were ordered to be transported to Norfolk Island, one for the term of his life, and another for seven years. It appearing on one of these trials, that three of the witnesses had manifestly and wilfully committed the crime of perjury, they were brought to trial; and, being found guilty, were sentenced to stand in the pillory; to which, as an additional punishment, their ears were to be nailed. Their sentence was put in execution before the public provision store, when the mob, either to display their aversion to the crime, or, what might be more probable, to catch at any thing that wore the form of amusement, pelted them with rotten eggs and dirt. These people were three of the worst characters in the colony, Luke Normington, John Colley, and William Osborne. It amounted nearly to a mockery and profanation of religion to administer an oath to such hardened and unprincipled wretches; yet their testimony could not be refused when called for by a prisoner who was standing under the weight of a capital charge; but of the credibility of such testimony it was always in the breast of the court to judge. On this occasion the governor deemed it advisable to explain, in public orders, the nature of this dreadful offence, an offence so certainly ruinous both to their temporal and eternal welfare. He pointed out to them, that, as every man who stood convicted of this dangerous breach of the law was thereby rendered infamous ever after, no one who had a character to lose (alas! how few were there who would feel themselves affected by this observation) would associate with such criminals, lest he should endanger his own reputation, and be considered as a voluntary approver and partaker in the infamy. It may be some relief to turn from the contemplation of such iniquity, though it should be only to the transactions of savages, differing from these wretches but in complexion. On the 20th of this month the settlement were spectators of a severe contest which took place between two parties of natives; one of which was desirous of revenging the death of a friend, who had been killed by some native of a part of the country from which a young man had just then accidentally come amongst them. He was therefore immediately devoted to their vengeance. Finding their determination, he most gallantly stood up, and, being attacked by numbers, defended himself with the greatest bravery and address, until, being wounded in several places, he fell. As he lay upon the ground, several of his opponents treacherously rushed in upon him, and stabbed him repeatedly with a pointed stick, which they call a Doo-ul. In this situation he endeavoured to cover himself with his shield, on which, having risen from the ground, and being again attacked, he received their spears for some time with great dexterity, until some one, less brave and more treacherous than the rest, took a station unobserved on one side, and launched a spear, which went into his back and there remained. Seeing this, they were proceeding a second time to rush in upon him, when he had just strength enough left to make his escape into an adjoining house, where he received shelter, and from the severity of his wounds immediately fainted. The spear was withdrawn, and his wounds dressed, by one of the surgeons who happened to be present; and in a few days he was able to walk about again. His brother, who had accompanied him to the field of battle, stood up in his defence, and was wounded in the leg and thigh. The principal sufferer in this affair was known in the settlement by the name of William and Ann (corrupted by their pronunciation to Wil-lam-an-nan) which he had adopted from a ship of the same name that arrived here in the year 1791. Several of their women attended upon this occasion, and, as is common with them, howled and cried alternately during the most of the time; but when they were enraged, which often happened, they danced, and beat their sides with their arms; a certain proof of their passions being wrought up to the highest pitch. Shortly after this, these people again exhibited themselves to the notice of the settlement, but in a very different point of view. On the 31st, an open boat arrived from the Hawkesbury, with a cargo of Indian corn, having been boarded in her passage down by a party of natives in canoes. Assuming an appearance of friendship, they were suffered to come into the boat, when, watching an opportunity, they threw off the mask, and made an attempt to seize the small arms. This occasioned a struggle, in which the boat's crew prevailed, but not before some of these unexpected pirates had paid for their rashness with their lives. It was now discovered, that a boat belonging to a settler, which had been for some time missing, and was supposed to have been driven out to sea and lost with her crew and cargo of Indian corn, had actually been taken by the natives in the river, after murdering the men who were in her. The boat, on searching, was afterwards found in the possession of some of these people. This was so novel a circumstance that it could scarcely be credited; but it was no less true; and there was but little doubt, that the white people who were living amongst them had been the unseen instigators of this mischief. During this month a strong and durable bridge, capable of sustaining any weight which it might have occasion to bear, was erected over Duck river, for the convenience of land carriage between the towns of Sydney and Parramatta. The military hospital which stood on the west side of the Cove was taken to pieces; and, a stone foundation (it had been hitherto fixed on blocks of wood) having been laid farther from the road side, it was removed during this month, and put together again in its new situation. The wheat every where wore the most promising appearance, and the weather had been very favourable for bringing it to maturity. Decreasing daily as did the number of working men in the employ of government, yet the governor could not refuse granting certificates to such convicts as had served their respective times of transportation; and no less than 125 men were at this time certified by him to be free. Most of these people had no other view in obtaining this certificate, than the enabling them when an opportunity offered to quit the settlement, or following their own pursuits until that time should arrive. November.] There being a scarcity of wheat in the public stores, owing to some local disappointments, the governor was obliged to make a reduction in the weekly allowance of that article, until the present crops should be gathered. The facility with which the seizure of the _Cumberland_ had been accomplished, and the subsequent escape of two parties of convicts. induced 14 others to form a plan for taking away a boat, and making a similar attempt at liberty. Having made a depot of all the stores which they meant to carry with them, at a place convenient for the purpose, the night was fixed for their departure; and they were on the point of embarking, when, to their great surprise, they found themselves surrounded by a party of magistrates and constables armed, who took them and their property into custody. They had not proceeded with all the caution necessary for such an enterprise, and a hint was given in time to defeat the execution of their project. The following day these unthinking people, instead of being at large on the ocean, in possession of their fancied freedom, found themselves severely punished, and sent up to Parramatta there to be set to hard labour. On the subject of these mad and hazardous schemes, the governor first addressed the convicts in person, and afterwards published in order, wherein he pointed out the risk that must ever attend such ill-judged enterprises; into which, he was of opinion, a few weak and ignorant people had been led by the deep and wicked designs of some who pretended to a greater share of wisdom, and who would not hesitate to sacrifice any that might be thought of less consequence to the general design, or less capable of rendering themselves useful when embarked, by forcing them on shore, if near the land, among a savage people where death must be inevitable; or by throwing them overboard, if at sea, to lighten their miserable vessel, and prevent, if possible, her drowning the whole. The Irish convicts who arrived in the last ship manifesting daily a propensity to desert from their work, a party of soldiers, under the command of a sergeant, was sent up to Toongabbie, where they were to remain during the harvest, which commenced in this month at that place and at Constitution Hill. On the 24th, an order was published, in which the people employed in agriculture were reminded of the many accidents that happened last year by fire; strongly recommending more attention to the security of their present crops when taken off the ground, at the same time directing them to seize and secure as early as possible all such vagrants as they might meet with, who, being at large at this season, might do them much injury. Nine hundred bushels of the last year's crop were brought round from the Hawkesbury in the _Francis_, and deposited in the public store. Nothing could promise better than the appearance of the wheat of this season; but it had ripened suddenly, owing to some heavy rains having been followed by very hot weather. In the want of sufficient strength the military were hired to assist in reaping, it being absolutely necessary that no time should be lost in securing the produce of this year. Toward the latter end of the month, James Wilson, who had for some time taken up his abode in the woods, and was one of those named in the proclamation of the 13th of May last, surrendered himself to the governor's clemency. He had been herding with the savages in different parts of the country, and was obliged to submit to have his shoulders and breast scarified after their manner; which he described to have been very painful in the operation. He made his appearance with no other covering than an apron formed of a Kangaroo's skin, which he had sufficient sense of decency remaining to think was proper. The governor, well knowing, from his former habits, that if he punished and sent him to hard labour, he would quickly rejoin his late companions, thought it more advisable to endeavour to make him useful even in the mode of living which he seemed to prefer; he therefore pardoned him, and proposed his attempting, with the assistance of his friends, to take some of the convicts who were at large in the woods; two of whom had, just before Wilson's appearance, stolen two mares, the property of private individuals, but which were allowed to be kept during the night in a stable belonging to government. Wilson, among other articles of information, mentioned, that he had been upwards of 100 miles in every direction round the settlement. In the course of his travelling he had noticed several animals, which, from his description, had not been seen in any of the districts; and to the northwest of the head of the Hawkesbury, he came upon a very extensive tract of open and well-watered country, where he had seen a bird of the pheasant species, and a quadruped, which he said was larger than a dog, having its hind parts thin, and bearing no proportion to the shoulders, which were strong and large. It is not improbable, that Wilson invented these circumstances in the hope of obtaining some attention, and thereby averting the punishment which he expected, and well knew that he had long deserved. If it be painful to the writer of these sheets to find little else than crimes and their consequences to record, how much more painful must it have been to have lived where they were daily committed. Particularly so must it have proved to the gentleman who was in the chief direction of the settlement, who found himself either obliged to punish with severity, or to be fearful even of administering justice in mercy, lest that mercy should prove detrimental in the end, by encouraging others to offend in the hope of impunity. There can scarcely be recorded a stronger instance of human depravity, than what the following circumstance, which happened in this month, exhibits. A convict, who had formerly been a school-companion with the Rev. Mr. Johnson, had been taken by that gentleman into his service, where he reposed in him the utmost confidence, and treated him with the kindest indulgence. He had not been long in his house before Mr. Johnson was informed that his servant, having taken an impression of the key of his storeroom in clay, had procured one that would fit the lock. He scarcely credited the information; but, being urged to furnish him with an opportunity, he consented that a constable should be concealed in the house, on a Sunday, when all the family, this servant excepted, would be attending divine service. The arrangement succeeded but too well. Concluding that all was safe, he applied his key, and, entering the room, was proceeding without any remorse to plunder it of such articles as he wanted; when the constable, seeing his prey within his toils, started from his concealment, and seized him in the act of taking the property. Thus was this wretched being without 'one compunctious visiting of nature,' detected in the act of injuring the man, who, in the better day of his prosperity, had been the companion of his youth, and who had stretched out his hand to shelter him in the present hour of his adversity! The _Deptford_ brig sailing this month for the coast of Coromandel, the governor took the opportunity of transmitting to Admiral Rainier, or the commander in chief of his Majesty's ships in the East Indies, a list of the deserted convicts, and a description of the two boats which had lately been taken from the colony. As it was, probably, the intention of those people to steer along the coast of New South Wales to the northward, until they should reach some of the Dutch settlements among the Molucca islands, there was a possibility of their being picked up by some of the King's cruisers; in the event of which, the governor forcibly urged their being forwarded, by any opportunity which might offer, to his government, there to be made an example that should, if possible, deter others from making the like attempts. The widow of Ensign Brock's, who died in July last, availed herself of this opportunity to get, with her family, partly on her way to England. Although the settlement had now been established within a month of ten years, yet little had been added to the stock of natural history which had been acquired in the first year or two of its infancy. The Kangaroo, the Dog, the Opossum, the Flying Squirrel, the Kangaroo Rat, a spotted Rat, the common Rat, and the large Fox-bat (if entitled to a place in this society), made up the whole catalogue of animals that were known at this time, with the exception which must now be made of an amphibious animal, of the mole species, one of which had been lately found on the banks of a lake near the Hawkesbury. In size it was considerably larger than the land mole. The eyes were very small. The fore legs, which were shorter than the hind, were observed, at the feet, to be provided with four claws, and a membrane, or web, that spread considerably beyond them, while the feet of the hind legs were furnished, not only with this membrane or web, but with four long and sharp claws, that projected as much beyond the web, as the web projected beyond the claws of the fore feet. The tail of this animal was thick, short, and very fat; but the most extraordinary circumstance observed in its structure was, its having, instead of the mouth of an animal, the upper and lower mandibles of a duck. By these it was enabled to supply itself with food, like that bird, in muddy places, or on the banks of the lakes, in which its webbed feet enabled it to swim; while on shore its long and sharp claws were employed in burrowing; nature thus providing for it in its double or amphibious character. These little animals had been frequently noticed rising to the surface of the water, and blowing like the turtle. The subjoined engraving is from a drawing made on the spot by Governor Hunter. Among the few circumstances that occurred out of the common course of events, must be mentioned that of a man belonging to the hospital, who, in endeavouring to get hold of a boat which was close to the shore, over-reached himself and fell into deep water, where he was drowned. The body being immediately found, the means recommended by the Humane Society in such cases were made use of, but without the desired effect. The barracks for the assistant surgeons, and the tower of the intended church, were nearly completed during this month, and the paling round the new store-house was begun. The _Reliance_, whose leaks had been discovered, was strengthened with riders, several people being employed to bring in timber for that purpose. These formed some of the public works at Sydney. At Parramatta, Toongabbie, and the other interior settlements, all were actively employed in securing the abundant crops which every where promised to reward the industry of the settler and the labourer. The annual election of constables took place in this month. These municipal regulations were attended at least with the advantage of introducing something like a system of regularity into the settlement, than which nothing was more likely to check the relaxation which had lately prevailed in it. The weather in November was, for the first and middle parts, very unsettled, blowing hard at times with much rain. On one day, there fell a shower of hail, the stones of which were each as big as a lark's egg. The latter part of the month was fair, and favourable for reaping the grain. CHAPTER VII Bennillong and Cole-be Various particulars respecting the natives Ye-ra-nibe killed A settler's house burnt through malice Schools at Sydney Two settlers drink for a wager The body of a soldier found Criminal court The _Francis_ sails for the wreck Weather Houses burnt Public labour Harvest Account of live stock and ground in cultivation December.] A circumstance occurred about the beginning of this month, that excited much interest in the town of Sydney, and great commotion among the natives. Two of these people, both of them well known in the settlement, (Cole-be, the friend of Bennillong, and one of the Ye-ra-ni-bes) meeting in the town, while their bosoms were yet swelling on occasion of some former difference, attacked each other. Cole-be had always been remarked for his activity, but Ye-ra-ni-be had more youth than his adversary, and was reckoned a perfect match for him. On closing on each other, with their clubs, until which time Cole-be had not gained any advantage over Ye-ra-ni-be, the handle of Ye-ra-ni-be's shield drew out, and it consequently fell from his grasp: while stooping to take it up, the other struck him on the head with a club, which staggered him, and followed his blow while he was in that defenceless situation. Cole-be knew that this would ensure him the appellation of jeerun, or coward, and that the friends of Ye-ra-ni-be would as certainly take up his cause. As the consequences might be very serious if he should die of the blow, he thought it prudent to abscond for a while, and Yera-ni-be was taken care of by some of his white friends. This happened on the 10th, and on the 16th he died. In this interval he was constantly attended by some of his male and female associates, particularly by his two friends, Collins (for Gnung-a Gnung-a still went by the late judge-advocate's name) and Mo-roo-bra. On one of the nights when a most dismal song of lamentation had been sung over him, in which the women were the principal performers, his male friends, after listening for some time with great apparent attention, suddenly started up, and, seizing their weapons, went off in a most savage rage, determined on revenge. Knowing pretty well where to meet with Cole-be, they beat him very severely, but would not kill him, reserving that gratification of their revenge until the fate of their companion should be decided. On the following night, Collins and Mo-roo-bra attacked a relation of Cole-be's, Boo-ra-wan-ye, whom they beat about the head with such cruelty that his recovery was doubtful. As their vengeance extends to all the family and relations of a culprit, what a misfortune it must be to be connected with a man of a choleric disposition! Ye-ra-ni-be was buried the day after his decease by the side of the public road, below the military barracks. He was placed by his friends upon a large piece of bark, and laid into a grave, which was formed by them after our manner (only not so deep), they seeming in this instance to be desirous of imitating our custom. Bennillong assisted at the ceremony, placing the head of the corpse, by which he struck a beautiful war-ra-taw, and covering the body with the blanket on which he died. Being supplied with some spades, the earth was thrown in by the by-standers, during which, and indeed throughout the whole of the ceremony, the women howled and cried excessively; but this was the effect of the violent gusts of passion into which the men every moment threw themselves. At this time many spears were thrown, and some blows were inflicted with clubs; but no serious mischief ensued. On the death of Cole-be, all seemed determined; for the man whose life he had in so cowardly a manner taken away was much beloved by his countrymen. With this design, a number of natives assembled a few days afterwards before the barracks, breathing revenge; at which time a young man, a relation to the object of their vengeance, received so many wounds, that he was nearly killed; and a lad, who was also related to him (Nan-bar-ray, the same who formerly lived with Mr. White, the principal surgeon), was to have been sacrificed; but he was saved for the present by the appearance of a soldier, who had been sent to the place with him for his protection; and it was thought that when the present tumult against his uncle (for Cole-be was the brother of this boy's father) had subsided, nothing more would be thought of him. Cole-be, finding that he must either submit to the trial usual on such occasions, or live in the continual apprehension of being taken off by a midnight murder and a single hand, determined to come forward, and suffer the business to be decided one way or the other. Having signified his resolution, a day was appointed, and he repaired armed to the place of rendezvous. The rage and violence shown by the friends of the deceased were indescribable; and Cole-be would certainly have expiated his offence with his life, but for the interference of several of the military, before whose barrack the affair took place. Although active, and extremely _au fait_ in the use of the shield, he was overpowered, and, falling beneath their spears, would certainly have been killed on the spot, but several soldiers rushed in, and prevented their putting him to death where he lay; he himself, from the many severe wounds which he had received, being wholly incapable of making any resistance. His friends, the soldiers, lifted him from the ground, and between them bore him into the barracks. Bennillong, the particular friend and companion of Cole-be, was present at this meeting; but, it was supposed, without intending to take any part in it either way. The atrocity of his friend's conduct had been such that he could not openly espouse his quarrel; perhaps he had no stomach to the fight; and certainly, if he could avoid it, he would not, by appearing against him, add to the number of his enemies. He was armed, however, and unencumbered with clothing of any kind, and remained a silent spectator of the tumultuous scene, until the moment when the soldiers rushed in to save the life of Cole-be. His conduct here became inexplicable. On a sudden, he chose to be in a rage at something or other, and threw a spear among the soldiers, which dreadfully took effect on one of them, entering at his back and coming out at the belly, close to the navel. For this he would instantly have been killed on the spot, had not Mr. Smith, the provost-marshal, interfered and brought him away, boiling with the most savage rage; for he had received a blow on the head with the butt-end of a musket. It became necessary to confine him during the night, as well to prevent the mischief with which he threatened the white people, as to save him from the anger of the military, and on the following morning he quitted the town. This man, instead of making himself useful, or showing the least gratitude for the attentions which he received from every one, had become a most insolent and troublesome savage. As it was impossible sometimes to avoid censuring him for his conduct, he had been known to walk about armed, and heard to declare it was for the express purpose of spearing the governor whenever he saw him. This last outrage of his had rendered him more hateful than any of his countrymen; and, as the natives who had so constantly resided and received so many comforts in the settlement were now afraid to appear in the town, believing that, like themselves, we should punish all for the misconduct of one, it might rather be expected that Bennillong could not be far from meeting that punishment which he certainly provoked and merited. During the time that Ye-ra-ni-be was alive, the attendance of the natives who were then in the town was called to the performance of the ceremony named Yoo-lahng Era-ba-diang, the particulars of which have been described in the preceding* part of this account. The place of meeting at this time was in the middle harbour; and the various exhibitions which took place were not observed to differ from those of the preceding years. The season of the year was the same, but not precisely the month, which confirmed the conjecture of their not being influenced by any particular motive in the choice of the month of February for the celebration of this curious and peculiar ceremony. [* Vide Appendix to Vol I.] Bennillong, who assisted at it, returned without his wife, the lady having been without much difficulty persuaded by her mother, whom she accidentally met at the Yoo-lahng, to leave her husband, and return with her to the place of her residence. Bennillong, notwithstanding the European polish which he could at times assume, was by no means a favourite with, or held in much estimation by the females of his own complexion. If any unfortunate girl was seen to be in his train for any time, she was well known to be actuated less by inclination than by the fear of his exercising that right which the stronger always claimed the privilege of possessing over the weaker sex. The business of the settlement now reclaims our notice. Some time in this month the house of John Mitcham, a settler in the district of Concord, was attacked by three villains, and set on fire, together with a stack of wheat, which he had just completed and secured against the weather. This unfortunate man was indebted about £33 which the contents of his wheat-stack would have paid off, but now, besides being very much beaten, he had the world to begin again, with a load of debt which this untoward accident would much increase. The man himself knew not to what cause to attribute it; and he was as ignorant who were his enemies; for two of them had blackened their faces, and to the third he was a stranger. On its being represented to the governor, he gave information of the mischief in the public orders; and at the same time called upon every man who valued the safety of his person, and the security of his property, to use the utmost vigilance in discovering and bringing to justice these daring offenders, that the law might have an opportunity of showing its ability to defend the property of every inhabitant of the colony, by the punishment of those who dared to attack it. He also observed, as a further inducement, that the inhabitants could not fail to see the danger of suffering evils of this kind to pass unnoticed; as the most ignorant must know, that every reduction in the quantity of wheat must be attended with a reduction in the weekly ration; a circumstance by which every man, whether on or off the public store, was affected. The Order concluded with an offer of conditional freedom, and permission to become a settler, to any person, who, being a convict, would come forward and give such information as might serve to convict the offenders before a court of criminal judicature. Dogs had increased to such an extent as to occasion their becoming the object of a public order, restricting the number kept by each person to no more than were absolutely necessary for the protection of his house and premises. Much mischief had been done by them among the hogs, sheep, goats, and fowls of individuals. There were at this time in the town of Sydney three schools for the education of children; and this being the period of their breaking-up for the Christmas holidays, the governor was gratified with the sight of 102 clean and decently dressed children, who came with their several masters and mistresses, and in form paid their respects to his excellency, who examined the progress of the elder scholars in writing, specimens of which he kept for the purpose of comparing with those which they should present to him on the following Christmas. One moment's reflection on the vices that prevailed in the colony will be sufficient to excite a wish, that some institution could have been devised for separating the greater part of these (at present, innocent) members of the community from their vicious parents, where they could have been educated at the public expense, their propensities to evil corrected, and that turn given to their attainments which should secure them a stock of useful knowledge. An arrangement of this nature was every day becoming more necessary; for there were not less than 300 young people at this time in the town of Sydney, none of whom, with the exception of a very few, had been born in England. On the eve of Christmas Day two young men, settlers on some land midway between Sydney and Parramatta, having been boasting of their respective abilities in drinking, regardless of the solemnity of the time, challenged each other to a trial of their skill; on which they were so deliberately bent, that, to prevent their being interrupted, they retired to the skirts of a neighbouring wood, with a quantity of raw spirits which they had provided for the purpose. Their abilities, however, were not equal to their boasting; for one of them died upon the spot, and the life of the other was fast ebbing when he was taken up. Had another hour elapsed, he too must have perished, like his wretched companion. They had not been able to finish all the pernicious spirit which they had prepared, some of it remaining by them in a case bottle when they were found. On the morning of Christmas Day, the governor was informed that two seamen belonging to the _Reliance_ had discovered the body of a soldier (who had been for two days missing from the look-out post on the South Head, where he was on duty), lying in a mangled state, the head and hands being cut off. Some words having passed between him and a soldier, who had been also heard to threaten him, he was suspected of having committed the murder, and on the 30th was put on his trial for the same. Nothing, however, appeared before the court that could substantiate the charge of murder against him; neither was it clearly ascertained that violent hands had been laid on the deceased. As it had been foreseen that direct proof would be wanting, it was deemed expedient to obtain what might be, though not positive, yet of a nature to be nearly as satisfactory. With this view, the suspected person was directed to handle and bury the body, which he did without any apparent emotion; nor did the body bleed at his touch, or exhibit any sign that superstition or ignorance could turn into an accusation against him; he observing at the same time, that, as he had never had any quarrel with the deceased, he could have no objection to perform this last friendly office for him. At this court a settler was fined the sum of 40 shillings, and ordered to labour for six weeks, being convicted of disobeying the public orders of the colony. The commander of the wrecked ship, _Sydney Cove_, having solicited the governor to spare him the Colonial schooner for the purpose of visiting the wreck of his ship, and the six men whom he had left upon the island in charge of what had been landed; though he could very ill part with the services of the vessel at this time, yet, in consideration of the melancholy situation of the people, and the chance that there might be of saving something for the benefit of the underwriters, he consented; and about the latter end of the month the _Francis_ sailed with Captain Hamilton to the southward. The weather was now becoming exceedingly hot; and as, at this season of the year, the heat of the sun was so intense that every substance became a combustible, and a single spark, if exposed to the air, in a moment became a flame, much evil was to be dreaded from fire. On the east side of the town of Sydney, a fire, the effect of intoxication or carelessness, broke out among the convicts' houses, when three of them were quickly destroyed; and three miles from the town another house was burnt by some run-away wretches, who, being displeased with the owner, took this diabolical method of showing it. The public labour of the month at Sydney comprised the covering of the new store-house; finishing the church tower; constructing another wind-mill, of which the beams of the second floor were laid; completing the barracks of the assistant surgeons, with necessary offices; digging the foundation of a house for the master boat-builder; and taking down one of the old marine barracks, on the site of which the governor proposed to erect a granary. At Parramatta and Toongabbie the wheat was nearly all got in and secured. At the latter of these places, a capital barn had been erected for its reception, 90 feet in length, with a complete floor, on which eight or nine pairs of thrashers could be employed without any inconvenience. In order to mark the annual* increase, it may be proper to insert in this place an account of the live-stock and land in cultivation at the close of the year, belonging to government, the civil and military officers, the settlers, and others. [* Vide Vol I Ch. XXXII p 411, viz: 'ACCOUNT OF LIVE STOCK IN THE POSSESSION OF GOVERNMENT AND THE CIVIL AND MILITARY OFFICERS OF THE SETTLEMENT, ON THE 1ST OF SEPTEMBER 1796'] LIVE STOCK Horses 26 Mares 58 Horned Cattle Bulls and Oxen 132 Cows 195 Hogs 4247 Sheep Male 743 Female 1714 Goats Male 781 Female 1495 LAND IN CULTIVATION Acres in Wheat 3361½ Acres for Maize 1527 Acres in Barley 26½ In addition to these, a considerable quantity of garden-ground was in potatoes, callevances, and vines. CHAPTER VIII Attempt of some Irish convicts to desert in search of a new settlement Some punished Steps taken to prevent future desertion A settler's boat stolen Particulars The _Francis_ returns from the southward Conjectures as to a strait Natives A convict providentially saved Public works Weather 1798.] January.] The Irish prisoners who had arrived in the last ships from that country had about this period become so turbulent and refractory, and so dissatisfied with their situation, that, without the most rigid and severe treatment, it was impossible to derive from them any labour whatever. In addition to their natural vicious propensities, they conceived an opinion that there was a colony of white people, which had been discovered in this country, situated to the SW of the settlement, from which it was distant between three and four hundred miles, and in which they were assured of finding all the comforts of life, without the necessity of labouring for them. It was discovered, that, in consequence of this extraordinary rumour, a plan had been formed, by means of a correspondence carried on between these people, from one district to another, of escaping from the colony; which was to be put in execution so soon as they had completed a sufficient stock of provisions. The place of general rendezvous was fixed upon, and they were furnished with a paper of written instructions for their guidance to this fancied paradise, or to China; in addition to which, they had been supplied with the figure of a compass drawn upon paper. Having received early information of the intentions of this party, the governor wrote to a magistrate at Parramatta, desiring that he would go to Toongabbie, where the principal part of the malcontents were employed, and point out to them the danger to which so ill-advised a step would expose them; but, as to attempt to reason with ignorance and obstinacy was only to waste time, he was to acquaint them, that the governor would allow any four of them whom they should select from their number, and who they might think capable of travelling over steep and rocky mountains, through thick and extensive woods, and fording deep and rapid streams, to proceed as far as they should find themselves able with such provisions as they could carry. That further, for the preservation of the lives of those four men, he would order three other people, who were accustomed to the woods of this country, and well acquainted with the savages of the mountains, to accompany and lead them in the direction pointed out in their written instructions, On conversing with these infatuated people, it appeared, that the history of the supposed settlement had its rise from some strange and unintelligible account which one of these men, who had left his work, and resided for some time with the natives, had collected from the mountain savages. A very few days demonstrated the effect of the governor's address to these ignorant people. He received information, that considerable numbers of them were assembling for the purpose of proceeding in quest of the new settlement. He, therefore, directed a party of armed constables, to waylay and secure as many as they were able; which was effected, and sixteen were taken and put into confinement. On speaking to them the following day, they appeared to be totally ignorant whither they were going; but, observing in them as much obstinacy as ignorance, the governor justly conceived that he could not use an argument more likely to convince them of their misconduct, than by ordering a severe corporal punishment to be inflicted at Sydney on those who appeared to be the principals in this business; which was accordingly put in execution; seven of them receiving each two hundred lashes; the remainder, after being punished at Parramatta, were sent to hard labour and strictly looked after. On enquiry it appeared, that this party was composed of several who were present when the magistrate addressed them by order of the governor; and that others had assembled from different farms, which were situated at a considerable distance from each other. The trouble taken to collect and mislead these people proved to him that it was the work of some wicked incendiary, who designed by this means to embarrass the public concerns of the colony, and thereby throw obstacles in the way of his government. Being, on further consideration of the necessity of checking this spirit of emigration, determined to convince them, by their own experience, of the danger and difficulties which attended it, the governor caused four of the strongest and hardiest among them to be chosen by themselves, and properly prepared for a journey of discovery. They were to be accompanied by three men, upon whom the governor knew he could depend, and who were to lead them back, when fatigued and exhausted with their journey, over the very worst and most dangerous part of the country. This plan was no sooner settled, than the governor received information on which he could rely, that a party of these miscreants had concerted with the four deputies to meet them at a certain place, where they were to murder the persons intended to be their guides, possess themselves of their arms and provisions, and then pursue their own route. This diabolical scheme was counter-acted by the addition of four soldiers to the guides; and on the 14th they set off from Parramatta. On the 24th the soldiers returned with three of the deputies, who, having gained the foot of the first mountains, were so completely sick of their journey, and of the prospect before them, that they requested to return with the soldiers, whose mission here terminated, being ordered to leave them at this place in the direction of the guides; one man only expressed a resolution to persevere, and penetrate further into the country, and was left with them for that purpose. The history of these people might well be supposed to end here; but their restless dispositions were not calculated to remain long in peace. It will be seen, on recurring to the transactions of the month of October last, that a boat belonging to a settler had been carried off in the night, by some people who were supposed to have taken her out to sea, where, from the weakness of the boat, they must soon have perished: but they were now heard of again. Owen Cavanagh, a free man, had a boat which he employed in transporting grain from the Hawkesbury to Sydney. On the 10th of this month, he informed the governor, that, a short time before, his boat had been boarded in the night, off Mullett Island, by the very people who had stolen the one from the settler, and carried her off, with another containing fifty bushels of grain which some other person was bringing to Sydney. One man, who had, against his wish, been concerned in the first seizure, now left them, and returned with Cavanagh; and from him the following account of their proceedings was obtained. Having effected the capture, they proceeded to the southward, with the intention of reaching the wreck of the ship _Sydney Cove_. For their guide, they had a pocket compass, of which scarcely one man of the fourteen who composed the party knew the use. In this boat they were twice thrown on shore, and at last reached an island, where, had they not fortunately found many birds and seals, they must inevitably have perished. From the inconceivable hardships they underwent, they would to a man have gladly returned, could they have hoped that their punishment would have been any thing short of death. Finding it impossible for such a number of discontented beings to continue of one mind, or to be able to furnish food in their miserable situation for so many, they judged it necessary, from a motive of self-preservation, that one half should deceive the other half; and while these were asleep, those who were prepared took away the boat, leaving their seven wretched and unsuspecting companions upon the desolate island, the situation of which this man could not describe so as to enable the governor at any time to find it. Their number now being reduced to seven, and thinking themselves in danger near this port, they had been lurking for some time about Broken Bay, with a view of capturing a better boat loaded with grain from the Hawkesbury; which they effected, first by taking the boat of Owen Cavanagh, the support of whose wife and children it had long been. After securing him, they took possession of a smaller boat, containing upwards of fifty bushels of wheat; and, finding Cavanagh's the largest and best of the two, they ran out about three or four leagues from the land, when they shifted their prisoners into the smaller boat, and stood off to the Northward; where it was very probable they would lose their boat, she being of such a size, that if they should get her on shore by any accident, they would not be able to launch her again, and must finally perish. Here we find extreme ignorance, accompanied by great cunning, producing cruelty; for nothing less can be said of their abandoning the miserable uninformed companions of their crime. Self-preservation was their plea; but was there not a method left within their reach, which might have preserved the whole? Might they not have returned to Sydney, and thrown themselves upon that mercy which they had so often seen exercised in the settlement. Could it be imagined, that at this day there was existing in a polished civilised kingdom a race of beings (for they do not deserve the appellation of men) so extremely ignorant, and so little humanised as these were, compared with whom the naked savages of the mountains were an enlightened people? Occasional desertions of one or two people at a time had occurred since the establishment of the settlement; but the first convicts who arrived from Ireland in the _Queen_ in the year 1791 went off in numerous bodies, few of whom ever returned. They too were prepossessed with the possibility of penetrating through the woods to China, and imparted the same idea to all of their countrymen who came after them, engaging them in the same act of folly and madness. It was not then to be wondered at, that Wilson, who lately came in from the woods, should, among other articles of information, mention his finding more than fifty skeletons, which the natives assured him had been white men, who had lost their way and perished. This account was corroborated by different European articles which were scattered about, such as knives, old shoes, and other things which were known not to belong to the natives. On the 20th the _Francis_ returned with Captain Hamilton from the southward. Previous to his departure for the wreck of his ship, he had informed the governor that she had on board nearly 7000 gallons of spirits, and solicited permission to bring back a part with him in the schooner. The governor, ever averse to the introduction of spirituous liquors, would certainly have resisted the application; but, it being generally known in the colony that a considerable quantity of this article had been saved from the wreck, and that the island abounded with kangaroos and birds, he conceived these circumstances not only to have conduced to those desertions and captures of boats which had been effected, but as likely to prove farther temptations to similar practices. He therefore determined to purchase the rum of Captain Hamilton; and, as there was none in store for the public service, to take it on account of government. An agreement was accordingly entered into by the commissary, and 3500 gallons were brought round in the _Francis_. Captain Hamilton stated, that of all the other articles which had been taken on shore from the wreck, a small quantity of coarse cloth alone had been saved, the remainder having been destroyed by gales of wind and bad weather. The wreck of the ship was entirely washed away. Of the six Lascars who had been left with the property, one had died; the other five were in health, and had lived tolerably well, killing upon a neighbouring island as many kangaroos and birds as they could use. These poor fellows had erected a smoke-house, and had salted and smoke-dried as much meat as would serve them during the ensuing winter. These people, though provided only with one small boat, had made some excursions; and it appeared by their accounts, that this part of the coast of New South Wales was formed entirely by a group of islands, extending as far as they had seen to the westward of them, and interspersed with many shoals. Hence, and indeed from observations which he had made when on that part of the coast himself, the governor thought it highly probable that there were many passages or straits quite through to the ocean westward, making Van Diemen's land, the southernmost part of New Holland, an island. Captain Hamilton had left a cow with his people, but she had died; a mare that he had been more fortunate with was brought away in the _Francis_. Notwithstanding the severe trial which Cole-be had been put to for the death of Ye-ra-ni-be, the friends of that young man had not thought it sufficient to atone for his loss. One of them, Mo-roo-bra, in company with some other natives, meeting with Cole-be, made an attack upon him, with a determination to put an end to the business and his life together. Cole-be, not yet recovered of the wounds that he had received in the last affair, was unable to make much resistance; and, after receiving several blows on the head, was supposed to have been dispatched; but Mo-roo-bra, as they were quitting him, seeing him revive, and attempting to rise, returned to finish this savage business; which so exasperated another native, that he snatched up a spear, and in a rage threw it with all his force at Mo-roo-bra. The spear entered his right side, just over the hip bone, and went inclining downwards quite through the body, penetrating the bladder in its passage. Of this wound he died in about an hour. On the same evening this generous fellow was attacked by the friends of the deceased in the usual way; and, as might be expected, defended himself with great gallantry. He was, however, speared twice through the thigh, once through the leg, and received a bad wound in the right hand. The spear entered at the side of the hand, rather on the back part of it, came out in the palm, entered again under the ball of the thumb, and came out on the back of the hand, near the tendon of the forefinger. The very little inflammation that attended these painful wounds was remarkable. Both the officiating magistrates at Sydney being at this time much indisposed, so great an inconvenience was felt, that the governor found it necessary, through the want of other magistrates, to take upon himself the execution of some part of their troublesome office. It must be observed, that the governor for the time being is a justice of the peace, by virtue of his Majesty's letters patent. Towards the latter end of the month, he went up to Parramatta, attended by his aid-de-camp, to examine the progress of the works carrying on there. While on this service, an Irish convict, who had escaped from his work, and had been for some time missing, was brought in. He had wandered about for several days in search of a road which he expected to have found, and which was to have conducted him to China, or the new colony; but, his strength failing with his provisions, he grew faint, and, despairing of meeting with any relief, he had just sense enough to reverse the written instructions which had been calculated solely to carry him out, directing him to keep the sun on a particular part of his body, varying according to the time of the day. By this method he travelled eastward, and in a direction that led him nearly to the head of George's river, where a few people were settled; and, having one morning heard the report of a gun at a distance, he endeavoured to walk towards it, but was unable to make himself heard by hallooing, when night overtook him. Being faint and wearied, he took a little flour, which he still had in his pocket, and sprinkling it on some fresh water, drank it, and laid himself down to rest. In the morning, being somewhat refreshed, he again exerted himself to get forward in the direction whence the report of the gun had revived him, and soon after heard a man's voice, upon which he hallooed again, and to his infinite joy was answered. The man, who was one of the settlers, took him to his house, recruited his spirits, and brought him into the town. On being questioned how he found his way back, he said, 'that a paper compass which had been given him was of no utility; he therefore kept his face toward the place where the sun came from; but if the hord (sic) had not been on his side, he should have been lost, for he had been two whole days without any food, except a little flour and water.' Among the public works that were carrying on during this month must be reckoned the laying another floor in the granary at Parramatta; repairing the military barracks, store-houses, and every brick building belonging to government, which were so far decayed as to be scarcely able to support their own weight. These repairs, which they had long been in want of, and which if sooner attended to would have preserved them from the ruin they were fast approaching, with the various other buildings that were so essentially requisite, completely stood in the way of making any exertions in clearing and cultivating land, and considerably added to the expenses of the colony. At Sydney the tower of the second wind-mill was begun; and on the 31st, the building being completed for its reception, the public clock was set up, and, for the first time, announced the hour to the inhabitants at Sydney. The shipwrights were employed in constructing a flat-bottomed vessel for the carriage of planks, posts, etc. Some heavy rain fell in this month, which for the time retarded all out-door work; but it came very opportunely for the maize, the growth of which had been rather obstructed by the dry weather which preceded. CHAPTER IX The _Francis_ again sails for the wreck Bennillong and his wife Report respecting the wild cattle An anonymous writing found Account of a journey to the westward Description of a new bird A general muster Mr Bass returns from an excursion in an open boat to the southward Particulars of it Three Irishmen picked up Public works Weather in February February.] On the 1st of this month the _Francis_ was again dispatched to the wreck of the _Sydney Cove_. When Bennillong accompanied Governor Phillip to England in the year 1792, he left a young wife to deplore his absence. The manners of savages, in this instance, were found somewhat to resemble those of civilised life. The lady surrendered to the importunities of a youthful lover, who, to say the truth, had in some material points the advantage over Bennillong; and of him she became so enamoured, that neither the entreaties, the menaces, nor the presents* of her husband at his return, could induce her to leave him. From that time, she was considered by every one, Bennillong excepted, as the wife of Ca-ru-ay. He, finding himself neglected by other females whose smiles he courted (after the fashion of his country indeed), sometimes sought to balance the mortification by the forced embraces of his wife; but, her screams generally bringing her lover or a friend to her assistance, he was not often successful. In one of these attempts, at this time, he came off with a severe wound in the head, the lady and her lover laughing at the rage which it occasioned. [* Vide Vol I Ch. XXIX p 367, viz: 'His inquiries were directed, immediately on his arrival, after his wife Go-roo-bar-roo-bool-lo; and her he found with Caruey. On producing a very fashionable rose-coloured petticoat and jacket made of a coarse stuff, accompanied with a gypsy bonnet of the same colour, she deserted her lover, and followed her former husband. In a few days however, to the surprise of every one, we saw the lady walking unencumbered with clothing of any kind, and Bennillong was missing. Caruey was sought for, and we heard that he had been severely beaten by Bennillong at Rose Bay, who retained so much of our customs, that he made use of his fists instead of the weapons of his country, to the great annoyance of Caruey, who would have preferred meeting his rival fairly in the field armed with the spear and the club. Caruey being much the younger man, the lady, every inch a woman, followed her inclination, and Bennillong was compelled to yield her without any further opposition. He seemed to have been satisfied with the beating he had given Caruey, and hinted, that resting for the present without a wife, he should look about him, and at some future period make a better choice.'] The man who killed Mo-roo-bra had undergone a second attack from his friends; and, though yet suffering from the wounds which he received in the first affair, made a most excellent defence. The governor having been informed, by some of the natives who dwelt in the neighbourhood of the cow pasture plains, that several of the wild cattle had been killed, and imagining this mischief to have been done by some of the Irish convicts (who were nearly as wild themselves as the cattle), a party of the military, with Hacking, a man well acquainted with that part of the country, was sent out with orders to surprise, and if possible to secure them. After being absent some days, they returned and reported, that, having searched the country round, no traces were seen of the cattle in any of the places where they had been accustomed to range, nor did they meet with any white people; but the natives persisted in asserting their having seen some of them among them, and added that some of the calves had been run down by them. This was not impossible; and the idea was somewhat strengthened, by their finding some short spears pointed with the leg bone of the kangaroo, which were supposed to be designed for stabbing the calves when caught. Although it was the opinion of these people, that the cattle had quitted the part of the country in which they had been so long known to graze, there was yet much reason to believe that this was not the case; for, on visiting them, they were not always to be found in one spot. It will be sufficient to state the following circumstance, to show the unpleasant and distressing situation of the principal officer of the settlement, by the construction that was put on his endeavours to rectify every abuse that the inhabitants might labour under. An infamous and seditious anonymous paper was dropped in the streets, in which the governor and every officer in the colony were most scurrilously abused and libelled, and accused of practising extortions in the way of trade. This would not have been misplaced, had the abuse been confined to the description of persons who really deserved it, and truth had been attended to, which would have afforded them ample materials. But, although it must have been evident to every one who had sense to see it, that the governor, from the hour of his arrival, had used his utmost endeavours to put an end to the practice of so much imposition; yet this libeller inferred, from his not succeeding, that he was become one in the number of retail traders who disgraced the settlement. A reward was immediately offered for the discovery of the offender; but, as might have been expected, without success. The three persons who had been sent out with the Irishmen, that were so desirous of discovering a country wherein they might live more at their ease, returned on the 9th, so much exhausted with fatigue that two of them were scarcely able to move when they arrived. Wilson, who was the third, having been longer in the habit of travelling through the woods, kept up their spirits, and thereby enabled them to reach Prospect Hill about sunset; where, from long abstinence, having had nothing to support them for several days, except two or three small birds, the refreshment which they procured had nearly overcome them. Such were the difficulties attending excursions in the interior of this country. With Wilson, who knew much of the country, and was well qualified to conduct the party, the governor sent a lad, a free servant of his, who was capable of giving an account of the occurrences of the journey; and from him the following particulars were collected: From Mount Hunter (which was the highest land then known in that part of the country, and distant from the township of Parramatta from about 30 to 34 miles in a SW direction) they took their departure on the 24th of last month, travelling in a SSW course for 18 miles, 12 of which laid through a fine open country. There they fell in with the river Nepean, which was found winding to the southward and westward, close behind the cow pasture plains. The banks of the river being at this place exceedingly steep and rocky, they had some difficulty in getting across. On the other side the ground wore a barren, unpromising appearance; and during the day they saw only a few kangaroos of a particular kind, having long, black, and brushy tails; with a few birds, which from the length of the tail feathers, they denominated pheasants. On the 25th they continued in their course, SSW for six miles, through a country in general open, and apparently of a good black soil. In the course of the day they saw many kangaroos and several emus; and fell in with a party of natives, one of whom engaged to accompany them, on condition of their halting for that night where they then were. Consenting to this, they had leisure to examine a hill in that neighbourhood, the face of which appeared white, and proved to be an immense cliff of salt, a specimen of which they brought in. On the 26th, they determined to incline more to the westward, and travelled 16 miles in a direction WSW over a rocky country, covered with brush wood, and a prickly kind of vine. They did not meet with any natives; and that animals existed there, they only saw by their faeces. They continued on the 27th travelling in the same direction about 16 miles; the first six of which were like those of the preceding day. From thence they got into an open but mountainous country, where they crossed a small river, and discovered a quantity of coal and limestone. Here every mile they went the scene improved. The rocky and barren ground was exchanged for a flat country and beautiful meadows, furnishing pasture for the kangaroos and emus, several of which they saw. The timber was observed to run small, and to be thinly scattered about, there being scarcely ten trees upon an acre of ground. The quality of them was known in the settlement, where a similar timber was called the Black Wattle. On the 28th their course was still WSW and their distance increased 20 miles in that direction. The land and the timber on it were much the same as they had seen the preceding day. In one part they ascended a hill, from which they obtained a view of the country for some distance round. To the northward it seemed to be open, and thinly clad with timber: to the north-westward they saw some high mountains, and an appearance of much good land in that direction: to the westward they observed a deep break in the land; this they conjectured to be formed by a river, which, if one, laid in a SE and NW direction. To the southward the land seemed high, but still open. In the course of this day's journey they met with a party of the natives, who appeared much terrified, and instantly ran away from them. One of the party, however, pursued and came up with a woman and child, whom he detained, from an opinion that the men might be thereby induced to return; but, although she remained with them the whole of the night, which she passed in tears and lamentations, not knowing what fate might await her, the men did not appear. They, therefore, made her a present of a small hatchet, and in the morning sent her back to her friends. Wilson, understanding something of the language of these mountain natives, hoped to have gained some information of the country from this woman; but she could not comprehend him. These natives were all clothed with garments of skins of different animals, which reached from their shoulders down to their heels. On the 29th, they again travelled 24 miles in the same direction. During the first four miles the country was not good, the ground being rocky and covered with low shrubs, and here and there intersected with creeks, which appeared all to run toward some river, probably to that which from the top of the hill they supposed to be one. At the head of those creeks they saw several falls of water, one of which fell at the least 40 feet, and two others not less than 20 feet each. They now walked to the northward for 12 miles, thinking to get round the heads of the creeks; but unfortunately they fell in with more. They then determined to keep their former course of WSW, but found the country rocky and barren. Here they observed a tree which they had not before noticed, about the size of an apple-tree; the leaves of which were of a lighter blue than the powder blue used in washing, and the bark resembling that of the mahogany tree. They also passed the dung of an animal to appearance as large as that of a horse. The party were now much exhausted, having had nothing to eat for two days, except one rat, about the size of a kitten. Wilson was able to go forward; but his companions were very unwell, and began to wish themselves back. On the 30th, they continued for 16 miles in the same direction of WSW. In the course of the day they fell in with the head of a river, very nearly as large as the Hawkesbury, appearing to run from SE to NW. Its banks were so rocky and steep that they would have found infinite difficulty in descending them; to which they were strongly invited by the appearance of a level open country on the other side; and Wilson proposed making a canoe to cross over with; but both the others were so faint and tired, having had nothing to eat, in addition to the rat, but two small birds each, that they were afraid to venture. Their shoes being worn out, and their feet cut and bruised by walking so long, they proposed returning. This being agreed to, on the 1st of this month they steered back in a direction SE by E in which having walked about nine miles, they fell in with many spacious meadows thinly chequered with trees, extending for at least some hundred acres. The hills which they met with were as slightly covered with timber; and what there was, was light. The ground was of a good quality, except on the tops of the hills, where it was stony. Here, for want of food, they were much exhausted, and observed many birds which they had not before seen, but could not approach near enough to shoot. On the 2nd, their course was ENE through a delightful country, full of capacious meadows, extending for some thousands of acres, with only a single tree here and there. Some of these meadows were watered by ponds of great length, but they did not perceive any wild fowl on them. From thence, to the SW the country looked well. In the latter part of the day, having passed the first ridge of mountains, they fell in with a vast number of kangaroos, one of which they had the good fortune to kill, and were much refreshed by it. On the morning of the 3rd, they thought they heard the report of two guns in the SE which they answered; but they were not returned. They were now in that part of the country which Wilson was acquainted with; but it was an unfruitful spot, and badly calculated for travellers in their situation, producing nothing but a few roots and grub worms. They must even here have perished, had it not been for the great exertions made by Wilson, who kept up their spirits by assurances of being near Prospect Hill; which place, after much toil and difficulty, they at length reached, when despairing of living to see it. This is the sum of the information given by these people. With respect to the direction in which they travelled, that might not be very correct, nor can much reliance be placed on their judgment of the distances which they went in each day. Of the face of the country their account may be more just. Of its inability to support the traveller, their appearance was a most convincing argument: and this narrative of their journey has been detailed so much at length, not only because these people had penetrated farther than any European had ever been before; but to show the labour, danger, and difficulties, which attended the exploring the interior of this extensive country. On arranging their courses and distances on paper, they appeared to have travelled in a direction SW three-fourths W about 140 miles from Parramatta. They brought in with them one of the birds which they had named pheasants, but which on examination appeared to be a variety of the Bird of Paradise. The size of this curious and handsome bird was that of a common hen; the colour a reddish black, the bill long, the legs black and very strong. The tail, about two feet in length, was formed of several feathers, two of which were the principal, having the interior sides scalloped alternately of a deeper or lighter reddish brown inclining to orange, shading gently into a white or silver colour next the stem, crossing each other, and at the very extremity terminating in a broad black round finishing. The difference of colour in the scallops did not proceed from any precise change in the colour itself, but from the texture of the feather, which was alternately thicker and thinner. The fibres of the outer side of the stem were narrow and of a lead colour. Two other feathers of equal length, and of a blueish or lead colour, lay within those; very narrow, and having fibres only on one side of the stem. Many other feathers of the same length lay within those again, which were of a pale greyish colour, and of the most delicate texture, resembling more the skeleton of a feather than a perfect one. The annexed engraving, from the pencil of a capital artist, will give a better idea of this beautiful bird than can be formed from any description. A general muster took place on the 14th in every district of the colony, at which every labouring man, whether free or convict, was obliged to appear. On the following morning the settlers were called over, previous to which, the governor, who was present, informed them, that he had heard of much discontent prevailing among them in consequence of certain heavy grievances which they said they laboured under. For these, as he was unacquainted with the nature of them, he was unable to suggest any remedy; he therefore desired that they might be represented to him in writing; and, to spare them as much trouble as possible, he would direct two gentlemen on whom he had much dependance to visit the different districts, and collect from the respective settlers such of their distresses and grievances as they were desirous of making known. Before they were dismissed, he gave them much good advice; and assured them, that he had already, from his own ideas, offered a plan to the secretary of state for their benefit, which he hoped would in due time be attended to. After these, the women and children were mustered, and were found to compose a very considerable part of the settlement. With the ripening of the maize fields, the depredations of the natives returned. On the 19th the governor received a dispatch from Parramatta, containing an account, that a man had been murdered by them near Toongabbie, and three others severely wounded; and a few days after two others were killed in the same manner. It became, from these circumstances, absolutely necessary to send out numerous well-armed parties, and attack them wherever they should be met with; for lenity or forbearance had only been followed by repeated acts of cruelty. Toward the latter end of the month, Mr. Bass, the surgeon of the _Reliance_, returned from an excursion in an open boat to the southward, after an absence of twelve weeks. This gentleman, who had little to occupy him while his ship was refitting, disliking an idle life, possessing with a good constitution a mind and body strong and vigorous, and being endowed with great good sense, ingenuity, and observation, requested the governor to allow him a boat, and permit him to man her with volunteers from the King's ships; proposing to go along the coast, and make such observations as might be in his power. The governor readily consenting, he set out, as well provided as the size of his boat would allow; and in her, against much adverse wind and bad weather, he persevered, as far to the southward as the latitude 40 degrees 00 minutes, visiting every opening in the coast; but only in one place, to the southward and westward of Point Hicks, finding a harbour capable of admitting ships. There was every appearance of an extensive strait, or rather an open sea, between the latitudes of 39 degrees and 40 degrees south, and that Van Diemen's land consisted (as had been conjectured) of a group of islands lying off the southern coast of the country. It appeared from Mr. Bass's account, that there was but very little good ground to the southward. His occasional excursions into the interior, situated as he found himself with an open boat, in which he could carry but a small stock of provisions, could not be very extensive; he, however, went far enough to discover that there was but little good land near the sea; but, had it even been superior to those parts which were known, the want of harbours, even for small vessels, would lessen its value much. He regretted that he had not been possessed of a better vessel, which would have enabled him to circumnavigate Van Diemen's land. In the _Francis_, which was at this time on her passage to the island where the _Sydney Cove_ was wrecked, the governor had sent Lieutenant Flinders of the _Reliance_, a young gentleman well qualified for the purpose, who was instructed to make what observations he was able relative to the anchorage and situation of those islands. Mr. Bass, on his return, picked up, on an island near the coast, the seven men who, it may be remembered, were a part of those who ran off with a settler's boat, and had been left in this place by their companions. Being utterly incapable of taking them into his boat, he put them upon the main land, furnished them with a part of his provisions for their support, and a gun with some ammunition for their protection. Two who were ill he took into his boat, and left the other five to begin their march to the northward, at the distance of upwards of 400 miles from Port Jackson. They were nearly naked, almost starved, and must inevitably have perished on the island, had not Mr. Bass discovered a smoke that they had made to attract his attention; which he, being at no great distance, took for a smoke made by some natives, and went near to converse with them. During this month the beams of the third floor of the new wind-mill were laid, and bricks were brought in for the new granary. At Parramatta the people were employed in preparing for the erection of a granary for Indian corn; which, when finished, would enable the governor to commute a substantial building now employed for a store-house for that grain, into a granary for wheat. Much of this latter article was brought round from the Hawkesbury in this month. Toward the latter end of the month there was an unusually heavy fall of rain about ten o'clock at night. CHAPTER X Pe-mul-wy Strange idea respecting him Civil court meets; nature of the business brought before it Advice of the governor to the settlers The _Francis_ returns from Preservation Island A trusty person sent to look for a salt hill said to be to the westward The wild cattle seen A new animal, the Wombat, found; described Some Irish runaways give themselves up A seizure made of timber for government Transactions Weather April The criminal court meets Three men executed Reflections Accidents among the stock Discoveries prosecuted Settlers and their complaints An old woman accused of dreaming Works in hand Weather March.] A strange idea was found to prevail among the natives respecting the savage Pe-mul-wy, which was very likely to prove fatal to him in the end. Both he and they entertained an opinion, that, from his having been frequently wounded, he could not be killed by our fire-arms. Through this fancied security, he was said to be at the head of every party that attacked the maize grounds; and it certainly became expedient to convince them both that he was not endowed with any such extraordinary exemption. On the 5th, the court of civil judicature was held at Parramatta. Several writs were issued, and prosecutions for debt entered; and on the 7th the court adjourned until the 19th. On that day it met, and continued sitting until the 24th, when all the business before them was concluded. This consisted chiefly of litigation about debts contracted between the retail dealers and the settlers. As a proof to what a height this business had reached, it need only be mentioned, that an appeal was made to the governor in one prosecution for a debt of £868 16s 10d; which appeal was however withdrawn, the defendant consenting to pay the debt. The governor, having received from the settlers in each district, through the medium of the two gentlemen whom he sent amongst them for that purpose (the Rev. Mr. Marsden, and Mr. Arndell), a clear and correct statement of their grievances and distresses, informed them, that it was with real concern he beheld the effects of the meeting of each civil court, which, for the public accommodation, he from time to time had occasion to assemble. The vast load of debt with which they so frequently felt themselves burdened, through the imposition and extortion of the multitude of petty dealers by whom the colony was so much troubled, with the difficulties under which the industrious man laboured for want of some other mode of providing the necessaries which he required, were grievances of which he was determined to get the better; and, as far as his situation would authorise him, he would adopt every means in his power to afford them relief. To this end he found it absolutely necessary to suppress many of those licensed public houses which, when first permitted, were designed as a convenience to the labouring people; but which he now saw were the principal cause whence many had candidly confessed their ruin to have sprung. He wished it were possible to dissuade them from heaping such heavy debts upon themselves by the enjoyment of articles which they could do without, or by throwing away their money in purchasing, at every public auction, rags and trifles for which such exorbitant sums were exacted. He urged them, with a paternal anxiety, to consider, that their folly involved their whole families in ruin and misfortune, and conjured them to wait with patience the result of some representations which he had made to government, as well in their behalf, as in behalf of the settlers upon Norfolk Island; by which he hoped that ere long they would have an opportunity of purchasing every European article that they might want at such a reasonable and moderate price as they, by their industry, would be very well able to afford from the produce of their labour. The island upon which Captain Hamilton had run his ship, and thereby prevented her sinking with them at sea, was thenceforward to be distinguished by the name of Preservation Island. From thence the Colonial schooner had arrived with what remained of the property. As soon as she was unloaded, the property was put up to sale for the benefit of the underwriters; when the little effect of the governor's recommendation of patience was seen, by the most enormous prices being paid for every article. The money that should have been expended in the cultivation and improvement of their farms was thus lavishly thrown away; and it happened, fortunately enough for the underwriters that the wheat of this last season had been received into the public granary, and immediately paid for. Twenty-two shillings were paid at this sale for one common cup and saucer. Wishing to obtain some further information respecting the salt-hill seen by Wilson and his companions in their late excursion, the governor had sent Henry Hacking thither. At his return he produced some specimens of various veins of salt which he fell in with in different places, of 10 and 12 feet in depth. He reported, that he found the country every where intersected with narrow, but deep and rapid branches of fresh water rivers, over some of which he was obliged to swim; others he was able to ford. Having been directed to seek for the wild cattle while in their neighbourhood, he reported, that about five or six miles from the place where we usually found them, he suddenly fell in with the most numerous herd that he had yet seen; in which he counted 170 very distinctly, and afterwards saw a few stragglers. It was some satisfaction to know that they were perfectly safe. By the _Francis_, the governor received one of the animals on which the people had chiefly lived during their abode on Preservation Island. It was brought to him alive, but thin and faint for want of food, which, owing to its state of confinement on board the vessel, it would never take. It, however, appeared to recover on shore; and, although during the short time it lived, it was not observed to eat during the day, yet there was reason to think it was not so abstemious in the night. It was offered flesh; but this it would not touch, although it was supposed to visit the nests of the puffin which burrowed on the island. This animal had been found to the southward and south-westward, by Wilson and his companions, who shot one, and, in their want of provisions, might be said to feast upon it. They observed, that it resembled pork in flavour, though not in colour, being red and coarse. It was very fat, as were the kangaroos which they found in the interior; differing in that point very widely from any kangaroos which had been before seen; not a particle of fat having ever been found on one of them. The mountain natives named this new animal Wombat, and said it was good eating; but it was wholly unknown to those who were admitted into the settlement. The men who, in the beginning of January last, had boarded and carried off the boat belonging to Owen Cavanagh, were heard of again. About the latter end of this month, a report was brought in, that a piratical boat was infesting the harbour of Broken Bay, and the Hawkesbury. The day following, the governor received a letter signed by these men, in which they professed to repent of their former conduct, and implored forgiveness. They said, they had been wrecked about 400 miles to the northward, when they with difficulty got on shore, saving as much of the remains of Cavanagh's boat as enabled them to build a smaller, in which they had returned, and surrendered themselves to justice; pretending to have had their eyes opened to the danger with which attempts at desertion from the colony must ever be attended, and promising to convince the minds of their ignorant countrymen that every such attempt must be followed by inevitable ruin. The language of this letter was far above the capacity of any of the party; and the part of their story which related to their building a boat capable of carrying the whole number so great a distance wore very little appearance of probability. The truth was, they had by some means reached as far as Broken Bay, where they had been lurking about for some days; meaning, no doubt, to seize the first boat loaded with grain which they might be able to secure, and then put off again for as long a time as their provisions would last. They certainly proposed to live by piracy; but not being able with their small boat to come up with any of the boats which they pursued, and being no longer able to exist without provisions, added to the danger they were always in of being pursued and at length taken, they preferred giving themselves up. They were armed with five muskets; and certainly had the will as well as the ability to do a great deal of mischief. They were placed in confinement, and charges preferred against them for piracy. This was absolutely necessary; as the suffering such offences to pass with impunity would have been productive of the greatest evil. Crimes would have been multiplied on crimes, which the officers who composed the court of criminal judicature would certainly have deemed unnecessary. The utmost vigilance was constantly requisite to guard against robberies both on the land and water. It was impossible, in such a community as this, to have a police too strict, or to be sufficiently aware at all times of such a nest of villains. Many examples had been made; but, after a few days had elapsed, they were forgotten; and every act of lenity or indulgence was found to be ruinous to the welfare and comfort of the whole. It was to be hoped, however, that the introduction of more of the better, and fewer of the worst sort of characters, would in due time give the balance a favourable turn. In each grant of land to individuals from the crown, there was a clause, expressly reserving for the use of government such of the timber which might be growing thereon as should be deemed fit for naval purposes. The wanton destruction of this timber occasioned the publication of an order in the month of December 1795, prohibiting the cutting it down. The practice, however, continuing from time to time (for of what avail were orders among such a disorderly set of people), the _Sydney_ schooner was sent round to the Hawkesbury, to make a seizure of a quantity of timber that had been cut down by individuals for private sale. This seizure was of some consequence just at this time; as the governor was building a brig to replace the _Supply_ (from 125 to 150 tons burden), which had been condemned by survey as totally unfit for the future service of the settlement, and a large boat, a new Cumberland, in the room of that which had been taken away by the crew. The colony was at this time in such want of naval stores of every kind, that the ruin of all the floating craft, so lately in good condition, was nearly effected. The bottoms of the boats were destroyed by the worms, for want of pitch, tar, paint, and oil; and in order to enable the Colonial schooner to proceed to Norfolk Island (for which place she was preparing to sail, in company with the _Reliance_), it had been necessary to reduce part of the _Supply's_ sails, and convert them to her use. Arrivals from England, with provisions as well as stores, were now rather anxiously expected, as 16 months had elapsed since the last were received. Public works of all kinds went on slowly; the servants of government being but few in proportion to the labour to be performed by them, and all kinds of implements bad in quality, and scarce. A few slops were served to the male convicts in the beginning of this month, they being nearly naked, and the store unable to supply them with covering. The tower of the new wind-mill was, under all these disadvantages, completed, and the machinery put in hand. This tower was of large dimensions, being 30 feet in height, and erected on a rock which was considerably higher than the surrounding ground. The wheel was four feet in thickness, and the diameter within was 20 feet. There was very little intermission of rain, thunder, and lightning, during the whole of the month. April.] This month opened with a necessary act of justice. Five men were capitally convicted, before the court of criminal judicature, of seizing two boats, the property of individuals, with an intent of escaping from the colony. One man was capitally convicted of a robbery; three were transported to Norfolk Island for 14 years; one for 7; one was adjudged corporal punishment, and one acquitted. Two of the five that were condemned for seizing the boats suffered death at Sydney, after a week's preparation for that awful moment. Their companions were respited at the place of execution. They were all extremely penitent, confessed the justice of their sentence, and acknowledged how much mischief they had done, and how much more they meditated, had they not been overtaken by justice. One man, for robbery, was executed at Parramatta, George Mitton, who certainly was a very fit subject for an example. He had been twice pardoned when under sentence of death; once in Ireland; and once in this country, by the present governor, for an offence similar to that for which he now suffered. These melancholy instances, had they been properly attended to, must have shown to the convicts not only the difficulty which accompanied every attempt to escape privately from the colony, and the danger to which those who made the trial exposed themselves, but the certainty of meeting that punishment which the various crimes that they committed on such occasions so highly merited. The governor, in an order which he now published, was desirous of calling back to the recollection of these misguided people, who had been, either through ignorance, or through the profligacy of their dispositions, so readily prevailed upon to engage in such dangerous enterprises, that they would find an attention to the advice which he had so often given them the most effectual means of ensuring their real happiness. They would also recollect, that an information was given him on the 19th of January last, in which he appeared to have foreseen, and had pointed out to those piratical gangs who wished to make their escape from hence, what would be the fate of those who were of least use to the general plan of such gangs, that they would probably, if in danger at sea in their boat, be thrown overboard to lighten her, or be landed on some part of the coast, where, beyond a doubt, they would perish. How far this prediction had been verified, those who were concerned in taking off the settlers' boat, and who might now be in the settlement, could best tell. It was well known, that they had treacherously left seven men upon a desolate island far to the southward, where they must have perished for want, had they not been discovered in a most miraculous manner. He wished those facts to be impressed upon the minds of the whole colony; they would then probably discover in what their real interest consisted, and on what their true happiness depended. To be honest and industrious had been often hewn to be the most certain means of procuring those blessings. Mitton, before he was executed, confessed in a moment of penitence, that many robberies had been concerted, and were to have been committed by him and some others. He mentioned, as their chief instigator upon these occasions, a woman of the name of Robley (the wife of a blacksmith at Sydney), who received all the property which they might collect in this way. Dreading this discovery, she found it convenient to offer to accuse others, or she would inevitably have been convicted herself. It was reported by a native woman from the Hawkesbury, that she had seen the two mares which were stolen some time since from Parramatta, and that they were in the neighbourhood of that river. She also mentioned, that one of the men who went off with them had been killed by the natives, and that the other had perished with hunger. The proprietors of this valuable article of stock were rather unfortunate in the care of it, notwithstanding the high price which it bore. The acting commissary lost a very fine mare, through the stupidity of an Irish servant, who put a short halter round her neck, with a running knot, by which she was strangled in the night; and information had been received of the death of two foals belonging to government. This accident proceeded from want of proper care in those who were appointed to look after them; but unfortunately, though they were often changed, the change was never found to be for the better. When Hacking was sent to the salt-hill in the preceding month, he was accompanied by Wilson and another man, who were directed to penetrate as far into the interior of the country as the provisions which they were able to carry would permit them. They returned after an absence of three weeks, and reported that they had been about 140 miles in a direction SW by S from Prospect Hill. In the course of their journey they travelled over a vast variety of country, and fell in with more salt-hills. They also met with many narrow rivers or creeks (with which the country appeared to be much intersected), and found some very extensive tracts of open luxuriant ground, as well as much unpromising land. They ascended several hills of great height, from which their prospect was extensive, and whence they discovered mountains rising upon mountains to the westward; all of which appeared exceedingly high. They did not, however, meet a single native in all their journey (a proof that the human race was but thinly scattered over the interior part of this extensive country); but they brought with them another of those beautiful birds before described. Wishing to ascertain the truth of every report that tended to improve our knowledge of the internal advantages which this country possessed, the governor sent a small party, with some natives, to determine whether there was any salt in the neighbourhood of Broken Bay. Captain Waterhouse (of the _Reliance_), who undertook the search, found the place that had been described, and also discovered some salt; but it had been produced by the spray of the sea near which it laid, and which, breaking over some rocky parts of the shore in bad weather, and draining down behind, had occasioned the accumulation of a large quantity of that article among the sand, and upon the adjacent rocks. The settlers, although certainly undeserving of the attention which they met with from the governor, were constantly laying their complaints before him. He now received a petition from them, in which they represented the great distress that they laboured under, as well from the high wages which they gave to hired servants for working their ground, as from the immense price which they paid for every article necessary to carry on that business. On this account, they requested that the price of maize might be continued at the same rate as in the last year. The governor, sensible of their distresses, and ever ready to listen to any reasonable application which those distresses might induce them to make, gave directions to the commissary to receive it at the price which they petitioned for. But, as it was no less his duty to diminish the heavy expenses of the colony, than it was his wish to render the situation of the industrious farmer easy and comfortable, they were informed, that they must very shortly look forward to a reduction in the price of grain of every kind. They laboured, however, under another evil, which was the effect of an unbounded rage for traffic that pervaded nearly the whole settlement. The delivery of grain into the public storehouses, when open for that purpose, was so completely monopolised, that the settlers had but few opportunities of getting the full value for their crops. A few words will place this iniquitous combination in its proper light. The settler found himself thrust out from the granary, by a man whose greater opulence created greater influence. He was then driven by his necessities to dispose of his grain for less than half its value. To whom did he dispose of it! to the very man whose greater opulence enabled him to purchase it, and whose greater influence could get it received into the public store! Orders had been repeatedly issued on this very subject, the store-keepers being most pointedly directed to give the preference to the man whose grain was the produce of his own labour; and if any favour were shown, to let it be to the poor but industrious settler who might be encumbered with a large family. But these necessary and humane directions had been too often frustrated by circumstances which were carefully kept from the knowledge of the governor; it was, however, proved to him, that on occasion of the store at the Hawkesbury being opened for the reception of 1500 bushels of wheat, the whole was engrossed by two or three of these opulent traders, to the exclusion and injury of others, and the petty farmers in general. The store-keeper was not dismissed, because a better might not have been found; but the governor directed, that half the quantity of wheat thus partially and improperly put in should be taken away, and room made for the accommodation of the settlers. A report prevailed at this time among the labouring people, particularly the Irish, who were always foremost in every mischief and discontent, that an old woman had prophesied the arrival of several French frigates, or larger ships of war, who were, after destroying the settlement, to liberate and take off the whole of the convicts. The rapidity with which this ridiculous tale was circulated is incredible. The effect was such as might have been expected. One refractory fellow, while working in a numerous gang at Toongabbie, threw down his hoe, advanced before the rest, and gave three cheers for liberty. This for a while seemed well received; but, a magistrate fortunately being at hand, the business was put an end to, by securing the advocate for liberty, tying him up in the field, and giving him a severe flogging. A few days after he had been informed of this circumstance, the governor visited the working gangs at Toongabbie. On his return to Parramatta, he met the prophetess upon the road, a very old Scotch woman, who, as soon as she discovered the governor, held up her hands, and begged that he would listen to her for a few minutes, while she would endeavour to contradict the malicious reports which had been propagated in her name. She said, that she had heard that he was offended with her; which he assured her depended upon the truth of the information which he had received. This, she was anxious to convince him, was totally false, and had proceeded from a bad man, who, as she made a little beer, and sold it to the labouring people, had called for some one day at her hut, and entered into conversation with her about the expected arrival of ships with stores from England. This induced the old woman to recount a dream which she had had the night before, and from which she was led to hope that ships would soon arrive. Out of this conversation and dream, a story had been fabricated, purporting that this harmless old creature had prophesied many extraordinary things; so that she had the credit of all the absurd and extravagant additions which some designing and wicked villains had made to the original story. The governor told her that he saw through the whole business, and desired that she would no longer be uneasy about the impression which the first account had made upon him. With this condescension she appeared to be highly gratified; for she had been under much distress and vexation before she met with this accidental opportunity of showing him from whence this mischievous story had originated. The timber for the new wind-mill was brought in during this month; and the floor of the government house having given way, the carpenters were employed to repair it. Arrivals from England were now hourly expected, as strong gales had blown for some time from the southward. CHAPTER XI Some Irishmen providentially saved from perishing The _Nautilus_ arrives from Otaheite Missionaries Order respecting the sawyers The _Barwell_ arrives with convicts A judge-advocate sent out Information The _Reliance_ and _Schooner_ sail for Norfolk Island Information sent thither Natives Works and weather in May June Ground fixed on for the missionaries The Hunter arrives from Bengal Regulations The commander of the _Sydney Cove_ dies A decked boat arrives from Norfolk Island Maize harvest completed Weather May.] In the afternoon of the 2nd of this month, certain Irishmen, who had been for some time employed in searching for a road to China (that delirium still remaining unsubdued among them), were brought in by one of the settlers upon George's river. They had been wandering through the woods, until they were near perishing for want of food, and were discovered in a most unlooked-for manner. Some people in going from Botany Bay up George's river had lost their way, the weather being exceedingly hazy, by following a branch of that river which had never been looked into. By this mistake, they fell in with these people, whose ignorance of the country had led them down upon a point of land which was placed between two waters, where they had been for nine days, unable to find their way back, and must soon have perished, had it not been for the accidental mistake of the people in the boat. The account which they gave of their travels and distresses was not worth giving a place to here, being nothing more than what might be conjectured. It was hoped, however, that their appearance, for they were weak and languid when brought in, together with their story, would teach their countrymen a little more wisdom. While such vagabonds as these were roaming about the country, the safety of the stock was much endangered. A fine bull calf belonging to an officer was about this time taken from the herd; and, though considerable rewards were offered for the discovery of the offender, nothing transpired that could lead to it. This was a serious evil; for the care and attention of years might in one night's time be destroyed, by the villainy of a few of these lawless people. It was, however, visible that the improvement which had taken place in the civil police within the last two years had considerably checked the commission of robberies of every kind. In the evening of the 14th, a small brig, the _Nautilus_, arrived from the island of Otaheite, in very great distress. This little vessel had been unfortunate in losing her passage to the NW coast of America, and had been at Kamschatka, the Sandwich Islands, and Otaheite. Being exceedingly infirm and worn out, the master found it impossible to effect the repairs which his vessel wanted at either of those places, and had touched at Otaheite for such refreshment as the crew required, determining to endeavour in their very leaky condition to reach this port, where they hoped to receive such assistance as might enable them to get to India. On their arrival at Otaheite, they found that the missionaries, who had been sent thither from England for the purpose of propagating the Christian religion, were not on so comfortable a footing with the natives as could have been wished, being in a manner shut up within their little fortress. The natives had made use of threats, and had signified an intention of taking off their women (several of the missionaries having been accompanied by their wives and families). The arrival at Otaheite of this little vessel in some degree relieved them from the anxiety under which they had for some time laboured, and they determined to quit the island in her, if it should be practicable. Her commander, Mr. Bishop, showed them every attention which the shattered state of the brig would admit; embarked men, women, and children, to the number of 19; and, though with infinite difficulty, brought them in safety to this port, the vessel being so extremely leaky, that it required the labour of the whole company to keep her above water. She was not able to bring them all away, six or seven remaining upon the island, whose fate was certainly very precarious. Those who had arrived were treated by the colonists with every attention, and every possible relief administered to their distresses. The deceptions and impositions which were daily in practice among the labouring part of the colony, to the great injury of the concerns of government, rendered it highly expedient that the governor, who had those concerns to attend to, should be assisted by trusty and active persons in every situation where public works might be carrying on. Having made some discoveries of this nature in the department of the sawyers, he issued a public order, specifying the hours which should be employed in every branch of public labour. This had by no means been the first attempt to check the impositions of these people; but it was found, that the private concerns of those who should superintend the various public works occupied so much of their time, that their duty was either wholly neglected or carelessly performed. This created such a relaxation of discipline, that a repetition of orders and regulations were from time to time published, to keep the labouring people constantly in mind that they were the servants of the crown, and remind those who were appointed to look after them, that they had neglected that duty which should ever have been their first and principal consideration. The expected signal for a vessel was at length made at the South Head on the morning of the 18th; and in the afternoon the ship _Barwell_ arrived from England, with male convicts, some stores, and provisions. It must be supposed, that while the mother country was engaged in such a war as then subsisted, she would not spare from the service of the state any other than the most worthless characters, who, instead of assisting in the public defence against the common enemy, were employed in perpetrating private injuries. The weakness of the public gangs, however, was such, that this allotment of villainy was considered as an acquisition to the general strength, and it was hoped that they might be employed to advantage. The _Barwell_, touching at the Cape of Good Hope, brought an account of the loss of the _Lady Shore_ transport in her passage to this settlement, having on board about 60 convicts, three only of whom were males, and a large assortment of all kinds of stores which had been so long and so much wanted. There was also a complete company of recruits for the New South Wales Corps on board, to whom was owing the loss of the ship; for, after murdering the commander, Mr. Wilcox, and his first mate, they took possession of the ship, and carried her into Rio de la Plata, where she was delivered up to the Spaniards. This ship, besides the public stores, had a great deal of private property on board, and was a serious loss to the colony. It will be seen, by referring to the former account of this settlement, that an accident happened to his Majesty's ship the _Guardian_, whereby much public and private property was prevented from reaching the settlement. This made only the second misfortune that had happened to ships coming from England in the course of 11 years; and, when it is considered, that the major part of them were filled with people who would have run any hazard rather than reach the place of their destination, it may be matter of surprise and satisfaction that so few had occurred. In the _Barwell_ arrived another judge-advocate*, in the room of Captain Collins, who had resigned that situation. It was also signified, that two ships, the _Buffalo_ and the _Porpoise_, were fitting for the service of the colony in the room of the _Reliance_ and the _Supply_. [* Mr. Richard Dore.] Instructions had also been received from his Majesty's ministers by the governor, upon some points on which he had requested orders, particularly relative to the number of labouring people who had for such a length of time been allowed to the civil and military officers at the public expense. By these instructions, the number was now limited to two; and such others as they might be disposed to employ were to be maintained and clothed by their employers; or, if fed and clothed at the public expense, to be paid for to government at a certain rate, which payment might be made in the produce of the farms that they were employed to cultivate. The distance at which the settlement was placed from the mother country was such, that the victories of one year were succeeded by those of another before the fame of them reached the colony. By this ship accounts were first received of the complete victory gained by the superior abilities of Earl St. Vincent over the Spanish fleet, and of the brilliant conquest of the Dutch fleet obtained by Lord Duncan. Among the convicts who were received by the _Barwell_ were some useful mechanics; a real acquisition, as the governor would thereby be enabled to discharge some free people, whom he had been obliged to hire for various necessary and unavoidable purposes. On the 29th, the _Reliance_ and _Francis_ schooner sailed for Norfolk Island, carrying with them such a proportion of the stores received by the _Barwell_ as could be spared. On board of the _Reliance_ were sent 100 casks of salt provisions, and 1200 bushels of wheat, an article to which the soil and temperature of the island was not favourable. As the governor had received several petitions and complaints from the settlers there, he caused the following order to be printed and sent thither for their information: From the nature of the difficulties of which the settlers upon Norfolk island have complained, difficulties which have not until very lately been known to have an existence, the governor is led to suspect, that the same rage for traffic, and an intemperate indulgence in some of those destructive gratifications which have so effectually ruined many of the most forward and promising settlers in New South Wales, have reached Norfolk Island. His Excellency, from an earnest desire to promote the prosperity of the island, and the true happiness of its inhabitants, has, since his arrival in this country, availed himself of every opportunity of forwarding for their accommodation a share of such little comforts, as accidental ships may have brought hither. But he is sorry to observe, that, instead of those attentions being felt as an advantage, they appear only to operate as an incitement to more extensive dealings; a circumstance which he foresees must end in the ruin of many of the settlers, for whose welfare he is extremely anxious. He therefore urges them not to be led away from their real interest, by speculative ideas, or a desire of indulging in dangerous gratifications, squandering the whole produce of their hard labour in trifles, or in scenes of dissipation which must eventually end in their complete ruin. He desires that they will persevere with patience in the management of their farms, and the rearing of stock; and assures them, that he has taken such steps as he hopes will incline the government to consider the inconveniences which are sustained in this distant part of the world, and induce them to adopt such measures as will procure the colonists, before long, every European article that they may have occasion for at a very moderate expense; and by that means put an effectual stop to the impositions under which the industrious settlers have too long laboured. Toward the latter end of the month, the settlers at the northern farms were much annoyed by the natives, who came down in a body, and burnt several of their houses. This was the more unfortunate, as those farms appeared to have had some industry bestowed upon them; and it had not been thrown away; for the land was of a superior quality, and the surrounding country exceedingly picturesque and well-adapted for cultivation. The bricklayers were not idle during this month at the new granary at Sydney, and were also employed in erecting a house for the master boat-builder. The timber carriages drawn by oxen were employed in bringing in the beams and joists for the new granary; and a gang was sent up the harbour to cut crooked timber for the boat-builder. The maize granary at Parramatta was also in a state of forwardness. On the 14th there was a squall of wind from the southward, attended with a shower of hall stones of an uncommon size, many of them measuring six inches in circumference, and appearing to be an accumulation of smaller hall stones, which had adhered together by the intensity of the cold in the higher region of the air, until they became of the above size. Much rain fell in this month. June.] His Majesty's birthday was observed on the 4th, with all the respect and attention which were so peculiarly its due. On the 6th, the governor went up to Parramatta, in order to travel into the northern district in search of a proper place for settling as farmers such of the missionaries, lately arrived from Otaheite, as were disposed to continue in the settlement. He also proposed to fix there some free settlers* who had been lately sent out by the government, if he should find a sufficiency of good ground. On a minute examination of the country, he had every reason to pronounce it superior to any that had been yet seen, and in quantity equal to the establishment of several families. The land was not only good and well watered, but every where easily cleared, and at the convenient distance of five or six miles from Parramatta. Being satisfied with the eligibility of the situation, he recommended it to the missionaries; but some of them appeared so undetermined, that there was reason to believe some officious person had been giving them advice which might not terminate to their advantage. A few, however, resolved to settle there, and received such a proportion of tools, grain, and assistance, as could be spared them. [* Of this description of people four had arrived, with their families, in the _Barwell_.] The house of Campbell and Clarke at Calcutta, not discouraged by the fate of their unfortunate ship, the _Sydney Cove_ (of which they were the proprietors), fitted out another, a snow, which, in compliment to the governor, they named the _Hunter_, and sent her down with an assortment of India goods, and a few cows and horses. She arrived on the 10th of this month; when the governor, to crush as much as possible the spirit of monopoly which had so long subsisted, gave public notice that a ship had arrived from Bengal with a cargo of goods for sale; and, in order that every inhabitant might have an opportunity of purchasing whatever his circumstances might afford, he gave directions, that no part of the cargo should be disposed of, until the settlers in the different districts had stated to him what sums of money they could severally raise. A day was fixed for them to give in this account; and it was recommended to them to choose some person capable of managing their concerns, and in whose hands they could deposit their money, which, it was to be understood, must be in government notes then in their possession, and not those which they could purchase upon the strength of their crops. It was also ordered, that no boat or person whatsoever should attempt to board any ship arriving in the harbour, until she should be properly secured in the Cove, and the master had been with the governor and received the port orders. The pilot-boat, or such other as might be sent with an officer to bring up the public dispatches, were not included in this regulation, which certainly, with the preceding, seemed calculated more for general than private advantage. Captain Hamilton, the commander of the _Sydney Cove_, survived the arrival of the _Hunter_ but a few days. He never recovered from the distresses and hardships which he suffered on the loss of his ship, and died exceedingly regretted by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance. Many complaints having been made, that the people who were employed in bringing grain upon freight from the Hawkesbury to Sydney were in the habit of practising a variety of impositions upon the farmers, and among others by the use of false measures, the governor, desirous to put an early stop to such a species of robbery, directed the magistrates of Sydney and Parramatta to issue their orders for all measures to be forthwith brought to the public store at Sydney, there to be proved and marked; and to signify, that any measure which might be used without such mark would subject the owner to a prosecution. How perpetually was invention at work on the one hand to impose, and on the other to provide a remedy against the evil! No one, from the picture of his arduous situation which these and the preceding pages have held up, will envy the office of the governor, or of those officers who supported his authority, or think that they cheaply earned the salaries that they were allowed. The necessity of a vessel to keep up a more frequent intercourse with Norfolk Island, having been much felt by the want of various stores for the use of the inhabitants, occasioned Captain Townson, the commanding officer, to construct a small decked boat, sloop rigged, in which he sent his letters to this port, where she arrived on the 15th; but through the want of a harbour at that island, a want that must ever be felt, they were obliged to launch her from the shore, and proceed immediately to sea, whether she was sufficiently tight or not. The consequence was, that she proved very leaky; but with two pumps, which they fortunately had fitted on board her, they were able to keep the water under.* [* A man upon the island had sufficient ingenuity to make a quadrant for navigating this vessel.] The maize harvest on the part of government was all got in during this month; but some of the new buildings were rather retarded by the rain which fell toward the latter end of it. CHAPTER XII Three southern whalers arrive, and an American from the Isle of France A transport with female convicts arrives from England _Reliance_ arrives from Norfolk Island Information John Raynor executed Profligacy of the female part of the settlement August Civil regulations The Sabbath neglected Attendance enforced Two whalers arrive Public works A native girl killed Consequences An extraordinary custom among them September The _Barwell_ sails for China, and the _Hunter_ for New Zealand The bones of two horses found Whalers sail Public works Weather Fears for the approaching harvest July.] The month opened with the arrival of the _Cornwall_, Southern whaler, the master of which brought an account, that some Spanish cruisers having appeared off Cape Horn, the whalers of the southern fishery were directed to pass into these seas during the war. This ship was directly followed by two others, the _Eliza_ from the Cape of Good Hope, and the _Sally_. This circumstance was likely to be attended with some advantages to the settlement. The whale fishing on the coast would be effectually tried, and the position of shoals, or the existence of harbours or rivers, be ascertained. Having in a few days refitted their ships, the three whalers sailed upon their fishing voyages. Previous to their departure, the _Argo_, a small American schooner, arrived, last from the Isle of France, having on board a cargo of salt provisions, some French brandy, and other articles, upon speculation; all of which was brought to a good market. From the circumstance of this ship's coming from the Mauritius, the governor entertained some jealousy; and, as it was not impossible or improbable but that, under neutral colours, a spy might be concealed, he judged it necessary to put the battery on Point Maskelyne into a more secure and respectable state, and to construct two redoubts in proper and convenient situations. The ready sale which the speculators who called here constantly found for their cargoes, together with the ruinous traffic which was carried on by means of the monopolies that existed in opposition to every order and endeavour to prevent them, would, beyond a doubt, without the establishment of a public store on the part of government, keep the settlers and others in a continual state of beggary, and extremely retard the progressive improvement of the colony. On the 18th arrived the _Britannia_ whaler from England, with 94 female convicts, who were forthwith landed, and some of them were sent to Parramatta and Toongabbie. The cattle that were brought in the _Hunter_, and which were sold by auction at this time, were not greater objects of contest than were these females, the number of women in the settlements bearing no proportion to the men. The _Reliance_ and _Francis_ schooner, which had been sent to Norfolk Island at the latter end of May, returned the 25th and 27th of this month, having been absent on that service about 60 days, 27 of which were taken up by the _Reliance_ on her passage back, she meeting with blowing weather and much sea the whole way. By her, the officer commanding on the island wrote, that a most improper association had been entered into by the settlers and others which they termed the Fraternal Society of Norfolk Island; and which, among others, had for its object the uniting for the purpose of distressing the government, by withholding the produce of their farms from the store; in consequence of some misconduct on the part of the store-keepers, who suffered the same monopoly to take place there, as was complained of in New South Wales. They wrote at the same time to the governor, positively denying their giving any name to their meeting but heavily complaining; that, after much expense and trouble in rearing swine, the store-keepers would not receive it. The governor highly censured this manner of assembling, and, in a printed notice which he sent thither, pointed out to the inhabitants, that if they felt themselves labouring under any grievance real or supposed, they were to submit their complaints respectfully to the officer in the direction of the settlement, by one or two persons chosen for that purpose, and not by a numerous body of people. Every other mode of procuring redress was highly illegal, and could only tend to expose those who might be concerned to a very considerable degree of danger. It was necessary to assemble the court of criminal judicature once in this month for the trial of an incorrigible offender, John Raynor. who was convicted of house-breaking, and whose fate had been often merited and long predicted. He left a letter, previous to his execution, in which he enumerated the many offences that he had committed, and denied several with which he had been charged. Great complaints were now made of the profligacy of the women; who, probably from having met with more indulgence on account of their sex than their general conduct entitled them to, were grown so idle and insolent, that they were unwilling to do any thing but nurse their children; an excuse from labour which very few were without. Were their value to be estimated by the fine children with which they had increased and multiplied the numbers in the settlement, they certainly would have been found to deserve every care and attention as useful members of society; but their vices were too conspicuous and prominent to admit of much palliation. The heavy rains which had fallen in part of this and the preceding month having very much damaged the public road between Sydney and Parramatta, two gangs were employed in repairing them. The weather was much colder than common at this season, and in the interior part of the country there was a sharp frost during the night. August.] An order having been given in the beginning of the month for assembling the court of civil judicature, a recommendation to the inhabitants was added, that when any bargain, contract, or agreement, was made, between any party or parties, on any subject whatsoever, the same should be reduced to writing, specifying in direct and clear terms what the nature of such bargain or contract might be, and causing the same to be properly witnessed, and subscribed by the parties concerned. This measure was calculated to prevent disputes, litigation, and misunderstandings, among the inhabitants, as well as to do away the great inconvenience which the members of the court experienced every time they were convened, from the loose and careless manner in which business was brought before them. On the 1st day of this month the regulation directed by government, relative to the number of public servants which the officers were allowed to retain, was put in force. The abandoned and dissipated disposition of most of those who were or had been convicts, so much to be regretted and so often mentioned, was particularly manifest in a shameful abuse of the Sabbath, and a profane ridicule with which every thing sacred was treated. A conduct so derogatory to every Christian principle had from time to time been severely reprobated; but it had now arrived at a height that called for the exertion of every advocate for morality to subdue. Observing, that, instead of employing the Sunday in the performance of those duties for which that day was set apart, it was passed in the indulgence of every abominable act of dissipation, the overseers of the different gangs were strictly ordered to see their men mustered every Sunday morning, and to attend with them at church. The superintendants and constables were to see this order complied with, and that the women (who, to their disgrace, were far worse than the men) were strictly looked after and made to attend divine service regularly. And, as example might do something, the officers were not only to send a certain number of their servants, but they were also called upon, civil and military, to assist in the execution of this order; to the meaning of which, the magistrates were required in a particular degree to pay their attention, in compelling a due obedience thereto, by preventing the opening of the licensed public houses during the hours of divine service as well as any irregularity on the day appropriated to the performance thereof. In the evening of the 20th, the _Pomona_ and _Diana_, whalers belonging to the southern fishery, anchored in the Cove. They brought an account of much disturbance and disaffection in Ireland. Too much of the same evil spirit seemed to prevail here among the late importations from that kingdom. Wishing to have that part of the coast examined in which a strait was supposed to exist (between the latitude of 39 degrees 00 minutes S and the land hitherto deemed the southern Promontory of New Holland, and called Van Diemen's land), the governor resolved on sending Lieutenant Flinders and Mr. Bass of the _Reliance_ on that service, in the _Norfolk_, the small decked boat which had lately arrived from Norfolk Island, and began fitting her properly for the voyage. The battery on Point Maskelyne was nearly completed in this month. A few carpenters were employed in laying a floor in Government House, and other repairs; but several of the public works were nearly at a stand, many of the sawyers being in the hospital. The powder magazine having been found upon examination to be in a very insecure and dangerous state, the powder was taken out and sent on board the _Supply_. This removal was the more necessary, as an attempt had been made to open the door of the magazine in the night. The weather was bad; and it was supposed that the sentinel, whose box was thrown down and broken, had endeavoured to shelter himself in the magazine. The agricultural hands were employed in breaking up ground for maize in the vicinity of Parramatta, and others were endeavouring to prepare materials for a water-mill there. The natives about this time excited a great deal of interest. A young woman (nearly related to Bennillong), who had resided from her infancy in the settlement, was most inhumanly murdered; and a native of the Botany Bay district had driven a spear through the body of the lad Nanbarrey. The name of the good-tempered girl (for such she was) was War-re-weer; but, to distinguish her from others of the same name, an addition was given to her in the settlement from a personal defect that she had. Being blind of one eye, she was called, War-re-weer Wo-gul Mi, the latter words signifying one eye. The circumstance of this girl's being killed, and Nanbarrey wounded, occasioned much violence on the part of their friends and relations, of which number were Cole-be and Bennillong; the former of whom, falling in with the man who had wounded the boy, revenged his treatment of him so fully that he died of his wounds the following morning. Bennillong, in consequence of this, was attacked, when alone, by two men; when he defended himself with much address, and would have defied and foiled them both, had they kept fairly and openly in his front; but one of them, with the treachery common to those savage people, contrived to skulk behind, and throw a spear into his side, the weapon penetrating seven inches into the cavity of his body, and, from its direction, being supposed to have wounded the intestines. He was taken on board the _Reliance_, where at first the wound was attended with some unfavourable symptoms, nothing remaining upon his stomach. Gaining every day some further knowledge of the inhuman habits and customs of these people, their being so thinly scattered through the country ceased to be a matter of surprise. It was almost daily seen, that from some trifling cause or other they were continually living in a state of warfare; to this must be added their brutal treatment of their women, who are themselves equally destructive to the measure of population, by the horrid and cruel custom of endeavouring to cause a miscarriage, which their female acquaintance effect by pressing the body in such a way, as to destroy the infant in the womb; which violence not infrequently occasions the death of the unnatural mother also. To this they have recourse, to avoid the trouble of carrying the infant about when born, which, when it is very young, or at the breast, is the duty of the woman. The operation for this destructive purpose is termed Mee-bra. The burying an infant (when at the breast) with the mother*, if she should die, is another shocking cause of the thinness of population among them. The fact that such an operation as the Mee-bra was practised by these wretched people was communicated by one of the natives to the principal surgeon of the settlement. [* See Vol. I Appendix XI, viz: 'When the body was placed in the grave, the bye-standers were amazed to see the father himself place the living child in it with the mother. Having laid the child down, he threw upon it a large stone, and the grave was instantly filled in by the other natives. The whole business was so momentary, that our people had not time or presence of mind sufficient to prevent it; and on speaking about it to Cole-be, be, so far from thinking it inhuman, justified the extraordinary act by assuring us that as no woman could be found to nurse the child it must die a much worse death than that to which he had put it. As a similar circumstance occurred a short time after, we have every reason to suppose the custom always prevails among them; and this may in some degree account for the thinness of population which has been observed among the natives of the country.'] The death of the young man who was slain by Cole-be was to be revenged, and a body of the southern or Tag-a-ry natives gave battle to those of Sydney for that purpose several days after. The contest was carried on with much desperation on both sides; three natives were killed, and several others wounded, among whom was Bennillong, who, having perfectly recovered of his late dangerous wound, appeared and fought on this occasion as the friend of Cole-be. The weather in the last month was remarked to be uncommonly cold. In the latter part of this it was excessively sultry, and the wind high, which set many parts of the country on fire, and destroyed some property. The surveyor-general's house, and every article in it, was consumed by one of these conflagrations. September.] The _Barwell_ being ready for sea, she dropped down the harbour on the 12th, and sailed the 17th of this month for China. Captain Cameron, her commander, was allowed to receive on board about 50 persons who had completed their period of transportation, and politely offered to touch at Norfolk Island, for the purpose of landing any people whom the governor might have occasion to send thither. In this ship Mr. Robert Campbell, who arrived here in the _Hunter_ from Bengal, took his passage to China. By this gentleman the governor addressed a letter to the governor-general of India, informing his lordship, that having transmitted to the Secretary of State copies of the letters upon the subject of raising recruits in this country for the army in India, which had been received in the year 1796*, by the officers who were sent from Calcutta in the _Britannia_, it was the opinion of his Majesty's ministers, that the inconveniences attending such a measure would more than counter-balance the advantages of it, and that permission for that purpose could not therefore be granted. [* See Vol I Ch. XXXI, viz 'On board of this ship arrived two officers of the Bengal army, Lieutenant Campbell and Mr. Phillips, a surgeon of the military establishment for the purpose of raising two hundred recruits from among those people who had served their respective terms of transportation. They were to be regularly enlisted and attested, and were to receive bounty-money; and a provisional engagement was made with Mr. Raven, to convey them to India, if no other service should offer for his ship.'] Indeed, had it been adopted, the army in India could not have been much benefited; since, if the recruiting officers were nice as to the point of character, small would be the number of their recruits, and, if not overnice in this particular, small would be the portion of morality that they would introduce. In order to encourage as far as possible the rearing of swine in the colony, as well as of every other kind of live stock, a circumstance that must not only prove a great benefit to the public, but be also highly to the advantage of those who devoted a part of their time to this useful purpose, and which, from the advanced state of the private farms, might now be done with far less trouble and expense than formerly, the settlers and others were informed, that when any individual should have prepared a number of such animals fit for the public store, they might make the same known to the commissary, who, in order to prevent any unnecessary expense to the feeder, would give immediate notice of the day and place when and where he would receive them. He was also at liberty to enter into an agreement or contract for a certain length of time, and on such conditions as should be agreed, with any person who would engage to furnish the public store either at Sydney, Parramatta, or the Hawkesbury, with any certain quantity at stated periods. The commander of the _Hunter_ snow, Mr. Fern, having found, like most of those who had preceded him, that a voyage to New South Wales was not a bad speculation, resolved on deriving some profit from his return. It was understood at his departure, which was on the 20th, that he was bound for New Zealand, for the purpose of cutting spars to load with back to Bengal.* [* Mr. Robert Campbell, who returned some time after to Port Jackson, mentioned, that Captain Fern proceeded to the river Thames in New Zealand, where his people cut down a quantity of very fine spars, sufficient to load his vessel; but, being rather short of hands, he could not have shipped them, had not the natives with much alacrity and good humour assisted his people in getting them to the water's side. See Vol I Ch. XXVIII, viz: 'In the course of that time they cut down upwards of two hundred very fine trees, from sixty to one hundred and forty feet in length, fit for any use that the East India Company's ships might require. The longest of these trees measured three feet and a half in the butt, and differed from the Norfolk Island pines in having the turpentine in the centre of the tree instead of between the bark and the wood. . . .'] Two men, who had been exploring the country to the northwest of Richmond Hill and of the river Hawkesbury, fell in with the bones of two mares which had been stolen some time since from Parramatta. It was very probable, that the people who stole them had, after some time and experience, found that travelling was not quite so practicable in this country as they had imagined, and that, not being able to procure a supply of food, they had been compelled by hunger to the necessity of destroying their cattle, and living upon them as long as they could possibly cat of them; after which they, no doubt, followed such route as their judgment was capable of pointing out; but, unfortunately for them, they could not have known which way they went. The bones of the mares, the heads of which the men brought in to prevent any doubt of their story, were found at not more than a good day's journey from the Hawkesbury, which river they had no doubt crossed at one of its branches higher up, where there are many fordable places. Some of the whalers that were in the harbour, proceeding on their fishery, the town was freed from the nuisance of their seamen, who could not resist the two temptations, spirits and women, so peculiarly calculated every where to lead them astray. The masters of the ships made many complaints that they could not keep their people on board. At Sydney the walls of the granary were completed, and part of the roof got up. The battery also was finished. The weather during the month had been so very sultry and dry, that there was every appearance of being completely disappointed in the sanguine expectations which had been entertained of a most abundant wheat harvest. The pasture and garden grounds also were suffering exceedingly through want of rain. CHAPTER XIII The _Semiramis_ arrives from Rhode Island The church at Sydney burnt Reflections Some vessels sail; the _Norfolk_ for Van Dieman's Land; The _Francis_ for Norfolk Island Another fire in the town A ship arrives from the Cape with cattle Works in hand Bennillong The governor's steward destroys himself An order respecting the women A battery erected Weather State of the harvest Irish The _Francis_ returns; and the _Nautilus_ The _Eliza_ from Sea Information Three deaths One good character recorded Disorders Public works Great heat Returns of stock, and land in cultivation October.] Another adventurer entered the port on the 1st of this month, viz the _Semiramis_ from Rhode Island, bound to China. She made her passage in three months and nine days. The master reported, that when he left the States, they were thought to be on the eve of a rupture with France. Between seven and eight o'clock in the evening of this day, the church on the east side of the cove was discovered to be on fire. Every assistance, as far as numbers could be useful, was given, but ineffectually; for the building being covered with thatch, which was at this time exceedingly dry and combustible, it was completely consumed in an hour. This was a great loss, for during the working days of the week the building was used as a school, in which from 150 to 200 children were educated, under the immediate inspection of Mr. Johnson, the clergyman. As it stood entirely alone, and no person was suffered to remain in it after the school hours, there was not any doubt that this atrocious act was the effect of design, and the consequence of the late order which had been given out and had been rigidly executed, enforcing attendance on divine service; and in the view of rendering, by the destruction of the building, the Sabbath a day of as little decency and sobriety as any other in the week. The perpetrators of this mischief were, however, disappointed in their expectation; for the governor, justly deeming this to have been the motive, and highly irritated at such a shameful act, resolved, if no convenient place could immediately be found for the performance of public worship, that, instead of Sunday being employed as each should propose to himself, the whole of the labouring gangs should be employed on that day in erecting another building for the purpose; it happened, however, that a large storehouse was just at that time finished; and, not being immediately wanted, it was fitted up as a church; and thus not a single Sunday was lost by this wicked design. For the discovery of the offender a reward of £30 was offered, together with absolute emancipation to the informer if a convict, and a recommendation to the master of any ship to take him or her from the colony. But it was seen with concern, that rewards and punishments alike failed in their effect. This circumstance must impress upon the mind of every one who may read this account, to what a dreadful state of profligacy the colony had arrived, which, alarming as it was, must have been still worse, had it not been for the civil police which fortunately had been established; for a more wicked, abandoned, and irreligious set of people had never been brought together before in any part of the colony. The hope of their amendment seemed every day to lessen. The spirit of trade (not that liberal spirit which characterises the British trader, but a mean, selfish, avaricious passion, that hesitated not at any means to be gratified) proved the source of every evil under which the settlers laboured. Notwithstanding this picture of their vices, the colony was at this time, generally speaking, in perfect health. For want of slop clothing and bedding, indeed, they were much distressed; but on this or any other account they were little deserving of any commiseration. Since the last failure of those ill-considered attempts of the Irish to escape from the colony, no further schemes of that nature had been planned; but, as a matter of common justice to them, it was much wished that regular accounts of the dates of their conviction, and their several terms of transportation, might be sent out. They had been informed, that a promise to this effect had been made by government. On the 7th, the two Americans, the _Semiramis_, and _Argo_ schooner, sailed for China. At the same time the _Nautilus_ brig, and _Norfolk_ long-boat, sailed for Van Diemen's land. The _Nautilus_, which had been in extreme distress for every kind of repair, was completely put in order here; and, as the two young men who had the care and direction of the speculation on which she was fitted out from India, had been very unfortunate through the infirmities of their vessel, and other causes, they were determined to try, during this season, what the seal-fishing among the islands to the southward might produce. On the day following, the _Francis_ sailed for Norfolk Island, with a few women and some stores for that settlement. As it was intended, that on her return she should examine the shoal said to have been discovered to the northward of Lord Howe Island, and make, if possible, and ascertain the situation of, the island discovered in 1788 by Lieutenant Shortland in the _Alexander_ transport, and named by him Sir Charles Middleton island, Lieutenant John Shortland, of the _Reliance_, a son of the above officer, was sent in the _Francis_, and was charged with the sole direction of the vessel upon that service. In the _Norfolk_ were Lieutenant Flinders and Mr. Bass, who were instructed to examine the existence of the strait supposed to divide Van Diemen's land from the continent. The rage for trade already spoken of, which prevailed so universally in the colony, occasioned such a continued scene of contention and litigation among the people, that much public inconvenience was experienced in the liberties which were taken of imprisoning the public servants of the crown for debts contracted with many of the petty dealers; notwithstanding an order which was given out in the year 1788, by the late Governor Phillip, in which the colony was informed, that the convicts (by whom were meant the public servants of the crown) had no property of their own, their clothing, their time, and their labour, being the property of government, and not at their own disposal. This order having worn out of their recollection, it became necessary to renew it, to prevent that loss of labour on the public works which imprisoning their persons so improperly must occasion. Notice was therefore given, that the public servants of the crown were not to be detained from their duty by imprisoning their persons in this way; and if any person should be desirous of accommodating them with credit, it must be wholly and absolutely upon the strength of their own good faith in the integrity of such people, and not under the idea that they could arrest and imprison them according to the forms of law; and it was to be generally understood, that government would by no means dispense with the labour of its servants for the partial accommodation of any private dealings whatever. On the evening of the 11th, another fire happened in the town of Sydney, which, but for a great deal of care and activity, might have burnt all the houses on the east side. A row of buildings which had been lately erected for the nurses and other persons employed about the hospital, was set on fire, and totally consumed. The flames very nearly reached the boat-yard, in which were many concerns of value. On the 20th, an American ship, the _Ann and Hope_, anchored in Botany Bay, unfavourable winds having prevented her getting up so far as Port Jackson. As the master only wanted a little wood and water, three days were sufficient to procure them; and at the end of that period he sailed for China. He certainly was either pressed for time, or had nothing on board that he could part with, as the ships of his country had always found it worth their while to refresh at Port Jackson. Toward the latter end of the month the governor visited the settlers at the Hawkesbury; and while he was there made some useful regulations among the sawyers, who had fixed their own portion of public labour. He gave notice, that a session should be held quarterly for settling all civil concerns; and made some other local arrangements, which, if attended to, would have conduced essentially to the welfare of the settlers, whose farms he found promising plenty, but whose houses and persons wore the appearance of poverty and beggary, they converting all the produce of their farms to the unworthy purpose of purchasing a pernicious spirit that must ever keep them poor. In the evening of the 27th, the ship _Marquis Cornwallis_ arrived from the Cape of Good Hope, with a cargo of cattle on government account, consisting of 158 cows and 20 bulls, exclusive of a few on private account. When they were landed, a few appeared weakly; but, in general, they were in as good health as any that had been before landed, after a voyage of such extent; and would certainly prove a vast acquisition to the colony; part of the cows being a mixed breed between the Cape and English cattle, and the whole appearing to be under the age of two years and a half. With the _Marquis Cornwallis_ arrived the _Indispensable_, a southern whaler, commanded by Mr. Wilkinson, who had twice before visited the settlement; but he sailed again immediately. In this month the foundation of a stone building intended for a church was laid at Sydney. It was to be 150 feet in length, and 52 in breadth. Preparations were making for a similar building at Parramatta, which was to be of smaller dimensions than this at Sydney. The weather proved much too dry and sultry for the harvest. Some rain fell toward the latter end of the month; but it was greatly feared that it came too late to be of much benefit to the wheat or maize. November.] Twice had the criminal court of judicature lately met for the trial of various offenders; one of whom, being clearly convicted of wilful perjury, stood in the pillory pursuant to his sentence. Instead of living peaceably and pleasantly at the governor's house, as he certainly might always have done, Bennillong preferred the rude and dangerous society of his own countrymen, visiting the settlement only when induced by the recollection of the comforts which he could no where else obtain. Word was now brought in, of his having been again severely wounded in a contest with some of the natives. This man had lately received and recovered of several wounds, any one of which would have been sufficient to have destroyed a European. But these people in general owed their existence more to their good habit of body (living free from the use of spirituous liquors and the luxuries of the table) than to any other cause. Unless this be admitted, it will be difficult to account for their surviving the desperate wounds which they have been often known to receive. An instance of the fatal effects of misguided conduct, and a too late sense of criminality, occurred in the tragical end of Nathaniel Franklyn, the governor's steward. This man, whom he brought from England, had the whole care and management of the governor's domestic concerns entrusted to him. He had been repeatedly cautioned by his master against the many artful and designing acquaintances which he had formed in the town, and was pointedly desired to be aware of not suffering himself to be influenced by their opinions. It was proved that he had not had fortitude enough to withstand their solicitations, but had consented to rob the governor to a very considerable amount, abusing the confidence he had placed in him, and making use of his name in a most iniquitous manner. Of the infamy of his conduct he was at last sensible, and, retiring into the shrubbery in the garden of the governor's house, shot himself through the head. The wretched state of the settlement appeared but too plainly from this melancholy circumstance. The complaints which were daily made of the refractory and disobedient conduct of the convict women rendered it absolutely necessary that some steps should be instantly taken to make them more clearly understand the nature of their situation in this country, and the duties that they were liable to perform. The governor, therefore, judged it proper to desire that every officer or other housekeeper in the settlement, who might have female servants in their families, would immediately forward to the judge-advocate's office the names of such as they employed. He also forbade them to protect from public labour any but those whom they were permitted to retain; and when at any time they were desirous of discharging from their employment any servant of this description, they were to send an intimation thereof, together with a character of the person, to the same office. As they had never been limited in the number of women servants which they considered requisite to their domestic concerns, it was hoped that they would afford every assistance in their power, which might lead to the detection of imposition, and serve to correct any abuse of such indulgence. To the list of public buildings, which, young as was the settlement, time had overthrown, was now added the government-house at Parramatta; the roof of which falling-in in some bad weather, the building was surveyed, and found so weak and decayed as not to admit of repairs. It was therefore determined to take this entirely down, and erect a new one; for which purpose a gang of brickmakers was shortly after sent up there. At this place and at Toongabbie additional stock-yards were preparing for the cattle lately arrived; and materials were collecting for building a church and water-mill at Parramatta. At Sydney the ship's company of the _Supply_ were actively and usefully employed in constructing a half-moon battery on the east point of the cove, where stood the house built by Governor Phillip for Bennillong, in those days when it was thought an object of some moment to soothe and conciliate the friendship of that savage. There was but little variation in the weather, except that on the 25th there was a violent burst of thunder, attended with partial whirlwinds, by which several buildings were much damaged. December.] At the departure of the ship _Marquis Cornwallis_ for Bengal, which was on the 3rd of this month, several convicts were taken from the settlement without permission. This evil could alone be checked by severe prosecutions and penalties. The harvest which was begun in the last, was completed in this month. In the abundance that was expected, every one was disappointed; for, owing to a most tedious and unfortunate drought during ten months, the wheat did not turn out more than one-third of what, from the quantity of ground sown with that grain, there was a reasonable expectation of its producing, had the season been moderately favourable. This was the more seriously felt, as at one time a hope was entertained of reaping grain sufficient to supply the colony with bread for two years. The conclusion of the harvest was productive of a slight disturbance among the Irish convicts at Toongabbie. Having, each man and woman who had been employed, received a small quantity of spirits and water, which had been ordered them, it produced at first cheerfulness and play, but terminated in riot and ill-humour; a circumstance not uncommon with that class of people. They were, however, easily separated and sent to their respective huts. On the 19th, the _Francis_ schooner arrived from Norfolk Island, where all were in good health. Lieutenant Shortland, who had received directions to search for Sir Charles Middleton Island and shoal, on his return produced his journal and a chart of the various traverses which he had made in quest of the island, and compared them with those made formerly by Lieutenant (now Captain) Ball in his Majesty's armed brig _Supply_, who had been sent by Governor Phillip expressly on the same pursuit. The extensive range taken by those two officers in the search, and their not having met with even any indications of land near that situation, left little reason to believe in the existence of the island. That of the shoal was not so doubtful; and, although Mr. Shortland did not fall in with it, yet, as a shoal had been seen by two or three different persons near the spot in which that reef was laid down, there was much reason to believe that a dangerous bank or shoal did somewhere thereabout exist; but its exact situation in point of latitude and longitude had not yet been correctly fixed, nor was its extent supposed to be so great as was at first believed. On the evening of the 25th, which had been duly observed as Christmas Day, the _Nautilus_ arrived from the southward. She had been at Preservation Island, where, and among the neighbouring islands, she had been tolerably successful in seal-catching. The master left 14 of his people on the island of Cape Barren, to provide as many skins and as much oil as they could against his return. Those with which he now arrived were in a few days sold by auction. The two whalers, the _Indispensable_ and _Britannia_, which had been fishing on the coast, returned on the 29th for a few days to repair some defects and refresh their crews. They had cruised chiefly from the latitude of 32 degrees 00 minutes to 35 degrees 00 minutes, and not farther from the coast than from 20 to 30 leagues, and thought themselves rather successful for the time (only two months), the one having got 54, and the other 60 tons of spermaceti oil. The _Eliza_ (more wisely) put into Botany Bay, to wood and water. She, although much longer at seal had not been so successful, having got only 45 tons of oil. The master of this ship stated, that he saw off the NE part of New Caledonia a ship on shore upon a reef, the lower masts of which were above water, and one of the tops was on the mast. The weather was thick and hazy, and blew too fresh to allow him to send to examine her; but a piece of a boat, which he took to be part of a whale boat, floating near him, he judged the wreck to be that of a whaler. He also fell in with a very dangerous and extensive shoal, lying NNW about 40 leagues from Sandy Cape, upon the coast of New South Wales. It was so large, that, finding himself entered upon it, and unable to get back, it took him from nine in the morning until six in the evening, going at the rate of six knots (or miles) an hour, before he ran through it. Thus already did the settlement and the public at large derive some advantage from the fishing on the coast, by the discovery of this shoal. There happened three deaths in this month which were out of the common way: a woman at the Hawkesbury died of the bite of a snake; another woman was drowned in attempting to land at Norfolk island; and on the 19th died, very suddenly, Mr. Stephenson, the store-keeper at Sydney. As his death was not exactly in the common way, so neither had been the latter part of his life; indeed, all that part of it which he had passed in this country; for, by an upright conduct, and a faithful discharge of the duties of the office with which he had been entrusted, he secured to himself the approbation of his superiors while living, and their good name at his death. Stephenson had been emancipated for his orderly behaviour, and to enable him to execute the office of store-keeper. The annual election of constables recurring about this time, the magistrates were desired to be very particular in their selection of the persons returned to them for that purpose; as there was reason to fear, from the frequent escapes of prisoners from the different gaols, that the constables had been tampered with, so shamefully to neglect their duty. The wheat harvest being over, and the country, as happened generally at this season of the year, every where on fire, those who were engaged in farming were reminded of the necessity of their exerting themselves by every practicable means to secure their crops, when stacked, against accident by fire. As yet, none had been heard of. In the early part of the month Farenheit's thermometer at the Hawkesbury stood at 107 degrees in the shade. Many people were at this time much afflicted with inflammations of the eyes*, attended with extreme pain, and supposed by the medical gentlemen to be occasioned by the excessive dry and sultry weather which had prevailed for a considerable time. Dysenteric complaints were also very common, which were attributed to the water, most of the runs and springs having been nearly dried up. The tanks which were cut in the rocks below the stream by order of Governor Phillip had proved of infinite utility. [* In the month of April 1794 and 1796, several adults and children were troubled with an inflammation of the eyes, which was then attributed to the variable and unsettled weather that had for some time prevailed. It must be remarked, that the present appearance of this complaint was in the summer, the former in the winter season.] The seamen belonging to the _Supply_ completed their half-moon battery in this month, and part of that ship's guns were mounted in it. In addition to other public works, some people were employed in white-washing the houses in the town of Sydney, and repairing such of the buildings as required it; an attention highly necessary at least once in every year, for the preservation of works, the re-construction of which, when suffered to fall to decay, was attended with a great expense. The live stock and the ground in cultivation had been considerably increased in this year, as will be seen by comparing the following account of each with the return of the preceding year. LIVE STOCK Horses 44 Mares 73 Horned Cattle Bulls and Oxen 163 Cows 258 Hogs 2867 Sheep Male 1459 Female 2443 Goats Male 787 Female 1880 LAND IN CULTIVATION Acres in Wheat 4659 Acres in Maize 1453 Acres in Barley 57½ It will appear from this account, which is brought down to the month of August, and taken up from that month in the preceding year, that the goats had not increased so much as the sheep. Many had of course been slaughtered; but they were found to be afflicted with diseases which carried them off in numbers, while the sheep were seen to thrive better. CHAPTER XIV Certificates granted to convicts Reasons for so doing Unruly behaviour of the Irish Agricultural concerns look ill The _Norfolk_ sloop returns from Van Dieman's Land Particulars Twofold Bay described The natives there Kent's Group Furneaux's Islands Preservation Island Curious petrifaction there Cape Barren Island The wombat described 1799.] January.] On the second of this month, certificates were granted to such convicts as had completed their several terms of transportation. That none might have it in their power to make a plea of any injustice being exercised upon them with respect to that critical point their servitude, it had been made a rule, three or four times in the year, to issue discharge certificates to such as were found, on consulting the proper documents, to be entitled to them; and, if desirous of being at their own disposal, to strike them off from the victualling books. Many convicts having been sent out, who had not more than two years to serve after their arrival, proved, by claiming their discharge, a considerable drawback on field-labour, as well in Norfolk Island as in New South Wales. But this was not the only evil. In this way there were let loose upon the public a number of idle and worthless characters, who, not having any means of getting out of the country, became a dangerous and troublesome pest. They refused all kind of labour, but continued to form connections with the equally worthless part of the other inhabitants, who, from their domestic situations, had an opportunity of affording the best information where robberies and burglaries could be most readily committed. They also consumed a vast proportion of the provision which was raised in the colony. Still, as the law had spent its force against them, there was no denying them the restoration of their rights as free people. The convicts in general had suffered much through want of clothing and bedding. Indeed, during the late harvest, several gangs were seen labouring in the fields, as free of clothing of any kind as the savages of the country. This had made them insolent; and anonymous letters were dropped, in which were threatenings of what would be done at the proper season. At this time, when the certificates were granted, a numerous body of the Irish convicts, many of whom had but lately arrived, insisted that 'their times were out,' and could not be persuaded that they were mistaken by any remonstrance or argument. They grew noisy and insolent, and even made use of threats; upon which a few of the most forward and daring were secured, and instantly punished; after which they were ordered to go peaceably back to their work. They had also taken up the idea that Ireland had shaken off its connection with England, and that they were no longer to be considered as convicts under the British government. This was a most pernicious idea to be entertained by such a lawless set of people, and required the strong arm of government to eradicate it. Agricultural concerns at this time wore a most unpromising appearance. The wheat proved little better than straw or chaff, and the maize was burnt up in the ground for want of rain. From the establishment of the settlement, so much continued drought and suffocating heat had not been experienced. The country was now in flames; the wind northerly and parching; and some showers of rain, which fell on the 7th, were of no advantage, being immediately taken up again by the excessive heat of the sun. On the 12th, the _Norfolk_ sloop arrived, with Lieutenant Flinders and Mr. Bass, from the examination of Van Diemen's land. As the result of this little voyage was the complete knowledge of the existence of a strait separating Van Diemen's land from the continent of New Holland, it may not be improper to enter with some degree of minuteness into the particulars of it; and the writer of these pages feels much gratification in being enabled to do this, from the accurate and pleasing journal of Mr. Bass, with the perusal and use of which he has been favoured. The _Norfolk_ sailed, as has been already stated, upon this voyage of discovery about the 7th of October last, with Lieutenant Flinders and Mr. Bass; and on the 11th, when nearly off Cape Howe, being met by a fresh gale at SW they bore up, and anchored in Twofold Bay. This bay had been visited by Mr. Bass when he was on the coast in the whale boat; but he had not at that time so good an opportunity of examining it as he desired, and now had. He found Twofold Bay situated at the southern end of a short chain of hummocky hills, one part of which is much more conspicuous than the rest, and lies immediately behind the bay. The land on the west side, being a part of this chain of hills, is high and rocky. The shore is divided into steep cliff heads, with small intermediate beaches; the one formed by the most prominent of the ridges, the others by the sand thrown up at the foot of their valleys. Behind the beaches are ponds of brackish water. The abruptness and sudden rise of the hills for the most part permit the vegetable earth to be washed down into the vallies as fast as it is formed. Some of the more gradual slopes retain a sufficiency of it to produce a thick coat of tolerably succulent grass; but the soil partakes too much of the stony quality of the higher parts to be capable of cultivation. The dark luxuriant foliage of the valleys points out the advantages which they had received from the impoverished hills. Their soil is rich and deep, but their extent is narrow and limited. Some three or four hundred acres of excellent soil might be found upon the edges of the ponds, and by the sides of the occasional drains that supply them with the fresh part of their water. Both hill and valley produce large timber and brush-wood of various heights; upon the hills, the brush grows in small clumps; while in the valleys it not only covers the whole surface, but is also bound together by creeping vines, of every size between small twine and a seven inch hawser. In the SW corner of the bay, is a lagoon, or small inlet, that communicates with the sea, through the beach at the back of which it lies. The chain of hills here runs back to some little distance from the water, and leaves a few square miles of rather good ground, through which the inlet was found to take its course in a winding direction to the SW for six or eight miles, where it ends in small swamps and marshes. Large boats might enter this place at a third flood, and proceed to the farther part of it. Upon its banks from five to seven hundred acres of a light sandy soil might be picked out, in patches of from fifty to a hundred acres each; but on the side next the mountain it soon became stony, and on that next the lagoon it was wet and salt. The country along the back of the bay lies in rounded stony hills scarcely fit for pasturage, but covered with timber, and patches of short brush. On the south side was another shallow inlet, larger than that on the SW running in by the end of a beach, and winding along to the SSW with little or no cultivable or low ground upon its borders. The returning tide did not allow time enough to proceed to the head of it. On the eastern side, the hills being neither steep nor prominent, some extensive slopes of tolerably good, though sandy soil, have been formed. Several which extended to the water, being well covered with grass and thinly set with timber, had a pleasing appearance from the bay, and resembled some of the most beautiful parts of Mount Edgecumbe, near Plymouth. Speaking generally of the land round the bay, it might be said to be much more barren that productive; that there are several patches of tolerably good, and some few of excellent soil; but by far the greater part is incapable of cultivation, and fit only for pasturage. The most common timber is a sort of gum tree, the bark of which along the trunk is that of the iron bark of Port Jackson; and its leaf, that of the blue gum tree; but its branches toward the head are of a yellow colour, smooth, and resembling the barked limbs of trees. The wood is longer grained, and more tough, splitting easier and more true than any other species of the gum tree. The natives are, in person, similar to those living about Port Jackson, but their language was perfectly unintelligible. They used canoes, of which they seemed very careful; for on his rowing round the point of Snug Cove, when Mr. Bass was on his first visit to this bay in the whale boat, a party of them paddled hastily on shore, taking their canoes upon their heads, and running off with them into the woods. They, however, did not appear so shy of their visitors now as they had formerly been; and there was reason to believe that a friendly intercourse might have been easily established with them. Not meeting with any grass trees, and the few spears that were seen being made of solid wood, it may be conjectured that the light grass reed spear used by the natives of Port Jackson is unknown among these people, as well as the use of the throwing-stick. But very few marks of the kangaroo were seen. Both quadrupeds and birds appeared to be less numerous here than in other places. The dogs found a porcupine ant-eaters, but they could make no impression on him; he escaped from them by burrowing in the loose sand, not head foremost, but sinking himself directly downwards, and presenting his prickly back opposed to his adversaries. There were a few ducks, teal, herons, cranes, and a bird named from its bill the Red-bill, upon the lagoons, with some small flights of curlew and plover of a beautiful feather. The rocks consist of hardened clay, in which are mixed great numbers of small stones, variously tinged, some with red, others with yellow. Small portions of calcareous spar lie scattered about the surface of the rocky ground; strata of which are deposited irregularly in fissures formed in the body of the rocks themselves. Leaving Twofold Bay upon a favourable shift of wind, the sloop proceeded to the southward, and on the 17th made a small cluster of islands, in latitude 38 degrees 16 minutes, which now bears the name of Kent's Group (a compliment to the commander of his Majesty's ship _Supply_). These are six or seven in number, and of various sizes. Their height is very considerable, and as irregular in figure as can well be imagined in land whose hummocks are no one of them more lofty than another. This small group appears to be formed of granite, which is imperfectly concealed by long straggling dwarfish brush, and some few still more diminutive trees, and seems cursed with a sterility that might safely bid defiance to Chinese industry itself. Nature is either working very slowly with those islands, or has altogether ceased to work upon them, since a more wild deserted place is not easily to be met with. Even the birds seemed not to frequent them in their usual numbers. There was, in short, nothing that could tempt our explorers to land. Having passed Kent's Group standing to the southward, the next morning Furneaux's Islands were in sight, and on the following day they anchored at Preservation Island, which is one of them. These islands, from what was seen of them during this run along their shore, and what had been seen of them before by Mr. Bass, appear to consist of two kinds, perfectly dissimilar in figure, and most probably of very unequal ages, but alike in the materials of which they are formed. Both kinds are of granite; but the one is low, and rather level, with a soil of sand covered with low brush and tufted grass: the other is remarkably high, bold, and rocky, and cut into a variety of singular peaks and knobs. Some little vegetable soil lies upon these, and the vegetation is large; trees even of a tolerable size are produced in some places. There are attached to some parts of these high islands slips of low sandy land, of a similar height with the lower islands, and probably coeval with them. Preservation Island, which takes its respectable name from having preserved the crew of the ship _Sydney Cove_, arranges itself in the humble class of islands, and is of a very moderate height. A surface of sand, varying in depth, and mixed in different scanty proportions with vegetable soil, scarcely hides from view the base, which is of granite. In several places vast blocks of this stone lie scattered about, as free from vegetation and the injuries of weather as if they had fallen but yesterday: and, what is remarkable, most of them, probably all, are evidently detached from the stone upon which they rest, so entirely that they might be dragged from the places where they lie, if it were thought worth while to apply a power sufficient to produce so useless an effect. It should seem then that these loose blocks have fallen from some place higher than that upon which they were found; but that is impossible, for they are higher than any other part of the island. And the supposition that the injuries of the air and the rain caused the removal of that part of the granite which might originally have been of a corresponding height with these remaining blocks, seems hardly admissible in the present instance. Perhaps subterraneous or volcanic fire may have caused this curious appearance. The great bulk of these blocks renders them so conspicuous, that the attention is first struck with them upon approaching the island. But, besides granite, there is on the north side, where the island is particularly low and narrow, a slip of calcareous earth, of a few hundred yards in length, which discovers itself near the broken surface of the water. It is not for the most part pure, for broken pieces of the granite are mixed with it in various proportions. Some parts are a mere mass of these broken pieces cemented together by the calcareous matter; whilst others are an almost perfect chalk, and are capable of being burnt into excellent lime. Broken sea shells and other exuviae of marine animals are apparent throughout the whole mass. Upon the beach at the foot of this chalky rock, was found a very considerable quantity of the black metallic particles which appear in the granite as black shining specks, and are in all probability grains of tin. To find this small bed of the remains of shell animals, of which chalk is formed wherever found, in such an unexpected situation, excited some surprise; and Mr. Bass endeavoured to investigate the cause of this deposit, by examining the form of the neighbouring parts of the island. The result of his inquiries and conjectures amounted to this: that as traces of the sea, and of the effects of running waters, were plainly discernible in many parts of the island, and more particularly in the vicinity of this deposit of chalk and granite, it seemed highly probable that it had been formed by two streams of the tide, which, when the island was yet beneath the surface of the sea, having swept round a large lump of rocks, then met and formed an eddy, where every substance would fall to the bottom. The lump of rocks is now a rocky knoll, which runs tapering from the opposite side of the island toward the chalk. On each side of it is a gap, through which the two streams appear to have passed. The vegetation on the island seems brown and starved. It consists of a few stunted trees; several patches of brush, close set and almost impenetrable; large tufts of sour and wiry grass, and abundance of low saltish plants, chiefly of the creeping kind. A small spot upon the east end of the island presented a phenomenon which seemed not easily explicable by any known laws of that class of natural history to which it alone was referable. Amidst a patch of naked sand, upon one of the highest parts of the island, at not less than 100 feet above the level of the sea, within the limits of a few hundred yards square, were lying scattered about a number of short broken branches of old dead trees, of from one to three inches in diameter, and seemingly of a kind similar to the large brush wood. Amid these broken branches were seen sticking up several white stony stumps, of sizes ranging between the above diameters, and in height from a foot to a foot and a half. Their peculiar form, together with a number of prongs of their own quality, projecting in different directions from around their base, and entering the ground in the manner of roots, presented themselves to the mind of an observer, with a striking resemblance to the stumps and roots of small trees. These were extremely brittle, the slightest blow with a stick, or with each other, being sufficient to break them short off; and when taken into the hand, many of them broke to pieces with their own weight. On being broken transversely, it was immediately seen that the internal part was divided into interior or central, exterior or cortical. The exterior part, which in different specimens occupied various proportions of the whole, resembled a fine white and soft grit-stone; but acids being applied, showed it to be combined with a considerable portion of calcareous matter. The interior or central part was always circular, but seldom found of the same diameter, or of the same composition, on any two stumps. In some the calcareous and sandy matter had taken such entire possession, that every fragment of the wood was completely obliterated; but yet a faint central ring remained. In others was a centre of chalk, beautifully white, that crumbled between the fingers to the finest powder; some consisted of chalk and brown earth, in various quantities, and some others had detained a few frail portions of their woody fibres, the spaces between which were filled up with chalky earth. It appeared, that when the people of the _Sydney Cove_ first came upon the island, the pieces of dead branches that at this time were lying round the stumps, then formed, with them, the stem and branches of dead trees complete. But by the time Mr. Bass visited the place, the hands of curiosity, and the frolics of an unruly horse that was saved from the wreck, had reduced them to the state already described. Mr. Bass had been told from good authority, that when the trees were in a complete state, the diameter of the dead wood of the stem that rose immediately from the stoney part was equal to the diameter of that part; and also that a living leaf was seen upon the uppermost branches of one of them. But he could never learn whether the stony part of the stem was of an equal height in all the trees. To ascertain to what depth the petrification had extended, Mr. Bass scratched away the sand from the foot of many of the stumps, and in no instance found it to have proceeded more than three or four inches beneath the surface of the sand, as it then lay; for at that depth the brown and crumbling remains of the root came into view. There were, indeed, parts of the roots which had undergone an alteration similar to that which had taken place in the stems: but these tended to establish the limits of the petrifying power; for they had felt it only either at their first outset from the bottom of the stems, or when, being obstructed in their progress, they had of necessity arched upwards toward the surface. In attempting to account for the cause that had operated to produce this change in the structure of the lower parts of the stems of these trees, Mr. Bass feels the utmost diffidence. He found that all his conjectures which were best supported by existing facts, led him to place them among petrifications; although no strict analogy could be seen between them and the subjects usually met with of this kind. Admitting them, however, as petrifications, it is certain that there must once have existed a pond in which the petrifying water was contained; but the ground in their neighbourhood retained no positive traces of any such receptacle. There were, indeed, near them, some few lumps or banks consisting of sand, and a little vegetable earth which was held together by dead roots of small trees, and elevated above the rest of the ground, to the height of five, six, or eight feet; but the relative position of these with each other was so confused and irregular, that nothing but the necessity of a once existing reservoir could ever lead any one to conjecture that these might have been parts of its bank. Mr. Bass, however, rather concluded that this must have been the case, and that the remainder of the bank had been torn away, and the pond itself annihilated by some violent effort of an unknown power. Notwithstanding the narrow limits of the island, abundance of small kangaroos were found to inhabit its brushy parts; but so many had been destroyed by the people of the _Sydney Cove_, that they had now become scarce. The sooty petrel had appropriated a certain grassy part of the island to herself, and retained her position with a degree of obstinacy not easily to be overcome. For although it so happened, that the storehouse for the wrecked cargo was erected upon the spot, and the people for more than a year drew the favourite part of their food from these birds, and were besides continually walking over their habitations, yet at the end of that time the returning flights in the evening were as numerous as they had been observed to be upon their first arrival. When Mr. Hamilton, the commander of the _Sydney Cove_, quitted the house, he left two hens sitting upon their eggs, some breeding pigeons, and a bag of rice; but no traces were now to be discovered either of the birds or their food. It is probable, that so long as this little colony continued within doors, it did well; but that, when forced by its necessities to go abroad in quest of food, it fell a quiet sacrifice to the rapacity of the hawks. Several snakes with venomous fangs were found here; but, no person having been bitten by them, the degree of their power was unknown. The water of the island was thought to have been injurious to the health of the people of the _Sydney Cove_. It was supposed to contain arsenic, which was highly probable from an experiment that was made with the metallic particles, which were taken to be tin. A large fume of what bore many marks of arsenic arose from the crucible during the time of smelting it. Water was very scarce while these people were upon the island; but, owing to some unusual falls of rain, several little runs and swamps were found by Mr. Bass; and a low piece of ground where they had deposited their dead was now a pond of an excellent quality. Although he had seen but few of the low islands of Furneaux, yet Mr. Bass had not any doubt but that this account of Preservation Island would in general answer for the description of any of them. He next proceeds to describe what little he saw of Cape Barren Island, which he understood, from the people of the _Nautilus_ snow, who had been there sealing, was an exact specimen of those of the higher kind, so far as they had observed of them. Cape Barren Island, which takes its name from the cape so called by Captain Furneaux, is a small island when compared with that lying to the northward of it. From what was seen of it in the sloop, it could only be conjectured that these two were separate islands; but Mr. Bishop had passed in the _Nautilus_ through the channel that divides them. Mr. Bass did not land upon the large island, and it is only of the southern end of Cape Barren Island that he could speak from his own particular observation. This island is one of those of the higher kind that consist of both high and low land. The high part is composed of granite, in many places almost bare, in others poorly clothed with moderate sized gum trees, which draw their support through some small quantity of vegetable earth lodged by the broken blocks and fragments of the stone, and some straggling brush-wood shooting up round the trees, and completing the appearance of a continued vegetation. The base of the low part is granite; its surface chiefly sand; its produce, variety of brush, with some few small gum trees, and a species of fir, that grows tall and straight to the height of 20 or 25 feet. There are within the body of the brush several clear spots, where the ground is partly rocky or sandy, partly wet and spongy. These are somewhat enlivened by beautiful flowering heath, and low shrubs, but have upon the whole a dark sombrous aspect, too much resembling the barren heaths of Hampshire. A grass tree grows here, similar in every respect to that about Port Jackson, except that no reed, neither living nor dead, could be found to belong to it. It is certain, however, that there must be a reed, or a flowering part of some kind. In the brushes, where the sandy soil is somewhat ameliorated by the decay of vegetation, a few tufts of indifferent grass might be seen; but the greater part of it was the coarse wiry sort that grows in hassocks. It is singular, that a place wherein food seemed to be so scarce should yet be so thickly inhabited by the small brush kangaroo, and a new quadruped, which was also a grass-eater. This animal, being a new one, appears to deserve a particular description. The Wombat (or, as it is called by the natives of Port Jackson, the Womback) is a squat, thick, short-legged, and rather inactive quadruped, with great appearance of stumpy strength, and somewhat bigger than a large turnspit dog. Its figure and movements, if they do not exactly resemble those of the bear, at least strongly remind one of that animal. Its length, from the tip of the tail to the tip of the nose, is thirty-one inches, of which its body takes up twenty-three and five-tenths. The head is seven inches, and the tail five-tenths. Its circumference behind the forelegs, twenty-seven inches; across the thickest part of the belly, thirty-one inches. Its weight by hand is somewhat between twenty-five and thirty pounds. The hair is coarse, and about one inch or one inch and five tenths in length, thinly set upon the belly, thicker on the back and head, and thickest upon the loins and rump; the colour of it a light sandy brown, of varying shades, but darkest along the back. The head is large and flattish, and, when looking the animal full in the face, seems, excluding the ears, to form nearly an equilateral triangle, any side of which is about seven inches and five tenths in length, but the upper side, or that which constitutes the breadth of the head, is rather the shortest. The hair upon the face lies in regular order, as if it were combed, with its ends pointed upwards in a kind of radii, from the nose their centre. The ears are sharp and erect, of two inches and three-tenths in length, stand well asunder, and are in nowise disproportionate. The eyes are small, and rather sunken than prominent, but quick and lively. They are placed about two inches and five tenths asunder, a little below the centre of the imaginary triangle towards the nose. The nice co-adaptation of their ciliary processes, which are covered with a fine hair, seems to afford the animal an extraordinary power of excluding whatever might be hurtful. The nose is large or spreading, the nostrils large, long, and capable of being closed. They stand angularly with each other, and a channel is continued from them towards the upper lip, which is divided like the hare's. The whiskers are rather thick and strong, and are in length from two to three inches and five tenths. The opening of its mouth is small; it contains five long grass-cutting teeth in the front of each jaw, like those of the kangaroo; within them is a vacancy for an inch or more, then appear two small canine teeth of equal height with, and so much similar to, eight molars situated behind, as scarcely to be distinguishable from them. The whole number in both jaws amount to twenty-four. The neck is thick and short, and greatly restrains the motions of the head, which, according to the common expression, looks as if it was stuck upon the shoulders. From the neck the back arches a little as far as the loins, whence it goes off at a flat slope to the hindmost parts, where not any tail is visible. A tail, however, may be found by carefully passing the finger over the flat slope in a line with the backbone. After separating the hairs, it is seen of some five tenths of an inch in length, and from three to one tenth of an inch in diameter, naked, except for a few short fine hairs near its end. This curious tall seemed to hold a much bolder proportion in the young than in the full-grown animal. The fore legs are very strong and muscular: their length, to the sole of the paw, is five inches five tenths, and the distance between them is five inches and five tenths. The paws are fleshy, round, and large, being one inch and nine tenths in diameter. Their claws are five in number, attached to as many short digitations. The three middle claws are strong, and about eight or nine tenths of an inch in length; the thumb and little finger claws are also strong, but shorter than the others, being only from six to seven tenths of an inch. The fleshy root of the thumb claw is smaller and more flexible than the others. The sole of the paw is hard, and the upper part is covered with the common hair, down to the roots of the claws which it overhangs. The hind legs are less strong and muscular than the fore; their length, to the sole, is five inches and five tenths; the distance between, seven inches and five tenths. The hind paw is longer than the fore, but not less fleshy; its length is two inches and seven tenths, its breadth two inches and six tenths. The claws are four in number: the three inner ones are less strong, but about two tenths of an inch longer than the longest of the fore claws; and there is a fleshy spur in the place of a thumb claw. The whole paw has a curve, which throws its fore part rather inward. In size the two sexes are nearly the same, but the female is perhaps rather the heaviest. In the opinion of Mr. Bass, this Wombat seemed to be very economically made; but he thought it unnecessary to give an account of its internal structure in his journal. This animal has not any claim to swiftness of foot, as most men could run it down. Its pace is hobbling or shuffling, something like the awkward gait of a bear. In disposition it is mild and gentle, as becomes a grass-eater; but it bites hard, and is furious when provoked. Mr. Bass never heard its voice but at that time; it was a low cry, between a hissing and a whizzing, which could not be heard at a distance of more than thirty or forty yards. He chased one, and with his hands under his belly suddenly lifted him off the ground without hurting him, and laid him upon his back along his arm, like a child. It made no noise, nor any effort to escape, not even a struggle. Its countenance was placid and undisturbed, and it seemed as contented as if it had been nursed by Mr. Bass* from its infancy. He carried the beast upwards of a mile, and often shifted him from arm to arm, sometimes laying him upon his shoulder, all of which he took in good part; until, being obliged to secure his legs while he went into the brush to cut a specimen of a new wood, the creature's anger arose with the pinching of the twine; he whizzed with all his might, kicked and scratched most furiously, and snapped off a piece from the elbow of Mr. Bass's Jacket with his grass-cutting teeth. Their friendship was here at an end, and the creature remained implacable all the way to the boat, ceasing to kick only when he was exhausted. [* The kangaroo, and some other animals in New South Wales, were remarkable for being domesticated as soon as taken.] This circumstance seemed to indicate, that with kind treatment the Wombat might soon be rendered extremely docile, and probably affectionate; but let his tutor beware of giving him provocation, at least if he should be full grown. Besides Furneaux's Islands, the Wombat inhabits, as has been seen, the mountains to the westward of Port Jackson. In both these places its habitation is under ground, being admirably formed for burrowing, but to what depth it descends does not seem to be ascertained. According to the account given of it by the natives, the wombat of the mountains is never seen during the day, but lives retired in his hole, feeding only in the night; but that of the islands is seen to feed in all parts of the day. His food is not yet well known; but it seems probable that he varies it, according to the situation in which he may be placed. The stomachs of such as Mr. Bass examined were distended with the coarse wiry grass, and he, as well as others, had seen the animal scratching among the dry ricks of sea-weed thrown up upon the shores, but could never discover what it was in search of. Now the inhabitant of the mountains can have no recourse to the sea-shore for his food, nor can he find there any wiry grass of the islands, but must live upon the food that circumstances present to him. The annexed representation of this new and curious addition to the animals of New South Wales was taken from a living subject, which was a female, and had the characteristic mark which classed it with the opossum tribe, the pouch or bag for its young. Cape Barren Island, besides the kangaroo and wombat, is inhabited by the porcupine ant-eater; a rat with webbed feet; paroquets, and small birds unknown at Port Jackson, some few of which were of beautiful plumage. Black snakes with the venomous fangs were numerous upon the edges of the brush. The rocks toward the sea were covered with fur-seals of great beauty. This species of seal seemed to approach nearest to that named by naturalists the Falkland Island Seal. 'In point of animated life nature seems (says Mr. Bass) to have acted so oddly with this and the neighbouring islands, that if their rich stores were thoroughly ransacked, I doubt not but the departments of natural history would be enlarged by more new and valuable specimens than they ever before acquired from any land of many times their extent.' CHAPTER XV The _Norfolk_ proceeds on her voyage The Swan Isles; why so named Waterhouse Isle Discover Port Dalrymple Account of the country within it Natural productions Animals Sagacity and numbers of the black swan Inhabitants; inferior to those of the continent Range of the thermometer Pass Table Cape Circular head Three Hummock Island Albatross Island Hunter's Isles Proceed to the southward and westward Leaving Furneaux's Islands, the _Norfolk_ proceeded toward the North coast of Van Diemen's land; and on the 1st of November she anchored for a tide at the largest of the Swan isles, two small islands so named by Lieutenant Flinders, when he was here in the _Francis_, because a European who belonged to the _Sydney Cove_ had assured him that he had met with vast numbers of breeding swans upon them. The isle at which the sloop anchored bore a great resemblance to Preservation Island, being low, sandy, and barren, but differed from it in the composition of its rocks, or that substance which formed the basis of its support. This had not any affinity to granite, nor did Mr. Bass remember to have seen any of a similar kind upon any part of New South Wales. It was of various colours, but generally either a light brown, or a sort of grey. It seemed to be lamellated, but the lamellae were placed vertically, sometimes radiated with a diameter of four or five feet, and sometimes they were placed parallel. Upon breaking the stone, the fracture was vitreous, or like that of glass, and it scintillated on steel being applied. Rust of iron was visible in several parts, the stone breaking easily in those parts into plates correspondent to the length and direction of the rust; but where that was not, it broke with great difficulty. On the first view, the stone looked like a clay; but as it produced fire with steel, there must have been a large portion of flint in it. It appeared to contain iron in rather a large quantity, and probably some other metallic substances. Notwithstanding the information given by the European, not a single swan was found upon the island; but several geese were breeding there, and the sooty petrel possessed the grassy parts; the swans of the sailor, in this instance, therefore, turned out to be geese. This bird had been seen before upon Preservation Island, and was either a Brent or a Barnacle goose, or between the two. It had a long and slender neck, with a small short head, and a rounded crown; a short, thick arched bill, partly covered with a pea-green membrane which soon shrivelled up, and came away in the dried specimens. Its plumage was, for the most part, of a dove colour, set with black spots. It had a deep, hoarse, clanging, and, though a short, yet an inflected voice. In size it was rather less than our tame geese, and lived upon grass. The flesh was excellent. Early in the morning of the first of November they left the Swan Isles, steering to the westward along shore. At nine o'clock the north coast of Van Diemen's land lay extended from about SE by E to West, the nearest part of it being distant two and a half or three miles. Its general trending seemed to be about ESE and WNW with a small island lying off the western extreme. The shores were chiefly beaches, the front land was of a moderate height, the back was mountainous. One ridge of mountains that bore south was very high and rugged, and from the white patches in it was concluded to be rocky and barren. If any judgment could be hazarded of the quality of the country, at the distance the sloop was at, it might be supposed, from the beauty of the lower head-land, to be somewhat above mediocrity. Extensive tracts of open ground that come down towards the sea in gradual green slopes were varied by clumps of wood and large single trees. A column of smoke that arose some few miles inland, was the only sign of its being inhabited. At noon the latitude was 40 degrees 44 minutes 08 seconds, the peak of Cape Barren Island then in sight. At this time they were two miles to the westward of the small island, which was low and rocky, lying about two miles and a half off a sharp, sandy point, with which it was nearly connected by some lumps of rock that almost closed up the passage. A long curved line of ripple extended to the northward. The aspect of the low land here became less pleasing, the mountains approaching nearer to the sea, and the country appearing to be more wooded. The coast seemed inclined to a more southerly direction, and the western extremity, which bore SW by W, appeared broken, like Islands. At five in the afternoon they anchored two miles and a half to the westward of the small island, it being calm, and the tide of ebb setting the vessel to the Northward. They weighed at nine the next morning with an easterly wind, and steered in towards a small break that presented itself in the bottom of an extensive but not deep bay, or rather bight, lying between the two extremes then in view. The break was not sufficiently distinct to have justified in itself alone a reasonable supposition of an inlet, but that it was corroborated by the direction of the ebb tide, which, while the sloop was at anchor, was observed to come from the SSW or directly out of the bight, running at the rate of two miles and a half per hour. By noon, it being ascertained that there was not any inlet, they bore away to the Westward along the land. Their distance from the shore did not exceed a mile and a half. The back country consisted of high hummocky mountains, whose parallel edges were lying elevated one above another to a considerable distance inland. The land in front was woody and bushy, of a moderate height, but sandy. At three in the afternoon they ran through between a sandy point, with shoal water off it, and two islands. One of these, named Waterhouse Isle, is between two and three miles in length, rather high, but level, and covered with large wood. The other is small, low, rocky, and almost bare. The coast now trended to the SSW the land sloping up gradually from the sea to a moderate height, with more open than wooded ground, and but little brush; but the soil appeared sandy, and the grass but thinly grown. The hummocky mountains still retained their general figure in the more interior parts. As they proceeded, the shore no longer preserved any regular line of direction, but fell back into sandy bights. Hauling off for the night, a little to the westward of a small rocky and barren island, lying about four miles from the land, at six o'clock the following morning they came in with it again, near where they had left it the preceding evening, and began their course along the shore, which trended to the SSW in an irregular manner, with a sandy country at its back. At eleven o'clock they passed within a mile of a high grassy cape, which is the seaward extremity of a ridge, that, rising up by a gentle ascent, retreats and joins some chains of lofty mountains. A small rocky island lay two miles from it to the WSW. At noon the latitude was 40 degrees 55 minutes 25 seconds, and the longitude 147 degrees 16 minutes 30 seconds. Early in the afternoon a gap in the land situated at the back of a deep narrow bight, which had for some time attracted attention, began to assume the appearance of an inlet, which they bore away to examine; and, after running three miles, they found they had shut in the line of the coast on each side, and were impelled forward by a strong inset of tide. Continuing their course for the gap, some back points within the entrance soon became distinguishable, and the rapidity of the flood tide was observed to increase with the increasing contiguity of the shores. When the sloop was on the point of entering the harbour, which appeared to be fairly open before her, the water shoaled suddenly, and she struck the ground and lay fast; but fortunately the strong flood in a few minutes dragged her over into deep water, and shot her into the entrance with uncommon velocity. Having advanced within the entrance, the harbour began to expand itself in a kind of large basin. Its shores were broken into points and projections, between some of which the great strength of the flood tide led them to expect it would branch off into arms. The land lying immediately upon its borders was low, but not flat; well wooded; and those points near which the sloop passed were clothed with a very unusual degree of verdure. The sun being down, the vessel was anchored for the night, and the next day they proceeded with their researches. They were employed during sixteen days in the examination of this place; and the result of the observations which were made by Mr. Bass in different parts of it, and the neighbouring country, are thrown by that gentleman into one general account. This harbour, or inlet, which was named by the governor Port Dalrymple, in compliment to Alexander Dalrymple, esq takes its course from the SE between two chains of rounded mountains, stretching inland from the sea with an almost imperceptible increase of elevation; and, after gradually approximating each other, seemed to unite, at the distance of between thirty and forty miles, in a body of rugged mountains more lofty than themselves. These two chains in their relative positions formed an acute angle, being at their greatest distance asunder, as measured along the sea coast, only sixteen miles. Being limited in point of time (twelve weeks having been deemed by the governor sufficient for the execution of this service), the apprehension of losing a wind favourable for the prosecution of the principal object of the voyage, that of sailing through the strait, deterred them from attempting to reach the head of the river; but it was hardly to be doubted, that its principal source proceeded from some part near the point of union of the two chains of mountains. Allowing this supposition, a great part of its stream must be perfectly fresh; for at the place where they ended their examination, which was not more than half the whole supposed distance or length of the river, it had become half fresh half salt, although its breadth was from half a mile to a mile and a half, and its depth eight or nine fathoms. The country which Mr. Bass had an opportunity of observing, was a certain portion of that lying within the angle formed by the two chains of mountains, and more especially of the parts which lay contiguous to the water, rather than of those situated in the vicinity of the chains. The quality of the ground, taking it in the aggregate, was much superior to that of the borders of any of the salt water inlets of New South Wales, Western Port excepted (seen by Mr Bass on his first excursion in the whale boat). The vegetable mould was, however, found to be of no great depth, and was sometimes, perhaps advantageously, mixed with small quantities of sand. The best of the soil was found upon the sides of sloping hills, and in the broad valleys between them. Some parts that were low and level had a wet and peat-like surface, bounded by small tracts of flowering shrubs and odoriferous plants, that perfumed the air with the fragrance of their oils.* These retained in general the appearance of those in New South Wales, while they were in reality very different. The rich and vivid colouring of the more northern flowers, and that soft and exquisite gradation of their tints, for which they are so singularly distinguished hold with those here, but in a less eminent degree. The two countries present a perfect similarity in this, that the more barren spots are the most gaily adorned. The curious florist, and scientific botanist, would find ample subject of exultation in their different researches in Port Dalrymple. [* In this particular they differ from the flowering shrubs of New South Wales; none or very few of which were ever found, beautiful as they were in other respects, to possess the smallest particle of odour.] Except in these places, the grass grows not in tufts, but covers the land equally with a short nutritious herbage, better adapted, possibly, to the bite of small than of large cattle. The food for the latter grows in the bottoms of the valleys and upon the damp flats. A large proportion of the soil promised a fair return to the labours of the cultivator, and a lesser ensures an ample reward; but the greater part would perhaps be more advantageously employed, if left for pasturage, than if thrown into cultivation; it would be poor as the one, but rich as the other. Water was found in runs more than in ponds, and, though not abundant, was far from being scarce. The west side of the river furnishes the largest quantity of the best ground, because the mountains on that side are at a greater distance than those on the east. The country lying near the west arm is chiefly rather flat, and might be converted to many useful purposes, both in agriculture and in pasturage, for which last it is probably well calculated. If it should ever be proposed to make a settlement here, this part seems to merit very particular attention. The best land seems to be that fine hilly country which lies at the back of an island named Middle-island; but access to it is not easy on account of a large shoal extending along its front, which is dry at low water, as far out as the island itself. The shape of the land is very pleasingly variegated with hill and valley; the soil is in general a rich black mould, shallow, and even sometimes a little stony upon the hills, but in the valleys is of abundant depth and richness. A close coat of grass of a uniform thickness over-spreads it every where. It appears to be watered only by swampy ponds, which in many places are at some distance from each other; but it is hardly to be doubted, that wells sunk in the valleys would furnish water sufficient for all domestic purposes. In sailing up the river, the points and shores present an appearance of fertility that astonishes an eye used to those of the rocky harbours of New South Wales. They are mostly grassed as well as wooded close down to the water side, the wood, perhaps, thin; the grass every where thick, every where a dark luxuriant vegetation, that, either from the thinness of the wood, or the gradual rounding of the hills and points, is visible to a very considerable extent of ground. The tides run so uncommonly rapid, that if the port were colonised, and the principal town built, as it no doubt would be, near the entrance, the produce of the villages and farms scattered along its banks might be brought to market with the greatest ease, expedition, and certainty. The heavy timber is chiefly gum tree of various species; of which two are different from any that have been yet seen in this country. Nothing new was observed in the quality of the wood; but, from the few trees that were felled, it was thought to be more sound at heart than they are usually met with. The she oaks were more inclined to spread than grow tall. The smaller trees and shrubs resemble, with some variety, those of the continent.* The tree producing the yellow gum is of a very diminutive size; but, unlike that of Cape Barren island, it bears a reed correspondent to itself. These were going into flower, and their length was only from nine inches to two feet.** [* Mr. Pennant allows its claim to this distinction. Vide Pennant's 'Outlines of the Globe.'] [** This dwarf gum tree is of much use to the natives of New South Wales, as may be seen by the following distribution of its properties. The gum from the body of the tree, which they term Goolgad-ye, is used for repairing their canoes. Of the reed they make a fiz-gig, which they call Moo-ting. Of the grass or rushes which grow at the top of the tree, they make torches, named Boo-do. A gum which they extract from these rushes, and which is named Wangye, they use in fastening the joints of their spears; and from the centre of the tree they procure a loathsome worm, which they call Boo-roo-gal, and deem a great luxury. The tree itself is named Ye-gal.] The few rocky shores of the river presented nothing remarkable, being generally either of a rough iron-stone, or a soft grid-stone. The grey kangaroo of a very large size, abounded in the open forest; the brushes were tenanted by the smaller black kind, or, as it is named by the natives of Port Jackson, the Wal-li-bah. The plumage of the parrots forms a gloomy contrast with the rich lustre of those near the settlement, their colours being rather grave than gay. The melancholy cry of the bell-bird (dil boong, after which Bennillong named his infant child) seems to be unknown here. Many aquatic birds, both web-footed and waders, frequent the arms and coves of the river; but the black swans alone are remarkable in point of number. Mr. Bass once made a rough calculation of three hundred swimming within the space of a quarter of a mile square; and heard the 'dying song' of some scores; that song, so celebrated by the poets of former times, exactly resembled the creaking of a rusty sign on a windy day! Not more than two thirds of any of the flocks which they fell in with could fly, the rest could do no more than flap along upon the surface of the water, being either moulting, or not yet come to their full feather and growth, which they require two years to attain. They swam and flapped alternately, and went along surprisingly fast. It was some times a long chase, but the boat generally tired them out. When in danger, and speed makes no part of their escape, they immerse their bodies so far, that the water makes a passage between their neck and back, and in this position they would frequently turn aside a heavy load of shot. They seemed to be endowed with much sagacity; in chase they soon learned the weakest point of their pursuers, and, instead of swimming directly from them, as they did at first, always endeavoured in the most artful manner to gain the wind, which could only be prevented by anticipating their movements, and by a dexterous management of the boat. The swan is said to feed upon fish, frogs, and water-slugs; but in the gizzards of many that at different times and in different places were examined by Mr. Bass, nothing ever appeared but small water plants, mostly a kind of broad leaved grass, and some little sand. To their affection for their young he had seen some lamentable sacrifices; but of their fierceness, at least when opposed to man, or their great strength, he had seen no instance. Among other reptiles were found the snake with venomous fangs, and some large brown guanoes. This country is inhabited by men; and, if any judgment could be formed from the number of huts which they met, in about the same proportion as in New South Wales. Their extreme shyness prevented any communication. They never even got sight of them but once, and then at a great distance. They had made fires abreast of where the sloop was at anchor; but as soon as the boat approached the shore they ran off into the woods. Their huts, of which seven or eight were frequently found together like a little encampment, were constructed of bark torn in long stripes from some neighbouring tree, after being divided transversely at the bottom, in such breadths as they judge their strength would be able to disengage from its adherence to the wood, and the connecting bark on each side. It is then broken into convenient lengths, and placed, slopingwise, against the elbowing part of some dead branch that has fallen off from the distorted limbs of the gum tree; and a little grass is sometimes thrown over the top. But, after all their labour, they have not ingenuity sufficient to place the slips of bark in such a manner as to preclude the free admission of the rain. It is somewhat strange, that in the latitude of 41 degrees, want should not have sharpened their ideas to the invention of some more convenient habitation, especially since they have been left by nature without the confined dwelling of a hollow tree, or the more agreeable accommodation of a hole under the rock. The single utensil that was observed lying near their huts was a kind of basket made of long wiry grass, that grows along the shores of the river. The two ends of a large bunch of this grass are tied to the two ends of a smaller bunch; the large one is then spread out to form the basket, while the smaller answers the purpose of a handle. Their apparent use is, to bring shell fish from the mud banks where they are to be collected. The large heaps of mussel shells that were found near each hut proclaimed the mud banks to be a principal source of food. The most scrupulous examination of their fire places discovered nothing, except a few bones of the opossum, a squirrel, and here and there those of a small kangaroo. No remains of fish were even seen. The mode of taking the opossum seemed to be similar to that practised in New South Wales*, except that it is probable they use a rope in ascending the tree; for once, at the foot of a notched tree, about eight feet of a two inch rope made of grass was found with a knot in it, near which it appeared to have broken. [* Vide Vol I Appendix II.] A canoe was never met with, and concurring circumstances showed that this convenience was unknown here; nor was any tree ever observed to be barked in the manner requisite for this purpose; though birds bred upon little islands to which access might be had in the smallest canoe. Those made of solid timber seemed to be wholly out of the question. The roughness of the notches left by the stone hatchet upon the bark of the trees bore no very favourable testimony to its excellence. They were rather the marks of a rough than of a sharp-edged tool, and seemed more beaten than cut, which was not the case with the marks left by the mo-go, or stone hatchet, of New South Wales. Hence, from the little that has been seen of the condition of our own species in this place, it appears to be much inferior in some essential points of convenience to that of the despised inhabitants of the continent. How miserable a being would the latter be, his canoe taken from him, his stone hatchet blunted, his hut pervious to the smallest shower of rain, and few or no excavations in the rocks to fly to! But happiness, like every thing else, exists only by comparison with the stage above and the stage below our own. The circumstances which occasioned this difference between the people of two countries so near to each other, and so much alike in their natural productions, must remain hidden from our observation, until perhaps some permanent European settlement shall be made in Van Diemen's land. The range of the thermometer, taken in various parts of the port, was at night from 49 degrees to 52 degrees, and at noon from 58 degrees to 64 degrees. On the 20th of November they left Port Dalrymple with a light breeze at NE and proceeded very slowly to the westward. At daylight the following morning, the wind shifted to the W by N which drove them back to Furneaux's islands, where, the gale continuing at west, they were kept until the 3rd of December, when they were enabled to proceed to the westward. The land here trended to the WNW as far as was visible through the haze, which allowed them only to distinguish that it was high and uneven. At noon the latitude was 40 degrees 58 minutes, and the longitude 146 degrees 44 minutes. Their progress was slow, and unavoidably at too great a distance from the shore to form any just idea of the country; but what was seen of it appeared high and mountainous, the mountains forming into hummocks and low peaks, to which a few large shapeless knobs added a great singularity of appearance. On the haze clearing away, and the shore being distinctly seen, it appeared rocky, but wooded nearly down to the water's edge. Here and there were seen spaces of open ground, some of which sloped toward the sea, and had a few large trees growing irregularly upon them. A remarkable peaked mountain, some few miles inland, might have been thought, from its shape and height, to have been once a volcano. A very singular lump of high level, or table land, lay at a few miles to the westward in the coast line; and at some distance beyond it, a point appeared with three knobs of land lying off it, resembling islands. This land was named Table Cape. To the extreme eastern point of this land, a fine easterly breeze had brought them at daylight of the 6th; when they found that what they had on the preceding evening taken to be islands were three lumps or ridges of the point itself, lessening in bulk as they advanced toward its seaward extremity. The very uncommon figure of this point may perhaps be best conceived by comparing it to a spear with several barbs. It was extremely barren and rocky. Beyond the point, the coast trended more northerly, but fell back into an extensive bay, with a sandy beach in its rear. The western point of this bay was formed by a high, steep, and round bluff, named Circular Head, that might easily be taken for an island, but was a peninsula. The land behind was of moderate height, and rose gradually from the sea. It was clothed in a poor coat of either grass or short brush; among which were seen some dwarf gum trees, that appeared to be in a sickly and dying state, apparently for want of sufficient soil to expand in. Towards noon, soon after passing Circular Head, the outermost land in sight stretched so far to the northward, that the course to clear it was NNW. It formed like two hummocks, and in steering for it they were compelled to leave a large bight unexamined. The coast at its back was too distant to form any judgment of it, except in the general outline. Its westernmost part seemed broken and intersected, like islands and gaps; but, as the wind blew fresh and directly into it, they passed on. Nothing new presented itself on the following day, but some small flights of sooty petrels. On the 8th, being threatened with a gale, they came to anchor under the land, off a small beach on its NE part, where the SW wind could not molest the vessel. Here Mr. Bass landed to examine the country, but found it impenetrable. The tall sturdy brush wood grew so close that their dogs could hardly make their way through it. Large patches appeared to have been burnt many months ago, but the small brush and creeping vines only were destroyed; the closeness of the blackened saplings were still irresistible. A few starved gum trees erected their sickly heads above the brush, and the whole wore an aspect of poverty which the sandy soil confirmed. And yet this place was inhabited by men, as was shown by the old fire places strewed round with shells of the sea ear. The rocks were composed of quartz, probably a species of granite, but much unlike that which formed Furneaux's Islands. Leaving this place on the 9th, they steered for the outermost land in sight, which bore to the southward of west, and was distant three or four leagues. After rounding the seaward end of the land under which they had anchored, its shores fell back, and at last discovered to them that it was an island of from fifteen to twenty miles in circuit, and situated between four and five from the main. It was with the greatest astonishment that they recollected the fire places and sea shells which they had the preceding evening seen upon the island. That the inhabitants of this part of Van Diemen's land should possess canoes capable of crossing over four or five miles of open sea, while those of Port Dalrymple were without any, seemed highly improbable. The island itself was certainly unequal to the maintenance of any settled inhabitants, and yet there were unequivocal vestiges of men upon it. Long and frequent reflection upon facts in themselves so contradictory had never produced any rational solution of the difficulty. This island took the descriptive name of Three Hummock Island. For several hours during the early part of the morning, a vast stream of sooty petrels issued from the deep bight which had been left unexplored, and passed the vessel on their way to the westward. There must have been some millions of birds. Thence they were well assured there was at least one island in that bight, if not more than one, as they had imagined. Having passed within a mile of a pointed part of the main, which in height and starved vegetation very much resembled Three Hummock island, towards noon they came up with some land, which proved to be a small island, high and very steep; and a long swell, which had just before made its first appearance, broke violently upon it, making a furious surf on all sides. Its summit was whitened over with birds. With some difficulty a landing was effected at the foot of a chasm filled up with loose stones; and, after a slight rencontre with some seals that stood above, they reached the top. The birds they found were albatrosses innumerable. The spread of their wings was from seven to nine feet. Their colour was more white than black, and the appearance of their visitors did not occasion much disturbance among them, even when they approached close to them. This was the season of their breeding. The females sat upon nests not more than a foot and a half apart, built of muddy earth, bound with coarse grass, raised about four inches from the ground, and formed into a concavity of nearly that depth, with a diameter of five or six inches. One young bird only was in each nest: it was of the size of a small pullet, but at that time covered with a beautifully white down. The shapeless lump at some distance resembled a ball of cotton. Some nests held an addled egg of a dingy white colour, and equal in size to that of a goose. The nests were so near each other, and the birds so conscious of the great strength of their sharp bills, that in going through them the voyagers were obliged to make use of their seal clubs, to procure themselves a passage. Even the young ones spouted plentiful mouthfuls of a not inodorous oil upon them. The island, which obtained the name of Albatross Island, was a mere mass of stone, without any other vegetation than a few tufts of coarse grass. Besides albatrosses, it afforded shelter to a few scores of hair seals, and the large gull. The latitude was 40 degrees 24 minutes, the longitude 145 degrees 02 minutes. Several other islands were seen to the southward, and the coast of the main seemed trending in the same direction. A deep bight lay at the back of these islands, with points and openings visible in its most distant part. There was reason to believe, that the sea here had a communication through into the unexplored bight to the eastward of Three Hummock Island; in which case the pointed part of the main, whose vegetation bore so great a resemblance to that of Three Hummock island, would also be an island. They passed sufficiently near to determine that they were high, steep, and difficult of access. Their tops and sloping parts were grown over with either coarse grass or short brush; but not any trees appeared. The largest might be seven or eight miles in circuit, the smaller were mere masses of rock of various sizes; and the whole cluster, in number about twelve, including Three Hummock Island, obtained the name of Hunter's Isles. A fresh gale at ENE and a heavy swell from the SW drove the vessel fast to the southward and westward; and on the 11th, the gale having moderated, they stretched in for the land, a large extent of which was indistinctly visible through a light haze that hung about the horizon. At noon the latitude was 41 degrees 13 minutes, and the longitude 148 degrees 58 minutes. With a fresh breeze at NNE they bore away along the shore, which trends to the SE by E and was distant three or four miles. From a shore of beach, with short rocky points at intervals, the land rose gradually to a considerable height, the aspect of which was barren and brushy, and the soil sandy. Several short reefs of rocks lay in front of the beaches, and broke the long swell into a surf of a tremendous appearance. Dreading a gale of wind from the west, which was threatening, and might have proved fatal to their little vessel, they hauled out to the SSW; but the weather remained moderate. On the following morning the wind flew round to the northward, and they continued their route along the shore. Early in the forenoon they passed a singularly formed point, with a number of lumps of rock lying some two or three miles off it to the SW. It resembled an artificial pier, or mole, with warehouses upon it, and a lighthouse on the end next the water. Large masses of detached oblong rocks gave the appearance of warehouses, and a remarkably long one standing upon its end, that of the light-house. Their latitude at noon was 42 degrees 02 minutes and the longitude 145 degrees 16 minutes; the coast still trended to the SSE and the land began to change that uniformly regular figure which it had hitherto preserved. It was becoming mountainous and uneven, but was still barren. CHAPTER XVI The _Norfolk_ passes the strait Observations thereon Proceeds to the southward Passes the S. W. Cape; and S. Cape Remarks on the latter De Witt's Isles Storm Bay Passage Tasman's Head Fluted Cape Frederick Henry Bay Enter the Derwent river, first seen in the ship _Duke_, of Bengal Observations on the Derwent Some natives seen Particulars of one Venomous snake One destroys itself Comparison between New South Wales and Van Dieman's Land Arrive at Port Jackson Advantages of the strait Mr. Bass and his fellow voyager, Lieutenant Flinders, did not hesitate now to think that they had passed through the strait, and from the Pacific had entered the southern Indian ocean; for what within the extent of a vast sea could give birth to the monstrous swell that was rolling in before their eyes? and the coast was evidently trending towards the SW cape. Mr. Bass says (with all the feeling and spirit of an explorer), that 'he already began to taste the enjoyment resulting from the completion of this discovery, which had been commenced in the whale-boat, under a complication of anxieties, hazard, and fatigue, known only to those who conducted her;' modestly sharing the praises, to which he alone was entitled, with those who accompanied him. It was worthy of remark (Mr. Bass says), that the northern shore of the strait from Wilson's Promontory (seen in the whale-boat) to Western Port resembled the bluff bold shore of an open sea, with a swell rolling in, and a large surf breaking upon it; while the southern shore, or what is the coast of Van Diemen's land, appeared like the inner shore of a cluster of islands, whose outer parts break off the great weight of the sea. The cause of this is immediately obvious, on recollecting that the swell of the Indian ocean enters the strait from the southward of west. The greater part of the southern shore lies in a bight, whose western extreme is Hunter's Isles, and the NW Cape of Van Diemen's land. Now as the swell comes from the southward, as well as the westward, it must, after striking upon the northwest part of the southern shore, evidently run on in a direction somewhat diagonal with the two sides of the strait, until it expands itself upon the northern shore, where both swell and surf are found. But to the southward of this diagonal line the swell must quickly take off, and totally disappear, long before it can reach the shore to make a surf. Hence arises the difference. That the swell of the Indian ocean comes, by far the greater part of the way, from the southward of west, can hardly be doubted, since it is well known that the prevailing winds are from that quarter. Early in the afternoon (of the 11th) a piece of land stood out from the line of the coast like an island, but it was soon found to be joined to the main by a sandy beach. The shore beyond it looked rugged and craggy, and the land equalled the most sterile and stoney that had been seen. At night the vessel stood off to the westward from abreast of a pyramidal rock lying close to the main. At daylight the following morning, they came in again with the land at the same place, and ran along the shore with a fresh breeze at NW, the coast trending in a waving line to the SSE. Towards noon the coast began to rise into chains of lofty mountains, which ran along in nearly the same line as the coast. The latitude was 43 degrees 07 minutes, the longitude 145 degrees 42 minutes. A large smoke that got up astern of the vessel was the first sign of inhabitants that had been seen upon this west coast, the appearance of which was miserably barren. On the morning of the 13th they found that they had been carried in the night to leeward of a break in the land, which had been seen the preceding evening, and had the appearance of being the entrance to a harbour. The north point of this imaginary inlet was named Point St. Vincent. The coast here trended to the eastward, the land of which was mountainous and steep to the sea. Some islands were in sight ahead, lying near the land. At 8 in the evening they passed the SW cape of Van Diemen's land, hitherto known as that of New Holland. It is a narrow piece of land, projecting from the higher land at no great distance, with two flattish hummocks, that gave it some little resemblance to the Ram Head near Plymouth. Having passed the Cape, they hauled up, and went between the islands, which are De Witt's Isles, and the main. At sunset they were about a mile and a half from the South Cape. The south west and south Capes lie nearly east and west of each other, and are distant about fifteen leagues. The intermediate coast forms the southern boundary of Van Diemen's land; but if taken upon the more extensive scale of the whole southern hemisphere, it appears, as the south point of New Holland, to be of equal respectability with the extremity of Terra del Fuego, and of the Cape of Good Hope, the south points of the continents of America and Africa. The relative situations of these three points, when viewed upon a chart drawn on the plane of the equator, or upon an artificial globe, are particularly striking. They will be found to lie at nearly equal distances from each other in the circumference, and each extending itself so directly towards the south, that, if continued on in the same line, they would certainly meet somewhere near the pole. The effect that is produced upon the whole globe, by this peculiar disposition of three of its most prominent points, seems indeterminable. Like that of Terra del Fuego, the extremity of Van Diemen's land presents a rugged and determined front to the icy regions of the south pole; and, like it, seems once to have extended further south than it does at present. To a very unusual elevation is added an irregularity of form, that justly entitles it to rank among the foremost of the grand and wildly magnificent scenes of nature. It abounds with peaks and ridges, gaps and fissures, that not only disdain the smallest uniformity of figure, but are ever changing shape, as the point of view shifts. Beneath this strange confusion, the western part of this waving coast-line observes a regularity equally remarkable as the wild disorder which prevails above. Lofty ridges of mountain, bounded by tremendous cliffs, project from two to four miles into the sea, at nearly equal distances from each other, with a breadth varying from two miles to two and a half. The bights or bays lying between them are backed by sandy beaches. These vast buttresses appear to be the southern extremities of the mountains of Van Diemen's land; which, it can hardly be doubted, have once projected into the sea far beyond their present abrupt termination, and have been united with the now detached land, De Witt's Isles. If a corresponding height of similar strata was observable on the islands and on the main, it would amount to a proof that they were originally connected; but this proof was wanting. The same kind of strata appeared in both; but, as far as could be determined in passing hastily by, the necessary correspondence seemed to be deficient. They did not land upon either the islands or the main; but two kinds of rock, one with strata and the other without, were plainly discernible. That without strata formed by far the largest part; it appeared whitish and shining, was certainly a quartz, and probably a granite. The layers of the rock with strata were of various dark colours, and perfectly distinct. It was evident, that land so much exposed to the violence of extensive oceans must have undergone some very material changes, by the incessant attrition of their vast waves. Two of the isles, either from this or a more sudden cause, have so far deviated from their centre, that their parallel strata form angles of between sixteens and eighteen degrees in one instance, and in another between twenty-five and thirty degrees, with the horizontal line. But it is difficult to explain, by the action of water, how a large block of the white stone without strata is caused to overhang an almost perpendicular corner of one of the islands, which beneath that block consists of the dark coloured stone lying in strata. De Witt's Isles, (so named, probably, by Tasman) twelve in number, are of various sizes. The two largest are from three to four miles in circuit. Their sides are steep, but their height is inferior to that of the main. The largest is the lowest. The smaller isles are little more than large lumps of rock, of which that named by Captain Cook the mew stone is the southernmost. Their aspect, like that of the main, bespeaks extreme sterility; but, superior to the greater part of it, they produce a continued covering of brush; and upon the sloping sides of some of their gullies are a few stinted, half dead gum trees. They could not account for the vestiges of fires that appeared upon the two inner large islands; the innermost in particular, which lay at some distance from the nearest point of the main, was burnt in patches upon different parts of it. It must have been effected either by lightning, or by the hand of man; but it was so much unlike the usual effects of the former, that, with all its difficulties, they chose to attribute it to the latter cause. A great smoke that arose at the back of one of the bights showed the main to be inhabited; but they could not suppose the people of this place to be furnished with canoes, when those of Adventure Bay, in their neighbourhood, were unprovided with them. Nothing, therefore, was left to their choice, but to allow that they might transport themselves over, either upon logs of wood, or by swimming across: and, as the most probable reward of such an exertion would be the capture of birds, whilst breeding, or the seizure of their eggs, the utility of spreading fires in facilitating such operations is obvious. The south cape may be easily distinguished from any other projection in its vicinity. Besides being the southernmost, it is a promontory making like a foreland, and sloping very gradually as it runs towards the sea, where it ends in a perpendicular cliff. About sunset the fresh NW wind died away suddenly; and a strong squall from the westward, with thunder, lightning, and heavy rain, soon carried them round the south cape, and, by dark, brought them off what was formerly called Storm Bay, where they hauled to the wind with the sloop's head up the bay, intending, in the morning, to proceed by this Storm Bay passage into the Derwent river. The night was squally, and by day light the next morning (the 14th), it was found that the vessel had drifted across the mouth of Storm Bay, or more properly Storm Bay Passage. Tasman's Head, its eastern point, bore NE distant three miles. Being too far to leeward to fetch up the passage, and the gale continuing, they bore away round Tasman's Head, and hauled up along shore for Adventure Bay. Nothing remarkable was observed about Tasman's Head, except two small islands lying off it, at the distance of half or three quarters of a mile; and close to them were the two conical basaltic rocks named by Captain Furneaux the Friars. The vegetation upon the inner most of the two small islands had been burnt in a manner similar to that on the De Witt's isles. If it were possible to account for those fires in any other way than by the agency of man, it would be more satisfactory, than to suppose that people, always believed to be without canoes, had crossed over from a rather steep and rocky head, to an island equally rocky, but more steep. Having passed Fluted Cape, a fine piece of basalt, and Penguin island, they fetched up under Cape Frederick Henry, the north point of Adventure Bay; but, as the wind blew strong directly off it, and the sloop was light and leewardly, they bore away round the Cape Frederick Henry, hauling upon the north side of it into the bay of that name, purposing to go into the Derwent river, discovered a few years since by Mr. Hayes, master of the ship _Duke_, of Bengal: but, finding that they were likely to lose ground by tacking, they stood into Henshaw's bay (so named by Hayes), and were greatly surprised to find that, instead of its being a mere shallow bight, as laid down in Mr. Hayes's chart, it extended many miles to the northward. The whole now bears the name of Frederick Henry Bay; that given by Hayes is lost. In this very extensive bay they remained a week, traversing and measuring various parts of its shores. The surrounding country was found to be miserable, presenting but very little that was fit even for pasturage, and none good enough for cultivation, except near a shallow lagoon on the west side, on the border of which were seven or eight hundred acres of low ground, of a black mould, rather sandy, which might be cultivated with great advantage. Contiguous to the best part, was a large fresh water swamp, overgrown with reeds and bulrushes. In the evening of the 21st they entered the mouth of the Derwent. In passing between two islands, the heads of the seaweed, which, from its size, is named the Gigantic, were showing themselves above the surface in six or eight fathoms water: a diminutive plant when compared with those of the kind seen in higher latitudes, but of vast magnitude in comparison with the generality of seaweeds. On their various movements in the Derwent, Mr. Bass is silent, confining his narrative to a general account of what he learned and saw of the neighbouring country. If the Derwent river have any claim to respectability, it is indebted for it more to the paucity of inlets into Van Diemen's land, than to any intrinsic merits of its own. After a sleepy course of not more than twenty-five or twenty-seven miles to the NW it falls into Frederick Henry Bay. Its breadth there is two miles and a quarter, and its depth ten fathoms. A few hundred yards above its mouth, it is joined, on the west side, by the Storm Bay Passage, and this union makes an island of that slip of land which is Adventure Bay. This island, the Derwent river, and the Storm Bay Passage, were the discovery of Mr. Hayes, of which he made a chart; wherein it was found, by the minute examination of the whole scene which it now underwent, that the smallest runs had been magnified into rivers, and coves into bays and ports. Such glaring errors could not be suffered to exist; but the name, where it was possible, was retained, though the geographical term was necessarily altered. This dull lifeless stream, the Derwent, is so little affected by the tides, that its navigation is extremely tedious with a foul wind. It takes its way through a country that on the east and north sides it hilly, on the west and north mountainous. The hills to the eastward arise immediately from the banks; but the mountains to the westward have retired to the distance of a few miles from the water, and have left in their front hilly land similar to that on the east side. All the hills are very thinly set with light timber, chiefly short she oaks; but are admirably covered with thick nutritious grass, in general free from brush or patches of shrubs. The soil in which it grows is a black vegetable mould, deep only in the valleys, frequently very shallow, with occasionally a small mixture of sand or small stones. Many large tracts of land appear cultivable both for maize and wheat, but which, as pasture land, would be excellent. The hills descend with such gentle slopes, that the valleys between them are extensive and flat. Several contain an indeterminate depth of rich soil, capable of supporting the most exhausting vegetation, and are tolerably well watered by chains of small ponds, or occasional drains, which empty themselves into the river by a cove or creek. One mountain to the west, lying about three miles from the water, and so remarkably conspicuous as to be seen from every part of the Derwent and its vicinity, Mr. Bass ascended; and he was much surprised to find it abounding with fine tall gum-tree timber uncommonly straight. The shore on the east side of the river, proceeding up, is covered with a good but shallow soil, and lightly wooded; cultivable for the greater part with any kind of grain, and the whole fit for pasturage, though, perhaps, not sufficiently watered for large cattle which require much drink. On the west side the country rises too suddenly into stony hills to be in general so good as in most other places. It would, however, afford tolerable pasturage; and a few patches of eighty or one hundred acres each were excellent arable land. The shore here, as in many other parts of the river, exhibited signs of internal or subterraneous disturbance. The strata of cliffs were broken and disjoined, lying sloping in different directions. Near a small point several pieces of petrified wood, and lumps of stone of every kind and every size, were enveloped, or rather stuck into the matter of the rock, which, although in colour much like a yellow tinged clay, yet had the usual rough porous surface peculiar to substances that have been in a state of fusion. It was here, as in other places, hard, but did not scintillate with steel, and was divided, by lines of a still harder iron-tinged stone, into squares and parallelograms of various sizes. From one of these intersecting lines, Mr. Bass took a small lump of this ferruginous stone, that seemed to have bubbled up, and to have hardened in the form of an ill-shaped bunch of small grapes. Some of the neighbouring cliffs, for several yards, were formed into basaltic columns. In walking across one of the steep heads between two small bays, he met with a large deep hole in the ground, that appeared to have been occasioned by the falling-in of the earth which had formerly occupied its space. Its extent was about twenty-two yards by seventeen; its depth perhaps sixty feet. The sides were not excavated, but rather smooth and perpendicular. They were rocks of the same yellow tinge as those of the shore. A little surf that washed up within it showed a communication with the river, by a narrow subterraneous passage of some ten or sixteen feet in height, and, according to the distance of the hole from the edge of the cliff, about thirty-five yards in length. Appearances seemed to agree, that the period at which this earth fell in could not be very remote. Continuing on the west side from Point William to Shoal Point (places named by Mr. Hayes), the land is too stony upon the hills for cultivation, but is proper for pasturage. The valleys are, as usual, adapted to grain. The land round Prince of Wales's Cove is rather level, and frequently clayey: the worst of it produces excellent food for cattle, even up to the foot of the high mountain lying at its back. Being a stiff close soil, it is perhaps adapted to the growth of grape vines, rather than of grain. About three hundred acres of open ground, called by Mr. Hayes King George's Plains (could this have been in derision?) seem well calculated for this purpose, and for this only. The land at the head of Risdon creek, on the east side, seems preferable to any other on the banks of the Derwent. The creek runs winding between two steep hills, and ends in a chain of ponds that extends into a fertile valley of great beauty. For half a mile above the head of the creek, the valley is contracted and narrow; but the soil is extremely rich, and the fields are well covered with grass. Beyond this it suddenly expands, and becomes broad and flat at the bottom, whence arise long grassy slopes, that by a gentle but increasing ascent continue to mount the hills on each side, until they are hidden from the view by the woods of large timber which overhang their summits. With this handsome disposition of the ground, the valley extends several miles to the SE in the figure of a small segment of a circle. The tops of its hills, though stony, produce abundance of tall timber, which, as it descends the slopes, diminishes in size, and thins off to a few scattered she oaks and gum trees, interspersed with small coppices of the beautiful flowering fern. The soil along the bottom, and to some distance up the slopes, is a rich vegetable mould, apparently hardened by a small mixture of clay, which grows a large quantity of thick, juicy grass, and some few patches of close underwood. Herdman's Cove, (so named by Lieutenant Flinders from the surrounding country) above Risdon Creek, has a large tract of good pasture land lying at its head. The country, which is unusually thin of timber, is finely rounded into grassy hills of various moderate ascent. The soil consists of more brown earth than black vegetable mould; upon the sides and tops of the hills, it is frequently stony; but in some of the valleys rich and fine, and capable of profitable cultivation. A chain of ponds intersecting the hills afforded an almost continual stream of fresh water into the head of the Cove. As it was not supposed that the sloop could proceed above Herdsman's Cove, Mr. Bass and his companion went up the river in her boat, imagining that one tide would enable them to reach its source; but in this they were mistaken, falling, as they believed, several miles short of it. Where the returning tide met them, the water had become perfectly fresh; the stream was two hundred and thirty yards in breadth, and in depth three fathoms. It was wedged in between high grassy hills that descended to the river upon a quick slope, and had a grand appearance. But the only cultivable land that they saw was some few breaks in the hills, and some narrow slips that were found at their foot close to the water's side. In their way up, a human voice saluted them from the hills; on which they landed, carrying with them one of several swans which they had just shot. Having nearly reached the summit, two females, with a short covering hanging loose from their shoulders, suddenly appeared at some little distance before them, snatched up each a small basket, and scampered off. A man then presented himself, and suffered them to approach him without any signs of fear or distrust. He received the swan joyfully, seeming to esteem it a treasure. His language was unintelligible to them, as was theirs to him, although they addressed him in several of the dialects of New South Wales, and some few of the most common words of the South Sea islands. With some difficulty they made him comprehend their wish to see his place of residence. He pointed over the hills, and proceeded onwards; but his pace was slow and wandering, and he often stopped under pretence of having lost the track; which led them to suspect that his only aim was to amuse and tire them out. Judging, then, that in persisting to follow him they must lose the remaining part of the flood tide, which was much more valuable to them than the sight of his hut could be, they parted from him in great friendship. The most probable reason of his unwillingness to be their guide seemed, his not having a male companion near him; and his fearing that if he took them to his women, their charms might induce them to run off with them--a jealousy very common with the natives of the continent. He was a short, slight made man of a middle age, with a countenance more expressive of benignity and intelligence than of that ferocity or stupidity which generally characterised the other natives; and his features were less flattened, or negro-like, than theirs. His face was blackened, and the top of his head was plastered with red earth. His hair was either naturally short and close, or had been rendered so by burning, and, although short and stiffly curled, they did not think it woolly.* He was armed with two ill made spears of solid wood. [* Mr. Raven, on his return to England in the _Buffalo_, putting into Adventure Bay, close by where this man was seen, cut off some undoubted wool from the head of a native that he fell in with there. This circumstance was unknown to Mr. Bass.] No part of their dress attracted his attention, except the red silk handkerchief round their necks. Their fire arms were to him objects neither of curiosity nor fear. This was the first man they had spoken with in Van Diemen's land, and his frank and open deportment led them not only to form a favourable opinion of the disposition of its inhabitants, but to conjecture that if the country was peopled in the usual numbers, he would not have been the only one whom they would have met. A circumstance which corroborated this supposition was, that in the excursions made by Mr. Bass into the country, having seldom any other society than his two dogs, he could have been no great object of dread to a people ignorant of the effects of fire arms, and would certainly have been hailed by any one who might have seen him. They fell in with many huts along the different shores of the river, of the same bad construction as those of Port Dalrymple, but with fewer heaps of mussel shells lying near them. The natives of this place, probably, draw the principal part of their food from the woods; the bones of small animals, such as opossums, squirrels, kangaroo rats, and bandicoots, were numerous round their deserted fire-places; and the two spears which they saw in the hands of the man were similar to those used for hunting in other parts. Many trees also were observed to be notched. No canoes were ever seen, nor any tree so barked as to answer that purpose. And yet all the islands in Frederick Henry Bay had evidently been visited. Besides the small quadrupeds already mentioned, they observed the grey and red kangaroo, but not in any numbers, and once they heard the tread of an emu. The feathered tribes were apparently similar to those of Port Dalrymple. Here again they daily ate their swan, the flocks of which even exceeded those that they had before met with. The most formidable among the reptiles was the black snake with venomous fangs, and so much in colour resembling a burnt stick, that a close inspection only could detect the difference. Mr. Bass once, with his eyes cautiously directed towards the ground, stepped over one which was lying asleep among some black sticks, and would have passed on without observing it, had not its rustling and loud hiss attracted his attention the moment afterwards. He determined on taking him alive, in order to try the effect of his bite upon a hawk which was at that time in the sloop. In the contest, he turned round and bit himself severely; in a few minutes after which he was mastered. His exertions, however, were still vigorous, and Mr. Bass expected, as he began to recover himself, that they would increase; but in less than ten minutes he died. Having never before known a snake of this size to be killed by a few very slight blows with a stick so rotten as scarcely to bear the weight of its own blow, he was at a loss to conceive how death had so suddenly succeeded so much vigour in an animal so tenacious of life. Was it possible that his own bite could have been the cause? When, three hours afterwards, the skin was stripped off, the flesh for some distance round the marks of his teeth, was found inflamed and discoloured. The account of the Derwent river being now closed, and the whole of what was learned of Van Diemen's land related, it may not be improper, says Mr. Bass, to point out the manner in which this country and New South Wales appear to differ in their most essential quality, that of their soil. In adjusting their comparative fertility, the contrasted disposition of their soils is much more prominent than any inequality in their quantity. They are poor countries; but, as far as the eye of discovery has yet penetrated into either, the cultivable soil of the latter is found lying in a few distinct patches of limited extent, and of varying quality; while the soil of the former, being more equally spread, those spots of abundant richness, or large wilds of unimproveable sterility, are much less frequently seen. Although Van Diemen's land seems to possess few or none of those vast depths of soil with which the happiest spots of New South Wales are blessed; yet it seldom sickens the heart of its traveller with those extensive tracts which at once disarm industry, and leave the warmest imagination without one beguiling project. In point of productive soil Mr. Bass gives the preponderance to Van Diemen's land. In one particular, which to the inhabitants of a civilized country is of the utmost importance, both countries are but too much alike: each is amply stored with water for the common purposes of life; but deficient in those large intersections of it which, in other more fortunate countries, so much facilitate the operations of man, and lead commerce to the door of even the most inland farmer. Two rivers only, Port Dalrymple and the Derwent, are known to descend from Van Diemen's land; and by Point St Vincent possibly there may be a third. But two rivers, or even three, bear but a scanty proportion to the bulk of the island. On the 3rd of January they left the Derwent, and proceeded to the northward, coasting the east side of Frederick Henry Bay, which was for the most part high and steep to the sea. The figure of the shore, between what is now called Cape Basaltes and Cape Pillar, exhibited one of those great works of nature which seldom fall to excite surprise: it was all basaltic. The cape is a vast high wedge, which projects into the sea, surmounted by lofty single columns. After passing Cape Pillar, some islands came in sight to the northward; but they did not fetch them, owing to the wind hanging in that quarter. On the following day, they reached within five or six miles of one of them, which in its general appearance bore some resemblance to Furneaux's Islands. This group must be either Maria's or Schouten's islands, or both; but it was not determined to which they belonged. On the 7th, having until that day had but indistinct views of the land, they saw Cape Barren Island. They did not pass through the channel, or passage, which divides Furneaux's islands, but discovered why Captain Furneaux named the place the Bay of Shoals. Early on the morning of the 8th they were among the islands lying off the Patriarchs. They were three in number; the largest of which was high, rocky, and barren, with a basis of granite, which, like that of Preservation Island, laid scattered about in large detached blocks. Mr. Bass landed upon the outermost, and found it well inhabited. The various tribes had divided it into districts. One part was white with gannets, breeding in nests of earth and dried grass. Petrels and penguins had their underground habitations in those parts of the island which had the most grass. The rocks of the shore, and blocks of granite, were occupied by the pied offensive shag and common gull; geese, red-bills and quails, lived in common, and the rest was appropriated to the seals, who seemed to be the lords of the domain. Mr. Bass remarked with surprise, that though the principal herd scampered off like sheep, as is usual on the first approach, yet the males, who possessed a rock to themselves, where they sat surrounded by their numerous wives and progeny, on his drawing near them, hobbled up with a menacing roar, and fairly commenced the attack, while the wives seemed to rest their security upon the superior courage and address of their lord; for, instead of retreating into the water in the utmost consternation, they only raised themselves upon their fore fins, as if ready for a march, keeping their eye upon him, and watching the movements of his enemy. The seal is reckoned a stupid animal; but Mr. Bass noticed many signs of uncommon sagacity in them; and was of opinion that, by much patience and perseverance, a seal might be trained to fish for man; in which there is nothing, at first sight, more preposterous than the attempt to make a hawk his fowler. The seal appeared to branch off into various species. He did not recollect to have seen them precisely alike upon any two islands in the strait. Most of them were of that kind called by the sealers hair seals; but they differed in the shape of the body, or of the head, the situation of the fore fins, the colour, and very commonly in the voice, as if each island spoke a peculiar language. Having collected as much stock as was necessary, they stood to the northward, and on the 12th reached Port Jackson. On delivering the account of this voyage to the governor, he named the principal discovery, which was the event of it, Bass Strait, as a tribute due to the correctness of judgment which led Mr. Bass, in his first visit in the whale boat, to suppose that the south-westerly winds which rolled in upon the shores of Western Port, could proceed only from their being exposed to the Southern Indian Ocean. The most prominent advantage which seemed likely to accrue to the settlement from this discovery was, the expediting of the passage from the Cape of Good Hope to Port Jackson; for, although a line drawn from the Cape to 44 degrees of south latitude, and to the longitude of the south Cape of Van Diemen's land, would not sensibly differ from one drawn to the latitude of 40 degrees, to the same longitude; yet it must be allowed, that a ship will be four degrees nearer to Port Jackson in the latter situation, than it would be in the former. But there is, perhaps, a greater advantage to be gained by making a passage through the strait, than the mere saving of four degrees of latitude along the coast. The major part of the ships that have arrived at Port Jackson have met with NE winds on opening the sea round the South Cape and Cape Pillar, and have been so much retarded by them, that a fourteen days' passage to the port is reckoned to be a fair one, although the difference of latitude is but ten degrees, and the most prevailing winds at the latter place are from SE to S in summer, and from WSW to S in winter. If by going through Bass Strait these NE winds can be avoided, which in many cases would probably be the case, there is no doubt but a week or more would be gained by it; and the expense, with the wear and tear of a ship for one week, are objects to most owners, more especially when freighted with convicts by the run. This strait likewise presents another advantage. From the prevalence of the NE and easterly winds off the South Cape, many suppose that a passage may be made from thence to the westward, either to the Cape of Good Hope, or to India; but the fear of the great unknown bight between the South Cape and the SW Cape of Lewen's land, lying in about 35 degrees south and 113 degrees east, has hitherto prevented the trial being made. Now the strait removes a part of this danger, by presenting a certain place of retreat, should a gale oppose itself to the ship in the first part of the essay; and should the wind come at SW she need not fear making a good stretch to the WNW, which course, if made good, is within a few degrees of going clear of all. There is besides King George the Third's Sound, discovered by Captain Vancouver, situate in the latitude of 35 degrees 03 minutes south, and longitude 118 degrees 12 minutes east; and it is to be hoped, that a few years will disclose many others upon the coast, as well as the confirmation or futility of the conjecture*, that a still larger than Bass Strait dismembers New Holland. [* To verify or confute this conjecture, Lieutenant, now Captain Flinders (from whose journal these observations on the advantages of the strait are taken), has lately sailed in his Majesty's ship _Investigator_. He is accompanied by several professional men of great abilities, selected by that liberal and distinguished patron of merit Sir Joseph Banks, from whose exertions, joined with those of the commander, navigation and natural history have much information and gratification to expect. The _Investigator_ is to be attended by the _Lady Nelson_, a small vessel of fifty tons burden, built under the inspection and according to the plan of that truly respectable and valuable man, and scientific officer, Commissioner Schank, whose abilities are too well known to require any eulogium from this pen.] The vessel that has the credit of having first circumnavigated Van Diemen's land was built at Norfolk Island, of the fir of that country, which was found to answer extremely well. Being only five-and-twenty tons in burden, her comforts and accommodation must have been very inconsiderable, but great when compared with those which could have been found in a whale boat. Yet in a whale boat did Mr. Bass, as has been already shown, run down the eastern coast of New South Wales from Port Jackson to the entrance of the strait. Captain Flinders has not the gratification of associating this gentleman with him in his present expedition, he having sailed on another voyage and a different pursuit. CHAPTER XVII Transactions Information from Norfolk Island A burglary committed The criminal court assembled A man tried for killing a native Two men executed The public gaol burnt Observations Stills ordered to be seized Settlers, their profligacy A man found dead Great drought A flood at the river Two whalers arrive Conduct of the labouring convicts A seaman killed A woman murdered by her husband Natives A Spanish prize arrives Norfolk Island Resources in New South Wales Public works We must now return to the other concerns of the settlement, from which we have been so long absent. Some pleas of debt having been decided by the civil magistrates, to relieve them from that duty, and enable them to attend to that only of the justice of the peace, an order was issued, declaring that such pleas belonged to the court of civil jurisdiction solely, as was clearly expressed in the letters patent for establishing that court; but they were at the same time requested to use their utmost endeavours, as far as their influence as magistrates could be effectual, in recommending the settling of trifling debts by arbitration, and thereby prevent much vexatious litigation. Agricultural concerns wore as unpromising an appearance in this as in the last month. The governor, in a visit which he made to Parramatta, found that the pasture over the whole country had been entirely burnt up; in consequence of which the grazing cattle were in great distress; and, from the lamentable continuance of the drought, the maize was every where likely to fail: a misfortune that would ruin the stock of hogs, and reduce the settlement considerably in the article of bread. That he might ascertain what quantity of grain he had to depend on, all those who cultivated ground were directed to give in by a certain time a return of the wheat and other grain in their possession. By the _Diana_ whaler, which arrived from Norfolk Island, information was received, that the wheat harvest had been more productive there than usual; but the maize was likely to fall short from a similar want of rain. Wheat at this time bore a high price in Norfolk Island, the settlers who had raised refusing to sell it, on account of the high rate of wages, at less than fifteen shillings per bushel. On the night of the 24th, the acting commissary's house was broken into, and robbed of articles to a considerable amount. The thieves appeared to have got in at the office window, and loosened the bricks of a partition wall; by which opening they got into the store-room, and, forcing the locks off the chests and trunks, carried away every thing that they could manage. One evil among others which attended the frequent arrival of ships in the port was, the ready market which these plunderers found for disposing of their stolen goods; the seamen not hesitating to become the purchasers on leaving the place. The criminal court of judicature was assembled at the close of the month; when one man, a sergeant of the New South Wales corps, was condemned for forgery, but recommended to the governor's mercy by the court; another was condemned for a burglary, and a third sentenced to receive a severe corporal punishment, for having shot a native (man) at Botany Bay. Could the evidence of some of these people have been taken, it was supposed that he would have been capitally convicted, in which case he would certainly have suffered, the governor being determined to put that article of his Majesty's instructions in force, which, in placing these people under the protection of the British Government, enjoined the punishing any injury done to their persons or property, according to the degree and nature of the offence. When this man was brought out to be punished, several of the natives were assembled for the purpose; and he received in their presence as much of his sentence as he could bear, they witnessing his sufferings with the most perfect indifference. The weather was exceedingly hot during the whole of January. February.] Deplorable was the catalogue of events that presented itself in this month: executions, robberies, and accidents. On the 8th a prisoner, who had been condemned to die by the last court, suffered the sentence of the law. The recollection of his untimely end, and his admonitions from the fatal tree, could not have departed from the minds of those who saw and heard him, when another court sent another offender to the same tree and for the same crime. Samuel Wright had been once before respited at the gallows. On the morning of his execution, the wretched man attempted to cut his throat; but as he only very slightly wounded himself, it may be supposed that he merely hoped, by delaying the execution, to gain time to effect an escape. Before this court, was brought part of a nest of thieves, who had lately stolen property to the amount of several hundred pounds; but none of them were capitally convicted, being sentenced either to be transported to Norfolk Island, or corporally punished. It might be supposed, that these executions and punishments would have operated as a check to the commission of offences; but they appeared to be wholly disregarded, and enormity had not yet attained its full height. On the night of the 11th, between the hours of eleven and twelve, the public gaol at Sydney, which cost so much labour and expense to erect, was set on fire, and soon completely consumed. The building was thatched, and there was not any doubt of its having been done through design. But, if this was the fact, it will be read with horror, that at the time there were confined within its walls twenty prisoners, most of whom were loaded with irons, and who with difficulty were snatched from the flames. Feeling for each other was never imputed to these miscreants; and yet if several were engaged in the commission of a crime they have seldom been known to betray their companions in iniquity. To complete this catalogue of offences, a few days after, some Irish convicts, with their faces blackened, attacked the house of an industrious man (one of the missionaries), whom they severely wounded in several places and plundered of all his property. Were it not evident that certain punishment awaited the conviction of offenders, it might be supposed that a relaxation of the civil authority had begotten impunity; but far otherwise was the fact: the police was vigilant, the magistrates active, and the governor ever anxious to support them, and with incessant diligence endeavouring to establish good order and morality in the settlement. But, such was the depravity of these people, from the habitual practice of vice, that they were become alike fearless of the punishments of this or of the world to come. Notwithstanding the settlement had before it the serious prospect of wanting grain, and the consequent destruction of much useful stock, it was known that several people had erected stills, and provided materials for the purpose of distilling spirituous liquors; a pernicious practice which had long been forbidden by every officer who had had the direction of the colony. Former orders on this subject were now repeated, and persons of all descriptions were called upon to use every means in their power, in aid of the civil magistrate, to seize and destroy such stills and materials as they might find. Presuming on the late inefficient harvest, the settlers requested again to be supplied with seed wheat from the store, but were refused. It was well known, that they sold for spirits, to the last bushel of their crop, and left their families without bread. Then they pleaded poverty and distress, and their utter inability to repay what they had borrowed. When seed has been lent them, they have not infrequently been seen to sell it at the door of the store whence they had received it! On the last day of the month a man belonging to the military was found dead, sitting upright against the outside of the barrack paling. It was known, that he had been much intoxicated the preceding night; and it was supposed that, being unable to reach his hut, he had sat himself down, and, falling asleep, passed from this life without a struggle. The great drought and excessive heat had affected the water. Such ponds as still retained any were reduced so very low, that most of them were become brackish, and scarcely drinkable. From this circumstance, it was conjectured, that the earth contained a large portion of salt, for the ponds even on the high grounds were not fresh. The woods between Sydney and Parramatta were completely on fire, the trees being burnt to the tops, and every blade of grass was destroyed. To defeat as much as possible the intentions of those who were concerned in setting fire to the gaol, a strong and permanent building of stone, with very substantial walls, was begun in this month, and was well calculated to defy every such attempt in future. March.] The dry weather which had so long prevailed, to the great detriment of the cultivated and pasture grounds, was succeeded by rain for two or three days, which greatly refreshed the gardens that were nearly wholly burnt up, and every where revived the perishing vegetation. At the Hawkesbury, however, an accident occurred, which, although not so ruinous to the colony at large as the drought, proved most destructive to the settlers in that district. This river suddenly, and in the course of a very few hours, swelled to the height of fifty feet above its common level, and with such rapidity and power as to carry every thing before it. The government store-house, which had been erected at the first settling of this part of the country, was not out of the reach of this inundation, and was swept away, with all the provisions that it contained. Many of the inhabitants were taken off from the ridges of their houses, by a few boats which they fortunately had among them, just in time to save their lives; for most of the dwellings were inundated, and the whole country appeared like an extensive lake. Many hogs, other live stock, poultry, with much of the produce of the last unfortunate harvest, and the domestic effects of the people, were hurried away by the torrent. Fortunately only one life was lost. This was a most serious calamity; and, no cause having appeared to indicate an approaching overflow of the river, the settlers were not prepared for such a disaster. It was said, that the natives foresaw it, and advised the inhabitants; but this wanted confirmation. If true, the trait was a favourable one. There could, however, be no doubt, that, unperceived by our people, a heavy fall of rain had taken place in the interior of the country, among the mountains, and which, from the parched state of the land for such a length of time, had in no part been absorbed, but ran down the sides of the hills, as from mountains of solid rock, filling all the low grounds, and branches of the river, which, being in form suddenly serpentine, could not give vent so fast as the waters descended. It was hoped and believed, that this uncommon inundation would, in the end, prove highly beneficial to the grounds so overflowed, causing them for a season or more to produce with such abundance as to recover the loss which the sufferers had sustained. In a few days this extraordinary collection of water had found its way to the sea, and, the river regaining its usual level, the settlers set about new cropping their grounds; for which purpose they made application for seed wheat, that certainly could not be refused; their other application, for bedding and clothing, it was not so easy to comply with, from the poverty of the public stores in these articles. This fertile spot had, in some seasons, produced from fifteen to twenty thousand bushels of wheat, and might justly be termed the granary of New South Wales. To relieve the inhabitants in some degree from the contemplation of these distresses, the _Rebecca_, a whaler, came into the Cove from the Cape of Good Hope, bringing authentic accounts of Lord Nelson's memorable and brilliant victory over the French fleet at the mouth of the Nile. This decisive battle was announced to the settlement in a public order, and by a discharge of all the artillery in the colony. The master of the _Rebecca_, having brought out a few articles for sale, chartered the _Nautilus_ to take them to Norfolk island, thinking to find a better market for them there than at this place, where the late unsuccessful harvest had neither filled the granary of the public nor the pocket of the settler. She sailed with this cargo in the course of a few days. On the 9th, the _Britannia_ whaler came in from sea, to repair some damages which she had sustained in bad weather. She had been rather successful in her fishery, having procured twenty-five tons of spermaceti oil since her departure; and the master reported, that, had the weather been more moderate, he should have been enabled to have more than half filled his ship. The criminal court was only once assembled during this month; when one man was condemned to death for a burglary, and another* transported for fourteen years to Norfolk Island. [* This man, Isaac Nichols, an overseer, had been accused of receiving stolen goods; but from some circumstances which occurred on the trial, the sentence was respited until his Majesty's pleasure could be taken.] The civil court was also assembled for the decision of private causes, in which it was engaged during a week. Among other public works in hand were, the raising the walls of the new gaol, laying the upper floor of the wind-mill, and erecting the churches at Sydney and Parramatta. Most of these buildings did not advance so rapidly as the necessity for them required, owing to the weakness of the public gangs; and indeed scarcely had there ever been a thorough day's labour, such as is performed by a labouring man in England, obtained from them. They never felt themselves interested in the effect of their work, knowing that the ration from the store, whatever it might be, would be issued to them, whether they earned it or not; unlike the labouring man whose subsistence, and that of his family, depends upon his exertions. For the individual who would pay them for their services with spirits, they would labour while they had strength to lift the hoe or the axe; but when government required the production of that strength, it was not forthcoming; and it was more to be wondered, that under such disadvantages so much, rather than that so little, had been done. The convicts whose services belonged to the crown were for the most part a wretched, worthless, dissipated set, who never thought beyond the present moment; and they were for ever employed in rendering that moment as easy to themselves as their invention could enable them. Of the settlers and their disposition much has been already said. The assistance and encouragement which from time to time were given them, they were not found to deserve. The greater part had originally been convicts; and it is not to be supposed, that while they continued in that state their habits were much improved. With these habits, then, they became freemen and settlers; the effect of which was, to render them insolent and presuming; and most of them continued a dead weight upon the government, without reducing the expenses of the colony. These expenses were certainly great, and had been considerably increased. The settlement was at this time much in want of many necessary articles of life; and when these were brought by speculators and traders who occasionally touched there, they demanded more than five hundred per cent above what the same articles could have been sent out for from England, with every addition of freight, insurance, etc. They saw the wants of the colony, and availed themselves of its necessities. April.] On the first of this month the criminal court sat for the trial of a soldier belonging to the regiment, who had a few days before stabbed a seaman of the _Reliance_, who insulted him when sentinel at one of the wharfs at Sydney. The man died of the wound; the soldier, being called upon to answer for his death, proved to the satisfaction of the court, that it had been occasioned by the intemperance of the seaman, and he was accordingly found to have committed a justifiable homicide. This accident was the effect of intoxication, to which a few days after another victim was added, in the person of a female, who was either the wife or companion of Simon Taylor, a man who had been considered as one of the few industrious settlers which the colony could boast of. They had both been drinking together to a great excess; and in that state they quarrelled, when the unhappy man, in a fit of madness and desperation, put an untimely end to her existence. He was immediately taken into custody, and reserved for trial. To this pernicious practice of drinking to excess, more of the crimes which disgraced the colony were to be ascribed than to any other cause; and more lives where lost through this than through any other circumstance; for the settlement had ever been free from epidemical or fatal diseases. How much then was the importation of spirits to be lamented! How much was it to be regretted, that it had become the interest of any set of people to vend them! Several robberies which at this time had been committed were to be imputed to the same source. A new enemy to agriculture made its appearance in this month. A destructive grub-worm was discovered in several parts of the cultivated ground; and at the Hawkesbury a caterpillar had commenced its ravages wherever it found any young grain just shooting out of the earth. This occasioned some delay in sowing the government ground. It having been for several days reported, that the crews of two boats, which had been permitted to go to Hunter's River for a load of coals, had been cut off by the natives, the governor ordered his whale boat to be well armed, and to proceed thither in quest of the boats and their crews; sending in her Henry Hacking, a person on whom he could depend. Upon his return, he informed the governor, that on his arrival he found an attempt had been made to burn the smaller boat, which had had three men in her, who were each provided with a musket. The boat was there, but the men were not to be found. Going immediately in search of them, he fell in with a large body of natives all armed. On desiring them to inform him what was become of the white men, they told him they were gone to Sydney. This did not satisfy him, as he found they had taken away the sails of the boats, the men's blankets, and every thing that they had with them. He then threatened to kill them if they did not instantly inform him, and presented his musket at them. This they laughed at, and said, that if he did not go away, and leave them a small two-oared boat which he had brought with him, and the whale boat, they would destroy every white man there, and poised their spears in a threatening manner. He again levelled his piece at them, and snapped it without priming, in the hope of alarming them; but they were not so easily frightened, and became most noisy and violent. Finding that an attack was almost certain, he charged his gun with buck shot, and ordered them to leave the place; but, their clamour increasing, he fired, and four of them fell, one of whom got up again and ran off, the other three remaining upon the ground, probably mortally wounded. The whole body disappeared, and no more was seen of them, leaving Hacking to fill his boat and effect his retreat unmolested. Our people having frequently visited this river for coals, and always treating with kindness and civility the natives whom they met, this behaviour was not to be accounted for, except by its being allowed that all savages are under the dominion of a sudden impulse; which renders it impossible to know when to trust them. As the men belonging to the boat were not heard of for a considerable time, it was feared they had been murdered by the natives; but they fortunately reached the settlement safe. On the morning of the 24th, the _Nautilus_ returned from Norfolk Island, and with her came in a Spanish ship, a prize to two whalers, which they had captured off Cape Blanco on the coast of Peru. She was bound from Lima to Guiaquill. A court of vice-admiralty having been assembled, she was condemned as a legal prize, and part of her cargo* was in a few days sold by public auction. [* This consisted of sugar, flour, and an ardent spirit similar to the _aqua ardente_ of the Brazils. The governor would not allow this article to be sold by auction.] This was a new circumstance in the annals of the settlement, and wore the appearance of rendering it of more consequence than it had hitherto been. Did it not go to prove, that at some future period, in the event of a Dutch or Spanish war, it might become a place of much importance, by offering a reception to the prizes of our cruisers, a court whereat they could be condemned, and a market for their cargoes? Two days afterwards the _Norfolk_ returned from Norfolk Island, where the maize harvest had entirely failed, owing to the long drought which had prevailed there. Every year's experience proved, that this island never would be of the utility which might be expected from the very great expense that was incurred on its account. It was probable, that this expense had not been adverted to in England; for all the bills drawn there were sent to New South Wales to be consolidated into bills upon the treasury; by which means the expenses of the principal settlement appeared to be far more considerable than in fact they were. The boast of its containing timber and flax fit for naval purposes, sufficient to construct and equip a navy, falls to the ground, when it is considered that the whole island does not contain a single harbour, cove, or inlet, fit to shelter a boat, much less a ship; but that it is surrounded by a dangerous coral reef, which has proved the loss of one King's ship, and many lives. Besides, the soil of New South Wales produces timber and flax perfectly calculated for all naval purposes, and in sufficient abundance. The single advantage that this island presents is, as has been mentioned before, its proving a place of punishment to such notorious offenders in the seat of government as there escape the gallows; and for this purpose a small civil and military establishment might be maintained at a much less expense than the present. If an idea may be hazarded, Van Diemen's Island holds out in every respect a more advantageous spot for a settlement, than this parched, unattainable island; and were it not for the expense already incurred there, it would be advisable to remove the whole of that settlement thither; where, from the account given by Captain Flinders, and Mr. Bass, they would be as likely to remain unmolested by natives as they are at Norfolk Island, and would possess the superior benefits of a temperate climate and capacious harbour. In addition to the advantages likely to be obtained in New South Wales by the culture of the flax plant, the breed of sheep had been considerably improved by crossing the smaller Bengal with the larger Cape sheep. The fleece produced from this mixture was excellent; and a specimen of woollen cloth fabricated of it was sent to England. One end of a web of linen, wove from the wild flax of the country, was crossed with a thread spun from the bark of a tree; and a web from that bark was crossed, in the specimen sent home, by a thread of wool. All these were made under many difficulties; but they answered the purpose of showing what might be done, with proper tools, at a future period. There was not any doubt, but that the flax plant would considerably improve by cultivation; and the manufacture of woollens promised to be of great benefit to the settlement, whenever a sufficiency of the raw materials was collected. Necessity has been long known as the parent of resources, and the poverty of the public stores in the article of clothing had prompted these experiments of the wool, the flax, and the bark. The discovery of the vast strata of coal must be reckoned among the new lights thrown upon the resources of the colony. The facility that this presents in working the iron ore* with which the settlement abounded, must prove of infinite utility whenever a dock-yard shall be established here; and the time may come, when the productions of the country may not be confined within its own sphere. [* Some of this iron ore, which has been smelted in England, has been reported to be equal, if not superior, to Swedish iron.] In addition to other public works already in hand, the governor directed a piece of ground, consisting of about seventy acres, and three-miles distant from Sydney, to be inclosed for the use of the stock in that district. The foundation of the walls of a government house at Parramatta was laid, and the sowing the public wheat grounds begun; but, through want of labouring people, less was sown this than in the last year. The weather had been in general moderate and seasonable. CHAPTER XVIII The _Buffalo_ arrives from England, and brings cattle from the Cape A marine settler killed Natives A criminal court held Taylor executed Lowe punished A highway robbery Provisions in store Ration altered June, two whalers come in from sea Ideas of a whale-fishery Tempestuous weather Effects The _Albion_ whaler arrives from England Her passage July, a missionary murdered The murderers tried and executed Orders published State of the farms The _Hillsborough_ arrives from England Mortality on board Public works May.] On the third day of this month his Majesty's ship _Buffalo_ arrived from England, but last from the Cape of Good Hope, whence she brought sixty-six head of cattle, which, considering the length of the voyage, were landed in good condition. She had also on board some tools and articles of hardware for the use of the colony; but, unfortunately, no bedding or clothing of any kind. This ship arrived under the command of Mr. William Raven, whose services to the colony in the private ship _Britannia_ cannot easily be forgotten; and was sent out to replace the _Supply_, which had been condemned as unserviceable, and whose commander, Lieutenant William Kent, was with her officers and crew to be removed into the _Buffalo_; the governor being directed to furnish Mr. Raven with a passage to England. Although this ship was named the _Buffalo_, yet her head was the carved figure of a kangaroo, which very much amused the natives, who could have had no idea of seeing the animals of their country represented in wood. Some of these people, ever hostile to the settlers, had lately speared one of them, a marine settler (as those were styled who had formerly belonged to the marine detachment) at George's river, so effectually, that he died of his wounds. The natives belonged to the tribe of which Pe-mul-wy was the leader. Savage as these beings certainly were toward our people, and to each other, yet they could unbend, and divert themselves with the softer amusements of singing and dancing. The annexed engraving represents a party thus occupied, and gives a correct view of their persons and manners. The figure leaning upon his shield, the attitude of the women dancing, and the whole group, are accurate delineations of a party assembled by the light of a fire at the mouth of one of their excavated rocks. It might be supposed, that with this exercise, and the company of their females, their angry and turbulent passions would be at rest, and that the idea of murder could not enter their minds; yet have they been known to start away, in search of some unsuspecting object of their revenge or hatred, who before the morning has received a dozen spears through his body: and this is man in his uncultivated state! Several offenders having been secured for trial, it became necessary to assemble the court of criminal judicature; and on the 16th Simon Taylor was brought before it, accused of the murder of his wife; of which offence being clearly convicted, he received sentence of death, and was executed on the 20th at Parramatta. This unhappy man was thoroughly sensible of the enormity of his guilt, and in his last moments admonished the spectators against indulging in drunkenness, which had brought him to that untimely and disgraceful end. At the same court, one man, Robert Lowe, was adjudged corporal punishment, and one year's hard labour, for embezzling some of the live stock of Government, which had been entrusted to his care. He was a free man, and had been one of the convicts who were with Captain Riou in the _Guardian_, when her voyage to New South Wales was unfortunately frustrated by her striking upon an island of ice; on account of which, and of their good conduct before and after the accident, directions had been given for their receiving conditional emancipation, and being allowed to provide for their own maintenance. Few of these people, however, were in the end found to merit this reward and indulgence, as their future conduct had proved; and this last act of delinquency pointed out the necessity of a free person being sent out from England to superintend the public live stock, with such an allowance as would make him at once careful of his conduct, and faithful in the execution of his trust. It should seem that the commission of crimes was never to cease in this settlement. Scarcely had the last court of judicature sent one man to the gallows, when a highway robbery was committed between the town of Sydney and Parramatta. Three men rushed from an adjoining wood, and, knocking down a young man who was travelling to the last mentioned town, rifled his pockets of a few dollars. On his recovering, finding that only one man remained, who was endeavouring to twist his handkerchief from his neck, he swore that no one person should plunder him, and had a struggle with this fellow, who, not being the strongest of the two, was secured and taken into Parramatta. A court was immediately assembled for his trial; but the evidence was not thought sufficient to convict him, and he was consequently acquitted. The want of any corroborating circumstance on the part of the prosecutor compelled the court to this acquittal. A quantity of fresh pork having been for some time received into the store, there were found at this period six months salt provisions remaining; which, without this supply would have been all consumed, and the colony left without animal food, save in the article of live stock, a resource on which it could not have been prudent to have touched as a supply, except in a case of the last necessity. Every encouragement was given to the curing of pork upon Norfolk Island; but the casks in which the salt meat was sent from England were in general so extremely feeble by the time they arrived, that scarcely one in a hundred was fit for that purpose a second time. Could any timber, fit for this use, have been found in the country, yet a supply of hoops and salt pans would have been necessary; and, unless it was cured in the winter season, and the method observed by Captain Cook was practised at Norfolk island, it remained a doubt whether it could be accomplished to any considerable extent. The price of fresh pork having been raised in consequence of the failure of the late harvest, as a temporary relief to those who had suffered by that misfortune, the commissary was, at the close of this month, directed to return to the price formerly established, viz nine-pence per pound. The state of the public stores with respect to salt provision having been carefully examined, it became necessary to make a small reduction of the ration in time, in order to prevent a greater. It was accordingly ordered, that the following proportions should be issued, per man per week; viz Beef 5 pounds or Pork 3 pounds Wheat 12 pounds Sugar 6 ounces and this they were informed was not to continue longer than the arrival of a storeship with a supply of salted provision. The commissary was also directed to issue to such men as might be entitled, as much blue gurrah (an East India article not much better than bunting) and thread as would make a frock and a pair of trousers, and a proportion to the women and children. These gurrahs had been brought from India in some of the speculative voyages to this country, and were now found useful in covering the nakedness of the people. By the arrival of the _Buffalo_, the governor at length had it in his power to inform those people who had been convicted in Ireland, and by the laws of that kingdom had been transported to New South Wales, that he had received from thence a correct statement of the several sentences of those who had been brought in the _Queen_; and an assurance, through the secretary to the Lord Lieutenant, that the lists of those who had been sent out since that period should be forwarded by the next vessel which might sail from Ireland for this colony. Those, therefore, who were remaining alive of the convicts received by the _Queen_, might learn the extent of their conviction, by applying at the commissary's office. Such as might appear to have been sent out for life were told they need not despair of being, in due time, again the masters of their own labours; as every one must have seen, that a decent, orderly, industrious and obedient conduct, had frequently recommended many of their description to public favour. June.] On the 2nd of this month, the _Diana_ and _Eliza_ whalers came in to refit, and to refresh their crews. They had each procured about twenty-five tons of spermaceti oil since they left the port, and had spoke the _Britannia_, which had been more successful, she having, in all, one hundred and ten tons of oil on board. About this time the _Indispensable_ sailed on her fishing voyage. This ship had been careened and completely repaired in the Cove. From the experience of the masters of these whalers, there was every reason to believe, that ships resorting hither, properly fitted for the variable weather which they are liable to meet with upon the coast, would most certainly succeed. The ships that had arrived, in general, were not prepared for the weather of this ocean, but were fitted for the more certain and serene skies of the coast of Peru; which occasioned their so frequently running into port to refit. In this, such assistance as the colony could supply was always readily afforded them; and it might be worthy the attention of the houses of Messrs. Champion, Enderby, and others, owners of ships in the whale fishery, to establish a depot or warehouse at Sydney, well supplied with naval stores, where their business could be transacted by their own people, and their ships refitted with their own materials. If try-pots were fixed at some convenient place near the entrance of the harbour, and many such offer, where their warehouse might also be established, the fishing ground not being far from the coast, might not a ship run in with the whale in blubber, leave it to be tried out, and in the mean while put to sea in quest of more? If any time would be saved by this mode of proceeding, it surely would be worth adopting; but of this these gentlemen must be the better judges. In the evening on the fourth of June, which had been observed as His Majesty's birthday with every demonstration of loyalty and respect, the weather became very tempestuous, and continued for three days blowing a heavy gale from the southward, attended with a deluge of rain; by which several buildings belonging to Government, which had been erected with great labour, were much damaged; among others, was unfortunately the tower of the new mill at Sydney, of which the roof was fitting. The south-side of this building was so much injured, that it became necessary to take the whole down; which was done, and the foundation laid a second time. This gale having subsided, it returned about the middle of the month, blowing again from the southward with increased violence, and attended with another deluge of rain. In its effects it was more destructive than the preceding, doing much damage to various public and private buildings. The south side of the church tower was entirely destroyed, but the clock was saved. The Government house at Parramatta, which was nearly finished, received some material injury, but was not wholly destroyed. A man, in crossing a gully between Sydney and Parramatta, was, in attempting to ford it, carried away by the violence of the torrent, and drowned. The cattle suffered much, and a few of the public as well as private stock perished. The ravages of this storm were so great, that the settlement was thrown back nearly twelve months in those works which at the time were expected very shortly to be completed. The weather, from the beginning of this month, had never since the establishment of the colony been observed to be so severe. The settlement had indeed, between the fires of the summer, and the floods and gales of the winter, suffered very considerably. Added to these, at this time, were the inconveniences arising from an unproductive harvest, from an exhausted store in the very essential articles of clothing and bedding, from the hostile disposition of many of the natives, and from the annihilation of morality, honesty, and industry in the major part of the colonists. As this picture is not exaggerated, the situation and feelings of the rational part of the settlement were certainly not to be envied. Every exertion was immediately made to remedy the misfortunes occasioned by the late tempestuous weather, and it was hoped that most of them would be surmounted by the end of the present year. The erecting of the stone prison at Sydney being found to create much expense, as well as require much time, the governor called a meeting of the officers, principal inhabitants, and landholders, and proposed an assessment to be furnished by each, as well of money, as of labour; which was readily agreed to on their part; and that necessary building was thenceforth carried on at their expense, the public stores only furnishing such iron as might be requisite. On the evening of the 29th, the ship _Albion_ arrived from England, having made the quickest passage of any that had yet come to this country, being only three months and fifteen days on her voyage. She brought out 900 tierces of salt pork, some dispatches, and a few letters, by which the governor was taught to expect the arrival of two transports with convicts, and of a king's ship, the _Porpoise_, which was to replace the _Reliance_. The extraordinary passage made by this ship drew the attention of those who were judges, to her construction. This was her first voyage, having been launched on the 25th of October 1798, from the yard of Messrs. Barnard and Roberts at Deptford, where she was built. The length of her keel for tonnage, was 86 feet; her extreme breadth, 27 feet 6 inches; her depth in hold, 12 feet; her height between decks, 6 feet, and her admeasured burden, 362 tons. She was remarkably clean in her run; and, although extremely deep in the water when she sailed from Spithead, gave early proof of her capacity in sailing. Mr. Ebor Bunker, who had been at Port Jackson before in the _William and Ann_ transport, commanded the _Albion_, and was now selected by her owners, Messrs. Champions, to give the whale fishing upon the coast a complete and fair trial. For this purpose the ship was fitted out with the accustomed liberality of those gentlemen in the amplest manner, with every store that could be necessary for her own use, and every comfort for her people. Fortunate it would have proved for the settlement in general, had these and such respectable gentlemen been among the first of those whose speculative views had induced them to embark their property in these undertakings: it would then have escaped the extortions which had been but too successfully practised by many others. The labouring people were principally employed during this month, in repairing the devastations occasioned by the late tempestuous weather. July.] Another instance occurred of the little effect which even capital punishments had in this profligate settlement. On the evening of the 2nd of this month, a most horrid murder was committed upon Mr. Samuel Clode, one of the missionaries, who had flown for refuge from the savages of Otaheite to this government. This act of more than savage barbarity was committed at the brickfields, in the house of one Jones, a soldier. His brains were beaten out at the back of his head, with an axe, and his throat so cut as nearly to sever the head from the body, which was then dragged to a sawpit, at that time full of water, and, being thrown in, was covered over with bushes. Here it remained only until the following morning, when it was discovered by a labouring man, who went to get his hoe; which, to prevent its being stolen, he had been in the habit of concealing in the sawpit. Such are the directions of Providence! Suspicion falling upon four persons, they were taken up; and, the criminal court being immediately convened, three of the number, Thomas Jones (a soldier), a woman (his wife), and John Albury (a free man), were, on the clearest evidence, convicted of the murder, and adjudged to suffer death. It appeared upon the trial, that the trifling sum of ten pounds, which Jones had been indebted to Mr. Clode, prompted him to his destruction. To effect this, he signified to that truly unfortunate gentleman, that if he would call at his hut in the evening he would pay him. Not suspecting any evil design in this request, he called at the appointed time, and, while leaning over a table to draw up a receipt, received the first blow with the axe, from the hand of Jones (Albury's resolution, for it was agreed that he should give it, failing at the moment), who, from the pecuniary transaction between them, must have been under an obligation, which he took this dreadful method of discharging. Being convicted on the 4th, they were executed on the 6th, upon the spot where the murder had been committed. The house was pulled down and burnt, and the bodies of the two men were hung in chains near the place. That of the woman was delivered to the surgeons for dissection. The abandoned state in which the settlement was at this time cannot be better understood than by a perusal of the following orders, which were issued. "From the late increased number of nocturnal robberies, there is much reason to suspect that the petty constables and divisional watchmen are either extremely negligent in the performance of their duty, or that they suffer themselves to be prevailed on by the house-breakers to be less vigilant than that duty requires, and to connive at their depredations on the inhabitants. A continuance of this unpardonable remissness upon their part must dispose the more respectable inhabitants to believe them partakers with the thieves. It is, therefore, hereby particularly recommended by the governor to every officer in the colony, as they value the security of their property, to give their utmost assistance to those immediately concerned in the executive part of the civil police, in putting, as speedily as possible, a stop to so very great an evil. It is also particularly recommended to the principal inhabitants of the towns of Sydney and Parramatta, that they select a few of the most respectable of their number, in each division of these towns, whom they may authorise to consider of the most effectual means of detecting the robbers, and bringing them to trial; whether by such rewards as they may be enabled to offer, or by small divisional patrols for the night service, and who shall take that duty by turns, and be under the immediate direction of a reputable inhabitant, of their own choice, or an officiating constable selected from among the most sober and vigilant of that description of persons." Proposals for this purpose were to be sent in writing to the judge-advocate's office, and a bench of magistrates were to approve or alter them, as they should think proper. This order was published on the 2nd, and on the 3rd the following appeared: "The continual complaints which are made of the conduct of the female convicts require the most rigid and determined discipline with such characters, who, to the disgrace of their sex, are far worse than the men, and are generally found at the bottom of every infamous transaction that is committed in the colony. It is hereby most strenuously recommended to the magistrates in general, that on proof being brought before them of any improper conduct in those dangerous and mischievous characters, or of any disobedience of orders, or neglect of such duty as they may be directed to perform, they may be ordered such exemplary punishment, either corporal or otherwise, as the nature of their crime may call for. This measure will appear the more necessary, when it is recollected, that formerly, when such punishments were had recourse to, these women gave much less trouble, and were far more orderly in their conduct." The superintendants were directed not to allow them to leave their work at their own pleasure, but to attend them, and see that they were employed during those hours which were allotted for their labour. The former of these orders seemed to have been attended with some effect; for in a few days several idle people, who, being out of their time, were employed only in wandering from one district to another, without any visible means of getting their bread, were apprehended, and, being examined before the sitting magistrate, were ordered to labour in the gaol gang. Still alarming depredations were nightly committed upon the live stock of individuals, and were doubtless effected by those wandering pests to society; the regulations which had long since been established as a check to such an evil being wholly disregarded. It was discovered, that hogs were stolen, and delivered on the victualling days at the public store, without any enquiry being made, as to whose property they were, or by whom delivered, any person's name which they chose to give in being considered by the store-keeper as sufficient to authorise him to receive it, although printed vouchers for the delivery of such pork (and grain likewise) were left at the store, for the purpose of being signed by the party offering it. This certainly operated as an encouragement to the commission of these thefts; and it became necessary to order, that such persons as attended the receipt of any of these articles at the store should direct whoever delivered them to sign the voucher of the quantity received by him, the governor being determined never to approve of any bill laid before him for that purpose, unless the commissary should produce the voucher, properly signed, by the person in whose name such bill was made out. About the middle of this month a general muster was made of all the inhabitants in the different districts of the settlement; and the governor, attending in person, collected from the settlers an accurate state of their farms and grounds in cultivation. This he did with a view of transmitting, in his next dispatches to Government, such an account of these people as, from being taken under his immediate inspection, might be depended upon. From the 14th to the 24th were taken up in this enquiry, from the result of which it appeared that there were in the district of the River Hawkesbury: 2544 and a half acres in wheat, 907 acres for maize; in the district of Parramatta: 1259 and a half acres in wheat, 663 and a half acres for maize; in the Sydney districts: 538 and a half acres in wheat, 365 and a half acres for maize; making a total of 4392 acres and a half in wheat, and 1436 acres for maize, in the three principal districts of the settlements. At the Hawkesbury, the greatest quantity of ground in cultivation by any individual, who had from a convict become a settler, was fifty-one acres, forty-six of which were in wheat. Two others had fifty each, forty of which were in wheat. A man of the name of Flood (who, had been left by Mr. Hogan, when here in the ship _Marquis Cornwallis_ in 1796, in the care of some ground which that gentleman had purchased) had at this time two hundred, and an agent of Mr. Palmer the commissary, had within seven of three hundred, acres in wheat. There were but few sheep in the possession of the settlers of this district, and about two hundred and forty goats. Hogs were more numerous, there being, after all the slaughter which had lately taken place among these animals, nearly two thousand remaining. The fertility of this spot had invited about one hundred and eighty persons to become holders of land thereon; and when they shall have erected their dwelling-houses and barns on ground inaccessible to the overflowings of the river (which, from its vicinity to the immense body of mountains to the westward, and its own irregularly winding form, must often occur), they will not find their time or exertions to have been misapplied. The settlers in and about Parramatta had not so much ground in cultivation, and were fewer in number than those of the Hawkesbury district. A widow woman of the name of Daveny, whose husband had been a superintendant of convicts, had fifty acres in wheat, and twenty-three in maize. Among the individuals who had attended to the rearing of stock must be mentioned with the credit which he merits, Edward Elliot, who, having firmly withstood every temptation that was placed in his way to induce him to sell them, had at this time a stock consisting of 116* sheep, derived from one ewe, which had been allowed him by Governor Phillip in December 1792. It, perhaps, may be read with some satisfaction, that George Barrington appeared to have twenty acres of ground in wheat, and to be the possessor of thirteen sheep, fifty-five goats, and two mares. His conduct continued such as it had been from the first; but his health was visibly declining, his unremitted attention to the duties of his office proving too much for an asthmatic habit, which he brought with him from England. [* Vide Vol I Ch. XXXI p 401, viz: 'One man, a settler at the Eastern Farms, Edward Elliot, had received a ewe sheep from the late Governor Phillip before his departure in the year 1792. He had resisted many temptations to sell it, and at the time this inquiry took place was found possessing a stock of twenty-two sheep, males and females. He had been fortunate in not meeting with any loss, but had not added to his stock by any purchase. This was a proof that industry did not go without its reward in this country. Other instances were found to corroborate this observation.'] There were nine hundred and three goats, three hundred and thirty-two sheep, and about four hundred hogs, in this district, the settlers of which were one hundred and four in number. It has been shown, that the cultivated ground in the district of the principal settlement was far less than in either that of the river, or Parramatta. At each of these, the soil was greatly superior, and had therefore been more desired by settlers; it must moreover be observed, that most of the farms in the neighbourhood of Sydney were taken before much knowledge had been obtained of the superior richness of the soil in the interior, over that near the coast. The greatest quantity of ground in cultivation by any individual was thirty-three acres. Their stock of sheep amounted only to thirty-eight, of goats to two hundred and ninety-two; and there were remaining among them about three hundred and sixty hogs. The number of settlers was seventy-one. In this statement, the farms and stock of the officers of the civil and military department, and of some of the free settlers, were not included. This certainly was not an unpromising view of the agricultural part of the settlement. Much might be expected from the exertions of three hundred and fifty-five people, and the greatest advantage would have been derived from their labours had they been less prone to dissipation and useless traffic--a traffic which most of them entered into solely with a view to indulging themselves in their favourite propensity of drinking. Independent of the wild herd of cattle to the westward, the live stock belonging to the Crown, and to individuals, was annually increasing to a great amount; but it was not yet sufficiently numerous to admit of supplying the colony with animal food. To begin too early to apply it to that use, would only have retarded the time when the colony would be independent of any other country for provisions; and none but superfluous males were ever killed. On the 26th of this month the _Hillsborough_ transport arrived from England, whence she had sailed with three hundred male convicts on board; but, from the raging of a gaol fever, that made its appearance soon after her departure, ninety-five had died during the voyage, and six more were added to the number in a few days after they were landed. It was impossible that any ship could have been better fitted by Government for the accommodation of prisoners during such a voyage than was the _Hillsborough_; but, unfortunately, they brought with them, perhaps lurking in their clothing, a disease which bade defiance to all the measures that could be taken for their comfort and convenience. The hospitals were immediately filled with the survivors, from whom no labour could, for a length of time, be expected; and they were supplied with fresh meat. None of the military having been embarked in this ship, the owners had put on board a certain number of people, to act as a guard; and on the commissary's mustering them and the ship's company, pursuant to a request to that purpose from the commissioners of the Transport Board, it appeared, that the terms of the charter-party had been strictly complied with. The erecting of the public gaol advancing but slowly, the constables of the different divisions of the town of Sydney were directed to give information to the inhabitants of their respective divisions, that, as this building was a work in which they were all interested, they were to furnish from each of the four divisions, viz from King's, Nepean's, Banks's, Maskelyne's (such being their names), and from that of the Brickfields, five men each day, with a watchman to attend them. These were to be relieved by a like number of men every day, and this assistance was to be continued so long as the gentlemen who had the direction of the work should have occasion for them. Had the convicts who arrived in the _Hillsborough_ been in a condition to labour, this requisition would have been unnecessary. The _Albion_ was cleared during this month of the provisions which she brought out for the colony, and prepared to proceed upon her fishing voyage. The _Buffalo_ was also getting ready to go to the Cape of Good Hope for cattle. CHAPTER XIX The governor visits the settlers upon George's river The _Norfolk_ sloop returns from an excursion to the northward Account of her proceedings Enters Shoal Bay Particulars respecting it Description of a palm-nut tree Enters Glass-House Bay Lieutenant Flinders meets some natives Has an interview with them Particulars Point Skirmish Proceeds to a river in Glass-House Bay August.] In the beginning of this month the governor spent some days in an excursion from Prospect-Hill to the settlement which he had established on the banks of George's river. Having before examined the country between Parramatta and that river, he now traced it in another direction, and had the gratification of finding it equally favourable to cultivation with what he had before observed. The distance from the hill was about five miles, over excellent ground, well adapted both for cultivation and pasturage, and equal to any on the banks of the Nile of New South Wales. The settlers whom he had placed there were all doing well, had not any complaints to make, and had not been molested lately by the natives. On quitting them he proceeded down the river to Botany Bay, and thence walked overland to Sydney, between which places there was nothing but barren and uneven ground, but every where covered with the most beautiful flowering heath. Shortly after his return, the _Norfolk_ sloop came in from the northward, having been absent about six weeks upon a particular service, the following account of which is taken from the Journal of Lieutenant Flinders, which he delivered to the governor after his arrival. The governor being very desirous of gaining some information respecting the coast to the Northward of Port Jackson, particularly of two large openings marked by Captain Cook, the Northernmost of which he named Hervey Bay, and appeared to lie about the latitude of 24 degrees 36 minutes south, he directed Lieutenant Flinders, who had been employed before with Mr. Bass in the circumnavigation of Van Diemen's Island, to proceed in the _Norfolk_ sloop to the northward, and examine them with as much accuracy as the limited time of six weeks would admit. He was also directed, if on his return he should find that he had some time to spare, to enter Hunter's river, there to make what observations he could relative to its extent, the quantity of coal to be found there, and the nature of the country. The vessel was manned with volunteers from the two king's ships, and Lieutenant Flinders was accompanied by Bong-ree, a native of the north side of Broken Bay, who had been noted for his good disposition, and open and manly conduct. To guard against accidents, they were supplied with provisions for eleven weeks, and on this service they sailed on the 8th of the last month, July, and proceeded to the Northward. At half past seven in the morning of Sunday the 9th they sounded, but without finding ground with fifteen fathoms of line, at the distance of half a mile from a small reef of black rocks, which ran off from a sugar-loaf point. There were two very low, and therefore dangerous rocks, lying at S 20 degrees E three or four miles, and SE about two miles from this point. Captain Cook passed this part of the coast in the night, and therefore did not see the rocks; but they required to be particularly looked out for by any vessel coming near the land.* The latitude of the point is about 32 degrees 27 minutes S, Cape Hawke lying N 1 degree or 2 degrees E from it; and the intermediate coast was mostly beach, but divided at intervals by short stony heads. [* This and other nautical observations made by Lieutenant Flinders are inserted, as it is presumed they (never having been published) may be of use to such ships as may hereafter be employed in the whale fishery upon the coast.] Sounding with ten fathoms of line at half a mile distance from the shore of Cape Hawke, they got ground. The two hills here mentioned by Captain Cook were found to stand upon the pitch of the Cape, and were covered with brush down to the low cliffs. The strata in these cliffs lay forty or fifty degrees from the horizontal line. From the Cape the coast falls back, forming a kind of double bay. The land was low, and rose, but very gradually, ridge over ridge inland to a moderate height, the country looking pleasant enough from the sea; but the trees appeared small, and mixed with brushwood. At daylight in the morning of the 10th they perceived the vessel to have been carried by an extraordinary current considerably to the southward of their expected situation, and at noon their latitude gave them a difference of thirty-three miles, which current they attributed to their being five or six leagues off the shore; for in the preceding twenty-four hours, when she was close in with the shore, the difference between the observation and the log was eight miles in her favour. They found this morning that the sloop had unfortunately sprung a very bad leak, which admitted so much water as kept one pump constantly at work. By its coming on suddenly, it was judged not to have been occasioned by any straining of the vessel. It was, however, a serious cause of alarm; and the maize with which the sloop had been before loaded was continually choking up the pumps. The Solitary Isles were seen on the 11th. It had been Mr. Flinders's intention to have landed upon some of these islets, had any inducement presented itself; but on them he saw not either seal or bird. They seemed to be covered with short brush; and two of them having been lately burnt proved that they were visited by natives. In the colour of the rock, and in their general appearance, they much resembled the small islands lying off Tasman's heads, and might with equal propriety be termed the Miserable as the Solitary Isles. Some breakers lying between them, Mr. Flinders thinks it would be dangerous for a ship to pass within any of them until they should be better known. At noon the observed latitude was 29 degrees 57 minutes 25 seconds south. The country still retained the same woody, hilly, and irregular, though not unpleasing, appearance; but in running along the shore it manifestly grew worse, having more tendency to sand. The small projections of land which appeared as they sailed along often presented the delusive appearance of openings behind them; and they were the more inclined to entertain these hopes, as Captain Cook passed along this part of the coast in the night. At half past two a small island opened off from a low rocky point, behind which there was a small river running into the SW; but breakers seemed to extend mostly across the entrance. If there was any passage, it would be found on the south side of the island. At half past three, a peaked hill, standing four or five miles inland, and more conspicuous than usual, bore true East. Before five, the vessel stood in for what appeared to be an opening, and about dusk was in the entrance to a wide shoal bay; soon after which she anchored in two and a half fathoms, on a hard sandy bottom. The objects in view that induced Mr. Flinders to enter this bay were, that he might have daylight to run along the remaining part of the coast, which had been passed by Captain Cook in the night, and to ascertain a place of safety to run for, should the wind come dead on the coast on his return. The leak in the sloop was also a material part of the inducement; for should the place turn out to be of consequence enough to be worth expending a few days in its examination, and a convenient place offer itself for laying her on shore, he intended in the interval to get it stopped. On examining this bay in his boat, he found it to be very shallow; the north point of the entrance into it was only a projecting spot of sandy ground. Having returned to the sloop about noon, he landed on the south head for the purpose of observing for the latitude. The sun being more than half an hour distant from the meridian gave him time to examine three huts which stood at a little distance. They were of a circular form, and about eight feet in diameter. The frame was composed of the stronger tendrils of the vine, crossing each other in all directions, and bound together by strong wiry grass at the principal intersections. The covering was of bark of a soft texture, resembling the bark of what is called the Tea-tree at Port Jackson, and so compactly laid on as to keep out the wind and rain. The entrance was by a small avenue projecting from the periphery of the circle, not leading directly into the hut, but turning sufficiently to prevent the rain from beating in.* The height of the under part of the roof is about four and a half, or five feet, and those that were entered had collected a coat of soot, from the fires which had been made in the middle of the huts. They much resembled an oven. One of them was a double hut, comprising two recesses under one entrance, intended most probably for kindred families, being large enough to contain twelve or fifteen people. Bong-ree readily admitted that they were much superior to any huts of the natives which he had before seen. He brought away a small hand basket, made of some kind of leaf, capable of containing five or six pints of water, and very nearly resembling those used at Coupang in the island of Timor for carrying toddy, which Mr. Flinders had noticed there. [* How much superior in contrivance to those about Port Jackson, or in Van Diemen's Island!] The meridional altitude of the sun gave 29 degrees 26 minutes 28 seconds S for the latitude of the entrance into the bay. Many white cockatoos and paroquets were seen about here, and a crow whose note was remarkably short and hasty. Numbers of pelicans, with some gulls and red bills, frequented the shoals, and the country itself was very sandy wherever they landed. The palm nut-tree which grows here was the third kind of palm mentioned by Captain Cook as being produced on the eastern coast of New South Wales.* This, he says, was found only in the northern parts; and as Bong-ree, who was tolerably well acquainted with the country as far as Port Stephens, never saw or heard of it before, this was probably one of the most southern situations in which it would be found. [* Vide Hawkesworth's Voyages, Vol III p 624.] The individual nuts were seen scattered about the fire-places of the natives; and it was observed, that the lower end of them had been chewed and sucked in the manner that artichokes are eaten. This method, on procuring some that were ripe, was afterwards practised. The taste was rather pleasant at first, but left an astringency behind that scarcely tempted one to try a second time. The eatable part of the nut in this way was so small, as to be not worth the trouble of sucking it out from the fibres. They were about the size of a walnut; within the outer skin was a hard shell like that of the cocoa nut; and within this, two, or perhaps more, almond-like kernels. The nut, as taken from the tree, was an assemblage of these kernels set into a cone, and was from the size of a man's two fists, to that of his head. Its size, and the furrows or indentations upon the surface, appeared on the first view like the exterior form of the bread fruit, but a pine apple may be a better object of comparison. The stem of the tree was short, and none were observed to be two feet or even eighteen inches in diameter. The branches did not ramify into twigs, but preserved their size to the extreme, where the leaves were produced surrounding the fruit. One or two smaller branches here and there struck off from the main branch, and produced their leaves in the same way, without fruit. The height of the tree all together might be from fifteen to twenty-five or thirty feet. Suckers or branches of all sizes were seen shooting out below those bearing fruit, and, growing downwards along the stem, entered the ground, where they not only formed roots, but became supporters to the tree. Mr. Flinders thought this fruit might be the mellori of the Nicobar Islands. The description given of the mellori* in the third volume of the Asiatic Researches corresponded with it in every particular, as far as his examination went; but not having at that time any idea of the value of the tree, and the subject being foreign to his pursuit, he did not give it much attention. [* The manner of cooking this fruit, mellori, is given in the description, and may be found in the Annual Register for 1794.] This bay not appearing to deserve more than a superficial examination, Mr. Flinders did not think it worth consuming much of his time, and therefore got under way at one o'clock in the afternoon of the 12th. He could not give any particular mark that would point out the situation of Shoal Bay, except its latitude, and the somewhat remarkably peaked hill lying about four leagues to the southward of it. Were any vessel ever likely to visit it, it would be necessary to observe, that either of two heads, which bore from the vessel SW by W and W by N behind which there was some appearance of an inlet, might be mistaken for the south head of the bay. On Saturday the 13th, about ten in the morning, they were three miles distant from Cape Byron, and at the same time the peak of Mount Warning was just appearing over it. Having hauled more off the shore soon after noon, to avoid the reef lying off Point Danger, on the following morning they found themselves at a considerable distance from the land. They now steered west for a large space, where no land was visible, and, perceiving breakers off the south point of the opening, were satisfied that this was Moreton Bay. Passing between these breakers and Point Lookout, they got ground in twenty fathoms water. As they drew nearer, there appeared to be a very large extent of water within the opening; but Mr. Flinders suspected that there was not any passage for a vessel in the direction he was then steering, along the shore for the northern extreme of the land. The country to the sea-ward was wretchedly sandy. At dusk Cape Moreton bore west, distant two or three miles; and the highest Glass-House, whose peak was just presenting itself over the distant land, had opened round it at W 3 degrees or 4 degrees N. Two hummocks resembling haycocks, distinct from any other land, opened soon after a few degrees to the southward. The vessel was now hauled in round Cape Moreton, to go into Glass-House Bay. They steered west till eight o'clock, when, having little wind, and that little being from the southward, they dropped anchor for the night. Weighing again the next morning, the 14th, they worked near the eastern shore until noon, at which time their latitude was 27 degrees 00 minutes 29 seconds south; and Cape Moreton bearing E 10 degrees N two or three miles would be in the same latitude, allowing the variation to be 10 degrees east. This differs four miles and a half from its situation in Captain Cook's Narrative. While ranging within a mile of the shore, ten natives were counted, half of whom were probably women, from their keeping behind the others. The men made many antic gestures to our people. One had a green branch in his hand, which he waved to and fro at the extent of his arm, from the ground on one side of him to that on the other; and some of them would run into the water occasionally, and beat the surf with sticks. They appeared to be friendly, using nearly the same word in calling our people that would have been made use of by a Port Jackson native, and seemed desirous that they should proceed up the bay. At eight in the evening they anchored in eleven fathoms water, about two miles from a low sandy shore on the west side of the bay. At daylight on Tuesday the 16th, they again weighed to turn up the bay, having the wind still from the southward. In their progress, they met with various depths of water; and, perceiving an opening in the low western land, Mr. Flinders wished to anchor near it, but was prevented by shoal water. At a quarter past eight in the morning they anchored in three fathoms water for the night. After breakfast Mr. Flinders went in his boat toward the opening, taking Bong-ree the native with him. As they approached the sandy point on the east side of the opening, some dogs came down upon the beach, and soon after several natives made their appearance, most of them carrying fishing nets over their shoulders. They lay upon their oars some time, conversing with them by signs, and repeating the words which they made use of. As they seemed to be friendly, Bong-ree wished to make them a visit; and, seeing nothing among them but the pieces of fire-wood which the natives usually carry with them, the boat was backed in, and he jumped on shore, naked, and as unarmed as they themselves appeared. He quickly made an exchange with the yarn belt from his waist, for a fillet made of kangaroo hair. The muskets were kept at hand in the boat, to be prepared against any treachery; but, every thing seeming to go on well, the natives appearing rather shy than otherwise, Mr. Flinders joined his companion, taking his gun with him. By making friendly signs, laying down the gun, and offering them a woollen cap, he was suffered to approach, and one took the cap; but when Mr. Flinders made signs that he expected to have his net bag in return, he gave him to understand that he must first give him his hat. This hat was made of the white filaments of the cabbage-tree, and seemed to excite the attention and wishes of the whole party. As the hat was not given to him, he came forward, first throwing the cap that he had received upon the bank behind him, to secure it, and seemed very anxious for either the hat or gun, or both. Every thing, however, was carried on very amicably; and Mr. Flinders, with his native, retreated slowly toward the boat, but turned again, upon finding that they pressed close after them. One of them then, laughing, and talking at the same time to Mr. Flinders, attempted to take the hat off his head with a long hooked stick; which, on his discovering, created a laugh. Behind him another was stretching out a long arm to the same object, but was fearful of coming near enough to reach it. On our people getting into the boat, and shoving her off into deep water, they did not seem pleased, but tried to persuade them to land again. Finding they could not succeed, one of them threw his piece of fire-wood at them; but it falling short, the matter was treated as a joke, and laughed at. On this, another ran into the water, and threw his also, but it likewise fell short: he then took the hooked stick, and slipping off the hook, which it seems was only lashed or tied on, produced a spear, with which he ran up to the middle in water, and threw at them by hand. It passed over the centre of the boat, about a foot and a half above the gunwale, but touched no one. After this impudent and unprovoked attack, Mr. Flinders snapped his gun at the man who threw the spear; but the flint having received some wet when it was laid upon the beach, it missed fire. It was loaded with buck shot, and he was strongly tempted to fire among the cluster of natives who were standing upon the beach; but, recollecting himself, he tried again at the offender, who was still standing in the water, with his back turned toward them, and calling to his companions. The gun again missed fire. While this was transacting, the major part of the natives were observing Mr. Flinders's motions with much unconcern. On the third trial, however, it went off. The man in the water fell flat, as did every individual among them; but those on shore rose almost instantaneously, and scrambled away toward the bank, some upright, and some upon their hands and feet. One of the people in the boat then fired among them, and they fell again upon their faces; but they all got up, and flew immediately behind the bank into the wood. Even the man in the water rose up, and made off, but his progress was much slower than that of the others, and he stooped a great deal, carrying one hand behind him upon his back. From hence it was conjectured that he was wounded, and he looked every now and then over his shoulder, as if expecting to see the spear that he supposed must be sticking in his back.* According to Bong-ree's account, another native had his arm broken by the second shot. [* A certain proof of his total ignorance of the effect of fire arms, he thus unhappily being the first victim to their use in this part of the country.] As this very wanton attack had unfortunately obliged the party to fire upon these people, in order to maintain that superiority which they meant upon all occasions to assert, Mr. Flinders thought it might be the means of preventing much future mischief, to give them a more extensive idea of his power, and thereby deter them from any future attempt in his intercourse with them. For as this bay was to be examined, and the leak which the sloop had sprung was to be stopped here, it became more than probable that they would often meet; and he was well satisfied of the great influence which the awe of a superior power has in savages, to create respect, and render their communications with each other friendly. In this view, with two musket balls in his gun, he fired at a man who was looking at them from among the trees, and who, being about two hundred yards off, perhaps thought himself secure. One of these balls touched the edge of the bank in a right line for him, the other passed over, but whether it took effect could not be seen. They afterwards landed, intending to bring away the nets, which it was supposed they had in their flight and alarm forgotten. On going upon the bank, previously to ascertain the position of the enemy, he saw several of them running different ways among the trees, apparently with a design of coming round upon them; and, not knowing their force or numbers, Mr. Flinders directed the native and a man who had also landed to return to the boat. But from information since gained from Bong-ree, whose eyes were better than those of Mr. Flinders, he believed they were running to conceal themselves. They had not left their nets. From the low sandy point where this affair happened, and which obtained the name of Point Skirmish, they proceeded up the opening, which proved to be a river leading to the Glass-House peaks. These peaks stood upon the low flat ground, considerably within the mountains, and, as far as could be judged, had every appearance of being volcanic. That they were so, indeed, was in some measure corroborated by the quantity of pumice stone which was lying at high-water mark upon the eastern shore of the river, on which Mr. Flinders had landed to mark the nature and appearance of the country, not being able from the strength of the ebb tide to proceed far in his boat. Among the largest and most common trees, there was one differing from any that grew at Port Jackson. The leaves of this tree were of a darkish hue, and bore some resemblance to the pine. The wood, when cut, smelt strongly of turpentine, which exuded in places where the bark had been wounded. The external part of the wood was white, but the body was of a reddish brown, the bark somewhat resembling that of a tree at Port Jackson called the iron bark. The blue gum, she-oak, and cherry tree of Port Jackson were common here, and also one with the leaves of the gum tree, but with the soft bark of the tea tree. The soil where it grew was very sandy; but, fearing that the natives might surprise them while among the trees, Mr. Flinders did not go far from the beach; it was, however, covered with very tall and not innutritious grass. Five or six huts, from twelve to fifteen feet in length, were seen standing near each other. They resembled a covered arch-way, rounded at the far end. The roofs, and the manner of securing them, were nearly the same as those which they had seen in Shoal Bay; but these had not any curved entrance to keep out the weather, nor was the hut any smaller in that part than elsewhere, but the sides and roof were equally calculated to shelter the inhabitants from a storm. In one of them was found a small and very light shield, and in another an old net, which had a bag to it, and was knotted and made in the same way as it would have been if made by an European seine maker. It appeared to be intended for a scoop net. There were marks of a large kangaroo having passed, and many traces of dogs were visible on the beach. In returning to the sloop they passed a dry shoal lying at the entrance of the river, the deep channel into which was between this shoal and Point Skirmish, where they found from three to six fathoms water. Before he left the sloop Mr. Flinders had given directions to examine a part on the starboard side, where he suspected the leak to be; and on his return was informed, that it was found to have been occasioned by the starting of a plank from the timber about three or four streaks from the keel. The caulker had filled it up with oakum from the inside, since which she had made but little water lying at an anchor. From the situation in which the sloop lay, the bay had not any appearance of closing round, but seemed to promise a large river at its head, and a communication with Moreton Bay, if not something more interesting. At three in the afternoon they got under weigh to proceed up this river, with a light air from the northward, standing to the southward until dark, at which time they anchored, about three miles from the western shore, in five fathoms, on a soft muddy bottom, whereas the ground before had always been sandy. CHAPTER XX Further proceedings in Glass-House Bay Red Cliff point Nets of the natives Moreton Bay found to be an island The sloop prepared for an attack of the natives The Event Account of an island Enter Pumice-Stone river See some natives The leak in the sloop stopped Interviews with natives Mr. Flinders visits the Glass-House peaks Account of the country Return down the river Other interviews with natives Their manner of fishing Singing Dancing Other particulars of, and some conjectures respecting them Quit Pumice-Stone river, and Glass House Bay At daylight in the morning of Wednesday the 17th, the sloop was got under weigh, and turned up with a southerly breeze, as long as the flood tide lasted, anchoring about half past ten o'clock, a mile and a half from a point with red cliffs. A little to the westward of this point, Mr. Flinders found the latitude to be 27 degrees 16 minutes 25 seconds south. The rocks here were of stone, strongly impregnated with iron, having some small pieces of granite and crystal scattered about the shore. From Red-cliff Point, they pulled over to a green head-land, about two miles to the westward. The small reefs which lay off this head presented a miniature of those which form such a barrier to the northern shore of New South Wales, and render it almost inaccessible. In a house which stood upon the west side of the head, they found a net, or seine, about fourteen fathoms long, the meshes of which were much larger than any English seine, and the twine much stronger; but its depth was much less, being not more than three feet. At each end it had a pointed stick of about the same length. Upon the shoal near the house, there was more than one inclosure of a semicircular form, and the sticks and branches of which it was made were set and interwoven so close, that a fish could not pass between. This net Mr. Flinders supposed was to be placed diametrically across the semicircle at high water, and thus secure all the fish that might get within the inclosure, until the falling tide should leave them dry. He brought away the net, as a proof of the superior ingenuity of these over the natives of Port Jackson, leaving them in return a hatchet, the only present which he had to make them; and that they might the sooner learn the great use of their new acquisition, and be consoled for the loss of their net, he cut down some branches and laid them before the hut. The wood, which at high water was collected for their fire, proved, when cut up, to be cedar, and of a fine grain. The remains of a canoe made of the stringy bark were lying upon the shore, near the house whence the net had been taken. There were traces of dogs, kangaroos, and emus upon the beach. Two hawks of a moderate size were shot, but their plumage was unlike that of any known at Port Jackson. That which was the most remarkable was of an unvariegated dull red colour in the body, with a milk-white neck, breast, and head. In the afternoon they made some further progress with the sloop, anchoring for the night on a soft muddy bottom. On the following morning they got under weigh with a flood tide, and a moderate breeze from the northward. In their progress, they passed two islands, of from three to four miles each in circuit. The northernmost was the largest, and seemed well covered with wood, the greater part of which was probably mangrove, the island being nearly level with the water's edge. The foliage of the trees upon the southern island was equally dark and luxuriant with this, but the interior part of it was higher. There were two other smaller islands, nearly on a level with the first, and covered with wood, but the southernmost was very small. In passing between the two islands they had deep water; but on its suddenly shoaling they tacked and stood to the westward. In this situation the entrance from Moreton Bay was open, the south side of which bore N 68 degrees E six or eight miles, and the west side of what will now be Moreton Island bore N 2 degrees W. Another island. apparently larger than either of the four above mentioned, bore from the same place from S 55 degrees to 34 degrees E at the distance of about five miles. Reckoning the northernmost of the four islands to be the first in number, they made their course good for the third island, after tacking; and the water deepened almost immediately to six fathoms. At this time their attention was much attracted by a party of natives from these islands, who appeared to be standing up in their canoes, and pulling toward them, with all their strength, in very regular order. They seemed to have long poles or spears in their hands, with which also they appeared to be paddling, the whole of them shifting their hands at the same instant, after the manner of the South Sea islanders. As about twenty of them were counted, and seemed to be coming on with much resolution, our people prepared for whatever might be the event. The sloop was put under easy sail, her decks cleared of every incumbrance, and each man was provided with a competent number of musket balls, pistol balls, and buck shot, which were to be used as the distance might require; for it was intended that not a man should escape if they commenced an attack. Being thus prepared, they bore away toward them, finding that with all their exertions they did not approach much nearer to the vessel. But what was their surprise on discovering, that, instead of advancing in canoes to attack them, they were standing upon a large flat, that surrounded the third island, driving fish into their nets, and that they had but two canoes among them. They were standing in a line, splashing in the water with long sticks, first for some time on one side, and then all shifting to splash on the other. Thus this hostile array turned out to be a few peaceable fishermen: peaceable indeed; for on the approach of the vessel they sunk their canoes upon the flat, and retreated to the island, where they made their fires. The flood tide having ceased to run, they anchored at noon, and by the sun's meridional altitude, in 27 degrees 27 minutes 16 seconds south latitude. The third island, on which the natives were, bore W 4 degrees S one and a half or two miles distant, and the centres of the two northern ones N 40 degrees and N 15 degrees W. The entrance from Moreton Bay bearing N 68 degrees E from this anchorage, corroborated its latitude by the observation of the 14th, which was taken on the sea side of it although it differed considerably from that given by Captain Cook. This difference may perhaps be thus accounted for. That great navigator finding, by the meridional observation taken on the day following the evening on which he passed this part of the coast, that a northerly current had prevailed in the last twenty-four hours, probably allowed a proportional part of it, to correct the situation of Point Lookout, as given by the log; whereas in reality the northerly current might have commenced only at the time that he opened the Moreton Bay entrance, and became exposed to the outset from it. And it was by no means improbable, that, instead of a northerly, he might have had a southerly set, from the previous noon, when the latitude was 27 degrees 46 minutes to the time when he opened the entrance; in the same manner as it had prevailed the day before; when the observation was 17 minutes south of the log. From the situation of the sloop at this anchorage, Glass-House-Bay seemed to be closed round, except at one small opening which bore S 27 degrees E. To turn up this opening, they got under sail as soon as the ebb tide slacked. On standing near the south part of the shoal that appeared to surround the island to which the natives had retired, one of them came down abreast of the sloop, making the same gestures, and running backwards and forwards, as others had done before; but little attention was paid to him, Mr. Flinders being more intent on getting as far up the bay as possible while the tide favoured him. A little before midnight he was obliged to anchor, finding that the deep water had contracted into a narrow channel. On the following day Mr. Flinders landed upon an island that lay in his passage, with instruments for taking angles, and observing the latitude. Footsteps of dogs, and those recent, were numerous upon the beach; but traces of men were scarcely visible: there were, however, several fire-places, and many other marks of the island having lately been visited. This island was two or three miles in circumference. The central part was higher than the skirts, and was covered with a coat of fine vegetable mould of a reddish colour. On the SE side of the island this elevated part descended suddenly in a steep bank, where the earth was as red as blood; and, being clayey, some portions of it were nearly hardened into rock. The trees upon it, among which was the new pine, were large and luxuriant. The exterior part of the island upon the west side was a flat, over which the tide seemed to rise, and was abundantly covered with large mangrove trees. On the SW and NE sides it was mostly low and sandy, and here the palm nut tree was produced. Probably these nuts formed the principal inducement for the natives to visit this island; and there was abundant testimony under the trees that they were not suffered to fall off and rot. They met with some boughs so ranged as to keep off the southerly winds; and from the fireplaces which they were placed to defend, it was inferred that not less than five or six natives had made this their place of residence, probably a temporary one only, as they did not meet with any huts regularly constructed. The black and the white cockatoo, the beautiful lilac-headed paroquet, and the bald-headed mocking bird of Port Jackson, were seen here; but there were not any marks of resident quadrupeds, rats excepted. The latitude of this island, deduced from the sun's altitude taken at noon, was 27 degrees 34 minutes 59 seconds S making the depth of this bay, from Cape Moreton, to be thirty-four miles; for beyond this island the bay was contracted into a river, of considerable width indeed, but it appeared to be so shoal, or, if there was any deep channel, to be so difficult of access, that Mr. Flinders gave up all idea of pursuing it further, especially as the winds were obstinately adverse: he therefore returned on board, with the intention of running into the river near the Glass House peaks, there to lay the sloop on shore, and procure a supply of fresh water, if a convenient situation could be found. The following day was passed in endeavouring to get into the river, which, from the pumice-stone found upon its shores, obtained the name of Pumice-Stone River, anchoring at sun-set within two miles of its entrance. Early the next morning (Sunday the 21st), Mr. Flinders went in his boat to examine the river, and the entrance into it. On approaching Point Skirmish, five or six natives came down to the boat unarmed, and, by friendly gestures and offers of their girdles and small nets, endeavoured to persuade him to land. He could not satisfy himself whether they had any treacherous design in this, or whether their presenting themselves unarmed proceeded from any confidence which they might have felt, that neither himself nor his people would hurt them if they were not the aggressors. In this point of view, the offer of their girdles and nets might have been meant as an atonement for their former conduct; he did not, however, choose to trust them, but proceeded to examine the river. Although the shoals in the river were very intricate; yet, finding that there was depth of water sufficient to admit the sloop, he determined to get her into it. Upon these shoals were several pelicans; and they had not proceeded far with their boat before they were greeted with the well-known creaking note of the swan. These now engaged a great part of their attention, and before they left the river eight of them were killed. When they had nearly reached the end of their excursion, two natives came down to the beach, and seemed desirous for them to land. There being a dry sand at a sufficient distance to be out of the reach of spears, they put ashore upon it. About the same time, Mr. Flinders taking up his gun to fire at two red-bills, the natives ran into the woods; but on Bong-ree's advancing that way they returned, and he made a friendly exchange for their hair fillets and belts, giving them a white woollen cap in return, and came to the boat for a piece of white cloth and some biscuit for them, to make the exchange equal. During this time Mr. Flinders was on shore upon the sand bank with a gun, to cover him in case their behaviour should be unfriendly. On his advancing toward them, they were very vociferous for him to remain at a distance, and would in no wise admit of his approaching without laying down his gun. This place was about six miles from Point Skirmish; but it was evident that the fame and dread of their fire-arms had reached thus far, and were most probably increased by the shooting of the swans, which they must have witnessed. In returning down the river, they were called to by a man on the west side, who had a spear in his hand; but two women and several children being behind argued rather against any premeditated hostility. The women and children retired on their approaching the shore; but they were observed to be peeping at them from behind the bushes. This man made great exclamations for the musket to be laid down, calling out 'woo-rah, woo-rah,' as others had done, and seemed pleased when it was complied with; but he could not have heard many particulars of their weapons, for, on pointing a musket toward him to try the experiment, he did not appear to be sensible of the danger to himself in that case. As he did not choose to quit his spear, and the sun was descending, they did not land, but backed in near enough to throw him a yarn stocking, which they showed him was to be worn as a cap with a tail to it, and then parted good friends. Monday the 22nd was passed in getting the sloop into the river, which with some difficulty was accomplished, having to find out a channel through an infinity of shoals, some of which were covered with mangroves. Finding a proper place to lay the sloop on shore, Mr. Flinders took the necessary measures; and on Thursday the 25th, having completely stopped the leak, by filling up the seam with oakum, nailing the plank to afresh, and covering the whole with tarred canvas and sheet lead, he re-stowed his vessel, which had been cleared of every thing, a few tons of ballast excepted, and was again in a condition to prosecute his intended excursion to the Glass-House peaks. In a spare interval of a few hours before high water, (the day he laid the sloop ashore) he attempted to get some swans, but met with none that could not fly. He saw several large fish, or animals that came up to the surface of the water to blow, in the manner of a porpoise, or rather of a seal, for they did not spout, nor had they any dorsal fin. The head also strongly resembled the bluff-nosed hair seal, but their size was greater than any which Mr. Flinders had seen before. He fired three musket balls into one, and Bong-ree threw a spear into another; but they sunk, and were not seen again. These animals, which perhaps might be sea lions, were not observed any where but in this river. Not finding any fresh water wherewith to fill up their casks, they had dug a hole in a low situation about a hundred yards inland. The first spit consisted of vegetable earth, mixed with a large portion of black sand; the three following feet were composed of different layers of sand, and then they came to the hardened black clay of which the rocks on some parts of the banks were formed. Here the water began to ooze in at the sides of the hole, which in the course of thirty-six hours was filled, but with very thick water. Luckily there was not any occasion to use it; for one of the people, incautiously straying into the wood, met with a hole of very good water, at which they completed their stock. While they were employed in making up the sails, which had been loosed in the first part of the morning to dry, three natives made their appearance upon the beach, a short distance below the vessel, and unarmed as before. Bong-ree went up to them in his usual undaunted manner; but they would not suffer Mr. Flinders or any of his party to approach them, without first laying down their muskets. Presents were made them of yarn caps, pork, and biscuit, all of which they eagerly took, and made signs for Bong-ree to go with them, and they would give him girdles and fillets, to bind round his head and the upper parts of his arms. So long as their visitors consisted only of two, the natives were lively, dancing and singing in concert in a pleasing manner; but, the number of white men having imperceptibly increased to eight, they became alarmed and suspicious, seeming to look with a jealous eye upon a shot belt which Mr. Flinders wore, and which, though they did not rightly know how, might some how or other be a deadly weapon. Observing this, he gave it to one of the people to take away; but this he afterwards thought was wrong, as tending to make them suspicious of every thing they saw, and thus be a means of destroying their friendly intercourse. By this shot belt they seemed to recognise Mr Flinders as the person who had fired upon them before, and were more desirous that he should keep at a distance than any other person. Three of the sailors, who were Scotch, were desired to dance a reel, but, for want of music, they made a very bad performance, which was contemplated by the natives without much amusement or curiosity. Finding they could not be persuaded to visit the sloop, our people parted with them, but in a very friendly manner. Having weighed the anchors (Thursday the 25th) they turned two or three miles further up the river in the afternoon, for the convenience of being nearer to the Glass-House peaks, which he now intended to visit. In the deepest parts of the river, there were from four to six fathoms water; but the channel was much divided, and narrow. They anchored near that place on the western shore where the man who had a family with him had called to them; and at this time they saw a fire, and heard several younger female voices in the same place. On the following morning Mr. Flinders took the boat up a small branch that pointed toward the peaks, but afterwards, joining the same stream, formed two low mangrove islands, leaving the Glass Houses at some distance on the left hand. About half past nine he left the boat, accompanied by two seamen and the native. Steering NW by W through a low swampy country, brought them to the side of a creek, the banks of which were low, muddy, and covered with mangroves. This creek carried them by the south west near the head of it, where the stream, passing through a rocky swamp, permitted them to wade over it. Thence they steered between N 50 degrees and 60 degrees West, getting a sight of the flat-topped peak at times, which, appearing to be considerably nearer than the highest Glass-House, was that which he first meant to visit; but observing that one of the round mounts with sloping sides was still nearer, he altered his course for it; and, after walking about nine miles from the boat, reached the top. The country through which they had passed was low, swampy, and brushy, and in the latter part of the way somewhat uneven. In those parts which were swampy, the surface was full of winding holes, where the water, lodging, rendered walking both difficult and tiresome. The places that were somewhat higher were either sandy or stony, and in these the grass tree (or gum rush) abounded; but, in general, the trees were the same as before mentioned, except that the pine was not observed to be among them. The mount was a pile of stones of all sizes, mostly loose near the surface. The decayed vegetable matter that was lodged in the cavities produced a thick covering of long, but rather spindly grass, very fit for thatch from its length. The ascent was difficult, and similar to that up Mount Direction, which stands on the east bank of the Derwent river in Van Diemen's Land. The trees upon the mount were the same as on the level ground, but taller and more straight. From the summit of this mount, the view of the bay and neighbouring country was very extensive. The uppermost part of the bay appeared at S 24 degrees E and most probably communicated with a line of water which was visible at S 12 degrees E where there were several distinct columns of smoke. This last bearing, which Mr. Flinders apprehended to be near the head of the river, he was not permitted to enter with the sloop, from the intricacy of the channel, and the shortness of the time which remained for his excursion. Near the head of Pumice-Stone river there was a large spread of water, bearing S 72 degrees E and seeming to divide off into small branches. There were other small branches falling into this below, the whole forming into channels, which, ramifying through the low country, drew off whatever water might collect within the ridge of the back mountains. These appeared to be within the distance of between ten and twenty miles, lying in a north and south direction; and the intermediate country to be nearly as low as that which they had walked over. There was a large smoke near the foot of them. From this mount, the way was over an irregular country, the higher parts of which were sandy and stony, the lower swampy as before. At about two thirds of the distance between it and the flat-topped peak (one mile and a half), they were induced by a stream of water to rest for the night, the sun being then below the trees. At seven the next morning they found themselves under the steep cliffs of the flat-topped peak. The stone of which this was composed was of a whitish cast, close-grained and hard, but not heavy. It was not stratified, but there were many fissures in it. At a little distance from the peak there were some pieces of a reddish-coloured stone, and some small pieces of granite scattered about. Mr. Flinders was somewhat surprised at not meeting with any volcanic appearances, as the pumice stone in the river, and the situation of these stupendous peaks, standing upon low flat ground, led him to form some anxious expectations upon that head. But it must be observed, that, although he could not distinguish any traces of scoria, lava, basaltes, or other igneous remains, yet they might still exist, more especially about the high Glass-House, which he did not visit. As the steepness of its sides utterly forbade all idea of reaching the summit of the flat-topped peak, he directed his course downwards to the river, steering SSE to go clear of the head of the creek, and of the swamps in its vicinity; but this direction took him a great way inland; and upon his altering the course to reach the place where he had left the boat, he had to cross a broad stream of fresh water which fell in lower down, and to walk near three miles to reach the water side. He, however, hit the place with unexpected readiness, and was very acceptably presented with a black swan, which the people in the boat had caught, and which was at the moment ready for satisfying the appetites of his party, which were not trifling, for a more laborious and tiresome walk of the same length would seldom be experienced. The traces of men and animals were very few, and but rarely met with in the upper parts of this excursion; but Mr. Flinders found a new species of pheasant, about the size of an English magpie. The emu was not seen, although its voice had been so often heard, as to induce him to suppose that bird must be numerous. The more inland part of the country was something higher and better than in the neighbourhood of the salt water; but no where did he meet with any that was calculated for the production of wheat. Having reached the sloop in the evening, as soon as the ebb tide permitted, the following morning, Sunday the 28th, they got under weigh to turn down the river, with the wind at SSE. There were many natives on the shore abreast of them, who seemed particularly anxious to be visited, dancing and singing to attract attention, and express their own good-will; and, when they could not prevail upon our people to land. followed the sloop along the banks, their hopes seeming to revive by the trips which in tacking they occasionally made towards the shore. The intricacy of the channels proving a great impediment to their progress, they could not get out of the river in one tide, but anchored about a mile short of the entrance. Three swans, that the boat caught in coming down, made the number of eighteen which had been procured in this river. Shortly after anchoring, Mr. Flinders took some people with axes on shore to cut a log of the pine* for the workmen at Port Jackson, who might ascertain the kind and worth of the wood. There was a house and several natives near the place, with whom Bong-ree was in conversation when the tree fell, the crash and report of which startled them a good deal, and might probably assist in giving them a higher idea of the power of their visitors. These people were still very averse from the appearance or approach of a musket, keeping a watchful eye upon their least movement. The gallant and unsuspecting native, Bong-ree, made them a present of one of his spears, and a throwing-stick, of which he showed them the use, for they appeared to be wholly ignorant of the latter, and their weapons of the former kind were inferior to his. [* This pine was pronounced to be of the same species as that found in the middle harbour of Port Jackson, but was much superior to it in size.] Very bad weather detained Mr. Flinders here for two days, during which they were occasionally visited by the natives, who came down upon both sides of the river, and entertained them with singing and dancing: their singing, indeed, could not be distinctly heard, being nearly lost in the wind. Not a spear was at any time seen among them. While lying here, Mr. Flinders had some opportunity of observing their manner of fishing, which was perfectly new to his companion Bong-ree. The party on the east shore, near which the vessel lay, went out each morning at daylight along the side of the river with nets on their shoulders; and this, as far as a distant view would allow of observation, appeared to be the mode in which they used them. Whichever of the party sees a fish, by some dextrous manoeuvre, gets at the back of it, and spreads out his scoop net: others prevent its escaping on either side, and in one or other of their nets the fish is almost infallibly caught. With these nets they saw them run sometimes up to their middle in water; and, to judge from the event, they seemed to be successful, as they generally soon made a fire near the beach, and sat down by it; not doubt, to regale with their fish, which was thus no sooner out of the water than it was on the fire. The rain ceasing on Tuesday afternoon, a party went to the eastern shore to procure fire-wood, and to comply with the desire which the natives had so often expressed of seeing them land among them. On approaching them, they carried their nets away into the wood; but three of them, who remained, suffered the white people to advance without laying down their muskets, which had never happened before. They were still timorous; but, on being encouraged and requested by signs to sing, they began a song in concert, which actually was musical and pleasing, and not merely in the diatonic scale, descending by thirds, as at Port Jackson: the descent of this was waving, in rather a melancholy soothing strain. The song of Bong-ree, which he gave them at the conclusion of theirs, sounded barbarous and grating to the ear; but Bong-ree was an indifferent songster, even among his own countrymen. These people, like the natives of Port Jackson, having fallen to the low pitch of their voices, recommenced their song at the octave, which was accompanied by slow and not ungraceful motions of the body and limbs, their hands being held up in a supplicating posture, and the tone and manner of their song and gestures seemed to bespeak the good will and forbearance of their auditors. Observing that they were attentively listened to, they each selected one of our people, and placed his mouth close to his car, as if to produce a greater effect, or, it might be, to teach them the song, which their silent attention might seem to express a desire to learn. In return for the pleasure they had afforded, Mr. Flinders gave them some worsted caps, and a pair of old blanket trousers, with which they were much gratified. Several other natives soon made their appearance, probably those who had carried away the nets. It was some little time before they could overcome their dread of approaching the strangers with their firearms; but, encouraged by the three who were with them, they came up, and a general song and dance was commenced. Their singing was not confined to one air; they gave three, but the first was the most pleasing. Of those who last came, three were remarkable for the largeness of their heads; and one, whose face was very rough, had much more the appearance of a baboon than of a human being. He was covered with oily soot; his hair matted with filth; his visage, even among his fellows, uncommonly ferocious; and his very large mouth, beset with teeth of every hue between black, white, green, and yellow, sometimes presented a smile, which might make one shudder. Among other friendly interchanges, they learned the names of Mr. Flinders and his party. Him they called *'Mid-ger Plindah,' and his brother Samuel they named Dam-wel. Three of their names were Yel-yel-bah, Ye-woo, and Bo-ma-ri-go. The resemblance of this last to Porto Rico imprinted it on Mr. Flinders's recollection. When these people joined the party, the strangers were shown, and their names severally told to them, until they had gotten the pronunciation. This ceremony was reciprocal, and accorded with what Captain Cook had said before of an inhabitant of Endeavour river, 'he introduced the strangers by name, a ceremony which upon such occasions was never omitted.' The difference of latitude between these two places is 11 degrees 39 minutes, or seven hundred miles. [* In these particularities, their language resembled that of the Port Jackson natives. It may be seen in the former account, that Mr. Ball was named Mid-ger Bool, and that none of them could ever pronounce the letters f or s. Even Bennillong, on his return from England, still used caw-be for coffee. Many other instances might be adduced.] With regard to the comparative size of these people, they were evidently somewhat lower than the common standard of Englishmen, and perhaps less in every respect, except in the disproportionate size of the head; and indeed this was not general. In the features of the face, particularly in the elongation of the lower ones, in the small calf to the leg, and the curve of the thigh, they bore a general resemblance to the natives of Port Jackson; but there was not one in all this group, whose countenance had so little of the savage, or the symmetry of whose limbs expressed strength and agility, so much, as those of their companion Bong-ree. A hawk presenting himself in an interval of conversation, Mr. Flinders thought it a fair opportunity of showing his new friends a specimen of the effect and certainty of his fire-arms. He made them comprehend what was intended; but, while shifting the buck shot which were in the musket for a charge of small shot, their agitation was so great, that they seemed to be on the point of running into the woods; however, an expedient to keep them was devised; the seamen placed them in a cluster behind themselves, and in this situation they anxiously saw Mr. Flinders approach toward the bird, and fire. What must have been his sensations at this moment! for the hawk flew away, though not indeed unhurt, as the natives noticed that the leg was broken. This disappointment brought to his recollection how ineffectual had been some former attempts of his to impress them with an idea of the superior refinement of his followers. Bong-ree, his musician, had annoyed his auditors with his barbarous sounds, and the clumsy exhibition of his Scotch dancers unaccompanied with the aid of music, had been viewed by them without wonder or gratification. It is almost unnecessary to say that these people go naked. They, however, wore belts round the waist, and fillets about the head and upper parts of the arm. These were formed of hair, twisted into yarn-like threads, and then into bandages, mostly reticulated. Indeed the inhabitants of this bay appeared to possess in general a very pointed difference from, if not a superiority over, those of New South Wales, particularly in their net-works. A seine eighty feet in length, and the scoop nets which they use, have been mentioned. To these may be added the bag in which they seemed to carry their portable property, and which was most probably of the same kind as those mentioned by Captain Cook; but they were seen of different sizes, and two that Mr. Flinders procured were very differently worked. They were in general shaped somewhat like a breast plate; and, being suspended from the necks of the possessors, led him, previous to his first interview with them, to suppose they were some kind of defence for the more vital parts. There was no doubt but that they were provided with nets for catching very large fish, or animals, as the fragments of a rotten one lying on the shore were picked up, the meshes of which were wide enough to admit the escape of a moderate sized porpoise; and the line of which it was made was from three quarters to an inch in circumference. Probably the large animals which Mr. Flinders took to be sea lions might be the objects for which these large nets were fabricated. Mr. Flinders was of opinion, that this mode of procuring their food would cause a characteristic difference between the manners, and perhaps the dispositions, of these people, and of those who mostly depend upon the spear or fiz-gig for a supply. In the one case, there must necessarily be the co-operation of two or more individuals; who therefore, from mutual necessity, would associate together. It is fair to suppose, that this association would, in the course of a few generations, if not much sooner, produce a favourable change in the manners and dispositions even of a savage. In the other case, the native who depends upon his single arm, and, requiring not the aid of society, is indifferent about it, but prowls along, a gloomy, unsettled, and unsocial being. An inhabitant of Port Jackson is seldom seen, even in the populous town of Sydney, without his spear, his throwing-stick, or his club. His spear is his defence against enemies. It is the weapon which he uses to punish aggression and revenge insult. It is even the instrument with which he corrects his wife in the last extreme; for in their passion, or perhaps oftener in a fit of jealousy, they scruple not to inflict death. It is the play-thing of children, and in the hands of persons of all ages. It is easy to perceive what effect this must have upon their minds. They become familiarised to wounds, blood, and death; and, repeatedly involved in skirmishes and dangers, the native fears not death in his own person, and is consequently careless of inflicting it on others. The net also appearing to be a more certain source of food than the spear, change of place will be less necessary. The encumbrance too of carrying large nets from one place to another will require a more permanent residence; and hence it would naturally follow, that their houses would be of a better construction. Those which had been met with in Shoal Bay and Glass-House Bay were certainly far superior to any that had been seen in the neighbourhood of Port Jackson; and this superiority Mr. Flinders attributed to the different mode of procuring fish which had been adopted by the inhabitants. He likewise supposed that the use of nets, and consequently whatever resulted from such use, arose from the form of the bay, which, being shoal for a considerable distance from the shores, gave the greatest advantage to nets, over every other method, more especially the setting and scoop nets. Pumice Stone river, being full of shoals, required the same manner of fishing; and it was observed that most, if not all, of the islands in the bay were surrounded by extensive shoals, which, by extending the necessity, would assist in bringing nets into more general use. At one time they saw near twenty natives engaged in fishing upon one of these flats, the greater part of whom were employed in driving fish into a net which was held by their companions. That they were so engaged, they convinced our people by one of the party holding up a fish to them while he was standing in the water. During the time the sloop was in Glass-House Bay, they scarcely saw any of the women. Of their canoes but little could be reported. The only one which Mr. Flinders had any opportunity of examining was on the east side of Pumice-Stone river. This was formed of the stringy bark, and was much larger than any used at Port Jackson. The ends of it were tied up in the same manner; but it was misshapen and clumsy. Not any of the natives ever attempted to approach the sloop in canoes, although at times eight or ten were seen standing together, who appeared very desirous of having a communication with it. On the day the sloop was laid ashore in the river, the rise of the tide was but three feet and nine inches. The tides were then neaped, and the remark made by Captain Cook, that 'they had only one high tide in twenty-four hours' seemed to apply in this bay; for, although the sloop was got up as high as the strength of the crew would admit, yet she righted a full hour and a half before the night tide had done flowing, and shortly after one man haled her off. The superior rise of the night tide was well known, and advantage taken of it, at Port Jackson: it also rose the highest at Western Port, round the southern promontory of New South Wales. The time of high-water in the river preceded the moon's passage over the meridian by two hours and a half, and Mr. Flinders did not think the highest rise of the tide was more than seven, or less than five, feet. On Wednesday the 31st, having a moderate breeze at S by W with fine weather, they got under weigh with the weather tide, and beat out of the river. Having passed fifteen days in Glass-House Bay, Mr. Flinders was enabled to form his judgment of it. It was so full of shoals, that he could not attempt to point out any passage that would lead a ship into it without danger. The east side of the Bay had not been sounded; if any existed, it would probably be found on that side. Mr. Flinders named the land upon which Cape Moreton was situated Moreton Island, supposing it to be that which Captain Cook would have given it, had he known of its insulated form. It appeared to be a strip of land whose greatest extent east and west was not more than four or five miles; but, according to the observations for the latitude, its north and south extent was about twenty-two miles. The ridge of land which ran along the middle of the island was nearly of the same height with the Cape; and, although it appeared to be composed of great piles of sand heaped together upon a base mostly of stone, it was yet interspersed with small trees calculated to mislead a distant observer, who would probably think that some parts of it were not among the most barren spots in the universe. In passing out of the bay they saw a large turtle lying asleep upon the water; whence it became not improbable, that the capture of these animals might form a part of the labours of the inhabitants, and of the intention with which their larger nets were made. CHAPTER XXI The _Norfolk_ proceeds to Hervey's Bay Some account of it Curlew Island She returns to Port Jackson Observations on the currents and tides along the coast A criminal court assembled Order respecting the issuing of government notes Public works September A ship arrives from America The _Buffalo_ sails for the Cape The governor crosses the Nepean A calf killed October Convicts found on board the _Hillsborough_ and _Hunter_ The master of the _Hunter_ tried A young ox stolen Ration reduced Price of Grain fixed In his passage to Hervey's Bay, the next place of his destination, Mr. Flinders was not more than two days; passing the Wide Bay of Captain Cook on the 1st and Sandy Cape on the 2nd of August. The southerly wind of the day veering round in the evening to the eastward compelled him during the night to keep at a distance from the land; but, returning to it in the morning, he found that Captain Cook's description of the coast applied exceedingly well, so far as the distance of the sloop from the shore would enable him to judge. During this short run he passed one of those spotted flat-tailed snakes which were first noticed by Captain Cook in this latitude, and which appeared to be of the kind observed by Captain Dampier on the north west coast of New Holland. Mr. Flinders had observed the same sort of snake among the islands between New Guinea and New Holland, when on board His Majesty's ship _Providence_; it was therefore probable, that it might be found upon most parts of this coast, which were situated within, or in the verge of, the Tropic. In this bay Mr. Flinders remained until the 7th, during which time he had sailed round the interior of it, but without being able to enter any opening that might have led him to a river. It was deep and extensive, the soundings in it very irregular, and in several places he was prevented by breakers from approaching the shore. Hauling up for an opening which he was desirous of examining, he came to a small sandy islet, which lay at the mouth of it. Being unable to find a passage into the opening with the sloop, he came to an anchor, and went ashore upon this island, which was surrounded with shoal water. The base of it he found to be a hard stone, over which was a covering of sand, mixed with pieces of coral and shells. There was a little cluster of palms upon it, and some other small trees. Two or three large trees were lying upon the shore, thrown down either by wind or the flood, assisted by the weight of the trees themselves, which the depth of soil was not sufficient to support. They were a tough, hard, and close-grained wood. Being about half ebb, the surrounding shoal was dry. On it were some thousand curlews and gulls, and some pelicans; but all too shy to allow of his approach within musket shot. Upon one of the trees was stuck the cap of a small whale's skull, and in one of the sockets of the eyes was a bird's nest apparently of the last season. This islet must at times be visited by natives; for they found three spears, and near them was hidden a small shield, of the same form and substance as that seen in Pumice-Stone river. The spears were of solid wood, of twelve feet in length, and could not have been used with a throwing-stick. One of them was barbed with a small piece of some animal's bone. From the trending of the shores of this harbour, it was divided into two bays, an upper and a lower bay; the former of which was the smallest, and, in comparison with the latter, resembled the cod to a seine. The shore on the east side of this bay (the upper) was high, and bounded by white, steep cliffs; whence Mr. Flinders was induced to hope that a deep channel might be found there, being unwilling to believe that there was not a good passage even to the head of a sheet of water of six or seven miles square, and into which most probably one or more streams of water emptied themselves. With the intention of attempting the eastern passage into this upper bay, he returned on board from his visit to the islet (which he named Curlew-Islet, and which is in the latitude of 25 degrees 17 minutes S) and got the sloop under weigh; but was obliged to give up the idea, on finding the shoal water so extensive as to make it probable that it joined a line of breakers; and, the sun being near the horizon, to get clear of the shoal water before dark became a principal concern, and together induced him to shape a course for a sloping hummock on the west side of the bay. The soundings deepened gradually to six fathoms; but, shoaling again to three and even two fathoms, Mr Flinders suspected that the flood tide might have set the vessel to the southward toward the shore; this, however, did not appear to have happened; for at daylight the following morning her situation was what he supposed it would be, the sloping hummock bearing W 5 degrees N and their distance off shore about two miles, the wind having remained at SW during the whole night. Keeping along the shore until nine o'clock, the water shoaled to nine feet, and obliged them to haul off to the NE. Being now to the northward of where Captain Cook had laid down the coast line, and the land being visible at W 10 degrees N from the deck, and as far as NW from the mast head, he judged it unnecessary to pursue the research any longer, under the supposition of there being a double bay, and therefore continued his course for the extreme of Break Sea Spit, the sloping hummock bearing S 9 degrees E at the time of altering the course. The coast round Hervey's Bay was, in general, low near the shore, and on the west side the low land extended to some distance inwards. On that side the land wore a different appearance from that of Sandy Cape, there being few marks of sand, and the shore was mostly rocky. Advancing toward the head, the beaches presented themselves, and continued with little interruption into the upper bay. A large island lying off the entrance to the upper bay showed no marks of sand, but was well covered with wood and verdure. In height, it was equal to the higher parts of the main, and being four or five miles in length, seemed to be a fine island. On the eastern shore the sand was more or less apparent every where increasing in quantity toward the cape. The white cliffs that were noticed before very probably contained chalk; the upper stratum, two or three feet in thickness, being of a superior whiteness in those which were best seen. With respect to fertility, the general aspect only can be spoken of. About the head of the bay, the trees were of a fair growth; grass seemed sufficiently abundant, and there were few appearances of sand. Some parts of it Mr. Flinders thought were stony. Of the inhabitants he could only observe, that their smokes were numerous about the bay, and that they at times frequented Curlew islet. Of the animal, vegetable, or fossil productions of the bay, he could not speak, the shortness of his stay not permitting any examination. From the appearance of the tide the day that he landed upon the islet, it had been high water between twelve and one o'clock, which was between three and four hours before the moon came upon the meridian. The mean of nine amplitudes taken in this bay gave the variation 9 degrees 44 minutes east; and of two sets of azimuths 9 degrees 15 minutes east; from both, the mean variation of the azimuth compass was 9 degrees 30 minutes east. Having cleared the point of Break Sea Spit, on Thursday the 8th he proceeded on his return to Port Jackson. Passing the land between Smoky Cape and the Solitary Isles in the day which had been before passed in the night, he observed that it seemed to be higher than most parts of its coast in the neighbourhood, Mount Warning excepted; and even there it was not so high near the shore. The view that he had of the land at sunset, when Smoky Cape bore S 25 degrees W distant five or six leagues, induced Mr. Flinders to think it probable that there might be an opening to the northward of it. In the afternoon of Sunday the 18th, there being but little wind, and the weather fine, they were attended by several very large spermaced whales. They were not more than twice the sloop's length from her, coming up on either side at times very near her; and remained playing, or perhaps feeding, in this way for more than two hours. Their appearance was followed in the evening by a gale from the SW which reduced them to their storm sails, and compelled them to keep off and on during the night. The wind, however, moderating the next day, and a southerly current having been in their favour, Mr. Flinders concluded his labours at dusk in the evening of the 20th; at which time he secured his little vessel alongside his Majesty's ship the _Reliance_ in Port Jackson. The observations which were made by Mr. Flinders on the set of the current at different parts of the coast, being directly opposite to the remarks of Captain Cook, it may be proper to state them. That great and able seaman says, in his notice of the current on this coast, that 'It always ran with more force in shore than in the offing.' Now, in going to the northward the sloop was kept as near in shore as circumstances would permit; but the whole sum of southing produced in eight entire days, from latitude 33 degrees 45 minutes to 24 degrees 22 minutes south, was sixty-five miles, almost the whole of which were lost off the Three Brothers and Smoky Cape, when their distance from the shore was more than in general it used to be. To counteract this, they had twenty-five miles of northing, reducing the current to thirty miles in eight days, which could scarcely be called a current. On the other hand, their average distance from the shore, when on their return, was about twelve leagues, or barely within sight of the land; and in running the same difference of latitude in twelve days the sum of the southing was two hundred and eleven miles, and the northing but one mile and a half. Out of this, thirty-four miles were gained in one day when their distance off the shore was the greatest, being between twenty and twenty-five leagues. From these data it should appear, that the current was strongest at the distance of five, and from thence to twenty or more leagues; and within that, there was some set to the northward. But Mr. Flinders thought it most probable, that the southerly current would prevail nearer to such projecting points of land as Point Danger, Smoky Cape, Red Point, and the Heads of Jervis Bay; perhaps close to them, at such times when its strength was greatest, for in that respect it had been found to vary much: it was even believed at Port Jackson, that the current changes its direction totally during some short space of time. Of the tides it was scarcely necessary to say any thing; for, by a comparison of the times of high water at Bustard Bay-and at Port Jackson, it should seem that the flood came from the southward; and would therefore produce little or no set along the coast either way, in the greatest part of that space. It was probable, however that, to the southward of Smoky Cape, the flood would draw somewhat from the northward; for there the land trended to the westward of south; and likewise the nearer the coast lies east and west, the more set would be produced by the tide along it; as from Cape Howe to Wilson's Promontory for instance. Again, from Break Sea Spit, the coast trends to the westward of north, which has a tendency to draw the flood from the SE and this was shown by Captain Cook to be the case. We must here take leave of Captain Flinders, whose skill in exploring unknown coasts and harbours, so amply manifested in this excursion, creates an additional interest in the success of his present undertaking. The courts of criminal judicature being assembled on the 29th of the month, one man, Job Williams, was capitally convicted of a burglary; and several others, free people, were ordered to be transported to Norfolk Island. Williams afterwards received a pardon, some favourable circumstances having been laid before the governor, which induced him to extend the mercy vested in him by His Majesty's authority. The difficulties which were still placed in the way of the commissary in preparing his accounts to be sent home, through the settlers and other persons, who had not come forward, as they were some time since directed, to sign the requisite vouchers for the sums paid them for the grain or pork which they had delivered at the public stores, the commissary was directed not to make immediate payment in future, but to issue the government notes quarterly only, when every person concerned would be obliged to attend, and give the proper receipts for such sums as might be then paid them. This was a most useful regulation, and had been long wanted. The convicts brought out by the _Hillsborough_ being mostly recovered from the disease and weakness with which they landed, some additional strength was gained to the public gangs, and the different works in hand went on with more spirit than they had done for some time past. In addition to the battery which, under the direction of Lieutenant Kent, had been constructed by the seamen of the _Supply_ on the east point of the cove, the work on Point Maskelyne had been raised and completed with embrasures; some guns were placed in a commanding situation above the wind-mill on the west side; and a work had been erected upon Garden-Island; so that, in point of defence, the settlement at this time wore a respectable appearance. The weather had for some time past been moderate and temperate. September.] In the night of the 6th of September, the American ship _Resource_ arrived, after a passage of four months from Rhode Island, bound to China. Mr. Magee, who was last here in the _Grand Turk_ was on board the _Resource_. Having refreshed the people, who certainly required some rest after such a voyage, she sailed again on the 14th; but, to the great injury of such Americans as might visit the settlement after him, the master took away several people, among whom were some seamen belonging to the King's ships on this station. To recruit their numbers, as well as to refresh those he had on board, were probably his motives for coming in; but such conduct was deserving of a representation to the American minister, which the governor accordingly determined to make. On the morning of the 15th, his Majesty's ship _Buffalo_ sailed for the Cape of Good Hope, thence to return with cattle for the colony. It had been wished to have sent a cargo of coals by her to the Cape; but the repairs which she required had taken up so much time, that to have loaded her with that article would have thrown her departure too far into the season for sailing to the Cape, to admit of her return within the summer months, a measure absolutely necessary for preserving her cattle. This would otherwise have been an object too desirable to have been neglected. The _Buffalo_ was commanded and manned by the officers and ship's company of the _Supply_. Dispatches were sent to England by this opportunity, and contained, among others, a requisition for such materials as were wanting to carry into effect the endeavour to manufacture woollens and linens, viz a large quantity of reeds from 400 to 1600; two complete sets of hackles; one gross of tow and wool cards, with a quantity of log wood, red wood, copperas, and allum. Having dispatched this ship, the governor set off on a visit to the wild cattle. Leaving Parramatta on the 24th, he crossed the Nepean the following day, but much further to the northward than he had done before. In this direction he and his party traversed a new tract of country, which was not only beautiful to the eye*, but highly calculated for cultivation and pasturage. [* What a contrast and relief must an excursion of this kind afford, to the living in the unvarying repetition of criminal courts, and their attendant crimes and punishments!] On their arrival at the Cow-pasture Plains, they fell in with a herd of the cattle, about twenty in number, and so extremely fierce, that, had it not been for the dogs which were with them, they would probably have been attacked. Some natives, who had accompanied the governor, were so alarmed, that they availed themselves of their expertness in climbing trees, and left their friends to provide for their own safety how they could. These dogs having been hunted at the cattle, much against the governor's wish, by some of the party, who did it, as not thinking their situation perfectly safe, the animals were dismayed at the unusual appearance and went off, but a bull calf, about six months old, was detained by the dogs. Him the governor directed to be let loose; but here a strange circumstance occurred. Having three horses with the party, the calf would not quit them; but, running between their legs, cried out for the flock, which, from his bellowing, there was reason to apprehend would return, to the great danger of the party; one of the gentlemen was therefore obliged to stop his cries by shooting him through the head, and the whole regaled upon veal, a rare dish in this country. On quitting the Cow-pasture Plains, the party crossed the river again, higher up than they had formerly done; and were led for about four miles over a mountainous country, but adapted either for tillage or pasture. They then crossed a fine tract of level country, rich in the most luxuriant grass, and uncommonly well watered, chains of ponds being found every two or three miles. October.] On their return they found that the _Eliza_ whaler had arrived from sea, not wanting more than thirty tons of oil to complete her cargo. A number of the public labouring servants of the crown having lately absconded from their duty, for the purpose either of living by robbery in the woods, or of getting away in some of the ships now about to sail, that none of those concerned in the concealing them might plead ignorance, public notice was given 'that any officer or man belonging to the above ships, who should be known to have countenanced or assisted the convicts above alluded to in making their escape, would be taken out of the ship, and punished with the utmost severity of the law; and as the most strict and scrupulous search would take place on board, for every convict which should be found concealed, or suffered to remain on board without regular permission, so many of the ship's company should be taken out and detained for daring to encourage such escape. Such of the above public servants as might have taken to concealments on shore for the purpose of avoiding their work, or making their escape from the colony, if they did not return within a week to their respective stations, might, upon discovery, expect the most exemplary punishment; but they would be pardoned for the present attempt if they returned immediately.' On the day this order was issued, the _Hillsborough_, which was moving out of the Cove, and preparing for sea, was strictly searched, and several convicts being found on board, they were brought on shore, and each received a severe corporal punishment. One of them was excused, on condition of his declaring who the people were that had encouraged their concealment, and prepared hiding places for them. He accordingly deposed to two of the seamen, who were also brought on shore, punished, and afterwards drummed to the wharf, and sent back to their ship. The foregoing order was then published. How well it was attended to, and what effect the punishment of the seamen and convicts produced, were instantly seen. The _Hunter_*, preparatory to a voyage to Bengal, where she was to freight with goods for the colony, went out of the harbour. A woman named Ann Holmes being missing, the governor ordered an armed boat from the _Reliance_ to follow the ship, with some of the constables, and search her; with directions, if any persons were found on board who had not permission to depart, to bring her into port again. Having found the woman, the ship was brought up the harbour and secured. [* This ship had been a Spanish prize, and was the property of Mr. Hingston, late master of the _Hillsborough_, and two others, free people belonging to the settlement.] Several of her crew having behaved in a most insolent and mutinous manner to the officer of the _Reliance_, having armed themselves against the constables with cutlasses, and one of them having presented a musket at the chief constable, they were secured, ordered to be punished on board their own ship, and afterwards turned on shore. But it was necessary to do something more than this; and, a criminal court being assembled for the purpose, the master of the ship was brought to trial, charged with aiding and abetting a female convict to make her escape from the colony. As the offence consisted in aiding a convict, it was requisite to prove that such was the person found on board his ship; but, upon referring to a list of the prisoners who were embarked in the _Royal Admiral_, the ship in which Arm Holmes had been sent out to New South Wales, no specific term of transportation was found annexed to her name. On the question then, whether the master had aided a convict in making an escape, he was acquitted, it not being possible by any document to prove that Holmes was at that moment a convict. But the master was reprehensible in concealing any person whatever in his ship, and ought to have felt the awkwardness of his situation, in being brought before a court for the breach of an order expressly issued a short time before to guard him and others against the offence that he had committed. When the _Hillsborough_ was searched, not less than thirty convicts were found to have been received on board, against the orders and without the knowledge of the officers, and secreted by the seamen. This ship and the _Hunter_, shortly after these transactions, sailed on their respective voyages. But although, by the measures which had been adopted, it was supposed that none of these people had escaped in the ships, yet many were still lurking in the woods. About this time a young ox was missing from the government stock-yard at Toongabbie, and there was every reason to suppose had been driven away and slaughtered by some of those wretches. In the hope of discovering the offender, a notice was published, holding out a conditional emancipation, and permission to become a settler, to any convict for life, who would come forward with the information necessary to convict the persons concerned in this destructive kind of robbery; and an absolute emancipation, with permission to quit the colony, to any one transported only for a limited time; but nothing was ever adduced that could lead to a discovery. The scarcity of wheat at this time in the public stores rendering it necessary to deduct two pounds from the twelve which were issued, addition was made to the weekly allowance of salt meat, eight pounds and a half of beef being issued in lieu of five, and five pounds of pork in lieu of three. This alteration was to continue until the new crops came in. These wearing at present a very promising appearance, and the various and unforeseen misfortunes which had from time to time attended the exertions of the industrious in agriculture, being, it was hoped, now at an end, the governor, conceiving it to be no longer consistent with his duty to continue the original prices of grain, directed that in future the following should be given, viz, for wheat, per bushel, 8 shillings; for the present barley, per bushel, 6 shillings; and for maize, per bushel, 4 shillings which prices were to commence on the 1st day of January 1800. The scarcity of wheat in the public store was occasioned by the unbounded extravagance of the labouring people, who had, in consequence of the last unproductive season, reduced those who supported themselves to very great distress; and several persons, who some time since would gladly have sent their wheat to the store at the established price, had now refused it, when the store was capable of receiving it; and, taking advantage of the scarcity which they themselves had occasioned, had raised the price of wheat to £1 10s per bushel: a shameful extortion! CHAPTER XXII The _Reliance_ sails for Norfolk Island The _Walker_ arrives with Lieutenant-Colonel Paterson from England Dispatches received Orders respecting bread Transactions Regulations Storm of wind December The _Britannia_ whaler sails for England Settlers dissatisfied A Spanish prize arrives The _Martha_ from Cape Barren Island A criminal court held Wheat continued at the former Price Gaol burnt at Parramatta Harvest begun Live stock November.] On the 2nd of the month, his Majesty's ship the _Reliance_ sailed with the relief of the military on duty at Norfolk Island; and in the afternoon of the following day the ship _Walker_ anchored in the Cove from England. On board of this ship were Lieutenant-Colonel Paterson, and Captain Abbot, of the New South Wales corps. Dispatches were at this time received, whereby the governor, being directed to cause a register to be kept of all ships entering inwards and clearing outwards of the harbour, he appointed Richard Atkins, esq to the service; and it became an article in the port orders which were delivered to the masters of ships upon their arrival, that they were not upon any account to break bulk, or attempt to land any article whatever, until such time as an account of the ship, her commander, cargo, etc. had been laid before the governor. It was at the same time signified, that no boat, or any person whomsoever, except the pilot, such officer as might be sent by the governor, and the person appointed to fill up the register, should ever board strange ships entering the port, until the above information had been regularly and fully obtained. It was conjectured, that this measure of registering ships was preparatory to the establishment of duties and a custom-house. By the _Walker_ four iron twelve pounders were received, and information that copper coinage to the amount of £550 was in the _Porpoise_, whose arrival might be daily looked for. The circulation of this money would be attended with the most comfortable accommodation to the people in their various dealings with each other; and it might be so marked, as to prevent any inducement to take it out of the colony, if it should ever be found convenient by government to order a silver coinage for the use of the settlement, if it was fixed at not more than half or two thirds of the intrinsic value of what it might pass for, so as to render the loss considerable to any one attempting to carry it away, it would be felt as a considerable advantage, and would effectually prevent the forgeries to which a paper currency was liable. With the _Walker_ came in the _Britannia_ from her last successful cruise, having now completed her cargo of oil. The _Walker_ was designed for the whale fishery. A complaint having been made by some of the inhabitants of the town of Sydney respecting the quality of that very necessary article, the bread that was delivered to them, the governor directed a meeting of officers to assemble for the purpose of investigating it; when it appeared, that the bakers received the wheat as it was issued, engaging to give in lieu a certain quantity of bread; but, not having stipulated as to the quality, returned a loaf in which there was so much more chaff and bran than flour, that the convicts feelingly, and not unaptly, termed them scrubbing brushes. The bakers were heard, and such directions given as were necessary to remove the evil complained of. The arrival of Lieutenant-Colonel Paterson had introduced some alterations and regulations in the corps of which he had now taken the command. Among others, his Majesty having been graciously pleased to augment the pay of the non-commissioned officers, drummers, and privates of the army, since the 25th day of May 1797, under certain regulations with respect to stoppages, the regiment was now to receive the benefit of such increase of pay. From this, three pence halfpenny per diem was to be deducted, as a payment for the ration which was issued to them, and which the commissary was now directed to serve, agreeable to the ration established by his Majesty's command for such of his troops as were serving in Jamaica, Gibraltar, and New South Wales. Colonel Paterson having also been instructed to complete the different companies of the corps, if he could obtain a sufficient number of proper characters, a public notice was given, informing such free people as could bring with them recommendations that would satisfy the colonel they were deserving of being taken into his Majesty's service, that they would be received, and attested for the regiment. The very little attention which had long been, and continued to be shown to the duties of religion, and the want of that decency and respect which were due to the return of the Sabbath, were now so glaringly conspicuous, that it became necessary to repeat the orders which had indeed often been given upon that subject, and again to call upon every person possessed of authority to use that authority in compelling the due attendance of the convicts at church, and other proper observance of the Sabbath. The women were also directed to be more punctual in their appearance; for these still availed themselves of the indulgence which as women they had been treated with, seldom thinking themselves included in the restrictions that were laid upon others. The wheat crops, at this time nearly ready for the reaper, wore the most promising appearance, the stalks every where, particularly at the Hawkesbury, bending beneath the weight of the richest ears of corn ever beheld in this or indeed any other country. But, like other countries, a crop was never to be reckoned in this, until it was gathered into the barn. About the middle of the month there fell a very heavy storm of thunder, lightning, and rain, attended also with a shower of hall from the SE that beat all the fruit off the trees, and destroyed the gardens in and about the town of Sydney, though it was not felt more than two miles from that place. A heavy gale of wind and rain took place at the Hawkesbury the day preceding the storm at Sydney, which laid much of the wheat, and beat down one end of the public store. This destructive weather, having subsided for a day, recommenced on the 20th, and continued without intermission until the 25th, when it again cleared up; and, to increase the vexation, myriads of caterpillars were found destroying the young maize. That it might be exactly known what was the produce of this year's harvest, proper people were appointed, by order of the governor, to visit each district; and, from the respective owners, to collect an account of what each farm had produced. The building of the public gaol at Sydney was not yet completed; nor, although a meeting of the officers had been lately held to consider of the means, was any mode devised of defraying the still heavy expense thereof. It had been suggested to raise a fund on the importation of merchandise; but nothing conclusive was yet determined upon. December.] The _Britannia_ whaler having, as was before stated, arrived a full ship, and being again ready for sea, on the 2nd of this month sailed for England. In her, Mr. Raven, who brought out the _Buffalo_, and some of his officers took their passage; and agreement having been made with Mr. Turnbull, the master, to furnish them, six in number, with a passage for the sum of two hundred and fifty pounds.* The _Walker _sailed at the same time on her fishing voyage. [* Mr. Raven was charged with dispatches; which, from his earnest desire not to lose any time in delivering, he unfortunately lost. When the ship was within sight of the Isle of Wight, he got into a boat, which was captured by a small privateer, and was carried into France with his dispatches, not having had time to sink them. He was soon liberated himself, but was not able to obtain even the private letters that he had with him.] The settlers, being dissatisfied with the reduction in the price of grain which had been ordered, presented petitions to the governor, in which they stated the various hardships that for a considerable time past they had laboured under, in the hope that he might be induced to receive the crops of the present season at the usual price. Having taken their petitions into consideration, he desired them to recollect, that near four years since he had given them notice, that the high price of grain could not be continued longer than that season; and though he had not any doubt of their having sustained the losses which they represented, and they must be sensible he had used every means in his power to remove and relieve their misfortunes; yet his duty to government compelled him to adhere to the reduction of which they complained. At the same time he could not avoid observing, that some of these misfortunes had in many instances proceeded from a want of that attention to their own interest, which every man possessing common discretion would have shown; many of them having parted with their last bushel for the gratification of the moment, thereby reducing their families to distress and nakedness. He likewise informed them, that he had much pleasure in finding that government had a serious intention, as early as the public concerns of the nation would admit, of administering every possible relief, by supplying the inhabitants with such necessaries and comforts as they might require at a moderate price. He was, however, obliged to direct the commissary to receive the grain of this season at the prices ordered by him in the month of October. In the evening of the day on which the _Britannia_ sailed, the _Plumier_, a Spanish ship, anchored in the cove. She was a prize to three whalers, who had taken her near Cape Corientes, on the coast of Peru. Her cargo consisted chiefly of bad spirits and wine, which, on her being condemned by the Court of Vice-admiralty as a lawful prize, were removed into the _Supply_, and an order was given out, strictly forbidding the landing of any spirits, wine, or even malt liquor, until a regular permit had been first obtained. This restriction upon wine and malt liquor was occasioned by spirituous liquors having been landed under that description. At length the commissary was enabled to issue some slop-clothing to the convicts, a quantity having been received by the _Walker_; but, unfortunately, much of what had been put on board arrived in a very damaged state, as appeared by a survey which was immediately taken. On the 14th the _Martha_ schooner anchored in the cove from Bass Strait, whence she had brought with her one thousand seal skins and thirty barrels of oil, which had been procured there among the islands. The court of criminal judicature being assembled on the 16th, two mates of the _Walker_ were brought before it, and tried for using menaces to a person who had stopped their boat when attempting to land spirits without a permit; but as he had not any special authority for making the seizure, or detaining the boat, they were acquitted. One man, John Chapman Morris, was found guilty of forgery by the the same court, and received sentence of death; but as this had been determined by the majority of one voice only, whereas the letters patent for establishing the court expressly say that five of the members are to concur in a capital case, this business must, as provided also by the patent, be referred to the King in council. It was hoped that this circumstance would but seldom occur, as the object of it must, during the reference, remain a prisoner, with all the miserable sensations that a person would experience under sentence of death. The time that he must linger in this uncomfortable situation could not well be less than fifteen or eighteen months; and, admitting that the length of it might have deadened the acuteness of his first sensations, and rendered him thoughtless as to the event, yet how would that acuteness be aggravated, should, unhappily for him, the sentence be at last confirmed by the royal approbation!* [* It may be pleasing to the reader to learn, that both Isaac Nichols (see Chapter XVII viz: "The criminal court was only once assembled during this month; when one man was condemned to death for a burglary, and another transported for fourteen years to Norfolk Island. This man, Isaac Nichols, an overseer, had been accused of receiving stolen goods; but from some circumstances which occurred on the trial, the sentence was respited until his Majesty's pleasure could be taken.") and this man, have recently received his Majesty's pardon.] The body of the settlers having again represented their total inability to bear any reduction in the price of the wheat of this season, on account, not only of their former heavy losses, but of the exorbitant price of all those necessaries of life which they required for paying their labourers, the governor at length consented to receive the wheat only at the former price of ten shillings per bushel, and they were at the same time told to prepare for the reduction that would certainly take place in the next season. He also permitted a certain quantity of wine and spirits from the prize to be landed, for the immediate accommodation of those who had their crops to secure, and to prevent the impositions to which they were subject in being obliged to procure them from a second or third hand. On the 24th the _Reliance_ and _Francis_ schooner returned from Norfolk Island, with the relief of the military, having been absent on that service between seven and eight weeks. About ten o'clock of the night of the same day, the log gaol at Parramatta was wilfully and maliciously set on fire, and totally consumed. The prisoners who were confined were with difficulty snatched from the flames, but so miserably scorched, that one of them died in a few days. This building was a hundred feet in length, remarkably strong, and had been constructed with much labour and expense. The rewards which had been formerly held out upon similar occasions were now offered to any man or woman who would come forward with evidence sufficient to convict such diabolical incendiaries before the court of criminal judicature; and the inhabitants were called upon by that duty which every man owed to society, as well as to his own individual interest, to use every means in their power to discover the perpetrators of such horrid mischief, which in its extent, involved the lives of their fellow-creatures. This was the second time such a circumstance had happened in the settlement, a circumstance that even staggers credulity. What interest, what motive could drive these wretches to such an action? The destruction of the building, they must know, would be instantly followed by the erection of another, at which they themselves must labour! Could it be for the purpose of throwing obstacles in the way of government: that government, which had ever been mild and not coercive, which had ever stood forward to alleviate their miseries, and often extended the arm of mercy, when their crimes cried aloud for that of punishment? and yet on no other principle can it be accounted for.* [* May the annalist whose business it may be to record in future the transactions of the colony find a pleasanter field to travel in, where his steps will not be every moment beset with murderers, robbers, and incendiaries.] The harvest was now begun, and constables were sent to the Hawkesbury with directions to secure every vagrant they could meet, and bring them to Sydney, unless they chose to work for the settlers, who were willing to pay them a dollar each day and their provisions: for at this time, there were a great number of persons in that district, styling themselves free people, who refused to labour unless they were paid the most exorbitant wages. The following was the state of the live stock and ground in cultivation in the different districts, as appeared from reports collected at the latter end of the month of August last: viz LIVE STOCK Horses 39 Mares 72 Horned Cattle Bulls and Oxen 188 Cows 512 Hogs 3139 Sheep Male 1846 Female 2875 Goats Male 842 Female 1746 LAND IN CULTIVATION Acres of Wheat 5465 Acres of Maize 2302 Acres of Barley 82 Acres of Oats 8 By this account it will appear, that there was a considerable increase of live stock, except in the article of horses, and female goats. A great addition had been also made to the ground in cultivation, the whole amounting at the above period (August) to 7857 acres; making an increase of 1745 acres, in twelve months. CHAPTER XXIII The _Swallow_ Packet arrives on her way to China Articles sold The _Minerva_ arrives from Ireland with convicts The _Fhynne_ from Bengal Three settlers tried for murdering two natives Assessment fixed to complete the gaol February Military rations A soldier shoots himself A whaler from America, with a Spanish vessel, her prize The _Hunter_ from Calcutta The _Friendship_ with Irish convicts arrives Inutility of some of these prisoners Clothing issued Tax on spirits to complete the gaol Transactions A new magazine begun March The _Reliance_ sails for England A mountain eagle shot The _Martha_ arrives from Bass Strait Settlers sell their sheep Flood occasioned by bad weather April Criminal court held The _Speedy_ arrives from England with Lieutenant-Governor King The _Buffalo_ from the Cape Regulations 1800.] January.] On the third day of this month, the _Swallow_, East-India packet, anchored in the cove, on her voyage to China. She brought information of the capture of the Dutch fleet in the Texel, and the surrender of the forts upon the Helder. This intelligence was announced to the settlement in a public order, and by a discharge of the cannon on the batteries. The _Swallow_ on her anchoring saluted the fort, which was returned. In addition to this welcome news, she had on board a great variety of articles for sale, which were intended for the China market; but the master thought and actually found it worth his while to gratify the inhabitants, particularly the females, with a display of many elegant articles of dress from Bond Street, and other fashionable repositories of the metropolis. She remained here nearly three weeks, taking her departure for China on the 21st. Previous to her sailing (on the 11th) the _Minerva_ transport arrived from Ireland, with a cargo, not of elegancies from Bond Street, but 162 male and 26 female convicts from the gaols of that kingdom: all of whom were in perfect health, their treatment and management on board doing the highest credit to the master, the surgeon, and his officers; three only having died during the passage. She was chartered for Bengal; and, as the season was early for her proceeding upon that voyage, the governor, being desirous of dividing this description of people as much as possible, would have sent her on with them to Norfolk Island; but no provision having been made, as had sometimes been the case, for her proceeding thither under the charter-party, he did not choose to give the sum which the master demanded. And having learned that another ship, the _Friendship_, had sailed at the same time from Ireland, he determined to land the convicts and wait her arrival. It was much wished that a clause should be inserted in every charter-party, enabling the governor to send the convicts to Norfolk Island in the ship that brought them out, if he should see occasion; as the difficulty with which they were got together for that purpose, when once landed, was inconceivable. The _Minerva_, having touched at Rio de Janeiro, had brought many articles for sale, as well from that Port as from England, most of which were much wanted by the inhabitants; but the prices required for them were such as to drain the colony of every shilling that could be got together. With the _Minerva_ arrived the _Fhynne_, a small snow from Bengal, under Danish colours, which had been chartered by the officers of the colony civil and military, through the means of an agent whom they had sent thither for that purpose. She was freighted on their account with many articles of which they were much in want; and as more labour could be obtained for spirits than for any other mode of payment, an article so essential to the cultivation of their estates was not forgotten. On the evening of the 18th (which had been observed as the birthday of her Majesty) a convict, in attempting to go alongside the _Minerva_, although repeatedly told to keep off, was shot by the sentinel, who was afterwards tried, and acquitted, having only executed his orders. The decision of this affair was prompt, and unattended with any doubt or difficulty; but not so was another business that had engaged the attention of the criminal court. The natives having murdered two men who possessed farms at the Hawkesbury, some of the settlers in that district determined to revenge their death. There were at this time three native boys living with one Powell, a settler, and two others, his neighbours. These unoffending lads they selected as the objects of their revenge. Having informed them, that they thought they could find the guns belonging to the white men, they were dispatched for that purpose, and in a short time brought them in. Powell and his associates now began their work of vengeance. They drove the boys into a barn, where, after tying their hands behind their backs, these cowardly miscreants repeatedly stabbed them, until two of them fell and died beneath their hands. The third, making his escape, jumped into the river, and, although in swimming he could only make use of his feet, yet under this disadvantage, and with the savage murderers of his companions firing at him repeatedly, he actually reached the opposite bank alive, and soon joined his own people. The governor, on being made acquainted with this circumstance, immediately sent to the place, where, buried in a garden, the bodies of these unfortunate boys were found, stabbed in several places, and with their hands tied as has been described. Powell and his companions in this horrid act were taken into custody, and, a court being convened, they were tried for the wilful murder of two natives. The evidence that was brought before the court clearly established that the deceased had come to their death by the means of the prisoners; and the members of it were unanimously of opinion that they were guilty of killing two natives; but, instead of their receiving a sentence of death, a special reference was made to his Majesty's minister, and the prisoners were admitted to bail by the court. The prisoners, in their defence, brought forward a crowd of witnesses to prove that a number of white people had at various times been killed by the natives; but, could these people have been sufficiently understood, proofs would not have been wanting on their side, of the wanton and barbarous manner in which many of them had been destroyed. Entertaining doubts as to the light in which the natives were to be held, the court applied to the governor for such information as he could furnish upon this subject; and he accordingly sent them the orders which from time to time had been given respecting these people, and a copy of an article in his Majesty's instructions to the governor, which in strong and express terms places them under the protection of the British government, and directs, that if any of its subjects should wantonly destroy them, or give them unnecessary interruption in the exercise of their several occupations, they were to be brought to punishment according to the degree and nature of their offence. In this instance, however, the court were divided in their sentiments respecting the nature of the offence, and submitted the whole business, with their doubts, to his Majesty's minister. As they could not see their way distinctly, they certainly were right to apply for assistance; but, as it was impossible to explain to the natives, or cause them to comprehend the nature of these doubts, it was to be expected that they would ill brook the return of the prisoners to their farms and occupations, without having received some punishment: a circumstance wholly inconsistent with their own ideas and customs; and, indeed, they loudly threatened to burn the crops as soon as it could be effected.* Fire, in the hands of a body of irritated and hostile natives, might, with but little trouble to them, ruin the prospect of an abundant harvest; and it appeared by this threat, that they were not ignorant of having this power in their hands; it was, therefore, certainly very essential to the comfort and security of the settlers in particular, that they should live with them upon amicable terms. [* Fortunately, though greatly incensed, they did not put this threat in execution.] Towards the latter end of the month, the _Walker_ whaler came in from sea, not having met with any success, though cruising in the height of the summer season. She had spoke the _Albion_, which, though out a longer time, had been equally unsuccessful. The public gaol at Sydney still wanting much of its completion, from the insufficiency of the sums which had been raised to carry it on; and it appearing that most of the officers had already paid to the amount of forty pounds each as an individual share of the expense, it became indispensably requisite that some means should be immediately adopted to finish the building; and, as the price of wheat had, at the urgent and repeated solicitation of the settlers, been for this season continued at ten shillings per bushel, it was proposed to raise a sum for this purpose, by each person leaving in the hands of the commissary sixpence for every bushel of wheat they should put into the store. This contribution would be the least felt, and was to cease so soon as a sum sufficient for the purpose was collected. There not being at this time more than five months' provision in the store at full allowance, it became necessary to issue only two-thirds of the weekly ration; and this was ordered to commence on the first of the ensuing month. A trifling addition was made to the quantity in store, by the purchase of about seventy casks of salt provisions which the master of the _Minerva_ had for sale. The _Francis_ and the _Norfolk_ brought round from the river a quantity of timber and plank for the vessel that was building at Sydney, and for other purposes. February.] On the first of the month the proposed alteration in the ration took place. It has been said, that Colonel Paterson brought out with him a new arrangement of the military ration. This, as directed by his Majesty's regulation, consisted of, per man per diem, PER MAN PER DIEM. Flour or bread 1½ lb Beef 1 lb or Pork ½ lb Peas ¼ pint Butter or Cheese 1 oz Rice 1 oz When the small species cannot be issued, 1½ lb of bread or flour, and 1½ lb of beef, or 10 oz of pork, make a complete ration. The quantity of salt provisions at this time remaining in the store, not admitting of exempting the regiment from a reduction of the ration, they were informed that, until the store could afford to victual them again agreeable to the regulation, they would receive the same ration as the civil department; but that no stoppages from their pay would on that account take place. One of these people, a quiet well-disposed young man, fell a victim to an attachment which he had formed with an infamous woman; who, after plundering him of every thing valuable that he possessed, turned him out of the house, to make room for another. This treatment he could not live under; and, placing the muzzle of his gun beneath his chin, he drew the trigger with his foot, and, the contents going through his neck, instantly expired. On the 13th, the _Betsey_ whaler arrived from the west coast of America with 350 barrels of oil. She was extremely leaky, and much in want of repair. At the same time came in the _Hunter_ bark from Calcutta, with a cargo on speculation; and on the day following, a Spanish brig which had been captured by the whaler. Early in the morning of the 16th, the _Friendship_ transport arrived from Ireland with convicts. She had been fifty days in her passage from the Cape of Good Hope, where she left his Majesty's ship _Buffalo_ taking on board cattle for the settlement. The convicts arrived in very good health, though the ship had been sickly previous to her reaching the Cape. Many of the prisoners received by this ship and the _Minerva_ were not calculated to be of much advantage to the settlement; and but little addition was made by their arrival to the public strength. Several of them had been bred up in the habits of genteel life, or to professions in which they were unaccustomed to hard labour. Such must become a dead weight upon the provision store; for, notwithstanding the abhorrence which must have been felt for the crimes for which many of them were transported, yet it was impossible to divest the mind of the common feelings of humanity, so far as to send a physician, the once respectable sheriff of a county, a Roman Catholic priest, or a Protestant clergyman and family, to the grubbing hoe, or the timber carriage. Among the lower classes were many old men, unfit for any thing but to be hut-keepers, who were to remain at home to prevent robbery, while the other inhabitants of the hut were at labour. Some clothing had been received by these ships and the _Walker_, but, unfortunately, not any bedding. The governor therefore purchased a thousand bad rugs, which had been manufactured in some of the Spanish settlements on the west coast of America, and were in the prize which last arrived. These, with a complete suit of the clothing to each, were now issued to the convicts. The settlers of several of the districts declining to come forward to assist with the small assessment of sixpence per bushel on their wheat, which had been proposed toward the completion of the public gaol, it became necessary to adopt some other expedient; and, as an article of luxury was considered a fitter subject than any other for taxation, an order was published, directing that on a permit being applied for to land spirits, wine, beer, or other strong drink, from ships having those articles for sale, the person desiring it was to make his first application to the gentlemen of the committee appointed to carry on the above building; to whom security was to be given for the payment of one shilling per gallon on the purchase of spirits, sixpence per gallon on the purchase of wine, and threepence per gallon on the purchase of porter or strong beer; these sums, if the permits were granted, which depended on the character of the person applying, were to be paid into the hands of the committee, and appropriated to the above purpose. It having been for some time observed, indeed more particularly since the late arrivals from Ireland, that a number of idle and suspicious persons were frequently strolling about the town of Sydney at improper hours of the night, and several boats having been taken away, and much property stolen out of houses; in order to put a stop to such practices, the sentinels on duty were directed not to suffer any person, the civil and military officers of the settlement excepted, to pass their posts after ten o'clock at night, without they could give the countersign; in which case the sentinel was to detain them until the relief came round; when, if the corporal should not be satisfied with the account which they might give, they were to be taken to the guardhouse, and there detained, until released by proper authority. The patrol of constables were also directed to be very strict in their rounds, and apprehend such improper or suspicious persons as they might meet in the town during the night. Shortly after the publication of this order, several of the Irish prisoners having assembled at a private house, and making more noise than was proper during the night, were taken up, and lodged in the gaol until the morning; when they were liberated with assurances of being punished if brought there a second time. Among other public and necessary works which were in hand at this time, must be noticed the construction of a new powder magazine. The former building had been placed at too great a distance from the principal battery, in a dangerous and insecure situation. The foundation of the new one was now dug in a more eligible spot, and where it could be much better secured; which had been rendered necessary from the turbulent disposition of the people lately arrived from Ireland. March.] His Majesty's ship the _Reliance_ being completely worn out, and no longer capable of rendering any service to the settlement, it became necessary to give her such repairs as would enable her to reach England. In order, therefore, to ease the crown of such useless expense, she was fitted for sea, and sailed on the 3rd of this month on her homeward-bound voyage.* [* The _Reliance_ touched at the Cape of Good Hope and the Island of St. Helena, whence she brought some Indiamen safe home under her convoy. She arrived at Plymouth on the 26th of August, 1800. Nothing remarkable occurred during the voyage, except the discovery of an island, which, from its approach to the Antipodes of London, Captain Waterhouse named Penantipode island. He determined its latitude by one double altitude, and chronometer, to be 49 degrees 49 minutes 30 seconds S and its longitude, 179 degrees 20 minutes E. It was seen in the middle of the night; and as the nearest of the double altitudes by which its latitude was determined was nearly an hour past noon, hence, and from the change of place in the interval of four hours, the latitude ought not to be depended on nearer than from 5 minutes to 10 minutes. The error of the chronometer being uncertain at the time, no correction was applied to the longitude, which may very probably be within half a degree, or much nearer. When this island was seen, it was blowing a gale of wind. There were seals on it, and it did not appear quite so large as Norfolk Island.] Captain Waterhouse, in an excursion which he made to the north arm of Broken Bay, wounded and secured a bird, of a species never seen before in New South Wales, at least by any of the colonists. It was a large eagle, which gave a proof of his strength, by driving his talons through a man's foot, while lying in the bottom of the boat, with his legs tied together. it stood about three feet in height, and during the ten days that it lived was remarkable for refusing to be fed by any but one particular person. Among the natives it was an object of wonder and fear, as they could never be prevailed upon to go near it. They asserted, that it would carry off a middling-sized kangaroo. Captain Waterhouse hoped to have brought it to England; but it was one morning found to have divided the strands of a rope with which it was fastened, and escaped. A drawing had been made of it while in our hands, of which the annexed engraving is a copy. The _Martha_ schooner, having some time back sailed again to the southward, returned on the 6th with a cargo of oil and seal skins. The _Nautilus_ having left some of her people upon Cape Barren Island, it appeared by their accounts, that the most productive time for the seals among those islands was from November to May. They stated, that they had much fine weather during the winter months, and met with very little frost or severe cold. Cape Barren is in 40 degrees 26 minutes 20 seconds S latitude. About this time many of the Irish prisoners lately arrived were afflicted with dysenteric complaints, of which several died. Much has been said of the little indulgence to which some of the settlers were, from their own misconduct, entitled. An instance of misbehaviour occurred in a description of these people from whom it could scarcely have been expected. The settlers who were fixed on the banks of George's river had formerly served in the marine detachment, and afterwards in the New South Wales corps. By their entreaties having prevailed upon the governor to supply them with some live stock, they were furnished each with a ewe sheep, of which they were no sooner possessed than they sold them. This coming to the governor's knowledge, he directed them to be seized, and instantly returned into the flock belonging to government. Such conduct on their part certainly precluded them from ever soliciting similar assistance again. Accounts of a most alarming nature were received toward the latter end of the month from George's river and the Hawkesbury. The weather had, unfortunately for the maize now ripe, been uncommonly bad for three weeks, the wind blowing a heavy gale, accompanied with torrents of rain that very soon swelled the river Hawkesbury, and the creeks in George's river, beyond their banks; laying all the adjacent flat country, with the corn on it, under water. Much damage, of course, followed the desolation which this ill-timed flood spread over the cultivated grounds; and, although fewer than could have been expected, some lives were lost. The prospect of an abundant maize harvest was wholly destroyed, and every other work was suspended for a while, to prepare the ground a second time this season for wheat. The settlement was yet too young to be able to withstand such a succession of ill-fortune without its being felt, in some degree, an inconvenience and expense to the mother country. Had the settlers themselves in general been of a more industrious turn, they would have been better prepared for such accidents; and it was much to be lamented, that, in establishing them on the banks of the Hawkesbury, they had not with more attention considered the manifest signs of the floods to which the river appeared to the first discoverers to be liable, and erected their dwellings upon the higher grounds; or that the inundations which had lately happened had not occurred at an earlier period, when there were but few settlers. These indeed had been such as formerly no one had any conception of, and exceeded in horror and destruction any thing that could have been imagined. That the ground might with all possible expedition be prepared for wheat, all descriptions of persons were called upon to give their assistance; and there being at this, as at every other time, a number of idle persons wandering about the colony, who refused to labour unless they were paid exorbitant wages, these were again directed to be taken up, and, if found to prefer living by extortion or robbery, to working at a reasonable hire, to be treated as vagrants, and made to labour for the public. During this month, the _Walker_ went to sea upon the fishery; and the _Martha _snow went to Norfolk Island, with some articles for sale, the property of her owners. April.] On the first day of this month, the court of criminal judicature was convened for the trial of several offenders. Robberies had of late been very frequent, both on household property and live stock. At this court, two men were found guilty of robbery, and one women, Mary Graham, of forgery. Several were sentenced to receive corporal punishment, and some were ordered to be transported to Norfolk Island. The governor extended his Majesty's pardon to the woman and one of the men, leaving the other to his fate, and the day was appointed for his execution; but, the military officers soliciting in a body that the life of this man should be spared, the governor consented. He however directed that both the prisoners, being yet unacquainted with the pardon that was to be granted them, should be taken to the place of execution with their coffins, where the warrant for that execution should be read, and every appearance observed that could give solemnity to the moment, and impress the minds of the spectators with awe. These directions were followed. The ropes being put about their necks, the provost marshal produced the pardon and read it. One of the men appeared much affected; but the other declared that he was never in his life so well prepared for death, and scarcely seemed to desire a prolongation of existence. On the 14th the _Hunter_ bark sailed for Norfolk Island, whence she was supposed to be bound for Amboyna and Bengal; and on the 16th the _Speedy_ whaler arrived from England, with fifty female convicts; and, what were much more welcome and profitable, eight hundred and thirty-two casks of salt provisions, which enabled the governor once more to issue a full ration. In this ship arrived Captain Phillip Gidley King, the lieutenant-governor of Norfolk Island; and those marks of respect which were due to his rank and situation as a lieutenant-governor were directed to be paid to him by all guards, sentinels, etc. On the evening of the same day, his Majesty's ship the _Buffalo_ returned from the Cape of Good Hope, having on board 85 cows and 20 breeding mares for the settlement. This voyage was performed in seven months, the _Buffalo_ having sailed from Port Jackson on the 15th of last September. She made her passage thither in three months, having arrived in Table Bay on the 16th of December. This, therefore, will be found to be the proper season for going to the Cape by the way of Cape Horn. The quantity of spirits at this time in the colony occasioned much intoxication and consequent irregularity. The settlers at the river were so lost to their own interest as to neglect the sowing of their grounds: a circumstance which, but for the timely interference of the governor, would have ended in their ruin. Immediately on hearing their situation, he forbade the sending any more spirits to that profligate corner of the colony, as well as the retailing what had been already sent thither, under pain of the offenders being prosecuted for such disobedience of his orders. CHAPTER XXIV Reports of seditious meetings among the Irish convicts The _Friendship_ sails for Bengal Letter from Lord Mornington respecting persons resident at Bengal, formerly in this colony Correspondence relative to Indian convicts, and persons at Calcutta wishing to become settlers in New South Wales Orders Criminal court held June Two men hanged for sheep-stealing The _Hunter_ sails with Major Foveaux for Norfolk Island The _Buffalo_ ordered for sea Public gaol July Three men executed General muster Cattle purchased The _Martha_ driven on shore August Survey of public stores Spirits landed and seized Death of Wilson September Rumours of Insurrection Volunteer corps Coal found The _John Jay_ arrives The governor quits the settlement Live stock, etc October The _Buffalo_ sails for England Touches at Norfolk Island May.] The governor having received information from several of the officers, that they had good grounds for suspecting that some of the convicts lately arrived from Ireland had not left behind them the principles which occasioned their being sent from that kingdom, but were carrying on seditious correspondences, and holding unlawful meetings; in order to discover whether there was any foundation for this conjecture, he called in the assistance of Lieutenant-Governor King, Colonel Paterson, Major Foveaux, and the several magistrates of the district; when it was determined to make a sudden and general search among the persons suspected in all parts of the colony at one and the same hour, and to secure their papers and seal them up. This was put in execution upon the 15th; but nothing was found in their several dwellings which could furnish the smallest suspicion of the conduct imputed to them. On the following day, a convict, who had endeavoured with some earnestness to propagate a report that many pikes had been fabricated, and, to prevent discovery, had been sunk in a particular part of the harbour, was examined before some of the magistrates; when he confessed that he knew nothing of what he had asserted; saying, that he was intoxicated at the time. He was severely punished for his design, which perhaps he chose rather to endure, than impeach his confederates. From the secrecy with which this business might be conducted, the magistrates succeeded no better in an examination which was taken before them, on an information that Harold, the Roman Catholic priest, had been concerned in some seditious conversations; nothing appearing whereby he could be criminated. The governor, however, judged it necessary, in consequence of these conjectures, to extract the heads of the late acts against seditious correspondence or unlawful assemblies of the people, altering them to meet the situation of the settlement, and published them in the form of a proclamation, that none might plead ignorance of the existence of such laws. This proclamation, beside being made public in the usual manner, was read on Sunday the 24th, in church, after the performance of divine service. The _Friendship_ having sailed early in the month for Bengal, that opportunity was taken of sending dispatches to England, and to the Governor-General of India; who, by the _Hunter_, had sent a letter to the governor, inclosing a list of persons from New South Wales who were then resident in Calcutta, and desiring to be informed whether any of them had left the territory without having previously obtained permission for that purpose, or served the regular term of their transportation; in which latter case, it was the intention of that government to return them to the colony by the first opportunity. On comparing the list with the colonial books, there were not any found of this description, and all were accounted for, except two or three names which did not appear in the books; and of course, as they had once been on them, their owners must have adopted others, with the new character that they were going to assume in that country. The whole number of persons that appeared to have established themselves at Calcutta was not more than fifteen; nevertheless, small as that number was, the fear that worthless characters should find their way into that government was strongly expressed in their public letter. Indeed, what community, where honesty and morality were cultivated, would not deprecate even the possibility of such characters mixing with them, with as much earnestness as a people in health would dread the importation of a plague or a yellow fever! It appeared, that at the same time some propositions had been made, and a correspondence entered into between the secretary of the Bengal government and the gentleman who had been employed as the private agent of the officers of the settlement, respecting the transportation of Indian convicts to New South Wales. As this was a measure, though open to no objection whatever, which must be submitted to administration before it could be adopted, the correspondence which had passed on this occasion was sent home. It was proposed by the government of Bengal to victual and maintain their convicts for one year after their landing; after which they were to be supported by the settlement. As such a description of people might be very usefully employed there, and would be far more manageable than the convicts from England or Ireland, it was hoped that the plan might meet the approbation of his Majesty's ministers. It should seem that some favourable ideas of the settlement had obtained in India; for by the same conveyance three gentlemen of respectability addressed the governor, stating to him their desire of embarking their families and property, and becoming settlers; but as they required a ship to be sent for them, to be furnished with a certain number of convicts for a limited time, and a quantity of live stock, all of which must be attended with a considerable expense to the crown, the governor, though well aware of the advantages which the colony would derive from having such persons resident among them, found himself compelled to lay their proposals before the secretary of state. To put a stop, if possible, to the encouragement which was given by settlers and others to the vagrants who infested the different districts; it was ordered, that when any one wished to travel from one place to another, he was to apply to a magistrate for a pass, in which the business he was going on was to be inserted; and all persons found without this written permission were to be taken before a magistrate to answer for their wilful disobedience of the regulations of the settlement.' Application having been made to the commissary to receive fresh pork into the public stores, he was directed to comply therewith; but there was reason to believe that such compliance would be attended with the indiscriminate destruction of breeding and young sows. It was therefore ordered, that if any person should be known to offer any meat of that description to the store, it was not to be received; and the owner was to be informed against, as being no longer deserving of encouragement or any indulgence whatever. The criminal court of judicature was assembled on the 26th of the month, and continued sitting by adjournment for three days; whereat six prisoners were capitally convicted, two of whom were condemned for sheep-stealing. As it was absolutely necessary to make some examples, these men were ordered for execution; the others were pardoned, upon condition of being transported for life to Norfolk island. In the course of this month died Mr. John Livingstone, the master carpenter at Parramatta. This person came out from England in the _Sirius_ with Governor Phillip, and had rendered much essential service to the colony in the line of his profession. He had long been of a consumptive habit. The principal labour of the month consisted in preparing for wheat the ground that the inundation had devastated. June.] The month opened with the execution of one of the prisoners condemned for sheep-stealing. He suffered on the 2nd, and on the 8th his companion in iniquity and wretchedness underwent the same punishment. At the moment of his execution he gave information of a daring gang of villains with whom he had been connected. His Majesty's birthday was observed by a discharge of all the artillery in the settlement, and three vollies from the regiment upon their parade. On the 8th, the owners of the _Hunter_ bark having altered her destination, she returned from Norfolk Island, and was immediately chartered to take thither an officer and a few soldiers, together with some convicts and stores. The _Belle Sauvage_, an American ship from Rhode Island, which had anchored for a few days in Neutral Bay, to refit, and refresh her crew, sailed again on the 15th, without taking any person from the settlement. As this Port was conveniently situated for these ships to stop at and refresh after the long voyages which they were in the habit of making in their route to China, or the north-west coast of America, it certainly was to the interest of the masters and their respective owners not to infringe upon any of the local regulations of the colony. The number of robbers and sheep-stealers still increasing notwithstanding the late executions, it was deemed necessary to pursue some other steps to get the better of this evil; and a proclamation was read in church on Sunday the 15th, preparatory to issuing a process of outlawry against these public depredators, whom all persons were commanded to aid and assist in securing. In consequence of this proclamation, three men were taken up, and, being tried and found guilty of sheep-stealing, received sentence of death. On the 29th, the _Hunter_ sailed for Norfolk Island, having on board Major Foveaux of the New South Wales corps, who was proceeding thither to take the command of that settlement. At the same time were sent those prisoners who had been sentenced thither for transportation, and some soldiers to augment the detachment of the regiment on duty there. The governor having, by the arrival of the _Speedy_ in April last received a letter from the secretary of state, he gave directions for preparing his Majesty's ship _Buffalo_ for sea; which was accordingly begun; and various accounts were ordered to be made out preparatory to their being forwarded to England. Information having been laid before the governor by the officers who were appointed a committee for superintending the erection of the public gaol at Sydney, that several persons had resisted the payment of the necessary assessments which had been ordered to defray the expenses of the building; it was ordered, that those assessments should be immediately paid into the hands of the persons directed to collect them, or, in case of a further refusal to a measure which had been entered upon at a general meeting of the landholders, etc., in the colony, such steps as should be adjudged necessary would be instantly pursued. Such being the conduct of these people, even in a measure where their own personal interests were so essentially concerned, can it be wondered at, that so much profligacy prevailed in every part of the settlement? July.] The prisoners who were left for execution at the end of the last month suffered death, two of them at Sydney on the 3rd and the third at Parramatta on the 5th of this month. If examples of this kind could strike terror into the minds of the spectators, they certainly had not lately been without these salutary though dreadful lessons. A general muster was taken, during the month, of the inhabitants of the several districts, attended by Lieutenant-Governor King, and other officers of the settlement; and the _Buffalo_ dropped down the harbour, that she might with more ease prepare for her voyage; as it was impossible, without having recourse to punishment, to keep the people to their duty on board while lying in the midst of temptation in Sydney Cove. Several gentlemen being now preparing to return to England, having obtained the governor's permission for that purpose; much live stock was sold, and a considerable addition was made to that belonging to the crown by the purchase of some of the large horned cattle. The _Martha_, having been allowed to go to Hunter river for coals in the beginning of the month, on her return, having anchored in some very bad weather in the north part of the harbour, Little Manly Bay, was by the parting of her cable driven on a reef of rocks, where her bottom was beat out. With the assistance of the officers and crew of the _Buffalo_, she was got off, and, being floated with casks, was brought up to Sydney, where her damages were found not to be irreparable. By the master's account it appeared, that he had not been in the river, but in a salt water inlet, about five leagues to the southward of the river, having a small island at its entrance. He was conducted by some natives to a spot at a small distance from the mouth, where he found abundance of coal. Several certificates were granted during this month, to persons who had served their terms of transportation; and, in order to concentrate as much as possible the effective strength of the New South Wales corps (which appeared to be necessary from the turbulent disposition of the Irish prisoners), the presence of an officer was dispensed with at the Hawkesbury. Mr. Charles Grimes, the deputy surveyor, was appointed to reside there, and to take upon him the duties of a justice of the peace. August.] Early in this month, the _Albion_ whaler ran into Broken Bay, to complete her wood and water. She had on board 600 barrels of oi1; but had not been able, through bad weather, to secure more than a fourth part of the whales which they had killed. They had seen an immense number of these fish. A survey was at this time taking of the public stores and provisions, in order to their being delivered over to the deputy commissary, as Mr. Williamson, the acting commissary, was about to return in the _Buffalo_ to England. Toward the latter end of the month, an attempt was made, at three o'clock in the afternoon, to land without a permit 1016 gallons of wine and spirits, which were seized at the wharf by the sentinel. If the person who made this attempt had been advised to so incautious and daring a proceeding, it could only have been with a view to try the integrity of the sentinels, or the vigilance of the police. In defiance of the various orders which had been given to enforce a due attendance on Sunday at divine service, that day still continued to be marked by a neglect of its sacred duties. An order was again given out on the 25th, pointing out the duties of the superintendants, constables, and overseers, in this particular instance; and assuring them that a further neglect on their part would be followed by their dismissal from their respective situations. Information had some time before this been received of the death of Wilson, known among the natives by the name of Bun-bo-e. This young man, while a convict, and after he had served the period of his transportation, preferred the life of a vagabond to that of an industrious man. He had passed the greater part of his time in the woods with the natives, and was suspected of instructing them in those points where they could injure the settlers with the greatest effect, and most safety to themselves. In obedience, however, to a proclamation from the governor, he surrendered himself, and promising amendment, as nothing but a love of idleness could be fixed upon him, was forgiven; and, being supplied with a musket and ammunition, he was allowed to accompany such parties as made excursions into the woods, and at other times to shoot kangaroos and birds. By him, the first bird of paradise ever seen in this country had been shot; and it was his custom to live upon the flesh of such birds as he killed, bringing in with him their skins. With the wood natives he had sufficient influence to persuade them that he had once been a black man, and pointed out a very old woman as his mother, who was weak and credulous enough to acknowledge him as her son. The natives who inhabit the woods are not by any means so acute as those who live upon the sea coast. This difference may perhaps be accounted for by their sequestered manner of living, society contributing much to the exercise of the mental faculties. Wilson presumed upon this mental inability; and, having imposed himself upon them as their countryman, and created a fear and respect of his superior powers, indulged himself in taking liberties with their young females. However deficient they might be in reasoning faculties, he found to his cost that they were susceptible of wrongs; for, having appropriated against her inclinations a female to his own exclusive accommodation, her friends took an opportunity, when he was not in a condition to defend himself, to drive a spear through his body, which ended his career for this time, and left them to expect his return at some future period in the shape of another white man. By a reference to the first volume of this work, it will be seen, that the natives who inhabited Port Stephens, a harbour to the northward of the settlement, entertained a similar idea of four white men who had been thrown by chance among them; and Wilson, having heard the circumstance, endeavoured to avail himself of it in his intercourse with the wood natives. The natives of the coast, whenever speaking of those of the interior, constantly expressed themselves with contempt and marks of disapprobation. Their language was unknown to each other, and there was not any doubt of their living in a state of mutual distrust and enmity. Those natives, indeed, who frequented the town of Sydney, spoke to and of those who were not so fortunate, in a very superior tone, valuing themselves upon their friendship with the white people, and erecting in themselves an exclusive right to the enjoyment of all the benefits which were to result from that friendship. That they should prefer the shelter which they found in the houses of the inhabitants to the miserable protection from weather which their ill-constructed huts afforded, or even to that which they could meet with under a rock, will be allowed to have been natural enough, when we present the reader with a view of a man, his wife, and child, actually sketched on the spot, by a person who met with them thus endeavouring to obtain shelter under a projection of a rock, during a heavy storm of rain and wind. September.] In the beginning of this month, rumours being circulated, that the prisoners lately sent from Ireland for the crime of sedition, and for being concerned in the late rebellion in that country, had formed a plan for possessing themselves of the colony, that their arms (pikes manufactured since their arrival) were in great forwardness, and their manner of attack nearly arranged; a committee of officers was appointed by the governor to examine all suspected persons, and ascertain whether any such murderous design existed. In the course of their inquiries, the committee saw occasion to imprison Harold, the Roman Catholic priest, who from his language and behaviour was suspected of being concerned in the intended insurrection. He then confessed, that the reports of it were founded in truth, and engaged to discover where the weapons were concealed, of which it was said many hundreds had been fabricated. In his confession he implicated several of his countrymen, who, on being questioned, in their turn accused several others; and the committee adjudged them all to be deserving of punishment; but Harold was never able to fulfil his engagement of producing the weapons. These he first said were buried in the ground belonging to a settler, which he pointed out; but on minutely searching every part of it, nothing like a pike could be found. Failing in this, he then said they were sunk in the lower part of the harbour; but even here they could not be discovered. He tampered with an Irishman, to make a few that he could produce in support of his assertion; but the man had, unfortunately for him, been transported for having been a dealer in pikes, and declared that he would not involve himself a second time for them. He at last found a man to fabricate one out of an old hinge of a barn door, but this bore too evidently the marks of imposition to go down with every one; and his tale met with little or no credit. There was evidently a design to create an alarm; and this man Harold, from declaring that he alone, through his influence as their priest, was able to come at the facts, was supposed to be aiming solely at making himself of consequence in the colony. He had applied to the governor for permission to officiate as their priest; and if well affected to the government, of which there were but too many doubts, he might have been of much use to the colony in that capacity. In consequence of these alarms, and as much as possible to do away their effects, by increasing the armed force of the colony, a certain number of the most respectable inhabitants were formed into two volunteer associations of fifty men each, and styled the Sydney and Parramatta Loyal Associated Corps. Each was commanded by a Captain, with two Lieutenants, and a proportionate number of non-commissioned officers. The whole were supplied with arms and ammunition, of which they were instructed in the use by some sergeants of the New South Wales corps, and their alarm-post was fixed at the front of Government House.* [* As these were formed upon the footing of the volunteer corps in England, it is to be wished that they may as fully entitle themselves to the praise and thanks of the community which they were raised to defend, as those honourable associations have merited and gained from theirs.] It having been reported, that coal had been found upon the banks of George's river, the governor visited the place, and on examination found many indications of the existence of coal, that useful fossil, of which, shortly after, a vein was discovered on the west-side of Garden Island cove. On the 21st, the American ship _John Jay_ arrived, after a passage of four months and four days, from Rhode Island, bound to China. She had on board a quantity of salt beef and pork, which was purchased by government, at the rate of seven-pence three farthings per pound, for the purpose of issuing to such people as were off the stores, or who had the labour of convicts assigned to them, at the same price. This was a great accommodation. The _Buffalo_ being now ready for sea, the governor, who had determined to return in that ship to England, having arranged various matters relative to the settlement, and the lieutenant governor of Norfolk island being on the spot, left the direction of the colony in his hands, and embarked on Sunday the 28th, having previously reviewed the New South Wales corps, of whom his excellency took leave in the following order: "The governor, having this day reviewed that part of His Majesty's New South Wales corps doing duty at Sydney, cannot omit this opportunity of expressing the satisfaction he has received from their very handsome and military appearance, which does so much honour to Lieutenant Colonel Paterson, and the commissioned officers under his command. The expertness with which the various military motions were performed is highly to the credit of the whole body, and in which the non-commissioned officers have a very distinguished share. The governor cannot lose the present opportunity (as it may possibly be the last) of assuring the troops generally, that the confidence which he has long reposed in their promptitude upon every occasion that might require their particular exertion, has ever inclined him to consider with contempt the threatnings said to have been held out by a number of discontented and misled people: well satisfied that the active assistance of the New South Wales corps, added to those precautions and exertions which have and he trusts will continue to distinguish the civil power, will ever be found a complete security for the peace and tranquillity of this settlement, and of His Majesty's government in this remote part of the British dominions." The governor's embarkation was attended with every mark of respect, attachment, and regret. The road to the wharf, where the _Buffalo's_ boat was in waiting, was lined on each side with troops, and he was accompanied thither by the officers of the civil and military departments with a numerous concourse of the inhabitants; who manifested by their deportment the sense they entertained of the regard which he had ever paid to their interests, and the justice and humanity of his government. The following was the state of the live stock, and ground in cultivation, at the time of the governor's departure: viz LIVE STOCK Horses 60 Mares 143 Horned Cattle Bulls and Oxen 332 Cows 712 Hogs 4017 Sheep Male 2031 Female 4093 Goats Male 727 Female 1455 LAND IN CULTIVATION Acres of Wheat 4665¾ Acres for Maize 2930 Acres of Barley 82 And a considerable quantity of garden ground, in potatoes, etc and vines. The poverty of the settlers and the high price of labour occasioned much land to be unemployed this year. Many of the inferior farmers were nearly ruined by the high price they were obliged to give for such necessaries as they required from those who had been long in the habit of monopolising every article brought to the settlement for sale; a habit of which it was found impossible to get the better, without the positive and immediate interference of the government at home. Many representations had been made on this distressing subject; and they seemed in some degree to have been attended to, as in several of the last arrivals from England, certain articles, consisting of implements of husbandry, clothing, and stores, had been consigned to the governor, to be retailed for the use of the colonists: and it was understood that this system, so beneficial to the settlement, was to be pursued in all the ships which were in future to carry out convicts or stores to that country. October.] The _Buffalo_ sailed for England on the 21st of October*, and as the governor had intended to touch and land at Norfolk Island, for the purpose of learning, from his own observation, something of the state of that settlement, some few of the Irish prisoners, who were suspected of laying plans of insurrection and massacre, were taken in the _Buffalo_, and landed there. This settlement wore a most unpromising appearance. All the buildings were in a state of rapid decay, and but few symptoms of industry were visible. Of stock, only a few hogs and a small quantity of vegetables were to be procured. On Phillip Island, which had formerly fed a great number of hogs, not one was to be found alive, they having, for want of better food, destroyed each other. A few fields of wheat, which were ready for reaping, looked tolerably well; but on the whole Norfolk Island by no means promised to repay the expense which it annually cost the government. [* The _Buffalo_ arrived at Spithead, with a convoy which she brought from St. Helena, on the 24th of May 1801, having made the passage by Cape Horn in seven months.] On board of the _Buffalo_ were two of the birds denominated by Dampier black-swans, and three of those which in New South Wales were styled emus. However much in shape the former resembled the European swan, yet, as they are of a different species, they are not properly entitled to the appellation of swan, that name being appropriate solely to the European species. These birds had with very great care been brought alive to England, and were given by Lieutenant William Kent, the proprietor, to Earl St. Vincent, who presented them as rarae aves and literally 'nigro simillimae cygno' to her Majesty, by whom they were sent to Frogmore. They were of different sexes; but unfortunately one of them soon died in moulting; and the other having, after that operation, with his health, also recovered the perfect use of his wings, availed himself of the liberty they gave him (the precaution of cutting them not having been taken), and was shot by a nobleman's game-keeper as it was flying across the Thames. The other birds were given by the same gentleman to Sir Joseph Banks; and they are now enjoying their freedom in the Earl of Exeter's park at Burleigh. These birds have been pronounced by Sir Joseph Banks, of whose judgment none can entertain a doubt, to come nearer to what is known of the American ostrich, than to either the emu of India, or the ostrich of Africa. (The subjoined engraving is from a drawing made in New South Wales, and shows the height to which they can erect themselves.) CONCLUSION The documents upon which the foregoing pages have been formed going no farther than the departure of the _Buffalo_ for England, we must here quit the regular detail of the transactions of the colony. We learn from those who have conversed on the concerns of the settlement with governor Hunter since his return, that he possesses the most minute acquaintance with all its regulations, whether commercial, agricultural, or legal. On those particular subjects, we understand he had from time to time afforded the most ample information to government; and, as he is now upon the spot, we hope that he may be able to show the advantages which this distant colony will derive from a more frequent intercourse with the mother-country. It must be gratifying to all who may be in any way acquainted with the settlement, and are not strangers to the misfortunes under which it has sometimes suffered, to find at this time in government a determination to show it a greater degree of attention in future, than, from unavoidable circumstances, it could formerly boast. As notice has not been regularly taken of the public works in hand at the close of each month, as was observed in the preceding volume, a view of the whole that had been undertaken during Governor Hunter's administrations of the affairs of the settlement, is annexed. A large brick building which had been erected by Governor Phillip at Parramatta, 100 feet in length, being much decayed, was completely repaired; two floors laid throughout; and an addition of 60 feet made to it, for the purpose of converting it into a granary for the reception of wheat; there not being any building for this use in the colony. A strong wind-mill tower of stone, erected upon the hill above the town of Sydney. The mill completed and set at work. An entire suite of apartments built of brick at Sydney, between the hospitals and the dwelling-house of the principal surgeon, for the use of the two assistant-surgeons; their former wretched huts having gone to decay. A strong double logged gaol, 80 feet long, with separate cells for prisoners, was constructed at Sydney. This building was burnt. A similar gaol was erected at Parramatta, 100 feet in length, and paled round with a strong high fence, as was that at Sydney. This was also destroyed by fire. Two log granaries, each 100 feet long, one for wheat and another for maize, were erected at the Hawkesbury on a spot named the Green Hills, and enclosed with paling. Thoroughly repaired, coated with lime (manufactured from burnt shells), and white-washed both government houses, the military barracks, officers' dwellings, storehouses, and granaries, and all the public buildings, to preserve them from the decay to which they were rapidly advancing. The government huts at Parramatta, which had been built by Governor Phillip for the immediate reception of convicts on their arrival, having been long neglected and disused, and fallen to ruin, were completely repaired and made fit for the use for which they were designed. Many had fallen down. A barn of 90 feet in length was built at Toongabbie, in which nine pair of threshers could work. The original barn at this place built by Governor Phillip had fallen down. Constructed eight embrasures to the battery on point Maskelyne, and raised a redoubt with eight embrasures on the east point of the cove, and mounted them with cannon. Two guns were also mounted on the high part of Garden Island. Made good the public roads, and repaired them at various times, and threw bridges over the gullies. An excellent framed bridge was built over Duck-river, capable of bearing the weight of several heavy loaded carriages at one time. At Sydney a good granary, 72 feet in length by 21 in width, with two floors, was built out of the ruins of a mill-house, which had been erected with much labour and expense by Lieutenant-governor Grose, there not being a building of that description at Sydney. Built a framed and weather-boarded house on the Green-hills at the Hawkesbury, for the residence of the commanding officer of that district. This house was shingled, and furnished with a cellar, a kitchen, and other accommodations, and surrounded with paling. Erected a second strong wind-mill tower at Sydney, 36 feet in height. This tower, before it was covered in, was so damaged by a storm which continued during three days, that it was taken down, and was rebuilt and completed. A weather-boarded store-house with two wings was built at Sydney, and on the burning of the church was converted into a temporary place of worship. At Parramatta a weather-boarded granary, 140 feet in length, was built for the reception of maize. This building was shingled. Built a complete smith's shop for forges at Sydney. Erected at Sydney an excellent brick granary, 100 feet long and 22 wide, with three floors. An addition was made to this building about 70 feet in length, for a kiln for drying the grain. Built a range of barracks at Sydney for three officers. Erected a handsome church at Parramatta, 100 feet in length and 44 in width, with a room 20 feet long, raised on stone pillars, and intended for a vestry or council room. (See the Plate.) Began the foundation of a church at Sydney, but of larger dimensions. Built a tower steeple at the same place for a town clock; and some time afterwards, having been much damaged by the same storm that injured the wind-mill, it was repaired at the south angle, and the whole made good with plaster, and coated with lime. Built an apartment of brick in the yard of the old gaol, before it was burnt, for debtors, containing three rooms. Paled in a naval yard on the west side of the cove, and erected within it a joiner's and a blacksmith's shop, with sheds for the vessels while repairing, and for the workmen; with a steamer, a storehouse, a warder's lodge, and an apartment for the clerk. Build a commodious stone-house, near the naval yard, for the master boat-builder. Began and nearly finished a handsome and commodious stone gaol at Sydney; with separate apartments for debtors, and six strong and secure cells for condemned felons. A large and elegant government house was erected at Parramatta, the first being too small, and the framing so much gone to decay that the roof fell in. The present building is spacious and roomy, with cellars and an attic storey. Built a neat thatched hut in the government garden at Parramatta, for the gardener. Built a new dispensary, and removed the pannelled hospital to a more convenient situation, raising it upon a stone foundation. At the same time was erected a new hospital store. Prepared the foundation of a new powder magazine. Raised a frame, and thatched the roof of an open barn at the Ninety Acres, and laid a threshing floor. Fenced and surrounded the military barracks with lofty paling. Paled in a cooperage adjoining the provision store at Sydney. Cleansed from filth the public tanks at the same place, and surrounded them and the spring-head with paling. Enlarged by a scalene building running the whole length of each house, the dwellings of the principal surgeon, the senior assistant-surgeon, and the deputy-surveyor; which gave an additional accommodation of two rooms to each house. Built a military hospital and dispensary at Sydney, and an officer's guard room at the main guard. Built sheds for the boats belonging to government when hauled on shore. Repaired a house for a school at Sydney, plastered, white-washed, and coated it with lime. Erected houses within the precincts of the hospital at Sydney, for the nurses and attendants while on duty. Laid a new foundation, rebuilt part of the walls, and completely repaired the wet provision store at Parramatta, it being in a very ruinous condition. Enclosed several stock yards for cattle, and repaired the old sheds at Parramatta, Toongabbie, and Portland Place. In the latter district, the timber of 120 acres was cut down, and nearly half (that of 50 acres) burnt off, a small township marked out, and a few huts built. Raised also a variety of inferior buildings. The inclosures of the park and burial ground having been suffered to go to decay, a gang of carpenters and labourers were for a considerable time employed in preparing pickets and railing, and putting them up. The judge-advocate's house at Sydney was enlarged and completely repaired, several alterations made, and out-houses built. Exclusive of erecting and repairing the foregoing public works, small detachments were daily employed in preserving in good order and condition the various buildings belonging to the crown, particularly those occupied by that class of inhabitants subordinate to the commissioned officers. And, as these repairs were considered as essentially necessary to prevent such buildings from going to decay, they had been invariably attended to under Governor Hunter. Had the strength of the public gangs permitted their being further employed, it was intended to have erected a large water-mill at Parramatta, of which some part of the machinery and water-works were prepared. A court-house at the same place, and two new stores, with a guardhouse at the Green Hills. The stores were to be built of brick, and the guard-house of weather-boards. It was likewise intended to build a strong log-prison or lock-up-house at the Hawkesbury, not to be thatched as formerly, but to be either tiled or shingled. In the district of Portland Place, a stock-yard, consisting of about 30 acres, was inclosed with posts and rails. It included four chains of fresh-water ponds. Buildings were also designed to be erected within it; and it was meant to continue clearing the ground there, it being remarkably good, and at a convenient distance from Parramatta. Another stock-yard was designed for government, at Pendent Hills, in Dundas district; but the inclosure was not begun. In the naval department, a vessel in frame was left on the stocks. She was designed to be of about 150 or 160 tons burden, and capable of taking the relief of the military to and from Norfolk island. A boat named the _Cumberland_ was on the stocks, and nearly finished, of about 27 tons burden, intended to be schooner rigged and armed, for pursuing deserters; who were, at the time when her keel was laid, in the practice of carrying away the boats of the settlement. The lighter or hoy called the _Lump_, for want of tar to pay her bottom, was worm-eaten; but, being a serviceable boat, it was intended to repair and double her. In addition to these buildings (which must have contributed to render the town of Sydney, the principal seat of the government, a picturesque and pleasing object to strangers, as well as tended to the infinite accommodation of all the inhabitants) Lieutenant Kent, the commander of the _Supply_, had, at a very great expense, built a handsome, large, and commodious mansion-house, on a spot of ground which he held on lease in the front of the cove, forming a principal and striking object from the water. This house, on that officer's departure for England in the _Buffalo_, was purchased for an orphan school. Nothing has been said in this account of the public labour, of preparing the government ground annually for seed and cropping it, or of gathering the harvest when ripe. But these must be taken into the account, as well as threshing the corn for delivery, and unloading the store ships on their arrival; which latter work must always be completed within a limited time, pursuant to their charters. It has been said before, that it was impossible to obtain a fair day's work from the convicts when employed for the public: the weather frequently interfered with outdoor business, and occasioned much to be done a second time. Under all these disadvantages, and with a turbulent, refractory body of prisoners, we are warranted in saying, on thus summing up the whole of the public labour during the last four years, that more could not have been performed; and it is rather matter of wonder that so much had been obtained with such means. The following is a statement of the ground granted and leased to individuals by the different persons who were thereto authorised, from the 22nd of February 1792, the date of the first, to the 25th of September 1800, the date of the last grant. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Granted by: Phillip Grose Paterson Hunter Total DISTRICTS WHERE GRANTED ----------------------------------------------------------------- At Parramatta 460 845 100 741 2,146 At Toongabbie - 420 160 4,734 5,314 At Sydney - 349 80 40 469 At the Northern Boundary Farms 370 80 125 150 725 At the Ponds 660 200 20 80 960 At Prospect Hill 810 275 - 835 1,920 At the Eastern Farms 450 170 190 1,516 2,326 At the Field of Mars 590 905 760 1,420 3,675 At Mulgrave Place - 2,040 2,475 6,820 11,335 At Liberty Plains - 530 100 830 1,480 At Concord - 710 325 140 1,175 At York Place - - 50 330 360 At Bu-la-nam-ing - 565 30 1,516 2,111 At Petersham Hill - 2,140 410 2,015 4,565 At Hunter's Hill - 850 - 74 924 In Port Jackson Harbour - 390 140 195 725 At Banks Town - - - 3,247 3,247 At Dundas District - - - 700 700 At Norfolk Island 49 205 - 3,267 3,521 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Total granted by each 3,389 10,674 4,965 28,650 47,678 ----------------------------------------------------------------- DISTRICTS WHERE LEASED In the township of Sydney 30 27 2 43¼ 102¼ In the township of Parramatta - - - 47 47 In the township of Toongabbie - - - 30 30 At Mulgrave Place - - - 12 12 At Norfolk Island - - - 265 265 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Total leased by each 30 27 2 397¼ 456¼ ----------------------------------------------------------------- It may not be altogether uninteresting to those who may wish for information respecting the concerns of this settlement, to find a register of the shipping which has visited New South Wales from various parts of the globe; whereby it will be seen, that, in however insignificant or contemptible a point of view the colony may in general have been held, individuals have found in it either a port of refreshment after the fatigues of a long voyage, or an advantageous market for their speculations. The arrivals will be confined to the harbour of Port Jackson; only mentioning in this place that of the two ships _Le Boussole_ and _L'Astrolabe_, at Botany Bay, in January 1788, under the command of the ever-to-be-regretted and unfortunate M. de la Perouse, who followed in the path of our immortal circumnavigator, Captain Cook (with whose name every writer must be proud to adorn his page), and who, like him, has left his country, indeed the whole world, to lament his loss. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Date of Whither Names-of-Ships Arrival Whence Cargo Departure bound -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1788 [* See note at end of table] His Majesty's armed 25 Jan. England 17 Apr. Batavia tender, Supply 1790 H.M. ship Sirius 26 - - 1 Oct. C of G Hope 1788 Alexander, transport 26 - - Convicts Scarborough 26 - - - Charlotte 26 - - - Lady Penrhyn 26 - - - Friendship 26 - - - Prince of Wales 26 - - - - Fishburn, store-ship 26 - - Provisions, etc Golden Grove 26 - - - Borrowdale 26 - - 1789 H.M. ship Sirius 6 May CofG Hope Lost at Norfolk Is. 1790 Lady Juliana, trans. 3 Jun. England Convicts Justinian, storeship 20 - - Provisions, etc. Surprise, transport 26 - - Convicts Neptune 28 - - - Scarborough 28 - - - H.M. a t. Supply 19 Sep. Batavia Provisions Waaksamheyd Dutch store-ship 17 Dec. - - 1791 Mary Arm, transport 9 July England Convicts Matilda 1 Aug. - - Atlantic 20 - - Salamander 21 - - William and Arm 28 - - H.M.S. Gorgon 21 Sep. - Stores/Provisions Active, transport 26 - Convicts Queen 26 Ireland - Albemarle 13 Oct. England - Britannia 14 Oct. England - Admiral Barrington 16 - - 1792 Pitt 14 Feb. - - Atlantic, store-ship 20 Jun. Bengal Provisions Britannia 26 Jul. England - 1792 24 Oct. C of G Hope Royal Admiral 7 Oct. - Convicts Philadelphia, brig 1 Nov. Philad- Speculation American elphia Kitty, transport 18 England Convicts Hope, American Dec. RhodeIs Speculation Chesterfield, whaler - CofG H To repair 1793 Bellona, transport 15 Jan. England Convicts Shah Hormuzear 24 Feb. Speculation El Descuvierta Spa. 12 Mar. Manilla To refresh L'Atrevida Cor. 12 Mar. Manilla To refresh Daedalus, store-ship 20 Apr. NWCoast Provisions, 1793 Nootka of America etc. 1 Jul. Sound Britannia Jun. CofGHopeCattle, etc. 8 Sep. Bengal private property Boddingtons, trans. 7 Aug. Ireland Convicts Sugar-cane 17 Sep. - - Fairy, American 29 Oct. Boston To refresh 1794 William, store-ship 10 March England Provisions Arthur 10th Bengal Speculation Daedalus, store-ship 3 Apr. America Provisions Indispensable 24 May England - Britannia l Jun. Batavia - 1 Sep. C of G Hope Speedy 8 England - Halcyon, American 14 RhodeIs.Speculation Hope, American 5 Jul. Fancy 9 Bombay Provisions Resolution, st.sh. 10 Sep. England Salamander 11 Mercury, American 17 Oct. Rhode Is. Surprise, transport 25 England Convicts Experiment 24 Dec. Bengal Speculation 1795 Britannia 4 Mar. CofGHopeStock for 18 Jun. India the officers Endeavour, st. sh. 31 May Bombay Cattle H.M.S. Providence 26 Aug. England - 1796 H.M.S. Reliance) 7 Sep. England Stores 29 Sep. C of G Hope H.M.S. Supply ) 20 Young William,st.sh. 4 Oct. - Sovereign 5 Nov. - 1796 Arthur 1 Jan. Bengal Speculation Ceres, store-ship 23 England Provisions Experiment 24 Bengal Speculation Otter, American 24 Boston To refresh Marquis Cornwallis, 11 Feb. Ireland Convicts transport Abigail, American Feb. RhodeIs.Speculation Assistance 17 Mar. Dusky Bay Susan, American 19 Apr. RhodeIs.Speculation Indispensable,trans. 30 England Convicts Britannia, st. sh. 11 May CalcuttaProvisions Grand Turk,American 23 Aug. Boston Speculation Prince of Wales, 2 Nov. England store-ship Sylph 17 1797 Mercury, American 11 Jan. Manilla To refit H.M.S. Supply 16 May CofGHopeCattle Condemned Britannia,transport 27 Ireland Provisions Ganges 2 Jun. H.M.S. Reliance 26 CofGHopeCattle Deptford 20 Sep. Madras Speculation 1798 Nautilus 14 May OtaheiteMissionaries Barwell, transport 18 England Convicts Hunter 10 Jun. Bengal Speculation Cornwall, whaler 2 Jul. CofGHopeTo refit Eliza 4 Argo, American sch. 7 MauritiusSpeculation Sally, whaler 8 Jul. CofGHopeTo refit Britannia, transp. 18 England Convicts Pomona, whaler 20 Aug. CofGHopeTo refit Diana 20 Semiramis, American 1 Oct. Rhode Is. Marquis Cornwallis 27 CofGHopeCattle store-ship Indispensable,whaler 27 - To refit 1799 Rebecca, American 5 Mar. - Speculation Nostra Senora de 24 Apr. Cape Blanco Various Bethlehem, prize articles 1799 H.M.S. Buffalo 26 CofGHopeCattle 15th Sep. C of G Hope Albion, store-ship 29 Jun. England Provisions Hillsborough, trans. 26 Jul. Convicts Resource, American 6 Sep. RhodeIs.To refit Walker, store-ship 3 Nov. England Provisions El Plumier, prize 2 Dec. Cape Various Corientes articles 1800 Swallow, packet 3 Jan. England To refit Minerva, transport 11 Ireland Convicts Fhynne, Danish 11 Feb. Bengal Speculation colours Betsey, whaler 13 W. CoastTo refit America Friendship, transp. 16 Ireland Convicts Speedy, transport 15 Apr. England - H.M.S. Buffalo 15 CofGHopeCattle Belle Sauvage 7 Jun. RhodeIs.To refit American [* These departures are noticed, to show in what time the principal passages have been made to and from the different ports with which the colony had intercourse, by comparing the time of sailing with the return.] Of these ships 37 sailed from England with convicts, male and female, for the settlement, having about 5000 persons of that description on board, of which something more (157) than one fifth were females. The following ships had sailed from England and Ireland for New South Wales; but none of them had arrived previous to the departure of the _Buffalo_, viz 24th August 1799 Luz. St. Ann, transport, with 167 Convicts. 17th March 1800 H.M.S. the Porpoise. She arrived the 7th Nov. following. 23d May 1800 Royal Admiral, transport, 300 convicts. 18th November Earl Cornwallis, - 327 21st June 1801 Nile, - 96 - Canada, - 103 28th November Minorca, - 101 12th February 1802 Hercules, - ) 330 - Atlas, - ) Coromandel, - ) 250 Perseus, ) Rollo, - ) 250 Atlas, - ) Having been favoured with a more minute and ornithological description of the elegant and novel bird mentioned in page 65* of the preceding sheets since they were sent to the press, it is here given. [* . . . They brought in with them one of the birds which they had named pheasants, but which on examination appeared to be a variety of the Bird of Paradise.] The bill of this bird, which has been named the _Maenura superba_, is straight, having the nostrils in the centre of the beak. The base of the upper mandible is furnished with hairs like feathers turning down; the upper mandible is at the base somewhat like that of the pigeon. The eye is a dark hazel, with a bare space around it. The throat and chin are of a dark rufous colour: the rest, with the body, of a dusky grey. The feathers on the rump are longer than those of the body, and more divided. The colour of the wings, which are concave, is dark rufous. The legs and claws are large in proportion to the bird, particularly the claws. The outward toe is connected with the middle one as far as the first joint. The tail is long, and composed of three different sorts of feathers, of which the upper side is of a dark grey, with ferruginous spots. The first two lower feathers, which are a little curved, in two directions, are beneath of a pearly colour, enriched with several crescent shaped spaces, of a rich rufous and black colour. The laminae are unwebbed, turned round toward the extremity, and ornamented with a black bar, the breadth of an inch, and fringed at the end. The shaft of the second, which is likewise long, is fringed with long hair-like filaments; and the third, which is also long and curved, is plumed on the inner side only, except at the extremity, where there are a few separated filaments of a dark grey colour. The female _Maenura superba_ differs very little from the male, except in the tail, which is composed of twelve feathers a little curved and plumed, having the upper side dark rufous and grey, and the under of a pearly colour. The following curious particulars of these birds were observed by persons resident in the country, and who were eye-witnesses of what is here told. They frequent retired and inaccessible parts of the interior; have been seen to run remarkably fast, but their tails are so cumbrous that they cannot fly in a direct line. They sing for two hours in the morning, beginning from the time when they quit the valley, until they attain the summit of the hill; where they scrape together a small hillock, on which they stand, with their tall spread over them, imitating successively the note of every bird known in the country. They then return to the valley. The drawing from which the engraving is made was taken from a beautiful stuffed _Maenura superba_ in the collection of Mr. Arthur Harrison (who also is in possession of a female _Maenura superba_), and which was presented to that gentleman by Governor Hunter. The peculiar conformation of the amphibious animal mentioned on page 45 of this Volume*, having attracted the attention of Everard Home, esq a paper, containing the result of a minute examination of the external and internal parts of two specimens which had been preserved in spirits, and sent from Port Jackson to Sir Joseph Banks was drawn up by Mr. Home, and, having been read before the Royal Society (on Thursday the 17th December 1801), was afterwards published in the Philosophical Transactions. From that paper, which was most obligingly and politely sent to me by Mr. Home, I have, through the liberality of the President of that learned body, been allowed to select such particulars of this curious animal, as will, I think, be acceptable to the readers of this work; who no doubt will join with me in rejoicing that an animal, hitherto unknown to science, should have fallen under the observation and examination of a gentleman so eminently qualified to develop the secrets of nature. [* viz: "Although the settlement had now been established within a month of ten years, yet little had been added to the stock of natural history which had been acquired in the first year or two of its infancy. The Kangaroo, the Dog, the Opossum, the Flying Squirrel, the Kangaroo Rat, a spotted Rat, the common Rat, and the large Fox-bat (if entitled to a place in this society), made up the whole catalogue of animals that were known at this time, with the exception which must now be made of an amphibious animal, of the mole species, one of which had been lately found on the banks of a lake near the Hawkesbury. In size it was considerably larger than the land mole. The eyes were very small. The fore legs, which were shorter than the hind, were observed, at the feet, to be provided with four claws, and a membrane, or web, that spread considerably beyond them, while the feet of the hind legs were furnished, not only with this membrane or web, but with four long and sharp claws, that projected as much beyond the web, as the web projected beyond the claws of the fore feet. The tail of this animal was thick, short, and very fat; but the most extraordinary circumstance observed in its structure was, its having, instead of the mouth of an animal, the upper and lower mandibles of a duck. By these it was enabled to supply itself with food, like that bird, in muddy places, or on the banks of the lakes, in which its webbed feet enabled it to swim; while on shore its long and sharp claws were employed in burrowing; nature thus providing for it in its double or amphibious character. These little animals had been frequently noticed rising to the surface of the water, and blowing like the turtle."] The natural history of this animal, which has obtained the name of _Ornithorhynchus paradoxus_ is at present very little known. The following particulars were communicated to Mr. Home by Governor Hunter, who, during his residence in New South Wales, had opportunities of seeing the animal alive. The Ornithorhynchus is only found in fresh-water lakes, of which there are many in the interior parts of the country, some three quarters of a mile long, and several hundred yards broad. It does not swim upon the surface of the water, but comes up occasionally to breathe, which it does in the same manner as the turtle. The natives sit upon the banks, with small wooden spears, and watch them every time they rise to the surface, till they get a proper opportunity of striking them. This they do with much dexterity, and frequently succeed in catching them this way. Governor Hunter saw a native watch one for above an hour before he attempted to spear it, which he did through the neck and fore leg: when on shore, it used its claws with so much force that they were obliged to confine it between two pieces of board, while they were cutting off the barbs of the spear, to disengage it. When let loose, it ran upon the ground with as much activity as a land tortoise; which is faster than the structure of its fore feet would have led us to believe. It inhabits the banks of the lakes, and is supposed to feed in the muddy places which surround them; but the particular kind of food on which it subsists is not known. The male is 17½ inches in length, from the point of the bill to the extremity of the tail. The bill is 2¼ inches long; and the tail, measuring from the anus, 4½ inches. The body of the animal is compressed, and nearly of the same general thickness throughout, except at the shoulders, where it is rather smaller. The circumference of the body is 11 inches. There is no fat deposited between the skin and the muscles. In the female, the size of the body is rendered proportionally larger than that of the male, by a quantity of fat lying every where under the skin. The male is of a very dark brown colour, on the back, legs, bill, and tall; the under surface of the neck and belly is of a silver grey. In the female the colour is lighter. The hair is made up of two kinds; a very thick fur, one half of an inch long, and a very uncommon kind of hair, three quarters of an inch long. The portion next the root has the common appearance of hair; but for a quarter of an inch towards the point it becomes flat, giving it some faint resemblance to very fine feathers: this portion has a gloss upon it; and when the hair is dry, the different reflections from the edges and surfaces of these longer hairs give the whole a very uncommon appearance. The fur and hair upon the belly is longer than that upon the back. Externally there is no appearance of the organs of generation in either sex; the orifice of the anus being a common opening to the rectum and prepuce in the male, and to the rectum and vagina in the female. There was no appearance that could be detected, of nipples; although the skin on the belly of the female was examined with the utmost accuracy for that purpose. The head is rather compressed. The bill, which projects beyond the mouth, in its appearance resembles that of the duck; but is in its structure more like that of the spoonbill, the middle part being composed of bone, as in that bird: it has a very strong cuticular covering. The nostrils are two orifices, very close to each other, near the end of the bill; the upper lip projecting three quarters of an inch beyond them. The eyes are very small; they are situated more upon the upper part of the head than is usual, and are directly behind the loose edge of the cuticular flap belonging to the bill. The eyelids are circular orifices concealed in the hair, and, in the male, are with difficulty discovered; but in the female there is a tuft of lighter hair, which marks their situation. The external ears are two large slits, directly behind the eyes, and much larger than the orifices of the eyelids. The teeth, if they can be so called, are all grinders; they are four in number, situated in the posterior part of the mouth, one on each side of the upper and under jaw, and have broad flat crowns. They differ from common teeth very materially, having neither enamel nor bone, but being composed of a horny substance only, embedded in the gum, to which they are connected by an irregular surface in the place of fangs. When cut through, which is readily done by a knife, the internal structure is fibrous like the human nail: the direction of the fibres is from the crown downwards. Between the cheek and the jaw, on each side of the mouth, there is a pouch, as in the monkey tribe, lined with a cuticle. When laid open, it is 1½ inches long, and the same in breadth. In the female it contained a concreted substance, the size of a very small nut, one in each pouch: this, when examined through the microscope, was found to be made up of very small portions of broken crystals. Besides these grinding teeth, there are two small pointed horny teeth upon the projecting part of the posterior portion of the tongue, the points of which are directed forwards, seemingly to prevent the food from being pushed into the fauces during the process of mastication; which circumstance Mr. Home thinks peculiar to this animal: in the tongue of the flamingo there is a row of short teeth on each side, but not in any other bird that he has seen. The fore legs are short, and the feet webbed. On each foot there are five toes, united by the web, which is very broad, and is continued beyond the points of the toes nearly an inch. On each toe there is a rounded straight nail, which lies loose upon the membrane forming the web. The hind legs are nearly of the same length as the fore legs, but stronger. Each foot has five toes with curved claws, and webbed; but the web does not extend beyond the points of the toes. In the male, just at the setting-on of the heel, there is a strong crooked spur, half an inch long, with a sharp point, which has a joint between it and the foot, and is capable of motion in two directions. When the point of it is brought close to the leg, the spur is almost completely concealed among the hair; when directed outwards, it projects considerably, and is very conspicuous. It is probably by means of these spurs, or hooks, that the female is kept from withdrawing herself in the act of copulation; since they are very conveniently placed for laying hold of her body on that particular occasion. This spur is peculiar to the male. The tail, in its general shape, is very similar to that of the beaver. Of the internal parts, the tongue is two inches long, lying in the hollow between the two jaws, but not projecting any way into the bill, being confined to its situation, except a very small portion at the tip. The ribs are sixteen in number, and are united by a very elastic ligamentous substance, which admits of their being pulled to some distance; so that the capacity of the chest can undergo a very unusual degree of change. The heart is situated in the middle line of the chest, its apex pointing to the sternum, and is inclosed in a strong pericardium: it is made up of two aurieles and two ventricles. The lungs are large in size, corresponding to the capacity of the chest. Instead of a portion of them being above the heart, as in other animals, the heart may be said to be above the lungs; for they only embrace its sides, and do not surround its upper surface, but extend downwards into the more moveable part of the cavity of the chest. The stomach is smaller than in most other animals; in this respect resembling the true stomach of birds. The liver is composed of four lobes, besides the small lobe, or lobulus spigelii. The gall bladder is in the usual situation, and of the common size. The skull is rather flattened upon the upper surface: its cavity is capacious, and there is a boney process projecting from the cranium, in place of the falx or dura mater. This Mr. Home believes is not the case in any other quadruped. The olfactory nerves are small, and so are the optic nerves; but the fifth pair, which supply the muscles of the face, are uncommonly large. From this circumstance, we should be led, Mr. Home says, to believe, that the sensibility of the different parts of the bill is very great, and therefore that it answers the purpose of a hand, and is capable of nice discrimination in its feeling. The eye is very small, and is nearly spherical. There is a membrana nictitans; and the eyelid is very loose upon the eyeball: it is probably capable of great dilatation and contraction. The membrana tympani is larger than in other quadrupeds of the same size. The organs of generation in this animal have several peculiarities of a very extraordinary nature. The male organs do not appear externally; so that the distinguishing mark of the sex is the spur on the hind leg. The testicles are situated in the cavity of the abdomen, immediately below the kidneys: they are large for the size of the animal. The epididymis is connected with the body of the testicle by a broad membrane, which admits of its lying very loose. The penis in this animal does not, as in other quadrupeds, give passage to the urine. It is entirely appropriated to the purpose of conveying the semen; and a distinct canal conducts the urine into the rectum, by an opening about an inch from the external orifice of the intestine. The gut at this part is defended from the acrimony of the urine, by the mucus secreted by two glands, which, probably for this reason, are very large in the male, but small in the female. The penis is short and small in its relaxed state; and its body does not appear capable of being very much enlarged when erected. The prepuce is a fold of the internal membrane of the verge of the anus, as in the bird; and the penis, when retracted, is entirely concealed. The glans penis is double; one glans having its extremity directed to the right, the other to the left: and as they supply two distinct cavities with semen, they may be considered as two penises. This is an approach to the bird kind, many species of which have two. There was no appearance of vesiculae feminales. The female organs open into the rectum, as in the bird. The vagina is 1½ inches long: its internal membrane is rugous, the rugae being in a longitudinal direction. At the end of the vagina, instead of an os tincae, as in other quadrupeds, is the meatus urinarius; on each side of which is an opening leading into a cavity, resembling the horn of the uterus in the quadruped, only thinner in its coats. Each of these cavities terminates in a fallopian tube, which opens into the capsule of an ovarium. The ovaria are very small; they were not in a very perfect state of preservation, but bore a general resemblance to those of other quadrupeds. This structure of the female organs is unlike any thing hitherto met with in quadrupeds; since in all of them that I examined, says Mr. Home, there is the body of the uterus, from which the horns go off as appendages. The opossum differs from all other animals in the structure of these parts, but has a perfectly formed uterus; nor can I suppose it wanting in any of the class Mammalia. This animal, having no nipples, and no regularly formed uterus, Mr. Home says, he was led to examine the female organ in birds, to see if there was any analogy between the oviducts in any of that class, and the two membranous uteri of this animal; but none could be observed; nor would it be easy to explain how an egg could lie in the vagina to receive its shell, as the urine from the bladder must pass directly over it. Finding they had no resemblance to the oviducts in birds, Mr. Home was led to compare them with the uteri of those lizards which form an egg, that is afterwards deposited in a cavity corresponding to the uterus of other animals, where it is hatched; which lizards may therefore be called ovi-viviparous; and I find, says Mr. Home, a very close resemblance between them. In these lizards there are two uteri, that open into one common canal, or vagina, which is extremely short; and the meatus urinarius is situated between these openings. The coats of these uteri are thinner than those of the uteri of quadrupeds of the same size. In the ovi-viviparous dog-fish, the internal organs of the female have a very similar structure. There is therefore every reason to believe, that this animal also is ovi-viviparous in its mode of generation. * * * It appears, by accounts which have been received from New South Wales, that the voyage of the small brig _Lady Nelson_, commanded by Lieutenant Grant, was (notwithstanding her size, being only 60 tons burden, and the distance she had to sail) effected without her meeting with any material accident; she arriving in December 1801. Her commander was so perfectly acquainted with her good qualities, that he ventured to make the land of New Holland, in latitude 38 degrees 00 minutes south, coasting for some distance toward the eastward, and sailing through Bass Strait, in his way up to Port Jackson. It does not appear, that this passage of the _Lady Nelson_ through the Strait added any thing new to the discoveries which had been previously made by Captain Flinders and Mr. Bass, in the little sloop _Norfolk_, except that of having made the land about four degrees further to the westward than had been seen by those gentlemen. By means of a few such vessels as the _Lady Nelson_, well commanded, and furnished with instruments requisite for carrying on a maritime survey, the necessary knowledge of the coast of that extensive country would soon be obtained. Governor Hunter, who is well known to be thoroughly qualified in this essential part of maritime education, has been frequently heard to say, that with a few small vessels, perhaps three or four, if he could have obtained them, or if his instructions would have permitted his building them, he would in the course of a short period have gained some acquaintance with all that part of the coast which Captain Cook had not an opportunity of examining minutely. Large vessels, in his opinion, were not wanted for such a survey, nor were they fit for the purpose. A deposit of the stores necessary for this service could be made at the principal settlement, where such vessels, whenever requisite, might refit or repair. Large ships are proper to be employed only when they are to survey an unknown coast, where supplies are not to be had; this rendering it expedient that they should be sufficiently capacious to carry a considerable stock of provisions and stores for all their purposes. The small vessel, if caught upon a lee shore, and unable to work off, has a chance of finding security for anchorage where a large ship cannot; and if no such shelter offer, she has in her favour a greater probability of saving her crew by running on shore; her light draught of water admitting her to approach the land much nearer than could the large vessel. * * * Dispatches have been recently received at Lord Hobart's office from New South Wales, dated in August 1801, by which it appears, that the quantity of salt provisions remaining in store in the beginning of the year, being very inconsiderable, and it being possible that accidents might happen to ships sent from England with meat, the governor had judged it necessary to send the _Porpoise_ to the island of Otaheite, for the purpose of salting pork for the use of the colony: and as it was absolutely necessary to send thither a quantity of salt for this purpose (an article which the colony could not furnish), he fortunately was enabled to purchase about fifteen tons of salt from the master of a whaler which put in there from one of the Cape de Verd islands. On this voyage the _Porpoise_ sailed in the month of May 1801, and her commander, Lieutenant Scott, was furnished, in addition to very ample instructions for his guidance, with a letter from the governor to Pornarre, the king of Otaheite, urging him to give Mr. Scott every protection and assistance in the execution of the business on which he was sent to the island, and recommending particularly to his care such of the missionaries as resided in the place. It was pointed out to him how much this conduct would ensure his majesty the favourable opinion of King George; and Mr. Scott was provided with a quantity of such articles for barter as were likely to please the eye as well as be useful to the people whom he might have to deal with; among which were some red and yellow cloth, some tomahawks, axes, knives, scissors, shirts, jackets, etc.: and, as nothing was more likely to ensure success than a handsome present to his Majesty, a mantle and some other articles of dress decorated with red feathers, together with six muskets and some ammunition, were given to Mr. Scott to be presented to the king. Directions were also sent to the lieutenant-governor at Norfolk Island, to salt a quantity of pork for the use of the principal settlement. The governor had likewise entered into a contract with a merchant in India, to freight a ship with cattle and rice, after the arrival of which he was of opinion that further supplies of cattle might be unnecessary, the stock in the country, independent of the wild herd, being very considerable. That herd was grown very furious, and, having got among the mountains to the westward, rendered any attempts to take them dangerous and useless. The _Lady Nelson_ brig had been in Bass Strait, and surveyed Western port, where she found a very good harbour. She had also been, in company with the _Francis_ (colonial schooner), to Hunter river, where they took in between them 45 tons of coal, which were exchanged with the master of the _Cornwallis_, for a quantity of nails and iron, articles that were much wanted; thus, for the first time, making the natural produce of the country contribute to its wants. The _Francis_ being nearly worn out, the governor had purchased a vessel called the _Harbinger_, to be employed in going to and from Norfolk Island, the service of the _Porpoise_ being required for longer voyages. The _Supply_, which had been long since condemned, was fitting up as a hulk to receive such convicts as were incorrigible, in which capacity she might still be very useful. It was intended that the _Lady Nelson_ should, at the proper season, be employed in an accurate survey of Bass Strait. Accounts having been received of the Union between the Two Kingdoms, that event was celebrated on the 4th of June 1801, and on that occasion the new union flag was for the first time displayed in New South Wales. The governor took that opportunity of releasing several of the Irish insurgents who had been in confinement. It appeared, on examining the registers of the several terms of transportation of the convicts, that the clerks, who necessarily had had access to them, had altered the sentences of about two hundred prisoners, receiving a gratuity from each equal to ten or twelve pounds. This was a very serious evil; and proper steps to guard against it in future have been taken both at home and in the colony. That necessary institution, the Orphan School, had been carried into effect, and the house which had been purchased for the reception of the children was occupied by them. It appeared, upon collecting the accounts of the expenses attending the erecting of the county gaol, that that building had cost the sum of £3954 the greatest part of which had been paid by assessments upon individuals. Every encouragement was given to promote the growth of wool fit for the purpose of manufacturing, and three hundred and six yards of blanketing had been made from what had been produced in the year preceding the date of the dispatches, from the flocks belonging to government and to individuals. In five months four hundred and seventy-two yards of flax had been manufactured into linen. The colony continued healthy. In July 1801 there were one hundred and eighteen persons on the surgeon's list. The spirit of adventure, which still manifested itself in the arrival of ships upon speculation, received some check in the governor's sending back three vessels that had arrived from Bengal, on board of which were not less than fifty-four thousand gallons of spirits and wine. A quantity of copper coin having been received, the governor published a table of all the specie legally in circulation within the colony, affixing the following rates to each, at which they should be considered and be a legal tender in all payments or transactions within the territory, viz. TABLE OF SPECIE A guinea £1 2 0 A rupee £0 2 6 A johannes 4 0 0 A Dutch guilder 0 2 0 A half ditto 2 0 0 An English shilling 0 1 1 A ducat 0 9 6 A copper coin of 1 oz 0 0 2 A gold mohur 1 17 6 A ditto of ½ oz 0 0 1 A pagoda 0 8 0 A ditto of ¼ oz 0 0 0½ A Spanish dollar 0 5 0 And as the supply of copper was sent to relieve the inconvenience under which persons who wanted to make small payments laboured, no sum exceeding £5 was to be deemed a legal tender in this money. It was also declared, that the exporting or importing (except from the treasury) of any sum of the copper coin exceeding £5 should be punished by a forfeiture and fine of treble the value of the sum so exported or imported. Several ships had arrived from India, England, and America, most of which had brought, upon speculation, cargoes consisting of wine, spirits, tobacco, teas, sugar, hardware, wearing apparel, etc, etc. the sale of which was, with the governor's approbation, advertised by the commissary, and publicly sold to all descriptions of people. It appears, that from these ships 59,294 gallons of spirits ) had been imported. 30,896 gallons of wines ) 26,974 gallons of spirits ) had been landed. 8,896 gallons of wines ) And, 32,320 gallons of spirits ) had been sent away. 22,000 gallons of wines ) Three ships had arrived with convicts, viz. The _Royal Admiral_, on the 22nd of November 1800. _Luz. St. Anne_, on the 21st of February 1801. _Earl Cornwallis_, on the 12th of June following. On the 30th of June 1801, there were in the settlement, five thousand five hundred and forty-seven persons of all descriptions, of whom seven hundred and seventy-six were children. At Norfolk Island the whole number of persons was nine hundred and sixty-one, making a total of six thousand five hundred and eight persons under the authority of the governor. At Norfolk Island it was fortunately discovered, on the 14th of December 1800, that a plot had been formed by some of the convicts to murder the officers, and, getting possession of the island, to liberate themselves. Two of the ringleaders were immediately executed. Major Foveaux, the lieutenant-governor, had found, what had been so much wanted and hitherto unknown, a good landing-place for boats and small craft, in Anson's Bay, where there were four and five fathoms of water within a few yards of the shore, which was a fine sandy beach, and the passage free from rocks or shoals. The following was the state of the live stock, and ground in cultivation, in New South Wales: LIVE STOCK BELONGING TO INDIVIDUALS In June 1801 Sheep Cattle Horses Goats Hogs 6269 362 211 1259 4766 BELONGING TO GOVERNMENT In August 1801 Sheep Cattle Horses 488 931 32 GROUND IN CULTIVATION Acres of Wheat Acres for Maize Government 467 300 Individuals 4857¼ 3564 Total 5333¼ 3864 A stack, containing 1000 bushels of grain, the property of an individual, had been unfortunately destroyed by fire. The Hawkesbury had again inundated the adjacent country; and many of the settlers, who had farms on its banks, had in despair totally abandoned them. With this information I must here conclude my labours; and, as the annalist of the English Colony in New South Wales, probably take my leave for ever of that country, in whose service I spent the first nine years of its infancy, during all the difficulties and hardships with which, in that rude state, it had to contend: a country which has eventually proved the destruction of my brightest prospects; having, by my services there, been precluded from succeeding to my proper situation in the professional line to which I was bred; without any other reward as yet to boast of, than the consciousness of having ever been a faithful and zealous servant to my employers, and knowing that the peculiar hardship of my case has been acknowledged by every gentleman, in and out of office, to whom it has been communicated. THE END 
15602	----	Words in italics in the book are enclosed by underscores in this ebook. STATISTICAL, HISTORICAL, AND POLITICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE COLONY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AND ITS DEPENDENT SETTLEMENTS IN VAN DIEMEN'S LAND: WITH A PARTICULAR ENUMERATION OF THE ADVANTAGES WHICH THESE COLONIES OFFER FOR EMIGRATION, AND THEIR SUPERIORITY IN MANY RESPECTS OVER THOSE POSSESSED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA * * * BY WILLIAM CHARLES WENTWORTH, ESQ. A NATIVE OF THE COLONY * * * LONDON: PRINTED FOR G. AND W. B. WHITTAKER * * 1819 * * * * * CONTENTS PART I. STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF THE SETTLEMENTS IN NEW HOLLAND. PART II. OPERATION OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE COLONY FOR THE LAST FIFTEEN YEARS. PART III. VARIOUS ALTERATIONS SUGGESTED IN THE PRESENT POLICY OF THIS COLONY. PART IV. VARIOUS CHANGES PROPOSED IN THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT. APPENDIX. * * * * * FOREWORD There can be little doubt that when my great-grandfather began to write this book, his thoughts were centred on the objective which he describes in his own Preface--the diversion to Australia of some part of the stream of emigration then running from the British Isles to North America. Perhaps, even more urgently, he may have wanted to forestall any British tendency to withdraw from the colony and abandon New South Wales altogether. But as he wrote, he found that he had to make some explanation for the defects which he saw in the current life of the colony, and naturally he was led into propounding some way in which these defects could be overcome. Contemporary reviewers, then, were not so far wrong when theycommented that the book looked almost like two books written by separate hands. The secondary theme became the most important part of the book, because the remedies he then proposed for his country's ills became the guidelines for his own policies when he returned to Australia. Through the influences which he and his friends exerted over the next thirty years, these policies determined much of the course of Australian history in those times. Most of his proposals were eventually accepted, though in some cases much later than he wanted, and in some cases with modifications which he himself made or which were forced on him by the pressure of events. At the time he wrote this book he was in his middle twenties, having returned to England to complete his education soon after participating in the first crossing of the Blue Mountains. Waterloo had just been won; Europe was settling down and trying to forget Napoleon. The wounds of the American Revolution were closing; British merchants and industrialists were preparing to change the face of the world in accordance with the precepts of Adam Smith. In his attempt to divert the migration stream he was no enemy of America, (indeed he had chosen the name "Vermont" for his own farm on the Nepean) but he was perhaps the first Australian really to support Macquarie's drive for Australian expansion and Australian independence from London administration. He did this at a time when some influential Englishmen were urging the abandonment of the whole Botany Bay venture, which, after thirty years, was still not self-supporting and which seemed doomed to suffer from recurrent crises. Apparently Macquarie had dreamed of a great transcontinental river, which was to flow 2,000 miles westwards from the Dividing Range, through fertile and well-watered fields, until it reached the sea somewhere on the north-west coast. The Lachlan had been found to peter out into swamps, but Oxley believed that the Macquarie River would have a happier issue, and at the time of the first Edition of this book (1819) that theory was still tenable. It was not long, of course, before these hopes were to perish in the Macquarie Marshes, to be succeeded by prospects of a mythical Inland Sea, though it was decades before the enthusiasts realised that they would have to be satisfied with Lake Eyre. This first edition accepts as fact the phantom of that transcontinental stream and expatiates on the blessings which it would bring, patterning its concept of the Heart of the Australian Continent upon what was known of the Great Plains of America, then just being opened up. Any child with an Atlas in hand can now decry the mistake of having given to this concept more credence than did Oxley or Macquarie: does not hindsight make history so simple? Abandonment of simple optimism on this physical fact must have been quick and uncomfortable: but abandonment of some other precepts must have been slow and more painful. At the time of this first edition, the influence of the Enlightenment was completing its penetration into politics and economics. Man had only to be given freedom, and he would enter into a political Paradise: the forces of the free market had only to be left untrammelled, and they would create of themselves an economic Eden! These are the enthusiasms of the first edition, where Bligh represents the forces of repression and darkness, while Macquarie and Macarthur are both to be numbered among the angels. By the time of the third edition (1824, nearly contemporary with the author's return to Australia) the winds of change had blown through the Australian scene. Bigge had presented his Report, which destroyed so much of Macquarie's work, and the Exclusives, in the author's view, were leagued with enemies of Australian identity. For the next thirty years the politics of New South Wales were vigorous and variegated. Nobody who was at their centre could have maintained all his illusions as to the essential goodness of human nature, if only it could be freed from the unnatural chains with which society had bound it. Nor could anyone who participated in the commercial life of those times, who had lived, for example, through the depression of the forties, have preserved untarnished the precepts of Ricardo--published only a few years before 1819, and accepted as gospel in that first edition. So some of those 1819 enthusiasms had to be abandoned: but the objectives were not. Most of them were eventually to be translated into action and actuality. It was in their modification, perhaps, that the author was to display most of all his foresight and acumen. From 1848 onwards he recognised the true nature of "the spectre which haunted Europe"--and which still haunts the world. From then onwards he was not to write in the way which he wrote here. W. C. Wentworth 24th February, 1978 * * * * * PREFACE It may prevent those inquiries that would be naturally made by the public, respecting the manner in which the author acquired the information contained in this work, when he states that he was born in the colony of New South Wales, and that he resided there for about five years since his arrival at the age of maturity. This is a period which will, at least, be allowed to have been sufficient for acquiring a correct knowledge of its state and government, and for enabling him to observe the destructive tendency of those measures, of which it has been his endeavour to demonstrate the injustice and impolicy, and to procure the speedy repeal. He would not, however, have it concluded that the present work has been the result of mature and systematic reflection; it is, on the contrary, a hasty production, which originated in the casual suggestions of an acquaintance, and which was never contemplated by him, during his long residence in the colony. He has consequently been obliged not only to omit giving a detail of many interesting facts, with which he might have become acquainted previously to his departure, but has also been under the necessity of relying in a great measure on the fidelity of his memory for the accuracy of many of those circumstances which he has stated: still he is not without hope, that five years attentive observation will have enabled him to communicate many particulars, of which, in the absence of abler works on the same subject, most of the inhabitants of this country cannot but be ignorant, and many must wish to be apprized. His only aim in obtruding this hasty production on the public, is to promote the welfare and prosperity of the country which gave him birth; and he has judged that he could in no way so effectually contribute his mite towards the accomplishment of this end, as by attempting to divert from the United States of America to its shores, some part of that vast tide of emigration, which is at present flowing thither from all parts of Europe. In furtherance, therefore, of this design, he has described the superior advantages of climate and soil possessed by this colony; he has explained the causes why these natural superiorities have not yet been productive of those beneficial consequences which might have been expected from them; he has pointed out the arguments which offer for the abandonment of the present system, and the substitution of another in its place; and by adducing, in fine, what he considers to be irrefragable proofs of the expediency, merely as it regards the parent country, of adopting the measures which he has proposed, he hopes that he shall eventually occasion an alteration of polity, by which both the parties concerned will be equally benefited. He has not, however, presumed on a contingency which it is thus reasonable to believe cannot be either doubtful or remote; but has restricted himself to an enumeration of the inducements to emigration which exist under actual circumstances; and, by comparing them with the advantages which those writers, who have given the most favourable accounts of the United States, have represented them as possessing, he has proved that this colony, labouring as it is under all the discouragements of an arbitrary and impolitic government, has still a great and decided preponderancy in the balance. How much this preponderancy will be increased, whenever the changes and modifications which he has ventured to suggest, shall be in whole, or in part carried into effect, he has left to all such as are desirous of emigrating, to form their own estimate; and to decide also how much longer a system so highly burdensome to the parent country, and so radically defective in its principles and operation, is likely to be tolerated. To all those, who are of opinion with him that it cannot be of much longer duration, the inducements for giving this colony the preference will become so weighty, as scarcely to admit of the possibility that they should hesitate for a moment in their choice between the two countries. If, in the course of this work, he has spoken in terms of unqualified reprobation of the baneful system to which the unhappy place of his nativity has been the victim, he would have it distinctly understood, that it has been furthest from his thoughts to connect the censure which he has bestowed on it, with those who have permitted its continuance. He is too deeply impressed with a sense of the arduous and momentous nature of the contest which they have had to conduct, not to allow that it was justly entitled to their first and chief attention. Our whole colonial system, in fact, he considers to have been but a mere under plot in the great drama that was acting. It could not, therefore, be reasonably expected that the grievances of any one colony should become the subject of minute and particular investigation; and still less could it be imagined that the government should convert their attention to the relief of one, which has comparatively excited but a small share of public interest, and has hitherto been considered more in the light of a prison, than of what he has endeavoured to prove it might be rendered,--one of the most useful and valuable appendages of the empire. This apology, however, for the neglect which the colony has experienced during the war, cannot be pleaded in vindication of a perseverance in the same impolitic and oppressive course in time of peace. Nor is it to be wondered at, as upwards of three years have now elapsed since the consolidation of the tranquillity of the world, that the colonists should begin to feel indignant at the continuance of disabilities, for the abrogation of which the most powerful considerations of justice and expediency have been urged in vain. To remove such just grounds for dissatisfaction and complaint, and to allow them, at length, the enjoyment of those rights and privileges, of which they ought never to have been debarred, would, at best, be but a poor compensation for an impeded agriculture and languishing commerce; but it is the only one that can now be offered; and, although it cannot repair the wide ravages which so many years of unmerited and absurd restrictions have occasioned, it may arrest the progress of desolation, and prevent any further increase to the numbers who have already sunk beneath the pressure of an overwhelming system. It is, therefore, to be hoped that the cause of humanity will no longer be outraged by unnecessary delay, and that the only atonement, which can be made the colonists for their past and present sufferings, will no longer be withheld. The author is fully aware that, in the course of this work, he has developed no new principle of political economy, and that he has only travelled in the broad beaten path in which hundreds have journeyed before him. For troubling, therefore, the public with a repetition of principles, of which the truth is so generally known and acknowledged, the only plea he can urge in his justification is a hope that the reiteration of them will not be deemed unnecessary and obtrusive, so long as their application is incomplete; so long as vice and misery prevail in any part of the world, from the want of their adoption and enforcement. * * * * * PART I NEW SOUTH WALES. STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF THE SETTLEMENTS IN NEW HOLLAND. The colony of New South Wales is situated on the eastern coast of New Holland. This island, which was first discovered by the Dutch in 1616, lies between the 9 degrees and 39 degrees of south latitude, and the 108 degrees and 153 degrees of east longitude; and from its immense size, seems rather to merit the appellation of continent, which many geographers have bestowed on it. Since that period it has been visited and examined by a galaxy of celebrated navigators, among whom Cook and Flinders rank the most conspicuous. Still the survey of this large portion of the world cannot, by any means, be deemed complete; since not one of all the navigators who have laid down the various parts of its coasts, has discovered the mouth of any considerable river; and it is hardly within the scope of possible belief, that a country of such vast extent does not possess at least one river, which may deserve to be ranked in the class of "rivers of the first magnitude." If a judgment were formed of this island from the general aspect of the country bordering the sea, it would be pronounced one of the most barren spots on the face of the globe. Experience, however, has proved that such an opinion would be exactly the reverse of truth; since, as far as the interior has been explored, its general fertility amply compensates for the extreme sterility of the coast. The greater part of this country is covered with timber of a gigantic growth, but of an entirely different description from the timber of Europe. It is, however, very durable, and well adapted to all the purposes of human industry. The only metal yet discovered is iron. It abounds in every part of the country, and is in some places purer than in any other part of the world. Coals are found in many places of the best quality. There is also abundance of slate, limestone and granite, though not in the immediate vicinity of Port Jackson. Sand-stone, quartz, and freestone are found every where. The rivers and seas teem with excellent fish; but the eel and smelt, the mullet, whiting, mackarel, sole, skate, and John Dory are, I believe, the only sorts known in this country. The animals are, the kangaroo, native dog, (which is a smaller species of the wolf,) the wombat, bandicoot, kangaroo rat, opossum, flying squirrel, flying fox, etc. etc. There are none of those animals or birds which go by the name of "game" in this country, except the heron. The hare, pheasant and partridge are quite unknown; but there are wild ducks, widgeon, teal, quail, pigeons, plovers, snipes, etc. etc., with emus, black swans, cockatoos, parrots, parroquets, and an infinite variety of smaller birds, which are not found in any other country. In fact, both its animal and vegetable kingdoms are in a great measure peculiar to itself. There are many poisonous reptiles in this country, but few accidents happen either to the aborigines, or the colonists from their bite. Of these the centipede, tarantula, scorpion, slow-worm, and the snake, are the most to be dreaded; particularly the latter, since there are, I believe, at least thirty varieties of them, of which all but one are venomous in the highest degree. The aborigines of this country occupy the lowest place in the gradatory scale of the human species. They have neither houses nor clothing; they are entirely unacquainted with the arts of agriculture; and even the arms which the several tribes have, to protect themselves from the aggressions of their neighbours, and the hunting and fishing implements with which they administer to their support, are of the rudest contrivance and workmanship. Thirty years intercourse with Europeans has not effected the slightest change in their habits; and even those who have most intermixed with the colonists, have never been prevailed upon to practise one of the arts of civilized life. Disdaining all restraint, their happiness is still centered in their original pursuits; and they seem to consider the superior enjoyments to be derived from civilization, (for they are very far from being insensible to them) but a poor compensation for the sacrifice of any portion of their natural liberty. The colour of these people is a dark chocolate; their features bear a strong resemblance to the African negro; they have the same flat nose, large nostrils, wide mouth and thick lips; but their hair is not woolly, except in Van Dieman's Land, where they have this further characteristic of the negro. These people bear no resemblance to any of the inhabitants of the surrounding islands, except to those of New Guinea, which is only separated from New Holland by a narrow strait. One of these islands, therefore, has evidently been peopled by the other; but from whence the original stock was derived is one of those geographical problems, which in all probability will never be satisfactorily solved. Rude and barbarous as are the aborigines of this country, they have still some confused notions of a Supreme Being and of a future state. It would, however, be foreign to the purposes to which I have limited myself, to enter into a detail of their customs and manners; nor would it, indeed, be the means of increasing the fund of public knowledge: since, whoever may be anxious to be informed on these topics, will find a faithful and minute account of them in the work of Mr. Collins. Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, is situated in 33 degrees 55' of south latitude, and 151 degrees 25' of east longitude. It is about seven miles distant from the heads of Port Jackson, and stands principally on two hilly necks of land and the intervening valley, which together form Sydney Cove. The western side of the town extends to the water's edge, and occupies with the exception of the small space reserved around Dawe's Battery, the whole of the neck of land which separates Sydney Cove from Lane Cove, and extends a considerable distance back into the country besides. This part of the town, it may therefore be perceived, forms a little peninsula; and what is of still greater importance the water is in general of sufficient depth in both these coves, to allow the approach of vessels of the largest burden to the very sides of the rocks. On the eastern neck of land, the extension of the town has been stopped by the Government House, and the adjoining domain, which occupies the whole of Bennilong's Point, a circumstance the more to be regretted, as the water all along this point is of still greater depth than on the western side of the Cove, and consequently affords still greater facilities for the erection of warehouses and the various important purposes of commerce. The appearance of the town is rude and irregular. Until the administration of Governor Macquarie, little or no attention had been paid to the laying out of the streets, and each proprietor was left to build on his lease, where and how his caprice inclined him. He, however, has at length succeeded in establishing a perfect regularity in most of the streets, and has reduced to a degree of uniformity, that would have been deemed absolutely impracticable, even the most confused portion of that chaos of building, which is still known by the name of "the rocks;" and which, from the ruggedness of its surface, the difficulty of access to it, and the total absence of order in its houses, was for many years more like the abode of a horde of savages than the residence of a civilized community. The town upon the whole may be now pronounced to be tolerably regular; and, as in all future additions that may be made to it, the proprietors of leases will not be allowed to deviate from the lines marked out by the surveyor general, the new part will of course be free from the faults and inconveniences of the old. This town covers a considerable extent of ground, and would at first sight induce the belief of a much greater population than it actually contains. This is attributable to two circumstances, the largeness of the leases, which in most instances possess sufficient space for a garden, and the smallness of the houses erected in them, which in general do not exceed one story. From these two causes it happens, that this town does not contain above seven thousand souls, whereas one that covered the same extent of ground in this country would possess a population of at least twenty thousand. But although the houses are for the most part small, and of mean appearance, there are many public buildings, as well as houses of individuals, which would not disgrace the best parts of this great metropolis. Of the former class, the public stores, the general hospital, and the barracks, are perhaps the most conspicuous; of the latter the houses of Messrs. Lord, Riley, Howe, Underwood and Nichols. The value of land in this town is in many places half as great as in the best situations in London, and is daily increasing. Rents are in consequence exorbitantly high. It is very far from a commodious house that can be had for a hundred a year, unfurnished. Here is a very good market, although it is of very recent date. It was established by Governor Macquarie, in the year 1813, and is very well supplied with grain, vegetables, poultry, butter, eggs and fruit. It is, however, only held three times a week; viz. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It is a large oblong enclosure, and there are stores erected in it by the Governor, for the reception of all such provisions as remain unsold at the close of the market, which lasts from six o'clock in the morning in summer, and seven o'clock in winter, until three o'clock in the evening. The vender pays in return a small duty to the clerk of the market, who accounts quarterly for the amount to the treasurer of the police fund. The annual amount of these duties is about £130.* [* Vide Market Duties in the Appendix.] Here also is a Bank, called "The Bank of New South Wales," which was established in the year 1817, and promises to be of great and permanent benefit to the colony in general. Its capital is £20,000, divided into two hundred shares. It has a regular charter of incorporation, and is under the controul of a president* and six directors, who are annually chosen by the proprietors. The paper of this bank is now the principal circulating medium of this colony. They discount bills of a short date, and also advance money on mortgage securities. They are allowed to receive in return an interest of 10 per cent. per annum. [* See Appendix.] This town also contains two very good public schools, for the education of children of both sexes. One is a day school for boys, and is of course only intended to impart gratuitous instruction:--the other is designed both for the education and support of poor and helpless female orphans. This institution was founded by Governor King, as long back as the year 1800, and contains about sixty children, who are taught reading, writing, arithmetic, sewing, and the various arts of domestic economy. When their education is complete, they are either married to free persons of good character, or are assigned as servants to such respectable families as may apply for them. At the time of the establishment of this school there was a large tract of land (15,000 acres,) attached to it; and a considerable stock of horses, cattle, and sheep, were also transferred to it from the government herds. The profits of these stock go towards defraying the expences of this school, and a certain portion, fifty or a hundred acres of this land, with a proportionate number of them, are given in dower with each female who marries with the consent of the committee intrusted with the management of this institution. Besides these two public schools in the town of Sydney, which together contained, by the last accounts received from the colony, two hundred and twenty-four children, there are establishments for the gratuitous diffusion of education in every populous district throughout the colony. The masters of these schools are allowed stipulated salaries from the Orphan Fund. Formerly particular duties, those on coals and timber, which still go by the name of "The Orphan Dues," were allotted for the support of these schools; but they were found to be insufficient, and afterwards one-fourth, and more recently one-eighth, of the whole revenue of the colony was appropriated to this purpose. This latter portion of the colonial revenue may be estimated at about £2500, which it must be admitted could not be devoted to the promotion of any object of equal public utility. Independent of these laudable institutions thus supported at the expence of the government, there are two private ones intended for the dissemination of religious knowledge, which are wholly maintained by voluntary contribution. One is termed "The Auxiliary Bible Society of New South Wales," and its object is to cooperate with the British and Foreign Bible Society, and to distribute the holy Scriptures either at prime cost, or gratis, to needy and deserving applicants. The other is called "The New South Wales Sunday School Institution," and was established with a view to teach well disposed persons of all ages how to read the sacred volume. These societies were instituted in the year 1817, and are under the direction of a general committee, aided by a secretary and treasurer. There are in this town and other parts of the colony, several good private seminaries for the board and education of the children of opulent parents. The best is in the district of Castlereagh, which is about forty miles distant, and is kept by the clergyman of that district, the Rev. Henry Fulton, a gentleman peculiarly qualified both from his character and acquirements for conducting so responsible and important an undertaking. The boys in this seminary receive a regular classical education, and the terms are as reasonable as those of similar establishments in this country. The harbour of Port Jackson is perhaps exceeded by none in the world except the Derwent in point of size and safety; and in this latter particular, I rather think it has the advantage. It is navigable for vessels of any burden for about seven miles above the town, i.e. about fifteen from the entrance. It possesses the best anchorage the whole way, and is perfectly sheltered from every wind that can blow. It is said, and I believe with truth, to have a hundred coves, and is capable of containing all the shipping in the world. There can be no doubt, therefore, that in the course of a few years, the town of Sydney, from the excellence of its situation alone, must become a place of considerable importance. The views from the heights of the town are bold, varied and beautiful. The strange irregular appearance of the town itself, the numerous coves and islets both above and below it, the towering forests and projecting rocks, combined with the infinite diversity of hill and dale on each side of the harbour, form altogether a coup d'oeil, of which it may be safely asserted that few towns can boast a parallel. The neighbouring scenery is still more diversified and romantic, particularly the different prospects which open upon you from the hills on the south head road, immediately contiguous to the town. Looking towards the coast you behold at one glance the greater part of the numerous bays and islands which lie between the town and the heads, with the succession of barren, but bold and commanding hills, that bound the harbour, and are abruptly terminated by the water. Further north, the eye ranges over the long chain of lofty rugged cliffs that stretch away in the direction of the coal river, and distinctly mark the bearing of the coast, until they are lost in the dimness of vision. Wheeling round to the south you behold at the distance of seven or eight miles, that spacious though less eligible harbour, called "Botany Bay," from the prodigious variety of new plants which Sir Joseph Banks found in its vicinity, when it was first discovered and surveyed by Captain Cook. To the southward again of this magnificent sheet of water, where it will be recollected it was the original intention, though afterwards judiciously abandoned, to found the capital of this colony, you behold the high bluff range of hills that stretch away towards the five islands, and likewise indicate the trending of the coast in that direction. If you afterwards suddenly face about to the westward, you see before you one vast forest, uninterrupted except by the cultivated openings which have been made by the axe on the summits of some of the loftiest hills, and which tend considerably to diminish those melancholy sensations its gloomy monotony would otherwise inspire. The innumerable undulations in this vast expanse of forest, forcibly remind you of the ocean when convulsed by tempests; save that the billows of the one slumber in a fixed and leaden stillness, and want that motion which constitutes the diversity, beauty, and sublimity of the other. Continuing the view, you arrive at that majestic and commanding chain of mountains called "the Blue Mountains," whose stately and o'ertopping grandeur forms a most imposing boundary to the prospective. If you proceed on the south head road, until you arrive at the eminence called "Belle Vue," the scenery is still more picturesque and grand; since, in addition to the striking objects already described, you behold, as it were at your feet, although still more than a mile distant from you, the vast and foaming Pacific. In boisterous weather the surges that break in mountains on the shore beneath you, form a sublime contrast to the still, placid waters of the harbour, which in this spot is only separated from the sea by a low sandy neck of land not more than half a mile in breadth; yet is so completely sheltered, that no tempests can ruffle its tranquil surface. The town of Parramatta is situated at the head of Port Jackson Harbour, at the distance of about eighteen miles by water, and fifteen by land, from Sydney. The river for the last seven or eight miles, is only navigable for boats of twelve or fifteen tons burden. This town is built along a small fresh water stream, which falls into the river. It consists principally of one street about a mile in length. It is surrounded on the south side by a chain of moderately high hills; and as you approach it by the Sydney road, it breaks suddenly on the view when you have reached the summit of them, and produces a very pleasing effect. The adjacent country has been a good deal cleared; and the gay mimosas, which have sprung up in the openings, form a very agreeable contrast to the dismal gloom of the forest that surrounds and o'ertops them. The town itself is far behind Sydney in respect of its buildings; but it nevertheless contains many of a good and substantial construction. These, with the church, the government house, the new Orphan House, and some gentlemen's seats, which are situated on the surrounding eminences, give it, upon the whole, a very respectable appearance. There are two very good inns, where a traveller may meet with all the comfort and accommodation that are to be found in similar establishments in the country towns of this kingdom. The charges too are by no means unreasonable. The population is principally composed of inferior traders, publicans, artificers, and labourers, and may be estimated, inclusive of a company which is always stationed there, on a rough calculation, at about twelve hundred souls. There are two fairs held half yearly, one in March and the other in September; they were instituted about five years since by the present governor, and already begin to be very numerously and respectably attended. They are chiefly intended for the sale of stock, for which there are stalls, pens, and every other convenience, erected at the expence of the government; for the use of these pens, etc. and to keep them in repair, a moderate scale of duties* is paid by the vender. This town has for many years past made but a very inconsiderable progress compared with Sydney. The value of land has consequently not kept pace in the two places, and is at least £200 per cent. less in the one than in the other. As the former, however, is in a central situation between the rapidly increasing settlements on the banks of the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers, and the latter the great mart for colonial produce, landed property there and in the neighbourhood, will, without doubt, experience a gradual rise. The public institutions are an Hospital, a Female Orphan House, into which it is intended to remove the orphans from Sydney, and a factory, in which such of the female convicts as misconduct themselves, and those also who upon their arrival in the colony are not immediately assigned as servants to families, are employed in manufacturing coarse cloth. There are upon an average about one hundred and sixty women employed in this institution, which is placed under the direction of a superintendant, who receives wool from the settlers, and gives them a certain portion of the manufactured article in exchange: what is reserved is only a fair equivalent for the expence of making it, and is used in clothing the gaol gang, the reconvicted culprits who are sent to the coal river, and I believe the inmates of the factory itself. There is also another public institution in this town, well worthy the notice of the philanthropist. It is a school for the education and civilization of the aborigines of the country. It was founded by the present governor three years since, and by the last accounts from the colony, it contained eighteen native children, who had been voluntarily placed there by their parents, and were making equal progress in their studies with European children of the same age. The following extract from the Sydney Gazette, of January 4, 1817, may enable the reader to form some opinion of the beneficial consequences that are likely to result from this institution, and how far they may realize the benevolent intentions which actuated its philanthropic founder. "On Saturday last, the 28th ult. the town of Parramatta exhibited a novel and very interesting spectacle, by the assembling of the native tribes there, pursuant to the governor's gracious invitation. At ten in the morning the market place was thrown open, and some gentlemen who were appointed on the occasion, took the management of the ceremonials. The natives having seated themselves on the ground in a large circle, the chiefs were placed on chairs a little advanced in front, and to the right of their respective tribes. In the centre of the circle thus formed, were placed large tables groaning under the weight of roast beef, potatoes, bread, etc. and a large cask of grog lent its exhilarating aid to promote the general festivity and good humour which so conspicuously shone through the sable visages of this delighted congress. The governor, attended by all the members* of the native institution, and by several of the magistrates and gentlemen in the neighbourhood, proceeded at half past ten to the meeting, and having entered the circle, passed round the whole of them, inquiring after, and making himself acquainted with the several tribes, their respective leaders and residences. His Excellency then assembled the chiefs by themselves, and confirmed them in the ranks of chieftains, to which their own tribes had exalted them, and conferred upon them badges of distinction; whereon were engraved their names as chiefs, and those of their tribes. He afterwards conferred badges of merit on some individuals, in acknowledgment of their steady and loyal conduct in the assistance they rendered the military party, when lately sent out in pursuit of the refractory natives to the west and south of the Nepean river. By the time this ceremony was over, Mrs. Macquarie arrived, and the children belonging to, and under the care of the native institution, fifteen in number, preceded by their teacher, entered the circle, and walked round it; the children appearing very clean, well clothed and happy. The chiefs were then again called together to observe the examination of the children as to their progress in learning and the civilized habits of life. Several of the little ones read; and it was grateful to the bosom of sensibility to trace the degrees of pleasure which the chiefs manifested on this occasion. Some clapped the children on the head; and one in particular turning round towards the governor with extraordinary emotion, exclaimed, Governor, that will make a good settler,--that's my Pickaninny! (meaning his child). And some of the females were observed to shed tears of sympathetic affection, at seeing the infant and helpless off-spring of their deceased friends, so happily sheltered and protected by British benevolence. The examinations being finished, the children returned to the institution, under the guidance of their venerable tutor; whose assiduity and attention to them, merit every commendation". [* Appendix] "The feasting then commenced, and the governor retired amidst the long and reiterated acclamations and shouts of his sable and grateful congress. The number of the visitants, (exclusive of the fifteen children) amounted to one hundred and seventy-nine, viz. one hundred and five men, fifty-three women, and twenty-one children. It is worthy of observation that three of the latter mentioned number of children, (and the son of the memorable Bemni-long, was one of them) were placed in the native institution, immediately after the breaking up of the congress, on Saturday last, making the number of children now in that establishment, altogether eighteen; and we may reasonably trust that in a few years this benevolent institution will amply reward the hopes and expectations of its liberal patrons and supporters, and answer the grand object intended, by providing a seminary for the helpless off-spring of the natives of this country, and opening the path to their future civilization and improvement." WINDSOR. The town of Windsor, (or as it was formerly called, the Green Hills), is thirty-five miles distant from Sydney, and is situated near the confluence of the South Creek with the river Hawkesbury. It stands on a hill, whose elevation is about one hundred feet above the level of the river, at low water. The buildings here are much of the same cast as at Parramatta, being in general weather boarded without, and lathed and plastered within. The public buildings are a church, government house, hospital, barracks, court-house, store-house, and gaol, none of which are worthy of notice. The inn lately established by Mr. Fitzgerald, is by far the best building in the town, and may be pronounced upon the whole, the most splendid establishment of the kind in the colony. The bulk of the population is composed of settlers, who have farms in the neighbourhood, and of their servants. There are besides a few inferior traders, publicans and artificers. The town contains in the whole about six hundred souls. The Hawkesbury here is of considerable size, and navigable for vessels of one hundred tons burden, for about four miles above the town. A little higher up, it is joined by, or rather is called the Nepean river, and has several shallows; but with the help of two or three ferries, it might still be rendered navigable for boats of twelve or fifteen tons burden, for about twenty miles further. This substitution of water for land carriage, would be of great advantage to the numerous settlers who inhabit its highly fertile banks, and would also considerably promote the extension of agriculture throughout the adjacent districts. Following the sinuosities of the river the distance of Windsor from the sea is about one hundred and forty miles; whereas in a straight line it is not more than thirty-five. The rise of the tide is about four feet, and the water is fresh for forty miles below the town. Land is about ten per cent. higher than at Parramatta, and is advancing rapidly in price. This circumstance is chiefly attributable to the small quantity of land that is to be had perfectly free from the reach of the inundations, to which the Hawkesbury is so frequently subject. These inundations often rise seventy or eighty feet above low water mark; and in the instance of what is still emphatically termed "the great flood," attained an elevation of ninety-three feet. The chaos of confusion and distress that presents itself on these occasions, cannot be easily conceived by any one who has not been a witness of its horrors. An immense expanse of water, of which the eye cannot in many directions discover the limits, every where interspersed with growing timber, and crowded with poultry, pigs, horses, cattle, stacks and houses, having frequently men, women, and children, clinging to them for protection, and shrieking out in an agony of despair for assistance:--such are the principal objects by which these scenes of death and devastation are characterized. These inundations are not periodical, but they most generally happen in the month of March. Within the last two years there have been no fewer than four of them, one of which was nearly as high as the great flood. In the six years precedings there had not been one. Since the establishment of the colony they have happened upon an average, about once in three years. The principal cause of them is the contiguity of this river to the Blue Mountains. The Grose and Warraganbia rivers, from which two sources it derives its principal supply, issue direct from these mountains; and the Nepean river, the other principal branch of it, runs along the base of them for fifty or sixty miles; and receives in its progress, from the innumerable mountain torrents connected with it, the whole of the rain which these mountains collect in that great extent. That this is the principal cause of these calamitous inundations has been fully proved; for shortly after the plantation of this colony, the Hawkesbury overflowed its banks, (which are in general about thirty feet in height), in the midst of harvest, when not a single drop of rain had fallen on the Port Jackson side of the mountains. Another great cause of the inundations, which take place in this and the other rivers in the colony, is the small fall that is in them, and the consequent slowness of their currents. The current in the Hawkesbury, even when the tide is in full ebb, does not exceed two miles an hour. The water, therefore, which during the rains, rushes in torrents from the mountains cannot escape with sufficient rapidity; and from its immense accumulation, soon overtops the banks of the river, and covers the whole of the low country. LIVERPOOL. The town of Liverpool is situated on the banks of Geoge's river, at the distance of eighteen miles from Sydney. It was founded by Governor Macquarie, and is now of about six years standing. Its population may amount to about two hundred souls, and is composed of a small detachment of military, of cultivators, and a few artificers, traders, publicans, and labourers. The public buildings are a church (not yet I believe completed) a school house and stores for the reception and issue of provisions to such of the settlers in the adjacent districts as are victualled at the expense of the government. These buildings, however, as might naturally be expected from the very recent establishment of this town, are but little superior in their appearance to the rude dwellings of its inhabitants. The river is about half the size of the Hawkesbury, and is navigable for boats of twenty tons burden as high up as the town. It empties itself into Botany Bay, which is about fourteen miles to the southward of the heads of Port Jackson. It is subject to the same sort of inundations as the Hawkesbury; but they are not in general of so violent and destructive a nature. The tide rises about the same height as in that river, and the current is, I believe, nearly of the same velocity. The position of this town is all that can be urged in support of the probability of its future progress; the land in its vicinity being in general of a very indifferent quality. It is in a central situation, between Sydney and the fertile districts of Bringelly, Arids, Appin, Bunpury Curran, Cabramatta, and the Seven Islands, to which last place the tide of colonization is at present principally directing itself. There can be no doubt, therefore, that the town of Liverpool will, in a few years, become a place of considerable size and importance. Land there is as yet of very trifling value; and a lease may be obtained by any free person from the government, on the simple condition of erecting a house on it. Society is upon a much better footing throughout the colony, in general than might naturally be imagined, considering the ingredients of which it is composed. In Sydney the civil and military officers with their families form a circle at once select and extended, without including the numerous highly respectable families of merchants and settlers who reside there. Unfortunately, however, this town is not free from those divisions which are so prevalent in all small communities. Scandal appears to be the favourite amusement to which idlers resort to kill time and prevent ennui; and consequently, the same families are eternally changing from friendship to hostility, and from hostility back again to friendship. In the other towns these dissensions are not so common, because the circle of society is more circumscribed; and in the districts where there are no towns at all, they are still more rare; because in such situations people have too much need of one another's intercourse and assistance to propagate reports injurious to their neighbour's character, unless on grave occasions, and where their assertions are founded on truth. Generally speaking, the state of society in these settlements is much the same, as among an equal population in the country parts of this kingdom. Of the number of respectable persons that they contain, some estimate may be formed if we refer to the parties which are given on particular days at the Government House. It appears from the Sydney Gazette of the 24th January, 1818, that one hundred and sixty ladies and gentlemen were present at a ball and supper which was given there on the 18th of that month, in celebration of her late majesty's birth-day. There are at present no public amusements in this colony. Many years since, there was a theatre, and more latterly, annual races; but it was found that the society was not sufficiently mature for such establishments. Dinner and supper parties are very frequent in Sydney; and it generally happens that a few subscription balls take place in the course of the year. Upon the whole it may be safely asserted, that the natural disposition of the people to sociality has not only been in no wise impaired by their change of scene, but that all classes of the colonists are more hospitable than persons of similar means in this country. There are four courts in this colony, established by charter, viz. the Court of Admiralty, the Court of Criminal Judicature, the Governor's Court, the Supreme Court, and the High Court of Appeals. The Court of Vice Admiralty consists of the Judge Advocate, and takes cognizance of captures, salvages, and such other matters of dispute as arise on the high seas; but it has no criminal jurisdiction. The Court of Criminal Judicature, consists of the Judge Advocate and six officers of His Majesty's sea and land forces, or of either, appointed by the governor. This court takes cognizance of all treasons, felonies, misdemeanors, and in fact of all criminal offences whatsoever; and afterwards adjudges death or such other punishment as the law of England may have affixed to the respective crimes of which the prisoners may be found guilty. The Governor's Court consists of the Judge Advocate and two inhabitants of the colony, appointed by precept from the governor, and takes cognizance of all pleas where the amount sued for does not exceed £50 sterling, (except such pleas as may arise between party and party at Van Dieman's Land) and from its decisions there is no appeal. The Supreme Court is composed of the judge of this court and two magistrates, appointed by precept from the governor; and its jurisdiction extends to all pleas where the matter in dispute exceeds £50 sterling. From its judgments, however, appeals lie to the High Court of Appeals. This latter court is presided by the governor himself, assisted by the Judge Advocate; and its decisions are final in all cases where the amount sued for does not exceed three thousand pounds; but where the sum at issue exceeds this amount, an appeal lies in the last instance to the king in council. These courts regulate their decisions by the law of England, and take no notice whatever of the laws and regulations which have been made at various times by the local government. The enforcement of these is left entirely to the magistracy, who assemble weekly in the different towns throughout the colony, and take cognizance of all infractions, as well of the colonial as of the criminal code. The courts thus formed by the magistrates, go by the name of "Benches of Magistrates," and answer pretty nearly to the "courts of general quarter sessions for the peace," held in the respective counties of this kingdom; and, generally speaking, they exercise a jurisdiction perfectly similar. The roads and bridges which have been made to every part of the colony, are truly surprising, considering the short period that has elapsed since its foundation. All these are either the work of, or have been improved by, the present governor; who has even caused a road to be constructed over the western mountains, as far as the depot at Bathurst Plains, which is upwards of 180 miles from Sydney. The colonists, therefore, are now provided with every facility for the conveyance of their produce to market; a circumstance which cannot fail to have the most beneficial influence in the progress of agriculture. In return for these great public accommodations, and to help to keep them in repair, the Governor has established toll-gates* in all the principal roads. These are farmed out to the highest bidder, and were let during the year 1817, for the sum of £257. [* For a list of tolls, see the Appendix] The military force stationed in the colony consists ofseven companies of the forty-eighth regiment, and the Royal Veteran Company; which, form an effective body of about seven hundred firelocks. These have to garrison the two principal settlements at Van Diemen's Land, to provide a company for the establishment at the Coal River, and to furnish parties for the various towns and outposts of the extended territory of Port Jackson: so that very few troops remain at head quarters. The colony is consequently considered to be greatly in need of a further accession of military strength. Much anxiety is felt on this subject by the generality of the inhabitants, who have not yet forgotten the insurrection which took place when the whole population was not nearly so great as the present amount of the convicts, although the military force was of equal magnitude. That insurrection indeed was easily quelled; but the result of another, under existing circumstances, would in all probability, be very different. An equal degree of anxiety is felt, and more particularly by the mercantile part of the community, that a sloop of war, or a king's vessel of some description, should be stationed in the harbour, both as a protection against the easy possibility of outward assault, and to frustrate the numerous combinations which the convicts are constantly forming, and often too successfully, to carry away the colonial craft, to the certain destruction of their own and the crew's lives, and to the ruin of the unfortunate owners Not fewer than three piratical seizures of this nature have been effected within the last three years. On all of these occasions the vessels so seized were run ashore on the uninhabited parts of the coast, and all hands on board, the innocent crews, as well as the abandoned pirates, either perished from hunger, or were immolated by the spears and waddies of the ferocious savages. When Governor Macquarie assumed the command in 1810, the population was only half its present number; and yet a sloop of war was stationed at Port Jackson, and the military force also was on a much more extended scale. Why a diminution has thus been made in the means of protection and defence, when there appear to be such strong grounds for their augmentation, merely with reference to the internal state of the colony, it is no easy matter to conjecture. The expediency also of putting the colony in a better posture to repel outward attack, is not less obvious; for although we are now at peace with the whole world, it would be absurd to overlook the possibility of future wars. The only battery of any strength is called, "Dawe's Battery;" and is, as I have already casually noticed, situated in the extremity of that neck of land, on which the western part of the town of Sydney is built. This battery, if I remember right, mounts fourteen long eighteen-pounders, but the carriages of the guns are in a bad state of repair, and the embrasures are so low, that a single broadside of grape would sweep off all who had the courage or temerity to defend it. Fort Philip stands on the highest part of the same neck of land, and nearly in the centre of that part of the town which goes by the name of "the Rocks." This fort was erected by Governor King, immediately after the insurrection, to which I have alluded. It is a regular hexagon, but it never was quite finished, and there are no guns yet mounted on it. The glacis, in fact, is not sufficiently levelled to allow a proper range for artillery, and the circumjacent ground is so irregular and rocky, that an enemy might at once erect batteries at fifty yards distance. Besides, this fort is so completely hemmed in with houses, that a great part of the town would be inevitably destroyed by the fire from it. Its situation, therefore, is in every point of view objectionable, and succeeding governors have evinced their good sense, in not perfecting a work which would be attended with a very considerable expense, and could never become of any utility. A new battery has lately been commenced on Bennilong's Point; but this and Dawe's Battery are both too near the town to protect it from the most insignificant naval force. It is indeed a matter of surprise, that during the last American war, not one of the numberless privateers of that nation, attempted to lay the town of Sydney under contribution, or to plunder it. A vessel of ten guns might have effected this enterprise with the greatest ease and safety; and that the inhabitants were not subjected to such an insulting humiliation, could only have arisen from the enemy's ignorance of the insufficiency of their means of defence. The climate of the colony, particularly in the inland districts, is highly salubrious, although the heats in summer are sometimes excessive, the thermometer frequently rising in the shade to ninety, and even to a hundred degrees and upwards of Fahrenheit. This, however, happens only during the hot winds; and these do not prevail upon an average, more than eight or ten days in the year. The mean heat during the three summer months, December, January, and February, is about 80 degrees at noon. This, it must be admitted, is a degree of heat that would be highly oppressive to Europeans, were it not that the sea breeze sets in regularly about nine o'clock in the morning, and blows with considerable force from the N. E. till about six or seven o'clock in the evening. It is succeeded during the night by the land breeze from the mountains, which varies from W. S. W. to W. In very hot days the sea breeze often veersround to the North and blows a gale. In this case it continues with great violence, frequently for a day or two, and is then succeeded not by the regularland breeze, but by a cold southerly squall. The hot winds blow from the N. W. and doubtless imbibe their heat from the immense tract of country which they traverse. While they prevail the sea and land breezes entirely cease. They seldom, however, continue for more than two days at a time, and are always superseded by a cold southerly gale, generally accompanied with rain. The thermometer then sinks sometimes as low as 60 degrees, and a variation of temperature of from 30 degrees to 40 degrees takes place in half an hour. These southerly gales usually last at this season from twelve to twenty-four hours, and then give way to the regular sea and land breezes. During these three months violent storms of thunder and lightning are very frequent, and the heavy falls of rain which take place on these occasions, tend considerably to refresh the country, of which the verdure in all but low moist situations entirely disappears. At this season the most unpleasant part of the day is the interval which elapses between the cessation of the land breeze and the setting in of the sea. This happens generally between six and eight o'clock in the morning, when the thermometer is upon an average at about 72 degrees. During this interval the sea is as smooth as glass, and not a zephyr is found to disport even among the topmost boughs of the loftiest trees. The three autumn months are March, April, and May. The weather in March is generally very unsettled. This month, in fact, may be considered the rainy season, and has been more fertile in floods than any other of the year. The thermometer varies during the day about 15 degrees, being at day-light as low as from 55 degrees to 60 degrees, and at noon as high as from 70 degrees to 75 degrees. The sea and land breezes at this time become very feeble, although they occasionally prevail during the whole year. The usual winds from the end of March to the beginning of September, are from S. to S. W. The weather in the commencement of April is frequently showery, but towards the middle it gradually becomes more settled, and towards the conclusion perfectly clear and serene. The thermometer at the beginning of the month varies from 72 degrees to 74 degrees at noon, and from the middle to the end gradually declines to 66 degrees and sometimes to 60 degrees. In the mornings it is as low as 52 degrees, and fires become in consequence general throughout the colony. The weather in the month of May is truly delightful. The atmosphere is perfectly cloudless, and the mornings and evenings become with the advance of the month more chilly, and render a good fire a highly comfortable and cheering guest. Even during the middle of the day the most violent exercise may be taken without inconvenience. The thermometer at sun-rise is under 50 degrees, and seldom above 60 degrees at noon. The three winter months are June, July, and August. During this interval the mornings and evenings are very chilly, and the nights excessively cold. Hoar frosts are frequent, and become more severe the further you advance into the interior. Ice half an inch thick is found at the distance of twenty miles from the coast. Very little rain falls at this season, but the dews are very heavy when it does not freeze, and tend considerably to preserve the young crops from the effects of drought. Fogs too are frequent and dense in low damp situations, and on the banks of the rivers. The mean temperature at day-light is from 40 degrees to 45 degrees, and at noon from 55 degrees to 60 degrees. The spring months are September, October, and November. In the beginning of September the fogs still continue; the nights are cold, but the days clear and pleasant. Towards the close of this month the cold begins very sensibly to moderate. Light showers occasionally prevail, accompanied with thunder and lightning. The thermometer at the beginning of the month is seldom above 60 degrees at noon, but towards the end frequently rises to 70 degrees. In October there are also occasional showers, but the weather upon the whole is clear and pleasant. The days gradually become warmer, and the blighting north-west winds are to be apprehended. The sea and land breezes again resume their full sway. The thermometer at sun-rise varies from 60 degrees to 65 degrees, and at noon is frequently up to 80 degrees. In November the weather may be again called hot. Dry parching winds prevail as the month advances, and squalls of thunder and lightning with rain or hail. The thermometer at day-light is seldom under 65 degrees, and frequently at noon rises to 80 degrees, 84 degrees, and even 90 degrees. Such is the temperature throughout the year at Port Jackson. In the inland districts to the eastward of the mountains, the thermometer is upon an average 5 degrees lower in the morning, and the same number of degrees higher at noon throughout the winter season, but during the summer months it is 5 degrees higher at all hours of the day. On the mountains themselves, and in the country to the westward of them, the climate, in consequence of their superior elevation, is much more temperate. Heavy falls of snow take place during the winter, and remain sometimes for many days on the summits of the loftiest hills; but in the valleys the snow immediately dissolves. The frosts too are much more severe, and the winters are of longer duration. All the seasons indeed are more distinctly marked to the westward of the mountains, and bear a much stronger resemblance to the corresponding ones in this country. From the foregoing account of the state of the weather and temperature during the various seasons of the year, it will be seen that the climate of the colony is upon the whole highly salubrious and delightful. If the summers are occasionally a little too hot for the European constitution, it will be remembered that the extreme heats which I have noticed as happening during the north-west winds, are of but short continuance; and that the sea and land breezes, which prevail at this season in an almost uninterrupted succession, moderate the temperature so effectually, that even new comers are but little incommoded by it, and the old residents experience no inconvenience from it whatever. The sea breeze indeed is not so sensibly felt in the interior as on the coast, by reason of the great extent of forest which it has to traverse before the inhabitants of the inland districts can receive the benefit of it. This circumstance not only diminishes its force, but also deprives it in a great measure of that refreshing coolness which it imparts when inhaled fresh from the bosom of the ocean. The heat consequently in the interior, particularly in low situations, is much more intense than on the coast; but by way of compensation for the advantage which in this respect the districts in the vicinity of the sea possess over the inland ones, these latter are from the same causes that impede the approach of the sea breeze, exempt from the sudden and violent variations of temperature, which are occasioned by the southerly winds, and are without doubt the reason why pulmonic affections are so much more prevalent in Sydney than in the interior. The hot season, however, which is undoubtedly the most unhealthy part of the year, does not, as will have been perceived, continue above four months. The remaining eight possess a temperature so highly moderate and congenial to the human constitution, that the climate of this colony would upon the whole, appear to justify the glowing enthusiasm of those who have ventured to call it the Montpellier of the world. Abdominal and pulmonic complains are the two prevalent diseases. The abdominal complaints are confined principally to dysentery. This disorder is most common among the poorer classes and new comers. In these it is generally intimately connected with scurvy, and in both cases it is for the most part greatly aggravated by the excessive use of spirituous liquors, to which the mass of the colonists are unfortunately addicted. The pulmonic affections are generally contracted at an early period by the youth of both sexes, and are occasioned by the great and sudden variations of temperature already noticed. They are not, however, accompanied with that violent inflammatory action which distinguishes them in this country; but proceed slowly and gradually, till from neglect they terminate in phthisis. They are said to bear a strong affinity to the complaint of the same nature which prevails at the Island of Madeira; and it is remarkable, that in both these colonies a change of air affords the only chance of restoration to the natives; whereas foreigners labouring under phthisis upon their arrival in either of these places, find almost instantaneous relief. There are no infantile diseases whatever. The measles, hooping cough, and small pox, are entirely unknown. Some few years, indeed, before the foundation of this colony, the small pox committed the most dreadful ravages among the aborigines. This exterminating scourge is said to have been introduced by Captain Cook, and many of the contemporaries of those who fell victims to it, are still living; and the deep furrows which remain in some of their countenances, shew how narrowly they escaped the same premature destiny. The recollection of this dreadful malady will long survive in the traditionary songs of this simple people. The consternation which it excited is still as fresh in their minds as if it had been but an occurrence of yesterday, although the generation which witnessed its horrors, has almost past away. The moment one of them was seized with it, it was the signal for abandoning him to his fate. Brothers deserted their brothers, children their parents, and parents their children; and in some of the caves on the coast, heaps of decayed bones still indicate the spots where the helpless sufferers were left to expire, not so much perhaps from the violence of the disease as from the want of sustenance. This fatal instance of the inveteracy of this disorder, when once introduced into the colony, has not been without its counterpoising benefit. It has induced the local government to adopt proper measures for avoiding the propagation of a similar contagion among the colonists. The vaccine matter was introduced with this view many years back; but as all the children in the colony were immediately inoculated, it was again lost from the want of a sufficient number of subjects to afford a supply of fresh virus; and for many years afterwards, every effort that was made for its re-introduction proved abortive. Through the indefatigable exertions, however, of Doctor Burke, of the Mauritius, the colonists are again in possession of this inestimable blessing; and there can be no doubt that proper precautions will be taken to prevent them from being again deprived of it. The colony of New South Wales possesses every variety of soil, from the sandy heath, and the cold hungry clay, to the fertile loam and the deep vegetable mould. For the distance of five or six miles from the coast, the land is in general extremely barren, being a poor hungry sand, thickly studded with rocks. A few miserable stunted gums, and a dwarf underwood, are the richest productions of the best part of it; while the rest never gives birth to a tree at all, and is only covered with low flowering shrubs, whose infinite diversity, however, and extraordinary beauty, render this wild heath the most interesting part of the country for the botanist, and make even the less scientific beholder forget the nakedness and sterility of the scene. Beyond this barren waste, which thus forms a girdle to the coast, the country suddenly begins to improve. The soil changes to a thin layer of vegetable mould, resting on a stratum of yellow clay, which is again supported by a deep bed of schistus. The trees of the forest are here of the most stately dimensions. Full sized gums and iron barks, along side of which the loftiest trees in this country would appear as pigmies, with the beefwood tree, or as it is generally termed, the forest oak, which is of much humbler growth, are the usual timber. The forest is extremely thick, but there is little or no underwood. A poor sour grass, which is too effectually sheltered from the rays of the sun, to be possessed of any nutritive and fattening properties, shoots up in the intervals. This description of country, with a few exceptions, however, which deserve not to be particularly noticed, forms another girdle of about ten miles in breadth: so that, generally speaking, the colony for about sixteen miles into the interior, may be said to possess a soil, which has naturally no claim to fertility, and will require all the skill and industry of its owners to render it even tolerably productive. At this distance, however, the aspect of the country begins rapidly to improve. The forest is less thick, and the trees in general are of another description; the iron barks, yellow gums, and forest oaks disappearing, and the stringy barks, blue gums, and box trees, generally usurping their stead. When you have advanced about four miles further into the interior, you are at length gratified with the appearance of a country truly beautiful. An endless variety of hill and dale, clothed in the most luxuriant herbage, and covered with bleating flocks and lowing herds, at length indicate that you are in regions fit to be inhabited by civilized man. The soil has no longer the stamp of barrenness. A rich loam resting on a substratum of fat red clay, several feet in depth, is found even on the tops of the highest hills, which in general do not yield in fertility to the vallies. The timber, strange as it may appear, is of inferior size, though still of the same nature, i. e. blue gum, box, and stringy bark. There is no underwood, and the number of trees upon an acre do not upon an average exceed thirty. They are, in fact, so thin, that a person may gallop without difficulty in every direction. Coursing the kangaroo is the favourite amusement of the colonists, who generally pursue this animal at full speed on horseback, and frequently manage, notwithstanding its extraordinary swiftness, to be up at the death; so trifling are the impediments occasioned by the forest. The above general description may be applied with tolerable accuracy, to the whole tract of country which lies between this space and the Nepean River. The plains, however, on the banks of this river, which are in many places of considerable extent, are of far greater fertility, being a rich vegetable mould, many feet in depth, and have without doubt, been gradually formed by depositions from it during the periods of its inundations. These plains gradually enlarge themselves until you arrive at the junction of the Nepean with the Hawkesbury, on each side of which they are commonly from a mile to a mile and a half in breadth. The banks of this latter river are of still greater fertility than the banks of the former, and may vie in this respect with the far-famed banks of the Nile. The same acre of land there has been known to produce in the course of one year, fifty bushels of wheat and a hundred of maize. The settlers have never any occasion for manure, since the slimy depositions from the river, effectually counteract the exhaustion that would otherwise be produced by incessant crops. The timber on the banks of these rivers is for the most part apple tree, which is very beautiful, and bears in its foliage and shape a striking resemblance to the oak of this country. Its wood, however, is of no value except for firing, and for the immense quantity of pot-ash which might be made from it. The blue gum and stringy bark are also very common on these flooded lands, and of the best description. The banks of the Hawkesbury formerly produced cedar, but it has long since entirely disappeared. The banks of these rivers, and indeed the whole tract of country, (generally speaking) which I have described, with the exception of the barren waste in the vicinity of the coast, are, to use the colonial term, located, i. e. either granted away to individuals, or attached as commons to the cultivated districts. It may not, therefore, be unacceptable to many of my readers, to learn the particulars of those unappropriated tracts of land within the immediate precincts of Port Jackson, which are best adapted to the purposes of colonization. COW PASTURES. Of these "the cow pastures" rank first in point of proximity. This tract of land has hitherto been reserved for the use of the wild cattle; although these animals have for some time past disappeared, either from having found an outlet into the interior, through the surrounding mountains, or what is a still more probable conjecture, from the exterminating incursions of the numerous poor settlers, who have farms in the neighbourhood, and who, considering their general poverty, it is easy to believe, would not suffer the want of animal food, so long as they could take their dogs and guns, and kill a cow or calf at their option. These wild cattle were the progeny of a few tame ones, which strayed away from the settlement shortly after the period of its foundation, and were not discovered till about fifteen years afterwards, when they had multiplied to several thousands. On their discovery they immediately attracted the attention of his majesty's ministers, and orders were dispatched from this country, prohibiting the governor and his successors from granting away the land, on which they had fixed themselves. This they soon overspread, and on the occasion of the severe droughts that were experienced in the colony in the years 1813, 1814, and 1815, great numbers of them perished from the want of water and pasturage. Where thousands then existed, there are scarcely hundreds to be found at present, and these chiefly consist of bulls. A cow or calf can very rarely be met with. There can consequently be very little doubt that they have disappeared in the manner I have conjectured, and that their numbers have been thus considerably reduced by the depredations of the poorer settlers, which it was for a long time thought beyond the power of the colonial courts to restrain; since, although it was notorious that these wild cattle were originally purchased by the crown, still the cattle of individuals had subsequently, at various times, intermixed with them, and prevented that identification of property, which the late judge advocate considered essential to the conviction of the offenders. His opinion, however, has been overruled by his successor, and several persons have been lately tried for and found guilty of this offence; and although they were not punished capitally for it, there can be no doubt that their conviction will greatly diminish such depredations for the future. Not that I consider the preservation of these wild herds will be attended with any advantages to the colony. On the contrary, it is my belief, that their total destruction ought to be effected; since the increase of them is of mere negative importance, compared with the positive disadvantage that attends their occupation of one of the most fertile districts in the colony, which it is to be hoped will be soon covered with numerous flocks of fine wooled sheep, for the pasture of which the greater part of it is so admirably adapted. This tract of land is about thirty miles distant from Sydney: it is bounded on the east by the river Nepean, on the west by the Blue Mountains, of which this river, on the north side of the cow pastures washes the base, so that they together form the northern boundary, and on the south by a thick barren brush of about ten miles in breadth, which these cattle have never been able to penetrate. This fine tract of country is thus surrounded by natural boundaries, which form it into an enclosure somewhat in the shape of an oblong spheroid. It contains about one hundred thousand acres of good land, a considerable portion of which is flooded, and equal to any on the banks of the Hawkesbury. FIVE ISLANDS. The next considerable tract of unappropriated land is the district called the Five Islands. It commences at the distance of about forty miles to the southward of Sydney, and extends to Shoal Haven river. This tract of land lies between the coast and a high range of hills which terminate at the north side abruptly in the sea, and form its northern and western boundary: the ocean is its eastern boundary, and Shoal Haven river its southern. The range that surrounds this district on the north and west is a branch of the Blue Mountains; and the only road at present known to it, is down a pass so remarkably steep, that unless a better be discovered, the communication between it and the capital by land, will always be difficult and dangerous for waggons. This circumstance is a material counterpoise to its extraordinary fertility, and is the reason why it is at present unoccupied by any but large stockholders. Those parts, however, which are situated near Shoal Haven river, are highly eligible for agricultural purposes; since this river is navigable for about twenty miles into the country for vessels of seventy or eighty tons burden; a circumstance which holds out to future colonists the greatest facilities for the cheap and expeditious conveyance of their produce to market. The land on the banks of this river is of the same nature, and possesses equal fertility with the banks of the Hawkesbury. There are several streams in different parts of this district, which issue from the mountain behind, and afford an abundant supply of pure water. In many places there are large prairies of unparalleled richness, entirely free from timber, and consequently prepared by the hand of nature for the immediate reception of the ploughshare. These advantages, combined with its proximity to Sydney, have already begun to attract the tide of colonization to it, and will no doubt render it in a few years one of the most populous, productive, and valuable of all the districts. The soil is in general a deep fat vegetable mould. The surface of the country is thinly timbered, with the exception of the mountain which boundsit to the Northward and Westward. This is covered with a thick brush, but is nevertheless extremely fertile up to the very summit, and peculiarly adapted both from its eastern aspect and mild climate for the cultivation of the vine. This large tract of country was only discovered about four years since, and has not yet been accurately surveyed. Its extent, therefore, is not precisely known; but it without doubt contains several hundred thousand acres, including the banks of the Shoal Haven river. These produce a great abundance of fine cedar, and other highly valuable timber, for which there is an extensive and increasing demand at Port Jackson. COAL RIVER. The next tract of unappropriated country which I shall describe, is the district of the Coal River. The town of Newcastle is situated at the mouth of this river, and is about sixty miles to the northward of Port Jackson. Its population by the last census forwarded to this country, was five hundred and fifty souls. These, with the exception of a few free settlers, established on the upper banks of this river, amounting with their families perhaps to thirty souls, and about fifty troops, are all incorrigible offenders, who have been convicted either before a bench of magistrates, or the Court of Criminal Judicature, and afterwards re-transported to this place, where they are worked in chains from sunrise to sunset, and profitably employed in burning lime and procuring coals and timber, as well for carrying on the public works at Port Jackson, as for the private purposes of individuals, who pay the government stipulated prices for these different articles. This settlement was, in fact, established with the two-fold view of supplying the public works with these necessary articles, and providing a separate place of punishment for all who might be convicted of crimes in the colonial courts. The coal mines here are considerably elevated above the level of the sea, and are of the richest description. The veins are visible on the abrupt face of the cliff, which borders the harbour, and are worked by adits or openings, which serve both to carry off the water and to wheel away the coals. The quantity procured in this easy manner is very great, and might be increased to any extent. So much more coals indeed are thus obtained than are required for the purposes of the government, that they are glad to dispose of them to all persons who are willing to purchase, requiring in return a duty of two shillings and six pence per ton, for such as are intended for home consumption, and five shillings for such as are for exportation. The lime procured at this settlement is made from oyster shells, which are found in prodigious abundance. These shells lie close to the banks of the river, in beds of amazing size and depth. How they came there has long been a matter of surprise and speculation to the colonists. Some are of opinion that they have been gradually deposited by the natives in those periodical feasts of shell fish, for the celebration of which they still assemble at stated seasons in large bodies: others have contended, and I think with more probability, that they were originally large natural beds of oysters, and that the river has on some occasion or other, either changed its course or contracted its limits, and thus deserted them. These beds are generally five or six feet above high-water mark. The process of making lime from them is extremely simple and expeditious. They are first dug up and sifted, and then piled over large heaps of dry wood, which are set fire to, and speedily convert the superincumbent mass into excellent lime. When thus made it is shipped for Sydney, and sold at one shilling per bushel. The timber procured on the banks of this river is chiefly cedar and rose wood. The cedar, however, is becoming scarce in consequence of the immense quantities that have been already cut down, and cannot be any longer obtained without going at least a hundred and fifty miles up the river. At this distance, however, it is still to be had in considerable abundance, and is easily floated down to the town in rafts. The government dispose of this wood in the same manner as the coals, at the price of £3 for each thousand square feet, intended for home consumption, and £6 for the same quantity if exported. This settlement is placed under the direction of a commandant, who is selected out of the officers of the regiment stationed in the colony, and is allowed, as has been noticed, about fifty fire-locks to maintain his authority. He is always appointed to the magistracy previously to his obtaining this command, and is entrusted with the entire controul of the prisoners, whom he punishes or rewards as their conduct may appear to him to merit. The harbour at the mouth of this river is tolerably secure and spacious, and contains sufficient depth of water for vessels of three hundred tons burden. The river itself, however, is only navigable for small craft of thirty or forty tons burden, and this only for about fifty miles above the town. Just beyond this distance there are numerous flats and shallows, which only admit of the passage of boats over them. This river has three branches; they are called the upper, the lower, and the middle branch: the two former are navigable for boats for about a hundred and twenty miles, the latter for upwards of two hundred miles. The banks of all these branches are liable to inundations equally terrific with those at the Hawkesbury, and from the same causes; because they are receptacles for the rain that is collected by the Blue Mountains, which form the western boundary of this district, and divide it as well as the districts of Port Jackson, from the great western wilderness. The low lands within the reach of these inundations is if possible of still greater exuberancy than the banks of the Hawkesbury and Nepean, and of four times the extent. The high-land, or to give it the colonial appellation, the forest land, is very thinly studded with timber, and equal for all the purposes of agriculture and grazing to the best districts of Port Jackson. The climate too is equally salubrious, and on the upper banks of the middle branch, it is generally believed, that the summer heats are sufficient for the production of cotton; the cultivation of which would become an inexhaustible source of wealth to the growers, and would afford a valuable article of export to the colony. In fact, under every point of view this district contains the strongest inducements to colonization. It possesses a navigable river, by which its produce may be conveyed to market at a trifling expence, and the inhabitants of its most remote parts may receive such articles of foreign or domestic growth and manufacture as they may need, at a moderate advance: it surpasses Port Jackson in the general fertility of its soil, and at least rivals it in the salubrity of its climate: it contains in the greatest abundance coal, lime, and many varieties of valuable timber which are not found elsewhere, and promise to become articles of considerable export: it has already established in an eligible position, a small nucleus of settlers to which others may adhere, and thus both communicate and receive the advantages of society and protection; and it has a town which affords a considerable market for agricultural produce, and of which the commanding localities must rapidly increase the extent and population. COUNTRY WEST OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS. The country to the westward of the Blue Mountains ranks next in contiguity to Sydney, and claims pre-eminence not so much from any superiority of soil in those parts of it which have been explored, as from its amazing extent, and great diversity of climate. These mountains, where the road has been made over them, are fifty-eight miles in breadth; and as the distance from Sydney to Emu Ford, at which place this road may be said to commence, is about forty miles, the beginning of the vast tract of country to the westward of them, it will be seen, is ninety-eight miles distant from the capital. The road which thus traverses these mountains is by no means difficult for waggons, until you arrive at the pass which forms the descent into the low country. There it is excessively steep and dangerous; yet carts and waggons go up and down it continually: nor do I believe that any serious accident has yet occurred in performing this very formidable undertaking. Still the discovery of a safer and more practicable pass would certainly be attended with a very beneficial influence on the future progress of colonization in this great western wilderness. Every attempt, however, to find such a one has hitherto proved abortive; and should the future efforts which may be made with this view prove equally so, there can be little doubt, that the communication between the eastern and western country will be principally maintained by means of horses and mules with packs and panniers. The elevation of these mountains above the level of the sea, has not yet been determined; but I should imagine that it cannot exceed four thousand feet. For the first ten or twelve miles they are tolerably well clothed with timber, and produce occasionally some middling pasture; but beyond this they are excessively barren, and are covered generally with a thick brush, interspersed here and there with a few miserable stunted gums. They bear, in fact, a striking similarity, both in respect to their soil and productions, to the barren wastes on the coast of Port Jackson. They are very rocky, but they want granite, the distinguishing characteristic of primitive mountains. Sandstone thickly studded with quartz and a little freestone, are the only varieties which they offer; a circumstance the more singular, as the moment you descend into the low country beyond them, granite is the only sort of stone that is to be met with for upwards of two hundred miles. For the whole of this distance to the westward of these mountains, the country abounds with the richest herbage, and is upon the whole tolerably well supplied with running water. In the immediate vicinity of them there is a profusion of rivulets, which discharge themselves into the western river; or, as it is termed by the natives, the Warragambia, the main branch, as I have before observed, of the Hawkesbury. From the moment, however, that the streams begin to take a western course, the want of water becomes more perceptible, and increases as you proceed into the interior, particularly in a south-west direction. This large and fertile tract of country, is in general perfectly free from underwood; and in many places, is without any timber at all. Bathurst Plains, for instance, where there is a commandant, a military depot, and some few settlers established, have been found by actual admeasurement, to contain upwards of sixty thousand acres, upon which there is scarcely a tree. The whole of this western country, indeed, is much more open and free from timber than the best districts to the eastward of the Blue Mountains. The depot at Bathurst Plains, is 180 miles distant from Sydney; and the road to it presents no impediment to waggons, but the descent from the mountains into the low country; and even this does not prevent the inhabitants from maintaining a regular intercourse with that town, and receiving from it all the supplies which they require. The difficulty, however, of thus communicating with the capital, is such as to preclude this vast tract of country from assuming an agricultural character; except in as far as the raising of grain for a scanty population of shepherds and herdsmen, may entitle it to this denomination; since there are no navigable rivers, at all events for many hundred miles into the interior, and the difficulty and expence of a land-carriage across the Blue Mountains, will always prevent the inhabitants of that part of this vast western wilderness, which is at present explored, from entering into a competition with the colonists in the immediate vicinity of Port Jackson. By way, however, of set-off against the anifest superiority, which the districts to the eastward of the mountains possess in this respect over the country to the westward of them; this latter is certainly much better adapted for all the purposes of grazing and rearing cattle. The herbage is sweeter and more nutritive, and there is an unlimited range for stock, without any danger of their committing trespass. There is besides, for the first two hundred miles, a constant succession of hill and dale, admirably suited for the pasture of sheep, the wool of which will without doubt eventually become the principal export of this colony, and may be conveyed across these mountains at an inconsiderable expense. The discovery of this vast and as yet imperfectly known tract of country, was made in the year 1814, and will doubtless be hereafter productive of the most important results. It has indeed already given a new aspect to the colony, and will form at some future day, a memorable era in its history. Nothing is now wanting to render this great western wilderness the seat of a powerful community, but the discovery of a navigable river communicating with the western coast. That such exists, although the search for it has hitherto proved ineffectual, there can be no doubt, if we may be allowed to judge from analogy; since in the whole compass of the earth, there is no single instance of so large a country as New Holland, not possessing at least one great navigable river. To ascertain this point has been one of the leading objects of Governor Macquarie's administration, ever since the discovery of the pass across the mountains. Several unsuccessful expeditions have been fitted out with this view from Sydney, both by sea and land. The last of which we have learned the result, was conducted by Mr. Oxley, the surveyor-general, and is most worthy of notice, as well from the extent of country which he traversed, as from the probability that the river which he discovered, discharges itself into the ocean on some part of the western coast. The summary of this journey is contained in the following letter, addressed by him to the governor on his return from this expedition to Bathurst Plains. _Bathurst, 30th August_, 1817. SIR, I have the honour to acquaint your Excellency with my arrival at this place last evening, with the persons comprising the expedition to the westward, which your Excellency was pleased to place under my direction. Your Excellency is already informed of my proceedings up to the 30th of April. The limits of a letter will not permit me to enter at large into the occurrences of nineteen weeks; and as I shall have the honour of waiting on your Excellency in a few days, I trust you will have the goodness to excuse the summary account I now offer to your Excellency. I proceeded down the Lachlan in company with the boats until the 12th of May, the country rapidly descending until the waters of the river rose to a level with it, and dividing into numerous branches, inundated the country to the west and north-west, and prevented any further progress in that direction, the river itself being lost among marshes: up to this point it had received no accession of waters from either side, but on the contrary was constantly dissipating in lagoons and swamps. The impossibility of proceeding further in conjunction with the boats being evident, I determined upon maturer deliberation, to haul them up, and divesting ourselves of everything, that could possibly be spared, proceed with the horses loaded with the additional provisions from the boats, in such a course towards the coast as would intersect any stream that might arise from the divided waters of the Lachlan. In pursuance of this plan, I quitted the river on the 11th May, taking a south-west course towards Cape Northumberland, as the best one to answer my intended purpose. I will not here detail the difficulties and privations we experienced in passing through a barren and desolate country, without any water but such rain water as was found remaining in holes and the crevices of rocks. I continued this course until the 9th of June, when having lost two horses through fatigue and want, and the others in a deplorable condition, I changed our course to north, along a range of lofty hills, running in that direction, as they afforded the only means of procuring water until we should fall in with some running stream. On this course I continued until the 23d of June, when we again fell in with a stream, which we had at first some difficulty to recognise as the Lachlan, it being little larger than one of the marshes of it, where it was quitted on the 17th of May. I did not hesitate a moment to pursue this course; not that the nature of the country, or its own appearance in any manner indicated that it would become navigable, or was even permanent; but I was unwilling that the smallest doubt should remain of any navigable waters falling westward into the sca, between the limits pointed out in my instructions. I continued along the banks of the stream until the 8th of July, it having taken during this period a westerly direction, and passing through a perfectly level country, barren in the extreme, and being evidently at periods entirely under water. To this point it had been gradually diminishing, and spreading its waters over stagnated lagoons and morasses, without receiving any stream that we knew of during the whole extent of its course. The banks were not more than three feet high, and the marks of flood in the shrubs and bushes, shewed that at times it rose between two and three feet higher, causing the whole country to become a marsh, and altogether uninhabitable. Further progress westward, had it been possible, was now useless, as there was neither hill nor rising ground of any kind within the compass of our view, which was only bounded by the horizon in every quarter, entirely devoid of timber except a few diminutive gums on the very edge of the stream, might be so termed. The water in the bed of the lagoon, as it might now be properly denominated, was stagnant; its breadth about twenty feet, and the heads of grass growing in it, shewed it to be about three feet deep. This originally unlooked for and truly singular termination of a river, which we had anxiously hoped and reasonably expected would have led to a far different conclusion, filled us with the most painful sensations. We were full five hundred miles west of Sydney, and nearly in its latitude; and it had taken us ten weeks of unremitted exertion to proceed so far. The nearest part of the coast about Cape Bernouilli, had it been accessible, was distant about a hundred and fifty miles. We had demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt, that no river whatever could fall into the sea, between Cape Otway and Spencer's Gulph; at least none deriving their waters from the eastern coast, and that the country south of the parallel of 34 degrees, and west of the meridian of 147 degrees 30' East, was uninhabitable and useless for all the purposes of civilized man. It now became my duty to make our remaining resources as extensively useful to the colony as our circumstances would allow: these were much diminished: an accident to one of the boats, in the outset of the expedition, had deprived us of one-third of our dry provisions, of which we had originally but eighteen weeks; and we had been in consequence for some time on a reduced ration of two quarts of flour per man, per week. To return to the depot by the route we had come, would have been as useless as impossible; and seriously considering the spirit of your Excellency's instructions, I determined upon the most mature deliberation, to take such a route on our return, as would, I hope, best comport with your Excellency's views, had our present situation ever been contemplated. Returning down the Lachlan, I re-commenced the survey of it from the point in which it was made, the 23d of June; intending to continue up its banks until its connection with the marshes, where we quitted it on the 17th May, was satisfactorily established, as also to ascertain if any streams might have escaped our research. The connection with all the points of the survey previously ascertained, was completed between the 19th of July and the 3d of August. In the space passed over within that period, the river had divided into various branches, and formed three fine lakes, which, with one near the determination of our journey westward, were the only considerable pieces of water we had yet seen; and I now estimated that the river, from the place where first made by Mr. Evans, had run a course, taking all its windings, of upwards of twelve hundred miles; a length of course altogether unprecedented, when the _single_ nature of the river is considered, and that its _original_ is its _only_ supply of water during that distance. Crossing at this point it was my intention to take a north-east course, to intersect the country, and if possible ascertain what had become of the Macquarie river, which it was clear had never joined the Lachlan. This course led us through a country to the full as bad as any we had yet seen, and equally devoid of water, the want of which again much distressed us. On the 7th of August the scene began to change, and the country to assume a very different aspect: we were now quitting the neighbourhood of the Lachlan, and had passed to the north-east of the high range of hills, which on this parallel bounds the low country to the north of that river. To the north-west and north, the country was high and open, with good forest land; and on the 10th we had the satisfaction to fall in with the first stream running northerly. This renewed our hopes of soon falling in with the Macquarie, and we continued upon the same course, occasionally inclining to the eastward, until the 19th passing through a fine luxuriant country, well watered, crossing in that space of time _nine_ streams, having a northerly course through rich vallies; the country in every direction being moderately high and open, and generally as fine as can be imagined. No doubt remained upon our minds that those streams fell into the Macquarie, and to view it before it received such an accession, was our first wish. On the 19th we were gratified by falling in with a river running through a most beautiful country, and which I would have been well contented to have believed the river we were in search of. Accident led us down this stream about a mile, when we were surprised by its junction with a river coming from the south, of such width and magnitude, as to dispel all doubts as to this last being the river we had so long anxiously looked for. Short as our resources were, we could not resist the temptation this beautiful country offered us, to remain two days on the junction of the river, for the purpose of examining the vicinity to as great an extent as possible. Our examination increased the satisfaction we had previously felt: as far as the eye could reach in every direction, a rich and picturesque country extended, abounding in limestone, slate, good timber, and every other requisite that could render an _uncultivated_ country desirable. The soil cannot be excelled, whilst a noble river of _the first magnitude_ affords the means of conveying its productions from one part to the other. Where I quitted it its course was northerly, and we were then north of the parallel of Port Stevens, being in latitude 32 degrees 45' South, and 148 degrees 58' East longitude. It appeared to me that the Macquarie had taken a north north-west course from Bathurst, and that it must have received immense accessions of water in its course from that place. We viewed it at a period best calculated to form an accurate judgment of its importance, when it was neither swelled by floods beyond its natural and usual height, nor contracted within its limits by summer droughts: of its magnitude when it should have received the streams we had crossed, independent of any it may receive from the east, which from the boldness and height of the country, I presume, must be at least as many, some idea may be formed, when at this point it exceeded in breadth and apparent depth, the Hawkesbury at Windsor. Many of the branches were of grander and more extended proportion than the admired one on the Nepean River from the Warragambia to Emu Plains. Resolving to keep as near the river as possible during the remainder of our course to Bathurst, and endeavour to ascertain at least on the west side, what waters fell into it, on the 22d we proceeded up the river, and between the point quitted and Bathurst, crossed the sources of numberless streams, all running into the Macquarie; two of them were nearly as large as that river itself at Bathurst. The country from whence all these streams derive their source, was mountainous and irregular, and appeared equally so on the east side of the Macquarie. This description of country extended to the immediate vicinity of Bathurst; but to the west of those lofty ranges, the country was broken into low grassy hills, and fine valleys watered by rivulets rising on the west side of the mountains, which on their eastern side pour their waters directly into the Macquarie. These westerly streams appeared to me to join that which I had at first sight taken for the Macquarie; and when united fall into it at the point at which it was first discovered, on the 19th inst. We reached this place last evening, without a single accident having occurred during the whole progress of the expedition, which from this point has encircled within the parallels of 34 degrees 30' South, and 32 degrees South, and between the meridians of 149 degrees 43' and 143 degrees 40' East, a space of nearly one thousand miles. I shall hasten to lay before your Excellency the journals, charts, and drawings, explanatory of the various occurrences of our diversified route; infinitely gratified if our exertions should appear to your Excellency commensurate with your expectations, and the ample means which your care and liberality placed at my disposal. I feel the most particular pleasure in informing your Excellency of the obligations I am under to Mr. Evans, the Deputy Surveyor, for his able advice and cordial co-operation throughout the expedition, and as far as his previous researches had extended, the accuracy and fidelity of his narration was fully exemplified. It would perhaps appear presuming in me to hazard an opinion upon the merits of persons engaged in a pursuit of which I have little knowledge; the extensive and valuable collection of plants formed by Mr. A. Cunningham, the king's botanist, and Mr. C. Frazer, the colonial botanist, will best evince to your Excellency the unwearied industry and zeal bestowed on the collection and preservation of them: in every other respect they also merit the highest praise. From the nature of the greater part of the country passed over, our mineralogical collection is but small. Mr. S. Parr did as much as could be done in that branch, and throughout endeavoured to render himself as useful as possible. Of the men on whom the chief care of the horses and baggage devolved, it is impossible to speak in too high terms. Their conduct in periods of considerable privation, was such as must redound to their credit; and their orderly, regular, and obedient behaviour, could not be exceeded. It may be principally attributed to their care and attention that we lost only three horses; and that, with the exception of the loss of the dry provisions already mentioned, no other accident happened during the course of it. I most respectfully beg leave to recommend them to your Excellency's favourable notice. I trust your Excellency will have the goodness to excuse any omissions or inaccuracies that may appear in this letter; the messenger setting out immediately will not allow me to revise or correct it. I have the honour, etc. J. OXLEY, Surveyor-Gen. To his Excellency Lachlan Macquarie, Esq. The course and direction of this river is the object of two expeditions, of which we may shortly expect to learn the result. One is by land, and conducted by the same gentleman; the other by sea, and under the command of Lieutenant King, R.N.; whose father, Captain King, was formerly Lieutenant Governor of Norfolk Island, and afterwards Governor in Chief of New South Wales. If the sanguine hopes to which the discovery of this river has given birth, should be realized, and it should be found to empty itself into the ocean, on the north-west coast, which is the only part of this vast island that has not been accurately surveyed, in what mighty conceptions of the future greatness and power of this colony, may we not reasonably indulge? The nearest distance from the point at which Mr. Oxley left off, to any part of the western coast, is very little short of two thousand miles. If this river, therefore, be already of the size of the Hawkesbury at Windsor, which is not less than two hundred and fifty yards in breadth, and of sufficient depth to float a seventy-four gun-ship, it is not difficult to imagine what must be its magnitude at its confluence with the ocean; before it can arrive at which it has to traverse a country nearly two thousand miles in extent. If it possess the usual sinuosities of rivers, its course to the sea cannot be less than from five to six thousand miles, and the endless accession of tributary streams which it must receive in its passage through so great an extent of country, will without doubt enable it to vie in point of magnitude with any river in the world. In this event its influence in promoting the progress of population in this fifth continent, will be prodigious, and in all probability before the expiration of many years, give an entirely new impulse to the tide of population: and here it may not be altogether irrelevant, to enter into a short disquisition on the natural superiority possessed by those countries which are most abundantly intersected with navigable rivers. That such are most favourable for all the purposes of civilized man, the history of the world affords the most satisfactory proof There is not, in fact, a single instance on record of any remarkable degree of wealth and power having been attained by any nation which has not possessed facilities for commerce, either in the number or size of its rivers, or in the spaciousness of its harbours, and the general contiguity of its provinces to the sea. The Mediterranean has given rise to so many great and powerful nations, only from the superior advantages which it afforded for commerce during the long infancy of navigation. The number and fertility of its islands, the serenity of its climate, the smoothness of its waters, the smallness of its entrance, which although of itself sufficient to indicate to the skilful pilot the proximity of the ocean, is still more clearly defined by the Pillars of Hercules, towering on each side of it, and forming land-marks not to be mistaken by the timid, the inexperienced, or the bewildered. Such are the main causes why the Mediterranean continued until the discovery and application of the properties of the magnet, the seat of successive empires so superior to the rest of the world in affluence and power. It is indeed almost impossible to conceive, how any considerable degree of wealth and civilization can be acquired without the aid of navigation. From the moment savages abandon the hunter state, and resign themselves to the settled pursuits of agriculture, the march of population must inevitably follow the direction of navigable waters; since in the infancy of societies these furnish the only means of indulging that spirit of barter which is co-existent with association, is the main spring of industry, and the ultimate cause of all civilization and refinement. In such situations the rude canoe abundantly suffices to maintain the first necessary interchanges of the superfluities of one individual for those of another. Roads, waggons, etc. are refinements entirely unknown in the incipient stages of society. They are the gradual results of civilization, and consequent only on the accumulation of wealth and the attainment of a certain point of maturity. Canals are a still later result of civilization, and are undoubtedly the greatest efforts for the encouragement of barter, and the developement of industry, to which human power and ingenuity have yet given birth. But after all, what are these artificial channels of communication, these _ne plus ultras_ of human contrivance, compared with those natural mediums of intercourse, those mighty rivers which pervade every quarter of the globe? What are they to the Danube, the Nile, the Ganges, the Mississippi, or the Amazon? What are they, in fact, compared even with those infinite minor navigable streams, of which scarcely any country, however circumscribed, is entirely destitute? What! but mere pigmy imitations of nature, which wherever there is a sufficient number of rivers, will never be resorted to, unless it be for the purpose of connecting them together, or of avoiding those long and tedious sinuosities to which they are _all_ more or less subject. Viewing therefore this newly discovered river only in the light of a river of the first magnitude, it must be evident that this important discovery will have an incalculable influence on the future progress of colonization; but to be enabled fully to estimate the beneficial consequences of which it will be productive; it is essential to take into the estimate, the probable direction of its course, and the point of its confluence with the ocean. This I have already stated is with good reason imagined to be on the north-west coast; since every other part of this vast island has been so accurately surveyed, as scarcely to admit of the possibility of so large a river falling into the sea in any other position. Assuming, therefore, that the source of this river is in the direction thus generally supposed, it will be seen that it will surpass all the rivers in the world in variety of climate; since reckoning merely from the spot where Mr. Oxley discovered it to its conjectural embouchure, there will be a difference of latitude of twenty degrees. Even omitting, then, to take into computation the probable length of its course from the place where it first becomes navigable, to the point where that gentleman fell in with it, (and it was there running from the south, and must have already been navigable for a considerable distance, if we may judge from its size,) the world does not afford any parallel of a river traversing so great a diversity of climate. The majority indeed of the rivers, which may be termed "rivers of the first magnitude," run from west to east, or from east to west, and consequently vary their climate only in proportion to their distance from the sea, to the elevation of their beds, and to the extent of country traversed by such of their branches as run at right angles with them. Of this sort are the St. Lawrence, in North America, the Oronoko and Amazon, in South America; the Niger, Senegal and Gambia, in Africa; the Danube and Elbe, in Europe; and the Hoang Ho, and Kiang Keou in Asia. It must indeed be admitted, that every quarter of the globe furnishes some striking exceptions to this rule, such as the Mississippi and River Plate in America; the Nile, in Africa; the Rhine, the Dniester, the Don, and the Volga, in Europe; and the Indus and Ganges, in Asia; all of which certainly run from north to south, or south to north, and consequently command a great variety of climate. In this respect, however, none of them will be worthy of comparison with this newly discovered river, if the point of its confluence with the ocean should happily be where it is conjectured. And yet we find that all the countries through which the above-named rivers pass, either have been, or promise to be, the seats of much more wealthy and powerful nations than the countries through which those rivers pass whose course is east or west. The cause of this superiority of one over the other, is to be traced to the greater diversity of productions, which will necessarily be raised on the banks and in the vicinity of those rivers whose course is north or south, a circumstance that is alone sufficient to ensure the possessors of them, under Governments equally favourable to the extension of industry, a much greater share of commerce and wealth than can possibly belong to the inhabitants of these rivers whose course is in a contrary direction: and this for the simplest reason; because rivers of the former description contain within themselves, many of those productions which the latter can only obtain from abroad. In the one, therefore, there is not only a necessity for having recourse to foreign supply, which does not exist in the other, but also a great prevention to internal navigation, arising from the sameness of produce, and the consequent impediment to barter, which must prevail in a country where all have the same commodities to dispose of, where all wish to sell and none to buy. To this manifest superiority which rivers runningon a meridian claim over those running on a parallel, there is no counterpoise, since they both contain equal facilities for exporting their surplus productions, and receiving in exchange the superfluities of other countries. It may, indeed, here be urged, that there is, upon the whole, no surplus produce in the world; and that, as the surplus, whatever may be its extent, of one country, may be always exchanged for that of another, as great a variety of luxuries may be thus obtained by the inhabitants of rivers that run in an eastern or western direction as can possibly be raised by the inhabitants of rivers that run in a northern or southern; and that consequently the same stimulus to an inland navigation will be created by the eventual distribution of the various commodities procured by foreign commerce, as if they had been the products of the country itself. To this it may be replied, that although a much greater variety of products may undoubtedly be imported from foreign countries, than can possibly be raised within the compass of any one navigable river, such products cannot afterwards be sold at so cheap a rate. In all countries, therefore, where such products are imported from abroad, the increase in their price must occasion a proportionate diminution in their consumption, and in so far inevitably operate as a check to internal navigation. This variety of production, and the additional encouragement thus afforded by it, to what is well known to be one of the main sources of national wealth, is sufficient to account for the superior degree of civilization, affluence, and power, which have in general characterized those countries whose rivers take a northern or southern course. Some few nations, indeed, which do not possess such great natural advantages, have supplied the want of them by their own skill and industry, and have in the end triumphed over the efforts of nature to check their progress. Of a people who have thus overstepped these natural barriers opposed to their advancement, and in spite of them attained the summit of wealth and civilization, China perhaps furnishes the most remarkable example. The two principal rivers of that country, the Hoang Ho, or Yellow River, and the Kiang Keou, or Great River, runs from west to east; yet by means of what is termed by way of eminence, "The Great Canal," the Chinese have not only joined these two mighty streams together, but have also extended the communication to the northward, as far as the main branch of the Pei Ho, and to the southward as far as the mouth of the Ningapo: thus establishing by the intervention of this stupendous monument of human industry and perseverance, and the various branches of the four rivers which it connects, an inland navigation between the great cities of Peking and Nanking, and affording every facility for the transport of the infinite products raised within the compass of a country containing from twelve to fifteen degrees difference of latitude, and about the same difference of longitude; or, in other words, a surface of about five hundred and eighteen thousand four hundred square miles. This instance, however, of equal or superior civilization thus attained by a nation, notwithstanding the principal rivers of their country run from west to east, does not at all militate against the natural superiority which has been conceded to those countries whose rivers run in a contrary direction: it only shews what may be effected by a wise and politic government averse to the miseries of war, and steadily bent on the arts of peace. The very attempts, indeed, of this enlightened people to supply the natural deficiencies of their country by canals, are the strongest commendations that can be urged in favour of a country where no such artificial substitutes are necessary; where nature, of her own lavish bounty has created facilities for the progress of industry and civilization, which it would require the labour and maturity of ages imperfectly to imitate. How far, indeed, these mighty contrivances of the all-bounteous Creator, for the promotion and developement of industry, outstrip all human imitation, the occurrences of the passing hour furnish the most satisfactory and conclusive evidence. The vast tide of emigration which is incessantly rolling along the banks of the Mississippi, and of its tributary streams, and the numberless cities, towns, and settlements, that have sprung up as if it were by the agency of magic, in what but a few years back was one boundless and uninterrupted wilderness, speak a language not to be mistaken by the most ignorant or prejudiced. The western territory, which though a province but of yesterday, soon promises to rival the richest and most powerful members of the American union, affords an instance of rapid colonization, of which, the history of the world cannot produce a parallel, and offers an incontestable proof of the natural superiority which countries, whose rivers run in a northern or southern course, possess over all others. But this fact is not merely established by the experience of the present day, it is equally authenticated by the testimony of past ages. What was the reason why Egypt was for so many centuries the seat of affluence and power, but the Nile? that India is still rich and populous, but the Indus and Ganges? These countries, indeed, are no longer the great and powerful empires they were, although the natural advantages of their situations are still unchanged. But what mighty ravages will not a blood-thirsty and overwhelming despotism effect? What health and vigor can belong to that body politic which is forced to inhale the nauseous effluvia of tyranny? Prosperity is a plant that can only flourish in an atmosphere fauned by the wholesome breath of freedom. The highest fertility of soil, the greatest benignity of climate, the most commanding superiority of position, will otherwise be unavailing. Freedom may in the end convert the most barren and inhospitable waste into a paradise; but the inevitable result of tyranny is desolation. The probable course of this newly discovered river, being thus in every respect so decidedly favourable for the foundation of a rich and powerful community, there can be little doubt that the government of this country will immediately avail itself of the advantages which it presents, and establish a settlement at its mouth. What a sublime spectacle will it then be for the philosopher to mark the gradual progress of population from the two extremities of this river; to behold the two tides of colonization flowing in opposite directions, and constantly hastening to that junction, of which the combined waters shall overspread the whole of this fifth continent! What a cheering prospect for the philanthropist to behold what is now one vast and mournful wilderness, becoming the smiling seat of industry and the social arts; to see its hills and dales covered with bleating flocks, lowing herds, and waving corn; to hear the joyful notes of the shepherd, and the enlivening cries of the husbandman, instead of the appalling yell of the savage, and the plaintive howl of the wolf; and to witness a country which nature seems to have designed as her master-piece, at length fulfilling the gracious intentions of its all-bounteous Author, by administering to the wants and contributing to the happiness of millions. What a proud sight for the Briton to view his country pouring forth her teeming millions to people new hives, to see her forming in the most remote parts of the earth new establishments which may hereafter rival her old; and to behold thousands who would perish from want within her immediate limits, procuring an easy and comfortable subsistence in those which are more remote; and instead of weakening her power and diminishing her resources, effectually contributing to the augmentation of both, and forming monuments which may descend to the latest posterity, indestructible records of her greatness and glory. SYSTEM OF AGRICULTURE. The system of agriculture pursued in this colony, does not materially differ from that which prevails in this country. During the earlier stages of these settlements, the hoe-husbandry was a necessary evil; but the great increase in the stock of horses and cattle, has at last almost completely superseded it; and the plough-husbandry is now, and has been for many years past, in general practice. In new lands, indeed, the hoe is still unavoidably used during the first year of their cultivation, on account of the numerous roots and other impediments to the plough, with which lands in a state of nature invariably abound; but excepting these occasions, and the instances of settlers who are unable to purchase horses or oxen, and consequently adhere to the original mode of cultivation from necessity, the hoe-husbandry is completely exploded. Until the year 1803, eighteen years after the foundation of this colony, the plough-husbandry was confined to a few of the richest cultivators, from the exorbitant price of cattle. At that period, however, the government herds had so considerably multiplied, that the then governor (King) recommended the adoption of the plough-husbandry in general orders, and tendered oxen at £28 per head, to be paid either in produce or money, at the end of three years, to all such settlers as were inclined to purchase them. This custom has been followed by all his successors; but as no abatement has been made in the price of them, and as they can be obtained at one-third the amount elsewhere, such only of the colonists now avail themselves of this indulgence, as have no ready means of purchase, and are allured by the length of the credit. Wheat, maize, barley, oats, and rye, are all grown in this colony; but the two former are most cultivated. The climate appears to be rather too warm for the common species of barley and oats; but the poorer soils produce them of a tolerably good quality. The skinless barley, or as it is termed by some, the Siberian wheat, arrives at very great perfection, and is in every respect much superior to the common species of barley; but the culture of this grain is limited to the demand which is created for it by the colonial breweries; the Indian corn, or maize, being much better adapted for the food of horses, oxen, pigs, and poultry. The produce too is much more abundant than that of barley and oats; and the season for planting it being two months later than for any other sort of grain, the settler has every motive for giving it the preference. Wheat may be sown any time from February to July, and even as late as August, if that month happens to be moist; but the best months are April, May, and June. The creeping wheat, however, may be sown in the commencement of February; as should it become too rank, it can easily be kept down by sheep, which are found to do this sort of wheat no manner of injury. To the farmer, therefore, who keeps large flocks of sheep, the cultivation of the creeping wheat is highly advantageous; since in addition to its yielding as great a crop as any other species of wheat, it supersedes the necessity of growing turnips or other artificial food for the support of his stock during the severity of the winter, when the natural grasses become scanty and parched up by the frost. The red and white lammas, and the Cape or bearded wheat, are the species generally cultivated. June is the best month for sowing barley and oats, but they may be sown till the middle of August with a fair prospect of a good crop. Indian corn or maize may be planted from the end of September to the middle of December; but October is the best month. It is, however, a very common practice among the settlers on the fertile banks of the Hawkesbury and Nepean, to plant what is called stubble corn; that is, to plant it among the wheat, barley, and oat stubbles, as soon as the harvest is over, without ploughing or breaking up the ground. Maize is frequently planted in this way until the middle of January, and if the season proves sufficiently moist, yields a very abundant crop. The usual manner of planting it is in holes about six feet apart: five grains are generally put in each of these holes. The average produce of this grain on rich flooded lands, is from eighty to a hundred bushels per acre. Wheat in the same situations yields from thirty to forty bushels; and barley and oats, about fifty bushels an acre. On forest lands, however, the crops are not so productive, unless the ground be well manured; but the wheat, barley and oats, grown on this land, are much heavier and superior in quality. The difference of the weight of wheat grown in forest and flooded lands, is upon an average not less than 8 lbs. per bushel. The former sort weighing 64 lbs. and the latter only 56 lbs. The wheat harvest commences partially about the middle of November, and is generally over by Christmas. The maize, however, is not ripe until the end of March, and the gathering is not complete throughout the colony before the middle of May. Potatoes*, cabbages, carrots, parsnips, turnips, pease, beans, cauliflowers, brocoli, asparagus, lettuces, onions, and in fact every species of vegetables known in this country, are produced in this colony; many of them attain a much superior degree of perfection, but a few also degenerate. To the former class belong the cauliflower and brocoli, and the different varieties of the pea; to the latter the bean and potatoe. For the bean, in particular, the climate appears too hot, and it is only to be obtained in the stiffest clays and the dampest situations. The potatoe, however, is produced on all soils in the greatest abundance, but the quality is not nearly as good as in this country. In this respect, however, much depends on the nature of the soil. In stiff clays the potatoes are invariably watery and waxy, but in light sands and loams, they are tolerably dry and mealy. Manure also deteriorates their quality, and in general they are best when grown on new lands. Potatoes are in consequence very commonly planted in the fields, as a first crop, and are found to pulverize land just brought from a state of nature into cultivation more than other root. An abundant crop of wheat, barley, or oats, may be safely calculated to succeed them; more particularly if a light covering of manure be applied at the time of their planting. [* For the Colonial Garden, see Appendix.] The colony is justly famed for the goodness and variety of its fruits: Peaches, apricots, nectarines, oranges, grapes, pears, plums, figs, pomegranates, raspberries, strawberries, and melons of all sorts, attain the highest degree of maturity in the open air; and even the pineapple may be produced merely by the aid of the common forcing glass. The climate, however, of Port Jackson, is not altogether congenial to the growth of the apple, currant, and gooseberry; although the whole of these fruits are produced there, and the apple, in particular, in very great abundance; but it is decidedly inferior in quality to the apple of this country. These fruits, however, arrive at the greatest perfection in every part of Van Diemen's Land; and as the climate of the country to the westward of the Blue Mountains, is equally cold, they will without doubt attain there an equal degree of perfection; but the short period which has elapsed since the establishment of a settlement beyond these mountains, has not allowed the nltramontanians to make the experiment. Of all the fruits which I have thus enumerated as being produced in this colony, the peach is the most abundant and the most useful. The different varieties which have been already introduced, succeed one another in uninterrupted succession from the middle of November to the latter end of March: thus filling up an interval of more than four months, and affording a wholesome and nutritious article of food during one-third of the year. This fruit grows spontaneously in every situation, on the richest soils, as on the most barren; and its growth is so rapid that if you plant a stone, it will in three years afterwards bear an abundant crop of fruit. Peaches are, in consequence, so plentiful throughout the colony, that they are every where given as food to hogs; and when thrown into heaps, and allowed to undergo a proper degree of fermentation, are found to fatten them very rapidly. Cider also is made in great quantities from this fruit, and when of sufficient age, affords a very pleasant and wholesome beverage. The lees, too, after the extraction of the juice, possess the same fattening properties, and are equally calculated as food for hogs. REARING OF CATTLE, ETC. The system of rearing and fattening stock in this colony is simple and economical. Horses, in consequence of their rambling nature, are almost invariably kept in enclosures. In the districts immediately contiguous to Port Jackson, horned cattle are followed by a herdsman during the day, in order to prevent them from trespassing on the numerous uninclosed tracts of land that are in a state of tillage, and they are confined during the night in yards or paddocks. In the remoter districts, however, which are altogether devoid of cultivation, horned cattle are subjected to no such restraints, but are permitted to range about the country at all times. The herds too are generally larger; and although a herdsman is still required as well to prevent them from separating into straggling parties, as to protect them from depredation, the expence of keeping them in this manner is comparatively trifling, and the advantages of allowing them this uncontrouled liberty to range, very great; since they are found during the heat of summer to feed more in the night than in the day. This, therefore, is the system which the great stockholders almost invariably pursue. Few of them possess sufficient land for the support of their cattle; and as their estates too, however remote the situation in which they may have been selected, have for the most part become surrounded by small cultivators, who seldom or ever inclose their crops, they generally recede with their herds from the approach of colonization, and form new establishments, where the liability to trespass does not exist. They thus become the gradual explorers of the country, and it is to their efforts to avoid the contact of agriculture, that the discovery of the best districts yet known in the colony is ascribable. The management of sheep is in some respects different. They are never permitted to roam during the night, on account of the native dog, which is a great enemy to them, and sometimes during the day, makes great ravages among them, even under the eye of the shepherd. In every part of the country, therefore, they are kept by night either in folds or yards. In the former case the shepherd sleeps in a small moveable box, which is shifted with the folds, and with his faithful dog, affords a sufficient protection for his flock, against the attempts of these midnight depredators. In the latter the paling of the yards is always made so high, that the native dog cannot surmount it; and the safety of the flock is still further ensured by the contiguity of the shepherd's house, and the numerous dogs with which he is always provided. The natural grasses of the colony are sufficiently good and nutritious at all seasons of the year, for the support of every description of stock, where there is an adequate tract of country for them to range over. But in consequence of the complete occupation of the districts which are in the more immediate vicinity of Port Jackson, and from the settlers in general possessing more stock than their lands are capable of maintaining, the raising of artificial food for the winter months, has of late years become very general among such of them as are unwilling to send their flocks and herds into the uninhabited parts in the interior. This is a practice which must necessarily gain ground; since it has been observed, that the coldness of the climate keeps pace with the progress of agriculture. In the more contiguous and cultivated districts, the natural grass becomes consequently every year more affected by the influence of frost, and the necessity of raising some artificial substitute for the support of stock, during the suspension of vegetation, more pressing and incumbent. It is from this increase in the severity of the winters, that the custom of making hay has begun to be adopted; and should the future augmentation of cold be, as there is every reason to believe, proportionate to the past, this custom will, before the expiration of many years, become generally prevalent. It is indeed, rather a matter of surprise than otherwise, that so salutary a precaution has been so long in disuse; since such is the luxuriance of the natural grass during the summer, that it is the general practice after the seeds wither away, to set fire to it, and thus improvidently consume what, if mown and made into hay, would afford the farmer a sufficiency of nutritious food for his stock during the winter, and altogether supersede the subsequent necessity for his having recourse to artificial means of remedying so palpable a neglect of the bounteous gifts of nature. This custom of setting fire to the grass, is most prevalent during the months of August and January, i.e. just before the commencement of spring and autumn, when vegetation is on the eve of starting from the slumber which it experiences alike during the extremes of the winter's cold as of the summer's heat. If a fall of rain happily succeed these fires, the country soon presents the appearance of a field of young wheat; and however repugnant this practice may appear to the English farmer, it is absolutely unavoidable in those districts which are not sufficiently stocked; since cattle of every description refuse to taste the grass the moment it becomes withered. The artificial food principally cultivated in the colony are turnips, tares, and Cape barley; and for those settlers in particular who have flocks of breeding sheep, the cultivation of them is highly necessary, and contributes materially to the growth and strength of the lambs. On those also who keep dairies, this practice of raising artificial food, is equally incumbent; the natural grasses being quite insufficient to keep milch cows in good heart during the winter, when there is the greatest demand for butter. Good meat, too, is then only to be had with difficulty, and this difficulty is increasing every year. There cannot, therefore, be any doubt that it would answer the purposes even of the grazier to have recourse to artificial means of fattening his stock at that season; since it is then that he would be enabled to obtain the readiest and highest price for his fat cattle. PRICE OF CATTLE, ETC. The price of all manner of stock is almost incredibly moderate, considering the short period which has elapsed since the foundation of the colony. A very good horse for the cart or plough may be had from £10 to £15, and a better saddle or gig horse, from £20 to £30, than could be obtained in this country for double the money. Very good milch-cows may be bought from £5 to £10; working oxen for about the same price; and fine young breeding ewes from £1 to £3, according to the quality of their fleece. Low as these prices may appear they are in a great measure fictitious; since there is confessedly more stock of all sorts in the colony, than is necessary for its population. It accordingly frequently happens, particularly at sales by public auction, that stock are to be bought for one-half, and even one-third of the above prices; and there is every probability that before the expiration of ten years, their value will be still more considerably diminished. To be convinced of the truth of this conjecture, we have only to look back a little into the annals of the colony, and see how prodigiously cattle of every description have multiplied. By a census taken at the end of the year 1800, (twelve years after the institution of the colony) the number of horses and mares was only 163; of horned cattle, 1024; and of sheep, 6124. At the end of 1813, the horses and mares had increased to 1891; the horned cattle to 21,513, and the sheep to 65,121: and in the month of November, 1817, the last year of which we have received the census, the numbers were as follow: horses and mares, 3072; horned cattle, 44,753; sheep, 170,420. Thus it will be perceived, that in the space of seventeen years, the stock of horses and mares has increased from 163, their highest number for the first twelve years, to 3072; the stock of horned cattle, from 1044 to 44,753; and the stock of sheep from 6124 to 170,920. This is of itself an increase great beyond all ordinary computation; and it would appear still more surprising if we could add to it the immense numbers of cattle and sheep that have been slaughtered in the same period, for the supply of the king's stores, and for general consumption. From the foregoing statement is will be evident, that the future increase in the stock will be still more prodigious, and still more considerably outstrip the advance of population. The price therefore of cattle, great and rapid as has been its past declension, must annually experience a still further diminution. Of what will be their probable value in ten years more, it may enable us to form no very inaccurate estimate, by referring to what it was ten years back. In 1808, a cow and calf were sold by public auction for £105, and the price of middling cattle was from £80 to £100. A breeding mare was at the same period worth from 150 to 200 guineas, and ewes from £10 to £20. These immense prices, however, were the result of monopoly, and consequently in a great measure fictitious; for in 1810, two years after this, a herd of fine cattle were sold for £13 per head. This almost incredible reduction in the value of cattle in so short a period, was occasioned by the supercession of this monopoly by the governor, who in the year 1808, was induced, from the considerable increase that had taken place in the public herds, to issue cows at £28 per head, payable in agricultural produce, to all indiscriminately who chose to purchase them. Hundreds of them, therefore, at this epoch, were distributed among the settlers, and their extreme value insured that degree of care and attention from their owners, which was naturally followed by a rapid increase, and produced in the short lapse of two years, that declension of price which would at first sight appear so astonishing. Thus it may be perceived, that within the last ten years, stock of all sorts have decreased in price, from £700 to £1,000 per cent. and it is not unreasonable to conclude, that in ten years hence, they will have experienced at least a similar reduction. Should this conjecture be verified, they will be of as little value in the remote parts of the colony, as the horses and cattle on the plains of Buenos Ayres, where any person may make what use he pleases of the carcase, provided he leaves behind him the hide. PRICE OF LABOUR. The price of labour is at present very low, and is still further declining in consequence of the demand for it not equalling the supply. Upon the establishment of the Colonial Bank, and the consequent suppression of that vile medium of circulation, termed the colonial currency, between which and British sterling there used to be a difference of value of from £50 to £100 per cent. the price of labour was fixed at the rates contained in the following general order, dated the 7th of December, 1816: "In consequence of the recent abolition of all colonial currency, and the introduction and establishment of a sterling circulation and consideration in all payments, dealings, transactions, contracts, and agreements, within this territory and its dependencies, his Excellency the Governor having deemed it expedient to take into consideration the general rates and prices of labour and wages within the same, as affected by the alteration of the mode of payments at a sterling rate, or value, and of the degree, measure, and sterling amount of the same, upon a fair and equitable proportion and modus; and having also adopted such measures in that respect as seemed best calculated to fix and make known the same, is pleased hereby to declare, order, and direct, that in addition to the rations according to and equal with the government allowance, the sum of ten pounds sterling per annum to a man convict, and seven pounds sterling to a woman convict, as including the value of the slops allowed, and the sum of seven pounds or five pounds ten shillings exclusive of such slops; computed at three pounds per man, and one pound ten shillings per woman, shall be allowed, claimed, or demandable, or such part or proportion of such sum or sums as shall be equal and according to the period and continuance of actual service, and no more in respect of yearly wages, and in the same manner as yearly wages for the extra work and service of any such male or female convict respectively, duly assigned to any person or persons, by or upon the authority of Government. "His Excellency is also pleased further to declare, order and direct, that in consideration of the premises, the undermentioned sums, amounts, and charges, and no more with regard to and upon the various denominations of work, labour and services, described and set forth, shall be allowed, claimed, or demandable within this territory and its dependencies in respect thereof". £ s. d. For falling forest timber, per acre, 0 8 0 Burning off ditto, per ditto, 1 0 0 Rooting out, and burning stumps on forest ground, per ditto, 1 10 0 Falling timber on brush ground, per ditto, 0 12 0 Burning off ditto, per ditto, 1 10 0 Rooting out and burning stumps on ditto, per ditto, 1 17 6 Breaking up new ground, per ditto, 1 0 0 Breaking up stubble in corn ground, per ditto, 0 10 0 Chipping in wheat, per ditto, 0 6 0 Reaping ditto, per ditto, 0 10 0 Threshing and cleaning wheat, per bushel, 0 0 8 Holeing and planting corn, per acre, 0 5 0 Chipping and shelling corn, per ditto, 0 6 8 Pulling and husking ditto, per bushel, 0 0 4 Splitting pales, (six feet long) per hundred, 0 3 0 Ditto, (five feet long) per ditto, 0 2 6 Shingle splitting, per thousand, 0 7 6 Preparing and putting up morticed railing, five bars, with two pannels to a rod, and posts sunk two feet in the ground,0 3 0 Ditto, ditto, ditto, four bars, 0 2 6 Ditto, ditto, ditto, three bars, 0 2 0 Ditto, ditto, ditto, two bars, 0 1 9 The rates limited in this order are pretty well proportioned to the present state of the colony; but the attempt to reduce the value of labour to a permanent standard, further than regards the convicts, must evidently be abortive; since labour, like merchandize, will rise and fall with the demand which may exist for it in the market where it is disposable;--and although the above order might prevent the labourer from recovering in the colonial courts, a greater price for his labour than is stipulated in the foregoing schedule, still the moment it becomes the interest of the employer to give higher wages, he will do so, and the discredit attached to the non-performance of a deliberate contract will always prevent him from having recourse to the courts for avoiding the fulfilment of it. The above rates, it will be seen, only refer to the various species of labour immediately attached to agriculture. The wages of artificers, particularly of such as are most useful in infant societies, are considerably higher: a circumstance which is principally to be attributed to the practice of selecting from among the convicts all the best mechanics for the government works. Carpenters, stone-masons, brick-layers, wheel and plough-wrights, black-smiths, coopers, harness-makers, sawyers, shoe-makers, cabinet-makers; and in fact all the most useful descriptions of handicrafts, are consequently in very great demand, and can easily earn from eight to ten shillings per day. The price of land is entirely regulated by its situation and quality. So long as four years back, a hundred and fifty acres of very indifferent ground, about thre equarters of a mile from Sydney, were sold by virtue of an execution, in lots of twelve acres each, and averaged £14 per acre. This, however, is the highest price that has yet been given for land not situated in a town. The general value of unimproved forest land, when it is not heightened by some advantageous locality, as proximity to a town or navigable river, cannot be estimated at more than five shillings per acre. Flooded land will fetch double that sum. But on the banks of the Hawkesbury, as far as that river is navigable, the value of land is considerably greater; that which is in a state of nature being worth from £3 to £5 per acre, and that which is in a state of cultivation, from £8 to £10. The latter description rents for twenty and thirty shillings an acre. The price of provisions, particularly of agricultural produce, is subject to great fluctuations, and will unavoidably continue so until proper measures are taken to counteract the calamitous scarcities at present consequent on the inundations of the Hawkesbury and Nepean. In the year 1806, the epoch of the great flood, the old and new stacks on the banks of those rivers were all swept away; and before the commencement of the following harvest, wheat and maize attained an equal value, and were sold at £5 and £6 per bushel. Even after the last overflow of these rivers, in the month of March, 1817, wheat rose towards the close of the year, to 31s. per bushel, and maize to 20s., and potatoes to 32s. 6d. per cwt. although a very considerable supply (about 20,000 bushels) was immediately furnished by the Derwent and Port Dalrymple. But for this speedy and salutary succour, the price of grain would have been very little short of what it was in the year 1806; since the whole stock on hand appears, from the muster taken between the 6th of October and the 25th of November, to have only been as follows: wheat, 2405 bushels; maize, 1506. This was all the grain that remained in the various settlements of New South Wales and its dependencies, about a month before any part of the produce of the harvest could be brought to market; and when it is considered that this was to administer to the support of 20,379 souls during that period, it will appear truly astonishing that the prices continued so moderate. By way, however, of counterpoise to these lamentable scarcities, which in general follow the inundations of the principal agricultural settlements, provisions are very abundant and cheap in years when the crops have not suffered from flood or drought. In such seasons, wheat upon an average sells for 9s. per bushel; maize for 3s. 6d.; barley for 5s.; oats for 4s. 6d. and potatoes for 6s. per cwt. The price of meat is not influenced by the same causes, but is on the contrary experiencing a gradual and certain diminution. By the last accounts received from the colony, good mutton and beef were to be had for 6d. per pound, veal for 8d. and pork for 9d. Wheat was selling in the market at 8s. 8d. per bushel; oats at 4s.; barley at 5s.; maize at 5s. 6d.; potatoes at 8s. per cwt.; fowls at 4s. 6d. per couple; ducks at 6s. per ditto; geese at 5s. each; turkies at 7s. 6d. each; eggs at 2s. 6d. per dozen; and butter at 2s. 6d. per pound. The price of the best wheaten bread was fixed by the assize at 51/4d. for the loaf, weighing 2 lbs. The progress which this colony has made in manufactures has perhaps never been equalled by any community of such recent origin. It already contains extensive manufactories of coarse woollen cloths, hats, earthenware and pipes, salt, candles, and soap. There are also extensive breweries, and tanneries, wheel and plough-wrights, gig-makers, black-smiths, nail-makers, tinmen, rope-makers, saddle and harness-makers, cabinet-makers, and indeed all sorts of mechanics and artificers that could be required in an infant society, where objects of utility are naturally in greater demand than articles of luxury. Many of these have considerable capitals embarked in their several departments, and manufacture to a considerable extent. Of the precise amount, however, of capital invested in the whole of the colonial manufactories, I can give no authentic account; but I should imagine it cannot be far short of £50,000. The colonists carry on a considerable commerce with this country, the East Indies, and China; but they have scarcely any article of export to offer in return for the various commodities supplied by those countries. The money expended by the government for the support of the convicts, and the pay and subsistence of the civil and military establishments, are the main sources from which they derive the means of procuring those articles of foreign growth and manufacture which are indispensable to civilized life. They have, however, at last a staple export, which is rapidly increasing, and promises in a few years to suffice for all their wants, and to render them quite independent of the miserable pittance which is thus afforded them by the expenditure of the government: I mean the fleeces of their flocks, the best of which are found to combine all the qualities that constitute the excellence of the Saxon and Spanish wools. The sheep-holders in general have at length become sensible of the advantage of directing their attention to the improvement of their flocks; and if their exertions be properly seconded by the countenance and encouragement of the local government, there can be no doubt that the supply of fine wool, which the parent country will before long receive from the colony, will amply repay her for the care and expence she has bestowed on it during the protracted period of its helpless infancy. The exportation of this highly valuable raw material, is as yet but very limited: last year it only amounted to about £8000; but when it is considered that in the year 1817, there were 170,420 sheep in the colony and its dependent settlements on Van Diemen's Land, and that the majority of the sheep-holders are actively employed in crossing their flocks with tups of the best Merino breed, it may easily be conceived what an extensive exportation of fine wool may be effected in a few years. The whole annual income of the colonists inhabiting the various settlements in New Holland, cannot be estimated at more than £125,000, and the following sub-divisions of it may be taken as a very close approximation to the truth: Money expended by the government for the pay and subsistence of the civil and military establishments, and for the support of such of the convicts as are victualled from the king's stores, £ 80,000 Money expended by shipping not belonging to the colonial merchants, £ 12,000 Various articles of export collected from the adjacent seas and islands, by the colonial craft, consisting principally of seal skins, right whale, and elephant oils, and sandal wood, £ 15,000 Wool grown in the colony, £ 8,000 Sundries, £ 20,000 -------- Total £125,000 -------- The imports levied by the authority of the local government form two distinct funds, one of which, as has been already casually mentioned, is called the "Orphan Fund," and the other "the Police Fund." The former, it has been seen, contains one-eighth of the colonial revenue, and is devoted solely to the promotion of education among the youth of the colony; the latter contains the other seven-eighths, and is appropriated to various purposes of internal economy; such as the construction and repair of roads and bridges, the erection of public edifices, the maintenance of the police, the cost of criminal prosecutions, and the pay of various officers, principally in subordinate capacities, who are not borne on the parliamentary estimate of the civil establishment. These two funds amounted in the year 1817 to the sum of £20,272 6s. 2½d. which was derived from the following sources: *Duties collected by the naval officer, 17,240 0 7¼ Market, toll, and slaughtering duties, 872 5 7¼ 67 Spirit Licences, 2,010 0 0 10 Beer ditto, 50 0 0 4 Brewing ditto, 100 0 0 Total £20,272 6 2½ [* For a list of these Duties, see the Appendix.] If we add to this £907 6s. 9¼d. which is the amount of the naval officer's commission on the duties collected by him, we have a grand total of £21,179 12s. 11¾d.; or, in other words, about one-sixth of the whole income of the colony, absorbed by an illegal taxation. This is an enormous sum to be levied in such an infant community; and it will appear the more so if it be recollected that nineteen-twentieths of it are collected from the duty which has been imposed on spirituous liquors, and from licences to keep public-houses for the retail of them. STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF THE SETTLEMENTS IN VAN DIEMEN'S LAND. Van Diemen's Land is situated between 40 degrees 42', and 43 degrees 43' of south latitude, and between 145 degrees 31' and 148 degrees 22' of east longitude. The honour of the discovery of this island also belongs to the Dutch; but the survey of it has been principally effected by the English. The aborigines of this country are, if possible, still more barbarous and uncivilised than those of New Holland. They subsist entirely by hunting, and have no knowledge whatever of the art of fishing. Even the rude bark canoe which their neighbours possess, is quite unknown to them; and whenever they want to pass any sheet of water, they are compelled to construct a rude raft for the occasion. Their arms and hunting implements also indicate an inferior degree of civilization. The womera, or throwing stick, which enables the natives of Port Jackson to cast their spears with such amazing force and precision, is not used by them. Their spears, too, instead of being made with the bulrush, and only pointed with hard wood, are composed entirely of it, and are consequently more ponderous. In using them they grasp the center; but they neither throw them so far nor so dexterously as the natives of the parent colony. This circumstance is the more fortunate, as they maintain the most rancorous and inflexible hatred and hostility towards the colonists. This deep rooted enmity, however, does not arise so much from the ferocious nature of these savages, as from the inconsiderate and unpardonable conduct of our countrymen shortly after the foundation of the settlement on the river Derwent. At first the natives evinced the most friendly disposition towards the new comers; and would probably have been actuated by the same amicable feeling to this day, had not the military officer entrusted with the command, directed a discharge of grape and canister shot to be made among a large body who were approaching, as he imagined, with hostile designs; but as it has since been believed with much greater probability, merely from motives of curiosity and friendship. The havoc occasioned among them by this murderous discharge, was dreadful; and since then all communication with them has ceased, and the spirit of animosity and revenge, which this unmerited and atrocious act of barbarity has engendered, has been fostered and aggravated to the highest pitch by the incessant rencontres which have subsequently taken place between them and the settlers. These, wherever and whenever an occasion offers, destroy as many of them as possible, and they in their turn never let slip an opportunity of retaliating on their blood-thirsty butchers. Fortunately, however, for the colonists, they have seldom or never been known to act on the offensive, except when they have met some of their persecutors singly. Two persons armed with muskets may traverse the island from one end to the other in the most perfect safety. Van Diemen's Land has not so discouraging and repulsive an appearance from the coast as New Holland. Many fine tracts of land are found on the very borders of the sea, and the interior is almost invariably possessed of a soil admirably adapted to all the purposes of civilized man. This island is upon the whole mountainous, and consequently abounds in streams. On the summits of many of the mountains there are large lakes, some of which are the sources of considerable rivers. Of these the Derwent, Huon, and Tamar, rank in the first class. There is perhaps no island in the world of the same size which can boast of so many fine harbours: the best are the Derwent, Port Davy, Macquarie Harbour, Port Dalrymple, and Oyster Bay: the first is on its southern side, the second and third on its western, the fourth on its northern, and the fifth on its eastern, so that it has excellent harbours in every direction. This circumstance cannot fail to be productive of the most beneficial effects, and will most materially assist the future march of colonization. There is almost a perfect resemblance between the animal and vegetable kingdoms of this island and of New Holland. In their animal kingdoms in particular, there is scarcely any variation. The native dog, indeed, is unknown here; but there is an animal of the panther tribe in its stead, which, though not found in such numbers as the native dog is in New Holland, commits dreadful havoc among the flocks. It is true that its ravages are not so frequent; but when they happen they are more extensive. This animal is of considerable size, and has been known in some few instances, to measure six feet and a half from the tip of the nose to the extremity of the tail; still it is cowardly, and by no means formidable to man: unless, indeed, when taken by surprise, it invariably flies his approach. In the feathered tribes of the two islands, there is scarcely any diversity; of this the wattle bird, which is about the size of a snipe, and considered a very great delicacy, is the only instance which I can cite. Like New Holland it has many varieties of poisonous reptiles, but they are neither so venomous nor so numerous as in that island. Its rivers and seas too, abound with the same species of fish. Oysters are found in much greater perfection, though not in greater abundance. The rocks that border the coasts and harbours are literally covered with muscles, as the rocks at Port Jackson are with oysters. There is not so perfect a resemblance in the vegetable kingdoms of the two islands; but still the dissimilarity, where it exists, is chiefly confined to their minor productions. In the trees of the forest there is scarcely any difference. Van Diemen's Land wants the cedar, mahogany, and rose wood; but it has very good substitutes for them in the black wood and Huon pine, which is a species of the yew tree, and remarkable for its strong odoriferous scent and extreme durability. The principal mineralogical productions of this island are, iron, copper, alum, coals, slate, limestone, asbestus, and basaltes; all of which, with the exception of copper, are to be had in the greatest abundance. HOBART TOWN. Hobart Town, which is the seat of the Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land, stands nine miles up the river Derwent. It was founded only fifteen years since, and indeed the rudeness of its appearance sufficiently indicates the recency of its origin. The houses are in general of the meanest description, seldom exceeding one story in height, and being for the most part weather-boarded without, and lathed and plastered within. Even the government house is of very bad construction. The residences, indeed, of many individuals far surpass it. The population may be estimated at about one thousand souls. This town is built principally on two hills, between which there is a fine stream of excellent water, that issues from the Table Mountain, and falls into Sullivan's Cove. On this stream a flour mill has been erected, and there is sufficient fall in it for the erection of two or three more. There are also within a short distance of the town, several other streams which originate in the same mountain, and are equally well adapted to similar purposes. This is an advantage not possessed by the inhabitants of Port Jackson; since there is not in any of the cultivated districts to the eastward of the Blue Mountains a single run of water which can be pronounced in every respect eligible for the erection of mills. Windmills are in consequence almost exclusively used for grinding corn in Sydney; but in the inland towns and districts, the colonists are in a great measure obliged to have recourse to hand mills, as the winds during the greater part of the year, are not of sufficient force to penetrate the forest and set mills in motion. The elevation of the Table Mountain, which is so called from the great resemblance it bears to the mountain of the same name at the Cape of Good Hope, has not been determined; but it is generally estimated at about six thousand feet above the level of the sea. During three-fourths of the year it is covered with snow, and the same violent gusts of wind blow from it as from this, its mountain name-sake; but no gathering clouds on its summit give notice of the approaching storm. The fiery appearance, however, of the heavens, affords a sufficient warning to the inhabitants of the country. These blasts are happily confined to the precincts of the mountain, and seldom last above three hours; but nothing can exceed their violence for the time. In the year 1810, I happened to be on board of a vessel which was bound to Hobart Town: in consequence of the winds proving scanty, we were obliged to anchor during the night in D'Entrecasteaux's Channel. The following morning we got under weigh, expecting that the sea breeze would set in by the time the anchor was hove up. The seamen had no sooner effected this and set all sail, than we were assailed with one of these mountain hurricanes. In an instant the vessel was on her beam-ends, and in another, had not all the sheets and halyards been let go, she would either have upset or carried away her masts. The moment the sails were clued up we brought to again; and as we were in a harbour perfectly land-locked and very narrow, the vessel easily rode out this blast. It only lasted about two hours; but the sea breeze did not succeed it that day. The next morning, however, it set in as usual. During the continuance of this mountain tornado, the waters of the harbour were terribly agitated, and taken up in the same manner as dust is collected by what are called whirlwinds in this country. So great indeed was its fury, that it required us to hold on by the ropes with all our force, in order to enable us to keep our footing. The harbour at and conducting to the river Derwent, yields to none in the world; perhaps surpasses every other. There are two entrances to this river, which are separated by Pitt's Island; one is termed D'Entrecasteaux's Channel, the other, Storm Bay. D'Entrecasteaux's Channel, from Point Collins up to Hobart Town, a distance, following the course of the water, of thirty-seven miles, is one continued harbour, varying in breadth from eight to two miles, and in depth from thirty to four fathoms. The river Derwent itself has three fathoms water for eleven miles above the town, and is consequently navigable thus far for vessels of the largest burthen. Reckoning therefore from Point Collins, there is a line of harbour in D'Entrecasteaux's Channel and the Derwent, together of forty-eight miles, completely land-locked, and affording the best anchorage the whole way. The entrance, however, by Storm Bay, does not offer the same advantages; for it is twenty-two miles broad from Maria's Islands to Penguin Island, and completely exposed to the winds from south to south-east. This bay consequently does not afford the same excellent anchorage as D'Entrecasteaux's Channel. It contains, however, some few nooks, in which vessels may take shelter in case of necessity. The best of these is Adventure Bay, which is shut in from any winds that can blow directly from the ocean, but is nevertheless exposed to the north-east winds, which have a reach of twenty miles from the opposite side of the bay. There is consequently, when these winds prevail, a considerable swell here; but the force of the sea is in a great measure broken by Penguin Island; and vessels having good anchors and cables have nothing to fear. Storm Bay, besides thus forming one of the entrances to the river Derwent, leads to another very good harbour, called North Bay. This harbour is about sixteen miles long, and in some places six miles and a half broad. The greater part of it is perfectly land-locked, and affords excellent anchorage in from two to fifteen fathoms water. That part in particular called Norfolk Bay, forms a very spacious harbour of itself, being about three miles in breadth and nine in length. This bay, besides being better sheltered than the rest of the harbours, contains the greatest depth of water, having in no place less than four fathoms. All the bays and harbours which have been just described, abound with right whale at a particular season of the year. These leviathans of the deep quit the boisterous ocean, and seek the more tranquil waters of these harbours, when they are on the point of calving. This happens in November, and they remain there with their young between two and three months. During this period there are generally every year a few of the colonial craft employed in the whale fishery; but the duties which are levied in this country on all oils procured in vessels not having a British register, amount to a prohibition, and completely prevent the colonists from prosecuting this fishery further than is necessary for their own consumption, and for the supply of the East India market. Between two and three hundred tons annually suffice for both these purposes. The whales frequently go up the river Derwent as far as the town; and it is no uncommon sight for its inhabitants to behold the whole method of taking them, from the moment they are harpooned until they are finally killed by the frequent application of the lance. This sight indeed has been occasionally witnessed by the inhabitants of Sydney; since it has sometimes occurred that a stray fish has entered the harbour of Port Jackson, while some of the South Sea whalers have been lying there, and that these have lowered their boats and killed it. All the bays and harbours in Van Diemen's Land, and most of those likewise which are in Bass's Straits, and on the southern coast of New Holland, abound with these fish at the same season. If the colonists, therefore, were not thus restricted from this fishery, it would soon become an immense source of wealth to them; and I have no doubt that they would be enabled to export many thousand tons of oil annually to this country. But it is in vain that nature has been thus lavish of her bounties to them; in vain do their seas and harbours invite them to embark in these inexhaustible channels of wealth and enterprize. Their government, that government which ought to be the foremost in developing their nascent efforts, and fostering them to maturity, is itself the first to check their growth and impede their advancement. What a miserly system of legislation is it, which thus locks up from its own subjects, a fund of riches that might administer to the wants, and contribute to the happiness of thousands! What barbarous tantalization to compel them to thirst in the midst of the waters of abundance! PORT DALRYMPLE. This port, which was discovered by Flinders, in 1798, lies thirty degrees E. S. E. of Three Hammock Island. The town of Launceston stands about thirty miles from its entrance, at the junction of the North Esk, and the South with the river Tamar. It is little more than an inconsiderable village, the houses in general being of the humblest description. Its population is between three and four hundred souls. The tide reaches nine or ten miles up the river Esk, and the produce of the farms within that distance, may be sent down to the town in boats. But the North Esk descends from a range of mountains, by a cataract immediately into the river Tamar, and is consequently altogether inaccessible to navigation. The Tamar has sufficient depth of water as far as Launceston, for vessels of a hundred and fifty tons burthen; but the navigation of this river is very intricate, by reason of the banks and shallows with which it abounds, and it has been at length prudently resolved to remove the seat of government nearer the entrance of Port Dalrymple. A town called George Town, has been for the last three years in a state of active preparation; and it is probable that the commandant, and indeed the entire civil and military establishments* of this settlement, have by this time removed to it. In this case the greater part of the population of Launceston will soon follow. This desertion of its inhabitants will considerably diminish the value of landed property in that town, and consequently be productive of great loss to them; but there can be no doubt that the change of the seat of government will in the event materially contribute to the prosperity of the settlement in general. This abandonment, therefore, or rather intended abandonment of the old town, has been dictated by the soundest principles of policy and justice; but although the equity of the maxim that the interests of the few should cede to the good of the many, is incontrovertible, it is nevertheless to be hoped, that some means will be contrived of indemnifying the inhabitants of Launceston for the great injury which they will suffer from the removal of the seat of government to George Town. Within a few miles of Launceston, there is the most amazing abundance of iron. Literally speaking, there are whole mountains of this ore, which is so remarkably rich, that it has been found to yield seventy per cent. of pure metal. These mines have not yet been worked; the population, indeed, of the settlement would not allow it; but there can be no doubt that they will at no very remote period become a source of considerable wealth to its inhabitants. There is a communication by land between Launceston and Hobart Town, which are about one hundred and thirty miles distant from each other in a straight line, and about one hundred and sixty, following the windings of the route at present frequented. No regular road has been constructed between these towns, but the numerous carts and droves of cattle and sheep, which are constantly passing from one to the other, have rendered the track sufficiently distinct and plain. In fact, the making a road is a matter of very great ease, both here and in Port Jackson. The person whoever he may be that wants to establish a cart-road to any place, marks the trees in the direction he wishes it to take, and these marks serve as a guide to all such as require to travel on it. In a very short time the tracks of the horses and carts that have passed along it become visible, the grass is gradually trod down, and finally disappears, and thus a road is formed; not, indeed, so good as one of the usual construction, but which answers all the purposes of those who have occasion to make use of it. Wherever there happens to be a stream, or river that is not fordable, it is customary to cut down two or three trees in some spot on its banks, where it is seen that they will reach to the other side of it. Across these, the boughs that are lopped off themselves, or smaller trees felled for the purpose, are laid close together, and over all a sufficient covering of earth. Of this description are all the roads and bridges in Van Diemen's Land, and many of them, even in Port Jackson; but in this respect it will be recollected that the latter is much in advance of the former. The reason why the settlements on this island are so much behind the parent colony, is not to be traced so much to the greater recency of their origin, as to the circumstance of their inhabitants being for the most part established along the banks of navigable waters. At Port Dalrymple, the majority of the settlers have fixed themselves on the banks of the North Esk, within the navigable reach of that river. The Derwent too, it has been seen, is navigable for vessels of the largest burden for twenty miles from its entrance. A little higher up, indeed, there are falls in it which interrupt its navigation; but it is hardly yet colonized beyond these falls, and whenever that shall be the case, it may be easily rendered navigable for boats by the help of ferries for a considerable distance further. Such of the agriculturists as have not settled on the banks of this river, have selected their farms in the district of Pitt Water; which extends along the northern side of that spacious harbour, called "North Bay." These have consequently the same facilities as those on the banks of the Derwent for sending their produce to market by water, and they naturally prefer this, the cheapest mode of conveyance. It may, therefore, be perceived that the superior advantages which are thus presented by an inland navigation, are the main causes why the construction of regular roads has been so much neglected in these settlements. So far, indeed, is this want of roads from being an inconvenience to the inhabitants of them, that the facilities afforded by this inland navigation for the transport of all sorts of agricultural produce to market, is the principal point of superiority which they can claim over their brethren at Port Jackson. ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. In the two settlements on this island, there is but one court of justice established by charter. This is termed the Lieutenant-Governor's Court, and consists of the deputy judge advocate, and two of the respectable inhabitants appointed from time to time by the lieutenant-governor. The jurisdiction of this court is purely civil, and only extends to pleas where the sum at issue does not exceed £50; but no appeal lies from its decisions. All causes for a higher amount, and all criminal offences beyond the cognizance of the bench of magistrates, are removed, the former before the Supreme Court, and the latter before the Court of Criminal Judicature at Port Jackson. STATE OF DEFENCE, ETC. These settlements are in a very bad state of defence, having but two companies of troops for the garrison and protection of them both. They have consequently been infested for many years past, by a banditti of run-away convicts, who have endangered the person and property of every one that has evinced himself hostile to their enormities. These wretches, who are known in the colony by the name of bush-rangers, even went so far as to write threatening letters to the lieutenant-governor and the magistracy. In this horrible state of anarchy a simultaneous feeling of insecurity and dread, naturally pervaded the whole of the inhabitants; and the most respectable part of the agricultural body with one accord betook themselves to the towns, as the only certain means of preserving their lives, gladly abandoning their property to prevent the much greater sacrifice with which the defence of it would have been attended. There is no species of outrage and atrocity, in which these marauders did not indulge: murders, incendiaries, and robberies were their ordinary amusements, and have been for many years past the leading events in the annals of these unfortunate settlements. Every measure that could be devised was taken for the capture and punishment of these wretches. They were repeatedly outlawed, and the most alluring rewards were set upon their heads; but the insufficiency of the military force, the extent of the island, their superior local knowledge, and the abundance of game, which enabled them to find an easy subsistence, and rendered them independent, except for an occasional supply of ammunition, with which some unknown persons were base enough to furnish them in exchange for their ill acquired booty; all these circumstances conspired to baffle for many years every attempt that was made for their apprehension. This long impunity served only to increase their cruelty and temerity; and it was at last deemed expedient by Lieutenant Governor Davy to declare the whole island under the operation of martial law. This vigorous exertion of authority was zealously seconded by the respectable inhabitants, many of whom joined the military in the pursuit of these miscreants, and fortunately succeeded by their joint exertions in apprehending the most daring of their ringleaders, who were instantly tried by a court martial and hanged in chains. This terrible, though necessary example, was followed by a proclamation offering a general amnesty to all the rest of these delinquents who should surrender themselves before a certain day; excepting, however, such of them as had been guilty of murder. The proclamation had the desired effect: all who were not excluded by their crimes availed themselves of the pardon thus offered them. But strange to say, they were allowed to remain in the island; and whether they were enamoured of the licentious life they had been so long leading, or whether they distrusted the sincerity of the oblivion promised them, and became apprehensive of eventual punishment, in a few months afterwards they again betook themselves to the woods, and rejoined those who had been excluded from the amnesty. After this, they rivalled their former atrocities, and a general feeling of consternation was again excited among the well disposed part of the community. And here, as it may not be uninteresting to many of my readers to be acquainted with some of the specific outrages of these monsters, I subjoin the following extracts from the Sydney Gazette of the 25th Jan. 1817. The accounts of robberies by the banditti of bush-rangers on Van Diemen's Land, presents a melancholy picture of the distresses to which the more respectable classes of inhabitants are constantly exposed from the daring acts of those infamous marauders, who are divided into small parties, and are designated by the name of the principal ruffian at their head, of whom one Michael Howe appears to be the most alert in depredation. The accounts received by the Kangaroo, which commence from the beginning of November, state that on the 7th of that month, the house and premises of Mr. David Rose at Port Dalrymple, were attacked and plundered of a considerable property, by Peter Sefton and his gang. The delinquents were pursued by the commandant at the head of a strong detachment of the 46th regiment; but returned after a five days hunt through the woods, without being able to discover the villains, among whom is stated to have been a free man, named Denis M'Caig, who went from hence to Port Dalrymple in the Brothers. On the night of the 17th of November, the premises of Mr. Thomas Hayes, at Bagdad, were attacked at a time when Mr. Stocker and wife, and Mr. Andrew Whitehead (the former on their route from Hobart Town to Port Dalrymple, with a cart containing a large and valuable property) had unfortunately put up at the house for the night. Michael Howe was the chief of this banditti, which consisted of eight others. The property of which they plundered Mr. and Mrs. Stocker on this occasion, was upwards of £300 value, among which were two kegs of spirits. One of these, a member of the gang wantonly wasted, by firing a pistol-ball through the head of the keg, which contained eleven gallons. They set their watches by Mr. Whitehead's, which they afterwards returned; but took Mr. Stocker's away with their other plunder. Mr. Wade, chief constable of Hobart Town, had stopped with the others at Mr. Hayes's; but hearing a noise, which he considered to denote the approach of bush-rangers, he prudently attended to the admonition, and escaped their fury, which it was concluded would have fallen heavily upon him, as they are at variance with all conditions in life that are inimical to their crimes. On the morning of the 2d instant, Mr. William Maum, of Hobart Town, sustained the loss of three stacks of wheat by fire at his farm at Clarence Plains, owing to the act of an incendiary. On the 14th of November a large body, consisting of fourteen men and two women, were unwelcomely fallen in with by a single man on horseback, at Scantling's Plains. Howe and Geary were the most conspicuous: they compelled him to bear testimony to the swearing in of their whole party, to abide by some resolutions dictated in a written paper, which one of them finished writing in the traveller's presence. After a detention of about three quarters of an hour, he was suffered to proceed under strong injunctions to declare what he had been an eye-witness of; and to desire Mr. Humphrey, the magistrate, and Mr. Wade, the chief constable, to take care of themselves, as they were bent on taking their lives, as well as to prevent them from growing grain, or keeping goods of any kind. And by the information of a person upon oath, it appears that they had about the same period, forced away two government servants from their habitations, to a distant place, on which the crimes of these wretches have stamped the appellation of murderer's plains, (by themselves facetiously called _the tallow-chandler's shop_) where they kept them to work three days in rendering down beef-fat. How they could afterwards appropriate so great a quantity of rendered fat and suet, is truly a question worthy to be demanded; for it is far more likely it should be taken off their hands by persons in or near the settlements, who are leagued with them, in the way of bartering one commodity for another, than that the bush-rangers should either keep it for their own use, or bestow so much trouble on the preparation of an article that would soon spoil in their hands. The caftle that were in this instance so devoted, were the property of Stones and Tray, who declare that out of three hundred head, one hundred and forty have lately disappeared". All the outrages above enumerated, it will be seen, were perpetrated within the short period of ten days; and these settlements continued the scene of similar enormities until the July following, an interval of nearly eight months. On the serious injury which the industrious and deserving of all classes, must have experienced in that time, from the inability of the government to afford them protection, it would be useless here to dilate. It must be evident, that such extremes of anarchy could not be of any long duration; and that one or other of these two events became inevitable; either that the exertions and enterprizes of the colonists should be brought to a stand, or that these disturbers of the general tranquillity, should suffer condign punishment. Fortunately the cause of public justice triumphed, and the majority of these monsters either fell victims to common distrust, or to the violated laws of their country. And here, after detailing some few of their excesses, I cannot refrain from giving in turn the account of the measures that led to their discomfiture and apprehension, as extracted from the Sydney Gazette of the 4th October, 1817. A meeting of public officers and principal inhabitants and settlers, was convened at Hobart Town, by sanction of his honour, Lieutenant-Governor Sorrel, (the successor of Colonel Davy) on the 5th of July, for the purpose of considering the most effectual measures for suppressing the banditti; when the utmost alacrity manifested itself to support the views of government in promoting that desirable object, and a liberal subscription was immediately entered into for the purpose. The following proclamation was immediately afterwards issued by the Lieutenant-Governor. Whereas, the armed banditti, who have for a considerable time infested the interior of this island, did on the 10th ultimo, make an attack upon the store at George Town, which being left unprotected, they plundered, taking away two boats, which they afterwards cast ashore at the entrance of Port Dalrymple; and whereas, the principal leader in the outrages which have been committed by this band of robbers, is Peter Geary, a deserter from his Majesty's 73d regiment, charged also with murder and various other offences; and whereas, the undermentioned offenders have been concerned with the said Peter Geary in most of these enormities; the following rewards will be paid to any person or persons, who shall apprehend these offenders, or any of them: Peter Geary--One Hundred Guineas. Peter Septon, John Jones, Richard Collyer--Eighty Guineas each. Thomas Coine, Brown or Brune, a Frenchman--Fifty Guineas each. And whereas, George Watts, a prisoner, who absented himself from the Coal River, previous to the expiration of his sentence, and who stands charged with various robberies and crimes, is now at large: it is hereby declared, that a reward of eighty guineas will be paid to any person or persons, who shall apprehend the said George Watts. And all magistrates and commanders of military stations, and parties, and all constables and others of his majesty's subjects, are enjoined to use their utmost efforts to apprehend the criminals above named. On the 10th of July, a division of the banditti proceeded to George Town, and seizing upon the government boats, induced five of the working people to abscond with them; upon representation whereof to the Lieutenant-Governor, a proclamation was issued requiring the return of those persons, under the assurance of forgiveness, if so returning within twenty days, from the consideration that the settlement of George Town had been for some days without command or controul; the causes of which will be found in our supplement of this day; wherein Mr. Superintendent Leith, has, in his testimony upon the murder of the chief constable of the settlement, declared his necessary absence to Launceston at that express period. The gang of bush-rangers appeared in the vicinity of Black Brush on Saturday, and were tracked on the following morning by Serjeant M'Carthy, of the 46th, with his party. On Monday the bush-rangers were at a house at Tea-tree Brush, where they had dined, and about three o'clock Serjeant M'Carthy with his party came up. The bush-rangers ran out of the house into the woods, and being eleven in number, and well covered by timber and ground, the eight soldiers could not close with them. After a good deal of firing, Geary the leader was wounded, and fell; two others were also wounded. The knapsacks of the whole and their dogs were taken. Geary died the same night, and his corpse was brought into town on Tuesday, as were the two wounded men. The remaining eight bush-rangers were seen in the neighbourhood of the Coal River on Wednesday; but, as they must have been destitute of provisions and ammunition, sanguine hopes were entertained of their speedy fall. Dennis Currie and Matthew Kiegan, two of the original bush-rangers, surrendered on the Monday following. On Wednesday, a coroner's inquest was held on the body of James Geary, who died of the wound received in the affair at Tea-tree Brush. Verdict, Homicide in furtherance of public justice. Jones, a principal of the banditti, was shot in the beginning of August, in the neighbourhood of Swanport, which is on the eastern shore. For some days they had not been heard of; but by the extraordinary exertions of Serjeant M'Carthy and his party of the 46th regiment, were tracked and overtaken at the above place; on which occasion Jones was killed on the spot by a ball through the head. A prisoner of the name of Holmes was by the bush-ranger's fire, wounded in two places, but we do not hear mortally. On the Sunday evening after the above affair, some of the villains effected a robbery at Clarence Plains; but became so excessively intemperate from intoxication as to quarrel among themselves; the consequence was, that another of the gang of the name of Rollards, having been most severely bruised and beaten by his associates fell into the hands of a settler, and was by him taken a prisoner into Hobart Town. White and Johnson, two others of the gang, were apprehended by Serjeant M'Carthy's party, on Thursday the 14th of August, being conducted to their haunts by a native woman, distinguished by the name of Black Mary, and another girl. After the above successes in reducing the number of these persons, some of them still continued out, on the 16th of August, as appears from a report published: of the old bush-rangers, Septon, Collyer, Coine, and Brune, also Watts, who kept separate from the rest, and Michael Howe, who had before delivered himself up, and after remaining some weeks in Hobart Town, took again to the woods, from a dread, as was imagined, of ultimately being called to answer for his former offences. At this period also, there were two absentees from George Town, Port Dalrymple; a number of the working hands having gone from that settlement shortly before, all of whom had returned to their duty but these two. White, Rollards, and Peck, were about this time under a reward of sixty guineas for their apprehension, for an attempt to commit a robbery at Clarence Plains: Peck was a freeman, the other two prisoners. By the 6th of September, nearly the whole of the absentees of whatever description had either surrendered or been apprehended; and upon this day a proclamation was issued offering the following rewards: for the apprehension of Michael Howe, one hundred guineas; for George Watts, eighty guineas; and for Brune, the Frenchman, fifty guineas; and in consequence of these prompt and efficacious arrangements, additional captures had been made, which placed it nearly beyond a doubt that Howe is almost, if not the only individual of the desperate gangs now at large. This latter assertion, however, does not appear to have been correct; for in a Sydney Gazette of the 25th of October, of the same year, we have the following account of the apprehension and surrender of some others of this banditti, and of an unsuccessful attempt to take Michael Howe, which will tend to elucidate the desperate character of this ruffian. Several persons have arrived as witnesses on the prosecution of offenders transmitted for trial by the Pilot; two of whom are charged with wilful murder, viz. Richard Collyer, as a principal in the atrocious murder of the late William Carlisle and James O'Berne, who were shot by a banditti of bush-rangers at the settlement of New Norfolk, on the 24th of April, 1815; the particulars whereof were published in the Sydney Gazette of the 20th of the following May. The other prisoner for murder is John Hilliard, who was also one of the banditti of bush-rangers; but being desirous of giving himself up, determined previously by force or guile, to achieve some exploit, that might place the sincerity of his contrition beyond doubt. Accident soon brought the above Collyer, together with Peter Septon, another of the banditti, within his power. He attacked and killed Septon, and wounded Collyer, who nevertheless got away, but was soon apprehended. It is for the killing of Septon, he is therefore to be tried. Four of the prisoners sent by this vessel are for sheep stealing. Another of the late banditti, George Watts, is come up also, but under no criminal charge, as we are informed, he having been desperately wounded by Michael Howe, in an attempt assisted by William Drew, to take him into Hobart Town a prisoner; but in which exertion Drew was shot dead by that desperate offender, and the survivor Watts nearly killed also. * * * I have been thus copious in extracts from the Sydney Gazette, to shew the lamentable state of danger and anarchy in which the colonists on Van Diemen's Land have been kept by an inconsiderable banditti; who, from the imbecility of the local government, have been enabled to continue for many years in a triumphant career of violence and impunity. This iniquitous and formidable association may, indeed, be considered as crushed for the moment, although the most desperate member of it is still at large. But what pledge have the well disposed part of the inhabitants, that a band equally atrocious will not again spring up, and endanger the general peace and security? What guarantee, in fact, have they that this very ruffian, the soul and center of the late combination, will not serve as a rallying point to the profligate, and again collect around him a circle of robbers and murderers as desperate and bloody as the miscreants who have been annihilated? And can the pursuits of industry quietly proceed under the harassing dread which this constant liability to outrage and depredation must inspire? There is no principle less controvertible than that the subject has the same claims on the government for support and protection, as they have on him, for obedience and fidelity. The compact is as binding on the one party, as on the other; and it is really discreditable to the established character of this country, that any part of its dominions should have continued for so long a period, the scene of such flagrant enormities, merely from the want of a sufficient military force to ensure the due administration of the laws, and to maintain the public tranquillity. CLIMATE, ETC. The climate of this island is equally healthy, and much more congenial to the European constitution, than that of Port Jackson. The north-west winds, which are there productive of such violent variations of temperature, are here unknown; and neither the summers, nor winters, are subject to any great extremes of heat, or cold. The frosts, indeed, are much more severe, and of much longer duration; and the mountains with which this island abounds, are covered with snow during the greater part of the year; but in the vallies it never lingers on the ground more than a few hours. Upon an average, the mean difference of temperature, between these settlements and those on New Holland, (I speak of such as are to the eastward of the Blue Mountains; for the country to the westward of them, it has been already stated, is equally cold with any part of Van Diemen's Land,) may be estimated at ten degrees of Fahrenheit, at all seasons of the year. The prevailing diseases are the same as at Port Jackson: i. e. phthisis, and dysentery; but the former is not so common. Rheumatic complaints, however, which are scarcely known there, exist here to a considerable extent. SOIL, ETC. In this island, as in New Holland, there is every diversity of soil, but certainly in proportion to the surface of the two countries, this contains, comparatively, much less of an indifferent quality. Large tracts of land perfectly free from timber or underwood, and covered with the most luxuriant herbage, are to be found in all directions; but more particularly in the environs of Port Dalrymple. This sort of land is _invariably_ of the _very best description_, and _millions_ of acres still remain _unappropriated, which are capable of being instantly converted to all the purposes of husbandry. There the colonist has no expence to incur in clearing his farm: he is not compelled to a great preliminary out-lay of capital, before he can expect a considerable return; he has only to set fire to the grass, to prepare his land for the immediate reception of the plough-share; so that, if he but possess a good team of horses, or oxen, with a set of harness, and a couple of substantial ploughs, he has the main requisites for commencing an agricultural establishment, and for ensuring a comfortable subsistence for himself and family._ To this great superiority which these southern settlements may claim over the parent colony, may be superadded two other items of distinction, which are perhaps of equal magnitude and importance. First, The rivers here have sufficient fall in them to prevent any excessive accumulation of water, from violent or continued rains; and are consequently free from those awful and destructive inundations to which all its rivers are perpetually subject. Here, therefore, the industrious colonist may settle on the banks of a navigable river, and enjoy all the advantages of sending his produce to market by water, without running the constant hazard of having the fruits of his labour, the golden promise of the year, swept away in an hour by a capricious and domineering element. Secondly, The seasons are more regular and defined, and those great droughts which have been so frequent at Port Jackson, are altogether unknown. In the years 1813, 1814, and 1815, when the whole face of the country there was literally burnt up, and vegetation completely at a stand still from the want of rain, an abundant supply of it fell here, and the harvests, in consequence, were never more productive. Indeed, since these settlements were first established, a period of fifteen years, the crops have never sustained any serious detriment from an insufficiency of rain; whereas, in the parent colony, there have been in the thirty-one years that have elapsed since its foundation, I may venture to say, half a dozen dearths, occasioned by drought, and at least as many arising from floods. The circumstance, therefore, of Van Diemen's Land being thus exempt from those calamitous consequences, which are so frequent in New Holland, from a superabundance of rain in the one instance, and a deficiency of it in the other, is a most important point of consideration, for all such as hesitate in their choice betwixt the two countries; and is well worthy the most serious attention of those who are desirous of emigrating to one or the other of them, with a view to become mere agriculturists. In the system of agriculture pursued in the two colonies, there is no difference, save that the Indian corn, or maize, is not cultivated here, because the climate is too cold to bring this grain to maturity. Barley and oats, however, arrive at much greater perfection, and afford the inhabitants a substitute, although by no means an equivalent, for this highly valuable product. The wheat, too, which is raised here, is of much superior description to the wheat grown in any of the districts at Port Jackson, and will always command in the Sydney market, a difference of price sufficiently great to pay for the additional cost of transport. The average produce, also, of land here, is greater, although it does not exceed, perhaps not equal the produce of the rich flooded lands on the banks of the Hawkesbury and Nepean. A gentleman who resided many years at Port Dalrymple, estimates the average produce of the crops at that settlement as follows: Wheat, thirty bushels per acre; barley, forty-five bushels per ditto; oats, he does not know, but say sixty bushels per ditto. This estimate is not at all calculated to impress the English farmer with as favourable an opinion of the fertility of this settlement as it merits; but if he only witnessed the slovenly mode of tillage which is practised there, he would be surprised not that the average produce of the crops is so small, but that it is so great. If the same land had the benefit of the system of agriculture that prevails throughout the county of Norfolk, it may be safely asserted that its produce would be doubled. The land on the upper banks of the river Derwent and at Pitt-water, is equally fertile; but the average produce of the crops on the whole of the cultivated districts belonging to this settlement, is at least one-fifth less than at Port Dalrymple. These settlements do not contain either such a variety or abundance of fruit as the parent colony. The superior coldness of their climate sufficiently accounts for the former deficiency, and the greater recency of their establishment for the latter. The orange, citron, guava, loquet, pomegranate, and many other fruits which attain the greatest perfection at Port Jackson, cannot be produced here at all without having recourse to artificial means; while many more, as the peach, nectarine, grape, etc. only arrive at a very inferior degree of maturity. On the other hand, as has been already noticed, the apple, currant, gooseberry, and indeed all those fruits for which the climate of the parent colony is too warm, are raised here without difficulty. The system of rearing and fattening cattle is perfectly analogous to that which is pursued at Port Jackson. The natural grasses afford an abundance of pasturage at all seasons of the year, and no provision of winter provender, in the shape either of hay or artificial food, is made by the settler for his cattle; yet, notwithstanding this palpable omission, and the greater length and severity of the winters, all manner of stock attain there a much larger size than at Port Jackson. Oxen from three to four years old average here about 700 lbs. and wethers from two to three years old, from 80 to 90 lbs.; while there oxen of the same age, do not average more than 500 lbs. and wethers not more than 40 lbs. At Port Dalrymple it is no uncommon occurrence for yearly lambs to weigh from 100 to 120 lbs. and for three year old wethers to weigh 150 lbs. and upwards; but this great disproportion of weight arises in some measure from the greater part of the sheep at this settlement, having become, from constant crossing, nearly of the pure Teeswater breed. Still the superior richness of the natural pastures in these southern settlements, is without doubt the main cause of the increased weight at which both sheep and cattle arrive; since there is both a kindlier and larger breed of cattle at Port Jackson, which nevertheless, neither weighs as heavy, nor affords as much suet as the cattle there. This is an incontrovertible proof that the natural grasses possess much more nutritive and fattening qualities in this colony than in the other; and the superior clearness of the country is quite sufficient to account for this circumstance, without taking into the estimate the additional fact, that up to a certain parallel of latitude, to which neither the one nor the other of the countries in question extends, the superior adaptation of the colder climate for the rearing and fattening of stock, is quite unquestionable. The price of provisions is about on a par in the two colonies, or if there be any difference, it is somewhat lower here. Horses three or four years back were considerably dearer than at Port Jackson; but large importations of them have been made in consequence, and it is probable that their value is before this time completely equalized. The wages of ordinary labourers are at least thirty per cent. higher, and of mechanics, fifty per cent. higher than in the parent colony; a disproportion solely attributable to the very unequal and injudicious distribution that has been made of the convicts. The progress made by these settlements in manufactures, is too inconsiderable to deserve notice, further than as it affords a striking proof in how much more flourishing and prosperous a condition they are than the parent colony. The commerce carried on by the colonists is of the same nature as that which is maintained by their brethren at Port Jackson. Like these, they have no staple export to offer in exchange for the various commodities which they import from foreign countries, and are obliged principally to rely on the expenditure of the government for the means of procuring them. Their annual income may be taken as follows: Money expended by the government for the pay and subsistence of the civil and military, and for the support of such of the convicts as are victualled from the king's stores, £30,000 Money expended by foreign shipping, 3,000 Wheat, etc. exported to Port Jackson, 4,000 Exports collected by the merchants of the settlement, 5,000 Sundries, 2,000 ------ Total, £44,000 ------ The duties collected in these southern settlements, are exactly on the same scale as at Port Jackson, and amount to about £5,000 annually, inclusive of the per centage allowed the collectors of them. A general Statement of the Land in Cultivation, etc. the Quantities of Stock, etc. as accounted for at the General Muster in New South Wales, taken by His Excellency Governor Macquarie, and Deputy Commissary General Allan, commencing the 6th October, and finally closing the 25th November, 1817, inclusive; with an exact Account of the same at Van Diemen's Land. Acres in Wheat 18,462 Ground prepared for Maize 11,714 Barley 856½ Oats 156¾ Pease and Beans 204¼ Potatoes 559 Garden and Orchard 863 Cleared ground 47,564¼ Total held 235,003¼ Horses 3,072 Horned cattle 44,753 Sheep 170,920 Hogs 17,842 Bushels of Wheat 24,05 [sic] Bushels of Maize 1,506 N. B. Total Number of Inhabitants in the Colony, including Van Diemen's Land, 20,379. PART II. OPERATION OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE COLONY FOR THE LAST FIFTEEN YEARS. It is generally considered a matter of astonishment that the colony of New South Wales, situated as it is, in a climate equal to that of the finest parts of France, of Spain, and of Italy, and possessing a soil of unbounded fertility, should have made so little progress towards prosperity and independence. The causes, however, which have contributed to its retardment, are the same, as have been attended with similar effects in all ages. Not only the records of the years that are no more, but the experience also of the present day, concur in proving that the prosperity of nations is not so much the result of the fertility of their soil, and the benignity of their climate, as of the wisdom and policy of their institutions. Decadence, poverty, wretchedness, and vice, have been the invariable attendants of bad governments; as prosperity, wealth, happiness, and virtue, have been of good ones. Rome, once the glory of the world; now a bye-word among the nations: once the seat of civilization, of affluence, and of power; now the abode of superstition, poverty, and weakness, is a lasting monument of the truth of this assertion. Her greatness was founded on freedom, and rose with her consulate; her decadence may be said to have commenced with her first emperor, and was completed under his vicious and despotic dynasty: her climate and soil still remain; but the freedom which raised her to the empire of the world has passed away with her institutions. If we search still further back into antiquity, we shall find that all the great nations which have at various times preponderated over their neighbours, attained their utmost force and vigour, during the period of their greatest freedom and virtue; and that their decadence and ultimate annihilation were the work of a succession of vicious and tyrannical rulers. The empires of Persia and of Greece, were successively established by the superior freedom and virtue of their citizens; and it was only when the institutions, which were the source of this freedom and virtue, were no longer reverenced and enforced, that each in its turn became the prey of a freer and more virtuous people. The experience of modern times is still more conclusive on this subject; because no part of the chain of events which have contributed to the aggrandisement or impair of existing nations, lies hid in the mist of ages. If we regard the unprecedented wealth and power of our own country, we shall be convinced that her present pre-eminent position is not so much the effect of her soil and climate, since in these respects she is confessedly behind many of the nations of Europe, as of the superior freedom of her laws, which have engendered her a freer, more virtuous, and more warlike race of people. It is to her superior polity alone that she is indebted for a dominion, unparalleled in the history of the world; and it is to its rigid maintenance and enforcement that she must look for its durability. While England has been thus assiduously attentive to her own immediate internal prosperity, she has not in general been neglectful of those external possessions, which she has gradually acquired by colonization, by conquest, or by cession. On the most distant branches of her empire, she has engrafted, as far as circumstances would in general admit, those institutions which have been the main cause of her own internal happiness and prosperity. In the West Indies, in Canada, and lately in the Ionian Islands, she has introduced the elective franchise, and established that mixed counterpoising form of government, whose three component parts, though essentially different in their natures, so admirably coalesce and form one combined harmonious whole. It has, in fact, been one of the leading maxims of her political conduct, and undoubtedly one of the chief causes of her present greatness, to attach the people who have been embodied into her empire, or who have emigrated from her shores only to colonise new countries, and thus to extend her limits and increase her resources, by an equality of rights and privileges with her subjects at home. The navigation act, indeed, militates in some degree, against the liberal view here taken of her colonial policy; but the existence of this single act, which, however its wisdom may be at present canvassed, there can be no doubt has proved the basis of her commercial and maritime ascendancy, will not invalidate the claim to liberality, of which her colonial system is in other respects deserving. The conduct of her government has undoubtedly been in most instances liberal and enlightened; and if they have occasionally deviated from their ordinary enlarged policy of establishing the representative system, and leaving to the colonies, themselves, the liberty of framing laws adapted to their several circumstances and wants, it has been principally in those cases where the ancient inveterate habits of the people, their difference of religion, and inferior civilization, have rendered such deviations unavoidable. India furnishes the principal example of such exception to her general policy; yet, even in her remote possessions in that country, the sixty millions who are subject to her sway, enjoy a security of person and property unknown to them while under the government of their native princes. It is on this amelioration in their condition, and not on the strength and number of her armies, that her dominion in that part of the world is founded; and after all, what government is so stable as that which is bottomed on opinion, and depends for its existence on general utility, and the consent of the governed? Dominion may, indeed, be acquired, and continued by force and terror; but if it have no other props to support it, it is at best but precarious, and must, sooner or later, fall, either by the resistance of those whom it would hold in subjection, or by undermining their moral and physical energies, and thus rendering them unfit even for the vile purposes of despotism itself. The colony of New South Wales, is, I believe, the only one of our possessions exclusively inhabited by Englishmen, in which there is not at least the shadow of a free government, as it possesses neither a council, a house of assembly, nor even the privilege of trial by jury. And although it must be confessed that the strange ingredients of which this colony was formed, did not, at the epoch of its foundation, warrant a participation of these important privileges, it will be my endeavour in this essay to prove that the withholding of them up to the present period, has been the sole cause why it has not realized the expectations which its founders were led to form of its capabilities. It is not difficult to conceive that the same causes, which in the lapse of centuries have sufficed to undermine and eventually ingulph vast empires, should be able to impede the progress of smaller communities, whether they be kingdoms, states, or colonies. Arbitrary governments, indeed, are so generally admitted to impair the moral and physical energies of a people, that it would be superfluous to enter into an elaborate disquisition, in order to demonstrate the truth of a position, which has been confirmed by the experience of ages. Whoever is convinced that he has no rights, no possessions that are sacred and inviolable, is a slave, and devoid of that noble feeling of independence which is essential to the dignity of his nature, and the due discharge of his functions. This noble assurance that he is in the path of duty and security, so long as he refrain from the violation of those laws which may have been framed for the good of the community of which he is a member, is the main spring of all industry and improvement. But this dignified feeling cannot exist in any society which is subject to the arbitrary will of an individual; and although the governor of this colony does not exactly possess the unlimited authority of an eastern despot, since he may be ultimately made accountable to his sovereign and the laws, for the abuse of the power delegated to him, I may be allowed to ask, should he invade the property, and violate the personal liberty of those whom he ought to govern with justice and impartiality, where are the oppressed to seek for retribution? Is it in this country, situated at sixteen thousand miles from the seat of his injustice and oppression? To tell a poor man that he may obtain redress in the court of King's Bench, what is it but a cruel mockery, calculated to render the pang more poignant, which it would pretend to alleviate? I am not here amusing myself with the supposition of contingencies that may never occur. I am alluding to outrages that have been actually perpetrated, and of which the bare recital would fill the minds of a British jury with the liveliest sentiments of compassion and sympathy for the oppressed, and of horror and indignation against the oppressor. Leaseholds cancelled, houses demolished without the smallest compensation, on the plea of public utility, but in reality from motives of private hatred and revenge; freemen imprisoned on arbitrary warrants issued without reference to the magistracy, and even publicly flogged in the same illegal and oppressive manner: such were the events that crowded the government of a wretch, whom it would be as superfluous to name, as it is needless to hold him up to the execration of posterity* If such an immortality were, as it appears to have been, the object of his pursuit, he has completely attained it. Almost at his very offset in life, he acquired a notoriety which has increased through all the subsequent sinuosities of his career. Not content with pushing the discipline of the service to which he belonged, in itself sufficiently severe, to its extreme verge, by an excess of vexatious brutality, he goaded into mutiny a crew of noble-minded fellows, the greater part of whom it has been since discovered, pined away their existence on a desolate island, lost to their country and themselves, the sad victims of an unavailing remorse. Yet there is one of them still living, who has since fully evinced his devotedness for his country's glory, and has been deservedly raised to that elevated rank in her service, which but for him many more might have lived to attain. Despised by his equals in his profession, and detested by his inferiors, he was contradistinguished from other worthy officers of the same name, by prefixing to his _that_ of the vessel which was the scene of this act of insubordination, in the event the grave of many a noble spirit, that might otherwise have proved an honour to themselves and a credit to their country. The brutal tyranny that characterised his conduct on this occasion, would have alone sufficed to brand him with the imputation of "coward," had it been even unconnected with the many subsequent acts of oppression which have stamped his career, and of which it is to be hoped for the prevention of future monsters, that the infamy will long survive the records. The 26th of January, 1808, the memorable day when, by the spontaneous impulse of a united colony, he was arrested; and fortunate for the cause of humanity is it that he was then arrested, for ever** in the perpetration of the most atrocious outrages that ever disgraced the representative of a free government, has substantiated his claim to this character beyond the possibility of doubt. Dreading the resentment of the people whom he had so often and so wantonly oppressed, and having on his back that uniform which was never so dishonoured before, he skulked under a servant's bed in an obscure chamber of his house, but was at length discovered in this disgraceful hole, and conducted pale, trembling, and covered with flue,*** before the officer who had commanded his arrest; nor could this gentleman's repeated assurances that no violence should be offered his person, convince him for a considerable time that his life was in safety from the vengeance of the populace: so conscious was he of the enormity of his conduct, and of the justice of an immediate and exemplary retaliation. [* The following anecdote, for the authenticity of which I pledge myself, will afford a better illustration of this monster's character, than whole pages of general declamation and invective. At the period of his government cattle were very scarce in the colony, and the stockholders were very tenacious of allowing their cows to be milked, from the injury which it did the calves. Milk was in consequence a great rarity; but as the governor, naturally enough, did not choose to forego any of the good things of this life, particularly whenever it was in his option to obtain them without any expence, he had always a number of cattle from the government herds, to furnish a supply of it for his household. The surplus he generously distributed among his favourites. One of these was a gentleman belonging to the medical staff, who used in common with all those permitted the same indulgence, to send his servant daily for his share of this precious fluid. This unfortunate wight happened to go one morning a little too late; and whether the person charged with the distribution of this milk had been a little too liberal in his donations to such of the gentlemen's servants as had attended in due time, or whether the cows did not give their usual quantity that morning, there was not a drop left for him on his arrival. Not reflecting that this disappointment was occasioned by his own negligence, he ventured to make some remarks, such as "he did not know why his master should not have his share as well as another gentleman, etc. etc." which proved so highly disagreeable to the feelings of the great man who administered this highly important office, that he immediately went and complained to the still greater man who had invested him with it. This august personage not only feelingly participated in the insult which had been offered his faithful domestic, but also vowed that he should have the most ample satisfaction. He accordingly ordered the complainant to send the offending party into his presence on the following morning; strictly enjoining him before hand, to take especial care that he should remain ignorant of the chastisement which was in petto for him. The next morning when the poor fellow came as usual for his master's quota of milk, he was told by the great man whom he had the day before unwittingly offended, that the governor desired to speak to him. Wondering that so distinguished a personage should even know that so humble a being as himself was in existence, and at a loss to conjecture what could be his gracious will and pleasure, he was ushered trembling into his dread presence. In an instant his alarms were quieted. The governor told him with a condescending smile, that as the chief constable's house was in his way home, he had merely sent for him to be the bearer of a letter to that person, from a desire to spare his dragoon the trouble of carrying it. The poor fellow, of course, delivered the letter with all haste, little imagining what were its contents. When the chief constable perused it, he ordered out the triangles; the poor wretch was instantly tied up to them, and in a stupor of surprise and consternation underwent the punishment, (whether twenty-five or fifty lashes I am not sure) which was ordered to be given him, without any explanation till after its infliction, of the reasons why he received it. Was not this a refinement of cruelty worthy the most atrocious monster of antiquity?] [** When I wrote this part of the present work the person to whom it has reference was living; and the only alteration which I have made in it since his death, has been the necessary changes in the tenses of the verbs. My assertions have been scrupulously regulated by truth; but I am still aware that they might have been pronounced libellous in a court of justice; and I have been advised by some of my friends to cancel them, on the ground that the recollection of injuries should not be prolonged beyond the grave. The applicability, however, of this principle to private resentments is not more evident, than its inapplicability to public. The tomb which ought to be the goal of the one, is the starting-post of the other. It is the legitimate province, nay, more, one of the most sacred duties of the annalist to speak of public characters after their deaths, with that severity of reprobation or of praise, to which their conduct in public life may have entitled them. Have not all impartial biographers and historians acted on this principle? And shall I be deterred from following so just and salutary an example? If when death has set his seal upon a man's actions, and when the evil which he has committed is irremediable, the voice of censure is still to be silent, when, I may ask, ought it to be heard? Had such an ill-judged forbearance been practised by historians, would the world have known that any tyrants, except those who may exist at the present epoch, or who may have existed within the reach of memory or of tradition, ever infested the earth? Would not the enormities of the Dionysii, of Caligula, and of Nero, have been long since forgotten? And would not many of those princes who have merited and obtained the appellations of "great," of "good," and of "just," have become as atrocious monsters as _these_ were, but from the dread of being held up as objects of similar execration to posterity? The tyrant, indeed, whose conduct I would stamp with merited detestation, moved, fortunately for the interests of mankind, in a humbler sphere, and therefore, his atrocities have a greater tendency to sink into premature oblivion. But is it a less sacred duty to take all such steps as may be calculated to deter his successors from treading in his footsteps; because they will only have _thousands_ to trample upon instead of _millions_? Ought not oppression in every community, whether great or small, to be discouraged by every possible means? And what means are so likely to effect this end, and to prevent these secondary tyrants from sneaking out of the pages of record and recollection, as to project their memories red-hot from the sun of public indignation, with a long fiery train of inextinguishable ignominy, which may serve to point out their tracks; and to render them for ever glaring objects of dread and execration, not only to the planet of which they may have proved the bane, but to the whole system encircled by their orbits? In persevering, therefore, in the remarks which I made on this man's actions when he was living, it is my conscientious belief that I have only acquitted myself of an imperative duty; and that I should have been guilty of a gross dereliction of it, had I done otherwise. On this conviction, unalloyed by any baser impulse, I rest the defence of my conduct; should there be any of my readers, who may be inclined to view it in the same unjustifiable light as it is regarded by some few of my friends.] [*** See Lieutenant-Colonel Johnstone's court-martial.] The instance of this man's conduct, is, I am willing to allow, an aggravated one, and such as it is to be hoped for the honour of our species would be rarely repeated. That it has occurred is, however, sufficient to demonstrate the impropriety of confiding unlimited power to any individual in future. The mere possession, indeed, of such vast authority, is calculated to vitiate the heart, and to engender tyranny; nor are examples wanting in history of persons, who though models of virtue and moderation in private stations, yet became the most bloody and atrocious tyrants on their elevation to supreme power. So great, indeed, is the fallibility of human nature, that the very best of us are apt to deviate from that just mean, in the adherence to which consists virtue. All governments, therefore, should provide against this capital defect; they should be so constituted as not only to have in view what should happen, but also what might; possibilities should be contemplated as well as probabilities. The power to do good should if possible be unlimited: the ability to do evil, followed with the highest responsibility, and restrained by a moral certainty of punishment. An authority such as the governor of this colony possesses, might be tolerated under a despotic government; but it is a disgrace to one that piques itself on its freedom. What plea can be urged for encouraging excesses in our possessions abroad, that would be visited with condign punishment in our courts at home? Are those who quit the habitations of their fathers, to extend the limits and resources of the empire, deserving of no better recompence than a total suspension of the rights and liberties which their ancestors have bequeathed them? Are they on their arrival in these remote shores, to meet with no one of the institutions, which they have been taught to cherish and to reverence? If the want, indeed, of these institutions, of which so many centuries have attested the wisdom, had as yet been productive of no evil, there might be some excuse offered for the withholding of them; but after such a scandalous abuse of authority, the colonists expected, and had a right to expect, that no subsequent governor would have been appointed without the intervention of some controlling power, which, while it should tend to strengthen the execntive in the due discharge of its functions, might at the same time protect the subject in the legitimate exercise and enjoyment of his private and personal rights. Never was there a period since the foundation of the colony, when the impolicy of its present form of government was so strikingly manifest; and never, perhaps, will there be an occasion, when the establishment of a house of assembly, and of trial by jury, would have been hailed with such enthusiastic joy and gratitude: and accordingly the disappointment of the colonists was extreme, when on the arrival of Governor Macquarie, it was found that the same unwise and unconstitutional power, which had been the cause of the late confusion and anarchy was continued in all its pristine vigor; and that he was uncontrolled even by the creation of a council. I would here have it most distinctly understood that I do not mean to cast the slightest imputation on the conduct of this gentleman, whom his majesty's ministers selected with so much discrimination in this delicate and embarrassing conjuncture. The manner in which he has discharged, during a period of more than nine years, the important functions confided to him, has completely justified the high opinion that was formed of his moderation and ability. He has fully proved that he had no need of any controlling power,* to keep him in the path of honour and duty; and has raised the colony, by his single prudence and discretion, to as high a pitch of prosperity, as it perhaps could have attained, in so short a period, under such a paralysing form of government. But it has not been in his power to benefit the colony to the extent which he has contemplated and desired; many of the projects which he has submitted to the consideration of his majesty's ministers, have not obtained their approval. It would appear, indeed, that the very parent, to whom this strange unconstitutional monster owes its birth and existence, is distrustful of her hideous progeny; and that by way of securing the people whom she has suffered it to govern against the unlimited devastations which it might be tempted to commit, she has prohibited it from moving out of certain bounds, without her previous concurrence and authority. The wisdom of this precaution has been sufficiently manifested by the terrible excesses which it has committed within the sphere of this circumscribed jurisdiction. If its conduct, with the possession of this imperfect degree of liberty has been atrocious, it cannot be difficult to conceive to what lengths an unlimited power of action might have tempted it to proceed. Still there can be no doubt that this state of restraint, on the one hand so salutary and provident, has on the other occasioned much injury, and prevented the adoption of many measures of the highest urgency and importance to the welfare of the colony. Among these the failure of Governor Macquarie's attempt to procure the sanction of his majesty's ministers for the erection of distilleries, is perhaps the most justly to be deplored. [* Since I wrote this encomium on Governor Macquarie's administration, a petition from some few individuals, complaining of and enumerating several acts of oppression, said to have been committed towards them by this gentleman, has been presented to the House of Commons by Mr. Brougham. The honourable and learned member did not, however, choose to pledge himself for the correctness of the allegations set forth in this petition; and therefore, until they are substantiated, the gentleman whose conduct has been thus impeached, ought to be considered as innocent of the charges preferred against him. If the event, however, should prove that they are founded in truth, the fact will only afford an additional proof of the demoralizing influence of arbitrary authority on the minds of those who possess it, and of the impolicy of suffering the present form of government to continue in force a single hour beyond the period necessary for its supercession. Never was there a more humane and upright man than Governor Macquarie; and if the power with which he has been for so many years intrusted, has indeed at length propelled him beyond the bounds of moderation and justice, it may be safely asserted that there are but very few men in existence whom it would not have tempted to commit a similar indiscretion.] From the period* at which this colony was able to raise a sufficiency of grain for its consumption, the adoption of this measure has been imperatively called for by the wants and circumstances of its inhabitants; and it is to so palpable an omission, that the constant succession of abundance and scarcity, which, to the astonishment of many inquiring persons, has for the last fifteen years alternately prevailed there, is mainly ascribable. So long as the necessities of the government were greater than the means of the colonists to administer to them, the productive powers of this settlement developed themselves with a degree of rapidity which furnishes the surest criterion of its fertility and importance. But from the moment this impulse was checked, from the instant the supply exceeded the demand, the colony may be said to have continued stationary, with respect to its agriculture; producing in favourable seasons, somewhat more than enough grain for its consumption, but in unfavourable ones, whether arising from drought, or flood, falling so greatly deficient in its supply, that recourse has been invariably had to India, in order to guarantee its inhabitants from the horrors of famine, which have so often stared them in the face; and to which, but for such salutary precaution, the majority of them must have long ago fallen victims. These dreadful deficiencies have been the natural and inevitable result of a want of market; since no person will expend his time and means in producing that which will not ensure him an adequate return for his pains. So long, therefore, as other channels of industry, yielding a more certain compensation for labour, were open, the colonist would naturally prefer such more profitable occupation, to the comparatively precarious and unproductive culture of his land; and it was accordingly found, that many, who had till then devoted their sole attention to agriculture, abandoned at this period all tillage but such as was necessary for the support of their households, and employed the funds which they had acquired by the former successful cultivation of their farms, in the purchase and rearing of cattle, which continued a certain lucrative employment, long after agricultural produce had become of a depreciated and precarious value. The reason why these two branches of husbandry did not keep pace in this as in other countries, is obvious, from the remoteness of its situation, which rendered the conveyance of cattle thither so extremely difficult and expensive, that but a very limited supply of them was furnished, in comparison with its necessities. The increase, therefore, of these cattle could only be proportionate to their number; while no bounds were as yet assigned to the extension of agriculture, but, on the contrary, the whole combined energies of the colonists directed to this single channel, by the great demand which existed for their produce. Not but that the rearing of cattle was from the commencement equally, and indeed far more profitable than the cultivation of the land; but their exorbitant price excluded all but a few great capitalists from embarking in so profitable an undertaking; while, on the contrary, a stock of provisions with a few axes and hoes, and a good pair of hands to wield them, were the principal requisites for an agricultural establishment; and, indeed, in the early period of this settlement, all these essentials were supplied the colonists by the liberality of the government, till sufficient time had elapsed for the application of the produce of their farms to their own support. [* This epoch may be dated so far back as 1804: the harvest of that year was so abundant, and the surplus of grain so extensive, that no sale could be had for more than one half of the crop. During the greater part of the following year, wheat sold at prices scarcely sufficient to cover the expence of reaping, thrashing, and carrying it to market; pigs and other stock were fed upon it; and these two years of such extraordinary abundance involved the whole agricultural body in the greatest distress; grain was then their only property, and it was of so little value that it was invariably rejected by their creditors in payment of their debts. The consequence was that it was wasted and neglected in the most shocking manner; scarcely any person would give it house room, and had the harvest of the following year proved equally abundant, the majority of the settlers must have abandoned their farms, and sought for other employment. Fortunately, however, for the agricultural interests, the great flood of 1806 intervened to prevent the impending desertion; the old and the new stocks on the banks of the Hawkesbury and Nepean were all swept away, and thus for a few years afterwards the supply of grain was pretty nearly kept on a level with the demand for it.] But to return to the epoch when the supply of corn became too great for the demand, and when, as has been already noticed, some part of those who till then had been exclusively engaged in agriculture, turned their attention to the more beneficial occupation of rearing cattle; still the secession of these, who formed but a very inconsiderable member of the agricultural body, in consequence of the enormous price of cattle even at that period, and the great capital which it consequently required to become a stock-holder to any extent, afforded but a very trivial relief to those who adhered from necessity to their original employment. In this conjuncture, therefore, many of the next richer class abandoned their farms, and with the funds which they were enabled to collect, set up shops or public-houses in Sydney. This town was at that time the more favourable to such undertakings, in consequence of the brisk commerce carried on with China, by means of American and India-built vessels, that were in part owned by the colonial merchants, and procured sandal wood in the Fegee Islands, at a trifling expense, which they carried direct to China, and bartered for return cargoes of considerable value. The Seal Islands too, which were discovered to the southward of the colony, furnished about the same period, an extensive and lucrative employment for the colonial craft, and contributed not less than the sandal wood trade to the flourishing condition of this port. It was also about this time that the valuable whale fisheries, which the adjacent seas afford, were first attempted; but repeated experiment has proved that the duties which are levied, as well in this country as in the colony, on oil procured in colonial vessels, amount to a complete prohibition. Many of the merchants, whose enterprising spirit prompted them to repeated efforts, in order to bear up against the overwhelming weight of these duties, have found to their cost, that they are an insuperable obstacle to the successful prosecution of these fisheries, which would otherwise prove an inexhaustible source of wealth to the colony, and provide a permanent outlet for its redundant population. These two branches of commerce, so long as they were followed, afforded a support to great numbers of the colonists, and rendered the shock which the agricultural body had sustained, less sensible and alarming. I say these two, because the third has never been prosecuted but with loss; and has, in fact, proved a vortex which has devoured a great part of the profits which the othertwo yielded. For some years, however, these two channels have been so completely drained, that they are only at present pursued by desperate adventurers, who seldom or never obtain a return commensurate with the risk they run, and the capital they employ. But even during the period of their utmost productiveness, the number of persons who were immediately engaged in them, or who abandoned the plough to place themselves behind the counter, was far from providing a remedy for the disease of the agricultural body: because in the former instance these two branches of commerce were only capable of affording employment to a limited population; and in the latter a capital was necessary, not so great indeed as had been required to enter successfully on the grazing system, but yet far more considerable than it was in the ability of the majority of the colonists to raise. By these migrations, therefore, the pressure and embarrassment of the agricultural body, which by this time had gradually lost the richest and most respectable portion of its members, was but little, if indeed at all alleviated; and some other expedient became everyday more and more necessary to be adopted by those who remained. In this exigency many abandoned their farms altogether, and hired themselves as servants to such richer individuals as had occasion for their services; while others, and undoubtedly the greater part of them, cultivated but a small portion of their land, and afterwards travelled in search of labour till harvest time, at which period they returned, reaped, threshed, and disposed of their crops, and after recultivating the same spot, sought, during the rest of the year, employment as before, wherever it could be found. This is the mode of life which a great number of the poor settlers pursue to this day. But the effect of these entire, or partial secessions from the agricultural body, was not so extensively beneficial as might at first be imagined. All this time the population was in a state of rapid progression, both from the daily influx of people from without, and from the amazing fecundity of the colonists within. The distress, therefore, of the colony continued increasing in proportion to its increasing population. And although it may appear strange, that while it was a subject of such notoriety, that the settlers were already too numerous for the occasions of the colony, fresh volunteers should crowd to enrol themselves under their banners; this surprise will cease when it is stated, that the settling of new lands was for many years a matter of traffic between the government and the colonists, by which, as it is natural to conclude, the former were no great gainers. It was their policy, and undoubtedly necessary in the early stages of the settlement, and even at present under proper restrictions, to encourage the extension of agriculture generally, but more particularly in the inland districts, that are not subject to flood; and to this end it was customary to support new settlers with their wives, families, and servants, for eighteen months, at the expense of the crown. The natural consequence was, that all who had become free, either by the expiration of their servitude, by conditional emancipation, or by absolute pardon, and who had no means of support, embraced this offer of the government, which assured them a subsistence that enabled them to seek at their leisure for a more lucrative occupation elsewhere. Nor are these poor creatures who thus profited by the liberality of the government with an intention to abuse it, to be too harshly condemned: still less so are those who, arriving strangers in the colony, and having in most instances wives and families, the support of whom in inactivity would be daily consuming their little all, embraced this the only immediate mode of subsistence that occurred to them. These people, as soon as the helping hand of the government was withdrawn, and it became incumbent on them to depend on their own proper resources, would be immediately subject to the same privation and misery which pressed on their body, and would consequently be under the necessity of resorting to the same expedients for relief. The great increase which has taken place of late years to the cleared lands in the colony, has been the result of this system, and not the gradual progressive operation of a flourishing agriculture. This assertion I consider fully borne out by a comparison between the quantity of land cleared, and the quantity in cultivation. By the last return from the colony, taken so late as November, 1817, it appears that there are 47,564 acres of cleared land, out of which only 32,814 are cropped; 14,750 acres, therefore, (or nearly one-half of what is in cultivation) are lying waste: a circumstance which can only be accounted for in this manner, since the system of fallowing land is not in practice. It must therefore be evident, that the clearing of so great a portion of land over and above what is required by the situation and wants of the colonists, must have been effected by unnatural means. The increase of produce has not, indeed, outstepped the growth of population, but it has kept pace with it, and all the cleared land which is not employed in the raising of this produce, has evidently been a useless expenditure of labour. Thus this copious afflux of new colonists into the uninhabited districts in the interior, which had hitherto been exclusively occupied by the flocks and herds of the graziers, did not produce that permanent advantage which the enormous expense incurred by the government in their outfit, ought to have insured. At the same time it was of the most undoubted injury to the stock-holders, by preventing them from allowing their cattle to roam at large during the night, from the danger of trespass and poundage, which the indiscriminate dispersion of small agricultural establishments over the whole face of the country, without fences of any description to protect them, every where occasioned. To be sure, the colonists will have derived this very material advantage from the great quantity of cleared land, now lying waste; that whenever the pernicious policy, which has paralysed their energies, and blasted the general prosperity, shall be relinquished, and a judicious system of encouragement substituted in its stead, they will instantly be prepared to profit by the capabilities which the wisdom and justice of the parent government shall have at length afforded them. But the future increase in the cleared lands will not be proportioned to the past, because directions have of late been transmitted from this country, to allow future colonists only six months provisions from the king's stores, for themselves and their households, instead of eighteen months, as heretofore. This very material diminution in the measure of encouragement held out to future colonization, will clearly be attended with a threefold operation. It will be a grievous disadvantage to such respectable persons as emigrate from this country, with a real intention, but with funds scarcely adequate to a permanent settlement in the colony; it will still further discourage the existing agriculturist and grazier, by lessening the demand of the government for their produce; and it will increase the general embarrassment, both by narrowing this channel of employment, which was supplied by the liberality of the government, and by curtailing the means of the colonists at large to provide labour for that part of the population, which will be thus turned loose on them twelvemonths sooner than usual. To the credit of the present governor it must be allowed that he has done all that a benevolent heart and a sagacious head could dictate, to counteract the growing distress and misery. He has exhausted all the means in his power to give employment to the large portion of unoccupied labour, which it has not been within the compass of individual enterprize to absorb. He has effected the greatest improvements in the capital, by enlarging and straightening the streets, and by erecting various public edifices of the highest utility and ornament. The same superintending hand is visible throughout all the inferior towns and townships, many of which indeed are of his own foundation. He has made highways to every cultivated district, thus affording the inhabitants of them the greatest facilities for the cheap and expeditious conveyance of their produce to market. In fine, throughout every part of the colony and its dependent settlements at the Derwent and Port Dalrymple, he has effected improvements which will long continue monuments of the wisdom and liberality of their author. But it cannot be denied, however beneficial these and other improvements of the same nature which are in progress may be, either with respect to their immediate or more remote consequences, that they are but mere temporary sources of alleviation, whose benignant supply will cease with the discharge of the great body of workmen whom they at present maintain in activity. This, indeed, as well as all the other expedients which I have already enumerated, as having been practised in order to find outlets for the superabundant labour, have been productive of no permanent result. This assertion is satisfactorily substantiated by the present unnatural efforts of the colonists in the establishment of various manufactories, particularly those of cloth and hats. I say unnatural, because in the common course of things, the origin of such establishments ought to be coeval only with an entire occupation of the soil, and redundancy of population. And this chiefly for two reasons: because a greater capital is required in their foundation, and a greater degree of skill and dexterity in their developement. It is on this account that in Canada, and our colonies in the West Indies, which are in a great measure left to the guidance of their native legislatures, and which it is therefore to be presumed, adopt that line of policy at once most consistent with their own interests, and with those of the parent country, since in the persons of her representatives, she approves or annuls their proceedings, we find that manufactures have been altogether neglected, while their agriculture and plantations, while, in fine, the exportation of raw materials, whether the natural or artificial productions of these colonies, has been promoted in every possible manner. That this is the system which ought to have been pursued, we have a still more forcible proof in the instance of the United States of America, and of many of the ancient nations of Europe; which, unfettered by any dependence whatever on any foreign power, and having consequently adopted that policy, which has been found the most consistent with their respective interests, have made but very little progress in manufactures, and are therefore still under the necessity of having recourse for manufactured commodities to other countries. If then the promotion of agriculture be more politic in many independent states, which have not yet attained the same maturity of growth and civilization, that characterize the principal manufacturing nations of the world, by how much more prudent must the encouragement of it be in a dependent colony like this; possessed as it is of all the requisites for an unlimited extension of its agriculture in the fertility of its soil, the benignity of its climate, and the extent of its territory, and wanting all the essentials for the production of manufactures, skill, capital, and population? The existing state of things, therefore, is not only contrary to the welfare of the colony itself, but also in diametrical opposition to the interests of the parent country. A great manufacturing nation herself, it is her undoubted policy, and that which on every occasion I believe but the present she has pursued, to augment in her colonies, at one and the same time, the consumption of her own _manufactures_, and the growth of such productions as she has found essential to her own use, or to the supply of other nations. The toleration, therefore, of a system so averse to her acknowledged interests, can only be attributed to ignorance, or inadvertence. But it is not in the forcible abolition of these manufactories, created by necessity, and still rendered indispensable by the same irresistible law, that the condition of the colony is to be ameliorated or redressed. So long as the same pernicious disabilities which have already reduced the colonists to beggary and despair, and rendered unavailing the resources of a country that might rival in the number and value of its exports, the most favoured of the globe are enforced, this manufacturing system is a lamentable but necessary evil. After putting it out of their power to purchase the more costly clothing of the mother country, it would be an intolerable exercise of authority to prevent them from having recourse to the homely products of their own industry and ingenuity. Under existing circumstances, indeed, there is no alternative between permitting them the use of their own manufactures, and compelling them to go naked, or to clothe themselves like the aborigines of the country in the skins of animals. There is but one remedy for the disease of the colony: it is to give due encouragement to agriculture, and to promote the growth of exportable commodities, which its inhabitants may offer in exchange for the productions of other countries. The manufacturing system which has begun to take root, will then wither away of its own accord; since it will then be the least productive manner in which capital and labour can be employed. Happy would it have been for the colonists, if these repeated efforts, these distressing and embarrassing expedients to supply their wants, had been the only injurious consequences resulting from the stagnation of agriculture. The day when their wretched situation shall have at length awakened the commiseration of the parent country, would then have witnessed the term and bounds of their sufferings. Alas! far different will be the case. Like a ruined merchant, who would defer, to the utmost length, the disgrace of bankruptcy, in the daily hope of some prosperous adventure to retrieve his fortune and restore his credit, the settlers have gone on contracting debts, which have accumulated with the increasing embarrassments of the community. The engagements of the majority of the cultivators, thus swelled in a few years to a bulk, which they had no longer any chance of reducing: pressed on all sides by their creditors, the mortgage or sale of their farms became inevitable; and even these sacrifices have, in general, been far from cancelling their bonds; so that they not only have ceased to be proprietors, but also still continue debtors to a large amount. Their creditors, in many instances, a set of rapacious, unprincipled dealers, availing themselves of the power which the law would give them over the personal liberty of these, their debtors, immediately took that advantage of their own commanding position, which might have been expected from their characters. They engaged, or more properly speaking, constrained, these poor wretches to cultivate as tenants, the same soil which lately belonged to them, and exacted from them in return, a rent too exorbitant to be paid. Every succeeding year, therefore, has but tended to increase their obligations, and they are, at present, identified with the soil, and reduced to all intents and purposes, except in name, to as complete a state of vassalage as the serfs of Russia. If they should be in need of any trifling supply, it is to their proprietors, and to them only, that they dare have recourse, though they would be able to obtain the same articles a hundred per cent. cheaper elsewhere. To their granaries the whole produce of their industry is conveyed: and, in spite of all their toil and privation, far from discharging their original debts, they find themselves every day more deeply involved. The more they struggle, the more complicated and firm becomes their entanglement. Lamentable as undoubtedly must be such a hopeless state of servitude, it still appears to them preferable to the precincts of a prison. They respire the free invigorating air of their plains, and can still traverse them at their option, or at least when the season arrives which closes their daily task. But this privilege, it must be confessed, is purchased at its uttermost value. We have philanthropists among us, who justly commiserate the condition of that unoffending race of people, who dragged from the scenes of their nativity, and the habitations of their fathers, have been consigned by a gang of merciless kidnappers to perpetual slavery themselves, and to the still more intolerable necessity of bequeathing an existence of similar endurement and degradation to their offspring. After years of strenuous indefatigable exertion these friends of humanity, these noble champions of liberty have succeeded, if not in emancipating those, who had already been consigned to this unmerited doom, at least in preventing the further extension of this infernal traffic. Would it not be an effort worthy the same philanthropy, which has thus secured the protection and deliverance of unoffending Africa, to procure the emancipation of suffering Australasia? to raise her from the abject state of poverty, slavery, and degradation, to which she is so fast sinking, and to present her a constitution, which may gradually conduct her to freedom, prosperity, and happiness? It must be admitted that this state of slavery, so galling to the subjects of a free country, has been in some measure imposed on the colonists by their own imprudent extravagance. Already but too much inclined by their early habits of irregularity to licentious indulgence, the prosperous state of their affairs during the first fifteen years after the foundation of the settlement, presented the strongest inducements to a revival of their ancient propensities, which had been repressed, but not subdued. Imagining that the same unlimited market, which was then offered for their produce, would always continue, they only thought of consuming the fruits of their industry; not doubting that the same fields, which thus lavishly administered to the gratification of their desires, would amply suffice for the more moderate enjoyments of their offspring. But when once their produce began to exceed the demand of the government, and when in a short time afterwards from the want of due encouragement, all the various avenues of industry that lay open were successively filled, and the means of occupation eithergreatly circumscribed, or entirely exhausted, these people, so long habituated to unrestrained indulgence, found it difficult to support that privation, which became incumbent on their condition; and in order to procure those luxuries of which they so severely felt the want, exhausted their credit, and ended by alienating their possessions. There can be but little doubt if the colonists, instead of expending, had providently accumulated the money which they so profusely acquired during the period of their agricultural prosperity, that their actual situation would have been far preferable; for, though the gradual retrogradation, which I should imagine it must at present be sufficiently evident, that the colony has been undergoing for these last fifteen years, would by this time have greatly diminished, if not have totally absorbed their former savings, still their lands would have remained to them, nor would they have been reduced to that state of vassalage and misery, which they are this day enduring. Lamentable therefore, as is their condition, the consideration that it has thus far been occasioned by their own imprudence, is apt to detract from that unbounded commiseration which it would otherwise excite: if, on the other hand, we do not reflect in extenuation of their thoughtlessness and extravagance, that their former increased means of indulgence, were the result of their industry; that this industry was in the first instance called into activity by the encouragement of the government; that it has since been paralysed by a concatenation of unwise and unjust disabilities imposed by the same power; and that consequently their present wretched and degraded situation is not so much to be ascribed to their former improvidence as to the actual impolicy and injustice of their rulers. If we furthermore consider the short period in which this great change in their circumstances has been effected, we shall feel convinced that so sudden a transition from affluence to poverty could not be patiently endured, and that every method of rendering so unexpected and galling a burthen more supportable, would be naturally and inevitably resorted to. To prove still more satisfactorily that this state of slavery to which so large a proportion of the original settlers are reduced, has not been so much the result of their own imprudence as of the impolicy of their government, numerous instances might be adduced of persons, not indeed skilled in the arts of husbandry, whose habits have always been regular and moderate, who have been for many years stockholders as well as agriculturists, and who, notwithstanding this two-fold advantage, aided by an undeviating economy, have been unable to keep themselves free from the embarrassments in which the bare cultivators of the soil are so generally involved. To what end then, has their frugality been directed, if a few years more will engulph their possessions, and reduce them to the same state of vassalage and degradation, to which their less provident brethren are already subjected? They have, indeed, in the prospective some short period of unexpired freedom; but I doubt much whether the gradual approach of inevitable slavery be scarcely more enviable than slavery itself. The great concussion which the agricultural interests thus sustained at the epoch when the productive powers of the colony exceeded the consumptive, and the continued shocks to which they have been exposed ever since, have not unfortunately affected the agricultural prosperity alone, but have shaken to the foundation the commercial edifice also. Unluckily both the agricultural and commercial classes seem to have been alike ignorant of the death-blow which had been struck at their welfare. The settler continued in the same career of thoughtless extravagance which his circumstances when they were even in their most flourishing state had scarcely permitted, and the merchant went on without hesitation, advancing him goods in the hope of extricating his old customer from difficulties which he only imagined to be of temporary pressure; never for a moment suspecting that they were the forerunners of deeper embarrassment and ultimate ruin. Need I state the consequences. The extended credits which the first merchants thus gave the settlers on the strength of the progressive increase of their produce, rendered them at last unable to fulfil the engagements which they had contracted with British and East India houses, and they were eventually involved in the destruction which had so suddenly overwhelmed the great mass of their debtors, on whom they were necessarily dependent for support. All of them who had been distinguished by their equitable dealings, and by their liberality of conduct, received at this moment so rude a shock in their affairs that they have been unable amidst the increasing decadence of the community at large to re-establish their credit, and after disposing of the scattered wrecks of their fortune, have not only been reduced to penury, but are still indebted to their correspondents in the amount perhaps of £100,000. These gentlemen thus driven from the commercial circle by their liberality, unwillingly inflicted a deadly wound on the credit of the colony. Foreign merchants would no longer have any account dealings with their successors; and generally ever since the commercial intercourse with England and the East Indies has been maintained without any confidence on the part of the merchants of these two countries; the money has been received in one hand, and the goods delivered in the other. This cautious system has given birth to another race of merchants, much more prudent than their predecessors, but also much less serviceable to the colony, and much less adapted to its emergencies. These in their dealings have been forced to observe the same circumspection which had been adopted towards themselves, and have given no credit but to those whose means of payment were unquestionable. As the majority of the colonists have been always in the back ground, since the epoch which I have just described, and have in consequence been unable to produce ready money, a subordinate class of traders, but still superior in their circumstances and the extent of their transactions to those little inferior dealers, who are to be found in all countries, started up, and have since acted as intermediary agents between the importers and the great body of consumers. The object of this class has been, and continues to be, not so much to realize large fortunes in money, which indeed under existing circumstances would be scarcely possible, as to acquire immense landed possessions: and their system, which, in fact, is the natural consequence of this policy, is to require of the settlers mortgage securities anterior to the supply of such articles as they may be in need of. As they are frequently unable punctually to comply with the conditions of these mortgages, their creditors eagerly embrace the opportunity, whenever it offers, of foreclosing them, and are thus gradually becoming proprietors of the finest estates in the colony; estates which whenever its capabilities shall be called into unrestrained action will ensure them and their posterity fortunes of a colossal magnitude. While this class of traders are thus becoming the most considerable landholders in this settlement, they have not only taken care not to give credit to such an extent as might occasion a diminution in their trading capital, but have even contrived to increase it very materially. This system, therefore, of buying goods, and afterwards selling them at an almost arbitrary profit, the greater part of which is thus converted into landed property, is daily gaining ground, and will infallibly in the end, unless proper measures be speedily taken to counteract it, reduce the great majority of the agricultural body to the same state of vassalage which a large proportion of its members are already enduring. And what renders the increasing wealth and power of the small number who thus profit by the embarrassments of the settlers, and make themselves masters of their persons and properties, still more odious and galling, is the consideration that in most instances they are the least deserving, and yet the only class of the community to whom the present order of things is favourable. While all the rest of the population are groaning under the aggravated pressure of toil, privation, and despair, they are fattening on the surrounding misery, and every day making rapid strides towards the attainment of immense riches, under the propitious shelter of a system which would appear to have been expressly contrived for their especial aggrandisement, at the expence of the freedom, prosperity and happiness of the whole social body besides. Like vultures, that in the midst of combats soar in safety above the destruction raging beneath, but descend at its close and tranquilly devour the mangled carcases which the exterminating engines of war have laid prostrate for their repast, these men out of the influence of the oppressive disabilities which are overwhelming all but themselves, eagerly watch the progress of the surrounding misery, and impatiently await its completion; more cruel than vultures, since covered with the aegis that has unnerved the force and paralysed the energies of their neighbours, they introduce themselves into the midst of the havoc of their own species, and prey upon the living victims who are sinking around them. And here, it may not be inexpedient to reconcile the existence of so much distress, with so large an income, and so small a population as the colony and its dependent settlements are known to possess. The former, it has been seen, may be estimated in round numbers at £170,000, the latter at 20,000 souls: so that if the annual income were equally divided among the entire population, and they were all agriculturists, and could furnish themselves with food, (I make this supposition, because it is at their option to become agriculturists, and it is consequently a legitimate inference, that it is not the interest of such as have not embraced this alteration to do so) they would each have man, woman, and child, 8l. 10s. yearly for the purchase of articles of foreign growth and manufacture alone. This I am ready to allow, is comparatively a much larger sum than could be appropriated by the inhabitants of this country to similar purposes; and it would therefore appear on the first view, incompatible with the doleful picture of distress which I have drawn. If, however, the remoteness of the colony from England, India, and China, the three principal supplying countries, be duly considered, and the great expence of freight and insurance unavoidably attached to so long a navigation, an expence which in the first of these instances, is augmented in a two-fold degree, by the entire absence of return cargoes; if it be stated that these local disadvantages alone, render it impossible for the importers to dispose of their merchandize for less than fifty per cent. on the prime cost to their immediate purchasers, and that at least three fourths of the population are obliged from the want of ready money, to buy on long credits of these secondary agents, who fashion their prices according to the nature and extent of their customers' embarrassments, sometimes contenting themselves with a second advance of fifty per cent.; but more frequently affixing to their goods a profit of a hundred, a hundred and fifty, and two hundred per cent.: if it be recollected how far these grievous exactions are aggravated by the system of vassalage just described, a system which places all the unfortunate wretches who are reduced to it at the absolute mercy of their rapacious landlords; if the profligate and improvident habits and disposition of the generality of the colonists be taken into the estimate, and their total disregard of order and economy in their domestic arrangements; but above all, if their unfortunate propensity to the excessive use of spirituous liquors be superadded; a propensity which like Aaron's rod swallows up every other passion, and for the momentary gratification of which they willingly sacrifice every prospect of present enjoyment, and deliberately entail on themselves and their families lasting privation and want; I say if due consideration be given to all these circumstances, it will be no difficult matter to believe in the sad reality of the general wretchedness and penury which I have depicted. But it must be further evident that this equal division of the colonial revenue has been assumed merely by way of exemplification, and that it is a fiction, the realization of which is beyond the extreme verge of possibility: a fiction which never has been and never can be verified. In this colony as in every other community, there is a regular gradation of property, and perhaps there is no country on the face of the earth, except Russia, where it is so partially distributed. If then I have reconciled the probability of the wretched condition of the colonists, with the assumption of an equality of wealth, when there is, in fact, the greatest inequality, it must be evident that the picture which I have drawn, pregnant and glowing as it is with distress, is far from surcharged, and still requires both colouring and expression to convey a perfect representation of the scene. Of the whole colonial income about £100,000 annually may be considered as arising from the labours of the agricultural body. This is undoubtedly that portion of the colonial wealth which gets into most general circulation; but even _it_ is far from undergoing that minute subdivision and universal diffusion which are requisite for the maintenance of a constant internal circulating medium. Created in the first instance by the government in payment of the grain, meat, etc. furnished by the settlers, it is immediately handed over by them to the traders to whom they may be indebted, and from these again passes to the importing merchants, on whom they may be dependent for their supplies of merchandize, who in their turn eventually transmit it to their foreign correspondents. It may consequently be perceived that the purchases and sales which must be incessantly occurring, besides those to which this part of the colonial income is thus devoted, such as the sales of provisions in the markets, the payment of wages, and, in fine, the infinite transactions to which the wants or the whims of society are eternally giving birth, and to which a common medium of determinate value is essential are but little, if indeed at all facilitated by a sum of money, which after passing through a few hands, disappears from the colony for ever. To prevent, therefore, the interchanges and activity of the community from being brought to a stand, it became necessary to create some other circulating medium; and as the government took no part in this highly important affair, the whole burden of the arrangement fell upon the inhabitants. The arrangement itself was, in consequence, such as might have been expected from their circumstances and situation: the whole of them who had any real, or apparent pretensions to responsibility, became with one accord bankers; issuing small promissory notes to provide for their minuter occasions, merely on the strength of their credit, and frequently in anticipation of their means. This "Colonial currency," as it was termed, soon experienced that depreciation in the market, compared with the government, or sterling money, which it was natural to expect from the doubtful circumstances of many of its issuers. In a short time government money could not be had for it under a discount of fifty per cent.; still the drawers of these promissory notes were compelled by the decisions of the court of civil jurisdiction to pay them at par, whenever they were presented; so that all the persons of real responsibility, who had been induced in the first instance from necessity to adopt this system, withdrew their bills from the market, and naturally preferred purchasing with government money the notes of others at this depreciated rate, to the issuing at the same rate notes of their own, which they would be eventually obliged to take up at par. The consequence was that all the subsequent issuers of these notes were needy adventurers, who possessing little or no property adopted this method of supplying their extravagance, or entering into desperate speculations that could hardly succeed, in violation of every principle of honesty, and at the expence of the industrious and responsible part of the community. This subsequent currency, therefore, encountered a still further depreciation; and when government money could be at all obtained for it, it was only at a discount of 100, 150, and even 200 per cent. Such, however, has been the necessity for a circulating medium of some sort or other, that the public, as if by a general implied consent, without any expressed convention, have permitted the existence and increase of this worthless substitute, and have thus affixed a kind of nominal value to that which is in reality worth nothing. To any one, who has not fully considered the difficulty attending the exchange of one commodity for another, and the impossibility of apportioning at all times, what one man may have to dispose of to the exact value of what another man may have to offer in return, an impossibility that would frequently prevent the exchange altogether, and thus subject the parties to mutual inconvenience and distress, the rude system of barter would appear preferable to so vile a common standard of value as the existing currency. Its badness, indeed, has been the means of introducing the system of barter as far as it was practicable; but as the entire introduction of this system would be hardly compatible with the first imperfect elements of society, the civilization of the colonists has imposed a limit to it, and prescribed a necessity for the toleration of the present circulating medium, which nothing but the creation of a better can supersede. Two attempts were made to remedy this evil, but they both in the event proved abortive; the richer class of the inhabitants on these occasions formed combinations and entered into resolutions not to receive in payment the bills of any individuals who had not been admitted into their society. To prevent a recurrence of the loss, which the original responsible issuers of currency had sustained by its depreciation in the market, they affixed to it themselves a specific depreciation, promising in the body of their notes to pay them on demand in government money at a discount, in the first of these instances, of twenty-five per cent., and in the last of fifty per cent. But it must be evident that a currency of this nature, payable on demand, became of equal value with the sterling money of the government, to those who took it at the stipulated depreciation; and it was accordingly no sooner in circulation, than it got into the hands of the importing merchants, and was presented to the drawers for payment. It was thus too good for its intended purpose; and the old worthless currency, which had been for a while proscribed, gradually returned into circulation. The present governor, sensible of the advantage which the colony would derive from its supercession, and from the substitution of another of intrinsic value in its stead, caused ten thousand pounds worth of dollars to be sent from India, and had a piece struck out of the middle of each, to which he affixed by proclamation, the value of fifteen pence, and to the remainder that of five shillings, making the whole dollar worth six shillings and three pence. This money he caused to be given in payment of the various articles of internal produce received into the king's stores; but as they were exchanged every month, if presented to the commissariat department, for bills on the lords of the treasury, in the same manner as the government receipts had been exchanged previously, they have not realized the hopes of abolishing the currency, with which they were issued. Some few of them, indeed, have from time to time eluded the grasp of the merchants and traders, and got in consequence of the minuteness of their separate value into temporary circulation; but the use of the original currency has neither been superseded nor diminished. That the colonists should have been thus forced during so long a period, in spite of all their efforts, and contrary to the desire of their government, to tolerate a medium of circulation possessing no intrinsic value whatever, and dependent solely on a general, constrained, and tacit consent for its support and duration, is, I should apprehend, one of the most forcible proofs which it is in the nature of things to adduce, in illustration of their present poverty and wretchedness. It is impossible to offer a more satisfactory demonstration of the inferiority of their means to their necessities. Important under every point of view as is the establishment of a safe currency, such is the irresistible pressure of their debts, so much is their expenditure superior to their revenue, that they can devote no portion of it to the most urgent purpose of domestic economy: the whole is absorbed, and does not suffice to procure those articles of foreign supply, which are absolutely indispensable to civilized life. By the last intelligence from the colony it appears, indeed, that a company has undertaken the establishment of a colonial bank, and obtained a charter for this purpose from the governor; but I should imagine they cannot possibly succeed in creating a permanent medium of circulation. The constant run that their bills will have on them for payment, in consequence of the imports of the colony being so much greater than its income, will soon occasion them to exchange the whole of their capital for the mortgage securities on which they at present issue it; and although this circumstance will not perhaps detract from the profits of this institution, it will render the toleration of the existing currency, if not of undiminished, still of indispensable necessity.* The introduction, therefore, of a safe and sufficient medium of circulation may be still pronounced a desideratum, and one of the first importance to the general prosperity of the colonists. The government in their present distressed situation, is perhaps the only power competent to the accomplishment of this beneficial object, and it is to be hoped that they will no longer delay effecting such a great and substantial amelioration. [* This is an event which the colonists do not appear to anticipate. It is the general belief that the colonial currency has been crushed for ever; but I am greatly mistaken if that vile medium of circulation will not again revive before the expiration of another twelve-month, unless either the capital of the bank be greatly increased, or its operations be in future confined to the discounting of bills at a short date, to the utter exclusion of the system of advancing money on mortgage securities.] Amidst the numerous deplorable consequences that have been attendant on this constant state of embarrassment, none perhaps is more deeply to be lamented than the great check which this difficulty of finding a profitable occupation for labour has proved to the progress of population. Mr. Malthus, who has immortalized himself by his essay on this branch of political economy, has so satisfactorily shewn that the increase of population is proportioned to the facility of procuring subsistence, and administering to the various wants of a family, that it is quite unnecessary for me to repeat arguments with which every one ought to be familiar, to prove that this colony has not been exempt from the destructive influence of causes whose operation has been steady and invariable in all ages and in all countries. The inference that this difficulty has been a preventive to marriage, and to the consequent progress of population is self-evident: to be understood it only requires to be stated. But the numerical increase of the colony has been checked in a still greater degree, perhaps by the constant returns from its shores which are daily occasioned by the same causes. What inducement, in fact, exists for any person to remain there who has the power of quitting it? Who would voluntarily become an inhabitant of a country where he has no rights, no possessions, that are sacred and inviolable? And where to this insecurity of person and property are superadded the greatest impediments to the extension of industry? A country of this kind, it may be easily imagined, possesses no allurements for those who have ever breathed a freer atmosphere; and it is not to be wondered at, that hundreds of convicts on the expiration of their several terms of transportation should be continually leaving a country, where the freeman and the slave are alike subjected to the uncontrolled authority of an individual; where the trial by jury is unknown, and an odious military tribunal substituted in its stead; and where there is no representative body to protect them in the enjoyment of their rights, and to secure them either from the imposition of arbitrary and destructive taxes, or from the influence of unjust and impolitic laws. How far these two great checks to population which I have just mentioned, have operated, may be best ascertained from the last census taken in the colony in the month of November 1817. At that time it appears that the population of all the settlements, whether in New Holland or Van Diemen's Land, amounted only to twenty thousand three hundred and seventy-nine souls. It is not in my power to obtain returns of all the convicts who have been landed at various times in this colony; but as it is now about thirty years since the period of its foundation, very little doubt can be entertained that the total of them must have nearly equalled the amount of the actual population.* The number transported thither for some years past cannot be estimated at less than two thousand annually; yet notwithstanding this vast yearly numerical accession, notwithstanding the unparalleled salubrity of the climate, and the consequent small proportion which the number of deaths bears to the number of births, the population of the colony has been found to advance at a comparatively slow pace. It cannot be supposed that it could ever have been in the intention of the government, that those persons whom the sentence of the law had exiled to these remote shores, should thus be incessantly returning to those scenes, which had witnessed their former irregularities and condemnation. However sincere their reformation, it must be evident that with a blemished character, the difficulty of obtaining employment and procuring an honest livelihood, would be almost insuperable. It has been accordingly found that these unfortunate persons have generally renewed their ancient habits, and ended their career either by falling sacrifices on the scaffold to the often violated laws of their country, or by imposing on the government a necessity for the second, and in many instances for the third time of re-transporting them to this colony, where, if sufficient encouragement and protection had been afforded them in the first instance, they would have gladly remained, and have continued good and useful members of society. [* This conjecture has been verified by a publication which has lately appeared from the pen of the Honourable Henry Grey Bennet, M. P. intituled, "A Letter to Lord Viscount Sidmouth on the Transportation Laws; the State of the Hulks, and of the Colonies in New South Wales." From this it appears that from May, 1787, to January, 1817, the number of convicts transported thither amounted to seventeen thousand; so that the entire increase which has taken place in the population in the course of thirty years, both from emigration and births, cannot be estimated at more than four thousand souls, so numerous have been the returns of convicts after the expiration of their sentences.] It is here but candid to confess, that one of the leading causes why so many of this class are continually quitting the colony, has been their desire to rejoin their wives and families. This motive, however, no longer exists; since in a dispatch from the noble secretary of state for the colonial department, to Governor Macquarie, of which the receipt has been for some time past acknowledged, it was directed that "returns should be occasionally sent home of such convicts as may have applied for permission for their wives to join them; and that it should be therein stated whether such persons have the means of maintaining their wives and families, in the event of their being allowed to proceed to the colony." Measures have been already taken to carry the humane intention here manifested by his majesty's government into effect; and many hundreds who would otherwise have quitted the colony, will now remain there, and thus both the permanency of their reformation will be guaranteed, and the march of colonization greatly accelerated. Generous Britain, not more renowned in arts and arms, than in mercy and benevolence; may thy supremacy be coeval with thy humanity! Or if that be impossible; if thou be doomed to undergo that declension and decay, from which no human institutions, no works of man appear to be exempt, may the records of thy philanthropy hold the world in subject awe and admiration, long after the dominion of thy power shall have passed away! May they soften the hearts of future nations, and be a shining sun that shall illuminate both hemispheres, and chase from every region of the earth the black reign of barbarism and cruelty for ever! While the existing system of government is thus rapidly undermining the general prosperity and freedom, and presenting the greatest checks to the progress of colonization, it is but natural to conclude from the pertinacity with which it is maintained, that it is at least productive of some beneficial results to the power to which it owes its origin and existence. It were a species of political anomaly to suppose that any order of things diametrically opposite to the interests of the governed, should be persisted in, unless it were attended with some positive advantage to the governors. Ridiculous, however, as in every case perhaps but the present such a supposition would be, it is verified in the instance of this colony; since the system pursued there, is not only destructive of the vital interests of the inhabitants at large, but at the same time, burdensome to this country, and contraventory of the very intentions with which this settlement was established. This assertion I shall shortly prove, and then leave it to more sagacious politicians than myself, to demonstrate the consistency of what appears to me the most absurd and incongruous paradox that is to be met with in the history of governments. And first that the present system is burdensome to this country, and what is worse, must become every year still more so, is evident from the gradually progressive augmentation which has taken place in the expenditure of this colony. From 1788 to 1797, the total expence was £1,037,230, or £86,435 per annum; from 1798 to 1811, it amounted to £1,634,926, or £116,709 per annum; and from 1812 to 1815, both inclusive, to £793,827, or £198,456 per annum. In 1816, the expence was £193,775 10s. 8¾d. and in 1817 it was £229,152 6s. 3¼d. being nearly treble the annual amount in the year 1797. This estimate, indeed, includes the cost of transportation; and the rapid increase that has taken place of late years in the sum total, has been in a considerable degree occasioned by the great increase in the number of criminals sent out to the colony; but still that there has been a regularly progressive augmentation to the internal expenditure is quite incontrovertible. It requires no great portion of discernment to foretel that while the present prohibitory system remains in force; while the colony is alike prevented from profiting by its natural productions, and from calling into life the artificial ones of which it is capable, that it must continue an increasing burthen and expence to the power on which it is dependent for support, and which thus unwisely restrains its exertions. If the consideration of the benefits which this country might eventually derive from encouraging the growth and exportation of such products as this colony might furnish; if the prospect of finding at no very remote period in a part of our own dominions, various raw materials essential to the fabrication of some of our staple manufactures, and for which we are at present wholly dependent on foreigners; if, in fine, the certainty of extending, instead of destroying, a market for the consumption of those manufactures themselves, be not motives of sufficient weight and cogency to draw the attention of his majesty's ministers to the impolitic and destructive order of things, which prevents the accomplishment of these desirable ends; it is at least to be hoped in these times of universal embarrassment, when the cry of distress is resounding from one end of the kingdom to the other, that the desire of effecting a retrenchment in this part of the public expenditure, which has swelled to so enormous an amount, solely from ignorance and mismanagement, will at length excite inquiry, and give rise to a system that will unfetter the colonists, and by gradually enabling them to support themselves, no longer render them an unproductive and increasing burden to this country. It is useless, and indeed absurd, for the government to be sending out incessant injunctions for economy, and to be eternally insisting upon the necessity of effecting retrenchments, which their own impolitic restrictions render impossible. The addition which is annually made to the population of the colony must occasion a corresponding expenditure on the part of the colonial government. The convicts, who are transported thither, were maintained at a great expence while in this country, and cannot be supported without cost there. So long as the avenues to industry and enterprize are closed, it is ridiculous to imagine that the colonists can undertake the maintenance of a body of men, for whose labour they can find no profitable occupation. The expence, therefore, of supporting the great mass of convicts who are constantly arriving in this colony, must necessarily increase in spite of all the exhortations of the government, and all the efforts of the governor, whoever he may be, to carry them into effect. The present governor, indeed, has contrived in some measure to comply with these recommendations of retrenchment with which he has been harrassed; but his obedience has been attended with the adoption of a most pernicious and indefensible system, that of granting too promiscuously tickets of leave to convicts, before sufficient time had elapsed for ascertaining the reality of their reformation, and their title to so important an indulgence. This privilege, which exempts them from the public works, and enables them to seek employment in every direction throughout the colony, it may be perceived, turns loose a set of men, who had been solemnly pronounced to be improper and dangerous members of society; and affords them an unrestrained opportunity of preying upon the industrious and deserving, and of committing fresh enormities, before they have made the atonement affixed to their original offences, and required not more to uphold the distinction which ought always to be drawn between virtue and vice, than from a due regard to their future welfare and regeneration. It is principally to the introduction of the ticket of leave system that the considerable reductions which have been effected of late years in the expences of the colony are to be ascribed. How far this most pernicious and immoral system has been carried, may be seen by reference to the colonial expenditure for the four years anterior to 1816. In 1812 it amounted to £176,781; in 1813 to £235,597; in 1814 to £231,362; and in 1815 it had fallen to £150,087. In the two following years, indeed, it has been seen that there has been a considerable increase of expenditure; but still such has been the extension of the ticket of leave system that notwithstanding four thousand six hundred and fifty-nine convicts were transported between January, 1812, and January, 1817, the expences of the colony for this latter year were £6445 less than for the year 1813; those of 1817 only amounting to £229,152, while those of the year 1813 were £235,597. This violent and unjustifiable mode of retrenchment, however, has not been put into such extensive practice with impunity: it has been attended with its natural and inevitable results, a proportionate increase of demoralization and crime. The proof of this assertion I shall rest on the following government order:-- "Sydney, 30th August, 1817. In consequence of the frequent robberies which have been of late committed between Sydney and Paramatta; his Excellency the Governor deems it expedient earnestly to recommend to persons in general to travel only during the day time, and particularly to those who have the charge of loaded carts, to set out from Sydney and Paramatta respectively so early after sun-rise as to be enabled to reach the place of their destination before sun-set. And with a view to afford all possible protection to travellers, his Excellency directs the principal superintendant of police at Sydney from and after Wednesday the 3d of September next, to order two constables from thence to patrole the road every night between Sydney and Powell's Half-way House; and in like manner the principal magistrate at Paramatta to order two constables from that place to patrole the road every night between Paramatta and Powell's Half-way House. The duty of such constables to commence at sun-set and cease at sun-rise, until further orders. "The magistrates are _particularly enjoined not to grant passes to convicts either having tickets of leave or otherwise, excepting on actual duty, or in cases of real emergency where the object is satisfactorily explained to the magistrate_." This injunction to the magistrates not to grant the ticket of leave-men passes except under particular circumstances would afford the public very little additional security against their depredations; since their total exemption from public or individual employment, places them out of all restraint except such as may arise from the surveillance of the police, which even in Sydney is badly organized, because not sufficiently numerous, and to which in the interior towns and districts it would be a farce to apply the name of "Police" at all. I am aware that the governor has been induced to this measure in compliance with positive instructions, rather than in conformity with his own judgment. But a system in such direct violation of every principle of justice, morality, and expediency, can never be long tolerated. Its continuance, in fact, would soon annihilate all industry, and convert the colony into a den of thieves and murderers, unfit for the abode of virtue and honesty, and dangerous to the government itself which had authorized it.--It is an extreme which cannot endure, and which is of so violent a nature that it will beget a remedy for itself, and compel the government to recal into its employment, and reduce under salutary restraint, a set of persons, who ought never to have been freed from it till the expiration of their sentences, or, at most, till they had given the clearest proof of a sincere reformation. This system, therefore, of granting tickets of leave to convicts shortly after their arrival, though undoubtedly attended with a considerable saving to the government, is of too immoral and dangerous a tendency to be carried to any considerable extent; so that the expences of the colony great, unnecessarily great as they are, must infallibly increase with the progress of transportation, so long as the grievous disabilities and impolitic restrictions under which the colonists are groaning, remain unrepealed. Having thus shewn that this colony has hitherto been an increasing burthen to this country, and that it must necessarily continue so under its present unwise constitution, I proceed in the next place to prove that its existing system of government is also contraventory of the philanthropic intentions which gave rise to its foundation. The principal object which the government of this country had in view was undoubtedly the reformation of the thousands exiled to these distant shores. The punishment which it thus inflicted, in banishing them from their native country, and separating them from their friends and connexions, was not the end itself, but the means which it employed to effect this humane and laudable purpose. Has then the colony in any one point of view realized this comprehensive and philanthropic scheme of morality and regeneration? It has, indeed, proved a receptacle for those whose crimes rendered them unfit for the community which rejected them from its bosom, and in so far has been of some utility to the public; but have the restraints to which they have been subjected; has the system, in fact, by which they have been governed during their exile, generally revived that morality and virtue, the absence of which propelled them in the first instance to the commission of crime, and will always continue them in the same career of vice and punishment? Have those, who have expiated their original offence, by undergoing the penalty which the law annexed to it, experienced a reformation in their principles and conduct? And are they generally qualified either to return to the country that banished them, or to become good and useful citizens in the one by which they have been adopted; and which, since it has constantly witnessed their deportment, can best appreciate the reality and extent of their merits? The records of the several courts of criminal judicature are the surest criterion by which to judge of this important particular, and will be found decidedly confirmatory of the alarming augmentation of immorality and crime, which distinguishes every succeeding year, and that too in a proportion far exceeding what would be naturally consequent on the increase in the population. On reference to the Sydney Gazattes for the year 1817, I find that there were in all ninety-two persons tried by the criminal court. The offences with which they were charged were as follow: 1st, For murder eleven; four of whom were convicted and executed: two were adjudged only guilty of manslaughter; and five were acquitted. 2dly, For burglaries, eight, five of whom were capitally convicted, but their sentences afterwards commuted into transportation to the Coal River for life; five were transported thither for fourteen years, one for seven years, and one was acquitted. 3dly, For highway robbery, one, who was transported to Newcastle for fourteen years. 4thly, One incendiary, transported for life. 5thly, One for cutting and maiming, acquitted. 6thly, Nine for cattle stealing; of whom two were capitally convicted, their sentence afterwards commuted into transportation for life; five were originally sentenced to the same punishment, one transported for fourteen years, and one was acquitted. 6thly, Three for sheep stealing; all capitally convicted, but their sentences commuted into transportation for life. 7thly, Two for horse stealing; one of whom was capitally convicted but not executed, the other sentenced to solitary confinement. 8thly, One for rape, but acquitted. 9thly, Twenty-seven for privately stealing in dwelling and out-houses; two of whom were transported for fourteen years, nine for seven years, one for four years, four for three years, two for two years, one sentenced to solitary confinement, and six acquitted. 10thly, Two for forgery, found guilty, but sentence deferred. 11thly, Two for receiving stolen goods, one of whom was sentenced to the pillory and to four years transportation, and the other to transportation alone for the same period. 12thly, Five for pig stealing; of whom two were transported to Newcastle for fourteen years, one was flogged and put in the pillory, one transported to Newcastle for two years, and one acquitted. Lastly, Nineteen for petty larceny; of whom one was sent to Newcastle for four years, one for three years, fourteen were sentenced to various terms of solitary confinement, and three acquitted. From this statement, therefore, it appears that during the year 1817, out of the ninety-two persons who were tried for various offences, which it will be seen were for the most part of a heinous nature, no fewer than seventy-three were convicted, fifteen capitally, four of whom were executed, the remaining eleven had their sentences commuted into transportation to the Coal River for life; that there were six others originally sentenced to the same punishment; that there were five transported for fourteen years, ten for seven years, and that the remaining thirty-seven were either transported for terms under seven years, or were punished by solitary confinement. Appalling, however, as this catalogue of crime must be acknowledged, when compared with _that_ which could be produced in any other community of similar extent, it would still appear on the first view to argue well in favour of the reformatory influence of this colony: since Governor Bligh in his examination before the committee of the House of Commons, in the year 1812, presented a document purporting to be a list of criminals tried between August, 1806, and August, 1807, from which it appears that one hundred and seventeen* persons were arraigned before the criminal court during this interval. If we were therefore to abide by the records of the criminal court alone, we should draw the most satisfactory conclusions with respect to the progress of reformation in the morals and habits of the people since that period. The comparison, indeed, between the catalogue of crime in the years 1806 and 1817, would be most gratifying; as notwithstanding that the population of the colony rather more than doubled itself since the former year, the latter presents a decrease in the number of criminals of twenty-five, or in other words, crimes would appear to have diminished in the ratio of about 9/4 to 1. If the records, therefore, of the criminal court were decisive on the subject, it would be impossible not to confess that the system pursued in this colony has fully answered the humane intentions for which it was founded. But unhappily these records are no standard by which to judge of the reformatory tendency of the system. During Governor Bligh's administration, all offenders except those who were charged with the most trifling misdemeanors, were tried by the criminal court. He was a second Draco, who considered the smallest offence deserving of death: and wo to the wretch whom the criminal court doomed to this punishment, for he invariably carried its sentence into execution. His successor, however, has acted on more merciful principles; and, besides, crimes have so rapidly multiplied of late years, that the judge advocate would not have sufficient time for presiding in the two civil courts of which he is the head, were he obliged to dispose of all the culprits that might be arraigned in the criminal court. But it is well known to those who are at all conversant with the state of the colony, that but a very small portion of the offences which are committed there, are now brought under the jurisdiction of this court. The majority of the criminals who are now tried by it are either free persons, or such as have obtained emancipations; i.e. those whom the various governors have made free in the colony, but who are not at liberty to quit it. The benches of magistrates, and the superintendent of police, are delicate of deciding on charges in which the members of these two free classes are implicated; but they dispose of offenders already under the sentence of the law in a summary manner, either by transporting them to the Coal River, by putting them in the gaol gangs, by sending them (if they happen to be females) to the factory, or by simply ordering them corporal punishment, unless they are charged with murder, or some capital felony; and even in this latter case they frequently inflict some summary punishment. With respect to the first of these summary modes of punishment, transportation to the Coal River, it has already been stated that the population of this settlement amounted in the year 1817, to five hundred and fifty souls: of these not more than one hundred, including the civil and military establishments, and the settlers and their families on the upper banks of the river, were free. The remaining four hundred and fifty, therefore, were persons who had been convicted of crimes either by the criminal court or by the magistracy, and retransported thither for various periods. Those few, it has been seen, who are condemned to this punishment by the criminal court, are for the most part sentenced to long terms of transportation; but as nine-tenths of the criminals at this settlement are sent thither either by the benches of magistrates, or by the superintendent of police, who seldom transport for a longer period than two years, and more frequently for one year, or six months, the population may at a very moderate calculation be considered as undergoing a complete change every two years, or in other words, it may be concluded that two hundred and twenty-five persons are annually transported thither by way of punishment. We must therefore add this number to the culprits convicted before the court of criminal judicature, and we shall then have a total of three hundred and eighteen persons annually convicted of crimes in the colony. This is of itself an alarming sum of criminality; but we must not stop here, since it only conducts us to the second of the summary modes of punishment which I have enumerated; viz. the gaol gangs. There are upon an average about fifty persons in the gaol gang at Sydney, and about the same number in the gaol gangs belonging to the other towns and districts in the colony. These are criminals convicted of smaller offences than those who are transported to the Coal River; they are worked from sunrise to sun-set, and are locked up in the prisons during the night. This mode of punishment is seldom inflicted for a longer term than four months. It may therefore be safely computed that these gaol gangs are changed once in this period, or in other words, that three hundred persons annually pass through this ordeal. This further addition to the formidable catalogue of crimes already made out, increases the total to six hundred and eighteen persons, yet only leads us to the third mode of summary punishment, viz. labour at the factory at Paramatta. The number of women sentenced to this mode of punishment may be averaged at one hundred and fifty, and as the average term of their sentences does not exceed six months, we have a farther number of three hundred to add to the above estimate. This increases it to nine hundred and eighteen persons; but we have still one other mode of punishment in petto, corporal punishment simply; and I have no doubt that the numbers on whom it is annually inflicted will at least swell the grand total of persons convicted of various criminal offences during the year 1817, either by the criminal courts, by the benches of magistrates, by the superintendent of police, or by the district magistrates to one thousand. We may now draw some sort of a comparison between the amount of crime in the years 1806 and 1817. I should imagine, on the highest calculation, that not more than one hundred persons in addition to those tried by the criminal court during that year, could, from the system then in practice, have been summarily dealt with by the magistracy; but allowing even that there were two hundred, and that the whole number of persons stated by Governor Bligh to have been tried by that court were found guilty, a most improbable supposition, the year 1806 will only then give a total of three hundred and sixteen offenders, i.e. not one third the amount of those who were convicted in the year 1817. Crime therefore has been trebled, while the population has only been doubled, or in other words, the increase of the former has been to the increase of the latter as three to two. [* Page 42 Appendix to the Report of the House of Commons in 1812.] What else, indeed, could be expected from a system which is every day enlarging the circle of poverty and distress? Is it within the possibility of belief that people should become more honest as they become more necessitous? That they should scrupulously refrain from making inroads on the possessions of their richer neighbours, while they themselves are suffering under the influence of progressive penury? Under such circumstances it would be the very height of absurdity to expect an increase of virtue and honesty. Wherever it is not within the compass of industry to provide for its wants, a recourse to crime in order to make up the deficiency is inevitable to a certain extent even in a moral country. What then must be the result of this inability in a felon population, long habituated to theft, and naturally predisposed to criminality? In such a community as this, the government are doubly bound to neglect no measures which may be calculated to repress this vicious propensity. If they adopt the contrary line of conduct; if they administer stimulants to vice instead of anodynes; if they, in fact, create incitements to dishonesty too potent even for virtuous misery to withstand, are not _they_ the authors of a system thus impregnated with corruption, virtually the parent of the monstrous litter to which it gives birth? And though according to the inflexible principles of justice, any violation of the property of another is not to be exculpated, humanity will always pity the distressed delinquent, and wish that she had the power of substituting the primary author of the crime in the place of the condemned criminal. How would the world be reformed, if the framers of the unjust and impolitic laws, which are every where the bane of mankind, and the cause of so much misery and vice, were arraigned at the bar of justice, and compelled to answer for all the depravity that might be traced to the demoralizing influence of their measures? The picture of the colony which I have presented, aggravated as it is, faithfully delineates the different descending gradations by which it has sunk to its present abyss of misery, and is of itself sufficiently demonstrative of the radical defect that there is in its polity, and of the necessity for an alteration in it: nevertheless, it may not be altogether inexpedient to dive a little into futurity, and to view through the mirror of the imagination the further results which the experience of the past may convince us that a perseverance in the same course of restriction and disability will infallibly lead to. It requires not the gift of divination to foresee that the manufacturing system, which has already taken such deep root, and so rapidly shot up towards maturity, will still further confirm and consolidate itself with the increasing poverty of the community. For several years the importation of British manufactures, particularly of cottons, has been comparatively speaking on the decline, in consequence of the competition occasioned by large importations of those articles from India; which though in general of inferior quality, have been more adapted to the circumstances of the colonists from their inferior price. The consumption of hats and woollen cloths has also been diminished, but not to the same considerable extent by the colonial manufactures of the same denomination, which are likewise much inferior to the British, but have the two-fold advantage of being cheaper, and to be obtained for wool, grain, meat, etc. without the intervention of money, which it is generally out of the power of the consumers to furnish. This system of barter, which has materially favoured their growth, and must necessarily still further encourage and extend it, is not, as might at first be imagined, prejudicial to the manufacturer; since the wool which he thus receives in exchange for his commodity is the raw material required for its reproduction, and therefore saves him the trouble of seeking it in other quarters; and the meat, grain, etc. are distributed among his workmen at the market prices of the day, and free him from the necessity of paying the full value of their labour in money, which under existing circumstances would most probably be impracticable. The system itself, therefore, seems to have been engendered by events, and to be peculiarly adapted to the present state of poverty and wretchedness, to which the great mass of the colonists are reduced. And although in other countries, and even in this, if its agricultural powers were unfettered, the workmen employed in the fabrication of these manufactures would not perhaps consent to receive this mixed compensation for their labour, yet amidst the actual difficulties of procuring a subsistence, and possessed as they are of trades, for which till lately there was no demand whatever, and for which at the present moment there is far from an active competition, they are not only glad to accept this mode of payment, but would even submit to much harder conditions. We may therefore perceive, that if the manufacturer can sell for ready money as much of this commodity as is requisite to the payment of the residue of their wages, and at the same time equivalent to the profit which he may derive from his concern, it is all that he need absolutely require. This manufacturing system being thus not only suited to the increasing poverty of the community at large, but also favourable to the interests of all the parties concerned in it, whether the proprietors or the workmen, cannot but gain ground. A few years, in fact, will completely put it out of the power of at least seven-eighths of the population to have recourse to the manufactures of this country: the expences of the colony will, indeed, as I have satisfactorily proved, continue to increase, but still only in proportion to the augmentation in the body of convicts and others, maintained at the charge of the government; while, on the contrary, the population of the colony, in spite of all the checks imposed on it, will be extending itself more rapidly within, than by transportation and emigration from without. Its revenue, therefore, will be every year to be divided among a number of competitors increasing much more rapidly than itself. Thus their ability to purchase the more perfect and expensive commodities of this country, will become daily more circumscribed, till at length the use of them will be entirely superseded, or at best confined to the higher orders of society; who, it is probable, may be induced in the long run both by the growing perfection of their native manufactures, and by patriotism, to abjure the consumption of all goods that may have a tendency to augment the prosperity of their common oppressor. The colonists, in fact, have only to advance a few steps further in the manufacturing system to be completely independent of foreign supply. Already fabricating to a considerable extent their own cloth, the first perhaps of manufactures in utility and importance; already furnishing in a great measure their own hats, leather, soap, candles, and earthenware, they have only to provide their own linen, and to erect iron founderies, to become possessed of all that can be termed strictly necessary to their subsistence and even comfort. And these two objects will doubtless be soon effected by the active agency of the same powerful necessity, which has so rapidly given rise to the various manufactures already mentioned. It is, indeed, rather a matter of surprise than otherwise, that attempts have not been already made to establish manufactories of these two highly important articles; since the colony, on the one hand, is peculiarly adapted to the growth of flax, and on the other abounds, as it has been seen, with iron ore of the richest quality. To what feelings, then, to what conduct, it may be asked, will this independence in the resources of the colonists, the bitter fruit of so much privation and misery, give birth? Will this, the painful result of so many years' injustice and oppression, tend to strengthen the bond of union between the colony and this country? Or will it not be the crisis that will sever it for ever? England, placed as she is at present on the pinnacle of glory, and reposing in security on the basis of that commercial and maritime greatness, from which the gigantic efforts of united Europe have not been able to remove her, may laugh to scorn the presumption of any colony, however powerful, that might attempt to shake off her authority. Like Jupiter on Olympus, she has only to stretch out her hand and overthrow the united force of all her colonies with the chain to which she has bound their destinies. No one can doubt, that such an attempt would be preposterous at the present moment, nor would the most strenuous advocate for colonial independence, the most violent enemy to the supremacy of this country, dream of its immediate execution. Still let her not lull herself into a false security; let her not measure the forbearance of the colony by its own impotency and insignificance. Despair always begets resources, and inspires an unnatural vigor. The enmity of the most feeble becomes formidable, when it has justice ranged under its banners, and ought not to be excited without necessity. Besides, is it worthy the character of a nation, who has evinced herself the determined enemy of tyrants, and the avenger of the freedom of the world, to become the oppressor of her own subjects, and that too for the mere sake of oppression, in subversion alike of their interests and of her own? Has she not, and will she not always have _external enemies enow_ to contend with, without thus creating, _unnecessarily_ creating, _domestic ones?_ Let her from the midst of the glory with which she is environed compare her situation, brilliant and imposing as it is, with what it might have been: let her look at the consequences of her former injustice. Is not the most formidable on the list of her enemies, a nation, which might have this day been the most attached and faithful of her friends? A nation which, instead of watching every occasion to circumscribe her power, would, if its rights had been respected, have been still embodied with her empire and confirmatory of her strength? Will this terrible lesson have no influence on the regulation of her future conduct? Will not this dear bought experience teach her wisdom? Or has she yet to learn that the reign of injustice and tyranny involves in its very constitution the germ of its duration and punishment? Let her ask herself, "what would have been the consequence if, during the late war with America, the ports of this colony had been open to the vessels of that nation?" How many hundreds of the valuable captures, which the Americans made in the Indian seas and on the coast of Peru, might have safely awaited there the termination of the war, which were recaptured by her cruisers in view of the ports of their country? How many hundreds of their own vessels, that shared the same fate, would have still belonged to their merchants? And is there no probability, that a perseverance in the present system of injustice and oppression, may on some future occasion, urge the colonists to shake off this intolerable yoke, and throw themselves into the arms of so powerful a protector? May they not by these means acquire independence long before the epoch when they would have obtained it by their own force and maturity? Or at least may they not place themselves under the government of more just and considerate rulers? How would this country repent her folly, if she should thus become the instrument of her own abasement; if she should herself be the cause of establishing a power already the most formidable rival of her commercial and maritime ascendency, in the very heart of her most valuable possessions, at the main external source of her wealth and prosperity? To those who are acquainted with the local situation of this colony; who have traversed the formidable chain of mountains by which it is bounded from north to south; who have viewed the impregnable natural positions, that the only connecting ridge by which a passage into the interior can be effected, every where presents; to those who are aware that this ridge is in many places not more than thirty feet in width, and have beheld the terrific chasms by which it is bounded, chasms inaccessible to the most agile animal of the forest, and that will for ever defy the approach of man; to those, I say, who are acquainted with all these circumstances, the independence of this colony, should it be goaded into rebellion, appears neither so problematical nor remote, as might be otherwise imagined. Of what avail would whole armies prove in these terrible defiles, which only five or six men could approach abreast? What would be the effect of artillery on advancing columns crowded into so narrow a compass? A few minutes exposure to such a dreadful carnage, would annihilate the assailing army; or at best only preserve its scattered remnants from destruction by raising an intervening barrier of the carcases of its slaughtered martyrs. If the colonists should prudently abandon the defence of the sea-coast, and remove with their flocks and herds into the fertile country behind these impregnable passes, what would the force of England, gigantic as it is, profit her? She might, indeed, if they were unassisted in their efforts by any foreign power, cut off their communication for awhile with the coast; but her armies entirely dependent on external supply, and at so great a distance from the centre of their resources, would gradually moulder away, as well by the incessant operation of a partisan warfare, as by defection to their adversaries, whom her troops would be led to combat only with regret. They would not enter into a war of this description with the same animosity and desire of vengeance that might actuate their leaders. They would behold in their opponents, Britons, or the descendants of Britons, placed in hostile array against them unwillingly, and not from any ancient and inveterate spirit of hatred and rivality, but from constrained resistance to tyranny, and in vindication of their most sacred and indubitable rights. Nor would they in the midst of their disgust for so unjust and unnatural a contest, behold the beauty and fertility of the country without drawing a comparison between their condition, and what it would be, were they to quit the ranks of oppression, and become the champions of that independence, which they were destined to repress. Such will be the consequences of the impolitic and oppressive system of government pursued in this colony; such the probable results of the contest to which it must eventually give rise. If I have been unqualified in expressing my reprobation of such unwise and unjust measures; if I have evinced myself the fearless assertor of the rights of my compatriots; and if I have spoke without reserve of the resistance which the violation and suppression of those rights will in the end occasion, I must nevertheless protest against being classed among those who are the sworn enemies of all authority, and who place the happiness of communities in a freedom from those restraints which the wisdom of ages has established, and demonstrated to be salutary and essential. I hope, therefore, that my principles will not be mistaken, and that I shall not be exposed to the hue and cry which have been justly raised against those persons who are inimical to all existing institutions. There is not a more sincere friend to established government and legitimacy than he who mildly advocates the cause of reform, and points out with decency the excrescences that will occasionally rise on the political body, as well from an excess of liberty as of restraint: such a person may prevent anarchy; he can never occasion it. These are the views by which I have been actuated in writing this essay. If my hopes should be realized, if I should happily be the means of averting the thunder cloud of calamity and destruction which is even now gathering on the horizon of my country, and threatens at no very remote period to burst over its head, and to scatter death and desolation in its bosom, it is all the recompence I seek. If my efforts should unfortunately prove abortive; if I should fail to rouse the friends of peace and humanity to its succour and relief, I shall have experienced a sufficient mortification, without undergoing the additional one of being classed with a band of ruffian levellers, who under the specious pretext of salutary reform seek, like the jacobin revolutionists of France, the subversion of all order, and the substitution in its stead, of a reign of terror, anarchy, and rapine, amidst the horrors of which they may satiate their avarice, and glut their revenge. Let then the purity of my motives be unimpeached, if I should be defeated in the accomplishment of my object. But why should I despair of success, when I have every support that ought to ensure it? Right, reason, expediency, morality, religion, are all on the side of my oppressed country, and must eventually procure the termination of her sufferings. The disabilities, indeed, under which she has been so long groaning, grounded as they are in no motives of policy, but averse to them _all_, ought rather to be ascribed to inadvertence than design. Engaged as this country has been in a tremendous conflict, on the dubious issue of which her very existence as a nation was staked, she has had little or no leisure for attending to the internal economy of her colonies: in the midst of her own unparalleled sufferings and sacrifices, theirs have been disregarded or forgotten. It is the knowledge of this circumstance that has shed a ray of hope and consolation athwart the gloom which has been thickening year after year around the colony. It is this consideration that has enabled its inhabitants to support burdens which would otherwise have been found intolerable. Let then their just expectations be at length fulfilled, and let them not continue the only portion of the king's subjects, who have no personal reason to rejoice at the happy termination of this long and arduous contest. Their moderation and forbearance under their grievances, have given them an additional claim to redress, scarcely less forcible than the existence of the grievances themselves. Yet already years have elapsed, since the consolidation of general peace and tranquillity, and no attention has been paid to their situation and remonstrances. Already, therefore, the spirit of discontent so long repressed by hope, but reviving with the progress of this unnecessary, this unaccountable delay, has begun to manifest itself, and will soon assume a determinate shape and form. Let the government repress this feeling of hostility, while they have yet the power: a few years further inattention will render it hereditary and rivet it for ever. It is in the tendency of colonies to overstep even legitimate restraint; they will never long wear the fetters of injustice and oppression. I am aware that it is not one of the least difficult proofs of legislative wisdom to frame regulations adapted to each progressive stage of colonization, and that this difficulty increases with the maturity which the colony in question may have attained; but although the treatment of colonies upon their arrival at that degree of ascendency, when the enforcement of ancient restrictions, founded on the interests, or supposed interests of the parent country, but contraventory of the prosperity of the colonies themselves, becomes dangerous or impracticable, is, it must be allowed, a point of extreme delicacy and tenderness; there can at no time be any doubt entertained of the propriety of abandoning a system founded upon error and injustice, and productive of detriment, as well to those who have imposed it, as to those who are suffering under its baneful operation. It is therefore to be hoped that so unwise and unjust a system will no longer be continued; that his majesty's government will at length allow the colonists to use freely the natural productions of their country, and to increase to the utmost its artificial ones; that they will, permit them to call their own energies, their own resources, into life and action, and no longer impoverish them by rendering them the prey of richer colonies, and what is still more absurd and vexatious, of foreigners; that they will, in fine, grant them the free unrestricted enjoyment of those privileges which the bounty of the Creator has extended to them, and which it is not in any human authority to withhold, consistently with the eternal, immutable principles of right and equity. These privileges consist in the removal of certain agricultural and commercial restraints, which I shall separately enumerate; and in a free government, under the protecting shade of which, the colonists may fearlessly exercise and enjoy their personal and private rights, without molestation or hindrance. PART III. VARIOUS ALTERATIONS SUGGESTED IN THE PRESENT POLICY OF THIS COLONY. Of all the steps that could be taken for the relief of the colony, none certainly would prove of such immediate efficacy, as the creation of distilleries, and the imposition of so high a duty on the importation of spirits from abroad, as would amount to a prohibition. The advantages that would be attendant on this measure may, perhaps, be most forcibly illustrated by a short review of the actual loss which the colonists have sustained during the last fifteen years, from the want of its adoption. The spirits imported during this period may be safely estimated on an average at the annual value of £10,000, amounting in fifteen years to the sum of £150,000: and if we add to this £100,000 more, which it may be calculated that the government have expended in this interval, in the importation of corn, flour, rice, etc. from other countries, we have a grand total of £250,000, that would have been saved to the colony by the erection of distilleries. The application of so large a sum to the immediate encouragement of agriculture, would have imparted life and vigor into the whole community, and would have effectually prevented that increasing poverty, and the black train of evils consequent on it, which I have already depicted. And although from the increased demand for foreign luxuries, which so great an addition to the colonial income would have naturally occasioned, but a small part perhaps of this sum would have eventually continued in general circulation, still the means of the colonists would have at least been brought to a level with their wants; and a sterling circulating medium would have remained sufficient for all the purposes of domestic economy. Under such circumstances there can be little doubt that the active and enterprizing spirit of our countrymen would have long since effected the establishment of an export trade, which would have freed the colony from future embarrassment, and the mother country from the enormous expence which she is annually forced to incur in its support. But the continual and amazing fluctuations which have taken place in the price of corn, have been a death-blow to the success of every effort that has been directed to this most important object. At least but one out of all the numerous attempts that have been made by individuals, (for none have been made by the government,) to raise various articles of export, has realized the expectations of its sagacious author, and promises to become eventually of permanent relief and importance to the colony. But it will be more in the order of the arrangement which I have marked out for myself, to treat of this very important subject hereafter: I recur, therefore, to the conclusion which I was about to draw from the foregoing premises; that to the perfect success of every enterprize of a manual nature, it is essential that the price of provisions in general, but of corn in particular, should be reduced to such a point as to afford a fair profit to the grower; and at the same time that it should not be subject to any such extraordinary rise as to superinduce a proportionate increase in the price of labour. To keep the value of corn in this just mean, it is necessary that the growth of it should be encouraged to a pitch far beyond the sphere of the ordinary demand; and this is to be effected generally in two ways, by augmenting the internal consumption by artificial means, as by breweries, distilleries, etc. and by permitting a free exportation of the surplus. But the colony is at present unable from the smallness of its resources and its remoteness from Europe, the great mart for the surplus corn of other countries, to become a competitor with them in this branch of commerce: it follows, therefore, that the constant abundance of corn indispensable to the establishment and maintenance of an export trade, can only be guaranteed by the enforcement of all such measures as have a tendency to increase internal consumption; and of these I again repeat that the erection of distilleries, etc. is the most easy and the most efficacious. Independent of this general reasoning, which is equally applicable to all countries, the colony can unhappily furnish particular grounds of argument in the unfortunate localities of its agricultural settlements, which render the adoption of this measure of still more imperative necessity. Allured to the banks of the river Hawkesbury, both by the superiority of the soil, and the facilities which the navigation of this river afforded for the conveyance of produce to market, a circumstance of material advantage even at this moment, but of incalculable importance at a period, when as yet there were few or no cattle for the purposes of land carriage, the first colonists were encouraged by Governor Phillip to establish themselves on this low fertile tract of country, not so much perhaps from choice as necessity. His successors, influenced in part by the same considerations, followed his example in directing the current of colonization into the same channel, till in the lapse of about fifteen years the whole of the fertile lands on the banks of this river were completely appropriated. Thus unfortunately for the colony, its principal agricultural establishment was formed in a situation subject to the inundations of a river, whose waters frequently rise seventy or eighty feet above its ordinary level. The present governor, to his lasting honour be it mentioned, has done all that prudence could effect with the limited means confided to him, for the prevention of the calamities invariably consequent on these destructive inundations. He has placed the great mass of the colonists, who have been settled during his administration, in districts that are not subject to flood; thus securing to themselves and the community at large the fruits of their industry. He has also established townships on the high grounds, which generally at the distance of a mile or two from the river border its low fertile banks, and has held out various encouragements, in order to induce the settlers to remove their houses and stacks to them. The richer class have in most instances been alive to their own interests, and have abandoned their ancient abodes on the verge of the river: so that the destruction occasioned by future floods will be infinitely less extensive. But, still, a great part of the poorer class adhere to their ancient habitations, impelled by the double motive of avoiding the cost of carrying their crops to these townships, and from thence back again to the river, in order to send them to market by the boats, which ply on it for this purpose. And to such as have not horses and carts of their own, and would consequently be obliged to hire them, a residence on the banks of the river is a saving of greater magnitude than might be at first imagined. The greatest obstacle to the complete realization of the governor's project, arises from the extreme poverty of the great body of the settlers, occasioned, as I have already noticed, by the limited and precarious market afforded for their produce. To build a house, however small, is an undertaking in this colony as every where else, which can only be effected with adequate means; and if the colonists do not resort in crowds to these townships, it is not because they are insensible to the advantages which they would derive from a removal to these seats of security, but because their penury chains them to their present dangerous and miserable hovels, and compels them in spite of their better reason to hold their lives and property on the most precarious of all tenures, the caprice of the elements. But could the governor succeed in this, his project to the utmost, could he induce every settler on the banks of the Hawkesbury to remove to these townships, he would be still far from guaranteeing the colony from the calamitous effects of these inundations; since they are not periodical, like the risings of the Nile, but happen at all times, as well when the crops are in stack as when growing, when they are in the infancy of vegetation, as when they have attained maturity and are fit for the sickle. Some other expedient, therefore, would still be necessary to guard against those inundations which may happen at such disastrous periods; and there is but one that will be found sufficient at all times and under all circumstances. It is to encourage by artificial means, the growth of corn so far beyond what is necessary for the bare purposes of food, that in years of scarcity, whether arising from flood or drought, these artificial channels of consumption may be stopped, and the whole of the corn in the colony appropriated to the supply of the inhabitants. And this encouragement would be amply afforded by the establishment of distilleries; since allowing the colony to require sixty thousand gallons of spirits annually, twenty thousand bushels of grain would be expended in distillation, the whole of which, when necessity required, might be diverted from its ordinary course of consumption, and directed to the purposes of subsistence. These advantages, great as they must be allowed to be, are not the only ones that would follow the erection of distilleries. This measure would still further promote the prosperity of the agricultural body, by creating in the market a competition with the government for the purchase of grain, and would thus destroy the _maximum_, that has been hitherto arbitrarily assigned as an equivalent for their produce generally, without reference to the state of the crops, whether they have been productive or otherwise. The prejudicial operation of this maximum was noticed in the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons made in the year 1812, and the propriety of devising some remedy for this evil strongly enforced; but this recommendation has hitherto been disregarded, from the want, perhaps, of information sufficiently precise to enable the government of this country to attend to it. I close the catalogue of arguments which I adduce in support of this measure with the last and most powerful of them all, its beneficial influence on the morality of the rising generation. I do not so much take into calculation its probable bearing on the existing race of colonists, the greater part of whom are and will, perhaps, always be more or less addicted to the pernicious habits contracted in their early days of riot and debauchery, as on their posterity, who will necessarily soon form the majority of this colony, and whose amelioration or reformation all legislative measures should have principally in view. With those the immoderate use of spirituous liquors is a long contracted disease, which it is perhaps past the skill of legislation to cure. It is like an old inveterate ulcer, whose roots have penetrated into the seats of vitality, and are so intimately interwoven with the very principles of existence, that the knife cannot be applied to the extirpation of the one, without occasioning the destruction of the other. But though this gangrene can never be entirely eradicated, the experience of late years has shewn that it may be prevented from increasing, and even considerably reduced. Drunkenness has been observed to be less frequent since the unlimited importation of spirits was permitted, even among that class who were most addicted to this vice during the long period when the importation was in a great measure restricted, the price of liquor exorbitantly enhanced, and the consequent difficulty of obtaining it much more considerable. Great, therefore, as are the present facilities to the indulgence of this propensity, they should be still further extended, and this would be effected by internal distillation; for although the importation of spirits from other countries has been for many years past subject to no restriction, but the payment of a certain duty, which would be equally levied on all spirits made in the colony, still the expence of freight, insurance, etc. would be avoided, the price proportionably abated, and the means of indulgence increased in the same ratio. The immediate effect of this free circulation of spirits having been so beneficial, we may easily infer what would be its remote consequences; and it is to these, to the gradual developement of moral perfection, that all laws which are framed with a reference to this end, should be directed, and not to sudden and violent reformations, which are seldom or never attended with the desired results. It was, indeed, natural to expect that this pernicious drug would be depreciated, in the estimation of its consumers, in exact proportion to its superabundance; and although the removal of all restriction to the importation of spirits, might in its immediate beneficial operation on the morals of the existing generation, so long curtailed in the use of them, and so long habituated to excess, whenever occasion offered, have been a matter of serious speculation, before this experiment was tried, its immediate result has far out-stripped the expectations of its most sanguine supporters. The present influence of this measure having been so satisfactory, there cannot be a doubt that the effect of internal distillation on the morality of future generations will be still more salutary and decisive. It is well known that in the countries that are celebrated for the production of wines and spirits, as France, Spain, Italy, etc. so great is the sobriety of the people, that a drunken person is an object of contempt, and a sight which is but very seldom witnessed. This sobriety, therefore, can only be the consequence of a steady, equable supply, which induces moderate enjoyment, without holding out any temptation to excessive indulgence. And however strange or unaccountable this fact may at first appear, the reason of it may be traced to the nature of man, the same inconsistent creature in all ages and in all countries. Intervening obstacles to enjoyment, far from repressing his desires, serve but to stimulate and inflame them; and so perverse and capricious is he in his conduct, that he despises, or at best holds in but secondary estimation, the real substantial good that is within his grasp; while remote or unattainable objects fire his ambition, and swell into fanciful and preposterous proportions the treacherous illusions of a fertile imagination, which possession alone can dissipate and reduce to their proper standard and value. It is thus that lofty mountains seem to connect themselves with the heavens by enveloping clouds; but stripped of their deceptious covering, they stand reduced to their primitive dimensions, the blue vault towers far above their heads, and the eye sees and defines their just limits and magnitude. There can be but one objection urged against the establishment of colonial distilleries; that it will deprive the resident merchants in India, from whence by far the greater proportion of spirits is at present imported into the colony, of this branch of commerce. The trade, however, of that country is on too extensive a scale, to be perceptibly affected by so trifling a restriction, which, in fact, has always existed till within the last five years; as the importation of spirits, till that period, was always subject to limitation, and only permitted by express licence. But were the case otherwise, what right has one portion of the empire to look for aggrandisement at the expense of another? Ought the welfare and happiness of twenty thousand persons to be sacrificed, in order to promote the views of a few interested individuals? If it were politic in his majesty's government to concede any superiority of privilege to any one body of the king's subjects over another, surely a colony composed entirely of Englishmen has reason to expect that such a concession should be made in its favour, and not to its prejudice in favour of a country acquired and in some measure maintained by force, and connected with the parent country by no ties of common origin and affinity, by no congeniality of habit, by no similarity of religion. But the colonists neither expect nor desire any such concessions: they seek the possession and enjoyment of their own indubitable rights; they would not curtail those of others: they neither want to render other colonies tributary to their prosperity, nor to continue, as they have hitherto been, tributary to that of others. If, on the other hand, we take a hasty survey of the advantages, which I trust it has been satisfactorily proved, would be consequent on internal distillation, never, it will be seen, was there a measure which could adduce in its support more urgent and weighty considerations. It would afford employment, and thus impart fresh health and vigor to the agricultural body, debilitated by long suffering and disease; it would place the means of the colonists on a level with their wants, and by creating a good and sufficient medium of circulation in the place of the present worthless currency, would give rise to other channels of industry, and to the speedy establishment of an export trade. It is the only possible way of insuring the colony against the calamitous effects which have hitherto been invariably attendant on the inundations of the river Hawkesbury; it would lessen the injurious preponderancy of the government in the market, by creating a great competition for the purchase of grain, and would thus prevent the arbitrary imposition on this, the principal production of the colonists, of a maximum that is frequently beneath its just value, and it would improve the morals of the present and of future generations. With these irresistible arguments in favour of this measure, it must be evident that the cause of justice and morality would be violated by any further unnecessary delay in its adoption. The next object of internal consumption, to which in my opinion the government ought to direct the attention of the colonists, is the growth of tobacco. The amount of the annual importation of this article from the United States of America and the Brazils, (the two supplying countries) cannot be estimated at less than five thousand pounds. This would be a very material saving to the colony in its present circumstances, and one that might be effected with the greatest ease, and without prejudice to any part of the empire. The only question in this instance is, whether it be more politic that the colony should supply itself, or be dependent on foreigners. There are no contending interests to reconcile, no portion of his majesty's subjects in any part of the globe, who could wish to oppose the imposition of a prohibitory duty on the importation of this article into the colony. And this is the only measure that would be necessary to direct the attention of the settlers to this highly important production, for which it has been found that the climate and soil of the colony are peculiarly adapted. In three years at most, after the adoption of this regulation, the colonists would raise a sufficient quantity of tobacco for their own consumption. It will be an after consideration for the government to take the requisite means to promote the increased growth and exportation of this highly important product to the mother country. The immense advantage that she would derive from possessing in one of her own colonies, an article of such general consumption, and for which she is at present entirely tributary to foreign powers, is too obvious to need illustration, and too considerable not to attract the attention and encouragement of her legislature. Hemp, flax, and linseed, are also productions to which the climate and soil of the colony, and its dependent settlements at the Derwent and Port Dalrymple are remarkably congenial, and the growth of which might be easily promoted by wise regulations. Yet highly valuable as are all these productions, and altogether dependent as is this country for the amazing quantities of them, which she consumes in her navy, her manufactures, and her commerce, no attempt has been made since the establishment of the colony to direct the attention of its inhabitants to their growth and exportation. The views of the different gentlemen, who have been successively intrusted with the government, have either never reached so far, or else their means have been inadequate to the accomplishment of these great ends. In embellishing the capital, and erecting various public edifices, of which, however, I do not mean to question the utility, their attention appears to have been chiefly absorbed. It seems never to have come into their contemplation that all these embellishments would have been the natural and inevitable results of the increasing prosperity of the community, but that they could never of themselves either create or promote it. A flourishing agriculture, a thriving commerce, would have equally effected all these objects; but with this material difference, without that enormous expence to this country with which they have been attended. The imposition of small taxes for the promotion of public objects, is no grievance to a people whose prosperity is the work of a wise and considerative government. An impolitic and oppressive one cancels alike the will to make, and the power to levy such contributions; and imposes on itself the necessity of moderating its wants, or of having recourse to foreign channels for their supply. In this instance the great burden of these public undertakings has fallen on this country, nor have they been the most inconsiderable item in the amount of the colonial expenditure. Yet all that has been already lavished, and all that this country may hereafter lavish in prosecution of the same narrow and absurd system, will have but little influence in promoting the real purposes of colonization. This mania for building, which has always directed the government, has unfortunately communicated itself to the colonists, particularly those who inhabit the various towns, and they are at present in the condition of a man who has a large house, but wants wherewithal to furnish and support it. Their situation would be more enviable, if they had smaller habitations replete with a greater degree of plenty and comfort. The establishment of an export trade, that may enable them to procure in sufficient abundance those foreign commodities which long habit has rendered indispensable to civilized life, is what they desire, and what a wise government would desire also; more especially since the parent colony is a great manufacturing nation, and possesses the power of supplying the commodities in question. Millions more expended in the same improvident manner as heretofore, will not effect this great object; and with half the expence already incurred a politic government would have already accomplished it. Of this assertion the labours of an individual, who, if on the one hand he has met with some support from the more liberal and enlightened administration of this country, has constantly experienced, on the other, all the opposition which the envy and malevolence of the local government could throw in his way, furnish an indubitable proof. This gentleman, John Mac Arthur, Esq. formerly a captain in the New South Wales corps, which was afterwards converted into the 102d regiment, embarked more largely from the very commencement of the colony, in the rearing of sheep and cattle, than any other individual. Notwithstanding the very great profits which his extensive flocks and herds yielded him, a circumstance that would have satisfied the ambition, and lulled to sleep the inquiries of a less penetrating mind, he foresaw so long as fifteen years back, what has since been realized, the crisis of general distress and embarassment, to which the course pursued by the local government, would eventually conduct; and on the occasion of his being unjustly ordered to this country by the then governor, where he soon vindicated himself from the charges imputed to him, he convinced the ministry of the advantages that would accrue to the nation from promoting in the colony the growth of fine wool; and obtained from them a considerable grant of land, and various encouragements besides, in order to enable him to carry this highly important project into execution. Among other indulgences, he procured an order in council permitting him to embark on board the vessel that was to reconvey him to the colony, four Spanish ewes and a ram, which he had purchased out of the king's flocks. With this small beginning he undertook, and in spite of an incessant war waged against him by malignity and misrepresentation, the withholding in some measure of the encouragements ordered by the liberality of his majesty's ministry, and endless other disappointments and vexations that would have damped any ordinary resolution, his efforts have been crowned with the most complete success, and he has at present not less than five thousand sheep, of which the wool from continual crosses with Spanish tups, the progeny of the few sheep purchased by him at the sale of the king's flocks, has become as fine as the best imported from Saxony, and has been found to surpass it in elasticity, a quality highly conducive to the firmness and durability of the cloth. Many gentlemen also of the colony who have large flocks, sensible of the folly of breeding sheep for the mere sake of the carcases, which in consequence of the limited population, and unlimited extent of grazing country, have already become of inferior value, and in a short time more will be worth little or nothing, entered some years back on this gentleman's system; and there may, perhaps, be among all the rest of the sheep holders, the same number of fine woolled sheep which he alone possesses. Here then is an exportable article of immense consequence to the colony, and of the highest political importance to this country; an article indispensable to the support of her staple manufacture, and for which she has hitherto been altogether dependent on foreign nations; yet has no attempt but the one I have just alluded to, been made, either by the government of this country, or of the colony, to direct the attention of the sheep-holders to its production; on the contrary, the greatest obstacles have been thrown in the way of this gentleman's success, obstacles which none but the most enthusiastic spirit could have surmounted. Thanks, however, to his invincible perseverance, the dawn of prosperity is at length breaking on the colony. The long stormy night of suffering and misery is drawing to a close; yet a few years, and the sun of peace and plenty will appear on its horizon. But although this event will in the natural course of things soon take place, its approach may be greatly accelerated, or retarded by the wisdom or folly of the government. The colonists, in spite of every impediment they may have to encounter, cannot much longer remain insensible to the advantages which _they_ possess, who have already followed the wise example of this gentleman: _these_ they will daily behold in the enjoyment of comparative ease and happiness, and in possession of a certain progressive income, exposed to few or no contingencies, and dependent on no man for its extent and duration; while on the other hand, they will find that their own income must not only diminish every year, but also rest for its continuance on the good pleasure of their governor, who, if he should even possess the will, would not want the power to enlarge it to any considerable amount, and who, should he be their enemy, might at any time reduce it to nothing. The manifest superiority, therefore, which the proprietors of fine woolled possess over those of coarse woolled sheep, would alone suffice in the end to draw the attention of all the sheep-holders in the colony to the improvement and perfection of the wool of their flocks. This is happily a much easier task at present than at the period when Mr. Mac Arthur first entered on the system of crossing. At that epoch there were few sheep in the colony, but such as had been introduced from the East Indies, which it is well known are entirely covered with hair. This race, so disgusting in its appearance to Englishmen, has long since disappeared; nor are there any sheep at present, whose wool could be termed actually coarse: the wool of the Leicester breed is perhaps the coarsest that could any where be found. A few years continual crossing with Spanish tups would consequently suffice to cover all the sheep in the colony with fine wool. Three crosses which under a proper system would occupy about six years, would be sufficient, if the government would employ the means at their disposal, to accomplish this great national object. The number of sheep in the month of November last amounted, as it has already been seen, to 170,920; out of which, as I have just stated, 10,000 are of the pure Spanish breed or nearly: it may therefore be perceived what an immense exportation of this precious article might take place in a few years, under judicious and politic regulations. No country in the world is perhaps so well adapted to the growth of fine wool as this colony. There is in its climate alone, a peculiar congeniality for the amelioration of wool, which has been found of itself to occasion in a few years, a very perceptible improvement in the fleeces of the coarsest description of sheep. Even the East India breed, entirely covered with hair, produce without being crossed with a finer race a progeny, the superiority of whose fleece over that of the parent stock is visible in every remoter generation. This amazing congeniality of climate is supported by local advantages of equal if not greater importance. For hundreds of miles into the interior, the country has been found to be covered with the richest pasturage, and every where intersected with rivulets of the finest water. A constant succession of hill and dale diversifies the whole face of the country, which is so free from timber, that in many places there are thousands of acres without a tree. The settlements at the Derwent and Port Dalrymple, though situated in a colder climate, and therefore in all probability not equally congenial to the growth of fine wool, afford the same excellent pasture, and contain in every respect besides, the same facilities for the rearing of Spanish sheep, whose fleeces it is reasonable to expect on comparing the climate of these settlements, with that of Saxony, would not degenerate, if the same system which prevails in that country were followed in the management of sheep in this. Saxony is situated between the 50th and 51st parallels of north latitude; and Van Diemen's Land, on the northern and southern parts of which these two settlements are formed, between the 41st and 43d degrees of south; so that allowing for the superior coldness of the southern hemisphere, the whole of this island possesses a climate more congenial to the growth of wool, than the finest parts of a country, whose wool exceeds in value that of Spain and Italy. The settlers, however, have not yet opened their eyes to the advantage of having fine woolled flocks, although they have for many years past had but a very limited market for their mutton, and the government there, as at Port Jackson, have made no efforts to turn their attention to this object. This unaccountable indifference to a matter of such vast political importance, it is to be hoped will at length be followed by a proper degree of attention and encouragement. Among all the various ends proposed by our extended colonial system, none perhaps is more intrinsically worthy the cordial undeviating support of his majesty's government, than the one in question. In twenty years, the extensive exportation which might be effected under proper regulations in this single article, would alone raise the colonists from the point of depression and misery to which they have been reduced, to as high a pitch of affluence and prosperity as is enjoyed by any portion of his majesty's subjects in any quarter of the globe. Before the expiration of that period, I am convinced that they might be enabled to ship for this country, at least a million's worth of fine wool annually; and for the accomplishment of this vast national object, it would not be necessary for this country to expend one far-thing more than is at present _wasted_ in prosecution of a system of mere secondary importance, and having little or no bearing on the eventual prosperity of the colony. It is only by establishing this prosperity on a solid basis, by encouraging the growth of exports, until they rise to a level with its imports, that it can be converted from an unproductive and ruinous dependency into a profitable and important appendage. Whenever it shall have attained this point of advancement, whenever it shall have acquired an independence in its resources, then, and not before, will it begin to answer the real ends of all colonization, the extension of the commerce and rescurces of the empire. Then like some vast river of the ocean, will it pour back its majestic stream into the bosom of its parent flood, and contribute to the circulation and salubrity of its bounteous author. Among the various remaining articles of export, which the colony is capable of producing, and to which the industry of its inhabitants might be gradually attracted, the last two that I shall specify, are the vine and the olive. These, indeed, with the various productions which I have already named, are capable of such vast extension, as to be fully adequate to absorb all the energies of the colonists for many years to come, whatever may be the increase in their numbers. To mention, therefore, the endless less important productions to which the climate and soil of this colony are equally congenial, would only be to perplex their choice, and to divert, perhaps, their industry into less productive channels. It would be superfluous to dwell upon the happy results that would attend the general introduction and culture of these two productions, both with reference to them as articles of internal consumption and exportation; since it is well known how materially they contribute to the comfort and affluence of the countries which are blessed with them. I shall, therefore, only just mention that the greatest facilities have been lately afforded for their general culture by the same gentleman who first introduced the Spanish sheep into the colony; and that there is only now wanting the fostering hand of the government to occasion their further propagation. One of the most efficacious measures that could be adopted, as well for their general introduction, as for that of the various other valuable productions before enumerated, would perhaps be the establishment of a colonial plantation, in which a certain number of the most enterprizing youths might be instructed in their culture and preparation. This institution might, I am convinced, be founded under a proper system without occasioning any considerable expence. The first step to be taken would of course be the selection of a fit allotment of ground, which ought to be granted to trustees, according to the usual forms of law. These should consist of a certain number of gentlemen of consideration in the colony, who would consent to hold this office as an honorary one, without any view to private emolument, and for the mere sake of promoting the public weal. To place this institution near the capital, Sydney, where the greater part of the land is already located, and besides of a very indifferent quality, ought not, by any means, to be attempted, not only for these reasons, but also because the youth, whom it would be the main object of this institution to train up to economical and laborious pursuits, would run the risk of contracting the vicious habits, and falling into the excesses of that town; a probability which a removal to a proper distance from that sink of iniquity, would effectually provide against. The most eligible situation, perhaps, for the establishment of this highly important institution would be some fertile spot in the cow pastures, which, as it has been already mentioned, are injudiciously reserved for the use of the wild cattle, notwithstanding that they have nearly disappeared. The only two individuals who have grants of land in this district are Messrs. Mac Arthur and Davison; and my recommendation that this institution should be formed in the same district, is not more influenced by the fertility of its soil than by the contiguity which it would in this case possess to the former gentleman's estate; a contiguity, which would enable him frequently to visit it, and to afford the director of it such information as could not fail to contribute very materially to its progress and success. It must be quite unnecessary for me to dwell on the importance of confiding the superintendence of such an establishment to some one, who might be duly qualified for the discharge of the duties that would be attached to it. Perhaps the government would act wisely, if my suggestion on this head should be deemed worthy of attention, in selecting for this office an intelligent person from the South of France, who has been accustomed to the culture of the vine and the olive. These with tobacco, hemp, and flax, are the objects to which, I am of opinion the attention of such an institution would be most beneficially applied. And if, as is not improbable, it should be found impracticable to procure a person acquainted with the culture and preparation of all these various productions, it would not be difficult to discover among the colonists themselves men of good character possessing the knowledge in which he might be deficient, and who might be assigned him as assistants, but still placed under his direction and control. The encouragement which I consider should be held out to the director, as well as to his subordinate agents, ought not to consist of stipulated salaries, which might superinduce lethargy, and prevent them from contributing their utmost to the success of the establishment, but of a certain proportion of the clear profits of the concern, after the deduction of all contingent expences. What I conceive this proportion ought to be, I will hereafter specify, as also the manner in which I would distribute the remainder. The subjects which I propose for immediate consideration are: 1st, The manner in which this institution might be founded; 2dly, The number and description of the candidates to be admitted, with the manner of their occupation; and, lastly, the nature of the encouragement to be accorded them. The means necessary for this undertaking must be unavoidably supplied by the government. "The Police Fund" is so burdened with charges of one sort or another, that I fear it would prove of itself inadequate to the completion of this measure; although there can be no doubt, that most of the ends to which this fund is at present devoted are of but subordinate utility, and might be very advantageously postponed to the object under consideration. The erection of the different buildings that would be immediately required for the various incipient purposes of this institution, and the supply of its inmates with provisions and the requisite implements of husbandry during the first eighteen months of its establishment, after which period I consider they would be fully able to administer in these respects to their own wants, would be the principal expences to be incurred. About £6000 would suffice for these objects; while, in return, its operation would gradually extend itself to every district, would develope and bring to maturity various exportable commodities, which are as yet lying in embryo, and which this country does not possess in any of her colonies; and, in fine, would be more sensibly felt, and become more extensively beneficial, in proportion to its own progressive march towards perfection. Secondly, With respect to the number of candidates to be admitted, they ought perhaps, in the first instance, to be limited to fifty, although they might, and indeed ought to be subsequently increased to not fewer than two hundred. More than those in the commencement, before a due degree of order and economy could be introduced, would undoubtedly create confusion and an unnecessary augmentation of expence. Fifty are as many as I conceive could be advantageously occupied for the first two or three years. It must, however, be obvious, that the capability of this institution for the reception and profitable employment of a greater number of pupils, would very materially depend on the director, and be, in a great measure, accelerated or retarded by his ability or incompetency for a due discharge of his duties. As to the description of these candidates, it would, I consider, be proper that they should consist of young men born in the colony, or who may have come to it with their parents; that they should not exceed eighteen years of age, nor be under fifteen; that they should be of docile tempers and regular habits, which points should be ascertained previously to their admittance; and that their parents or guardians should bind them apprentice for the space of four years to the trustees or directors of this establishment for the time being, during which period they should renounce all control over them whatever. I will not here pretend to prescribe all the various modes of occupation which it might be proper to allot them; I have already enumerated those productions, the culture of which I conceive might be most advantageously taught and disseminated by means of this institution. Others, however, of equal and perhaps greater utility, may be hereafter suggested by persons more conversant with the situation and interests of the colony, and ought unquestionably, if there be any such, to become identified with those which I have specified. Whatever may be the decision of more competent judges than myself on this subject, I may perhaps confidently venture to recommend, that the pupils should be divided into classes, that each of these should be instructed in a particular sort of culture at a time; and that upon the attainment of a thorough knowledge how to cultivate and prepare any one article, and not before, their attention should be directed to some other, and so on, till the expiration of their several apprenticeships. It would be proper also to allow their parents or guardians the selection of the occupations in which they might wish their children or wards to be instructed, in so far at least, as such occupations might be compatible with any of the purposes of the institution. And lastly, with reference to the nature and extent of the encouragements to be accorded to the pupils, I would recommend, in order that their energies might be stretched to the greatest possible point of extension, that six eighths of the net annual profits arising from their labours should be set apart, and remain in the hands of the trustees, for their sole use and benefit; and that on their retiring from this institution, the accumulated amount should be equally divided among them, both to secure their successful establishment in life, and to render the knowledge which they may have severally acquired, of permanent benefit to the community. I would also recommend that the accounts both of the expenditure and profits of the institution should be annually submitted to the trustees for their approval, and afterwards printed and distributed among the pupils, not only for the purpose of provoking inquiry into their accuracy, and obtaining that rectification in case of error, which it might be difficult to effect after the lapse of five years; but also with a view to bring home to their understandings, and to convince them beyond the possibility of doubt, of the benefits which they may have derived from their past labours; a conviction that would prove the most cordial incentive, the most powerful lever which could be applied to their future industry and exertion. I would lastly recommend, that the quantity of land, and indeed that the encouragements of every kind which the government are in the habit of granting to the ordinary class of settlers, should be increased in a two-fold proportion to the pupils of this institution; but as it evidently would not be expedient or equitable that those who might habitually violate the regulations to be made for the good government of this little community, should receive on the one hand an equal recompence with those whose conduct might have always been regular and exemplary, or that they should be deprived on the other of their quota of the emoluments that might accumulate during the period of their apprenticeships, I would suggest, in order to mark that due gradation which in every well regulated society must necessarily exist in the scale of rewards to be accorded to such as may be subordinate or refractory,--industrious, or idle; that these latter encouragements should only be extended in this double ratio to those who might quit the establishment with a certificate of good conduct from the director. With regard to the allowance to be made the gentleman to whom the directorship might be confided, I should imagine that one eighth of the clear profits arising from the institution, would be a most liberal compensation for his trouble and attention, and that the remaining eighth would be an equally handsome provision for the whole of his assistants: one of whom would be required for the superintendence and instruction of each of the classes into which it might be determined that the pupils should be divided. Such are the principal measures which are essential to the revival of the agricultural prosperity. I will now briefly notice the various restrictions with which the commercial interests have been not less injudiciously fettered, and the removal of which is of the highest importance to the progress and welfare of the colony. These may be divided into two heads, duties and disabilities; and first, with reference to the duties with which the various articles of export that the colonists possess or procure, have been shackled by the successive governors. The duties in question are enumerated in the following schedule, and are levied upon the undermentioned articles, whether they are intended for home consumption or for exportation, in which latter case it will be seen that some few of them are even doubled. On each ton of sandal wood £2 10 0 On each ton of pearl shells 2 10 0 On each ton of beche la mer 5 0 0 On each ton of sperm oil 2 10 0 On each ton of black whale or other oil 2 0 0 On each fur seal skin 0 0 1½ On each hair ditto 0 0 0½ On each kangaroo ditto 0 0 0½ On cedar or other timber from Shoal-haven, or any other part of the coast or harbours of New South Wales (Newcastle excepted, as the duties are already prescribed there) when not supplied by government labourers, for each solid foot -010 For every twenty spars from New Zealand or elsewhere100On timber in log or plank from New Zealand, or elsewhere, for each solid foot 0 1 0 For each ton of coals from Newcastle for home consumption 0 2 6 Ditto if exported 0 5 0 For each thousand square feet of timber for home consumption 3 0 0 Ditto if exported 6 0 0 That all these duties should be levied on these different articles, in as far as they may be consumed in the colony, may be highly expedient; but that they should be equally levied on exportation, and in two of the most material instances doubled, is so manifestly absurd, that it must be quite superfluous to dilate on the subject. It is a system of policy which it may be safely asserted is unknown in any other part of the world; and nothing but the indubitable certainly of its existence would convince any rational person that it could ever have entered into the contemplation of any one intrusted with the government of a colony. These duties have had the effect which might have been expected from them; they have in most instances amounted to actual prohibitions. Their operation, indeed, has been found so burdensome and oppressive, that the colonial merchants have frequently petitioned the local government for relief; but no attention whatever has been paid to their repeated representations and remonstrances. Had it not been for the duties on coals and timber, some hundred tons of these valuable natural productions would have been exported annually to the Cape of Good Hope and India; since the vessels which have been in the practice of trading between those countries and the colony have always returned in ballast; and the owners or consignees would, therefore, have gladly shipped cargoes of timber or coals, if they could have derived the most minute profit from the freight of them. This observation holds good in a great measure with respect to the various other articles which have been enumerated: the exportation of the whole has been greatly circumscribed by the same ridiculous and vexatious system of impost. It can hardly be credited that the veriest sciolist in political economy could have been guilty of such a palpable deviation from its fundamental principles; but it is still more unaccountable, that a succession of governors should have pertinaciously adhered to a system of finance so absurd and monstrous. Highly injurious, however, as are the duties which are levied in the colony, they are not nearly so oppressive as those which are levied in this country, on spermaceti, right whale, and elephant oils procured in vessels built in the colony. The duties on the importation of such oil into this country, are £24 18s. 9d. for the first sort, and £8 6s. 3d. for the two last. If we add to these enormous duties those which are levied by the authority of the local government, it will be perceived that all the spermaceti oil procured by the colonial vessels has to pay a duty of £28 8s. 9d. and all the right whale and elephant oil a duty of £10 6s. 3d. before it can come into competition with the oil of the same description procured in vessels built in the united kingdom. It has, however, been seen, that the colonists, propelled not less by that spirit of enterprize which distinguishes Englishmen in every quarter of the globe, than by the desire of finding profitable employment for that large portion of unoccupied labour, of which I have hastily pointed out the causes and march for the last fifteen years, have frequently attempted, notwithstanding these overwhelming prohibitions, to carry on these fisheries, but always without success; and that the valuable fishery of right whales which the river Derwent affords at a particular season, is now only resorted to, in order to procure the trifling supply of oil which is requisite for the East India market and for internal consumption. All attempts to export oil to this country have been for many years abandoned; since the trade could only be maintained at a dead loss, as the ruinous experience of many of the colonial merchants has abundantly attested. The reason why these enormous duties were imposed on oil procured in the colonial vessels is not generally understood here, but it is universally known in the colony; and the knowledge has materially tended to increase the dissatisfaction which the imposition of such duties would of itself, to a certain extent, have naturally excited. The act which authorizes these duties, is one of those smuggled acts by which, to the disgrace of our legislature, the welfare and happiness of helpless unprotected thousands have been so frequently sacrificed on the shrine of individual avarice or ambition. It originated in a certain great mercantile house extensively concerned in the South Sea fisheries, and could never have been passed, had there been a single person in either house of parliament, at all interested in the prosperity of this colony. This act, indeed, is such a terrible deviation, such a monstrous exception to the usual policy of this country with respect to the fisheries, that it carries with itself the strongest internal evidence of its polluted origin. No such restrictions had ever before been imposed on any of our colonies, as will be sufficiently evident, if we compare the duties which are levied in this country on oils procured in the vessels belonging to the colonies in North America and the West Indies, with those which are levied on oils procured in the vessels fitted out from the united kingdom. These duties are as follow: *Train oil, the produce of fish, or creatures living in the sea, taken and caught by the crew of a British built vessel, wholly owned by his majesty's subjects, usually residing in Great Britain, Ireland, or the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, or Man, registered and navigated according to law, and imported in any such shipping, per ton 0 8 3¾ [* See Pope's Practical Abridgment of the Laws of Customs and Excise, etc. etc. Title 246.] Train oil, the produce of fish, or creatures living in the sea, taken and caught on the banks and shores of the island of Newfoundland and parts adjacent, wholly by his majesty's subjects carrying on such fishery from that island, and residing therein, and exported directly from thence in a British built ship or vessel, registered and navigated according to law, per ton 1 4 11¼ Train oil, the produce of fish, or creatures living in the sea, taken and caught wholly by his majesty's subjects, usually residing in any of the Bahama or Bermudas islands, or in any British plantation in North America, and imported in a British built vessel, registered and navigated according to law, per ton 3 6 6 Train oil, the produce of fish, or creatures living in the sea, taken and caught wholly by his majesty's subjects, usually residing in any other British plantation, territory, or settlement, and imported in a British built vessel, registered and navigated according to law, per ton 8 6 3 Spermaceti oil, or head matter, taken and caught by the crew of a British built vessel, wholly owned by his majesty's subjects, usually residing in Great Britain, Ireland, and the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, or Man, registered and navigated according to law, and imported in any such vessel, per ton 0 8 3¾ Spermaceti oil, or head matter, taken and caught on the banks and shores of the island of Newfoundland and parts adjacent, wholly by his majesty's subjects carrying on such fishery from that island, and residing therein, and imported directly from thence in a British built vessel registered and navigated according to law, per ton 1 4 11¼ Spermaceti oil, or head matter, taken and caught wholly by his majesty's subjects, usually residing in any of the Bahama or Bermudas islands, or in any British plantation in North America, and imported in a British built vessel, registered and navigated according to law, per ton 4 19 9 Spermaceti oil, or head matter, taken and caught wholly by his majesty's subjects, usually residing in any other British plantation, territory, or settlement, and imported in a British built vessel, registered and navigated according to law, per ton 24 18 9 From the foregoing statement it will be perceived that the duty levied on train oil, or spermaceti oil, or head-matter procured by the inhabitants of Newfoundland, is precisely the same, and only three times the amount of _that_ which is levied on the same substances procured by British subjects residing in the united kingdom; and that the duty levied on oil, procured by British subjects residing in the Bahama, or Bermudas islands, or in the plantations in North America, is only _eight_ times the amount on train oil, and _twelve_ times the amount on spermaceti oil or head-matter, of _that_ which is levied on the same substances taken by British subjects residing within the united kingdom. While on the other hand, the duty levied on oil procured _in any other colony_; (for mark, the contrivers of this act had sufficient cunning not to particularize the unfortunate colony against which it was levied) is _twenty times greater_ on train oil, and oh, _monstrous injustice!_ upwards of _sixty times_ greater on spermaceti oil, or head-matter, than _that_ which is levied on similar substances taken by British subjects residing within the limits of the united kingdom. The duty, therefore, which is payable on train oil procured in vessels belonging to this colony is _nearly seven times_ greater than _that_ which is payable on the same description of oil taken in vessels belonging to the island of Newfoundland, and _considerably more than double that_ which is payable on it, when taken in vessels belonging to the Bahama or Bermudas islands, or to the plantations in North America; while the duty which is levied on spermaceti oil, or head-matter, procured in vessels belonging to this colony, is _five times_ the amount of _that_ which is levied on such oil or head-matter, when taken in vessels belonging to the Bahama, or Bermudas islands, or to the plantations in North America; and _twenty times_ the amount of _that_ which is levied on similar substances when taken in vessels belonging to Newfoundland. This very unequal proportion which the duties levied on these two sorts of oil, if procured by the inhabitants of this colony, bear to each other when compared with the duties which are levied on the same substances if procured by the inhabitants of any of the foregoing colonies or plantations, furnishes an additional proof, were any required, of the correctness of my assertions with respect to the origin of the act by which they were imposed. The house who were the authors of it, could not consistently get the duty on one description of oil raised, without at the same time admitting the necessity for raising the duty on the other; but as they were not interested in the right whale fishery, they were only anxious to prevent the colonists of New South Wales from embarking in the sperm whale fishery; and could they have accomplished this object without running the risk of discovering the covert aim of the act in its progress through parliament, they would have gladly compromised this point with them, and have left the right whale fishery open to them on the same conditions as it was before the enactment of this bill. To have evinced, however, any such tolerant inclination might have betrayed their design, and accordingly the colonists were debarred from both the fisheries; for notwithstanding that regular gradation has by no means been adhered to in the imposition of these duties, which had been previously observed in the scale of the duties levied in the other colonies or plantations, they have in both instances been more than sufficient to constitute actual prohibitions. That any superiority of privilege whatever should have been conceded by the legislature of this country, in the various acts which have been passed for the encouragement of the fisheries, to British subjects residing within the limits of the united kingdom, is at best a manifest injustice to such of her subjects as inhabit the colonies; but yet so long as this partiality was confined within any reasonable bounds, it would not have excited any considerable feeling of dissatisfaction. That there should, however, be any gradation in the scale of duties to be levied on any description of merchandise procured or produced in the colonies themselves, is a system which it is impossible to reconcile with any principle of justice or policy. Still so long as this disproportion of impost, however unwise and unjust, did not become so burdensome and oppressive as to confine this branch of commerce, whatever it might be, to the privileged colony or colonies, some palliation might be offered by its advocates for its continuance, although the warmest of them would not be able to attempt its vindication. But that any one colony should be utterly excluded from privileges freely accorded to another, is such a monstrous stretch of tyrannical partiality, that it never could have been deliberately discussed in a free government, and must therefore have been contrived by the secret machinations of private avarice and corruption. Can any reason be adduced why British subjects residing in one colony, should be excluded from the whale fisheries more than British subjects residing in another? Why vessels built in Canada, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, or the Bahama islands, should possess a privilege denied to vessels built in New Holland or Van Diemen's Land? The whale fishery is not more contiguous to the inhabitants of the former colonies than to those of the latter; yet every encouragement is afforded for the carrying on of the one, and every obstacle thrown in the way of the successful prosecution of the other. Why such a broad line of distinction is drawn, it is impossible to divine; since the disability which is the consequence of it, is not only not in furtherance of any of the ends contemplated by the navigation act,* but in diametrical opposition to the whole of them. This will be evident if we refer to its preamble, and to a few of its prominent provisions. "Whereas for the increase of shipping and encouragement of the navigation of this nation, wherein under the good providence and protection of God, the wealth, safety, and strength of this kingdom is so much concerned; it is enacted that no goods, or commodities whatsoever, shall be imported into, or exported out of any lands, islands, plantations or territories to his Majesty belonging, or in his possession, or which may hereafter belong unto or be in the possession of his Majesty in Asia, Africa, or America, in any other vessels whatsoever, but in such vessels as do truly and without fraud belong only to the people of England, Ireland, or are of the built of and belonging to any of the said lands, islands, plantations, or territories as the proprietors and right owners thereof, and whereof the master and three-fourths of the mariners at least are English, under the penalty of the forfeiture and loss of all the goods and commodities which shall be imported into, or exported out of any the aforesaid places, in any other vessel, as also of the vessel with all its tackle," etc. From this, which is the principal clause of the act, it clearly appears that British subjects in whatever part of the empire they may happen to reside, are entitled to precisely the same privileges, and that vessels built in any of her colonies are to all intents and purposes to be deemed of British built, in the same manner and on the same terms and conditions as if they had been built within the limits of the united kingdom, i. e. so long as the master and three fourths of the crew are British subjects. That this admission to a perfect equality of privilege, was and is still the intent not only of the navigation act, but of all the leading acts of navigation which have been passed since, we shall be still further satisfied, if we trace them in their whole progress to the present hour. It will not, however, be necessary to extend our examination either way beyond the great registry act passed in the twenty-sixth year of the reign of his present majesty, cap. 60. "By this act very considerable alteration was made in the whole concern of registering shipping, with a view of securing to ships of the _built_ of this country, a preference and superiority which they had not enjoyed so completely before. The plan of regulation then proposed to parliament was the result of an inquiry and deliberation of great length before the committee of Privy Council for the Affairs of Trade and Plantations; and that inquiry was commenced and carried on, and the measure at length decided upon principally by the exertion and perseverance of the late Earl of Liverpool."** What vessels are still deemed in this careful and elaborate revision of the navigation code to be of _British built_, may be seen from the first clause of this act, which ordains "that no vessels _foreign built_ (except such vessels as have been, or shall hereafter be taken by any of his Majesty's vessels of war, or by any private, or other vessel, and condemned as lawful prize in any court of admiralty) nor any vessel built or rebuilt upon any foreign-made keel or bottom, in the manner heretofore practised and allowed, although owned by British subjects, and navigated according to law, shall be any longer entitled to any of the privileges or advantages of a _British built ship_, or of a ship owned by British subjects, and all the said privileges and advantages shall hereafter be confined to _such ships only_ as are _wholly of the built_ of Great Britain or Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man, or of some of the plantations, islands, or territories in Asia, Africa, or America, which now belong, or at the time of building such vessels did belong, or which _may hereafter belong to_ or be in the possession of his Majesty; provided always, that nothing hereinbefore contained shall extend to prohibit such foreign built vessels only as before the 1st of May, 1786, did truly and without fraud wholly belong to any of the people of Great Britain or Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man, or of some of the plantations, etc. etc." Here then we have cited the _two leading clauses_ in the _two leading acts_ of navigation, and both prove that the objects which this country had in view, were to create nurseries of seamen for her navy, and to secure to her subjects, in whatever part of her extended empire they might reside, the benefit of the carrying trade. The imposition, therefore, of any duties on her subjects in any of her colonies, greater than those which are levied under similar circumstances on her subjects at home, far from being in unison with the liberal and enlightened policy of the navigation laws, is a broad deviation from their fundamental principles, and the creation of an entire system of exclusion, such as the one under consideration is, _a fortiori_, an utter violation of their letter and spirit. That any prohibitory duties of this sort could ever have been enacted, will appear still more surprising, if we look a little further into the policy which this country has pursued with respect to her other fisheries, particularly the cod fishery on the banks of Newfoundland, and parts adjacent. For when by the 15th Charles II. cap. 7. she enlarged the scope of her great navigation act, and to the two main original objects contemplated in this act, viz. the creation of nurseries for seamen, and the securing to her subjects the carrying trade, she superadded a third, viz. that of making herself the _entrepot_ for the deposit of all goods and commodities, whether the growth, production, or manufacture of Europe, or of her colonies, it having been foreseen that this alteration in her maritime code would be prejudicial to the cod fisheries, and that it would most materially conduce to their prosperity and extension still to allow salt, provisions, wine, etc. to be imported _directly_ from various countries not subject to the dominion of the crown of England into the colonies from whence these fisheries are carried on, this enlarged act,*** after ordaining "that no commodity of the growth, production, or manufacture of Europe shall be imported into any land, island, plantation, colony, territory, or place to his Majesty belonging, or which shall hereafter belong unto, or be in the possession of his Majesty in Asia, Africa, or America, (Tangier only excepted) but what shall be _bona fide_ and without fraud, laden and shipped in England, and in English built shipping, and whereof the master and three fourths of the mariners at least are English, and which shall be carried directly thence to the said lands, islands, plantations, colonies, territories or places, and from no other place whatsoever, any law or usage to the contrary notwithstanding, under the penalty of the loss of all such commodities of the growth, production, or manufacture of Europe, as shall be imported into any of them from any other place by land or by water, and if by water, of the vessel also in which they were imported with her tackle, etc. etc." immediately subjoins:--"Provided that it shall be lawful to ship and lade in such ships, and so navigated as in the foregoing clause is set down and expressed in any part of Europe, salt for the fisheries of New England and Newfoundland, and to ship and lade in the Madeiras wines of the growth thereof, and to ship and lade in the Western Islands, or Azores, wines of the growth of the said islands, and to ship and take in servants or horses in**** Scotland or Ireland, and to ship or lade in Scotland all sorts of victual, the growth or production of Scotland, and to ship and lade in Ireland all sorts of victual of the growth or production of Ireland, and the same to transport into any of the said lands, islands, plantations, colonies, territories or places." Here then is an instance of a very material deviation from the spirit of the navigation laws for the sole purpose of encouraging a fishery; but who can deny its policy? The legislature in this case had to decide whether they would extend this great national nursery for seamen, or whether they would check its growth by preventing the direct trade between these colonies and Europe, Madeira, the Azores, etc. and by making herself the _entrepot_ for the deposit and exchange of all the produce of these fisheries on the one hand, and of the productions of Europe, etc. etc. that were necessary for their extension on the other. The advantages that she would have derived from such a selfish arrangement, she wisely foresaw would be more than counterbalanced by the concomitant detriment which her maritime interests would have sustained from it. And hence this deviation from one of the leading objects of her navigation laws, a deviation which has not only been continued ever since, but even considerably enlarged; for many other places are now included in the direct commerce with these colonies, as will be seen by reference to the 46 Geo. III. c. 116. which recites, "whereas by the laws in force no commodity of the growth, production, or manufacture of Europe, is allowed to be imported into any place to his Majesty belonging, or which shall hereafter belong unto, or be in the possession of his Majesty in Asia, Africa, or America, but what shall be _bona fide_ and without fraud, laden and shipped in Great Britain, or Ireland, except salt for the fisheries of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Quebec, which may be laden in any port of Europe, and also except any goods fit and necessary for the fishery in the British colonies or plantations in America, being the growth, produce, or manufacture of Great Britain or Ireland, or of the islands of Guernsey or Jersey, which may be shipped and laden in the said islands respectively by any of the inhabitants thereof, and also except wines of the growth of the Madeiras and the Western Islands, or Azores, which may be laden at those places respectively: and whereas, it may tend to the benefit of the British fisheries, and to the advantage of the commerce and navigation of this country, if permission was given for certain other articles to be shipped for the British colonies in North America, at other places in Europe than those hereinbefore mentioned, under certain regulations and restrictions:" it is therefore enacted that any fruit, wine, oil, salt, or cork, the produce of Europe, may be shipped and laden at Malta, or Gibraltar, for exportation direct to the said plantations in North America, on board any British _built_ vessel, owned, navigated, and registered according to law, which shall arrive with the produce of the said fisheries taken and cured by his majesty's subjects carrying on the said fishery from any of the said plantations, or from Great Britain or Ireland. [* 12 Car. II. chap. 18.] [** Reeves, second edition, p. 397.] [*** 15 Charles II. cap. 7.] [**** England, Ireland and Scotland, since united into one kingdom.] I have been thus copious in extracts from the navigation laws, to prove that the great leading principles of these laws would not only be in no wise encroached upon by allowing the inhabitants of this colony to carry on the whale fisheries in their own vessels, but also that the duties which were thus clandestinely imposed on oils so procured, have been a flagrant violation of them, and that they are a single isolated exception to a general rule. Nor would the abolition of the duties in question, and the consequent encouragement of these fisheries, prove injurious to the British merchants at home, as must have been apprehended by those who were the authors of the prohibitory law by which these duties were enacted. Looking, indeed, at the mere situation of the colony, it would not be unnatural to conclude that its contiguity to the sperm whale fisheries, on the coast of New Zealand, New Caledonia, and New Guinea, would give its inhabitants such a decided advantage over the persons carrying on the same fisheries from this country, that these latter would soon be forced to abandon a ruinous competition, and that she would consequently be deprived of the very important benefits which she at present derives from it. The fears, however, which are apt to arise on this view of the subject will be immediately dissipated if it be considered, that the rope, canvas, casks, and gear of every description, necessary for the outfit of the colonial vessels for these fisheries, are furnished by this country, and can never be obtained in the colony under an advance of fifty per cent. on the prime cost; that the sperm oil in the market is unequal to the demand for it, an assertion proved as well by the existing bounties held out by the legislature for the encouragement of these fisheries, as by the enormous wages gained by the seamen employed in them; that these bounties themselves operate as a considerable prohibition to the colonists; and, lastly, that many years must elapse before the colonial fishermen can be properly organized, and rendered as expert as the English. These various disadvantages under which the inhabitants of this colony labour, are all but one of a permanent nature, and it is evident will always more than counterbalance the single local superiority which they possess, and ensure the English merchants a decided advantage in the market;--an advantage which if it will not outstrip all competition, will at least only just permit that salutary opposition which is essential to the prevention of monopoly and to the interests of the public. It must, I should imagine, by this time be quite obvious, that the removal of the duties in question would be in complete unison with the spirit of the navigation laws, and with that liberal and enlightened policy, which this country has on all other occasions invariably observed, with respect to colonies in parallel circumstances. In establishing, therefore, a precedent, I hope that I have made out a case sufficiently strong to warrant the interference of the legislature. It may not, however, be altogether superfluous, if it be only to point out the injury which this country has sustained from her past injustice and impolicy, just to glance at the advantages that she would possess in future wars from having an extensive body of seamen at her disposal in the South Pacific Ocean. Hitherto our squadrons in India have been entirely supplied with seamen from this country, and the great mortality which takes place on that station requires this supply to be constantly kept up. It is well known, although fewer actions take place in the Indian seas than perhaps on any other of our maritime stations, that the number of deaths occasioned by the influence of the climate alone are proportionally more considerable than in any other part of the world, with the single exception, I believe, of the coast of Africa. It becomes, therefore, a question of the greatest importance, whether considered in a political or philanthropic point of view, to ascertain if this lamentable expenditure of human life might not be considerably diminished by manning our ships of war in the Indian seas with the inhabitants of New Holland. It is well known that our settlements in this vast island are situated in a climate which forms a mean between the temperature of this country and India. There is consequently every probability, that the persons born in these colonies would be able to support the extreme heats of India much better than Englishmen. Be this, however, as it may, there can be no doubt of the advantage which this country would derive from having a valuable nursery for seamen in a situation, from which her navy in the East might at no very remote period be so easily supplied on all occasions of emergency. This prospect cannot fail to prove an additional motive with the government for the abolition of duties, which, if persevered in, will for ever stifle all commercial enterprize, and debar not only the colonists themselves, but the parent country also from the various important advantages, which I should presume it is now evident that an uncontrolled ability to prosecute these fisheries would infallibly secure to one and the other. With reference now to the commercial disabilities which have been imposed on this colony: the first impediment, the removal of which may be said to be of any material importance to its mercantile prosperity, is the clause in the East India Company's charter*, which provides, "that it shall not be lawful for any vessel, the registered measurement whereof shall be less than three hundred and fifty tons, other than such vessels as may be employed by the East India Company as packets, to clear out from any port in the united kingdom for any place within the limits of the said company's charter, or be admitted to entry at any port of the united kingdom from any place within those limits.**" When this act was passed, the pernicious bearing of this clause on the colony was most probably overlooked. It has been found prejudicial in the following respects:--First, The demand for British goods is not sufficiently extensive to absorb cargoes of such magnitude; so that when any such have arrived, they have generally been attended with a loss to the owners, who will probably soon become too wise to continue such a hazardous commerce. Those merchants, indeed, who were in the habit of shipping cargoes in smaller vessels for the colonial market, before the passing of this act, have already abandoned, in a great measure, their connexion within the colony, which is at present chiefly dependent for its supplies of British manufactures, on the captains of the vessels employed in the transportation of convicts. These supplies, therefore, have naturally become unequal and precarious: sometimes being unnecessarily superabundant and cheap, and at other times being so extremely scarce and dear as to be entirely beyond the reach of the great body of the consumers. Such great fluctuations are obviously not more repugnant to the well being and comfort of the colonists themselves than to the mercantile interests of this country. [* 53 Geo. 3. c. 155.] [** The colony of New South Wales is within these limits.] Secondly, The tendency of this act is not less injurious to the colonists with regard to the few articles of export which they are enabled to produce or collect for the British market. These indeed are only three in number, wool, hides, and seal skins, and are at present very inconsiderable in quantity; but the two former articles must necessarily increase every year, and will at length become of great extent and importance. The probable amount of the colonial exports has been already rated at about £28,000, out of which I consider that not more than £15,000 worth is conveyed to this country. The remainder consists of sandal wood, beche la mer, etc. exported principally to China. It may therefore be perceived that the whole of the annual exports of this colony would not suffice for half the freight of a single vessel of the size regulated by the act in question. It happens, in consequence, that the different articles of export which the colonists collect, frequently accumulate in their stores for a year and a half, before it becomes worth the while of the captain of any of the vessels which frequent the colony, to give them ship-room; and even then they do it as a matter of _favour_, not forgetting, however, to extort an exorbitant return for their _kindness and condescension_. The owners, indeed, of these vessels are so well aware of the inability of the colony to furnish them with cargoes on freight, that they generally manage before their departure, to contract for freights from some of the ports in India; a precaution which increases still more perceptibly the difficulty which the colonists experience in sending their produce to market. It must, therefore, be evident that they suffer a two-fold injury from this act, both as it prevents a regular supply of the colonial markets with British manufactures, and as it impedes the conveyance of their exports to this country. It is to be hoped, then, that this unnecessary and oppressive provision of the act will be revised, and that vessels of any burden will be suffered to trade between this country and the colony, until its increased growth and maturity shall have rendered the revision of obsolete efficacy. The last disability of serious detriment to the colonists, is that their vessels cannot navigate the seas within the limits of the East India Company's charter. I say _cannot_; because, although since the late renewal of their charter vessels built in this colony are, I should apprehend, entitled to all the privileges of other British built vessels, so long as they are navigated according to law, it has not yet attained sufficient strength to be enabled to build vessels of the burden of three hundred and fifty tons; and if it even possessed this ability, such vessels could only convey the produce of the countries in the Eastern seas, to which the free trade has lately been opened, to certain ports in the united kingdom. The colonists, therefore, are virtually precluded from trading in their own vessels within these limits; a restriction highly injurious to them, and of no benefit whatever to the company. Till within these few years the vessels built at the Cape of Good Hope were subject to a similar restraint; but its useless and oppressive tendency became so glaring, and the restraint itself so obnoxious to the people who were suffering under it, that it was at length removed by an Order in Council, dated 24th September, 1814, which was made by virtue of an act passed so long back as the 49th* year of the reign of his present Majesty. By the 57th Geo. 3. c. 95. this settlement was expressly included, for all the purposes of the act, within the limits of the East India Company's charter. The same reasons that sufficed for granting this privilege in the one instance, are at least equally conclusive in the other; and it is to be hoped, that the legislature will soon release the colony of New South Wales also from so grievous and unnecessary a restraint. Indeed no new act for this purpose is necessary; for the 57th Geo. 3. c. 1. after reciting, "whereas it is expedient under the present circumstances, that the trade and commerce to and from all islands, colonies, or places, and the territories and dependencies thereof to his Majesty belonging, or in his possession in Africa or Asia, to the eastward of the Cape of Good Hope, excepting only the possessions of the East India Company, should be regulated for a certain time in such manner as shall seem proper to his Majesty in Council, notwithstanding the special provisions of any act or acts of parliament, that may be construed to affect the same," enacts, "that it shall be lawful for his Majesty in Council, by any order to be issued from time to time, to give such directions, and make such regulations touching the trade and commerce to and from the said islands, colonies, or places, and the territories and dependencies thereof, as to his Majesty in Council shall appear most expedient and salutary; any thing contained in any act of parliament now in force relating to his Majesty's colonies and plantations, or any other law or custom to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding." It may, therefore, be perceived that the disability in question might be removed by a simple Order in Council. Whenever his Majesty's government shall have freed the colonists from this useless and cruel prohibition, the following branches of commerce would then be opened to them: First, they would be enabled to transport in their own vessels their coals, timber, spars, flour, meat, etc. to the Cape of Good Hope, the Isle of France, Calcutta, and many other places in the Indian seas, in all of which markets more or less extensive exist for these and various other productions which the colony might furnish; Secondly, they would be enabled to carry directly to Canton the sandal wood, beche la mer, dried seal skins, and in fact all the numerous productions which the surrounding seas and islands afford for the China market, and return freighted with cargoes of tea, silks, nankeens, etc. all of which commodities are in great demand in the colony, and are at present altogether furnished by East India or American merchants, to the great detriment and dissatisfaction of the colonial. And, lastly, they would be enabled in a short time, from the great increase of capital which these important privileges would of themselves occasion, as well as attract from other countries to open the fur trade with the north-west coast of America, and dispose of the cargoes procured in China; a trade which has hitherto been** exclusively carried on by the Americans and Russians, although the colonists possess a local superiority for the prosecution of this valuable branch of commerce, which would ensure them at least a successful competition with the subjects of those two nations. [* Cap. 17.] [** Many attempts have been made by the legislature to encourage British subjects to carry on this commerce from the ports of the united kingdom, but they have in a great measure failed in this object: see Convention with the King of Spain, 33 Geo, 3. c. 52. Indeed, during the period of the Company's exclusive trade with China, it can only be successfully undertaken by persons residing within the limits of their charter.] Such are the principal alterations in the policy of this colony which appear most essential to its progress and welfare. All these indeed, and many other privileges, which, though of only secondary consideration, would tend like a constant concurrence of small rivulets to swell and enlarge the stream of colonial prosperity, would be the natural consequences of a free representative government. If I have, therefore, gradually ascended from effect to cause, after the manner of experimental philosophy, I have chosen this mode of elucidation, not because it was the only one which offered for the illustration of my subject, but because I consider the inferences to be drawn from it more satisfactory than those to which the opposite mode of reasoning (that of descending from generals to particulars) conducts; because it would be as easy that the abolition of the various grievances which have been enumerated should be coeval with the creation of the free constitution, by which such abolition would be eventually accomplished; and lastly, because the additional tedious delay which would otherwise intervene between the establishment of a colonial legislature, the representation of grievances by which it would be followed, and their consequent removal,--a process that would occupy two years, might be thus avoided; or in other words, the same period of unnecessary endurance and misery spared to the ill fated inhabitants of this colony. In recommending, however, that the government of this country should authorize the immediate adoption of the measures which I have proposed, I do not mean to imply that such authorization alone would be productive of the important results in contemplation. However extensively beneficial in their present and remote effects the privileges thus conferred might prove, they would nevertheless be unsatisfactory and incomplete, so long as they were unaccompanied with a government competent and willing to watch over and secure their continuance. While it should be in the power of any individual to suspend or annul them, what guarantee, in fact, would exist for their permanence and durability? What solid basis on which the capital and industry, which they might be calculated to elicit, could repose in security? The confidence, indeed, which an impartial governor might inspire, would most probably, as often as the colony might be blessed with a chief of this description, give a momentary impulse to the activity of the colonists, and create a temporary prosperity among them; but the shortness of his administration will always interrupt the completion of his projects, and the caprice, imbecillity, or injustice of some one or other of his successors, like the blast of the sirocco, wither up the tender shoots of prosperity, which a consistent and protecting government would have nurtured and brought to maturity. The experience of the past has sufficiently evinced the little dependence which is to be placed on the degree of countenance and protection which the system of one governor, however beneficial the prosecution of it might prove, is likely to meet with from _his successor_. It is, indeed, in the nature of man, to prefer his own projects to those of any other: there is a degree of pleasure in striking off from the beaten path, and rambling in the untrodden wilds of speculation and experiment, which is alone sufficient, without the help of bad motives, to account for the diversity of policy, by which the administrations of the various governors have been contra-distinguished. This inherent principle of our nature, so averse to the realization of every beneficial design, which is not capable of immediate development, ought evidently to be counteracted and not encouraged, as it is at present, to the utmost point to which an uncontrolled and ridiculous caprice may choose to indulge it. The existing system of government is, in fact, a woof of inconsistency, from which no great harmonious tissue can proceed. A gentleman is appointed to this important situation: on his arrival in the colony he finds no council, no house of assembly, not even a colonial secretary to assist him: a stranger, and naturally unacquainted with its interests, he is necessarily obliged to have recourse to some person or other for advice: to avoid the appearance of ignorance, which however he cannot but possess, he will not most probably apply to the gentleman whom he supersedes; and he again, from a principle of delicacy, will not be forward in offering his advice unsolicited: those who had been the assistants, and perhaps able assistants of the latter, will keep aloof, as much out of respect to the gentleman whom they had last served, as from that fear of obtrusion, that feeling of diffidence, which is inherent in persons of real merit and probity; so that it is ten to one but he falls into the hands of the faction who had been the enemies of his predecessor, only perhaps because he had too much honour and integrity to promote their selfish views, at the expence of the public weal. Scarcely, therefore, will this gentleman have quitted the colony, before the whole of the superstructure which he had been rearing will have been pulled down, and another of a different description commenced in its stead. Such has almost invariably been, and such will continue to be the conduct of the actual government; nothing judicious or permanent can ever be expected to proceed from it. How then, it may be asked, can prosperity be expected to flow from sources so precarious and inconstant? Are they calculated to supply that regular equal stream of security and confidence which has been found essential to the progress of improvement? But were the existing system of government essentially conservative in its nature, instead of being virtually destructive, it would still prove inadequate and inefficient. The circumstances and wants of this colony will vary every year, and consequently require either such partial modifications or entire alterations of policy as may be suited to each progressive stage of advancement. Its government, therefore, ought to be so constituted, as not only to possess the power of revising old laws, but also of framing new ones. It ought, in fact, to involve in itself a creative as well as a conservative faculty; a faculty which might enable it to accommodate its measures to every change of situation, and provide an instant remedy for every unforeseen and prejudicial contingency. Nothing short of this will suffice to inspire that confidence which alone can be productive of permanent prosperity. The government of an individual, however respectable he may be, will always engender distrust and cramp exertion. Man is distinguished from the rest of the creation by his circumspection and providence. There must exist a moral probability of reaping before he will venture to sow. This cautious calculating disposition too, is most predominant in those who are in the most easy circumstances: where the liability to incur loss is greatest, the spirit of enterprize is generally most restrained. But this class, which contains the great capitalists of all countries, are precisely those whose means, if they could be _enticed_ into activity, would be productive of the most beneficial results. No soil is so barren, no climate so forbidding, as not to present facilities more or less favourable for the absorption of capital, and the extension of industry. Wherever the tide of improvement is at its height, and a reflux ensues, it is to the impolicy of the government, and not to the sterility of the country, that this retrogradation is to be attributed. Prosperity and happiness belong to no climate, they are indigenous to no soil: they have been known to fly the allurements of the fertile vale, and to nestle on the top of the barren mountain: the plains of Latium could not secure their stay, yet have they freely alit on the snow-capt summits of Helvetia: they have been the faithful companions of freedom in all her wanderings and persecutions: they have never graced the triumphs of injustice and oppression. I have now hastily sketched the principal incidents which have characterized the march of this colony during the last fifteen years. If I have neglected representing its more early efforts; if I have excluded from view the amazing difficulties and privations with which its immediate founders had to contend; if, in fine, I have altogether omitted in the picture the numerous interesting events that took place during the first fifteen years of its establishment, I have been induced to all these omissions by a conviction, that the existing system of government, if not the most eligible that could have been devised, was at least unproductive of those glaring ill consequences, with which it has subsequently been attended. A singleness of design and a unity of action, could not be deviated from during the period of its infancy by the most ignorant and inexpert bungler in political science. There was a broad path open to its government, which it could not possibly mistake. The colony as yet entirely dependent on external supplies, always precarious from their very nature, but rendered still more so by a tedious, and at that time almost unexplored navigation, would unavoidably turn its whole attention to the single object of raising food, and emancipating itself as soon as possible, from so uncertain and dangerous a dependence. The principle of fear would have sufficed to propel the colonists to a spontaneous application of their strength to the realization of this end, independent of any directing power whatever. It was, therefore, only on the attainment of this most important point, that the impolicy of the present form of government became a matter of speculation, and subsequently, that it has been demonstrated by its practical result,--the wretched situation to which it has reduced a colony, that might be made, as I have satisfactorily established, one of the most useful and flourishing appendages of the empire. It is at the epoch when the produce of the colonists began to exceed the demand, and when their industry, instead of being encouraged and directed into new channels of profitable occupation, was not only left to its own blind unguided impulse, but also placed under the most impolitic and oppressive restrictions, that I have taken up the pencil, and made a rapid but faithful delineation of the deplorable consequences that have been attendant on a concatenation of injudicious and absurd disabilities, which, though not altogether imposed by its immediate government, would have been easily removed by the more weighty influence of a combined representative legislature. I have therefore throughout the whole of this essay, considered the present government not only responsible for its own impolitic conduct, but also for the existence of those grievances which have been created by a higher authority, and of which it has wanted the will or the power to procure the repeal. I have commenced by glancing at some of the most striking events that ancient history affords, to prove that the prosperity of nations has kept pace with the degree of freedom enjoyed by their citizens, and that their decadence and eventual overthrow have been invariably occasioned by a selfish and overwhelming despotism. Descending to more modern times, and adverting to the condition of existing nations, I have shewn that the unparalleled power and affluence of our own country, which I have selected out of them by way of exemplification, are solely to be attributed to the superior freedom of her laws, which have engendered her a freer, more virtuous, and more warlike race of people. From these striking illustrations, this steady coincidence of cause and effect, deduced from the records of the greatest among ancient and modern empires, I have concluded that every community which has not a free government, is devoid of that security of person and property which has been found to be the chief stimulus to individual exertion, and the only basis on which the social edifice can repose in a solid and durable tranquillity. That the system of government adopted in the colony of New South Wales does not rest on this foundation stone of private right and public prosperity, I have proved from the detestable tyranny and consequent arrest of a governor, whose conduct anterior to his being intrusted with this important charge, it will have been seen, was such as might have led without any extraordinary powers of discrimination to a prediction of the catastrophe that befel him. The atrocities perpetrated by this monster, and the events to which they gave rise, are sufficient to convince the most incredulous, that the colonists have no guarantee for the undisturbed enjoyment of their rights and liberties, but the impartiality and good pleasure of their governor; and that they have no resource but in rebellion against the unprincipled attacks and unjustifiable inroads of arbitrary power. So radically defective, indeed, is the government to which they are subjected in its very constitution, that it not only holds out, in the uncontrolled authority which it vests in the hands of an individual, the strongest temptations for the exercise of tyranny to those who may habitually possess an overbearing and despotic temperament, but has also a manifest tendency, as history amply attests, to vitiate the heart, and to produce a spirit of injustice and oppression in those who may have been antecedently distinguished by a well regulated and humane disposition. While it is thus, on the one hand, calculated to beget the most monstrous atrocities within the sphere of its jurisdiction, I have shewn that it has not, on the other, been invested by the power to whom it owes its origin and existence with the ability to perform any extended good; and that while it involves in its essence all the elements of destruction, it possesses no one principle of vitality. Of this assertion the administration of Governor Macquarie, who if you may judge from the length of time during which he has held this high office, would appear to possess a greater portion of the confidence of his Majesty's ministers, than any of his predecessors, furnishes an indubitable proof: for relieved as the mind of the reader will have been from the undivided indignation, disgust, and abhorrence, which the excesses committed in the foregoing government cannot fail to excite, by a review of the prudence and moderation by which his career has been contra-distinguished, he will nevertheless have beheld the colony, from the want of privileges, of which this gentleman has not possessed sufficient influence to procure the authorization, sinking in spite of his upholding hand, from a comparative state of affluence and comfort, to the lowest depth of poverty and endurance. He will have seen the colonists checked in their agricultural pursuits, rushing promiscuously into every avenue of internal industry that lay open to them, and afterwards constructing vessels, and not only exploring every known shore within the limits of their territory, in search of sandal wood, but even discovering unknown islands abounding with seals. He will have viewed them exhausting these temporary sources of relief, and attempting, but obliged to desist by the weight of impolitic imposts, both internal and external, from those inexhaustible fountains of wealth, the valuable whale fisheries that exist in the adjacent seas. He will have beheld them from inability to purchase the more costly commodities of other countries, making the most astonishing exertions in manufactures, and thus impelled by necessity to the adoption of a system not more averse to the interests of the parent country than to their own; and which under a well regulated government, would have been one of the last effects of maturity and civilization. He will have witnessed, notwithstanding these vigorous and unnatural efforts, numbers of them bending every day beneath the pressure of embarrassment, and at length stripped of their lands, and deprived of their freedom, by a set of rapacious and unprincipled dealers, who are gradually rendering themselves masters of the persons and property of the agriculturists; the greater part of whom, if the present system continue a few years longer, will be virtually reduced to a state of bondage, and condemned to minister to the ease and enjoyments of the worthless and the vile. He will have seen that, while the poorer settlers have already in general fallen victims to the unjust and impolitic disabilities with which they are beset, the circle of distress has extended itself from these, the _central body_ of the community, to its _circumference;_ and that the imports have so constantly preponderated in the balance over the united weight of the income and exports, that the whole wealth of the colony has been continually flowing into foreign countries, for the payment of the necessary commodities furnished by them, leaving no money in circulation for the important purposes of domestic economy, and compelling the colonists by a general, constrained, and tacit convention, to tolerate, as a substitute for a legitimate circulating medium, a currency possessed of no intrinsic value whatever. He will have beheld this rapid torrent of distress forcibly driving back the tide of population, both by the difficulties which it throws in the way of rearing up a family, and by the numerous bodies of freed convicts, whom it propels to a return to their native country, the greater part of whom, more from necessity than choice, are led to a resumption of their ancient habits, in order to procure a subsistence, and either impose on the government the expense of retransporting them to this colony, or end their career of iniquity by falling victims to the vengeance of the laws which they had so often violated. He will have seen during these continual and violent concussions, by which the whole social edifice has been shaken to the foundation, that the expenditure of the colony has been in a state of the most rapid increase, and that the existing system of government is incompatible with its diminution. He will, in fine, have been satisfied that the immorality and vice which it was the main object of the legislature to repress and extirpate, are making the most alarming progress and extension. Looking a little beyond these, the actual results of the present order of things, he will find that it is affording the most efficacious assistance and encouragement to the perfection of the manufacturing system, already in a state of considerable advancement, and that a few years more will so greatly circumscribe the means of the colonists, that the majority of them will be entirely excluded from the use of foreign commodities, and compelled to content themselves with the homely products of their own ingenuity; and that thus not only one of the great ends of colonization, the creation of a market for the consumption of the manufactures of the parent country, will be defeated by her own impolitic conduct, but also a spirit of animosity will be engendered by the recollection of the privations and sufferings encountered by the colonists in their tedious and painful march to this unnatural independence in their resources; a spirit which will be handed down from father to son, acquiring in its descent fresh force, and settling at length into an hereditary hatred, which it will no longer be in the power of the government to extinguish, and which will propel them, whenever an opportunity offers, to renounce the control of such unwise and unfeeling masters. Passing from this gloomy picture of vexatious tyranny and unmerited suffering, he will proceed to the more grateful contemplation of the remedies that are proposed as a cure for the present evils, and as a preventive against the future tremendous eruption with which the existing system, a mountainous agglomeration of impolicy and barbarity, is so fatally pregnant. He will be satisfied that the application of the restoratives prescribed, will both reintegrate the agricultural body, now in the last stage of debility and consumption, and impart fresh life and vigour into the commercial, which is equally impaired; and that while the parent country will by these means restore the tone and energies of the colony, she will be contributing in the most effectual manner to her own strength and greatness. He will be persuaded that all these most desirable ends will inevitably follow the establishment of a free representative government; and that however salutary the adoption of the measures proposed might be, unaccompanied with that internal power of legislation from which they would have eventually proceeded, they would of themselves be utterly inadequate to effect a perfect and permanent cure for the existing evils; and that nothing short of a local legislature, properly constituted, can on the one hand either inspire into capitalists that confidence which is essential to the free unimpeded extension of industry, or be competent on the other, to provide an instant relief for those growing wants, which spring out of the progress of advancement, and are contingent on those changes of circumstances and situation, to which incipient communities are so peculiarly liable. He will, in fine, be convinced even to demonstration, that the erection of a free government in the colony of New South Wales would be a panacea for all its sufferings; that it is the only measure which can ease this country of the enormous burden which it will otherwise entail on her, and save the unspent millions that will be ingulphed, _uselessly_ ingulphed, in the devouring vortex of the present system; and that the creation of an export trade of raw materials, and the consequent extended consumption of her manufactures which the proposed change of government would superinduce, is the only way in which she can ever repay herself for the immense expence that she has lavished on this colony, as well during the period of its really helpless infancy, as during the still longer interval of its restrained growth and fictitious imbecillity. PART IV. VARIOUS CHANGES PROPOSED IN THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT. It being thus clear and indubitable that free representative governments are the only foundation on which the prosperity and happiness of communities can safely repose, it only remains to ascertain how far the actual circumstances and situation of this colony are compatible with the concession of so great and important a privilege. At my very offset in this essay, after glancing in a cursory manner at the history of the most celebrated ancient and modern empires, and shewing that their progress kept pace with their freedom, and that their retrogradation is to be dated only from the epoch when they fell under the dominion of arbitrary and ambitious despots, whose successors gradually completed the work of destruction which they had commenced, I was compelled in candour to admit that the heterogeneous ingredients of which this colony was compounded, did not at the period of its foundation, afford his Majesty's government the power, if they had even possessed the will, to establish a free representative system. It is therefore incumbent on me, now that I have demonstrated the beneficial influence which free governments have in promoting the prosperity of communities in general, and have proved that this colony has for many years been languishing in a state of impeded growth, and tottering imbecillity, from the inefficiency of its administration to adopt those measures which are necessary to its revigoration; I say it is incumbent on me to shew that the component parts of this body politic, have undergone such a change since the period of its creation, as will warrant its identification in this respect with other states, and justify the conclusion that such institutions are essential to its welfare as have been found conducive to theirs. It must be almost superfluous to state, that when this colony was formed, it was composed, with the exception of its civil and military establishments, entirely of convicts. It was consequently impossible that a body of men, who were all under the sentence of the law, and had been condemned for their crimes to suffer either a temporary suspension, or total deprivation of the civil rights of citizens, could be admitted to exercise one of the most important among the whole of them, the elective franchise; and to have vested this privilege in the civil and military authorities, both of whom then as at present were subject to martial law, and were besides at that time without landed property, the only standard I conceive by which the right either of electing or being elected can in any country be properly regulated, would have been equally improper and absurd. A council indeed might have been appointed, but even an institution of this kind might have clogged the wheels of the government by its opposition, and could have been of but little assistance with its advice; for as it has been already stated, there was but one object to be pursued, and that was to promote by every means the agriculture of the colony, so as to emancipate it as soon as possible from a precarious and dangerous dependence on other countries. Until, therefore, the free inhabitants of the colony had increased to a sufficient number to exercise the elective franchise, and until its productive powers had outstripped its consumptive, and it became necessary either to create new markets for its produce within, or to direct a portion of its strength to the raising of articles for exportation to other countries, the establishment of a free representative government would not have been expedient had it even been practicable. The period at which the produce of this settlement fairly exceeded the internal demand for it, may, as I have already noticed, be dated so far back as the year 1804, being about sixteen years after the period of its foundation. It has been already seen that the harvests of that and the succeeding year were so abundant, that no sale could be obtained for more than one half of the crop;--that had it not been for a tremendous flood which happened in 1806, the majority of the cultivators must have abandoned their farms, and sought for other occupation;--and that since that period there has fortunately been a succession of floods and droughts, which with the exception of two or three seasons of equal plenty, have kept the productive powers of the colony nearly on a level with its consumptive, or else the situation of the settlers, deplorable as it now is, would have been infinitely more so. How radically defective, then, must be the government of this colony, when what would be calamities of the most serious and afflicting nature in a well organized community are here blessings! Is it in the nature of things to adduce more weighty arguments in proof of the necessity which has existed since the above period for its supercession? Ought not a government that would have felt the importance, and have possessed the power of creating new channels of consumption for agricultural produce to have been then instituted? This great object, it has been already shewn, could have been in no way so easily accomplished as by the erection of distilleries. To have diverted the attention of any part of the agriculturists from the growth of corn, would have been highly impolitic in a country, where the greatest and most fertile portion of the arable land is subject to such awful inundations. On the contrary, it was and still is expedient, that the whole agricultural energies of the colony should be confined to the production of grain, until the surplus become so great as to leave no chance whatever of these inundations being any longer attended with their former baneful consequences. But this can only be effected by creating a sure and adequate market for this surplus; and whether such market is to be found in the colony, or to be sought for abroad, no power either would have been, or is so fully competent to accomplish this important purpose, as an independent legislature chosen from the midst of the community, whose interests are identified with its own. With respect to the expediency or even practicability of instituting a body of this nature so long as fourteen years back, I am aware that there exists a great difference of opinion among the respectable class of the colonists themselves. For my own part, however small may have been the number of those from or by whom a colonial legislature could at that time have been formed, I consider of but little moment in solving this great problem. The only question it appears to me to be ascertained, is, whether a legislative assembly, however small the number of whom it might have been composed, and however limited the body of electors by whom it might have been chosen, would not have done its utmost to promote its own interests, or what would have been the same thing, the welfare of the community which it represented. I cannot conceive the possibility of any one's doubting that such would have been its conduct; and in this case what power could have been instituted in the colony that would have been so well calculated to foster its infant efforts, and develope its nascent prosperity, as one that would have been invested with the faculties of legislation; or in other words, with the authority to enact as a matter of course those measures of which the existing government has not had sufficient influence to procure the authorization. The expediency, however, of having established a house of assembly in the colony at the period in question, is at this moment, perhaps, rather a matter of curious speculation, than of profitable inquiry. Extensively beneficial, as would in all probability have been its effects, it is nevertheless useless to deplore an omission which cannot now be remedied. Nor has the absence, perhaps, of this important institution been altogether without its advantages. It has at least indisputably proved the inefficiency of the present system of government, and that the colony could not have sunk under any other form of administration whatever, to a lower ebb of poverty and wretchedness, nor have become a heavier and more unproductive burthen to the mother country. The want, therefore, of an internal legislature has combined every consideration that could be adduced in proof of the necessity of changing the present system, and adopting in its stead that form of government which has been found so salutary and efficacious in all countries where it has been established. The only question that remains to be ascertained, is whether the colony is _now_ in a state of maturity for the reception of so important a privilege as the elective franchise; and this I conceive will be best answered by a reference to the numerical strength of its free population. At the general muster or census concluded on the 19th of November, 1817, there were found to be in all the various settlements and districts of the colony of New South Wales, and its dependencies, twenty thousand three hundred and twenty-eight souls, of whom sixteen thousand six hundred and sixty-four were in the various towns and districts belonging to Port Jackson. Out of these there were six hundred and ten soldiers, and six thousand two hundred and ninety-seven convicts, leaving a free population, independent of the military, of nine thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven souls. At Newcastle, a settlement about sixty miles to the northward of Port Jackson, there were five hundred and fifty souls, about seventy of whom were free. At the settlements of the Derwent and Port Dalrymple, there were in all three thousand one hundred and fourteen souls, of whom two thousand five hundred and fifty-four were at the former place, and five hundred and sixty at the latter: out of these there were about two hundred soldiers, but the number of free persons I have not been able precisely to discover. As these settlements, however, include the majority of the colonists and their families, who were removed from Norfolk Island; and as by far the greater proportion of the convicts who have been transported from this country have been sent to Port Jackson, I have no doubt that the number of free persons there, may be safely estimated at three fourths of their entire population, seeing that it is about two thirds of the population of Port Jackson. According to this rate of computation, therefore, the number of free persons in these two settlements, after previously deducting the two hundred military, will amount to about two thousand one hundred and eighty-six souls. It may, consequently, be perceived, that the grand total of the free population of all these various colonies in the latter end of November, 1817, may be safely estimated to have been eleven thousand nine hundred and seventy-three, being an excess of four thousand four hundred and seventy above the number of convicts, or in the proportion of more than three to two. As the establishment of the legislative assembly in question could not, however, be well effected before the end of the year 1819, it may not be altogether irrelevant to ascertain what will be the probable amount of the free population at that period. The number of births in the colony cannot at present be computed under two thousand annually, since the increase in these various settlements between the month of November, 1816, and the month of November, 1817, is found to have been three thousand two hundred and eighty-nine souls; and the number of convicts transported thither from the first of January, 1816, to the first of January, 1818, was only three thousand one hundred and eight. Allowing, therefore, that one half of these, or one thousand five hundred and fifty-four, were transported to the colony during the year 1817, the increase that took place there, from birth and emigration will have been one thousand seven hundred and thirty-five: to which if we add five hundred, the number of persons that probably quit the colony annually; the actual rate of increase in the free population in the course of the year 1817, may be fixed at two thousand two hundred and thirty-five souls. Of these the surplus above two thousand, is perhaps composed of emigrants, and the remainder of births. If we add to these one thousand more, who it may be safely calculated yearly become free, by pardon or expiration of servitude, we have an annual augmentation to the free population of three thousand two hundred and thirty-five souls: so that if we take the year 1817, as a standard of computation, and it is evidently a low one, the free population will amount by the end of the year 1819, to at least eighteen thousand four hundred and forty-three souls. This is an elective body much more extensive than is to be found in several of our West India islands, where houses of assembly have been long established. But as this free population is of a mixed description, and composed as well of persons who have been convicts, and have become free either by the expiration of their respective sentences, or by pardon, as of those who have been born in the colony, or have emigrated to it, and have never suffered the penalties of the law, a very delicate question here arises as to the propriety of extending to the first of these classes the privilege of being admitted into the legislative body. There is, I am aware, a party in the colony, by whom the very notion of granting such a privilege to a class of men who have been subject to the lash of the law, would be treated as a chimera pregnant with the most fatal consequences to this infant community. In this, as in most other societies, there is an aristocratic body, which would monopolize all situations of power, dignity and emolument, and put themselves in a posture to domineer alike over the governor and the people. If you consult one of this faction (they deserve no milder appellation) he will tell you that it is dangerous to vest any authority beyond the narrow circle of his own immediate friends. Until the administration of General Macquarie, this body considered themselves possessed of an equal right to the governor's confidence, as if they stood in the same relation to him which the nobility of this country bear to the king, and were _de jure_ his hereditary counsellors. Before his government the great body of the people. I mean such as had become free, scarcely possessed any privilege but that of suing and being sued in the courts of civil jurisdiction. The whole power, and nearly the whole property and commerce of the colony, were in the hands of this faction, who with a very few exceptions were composed of the civil and military, and of persons who had belonged to these bodies formerly. And even in those few solitary instances which could be adduced, of persons originally convicts, who were _allowed_ to acquire an independence, their prosperity was to be traced to the patronage and protection afforded them by some member of the aristocratic junta, to whom they either acted as agents in the disposal of their merchandize (for it was considered by these gentlemen derogatory to their dignity to keep shop and sell openly) or resorted for the purchase of goods on their own accounts. At the prosperity, however, and importance of this faction, the present governor has levelled many a deadly blow within these last nine years; but more particularly in prohibiting the military to hold lands, or to be concerned in traffic, in raising to situations of the highest trust and dignity many deserving persons who had been convicts, and in throwing open the ports of the colony to an unlimited importation of all sorts of merchandize. But he has not effected these radical and salutary changes in the colonial policy without having encountered a long and inveterate hostility. Many have been the attempts which this faction have made to vilify his motives and misrepresent his actions; but to every charge of his enemies his unshaken integrity and unwearied zeal for the conscientious discharge of his duties have proved a sufficient refutation. The opinion of this gentleman with respect to the expediency of adopting a liberal system, that may prove an effectual stimulus to reformation and good conduct in those who have unhappily deviated from the path of rectitude, has been expressed unequivocally both in his dispatches, and in the prominent measures of his government, and will deservedly carry with it more weight than the whole collected opposition which I anticipate from those who have been his opponents and calumniators. The covert aim of these men is to convert the ignominy of the great body of the people into an hereditary deformity. They would hand it down from father to son, and raise an eternal barrier of separation between their offspring, and the offspring of the unfortunate convict. They would establish distinctions which may serve hereafter to divide the colonists into _castes_; and although none among them dares publicly avow that future generations should be punished for the crimes of their progenitors, yet such are their private sentiments; and they would have the present race branded with disqualifications, not more for the sake of pampering their own vanity, than with a view to reflect disgrace on the offspring of the disfranchised parent, and thus cast on their own children and descendants that future splendor and importance, which they consider to be their present peculiar and distinguishing characteristics. Short-sighted fools! they foresee not the consequences of their narrow machinations! They know not that they would be sowing the seeds of future discords and commotions, and that by exalting their immediate descendants, they would occasion the eventual degradation and overthrow of their posterity. Such would be the result of their ambition; for it is the curse of injustice that it brings with it sooner or later its own punishment. Happily for the colony the realization of their projects depends not upon themselves; and his Majesty's ministers will not lend their sanction to schemes of private aggrandizement, which can only be accomplished by the sacrifice of the public good. If these men have not themselves the sagacity to dive into futurity, and to foresee the dangers and contests to which unjust privileges and distinctions must eventually give birth, shall the government be equally blind and improvident? Shall they in the short space of thirty years forget the benevolent designs for which this colony was founded, and convert what was intended as an asylum for repentant vice, not into a house merely of salutary correction, which may moderate with reviving morality and cease entirely with complete reformation, but into a prison of endless torture, where though the sufferings of the body may terminate, the worst species of torture, the endurements and mortifications of the soul, are to end only with existence? Shall a vile faction be allowed to inflict on the unfortunate convict a punishment infinitely greater than that to which he has been sentenced by the violated majesty of the law? Has not a jury of impartial freemen solemnly investigated the case of every individual who has been transported to this colony? And have not the measure and duration of their punishments been apportioned to their respective offences? Is it then for any body of men to assert that the law has been too lenient, and that it is necessary to inflict an ulterior punishment which shall have no termination but in the grave? Shall the unhappy culprit, exiled from his native shore, and severed perhaps for ever from the friends of his youth, the objects of his first and best affections, after years of suffering and atonement, still find no resting place,--no spot where he may hide his shame and endeavour to forget his errors? Shall the finger of scorn and derision be pointed at him wherever he betake himself? And must he for ever wander a recreant and outcast on the face of the earth, seeking in vain some friendly shore, where he may at length be freed from ignominious disabilities, and restored to the long lost enjoyment of equal rights and equal protection with his fellows? I am aware it may be here urged that these men, if they were to return to this country, could never enjoy the privileges for which I am contending; and that the very same laws, which have fixed the bounds of their corporal punishment have deprived them for ever of the most valuable rights of citizens. To this I reply, that in this country, whither if the whole of the convicts who have been exiled from its shores were to return, they would form but an inconsiderable portion of the people, all such disqualifications as the law has annexed to conviction in a court of justice, are good policy; because they tend to promote virtue and discountenance vice. But the very same grounds of policy require that such disqualifications should not exist in New South Wales. There the great mass of the people are composed of persons who have been under the operation of the law, and who were transported with the avowed intention of the legislature to effect their reformation. How then is this great philanthropic end to be best attained? Is it by holding out no inducements to good conduct, no distinction between repentant vice and incorrigible enormity? Those who have been convicted of the higher order of offences, and have been in consequence transported for life, are from the very nature of their sentences precluded from ever enjoying the privilege in question, unless, indeed, their very exemplary conduct subsequently induce the governor to extend to them the benefit of the king's pardon. This, however, is an indulgence at present so rarely accorded, that the whole of this class may be in a manner considered as being without the pale of citizenship; and it is therefore such only as have been convicted of crimes to which the law has annexed the minor penalties of seven or fourteen years transportation, who could generally become candidates for a seat in the legislative assembly? How many of this description have been detected in their first offence, in their very offset in the career of criminality? How many ever afterwards deplore their errors in sackcloth and ashes, and conduct themselves in the most correct and unexceptionable manner? And shall no distinction be made between _them_ and the still persevering offender whom no inducements can withhold, no punishments deter from the commission of fresh enormities? Shall the _novice_ in crime and the _veteran_ be placed on the same footing and held in equal estimation? To what end do they profess themselves to be Christians who can maintain such infernal doctrines? How can they reconcile them with that universal charity and good will inculcated in their religion? How can they themselves expect pardon of their God, who would thus withhold oblivion from their repentant fellow creatures? If it be then alike conformable to the principles of Christianity and sound policy, to make a discrimination between the reformed sinner, and the still hardened and abandoned profligate, what incentive to good conduct would prove so efficacious as the prospect of regaining, after years of unimpeachable integrity, all those civil rights which they had forfeited, of becoming once more privileged to act as jurymen, magistrates, and legislators? Such a possibility would quickly revive the latent sparks of virtue wherever they were not quite extinct, and electrify the mind when all other applications would fail to rouse it from its despondence and lethargy. And shall not this _sole efficacious remedy_ be administered, because a set of _interlopers_, persons in no wise connected with the purposes for which this colony was founded, wish to monopolize all the respectable offices of the government, all the functions of emolument, power, and dignity to themselves? Shall the vital interests of the whole community sink before the ambitious projects of a few designing individuals, who have no object in view, but their own personal aggrandizement, and the maintenance of a self-assumed aristocratic importance? And who would build their own and their families' prosperity on the ruins of the social edifice, on the misery and degradation of thousands? But it is useless to enlarge on this topic: ministers will not allow their judgments to be warped by the subtle representations of this faction. In organizing that new constitution for this colony, of which every motive of humanity and policy conspires to demonstrate the necessity, they will be actuated solely by those principles that are best calculated to further the philanthropic and enlightened ends which were contemplated by the legislature at the period of its foundation. The good of the many will not be sacrificed to the sordid views of the few, and no disqualifications will be permitted, but such as are confessedly necessary for the repression of vice, and the promotion of morality and religion. But, while I am thus contending against the total exclusion of such as may have been convicts from the enjoyment of this great privilege, I would by no means imply that the doors of the legislative assembly should be thrown open to _all indiscriminately_ who may _happen_ to be _free_. An unrestricted ability to exercise a function of such great confidence and dignity, would superinduce consequences equally fatal with those against which I would guard: in endeavouring to shun one extreme, it behoves us equally to avoid falling into the other. The very principle which _forbids_ their _utter inadmissibility_ to become legislators, demands that _none_ should be able to arrive at that dignity, but those whose conduct during their abode in the colony shall have been _absolutely unimpeachable_. Retrospection should not be pushed _beyond_ the period of their _arrival;_ but their _subsequent_ behaviour should be subjected to the _severest tests_, to the _most rigorous scrutiny_. _Conviction_ either before a court or a magistrate, for any _offence_ of a _criminal nature_, should be a _bar_ to their pretensions _for ever_. Crimes committed in this country should be overlooked when followed by _adequate_ atonement and _indubitable_ reformation; but the _interests_ as well of the _rising generation_, as of the _great body_ of the _convicts themselves_, require that the _re-convicted_ felon, whom neither the _hope_ of _distinction_ can _reclaim_, nor the _fear_ of _punishment deter_ from a recurrence to his old iniquities, should be branded with the _lasting impressions_ of _infamy_, and rendered for _ever afterwards incapable_ of exercising so respectable and important a function as the one in question. With respect to the nature and extent of the property to be possessed by the members of the legislative assembly, I am of opinion, that a freehold estate of five hundred acres in any part of the territory of New South Wales, or its dependent settlements on Van Diemen's Land, should be considered a sufficient qualification, and that in the case of electors twenty acres of freehold should give the right of voting at elections for the districts in which such freehold property may be situated; and that either a leasehold of the value of £5 a year, or paying a house rent of £10 a year, that of voting at elections for towns. Excepting conviction, therefore, in this country as a ground of exclusion both as respects the candidates and the constituents, and making the above variation in the standard of their respective qualifications as to property, I think that every cause of rejection which is deemed in Canada of sufficient efficacy to invalidate the claims of either party, should be held of equal force in this colony, not only with persons who may have been convicts, but with all such as may wish either to vote for the return of members, or to become members of the legislative body themselves. In framing, indeed, a constitution for the colony, that of Canada would, I suspect, be upon the whole the best model for imitation; since there is not only a much stronger affinity between the great body of its inhabitants, and those of New South Wales, than exists in any of our other colonies; but every succeeding year will render the approximation of their character and pursuits still more complete. There is but one topic more connected with the establishment of a house of assembly in this colony, on which I intend to comment; and I notice it not so much with a view to offer fresh arguments in support of the necessity of this measure, which I consider I have already sufficiently demonstrated, as to state all the prominent reasons which might be adduced on the occasion. It is a fundamental maxim of the British constitution, that no taxes shall be levied on the subject without his consent expressed by his representatives, and yet duties have been exacted in this colony for the last fifteen years, by the mere authority of the various governors. These, it has been seen, are appropriated to various purposes of internal economy, all of great public importance and utility, to which it is but equitable that the colonists should contribute. This system of taxation originated, I believe, with Governor King, but whether with the sanction of his Majesty's ministers, or from his own suggestion I am not able to determine. Since his time I should imagine that not less than two hundred thousand pounds have been levied in this unconstitutional manner; and until the administration of the present governor, those who paid this money had not even the satisfaction of knowing how any part of it was applied. From the secrecy indeed which was observed in the expenditure of this fund, and the rapacious character of his predecessor, many of the colonists suspected that very little of it was appropriated during his time to the purposes for which it was intended. This misapplication of it, however, is but a matter of conjecture; and it was probably to shelter himself from the possibility of falling under a similar imputation, that the present governor has caused quarterly accounts, which are first verified by a committee consisting of the lieutenant governor and the judge advocate, and afterwards examined and approved by himself, to be published for the general information. This custom, however, is a deviation, although it must be confessed a good one, from precedent: and the colonists have no guarantee that his successors will not revert to the same mysterious application of this fund that has been practised by his predecessors. In this case it may be converted into a fruitful source of peculation and plunder, and be at last in a great measure diverted from the public objects for which it was instituted to the satiation of private rapacity, and the colonists become gradually burdened with an overbearing load of taxation, merely for the purpose of enriching their governors. Be this, however, as it may, the illegality of levying money by the authority of any individual, is, I should presume, quite unquestionable; and I have no doubt that if any of the colonists had public spirit enough to resist the payment of these duties, the court of civil jurisdiction would not enforce it; since the decisions of this court are solely founded on acts of parliament. The magistrates of the colony might indeed take upon themselves to direct the execution of the governor's orders, which authorize the levying of these taxes, but I have doubts, since resistance to these orders would not amount to an act of a criminal nature, and the point at issue would be a mere matter of debt between an individual and the government, whether they even would consent to give such an illegal method of taxation the sanction of their support. At all events an appeal would lie in the shape of a writ of certiorari to the civil court, which could not avoid annulling the judgment of the magistrates, and consequently declaring the governor's conduct unwarranted and illegal. Such an occurrence would evidently be attended with the most prejudicial effects; for not to dwell on the mortification which the governor for the time being would experience at discovering in so disagreeable a way that by treading in the footsteps of his predecessors, he had been exercising a power to which his situation gave him no claim, there can be little doubt that a victory of this nature gained by an individual over the executive would be the signal for the institution of suits against the government for the recovery of all the money that has been levied under such an illegal and arbitrary authority. To prevent the probability of being forced to refund so large a sum of money to the persons or their heirs from whom it has been thus illegally wrested, and to legalize all future levies of duties in the colony, the establishment of a colonial legislature certainly offers the only judicious and constitutional expedient. I would not that it should be considered from the foregoing remarks that the colonists are averse to taxation. On the contrary, it is my belief that they would cheerfully contribute whatever may be necessary for the promotion of objects _purely colonial_; but they expect, and have a right to do so, that all such objects should be submitted to the consideration and approval of their representatives, and that their money should not be taken out of their pockets, whether they will or not, by the mere _ipse dixit_ of a governor. Few are discontented with the present rate of taxation, because it is moderate; and, with the exception of that small part of the colonial revenue which arises from duties on articles of export, may be even considered judicious; inasmuch as the great bulk of the duties falls on luxuries which can be dispensed with, without occasioning any material diminution of comfort and enjoyment. But all are averse to the manner in which these duties are levied; for if they once admit that a governor has the right to exact one farthing by his single authority, what limits can be afterwards assigned to the exercise of this power? He may on the very same principle tax every article of consumption, and on the plea of public contributions undermine the whole prosperity and happiness of the community. That the different governors have been allowed to prosecute this system without opposition for so many years, could only have arisen from the peculiar constitution of this colony; but its population has now attained a degree of consequence and respectability, which will not much longer tamely permit such an unprecedented deviation from all constitutional authority; and the best way to obviate the unpleasant circumstances of the contest, to which a continuance of the present system must shortly give rise, is to create a body legally endowed with the powers of legislation. On the expediency of appointing a council, his Majesty's ministers are, I believe, themselves agreed; and I will not, therefore, enter at great length on the subject. The arbitrary and revolting acts, which the want of a controlling body of this nature has already occasioned, furnish the most convincing proof of its necessity. No power, in fact, could be established, which would at one and the same time prove so firm a defence to the subject, and so stable a support to the executive. A council in the colonies bears many points of resemblance to the House of Lords in this country. It forms that just equipoise between the democratic and supreme powers of the state, which has been found not less necessary to repress the licentiousness of the one, than to curb the tyranny of the other. Besides, it at all times provides a remedy for the inexperience or ignorance of governors; and is a sort of nucleus, round which all new bodies may easily agglomerate. Like a handful of veterans in a newly raised regiment, it will be capable of setting in motion the whole machinery of the government, and establishing with the greatest celerity that organization and discipline which are as requisite in administration as in war. There is but one precaution to be observed in the formation of the council: it is to give the members of it an adequate salary, or in other words to insure the independent and conscientious discharge of the duties of their highly important office. The expediency of appointing a colonial secretary rests in a great measure on the same grounds as that of creating a council. How can a private secretary, whom every new governor is at present under the necessity of bringing out with him, be capable of entering at once upon the duties of the most complicated and laborious office in the colony? It is evident that a considerable time must unavoidably elapse, before he can acquire, how great soever his abilities, that fund of local information which can alone qualify him for his situation. In the mean while it is ten to one but he becomes the tool of one or other of his clerks, who are for the most part convicts; and thus the principal acts of the governor, which from the confidential nature of his office are necessarily very materially influenced by his advice, may be secretly dictated by persons who possess very little principle or character, and who if they be themselves too insignificant to profit to an extensive degree by the measures of the government, may for a trifling consideration become the agents of richer and more powerful individuals, and the public good be inadvertently sacrificed at the shrine of private avarice or ambition. The last measure which I consider necessary to the prosperity of this colony is a radical reform in the courts of justice. It has long since been noticed that at the principal settlement and its dependencies, there are five courts, one of criminal and the other four of civil judicature, viz. the criminal court, the governor's court, the supreme court, the court of vice admiralty, the high court of appeals, all of which are held in Sydney, and the lieutenant governor's court, which is held in Hobart Town. The constitution of these various courts has been already explained, and a mere cursory glance at their several jurisdictions, will convince us of the danger and absurdity of their organization. To commence in the order in which I have noticed them, what can be more improper than the constitution of the criminal court? At the time indeed, when this court was instituted, there was a necessity that it should wholly consist of the officers of the colony, since they and convicts were the only two classes of whom it was composed; but even then, what motive existed for excluding the civil officers? Were they either less competent to be members of a court, whose decisions ought to be founded solely on the laws of England, or were they less respectable than the military and naval? The bare appearance of this tribunal has long been odious and revolting to the majority of the colonists. It is disgusting to an Englishman to see a culprit, however heinous may be his offence, arraigned before a court clad in full military costume; nor can it indeed be readily conceived that a body of men, whose principles and habits must have been materially influenced, if not entirely formed, by a code altogether foreign to the laws of this country, should be able on such occasions to divest themselves of the soldier, and to judge as the citizen. Without meaning to impugn the general impartiality and justice of their decisions, it may be easily imagined that _an individual might happen_ to be _traduced_ before a court, of which _all_, or _part_ of the members, might from various causes be _his_ enemies. No one has mixed much in military society, without witnessing that _esprit du corps_ which is so common in regiments, and which, however much it may contribute to their union and happiness, is, in a community of this nature, of the most dangerous tendency to the individual, against whom its collected fury may be levelled. It must be remembered that this colony is not like a country town from whence a regiment may be removed the moment its conduct becomes obnoxious to the inhabitants. There the regiments necessarily remain for many years, and from this very circumstance, disputes of a much more serious and rancorous nature are apt to arise between the inhabitants and the military, than are known in this country. And this observation applies more particularly to the officers and the superior class of the colonists: since the disputes and contests which take place between the lower orders of the inhabitants and the common soldiery, generally arise on the spur of the moment, and evaporate with the immediate cause of the provocation; while the others are more frequently the effect of cool and deliberate insult, and consequently settle into a fixed and inveterate hostility. Under these circumstances, therefore, it is not to be wondered at, that no person should feel himself in perfect security. The respectability of the higher order of the colonists may indeed shield the generality of them from any likelihood of their being ever arraigned before this tribunal; but still it might happen to them to be traduced before a court composed of their bitterest foes, not only on charges of a mixed nature, such as assault, battery, libel, etc. but also on others of a much weightier responsibility. The _probability_ of such a contingency would be still further increased if the governor should happen to have imbibed the same spirit of hostility against the accused, which I have supposed actuating the military. For although the present governor, in order to render the administration of justice as unimpeachable as the nature of this court will allow, has invariably appointed the members of it according to the roaster furnished by the commanding officer of the regiment, his predecessors did not, I believe, invariably observe the same delicacy, nor is it incumbent on his successors to imitate his example. Any person therefore, who may unfortunately become obnoxious to the governor and the officers of the regiment, or indeed any part of them, should he be accused of any offence within the pale of the criminal court, might be thus forced to take his trial before his _selected_ and _implacable_ enemies. In this extremity what could he do to rescue himself from their gripe? He would have no _right_ to _challenge one_ of them; and if the _sanctity_ of an _oath_, and the _dread_ of the _future scorn_ and _detestation_ of mankind, did not _deter_ them from the _commission_ of a _crying_ and _palpable injustice_, his _innocence_, were it as _clear_ as the _noon day_, would _avail_ him _nothing_, and he must _unavoidbly sink_, the _devoted victim_ of _foul conspiracy and deadly revenge_. I am not sufficiently acquainted with the history of the proceedings of this court from the period of its institution, to shew how far the _whole_ or any _part_ of this supposed case may have been in any instance verified. That it _may occur_ is sufficient to _prove_ the _necessity_ for changing the constitution of this court, and to _justify_ the _general anxiety_ which is felt by the colonists for the introduction of that _right_, so dear to the heart of every Englishman, _the trial by jury_. It is this _inestimable privilege alone_ which can _insure_ them the _tranquil enjoyment_ of their _persons_ and _property_, and enable them, while _possessed_ of _conscious integrity of conduct_, to set at _defiance_ the _confederated efforts_ of their _enemies_, and to _despise_ both the _open attacks_ of _power_ and the _secret contrivances of malignity_. The constitution of the governor's court and of the supreme court, is liable to the same objection. They are both composed of the judges, who have each a vote in their respective courts, and of two members specially appointed by the governor: so that none of those causes of challenge which are held sufficient in this country to disqualify a juror, are of any validity in the courts of this colony. In the governor's court, indeed, the two members are to be appointed from among the respectable inhabitants; but, although the governor himself is the only judge of the measure of their respectability, he could not well avoid selecting them out of that class which in case of the introduction of trial by jury, would have a right from their property and character to be summoned as jurymen. In this court, therefore, an individual in a trial with the crown, would have a much greater chance of obtaining justice than in the supreme court; because the two members of it are to be appointed from the magistracy, and might be selected by the governor from their known zeal and corrupt devotedness to his service. But it is of infinitely greater importance that the decisions of this latter court should be the less exposed of the two to the possibility of bias; because in the former the injury which an individual could sustain from an unjust verdict could only amount to £50, and in the latter it might extend to £3000, and consequently occasion his utter ruin. I limit the injustice which might arise from the very improper constitution of this court to the above sum; because, although it is competent, as I have before stated, to take cognizance of all pleas to any amount whatever, an appeal would lie, from the high court of appeals, whose verdict I here take it for granted, would in all crown causes be confirmatory of the judgment of the inferior court, to the king in council, when the matter in dispute exceeded this sum. Any unjust verdict, therefore, for more than £3000, would of course be reversed in this country; but this is a trifling set-off against the heavy charges to which the court is in other respects liable; since few of the colonists are wealthy enough to be concerned in causes where the matter at issue could attain so great an amount: so that this remedy is quite beyond the reach of the majority of the inhabitants, and they are abandoned to the scourge of oppression, wherever a capricious and overwhelming tyranny may choose to single out its victim. It is highly necessary, therefore, that the constitution of both these courts should undergo an immediate revision, and be so framed as to ensure henceforth the impartial administration of justice to _all_. They are not to be tolerated because they cannot commit a robbery beyond this enormous amount, and because there are some few individuals, whose prosperity is too deeply rooted to be overturned by the malignant fury of vengeful despots. It must be evident that the power of the governor of this colony is sufficiently leviathan, uncontrolled as he is by a council, and possessed as he is of an incontrovertible right to nominate the most obsequious of his creatures as jurymen on all trials, whether of a civil or criminal nature, to endanger the property and life of every individual under his government. Nor should it here be forgotten that there has been a governor who, if the colonists had not arrested him in his iniquitous career of vengeance and despotism, would have hurled death and destruction from one end of the colony to the other. Without the circle of his immediate creatures, with the most favored of whom it is well known that he was in a commercial partnership, every individual who either had attained affluence, or was gradually rising to it, was the object of his hatred or envy. The former he detested, not more because they had no need of his protection, than from fear they should promulgate to the world his nefarious proceedings; the latter because they were absorbing some portion of that wealth, which he wished should flow wholly into the coffers, the contents of which at the division of the spoil he was to have so large a share of. It does not follow, therefore, because his successor has not imitated his base example, because he has surrounded himself with respectable counsellors and a conscientious magistracy, that we should overlook the possibility that his very successor may undermine the whole superstructure which he has been rearing, and become in every respect as great a monster as the wretch who before drove the colonists to desperation and rebellion. Experience is the beacon of past times set up for the guidance of future; and those who shape their course by it, shall avoid striking on the rocks to which it forbids approach. Woe to the pilot who disregards this friendly admonition, and runs on incredulous of the risk. Soon in the midst of surrounding reefs he shall when too late repent his temerity, and wish, that content with the experience of others he had not authenticated by the shipwreck of his hopes, the folly of his incredulity, and the reality of the danger! It is with governments as with individuals. The institutions which have occasioned anarchy and devastation before, will, if persisted in, produce them again. Vile and detestable as have been the monsters of antiquity, the world still contains their parallels; and if they languish in obscurity, if they have not attained a celebrity equally atrocious, it is because they possess not equal facilities for the display of their real character and propensities. Human nature is still the same, and wherever a field is opened for the growth of tyranny, there that poisonous fungus, a tyrant, will shoot up. But the encouragement which these courts in general hold out for the indulgence of private animosities, and their consequently imperfect adaptation to the administration of justice, are not the only reasons which may be urged for a change in their present organization. The whole of the inhabitants of the various settlements in Van Diemen's Land, are in a great measure placed without the pale of the law. They have, indeed, what is termed the lieutenant governor's court, but as I have already observed, it can only take cognizance of pleas to the amount of fifty pounds, and possesses no criminal jurisdiction whatever. They are consequently left without any internal protection from the spoliations of lawless ruffians, and in a great measure from the scarcelyless pernicious depredations of dishonest creditors. For although they may obtain redress in both instances in the courts established at Port Jackson, nothing but an invincible necessity will propel them to seek so distant and expensive a remedy. The consequence is, that scarcely any but delinquents of the very worst cast, as murderers and housebreakers, are ever brought to trial; for notwithstanding all criminal prosecutions are conducted at the cost of the government, and the witnesses are paid their indispensable expenses from the police fund, still, what with the period that elapses in the voyage to Port Jackson, the delays incident to the courts themselves, and the time that the witnesses must generally wait before they can obtain a passage back again, very few of the persons who are constrained to give evidence on such occasions can possibly manage to resume their domestic occupations under three months. This to a set of men, who are for the most part agriculturists, is too serious a sacrifice of private advantage to public duty; and it is not, therefore, to be wondered at that a general disposition should be manifested by the inhabitants of Van Diemen's Land to suffer quietly the depredations that may be committed on their property, rather than incur perhaps the much greater loss attached to the prosecution of the offender. The remedy, which they possess for civil injuries is, indeed, somewhat more palatable, but still far too remote and expensive. The principal reason, indeed, why so many debts and obligations contracted in these settlements, become matter of action before the supreme court at Port Jackson, is to be traced to the satisfaction which results from compelling one who considers himself a privileged plunderer, and at liberty to fatten with impunity on the industrious, to disgorge the wealth of others, which he may have thus sucked. The expence, however, of supporting witnesses at so great a distance from their homes, and the precarious issue of suits in general, induce many creditors to run the risk of voluntary payment at some future period, who would not hesitate to institute actions against their debtors, if there were a competent tribunal within their reach. The want, therefore, of a court possessing an unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, is of the most baneful consequence to these infant settlements. It encourages all species of crimes and dishonesty, strikes at the very root of virtue and religion, and cannot but have a most pernicious effect on the morals of the rising generation. Such are the leading defects in the actual system of jurisprudence established in this colony; and I think it will not be disputed that a more crude and undigested organization of the colonial courts could hardly have been devised. Whether the judges of these courts have made any representations on the subject to his Majesty's government I am not aware; but I should apprehend not, or surely they would have been remodelled ere this after a more perfect design. To effect this highly important object would be a matter of very great ease: it appears to me that the following measures would amply suffice. 1st, The entire abolition of the actual courts of civil and criminal jurisdiction; 2dly, The creation in their stead of one supreme court, consisting of a chief justice and three puisne judges; 3dly. The establishment of trial by jury; and lastly, the creation of a high court of appeals to consist of the governor in council. The sittings of the supreme court should only be held at Sydney, the seat of government; but circuits should be established through-out the different districts of the colony, and of its dependent settlements in Van Diemen's Land, and commissions of assize, of oyer and terminer, and of general gaol delivery should be issued by the governor to the judges at stated periods, and they should determine among themselves their respective circuits. These courts of assize should possess the same power as belongs to similar courts in this country, and in some respects it might be advisable that they should be vested with a still more extensive authority. In the settlements in Van Diemen's Land I am of opinion that no appeal should be allowed from the decisions of the court of assize to the supreme court at Sydney, unless the verdict should exceed three hundred pounds; but it would of course be proper that the judges of this court should possess the power of granting new trials, on the same grounds on _which_ such are accorded in this country. In judgments, however, for more than the above sum an appeal to the supreme court should be admitted. With respect to the civil jurisdiction of the courts of assize in the various districts belonging to Port Jackson, I think it ought to be considerably curtailed, and that their decision should not be final in any instance whatever; because the removal of causes to the supreme court would be attended with a comparatively trifling expense and inconvenience to the parties. From the judgment of this latter court itself, I am of opinion that an appeal should lie in all causes where the damages might be estimated at more than one thousand pounds to the high court of appeals, and that its decisions should be conclusive in all pleas under the amount of three thousand pounds; but where the matter in dispute exceeded this sum, that an appeal should lie _en dernier resort_ to the king in council. If to these courts were added a court of admiralty, possessing both a civil and criminal jurisdiction, the system of jurisprudence would be quite adequate to all the present necessities of the colony; justice would be brought home to the doors of all his Majesty's subjects in these remote and extended settlements; the delay and expence now attendant on civil and criminal prosecutions, would be in a great measure obviated; and the loyal and industrious would be effectually protected, both from the secret depredations of the midnight plunderer, and from the open dishonesty of the unprincipled debtor: hundreds of indolent and profligate persons who now prey in one way or the other on the hard earned savings of thrift and frugality, would be compelled to resort to the pursuits of industry for a subsistence; vice and immorality would be checked, and the wealth, happiness, and virtue of the community at large rapidly flourish and expand. Of all the changes or modifications which I have thus ventured to recommend in the polity of this colony, the creation of a council, the appointment of a colonial secretary, and these alterations in the system of its jurisprudence, are the only measures which would be attended with an increase of expence. The establishment of a house of assembly, might of course be effected without any cost whatever, and even the remodelling of the courts of justice would be productive of but a very trifling addition to the scale of the civil establishment. The three judges who at present preside in the various courts, might be transferred to the supreme court, which I have recommended to be substituted in their stead; so that the appointment of one new judge is the principal additional expense of which this reorganization of the courts would be productive. It is true that it would be necessary to place all the puisne judges on the same footing in point of salary, and likewise to appoint an attorney general to act in behalf of the crown, but all this might be liberally accomplished for about six thousand pounds per annum. As to the court of admiralty, the chief justice might be appointed to preside in it, whenever circumstances might require it to be held; but this necessity would occur so seldom that no additional salary need be allowed him on this account. A few barristers would be necessary besides the attorney general, to support the respectability of these courts; but I consider that the practice arising out of them, would be sufficiently extensive to repay a few gentlemen of the bar very liberally for the sacrifices they would make in emigrating to this colony, and that the government need not hold out any pecuniary inducements to effect this object; although it is only four or five years since two attornies were each allowed £300 per annum by way of encouragement for them to go out and practise in the courts at present established there. Since that time, however, two more have voluntarily gone out to the colony without any salary whatever, and have found that there is sufficient litigation without the assisting liberality of the government. An addition therefore of £6000 per annum to the civil establishment of this colony, would effect the great radical reformation in its polity, of which it has been the main object of this essay to prove the wisdom and necessity; while on the other hand, the savings which this country would derive from the adoption of the various alterations proposed, would be found not only in the almost immediate check which would be imposed on the rapidly increasing expenditure of this colony, but also in the great permanent reduction in it, which would be the eventual consequence. The best means of accomplishing these highly important ends shall be the subject of the following section. On the Means of reducing the Expences of this Colony. The establishment of a free constitution in the place of the arbitrary authority of an individual, would superinduce so many privileges of which the colonists have hitherto been debarred, that they would not at first be fully sensible of the nature and extent of their new acquisitions. The great facilities which would be presented to agricultural and commercial enterprize, would not at once be generally perceived, or extensively embraced. Industry, though one of the most active principles of human nature, settles when long restrained into a habit of inertion, which cannot be instantly overcome. When the mounds within which this principle has been long confined, are suddenly removed, it will not of itself rush at once into every new channel in its way, and stop only when it has found its own level. It is not like fluids possessed of an inherent elasticity and tendency to motion, but requires a directing impulse to set and continue it in activity, and its activity will then only be in proportion to the power and energy applied. It is not, therefore, to be expected, because the great fundamental changes which I have recommended in the polity of this colony would if adopted, immediately create new sources of profitable occupation, and completely unfetter the long restrained industry and enterprize of its inhabitants, that they are at once to take full advantage of their situation. There is a timidity in man, which though not sufficient to curb the adventurous spirit of his nature, tends materially to check and repress it. This principle alone, therefore, would suffice to prevent the sober and discreet part of the colonists from rushing headlong into the various new avenues of profitable occupation that would be open to them; but there is also in their poverty a still more effectual impediment. Though labour is itself the origin and measure of all wealth, it contributes but little to public or private advantage when left to its own isolated and unconnected efforts. It is only when in a state of union, and when subjected to the controul of a directing intelligence, which can combine its energies, and render them subservient to the attainment of some single end, that it becomes capable of effecting great beneficial results. But this necessary combination of labour can only be maintained by the help of capital; and where such capital does not exist, these great united efforts, the effect of the gradual accumulation of wealth, and the main cause of the prosperity of all ancient and populous communities, cannot be immediately organized and established. This observation in its reference to this colony, it will be seen, bears more particularly on the commercial privileges of which its inhabitants would thus become possessed. These undoubtedly would not be extensively embraced, until a very considerable accumulation of capital should have arisen from the progress and perfection of agriculture. This and manufactures are therefore the only two immediate channels that remain for the absorption of labour and the development of industry. The latter, I have long since endeavoured to prove would never have occupied any share of the attention of the colonists, had those encouragements which the government had at their disposal, been bestowed on the former. The manufacturing system, now so rapidly gaining ground, has been one of the retributive consequences of the short-sighted and illiberal policy of which this unfortunate colony has been so long the victim, and will cease of itself, whenever the existing impediments to the extension of agriculture shall be removed, for the best of all reasons, because no person will select a less profitable undertaking when a more profitable one, and one requiring less skill, capital, and assiduity, lies open to him. Agriculture, therefore, as soon as it shall be freed from its present restraints, will afford the readiest and most accessible channel for carrying off the large accumulation of stagnant labour which at present infests this colony. It is this mass of superfluous labourers, for whom there exists only a fictitious demand, and with whom the government are at present obliged to give a bounty in the shape of clothing and provisions, to induce the settlers to accept their services, that constitutes the main source of the great and increasing expenditure of this colony; and it is to this point alone that all radical and comprehensive schemes of retrenchment must be directed. The impoverished condition of the colonists, to which circumstance alone the expences of the government are mainly attributable, arises from the means of employment not keeping pace with the rapid increase in the population, and yet perhaps there is no community in which equal encouragements to industry are to be found. It has already been stated that within the last six years the population of this colony has actually doubled itself, in other words, it has advanced in this respect with a celerity nearly four times as great as the United States of America,--a country whose rapid numerical increase has been a subject of astonishment to the whole world. It may therefore be perceived that this unparalleled augmentation in the population of this colony, must of itself afford an unprecedented stimulus to agriculture;--a stimulus, perhaps, with which the agricultural progress of any other country could not keep pace. It is well known that Poland, which is the greatest corn country in Europe, and whose whole strength is directed to the pursuits of agriculture, does not export more than one month's consumption of grain for its population. America exports somewhat less, but would be able, without doubt, to export somewhat more, if the collected force of its inhabitants were applied to the raising of corn; yet still neither the one nor the other of these countries would be enabled to support such a rapid increase of population as is taking place in this colony. Such, however, is its fertility that the vast encouragement afforded by this unprecedented augmentation in its numbers (who, it must be recollected, are for the most part adults, and not, as in the case of old established societies, infants, and in consequence not gifted with the full powers of consumption,) so prodigious, I say, is its fertility, that there is far from a sufficient demand for labour. The settlements in Van Diemen's Land alone, on the occasion of the flood which took place in the month of March, 1817, at the Hawkesbury river, the principal agricultural establishment, and where, for the causes I have already explained, the colonists, in most instances, allow their stacks to remain within the influence of these destructive inundations, were able to supply Port Jackson with about twenty thousand bushels of wheat, the whole of which was raised without any probability of a market, and would have perished in the hands of the growers, or at best, have become the food of hogs, had it not been for the great loss of grain occasioned by the overflowing of the above river. It may, therefore, be perceived, that the colonists in Van Diemen's Land raise on the strength of the bare possibility of a flood happening at the principal settlement, very nearly as much corn as is required for their own consumption; and there can be no doubt if their industry was stretched to the utmost point of extension, that they would be enabled to export at least three times as much as they thus casually furnished in the year 1817. The settlements, however, at Port Jackson, cannot pretend to equal fertility of soil, yet even their productive powers are considerably cramped by the want of an adequate market. How this most important object might be effected, and profitable occupation created for all the labour that is now, or may be hereafter disposable in the colony, I have already explained at considerable length; and it is under the presumption that my recommendations on this head will be deemed worthy of adoption, that I shall hereafter submit a plan for gradually diminishing the colonial expenditure. The readiest way of accomplishing this object would be to abolish at once the system of victualling and clothing the convicts from the king's stores; but this is impracticable and must be done judiciously, and in proportion only to the gradually increasing demand for labour. This mode of retrenchment, indeed, has already been pushed further than circumstances have warranted. The ticket of leave system, by which convicts are permitted to go on their own hands, and administer in any way that they can to their own wants, though first intended as a reward to the really reformed and meritorious convict, has of late years been resorted to as the most efficacious means of lessening the expences of the government. And hence the very end and aim of this colony, the reformation of the lawless gang who are transported to its shores, have been postponed to a paltry saving, unworthy the character of the nation, and subversive in a great measure of the philanthropic intentions with which the legislature were originally actuated. The alarming increase of crime that has taken place within the last few years, is the re-action of this pernicious and mercenary system, which has already been carried to such an extent as to endanger the lives and property of every honest and well disposed inhabitant of the colony. This system, so injurious of itself, has been powerfully seconded by the lax and indiscriminate manner in which convict servants have been assigned to the various settlers. Being in most instances freed or emancipated convicts themselves, many of them possess but little character, and in fact only accept the different indulgences that are held out to colonization, with a view to the immediate profit which they can derive from them, and without any intention of performing the remote conditions which they tacitly or expressly enter into with the government. So long as their servants are victualled and clothed at the cost of the crown, they in general avail themselves fully of their services, but the moment this great indulgence ceases, they generally compound with them, and in consideration of the performance of a stipulated quantity of labour free of expence, grant them an exemption from their employment for the remainder of the year, and consequently, a licence to prowl about the country, and plunder at every convenient opportunity, the honest and deserving part of the community. And although the present governor has taken every step that could be devised for the suppression of this pernicious practice, yet in consequence of the thinly inhabited state of the colony, and the remoteness of the various agricultural settlements from one another, circumstances which prevent the appointment of proper persons to detect and punish such violations of public orders, his efforts have been in a great degree unavailing. He is well aware of the nature of the disease under which the colony is languishing, but he has not the power to administer the only effectual remedy. Create but a sufficient market for the colonial produce, and labour will then become too valuable to be suffered thus to remain in inactivity. It will then and not before be the interest of the settlers to push their servants' exertions to the utmost. The competition that will then exist for the products of labour, will be the best guarantee for its proper application. The method which I am about to submit for the suppression of this alarming state of anarchy and danger, will, it must be confessed, occasion a very considerable immediate addition of expence; but this is necessary to rectify the great and increasing evils of the ticket of leave system, and to insure the honest and laborious colonist that security of person and property which the injudicious extension, within these few years, of this narrow-minded system has so greatly endangered. Without the enjoyment of a full and sufficient protection, the colonists, however enlightened may be the future conduct of their government in other respects, will make but a timid and feeble advance in the various departments of internal industry. A certainty of reaping the fruits of their exertions, is indeed an indispensable preliminary to the resumption of those active habits which have been so long paralyzed, and a recurrence to which is the main stock whereon all _shoots_ of future retrenchment must be engrafted. Under a hope, therefore, that an internal legislature, which I again insist can alone fully provide for the present and future necessities of this colony will be established, I venture to propose the following plan for eventually diminishing the scale of its expenditure: First, That the ticket of leave system, except in as far as its continuance may be really essential to the promotion of good conduct in the convicts, should be abolished. Secondly, That the ticket of leave men, and all the convicts now in the service of individuals, whether victualled and clothed at the expence of the crown or not, should be called in and re-assigned, either to their present masters or to others, and that these should be allowed with them the premium hereafter to be named; but that they should be previously in every instance required to give security to the government, that such convict servants should not on any account be permitted to be absent from their respective employments. Thirdly, That instead of the present mode of victualling and clothing the convicts from the king's stores, the settlers should be allowed a stipulated premium with them, one fifth less than the actual cost of maintaining them, and that this premium should diminish one fifth yearly from the date of the changes in the colonial polity, which have been recommended. Fourthly, That the price now directed to be paid convict servants for their extra time, should be reduced from £10 in the men, to £5; and from £7 to £3 10s. in the women: and that this reduction should be subtracted from the amount of the above premium, and carried to the credit of the government. Fifthly, That all such convicts as may arrive in the colony within the five years next ensuing the above period, other than those who may be required for the government works, should be in like manner assigned to deserving applicants, with the decreased premium of the year in which they may arrive. Sixthly, That at the expiration of the above period of five years, the whole of the government works which are now for the most part carried on by convicts, victualled and clothed from the king's stores, should be performed by contract. Seventhly, That the utmost encouragement should be held out by the government to the emigration of wealthy individuals to the colony; and that with a view to effect this object, not only a passage should be furnished them free of expence in the various transports, which are annually sent thither, but that also the quantity of land to be hereafter granted them, should be increased in proportion to their capital, from eight hundred acres (the present customary grant) up to five thousand. Lastly, That the unappropriated lands most eligibly situated for the purposes of colonization, should be surveyed and marked out into sections, each containing one square mile, or six hundred and forty acres; that each of these sections should be again subdivided into four parts; that thirty-six of these sections should as in America form a township; that at stated periods the lands so surveyed should be set up to auction, and sold to the best bidder, provided the price offered for them should exceed one dollar per acre; if not, that they should be retained until they could be sold for such price at some subsequent period; that the same credit should be given for the purchase of these lands as is given in America, and the same discount on ready money; and that the amount of such sales should go to the Police Fund, and be employed in defraying the expences of the colony. The object of the foregoing propositions must be too evident from the preliminary remarks which I have made, to need any extended illustration; nevertheless, it may not be altogether inexpedient to say a few words in further explanation of them to such persons as have bestowed no portion of their attention on the circumstances and situation of this colony. The first, second, and third articles speak for themselves. The remedy here proposed for the alarming evils, which I have so copiously traced to the causes of their origin and continuance, will certainly occasion the government for the next five years a very great additional expence; but after the most mature reflection on the present impoverished state of this colony, and the deeply rooted habits of idleness and vice, which a fifteen years' deprivation of the most important civil and political rights has occasioned, I can devise none besides that could be applied with any probability of effecting a radical and permanent cure. The arrangement recommended in the third article, I mean the substitution of a premium for the present mode of clothing and victualling the convicts, would be highly favourable to the agricultural interests, both by limiting to the cultivators of the soil, the supply of the food consumed by their servants, and by sparing them the trouble and expence of sending their carts for it to the king's stores, an exemption which would be attended with a considerable saving to such of them as inhabit districts remote from the towns: it would also be a source of economy to the government, by enabling them to make a great reduction in the commissariat department. The only objection I can anticipate to this article, is, that it fixes an arbitrary rate of reduction on the premium to be allowed the settlers with the convicts; and that this rate may prove greater than the advance which the colony may make in the various avenues of internal industry. This may possibly be the case, although I consider the period I have named sufficiently protracted to allow the colonists due time to ascertain the nature and extent of their newly acquired privileges, and to profit by them. If, however, it were practicable, it would certainly be more eligible that they themselves should become the arbiters of the abatement which should annually take place in the premium to be given with the convicts. I do not, however, well know how this desideratum could be effected, unless the grand juries during the circuit of the courts in the different districts, could be empowered to inquire into and determine the increase that may take place in the demand for labour, and regulate the price of it, or in other words the premium to be given with it accordingly. To detract as far as possible from the increased expence which would follow the adoption of the measures recommended in the first, second, and third articles, is the object of the fourth. By making the abatement here proposed in the amount of the wages now directed to be paid by the settlers to their convict servants, and carrying it to the credit of the government, an immediate saving of £5 per man, and £3 10s. per woman would be effected. And if the calculation be accurate that each male convict victualled and clothed at the expence of the crown costs £18, and each female £12 10s. it will be seen that above one fourth more might be supported by the government in the manner here recommended, and that likewise a fifth might be annually added to the number, without occasioning any increase whatever in the colonial expenditure. The weight too of this mode of retrenchment would not fall on the settler, and by operating as a check to agriculture perhaps prolong the period when the various departments of industry will be enabled to absorb the large mass of labour which is annually regurgitated on the shores of this colony, but on the convicts themselves, to whose reformation indeed, (the primary object of its foundation) it is essential that every incentive to the renewal of their ancient disorderly and profligate habits should be withdrawn. Even with this diminished scale of wages, the situation of the convicts would be far preferable to that of the labouring class in this country. £2 10s. to the men, and £1 10s. to the women, would then remain, independently of their food and clothing, which is surely quite sufficient for the "_menus plaisirs_" of a set of persons who are supposed to be smarting under the lash of the law. Article fifth needs no explanation. Article sixth, contemplates the saving that might be effected in the public works of the government, by exchanging at the expiration of the period, when the bounty to be allowed to settlers with convicts shall cease, the present mode of carrying them on by a body of men, victualled and clothed at the expence of the crown, for the more economical plan of contracting for them with the lowest bidder. I limit the commencement of this method of retrenchment to the above period, because so long as a necessity exists for giving a bounty with convicts, there can be no doubt that it would be judicious for the government to profit as far as possible by the labour of persons whom even in the employment of individuals, they would be in a great measure obliged to support. But the moment this necessity shall cease, it is equally indubitable that a considerable saving might be effected by carrying on the public works by contract. Where a body of fourteen or fifteen hundred convicts are employed under the superintendence of the most active and upright man, there will always be a system of idleness and plunder, which his assiduity will never be able entirely to baffle. Out of the immense number of minor agents on whose intelligence and integrity he would be obliged to place a considerable degree of dependence, it is not readily to be believed, however great may be his activity and discrimination, that he would not be frequently deceived, and that those very men on whom he most relied to suppress the dishonest inclinations of others, would not themselves occasionally profit by the facilities to plunder and peculation, which the confidence they enjoyed might throw in their way. That such is, and always has been the case in this colony, no person at all conversant with its real state, can have any hesitation in asserting; and consequently that the substitution of contracts in the place of the present mode of conducting the public works, would become a very important source of economy at the period in question. Article the seventh, is intended to encourage emigration to the colony, and to turn to its shores some portion of the immense numbers who are annually withdrawing from this country to the United States of America. It appears almost inexplicable how the government can look on, and behold the thousands who are propelled by various causes to quit their native land, and not make some vigorous efforts, if not to check this strong tide of emigration, at least to divert it to our colonies, where in general it is so much required, and might become of such immense and permanent utility to the empire. It is true that of those who thus abandon the land of their forefathers, many are actuated by political animosities, and could not by any means be induced to settle in any of our colonies. But it is not less certain that there are others, and that the majority are of this class, whom mere distress and inability to provide for the growing wants of their families, unalloyed with any political feelings whatever, most reluctantly drive to seek an asylum in America, and who deeply lament the necessity of betaking themselves to a country where they and their children may one day be compelled to draw their paricidal swords against the mother that gave them birth. It cannot indeed be denied that the government to prevent this horrible alternative, have for a long time held out considerable encouragements to persons emigrating to Canada; but besides that the policy of thus peopling at so considerable an expence a country which in the natural course of events must become an integral member of the American union, is at least questionable, it is well known that three-fourths of those who are thus induced to settle in Canada, end by removing to the United States. The intense severity of the winters, and the unavoidable suspension of the pursuits of agriculture during six months in the year, with the habits and language of the Canadians, so repulsive and annoying to the generality of Englishmen, sufficiently account for this circumstance, without taking into computation the superior advantages of climate and soil which the greater part of the United States is represented as possessing. If the impolicy, therefore, of encouraging emigration to Canada be disputed, still the inefficiency of the means employed to attain the end contemplated by the government ought to decide them to try some other expedient to prevent so large a stock of British industry and capital from thus adding to the resources of a nation, who is already the most formidable, as she is the most rancorous on the list of our enemies. No measure, perhaps, that could be adopted would tend so effectually to the accomplishment of this object, as holding out the great encouragement specified in this article to all such as may settle in this colony. Possessed as it is of a most salubrious and diversified climate, fertile soil, and unbounded extent of territory, it evidently contains every requisite for the formation of a great and flourishing community; and whenever it shall be blessed with a free government will offer much greater facilities for the development of industry and the acquisition of wealth, than are to be found in the United States. Until the colony, however, shall possess this fundamental privilege, every attempt of the government to divert the current of emigration thither from America must prove in a great measure unavailing. A free constitution is the first want of those who have known the blessings of one; and no prospects of profit to an honourable and independent mind can compensate for its loss. There can be little doubt, therefore, that as soon as this indispensable preliminary to general emigration shall be granted, thousands of persons will embark for this colony, and continue to contribute to the wealth and power of their native country, who would otherwise become citizens of her most formidable and inveterate rival. The adoption also of the measures here recommended, would have a sensible effect in diminishing the expenditure of this colony; and would amply compensate for any loss which the government might sustain by affording settlers a passage thither, free of expence, in the transports. I commenced this section by an attempt to prove that the great immediate hindrance to the employment of the large mass of unoccupied labour in the various new departmeuts of internal industry that will be created by the establishment of a free government, will arise from the want of capital; and the premium I have recommended to be granted with convicts for the first five years ensuing the proposed change in the colonial polity, is intended to impart an _artificial_ vigour into the community, and to allow of that accumulation of wealth, which may afterwards suffice of itself to keep in solution all the disposable labour of the colony. Every accession, therefore, of capital that may take place, will contribute to swell the colonial stock to that extent which is necessary for the complete occupation of the convicts, and thus become the means of accelerating the period when the government will be entirely emancipated from the necessity of allowing the settlers a bounty with them. The last article scarcely needs any explanation. Whenever that extensive emigration of capitalists which I confidently anticipate would follow the establishment of a free government shall take place, the sale of the crown lands would evidently become a source of considerable profit, and would go a long way towards defraying the expences of the colony. It would also be the means of bringing numbers of rich speculators thither, who wonld not think of emigrating even for the increased indulgences which I have recommended in the foregoing article. A man of fortune would then be enabled to vest his money in land to the exact extent that he might desire; whereas at present, he must either be content with the portion assigned him, or else purchase by _dribblets_ the _farms_ that may become vacant in the vicinity of his estate, and after all perhaps, be annoyed by having the possessions of others in the midst of his own. It is true that individuals, who do not possess sufficient land for the support of their flocks and herds, are allowed to feed them on the unappropriated lands, and can therefore increase their stock to any extent they may please. But the rapid progress of colonization places the crown lands every day at a greater distance from the original settlements, and occasions a constant necessity for receding, so that at last that part of his stock which the farmer cannot feed at home is gradually removed to an inconvenient distance, and no longer can have the benefit of his personal superintendence. With men of capital, therefore, the class of whom it has been seen that the colony is most in need, this sale of the crown lands at half the price which is demanded for land in America, would prove a very powerful stimulus to emigration, and would consequently have a twofold operation in diminishing the expenditure of this colony; viz. by filling the coffers of the Police Fund, and by occasioning that accession of capital, which I have before shewn to be essential before the government can be freed from the burden of supporting the convicts. On the Advantages which the Colony offers for Emigration. After the gloomy picture which I have drawn of the actual condition of the colony; after having represented both its agricultural and commercial interests as being already not only in a state of impair, but also of increasing dilapidation and ruin, it may appear somewhat paradoxical that I should attempt to wind up the account with an enumeration of the advantages which it holds out to emigration. If due consideration, however, be given to the nature of the ingredients of which the agricultural body is composed; if it be recollected that it consists principally of persons, who have been since their earliest years habituated to every sort of vice and debauchery; of persons bred up in cities, and unacquainted with the arts of husbandry, who had, therefore, to contend against the combined force of an inveterate propensity to the profligate indulgences of their _ancient_ mode of life, and of utter ignorance of the laborious occupations and thrifty arts of their _new_: I say if all these serious impediments to success be impartially weighed, it will be seen that the _anomaly_ is rather _apparent_ than _real_. Nevertheless I do not mean to imply that this colony or its dependencies, present at this moment any very flattering prospects for the _mere agriculturist_. That the _skilful farmer_ would be enabled to obtain an _independent_ and _comfortable subsistence_ is, however, _indubitable_; and the larger his family, provided they were of sufficient age to afford him an effectual co-operation, the greater would be his chance of a successful establishment. Hundreds of this laborious class of people, who in spite of unremitting toil and frugality, find themselves every day getting behind-hand with the world, would undoubtedly better their condition by emigrating to this colony, if there were only a probability that they would be enabled to go on from day to day as they are doing here. In this country they are at best but _tenants_ of the soil they cultivate; whereas there they would be _proprietors_, and the _mere advance_ which would be taking place in the value of their farms, would before many years not only render them _independent_ but even _wealthy_. Of the truth of this assertion, we shall be fully convinced by referring to the price of land on the banks of the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers, the only parts which can be said to be even tolerably colonized. It has already been stated that as far as the river Hawkesbury is navigable, the unimproved land is worth five pounds per acre, and improved land double this amount. This land was at first of no value whatever; because in the infancy of societies, so long as there is an unlimited scope of land of the first quality, which any one may occupy as far as his occasions require, it is evident that there would be no purchasers; since it is absurd to imagine that any one would buy that which he could obtain for nothing. It is only, as Mr. Ricardo has demonstrated, when land of an inferior quality is brought into cultivation, and when the difference in the produce of the two sorts gives the occupier of the one a superiority over the occupier of the other, and renders it as eligible for a person to cultivate land of the first description as a tenant, and to pay the proprietor the difference of produce by way of rent, as to be himself the proprietor of land of the second description; or when the situation of the different appropriated tracts of land does not admit of the conveyance of their produce to market at an equal cost; and thus again gives the owners of those farms which are more contiguous, an advantage over the owners of those which are more remote: I say it is only when societies have made that progress, which begets one or other of these contingencies, or both, that land is of any value whatever. In the course, therefore, of thirty-one years, the tract of land in question, taking the unimproved part as our criterion, since the improvements made in that portion of it, which is in a state of cultivation, may be considered tantamount to the difference in value between the one and the other, has evidently risen to this enormous price, from having been of no worth whatever: or in other words, each acre of land has increased in value during the interval that has elapsed since the foundation of the colony at the rate of 3s. 2 1/2d. per annum; and this too under the most impolitic and oppressive system, to which any colony, perhaps, was ever subjected. How much greater then, will be the future rise in the value of landed property, if, as there is now every reason to hope from the attention which the government are at this moment paying to the state of this colony, the whole of the disabilities under which its inhabitants have been so long groaning, should at length be abandoned? Without taking at all into the estimate the immediate amelioration which a radical change in the polity of this colony, would occasion in the condition of the agricultural body; without depending on the probability that it will soon be in the power of the laborious and frugal settler to rise rapidly to wealth and independence; it must be evident that the mere increase which is yearly taking place in the value of landed property, affords of itself the strongest inducement to emigration; since if it does not hold out to the industrious man the prospect of acquiring immediate wealth, it relieves him from all apprehensions for his family, should a premature destiny overtake himself. He at least knows that every succeeding year will be augmenting in a rapid manner the value of his farm, and that the same spot which administers to his and their present wants, cannot fail to suffice for their future. This is of itself a most consolatory prospect; it at all events prevents the present good from being embittered with any dread of future evil; it permits the industrious man the tranquil enjoyment of the fruits of his labours, and rescues him from the necessity of hoarding up against the approach of gathering calamity, against the stormy season of impending poverty. The amelioration, that would take place in the condition of the mere labourer, who should emigrate to this colony, without funds adequate to the formation of an agricultural establishment, would not be so considerable. Still there can be no doubt that the honest and industrious man would always be able to provide for himself and his family a sufficiency of food and clothing; comforts which with his utmost endeavours he can hardly obtain in this country without having recourse to parochial relief. He would, therefore, at all events emancipate himself from this humiliating,--this demoralizing necessity; for although there is confessedly a greater portion of labour in the colony than can at present be maintained in activity, any person who might emigrate thither voluntarily would easily find employment, when those who are, or have been under the operation of the law would seek for it in vain. A good character is a jewel of greater value there than in this country, because it is more difficult to be met with; and consequently all the advantages which it procures its possessor in the one place, it will insure him at least in a two-fold measure in the other. The colony offers very little encouragement to the manufacturer. The manufacturing interests are not at present in the most prosperous situation; and if the government should, as there is every probability, at length adopt those measures which are called for by every consideration of justice and expediency, a few years will annihilate them entirely. To this class therefore, with reference both to the proprietor and workman, a removal to this colony would undoubtedly be prejudicial. For the artisan and mechanic, who are skilled in the works of utility, rather than of luxury, there is, as it has been already remarked, no part of the world, perhaps, which affords an equal chance of success. To any, therefore, who have the means of transporting themselves and families to this colony, the removal would be in the highest degree advantageous. They could not fail to find immediate employment, and receive a more liberal return for their labour, than they would be able to procure elsewhere. The blacksmith, carpenter, cooper, stone-mason, brick-layer, brick-maker, wheel and plough-wright, harness-maker, tanner, shoe-maker, taylor, cabinet-maker, ship-wright, sawyer, etc. etc. would very soon become independent, if they possessed sufficient prudence to save the money which they would earn. For the master artisan and mechanic, the prospect of course is still more cheering; since the labour they would be enabled to command would be proportioned to the extent of their capital. The advantages, however, which the colony offers to this class of emigrants, _great_ as they undoubtedly are, when considered in an isolated point of view, are absolutely of _no weight_ when placed in the balance of comparison against those which it offers to the capitalist, who has the means to embark largely in the breeding of fine woolled sheep. It may be safely asserted that of _all_ the _various openings_ which the world at this moment affords for the _profitable investment_ of money, there is not _one equally inviting_ as this _single channel_ of _enterprize_ offered by the colony. The proof of this assertion I shall rest on a calculation so plain and intelligible, as I hope to be within the scope of the comprehension of all. Before we proceed, however, it is necessary to settle a few points, as the data on which this calculation is to be founded; viz. the value of wool, the weight of the fleece, and the number of sheep to be kept in a flock. With regard to the value of the wool grown in this colony, the last importations of the best quality averaged five shillings and sixpence per pound in the fleece. This was sold last month; [March, 1819] and as the market was at that time overcharged, and as moreover the best description of wool yet produced in this colony, is far from having attained the perfection of which it is capable, and which a few more crosses with the pure breed will undoubtedly effect in it, it may be safely concluded, that this is the lowest price at which this sort of wool will ever be sold. This will be more evident, if we contemplate the gradual rise in value, which the wool from the same gentleman's flocks has been experiencing during the last four years. In 1816, it was sold for 2s. 6d. per pound in the fleece; in March, 1818, for 3s. 6d. per pound; in July, 1818, for 4s. 4d. per pound; and in March, 1819, for 5s. 6d. per pound in the fleece. For some of this last quantity of wool, properly sorted and washed, Mr. Hurst of Leeds was offered 9s. per pound, and refused it. To take the future average price of wool at 5s. 6d. per pound, is, therefore, forming an estimate, which in all probability will fall far short of the truth. However, let this be one of our data; and let us allow three pounds, which is also an estimate equally moderate, as the average weight of each fleece. The weight of a yearling's fleece may be taken at three quarters of a pound, and the value of the wool at 2s. 9d. per pound. The number of ewes generally kept in a flock by the best breeders are about 330, and we will suppose that the emigrant has the means of purchasing a flock of this size of the most improved breed: this with a sufficient number of tups may be had for £1000. These points being determined, let us now proceed to our calculation. [Table not included in this text version--see html version. Ed.] It would be useless to prosecute this calculation, since any person who may be anxious to ascertain its further results, may easily follow it up himself. It will be seen that with the most liberal allowances for all manner of expenses, casualties and deteriorations, capital invested in this channel will yield the first year an interest of 13½ per cent. besides experiencing itself an increase of nearly 24 per cent.; that the second year it will yield an interest of nearly 25 per cent. besides experiencing itself a further increase of rather more than 37½ per cent.; and that the third year it will yield an interest of nearly 37 per cent. besides experiencing itself an additional increase of about 42½ per cent. or, in other words, money sunk in the rearing of sheep in this colony will, besides paying an interest of about 75½ _per cent_. in the _course_ of _three years_, _rather more than double itself_. Here then is a mode of investing capital by which the proprietor may insure himself not only an annual interest, the ratio of which would augment every year in the most astonishing progression, but by which the capital itself also would experience an advance still more rapid and extraordinary. Any person, therefore, who has the means of embarking in this speculation, could not fail with common attention to realize a large fortune in a few years. His chance of so doing would be still greater if he should happen to be acquainted with the management of sheep; but this is by no means an _indispensable_ qualification; for such is the fineness of the climate, both in the settlements in New Holland and Van Diemen's Land, that all those precautions which are necessary to be observed in this country, in order to shelter this animal from the inclemency of the seasons, are there, quite superfluous: sheds, indeed, are not only useless, but injurious; the flocks never do so well as when they are continually exposed to the weather. It is only necessary that the folds should be shifted every other day, or if the sheep are kept by night in yards, to take care that _these_ are daily swept out. The extent to which capital might thus be invested is boundless; since if the breeder did not possess as much land as would feed the number of sheep that he might wish to keep, he would only have to send his flocks beyond the limits of colonization, and retire with them as the tide of population approached. His hurdles, and the rude huts or tents of his shepherds, might always be removed with very little difficulty and expense; and if his and his neighbours' flocks should happen to come into contact, such is the immensity of the wilderness which would lie before him, that he might exclaim in the language of Abram to Lot: "Let there be no strife I pray thee between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herds-men; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before us? Separate thyself I pray thee from me. If thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left." Such, should any of these disputes occur, might always be their amicable termination. There is, and will be for ages to come, whatever may be the extent of emigration, more land than can possibly be required. The speculation, therefore, of growing wool can meet with no checks from the want of pasturage in the colony, and it is equally improbable that it can be impeded by the want of a market in this country. It is well known that the Saxon wool cannot be sold under the present prices without loss to the growers. The severity of the climate of Saxony, renders it indispensable for the sheep-holders to take a variety of precautions which are not only useless in this colony, but would even prove highly detrimental to the constitution of this valuable animal. In the former country, the flocks are kept almost invariably in sheds of a very costly construction both by day and night, and are fed almost wholly upon hay; in the latter, they are always better when kept in the open air and fed on the spontaneous herbage of the forest. The mildness of the seasons, therefore, spares the colonists two immense sources of expence, and will without doubt in the end, enable them to undersell and ruin the Saxon wool growers; since the only point of superiority these latter can pretend to is their greater contiguity to the market, and this, in consequence of the extreme value of the commodity, is of too trifling import to demand consideration. The freight of wool from the colony, has already been reduced to three pence per pound, which is very little more than is paid for the transport of wool from Saxony; and all the other expences, with the exception of insurance, as brokerage, store-room, etc. are precisely the same. Upon these grounds, therefore, I am contented to rest the support of my assertion, that the world does not at present contain so advantageous, and I might also add, so extensive an opening for the investment of capital as the one in question. With reference to the commercial prospects presented by this colony, they are certainly much more limited, but still of very considerable scope. The extraordinary fluctuations which are incessantly taking place in the prices of all sorts of merchandize, are evidently capable of being turned to great account by a skilful and cool calculator. Any person of this character possessed of sufficient capital to enable him to buy goods when the market should happen to be in a state of depression, and to keep them in his store till the glut should pass by, could not fail to realize a rapid fortune. The only event that could prevent his success, would be an imprudent avidity. If he should be once tempted to go out of his depth, so that he would be compelled to sell whether at gain or loss, in order to make good his payments, he would most probably sink never more to rise. But if he would never speculate beyond the compass of his actual means, he might easily clear fifty per cent. per annum on the amount of his trading capital. Were I asked to particularize any avenue of industry not strictly included in any of the foregoing general classes, in which persons inclined to emigrate to this colony, might embark with a fair chance of success, I should say that any one who had the means of taking out a steam engine of six or eight-horse-power with the requisite machinery for sawing boards, would make it answer his purposes very well; that a timber merchant also, possessing a capital of three or four thousand pounds, might employ his funds very advantageously by establishing a timber yard; and that a skilful brewer who could command five thousand pounds and upwards, would succeed either at Sydney or Hobart Town. It would be necessary, however, that he should understand the process of making malt, since there are no regular maltsters yet in the colony, and that he should also grow his own hops.* Until, therefore, he had established a hop plantation sufficient for his concern it would be requisite that he should make arrangements to be supplied with hops from this country. There are already several breweries in New South Wales, but the beer which is made in them is so bad, that many thousand pounds worth of porter and ale imported from this country, is annually consumed in these settlements. This is in some measure occasioned by the inferiority of the barley grown at Port Jackson; but more, I am inclined to believe, by the want of skill in the brewers. If the indifferent quality of the beer, however, be attributable to the badness of the barley, this impediment to success would be removed by emigrating to Van Diemen's Land; since the barley raised in both the settlements in this island is equal to the best produced in this country. I should also say, that the skilful dairyman who could take out with him a capital of from one to two thousand pounds, would do well in any of these settlements, but more particularly in New South Wales. Butter, as it has been already remarked, is still as high as 2s. 6d. per pound, notwithstanding the immense increase which has taken place in the black cattle. The extreme dearness of this article arises principally from the natural grasses not being sufficiently nutritive to keep milch cattle in good heart, and from the colonists not having yet got into the proper method of providing artificial food. Any one, therefore, who would introduce the dairy system practised in this country, could hardly fail of finding his account in it. [* The hop thrives very well at Port Jackson: there are several flourishing plantations owned by the brewers. This plant has not, I believe, yet been introduced into the southern settlements; but as they bear a much greater affinity to this country in point of climate than Port Jackson, no doubt can be entertained that it might at least be cultivated there with equal certainty of success.] These various advantages which this colony and its dependencies offer for emigration, have many points of superiority over any to which the United States of America can lay claim; if we even admit the truth of all that the most enthusiastic admirers of that country have written, respecting its flourishing condition. Mr. Birbeck*, whose "Letters," if not "Notes," contain strong marks of an exaggerated anticipation of their resources and capabilities, has not, though evidently under the influence of feelings quite incompatible with a correct and disinterested judgment, ventured to rate his imaginary maximum of the profit to be derived from farming in the Illinois, (which appears to be the principal magnet of attraction possessed by the United States,) so high as I have proved by a calculation, to which I defy any one to attach the character of hyperbolical, that the investment of capital in the growth of fine wool in this colony will infallibly produce. This too, although certainly the most inviting and extensive channel of enterprize which it contains, is not its only ground of preference: it has many temptations besides for emigration, of which the United States are wholly destitute: among these the following are perhaps the most considerable. [* See Mr. Cobbett's Letter to Mr. Birbeck on his "Letters from the Illinois."] First, Any person of respectability upon emigrating to this colony, is given as much land as would cost him four hundred pounds in the United States. Secondly, He is allowed as many servants as he may require; and the wages which he is bound to pay them, are not one third the amount of the price of labour in America. Thirdly, He, his family and servants, are victualled at the expence of the government for six months. These are three considerations of great importance to the emigrant, and quite peculiar to this colony: added to which the value of the produce of this gratuitous land and labour is three times as great as in the Illinois, as will be seen by a comparison of the prices of produce there as given by Messrs. Birbeck and Fearon, and the prices of similar produce as stated in the first part of this work. It is true that there is not the same unlimited market as in America; but it must be evident, that, if the price of labour were even equal, the colonist who could dispose of one third of his crops, would be in a better condition than if he were established in the Illinois, and could find vent for the whole. The market, however, has never been circumscribed to this degree in periods of the greatest abundance; and the immense arrivals of convicts, that have been daily taking place for the last three years, have increased the consumptive powers of the colony so considerably, that there has at most been but a very trifling surplus in the barns of the farmers at the close of the year. On the other hand, all articles of foreign growth and manufacture are in general much cheaper than in the Illinois, and the other remote parts of the American Union, provided the purchaser has ready money, and is not under the necessity of having recourse to secondary agents for goods on long credit. Here, then, are many powerful reasons why persons bent on emigration should prefer this colony to America. The only point is whether the latter can throw any weightier arguments into the opposite _scale_. What may be urged on the other side of the question, may, I apprehend, be comprised under these two heads: first, the greater contiguity of the United States to this country, and the consequent ease and cheapness with which emigration thither may be effected; and, secondly, the superiority of their government. The first of these points merits very little consideration, except in the instance of those who have not the means of choosing between the two countries. If a person only possess the power of removing to that which is the more contiguous, eligibility is out of the question: he is no longer a free agent. But the difference in the cost of emigrating is far from being so considerable as might be imagined on a mere view of their comparative distances from this country. I understand that a gentleman of great experience and respectability in the commercial world, has presented a calculation to the committee of the House of Commons, which is now occupied with an inquiry into the state of this colony, from which it appears that a family, consisting of a man, his wife and two children, with five tons for their accommodation and for the reception of their baggage, might emigrate to the colony for one hundred pounds, inclusive of every contingent expense, provided a sufficient number of families could be collected to freight a ship. The same gentleman calculates that a single man might be taken out thither for thirty pounds.* The difference, therefore, in the mere cost of emigrating to the two places is so trifling, that the superior locality of the one cannot be admitted as any sort of set off against the superior advantages of the other. With respect, however, to the last plea, that has been adduced in favour of emigration to the United States, the superiority which they possess in a free government, it must be admitted, that this is a decisive ground of preference, and a blessing to which the greatest pecuniary advantages cannot be considered a sufficient counterpoise. And if it be imagined that the present arbitrary system of government is not drawing to a conclusion; if it be apprehended that it has not yet reached its climax of oppression and iniquity, and that it will be enforced until all who are within the sphere of its influence are reduced to a state of moral degradation and infamy, and the colony becomes one vast stye of abomination and depravity; the emigrant will do well to discard from his mind every mercenary consideration, and to turn away with disgust from all prospects of gain; so long as they are only to be realized by entering into so contagious and demoralizing an association. But if he believe that the hour is at hand when the present system is to be abolished; when oppression is to be hurled from the car in which it has driven triumphantly over prostrate justice, virtue, and religion; and when the dominion of right and morality is to be asserted and established; then I have no hesitation in recommending him to give a preference to this colony. In the agonies of approaching dissolution, the efforts of tyranny will be feeble and impotent. Moral corruption, though the inevitable result of a voluntary submission to the will, is not the consequence of an indignant and impatient sufferance of its rule for a season; and the chance of personal injury would be still more precarious and uncertain. Under the most arbitrary governments the vengeance of the despot has seldom been known to extend beyond the circle of his court; his victims have been among the ambitious candidates for power and distinction. The retired pursuits of unobtrusive industry have proved a sanctuary, which has remained inviolate in all ages. [* See a calculation in the Appendix made by an eminent merchant in the city; from which it appears that a single man, on the ration allowed sailors on board of a king's ship, might be conveyed to the colony at a still cheaper rate.] "The lifted axe, the agonizing wheel, Luke's iron crown, and Damien's bed of steel, To men remote from pow'r but rarely known, Leave reason, faith, and conscience all our own." APPENDIX. Civil Establishment, and Public Institutions in the Territory of New South Wales and its Dependencies. Seat of Government, Sydney. * * * Captain General, Governor in Chief, Vice Admiral, and Commander of the Forces, His Excellency Lachlan Macquarie, Esq. Major General in the Army, and Lieutenant Colonel of the 73d Regiment. * * * Lieutenant Governor--James Erskine, Esq. Lieutenant Colonel of the 48th Regiment. Aid-de-Camp to his Excellency the Governor, John Watts, Lieutenant in the 46th Regiment. Major of Brigade--Henry Colden Antill, Captain in the 73d Regiment. * * * _High Court of Appeals_. Judge--His Excellency the Governor in Chief. Secretary--John Thomas Campbell, Esq. Clerk--Michael Robinson, Gent. Door-keeper--Serjeant Charles Whalan, of the 46th Regiment. * * * _Court of Vice Admiralty_. Judge--John Wylde, Esq. L. L. B. Registrar--John Thomas Campbell, Esq. Clerk to the Registrar--Mr. Michael Robinson. Marshal--William Gore, Esq. Cryer--Mr. Edward Quin. * * * _The Governor's Court_. The Honorable the Judge Advocate and Premier Judge of this Territory--John Wylde, Esq. L. L. B. Members--Two Inhabitants of the Territory, specially appointed by Precept from His Excellency the Governor and Commander of the Forces. Clerk, and Registrar of the Court--Joshua J. Moore, Gent. Cryer--Mr. Edward Quin. * * * And it is to be noted, that this Court has cognizance of all pleas, where the amount sued for does not exceed 501. sterling (except such pleas as may arise between party and party, in Van Diemen's Land); and from its decisions there is no appeal. * * * _The Supreme Court_. The Honorable the Judge--Barron Field, Esq. Members--Two Magistrates of the Territory, appointed by Precept from His Excellency the Governor. Clerk of the Supreme Court--Mr. John Gurner. Cryer--Mr. Edward Quin. Solicitors--Mr. Thomas Wylde; Mr. William Henry Moore; Mr. Frederick Garling; Mr. T. S. Amos. * * * _Secretary's Office_. Secretary--John Thomas Campbell, Esq. Principal Clerk Michael Robinson, Gent. Second ditto--Mr. Charles Reid. Assistant Clerks--Mr. James Sumpter; Mr. Thomas Ryan. * * * _Commissariat Staff_. Deputy Commissary General--David Allan, Esq. Assistant Commissary General--John Palmer, Esq. Parramatta; Acting Assistant Commissary General--W. Broughton, Esq. Hobart Town; Deputy Assistant Commissary General--P. G. Hogan, Esq. Acting Ditto--Thomas Archer, Esq. Port Dalrymple. Clerks on the Commissariat Staff--Mr. E. Hobson, Parramatta; Mr. A. Allan, Sydney; Mr. R. Fitzgerald, Windsor; Mr. George Johnston, Sydney. Principal Assistant Clerk--Mr. T. W. Middleton. Storekeepers--Mr. W. Scott, Sydney; Mr. S. Larken, Parramatta; Mr. John Tucker, Newcastle; Mr. R. Dry, Port Dalrymple; Mr. John Gowen, Liverpool; Mr. John Rayner, Hobart Town. Assistant Clerks--Mr. John Flood, Mr. E. J. Yates, Mr. John Rickards, Mr. J. Hankinson, Mr. George Smith, Mr. C. Sommers, Mr. N. Edgworth, Mr. C. Bridges, Mr. W. Todhunter, Mr. Richard Walker, Mr. Todd Watson--at Sydney. Mr. J. Obee, at Parramatta--Mr. B. Rix, at Windsor--Mr. W. Kitchener, Port Dal.--Mr. John Gregory, Hobart Town--Mr. W. Turner, Hobart Town. Messenger--Thomas Parsons. Store Assistant--T. Jennings. Cooper--Edward Hewen. * * * _Provost Marshall's Department_. Provost Marshall--William Gore, Esq. Clerk--Mr. Henry Hart; Bailiff and Officer at Sydney--Mr. W. Evans; Ditto at Windsor, etc.--Mr. Richard Ridge. * * * _Church Establishment_. Principal Chaplain of the Territory--The Rev. Samuel Marsden, Parramatta; Assistant Chaplain at Sydney--Rev. Wm. Cowper; Assistant Chaplain at Windsor--Rev. Robert Cartwright; Assistant Chaplain at Castlereagh--Rev. Henry Fulton; Assistant Chaplain for Port Dalrymple, but now officiating at Liverpool--Rev. John Youl. Assistant Chaplain appointed for Liverpool--Rev. Ben. Vale, returned to Europe on leave of absence. Parish Clerk of St. Philip's, Sydney--Mr. Thomas Taber; Ditto of St. John's, Parramatta--Mr. John Eyre; Ditto of the Chapel at Windsor--Mr. Joseph Harpur. * * * Magistrates. The Principal Magistrate of the Territory, and Chairman of the Bench of Magistrates at Sydney--The Honorable the Judge Advocate. _Magistrates of the Territory and its Dependencies_. D'Arcy Wentworth, Esq. John Thomas Campbell, Esquire. _Magistrates of the various Settlements of the Territory_. At Sydney--W. Broughton, Esq. absent at Hobart Town; Simeon Lord, Esq. Richard Brooks, Esq. Clerk to the Bench of Magistrates--Joshua John Moore, Gent. Assistant Clerk--Mr. Ezekiel Wood. At Parramatta--The Rev. Samuel Marsden; Hannibal M'Arthur, Esq. At Windsor--William Cox, Esq. At Wilberforce--Rev. Robert Cartwright; At Castlereagh--James Mileham, Esq. Rev. Henry Fulton; At Liverpool--Thomas Moore, Esq. At Bringelly--Robert Lowe, Esq. At Hobart Town--Rev. Robert Knopwood, A. M. A. W. H. Humphrey, Esq. James Gordon, Esq. Francis Williams, Esq. A. F. Kemp, Esq. At Port Dalrymple--Brevet Major James Stewart, 46th Regiment; Thomas Archer, Esq. * * * _Medical Staff_. Principal Surgeon--D'Arcy Wentworth, Esq. First Assistant ditto--Mr. James Mileham, at Windsor. Second ditto ditto--Mr. William Redfern, at Sydney; Acting ditto ditto--Mr. Wm. Evans, at Newcastle; Acting ditto ditto--Mr. Major West, at Parramatta; Acting ditto ditto--Mr. R. W. Owen, at Sydney; Acting ditto ditto at the Lunatic Asylum, Castle: Hill, Mr. Thomas Parmeter. Assistant at General Hospital--Mr. Henry Cowper. * * * _Surveyors of Crown Lands_. Surveyor General--John Oxley, Esq. Deputy Surveyor--Mr. James Meehan. Ditto at Hobart Town--Mr. G. W. Evans. * * * Collector of Quit-Rents, Mr. James Meehan. * * * _Naval Officer's Department_. Naval Officer--John Piper, Esq. Assistant to the Naval Officer--Mr. Alfred Thrupp. Wharfingers--Mr. William Hutchinson; Mr. James Stewart. * * * Acting Engineer, and Artillery Officer, and Inspector of Government Works--Captain John Gill, 46th Regiment. Civil Architect--Mr. F. H. Greenway. * * * Barrack Master--Charles M'Intosh, Esq. * * * _His Majesty's Dock Yard_. Master Boat Builder--Mr. William Cossar. Book-keeper--Mr. John Fowler. * * * Harbour Master--Mr. Stephen Milton. * * * _Superintendents_. Of Government Stock--Mr. Rowland Hassall; Assistant Superintendent of ditto--Mr. Sam. Hassall; Of the Lunatic Asylum at Castle Hill--Mr. George Sutter; Of Government Labourers and Cattle, and of Public Works at Windsor--Mr. Richard Fitzgerald; Of Public Labourers, etc. at Sydney--Mr. William Hutchinson; Of Carpenters at Parramatta--Mr. Richard Rouse; Of Bricklayers--Mr. Thomas Legg; Of Government Mills--Mr. Abraham Hutchinson. * * * _Principal Overseers of Government Stock, under the Orders of the Superintendent_. Mr. Thomas Arkell, and Mr. William Chalker. * * * _Trustees and Commissioners of Turnpike Roads and Highways_. For the Roads from Sydney to Hawkesbury--D'Arcy Wentworth, Simeon Lord, and James Mileham, Esquires; For the Roads to and from Liverpool, branching out at any of the above--Thomas Moore, Esq. * * * Inspector of Highways and Bridges--Mr. James Meehan. * * * _Female Orphan Institution_. Patron--His Excellency the Governor. Patronesses--Mrs. Macquarie; Mrs. Wylde; Mrs. Hannibal M'Arthur. Committee for the Orphan Fund. His Honor Lieutenant Governor Erskine; The Honorable Mr. Judge Advocate Wylde; The Reverend Samuel Marsden, Principal Chaplain; The Reverend Wm. Cowper, Assistant Chaplain; Hannibal M'Arthur, Esq. Treasurer--Reverend Samuel Marsden; Master of the School--Mr. William Hosking; Matron--Mrs. Hosking. _Institution for the Civilization, Care, and Education of the Aborigines or Black Natives of New South Wales_. Patron, the Governor; Patroness, Mrs. Macquarie. * * * Committee. 1. His Honor Lieutenant Governor Erskine, President. 2. The Honorable Mr. Judge Advocate Wylde;--3. J. T. Campbell, Esq.--4. D. Wentworth, Esq.--5. William Redfern, Esq.--6. H. M'Arthur, Esq.--7. The Rev. Wm. Cowper;--8. The Rev. Hen. Fulton;--9. Mr. Rowland Hassall. Secretary and Treasurer of the Institution--John Thomas Campbell, Esq. Schoolmaster-- * * * _Masters of the Public Schools throughout the Territory_. At Sydney--Mr. Thomas Bowden; At Liverpool--Mr. Robert Keeves; At Parramatta--Mr. John Eyre; At Windsor--Mr. Joseph Harpur; At Richmond--Mr. Matthew Hughes; At Kissing Point--Mr. James Cooper; At Wilberforce--Mr. M. P. Thompson; At Newcastle--Mr. H. Rainsforth. * * * _Police Establishment at Sydney_. _Committee of the Police Fund_. The Lieutenant Governor; the Judge Advocate. Treasurer--D'Arcy Wentworth, Esq. Superintendent of Police--D'Arcy Wentworth, Esq. Assistant to the Superintendent--Mr. Robert Jones. Principal Clerk in the Police Office . . . Assistant Clerk--Mr. Ezekiel Wood. Six District Constables, and 50 Constables in Ordinary; Chief Constable at Sydney--Mr. John Redman; Ditto ditto at Parramatta--Mr. Francis Oakes; Ditto ditto at Windsor--Mr. John Howe. Keeper of the County Gaol at Sydney--Mr. John Jaques. Clerk to ditto--George Jubb. * * * Coroner--Mr. J. W. Lewin. Ditto for Windsor, and the Districts on the Banks of the Hawkesbury--Mr. Thomas Hobby. * * * _Bank of New South Wales_. President--J. T. Campbell, Esq. Directors--D'Arcy Wentworth, Esq.--John Harris, Esq.--Thomas Wylde, Esq.--William Redfern, Esq.--William Gore, Esq.--Robert Jenkins, Esq. Secretary and Cashier--Mr. E. S. Hall. Principal Accountant--Mr. R. Campbell, junior. * * * _Printing Office_. Government Printer--Mr. George Howe. * * * _Post Office_. Post Master--Mr. Isaac Nichols. Deputy at Hobart Town--Mr. James Mitchell. * * * _Licensed Auctioneers and Appraisers_. At Sydney--Mr. Simeon Lord; Mr. David Bevan. At Parramatta--Mr. Richard Rouse; Mr. Francis Oakes. At Windsor--Mr. John Howe. Clerk of the Market at Sydney--Mr. Miles Fieldgate. Clerk of the Market and Fair at Parramatta--Mr. Francis Oakes. N. B. These Fairs are held half-yearly; viz. the second Thursday in March, and the first Thursday in October * * * Marine Establishment. His Majesty's Colonial Cutter Mermaid, employed in surveying the Coast, Lieutenant Philip Parker King, R. N. Commander. His Majesty's Colonial Brig Elizabeth Henrietta--Mr. Thomas Whyte, Master. His Majesty's Colonial Brig Lady Nelson, at present undergoing repair--Mr. David Smith, Master. * * * _Harbour Pilots_. At Port Jackson--Mr. Robert Mason; Mr. Robert Murray. At Hunter's River--Robert Whitmore. * * * _Newcastle_. Commandant--Captain Wallis, of the 46th Regt. Acting Assistant Surgeon--Mr. William Evans. Store-keeper--Mr. John Tucker. * * * _Civil Establishment at Hobart Town_. Lieutenant Governor of the Settlements on Van Diemen's Land--Lieutenant Colonel William Sorrell; Deputy Judge Advocate--Edward Abbott, Esq. Chaplain--Reverend R. Knopwood, A. M. Surgeon--Mr. Edward Luttrell; Assistant Surgeon--Mr. H. St. John Younge; Acting Assist. Commissary General--W. Broughton, Esq. Provost Marshal--Mr. Martin Tims; Surveyor of Lands--Mr. G. W. Evans; Inspector of Public Works--Captain Nairn, 46th Regt.; Naval Officer--Mr. John Beamont; Store-keeper--Mr. Rayner; Auctioneer--Mr. Richard Lewis; Harbour Pilot--Mr. Michael Mansfield; Two Superintendents, and two Overseers. _Magistrates at Hobart Town_. Reverend R. Knopwood, A. M; Acting Assistant Commissary General Broughton; James Gordon, Esq.; A. W. H. Humphrey, Esq.; Francis Williams, Esq.; A. F. Kemp, Esq. * * * _The Lieutenant Governor's Court, Van Diemen's Land_. Deputy Judge Advocate--Edward Abbott, Esq.; And two resident Inhabitants, appointed as Members by His Honor the Lieutenant Governor. Clerk to the Deputy Judge Advocate--Mr. N. Ayres. * * * And it is by Charter provided, that the present and all future Governors, Lieutenant Governors, the Judge Advocate, Judge of the Supreme Court, and Deputy Judge Advocate, shall be Justices of the Peace throughout the Territory and its Dependencies; and all Places and Settlements therein, with all the Powers possessed by Justices of the Peace in England, within their respective Jurisdiction. * * * _Civil Establishment at Port Dalrymple_. Commandant--Brevet Major James Stewart, 46th Regt. Assistant Chaplain, now doing duty at Head Quarters, Reverend John Youl; Surgeon--Mr. Jacob Mountgarret; Assistant Surgeon--Mr. John Smith; Superintendent of the Government Herds--David Rose, Esq. Inspector of Government Public Works--Mr. William Elliot Leith; Store-keeper--Mr. R. Dry. Harbour Master. Master of the Public School--Mr. Thomas M'Queen; Acting Master Carpenter--Mr. Richard Sydes. * * * _Magistrates_--Brevet Major James Stewart, 46th Regt. Thomas Archer, Esq. * * * Fees and Dues in the Various Offices. * * * SECRETARY'S OFFICE.--GOVERNOR'S FEES. For the great seal to every grant, not exceeding 1000 acres 0 5 0 For all grants exceeding 1000 acres, for every 1000 each grant contains 0 2 6 For a license of occupation 0 5 0 Secretary's Fees. For every grant, and passing the seal of the province, if under 100 acres 0 5 0 Between 100 and 500 acres 0 10 0 All above 0 15 0 In grants of land, where the number of proprietors shall exceed 20, each right 0 2 6 In ditto, where the number of proprietors shall not exceed 20--the same as for grants in proportion to the quantity of land For license of occupation of land 0 2 6 For every grant of land from 1000 to 20,000 acres, take for the first 1000 acres 15s. and for every 1000 acres more, 2s. 6d. _Fees to be taken by the Surveyor General of Lands._ For each grant, not exceeding 40 acres 0 7 6 Ditto 90 ditto 0 10 0 Ditto 190 ditto 0 15 0 Ditto 250 ditto 1 0 0 Ditto 350 ditto 1 10 0 Ditto 400 ditto 2 0 0 Ditto 750 ditto 2 12 6 Ditto 1000 ditto 3 5 0 Ditto, on town leases, per foot on street front 0 0 1 And on all grants exceeding 1000 acres for each 100 acres so exceeding 0 4 0 Auditor's Fees. For the auditing of every grant 0 3 4 Registrar's Fees. For recording a grant of land, for or under 500 acres 0 1 3 For ditto from 500 to 1000 acres 0 2 6 For every 100 acres to the amount of 20,000 0 10 6 For recording a grant of a township 1 0 0 To be received in the Secretary's Office. On all colonial appointments, and commissions of whatever kind, where the official seal is affixed 5 5 0 On all special licenses for marriages 4 4 0 On the registering of vessels exceeding 40 tons per ton; 0 1 0 And to the Principal Clerk 0 10 0 For all vessels not exceeding 40 ton's 2 0 0 And to the Principal Clerk 0 10 0 On affixing official seal to the clearances of vessels of foreign voyages, or fishing, per ton 0 0 6 For every person leaving the colony, whereof ls. goes to the Principal Clerk 0 2 6 Transcripts of all papers, per folio of 72 words ls. and transcribing Clerk, per ditto, 3d. 0 1 3 Licenses for colonial vessels coastwise to the Coal River, Hawkesbury, or elsewhere, not extending to Van Diemen's Land or Bass's Straits, as heretofore to Coal River 0 5 0 Fees to the Principal Clerk On free or conditional pardons, each 0 5 6 Certificates and tickets of leave, each 0 2 8 N. B.--Six-pence of the free and conditional pardons, and two-pence on certificates and tickets of leave, are to be paid to the Government Printer, as a remuneration for the paper and printing. On receiving Appeals. If for the sum of £50, or under, as heretofore 1 1 0 Upwards of £50, and not exceeding £100 2 2 0 Upwards of £100, and not exceeding 300 3 3 0 Any sum exceeding £300 5 5 0 On all Appeals To the Principal Clerk 0 10 0 To the Door-keeper 0 5 0 Affixing colonial seal to appeals to the King in Council 5 5 0 Principal Clerk 1 0 0 Transcripts of all papers, per folio of 72 words ls. and transcribing Clerk per ditto, 3d. 0 1 3 Naval Office. Entry for a ship with articles for sale, and in Government service 0 15 0 Ditto, ditto, and not in Government service 1 10 0 Ditto with no articles, ditto ditto 0 15 0 Ditto for all foreign vessels 3 0 0 Permission to wood and water, for every vessel not exceeding 100 tons per register 1 0 0 For every vessel upwards of 100, and not exceeding 200 tons 2 0 0 For every vessel upwards of 200, and not exceeding 300 ditto 3 0 0 For every vessel upwards of 300, and not exceeding 400 ditto 4 0 0 For every vessel upwards of 400, and not exceeding 500 ditto 5 0 0 For every vessel upwards of 500 tons 6 0 0 Ditto to trade 1 1 0 Dues of each bond 0 10 6 Ditto of port clearance 0 5 0 Ditto ditto to the Naval Officer's Clerk 0 2 6 Ditto to Naval Officer's Clerk, for each permit to land spirits or wine, per cask 0 0 6 For Colonial Vessels Deeds of entry and clearance to the Hawkesbury 0 4 0 Ditto ditto to Newcastle 0 10 0 Ditto to the fishery or settlements at the southward 0 10 0 Ditto to Naval Officer's Clerk 0 2 0 King's Dues for Orphans For each ton of coals for home consumption 0 2 6 Ditto ditto exported 0 5 0 For each 1000 square feet of timber for home consumption 3 0 0 Ditto ditto exported 6 0 0 Duties Ships from any part of the world importing cargoes (the manufactures of Great Britain excepted) to pay a duty of 5 per cent. _ad valorem_ on the amount of their respective invoices. On every gallon of spirits landed 0 10 0 Ditto wine ditto 0 0 9 n every pound of tobacco 0 0 6 Wharfage on each bale, cask, or package 0 0 6 The Naval Office to receive 5 per cent. on all duties collected at this port. Wharfinger's Fees. On each bale, cask, or package, landed or shipped 0 0 3 Metage per ton on coals 0 2 6 Measure of timber, per 1000 feet 0 2 0 The following duties to be levied and collected by the Naval Officer on the articles hereunder named, upon their arrival and landing, whether for colonial consumption or re-shipment. On each ton of sandal wood 2 10 0 On each ton of pearl shells 2 10 0 On each ton of beech-le-mer 5 0 0 On each ton of sperm oil (252 gallons) 2 10 0 On each ton of black whale or other oil 2 0 0 On each fur seal skin 0 0 1½ On each hair ditto 0 0 0½ On each kangaroo ditto 0 0 0½ On cedar, or other timber, from Shoal Haven, or any other part of the coast or harbours of New South Wales (Newcastle excepted, as the duties are already prescribed there), when not supplied by government labourers, for each solid foot 0 1 0 For every 20 spars from N. Zealand or elsewhere 1 0 0 On timber, in log or plank, from New Zealand or elsewhere, for each solid foot 0 1 0 Gaoler's Fees. From every debtor on his discharge from each action 1 0 0 From every sailor confined for being disorderly, for the first night thereof 0 2 6 For every following night 0 1 0 From every free person thereof, and person having a ticket of leave, taken up and confined for being disorderly, on the discharge of the same, each 0 3 0 From every person receiving a certificate of his or her term of transportation being expired (reference being always had to the black book in his possession) 0 0 6 Fees to be received by the Chief Constable On the apprehending and lodging in gaol any sailor who may be found riotous or disorderly, of constables assisting in the apprehension 0 2 6 For each night that sailors so apprehended may be confined; which is to be directed as the foregoing 0 2 6 For the apprehending of deserters or runaway sailors, to be divided equally among apprehending constables and himself 2 0 0 For serving summonses from the Judge Advocate's Office, for debts under 40s. each summons 0 1 0 For the seizure of stills, or other articles prohibited by the Colonial Regulations, and ordered for distribution among the seizing Constables, the Chief Constable is to receive an equal proportion with them. Surplice Fees. Marriages by License, Clergyman 3 3 0 Clerk 0 10 6 Sexton 0 5 0 Ditto by Banns, free persons Clergyman 0 10 6 Clerk banns 0 2 0 Clerk marriage 0 3 0 Sexton marriage 0 10 6 Christenings, for registering Clerk 0 1 0 Churching, free persons only Clergyman 0 1 0 Clerk 0 0 6 Sexton 0 0 6 Funerals, free persons--Clergyman 0 3 0 Clerk 0 1 0 Bell 0 0 6 Grave digger 0 2 6 Post Office Charges Every letter, English or Foreign 0 0 8 Every parcel not exceeding 20lbs. 0 1 6 Every ditto if exceeding 20lbs. 0 3 0 Every colonial letter from any part of the territory 0 0 4 Soldiers' letters, or those addressed to their wives 0 0 1 _Market Duties at Sydney_.--Grain, etc. lodged in the store to be paid for as follows; viz. wheat or barley 3d. per bushel; maize or oats 2d. per ditto; potatoes 3d. per cwt. and if not sold the same day shall pay store-room rent every succeeding market day the articles continue there, to the clerk, who is not to deliver up such articles until the same be paid. _Market and Fair Duties at Parramatta_. For each horse, mare, gelding, or foal, if sold 0 1 6 Ditto ditto, ditto, if not sold 0 0 6 For each bull, cow, ox, or calf, if sold 0 1 0 Ditto ditto, ditto, if not sold 0 0 4 Sheep, lambs, or pigs, per score, if sold 0 2 0 Ditto, ditto, ditto, if not sold 0 0 8 And any number of sheep, lambs, or pigs, under a score, for each sold 0 0 1½ Ditto, ditto, ditto, if not sold 0 0 0½ _Ferry_ across the River Hawkesbury, called _Nowland's Ferry:_ Tolls for each foot passenger 0 0 3 A saddle horse 0 1 6 A foal 0 0 6 A horse and chaise 0 2 6 A cart with 1 horse or two bullocks 0 2 6 A ditto with 2 horses or 3 bullocks 0 3 0 A waggon with 4 horses or 6 bullocks 0 4 0 For horned cattle 1s. per head For do. if more than 1, and not exceeding 20, 9d. per ditto For ditto, if upwards of twenty, 6d. per ditto For sheep 2s. per score, or 7s. 6d. per hundred For hogs and goats 2d. each, or 2s. per score Passengers to pass and repass the same day for one payment. Toll Gates between Sydney and Parramatta: For each head of horned cattle 0 0 2 For each score of sheep or swine 0 0 10 For every single horse 0 0 3 For every cart drawn by a single horse or bullock 0 0 4 For every cart drawn by 2 horses or bullocks 0 0 6 For every cart drawn by 3 horses or bullocks 0 0 9 For every cart drawn by 4 horses or bullocks 0 0 10 For every waggon drawn by 2 horses or bullocks 0 0 10 For every waggon drawn by 3 horses or bullocks 0 1 0 For every waggon drawn by 4 horses or bullocks, or more 0 1 2 For every single horse chaise 0 1 0 For every curricle with two horses 0 1 6 For a four-wheel carriage drawn by 2 horses 0 2 0 For the same drawn by three horses 0 2 6 For the same drawn by four horses 0 3 0 N. B. The tolls between Parramatta and Windsor are exactly the same as those between Sydney and Parramatta, only at the former a cart drawn by 4 horses or bullocks is 10d. _Tolls at the New Bridge over the South Creek at Windsor, called Howe Bridge_. For each foot passenger 0 0 2 Ditto ditto single horse 0 0 6 Ditto ditto ditto, or bullock in draft 0 1 0 A cart, with 2 horses or bullocks 0 1 2 For each horse or bullock above that number 0 0 2 Waggons, or four wheeled carriages with two horses or bullocks 0 1 6 For each head of cattle not in draft, under a score 0 0 6 For every score 0 5 0 Ditto ditto per hundred 1 0 0 Ditto ditto sheep, goat, or pig, under a score 0 0 1 Ditto ditto a score 0 1 0 The Governor and Family, the Lieutenant Governor, and all persons on public duty to pass free. _Tolls to be taken at the Ferry across the River Hawkesbury_. (This is Mr. Howe's Ferry). For each foot passenger 0 0 3 A single horse 0 1 0 A single horse chaise 0 1 6 A chaise with 2 or more horses 0 2 6 A cart with 1 horse or bullock 0 2 6 Each additional horse or bullock 0 0 3 Waggons, or 4 wheeled carriages, with 3 horses or bullocks 0 2 0 Each horse or bullock 0 0 3 Each head of cattle not in draft, under 6 0 0 9 Ditto ditto under 20 0 0 6 Every score 0 7 6 Every sheep, goat, or pig, under a score 0 0 1 Ditto ditto per score 0 1 0 Ditto ditto per hundred 0 4 0 The unweaned young of every kind, half price. _Tolls to be taken at the Bridge over the Chain of Ponds, near Windsor_. For a single horse 0 0 3 A cart and horse, or two bullocks 0 0 6 Ditto with more than two 0 0 9 A waggon with 3 horses or 4 bullocks 0 1 0 Ditto with more 0 1 3 A single horse chaise 0 1 0 A four-wheel carriage 0 1 6 Horned cattle, each 0 0 2 Sheep and pigs, per score 0 1 0 The Colonial Garden. Potatoes. For a general winter crop in field or garden, should be planted from the end of January to the end of February, or even the beginning of March, rather than lose the planting; and they will come into use in winter, when cabbages and other vegetables run to seed. The ground should if possible be prepared a month before the planting, and a preference given by the country gardener to new ground, or dry wheat stubble, where the soil is light. The town gardener should keep his ground in a good state by frequent light manuring. The sets made choice of should be the produce of the last winter crop; and when planted should have a covering of light manure; without which the ground will be impoverished; but with such assistance be improved. The best potatoes to preserve for sets are of a middle size, as well for profit as security; for if the largest are made use of, there must be a considerable waste; and those of the dwarf kind should be rejected, from their degeneracy and weakness. An experienced gardener, who has been a settler here more than twenty years, plants his seed potatoes uncut for the winter crop; his reason for which is, that if they are cut they are likely to perish in the ground, from the rains of March; which will not be the case if put in whole. In July the ground should be prepared for the summer crop, at which time the winter crop will be fit for digging; in which process every care should be taken to prevent their being bruised; and if possible they should be dug in cloudy weather, to avoid exposure to the sun, which would rot them; whereas if carefully preserved they will keep sound for a length of time; which will be the more desirable, as at this season vegetables are mostly scarce and dear. In August the planting should be made, or even in September, if necessary; and at the end of the latter, or in October, they will require to be hilled and earthed, and well cleansed from weeds, which must also now and then be done as weeds make their appearance. In the choice of seed for this crop, a middle sized potatoe should be preferred, without any objection to their being cut, as is the customary mode of planting. _Manure_.--Fresh stable dung, and litter, or decayed thatch, answers better for manure than that which is very rotten; but if the ground be fresh and light, they will want no manure, and the potatoes be of a better quality, though probably less plentiful. In October you may also plant potatoes for a latter crop; and this, though perhaps less abundant than that sown in August or the beginning of September, will nevertheless be sufficiently productive to pay well the expence and labour of planting. The potatoe is so essential and desirable an article of food, that too much care cannot be bestowed in their culture and preservation; for should other crops fall short, this will afford the grower a certain means of supporting his family. Carrots and Parsnips For a general crop, may be best sown in December and January. The ground should be dug deep, and broke up very fine. If the soil be light, the seed should be sown on a calm day, and trod in. _Carrots_ and _Parsnips_ may also be planted in July, and also in November. They thrive best in an open situation, or a light sandy soil; and after they come up, should be thinned and set out with a small two inch garden hoe. Cabbages For a constant supply may be sown in January, April, May, July, August, October, and early in November, at a time when the ground is in a moist state. The plants sown in April will not run to seed. Care should be taken to set out the plants in a richer and stronger ground than the bed they are taken from; otherwise the crop will be poor. Their first bed should now and then be weeded with the hand, in dry weather, and the freshest and strongest plants removed first. In setting them out, a passage should be allowed between the rows of at least two feet, and in the rows the plants kept eighteen or twenty inches distant from each other, which will allow them a free circulation of air. As they grow up, they should occasionally be earthed up a little, and carefully weeded, as nothing has a more negligent and slovenly appearance than a foul bed of cabbage. In very dry hot weather, their first bed should be watered now and then; after rain they should be set out, but not during its continuance, as it would wash the mould from the roots, and numbers decay without taking root at all in the new bed. Cabbages run to seed in August and September. A gardener of long experience in the Colony has favored us with the following remarks on the culture of the cabbage: "Although cabbage seed may be here sown with advantage at several times of the year, yet I have of late years confined myself to two sowings only; namely, in January, and as near the middle of May as I could find the weather most favorable, for two general crops. That sown in January comes well in for a winter supply; but must be taken great care of, or will come to nothing; for as January is one of our hottest months, they will require to be shaded from the sun's excessive heat by boughs, which if closely twined together will continue their shelter even after the leaves are withered; and also, to be watered at least once in every two or three days, until they get pretty strong in the ground. The other crop, sown in May, will come into use early in summer; and do not require any care more than they usually receive." Turnips The ground should be prepared in February; and at the latter end of the month some may be planted; for which purpose gentle showery weather is most favourable. Turnips for a general crop should be sown early in March, and they will be ready for food for sheep in the beginning of May. During their growth they require hoeing once or twice, to thin and keep them clean, if the land be foul. Turnips for table use may be sown at any time between March and September, or the beginning of November, when absolutely necessary. _Turnips for Sheep_.--The ground should be prepared in January and February, by the plough or hoe, harrowing, manuring, and totally cleansing it from all weeds whatever, so that it be brought into the best state possible. _The Seed_.--To raise turnip seed properly is an object worthy of the strictest attention. To do this, the bed should be examined carefully when the turnips have attained about a third of their size, and the largest, smoothest, and most healthy taken up and transplanted into a richer bed, in rows a foot wide, and about six inches between the plants that are in the same row.--The seed will be fit to cut the latter end of November. Cauliflower. The seed may be sown at any time between November and February; but best in December. Some sow about the middle of May for a summer crop, and this practice is found to answer. Asparagus. The seed should be sown in October, in drills, four drills in a bed four feet wide, the ground being first well prepared, and richly manured. At the latter end of April, or beginning of May, the haulm should be cut down within two inches of the bed (though some cut it nearly level), and constantly kept from weeds. The ground should be dug with a three pronged fork, and not with a spade, as the latter will cut the crown of the roots, and destroy the plants. A professed gardener of twenty-three years practice in the colony assures us, that he has now a bed of twenty years standing, which constantly yielded a good crop until the year before last, the failure of which he attributed to the ground being worn out, and therefore set out a fresh bed. In this country it requires a cool soil, and that the beds should not be laid too high, four or five inches being a sufficient height. Onions. In March prepare the ground, by breaking it up well, and richly manuring it. At the end of the month, and beginning of April, sow for a light crop of onions for immediate use. In April prepare for a general crop, which should be sown at the latter end of the month, or beginning of May, to keep them from going to seed. When they grow to a proper size, which will be from the latter end of October to the beginning of November, they should be carefully laid down, so as not to break the tops; for should the tops be broke, and the wet penetrate, the onions will inevitably spoil. When fit to draw, they should be gathered on a fine dry day, and lain under cover, so as not to be at all exposed to the sun. Pease and Beans of all kinds. The ground should be prepared in March, by well working and manuring; and at the end of the month, and in April, they may be sown for a spring crop. Some sow from the beginning of March till the middle of June, as occasion may require. Prepare in August for a latter crop; and French beans may be as well sown in October as at any other time. Cucumbers, Pumpkins, and Melons. The ground should be got ready for these in August, and they should be sown in September. Radishes. May be sown when turnips are sown. Lettuces and Small Sallad Are sown every month, for a constant supply; but lettuces are best sown in April and November, and small sallads in May, and the latter end of November. Grass and Clover. Turnip ground, on which either is intended to be sown, should be cleared, cleaned, and broke up in August, great care being taken to leave no weeds or large clods. Spinage Is best sown in March and September. Brocoli, brown and white Should be sown the beginning of January, and treated as cabbage sown at that time. Some observe the practice of sowing from November until February, but this is a vague method, and not to be depended on. Strawberries. March is the proper season for planting this fruit. The runners and leaves should be all cut close away before they are set, which will strengthen them greatly, and before winter they will have new leaves. If planted in clumps, the fruit will be larger than if suffered to run over the bed; but by the latter method they preserve a more delicate appearance, and are certainly less likely to contract filth. As soon as planted, a sprinkling of fresh earth should be thrown over the beds, which should be plentifully watered twice or thrice a week, if the season turn out dry; and as the plants require much air, they should be thinned, in order to preserve a free circulation. When sown in beds, the following mode of treatment should be observed:--When the bed is well prepared, plant the rows of the large kinds, such as the Chili and Carolina, two feet apart, and allow one foot between each of the plants in the same row. The smaller kinds do not require so much space; eighteen inches between the rows, and eighteen between the plants will be sufficient; but as much greater space may be given as the ground will admit of. In April all strawberry beds should be well dressed and cleaned, in order to prevent the lodging of insects; and in July they should be gone well over, and have their spring dressing; in doing which the runners must be taken off from the plants, and the weeds cleared away. The ground will then also require to be loosened, and would be much benefited by a layer of fine manure and fresh earth between the rows, as this treatment will strengthen the plants, and produce the largest and finest fruit. Raspberries Should also be dressed and cleaned in July. Grapes. Begin in April to pinch and prune the vines, which must be cleaned from all cankered and unhealthy leaves or other substances, to preserve them from insects. In July they should also be gone over, and pruned and nailed, where requisite. All walls and stakes should then be attentively examined, to prevent the harbouring of insects, which will otherwise destroy the young wood and fruit. Pine Apples. In the management of Pinery, should gentlemen incline their attention thitherward, the following observances will be useful. In May let them be unplunged, and lain down on their sides, till all their leaves be free from water. Take off all yellow leaves, and suckers, and let these suckers be plunged into fresh pots of earth, and in a fresh bed of heat, by means whereof the Pinery will always be kept full. The spider is their chief enemy, and therefore should not be permitted to harbour near them, as the smallest of the tribe will kill the crown, and destroy the fruit. Trees of all Kinds In JANUARY and FEBRUARY should be BUDDED. A competent judge will best inform himself of the proper time for this operation by the ripe appearance of the buds themselves. For this use the practical gardener chooses a small instrument which may be made of bone, with wrappers of worsted, which being elastic, is better than bark, or any other substitute. The tops of the budded stocks are by some left uncut until the August or September following; but a gardener of much experience in the Colony makes it a rule to cut his tops off immediately, as the buds strike much sooner with this practice. PEACHES and PLUMS are best budded upon their own stocks. APRICOTS may be budded upon peach stocks. The ENGLISH MULBERRY upon the cherry; or Cape; and ORANGES will succeed best upon lemons; and all tender trees are better to be budded in summer than in spring. It may be here proper to observe, for the better information of those who have not given themselves the trouble of dividing the year into seasons, and which it would indeed be difficult to do by a comparison with those to which in Europe we were accustomed, that the spring months are, _September, October_, and _November_; the summer months, _December, January_, and _February_; the autumn months, _March, April_, and _May_; and the winter months, _June, July_, and _August_. Hence it is observable, that our wheat harvesting begins in the last of the spring months, November, and is entirely over before the end of summer. In March, all fruit trees should be examined, and the broken or decayed limbs taken off. In May, all fruit trees should be pruned, except evergreens, and such branches as are necessary to be taken off cut close to the tree, that the wound may heal the sooner, and thus prevent the tree from injury by rain or dew. In May, orange trees may be safely transplanted, as well as in June; which is the general season for transplanting fruit trees: in doing which, the roots should be carefully taken up, and planted as near to the surface as possible, taking care at the same time that the whole be covered, being first spread out like an open hand; after which the covering may be thickened with a little rich manure; and when the hole is filled, the earth about the root should be trodden gently, so as to fix the position of the plant. June is also the best time for making layers, and planting cuttings from hardy trees. In July, such fruit trees as were not transplanted in June should be removed, and stocks to bud and graft upon transplanted. In August, evergreens may be transplanted, in which great care must be observed, as they are very tender; and as their roots will not bear exposure to the sun, they must be so carefully dug round as to admit their being taken up with as large a ball of earth clinging to the root as can be done, in which exact state they always should be fresh planted. In August, also, the nursery will require to be well gone over and cleaned, and young trees prepared for grafting. Wall fruit and shrubs must be now particularly attended to, in divesting them of every foul or decayed substance. In this month, also, all gardens should be cleaned and dressed. The gardener ought to be particularly attentive in keeping off weeds and insects, as grubs frequently make their appearance at this time, which very much injure all vegetable productions. This month also the nursery wants cleaning, and the young trees must be prepared for grafting: the weeds preparatory to which, must be cut down and destroyed, or they will afterwards give much trouble. Decayed branches should likewise be taken from fruit trees; and such trees as appear stunted should have the ground opened about the roots. SEPTEMBER is a good month for grafting fruit trees, the scions intended for grafts being cut off a fortnight or three weeks before, and the ends which are cut stuck in the ground until wanted for use. Trees budded at the beginning of the year must now be cut down within about two inches of the bud; this space above the bud being left to tie the young shoots to, to prevent their being broken off by the wind. No shoots should be suffered to grow but the eye that was budded, and all others should be rubbed off as soon as they appear. OCTOBER.--Young trees that were grafted in September should now be examined, and all the young shoots broken off, but one or two, both from the grafts and stocks:--The clay must be taken off, and the bandages loosened. The ground between the rows of all young trees should also be kept clear of weeds, or they will deprive the trees of a great part of their nourishment. Apricot and peach trees should be examined this month, and where the fruit appears to be set too thick, which will be mostly the case in prolific seasons, they must be reduced to a moderate quantity. This must nevertheless be done with care, and only such of the fruit as is proper to remain left upon the tree. In this month the garden should be cleaned all through, and walls and fruit trees well examined, to prevent insects from lodging. In NOVEMBER such trees as were inoculated the previous summer will want the young shoots tying, either to the top of the stock, or to have a stake driven in near them to tie the shoot to, that they may not be broken off by the wind. All budded and grafted trees will in November want constant attention. All shoots that do not grow from the eye of the bud, or from the graft, must be taken off, that the graft or bud may receive all the nourishment the stock can afford. In November evergreens may be propagated by layers, from the young shoots of the summer's growth. In December the same observance is to be attended to with respect to evergreens; and peach trees should now be thinned of their fruit, where it appears too thick. _Observations on some particular Fruit Trees_. The Orange. In pruning, the knife should be as little used as possible, if you wish them to bear. The southerly winds are very unfavorable to their growth, and parts opened by the knife admit the air, and kill the bloom. This tree is perhaps more infested by ants than any other; and the black contracted appearance of the leaves is much attributed to this insect. From this persuasion, which is pretty general, various methods have been tried to keep them off. Human ordure laid round the boll of the tree will prevent their appearing so long as it retains moisture, but not longer; tar has been applied round both the trunk and branches, and only answered while moist; yet a cure, if the ant be really inimical, is certain to be found, with little trouble, and without expence, in common suds from a wash tub, in which ley has been used. This wash should be laid well about the roots in the evening, when the ants have left the tree, which will be mostly the case, and in wet weather always so, and there need be little apprehension of their return next morning; a woollen bandage, dipped in oil, will also be found a preventative to their ascending the tree. This application, whenever ants appear, will have the desired effect; but whether these insects are injurious to the tree or not, is to be doubted upon this principle, namely, that the ant, being excessively carnivorous, is instinctively led to the orange tree in quest of the eggs, exuviae, larvae, etc. of some very minute insect, whose eggs are attached to the leaves by a glutinous substance, emitted by themselves in such quantity as to discolour the leaf, the pores of which being thus stopped, it becomes hard and tusky, and gradually closes. It seems impossible that this change should be produced by the ant: for if it even attacked or destroyed the blossom, this would not affect the leaves when the tree is not in bloom; and therefore it is rational to conclude that their changed appearance proceeds from some other cause, perhaps from some other insect, perhaps from the assaults of the weather, or some peculiarity in its soil or situation, or from a combination of these and other causes; in exemplification whereof it is worthy to be remarked, that a gardener in the Brickfields planted a number of seed sixteen years ago, all from the same tree; of which forty-four came up, and were all treated with equal care. None shewed fruit until about seven years since; when one produced about two-hundred oranges, and four or five others had from thirty down to ten or a dozen each. The following year the same trees were full; and afterwards others began to bear. This very great disparity in their time of bearing, keeping in mind at the same time that the seeds were from the same tree, all sown at once, and all equally well attended to, would be sufficient to excite astonishment, were we not to make allowance for the various causes that might have tended to accelerate or retard their growth. The gardener himself says, that the chief of the defaulters were a good deal shaded from the sun by a range of peach trees, which depriving them of a great proportion of the warmth necessary to a fruit which thrives best in the hottest climates, he considers sufficient to occasion all the difference spoken of. The Apple Has a great enemy in a minute insect called the Cochineal, owing more, perhaps, to its being nearly of the same colour, than from any resemblance to the Spanish insect of that name. A gentleman who had eight trees that had for several years borne a delicious apple, had the mortification to find the whole of his trees at once infested by those insects in excessive number; after which they left off bearing, and after failing in many experiments to relieve them, he came unwillingly to the resolution of cutting down the trees. These insects are of a dark red, approaching to a purple, and combine in such numbers on the roots as well as branches, as to shew in protuberated clusters, exhibiting a downy whiteness on the surface. A gardener of the colony, who has attended a good deal to this matter, affirms that a weed called the Churnwort presents a perfect remedy to the disaster; with this weed, the roots, cleared of the earth, and the branches also, he advises to be thoroughly well rubbed. [TABLE: VICTUALLING ONE MESS OF FIVE MEN.] [Table not included in this text version--see html version. Ed.] The End 
4328	----	TWO EXPEDITIONS INTO THE INTERIOR OF SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA, VOLUME I by CHARLES STURT TWO EXPEDITIONS INTO THE INTERIOR OF SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA DURING THE YEARS 1828,1829,1830,1831 WITH OBSERVATIONS ON THE SOIL, CLIMATE AND GENERAL RESOURCES OF THE COLONY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. IN TWO VOLUMES VOLUME I. "For though most men are contented only to see a river as it runs by them, and talk of the changes in it as they happen; when it is troubled, or when clear; when it drowns the country in a flood, or forsakes it in a drought: yet he that would know the nature of the water, and the causes of those accidents (so as to guess at their continuance or return), must find out its source, and observe with what strength it rises, what length it runs, and how many small streams fall in, and feed it to such a height, as make it either delightful or terrible to the eye, and useful or dangerous to the country about it."...SIR WILLIAM TEMPLE'S NETHERLANDS. TO THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF RIPON, VISCOUNT GODERICH, Lord Privy Seal &c. &c. &c. MY LORD, The completion of this Work affords me the opportunity I have long desired of thanking your Lordship thus publicly, for the kindness with which you acceded to my request to be permitted to dedicate it to you. The encouragement your Lordship was pleased to give me has served to stimulate me in the prosecution of a task, which would, I fear, have been too great for me to have accomplished in my present condition, under any ordinary views of ambition. Indeed, labouring as I have been for many months past, under an almost total deprivation of sight, (the effect of exposure and anxiety of mind in the prosecution of geographical researches,) I owe it to the casual assistance of some of my friends, that I am at length enabled to lay these results before your Lordship and the public. While I feel a painful conviction that many errors must necessarily pervade a work produced under such unfavourable circumstances, it affords me no small consolation to reflect that Your Lordship has been aware of my situation, and will be disposed to grant me every reasonable indulgence. I have the honor to be, With the highest respect, My Lord, Your Lordship's Very obedient and humble servant, CHARLES STURT London, June, 1833. CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME PRELIMINARY CHAPTER. Purpose of this Chapter--Name of Australia--Impressions of its early Visitors--Character of the Australian rivers--Author's first view of Port Jackson--Extent of the Colony of New South Wales--its rapid advances in prosperity--Erroneous impressions--Commercial importance of Sydney--Growth of fine wool--Mr. M'Arthur's meritorious exertions--Whale-fishery--Other exports--Geographical features--Causes of the large proportion of bad soil--Connection between the geology and vegetation--Geological features--Character of the soil connected with the geological formation--County of Cumberland--Country westward of the Blue Mountains--Disadvantages of the remote settlers--Character of the Eastern coast--Rich tracts in the interior--Periodical droughts--The seasons apparently affected by the interior marshes--Temperature--Fruits--Emigrants: Causes of their success or failure--Moral disadvantages--System of emigration recommended--Hints to emigrants--Progress of inland discovery--Expeditions across the Blue Mountains--Discoveries of Mr. Evans, Mr. Oxley, and others--Conjectures respecting the interior. EXPEDITION DOWN THE MACQUARIE RIVER, AND INTO THE WESTERN INTERIOR IN 1828 AND 1829. CHAPTER I. State of the Colony in 1828-29--Objects of the Expedition--Departure from Sydney--Wellington Valley--Progress down the Macquarie--Arrival at Mount Harris--Stopped by the marshes--Encamp amidst reeds--Excursions down the river--Its termination--Appearance of the marshes--Opthalmic affection of the men--Mr. Hume's successful journey to the northward--Journey across the plain--Second great marsh--Perplexities--Situation of the exploring party--Consequent resolutions. CHAPTER II. Prosecution of our course into the interior--Mosquito Brush--Aspect and productions of the country--Hunting party of natives--Courageous conduct of one of them--Mosquitoes--A man missing--Group of hills called New-Year's Range--Journey down New-Year's Creek--Tormenting attack of the kangaroo fly--Dreariness and desolation of the country--Oxley's Table Land--D'Urban's Group--Continue our journey down New-Year's Creek--Extreme Disappointment on finding it salt--Fall in with a tribe of natives--Our course arrested by the want of fresh water--Extraordinary sound--Retreat towards the Macquarie. CHAPTER III. Intercourse with the natives--Their appearance and condition--Remarks on the Salt or Darling River--Appearance of the marshes on our return--Alarm for safety of the provision party--Return to Mount Harris--Miserable condition of the natives--Circumstances attending the slaughter of two Irish runaways--Bend our course towards the Castlereagh--Wallis's Ponds--Find the famished natives feeding on gum--Channel of the Castlereagh--Character of the country in its vicinity--Another tribe of natives--Amicable intercourse with them--Morrisset's chain of Ponds--Again reach the Darling River ninety miles higher up than where we first struck upon it. CHAPTER IV. Perplexity--Trait of honesty in the natives--Excursion on horseback across the Darling--Forced to return--Desolating effects of the drought--Retreat towards the colony--Connection between the Macquarie and the Darling--Return up the banks of the Macquarie--Starving condition of the natives. CHAPTER V. General remarks--Result of the expedition--Previous anticipations--Mr. Oxley's remarks--Character of the Rivers flowing westerly--Mr. Cunningham's remarks--Fall of the Macquarie--Mr. Oxley's erroneous conclusions respecting the character of the interior, naturally inferred from the state in which he found the country--The marsh of the Macquarie merely a marsh of the ordinary character--Captain King's observations--Course of the Darling--Character of the low interior plain--The convict Barber's report of rivers traversing the interior--Surveyor-General Mitchell's Report of his recent expedition. CHAPTER VI. Concluding Remarks--Obstacles that attend travelling into the interior of Australia--Difficulty of carrying supplies--Importance of steady intelligent subordinates--Danger from the natives--Number of men requisite,--and of cattle and carriages--Provisions--Other arrangements--Treatment of the natives--Dimensions of the boat used in the second expedition. APPENDIX. No. I. Letter of Instructions No. II. List of Stores supplied for the Expedition No. III. Sheep-farming Returns No. IV. List of Geological Specimens No. V. Official Report to the Colonial Government, (Jan. 1829.) No. VI. Ditto (April 1829.) ILLUSTRATIONS TO THE FIRST VOLUME (Not included in this etext) Native Burial Place near Budda Vice Admiral Arthur Phillip Cataract of the Macquarie A Selenite Chrystallized Sulphate of Lime PRELIMINARY CHAPTER Purpose of this Chapter--Name of Australia--Impressions of its early Visitors--Character of the Australian rivers--Author's first view of Port Jackson--Extent of the Colony of New South Wales--its rapid advances in prosperity--Erroneous impressions--Commercial importance of Sydney--Growth of fine wool--Mr. M'Arthur's meritorious exertions--Whale-fishery--Other exports--Geographical features--Causes of the large proportion of bad soil--Connection between the geology and vegetation--Geological features--Character of the soil connected with the geological formation--County of Cumberland--Country westward of the Blue Mountains--Disadvantages of the remote settlers--Character of the Eastern coast--Rich tracts in the interior--Periodical droughts--The seasons apparently affected by the interior marshes--Temperature--Fruits--Emigrants: Causes of their success or failure--Moral disadvantages--System of emigration recommended--Hints to emigrants--Progress of inland discovery--Expeditions across the Blue Mountains--Discoveries of Mr. Evans, Mr. Oxley, and others--Conjectures respecting the interior. PURPOSE OF THIS PRELIMINARY CHAPTER. When I first determined on committing to the press a detailed account of the two expeditions, which I conducted into the interior of the Australian continent, pursuant to the orders of Lieutenant General Darling, the late Governor of the Colony of New South Wales, it was simply with a view of laying their results before the geographical world, and of correcting the opinions that prevailed with regard to the unexplored country to the westward of the Blue Mountains. I did not feel myself equal either to the task or the responsibility of venturing any remarks on the Colony of New South Wales itself. I had had little time for inquiry, amidst the various duties that fell to my lot in the ordinary routine of the service to which I belonged, when unemployed by the Colonial Government in the prosecution of inland discoveries. My observations had been in a great measure confined to those points which curiosity, or a desire of personal information, had prompted me to investigate. I did not, therefore, venture to flatter myself that I had collected materials of sufficient importance on general topics to enable me to write for the information of others. Since my return to England, however, I have been strenuously urged to give a short description of the colony before entering upon my personal narrative; and I have conversed with so many individuals whose ideas of Australia are totally at variance with its actual state, that I am encouraged to indulge the hope that my observations, desultory as they are, may be of some interest to the public. I am strengthened in this hope by the consideration that some kind friends have enabled me to add much valuable matter to that which I had myself collected. It is not my intention, however, to enter at any length on the commercial or agricultural interests of New South Wales. It may be necessary for me to touch lightly on those important subjects, but it is my wish to connect this preliminary chapter, as much as possible with the subjects treated of in the body of the work, and chiefly to notice the physical structure, the soil, climate, and productions of the colony, in order to convey to the reader general information on these points, before I lead him into the remote interior. NAME OF AUSTRALIA. It may be worthy of remark that the name "Australia," has of late years been affixed to that extensive tract of land which Great Britain possesses in the Southern Seas, and which, having been a discovery of the early Dutch navigators, was previously termed "New Holland." The change of name was, I believe, introduced by the celebrated French geographer, Malte Brun, who, in his division of the globe, gave the appellation of Austral Asia and Polynesia to the new discovered lands in the southern ocean; in which division he meant to include the numerous insular groups scattered over the Pacific. IMPRESSIONS OF ITS EARLY VISITORS. Australia is properly speaking an island, but it is so much larger than every other island on the face of the globe, that it is classed as a continent in order to convey to the mind a just idea of its magnitude. Stretching from the 115th to the 153rd degree of east longitude, and from the 10th to the 37th of south latitude, it averages 2700 miles in length by 1800 in breadth; and balanced, as it were, upon the tropic of that hemisphere in which it is situated, it receives the fiery heat of the equator at one extremity, while it enjoys the refreshing coolness of the temperate zone at the other. On a first view we should be led to expect that this extensive tract of land possessed more than ordinary advantages; that its rivers would be in proportion to its size; and that it would abound in the richest productions of the inter-tropical and temperate regions. Such, indeed, was the impression of those who first touched upon its southern shores, but who remained no longer than to be dazzled by the splendour and variety of its botanical productions, and to enjoy for a few days the delightful mildness of its climate. But the very spot which had appeared to Captain Cook and Sir Joseph Banks an earthly paradise, was abandoned by the early settlers as unfit for occupation; nor has the country generally been fount to realize the sanguine expectations of those distinguished individuals, so far as it has hitherto been explored. CHARACTER OF AUSTRALIAN RIVERS. Rivers which have the widest mouths or the most practicable entrances, are, in Europe or America, usually of impetuous current, or else contain such a body of water as to bear down all opposition to their free course; whilst on the other hand, rivers whose force is expended ere they reach the sea, have almost invariably a bar at their embouchure, or where they mingle their waters with those of the ocean. This last feature unfortunately appears to characterize all rivers of Australia, or such of them at least as are sufficiently known to us. Falling rapidly from the mountains in which they originate into a level and extremely depressed country; having weak and inconsiderable sources, and being almost wholly unaided by tributaries of any kind; they naturally fail before they reach the coast, and exhaust themselves in marshes or lakes or reach it so weakened as to be unable to preserve clear or navigable months, or to remove the sand banks that the tides throw up before them. On the other hand the productions of this singular region seem to be peculiar to it, and unlike those of any other part of the world; nor have any indigenous fruits of any value as yet been found either in its forests or on its plains. He who has never looked on any other than the well-cultured fields of England, can have little idea of a country that Nature has covered with an interminable forest. Still less can he estimate the feelings with which the adventurer approaches a shore that has never (or perhaps only lately) been trodden by civilized man. FIRST VIEW OF PORT JACKSON. It was with feelings peculiar to the occasion, that I gazed for the first time on the bold cliffs at the entrance of Port Jackson, as our vessel neared them, and speculated on the probable character of the landscape they hid; and I am free to confess, that I did not anticipate anything equal to the scene which presented itself both to my sight and my judgment, as we sailed up the noble and extensive basin we had entered, towards the seat of government. A single glance was sufficient to tell me that the hills upon the southern shore of the port, the outlines of which were broken by houses and spires, must once have been covered with the same dense and gloomy wood which abounded every where else. The contrast was indeed very great--the improvement singularly striking. The labour and patience required, and the difficulties which the first settlers encountered effecting these improvements, must have been incalculable. But their success has been complete: it is the very triumph of human skill and industry over Nature herself. The cornfield and the orchard have supplanted the wild grass and the brush; a flourishing town stands over the ruins of the forest; the lowing of herds has succeeded the wild whoop of the savage; and the stillness of that once desert shore is now broken by the sound of the bugle and the busy hum of commerce. EXTENT OF NEW SOUTH WALES AND DIVISIONS OF THE COLONY. The Colony of New South Wales is situated upon the eastern coast of Australia; and the districts within which land has been granted to settlers, extends from the 36th parallel of latitude to the 32nd, that is say, from the Moroyo River to the south of Sydney on the one hand, and to the Manning River on the other, including Wellington Valley within its limits to the westward. Thus it will appear that the boundaries of the located parts of the colony have been considerably enlarged, and some fine districts of country included within them. In consequence of its extent and increasing population, it has been found convenient to divide it into counties, parishes, and townships; and indeed, every measure of the Colonial Government of late years, has had for its object to assimilate its internal arrangements as nearly as possible, to those of the mother country. Whether we are to attribute the present flourishing state of the colony to the beneficial influence of that system of government which has been exercised over it for the last seven years it is not for me to say. That the prosperity of a country depends, however, in a great measure, on the wisdom of its legislature, is as undoubted, as that within the period I have mentioned the colony of N. S. Wales has risen unprecedentedly in importance and in wealth, and has advanced to a state of improvement at which it could not have arrived had its energies been cramped or its interests neglected. ITS ADVANCES IN PROSPERITY. There is a period in the history of every country, during which it will appear to have been more prosperous than at any other. I allude not to the period of great martial achievements, should any such adorn its pages, but to that in which the enterprise of its merchants was roused into action, and when all classes of its community seem to have put forth their strength towards the attainment of wealth and power. ERRONEOUS IMPRESSIONS. In this eventful period the colony of New South Wales is already far advanced. The conduct of its merchants is marked by the boldest speculations and the most gigantic projects. Their storehouses are built on the most magnificent scale, and with the best and most substantial materials. Few persons in England have even a remote idea of its present flourishing condition, or of the improvements that are daily taking place both in its commerce and in its agriculture. I am aware that many object to it as a place of residence, and I can easily enter into their feelings from the recollection of what my own were before I visited it. I cannot but remark, however, that I found my prejudices had arisen from a natural objection to the character of a part of its population; from the circumstance of its being a penal colony, and from my total ignorance of its actual state, and not from any substantial or permanent cause. On the contrary I speedily became convinced of the exaggerated nature of the reports I had heard in England, on some of the points just adverted to; nor did any thing fall under my observation during a residence in it of more than six years to justify the opinion I had been previously led to entertain of it. I embarked for New South Wales, with strong prejudices against it: I left it with strong feelings in its favour, and with a deep feeling of interest in its prosperity. It is a pleasing task to me, therefore, to write of it thus, and to have it in my power to contribute to the removal of any erroneous impressions with regard to its condition at the present moment. COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE OF SYDNEY. I have already remarked, that I was not prepared for the scene that met my view when I first saw Sydney. The fact was, I had not pictured to myself; nor conceived from any thing that I had ever read or heard in England, that so extensive a town could have been reared in that remote region, in so brief a period as that which had elapsed since its foundation. It is not, however, a distant or cursory glance that will give the observer a just idea of the mercantile importance of this busy capital. In order to form an accurate estimate of it, he should take a boat and proceed from Sydney Cove to Darling Harbour. He would then be satisfied, that it is not upon the first alone that Australian commerce has raised its storehouse and wharfs, but that the whole extent of the eastern shore of the last more capacious basin, is equally crowded with warehouses, stores, dockyards, mills, and wharfs, the appearance and solidity of which would do credit even to Liverpool. Where, thirty years ago, the people flocked to the beach to hail an arrival, it is not now unusual to see from thirty to forty vessels riding at anchor at one time, collected there from every quarter of the globe. In 1832, one hundred and fifty vessels entered the harbour of Port Jackson, from foreign parts, the amount of their tonnage being 31,259 tons. The increasing importance of Sydney must in some measure be attributed to the flourishing condition of the colony itself, to the industry of its farmers, to the successful enterprise of its merchants, and to particular local causes. It is foreign to my purpose, however, to enter largely into an investigation of these important points. To do so would require more space than I can afford for the purpose, and might justly be considered as irrelevant in a work of this kind. Without attempting any lengthened detail, it may be considered sufficient if I endeavour merely to point out the principal causes of the present prosperity (and, as they may very probably prove) of the eventual progress of our great southern colony to power and independence. STAPLE OF THE AUSTRALIAN COLONIES. The staple of our Australian colonies, but more particularly of New South Wales, the climate and the soil of which are peculiarly suited to its production,--is fine wool. There can be no doubt that the growth of this article has mainly contributed to the prosperity of the above mentioned colony and of Van Diemen's Land. At the close of the last century, wool was imported into England from Spain and Germany only, and but a few years previously from Spain alone. Indeed, long after its introduction from the latter country, German wool, obtained but little consideration in the London market; and in like manner, it may be presumed that many years will not have elapsed before the increased importation of wool from our own possessions in the southern hemisphere, will render us, in respect to this commodity, independent of every other part of the world. The great improvements in modern navigation are such, that the expense of sending the fleece to market from New South Wales is less than from any part of Europe. The charges for instance on Spanish and German wool, are from fourpence to fourpence three farthings per pound; whereas the entire charge, after shipment from New South Wales, and Van Diemen's Land, does not exceed threepence three farthings,--and in this the dock and landing charges, freight, insurance, brokerage, and commission, are included. GROWTH OF FINE WOOL. MR. M'ARTHUR'S EXERTIONS. As some particulars respecting the introduction of this source of national wealth into Australia may prove interesting to the public, I have put together the following details of it, upon the authenticity of which they may rely. The person who foresaw the advantage to be derived from the growth of fine wool in New South Wales, and who commenced the culture of it in that colony, was Mr. John M'Arthur. So far back, I believe, as the year 1793, not long after the establishment of the first settlement at Sydney, this gentleman commenced sheep-farming, and about two years afterwards he obtained a ram and two ewes from Captain Kent, of the royal navy, who had brought them, with some other stock for the supply of the settlement, from the Cape of Good Hope, to which place a flock of these sheep had been originally sent by the Dutch government. Sensible of the importance of the acquisition, Mr. M'Arthur began to cross his coarse-fleeced sheep with Merino blood; and, proceeding upon a system, he effected a considerable improvement in the course of a few years. So prolific was the mixed breed, that in ten years, a flock which originally consisted of not more than seventy Bengal sheep, had increased in number to 4,000 head, although the wethers had been killed as they became fit for slaughter. It appears, however, that as the sheep approached to greater purity of blood, their extreme fecundity diminished. TO REAR MERINO FLOCKS. In 1803, Mr. M'Arthur revisited England; and there happening at the time to be a committee of manufacturers in London from the clothing districts, he exhibited before them samples of his wool, which were so much approved, that the committee represented to their constituents the advantages which would result from the growth of fine wool, in one of the southern dependencies of the empire. In consequence of this a memorial was transmitted to His Majesty's government, and Mr. M'Arthur's plans having been investigated by a Privy Council, at which he was present, they were recommended to the government as worthy of its protection. With such encouragement Mr. M'Arthur purchased two ewes and three rams, from the Merino flock of His Majesty King George the Third. He embarked with them on his return to New South Wales in 1806, on board a vessel named by him "the Argo," in reference to the golden treasure with which she was freighted. On reaching the colony he removed his sheep to a grant of land which the Home Government had directed he should receive in the Cow Pastures. To commemorate the transaction, and to transmit to a grateful posterity the recollection of the nobleman who then presided over the colonies, the estate, together with the district in which it is situated, was honoured by the name of Camden. EXPORT OF WOOL TO ENGLAND. Since that time the value of New South Wales wool has been constantly on the increase, and the colony are indebted to Mr. M'Arthur for the possession of an exportable commodity which has contributed very materially to its present wealth and importance. Such general attention is now paid to this interesting branch of rural economy, that the importation of wool into England from our Australian colonies, amounted, in 1832, to 10,633 bales, or 2,500,000 lbs. It has been sold at as high a price as 10s. per lb.; but the average price of wool of the best flocks vary from 1s. 6d. to 4s. 6d. at the present moment. The number of sheep in New South Wales alone was calculated in the last census at 536,891 head. The ordinary profits on this kind of stock may be extracted from the Table given in the Appendix to the first volume of this work. WHALE FISHERY. Among the various speculations undertaken by the merchants of Sydney, there is not one into which they have entered with so much spirit as in the South Sea Fishery. The local situation of Port Jackson gives them an advantage over the English and the American merchants, since the distance of both these from the field of their gains, must necessarily impede them greatly; whereas the ships that leave Sydney on a whaling excursion, arrive without loss of time upon their ground, and return either for fresh supplies or to repair damages with equal facility. The spirit with which the colonial youth have engaged in this adventurous and hardy service, is highly to their credit. The profits arising from it may not be (indeed I have every reason to think are not) so great as might be supposed, or such as might reasonably be expected; but the extensive scale on which it is conducted, speaks equally for the energy and perseverance of the parties concerned, in the prosecution of their commercial enterprises. It has enabled them to equip a creditable colonial marine, and given great importance to their mercantile interests in the mother country. In the year 1831, the quantity of sperm and black oil, the produce of the fisheries exported from New South Wales, amounted to 2,307 tons, and was estimated, together with skins and whalebone, to be worth 107,971 pounds sterling. The gross amount of all other exports during that year, did not exceed 107,697 pounds sterling. Of these exports, the following were the most considerable: Timber 7,410 pounds Butter and Cheese 2,376 Mimosa bark 40 Hides 7,333 Horses 7,302 Salt provisions 5,184 Wool 66,112 The above is exclusive of 61,000 pounds value of British manufactures re-exported to the various ports and islands in the Southern Seas. OTHER EXPORTS. In this scale, moreover, tobacco is not mentioned; but that plant is now raised for the supply of every private establishment, and will assuredly form an article of export, as soon as its manufacture shall be well understood. Neither can it be doubted but that the vine and the olive will, in a short time, be abundantly cultivated; and that a greater knowledge of the climate and soil of the more northern parts of the colony, will lead to the introduction of fresh sources of wealth. GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. Having taken this hasty review of the commercial interests of the colony, we may now turn to a brief examination of its internal structure and principal natural features. I have already given a cursory sketch of the geographical features of the whole continent. Of the vast area which its coasts embrace, the east part alone has been fully explored. A range of hills runs along the eastern coast, from north to south, which, in different quarters, vary in their distance from the sea; at one place approaching it pretty nearly, at another, receding from it to a distance of forty miles. It is a singular fact, that there is no pass or break in these mountains, by which any of the rivers of the interior can escape in an easterly direction. Their spine is unbroken. The consequence is, that there is a complete division of the eastern and western waters, and that streams, the heads of which are close to each other, flow away in opposite directions; the one to pursue a short course to the sea; the other to fall into a level and depressed interior, the character of which will be noticed in its proper place. GREAT PROPORTION OF BAD SOIL. The proportion of bad soil to that which is good in New South Wales, is certainly very great: I mean the proportion of inferior soil to such as is fit for the higher purposes of agriculture. Mr. Dawson, the late superintendent of the Australian Agricultural Company's possessions, has observed, as a singular fact, that the best soil generally prevails on the summits of the hills, more especially where they are at all level. He accounts for so unusual a circumstance by the fact, that elevated positions are less subject to the effects of fire or floods than their valleys or flanks, and attributes the general want of vegetable mould over the colony chiefly to the ravages of the former element, whereby the growth of underwood, so favourable in other countries to the formation of soil, is wholly prevented. Undoubtedly this is a principal cause for the deficiency in question. There is no part of the world in which fires create such havoc as in New South Wales and indeed in Australia generally. The climate, on the one hand, which dries up vegetation, and the wandering habits of the natives on the other, which induce them to clear the country before them by conflagration, operate equally against the growth of timber and underwood. CAUSE OF THIS. But there is another circumstance that appears to have escaped Mr. Dawson's observation; which is the actual property of the trees themselves, as to the quantity of vegetable matter they produce in decay. Being a military man, I cannot be supposed to have devoted much of my time to agricultural pursuits; but it has been obvious to me, as it must have been to many others, that in New South Wales, the fall of leaves and the decay of timber, so far from adding to the richness of its soil, actually destroy minor vegetation. This fact was brought more home to me in consequence of its having been my lot to spend some months upon Norfolk Island, a distant penal settlement attached to the Government of Sydney. There the abundance of vegetable decay was as remarkable as the want of it on the Australian Continent. I have frequently sunk up to my knees in a bed of leaves when walking through its woods; and, often when I placed my foot on what appeared externally to be the solid trunk of a tree, I have found it yield to the pressure, in consequence of its decomposition into absolute rottenness. But such is not the case in New South Wales. There, no such accumulations of vegetable matter are to be met with; but where the loftiest tree of the forest falls to the ground, its figure and length are marked out by the total want of vegetation within a certain distance of it, and a small elevation of earth, resembling more the refuse or scoria of burnt bricks than any thing else, is all that ultimately remains of the immense body which time or accident had prostrated. Thus it would appear, that it is not less to the character of its woods than to the ravages of fire that New South Wales owes its general sterility. CONNECTION BETWEEN THE GEOLOGY AND VEGETATION. Whilst prosecuting my researches in the interior of the colony, I could not but be struck with the apparent connection between its geology and vegetation; so strong, indeed, was this connection, that I had little difficulty, after a short experience, in judging of the rock that formed the basis of the country over which I was travelling, from the kind of tree or herbage that flourished in the soil above it. The eucalyptus pulv., a species of eucalyptus having a glaucus-coloured leaf, of dwarfish habits and growing mostly in scrub, betrayed the sandstone formation, wherever it existed, This was the case in many parts of the County of Cumberland, in some parts of Wombat Brush, at the two passes on the great south road, over a great extent of country to the N.W. of Yass Plains, and at Blackheath on the summit of the Blue Mountains. On the other hand, those open grassy and park-like tracts, of which so much has been said, characterise the secondary ranges of granite and porphyry. The trees most usual on these tracts, were the box, an unnamed species of eucalyptus, and the grass chiefly of that kind, called the oat or forest grass, which grows in tufts at considerable distances from each other, and which generally affords good pasturage. On the richer grounds the angophora lanceolata, and the eucalyptus mammifera more frequently point out the quality of the soil on which they grow. The first are abundant on the alluvial flats of the Nepean, the Hawkesbury and the Hunter; the latter on the limestone formation of Wellington Valley and in the better portions of Argyle; whilst the cupressus calytris seems to occupy sandy ridges with the casuarina. It was impossible that these broad features should have escaped observation: it was naturally inferred from this, that the trees of New South Wales are gregarious; and in fact they may, in a great measure, be considered so. The strong line that occasionally separates different species, and the sudden manner in which several species are lost at one point, to re-appear at another more distant, without any visible cause for the break that has taken place, will furnish a number of interesting facts in the botany of New South Wales. It was observed both on the Macquarie river and the Morumbidgee, that the casuarinae ceased at a particular point. On the Macquarie particularly, these trees which had often excited our admiration from Wellington Valley downwards, ceased to occupy its banks below the cataract, nor were they again noticed until we arrived on the banks of the Castlereagh. The blue-gum trees, again, were never observed to extend beyond the secondary embankments of the rivers, occupying that ground alone which was subject to flood and covered with reeds. These trees waved over the marshes of the Macquarie, but were not observed to the westward of them for many miles; yet they re-appeared upon the banks of New-Year's Creek as suddenly as they had disappeared after we left the marshes, and grew along the line of the Darling to unusual size. But it is remarkable, that, even in the midst of the marshes, the blue-gum trees were strictly confined to the immediate flooded spaces on which the reeds prevailed, or to the very beds of the water-courses. Where the ground was elevated, or out of the reach of flood, the box (unnamed) alone occupied it; and, though the branches of these trees might be interwoven together, the one never left its wet and reedy bed, the other never descended from its more elevated position. The same singular distinction marked the acacia pendula, when it ceased to cover the interior plains of light earth, and was succeeded by another shrub of the same species. It continued to the banks of New-Year's Creek, a part of which it thickly lined. To the westward of the creek, another species of acacia was remarked for the first time. Both shrubs, like the blue-gum and the box, mixed their branches together, but the creek formed the line of separation between them. The acacia pendula was not afterwards seen, but that which had taken its place, as it were, was found to cover large tracts of country and to form extensive brushes. Many other peculiarities in the vegetation of the interior are noticed in the body of this work, but I have thought that these more striking ones deserved to be particularly remarked upon. GEOLOGICAL FEATURES. If we strike a line to the N.W. from Sydney to Wellington Valley, we shall find that little change takes place in the geological features of the country. The sand-stone of which the first of the barrier ranges is composed, terminates a little beyond Mount York, and at Cox's River is succeeded by grey granite. The secondary ranges to the N.W. of Bathurst, are wholly of that primitive rock; for although there are partial changes of strata between Bathurst and Moulong Plains, granite is undoubtedly the rock upon which the whole are based: but at Moulong Plains, a military station intermediate between Bathurst and Wellington Valley, limestone appears in the bed of a small clear stream, and with little interruption continues to some distance below the last-mentioned place. The accidental discovery of some caves at Moulong Plains, led to the more critical examination of the whole formation, and cavities of considerable size were subsequently found in various parts of it, but more particularly in the neighbourhood of Wellington Valley. The local interest which has of late years been taken in the prosecution of geological investigations, led many gentlemen to examine the contents of these caverns; and among the most forward, Major Mitchell, the Surveyor-General, must justly be considered, to whose indefatigable perseverance the scientific world is already so much indebted. The caves into which I penetrated, did not present anything particular to my observation; they differed little from caves of a similar description into which I had penetrated in Europe. Large masses of stalactites hung from their roofs, and a corresponding formation encrusted their floors. They comprised various chambers or compartments, the most remote of which terminated at a deep chasm that was full of water. A close examination of these caves has led to the discovery of some organic remains, bones of various animals embedded in a light red soil; but I am not aware that the remains of any extinct species have been found, or that any fossils have been met with in the limestone itself. There can, however, be little doubt but that the same causes operated in depositing these mouldering remains in the caves of Kirkdale and those of Wellington Valley. About twenty miles below the junction of the Bell with the Macquarie, free-stone supersedes the limestone, but as the country falls rapidly from that point, it soon disappears, and the traveller enters upon a flat country of successive terraces. A schorl rock, of a blue colour and fine grain, composed of tourmaline and quartz, forms the bed of the Macquarie at the Cataract; and, in immediate contact with it, a mass of mica slate of alternate rose, pink, and white, was observed, which must have been covered by the waters of the river when Mr. Oxley descended it. From the Cataract of the Macquarie, a flat extends to the marshes in which that river exhausts itself. From the midst of this flat Mount Foster and Mount Harris rise, both of which are porphyritic: but as I have been particular in describing these heights in their proper place, any minute notice of them here may be considered unnecessary. We will rather extend our enquiries to those parts of the colony upon which we shall not be called upon to remark in the succeeding pages. Returning to the coast, we may mark the geological changes in a line to the S.W. of Sydney; and as my object is to extend the information of my readers, I shall notice any particular district on either side of the line I propose to touch upon, which may be worthy of notice. It would appear that the first decided break in the sandstone formation which penetrates into the county of Camden, is at Mittagong Range. It is there traversed by a dike of whinstone, of which that range is wholly composed. The change of soil and of vegetation are equally remarkable at this place; the one being a rich, greasy, chocolate-coloured earth, the other partaking greatly of the intertropical character. In wandering over them, I noticed the wild fig and the cherry-tree, growing to a much larger size than I had seen them in any other part of the colony. Upon their branches, the satin bird, the gangan, and various kinds of pigeons were feeding. Birds unknown to the eastward of the Blue Mountains, were numerous in the valleys; and there was an unusual appearance of freshness and moisture in the vegetation. These signs of improvement, however, vanish the moment Mittagong range is crossed, and sand-stone again forms the basis of the country to a considerable distance beyond Bong-bong. At a small farm called the Ploughed Ground, it is again traversed by a dike of whinstone, and a rich but isolated spot is thus passed over. With occasional and partial interruption, however, the sand-stone formation continues to an abrupt pass, from which the traveller descends to the county of Argyle. This pass is extremely abrupt, and is covered with glaucus, the low scrub I have noticed as common to the sand-stone formation. A small but lively stream, called Paddy's River, runs at the bottom of this pass, and immediately to the S.W. of it, an open forest country of granite base extends for many miles, on which the eucalyptus manifera is prevalent, and which affords the best grazing tracts in Argyle. At Goulburn Plains, however, a vein of limestone occurs, which is evidently connected with that forming the ShoalHaven Gully, which is perhaps the most remarkable geological feature in the colony of New South Wales. It is a deep chasm of about a quarter of a mile in breadth, and 1200 feet in depth. The country on either side is perfectly level, so much so that the traveller approaches almost to its very brink before he is aware of his being near so singular an abyss. A small rivulet flows through the Gully, and discharges itself into the sea at ShoalHaven; but this river is hardly perceptible, from the summit of the cliffs forming the sides of the Gully, which are of the boldest and most precipitous character. The ground on the summit is full of caves of great depth, but there has been a difficulty in examining them, in consequence of the violent wind that rushes up them, and extinguishes every torch. The open and grassy forests of Argyle are terminated by another of those abrupt sand-stone passes I have just described, and the traveller again falls considerably from his former level, previously to his entering on Yass Plains, to which this pass is the only inlet. From Yass Plains the view to the S. and S.W. is over a lofty and broken country: mountains with rounded summits, others with towering peaks, and others again of lengthened form but sharp spine, characterise the various rocks of which they are composed. The ranges decline rapidly from east to west, and while on the one hand the country has all the appearance of increasing height, on the other it sinks to a dead level; nor on the distant horizon to the N. W. is there a hill or an inequality to be seen. From Yass Plains to the very commencement of the level interior, every range I crossed presented a new rock-formation; serpentine quartz in huge white masses, granite, chlorite, micaceous schist, sandstone, chalcedony, quartz, and red jasper, and conglomerate rocks. It was however, out of my power, in so hurried a journey as that which I performed down the banks of the Morumbidgee River, to examine with the accuracy I could have wished, either the immediate connection between these rocks or their gradual change from the one to the other. I was content to ascertain their actual succession, and to note the general outlines of the ranges; but the defect of vision under which I labour, prevents me from laying them before the public. CHARACTER OF THE SOIL CONNECTED WITH GEOLOGICAL FORMATION. From what has been advanced, however, it will appear that the physical structure of the southern parts of the colony is as varied, as that of the western interior is monotonous, and we may now pursue our original observations on the soil of the colony with greater confidence. In endeavouring to account for the poverty of the soil in New South Wales, and in attributing it in a great degree to the causes already mentioned, it appears necessary to estimate more specifically the influence which the geological formation of a country exercises on its soil, and how much the quality of the latter partakes of the character of the rock on which it reposes. And although I find it extremely difficult to explain myself as I should wish to do, in the critical discussion on which I have thus entered, yet as it is material to the elucidation of an important subject in the body of the work, I feel it incumbent on me to proceed to the best of my ability. I have said that the soil of a country depends much upon its geological formation. This appears to be particularly the case in those parts of the colony with which I am acquainted, or those lying between the parallels of 30 degrees and 35 degrees south. Sandstone, porphyry, and granite, succeed each other from the coast to a very considerable distance into the interior, on a N. W. line. The light ferruginous dust that is distributed over the county of Cumberland, and which annoys the traveller by its extreme minuteness, to the eastward of the Blue Mountains, is as different from the coarse gravelly soil on the secondary ranges to the westward of them, as the barren scrubs and thickly-wooded tracts of the former district are to the grassy and open forests of the latter. As soon as I began to descend to the westward it became necessary to pay strict and earnest attention to the features of the country through which I passed, in order to determine more accurately the different appearances which, as I was led to expect, the rivers would assume. In the course of my examination I found, first, that the broken country through which I travelled, was generally covered with a loose, coarse, and sandy soil; and, secondly, that the ranges were wholly deficient in that peat formation which fills the valleys, or covers the flat summits of the hills or mountains, in the northern hemisphere. The peculiar property of this formation is to retain water like a sponge; and to this property the regular and constant flow of the rivers descending from such hills, may, in a great measure, be attributed. In New South Wales on the contrary, the rains that fall upon the mountains drain rapidly through a coarse and superficial soil, and pour down their sides without a moment's interruption. The consequence is that on such occasions the rivers are subject to great and sudden rises, whereas they have scarcely water enough to support a current in ordinary seasons. At one time the traveller will find it impracticable to cross them: at another he may do so with ease; and only from the remains of debris in the branches of the trees high above, can he judge of the furious torrent they must occasionally contain. This seeming deviation on the part of Nature from her usual laws will no longer appear such, if we consider its results for a moment. The very floods which swell the rivers to overflowing, are followed by the most beneficent effects; and, rude and violent as the means are by which she accomplishes her purpose, they form, no doubt, a part of that process by which she preserves the balance of good and evil. Vast quantities of the best soil have been thus washed down from the mountains to accumulate in more accessible places. From frequent depositions, a great extent of country along the banks of every river and creek has risen high above the influence of the floods, and constitutes the richest tracts in the colony. The alluvial flats of the Nepean, the Hawkesbury, and the Hunter, are striking instances of the truth of these observations; to which the plains of O'Connell and Bathurst must be added. The only good soil upon the two latter, is in the immediate neighbourhood of the Macquarie River: but, even close to its banks, the depositions are of little depth, lying on a coarse gravelly soil, the decomposition of the nearer ranges. The former is found to diminish in thickness, according to the concavity of the valley through which the Macquarie flows, and at length becomes mixed with the coarser soil. This deposit is alone fit for agricultural purposes; but it does not necessarily follow that the distant country is unavailable since it is admitted, that the best grazing tracts are upon the secondary ranges of granite and porphyry. These ranges generally have the appearance of open forest, and are covered with several kinds of grasses, among which the long oat-grass is the most abundant. COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND. If we except the valley of the Nepean, the banks of the South Creek, the Pennant Hills near Parramatta, and a few other places, the general soil of the county of Cumberland, is of the poorest description. It is superficial in most places, resting either upon a cold clay, or upon sandstone; and is, as I have already remarked, a ferruginous compound of the finest dust. Yet there are many places upon its surface, (hollows for instance,) in which vegetable decay has accumulated, or valleys, into which it has been washed, that are well adapted for the usual purposes of agriculture, and would, if the country was more generally cleared, be found to exist to a much greater extent than is at present imagined. I have frequently observed the isolated patches of better land, when wandering through the woods, both on the Parramatta River, and at a greater distance from the coast. And I cannot but think, that it would be highly advantageous to those who possess large properties in the County of Cumberland to let Portions of them. The concentration of people round their capital, promotes more than anything else the prosperity of a colony, by creating a reciprocal demand for the produce both of the country and the town, since the one would necessarily stimulate the energy of the farmer, as the other would rouse the enterprise of the merchant. The consideration, however, of such a subject is foreign to my present purpose. It must not be supposed, that because I have given a somewhat particular description of the County of Cumberland, I have done so with a view to bring it forward as a specimen of the other counties, or to found upon it a general description of the colony. It is, in fact, poorer in every respect than any tract of land of similar extent in the interior, and is still covered with dense forests of heavy timber, excepting when the trees have been felled by dint of manual labour, and the ground cleared at an expense that nothing but its proximity to the seat of government could have justified. But experience has proved, that neither the labour nor the the expense have been thrown away. Many valuable farms and extensive gardens chequer the face of the country, from which the proprietors derive a very efficient income. COUNTRY WEST OF BLUE MOUNTAINS. To the westward of the Blue Mountains, the country differs in many respects from that lying between those ranges and the coast; and although, its aspect varies in different places, three principal features appear more immediately to characterise it. These are, first, plains of considerable extent wholly destitute of timber; secondly, open undulating woodlands; and, thirdly, barren unprofitable tracts. The first almost invariably occur in the immediate neighbourhood of some river, as the Plains of Bathurst, which are divided by the Macquarie; Goulburn Plains, through which the Wallandilly flows; and Yass Plains, which are watered by a river of the same name. The open forests, through which the horseman may gallop in perfect safety, seem to prevail over the whole secondary ranges of granite, and are generally considered as excellent grazing tracts. Such is the country in Argyleshire on either side of the Lachlan, where that river crosses the great southern road near Mr. Hume's station; such also are many parts of Goulburn and the whole extent of country lying between Underaliga and the Morumbidgee River. The barren tracts, on the other hand, may be said to occupy the central spaces between all the principal streams. With regard to the proportion that these different kinds of country bear to each other, there can be no doubt of the undue preponderance of the last over the first two; but there are nevertheless many extensive available tracts in every part of the colony. MEANS OF INLAND TRANSPORT. The greatest disadvantage under which New South Wales labours, is the want of means for conveying inland produce to the market, or to the coast. The Blue Mountains are in this respect a serious bar to the internal prosperity of the colony. By this time, however, a magnificent road will have been completed across them to the westward, over parts of which I travelled in 1831. Indeed the efforts of the colonial government have been wisely directed, not only to the construction of this road, which the late Governor, General Darling commenced, but also in facilitating the communication to the southern districts, by an almost equally fine road over the Razor Back Range, near the Cow Pastures; so that as far as it is possible for human efforts to overcome natural obstacles, the wisdom and foresight of the executive have ere this been successful. DISADVANTAGES OF DISTANT SETTLERS. The majority of the settlers in the Bathurst country, and in the more remote interior, are woolgrowers; and as they send their produce to the market only once a year, receiving supplies for home consumption, on the return of their drays or carts from thence, the inconvenience of bad roads is not so much felt by them. But to an agriculturist a residence to the westward of the Blue Mountains is decidedly objectionable, unless he possess the means with which to procure the more immediate necessaries of life, otherwise than by the sale of his grain or other produce, and can be satisfied to cultivate his property for home consumption, or for the casual wants of his neighbours. Under such circumstances, a man with a small private income would enjoy every rational comfort. But of course, not only in consequence of the loss of labour, but the chance of accidents during a long journey, the more the distance is increased from Sydney, as the only place at which the absolute necessaries of life can be purchased, the greater becomes the objection to a residence in such a part of the country; and on this account it is, that although some beautiful locations both as to extent and richness, are to be found to the westward of Bathurst, equally on the Bell, the Macquarie and the Lachlan, it is not probable they will be taken up for many years, or will only be occupied as distant stock stations. CHARACTER OF EASTERN COAST. Since, therefore, it appears from what has been advanced, that it is not to the westward the views of any settlers should be directed, excepting under particular circumstances, it remains for us to consider what other parts of the colony hold out, or appear to hold out, greater advantages. The eye naturally turns to the south on the one hand, and to Port Macquarie northerly on the other. It is to be remarked that the eastern shores of Australia partake of the same barren character that marks the other three. It is generally bounded to a certain extent by a sandy and sterile tract. There are, however, breaks in so prolonged a line, as might have been expected, where, from particular local causes, both the soil and vegetation are of a superior kind. At Illawarra for instance, the contiguity of the mountains to the coast leaves no room for the sandy belt we have noticed, but the debris from them reaches to the very shore. Whether from reflected heat, or from some other peculiarity of situation, the vegetation of Illawarra is of an intertropical character, and birds that are strangers to the county of Cumberland frequent its thickets. There is no part of Australia where the feathered race are more beautiful, or more diversified. The most splendid pigeon, perhaps, that the world produces, and the satin bird, with its lovely eye, feed there upon the berries of the ficus (wild fig,) and other trees: and a numerous tribe of the accipitrine class soar over its dense and spacious forests. PORT MACQUARIE AND FIVE ISLANDS. We again see a break in the sandy line of the coast at Broken Bay, at Newcastle, and still further north at Port Macquarie; at which places the Hawkesbury, the Hunter, and the Hastings severally debouche. Of Port Macquarie, as a place of settlement, I entertain a very high opinion, in consequence of its being situated under a most favourable parallel latitude. I am convinced it holds out many substantial advantages. One of the most important of these is the circumstance of its having been much improved when occupied as a penal settlement. And since the shores of the colony are how navigated by steam-boats, the facility of water communication would be proportionably great. I believe the Five Islands or Illawarr district is considered peculiarly eligible for small settlers. The great drawback to this place is the heavy character of its timber and the closeness of its thickets, which vie almost with the American woods in those respects. The return, however, is adequate to the labour required in clearing the ground. Between the Five Islands and Sydney, a constant intercourse is kept up by numerous small craft; and a communication with the interior, by branch roads from the great southern line to the coast, would necessarily be thrown open, if the more distant parts of it were sufficiently peopled. RICH TRACTS IN THE INTERIOR. Recent surveys have discovered to us rich and extensive tracts in the remote interior between Jervis Bay and Bateman's Bay, and southwards upon the western slope of the dividing range. The account given by Messrs. Hovel and Hume is sufficient to prove that every valley they crossed was worthy of notice, and that the several rivers they forded were flanked by rich and extensive flats. The distance of Moneroo Plains, and of the Doomot and Morumbidgee Rivers from Sydney, alarms the settler, who knows not the value of those localities; but men whose experience has taught them to set this obstacle at nought, have long depastured their herds on the banks of the last two. The fattest cattle that supply the Sydney market are fed upon the rich flats, and in the grassy valleys of the Morumbidgee; and there are several beautiful farms upon those of the Doomot. Generally speaking, the persons who reside in those distant parts, pay little attention to the comfort of their dwellings, or to the raising of more grain than their establishments may require; but there can be no doubt this part of the interior ought to be the granary of New South Wales; its climate and greater humidity being more favourable than that of Sydney for the production of wheat. PERIODICAL DROUGHTS; THE SEASONS AFFECTED BY THE MARSHES. The most serious disadvantages under which the colony of New South Wales labours, is in the drought to which it is periodically subject. Its climate may be said to be too dry; in other respects it is one of the most delightful under heaven; and experience of the certainty of the recurrence of the trying seasons to which I allude, should teach men to provide against their effects. Those seasons, during which no rain falls, appear, from the observations of former writers, to occur every ten or twelve years; and it is somewhat singular that no cause has been assigned for such periodical visitations. Whether the state of the interior has anything to do with them, and whether the wet or dry condition of the marshes at all regulate the seasons, is a question upon which I will not venture to give my decisive opinion. But most assuredly, when the interior is dry, the seasons are dry, and VICE VERSA. Indeed, not only is this the case, but rains, from excessive duration in the first year after a drought, decrease gradually year after year, until they wholly cease for a time. It seems not improbable, therefore, that the state of the interior does, in some measure, regulate the fall of rain upon the eastern ranges, which appears to decrease in quantity yearly as the marshes become exhausted, and cease altogether, when they no longer contain any water. A drought will naturally follow until such time as the air becomes surcharged with clouds or vapour from the ocean, which being no longer able to sustain their own weight, descend upon the mountains, and being conveyed by hundreds of streams into the western lowlands, again fill the marshes, and cause the recurrence of regular seasons. TEMPERATURE OF THE CLIMATE. The thermometer ranges during the summer months, that is, from September to March, from 36 degrees to 106 degrees of Fahrenheit, but the mean of the temperature during the above period is 70 degrees. The instrument in the winter months ranges from 27 degrees to 98 degrees, with a mean of 66 degrees. However great the summer heat may appear, it is certain that the climate of New South Wales has not the relaxing and enfeebling effect upon the constitution, which renders a residence in India or other parts of the south so intolerable. Neither are any of the ordinary occupations of business or of pleasure laid aside at noon, or during the hottest part of the day. The traveller may cast himself at length under the first tree that invites him, and repose there as safely as if he were in a palace. Fearless of damps, and unmolested by noxious insects, his sleep is as sound as it is refreshing, and he rises with renewed spirits to pursue his journey. Equally so may the ploughman or the labourer seek repose beside his team, and allow them to graze quietly around him. The delicious coolness of the morning and the mild temperature of the evening air, in that luxurious climate, are beyond the power of description. It appears to have an influence on the very animals, the horses and the cattle being particularly docile; and I cannot but think it is is some degree the same happy effect upon some of the hardened human beings who are sent thither from the old world. FRUITS. As I have before observed, it has not yet been discovered whether there are any indigenous fruits of any value in Australia. In the colony of New South Wales there certainly are none; yet the climate is peculiarly adapted for the growth of every European and of many tropical productions. The orange, the fig, the citron, the pomegranate, the peach, the apple, the guava, the nectarine, the pear, and the loquette, grow side by side together. The plantain throws its broad leaves over the water, the vine encircles the cottages, and the market of Sydney is abundantly supplied with every culinary vegetable. In a climate, therefore, so soft that man scarcely requires a dwelling, and so enchanting that few have left it but with regret, the spirits must necessarily be acted upon,--and the heart feel lighter. Such, indeed, I have myself found to be the case; nor have I ever been happier than when roving through the woods or wandering along one of the silent and beautiful bays for which the harbour of Port Jackson is so celebrated. I went to New South Wales as I have already remarked, highly prejudiced against it, both from the nature of the service, and the character of the great body of its inhabitants. My regiment has since quitted its shores, but I am aware there are few of them who would not gladly return. The feeling I have in its favour arises not, therefore, from the services in which I was employed, but from circumstances in the colony itself; and I yet hope to form one of its community and to join a number of valuable and warm-hearted friends whom I left in that distant part of the world. REMARKS ON EMIGRATION. On the subject of emigration, it is not my intention to dwell at any length. My object in these preliminary remarks has been to give the reader a general idea of the country, in the interior recesses of which I am about to lead him. Still, however, it may be useful to offer a few general observations on a topic which has, of late years, become so interesting to the British public. The main consideration with those who, possessing some capital, propose to emigrate as the means of improving their condition, is, the society likely to be found in the land fixed on for their future residence. One of the first questions I have been asked, when conversing on the subject of emigration, has consequently related to this important matter. I had only then to observe in reply, that the civil and military establishments in New South Wales, form the elements of as good society as it is the lot of the majority to command in Great Britain. The houses of the settlers are not scattered over a greater surface than the residences of country gentlemen here, and if they cannot vie with them in size, they most assuredly do in many other more important respects; and if a substantial cottage of brick or stone has any claim to the rank of a tenantable mansion, there are few of them which do not posses all the means of exercising that hospitality for which young communities are remarkable. But to sever the links of kindred, and to abandon the homes of our fathers after years of happy tranquillity, is a sacrifice the magnitude of which is unquestionable. The feelings by which men are influenced under such circumstances have a claim to our respect. Indeed, no class of persons can have a stronger hold upon our sympathies than those whom unmerited adverse fortune obliges to seek a home in a distant country. Far, therefore, be it from me to dispute a single expression of regret to which they may give utterance. It must, however, he remembered that the deepest feelings of anguish are providentially alleviated in time. Our heaviest misfortunes are frequently repaired by industry and caution. The sky clears up, as it were: new interests engage the attention, and the cares of a family or the improvement of a newly acquired property engross those moments which would otherwise be spent in vain and unprofitable regrets. DESCRIPTION OF IMMIGRANTS; MOST LIKELY TO PROSPER. It cannot be doubted that persons such as I have described, whose conduct has hitherto been regulated by prudence, and whose main object is to provide for their children, are the most valuable members of every community, whether young or old. To such men few countries hold out greater prospects of success than New South Wales; for the more we extend our enquiries, the more we shall find that the success of the emigrant in that colony depends upon his prudence and foresight rather than on any collateral circumstance of climate or soil; and to him who can be satisfied with the gradual acquirement of competency, it is the land of promise. Blessed with a climate of unparalleled serenity, and of unusual freedom from disease, the settler has little external cause of anxiety, little apprehension of sickness among his family or domestics, and little else to do than to attend to his own immediate interests. I should wish to illustrate the observations by two or three instances of their practical bearing and tendency. CASES OF EMIGRANTS; CAUSES OF SUCCESS OR FAILURE. It was on my return from my second expedition, that I visited Lieut. ****** who resides in the southern parts of the colony. The day after my arrival, he took me round his property, and explained the various improvements he had made, considering the small means with which he had commenced. At this part of our conversation, we came within view of his house, a substantial weather-board cottage. "I trust," said I, turning to him, "you will excuse the question I am about to ask; for your frankness emboldens me to propose it, and on your answer much of the effect of what you have been saying will depend. In effecting these various improvements, and in the building of that house, have you been obliged to embarrass yourself, or are they free from incumbrance?"--"Your question," he said, "is a reasonable one, and I will answer it with the frankness you are kind enough to ascribe to me. I have ever made it a rule not to exceed my income. Mrs. ****** bore our first trials with so much cheerfulness, and contributed so much to my happiness and my prosperity, that I felt myself bound to build her a good house with the first money I had to spare." I confess this answer raised my host in my estimation, and it was a gratifying proof to me of the success that attends industry and perseverance. But let us look at another case. Mr. *** had a property to the N.W. of Sydney, and having considerable funded means when he arrived in the colony, he soon put his property into a state of progressive improvement, and being in truth an excellent practical farmer, it assumed the appearance of regularity and order. Had Mr. *** stopped at this moment, he would have been in the enjoyment of affluence and of every rational comfort. But instead of exercising prudent rules of hospitality, he gave way to the natural generosity of his disposition, entered into expenses he could not afford, and was ultimately obliged to part with his estate. Now it is deeply to be regretted, that one whose energies and abilities particularly fitted him for the life he had chosen, should have failed through such conduct; and it is more than probable, that if he had commenced with smaller means, and had gradually improved his property, his fate would have been very different. I shall leave these cases without any further comment, convinced as I am, that each of them furnishes matter for serious consideration, and that they are practical illustrations of the causes of success or failure of those who emigrate to the colony of New South Wales. And although I do not mean to affirm, that the majority follow Mr. ***'s example, I must venture to assert that thoughtlessness--useless expenditure in the first instance--waste of time and other circumstances, lead to equally ruinous consequences. MORAL OBJECTIONS TO THE COLONY. One of the greatest objections which families have to New South Wales, is their apprehension of the moral effects that are likely to overwhelm them by bad example, and for which no success in life could compensate. In a colony constituted like that of New South Wales, the proportion of crime must of course be great. Yet it falls less under the notice of private families than one might at first sight have been led to suppose. Drunkenness, as in the mother country, is the besetting sin; but it is confined chiefly to the large towns in consequence of the difficulty of procuring spirits in the country. There are, no doubt, many incorrigible characters sent to settle in the interior, and it is an evil to have these men, even for a single day, to break the harmony of a previously well regulated establishment, or to injure its future prospects by the influence of evil example. They are men who are sent upon trial, from on board a newly arrived ship, and they generally terminate their misconduct either on the roads or at a penal settlement, being thus happily removed from the mass of the prisoners. Frequently, however, men remain for years under the same master. They become attached to their occupations, their hearts become softened by kindness, and they atone as much as they possibly can for previous error. SYSTEM OF IMMIGRATION RECOMMENDED; ENCOURAGEMENT FOR EMIGRATION. Still there can be no doubt, but that the evil complained of is considerable. It is from this reason, and from my personal knowledge of the southern parts of the colony, that I should rejoice to see its flats and its valleys filled with an industrious population of a better description of farmers. A hope might then be reasonably indulged, that the Home Government would not be backward in recognising, and in acting upon a principle, the soundness of which has been felt and acknowledged in all ages, but the chief difficulty of which rests in its judicious application. I allude to a system of emigration. Sure I am that if it were well organized, and care were taken to profit by the experience of the past in similar attempts, it could not fail to be attended with ultimate success. The evils resulting from a surplus population in an old community, were never more seriously felt than in Great Britain at the present moment. Assuming that the amount of surplus population is 2,000,000, the excess of labour and competition thus occasioned by diminishing profits and wages, creates, it has been said, an indirect tax to the enormous extent of 20,000,000 pounds per annum. It has appeared to many experienced persons, that it is in emigration, we should best find the means of relief from this heavy pressure; particularly if the individuals encouraged to go out to the colonies were young persons of both sexes, from the industrious classes of the community. Even if no more than three couples were induced to emigrate from each parish in England in ten years, the relief to the springs of industry would be very great. Besides, the funds necessary for this purpose would revert to the country by a thousand indirect channels. Persons unacquainted with our Australian colonies, whether Van Dieman's Land or New South Wales, can form little idea of the increasing demand for, and consumption in them of every species of British manufacture. The liberal encouragement given by government to every practicable scheme of emigration, and the sum advanced by it towards the expenses of the voyage to the labouring classes, sufficiently indicate the light in which the subject is viewed by the legislature; and the fact that no private family taking out servants to Sydney, has in any one instance been able to retain them, on account of offers more advantageous from other quarters, shows clearly the great demand for labour in the colony. If I might judge of the feelings of the majority of respectable individuals there, from the assurances of the few, they would willingly defray any parochial expenses attendant on the voyage, provided the services of such individuals could be secured to them for a time sufficiently long to remunerate them for such pavement. The tide of emigration should be directed to Sydney, Van Dieman's Land, or Western Australia, upon condition of the labourer's receiving a certain sum in wages, and his daily subsistence from his employer, with an understanding, however, that he must consider himself bound for two years to such employer. Surely there are hundreds of our indigent countrymen, who would gladly seek a land of such plenty, and cast away the natural, but unavailing regret of leaving home to secure to themselves and their families, the substantial comforts of life on such easy conditions. COMMITTEE FOUND AT SYDNEY. It is not, perhaps, generally known that a committee has been formed in Sydney, to advise settlers as to the best mode of proceeding on arrival there. Such a plan is one of obvious utility; and if those who may find themselves at a loss for information would apply to this committee for advice, rather than to individuals with whom they may become casually acquainted, they would further their own interests, and in all probability ensure success. Still there are some broad rules upon which every man ought to act, which I shall endeavour to point out, and it will give me no ordinary satisfaction, if I should be the means of directing any one to the road of prosperity and comfort. HINTS TO EMIGRANTS. It is to be feared that those who emigrate to New South Wales, generally anticipate too great facility in their future operations and certainty of success in conducting them; but they should recollect that competency cannot be obtained without labour. Every trade--every profession in this respect, is subject to the same law--the lawyer, the physician, the tradesman, and the mechanic. This labour is required at our hands, even in an old community; how much more then is it called for in a new, where the ingenuity of men is put to trial to secure those means of accomplishing their ends which here are abundant. Now, it appears to me but consistent, that he who is obliged to leave his native country from want of means to hold his station there, can hardly expect to find, or rather to secure, abundance elsewhere without some exertion. Every man who emigrates should proceed with a conviction on his mind, that he is about to encounter years of labour and privation. He will not then be disappointed at partial reverses, and will be more thankful for unexpected prosperity. I feel persuaded the tone of mind has a great deal to do with success, because it influences the conduct of the individual. Supposing, however, that an emigrant has taken this rational view of his situation, he should determine on his pursuits, and allow nothing but absolute certainty of better fortune to turn him aside. Men, however, landing at Sydney, in their eagerness for information get bewildered, give up their original plans, adopt new and uncertain speculations, trifle away both their time and their money, and ultimately ruin themselves. An individual who goes to New South Wales for the purpose of settling, should not remain in Sydney a day longer than is necessary for the arrangement of his affairs. Every shilling spent there is thrown away. The greatest facility is given by the different departments of the Colonial Government to the settlers; and it is entirely his own fault if he trifles away his time in search of information elsewhere than at the fountainhead, or if he trusts to any other opinion than his own, supposing him experienced as to the quality of the land he may fix upon. Let him be speedy in his selection, and fix himself upon his allotment as soon as possible. Instead of overstocking his farm, or employing more labourers than he can afford to keep, let him be satisfied with a gradual increase of his stock, and wait patiently till he can better afford to employ labour; above all, let him avoid embarrassing himself by the purchase of any superfluous or unnecessary comfort. I consider that man has already failed, who runs into debt in the first instance, or who exhausts his means in the purchase of large herds, from the vain expectation that their increase will clear him. The time was when those idle speculations were occasionally attended with success, but such is not now the case. The energies of the agriculturist are directed to their proper channel, and if the few are unable to make rapid fortunes, the many have escaped inevitable ruin. No farm in a state of nature can be expected to yield any return of consequence for the first year. It is incumbent on a settler to provide for his establishment, or to retain the means of providing for it as circumstances may require. Farming implements are as cheap in Sydney as in England. Horses and cattle are cheaper. It requires little, therefore, to stock a farm in a reasonable manner. On the other hand, the climate is so mild that the want of a house is scarcely felt, and a temporary residence easily constructed. On the whole I am convinced, that a man who regulates his conduct by prudence, and who perseveringly follows up his occupations, who behaves with kindness to those around him, and performs his social and moral duties with punctuality, will ultimately secure to himself a home that will make up for the one he has quitted in the land of his fathers, and place him in as respectable and as happy a situation as that which he there enjoyed. ***** PROGRESS OF INLAND DISCOVERY. Having thrown out the foregoing remarks for the information of the general reader, and of persons who look to Australia with the more earnest views of selecting a colonial home, I now return to the immediate object of these volumes; but before entering on the narrative of my own expeditions, I think it necessary to advert cursorily to the discoveries previously accomplished. The journeys of Mr. Oxley, far into the western interior of Australia, gave rise to various and conflicting opinions as to the character of the more central parts of that extensive continent, of which the colony of New South Wales forms but a small portion. I feel, therefore, called upon briefly to advert to the conclusions which that able and intelligent officer drew from his personal observation of the country into which he penetrated, as an acquaintance with his opinions will not only tend to throw a clearer light on the following details, but will, also, convey much necessary information to those of my readers who may not have perused his journals. It is necessary, however, in order to divest the subject of all obscureness, to trace, in the first instance, the progress of inland discovery, in New South Wales, from the first foundation of the colony to the period when Mr. Oxley's exertions attracted the public attention. In the year 1788, the British Government took formal possession of the eastern coast of Australia, by the establishment of a penal colony at Port Jackson. The first settlers, under Governor Phillips, had too many difficulties to contend with to submit themselves to be thwarted from pursuits essential to their immediate safety and comfort, by the prospect of remote and uncertain advantages. It was by perseverance and toil alone that they first established and ultimately spread themselves over that part of the territory, which, flanked by the ocean on the one hand, and embraced as it were by the Nepean River on the other, is now entitled the County Of Cumberland. For many years, this single district supplied the wants of the settlers. Upon it they found ample pasture for their herds, and sufficient employment for themselves. Nor was it until a succession of untoward seasons, and the rapid increase of their stock pointed out to them the necessity of seeking for more extensive pasturage, that they contemplated surmounting that dark and rugged chain of mountains, which, like the natural ramparts of Spain and Italy, rose high over the nether forest, and broke the line of the western horizon. MR. CALEY'S ATTEMPT. A Mr. Caley is said to have been the first who attempted to scale the Blue Mountains: but he did not long persevere in struggling with difficulties too great for ordinary resolution to overcome. It appears that he retraced his steps, after having penetrated about sixteen miles into their dark and precipitous recesses; and a heap of stones, which the traveller passes about that distance from Erne Ford, on the road to Bathurst, marks the extreme point reached by the first expedition to the westward of the Nepean river. LIEUT. LAWSON'S EXPEDITION. Shortly after the failure of this expedition, the sad effects of a long protracted drought called forth a more general spirit of enterprise and exertion among the settlers; and Mr. Oxley makes honorable mention of the perseverance and resolution with which Lieut. Lawson, of the 104th regiment, accompanied by Messrs. Blaxland and Wentworth, conducted an expedition into the Blue Mountains. Their efforts were successful: and the objects of their enterprise would have been completely attained, but for the failure of their provisions at a moment when their view of the distant interior was such as to convince them that they had overcome the most formidable obstacles to their advance, and that in their further progress few impediments would have presented themselves. MR. EVANS' DISCOVERIES. The success of this undertaking induced Governor Macquarie to further the prosecution of inland discovery, and of attempts to ascertain the nature of the country of which Mr. Lawson only obtained a glimpse. An expedition was accordingly dispatched under Mr. Evans, the Deputy Surveyor-General, to follow the route taken by the former one, and to penetrate as far as practicable into the western interior. The result was the discovery of the Macquarie river, and of Bathurst Plains. The report of Mr. Evans was so favourable, that orders were immediately issued for the construction of a line of road across the mountains. When that was completed, the Governor went in person to fix the site of a future town on Bathurst Plains. From thence Mr. Evans, who accompanied the Governor on the occasion, was directed to proceed to the southward and westward, to ascertain the nature of the country in that direction. He discovered another considerable river, flowing, like the Macquarie, to the west, to which he gave the name of the Lachlan. The promising appearance of these two streams, and the expectation of all parties that they would be found to water rich and extensive tracts of country, led to the fitting out of a more important expedition than any which had before been contemplated. MR. OXLEY'S DISCOVERIES. Mr. Oxley, the Surveyor-General of the Colony, was appointed chief of this expedition, and was directed to trace the Lachlan and Macquarie rivers, as far as practicable, with a view to ascertain their capabilities and the nature of the country they watered. In 1817, Mr. Oxley directed his attention to the former river, and continued to follow its windings, until it appeared that its waters were lost in successive marshes and it ceased to be a river. In the following year he turned towards the Macquarie, and traced it, in like manner, until he was checked by high reeds that covered an extensive plain before him, amidst which the channel of the river was lost. From what he observed of the country, on both these occasions, he was led to infer that beyond the limits of his advance the interior had a uniform level, and was, for the most part, uninhabitable and under water. Its features must have been strongly marked to have confirmed such an opinion in the mind of the late Surveyor-General. It stands recorded on the pages of his journal, that he travelled over a country of many miles in extent, after clearing the mountains, which so far from presenting any rise of ground to the eye, bore unequivocal marks of frequent and extensive inundation. He traced two rivers of considerable size, and found that, at a great distance from each other, they apparently terminated in marshes, and that the country beyond them was low and unbroken. In his progress eastward, he crossed a third stream (the Castlereagh), about forty-five miles from the Macquarie, seemingly not inferior to it in size, originating in the mountains for which he was making, and flowing nearly parallel to the other rivers into a level country like that which he had just quitted. DISCOVERIES OF MESSRS. MECHAN, HUME, HOVEL AND CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Evans, moreover, who accompanied Mr. Oxley on these journeys, and who had been detached by his principal from Mount Harris, to ascertain the nature of the country in the line which the expedition was next to pursue, having crossed the Castlereagh considerably below the place at which the party afterwards effected a passage, reported that the river was then running through high reeds. The inference naturally drawn by Mr. Oxley, was, that it terminated as the Lachlan and the Macquarie had done; and that their united waters formed an inland sea or basin. It is evident that Mr. Oxley had this impression on his mind, when he turned towards the coast; but the wet state of the lowlands prevented him from ascertaining its correctness or error. Doubt, consequently, still existed as to the nature of the country he had left behind him; a question in which the best interests of the colony were apparently involved. Subsequently to these discoveries, Mr. Surveyor Mechan, accompanied by Mr. Hamilton Hume, a colonist of considerable experience, explored the country more to the southward and westward of Sydney, and discovered most of the new country called Argyle, and also Lake Bathurst. Mr. Hume was afterwards associated with a Mr. Hovel, in an excursion to the south coast, under the auspices of Sir Thomas Brisbane. After a most persevering and laborious journey, they reached the sea; but it is uncertain whether they made Port Philips, or Western Port. Mr. Hume, whose practical experience will yield to that of no man, entertains a conviction that it was to the former they descended from the neighbouring ranges; but Mr. Hovel, I believe supports a contrary opinion. In the early stage of their journey, they passed over York or Yass Plains; and, after crossing the Morumbidgee, were generally entangled among mountain ranges that increased in height to the east and south-east. They crossed three considerable rivers, falling westerly, which they named the Goulburn, the Hume, and the Ovens; and found a beautiful and well-watered country in the vicinity of the coast. In 1826, Mr. Allan Cunningham, Botanical Collector to his late Majesty, traversed a considerable portion of the interior to the north of Bathurst, and, with a laudable zeal, devoted his labours to the acquisition of general information, as well as to his more immediate professional pursuits. In 1827, this gentleman again bent his steps towards the northward, and succeeded in gaining the 28th parallel of latitude; and, on a subsequent occasion, having taken his departure from Moreton Bay, he connected his former journey with that settlement, and thus contributed largely to our knowledge of the mountain country between it and the capital. Mr. Cunningham, who, independently of his individual excursions, had not only circumnavigated the Australian Continent with Capt. King, but had formed also one of the party with Mr. Oxley, in the journeys before noticed, had adopted this gentleman's opinion with regard to the swampy and inhospitable character of the distant interior. Its depressed appearance from the high ground on which Mr. Cunningham subsequently moved, tended to confirm this opinion, which was moreover daily gaining strength from the reports of the natives, who became more frequent in their intercourse with the whites, and who reported that there were large waters to the westward, on which the natives had canoes, and in which there were fish of great size. It became, therefore, a current opinion, that the western interior of New Holland comprehended an extensive basin, of which the ocean of reeds which had proved so formidable to Mr. Oxley, formed most probably the outskirts; and it was generally thought that an expedition proceeding into the interior, would encounter marshes of vast extent, which would be extremely difficult to turn, and no less dangerous to enter. It remained to be proved, however, whether these conjectures were founded in fact. The chief difficulty lay in the character of the country, and in providing the necessary means to ensure success. Those which were resorted to will be found in the succeeding chapter. Whether they would have been found sufficient and applicable had the interior been wholly under water, is doubtful; and my impression on this point induced me to make more efficient arrangements on the second expedition. EXPEDITION DOWN THE BANKS OF THE MACQUARIE RIVER in 1828 and 1829. CHAPTER I. State of the Colony in 1828-29--Objects of the Expedition--Departure from Sydney--Wellington Valley--Progress down the Macquarie--Arrival at Mount Harris--Stopped by the marshes--Encamp amidst reeds--Excursions down the river--Its termination--Appearance of the marshes--Opthalmic affection of the men--Mr. Hume's successful journey to the northward--Journey across the plain--Second great marsh--Perplexities--Situation of the exploring party--Consequent resolutions. The year 1826 was remarkable for the commencement of one of those fearful droughts to which we have reason to believe the climate of New South Wales is periodically subject. It continued during the two following years with unabated severity. The surface of the earth became so parched up that minor vegetation ceased upon it. Culinary herbs were raised with difficulty, and crops failed even in the most favourable situations. Settlers drove their flocks and herds to distant tracts for pasture and water, neither remaining for them in the located districts. The interior suffered equally with the coast, and men, at length, began to despond under so alarming a visitation. It almost appeared as if the Australian sky were never again to be traversed by a cloud. OBJECTS OF THE EXPEDITION. But, however severe for the colony the seasons had proved, or were likely to prove, it was borne in mind at this critical moment, that the wet and swampy state of the interior had alone prevented Mr. Oxley from penetrating further into it, in 1818. Each successive report from Wellington Valley, the most distant settlement to the N. W., confirmed the news of the unusually dry state of the lowlands, and of the exhausted appearance of the streams falling into them. It was, consequently, hoped that an expedition, pursuing the line of the Macquarie, would have a greater chance of success than the late Surveyor General had; and that the difficulties he had to contend against would be found to be greatly diminished, if not altogether removed. The immediate fitting out of an expedition was therefore decided upon, for the express purpose of ascertaining the nature and extent of that basin into which the Macquarie was supposed to fall, and whether any connection existed between it and the streams falling westerly. As I had early taken a great interest in the geography of New South Wales, the Governor was pleased to appoint me to the command of this expedition. JOURNEY FROM SYDNEY TO EMU PLAINS. In the month of September, 1828, I received his Excellency's commands to prepare for my journey; and by the commencement of November, had organised my party, and completed the necessary arrangements. On the 9th of that month, I waited on the Governor, at Parramatta, to receive his definitive instructions. As the establishments at Sydney had been unable to supply me with the necessary number of horses and oxen, instructions had been forwarded to Mr. Maxwell, the superintendent of Wellington Valley, to train a certain number for my use; and I was now directed to push for that settlement without loss of time. I returned to Sydney in the afternoon of the 9th, and on the 10th took leave of my brother officers, to commence a journey of very dubious issue; and, in company with my friend, Staff-surgeon M'Leod, who had obtained permission to accompany me to the limits of the colony, followed my men along the great western road. We moved leisurely over the level country, between the coast and the Nepean River, and availed ourselves of the kind hospitality of those of our friends whose property lay along that line of road, to secure more comfortable places of rest than the inns would have afforded. We reached Sheane, the residence of Dr. Harris, on the 11th, and were received by him with the characteristic kindness with which friends or strangers are ever welcomed by that gentleman, He had accompanied Mr. Oxley as a volunteer in 1818, and his name was then given to the mount which formed the extreme point to which the main body of the first expedition down the banks of the Macquarie penetrated, in a westerly direction. The general appearance of the property of Dr. Harris, showed how much perseverance and labour had effected towards its improvement. Many acres of ground bore a promising crop, over which a gloomy forest had once waved. The Doctor's farming establishment was as complete as his husbandry seemed to be prosperous; but he did not appear to be satisfied with the extent of his dwelling, to which he was making considerable additions, although I should have thought it large enough for all ordinary purposes of residence or hospitality. The rewards of successful industry were everywhere visible. FROM EMU PLAINS TO WELLINGTON VALLEY. On the 13th, we gained Regent's Ville, the more splendid mansion of Sir John Jamieson, which overlooks the Nepean River, and commands the most beautiful and extensive views of the Blue Mountains. Crossing the ford on the 14th, we overtook the men as they were toiling up the first ascent of those rugged bulwarks, which certainly gave no favourable earnest of the road before us; and, as we could scarcely hope to reach the level country to the westward without the occurrence of some accident, I determined to keep near the drays, that I might be on hand should my presence be required. We gained O'Connell's plains on the 20th November, and arrived at Bathurst on the 22nd, with no other damage than the loss of one of the props supporting the boat which snapped in two as we descended Mount York. On examination, it was found that the boat had also received a slight contusion, but it admitted of easy repair. I was detained at Bathurst longer than I intended, in consequence of indisposition, and during my stay there experienced many proofs of the kind hospitality of the settlers of that promising district: nor was I ever more impressed with the importance of the service upon which I was employed, or more anxious as to the issue, than while contemplating the rapid advance of agriculture upon its plains, and the formidable bar to its prosperity which I had left behind me, in the dark and gloomy ranges which I had crossed. On the 27th, Mr. Hamilton Hume, whose experience well qualified him for the task, and who had been associated with me in the expedition, having joined me, we proceeded on our journey, and reached Wellington Valley about the end of the month. WELLINGTON VALLEY. I wished to push into the interior without any delay, or at least, so soon as we should have completed our arrangements and organized the party; but, although Mr. Maxwell had paid every attention to the training of the cattle, he was of opinion that they could not yet be wholly relied upon, and strongly recommended that they should be kept at practice for another week. As we could not have left the settlement under the most favourable circumstances in less than four days, the further delay attendant on this measure was considered immaterial, and it was, accordingly, determined upon. Mr. Hume undertook to superintend the training of the animals, and this left me at leisure to gather such information as would be of use to us in our progress down the river. In his description of Wellington Valley, Mr. Oxley has not done it more than justice. It is certainly a beautiful and fertile spot, and it was now abundant in pasturage, notwithstanding the unfavourable season that had passed over it. The settlement stands upon the right bank of the Bell, about two miles above the junction of that stream with the Macquarie. Its whitewashed buildings bore outward testimony to the cleanliness and regularity of the inhabitants; and the respectful conduct of the prisoners under his charge, showed that Mr. Maxwell had maintained that discipline by which alone he could have secured respect to himself and success to his exertions, at such a distance from the seat of government. The weather was so exceedingly hot, during our stay, that it was impossible to take exercise at noon; but in the evening, or at an early hour in the morning, we were enabled to make short excursions in the neighbourhood. Mr. Maxwell informed me that there were three stations below the settlement, the first of which, called Gobawlin, belonging to Mr. Wylde, was not more than five miles from it; the other two, occupied by Mr. Palmer, were at a greater distance, one being nineteen, the other thirty-four miles below the junction of the Bell. He was good enough to send for the stockman (or chief herdsman), in charge of the last, to give me such information of the nature of the country below him, as he could furnish from personal knowledge or from the accounts of the natives. LOW STATE OF THE MACQUARIE RIVER. Mr. Maxwell pointed out to me the spot on which Mr. Oxley's boats had been built, close upon the bank of the Macquarie; and I could not but reflect with some degree of apprehension on the singularly diminished state of the river from what it must then have been to allow a boat to pass down it. Instead of a broad stream and a rapid current, the stream was confined to a narrow space in the centre of the channel, and it ran so feebly amidst frequent shallows that it was often scarcely perceptible. The Bell, also, which Mr. Oxley describes as dashing and rippling along its pebbly bed, had ceased to flow, and consisted merely of a chain of ponds. On the 3rd of Dec, the stockman from below arrived; but the only information we gathered from him was the existence of a lake to the left of the river, about three days' journey below the run of his herds, on the banks of which he assured us, the native companions, a species of stork, stood in rows like companies of soldiers. He brought up a nest of small paroquets of the most beautiful plumage, as a present to Mr. Maxwell, and affirmed that they were common about his part of the river. The peculiarity of the seasons had also brought a parrot into the valley which had never before visited it. This delicate bird was noticed by Captain Cook upon the coast, and is called PSITTACUS NOVAE HOLLANDIAE, or New Holland Parrot, by Mr. Brown. It had not, however, been subsequently seen until the summer of 1828, when it made its appearance at Wellington Valley in considerable numbers, together with a species of merops or mountain bee-eater. DEPARTURE FOR THE INTERIOR. On the 5th, our preparations being wholly completed, and the loads arranged, the party was mustered, and was found to consist of myself and Mr. Hume, two soldiers and eight prisoners of the crown, two of whom were to return with dispatches. Our animals numbered two riding, and seven pack, horses, two draft, and eight pack, bullocks, exclusive of two horses of my own, and two for the men to be sent back. BANKS OF THE MACQUARIE. The morning of the 7th December, the day upon which we were to leave the valley, was ushered in by a cloudless sky, and that heated appearance in the atmosphere which foretells an oppressively sultry day. I therefore put off the moment of our departure to the evening, and determined to proceed no further than Gobawlin. I was the more readily induced to order this short journey because the animals had not been practised to their full loads, and I thought they might have given some trouble at starting with an unusual weight. They moved off however very quietly, and as if they had been accustomed to their work by a long course of training. We took our departure from the settlement at 3 p.m. and, crossing to the right bank of the Macquarie, a little above its junction with the Bell, reached Mr Wylde's station about half-past five. Thus we commenced our journey under circumstances as favorable as could have been wished. In disengaging ourselves on the following day from the hills by which Wellington Valley is encompassed on the westward, with a view to approach Mr. Palmer's first station, we kept rather wide of the river, and only occasionally touched on its more projecting angles. The soil at a distance from the stream was by no means so good as that in its immediate vicinity, nor was the timber of the same description. On the rich and picturesque grounds near the river the angophora prevailed with the flooded gum, and the scenery upon its banks was improved by the casuarinae that overhung them. On the latter, inferior eucalypti and cypresses were mixed together. The country was broken and undulating, and the hills stony, notwithstanding which, they appeared to have an abundance of pasture upon them. Mr. Hume rode with me to the summit of a limestone elevation, from which I thought it probable we might have obtained such a view as would have enabled us to form some idea of the country into which we were about to descend. But in following the river line, the eye wandered over a dark and unbroken forest alone. The ranges from which we were fast receding formed an irregular and beautiful landscape to the southward; and contrasted strongly with the appearance of the country to the N. W., in which direction it was rapidly assuming a level. We reached Mr. Palmer's at a late hour in the afternoon, in consequence of a delay we experienced in crossing a gully, and encamped upon a high bank immediately opposite to the mouth of Molle's rivulet which here joins the Macquarie from the southward. The cattle had consumed all the food, and the ground on both sides of the river looked bare and arid. No doubt, however, the face of the country in ordinary seasons wears a very different appearance. Its general elevation continued high; nor did the Macquarie assume any change of aspect. Mountain debris and rounded pebbles of various kinds formed its bed, which was much encumbered with timber. DIBILAMBLE. We had been unable to persuade any of the natives of Wellington Valley to accompany us as guides, on our leaving that settlement. Even Mr. Maxwell's influence failed; for, notwithstanding the promises of several, when they saw that we were ready to depart, they either feigned sickness or stated that they were afraid of the more distant natives. The fact is, that they were too lazy to wander far from their own district, and too fond of Maxwell's beef to leave it for a precarious bush subsistence. Fortunately we found several natives with Mr. Palmer's stockmen, who readily undertook to conduct us by the nearest route to the cataract, which we considered to be midway between Wellington Valley and Mount Harris. We started under their guidance for Dibilamble, Mr. Palmer's second station, and reached it about half-past 4 p.m. The distance between the two is sixteen miles. The country for some miles differs in no material point from that through which we had already passed. The same rich tracts of soil near the river and the same inferiority in the tracks remote from it. Near Dibilamble, however, the limestone formation terminates, and gives place to barren stony ridges, upon which the cypress callities is of close and stunted growth. The ridges themselves were formed of a coarse kind of freestone in a state of rapid decomposition. The Tabragar (the Erskine of Mr. Oxley) falls into the Macquarie at Dibilamble. It had long ceased to flow, being a small mountain torrent whose source, if we judge from the shingly nature of its bed, cannot be very distant. Our descent was considerable during the day; the rapids were frequent in the river, but it underwent no change in its general appearance. Its waters were hard and transparent, and its banks, in many places, extremely lofty; with a red sandy loam and gravel under the alluvial deposits. It generally happened that where the bank was high on the one side it was low and subject to flood, to a limited extent at least, on the other. Upon these low grounds the blue-gum trees were of lofty growth, but on the upper levels box prevailed. SCENERY NEAR THE RIVER. The views upon the river were really beautiful, and varied at every turn; nor is it possible for any tree to exceed the casuarina in the graceful manner in which it bends over the stream, or clings to some solitary rock in its centre. It here became necessary for us to cross to the left bank of the river, not only to avoid its numerous windings, and thus to preserve as much as possible the direct line to Mount Harris; but also, because the travelling was much better on the south side. We therefore availed ourselves of a ford opposite to the ground on which the tents had stood; and then pursued our journey, in a south-westerly course, over a country of a description very inferior to that of any we had previously noticed. Iron-bark and cypresses generally prevailed along our line of route on a poor and sandy soil, which improved after we passed Elizabeth Burn, a small creek mentioned by Mr. Oxley. TAYLOR'S RIVULET. We approached the river again early in the day, and pitched our tent on the summit of a sloping bank that overlooked one of its long still reaches. We were protected from the sun by the angophora trees, which formed a hanging wood around us, and, with its bright green foliage, gave a cheerfulness to the scene that was altogether unusual. The opposite side of the river was rather undulated, and the soil appeared to be of the finest description. The grass, although growing in tufts, afforded abundance of pasture for the cattle; and, on the whole, this struck me as a most eligible spot for a station, and I found it occupied as such on the return of the expedition. We had encamped about a quarter of a mile from Taylor's Rivulet, which discharges itself into the Macquarie from the N. E., and is the first stream, upon the right bank, below the Wellington Valley. Immediately after receiving it the river sweeps away to the southward, in consequence of which it became again necessary for us to cross it. Our guides, who were intelligent lads, led the cattle to a ford, a little below the junction of Taylor's Rivulet, at which we effected a passage with some difficulty; the opposite bank being very steep, and we were obliged to force our way up a gully for some eighty or a hundred yards before we could extricate the team. Pursuing our journey, in a N. W. direction, we soon left the rich and undulating grounds bordering the river behind us. A poor, level, and open country, succeeded them. The soil changed to a light red, sandy loam, on which eucalypti, cypresses, and casuarinae, were intermixed with minor shrubs; of which latter, the cherry tree (exocarpus cupressiformis) was the most prevalent. At about seven miles from the river we passed some barren freestone ridges, near which Mr. Hume killed the first kangaroo we had seen. At mid-day we passed a small creek, at which the cattle were watered; and afterwards continued our journey through a country similar to that over which we had already made our way. As we neared the stream we noticed the acacia pendula for the first time,--an indication of our approach to the marshes. The weather still continued extremely hot. Our journey this day was unusually long, and our cattle suffered so much, and moved so slowly, that it was late when we struck upon the Macquarie, at a part where its banks were so high that we had some difficulty in finding a good watering place. SURPRISE SOME NATIVES. Being considerably in front of the party, with one of our guides, when we neared the river, I came suddenly upon a family of natives. They were much terrified, and finding that they could not escape, called vehemently to some of their companions, who were in the distance. By the time Mr. Hume came up, they had in some measure recovered their presence of mind, but availed themselves of the first favourable moment to leave us. I was particular in not imposing any restraint on these men, in consequence of which they afterwards mustered sufficient resolution to visit us in our camp. We now judged that we were about ten miles from the cataract, and that, according to the accounts of the stockman, we could not be very distant from the lake he had mentioned. NATIVE BURIAL PLACE. As I was unwilling to pass any important feature of the country without enquiry or examination, I requested Mr. Hume to interrogate the strangers on the subject. They stated that they belonged to the lake tribe, that the lake was a short day's journey to the eastward, and that they would guide us to it if we wished. The matter was accordingly arranged. They left us at dusk, but returned to the camp at the earliest dawn; when we once more crossed the river, and, after traversing a very level country for about nine miles, arrived at our destination. We passed over the dried beds of lagoons, and through coppices of cypresses and acacia pendula, or open forest, but did not observe any of the barren stony ridges so common to the N.E. About a mile, or a mile and a half, from the lake we examined a solitary grave that had recently been constructed. It consisted of an oblong mound, with three semicircular seats. A walk encompassed the whole, from which three others branched off for a few yards only, into the forest. Several cypresses, overhanging the grave, were fancifully carved on the inner side, and on one the shape of a heart was deeply engraved. BUDDAH LAKE. We were sadly disappointed in the appearance of the lake, which the natives call the Buddah. It is a serpentine sheet of fresh water, of rather more than a mile in length, and from three to four hundred yards in breadth. Its depth was four fathoms; but it seemed as if it were now five or six feet below the ordinary level. No stream either runs into it or flows from it; yet it abounds in fish; from which circumstance I should imagine that it originally owed its supply to the river during some extensive inundation. Notwithstanding that we had crossed some rich tracts of land in our way to it, the neighbourhood of the lake was by no means fertile. The trees around it were in rapid decay, and the little vegetation to be seen appeared to derive but little advantage from its proximity to water. EXTREME HEAT OF THE WEATHER. We had started at early dawn; and the heat had become intolerable long ere the sun had gained the meridian. It was rendered still more oppressive from the want of air in the dense bushes through which we occasionally moved. At 2 p.m. the thermometer stood at 129 degrees of Fahrenheit, in the shade; and at 149 degrees in the sun; the difference being exactly 20 degrees. It is not to be wondered at that the cattle suffered, although the journey was so short. The sun's rays were too powerful even for the natives, who kept as much as possible in the shade. In the evening, when the atmosphere was somewhat cooler, we launched the boat upon the lake, in order to get some wild fowl and fish; but although we were tolerably successful with our guns, we did not take anything with our hooks. The natives had, in the course of the afternoon, been joined by the rest of the tribe, and they now numbered about three and twenty. They were rather distant in their manner, and gazed with apparent astonishment at the scene that was passing before them. If there had been other proof wanting, of the lamentably parched and exhausted state of the interior, we had on this occasion ample evidence of it, and of the fearful severity of the drought under which the country was suffering. As soon as the sun dipped under the horizon, hundreds of birds came crowding to the border of the lake, to quench the thirst they had been unable to allay in the forest. Some were gasping, others almost too weak to avoid us, and all were indifferent to the reports of our guns. CATARACT OF THE MACQUARIE. On leaving the Buddah, eleven only of the natives accompanied us. We reached the river again about noon, on a north-half-east course, where it had a rocky bed, and continued to journey along it, until we reached the cataract at which we halted. We travelled over soil generally inferior to that which we had seen on the preceding day, but rich in many places. The same kind of timber was observed, but the acacia pendula was more prevalent than any other, although near the river the flooded gum and Australian apple-tree were of beautiful growth. It had appeared to me that the waters of the Macquarie had been diminishing in volume since our departure from Wellington Valley, and I had a favourable opportunity of judging as to the correctness of this conclusion at the cataract, where its channel, at all times much contracted, was particularly so on the present occasion. So little force was there in the current, that I began to entertain doubts how long it would continue, more especially when I reflected on the level character of the country we had entered, and the fact of the Macquarie not receiving any tributary between this point and the marshes. I was in consequence led to infer that result, which, though not immediately, eventually took place. As they were treated with kindness, the natives who accompanied us soon threw off all reserve, and in the afternoon assembled at the pool below the fall to take fish. They went very systematically to work, with short spears in their hands that tapered gradually to a point, and sank at once under water without splash or noise at a given signal from an elderly man. In a short time, one or two rose with the fish they had transfixed; the others remained about a minute under water, and then made their appearance near the same rock into the crevices of which they had driven their prey. Seven fine bream were taken, the whole of which they insisted on giving to our men, although I am not aware that any of themselves had broken their fast that day. They soon, however, procured a quantity of muscles, with which they sat down very contentedly at a fire. My barometrical admeasurement gave the cataract an elevation of 680 feet above the level of the sea; and my observations placed it in east longitude 148 degrees 3 minutes and in latitude 31 degrees 50 minutes south. It became an object with us to gain the right bank of the Macquarie as soon as possible; for it was evident that the country to the southward of it was much more swampy than it was to the north: but for some distance below the cataract, we found it impossible to effect our purpose. The rocks composing the bed of the river at the cataract, which are of trapp formation, disappeared at about eight miles below it, when the river immediately assumed another character. Its banks became of equal height, which had not before been the case, and averaged from fifteen to eighteen feet. They were composed entirely of alluvial soil, and were higher than the highest flood-marks. Its waters appeared to be turbid and deep, and its bed was a mixture of sand and clay. The casuarina, which had so often been admired by us, entirely disappeared and the channel in many places became so narrow as to be completely arched over by gum-trees. A TRIBE OF NATIVES. On the 16th, we fell in with a numerous tribe of natives who joined our train after the very necessary ceremonies of an introduction had passed, and when added to those who still accompanied us, amounted to fifty-three. On this occasion I was riding somewhat in front of the party, when I came upon them. They were very different in appearance from those whom we had surprised at the river; and from the manner in which I was received, I was led to infer that they had been informed of our arrival, and had purposely assembled to meet us. I was saluted by an old man, who had stationed himself in front of his tribe, and who was their chief. Behind him the young men stood in a line, and behind them the warriors were seated on the ground. CONDUCT OF THE NATIVES. I had a young native with me who had attached himself to our party, and who, from his extreme good nature and superior intelligence, was considered by us as a first-rate kind of fellow. He explained who and what we were, and I was glad to observe that the old chief seemed perfectly reconciled to my presence, although he cast many an anxious glance at the long train of animals that were approaching. The warriors, I remarked, never lifted their eyes from the ground. They were hideously painted with red and yellow ochre, and had their weapons at their sides, while their countenances were fixed, sullen, and determined. In order to overcome this mood, I rode up to them, and, taking a spear from the nearest, gave him my gun to examine; a mark of confidence that was not lost upon them, for they immediately relaxed from their gravity, and as soon as my party arrived, rose up and followed us. That which appeared most to excite their surprise, was the motion of the wheels of the boat carriage. The young native whom I have noticed above, acted as interpreter, and, by his facetious manner, contrived to keep the whole of us in a fit of laughter as we moved along. He had been named Botheri by some stockman. In consequence of our wish to cross the river, we kept near it, and experienced considerable delay from the frequent marshes that opposed themselves to our progress. In one of these we saw a number of ibises and spoonbills; and the natives succeeded in killing two or three snakes. Our view to the westward was extremely limited; but to the eastward the country appeared in some places to expand into plains. CROSSING OF THE RIVER. After travelling some miles down the banks of the river, finding that they still retained their steep character, we turned back to a place which Mr. Hume had observed, and at which he thought we might, with some little trouble, cross to the opposite side. And, however objectionable the attempt was, we found ourselves obliged to make it. We descended, therefore, into the channel of the river, and unloaded the animals and boat-carriage. In order to facilitate the ascent of the right bank, some of the men were directed to cut steps up it. I was amused to see the natives voluntarily assist them; and was surprised when they took up bags of flour weighing 100 pounds each, and carried them across the river. We were not long in getting the whole of the stores over. The boat was then hoisted on the shoulders of the strongest, and deposited on the top of the opposite bank; and ropes being afterwards attached to the carriage, it was soon drawn up to a place of safety. The natives worked as hard as our own people, and that, too, with a cheerfulness for which I was altogether unprepared, and which is certainly foreign to their natural habits. We pitched our tents as soon as we had effected the passage of the river; after which, the men went to bathe, and blacks and whites were mingled promiscuously in the stream. I did not observe that the former differed in any respect from the natives who frequent the located districts. They were generally clean limbed and stout, and some of the young men had pleasing intelligent countenances. They lacerate their bodies, inflicting deep wounds to raise the flesh, and extract the front teeth like the Bathurst tribes; and their weapons are precisely the same. They are certainly a merry people, and sit up laughing and talking more than half the night. BAROMETER BROKEN. During the removal of the stores my barometer was unfortunately broken, and I had often, in the subsequent stages of the journey, occasion to regret the accident. I apprehend that the corks in the instrument, placed to steady the tube, are too distant from each other in most cases; and indeed I fear that barometers as at present constructed, will seldom be carried with safety in overland expeditions. DESERTED BY THE NATIVES. Nine only of the natives accompanied us on the morning succeeding the day in which we crossed the river. Botheri was, however, at the head of them; and, as we journeyed along, he informed me that he had been promised a wife on his return from acting as our guide, by the chief of the last tribe. The excessive heat of the weather obliged us to shorten our journey, and we encamped about noon in some scrub after having traversed a level country for about eleven miles. Several considerable plains were noticed to our right, stretching east and west, which were generally rich in point of soil; but we passed through much brushy land during the day. It was lamentable to see the state of vegetation upon the plains from want of moisture. Although the country had assumed a level character, and was more open than on the higher branches of the Macquarie, the small freestone elevations, backing the alluvial tracts near the river, still continued upon our right, though much diminished in height, and at a great distance from the banks. They seemed to be covered with cypresses and beef-wood, but dwarf-box and the acacia pendula prevailed along the plains; while flooded-gum alone occupied the lands in the immediate neighbourhood of the stream, which was evidently fast diminishing, both in volume and rapidity; its bed, however, still continuing to be a mixture of sand and clay. The cattle found such poor feed around the camp that they strayed away in search of better during the night. On such an occasion Botheri and his fraternity would have been of real service; but he had decamped at an early hour, and had carried off an axe, a tomahawk, and some bacon, although I had made him several presents. I was not at all surprised at this piece of roguery, since cunning is the natural attribute of a savage; but I was provoked at their running away at a moment when I so much required their assistance. Left to ourselves, I found Mr. Hume of the most essential service in tracking the animals, and to his perseverance we were indebted for their speedy recovery, They had managed to find tolerable feed near a serpentine sheet of water, which Mr. Hume thought it would be advisable to examine. We directed our course to it as soon as the cattle were loaded, moving through bush, and found it to be a very considerable creek that receives a part of the superfluous waters of the Macquarie, and distributes them, most probably, over the level country to the north. It was much wider than the river, being from fifty to sixty yards across, and is resorted to by the natives, who procure muscles from its bed in great abundance. We were obliged to traverse its eastern bank to its junction with the river, at which it fortunately happened to be dry. We had, however, to cut roads down both its banks before we could cross it; and, consequently, made but a short day's journey. The soil passed over was inferior to the generality of soil near the river, but we encamped on a tongue of land on which both the flooded-gum and the grass were of luxuriant height. We found a quantity of a substance like pipe-clay in the bed of the river, similar to that mentioned by Mr. Oxley. GREAT HEAT. The heat, which had been excessive at Wellington Valley, increased upon us as we advanced into the interior. The thermometer was seldom under 114 degrees at noon, and rose still higher at 2 p.m. We had no dews at night, and consequently the range of the instrument was trifling in the twenty-four hours. The country looked bare and scorched, and the plains over which we journeyed had large fissures traversing them, so that the earth may literally be said to have gasped for moisture. The country, which above the cataract had borne the character of open forest, excepting on the immediate banks of the river, where its undulations and openness gave it a park-like appearance, or where the barren stony ridges prevailed below that point, generally exhibited alternately plain and brush, the soil on both of which was good. On the former, crested pigeons were numerous, several of which were shot. We had likewise procured some of the rose-coloured and grey parrots, mentioned by Mr. Oxley, and a small paroquet of beautiful plumage; but there was less of variety in the feathered race than I expected to find, and most of the other birds we had seen were recognised by me as similar to specimens I had procured from Melville Island, and were, therefore, most probably birds of passage. ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY, AND THE RIVER. As we neared Mount Harris, the Macquarie became more sluggish in its flow, and fell off so much as scarcely to deserve the name of a river. In breadth, it averaged from thirty-five to forty-five yards, and in the height of its banks, from fifteen to eighteen. Mr. Hume had succeeded in taking some fish at one of the stock stations; but if I except those speared by the natives, we had since been altogether unsuccessful with the hook, a circumstance which I attribute to the lowness of the river itself. About thirty miles from the cataract the country declines to the north as a medium point, and again changes somewhat in its general appearance. To the S. and S.W. it appeared level and wooded, while to the N. the plains became more frequent, but smaller, and travelling over them was extremely dangerous, in consequence of the large fissures by which they were traversed. The only trees to be observed were dwarf-box and the acacia pendula, both of stunted growth, although flooded-gum still prevailed upon the river. On the 20th we travelled on a N.W. course, and in the early part of the day passed over tolerably good soil. It was succeeded by a barren scrub, through which we penetrated in the direction of Welcome Rock, a point we had seen from one of the Plains and had mistaken for Mount Harris. ARRIVAL AT MOUNT HARRIS. On a nearer approach, however, we observed our error, and corrected it by turning more to the left; and we ultimately encamped about a mile to the W.S.W. of the latter eminence. On issuing from the scrub we found ourselves among reeds and coarse water-grass; and, from the appearance of the country, we were led to conclude that we had arrived at a part of the interior more than ordinarily subject to overflow. As soon as the camp was fixed, Mr. Hume and I rode to Mount Harris, over ground subject to flood and covered for the most part by the polygonum, being too anxious to defer our examination of its neighbourhood even for a few hours. VESTIGES OF MR. OXLEY'S ENCAMPMENT. Nearly ten years had elapsed since Mr. Oxley pitched his tents under the smallest of the two hills into which Mount Harris is broken. There was no difficulty in hitting upon his position. The trenches that had been cut round the tents were still perfect, and the marks of the fire-places distinguishable; while the trees in the neighbourhood had been felled, and round about them the staves of some casks and a few tent-pegs were scattered. Mr. Oxley had selected a place at some distance from the river, in consequence of its then swollen state. I looked upon it from the same ground, and could not discern the waters in its channel; so much had they fallen below their ordinary level. He saw the river when it was overflowing its banks; on the present occasion it had scarcely sufficient water to support a current. On the summit of the greater eminence, which we ascended, there remained the half-burnt planks of a boat, some clenched and rusty nails, and an old trunk; but my search for the bottle Mr. Oxley had left was unsuccessful. A reflection naturally arose to my mind on examining these decaying vestiges of a former expedition, whether I should be more fortunate than the leader of it, and how far I should be enabled to penetrate beyond the point which had conquered his perseverance. Only a week before I left Sydney I had followed Mr. Oxley to the tomb. A man of uncommon quickness, and of great ability, the task of following up his discoveries was not less enviable than arduous; but, arrived at that point at which his journey may be said to have terminated and mine only to commence, I knew not how soon I should be obliged, like him, to retreat from the marshes and exhalations of so depressed a country. My eye instinctively turned to the North-West, and the view extended over an apparently endless forest. I could trace the river line of trees by their superior height; but saw no appearance of reeds, save the few that grew on the banks of the stream. Mount Foster, somewhat higher than Mount Harris, on the opposite side of the river, alone broke the line of the horizon to the North N.W. at a distance of five miles. From that point all round the compass, the low lands spread, like a dark sea, before me; except where a large plain stretching from E. to W., and lying to the S.E. broke their monotony; and if there was nothing discouraging, there certainly was nothing cheering, in the prospect. ILLNESS OF TWO OF THE MEN. On our return to the camp, I was vexed to find two of the men, Henwood and Williams, with increased inflammation of the eyes, of which they had previously been complaining, and I thought it advisable to bleed the latter. In consequence of the indisposition of these men, we remained stationary on the 21st, which enabled me to pay a second visit to Mount Harris. On ascending the smaller hill, I was surprised to find similar vestiges on its summit to those I had noticed on the larger one; in addition to which, the rollers still continued on the side of the hill, which had been used to get the boat up it. [Mr. Oxley had two boats; one of which he dragged to the top of each of these hills, and left them turned bottom upwards, burying a bottle under the head of the larger boat, which was conveyed to the more distant hill.] Mount Harris is of basaltic formation, but I could not observe any columnar regularity in it, although large blocks are exposed above the ground. The rock is extremely hard and sonorous. MOUNT FOSTER AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD. We moved leisurely towards Mount Foster, on the 22nd, and arrived opposite to it a little before sunset. The country between the two is mostly open, or covered only with the acacia pendula and dwarf-box. The soil, although an alluvial deposit, is not of the best; nor was vegetation either fresh or close upon it. As soon as the party stopped, I crossed the river, and lost no time in ascending the hill, being anxious to ascertain if any fresh object was visible from its summit, I thought that from an eminence so much above the level of the surrounding objects, I might obtain a view of the marshes, or of water; but I was wholly disappointed. The view was certainly extensive, but it was otherwise unsatisfactory. Again to the N.W. the lowlands spread in darkness before me; there were some considerable plains beyond the near wood; but the country at the foot of the hill appeared open and promising. Although the river line was lost in the distance, it was as truly pointed out by the fires of the natives, which rose in upright columns into the sky, as if it had been marked by the trees upon its banks. To the eastward, Arbuthnot's range rose high above the line of the horizon, bearing nearly due East, distant seventy miles. The following sketch of its outlines will convey a better idea of its appearance from Mount Foster than any written description. [small sketch here--not shown in etext] I stayed on the mount until after sunset, but I could not make out any space that at all resembled the formidable barrier I knew we were so rapidly approaching. I saw nothing to check our advance, and I therefore returned to the camp, to advise with Mr. Hume upon the subject. Not having been with me on Mount Foster, he took the opportunity to ascend it on the following morning; and on his return concurred with me in opinion, that there was no apparent obstacle to our moving onwards. As the men were considerably better, I had the less hesitation in closing with the marshes. We left our position, intending to travel slowly, and to halt early. The first part of our journey was over rich flats, timbered sufficiently to afford a shade, on which the grass was luxuriant; but we were obliged to seek more open ground, in consequence of the frequent stumbling of the cattle. We issued, at length, upon a plain, the view across which was as dreary as can be imagined; in many places without a tree, save a few old stumps left by the natives when they fired the timber, some of which were still smoking in different parts of it. Observing some lofty trees at the extremity of the plain, we moved towards them, under an impression that they indicated the river line. But on this exposed spot the sun's rays fell with intense power upon us, and the dust was so minute and penetrating, that I soon regretted having left the shady banks of the river. About 2.p.m. we neared the trees for which we had been making, over ground evidently formed by alluvial deposition, and were astonished to find that reeds alone were growing under the trees as far as the eye could penetrate. It appeared that we were still some distance from the river, and it was very doubtful how far we might be from water, for which the men were anxiously calling. I therefore halted, and sent Fraser into the reeds towards some dead trees, on which a number of spoonbills were sitting. He found that there was a small lake in the centre of the reeds, the resort of numerous wild fowl; but although the men were enabled to quench their thirst, we found it impossible to water the animals. We were obliged, therefore, to continue our course along the edge of the reeds; which in a short time appeared in large masses in front of us, stretching into a vast plain upon our right; and it became evident that the whole neighbourhood was subject to extensive inundation. ENCAMP AMIDST REEDS. I was fearful that the reeds would have checked us; but there was a passage between the patches, through which we managed to force our way into a deep bight, and fortunately gained the river at the bottom of it much sooner than we expected. We were obliged to clear away a space for the tents; and thus, although there had been no such appearance from Mount Foster, we found ourselves in less than seven hours after leaving it, encamped pretty far in that marsh for which we had so anxiously looked from its summit, and now trusting to circumstances for safety, upon ground on which, in any ordinary state of the river, it would have been dangerous to have ventured. Indeed, as it was, our situation was sufficiently critical, and would not admit of hesitation on my part. NATURE OF THE COUNTRY. After the cattle had been turned out, Mr. Hume and I again mounted our horses, and proceeded to the westward, with a view to examine the nature of the country before us, and to ascertain if it was still practicable to move along the river side. For, although it was evident that we had arrived at what might strictly be called the marshes of the Macquarie, I still thought we might be at some distance from the place where Mr. Oxley terminated his journey. There was no indication in the river to encourage an idea that it would speedily terminate; nor, although we were on ground subject to extensive inundation, could we be said to have reached the heart of the marshes, as the reeds still continued in detached bodies only. We forced a path through various portions of them, and passed over ground wholly subject to flood, to a distance of about six miles. We then crossed a small rise of ground, sufficiently high to have afforded a retreat, had necessity obliged us to seek for one; and we shortly afterwards descended on the river, unaltered in its appearance, and rather increased than diminished in size. A vast plain extended to the N.W., the extremity of which we could not discern; though a thick forest formed its northern boundary. It was evident that this plain had been frequently under water, but it was difficult to judge from the marks on the trees to what height the floods had risen. The soil was an alluvial deposit, superficially sandy; and many shells were scattered over its surface. To the south, the country appeared close and low; nor do I think we could have approached the river from that side, by reason of the huge belts of reeds that appeared to extend as far as the the eye could reach. MEN ATTACKED WITH OPHTHALMIA. The approach of night obliged us to return to the camp. On our arrival, we found that the state of Henwood and Williams would prevent our stirring for a day or two. Not only had they a return of inflammation, but several other of the men complained of a painful irritation of the eyes, which were dreadfully blood-shot and weak. I was in some measure prepared for a relapse in Henwood, as the exposure which he necessarily underwent on the plain was sufficient to produce that effect; but I now became apprehensive that the affection would run through the party. Considering our situation in its different bearings, it struck me that the men who were to return to Wellington Valley with an account our our proceedings for the Governor's information, had been brought as far as prudence warranted. There was no fear of their going astray, as long as they had the river to guide them; but in the open country which we were to all appearance approaching, or amidst fields of reeds, they might wander from the track, and irrecoverably lose themselves. I determined, therefore, not to risk their safety, but to prepare my dispatches for Sydney, and I hoped most anxiously, that ere they were closed, all symptoms of disease would have terminated. In the course of the day, however, Spencer, who was to return with Riley to Wellington Valley, became seriously indisposed, and I feared that he was attacked with dysentery. Indeed, I should have attributed his illness to our situation, but I did not notice any unusual moisture in the atmosphere, nor did any fogs rise from the river. I therefore the rather attributed it to exposure and change of diet, and treated him accordingly. To my satisfaction, when I visited the men late in the evening, I found a general improvement in the whole of them. Spencer was considerably relieved, and those of the party who had inflammation of the eyes no longer felt that painful irritation of which they had before complained. I determined, therefore, unless untoward circumstances should prevent it, to send Riley and his companion homewards, and to move the party without loss of time. We had not seen any natives for many days, but a few passed the camp on the opposite side of the river on the evening of the 25th. They would not, however, come to us; but fled into the interior in great apparent alarm. DEPARTURE OF TWO MEN FOR WELLINGTON. On the morning of the 26th, the men were sufficiently recovered to pursue their journey. Riley and Spencer left us at an early hour; and about 7 a.m. we pursued a N.N.W. course along the great plain I have noticed, starting numberless quails, and many wild turkeys, by the way. Leaving that part of the river on which Mr. Hume and I had touched considerably to the left, we made for the point of a wood, projecting from the river line of trees into the plain. The ground under us was an alluvial deposit, and bore all the marks of frequent inundation. The soil was yielding, blistered, and uneven; and the claws of cray-fish, together with numerous small shells, were every where collected in the hollows made by the subsiding of the waters, between broad belts of reeds and scrubs of polygonum. CONSULTATION. On gaining the point of the wood, we found an absolute check put to our further progress. We had been moving directly on the great body of the marsh, and from the wood it spread in boundless extent before us. It was evidently lower than the ground on which we stood; we had therefore, a complete view over the whole expanse; and there was a dreariness and desolation pervading the scene that strengthened as we gazed upon it. Under existing circumstances, it only remained for us either to skirt the reeds to the northward, or to turn in again upon the river; and as I considered it important to ascertain the direction of the Macquarie at so critical and interesting a point, I thought it better to adopt the latter measure. We, accordingly, made for the river, and pitched our tents, as at the last station, in the midst of reeds. There were two points at this time, upon which I was extremely anxious. The first was as to the course of the river; the second, as to the extent of the marshes by which we had been checked, and the practicability of the country to the northward. In advising with Mr. Hume, I proposed launching the boat, as the surest means of ascertaining the former, and he, on his part, most readily volunteered to examine the marshes, in any direction I should point out. It was therefore, arranged, that I should take two men, and a week's provision with me in the boat down the river; and that he should proceed with a like number of men on an excursion to the northward. After having given directions as to the regulations of camp during our absence, we separated, on the morning of the 26th for the first time, in furtherance of the objects each had in view. BOAT EXCURSION. In pulling down the river, I found that its channel was at first extremely tortuous and irregular, but that it held a general N.W. course, and bore much the same appearance as it had done since our descent from Mount Foster. We had a laborious task in lifting the boat over the trunks of trees that had fallen into the channel of the river or that had been left by the floods, and at length we stove her in upon a sunken log. The injury she received was too serious not to require immediate repair; and we, therefore, patched her up with a tin plate. This accident occasioned some delay, and the morning was consumed without our having made any considerable progress. At length, however, we got into a more open channel. The river suddenly increased in breadth to thirty-five or forty-five yards, with a depth of from twelve to twenty feet of water. Its banks shelved perpendicularly down, and were almost on a level with the surface of the stream; and the flood mark was not more than two feet high on the reeds by which they were lined. We had hitherto passed under the shade of the flooded gum, which still continued on the immediate banks of the river; but, the farther we advanced, the more did we find these trees in a state of decay, until at length they ceased, or were only rarely met with. TERMINATION OF THE RIVER. About 2 p.m. I brought up under a solitary tree, in consequence of heavy rain: this was upon the left bank. In the afternoon, however, we again pushed forward, and soon lost sight of every other object amidst reeds of great height. The channel of the river continued as broad and as deep as ever, but the flood mark did not show more than a foot above the banks, which were now almost on a level with the water; and the current was so sluggish as to be scarcely perceptible. These general appearances continued for about three miles, when our course was suddenly, and most unexpectedly, checked. The channel, which had promised so well, without any change in its breadth or depth, ceased altogether; and whilst we were yet lost in astonishment at so abrupt a termination of it, the boat grounded. It only remained for us to examine the banks, which we did with particular attention. Two creeks were then discovered, so small as scarcely to deserve the name, and which would, under ordinary circumstances, have been overlooked. The one branched off to the north--the other to the west. We were obliged to get out of the boat to push up the former, the leeches sticking in numbers to our legs. The creek continued for about thirty yards, when it was terminated; and, in order fully to satisfy myself of the fact, I walked round the head of it by pushing through the reeds. Night coming on, we returned to the tree at which we had stopped during the rain, and slept under it. The men cut away the reeds, or we should not have had room to move. At 2 a.m. it commenced raining, with a heavy storm of thunder and lightning; the boat was consequently hauled ashore, and turned over to afford us a temporary shelter. The lightning was extremely vivid, and frequently played upon the ground, near the firelocks, for more than a quarter of a minute at a time. It is singular, that Mr. Oxley should, under similar circumstances, have experienced an equally stormy night, and most probably within a few yards of the place on which I had posted myself. Notwithstanding that the elements were raging around me, as if to warn me of the danger of my situation, my mind turned solely on the singular failure of the river. I could not but encourage hopes that this second channel that remained to be explored would lead us into an open space again; and as soon as the morning dawned we pursued our way to it. In passing some dead trees upon the right bank, I stopped to ascend one, that, from an elevation, I might survey the marsh, but I found it impossible to trace the river through it. The country to the westward was covered with reeds, apparently to the distance of seven miles; to the N.W. to a still greater distance; and to the north they bounded the horizon. The whole expanse was level and unbroken, but here and there the reeds were higher and darker than at other places, as if they grew near constant moisture; but I could see no appearance of water in any body, or of high lands beyond the distant forest. As soon as we arrived at the end of the main channel, we again got out of the boat, and in pushing up the smaller one, soon found ourselves under a dark arch of reeds. It did not, however, continue more than twenty yards when it ceased, and I walked round the head of it as I had done round that of the other. We then examined the space between the creeks, where the bank receives the force of the current, which I did not doubt had formed them by the separation of its eddies. Observing water among the reeds, I pushed through them with infinite labour to a considerable distance. The soil proved to be a stiff clay; the reeds were closely embodied, and from ten to twelve feet high; the waters were in some places ankle deep, and in others scarcely covered the surface. They were flowing in different points, with greater speed than those of the river, which at once convinced me that they were not permanent, but must have lodged in the night during which so much rain had fallen. They ultimately appeared to flow to the northward, but I found it impossible to follow them, and it was not without difficulty that, after having wandered about at every point of the compass, I again reached the boat. CAUSES OF THE FAILURE OF THE RIVER. The care with which I had noted every change that took place in the Macquarie, from Wellington Valley downwards, enabled me, in some measure, to account for its present features. I was led to conclude that the waters of the river being so small in body, excepting in times of flood, and flowing for so many miles through a level country without receiving any tributary to support their first impulse, became too sluggish, long ere they reached the marshes, to cleave through so formidable a barrier; and consequently spread over the surrounding country--whether again to take up the character of a river, we had still to determine. Unless, however, a decline of country should favour its assuming its original shape, it was evident that the Macquarie would not be found to exist beyond this marsh, of the nature and extent of which we were still ignorant. The loss of my barometer was at this time severely felt by me, since I could only guess at our probable height above the ocean; and I found that my only course was to endeavour to force my way to the northward, to ascertain, if I could, from the bottom of the marshes; then penetrate in a westerly direction beyond them, in order to commence my survey of the S.W. interior. I was aware of Mr. Hume's perseverance, and determined, therefore, to wait the result of his report ere I again moved the camp, to which we returned late in the afternoon of the second day of our departure. We found it unsufferably hot and suffocating in the reeds, and were tormented by myriads of mosquitoes, but the waters were perfectly sweet to the taste, nor did the slightest smell, as of stagnation, proceed from them. I may add that the birds, whose sanctuary we had invaded, as the bittern and various tribes of the galinule, together with the frogs, made incessant noises around us, There were, however, but few water-fowl on the river; which was an additional proof to me that we were not near any very extensive lake. MR. HUME'S REPORT. Mr. Hume had returned before me to the camp, and had succeeded in finding a serpentine sheet of water, about twelve miles to the northward; which he did not doubt to be the channel of the river. He had pushed on after this success, in the hope of gaining a further knowledge of the country; but another still more extensive marsh checked him, and obliged him to retrace his steps. He was no less surprised at the account I gave of the termination of the river, than I was at its so speedily re-forming, and it was determined to lose no time in the further examination of so singular a region. FALSE CHANNEL; PERPLEXITIES. On the morning of the 28th therefore we broke up the camp, and proceeded to the northward, under Mr. Hume's guidance, moving over ground wholly subject to flood, and extensively covered with reeds; the great body of the marsh lying upon our left. After passing the angle of a wood, upon our right, from which Mount Foster was distant about fourteen miles, we got upon a small plain, on which there was a new species of tortuous box. This plain was clear of reeds, and the soil upon it was very rich. Crossing in a westerly direction we arrived at the channel found by Mr. Hume, who must naturally have concluded that it was a continuation of the river. The boat was immediately prepared, and I went up it in order to ascertain the nature of its formation. For two miles it preserved a pretty general width of from twenty to thirty yards; but at that distance began to narrow, and at length it became quite shallow and covered with weeds. We were ultimately obliged to abandon the boat, and to walk along a native path. The country to the westward was more open than I had expected. About a quarter of a mile from where we had left the boat, the channel separated into two branches; to which I perceived it owed its formation, coming, as they evidently did, direct from the heart of the marsh. The wood through which I had entered it on the first occasion bore south of me, to which one of the branches inclined; as the other did to the S.W. An almost imperceptible rise of ground was before me, which, by giving an impetus to the waters of the marsh, accounted to me for the formation of the main channel. It was too late, on my return to the camp, to prosecute any further examination of it downwards; but in the morning, Mr. Hume accompanied me in the boat, to ascertain to what point it led; and we found that at about a mile it began to diminish in breadth, until at length it was completely lost in a second expanse of reeds. We passed a singular scaffolding erected by the natives, on the side of the channel, to take fish; and also found a weir at the termination of it for the like purpose so that it was evident the natives occasionally ventured into the marshes. There was a small wood to our left which Mr. Hume endeavoured to gain, but he failed in the attempt. He did, however, reach a tree that was sufficiently high to give him a full view of the marsh, which appeared to extend in every direction, but more particularly to the north, for many miles. We were, however, at fault, and I really felt at a loss what step to take. I should have been led to believe from the extreme flatness of the country, that the Macquarie would never assume its natural shape, but from the direction of the marshes I could not but indulge a hope that it would meet the Castlereagh, and that their united waters might form a stream of some importance. Under this impression I determined on again sending Mr. Hume to the N.E. in order to ascertain the nature of the country in that direction. EXCURSION TO THE NORTH-WEST. The weather was excessively hot, and as my men were but slowly recovering, I was anxious while those who were in health continued active, to give the others a few days of rest. I proposed, therefore, to cross the river, and to make an excursion into the interior, during the probable time of Mr. Hume's absence; since if, as I imagined, the Macquarie had taken a permanent northerly course, I should not have an opportunity of examining the distant western country. Mr. Hume's experience rendered it unnecessary for me to give him other than general directions. A PLAIN ON FIRE. On the last day of the year we left the camp, each accompanied by two men. I had the evening previously ordered the horses I intended taking with me across the channel, and at an early hour of the morning I followed them. Getting on a plain, immediately after I had disengaged myself from the reeds on the opposite side of the river, which was full of holes and exceedingly treacherous for the animals, I pushed on for a part of the wood Mr. Hume had endeavoured to gain from the boat, with the intention of keeping near the marsh. On entering it, I found myself in a thick brush of eucalypti, casuarinae and minor trees; the soil under them being mixed with sand. I kept a N.N.W. course through it, and at the distance of three miles from its commencement, ascended a tree, to ascertain if I was near the marshes; when I found that I was fast receding from them. I concluded, therefore, that my conjecture as to their direction was right, and altered my course to N.W., a direction in which I had observed a dense smoke arising, which I supposed had been made by some natives near water. At the termination of the brush I crossed a barren sandy plain, and from it saw the smoke ascending at a few miles' distance from me. Passing through a wood, at the extremity of the plain, I found myself at the outskirts of an open space of great extent, almost wholly enveloped in flames. The fire was running with incredible rapidity through the rhagodia shrubs with which it was covered. Passing quickly over it, I continued my journey to the N.W. over barren plains of red sandy loam of even surface, and bushes of cypresses skirted by acacia pendula. It was not until after sunset that we struck upon a creek, in which the water was excellent; and we halted on its banks for the night, calculating our distance at twenty-nine miles from the camp. The creek was of considerable size, leading northerly. Several huts were observed by us, and from the heaps of muscle-shells that were scattered about, there could be no doubt of its being much frequented by the natives. The grass being fairly burnt up, our animals found but little to eat, but they had a tolerable journey, and did not attempt to wander in search of better food. I shot a snipe near the creek, much resembling the painted snipe of India; but I had not the means with me of preserving it. A TRIBE OF NATIVES. Continuing our journey on the following morning, we at first kept on the banks of the creek, and at about a quarter of a mile from where we had slept, came upon a numerous tribe of natives. A young girl sitting by the fire was the first to observe us as we were slowly approaching her. She was so excessively alarmed, that she had not the power to run away; but threw herself on the ground and screamed violently. We now observed a number of huts, out of which the natives issued, little dreaming of the spectacle they were to behold. But the moment they saw us, they started back; their huts were in a moment in flames, and each with a fire-brand ran to and fro with hideous yells, thrusting them into every bush they passed. I walked my horse quietly towards an old man who stood more forward than the rest, as if he intended to devote himself for the preservation of his tribe. I had intended speaking to him, but on a nearer approach I remarked that he trembled so violently that it was impossible to expect that I could obtain any information from him, and as I had not time for explanations, I left him to form his own conjectures as to what we were, and continued to move towards a thick brush, into which they did not venture to follow us. CONTINUE OUR JOURNEY. After a ride of about eighteen miles, through a country of alternate plain and brush, we struck upon a second creek leading like the first to the northward. The water in it was very bitter and muddy, and it was much inferior in appearance to that at which we had slept. After stopping for half-an-hour upon its banks, to rest our animals, we again pushed forward. We had not as yet risen any perceptible height above the level of the marshes, but had left the country subject to overflow for a considerable space behind us. The brushes through which we had passed were too sandy to retain water long, but the plains were of such an even surface, that they could not but continue wet for a considerable period after any fall of rain. They were covered with salsolaceous plants, without a blade of grass; and their soil was generally a red sandy loam. There were occasional patches that appeared moist, in which the calystemma was abundant, and these patches must, I should imagine, form quagmires in the wet season. On leaving the last-mentioned creek, we found a gently rising country before us; and about three or four miles from it we crossed some stony ridges, covered with a new species of acacia so thickly as to prevent our obtaining any view from them. As the sun declined, we got into open forest ground; and travelled forwards in momentary expectation, from appearances, of coming in sight of water; but we were obliged to pull up at sunset on the outskirts of a larger plain without having our expectation realized. The day had been extremely warm, and our animals were as thirsty as ourselves. Hope never forsakes the human breast; and thence it was that, after we had secured the horses, we began to wander round our lonely bivouac. It was almost dark, when one of my men came to inform me that he had found a small puddle of water, to which he had been led by a pigeon. It was, indeed, small enough, probably the remains of a passing shower; it was, however, sufficient for our necessities, and I thanked Providence for its bounty to us. We were now about sixty miles from the Macquarie, in a N.W. by W. direction, and the country had proved so extremely discouraging, that I intimated to my men my intention of retracing my steps, should I not discover any change in it before noon on the morrow. A dense brush of acacia succeeded to the plain on which we had slept, which we entered, and shortly afterwards found ourselves in an open space, of oblong shape, at the extremity of which there was a shallow lake. The brush completely encircled it, and a few huts were upon its banks. About 10 p.m. we got into an open forest track of better appearance than any over which we had recently travelled. ISOLATED HILL. There was a visible change in the country, and the soil, although red, was extremely rich and free from sand. A short time afterwards we rose to the summit of a round hill, from which we obtained an extensive view on most points of the compass. We had imperceptibly risen considerably above the general level of the interior. VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT. Beneath us, to the westward, I observed a broad and thinly wooded valley; and W. by S., distant apparently about twenty miles, an isolated mountain, whose sides seemed almost perpendicular, broke the otherwise even line of the horizon; but the country in every other direction looked as if it was darkly wooded. Anticipating that I should find a stream in the valley, I did not for a moment hesitate in striking down into it. Disappointed, however, in this expectation, I continued onwards to the mountain, which I reached just before the sun set. Indeed, he was barely visible when I gained its summit; but my eyes, from exposure to his glare, became so weak, my face was so blistered, and my lips cracked in so many places, that I was unable to look towards the west, and was actually obliged to sit down behind a rock until he had set. Perhaps no time is so favourable for a view along the horizon as the sunset hour; and here, at an elevation of from five to six hundred feet above the plain, the visible line of it could not have been less than from thirty-five to forty-five miles. The hill upon which I stood was broken into two points; the one was a bold rocky elevation; the other had its rear face also perpendicular, but gradually declined to the north, and at a distance of from four to five miles was lost in an extensive and open plain in that direction. In the S.E. quarter, two wooded hills were visible, which before had appeared to be nothing more than swells in the general level of the country. A small hill, similar to the above, bore N.E. by compass; and again, to the west, a more considerable mountain than that I had ascended, and evidently much higher, reflected the last beams of the sun as he sunk behind them. I looked, however, in vain for water. I could not trace either the windings of a stream, or the course of a mountain torrent; and, as we had passed a swamp about a mile from the hill, we descended to it for the night, during which we were grievously tormented by the mosquitoes. RESULTS OF THE EXCURSION. I had no inducement to proceed further into the interior. I had been sufficiently disappointed in the termination of this excursion, and the track before me was still less inviting. Nothing but a dense forest, and a level country, existed between me and the distant hill. I had learnt, by experience, that it was impossible to form any opinion of the probable features of so singular a region as that in which I was wandering, from previous appearances, or to expect the same result, as in other countries, from similar causes. In a geographical point of view, my journey had been more successful, and had enabled me to put to rest for ever a question of much previous doubt. Of whatever extent the marshes of the Macquarie might be, it was evident they were not connected with those of the Lachlan. I had gained knowledge of more than 100 miles of the western interior, and had ascertained that no sea, indeed that little water, existed on its surface; and that, although it is generally flat, it still has elevations of considerable magnitude upon it. Although I had passed over much barren ground, I had likewise noticed soil that was far from poor, and the vegetation upon which in ordinary seasons would, I am convinced, have borne a very different aspect. Yet, upon the whole, the space I traversed is unlikely to become the haunt of civilized man, or will only become so in isolated spots, as a chain of connection to a more fertile country; if such a country exist to the westward. The hill which thus became the extreme of my journey, is of sandstone formation, and is bold and precipitous. Its summit is level and lightly timbered. As a tribute of respect to the late Surveyor-General, I called it Oxley's Table Land, and I named the distant hills D'Urban's Group, after Sir Benjamin D'Urban, in compliance with a previous request of my friend Lieut. De la Condamine, that I would so name any prominent feature of the interior that I might happen to come upon. RETURN TO THE CAMP. In returning to the camp, I made a circuit to the N.E., and reached the Macquarie late on the evening of the 5th of January; having been absent six days, during which we could not have ridden less than 200 miles. Yet the horses were not so fatigued as it was natural to expect they would have been. My servant informed me that a party of natives had visited the camp on the 3rd, but that they retired precipitately on seeing the animals. I regretted to find the men but little better than when I left them. Several still complained of a painful irritation of the eyes, and of great weakness of sight. Attributing their continued indisposition in some measure to our situation, I was anxious to have moved from it; but as Mr. Hume was still absent, I could not decide upon the measure. He made his appearance, however, on the 6th, having ridden the greater part of the day through rain, which commenced to fall in the morning. Soon after his arrival, Dawber, my overseer of animals, who had accompanied him, was taken suddenly ill. During the night he became much worse, with shivering and spasms, and on the following morning he was extremely weak and feverish. To add to my anxiety, Mr. Hume also complained of indisposition. His state of health made me the more anxious to quit a position which I fancied unwholesome, and in which, if there was no apparent, there was certainly some secret, exciting cause; and as Mr. Hume reported having crossed a chain of ponds about four miles to the eastward, and out of the immediate precincts of the marshes, I ordered the tents to be struck, and placing Dawber on my horse, we all moved quietly over to them. MR. HUME'S EXCURSION. The result of Mr. Hume's journey perplexed me exceedingly. He stated, that on setting out from the Macquarie his intention was to have proceeded to the N.E., to ascertain how far the reeds existed in that direction, and, if at all practicable, to reach the Castlereagh; but in case of failure, to regain the Macquarie by a westerly course. At first he travelled nearly four miles east, to clear the marshes, when he came on the chain of ponds to which we had removed. He travelled over good soil for two miles after crossing this chain of ponds, but afterwards got on a red sandy loam, and found it difficult to proceed, by reason of the thickness of the brush, and the swampy state of the ground in consequence of the late rain. The timber in the brushes was of various kinds, and he saw numerous kangaroos and emus. On issuing from this brush, he crossed a creek, leading northerly, the banks of which were from ten to twelve feet high. Whatever the body of water usually in it is, it now only afforded a few shallow puddles. Mr. Hume travelled through brushes until he came upon a third creek, similar to the one he had left behind him, at which he halted for the night. The water in it was bad, and the feed for the animals extremely poor. The brush lined the creek thickly, and consisted chiefly of acacia pendula and box. The country preserved an uniform level, nor did Mr. Hume, from the highest trees, observe any break on the horizon. On the 2nd of January, Mr. Hume kept more northerly, being unable to penetrate the brushes he encountered. At two miles he crossed a creek leading to the N.W., between which and the place at which he had slept, he passed a native burial ground, containing eight graves. The earth was piled up in a conical shape, but the trees were not carved over as he had seen them in most other places. The country became more open after he had passed the last mentioned creek, which he again struck upon at the distance of eight miles, and as it was then leading to the N.N.E. he followed it down for eighteen or twenty miles, and crossed it frequently during the day. The creek was dry in most places, and where he stopped for the night the water was bad, and the cattle feed indifferent. Mr. Hume saw many huts, but none of them had been recently occupied, although large quantities of muscle-shells were scattered about. He computed that he had travelled about thirty miles, in a N.N.W. direction, and the whole of the land he passed over was, generally speaking, bad, nor did it appear to be subject to overflow. On the 3rd, Mr. Hume proceeded down the creek on which he had slept, on a northern course, under an impression that it would have joined the Castlereagh, but it took a N.W. direction after he had ridden about four miles, and then turned again to the eastward of north. In consequence of this, he left it, and proceeded to the westward, being of opinion that the river just mentioned must have taken a more northerly course than Mr. Oxley supposed it to have done. A short time after Mr. Hume turned towards the Macquarie, the country assumed a more pleasing appearance. He soon cleared the brushes, and at two miles came upon a chain of ponds, again running northerly in times of flood. Shortly after crossing these, he found himself on an extensive plain, apparently subject to overflow. The timber on it was chiefly of the blue-gum kind, and the ground was covered with shells. He then thought he was approaching the Macquarie, and proceeded due west across the flat for about two miles. At the extremity of it there was a hollow, which he searched in vain for water. Ascending about thirty feet, he entered a thick brush of box and acacia pendula, which continued for fourteen miles, when it terminated abruptly, and extensive plains of good soil commenced, stretching from N. to S. as far as the eye could reach, on which there were many kangaroos. Continuing to journey over them, he reached a creek at 5 p.m. on which the wild fowl were numerous, running nearly north and south, and he rested on its banks for the night. The timber consisted both of blue and rough gum, and the soil was a light earth. Mr. Hume expected in the course of the day to have reached the Macquarie, but on arriving at the creek, he began to doubt whether it any longer existed, or whether it had not taken a more westerly direction. On the following morning, therefore, he crossed the creek, and travelled W.S.W., for about two miles over good plains; then through light brushes of swamp-oak, cypress, box, and acacia pendula, for about twelve miles, to another creek leading northerly. He shortly afterwards ascended a range of hills stretching W.N.W. to which he gave the name of New Year's Range. From these hills, he had an extensive view, although not upon the highest part, but the only break he could see in the horizon was caused by some hills bearing by compass W. by S. distant about twenty-five miles. There was, however, an appearance as of high land to the northward, although Mr. Hume thought it might have been an atmospheric deception. From the range he looked in vain for the Macquarie, or other waters, and, as his provisions were nearly consumed, he was obliged to give up all further pursuit, and to retrace his steps. He fell in with two parties of natives, which, taken collectively, amounted to thirty-five in number, but had no communication with them. It was evident, from the above account, that supposing a line to have been drawn from the camp northerly, Mr. Hume must have travelled considerably to the westward of it, and as I had run on a N.W. course from the marshes, it necessarily followed that our lines of route must have intersected each other, or that want of extension could alone have prevented them from having done so; but that, under any circumstances, they could not have been very far apart. This was too important a point to be left undecided, as upon it the question of the Macquarie's termination seemed to depend. Both Mr. Hume and myself were of opinion, that a medium course would be the most satisfactory for us to pursue, to decide this point; and it appeared that we could not do better than, by availing ourselves of the creek on which we were, and skirting the reeds, to take the first opportunity of dashing through them in a westerly direction. DOUBTS OF THE FURTHER EXTENSION OF THE RIVER. I entertained great doubts as to the longer existence of the river, and as I foresaw that, in the event of its having terminated we should strike at once into the heart of the interior, I became anxious for the arrival of supplies at Mount Harris; and although I could hardly expect that they had yet reached it, I determined to proceed thither. Mr. Hume was too unwell for me to think of imposing additional fatigue upon him; I left him, therefore, to conduct the party, by easy stages, to the northward, until such time as I should overtake them. Even in one day there was a visible improvement in the men, and Dawber's attack seemed to be rather the effects of cold than of any thing else. A death, however, under our circumstances, would have been so truly deplorable an event, that the least illness was sufficient to create alarm. I can hardly say that I was disappointed on my arrival at Mount Harris, to find its neighbourhood silent and deserted. I remained, however, under it for the greater part of the next day, and, prior to leaving it, placed a sheet of paper with written instructions against a tree, though almost without a hope that it would remain untouched. PERPLEXING SITUATION. A little after sun-set we reached the first small marsh, at which we slept; and on the following morning I crossed the plains of the Macquarie, and joined the party at about fifteen miles from the creek at which I had left it. I found it in a condition that was as unlooked for by Mr. Hume as it was unexpected by me, and really in a most perplexing situation. On the day I left him, Mr. Hume only advanced about two miles, in consequence of some derangement in the loads. Having crossed the creek, he, the next morning, proceeded down its right bank, until it entered the marshes and was lost. He then continued to move on the outskirts of the latter, and having performed a journey or about eight miles, was anxious to have stopped, but there was no water at hand. The men, however, were so fatigued, in consequence of previous illness, that he felt it necessary to halt after travelling about eleven miles. No water could be procured even here, notwithstanding that Mr. Hume, who was quite unfit for great exertion, underwent considerable bodily fatigue in his anxiety to find some. He was, therefore, obliged to move early on the following morning, but neither men nor animals were in a condition to travel; and he had scarcely made three miles' progress, when he stopped and endeavoured to obtain a supply or water by digging pits among the reeds. From these he had drawn sufficient for the wants of the people when I arrived. Some rain had fallen on the 6th and 7th of the month, or it is more than probable the expedient to which he resorted would have failed of success. Mr. Hume, I was sorry to observe, looked very unwell; but nothing could prevent him from further endeavours to extricate the party from its present embarrassment. JOURNEY CONTINUED. As soon as I had taken a little refreshment, therefore, I mounted a fresh horse; and he accompanied me across a small plain, immediately in front of the camp, which was subject to overflow and covered with polygonum, having a considerable extent of reeds to its right. From the plain we entered a wood of blue-gum, in which reeds, grass, and brush formed a thick coppice. We at length passed into an open space, surrounded on every side by weeds in dense bodies. The great marsh bore south of us, and was clear and open, but behind us the blue-gum trees formed a thick wood above the weeds. About two hundred yards from the outskirts of the marsh there was a line of saplings that had perished, and round about them a number of the tern tribe (sea swallow) were flying, one of which Mr. Hume had followed a considerable way into the reeds the evening before, in the hope that it would have led him to water. The circumstance of their being in such numbers led us to penetrate towards them, when we found a serpentine sheet of water of some length, over which they were playing. We had scarcely time to examine it before night closed in upon us, and it was after nine when we returned to the tents. From the general appearance of the country to the northward, and from the circumstance of our having got to the bottom of the great marsh, which but a few days before had threatened to be so formidable, I thought it probable that the reeds would not again prove so extensive as they had been, and I determined, if I could do so, to push through them in a westerly direction from our position. SECOND GREAT MARSH. The pits yielded us so abundant a supply during the night, that in the morning we found it unnecessary to take the animals to water at the channel we had succeeded in finding the evening before; but pursuing a westerly course we passed it, and struck deep into the reeds. At mid-day we were hemmed in by them on every side, and had crossed over numerous channels, by means of which the waters of the marshes are equally and generally distributed over the space subject to their influence. Coming to a second sheet of water, narrower, but longer, as well as we could judge, than the first, we stopped to dine at it; and, while the men were resting themselves, Mr. Hume rode with me in a westerly direction, to ascertain what obstacles we still had to contend with. Forcing our way through bodies of reeds, we at length got on a plain, stretching from S.E. to N.W., bounded on the right by a wood of blue-gum, under which the reeds still extended, and on the left by a wood in which they did not appear to exist. Certain that there was no serious obstacle in our way, we returned to the men; and as soon as they had finished their meal, led them over the plain in a N.W. by W. direction. It was covered with shells, and was full of holes from the effects of flood. CONCLUSIONS IN REGARD TO THE MACQUARIE. As we were journeying over it, I requested Mr. Hume to ride into the wood upon our left, to ascertain if it concealed any channel. On his return he informed me that he descended from the plain into a hollow, the bottom of which was covered with small shells and bulrushes. He observed a new species of eucalypti, on the trunks of which the water-mark was three feet high. After crossing this hollow, which was about a quarter of a mile in breadth, he gained an open forest of box, having good grass under it; and, judging from the appearance of the country that no other channel could exist beyond him, and that he had ascertained sufficient for the object I had in view, he turned back to the plain. We stopped for the night under a wood of box, where the grass, which had been burnt down, was then springing up most beautifully green, and was relished exceedingly by the animals. It was in consequence of our not having crossed any channel, while penetrating through the reeds, that could by any possible exaggeration have been laid down as the bed of the river, that I detached Mr. Hume; and the account he brought me at once confirmed my opinion in regard to the Macquarie, and I thenceforth gave up every hope of ever seeing it in its characteristic shape again. Independently however of all circumstantial evidence, it was clear that the river had not re-formed at a distance of twenty-five miles to the north of us, since Mr. Hume had gone to the westward of that point, at about the same distance on his late journey, without having observed the least appearance of reeds or of a river. He had, indeed, noticed a hollow, which occasionally contained water, but he saw nothing like the bed of a permanent stream. I became convinced, also, from observation of the country through which we had passed, that the sources of the Macquarie could not be of such magnitude as to give a constant flow to it as a river, and at the same time to supply with water the vast concavity into which it falls. In very heavy rains only could the marshes and adjacent lands be laid wholly under water, since the evaporation alone would be equal to the supply. The great plains stretching for so many miles to the westward of Mount Harris, even where they were clear of reeds, were covered with shells and the claws of cray-fish and their soil, although an alluvial deposit, was superficially sandy. They bore the appearance not only of frequent inundation, but of the floods having eventually subsided upon them. This was particularly observable at the bottom of the marshes. We did not find any accumulation of rubbish to indicate a rush of water to any one point; but numerous minor channels existed to distribute the floods equally and generally over every part of the area subject to them, and the marks of inundation and subsidence were everywhere the same. The plain we had last crossed, was, in like manner, covered with shells, so that we could not yet be said to be out of the influence of the marshes; besides which we had not crossed the hollow noticed by Mr. Hume, which it was clear we should do, sooner or later. SITUATION OF THE PARTY. To have remained in our position would have been impossible, as there was no water either for ourselves or the animals; to have descended into the reeds again, for the purpose of carrying on a minute survey, would, under existing circumstances, have been imprudent. Our provisions were running short, and if a knowledge of the distant interior was to be gained, we had no time to lose. It was determined, therefore, to defer our further examination of the marshes to the period of our return; and to pursue such a course as would soonest and most effectually enable us to determine the character of the western interior. CHAPTER II. Prosecution of our course into the interior--Mosquito Brush--Aspect and productions of the country--Hunting party of natives--Courageous conduct of one of them--Mosquitoes--A man missing--Group of hills called New-Year's Range--Journey down New-Year's Creek--Tormenting attack of the kangaroo fly--Dreariness and desolation of the country--Oxley's Table Land--D'Urban's Group--Continue our journey down New-Year's Creek--Extreme Disappointment on finding it salt--Fall in with a tribe of natives--Our course arrested by the want of fresh water--Extraordinary sound--Retreat towards the Macquarie. We left our position at the head of the plain early on the 13th of January, and, ere the sun dipped, had entered a very different country from that in which we had been labouring for the last three weeks. We had, as yet, passed over little other than an alluvial soil, but found that it changed to a red loam in the brushes immediately backing the camp. An open forest track succeeded this, over which the vegetation had an unusual freshness, indicating that the waters had not long subsided from its surface. We shortly afterwards crossed a hollow, similar to that Mr. Hume had described, in which bulrushes had taken the place of reeds. Flooded-gum trees, of large size, were also growing in it, but on either side box alone prevailed, under which the forest grass grew to a considerable height. We crossed the hollow two or three times, and as often remarked the line of separation between those trees. The last time we crossed it the country rose a few feet, and we journeyed for the remainder of the day, at one time over good plains, at another through brushes, until we found water and feed, at which we stopped for the night, after having travelling about thirteen miles on a W. by N. course. The mosquitoes were so extremely troublesome at this place that we called it Mosquito Brush. At this time my men were improving rapidly, and Mr. Hume complained less, and looked better. I hoped, therefore, that our progress would be rapid into the interior. CREEK LEADING NORTHERLY; PRODUCTIONS OF THE COUNTRY. On the 14th we took up a westerly course, and in the first instance traversed a plain of great extent; the soil of which was for the most part a red sandy loam, but having patches of light earth upon it. The former was covered with plants of the chenopedia kind; the latter had evidently been quagmires, and bore even then the appearance of moisture. At about seven miles from Mosquito Brush we struck upon a creek of excellent water, upon which the wild fowl were numerous. Some natives was seen, but they were only women, and seemed so alarmed that I purposely avoided them. As the creek was leading northerly, we traced it down on that course for about seven miles, and then halted upon its banks, which were composed of a light tenacious earth. Brushes of casuarina existed near it, but a tortuous box was the prevailing tree, which, excepting for the knees of small vessels, could not have been applied to any use, while the flooded-gum had entirely disappeared. Some ducks were shot in the afternoon, which proved a great treat, as we had been living for some time on salt provisions. Our animals fared worse than ourselves, as the bed of the creek was occupied by coarse rushes, and but little vegetation was elsewhere to be seen. I here killed a beautiful snake, of about four feet in length, and of a bright yellow colour: I had not, however, the means of preserving it. Fraser collected numerous botanical specimens, and among them two kinds of caparis. Indeed a great alteration had taken place in the minor shrubs, and few of those now prevalent had been observed to the eastward of the marshes. From the creek, which both I and Mr. Hume must have crossed on our respective journeys, we held a westerly course for about fifteen miles, through a country of alternate plain and brush, the latter predominating, and in its general character differing but little from that we had traversed the day previous. The acacia pendula still continued to exist on the plains backed by dark rows of cypresses (Cupressus callitris). In the brushes, box and casuarina (Casuarina tortuosa), with several other kinds of eucalypti, prevailed; but none of them were sufficiently large to be of use. The plains were so extremely level that a meridian altitude could have been taken without any material error; and I doubt much whether it would have been possible to have traversed them had the season been wet. HUNTING PARTY OF NATIVES. As we were travelling through a forest we surprised a hunting party of natives. Mr. Hume and I were considerably in front of our party at the time, and he only had his gun with him. We had been moving along so quietly that we were not for some time observed by them. Three were seated on the ground, under a tree, and two others were busily employed on one of the lower branches cutting out honey. As soon as they saw us, four of them ran away; but the fifth, who wore a cap of emu feathers, stood for a moment looking at us, and then very deliberately dropped out of the tree to the ground. I then advanced towards him, but before I got round a bush that intervened, he had darted away. I was fearful that he was gone to collect his tribe, and, under this impression, rode quickly back for my gun to support Mr. Hume. On my arrival I found the native was before me. He stood about twenty paces from Mr. Hume, who was endeavouring to explain what he was; but seeing me approach he immediately poised his spear at him, as being the nearest. Mr. Hume then unslung his carbine, and presented it; but, as it was evident my re-appearance had startled the savage, I pulled up; and he immediately lowered his weapon. His coolness and courage surprised me, and increased my desire to communicate with him. He had evidently taken both man and horse for one animal, and as long as Mr. Hume kept his seat, the native remained upon his guard; but when he saw him dismount, after the first astonishment had subsided, he stuck his spear into the ground, and walked fearlessly up to him. We easily made him comprehend that we were in search of water; when he pointed to the west, as indicating that we should supply our wants there. He gave his information in a frank and manly way, without the least embarrassment, and when the party passed, he stepped back to avoid the animals, without the smallest confusion. I am sure he was a very brave man; and I left him with the most favourable impressions, and not without hope that he would follow us. From a more open forest, we entered a dense scrub, the soil in which was of a bright-red colour and extremely sandy, and the timber of various kinds. A leafless species of stenochylus aphylta, which, from the resemblance, I at first thought one of the polygonum tribe, was very abundant in the open spaces, and the young cypresses were occasionally so close as to turn us from the direction in which we had been moving. In the scrub we crossed Mr. Hume's tract, and, from the appearance of the ground, I was led to believe mine could not be very distant. FATE OF THE MACQUARIE. We struck upon a creek late in the afternoon, at which we stopped; New Year's Range bearing nearly due west at about four miles' distance. Had we struck upon my track, the question about which we were so anxious would still have been undecided; but the circumstance of our having crossed Mr. Hume's, which, from its direction, could not be mistaken, convinced me of the fate of the Macquarie, and I felt assured that, whatever channels it might have for the distribution of its waters, to the north of our line of route, the equality of surface of the interior would never permit it again to form a river; and that it only required an examination of the lower parts of the marshes to confirm the theory of the ultimate evaporation and absorption of its waters, instead of their contributing to the permanence of an inland sea, as Mr. Oxley had supposed. NEW YEAR'S RANGE. On the 17th of January we encamped under New Year's Range, which is the first elevation in the interior of Eastern Australia to the westward of Mount Harris. Yet when at its base, I do not think that we had ascended above forty feet higher than the plains in the neighbourhood of that last mentioned eminence. There certainly is a partial rise of country, where the change of soil takes place from the alluvial deposits of the marshes, to the sandy loam so prevalent on the plains we had lately traversed; but I had to regret that I was unable to decide so interesting a question by other than bare conjecture. Notwithstanding that Mr. Hume had already been on them, I encouraged hopes that a second survey of the country from the highest point of New Year's Range would enable us to form some opinion of it, by which to direct our future movements; but I was disappointed. The two wooded hills I had seen from Oxley's Table Land were visible from the range, bearing south; and other eminences bore by compass S.W. and W. by S.; but in every other direction the horizon was unbroken. To the westward, there appeared to be a valley of considerable extent, stretching N. and S., in which latter direction there was a long strip of cleared ground, that looked very like the sandy bed of a broad and rapid river. The bare possibility of the reality determined me to ascertain by inspection, whether my conjecture was right, and Mr. Hume accompanied me on this excursion. After we left the camp we crossed a part of the range, and travelled for some time through open forest land that would afford excellent grazing in most seasons. We passed some hollows, and noticed many huts that had been occupied near them; but the hollows were now quite dry, and the huts had been long deserted. After about ten miles' ride we reached a plain of white sand, from which New Year's Range was distinctly visible; and this no doubt was the spot that had attracted my attention. Pools of water continued on it, from which circumstance it would appear that the sand had a substratum of clay or marl. From this plain we proceeded southerly through acacia scrub, bounding gently undulating forest land, and at length ascended some small elevations that scarcely deserved the name of hills. They had fragments of quartz profusely scattered over them; and the soil, which was sandy, contained particles of mica. MOSQUITOES. The view from them was confused, nor did any fresh object meet our observation. We had, however, considerably neared the two wooded hills, and the elevations that from the range were to the S.W., now bore N.W. of us. We had wandered too far from the camp to admit of our returning to it to sleep; we therefore commenced a search for water, and having found some, we tethered our horses near it for the night, and should have been tolerably comfortable, had not the mosquitoes been so extremely troublesome. They defied the power of smoke, and annoyed me so much, that, hot as it was, I rolled myself in my boat cloak, and perspired in consequence to such a degree, that my clothes were wet through, and I had to stand at the fire in the morning to dry them. Mr. Hume, who could not bear such confinement, suffered the penalty, and was most unmercifully bitten. A MAN MISSING. We reached the camp about noon the following day, and learnt, to our vexation, that one of the men, Norman, had lost himself shortly after we started, and had not since been heard of. Dawber, my overseer, was out in search of him. I awaited his return, therefore, before I took any measures for the man's recovery; nor was I without hopes that Dawber would have found him, as it appeared he had taken one of the horses with him, and Dawber, by keeping his tracks, might eventually have overtaken him. He returned, however, about 3 p.m. unsuccessful, when Mr. Hume and I mounted our horses, and proceeded in different directions in quest of him, but were equally disappointed. We met at the creek in the dark, and returned to the camp together, when I ordered the cypresses on the range to be set on fire, and thus illuminated the country round for many miles. In the morning, however, as Norman had not made his appearance, we again started in search of the poor fellow, on whose account I was now most uneasy; for his horse, it appeared, had escaped him, and was found with the others at watering time. I did not return to the camp until after sunset, more fatigued than I recollect ever having been before. I was, however, rejoiced on being informed that the object of my anxiety was safe in his tent; that he had caught sight of the hill the evening before, and that he had reached the camp shortly after I left it. He had been absent three nights and two days, and had not tasted water or food of any kind during that time. To my enquiries he replied, that, being on horseback, he thought he could have overtaken a kangaroo, which passed him whilst waiting at the creek for the cattle, and that in the attempt, he lost himself. It would appear that he crossed the creek in the dark, and his horse escaped from him on the first night. He complained more of thirst than of hunger, although he had drunk at the watering-place to such an excess, on his return, as to make him vomit; but, though not a little exhausted, he had escaped better than I should have expected. COUNTRY AROUND NEW YEAR'S RANGE. New Year's Range consists of a principal group of five hills, the loftiest of which does not measure 300 feet in height. It has lateral ridges, extending to the N.N.W. on the one hand, and bending in to the creek on the other. The former have a few cypresses, sterculia, and iron bark upon them; the latter are generally covered with brush, under box; the brush for the most part consisting of two distinct species of stenochylus, and a new acacia. The whole range is of quartz formation, small fragments of which are profusely scattered over the ridges, and are abundantly incrusted with oxide of iron. The soil in the neighbourhood of New Year's Range is a red loam, with a slight mixture of sand. An open forest country lies between it and the creek, and it is not at all deficient in pasture. NEW YEAR'S CREEK. That a change of soil takes place to the westward of the creek, is obvious, from the change of vegetation, the most remarkable feature of which is the sudden check given to the further extension of the acacia pendula, which is not to be found beyond it, it being succeeded by another acacia of the same species and habits; neither do the plants of the chenopedia class exist in the immediate vicinity of the range. I place these hills, as far as my observations will allow, in east lon. 146 degrees 32 minutes 15 seconds, and in lat. 30 degrees 21 minutes south; the variation of the compass being 6 degrees 40 minutes easterly. As New Year's Creek was leading northerly, it had been determined to trace it down as long as it should keep that course, or one to the westward of it. We broke up the camp, therefore, under the range, on the evening of the 18th, and moved to the creek, about two miles north of the place at which we had before crossed it, with the intention of prosecuting our journey on the morrow. But both Mr. Hume and I were so fatigued that we were glad of an opportunity to rest, even for a single day. We remained stationary, therefore, on the 19th; nor was I without hope that the natives whom we had surprised in the woods, would have paid us a visit, since Mr. Hume had met them in his search for Norman, and they had promised not only to come to us, but to do all in their power to find the man, whose footsteps some of them had crossed. They did not, however, venture near us; and I rather attribute their having kept aloof, to the circumstance of Mr. Hume's having fired a shot, shortly after he left them, as a signal to Norman, in the event of his being within hearing of the report. They must have been alarmed at so unusual a sound; but I am sure nothing was further from Mr. Hume's intention than to intimidate them; his knowledge of their manners and customs, as well as his partiality to the natives, being equally remarkable. The circumstance is, however, a proof of the great caution that is necessary in communicating with them. ANNOYED BY KANGAROO FLIES. I have said that we remained stationary the day after we left the range, with a view to enjoy a little rest; it would, however, have been infinitely better if we had moved forward. Our camp was infested by the kangaroo fly, which settled upon us in thousands. They appeared to rise from the ground, and as fast as they were swept off were succeeded by fresh numbers. It was utterly impossible to avoid their persecution, penetrating as they did into the very tents. The men were obliged to put handkerchiefs over their faces, and stockings upon their hands; but they bit through every thing. It was to no purpose that I myself shifted from place to place; they still followed, or were equally numerous everywhere. To add to our discomfort, the animals were driven almost to madness, and galloped to and fro in so furious a manner that I was apprehensive some of them would have been lost. I never experienced such a day of torment; and only when the sun set, did these little creatures cease from their attacks. SUDDENLY RELIEVED. It will be supposed that we did not stay to subject ourselves to another trial; indeed it was with some degree of horror that the men saw the first light of morning streak the horizon. They got up immediately, and we moved down the creek, on a northerly course, without breakfasting as usual. We found that dense brushes of casuarina lined the creek on both sides, beyond which, to our left, there was open rising ground, on which eucalypti, cypresses, and the acacia longifolia, prevailed; whilst to the east, plains seemed to predominate. Although we had left the immediate spot at which the kangaroo flies (cabarus) seemed to be collected, I did not expect that we should have got rid of them so completely as we did. None of them were seen during the day; a proof that they were entirely local. They were about half the size of a common house fly, had flat brown bodies, and their bite, although sharp and piercing, left no irritation after it. About noon we stopped at the creek side to take some refreshment. The country bore an improved appearance around us, and the cattle found abundance of pasture. It was evident that the creek had been numerously frequented by the natives, although no recent traces of them could be found. It had a bed of coarse red granite, of the fragments of which the natives had constructed a weir for the purpose of taking fish. The appearance of this rock in so isolated a situation, is worthy of the consideration of geologists. DESOLATION OF THE COUNTRY. The promise of improvement I have noticed, gradually disappeared as we proceeded on our day's journey, and we at length found ourselves once more among brushes, and on the edge of plains, over which the rhagodia prevailed. Nothing could exceed in dreariness the appearance of the tracks through which we journeyed, on this and the two following days. The creek on which we depended for a supply of water, gave such alarming indications of a total failure, that I at one time, had serious thoughts of abandoning my pursuit of it. We passed hollow after hollow that had successively dried up, although originally of considerable depth; and, when we at length found water, it was doubtful how far we could make use of it. Sometimes in boiling it left a sediment nearly equal to half its body; at other times it was so bitter as to be quite unpalatable. That on which we subsisted was scraped up from small puddles, heated by the sun's rays; and so uncertain were we of finding water at the end of the day's journey, that we were obliged to carry a supply on one of the bullocks. There was scarcely a living creature, even of the feathered race, to be seen to break the stillness of the forest. The native dogs alone wandered about, though they had scarcely strength to avoid us; and their melancholy howl, breaking in upon the ear at the dead of the night, only served to impress more fully on the mind the absolute loneliness of the desert. It appeared, from their traces that the natives had lingered on this ground, on which they had perhaps been born, as long as it continued to afford them a scanty though precarious subsistence; but that they had at length been forced from it. Neither fish nor muscles remained in the creek, nor emus nor kangaroos on the plains. How then could an European expect to find food in deserts through which the savage wandered in vain? There is no doubt of the fate that would have overtaken any one of the party who might have strayed away, and I was happy to find that Norman's narrow escape had made a due impression on the minds of his comrades. SANDY PLAINS; LEAVE THE CREEK. We passed some considerable plains, lying to the eastward of the creek, on parts of which the grass, though growing in tufts, was of luxuriant growth. They were, however, more generally covered with salsola and rhagodia, and totally destitute of other vegetation, the soil upon them being a red sandy loam. The paths across the plains, which varied in breadth from three to eight miles, were numerous; but they had not been recently trodden. The creek continued to have a thick brush of casuarina and acacia near it, to the westward of which there was a rising open forest track; the timber upon it being chiefly box, cypress, and the acacia longifolia. It was most probably connected with New Year's Range, those elevations being about thirty miles distant. It terminated in some gentle hills which, though covered in places with acacia shrub, were sufficiently open to afford an extensive view. From their summit Oxley's Table Land, towards which we had been gradually working our way, was distinctly visible, distant about twenty miles, and bearing by compass W. by S. On descending from these hills (called the Pink Hills, from the colour of a flower upon them) which were scattered over with fragments of slaty quartz, we traversed a box flat, apparently subject to overflow, having a barren sandy scrub to its left. I had desired the men to preserve a W.N.W. direction, on leaving them, supposing that that course would have kept them near the creek; but, on overtaking the party, I found that they had wandered completely away from it. The fact was, that the creek had taken a sudden bend to the eastward of N. and had thus thrown them out. It was with some difficulty that we regained it before sunset; and we were at length obliged to stop for the night at a small plain, about a quarter of a mile short of it, but we had the satisfaction of having excellent feed for the animals. OXLEY'S TABLE LAND. Fearful that New Year's Creek would take us too far to the eastward, and being anxious to keep westward as much as possible, it struck me that we could not, under existing circumstances, do better than make for Oxley's Table Land. Water, I knew, we should find in a swamp at it's base, and we might discover some more encouraging feature than I had observed on my hasty visit to it. We left the creek, therefore on the 23rd, and once more took up a westerly course. Passing through a generally open country, we stopped at noon to rest the animals; and afterwards got on an excellent grazing forest track, which continued to the brush, through another part of which I had penetrated to the marsh more to the south. While making our way through it, we came upon a small pond of water, and must have alarmed some natives, as there was a fresh made fire close to it. Our journey had been unusually long, and the cattle had felt the heat so much, that the moment they saw water they rushed into it; and, as this created some confusion, I thought it best to stop where we were for the night. In the morning, Mr. Hume walked with me to the hill, a distance of about a mile. It is not high enough to deserve the name of a mountain, although a beautiful feature in the country, and showing well from any point of view. We ascended it with an anxiety that may well be imagined, but were wholly disappointed in our most sanguine expectations. Our chief object, in this second visit to Oxley's Table Land, had been to examine, more at leisure, the face of the country around it, and to discover, if possible, some fixed point on which to move. If the rivers of the interior had already exhausted themselves, what had we to expect from a creek whose diminished appearance where we left it made us apprehend its speedy termination, and whose banks we traversed under constant apprehension? In any other country I should have followed such a water course, in hopes of its ultimately leading to some reservoir; but here I could encourage no such favourable anticipation. The only new object that struck our sight was a remarkable and distant hill of conical shape, bearing by compass S. 10 E. To the southward and westward, in the direction of D'Urban's Group, a dense and apparently low brush extended; but to the N. and N.W., there was a regular alternation of wood and plain. I left Mr. Hume upon the hill, that he might the more readily notice any smoke made by the natives; and returned myself to the camp about one o'clock, to move the party to the swamp. Mr. Hume's perseverance was of little avail. The region he had been overlooking was, to all appearance, uninhabited, nor did a single fire indicate that there was even a solitary wanderer upon its surface. EXCURSION TO D'URBAN'S GROUP. Our situation, at this time, was extremely embarrassing, and the only circumstance on which we had to congratulate ourselves was, the improved condition of our men; for several of the cattle and horses were in a sad plight. The weather had been so extremely oppressive, that we had found it impossible to keep them free from eruptions. I proposed to Mr. Hume, therefore, to give them a few days' rest, and to make an excursion, with such of them as were serviceable, to D'Urban's Group. We were both of us unwilling to return to the creek, but we foresaw that a blind reliance upon fortune, in our next movements, might involve us in inextricable difficulty. On the other hand, there was a very great risk in delay. It was more than probable, from the continued drought, that our retreat would be cut off from the want of water, or that we should only be enabled to effect our retreat with loss of most of the animals. The hope, however, of our intersecting some stream, or of falling upon a better country, prevailed over other considerations; and the excursion was, consequently, determined upon. DISTRESS FROM WANT OF WATER. We left the camp on the 25th, accompanied by Hopkinson and the tinker; and, almost immediately after, entered an acacia scrub of the most sterile description, and one, through which it would have been impossible to have found a passage for the boat carriage. The soil was almost a pure sand, and the lower branches of the trees were decayed so generally as to give the whole an indescribable appearance of desolation. About mid-day, we crossed a light sandy plain, on which there were some dirty puddles of water. They were so shallow as to leave the backs of the frogs in them exposed, and they had, in consequence, been destroyed by solar heat, and were in a state of putrefaction. Our horses refused to drink, but it was evident that some natives must have partaken of this sickening beverage only a few hours before our arrival. Indeed, it was clear that a wandering family must have slept near this spot, as we observed a fresh made gunneah (or native hut), and their foot-prints were so fresh along the line we were pursuing, that we momentarily expected to have overtaken them. It was late in the evening when we got out of this brush into better and more open ground, where, in ordinary seasons we should, no doubt, have found abundance of water. But we now searched in vain for it, and were contented to be enabled to give our wearied animals better food than they had tasted for many days, the forest grass, though in tufts, being abundant. We brought up for the night at the edge of a scrub, having travelled from thirty-two to thirty-five miles, judging the distance from the mountains still to be about twelve. BEARINGS FROM OXLEY'S TABLE LAND. In the morning we started at an early hour, and immediately entered the brush, beneath which we had slept; pursuing a westerly course through it. After a short ride, we found ourselves upon a plain, that was crowded with flocks of cockatoos. Here we got a supply of water, such as it was--so mixed with slime as to hang in strings between the fingers; and, after a hasty breakfast, we proceeded on our journey, mostly through a barren sandy scrub that was a perfect burrow from the number of wombats in it, to within a mile of the hill group, where the country appeared like one continuous meadow to the very base of them. I never saw anything like the luxuriance of the grass on this tract of country, waving as it did higher than our horses' middles as we rode through it. We ascended the S.W. face of the mountain to an elevation of at least 800 feet above the level of the plain, and had some difficulty in scaling the masses of rock that opposed themselves to our progress. But on gaining the summit, we were amply repaid for our trouble. The view extended far and wide, but we were again disappointed in the main object that had induced us to undertake the journey. I took the following bearings by compass. Oxley's Table Land bore N. 40 E. distant forty-five miles; small and distant hill due E.; conical peak seen from Oxley's Table Land S. 60 E., very distant; long ridge of high land, S.E., distant thirty-five miles; high land, S. 30 E., distant thirty miles; long range, S. 25 W. To the westward, as a medium point, the horizon was unbroken, and the eye wandered over an apparently endless succession of wood and plain. A brighter green than usual marked the course of the mountain torrents in several places, but there was no glittering light among the trees, no smoke to betray a water hole, or to tell that a single inhabitant was traversing the extensive region we were overlooking. We were obliged to return to the plain on which we had breakfasted, and to sleep upon it. D'URBAN'S GROUP. D'Urban's Group is of compact sandstone formation. Its extreme length is from E.S.E. to W.N.W., and cannot be more than from seven to nine miles, whilst its breadth is from two to four. The central space forms a large basin, in which there are stunted pines and eucalyptus scrub, amid huge fragments of rocks. It rises like an island from the midst of the ocean, and as I looked upon it from the plains below, I could without any great stretch of the imagination, picture to myself that it really was such. Bold and precipitous, it only wanted the sea to lave its base; and I cannot but think that such must at no very remote period have been the case, and that the immense flat we had been traversing, is of comparatively recent formation. We reached the camp on the 28th of the month, by nearly the same route; and were happy to find that, after the few days' rest they had enjoyed, there was a considerable improvement in the animals. Our experience of the nature of the country to the southward, and the westward, was such as to deter us from risking anything, by taking such a direction as was most agreeable to our views. Nothing remained to us but to follow the creek, or to retreat; and as we could only be induced to adopt the last measure when every other expedient should have failed, we determined on pursuing our original plan, of tracing New Year's Creek as far as practicable. DESCRIPTION OF OXLEY'S TABLE LAND. Oxley's Table Land is situated in lat. 29 degrees 57 minutes 30 seconds, and in E. long. 145 degrees 43 minutes 30 seconds, the mean variation being 6.32 easterly. It consists of two hills that appear to have been rent asunder by some convulsion of nature, since the passage between them is narrow and their inner faces are equally perpendicular. The hill which I have named after the late Surveyor-general, is steep on all sides; but the other gradually declines from the south, and at length loses itself in a large plain that extends to the north. It is from four to five miles in length, and is picturesque in appearance, and lightly wooded. A few cypresses were growing on Oxley's Table Land; but it had, otherwise, very little timber upon its summit. Both hills are of sandstone formation, and there are some hollows upon the last that deserve particular notice. They have the appearance of having been formed by eddies of water, being deeper in the centre than at any other part, and contain fragments and slabs of sandstone of various size and breadth, without a particle of soil or of sand between them. It is to be observed that the edges of these slabs, which were perfect parallelograms, were unbroken, and that they were as clean as if they had only just been turned out of the hand of the mason. We counted thirteen of these hollows in one spot about twenty-five feet in diameter, but they are without doubt of periodical formation, since a single hollow was observed lower than the summit of the hill upon its south extremity, that had evidently long been exposed to the action of the atmosphere, and had a general coating of moss over it. CONTINUE THE JOURNEY; DOWN NEW YEAR'S CREEK. We left Oxley's Table Land on the morning of the 31st of January, pursuing a northern course through the brush and across a large plain, moving parallel to the smaller hill, and keeping it upon our left. The soil upon this plain differed in character from that on the plains to the eastward, and was much freer from sand. We stopped to dine at a spot, whence Oxley's Table Land bore by compass, S. by W., distant about twelve miles. Continuing our journey, at 2 p.m. we cleared the plain, and entered a tract covered with the polygonum junceum, on a soil evidently the deposit of floods. Box-trees were thinly scattered over it, and among the polygonum, the crested pigeons were numerous. These general appearances, together with a dip of country to the N.N.W., made us conclude that we were approaching the creek, and we accordingly intersected it on a N.N.E. course, at about three miles' distance from where we had dined. It had, however, undergone so complete a change, and had increased so much in size and in the height of its banks, that we were at a loss to recognize it. Still, with all these favourable symptoms, there was not a drop of water in it. But small shells lay in heaps in its bed, or were abundantly scattered over it; and we remarked that they differed from those on the plains of the Macquarie. A circumstance that surprised us much, was the re-appearance of the flooded-gum upon its banks, and that too of a large size. We had not seen any to the westward of the marshes, and we were, consequently, led to indulge in more sanguine expectation as to our ultimate success than we had ever ventured to do before. The party crossed to the right bank of the creek, and then moved in a westerly direction along it in search of water. A brush extended to our right, and some broken stony ground, rather elevated, was visible, to which Mr. Hume rode; nor did he join me again until after I had halted the party for the night. DISTRESSED FOR WATER. My search for water had been unsuccessful, and the sun had set, when I came upon a broad part of the creek that appeared very favourable for an encampment, as it was encompassed by high banks, and would afford the men a greater facility of watching the cattle, that I knew would stray away if they could. My anxiety for them led me to wander down the bed of the creek, when, to my joy, I found a pond of water within a hundred yards of the tents. It is impossible for me to describe the relief I felt at this success, or the gladness it spread among the men. Mr. Hume joined me at dusk, and informed me that he had made a circuit, and had struck upon the creek about three miles below us but that, in tracing it up, he had not found a drop of water until he came to the pond near which we had so providentially encamped. On the following morning, we held a westerly course over an open country for about eight miles and a half. The prevailing timber appeared to be a species of eucalypti, with rough bark, of small size, and evidently languishing from the want of moisture. The soil over which we travelled was far from bad, but there was a total absence of water upon it. At 6 p.m. Oxley's Table Land was distant from us about fifteen miles, bearing S. 20 E. by compass. We had not touched upon the creek from the time we left it in the morning, having wandered from it in a northerly direction, along a native path that we intersected, and that seemed to have been recently trodden, since footsteps were fresh upon it. At sunset, we crossed a broad dry creek that puzzled us extremely, and were shortly afterwards obliged to stop for the night upon a plain beyond it. We had, during the afternoon, bent down to the S.W. in hopes that we should again have struck upon New Year's Creek; and, under an impression that we could not be far from it, Mr. Hume and I walked across the plain, to ascertain if it was sufficiently near to be of any service to us. We came upon a creek, but could not decide whether it was the one for which we had been searching, or another. Its bed was so perfectly even that it was impossible to say to what point it flowed, more especially as all remains of debris had mouldered away. It was, however, extremely broad, and evidently, at times, held a furious torrent. In the centre of it, at one of the angles, we discovered a pole erected, and at first thought, from the manner in which it was propped up, that some unfortunate European must have placed it there as a mark to tell of his wanderings, but we afterwards concluded that it might be some superstitious rite of the natives, in consequence of the untowardness of the season, as it seemed almost inconceivable that an European could have wandered to such a distance from the located districts in safety. REACH A LARGE RIVER. The creek had flooded-gum growing upon its banks, and, on places apparently subject to flood, a number of tall straight saplings were observed by us. We returned to the camp, after a vain search for water, and were really at a loss what direction next to pursue. The men kept the cattle pretty well together, and, as we were not delayed by any preparations for breakfast, they were saddled and loaded at an early hour. The circumstance of there having been natives in the neighbourhood, of whom we had seen so few traces of late, assured me that water was at hand, but in what direction it was impossible to guess. As the path we had observed was leading northerly, we took up that course, and had not proceeded more than a mile upon it, when we suddenly found ourselves on the banks of a noble river. Such it might in truth be called, where water was scarcely to be found. The party drew up upon a bank that was from forty to forty-five feet above the level of the stream. The channel of the river was front seventy to eighty yards broad, and enclosed an unbroken sheet of water, evidently very deep, and literally covered with pelicans and other wild fowl. Our surprise and delight may better be imagined than described. Our difficulties seemed to be at an end, for here was a river that promised to reward all our exertions, and which appeared every moment to increase in importance to our imagination. Coming from the N.E., and flowing to the S.W., it had a capacity of channel that proved that we were as far from its source as from its termination. The paths of the natives on either side of it were like well trodden roads; and the trees that overhung it were of beautiful and gigantic growth. DISAPPOINTMENT ON FINDING THE RIVER SALT. Its banks were too precipitous to allow of our watering the cattle, but the men eagerly descended to quench their thirst, which a powerful sun had contributed to increase; nor shall I ever forget the cry of amazement that followed their doing so, or the looks of terror and disappointment with which they called out to inform me that the water was so salt as to be unfit to drink! This was, indeed, too true: on tasting it, I found it extremely nauseous, and strongly impregnated with salt, being apparently a mixture of sea and fresh water. Whence this arose, whether from local causes, or from a communication with some inland sea, I knew not, but the discovery was certainly a blow for which I was not prepared. Our hopes were annihilated at the moment of their apparent realization. The cup of joy was dashed out of our hands before we had time to raise it to our lips. Notwithstanding this disappointment, we proceeded down the river, and halted at about five miles, being influenced by the goodness of the feed to provide for the cattle as well as circumstances would permit. They would not drink of the river water, but stood covered in it for many hours, having their noses alone exposed above the stream. Their condition gave me great uneasiness. It was evident they could not long hold out under their excessive thirst, and unless we should procure some fresh water, it would impossible for us to continue our journey. On a closer examination, the river appeared to me much below its ordinary level, and its current was scarcely perceptible. We placed sticks to ascertain if there was a rise or fall of tide, but could arrive at no satisfactory conclusion, although there was undoubtedly a current in it. Yet, as I stood upon its banks at sunset, when not a breath of air existed to break the stillness of the waters below me, and saw their surface kept in constant agitation by the leaping of fish, I doubted whether the river could supply itself so abundantly, and the rather imagined, that it owed such abundance, which the pelicans seemed to indicate was constant, to some mediterranean sea or other. Where, however, were the human inhabitants of this distant and singular region? The signs of a numerous population were around us, but we had not seen even a solitary wanderer. The water of the river was not, by any means, so salt as that of the ocean, but its taste was precisely similar. Could it be that its unnatural state had driven its inhabitants from its banks? One would have imagined that our perplexities would have been sufficient for one day, but ere night closed, they increased upon us, although our anxiety, with regard to the cattle, was happily removed. Mr. Hume with his usual perseverance, walked out when the camp was formed; and, at a little distance from it, ascended a ridge of pure sand, crowned with cypresses. From this, he descended to the westward, and, at length, struck upon the river, where a reef of rocks creased its channel, and formed a dry passage from one side to the other; but the bend, which the river must have taken, appeared to him so singular, that he doubted whether it was the same beside which we had been travelling during the day. Curiosity led him to cross it, when he found a small pond of fresh water on a tongue of land, and, immediately afterwards, returned to acquaint me with the welcome tidings. It was too late to move, but we had, at least, the prospect of a comfortable breakfast in the morning. JUNCTION OF NEW YEAR'S CREEK. In consequence of the doubts that hung upon Mr. Hume's mind, as to the course of the river, we arranged that the animals should precede us to the fresh water; and that we should keep close in upon the stream, to ascertain that point. After traversing a deep bight, we arrived nearly as soon as the party, at the appointed rendezvous. The rocks composing the channel of the river at the crossing place, were of indurated clay. In the course of an hour, the animals appearing quite refreshed, we proceeded on our journey, and at about four miles crossed New Year's Creek, at its junction with the salt river. We passed several parts of the main channel that were perfectly dry, and were altogether at a loss to account for the current we undoubtedly had observed in the river when we first came upon it. At midday D'Urban's Group bore S. 65 E. distant about 32 miles. We made a little westing in the afternoon. The river continued to maintain its character and appearance, its lofty banks, and its long still reaches: while, however, the blue-gum trees upon its banks were of magnificent size, the soil had but little vegetation upon it, although an alluvial deposit. We passed over vast spaces covered with the polygonum junceum, that bore all the appearance of the flooded tracks in the neighbourhood of the marshes, and on which the travelling was equally distressing to the animals. Indeed, it had been sufficiently evident to us that the waters of this river were not always confined to its channel, capacious as it was, but that they inundated a belt of barren land, that varied in width from a quarter of a mile to a mile, when they were checked by an outer embankment that prevented them from spreading generally over the country, and upon the neighbouring plains. At our halting place, the cattle drank sparingly of the water, but it acted as a violent purgative both on them and the men who partook of it. NATIVE VILLAGE. On the 5th, the river led us to the southward and westward. Early in the day, we passed a group of seventy huts, capable of holding from twelve to fifteen men each. They appeared to be permanent habitations, and all of them fronted the same point of the compass. In searching amongst them we observed two beautifully made nets, of about ninety yards in length. The one had much larger meshes than the other, and was, most probably, intended to take kangaroos; but the other was evidently a fishing net. In one hut, the floor of which was swept with particular care, a number of white balls, as of pulverised shells or lime, had been deposited--the use of which we could not divine. A trench was formed round the hut to prevent the rain from running under it, and the whole was arranged with more than ordinary attention. TERROR OF THE NATIVES. We had not proceeded very far when we came suddenly upon the tribe to which this village, as it might be called, belonged. In breaking through some brush to an open space that was bounded on one side by the river, we observed three or four natives, seated on a bank at a considerable distance from us; and directly in the line on which we were moving. The nature of the ground so completely favoured our approach, that they did not become aware of it until we were within a few yards of them, and had ascended a little ridge, which, as we afterwards discovered, ended in an abrupt precipice upon the river, not more than thirty yards to our right. The crack of the drayman's whip was the first thing that aroused their attention. They gazed upon us for a moment, and then started up and assumed an attitude of horror and amazement; their terror apparently increasing upon them. We stood perfectly immovable, until at length they gave a fearful yell, and darted out of sight. THEY FIRE THE BUSH. Their cry brought about a dozen more natives from the river, whom we had not before observed, but who now ran after their comrades with surprising activity, and without once venturing to look behind them. As our position was a good one, we determined to remain upon it, until we should ascertain the number and disposition of the natives. We had not been long stationary, when we heard a crackling noise in the distance, and it soon became evident that the bush had been fired. It was, however, impossible that we could receive any injury on the narrow ridge upon which we stood, so that we waited very patiently to see the end of this affair. REMARKS ON THE NATIVES; DISEASE AMONG THEM. In a short time the fire approached pretty near to us, and dense columns of smoke rose into the air over our heads. One of the natives, who had been on the bank, now came out of the bush, exactly from the spot into which he had retreated. He advanced a few paces towards us, and bending his body so that his hands rested on his knees, he fixed his gaze upon us for some time; but, seeing that we remained immovable, he began to throw himself into the most extravagant attitudes, shaking his foot from time to time. When he found that all his violence had no effect, he turned his rear to us in a most laughable manner, and absolutely groaned in spirit when he found that this last insult failed of success. He stood perplexed and not knowing what next to do, which gave Mr. Hume an opportunity to call out to him, and with considerable address he at length got the savage to approach close up to him; Mr. Hume himself having advanced a short distance from the animals in the first instance. As soon as I thought the savage had sufficiently recovered from his alarm, I went up to him with a tomahawk, the use of which he immediately guessed. We now observed that the natives who had fled from the river, had been employed in setting a net. They had placed it in a semicircle, with either end to the shore, and rude pieces of wood were attached to it to keep the upper part perpendicular. It was in fact a sein, only that the materials, with the exception of the net-work, were simpler and rougher than cork or lead--for which last, we afterwards discovered stones had been substituted. We had on this occasion a remarkable instance of the docility of the natives of the interior, or of the power they have of subduing their apprehensions; manifesting the opposite extremes of fear and confidence. These men whom we had thus surprised, and who, no doubt, imagined that we were about to destroy them, having apparently never seen nor heard of white men before, must have taken us for something preternatural; yet from the extremity of fear that had prompted them to set their woods in flames, they in a brief space so completely subdued those fears as to approach the very beings who had so strongly excited their alarm. The savage who had been the principal actor in the scene, was an elderly man, rather descending to the vale of years than what might be strictly called aged. I know not how it was, but I regarded him with peculiar interest. Mr. Hume's manners had in a great measure contributed to allay his evident agitation; but, from the moment I approached him, I thought there was a shade of anxiety upon his brow, and an expression of sorrow over his features, the cause of which did not originate with us. I could see in a moment, that his bosom was full even to bursting, and he seemed to claim at once our sympathy and our protection, although we were ignorant of that which oppressed him. We had not long been seated together, when some of his tribe mustered sufficient courage to join him. Both Mr. Hume and I were desirous of seeing the net drawn, but the old man raised some objection, by pointing to the heavens and towards the sun. After a little more solicitation, however, he gave a whistle, and, four or five natives having obeyed the summons, he directed them to draw the net, but they were unfortunate, and our wish to ascertain the kind of fish contained in the river was disappointed. As his tribe gathered round him, the old chief threw a melancholy glance upon them, and endeavoured, as much as he could, to explain the cause of that affliction which, as I had rightly judged, weighed heavily upon him. It appeared, then, that a violent cutaneous disease raged throughout the tribe, that was sweeping them off in great numbers. He called several young men to Mr. Hume and myself, who had been attacked by this singular malady. Nothing could exceed the anxiety of his explanations, or the mild and soothing tone in which he addressed his people, and it really pained me that I could not assist him in his distress. We now discovered the use to which the conical substance that had been deposited with such unusual care in one of the huts, was applied. There were few of the natives present who were not more or less marked with it, and it was no doubt, indicative of mourning. DEPARTURE OF THE NATIVES. Some of the men, however, were painted with red and yellow ochre, with which it was evident to me they had besmeared themselves since our appearance, most likely in preparing for the combat in which they fancied they would be engaged. We distributed such presents as we had to those around us, and when we pursued our journey, the majority accompanied us, nor did they wholly leave us until we had passed the place to which their women had retired. They might have left us when they pleased, for we intended them no harm; as it was, however, they struck into the brushes to join their families, and we pushed on to make up for lost time. The travelling near the river had been so bad, not only in consequence of the nature of the soil and brush, but from the numerous gullies that had been formed by torrents, as they poured into its channel after heavy rains and floods, that it was thought advisable to keep at a greater distance from it. We turned away, therefore, to the plains, and found them of much firmer surface. They partook, however, of the same general character as the plains we had traversed more to the eastward. Their soil was a light sandy loam, and the same succulent plants still continued to prevail upon them, which we have already noticed as existing upon the other plains. Both emus and kangaroos were seen, though not in any considerable numbers, but our dogs were not in a condition to run, and were all but killed by the extreme heat of the weather. We had fallen on a small pool of water shortly after we started in the morning, but we could do no more than refresh ourselves and the animals at it. In the afternoon, we again turned towards the river, and found it unaltered. Its water was still salt, and from the increased number of wild fowl and pelicans upon it, as well as from the general flatness of the country, I certainly thought we were rapidly approaching some inland sea. It was, however, uncertain how long we should be enabled to continue on the river. The animals were all of them extremely weak, and every day increased the probable difficulty of our return. There was not the least appearance of a break-up of the drought, the heavens were without a cloud, and the atmosphere was so clear that the outline of the moon could be distinctly seen, although she was far in her wane. BRINE SPRINGS IN THE RIVER. On the 6th, we journeyed again through a barren scrub, although on firmer ground, and passed numerous groups of huts. At about eight miles from our last encampment, we came upon the river, where its banks were of considerable height. In riding along them, Mr. Hume thought he observed a current running, and he called to inform me of the circumstance. On a closer examination, we discovered some springs in the very bed of the river, from which a considerable stream was gushing, and from the incrustation around them, we had no difficulty in guessing at their nature: in fact, they were brine springs, and I collected a quantity of salt from the brink of them. DISTRESS FOR WANT OF FRESH WATER. After such a discovery, we could not hope to keep our position. No doubt the current we had observed on first reaching the river, was caused by springs that had either escaped our notice or were under water. Here was at length a local cause for its saltness that destroyed at once the anticipation and hope of our being near its termination, and, consequently, the ardour with which we should have pressed on to decide so interesting a point. Our retreat would have been a measure of absolute necessity ere this, had we not found occasional supplies of fresh water, the last pond of which was now about eighteen miles behind us. OUR COURSE ARRESTED. Whether we should again find any, was a doubtful question, and I hesitated to run the risk. The animals were already, from bad food, and from the effects of the river water, so weak, that they could scarcely carry their loads, and I was aware, if any of the bullocks once fell, he would never rise again. Under such circumstances, I thought it better to halt the party at the edge of the scrub, though the feed was poor, and the water not drinkable. Our situation required most serious consideration. It was necessary that we should move either backward or forward in the morning. Yet we could not adopt either measure with satisfaction to ourselves, under such unfavorable circumstances. I determined to relieve my own mind by getting the animals into a place of safety, as soon as possible; and, as the only effectual way of doing this was to retire upon the nearest fresh water, I resolved at once to do so. The party turned back on the morning of the 6th; nor do I think the cattle would ever have reached their destination had we not found a few buckets of rain water in the cleft of a rock, to refresh them. Thus it will appear that under our most trying circumstances, we received aid from Providence, and that the bounty of Heaven was extended towards us, when we had least reason to expect it. Notwithstanding we had been thus forced to a partial retreat, both Mr. Hume and myself were unwilling to quit the pursuit of the river, in so unsatisfactory a manner. There was no difference in the appearance of the country to the westward of it; but a seeming interminable flat stretched away in that direction. A journey across it was not likely, therefore, to be attended with any favorable results, since it was improbable that any other leading feature was within our reach. I proposed, therefore, to take the most serviceable of the horses with me down the river, that, in the event of our finding fresh water, we might again push forward. Mr. Hume requesting to be permitted to accompany me, it was arranged that we should start on the 8th, thereby giving the animals a day's rest. We had not seen any natives since our parting with the chief horde; and as we were stationed at some little distance from the river, I hoped that they would not visit the camp during my absence. This was the only circumstance that gave me uneasiness, but the men had generally been behaving so well that I relied a great deal upon them. EXTRAORDINARY SOUND. About 3 p.m. on the 7th, Mr. Hume and I were occupied tracing the chart upon the ground. The day had been remarkably fine, not a cloud was there in the heavens, nor a breath of air to be felt. On a sudden we heard what seemed to be the report of a gun fired at the distance of between five and six miles. It was not the hollow sound of an earthly explosion, or the sharp cracking noise of falling timber, but in every way resembled a discharge of a heavy piece of ordnance. On this all were agreed, but no one was certain whence the sound proceeded. Both Mr. Hume and myself had been too attentive to our occupation to form a satisfactory opinion; but we both thought it came from the N.W. I sent one of the men immediately up a tree, but he could observe nothing unusual. The country around him appeared to be equally flat on all sides, and to be thickly wooded: whatever occasioned the report, it made a strong impression on all of us; and to this day, the singularity of such a sound, in such a situation, is a matter of mystery to me. FURTHER ATTEMPT TO EXPLORE THE RIVER. On the 8th, we commenced our journey down the river, accompanied by two men, and a pack-horse, carrying our provisions on one side and a bucket of water on the other. Keeping in general near the stream, but making occasional turns into the plains, we got to the brush from which the party had turned back, about 3 p.m. Passing through, we crossed a small plain, of better soil and vegetation than usual; but it soon gave place to the sandy loam of the interior; nor did we observe any material alteration, either in the country or the river, as we rode along. The flooded-gum trees on the banks of the latter, were of beautiful growth, but in the brushes dividing the plains, box and other eucalypti, with cypresses and many minor shrubs, prevailed. We slept on the river side, and calculated our distance from the camp at about twenty-six or twenty-eight miles. The horses would not drink the river water, so that we were obliged to give them a pint each from our own supply. On the following morning we continued our journey. The country was generally open to the eastward, and we had fine views of D'Urban's Group, distant from twenty to twenty-five miles. About noon, turning towards the river to rest, both ourselves and the horses, we passed through brush land for about a mile and a half. When we came upon its banks, we found them composed of a red loam with sandy superficies. We had, in the course of the day, crossed several creeks, but in none of them could we find water, although their channels were of great depth. The day had been extremely warm, and from shaking in the barrel our supply of water had diminished to a little more than a pint; it consequently became a matter of serious consideration, how far it would be prudent to proceed farther; for, however capable we were of bearing additional fatigue, it was evident our animals would soon fail, since they trembled exceedingly, and had the look of total exhaustion. We calculated that we were forty miles from the camp, in a S.W. direction, a fearful distance under our circumstances, since we could not hope to obtain relief for two days. Independently however, of the state of the animals, our spirits were damped by the nature of the country, and the change which had taken place on the soil, upon which it was impossible that water could rest; while the general appearance of the interior showed how much it had suffered from drought. On the other hand, although the waters of the river had become worse to the taste, the river itself had increased in size, and stretched away to the westward, with all the uniformity of a magnificent canal, and gave every promise of increasing importance; while the pelicans were in such numbers upon it as to be quite dazzling to the eye. Considering, however, that perseverance would only involve us in inextricable difficulties, and that it would also be useless to risk the horses, since we had gained a distance to which the bullocks could not have been brought, I intimated my intention of giving up the further pursuit of the river, though it was with extreme reluctance that I did so. CALLED IT THE "DARLING". As soon as we had bathed and finished our scanty meal, I took the bearings of D'Urban's Group, and found them to be S. 58 E. about thirty-three miles distant; and as we mounted our horses, I named the river the "Darling," as a lasting memorial of the respect I bear the governor. ABANDON THE ATTEMPT. I should be doing injustice to Mr. Hume and my men, if I did not express my conviction that they were extremely unwilling to yield to circumstances, and that, had I determined on continuing the journey, they would have followed me with cheerfulness, whatever the consequences might have been. CHAPTER III. Intercourse with the natives--Their appearance and condition--Remarks on the Salt or Darling River--Appearance of the marshes on our return--Alarm for safety of the provision party--Return to Mount Harris--Miserable condition of the natives--Circumstances attending the slaughter of two Irish runaways--Bend our course towards the Castlereagh--Wallis's Ponds--Find the famished natives feeding on gum--Channel of the Castlereagh--Character of the country in its vicinity--Another tribe of natives--Amicable intercourse with them--Morrisset's chain of Ponds--Again reach the Darling River ninety miles higher up than where we first struck upon it. We kept near the river as we journeyed homewards, and in striking across a plain, found an isolated rock of quartz and jasper, just showing itself partially above the surface of the ground. We were anxious to get to the small plain I have mentioned, if possible, for the sake of the animals, and pushed on rapidly for it. About 4 p.m. we had reached our sleeping place of the previous evening, and being overpowered by thirst, we stopped in hopes that by making our tea strong we might destroy, in some measure, the nauseous taste of the water. The horses were spancelled and a fire lit. Whilst we were sitting patiently for the boiling of the tins, Mr. Hume observed at a considerable distance above us, a large body of natives under some gum trees. They were not near enough for us to observe them distinctly, but it was evident that they were watching our motions. We did not take any notice of them for some time, but at last I thought it better to call out to them, and accordingly requested Mr. Hume to do so. In a moment the whole of them ran forward and dashed into the river, having been on the opposite side, with an uproar I had never witnessed on any former occasion. INTERCOURSE WITH NATIVES. Mr. Hume thought they intended an attack, and the horses had taken fright and galloped away. I determined, therefore, to fire at once upon them if they pressed up the bank on which we were posted. Mr. Hume went with me to the crest of it, and we rather angrily beckoned to the foremost of the natives to stop. They mistook our meaning, but laid all their spears in a heap as they came up. We then sat down on the bank and they immediately did the same; nor did they stir until we beckoned to them after the horses had been secured. As they conducted themselves so inoffensively, we gave them everything we had to spare. My gun seemed to excite their curiosity, as they had seen Mr. Hume shoot a cockatoo with it; they must consequently have been close to us for the greater part of the day, as the bird was killed in the morning. It was of a species new to me, being smaller than the common white cockatoo, and having a large scarlet-and-yellow instead of a pine-yellow top-knot. Having stayed about half an hour with them, we remounted our horses, and struck away from the river into the plains, while the natives went up its banks to join their hordes. Those whom we saw were about twenty-seven in number and the most of them were strangers. DISTRESS FROM THIRST. It was some time after sunset before we reached the little plain on which we had arranged to sleep, and when we dismounted we were in a truly pitiable state. I had been unable to refrain from drinking copiously at the river, and now became extremely sick. Mr. Hume had been scarcely more prudent than myself, but on him the water had a contrary effect, as well as upon Hopkinson. The tinker was the only man fit for duty, and it was well for us that such was the case, as the horses made frequent attempts to stray, and would have left us in a pretty plight had they succeeded. We reached the camp on the following day a little before sunset, nor was I more rejoiced to dismount from my wearied horse than to learn that everything in the camp had been regular during our absence and that the men had kept on the best terms with the natives who had paid them frequent visits. The bullocks had improved, but were still extremely weak, and as the horses we had employed on the last journey required a day or two's rest, it was arranged that we should not break up our camp until the 12th, beyond which period we could not stop, in consequence of the low state of our salt provisions, we having barely sufficient to last to Mount Harris, at the rate of two pounds per week. REMARKS ON THE NATIVES. The morning after we returned from our excursion, a large party of natives, about seventy in number, visited the camp. On this occasion, the women and children passed behind the tents, but did not venture to stop. Most of the men had spears, and were unusually inquisitive and forward. Several of them carried fire-sticks under the influence of the disease I have already noticed, whilst others were remarked to have violent cutaneous eruptions all over the body. We were pretty well on the alert; notwithstanding which, every minor article was seized with a quickness that would have done credit to a most finished juggler. One of the natives thus picked up my comb and toothbrush, but as he did not attempt to conceal them, they were fortunately recovered. After staying with us a short time the men followed the women. They appeared to be strangers who had come from a distance. CUSTOMS OF THE NATIVES. The natives of the Darling are a clean-limbed, well-conditioned race, generally speaking. They seemingly occupy permanent huts, but their tribe did not bear any proportion to the size or number of their habitations. It was evident their population had been thinned. The customs of these distant tribes, as far as we could judge, were similar to those of the mountain blacks, and they are essentially the same people, although their language differs. They lacerate their bodies, but do not extract the front teeth. We saw but few cloaks among them, since the opossum does not inhabit the interior. Those that were noticed, were made of the red kangaroo skin. In appearance, these men are stouter in the bust than at the lower extremities; they have broad noses, sunken eyes, overhanging eyebrows, and thick lips. The men are much better looking than the women. Both go perfectly naked, if I except the former, who wear nets over the loins and across the forehead, and bones through the cartilages of the nose. Their chief food is fish, of which they have great supplies in the river; still they have their seasons for hunting their emus and kangaroos. The nets they use for this purpose, as well as for fishing, are of great length, and are made upon large frames. These people do not appear to have warlike habits nor do they take any pride in their arms, which differ little from those used by the inland tribes, and are assimilated to them as far as the materials will allow. One powerful man, however, had a regular trident, for which Mr. Hume offered many things without success. He plainly intimated to us that he had a use for it, but whether against an enemy or to secure prey, we could not understand. I was most anxious to have ascertained if any religious ceremonies obtained among them, but the difficulty of making them comprehend our meaning was insurmountable; and to the same cause may be attributed the circumstance of my being unable to collect any satisfactory vocabulary of their language. They evinced a strange perversity, or obstinacy rather, in repeating words, although it was evident that they knew they were meant as questions. The pole we observed in the creek, on the evening previously to our making the Darling, was not the only one that fell under our notice; our impression therefore, that they were fixed by the natives to propitiate some deity, was confirmed. It would appear that the white pigment was an indication of mourning. Whether these people have an idea of a superintending Providence I doubt, but they evidently dread evil agency. On the whole I should say they are a people, at present, at the very bottom of the scale of humanity. REMARKS ON THE DARLING RIVER. We struck the Darling River in lat. 29 degrees 37 minutes S. and in E. long. 145 degrees 33 minutes, and traced it down for about sixty-six miles in a direct line to the S.W. If I might hazard an opinion from appearance, to whatever part of the interior it leads, its source must be far to the N.E. or N. The capacity of its channel, and the terrific floods that must sometimes rage in it, would argue that it is influenced by tropical rains, which alone would cause such floods. It is likely that it seldom arrives at so reduced a state as that in which we found it, and that, generally speaking, it has a sufficient depth of water for the purposes of inland navigation: in such case its future importance cannot be questioned, since it most probably receives the chief streams falling westerly from the coast ranges. But, with every anticipation of the benefit that may at some time or other be derived from this remarkable and central stream, it is incumbent on me to state that the country, through which it flows, holds out but little prospect of advantage. Certainly the portion we know of it, is far from encouraging. The extent of alluvial soil, between the inner and outer banks of the river, is extremely limited, and, instead of being covered with sward, is in most places over-run by the polygonum. Beyond this the plains of the interior stretch away, whose character and soil must change, ere they can be available to any good purpose. But there is a singular want of vegetable decay in the interior of New Holland, and that powerfully argues its recent origin. REMARKS ON THE COUNTRY. There is no life upon its surface, if I may so express myself; but the stillness of death reigns in its brushes, and over its plains. It cannot, however, be doubted that we visited the interior during a most unfavorable season. Probably in ordinary ones it wears a different appearance, but its deserts are of great extent, and its productions are of little value. Agreeably to our arrangements, we broke up our camp at an early hour on the morning of the 12th, and proceeded up the river to the junction of New Year's Creek. We then struck away in an easterly direction from it, detaching a man to trace the creek up, lest we should pass any water; and we should certainly have been without it had we not taken this precaution. On the following day, we again passed to the eastward, through an open country, having picturesque views of Oxley's Table Land. We crossed our track about noon, and struck on the creek at about five miles beyond it, and we were fortunate enough to procure both water and grass. The timber upon the plains, between us and the Darling, we found to be a rough gum, but box prevailed in the neighbourhood of the creek at this part of it. On the 14th, we changed our direction more to the southward, but made a short journey, in consequence of being obliged to make some slight repairs on the boat carriage. REGAIN OUR OLD ROUTE. On the 15th, we kept an E.S.E. course, and, crossing the creek at an early hour, got upon our old track, which we kept. We had the lateral ridge of the Pink Hills upon our right, and travelled through a good deal of brush. Four or five natives joined us, and two followed us to the end of our day's journey. In the course of the evening, they endeavoured to pilfer whatever was in their reach, but were detected putting a tin into a bush, and soon took to their heels. This was the first instance we had of open theft among the natives of the interior. We passed Mosquito Brush on the 18th, but found the ponds quite dry, we were, therefore, under the necessity of pushing on, to shorten the next day's journey, as we could not expect to get water nearer than the marshes. At noon, on the 19th, we entered the plain, and once more saw them spreading in dreariness before us. While the party was crossing to the first channel, I rode to the left, in order to examine the appearance of the country in the direction of the wood, and as far as I skirted the reeds had my impressions confirmed as to their partial extension. I was obliged, however, to join the men without completing the circuit of the marshes. They had found the first channel dry, and had passed on to the other, in which, fortunately, a small quantity of water still remained. It was, however, so shallow as to expose the backs of the fish in it, and a number of crows had congregated, and were pecking at them. Wishing to satisfy my mind as to the distance to which the river extended to the northward, Mr. Hume rode with me on the following day, to examine the country in that direction, leaving the men stationary. We found that the reeds gradually decreased in body, until, at length, they ceased, or gave place to bulrushes. There were general appearances of inundation, and of the subsidence of waters, but none that led us to suppose that any channel existed beyond the flooded lands. ALARM FOR THE SAFETY OF THE PROVISION PARTY. On our return to the camp, we observed dense masses of smoke rising at the head of the marshes, and immediately under Mount Foster. This excited our alarm for the safety of the party we hoped to find at Mount Harris, and obliged us to make forced marches, to relieve it if threatened by the natives. On the 22nd, we crossed the plains of the Macquarie, and surprised a numerous tribe on the banks of the river; and the difficulty we found in getting any of them to approach us, their evident timidity, and the circumstance of one of them having on a jacket, tended to increase our apprehensions. When two or three came to us, they intimated that white men either had been or were under Mount Harris, but we were left in uncertainty and passed a most anxious night. The body of reeds was still on fire; and the light embers were carried to an amazing distance by the wind, falling like a black-shower around us. As we knew that the natives never made such extensive conflagration, unless they had some mischievous object in view, our apprehension for the safety of Riley, with his supplies, was increased. At the earliest dawn, we pushed for the hill. In passing that part of the meadows under Mount Foster, we observed that the grass had also been consumed, and we scarcely recognized the ground from its altered appearance. As we approached Mount Harris, we saw recent traces of cattle, but none were visible on the plains. Under the hill, however, we could distinctly see that a hut of some kind had been erected, and it is impossible for me to describe the relief we felt when a soldier came forward to reconnoitre us. I could no longer doubt the safety of the party, and this was confirmed by the rest of the men turning out to welcome us. It appeared that our suspicions with regard to the natives had not been without foundation, since they attempted to surprise the camp, and it was supposed the firing of the marshes was done with a view to collect the distant tribes, to make a second attack; so that our arrival was most opportune. The party I found awaiting our arrival at Mount Harris consisted of one soldier, Riley, who had the charge of the supplies, and a drayman. They had found the paper I had fixed against the tree, and also the letters I had hid, and had forwarded them to Sydney, by another soldier and a prisoner; which had weakened their party a good deal. Riley informed me, that he had been between a month and three weeks at the station, and that knowing our provisions must have run short he had expected us much earlier than we had made our appearance. My dispatches stated, that additional supplies had been forwarded for my use, together with horses and bullocks, in the event of my requiring them. On examination, the former were found to be in excellent order; and, as it would take some time to carry any changes I might contemplate, or find it necessary to make, into effect, I determined to give the men who had been with me a week's rest. ENCAMP AT MOUNT HARRIS. The camp was made snug; and as the weather had become much cooler I thought it a good opportunity to slaughter one of the bullocks, in order to guard against any bad effects of our having been living for some weeks exclusively on salt provisions. I was also induced to this measure, from a wish to preserve my supplies as much as possible. These matters having been arranged, I had a temporary awning erected near the river, and was for three or four days busily employed writing an account of our journey for the Governor's information. Having closed my despatches, and answered the numerous friendly letters I had received, my attention was next turned to the changes that had taken place at Mount Harris during our absence. The Macquarie, I found, had wholly ceased to flow, and now consisted of a chain of ponds. Such of the minor vegetation as had escaped the fires of the natives, had perished under the extreme heat of the season. The acacia pendula stood leafless upon the plains, and the polygonum junceum appeared to be the only plant that had withstood the effects of the drought. Yet, notwithstanding this general depression of the vegetable kingdom, the animals that had been brought from Wellington Valley were in the best condition, and were, indeed, too fat for effective labour; it might, therefore, be reasonably presumed, that herbage affording such nourishment in so unfavourable a season, would be of the richest quality, if fresh and vigorous under the influence of seasonable, and not excessive, rains. FIRING OF THE GREAT MARSHES. The appearance of the country was, however, truly melancholy; there was not a flower in bloom, nor a green object to be seen. Whether our arrival had increased their alarm, is uncertain, but the natives continued to fire the great marshes, and as the element raged amongst them, large bodies of smoke rose over the horizon like storm clouds, and had the effect of giving additional dreariness to the scene. I am inclined to think that they made these conflagrations to procure food, by seizing whatsoever might issue from the flames, as snakes, birds, or other animals; for they had taken every fish in the river, and the low state of its waters had enabled them to procure an abundance of muscles from its bed, which they had consumed with their characteristic improvidence. They were, consequently, in a starving condition, and so pitiable were their indications of it, that I was induced to feed such of them as visited the camp, notwithstanding their late misconduct; being likewise anxious to bring about a good understanding, as the best means of ensuring the safety of the smaller party when we should separate, of which I had reason to be doubtful. These people had killed two white men not long before my arrival among them, and as the circumstances attending the slaughter are singular, I shall relate them. SLAUGHTER OF TWO IRISH RUNAWAYS. The parties were two Irish runaways, who thought they could make their way to Timor. They escaped from Wellington Valley with a fortnight's provision each, and a couple of dogs, and proceeded down the Macquarie. About the cataract, they fell in with the Mount Harris tribe, and remained with them for some days, when they determined on pursuing their journey. The blacks, however, wanted to get possession of their dogs, and a resistance on the part of the Europeans brought on a quarrel. It appears, that before the blacks proceeded to extremities, they furnished the Irishmen, who were unarmed, with weapons, and then told them to defend themselves, but whether against equal or inferior numbers, I am uninformed. One of them soon fell, which the other observing, he took his knife out, and cut the throats of both the dogs before the blacks had time to put him to death. He was, however, sacrificed; and both the men were eaten by the tribe generally. I questioned several on the subject, but they preserved the most sullen silence, neither acknowledging nor denying the fact. ARBUTHNOT'S RANGE. Mr. Hume had been one day on Mount Harris, and while there, had laid his compass on a large rock, near to which Mr. Oxley's boat had been burnt. To his surprise, he found the needle affected; and his bearings were all wrong. I subsequently went up to ascertain the extent of the error produced, and found it precisely the same as Mr. Hume noticed. When I placed the compass on the rock, Mount Foster bore from me N. by W., the true bearing of the one hill from the other being N.N.W. My placing my notebook under the compass did not alter the effect, nor did the card move until I raised the instrument a couple of feet above the stone, when it first became violently agitated, and then settled correctly; and my bearings of the highest parts of Arbuthnot's Range, and of its centre, were as follows: Mount Exmouth to the N ...... N. 86 E. Centre....................... N. 85 E. Vernon's Peak................ N. 89 E. Distance 70 miles. Having finished my reports and letters, it became necessary to consider the best point on which to move, and to fix a day for our departure from Mount Harris. It struck me that having found so important a feature as the Darling River, the Governor would approve my endeavouring to regain it more to the southward, in order to trace it down. I, therefore, detached Mr. Hume to survey the country in that direction, and to ascertain if a descent upon the Bogen district would be practicable, through which I had been informed a considerable river forced itself. The report he made on his return was such as to deter me from that attempt, but he stated that the country for 30 miles from the Macquarie was well watered, and superior to any he had passed over during the journey; beyond that distance, it took up the character of the remote interior, and alternated with plains and brush, the soil being too sandy to retain water on its surface. He saw some hills from the extremity of his journey, bearing by compass W.S.W. We consequently determined to make for the Castlereagh, agreeably to our instructions. Preparations were made for breaking up the camp, all the various arrangements in the change of animals were completed, the boat carriage was exchanged for a dray, and I took Boyle in the place of Norman, whose timidity in the bush rendered him unfit for service. CIRCUIT OF THE GREAT MARSHES. There is a small hill on the opposite side of the river, and immediately facing Mount Harris, and to the S.E. of it there is a small lagoon, the head of a creek, by means of which its superfluous waters are carried off. This creek runs parallel to the river for about ten miles, and enters the marshes at the S.E. angle. This I ascertained one day in riding to carry on my survey of the southern extremity of the marshes, and to join my line of route by making the circuit of that part of them. I found that the river was turned to its northerly course by a rising ground of forest land, which checks its further progress westerly. I proceeded round the S.W. angle, and then, taking a northerly course, got down to the bottom of the first great marsh, thus completing the circuit of them. I did not return to the camp until after 10 p.m., having crossed the river at day-light, nor did we procure any water from the time we left the stream to the moment of our recrossing it. WALLIS'S PONDS. Having completed our various arrangements, and closed our letters, we struck our tents on the morning of the 7th March; we remained, however, to witness the departure of Riley's party for Wellington Valley, and then left the Macquarie on an E.N.E. course for Wallis's Ponds, and made them at about 14 miles. They undoubtedly empty themselves into the marshes, and are a continuation of that chain of ponds on which I left the party in Mr. Hume's charge. About a mile from Mount Harris, we passed a small dry creek, that evidently lays the country under water in the wet seasons. There was a blue-gum flat to the eastward of it, which we crossed, and then entered a brush of acacia pendula and box. The soil upon the plain was an alluvial deposit; that in the brushes was sandy. From the extremity of the plain, Mount Harris bore, by compass, S.W. by W.; Mount Foster due west. The scrub through which we were penetrating, at length became so dense, that we found it impossible to travel in a direct line through it, and frequent ridges of cypresses growing closely together, turned us repeatedly from our course. The country at length became clearer, and we travelled over open forest of box, casuarina, and cypresses, on a sandy soil; the first predominating. For about two miles before we made the creek, the country was not heavily timbered, the acacia pendula succeeding the larger trees. The ground had a good covering of grass upon it, and there were few of the salsolaceous plants, so abundant on the western plains, to be found. The rough-gum abounded near the creek, with a small tree bearing a hard round nut, and we had the luxury of plenty of water. We remained stationary on the 8th, in hopes that Riley would have met the soldier who had been sent back to Wellington Valley, and that he would have forwarded any letters to us, of which he might have been the bearer. The day, however, passed over without realizing our expectations; and we started once more for the interior, and cut ourselves off from all communication with society. MORRISSET'S PONDS. We made for Morrisset's chain of ponds, and travelled over rich and extensive plains, divided by plantations of cypress, box, and casuarina, in the early and latter period of the day. About noon we entered a dense forest of cypresses, which continued for three miles, when the cypresses became mixed with casuarina, box, and mountain-gum, a tree we had not remarked before in so low a situation. We struck upon the creek after a journey of about 15 miles. It had a sandy bed, and was extremely tortuous in its course, nor was it until after a considerable search, that we at length succeeded in finding water, at which a party of natives were encamped. The moment they saw us, they fled, and left all their utensils, &c. behind them. Among other things, we found a number of bark troughs, filled with the gum of the mimosa, and vast quantities of gum made into cakes upon the ground. From this it would appear these unfortunate creatures were reduced to the last extremity, and, being unable to procure any other nourishment, had been obliged to collect this mucilaginous food. The plains we traversed, were of uniform equality of surface. Water evidently lodges and continues on them long after a fall of rain, and in wet seasons they must, I should imagine, be full of quagmires, and almost impassable. On the 10th, we passed through a country that differed in no material point from that already described. We stopped at 10 a.m. under some brush, in the centre of a large plain, from which Arbuthnot's range bore S. 84 E. distant from 50 to 55 miles, and afterwards traversed or rather crossed, those extensive tracts described by Mr. Evans as being under water and covered with reeds, in 1817. They now bore a very different appearance, being firm and dry. The soil was in general good, and covered with forest grass and a species of oxalia. We did not observe any reeds, or the signs of inundation, but, as is invariably the case with plains in the interior, they were of too even surface, as I have so lately remarked, to admit of the waters running quickly off them; and no doubt, when they became saturated, many quagmires are formed, that would very much impede the movements of an expedition. REACH THE CASTLEREAGH RIVER. We reached the Castlereagh about 4 p.m., and although its channel could not have been less than 130 yards in breadth, there was apparently not a drop of water in it. Its bed consisted of pure sand and reeds; amid the latter, we found a small pond of 15 yards circumference, after a long search. There is a considerable dip in the country towards the river, at about two miles from it; and the intervening brush was full of kangaroo, which, I fancy, had congregated to a spot where there was abundance of food for them. The soil covering the space was of the richest quality, and the timber upon it consisted of box, mountain gum, and the angophora lanceolata, a tree that is never found except on rich ground. WANT OF WATER; CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY. It appeared that our troubles were to recommence, and that in order to continue on the Castlereagh, it would be necessary for Mr. Hume and myself to undertake those fatiguing journeys in search of water that had so exhausted us already: and after all, it was doubtful how soon we might be forced back. I had certainly expected that, on our gaining the banks of the river, we should have had a constant supply of water, but the circumstance of the Castlereagh having not only ceased to flow, but being absolutely dry, while it afforded the best and clearest proof of the severity and continuance of the drought in the interior, at the same time damped the spirits and ardour of the men. We kept the left bank of the river as we proceeded down it, and passed two or three larger ponds about a mile below where we had slept, but there they ceased. The bed of the river became one of pure sand, nor did there appear to be any chance of our finding any water in it. I stopped the party at about eight miles, and desired the men to get their dinners, to give Mr. Hume and myself time to search for a supply upon the plains. Disappointed to the left, we crossed the channel of the Castlereagh, and struck over a small plain upon the right bank, and at the extremity of it, came upon a swamp, from which we immediately returned for the cattle, and got them unloaded by seven o'clock. As there was sufficient pasture around us, I proposed to Mr. Hume on the following day, to leave the party stationary, and to ride down the river to see how far its present appearances continued. Like the generality of rivers of the interior, it had, where we struck upon it, outer banks to confine its waters during floods, and to prevent them from spreading generally over the country; the space between the two banks being of the richest soil, and the timber chiefly of the angophora kind. Flooded-gum overhung the inner banks of the river, or grew upon the many islands, with casuarina. It became evident, however, that the outer banks declined in height as we proceeded down the river, nor was it long before they ceased altogether. As we rode along, we found that the inner ones were fast decreasing in height also. Riding under a hanging wood of the angophora, which had ceased for a time, we were induced to break off to our right, to examine some large flooded-gum trees about a couple of miles to the N.W. of us. On arriving near them, we were astonished to find that they concealed a serpentine lagoon that had a belt of reeds round it. Keeping this lagoon upon our right, we at length came to the head of it, past which the river sweeps. Crossing the channel of the river, we continued to ride in an easterly direction to examine the country. In doing this, we struck on a second branch of the Castlereagh, leading W. by N. into a plain, which it of course inundates at times, and running up it, we found its bed at the point of separation, to be considerably higher than that of the main channel, which still continued of pure sand--and was stamped all over with the prints of the feet of natives, kangaroos, emus, and wild dogs, We then turned again to the head of the lagoon, and took the following bearings of Arbuthnot's range: Mount Exmouth .......... E. 90 S. Centre Range ........... E. 35 E. Vernon's Peak .......... E. 20 S. From the head of the lagoon, the river appeared to enter a reedy hollow, shaded by a long line of flooded gum trees, and on proceeding to it, we found the banks ceased here altogether; and that a very considerable plain extended both to the right and the left, which cannot fail of being frequently laid under water. LAGOONS AND CREEKS OF THE CASTLEREAGH. On the following morning we moved the party to the lagoon, and, passing its head, encamped to the north of it; after which we again rode down the river in search of water. It continued to hold a straight and northerly course for about five miles, having a plain on either side. The reeds that had previously covered the channel then suddenly ceased, and the channel, contracting in breadth, gained in depth: it became extremely serpentine, and at length lost all the character and appearance of a river. It had many back channels, as large as the main one, serving to overflow the neighbouring country. We succeeded in finding a small pond of water in one of the former, hardly large enough to supply our necessities, but as it enabled us to push so much further on, we turned towards the lagoon, making a circuitous journey to the right, across a large plain, bounded to the north by low acacia brush and box. We struck upon a creek at the further extremity of the plain, in which there was a tolerably sized pond. It appeared from the traces of men, that some natives had been there the day before; but we did not see any of them. The water was extremely muddy and unfit for use. The lagoon at which we had encamped, was of less importance than we had imagined. JOURNEY DOWN THE RIVER. Whilst Mr. Hume led the party down the river, I rode up its northward bank, to examine it more closely. I found it to be a serpentine sheet of about three miles in length, gradually decreasing in depth until it separated into two small creeks. In following one of them up, I observed that they re-united at the distance of about two miles, and that the lagoon was filled from the eastward, and not by the river as I had at first supposed. The waters at the head of the lagoon were putrid, nor was there a fish in, or a wild fowl upon it. The only bird we saw was a beautiful eagle, of the osprey kind, with plumage like a sea gull, which had a nest in the tree over the tents. In turning to overtake the party I rode through a great deal of acacia scrub, and on arriving at the place at which I expected to have overtaken them, I found they had pushed on. The Castlereagh, as I rode down it, diminished in size considerably, and became quite choked up with rushes and brambles. Rough-gum again made its appearance, with swamp-oak and a miserable acacia scrub outside. The country on both sides of the river seemed to be an interminable flat, and the soil of an inferior description. WRETCHED APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. I came up with with Mr. Hume about 1 o'clock and we again pushed forward at 3, and halted for the night without water, the want of which the cattle did not feel. The river held a general westerly course, and the country in its neighbourhood became extremely depressed and low. On the following day we moved forward a distance of not more than nine miles, through a country on which, at first, the acacia pendula alone was growing on a light alluvial soil. The river had many back drains, by means of which, in wet seasons, it inundates the adjacent plains. It was evident, however, that they had not been flooded for many years; and, notwithstanding that the country was low, the line of inundation did not appear to be very extensive, nor were there any reeds growing beyond the immediate banks of the river. Swamp-oak and rough-gum again prevailed near the stream at our halting place, and the improvement that had taken place, both in the country and in the Castlereagh, had induced us to make so short a journey; for not only was there abundance of the grass for the animals, but large ponds of water in the river. Some natives had only just preceded us down it: we came upon their fires that were still smoking; and upon them were the remains of some fish they had taken, near which they had left a cumbrous spear. The circumstances cheered us with hopes that an improvement would take place in the country, and that some new feature would soon open upon us. In the course of the following day, however, every favorable change, both in the river and in the country, disappeared. The latter continued extremely depressed, and in general open, or lightly covered with acacia pendula; the former dwindled into a mere ditch, choked up with brambles and reeds, and having only here and there a stagnant pool of water. We travelled on a N.W. 1/2 W. course for about ten miles, and again stopped for the night without water. In the course of the afternoon, we traversed several flats, on which the rough-gum alone was growing. These flats were evidently subject to flood; and contained an alluvial soil. They became more frequent as we travelled down the river, and the work was so heavy for the animals, that I was obliged to keep wide of them, in doing which we struck upon a creek of large size, coming from the N.E. and, having crossed, we traversed its right bank to its junction with the Castlereagh, and stopped close to it at a pond of water, though the feed for the animals was bad. The country to the left of the river, though somewhat high, was the same, in essential points, as that to the right. The Castlereagh seemed to have increased in size below the creek, but still it had no resemblance to a river. We had not proceeded very far down its banks, on the 18th, when we crossed a broad footpath leading to it from the interior. I turned my horse to the left, and struck upon a long sheet of water, from which I startled a number of pelicans. It was evident that the natives had recently been in the neighbourhood, but we thought it probable they might have been a hunting party, who had returned again to the plains. The whole track we passed over during the day was miserably poor and bare of vegetation, nor did the appearance of the country to the N.E. indicate any improvement. We lost the traces of the natives immediately after crossing their path or beat, and again found the bed of the river dry, after we had passed the sheet of water to which it led. The soil was so rotten and yielding, that the team knocked up early; indeed, it was a matter of surprise to me that they should not have failed before. The river made somewhat to the westward with little promise of improvement. The wretched appearance of the country as we penetrated into it, damped our spirits; we pressed on, however, with difficulty, over ground that was totally destitute of vegetation. Instead of lofty timber and a living stream, we wandered along the banks of an insignificant watercourse, and under trees of stunted size and scanty foliage. We stopped on the 20th at the angle of a creek, in which there was some dry grass, in consequence of the animals being almost in a starving state, but even here they had but little to eat. A violent thunder-storm passed over us in the afternoon, but it made no change in the temperature of the air. The weather, although it had been hot and sultry, had fallen far short of the intense heat we experienced in crossing the marshes of the Macquarie, when it was such as to melt the sugar in the canisters, and to destroy all our dogs; and our nights were now become agreeably cool. A PARTY OF NATIVES. We still, however, continued to travel over a dead level, nor was a height or break visible from the loftiest trees we ascended. A little before we stopped at the creek, we surprised a party of natives; old men, women, and children. They were preparing dinners of fish in much larger quantities than they could have devoured--probably for a part of the tribe that were absent; but the moment they saw us they fled, and left every thing at our mercy. On examining the fish, we found them totally different from any in the Macquarie, and took two of the most perfect to preserve. In the afternoon one of the men came to inform me that the tribe was coming down upon us. Mr. Hume and I, therefore, went to meet them. They were at this time about 150 yards from the tent, but seeing us advance, they stopped, and forming two deep, they marched to and fro, to a war song I suppose, crouching with their spears. We had not, however, any difficulty in communicating with them, and I shall detail the manner in which this was brought about, in hopes that it may help to guide others. When the natives saw us advance, they stopped, and we did the same. Mr. Hume then walked to a tree, and broke off a short branch. It is singular that this should, even with these rude people, be a token of peace. As soon as they saw the branch, the natives laid aside their spears, and two of them advanced about twenty paces in front of the rest, who sat down. Mr. Hume then went forward and sat down, when the two natives again advanced and seated themselves close to him. Now it is evident that a little insight into the customs of every people is necessary to insure a kindly communication; this, joined with patience and kindness, will seldom fail with the natives of the interior. It is not to avoid alarming their natural timidity that a gradual approach is so necessary. They preserve the same ceremony among themselves. These men, who were eighteen in number, came with us to the tents, and received such presents as we had for them. They conducted themselves very quietly, and, after a short time, left us with every token of friendship. LARGE CREEK. On the 21st we proceeded down the river on a N.N.W. course, and at about five miles struck upon a very large creek, apparently coming from the E.N.E. Although the Castlereagh had increased in size, this creek was infinitely larger; it was, however, perfectly dry. Lofty flooded-gum trees were upon its banks, and it appeared so much superior to the river that I was induced to halt the party at the junction, in order to examine it more closely. Mr. Hume, therefore, rode with me up the right bank. We had not proceeded very far, when some natives called out to us from the opposite scrub. Thinking that they belonged to the tribe we had left behind us, we pointed to the junction, and motioned them to go there, but one of the party continued to follow and call to us for some time. On our return to the men, we found that the natives had joined them, and they now gave us to understand that we were going away from water. This had indeed been apparent to us. The creek was perfectly dry, as far as we traced it up; and seemed to have been totally deserted by the natives. We were about to proceed on our journey, when from twenty to thirty natives approached us from down the river. We sent two of those who had been with us to them, and the whole accompanied us for some miles, talking incessantly to the men, but keeping at a very respectful distance from the animals. We at length got opposite to their camp, near which there was a very fine pool of water, and they were earnest in persuading us to stop at it. We were, however, too anxious to get forward to comply; under the improved appearance of the river since it had received the creeks from the eastward, little anticipating what was before us. NATIVE ARMOURY. The natives did not follow us beyond their own encampment. Within sight of it, we came upon their armoury, if I may so term it. Numerous spears were reared against the trees, and heaps of boomerangs were lying on the ground. The spears were very heavy, and half barbed; and it is singular that three of them were marked with a broad arrow. We saw the natives watching us, fearful, I imagine, that we should help ourselves; but I would not permit any of their weapons to be touched. EXAMINATION OF CREEKS NEAR THE CASTLEREAGH. Pursuing our journey, we reached another creek, at about five miles, similar to the last in appearance and size, and we crossed it repeatedly during the afternoon. We had been induced to keep along a native path in the hope that it would have led us to the river by a short cut; but it eventually led us to this creek, and away from the Castlereagh; for, notwithstanding that we subsequently changed our course to the S.W., we failed, as we supposed, again to strike upon the latter, and were obliged to stop for the night on the banks of what appeared to be a third large dry creek, which we intersected nearly at right angles. We travelled through a good deal of brush during the day, nor did the country change from the miserable and barren character it had assumed for the last thirty or forty miles. The Castlereagh had so frequently changed, that both Mr. Hume and myself were puzzled as to the identity of the creek upon which we had halted. We searched its bed in vain for water, although it was most capacious. Under an impression that the river was still to the south, and that we were at a point to which many watercourses from the high lands tended, I crossed the creek early in the morning, and held a S.W. course, over an open forest country. At about eight miles, we came upon a large space over-run by the polygonum junceum, a certain indication of flooded ground, and of our consequent proximity to some stream. Accordingly, after pushing through it, we struck upon a small creek with abundance of water in it. Whether this creek was the Castlereagh, which it resembled much more than the one we had left in the morning, was doubtful; but it was a great source of comfort to us to have so unexpected a supply of water as that which was now at our disposal. Whatever channel this was, whether a river or a creek, our tracing it down would lead us in the direction we wished to go, and probably to some junction. The neighbourhood of the creek was well clothed with vegetation, and the cattle found good feed; but the only trees near it were rough-gum and casuarinae; the flooded-gum had again disappeared. The soil of the forest land over which we journeyed was a light sandy loam; and its timber consisted chiefly of eucalypti, acacia pendula, and the angophora. Some natives visited us in the afternoon, and among them, both Mr. Hume and I recognized one of those we had seen on the Darling. He also knew us again, but we could not make out from him how far we were from that river. They stayed with us till sunset, and then went down the creek, leaving their spears against a tree, for which they said they would return. On the 23rd we took up a W.N.W. course, and when we again touched on the creek it was dry. This was at a distance of about five miles from where we had slept. As the animals had not recovered from their late privations, I deemed it better to halt the party and to examine the creek for a few miles below us, that in case it should prove destitute of water, we might return to that we had left. Mr. Hume accordingly rode down it for about three miles, without success; and on his rejoining the men, we returned with them to our last camp, or to within a short distance of it. Wishing to examine the creek above our position, I requested Mr. Hume to take two men with him, and to trace it down in search of water, while I should proceed in the opposite direction. I went from the camp at an early hour, and as I wandered along the creek, I passed a regular chain of ponds. The country on both sides of the creek was evidently subject to flood, but more extensively to the south than to the north. From the creek, I struck away to my left, and after penetrating through a belt of swamp-oak and minor shrubs, got on a small plain, which I crossed N.E. and, to my annoyance, found it covered with rhagodia and salsolae. As I had not started with the intention of sleeping, I turned to the S.W. a little before sunset, and reached the tents between ten and eleven. I found Mr. Hume awaiting me. He informed me that at about nine miles from where we had turned back with the party, he had struck upon a junction; and that as the junction was much larger than the channel he had been tracing, he thought it better to follow it up for a few miles. He found that it narrowed in width, and that its banks became steep, with a fine avenue of flooded-gum trees overhanging them. At four miles, he came upon another junction, and at four miles more, found himself opposite to the ground on which we had slept on the previous Saturday. From this point he retraced the channel, but not finding any water for three miles below the lower junction, he returned to the camp, with a view of prosecuting a longer journey on the morrow. Mr. Hume had become impressed with an opinion, that the junction up which we had slept was no other than the Castlereagh itself; and that our position was on a creek, probably Morrisset's chain of ponds, flowing into it. As the cattle wanted a few days' rest, Mr. Hume and I determined to ride, unattended, along our track to our camp of the 21st, and then to follow the channel upwards, until we should arrive at the station of the natives, or until we should have ridden to such a distance as would set our conjectures at rest. In the morning, however, instead of running upon our old track, we followed that of Mr. Hume to the junction, giving up our first intention, with a view to ascertain if there existed any water which we could, by an effort, gain, below where Mr. Hume had been. The channel was very broad, with a considerable fall in its bed, and, in appearance, more resembled the slope of a lawn than the bed of a river. It had two gum-trees in the centre of its channel, in one of which the floods had left the trunk of a large tree. We could discover where it narrowed and its banks rose, but, as we intended to make a closer examination before we left the neighbourhood, we continued our journey down the principal channel. The ground exhibited an abundance of pasture in its immediate neighbourhood, but the distant country was miserably poor and bare. At about three miles, we came upon the fresh traces of some natives, which led us to the channel again, from which we had wandered unintentionally. In it we found there had been water very lately, and it appeared that the natives had dug holes at the bottom to insure a longer supply. These were now exhausted, but still retained the appearance of moisture. At a mile and a half beyond these, we were led to some similar holes, by observing a number of birds flying about them. The water was too muddy for us to drink, but the horses emptied them successively. We now kept sufficiently near the channel to insure our seeing any pool that might still remain in it, but rode for about seven miles before we again saw water, and even here, although it was a spring, we were obliged to dig holes, and await their filling, before we could get sufficient for our use. Having dined, we again pursued our journey, and almost immediately came upon a long narrow ditch, full of water, and lined by bulrushes. The creek or river had for some time kept the centre of a deep alluvial valley, in which there was plenty of food for the cattle, and which, at this place, was apparently broader than anywhere else. The situation being favourable, we returned to the camp, and reached it late. DEPRESSION OF THE MEN. I do not know whether I was wrong in my conjecture, but I fancied, about this time, that the men generally were desponding. Whether it was that the constant fatigue entailed on myself and Mr. Hume, and that our constant absence, or the consequent exhaustion it produced, had any effect on their minds, or that they feared the result of our perseverance, is difficult to say; but certainly, they all had a depression of spirits, and looked, I thought, altered in appearance; nor did they evince any satisfaction at our success--at least, not the satisfaction they would have shown at an earlier period of our journey. Before moving forward, it remained for us to ascertain if the channel from the junction was the Castlereagh, or only a creek. The intersection of so many channels in this neighbourhood, most of them so much alike, made it essentially necessary that we should satisfy ourselves on this point. Mr. Hume, therefore, accompanied me, as had at first been intended the morning of our return to the place at which we had slept. We took fresh horses, but dispensed with any other attendants, and indeed went wholly unarmed. CAMP OF NATIVES. After following our old track to its termination, we kept up the right bank of the channel, and at length arrived at the camp of the natives; thus satisfying ourselves that we had been journeying on the Castlereagh, and that we were still following it down. By this ride we ascertained that there was a distance of five-and-forty miles in its bed without a drop of water. Few of the natives were in the camp. The women avoided us, but not as if they were under any apprehension. Crossing at the head of the pool, we again got on our old track, but seeing two or three men coming towards us we alighted, and, tying our horses to a tree, went to meet them. One poor fellow had two ducks in his hand, which he had just taken off the fire; these he offered to us, and on our declining to accept of them, he called to a boy, who soon appeared with a large trough of honey, of which we partook. One of the men had an ulcer in the arm, and asked me what he should do to heal it; indeed, I believe Fraser had promised him some ointment, but not having any with me, I signified to him that he should wash it often, and stooping down, made as if I was taking up water in my hand. The poor fellow mistook me, and, also stooping down, took up a handful of dust which he threw over the sore. This gave me the trouble of explaining matters again, and by pointing to the water, I believe I at length made him understand me. DRY CHANNEL OF THE RIVER. These good natured people asked us where we had slept the day we passed, and when informed of the direction, shook their heads, motioning at the same time, that we must have been without water. We informed them where the party was, and asked them to come and see us, but I fancy the distance was too great, or else we were in the beat of another tribe. On mentioning these facts to the men, they said that two of the natives had followed us for some miles, calling out loudly to us, but Mr. Hume and I both being in front, we did not hear them, although, evidently, they wished to save us distress. Since the result of our excursion proved that the channel, about which I had been so doubtful, was the Castlereagh, it necessarily followed, that the creek at which we were encamped was one of those (most probably Morrisset's chain of ponds,) which we had already crossed nearer its source, and which Mr. Hume must have struck upon when endeavouring to gain the Castlereagh from the marshes of the Macquarie. A perusal of these sheets will ere this have impressed on the reader's mind, the peculiarity of that fortune which led us from the Castlereagh to the creek, at which alone our wants could have been supplied. Had we wandered down the river, as we undoubtedly should have done had we recognised it as such, the loss of many of our animals would have been the inevitable consequence, and very probably a final issue would have been put to our journey. It is only to those who are placed in situations that baffle their own exertions or foresight, that the singular guidance of Providence becomes fully apparent. NATIVES PERISHING FROM FAMINE. It would appear that the natives were dying fast, not from any disease, but from the scarcity of food; and, should the drought continue, it seemed probable they may became extinct. The men found the body of a woman covered with leaves near the tents, and very properly buried it. We made Friday a day of rest for ourselves, as indeed was necessary; and on the following morning proceeded down the river, and encamped on a high bank above it, at the base of which, our cattle both fed and watered. At this spot one of the largest gum-trees I had ever seen had fallen, having died for want of moisture; indeed, the state of the vegetable kingdom was such as to threaten its total extinction, unless a change of seasons should take place. It may be worthy of remark that, from our first arrival on the banks of the Castlereagh, to our arrival at the present camp, we never picked up a stone, or a pebble, in its bed. JUNCTION OF THE CASTLEREAGH WITH THE DARLING. In the hope that we should fall on some detached pond, we pursued our journey on the 29th. The Castlereagh gave singular proofs of its violence, as if its waters, confined in the valley, had a difficulty in escaping from it. We had not travelled two miles, when in crossing, as we imagined, one of its bights, we found ourselves checked by a broad river. A single glimpse of it was sufficient to tell us it was the Darling. At a distance of more than ninety miles nearer its source, this singular river still preserved its character, so strikingly, that it was impossible not to have recognised it in a moment. The same steep banks and lofty timber, the same deep reaches, alive with fish, were here visible as when we left it. A hope naturally arose to our minds, that if it was unchanged in other respects, it might have lost the saltness that rendered its waters unfit for use; but in this we were disappointed--even its waters continued the same. As it was impossible for us to cross the Darling, I determined on falling back upon our last encampment, which was at a most Convenient distance, and of concerting measures there for our future movements. Prior to doing so, however, I rode to the junction of the Castlereagh with the Darling, accompanied by Mr. Hume, a distance of about half a mile. Upon the point formed by the two streams, there were a number of huts, and on the opposite bank of the Darling, about twenty natives had collected. We called out to them, but they would not join us. At the junction, the Castlereagh, with whatever impetuosity it rushes from its confinement, makes not apparently the least impression on the Darling River. The latter seemed to loll on, totally heedless of such a tributary. CHAPTER IV. Perplexity--Trait of honesty in the natives--Excursion on horseback across the Darling--Forced to return--Desolating effects of the drought--Retreat towards the colony--Connection between the Macquarie and the Darling--Return up the banks of the Macquarie--Starving condition of the natives. On our return to the party, we found them surrounded by the natives, who were looking with an eye of wonder on the cattle and horses. We pointed out to them the direction in which we were going, and invited them to visit us; and nothing appeared to astonish them so much as the management of the team by a single man. We got back to our position early, and again fixed ourselves upon it. It now only remained for us to consider what we should do under circumstances of certainly more than ordinary perplexity. We had nothing to hope for from travelling in a southerly direction, while to the E. and N.E., the state of the country was worse than that by which we had penetrated to the Darling. It was evident, that the large creeks joining the Castlereagh in that direction were dry, since the natives not only intimated this to us, but it was unquestionable that they themselves had deserted them, and had crowded to such places as still contained a supply of water. Even in retreating, we could not hope to retrace our steps. Experience had proved to us, that the dry state of the interior was as injurious to the movements of an expedition as a too wet season would have been. Taking everything, therefore, into consideration, I determined on leaving the party stationary, and on crossing the Darling to the N.W., and, if any encouraging feature presented itself, to return for the party, and persevere in an examination of the distant interior. Such, at least, appeared to me the most judicious plan: indeed, an attempt to have moved in any other direction would have been fruitless. And, as the result of this journey would be decisive, and would either fix or determine our advance or retreat, I was anxious for Mr. Hume's attendance. The natives followed to the camp, and in the course of the afternoon, were joined by their women. The latter however, would not approach nearer than the top of a little hillock on which they sat. The men did not come round the tents, but stood in a row at a short distance. At sunset, they gained a little courage, and wandered about a little more; at length they went off to the Darling. HONESTY OF A NATIVE. It was quite dark, when I heard a native call from the hill on which the women had been, and I desired Hopkinson to take his firelock and ascertain what the man wanted. He soon after returned, and brought a blanket, which he said the man had returned to him. The native was alone, and when he offered the blanket, kept his spear poised in his right hand; but, seeing that no violence was intended him, he lowered his weapon, and walked away. REWARD THE MAN FOR HIS CONDUCT. I was extremely pleased at this trait of honesty, and determined to reward it. On inquiry, I found that the men had availed themselves of the day to wash their blankets and that one of them had been flung over a bush hanging over the bank of the river, and it was supposed that one of the natives must have pulled it down with him. In the morning, the tribe went away from their encampment before day-light as we judged from the cry of their dogs, than which nothing could be more melancholy; but about eight, the men made their appearance on the hill occupied by the women the evening previously, and seemed to be doubtful whether to approach nearer. I went out to them, and, with a downward motion of my hand, beckoned for them to come to me: they mistook the signal, but laid all their spears on the ground, and it was not until after the sign had been reversed that they stirred or moved towards me. I then got them in a row, and desired Hopkinson to single out the man who had given him the blanket. It was, however, with great difficulty that he recognised him, as the man stood firm and motionless. At length, after walking two or three times along the line, he stopped before one man, and put his hand on his shoulder, upon which the manner of the native testified as to the correctness of his guess. The blanket being produced, I explained to the savage, with Mr. Hume's assistance, that I was highly pleased with him, and forthwith presented him with a tomahawk and a clasp-knife. The tribe were perfectly aware of the reason of my conduct, and all of them seemed highly delighted. I was happy in having such an opportunity of showing the natives of the interior that I came among them with a determination to maintain justice in my communication with them, and to impress them, at the same time, with a sense of our love of it in them. That they appreciated my apparent lenity in not calling for the defaulter, I am sure, and I feel perfectly conscious that I should have failed in my duty had I acted otherwise than I did. EFFECT OF FIRING A GUN. Although the natives had shown so good a disposition, as they were numerous, I thought it as well, since I was about to leave the camp, to show them that I had a power they little dreamt of about me. I therefore called for my gun and fired a ball into a tree. The effect of the report upon the natives, was truly ridiculous. Some stood and stared at me, others fell down, and others ran away; and it was with some difficulty we collected them again. At last, however, we did so, and, leaving them to pick out the ball, mounted our horses and struck away for the Darling. We crossed the river a little above where we struck it, and then proceeded N.W. into the interior. EXCURSION ACROSS THE DARLING. It is impossible for me to describe the nature of the country over which we passed, for the first eight miles. We rode through brushes of polygonum, under rough-gum, without a blade of vegetation, the whole space being subject to inundation. We then got on small plains of firmer surface, and red soil, but these soon changed again for the former; and at 4 p.m. we found ourselves advanced about two miles on a plain that stretched away before us, and bounded the horizon. It was dismally brown; a few trees only served to mark the distance. Up one of the highest I sent Hopkinson, who reported that he could not see the end of it, and that all around looked blank and desolate. It is a singular fact, that during the whole day, we had not seen a drop of water or a blade of grass. DESOLATING EFFECTS OF THE DROUGHT. To have stopped where we were, would, therefore, have been impossible; to have advanced, would probably have been ruin. Had there been one favorable circumstance to have encouraged me with the hope of success, I would have proceeded. Had we picked up a stone as indicating our approach to high land, I would have gone on; or had there been a break in the level of the country, or even a change in the vegetation. But we had left all traces of the natives far behind us; and this seemed a desert they never entered--that not even a bird inhabited. I could not encourage a hope of success, and, therefore, gave up the point; not from want of means, but a conviction of the inutility of any further efforts. If there is any blame to be attached to the measure, it is I who am in fault, but none who had not like me traversed the interior at such a season, would believe the state of the country over which I had wandered. During the short interval I had been out, I had seen rivers cease to flow before me, and sheets of water disappear; and had it not been for a merciful Providence, should, ere reaching the Darling, have been overwhelmed by misfortune. I am giving no false picture of the reality. So long had the drought continued, that the vegetable kingdom was almost annihilated, and minor vegetation had disappeared. In the creeks, weeds had grown and withered, and grown again; and young saplings were now rising in their beds, nourished by the moisture that still remained; but the largest forest trees were drooping, and many were dead. The emus, with outstretched necks, gasping for breath, searched the channels of the rivers for water, in vain; and the native dog, so thin that it could hardly walk, seemed to implore some merciful hand to despatch it. How the natives subsisted it was difficult to say, but there was no doubt of the scarcity of food among them. We arrived in camp at a late hour, and having nothing to detain us longer, prepared for our retreat in the morning. The natives had remained with the party during the greater part of the day, and had only left them a short time prior to our arrival. When examining the creek on which we had been encamped for some days, Mr. Hume observed a small junction; and as we knew we were almost due N. of the marshes of the Macquarie, both of us were anxious to ascertain whence it originated. To return to Mount Harris, by retracing our steps up the Castlereagh, would have entailed the severest distress upon us; we the rather preferred proceeding up this creek, and taking our chance for a supply of water. We therefore crossed Morrisset's chain of ponds, and encamped in the angle formed by the junction of the two creeks. Before we left this position, we were visited by a party of natives, twelve in number, but not of the Darling tribe. They accompanied us a short way, and then struck off to the right. At about a mile and a half, we crossed Mr. Hume's track, leading westerly, which still remained observable. The creek was, no doubt, the hollow he stated that he crossed on that excursion, and its appearance certainly justified his opinion of it. Its bed was choked up with bulrushes or the polygonum, and its banks were level with the country on either side, or nearly so. We passed over extremely rich soil the whole day, on a S.W. and by W. course, though the timber upon it was dwarfish, and principally of the rough-gum kind. On the 2nd of April, we stopped in order to make some repairs upon the dray; the wheels of which had failed us. Clayton put in four new spokes, and we heated the tyres over again, by which means we got it once more serviceable. WILD MELON. The soil in the creek was of the richest quality, and was found to produce a dwarf melon, having all the habits and character of the cucumber. The fruit was not larger than a pigeon's egg, but was extremely sweet. There were not, however, many ripe, although the runners were covered with flowers, and had an abundance of fruit upon them. In the morning, we sent the tinker on horseback up the creek, to ascertain how far the next water was from us, desiring him to keep the creek upon his right, and to follow his own track back again. He thought fit, however, considering himself a good bushman, to wander away to his left, and the consequence was, that he soon lost himself. It would appear that he doubled and passed through some thick brush at the back of the camp, and at length found himself at dark on the banks of a considerable creek. In wandering along it, he luckily struck upon the natives we had last seen, who, good-naturedly, led him to the track of the dray, which his horse would not afterwards desert, and the tinker sneaked into the tent about 3 o'clock in the morning, having failed in his errand, and made himself the butt of the whole party. RETURN UP THE CREEK. The day succeeding this adventure, we moved up the creek, which was, for the most part, even with the plain. The country continued the same as that we had passed over from the junction, being subject to flood, and having patches of bulrushes and reeds upon it. No change took place in the timber, but the line of acacia pendula, which forms the line of inundation, approached neater to us; nor was the mark of flood so high on the trunks of trees as below. We halted, with abominable water, but excellent food for the animals in the plains behind us. In continuing our journey, we found several changes take place in the appearance of the creek and its neighbourhood. The former diminished in size, and at length separated into two distinct channels, choked up, for the most part, with dead bulrushes, but having a few green reeds in patches along it. The flats on either side became slightly timbered, and blue gum was the prevailing tree. Crossing one of the channels, we observed every appearance of our near approach to the marshes, the flats being intersected by many little water-runs, such as we had noticed at the bottom of them. About noon we struck upon a body of reeds under the wood of eucalypti, below the second great morass, and keeping a little to our right to avoid them, fell shortly afterwards into our old track on the plain, upon which we continued to move, making the best of our way to the channel which had supplied our wants on our first return from the Darling. It was now, however, quite dry, and we were obliged to push on further, to shorten the journey of the morrow. CONNECTION OF MACQUARIE AND DARLING. The result of our journey up the creek was particularly satisfactory, both to myself and Mr. Hume; since it cleared up every doubt that might have existed regarding the actual termination of the Macquarie, and enabled us to connect the flow of waters at so interesting and particular a point. It will be seen by a reference to the chart, that the waters of the marshes, after trickling through the reeds, form a small creek, which carries off the superfluous part of them into Morrisset's chain of ponds, which latter again falls into the Castlereagh, at about eight miles to the W.N.W. and all three join the Darling in a W. by N. direction, in lat. 30 degrees 52 minutes south and E. lon. 147 degrees 8 minutes at about 90 miles to the N.N.W. of Mount Harris, and about an equal distance to the E.S.E. of where we struck upon the last-mentioned river. Thus it is evident that the Darling had considerably neared the eastern ranges, although it was still more than 150 miles from their base. It was apparently coming from the N.E., and whether it has its sources in the mountains behind our distant settlements, or still farther to the northwards, is a question of curious speculation, although, as I have already stated, I am of opinion that none but tropical rains could supply the furious torrent that must sometimes rage in it. It would be presumptuous to hazard any opinion as to the nature of the interior to the westward of that remarkable river. Its course is involved in equal mystery, and it is a matter of equal doubt whether it makes its way to the south coast, or ultimately exhausts itself in feeding a succession of swamps, or falls into a large reservoir in the centre of the island. RETURN TO MOUNT HARRIS. We reached Mount Harris on the 7th of the month, and moving leisurely up the banks of the Macquarie, gained Mr. Palmer's first station on the 14th, and Wellington Valley on the 21st, having been absent from that settlement four months and two weeks. The waters of the Macquarie had diminished so much, that its bed was dry for more than half a mile at a stretch, nor did we observe the least appearance of a current in it, until after we had ascended the ranges. The lower tribes were actually starving, and brought their children to us to implore something to eat. The men attempted to surprise the camp, but I believe they were urged from absolute necessity to procure subsistence for themselves, and that they intended robbery rather than personal violence. DEPLORABLE STATE OF THE COUNTRY. We left the interior in a still more deplorable state than that in which we found it; but it is more than probable that under other circumstances, we should have found it impossible to traverse its distant plains, as it is certain that unless rain fell in less than three weeks, all communication with the Darling would have been cut off: CHAPTER V. General remarks--Result of the expedition--Previous anticipations--Mr. Oxley's remarks--Character of the Rivers flowing westerly--Mr. Cunningham's remarks--Fall of the Macquarie--Mr. Oxley's erroneous conclusions respecting the character of the interior, naturally inferred from the state in which he found the country--The marsh of the Macquarie merely a marsh of the ordinary character--Captain King's observations--Course of the Darling--Character of the low interior plain--The convict Barber's report of rivers traversing the interior--Surveyor-General Mitchell's Report of his recent expedition. RESULT OF THE EXPEDITION. Whether the discoveries that have been made during this expedition, will ultimately prove of advantage to the colony of New South Wales, is a question that time alone can answer. We have in the meanwhile to regret that no beneficial consequences will immediately follow them. The further knowledge that has been gained of the interior is but as a gleam of sunshine over an extensive landscape. A stronger light has fallen upon the nearer ground, but the distant horizon is still enveloped in clouds. The veil has only as it were been withdrawn from the marshes of the Macquarie to be spread over the channel of the Darling. Unsatisfactory, however, as the discoveries may as yet be considered in a commercial point of view, the objects for which the expedition had been fitted out were happily attained. The marsh it had been directed to examine, was traversed on every side, and the rivers it had been ordered to trace, were followed down to their terminations to a distance far beyond where they had ceased to exist as living streams. To many who may cast their eyes over the accompanying chart, the extent of newly discovered country may appear trifling; but when they are told, that there is not a mile of that ground that was not traversed over and over again, either by Mr. Hume or by myself, that we wandered over upwards of 600 miles more than the main body of the expedition, on different occasions, in our constant and anxious search for water, and that we seldom dismounted from our horses, until long after sunset, they will acknowledge the difficulties with which we had to contend, and will make a generous allowance for them; for, however unsuccessful in some respects the expedition may have been, it accomplished as much, it is to be hoped, as under such trying circumstances could have been accomplished. It now only remains for me to sum up the result of my own observations, and to point out to the reader, how far the actual state of the interior, has been found to correspond with the opinions that were entertained of it. MR. OXLEY'S REMARKS. I have already stated, in the introduction to this work, that the general impression on the minds of those best qualified to judge was, that the western streams discharged themselves into a central shoal sea. Mr. Oxley thus expresses himself on the subject:-- "July 3rd. Towards morning the storm abated, and at day-light, we proceeded on our voyage. The main bed of the river was much contracted, but very deep; the waters spreading to the depth of a foot or eighteen inches over the banks, but all running on the same point of bearing. We met with considerable interruptions from fallen timber, which in places nearly choked up the channel. After going about twenty miles, we lost the land and trees; the channel of the river, which lay through reeds, and was from one to three feet deep, ran northerly.--This continued for three or four miles farther, when, although there had been no previous change in the breadth, depth, or rapidity of the stream for several miles, and I was sanguine in my expectations of soon entering the long-sought-for Australian sea, it all at once eluded our farther pursuit, by spreading on every point from N.W. to N.E. among the ocean of reeds which surrounded us, still running with the same rapidity as before. There was no channel whatever among those reeds, and the depth varied from three to five feet. This astonishing change (for I cannot call it a termination of the river) of course left me no alternative but to endeavour to return to some spot on which we could effect a landing before dark. I estimated, that during the day, we had gone about twenty-four miles, on nearly the same point of bearing as yesterday. To assert, positively, that we were on the margin of the lake, or sea, into which this great body of water is discharged, might reasonably be deemed a conclusion, which has nothing but conjecture for its basis. But if an opinion may be permitted to be hazarded from actual appearances, mine is decidedly in favour of our being in the immediate vicinity of an inland sea, or lake, most probably a shoal one, and gradually filling up by numerous depositions from the high lands, left by the waters which flow into it. It is most singular, that the high lands on this continent seem to be confined to the sea-coast, and not to extend to any distance from it." MR. CUNNINGHAM'S REMARKS. In a work published at Sydney, containing an account of Mr. Allan Cunningham's journey towards Moreton Bay, in 1828, the following remarks occur, from which it is evident Mr. Cunningham entertained Mr. Oxley's views of the character and nature of the Western interior. Towards the conclusion of the narrative, the author thus observes:-- "Of the probable character of the distant unexplored interior, into which it has been ascertained ALL the rivers falling westerly from the dividing ranges flow, some inference may be drawn from the following data. "Viewing, between the parallels of 34 degrees and 27 degrees, a vast area of depressed interior, subjected in seasons of prolonged rains to partial inundation, by a dispersion of the several waters that flow upon it from the eastern mountains whence they originate; and bearing in mind at the same time, that the declension of the country within the above parallels, as most decidedly shown by the dip of its several rivers, is uniformly to the N.N.W. and N.W., it would appear very conclusive, that either a portion of our distant interior is occupied by a lake of considerable magnitude, or that the confluence of those large streams, the Macquarie, Castlereagh, Gwydir, and the Dumaresq, with the many minor interfluent waters, which doubtless takes place upon those low levels, forms one or more noble rivers, which may flow across the continent by an almost imperceptible declivity of country to the north of north-west coasts, on certain parts of which, recent surveys have discovered to us extensive openings, by which the largest accumulations of waters might escape to the sea." CHARACTER OF THE RIVERS. It is the characteristic of the streams falling westerly from the eastern, or coast ranges, to maintain a breadth of channel and a rapidity of current more immediately near their sources, that ill accords with their diminished size, and the sluggish flow of their waters in the more depressed interior. In truth, neither the Macquarie nor the Castlereagh can strictly be considered as permanent rivers. The last particularly is nothing more than a mountain torrent. The Macquarie, although it at length ceased to run, kept up the appearance of a river to the very marshes; but the bed of the Castlereagh might have been crossed in many places without being noticed, nor did its channel contain so much water as was to be found on the neighbouring plains. There are two circumstances upon which the magnitude, and velocity of a river, more immediately depend. The first is the abundance of its sources, the other the dip of its bed. If a stream has constant fountains at its head, and numerous tributaries joining it in its course, and flows withal through a country of gradual descent, such a stream will never fail; but if the supplies do not exceed the evaporation and absorption, to which every river is subject, if a river dependant on its head alone, falls rapidly into a level country, without receiving a single addition to its waters to assist the first impulse acquired in their descent, it must necessarily cease to flow at one point or other. Such is the case with the Lachlan, the Macquarie, the Castlereagh, and the Darling. Whence the latter originates, still remains to be ascertained; but most undoubtedly its sources have been influenced by the same drought that has exhausted the fountains of the three first mentioned streams. In supporting his opinion of the probable discharge of the interior waters of Australia upon its north-west coast, Mr. Cunningham thus remarks in the publication from which I have already made an extract. "To those remarkable parts of the north-west coast above referred to in the parallel of 16 degrees south, the Macquarie river, which rises in lat. 33 degrees, and under the meridian of 150 degrees east, would have a course of 2045 statute miles throughout, while the elevation of its source, being 3500 feet above the level of the sea as shown by the barometer, would give its waters an average descent of twenty inches to the mile, supposing the bed of the river to be an inclined plane. "The Gwydir originating in elevated land, lying in 31 degrees south, and long. 151 degrees east, at a mean height of 3000 feet, would have to flow 2020 miles, its elevated sources giving to each a mean fall of seventeen inches. "Dumaresq's river falling 2970 feet from granite mountains, in 28 1/4 degrees under the meridian of 152 degrees, would have to pursue its course for 2969 miles, its average fall being eighteen inches to a mile." As I have never been upon the banks either of the Gwydir or the Dumaresq, I cannot speak of those two rivers; but in estimating the sources of the Macquarie at 3500 feet above the level of the sea, Mr. Cunningham has lost sight of, or overlooked the fact, that the fall of its bed in the first two hundred miles, is more than 2800 feet, since the cataract, which is midway between Wellington Valley and the marshes, was ascertained by barometrical admeasurement, to be 680 feet only above the ocean. The country, therefore, through which the Macquarie would have to flow during the remainder of its course of 1700 miles, in order to gain the N.W. coast, would not be a gradually inclined plain, but for the most part a dead level, and the fact of its failure is a sufficient proof in itself how short the course of a river so circumstanced must necessarily be. MR. OXLEY'S OPINIONS. Having conversed frequently with Mr. Oxley on the subject of his expeditions, I went into the interior prepossessed in favour of his opinions, nor do I think he could have drawn any other conclusion than that which he did, from his experience of the terminations of the rivers whose courses he explored. Had Mr. Oxley advanced forty, or even thirty miles, farther than he did, to the westward of Mount Harris; nay, had he proceeded eight miles in the above direction beyond the actual spot from which he turned back, he would have formed other and very different opinions of the probable character of the distant interior. But I am aware that Mr. Oxley performed all that enterprise, and perseverance, and talent could have performed, and that it would have been impracticable in him to have attempted to force its marshes in the state in which he found them. It was from his want of knowledge of their nature and extent, that he inferred the swampy and inhospitable character of the more remote country, a state in which subsequent investigation has found it not to be. The marsh of the Macquarie is nothing more than an ordinary marsh or swamp in another country. However large a space it covers, it is no more than a concavity or basin for the reception of the waters of the river itself, nor has it any influence whatever on the country to the westward of it, in respect to inundation; the general features of the latter being a regular alternation of plain and brush. These facts are in themselves sufficient to give a fresh interest to the interior of the Australian continent, and to increase its importance. CAPT. KING'S OPINIONS. With respect to that part of its coast at which the rivers falling from the eastern mountains, discharge themselves, it is a question of very great doubt. It seems that Capt. King, in consequence of some peculiarities in the currents at its N.W. angle, supports Mr. Cunningham's opinion as to their probable discharge in that quarter. But I fear the internal structure of the continent is so low, as to preclude the hopes of any river reaching from one extremity of it to the other. A variety of local circumstances, as the contraction of a channel, a shoal sea, or numerous islands, influence currents generally, but more especially round so extensive a continent as that of which we are treating; nor does it strike me that any observations made by Capt. King during his survey, can be held to bear any connection with the eastern ranges, or their western waters. It may, however, be said, that as the course of the Darling is still involved in uncertainty, the question remains undecided; but it appears to me, the discovery of that river has set aside every conjecture (founded on previous observation) respecting the main features of the interior lying to the westward of the Blue Mountains. Both Mr. Oxley and Mr. Cunningham drew their conclusions from the appearances of the country they severally explored. The ground on which those theories were built, has been travelled over, and has not been found to realise them, but subsequent investigation has discovered to us a river, the dip of whose bed is to the S.W. We have every reason to believe that the sources of this river must be far to the northward of the most distant northerly point to which any survey has been made, as we are certain that it is far beyond the stretch of vision from the loftiest and most westerly of the barrier ranges; from which circumstance, it is evident that whatever disposition the streams descending from those ranges to the westward may show to hold a N.W. course more immediately at the base, the whole of the interior streams, from the Macquarie to the Dumaresq, are tributaries to the principal channel which conveys their united waters at right angles, if not still more opposite to the direction they were supposed to take, as far as is yet known. COURSE OF THE DARLING. The Darling River must be considered as the boundary line to all inland discoveries from the eastward. Any judgment or opinion of the interior to the westward of that stream, would be extremely premature and uncertain. There is not a single feature over it to guide or to strengthen either the one or the other. CHARACTER OF THE WESTERN INTERIOR. My impression, when travelling the country to the west and N.W. of the marshes of the Macquarie, was, that I was traversing a country of comparatively recent formation. The sandy nature of its soil, the great want of vegetable decay, the salsolaceous character of its plants, the appearance of its isolated hills and flooded tracts, and its trifling elevations above the sea, severally contributed to strengthen these impressions on my mind. My knowledge of the interior is, however, too limited to justify me in any conclusion with regard to the central parts of Australia. An ample field is open to enterprise and to ambition, and it is to be hoped that some more decisive measures will be carried into effect, both for the sake of the colony and of geography, to fill up the blank upon the face of the chart of Australia, and remove from us the reproach of indifference and inaction. BARBER'S STATEMENT. Since the above pages were written, an expedition was undertaken by Major Mitchell, the Surveyor-General, to ascertain the truth of a report brought in by a runaway convict of the name of Barber, or Clarke, who had been at large for five years, at different times, among the natives to the northward of Port Macquarie. This man stated that a large river, originating in the high lands near Liverpool Plains, and the mountains to the north of them, pursued a N.W. course to the sea. His story ran thus: Having learnt from the natives the existence of this river, he determined to follow it down, in hopes that he might ultimately be enabled to make his escape from the colony. He accordingly started from Liverpool Plains, and kept on a river called the Gnamoi, for some time, which took him N.W. After a few days' journey, he left this river, traversed the country northwards, and crossed some lofty ranges. Descending to the N.E. he came to another large river, the Keindur, which again took him N.W. He travelled 400 miles down it, when he observed a large stream joining it upon its left bank, which he supposed to be the Gnamoi. The river he was upon was broad and navigable. It flowed through a level country with a dead current and muddy water, and spread into frequent lakes. He found that it ultimately discharged itself into the sea, but was uncertain at what distance from its sources. He was positive he never travelled to the SOUTHWARD OF WEST. He ascended a hill near the sea, and observed an island in the distance, from which, the natives informed him, a race of light-coloured men came in large canoes for a scented wood; but having failed in the immediate object of his journey, he was eventually obliged to return. MAJOR MITCHELL'S REPORT. The following official report of Major Mitchell will sufficiently point out the incorrectness of the preceding statement. It is most probable that Barber merely told that which he had heard from the natives, and that having a more than ordinary share of cunning, he made up a story upon their vague and uncertain accounts, in hopes that it would benefit him, as in truth it did. * * * * * Bullabalakit, on the River Nammoy, in lat. 30 degrees 38 minutes 21 seconds S., long. 149 degrees 30 minutes 20 seconds E. 23d December, 1831. SIR, I have the honour to state, for the information of His Excellency the Governor, the progress I have made in exploring the course of the interior waters to the northward of the Colony, with reference to the letter which I had the honour to address to Col. Lindesay, on this subject, on the 19th ult. On crossing Liverpool Range my object was to proceed northward, so as to avoid the plains and head the streams which water them, and avoiding also the mountain ranges on the east. I arrived accordingly, by a tolerably straight and level line, at Walamoul, on Peel's River; this place (a cattle station of Mr. Brown) being nearly due north from the common pass across Liverpool Range, and about a mile-and-a-half above the spot where Mr. Oxley crossed this river. PEEL'S RIVER. I found the general course of the Peel below Walamoul to be nearly west; and after tracing this river downwards twenty-two miles (in direct distance), I crossed it at an excellent ford, named Wallamburra. I then traversed the extensive plain of Mulluba; and leaving that of Coonil on the right, extending far to the north-east, we passed through a favourable interval of what I considered Hardwicke's Range, the general direction of this range being two points west of north. On passing through this gorge, which, from the name of a hill on the south side, may be named Ydire, I crossed a very extensive tract of flat country, on which the wood consisted of iron-bark and acacia pendula; this tract being part of a valley evidently declining to the north-west, which is bounded on the south by the Liverpool Range, and on the south-west by the extremities from the same. On the west, at a distance of twenty-two miles from Hardwicke's Range, there stands a remarkable isolated hill named Bounalla; and towards the lowest part of the country, and in the direction in which all the waters tend, there is a rocky peak named Tangulda. On the north, a low range (named Wowa), branching westerly from Hardwicke's Range, bounds on that side this extensive basin, which includes Liverpool Plains. Peel's River is the principal stream, and receives, in its course, all the waters of these plains below the junction of Connadilly,--which I take to be York's River, of Oxley. THE RIVER NAMMOY. The stream is well known to the natives by the name Nammoy; and six miles below Tangulda, the low extremities from the surrounding ranges close on the river, and separate this extensive vale from the unexplored country which extends beyond to an horizon which is unbroken between W.N.W. and N.N.W. The impracticable appearance of the mountains to the northward, induced me to proceed thus far to the west; and on examining the country thirty miles N.E. by N. from Tangulda, I ascended a lofty range extending westward from the coast chain, and on which the perpendicular sides of masses of trachyte (a volcanic rock) were opposed to my further progress even with horses: it was therefore evident that the river supposed to rise about the latitude of 28 degrees would not be accessible, or at least available to the Colony, in that direction, and that in the event of the discovery of a river beyond that range flowing to the northern or north-western shores, it would become of importance to ascertain whether it was joined by the Nammoy, the head of this river being so accessible that I have brought my heavily laden drays to where it is navigable for boats, my present encampment being on its banks six miles below Tangulda. From this station I can perceive the western termination of the Trachytic range, and I am now about to explore the country between it and the Nammoy, and the further course of this river; and in the event of its continuance in a favourable direction, I shall fix my depot on its right bank, whence I now write, and descend the stream in the portable boats. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant, T. L. MITCHELL, SURVEYOR-GENERAL The Hon. The Colonial Secretary. * * * * * Peel's River, 29th February, 1832. SIR, I have the honour to inform you, for the information of His Excellency the Governor, that I have reached the left bank of this River with my whole party on my return from the northern interior, having explored the course of the river referred to in my letter of 22nd December last, and others within the 29th parallel of latitude. There was so much fallen timber in the Nammoy, and its waters were so low, that the portable boats could not be used on that river with advantage, and I proceeded by land in a north-west direction, until convinced by its course turning more to the westward that this river joined the river Darling. I therefore quitted its banks with the intention of exploring the country further northward, by moving round the western extremities of the mountains mentioned in my former letter, and which I have since distinguished in my map by the name of the Lindesay Range. These mountains terminate abruptly on the west, and I entered a fine open country at their base, from whence plains (or rather open ground of gentle undulation) extended westward as far as could be seen. On turning these mountains I directed my course northward, and to the eastward of north, into the country beyond them, in search of the river KINDUR; and I reached a river flowing westward, the bed of which was deep, broad, and permanent, but in which there was not then much water. THE RIVER KARAULA. The marks of inundation on trees, and on the adjoining high ground, proved that its floods rose to an extraordinary height; and from the latitude, and also from the general direction of its course, I considered this to be the river which Mr. Cunningham named the Gwydir, on crossing it sixty miles higher, on his route to Moreton Bay. I descended this river, and explored the country on its left bank for about eighty miles to the westward, when I found that its general course was somewhat to the southward of west. This river received no addition from the mountains over that part of its left bank traversed by me; and the heat being intense, the stream was at length so reduced that I could step across it. The banks had become low, and the bed much contracted, being no longer gravelly, but muddy. I therefore crossed this river and travelled northward, on a meridian line, until, in the latitude of 29 degrees 2 minutes, I came upon the largest river I had yet seen. The banks were earthy and broken, the soil being loose, and the water of a white muddy colour. Trees, washed out by the roots from the soft soil, filled the bed of this river in many places. There was abundance of cod-fish of a small size, as well as of the two other kinds of fish which we had caught in the Peel, the Nammoy, and the Gwydir. The name of this river, as well as we could make it out from the natives, was Karaula. Having made fast one tree to top of another tall tree, I obtained a view of the horizon, which appeared perfectly level, and I was in hopes that we had at length found a river which would flow to the northward and avoid the Darling. I accordingly ordered the boat to be put together, and sent Mr. White with a party some miles down to clear away any trees in the way. Mr. White came upon a rocky fall, and found besides the channel so much obstructed by trees, and the course so tortuous, that I determined to ascertain before embarking upon it, whether the general course was in the desired direction. Leaving Mr. White with half the party, I accordingly traced the Karaula downwards, and found that its course changed to south, a few miles below where I had made it, and that it was joined by the Gwydir only eight miles below where I had crossed that river. Immediately below the junction of the Gwydir (which is in latitude 29 degrees 30 minutes 27 seconds, longitude 148 degrees 13 minutes 20 seconds) the course of the river continues southward of west, directly towards where Captain Sturt discovered the River Darling; and I could no longer doubt that this was the same river. I therefore returned to the party, determined to explore the country further northward. The results of my progress thus far were sufficient, I considered, to prove that the division of the waters falling towards the northern and southern shores of Australia is not, as has been supposed, in the direction of the Liverpool and Warrabangle range, but extends between Cape Byron on the eastern shore, towards Dick Hartog's Island on the west; the greater elongation of this country being between these points, and intermediate between the lines of its northern and southern coasts. The basin of the streams I have been upon must be bounded on the north by this dividing ground or water-shed, and although no rise was perceptible in the northern horizon, the river was traversed by several rocky dykes, over which it fell southward; their direction being oblique to the course, and nearly parallel to this division of the waters. I beg leave to state, that I should not feel certain on this point without having seen more, were it not evident from Mr. Cunningham's observations, made on crossing this division on his way to Moreton Bay. Mr. Cunningham, on crossing the head of this river, nearly in the same latitude, but much nearer its sources, found the height of its bed above the sea to be 840 feet; at about forty-five miles further northward the ground rose to upwards of 1700 feet, but immediately beyond, he reached a river flowing north-west, the height of which was only 1400 feet above the sea. He had thus crossed this dividing higher ground, between the parallels of 29 degrees and 28 degrees. It appears, therefore, that all the interior rivers we know of to the northward of the Morumbidgee, belong to the basin of the Karaula; this stream flowing southward, and hence the disappearance of the Macquarie and other lower rivers may be understood, for all along the banks of the Karaula, the Gwydir, and the Nammoy, the country, though not swampy, bears marks of frequent inundation; thus the floods occasioned by these rivers united, cover the low country, and receive the Macquarie so that no channel marks its further course. That a basin may be found to the northward receiving the waters of the northern part of the coast range in a similar manner is extremely probable, and that they form a better river, because the angle is more acute between the high ground, which must bound it on the N.E. and the watershed on the south. I therefore prepared to cross the Karaula, in hopes of seeing the head at least of such a river, and to explore the country two degrees further northward, but moving in a N.W. direction. My tent was struck, and I had just launched my portable boat for the purpose of crossing the river, when Mr. Surveyor Finch, whom I had instructed to bring up a supply of flour, arrived with the distressing intelligence, that two of his men had been killed by the natives, who had taken the flour, and were in possession of everything he had brought--all the cattle, including his horse, being also dispersed or lost. I therefore determined not to extend my excursion further, as the party were already on reduced rations, and on the 8th instant I retired from the Karaula, returning by the marked line, which being cut through thick scrubs in various places, is now open, forming a tolerably direct line of communication in a N.W. direction from Sydney, to a river, beyond which the survey may be extended whenever His Excellency the Governor thinks fit. The natives had never troubled my party on our advance; indeed I only saw them when I came upon them by surprise, and then they always ran off. Their first visit was received at my camp on the Karaula, during my absence down that river, when they were very friendly, but much disposed to steal. Various tribes followed us on coming back, but never with any show of hostility, although moving in tribes of a hundred or more parallel to our marked line, or in our rear; it was necessary to be ever on our guard, and to encamp in strong positions only, arranging the drays for defence during the night: three men were always under arms, and I have much pleasure in stating, that throughout the whole excursion, and under circumstances of hardship and privation, the conduct of the men was very good. I took an armed party to the scene of pillage, and buried the bodies of the two men, who appeared to have been treacherously murdered while asleep by the blacks during the absence of Mr. Finch: no natives were to be found when I visited the spot, although it appeared from columns of smoke on hills which overlooked if, that they were watching our movements. The party has now arrived within a day's journey of Brown's station, and I have instructed Assistant-Surveyor White (from whom I have received great assistance during the whole journey) to conduct it homewards, being desirous to proceed without delay to Sydney, and to receive the instructions of His Excellency the Governor. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, T. L. MITCHELL, SURVEYOR-GENERAL. THE HON. THE COLONIAL SECRETARY, "&c. &c. &c." Chapter VI. CONCLUDING REMARKS Obstacles that attend travelling into the interior of Australia--Difficulty of carrying supplies--Importance of steady intelligent subordinates--Danger from the natives--Number of men requisite,--and of cattle and carriages--Provisions--Other arrangements--Treatment of the natives--Dimensions of the boat used in the second expedition. Having now had considerable experience in the fitting out and management of expeditions in New South Wales, I cannot refrain from making some few observations on the subject. And without presuming to lay dawn any fixed rules, I shall only refer to those by which I have best succeeded, in hopes that some of my remarks may prove of use to future travellers who may venture to penetrate into the trackless deserts over so small a portion of which I wandered. DIFFICULTIES OF EXPLORING AUSTRALIA. The great difficulty of examining the interior of Australia, is that of carrying supplies; for increasing the number of individuals composing an expedition is of no avail, since an additional number of men must necessarily increase the consumption of food. In order to meet this difficulty it has been proposed to establish depots upon which an expedition could fall back to recruit its supplies, and in ordinary cases this plan might answer; but I am decidedly of opinion that no party could long remain stationary in the distant interior without some fatal collision with the natives, which would be attended with the most deplorable consequences; and I do think, considering all things, that the experiment is too dangerous to be tried; for when I reached Mount Harris, on my first retreat from the Darling, I found the party who were awaiting me, with a supply of provisions, under very great alarm, in consequence of the hostile proceedings of the Mount Harris tribe. The men had been obliged to put the camp into a state of defence. The blacks had attempted to surprise them, and would, had I not returned, have combined in some general attack. It appears to me that the most judicious plan would be to send a supply of provisions, with an expedition, to a distant point, under the charge of a minor party. These provisions could replace those already expended, and the animals that carried them could be taken back. SELECTION OF SUBORDINATES. The number of individuals of which the expedition down the banks of the Macquarie was composed, was fourteen: that is to say, myself, Mr. Hume, two soldiers, one free man, and seven prisoners of the crown. The latter behaved, on all occasions, as steadily as it was possible for men to do. Yet the circumstance of the two soldiers being with me increased my confidence in the whole, for I was aware that their example would influence the rest. However well disposed the prisoners of the crown may be, (as in this instance they certainly were,) the beneficial example of steady discipline cannot be denied. I should not have considered myself justified in leaving the camp as I did for a week, and in detaching Mr. Hume at the same time when at the bottom of the marshes, or in making the last effort to maintain our position on the banks of the Darling, if I had not reposed every confidence in the man to whom I entrusted the safety of the camp during my absence. Experience, therefore, of the value of the two soldiers, whom General Darling was good enough to permit me to take on the strength of the party, fully bears me out in recommending that one man, at least, of general responsibility shall be attached to all future expeditions. The success of an expedition depends so much on the conduct of the persons of whom it is composed, that too much attention cannot be given to the selection even of the most subordinate. Men of active intelligent minds, of persevering habits, and of even temper, should be preferred to mechanics who do not possess these most requisite qualities. On the other hand, it is impossible to do without a good carpenter, however defective he may be in other respects. I was indebted to Mr. Maxwell, the superintendent of Wellington Valley, for some excellent men, both on my first and on my second journey, because he understood the nature of the service for which they were required, and the characters of those whom he recommended. But however well selected the party, or the men rather, might be, I still consider a man of general responsibility necessary for its complete organisation. I would have him somewhat superior to the rest in his station in life. Him I would hold answerable for the immediate discipline of the camp, whilst I was present, and for its safety when absent. The assistant to the leader I would put entirely out of the question. He has other and most important duties to perform. I would rate this man wholly independent of him. DANGER OF COLLISION WITH THE NATIVES. In reference to what I have already said with regard to the natives, it was supposed that they were so little to be apprehended, that when I went on the first occasion into the interior, I applied for a limited number of men only, under an impression that with a few men I could carry provisions equal to a consumption of a greater number, and by this means be enabled to keep the field for a greater length of time. But I do not think it would be safe to penetrate into the distant country with fewer than fifteen men, for although, happily, no rupture has as yet taken place with the natives, yet, there is no security against their treachery, and it is very certain that a slight cause might involve an expedition in inextricable difficulty, and oblige the leader to throw himself on the defensive, when far away from other resources than those with which he should have provided himself, and that, perhaps, when navigating a close and intricate river, with all the dangers and perplexities attendant on such a situation. It is absolutely necessary to establish nightly guards, not only for the security of the camp, but of the cattle, and at the same time to have a force strong enough to maintain an obstinate resistance against any number of savages, where no mercy is to be expected. It will be borne in mind, that there is a wide difference between penetrating into a country in the midst of its population, and landing from ships for the purpose of communication or traffic. Yet, how few voyages of discovery have terminated without bloodshed! Boats while landing are covered by their ships, and have succour within view; but not so parties that go into unknown tracts. They must depend on their immediate resources and individual courage alone. PACK-OXEN, HORSES, WHEEL-CARRIAGES. With regard to the animals, I should recommend an equal number of horses as of bullocks; since it has been found that the latter, though slow, travel better over swampy ground than horses, which, on the other hand, are preferable for expeditious journeys, to which bullocks would never be equal. One of the colonial pack-saddles weighs fifty pounds complete, and is preferable to those sent out from England. This, with a load of 250 lbs. is sufficient for any animal, since it enables the men to place a part of their provisions with the general loads. The difficulty of keeping the backs of the animals free from injury, more especially where any blemish has before existed, is exceedingly great. They should undergo an examination twice a-day, that is, in the morning prior to moving off, and in the afternoon before they are turned out to feed; and measures should then be taken to ease them as circumstances require. I never suffered the saddles to be removed from the backs of the animals under my charge for twenty minutes after the termination of the journey for the day, in order to guard against the effects of the sun; and where the least swelling appeared the saddle was altered and the place dressed. Yet, notwithstanding all this care and attention, several both of the horses and bullocks were at one time in a sad condition, during the first journey,--so much so as almost to paralyse our efforts. It would be advisable that such animals as are entirely free from blemish should be chosen for the service of expeditions, for, with proper management they might be kept in order. The anxiety of mind attendant on a bad state of the animals is really quite embarrassing, for it not only causes a delay in the movements, but a derangement in the loads. Other animals are overburdened, and there is no knowing where the evil will stop. In addition to the pack-animals, I would recommend the employment of a dray or cart under any practicable circumstances. It serves to carry necessary comforts, gives an expedition greater facility for securing its collections, and is of inconceivable advantage in many other respects. ISSUE OF PROVISIONS. Constant and most earnest attention should be paid to the issue of provisions, on the discreet management of which so much depends, and the charge of them should be committed to the second in command. The most important articles are flour, tea, sugar, and tobacco. All should be husbanded with extreme care, and weighed from time to time. The flour is best carried in canvass bags, containing 100 pounds each, and should at the termination of each day's journey, be regularly piled up and covered with a tarpaulin. Tea, sugar and tobacco lose considerably in weight, so that it is necessary to estimate for somewhat more than the bare supply. With regard to the salt meat, the best mode of conveying it appears to be in small barrels of equal weight with the bags of flour. Salt pork is better than beef. It should be deprived of all bones and be of the very best quality. I have heard spirits recommended, but I do not approve their use. Tea is much more relished by the men; indeed they could not do well without it. A small quantity of spirits would, however, of course be necessary in the event of its being required. LIVE STOCK. Mr. Cornelius O'Brien, an enterprising and long-established settler, who has pushed his flocks and herds to the banks of the Morumbidgee, was good enough to present me with eight wethers as I passed his station. It may be some gratification to Mr. O'Brien to know, that they contributed very materially to our comforts, and he will, perhaps, accept my acknowledgements in this place, not only for so liberal a present to myself, but for his attention and kindness to my men as long as they remained in his neighbourhood. It was found that the sheep gave but little additional trouble, requiring only to be penned at night, as much to secure them from the native dogs as to prevent them from straying away. They followed the other animals very quietly, and soon became accustomed to daily movements. They proved a most available stock; no waste attended their slaughter, and they admitted of a necessary and wholesome change of fresh food from the general salt diet, on which the men would otherwise have had to subsist. The provisions should, if possible, be issued weekly, and their diminution should be so regulated as to give an equal relief to the animals. For general information I have annexed a list of the supplies I took with me on my first expedition. It may appear long, but the articles were packed in a small compass, and their value immaterial. As a precautionary measure I should advise, that one of the pack animals be kept apart for the purpose of carrying water. Two casks of equal weight are the best for such a purpose. In long and hot marches, the men experience great relief from having water at hand. INTERCOURSE WITH THE NATIVES. In reference to the natives, I hope sufficient has been said of the manner of communicating with them to prevent the necessity of a repetition here. The great point is not to alarm their natural timidity: to exercise patience in your intercourse with them; to treat them kindly; and to watch them with suspicion, especially at night. Never permit the men to steal away from the camp, but keep them as compact as possible; and at every station so arrange your drays and provisions that they may serve as a defence in case of your being attacked. The natives appeared to me to be indifferent to our presents, in most cases. Tomahawks, knives, pieces of iron, and different coloured ribbons for the forehead, were most esteemed by them. They will barter and exchange their fish for articles, and readily acquire confidence. I believe I have now touched on all the more important points: on minor ones no observation I can make will be of use; men must, in many things, be guided by circumstances. * * * * * WHALE BOAT EMPLOYED ON THE SECOND EXPEDITION. I may here notice that, in my second expedition, as it was anticipated that I should require adequate provision for water conveyance, at one stage or other of my journey down the Morumbidgee, I was furnished with a whale-boat, the dimensions of which are given below. She was built by Mr. Egan, the master builder of the dock-yard and a native of the colony, and did great credit to his judgment. She carried two tons and a half of provisions, independently of a locker, which I appropriated for the security of the arms, occupying the space between the after-seat and the stern. She was in the first instance put together loosely, her planks and timbers marked, and her ring bolts, &c. fitted. She was then taken to pieces, carefully packed up, and thus conveyed in plank into the interior, to a distance of four hundred and forty miles, without injury. She was admirably adapted for the service, and rose as well as could have been expected over the seas in the lake. It was evident, however, that she would have been much safer if she had had another plank, for she was undoubtedly too low. The following were her dimensions:-- Breadth across 7th timber aft, 5 ft. 1/2 an inch outside. Across 12th timber, 5 ft. 11 1/4 in. Across 17th timber forward, 5 ft. 25 ft. 8 in. in length inside. Curve of the keel No. 1, from the after side of each apron, 3 ft. 3 3/4in. No. 2, from head to head of the dead wood, 13 1/2 in. No. 3, from one end of keel to the other inner side, 3 in. No. 4, round of keel from the toe of each dead wood, 7/8 1/16th. The timbers were marked, beginning from the stern to the bow on the starboard side, and from bow to stern on the larboard. APPENDIX No. I. LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS. By His Excellency Lieutenant General Ralph Darling, Commanding His Majesty's Forces, Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the Territory of New South Wales, and its dependencies, and Vice Admiral of the same, &c. &c. &c. TO CHARLES STURT, ESQ. CAPTAIN IN THE 39TH REGIMENT OF FOOT. Whereas it has been judged expedient to fit out an expedition for the purpose of exploring the interior of New Holland, and the present dry season affords a reasonable prospect of an opportunity of ascertaining the nature and extent of the large marsh or marshes which stopped the progress of the late John Oxley Esq, Surveyor General, in following the courses of the rivers Lachlan and Macquarie in the years 1817 and 1818. And whereas I repose full confidence in your abilities and zeal for conducting such an expedition, I do hereby constitute and appoint you to command and take charge of the expedition now preparing for the purpose of exploring the interior of the country, and for ascertaining, if practicable, the nature and extent of the marsh or marshes above mentioned. In the prosecution of this service, you will be guided generally by the following instructions. 1. You will be accompanied on this expedition by Mr. Hamilton Hume, whose great experience in travelling through the remote parts of the Colony, cannot fail to be highly useful to you. You will also be attended by two soldiers and six convicts, of whom one is to understand the shoeing of horses, one to be a carpenter, one a harness-maker and three stock-men, and you will be provided with six horses and twelve bullocks. 2. A small boat has been built here for the use of the expedition, and for its conveyance, there is provided a light four-wheeled carriage to be drawn by two bullocks. The deputy Commissary General has received orders for supplying the expedition with provisions of the best quality sufficient for six months' consumption, together with tents, blankets, clothing, pack-saddles, utensils, instruments, tools, and necessaries of all kinds of which you are likely to stand in need. Orders are also given for providing you with arms and ammunition, with rockets for signals, and an ample supply of simple medicines--You are to consider it an important duty to attend to the providing of all these supplies, and to take care that not only every article is of the best quality that can be procured, but also that no article be wanting with which you may desire to be provided. 3. Orders are given for forwarding without delay all your provisions, stores and supplies of every kind to Wellington Valley, at which place, you, Mr. Hume, and all your men are to rendezvous as soon as possible. Mr Maxwell, the superintendent, will furnish you with well-trained bullocks, and afford you all the assistance you may require in arranging every thing for your departure from that station. 4. After you shall have completed all your arrangements, you are to lose no time in finally departing from Wellington Valley in prosecution of the immediate objects of the expedition. 5. You are first to proceed to Mount Harris, where you are to form a temporary depot, by means of which you will have an opportunity of more readily communicating with Mr. Maxwell. 6. You are then to endeavour to determine the fate of the Macquarie River, by tracing it as far as possible beyond the point to which Mr. Oxley went, and by pushing westward, you are to ascertain if there be any high lands in that direction, or if the country be, as it is supposed, an unbroken level and under water. If you should fail in these objects, you will traverse the plains lying behind our north-west boundaries, with a view to skirt any waters by which you may have been checked to the westward; and if you should succeed in skirting them, you are to explore the country westward and southward as far as possible, endeavouring to discover the Macquarie beyond the marsh of Mr. Oxley, and following it to its mouth if at all practicable. 7. There is some reason to believe that the over-flowing of the Macquarie when visited by Mr. Oxley, was occasioned by heavy rains falling in the mountains to the eastward, and that as you are to visit the same spot at a different season of the year, you may escape such embarrassment; but although you should get beyond the point at which Mr. Oxley stopped, it would not be prudent to risk your own health or that of your men, by continuing long in a swampy country. Therefore it may be advisable for you in the first instance to leave the greater part of your men, bullocks, and baggage, at Mount Harris, and if you should see a probability of your being able to cross into the interior, you will then return to Mount Harris for such additional supplies as you may judge necessary. You can there communicate with Mr. Maxwell respecting any ulterior arrangements which you may be desirous of making. 8. The success of the expedition is so desirable an object, that I cannot too strongly impress upon you the importance of perseverance in endeavouring to skirt any waters or marshes which may check your course as long as you have provisions sufficient for your return; but you must be cautious not to proceed a single day's journey further than where you find that your provisions will be barely sufficient to enable you to reach the nearest place at which you can depend upon getting supplies. 9. If after every endeavour you should find it totally impracticable to get to the westward, you are still to proceed northward, keeping as westerly a direction as possible; and when the state of your provisions will oblige you to retreat, you will be guided by your latitude, as to the place to which you are to make the best of your way, but you are not to make for any place on the coast, if Wellington valley should still be nearer. 10. You must be aware that the success of the expedition will greatly depend upon the time for which your provisions will hold out, and therefore you will see the great importance of observing every possible economy in the expenditure of provisions, and preventing waste of every kind. 11. You are to keep a detailed account of your proceedings in a journal, in which all observations and occurrences of every kind, with all their circumstances, however minute, are to be carefully noted down. You are to be particular in describing the general face of all the country through which you pass, the direction and shape of the mountains, whether detached or in ranges, together with the bearings and estimated distances of the several mountains, hills, or eminences from each other. You are likewise to note the nature of the climate, as to heat, cold, moisture, winds, rains, &c., and to keep a register of the temperature from Fahrenheit's thermometer, as observed at two or three periods of each day. The rivers, with their several branches, their direction, velocity, breadth, and depth, are carefully to be noted. It is further expected that you will, as far as may be in your power, attend to the animal, vegetable, and mineral productions of the country, noting down every thing that may occur to you, and preserving specimens as far as your means will admit, especially some of all the ripe seeds which you may discover; when the preservation of specimens is impossible, drawings or detailed accounts of them, are very desirable. 12. You will note the description of the several people whom you may meet, the extent of the population, their means of subsistence, their genius and disposition, the nature of their amusements, their diseases and remedies, their objects of worship, religious ceremonies, and a vocabulary of their language. Lastly. On your return from your journey, you are to cause all the journals or other written documents belonging to, and curiosities collected by the several individuals composing the expedition, to be carefully sealed up with your own seal and kept in that state until you shall have made your report to me in writing of the result of the expedition. Given at Sydney, this eighteenth day of November, 1828. By Command of His Excellency the Governor, ALEXANDER M'LEAY. APPENDIX No. II. LIST OF STORES SUPPLIED FOR THE EXPEDITION. List of Articles delivered from His Majesty's Stores, in charge of D. A. C. Goodsir, to Captain Sturt, viz.-- 1 Hack saddle. 9 Harness casks. 1 Bridle. 23 Canvas bags. 2 Tents. 4 Tin cases. 14 Pack saddles. 16 Padlocks. 14 Pair hobbles. 6 Tarpaulens. 24 Sets horse shoes. 10 Haversacks. 2000 Horse nails. 113 Fathom one-inch rope. 113 Fathoms 1 1/2 inch rope. 1 Boat compass. 1 Hammer, (Blacksmith's) 1 Telescope. 1 Paring knife. 1 Spare glass for ditto. 2 Chipping do. 1 Tin case (for charts.) 2 Rasps. 100 Fish-hooks, (large.) 1 Pair pincers. 12 Fishing-lines. 1 Cutter. 10 Knives. 2lb. Pack thread. 10 Forks. 24 Needles. 10 Spoons. 1/4lb. Bristles. 2 Frying-pans. 7lbs. Leather. 2 Tinder-boxes. 1/2lb. Thread. 1 Tea-kettle, (tin.) 1 Pair of steelyards. 10 Tin dishes. 10 Tin pots. 8 Jackets. 1 Flour seive. 8 Duck frocks. 2 Felling-axes. 8 Shirts. 4 Tomahawks. 16 Trousers. 2 Hammers. 24 Pair shoes. 1 Hand-saw. 16 Blankets. 3 Bill-hooks. 16 Pair stockings. 3 Awls. 2 Bullock collars. 3 Broad hoes. 2 Do. back-bands and pipes. 4 Razors. 2 Leading cruppers. 4 Brushes. 1 Boat with sail and oars. 4 Combs. 1 Do. carriage. 3 Iron pots, (camp kettles.) 1 Canvass boat-cover. 1 Pair scissors. 3 Water breaker. COMMISSARIAT OFFICE, SYDNEY, NOV. 10TH, 1828. P.S.--l Tarpaulin. Large Fish-hook. 1 Tin tea-kettle. 1 Camp kettle. Pitch and oil. Hemp or twine. APPENDIX No. III. SHEEP-FARMING RETURNS, SHOWING THE INCREASE IN FOUR YEARS, from two Breeding Flocks, consisting of 670 Ewes in Lamb. (A.)--1st JUNE, 1828. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flocks. Breeding Ewes. Lambs. Total. Remarks. 2 yrs. old. 3 yrs. old. Male.-Female. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lambs. No. 1 330 148 149 627 Deaths 6. Incr.297 No. 2 330 154 154 638 4 308 ---- -- --- * 1265 10 605 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * The increase throughout these returns is calculated at from 270 to 290 Lambs, to 300 Ewes, which is the usual average in N.S.W. ABSTRACT. Purchased two Flocks of Ewes, at 84s.............................670 Ewes. Increase of Lambs.......................................... 605 Casual Deaths............................................... 10 595 --- Total as per Return............................................ 1265 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (B.)--1st JUNE, 1829. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flocks.|Breeding|Maiden|Wethers.|Rams.| Lambs. |Total.| Remarks. | Ewes. | Ewes.| |Male. Female.| -------------------------------------------------------------------------- No. Lambs. 1 3-yr. 327 154 154 635 Deaths 3 Incr.308 2 4-yr. 326 155 155 636 4 310 3 1-yr. 302 302 1 --- 4 1-yr. 302 18 320 -- 618 ---- 8 1893 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT. Return (A) Total...............................................1265 Increase by Lambing....................................618 Ditto Rams purchased....................................18 --- 636 Casual Deaths......................................... 8 628 ---- Total as per return............................................1893 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (C.)--1st JUNE, 1830. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flocks.|Breeding|Maiden|Wethers.|Rams.| Lambs. |Total.| Remarks. | Ewes. | Ewes.| |Male. Female.| -------------------------------------------------------------------------- No. Lambs. 1 2-yr. 296 133 154 562 Deaths 6 Incr.266 2 4-yr. 325 150 155 625 2 300 3 5-yr. 326 160 646 320 4 2-yr. 302 27 329 --- 5 1-yr. 309 309 886 6 1-yr. 309 309 --- ---- 3 Rams died 2780 12 ditto purchased -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT. Return (B) Total............................................ 1893 Increase by Lambing....................................886 Ditto Rams purchased....................................12 --- 898 Deaths............................................... 11 887 ---- Total as per return......................................... 2780 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (D.)--1st JUNE, 1831. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flocks.|Breeding|Maiden|Wethers.|Rams.| Lambs. |Total.| Remarks. | Ewes. | Ewes.| |Male. Female.| -------------------------------------------------------------------------- No. Lambs. 1 2-yr. 304 136 136 576 Deaths 5 Incr.272 2 3-yr. 293 135 136 564 3 271 3 5-yr. 324 156 156 636 1 312 4 6-yr. 320 156 156 632 2 312 Killed 4 --- 5 3-yr. 300 300 Deaths 2 1167 6 2-yr. 308 308 1 7 1-yr 443 443 8 1-yr 442 442 1 9 40 40 5 ---- -- 3941 20 Purchased 12 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT. Return (C) Total............................................ 2780 Increase by Lambing...................................1167 Ditto Rams purchased....................................18 --- 1185 Casual deaths 20 ...Killed for use 4 ................. 24 1161 ---- Total as per return.......................................... 3941 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (E.)--1st JUNE, 1832. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flocks.|Breeding|Maiden|Wethers.|Rams.| Lambs. |Total.| Remarks. | Ewes. | Ewes.| |Male. Female.| -------------------------------------------------------------------------- No. Lambs. 1 2-yr. 344 154 154 652 Deaths 6 Incr.308 2 3-yr. 344 162 161 667 4 323 4 3-yr. 342 164 165 671 3 329 5 6-yr. 320 155 155 630 2 310 6 7-yr. 300 145 145 590 2 290 7 4-yr. 300 300 ---- 1560 8 3-yr 302 302 2 9 2-yr 440 440 1 10 1-yr 583 583 11 1-yr 584 584 12 45 45 5 Purch. 10 ---- ---- ---- --- --- --- ---- 1650 584 1625 45 780 780 5464 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT. Return (D) Total............................................ 3941 Increase by Lambing...................................1560 Ditto Rams purchased....................................10 --- 1570 Decrease by casual death .............................. 25 Decrease by slaughter for use ......................... 22 --- 1523 ---- Grand Total .............................. 5464 as above -------------------------------------------------------------------------- MEMORANDUM,--The deaths have been calculated at the lowest rate under the best management. It may be safer to assume a rate of four or five per cent. per annum. Account of Expenditure and Income upon Sheep Stock in Australia, appended to Returns A. B. C. D. and E. 1st YEAR, (RETURN A.) JUNE, 1829. INCOME. By 11265 fleeces, average weight 2 1/4 lbs. 284 lbs wool at 1s. 6d. per lb. 213 9 0 EXPENDITURE. To 2 Shepherds at 30 pounds 60 0 0 To 1 Watchman at 20 20 0 O PROFIT. To Hurdles, &c. 10 0 0 -------- 90 0 0 -------- 123 9 0 2nd YEAR, (B.) JUNE, 1830. INCOME. By 1893 fleeces, at 2 1/4 lbs. 4259lbs. wool at 1s. 6d. 319 8 6 EXPENDITURE. To 2 Shepherds at 30 pounds 60 0 0 To 2 Ditto 20 40 0 0 To 1 Watchman 20 0 0 To Hurdles &c. 5 0 0 --------- 125 0 0 To 18 Rams at 10 pounds* 180 0 0 --------- 305 0 0 --------- 14 8 6 *The price of rams will probably fall to 5 pounds 3rd YEAR, (C.) JUNE, 1831. INCOME. By 2780 fleeces, at 2 1/4 lbs. 6255lbs. wool at 1s. 6d. 469 2 6 EXPENDITURE. To 2 Shepherds at 30 pounds 60 0 0 To 2 Ditto 25 25 0 0 To 3 Ditto 20 60 0 0 To 2 Watchman 20 40 0 0 To Hurdles &c. 10 0 0 --------- 195 0 0 To 12 Rams at 10 pounds 120 0 0 --------- 315 0 0 --------- 154 2 6 4th YEAR, (D.) JUNE, 1832. INCOME. By 3941 fleeces, at 2 1/4 lbs. 8867lbs. wool at 1s. 6d. 665 0 0 EXPENDITURE. To 2 Shepherds at 30 pounds 60 0 0 To 2 Ditto 25 50 0 0 To 4 Ditto 20 80 0 0 To 3 Watchman &c. 60 0 0 (one to take charge of rams) To Hurdles &c. 10 0 0 --------- 260 0 0 To 18 Rams at 10 pounds 180 0 0 --------- 440 0 0 --------- 225 0 0 5th YEAR, (E.) JUNE, 1833.* INCOME. By 5464 fleeces, at 2 1/4 lbs. 12,294 lbs. wool at 1s. 6d. 922 0 0 EXPENDITURE. To 2 Shepherds at 30 pounds 60 0 0 To 3 Ditto 25 75 0 0 To 5 Ditto 20 100 0 0 To 3 Watchman 20 60 0 0 To Hurdles &c. 20 0 0 --------- 315 0 0 To 10 Rams at 10 pounds 100 0 0 --------- 415 0 0 --------- 507 0 0 ---------- Net profit by sales of wool in 5 years 1024 0 0 1024 0 0 divided by 5 gives 204 8 0 for annual interest on the original capital of 2814 0 0, (about 7 1/4 percent per annum) in addition to the accumulation of capital itself, shown by the valuation of stock. *These accounts are a year in advance of the sheep returns, in order to bring them to the time at which the wool would be sold. VALUATION OF SHEEP, JUNE, 1832----(RETURN E.) 1614 Ewes from 1 to 4 years old at 3 pounds each 4842 0 O 620 Do. 4 to 7 years old 2 1240 0 0 780 Female Lambs 2 1560 0 0 2405 Wethers and Male Lambs 15s. 1803 0 0 45 Rams (original cost, 450l.) 400 0 0 ---------- 9845 0 0 Note.--About 500 pounds would be added to the Income on the fifth year, by the sale of wethers of 3 and 4 years old. The cost of rams ought, strictly speaking, to be added to capital, and not deducted from Income; but these returns were made out in their present form at the request of a gentleman proceeding to the Colony with a limited capital, and who wished to know how much he might safely invest in sheep. APPENDIX No. IV. LIST OF GEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS, COLLECTED IN THE DISTANT INTERIOR DURING THE FIRST EXPEDITION, WITH THEIR LOCALITIES AND THEIR RELATIVE DISTANCES FROM EACH OTHER. It may be necessary to observe that the height of the Cataract of the Macquarie River above the sea, was ascertained by barometrical admeasurement to be 650 feet. The country subsequently traversed is considerably lower. The specimens refer only to the geological formation of the distant interior. Schorl Rock.--Colour blueish grey, fine grained, extremely hard. Composed of Tourmaline and Quartz. Forms the bed of the Macquarie at the Cataract, 75 miles to the N.W. of Wellington Valley. Decomposed Mica Slate.--Colour white; yields to the knife; adheres strongly to the tongue. Decomposed Feldspar.--Colour pale rose-pink; very fine grained; easily scratched with the knife; adheres strongly to the tongue. Both specimens immediately succeed the Schorl rock at the Cataract, in large smooth-sided masses. This formation may be said to terminate the rocks connected with the dividing ranges, since it is the last that occurs at their western base. A little below the Cataract, the county undergoes a remarkable change, and becomes extremely depressed. Porphyry with Feldspar.--Colour dull red, with white spots, or grey with red spots; very hard, compact, sonorous, magnetic. [See pp. 27 and 115.] Composition of Mount Harris, a hill called by Mr. Oxley, elevated about 170 feet above the level of the plains. It lies 65 miles to the N.N.W. of the Cataract, and is about 16 miles distant from the first of the marshes of the Macquarie. Porphyry with Feldspar.--Colour grey with red spots, similar to the last. Was not observed to affect the needle. Formation of Mount Foster. Mount Foster is more than 200 feet in height, and lies about 5 miles to the N.N.W. of Mount Harris. From the summit of both, Arbuthnot's range is visible, bearing nearly due east, distant 70 miles. [See page 28.] Quartz Rock varieties--Slaty Quartz varieties.--Composition of the first elevations to the Westward of the marshes of the Macquarie, called New Year's Range, a group of five hills. The loftiest about 200 feet in elevation; distant about 80 miles to the N.W. of Mount Harris. Granite.--Colour red, coarse-grained. Composed of Quartz, Feldspar, and Mica. Granite, Porphyritic.--Colour light red. Both occurring in the bed of New Year's Creek, traversing it obliquely, and are visible for a few hundred yards only. This granite occurs about 16 miles from the Range in a N. by E. direction. Old Red Sandstone.--Composition of Oxley's Table Land, 500 feet above the level of the plains. It is broken into two hills, that appear to have been separated by some convulsion. [See page 81.] It bears N.W. by W. from New Year's Range, distant 50 miles. Old Red Sandstone.--Composition of D'Urban's group. The highest elevation ascended during the expedition, being nearly 600 feet above the level of the plain in which it rises. It lies to the S.S.W. of Oxley's Table Land, distant 40 miles, and the rock of which it is composed is much harder and closer. Breccia.--Colour pale yellow, silicious cement. Composition of some trifling elevations to the North of New-Year's range, with which it is doubtful whether they are connected. Crystallized Sulphate of Lime.--Found imbedded in the alluvial soil forming the banks of the Darling river. Occurring in a regular vein. Soft, yielding to the nail; not acted on by acids.--See Plate. Breccia.--Pale ochre colour, silicious cement, extremely hard. Cellular, and sharp edges to the fractured pebbles. Has apparently undergone fusion. Occurs in the bed of the Darling in one place only. Sandstone Varieties.--Colour dull red and muddy white; appears like burnt bricks; light, easily frangible; adheres to the tongue; occurs in large masses in the bed of the Darling; probably in connection with the rock-salt of the neighbourhood, which, from the number of brine springs discovered feeding the river, must necessarily exist. Variety of the same description of rock. Jasper and Quartz.--Showing itself above the surface of a plain, from which D'Urban's group bore S. 40 E. distant 33 miles. It is a remarkable fact, that not a pebble or a stone was picked up during the progress of the expedition, on any one of the plains; and that after it again left Mount Harris for the Castlereagh, the only rock-formation discovered was a small Freestone tract near the Darling river. There was not a pebble of any kind either in the bed of the Castlereagh, or in the creeks falling into it. APPENDIX No. V. OFFICIAL REPORTS TO THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. * * * * * GOVERNMENT ORDER COLONIAL SECRETARY'S OFFICE, 23RD JANUARY, 1829. His Excellency the Governor has been pleased to order, that the following communication, dated the 25th of December last, from Captain Sturt, of the 39th Regiment, who is employed in an exploring expedition into the interior of the country, be published for general information. By his Excellency's Command, ALEXANDER M'LEAY. * * * * * WESTERN MARSHES, 25TH DECEMBER, 1828. SIR,--I do myself the honor to forward, for the Governor's perusal, a copy of my journal up to the date of my arrival at Mount Harris. I should not have directed the messenger to return so soon, had I not subsequently advanced to Mount Foster, and surveyed the country from that eminence. I could distinctly see Arbuthnot's Range to the eastward. From that point the horizon appeared to me unbroken, but the country to the northward and westward seemed to favour an attempt to penetrate into it. I did not observe any sheet of water, and the course of the Macquarie was lost in the woodlands below. Mr. Hume ascended the hill at sun-rise, and thought he could see mountains to the north east, but at such a distance as to make it quite a matter of uncertainty. Agreeing, however, in the prudence of an immediate descent, we left our encampment on the morning of the 23rd, under Mount Foster, to which we had removed from Mount Harris, and pursued a north-north-west course to the spot on which we rest at present. We passed some fine meadow land near the river, and were obliged to keep wide of it in consequence of fissures in the ground. Traversing a large and blasted plain, on which the sun's rays fell with intense heat, and on which there was but little vegetation, we skirted the first great morass, and made the river immediately beyond it. It is of very considerable extent, the channel of the river passing through it. We are encompassed on every side by high reeds, which exist in the woods as well as in the plains. Mr. Hume and myself rode forward yesterday through the second morass, and made the river on slightly elevated ground, at a distance of about five miles; the country beyond appeared to favour our object, and we, to-morrow, proceed with the party to the north-west. The river seems to bend to the north-east; but in this level country it is impossible to speak with certainty, or to give any decided opinion of the nature of it, beyond the flats on which we are travelling. The reeds to the north-east and northward extend over a circumference of fifty miles; but if Mr. Hume really saw mountains or rising ground in the former point, the apparent course of the Macquarie is at once accounted for. The country, however, seems to dip to the north, though generally speaking it is level, and I am inclined to think that the state of the atmosphere caused a deception in this appearance. I regret to add, that the effects of the sun on the plain over which we passed on the 23rd produced a return of inflammation in the eyes of the men, I have named in my journals, and caused the same in the eyes of several others of my party. I halted, therefore, to expedite their recovery. They are doing well now, and we can proceed in the cool of the morning without any fear of their receiving injury by it. One of the men, who were to return to Wellington Valley, was attacked slightly with dysentery, but the medicines I gave him carried it off in the course of a day or two. I have taken every precaution with regard to the health of the men, in preparing them for the country into which they are going; and I have to request that you will inform the governor that the conduct of the whole party merits my approbation, and that I have no fault to find. The men from Sydney are not so sharp as those from Wellington Valley, but are equally well disposed. The animals, both horses and bullocks, are in good order, and I find the two soldiers of infinite service to me. The boat has received some damage from exposure to intense heat, but is otherwise uninjured. We still retain the carriage and have every prospect of dragging it on with us. His Excellency, having been good enough to order a fresh supply of provisions to Wellington Valley, I have to beg they may be forwarded to Mount Harris, and that the person in charge thereof be instructed to remain at that station for one month. We shall, during the interval, have examined the country to the north-west; and, in case we are forced back, shall require a supply to enable us to proceed to the northward, in furtherance of the views I have already had the honor to submit for the Governor's approval. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient and humble Servant, CHARLES STURT, Captain, 39th Regt. THE HONOURABLE THE COLONIAL SECRETARY * * * * * GOVERNMENT ORDER. COLONIAL SECRETARY'S OFFICE, 6TH APRIL, 1829. His Excellency the Governor is pleased to direct that the following interesting Report which has been received from Captain Sturt, 39th Regiment, who has been employed for some months past, (as will be seen on reference to the Government Order, No. 4, published with Captain Sturt's First Report in the Sydney Gazette, of the 24th of January last) in exploring the interior, be communicated for the information of the public. It appears that the river Macquarie ceases to exist near the spot where the expedition under the late Mr. Oxley terminated, which, from the state of country at the time, being then flooded, could not be ascertained; and that another river of no inconsiderable magnitude, fed by salt springs, was discovered by Captain Sturt on the 2nd February last, about 100 miles to the westward of the Macquarie, running to the southward and westward. By His Excellency's Command, ALEXANDER M'LEAY. * * * * * MOUNT HARRIS, 4TH MARCH, 1829. SIR,--I do myself the honor to acquaint you, for the information of His Excellency the Governor, that I returned to this eminence on Monday, the 23rd ult. having been driven from the interior, in consequence of the extreme drought which prevails there. I am to state, in reference to my former communication, that agreeably to what I then reported, I moved, on the 26th December last, lower down the plains of the Macquarie, but encountered a barrier of reeds, formed by the marshes of that river, through which we in vain endeavoured to force our way. I was in consequence obliged to make the nearest part of the river to my left, and to take such measures as the nature of my situation required. Here, for the first time, I set the boat afloat, deeming it essential to trace the river, as I could not move upon its banks, and wishing also to ascertain where it again issued from the marshes, I requested Mr. Hume to proceed northerly, with a view to skirt them, and to descend westerly, wherever he saw an open space. He was fortunate enough to strike upon the channel about twelve miles north of our position, but was obstructed in his further progress by another marsh, in consequence of which he returned to the camp the next day; in the mean time, I had taken the boat, and proceeded down the Macquarie, my way being at first considerably obstructed by fallen timber: clearing this obstacle, however, I got into a deeper channel, with fine broad reaches, and a depth of from twelve to fifteen feet water. I had a short time previously cleared all woods and trees, and was now in the midst of reeds of great height. After proceeding onwards for about eight miles from the place whence I started, my course was suddenly and unexpectedly checked; I saw reeds before me, and expected I was about to turn an angle of the river, but I found that I had got to the end of the channel, and that the river itself had ceased to exist. Confounded at such a termination to a stream, whose appearance justified the expectation that it would have led me through the heart of the marsh to join Mr. Hume, I commenced a most minute examination of the place, and discovered two creeks, if they deserve the name, branching, the one to the north-west, and the other to the north-east; after tracing the former a short distance, I reached its termination, and in order to assure myself that such was the case, I walked round the head of it by pushing through the reeds; it being then too dark to continue where I was, I returned to a place on the river, at which I had rested during a shower, and slept there. In the morning I again went to the spot to examine the north-eastern branch, when I was equally disappointed. I then examined the space between the two creeks, opposite to the main channel of the river, and where the bank receives the force of the current. Here I saw water in the reeds, but it was scarcely ankle deep, and was running off to the north-west quicker than the waters of the river, which had almost an imperceptible motion, I was therefore at once convinced that it was not permanent, but had lodged there in the night, during which much rain had fallen. I next pushed my way through the reeds into the marsh, and at length clearly perceived that the waters which were perfectly sweet, after running several courses, flowed off to the north, towards which point there was an apparent declination or dip. Finding it impossible to proceed further, I regained the boat, and thence returned to the camp, under a conviction that I had reached the very spot, at which Mr. Oxley lost the channel of the river in 1818. The next day I moved to the place where Mr. Hume had struck upon the channel of the river, but was again doubtful in what direction to proceed. The marsh, at the commencement of which we now found ourselves, being the third from Mount Foster, but the second great one, seemed to extend beyond us to the north for many miles, but varying in breadth. In the evening I went in the boat up the channel, and found it at first, deep and sullen, as that of the river above. It soon however, narrowed, and the weeds formed over its surface, so that I abandoned the boat and walked along a path up it. I had not gone far when the channel divided; two smaller channels came, the one from the southern, and the other from the western parts of the marsh into it. There was an evident declination where they were, and it was at their junction the river again rallied and formed. On my return to the camp, Mr. Hume and I went down the river, but found that about a mile it lost itself, and spread its waters ever the extensive marsh before it. In this extremity, I knew not what movement to make, as Mr. Hume had been checked in his progress north. I therefore determined to ascertain the nature of the country to the eastward and to the westward, that I might move accordingly; I proposed to Mr. Hume, to take a week's provisions, with two attendants, and go to the north-east, in order again to turn the marsh, but with the expectation that the angle formed by the junction of the Castlereagh with the Macquarie would arrest its progress, as the last was fast approaching the former. I myself determined to cross the river, and to skirt the marshes on the left, and in case they turned off to the north east, as they appeared to do, it was my intention to pursue a N.W. course into the interior, to learn the nature of it. With these views I left the camp on the 31st of December, and did not return until the 5th of January. Having found early in my journey, from the change of soil and of timber, that I was leaving the neighbourhood of the Macquarie, I followed a N.W. course, from a more northerly one, and struck at once across the country, under an impression that Mr. Hume would have made the river again long before my return. I found, after travelling between twenty and thirty miles, the country began to rise; and at the end of my journey, I made a hill of considerable elevation, from the summit of which I had a view of other high lands; one to the S.W. being a very fine mountain. As I had not found any water excepting in two creeks, which I had left far behind me, and as I had got on a soil which appeared incapable of holding it, I made this the termination of my journey, having exceeded 100 miles in distance from the camp, on my return to which I found Mr. Hume still absent. When he joined, he stated to me, that not making the Castlereagh as soon as he expected, he had bent down westerly for the Macquarie, and that he ended his journey at some gentle hills he had made; so that it appeared we must either have crossed each other's line of route, or that they were very near, and that want of length must alone have prevented them from crossing; but as such all assumption led to the conclusion that the Macquarie no longer existed, I determined to pursue a middle course round the swamps, to ascertain the point; as in case the river had ended, a westerly course was the one which my instructions directed me to pursue. In the immediate neighbourhood of the marshes we were obliged to sink wells for water, and it was thus early that we began to feel the want of a regular supply. Having made a creek about four miles from our position by cutting through the reeds where there was a narrow space, we pursued a westerly course over a plain, having every appearance of frequent inundation, and for four or five days held nearly the same direction; in the course of which we crossed both our tracks on the excursions we had made, which had intersected each other in a dense oak brush; thus renewing the few doubts, or rather the doubt we had as to the fate of the Macquarie, whose course we had been sent to trace. Indeed, had I not felt convinced that that river had ceased, I should not have moved westward without further examination, but we had passed through a very narrow part of the marshes, and round the greater part of them, and had not seen any hollow that could by any possible exaggeration be construed into or mistaken for the channel of a river. It appears, then, that the Macquarie, flowing as it does for so many miles, through a bed, and not a declining country, and having little water in it, except in times of flood, loses its impetus long ere it reaches the formidable barrier that opposes its progress northwards; the soil in which the reeds grow being a stiff clay. Its waters consequently spread, until a slight declivity giving them fresh impulse, they form a channel again, but soon gaining a level, they lose their force and their motion together, and spread not only over the second great marsh, but over a vast extent of the surrounding country, the breadth of ground thus subject to inundation being more than twenty miles, and its length considerably greater; around this space there is a gentle rise which confines the waters, while small hollows in various directions lead them out of the marshes over the adjacent plains, on which they eventually subside. On my return from the interior, I examined those parts round which I had not been, with particular attention, partly in company with Mr. Hume, and this statement was confirmed by what we saw. Thus, at a distance of about twenty-five miles from Mount Foster to the N.N.W. the river Macquarie ceases to exist, in any shape as a river, and at a distance of between fifty and sixty, the marshes terminate, though the country subject to inundation from the river is of a very considerable extent, as shown by the withered bulrushes, wet reeds, and shells, that are scattered over its surface. Having executed the first part of the instructions with which I had been honoured, I determined on pursuing a west, or north-west course into the interior, to ascertain the nature of it, in fulfilment of the second, but in doing this I was obliged to follow creeks, and even on their banks had to carry a supply of water, so uncertain was it that we should meet with any at the termination of our day's journey, and that what we did find would be fit to drink. Our course led us over plains immediately bordering the lower lands of the Macquarie, alternating with swamp oak, acacia pendula, pine, box, eucalyptus, and many other trees of minor growth, the soil being inclined to a red loam, while the plains were generally covered with a black scrub, though in some places they had good grass upon them. We crossed two creeks before we made the hills Mr. Hume had ascended, and which he called New Year's Range. Around these hills the country appeared better--they are gentle, picturesque elevations, and are for the most part, covered with verdure, and have, I fancy, a whinstone base, the rock of which they are composed being of various substances. I place New Year's Range in lat. 30 degrees 21 minutes, long. 146 degrees 3 minutes 30 seconds. Our course next lying north-west along a creek, led us to within twenty miles of the hill that had terminated my excursion, and as I hoped that a more leisurely survey of the country from its summit would open something favourable to our view, I struck over for it, though eventually obliged to return. From it Mr. Hume and I rode to the S.W. mountain, a distance of about forty miles, without crossing a brook or a creek, our way leading through dense acacia brushes, and for the most part over a desert. We saw high lands from this mountain, which exceeds 1,300 feet in elevation, and is of sandstone formation, and thickly covered with stunted pine, in eight different points--the bearings of which are as follows:-- Oxley's Table Land, N. 40 E., distant 40 miles. Kengall Hill, due E. very distant. Conical Hill, S. 60 E. Highland, S.E. distance 30 miles. Highland, S. 30 E. distance 25 miles. Long Range, S. 16 E. distance 60 miles. Long Range, S. 72 W. distance 60 miles. Distant Range, S. 25 W. supposed. It was in vain, however, that we looked for water. The country to the north-west, was low and unbroken, and alternated with wood and plain. The country from New Year's Range to the hill I had made, and which I called Oxley's Table Land, had been very fair, with good soil in many places, but with a total want of water, except in the creeks, wherein the supply was both bad and uncertain; on our second day's journey from the former, we came to the creek on which we were moving, where it had a coarse granite bottom. The country around it improved very much in appearance, and there was abundance of good grass on the surface of it, in spite of the drought. On the right of this creek, a large plain stretches parallel to it for many miles, varying in quality of soil. Near Oxley's Table Land, we passed over open forest, the prevailing timber of which was box. I have placed Oxley's Table Land in latitude 29 degrees 57 minutes 30 seconds, longitude 145 degrees 43 minutes 30 seconds. Finding it impracticable to move westward from the hill I again descended on the creek, whose general course was to the north-west, in which direction we at length struck upon a river whose appearance raised our most sanguine expectations. It flowed round an angle from the north-east to the north-west, and extended in longitude five reaches as far as we could see. At that place it was about sixty yards broad, with banks of from thirty to forty feet high, and it had numerous wild fowl and many pelicans on its bosom, and seemed to be full of fish, while the paths of the natives on both sides, like well-trodden roads, showed how numerous they were about it. On tasting its waters, however, we found them perfectly salt, and useless to us, and as our animals had been without water the night before, this circumstance distressed us much; our first day's journey led us past between sixty and seventy huts in one place, and on our second we fell in with a numerous tribe of natives, having previously seen some between two creeks before we made New-Year's Range. At some places the water proved less salt than at others; our animals drank of it sparingly: we found two small fresh-water holes, which served us as we passed. After tracing the river for a considerable distance, we came on brine springs in the bed of it, the banks having been encrusted with salt from the first; and as the difficulty of getting fresh water was so great, I here foresaw an end to our wanderings. And as I was resolved not to involve my party in greater distress, I halted it, on overtaking the animals, and the next morning turned back to the nearest fresh-water, at a distance of eighteen miles from us. Unwilling, however, to give up our pursuit, Mr. Hume and I started with two men on horseback, to trace the river as far as we could, and to ascertain what course it took; in the hopes also that we should fall on some creek, or get a more certain supply of drinkable water. We went a distance to which the bullocks could not have been brought, and then got on a red sandy soil, which at once destroyed our hopes; and on tasting the river water we found it salter than ever, our supply being diminished to two pints. Our animals being weak and purged, and having proceeded at least forty miles from the camp, I thought it best to yield to circumstances, and to return, though I trust I shall be believed when I add, it was with extreme reluctance I did so; and had I followed the wishes of my party, should still have continued onwards. Making a part of the river where we had slept, we stayed to refresh, and in consequence of the heat of the weather were obliged to drink the water in it, which made us sick. While here, a tribe of blacks came to us and behaved remarkably well. At night we slept on a plain without water, and the next day we regained the camp, which had been visited by the natives during our absence. We found the river held a south-west course, and appeared to be making for the central space between a high land, which I called Dunlop's Range, at Mr. Hume's request, and a lofty range to the westward. It still continued its important appearance, having gained in breadth and in the height of its banks, while there were hundreds of pelicans and wild-fowl on it. Flowing through a level country with such a channel, it may be presumed that this river ultimately assumes either a greater character, or that it adds considerably to the importance of some other stream. It had a clay bottom, generally speaking, in many places semi-indurated and fast forming into sandstone, while there was crystallized sulphate of lime running in veins through the soil which composed the bank. This river differs from most in the colony, in having a belt of barren land of from a quarter of a mile to two miles in breadth in its immediate neighbourhood, and which is subject to overflow. This belt runs to the inland plains, where a small elevation checks the further progress of the flood. There is magnificent blue gum on both sides the river, but the right bank is evidently the most fertile, and I am mistaken greatly if there is not a beautiful country north of it. Of the country over which we have passed, it is impossible for me to have formed a correct opinion under its present melancholy circumstances. It has borne the appearance of barrenness, where in even moderate rain, it might have shown very differently, though no doubt we passed over much of both good and bad land; our animals on the whole, have thrived on the food they have had, which would argue favourably for the herbage. Generally speaking, I fear the timber is bad--the rough-gum may be used for knees, and such purposes, and we may have seen wood for the wheelwright and cabinet-maker, specimens of which I have procured, but none for general or household purposes. The creeks we have traced are different in character from those in the settled districts, inasmuch as that, like the river, they have a belt of barren land near then and but little grass--they have all of them been numerously frequented by the natives, as appeared from the number of muscle-shells on their banks, but now having scarcely any water in them, the fish having either been taken, or are dead, and the tribes gone elsewhere for food, while the badness of the river water has introduced a cutaneous disease among the natives of that district, which is fast carrying them off. Our intercourse with these people was incessant from the time we first met them, and on all occasions they behaved remarkably well, nor could we have seen less than than two hundred and fifty of them. Our return is to be attributable to the want of water alone, and it is impossible for me to describe the effects of the drought on animal as well as vegetable nature. The natives are wandering in the desert, and it is melancholy to reflect on the necessity which obliges them to drink the stinking and loathsome water they do--birds sit gasping in the trees and are quite thin--the wild dog prowls about in the day-time unable to avoid us, and is as lean as he can be in a living state, while minor vegetation is dead, and the very trees are drooping. I have noticed all these things in my Journal I shall have the honour of submitting through you, for the Governor's perusal and information, on my return. Finally, I fear our expedition will not pave the way to any ultimate benefit; although it has been the means by which two very doubtful questions,--the course of the Macquarie, and the nature of the interior, have been solved; for it is beyond doubt, that the interior for 250 miles beyond its former known limits to the W.N.W., so far from being a shoal sea, has been ascertained not only to have considerable elevations upon it, but is in itself a table land to all intents and purposes, and has scarcely water on its surface to support its inhabitants. I beg you will inform His Excellency the Governor, that I have on all occasions received the most ready and valuable assistance from Mr. Hume. His intimate acquaintance with the manners and customs of the natives, enabled him to enter into intercourse with them, and chiefly contributed to the peaceable manner in which we have journeyed, while his previous experience put it in his power to be of real use to me. I cannot but say he has done an essential service to future travellers, and to the colony at large, by his conduct on all occasions since he has been with me; nor should I be doing him justice, if I did not avail myself of the first opportunity of laying my sentiments before the Governor, through you. I am happy to add that every individual of the party deserves my warmest approbation, and that they have, one and all, borne their distresses, trifling certainly, but still unusual, with cheerfulness, and that they have at all times been attentive to their duty, and obedient to their orders. The whole are in good health, and are eager again to start. I have the honor to be, Sir Your most obedient and most humble servant, CHARLES STURT, Capt. 39th Regt. THE HONORABLE THE COLONIAL SECRETARY. * * * * * MOUNT HARRIS, 5TH MARCH, 1829. SIR,--It having appeared to me, that after discovering such a river as the one I have described in my letter of yesterday, His Excellency the Governor would approve of my endeavouring to regain it. There being a probability that it ultimately joins the Southern Waters, I thought of turning my steps to the southward and westward; and with a view to learn the nature of the country, I despatched Mr. Hume in that direction on Saturday last. He returned in three days, after having gone above forty miles from the river, and states, that he crossed two creeks, the one about twenty-five miles, the other about thirty-two distance, evidently the heads of the creeks we passed westward of the marshes of the Macquarie. He adds, that, to the second creek the land was excellent, but that on crossing it, he got onto red soil, on which he travelled some miles further, until he saw a range of high land, bearing from him S.W.. by W., when, knowing from the nature of the country around him, and from the experience of our late journey, that he could not hope to find a regular supply of water in advance, and that in the present dry state of the low lands, a movement such as I had contemplated would be impracticable, he returned home. I do myself the honour, therefore, to report to you, for His Excellency's information, that I shall proceed on Saturday next in a N.E. direction towards the Castlereagh, intending to trace that river down, and afterwards to penetrate as far to the northward and westward as possible; it being my wish to get into the country north of the more distant river, where I have expectations that there is an extensive and valuable track of country, but that in failure of the above, I shall examine the low country behind our N.W. boundaries, if I can find a sufficiency of water to enable me to do so. I am to inform you that in this neighbourhood the Macquarie has ceased to flow, and that it is now a chain of shallow ponds. The water is fast diminishing in it, and unless rain descends in a few weeks it will be perfectly dry. I am also to report, that the natives attempted the camp with the supplies before my arrival at Mount Harris, but that on the soldier with the party firing a shot, after they had thrown a stone and other of the weapons, they fled. It was in consequence of their fires, which I saw at a distance of forty miles, and which they never make on so extensive a scale, except as signals when they want to collect, and are inclined to be mischievous, that I made forced marches up, and I am led to believe my arrival was very opportune. The natives have visited us since, and I do not think they will now attempt to molest either party when we separate. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient and most humble servant, CHARLES STURT, Capt. 39th Regt. THE HON. THE COLONIAL SECRETARY. END OF VOLUME I 
21308	----	First in the Field, by George Manville Fenn. ________________________________________________________________________ Here we have another Manville Fenn book, full of realistic characters who get into positions of great suspense--the usual formula for this excellent author. The time of the story is the early part of the nineteenth century, and the place is, for most of the book, a sheep and cattle station in New South Wales. The owner is a former Doctor who had practised in London, and who had driven himself to illness with his work: the only possibility for him was a new outdoor life. There are various people working on the farm, including three "tame" aborigines; old Samson, full of wisdom; Brookes, a younger farm-servant; and Mayne, known as Leather, who is a convict whose good behaviour so far has meant that he can be trusted to work on a farm. There are also Mrs Braydon, and Nic's two sisters, Nic being the protagonist of the story. Nic, who had been left behind aged ten in an English suburban boarding school, is collected from there when he was fifteen, and brought out to Australia on the Northumbrian, an East Indiaman. After an "uneventful" voyage, they arrive in Sydney. The main part of the book concerns the doings of Nic and the farm workers on The Bluff, along with some upsetting interventions from the man farming a nearby sheep and cattle station, The Wattles. As always, a dramatic story, well worth reading or listening to. NH ________________________________________________________________________ FIRST IN THE FIELD--A STORY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN. CHAPTER ONE. ONE AFTERNOON. "I say, don't, Green: let the poor things alone!" "You mind your own business. Oh! bother the old thorns!" Brian Green snatched his hand out of the quickset hedge into which he had thrust it, to reach the rough outside of a nest built by a bird, evidently in the belief that the hawthorn leaves would hide it from sight, and while they were growing the thorns would protect it from mischievous hands. But the leaves opened out slowly that cold spring, and a party of boys from Dr Dunham's school, the Friary, Broadhurst, Kent, was not long in spying out the unlucky parents' attempt at house-building and nursery. Still, the thorns did their duty to some extent when Brian Green of the red head leaped across the big dry ditch, rudely crushing a great clump of primroses and forcing them down the slope, for when the freckled-faced lad thrust his hand in to grasp the nest a sharp prick made him withdraw it, while this action brought it in contact with a natural _chevaux de frise_, scarified the back, and made a long scratch on his thumb. "I wish you'd keep your tongue inside your teeth, Nic Braydon!" cried the boy fiercely. "You won't be happy till I've given you another licking. Look here what you've made me do!" "I didn't make you do it," said the first speaker. "Why don't you let the birds alone?" "Because, if you please, Miss Braydon," said the bigger lad mincingly, "I'm not so good as you are. Oh dear, no! I'm going to take that nest of young blackbirds because I want them to bring up and keep in a cage. I'm going to transport them to the shed in the playground." The first boy winced sharply at his companion's words, and the four lads present burst into a derisive laugh at his annoyance; but he smothered it down, and said quietly:--"Then you may as well leave them alone, for they're not blackbirds." "Yes, they are, stoopid." "No, they're not." "How do you know?" "Because I found the nest when it was first built, and saw the eggs and the old bird sitting." "Oh, that's it, is it? Oh, I say, isn't he a nice, good little boy? He doesn't want me to take the young birds because he wants to steal them himself." The others laughed in their thoughtlessness as their schoolfellow winced again, and Brian Green still hung on to the bank, sucking the scratches on his bleeding hand and grinning with satisfaction at the annoyance his innuendoes caused. "I say, boys," he cried, "they don't transport people for life for stealing young blackbirds, do they?" There was a fresh roar of laughter, and the boys watched Dominic Braydon, who stood frowning, to see if he would make some sharp retort, verbal or physical, and perhaps get thrashed again. But he concealed his annoyance, and said quietly: "That's a thrush's nest." "You don't know anything about it, Convict," said Green. The boy winced again; but he went on: "Well, I know that. Blackbirds make rougher nests, and they're not plastered inside so neatly with clay as that is. Then the eggs are different: blackbirds' are all smudgy, dingy green; those were beautiful blue eggs, with a few clear spots on one end. Yes, look," he cried; "there's half one of them." As he spoke he leaped down into the ditch, and picked up a fragile, dried-up portion of an egg and showed it to his companions. "Yah! Old Botany Bay don't know what he's talking about," said Green, dragging a hedge-stake from the top of the bank, and wrenching the upper part of the dense hawthorn growth into a gap, through which he pulled the nest with its contents, four half-fledged birds, looking, with the loose down at the back of their heads, their great goggle eyes and wide gapes, combined with the spiky, undeveloped feathers and general nakedness, about as ugly, goblin-like creatures as a painter could have desired. "There!" cried Green, dropping the hedge-stake and leaping back over the ditch; "aren't those blackbirds? Oh, murder!" There was a great roar of laughter, for the clumsy leap resulted in two of the callow birds being jerked out heavily into the bottom of the ditch, and upon their recovery one was found to be dead. "Never mind," said Green; "three are better to bring up. Now then, in you go, ugly." He placed the bird in the nest with its companions, down by which it snuggled itself at once, so that the three completely filled the bottom. "Fits splendidly, boys. I shall make old Botany Bay get worms for me and chop them up to feed them." "You ought to be ashamed of yourself;" said the first boy, frowning. "You know you let those young starlings die." "You ought to be ashamed of yourself;" retorted Green, "getting yourself put in a school among young gentlemen. I don't know what the doctor was thinking about to take a convict's son." "My father is not a convict," cried Dominic angrily. "Oh, isn't he, just. Transported for life. We know, don't we, boys?" "Yes--yes," was chorused. "Of course he was," cried Green. "You can't keep these things quiet. Pretends his father is a settler. Yes; the judge settled him for life." The boy looked round for applause, and received it sufficiently to make him go on with his banter. "Just as if we weren't sure to find out the truth. Calls him a squatter. Yes; the government made him squat pretty quickly." There was another laugh as the boys wandered on along the edge of the great common, where the quickset hedge divided it from the cultivated land, high above which a lark was circling and singing with all its might. "I want to know why the doctor lets him stop amongst gentlemen's sons." "I know, Bry Green," said a mischievous-looking, dark-eyed boy; "it's because his father pays." "He wouldn't be here long if his father didn't," said Green laughingly. "Unless he supplied the doctor with sugar and soap and candles and soda and blue." There was a roar of laughter once more, in which Dominic Braydon joined, and Green turned so suddenly on the last speaker that the young thrushes were nearly jerked out of the nest. "Do you want me to give you a wipe on the mouth, Tomlins?" cried the boy angrily. "Oh no, sir; please don't, sir," was the reply, with a display of mock horror and dread; "only you said gentlemen's sons, sir,--and I thought what a pity it was Nic Braydon's father wasn't a grocer." "My father's a wholesale dealer in the City," said Green loftily; "and it's only as a favour that he lets old Dunham have things from his warehouse at trade price." "Ho, ho, ho! here's a game!" cried the dark boy, throwing himself down on the velvety turf and kicking out his legs in his delight. "My father isn't a poor parson," continued Green contemptuously; "and if any of you fellows like to call on me during the holidays, any one will show you Alderman Green's big house on Clapham Common. We keep a butler, footman, coachman, and three gardeners." "And the gardeners make all the beds," said Tomlins, at which there was another laugh. "You're a little idiot, Tomlins," said Green loftily. "Yes, sir; but I can't help it," said the boy meekly. "You see my father never brought home turtle soup from the Lord Mayor's dinner so as to make me big and fat." "You won't be happy till I've rubbed your ugly snub nose against the next tree," cried Green. "Get up, you gipsy-looking cub!" He stepped quickly as he spoke to where the boy still lay upon the green and kicked him viciously. "Oh!" yelled the boy, who began to writhe now in earnest as he fought hard to control himself, but in vain, for he rose to his knees at last with the tears coming fast, and then limped slowly along, sobbing bitterly. "Serve you right," cried Green. "Teach you not to be so jolly saucy. Now then, none of your sham. I didn't hurt you much. Go on." "I--I can't yet," sobbed the boy. "Oh yes, you can. None of that. Here, carry these." He thrust the nest of young thrushes into the boy's hand, and forced him to proceed, limping heavily. "Look at the little humbug," cried Green, as they all went on, with Dominic Braydon hanging down his head and gazing hard at the ground to keep from darting indignant glances at the tyrant who had bullied and insulted him till it had been almost beyond bearing. He felt a choking sensation in the throat, and an intense longing to do something; but his ways were peaceful, and Green, was heavy, big, and strong. In addition, he was cock of the school, to whom every one had yielded for a long time past; and Dominic Braydon had still fresh in his memory that day when he had resisted a piece of tyranny and fought at the far end of the school garden, where an unlucky blow on the bridge of the nose had half blinded him and made him an easy victim to the enemy, who administered a severe drubbing and procured for his adversary a birching for fighting--it was before caning days--and a long series of impositions for obstinacy, a trait the doctor said that he absolutely abhorred--Dominic's obstinacy consisting in a stubborn refusal to confess who had beaten him. This his schoolfellows called honourable; but Green had other opinions, and set it down to the fear of getting another thrashing for telling tales. But Green was not quite correct. And so on this bright spring half-holiday the boys went on along the side of the common toward the dense furze clump, Green hectoring, throwing stones at everything he saw, from the donkeys and geese to the yellow-hammers which flitted along the hedge, stopping now and then to twitter out their quaint little song about "a little bit o' bread and no cheese," and looking as much like canaries as they could as they perched upon some twig. "I'll give you a bit o' cheese and no bread," cried Green, as he hurled stone after stone, but fortunately with the worst of aim. "Now then, you Tomlins, stop that miserable snivelling, and walk upright; you're not hurt." The boy hastily wiped his eyes, as he mentally wished that he was big and strong. "And don't you drop those birds, or I'll give you another," shouted Green, as he sent another pebble flying. The boy stifled a sob, and followed limping. "Lean on me, Bob," said Dominic. "Thank you," sobbed the boy; and then in a whisper, "My hip hurts as if it was put out." "Not so bad as that," said Dominic in a low tone; and he helped the boy along till Green looked back, saw what was taking place, and shouted: "Now then, none of that, Convict. He's only shamming. Let him alone." "Don't let him touch me, Nic," whispered the boy piteously; "I can hardly walk." Dominic said nothing, but his brow was full of lines; and he looked down at the ground and supported his companion by tightly holding his arm. "Do you hear?" roared Green, stopping now. "I told you to leave that little sham alone." "I'm not shamming, Nic," sobbed the boy in a whisper; "it hurts dreadfully every time I move my leg." "Oh, you won't, won't you?" cried Green menacingly. "I shall have to give you a lesson too, Master Braydon, and transport you into a better state of mind. Stand aside, will you?" As he came up he struck Nic a back-handed blow across the chest, forcing him backward and making Tomlins utter a cry of pain. "Now then, none of that," continued Green. "Go on, and take care of those birds,--go on!" The boy in his dread and pain, wincing in the expectation of a fresh kick, staggered on for a few paces, and then with a cry of misery fell forward flat upon his chest. "Mind those birds!" yelled Green, starting forward, and bending down he flung the wretched boy over on to his back so as to extricate the bird's nest. But he was too late; the unfortunate callow songsters had been saved from a lingering death by starvation and imprisonment, the sides of the clay-lined nest being crushed in, and the breath out of the tender little bodies. They were quite dead, and in a fit of vindictive rage Green flew at the innocent author of the mischief. "You miserable little beast!" he roared; and his foot was raised to deliver a savage kick. "Get up!" But instead of Tomlins getting up, Green went down. For, quick as thought, Dominic rushed at him. "Let him alone!" he cried hoarsely; and the fierce thrust he gave sent the young tyrant into a sitting position upon a cushion-like tuft rising from the closely cropped grass. But that tuft was only cushion-like in appearance. There were geese feathers about, but they did not form its contents, for it was stuffed with keen, stiff thorns such as can grow to perfection upon a Kentish common; and if Brian Green had been an indiarubber ball he could not have rebounded more suddenly than he did. Raising the now empty nest he threw it with all his might at Dominic, and both his fists after it. The nest missed; the fists took effect, alighting as they did upon Dominic's breast and shoulder, and completely driving all thought of consequences out of the boy, who retaliated with such good effect that, as the lookers-on cheered and shouted encouragement, the fight raged fiercely. Even Tomlins forgot his sufferings, and watched every fluctuation of the struggle with an intense longing to see the school tyrant effectually mastered and dragged down from the pedestal whence he had so long dominated and ill-used all around. The others shared his feelings, and a couple immediately constituted themselves seconds during the few minutes the fight went on fast and furious, Dominic always being ready to dash into the affray after being dragged up at the close of the wrestling bout which ended each round, while Green grew more and more deliberate, as buzzing sounds came into his head, ringings into his ears, and it began to dawn upon him that Nic Braydon had the hardest face he ever touched, and that it was of no use to keep on hitting it, for it always returned to be hit again. At last, to the intense delight of the boys, it became evident that the result of the encounter must be a sound thrashing for Brian Green, and Nic's second kept on whispering to him to do this and do that to bring it to an end. Then came a most exciting finish, in which Nic was following up blow with blow, and Green, backing slowly away, guarding himself ineffectually, and growing confused and helpless, was wondering whether Nic had had enough, when the fight came to a sudden termination, and fists dropped down to sides, for the sonorous voice of the doctor arose from close at hand with: "Young gentlemen, what is the meaning of this disgraceful scene?" CHAPTER TWO. AFTER THE FIGHT. Three boys began to explain at once; but the doctor, who was walking with his wife and two daughters, and had been attracted by the struggle going on, held up his hand. "That will do! that will do!" he said in his most dignified manner and with his deepest-toned voice. "I have seen enough. Disgraceful! disgraceful! It would have been bad enough in the village lads and the farm labourers' boys; but in the young gentlemen of the Friary it is outrageous. Silence!" he nearly shouted, as Nic began to speak. "I tell you I saw enough. You, sir, were attacking Green with a violence that was nothing less than brutal and savage. I am shocked, quite shocked. Such conduct cannot be borne. Ladies present too, exposed to seeing your ruffianly violence." "But, sir--" began Nic. "How dare you speak, sir, after I have ordered you to be silent! Your half-holiday is cancelled. Back all of you to the Friary; I will see you on my return. Now, my dears, we will resume our walk." The doctor turned upon his heels, and went off with his ladies talking in a loud voice about botany, the words _Ranunculaceae_ and _Caryophyllaceae_ being plainly heard as he stopped and picked a yellow blossom and a tuft of weed, the young ladies glancing back twice at the boys who had been guilty of so disgraceful a breach of scholastic etiquette as to have their fight take place upon an open common and let it be seen. Nic stood arranging his jacket and torn-off collar, looking down rather dismally at Green, and wishing that he had not hit him quite so hard; for his adversary was seated upon the grass where there was no furze, embracing his knees and resting his brow upon them, softly swaying his head from side to side. Tomlins was the first to speak, for the others were looking after the doctor, and were--especially the two seconds--wondering what the doctor would say when he came back, and how severe their punishment would be. The fight had done the little dark-eyed fellow good. It was like so much liniment rubbed into his bruise to see the brutal tyrant of the school well thrashed; and feeling that with such a protector as Nic he had no more to fear from Green, he was not above giving expression to his thoughts. "Never you mind, Nic Braydon," he said. "I shall speak out when the doctor has us up. It wasn't your fault, but bully Gooseberry Green's. He began it, knocking me about, kicking me--a brute. I shall tell the doctor everything just as it happened." At this Green raised his face to dart a vindictive, threatening look at the little fellow, but he had not paused to think about the state of his face, which was comic in the extreme, and instead of alarming Tomlins made him forget his lameness more and more, and sent him into a fit of laughter. "Here, boys, look at Gooseberry's phiz. He seems as if he'd been washing it and left it too long to soak! My! what a swelled head!" The others joined in the roar of laughter, and Green's face was hidden again directly. But Nic had not laughed. He was hurt bodily and mentally. There was a feeling of regret, too, uppermost, which made him resent this unseemly mirth as cowardly to a fellow enemy. "You be quiet, Tomlins!" he cried. "What for?" retorted the boy. "You haven't been kicked as I have. I shall laugh at Gooseberry if I like. He began it all, and he has got his dose, and serve him right. Here, let's get back. Old Dictionary turned his head just now. I say, Greeny, like to have another kick. I'm such a little one, I shan't hit you again." "Wait a bit," muttered Green. "Oh, certainly; I'm in no hurry. Only you may as well do it when Nic Braydon's here, because he can give you my compliments afterwards, and leave my card in each of your eyes. Poor old chap! I'm so glad you've been licked." "Will you be quiet, young un!" cried Nic angrily. "It's mean and cowardly." "Well, that's the stuff he deals in," said Tomlins. "He likes that better than anything else." "That's no reason why you should," cried Nic. "Let him be, I tell you." "Oh, all right, I've done; but I suppose I may say I'm very sorry for him." "No, you _mayn't_," cried Nic. "Here, come on back, Greeny; we've had it out, but we needn't be bad friends. I'm sorry we fought; you'll shake hands, won't you?" Green made no movement, and Nic drew closer and held out his hand again. "Come on," he said; "I'm sorry now; shake hands." But Green did not move. He sat there crouched together, till Tomlins went behind him. "He's asleep," cried the little fellow. "I'll give him a job like he gave me, and wake him up." Green spun round upon the bottom of his spine and faced his little tormentor, who started back with a cry of mock alarm. "Here, hi, Nic!" he shouted. "Hold him back. He's going to bite." Nic made a rush, not to protect Tomlins, but to seize him and drag him away. "If you tease him again, I'll kick you too," he whispered. "Let him be; he's beaten. You don't want to hit him now he's down." "Yes, I do," said the boy, struggling to free himself. "I owe him a lot, and it isn't safe to hit him when he's not down. Oh, I say, don't; you're hurting me." "Serve you right. Come away." "Here, boys, help!" cried Tomlins, making a grimace. "Convict's setting up for--Ah!" He did not have time to finish his sentence, for Nic caught him sharply by the shoulders and gave him an angry shake. "If you say that again, I'll serve you worse than Green did. No, I won't;" he said in repentance. "There, go on back." The boy was silenced, and in a startled way joined his schoolfellows, while Nic once more went close up to Green. "Let me help you up," he said. "Here, shake hands, Green. It was only a fight, and you might have won." There was no answer, and Nic took his adversary by the arm, half forcing him to rise; but Green did not turn his head, nor raise his face to gaze in that before him, though he unresistingly allowed himself to be helped along the side of the hedge, so as to reach the lane that led to the high road and the village, at one end of which the park-like grounds of the doctor's establishment stood. "He'll come round soon," thought Nic. "He's sure to feel sore after such a licking." "I say, isn't old Convict a rum one," whispered one of the boys who had been seconds. "Well, he always was," said the other. "What do you mean?" "Why giving Green a licking, and then going to help him like that." The other boy looked at the battered pair, and let them pass on in front, following afterwards with the others. "It's the proper thing to do, isn't it?" "Yes, with some fellows," said Tomlins, who was listening. "I should do it to either of you chaps if I'd licked you." The pair looked at each other and laughed. "Hark at Mouse Tomlins," said one of them. "Ah, you wait. I shall get bigger some day, and then I shall do just as Convict Braydon does; but I shouldn't to old Green. You see if he don't hit foul before long, and serve poor old Convict out." "Don't you be so fond of calling him Convict; he doesn't like it," said Braydon's second. "Well, he shouldn't be a convict then," retorted the boy. "And you shouldn't be a cocky, conceited little donkey," said the elder boy. "But I'm not," said the little fellow, laughing; and then wincing and crying, "Oh, my leg!" "And he's not a convict." "But Gooseberry Green says his father is, and that he was sent over to Botany Bay, and that's what makes poor old Braydon so mad." "His father and mother are both out there somewhere, because Nic told me so, and he says he's going out there some day; but his father can't be a convict, or else he wouldn't be at a good school like this. It's all Green's disagreeableness." "I'm jolly glad he has got a licking," said the other, "though I seconded him; but I wish he hadn't spoiled our afternoon. If Nic Braydon would come too, I'd go and get into the Hurst. The doctor won't be back for two hours safe, and he's sure not to send for us till eight o'clock. Let's get him to come." "Well, you ask him." The boy hurried on and overtook the adversaries. "Here, Nic Braydon, let him go on by himself. We're going to finish the afternoon together. We don't see any fun in going back yet." Nic turned his face to his companion, who burst out laughing--a laugh in which he was joined by the others as they came up, Tomlins being the most facetious. "I say, look at his open eye," cried the little fellow, "and the crack on his lip. I say, don't laugh, Nic; it'll hurt. Don't he look like enjoying himself!" "Be quiet, Tomlins!" cried Nic's second. "All right; I've done." "I say, will you come, Nic?" "No; I'm going to see Green back to the Friary." "And then," cried Tomlins, "they're going to have a can of hot water and sponge one another, and make friends and live happy ever after. I say, wouldn't they both look nice in a glass case!" Nic smiled in spite of himself; and went on back to the Friary, where the man-servant also indulged in a grin as he saw the battered, pair, who partook of their tea with pain, and looked thoroughly unpresentable when at eight o'clock they were summoned to the doctor's study to be lectured severely, Nic getting the greater part of the scolding, which ended with the ominous words: "I will say no more, Dominic Braydon, for I don't like to come hastily to decisions; but I am afraid that I shall be forced to expel so evil-tempered, virulent, and quarrelsome a boy. Now retire, sir, to your dormitory. I will see you after breakfast in the morning." Nic went slowly up to the room he shared with Tomlins and the boy who had been his second, feeling that the doctor was cruelly unjust in refusing to listen to explanations which he had on his side been extremely unwilling to make. "Nobody seems to understand me," he said to himself; "convict, always convict. And, suppose I am expelled, what shall I do? what will my father say? It seems sometimes more than I can bear;" and for hours that night he lay awake, feeling no bodily pains in the fiercer ones of the mind, and always dwelling upon his position--quite alone in England, with father, mother, and sisters at the other side of the world, at a time, too, when it might take a year for a letter sent to bring back its answer; so that it was getting far on toward the early dawn when he ceased thinking about the far-away land of the convict and kangaroo, and went off fast asleep. CHAPTER THREE. A STARTLER. Constant dropping will wear a stone, says the old proverb; and if you doubt it, go and look at some step where the rain has dripped from gutter or eave, and see what a nice little hollow is worn. The constant dropping of unsavoury words wears the mind too; and these remarks and banterings about Australia and its convict life in the early days of the century began to have their effect upon Nic Braydon. He was a good deal younger when his father, an eminent physician in London, awoke to the fact that he had been curing other people at his own expense, that he had worked and studied and been anxious over patients in his dingy house in Finsbury till he was completely broken in health; and he knew enough of his own nature to be aware that, if he kept on as he was, he would in a year or two be a confirmed invalid, if he were still living. In other words, he had worn the steel spring of life till it had grown thin in some places, and rusted and eaten away in others for want of use. Then he said to himself like a wise man, "I advise others and neglect myself. I must be my own physician now." He knew perfectly what he ought to do--take to some open-air life in a healthy country, where his avocations would give him plenty of outdoor exercise; and just at that time he met the newly appointed, governor of the penal colony of Australia at dinner. He heard a good deal about the place, went home and read, and inquired more; then, striking while the lion was hot, he sold his practice, house, and furniture, provided all that he could think of as necessaries, communicated with the government, and, after placing his son Dominic, then aged ten, at the Friary with Dr Dunham, he sailed with his wife and two daughters for the far-off land. Now, Nic's notions about all this had grown a little hazy, while the teasings of his companions grew keener and sharper day by day, and mastered the facts; so that at last he had often found himself wondering whether there was any truth in his schoolfellows' words, and his father had, after all, done something which necessitated his leaving the country. That seed did not take root; but it swelled, and shot, and gave him a great deal of pain, making him grow morbid, old, and thoughtful beyond his years. He became more sensitive; and when at last the doctor seemed to side against him, and treated him as he thought harshly, Nic began to find out thoroughly that it is not good for a boy to lose the loving help and companionship of father, mother, and sisters, and he grew day by day more gloomy, and ill-used as he believed, till at last, after the sharp reproof from the doctor about his quarrelsome disposition and ill-treatment of his schoolfellow Green, he began to feel it was time he set off to seek his fortune, never once pausing to think that the doctor had only judged by appearances. He had seen Nic attacking Green quite savagely, and not having been present earlier, and, truth to tell, not having sufficiently studied the inner life of his boys, he had looked upon Nic as an ill-conditioned, tyrannical fellow, who deserved the severest reproof. So Nic thought it was time to seek his fortune. Who was the miserable ass who first put that wretched idea into boys' heads, and gave them a mental complaint which has embittered many a lad's life, when, after making some foolish plunge, he has gone on slowly finding out that castles in the air, built up by his young imagination, are glorious at a distance, but when approached the colours fade? They are erected with no foundation, no roof; no walls, windows, doors, or furniture--in fact, they are, as Shakespeare says, "the baseless fabric of a vision." So much by way of briefly moralising on the fact that for, a boy to make up his mind to go and seek his fortune means, in say nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine cases out of a million, trying to climb upward in search of a castle in the air, or tying a muffler round the eyes before making a leap in the dark. So Nic wanted good advice, change, and something to drag him out of the belief that he was one of the most ill-treated young personages in the world. But something came just a fortnight after the fight. Nic's brow was all in puckers, his cheeks were pushed up in folds by his fists, his elbows rested upon his desk, and he was grinding away at a problem in Euclid--with thoughts of Green, Tomlins, the doctor, and a sore place upon one of his knuckles, which had partially healed up and been knocked again and again, all netted and veined in among right, acute and obtuse angles, sides, bases, perpendiculars, slanting-diculars, producings, joinings of AB and CD, and the rest of it--when one of the doors opened, the servant went up to the desk of the usher in charge, and the hum in the big schoolroom ceased as the usher tapped the desk before him. "Braydon." "Yes, sir." "The doctor wishes to see you in the study." Nic had started up, and now the wrinkles in his brow grew deeper, and then disappeared as if by magic, for he had caught sight of Green grinning at him with satisfaction in every curve of fat, self-satisfied-looking countenance; and putting on an air of calm indifference he moved toward the door. As it happened he had to pass just in front of Green's desk, and the lad raised himself a little, put out a leg to cause a stumble, and whispered: "Birch. Keep the door shut, and don't--" Green was going to say "howl," but he illustrated his meaning by uttering a cry wonderfully like that sent forth by a cat under similar circumstances. "What's that?" cried the usher. "I trod on Green's foot by accident, sir," said Nic. "Green should not leave his feet lying about all over the floor," said the usher, trying to be facetious, and then looking satisfied, for his joke was received with a roar, which was increased at the sight of Green's ghastly smile as Nic went out of the schoolroom. "That's birch for him," he muttered, as he passed through the baize door, which shut out the noise of the school from the rest of the house; and the boy drew a deep breath as he crossed the hall toward the study, connected in his mind with scoldings and reproofs of the severest kind. "What have I been doing now?" thought Nic, as he laid hold of the handle after knocking and hearing a deep-toned "Come in." Then he started and stared, for there was a fine-looking middle-aged lady seated near the doctor's table, who turned to look at him searchingly as he stopped short. "I beg pardon, sir. You sent for me?" "Yes, yes, Braydon: come in. This is Lady O'Hara." "Yes, I'm Lady O'Hara. Look at that, now. A great strapping fellow! And he told Sir John that it was his little boy." Nic stared, for this was spoken loudly, in a pleasant rich voice, with an intonation that decidedly fitted with the name. "Yes, yes," said the doctor, who was smiling and very courtly; "but Dr Braydon forgot that his son has been with me over five years, madam, and he has grown bodily, and mentally, I hope." "To be sure. Shake hands, Dominic. Why, you ought to be Irish, with a name like that." "Lady O'Hara!" cried Nic excitedly, as he grasped the hand extended to him. "Do you know my father?" "Oh, don't make jam of my fingers, boy, and I'll tell you," cried the lady, with a pleasant grimace. "Ah, that's better. Yes, of course I know him. He lives next door to us, about a hundred miles away." The doctor chuckled, and Nic stared. "Sit down, Braydon, sit down," said the doctor. "Ah! that's better," said the lady, in a fresh, cheery way. "Well, now, look at that, doctor. Here am I, come at his father's wish to take care of him, and he's big enough to take care of me." "But--I beg your pardon," cried Nic--"you know my mother, madam?" "To be sure I do, and the two girls; and here's a batch of letters I've brought." "Oh, tell me, please," cried Nic excitedly, taking the letters with trembling hand,--"my mother and Janet and Hilda, what are they like?" "Gently, gently," cried the lady; "where will I find breath to answer your questions? Why, the poor boy's like an orphan, Dr Dunham, living all these years away from home." "Mrs Dunham and I try to make this my pupils' home," said the doctor, with dignity. "Yes, I know," said the lady, smiling a broad, pleasant smile, and showing her fine white teeth; "but sure, doctor, there's no place like home. It's very pleasant out yonder with Sir John, but I long for wild old Galway, where I was born. Well, Dominic, and do you know what I've come for?" "You said something about taking care of me, madam," stammered Nic. "Ah, and don't stammer and blush like a great gyurl, and don't call me madam. I am a very old friend now of your dear mother, and I've come to take you back with me over the salt say--I mean sea, doctor, but I always called it say when I was a gyurl. I was in England a great deal after I was married, but the fine old pronunciation clings to me still, and I'm not ashamed." "Why should you be, Lady O'Hara?" said the doctor in his most courtly manner, as he rose. "There, you would like to have a quiet chat with Dominic Braydon. I will leave you till lunch is ready." "Oh, I don't know about lunch," said the lady, hesitating. "Yes, I do. Dominic here will lunch with us, of course?" "Of course," said the doctor, smiling; and there was a curious look in his eye as Nic glanced at him sharply. "Sure, then, I'll stay," said the lady. "But wait a minute: I shall be obliged to answer the question when we get back over the say. Did I say say or sea then, Dominic?" Nic coloured a little. "Oh, there's no doubt about it," cried the lady. "It was say, doctor. Now then, tell me: has he been a good boy?" The doctor wrinkled his brow and pursed up his lips. "Ah! ye needn't tell me. I can see--about half-and-half." "Well, yes--about that," said the doctor. "To be sure," said the lady; "and I'm glad of it. What's wrong with him?" "Oh, I don't like to tell tales out of school," said the doctor jovially. "Not quite so much of a student as I could have wished. His classics are decidedly shaky, and his mathematics--" "Look here, doctor: can he write a good plain English letter, properly spelt, and so as you can read it without puzzling because he hasn't dotted his i's and crossed his t's?" "Oh! yes, yes, yes," said the doctor; "we can do that, eh, Braydon? But there's rather a long list of black marks against his name," he continued severely. "For instance, there has been a tendency toward fighting." "There, that'll do, doctor.--Come and give me a kiss, my dear.--Sure, doctor," she continued, after Nic had obeyed, "he's coming out to a new country, where that part of his education will be of the greatest value to him." "My dear madam!" cried the doctor, staring. "Oh, I mean it, sir. It's a new country, full of savages, black and white, and the white are the worst of them, and more shame for us we sent them there, though I don't know what else we could have done. Dominic, my lad, do you know we're going to make a convict of you?" Nic gave a violent start, and darted a reproachful glance at the visitor. "There, leave us together a bit, doctor," she said quickly, "and I'll be bound to say when lunch is ready we shall both of us be as hungry as sailors with talking, for I've got to question him and answer all his." "To be sure, to be sure," said the doctor. "Then, if you will excuse me, Lady O'Hara, I will adjourn to the schoolroom." "There, Dominic," cried the lady as soon as they were alone, "now we can talk like old friends. But tell me what made you start and colour like a great gyurl when I talked of making a convict of you?" Nic was silent. "Won't you tell me?" cried the lady, smiling at him in a winning, frank way, which unlocked the boy's lips at once and made him feel eager to confide in one who took so much interest in him. "Yes, I'll tell you," he cried: "it's one of the boys--the biggest. He has set it about that my father is--is--is--" "A convict?" Nic nodded, and his brow contracted. "The impudence!" "And he nicknamed me Convict. And it isn't true, Lady O'Hara? Pray, pray tell me." "About your father, Dr Braydon? Be ashamed of ye'self, boy, for ever thinking it. Your father's the finest gentleman in New South Wales, and the best friend that Sir John and I ever had in our hard life yonder." Nic drew a long, deep breath. Something seemed to be swelling up in his throat, and he reached forward to catch hold of and retain the plump white hand, which returned his pressure. "And so the big fellow called you Convict, did he, because your father's over the water!" "Yes." "And I see now: that accounts for the fighting?" Nic nodded. "I bore it as long as I could," he said eagerly; "and it began about something else." "Sure, and why did you wait for that? You should have done it at once. I would." Nic stared in wonder and admiration at his new friend. "But tell me: did you give him a great big beating?" "Yes, I'm afraid so." "Then don't be afraid any more. It would do him good. There, I was thinking I was going to have the care of a tiresome young, monkey of a boy; but I promised your dear mother, and should have taken you back. But, do you know, Dominic, you and I are going to be great friends." "I hope so," said Nic. "I'm sure of it. There, I don't want to know any more about you. I only say that you're just the lad for over yonder, and your father will be delighted. Now, then: ask me anything you like." "May I?" "To be sure." "Then what is my mother like now?" "Look yonder," said the lady, pointing to a great mirror. "Now think of your face made thinner and more delicate, and with soft curls of silky grey hair, beside a very white forehead; and a gentle expression, not a hard look, like yours. That's your mother." "And my father?" cried Nic eagerly. "Look again," said the lady, "and fancy your face in thirty years' time, with dark grey hair, all in little rough half-curls, and a great many lines in the brown skin all over the forehead, and about the eyes." "Yes," said Nic eagerly, as he stared at himself. "And a look of a man who is strong as a horse; and that's all. No, stop: I forgot his birrd." "His bird! Does he keep a bird?" "The young ruffian! he's making sport of me," said the lady. "I said birrd: b-e-a-r-d, birrd. And it's all tinged grey and black. That's your father." "And the girls?" "Oh, just two bright sun-browned colleens, like you, only better looking. What next?" "What sort of a place is it?" "Place? Oh, there's a wooden house on a slope looking down a bluff at the edge of a great plain, from which you look over the Blue Mountains." "Yes, they call them blue because they're green, I suppose?" said Nic, with a smile. "And people say it's only we Irish who make bulls," cried the lady merrily. "No; they call them blue because in the distance they look as clear and blue as the loveliest amethyst. Ah! it's a beautiful place, Dominic, as you'll say." "And big?" "Big?" The lady laughed softly. "Yes, boy; it's big. There's plenty of land out yonder, and so the government's pretty generous with it. Here at home they count a man's estate by acres: we do it in square miles out there." "Look here, Dominic," said the lady, after answering scores of questions, during what seemed to Nic the happiest hours he had ever spent in his life, "I've been thinking." "Yes, madam." "Say Lady O'Hara, boy," cried the visitor petulantly; and then, with a sad smile full of pathos on her quivering lip, she added softly, "I can't tell ye to call me mother: my son died, Dominic, just when he began to know me; but look here," she cried, brightening, though the lad could see tears in her fine dark eyes, out of which she seemed to peer as from passing clouds. "Sure, I tell ye I've been thinking. Your father said it was time you left school to finish your education out there." "Education?" faltered Nic. "Oh yes; but not book learning, boy: hunting, and shooting, and riding, and stock-keeping, and farming, and helping to make Australia a big young England for John Bull's sons and daughters, who want room to move." "Yes, I see," cried Nic. "To be sure you do. Well, then, the ship sails in a month from to-day: so what's the good of your stopping here for a month?" "But I've nowhere else to go," said Nic. "Oh! yes, you have. You and I have got to be great friends--there, something more than that. I shall just borrow you of your father and mother till I have to give you up at Port Jackson. So, what do you say to my taking you away with me at once?" "Lady O'Hara!" "Don't shout, boy: this isn't the bush. Will you come?" Nic sprang from his chair. "Look at that, now!" cried Lady O'Hara, showing her teeth. "Hadn't we better have a bit of lunch first?" "Oh! yes, yes, yes, of course. But, Lady O'Hara, will you take me?" "Take ye? Why, what an ungrateful young rapparee it is, wanting to leave the home of five years like that!" "Home!" cried Nic piteously. "Oh, Lady O'Hara, it hasn't been like home. I haven't been happy here." "Sure, I know, boy, and it was only my fun," said Lady O'Hara, laying her hand upon the lad's head: "as if a boy could be quite happy away from all who love him, and whom, in spite of his thoughtless way; he loves! Then you shall come and live with me at the hotel, and help me do all my shopping and commissions, beside getting your outfit and the things you're to take out for your father. Come, Dominic, is it a bargain?" "Do--do you really wish it?" "Why, of course, boy, or I wouldn't ask you. Ah, here's the doctor and his lady. Sure, madam, I'm glad to make your acquaintance," said Lady O'Hara, with grave dignity. "Dominic Braydon and I have been arranging matters, and I should be obliged by your having his boxes seen to and sent off to-morrow." "To-morrow?" said the doctor. "Yes," said the visitor, in a quiet, decisive tone; "and as for your pupil--your late pupil--I shall take him away with me directly after lunch." Both the doctor and his lady began to make excuses about the impossibility of Braydon being ready at so short a notice; and Lady O'Hara turned to the boy. "Do you hear that, Dominic? You can't be ready in the time. What do you say?" "I can," replied Nic. "Of course you can, boy. There, doctor, I've come to take him, so now let's have lunch." The lunch was eaten, and the doctor and Mrs Dunham having nothing more to say, Nic hastily packed up his things, and then ran to the schoolroom to say good-bye. Ten minutes later he was in Lady O'Hara's carriage, with the cheer given by the boys humming in his brain and a peculiar sensation of sadness making itself felt, though all the time his heart was throbbing with exultation, and the intense desire to go on faster and faster, far away from school, and to make his first plunge into the unknown. Lady O'Hara did not speak for some time, but took out her little ivory tablets, and sat back in the carriage conning over the memoranda they contained, while her companion read and re-read his letters. Then, shutting them up, she returned the little book to its case and faced round. "Well," she said, with a merry look, "have you done breaking your heart, Dominic?" "Yes," he said gravely.--"I can't help feeling sorry to come away, and I'm afraid the boys liked me better than I thought for. It isn't so nice as I fancied it would be." "No, I suppose not," said his companion; "nothing ever is so nice as we thought it would be. Like to go back for a month till the ship sails?" "What!" cried Nic. "I'll tell the man to drive back, if you like." "You're saying that to tease me, Lady O'Hara." "True, my boy, I was." "And you know I wouldn't go back. All I want now is to get on board and start on our long journey." "Ah, and that's, as I told you, a month hence. There, Dominic, you must mind I don't spoil you before I get you home. Now talk to me and tell me about yourself." CHAPTER FOUR. PREPARATIONS. It was like a new beginning of life to Nic Braydon, and he lived for the next three weeks in a round of excitement. The principal way in which he spent his time was shopping with Lady O'Hara, who saw that he had a regular outfit of suitable articles of clothing, all of the most durable and useful make. "You're not going to a land of filled shirts and dancing pumps, Dominic," said the lady; "you're going out to work as your father has done, and is doing now." "I shall not mind work," said Nic sturdily. "I know that, boy. But business. Now I think I've got through all the clothing--Sir John's, yours, and some that the doctor asked me to order. Now, what next?" she continued, turning to her tablets. "Oh, I see: a light gun that will carry shot or ball, a rifle for your father, and another for my husband. Then there are knives, axes, and fishing tackle. Really any one would think I was a man to execute such commissions. But I'm an old traveller, Nic, and have helped my husband over his wants for many, many years." So that day was devoted to selecting guns, Lady O'Hara handling and testing the various pieces in a way that made the gunmaker open his eyes and Nic stare. "You have a gallery, I suppose, where I can try any piece I select?" "Oh! yes, ma'am--I beg pardon--my lady," said the gunmaker. "Then I'll try those two rifles, and those three shot guns--no, those two. That other is only just long enough in the stock for me. It would not suit a man. Stop; you shall try it, Dominic. Well," she continued, smiling; "so you think it very unladylike for a woman to handle a gun, eh?" "I--I did think something of the sort," said Nic hesitatingly. "Of course you would; but I have often had to handle a gun, Dominic. A woman who goes out with her husband into all kinds of savage places needs to be able to use a piece." "Then you have been in savage places?" said Nic. "Often, my boy; and it is a dangerous place we are in now. And you'd like to ask whether I ever shot any one, eh?" she said, smiling. "No, I never did, and I hope I never shall. It was the power of being able to use a piece that has saved me from having to use it, Dominic. Wild people and ruffians don't care about attacking people who can defend themselves." The gunmaker was ready with the charged guns, and he had led them into a long gallery with targets, where the lady astounded the man by her ability and knowledge of what a gun ought to be. Then Nic had his first trials, and made so poor a business of it that Lady O'Hara said to him laughingly: "Sure it must be a bad gun, with a crooked barrel. Let me try." The reloaded gun was handed to her, and she raised it, lowered it, and raised it again and again to try the balance and weight. "It comes up very nicely," she said, balancing it in her hands. "It is really one of our best make, my lady," said the gunmaker. "But my young friend does not seem to find that it shoots straight. Now then." She raised it quickly to her shoulder, glanced for a brief instant along the barrel, and the white mark at the end of the gallery was speckled like a currant dumpling, while the gunmaker smiled with satisfaction. "It was my fault," said Nic dolefully. "I suppose I can't see straight." "Perhaps not," said Lady O'Hara drily. "How many times have you fired before?" "Never till to-day, only little brass cannons," said Nic. "And they're poor things for educating the hand and eye," said the lady. "Shooting looks easy, Dominic. You think you have only to pull the trigger; but it's like other things, my boy, it wants learning." They walked back into the shop, where the guns and rifles selected were ordered to be packed with an ample supply of the best flints and ammunition in proper cases for the journey; and the gunmaker smiled his thanks, and wished for more masculine lady customers. There were more peaceful purchases to be made, though. Cases of seeds were ordered, and the seedsman undertook to pack and send in the autumn a couple of bundles of fruit trees for experimental purposes. "For I want your father to try and make a good English garden out there, Dominic," said Lady O'Hara enthusiastically. "Australia must become the home of many of our people; and though it is right on the other side of the world, we don't want it to remain foreign, but English." Those four weeks went like magic, and when only two days remained the list of purchases was pretty well complete, and included horses, cows, and sheep of select kinds, and a couple of retrievers, setters, and Scotch collie dogs. They had been twice to the East India Docks, from which the ship was to sail, and now another visit was to be paid to make sure that the various packages had been delivered on board, to see to the live stock, and to have another look at the cabin. "There, Dominic," said her ladyship at last, "I think I may say that I have--that we have--done all our work. Now two days to pay a few visits, and then we go on board for our long, long journey. How do you feel--ready for the start?" "Quite," said Dominic eagerly. "That's right. We start with the knowledge that our home is ready made out yonder. What must it have been for the brave folk who acted as pioneers, not knowing what they were going to find?" That was mental food for the night; but Nic's busy days precluded his being troubled with sleeplessness, and he lay down to dream of the far-off home, and woke to say, in his intense eagerness: "Only one more day, and then--off!" CHAPTER FIVE. OUTWARD BOUND. "But why not go on board to-night?" asked Nic. "Because," said Lady O'Hara drily, "it will be better to leave it till to-morrow." Nic wondered, and said nothing, but he knew afterwards. The fact was, he did not think about anything for long. There was too much to see and do. One thought crowded out another. This minute he would be wondering how the dogs were, the next whether cows were ever sea-sick, and this made him wonder whether Dominic Braydon, off on his first voyage, would suffer from that most unpleasant ailment. There were the new clothes to think about, and the guns. It happened, too, that while he was thinking about them Lady O'Hara, looking worried and tired, entered the hotel room. "I hope that man sent the guns all right," said Nic. "He did, for I received a note from him and a receipt for their delivery." "I'm glad of that," said Nic. "I was anxious about them." Lady O'Hara looked amused. Then, watching the boy closely, she said: "By the way, Dominic, I don't think I told you I meant that gun with the short stock for you." "For me?" cried Nic, flushing with excitement. Then hastily, "Oh no, I don't want to shoot people." "You may if they want to kill you or those whom you love, my boy. But in any case you may want to shoot snakes and the wonderfully beautiful birds which you will see in the bush. A gun is a necessity for a settler, and so are those." She pointed to a parcel on a side table. "Fetch those here, and open the paper." Nic fetched the strongly done-up packet, opened it with trembling fingers, and laid bare a beautifully finished axe and a sheath knife of the finest steel, with stout buckhorn handle and leathern belt. "Not drawing-room presents, my boy," said the lady, smiling, "but suitable for a young settler. There, you can squeeze those in your portmanteau; the gun you can have when we get over the sea." "But, Lady O'Hara!" faltered Nic; "the gun--such an expensive one." "Of course it is. Who'd buy cheap rubbish to take abroad? You want the plainest and the best that money can buy." "Yes, but I meant--" "That they were too costly to accept? Not a bit, my boy. We owe your father a deep debt. Didn't he doctor and save both our lives? And he's a dreadfully obstinate man to deal with; but I can do as I like with you, so now hold your tongue." "But I must thank you, Lady O'Hara." "No, you needn't. Now then, Dominic--dear, dear! three syllables to say every time I speak to you. What a tiresome, long name, though it does sound Irish." "Latin," said Nic. "Irish; and don't contradict me, sir. Sure I had an uncle in Galway, who was Dominick O'Hara, with a _k_ to it. I shall call you Nic." "Yes, do, please." "I will. So now then, Nic, you haven't a husband to meet when you get over yonder--a fierce-looking governor, who barks at people; and when I get back he'll be asking me what I forgot to bring. Now, my dear boy, do tell me what I've failed to get." "I can't," said Nic laughingly; "you seem to have bought nearly everything." "Ah, ye're no use to me at all, at all, boy. I'm sure there's something I ought to have bought, and I shall remember it when we're hundreds of miles from land. I know: it was another pair of razors for Sir John!" "But you bought those seven in a case, with the days of the week on them, Lady O'Hara." "Sure, and I did, Nic. Good boy. You are of some use, after all. My poor head's nearly worn out with thinking, and I'm bothered entirely. Nic, I mean to go to sleep for a week as soon as we get on board by way of a good rest. Now then, do try and think for me, Nic; what was the other thing I forgot?" Nic shook his head. "I could think of hundreds of things that might be useful out there." "No, you couldn't," said the lady shortly. "You've never been there, and you'd be taking out all kinds of things that would be just of no use at all, the same as I did when I first went. I've got something on my brain, only it's buried under a heap of other things. Well, never mind; it will shake up to the top at last when it's too late." Lady O'Hara's head was bothered till the last moment, when the hotel bill was paid, the hackney coach and driver in his coat of many capes at the door, and landlord, landlady, and servants all waiting to bid the amiable, bluff-spoken Irish lady God-speed in her long journey to the other side of the world. Then the door banged; and, followed by a cheer, the coach was driven off, Nic feeling in a peculiar state of mind, a mixture of high spirits, low spirits, and pain; for Lady O'Hara plumped herself back in her corner, took out a handkerchief, covered her face, and burst into a fit of sobbing, rocking herself to and fro as she cried aloud till Nic could bear it no longer. He had been fidgeting and wondering what to say or do, growing more and more wretched, till, at the end of ten minutes, he laid his hand upon his companion's, and said simply: "Oh, Lady O'Hara, pray, pray don't cry." "Sure, and I won't," she exclaimed impetuously, as she hastily wiped her eyes; "but I couldn't help it, Nic. It hurts me when people are so kind and sorry to part from you, and ye feel that ye may never see them again. I'm afraid I'm a very silly old woman. Give me a kiss, my dear, and I won't cry another drop. There, it's all over now, and that's cleared my head. It doesn't feel bothered a bit. What's forgotten's forgotten, and I don't think my darlin' will be very cross with me. If he is, I shall call you to witness that I've worked very hard." "That you have," cried Nic. "There, the work's done, and we'll have a rest, and enjoy our voyage. And do you know what sort of a ship we're going in, Nic?" "Yes; the _Northumbrian_." "Of course; but do you know what she is?" "East Indiaman." "That's true enough; but has nobody told you what we shall have on board?" "No." "Then I'll tell you now. We might have waited for the next, but that would have been for a month, and I want to get back home again, Nic; so, as Sir John's name was enough to get me what I wanted, I settled we'd go in the _Northumbrian_, which is taking out a lot of convicts." Nic's brow grew rugged. "But there's a big draft of the 300th Regiment and their officers too, and they'll take care of us, boy, so you won't mind." "Oh! no," cried Nic, "I shall not mind." In fact, he failed to see what there would be to mind, for it did not occur to him that it might be unpleasant and awkward for the governor's wife. The bustle of departure had commenced when they reached the dock, and the quay swarmed with the friends and relatives of the company of infantry off on foreign service, while dock officials were busy issuing the orders which began to take effect a few minutes after Nic had seen Lady O'Hara into her cabin and hurried back on deck to gaze on the novel scene. For hawsers were being secured round posts, men were leaving, a couple of boats were out ahead ready to tow, and soon the great three-masted vessel began to move slowly along by the quay to the great gates, with the soldiers cheering and waving their caps, and shouts and cries rising from those being left behind, till the gates were passed, and the long narrow channel between stone walls gave place to the river, with its tide at the height; the faces began to grow smaller and smaller, and soon the _Northumbrian_, with her littered decks and bustle and confusion, began to drop slowly down with the tide. There was plenty to see as well as plenty to learn. The first thing was to be able to see in peace, and to do this Nic found he had to learn to get out of the way of the men busy lowering down packages, getting rid of the litter of the deck, and blunderingly making matters shipshape-- blunderingly, for the crew, almost without exception, were suffering from the effects of their holiday ashore, and were working the mate and boatswain into a state of red-hot indignation at the slow progress made. The latter, too, a big, burly, red-faced man with stiff whiskers, was every now and then asking people how he could be expected to have clear decks when his ship was being turned into a farmyard. This recalled the live stock on board, and Nic went forward to have a look at the cattle in their pens, where they were contentedly enough munching away at the hay placed ready for them, while the dogs, which recognised Nic, began to tug furiously at their chains, and made their eyes seem ready to start from their heads as they tried to strangle themselves by straining at their collars. Nic was leaning over the pen in which they were chained up, patting and caressing them, when a gruff voice cried fiercely: "Those dogs yours?" "Not exactly. They're for Sir John O'Hara." "Then I wish he'd got 'em. Who's to move with all these things on board?" "What's, the matter, Buller?" said a bronzed man, coming up. "Matter, sir? everything. There isn't a man aboard fit to pull a rope, and I can't move without breaking my shins over cats and dogs, and all this here Tower mynadgery. Is the skipper going to start a farm?" "Get on, man, and don't make so much noise." "Noise, sir!" growled the boatswain, for it was he; and he looked hard at a couple of officers in undress uniform, whose attention had been taken by the dogs. "It's enough to make any one grumble. I'm 'customed to tea and rice and a few passengers. I don't understand all this--ship turned into a live-stock show, a barracks, and a farm all in one." He went off growling, and the mate turned to the officers. "A bit rusty, gentlemen," he said, smiling. "It will soon wear off, as we get shipshape." "Sooner the better," said one of the officers, who turned to the dogs, and had a look at them before speaking to Nic. "Yours?" he said. "I have charge of them." "Then you are a passenger?" "Yes; I'm going out with Lady O'Hara." "The governor's wife! Well, how do you think you will like the sea?" "Oh, very well," said Nic. "Of course I shan't like it when it's rough." "Nor anybody," said the officer, "eh, Harvey?" "I shall not," said the gentleman addressed, as he pulled the setter's long ears. "So long as it isn't rough. Well, as we are to be fellow-passengers all through the voyage, we may as well be friends and go through our introductions. Who are you?" Nic told him. "Going to join your people, eh? Well, that's pleasant. We are going to leave ours." "Who are you?" said Nic, taking his new acquaintance's tone. "I?" said the officer, laughing at the manner in which the question was put. "Lieutenant Lance, His Majesty's 300th Light Infantry. This is Ensign Harvey of my company. Both at your service, sir, and our company too." "Thank you," said Nic, laughing; "but I'm not likely to need it." "Unless the birds want to take _flight_," said the ensign. Nic looked at him inquiringly. "He means the gaol birds, youngster," said the elder officer, laughing, "if they rise against us. Not a very nice arrangement for your lady coming out in a ship like this." "Is there any danger?" said Nic anxiously. "No," said the ensign, rather importantly; "we shall see that there's not." "Then you are here to guard them?" asked Nic. "Bah, no! We are going to join our regiment. There is a warder guard. Of course, if there was any necessity--" Nic looked rather startled, and the lieutenant said, smiling: "There'll be nothing to mind, my lad. The winds and waves will trouble you more than the convicts; but they're not pleasant fellow-passengers to have, on board." Nic did not think so the next morning, when, after guard had been mounted under the lieutenant's charge, just as they were getting well out of the mouth of the river, with the soldiers stationed at intervals with loaded muskets and fixed bayonets, orders were given, and the stern-looking warders ushered up the convict gang of fifty men from below to take their allotted amount of air and exercise in the forward part of the deck; for almost without exception they were a villainous-looking lot, their closely cropped hair and ugly prison garb adding to the bad effect. Talking was strictly forbidden, every movement being carefully watched, and not least by Nic, at whom the prisoners looked curiously as they passed, one man putting on a pleading, piteous aspect, as if asking for the boy's compassion, and twice over his lips moved as if he were saying something. But somehow, though the man was not bad-looking, and formed one of the exceptions to the brutally fierce faces around, his pleading look did not excite Nic's pity, but caused a feeling of irritation that he could not explain. This happened again and again, when, attracted by the daily coming up of the men on deck, Nic found himself watching them, unconscious of the fact that he was watched the while. Every now and then the chief warder, a stern, fierce-looking man with a cutlass in his belt, shouted out some order; and as it was obeyed by this or that man the boy soon began to know them as Number Forty-nine or Hundred and eighty, or some other number. One particularly scoundrelly-looking fellow, who made a point of catching his eye whenever he could, for the purpose of winking, thrusting his tongue in his cheek, or making some hideous grimace, and following it up with a grin of satisfaction if he saw it caused annoyance, was known as Twenty-five; a singularly brutal-visaged man with a savage scowl, who never once looked any one full in the face, was Forty-four; and the mild, pleading-looking man, who annoyed Dominic by his pitiful, fawning air, was Thirty-three. "Well, sir, what do you think of them?" said a familiar voice one day; and turning sharply, Nic found himself face to face with the chief warder. "Think? I hardly know," said Nic. "I feel sorry for them." "Just what a young gent like you would do, sir. Pity's a good thing, but you must not waste it." "But it seems a terrible thing for these men to be sent out like this." "Seems, sir. But is it? You see, they needn't have been sent out. They only had to behave themselves." "But some of them may be innocent." "Yes, sir," said the warder drily; "but which of 'em? Look at that fellow coming round here now, slouching along, and never looking at anything but the deck. He'll never look you in the face." "Yes, I've noticed that." "Wouldn't pick him out for an innocent one, would you?" "Well, no," said Nic; "one seems to shrink from him." "And right enough too, sir. He got off with transportation for life; but I'm afraid he deserved something worse." "Did he kill anybody?" said Nic in an awe-stricken whisper. "Yes; more than one, I believe, sir: sort of human wild beast. I never feel safe with him, and we all take care never to have Forty-four behind us. Try again, sir." "Well, this one coming now," said Nic. "He's rather common-looking, but he doesn't seem so very bad. One would think he could be made a better man." "Twenty-five, sir. Well, he'll have every chance out yonder. He has only got to get a good character over his work, and the governor and them will soon let him go up country as a signed servant, and when he has served his time he can start farmer on his own account. Makes faces at you, doesn't he?" "Yes," cried Nic eagerly. "Ah, he won't now I'm here." Nic smiled, for the man screwed one side of his face as he passed, thinking that the chief warder would not see, but he did. "You, Twenty-five! How dare you? Extra punishment for that. Pass by, sir." "No, no, don't punish him," whispered Nic. "He did not mean any harm." "Not going to, sir," said the warder drily; "but one must keep them in their places. He's a comic sort of blackguard. Not much harm in him." "I thought not," said Nic eagerly. "And precious little good, sir," added the warder. "But he may turn out right. Housebreaking, I think, was his offence. When he gets out to the convict lines they'll teach him to know better; and some day he'll have a house of his own, if it's only a bark hut--gunyah they call 'em out there--and then he'll know the value of it, and be ready to upset any one who tries to break in." "Then you have been out before?" "Oh yes, sir. I know the country pretty well, specially the part where your father is. I've been there." "And you know my father?" "Oh no, sir. I never saw him. But it's a fine place, and you'll like it. I wish I was you, and going to begin life out there in the new land." "Then you think I shall like it?" said Nic. "You can't help it, sir. But if I was you I should be careful. You'll have a deal to do with the convicts." "Oh no," cried Nic. "I am going straight up the country to my father's place." "Yes, sir, I know; and that's why I was presuming to give you a bit of advice--that is, as a man who has had twenty years' experience." "I don't understand you." The warder laughed. "I suppose not, sir. Well, it's like this. Your father has taken up land, and keeps sheep and cattle, I suppose?" "Yes, thousands." "And employs men?" "Of course. He has said so in his letters. He is obliged to have several." "And if he was in England he could engage farm labourers easily enough." "Yes." "How's he going to engage them out there, sir?" "The same as he would in England." "When there are none, or only a few, and they all want to be masters themselves? No, sir; you'll find there--with perhaps a black or two who can't be trusted to work, only to do a bit of cattle driving or hunting up strayed stock--that your father's men are mostly convicts, 'signed servants, we call them--that is, assigned servants." "What?" "That's it, sir: men who are assigned by the prison authorities to gentlemen." "Oh!" ejaculated Nic; and the warder smiled at his surprise. "That's it, sir, and I say a good thing too. Here's a new country with plenty of room in it, and the judges and people at home sentence men to be transported for fourteen or twenty-one years, or perhaps for life." "Yes, I know all that," said Nic, nodding his head. "Then, sir, the law says lots of these men are not all bad, and they're sorry for what they've done; so if they are, and show that they want to lead a new life, we'll give 'em a chance. Then all those who have earned a good character in the convict lines and mean work are assigned to settlers who want labourers and shepherds and stockmen; and if they behave themselves, and show that the punishment has cured them of their bad ways, all they've got to do is to report themselves from time to time; and so long as they don't try to escape out of the country they can do pretty well as they like, and plenty of them out there are doing far better than they would have done at home." "That's very good," said Nic. "To be sure it is, sir; and that's why I say to you, be a little careful, and not be ready to trust the convicts. Plenty of them you'll find good fellows; but there are plenty more who are very smooth and artful, and only waiting their time. But you'll soon learn which are sheep and which are goats. Now, here's a chap coming round here-- Thirty-three, sir. What do you say to him? He's got fourteen years for robbing his employers. Embezzlement they call it. Now, he's been a well-brought-up sort of man--good education, always well dressed, and lived on the fat of the land. He looks at you, I suppose, when I'm not here, as much as to say, `Isn't it cruel to shut me up with these ruffians and murderous wretches? I'm a poor, innocent, ill-used man!'" "Yes, that is how he always does look at me," cried Nic. "Yes, sir, and at everybody else; but if he was an innocent, ill-used man, he'd wrinkle up his forehead and look bitter and savage-like, ready to treat everybody as his enemy. That chap's a sneak, sir, and I've no hesitation in saying he deserves all he has got. Don't you listen to him if ever he speaks, and don't you break no rules by petting him with anything good from the cabin." "I certainly shan't," said Nic. "I don't like him." The warder turned sharply, and looked hard at Nic, as he said, smiling: "You'll do sir. Dame Nature's made you a bit of a judge of men, and what you've got to do is to sharpen up that faculty, as people call it. I'm not bragging, but I've got it a little, and I've polished and polished it for twenty years, till I'm not such a very bad judge of convicts. You give me a gang, and in a week's time, if there's an innocent man, or a man who wants to do the right thing, or one who's been always wrong and could be worked up into the right, I'll pick him out. Here you, Twenty-five, I've got my eye on you, and you'd better make an end of those monkey faces, unless you want the cat." "The cat?" said Nic. "Yes, sir, with nine tails. That's the punishment for convicts who won't behave themselves, assigned servants and all. You'll soon know all about the lash when you get out to your father's station." "I'm sure I shall not," said Nic indignantly. "My father is too humane a man." "That's right, sir. You always believe in and stick up for your father; only recollect you're going to a new country, where there are thousands of convicts, the scum of our own land, and the lash is part of the law, and the law is very strict. It's obliged to be, for the protection of the settlers. See how stern we are here where we have them all under our eye. You're obliged to be harder where they're free like and scattered all over the country." "Yes, you're stern enough," said Nic indignantly, "threatening to give a man the cat-o'-nine-tails for making faces." The warder smiled, his hard, stern face lighting up as he gazed admiringly at Nic. "Bah! that was only talk, sir, just as one would threaten a boy. Twenty-five's a man of five-and-thirty, but he's only got brains like a boy. I could make anything of him." The warder nodded good-humouredly, and then his face grew hard-looking as an iron mask, as he shouted out orders to first one and then another of the men under his charge; while the soldiers, standing here and there, rested on their muskets, and looked grimly on at the evil-looking prisoners pacing the deck. Nic walked aft with his forehead puckered up and his mind hard at work thinking of the home that he was going to, and feeling somewhat damped by the warder's words; and as he reached the quarter-deck he went to the side, after noticing that Lady O'Hara was talking to the officers, and resting his arms upon the bulwark he leaned there gazing away at the sunlit sea, flecked by the flying-fish which flashed out, skimmed along for some distance, and then dropped back into the water. "Convicts--convicts," he thought. "What a place for Lady O'Hara it is here with these men aboard! Suppose they should rise some night-- suppose they should rise at home where mother is, and the girls-- suppose--" "Why, how now, my thoughtful young philosopher? What are you thinking about?" Lady O'Hara had laid her hand upon his shoulder, and the boy was silent for a few moments. "Well, what is it? Not going to turn sea-sick, after behaving so well all across the bay." "No," said Nic; "I'm quite well." "Then what makes you look so glum?" "I was thinking about the convicts." "And a very unpleasant subject too, Nic. Don't think about them, boy. They used to make me ill when I first went out yonder. It seemed so horrible to have them mixed up so with one's daily life." "Yes, that's it," cried Nic; "that's what I've been thinking. I suppose father will have some at his station?" "Not a doubt about it." "Well, it seems so shocking, and--and unsafe." "Not a bit of it, my boy. That's just what I used to think, but I don't now." "But I shall never get hardened to it, Lady O'Hara." "Sure, I hope not, Nic. I don't like hardened people. You think by my words that I'm hardened to it. There, don't turn red, boy. I can read what you thought. I'm as soft as you. Sure, I wept all night when that poor boy died over there, and kept crying out for his mother when he was delirious; and it was no use to say to myself, he should have thought more of his mother and her teachings when he grew wasteful and dissipated and stole his master's money, for I couldn't help thinking that he was back in the old days and felt in trouble, and called for his mother; and who should a boy call to but his mother at a time like that?" Nic sadly thought of how little he had seen of his, and the governor's wife went on. "No, Nic, I'm not a bit hardened; I only look now at things from a sensible point of view, and say to myself, `Here are these men who have done wrong, and the law has sent them out for a punishment; those who are very bad will be unable to do any more mischief, while those who have any good in them have chances given them to lead a new life.' Why some of them are getting to be well-to-do bodies, Nic, and married and have children, who will grow up better people in a new land. Don't you fret about the convicts, boy; but take them as you find them. When you have to do with the bad ones, keep them at a distance; and when you have to do with the good and repentant, just shut your eyes to the past and open them as wide as you can to the future. Sure, Nic, I'm the governor's lady with a title, and everybody's glad to be my friend, yourself included, my boy; but how do I know what I might have been if I hadn't been tenderly cared for when I was young? You'll like some of the transported people, Nic, my boy. I've got some out there whom I look upon as friends, and just because I see that they've put the past behind, and are doing what these sailor lads do here, keeping a bright look-out ahead. Yes, Nic, they're looking to the future, and so am I and you. What a place this world would be if we hadn't a future before us every one! There, you will not fret nor worry yourself about any dangers we are likely to meet with from the convicts now." "Oh no," said Nic eagerly; "you have done me no end of good, Lady O'Hara. But--" "Well, but what, boy? Out with it, and don't hesitate." "Are they ever likely to rise against us over there, or here aboard ship?" "Sure, I don't know, Nic," said Lady O'Hara coolly. "Very likely, my boy. They are always thinking about it, I know." "But if they do?" "Well, we shall just have to rise too, and teach them manners. We've got right on our side, and they haven't; so we are sure to win." "But you don't seem at all alarmed, in spite of all that I have said." "Sure, and why should I be, Nic, or you either? They may rise, and a hole may burst out in the bottom of the ship, and we may run upon a rock, and there may be a storm, and there are plenty of other maybe's, Nic. But let them be, my dear boy. You and I have got our duty to do, and let's do it, and while we're doing that, leave all the rest. Nic, boy, faith's a grand thing. I'm full of it, and ye're just a little wanting; so get it as fast as ye can; it's a fine thing in the making of a true man." CHAPTER SIX. ON THE OTHER SIDE. The voyage was long but uneventful. They sailed on, in fine weather, down and down into hot inter-tropical sunshine, and reached the Cape, took in fresh stores, and then sailed on south, so as to get into the region where the winds are chill, but blow strongly in the right direction, carrying the big ship onward in its course. Week succeeded week in slow monotony, broken by a little rough weather, but that was all. The soldiers were drilled on deck till Nic pretty well knew the ordinary routine, and Lieutenant Lance laughingly asked him if he would like to take command. The convicts came up morning by morning and had their exercise in the old monotonous way; and Nic went round with the doctor to see the men in their quarters and visit patients. But there was no rising or mutiny, nothing to break the even course of the voyage but a little tossing among the huge waves that came rolling from the south-west, threatening to engulf the ship, but only dived beneath it, raising it upon a rolling bill, and then gliding onward to give room to the next. Nic saw the albatross till he was tired of watching its gliding flight. He fished and had very bad fortune, but better when he joined in with the sailors, who good-humouredly made room for him to help haul after they had hooked a shark, drawn the fierce fellow alongside, sent a loop down over its head right to the narrow part in front of the tail, and so got a double hold. Then came the evening when all was excitement, for the skipper announced at supper that in all probability they would see land next morning, and a thrill ran through every breast. He was correct: land was in sight at daybreak, and Nic was standing on deck to see it, hardly willing to be dragged away to breakfast, and back again with Lady O'Hara and the officers, all eager after their long, long voyage--for ships did not reach Australia in less than six weeks in the days of King George the Third--to see the land that was to be their home for many months, in some cases years, to come. That afternoon they sailed out of the rough water between the great headlands into the lake-like expanse of the glorious harbour; and before long, after signalling, boats were seen approaching, their white sails glistening in the clear air. "Smell, Nic," said Lady O'Hara, "home at last, boy! What do you think of the sunny land?" "Think?" cried Nic huskily--"it is glorious! I never saw the sky so blue, the land so green, and everything so beautiful. But pray, pray don't talk to me. I want to try and make out whether my father is in any of those boats." "I should say yes: in that," said Lady O'Hara, who spoke in a deep, subdued voice. "Which--which?" cried Nic. "That one, with the union jack at the stern." "What, with the men in white?" "Yes; it is the boat from the man-o'-war yonder. The governor is in it, please God; and your father, as his friend, will most likely be with him." Just then one of the officers handed her a telescope, and went forward to order up a guard of men to receive the governor. Lady O'Hara did not seem herself. She was no longer the bluff; outspoken woman, but appeared trembling and nervous, as she stood resting with one hand upon the rail. "I can't use it to-day, Nic, boy," she said. "You try the glass." Nic took it, rested it on the rail, had a long look, and focussed and re-focussed it, without avail. "I--I can't see with it," he said huskily. "It is so dim. The glass is not clear." "Try again," said Lady O'Hara; and Nic looked at her sharply, her voice was so changed. But he raised the glass once more, and this time brought it steadily to bear upon the boat rowed by the man-of-war's men. "Now, Nic, tell me what you see," said Lady O'Hara. "Some soldiers with muskets and bayonets. I can see the scarlet quite plain." "Yes, yes: the marines. What else?" "There's an officer just in front of the flag." "One officer?" "Stop a minute. Yes, there's another: he seems to me a bigger man." "Look--look again." "It's so far off that I can't quite make out, and the glass won't keep steady; but I think he has a big white beard. Yes, and he has taken off his hat. His head is white." Lady O'Hara half closed her eyes, and the captain, who was near, saw that a smile came upon her lip. "But you see some one else, Nic?" she said faintly. "Yes," said the boy in a very husky voice; "but it must be a seaman: there is some one in a straw hat." "And who will that be, Nic?" "A sailor, I suppose." "I do not say. Your father generally wore a straw hat. Can't you make out his face?" "No," said Nic, taking his eye from the glass quickly, and gazing at the boat, which seemed to have suddenly gone back some distance. "I want to look without the glass," he added, after a minute or so; and then, forgetful of the glorious panorama spread around beyond the blue lake-like harbour, he held on by the rail, gazing hard at the approaching boat, seeing neither of the others, only that one with the white jacketed men who made the water flash at each dip of the oars. Then by degrees Nic began to make out the faces, which grew clearer and clearer, till the figure wearing the straw hat rose up and waved it, and the officer in uniform rose up then and took off his hat. At that moment Nic was conscious of the fact that Lady O'Hara was close by him, waving a white handkerchief. Then he seemed to see nothing but a blurred picture of boats drawing nearer, as the great _Northumbrian_, with her sails hanging almost motionless, glided slowly onward through the calm water. He was conscious, though, of the gangway being manned, and of a guard of soldiers being drawn up to receive the governor, the officers and the captain and mates being ready too. At last the boat came close in alongside; a sharp order was shouted, the guard presented arms, and a big burly grey officer stepped easily on board, raised his hat to the officers, and then took Lady O'Hara's hands in his, gazed at her for a moment, and then quietly drew her arm through his, while she drew a deep, long breath, and stood there proud and happy. Nic just saw her, but only as it were out of the corner of his eye, for he was tremblingly watching the gangway for the next comer--a tall, spare, grey, aquiline-looking man with face of a warm sun tan, and eyes that seemed to pierce the boy through and through, as he held out his hand and cried "Father!" "Yes, my boy. Then you knew me again? Why, Nic, lad, what a great fellow you have grown! Lady O'Hara, welcome back." "And glad to be back," cried the lady, shaking hands, and after a glance at Nic, asking the question hovering on his lips, "And how are they at the Bluff?" "All well, and send loving greetings." "Which I'll answer for myself, and very soon," cried the lady. "And all well?" said the governor, with a look round as if addressing every one. Lady O'Hara answered. "Yes, all well. An excellent voyage, and you'll thank the officers for their kindness to me and Dominic Braydon here. Gentlemen, I am going ashore in the boat, but I shall not say good-bye. My husband bids me say that he will be glad to see every one who can leave the ship this evening at dinner. What time, my dear?" "Six, gentlemen," said the governor; and after a little official business the party descended into the boat, and, feeling as if it were all a dream and impossible, Nic sat there being rowed ashore toward Government House, holding his father's hand for the first few minutes till he fancied that he was noticed, and then listening to him as he pointed out the various buildings ashore, and the vessels afloat, two of them being men-of-war, whose rigging was gay with bunting in honour of the governor's lady's return. "Well, Nic," said his father at last, as they gazed searchingly in each other's eyes, and with the most satisfactory result, "do you think you will like Australia?" "Like it?" cried Nic. "Why, of course, father: isn't it home?" "Yes, but rather a rough, unpolished place." "What does that matter!" said Nic proudly. "Shan't I be with you all again?" CHAPTER SEVEN. PREPARING TO START. In those days it did not take long to see the town. There were some shabby-looking stores and shops, a few settlers' houses, the hotel, taverns, and plenty of tents. The substantial parts were the buildings erected for the soldiery and convicts. But these latter were busy enough, gangs of them being marched out every morning under a strong guard to work at road making, quarrying, and other tasks; and as Nic, boy like, went round everywhere during the few days of his stay at the governor's house, he ran up eagerly, as soon as a convict gang appeared, to see if he could encounter his old shipboard friend the head warder, and whether he could recognise any of the convicts who came out in the _Northumbrian_. But they and the soldiers seemed to have been absorbed in the large body of men in the convict lines and barracks, and he looked in vain for the fierce, swarthy ruffian, his comic, grimace-making friend Twenty-five, and the pitiful, pleading countenance of Thirty-three. Still, there was a great deal to see, and the time went rapidly as he watched the convicts at work with their armed guard always on the _qui vive_ to shoot down any man who attempted to resist their warders or make for the bush. There were the blacks too, fairly plentiful in those days, hanging about the place ready to help drive sheep or cattle, or do any light work which did not entail much labour. The hospitality at Government House was everything that could be desired, and here the lieutenant and ensign were welcomed again and again during their stay. The last day came, when, after making all his preparations, the doctor announced that they would start at dawn the next morning. "Why not stay another week?" said Lady O'Hara. "You know," said the doctor: "those at home are eager to see us back; and Nic here is longing to find out what home is like. When shall we see the governor and you?" "Before many months are over. That road is begun, you see, and we shall work up in your direction. Perhaps we may run over for a flying visit before." That evening Nic accompanied his father to where the various goods purchased for him by Lady O'Hara had been stored at a kind of warehouse; and here Nic found a large, light waggon in the course of being loaded by a couple of fierce-looking, bearded men, whose bare arms were burned of a reddish tan. The elder of the two, a man of about fifty, was standing up in the waggon pulling at a great packing-case, while his companion, a well-built fellow, who looked strong and active as could be, was hoisting up the case, helped by a shaggy-haired native, whose face shone as if it had been blackened and polished like a boot. The white, or rather the reddish-brown, man attracted Nic's attention at once, as he stood there with his muscles standing out, making him resemble an antique statue; but it was the embittered, proud, and resentful look in his face which struck the boy. It was quite evident that he was attempting a task for which he was not equal, and that, instead of the case being deposited in the waggon, it would the next minute go down with a crash to the ground; and, as soon as this was seen, Nic involuntarily ran to help, and his father shouted as he, too, ran and seized one side of the case, with the result that the black grinned and made way, to stand looking on. "Jump down, Brookes!" cried the doctor. "You ought to know better. Get the case up first, and then put it in its place." "Know better?" growled the man. "I know how to load a waggon; but who's to do it with a fellow like that and a nigger? One's got no muscle, and t'other's like a black-pudd'n." "Get down--quick!" cried the doctor. "I'm a-comin'," growled the man; and he descended slowly, placed a shoulder under the end of the chest, and it was turned over on to its side. "Jump in, Leather, and work it into its place." "Oh, I can do that," grumbled the elder man; but his companion sprang up lightly, hoisted one end of the case, and walked it bit by bit to where it was to stand, before leaping down again. "Is this our waggon, then?" asked Nic. "Yes, boy. We take the load back with us. I think we shall just get all up in one load." "Are the roads good?" asked Nic, as he gazed at the heavy packing-cases; and the elder man grinned, while the labourer addressed as Leather, (a name which accorded well with his tanned skin), glared at the speaker once with a frown, and then told the black to help him with the next case. "Neither good nor bad," said the doctor, smiling. "But I mean for the horses to draw the load?" "There are no roads, my boy, and there will be no horses to draw the load. We have only a rough track through the bush, and our men use draught-oxen in yoke." This was the first hint to Nic of the place being very wild. He said no more for some time, but readily set to work trying to help where he could, his father nodding approval as he noted his eagerness. Under the master's eye and in accordance with his suggestions the loading went on better now, though from time to time little matters kept showing that the elder man lost no opportunity for finding fault with the younger, who was either weak, stupid, unwilling, or clumsy in the other's eyes. But the man worked steadily and well, and Nic began to feel annoyed and ready to tell the elder servant that if he would only work as well as his fellow the waggon would be laden much sooner. "I dare say father will give it to him soon, though," said Nic to himself; "I've no right to interfere." The intended short visit to the waggon lasted three hours before the doctor was satisfied to leave his men to rope everything on securely. "And it will not be done, Nic," he said, as they walked away. "That's where I want you, my boy, to grow up into a sort of lieutenant--to act as my second pair of eyes, and see that the men do not shirk things. I'm sorry to say that they will do it if I am not looking on. Now then, I'm going to show you the horses that draw our waggon." He led the way to a fenced-in pen, where a dozen fine, healthy-looking bullocks were grazing; and upon Nic looking up wonderingly, his father laughed. "Yes," he said, "those are our draught animals. They are terribly slow, but very sure. By the way, though, Nic--I never thought of that--can you ride?" "Not bullocks, father," said the lad proudly. "I'll walk." "Rather a long walk, Nic," said the doctor quietly. "Well, I can walk part of the way, and ride on the waggon the rest. But will it take us more than a day?" "Yes," said the doctor dilly; "it will take us more than a day. But come here." He led the way to a rough, shed-like building, entered, and a couple of sleek, well-bred horses turned their heads from the posts to which they were haltered, and whinnied. "Will one of these do for your lordship to ride?" said the doctor, smiling, as he went up to and patted the horses in turn. "Yes!" cried Nic. "What beauties, father!" "Glad you like them. I bought that sorrel nag for you. He isn't up to my weight." "But--" "Well, but what, boy?" "I've never been on a horse, father," said Nic, with a shamefaced air. "Never learned to ride? No, of course not," said the doctor. "Riding was not included in the range of studies at the Friary." "But we boys used to catch the donkeys on the common of an evening, and mount them." "Oh, come," cried the doctor; "then you can ride a donkey?" "Sometimes, father," said Nic, laughing. "They often used to send us off." "Kicking?" "It was hardly kicking, father. One I used to try and ride would stand perfectly still till I was on and tried to make him go, and then he used to bring all his legs close together, put his head down, arch up his back, and somehow or other, when he began to dance about, we always got shot off, and came down on our backs. You never saw anything so queer." "Oh! yes, I have," said the doctor drily, "often. Our horses here have that bad habit, and we call it buck jumping, for it is very much the action of a bounding deer. Have you been pitched off like that more than once?" "Oh! yes, father; scores, perhaps hundreds of times," said Nic, laughing. "Come then, you will not be afraid to mount this horse, and I dare say I can soon teach you to ride. It's too late now, or I'd give you a lesson." He closed the door of the shed, went back to the waggon, where the younger man was on the top straining at a rope, and the elder giving orders, while the black was squatting down and looking on. Here a few words of instruction were given, and a question or two asked about the flour barrels and bacon. These being answered satisfactorily, the doctor led the way back to the Government House, where they had just time to prepare for dinner and meet the two officers and the captain and ship's doctor, who had been asked to meet them by way of farewell. Bed was sought early, the doctor laughingly telling his son to make much of it, for he would have to make shift for some time to come. "It's good-bye to civilisation when we leave here in the morning," said the doctor, looking hard at his son. "And he won't mind it a bit," said Lady O'Hara. "He's just the boy to take to a bit of rough work in the bush." "I'm glad of it," said the doctor drily, "for we rough it in the bush, and no mistake." Nic lay down that night in his comfortable bedroom after a long look out of his window at the beautiful moonlit harbour, with its shipping bathed in the soft, silvery light, and a feeling of melancholy came over him. He was sorry to leave frank-spoken, motherly Lady O'Hara, and the thought of going right away into the wilds, though fascinating, would inspire him with a shrinking feeling of awe. For during the few days he had been ashore he had picked up some information, and not always of the pleasantest nature. People about had not been backward in telling him that the blacks were rather fond of spearing people who entered the bush. They had some ugly stories, too, about tiger-snakes, which lay waiting for unwary passers-by, and then struck them, the bite being so venomous that the sufferer would survive only a few hours at most, possibly only a few minutes. There were other terrors and dangers, too, in the bush, they said; but when asked what, they shook their heads very strangely, as if the subject were not to be mentioned, for fear of ill befalling those who talked lightly. So one way and another Nic was pretty well primed, and consequently only slightly buoyed up by the knowledge that he was going to his real home, he fell asleep to dream of all kinds of mysterious horrors, among which was one that was terrible in the extreme. He was lost in the bush, and nothing was left for him to do but lie down and die; and the first part of this he had, he thought, just achieved, when a loud voice came out of the blackness and cried: "Now, Nic, boy, it's time to get up. And I want you to see to the dogs. They know you." CHAPTER EIGHT. TO THE BUSH. For some moments Nic acted involuntarily as he scrambled on his clothes, feeling, as he did, in a confused way that it was his duty to dress, but why and wherefore, he had not the most remote idea. It was cold and raw, and everything went wrong; and as he could not get himself quite dry, his shirt stuck to him and refused to go on. Those things which ought to have been in one place had got into another; and even when the cold water had thoroughly wakened him he did not get on very well, and felt ill-humoured, stupid, and out of sorts. "It's so vexatious starting so soon," thought Nic, as lie thrust brush, comb, and nightshirt into the bag he had nearly packed over night; and at last he opened the door, just as his father called up the stairs: "Come, Nic, my boy: they didn't teach you at school to be quick." "Hush! you'll wake Lady O'Hara," protested the boy. "I should be puzzled to," replied his father shortly. "Come in here." "In here" meant the dining-room, where the first person he saw, by the light of the candles standing on the white breakfast-cloth, was their hostess. Nic was quite awake now, and the last trace of ill-temper passed away as he shook hands. "I did not expect to see you this morning," he said. "And did you think I was going to let old friends start without a comfortable breakfast? Why, it will be days, boy, before you get another." "Days?" said Nic. "To be sure, boy. There is no stage coach for you, and you'll have to keep with your waggon. These bullocks go about two miles an hour." This was news to Nic, who had been imbued with some kind of notion that he was going to get home that same evening, and that was why his father had started so early. Sir John entered the room directly after, and the meal was just as if it had been nine o'clock instead of four in the morning; so that the travellers were well prepared, when the doctor rose, to say good-bye, for the cracking of a stock whip and sundry ejaculations and apostrophes to the bullocks to "come on," and "get over," and "pull," were heard outside, where a couple of horses freshly brought round were stamping and pawing the dust, impatient to be off. The dogs were hurried round from the stables--these being the two collies intended for the doctor--and after many frantic dashes at the horses, they were taken forward toward the waggon, where the bullocks were immediately driven into a state of commotion, and faced round to lower their horns and receive their enemies. Finally, however, the two excited animals were safely chained to the back of the waggon, which started at once with a great deal of whip cracking and shouting on the part of Brookes, his fellow, Leather, being perfectly silent, and the black nowhere to be seen. This start having been accomplished, the doctor returned with his son to say their final farewells to the governor and his lady. "There, good-bye, Nic," cried the latter; "it's only a little way off you live. We think nothing of a few hundred miles here, and we shall be coming to see you, or you will us before very long. Are you a good horseman? That's a spirity-looking thing I see you're to ride." Nic was nonplussed, and his father came to his help: "Nic hasn't had time to practise much; he'll be a better rider next time he comes down to the front." "That's right," cried Lady O'Hara. "There: goodbye, and bless you, my boy! Give my dear love to your mother, and tell her I shall want to steal you for a visit first time I come." "I shall not be able to spare him," said the doctor, who had mounted, and now held the rein of the second horse. "Come, Nic, boy, up with you." Nic nervously raised his foot to the stirrup, made a desperate spring as he clung to the pommel and cantle of the saddle, and somehow came down in his seat; but the horse started, and nearly threw him on to its neck. "Steady!" cried the doctor sharply, as he held the rein firmly; and, nervous and startled, Nic shuffled back and nipped the saddle with all the force of which his knees were capable. "Are you all right, boy?" cried the governor. "Yes, sir," said Nic, as firmly as he could, though he was wondering how long it would be before he was all wrong. "Good-bye, O'Hara," cried the doctor. "You will hear from me when I get home." "Good-bye," cried the governor; and, leaning toward his old friend, he whispered: "I'd take care: that boy can't ride a bit." "I know," said the doctor. "Don't let him see that you do. Good-bye." He touched his horse's sides, and the beautiful beast started to go off at a canter, but was checked instantly, to keep it in a walk, with the result that it began to fret and dance. Nic's lighter steed followed suit, and the boy's position grew moment by moment more desperate. Now he lost one stirrup, then the other; and it was only by getting a good grip of the pommel with one hand that he was able to stay on. Finally, though, the horses were quieted down, and paced together in a walk, when the doctor said quietly: "Why, Nic, it's a good thing that it is still dark. I'm afraid we should have had some remarks made if people had been about." "I--I never said I could ride, father," said Nic, in a reproachful tone. "I'm glad you did not, boy. It's a good thing that you have no spurs." "Is it, father?" "Of course," cried the doctor; "if you had, Sour Sorrel would have soon pitched you off." "I'm very sorry, father," faltered Nic, who felt very miserable as well as uncomfortable. "Had I better get down and lead him?" "If you feel so much afraid that you dare not stop on, my boy," said the doctor drily. The dawn was coming, and Nic turned to glance at his father's thin, cleanly cut profile, to see that he was gazing straight before him towards where the waggon could be dimly seen in front. "Well, are you?" continued the doctor, without turning his head. Nic was silent, and the horse stumbled through putting a foot into a deep rut of the unkept road. "Hold up, sir--steady, steady!" cried the doctor, drawing more heavily upon the rein he still held, as well as his own; and then, after Nic had shuffled back into the seat from which he had again been shaken, "I said, are you too much alarmed to stop on?" These words sounded very stern, and stung and hurt the boy to the quick. "I have never learned to ride, father," he said reproachfully; "and it is all fresh to me to be mounted upon a spirited horse like this." "Of course it is: perfectly fresh. Then you feel afraid?" "Yes, of falling off, father. I have nearly been down three times." "Six, Nic. Well, get off and climb on to the waggon." Nic drew a deep breath as his father checked the horses; and, stung more than ever, the boy kicked his nag with his heels and sent it forward. "Well, why don't you get down, sir?" "Because I'd rather keep on and ride, father," said Nic huskily. "Do you mean that, sir?" "Yes, father." "Thank you, Nic," said the doctor, turning to him with a smile. "I like the boy who is not afraid to own that he is alarmed; and better still to hear you say through your teeth that you will not be beaten-- metaphorically, of course. Now, then, we understand our position. This is not boasting, mind--look at me. You see me here?" "Yes, father," said Nic, feeling envious of the easy, upright position of his father in the saddle. "Let me tell you, then, that I feel as easy and comfortable here as if I were seated upon a cushion in a carriage. More so, for this noble beast knows me as I know him, and after a fashion we are as one together in going over the ground. Do you understand what that means, Nic?" "Yes, father; but you have learned to ride." "Yes, and more, boy. It means the confidence which comes of knowledge. When I came out here, years ago, I had not been on horseback for twenty years; I was a miserable invalid, and when I mounted my horse--a necessity out in a wild country like this--I suffered a martyrdom of nervous dread. But I did what you have just done, made up my mind that I would master my fear and ride, and I won. It took me a whole year. As for you, it will not take you a month." "So little time?" cried Nic excitedly. "Or less. We have about a week's journey before us; and from what I have just learned, I shall be greatly surprised if you do not canter up to the station with me, a little stiff and sore about the knees, but good friends with Sour Sorrel there, and ready to think riding a delightful accomplishment." Nic shook his head. "You don't know me yet, father," said the boy sadly. "Better than you know yourself," replied the doctor. "But don't let's waste time. You want to learn?" "Horribly, father," cried Nic. "Very well, then. I'll give you a lesson at once." "Not faster, to begin with?" said Nic quickly. "No," said the doctor, laughing. "I want to give you confidence, not destroy it. So now then, to begin with, you shall learn what danger you run. I am an experienced horseman, I have tight hold of your rein, so that your horse cannot bolt, and I have promised you not to go faster than a walk. You see, then, the utmost that could happen in that way would be that the nag might caper a little." "Or kick and throw me off." "He will not kick, boy. He is too well broken. Secondly, you might lose your seat and come off: If you did, how far would you have to fall?" "About four feet, father." "Say four. Suppose you were on a see-saw at school, would you be afraid of falling, off four or five or six feet?" "No, father, of course not." "Then why should you be afraid of falling that distance from the horse?" "I don't know," said Nic. "It is because it is all so fresh, I suppose. Yes, I do: my foot might hang in the stirrup and the horse gallop away with me, kicking me every time he strode." "When I am holding him? The stirrups, then: take your feet out." "Out of the stirrups, father? Is it safe to do so?" "You were alarmed lest your foot should hang in one. Quick! out with them. That's right: now draw them up, cross the leathers, and let the irons hang over on each side. Now how do you feel?" "As if I must go off on one side or the other, father. The saddle is so dreadfully slippery." "Take tight hold of it, then, with your knees, and keep your balance. That's not right: I said take hold with your knees, not the calves of your legs." "That way, father?" "Yes, that's better. Let your legs go well down, your heels too, and whatever you do don't touch the pommel with your hand." That last order was hard, for it was very easy to make a catch at the pommel so as to hold on. "Sit up, boy. Don't bend forward. It hurts you a little at first, but you get more and more used to it every hour. Now, then, we'll walk gently past the waggon. Don't let the men think you have never been on a horse before." The horses' pace being so much faster than that of the bullocks, they were soon by, after the doctor had spoken in a friendly way to the dogs, given his men an order or two, and then cast a critical eye over the sleek, patient oxen, which trudged along with swinging tails and horns giving a smart rap now and then as they encountered their yoke-fellows. The track was plainly marked, but it had no pretence of being a road as it went on and on, to be lost in the distance of the bright grey morning. Away to their left was the harbour, with its shipping, and beyond it the ocean; the town lay behind them, and on either side of the track with its lines of ruts there were plenty of green pasture and trees scattered here and there--monsters some seemed to be--and in the openings were great patches of short, scrubby growth. All at once, as Nic was thinking how peculiar the trees looked in colour, there came a loud musical series of notes from a grove-like patch, in which the boy immediately concluded there must be a house. "Hear that?" said the doctor. "Yes, father, plainly." "Well, what do you make of it?" "Some one playing a kind of flute." "No, Nic. That is our Australian magpie." "Magpie?" cried Nic, forgetting his uncomfortable seat; "but magpies at home in Kent have a harsh kind of laugh." "Like that?" said the doctor, as a loud, hoarse chuckle arose. "No: harsher and noisier. Was that the magpie?" "No, Nic; that was our laughing jackass." "What! A donkey?" "No; there he sits, on that bare limb," cried the doctor, pointing up to a big, heavy-headed, browny-grey bird, which seemed to be watching them, with its great strong beak on one side. Nic examined the bird carefully. "You would not think that was a kingfisher?" said the doctor. "No," cried Nic; "though the shape is something like, all but the tail, which is so much bigger." "But it is a kingfisher all the same, though he does not fish as his ancestors may have done. He lives on beetles, lizards, mice, and frogs, and that sort of game. There's your flute-player again." For the sweet, melodious, whistling notes arose once more, sounding somewhat as if a person were running the notes of a chord up and down with different variations. "It's very sweet," said Nic. "Yes. The colonists call it the magpie, but it is the piping crow of Australia. It is one of the earliest singers, and if we'd been here at daybreak I dare say we should have heard quite a long solo." Farther on Nic had a good look at one of the piping crows in the black-and-white jacket which had obtained for it the familiar name of magpie; but it was far from being like that handsome bird the British magpie, with its long tail glossed with metallic reflexions of golden green and purple, and with wing feathers to match. Two or three times over, out in the open country, the horses startled Nic by their disposition to go off at a canter, but after being checked they calmly settled down to their walking pace, which was fast enough to leave the bullock team behind; consequently Dr Braydon drew rein from time to time at the summit of some hill or ridge, so that his son might have a good view of the new land which was henceforth to be his home. Here he pointed out the peculiar features of the landscape and its resemblance to an English park, save that, instead of the grassy land being dotted with oak, beech, elm, or fir, the trees were always what the doctor called "gum," with their smooth bark and knotted limbs, but gum trees of several varieties. Here and there a farmstead could be seen, but they were few and far between; still, where they did show, with the roughly built houses and their bark or shingle roofs, flocks of sheep and droves of cattle could be seen scattered widely over the plain. "Did you say we should be about a week getting home?" said Nic, after one of these halts. "Perhaps longer," said the doctor. "Everything depends on those crawling gentlemen behind. They have a heavy load: you see there is no road, and if rain comes, as it is sure to before long, the load will seem twice as heavy to the patient beasts, and I can't afford to hurry them and get them out of condition. Rain falls very seldom here, Nic; but when it does come there's no nonsense about it. There's a river on ahead which we shall have to cross." "Then you have bridges," said Nic naively, "if you have no regular roads?" "Bridges? No; we shall have to ford it if we were going across to-day, it would be a few inches deep; if one of our big rain storms comes, it might be forty or fifty feet. I have seen it sixty." Nic glanced at his father. "Simple truth, my boy," he said. "The river is in a deep trough between two ranges of hills; and if there have been rains we might be detained on the bank for days or weeks." "And whereabouts does home lie?" asked Nic. "Yonder," said his father, pointing toward the north-east. "The air is wonderfully clear now, and perhaps you can see what I do--that faint blue ridge that looks like a layer of cloud low down on the horizon." "Yes, I can see it," said Nic eagerly; "but surely it won't take us a week to ride there. It looks quite close." "Yes, in this clear atmosphere, Nic; but it is a long way off, as you will find before we get there. Of course if we could canter our thirty or forty miles a day we should soon be there, but we are an escort only. We want to take care of the waggon." "But couldn't the men take care of that?" "Perhaps; but a good master looks after his valuables himself. Brookes is a pretty trusty man, but the other is a new hand, whom I have lately had from my neighbour Mr Dillon, the magistrate, and I have not tried him yet sufficiently to trust. That load contains things that will be of great value to me, things Lady O'Hara bought me: seeds and implements, guns, ammunition, powder, and endless odds and ends wanted by your mother and sisters, who cannot send into the next street to buy what they want." "But surely in this wild, open place no one would interfere with the waggon?" "Think not? Why, Nic, we have bushrangers--escaped convicts--beside plenty of people less desperate but more dishonest, without counting the blacks." "Are there any of them about here?" asked Nic, with a glance round. "Perhaps. We hardly know where they may be. You see they belong to wandering tribes which roam about in search of food. They are here to-day and gone to-morrow. We never know when they may come." "Are they dangerous?" "Yes and no, my boy. We always have to be on our guard, especially in such a lonely place as ours." "But why did you go and live in such a lonely spot, father?" said Nic. "Because the place suited me, my boy. I rode over hundreds of miles of country before I pitched upon the Bluffs and took up the land. It was beautiful, the pasture was good, and there was that more than great necessary we look for in this droughty country--a good supply of water. I have known squatters out here lose hundreds of cattle and thousands of sheep in a dry summer, when everything is burnt up." By this time the bullocks had dragged their load close by, and for the first time Nic stared at a black figure, dressed in a strip of cloth and a spear, walking behind the waggon. "There's one of the blacks, father," whispered Nic, staring at the shock-headed fellow, who turned a little on one side, and displayed a short club with a large knob at one end. "Only the fellow who helped to load," said the doctor. Nic looked hard, for he had not recognised the man. "He has got rid of his shirt and trousers, Nic, for the march home. These blacks are eager to get clothes, but it always seems a misery to them to wear anything but a bit of cloth." "But is it never cold here?" "Very, sometimes--frosty; but they make a bit of a shelter and a tiny fire, and linger over it till the hot sun comes out, and then forget the cold. The old people here never even built a hut, Nic--only a shelter-- a rough bit of fence." In the middle of the day, when the sun came down with tremendous power, a halt was called beneath the shade of a gigantic gum tree, and Nic for the first time realised why this name was applied to the one great family of trees peculiar to the land, for drops of gum which had oozed out were gleaming red like carbuncles in the hot sunshine. The doctor sprang from his horse, but Nic sat quite still. "Dawn with you, my boy," cried his father; but, instead of obeying, Nic screwed up his face into a peculiar shape. "I don't feel as if I could, father." "Oh! Stiff. Down with you, boy. You must work that off." Nic set his teeth, and rolled off his horse in a most ungraceful way, to stand feeling as if the ground was unsafe and all on the move. "Hurt?" said his father, smiling. "Yes, father. It's as if my legs had been dragged wide apart and stretched." "Getting in shape for your saddle, my boy. You'll soon get over this. Now look here." Nic did look there, and was shown how to hobble his nag's fore legs to keep it from straying, and how to unbridle and take off the saddle. "Always give your horse a good rub down where the saddle has been, Nic," said the doctor. "Horses are delicate animals. They deserve good treatment too. Your nag carries you well, and he looks to you for payment in food, rest, and good treatment. These make all the difference in the way a horse will last on a journey. Now, my lads, come along. Water." The doctor led the way, and the horses followed like a couple of dogs. Nic was following too, with the sensation strongly upon him that he should like to go down on all-fours and follow like a dog, for walking seemed to be a mode of progress to which he was not accustomed. "Wait a moment, Nic," said his father. "Unfasten the dogs and lead them here. They must want water too." Nic went to where the dogs were chained to the tail of the waggon, trying to walk firmly and erect, but it was hard work, for his legs seemed to be independent of his body, and there were moments when he felt as if he had none at all. But he tried not to show it, and while the men were unyoking the oxen, which immediately began to graze on the rich, succulent grass, Nic proceeded to unchain the dogs. The task was not so easy as it looked, for the collies were frantic at the thought of being unfastened, and barked and leaped about wildly. To make matters worse, they had been hard at work trying to strangle one another on the way by leaping over their chains, and tying them up in an almost inseparable knot, one which refused to yield to his fingers; and after many tries Nic appealed to Brookes. "I wish you'd come and unfasten this," he said. "I want to take the dogs to water." "Take the dogs to water!" grumbled the man. "Why can't they take themselves? Hi! Leather! Come and untie these dogs." The younger man left the oxen he was loosening, and approached Nic in a surly way, hardly glancing at him; but for a few moments the chain-knot baffled him, while the dogs bounded about wildly. "Hold them by the collars for a minute," said Leather harshly. Nic obeyed, feeling mentally lower now, for he seemed to be the servant instead of the other. Then he felt better, for the man softened a little in his manner. "Poor brutes!" he said: "prisoners and thirsty. Steady, my lads, steady!" "Oh, they won't be prisoners long," said Nic. "Father's afraid that they'd run back and try and get on board the ship or to the governor's house." "There you are," cried the man, placing the chains in his hand, when, as if scenting out the water, the two collies started off, with eyes starting and tongues hanging out of their mouths, tugging and striving to get on, and forcing Nic to follow at a trot, his legs hurting him for the first few moments horribly. They were not long reaching the shady pool where the horses were now standing in a shallow, with the drops falling from their muzzle. "Poor beasts! they are thirsty," cried the doctor, as Nic was literally dragged to the edge of the pool, the dogs striving to plunge right in. "Don't let them go, Nic." "But they'll have me in, father." "Don't let them, boy. Ah!" Nic had not the least intention of letting them, but as the dogs had tugged at their chains the boy was forced from a hobble into a trot, and then, before the doctor could help, he caught one foot in the tough herbage, tripped, went down, and was dragged a yard or two, and then, with a rush and tremendous splash, he followed the dogs' plunge off the bank into deep water, to be towed here and there by the delighted animals, which swam about, barking, drinking, and threatening to tangle their chains in a worse knot than before--to wit, round Nic. But after the first few moments' confusion the boy touched bottom, and began to wade back, finding it easier to master the dogs in the water than out. "Well, that's a nice beginning, Nic!" said the doctor. "Isn't it horrid?" cried the boy. "Wet?" said his father laconically. "There, it might have been worse. Let them drink, and then bring them back to the waggon and tie them up. We must keep them on the chain till we get them home. Poor fellows, then!" he cried, reaching down to pat the dripping heads. "There! you've had as much as is good for you. Come along." A tug or two at the chains brought the dogs out, to let themselves off, as it were, and scatter glistening water drops from their shaggy hides, after which they broke out into a duet of barks, and danced about on the bank, wagging their tails, evidently inviting Nic to cast sticks into the water for them to fetch, but they followed quietly enough, with the horses behind them, lowering their heads to bite playfully at the collies' waving tails. "You can get at your portmanteau; it's on the top," said the doctor, as soon as the dogs were secured. "Get out some dry things. You can make a dressing-room behind the tree." All this the boy proceeded to do, and by the time he had changed he felt none the worse for his involuntary bath, and hung his wrung-out garments on the scorching waggon-tilt to dry. This done, he obeyed his father's summons, and found him seated in the shade, waiting with a basket of provisions, which Lady O'Hara had provided for their use, while the two men were seated beneath another tree eating, the black standing on one leg a short distance away, resting upon his spear and holding the sole of his right foot flat against his left knee so as to form a peculiar angle. And every now and then one of the men pitched him a piece of bread, which he caught deftly and proceeded to eat. "Just as if he were a dog," thought Nic, as he sat down by his father and began his _al fresco_ dinner. And how good it was! He forgot all about the stiffness in his legs in the pure enjoyment of those moments. No school picnic had ever approached it, for everything was so gloriously new and fresh. The beautiful land stretched undulating right away to the blue-tinted mountains, the water-pool sparkled in the sunshine, the horses and cattle grazed in the thick rich grass, and the waggon helped to form a picture against a clump of shrubs, half-covered with yellow flowers, while a delicious scent of musk filled the air. Never had repast tasted so delicious; and, with two exceptions, every living creature seemed to be partaking of this enjoyment in the midst of the peaceful repose in that lovely spot. The exceptions were the dogs, which kept on watching them and uttering an uneasy bark now and then, for the rich grass in which they stood was not to their taste. Nic went on eating in silence for a few minutes, and then, breaking a loaf in two, rose and went off to the dogs, which readily attacked the bread, a long diet of biscuit on board ship having made them fairly vegetarian in their tastes. The doctor nodded approval as Nic returned wondering whether he would receive a reproof, and the wayside meal went on till the doctor spoke. "Well, Nic," he said, "how do you like the beginning of your rough life?" "It's glorious, father," cried the boy eagerly. "Humph! In spite of the first lesson in riding, the ducking, and this muddly way of eating--no table-cloth, no chairs or table?" "Oh, I like it." "Because it's new and the sun shines?" "I know that the sun doesn't always shine, father," cried Nic. "I shall like it, I know." "That's right. But look: here come some visitors that you have only seen in cages at home." Nic had already sprung to his feet, and he walked out from beneath the tree to gaze excitedly at a flock of white birds that came sailing up, evidently to alight in the grove, but the sudden appearance of the boy made them turn off, shrieking harshly, to find a resting-place farther on, and Nic returned disappointed. "Legs seem to be better, Nic?" said the doctor. "Yes; I had forgotten them, father. But those birds!" "Well, you scared them. You saw what they were?" "Not white pigeons or gulls?" said Nic. "I could almost have fancied that they were cockatoos." "No fancy about it, Nic. They were sulphur crests. You'll see thousands in the groves down by the river." "Is there a river about here?" "Your wet clothes seemed to suggest something of the kind," said the doctor, laughing. "But that was a pond," said Nic. "A water-hole--a deep place in the river. That depression is a river, Nic," continued the doctor, pointing; "there it runs yonder. You can trace it by the trees which cluster along its course. It is dried up now, all but a hole here and there; but after rains it is a rushing stream, and I dare say a little water is always trickling along its course from hole to hole a few feet under ground. Now then, pack up the basket. We shall want it for supper. Have a nap afterwards if you are tired. I shall not go on for an hour and a half yet." But Nic wanted no nap--there was too much to see; and it did not seem to be long before the order was given to yoke the oxen and saddle up. CHAPTER NINE. NIC'S EXPERIENCES. "Now, Nic," said the doctor, as they stood ready to make a fresh start, "we shall go on, so as to reach another water-hole and camp for the night." As he spoke the doctor rammed down the last wad and examined the priming of the new gun Nic had brought out. Then, finding the pan full of powder, he tried whether the flint was well screwed up in the hammer. "Put these on," he said, and he handed the boy his shot-belt and powder-flask. "Are we going to shoot anybody, father?" asked Nic eagerly. "I hope not, boy; but it is a custom out here to go armed when you are travelling, and we are getting some distance out now away from the town. Up with your and try and mount a little better. Take hold of your reins and the mane there tightly, up with your left foot into the stirrup, and lay your hand on the cantle of the saddle; don't pull it, only support yourself by it. Now draw your off rein a little, so that the horse cannot sidle away, spring up lightly, and throw your leg over. Mount." Nic obeyed, as he thought, to the letter, and got into the saddle somehow, making his horse fidget and wag its tail uneasily. "Bad--very bad," cried the doctor, laughing. "I said throw your leg over. You tried to throw yourself over. Never mind; you'll soon learn. Look at me. One moment: take your gun." Nic took the gun handed to him, and was shown how to carry it across his rein arm, and then he enviously watched his father take hold of a wisp of the horse's mane, place a foot in the stirrup, and lightly swing himself into the saddle, while his horse hung toward him a little, otherwise remained perfectly still. "You'll soon do it, Nic. Legs feel stiff?" "A bit cramped," replied the boy. "Forward, then, at a walk. I shall not hold your rein now. Your nag will not leave his companion." "Hadn't you better, father, till I get more used to it?" asked Nic uneasily. "No," said the doctor decisively. "It was quite right this morning over your first lesson. You have learned a little already, and I don't want you, as it were, to learn to swim with corks. Come along. Steady, lad, steady." This was to Nic's steed, which began to amble, keeping up a nice gentle motion, which would have been very pleasant if the boy had not felt a bit nervous. But as it found its stable companion continued to pace, Sour Sorrel followed its example and dropped into a walk. The waggon was already a quarter of a mile onward, and the dogs were hanging back watching them, barking furiously till they were overtaken, and having a few encouraging words delivered to them as father and son rode on. "I should like to set them free," said the doctor, "but I dare not yet." The afternoon ride was almost a repetition of that in the morning, and from time to time they passed water-holes, showing that they were keeping along the course of the river, though it was not until it was pointed out to him that Nic knew he was for some distance travelling along the dry bed and was crossing it, the depression seeming little different from the surrounding country. Weariness had something to do with it, for to Nic the country did not seem so beautiful as in the morning. He had been many hours in the saddle, and though the pace had only been a walk, the unaccustomed position told upon his muscles, and, in spite of a hint or two from his father, the boy's attitude was far from upright. He had ceased, too, for some time to keep a keen look-out for birds and kangaroos. Earlier in the afternoon he had seen some reddish, dun-coloured animals in the distance; but these had, upon nearer approach, turned out to be cattle, and a feeling of disappointment began to make itself evident as they rode on and on, till toward sunset, when the waggon was quite half a mile ahead, Nic noticed that the bright greyish white tilt was glowing and turning ruddier against the dark lines of a clump of trees, and a minute later it still seemed to be in the same position. Nic felt disposed to draw his father's attention to the fact that the waggon was not moving, but his feeling of disinclination even to speak was growing upon him, and he was riding bent forward in silence, noticing what appeared to be a bed of whitish mist spreading among the trees, when his father startled him out of his thoughtful musings by saying laconically: "Camp." Nic turned and looked at him inquiringly. "Camp, Nic," he said. "Don't you see that they've lit a fire?" "Oh!" cried the boy, raising himself up. "I thought it was mist." "No, Nic, smoke. That's the first thing we do out here when we halt for the night: light a fire and put on the billy." Nic gave another inquiring look, and his father smiled. "You'll soon learn all our colonial terms, boy," he said. "A billy is a large cross-handled saucepan to boil water in and make our tea. I'll show you how that is done--when we get there." "I know how to make tea," said Nic. "Yes, but not our way." Nic looked wonderingly at his father. "You are on the other side of the world now," said the doctor. "Now then, what do you say to a trot for the rest of the way?" The boy winced, but he mastered his shrinking sensation. "Very well, father," he said. "No," said the doctor. "I'll let you off till to-morrow. You've done enough for one day." Ten minutes after they were dismounting in just such a spot as that chosen for their mid-day halt. The cattle were unyoked, and had gone of their own accord to a water-hole about fifty yards away; the fire was burning brightly, and the kettle giving forth a few preliminary snorts, suggestive of rising steam; and the waggon was drawn close up under a huge, wide-spreading tree, among whose branches the soft cooing of pigeons could be heard. The horses were hobbled, unsaddled, and rubbed down, and when they were led off to drink, the travellers went a few yards away for a refreshing wash. "Now, Nic," said the doctor after their return and when the provisions had been taken from the waggon, "you shall see our colonial mode of making tea." As he spoke he poured a goodly portion into the lid of the canister, waited till the water in the billy was well on the boil, when he tossed in the whole of the tea, gave it a rapid stir round to send all the dry leaf beneath the surface, and then lifted it off the fire, let it stand for a very short time, filled the big tin mugs with which they were provided, then those of the men, after which they sat down to their evening meal. The cattle and horses were grazing all around, and in the calm silence the _crop, crop_ as they bit off the grass sounded peculiarly loud, while from a distance came the loud wailing cry of the curlew, a strange trumpet-like tone, and a note from close at hand which made Nic turn inquiring eyes upon his father. "Curlew, crane, and the mopoke," said the doctor. "More pork the settlers call it." "Mopoke?" "Yes. There goes one;" and he pointed to where a dark, swift-winged bird was hovering about a tree evidently in quest of moths. "Why it flies like the goat-sucker does at home," said Nic, pausing to watch the bird. "To be sure it does. It is a relative, only bigger. You'll find plenty of birds that bear a resemblance to our own." "And animals?" "No. Birds are most plentiful, and in great variety; quadrupeds are scarce, and very peculiar. This, you know, is the land of the kangaroo, and we have varieties of that curious beast, from tiny ones we call rats, right up to the giants which stand up taller than the biggest man." The sun had set, the great stars were shining out through the clear air, and night was coming on fast, with the cries of the birds sounding strange and even awful in that loneliness. "Tired out, Nic?" said his father; and the boy started and stared. "Why, you were asleep, Nic. Don't you understand me?" "Eh? Yes. What say, father? Was I asleep?" "Soundly, my boy. Come along; you can creep in under the tilt and go to sleep on the boxes. There are two blankets rolled up ready for you." "But what are you going to do?" asked Nic. "Look round for a bit, and take my turn at watching." "But I must too," said Nic, shaking off his drowsiness. "When I tell you, my boy. Now go to sleep, and get rested for to-morrow's work. The dogs will give warning if any one comes near." Nic obeyed, and as he went to say "good night" to the dogs--towards which he felt no animosity for the ducking they had given him--he saw that the two men were making their bed under the waggon, while the black was sidling slowly up to the fire. There the Australian curled himself up like a great dog, while the doctor stood about a dozen yards away, searching the dimly seen landscape with a little pocket-glass. Then Nic climbed in under the tilt, opened one blanket and doubled it, made a pillow of the other, and then-- "Yes, father--directly." For the dawn was beginning to break, and a bright light shone up among the branches of the trees, out of which came a series of piercing bird screams. "Look sharp: kettle nearly boils." Nic scrambled from under the tilt, feeling now that he must be called to help keep watch, for he was convinced that he had only just lain down. CHAPTER TEN. A MORNING DIP. "Had a good night's rest, my boy?" "Night's rest?" stammered Nic. "Yes; you have been asleep eight hours, I should say." Nic stared. "Like a bath? Do you good. Get a towel, and have a plunge into the pool. Don't be more than a quarter of an hour gone. Can you swim?" "Yes, father," said Nic, who felt stiff and shivery; and as he climbed up under the waggon-cover for the towel, he wished bathing had never been invented. Getting down and making for the water-hole, he came upon Brookes, who was carrying an armful of wood for the fire, and he saluted the boy with: "Going to have a dip?" "Yes." "Hope you'll like it. Don't ketch me at it." His face was only dimly seen reflecting the light of the fire; but recalling what he had seen, Nic could not help feeling that the stock man did not use water much for outward application. Half-way to the hole he met the black, who said something incomprehensible, to which Nic answered with "good morning," and hurried on to the bank, down in the hollow along which the river ran. There was a thin, whitish mist just visible over the water, which looked horribly black and cold, making the boy feel as if he would have given anything to evade the morning duty. "Why not shirk it?" he said to himself. "I might wash my face and hands, and go back." Hurrying a dozen yards or so to where the bank was lower and the water not above eight or ten inches beneath, he prepared for a simple wash, and laid his towel on a bush; but his conscience attacked him, and, setting his teeth hard, he tore off jacket and vest in a way that was nothing less than vicious. These he placed on the bush which acted for a chair back, while the morning air struck chill to the bare skin. "It's horrid," he thought,--"horrid. How can one go on like this?" Ugh! how cold the black water looked in that grey dawn, for there was no sign of the sun, the stars being still faintly visible, and to keep his teeth from chattering Nic set them so hard that they began to ache. "Pretty cowardly fool I should have looked if father had asked me at breakfast if--Bother it all. Why didn't I take off my shoes?" Nic had got one leg half out of his trousers, but not being so clever as the black at that crane or stork-like way of standing he overbalanced, tried to save himself failed, and went down on his side, in which safer position he dragged out first one and then the other leg. "Yes; pretty cowardly fellow I should have looked if father had asked me at breakfast if I enjoyed my swim." He rose and hung up his trousers on the bush, thrust off shoes and stockings, and then stood on the bank white and ghostly-looking, gazing down into the deep, still water overhung by thick bushes, which made it look still more untempting. For it was big enough--there were two or three acres--to hold any number of terrible monsters. There might be water-serpents hidden under those overhanging trees, waiting amongst the roots ready to seize and pull him down; or huge alligators or crocodiles might be lurking in the deepest holes. Nic was not learned enough as to the way in which their teeth fitted between the others or into holes in the opposing jaws to know which was which. It was enough for him to remember that they were shaped like the fierce little efts which seized the worms in ponds at home when he had been out fishing. The thoughts were horrible, and he stood shivering, and had it been broad daylight his skin would have been seen becoming covered with tiny pimples, like the cuticle of the goose plucked, and assuming a reddish, purply hue. "Oh," he thought, "if I could only escape this bitter task!" But he was too determined to attempt that, though he could not help putting off the task as long as he could; for cold water which looks bad enough at dawn in a bath in a comfortable dressing-room seems far worse on the banks of a river; and a hundred times worse when an active brain suggests the possibility of its containing fierce, hungry reptiles in all their amphibious horror, watching and waiting, in a land of blacks, for a tender, well-fed breakfast off a delicate, well-bred white. "It's of no use," thought Nic. "I must summon up courage and do it. He'll be waiting breakfast for me, and--Ugh! how cold!" Nic involuntarily turned his head to gaze in the direction of the trees where the fire was blazing, uttered a faint cry of surprise and horror, and turned and dived off the bank into the hole, to feel quite an electric shock run through him, while the water thundered in his ears, and he formed a graceful arch in the depths. Out popped his head directly, yards away from where he had taken his header, and he began to swim with a calm, vigorous stroke right away for the middle, gazing sideways the while and muttering to himself as he saw that the object which had startled him, shamefaced, into seeking the protection of the water, had walked close to the edge, taken up his favourite, crane-like attitude, and was watching him swim, with his lips drawn from his teeth and displaying them in a broad grin. It was something after the fashion of a conjuring trick. One moment a white figure had stood there in the dawning day; the next there was a loud splash, the white figure had disappeared, and a black one stood in its place, not in the least ashamed, though almost as nude as Nic. For the black had followed, stood watching, and studied with great enjoyment the appearance of one of his white masters wearing the natural garb which he himself generally affected. There were neither crocodiles, alligators, nor serpents in the water now, so far as Nic's fancy was concerned. After the first plunge his whole nature had awakened to a sense of vigorous vitality. The sharp touch of the electric water sent thrill after thrill of energy through him, and he swam half across the river-hole, and turned back feeling as active as an eel. "Here, who's to get out and dress with that fellow staring at me?" thought Nic, as he neared the black. "I shall have to stop in till he goes. Hi! you, sir! Be off!" The black's grin ceased, and he turned and fled, while Nic sprang out, had a vigorous rub, began to glow, and then dressed, to run back to the waggon as hard as he could go, finishing off his head the while. Five minutes after his short hair had obeyed the comb, he made for the fire, where a pleasant odour saluted his nostrils, and he felt that he must have made a mistake or been deceived. But no: it was a fact. Brookes and Leather had been busy. Hot bread was waiting, and crisp, brown slices of bacon were fizzling in the pan. "Ready?" said the doctor; and then the boy started, for these words followed: "Have a good swim?" "Yes, father--glorious." "Water cold?" "Yes; but I'm all of a glow now." "Take your tea." Nic took the big tin mug. "Damper?" "Oh no, father; I had a thorough good rub." "I said damper." "Yes, father, I know. Only my hair--just a little." "He dunno what you mean, sir," said Brookes with a chuckle, as he waited to take the men's share of the breakfast away. "Oh, I see," said the doctor, laughing. "Have some hot bread with your bacon, Nic? We call this cake damper." Nic did not mind what they called it, and he took his portion and his rasher of hot bacon, and he repeated the action with the greatest of pleasure, sipping at intervals from the milkless contents of his big tin mug without once regretting the absence of milk or cream. Memorandum. Ride for many hours over the luxuriant downs on a clear day, when the air is laden with the health-giving odours of the gum trees, lie down tired out, and sleep with your slumber appearing to last one minute, but enduring for eight hours; lastly, have a plunge in a clear water-hole, and after a brief swim a tremendous rub, and you will be ready to perform as satisfactorily over the _al fresco_ breakfast and do it as much justice as Dominic Braydon. "A little more, Nic?" said his father. "Yes, please." Nic said that twice; and a little while after, as a recollection came suddenly back: "I say, father, are there any crocodiles or dangerous things in these rivers?" "If there were, do you think I should have sent you to bathe?" was the reply. "Oh no, of course." "There are plenty, I believe, up north, where the rivers are always open right to the sea; but never here." "But fish, father?" "Oh yes, there are fish, principally what they call here the black-fish. You'll have to try for them by-and-by." "Very big?" asked Nic, who was thinking of his bath. "Oh no; small fish, but delicious eating. Now then, any more?" "No, thanks, father." "Then go and feed the dogs. We start in a quarter of an hour. One moment. Do you feel very stiff?" "Stiff?--well, yes, a little, father." "Not very bad, then. How do you feel about a trot to-day?" "I'll--I'll try, father. Look--look!" The boy jumped up in his excitement, for there was a whirring of wings, a burst of screaming, and a flock of birds flew over their heads, with the plumage looking in the morning light as white as snow. "Cockatoos?" cried Nic wildly. "Yes," said his father, smiling at the boy's enthusiasm over what was one of the commonest sights to him. "I have seen them before. Now then, breakfast for our prisoners. I shall be glad when we can let those dogs run free." CHAPTER ELEVEN. HOW TO RIDE. "Poor old chaps!" cried Nic, as the dogs leaped and tore about when he left them, each straining at its collar with starting eyes, and uttering in unison a piteous howl which could only bear one interpretation: "Oh, I say, it's too bad! Don't keep us tied up like this." Nic was ready to pity them again a few minutes after, when, in obedience to a shout and the crack of a whip, the sleek oxen, which stood yoked, blinking and chewing their cuds, started for the day's march, tightening the dogs' chains. Then the collies sulkily allowed themselves to be dragged along by the neck for a few yards before, feeling that resistance was in vain, they gave up and began to start barking in protest, running forward as far as their chains would allow under the waggon, as if longing to get at the oxen's heels, and finally, after a loud yelp or two at one another, settling down to their prisoners' tramp. The horses were bridled and saddled after Nic had taken his gun from where it had been stood against a tree. The two men were in front of the team, with Brookes talking loudly and unpleasantly to his fellow; and the black was following behind the dogs, with his spear over his shoulder, at times lowering it to stir the dogs up behind whenever they showed an inclination to hang back. This happened a minute after the start had been made, and Nic burst out laughing. "I say, father, look at that," he cried. "I was looking, my boy," said the doctor. "That fellow seems to understand the dogs better than we do." For, at the first touch of the spear, one of the collies turned round sharply, and barked; then the other received a prod--from the blunt end in both cases--and the bark uttered was exactly like a protesting "_Don't_!" But the black, who was safe from attack as long as he kept beyond the reach of the chain, continued to administer pokes, with the result that the dogs trotted on as far as they could, looking back the while and uttering threatening barks and growls. But the long spear followed them right under the waggon, and kept up the annoyance, till, as if moved by the same impulse, the dogs charged back together to the extent of their chains, and the black made a bound out of the animals' reach. The result was that when, after a final look round to see that nothing had been left, the doctor gave the order to mount, the dogs were right under the waggon, with their tongues out, tugging away at their chains as sharply as if they had been born in Kamtschatka and belonged to Eskimo. "That's better," said the doctor, as Nic landed in his saddle without making a show in imitation of vaulting ambition and seeming about to fall over on the other side. "Down again, and mount." Nic obeyed. "That's worse," said the doctor. "Dismount. Now again!" Nic dismounted, and mounted once more. "Not so good as the first time, Nic. There, take your gun. Mind: never do that! It's the worst of high treason to let your gun-muzzle point at anybody." "I beg pardon, father." "Granted, on condition that you are more careful for the future," said the doctor, springing into his seat in a way that excited his son's envy. "Shall I try again, father?" "No; it will only fidget your horse. Come along. What a glorious morning! We'll take a sweep round, and meet the waggon three or four miles on." The sun was now up, and sending its brilliant rays horizontally beneath the great trees, making every branch and leaf glow; and, as Nic's nag paced gently along, the boy felt as if he were riding upon the glorious elastic air. He felt very little of the stiffness, only a bit sore inside the knees, where they were pressed against the saddle. As they passed in among the trees the waggon was soon lost to sight, and Nic glanced again and again in its direction. "Afraid we shan't find our way back to the waggon?" said his father. "I was thinking something of the kind," avowed Nic. "Ah, that is a great danger away in the bush, and you may as well know it; but we could not go very far now without finding a track or some station." "A police station?" "No, no," said the doctor, smiling. "We have police here--mounted police--to look after the convicts and mind they don't escape; but we call farmhouses-squatters' places--stations here. Our home--Blue Mountain Bluff; as we named it--is called a station by my neighbours." "Then you have neighbours, father?" "Oh yes, a few miles away. Mr Dillon, the magistrate, Leather's late employer, is the nearest--ten miles distant." "Then home must be a very lonely place." "We have never found it so, Nic," said his father drily. "Busy people are never lonely. Now then, I think I've behaved very well to you and spared your feelings. I promise that I will not laugh at you." "What about, father?" "Your first essay at trotting. It is of no use to keep a horse and ride at a walk. You can progress as fast as that on your own legs." Nic drew a deep breath, and wished that he was bestriding a donkey on the common near the Friary, with his schoolmates looking on instead of his father. "I'm ready, father," he said. "Wait a few minutes. I want to accustom you to holding your gun on horseback. You will always have either a gun or a stock-whip, but I don't want you to begin your career as a squatter--" "I say, father, what a horrible name that is for a sheep farmer!" "`A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,' Nic. `Squatter' does very well; and I say I don't want you to begin your career by shooting your father or his horse. So you shall have a shot at something. You will not be afraid to fire your gun?" "Oh, I say, father!" said Nic reproachfully, "don't--please don't think me such a miserable coward." "I don't, my lad--nothing of the kind. I only treat you as a raw lad who has to be trained to our ways." "But you expect me to shoot you as soon as I begin to trot." "I don't mean you to, Nic. But such a thing is quite possible when you fall." "Then you think I shall fall," said Nic ruefully. "Certainly, if you lose your balance and do not hold tight." "But you told me not to hold!" cried Nic. "With your hands. They are to hold your reins and gun. A horseman holds on with his knees; and I suppose yours are a bit sore?" Nic nodded. "Then make up your mind not to fall; but we'll have that gun empty first. You shall have a shot at something." Nic drew rein sharply, and his horse stopped and shook its head, and champed the bit impatiently. "Don't check your horse like that, boy!" "I only pulled the reins, father." "Yes, as if his mouth were made of wood. You would soon spoil him, and make him hard-mouthed, if you jerked the bit about in that fashion. A horse like this is extremely sensitive. You only need just feel his mouth with the rein, and he will stop at the slightest additional pressure, just sufficiently to make him understand what you want. Well, why are you making a face like that?" "I shall never learn all this," cried Nic; "I'm too stupid." "And you have ground away at algebra and Euclid! What nonsense! Come, be more ready to take a right view of things. Horses are extremely intelligent animals, and love their masters if properly treated. They are wilful at times, and then have to be punished; but I never strike or spur my horse without good reason. Now look here, Nic: this is not to show off, but to let you see what can be done with the animal, which is one of man's most valuable friends out in these wilds. Now watch!" The doctor threw the reins on the horse's neck. "I want to go to the left." To Nic's astonishment the horse bore away to the left, and his own followed suit. "Now I want to go to the right." The horse turned in that direction. "Now I want to turn right round." The horse turned right about. "Now straight back." The horses began to return upon their tracks, Nic's eyes following every motion. "Now round again, and forward." Once more the horse, turning right about, went straight forward, Sour Sorrel taking pace for pace. "Why, it's wonderful, father!" cried Nic. "Australian horses must understand plain English." "Well, they are English bred," said the doctor, laughing. "Twenty years ago there was not a horse in the country. But now, tell me, why did you check your horse?" "To get down so as to shoot." "Nonsense! Fire from his back when I tell you." "But it will frighten him, and he'll gallop off, and I shall be sure to fall." "It will not frighten him, for the horse will stand like a rock, knowing when you are going to fire. You can rest your gun between his ears if you like, only you could not get so steady an aim. It's quite true. That nag is beautifully broken. I reared him from a foal and trained him expressly for you." "Thank you, father; but I think I would rather ride yours." "Why?" "He seems so much better trained." "Not so well, boy." "But tell me: how did you make him go any way you wished?" "The simplest way in the world. Let your reins drop on his neck." Nic obeyed. "Now press the side with your right leg. That's right. Now with the left. Good. Now keep on with the pressure, and the nag will turn right round. Now press both legs together. Very well indeed. Now you see there is no magic in the matter." Nic was astounded, for the horse had acted just in the same way as his father's. "Let me tell you another thing. If you jump down--no, no, don't do it-- but if you jump down, pass the rein over the nag's head and throw it on the ground: he will stand perfectly still." "Without the rein being fastened to a peg or tree?" "Yes. Try it when you get down. Now you see you are learning to ride. But I want this trot, so be ready for your shot. Cock your gun." Nic made the lock click, and felt a thrill of anticipation run through his nerves. "Whit shall I shoot at, father?" "Well, you may as well practise at something running or flying." "A bird?" "Yes, if you see a good specimen. You may as well collect some of our beautiful birds. Wait a bit: I dare say we shall see something before long." They paced on for about a quarter of a mile, and then a large animal was startled from out of some bushes, made a flying leap, and then went off in a series of tremendous bounds, and all the faster for the shot Nic fired and which whistled through the air over its head. "A good miss, Nic," said his father. "Didn't I hit it, father?" "No, my boy--not with a single shot, even. But you see your horse did not move." "I forgot all about that," said Nic. "I suppose that was a kangaroo, father?" "No doubt about that, Nic. They can go pretty well, eh?" "Tremendously. But what an enormous tail!" "Yes, it seems to act like a balance and a support when they land, for they go almost entirely upon their hind legs. But I meant you to have tried for a shot farther on, where there is a bit of river and some low damp ground. You might perhaps have secured a goose for our supper, or had a shot at one of the snakes, which like the moisture. But come: here's a good open stretch of land. Let's have our trot. Keep your heels down, sit fairly well up, and don't think about falling. If you do come off, it is a very little way to go, and the horse's pace will take him clear of you. Now then, turn those stirrups over his back." "Oh, father! let me keep my stirrups." "Certainly not; they would not help you a bit, only prove a danger to a novice; and remember this: once you can ride without stirrups you can ride with. Ready?" Nic reluctantly turned the stirrup leathers across. "Yes, father," he said, rather hesitatingly. "Then off!" The horses started at the pressure given by the doctor's heels, and the next moment Nic was bumping about in the saddle, slipping first a little to one side, then to the other, making attempts to get over on to the horse's neck, and having hard work to keep his gun well across his knees. It was hot, breathless work; and moment by moment Nic told himself that he must come off; but he did not, and went on bump, bump, bump, bump, conscious that his father was watching him from the corners of his eyes. "I do wish he'd stop," thought Nic, as the nag trotted steadily on; and then the boy thought of the Kentish common and the games they had had with the donkeys--when, almost as soon as a boy was mounted, another came to tickle the donkey's tail with a piece of furze, with the result that the animal's head went down, its heels up, and the rider off on to his back, perhaps into a furze or bramble patch. "But there's no one behind with a furze or bramble," thought Nic, who began to find the trot not so very bad, when, to his horror, his father cried out "Canter!" and, with the horses snorting and enjoying the motion, away they went in and out among the trees, the docile animals keeping pace together, and avoiding the dense parts by instinct. "Now I am off," said Nic to himself; but to his surprise he kept on, finding the canter a delightfully easy pace, and that it was far less difficult to keep his seat in the saddle, the swing was so pleasant, elastic, and rhythmical. This went on for a good quarter of a mile, until the trees grew more open and patches of scrubby bushes appeared in their way, when, before he knew it, Nic's steed, instead of avoiding a clump about three feet high, rose at it, bounded over as lightly as a kangaroo, and came to a dead stop on the other side, for it had lost its rider. "I didn't mean that," said the doctor, pulling up and turning back. "Here, Nic, where are you?" "Here, father," said the boy dolefully, as he rose from where he lay-- down among the thick brush. "Hurt?" "I--I don't know yet. No; I don't think so, father. Here, my gun's gone." "There it is, sticking up among the bushes. I'll get it," said the doctor; and pulling his horse sidewise, he reached over and drew out the gun. "Now then, where are you hurt?" "Nowhere," said Nic, forcing his way out to where the nag stood, taking the reins, and after pulling down the near side stirrup, climbing into the saddle. At that moment there was a clapping of hands, and he turned to find his father applauding him. "Bravo! Good!" cried the doctor, with his eyes flashing. "I like that pluck, Nic. Why, boy, you did wonderfully well. You are as rough as can be in the saddle. But really, you only want confidence: you can ride." "Can I, father?" said Nic dubiously. "Can you? yes. You must have had some practice." "Only playing tricks on the donkeys, father, down in Kent." "Of course. That's it! Why, Nic, I have only got to polish you. Ready?" "Yes, father." "Then let's canter on." Oddly enough--paradoxically as it may seem--that tumble on to the elastic bush took away all Nic's nervousness, and now he began to enjoy the delightful motion of the easy-paced nag, with the wind fanning his cheeks, the sun seeming to flash by him, and the soreness about the knees forgotten. Everything about looked bright and glorious; and when, about eleven o'clock, they cantered up to the midday halting-place in a clump of gums, where the oxen had just been unyoked, Brookes and Leather stopped from their tasks to stare, and the black was so surprised that he forgot to stand on one leg, but watched the horsemen with wide-open eyes, standing upon two. CHAPTER TWELVE. A BLACK PERIL. At the end of six days, though a long way from being a horseman, Nic had reached a pitch when he could mount without fear, and enjoy thoroughly a trot, canter, or gallop; and his father used laughingly to say that now he would not be ashamed to show him to his mother and sisters. "It's a long, slow, monotonous journey, Nic," said the doctor, at the end of that sixth day; "but I don't think we've been idle." "Idle? oh no, father," said Nic; "and I've enjoyed it thoroughly." "In spite of the rough way of living?" "I haven't thought of that," replied Nic. "It has all been so fresh and interesting, and there has been so much to see." "Well, you have been well introduced to the country, my boy, and you have mastered riding--a strong part of a settler's education, for you will have to help me hunt up the sheep and cattle, and save me many a long round. Feel ready to see your mother and sisters?" "Ready? I'm longing to see them, father. Are we getting near?" "Yes; all being well, we shall sleep under our own roof to-morrow night, and have the waggon-load of stores and treasures under cover." That last night in the waggon was the most uncomfortable Nic had passed. It was hot; there was a chest beneath him which had suddenly developed a hard edge and an awkward corner; the dogs, too, were uneasy, and barked a good deal at the moon. Then some kind of animal in the plural number seemed to be holding a meeting up among the branches of the huge tree under which they encamped, for there were endless squealings and skirmishes about, which woke the boy again and again, to lie and listen, and think about his new home in the great Australian wilderness, of his mother and sisters, whether they were much changed, and ending, just before dozing off again, by wondering what they would think of him. It was, then, with a feeling of no little satisfaction that he woke again to hear the magpie piping, and hurriedly scrambled out, fully convinced that he was up first that morning, but found, as usual, that the fire was already burning brightly, and that some one had been on the watch, not one of which had he been allowed to keep. This time it was the man Leather whom Nic joined, towel in hand, on his way for his regular morning swim. "Morning! You're first, then?" The man gave him a nod, and by the light of the fire his face looked surly. "Has my father been out yet?" "Sleep in the front of the waggon." Nic felt disposed to go on, but he was in such high spirits that he was obliged to say a few words more. "We shall be at the Bluff to-night." "Oh?" said the man indifferently. "Well, ain't you glad to get home?" "No: I'm only a servant." "But it's your home for the present." The man threw a few more sticks on the fire, and said nothing. "I say, Leather, what sort of a place is it?" "Station's like other stations." "Yes, but is it pretty--beautiful?" "No." "What? My father said it was a grand place with a glorious view." "It's built of wood and thatched with bark, and you can see a long way." "But the mountains?" "There are mountains; so there are for miles." "But the river?" "There is a creek, but this time of the year it is mostly water-holes." "But it's a beautiful place to live in?" "Is it?" said the man coldly. "Oh, I say, you want your breakfast!" said Nic laughingly. "No; I am not hungry." "Then what's the matter with you, Leather?" "Nothing." "Ah, well, I must go and have my dip." The man gave him a sour look, and Nic ran on, passing the horses grazing together, which were ready to look up and whinny a welcome. "There," cried, the boy, as he gave each a friendly patting and stroked their cold wet noses; "you're ever so much better companions than old Leather. Now then, finish your breakfast: to-night you will sleep in your warm stable." The announcement made, of course, no impression upon the horses, which lowered their heads again directly, and went on cropping the succulent coarse grass, while Nic went on to the side of the pool, and began to undress, when his attention was taken by a sudden splash; and as he stood wondering he could dimly see something swimming about toward the other side. "Must be a big water rat," muttered Nic, commencing to undress; and, confident that there was nothing likely to injure him, he plunged in, had his swim, crept out, rubbed, and was going on with his dressing again behind a clump of wattle scrub, when the splash excited his curiosity again, and turning his head cautiously, he peered down at the pool over which the pale grey light was now growing brighter. For the first few moments he could see nothing; then a sinuous line of disturbed water showed him where something was swimming. "'Tis a rat," he said to himself, "and those are ducks just on beyond it. No, it isn't a rat: it's one of those things with the duck's bill that father was talking about. I'll dress quickly and fetch the gun. I might get two or three ducks for supper." The next moment he thought he would run as hard as he could to the waggon, and avoid being speared, but he did not stir, only stood in a stooping position staring wildly at' a black figure stealing along among the trees on the other side of the pool; and hardly had he realised this fact before another black appeared walking in the track of the first, and then' another and another. Nic felt paralysed. They might be dangerous, for they were all carrying spears, and were stealing up to the water in the most cautious way. The next minute he could see at least a dozen, and lowering his head cautiously he dropped upon his knees well out of sight, and finished dressing before softly turning his head again to watch. The blacks were gone; and, though relieved, the boy was puzzled, for he could not make out how they could have left, as there was the open country just beyond the water-hole, and hardly a bush that could form a hiding-place. He could not have been deceived. Those must have been blacks, a strong party of them; and it was evident that they had not been seen up at the camp by Leather, or he would have warned him of their presence. "Would he?" thought Nic. "He's a disagreeable, surly fellow, and I don't wonder, at Brookes bullying him so much. What shall I do? Perhaps after all they're gone. Oh!" That last was a low, deep expiration of the breath, for Nic was having his first lesson in the clever cunning of the blackfellows. They were not gone, but clustered together just on the other side of the water-hole, some sixty yards away, right in sight as he peered between the thick branches of the wattle. Nic felt fascinated for the moment, and was ready to ask himself whether it was real or a trick of his imagination. For there across the water lay about and stuck up in all kinds of gnarled and grotesque shapes what seemed to be a large clump of burned-down and blackened tree stumps; broken branches sent off awkward snag-like pieces, others presented bosses and excrescences; and but for the fact that he had seen the party of blacks creeping up, Nic never could have imagined that they were really there, thrown into these strange imitations of what was likely to be found upon the bank of a water-hole. But there they were, either acting their part to deceive the wild fowl into coming near enough to be speared or knocked down, or trying to hide themselves from the encamping party. Yes, dim as the light was, there could be no deception, for Nic at last made out the glint of an eye. It certainly was not a piece of gum gleaming in the dewy morning, but the eye of one of the blacks. Then it was gone. What should he do? They were so clever that Nic knew it would be the hardest of hard work for a white to beat them with their own weapons; but the boy knew that he must act, and at once. Dropping silently down, he lay on his breast thinking for a few moments, making his plans. It was quite three hundred yards to the tree where the fire had been made--a long way for him to go if he were seen, for the naked blacks would be swifter of foot than he. His only course was to crawl from bush to bush; and feeling that for the present he was out of sight, sheltered by the patch of wattle, he began to crawl slowly and as silently as he could toward the waggon. Nic had never before realised how difficult it was to proceed over wet herbage after the fashion of a caterpillar. But this was the only way for him to get along, and he did his best, moving slowly forward where a savage would have gone on at a little run. As he crept along it was with a strange quivering of the muscles of his back and loins, a curious kind of shrinking, in expectation moment by moment of the blacks having crept round the end of the water-pool through the dry bed of the river up the side to send a spear flying into him. But it did not come; and at last, perspiring profusely, he passed a detached bush, curved round so as to place it between him and the blacks, and then paused to glance back. He could not see them; but, to his horror, he found that the bush was not in a line between him and the water-hole, and he had to creep back. Worse still, he realised now how the ground sloped upward, so that at any moment he might be in full view, and he paused, hesitating about going any farther, when only a few yards beyond he saw that there was a hollow into which he could roll, and in it creep along to the first big trees. Nic felt that he was risking being seen by his impetuosity, but excitement urged him on, and the next moment he was in the little depression, most probably a dry rivulet bed, which ran down toward the water-hole. But whatever it was it gave him shelter till he could reach the big trees, in and out of whose trunks he threaded his way, well out of sight now, and ran panting up to the fire as his father was angrily saying to Leather: "Surely you must have seen the black last night." "Not him, sir," said Brookes; "he won't see nothing that he don't want. I left 'em together, and he ought to know where he is." "Well, he has gone," said the doctor sternly; "and hullo, Nic, have you seen a snake?" "Quick! father, the guns!" panted the boy. "Blacks! the blacks!" "You mean our blackfellow?" "No, father, twenty of them, just on the other side of the water-hole, hiding." "All of you," said the doctor, in a low, firm voice, "into the waggon." Then the boy heard him mutter, as he held him tightly by the arm: "Good heavens! can they have been to the Bluff?" CHAPTER THIRTEEN. NIC'S MISSION. "Father! do you think they have?" said Nic, breathlessly. The doctor turned upon his son sharply. "Did I speak aloud?" he said. Nic nodded. "I don't know. I cannot tell, my boy. I pray not." By this time they were all armed, and the doctor whistled sharply, when there was a whinnying answer, and the two horses came up as fast as their hobbled fore feet would allow. "Call in the bullocks," said the doctor to Brookes, who uttered a loud yell somewhat like the _yodel_ of the Swiss peasants to their cattle on the mountain side. The great sleek beasts responded directly, and came from where they were grazing, bellowing loudly, right up to the waggon, as if expecting to be yoked. "To keep them from being speared," said the doctor to Nic. Then to the men: "Yoke up, and drive the waggon right out into the open. They could reach the poor beasts from behind those trees." The men set to work leisurely enough, while at a word from his father Nic, whose hands trembled from excitement, bridled and saddled Sour Sorrel. "Take off the hobbles, boy," said the doctor; and this was done. A few minutes later the bullocks, which had from long habit taken their places readily, were yoked, and drew out the waggon right into a clear spot away from trees, which would shelter the enemy if they made an attack. "Hah!" ejaculated the doctor, "now we can breathe freely. Brookes, you are all right with a gun. Have you ever used a piece, Leather?" "Not much," said the man sourly; "but I know how to load, and can keep you going." "My son will load," said the doctor sternly. "You must do your best." "Yes," said the man shortly; and Nic thought to himself, "Father does not want me to shoot any one." "Now then, keep a sharp look-out," said the doctor. "If the blacks show, up at once into the front of the waggon, and we will take the back. No firing unless they try to spear the cattle. Then the blacks must accept their fate." Incongruous ideas occur to us all, even in times of the greatest peril; and a waft of something in the air drew Nic's attention to the fire under the big gum tree, where the tea, hot cake, and bacon were ready for breakfast, and for a moment the boy felt hungry. All was perfectly still. Then a magpie began to pipe his arpeggios, which sounded sweet and clear in the morning air; and this seemed to be the signal to start a chorus of whistling and shrieking up in the thick boughs, where a flock of paroquets were hidden; and a glow in the east made the morning grey look so opalescently beautiful that it was hard to believe there could be any danger. "Are you sure you saw blacks, Nic?" said the doctor. "Oh yes, father--certain." "We ought to do some scouting, to see if they have moved and mean mischief." "I'll go, father." "No, boy: you are not used to the ways of these people; and I don't like to leave the waggon for fear of a rush. Brookes!" "Yes," came from the front. "You must go and reconnoitre. I'll cover you as well as I can. Just see if they are coming on." "Don't see why you should send me," grumbled the man. "My wage ain't so very, high, and I've only got one life. Send Leather: he is not so much consequence as me." The doctor uttered an angry ejaculation, and frowned fiercely; but it was no time for angry words. "Leather, take your gun, and try if you can make out where the blacks are. Don't fire unless they see and attack you." The man came with a heavy scowl upon his brow, shouldered his gun, and walked back in among the trees, while the doctor stood patting the butt of his gun impatiently, as his eyes searched the place in the direction of the water-hole. "Our black must have known these fellows were in the neighbourhood," he said; "and he has either joined them or they have scared him away. Joined them, I think, or he would have warned me. They are all alike, these men: they come and work for a time, and then tire of it and go back to the bush." "Here comes Leather," whispered Nic; and the next moment the man came back at a swift run, carrying his gun at the trail. "Well? seen them?" said the doctor. "Yes, over a score of them," said the man, who looked more animated now, in the excitement of the danger. "They're jabbering together this side of the water." "Then they mean to attack. Be ready." The man nodded, and moved toward where Brookes stood cutting himself some tobacco to chew. Then he turned back, and there was something approaching a smile upon his face, which, in spite of sun tan and the deep marks on his forehead, looked almost handsome to Nic. "Yes: what is it?" said the doctor. "Isn't it a pity to leave the breakfast for those blacks?" "Never mind the food, man," began the doctor; but he checked himself. "Yes: try and get it," he said; "people must eat." "Hold my gun, sir," said Leather, who was now, full of animation; and, handing the piece to Nic, he dashed back to the fire, while the doctor followed him slowly, scanning the trees in all directions as he kept his cocked piece ready for instant use. Leather lost no time when he reached the fire, but, catching up the freshly made damper, he dabbed it down into the cross-handled frying-pan on the top of the bacon, placed the tin mugs in the kettle of boiling tea, carried the tea and sugar canisters under his arm, and taking pan-handle in one hand, kettle-handle in the other, he trotted back in safety, the blacks having made no sign. "Bravo! Well done!" cried the doctor; and Nic noted that the bright, animated look passed away, to give place to a sullen scowl, which came over the man's face like a cloud. "Help yourselves, men," continued the doctor; and Brookes came to them once again. "Nic," said the doctor, "I am in agony. It may be all imagination, and if it is I should bitterly regret leaving the waggon. Do you see?" "No, father; I don't quite understand. Do you mean you want to ride on to the Bluff, and yet don't want to because it may only be a scare?" "Exactly. And if I did decide for us to ride on together, these men would take fright and leave the waggon to be plundered." The doctor paused to search the trees again, but all was still. "Send one of the men, father." "I don't want to weaken my defensive force, boy." "I'd go, father, but I don't know the way," said Nic. "Yes: you shall go, my boy. The horse will take you straight to the station as soon as he is well away from his companion; and, look here! the track may prove faint, but do you see that notch in the mountains?" "Where it looks as if a square piece had been cut out, and a cat's head with its ears standing up?" "Yes: that notch is the pass through the mountains, and is just about two miles behind our house, which stands on a slope. You could not miss it." "A wooden house: I know," said the boy; "but are the others at all like it?" "What others? There is no other station for miles, boy. Well, will you risk it?" "I don't see any risk, father." "No; but blacks may be there. Well mounted, though, you could easily give them a wide berth." "I'm not afraid," said Nic. "That's right. You will ride straight there, then, and--" The doctor stopped short, with his face drawn and wrinkled. "Yes, father: and what?" "If the station is a smoking ruin, ride back to us as hard as you can." "Oh, don't say that." "I have said it, boy. There--prove yourself worthy of my mission." "Yes, father; but if all is right?" "Stay there, and tell your mother to keep any black-fellows at a distance till I get home. You can help her defend the place for a few hours. Now: no words. Take a piece of the damper, and put a couple of rashers between, have a good deep drink of the tea--as much as you can, for you will have a thirsty ride--eat your breakfast as you go. Mind, straight as the crow flies for that notch: never mind the track. No words. Shake hands. Mount, and be off." Nic saw that it was no time for words, and hurriedly breaking the bread-cake, he placed the bacon between the thin pieces, saw that his shot belt and powder flask were right, took a deep draught of tea, and then, gun in hand, turned to find Leather holding his horse, and looking him fixedly in the eyes. "Yes; what is it?" said Nic hurriedly. "Keep in the open: don't go near any of the scrub." "Why not?" said Nic. "Blacks," said the man, as the boy settled himself in the saddle. "Off!" cried the doctor, pointing to the mountain gap. Nic waved his hand, pressed his nag's sides, and it bounded off; the other horse making a plunge to follow but it was tethered to a waggon wheel. But before the boy had gone fifty yards he turned, for there was a tremendous barking, and he saw that the doctor was at the back of the waggon doing something to the dogs. Then there was a shout, and he saw that they were loosened, and were tearing after him, barking loudly in their wild excitement. "To come with me," thought Nic; and directly after, as he cantered steadily on, the two collies were racing round him, unsettling his horse as they leaped up, at its muzzle, at its legs, and then dashing on, mad with delight, but rather interfering with his comfortable seat, for they made the horse partake of their excitement and strain at the rein to join the two freed prisoners in their wild career over the tree-dotted plain. The dogs soon settled down, though, to a more sober pace, and began to hunt in and out among the bushes and trees; finding nothing, but thoroughly enjoying their freedom. Every now and then they came bounding back to the horse, to look up at Nic, barking loudly, their eyes flashing and tails whisking from side to side, as if telling him of their delight; and as the boy rode he gave them a word or two of encouragement. But Nic did not speak much, for he had too much upon his mind; and as soon as he saw that there was not the slightest fear of the dogs straying away from the horse, he kept his eyes fixed upon the notch in the mountains right ahead, and rode steadily on, keeping his horse to a steady canter; and bearing Leather's laconic warning in mind, he left the track to one side or the other wherever growth seemed to be abundant, his father's order about going as the crow flies being ample warrant for this. For the matter of that, the faint track of wheel and hoof-mark went pretty straight, only curving now and then to avoid some eminence or rugged patch of forest, which he watched with keen eyes for enemies, though, after what he had seen that morning in the grey dawn of the blacks' power of concealment, he felt doubtful about seeing them if they were in hiding to form an ambuscade. "I wonder whether they could hit me with their spears if I was going at this rate," he said to himself, as he bore off from one dense patch which might easily have hidden a whole tribe. Then, in a state of intense excitement, he cocked his gun, trembling the while, for that there was danger at hand he felt sure, from the alarm of his horse, which suddenly cocked its ears, while the dogs lowered their heads and dashed together into the thicket. "They'll give me warning," cried Nic aloud, as he bore off more to the right so as to skirt the little wood some fifty yards away; when out from the other side dashed half a dozen large animals, some of a ruddy hue, others of a bluish-brown colour, bounding over the ground like gigantic hares more than anything else, while the dogs gave tongue loudly and tried to head them off. But at the end of four or five hundred yards, distanced beyond all possibility of overtaking their quarry, the collies stopped short to stand barking, and then trotted back to join the horse coming up, barking angrily, whining, and evidently thoroughly puzzled, as they looked up at Nic. "Can't you make them out?" he cried; and the dogs barked and whined again. "Take them for sheep?" cried Nic; and in their way the dogs answered, and kept on running up the hillocks to bark at the little flock of strange beasts, that were growing smaller and smaller in the distance. Onward again in a bee line, and an hour passed, with the notch in the mountains apparently at exactly the same distance as it was when they started on their journey. Then came another little scene. On Nic's right the meandering line of bush and tree suggested where there was the course of a river, and the dogs suddenly, from where they were some distance ahead, scented out an occupier in a clump of rough growth low down in a swampy patch of thick grass. Nic swung round his gun once more; but this time the dogs did not drive out a herd of kangaroo, for they stopped short, with the thick coat of hair about their necks bristling up while they charged in and retreated again and again. "Can't be blacks," thought Nic, and he checked his nag slightly, but found the horse began to show signs of uneasiness, sidling away as he approached, carefully watching for the point of a spear or some shock head. "There they are," he said to himself the next moment, as he made his horse bound away, for some distance farther on he saw both--the rough spears and long-haired heads dotted here and there. The next moment, though, he was annoyed with himself for his needless alarm, the objects he saw being only the native grass trees with their peculiar growth of tufted heads bearing some resemblance to a rough shock of hair, the long bare flower spike standing up above suggesting at a distance the native spear. There, too, in an open patch, was the cause of the dogs' uneasiness, in the shape of a snake richly marked with brown, and apparently six or eight feet long, as it lay in close curves, with head erect, playing about and seeking an opportunity to strike at the first dog which came within reach. Nic felt plenty of inclination to have a shot at what was probably, from its appearance, the venomous tiger-snake of which he had heard the men speak. But the urgent duty forced him on, and he cantered forward for another hour, to where the track, now on his _left_, passed close by a pool of water, toward which the dogs set off, barking loudly; and the horse followed straight for the spot. As usual, it was well wooded all about, but after seeing the dogs reach it first and career through and, through it without so much as a yelp, Nic had no hesitation in riding up, loosening his nag's girths, and then, while it drank a little, taking out his own breakfast, a part of which he ate with poor appetite, sharing the rest between the dogs as soon as they had had a good drink and swim. The halt was very short, and while the horse was refreshing itself with a few mouthfuls of the rich grass, its master stood gazing through the clear sunny air at the notch in the mountains, which looked to him just as far off as it did when he rode off that morning--just as near. He tried to calculate how many hours he had been riding, how many miles he had come, but gave up in despair. All he could feel was that the sun was getting very high, and that the heat would be very great for the rest of the way, and he knew that he must deal gently with his horse, and keep to the pace he had ridden through the morning: to go faster might mean a break-down. "Now, Sour Sorrel," he said suddenly; and the horse left off grazing, and stood gazing at him with its great deer-like eyes. It stood quietly enough while he gave it a good rub with some natural hay where the saddle covered its satin coat, then clapped the saddle back, tightened the girths and mounted, while the dogs careered round him with their ears up and brushes waving, barking with delight, and once more leaping up at the horse's muzzle. Then forward once more--out of the shade and into the scorching sun. Nic started his horse at a walk, and noted that it needed no guiding, but took to the faint track at once, steering straight for the notch, and making for a thick patch of wooded country, till a pressure from the rider's leg turned it off to a more open part, from which he bore away, so as to pass round to the west of the woodland. As soon as it was on the springy green grass, the nag broke at once into a canter, and the dogs now settled into a steady pace, keeping one on either side, while Nic found it hard to believe that he was riding over wild land, the ground bearing so strongly the appearance of forming part of some park devoted to grazing; but now he saw no trace of beast or sheep, little of wild creatures, save where there were signs of water, and then only a few birds, generally a kind of plover, or ducks. The heat was now intense. Nic had only enjoyed a week's training, and he was in poor condition for so much exertion, so that before long he was soaked with perspiration, and growing weary as he gazed at that terrible notch which seemed to come no nearer, he began to lose heart and wonder whether he would be able to accomplish his task. The horse, too, was showing signs of exertion, and the dogs, as they trotted on, lolled out their tongues and displayed no disposition to break out of their steady pace to investigate anything to right or left. "Phew! It is hot!" muttered Nic, as his horse cantered on, with the sun dazzling his eyes like molten silver, and biting his neck, while the whole of the atmosphere was quivering as it rose from the moister parts of the earth. Then, in the regular rhythmic motion of that canter, there were moments when the traveller began to feel drowsy. But he shook off the feeling, nipped the horse's sides more tightly, and felt how the beast responded by increasing its pace. On still, and on, over the rich green flower-decked earth; past groves of trees whose names he did not know,--some bearing the thin foliage of grey or sage green, with delicate shades of pink and blue, others like a coarse-leaved spiky-looking fir, whose boughs touched the ground, and densely clustered upward in a pyramid of dark glistening growth that would have hidden a dozen men from a traveller's gaze. There were the mountains, too, in a long ridge, stretching away to right and left, and always of a delicious amethystine blue, that looked as transparent as water, but always as far off as ever. A grand, a lovely ride, but a terrible one in that heat; for this was the time when the doctor always had a midday halt by water and in the shade of trees. But there was no stopping for hours at a time like this. Nic felt that he must get on as fast as he could, and with his eyes fixed upon the notch he rode forward to the regular beat of his horse's hoofs. Hotter and hotter grew the day, and as Nic glanced from side to side he saw that he was not the only sufferer, for the dogs were trotting along with their heads down, and they gazed up at him and whined. His horse, too, began to look more distressed, but it did not flag, keeping up that steady canter toward the blue mountains that never seemed to grow any nearer. For a few moments the idea lingered in Nic's brain, that he must draw rein in the shade of the next clump of trees, but the thought evoked the face of his father, back there at the waggon, anxious about those dear to him, wondering how all had sped at the Bluff, and he felt that he could not halt even for an hour--that he must go on and on. Then he began wondering how he would find the place--whether the blacks had been during his father's absence, and attacked it when it was only defended by women and the servants, who might have escaped for their lives. This idea of the place having been attacked sent such a thrill through Nic that he felt ready for any amount more exertion, and instead of halting he urged his willing steed on, shouted to the dogs and made them leap forward, while his eyes wandered about in search of enemies, but only to see something moving in the distance which, resembled the ostrich of his old picture-books. There was no sign of man, no house, flock, herd, or water, while his tongue was beginning to feel swollen and dry, and a peculiar thickness as of a mist began to obstruct the distant view. "How much farther is it?" thought Nic; and he shaded his eyes by holding the hand which bore the gun across his forehead. But he saw no better, and he winced from the touch, of the gun-lock, for it was hot. Then on, still trusting to the horse more than to himself, for the air had grown thicker, and the mist hot, strange, and dazzling for a time. There were singing noises, too, in his ears, and as he gave his head a shake in his effort to get rid of them, he suddenly found that the dazzling mist had gone, and he could see right away to the notch--that dent in the mountains which seemed to lead him on and on, but only to recede as he advanced. That clearness of vision did nut last, for the mist closed in again, lifted, and he saw a bright lake of beautiful silvery water, stretching out as far as he could see, and toward which with throbbing temples he urged on the horse. The next minute it had disappeared, and some one was calling him; the thickening of the air was not from mist, but as of smoke. He must, he felt, with a terrible sense of depression, have neared his devastated home, which was burning, and the light breeze was wafting the dense smoke all over the plain. "What news to take back to his father!" he thought, in his despair, and this made his senses reel; something struck him heavily, and then he was looking up at the blue sky, as a dark object came between him and it. For a few moments he must have been quite unconscious, while the next thing he saw was the horse's muzzle close to his face. He started up into a sitting position, for a dismal howl rang in his ears, followed by a loud joyous barking, which brought him to his feet, guessing the truth. For the heat had produced that dimness of sight, tortured him with the sight of that imaginary lake, and finally brought on a bad attack of giddiness, which had made him reel in the saddle and fall heavily to the ground. The shock had helped to revive him; and feeling better, he picked up his gun from where it lay beneath the horse, managed to climb back into the saddle, and the brave beast started on at once straight for a clump of trees about a mile away, while, before they were two-thirds of the distance, the dogs began to bark, and seemed to recover their strength, for they bounded on, and the horse broke into a gallop, following in their track. A minute or two later Nic knew why, for there was a flash of light from amongst the trees, and soon after he had thrown himself from his horse's back, and was upon his chest in the shade, drinking draughts that seemed to quench the fire in his throat, bathing his face, and listening to the gentle, sucking noise made by the horse where it stood knee deep, and to the barking and splashing of the two dogs as they revelled in the refreshing coolness of the great water-hole. Nearly half an hour passed before Nic resumed his place in the saddle; the horse broke into a canter at once, the dogs ran barking by his side, and, refreshed and clear of vision, it seemed now that the notch in the blue mountains was not quite so far away, while, in spite of the heat, the country on all sides was growing as beautiful as it had seemed at his early start. On still, but no sign of the station. The ground had ceased to be so level, there was hardly any track, and their course was among clumps of trees, rocks, and rugged hillocks, and there were times when the view was cut off by their descent into some deep gully. But his father had said that if he kept straight for the notch he would be sure to see the house--the only one; and no house was in view. He must be near it now: was it still in existence? or had some horrible catastrophe befallen it? The heat was growing insufferable again and the giddiness returning: he could not go much farther. He had been trusting the horse too much: it had evidently brought him astray far down in that suffocating gully,-- the growth was different. He was riding amongst ferns--ferns like those he saw at home, and ferns that spread green lacework fronds right overhead. He must be dreaming again and going to fall from his horse, which was ascending the rapid slope the farther side of the gully. They were soon at the top, and the breeze came pure and sweet again; and a wild cry of exultation burst from the boy's parched throat, for, not a mile away, standing high upon the slope beyond another gully, there was a long, low, white house, with a cluster of wooden buildings near. Beyond it a rising ground was dotted with sheep; there were cattle, too, farther away, and, as in response to his cry, the dogs burst out into a loud barking, Nic pressed his horse's sides, the spirited animal breaking into a swift gallop and racing on. For there was no sign of fire or smoke: a glorious picture of a bright oasis in the great wilderness was before him, and his former fears were vain; for, yes--no--yes, out there in the clear air stood a group of watching figures, and the next moment the boy's eyes grew dim--not so dim, though, that he was unable to see white handkerchiefs waving him a welcome--a welcome to his long-wished-for home. CHAPTER FOURTEEN. "SWEET, SWEET HOME." Sour Sorrel wanted no reining in, but stopped short at the foot of the great hillock, down which two bonny-looking, sun-browned maidens had run, followed by a tall, grey, graceful-looking lady. "It is Dominic, isn't it?" cried one of the girls. "Yes, it is!" cried the other. "Oh, Nic, how you have grown!" "And oh!" cried the other, "how you have distressed poor Sorrel! You shouldn't have ridden him so hard." This was in the intervals between kisses, as the lad was embraced by first one and then the other. But as soon as he could free himself, Nic ran to meet his mother, who was descending more slowly. "My dear boy!" she cried. "Mother!" and they were locked in each other's arms. Mrs Braydon could say no more for some minutes, but stood with the tears streaming down her handsome face, clinging tightly to her son, while the two dogs looked on uneasily, whining and giving short, half-angry barks, as if they did not quite understand whether the attentions of the three ladies were friendly toward their young master. The tears stood in the eyes of the two girls as well, but they were tears of joy, and in a merry, laughing way the elder cried: "Oh, mother, you must not keep him all to yourself!" "No, no, of course not," cried Mrs Braydon, locking one arm now in Nic's. "Poor boy! how hot and weary he is, Janet!" "Yes; and he has nearly ridden poor Sorrel to death," cried the second girl. "In his eagerness to get home," said Mrs Braydon, clinging to her son affectionately. "At last--at last! Oh, my boy, it has seemed so long! But your father, is he just beyond the gully?" "No, no!" cried Nic excitedly. "A day's journey away." "And you have come alone?" "Yes; but tell me," cried Nic. "The blacks: have they attacked you?" "No, no," cried Janet quickly; "are they out?" "Yes; we saw a large party this morning coming to attack the waggon. Father was afraid that they might have been here, and he sent me on for news." "No," said Mrs Braydon, "they have not been near us. But your father?" "I left him with the two men and the waggon." "They'll be all right, mother," said the second girl, squeezing up to Nic's side and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Oh! how wet and hot you are. Sticky boy!" "Yes, mother dear," said Janet. "Hil is quite right. There's nothing to mind." "But he said the blacks were going to attack the waggon, my dear," cried Mrs Braydon anxiously. "We had better send over to Mr Dillon for a party to go and meet them." "Oh, nonsense, mother!" said Hilda, giving her dark brown curls a toss; "father would laugh at the idea. He'll fire a few shots over their heads and send them scrambling away." "Yes, of course," said Janet calmly enough. "Mamma is a little nervous sometimes, Nic. We don't mind a few blackfellows about here. They are only like big children." "But what ought I to do?" cried Nic anxiously. "Shall I ride somewhere and get help?" "Perhaps it is not necessary," said Mrs Braydon, smiling rather piteously. "The girls are right. But, my dear boy, how did you find your way?" "Father pointed out that gap in the mountain over there, and told me to ride straight for it." "What place was it where you left your father?" Nic described it as well as he was able. "I know: it must be the third water-hole from here; five-and-thirty miles away." "And he has ridden all that way since morning!" cried Mrs Braydon. "My poor boy! It is dreadful!" "There," cried Hilda saucily; "it's all over, Jan. I knew mamma would spoil him as soon as he came. Go and have your face washed, Nic; you're not fit to touch ladies. _Cooey--cooey_!" Nic stared to see his pretty young sister, a year older than he, suddenly put her hands to her mouth and utter a peculiar cry. "She's calling one of the men." "_Cooey_!" came in response, and a shock-headed black in shirt and trousers came running down from one of the sheds. "White Mary want er?" "No, no: where's Samson?" "White Mary want er--Sam," said the black aloud, as if telling himself; and he trotted off with a queer gait, his legs very far apart, as if he found trousers awkward to walk in; and he then burst into a sharp run, for the dogs, which had been smelling his heels, began to bark and rush after him. "Here, here, here!" shouted Nic, for the black uttered a yell; and the dogs turned back obediently, and came to his side wagging their tails, and, apparently satisfied in their minds, were ready to respond to the friendly advances of the two girls. "Hi! Sam!" cried Hilda, as a diminutive grey old man came hurrying down, smiling and touching his hat. "Take Sorrel, and give him a feed of corn and a good rub down. Hardly any water." "All right, miss. So this is young master? How do, sir? Glad to see you. Master close home?" "No, no, Samson," said Mrs Braydon anxiously. "What do you think? My son was sent on to see if we were safe here. The blacks are out, and a party surprised them by the waggon." To Nic's annoyance the man showed a few very old yellow teeth in an ugly laugh. "Master'll surprise some o' them if they don't take to their legs mighty sharp, missus." "Then you don't think there's any danger?" "Yes, I do--for them," said the man. "Some on 'em'll be howling while t'others picks shot-corns out o' their black hides with a pynted stone." "Yes, of course," said Hilda coolly. "Then you don't think I ought to send over to Mr Dillon to get help for him?" "Help? Tchah! Don't you be so narvous, missus. They blackfellows don't know no better. They comes out with some streaks of white chalk on their black carcadges, and they goes up to a waggon flourishing their hop-poles and making faces, and frightens some people, and then they steal flour and stores; but if they've gone to our waggon, I 'magine they've gone to the wrong un. Take a precious ugly face to scare the doctor. Tell you what he'll do, ladies all. He'll shoot over their heads _first_." "Yes, of course," said Hilda. "That's right, Miss Hil. Then if that don't do no good, he'll give 'em a dose o' number six. And then, missus, if that don't do, he'll try swan shot; but don't you be frecken. Master knows how to manage strange blackfellows. Come along, my lad. Say, young master, you have give him a sweating, and no mistake." The horse went and placed its muzzle over the little old man's shoulder, and gave a puff like a deep sigh of satisfaction. "Knows me, young master," said the man, grinning. "Ay, nussed you, Sorrel, when you was on'y a babby, didn't I?" he continued, patting the arched neck and carefully turning a few strands of the mane back in their place. "There, mother dear," said Janet affectionately; "you see it is not necessary." "But I feel as if, now I know you are all safe, I ought to go back," said Nic. "You couldn't do it, sir," said the old man. "Why, you don't s'pose I should be talking like this if I thought the doctor was in trouble! There's allus blacks about; and it's on'y missus as is so scared about 'em. It's all right, sir. Where did you say you left the master?" "By the third water-hole." "By Bangoony," said the old man. "Day's trot, and the bullocks'll want a three-hour rest half-way. They'll be here twelve o'clock to-night, for master'll make it one day for the last. Don't you fret, missus; the doctor knows what he's about. Blacks ain't lifers. He'll be here all right. Come along, my bairn!" This last was to the horse, which followed him toward one of the sheds; and the dogs went after, one of them uttering a low growl as the man gave the nag a sounding slap. Samson stood still, and then turned to the dog. "Now then: none o' that. It ain't your horse." The dog growled, and its companion joined in. "Oh, that's it, is it? I say, Mr Dominic, sir, hadn't you better interrajuice us? They say they don't know me, and I'm too useful to your father to feed dogs." "They won't bite," said Nic, going up, but walking very stiff and lame. "That's what folks allus says," grumbled the old man; "but `dogs do bark and bite, for 'tis their nature to.' Just you tell 'em to make friends." "Yes. Look here: friends! friends!" cried Nic. "Shake hands, Samson." "Sure I will, sir," said the old man, grinning, as he rubbed a hard blackened hand down one leg of his trousers. "That ain't dirt, sir. I've been tarring some o' the sheep. On'y a bit sticky." "I don't mind," cried the boy, holding out his hand, which was taken in a firm grip, and proved to be more than a bit sticky, for it was held tightly as the man stared hard at him. "And the master to'd me, he did, as you was on'y a bit of a sickly slip of a lad as he left in London or elsewhere when he come out here--a poor, thin, weak, wankle sort o' gentleman, not what he is now." Nic wanted to loose his hand and get back, but it was held fast, and the old man went on: "Why, you'll grow into a _big_, strong man, sir, bigger than the doctor. Ay, I 'gaged with him arter he'd nussed me for my broken leg, as the ship doctor down at Botany Bay said must come off. `Nay,' says your father, and him all the time suff'rin' from a norful corf,--`nay,' he says, `don't you have it took off, my man,' he says; and I says I wouldn't, for o' course I didn't want to go about like a pegtop; and he sets to and makes it right. This here's the leg, stronger than t'other. I call it the doctor's leg, and I said I'd come up country with him if he'd have me, and he said he would, and I helped him make this place. We cut the wood and knocked in the nails, and I've bred horses and sheep and cows for him, and I'm going to stick to him to the end, and then he's promised to dig a hole hisself under yan big gum tree with my name placed over me, and that's where I'm goin' to sleep. Now you wants to go back to your mar. She's been a-frettin' arter you for years while you was being taught to read and write, so be a good boy to her. But, I say, you couldn't ha' rid another five-and-thirty mile to-day." "No," said Nic. "Take care of the horse." "Ay, and the dogs too. Here, give's your paw." The dog he spoke to growled and showed its teeth. "Ah, friends! Give him your paw," cried Nic. The dog held out its right paw, but threw up its head and drew back its muzzle, as it looked at Nic protestingly, as much as to say, "He's only a stranger, and I don't know anything about him." "Now you," growled Samson; and the same business was gone through, with the dog whining uneasily. "Hullo! what's the matter?" said Samson, lifting the leg. "There--don't make that row. It's on'y a thorn. You'll get lots o' them in your toes if you behave yourself. Dogs ought to wear boots in some o' these parts. That's it. Big un too. See it?" He made an offer as if to prick the dog's nose, after drawing out a long, sharp thorn, making the beast yelp; but as soon as it was out it gave the place a lick, and then barked loudly and danced about the old man, both dogs following him readily now as he went off grinning to the stable. Mrs Braydon and the girls were waiting, and Nic was led limping toward the house. "Only a bit stiff with riding," said the boy. "Then we are to be comfortable about father?" "I suppose so, my dear," said Mrs Braydon. "Janet, my love, see to the tea." "Everything is ready, mother dear," said the girl affectionately; "and really I don't think we need fidget. Nic cannot go back. He must stay and take care of us and the station." "Yes," said Mrs Braydon sadly, as if she thought it would be of more consequence to take care of the doctor; and Nic was led into the house, after passing through a neatly kept, well fenced-in garden, full of trees, shrubs, and flowers new to him, though beyond a hedge there was a broad spread of homely old friends of a useful kind, growing luxuriantly. He was ushered at once into a pleasant room, made bright, in spite of its extremely simple furnishing, by white dimity curtains and home-made mats, the bed in the corner looking white as snow; and, left to himself, the boy luxuriated in a comfortable wash, though in place of ewer and basin he had but a bucket and tub. Before he had finished, his mother was back with a cup of refreshing tea, this time with cream. "You'll find everything very rough, my son; but every time the waggon goes on its journey to the port it brings back same more domestic comforts." "Never mind the roughness, mother," cried Nic, kissing her, and bringing a smile of joy playing about her lips; "it's home, and I'm along with you all again." "Yes, my son; and I can be quite happy now," said Mrs Braydon, clinging to him fondly. "There, drink your tea," she said quickly, "finish dressing, and there's a brush by the window, and I've brought you my glass. How brown and blistered your poor face is!" "Oh, that's nothing, mother," cried Nic. "Hah! delicious!" he sighed, as he finished the tea, making his mother smile her satisfaction. "Be quick. We have a tea-dinner ready, for we felt that you might come at any time. You will not have to come downstairs, dear; we are all on one floor. We only had one room and the waggon and a tent first; but others have been added, one at a time. I ought to go now, but it is so hard to leave you, my dear." She kissed him lovingly again--they were the first kisses she had pressed upon his lips for over five years--and then she hurried out. "Hah!" sighed Nic; "I wish I knew that father was safe." Then, stiff and with his hand trembling from his long ride, he took up the comb to smooth his hair. "Might as well sit down," he said; and he sank back on the bed. "How soft! Feathers! And the pillow--how cool! Cheeks burn so," he muttered, as he subsided on the restful couch to gaze sidewise at the window with its little sill and flowers growing in a box, all fresh, bright and fragrant. "I like flowers," he said softly, and then--"Hah!" He was breathing softly. The bow strained tightly for so many hours was now unstrung. Every nerve and muscle were relaxed, and the soft, pure air which came through the open window played upon his scorched cheeks. The horse was swinging along in that easy canter out of the burning sunshine into the shade--a soft, cool, delicious, restful shade--on and on and on toward the Bluff; and Nic felt that there was no more care and trouble in the world. There was nothing to trouble him. He had felt his mother's kisses on his cheeks and lips, and the horse was not rushing, only swinging along in that glorious canter, for the shade had grown darker, into a soft, sweet obscurity, and everything was so still. CHAPTER FIFTEEN. AFTER NATURE'S REMEDY. Nic opened his eyes slowly, to gaze at a bright patch shining upon the floor, and he lay for some minutes gazing at it, thinking it very beautiful. He knew it was the moon shining through flowers--a soft, mellow moonlight which came through a small window. Then the full rush of thought came, and he started up. "Awake, dear?" "Mother!" cried Nic. "Why, have I been to sleep?" "Yes, my darling, a long time." "And the tea--dinner?" "It's quite ready, my dear." "But--but what time is it?" "The clock has just struck one, my boy." "Oh, what a shame!" "No, my dear; it was nature's great need." "But I slept like that! What news of father?" "None, my love," said Mrs Braydon, with a piteous tremor in her voice. "I ought to have gone," cried the boy angrily. _Bang_! _crash_! like blows on the wooden sides of the house. "What's that?" cried Nic, starting to his feet. "Hi! missus!" came in a harsh voice. "Here they are. What did I say?" "Come?" cried Mrs Braydon wildly. "Ay, missus. Our black's just run in to where I was watching beyond the gully. I heard the cracking of Brookes's whip, too, in the still. There! hear that?" he continued, as there was a faint distant report. "Master's yonder." Nic stepped to the corner of the room, where he had stood his gun when he entered, went to the window, cocked the piece, thrust it out with its barrel pointing upward, and fired, in answer to his father's signal. "He'll know what that means. All right," said the boy. "Oh, mother, I feel so guilty; but he did tell me to stay and take care of you, for if I did not return he said he should know that all was right." "My word, young squire, you made me jump," cried Samson, coming to the window. "Was that to siggernal the master?" "Yes, of course." "I'm a-goin' to meet him now. Too tired to come with me?" "Oh no," cried Nic; and the next minute he was trudging along beside the old man, leaving the house with its windows lit up and the fire shining through the open door as a welcome home to the master. "You ought to go first, young gentleman," said Samson, "but you won't know the way in the dark; and as I'm going along by the sheep track, there won't be room for you alongside me, so you'd better come behind. Keep close, for it's dark under the green stuff and a bit awkward, but it cuts off a quarter of a mile. Come on." Nic followed the old man across a fenced-in enclosure, over the fence, and then down a steep slope into a gully, where their path soon resembled silvery lacework on velvet, for they were going beneath arching ferns of the most delicate nature. Then they had to leap dark roaring water, that flashed and sparkled where the moonbeams touched a broad glassy curve before it plunged down into some dark mysterious depth. "Pretty place this by daylight, sir," said the old man. "Mind how you come across here. Give me your hand to steady you, for it's pretty tidy dark." "What is it--water?" asked Nic. "Yes; it's a deep bit of a pool as the master dammed up, and this here's a tree felled to lie acrost it like a bridge. You won't like it by daylight p'raps, but it's quite safe, and you can't see how deep it is in the dark." Nic hesitated for a moment, then lightly grasped the man's hand, but only for a moment. The next the bony hand had clutched his wrist like a vice. "That's better," said the old man. "Now you can slip if you like, and I can hold you if you do." There was nothing else for Nic to hold but his tongue and his breath, as he stepped on to the rugged wood in the black darkness, for the moonbeams were shut out now by the rocks, overhead, and then, as he took step for step behind his companion, so close to him that he kept kicking his heels, he felt the difference underfoot for a few paces and the tree trunk yield and give a little in an elastic way. Then all at once the character of the path was changed, and Nic felt the hard rock beneath his feet. "Is that deep?" he said, rather huskily. "Well, with what we've got not far away we don't call that deep. It's on'y a sort o' crack like. 'Bout hundred and fifty foot, say." "A hundred and fifty feet!" cried Nic, with an involuntary shiver. "Somewheres about that," said Samson coolly. "But you wouldn't hurt yourself if you went down, for there's a good depth o' water in the pool. But you'd get strange and wet." Nic drew in a deep breath. "There--it's all good going now, sir: a bit downwards and then up hill." The old man strode on, leading his companion up and down for a while and then beginning a steady ascent. "This is the bit as the sheep made going to and from the folds. 'Nother five minutes and we shall be atop o' the side o' the gully. You come along a bit higher up. There we are," he said, at last. "Now look straight ahead and tell me what you see." "A light swinging to and fro, and up and down." "That's it, sir; and that light's the master's waggon lantern. Know why it dances about like that?" "Somebody seems to be swinging it." "Yes," said the old man with a chuckle; "and some, body's that big bullock with the white spot on his for'd. Know how he carries the lantern?" "Tied round his neck." "Nay; it's been hooked on to his horn," said the old man with a chuckle. "I showed master how to do that, and you wouldn't think it was in a big stupid-looking hox; but it's my belief as old Cheery likes carrying that there light, and is quite proud of it." "Nonsense!" said Nic, as he watched the faint star down below them on the level. "No, I dunno as it's nonsense, sir. I think he do, because if he didn't he'd on'y have to give his head a cant on one side and send that there lantern a-flying; and he never do. Now steady: it's a bit steeper here. See your way better, can't you?" "Yes, it's so much more open; and how beautiful it looks in the moonlight!" "Ay, it do, sir; but it looks better by day a deal. Now hold hard." Nic stopped, and the old man gave the Australian cry, which was answered hoarsely from the darkness round the swaying lantern. Then there were several sharp cracks of a whip and the rattle of chains. "That's old Brookes. He can slash a whip. Good workman, Brookes, on'y he hayve got too much tongue. There now, we're down on the level, and you can make out the waggon. Leastwise I can." "Father!" shouted Nic excitedly. "All well?" "All well?" came back. "Yes!" and a minute later the boy was walking by his father's side, holding on by the horse's mane, answering questions and asking others. "Oh yes," said the doctor; "they came out at last and made a show of attacking us; but I sent a charge of shot spattering among the leaves over their heads, and they turned and ran." Half an hour after, while the oxen were still laboriously tugging the heavy waggon up the slope leading to the station, Nic and his father reached one illuminated door, where the doctor sprang down to embrace wife and daughters, after which he handed his horse's rein to old Samson and waited till the wain was drawn up into the enclosure and the bullocks were turned loose to graze. "Our task to-morrow, Nic,--to see to the unloading." "But will the things be safe there?" said the boy. "Safe? yes, unless the blacks come down upon us. But I have no fear. Now, Nic, I'm not like you: I haven't been fed and pampered by the women for hours. I'm starving for a good meal." "So am I, father." "What, again?" said the doctor, as he reached the door, just as Brookes and Leather carried the lantern into the kitchen, where a meal was spread for them. "Here, my dear, this boy says he's hungry again." "Again, father?" cried Hilda; "why, he has had nothing but a cup of tea!" "Why? Not well?" "Oh yes, father, quite," cried Nic. "I've only been asleep." CHAPTER SIXTEEN. LIFE AT THE STATION. The late supper in the plain, homely room--where the table was on trestles, the chairs were stools, and the arm-chairs ingeniously cut out of casks, the carpet sacking, and the hearthrug skins--and the performance in the way of sleep on his arrival, interfered sadly with Nic's night's rest. It was an hour after his father's return before they all retired; and as soon as Nic was in his room he felt not the slightest inclination for bed. Everything was so new and fresh; the brilliant moonlight lit up the tract outside with such grand effects that the first thing he did was to take the home-made tallow candle out of its socket and hold it upside down till it was extinct, and then put it back. The room was now all bright in one part, black shadow in the others; and he was going to the open window to look out, but just then an idea struck him, and he took up his gun, closed the pan, drew the flint hammer to half-cock, and proceeded to load. He carefully measured his charge of powder in the top of the copper flask, and poured it into the barrel, in happy unconsciousness that in the future ingenious people would contrive not only guns that would open at the breech for a cartridge containing in itself powder, shot, and explosive cap, to be thrust in with one movement, but magazine rifles that could be loaded for many shots at once. Then on the top of the powder he rammed down a neatly cut-out disk of felt, the ramrod, drawn from its loops and reversed, compressing the air in the barrel, driving the powder out through the touch-hole into the pan, and making a peculiar sound running in a kind of gamut: pash-- pesh--pish--posh--poosh--push--pud--pod--por--with the wind all out and the powder compressed hard down by the wad. Next a little cylindrical shovel full of shot was extracted from the belt, whose spring closed as the measure was drawn out, and the shot trickled gently into the barrel, glistening in the moonlight like globules of quicksilver. Another wad was rammed down; the pan opened and found full of the black grains, and the ramrod replaced in its loops behind the barrel, the gun being stood in the corner beside the bed ready for emergencies in that rough land. Nic's next proceeding was to listen and find that the murmur of voices heard beyond the partition had ceased, and he slipped off his shoes and stepped softly to the open window. The flowers smelt deliciously in the cool, soft night air, and he looked out, leaning his arms on the sill to realise more thoroughly that he was in the place he had so often longed to see when he did a similar thing at the Friary in far-off Kent. It seemed impossible, but it was true enough. His old schoolfellows might be looking out of the window now over the Kentish hills, but he was divided from them by the whole thickness of the great globe. They were in the northern portion of the temperate zone; he, as he leaned out, was in the southern. They would be looking at the hills; he was gazing at the rugged mountains. Then, too, it was just the opposite season to theirs--summer to their winter, winter to their summer. "It's like a big puzzle," thought Nic. "I shan't understand it all till I've made a globe. I wish I'd studied the big one at the Friary more. How strange it all seems!" As he looked out, the place appeared very different. He had seen it in the full sunshine; now, in the silence of the night, the trees glistened in the moonlight as if frosted, and the shadows cast stood out black, sharp, and as if solid. And how still and awful it all seemed! Not a sound,--yes, there was: an impatient stamp from somewhere on the other side of the house. He knew what that was, though: the horses were troubled by some night insect. There was another sound, too, as he listened--and another--and another. He was wrong: there was no awful silence; the night, as his ears grew accustomed to the sounds, was full of noises, which impressed him strangely or the reverse as he was able to make them out or they remained mysteries. As he tried to pierce the distance, and his eyes wandered through the network of light among the trees on the slopes which ran up toward the mountains, his first thoughts were of blacks coming stealing along from shelter to shelter, till close enough to rush forward to the attack upon the station; and over and over again his excited imagination suggested dark figures creeping slowly from bush to bush or from tree to tree. Once or twice he felt certain that he saw a tall figure standing out in the moonlight watching the house, but common sense soon suggested that a savage would not stand in so exposed a position, but would be in hiding. Then, too, as minutes passed on and he was able to see that the objects did not move, he became convinced that they were stumps of trees. That sound, though, was peculiar, and it was repeated. It was a cough, and that was startling, just in the neighbourhood of the house. But again he was able to explain it, for he had heard that cough in the fields of Kent, and the feeling of awe and dread passed off; for he knew it was the very human cough of a sheep. But that was no sheep--that peculiar croaking cry that was heard now here, now there, as if the utterer were dashing in all directions. That was followed by a hollow trumpeting, and a short, harsh whistle, and a strange clanging sound from far away, while close at hand there was a soft, plaintive whistling and a subdued croak. By degrees, though, as he listened, he was able to approximate to the origin of these calls. Night-hawks, cranes, curlews, and frogs might, any of them, or all, be guilty; and some kind of cricket undoubtedly produced that regular stridulation, as of a piece of ivory drawn along the teeth of a metal comb. Then there was a heavy booming buzz, as some great beetle swung by; and beneath all, like a monotonous bass, came a deep roar, which could only be produced by falling water plunging down from on high into some rocky basin. "What a place! what a wonderful place!" thought Nic, as he gazed out-- perfectly sleepless now; and as he thought, the idea of wild beasts came into his head, for there was a deep-toned, bellowing roar, very suggestive of tiger or lion, till it was answered by a distant lowing, and he knew that the first was the bellow of some huge bull, the latter the distant cry of a bullock far up in the hills. The time glided on. The white bed was no longer inviting, and he could not tear himself away from the window. At last, though, thinking that he had better lie down for fear of being very tired next day, he reached out his hand to draw in the casement, but kept it there, for a very familiar sound now struck upon his ear: _Clap, clap, clap, clap_ of wings, and then a thoroughly hearty old English cock-a-doodle-doo! and the boy burst into a merry laugh. "Go to sleep, you muddle-headed thing," he muttered. "Don't make that noise in the middle of the night.--They always do that at home when the moon shines." But the cock-crow was answered from a distance, and there was the lowing of cows; chirping came from the trees, there was the piping of the magpie, and soon after the deep chuckle of a great kingfisher, followed by burst of; shrieks and jarring calls from a great tree; and it suddenly struck the watcher that there was a pallid light shed from somewhere behind him. "Why," he said half aloud, in a regular Hibernian spirit, "it's to-morrow morning!" Morning it was, coming on fast; and all thought of bed being now given over, Nic began to put on his shoes. "Lady O'Hara said things were all upside down here," he muttered; "but I didn't know I was going to sleep in the daylight and sit up all night." A few minutes' thought, however, took away his surprise at the apparently sudden advent of the dawn, for it was well on toward morning when the family had left the dining-room--that name being maintained; and now, feeling bright, cheery, and full of anticipations of what he had to see in his new home, Nic had a wash and brush and hurried out, to find that the business of the day had begun. The first he encountered was Leather, who responded to his cheery good morning with a keen look and a surly nod, as he passed on, and went off from the shed he had left for the open field. The next minute, as Nic went round the house, there was a tremendous burst of barking, and the two dogs charged at him so excitedly that one went right over the other in collision; but they were up again directly, leaping at him, careering round, snapping playfully at each other, and madly showing their delight at meeting a familiar face in the strange home. "Hullo, old fellows!--good dogs, then!" cried Nic, lavishing his caresses on the excited beasts. "Down there! steady there! I'm not for breakfast: don't eat me." The dogs sobered down and trotted beside him, each trying to walk with its sharp-pointed muzzle thrust into one of his hands. "Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle," came from a great tree which sheltered one side of the house, and the dogs looked up and barked. "'Morning, young master," came in a harsh, cracked voice: "smart morning. Here, you two: I'm just going to feed old Nibbler, and I'll give you a share." There was the rattle of a chain hard by, and a heavy bark, as a great dog like a greyhound that had grown stout, came out of a kennel formed of a barrel laid on its side. The great beast looked at the two collies and growled, while the latter set up the dense frills of hair about their necks and showed their teeth. "None o' that, now!" cried old Samson. "You three have got to be friends. You don't know Nibbler, Master Nicklas." "Dominic," cried the boy. "Ah, I allus forget. Missus has told me your name times enough, too. I can allus recklect that there's a Nic in it. Hi, you, Nib, this here's the young master--young master! d'yer hear?" The dog growled, but wagged its tail. "We calls him Nibbler, sir; but he's a biter, and no mistake, ain't yer, old man? You ought to ha' had him with yer when them blacks come yesterday. He don't mind spears and boomerangs, do you, Nib?" The dog growled and showed its teeth. "Pst, lad!--blackfellow." The dog made a bound to the full extent of its chain, and uttered a deep bay. "All right, Nib. Gone!" cried Samson, showing his yellow teeth. "Breakfast." The dog's manner changed directly. "Come and pat him, Master Nico-de--Dick-o-me--I say, sir, hadn't I better keep to Nic?" "Yes, if you like," replied the boy, approaching the great dog, but only to be received with a low growl. "Ah!" shouted Samson, "didn't I tell you this was young master come home? Down!" The dog threw itself on its side, blinked at him with one eye and raised one paw deprecatingly, as it slowly rapped the ground with its long thin tail. "Now come and put your foot on his neck, sir, and pat his head. Don't you be afraid." "I'm not going to be," said Nic; though he felt a little nervous, and thought of the consequences of a snap from those steel-trap jaws. "That's right, sir. There--you'll be friends enough after this, Nibbler knows." But Nibbler shook his head and growled, for the collies, after protesting, whining jealously at Nic's favours being bestowed upon a stranger instead of upon them, barked again and came on steadily, as if to attack the stranger. "Down, down!" cried Nic; and they stopped. "It's all right now; they shan't fight. Here, I'll show you. You ketch hold of this, sir." Samson took an old pitchfork from where it stood in a corner, handed it to Nic, and then, somewhat to the boy's dismay, took hold of the big dog's collar with both hands, and set it free by dragging the strap over its ears. Then for a moment there were threatenings of a fight, but a shout from Samson checked the turbulent spirit. "Give Nib a rap over the head with that fork shaft if he don't mind you, sir. He's hard as iron, so you may hit sharp. Couldn't break you, Nib, eh?" The dog looked up and uttered a short bark. "Here, Master Nic," whispered the old man with a grin: "go closely to him and say sharply, `Kangaroo!'" Nic did as he was told, and the dog gave a tremendous bound and stood looking wildly round, ending by running back with a deep-toned bark, looking up at him as much as to say, "Where?" "Gone, Nib!" cried Samson. "Now follow the young master, and he'll give you some breakfast." The little old fellow led the way, Nic followed, and the three dogs came behind, Nibbler with a collie on either side, keeping up a low muttering growl, which sounded like threats of what they would do if the big dog interfered with their master. To which Nibbler responded by some language of his own, and leering looks to either side, as if in search of spots where there was not so much hair when he began to nibble. Samson stopped at the far end of the farthest shed, where there was a little lean-to; and on raising a wooden latch and throwing open the door, there within hung half a sheep, with the skin on a peg, and a chopping-block and a hatchet in the middle. "Slaughterhouse, sir," said Samson, with a grin. "'Bliged to be our own butchers out here,--fishermen too. S'pose you'll ketch our fish now? Mind chopping off some o' that sheep while I hold it on the block?" "I? No," said Nic. "That's your sort!" said the man, lifting the half sheep from a hook fastened in the beam overhead. "Emmygrunts does anything. I want you to chop off that lyne, and then cut it in three bits for the dogs." "Then you don't only give them bones?" said Nic. "Gives dogs what we've got plenty on. It's mutton now. We don't want this to spyle. It was alive and well yes'day, but a couple o' dingoes hunted the pore thing down. Hi! Nib, what come o' them dingoes?" "_R-r-r-r-ur_," snarled the big dog fiercely. "Ay, you did, mate. He gave them dingo, sir. These wild dogs is one of our biggest noosances after the sheep. Now, please chop straight. Well done, sir! There's three. Take care. That chopper's very sharp. Now through there and there. That's right. Three bits. I was going to bury half on it, for it won't keep mor'n two nights; but your two sheep, dogs'll help him. We'll feed 'em up a bit for two or three days, and then starve 'em for two or three more to put it straight. Now then, sir, you stick the fork into they three bits, and you shall feed 'em, that'll clinch old Nibbler's making friends with you. See?" Nic nodded. "Look," said Samson: "he knows what I've been saying." The dog, which was sitting watching, with a collie on either side--the latter evidently in doubt as to whether the joints were intended for the house--gave a deep bark. "Now give him the biggest bit, sir." Nic stuck the fork in the piece of loin and held it out to the big dog, and it came and took it with a low muttering sound, wagging its tail slowly from side to side, while the collies grew excited, growled, and tossed up their heads to utter a protesting whine. "Here, you, Nib, wait," cried Samson. "Give t'other two their bits, sir." Nic served each collie, and then stared at what followed. "Now then!" cried Samson, "take it out in the back and eat it. Show your chums the way. Right off. No messing about nigh the house. Off with you!" The big dog uttered a low growl, and went off with its breakfast, the collies following; all three looking decidedly comic with their jaws distended. "There you are, sir," said the old man, wiping the chopper very carefully and then sticking it into the big clean block. "Seems a pity. Beautiful mutton. The brutes had only just pulled it down when Nib was on to 'em. Leather called me to see. It was half-hour's walk, and there he was sitting by the sheep, and the two dead dingoes close by." "Didn't he begin worrying it?" asked Nic. "Him, sir? Nibbler worry a sheep? Not him. Why, I've seen him lie down and let the lambs play about him. I should like to ketch him at it. Not him, sir: I eddicated that dog. There ain't his like nowhere. Coming along o' me, Master Nic?" "Yes: I want to see all about the place." "That's right. Ah, you're a lucky one: it's all ready for you. When me and master come there was just nothing; and now see what it is. Look what a garden we're getting. Here, Brooky! Did you bring in the cows?" "Yes.--'Mornin', sir," said the man. "'Morning. Tired after your journey?" "Wonder if I warn't!" said the man. "I had everything to do. Look ye here, Sam: next time waggon goes up to town you'll come too, and so I tell the master." "What's the matter, matey?" "Heverything. That there Leather's no good at all. I have to do all the work, and I won't stand it." "Why, I thought Leather did more than you," cried Nic. "I noticed it as we came; but you always grumbled at him." Samson showed his yellow teeth and chuckled. "Don't you be sarcy, sir," growled Brookes; "and what are you crowin' at, old Sam? You needn't begin makin' a noise like a laughin' jackass. Something's going to be changed, or I goes to another station." "Goin' now?" shouted Samson, as the man strode off angrily. "Never you mind," growled Brookes; and he disappeared round a barn-like structure. "He's got his knife into Leather," said Samson, chuckling. "Strange, disagreeable sort o' chap, Brookes, sir. Leather's sour as Devon crabs; but I will say this on him: he do work, and work well. But yah! a hangel couldn't satisfy Bill Brookes. Reg'lar curds-and-whey sort o' fellow. But don't you stand none o' that, sir," continued the old man seriously. "You're young master: you let him have it for telling you not to be sarcy. He wouldn't ha' said it to me; and if you don't check him I shall tell the master. Bill Brookes wants to play first fiddle here; but he can't and won't. I'm foreman; and if I've on'y got a little body, Master Nic, I've got a will as big as Bill Brookes's, and bigger too. Now I'll go and feed the pigs." This highly interesting piece of business was gone through, Samson mixing up some meal and water, pouring it into the troughs, and belabouring the greedy animals with the mealy stick. "Take your feet out o' the stuff, will yer?" he roared. "They do make good pork and bacon and ham, Master Nic, but they are about the savagest, fiercest things I know. Fine pigs, though, ain't they? Come on: I want to see if that chap's getting on with the milking." Sam led the way to a shed with open side, where the black whom Nic had seen on the previous day was busy milking; the thick, rich milk given by one of half a dozen beautifully clean cows descending in its double stream, _quisk_--_whish_, and frothing up in the white pail. "Take some in to White Mary soon," said Samson, and the man raised his shining black face and grinned. "I say, why do you say White Mary?" asked Nic, as they left the cow-shed. "Who's she?" "Because you've got to talk to them blackfellows so's they can understand you, sir. White Mary's white woman to them. He's going to take the pails as he fills 'em in to Miss Janet: she sees to the dairy. And Miss Hilda, she's White Mary too, and so's your mar." "Oh," said Nic thoughtfully. "Now then, I want to see the horses." "Which? those on the run or in the stable?" "On the run?" "Yes. They're miles away, and you'd want to ride." "Well, in the stable." "This way, then; but won't you come and see my garden first? I've got real apple trees a-growing." "I'll see the garden after. I want to look how Sour Sorrel is." "Fresh as a daisy, sir." "I want to feed him." "You should have got up sooner, Mister Nic. I fed the horses more'n hour ago, and rubbed 'em down. Do you like Sorrel?" said Samson, showing his teeth. "Like him!" cried Nic, with a voice intense in its appreciation. "That's right, sir. I bred him speshly for you, Master Nic. He was to be for you, and you won't ride him too hard, will you?" "Why, it would be a sin!" cried Nic. "Sin ain't half bad enough word for it, sir," cried the old man. "Any one as'd hurt a horse with a temper like Sorrel, and such a willin' heart, ud do anything wicked, I don't care what it is. Why, I don't believe even a lifer ud do that." "What's a lifer?" asked Nic. "Transported for life, sir." "Oh yes, I remember now," said Nic, as they turned into the long wooden stable. "Ah, father! you up already?" "'Morning, Nic, my boy. Oh yes, we are early birds here. Been round the farm?" "Yes, some of it. He has been showing me." "Well, do you think you can be content with our rough life?" "Oh, I say, father!" cried Nic protestingly, "don't talk to me like that! Like it? Everything seems too good. Why, I love it already." "Don't be too enthusiastic, my boy," said the doctor, clapping him on the shoulder. "It is not all bliss. See what a journey it is to civilisation." "Bother civilisation!" cried Nic. "That means me being away from home with people who don't care for me." "You should make people care for you," said the doctor gravely. "Our friendships depend much upon ourselves." "But I wanted to come out, father." "And you've come to where nearly all our neighbours are blacks--savages, and many of the others convicts, who are not merely blacks on the surface, Nic. Well, we shall see how you get on. You may alter your tone, my boy." Nic said nothing, and the horses--six--were inspected. "Janet and Hilda ride those two little mares, Nic," said the doctor; "and sometimes I get your mother to mount this old favourite, but not often. The others are away grazing." "You have plenty of horses, then?" "Yes. They are a necessity here, where so many miles have to be covered a day. You think you will be contented here?" "Of course, father." "But you'll have to work, Nic." "To be sure, father. I'm sure I shall like it." "A great change from school, my boy." "Yes, father; but it was a great change for you to come from your London practice." "So it was, Nic," said the doctor: "a greater change, perhaps, for I was no longer young and sanguine. Greatest of all was the change for your mother and sisters--leaving, as they did, all the pleasant comforts of life, to be their own servants and stoop to all kinds of work. But they were very good. They saw health was the great thing. Nic, boy, for once let me refer to this seriously. I came out believing that I might prolong my poor weary life a year. At the end of that year I thought I could prolong it two more; and at the end of those three years I began to be hopeful of living with those dear to me another three." "And now, father, you are going to live to be a fine, healthy, hearty old man." "Please God, Nic," said the doctor, reverently raising his hat,--"for the sake of your mother and the girls." "He might have said, `and for your sake too,'" thought Nic, as the doctor walked away to pat one of the horses, returning directly after to talk in a bright cheery way. "I'm glad you like the horses and the place, Nic," he said. "Your mother and I were a little nervous about it being dull for you." "Oh, I shan't be dull, father," cried the boy. "Not if you have a boy's healthy appreciation of nature, Nic; and that I hope you have. No, you can't be dull; there is too much to take your attention. It will be a rougher education, but it is a grand healthy life--one like this out in a new land, to make a good simple natural home. People fear to come to some of these places, because they say there's no doctor. I am a doctor, Nic." "Yes, father; and I've heard say that you were a very clever one." "I did my best, boy. But I was going to say I am a doctor, and saving for an occasional accident, which nature would heal, I am like a fish out of water." "Break-fast!" cried a merry, girlish voice; and Hilda, looking bright and eager, looked in at the stable door. "Ah! here you are, Nic!" she cried. "What a shame! your first morning, and not been to say `how are you?' to mamma!" Nic rushed by her before she had finished, and ran into the house, where Mrs Braydon was eagerly waiting to welcome him to the board. "I needn't have been so apologetic," said the doctor drily, as he came in a minute later and took his place. "Here have I been preaching to this boy about the hardships of our life, and our rough fare, and-- humph! French ham, new-laid eggs, coffee, cream, honey, jam, hot bread-cakes, and--tut--tut--tut! My poor boy, I am so sorry there are no fried rolls. Can you make shift?" "Yes, father," said Nic, laughing, as he thought of school fare. "I'm going to try." He did. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. A STRANGE ENCOUNTER. "Don't go too far, Nic," said Dr Braydon, a few mornings after the boy's arrival at the Bluff. "Oh no, father; only I must see what the place is like all round." "Of course; I have no time to-day, or I'd take you for a ride round." "But ought he to go alone?" said Mrs Braydon. "He must learn to run alone, my dear," said the doctor. "We can't chain him up like a dog." "No," said Mrs Braydon, rather piteously; "but there are the precipices." "Nic has eyes in his head, and will not go and jump down there. He can't very well fall by accident." "The snakes, my dear." "He must learn at once to keep a sharp look-out for them. I suppose there were plenty of adders on the common at school?" "Plenty, father." "But the blacks, my dear. I have not got over that scare." "They're gone, my dear. That man came back last night and said that he saw them, and hid because he was afraid. The party hung about after the waggon for about an hour, and then went right off across the river." "But they may come back." "Oh yes," said the doctor tenderly; "but don't be afraid. Nic will not go very far--eh, boy?" "Oh no, father; I'll really take care." "And you will be very careful, my dear?" "Of course he will," said the doctor. "I will really, mother," said Nic. "I'll only go to-day and have a look round." "Shall we go with him and take care of him?" said Janet mischievously. "Yes, I'll come," cried Hilda, exchanging glances with her sister, while the doctor looked on quite amused, and waited for his son's reply. "No, that you won't," cried Nic indignantly. "Just as if I were a little boy! I know: you want to take me for a walk and each hold a hand. I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I begin to feel at home in the place." "Of course," said his father. "There, Nic, I'm going to trust to your discretion. Of course the snakes are dangerous, and you must keep a sharp look-out. You can take your gun with you." Mrs Braydon started. "Don't be alarmed, mamma. Nic can be trusted to carry a gun. It's of no use to wince, my dear. Nic has come out here to grow into a man, and he must begin to act like one. You'll be careful with the piece, of course?" "Yes, father: very." "That's right. Now then, I'll tell you the great danger--one, however, that you are not likely to fall into now, because you will not go far enough--the danger is, being bushed." "Being bushed, father? what's that?" "Wandering into the bush and losing your way." "But I'm not likely to do that, father." "Old experienced colonists have been lost, Nic. I have myself." "You have, my dear!" cried Mrs Braydon. "I never knew." "No, I did not wish to alarm you," said the doctor quietly. "It was on that occasion when I was a week away searching for stray cattle. You remember now?" "Yes, I remember now," said Mrs Braydon, turning pale. "There, don't be alarmed now. Nic is not going anything like so far as the bush--not much out of sight of the house. The danger is this, Nic: once a man wanders into the scrub the trees and shrubs are all so much alike, the hills and mountains so much the same, that the mind gets deceived and at last confused. Then the country is so vast that, once he goes wrong, he may wander on and on till he frightens his mother out of her wits and makes his sisters cry," said the doctor merrily. "Now do you understand?" "Yes, quite, father. But I've got a pocket compass." "Good! Learn to use it well." "And I promise you, mother dear, that I will not go into the bush, or anywhere to-day far from home." "That's right, my boy," said the doctor. "Be off, then, and we shall have a big meal at sundown. You are free till then." "Thank you, father," cried Nic, whose veins throbbed with eager anticipation of the pleasures to be enjoyed in what seemed to be the first real holiday he had ever had. "You'll trust me too, mother, won't you?" "Yes, yes, my boy," cried Mrs Braydon. "Of course she will," said the doctor. "Mamma has grown quite nervous since she has had a fresh chicken to take care of: she makes more fuss over you than she does over the girls." "But they know the place better, my dear," pleaded Mrs Braydon. "Nic will know it ten times better in a fortnight," said the doctor. "Eh, Nic?" "I'll try, father," cried the boy, laughing. "I'm not going to be beaten by a couple of girls." "Off with you, then!" "Shall I take the dogs, father?" "Yes. No: not to-day. I shall keep them chained up for another week, to get them more used to the place. They may do what you will not do-- go astray." Five minutes later Nic was waving his hand to his mother at the window as he strode off, proud and elate, with his gun over his shoulder and his shot belt across his breast, the powder flask peeping out of his breast pocket--for in those days men had not dreamed of even percussion guns, let alone breech-loaders and cart ridges ready to slip into the piece. "Nic!" The boy turned to see his father mounted on his chestnut, and with a stock whip in his hand. "Which way are you going?" "I want to try and find my way to the edge of the precipice, father, and look down from the Bluff into the great gully." "Very well. Straight away for a mile--north-west. Shoot any snakes you see. They alarm your mother and sisters, and they are dangerous to the dogs." The doctor pressed his horse's sides, turned his head, and went off at a canter, looking as if he had grown to its back, and Nic watched him in admiration for a few minutes. "I wish I could ride like that," he said to himself as he strode off taking great breaths of the elastic air. "Well, father was a boy once, and could not ride any better than I can. I shall try hard." "Hah! how beautiful it all is!" he said softly, as he paused at the end of a few minutes, to gaze right away; for he had reached an eminence in the park-like land from which he could see, fold upon fold, wave upon wave, the far stretching range of the Blue Mountains. "And they are blue," he cried aloud, "and blue and lavender and amethyst; but I suppose when one got up to them they would look green and grey and gravelly red. It's the distance, I suppose." He was quite right: the lovely hues came from seeing the mountains in the distance through the layers of pure air; and after satiating himself for the moment, he strode on, keeping a sharp look-out for snakes and for the animals he was most anxious to see--kangaroos. But he could only see sheep dotted about in plenty, and farther afield ruddy-looking oxen grazing on the rich grass, and after a time he began to feel a little disappointed, for, let alone wild animals, he did not see so much as a bird. He kept on, though, with his eyes wandering in all directions, calling to mind all the different creatures which inhabited the land, and making up his mind that his next walk should be along the riverside. "There'll be birds in plenty there, and fish; and I may see the curious otter rat sort of thing, with its duck-like bill. If I could only find its nest of eggs!" He laughed at the absurdity, as it seemed to him, of an animal having so strange a nature, and then began noting how different the trees were from those at home, so many being covered with a greyish-green and pinky foliage, while others seemed to have their leaves stuck on edgewise instead of lying flat, the consequence being that the shade they gave was rather thin. "A mile north-west," he thought: "I must have come as far as that, but I can see no precipices--only a hill or two yonder. There are some sheep grazing, though, over there. Father's, of course. What a lot he must have!" He went on in the supposed direction for another five minutes, noticing that the trees were closer together, and that there was more undergrowth, amongst which the creamy-fleeced sheep were wandering; and before entering this undergrowth he took a look round and behind to see that his way home was unmistakable. "That can't be the bush," he said, with a laugh, as he threaded his way among the trees, and directly after caught sight of a man walking slowly along, evidently inspecting the sheep. "Hi! Ahoy!" cried Nic; and the man turned. "Why, it's Leather!" He started off at a trot to join the man, who stood stock still awaiting his approach. "'Morning, Mr Leather," he cried, as he joined the man, who faced him with his brows knit, and a bitter, sour look in his countenance, as he said morosely: "'Morning, sir. My name's not Leather." "Oh! I beg your pardon." The man laughed unpleasantly, and Nic felt an involuntary dislike to him. "But I heard them call you Leather." "Leatherhead generally," said the man roughly: "because I'm such a fool." "Then it's a nickname," cried the boy, thinking instantly of his own annoyance at school. "I say, I'm very sorry: I didn't know. What is your name?" "Call me the same as the others do," said the man roughly. "Leather will do." "Oh, but I should be sorry to say anything to hurt you." "I'm used to it, young gentleman. Well, what is it? Does your father want me?" "Oh no: I'm having a walk to see the country. I want to find the Bluff." "You are on the Bluff," said the man, in his surly tones. "Oh yes, I know. The whole place is called the Bluff. But I mean where you can stand on the edge and look down into a great gap thousands of feet deep." "Look round." Nic looked about him, and then back at the bitter-countenanced man. "What am I to look at?" "Can't you see the edge of the Bluff?" The man took a few paces, winding among the low growth, and Nic followed him, to start back directly in alarm. "Nothing to mind," said the man; but Nic did not see the freedom from danger, and he involuntarily caught hold of a handful of twigs at the top of the nearest bush to steady himself, as he gazed away down into a mighty valley whose sides looked to be sheer and whose bottom was thousands of feet below. It was like looking down into an open country shut in by a perpendicular wall of mountains where a glittering river ran, and the trees were dwarfed into tiny shrubs, while patches of forest looked like tufts of grass. The colours were glorious; but for the moment the boy felt nothing but that breathless, shrinking sensation which attacks some people upon a height; and he said huskily: "How horrible!" "Yes," said the man gloomily. "Right: how horrible!" and he scowled down at the vast depression. "No, no," cried Nic excitedly. "How lovely--glorious--grand!" "No," said the man, without turning his head; "how horrible!" "Oh no," cried Nic again. "I did not mean it. I was startled. It looks so deep. How do you get down?" "Step over the edge and fall," said the man bitterly. "What?" "One good step and down you would go, and be out of your misery." "Oh, nonsense," cried Nic. "It's wonderful. Show me the way to go down." "What, go first?" "Yes." The man uttered a strange laugh which made Nic shudder; but he mastered his shrinking and said: "Tell me: which is the proper way down?" "They say there is no way down." "What! is it so dangerous?" "Yes." "Do you mean to tell me that we could not get down to that beautiful place below?" "The regular way is to go as the sheep and cattle do sometimes. They get grazing too close, and slip and fall. Most of them are killed, but some fall from shelf to shelf and get over it. Look!" He caught Nic by the shoulder, roughly pressed him nearer the edge, and pointed with one hand. Nic's heart began to beat heavily, but he drew a deep breath and would not shrink. "Well?" he said, after a pause. "I'm looking. What at?" "Can't you see sheep down below, and quite a drove of bullocks?" "No," said Nic: "my eyes are not used to it--yours are." "Yes, mine are," said the man. "Those were your father's cattle and sheep, and some of Dillon's from the next station, and other people's from farther still; and now they belong to nature. Don't you think your father is a fool to come and live where he loses his stock down a trap like that?" "No, I don't," said Nic haughtily, for the man repelled him. "I think he was very wise to come and live in the most beautiful place I ever saw." "I don't," said the man, laughing curiously, as if it hurt him and gave him pain. "I think the place hideous. Well, you want to go down," he continued, tightening his grip and showing his teeth as he thrust Nic forward. "There, I have only to give you one push and down you go; but you wouldn't see anything when you got down." "Because it would kill me," said Nic quietly. "Yes; and your old man would set us all to hunt for you, and one of the blacks would make you out at last, lying right at the bottom." "And fetch me up," said Nic, without flinching, but with the cold perspiration standing out on his forehead and in the palms of his hands. "No, even they couldn't get down to you; and your father would come every day with his glass to watch you till the birds and the ants had left nothing but your bones to whiten there, as the bones of bullocks have before now. Well, shall I throw you down? You asked me to show you the way." "No, thank you," said Nic quietly. "Why shouldn't I?" "Because you, a strong man, wouldn't be so murderous. And because I never did you any harm." "No," said the man, drawing him back from the brink, and looking him full in the eyes, with the half-savage glare passing out of his own to give place to an air of profound melancholy. "No, I wouldn't do you any harm, sir. You're a brave lad." "No, I'm not," said Nic, letting himself sink back on the sunny herbage, for he felt sick and giddy. "It was horrible: it made me turn faint. Why did you do that?" He spoke now in indignant anger. "Because I was a brute," said the man hoarsely. "They've made me a brute. I thought I would try you and see what was in you. There, go back home and tell them," he cried, with his voice growing intensely bitter; "and you can have the pleasure of seeing me flogged." "What!" cried Nic, forgetting his own feelings in seeing the way the man was moved. "You--flogged--for playing that foolish trick!" "Yes; foolish trick, my lad. But there, now you've come home, keep away from me. You've a deal to learn yet." "Well, you own it was foolish," said Nic, for want of something better to say. "Yes, a piece of madness, my lad. You said you begged my pardon a bit ago. I beg yours now." "Of course. There, it's all right," cried Nic. "But don't you think I should go and tell tales. My father would, of course, be put out,--but flog you! He doesn't look the sort of man to flog his people, does he?" The man looked at him curiously. Then, drawing back sharply, his manner changed, and he began to look sullen, as he said in a morose voice: "Didn't your father say anything to you about me?" "No." "Didn't he tell you what I was, sir?" "No," said Nic, with's suspicion now dawning on his mind. "You are his stock man, are you not?" "Stock man? No: Brookes is his stock man. There--keep away from me, my lad." "Why?" said Nic. "Because I'm only a sort of two-legged animal, a machine to do your father's work. I thought you knew." "That you are--" Nic stopped short. "Yes, my lad--a convict, sent out of my country for my country's good." "I know now," cried Nic eagerly. "I've heard--I was told on board. You are sent up the country for good behaviour. Then you are my father's assigned servant?" The man stood looking down at him for a moment or two with his face full of wrinkles. Then he turned quickly and walked hurriedly away, never once looking back as Nic watched him till he was out of sight. Then the boy shuddered. "How horrible!" he thought. "He might have thrown me down. No, it was only a mad trick. But what a man to have about the place! I ought to have bullied him well; but I can't go near him again. I wish I had not shown the white feather so." Ten minutes later Nic had forgotten his adventure, as he lay there upon his chest close to the edge, gazing down from the Bluff into the tremendous gully, rapt in amazement by its wonders, fascinated by its beauties. He stayed for hours tracing the river, and as his eyes grew more accustomed to the depth he made out the animals grazing below and looking like ants. "Yes, it is glorious!" he said at last; and he turned his head to look around and rest his eyes upon the green on the other side, when he felt as if turned to stone. He had escaped one danger, and another seemed to have sprung up, for peering out at him from a dense patch of grass was a black face with glittering eyes and a surrounding of shaggy hair, while the gun was lying between them, and just beyond his reach. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. A FRIGHT. The position was startling in the extreme, and all the tales he had heard on shipboard and at home, as well as in the letters he had received from his sisters, respecting the blacks, flashed into his mind. He knew how dangerous they were, and the enmity some of them bore toward the white invaders of their shores; and though he could see nothing but the man's face, he felt certain that, hidden by the grass, the black would have his spear with its hardened point--a weapon these men could throw as unerringly as the peculiar boomerang which would be stuck in his waistband to balance the deadly nulla-nulla--the melon-shaped club carved from a hard-wood root, whose stem formed the handle. And as these thoughts ran through Nic's mind he kept his eyes fixed upon the bright dark eyes of the black, every nerve upon the strain, every muscle strung, and ready for action. For in those painful moments Nic had determined to "die game," as he called it in schoolboy parlance, living as he did in days when a brutal sport was popular. At the first movement made by the black Nic meant to spring upon his gun, and have one shot for his life; but he remained motionless, trying to stare the man down, and in the faint hope that Leather might come back, and the black shrink from attacking one who faced him. "Wild beasts shrink away, so why should not wild men?" thought Nic. And so they lay there each upon his chest, watching one another, Nic having a fine opportunity for studying the native's rugged features and shaggy hair and beard. Every now and then there was a rapid winking of the eyes; but their fierce stare seemed to be uninterrupted, and caused a peculiar kind of aching and twitching at the back of Nic's eyeballs, as moment by moment he expected the man would attack. At last the strain began to be greater than the boy could bear. He had developed an intense friendship all at once for Leather, and looked vainly again for his presence there; he would have shouted for him, but he felt that in the immense space around his feeble cry would not be heard, and that out there in that savage land he was, early as it seemed, to have his first lesson in the settler's duty--namely, to fend for himself. For Nic could bear the horrible state of suspense no longer. He felt that he must fight for his life, and that after all the odds were fair. His enemy was a full-grown, sturdy savage, doubtless well armed, while he was only a boy, but he had the help of one of civilised man's most deadly weapons to balance matters. Then he felt that there was no balance in the matters for the black had his weapons ready, while he had left his gun out of his reach. "Only let me escape this time," thought Nic, in a despairing way, "and I'll never do such a foolish thing again." The sun beat down upon him, the air around quivered in the heat, and the locusts kept up a loud chirruping, jarring note which grew maddening. Then from far away there came faintly the melancholy _baa_ of a sheep calling plaintively to its missing companions, and directly after what Nic took to be the call of some wild bird in the distance--_coo-way_--_coo-way_--and this was answered faintly from farther off. The next moment Nic had grasped the fact that it was no bird-call; for the black's face was puckered up, his eyes nearly closed as his mouth opened, and he repeated the cry in a wild, shrill, ringing tone twice more, and then his mouth shut with an audible snap, and he remained perfectly still again, watching the boy. But Nic could bear no more. This brought matters to a crisis. It was the savage's _cooey_, and it meant that others were coming to join this man. So the boy felt that he must either attack or retreat. To retreat meant to invite attack, and in his desperation Nic determined that the braver plan and the one more likely to prove successful was to take the initiative, and to do this he began slowly and cautiously to stretch out one hand towards his gun. In an instant the black's eyes twinkled, and there was a movement in the grass as of some animal gliding through it. "Getting his spear," thought Nic, with his heart beating frantically, as he drew himself sidewise toward the piece. As he expected, the black moved too, but only as shown by the motion of the herbage. In fact, there were moments before the boy began to exert himself when it seemed to him that there was that fierce black head before him and nothing more, and that the whole scene was nightmare-like and unreal. But with the action all became terribly substantial. He was reaching for his deadly weapon, so was the black, or to get himself into a better position for assault. And as Nic with throbbing breast drew slowly nearer, never once taking his eyes from those of his foe, the knitted brows and shining black face seemed to approach. But he knew it was only an optical illusion caused by the intense strain upon his eyes; and feeling that quick action was necessary, he made a sudden spring to his right and grasped the gun, with which he leaped to his feet, just as the black also bounded up with a long, quivering spear in his hand, while there, plainly seen in the narrow band about his waist, were the boomerang and club. Click went Nic's gun trigger, as a thrill of confidence ran through him, and, holding the piece at the ready, he presented it at the black's breast. At this the man made a bound backward, and throwing himself into an attitude, he levelled his spear, as if about to hurl it and pierce Nic through. "I wish I knew nigger," thought Nic, getting more confident; "I'd tell him if he'd go away I would not fire." But no word was spoken on either side, white and black standing motionless in their attitudes of menace, eye fixed on eye, as if each were ready to shoot or hurl spear at the slightest movement made by the other. The situation at last became so irksome that Nic could bear it no longer, and in a hoarse voice he cried: "Now then, be off, and I won't shoot." To his surprise the black shouldered his spear, and then obeyed a sign Nic made with the barrel of his gun, turning round and beginning to march away, slowly followed by the boy, who felt that if driven to extremities he could easily hit the broad, shiny back before him, with the muscles playing elastically at every step the man took. "He understood the sign I made," thought Nic, who determined to keep near the black for fear of treachery, as the man strode on in and out among the trees, while a fresh idea now struck Nic. Suppose the man was going on to join his companions who had cooeyed to him. It was like walking into additional danger. Still the boy did not flinch, for fear of receiving a spear in the back if he turned away. But he was master for the moment; and growing more and more confident, he strode on behind the black, heedless of the direction in which they went, and leaving the end of the case to fate. All he hoped was that, sooner or later, the savage would suddenly make a dash for his liberty, when the boy fully determined to scare him by firing over his head, to make him run the harder. Nic had some idea that they were bearing toward his home, but he could see nothing but park-like trees and low wattle bushes; and after this strange procession had continued for some time he began to grow uneasy, and to think of taking out his pocket compass to try and make out his bearings, before stopping short in the first open place to let the black go on out of sight, covered meanwhile by the gun, when, just as the sufficiently open place was reached, there came a hoarse cooey from somewhere close at hand. Nic stopped short, feeling that he had walked right into the lion's mouth; and standing ready, with his eyes wandering round, waiting for the enemy, he listened to the black's reply. The next minute the black faced round, and the rustling of bushes was followed by the appearance of a second figure thirty yards away. Nic threw up his gun, not to his shoulder, but over it; for the figure was that of the stock man, Brookes, who shouted: "Oh, there you are, young gentleman. Your mar's getting in a orful way. She sent Bungarolo to look after you, and then, as he didn't come back, she sent me." "Oh!" groaned Nic, in a tone of disgust; for all his bravery, as he thought it, had been thrown away, and a peculiar sensation of self-humiliation and shame came ever him. "Yes, here I am, Brookes," he said. "Then this is a tame black?" "Tame un?" said the man, with a chuckle. "Oh no, he's wild enough; I never see one on 'em yet as you could tame. No tame man would go about without trousers when he's had two pair give him to my sartain knowledge. He's one as hangs about sometimes." "But I mean he is not one of the more dangerous blacks?" "Oh no, I think not, sir--so long as you treat him well, and he gets treated right enough with soft tack and mutton. He comes to see our other two as you know." "But does his tribe live about here?" "I dunno, sir. Nobody does know. These chaps is like the cockatoos: they swarm about the place one day, and next day there isn't one, and you might go for a hundred miles and never see one of their blessed heads. He's wild enough. Hangs about the place, and does a bit of work if he likes it. If he don't, he goes. These blacks is, to my mind, the only real gents as there is. Look at him now. He don't want no clothes nor no house, only a hut, as he makes out of a few bits o' bark and calls a gunyah, perhaps only a mia-mia." "What's a mia-mia?" said Nic. "Sort of a hurdle thing as he puts up for shelter, and to keep the wind from blowing his fire away. Then as to clothes--look at him now." Nic turned to look, but the black had disappeared, and ten minutes later he passed out of the thick growth to come in sight of the house, outside which Mrs Braydon was standing, watching anxiously for the return of her son. "I wish he had been a real savage though, after all," thought Nic. "It would have been far better fun." Perhaps! CHAPTER NINETEEN. NIC SHOWS HIS TEETH. Nic did not say anything about his adventure with Leather, and was perfectly silent about his fright with Bungarolo, who showed his teeth next time they met, pointed to the lad's gun, and shook his head, the fact being that he was as much startled as Nic. During the days which followed the boy had long rides with his father to see cattle on distant ranges, to visit flocks grazing nearer home, and gradually grew acquainted with the pleasant, patriarchal life the doctor lived. The weather was glorious, for there had been rain in abundance a month earlier, and the consequence was shown in the rich pasture and abundance of flowers flourishing in the bright sunshine. The air, too, was deliciously invigorating, and Nic never knew that he was tired, even when he had been a whole day in the saddle, until suddenly about bedtime he discovered that he could not keep his eyes open. Then he would sleep soundly till the piping crows and the poultry awoke him at daybreak for another busy, happy day. Nic determined that he would have no mare to do with Leather, who went stolidly about his work. He was a convict, and the boy felt that the man was a sullen, ill-tempered fellow, who, instead of trying to make up for the past, now that the opportunity had been given him to amend and begin a new life, evidently looked upon himself as ill-used, and avoided everybody. There were a certain number of slips printed from copperplate and pasted upon cardboard at Dr Dunham's, all consisting of good, sterling advice to the young, which the boys had had to copy over and over again, so as to get in the habit of writing a good, clear, round hand, with fine upstrokes and good, firm downstrokes; and one of them which Nic had well in mind was, "Judge not rashly." But Nic did judge rashly all the same. One day he took his gun with the intention of shooting a specimen of the lovely Blue Mountain parrot or lory, and this he meant to skin and preserve. He had seen the birds in flocks when out without his gun, and stood entranced at the beauty of the little creatures, with their breasts gleaming with scarlet, crimson, orange, and purple mingled in the most wonderful way, while their heads were of a peachy blue, and wings and backs, right to the end of their long tails, of a lovely green. He had taken some of the smallest shot, so as not to damage the plumage; and after a warning from Mrs Braydon to be careful, he was crossing the enclosure beyond the garden toward a field where he could hear Brookes's voice raised in a loud, bullying tone. Directly after he came upon old Samson, who was wheeling manure in a barrow made of half a barrel cut lengthwise, and furnished with a couple of good sound poles, nailed on so that two ends formed the widely apart handles the other two being fitted with iron, which drew them together and secured the wheel, which was a round cut with a saw from a tree trunk, bound with iron hooping, and looking like a single Gloucester cheese. "Heavy," said the old man, stopping to rest. "What's that for?" asked Nic, who liked the old, keen, but thoroughly amiable factotum. "Garden, sir. Good, strong, fat stuff as'll grow anything. I'm making a cowcumber bed." "Not much of a barrow, Sam," said Nic. "Well, it ain't, Master Nic, and I'd ha' made another afore now, on'y I can't get a wheel. The master's going to get me one first chance, for the wheel bothers me. I could make the box, but wheels want practice. I did try to make one, and I forged a pretty good tire down yonder but the wood part! My word, it was a rickety, wobbly one, and broke down second day. Didn't teach you to make barrow wheels at school, I suppose?" "No," said Nic, laughing. "Wheel-making's an accomplishment." "Then they ought to ha' taught you. Been strange and useful to you as a squatter, sir. Didn't teach you to shoe horses nayther, I'll be bound." "No, nor blacksmithing either." "Then it's a shame, sir, for I know the master paid a lot o' money for you to be well taught. I wish they'd teached you to make wheels, for you see these here soon warps in the hot sun and cracks. But there," cried the old man, grinning, "there's hard, sound trees enough to cut down and saw into thousands and thousands of barrow wheels; and as to horseshoeing, I can teach you that, my lad. I shoe all ours, and the master likes my shoes better than those he makes." "Does father make horseshoes?" "Does he make horseshoes?" cried Sam. "Why, I should think he does, and trims a hoof, and nails splendid. He beats me hollow. There he goes-- at it again," muttered the old man, as Brookes's voice rose. "I wish he'd leave the poor chap alone." "Is he bullying Leather again?" "Ay, my lad; and he'd like to tan Leather too, on'y he daren't do that. I 'most wish the poor chap'd give him one for his not, and then p'r'aps he'd be quiet with his tongue. Brooky's never satisfied. He's like lots of 'em: he thinks, because a chap's a 'signed servant, he's to be bullied and kicked. They forgets as a convict is a man arter all." "Of course," said Nic, frowning. "The free men settlers is jealous of the government chaps, and hates 'em. I don't doubt Leather's a reg'lar crab, but set him to do a job and he does it. I never know'd him skulk or flinch anything. The master'll ketch old Brooky at it some day, and then there'll be a row. I do wonder, though, as Leatherhead don't give him one between the eyes." "Perhaps he will some day, if Brookes goes too far." "Nay, nay, my lad, he won't do that. That wouldn't do. 'Signed servant's got to take what he gets, and be thankful. Why, do you know what'd happen if Leather turned on Brooky?" "Brooky would complain to the master, and Leather would be fetched over to Mr Dillon's--magistrate, you know. He'd have the cat, and a warning that if he didn't behave he'd go back to the chain gang, and it would be a bad mark agin him." "Then it would be very unfair," said Nic sharply. "Yes, sir, it would; but the world don't allus play quite fair, and, you see, government has to be very strict with 'signed servants, for some on 'em's been shocking bad uns, and if they weren't kep' down with what they calls a hiron han', honest people wouldn't come to live out here. 'Bliged to be very strict; if they weren't, the convicts might get the better of us all. Well, this ain't making cowcumber beds, is it? Going shooting?" "Yes; I want to get some specimens to stuff." "That's right, sir. You do? There's some very pretty birds about these parts; but if I was you, my lad, I'd get one o' the blackfellows to go with you. He'd carry what you shot--when you happened to hit anything." "All right. You needn't grin, Sam. I can hold the gun straight sometimes." "'Course you can, my lad. Why not? You'll shoot and ride and do everything soon, and I'll teach you all I know 'bout shoeing and forging and gardening. But as I was a-saying, you get Bungarolo or Rigar or Damper. No, I can't spare Damper 'cause of the cows, and Rigar's handy with the bullocks. You have Bung; he'll take you to places where the birds are. These blacks know all that sort o' thing; and as to getting bushed, you'll never get bushed so long as he's with you." "What's bushed?" "What's bushed, sir? My word, they did take your poor father in over your education. Don't know what being bushed is? Why, being lost, my lad. There, you're a-romancing me, Master Nic. You're a-making me a reg'lar old ruck-a-tongue. I've got to do my work, and my work to-day's cowcumbers." Samson lifted the handles of his rough barrow, and went off without looking back, while Nic made off with his gun on his shoulder, bearing a little to his left, so as to pass round a shed, beyond which Brookes's voice could be heard. As Nic reached the fence he saw that about fifty sheep were shut behind hurdles, and Leather was catching them by the wool, turning them on their sides, and then carrying them to where Brookes knelt, with a brush and a tub and a sheep before him, dividing the wool and applying some tarry mixture to sore places caused by the attacks of virulent flies--a cruel-looking process, but one which saved the poor animals' lives. Brookes's back was towards Nic, and Leather's eyes on his work, over which he bent frowning, and using his great strength to master the struggling animals, and carry them to his companion, who went on loudly, as Leather slaved away, dripping with perspiration, in the hot sun. "Government's mad, that's what government is, to let loose such a set o' scum to mix with honest men. I dunno what things is coming to. If I had my way, I'd soon have yer again in the chain gang, and scratch yer back every day with the warder's cat--that's what I'd do with you. There,"--to the sheep--"off you go. Now, then, how much longer am I to wait for that next sheep? Of all the lazy, idle, skulking hands that ever came about a place you're the worst. Now, then, don't kill the poor beast, and don't keep me waiting all day for the next." The sheep had made a sudden bound and nearly escaped; but Leather, bending low the while, flung his arm round it, hugged it to his breast, and bore it to Brookes. "Yah! you clumsy, lazy brute; you're not fit to handle a sheep. Don't kill it, thick-head. Hang yer, you're not worth your salt." This was too much for Nic. "Then why don't you go and fetch the sheep, and let him have a turn with the tar?" roared the boy, with his face scarlet. "What?" cried Brookes, swinging himself round, and dropping the brush. "Say `sir' when you speak to me," cried Nic. "You heard what I said. You're always bullying and insulting people. It's abominable. The man's working like a slave, and you're kneeling there and doing hardly anything." "I'm blest!" panted out Brookes, with rings of white round the irises of his eyes. Leather was panting too. His face looked corrugated, and he stood there bent down, frowning hard at the ground. "It's shameful!" cried Nic. "I'm sure my father does not know you speak to your fellow-servants like that." "My what?" roared Brookes furiously. "Do you know he's only a convict?" "Yes, I do. But what's that got to do with it, sir? As long as he works and does his duty to my father, he's to be properly treated. You're always bullying him. I've heard you ever since I've been home." "Here! Where's your father?" cried Brookes, rising to his feet, and advancing toward the fence with a threatening look, while Leather bent lower. "Gone on one of his rounds," said Nic, springing over the fence, and facing him. "I wish he were here." "And so do I," roared Brookes. "Look here, young gentleman; don't you think because you've come home that you're to lord it over me. I'll have you to know that you've got to beg my pardon, insulting me before that lazy, lying, idle convict, you miserable young whippersnapper!" "What!" said Nic, beside himself now with passion. "How dare you! How dare you speak to me like that! Insult you--you common, foul-mouthed bully. Go on with your work, sir. I'm your master's son, and if I'd a horsewhip here instead of this gun, I'd lay it across your back." Brookes stooped, picked up the brush viciously, and rolled up his sleeves. "Oh," he cried; "that's it, is it? Horsewhip me, eh? We'll soon see about that. Here, you convict." "Do you want me to strike you?" cried Nic. "Yes; you'd better," growled the man, dropping on his knees. "We'll soon see about that. Here, you, bring me another sheep." "No. Stop!" cried Nic, turning to Leather, who was bringing on the sheep; "let him fetch them for himself. While my father's away I'm master here. Go away. You shall not be bullied like that, whatever you have done. Go and find some other work amongst the sheep." Leather looked at him strangely. "You heard what I said," cried Nic. "Yes, sir," said the man, in a husky voice. "Then go at once. Nic was treating you worse than he would dare to treat a dog." Brookes banged down the brush and rose to go. "You stop," cried Nic. "My father said those sheep must be dressed to-day, and you know it. Finish them, every one." Brookes dropped upon his knees again. "I beg your pardon, sir," said Leather quietly. "It is very hard work for one man. I'm used to this sort of thing. Hadn't I better stay?" "No," said Nic firmly. "You heard my orders. Go." He pointed across the enclosure, and Leather went without a word. "Now," said Nic, "finish those sheep." Brookes muttered low threat after threat of what he would do, but he went on dressing the sheep; and Nic turned, walked back to the house, altered his mind, and went right away toward the bush, but his nerves were all of a quiver, as he thought over the meeting to come with his father, and he did not fire his gun that day. CHAPTER TWENTY. LEATHER'S OTHER SIDE. "Well, Nic, what does all this mean?" said the doctor on the following day. "Brookes has been complaining to me that he was busy yesterday dressing those sheep, when he found Leather, as they call him, my assigned servant, lazy, careless, and insolent. He was speaking to him rather sharply, when you suddenly appeared from behind the fence, flew in a passion, abused him, defended the other man, talked in a way that would make Leather disobedient in the future, and finally ordered the man to go away and leave Brookes to do all the work himself. Now then, my boy, is this true?" "Well, about half of it, father." "I'm sorry to hear it, Nic, though I'm glad you are so frank," said the doctor, rather sternly. "You own to half. Now how much of the other half would be true if judged by an impartial observer?" "I don't think any of it, father." "Humph!" ejaculated the doctor. "This is a great pity, my boy. I cannot have dissension here at the station. Brookes is a valuable servant to me, where men with a character are very scarce. He is, I know, firm and severe to the blacks and to the convict labourers I have had from time to time, and I must warn you these assigned servants are not men of good character. Has this Leather been making advances toward you, and telling you some pitiful tale of his innocency to excite your compassion?" "Oh no, father," cried Nic. "He has been as distant and surly to me as could be." "Ah! There you see! The man is not well behaved." "He works well, father, and was doing his best; but Brookes does nothing but bully and find fault, and he went on so yesterday at the poor fellow that at last I felt as if I couldn't bear it, and--and I'm afraid I got in a terrible passion and talked as if I were the master." "I repeat what I said, Nic. I am very sorry, and I must ask you to be more careful. You say you played the master?" "Yes, father." "Very badly, my lad. He is a poor master who cannot govern his temper. Men under you always respect quiet firmness, and it will do more in ruling or governing than any amount of noisy bullying. There, I am not going to say any more." "But you don't know, father, how cruelly he uses Leather." "Neither do you, Nic, I'm afraid. You are young and chivalrous, and naturally, from your age, ready to magnify and resist what you look upon as oppression. There, be careful, my lad. I shall keep an eye on Leather and take notice for myself. As to Brookes, I shall leave matters to you. I do not ask you to apologise to him, but I should like you to run over yesterday's business in your own mind, and where you feel conscientiously that you were in the wrong I should like you to show Brookes that you regret that portion of what you said. One moment, and I've done. I want you to recollect that he is a man of fifty, while you are only about sixteen. Do we understand each other?" "Oh yes, father," cried the boy, earnestly. "Then that unpleasant business is at an end. Did you get your specimens yesterday?" "No," cried Nic; "the quarrel yesterday upset me, and I could only go and wander about in the bush thinking about it. I did not shoot a bird." "Then go and make up for it to-day," said the doctors smiling. "But," said Nic, hesitating, "don't you want me, father--to begin work?" "Yes, by-and-by; not yet. I should like you to have your run about the place for a week or two more--or a month, say. It will not be waste time. You cannot see what is going on about a station like this without learning a great deal that will be invaluable by-and-by. Of course I shall take you with me for a few runs or rides. By the way, did they finish emptying the waggon?" "Oh yes, father; I saw that done, and kept account of the packages that came over in the _Northumbrian_. I didn't know the rest." "That was businesslike, and the more so for its being done unasked." "But Brookes didn't like my being there, father." "Indeed!" said the doctor slowly. "And the other man--Samson?" "He liked it, father. We're capital friends. I like him: he's such a rum old fellow." "Well, you must get to like Brookes too. Now have your run." Nic felt better, for the previous day's trouble had sat upon him like a nightmare. Hurrying to his room he took his gun, and leaving it at the door was guided by the voices to the big store-room, where Mrs Braydon and the girls were busy unpacking and arranging some of the stores brought by the waggon. Here he was soon dismissed by his sisters, and after promising to be back in good time, he went off across the home part of the station, catching sight of Samson, Brookes, and a couple of the blacks busy over some task in an open shed, which task looked like the stacking up of bundles of wool rolled neatly together. "I can't go and tell Brookes I'm sorry before them," thought Nic; "and I'm afraid I don't feel sorry. I suppose, though, I was a bit in the wrong. Father knows best; but he wouldn't have let Brookes speak like that. Brookes wouldn't have dared to do it." The boy had got about a mile away from the station and into a part of the doctor's land which looked as if it had been carefully planted with trees, but his common sense told him that it must be in precisely the same condition as when he took up that part of the country; and after stopping to look round and admire the beauty of the place in every direction, he began to wish that he had brought the two dogs for a run. "Father says that they are better at home, though, for a bit," he muttered, as he trudged on again, looking for birds or other game, but seeing nothing whatever, not so much as a snake. His direction this time was parallel with the tremendous gorge whose edge he had stood upon to gaze down; and as in comparison the present part of the huge estate was, though beautiful, somewhat monotonous in its constant succession of large ornamental trees and grassy glades, he was beginning to wish that he had gone in the other direction, to explore the gully down into which Samson had guided him on the way to meet the waggon. "I want to see that tree bridge, too, that we crossed. Never mind: that will do for another time." Nic kept on in and out among the trees, glancing at his pocket compass from time to time, but satisfied of his ability to retrace his steps, for he was convinced that the huge gorge must be away to his left, so that if he kept it upon his right in returning he would be certain to come out correctly. Every now and then he obtained a grand view of the mountains, with their prevailing tint of blue in the distance gradually becoming grey, yellowish brown, red, and of many delicious greens, as the great spurs, bluffs, and chasms came nearer and nearer till they plunged down into the gorge. It looked to be a very fairyland of tempting mystery, waiting to be explored; and till the trees hid the towering eminences from his sight, he went on planning endless excursions for the future. "But it does seem so strange," he said to himself at last, as he wiped his streaming forehead and stood in the shade of a great green tree, gazing up in its forest of boughs. "One would think that such an out-of-the-way place would swarm with birds and wild creatures; while except flies and beetles nothing seems to live here. Ah!" he cried at last. For he had caught sight of something moving among the low scrubby bushes beyond the next tree, and softly cocking his gun he began to stalk it. But the next minute he had made up his mind not to fire at what would in all probability be a kangaroo. "And I don't want kangaroos," he said; "I want birds." But he wanted to get as close as he could to the animal, and he stole on and on slowly for about fifty yards, till, as nearly as he could judge, whatever it was must be just beyond the next bushes. Toward these he was creeping, when he started round with a quick jump, for some one had spoken. "Are you looking for me, sir?" There stood Leather bending over a sheep, whose fleece he was relieving of a strange growth of burrs and prickly, brambly strands with which the creature was tangled. "No," said Nic, as soon as he had recovered from his surprise. "I did not know you were this way. What are you doing?" "Shepherding, sir," said the man, with a sad, weary-looking smile, which half fascinated Nic, and he stared at one who seemed to be quite a different man. "The poor brutes get terribly tangled by these wild growths, and sheep are not very wise, sir. They're poor, helpless sort of creatures. As soon as they are helped out of one difficulty they get into another." "Yes, I suppose so," said Nic, speaking as if he thoroughly understood sheep; though his knowledge of the popular old useful animal consisted in the facts that when they were young they were lambs, that they grew wool, and that when they were killed they became mutton. They have so many diseases, too, sir, and so many enemies. "What, the dingoes?" said Nic. "Yes, they play the part of the wolf in Europe. It's astonishing how they have overrun the country." Nic stared again, but averted his eyes for fear the man should notice it. This did not seem the Leather he had seen so much of on his way home and since. "Are there no wolves, then, here?" he asked. "No, sir, fortunately for the squatters; and it's a pity they introduced these dogs." "They? Who did?" "Impossible to say, sir. The captain of some ship, I suppose--perhaps of more than one ship; and they increased and multiplied till they run wild all over the land." "Oh no; surely they must always have been here?" said Nic. Leather shook his head. "This is a land of surprises, sir," he said quietly. "There were hardly any, if any, animals here but the kangaroos and the like, when the place was first settled. Haven't you read all this?" "No," said Nic; "I have only just left school. But there doesn't seem to be many even of them." "Millions," said Leather, smiling, "if you know where to look for them." "But I haven't seen one since I left home this morning." "And perhaps passed dozens, sir, from large ones, bigger than I am, down to the kangaroo rats and mice, not much bigger than those at--in England." Nic noticed the man's hesitation, but appeared not to heed it. "But could you show me any of them?" "Oh yes, sir, if you wish. They want looking for, but I spend so much time alone here in the bush that I get to know their habits. Some of the small ones are pretty little long-legged creatures. Wonderful jumpers too." "And you call them all kangaroos?" "Some people do, sir." "Kangaroo! Why, that must be a native name." "Haven't you heard about that, sir?" "Heard what?" "About their name, sir?" "No--nothing." "They say that when the first people met the blackfellows they asked them what they called the leaping creatures they saw hopping along so far on two legs, like animal grasshoppers; and the blacks said `Kangaroo.'" "Yes, I thought it would be a native name." Leather smiled. "No, sir; `kangaroo' is the blackfellows' way of saying `I don't know what you mean.'" "Could you show me where I could shoot one of those Blue Mountain parrots, Leather?" said Nic, after a pause, during which the boy stood thoughtful and wondering at his companion's change of manner. "Oh yes, I think so, sir. There are plenty about." "I haven't seen one for days; when I did I had no gun; and besides, I was not ready to stuff it." "This is not a good time of day to look after them, sir; but I dare say you have passed plenty." "No--not one." Leather smiled faintly. "They are very quiet, like most birds in the heat of the day, and are sitting up among the leaves, huddled up and with their feathers all loose, so that you don't see the bright underpart, and their backs and sides are all green like the leaves. It wants practice to see them." "When is the best time, then?" "Early in the morning, when it is cool and fresh, and they are just off to feed. You hear them whistling and shrieking to each other then." "But do you think you could show me one now?" "I'll try if you like, sir," said Leather quietly. "One of the blacks would soon show you, but my eyes are not so well trained as theirs." The man led on, and Nic followed on tiptoe, thinking of how different he was, and wondering why so strong a feeling of dislike to him had sprung up: why, too, a man of bad character and a convict should be able to speak so well and take so much interest in the things about him. "You need not walk so carefully, sir," he said; "and you can talk. The birds will not fly off. They trust to their colours keeping them hidden. These sheep look well, sir." "Yes," replied Nic, without glancing at the white-fleeced creatures feeding about, for he was thinking of the scene of the day before and felt afraid that Leather would allude to it. But he did not, for he seemed disposed to talk quietly and respectfully of the different things about them as they went on through the openly wooded region for about a mile. "Like honey, sir?" he said. "Oh yes. Do people keep bees out here?" "Well, sir," said Leather, smiling pleasantly, "Dame Nature does. There are plenty of wild bees. There's a nest up just above that fork." He pointed to a spot about forty feet from the ground, where what appeared to be some flies were darting about a hole. "Those are not bees," said Nic, gazing up at the place where the bark appeared to be split and a portion of the tree decayed. "Yes, sir--Australian wild bees. They make plenty of delicious honey." "Where you can't get at it!" "Oh yes; a man who can climb would get it. The bark of these trees is soft and easily cut through." "But the bees would sting him to death while he was doing it." "If they could, sir; but these bees out here are harmless. I've seen the naked blacks climb up, with a piece of smouldering, smoking wood to drive the insects away, and then rob a nest. They would not have much protection from the insects if they were attacked." "Well, no, not much," said Nic, laughing. "But the nests must be hard to find. You won't know that place again." "Oh yes, sir," said Leather quietly, as he stood glancing up in the tree. "You see I brought you straight here. Besides, after seeing one of the blacks track the bees home it is very easy, for the country is so open. It is not like being in the dense scrub." "How do they track them?" asked Nic. "Catch a bee when it is busy in a flower, touch its back with a tiny speck of gum from one of the trees, and touch the gum with a tuft of that white silky wool--"; and he picked a scrap from the seed-vessel of one of the trees. "And what good does that do?" asked Nic. "Good, sir? The white cotton is easily seen when the bee flies homeward, the black chasing it till perhaps he loses it. But he has got nearer to the nest, and he will do this again with other bees, till he comes at last to the place where the nest is." "And did you find that nest so?" "Yes," said Leather quietly. "I lost sight of the first bee about forty yards away; the next bee I missed too, but the last showed me the way at once. Now, then: look straight up there." "Oh, I can see them flying in and out plainly enough," replied Nic. "I was not talking about the bees then, sir. I mean away to the right a little, and a good fifty feet higher." "Don't see anything, only the sun coming through like silver rain." "To the right of that, sir, where the leaves are thickest. Now can you see?" "I can see where the leaves are thickest, that's all. What am I to look at?" "The paroquets." "What?" cried Nic excitedly, as he gave himself an aching sensation in the back of the neck from the awkward position he assumed: "I can't see anything." "Look again, sir. They are hard to see. I can count six together, and one which seems to be a handsome cock bird, quite by itself." "That's the one I want," said Nic in a whisper, as he cocked his gun and stood peering up in the part indicated, but only to have his eyes dazzled by the rays which shot down from above. "You see it now, sir?" said Leather quietly. "Nor; nothing but leaves and twigs--nothing else. Are you sure you can see the birds?" "Yes, sir, quite. My eyes are more used to this sort of thing than yours. I have been so much alone in the bush, often with no companions but the sheep or the blacks." "And are they friendly to you?" "Oh yes; in their way, sir." "But look here: are you really sure that you can see some of those parrots now?" "Certain, sir," said Leather, smiling. "Try and follow my finger. There: now you can see them." Nic had a long look, and then shook his head in despair. "I'm sorry you cannot see them, sir. Would you like me to shoot that bird for you?" "Yes," cried Nic, holding out his gun. "No!" he said, drawing it sharply back. "Because you think, sir, it is a ruse on my part to get possession of your gun and then go off as a bushranger," said Leather bitterly. Nic coloured deeply as a girl, but he tossed up his head. "Well," he said sharply, "that's true; I could not help thinking it." "I suppose not," said the man sadly. And he turned away. "You know you got hold of me out there by the precipice and talked about dropping me over." "Yes," said Leather, starting. "It was the act of a fool; but I felt very bitter that day, sir." "And how do I know that you don't feel bitter to-day?" "Hah! How indeed!" cried the man. Nic hesitated a moment, and then, ashamed of his suspicions, he held out the gun. "Shoot the bird for me," he said. Leather looked at him keenly. "I don't think so now," said Nic, as the man drew back frowning. "I want the bird. I can't see it. I know you wouldn't trick me." The man snatched the gun almost fiercely, examining the priming; and it was hard work for Nic to stand fast and force himself not to believe that he had done a foolish thing. But he did stand firm and met Leather's flashing eyes. He was not long kept in suspense, for, without a moment's hesitation, Leather took aim. There was a flash, a puff of smoke and loud report, and a bird came rustling down through the twigs and boughs. "A fact--not a ruse, sir," said Leather bitterly, as he handed back the gun. "I beg your pardon," said the boy excitedly; and the man looked at him in wonder. "People do not beg pardon of convicts," he said very shortly; and, bending down over the spot where the bird had fallen, he carefully parted the low growth into which the specimen had dived head first, and then, taking the beautifully coloured little creature by the hooked beak, he tenderly drew it out with the feathers falling back into their places, and hardly showing a mark. "That is about as perfect as one can be, I think, sir," said Leather quietly. "Lovely!" cried Nic enthusiastically. "How am I to get it home safely?" "Take hold of it by the beak, sir, a moment," replied Leather; and, being relieved of the bird, he looked round till his eyes lit upon a peculiar-looking grass, one of the waving strands of which he picked, drew through his hand, and then passed it through the bird's nostrils, twisted the ends together lightly, and handed the loop to Nic. "That grass is nearly as tough as wire, sir," he said. "Carry it by that, letting it swing. Are you going to collect bird-skins, sir?" "I'm going to try, Leather. I shall want to get a good white cockatoo," said Nic, eagerly plunging into the subject, so as to try and make up for the suspicion he had displayed. "Oh yes, sir," said the man, who now showed not the slightest resentment. "There will be plenty of work for you in that way. You can get the sulphur crests, and those with orange crests, and the rose-coloured, and the pretty grey creamy-yellowish-cheeked birds which have the cockatoo's crest and the long tail of the paroquet." "I don't know of these," said Nic eagerly. "The country swarms with beautiful birds, sir, especially with those of the parrot tribe. There is the black cockatoo, for instance--not that you'll care for it." "Why?" said Nic. "Because it is ugly," said Leather, smiling, as if he enjoyed the boy's enthusiasm. "It is wanting in bright feathers, but it is a curious bird, with a tremendously strong beak." "I must have a specimen, though," said Nic. "What others are there?" "I can hardly tell you, sir. The parrots are in great variety. Stop: there are two grass parrots that I know of. One is a green bird striped all over across with a darker green, like the breast of a cuckoo or a hawk, and it has fairly long legs, which enable it to go about actively on the ground. Other parrots have, as you know, very short legs, only suitable for clinging and climbing in the trees." "And the other--grass parrot you called it?" "A lovely little creature, cross-barred like the ground parrot; but its colours are brilliant, and it is one of the most graceful-looking little birds of the kind." "Why, Leather," cried Nic, "you are quite a naturalist! How do you know all this?" "How could I help knowing, sir--spending days and weeks and months alone, out here in this great wild country, watching sheep or helping to hunt our stray cattle? What should I have done in a solitary bit of a hut without speaking to a fellow-creature perhaps for a month?" "But you have not been like this?" "Not since I have been at the Bluff, sir. When I came up the country to be Mr Dillon's servant I was almost constantly alone. They used to send me my rations now and then. It was a very solitary life." "How lonely!" "Yes, sir--lonely," said the man, with a tinge of bitterness in his tones; "but it had its advantages. There was no Brookes." Nic started and looked keenly in the man's face; but he frowned and turned hastily away, as if angry at what he had said. "I must be getting back to the sheep, sir," he said hurriedly. "They are terribly weak, foolish things, always catching some disease. I hope you will get your bird home safely, sir. I should skin it directly. Things so soon go bad out in this hot place." He turned away in among the trees; and Nic walked off with his gun over his shoulder, very thoughtful as he picked his way in and out among the bushes, till, feeling hot, he rested his gun against a bough, and sat down in the shade of one of the thick-foliaged, huge-trunked trees which seemed an exception to the rest--so many being thin-leaved and casting very little shade. He had laid his specimen carefully down upon the grass, and was gazing at it without seeing any of its beauties, when a sudden thought struck him, and he sprang up to carefully reload his gun and place it before him. "Mustn't forget that," he muttered. "Never know what may happen." He sat down again in the pleasant shade to inspect his trophy; but once more he did not see it, for the convict's face filled his mind's eye, that lowering, sun-browned, fierce countenance which lit up at times with a smile that was sad and full of pain, and at others was so bright that the deep lines in the man's face faded, and he became attractive. "It's queer," said Nic to himself. "One minute you regularly hate the fellow, and feel half afraid of him; the next you quite like and feel as if it would be nice to know more about him. No, it wouldn't: he's a convict, and they warned me about him." Nic became very thoughtful, and though his lovely Blue Mountain parrot, the object of his morning's walk, was close to his side, he did not glance at it, and the beautiful birds the convict had mentioned were for the time forgotten. For he found himself wondering what Leather had done, and why he had done it; whether he was a very bad man; and gradually found his head getting into quite a muddle of conflicting surmises. "I wish I hadn't let him think I was suspicious," he said to himself. "He jumped at it directly. I suppose I showed it pretty plainly. But no wonder! Any one would have felt as I did. To hand over one's gun to a convict, and give him a chance to point it at you and say, `Now then, hand over that powder flask and that belt and all your wads.' Of course, so that he could go off--bush-ranging, don't they call it? Why, it seemed a mad thing to do. "And yet I did it," said Nic to himself, after a thoughtful pause; "and he didn't run off. Why, he acted just as a gentleman would under the circumstances. I did feel sorry for him. There, I don't care: he can't be such a bad fellow as old Brookes wants to make out. Brookes is an old beast! I'd tell him so for two pins." Nic's thoughts were flowing very freely, and feeling quite excited he went on: "He must have done something very bad, and he has been severely punished; then they let him come out from the gang to be an assigned servant, and he's trying hard to make up for the past, and when he gets bullied and ill-used it makes him look savage and fierce, of course. "Well," said Nic, after a thoughtful pause, "I can keep him in his place and yet be civil to him. I'm not going to jump on a man because he has done wrong; and I don't see why he shouldn't be forgiven--if he deserves it, of course, and--somehow, though I don't like him, I seem to like him a good deal, and that's about as big a puzzle as some of the things in mathematics, and--" This next was aloud: "Oh, murder! Needles and pins! Wasps and hornets! Oh!" Nic had jumped up, to begin dancing about, slapping his legs, shaking his trousers, pulling off his shoes, and trying hard to get rid of something that was giving him intense pain. "It's those bees!" he cried. "They've got up the legs of my trousers; and he said they had no stings. No! ants!--You nasty, miserable, abominable little wretches--no, big wretches," he muttered, as he picked off and crushed one by one the virulent creatures, which had made a lodgment upon his legs and evidently come to the conclusion that they were good to eat. He soon freed himself; but the tingling, poisonous nature of their bites was still very evident, and excited an intense desire to rub and scratch. "Why, there's quite a regiment of the little vicious wretches!" cried the boy as he was going back to where his gun stood by the tree. "I suppose they smelt me." It seemed so for the moment, for a long line of the ants could be traced through the grass on and on; and then Nic uttered an exclamation, sprang forward and caught up his specimen, to hold it at arm's length and begin shaking it. "Why, it's covered with them," he cried, as he swept them off, got them on his hands, saw them racing up his arms, and found them so quick and so tight-clinging that the task grew painful in the extreme before he could get rid of them, and when he did he tossed the rumpled, disfigured bird back amongst his enemies. "There!" he cried: "eat it then. It's completely spoiled. What a pity I did not let it live!" "Never mind, Nic," said his father that evening, as he sat at home, giving himself from time to time a vicious rub. "Take it as a lesson. We all have to go through that sort of thing, and you'll know better next time. But it was a fine specimen, you say?" "Lovely," replied Nic eagerly; but he did not say a word about who shot the bird, for he felt that if he did his father would be annoyed. CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. A DAY'S FISHING. Nic felt uncomfortable. There was something fascinating about being in company with a man who knew so much of the wild nature of his country; but then the man was a convict--he had been warned against him--and a companion that the doctor would not approve. But still, somehow or other, the boy was constantly finding himself in Leather's company, for the man was as much drawn to Nic as he was to the convict. The consequence was that they were often together out in the wilder parts of the doctor's great estate. One day, after a hint from his father, consequent upon his saying that he was going to explore the gully by the waterfall, he had taken the old fishing-rod and line from where it hung upon two hooks in the kitchen--a rod the doctor had used in old trout and salmon-fishing days, and had brought over on the chance of wanting, but had never found time to use. "That gully is very beautiful higher up, Nic, and I have seen plenty of fish in the deep parts, gliding about among the tree roots and old trunks that have been washed down in the floods and got wedged in. I should certainly take the rod. The men tell me they are capital eating, but I have never tried." "We had a dish one day, father, when you were out," said Janet. "How did you get them?" asked the doctor. "Samson brought them in--a basketful," cried Hilda. "Then you had better ask old Sam what he baited with, and take your bait accordingly." "Yes, father," said the boy. "Take the biggest basket, Nic," said Hilda mischievously. "Ah, you think I shan't catch any," said her brother, nodding his head; "but you'll see." The rod was dusty, but good and strong, and in the bag the doctor pointed out there were plenty of good new hooks and lines; so leaving them ready, Nic went down the garden to where he expected to find old Sam. Sure enough there he was hoeing away, and he stopped and wiped his perspiring face upon his arm as the boy came up. "That's right, sir," he cried. "Glad to see you here. I want you to take a bit more hinterest in my garden. See they taters: ain't they getting on? Look at my peas and beans too. I calls they a sight, I do. Make some o' they gardeners in Old England skretch their wigs and wish they could grow things like 'em." "Beautiful, Sam; but--" "There's cauliflowers too, sir: ain't they splendid?" "Couldn't be better, Sam; but--" "Try my peas, sir." _Pop_! "There's a pod. Dozen fine uns, just as if they was a row o' green teeth laughing at you." "Deliciously tender, Sam; but--" "It's the sun, Master Nic; it's the sun," said the old man, who was too much wrapped up in his subject to heed the boy's remarks. "Sun's a scarce article at home, but here you gets it all day long, and it's the clouds is scarce. Why, you know summer at home, where the skies seem all like so much sopping wet flannel being squeezed; and not a sign o' sunshine for six weeks. What's to grow then?" "Nothing, I suppose, Sam; but--" "Of course you wants the water, sir. More sun you gets more water you wants, and that's why I tiddles it all along through the garden from up above yonder, just ketching it above where it comes over the waterfall." "Yes, waterfall, Sam," cried Nic heartily. "I say, didn't you catch a lot of fish up there somewhere and bring home one day when my father was out?" "To be sure I did," said the old man, now beginning to lend an ear. "That's right. I want to catch some too." "You'd ketch 'em then, my lad. There's lots on 'em." "Tell me how you caught them. What did you use for bait?" "Shovel," said the old man, grinning. "What?" "And peckaxe." "I don't understand you." "Why, it's plain enough, sir. It was when I was turning a hole into a sort o' ressywar to supply the garden--irrigglygate it, the master said, but I calls it watering." "But I was talking about the fish, Sam." "I know, sir; so was I. `How did you ketch 'em?' says you. `Shovel,' says I. I was making a place beyond the waterfall, and they swimmed in a hole there, where they'd got and couldn't get out again. So I makes a dyke with the peck and turns the water off and then ladles the fish out with the shovel. Two basketsful there was. One I took indoors for the ladies, and t'other we ate; and Brooky put away so many they made him queer for some days. But they didn't hurt me." "But I wanted to fish for them with a rod and line." "Oh-h-oh!" cried the old man. "You won't get many that-a-way. P'r'aps it would be best for you though. It's nation hard work pecking and digging, making dams and gullies among the rocks when the sun's hot." "But I want some bait." "Ay, you'll want some bait. We used to ketch eels at home with a big wum. There's lots here--whackers, some on 'em. Shall I get you a few?" "Yes, do, please." "So I will, Master Nic--barrowload if you like. You get me an old canister. There'll be some nice fat uns down aside where I grows my cowcumbers. Ah! I never thought, when I got digging 'em out o' the side of the cowcumber beds at home, I should ever get making on 'em out here, t'other side o' the world." Nic fetched a bag instead of a canister, and soon after stood ready to start. "You go same way as I took yer that night, Master Nic, and then work your way up for a hour or so, and all under they tree-ferns you'll find pools and pools with lots o' fish in 'em; but I don't know how you're going to get on with that long thin clothes-prop of a thing. But, there, you're a gen'leman, and I s'pose you knows best." "Well, I shall try with it, Sam," said Nic, laughing. "Ay, sir, do, and good luck to you. Now I'll get back to my hoeing." Nic shouldered his rod, and with his basket in his hand he left the garden, went round by the wooden building set apart for the men, and then struck across the open ground for the gully, where he soon came upon the tree-bridge he had crossed that moonlight night in company with old Sam; and he could not help hesitating for a few moments as he looked down into the narrow, dark rift, along which the water was rushing far below, while the noise of the waterfall was hollow, reverberating, and strange. Nic took a long breath, and looked at the tree, which had been felled so that it tumbled right across the rift, and then worked with an adze so as to make a level surface about as wide as an ordinary plank, the lower branches being left on at the sides of the trunk and beneath. He drew another deep breath, and noted that if he fell, unless he caught at one of these hanging branches, checked himself and managed to climb back, he must drop all that tremendous depth into the black-looking pool of water below. He drew a third deep breath, and thought that if he had known what the place was like, old Sam would never have got him across, that first night of his coming. Then he took another long, deeper breath than ever, and said to himself: "If that were a plank laid flat upon the ground I could hop along it upon one leg, so it is only cowardice to hesitate." The next minute he was across, and walking along the other side of the ferny gully, to stop by the waterfall and admire the beauty of the glassy water as it glided over the rocks and fell down into the thick mist, which rose like a cloud toward the overhanging mosses and ferns. But though the place was attractive enough to have kept him there for hours, and he wondered why he had not come to have a good look at it sooner, he felt that if he meant to catch any fish that day he must be stirring. There was a well-trodden path along by the river, which beyond the waterfall ran on in a continuation of the gully but here the walls opened out rapidly, till a few hundred yards above it became a lovely little sunny valley, with rocky masses piled near the bed of the little river, made beautiful by the abundant growth. The ferns were much bigger than any he had yet seen, and the path wound in and out in many a zigzag, now toward the sloping sides of the ravine, now toward the sparkling, torrent-like stream, over which drooped many a bough, as if for the sunshine to rain through in a silver shower upon the water beneath, which flashed gloriously where the bright rays fell. "I don't wonder at father choosing this place," thought Nic. "It grows more beautiful every way one goes." He must have wandered and climbed in and out for a couple of miles before he grasped why it was that the path was so well beaten. A moist spot in a shady part, where the river was just upon his right, showed this, for the narrow track was printed all over by the hoofs of sheep, and he knew now that the footpath was their work, made when in hot weather they had selected the moist shades for grazing; while at a turn a few hundred yards farther on he had an indorsement of his surmise, for the slopes of the valley had grown less abrupt, and as far as he could see one side was dotted with creamy-white fleeces. And now in the more level ground the torrent had become a swift, bright stream, bubbling and rippling here, swirling round in eddies there, and again becoming dark and deep-looking. He gazed down into the transparent water, but his research was not rewarded by the sight of dark, gliding forms with sinuous, waving tails. Still, though no scaly prizes offered themselves for capture, there were plenty of other objects to attract him. Every now and then some beautiful butterfly flitted across the water, and twice had he paused to gaze with pleasant vexation at a lovely streak of wavy blue, as a kingfisher darted from its perch to fly up the stream. "Well, I do call this tiresome," he cried, taking his fishing-rod from one shoulder to change it to the other. "If this had been my gun, you wouldn't have shown yourselves." This was addressed to a little flock of small green birds which flew whistling and chattering more than chirping up the slope toward the level land above. "I dare say those are the little green parrots Leather talked about." Twice more he had capital chances to obtain specimens,--one being at some half-dozen birds, which seemed to be all pink except their snowy heads; the next time at a couple more in a tree. These did not fly till he was close enough to see that they were bright with bronze and green and red. "Why, they must be pigeons," he said, as they darted off. "Well, I suppose one may see birds of any colour now." At last! He had reached an ideal spot, where one side of the river was dammed by a tangled mass of tree trunks which must have been brought down by some flood, to get jammed, and then gradually be stripped by the action of the water, till only the stems and larger branches were left; while on his side there was a dark, tempting-looking pool of water, which he approached cautiously, after laying down his rod, and then crawling toward it, gradually looked over the sharp, rocky edge of the river into the sunlit depths, to see dark bodies in slow motion some feet below sailing here and there to capture the tit-bits brought down by the stream. Nic's eyes glistened as he drew back as cautiously as he had approached. "This looks like real fishing," he said to himself, as he thought of the unsatisfactory sport he had had at home at the various ponds in the neighbourhood of the Friary, when a farmer gave them leave to go. "Wouldn't some of the boys like to be here. I shouldn't be surprised if this place has never been fished before. My word! they ought to bite." Such uneducated fish certainly ought to have bitten; but though Nic approached the side again cautiously, keeping well back out of sight, and after carefully covering his hook with a worm, dropped it without a splash in a likely place, and then in a more likely one, and again and again into other spots which seemed each of them more likely than the last, not a bite did he get! He was patient, too. He put on fresh baits, tried all over the pool, dropped in his worm so that it might be washed from the stream into the still, dark water, and sink among the fish. Still there was not the sign of a bite. "They must all have gone away," thought Nic, just as there was a burst of sharp screams from a flock of cockatoos, which, like the other birds, seemed wilder here in the moist shades than he had found them high up on the park-like downs near the great mountain gorge. He crept upon his chest cautiously once more to get his eyes just over the sharp rock edge of the pool, to look down into the depths, fully convinced that he would not see a fish; but to his surprise there was quite a shoal of a goodly size slowly sailing about, and after a few moments he was able to make out that they were close by the bait, which lay at the bottom, moving slowly, while one of the largest fish was certainly looking at it. "Bother!" muttered Nic, as he looked round about and thought of old Sam's style of fishing. "Well, one can't catch these with a shovel and a pickaxe. No one could bale out this pool." "Having bad luck, sir?" said a deep voice; and Nic started up to find Leather standing close behind. CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. A WOOLLY PATIENT AND A SCARE. The man had approached over the soft moss unheard, though Nic had had warning of his coming from the cockatoos, which had shrieked out their alarm notes as he came down from among the sheep. "Why, Leather, I did not hear you coming," said Nic, half annoyed by the interruption. "I suppose not, sir. You were too intent. Don't they bite?" "No, not a bit," said Nic gruffly; and to himself, "I wish he'd go." "What are you fishing with, sir?" "Worms." "They will only take worms after a flood, when the water's thick." Then without a word the man walked away, and Nic drew his line sharply from the water. "Might have told me what bait they would take," muttered the boy. "Perhaps he doesn't know. Wish I had brought some paste. I don't care; that's good enough bait for anything. Now, here, some of you--bite." But they did not, and Nic sat upon a great stone, feeling rather ill-used. He was glad the convict had gone, and at the same time sorry. "I suppose I answered him very gruffly, and that sent him off," thought Nic. "Now, sir. I've caught a few of these." Nic jumped again, for once more the man had approached in silence. "Eh! what have you got?" "Locusts, or grasshoppers, sir. Have you a nice-sized new hook?" "Oh yes, plenty," cried Nic eagerly, opening a flat box from which the man took one he thought suitable. The next minute the hook bearing the great worm had been removed and one good-sized shot only left on the line. "Now,--sir," said Leather, "these grasshoppers are tender, so drop the bait gently on the surface, right over yonder where the stream comes round that end of the tree root.--Well done. Couldn't be better. Now be on the look-out, sir." The running water carried the great insect several feet into the still water before the weight of the shot began to act. Then very slowly it was drawn down beneath the surface, and they saw it descend and disappear in the obscurity, the line being slowly drawn after it. "They won't take that ugly, crooked-legged thing," said Nic. "Why, it would choke any fish that ever breathed." "Watch," said Leather quietly. "It takes some time to sink, for you have only one shot on; but it looks more natural, and it has not yet reached the fish. I think I'd draw in my slack line now, sir, and be ready to strike gently." "No good," said Nic, who, however, took the advice. "If you do hook one, don't let it run in among the old tree trunks, sir. If you do, the fish is lost. Directly you feel one, strike and lead it to the other end of the pool, and get it out in the shallows, where I can land it for you." "Handle it carefully, Leather," said Nic, with a grim smile. "You see your grasshoppers are no better than my worms. These fish don't understand biting." "No, sir, or they wouldn't have taken that locust. Steady, sir, steady. That's a heavy one. Well done; you'll master it. Your tackle's strong, and you must get it away from those roots and branches. That's the way. I'll go on and wait." For, quivering with excitement, his pliable rod bent into a bow, and the line running sharply here and there through the water, Nic was following a fish which had taken the bait with a rush deep down in the pool. A minute later he had it near the surface, and had drawn it into the stream which ran out of the deep hole, into the shallowest part of which the convict had waded, and as soon as line and current had brought it near enough, he gave one deft scoop with his joined hands and threw it out on to the bank. "I say! is it true?" cried Nic. "I can't hardly believe it." "It looks true enough, sir," replied the man. "Shall I take it off the hook?" "Oh yes, please," cried Nic excitedly. "You've got some more of those grasshoppers?" "Three, sir," said Leather, as he laid the fish at the boy's feet, "and I can soon get some more. You'll find these fish very good eating, but you must catch a dishful." "Why, Leather, you seem to know everything about the country." "I have had a long training, sir. You will know more than I do when you have been here two or three years. Now, then, throw in again." "Here, hi! Do you know one of them sheep's falled down into a hole? I'm sure master don't mean you to be wasting all your time out there, and idling about like a schoolboy." This was yelled hoarsely from some fifty yards away, and Nic saw that his companion started as if he had been stung. An angry speech was on Nic's lips at this interruption, but he checked it, for he knew that he had no right to keep the man from his work. "Coming directly," he said in loud tones. Then to. Leather: "Stop a minute while I catch another, and then you shall go. You must land it for me." Brookes was not kept long waiting, for another fish was hooked and landed in the same way; but before Leather had scooped it out Brookes was shouting again furiously. "Must go, sir," said the convict. "Stop and I'll come with you," cried Nic, laying down his rod as soon as the fish was unhooked, and he hurried with the man to where Brookes stood talking, though half he said was inaudible. "Here, Master Nic," he said, as they approached; "I dunno what your father'll say. Here's one of his best sheep o' that new breed down in a hole. You've no business to let that fellow leave his work." "Where is it?" said Leather anxiously. "Where is it? Where d'yer s'pose it is?" said Brookes fiercely. "Down in the narrer." "The sheep were all safe a few minutes ago," said Leather; and he ran off. "Oh, yes," said Brookes, in a sneering tone; "'course they were." "Is it badly hurt?" "Badly hurt? I s'pose so. It'll have to be killed." He trudged on, muttering surlily, and Nic followed up on to the level ground, where they could see the convict lowering himself down, only his head and shoulders being visible. The next minute they were standing at the edge of a narrow rift some six feet wide and as many deep--a rift that ran on down into the valley they had just quitted, and at the bottom of which lay a sheep bleating piteously as Leather bestrode its woolly carcass. "Why didn't you pull it out instead of coming sneaking after us?" cried Nic. "Eh? What?" cried Brookes, staring. "'Tain't my place to look after they sheep. Leatherhead was set to do it, and he goes on neglecting his work. Ah! here comes the master. Now we shall see." For the doctor was coming cantering toward them over the level ground from about a quarter of a mile away, and Nic felt vexed and in dread of what was to follow. "Is it hurt, Leather?" he said. "Yes, sir, badly--its leg's broken," replied the man; and bending down, he placed his arms round the poor animal, raised it up on to his shoulder, and began to climb with difficulty out of the rift. As he reached the edge he nearly slipped back. "Why don't you help?" cried Nic angrily; but Brookes did not stir; and if the boy had not darted forward and got a good pull of the wool, man and sheep would have toppled backward to the bottom. "Thank you, sir," said the convict. "There's no foothold, and I lost my balance. One moment. That's it;" and the sheep was rolled off his shoulder on to the grass. "What's the matter?" cried the doctor, cantering up, leaping down, and throwing the reins over his horse's head on to the grass, when the beautiful animal stood still. "One o' the best ewes down in that grip. I come and found it just now." "Yes, but you didn't try to get it out," said Nic. "It warn't in my charge," growled Brookes. "How was this, my man?" said the doctor. "You were set to look after them." "Yes, sir," said the convict respectfully. "The sheep were all right a quarter of an hour ago." "Yes, and they'd ha' been all right now if you'd looked arter them 'stead o' wasting your time fishing," growled Brookes. "I'm glad master's here to know." "Were you fishing, sir?" said the doctor sternly; but before Leather could answer Nic cried quickly: "No, father, he wasn't. He came down to the river to get me a few baits. I wanted him there. Why didn't Brookes help the sheep out?" "Because it was the other man's duty, sir," said the doctor quickly; and Leather gave the boy a sharp look, as much as to say, "Don't speak, sir; you'll make things worse." "Ah, you needn't signal the young master to take yer part," cried Brookes. "It's true enough; you ain't worth your salt on the station." "That will do, Brookes," said the doctor. "Oh, I don't want to say nothing, sir. I was only looking arter your property." "Tut, tut, tut!" cried the doctor, as he felt the sheep's leg. "One of my choicest ewes. The leg's broken. That active sheep couldn't have broken its leg through falling down there. It would have jumped it like a goat. Why, Leather, the poor brute has been savagely kicked." "It looks like it, sir," said the convict quietly. "Why, so it do," chimed in Brookes, as he bent over the helpless sheep. "Do you know anything of it, sir?" cried the doctor, eyeing the convict keenly. The man shook his head. "It's very strange," said the doctor, looking at Brookes, who took off his hat, scratched his head, and looked round at the convict, while Nic glanced at Brookes's boots and then at the poor sandal-like shoes the convict wore, which were evidently a piece of his own work. "Like me to kill the poor thing out of its misery, sir," said Brookes, "and take off its skin?" "No," said the doctor shortly. "Won't be nothin' the matter with the meat, sir." "Nic," said his father, "jump on the horse and ride home. Ask your mother to give you a roll of bandage, and bring it back here." "Yes, father." "Why, you ain't going to bind that 'ere leg up, are ver?" said Brookes. "Will you be good enough not to interrupt?" said the doctor. "Here, hi, Nic, my boy. Tell Samson to give you a sack and an axe. You can throw the sack across the horse." "Yes, father," cried the boy; and he cantered off, obtained the bandage and sack, and was back in less than an hour, to find that Leather had, under the doctor's directions, cut some pieces of wood from a tree, and with these for splints the doctor cleverly bandaged the broken leg. "There, Nic," he said, "I should not do that in a regular way, but this is a very valuable sheep, brought out to me by one of the last ships. Now one of you cut a good stout pole, say twelve feet long." Brookes looked at Leather, who caught up the axe and ran off. While he was gone the doctor opened a part of the bottom of the sack, and cut four slits in the side; and this being done, Nic looked on in surprise while the sack was drawn over the struggling sheep's head, its head pulled out of the bottom, and the legs put through the four slits. "Now gather the sack together so that the poor brute cannot struggle out, Brookes," said the doctor; and this was easily effected, as the animal was upon its side. Then the doctor made holes and laced up the mouth of the sack securely, all but a few inches; and by this time Leather was back with a stout, neatly trimmed pole. "Do you see what I mean?" said the doctor. "Yes, sir," replied the convict, and he slipped the pole through the sack above the sheep's back, leaving about four feet out at each end. "Now, Brookes, take the other end," said the doctor; "lift together, and get the pole on your shoulders, both of you." "What, and carry that lame sheep home?" said Brookes. "Yes; and its legs must not touch the ground." "But hadn't you better let us chuck it across the back of the horse?" "No. Now, together. Lift," cried the doctor; and as this was done the sheep gave a dismal bleat, and hung from the pole, with its head and legs out,--a ridiculous-looking object, which made Nic smile, but Brookes's face made the smile expand, so soured and puckered did it become, for the sheep was heavy, the farm buildings were some distance away, and the sun was coming down hot as the two men strode away, Leather looking heavy and stern, but apparently ready to undertake any amount of work. "You can ride, Nic," said the doctor, as the boy fetched up the horse. "But my fishing-rod and line, father?" "Where are they?" "Down yonder, by one of the pools." "Oh, then you must go that way home." "Yes, father, and I have two fish." "Well done." "I say, father, I feel sure that Leather did not kick that sheep." "Who did then?" said the doctor. "I don't like to say, father." "That is suggesting your belief that it was Brookes, a man whom I have always found to work well in my interests, Nic. He has no spite against me." "Do you think the other man has?" "I don't know, boy. There, go on your way, and I'll go home. One word, Nic. I want you to enjoy yourself, but I cannot have my men taken away from their work, mind that." The doctor cantered after the men bearing the sheep, and as Nic stood for a few minutes watching them, he heard the sheep give a piteous baa, as if protesting against its treatment, after which the men halted and changed shoulders. Nic was too far off to see the expression of the men's faces, but he felt pretty certain that Brookes's was anything but pleasant, and he felt glad. "I believe he did that out of spite against Leather," thought Nic, "so as to make it seem as if it was through neglect. I don't know, though, a man could hardly be such a brute." Nic descended into the little valley once more, and made his way along by the stream to the pool where he had left his rod. "There's one more locust," he said to himself; "and I'll try and catch another fish. Three will make a much better show. I dare say one would bite directly;" and determined to spend a few minutes in adding to his brace, he hurried on, thinking how beautiful the great, dense clump of trees on the other side of the stream appeared, many of them drooping gracefully over the water. "The beauty of a place like this is," he thought, "that you can leave things about and there is no one to take them." He smiled as he picked up his rod, drew the line through his fingers, and baited the hook with the great insect ready to cast right over into the stream so that the locust might be washed naturally into the sunlit pool. "Now, if I can catch another as big as the--Hullo! where are those fish?" Nic did not cast the locust, but stared hard at the spot where the fish had been laid down upon some fern leaves; but though the latter were still glistening with slime, the prizes were gone. "They must have flopped their way back into the water," said Nic to himself; "they went that way because it was all on a slope. Well, of all the tiresome nuisances I ever knew, this is about the worst. I wouldn't have lost those fish for anything. They must have flopped to and fro down here and over that soft place." Nic's thoughts stood still. The soft place he alluded to was close down to the shallow where Leather had waded in, and the water which had dripped from his legs lay upon the herbage and soft, dank, moist earth; but there was something else--footprints! Not Leather's, made by broad shoe-soles, but newly impressed marks with wide-spreading toes, the big toe in each case being rather thumb-like in its separation from the others. For some two or three minutes Nic did not stir, but bent down staring at those footprints. Then he glanced sharply over the shallows at the thick foliage, fully expecting to see a spear come flying at him. "That's the way my fish went," he muttered as he turned and fled, feeling a sudden check the next minute, as if some one had seized the rod which hung over his shoulder, and a thrill of fear ran through him as he turned sharply round, when snap went the line, and he saw that the hook and locust were sticking in an overhanging bough, and about a yard of the line was hanging down. That was enough to drive away some of his fear, but not all. "One can't fight blacks with fishing-rods," muttered the boy as he again began to run, and he made his way homeward more quickly than he had come, and did not pause once to look back, though if he had it was doubtful whether he would have seen the cunning black face peering from out of the wattle scrub, watching him as he ran in and out through the trees, and then disappearing as soon as Nic was out of sight. The fugitive did not pause till he reached home bathed in perspiration, just as his father rode slowly in side by side with the laden men, they having taken a shorter cut while he had followed the wanderings of the stream. "Ah, Nic," cried his father, "you shouldn't run and overheat yourself like that, boy. Now, men, carry the poor beast into the stable and rest the pole on the rails; its hoofs will then be about five inches from the ground.--What?" "Blackfellows, father," said Nic, as soon as he could get his breath; "I saw their footmarks, and they have carried off my fish." CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. A SQUATTER'S LIFE. Nic's announcement caused a little panic. The three blacks who came and went about the place were summoned and sent out searching, the house was placed in a state of defence, and Samson, Brookes, and Leather all furnished with guns and ammunition to stand ready for any emergency, taking it in turns though to keep watch, while horses and cattle were driven into the south enclosures by the house, and everything possible done to secure their safety. Knowing his mother's nervousness, Nic could not help staring in wonder at the calm way in which she and her daughters behaved at what might, for aught they could tell, be a dangerous time, for neither showed the slightest trace of fear. In a couple of hours, though, the black known as Bungarolo came back to announce that, "Blackfellow all agone," and he pointed away toward the dense bush, miles from where they were standing. The explanation of the other two blacks when they returned cleared away the rest of the alarm, the doctor concluding that a few of the many wanderers had been near and gone away again, blacks probably belonging to a friendly tribe. Consequently the next day matters went on as usual, save that Nic had to mount with his father, and, accompanied by two of their blacks, made a wide circuit about the station, touching the edge of the great gorge at one point and then riding round for miles. Twice over the men, who trotted along easily enough step for step with the horses, pointed out tracks going and coming; and as the party was made out to be three only it was felt that there was no cause for alarm, and toward evening they rode back to the station with the glad news. "But wouldn't it have been very awkward for them if the blacks had come while we were away, father?" Nic ventured to ask on their way back. "Yes, but they would have shut themselves in at once," said the doctor; "two of the men would have been with them, and the other would have followed us, firing signals as he came. If the danger had been imminent, he would have seized the first horse and galloped over to Mr Dillon's station." "I see," said Nic. "It's mutual help out here, Nic. If one station is in danger, those nearest are always ready to gallop to its help." Then came days and weeks of busy life, with Nic finding little time for amusement, but enjoying the novelty of his new career. There were long rides to drive in cattle; visits to be paid to flocks miles away from the station; messages to be taken to Samson, Brookes, or Leather, who in turn were far away with the roaming sheep or oxen; and the boy was joked at home by mother and sisters for the way he ate, slept, and seemed to expand. During this period he saw little of Leather, and the incident of the injured sheep and Brookes's apparent enmity toward the convict was for the time forgotten, these two rarely being together. Still, at different times Nic could not help noticing what a rooted dislike there was in the regular men against their convict fellow-servant, even old Samson shaking his head and expressing his belief that the station would be far better without "such as he." "I don't want to be hard on anything 'cept blight, Master Nic," said the old man one day; "but it comes nat'ral to a man to feel shy of a gaol bird who may rise agen you at any time and take to the bush." "Oh, but Leather is not that sort of man, Sam," said Nic. "Ah, that's very nice, young gentleman; but you don't know, and I don't know. All I say is if there's a bull about on that side o' the fence it's best to walk on this." "But the bull may not mean to do you harm, Sam." "P'r'aps not, sir; but bulls have mad fits now and then, so does convicts. I've know'd two stations 'tacked and every one killed, and they said it was the blacks; but they very soon found that it warn't, for in each case a lot had escaped from the chain gang, took to the bush, and every 'signed servant as they come across jyned 'em." "That's very horrible," said Nic. "And what became of them?" "Ah, you may well say that, sir: some was shot down by the soldiers, some was killed by the natives, some was lost in the bush and died o' hunger and thirst, while the blacks speared the rest all but one, and he gave himself up. They do a lot o' mischief, these chaps, when they take to the bush, sir; but, fortunately for honest folk, they all come to a bad end." Then came a more leisure time, when old Samson took a holiday, as he called it--that is to say, he worked from daylight to darkness over his rather neglected garden; while Nic had leisure to think again of his natural history specimens, and went out with his gun; but he did not feel at all keen about sitting down in a woody place near the river to fish and offer himself as a mark for any black who meant to practise hurling his spear. It was so much more satisfactory to mount Sour Sorrel and ride off, gun in hand, through the open woodland with the soft breeze sweeping by his cheek, and pick up a beautifully feathered bird from time to time. The injured sheep had grown quite well, and, save that it limped as it grazed, its leg was as strong as ever; "and that lameness does not interfere with its promising to be a good mother," said the doctor, smiling, as he pointed to the pair of white lambs gambolling by the lame sheep's side. "Did you ever satisfy yourself as to how its leg was broken?" said Nic. "No, my boy; and I did not want to. I have my suspicions, but I let them rest. It is the same at most of the stations--the free men dislike the bond. It is natural. And now that things are going on peaceably, we will let them rest." One day, quite by accident, the boy found himself thrown in contact again with Leather, whose brown, deeply lined countenance always brightened when Nic came across him somewhere with his sheep. "I say, Leather," he said, as he sat on his nag watching the man busily carving a stick he had cut: "you remember telling me about how the blacks followed the bees?" "Yes, sir." "Can you show me?" "Yes," said Leather, smiling sadly; and he looked about till he found a tree with some of its seed-vessels full of fine silky cotton, smeared one end of a twig with a bead of gum from another tree, and then walked on, followed by Nic, till they came to a patch of bushes, whose fragrant blossoms had attracted the bees by the dozen. One pollen-laden fellow was soon caught, the gum stick touched its back, the white cotton was brought in contact, and the uninjured insect set free. Up in the air it went at once, regardless of the yellow flowers among which it had been buzzing, and then flew away in a straight line, with its white patch on its back, to be traced some forty or fifty yards, before it disappeared among the trees. "Gone!" said Nic, who was in advance, for he had followed the insect on horseback. "Think there's a tree here?" "No; these are not the kind of trees they nest in. They do not go hollow." "What will you do, then?" "Repeat the process, sir." And this was done four times, till the last bee was traced to a quarter of a mile from where they started, and a tiny hole was made out sixty feet from the ground, about which scores of little dark insects could be seen darting. "Now how to get the honey?" said Nic. "Send or bring Bungarolo here to-morrow with an axe and a bucket, and you shall have plenty." Eager to see the taking of the spoil, Nic was over in good time next morning, the black trotting by his side; and upon reaching the tree the Australian savage took the axe from his waistcloth, while Leather lit a great piece of touchwood by means of a burning glass. This wood began to burn, emitting a dense white smoke, and as the convict waved it about, the black took off his waistcloth, passed it through the handle of the bucket, and tied it again about his middle, so that the bucket hung behind. Then, axe in hand, he began to chop notches in the soft bark, to make steps for his active feet, and climbed steadily up and up, Nic watching him the while. "It looks very dangerous," said the boy. "Think he is likely to fall?" "Not in the least, sir. They begin doing these things when children, and they don't seem to have any nerves." It seemed indeed as if the black did not know fear, for he went on up and up till he was fully sixty feet from the ground, and here he held on with his legs while he undid his waistcloth once more and tied it now to a branch, so that the bucket hung close to the hole where the bees buzzed in and out, as if feeling in no wise incommoded by the black face so near. And now Bungarolo stuck the axe into the soft bark and rapidly descended, grinning hugely at his success. Leather handed him the smoking torch, and he went up again, holding the end of the soft wood in his teeth. On reaching the hole, the smoke which had accompanied him in his ascent became thicker, and being held just below the entrance, scared away the bees coming back, and those coming out into pouring forth faster and faster, till there was quite a cloud darting about above that of the blinding wood smoke. Then a few cleverly directed strokes of the axe made a big opening through the bark, the axe was thrown down, and the black's arm thrust in right up to the shoulder, and his hand drawn out bearing a great cake of honeycomb. This he deposited in the bucket, pausing now and then to give the smoking wood a wave, or to hold it inside the opening, to drive out the bees before bringing out more and more comb, till the bucket was pretty well full. And now the most difficult task seemed to await the black; but he held on again with his legs, untied the waist cloth, rested the bucket on his chest, while he knotted the cloth ends together again, and slipped it over his head. Then, taking the smoking wood from where he had placed it inside the hole, he threw it down and descended safe and triumphant, to begin cleaning his sticky hands after the fashion of a cat, before bearing the bucket back to the station, where Mrs Braydon gave him a lump of damper for a reward. CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. LEATHER SPEAKS OUT. Another day, it seemed as if Sorrel felt with his master, and took him straight to a fresh part of the great sheep run, near where the vast gorge was fenced at its edge with mighty trees, beneath one of which Leather was seated, looking hard and stern. Nic was very thoughtful that day. There was something he wanted to ask the convict, but he always shrank from satisfying his curiosity; and this time he showed that he had something upon his mind so plainly, that Leather after their abrupt salutations had passed, said: "Not well, sir?" "Yes, quite well. Why?" "Looked queer, sir." "Oh, nothing," said Nic hastily, for he had made up his mind to question the man, and now the opportunity had come he felt that he could not speak. "I was thinking about you a little while ago, sir." "About me? Why?" "You were saying the other day that you had seen so few snakes. I've seen four this morning. Two of them are poisonous; you may as well have a shot at them." "How do you know that they are poisonous?" "Partly from the bad character they have, sir, partly from the shape of the head." "Let's see, I've heard something about that before: poisonous snakes have a spade-shaped head, haven't they?" "That's what they call it, sir. It is really a great swelling at the back of the jaws on either side of the neck. This swelling is made by the poison bags which communicate with their hollow fangs. You'll see if you shoot the big gentleman I saw crawling back into his hole this morning. I dare say he's out again now, to be in the hot sun. Why, what's the matter, Master Nic?" "Matter?" "Yes, sir; you keep going off in a dreamy way, and not listening." Nic frowned and was silent. "I beg your pardon, sir; it is like my impertinence to ask you. I forget sometimes, when you are ready to treat me like a human being, that I am only a convict." "Don't take it like that," said Nic hurriedly. "It was only because I was thinking, Leather." "Yes, sir, I see: some little trouble at home." "Oh, no!" cried Nic, ready to blurt out everything now. "You see I like you, Leather." The man's eyes flashed and then softened for a moment, while his lips quivered; but his hard, cynical, bitter aspect and tones came back--the manner born of years of misery and degradation, and he cried mockingly: "Why? Because I behaved like a brute to you, and made believe to throw you down into that gully?" "Don't bring that up," cried Nic angrily; "and don't talk in that way, Leather. It isn't you. It's only put on." "Indeed," said the man bitterly. "Well, I didn't put it on, sir. It was fate." "There, I didn't like to speak to you," continued Nic; "but I must now. I've long wanted to, for of course I can't help seeing how different you are from Brookes and old Sam. You are always showing me that you are a man of good education, and what a deal you know. It makes me ashamed sometimes." "Why?" said Leather sternly. "To ask you to do all kinds of rough work when I feel that you are better educated than I am--that you must have been quite a gentleman." "Ah, don't, boy!" cried Leather passionately, and with his face convulsed. "For Heaven's sake hold your tongue." "I can't now," cried Nic, as excitedly. "I feel as if I must know. I do like you, Leather--I do really; and it worries me. I think of it at night when I go to bed, and it makes me wild to hear Brookes talk to you as he does." "Brookes is an honest man, sir; I'm a convict," said Leather bitterly. "There you are, going back to your old way!" cried Nic; "and it isn't fair, after I've told you I liked you." The convict caught the boy's hand, and his eyes softened again; but he dropped the hand and drew back, sending a pang through Nic, who felt that he must have been guilty of some terrible crime, and they stood looking in each other's eyes for some little time. Then the boy spoke in a husky whisper--for he said to himself, "Poor chap, he must be very sorry for it now,"--"What was it you did, Leather?" "Nothing." "Then why were you sent out here?" Nic started, and repented having spoken, for the convict drew himself up, with his eyes flashing and his face convulsed by rage, scorn, and indignation. "Why was I sent out here, boy?" he raged: "because a jury of my fellow-countrymen said I was guilty, and the judge told me that I deserved the greater punishment because I--a man of education, holding so high and responsible a position, and who ought to have known better-- was worse than a common ignorant thief; and that he must make an example of me, that the world might see how government servants found no favour when they sinned. He said I had had a fair trial, that my countrymen condemned me, and that he quite agreed with their verdict; and he sentenced me to twenty-one years' transportation,--he might as well have said for life." Nic stood looking at him in pain and misery, and the convict began pacing up and down in the agony evoked by this dragging up of the past. "I'm sorry I spoke," faltered Nic. "No, no: I'm glad. It is like stabbing me, but if I bleed, boy, it is a relief. Transportation for twenty-one years, and to what a life of horror, misery, and despair! Companion to the greatest scoundrels and wretches that ever breathed; loathed and hated by them, because I was not what they, called their sort. Then, when sent out for good behaviour as an assigned servant, hated and scorned and trampled upon by every honest man. You have seen--you know. The convict from the chain gang, a branded felon. Nic, boy!--I beg your pardon, sir," he cried bitterly--"Master, your slave wonders sometimes that he is alive. I tell you I've prayed night after night for death, but it would not come: no spear, no blinding stroke from the sun, no goring by the half-wild bullocks which have chased me; no fall when I have desperately climbed down the side of that gorge. No! spite of all risk I have grown stronger, healthier, as you see--healthier in body, but more and more diseased in mind." He stopped and threw himself down upon his breast, to bury his face in his hands; and just then there came a low, chuckling sound, as of laughter, from one of the great grey kingfishers in the tree above them, followed by a wild, dissonant, shrieking chorus from a flock of parrots, as if in defiance at the cruel laugh. "I don't mind your speaking to me as you did, Leather," said Nic at last, as he turned his head aside to hide his emotion, and he sat down to watch his beautiful horse quietly cropping the grass, thinking how much happier the dumb beast was. "I only mind when you talk in your bitter way.--I'm sorry for you." "God bless you, my lad!" said the convict, in smothered tones: "I know it. You've shown it to me a score of times. My life has not been the same since you came here." "And I can't help seeing that you are sorry too. How could you have done so bad a thing?" "I? Did that!" cried Leather, springing up on one arm. "I tell you I am innocent as a child. Dominic Braydon, mine was a high position, and large sums of money passed through my hands. There came a day when a heavy amount was missing. It was gone, I could not explain how. Everything seemed against me. My explanations were ridiculed, and until I had been out here a couple of years I could not see the light. It came one day, though, like a flash--when it was too late." Nic looked at him inquiringly. "My subordinate was the guilty man: the meek, amiable wretch who broke down in the witness-box and wept at being forced to tell all he knew. Even I believed and liked him at the time--poor weak fool that I was! If it imposed on me, who listened to every word he spoke, seeking for some way of escape, how could I wonder that judge, jury, and counsel were deceived? But it was too late when I read the truth, and that to save himself he sacrificed me--me who had helped him in every way." "Then you really did not take this money?" cried Nic. "Not one penny. I? But, there, why did you drag this all from me, boy? You made me speak. I do not say it to excite your sympathy. It is my fate, and I have tried to bear it like a man. I have borne it like a man, boy, though it has made me hard, callous, and brutal. Dead to all who knew and loved me, I have still lived, thinking that perhaps some day the truth may rise like the sun and throw its light around. Then I know it will be time to join the only one who believed me what I am." "And who was that?" said Nic hoarsely. "She who was to have been my wife. It was her death." There was the hot stillness of the Australian midday around them, and for some time neither spoke. Then all at once Leather sprang to his feet. "There, sir," he said, "you are the first who has heard my tale. The law has branded me a convict, and I can only say `Please let all this be as if it had never been said.' And yet I don't know," he continued, with his eyes softening; "it has done me good. Still I don't ask you to believe me, sir. There is plenty of deceit out here, and I have met some clever actors of innocent parts in the different gangs." "But I do believe you," cried Nic earnestly--"every word. Oh, I felt that you could not have been so bad." "Thank you, my lad," said the convict, smiling; and Nic thought what a fine, handsome, manly fellow he was when his face lit up. "No: I cannot shake hands. Some day, perhaps. I should like to help you, not drag you down. It is master and servant, you know. Yes," he added, after a pause, as he gazed earnestly in Nic's eyes, "you do believe me. There, I shall work more easily now, for life is brighter than it was." He sprang to his feet now, and moved to go, but came back. "We were forgetting the execution of the poisonous snake, sir," he said, with a little laugh. "This way." "No," said Nic quietly; "let it live another day." He walked to his horse, lifted the rein and threw it over the animal's neck, then sprang upon its back. "Master Nic!" "Yes." "This is our secret, sir, and you must keep your place." "Secret? Why shouldn't I tell my mother and father that you were condemned for that which you did not do?" "I'll tell you, sir," cried Leather. "Because they cannot listen with your ears, nor see me with your eyes." "My father is everything that is just," said Nic proudly, "and my mother all that is gentle and true." "God bless her! yes, my boy," said the convict softly; "but if you speak, Mrs Braydon, knowing me for what I am, will say, `This man has wormed himself into my son's confidence--he has obtained an influence over him that is not healthy--he had better go,' and I should be exchanged, Master Nic, as they would exchange a horse or bullock. Don't speak, sir, and have me sent away!" Nic looked in the pleading eyes, and saw that the man's lips were quivering from the strong emotion which animated him. "Our secret, then," he said; and at a touch of the heel the horse bounded away, with its rider feeling that every word the convict had spoken must be the truth. CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. NIC TAKES THE HELM. "Bad news," said the doctor, about a couple of months' shepherding and track riding later, as he held a letter out to his wife before coming to where a couple of men were carefully rubbing down the heated horses they had hitched up to the fence kept for the purpose. "Come in, my lads," he said. "I'll have your horses seen to. They must have a couple of hours' rest. There'll be a meal ready for you directly." "What is it, mother?" said Janet and Hilda; and Nic looked at her eagerly. "It is bad news indeed," said Mrs Braydon. "The letter is from Lady O'Hara, who is in the deepest distress about Sir John. She says he is dying, and that there is only one man in the colony she believes able to cure him." "Father!" cried Hilda, flushing. "Yes, my dear; and she begs that he will come to her in her great distress. Here he is." For the doctor, after showing the men round to the stable, where they preferred to attend to their horses themselves, re-entered the room. "Well, my dear, what do you think? Lady O'Hara forgets that I have not practised for so long." "Lady O'Hara knows that she has spoken the truth," said Mrs Braydon proudly. "Then you wish me to go?" "No," said Mrs Braydon sadly; "but it is a duty you must fulfil." "It means going and leaving you all in a couple of hours' time," said the doctor. "Yes, you must go at once," sighed Mrs Braydon. "Yes, I must go," said the doctor. "Perhaps I can save him." Then cheerfully, "Now, Nic, my boy, you must step into my shoes and play the man. I leave the Bluff and all that is dear in your charge. You manage old Samson and Brookes better than I do, and as for Leatherhead he has become twice the man he was since you have been here." Nic flushed a little, for the secret pricked him. "And I am glad to see, my lad, that you keep him in his place with a tight rein. I was afraid at first, and Brookes dropped a few unpleasant hints about the way he said that you were making friends with him. I am glad to see, however, that all this is at an end." "But, father--" began Nic, whose conscience was uneasy. "No, no: I don't want to hear any explanation. You will do your best, I know. Now help me to pack my saddle-bags, all of you. See to the gun and ammunition, Nic; hobbles for the horse, and what is necessary. Hilda, my dear, haul the meal bags in, and see that we have plenty of flour, tea, and sugar for our ride, What's the matter, mamma dear?" "I--I was thinking about the blacks," said Mrs Braydon nervously; and then, in an apologetic tone; "You made me speak, dear." "Yes, and I'm glad you have. The blacks for miles and miles are friendly to us, for we have done them no harm. There is not the smallest likelihood of any evil-disposed tribe coming near. If one did, you have a brave son and trusty men to defend you till one of our own fellows went over to Mr Dillon's for help. Now are you satisfied?" "Yes, my dear, quite." "And Janet and Hilda, both of them to fight for their mother, if there is need." "Of course," said Hilda merrily. "Janet had better use the poker," said the doctor, taking his cue from his younger daughter, and laughing too, so as to hide the pang he felt at the near-at-hand parting. "You know I can fire a gun, father," said Janet. "To be sure: yes," said the doctor. "But, Hilda, my dear," he continued, "if you have to shoot at a blackfellow, be sure and remember that it is the wooden stock you hold to your shoulder, not the muzzle of the gun." "Oh, father, what a shame!" cried Hilda. "Did I point the stock at that big hawk I shot for coming and stealing my beautiful little chickens?" "No: I remember now. But bustle! those men want a good tea meal." Two hours had not elapsed when, with the two government messengers well refreshed, and their horses dry and ready for a long afternoon's work, saddle-bags and blankets strapped on, guns and ammunition ready, the doctor sprang upon his horse, and Nic moved toward Sorrel, whose rein was thrown over a post, the boy meaning to ride a few miles of the way. But the doctor took his hand. "No," he said; "your place is here. Keep about the station, except when you take your daily rides round to see to the stock. I leave you in charge, my boy, so take care. I'll be back at the earliest moment I can." The next minute he had embraced Mrs Braydon, touched his horse's sides, and cantered off after the men, turning twice to wave his hat to the watchers by the door. CHAPTER TWENTY SIX. "WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY." The girls, seeing how pale and depressed Mrs Braydon looked at breakfast next morning, began by way of a diversion to banter their brother by solemnly asking him for orders--whether he was going to be very strict and severe in his rules; whether he intended to put the station in a state of defence, and drill them or train them in the use of their weapons. Nic took it all in good part, as he made an excellent breakfast, his appetite being sharpened by two hours' busy work with the men and inspecting some of the stock, ending by finding for the three Englishmen tasks that required performing close about the house, and others for the three blacks, who had promised to be very industrious while the master was away, were also found close at hand. "They'll all be here if wanted," Nic confided to his sister Janet; "for I must go a very long round to drive in some of the cattle on the far run. Father meant to have gone with me to-day." "It is hardly necessary to be so particular, dear," said Janet; "but it will make mother more comfortable. I don't think I would say that you are going far." "No, I did not mean to," replied Nic. "I shall go round and see that the men are at work all right, and then mount and be off just as if I were only going a little way." "When will you be back?" "About three or four o'clock at the latest." Directly after breakfast he went and saw that the men were at work, said a word or two of praise to the blacks, whose faces shone with satisfaction; then going to the stable he saddled his horse, led it to the fence while he fetched his gun, mounted and rode off, unconscious of the fact that Brookes, who was busy in the wood-shed, was watching him. Samson also rested upon his spade in the garden, and gazed with a smile at the lithe, active lad as he cantered easily away, looking as if he and the beautiful little highly bred horse were one. Then Leather caught sight of the lad, and his face darkened, as he felt low-spirited and had an intense longing to go with him somewhere far away from the work about the station. Just at the same moment Bungarolo, who had been busy weeding, raised his keen eyes, noted the direction Nic had taken, gave his trousers a hitch, grinned, dropped upon his chest, and began to creep rapidly like a slug toward the gate in the fence, through which he passed, and continued his way to where the other two blacks were busy cleaning out the cow-shed. What followed did not take long. There was a whispered jabbering, a happy grin upon each face, and then, as if by one consent, the three blacks stripped off their shirts, unbuttoned and kicked off their trousers, and stood up in their native costume of a waistcloth. The clothes were bundled together into a corner, three spears and as many nulla-nullas and boomerangs drawn from where they were tucked in the rafters, and the trio astonished a cow tied up in a corner with her tender calf by going through a kind of war dance, and all in silence. Then the cow felt better in all probability, for there was no sign of the calf being stunned with a club to be cooked for a holiday, the performers of the dance stepping lightly to the door, out of which Bungarolo peered cautiously before dropping down upon his breast and crawling rapidly off to the garden fence, without disturbing the two collies, though Nibbler, who lay as if asleep, opened one eye, lifted his tail, and brought it down with a rap and closed the eye again. He opened it, though, twice more as the other two blacks passed him in the same way, gave two more sharp raps with his tail, and then sniffed at the last black as if wondering how he would taste. But as he had had a pretty good piece of a drowned sheep, he subsided and closed the eye, not even turning his head to gaze after the three blacks as they glided on right under the fence on the side farthest from the house, and close by where old Sam was contentedly digging, in perfect unconsciousness that the three great children were off to the bush for a jovial day, hunting for fat grubs, honey, snakes, and other picnic delicacies in the glorious open wilds. Half an hour had passed, during which Brookes went to the door of the wood-shed three times to scowl at Leather; but the convict was hard at work at the end of the wood-yard, chopping away at rails which he was splitting, tapering at the ends and piling on a heap, ready for some fencing that was to be done as soon as there was a little time. Brookes felt ill-used. He would have liked to find the assigned servant yawning and doing nothing, or taking advantage of the master's absence to have a nap, and give him cause, as he was in his own estimation head man now, to let loose his tongue at the man he hated intensely. But there was no excuse, and Brookes went back into the shed. "I shall catch him yet," he muttered. "Only let him give me a chance." But Brookes could not rest. He pitched the soft bundled-up fleeces about irritably, for they annoyed him. He wanted something hard, and growing more restless from a desire to show his authority, he went to where the two blacks should have been cleaning out the cow-shed. Brookes had come out of the blinding sunshine, and the shed was dark and cool. He did not see the blacks, but he was not surprised, for their faces would naturally assimilate with the gloom. "Here, you two," he growled, "nearly done?" an unnecessary question, for he knew that their task to be done thoroughly would take them some hours at their rate of working. "Do you hear, you charcoal-faced beggars?" he shouted; but of course all was still, and satisfying himself, by picking up a manure fork, that they were not asleep in a heap of straw by jobbing the handle in savagely, after making an offer with the tines, he uttered a low growl, and, fork in hand, went out to look sharply round about the yards; but not a soul was in sight. "Ah!" muttered Brookes, "that's it, is it? Cuss 'em, I might have known." Then, urged by a sudden thought, he went back into the long cow-shed, and looked round till he caught sight of the old trousers and shirts lying in a heap. "Hah!" he ejaculated, shaking the fork handle, "just wait till they come back. I'll make them see stars." Then, striding out, he made for the garden, where, with his sleeves rolled up and the neck and breast of his shirt open, old Samson was digging away, turning over the moist earth, and stooping every now and then to pick out some weed that was sure not to rot. "Hi, Sam!" cried Brookes. "Hullo!" said the little old fellow, going on with his digging, whistling softly the while. "Where's Bungarolo?" "Down yonder weeding." "Nay," he cried. "Yes, he is. I saw him ten minutes ago." "He's started off with the other two." "Nay!" "He has, I tell you!" cried Brookes. "They've left their rags in the cow-shed, and all gone." Samson showed his yellow teeth and chuckled. "Just like 'em," he said; "just like 'em." "I don't see anything to grin at," growled Brookes. "Nay, you wouldn't, my lad; but I do. `When the cat's away the mice will play.' I wonder they've stopped steady at work so long." "What?" "They're on'y big savage children, lad," said the old man, "and you can't alter 'em. `'Tis their natur' to.'" "Natur' or no natur', they shan't play those games while I'm master here." "Eh? Didn't know you was, Brooky." "Then you know it now. P'r'aps you're going to give yourself a holiday." "Having one," said the old man, breaking a refractory clod. "And going to take yourself off to the bush to have a corroborree with the blackfellows." "And if I was I shouldn't ask your leave, Snaggy," said the old man, showing more of his teeth. "There, let 'em go. They'll come back and work all the better after." "Heugh!" cried Brookes, giving vent to a final grunt; and he turned away and stalked out of the garden, striking the fork-handle down at every step. "Lookye here," said old Samson, taking up a spadeful of earth, and addressing it as if part of the dust of the earth of which he was made, and therefore worthy of his confidence: "sooner than I'd have old Brooky's nasty temper I'd be a kangaroo or a cat. I'm sorry they sloped off, though. Hang the black rascals! Master Nic'll be so wild, an' nat'rally, when he comes back." Brookes turned and glared once at old Samson, who occupied the position about the place that he felt ought to be his; and, going straight back past the various sheds, he looked round toward the wood-yard, and then his eyes glistened with satisfaction. Short as the time had been, Leather had left his work. He paused for a moment or two, to make sure that there was no regular _chop-chop_ at the end of the rails, and with a grin of satisfaction he walked quickly to the spot where he had seen the convict at work. He looked about the stacks of wood, stepping softly and peering round into shady corners, expecting and hoping to see his fellow-servant asleep; but he was disappointed, and five minutes elapsed before the convict came back, axe in hand. "Seen either of the blacks about, Mr Brookes?" he said. "Why?" snarled Brookes. The convict looked surprised, but he said gently: "I want one of them to come and turn the grindstone handle. This axe is getting very dull." "You lie, you lazy hound!" roared Brookes. "I've had my eye upon you. Your master's out, and so you think you're going to skulk, do you? If there's any more of it, over you go to Dillon's for a taste of the cat." The blood flushed through the convict's bronzed skin and his eyes glistened, but only for a moment, and he said quite gently, for he saw Nic in his mind's eye: "It was the simple truth. I was wasting time." "Yes, I know you were wasting time!" roared Brookes. "You're always wasting time, and I won't have it. Your master's out, and I won't have it. Get on. I'll have that pile o' rails done before you leave off to-night; so no more shirking, do you hear?" A feeling of fierce resentment made the convict's nerves quiver; but he thought of Nic, and, controlling his anger, he took a step or two to the block on which he cut the rails, picked up one, and gave it a couple of chops. "Quicker there, lout!" roared Brookes; "and none of your sulky looks with me." The convict took up another rail, while Brookes stood over him with the fork-shaft playing up and down in his hand; while, emboldened by the other's meekness, he went on with a brutal tirade of abuse, calling up every insulting expression he could think of, and garnishing them with bad language, till the convict winced as if under blows. "Trying to humbug me with your lying gammon about the axe. It's as sharp as sharp." "It is not, sir," cried the convict, angrily now. "Take it and judge for yourself." He held it out so quickly that Brookes started back, and brought down the fork-handle with all his might, striking the axe from the man's hand. "What!" he roared. "Would you, you murderous dog? Take that--and that--and that!" As he spoke he struck again savagely with the stout ash handle, the second blow falling heavily upon the convict's shoulder, the third coming sharply upon his head and making the blood spurt forth from a long deep cut. Then the fork was raised for another blow; but, quick as lightning, the convict flung himself forward, and his fist, with all the weight of his body behind it, caught his assailant full in the face, sending him down to strike the back of his head against the edge of the wood block, and lie there yelling for help. "Murder! help! Sam!" he roared, as he lay there, a ghastly object, with the convict's foot planted upon his chest, he too bleeding freely from the wound in his head. At one and the same time Mrs Braydon, her daughters, and old Samson came running up in alarm. "Here! what's the matter?" said the latter, while Mrs Braydon turned sick at the horrible sight, and caught at her elder daughter's hand. "Can't you see what's the matter?" cried Brookes. "Get a gun, Sam, quick! He tried to murder me." "No, no!" cried the convict, startled by the charge, and shrinking from the horrified and indignant-looking Mrs Braydon and the two girls. "He did, missus," cried Brookes, struggling to his feet. "I had to speak to him for idling, and he struck at me with the axe. There it lies, and if I hadn't had this fork he'd ha' killed me. You see, he's most mad: why don't you get a gun, Sam?" "I don't want no gun," said old Sam snappishly. "He didn't cut your head like that with the chopper, did he?" "Yes, yes: look! I'm bleeding 'most to dead." "Looks more as if you'd gone down on the block. There, missus: hadn't you and the young ladies best go indoors?" "No; not yet," cried Mrs Braydon indignantly. "In my husband's absence too! Man, man, have you not been well treated here?" "Yes, madam," said the convict hoarsely. "Such an outrage--such a cruel outrage on Dr Braydon's trusted servant!" "What he said, madam, is not true," cried the convict, recovering himself now from the giddiness produced by the stunning blow. "I did not, I could not raise the axe to him." As he spoke he turned his eyes from Mrs Braydon to her daughters, and he shivered as he saw Janet's indignant look. "I tell you he did," cried Brookes, holding the fork now threateningly, as soldiers would bayonets. "He tried to murder me. Sam, are you going to fetch a gun?" "Yah! I'm going to fetch a bucket o' water if you won't do it yourself. Missus--young ladies, why don't you go? This ain't the place for you." "No," said Mrs Braydon, taking Hilda's hand. "Come in, Janet." But for a moment Janet did not stir, held as she was by the convict's imploring look as he said, addressing Mrs Braydon, though as if for her: "Indeed, madam, it is not true. This man struck me brutally: I forgot myself--I did strike him in return." "Yes," said Mrs Braydon coldly; and; uttering a sob, Janet gave the convict a reproachful look and followed her mother into the house. CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. BROOKES STRIKES BACK. "That's better!" said old Sam. "The masters both out, and we're having a nice day here." Leather stood as if turned to stone. "Let's look at you," continued the old man, as he roughly spun Brookes round. "Where's yer 'ankycher?" Brookes made a movement to seize the axe, but old Sam kicked it away. "Let it alone, stoopid! What did you want to tell that lie for? He didn't hit you wi' that." "I swear he did," cried Brookes fiercely. "Then you'd swear anything," said Sam, binding up the rough cut. "But do you think I'm a fool? Any one can see that wasn't made with the edge of a chopper. Did he give you that lovely crack in the mouth with the chopper too?" "I'll let him see--I'll let him see!" "I wouldn't till I'd washed my face. Sarves you right: you're allus letting out at somebody. If I warn't a nat'ral angel in temper I should ha' let you have it years ago." "I'll let him see--I'll let him see," muttered Brookes savagely. "Better shake hands like a man," said old Sam. "Convict or no convict, he's only give you what you asked for." "I'll let him see," snarled Brookes; and he went off toward the stable. "Gone there to one of the buckets," growled old Sam. "I was going to take you there. Here, let's have a look at your head." "Oh, it's nothing--nothing," said Leather hastily. "Nothing! when you're bleeding like a pig. Come along to the bothy, and let's bathe and tie it up. Why, Leather, this looks as if he'd used the axe! Reg'lar clean cut." "No, it was with the fork handle. There, it will do me good. Let out some of the hot, mad blood." "Ay," said old Sam, guiding him, for he staggered, to the men's bothy, and bathing and tying up the wound. "It's a pity, my lad. I wish you hadn't hit back, for you see if he should turn nasty and complain--" Leather looked at him wildly. "And him like that, there's no knowing what might come." The convict uttered a groan, and caught the old man's arm. "I'll say all I know, my lad; but you see--" "Yes, yes," said Leather hoarsely, "I know"; and he sat there on a block of wood which served as a stool, while the old gardener finished the dressing. "There, that's a spontanous bit o' grafting," he said, "and--'Ullo! what's that mean?" He turned to the doorway, through which they could see Brookes mounted upon one of the horses and cantering straight away. "Leather, my lad," said the old man sharply, "he's our fellow-servant, but he's a cur. What'll you do, my lad? He's gone to Dillon's, for a silver pound; he'll make up his tale, and it means the cat." Leather sank back against the wall, and gazed wildly toward the house. "If it was me I'd take to the bush, and--" "What! not face it out!" cried the convict fiercely. "Own that I was in the wrong! Not if they flog me and send me back to the gang." The sudden excitement passed away, and the convict sank sidewise to the floor, perfectly insensible, for he had fainted dead away. "And I thought I was going to have a good quiet day's gardening!" said old Sam. "There's hundreds o' things wants doing badly, and I'm 'bliged to give up my time to cultivate convicts. I wish to goodness the master was at home; then all this mess wouldn't ha' took place." But as the old man muttered he kept on acting. Taking some fresh water, he bathed the convict's temples and tried hard to revive him. "Give you a clean face if it don't give you a clean character, my lad. I don't like you because you're a convict, that's all. You're a good, manly sort o' chap, and if you'd ha' been a honest man I should ha' said you were as good a fellow to work as ever was. Nothing never comes amiss to you, and you and me never had a word in our lives. But you see you are one of the gang and a blackguard and a thief; not as you was ever a blackguard here, nor stole so much as one o' my taters, which I will say has been big enough and fine enough to tempt any man as was digging 'em, as you was. I know they tempted me, Leather, for I took a dozen nubbly ones and roasted 'em three at a time in a bit o' fire as Bungarolo made for me; but then I did grow them taters and had a sort o' right in 'em." Old Sam left off talking to the insensible man, and looked at him anxiously as he kept on bathing his face. "I don't want to be hard on you, my lad, even if you are a convict. `Temptation sore long time you bore,' p'r'aps before you took it, and your head maybe wasn't as strong as your hands. But I say, are you a-coming to? None o' that nonsense! Here! Hi! Leather! Don't die! Don't be so stoopid as that just for a whack on the head as'll heal up in a fortnit." He gave the insensible man a shake in his excitement, but it made no impression. "What am I to do? If I goes and tells 'em at the house it'll frighten the women, and they can't do no good. They'd want to burn feathers under his nose. Here, Leather, rouse up, man; don't be a fool! D'yer hear? Wait till you get back to town, where you can be buried properly; don't die here!" Sam began to mop and splash the water almost frantically, as the motionless features before him seemed to grow hard and stem. "Well, I thought you had more good stuff in you, Leather--that I did," said the old man piteously. "I don't wish no harm to nobody, but I wish to goodness you were old Brookes lying here instead o' yourself, for he's the wiciousest warmint as ever lived. I never see things go so orkard: it's worse than locusts or blight. Master going off like that, too, just when he's wanted. Poor lad! and I can't do nothing for you, or I would. There, I don't care what you done, Leather," he said, "convict or no convict, I forgive you, whatever you did, and here's my fist." He took the strong labour-hardened hand in his, and then dropped it hastily, for just as he pressed it there was a deep sigh and the convict opened his eyes to stare blankly in the old man's face. Then, as recollection came back, he struggled up into a sitting position, rose to his feet, and stood with one hand resting against the boarded side of the bothy. "Come, that's better," said old Sam. "You're a-coming round now. I tell you what you do: just you lie down in your bunk and get a good sleep; you'll be all right then. I began to think as you'd had a lob just a bit too hard. Here, what are you going to do?" "Go on with my work," said the convict. "Yah! That's foolishness; you can't do it, Leather." "I must," said the man gravely. "Thank you for what you've done, Samson. It was not true. I did not raise the axe against Brookes." "I know that, my lad. He'd say anything when he's nasty. But I'm sorry you hit back--very sorry." "Yes, I know," said the convict; and he walked slowly out of the low wooden building, and five minutes later the regular _chop, chop_ of the axe was heard, and the rattle of rails as they were laid back in a heap. "Well," said old Sam, "that's better than him being as I thought I suppose I may go on with my work now, and get that garden in a bit of order. Well, all I've got to say is this: if Brooky's gone to lay a complaint before the magistrate he's no man." Man or no man, midday had not long passed before old Sam, as he raised himself up from his digging to give his back a bit of a rest, caught sight of a flash of something bright, and there was another flash--the sun glinting from the barrel of a gun; and turning his eyes, there about a mile away, spurring across country, he made out a party of five mounted men advancing at a trot. The old man drove his spade savagely into the ground and trotted out of the garden and round to the wood-yard, where Leather was going on slowly and laboriously with his rail trimming. "Leather, my lad," he said, in a quick whisper, "they're a-coming over the hill: hadn't you better go off for a month or two?" "To be hunted down by the dogs and blacks?" said the convict bitterly. "No, old man; I shall get Justice Day, here or--in the next world." "But, my lad," pleaded the old fellow, "they're close here." "I am ready," said the convict quietly; and there was a pause. Then he spoke again. "Perhaps I shall be sent somewhere else, old man. I shall be marked as dangerous now, and not fit to be at a station where there are ladies. But you'll tell young Mr Nic the whole truth?--you know what I've had to bear." "Ay, my lad, I do know." "Thank you, Samson. You've always been a good fellow to me. Good-bye." He passed the axe into his left hand and held out his right, but quickly placed the axe back and stood up firmly, as a heavily built, florid-looking man, mounted upon a fiery horse covered with foam, cantered up, followed by four more men, three of whom, like their leader, bore guns, while the fourth was Brookes with his head tied up, his face swollen, distorted, and still smeared with dried blood-- altogether a horrible-looking object--but he sat his horse firmly enough. As the leader rode up he lowered the gun he carried and spurred his hesitating horse close up to the convict, as if fully prepared to drive in the spurs and ride him down. "Surrender!" he shouted. "Down with that axe, quickly, or I'll send a charge of buckshot through you." Leather looked him straight in the eyes and threw down the axe. "Here, Belton: handcuffs." One of his men dismounted, handed his gun and rein to a companion, took a pair of heavy handcuffs from the strap which held his blanket to the saddle, and advanced to where the convict stood with folded arms. These were dragged roughly apart, and _click_!--one iron was about a wrist. Then the other arm was seized, dragged downward, and _click_! the convict's wrists were secured behind his back, just as Mrs Braydon and her two daughters came hurrying out; and seeing what had taken place, Janet uttered a low cry, and would have fallen but for her sister's arm. The convict saw it, and his lips quivered for a few moments. Then he stood up with his head erect, gazing straight before him. "Mr Dillon!" cried Mrs Braydon. "Your servant, my dear madam," said the new arrival, raising his hat as he rode forward. "Young ladies, yours. Don't be alarmed, Miss Braydon: there is no danger now. I am very sorry that this outrage has taken place in the doctor's absence. Your poor man rode over, and I came instantly.--Too glad to have been of service." Mrs Braydon's lips moved, but no word was heard. "Where is the young squire?" continued the visitor. "My brother has gone out on a round, I suppose, Mr Dillon," said Hilda quickly. "But--but what are you going to do?" "What a neighbour should, my dear young lady. What your father would do for me or any of our friends. See that wives and daughters are protected in every way." Then, turning quickly, he rode back a few yards. "Go on, my lads," he said to his followers. "I'll overtake you directly." The man who had handcuffed Leather loosened one end of a hide rope from his saddle-bow, and secured it to the irons on the convict's wrists. "Say, Mr Dillon, sir," said old Sam, who had been dividing his time between scowling at Brookes and watching what was going on. "That there poor chap can't walk ten mile over to your place. He's only just come out of a swound." "Indeed!" said the visitor, with a laugh. "We shall see. Now forward!" The little procession moved off; Belton first, with his prisoner, and the two others with their guns across their saddle-bows following. Then Mr Dillon rode back to the ladies. "I am very sorry, Mrs Braydon. I wish you had kept away from this painful scene." "Yes, it is very terrible," said the trembling woman. "But--it was in a fit of passion, I suppose, Mr Dillon. You will not be very severe?" "I have a duty as a magistrate to perform, ladies, and I must be just. Your man has been barbarously attacked; and living as we do with these convict servants about, more in number in places than we are ourselves, any hesitation would be stamped by them as weakness, and our very existence would be at stake." "But he has always been a good, hard-working man, Mr Dillon," pleaded Janet. "And so long as he behaved, my dear Miss Braydon, the government said, `You can have almost your freedom.' He and other assigned servants know the bargain with the government. Good behaviour--liberty; bad behaviour--punishment." "But till my husband returns," faltered Mrs Braydon, "you will wait?" "These things cannot wait, madam. The law here must be administered firmly and sharply." "But you will investigate the case?" "It has been investigated, Mrs Braydon," said Mr Dillon stiffly. "Your man came to me, with witnesses who cannot lie, branded upon his face. Ladies, I respect your gentle, merciful feelings; but if you had the governance here, in a short time the Crown Colony would be a pandemonium, ruled over by a president too vile to live." "Hear him!" growled Brookes. "D'yer want me to kick yer?" whispered old Samson savagely. "But you will wait? Keep him a prisoner for a time, Mr Dillon," pleaded Mrs Braydon, as she saw her elder daughter's agonised look. "My dear madam, I must study your husband and the commonweal of this colony," said the magistrate firmly. "Good morning." "But--you wish refreshments?" faltered Mrs Braydon. "Some other time, madam. My visit now must be very painful to you all." He raised his hat, spurred his horse, and galloped off after his men; while, as Mrs Braydon stood gazing after him, Janet uttered a low wail, flung her arms about her sister's neck, and whispered, "Take me in, dear. I cannot bear it, take me in." "Janet, my child!" cried Mrs Braydon; and in an agony of suffering she helped to lead the agitated girl into the house, while old Sam trotted off into the stable, and came back with a halter in his hand to where Brookes stood, shading his swollen-up eyes with one hand, holding the rein of his horse with the other. "Thank ye, mate," he said, as he saw the halter, "but I dunno as I want it. Take the horse in for me; I want a wash. Don't s'pose Mr Leatherhead'll hit at me again." "Yes," said old Sam in a husky voice, "I'll take the poor horse. Here, ketch hold. How are you a-going to face Master Nic when, he comes back?" "Face him!" cried Brookes savagely: "I'll face him and show him what his fav'rite has done. He shall see my face, and then he may go and look at his convict's back and see how he likes that." "Here, ketch hold," cried old Sam, shaking the rope. "Tell you I don't want it," cried Brookes savagely. "And I tell you you do," said the old man fiercely. "Take it and go right off to the first big green bough in the bush." "What for?" cried Brookes, with his swollen eyelids opening wide. "To use it--on yourself; for such a man as you ain't fit to live." CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT. AND ALL IN VAIN. "Cooey--cooey!" shouted Nic, as he came cantering up over the soft, fine grass a couple of hours later toward the house; but no one was in sight, and he turned off toward the stables just as Brookes came out of the wool-shed. "Why, hullo! What's the matter? Had a fall?" "Had a fall!" cried the man savagely. "Look here." But old Sam had been watching for his young master's return, and he hurried up. "Won't you listen to me, Master Nic?" he cried. "Let me tell the tale." "Nic! Nic! come here quick!" cried Hilda, running from the house. The boy looked wildly from one to the other, threw the rein to old Sam, and ran to his sister. "Hil dear, what is the matter?--mother?" For answer she threw her arms about her brother's neck, and sobbing out told him all. "And Janet--fits of hysterics?" "Yes; I don't understand her, Nic. Mother can't leave her. What shall you do?" "Go in to them!" said Nic firmly; and giving his sister a push toward the house, he ran back to where the two men stood growling at each other and the horse impatiently stamping as it stood between them and tugged to get away. "Here you, Brookes," cried Nic imperiously, "tell me how it happened." "He was as nasty as nasty, because the blacks--" began old Sam. "Silence!" roared Nic. "I did not speak to you." Old Sam started in amazement, for it seemed to be a strong man speaking, not a boy. "Now you, Brookes." Brookes told the same tale he had told Mr Dillon when he rode over to Wattles Station, embellishing it with cuts--that is to say, showing his wounds. "No chopper would make a place like that!" cried Nic fiercely. "I don't believe a word of it, you brute. It's a lie." "So it is, Master Nic," cried Sam, showing his teeth. "He give it to the poor fellow brutal." "Tell me, then--all you know. Quick, man, quick!" "Oh, if father had been at home!" as soon as he had heard the old man's tale. Then snatching the rein, he threw it over Sorrel's head, touched the beautiful little creature's sides and went off at a gallop. "Who's that?" cried Janet, starting up wildly as the hoofs were heard beating on the turf. "Nic!" cried her sister, running to the window to look out. "He has gone off at a gallop." "Gone!" cried Mrs Braydon--"and at a time like this!" "He has galloped off. I know: he has gone over to save that poor fellow." Janet uttered a low sigh, and as Mrs Braydon turned to her wonderingly the poor girl fainted away. Meanwhile, urged now as he had never been urged before, by voice and heel, Sorrel forgot his long morning's ride, and stretching out like a greyhound skimmed over the soft turf like a swallow in its flight. Nic rode on with his heart a prey to varying emotions. He knew perfectly well that the convict's fate would be that of all unruly assigned servants. He had heard it from old Sam again and again,--how that if Jack did not behave well, he was sent by his master to another station, where he would have so many dozen lashes of the cat-o'-nine-tails and be sent back; while another time Joe, who had behaved ill at that next station, was sent across to the first. So the masters avoided the administration of punishment to their own men, but punished those of their neighbours. It was the rough-and-ready custom in the early days of the colony, and common enough for small offences. Where a convict servant's offence became a crime, he was returned to the prisons--marked. To Nic, then, it was horrible that the man for whom he had gradually grown to feel a warm sense of friendship should suffer this horrible indignity. It would be, he felt, an outrage; for he was as fully convinced as if he had been present that Leather had been maddened by Brookes's ill usage until he struck him down. The boy felt old as he galloped on in the direction of the Wattles Station. He had never been there, but he knew it lay some ten or a dozen miles away to the north, and he hoped to find it by riding on and on till he came upon flocks of sheep, and then going up some one or other of the eminences, and looking about till he caught sight of white buildings, which would be the place. This would come the easier from the fact that stations were built close to water, but high enough up to be beyond the reach of floods. When he had gone three or four miles he began to repent not bringing Nibbler, who would, in all probability, have been there in his time, and consequently might take it for granted, when going in that direction, that his young master was aiming at this place. But in his excitement he had thought of nothing but getting over there; and faint, hungry and hot, he began now to find that he had done a foolish thing. A chill ran through him at the idea of missing the place, and he was about to change his direction and ride up a hill to his left; when it suddenly struck him that after once starting he had done nothing in the way of guiding his horse, which kept right on in one direction, merely deviating to avoid great trees or patches of scrub. Then he uttered a joyful cry, for gazing down he could see hoof marks faintly on the thick grass, and it dawned upon him that these were quite fresh, and the horse was following them as steadily as if going along a main road. Elated by this he slackened the rein just sufficiently to feel the horse's mouth, and left it to itself. And then it galloped in its easy, swinging pace, with its rider leaning forward, heart-sick where the footprints were invisible, and exultant as he caught sight of them again and again, after feeling that all was over and the trail entirely lost. "If I only were clever as one of the blacks," he thought. "Bungarolo, Rigar, or Damper would follow the faintest trail." But their services were needless here. The sorrel nag had been to the Wattles more than once before its young master's time, and, besides, its natural instinct led it to gallop along where its fellows had been before. Two great ostrich-like birds started up from right and left, and though he had not come across them before Nic knew that they must be emus; but he only glanced at them as they raced away, with the rapid motion of their legs making them almost as invisible as the spokes of a running wheel. Twice over, too, he saw a drove of kangaroos, which went flying over the bushes in their tremendous leaps; but they excited no interest now. He must get to the Wattles soon, or he would be too late. It was a long ten miles--more probably twelve--and Nic's heart was low, for he seemed to have been riding three hours, and he began to fear that the horse would go on following tracks until rein was drawn, so he stopped; when all at once, as they turned a clump of magnificent gum trees standing alone upon a beautiful down, there below him, and not a mile away, was the place he sought--a group of buildings, with the sheep and cattle dotting the country as far as his eye could range. And now he checked his horse's speed to a gentle canter, and thought of what he should do. He knew that he would be most welcome as a stranger, much more so as Dr Braydon's son; so he rode straight up to the fence, leaped down, and hitched his rein over a post close to where several saddles rode upon a rail, and was going up to the door of the house, when Mr Dillon himself appeared, and came to meet him with a friendly nod. "Dr Braydon's son, for a wager!" he cried. "Yes," said Nic; and before he could say another word the big, bluff-looking squatter shouted: "Hi, Belton! Come and rub down and feed Mr Braydon's nag. Now, my lad, come in. We're just going to have a meal, and you must be hungry after your ride." Nic was hungry after his ride, which was a far longer one than Mr Dillon guessed, for the boy had had nothing since the morning, and the mention of food struck a responsive chord in his breast. But he had not come to visit, and, flushing slightly, he spoke out at once, plunging boldly into the object of his coming, though he felt that the magistrate knew. "Thank you, no, Mr Dillon," he said. "I have come over about our man." "So I supposed," said Mr Dillon, smiling; "but we can talk as we eat." "I can't at a time like this, sir," said Nic. "I've come for him, please, to take him back with me." "Indeed!" said Mr Dillon, smiling. "Do you know all that happened?-- while you were out, I presume?" "Yes, everything, sir, and how you were misinformed." "Misinformed, was I?" said Mr Dillon pleasantly. "I think not." "But you were, sir, indeed. I know both the men so well." "I suppose so, my lad. Let me see, you have been in the colony quite a short time?" "Yes; but I've seen a great deal of them," cried Nic, whose face burned with annoyance at the magistrate's look of amusement. "And you are, of course, a good judge of convict servants?" "I know nothing about any but our own men, sir. But I have heard everything, sir, and I am sure that our man Leather does not deserve to be punished. It would be unjust." "You think so?" "Yes, sir: I'm sure of it." "And you want to take him back with you?" "If you please, sir--now. I know the man so well, and I am certain that I can answer for there being no more trouble." "That's speaking broadly, my boy," said Mr Dillon, slapping Nic on the shoulder; "but comes tea--dinner's ready, and we can continue our argument as we have it." Nic shook his head. "I couldn't eat, sir, with that poor fellow in such trouble," he said. "Well, that's very kind and nice of you, my boy," said Mr Dillon, "and I like you for it; but come now, let's be reasonable. You see, I am the magistrate of this district, but I want to talk to you, not like a man of law, only as your father's friend and neighbour." "Yes, I felt that you would, sir," said Nic, who was encouraged. "Your father has, I suppose, left you in charge of his station?" "Yes, sir." "Well, boys out here have to act like men, and I like your manly way about this business. You came back, found out the trouble, and rode over directly to set it right?" "Yes, sir--exactly." "That's all very right and just; only as a man of long experience, young Braydon, you see, I know better how to manage these troubles than you possibly can--a lad fresh over from school." "Yes, sir, I suppose so," said Nic, "in most cases; but I do know our man better than you." "You think so, my lad; but you are wrong. He was my servant first." "Still, you will let our man come back with me, sir?" "In your father's absence, my boy, I have too much respect for him, too much interest in the safety of your mother and sisters, to send back unpunished a desperate man." "Don't say that, sir. You don't know Leather indeed." "`Nothing like Leather,'" said Mr Dillon, smiling. "Yes, I should think he was a great favourite of yours. But, come now, my boy; you have done your part well. Here, come in and have a good meal. Your man has done what many more of these fellows do--broken out in a bit of savagery. He is shut up safely in yonder, too much done up for me to say anything to him to-night; but tomorrow morning he will be tamed down a bit, and kept for three or four days to return to his senses, and then he will come back and go on with his work like a lamb." "Mr Dillon, you don't know him, sir!" cried Nic earnestly. "Such a cruel act would drive the poor fellow mad." "I know him, and I know you, my boy. There, you are young and enthusiastic; but I see, plainly enough, you have been too much with this fellow. There, frankly, you have been with him a good deal?" "Yes, sir," said Nic. "Precisely. And he has not corrupted you, but he has made you believe that he is an injured, innocent man. Frankly, now, is it not so?" "Yes, and I do believe," said Nic quietly. "Exactly. Well, my dear boy, you see I do not; and if you will take my advice you will have nothing to do with him in the future." "Mr Dillon, you are mistaken," cried Nic. "Pray--pray do not punish him!" "My dear young friend, pray--pray don't you interfere with a magistrate's duties." "Then you will not let him come, sir?" "Certainly not, for at least a week." "But, Mr Dillon, promise me that--that you--you will not flog him," said Nic, in a husky whisper. "I promise you, my good lad, that tomorrow morning I shall have him out in front of my men and my four assigned servants--convicts, and have him given a good sound application of the cat. Now that business is settled in a way that ten years hence you will agree is quite just; so come in like a sensible young neighbour, have a good feed, and I'll ride part of the way back with you after." "Do you mean this, sir?" said Nic hoarsely. "I always say what I mean, boy, and act up to it. Once more, come in." Nic walked straight to where the man was rubbing down his horse, stopped him, picked up and girthed his saddle, saw to the bridle, and then mounted, while Mr Dillon stood watching him, half amused, half angry. Then a thought struck Nic, and he bent down as if to reach the cheek-piece of the bit, and slipped a shilling into the man's hand. "Where's our man shut up?" he whispered. "In the big shed behind the house," said the man, staring. Then at a touch Sour Sorrel started off. "Going now?" shouted Mr Dillon. Nic raised his hand to his hat as he galloped off, but he did not turn his head. "The conceited young puppy!" cried Mr Dillon angrily, as he watched the boy's receding form; "and he wouldn't eat bread and salt. He deserves to be flogged himself for his obstinacy. I don't know, though: I wish I'd had a boy like that." He re-entered the house, and Nic rode on homeward, the slowest, saddest ride he had had since he entered the colony, for as soon as he was out of sight of the house he drew rein and let Sorrel walk. CHAPTER TWENTY NINE. A NIGHT'S WORK. "What shall I do?" said Nic to himself. Being faint, and feeling half stunned, no answer came; and he looked round at the beautiful country, which appeared newer and more beautiful than ever in the orange-gold of approaching evening, while all within was black with misery and despair. He never knew before how much he liked the stern, manly fellow who that next morning was to be tied up and flogged; and the more Nic thought of the horrible punishment the deeper grew his misery, as he felt what a helpless boy he was in the matter; and a number of wild plans began to enter his head. He had no gun with him now, but he could ride back, fetch it, and wait till morning. Then he would ride up to the Wattles just when they were going to tie up Leather, take his place beside him, and, with presented gun, dare any one to touch his father's servant. Then the weak tears came into the boy's eyes, and he laughed a piteous, contemptuous laugh at himself for harbouring such a silly, romantic notion. And all the while Sorrel went on at his steady walk, growing cool and comfortable, refreshed too by the light feed he had had and the rub down. They went slowly on till sunset, when Nic drew rein, and sat gazing at the large orange ball sinking away beyond the mountains. "So beautiful!" he said, forced into admiration of the glories of the coming evening; "and poor Leather lying there handcuffed and waiting to be flogged." He leaped from his horse and threw the rein over its head. "There!" he cried, patting the soft arched neck, "eat away, old chap. You needn't be miserable if I am. I can't go and leave poor Leather like this." He threw himself down on the grass to think--to try and make out some plan, while the birds winged their way overhead back to their roosting places, and here and there the kangaroos and their many little relatives began to steal out of the woodland shelters they had affected through the heat of the day, to lope about like huge hares, look around for danger, and then begin to browse. At first the only idea that would come to the boy was that he would wait there till daybreak, and then ride the three or four miles he had come in his homeward direction back to the Wattles, getting there in good time; and when the preparations were being made for punishment he would ride boldly up and make a final appeal to Mr Dillon to either let Leather off or to defer everything till the doctor returned. "Poor Leather!" he said to himself: "he'll see that I have not deserted him." _Crop_, _crop_, _crop_; the horse went on browsing away upon the rich grass, but keeping close at hand, as if liking its master's company, and raising its head now and then to whinny softly. The sun had gone down, and the glorious tints were dying out on and beyond the mountains. Then a great planet began to twinkle in the soft grey of the west, which rapidly grew of a dark purple, lit up again with a warm glow and grew purple once more, with the planet now blazing like a dazzling spot of silver hung high in the heavens. Soon after, it would have been dark but for the glorious display of golden stars which now encircled the vast arch overhead, far more beautifully in that clear air than Nic ever remembered to have seen at home. And all this splendour of the heavens made him the more miserable, for it seemed to him as if at such a time everything ought to be dark and stormy. The night birds were out, and strange cries, wails, and chuckling noises reached his ears, mingled with the whirr and whizz of crickets and the soft pipe and croak of frogs in and about a water-hole not far away. Once or twice, half startled, Nic thought he saw dusky, shadowy figures stealing along, and his heart beat fast; but he soon told himself that it was all fancy, for if any one had approached the horse would have been alarmed, whereas it was close at hand cropping the grass contentedly, its loud puff of breath with which it blew away insects upon the grass sounding regular in its intervals. It was restful lying there, but Nic's faintness increased, and he was glad to pick a few leaves and blades of grass to chew and keep down the famished feeling which troubled him. But that calm night-time was glorious for thought, and before long he had determined that, come what might, he would wait for another hour or two and ride back to the Wattles and set Leather free. For he knew whereabouts the convict was imprisoned. The man who attended to Sorrel had said it was behind the house. Then what could be easier than to ride round, and, close up, find which was the big shed, and give Leather a signal; and then, with one working outside, the other in, it would be easy enough. Why, if he could not get the wooden bar away with which these big sheds were mostly fastened, he could guide Sorrel alongside, stand on the saddle, and remove some of the bark or shingle roofing. Nic forgot hunger, misery, and despair in the glow of exultation which came over him, and he felt contempt for his readiness to give up and think that all was over. "More ways of killing a cat than hanging it," he said, with a little laugh, and lying upon his back in a thoroughly restful position he set himself to watch the stars, till all at once they turned blank, and he leaped to his feet in alarm and went to pat his horse. "That won't do," he muttered. "Done up, I suppose, and it was the lying on my back and leaving off thinking. But I couldn't have slept for many minutes." For the matter of that the time might have been two or three hours, for aught he could have told; but as it was he had not been asleep a minute when he sprang back into wakefulness, and, determined now not to run any more risks, he stopped with his horse, resting against its flank and thinking of what a great solitary place he was in, and how strange it seemed for that vast country to have so few inhabitants. His aim was to wait until everybody would be asleep at the Wattles, and then ride softly up, when he felt that there would be light enough for his purpose, which ought not to take long. The time glided away slowly, but at last he felt that he might start, and after seeing that the bridle was all right he proceeded to tighten the girths. But Sorrel had been pretty busy over that rich grass, and Nic found that if he did anything to those girths he ought to let them a little loose. "You greedy pig!" he said, patting the horse affectionately, "eating away like that and enjoying yourself when your master starves." The horse whinnied. "Ah! don't do that," said Nic in alarm. "You would spoil everything." He mounted and cantered back for a good two miles, finding no difficulty, for the horse went over the same ground again. Then Nic drew rein and walked on and on till he thought he must have missed the place in the dark; but all at once below him he saw a faint light move for a few moments, and disappear. Evidently a lantern which some one had carried into the house. Nic checked his horse for quite a quarter of an hour, and then walked it slowly down the slope, till there, dimly showing up before him, he could make out building after building, looming all dim and ghostly-looking, but plain enough to one whose eyes had grown accustomed to the dark. But there were fences to avoid, and there was an enclosed garden; so the boy felt that the wisest plan would be to take a pretty good circuit round and then go up to the back. Starting to do this, he was very nearly thrown, for Sorrel suddenly made a tremendous bound and cleared a large tree trunk, which had been felled and lay denuded of all its branches right across his way. This was a shock; and it had other effects, for at the heavy beat of hoofs a deep-mouthed dog suddenly set up a tremendous bark, which was taken up by half a dozen more in chorus, accompanied by the rattling of chains in and out of kennels. Nic paused, with his heart beating, but the barking went on, and a voice was heard to shout faintly: "Lie down!" But the dogs still barked, and a window was opened and a loud voice, which Nic recognised, shouted: "Hullo! What is it, my lads?" The barking turned to a burst of whimpering and whining, and after a few sharp commands to lie down Nic heard the window closed; and the rattling of the dogs' chains began again, a whimper or two, and then all was silent once more. Meanwhile Nic had peered carefully round, and became aware of the fact that there were several pieces of timber lying about, as if a group of trees had been felled where he stood, and cautiously dismounting and leading his horse, he began to guide it out of the dangerous place. But he had hardly achieved this when the barking broke out again, making Nic mount and ride slowly off, while the window was once more thrown open, and the voice the boy had recognised as the magistrate's cried sharply: "What is it there, boys?" the dogs barking wildly in reply. Just then a shrill whistle rang out, and directly after a man shouted. "All right, sir, here!" "What's the matter with the dogs, Belton?" "Dunno, sir. Dingo, perhaps." "Or something else. Here: go and see if that scoundrel's all right." "He's all right, sir. I've been twice. Just come from there now." "Humph! That's right, my lad. But they seem very uneasy." "Well, yes, sir, they do," said the man; "but they often have a fit like this. Lie down, will yer!" There was a general rattling of chains at this, while every word had come distinctly to Nic's ears in the soft silence. "Good night." "Good night, sir." There was shutting of the window, and then the man said slowly: "I'll bring a whip round to some on yer directly. Hold yer row!" One dog barked as if protesting. "Quiet, will yer!" cried the man. "Think nobody wants to sleep?" Then silence, an uneasy rattle of a chain, the banging of a door, and Nic wiped the perspiration from his brow. The case seemed hopeless, but he would not give up. Twice over he tried to get round to the back of the house, but the dogs were on the alert; and the last time, just as he drew rein closer than he had been before, the window was opened, two flashes of light cut the darkness, and there came the double report of a gun, making Sorrel bound and nearly unseat his rider. "See any one, sir?" cried the man, hurrying out. "No; but I'm sure there's some one about. Get your gun. I'll be down directly, and we'll keep watch." The window closed, and Nic heard the man growl at the dogs: "You've done it now. Keep watch, eh? But I'll pay some on yer to-morrow." The dogs burst out barking again, for Nic was guiding his horse away in despair, feeling that he could not accomplish his task; then he waited till he was a few hundred yards distant, and cantered on, feeling that in all probability some of the dogs would be loosened and come after him. As he rode he listened, and there was the yelping as of a pack, making him urge Sorrel into a gallop; but the sounds died out, and at the end of a mile he drew rein, for there was no suggestion of pursuit. Nic walked his horse beneath one of the great trees, and sat there like a statue, thinking, and trying hard to come to some determination. To get at the building where Leather was imprisoned was not the easy task he had thought. In fact, he felt now, that with all those dogs about, that he had not noticed the previous afternoon, when they were probably away with the shepherds, it was impossible. "What shall I do?" he said to himself again; and he cudgelled his brain in the hope of some idea coming, but all in vain. And so a good hour passed, when, sick and in despair, he determined to make one more essay, for he argued, with a bitter smile, "The dogs may be asleep." At any rate he would try, and if he failed he would ride up in the morning, and they should not flog the poor fellow while he was there. "Yes," he said, "the dogs may be asleep; but suppose Mr Dillon or his men are keeping watch." He had put his horse in motion, and was riding out of the black shadow, but drew rein sharply, and Sorrel stopped short, for away in the distance came the loud yelping and baying of dogs in pursuit of something, just as he had heard them in the Kentish woods at home when laid on the scent of a fox, but not with the weird, strange sound heard now on the night air. "What does it mean?" thought Nic, as his heart seemed to stand still and then began to beat with heavy throbs; for the idea came that Leather had broken out--was escaping--was coming in his direction; and at that moment there was a pause--a silence which jarred the boy's nerves. Had they got him? No; for the dogs were in full pursuit once more, probably on the fugitive's scent, and faintly heard there were shouts as of some one urging the pack on. How long what followed took Nic never knew, for he was listening, intensely excited, and agitated as to whether he should go or stay, when the thought came that perhaps the dogs were on his scent; but he cast that idea away as foolish, for he had been mounted nearly all the time. Then all at once, as the hounds were evidently coming nearer and the shouts plainer, Nic felt that he must sit out the affair and hear what had happened; when Sorrel drew a deep breath, there was a heavy breathing, and a man came on at a steady trot straight for the shadow in which Nic sat, so that the next moment he was upon him. "Back, for your life!" came hoarsely, as the man raised his arm. "Leather!" "You here!" panted the convict. "But quick--they're after us. Canter right away." As he spoke he took a firm grip of the nag's mane, and as it sprang off ran easily by its side, the docile beast making straight for home. For some minutes they went on like this, with the sounds growing fainter; and then the convict broke the silence. "Master Nic," he whispered, "I am innocent, my lad. I did not use the axe. That ruffian struck me with the fork handle till my manhood revolted against it, and I knocked him down with my fist, boy--my fist." "Yes, I know: Sam told me," said Nic hoarsely. "I came to try and get you away." "God bless you, my lad! I couldn't bear to stay there and be disgraced more than I have. It was too hard." "How did you escape?" "Broke the handcuffs apart, climbed to the rafters, pulled open the bark thatching and let myself down; but the dogs gave the alarm." "Well, they shan't have you now," cried Nic, pulling up. "Jump on and ride home. I'll run beside you. They can't take you away again." The convict laughed bitterly. "You foolish boy," he said gently, "the law is on their side. No. Good-bye, lad. Don't forget me. You know the truth, but you must not be mixed up with my escape. You have done nothing yet. Off with you-- home!" "But you, Leather, what are you going to do?" said Nic huskily. "Escape if I can, and I think I shall." "But where--what to do? Wait till father comes home?" "No. What can he do? Dillon will send me to the chain gang as a dangerous man; and I am now, boy--I am, for it shall only be my dead body they shall take." "Leather!" "No, Nic. Frank Mayne, an honest man. Home with you, boy!" "But you?" "I? There's room enough yonder. To begin a new life of freedom--a savage among the blacks." There was a smart blow of the open hand delivered on the horse's neck, and the startled beast sprang forward into a wild gallop, which the boy could not for the moment check. When he did, and looked round, there was the darkness of the night, the cry of some wild bird; the baying of the dogs had ceased, and he was quite alone. "He can't be far," thought the boy, and he whistled softly again and again, but there was no reply. He tried to pierce the darkness, but it was very black now, and he noticed that the stars had been blotted out, and directly after there came _pat_; _pat_, _pat_--the sound of great drops of rain, the advance-guard of a storm. It would have been useless to try and follow the convict, and at last Nic let his impatient horse move on at a walk, then it cantered, and then galloped straight for the Bluff, as if trying to escape from the pelting rain, while it quivered at every flash and bounded on as the lightning was followed by a deafening roar. "There'll be no trail to follow," cried Nic exultantly; "it will all be washed away, and he'll shelter himself under some tree. But hurrah! I shall see him again. Let old Dillon flog the whipping-post, or, if he's disappointed, let him have old Brookes." For a peculiar feeling of exultation had come upon the boy, and the storm, instead of being startling, seemed grand, till he rode into the enclosure, seeing that lights were in three of the windows, and a trio of voices cried: "Nic, is that you?" "Yes, all right," he shouted. "So hungry. In as soon as I've seen to my horse." Five minutes after he ran in dripping wet, and had hard work to keep Mrs Braydon from embracing him. "Not till I've changed, mother," he cried. "But where have you been?" "Over to Dillon's, to get him not to punish Leather, and let him come away." "Yes, Nic?" cried Janet excitedly. "He wouldn't let him come." Janet heaved a piteous sigh and sank back in her chair, while Nic hurried to his room to get rid of his soaking garments. When he came out to go to the room where the meal had been kept waiting all those many hours for his return, he met Janet. "You coward!" she whispered: "you have not tried." "I did my best," whispered Nic. "But, I say, Jan, can you keep a secret?" "Yes: what?" she cried excitedly. "Old Dillon must be as mad as mad. Leather has escaped, and has made for the myall scrub." Janet uttered a peculiar sound: it was caused by her pressing her hands to her lips to suppress a cry, as she ran to her own room. "Poor chap!" said Nic to himself. "I'm glad she likes him too." CHAPTER THIRTY. THE QUEST. As Nic had supposed would be the case, hoof-marks were either obliterated or looked faint and old from the heavy soaking they had received in the storm, while those made by a man were invisible, unless to the ultra-keen eyes of some natives. He noted this when he went out that same morning in pretty good time, for he felt convinced that Mr Dillon would give him the credit of helping Leather to escape. It was a glorious morning, the dust being washed away by the storm, and everything looking beautifully fresh and green in the sunshine. When he went out he was soon aware of something else being wrong, for Brookes was rating the three blacks, who had thoroughly enjoyed their truant holiday, and would have stayed away for days in the myall scrub, but the bush in wet weather is to a blackfellow not pleasant, from the showers of drops falling upon his unclothed skin. Consequently the storm had sent them back, and they were all found clothed and curled up fast asleep in the wool-shed by old Sam, who had roused them up. His words had brought Brookes on the scene, armed with a stout stick, with which he was thrashing them, while the rascals were hopping about in a peculiar shuffling dance, whose steps consisted in every one wanting to be at the back and pushing his fellow to the front. Bungarolo was the least adept player, and Damper and Rigar managed to keep him before them as a kind of breastwork or shield, behind which they could escape the threatening stick. "Baal mumkull! baal mumkull! (don't kill)," he kept crying piteously. "But that's all you're fit for, you lazy rascals. Where did you go?" "Plenty go find yarraman. Budgery yarraman (good horses). Plenty go find. Run away." "I don't believe it. What horses ran away?" "Kimmeroi, bulla, metancoly (one, two, ever so many)," cried Rigar, from the back. "It's all a lie. Come: out with you!" "No, leave him alone, Brookes," said Nic sternly. "I'll have no more quarrelling to-day." The man faced round sharply. "Look here, young master, are you going to manage this here station, or am I?" he cried. "I am, as far as I know; and I won't have the black-fellows knocked about." The three culprits understood enough English to grasp his meaning, and burst out together in tones of reproach: "Baal plenty stick. No Nic coolla (angry). Black-fellow nangery (stay), do lot work." "Work! Yes," cried Nic. "Go away with you, and begin." The three blacks set up a shout like school-children who had escaped punishment, and danced and capered off to the work that they had left the day before. "Look here, sir--" began Brookes again. "Why don't you hold your tongue, Brooky?" cried old Sam. "You ain't looked in the glass this morning, or you'd see enough mischief was done yesterday." "Who spoke to you?" cried Brookes fiercely. "Not you, or you'd get on better. Young master's quite right. You can't deal with the blacks that way." "Breakfast!" cried a clear voice; and Nic turned to find his sister Janet coming to meet him, looking very pale, but quite contented. "I shall keep it a secret, Nic," she whispered. "I'm so glad, for all that seemed so dreadful to me." At that moment Mrs Braydon appeared at the door, she too looking pale, but eager to welcome her son; and no allusion was made during breakfast to the previous day's trouble. But hardly had they finished when Nibbler burst into a deep-toned volley of barking, which immediately started the two collies, and they rushed round to the front. "Some one coming," cried Hilda. "Oh,--they're bringing back poor Leather!" Nic sprang to the window, to see Mr Dillon, followed by five of his men, three blacks, and seven or eight dogs, among which were three gaunt, grey, rough-haired, Scottish deer-hounds. The boy had expected that Mr Dillon would come, but his sister's words staggered him and gave him a sharp pang. The next moment, though, he saw that she was wrong; and turning from the window, he exchanged glances with Janet, as he said quite coolly, "What does he want so soon?" and made for the door, thinking that he knew well enough that they were on a man-hunting expedition, but congratulated himself on the convict's long start. "Good morning, Mr Dominic," said the magistrate, riding up, while the two collies ran on to investigate the strange dogs, and Nibbler tore furiously at his chain. "Good morning, sir," said Nic. "Here, Rumble--rumble! Come here, both of you! Hi, Samson! Shut these two dogs up in one of the sheds." "Yes," said the visitor, "or there'll be a fight." Then, as Sam came running up and relieved Nic of his task of holding the pair by their black frills, "Will you be good enough to walk a little way from the house, young man? I want a word or two with you." "He can't know I was there," thought Nic; and he walked beside the visitor's horse till it was checked, and the rider looked down sharply at the boy. "Now, young gentleman," he said, "I don't want to quarrel with your father's son, but I am a man who never allows himself to be played with. You played me a pretty trick last night." "I, sir? How?" "Do you want telling?" "Of course, sir." Nic felt the magistrate's eyes piercing almost into his very thoughts; but, at the same time, he saw those armed men and that pack of dogs ready to hunt down the convict, and if he could avoid it he was determined not to say all he knew. "You came over to my place last night and broke a way out for that fellow to escape." "I did not," said Nic firmly. "Do you mean to tell me that you did not bring over a handcuff key which your father has, and climb in at the roof and unlock the bracelets?" "I do tell you so!" said Nic. "I did not know we had such a thing." "On your word as a gentleman?" "On my word as a gentleman," said Nic. Then to himself: "If he asks me if I came over, I must say Yes." "Then I beg your pardon," said Mr Dillon. "But you have him here?" "No," said Nic, "he is not here." "I must ask your men. Will you summon them?" "The blacks too?" said Nic. "Yes, all of them, please." "Hi, Sam!" cried Nic, as the old man banged to and fastened the door where he had shut up the dogs. "Call Brookes and the blacks; then come here." "Right, sir," said the old man; and Mr Dillon went on: "He got away somehow, and the dogs were after him till the storm spoiled the scent." "Then you can't flog him," said Nic in triumph. "Not this morning, of course," said Mr Dillon good humouredly. "All right, my young friend, you'll come round to my way of thinking." "Never," said Nic firmly. "That's a long time, squire. But don't you look so satisfied. You really do not imagine that our friend can get away?" "There's plenty of room," said Nic. "To starve, my led. But, mark my words, if we don't run him down this morning, he'll come back before long to ask for his punishment, if the myall blacks have not speared him and knocked him on the head." Just then the men came forward, and the magistrate's attention was taken up, so that he did not see Nic's shudder. "Oh, Brookes," said Mr Dillon, "that fellow broke out and ran for the bush last night?" "What?" cried the man, changing colour. "Has he made you deaf?" said Mr Dillon. "Your Leather got away last night. Have you seen him?" "No, no," said Brookes, who looked unnerved. "But you'll run him down, sir?" "Of course. And you, Samson?" "No, sir, he hasn't been back here. Here, you--Bung, Rig, Damper: have you seen Leather 'smorning?" "Plenty mine see Leather chop rail." "Yes, yes, that was yesterday. 'Smorning?" The three blacks made a peculiar sound, and threw up their chins. "No good, Belton," said Mr Dillon. "Back to the bunya clump. I have an idea that he struck off there, so as to keep up by the river. Don't care to mount and come and see a convict hunt, squire, I suppose?" said the magistrate inquiringly. Nic gave him a furious look, and Mr Dillon nodded good humouredly and rode after his men, the dogs beginning to bark as they started back, to be answered by Nibbler and the collies, who thrust their noses under the bottom of the door. "Won't take them big stag-hounds long to hunt him down," said Brookes, trying to hide his nervousness with a grin. "Think they'll catch him, Sam?" said Nic. "Well, sir, it's just about like a pair o' well-balanced wool scales," said the old man rather sadly. "Dogs has wonderful noses of their own. But there, I 'spose we shall hear." Nic went off to the stables, for he had not the heart to go indoors. And as he stood by his horse the desire came upon him strongly to mount and ride after Mr Dillon's party, so as to know everything that happened, but he felt that it might appear to the poor fellow that he was with the party trying to hunt him down, and he stayed and hung about the station all day. "Bung," he said toward evening, "you like Leather?" "Plenty mine like damper." "No, no; I mean did Leather ever knock you about?" "Baal, no. Budgery (good)." "Go over to the Wattles, Mr Dillon's, and find--did catch Leather. You pidney? (understand)." The man gave him a sly look, laughed, and ran into the cow-shed, to come out directly after in his dress clothes, and armed. Then with a shout he ran off at a long, quick trot toward the track. It was getting toward midnight when he returned, to cooey under the boy's window. "Well, did you find out?" "No catch. White fellow plenty run along myall bush." "Here, catch," cried Nic, and he pitched the man a big piece of damper and the blade-bone of a shoulder of mutton; and then, as he closed the window, he fancied he heard whispering outside his door, and another door closed. CHAPTER THIRTY ONE. BLACK SYMPATHY. Nic found the next day that in their tiny world of the Bluff there were others sufficiently interested in the convict's fate to have been making inquiries about the proceedings instituted by Mr Dillon; for on going round the place in the fresh early morning to see how the live stock was getting on, the first person he met was old Sam, who saluted him with one of his ugly smiles, and a chuckle like that of a laughing jackass-- of course the bird. "They didn't ketch him, Master Nic," he cried. "Why, you ought to be vexed, Sam," replied the boy. "Yes, I know that, sir; but I ain't. I don't like Leather 'cause he's a convict, and it ain't nice for honest men to have them sort for fellow-servants. But I don't want him ketched and flogged. Not me." "But will they catch him, do you think, Sam?" "Ah, that's what nobody can say. Most likely yes, because if the dogs get on his scent they'll run him down." "But the rain?" "Ay, that's in his favour, sir. But, then, there's another thing: the blacks will be set to work again." "But they can't scent him out." "Nay; but they can smell him out with their eyes and run him down. Bound to say, if I set our three to work, they'd find the poor lad." "They are very keen and observant." "Keen, Master Nic? Ay! It's a many years now since I shaved; but if I took to it again I shouldn't use rayshors, sir, but blackfellows' sight. Steel's nowhere to it." "But how do you know they didn't catch him?" "I sent Damper and Rigar to see the fun, and they came back to me grinning, and told me." "But did Mr Dillon set his blacks to work tracking?" "Ay, that he did; but it strikes me they didn't want to find the poor chap. It's like this, you see, Master Nic. Yes'day morning, as soon as our three found out, from Brooky's face looking like a bit o' unbaked damper, and his tied-up head, that he'd been having it, they asked me how it was, and I told 'em. Next minute I goes into the cow-shed to see what the noise was, and them three chaps--for they're just like little children--there they were, with jyned hands, having a crobbery sort o' dance." "Why?" "Why, sir? Just because they were precious glad that Brooky had found his master. They didn't say so, but I knew. You don't suppose, because a chap's face is black, he likes to be hit with sticks, and kicked, and sneered at. They're little children in big black bodies, master; but they like the man who shares his damper and mutton with 'em and never gives 'em a dirty word a deal better than him as treats 'em as if they was kangaroos." "Of course, Sam." "They get their likes same as little children do. The lazy black rascals!" continued the old man, grinning; "they always want to be at play, and I give it 'em well sometimes, but they know they deserve it; and, after all, they'd do anything for me, Master Nic, and so they would for you." "Oh, I've done nothing to please them, Sam." "Oh yes you have, Master Nic, often; and just you look here--they didn't show their white teeth for nothing." "What do you mean?" "I'll tell you, sir. They was along with Dillon's blackfellows yes'day most o' the arternoon, and Dillon's blackfellows didn't find old Leather." "No; you said so before." "Ay, I did, sir; but don't you see why they didn't hit out Leather's track?" "Because the rain had washed it away." "Nay!" cried Sam, with a long-drawn, peculiar utterance; "because our fellows wouldn't let 'em. They belongs to the same tribe." "Ah!" cried Nic. "That's it, sir. Our boys give 'em a hint, or else they'd ha' found him fast enough." "Then he'll escape!" cried Nic eagerly. "Nay! There's no saying. Government's very purticlar about running a pris'ner down. 'Bliged to be. Soon as it's reported as Leather's jumped for the bush, some o' they mounted police'll be over, and they'll bring blackfellows with 'em as don't know him and don't belong to our boys' tribe, and they'll find him. 'Sides, there's black tribes in the bush as'd take a delight in throwing spears at him. And then again, how's a white man going to live? He ain't a black, as'll get fat on grubs, and worms, and snakes, and lizzars, and beadles, when he can't get wallabies and birds. But there, we shall see. I'm sorry he jumped for the bush; but don't you go and think I want to see him caught and flogged." "I don't, Sam." "Then you're right, Master Nic; on'y raally you mustn't keep me a-talking here. I say, though," he whispered confidentially, and chuckling with delight all the time, "Brooky won't enjy his wittles till Leather is ketched." "What do you mean?" "He's going about, sir, in the most dreadfullest stoo. He walked over in the night to the Wattles, and come back all of a tremble, and he's got a loaded gun behind the wool-shed door, and another behind the stable." "Yes; I saw that, and wondered how it came there." "He put it there, sir," chuckled the old man. "Just you watch him next time you see him. He's just like a cocksparrer feeding, what keeps on turning his head to right and then to left and all round, to see if Leather's coming to pounce on him and leather him. The pore chap don't know it, but he's sarving out Mister Brooky fine. There, now I must go, sir, raally. One word, though: Brooky's doing nothing but grumble, and look out for squalls, and the master away--not as that matters so much, for the way in which you're a-steppin' into his shoes, sir, is raally fine. But I want things to look to-rights when he comes back." CHAPTER THIRTY TWO. A FALSE SCENT. Two days, three days glided by, and the convict was not found. Then a week passed, and another, and he was still at large; but a letter was brought up from the post, a couple of the mounted police being the bearers. This letter, from the doctor, told that Sir John O'Hara was dangerously ill, and that his life was despaired of; it was impossible to leave him till a change took place; and the letter ended affectionately, with hopes that Nic was managing the station well, and that all was going on peacefully. The mounted police were going on to Mr Dillon's, and on their return in three days they were to take back Mrs Braydon's answer. The men had just ridden off after a rest and a hearty meal, when, as Nic turned to re-enter the house and hear the letter read over again, he saw old Sam's head over the garden fence, and the handle of his spade held up as a signal. "Want me, Sam?" "Ay, sir; come in here. I don't want Brooky to see me talking to you as if I was telling tales. We has to live together, and we're bad enough friends without that." Nic went round by the gate, and the old man sunk his voice. "He's been at 'em, sir." "Who has been at what?" "I don't mean what you mean, sir. Brooky got at them two police. Know what that means?" "About Leather?" cried Nic. "That's it, sir. There'll be another hunt 'safternoon and to-morrer; and if they don't ketch him then, when they go back they'll take a 'spatch from Mr Dillon, and we shall have a lot of 'em down here." Nic's face contracted from his mental pain. "Don't you look like that, my lad. They ain't got him yet. Do you know, I shouldn't wonder if he's gone right away with Bung's tribe, and they won't get him. But I say, Master Nic, you won't go over to the Wattles, will you?" "No, certainly not." "But you'd like to hear?" "Yes, of course." "Then I tell you what, sir: just you tell our three that, as they've been very good boys, they may have a holiday and go and get a good lot o' bunya nuts." "Get a lot of what?" said Nic, in a tone of disgust. "Bunya nuts, sir: grows on them trees something like firs. They ain't half bad, I can tell you." "But I don't want to send them out nutting," said Nic. "They're better at work." "You don't understand, sir. I saw them staring over the fences at the perlice. You give them leave, and off they'll go and watch everything, just as if they were on'y playing about. Then we shall know everything." In the result, there was very little to know; for when the three blackfellows came back that night, they could only tell that there had been a long hunt for the convict. They got to know, too, that there was to be another next day. Then the police returned, received their letters for the doctor, and as they rode off for their long journey to the port they told Nic in confidence not to make himself uncomfortable, for they would be back soon with a little troop and some trackers, and that then they would soon catch the escaped man. "I don't suppose he'll venture near the station, sir; but if he does, and don't surrender, you're justified in shooting him down." Nic drew his breath hard as he went back to the house very thoughtfully, but he said nothing indoors. That afternoon he mounted, and sent the two collies nearly frantic by whistling to them to come after him; and as they dashed on Nic rode after at an easy canter, to take a long round amongst the grazing, off-lying cattle, and carry out another project he had in mind. It was very pleasant riding there through the far-stretching, park-like place, and that afternoon the number of birds he passed was enormous, but Nic did not shoot at them. A large iguana, a hideous, dragon-like creature, ran to a big tree, making Sorrel start as it crossed his path, and then the great lizard crept up among the branches, puffing itself out, waving its tail, and looking threatening and dangerous. But Nic paid no heed to it, instead of shooting it for the blacks' supper. And twice over large snakes were left unmolested, in spite of the furious barkings of the dogs, and their reproachful looks, which seemed to say, "Why didn't you shoot?" For Nic had been thinking that if he extended his round day by day, he would, sooner or later, come upon Leather, who must be in hiding somewhere near, for he would never dare to go right off into the wilds and seek starvation. There were the dogs too; and in all probability they would scent him out, and he could warn him of the coming of the police. But though Nic extended his rounds more and more, the days glided by, and neither in open glade, deep ravine, ferny gorge, hollow forest monarch, nor dense patch of bush did he come upon the slightest token of the convict ever having been there. Then in despair he tried a new plan. He quietly got the three blacks together and explained to them what he wanted, and rode behind them in high glee as they trotted on, spear in hand. "What a stupid I was not to think of this before!" he said to himself; full of confidence. But that night he rode back low-spirited and dull. The blacks had shown him holes in trees, out of which they chopped opossums; the lairs of kangaroos; the pool where a couple of egg-laying, duck-billed platypi dwelled; and trees bearing a kind of plum, and others with nuts: but no signs of Leather. He tried the next day, and at another time would have been fascinated by the unusual-looking objects the blacks pointed out; but now he wanted to find the convict, and everything else was as nothing; for he felt certain that if the party came over from Port Jackson, the result would be that Leather would be hunted out, refuse to surrender, and be shot down. But the trips with the blacks all proved to be dismal failures. Oh yes, they understood. "Plenty come along find Leather. Corbon budgery. My word, come along." But they found him not; and when bullied, they smiled, looked stupid, or shook their heads. "It's because they won't find him, Master Nic. They know all the time," said old Sam. Acting upon this idea, Nic attacked the three blacks separately, telling them he was sure they knew where Leather was in hiding, and insisting upon being told; but the only result he obtained in each case was a stare of surprise and puzzlement. The man's face puckered up, and at last he mumbled out: "No pidney (understand). Mine no take Leather fellow in myall. Mine no been see it mandowie (tracks)." "Be off!" said Nic; and the others talked in a similar way, and went "off;" looking the quintessence of stupidity. "You're all wrong, Sam," said Nic, the next time he ran against the old man. "What about, sir--them calves?" "No, no--about the blacks. I questioned each of them, and they were all as stupid as could be." "No, I ain't wrong, sir. You get 'em all three together, and promise 'em plenty of damper, some sugar, and a pot each of your ma's jam; then you'll see." "I'll soon do that," said Nic. "They're in the wool-shed." "But Brooky's there, sir." "No, I saw him go off toward the fern gully an hour ago, with a gun upon his shoulder." "Look here, sir. You'd better lock up all the guns, and keep 'em till they're wanted, or maybe we shall be having mischief done." "What do you mean?" "Mean, sir? As Brooky's always going about with a gun, and on the watch. He don't want a gun to go and look round o' they cows. He feels as Leather's close handy somewhere, and afraid he'll take him unawares. If you was to ask him, he'd tell you he was sure the blacks knew where Leather's hiding. There, I'm sorry for him after all." "So am I, poor fellow." "Nay, I don't mean Leather: I mean Brooky. He can't even sleep of a night for fear Leather should come and pay him out. It sarves him right, I know, for he always was a brute to Leather; but there, he's being paid back pretty severe. You go and talk to them there black boys. You'll get it out of them with that jam." Nic strode across toward the wool-shed, and found the blacks jabbering away hard, and evidently quite excited; but they heard his steps, and three rough black heads came softly into sight, one round each doorpost, and the other above a couple of broad boards which ran in grooves, used to keep pigs or other animals from entering to make a warm bed in the wool. But the moment they caught sight of their young master they disappeared, the middle man going off cart-wheel fashion, like a black firework, with arms and legs flying, so as to get behind a stack of wool. "Here, you fellows," cried Nic, looking over the board, "come here!" "Baal go floggee blackfellow," protested Bungarolo. "No mine no flog," cried Nic. "Mas Nic corbon budgery (very good). All come along." This brought out the other two grinning. "Mine come fish?" cried Damper. "No; I want to find Leather fellow. You boys pidney where he is." The faces ceased grinning, and looked as if carved out of some burned wooden stump, all hard, solid, and immovable. "There, I know: so no nonsense. You all take me and show me Leather fellow's mandowie, and I'll give you plenty damper, plenty mutton, plenty sugar and jam." "Mine no find mandowie (tracks)," said Rigar. "You pidney (know), Damper?" "Mine no pidney," said Damper. "Mandowie myall. Bungarolo pidney?" "Bung no pidney," said that gentleman. "Yes, you all pidney--more sugar, more jam, more damper," cried Nic. But the men only stared blankly; and growing impatient at last with the three ebony blacks, Nic left them to go back to Sam, but turned sharply, to see that they were all three watching him with their faces in a broad grin. This exasperated him so that he made a rush back to look into the long dark shed, where he could see wool everywhere, but no traces of the blacks, who seemed to have disappeared. "I'll bring a whip," he shouted, and then went away, laughing at the way the men were scared. "Sam's right," he said: "they are like big black children. Here! Hi! Samson," he shouted, and the old man came to meet him. "They don't know." "Don't know, sir? What makes you say that?" Nic related his experience, and Sam grinned. "And they laughed at you," he said, showing his teeth. "Why was that? On'y because they enjoyed being as they thought too clever for you, Master Nic. They know, sir; but it's no use--they won't tell. They like you and me; but if they'd speak out to us as they do to one another, they'd say, `No mine tell Leather fellow, Mas Nic, plenty mine jam, damper. Leather fellow mumkull.'" "Mumkull? Afraid Leather would kill them for telling?" "That's it, sir, safe." There was something to stir the pulses of Nic soon after, and he somehow felt glad that he did not know the convict's hiding-place, for a dozen of the colonial mounted police rode up, followed by half a dozen black trackers and a couple of chained and muzzled, fierce-looking dogs, whose aspect sent a shiver through Nic, excited the indignation of the collies, and drove Nibbler into a fit of fury, making him bound to the end of his chain so savagely that he dragged his tub kennel out of its place and drew it behind him, making him look like some peculiar snaily quadruped trying to shed its shell. "Better shut up your dogs, sir," said the policeman who had been once before. "Letter for Mrs Braydon." The dogs were quieted and shut away, so that they could not commit suicide by dashing at the powerful brutes held in leash; and once more, while the police were being refreshed, Mrs Braydon read her letter over to her children, who learned that the governor was no better, that the doctor was bound to stay, and that while he regretted this, and the bad news about the assigned servant, every assistance ought to be given to the police who had come to fetch him back to the chain gang. Nic said nothing, but after a time he saddled Sorrel, and rode with the police leader as they started for their first search. "Now, Mr Braydon," said the man, "your father said that we must take this fellow; so as in all probability you know where he is, perhaps you'll tell us which way to go and capture him." "I don't know," said Nic quickly. The man smiled. "You needn't disbelieve me," said Nic warmly. "I tell you I haven't the least idea." "And if you had, you wouldn't tell us, eh?" "I'm not going to answer questions," said Nic. "But mind this: if you find him, I won't have him shot down." "Then he mustn't shoot at us, sir," said the man, smiling, "so you'd better send him word if you know where he is. Forward!" he cried, and the party trotted toward the Wattles, but turned off a little over half-way there, and to Nic's horror he felt that they had hit upon the place where he and the convict parted that night just as the storm came on. And here, after a few words from the head of the little force, two of the blacks came forward and began to quarter the ground like dogs, their bodies and heads bent forward, and their eyes searching the grass with the keenest eagerness. But it was a long time before either of them showed that he had found signs. Then one stopped short, dropped upon his knees, uttered a cry, and his fellows ran softly up behind him, keeping close to each other, and being careful not to go near the track or whatever it was that he had found. Then began a low excited jabbering, during which the mounted men sat fast, one of them holding the leash which restrained the dogs. At last the quick discussion ended, and the first black rose from his knees and made a sign to the police leader to come forward, Nic without hesitation following and peering over the blacks, who gave way a little, while the first pointed down to something which Nic expected to find was a footstep, but which proved to be a big common knife, rusted by exposure to rain and air. This was picked up now and handed to the leader, while Nic's eyes dilated a little, for he felt sure that he had seen the knife before; and in the convict's hands, when he was eating his cold meat and damper beneath a tree. "Yes," he said to himself with a little shiver, "that is his knife. He must have dropped it here. It had a buckhorn handle, and on the other side three crosses had been filed pretty deeply." He remembered that fact well. Just then the police leader turned round sharply, saw his interested look, and said, in a decisive, imperative tone of voice: "You know that knife, sir?" To gain time the boy held out his hand, drawing his breath hard, and striving to control his voice and make it firm. Then, as he took the knife, he examined it as if in doubt, hesitating about turning it over, and then handing it back, saying firmly, "No." "That's a lie," thought the man, as he retook the knife, "and my lord here is trying to keep the lair hidden. He knows." But the knife had no crosses filed in the handle, and Nic was breathing freely, when he noticed that the black was pointing to something else--a faintly marked footprint, evidently made by a coarsely made sandal or shoe. Beyond this was another, and again beyond another. "That's right--go on!" rang in his ears, and the next moment the party was again in motion, with the blacks bending low, and from walking beginning to trot, while the policeman pressed his horse closer to Nic's. "Easy trail to follow, sir," he said. "Now, then, don't you think you'd better save us further trouble by taking us straight across country to your man's form?" "I told you I did not know where he was hiding," said Nic shortly. "You did, sir, but I thought I'd save trouble. These birds are a bit desperate when run down, and I'm sure you wouldn't like to see him shot when he refuses to surrender. Now, would you?" "No," said Nic, rather faintly. "Out with it then, and we'll take him by surprise--surround him after dusk. Then it will mean a flogging or two, and another year in the gang, and perhaps a fresh chance. Better than being buried, sir, in the bush." Nic remained silent, but with his brow contracted. "Very well, sir, but you see. Why, I can trace that track as I ride. We could find him now without the blacks." Still Nic held his peace, and rode on beside the man, as mile after mile was traced, leading, to the boy's surprise, toward the Bluff, but curving off a mile from home, as if to go round it to reach the other side. And so it proved, the blacks trotting on till they did pass the house half a mile away; and Nic jumped to the conclusion that the poor fellow had made for the fern gully, up which, somewhere probably on the riverside, was his lair. They went right on, without once being at fault, the footprints, with the left sole badly cracked across, showing clearly at times in the soft soil, till the place where the black-fish were caught was passed, and the valley slope mounted for the open ground, where the sheep was kicked into the rift that ran down toward the water. From here the footsteps went right across toward the station, and the leading black ran them easily and triumphantly right up to the men's bothy, at whose door Brookes stood hollow-cheeked and anxious. "Got him?" he cried hoarsely, when, to his surprise, the blacks dashed at him and had him down, while the leader secured and held up one of his boots with the sole toward the head of the police. "Mine find," he cried, pointing to a crack across the sole; and Nic forced the nag away, and trotted off to the stable to hide his laughter, and then stood patting his horse, feeling quite heartsick from the tension now relieved. For he had made sure that so as to be in a place not likely to be searched Leather had come by night to the station, and that he would be found hidden in one of the piles of wool, whereas it was evident that Brookes had been over to the Wattles, and had come that way back, searching along the fern gully, to make sure of Leather not being in hiding there. For two days more the police hunted in every direction, but neither the keen eyes of the blacks nor the senses of the dogs were of any avail, and at last the search was given up. "We shall find him back here some day," said the head policeman, "if he's still alive. But,"--the man looked significantly at Nic--"they don't always have life left in 'em when we do find 'em. Good day, sir. We may look you up again." They rode off, and the station was free of them, for they had made a sort of barrack of the wool-shed, where the fleeces made most satisfactory beds; and as they grew less and less, Nic turned away, to see the light all at once blaze, as it were, into his darkened mind. "How stupid!" he said, half aloud. "Why, I know where he is hiding, after all." He looked up, and there was Brookes watching him with curious eye. CHAPTER THIRTY THREE. IN A TRAP. Sleep did not come very readily to Nic's eyes that night, and he looked very heavy and thoughtful at breakfast time next morning. "How thankful I shall be when your father comes home, my dear!" said Mrs Braydon. "A bag of flour would be the best thing," said Nic to himself. "I know, of course, my dear, that you are doing wonders," continued Mrs Braydon, looking uneasily at her son, and misinterpreting his heavy look into showing annoyance at her remark. "Both the girls and I are astonished at the rapidity with which you have taken up this wild farm life, and gone on with it as if you had been working for years; but we cannot help longing to see your father back to take the management and give us that feeling of protection which we miss." "I ought to have guessed it at once," muttered Nic. "Is anything the matter, Nic?" said Hilda. "Matter? No. Why?" "You seem so dull, and you are not eating your breakfast." "Oh yes, I am," cried the boy, with forced merriment; and he rapidly attacked the meal and made mother and sisters more uneasy by eating tremendously and talking rapidly at the same time about how glad he would be to have the doctor back. Soon after breakfast Nic went to the storehouse and filled a bag with meal, carrying it afterwards to the stable. "I suppose one of the horses is ill," said Hilda. "Nic has been to fetch some flour to make it a mash." "Then that's what made him so anxious and thoughtful at breakfast time," cried Mrs Braydon. "Poor boy! it worried him. He wants to get it well again before your father's return." Janet said nothing, but attributed it to the right reason--that her brother was troubled about the convict--and she trembled in her longing to ask him, but did not dare. Meanwhile Hilda had her thoughts; and the consequence was that Nic grew angry, as he busied himself about the place, going here and there looking after the men, inspecting the cattle, and carefully watching that no tasks were being left undone. "I never saw anything like it," he said to himself: "go where I will it's just as if some one was watching me. They surely cannot suspect anything." Then, too, four or five times, when he had made up his mind to start, old Sam or Brookes or his mother wanted him about some matter. But still it was yet good time in the morning, when, taking his gun, the mounted Sorrel, slung the big bag of meal across the saddle-bow and rode out. "You will not be late, my dear?" cried Mrs Braydon. "Oh no, mother; back in good time." Then to himself, "Don't--pray don't ask me which way I'm going." "It must be for some bullock at a distance," said Mrs Braydon, as she thoughtfully noted the bag across the saddle-bow, the fine sacking having now assumed an hour glass shape, at which Janet gazed curiously, feeling puzzled, though she could not have told why. "At last!" muttered Nic, as he pressed his horse's sides and rode off, feeling very guilty, and yet bright and exhilarated, quite confident too of having solved a problem, though he was doubtful still as to whether he would be able that night to write down mentally QEF. He cast an eye to left and right to see if he were being watched, but every one seemed to be busy over his or her affairs, and he began to think that his start was exciting no interest whatever, when he saw Brookes crossing the big field beyond the garden. But the man did not turn his head in Nic's direction; and the next minute, after forcing himself not to look round, the boy had placed the trees between them, and cantered away quite out of sight of the house, keeping down in a hollow leading toward the fern gully, as if going to visit some cattle on the other side of the hills lying to the south-east. As soon as he was beyond those hills he bore away to the north, as if making for the Wattles; and when a mile or so in that direction he bore to the left again for some distance, and then made for the west--just the very opposite direction to that which he had taken in starting. The morning was delightful as he rode on, now in the full sunshine, now in shade; and the feeling of exhilaration which came over him seemed to be shared by his horse, which began to dance about and strain to get away for a swift gallop. A word or two always checked it, and the beautiful creature, whose satin skin glistened in the sunshine, playfully tossed its head and ambled on. "Nobody can have imagined which way I was coming," thought Nic; and then, "Bother the old flour!" he said, half aloud; "how it works through the bag! Why, Sorrel, your back will be as white as my knees. Woa!" The nag stopped short, and Nic stood at the edge of a glade dotted with clumps of acacia in full bloom, everything seeming to be covered with tiny golden balls. "Why, you two wretches, how dare you come hunting?" Nic sat like a statue among the trees watching, as he saw the two collies suddenly come into sight about five hundred yards away and then run among the low growth for which they were making. "Well, it won't matter," he said. "They can't tell tales. But they may come again and show some one the way. I'll send them back." He pressed his horse's sides, and walked it toward where the dogs had disappeared, putting up a flock of the tiny zebra paroquets, which flew a little distance to another tree. "Poor fellows! I should like to give them a good run," he said to himself; "but it's best not. I suppose I'm doing something very unlawful, but the law did wrong to that poor fellow, and I feel as if I must help him. Oh, what a thick-headed noodle I am not to have thought of it before! Why, I remember quite well now all he said about it. Hullo! what are those? They must be the great hawk parrots old Sam talked about. Bother the birds! I've got something else to think of to-day. Why, there goes another of those great iguana things! Where did the dogs go?" He had ridden on slowly, startling bird and lizard, and completely lost trace of the collies, when all at once he heard a smothered growl in a dense patch close at hand. "They've found a snake," he said to himself, cocking his piece. "I mustn't have them bitten." He pressed forward, peering in amongst the bushes, passing some young clean-stemmed trees; and as he rode unconsciously by one, a nude black figure, neatly ornamented with two or three stripes of white pipeclay on its breast, pressed close up to the tree holding a spear erect, and, as the horse passed, moved so exactly round that the tree was kept between it and Nic. That tree did not appear to be thick enough to hide the black, but so cleverly did the man move that Nic saw nothing, though he was not ten yards away; and the black would have been unnoticed if it had not been for the action of the dogs, which suddenly charged out playfully, one going one side, the other the other, and then stopping barking at a respectful distance from the tree. "You vagabonds!" cried Nic; "how dare you come! Here, what have you found? Fetch it out!" Rumble dashed forward barking; and Nic noted that the dogs did not look excited or angry, but playful, and as Rumble charged on one side Tumble made a bound forward on the other. "It must be a 'possum," thought Nic; but he altered his mind the next moment, for he saw a spear come forward with a poke on one side of the tree, and then drive at the second dog on the other. Nic lowered the gun and moved round toward the other side cautiously; but the black edged himself along, as he did so cleverly keeping the tree still between them, and would have continued to keep himself in hiding if it had not been for the dogs, which, encouraged now by their young master's presence, made a playful dash together at the black's legs, and made him bound from the tree to keep them at bay with his spear. "Why, Bung! You?" cried Nic, who felt considerably relieved, while the dogs now scampered around, barking and leaping as if at the end of a game of hide-and-seek. "What are you doing here, sir?" The black grinned, and, supporting himself on one leg by help of his spear, made playful clutches at the delighted dogs with his right foot, whose toes worked about as he used it as if it were a great awkwardly shaped hand. "_R-r-r-ur_!" growled the dogs together, as they now justified their names, and blundered over one another in a make-believe attempt to bite and worry the foot; Nic looking on amused as they threw themselves down, rolling over and grovelling along on their sides and backs to get close up and feel the black's toes tickle them, and catch hold of their shaggy hair. "Why don't you speak, sir? Why are you not at work?" cried Nic. "Little White Mary say, `Bung, go along see master.'" "What! did my sister send you?" The black nodded and laughed. "Then just you go back, sir, directly, and take those dogs with you." "Little White Mary say come along," persisted the black. "I don't care what any one said," cried Nic. "Be off back." "Little White Mary say, `Gun no shoot--mumkull.'" "Put down that spear," cried Nic, who now pointed the gun at Bungarolo, who replied by striking an attitude, holding his spear in a graceful position as if about to hurl it at the boy's head. "No mumkull Bung?" cried the black. "Not if you run off back," cried Nic. "If you don't I'll pepper you." "No pepper Bung, no mumkull. Baal shoot gun. Little White Mary fellow say Bung come." "You go back home," cried the boy, following him up. "Little White Mary say--" "Go home." "Little--" "Will you go, sir? Here, Rum--Turn! Run him home." The dogs made a rush, and the black darted off, but a hundred yards away ran behind a tree, where the dogs hunted him out. "Home!" roared Nic, and the black darted on again, Nic riding after him again and again, till, satisfied that the black was really making for the station, followed by the dogs, he made a circuit in among the trees, and rode hard for a time, altering his course at last, and not pausing till he was close up to the precipitous edge of the huge gorge. Here the boy dismounted in a patch of rich grass surrounded by mighty trees, hobbled his horse, removed the bit, which he hung to the saddle, and then paused to think. "He's here somewhere," the boy said to himself, "but the thing is where." He was not long coming to the conclusion that the convict had devoted himself during his shepherding tours to hunting out some place where he could descend the terrible precipice into that glorious valley far below, where there were sheep and cattle, plenty of water, and no doubt wild fruits to enable him to subsist. "And if he found his way down, why shouldn't I?" said Nic, with a little laugh. Then, shouldering his gun, he dived in among the trees and wattle scrub which lay between him and the edge of the precipice, with the intention of keeping cautiously along it, first in one direction and then in the other, till he found traces of some one having climbed down. Two hours' work convinced him that he had undertaken a task that might have made Hercules sit down and scratch his ear, for it promised to be hard enough to equal any of the celebrated labours of that mythic personage. Nic had toiled on in one direction only, forcing his way through thorns, tangles, and over and between rocks, pausing from time to time, whenever he came to an opening, to gaze across the tremendous gap at the glories of the rock wall opposite, or to look shuddering down into the beautiful paradise thousands of feet below, where the tints of green were of the loveliest hues, and he could see the cattle calmly grazing, mere dots in the natural meads which bordered the flashing waters seen here and there like lakes, but joined possibly, for the trees shut out broad stretches of the river in the vale. For a time he would lie there, resting and listening to the whistling calls of birds whose names he did not know, to the shrieks of parrots, and now and then catch sight of what seemed to be tiny fragments of paper falling fluttering down, till he saw them turn, and knew that he was gazing at cockatoos. Then, after yielding to the fascination of peering down into the awful depth, he would turn suddenly away, for a cold chill would run through him as he experienced the sensation as of something drawing him downward, and he would creep yards distant and sit there wiping the perspiration from his face. He soon recovered, though, and once more continued his search for a way down. "It is as if it would take years," he said to himself; "but I don't care, I shall come again and again and keep on trying. I will find it," he said half aloud, as he set his teeth in dogged determination, and for another hour he struggled on, till, feeling utterly exhausted, he seated himself at the edge of the precipice at a point where he could divide the bushes and look down. Here, only a few yards away, he saw that there was a broad shelf some fifty feet below, and along it a mere thread of water trickled to a lower edge and disappeared, leaving among the stones amidst which it had meandered patch after patch of richest green, showing its fertilising power. That water was tempting in the extreme, for his mouth was dry; he was faint, and he knew by the position of the sun that he had been struggling through the dense growth for hours without refreshing himself, though all the time he had a cake of damper in his pocket, keeping the powder-flask company. If he could get down there, he thought, he might have half an hour's rest, and then tramp back to where he had left Sorrel, and ride gently home in the cool of the evening. "And come again." For come again he would till he had found poor Leather, "unless," he said to himself with a shudder, "he has fallen down this terrible place." And yet it was not terrible, he thought the next moment. It was grand, glorious, lovely, and the shelf below him, with its water, more tempting than anything he had ever seen before. "I must get down," he said; and going farther along he sought for a means, but had not far to go, for he soon grasped the fact that this shelf was only some eighty or a hundred feet off the top, which had slipped a little and then stopped. It had broken away, gone down some fifty feet, and then been checked. While as he gazed down at the old edge of the precipice, and over it into the gorge below, he could hear the soft, whistling, humming trickle of the water, and it increased his eagerness. He must get down, he thought--but how? There were no overhanging boughs, no roots which had forced their way between cracks in the rock and gone on down and down searching for the moisture of that tiny rill which went over the edge to its present depth; and there were no stout bushes growing in the side beneath him. All there was clean, broken-away stone, which could only be descended by stepping from projection to projection, while if any one slipped-- "Well, what if he did?" said the boy contemptuously, as he gazed down: "he would, at the most, only get a few scratches and bruises. Here's the best spot, and I'm going down." Without further hesitation he laid down his gun, turned upon his breast and lowered his legs, found footing easy to get upon a ledge, and lowered himself more and more till he was at the full stretch of his limbs, when a horrible thought occurred to him: suppose, when he jumped down upon that broad shelf formed by a sliding of the rock till it was checked by some inequality, his weight should be sufficient to start it going again, and he should be carried with it backward into the gulf. "What nonsense!" he thought; "why, my weight upon it will be no more than that of a fly;" and he lowered himself a little more, found it harder, moved to the right, and got on to a firm ledge, and from that to another, and was soon half-way down. There he came to a stop, for he could find neither foot nor hand hold; and there he was at last, spread-eagled against the perpendicular rock, unable to go down, and, upon determining to go up instead, utterly unable to retrace his steps. "Oh, this is absurd," he thought, and looking sidewise, he saw a little projection which seemed as if it would do then, feeling that if he stopped longer in his cramped position he would be less able to act, he measured the distance with his eyes, gathered himself together, made a clumsy spring, got a foot on the projection, but missed the crevice into which he meant to thrust his right hand, and went scrambling and sliding down the other five-and-twenty feet, to come into a sitting position on the broken stones, scratched, bruised, and uttering a loud groan of pain. "Oh my bones!" he cried, with a laugh and a wince of pain, as he began to rub himself; and then, as he looked up, a sudden chill struck him, for, he said to himself: "Why, it's like a trap. I can never get up there again. I ought to have looked farther before I leaped." He limped a little as he stood up, and his arms both required a rub, especially about the elbows; but while he performed these little comforting offices he was not idle, for he carefully inspected the shelf. Escape on the one side did not seem possible, for it was over into the gorge; the other side, a curve, was one nearly perpendicular wall of rock, along which he walked from where he stood to the ends at the edge of the precipice and back. "It is a regular pitfall," thought Nic; and then, determined to make the best of things, he lay down upon his chest over the clear murmuring water, lowered his lips, and took a long, deep, delicious draught of the sparkling fluid. "That's refreshing," said the boy to himself, and he came to a sitting position on the warm stone, took out his piece of bread cake, and looked up at the wall facing him, as he broke off a morsel of damper. "Doesn't look so high as it did before I had that drink," he said, with a laugh. "Not half so high; and by the time I've eaten my bread it will only look half as high once more. Pooh! I can climb up. Cake's good." He sat munching away contentedly enough now, stopping from time to time for a fresh draught of water; and as he ate and drank he forgot the awkwardness of his position in wonder and admiration of the mountain precipice before him, and at last crept to the edge of that upon which he had been seated, to obtain another look down into the mighty gorge. "Ah, it's very grand," he sighed; "but it's time I climbed out of this." He started, for he heard a sharp double click, like the cocking of a gun, and looked up behind at the edge from which he had descended. "Cricket or grasshopper," he thought; and then he felt, to use a familiar old saying, as if his blood ran cold; for a slight movement at the top had caught his attention, and he found himself gazing at the muzzle of his gun, so foreshortened that there seemed to be no barrel-- nothing but a round hole, and behind it a glittering eye. CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR. TRUST FOR TRUST. "Some one found my gun and taking aim at me," thought Nic, feeling thoroughly how bad a plan it was for any one to bring out a gun for self-defence and then leave it for an enemy to seize. That watch kept upon the gun muzzle did not last many moments, for a rough, mocking voice said loudly: "Well: come to take me? Here I am." "Leather!--I mean, I mean Frank Mayne," cried Nic joyously, as he sprang to his feet; "found you at last!" "Yes," said the convict bitterly, "you have found me at last. Where are your men?" "What men?" said Nic, staring. "The bloodhounds you've brought to hunt me," said the convict. "Don't talk nonsense!" cried Nic sharply. "You don't think I should bring any one to hunt you?" "Why not?" "Because you know I wouldn't be such a brute. But, I say, I was right then. I've been trying ever since you went away to think out where you could be gone." "And sending the police after me," said the convict bitterly. "You know better than that," cried Nic; "but, I say, I was right then. I felt sure you would be here." "Why should you be?" said the man suspiciously. "Because, don't you remember once, months ago, talking about the gorge?" "True, I did; I had forgotten. But where are the police now?" "Gone back to the port. How did you know they had been?" "From the blacks." "There, I knew it!" cried Nic. "The cunning rascals, and they pretended they had no idea of where you were." "Poor fellows," said the convict, smiling bitterly; "they are faithful enough." "But they might have told me," said Nic. "Even you don't seem to trust me now." "How can a man, who is hunted like a wild beast with dogs and black trackers, trust any one, boy?" cried the convict fiercely. "You know what it would have been if they had found me, and I had run instead of surrendering. They would have shot me down like a savage beast." Nic nodded as he gazed up at the fierce countenance, whose eyes seemed to glare down at him. "There," continued the convict, "you have found me. Of course you know there is a heavy reward. You can earn it for pocket money." "Yes," cried Nic, speaking fiercely now, "and go over to the village tuck shop, and spend it with my school-fellows." "Of course," said the man banteringly. "Only there's one drawback, boy. You are caught in a trap there, and when you are found there will only be your bones." "Oh, I say, Leather, what a savage you have turned! I say, have a bit of damper? I have some left." The man made no reply for a few moments. Then, in an altered tone: "Have you found any way out?" "No. It is a regular trap; but I was thirsty, and I came down to drink. Fell half the way," said Nic, holding up a bleeding hand. "I went down the same way," said the convict quietly. "Then there is a way out?" said Nic sharply. "Yes, over the brink yonder." "Oh yes, I found that out," said Nic, with a laugh; "but I don't want to break my neck. How did you get out?" "Over there," said the convict quietly. "It requires a steady head, but you can creep along a narrow ledge, and get back to the top here, three or four hundred yards farther on. I did not find it out till I was nearly starved to death." "Poor old chap," said Nic quietly. "I say, this sounds more like you." "Does it? Did any one see you coming?" "Bungarolo. But I sent him home before I was halfway here." "He would not tell tales, poor fellow. They have had my life in their hands ever since." "But, I say, Leather, it's awkward talking like this. I'll come up to you;" and he moved toward the edge. "No, no, don't stir," cried the man fiercely. And Nic stamped angrily upon the rock. "Why don't you shoot me?" he cried. "You've got the gun. There, be off; I don't want to see which way you go. Look here, Sorrel's over yonder somewhere. Go and find him, and ride off up the country as far as you like. Only send him back some day by one of the blacks, I'll pay him with blankets and things. I can't give him to you, because, as you know, he was father's gift. There's a pack of meal on his back; I brought it in case I could find you; but you'd better take this lump of damper too." The convict made no reply for some minutes, but lay there at the edge of the rocks gazing sadly down at Nic, who had thrown himself upon his chest, and was looking into the gorge. "Nic," he said at last. "Well," was the reply; but the boy did not turn his head. "Don't misunderstand me, lad; I said don't try to come up, because the risk of going along there made me shudder. I'm coming down to help you--where's your hand?" "Oh, I say, I beg your pardon," cried Nic, springing up. "I didn't mean--I thought--I--I say, Leather, mind how you come." "Yes, I'll mind," said the man. "But the gun. It is not safe to pitch it down to you." "No; leave it up there." "For another enemy to get hold of it. No, my lad, that won't do. There, if I hold it crosswise like this, and drop it down, you can catch it." "Yes, I think so." "Then try." As he spoke the man went down upon his face, held the gun at arm's length as far down over the edge as he could, and then after a warning let it fall. "Right," cried Nic, catching it cleverly. "Now, how are you going to manage? I came down just there." "And I'll try twenty feet to my left here," said the convict; and, selecting a place, he lowered himself down until he hung by his hands, and then began to descend with wonderful activity, reaching the bottom without a slip, solely from the rapidity of his movements. "Why, Leather," cried Nic, grasping his hand, "you are as active as a squirrel." "A man needs to be to lead my life, boy," said the convict quietly. "Hah! that seems to put humanity into one again. The blacks are friendly enough; but it is for the touch of a white hand one yearns." "Have some damper?" said Nic suddenly, so as to hide a peculiar feeling which troubled him. The convict took the bread cake, broke it, and began to eat, seeking refuge in the act for the same reason. "Hah!" he said, smiling, "it tastes good. Nic, boy, you forgive me all I have said?" "Of course I do. But, I say, how have you managed to live?" "The same as a black would. This is the first bread I have eaten since I broke away and became a savage." "Do you think they will manage to catch you?" said Nic, after a pause. "Not alive, my lad. Well, let's have just a few words together, and then you must go." "You will stop about here, I suppose?" The convict shook his head. "Hunted beasts stay where they are safe. Hunt them, and they go farther away." "You have been hunted, but you have not gone farther away." "No, boy, because this is my sanctuary. There, you see I trust you, and I know that I am safe in your hands. Let's sit down." Nic willingly did so, and the convict went on eating the bread cake, talking quietly the while. "There is no place I could find where I should be so safe, Nic," he said; "and this is near human nature, which one likes, even if it is unkind. I had often thought of breaking away and making for the bush, feeling convinced that if I reached the place I could manage to live where so many poor wretches who have escaped found their end. But I was servant to a just man; your mother and sisters treated me when they saw me as if they were sorry for me, and I could not go. Then you dame, boy, and tied me tighter to the place, making all the petty troubles caused by that overbearing brute seem like nothing." "I tied you tighter to the place?" cried Nic. "Yes. Why, the hours I spent with you when you found me out in the run were the only happy ones I had had for years." "Oh, I didn't do much," said Nic hurriedly. "I'm afraid it was because I liked to talk to you about birds and things. But, I say, do you mean to keep to this life?" "Do you think I can give up and submit to that worst punishment of--to be flogged?" "No," cried Nic firmly; "you can't do that. You must wait. And look here, I tell you what: try and find a way down into the gorge, and keep it a secret. Why, you can build yourself a gunyah (bark hut) somewhere below, and live there, and make your garden and keep fowls, and there are sheep and cattle. I'll bring you a live chicken now and then, and seeds and cuttings, and tea and sugar and flour when I come, and then we can go fishing and hunting and collecting together. Why, it will be capital." The convict smiled. "I don't see anything to laugh at," said Nic. "I suppose not, you young enthusiast." "That I'm not," cried the boy. "It's you who take too miserable a view of things." "With cause, boy." "Well, yes, there is plenty of cause," said Nic: "but you really could live down there safely for years without being found out--if you could get down." "I can get down, and I have been down there since I broke away. I have made myself a bark gunyah, and for the present that is my home, Nic." "Capital," cried the boy eagerly. "Take me and show me." The convict shook his head. "No," he said; "you and I must never meet." "Why?" said Nic, in rather an ill-used tone. "Because you would be disgracing yourself by associating with a man of my character, and you would be breaking laws made for the protection of the settlers who employ convict servants." "You are not a man of bad character," said Nic quietly; "and as to law-- well, I suppose it would be breaking that; but then the law doesn't know any better. It does not know you like I do." "There, boy, we will not argue the question. I'm black enough as it is, but I want to do you good, Nic, not harm. Come," he continued, rising, "time is going on, and you are some distance from home. Where is your horse?" "Miles away." "Then you must be moving." "There's no hurry," said Nic. "Yes, there is. You have a dangerous ledge to go along." "I can get along better when I am more rested," said the boy. The convict smiled. "Then let me put it in a more selfish way," he said. "It is close on sundown, and I have a long way to go to my home. A more dangerous way than yours, and I could not attempt it after it begins to grow dusk." "I'm ready," said Nip, springing up; "but tell me this: when will you meet me again?" "Perhaps never," said the convict. "Then I shall come hunting for you every day till I find the way down into the gorge." "And bring the government people on my track?" "No, I won't do that," said Nic; "but I will find you out, and I can now that I know where you are." "I doubt it, boy. The gorge is enormous, and I am the only man who knows the way down." "Pooh! The blacks would know. Bungarolo would show me now he knows I have seen you." "The blacks do not know, Nic. I should not know if I had not discovered it two years ago by accident when trying to save the life of a sheep which had fallen. There, be content. You have seen me. Some day we may meet again. Now then, we must lose no more time." "Very well," said Nic; "only mind this: I will not do anything to risk having you discovered; but I will come to you." "I know you will not do anything to harm me, my lad; but you are deceiving yourself, my boy. You will not come to me. Now, are you ready?" "Yes. Where's this dangerous shelf?" "I will take you along it. Where is your handkerchief?" "It was too hot to have it round my neck," said Nic, smiling, as he took it from where it was tied about his waist. "I am going to bind it round your eyes," said the convict. "What! For fear that I should find the way down into the gorge?" "No; because your head may turn giddy when you see the depth below you. I want you to trust me, Nic, to lead you safely along the shelf. Can you do this?" Nic was silent for a few moments. "I feel as if I want to trust you," he said at last; "but I don't feel as if I can--no, no, I don't mean that. I mean that I want to trust you, but I can't trust myself. No, that isn't it exactly. I suppose I'm afraid. Why can't I walk close behind you?" "Because I doubt your doing it without practice. I expect that you would go along half-way and then lose your nerve, and I don't think I could lift and carry you then. Won't you trust me, Nic?" The boy looked sharply into his eyes for a moment, and then leaned forward for his eyes to be bound, thinking the while of the log bridge over the fern gully and his feelings there. "There," said the convict, as he secured the knot firmly. "Now listen: I shall take hold of your hand to hold it tightly, and I want you to try and make yourself part of me for the next ten minutes, obeying every touch, and taking step for step with me. Don't pause, don't hesitate; only keep on feeling that I am guiding you safely through the darkness. There is no risk if you do this." "I'm ready," said Nic; "only begin quickly, please, and let's get it done." "Then come along." Nic felt his hand seized in a strong, firm grip, and followed as he was led, hesitating once, and showing a disposition to hang back, but it was only for a moment. The next he was walking slowly and steadily behind the convict, who led him between two or three bushes, and then along a narrow shelf which passed round the end of the rock slip; and as soon as it was cleared the buttress at that end grew still more narrow, so that the boy felt his right arm brushing against the perpendicular rock wall, while his left hung free. He could not see, but he knew that his left fingers must be pointing down into the tremendous gulf; and in imagination he saw with wonderful accuracy through the golden transparent air the various plants which grew from the interstices of the titanic wall, the bushes and shrubs, the pendent vines and clinging creepers, the shelves and faults in the strata here and there deeper down, and then lower and lower still the gaps and hollows whence stalwart trees had risen from seeds dropped or hidden by some bird--trees which had grown out almost horizontally, and then curved up into their proper vertical position, to rise up and up as the years rolled on, though now they looked mere shrubs a handbreadth high. And as the boy walked on he saw lower and lower the forest monarchs dwarfed to shrubs, and lower still patches of timber that were indistinct and looking hardly more than grass, while here and there the light of the setting sun gleamed ruddily from the water of the chain of lakes. It was but the picture raised by memory from where it was printed upon Nic's mind, but it was very accurate, and almost exactly what he would have seen had his eyes been free during that long, long walk, as it seemed--a walk of a few brief minutes though, and then his hand was dropped. "Don't do that till you've unbound my eyes," said Nic sharply. "Why not, boy? we are in safety now." Nic's breath was exhaled in a hoarse sigh as he felt the kerchief drawn from his face, and he looked round to see that they were among trees. "Was it very dangerous?" he said. "Very; or I would not have asked you to be bound. Now, my lad, good-bye." "No, no; I have quite a load of meal for you on the horse." "There is no time to fetch it. Leave it for me on the chance of my finding it." "But where? You never will." The convict thought for a moment. "I'll tell you," he said. "Lay it in the crack close to the edge of the precipice where I held you half over that day. Cover it with grass. It will be on your way home, and I shall be able to find it if the coast is clear. Once more: straight away for where your horse is grazing. Can you find it, do you think?" "Oh yes. I can follow my way back," said Nic. "I shall see my tracks here and there." "Then once more: good-bye." He turned sharply and disappeared, while, tired and disappointed, Nic had a hard task to retrace his steps to the horse, whistling for it as he drew near where he felt that it ought to be, and gladdened at last, just as darkness was falling, by a responsive neigh. The long bag of meal was hung up in a tree that Nic felt he could find again, and then he rode home. "Poor Leather will think I have deceived him and be suspicious, but it's impossible to find that place by the precipice to-night." CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE. NIC HAS SUSPICIONS. The next day Nic walked over to the spot where he had hung up the bag of meal, took plenty of precautions to make sure that he was not observed, and carried it from place to place, halting, resting, and taking a look round as if he were stalking birds, and finally reaching the proposed spot, where he dropped the bag into a narrow crevice, covered it with green, and all the time carried his gun ready as if to aim at a bird. The precautions, however, appeared to be perfectly unnecessary, and he was satisfied that he had performed his mission unseen, but it remained to be proved whether the convict had been earlier and gone away disappointed. Making this an opportunity for looking over some sheep, Nic walked about a mile out of his way going back, and had just finished his casual inspection when he came upon Brookes, gun on shoulder, who immediately stood his piece against a bush and began to examine some of the flock, throwing so much energy into the task that Nic felt suspicious, and a chill ran through him as he thought it possible that the man was on the watch. But Nic felt that the only course open to him was to assume a careless air; and walking over to where the man had caught a sheep, thrown it, and was examining its fleece, he exclaimed: "Anything the matter with it, Brookes?" "My word, Mr Nic, how you made me jump! Why, where did you come from?" "Over yonder. I was here ten minutes ago, and didn't notice anything wrong then." "Oh, you've been a-shepherding, sir, have you? That's right: sheep's things you can't be too 'tickler about. No, there's nothing very wrong. I'll come round here with a bucket o' dressing, though, to-morrow." "Shall I go or stay?" thought Nic, as the man turned over layer after layer of the thick wool which opened down the animal's sides as if divided by a series of partings like that leading to the crown of a human being's head. "If I stay I shall make him suspicious. If I go it may disarm him." "Oh," he said aloud, "that doesn't look bad. I shall go on and get Sorrel. I'm going to ride round the bullocks. Not coming yet, I suppose?" "No, sir; I'll just run my eye round that hundred over yonder with Black Damper. Haven't counted 'em 'smorning, I s'pose?" "I haven't been there," said Nic. "Ah, they'd better be counted. One'd think the blacks could count a flock of sheep, but not they. It's _bulla_ and _kimmeroi_ and _metancoly_, and saying that over and over again. They can eat as many as you like, but counting beats 'em." "Yes, they are stupid that way, Brookes," said Nic; and he went straight off for home, looking perfectly unconcerned, but feeling particularly uncomfortable as he turned over in his own mind the possibility of the man finding the convict's hiding-place. For now it seemed such a very simple thing, and he wondered that the men from the Wattles and the government police had not gone straight for and made some efforts to get down to the bottom of the great gorge. By degrees, though, he grew better satisfied, as he recalled that this place bore the reputation of being impossible of access, and even the blacks declared that no man had ever been down. Then came a horrible thought. "Suppose Brookes should encounter the convict and use the gun he always carried now! Leather was unarmed, but--" Nic shuddered as he thought of what a strong, active man would do if driven to bay. The gun would only go off once, but a desperate man would find weapons in sticks and stones. The boy made an effort to cast off the unpleasant sensation, and hurried home, where the calm aspect of everything and the look of content he saw in his mother's and sisters' eyes altered the current of his thoughts; and he hurried himself, saddling Sorrel, and rode off, after promising that he would be back in good time to take tea. He had a long round, found the cattle wanted driving in a bit, and after performing this duty by the help of his two dogs, he cantered towards home, coming round by where Rigar was playing shepherd with another flock. But all was right here, save that the collies helped to bring them half a mile nearer the station to new pastures; after which Nic turned his horse's head homeward, arriving in good time and finding Brookes busily helping old Sam and looking more like himself. A couple of days elapsed, and on the following morning Nic announced that he was going to take a long round, the consequence being that his satchel was well filled with bread, meal, and cake; and he rode off after seeing that all was going on right about the place, and in a matter-of-fact sort of way as if he had been used to it for years. He cantered gently till he was out of sight, and then gave Sorrel his head and skimmed over the ground till he was compelled to draw rein and walk the horse in and out among the trees, besides being careful to avoid the blocks of stone which here and there thrust their grey heads out of the slope. For he was nearing the spot where he had hidden the meal, and he had determined to fetch it and carry it over his saddle-bow as nearly as he could to where he had parted from the convict. To his delight, on reaching the hiding-place he found that the bag was gone, and for the moment he was convinced that Leather had fetched it; but Nic's next thought was startling: "Suppose Brookes had been suspicious--had seen it and taken it away." The thought was horrible, but he dismissed it, telling himself that he was too ready to imagine things; and, determined to try and find the convict again, he mounted and rode along parallel with the edge of the gorge till he was as nearly as he could guess to where the patch of rock had slipped down. Here, in a shut-in tract of grassy land, he dismounted, cast his hobbled horse loose to graze, and shouldering his gun, went in among the trees and tried to find the stone trap in which he had been caught. He looked around him, and then started off in the direction Leather had taken that evening, keeping about fifty yards from the edge so that this distance would serve for his guidance back, and kept looking to right and left for some signs of the convict having passed that way, but finding none. Every step he took for quite an hour led him through fresh beauties. He had no desire to use his gun; so, as if in consequence, birds of brilliant plumage flitted from tree to tree, or rose in flocks to fly shrieking to the coverts. Twice over he saw snakes; lizards seemed to be wonderfully plentiful wherever the stones lay scorching in the sunshine. Every now and then he saw the Blue Mountains, rising up tier after tier, across the gorge, and as he peered through the various openings he could not help noticing how thoroughly they deserved their names. But he only saw one natural object in his mental view, and that was the great deep crack, which he felt sure he would encounter before long, running at right angles across his path, and this he felt equally sure would be the way down into the gorge and to Leather's home. "And if he can go down it," said Nic to himself, "I can, and what's more, I will." But at the end of another hour there was no sign of any rift such as he had pictured, and beginning to grow hot and weary, he turned to find a sheltered spot where he could rest and refresh himself with some of the provisions that he had intended to share with the convict, when, to his astonishment, he found himself face to face with him, for Leather stood with his back against a stone. CHAPTER THIRTY SIX. IN SANCTUARY. "You here?" cried Nic excitedly. "I have been following you for the last hour," was the quiet reply. "And I've been tramping along here for nothing. Why didn't you speak?" "Because I wanted you to tramp along there for nothing," replied the convict. "You were not looking for me--I could see that. You were trying to find a way down there below." "Well, yes, I was," said Nic, who felt startled by his companion's keenness; "but I _wanted_ to see you too." "Well, have you found anything?" "You know I've not," cried Nic. "I say, you might trust me. How do you get there?" "Why should I show you the way to the only place of safety I have got?" "Because you like me," said Nic, with a smile, as he held out his hand, which the other grasped and held. "Yes," he said; "you made me like you, Nic, and brought me back a little to a better belief in human kind just when I was growing day by day more and more into a brute--a savage. Well, I will show you; but you are tired now." "Not too tired for that," said Nic eagerly, for there was a suggestion of adventure which attracted him. "I'm ready. Are you going to bind my eyes again? You can if you like, and then you can lead me down and I shall not know the way." "Why should I do that when I said that I would trust you? Besides," said the convict rather grimly, "you will want your eyes." "Is it dangerous?" cried Nic. "In places; but you will not shrink." "Is it far?" "A mile from here. This way, then. But wait a few minutes." Nic stared, for the convict suddenly darted to one side and disappeared, leaving the boy wondering at his singular behaviour. Then there was utter silence, and it seemed as if he had gone for good. All at once he reappeared from quite a different part, and came quickly up to Nic. "I am obliged to be watchful," he said. "I did not know but that you might have some one following you; but all seems to be clear. Now then, come along." He struck off in among the trees, and Nic followed closely, till, wondering at the course his companion was taking, he said suddenly: "Are you making some short cut? Does the gorge bend round anywhere here?" "Oh no: I am going quite right." "But you are leaving the edge of the precipice right behind." "Yes; that is right. No one would look for the way down where I am leading." Nic gazed at him wonderingly, for the man's manner seemed moment by moment to grow more strange; but they trudged on for quite a quarter of an hour, through a wonderful chaos of rocks and stunted trees, which formed a dense thicket through which it was hard to pass, and which was at last barred by the rocks closing in. Here the convict turned sharply to his left, went in, and out for a couple of score yards, and then came to a halt at a rock face, from beneath which a little stream of water gurgled down a long gully for a short distance, and then disappeared. "Is the water good?" said Nic eagerly. "Delicious. Drink." "Then you have been coming to find that?" cried Nic, after taking a long, deep draught. "It is good. But I thought you were going to show me the way down into the gorge." "Yes: there it is." "What? Why, where?" cried Nic, staring. "Down there, where the water goes. Follow that, and you will reach the great valley." "But," cried Nic, gazing in wonder at what seemed to be a mere split in the rock, down which the light penetrated but a short distance, "that goes underground." "Yes, nearly all the way." "A cavern." "A series of caverns. You do not care to go now?" "Well, it looks--It is so--One can't hardly--Yes, one can," cried the boy, ceasing his stammering and drawing himself up. "I am quite ready. Will you go first?" The convict smiled, bent down a little, and passed out of the boy's sight. "You can jump down boldly here," came in deep, echoing tones: "there is good foothold. A little slippery, but I'll catch you if your foot glides away." It requires a little effort of mind to leap down off _terra_ _firma_ into a black-looking hole whose bottom is invisible, and Nic hesitated for a moment or two. Then: "Trust for trust," he said to himself, and leaped, to feel for a brief instant or two that strange sensation experienced when rushing downward in a swing. Then _splash_! and his feet sent the water flying as he landed upon soft sand, while a hand grasped his shoulder, and he could dimly see the convict's swarthy face. "All right?" "Yes. Did I hit you with the gun?" "Pretty hard, boy; but, never mind--it didn't go off." Nic looked round, and by the light which gleamed from above through a lovely lacework of overhanging ferns he could see rugged rocks, which looked of a glistening: metallic green, but in places of a soft rippled cream, as if the rich produce of hundreds of cows had trickled down the walls and turned to stone. Water was flowing about his feet, but only an inch or two deep, and beyond where the convict stood there was black darkness. "I say, is this really the way down to the bottom of that great gorge, Leather--I mean Frank Mayne?" said Nic breathlessly, for his heart, in spite of his having gone through no exertion, still laboured heavily. "Yes, and a gloriously easy way, as you will soon see." "See?" cried Nic. "Yes; come along." "One moment," said Nic, pausing to look upward at the arching ferns eight or ten feet overhead. "No one would think of coming down there to look for a way. But how about footmarks in this soft sand? One of the blacks would trace us directly." "The water trickles over them and washes them full of sand directly, Nic. I am safe in that." "But did you venture into this black darkness without knowing where you were going? One might slip down into some horrible pit." "I slipped down into a horrible pit years ago, boy," said the convict bitterly, "and I felt that I could only lose my life in an adventurous search. But I did not go far in the dark. Come on a few yards, and I will show you. There is nothing to mind." "Does the water get deeper?" whispered Nic, in an awe-stricken voice. "Never more than an inch or two, except in rainy time, and then of course it becomes a rushing torrent and impassable. Come along: it is always a soft sandy or rippled path formed of petrifactions like that you saw just now." Nic braced up his nerves and followed the _wash_, _wash_ of the convict's footsteps till his companion cried, "Halt!" "Now," he said--"hold this." "This" proved to be a great piece of soft, crumbling touchwood, which felt as if it had been torn from some dry, rotting gum tree; and directly after _nick_--_nick_--_nick_ came the sound of a flint against a steel: tiny bright scintillations glistened in the black darkness, and soon there was a faint glow as the convict began to blow one spark which had fallen upon the wood Nic held. Then the spark grew brighter and brighter, and at last shed a faint luminous glow sufficient to make darkness visible; and this was increased by the convict taking the piece of wood and waving it softly to and fro. "A poor light," he said, "but it takes off the worst part of the gloom, and it is comforting. I have not begun making myself candles yet, Nic." "What's that?" whispered the boy, as there was a peculiar fluttering noise and something swept his cheek softly. "Only bats. There are plenty here. Don't you smell them?" "Yes, there is a black-beetly smell; but I thought it was the wood. Are there any--any dangerous beasts down here?" "There are no dangerous beasts in this country," said the convict, "except poisonous snakes and the crocodiles in the rivers, and I have never seen one of them. No, Nic, there is nothing to fear here but flood after a storm. Now, come along; step out boldly. It is nervous work the first time. I felt a bit scared when I explored it. I could walk through now in the darkness with my hands in my pockets. One only has to let one's feet follow the water." "But if you did not follow the water?" "Then you might wander away into one of the side passages, or go down some wide rift and lose your way." "Is it so big, then?" "Farther on. There it opens out into huge caverns, and rises up into great cracks and chambers caused by the petrifying stony water. There are sheets and columns and hummocks of stone all made by the drip from above. This place has all been formed by the water eating away the limestone rock, dissolving it here and piling it up there." As the convict walked on, and Nic followed close behind, the splashing of their feet echoed softly from the walls, and the man's voice sounded shut in and smothered. The air felt hot too, and oppressive, while the smouldering wood glowed and made the convict's figure stand out like a solid carved block moving dimly outlined before Nic as he went on. Then, all at once, the echoes of the disturbed water grew louder, and went whispering away; and as Leather went on talking his voice seemed to grow free, and the air was cool and damp. "Now listen," he said; and he paused, waved his smouldering torch, and uttered a loud _cooey_. Nic caught at his arm, for there was a crash, and a bellowing roar as the cry went echoing away and then gradually died out in whispers. "Startling, isn't it? But only sound. The cavern is enormous here." "It's dreadful!" panted Nic. "No: wonderful and grand, boy. Ah! who knows what may be deeper down in the interior of this mighty world on which we crawl! Come along; you'll have other chances of exploring here--that is, if you come to see me, Nic. Would you venture alone?" "No," said Nic frankly. "I don't think I should dare." "Familiarity breeds contempt--even for darkness, Nic," said the convict with a laugh, which sounded horrible. "Don't be in a hurry to say that. I believe that with a lantern you would come. Forward, boy!" "Is it much farther?" "Oh yes--a long, long, long way. I was months before I got right through." "What!" cried Nic in a startled voice; and he wished he had not spoken, for his exclamation sounded as if it would bring down the rocks upon their heads. "No, no; not as you take it," said the convict laughingly, as he waved the torch and made it glow. "I mean that after I discovered it one day, as I told you, through a sheep falling down into that well-like opening, I made myself a rough lamp from an old pannikin, some melted mutton fat, and a bit of rag, and when I had chances I came down and followed the stream a little farther and a little farther, led on and on by the interest of the place, always expecting to find that it would end with an underground lake." "And it did not?" "No, this little stream joins the river in the great valley, as you will see. But we are losing time. Come on." Nic followed in silence, but with the creepy, shivering sensation passing off; and a feeling of intense curiosity and wonder taking its place. "Is it much farther?" he said at last. "Like to go back now, boy?" "No," cried Nic firmly--"of course not." "Well, as to being farther to go, I could turn off in several places, and we could wander on for longer than I could say. You can bring friends and explore it some day, perhaps; but down to the valley is not a great way now." "Down! Are we going down?" "Of course: flowing water is always going downward. There, you can hear that the rocks are farther away to right and left. Farther on they close in again till it is like a crack, and they run up to a point far above our heads. We must have a good light some day, Nic, if I am not taken. You would like to explore the place?" "If you are taken!" cried Nic. "Why, you could defend yourself against a hundred people here, and set them at defiance." "Yes, but I might be surprised. I can't live without sleep, Nic. They'll take me some day. Friend Brookes will find out that you come to see me, and track you to the opening." "He would not dare to come along here." "No, but he would send those who did. But never mind that now. Let's enjoy life while we can, even if it is such a poor life as mine." "I say, Frank Mayne," said Nic, after a thoughtful pause, during which he had listened to the _whish_, _whish_ of their feet through the water, and the whispering echoes, now close at hand, now far away. "Say on, boy." "I'm going to the port as soon as my father comes back." "Going, boy? I'm sorry. But you will come back?" "I hope so; with news. I shall go and see Sir John and Lady O'Hara, tell them your story, and get you pardoned." "No. The governor did what he could: I was allowed to go out as an assigned servant; I have disgraced myself, and I should have to go back to the gang." "Not if he knew that you were innocent." "My character with which I came out spoils that, boy. Don't talk about it. Mine is a hopeless case." "But Lady O'Hara is my friend." "Hush! It is too late." They went on and on through the obscurity in comparative silence now, Nic feeling as if he were being led always by that black shadow of a gigantic man, beyond which there was a faint glow. Always the same tramp, tramp through the splashing water, and along its soft bed, which was never more than four or five feet wide at that time, and the flowing stream kept them easily in the right way. Once or twice Nic felt startled at the want of light from the smouldering torch, but a few waves in the air brightened its faint glow again, and they went on and on as if their journey were to be right through the grim bowels of the world. "Is it much farther?" said Nic at last, to break the painful silence. "Not much." "But we seem to have come miles." "I dare say it is two," said the convict, "but imagination makes it longer. My first journeyings made me think that it must be at least twenty. Come closer here." Nic stepped up and touched the arm which bore the light. "Now look straight on." "I can see nothing." "You are not looking the right way. Try again." "Yes, I see now. What is it? A spark?" "Of daylight. We are nearly through." Nic's heart throbbed. He felt as if a huge load had been taken off his brain; a thrill ran through him, and he stepped on briskly, with the faint light ahead rapidly growing brighter. Five minutes later they could see the golden glow of sunshine, and in another minute they were wading in deeper water at the bottom of a vast rift overhung by the ferns which grew on the ledges higher and higher. The next minute they stepped out into broad daylight on the sides of the deep cleft, and in a short time, after some sharp climbing, they were at the bottom of the mighty gorge, with Nic shading his aching eyes. "My little kingdom, Nic," said the convict. "Welcome to my savage home!" CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN. CASTLES IN THE AIR. "Don't try to find any more adjectives, boy," said the convict about an hour later. "Be content with beautiful. That's what it is." They were sitting in front of a loosely made bark gunyah, bare-footed, and with their shoes and well-worn stockings placed upon a scorching sheet of rock to dry. The wallet was empty, for they had made a hearty meal; after which Nic had been piling up all the words he could think of to express his admiration for the valley shut in by those tremendous walls, or his delight with the beauty and novelty of the place. The troubles of his life seemed to have dropped from the convict, who laughed and talked as if he were a dozen years younger, and free from care. The hard, bitter look had gone from his eyes, and he entered with boyish zest into the proposals his young companion made. "Oh yes," he cried, "we must have plenty of shooting and fishing. How many birds have you collected and skinned?" "Two," said Nic, making a grimace. "I've been so busy." "Never mind; you can come here and shoot. I'll skin for you, and you can get a fine collection." "Birds ought to be plentiful here." "They swarm," said the convict. "You can get the beautiful lyre bird, with its wonderful curved tail. I can show you the bower birds' nests, with their decorations. Then there is that beautiful purply black kind of crow--the rifle bird they call it. As to the parrots and cockatoos, they are in flocks." "The kangaroos are plentiful enough, too, seemingly." "Herds of them, from the little wallaby rats right up to the red old men." "And snakes?" "Too many of them; I'm obliged to be careful. We can have some grand hunts, Nic, and I can feast you afterwards on roast cockatoo and mutton." "And I shall bring you--I say, I'd forgotten: did you bring the flour down here?" "No," said the convict, smiling; "you forgot to hide it where you said." "It was too dark that night to find the place, but I put it there next day. Didn't you get it?" "No; some one must have seen you hide it, and taken it away. One of the blacks, I suppose." "Or Brookes." "Was he anywhere near, Nic?" The boy nodded. "That's bad, my boy," said the convict, with the bright look fading out of his face, to leave it cold and hard. "There, the sun is getting low; we have the tunnel to go through, and then you have a long walk back to your horse. We have been going too fast, Nic. I'm afraid you must wait some time before you come again." Nic looked pained, and sat gazing at his companion sadly. "Must I go now?" he said. "Yes." Nic thrust his stockings into his pocket, tied his shoes together to sling over his arm, and picked up his gun. Then reluctantly he followed his silent companion to the mouth of the tunnel-like cavern, where a bigger piece of touchwood was lit, and they commenced the return journey. It was up hill, but it did not seem half so far; and at last they stopped close to the well-like opening, down whose side the water trickled musically. "Frank," said Nic, "I'm going to leave you my gun." "What for?" "To protect yourself." "Don't leave temptation in my way, boy," was the stern reply. "No; I will not have it. Brookes and I might meet. There are plenty of trees to cut myself a stout stick for a weapon, or I can defend myself with my hands. Look, there are three notches in the stone where you can place your feet. Up with you! You can find your way. Good-bye." Nic could not say "good-bye," but he grasped the convict's hand before climbing up the narrow shaft-like place and raising his head cautiously above the level. A kangaroo loped gently by--evident proof that there was no danger--and, drawing himself right out, Nic dived in among the trees and rocks, and began to return by the way he came. He had so much to think of that the way back did not seem to be so very long; and at last he reached the spot where he had left his nag, mounted, and rode home, wondering whether Brookes had found that flour and suspected anything. CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT. NATURE AT HOME. If Brookes suspected, he made no show, but went about his work watchful and quiet as could be, Nic noting that he never went to perform the simplest duty about the station without a gun, and always seeming to be on the look-out for danger lurking behind bush, tree, or fence. "He must feel that Leather is somewhere near at hand," thought Nic, "and he'll betray him if he can." The convict protested; but, after taking candles and going through the cavern alone, Nic took him flour, tea, and sugar, and various other things to make his solitary life more bearable. "There, I'm very weak," the poor fellow said one day; "but these are the only happy moments I have had for years, Nic. You have made me like a boy again, and I feel as if I had begun to live a new life. But it is too good to last, Nic. There is too much sunshine, and the storm and flood will come. When does your father return?" "Don't talk of him as if he were a storm," cried Nic. "But you will have less liberty then." "Oh, I don't know; I shall go on taking long rides round after the sheep and cattle. I say, I never told you: we've lost two sheep during the past fortnight." "The blacks." "That's what we all thought; but Bungarolo and the others are sure that there have been no blackfellows in the neighbourhood. They went out for two days afterwards, and came back and declared they had seen none. If they had, of course I shouldn't be here. I think it's the dingoes, though we found no skin or bones. Old Sam and I are going to take the dogs and have a hunt. Let Rumble and Tumble run them to bay, and then let loose Nibbler at them." "Try it," said Leather laconically. That day, in accordance with a promise, the convict took Nic for a long walk through the open gorge, where the gum trees grew of gigantic size, and on down the river for some miles, to where it spread out into a wide lagoon, completely shut in by the forest, and with the borders fringed by reeds and tall grasses, offering plenty of cover for them to approach. The ducks were in abundance, and Leather laughingly spoke of it as his larder where he fished for them, hiding among the reeds, and sending a small fish sailing among them at the end of a line, with the result that he often hooked one and drew it ashore for a meal. But it was not to catch a shoal of ducks that they were come, the convict cautiously leading the way to a broad extent of marshy ground, from which the water had retired in consequence of the drought, and here, upon their crawling up to the screen of reeds, Leather drew aside for the boy to peer through to see pretty close at hand a flock of over a hundred grey stork-like birds marching about gravely, and darting their bills down sharply here and there at some fish or frog in a pool. Others were standing on one leg, with the other and the long neck regularly folded up, and the bill tucked neatly away among the feathers. All seemed grave, calm, and deliberate, every motion being made in the most solemn fashion, one of them the root of whose beak itched scratching it with a claw in a gracefully zigzag mode. They were fine tall birds, fully four feet in height, and of a beautiful grey; but after kneeling in a damp place for about a quarter of an hour Nic grew weary, and turned to look at the convict, who smiled, nodded, and held up a finger, as much as to say, "Be patient." "Things never do what you want at the right time," thought Nic; but hardly had he mentally spoken when one of the storks farther off uttered a peculiar cry like the low note of a cracked clarionet, and in an instant the long-legged birds from all quarters came trooping up, some of them helping their movements by extending their wings a little, till all were collected in a rough kind of circle, one remaining almost motionless in the middle of the ring. A few more of the quaint trumpeted-out notes were heard, and these were uttered by one of the cranes nearest to Nic, who could see the scissors-like beak open, the bright eye, and the gay scarlet ear-lobes of the solemn-looking bird, which drew itself up, took a look round in a stately way, and then seemed to Nic to have gone mad; for it suddenly began to dance and caper about, bowing and shaking its head to its companions again and again before leaping in the air and coming down upon its feet, to go through a series of the wildest gambols imaginable. It waltzed, advanced, retreated, set to partners, skipped here and there with wonderful activity, and began again. Its actions were contagious, for the next minute fully a hundred of the long-legged bipeds were capering about the marsh in a frantic dance, snapping their bills, and evidently enjoying this ebullition of fantastic gambols. Nic would have roared with laughter had he not been afraid to send the birds away and so end their game; and this went on for some minutes, ending in a regular wild country dance peculiar to bird-land, after which all was still. Some of the cranes rested on one leg, with a heel projecting from beneath their tails, others stood still with their heads cowered down between their shoulders, and the rest stalked solemnly about, peering here and there in search of frogs or small fish, and it was hard to imagine that these grave and reverent-looking grey signors could ever have been guilty of such antics. On some days Nic arrived late, and when the moon rose went opossum shooting, the skins being prepared by the convict for a bed. One evening he stayed late to be taken to see the lyre bird come dancing down a green lane between dense casuarinas, to a favourable spot for these beautiful creatures. And once he saw the peculiar bird, large as a pheasant, spread its curious tail, dance, rattle its wings, and indulge in a series of cries and calls--now it would be whistling, at another time making a sound like the cracking of a whip, and at another time justifying its native name of bullan-bullan. Mayne had always some new natural history object to introduce to Nic, throwing himself heart and soul into his pursuits, and announcing at last that he had seen emus about in one particular spot, and saying he was sure that there must be a nest. Nic had longed to get specimens of the great dark green eggs, and he heard the announcement with delight. "Just what I wanted," he cried; "but I meant for us to explore the cavern next time I came." "If we soon find the nest, we shall have time to do some exploring as well," replied Mayne; "so bring your candles, and I'll get some of the bunya wood and dry it in the sun. It burns well, and it will help to light up some of the dark parts. When will you come over?" "Day after to-morrow." "If your father has not returned," said the convict sadly. "Well, if he does, on the next day. I say, don't look so downhearted. You see that was all fancy about Brookes suspecting anything." "I don't know," said the convict thoughtfully. "I think I do," said Nic, laughing. "He has been as nervous as can be for fear of your coming back to punish him for laying information about you with Mr Dillon. If he felt that you were anywhere near, he would soon go over to the Wattles again. Sam says you've gone right away a hundred miles up in the myall scrub to join the Gunalong tribe, and married and settled." "Indeed!" "Yes, he said we should never see you again. Good-bye." The convict grasped his hand, and they parted at the mouth of the cavern. "Nic, my dear," said Mrs Braydon that night. "You will be obliged to have some more shoes; those last have quite rotted away at the stitching. You seem to be always wading and getting your feet wet. Do be careful, my dear; it is so difficult to get anything new. Is all well about the station?" "Everything, mother, excepting the loss of those sheep. We must have a dingo hunt. It won't do to lose any more before father comes home." Mrs Braydon sighed. "It seems so long since we have heard, my dear," she said. "If it were not that I don't like to spare you, I would get you to ride over and see how Sir John is getting on." Nic thought he would like to go; but he, too, felt that it would not be possible to leave home, and for more reasons than one. CHAPTER THIRTY NINE. A DOUBLE SURPRISE. "'Nother sheep gone, Master Nic," said Brookes next morning. "Then we'll have the dogs out and have a hunt round. Whose flock was it among?" "Bung's." "All right, then; we'll have a turn at once." Old Sam was told of what was to take place, Damper and Rigar were fetched from their charges, and gladly joined in, while the dogs nearly went mad--all three seeming to fully understand what was going to take place, and displaying their mad delight by charging and rolling one another over, and a sham worry all round, that suggested horrors for any unfortunate dingo with which they were not at play. As Nic rode on between his two men, with the dogs and blacks in front, he began to feel a little suspicious of the latter, from the way in which they talked and laughed one to the other, as if they enjoyed the loss of a sheep as a very good joke; and the boy could not help asking himself whether they were taking advantage of his inexperience to help themselves to the wherewithal for an occasional feast. This impressed him so much at last that he mentioned his suspicions to old Sam. But the man shook his head. "No, sir; I think not," he replied. "We look too sharp after 'em, and they're too well fed. I won't say what a hungry blackfellow mightn't do, but our boys ain't hungry, and that makes all the difference. What do you say, Brooky?" "I say it ain't the blacks; but I know." As the man spoke he examined the pan of his gun, and then took out his knife and began to chip the flint, so that it might be certain to strike out sparks. "What do you know?" said Nic, looking at the man wonderingly. "What do I know?" said Brookes, giving him a defiant look: "why, I know it's that there Leather as is skulking about like a rat, and snatching a sheep whenever he likes." "Absurd!" cried Nic indignantly. "Oh, all right, sir, it's 'surd, then; you know best, o' course. You're master, and I'm on'y a servant; but I say as that there Leather killed all them sheep, and if the doctor was at home he'd soon stop that." "Go on, dogs!" shouted Nic, riding forward to hide his annoyance and fidgety looks, for Brookes had looked at him in a way which troubled him. The blacks led on among the trees and over the pastures, now nearly brown for want of rain; and to Nic's annoyance the men made for the stretch of country which ran along by the side of the gorge. Then suddenly one of the collies uttered a sharp bark, which was taken up by the other, Nibbler gave forth his deep growl, and as they started off on the scent of something, he followed, and the blacks trotted close behind. Nic felt a peculiar, sense of hesitation; but his two men started in a run, and he felt that he must go too, though this part of the country seemed to him the least likely for dingoes, and he began to wonder whether the dogs had taken up the scent of a man who had passed that way, and if so, would it be the convict? Ten minutes later he felt ready to stop the hunt, for the dogs were right on the line he would have himself taken to reach the spring which ran down to the tunnel-like cavern. Certainly it was miles away, but, going at a pretty good speed, Nic felt that the dogs would quickly reduce the distance, and his horror increased. "They'll soon have him, Master Nic," panted old Sam, who ran, in spite of his years, better than his companion, the blacks being now out of sight. "Have whom?" cried Nic; but he repented directly, for Brookes turned and gave him another curious look. "Why, that there dingo, sir," said Sam. "_Cooey_--_cooey_!" came from a distance, as the faint barking of the dogs ceased; and Nic pressed forward, to arrive, in a quarter of a mile or so, at a dense thicket, within which he could see the blacks and hear the dogs whining and snuffling about. "Got him?" cried Nic, with an intense feeling of relief. "Mine help dog follow find him," cried Bungarolo with a broad grin; and the boy urged his horse in through the bushes, to find a skin tossed down, and plenty of evidence of a sheep having been lately killed there. He was staring down at the remains, while the dogs stood whining and snuffling round, eager to make a feast of the offal, but kept back by the blacks, who each held a nulla-nulla with its melon-shaped knob in front of their noses. "He! he!" laughed Brookes. "That's a clever sort o' dingo, Sam. I never see one skin his sheep before and dress him." Old Sam rubbed one side of his nose and looked at Nic, who turned sharply to the blacks. "Here, you!" he cried angrily--"you killed this sheep!" "Baal! Baal!" they cried in angry chorus. "No kill--no mumkull sheep fellow. Plenty mutton--plenty. White Mary gib plenty mutton. You pidney (know)." "No, I want to pidney," cried Nic. "Here, Bung, who killed the sheep, then?" "No pidney. Soon find." The man, imitated by his fellows, began to search about, and soon took up a barefoot trail and pointed to a drop of blood now and then where it lay dried upon a leaf. "Could Leather have killed a sheep and taken it away?" thought Nic. "No--impossible!" and he was following the blacks in a hesitating spirit, when Brookes stopped short. "What is it?" cried old Sam, imitating his action. "I ain't going to walk into no hambudges," growled Brookes. This roused Nic into action. "Here!--Hi! Bung, all of you stop!" he cried, and the blacks paused and waited till they came up, looking at their young master inquiringly. "Find tracks?" asked Nic. "Plenty mine find mandowie." "Black fellow's?" cried Nic. "Baal! Baal! white fellow!" cried all three--"white fellow." Brookes gave a ghastly grin and cocked his gun. "I ain't going no farther," he growled. "It's walking into a hambudge. Black fellows don't kill sheep like that." "No plenty mumkull sheep," cried Damper. "White fellow." "P'r'aps we'd better not go on, sir," whispered old Sam uneasily. Nic said nothing, but rode slowly back to where the remains of the sheep had been discovered, followed by the rest, the blacks chattering together in a great state of excitement, and the dogs whining and uneasy. "Pick up the skin, Sam," said Nic; and the old man made one of the blacks carry it shouldered over his spear. Nothing more was said, Nic riding along feeling sadly puzzled, and trying to follow out a peculiar line of thought without success. It had something to do with an idea about, spite, and whether it was possible that Brookes had killed these sheep on purpose to make it seem that Leather was lurking about destroying his late employer's property, so that, when once this idea took deep root, another expedition might be planned for the purpose of hunting the convict down, and relieving him of an object which caused him constant dread. But Nic gave Brookes the benefit of a doubt, and rode silently on till he was in sight of the house, when he suddenly pressed his horse's sides and galloped forward. For he had caught sight of a light waggon drawn up in front; there were horses and men about, and he felt that something important had taken place in his absence. Ten minutes later he was grasping his father's hands, and then those of the governor, who looked very pale and thin. Lastly those of Lady O'Hara, who held his tightly. "Oh! just look at him," she cried; "why, he's brown as chestnuts and getting as big as a man. Sure, and what do ye water him with, Mrs Braydon, to make him grow like that?" "Yes, he has grown," said Nic's mother, smiling with pride. "Grown! why, he's shot up like a palm tree. Nic, boy, we've come up with your father for me husband to get quite cured: will you have us for a bit?" Nic's eyes silently gave their answer as he clung to lady O'Hara's hand, just as he did that day when she came to the Friary to fetch him from school, not so very long back; but so many events had happened since, that it seemed an age to the boy, who felt how different he was since then. "You don't deserve for us to come, Mrs Braydon," said Lady O'Hara as they sat over their homely meal that evening, "for you never come to stay with me, nor the girls neither." "You see what a simple farmhouse life we lead," said Mrs Braydon, smiling. "We are not fit for Government House." "Now just hark at her, John!" cried the lady. "Do we want her to come and see Government House? It's to see us." "Mrs Braydon knows that," said Sir John gravely, "and how deeply we are in her debt. Here we are, after robbing her of her natural protector all this time, come to trouble her more." "Then let's go back, John," said Lady O'Hara dilly; "sure we're not welcome. We're too foine for her." "Lady O'Hara!" cried Mrs Braydon indignantly. "That's brought her to her senses," said the visitor, rising and going to Mrs Braydon to kiss her affectionately. "Don't you know that you're all the dearest and best friends we've got in the world? Hasn't the doctor been sitting up with John night after night, and saved his life?" "Oh, nonsense! nonsense!" said the doctor quickly. "It's quite true, Mrs Braydon," said the governor warmly; "and God bless him for it!" "There!" cried Lady O'Hara, "now let's all be comfortable. Why, it's like being at home, at the old place from which John fetched me when he was only Lieutenant O'Hara, and hadn't a grand handle to his name. Gyurls, I'm going to enjoy myself with you while the governor gets strong and well. Sure I can make butter as well as either of you. Didn't we have two Kerry cows at home? As for bread, there I'll bate-- beat I mean--either of you. Nic, boy, you'll take me round with you when you go to see to the stock; only I must have a quiet ould mare-- none of your great tatthering savage craytures that want to go like the wind. I've brought my strong riding habit. And you gyurls, you'll ride too?" "Of course," cried Janet eagerly. "Then we're going to have quite a happy time; and John'll get quite strong, won't he, doctor?" "Yes, he'll be a new man in a month." "What!" cried the lady, with an assumed look of alarm: "John, darlin', order the waggon and horses out. Ring for the men. We'll go back home directly, and try the new doctor that's just come out." "Why?" said Sir John, smiling. "Sure, didn't he say he'd make a new man of you? Don't I want you the same as you always were? A new man, indeed!" A merry evening was passed, but before they parted for the night the doctor said: "I've asked no questions, Nic, boy; but all seems to be right." "Nearly, father--not quite." "Not quite? Well, that doesn't sound very serious. But I want to know fully what this upset has been about the assigned servant." Nic briefly told of the trouble. "Ah, well, we'll have that over in the morning, Nic. I'm sorry, though, for I thought the man was trustworthy." Nic gave his father a pained look, as the doctor went on: "I shall ride over and see Dillon. Well, what next?" "Three sheep have gone, father, one after the other." "I am not surprised," said the doctor drily. "But, father--" began Nic. "Not to-night, my boy. I know what you are going to say. This man was rather a favourite of yours. Now, what other troubles?" "None, father." "That's good. Then you've done well, boy. But I was very anxious to get back, for there has been a serious rising among the convicts, and two parties have escaped to the bush. I was afraid you might be having a visitation." "They're taken by this time, Braydon, depend upon it," said Sir John. "My people will not rest till they are. There, I'm tired out. You'll excuse me to-night?" "I beg your pardon, O'Hara," said the doctor. "Yes, bed for us too. Good night, Nic. To-morrow you will have to render me an account of your stewardship." Nic sought his bed that night with mingled feelings of pleasure and pain. It was delightful to feel the warm grip of his father's hand again, and to see Lady O'Hara's merry, cheery face; but, on the other hand, after being captain of the station so long, there was a slight suspicion of regret at having to give up his independent position; and then there was the trouble about the convict. His father said he would go and see Mr Dillon, and there was what the magistrate would say about him. Then his conscience smote him for that which was a lapse of duty. He had made so great an intimate of Leather, and he felt as if he had been helping him to defy the law. Sir John O'Hara was sleeping under their roof now, and he was governor, judge--a regular viceroy in the colony. What would he say? Above all, what would the doctor do? It was a long time before Nic could settle off to sleep that night, and in consequence he was very late the next morning. CHAPTER FORTY. THE DOCTOR PLAYS MAGISTRATE. Do I mean Nic did not get down till breakfast was ready, about eight o'clock? No, I do not. This was Australia in its earlier days of the colony, and people's habits were different from ours. Nic Braydon's lateness consisted in his being fast asleep when the piping crow began to run up and down its scales to announce that the stars were paling faster, when the laughing jackasses chuckled at the loud crowing of the cocks; and he was dreaming about Mayne being brought up to the station by mounted police when the sun had been visible an hour. Nic started up in a profuse perspiration, jumped out of bed and dressed rapidly, eager to get out in the paddocks to see that the bullocks and horses that brought the party on the previous day were properly attended to. He now met the three men who had come with the waggon busy enough unpacking, and he found that Brookes, old Sam, and the three blacks were all hard at work. The fresh milk was being brought into the dairy, the horses were being fed and rubbed down, and all was going on in the satisfactory way which the boy felt would please his father. Directly after he ran against old Sam. "Does one's eyes good to see the master back again, sir. How well he looks!" "Yes, Sam. By the way, I didn't see the horse. How does it look?" "Splendid, sir; but a good run in our enclosure won't do it no harm." "Let's go and look at it." "Look at it?" said the old man, grinning. "Well, you'll have to wait till the master comes back." "Comes back! What, is he up?" "Up, my lad? Hours ago, and his nag saddled and gone." "And I asleep!" cried Nic, in a tone full of vexation. "Which way did he go? I'll saddle up and ride to meet him." "He's gone over to the Wattles." "To Mr Dillon's?" "Yes, sir. He had a few words with Brooky, and went off directly. Here, let me clap the saddle on for you, sir." "No, thank you, Sam," said the boy, with the tone of his voice changing. "I don't think I wish to go now." The old man looked at him compassionately. "Don't you be downhearted, my lad," he said. "You've done right enough. You out with the plain truth, and you call me for a witness 'bout Leather. My word's as good with your father as Brooky's. Don't you be afraid. You and me's going to win." "Yes, Sam, I hope so," said Nic; and he walked away, to busy himself about the farm stock till breakfast time. Just before it was ready the doctor rode back, threw the rein to old Sam, nodded to Nic, and, looking unusually stern, he entered the house with his son. Breakfast was ready, the governor and his wife up, and the latter kept the conversation going merrily enough, for she could read the doctor's face, and felt from Nic's looks that something was wrong--something for which he was about to be blamed. Every one was glad when the meal was at an end, and the doctor rose, when Mrs Braydon darted an imploring look at her husband, the two girls one of commiseration at their brother, whose forehead did not wrinkle, but became crumpled and pitted, just as it used to at the Friary when he had to deal with a knotty sum or equation. "Oh dear!" said Lady O'Hara. "I thought we had left all the business at home. Are you coming with me, John?" "No; my dear; I think Braydon wants me." "If you please," said the doctor. "Nic, my boy, fetch the two men round to my room. This way, O'Hara." Nic went out to obey his father's order and the governor followed the doctor into the room which stood at the end of the house, and was used by the doctor for his own study, library, surgery, harness-room-- storehouse for everything, in fact, in connection with the station. "It's not very serious, I hope," said the governor, as soon as they were alone. "Serious enough," replied the doctor. "Dillon has told me all about it, and I am half pleased, half angry with the boy." "Then he can't have done much amiss, doctor," said the governor. "Plus kills minus. If Nic is half and half, he ought to be a very decent sort of boy." "You'll help me if I want help?" "Of course," said the governor. "There, I dare say there's not much amiss. Boys of seventeen, or so, are not at their worst age. It is over that trouble about your assigned servant?" "Yes; the boy likes him, and I am not sure about him." "He may be honest enough now; but he was always a strangely soured fellow, and I don't think I liked him much." "Prejudice, perhaps." "I'm afraid so; but here comes the boy." In effect Nic came now to the door, followed by the two men, both of whom looked uneasy, while Nic's countenance was disfigured by rather a sullen, ill-used look. "Come in," said the doctor sharply. "You too, my men. Nic, stand there." Nic took the appointed place, and the men were nearly opposite, both stroking their heads carefully, Brookes his hair, old Sam his skin, for there was no hair on the top to stroke. The governor, who looked pale and weak, sat back in a rough chair. "Now, Brookes," said the doctor sternly; "I have been over to Mr Dillon and heard about this trouble, one which ought not to have happened in my absence. I should now like to hear your statement." Brookes gave it, and old Sam kept on uttering grunts till the man had done, when he gave his version. "Now, Dominic," said the doctor sternly, and the governor sat watching the boy keenly. "You have heard what Brookes says. Speak out, sir, like an English gentleman and my son. Let me tell you, first of all, that I do not believe you would be guilty of such an offence against the law as Brookes suggests; but--" "Oh, it's true enough," grumbled the man. "Silence, sir!" cried the doctor angrily. "You have spoken; don't interrupt again." Then turning to Nic: "I was going to say, my boy, as this charge has been brought against you in the presence of our governor, that you have aided and abetted a violent convict, I call upon you to clear yourself at once. Now, boy, speak." "Yes, father, I'll speak," said Nic firmly; "but I can't clear myself." "What!" cried the doctor angrily. "Do you own that this accusation is true?" "Yes, it's true enough," cried Brookes. "He helped him to get away from the Wattles." "Silence, sir!" cried Sir John sternly. "Speak, Nic. Did you help this man to escape?" "No, father." "There!" cried the doctor in triumph; but his countenance fell directly. "I went to help him if I could, but he got away without." Brookes chuckled. "Then he is somewhere about here in the bush, as Brookes says?" "Yes, father." "And you know where?" "Yes, father." "And you have been in the habit of visiting this desperate man?" "Yes, father, all that is quite true." Brookes chuckled again with satisfaction, and rubbed his tawny brown hands as if he were washing them. "Nic, you astound me!" cried the doctor. "You have, then, encouraged this man about the place during my absence, when I had placed confidence in you and left you in charge. Had you no respect for your mother and sisters?" "Why, of course, father," cried the boy indignantly. "You don't suppose I should have done what I have, if I hadn't felt sure Leather was innocent?" "Hear! hear!" said a voice, and Nic looked up to see that Lady O'Hara was at the door, and now came and stood behind Sir John. "Innocent," cried the doctor, "and hides in the bush, and kills one of my sheep whenever he is hungry!" "He doesn't, father. I'm sure he wouldn't," cried Nic indignantly. "And pray, why not?" "Because he likes me too well." "Indeed," said the doctor. "Nic, how can you let yourself be imposed upon so easily by a scoundrel?" "He is not a scoundrel, father," cried Nic, flushing up. "He was condemned for what he never did, and sent out here as a convict." "I'm afraid they are all innocent, eh, Sir John?" said the doctor. "A very large percentage, by their own account," replied the governor. "But this man really is, father," cried Nic. "How do you know?" "He told me all his history, father, and I am sure he is honest." "And takes advantage of my absence to break out and nearly kill one of my men. Then he escapes to the bush, and now steals my sheep." "It was Brookes who took advantage of your absence, father." "Oh, Master Nic!" "You did, sir. You always behaved like a brute and a bully to poor Leather, and you struck him, and of course he struck you again; and then;" cried the boy rapidly, in his excitement, "you told lies to Mr Dillon, and had him fetched over there to be flogged; and do you think," he continued, turning his flushed face to Sir John, "if I knew I was innocent, and I was dragged away to be flogged with the cat, I wouldn't run for the bush? Why, I would to-morrow." Sir John frowned, and the doctor looked pained and angry, but he did not speak. "Well, all I know is, I've got the mark o' the chopper on the back o' my head still," said Brookes, rubbing the place softly. "Mark of the chopper!" cried Nic contemptuously. "You ought to have the mark of the cat." "Silence, Dominic!" cried the doctor. "It is very clear to me that you have let this man impose upon you by his insidious ways, and I am bitterly hurt by your folly. You ought to know better. However, the past is past. Now make amends by helping to have this man taken. Where is he?" "Out in the bush, father." "I know that, sir," said the doctor sternly. "No evasions, if you please. Where is his hiding-place?" "Don't be angry with me, father," said Nic, in a pleading tone. "I can't tell you." "You know?" "Yes, father." "Then where is he, sir?" Nic was silent. "I desire that you tell me at once." Nic's brow grew more puckered, but his lips tightened. "Look here, boy. Are you going to disgrace me here before Sir John O'Hara by your disobedience, and by refusing to give up this criminal to the law?" "Father, he is quite innocent, and he has trusted me. I can't be such a coward--such a wretch--as to give him up." The doctor took a step forward as if to seize his son's arm. "One moment, Braydon," said Sir John. "Let me speak to him." The doctor drew back, and stood frowning. "It is an error of judgment on the boy's part. When we were his age we thought we knew better than our elders; but we know better now. Look here, Dominic, my boy. You are in the wrong. This man, your father's assigned servant, was tried by a jury of his fellow-countrymen, found guilty, and sentenced to transportation. Well, my boy, we are all under the law, which protects us, and we require its protection very much in a new colony of such an exceptional kind as this." "But the law was unjust to him, Sir John, and cruel." "I think not, my boy. Certainly mistakes have been made. But here, you see, the law was not so cruel, but said to this man, `You have served a certain amount of time; now go and prove your sorrow for your crime by making yourself a faithful servant, and in good time you shall go free, with an opportunity for commencing a new career.'" "Yes, Sir John; and Leather--his name's Frank Mayne--has been a good servant. Hasn't he, father?" "Yes, he has worked very well." "And so he did, father, while you were away, till that man drove him to desperation." "I cannot argue about all this, Dominic," said Sir John. "I have to judge this matter, and I am afraid, my boy, that you have been imposed upon, for matters look very black against this man." Nic shook his head. "Well, my boy, they do to me. But look here, Dominic. Now, more than ever, do we all need to join hand in hand--boys as well as men--for our mutual protection. Even during the past few weeks has a desperate gang of scoundrels broken away and taken to the bush, where our warder-guard and the soldiery have been unable to hunt them down. These men must be taken, and your friend too. Now, listen to me, boy. For your sake, as the son of my best friend, I promise you this: if you will enable us to capture this man, he shall have a fair examination before me, and I will carefully balance all evidence, and the good in him against the evil. You will trust me, Dominic?" "Yes, Sir John; but I can't betray the man who has made me believe in him, and whom I look upon as a friend." "Then--" cried the doctor. "Stop!" said Sir John firmly. "This case is adjourned for a week, Dominic. Take time to think, my boy. This man must be taken--he shall be taken. It will be better if you show us where he is, than for him to be seized and driven to desperation. Blood may be shed." "Here, I can show you where he is, sir!" cried Brookes. "You know?" cried the doctor. "Ay, sir. I ain't been keeping an eye on young master here for nothing ever since you've been away. I'll show you where he's to be found, and where he takes the sheep he steals." "Stop," said Sir John. "We will wait a week to give Dominic time to think. And now, doctor, I think I'll take my airing out on your breezy hills. I'm much stronger to-day." Sir John rose, and the doctor made an imperative gesture to the men to leave the room before offering Sir John his arm and leading him out; while directly after Mrs Braydon and her daughters entered, Janet going at once to her brother and whispering: "Thank you, Nic: it was very good and brave." "Ah," cried Lady O'Hara, "what's that ye're saying, gyurl, to this young criminal?" "I was only speaking to my brother, Lady O'Hara," said Janet indignantly. "Only shpaking to your brother. I heard you. Only, eh? I only guess what you said. Ye're encouraging him in his wickedness and his rising against the law. Nic, my boy, you've behaved very badly; you're a disobedient son, and a bad citizen, and I ought to be very angry; but somehow I can't, for I like the spirit in you." "But you wouldn't have had me betray that poor fellow, whom I believe to be innocent, Lady O'Hara," cried Nic, in choking voice, "and give him up to be flogged, and sent back to the chain gang?" "Bedad, I wouldn't," cried the lady, turning very Irish, and dragging him to her, she gave him a sounding kiss. "I'd have called ye no boy of mine if ye had, and your mother wid the gyurls say the same, don't ye, my dears?" "Oh yes," came in chorus. "But it's all very wrong, Nic; I say so who am the governor's wife; and this black sheep-thayving convict of yours'll be coming and killing us all in our beds." CHAPTER FORTY ONE. RIGHT WINS. One idea uppermost in Nic's mind was that he must go and warn Frank Mayne that his father was back, that the governor was at the station with two men, that--as he had since heard--a party of mounted police were coming up to scour the country for escaped convicts, and of course they would search for him as well. But how to warn him and tell him that he was sure Brookes must have been always watching, and knew pretty nearly if not surely of his hiding-place? Nic felt that he could not go to the cavern tunnel, nor even approach it. Brookes would for certain be on the look-out, and the trouble would be made worse. The governor had said that Nic should have a week for consideration, and three days glided by rapidly without an allusion being made by the doctor, who took Sir John about with him for long rides, and in every way expressed his satisfaction at the state of affairs about the station. "You've done wonders, Nic," he said; but the boy felt no better. There was that sensation of being half guilty always to the front, and there were times when he felt as if he would rather the seven days had come to an end, the subject been broached again, and the horrible suspense over. "I can't do anything," he said to himself. "It is like going more and more against father's orders to warn poor Frank; but what can I do?" It was the evening of the fourth day, and as Nic was hanging about the garden outside the fence, listening to Lady O'Hara's cheery voice and his sister's answers, while the governor and Doctor and Mrs Braydon were seated in the sunlit verandah, Janet suddenly stood before him. "Nic," she said in a low voice, and her face was very pale, "you and I are both sorry for that poor fellow Leather?" "Yes." "Lady O'Hara has been telling me that there will be a party of mounted police here to-morrow on purpose to hunt down escaped convicts." "So soon?" said Nic excitedly. "Yes; perhaps sooner. You know where this man is hiding?" Nic was silent. "You need not tell me--I feel sure you do. Ought he not to be told, so that he may escape?" "Yes," said Nic; "but if I try to warn him I shall be followed, and the way into his hiding-place found out." "Janet!" "Yes." "Here: Lady O'Hara wants you." "I must go," whispered Janet hastily. "Pray do something, Nic. It would be too horrible for that poor fellow to be hunted down." Janet hurried away. "Do something, when I cannot stir without feeling that Brookes and these two men of Sir John's are watching me!" Then a thought occurred, and the boy lounged leisurely about to where the dogs were playing, with the blacks looking on; and watching his opportunity he crept up close to Bungarolo. "Look here, Bung," he said in a low voice. The black turned round and stared. "No, no: look at the dogs," said Nic. "What for mine look at dogs? White Nic going hit mine in back." "I'm not going to hit you," said Nic hurriedly. "Kick mine. This fellow pidney." "Nonsense! Look here. You know where Leather is." "No pidney--no pidney." "I say you do," said Nic sternly. "Now look here. You go to him to-night and tell him that the white police fellows are coming to hunt him out. You pidney?" "Yes, Bungarolo pidney." "Tell him he is to go right away and hide till the police fellows are gone." "Bungarolo pidney. Mine tell Leather fellow jump right away, and police fellow baal find." "That's right. Go as soon as it's dark." "You come along see?" "No, I won't watch you." The black nodded, and then laughed at some antics performed by the dogs, while Nic walked away feeling more comfortable in his own mind than he had since his father had returned--though that did not mean much. He was fully on the _qui vive_, and several times went out into the dark, still night to listen for the tramp of horses, but the police did not come, and he went to bed to dream of Leather being shot down in the bush because he would not surrender. The next morning, as soon as he was up, Nic went to look for his black messenger, but he was missing, and the other two blacks professed ignorance of his whereabouts. "He has gone and not come back," thought Nic; and he felt hopeful that, knowing his danger, the convict would escape right away along the gorge, and hide in some far-away fastness where he would be safe. But about the middle of the morning, to the boy's horror, he saw Bungarolo come crawling up to the station driving a flock of sheep. Nic hurried up to him. "Did you go and tell Leather?" he whispered. "No go tell Leather fellow. Leather say mine come nigh get mumkull." "But I told you to go!" "Leather mumkull Bungarolo. Mine not want mumkull." Nic uttered a low groan. "Brooky look at mine. Come along, see where mine go. Doctor tell mine fetch sheep fellow. Mine go fetch sheep fellow." "It's of no use--I must go," said Nic to himself; and then, casting aside all hesitation, he started off at once straight for the fern gully, crossed the bridge, and then made a sharp turn off to the right along another path and down by the little river, where, upon reaching the clump of rough growth which bordered the pool where he had fished that day, he suddenly crouched down in among the tree ferns and listened. There was cause for his suspicion. He had not been hiding five minutes before he heard a rustling sound, and directly after he caught sight of the barrel of a gun, which was followed by the man who bore it. There was no mistake. It was Brookes following him, to see which way he went. Nic's countenance grew dark as he waited, meaning to slip back; when, to his surprise, Bungarolo suddenly crept into sight, following Brookes's trail, and he too disappeared. The boy did not understand this, but he knew enough. Brookes had gone off on a wrong trail, and now was the time. Running back, whenever he could do so unseen, Nic passed round the far side of the house, and started right straight away across country, so as to strike the side of the great gorge not far from the well-like tunnel entrance. It was a long, hot walk, for Nic felt it would be wise to take advantage of every bit of cover whence he could look back to see if he were watched. Then, satisfied that the coast was clear, he went on and reached the dense belt which ran all along by the edge of the precipice, feeling that a couple of hours' more walking would bring him to the mouth of the cavern. He would not be back before dark, he knew, even if he found the convict directly; but he felt that perhaps he would not be questioned, and he would have placed the fugitive upon his guard. Nic went pretty boldly onward, till he came within a mile of the opening, and then he sat down to rest and think. He dared not now go straight to the place, as it was still possible that he might be watched. For Brookes had been so long amongst the blacks that he had picked up a great many of their habits, and for aught he knew, the man might be tracking him still--in all probability was. To meet this difficulty, then, Nic started again; but went away at a right-angle, struck off again, and zigzagging here and there, he slowly drew nearer and nearer to the opening. The sun beat down heavily in the treeless parts, but Nic heeded it not. He was anxious to reach the convict, give him a word of warning, and get back as rapidly as possible, unseen; and how to do this exercised all his thoughts. Every now and then, as he crept along, stooping amidst the bushes, he startled some wild creature--bird, reptile, or one of the numerous kangaroo family--and, the animal darting away, Nic's heart throbbed with satisfaction. For it was a good sign: nobody had been there lately. At last he was within a few hundred yards of the opening, and he took a fresh curve so as to approach from the farther side, meaning to creep among the rocks and drop down into the hole almost at a bound. And now his excitement culminated, for in a few more minutes he would be in the tunnel, and if fortune favoured him, would soon reach his friend, warn him, and return in comparative peace. He was congratulating himself upon having succeeded so well, when he suddenly stopped short, half stunned by the thought which struck him. There was that long tunnel with its many forkings to descend, and he had no light, neither the means of getting one, nor candle, nor wood. He went on again with his teeth set fast. He would do it, he thought, even in the dark, for it only meant keeping in the water and wading. He must go right. A hundred yards onward through the wilderness of rocks, trees, and scrub; and he stopped short again, grasping his gun nervously, for he fancied he had heard the crack as of a trampled-on piece of dead wood. But there was no sound now save the hum of insects. The birds were silent in that torrid midday. "Fancy!" thought Nic, as he crept on again, stooping low and keeping a watchful eye in every direction, till once more a chill of apprehension ran through him, for there was a crackling, rustling noise. He knew what it was: a twig bent back had sprung to its natural position; but who had bent back that twig? was it he or some one following his trail? He listened, with every nerve on the strain, but there was no sound; and after crouching low, perfectly still for some minutes, he felt convinced that it was his own act: the twig had caught a leaf, been held by for a minute or so, and then released. "I wish I was not such a coward," thought Nic, as he once more started off, satisfied now that he was close at hand, for he could just see the piled-up rocks from beneath which the spring bubbled out. And now, as more cautiously than ever he crept on, so as to get within springing distance of the hole, he began to think of the long, deep, cool drink in which he would indulge--for his throat felt dry, and he was suffering from a parching, burning thirst. Closer and closer and closer he crawled, now on hands and knees, with his gun slung over his back--so near that he had but to spring up and take a few steps to be there, but holding back so as to preserve the greatest caution to the very last. In this way he reached to within five yards of the hole,--stretched out a hand to press aside a frond of fern, and gave one good look round. He did so, and held on as if paralysed, feeling as if he were dreaming of being back on board the _Northumbrian_ on his voyage out, and watching the convicts having their daily airing. For there, just in front of him, and one on either side of the hole, half hidden by clumps of fern, crouched, like a couple of terriers watching a rat-hole, two of the convicts whom he had forgotten, but whose features and peculiarities were once more filling his brain. Yes, there they were; he did not remember their numbers, but their features were clear enough: those of the pitiful, hang-dog, pleading-looking convict, whom he had set down as a sneak; and the good-humoured, snub-nosed, common scoundrel who had amused himself by making grimaces whenever he encountered his eye. But that which startled Nic the most was the fact that they were inimical to the tenant of the cavern, for, as they watched so intently that they had not heard the boy's approach, each man held a native war club or nulla-nulla--poised ready to strike the poor fellow who raised his head above the edge of the hole, and a blow from one of those clubs meant death. For some moments Nic felt too much stunned to even think, while the silence and the rigid motionless position of the two men before him added to the idea that it might be after all imagination. Then all at once one of the men showed him that it was no fancy, for he raised his eyes looked across at his companion, and made a mocking grimace, just as he had been wont to do on shipboard, getting as answer a deprecating shake of the head. And what did it mean? Death to Frank Mayne as he came up. For it was easy to see these were two of the convicts who had escaped. They were to blame for the missing sheep, and they must have seen and tracked Mayne to his hiding-place and meant his death. This last was hard to comprehend, for why should one escaped convict wish to injure another? But Nic had no time for arguing out problems. The men intended harm to his friend, and it was his duty to try and save him. He had his gun, and if he could only hear Frank Mayne coming, a shout of warning would send him back. But that gun: he wanted it for his own protection as well; and a shudder of horror ran through him as at that moment he again recalled the deck of the ship, with the convicts marching round and round, the soldiers resting upon their muskets, the stern-looking warders with their cutlasses, and that other man with the lowered, restless eyes and savage, wild-beast aspect, who passed him by from time to time looking ready for any evil deed. How well Nic remembered now, and the old warder's words! and the cold shiver ran through him once again. For suppose that wretch had escaped as well, and was lurking about free so near the Bluff? The idea was horrible, and but for Frank Mayne's sake Nic would have gloried in seeing the mounted police at hand. But that gun! How could he have been so idiotic as to sling it across his shoulder just where he could not get at it without making some rustling sound! Still it must be done, and he very softly drew his fingers toward the buckle at his breast, meaning to undo the strap instead of drawing it over his head. He kept his eyes fixed upon the men as they still watched that hole waiting for their prey. The nulla-nullas were balanced in their hands, and moment by moment, as his fingers busied themselves over the tongue of that buckle, which would not yield, Nic expected to see Frank Mayne's head rise above the surface by the moist mossy sides. The water bubbled and gurgled, the insects hummed overhead, and that tongue would not yield till he put more pressure on, and then, with a sudden rush, it was loose. The two men sprang up quickly, and Nic was in the act of rising too, presenting the gun, when there was a quick rustle, and a tremendous load fell across his back, driving him forward; the gun went off, and the boy was wrenched round and over upon his back, with a man's hands at his throat, heavy knees upon his chest, and the horribly savage eyes of the ruffian of whom he had been thinking a minute before glaring into his. "Hooroar!" cried the droll-looking convict, pouncing upon the gun and dragging it from Nic's hand; "just the little tool I wanted! Where's its bread and cheese, mate? Why, deary me, if it ain't the little chap as used to look at us aboard the ship! How do 'ee do, mate?" He made a droll grimace, with his tongue in his cheek; but he turned serious directly, as the savage convict roared at him: "Look round, you fool! See if any one's coming." The other two were startled for a moment, and looked round wildly. Then there was another grimace. "There ain't no one to be coming. Our bunny won't show out of his hole after hearing that row; so you won't have no chance of knocking him on the head to-day, mate. Here, I say, don't choke all the life out of the boy." "What!" growled the ruffian. "Why, I'll cut his very heart out if he don't speak. Here, how many's along with you?" Nic made no answer, and the ruffian drew out a knife. "Did you hear what I said?" he croaked, in a low, guttural tone. "Who's along with you?" "Don't kill him," said the other fellow, with his smooth aspect gone. "It's murder. Take him to the edge yonder, and let him fall over by accident." "Yah!" cried the other man, making a grimace: "let him be. Here, young un, they won't hurt yer. You and me's old friends. But you must oblige me with them shoes, and that there nice warm jacket and clean shirt. Tain't had one for weeks. And I'll just trouble you for the powder and shot. Let him get up, mate. He won't try to run, because he knows I should have to wipe his head with this little nutcracker. Why don't you let him get up?--Yah! Quick! Look out!" As the man spoke he swung round the gun and took aim at a figure which came rushing up. He drew trigger, but the hammer struck out a few sparks--that was all, for he had forgotten that it was not loaded. What followed was very quickly done. Frank Mayne--for it was he--sprang at the savage ruffian who was holding Nic, and struck at him sidewise with the stout stick he held in his right hand. It did not seem much of a blow, but he delivered it in leaping through the air, just as a mounted soldier would direct a cut from his left. The effect was wonderful: the man rolled over and over, and Nic sprang up, free to gaze after Mayne as he sprang at the other man. The scoundrel struck at him savagely, and Nic heard the blow take effect. Then he had to fend for himself; for the man with the gun came on. "Here," he cried: "out with that powder and shot, or--" He raised the piece with both hands by the barrel, and swung it back as if to get force for a blow. But, boy as he was, Nic sprang at him. "Give me my gun!" he cried, and he was too close in for the blow to have any effect, as he seized the fellow by the throat and clung to him with all his might. But Nic's muscles were not yet hardened, and the man swung him round and round just as he liked, the boy gradually growing weaker; while, as he struggled, he saw with despair that Mayne was evidently getting the worse of it, for the man he had attacked partially disabled him at the first blow, and had now got his hand free and was striking brutally with the club. Mayne evidently felt that he was beaten, but he clung to his adversary tenaciously, bore him backward with his hands fast at his throat, and, bending down his head to avoid the savage blows, he leaped forward so that he and the convict fell, the latter undermost. "Joe, mate--quick!" roared the latter; and the big ruffian, who had now risen to his feet, stooped and picked up a piece of stone, raising it with both hands to bring it down on Mayne's head. "Leather!" yelled Nic; "look out--look out!" "Surrender!" roared a stern voice which sounded familiar, and the man with the stone paused for a moment to glance about like a wild beast. Then, seeing that he was surrounded by mounted police, who covered those present with their carbines, he hurled the stone with all force at the nearest man and made a rush to escape, when there were three puffs of smoke, three reports, and the convict tripped and fell. Taking advantage of the smoke and excitement, Frank Mayne's adversary struck at him once more, and made a leap to escape, dragging the half-insensible assigned servant with him; but the grasp was too tenacious, and though he tried hard, Mayne held on to the end; only sinking back when a pair of handcuffs had secured the prisoner's hands behind his back. "Now then, you with the gun there, surrender!" shouted the man who led the mounted police. This to the convict who had confined his fighting to his struggle with Nic. "'Course I do," said the man, making a grimace. "That young shaver's got all the powder and shot: where's the good of an empty gun? Here, ketch 'old. No, I forgot; it's yourn, young un. Well, how are you all?" The police laughed as the man held out his hands for the irons. "We've had a nice little 'scursion out here, only the nights was rather cold. Well, Mr Government clerk, you won't have a chance to pull your friend a topper now. How's old Joe? What, more company?" This was accompanied by another distortion of the face, as two blacks came running up, followed by the doctor, the governor, Brookes, and Sir John's two men. "Got them?" cried the governor. "Yes, Sir John," said the leader of the police, whom Nic recognised now as the chief warder whom he had talked with during the voyage out; "but we had to shoot one of 'em down." "Here, quick, 'fore he goes!" said Brookes to the warder, huskily. "Handcuffs," and he pointed to Mayne. "Eh? What? Him?" said the warder. "Why, he helped to take one of 'em." "Yes," cried Nic; "he was fighting to save me." "I surrender," said Mayne faintly; "I'm satisfied now. Dr Braydon, I never told you I was an ill-used man, but did my work. Still, I told your son. Dominic, lad, Heaven is just. That handcuffed hound is my old fellow-clerk, for whose sins I have suffered all these years. There are miracles in life, for it fell to me to take him when he was escaping." "After he had watched to take your life!" cried Nic. "He was waiting, you know where? There, Sir John--father, will you believe it now?" The doctor had been kneeling by the fallen convict, roughly bandaging a bullet wound when, as he turned to rise, Frank Mayne struck him aside, and flung himself upon the wounded man. The doctor turned fiercely upon Mayne, but the next moment he grasped the truth, just as a blow from the butt end of a musket struck the ruffian back; for as soon as the wound had been bandaged, the man had waited an opportunity to draw a knife and strike at him who had tried to assuage his pain. In a short time the party was on its way back, the wounded convict borne upon a roughly made stretcher, and Frank Mayne walking with the warder, to Brookes's great disgust, for the doctor had said that he would answer for his not attempting to escape. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The next day the police rode off with their prisoners, taking with them a light waggon, in which the wounded convict was laid, Dr Braydon having said that he was in no danger. But Frank Mayne was not of the party, for Sir John had heard the simple tale. "And that man was your fellow-clerk in the government office? Yes, I remember something about his coming out in the same ship as my wife. I remember the case, because he was the second man charged with embezzlement at this government office; and I remember, too, saying that matters must be badly managed there." "Yes, he was my fellow-clerk, Sir John," said Mayne. "He was found out at last, but the time has seemed very long." "And you say you were unjustly sentenced?" "In Heaven's name, Sir John, I do. I was faithful to my trust." "I believe you, Mayne," said the governor, looking at him keenly; "and there shall be a thorough investigation of your case. In the meantime, what I can do I will. You hear, Nic, for your sake as well as his, Mayne is free to go anywhere in the colony, and I will see that justice is done him in every way." "Thank you, Sir John," said Mayne hoarsely; "it is more than I could expect on my bare assertion." "Some bare assertions are better than oaths, eh, Braydon?" said Sir John. "What do you say?" "I say that I have much forgiveness to ask of Mr Mayne: I ask it now of the man who saved my life." There was silence for a few moments; for the doctor had held out his hand to Mayne, who stood looking at it with his lips quivering. "I am only your assigned servant, sir," he said at last. "Not now," said the doctor. "I was offering my hand to a brave man who has been misunderstood. I offer it, too, to my son's friend." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nic looked dull the next day, but he brightened up when his father proposed that they should ride a part of the way with Mayne, who was going to take some despatches to Government House, where for the present he was to stay. "You see, Nic, it will be better," the governor said. "The poor fellow would be miserable here with his old fellow-servants. So I have arranged for him to go and wait till I come. His story's true enough, and I shall see that everything is done for him before he goes back to England--to take his old position, I hope." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ But Frank Mayne had no such ideas. England was dead to him, and he was content to stay. And to Nic's delight, his friend received a grant of land some ten miles away, close to the great gorge, where the boy spent all the time he could, watching the erection of the house by convict labour; for in this Mayne was helped largely by Sir john, while the doctor had become one of his firmest supporters. Of course Frank Mayne had formed a very warm attachment to the lad, who had believed in him from the first; but Lady O'Hara used to laugh and joke, and say _she knew_, though she never said what it was she knew. Time, however, gave the explanation, about two years later Mayne had received a free pardon from his Majesty the King, "for suffering a great deal and nearly being driven mad," as Nic said. But Frank Mayne said he was very happy and quite content, and we need not go into the causes of his content, especially since every one, from Lady O'Hara and Mrs Braydon downwards, was in the same way of thinking. "Besides, Mr Mayne, it was worth it all, sure," said Lady O'Hara banteringly at the wedding. "Now don't you think so, Nic?" "Of course I do?" "Then that's right," cried the lady. "But tell me, Nic, how long is it since I brought you out?" "I don't know," said Nic. "Too busy; but about three years. Look at that now, and him grown quite a man." "Yes," said the doctor, "farmer, cattle raiser, squatter." "Yes," said Mayne, laying his hand on his brother-in-law's shoulder. "One of the first in the field, and my true friend." THE END. 
58176	----	produced from scans of public domain works at The National Library of Australia.) THE LIFE ... AND ... EXPERIENCES OF AN EX-CONVICT IN PORT MACQUARIE NEW SOUTH WALES: R. DAVIDSON, Printer, Port Macquarie. TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE INTRODUCTION iii CHAPTER I. Farewell To My Native Land. 1 CHAPTER II. Arrival at Sydney. 5 CHAPTER III. "Fresh Fields and Pastures New." 6 CHAPTER IV. To Port Macquarie. 8 CHAPTER V. The Iron Gang. 11 CHAPTER VI. Assigned to Lake Innes. 22 CHAPTER VII. The Blind Mob. 33 CHAPTER VIII. The Road Parties. 35 CHAPTER IX. "Specials" and Others. 49 CHAPTER X. Some Notable Constables. 55 CHAPTER XI. At Rollands Plains. 65 CHAPTER XII. The Female Convicts. 68 CHAPTER XIII. Some Practical Jokes. 72 CHAPTER XIV. The Aborigines. 75 CHAPTER XV. A Free Man. 79 CHAPTER XVI. The Yacht "Wanderer." 84 CHAPTER XVII. Escape of Prisoners. 89 CHAPTER XVIII. A Last Word. 91 INTRODUCTION. Port Macquarie, as is generally known, was one of the first Settlements made in New South Wales. It is intended herein to give a full and authentic synopsis of the Life of the Oldest Living Ex-Convict on the Hastings River, near Port Macquarie, extending from the thirties onwards. The information comes purely from memory, hence exact dates on which certain events occurred cannot be given; nevertheless the greatest care has been taken to give dates as near as possible. The Life of an Ex-Convict. CHAPTER I. FAREWELL TO MY NATIVE LAND. "The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together; our virtues would be proud if our faults whipped them not, and our crimes would despair if they were not cherished by our virtues." --SHAKESPEARE. I was born at Shoreditch, near London, on the 28th of May, 1819, and was nearing the age of sixteen when one day I was accused of committing a paltry theft. Of this I was innocent, and naturally denied it, but the constable who accosted me insisted, no matter what I said, that I had to go with him. My feelings were anything but high-flown as I passed along the street with him--what boy's feelings would be?--on the other hand they were down almost below zero. It was no use; I soon realised my position, it was this:--If I am found guilty of this offence--and I have little hope of proving my innocence--Heaven only knows where I may find myself. My trial came on before a Bench of Magistrates in Worship Street, London, on July the 3rd, 1834, and I was committed to take my trial. When a man had the bad luck to get committed, he was sent to Clerkenwell, or to the Old Bailey, and if he listened to the conversations of his associates at either of these places, during intervals that he might be remanded, it was quite possible that a previously innocent man would be converted into an adept at picking pockets and house-screwing. I was a new-chum in places of this kind, and also at such pursuits. New-chums generally fell into, and were made the subject of, numbers of practical jokes, too, at the hands of these fellows, and I was saved none the less in this respect. "Go upstairs and get the bellows," one of them said to me: and when I got to the top of the stairs, some others sent me to the far end of the ward for it. On arrival there, another crowd met me with knotted handkerchiefs, and 'pasted' me all the way back. "Pricking a crow's nest," was another of their games. This consisted in making a round ring on the wall with a piece of charcoal, and placing a black dot in the centre of it. One was then blindfolded, and his object was to place his finger on this black dot; but instead of doing this, another fellow stood with open mouth to receive the finger, and he didn't forget to bite it either. If anyone took money into this place they might as well say 'au revoir' to it, for they were not asleep. After a few days of this life my trial came on--I was sentenced to Australia for 7 years' penal servitude. Then I was sent to Newgate, and when the door opened there, I was met by a large number of "Jack Shepherds," all in irons, and the place was as dismal-looking as the grave. First I entered the receiving-room, and remained there a day; afterwards I was put in with a fine assemblage of characters, and one might as well begin to count the stars in the Heavens as attempt to define who was the worst individual there. Night came on and I began to look around for a bed; this I found consisted of a rug and a mat, of which I availed myself. If a man was sentenced to seven years he was only kept there for a few days, and was then taken in irons, by means of a van, to the "hulk" at Portsmouth. This was the fate I shared. On arrival there I was stripped of my clothes, and after the barber came round and cut my hair so close that it was only with difficulty I could catch hold of it, I was washed from two tubs of water which stood close by. Then I was dressed in a pair of knee breeches, stockings, shirt, and a pair of shoes so large that I could have almost crossed the Atlantic in them, and a hat capable of weathering the greatest hurricane that ever blew. Whilst on board the hulk an old Jew paid several visits, for the purpose of buying up all the ordinary clothes of the men, and no matter how new a suit might be, it was either a matter of take half-a-crown for it or throw it away. Fortunately, my best clothes were left behind, and I lost nothing by this. I remained on the hulk from Friday till Monday morning, and was then transferred to what was known as the Bay Ship--the "Hoogly"--by means of a cutter. There were 260 prisoners on board this ship altogether. Before leaving the hulk, the irons worn in Australia were attached to the legs, but these were removed on getting to sea. Men, however, were branded all over--shirt, trousers, and everything else. The "Hoogly" left Portsmouth harbour on the 28th July, 1834, and was 120 days coming to Australia, and the passage on the whole was not unfavorable. Four men, however, were flogged during the passage for misconduct. One of those on board was transported for stealing articles from a Roman Catholic Chapel, and he had by some means managed to get a quantity of tobacco into his possession. One night whilst he was asleep some of the others conspired to get this tobacco, and they put his big toe into the bunghole of a cask. He used to sleep on the tobacco, and as soon as he sat up to release his toe the tobacco was passed away through the crowd, and that was the last he saw of it. CHAPTER II. ARRIVAL AT SYDNEY. "Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows." --SHAKESPEARE. Notwithstanding the fact that the Settlement at Sydney was now nearly 50 years old, my impression on arriving there in the summer of 1834 was anything but a bright one, and by no means came up to my faintest expectations. It was a scattered-looking place--a house here and a terrace there, but miserable enough to my mind. After we had been in Sydney harbour a few days, a number of officials came aboard the ship, and, as if 'to the manner born,' took a list of the marks on the men, who were stripped to the waist. One of them, in particular, had some writing on his arm, and he was told that if it was not quickly removed, he would get 50 lashes for it when he reached shore, so he took the advice. We remained aboard ship till three days later, we were marched ashore in line, four deep, a little after daylight, and taken to Hyde Park Barracks. Here we got a beautiful breakfast, "hominy," in little tubs. At 2 o'clock the same day we were called out to witness a punishment. There were no "25's" there; all "50's" and "75's"--goodness knows what the offenders had been doing. After this, it was possible for any one of us to be called out and sent to a master. If a man had a seven years' sentence, he had to serve four years with a master before he got a "ticket-of-leave;" but if he happened to prove himself a success at any particular vocation, he would never get his "ticket," as the master for whom he was working would arrange with one of the other servants to quarrel with the handy man, and he would be sent to the lockup to be flogged, and get an addition to his sentence. If a man was sentenced to 14 years, he had to serve 6 years with a master before he got a "ticket." All the master had to give a servant in the year was 2 suits of clothes, 2 pairs of boots and a hat, also his food. The latter was supposed to be either 3-1/2 lbs. of maizemeal and 7 lbs. of flour, or 9 lbs. of beef for the week. CHAPTER III. "FRESH FIELDS AND PASTURES NEW." "There's a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will." --SHAKESPEARE. My first assignment was to Mr. Sam. Terry, on his station at Mount Pleasant. Here I had little or nothing to do, and this man was a good master--he would never have his men flogged. But I had the misfortune to be stricken with the sandy blight at this place, and I was sent to the Windsor Hospital, where I remained for 10 months. From here I was sent to Windsor Gaol, but instead of a bed, I had to lie on a flag-stone, which was not conducive to building up my health. From Windsor I was transferred to Parramatta, and eventually to the Barracks again. Shortly after this, I was sent on to that beautiful vessel known as the "Phoenix" hulk--prison ship. This was the first occasion on which I had the extreme pleasure of meeting Dr. ----, the man who conspired with two others to rob a house, and when they were in the act of doing so, he assailed them with a gun, fired and wounded one of them as he came out of the window, and secured his freedom for catching thieves. This was a very cunning trick, as he arranged the plot himself, and he afterwards became prominent. I saw him shortly after this took place, when he was assuming all sorts of things, and I said "Hulloa! how are you getting on?" He looked at me, and said, "Why, I never saw you before, sir." "That'll do," I said, "you forget that I saw you on the "Phoenix" hulk, and don't try to put on side before me." He said no more. CHAPTER IV. TO PORT MACQUARIE. "O suffering, sad humanity! O ye afflicted ones, Steeped to the lips in misery." --LONGFELLOW. It was not long before my health had sufficiently repaired to allow of my being sent to Port Macquarie, and as this journey had to be accomplished by water, the steamer "Little Billy," (William the Fourth) came into requisition. I left Sydney in this vessel on Monday, and she reached her destination on the following Sunday, after we had been on deck the whole time tossing about. There were a good number of us on board, and sometimes we got tea, and more often we didn't. We were inspected on arrival, and afterwards landed at the barracks, which stood on the water's edge against the river. The first incident that came under my notice on arrival was a lean, hungry-looking fellow named "Nipper," going along with his head down, apparently in a tit, until he reached and hit up against a wall, then he fell on his back like a cockroach--he was bloated out nearly as large as a cask with "hominy." Then I saw another man named "Larry" coming along; he was positively mad, for he used to go along singing out "Larry! Larry!! Larry!!!" This man was reputed to have knocked his wife's brains out with a saucepan. Still another I saw, who was called "Captain." He had been a pirate, and used to walk about the roofs of houses with a piece of stick, using it as a telescope, and giving orders. I heard him sing out "Chuck us up that Jew ---- to deal with," and I don't know whom he meant, but it was quite enough for me, so I left. Night came on, and one of the men--Jack Sleet--had a few shillings in his pocket. Some of the others heard the money jingle, and needless to say he was watched to bed, the money being placed very safely underneath him. Everything was quiet towards the middle of the night, when suddenly we were all awakened by hearing a man sing out, "Oh! h----, Oh! h----, somebody's cut me." It transpired that someone, in cutting the money from under him, had forced the knife rather too much, and it had entered his flesh, but the money was gone all the same, and every one appeared to be asleep. When all the men retired to barracks at night, it was so crowded that where to lie down became a puzzle, and it was dirty besides. Men still kept on coming from Sydney, which made matters ten times worse. One day while in these quarters, I was sent down to one of the wharves to help unload a boat laden with produce. I worked very hard all day, and it was late in the evening before I returned to the barracks. On arrival I asked the master's permission to bake myself a "johnny cake" for supper. In due course I had the cake mixed, and placed it on the fire to cook in an old frying-pan that was more "hol(e)y than righteous." Seated beside the fire watching my cake, I felt a nasty hit with a stick from behind, and as there was no other weapon handy with which to return the compliment, I grasped the frying-pan by the handle, and, turning round, brought it down full force on to my assailant's head. Needless to say, his head was harder than the bottom of the pan, and the next thing I remember was seeing him wriggling about with the hot pan on his neck, and exclaiming, "Oh! my G--, this pan is burning me!" Then a by-stander came up with a bucket of water and poured it on him, and afterwards the pan was removed. I turned to him, and said; "The next time I am at the fire perhaps you'll leave me alone." But my feet hardly had time to touch the ground before I was landed in the lock-up, and the next day I was brought before the court and sentenced to 36 lashes, and it would have been "100" only that the overseer spoke up for me, and said that I was quite justified in my action. But even "36" was a fine cure for the "prickly heat." I got full of this and ran away to the Green Hills--15 miles distant--with a mate. When we got there, it seemed that we were to get no peace, for the aborigines came around us with their "yabber," and it was but a short time before they were off to the police and informed them of our whereabouts. Two days later we were caught, and I got "50" more to "clench the bargain." CHAPTER V. THE IRON GANG. "To what base uses we may return." --SHAKESPEARE. Doctors, in the practice of their profession, not infrequently inform their patients that there is an insufficiency of iron in their blood, but no such assertion was ever known to be made to a man who at any time occupied a position in the Port Macquarie Iron Gang, for if there was no iron in their blood there should have been, if the "barking of shins" went for anything. I was sent into this gang, and amongst the men in it were a number termed "specials." These "specials" were sent out principally for forgery or swindling, and many of them were so flash that they used to look down upon the other class of men, and try to play a game of "bluff." I was boiling my billy of tea one evening, when one of them came up and threatened to do all sorts of things to me if I did not remove my billy and allow him the fire. "What do you want?" I asked. "I want the fire," he replied. "Well," I said, "you can have it when I am finished." He took no notice of me, but persisted in removing my billy and placing his own on the fire. At last I quietly lifted his off, threw it into the swamp, and gave him a good thrashing. I was then removed, and got a little peace. Perhaps for a fortnight now I went to work with the hand-cart, bringing firewood for the Government officers, and finally joined the iron gang again. Shortly after I re-joined this gang a man named Arger, who had been captain in a regiment, was attacked by a fierce looking fellow named Lorrens, who went up, and, drawing a knife, stabbed Arger both sides of the neck and in the ribs, then told him to "draw his sword and defend himself." This man had not the slightest provocation to commit such a murderous act, as the poor fellow never did him the least injury, and he was sent to Norfolk Island for life. Another man in the gang named Handersen, a carpenter, went up to a Frenchman named Antonio, and knocked him down with a hammer; then, turning round, he said: "I killed that b----, and I hope his soul has gone wandering." These acts were done principally for tobacco, or for half-a-loaf of bread, (even in those days "half-a-loaf" was considered to be better than "no bread") and the object was generally to get some of the flash "specials" a holiday to Sydney in charge of a man, and this was called "jeeing" them. When a man received six or 12 months in irons, he had to sleep on the floor with one blanket, and a sleeper for a pillow; and if he got ever so wet before going to bed in rainy weather, he had to put on the same wet clothes next morning. There was another cowardly thing done in the iron gang. A poor fellow named Freeham was met by a member of the stone-breaking party, who raised a hammer and struck him in the jaw, breaking it. This wretch got 12 months added to his former sentence, but was afterwards sent to Sydney on a charge of murder on his own word, for killing a man at Ballengarra, situated some miles up the river; but as there was no evidence except his own, he was sent back to Port Macquarie for 12 months--though he said that he would rather be hanged than serve another 12 months in such a place of slavery and trials; for out of about 50 or 60 men, 14 or 15 of them would be brought before the court every week and punished, and they were all poor, harmless men. The charge against them was usually neglect or disobedience. Fancy poor wretches, with chains hanging about them being charged with neglect of work, or even disobedience. Walking about in chains was hard enough work without carrying hand-carts full of earth, and who could bring themselves to obey flash "specials?" One poor wretch got a month in the cells on bread and water for having a piece of writing paper in his pocket, and another unfortunate fellow was sentenced to "100 lashes" for having a letter in his pocket which he was endeavouring to send to a friend. Still these officials went to Church, offered up prayer (?) and aped religion. Tom ---- was sentenced to two months on bread and water for running away; but although Tom bolted he only went a little way and brought himself to an anchor on a farm, which he never left. He used to go into a hollow tree in the day time, and, opossum-like, come out at night and eat the corn. Half-an-acre of this grain disappeared in a fortnight, and then he gave himself up, as there was no more corn to eat. This man had great storage capacity, as one Sunday morning I saw him eat eight men's allowance for a ration of corn bread whilst going a distance of about 200 yards. He was transported for taking a man-o'-war boat, in company with five others, and was a 7-year man. But he was a fearful glutton, for his allowance of food was no more satisfaction to him than a straw is to a bottle. I remember one day, returning from work, he saw a woman lying drunk on the road, and he picked her up, lifted her on to his shoulder, and ran away into the bush with her. The Police Magistrate who was in the vicinity, noticing what was taking place, sang out, "Put that woman down!" "If I do," said Tom, "the d---- police will have her" and he took no further notice, but continued on his journey, and there was not a sign of him till the next day. Then he was arrested and locked up by the police, and received 14 days on bread and water for his trouble. When he came out he bore a half-starved appearance--the bread and water did not suit him. About the year 1839 the gang had completed the first road, and the lame, the blind, and those with wooden legs were furnished with a clean bed in honor of the occasion. These cripples were employed principally in taking goods to the settlers without payment, and the poor wretches often went short when their journey's end was reached. When not employed, they used to lounge about on the hills overlooking the sea sunning themselves, and it was not infrequent that they had quarrels amongst themselves. Just picture to yourself a man with wooden legs offering to "fight any b---- man on timber" as they used to put it. When these wooden-legged men had a quarrel in a boat they sat on the seats, with a man propped against the back of each, and in this fashion they would fight away in great style. I saw two of them on one occasion fight till they could not see each other. There were also one-armed men amongst them; these were employed in breaking stone, and they had a Jew for a boss, who was also a wooden-legged man. One day he went to sleep in the sun on one of the hills above the harbour, and another Jew named Lewis collected a quantity of old maize stalks and other fuel, and set fire to his wooden legs whilst he was asleep. They were not burning long, however, before he awoke and found one to be shorter than the other; and it was a sight for sore eyes to see him walking down to the Old Broken Barracks, singing out to everyone that he met--"That Jew-looking b---- down there has burnt my legs nearly off." Just after this a poor fellow died in the barracks. A coffin was made for him, and his remains were being carried away for interment by four of his fellow-prisoners. After they had proceeded some little distance, two of them had a quarrel, when they threw the coffin down, and it burst, and out rolled the corpse on to the ground. They fought their quarrel out, and after receiving satisfaction at each other's hands, they picked the body and coffin up and carried it back to the barracks, where it was tacked together again, and four other men were sent to bury it. The making of roads in the streets of the Settlement was now being actively proceeded with, and in some instances the hills which had to be cut through were so steep that a man could not comfortably ascend one of them without irons on his legs, let alone with them--but the hills had to be broken down by men with sore backs, and if one man happened to collide with another who had been recently flogged, it would be--"Oh, G----! mind my sore back." These were hard times; hard worked and half starved. Six men once got "50" for refusing their allowance of beef--it being of inferior quality; but good meat was brought to court when they were being tried, not the kind that was refused. They were questioned, "What have you to say?" but were only allowed to get one word out when the order would be "50." And so it appeared to be "no use going to law with the Devil when the court was held in H----." Some men seemed to have a harder skin than others; a few would stand "50" like a piece of wood; they would sooner die than allow anyone to hear a groan. There was one poor little fellow named Mick whom the wretched overseer used to take a delight in bringing before the court; he would never pick out a flash-looking rascal, but only poor men who could just crawl about. I remember one terrible schemer who came into the gang. He met Mr. ---- one morning, and said, "If you do not give me five 'bob' I'll lay a charge against you for buying rations off the Government men." He was thereupon caught by the collar and taken off to the watchhouse, and was sentenced to two months in the iron gang. It was about 11 o'clock in the day when he came into the gang, and that evening he got "50" for doing something. The next day he tried the same dodge, but was walked off again and got another "50." The third day he went up to the overseer and said: "Do you expect me to work after the flogging I got yesterday?" The answer was a smack with a big stick. He was compelled to go to work with the other men, dragging hand-carts full of earth. There were three men to each cart, and a soldier always accompanied the men to keep them from running away or receiving tobacco, as if any of the weed were found on a man he would get "50." No spoons, knives, or forks were allowed men in the iron gang, for if they had them they would stab each other. Some used to eat their "hominy" with a piece of iron hoop, which they used as a spade-scraper. Others used a piece of bone. One fellow had a hat with a double-crown, and he used to secrete tobacco and other things in it. The overseer once picked this hat up and said to him: "You have a hat with two crowns." "Yes," he replied, "It's a good job you have nothing in it to-day," added the overseer. And so it was, for if there had been it would have meant trouble. Some of the men used to watch the boss, and scheme when his back was turned; but if he caught any of them they were sure of "50," for he never said a word--only just held up a stick and a policeman would come to the rescue. Every Sunday the men got a small piece of soap with which to wash their clothes, and if rain happened to come on whilst they were doing it, orders were given to just gather up the clothes, and, wet or dry, they were brought into the room. These clothes then had to be worn to church by the men, who were safeguarded by a tyrannous overseer and a soldier: and there they sat listening to a minister preach, and looking at the hard-hearted wretches who were ruling them. If the men had got something to eat, it would have done them more good than hearing about the next world, for they thought very little about religion in their sad state. Poor ---- was sentenced to 12 months in the chain gang for running away, and he was only in the gang two days when the overseer brought him to court and got him "50." He then took the sulks, and would neither work nor eat. Then he was handcuffed and dragged up and down the street till some of the more tender-hearted officials could stand it no longer; and he was eventually chained to a bed-post, where he lay down, like an over-worked ox, and died. It was the custom to chain men to their bed when they became sick and were sent to the hospital, for fear that they would run away in the night. One man did bolt at night, and was not heard of again, the supposition being that he perished in the bush. This was a fine man, too, and once belonged to the Life Guards in London. I was amongst a batch of men who were once marched down from the barracks to assist in unloading a little vessel--the "Waterwitch"--laden with corn, which had become wrecked whilst crossing the bar. We worked all day and were brought back at night, receiving cornmeal and water for our supper. All our clothes were wet, and we had either to sleep in them or else lie on the floor with nothing. Such was life in the iron gang. CHAPTER VI. ASSIGNED TO LAKE INNES. "Double, double toil and trouble," --SHAKESPEARE. Shortly after Port Macquarie was made a Penal Settlement, several men of considerable wealth visited and settled in the district, and were granted large areas of land in and around the Settlement. Amongst these was Major Innes, who became the possessor of a large area of land about six miles from the town, which was and is known as Lake Innes. On this property the "Major" built a beautiful residence, with all the conveniences that money could command. It was not long before he commenced to breed horses for the Indian market, and frequently sent shipments of valuable horses to India. Besides this, he occupied large stores in the Settlement, and used to contract with the Government for supplying soldiers and men with provisions. A man of the "Major's" calibre could, by applying, get numbers of what were termed "assigned servants" to work on his property, and of this labour he availed himself to a great extent. In the year 1838 I and two others were sent to Lake Innes to dig water holes for cattle, the seasons being so dry at the time that water had become a scarcity. We dug drains through the swamps, and made provision for ample water for the famishing cattle. Slopes were also made leading into the drains, so that any cattle which fell into the water, and were too weak to get out themselves, could be pulled out. One day, while there, the boss came down to see how we were progressing with the work, and after a while one of us said to him: "You ought to allow us a little more tea and sugar, for this is hard work; to say nothing of being up to our knees in water all day." "Go on with your work," he said, "I think a good flogging would do you more good than tea and sugar. Did you get tea and sugar in the road party?" "No, sir; but we had not to work in the water; and we left off work at 3 o'clock to cook our food, but here we have to work till 6." At this he turned and walked away. A few days afterwards I pretended to be sick, and went up to the overseer and said: "I want a pass for the hospital." "I can't give you one," he replied, "but if you'll bring up a pot I'll give you some castor-oil." I went down to the hut and brought up the "Royal George"--the big pot that we used to cook in, laid it at the door and sang out. The overseer came out, and seeing the pot, asked, "What the devil did you bring that for?" "That's the only pot I can find," I said, "except what we make our tea in, and I could not put oil in that." Then he gave me some oil in a bottle. He came down the next day to see if the oil had done me any good. I told him that it had, but it was a fowl that I had the night before that did me good, for I went about with my eyes open and knew where they roosted--in the castor oil bushes. I did not want oiling like a steam engine. Rain now came, and we relinquished the drain-digging; I was then sent into the vegetable garden to work. I was there but a very short time when the milkman lost his billet, and I succeeded him in that position. This job did not suit me; all the other men were comfortable in huts, and I was stuck, out in the milk yard in all sorts of weather, knee-deep in muck, as well as being growled at by the other men if I did not let them take the milk. It was a bad job for a fellow if he were caught at anything like this, and at the very least it meant "50." I was in great dread, as I had to please the men by letting them take the milk, and I also had to please the master by preventing them. One morning I hit upon a plan to get out of this billet. It was raining very heavily this morning, and I was wet through. When I had finished milking I dipped my hands into the muck in the yard, and then into the milk, carried it up to the house, and gave it to the butler. He looked at me for a second, then at the milk, and said, "You d----, dirty brute! Whom do you think can drink that milk?" "Well, I can't help it," I said, "look at the yard, up to my knees in filth, and the boss won't give me time to clean it out." "Then you shall not milk any more," said the butler. I was laughing up my sleeve to think how well I had done the business. They put another milkman on, but he soon went to the hospital with pains in his legs. A third man was put on, and after a few days he was recalled to help make bricks, so the old milkman was then engaged, and that ended the trouble. One morning the signal bell pealed out, and all the men had to go up and see what they were wanted for. There was a terrific storm raging, and we were told that we had to cut wood for the dining-room and parlour fires, but not one would stand out in such weather to do the work. We went to the boss and told him that we would cut the firewood as soon as the storm was over. "How often am I out in the rain?" he said, "it won't melt you--you're not sugar." Turning to the overseer, he ordered us to be put on Government rations, and we were then the recipients of 7 lbs. of flour, 3-1/2 lbs. of cornmeal, and 7 lbs. of meat--what the men used to call "staggering bob"--in the week. Saturday came--ration day--and I went up for my allowance as usual; but when it came to the donation of meat, I was shown a large piece of bone with a small piece of meat attached to it. "Is that what I am going to get?" I asked. "Yes," replied the overseer, "and if you don't like it, leave it!" I left it, declaring to myself to have some more of the fowls and turkeys out of the castor-oil bushes. Two nights passed; the third was showery, and very convenient for the job; it was also very dark. I armed myself with a bag, and proceeded up to where they used to roost. My bag was soon half-full of poultry, and some of them were cooked and eaten in double-quick time, for the others had onions out of the vegetable garden cooking while I was away. The remainder of the poultry, not eaten that night, was hidden in the swamp and eaten as required. It was very convenient to have the vegetable garden handy, and the gardener had just planted out a hundredweight of onions, but when he went to see how they were growing there were but very few left. This was the only way to cure hunger after a day's toil. One night about a week afterwards I went up to the castor-oil trees for another pair of fowls, and who should I see on the other side of the bushes but ----, the constable, helping himself to a fowl also. I did not have to wait long, for he soon got his, and then the coast was clear, so I got mine and departed. The constable was looked upon as a very honest fellow, but he was caught at last taking two sacks of flour and some other provisions, and 12 months in irons was his lot. At this time it took as much material to make a pair of trousers for him as would make two pairs for an ordinary man, and when his hair was cut and his whiskers shaven, he looked like a "mountain in a fog." But the hard boards and one blanket, with only a sleeper for a pillow, soon told on him, for in less than three months, after good doses of "hominy" and the pick, he became as thin as a whipping post, although he was fortunate enough to escape without a flogging. Some men had wonderful luck in this way; the greatest rogue generally got off the lightest. About half-a-dozen men were assembled in the shoemaker's shop one day, and the conversation drifted on to persons who were living in a state of adultery. "Now we will count," said the shoemaker to the boys, "all the people about here who are living in a state of adultery." "And we will commence," said another, "with you and your mother. Let me see, how many more has she got besides you, Harry?" This was a hit for a start, and poor Harry walked out of the shop as if he had committed a murder. After this there was no more talk about people living on the cross. Flour at this time was £10 per 200 lb. sack, and, as it was so scarce, Sir George Gipps, the Governor, recommended that those who had the supplying of provisions for the prisoners should grind rice and mix it with the flour. This course was adopted, but when it was baked the loaf resembled a brick outside and a piece of clay inside. The meat was horrible. This, however, could not be remedied, as there was no feed for the cattle; and as for mutton--when a sheep was skinned and dressed, if a candle were put inside of the carcase it would serve all the purposes of a lantern. There was a screw loose at Lake Innes one morning; the store containing the provisions had been broken into and robbed. All the men's huts were searched--even the floors taken up--trying to get the slightest clue to the robbery. The police were busy as bees, but they could not get the least hint. The value of the stolen goods was estimated at £50, and they comprised a good assortment of the various household requisites. The Port Macquarie police were sent for, and the boss flung about first in one place and then in another. At last the bell rang, and all hands had to stand out before the "Lord of the Lake." It was a real field day--men strutting about as though in a field of battle. The boss offered sums of money to anyone who would tell who the robbers were, for he said that no rascal could do it single-handed. At last two suspects were picked out and sent to the lock-up, but they returned in a week, as no case could be got against them. About three weeks afterwards I was at work with the pick and shovel, making a road down to the boat-house, for there were pleasure boats on the Lake. The constable came down to me, and said: "Ah! my boy, I've got you and ----, now; it was you two who robbed the store, and now you will have to pay for it. You were seen at the head of the tree where the bag of sugar was found." I told him that I had no hand in robbing the store, but I was marched up to the house before the boss, who said: "So you are one of the scoundrels who broke into the store and stole all that you could get your hands on, and I'll make it a bad job for you and that other scoundrel. I will teach you a lesson this time, you thieving dogs!" Who should I see there, however, but the man that should have been at work with me, and another fellow. They had just gone up to the house and informed that I was a culprit. One of these two was to get his freedom a few days later, and he evidently thought that £5 reward would be very nice to have a spree on, no matter what an innocent man might suffer. The other man and I were taken to Port Macquarie in a cart, and brought before the Bench. The informer was as deaf as a post, but the magistrate said that although the man could not hear him, he could tell what he said by the quiver of the magistrate's lips. And so we got six months added to our former sentence. On Sundays church was held at the Lake, and Mrs. ---- used to preach. I was sent for one morning to go to church, so I blackened myself and went up without a shirt. The boss met me on the way up, and asked, "Where are you going to?" "Well," I said, "I'm going to chapel." "Do you think you are going to chapel without a shirt?" he continued. "My shirt is out on the fence drying," I answered. "Then go on back again, and don't come up in that plight any more." This was all I wanted; the church did not trouble me. During my term here my eyesight became bad again--it never had been very good from the time that I had sandy blight some years before--and it got that way at last that it was almost impossible for me to see. The life there was not improving it, either, so I informed the boss, and after a little conversation he gave me two letters--one to the Police Magistrate in the town, and the other to the doctor. I started off with the letters, not knowing what was in them, for my sight was too bad to read; but on the way in I met someone who could, and soon got over the difficulty. The letter to the P.M. came first, and ran thus: "Dear ----, Inflict some severe punishment on this man and return him to me at once, for I cannot get him to work." The other one to the doctor was just asking him to have a look at my eyes, and do what he could to them. Now it was not very likely that I was going to take a note to the Magistrate to perhaps get "50" over it, so without hesitation I tore it up, and went down to the doctor, whom I did not fear, and knew to be a good man. He read the letter, looked at my eyes, and then said: "Well, if you want to see you can; and if you don't want to see you can go about with the blind mob." So I decided to give the "blind mob" a trial. In the spring of 1847, Governor and Lady Fitzroy visited Port Macquarie, and were the guests of Major Innes at the Lake. When the steamer by which they travelled arrived at the wharf, there were two rows of soldiers drawn up on each side of the road leading from it, and waiting a little distance away was the carriage of the "Major," with six horses in it--two bays, two grays, and two chestnuts--and the distinguished visitors were driven straight away to the Lake. There was high life at this place now for about a month--balls, parties, pic-nics, &c.--when they returned to Sydney again. But it was the Governor's misfortune to lose his good lady soon afterwards, for she was killed through a carriage accident in Parramatta Park in December of the same year. CHAPTER VII. THE BLIND MOB. "He that is stricken blind, cannot forget The precious treasure of his eyesight lost." --SHAKESPEARE. The day after the doctor told me that I could go with the "blind mob," I joined them. These blind people used to carry on a little gardening and other occupations, such as the blind were suited for. And goodness knows what they were not suited for--they could play cards, dice, toss, and all sorts and conditions of things. I had not been in the camp ten minutes before a notorious character, named "Teddy," came up and said to me: "Come on, come on, we will go and 'shake' some melons!" "Where abouts?" I inquired. "Oh! I'll show you," he answered, "out on the Glebe." Just fancy a man as "blind as a bat" asking me to go stealing melons. "No," I said, "I'm not going to get into any trouble over melons," and he called me all the crawling hounds and scoundrels that he could think of. Shortly afterwards he said to me, "Do you ever kill snakes?" "Not often," I said; "Why, what do you want to know that for?" "Well," he returned, "I want to get a snake's head to put teeth upwards in the overseer's boot--I'll do for him yet." I told him to be careful, or he would pull up on the scaffold. I soon found out that I had got amongst the biggest lot of thieves and robbers in the place. I became possessed of a few pence, and they knew it. That night I retired, as usual, and put my trousers under my head. As soon as things were quiet the trousers were eased from under my head. I knew it but said nothing, and as soon as they found there was no money in them, back came the pants. I came from London as well as they did, and the money was hidden in a place that they dreamt not of. This was quite enough of the "blind mob" for me. The next day at dinner time I went up to the boss and told him I would rather go into the road party than stay with thieves. CHAPTER VIII. THE ROAD PARTIES. "More sinned against than sinning." --SHAKESPEARE. When a man had finished his sentence in the chain gang, he was sentenced to a road party, and it was Heaven to the chain gang. There was not so much slavery, and it was possible to get a sort of bed to lie down on at night, if it were only a sheet of ti-tree bark. The men got a little more food, too, and they were allowed to cook it themselves; but it was often a straggling piece of meat with about as much fat on it as would grease the eye of a packing-needle. One man always remained to mind the camp while the others were at work, and very often he used to do what was known as "weeding"--that was, taking a little out of each man's allowance of provisions, and then he had a little to sell and get money to buy himself some tea and sugar. But one of them went too far at this game at last and was caught; then there was a fearful uproar. The overseer was going to take him to court straight away, but the other men said they would rather settle it amongst themselves, and this they did by each man giving him three blows on the back with a knotted handkerchief; for if he had been taken to court, he was almost certain to get six months in irons, as the authorities did not believe in the men robbing one another of their food. I gave him three good hits, and the handkerchief used to rebound like India-rubber. In the road party it was a funny sight to see some of the flash "specials" using a cross-cut saw. Their hands were very soft, and they used to tie pieces of old shirts round the handles at each end to protect them. They generally liked a saw that would 'pinch,' so that they would have an excuse to go to the camp for a maul and wedges to drive into the cut and prevent the pinching; thus they schemed and wasted their time. In the middle of work I often heard them commence to talk about the fine wine they had drank at some of the big inns in London--"The Angel at Islington," "The Hole in the Wall," or "The Elephant and Castle," for instance, and some of them had never tasted wine in their lives. At night they began to 'blow' about how they had done some of the honest merchants in England out of large and small sums of money; but it was a different tale now--they saw very little money in the road party. But some of them had fine times of it during one boss's term of office, for he did not abuse them. It was different when old Major S---- came along to inspect them. He came along once while I was there, and said to one fellow, "Hulloa! what did you get sent out for?" "Forgery on Mr. So and So," was the answer. "Dear me! he's a particular friend of mine. Here, constable, take the tail off his coat and brand him all over." The constable then cut the tail of his coat close off around the waist and branded him all over, leaving such a smell of paint from the brands that the flies would keep off him for a good many days afterwards. Proceeding further the overseer pulled another fellow up--"And what was your occupation at home, and how came you to be sent out here?" "I was a schoolmaster, and was sent out for embezzlement," he answered. "A fine fellow to teach scholars how to rob people. Here, constable, take and brand him," and he shared the same fate. A third fellow, in answer to a similar question, said, "I used to drive my carriage and four at home, sir." "Then you will drive a wheelbarrow and one out here!" He was branded, too. They looked first-class with a pick and shovel, and at making a damper--they had no more idea of this than a kangaroo. Some of them frequently said that they were well off in England, and yet they were the greatest villains under the sun. If a man were possessed of any little thing out of the common they tried all sorts of plans to get it from him, and if unsuccessful by fair means, they would steal it from him. Every man had to do his own washing, and these "specials" would rub away at their duck pants with a piece of soap about the size of a halfpenny. The soap was something like the sugar they got for their "hominy"--it was visible, and that was all. The Police Magistrate came along once and heard one of the party pass a remark which he did not like, so he said, "Jack, if I could find a man to give you 50 lashes, you would get it." Up sprang a short fellow, named Ned ----, and exclaimed, "I will give it to him for you; if you'll promise me he won't have the satisfaction of flogging me afterwards." "I promise you he will not have that privilege," said the P.M. "Well, then," said Ned, "I'm in office." He got Jack on the "three-legged mare," as they used to call it, and started flogging. Jack sang out, "You're not hitting me properly." "I'm doing my best to please you," he said, "so you must take it as it comes." He gave him another lash and said, "There, does that please you?" "No," exclaimed Jack. "My G----," he said, "it seems you're hard to please, but you will have to take it as well as I can give it to you." This Jack was a well-educated man, and a frightful rogue into the bargain; for if he got a man drunk he would pick his pocket and then take him to the lock-up afterwards. The chief constable said to him one day, "Jack, the men tell me that you rob them." "Well, sir, I might as well have the money as them; for they only kill themselves with drink and put the Government to more expense." As soon as this man got free, he went home to his friends. Old Major ---- was hard on these "specials;" if they did the least thing it meant "50," and he would sing out to the flogger, "Tip it into him," and afterwards they were sent to a road party. Two blind men were brought before him one day on a small charge, and he asked, "What have you two to say for yourselves?" Their reply was the throwing of two half-bricks at him, and one struck him above the eye. For this they were committed for trial, and afterwards sentenced to three years at Norfolk Island. H---- was the name of one of these "specials," and when using the spade he stood as upright as a yard of pump-water; but when the overseer spoke to him, he had the appearance of a goose looking down a bottle. When this fellow became free, he went to Sydney, and used to walk about with a gold-headed cane selling eye-lotion. Most of the "specials" were merely clerks and were sent to this Settlement so that they would not be able to write home and tell how things were going on. They appeared to just do as they liked with those who were under them. If a man did not put his hand to his hat when passing of the bosses, and pay them what was termed "respect," he was liable to "50;" if he gave any of them a sharp answer he was sure of "50," and if he said nothing at all, it was considered to be "silent contempt," and this meant the same "50," so a man might as well do something as be punished for nothing. This is how men who had to work for them were treated. It was a singular thing, however, that not one of these bosses died worth as much money as they could "jingle on a tombstone." The worst wretches that a man could be put to work under were those who had been sent to the country themselves. They were far worse than men who came out free, and how men put up with the tyranny of these brutes is far beyond my conception. In those days there were very few guns procurable, and it was a rare thing to see even an old flint musket. Pat ---- was ordered to get "50" every morning for a week for taking to the bush with one of these muskets. He begged of the boss to let him have the whole week's flogging at once, and so he got it. This old brute used to glory in seeing a man being literally chopped to pieces, and stood by, saying, "Tip it into him!" The bosses in these road parties were often men with wooden legs, and were put over these men as they were considered unfit for any other purpose. If annoyed, they thought nothing of taking a stick--sometimes their wooden legs--and striking the men with them. One noted cripple turned on me one morning, but I retaliated with an axe-handle, and gave him a good thrashing. After this I bolted, but was caught a few days afterwards, and received 12 months in irons for my trouble. I could not put up with hard work, and be knocked about by a hopping dog of a man as well. These cripples were only allowed a few men to gather shells, cut bridle tracks for them, and so on, in remuneration for their labor as overseers; but a man like H----, the notorious overseer, got 3s 3d per day, his rations, a hut-keeper to cook for him, and another man to get wood and water. These fools would almost stand the flesh being cut off their bones rather than lose their billets. One mean-looking fellow in the road party was sent to this country for obtaining money under the garb of a priest, and there was one poor simple Irishman in the gang from whom he used to get flour on the pretence that he would give him his blessing. But it was the flour he was blessing--not poor O'Brady. Perhaps the most gentlemanly and refined man in the gang was a tall and stately fellow named R----, who was a great friend of the Rev. Mr. ----. This poor wretch was to be pitied. He used to go about with two old caps tied up round his feet for shoes, and his 1lb. of "staggering bob," when cooked and eaten, was almost as nothing to him by way of checking hunger. On more than one occasion he walked to Kathie Creek--10 miles along the sea-beach south from the Settlement--and there he got a meal of 'clams' or 'cockles;' he would also bring some back to the camp with him. The times were hard on a man of this kind, especially when he would walk 10 miles for a feed; but hunger was a sharp thorn, and "as a man's bed was made he had to lie on it." There was another fine-looking man in the gang, but he was a terrible villain, and it was supposed that he murdered a man not far from the Settlement. Afterwards he went to Sydney and there met his doom, which was to be hanged for another murder, and thus ended his career. Port Macquarie seemed to be a depot for rogues and villains such as these, for there were some noted scoundrels amongst them. The friend of a fellow named T---- was doing some thieving once, and he gave T---- a box to mind, which was supposed to contain the stolen goods, until the robbery blew over. But T---- felt the weight of the box, and thought there was something wrong, so he opened it, and instead of finding the different articles, it was full of brickbats. T---- then went and informed, and got the thief 7 years. He always passed as "Brickbat T----" after that, and left Port Macquarie for the goldfields near Bathurst about the year 1851; so a very handy man to mind anything was lost. Some of these fellows were made constables in one boss's time, but when a change occurred and another boss came, they were sent to the roads to work with a pick and shovel. And fine specimens they were at work, too; it took them nearly all their time to look at the blisters on their hands. Some of them appeared to have been brought up well, though, and one of these was Harry ----, a noted highwayman. This man had no nose; some said that he cut if off to avoid recognition, others said that it was bitten off by an assailant. However, he had a silver nose, and if he happened to lose it, had to go without till a new one came from Sydney. There was a road party at work about two miles out of the town and one day Harry came riding along on his favourite mare "Biddy." On nearing the camp the mare took charge of him and bolted, and in the confusion that ensued, his nose fell off. He went some distance before the animal got controllable; then he came back and asked the road party's assistance to look for the silver "snozzle." After they had been looking a while, an old black crow arose from amongst the ferns with something (presumably a grub) in its beak. One and all then declared that this was his silver snout the bird had, and at this Harry got in a fearful rage and went off on his horse without a nose at all. He was not a bad-hearted man to his fellow prisoners, though; he would not send them to the lock-up, but rather advise them to keep out and escape the punishment that invariably followed. A prominent figure in the Settlement in those days was a man named H----, who was sent to the country for forging a will to rob his orphan niece and nephew out of their property; and a poor miserable player he looked, carrying the "hominy" about on his head. But finally he got out of the Government, and his family came to the country and started business. After this he got on well, and one of his daughters married to advantage. The man whom this girl became the wife of was, however, an obstinate fellow, and if everything did not go his way, there was always trouble. He was expecting his father to die, and frequently went to the post office in anticipation of news to that effect, but when he did not get a letter, he used to say: "My G--! how much longer is that old wretch going to live?" At last the poor old fellow did "shuffle off," and, although he had comfortable means, he did not leave the son a penny, only some tools. H---- was a wide-awake old fellow, and at one time had a boot and tannery business; but he had a man working for him who was equally wide awake. This fellow used to cut hides down the back, and take strips out of them wide enough to make soles for boots or shoes. He was caught at last, however, and received two months in the iron gang. After this he returned to his old master. One day, not long afterwards, the boss went out, and this fellow was making a pair of boots for sale on the sly. When the boss returned, he popped in rather suddenly, and only for the presence of mind of his employer, a bowl out was certain. In a second he threw himself on the floor and pretended to be in a fit. The boss walked in, and, seeing him, immediately went for help--not noticing the boots he was working at or anything else. As soon as the boss made his exit, he got up, hid the boots he was working at, and put another pair in their place; and on the master's return, he was just coming out of the fit, and soon got alright. This man got on well afterwards in the Settlement. The notorious "special," H----, brought twelve men to court one day for neglect of work, but Mr. G----, the Police Magistrate, said that he and another gentleman had been looking at the poor men at work, and they could not understand how men ran down the slopes where they were making the road without falling, more especially in irons; they looked as if they were worked to death, and he could not see in what way it would be possible for them to neglect their work. From the appearance of them, he thought something to eat would do them more good than a flogging. Then, turning to the notorious H----, he said; "You are a prisoner yourself, I suppose?" "Yes, Your Worship," he answered. The P. M.: "I thought so; you get so much a day for bossing the men?" "Yes," replied H----. The P. M.: "Take them away, and don't bring them before me again on such a charge!" The men turned to the Magistrate and thanked him. They told him it was only tyranny, and said it was a wonder how they escaped without broken limbs, running down such hills with loaded carts behind them. This put an end to flogging, for the residents of the town commenced to talk about it. But the place did not seem to thrive, for as soon as the Government men had gone, and no more were coming, things were on a downward move. There was no more convict labor; no more fashionable balls and parties; no more cases of wines, spirits, and beers--nay, it was all bread, meat, and tea, and lucky these tyrannous wretches were if they could get that, for they had to "look ere they leaped" too far, lest they should fall. Some of the flash officials lived at the rate of about £500 a year, but as soon as the prisoners were removed their harvest was finished, and it was as much as they could do to keep the bailiff out. It was not, "Go on, you rascal, or I'll take you to court," then; but if they wanted a man to work they had to pay him wages. And although employers were supposed to pay men wages, they soon adopted another method of doing them out of their earnings. This was done by hiring men for six months, and, just before their term had expired, find some fault with them, take them to court, and get their agreement cancelled and their pay stopped. So it will be seen that use had bred such habits in them that it was hard to discontinue bringing the men to court. However, this did not bring back the beer and wine; a store account would soon be upon them for the necessaries of life, and if this were not paid within a reasonable time there would soon be a bailiff from Sydney. Thus they found out the loss of the poor prisoners, whom they treated worse than most men treat a dog, and it eventually ended in selling off their cattle and horses for what they would bring. CHAPTER IX. "SPECIALS" AND OTHERS. "Nature hath framed strange fellows in her time." --SHAKESPEARE. It was not often that any of the "Specials" were sent out to work as farm labourers, because they were suited for anything but hard work; so they were generally made constables. Conspicuous amongst these was a man named Fred ----, who, it was said, forged the largest cheque which had been forged on the Bank of England up to that time. This was a well-educated man. He could read and write French, Spanish, and Portuguese, and had once been interpreter for the Court of India. He had not been in the country long before forgery commenced to worry him again. For this, a sentence of two years in the Port Macquarie Iron Gang was given him, and he became the worst man in it, for he fretted. When a man gave way to the hardship, he became the victim of insects, and this was the case with him. Small wonder at any man giving way to the hardship in such a place, for it was nothing but hard work, hunger, and flogging, the floor to sleep on, and one blanket as a covering. After this man had finished his two years in the Iron Gang, he was sent to a road party for about six months, and then became a constable on a salary of 3s 3d per day. While a constable he wrote to his father, who was a shareholder in a coal mine at Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, and received a reply to the effect that if he could get good characters from the Police Magistrate and a clergyman, he would endeavour to get him his freedom. Besides this, his father sent him £1 per week, which with his salary, amounted to nearly £2 weekly; but here the pen and ink was introduced again, and he forged the very man's name who was paying him the £1 per week. He was then locked up, tried, and committed, finally being sentenced to Norfolk Island for life. This ended his career in Port Macquarie. Punishment appeared to be no warning to some of these men, and it seemed that 'just as the twig was bent, the tree inclined.' The misery that this fellow suffered the second time he was committed should have been quite sufficient, for most of those who had a taste of the Iron Gang did not return to it any more. It must have been severe when the authorities sent Charles ---- from Sydney into the Gang for 12 months, as punishment for the murder of M----, on the Hunter River, and afterwards burning him to ashes. In this case there was no evidence except the murderer's own word, but they declined to hang him on that, both in this country and in England. He was as quiet as a sheep in the Gang, but, notwithstanding this fact, the boss took good care to keep out of his way. L---- was a Jew, and a very old hand in the country. Originally he was sent to Moreton Bay, but having found Captain ----, who was killed by the blacks there, he was shifted to Sydney, and was practically a free man at that place. But he could not keep out of trouble, and for an offence was sent to a road party in Port Macquarie, from which he did not get his liberty for about 22 years, and when it did come, the news was too late. He was working in a party on the road leading from the coast to the table-land (the New England Road) when his ticket-of-leave became due, but a few minutes before the news of his freedom arrived, he was killed by a log rolling on him, and was buried in the vicinity of the camp. His fellow-workmen cut a stone and erected it on his grave, as he was very much liked by all the men on the road, but someone afterwards removed the stone and used it for grinding purposes. Every day, as soon as this poor fellow had finished his work, he would retire to his bunk and sit with a needle and thread making cabbage-tree hats. These hats were always saleable, and making them was the only means by which a man could earn a few pence to buy tea, sugar, and tobacco. Tom P---- was one of the first men sent to Port Macquarie when it was made a Settlement, and he was a most peculiar individual. Pigs seemed to be his whole existence, for he appeared to love these animals. He possessed some 'grunters' nine or ten years old, besides cattle and horses. Tom used to sleep with the pigs, and even with this precaution against thieves it was not infrequent that he lost one. Teddy H---- went out to Tom's abode one night and stole a pig. When he returned another fellow went for one. While the second thief was in the act, however, of getting his pig, Tom sat up amongst them, and said, "How many more of you are coming to-night?" But they earned these pigs, for they had to carry them about a mile. Anyone who saw Teddy the next morning after this could swear that he had made a rise--for he had such a corporation--and it was then a password among the men, "Hulloa! Teddy made a rise last night." Then they said to Teddy, "Have you got any more for to-morrow, Ted? Perhaps you could give us a leg!" "Go for it yourselves, you crawling hounds," he returned, "and chance it. I'm not going to shake it and give it to you fellows that are frightened of your own shadows. If they grab me I must put up with it like the rest of you." Then they used to say to him, "Have you got any cabbage or spuds to sell, Teddy? We want some onions, too!" This was how they questioned him, because he had robbed a garden, and was proved guilty by the police smelling the onions in his breath. So poor Teddy got "50" on what was termed the "Broad Bean Racket" (robbing a garden). But what did these men care? If there was a garden handy, "50" or no "50" they would be into it, as they never got any vegetables except by stealing. They were merry as crickets, too, when they had had a good 'blow out.' A number of the Government men were assembled in a hut at a place known as the "Stockyard," about a mile from the barracks, one Saturday afternoon. It was their intention to have a good feed, and they had a big plum "duff" cooking; besides this, by some means they got some wine. Three of the number, thinking there was not enough for everyone to have a decent allowance from, decided to make another pudding out of pipe-clay. This was done, and, at a given signal, two of them pretended to start fighting outside, while the other was to remove the pudding from the pot when nearly cooked, put the pipe-clay padding in its place, and take the wine also. All at once the cry was raised, "A Fight! A Fight!" Everybody rushed out to see it, and then the business was done. The cook afterwards went to see how the pudding was getting on, and saw the water discoloured with pipeclay. "Dear me," he said, "the sugar has all evaporated." It was not the sugar that had evaporated, though; it was the pudding. One old fellow who was nearly three feet across the shoulders was sitting by, and when he became aware of what had taken place, he made his usual remark, which was: "Well, well, well! capitally done!" They did not try feasting in a crowd again. CHAPTER X. SOME NOTABLE CONSTABLES. "Once a constable, no more a man." --ANON. "Return good for evil" may be a very good maxim to follow, but it was out of the question when a man came into contact with some of the constables who were located in the Settlement in olden days. One of these, J---- ----, had been a captain in the Native Cavalry in India, and he was a fine horseman. But he was very severe on the men, and if a man did the least thing, swearing anything did not trouble him. He occupied the position of barrack-master till the men were robbed of their rations, and then he got six months in irons. During this six months the men had a chance of paying back old debts, and they treated him like a dog. This was only his deserts, however, for he would lie in ambush with traps set on purpose to catch a man, then get him flogged. One of the men tried to cut his nose off, but only got two years in irons for it, besides 100 lashes, and all the time he was being flogged he was singing out: "What do I see but G-- Almighty looking at me!" This constable quarrelled with one of the publicans, and brought a stool opposite the hotel, where, on Sundays, he used to sit with some other constables and watch that men got no drink. I and some others arranged to get into the hotel yard, and I came out the front with a bottle of water under my coat. Then, as soon as he saw me, up he got off his stool and gave chase. I went once round the block, and then, coming to a crowd, let him catch up to me. He grabbed the bottle, and found it was only water; then he started to perform. "By G--!" he said, "I'll bring you to court to-morrow, I will, you d----d scoundrel," gasping for breath all the time, after the run I had given him. Another Sunday a man came out of an hotel, and this constable went up to him and said: "You've been drinking, haven't you?" "No," he answered. "Let me smell your breath," he continued. The constable went to smell his breath, and the man spat in his face, exclaiming, "There, you can smell that, and taste it too!" He came on a group of cripples once, gambling in the Old Stockade, and proceeded to lock them up. This was a great sight. There were wooden legs, crutches, sticks and fists flying in all directions. At last, however, he got help, and they were taken away and locked up, brought to court the next day and punished for their fun. Some got six months in irons, others received fifty lashes; but little did they care so long as he got knocked about, for everybody disliked him. As well as being constable, he was bailiff in connection with the Small Debts Court, and if he got a chance, people were put to as much trouble as possible. A woman whom he had treated harshly in this way one day went up and threw a dipper of hot water on him, for which offence she was imprisoned a week, but he did not have the satisfaction of selling any of her furniture, as friends came to the rescue and paid the debt. At the first general election in 1843, a large cask of ale was deposited on the main street of the Settlement, and anyone who wished could go and have a few drinks. The pilot's crew got on the spree and attacked the cripples, and it took this constable all his time to look after them. Two boys also started to fight, and he proceeded to lock them up, but the crowd took their part and prevented him. Some got fifty lashes, and others twelve months in irons, while three men were fined for not assisting the police. As usual, the crutch and stick were freely used. The pilot afterwards brought his men to court, and some of them got a week in the cells for abuse. Most of the men, however, would rather have had "50" than go to the cells, which were infested with vermin. This constable once got information that there was a private still some miles up the river from the Settlement, and he lost no time in going to the Police Magistrate for a search warrant. The granting of this warrant, however, was delayed till a message was sent to the owner of the still, who was a great friend of the magistrate, to put him on his guard. And when the constable arrived on the scene, the still was removed, and he could only find warm bricks. The manager of the still met the constable with "Good evening; it has been a warm day." He said "Good evening," and proceeded to read the warrant; then went and opened the trap-door to look for the still. "What are you looking for?" asked the manager, "can I do anything for you?" "Yes; get me some tea, please!" he replied. "Very good," said the manager, "you had better stop here to-night; you must be tired after such a long ride in the heat. When did you leave the Settlement?" "Not soon enough to catch you," came the reply. "Catch me?" asked the manager. "Why, you surprise me. What have I done?" "You're very green," answered the constable; "but I'll have you yet." The constable searched all the next day, but found no trace of the still, so the long journey was for nothing. The fact was, this still belonged to the aristocracy, who could do almost as they pleased, but it was nearly a case when the "broad arrow" was put on a vessel in Sydney harbour on her arrival from the Settlement with some casks of grog aboard, and also the time that a great quantity of grog was let loose in Port Macquarie harbour one morning about breakfast-time. This was hushed up somehow, for there was not another word said about it. After this useless search, the constable offered a reward of £20 to any man who would go and stop for a while at the places where this sly grog was sold, but he couldn't get anybody to go, so he never caught them. Many a wool-grower lost his sheep through the sly grog-sellers. The liquor was made at ---- ----, by ---- ----, and publicly sold on the New England road, without a license. But as it came from ----, there was no notice taken of it by those whose business it was to remedy such evils. On a Sunday, about this time, a ship arrived at the Settlement with a number of Government girls on board, who were all as drunk as they could be, and this constable, as usual, was down to see them land. The first thing they did, when landed, was to catch hold of him by the two shoulders and legs, and throw him into the sea. They treated Lankey, the flogger, in a similar manner, and if it had not been for the interference of the onlookers, they would probably have drowned both of them, for they were looked upon as the greatest ruffians of girls that had yet landed in the Settlement. After considerable trouble all were safely landed in the lock-up, and if there was fun on Sunday, there was still more on Monday, when they were brought before the Bench. Here they swore like troopers, and called the magistrates everything they could think of; but this did no good, for they got 12 months more added to their sentence. One of them, when leaving the court, hit a bystander across the mouth with her shoe, and for this she received still another 12 months. Imprisonment, however, only made them worse and shortly afterwards they were sent back to Sydney. The captain of the ship which brought these women was fined £20 for allowing them to have drink, and he also lost his certificate. This constable had one good point, and it was that he would neither take tip nor drink from anyone, and if he told a man he would have him, that man had to look out or he was run in. Eventually his services as constable were dispensed with, and he afterwards opened an hotel. The case was altered now, for the men on whom he had been so severe used to go and 'stick up' drinks, and never pay for them. Any of the men who could get into his books only grinned at him, and told him to go to a warmer climate when asked for payment. "You cannot put us in the lock-up as you could once, you old brute; it is our turn now. Neither can you stop us and smell our breath, for we have smelt yours," they used to tell him. "Let us have a couple more drinks, and then we will pay you for the whole lot," and so on. Tom ---- got five gallons of beer out of him, and tendered him a "joey" in payment for it. He found out after Tom had gone, and went after him. Tom only laughed and told him to go up to Mr. So and So, and he would get the cash, but he never got it. Everybody took a delight in swindling him; they did not forget the times when he dragged them before the court and had them flogged, just to show the P.M. what a strict man he was. One night he was having a snooze in his easy chair on the verandah of the hotel, when a man who knew him well, from a flogging point of view, got some pepper and put it under his nose, and the noise he made sneezing was nearly as good as a brass band. At last he became insolvent, and everything he had was sold under the hammer; then he went to Sydney, much to the satisfaction of all. There he would rent a house, and in a short time make a "moonlight flit" and let the landlord in for the rent. This game did not last long, though, for he met one who knew as much as he did, and he put the bailiff in and sold him off. Constable, No. 2, was a different man to this, for he would take tips and drink with a man, put him in the lock-up, let him out again, and then tell another constable so that he could arrest the same man and get a few shillings. He was a flash, stuck-up fellow, and thought more of himself than anyone else did--but he would drink with all sorts of men, no matter who they were. He was plucky, though, for once when six men took to the bush, he and some armed soldiers went after them. These six men were located in a house, and the constable ran up to the window, pointed a pistol through, and told them to surrender up their firearms and come out one by one, which they did. A soldier shot one of the runaways in the arm, which was a cowardly thing to do when the men had given up their firearms, and had no other means of defence. They were only possessed of a few shillings, which they scattered about the ground. These offenders did little or no harm, and were only a set of cowards after all to let one man take them. This was all the better, however, as if they had stuck out there must have been blood spilt, for this constable declared that if there had been any pluck in them, they could have shot him and the soldiers into the bargain. These men were sent to Sydney a few days after being arrested, and finally to Norfolk Island. One of them got hurt while at Norfolk Island, returned to Port Macquarie, and died. This was not the only plucky capture that the constable made, for he and another took three armed bushrangers on the road leading to the Manning River. One of these men was from Lake Innes, and was doing a term of 12 months for knocking a man down in company with three others. After getting out of the iron gang he was sent to a road party, from which he took to the bush, and when arrested was sent to Norfolk Island for life. When this constable went to Sydney with a few prisoners on one occasion, he got into the company of some soldiers and officers, and to them he passed as a captain. They invited him to dine with them in his uniform, but he had no other uniform than the convict dress, and this invitation took the "wind out of his sails." When the officers found out how nicely they had trapped him, they tried to ascertain his whereabouts, but he had returned to Port Macquarie where he posed as what he really was. The officers afterwards found out where he was, and wrote to the Police Magistrate regarding the incident. The P.M. then accosted him, and he said: "I made as much of myself in Sydney as I could, and no one could blame me for it." Some time afterwards this constable became sick and died, and thus ended his career. CHAPTER XI. AT ROLLANDS PLAINS. "Life as tedious as a twice-told tale." --SHAKESPEARE. Rollands Plains is situated some twenty miles from Port Macquarie in a westerly direction, and derived its name from Surveyor Rollands, who laid it out. This place was made a farming centre some time after a settlement was formed at Port Macquarie, as it was considered good country both for agricultural and pastoral pursuits. Early in the forties a road party was picked out of the men who were in the main Settlement, and they were despatched to Rollands Plains for road-making purposes--many of the thoroughfares which remain there at the present time being the outcome of the labour of these men. About this time there was a doctor residing at the Plains, and as an experiment to make some kind of ointment, he had several large cedar boxes constructed, each one being of sufficient size to hold the carcases of four bullocks. In due course the cases were filled with the dead oxen, and the four boxes lowered into the bed of the creek--the supposition being that in a certain length of time all the flesh and fat would become separate substances. The boxes had not been under water long, however, before heavy weather came on, which caused the creek to become flooded, and the encased oxen were swept down stream. When the flood waters subsided search was made for these cases, but only one was found, and it was filled with sand, mud, etc. So the doctor's loss was considerable, as the cedar boxes alone were worth some money. During this flood most of the farms around the place were in a state of inundation, and all kinds of farm produce was strewn about in all directions; cedar logs, which had been washed down, were plentiful, too. The men in the road party went about gathering these products, for it was seldom that they got anything of the kind. They proceeded to cook some potatoes which had been collected, when the supposed owner of the "spuds" came up and wanted to take a number of sweet potatoes out of the pot whilst they were boiling, claiming them as his property. The men could not see losing the potatoes, and blankly refused to give them up. He then laid a complaint to the boss of the party, who said: "Well, if you can swear that nobody else about here has sweet potatoes but yourself, you can take them." But the hungry individual failed to do this, and so had to go without his "murphys." The weather cleared up, and the men in the party were sent to assist the residents near at hand to pull what remained of their maize crops, and when the first day's labour was over, they asked the farmer whom they had been helping for some tea and sugar. He looked at them for a moment, and then answered: "I will not give you a d---- bit; you have stolen plenty of potatoes and pumpkins, and if you don't help me finish the corn-pulling, I'll get your rumps tanned. Since the road party came here, I can't keep fowls, turnips, cabbage, or anything else." This was his thanks, and also his usual way of doing business. One young fellow tried to do the men in the road party a good turn, by killing one of his master's calves for them. But while he was in the act of killing it, the calf bellowed out and drew the master's attention, when he ran up and caught the culprit, and got him six months in irons for trying to do others a good turn. CHAPTER XII. THE FEMALE CONVICTS. "Be to her virtues very kind, Be to her faults a little blind." It was not an unusual thing in the old days to see one or more of the female convicts sitting in stocks about the streets of the Settlement, suffering a recovery from drink. Most of these women were quite equal to their liquor, like the men, when they could get it. The principal drink was rum, and nice stuff it was, too; there was plenty of tobacco juice in it, so that when anyone got two or three drinks aboard, they were in a fairly muddled state. When a man went into an hotel, the cry was generally: "Shout, now, or out you go!" and some of the publicans kept a plate of salt herring on the counter, and it goes without saying that they soon got paid for the fish. Two servants, Polly ---- and Sarah ----, used to be employed at one of the hotels, and the fact that they each had a sweetheart was well known to almost everybody. These two servants were working away in the hotel as usual one day, and there was a good gathering of men discussing different matters not far away. While thus assembled they noticed these two girls at the hotel, and the conversation immediately drifted on to them. This wound up in betting me a bottle of rum that I could not start the two fighting. I at once undertook the contract, proceeded up to Polly, and, pointing to Sarah, said: "She pretends to be a great friend of yours, doesn't she?" "Yes," was the reply. "Well," I said, "you should hear the way that she runs you and your sweetheart down." I got her sufficiently excited in this way, and then went to Sarah and told her the same things about Polly. They flew at each other in a terrible rage, and fought like two cats, then I commenced to laugh and to think how nice the rum would be. But they found out the joke also, when the crowd began to laugh, and it was a good job for me that I could run well, as they each picked up a clothes prop and chased me for my life. I then went and got my rum. Polly was sent to this country for trying to poison her uncle and aunt to get their money. She had not been long in the Settlement before she became intimate with a man who was sent from Sydney for having sore legs. One day she quarrelled with this fellow, and, when night came on, she attempted to commit suicide by taking a dose of oxalic acid. The poison was taken shortly before retiring to bed, when she laid out a number of clean underclothes on a table in the servants' room, and said to her mate: "Sarah, to-night when I'm dead, I want you to put these clothes on me; I had a row with Jack to-day, and I've taken some oxalic acid, as I don't wish to live any longer." Sarah was thunder-stricken at this state of affairs, and when she recovered herself, said: "You big fool; I would not poison myself for all the sore-legged brutes in the world." She then went and told the boss of the hotel all the circumstances, and in a few minutes the whole house was in a state of confusion. The doctor arrived, and the police also came on the scene. The former took the necessary steps to extract the poison from her, while the latter inquired into the circumstances and "wet their whistle." After a few days Polly got better, and was then sent to the lock-up for a week for being silly. Afterwards she returned to the hotel, and made it up with the rotten-legged man--both the servants then getting into their usual habit of going out at night to meet their sweethearts. One night the boss forbade them to go out, as his wife was ill with an abscess on her arm. They, however, would not be baffled after making an appointment, so they dressed up two "dummies," and affixed a melon with a night-cap on as a head-piece for each, giving anyone the impression at first sight that they were both in bed and asleep. Towards the middle of the night the boss went to their door and called them, as his wife's arm was very painful, and she wanted another poultice made for it. He got no answer, so opened the door, looked in, and believed both of them to be asleep. Finally, he walked over and shook one of them, but when one of the night caps rolled off, and the melon became exposed to view, his language of flowers was not choice. CHAPTER XIII. SOME PRACTICAL JOKES. "A little devilment now and then, Is indulged in by the best of men." --ANON. A crowd of men were assembled in the main street of the Settlement one night, and as everything was very quiet, and the place seemed to be practically dead, they decided to try and make some fun. A crotchety old couple lived in a house not far away, so it was suggested and agreed that a commencement be made on them. Two tom-cats were caught and knotted together with wire, and swung across the knob of the front door. There was a continuous strain of cats' music for a few seconds, and then Old ---- opened the door, only to receive a nasty scratch from one of the cats as he did it. The crowd lay in ambush watching the proceedings, and enjoying the fun immensely, and the next thing they saw was a knife on the end of a stick being used to cut the cats asunder; but wire was not so easily cut, and this only tended to increase the music, as one of the "toms" received a gash occasionally. Finally, when everything failed, he got a clothes-prop and lifted them off the door-knob, carried them down to the wharf, and hurled them into the river. So the play ended. Two conspicuous individuals in the Settlement were always quarrelling over a girl, so it was decided to persuade them to fight a duel, and this was arranged after a little difficulty. An hour was then appointed on a certain day, when they should both put in an appearance on the beach, there to settle all disputes. The day came, and the men turned up. Two pistols were handed to them, each one being loaded with thick bullock's blood, and a substantial wad separating it from the powder. The two stood up, shook hands, then walked a few paces, and, turning round, fired at each other. Both were now besmattered with blood, and thought that they were really wounded. I thought the spectators would never stop laughing, but at last the duellers saw through the joke, and after this similar events were at a standstill. "Flash ----" was a well-known character in the Settlement in former days, and was a carpenter by trade. He built a house for a colonel's wife once, and when it was finished she would not pay him. But he had bought liquor from her on several occasions, and when she refused to pay him he informed on her, and she was fined £30 for sly-grog selling. A tall old fellow, named S----, used to be a kind of "flunky" in Port Macquarie, and he was a great rum-drinker. His bed was near the window in a house facing the main street. Fish were biting well, and one night a shovel-nosed shark was landed. This old fellow was lying in his bed drunk, so it was arranged to have some fun with him. The shark was carried up; one of the crowd raised the window gently and pulled the blankets off him, while another lowered the shark in on top of him. The fish naturally began to wriggle, and all that the crowd heard as they made a hurried exit, was "Murder!" "murder!!" The next morning a lifeless shark lay scenting the street gutter. CHAPTER XIV. THE ABORIGINES. "Gimme 'bacca, you pleas, massa." --AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL. Aboriginals were plentiful in the forties, and they had the "run of their knife" then a little more than they do now. A murder amongst them was a common occurrence, and not infrequently was a head severed from a body in a quarrel over a bottle of rum. Occasionally they went further than this, for several members of a white family were murdered by blacks at Rollands Plains. The father of this family was a sawyer, and they killed him first while working at a cedar tree in the bush. The house containing the mother and children was then attacked, but the mother, it is supposed, on hearing the blacks trying to enter the house, threw her infant, only a few months old, out of the back window, and this child was the only member of the family that escaped, it being found the day afterwards. The chief perpetrator of this deed was a blackfellow named "Terramidgee," who paid the penalty by being hanged in front of the Port Macquarie Gaol. To act as a warning, all the aborigines around the Settlement were collected together to witness the punishment. It did not appear to be much of a warning, however, as about the year 1849 another cedar-cutter was murdered on the upper portion of Rollands Plains. This sawyer had adopted a young aboriginal, and when considered old enough to learn, he was sent to school in Sydney. After being away for some years he grew into a fine youth, and on returning, used to assist his master with the cedar. Two or three years elapsed in this way, until one day a tribe of blacks came to the old sawyer and demanded tobacco and rations, which he refused to give them. This colored youth, however, whose name was "Mogo Gard," made the necessary arrangements with the other aboriginals to murder the master that night, which was accordingly done, and they cleared the hut of everything and took to the bush. When the murder became known, the police were communicated with, and, on arrival, they suspected "Mogo," and shortly afterwards he was arrested and conveyed to Port Macquarie. He was placed in heavy irons, tried, and afterwards transferred to Sydney, where a sentence of death was passed on him. When the vessel which conveyed this murderer to Sydney entered the Heads, he attempted to jump overboard, but was noticed in time to be prevented from doing so. At the gallows, when the rope was being put around his neck, he looked at the hangman, and said; "No, bale you put 'im that place, you put 'im here," pointing to his waist. But he had to pay the last penalty of the law. He was a tremendous man, standing six feet seven inches in height, besides being broad in proportion; and was a splendid specimen of the Australian aboriginal. Amongst the other aboriginals who were in the main Settlement was a notorious thief, named "Micky," who was also a splendidly-built blackfellow. I caught him one day stealing money from a man who was stopping at Colley's hotel. I informed on him, and the magistrate ordered him to be given 50 lashes. In due course he received the flogging, and at every smack, he said, "By G--, G----, I not Guv'ment man!" Once I had a keg of rum, and when I was away from home "Micky" used to break in and steal it; so I vowed at last that I'd get even with him. I had some laudanum on hand, which I used for my eyes, so I got a bottle, put some rum in it, and then added some of the laudanum. This I left in a convenient place for him, and went away as usual to my work. Sure enough the bait was taken, and then he lay asleep on the road for a day and a-half. I was driving a cart at the time, and would have driven over him (for he was a terrible thief) only I was afraid the cart would be tracked, and I'd get into trouble. "Micky" did not come back for any more rum. Perhaps the cleverest piece of work ever done by an aboriginal in the Settlement, was carried out by "Charles Merriman," a well-known blackfellow. On one occasion some prisoners bolted from the gaol, and a black-tracker was wanted. "Merriman" was the chosen tracker, but did not seem to care about the billet. He, however, was forced to accompany two policemen in search of the runaways, and was attired in the usual uniform of a policeman. As they travelled away from the town on horseback, the police noticed that the tracker was going very much against his will. At last when they had gone six or seven miles out, he asked one of the police to hold his horse saying: "I been see it something up in the ferns, there." He ran up into the tall ferns, picked up a stick, took the cap off and placed it on top of the stick, which he stuck in the ground, so that only the cap could be seen above the ferns. He then made a bee-line for the Settlement. Some time elapsed, and the constable rode up to see what he was doing, only to find, much to his disgust, that, snake-like, "Merriman" had shed his coat. CHAPTER XV. A FREE MAN. "I must have liberty Withal, as large a charter as the wind, To blow on whom I please." --SHAKESPEARE. In 1843 I became a free man, and, after the knocking about I had had for some years, sought the most comfortable quarters I could. I went to the "Speed the Plough" hotel, which was kept by Mr. C----, and there I found a good home, besides plenty to eat and drink, and a good bed to sleep on. After a few months, however, I decided to leave Port Macquarie and go to Sydney, from whence I walked to Windsor, Parramatta, and other places in search of work. Not being successful in this direction, however, I decided to wend my way back to Port, and eventually arrived overland at Maitland. Here a constable came up to me and inquired where I had come from, and "Was I free?" I told him where I had been, and also that I was a free man. He then asked me what proof I had to show that I was free, and I presented to him the pass that I had received from the Police Office in Port Macquarie. He looked at this for a little while, and then informed me that it was no good, and that I would have to go with him to the lock-up. I told him that it was a hard case after serving my term to be shut up in the lock-up again; but he said that the pass was no good, and he could not help it--so off I went. The next day I was brought before the Police Magistrate, Mr. D----, as a bolter; he asked me where I got the pass, and I told him. He then asked me how long I had been at Port Macquarie, adding that anyone could buy a pass like the one I had for half-a-crown. I told him I wished I had known that, and I would have got one years ago. On hearing this, he ordered the constable to take me away, and bring me up again next morning, when he would sentence me to 100 lashes. "That," I said, "is more than you dare do!" and I was marched away. Instead of being brought up again the next morning, I was sent away to Newcastle Gaol for identification. There I was kept three weeks, until one afternoon Major C---- walked in, and I spoke to him, with the result was that I was sent to Sydney the same night. The next day Old Tim came into the lock-up, where I and some others were. He gave them orders to do something but I was not on a par with other prisoners, and so did not comply with it. He sang out to me, "Here, you with the whiskers, stand up and let me see you!" I stood up, and as soon as he saw me he said, "Your face is quite familiar to me; you've been here often, and it's not the first time you've tried the same dodge, you scoundrel!" I said, "You've never seen me before, Tim," and at being called Tim he got into a terrible rage, while I stood grinning at him. Then he said, "By G--, you're not free, I'll get it sent home to you, you saucy b----!" Then he left, and one of his flash subordinates came into the lock-up with the "hominy," and he told me that if I were not a free man I would catch it, as the super was in a great rage at being called "Tim." At 10 o'clock the same day I was sent into the office before Mr. R----, and "Tim" was there to see how things went. I was put under the stand to have my height tested, and my marks were taken, the result of the examination being that my freedom was proved. A paper to this effect was handed to me before leaving the office, and I shook it at "Tim" as I left. When I was put into the lock-up, I was possessed of three shirts, a razor, a new silk handkerchief, and a new pair of trousers. I asked the lock-up-keeper for them, but was only pushed out and told to go to ----. So I went back to Mr. R---- and complained, and he soon ordered my things to be handed over to me. I now started a second time to walk from Sydney to Port Macquarie--a distance of over 200 miles--with ninepence in my pocket with which to buy food on the journey. I got along all right until I reached the A. A. Company's land near Stroud, where I was almost starving. Coming through this land, however, I came by good fortune on a camp in which there was a piece of damper about a week old, which I gladly ate, and I would have eaten it had it been a year old, for it was a matter of eat what you could get. I could not swim then, nor have I learned since, consequently, when I came to a river, I either had to cross it at the head, or else lash some dead timber together, make a raft, and get across the rivers in that manner. Finally I arrived at the Manning river, and at this place had a peculiar experience with a woman named Miss ----. She stuck me up with a pistol, asked me my name and also where I had come from. I gave her these particulars satisfactorily, and she then asked me if I were free, and to show her my freedom. I told her that I had travelled all the way from Sydney, and she was the first woman policeman I had met. After this she wanted me to take a letter to Port Macquarie for her, but I declined, and notwithstanding that she assured me it was not heavy, I told her to take it herself, as it was only fifty miles. So I proceeded to Port Macquarie without the letter after her impudence to me, and arrived there two days later. It was not long after this before I got constant work. CHAPTER XVI. THE YACHT "WANDERER." "She walks the waters like a thing of life, And seems to dare the elements to strife." --BYRON. On Saturday, November 15, 1851, there was great excitement in Port Macquarie, for this was the day on which, in attempting to cross the bar at the entrance to the harbor, the yacht "Wanderer" had become a total wreck. This yacht had sailed nearly all round the world, besides to a good many islands in the Pacific. She was owned by a man named Boyd, and was a picture as she appeared on the ocean in full sail. This unfortunate man, however, went ashore at the Island of Guadalcama, where the ship had been prior to coming to Port Macquarie, and never returned to the yacht again, the supposition being that he was murdered by the natives. There were four white men on board the "Wanderer" when she arrived at Port Macquarie, who were:--Captain Ottowell, master; Mr. Webster, artist; Mr. Barnes, botanist; and Mr. Crawford (Boyd's nephew), mate. Besides these there were a number of natives from different islands, and one of the publicans in Port Macquarie got the "niggers" dancing in his hotel to draw custom. All the men came ashore from the wreck on rope, and, save a little wetting, were none the worse for their experience. The wreck was sold to a local man. On board the ship were some beautiful paintings and views of the different places that the yacht had visited, besides many skulls, native implements of war, shells, and many other things. Amongst the articles were suits of both the Emperor of China and the Shah of Persia, and for a wager two gentlemen of the town donned these costumes and walked the streets. All the goods out of the vessel were afterwards open to public view in a large store, and some of the cannon balls and other material which belonged to the yacht yet remain in Port Macquarie. The white men from the yacht afterwards spent a good deal of their time at Lake Innes, where they engaged in sporting and other pursuits. THE "ROSETTA JOSEPH." "Flung from the rock, on Ocean's foam to sail Where'er the surge may sweep, the tempest's breath prevail." --BYRON. On a sunny summer's day, in the year 1850, three little girls were playing on the green slopes overlooking the sea at Port Macquarie. "Look!" said one of them to her playmates, "what are those little dots out on the sea?" All three now stood in amazement, watching the little specs which were being wafted nearer and nearer as each emerald wave of the ocean hurried onward to its destination--the shore. They were not specs very long; it was soon discernible that they were boats, but who were the occupants? This was a question yet to be solved. The pilot boat went off, but the people in the other boats bore such a rough appearance that the pilot was almost afraid to go near them. At last a member of the pilot's crew recognised one of the men in the strange boats, and they then proceeded to go alongside. A tale of shipwreck was now related. It transpired that some time previously one of the shipwrecked crew had left Port Macquarie for the Californian goldfields, whither there was a general rush from most parts of the world. Now he was returning, but not under very auspicious circumstances. The fact was that the barque "Rosetta Joseph" had left San Francisco about the 15th October, 1850, bound for Sydney. All went well with her until the 2nd day of December following, when to the dismay of all on board, the ill-fated vessel struck upon a reef, known as the "Elizabeth Reef," at 11 o'clock on a Sunday night. There was no hope of saving the ship. The passengers, captain, and crew managed to leave the wreck by means of the boats, and 48 souls in all left the vessel, 32 being in the largest boat, and 16 in a smaller one--the third and smallest boat being used as a sea-anchor. A course was then steered for Port Macquarie, and after eight days and nine nights their destination was safely reached on the 11th December, when they landed at a spot known as Boat Harbour. This object was not accomplished, however, without the usual adventures of the sea. Two gales were encountered while in the boats, and it was during the first of these gales, in the open sea, that the third boat was made into a sea-anchor, and they then lay-to till the weather abated. The second gale arose when the boats had made the coast, and were off a spot known as Point Plomer, near Port Macquarie. Here they again lay-to, but were driven to the south, the next place that land was sighted being off the Camden Haven river. From this place they steered north towards Tacking Point, as some of those on board, from previous experience of the coast, knew where they were. On arrival at the Boat Harbour, the boats being too large to enter, the pilot boat brought a few of the shipwrecked persons in at a time till they were all safely landed. * * * * * The experience at sea was a perilous one, and those in the boats suffered terribly from exposure. At one time it was thought that the second largest boat and its occupants were lost. A huge wave swept over her, and for a short time she seemed swallowed up, but a few seconds later she reappeared on the crest of another wave, the occupants being engaged in bailing water for their lives. A box of gold valued at £30,000 was put into the largest boat on leaving the ship, but when the first gale was encountered it had to be jettisoned, as well as all the passengers' clothes, with the exception of what they wore, in order to lighten the boat. There was only a limited supply of food in the boats, too, and a small quantity of this, together with a cup of water, was served out to each person every day, because they did not know how long it would be before land was sighted. So that besides losing the gold, the food supply in the boats was none too large. CHAPTER XVII. ESCAPE OF PRISONERS. "Liberty's in every blow! Let us do or die." --BURNS. After the convicts left Port Macquarie, the gaol was made a kind of relieving place for other gaols in the colony which became overcrowded, and at times there were a good many prisoners within its walls. About the year 1866, six prisoners who were evidently full of being shut up in the large brick structure overlooking the Pacific ocean, were successful in making their escape. This they accomplished by digging a hole in the wall with a piece of an old knife, the work extending over a period of several weeks. The floor of the gaol was not right on the ground, but built up somewhat, and therefore an aperture existed between it and the ground. A flooring board used to be removed underneath one of the beds, and only one man worked at a time, being relieved by another when he had done his quota. It was one morning about daylight that these six men made their escape, and proceeded along the Old Lake road (which leads from Port Macquarie to Lake Innes), removing the leg irons which they wore as soon as the bush was reached. They walked along the road one behind the other, leaving a track which appeared as though only one man had traversed the road. Arriving at Lake Innes they secured breakfast, and sought firearms, but the residents at the Lake at that time (not Major Innes) told the prisoners that they possessed no guns. The six men were afterwards seated on a log eating their breakfast when a Port Macquarie citizen, who had heard of their escape, galloped to Lake Innes and fired a gun over the runaways' heads. This naturally had the effect of scattering them, and they proceeded further south to the Green Hills, near the Camden Haven river, and hid in ambush. Whilst all this had been going on, the police were informed of their escape, and went in search of the men. They, however, did not effect a capture, although the prisoners saw them go past while they lay hidden in the bush, and they returned unsuccessful. In crossing Kathie Creek, which lies to the south between Port Macquarie and the Green Hills, one of the escapees was stung by a stingray, and he in company with another afterwards gave themselves up to the authorities. The other men were captured by the police on the New England road, about 20 miles from Port Macquarie. CHAPTER XVIII. A LAST WORD. "Man's inhumanity to man Makes countless thousands mourn." --BURNS. Such was the life in Old Port Macquarie. But what does it all matter now? Did any of the tyrants ever derive any benefit by hounding down and torturing their fellow men? Nay! most of those whose career I have followed did no good, while some died like dogs. They say that there is punishment for doers of harsh deeds this side of the grave, and if ever this fact were realised, it was by many of those heartless wretches who gloried in driving their subordinates to desperation day by day. Thank Heaven I have lived all this down, and although "declined into the vale of years," still I am glad to know and say that there yet remains a gleam of sunshine, as there is a silver lining to every cloud, for me to enjoy in my latter days. Transcriber's notes: - A Table of Contents was created and added to the work by the post-processor. - Punctuation has been normalized in chapter headings. - Hyphenated words have been joined across line-breaks, except in cases where they are hyphenated elsewhere. - Original spelling has been retained, except in cases of obvious typographer's errors: - Page 12: Missing start quote added. - Page 39: Missing end quote added. - Page 51: "wsa" corrected to "was". - Page 56: Extraneous "a" removed. - Page 61: "threw" corrected to "throw". - Page 63: Missing period added. - Page 82: Extraneous period removed. 
4329	----	TWO EXPEDITIONS INTO THE INTERIOR OF SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA, VOLUME II by Charles Sturt TWO EXPEDITIONS INTO THE INTERIOR OF SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA DURING THE YEARS 1828, 1829, 1830, 1831 WITH OBSERVATIONS ON THE SOIL, CLIMATE AND GENERAL RESOURCES OF THE COLONY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. IN TWO VOLUMES VOLUME II. "For though most men are contented only to see a river as it runs by them, and talk of the changes in it as they happen; when it is troubled, or when clear; when it drowns the country in a flood, or forsakes it in a drought: yet he that would know the nature of the water, and the causes of those accidents (so as to guess at their continuance or return), must find out its source, and observe with what strength it rises, what length it runs, and how many small streams fall in, and feed it to such a height, as make it either delightful or terrible to the eye, and useful or dangerous to the country about it."...SIR WILLIAM TEMPLE'S NETHERLANDS. CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME EXPEDITION DOWN THE MORUMBIDGEE AND MURRAY RIVERS, IN 1829, 1830 AND 1831. CHAPTER I. Introductory--Remarks on the results of the former Expedition--The fitting out of another determined on--Its objects--Provisions, accoutrements, and retinue--Paper furnished by Mr. Kent--Causes that have prevented the earlier appearance of the present work. CHAPTER II. Commencement of the expedition in November, 1829.--Joined by Mr. George M'Leay--Appearance of the party--Breadalbane Plains--Hospitality of Mr. O'Brien--Yass Plains--Hill of Pouni--Path of a hurricane--Character of the country between Underaliga and the Morumbidgee--Appearance of that river--Junction of the Dumot with it--Crossing and recrossing--Geological character and general aspect of the country--Plain of Pondebadgery--Few natives seen. CHAPTER III. Character of the Morumbidgee where it issues from the hilly country--Appearance of approach to swamps--Hamilton Plains--Intercourse with the natives--Their appearance, customs, &c.--Change in the character of the river--Mirage--Dreariness of the country--Ride towards the Lachlan river--Two boats built and launched on the Morumbidgee; and the drays, with part of the men sent back to Goulburn Plains. CHAPTER IV. Embarkation of the party in the boats, and voyage down the Morumbidgee--The skiff swamped by striking on a sunken tree--Recovery of boat and its loading--Region of reeds--Dangers of the navigation--Contraction of the channel--Reach the junction of a large river--Intercourse with the natives on its banks--Character of the country below the junction of the rivers--Descent of a dangerous rapid--Warlike demonstrations of a tribe of natives--Unexpected deliverance from a conflict with them--Junction of another river--Give the name of the "Murray" to the principal stream. CHAPTER V. Character of the country--Damage of provisions--Adroitness of the natives in catching fish--The skiff broken up--Stream from the North-East supposed to be the Darling--Change of country in descending the river--Intercourse with the natives--Prevalence of loathsome diseases among them--Apparent populousness of the country--Junction of several small streams--The Rufus, the Lindesay, &c.--Rainy and tempestuous weather--Curious appearance of the banks--Troublesomeness of the natives--Inhospitable and desolate aspect of the country--Condition of the men--Change in the geological character of the country--The river passes through a valley among hills. CHAPTER VI. Improvement in the aspect of the country--Increase of the river--Strong westerly gales--Chronometer broken--A healthier tribe of natives--Termination of the Murray in a large lake--Its extent and environs--Passage across it--Hostile appearance of the natives--Beautiful scenery--Channel from the lake to the sea at Encounter Bay--Reach the beach--Large flocks of water fowl--Curious refraction--State of provisions--Embarrassing situation--Inspection of the channel to the ocean--Weak condition of the men--Difficulties of the return. CHAPTER VII. Valley of the Murray--Its character and capabilities--Laborious progress up the river--Accident to the boat--Perilous collision with the natives--Turbid current of the Rufus--Passage of the Rapids--Assisted by the natives--Dangerous intercourse with them--Re-enter the Morumbidgee--Verdant condition of its banks--Nocturnal encounter with the natives--Interesting manifestation of feeling in one family--Reach the spot where the party had embarked on the river--Men begin to fail entirely--Determine to send two men forward for relief--Their return--Excursion on horseback--Reach Pondebadgery Plain, and meet the supplies from the colony--Cannibalism of the natives--Return to Sydney--Concluding remarks. CHAPTER VIII. Environs of the lake Alexandrina--Appointment of Capt. Barker to make a further survey of the coast near Encounter Bay--Narrative of his proceedings--Mount Lofty, Mount Barker, and beautiful country adjacent--Australian salmon--Survey of the coast--Outlet of lake to the sea--Circumstances that led to the slaughter of Capt. Barker by the natives--His character--Features of this part of the country and capabilities of its coasts--Its adaptation for colonization--Suggestions for the furtherance of future Expeditions. APPENDIX. No. I. Geological Specimens found to the south-west of Port Jackson No. II. Official Report to the Colonial Government ILLUSTRATIONS TO THE SECOND VOLUME (Not included in this etext) View on the Morumbidgee River Junction of the supposed Darling with the Murray Palaeornis Melanura, or Black Tailed Paroquet Pomatorhinus Temporalis Pomatorhinus Superciliosus Chart of Cape Jervis, and Encounter Bay Mass of Fossils of the Tertiary Formation Bulla Conus Genus Unknown Chrystallized Selenite Selenite Single Fossils of the Tertiary Formation EXPEDITION DOWN THE MORUMBIDGEE AND MURRAY RIVERS, IN 1829, 1830 AND 1831. CHAPTER I. Introductory Remarks on the results of the former Expedition--The fitting out of another determined on--Its objects--Provisions, accoutrements, and retinue--Paper furnished by Mr. Kent--Causes that have prevented the earlier appearance of the present work. OBJECTS OF THE EXPEDITION. The expedition of which we have just detailed the proceedings was so far satisfactory in its results, that it not only set at rest the hypothesis of the existence of an internal shoal sea in southern Australia, and ascertained the actual termination of the rivers it had been directed to trace, but also added very largely to our knowledge of the country considerably to the westward of former discoveries. And although no land had been traversed of a fertile description of sufficient extent to invite the settler, the fact of a large river such as the Darling lying at the back of our almost intertropical settlements, gave a fresh importance to the distant interior. It was evident that this river was the chief drain for carrying off the waters falling westerly from the eastern coast, and as its course indicated a decline of country diametrically opposite to that which had been calculated upon, it became an object of great importance to ascertain its further direction. Had not the saline quality of its waters been accounted for, by the known existence of brine springs in its bed, it would have been natural to have supposed that it communicated with some mediterranean sea; but, under existing circumstances, it remained to be proved whether this river held on a due south course, or whether it ultimately turned westerly, and ran into the heart of the interior. In order fully to determine this point, it would be necessary to regain it banks, so far below the parallel to which it had been traced as to leave no doubt of its identity; but it was difficult to fix upon a plan for approaching that central stream without suffering from the want of water, since it could hardly be expected that the Lachlan would afford such means, as it was reasonable to presume that its termination was very similar to that of the Macquarie. The attention of the government was, consequently, fixed upon the Morumbidgee, a river stated to be of considerable size and of impetuous current. Receiving its supplies from the lofty ranges behind Mount Dromedary, it promised to hold a longer course than those rivers which, depending on periodical rains alone for existence, had been found so soon to exhaust themselves. PREPARATIONS. The fitting out of another expedition was accordingly determined upon; and about the end of September 1829, I received the Governor's instructions to make the necessary preparations for a second descent into the interior, for the purpose of tracing the Morumbidgee, or such rivers as it might prove to be connected with, as far as practicable. In the event of failure in this object, it was hoped that an attempt to regain the banks of the Darling on a N.W. course from the point at which the expedition might be thwarted in its primary views, would not be unattended with success. Under any circumstances, however, by pursuing these measures, an important part of the colony would necessarily be traversed, of which the features were as yet altogether unknown. It became my interest and my object to make the expedition as complete as possible, and, as far as in me lay, to provide for every contingency: and as it appeared to me that, in all likelihood, we should in one stage or other of our journey have to trust entirely to water conveyance, I determined on taking a whale-boat, whose dimensions and strength should in some measure be proportioned to the service required. I likewise constructed a small still for the distillation of water, in the event of our finding the water of the Darling salt, when we should reach its banks. The whale-boat, after being fitted, was taken to pieces for more convenient carriage, as has been more particularly detailed in the last chapter of the preceding volume. So little danger had been apprehended from the natives in the former journey, that three firelocks had been considered sufficient for our defence. On the present occasion, however, I thought it adviseable to provide arms for each individual. Mr. Hume declined accompanying me, as the harvest was at hand. Mr. George M'Leay therefore supplied his place, rather as a companion than as an assistant; and of those who accompanied me down the banks of the Macquarie, I again selected Harris (my body servant), Hopkinson, and Fraser. MR. KENT'S REPORT. The concluding chapter of this volume, relative to the promontory of St. Vincent, or Cape Jervis, has been furnished me by the kindness of Mr. Kent, who accompanied the lamented officer to whom the further exploration of that part of coast unhappily proved fatal. There is a melancholy coincidence between Captain Barker's death and that of Captain Cook, which cannot fail to interest the public, as the information that has been furnished will call for their serious consideration. I shall leave for their proper place, the remarks I have to offer upon it, since my motive in these prefatory observations has been, to carry the reader forward to that point at which he will have to view the proceedings of the expedition alone, in order the more satisfactorily to arrive at their results. And, although he must expect a considerable portion of dry reading in the following pages, I have endeavoured to make the narrative of events, some of which are remarkably striking, as interesting as possible. REMARKS ON THE PRESENT WORK; DELIVERANCE FROM DANGERS. It only remains for me to refer the reader to the concluding chapter of the preceding volume, for such general information as I have been enabled to furnish upon the nature of the services on which I was employed, and on the manner of conducting similar expeditions. Indeed, I trust that this book (whatever be its defects) will be found to contain much valuable information of a practical character, and I may venture to affirm, that it will give a true description of the country, and of the various other subjects of which it treats. Notwithstanding that I have in my dedication alluded to the causes that prevented the earlier appearance of this work, I feel it due both to myself and the public here to state, that during these expeditions my health had suffered so much, that I was unable to bear up against the effects of exposure, bodily labour, poverty of diet, and the anxiety of mind to which I was subjected. A residence on Norfolk Island, under peculiarly harassing circumstances, completed that which the above causes had commenced; and, after a succession of attacks, I became totally blind, and am still unable either to read what I pen, or to venture abroad without an attendant. When it is recollected, that I have been unassisted in this work in any one particular, I hope some excuse will be found for its imperfections. A wish to contribute to the public good led me to undertake those journeys which have cost me so much. The same feeling actuates me in recording their results; and I have the satisfaction to know, that my path among a large and savage population was a bloodless one; and that my intercourse with them was such as to lessen the danger to future adventurers upon such hazardous enterprises, and to give them hope where I had so often despaired. Something more powerful, than human foresight or human prudence, appeared to avert the calamities and dangers with which I and my companions were so frequently threatened; and had it not been for the guidance and protection we received from the Providence of that good and all-wise Being to whose care we committed ourselves, we should, ere this, have ceased to rank among the number of His earthly creatures. CHAPTER II. Commencement of the expedition in November, 1829.--Joined by Mr. George M'Leay--Appearance of the party--Breadalbane Plains--Hospitality of Mr. O'Brien--Yass Plains--Hill of Pouni--Path of a hurricane--Character of the country between Underaliga and the Morumbidgee--Appearance of that river--Junction of the Dumot with it--Crossing and recrossing--Geological character and general aspect of the country--Plain of Pondebadgery--Few natives seen. The expedition which traversed the marshes of the Macquarie, left Sydney on the 10th day of Nov. 1828. That destined to follow the waters of the Morumbidgee, took its departure from the same capital on the 3rd of the same month in the ensuing year. Rain had fallen in the interval, but not in such quantities as to lead to the apprehension that it had either influenced or swollen the western streams. It was rather expected that the winter falls would facilitate the progress of the expedition, and it was hoped that, as the field of its operations would in all probability be considerably to the south of the parallel of Port Jackson, the extreme heat to which the party and the animals had been exposed on the former journey, would be less felt on the present occasion. As there was no Government establishment to the S.W. at which I could effect any repairs, or recruit my supplies, as I had done at Wellington Valley, the expedition, when it left Sydney, was completed in every branch, and was so fully provided with every necessary implement and comfort, as to render any further aid, even had such been attainable, in a great measure unnecessary. The Governor had watched over my preparations with a degree of anxiety that evidenced the interest he felt in the expedition, and his arrangements to ensure, as far as practicable, our being met on our return, in the event of our being in distress, were equally provident and satisfactory. It was not, however, to the providing for our wants in the interior alone that His Excellency's views were directed, but orders were given to hold a vessel in readiness, to be dispatched at a given time to St. Vincent's Gulf, in case we should ultimately succeed in making the south coast in its neighbourhood. LEAVE SYDNEY. The morning on which I left Sydney a second time, under such doubtful circumstances, was perfectly serene and clear. I found myself at 5 a.m. of that delightful morning leading my horses through the gates of those barracks whose precincts I might never again enter, and whose inmates I might never again behold assembled in military array. Yet, although the chance of misfortune flashed across my mind, I was never lighter at heart, or more joyous in spirit. It appeared to me that the stillness and harmony of nature influenced my feelings on the occasion, and my mind forgot the storms of life, as nature at that moment seemed to have forgotten the tempests that sometimes agitate her. APPEARANCE OF THE PARTY. I proceeded direct to the house of my friend Mr. J. Deas Thomson, who had agreed to accompany me to Brownlow Hill, a property belonging to Mr. M'Leay, the Colonial Secretary, where his son, Mr. George M'Leay, was to join the expedition. As soon as we had taken a hasty breakfast, I went to the carters' barracks to superintend the first loading of the animals. Mr. Murray, the superintendent, had arranged every article so well, and had loaded the drays so compactly that I had no trouble, and little time was lost in saddling the pack animals. At a quarter before 7 the party filed through the turnpike-gate, and thus commenced its journey with the greatest regularity. I have the scene, even at this distance of time, vividly impressed upon my mind, and I have no doubt the kind friend who was near me on the occasion, bears it as strongly on his recollection. My servant Harris, who had shared my wanderings and had continued in my service for eighteen years, led the advance, with his companion Hopkinson. Nearly abreast of them the eccentric Fraser stalked along wholly lost in thought. The two former had laid aside their military habits, and had substituted the broad brimmed hat and the bushman's dress in their place, but it was impossible to guess how Fraser intended to protect himself from the heat or the damp, so little were his habiliments suited for the occasion. He had his gun over his shoulder, and his double shot belt as full as it could be of shot, although there was not a chance of his expending a grain during the day. Some dogs Mr. Maxwell had kindly sent me followed close at his heels, as if they knew his interest in them, and they really seemed as if they were aware that they were about to exchange their late confinement for the freedom of the woods. The whole of these formed a kind of advanced guard. At some distance in the rear the drays moved slowly along, on one of which rode the black boy mentioned in my former volume, and behind them followed the pack animals. Robert Harris, whom I had appointed to superintend the animals generally, kept his place near the horses, and the heavy Clayton, my carpenter, brought up the rear. I shall not forget the interest Thomson appeared to take in a scene that must certainly have been new to him. Our progress was not checked by the occurrence of a single accident, nor did I think it necessary to remain with the men after we had gained that turn which, at about four miles from Sydney, branches off to the left, and leads direct to Liverpool. From this Point my companion and I pushed forward, in order to terminate a fifty miles' ride a little sooner than we should have done at the leisurely pace we had kept during the early part of our journey. We remained in Liverpool for a short time, to prepare the commissariat office for the reception, and to ensure the accommodation, of the party; and reached Brownlow Hill a little after sunset. LIVERPOOL-GOULBURN PLAINS. As I have already described the country on this line of road as far us Goulburn Plains, it will not be considered necessary that I should again notice its features with minuteness. WALLANDILLY-TYRANNA. The party arrived at Glendarewel, the farm attached to Brownlow Hill, on the 5th. I resumed my journey alone on the 8th. M'Leay had still some few arrangements to make, so that I dispensed with his immediate attendance. He overtook me, however, sooner than I expected, on the banks of the Wallandilly. I had encamped under the bluff end of Cookbundoon, and, having been disappointed in getting bearings when crossing the Razor Back, I hoped that I should be enabled to connect a triangle from the summit of Cookbundoon, or to secure bearings of some prominent hill to the south. I found the brush, however, so thick on the top of the mountain, that I could obtain no satisfactory view, and and M'Leay, who accompanied me, agreed with me in considering that we were but ill repaid for the hot scramble we had had. Crossing the western extremity of Goulburn Plains on the 15th, we encamped on a chain of ponds behind Doctor Gibson's residence at Tyranna, and as I had some arrangements to make with that gentleman, I determined to give both the men and animals a day's rest. I availed myself of Doctor Gibson's magazines to replace such of my provisions as I had expended, as I found that I could do so without putting him to any inconvenience; and I added two of his men to the party, intending to send them back, in case of necessity, or, when we should have arrived at that point from which it might appear expedient to forward an account of my progress and ultimate views, for the governor's information. On the 17th we struck the tents, and, crossing the chain of ponds near which they had been pitched, entered a forest track, that gave place to barren stony ridges of quartz formation. These continued for six or seven miles, in the direction of Breadalbane Plains, upon which we were obliged to stop, as we should have had some difficulty in procuring either water or food, within any moderate distance beyond them. The water, indeed, that we were obliged to content ourselves with was by no means good. Breadalbane Plains are of inconsiderable extent, and are surrounded by ridges, the appearance of which is not very promising. Large white masses of quartz rock lie scattered over them, amongst trees of stunted growth. Mr. Redall's farm was visible at the further extremity of the plains from that by which we had entered them. It would appear that these plains are connected with Goulburn Plains by a narrow valley, that was too wet for the drays to have traversed. BREADALBANE PLAINS. Doctor Gibson had kindly accompanied us to Breadalbane Plains. On the morning of the 18th he returned to Tyranna, and we pursued our journey, keeping mostly on a W.S.W. course. From the barren hills over which we passed, on leaving the plains, we descended upon an undulating country, and found a change of rock, as well as of vegetation, upon it. Granite and porphyry constituted its base. An open forest, on which the eucalyptus mannifera alone prevailed, lay on either side of us, and although the soil was coarse, and partook in a great measure of the decomposition of the rock it covered, there was no deficiency of grass. On the contrary, this part of the interior is decidedly well adapted for pasturing cattle. THE LORN. About 1 p.m. we passed Mr. Hume's station, with whom I remained for a short time. He had fixed his establishment on the banks of the Lorn, a small river, issuing from the broken country near Lake George, and now ascertained to be one of the largest branches of the Lachlan River. We had descended a barren pass of stringy bark scrub, on sandstone rock, a little before we reached Mr. Hume's station, but around it the same, open forest tract again prevailed. We crossed the Lorn, at 2 o'clock, leaving Mr. Broughton's farm upon our left, and passed through a broken country, which was very far from being deficient in pasture. We encamped on the side of a water-course, about 4 o'clock, having travelled about fifteen miles. On the 19th, we observed no change in the soil or aspect of the country, for the first five miles. The eucalyptus mannifera was the most prevalent of the forest trees, and certainly its presence indicated a more flourishing state in the minor vegetation. At about five miles, however, from where we had slept, sandstone reappeared, and with it the barren scrub that usually grows upon a sandy and inhospitable soil. One of the drays was upset in its progress down a broken pass, where the road had been altogether neglected, and it was difficult to avoid accidents. Fortunately we suffered no further than in the delay that the necessity of unloading the dray, and reloading it, occasioned. Mr. O'Brien, an enterprising settler, who had pushed his flocks to the banks of the Morumbidgee, and who was proceeding to visit his several stations, overtook us in the midst of our troubles. We had already passed each other frequently on the road, but he now preceded me to his establishment at Yass; at which I proposed remaining for a day. We stopped about three miles short of the plains for the night, at the gorge of the pass through which we had latterly been advancing, and had gradually descended to a more open country. From the place at which we were temporarily delayed, and which is not inappropriately called the Devil's Pass, the road winds about between ranges, differing in every respect from any we had as yet noticed. The sides of the hills were steeper, and their summits sharper, than any we had crossed. They were thickly covered with eucalypti and brush, and, though based upon sandstone, were themselves of a schistose formation. YASS PLAINS. Yharr or Yass Plains were discovered by Mr. Hovel, and Mr. Hume, the companion of my journey down the Macquarie, in 1828. They take their name from the little river that flows along their north and north-west boundaries. They are surrounded on every side by forests, and excepting to the W.N.W., as a central point, by hill. Undulating, but naked themselves, they have the appearance of open downs, and are most admirably adapted for sheep-walks, not only in point of vegetation, but also, because their inequalities prevent their becoming swampy during the rainy season. They are from nine to twelve miles in length, and from five to seven in breadth, and although large masses of sandstone are scattered over them, a blue secondary limestone composes the general bed of the river, that was darker in colour and more compact than I had remarked the same kind of rock, either at Wellington Valley, or in the Shoal Haven Gully. I have no doubt that Yass Plains will ere long be wholly taken up as sheep-walks, and that their value to the grazier will in a great measure counterbalance its distance from the coast, or, more properly speaking, from the capital. Sheep I should imagine would thrive uncommonly well upon these plains, and would suffer less from distempers incidental to locality and to climate, than in many parts of the colony over which they are now wandering in thousands. And if the plains themselves do not afford extensive arable tracts, there is, at least, sufficient good land near the river to supply the wants of a numerous body of settlers. HOSPITALITY OF MR. O'BRIEN. We left Mr. O'Brien's station on the morning of the 21st, and, agreeably to his advice, determined on gaining the Morumbidgee, by a circuit to the N.W., rather than endanger the safety of the drays by entering the mountain passes to the westward. Mr. O'Brien, however, would not permit us to depart from his dwelling without taking away with us some further proofs of his hospitality. The party had pushed forward before I, or Mr. M'Leay, had mounted our horses; but on overtaking it, we found that eight fine wethers had been added to our stock of animals. HILL OF POUNI; ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY. To the W.N.W. of Yass Plains there is a remarkable hill, called Pouni, remarkable not so much on account of its height, as of its commanding position. It had, I believe, already been ascended by one of the Surveyor-general's assistants. The impracticability of the country to the south of it, obliged us to pass under its opposite base, from which an open forest country extended to the northward. We had already recrossed the Yass River, and passed Mr. Barber's station, to that of Mr. Hume's father, at which we stopped for a short time. Both farms are well situated, the latter I should say, romantically so, it being immediately under Pouni, the hill we have noticed. The country around both was open, and both pasture and water were abundant. Mr. O'Brien had been kind enough to send one of the natives who frequented his station to escort us to his more advanced station upon the Morumbidgee. Had it not been for the assistance we received from this man, I should have had but little leisure for other duties: as it was however, there was no fear of the party going astray. This gave M'Leay and myself an opportunity of ascending Pouni, for the purpose of taking bearings; and how ever warm the exertion of the ascent made us, the view from the summit of the hill sufficiently repaid us, and the cool breeze that struck it, although imperceptible in the forest below, soon dried the perspiration from our brows. The scenery around us was certainly varied, yet many parts of it put me forcibly in mind of the dark and gloomy tracks over which my eye had wandered from similar elevations on the former journey. This was especially the case in looking to the north, towards which point the hills forming the right of the valley by which we had entered the plains, decreased so rapidly in height that they were lost in the general equality of the more remote country, almost ere they had reached abreast of my position. From E.S.E. to W.S.W. the face of the country was hilly, broken and irregular; forming deep ravines and precipitous glens, amid which I was well aware the Morumbidgee was still struggling for freedom; while mountains succeeded mountains in the back-ground, and were themselves overtopped by lofty and very distant peaks. To the eastward, however, the hills wore a more regular form, and were lightly covered with wood. The plains occupied the space between them and Pouni; and a smaller plain bore N.N.E. which, being embosomed in the forest, had hitherto escaped our notice. We overtook the party just as it cleared the open ground through which it had previously been moving. A barren scrub succeeded it for about eight miles. The soil in this scrub was light and sandy. We stopped for the night at the head of a valley that seemed to have been well trodden by cattle. The feed, therefore, was not abundant, nor was the water good. We had, however, made a very fair journey, and I was unwilling to press the animals. But in consequence, I fancy, of the scarcity of food, they managed to creep away during the night, with the exception of three or four of the bullocks, nor should we have collected them again so soon as we did, or without infinite trouble, had it not been for our guide and my black boy. We unavoidably lost a day, but left our position on the 23rd, for Underaliga, a station occupied by Doctor Harris, the gentleman I have already had occasion to mention. We reached the banks of the creek near the stock hut, about 4 p.m., having journeyed during the greater part of the day through a poor country, partly of scrub and partly of open forest-land, in neither of which was the soil or vegetation fresh or abundant. At about three miles from Underaliga, the country entirely changed its character, and its flatness was succeeded by a broken and undulating surface. The soil upon the hills was coarse and sandy, from the decomposition of the granite rock that constituted their base. Nevertheless, the grass was abundant on the hills, though the roots or tufts were far apart; and the hills were lightly studded with trees. COURSE OF A HURRICANE. In the course of the day we crossed the line of a hurricane that had just swept with resistless force over the country, preserving a due north course, and which we had heard from a distance, fortunately too great to admit of its injuring us. It had opened a fearful gap in the forest through which it had passed, of about a quarter of a mile in breadth. Within that space, no tree had been able to withstand its fury, for it had wrenched every bough from such as it had failed to prostrate, and they stood naked in the midst of the surrounding wreck. I am inclined to think that the rudeness of nature itself in these wild and uninhabited regions, gives birth to these terrific phenomena. They have never occurred, so far as I know, in the located districts. Our guide deserted us in the early part of the day without assigning any reason for doing so. He went off without being noticed, and thus lost the reward that would have been bestowed on him had he mentioned his wish to return to Yass. I the more regretted his having sneaked off, because he had had the kindness to put us on a track we could not well lose. COUNTRY FROM UNDERALIGA TO MORUMBIDGEE. Underaliga, is said to be thirty miles from the Morumbidgee. The country between the two has a sameness of character throughout. It is broken and irregular, yet no one hill rises conspicuously over the rest. We found ourselves at one time on their summits beside huge masses of granite, at others crossing valleys of rich soil and green appearance. A country under cultivation is so widely different from one the sod of which has never been broken by the plough, that it is difficult and hazardous to form a decided opinion on the latter. If you ask a stockman what kind of a country lies, either to his right, or to his left, he is sure to condemn it, unless it will afford the most abundant pasture. Accustomed to roam about from one place to another, these men despise any but the richest tracts, and include the rest of the neighbourhood in one sweeping clause of condemnation. Thus I was led to expect, that we should pass over a country of the very worst description, between Underaliga and the Morumbidgee. Had it been similar to that midway between Yass and Underaliga, we should, in truth, have found it so; but it struck me, that there were many rich tracts of ground among the valleys of the former, and that the very hills had a fair covering of grass upon them. What though the soil was coarse, if the vegetation was good and sufficient? Perhaps the greatest drawback to this part of the interior is the want of water; yet we crossed several creeks, and remarked some deep water holes, that can never be exhausted, even in the driest season. Wherever the situation favoured our obtaining a view of the country on either side of us, while among these hills, we found that to the eastward lofty and mountainous; whilst that to the westward, had the appearance of fast sinking into a level. JUGGIONG. A short time before we reached the Morumbidgee, we forded a creek, which we crossed a second time where it falls into the river. After crossing it the first time we opened a flat, on which the marks of sheep were abundant. In the distance there was a small hill, and on its top a bark hut. We were not until then aware of our being so near the river, but as Mr. O'Brien had informed me that he had a station for sheep, at a place called Juggiong, by the natives, on the immediate banks of the river, I did not doubt that we had, at length, arrived at it. And so it proved. I went to the hut, to ascertain where I could conveniently stop for the night, but the residents were absent. I could not but admire the position they had taken up. The hill upon which their hut was erected was not more than fifty feet high, but it immediately overlooked the river, and commanded not only the flat we had traversed in approaching it, but also a second flat on the opposite side. The Morumbidgee came down to the foot of this little hill from the south, and, of course, running to the north, which latter direction it suddenly takes up from a previous S.W. one, on meeting some hills that check its direct course. From the hill on which the hut stands, it runs away westward, almost in a direct line, for three miles, so that the position commands a view of both the reaches, which are overhung by the casuarina and flooded-gum. Rich alluvial flats lie to the right of the stream, backed by moderate hills, that were lightly studded with trees, and clothed with verdure to their summits. Some moderate elevations also backed a flat, on the left bank of the river, but the colour of the soil upon the latter, as well as its depressed situation, showed clearly that it was subject to flood, and had received the worst of the depositions from the mountains. The hills behind it were also bare, and of a light red colour, betraying, as I imagined, a distinct formation from, and poorer character than, the hills behind us. At about three miles the river again suddenly changes its direction from west to south, for about a mile, when it inclines to the S.E. until it nearly encircles the opposite hills, when it assumes its proper direction, and flows away to the S.W. CROSS THE UNDERALIGA; REACH THE MORUMBIDGEE. We crossed the Underaliga creek a little below the stock hut, and encamped about a mile beyond it, in the centre of a long plain. We were surrounded on every side by hills, from which there was no visible outlet, as they appeared to follow the bend of the river, with an even and unbroken outline. The scenery around us was wild, romantic, and beautiful; as beautiful as a rich and glowing sunset in the most delightful climate under the heavens could make it. I had been more anxious to gain the banks of the Morumbidgee on this occasion, than I had been on a former one to gain those of the Macquarie, for although I could not hope to see the Morumbidgee all that it had been described to me, yet I felt that on its first appearance I should in some measure ground my anticipations of ultimate success. When I arrived on the banks of the Macquarie, it had almost ceased to flow, and its current was so gentle as to be scarcely perceptible. Instead, however, of a river in such a state of exhaustion, I now looked down upon a stream, whose current it would have been difficult to breast, and whose waters, foaming among rocks, or circling in eddies, gave early promise of a reckless course. It must have been somewhat below its ordinary level, and averaged a breadth of about 80 feet. Its waters were hard and transparent, and its bed was composed of mountain debris, and large fragments of rock. As soon as the morning dawned, the tents were struck and we pursued our journey. We followed the line of the river, until we found ourselves in a deep bight to the S.E. The hills that had been gradually closing in upon the river, now approached it so nearly, that there was no room for the passage of the drays. We were consequently obliged to turn back, and, moving along the base of the ranges, by which we were thus apparently enclosed, we at length found a steep pass, the extreme narrowness of which had hidden it from our observation. By this pass we were now enabled to effect our escape. On gaining the summit of the hills, we travelled south for three or four miles, through open forests, and on level ground. But we ultimately descended into a valley in which we halted for the night. On a closer examination of the neighbourhood, it appeared that our position was at the immediate junction of two valleys, where, uniting the waters of their respective creeks, the main branch declines rapidly towards the river. One of these valleys extended to to the S.W., the other to the W.N.W. It was evident to us that our route lay up the former; and I made no doubt we should easily reach Whaby's station on the morrow. ADJACENT COUNTRY. We were now far beyond the acknowledged limits of the located parts of the colony, and Mr. Whaby's station was the last at which we could expect even the casual supply of milk or other trifling relief. Yet, although the prospect of so soon leaving even the outskirts of civilization, and being wholly thrown on our own resources, was so near, it never for a moment weighed upon the minds of the men. The novelty of the scenery, and the beauty of the river on which they were journeying, excited in them the liveliest anticipations of success. The facility with which we had hitherto pushed forward blinded them to future difficulties, nor could there be a more cheerful spectacle than that which the camp daily afforded. The animals browzing in the distance, and the men talking over their pipes of the probable adventures they might encounter. The loads had by this time settled properly, and our provisions proved of the very best quality, so that no possible improvement could have been made for the better. WHABY'S STATION. On the morrow we pushed up the southernmost of the valleys, at the junction of which we had encamped, having moderate hills on either side of us. At the head of the valley we crossed a small dividing range into another valley, and halted for the night, on the banks of a creek from the westward, as we found it impossible to reach Whaby's station, as we had intended, before sunset. Nothing could exceed the luxuriance of the vegetation in this valley, but the water of the creek was so impregnated with iron, as to be almost useless. Being anxious to obtain a view of the surrounding country, I ascended a hill behind the camp, just as the sun was sinking, a time the most favourable for the object I had in view. The country, broken into hill and dale, seemed richer than any tract I had as yet surveyed; and the beauty of the near landscape was greatly heightened by the mountainous scenery to the S. and S.E. Both the laxmania, and zanthorea were growing around me; but neither appeared to be in congenial soil. The face of the hill was very stony, and I found, on examination, that a great change had taken place in the rock-formation, the granite ranges having given place to chlorite schist. We reached Whaby's about 9 a.m. of the morning of the 27th, and received every attention and civility from him. The valley in which we had slept opened upon an extensive plain, to the eastward of which the Morumbidgee formed the extreme boundary; and it was in a bight, and on ground rather elevated above the plain, that he had fixed his residence. He informed me that we should have to cross the river, as its banks were too precipitous, and the ranges too abrupt, to admit of our keeping the right side; and recommended me to examine and fix upon a spot at which to cross, before I again moved forward, expressing his readiness to accompany me as a guide. We accordingly rode down the river, to a place at which some stockman had effected a passage,--after a week's labour in hewing out a canoe. I by no means intended that a similar delay should occur in our case, but I saw no objection to our crossing at the same place; since its depth, and consequent tranquillity, rendered it eligible enough for that purpose. THE RIVER DUMOT. The Dumot river, another mountain stream, joins the Morumbidgee opposite to Mr. Whaby's residence. It is little inferior to the latter either in size or in the rapidity of its current, and, if I may rely on the information I received, waters a finer country, the principal rock-formation upon it being of limestone and whinstone. It rises amidst the snowy ranges to the S.E., and its banks are better peopled than those of the stream into which it discharges itself. Of course, such a tributary enlarges the Morumbidgee considerably: indeed, the fact is sufficiently evident from the appearance of the latter below the junction. During our ride with Whaby down its banks, we saw nothing but the richest flats, almost entirely clear of timber and containing from 400 to 700 acres, backed by ranges that were but partially wooded, and were clothed with verdure to their very summits. The herds that were scattered over the first were almost lost in the height of the vegetation, and the ranges served as natural barriers to prevent them from straying away. CROSS AND RE-CROSS THE MORUMBIDGEE. On the following morning, we started for the place at which it had been arranged that we should cross the Morumbidgee, but, though no more than five miles in a direct line from Whaby's house, in consequence of the irregularity of the ground, the drays did not reach it before noon. The weight and quantity of our stores being taken into consideration, the task we had before us was not a light one. Such, however, was the industry of the men, that before it became dark the whole of them, including the drays and sheep, were safely deposited on the opposite bank. We were enabled to be thus expeditious, by means of a punt that we made with the tarpaulins on an oblong frame. As soon as it was finished, a rope was conveyed across the river, and secured to a tree, and a running cord being then fastened to the punt, a temporary ferry was established, and the removal of our stores rendered comparatively easy. M'Leay undertook to drive the horses and cattle over a ford below us, but he did not calculate on the stubborn disposition of the latter, and, consequently, experienced some difficulty, and was well nigh swept away by the current. So great was his difficulty, that he was obliged to land, to his great discomfiture, amidst a grove of lofty nettles. Mulholland, who accompanied him, and who happened to be naked, was severly stung by them. The labour of the day was, however, satisfactorily concluded, and we lay down to rest with feelings of entire satisfaction. A great part of the following day was consumed in reloading, nor did we pursue our journey until after two o'clock. We then passed over tracks on the left of the river of the same rich description that existed on its right; they were much intersected by creeks, but were clear of timber, and entirely out of the reach of floods. At about seven miles from where we started, we found ourselves checked by precipitous rocks jutting into the stream, and were obliged once more to make preparations for crossing it. Instead of a deep and quiet reach, however, the Morumbidgee here expanded into a fretful rapid; but it was sufficiently shallow to admit of our taking the drays over, without the trouble of unloading them. There was still, however, some labour required in cutting down the banks, and the men were fully occupied until after sunset; and so well did they work, that an hour's exertion in the morning enabled us to make the passage with safety. On ascending the right bank, we found that we had to force through a dense body of reeds, covering some flooded land, at the base of a range terminating upon the river; and we were obliged, in order to extricate ourselves from our embarrassments, to pass to the N.W. of the point, and to cross a low part of the range. This done, we met with no further interruptions during the day, but travelled along rich and clear flats to a deep bight below an angle of the river called Nangaar by the natives; where we pitched our camp, and our animals revelled amid the most luxuriant pasture. Only in one place did the sandy superficies upon the plain indicate that it was there subject to flood. The Morumbidgee from Juggiong to our present encampment had held a general S.S.W. course, but from the summit of a hill behind the tents it now appeared to be gradually sweeping round to the westward; and I could trace the line of trees upon its banks, through a rich and extensive valley in that direction, as far as my sight could reach. The country to the S.E. maintained its lofty character, but to the westward the hills and ranges were evidently decreasing in height, and the distant interior seemed fast sinking to a level. The general direction of the ranges had been from N. to S., and as we had been travelling parallel to them, their valleys were shut from our view. Now, however, several rich and extensive ones became visible, opening from the southward into the valley of the Morumbidgee, and, as a further evidence of a change of country from a confused to a more open one, a plain of considerable size stretched from immediately beneath the hill on which I was to the N.W. GEOLOGY OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. The Morumbidgee itself, from the length and regularity of its reaches, as well as from its increased size, seemed to intimate that it had successfully struggled through the broken country in which it rises, and that it would henceforward meet with fewer interruptions to its course. It still, however, preserved all the characters of a mountain stream; having alternate rapids and deep pools, being in many places encumbered with fallen timber, and generally running over a shingly bed, composed of rounded fragments of every rock of which the neighbouring ranges were formed, and many others that had been swept by the torrents down it. The rock formation of the hills upon its right continued of that chlorite schist which prevailed near Mr. Whaby's, which I have already noticed, and quartz still appeared in large masses, on the loftier ranges opposite, so that the geology of the neighbourhood could not be said to have undergone any material change. It might, however, be considered an extraordinary feature in it, that a small hill of blue limestone existed upon the left bank of the river. The last place at which we had seen limestone was at Yass, but I had learned from Mr. Whaby, that, together with whinstone, it was abundant near a Mr. Rose's station on the Dumot, that was not at any great distance. The irregularity, however, of the intervening country, made the appearance of this solitary rock more singular. Although the fires of the natives had been frequent upon the river, none had, as yet, ventured to approach us, in consequence of some misunderstanding that had taken place between them and Mr. Stuckey's stockmen. Mr. Roberts' stockmen [these men had lately fixed themselves on the river a little below Mr. Whaby's], however, brought a man and a boy to us at this place in the afternoon, but I could not persuade them to accompany us on our journey--neither could I, although my native boy understood them perfectly, gain any particular information from them. In consequence of rain, we did not strike the tents so early as usual. At 7 a.m. a heavy thunder storm occurred from the N.W. after which the sky cleared, and we were enabled to push forward at 11 a.m., moving on a general W.N.W, course, over rich flats, which, having been moistened by the morning's showers, showed the dark colour of the rich earth of which they were composed. Some sand-hills were, however, observed near the river, of about fifteen feet in elevation, crowned by banksias; and the soil of the flats had a very partial mixture of sand in it. How these sand-hills could have been formed it is difficult to say; but they produced little minor vegetation, and were as pure as the sand of the sea-shore. Some considerable plains were noticed to our right, in appearance not inferior to the ground on which we were journeying. At noon we rose gradually from the level of these plains, and travelled along the side of a hill, until we got to a small creek, at which we stopped, though more than a mile and a half from the river. The clouds had been gathering again in the N.W. quarter, and we had scarcely time to secure our flour, when a second storm burst upon us, and it continued to rain violently for the remainder of the day. BEAUTIFUL PROSPECT. From a small hill that lay to our left Mr. M'Leay and I enjoyed a most beautiful view. Beneath us to the S. E. the rich and lightly timbered valley through which the Morumbidgee flows, extended, and parts of the river were visible through the dark masses of swamp-oak by which it was lined, or glittering among the flooded-gum trees, that grew in its vicinity. In the distance was an extensive valley that wound between successive mountain ranges. More to the eastward, both mountain and woodland bore a dark and gloomy shade, probably in consequence of the light upon them at the time. Those lofty peaks that had borne nearly south of us from Pouni, near Yass, now rose over the last-mentioned ranges, and by their appearance seemed evidently to belong to a high and rugged chain. To the westward, the decline of country was more observable than ever; and the hills on both sides of the river, were lower and more distant from it. Those upon which we found ourselves were composed of iron-stone, were precipitous towards the river in many places, of sandy soil, and were crowned with beef-wood as well as box. The change in the rock-formation and in the soil, produced a corresponding change in the vegetation. The timber was not so large as it had been, neither did the hills any longer bear the green appearance which had distinguished those we had passed to their very summits. The grass here grew in tufts amidst the sand, and was of a burnt appearance as if it had suffered from drought. NATIVES--THEIR SUFFERING FROM COLD. Some natives had joined us in the morning, and acted as our guides; or it is more than probable that we should have continued our course along the river, and got enbarrassed among impediments that were visible from our elevated position; for it was evident that the range we had ascended terminated in an abrupt precipice on the river, that we could not have passed. The blacks suffered beyond what I could have imagined, from cold, and seemed as incapable of enduring it as if they had experienced the rigour of a northern snow storm. The morning of the 2nd December was cloudy and lowering, and the wind still hung in the N.W. There was truly every appearance of bad weather, but our anxiety to proceed on our journey overcame our apprehensions, and the animals were loaded and moved off at 7 a.m. The rain which had fallen the evening previous, rendered travelling heavy; so that we got on but slowly. At 11, the clouds burst, and continued to pour down for the rest of the day. On leaving the creek we crossed the spine of the range, and descending from it into a valley, that continued to the river on the one hand, and stretched away to the N.W. on the other, we ascended some hills opposite to us, and moved generally through open, undulating forest ground, affording good pasturage. SMOKING AN OPOSSUM. One of the blacks being anxious to get an opossum out of a dead tree, every branch of which was hollow, asked for a tomahawk, with which he cut a hole in the trunk above where he thought the animal lay concealed. He found however, that he had cut too low, and that it had run higher up. This made it necessary to smoke it out; he accordingly got some dry grass, and having kindled a fire, stuffed it into the hole he had cut. A raging fire soon kindled in the tree, where the draft was great, and dense columns of smoke issued from the end of each branch as thick as that from the chimney of a steam engine. The shell of the tree was so thin that I thought it would soon be burnt through, and that the tree would fall; but the black had no such fears, and, ascending to the highest branch, he watched anxiously for the poor little wretch he had thus surrounded with dangers and devoted to destruction; and no sooner did it appear, half singed and half roasted, than he seized upon it and threw it down to us with an air of triumph. The effect of the scene in so lonely a forest, was very fine. The roaring of the fire in the tree, the fearless attitude of the savage, and the associations which his colour and appearance, enveloped as he was in smoke, called up, were singular, and still dwell on my recollection. We had not long left the tree, when it fell with a tremendous crash, and was, when we next passed that way, a mere heap of ashes. ACCIDENTS. Shortly before it commenced raining, the dogs started an emu, and took after it, followed by M'Leay and myself. We failed in killing it, and I was unfortunate enough to lose a most excellent watch upon the occasion, which in regularity was superior to the chronometer I had with me. As there was no hope of the weather clearing up, I sent M'Leay and one of the blacks with the flour to the river, with directions to pile it up and cover it with tarpaulins, as soon as possible, remaining myself to bring up the drays. It was not, however, until after 4 p.m. that we gained the river-side, or that we were enabled to get into shelter. Fraser met with a sad accident while assisting the driver of the teams, who, accidentally, struck him with the end of the lash of his whip in the eye, and cut the lower lid in two. The poor fellow fell to the ground as if he had been shot, and really, from the report of the whip, I was at first uncertain of the nature of the accident. PONDEBADGERY. We had gradually ascended some hills; and as the sweep of the valley led southerly, we continued along it until we got to its very head; then, crossing the ridge we descended the opposite side, towards a beautiful plain, on the further extremity of which the river line was marked by the dark-leafed casuarina. In spite of the badness of the weather and the misfortunes of the day, I could not but admire the beauty of the scene. We were obliged to remain stationary the following day, in consequence of one of the drays being out of repair, and requiring a new axle-tree. I could hardly regret the necessity that kept us in so delightful a spot. This plain, which the natives called Pondebadgery, and in which a station has since been formed, is about two miles in breadth, by about three and a-half in length. It is surrounded apparently on every side by hills. The river running E. and W. forms its southern boundary. The hills by which we had entered it, terminating abruptly on the river to the north-east, form a semi-circle round it to the N.N.W. where a valley, the end of which cannot be seen, runs to the north-west, of about half a mile in breadth. On the opposite side of the river moderate hills rise over each other, and leave little space between them and its banks. The Morumbidgee itself, with an increased breadth, averaging from seventy to eighty yards, presents a still, deep sheet of water to the view, over which the casuarina bends with all the grace of the willow, or the birch, but with more sombre foliage. To the west, a high line of flooded-gum trees extending from the river to the base of the hills which form the west side of the valley before noticed, hides the near elevations, and thus shuts in the whole space. The soil of the plain is of the richest description, and the hills backing it, together with the valley, are capable of depasturing the most extensive flocks. Such is the general landscape from the centre of Pondebadgery Plain. Behind the line of gum-trees, the river suddenly sweeps away to the south, and forms a deep bight of seven miles, when, bearing up again to the N.W. it meets some hills about 10 miles to the W.N.W. of the plain, thus encircling a still more extensive space, that for richness of soil, and for abundance of pasture, can nowhere be excelled; such, though on a smaller scale, are all the flats that adorn the banks of the Morumbidgee, first on one side and then on the other, as the hills close in upon them, from Juggiong to Pondebadgery. TRAVELLING DOWN THE RIVER. It is deeply to be regretted that this noble river should exist at such a distance from the capital as to be unavailable. During our stay on the Pondebadgery Plain, the men caught a number of codfish, as they are generally termed, but which are, in reality, a species of perch. The largest weighed 40lb. but the majority of the others were small, not exceeding from six to eight. M'Leay and I walked to the N.W. extremity of the plain, in order to ascertain how we should debouche from it, and to get, if possible, a view of the western interior. We took with us two blacks who had attached themselves to the party, and had made themselves generally useful. On ascending the most westerly of the hills, we found it composed of micaceous schist, the upper coat of which was extremely soft, and broke with a slaty fracture, or crumbled into a sparkling dust beneath our feet. The summit of the hill was barren, and beef-wood alone grew on it. The valley, of which it was the western boundary, ran up northerly for two or three miles, with all the appearance of richness and verdure. To the south extended the flat I have noticed, more heavily timbered than we had usually found them, bounded, or backed rather, by a hilly country, although one fast losing in its general height. To the W.N.W. there was a moderate range of hills on the opposite side of an extensive valley, running up northerly, from which a lateral branch swept round to the W.N.W. with a gradual ascent into the hills, which bore the same appearance of open forest, grazing land, as prevailed in similar tracts to the eastward. The blacks pointed out to us our route up the valley, and stated that we should get on the banks of the river again in a direction W. by N. from the place on which we stood. We accordingly crossed the principal valley on the following morning, and gradually ascended the opposite line of hills. They terminate to the S.E. in lofty precipices, overlooking the river flats, and having a deep chain of ponds under them. The descent towards the river was abrupt, and we encamped upon its banks, with a more confined view than any we had ever had before. There was an evident change in the river; the banks were reedy, the channel deep and muddy, and the neighbourhood bore more the appearance of being subject to overflow than it had done in any one place we had passed over. The hills were much lower, and as we gained the southern brow of that under which we encamped, we could see a level and wooded country to the westward. The line of the horizon was unbroken by any hills in the distance, and the nearer ones seemed gradually to lose themselves in the darkness of the landscape. The two natives, whom the stockmen had named Peter and Jemmie, were of infinite service to us, from their knowledge of all the passes, and the general features of the country. Having, however, seen us thus far on the journey from their usual haunts, they became anxious to return, and it was with some difficulty we persuaded them to accompany us for a few days longer, in hopes of reward. The weather had been cool and pleasant; the thermometer averaging 78 of Fahrenheit at noon, in consequences of which the animals kept in good condition, the men healthy and zealous. The sheep Mr. O'Brien had presented to us, gave no additional trouble; they followed in the rear of the party without attempting to wander, and were secured at night in a small pen or fold. No waste attended their slaughter, nor did they lose in condition, from being driven from ten to fifteen miles daily, so much as I had been led to suppose they would have done. CHAPTER III. Character of the Morumbidgee where it issues from the hilly country--Appearance of approach to swamps--Hamilton Plains--Intercourse with the natives--Their appearance, customs, &c.--Change in the character of the river--Mirage--Dreariness of the country--Ride towards the Lachlan river--Two boats built and launched on the Morumbidgee; and the drays, with part of the men sent back to Goulburn Plains. NATIVES--WILD GAME,&c.; CHARACTER OF THE RIVER AND THE ADJOINING COUNTRY. From our camp, the Morumbidgee held a direct westerly course for about three miles. The hills under which we had encamped, rose so close upon our right as to leave little space between them and the river. At the distance of three miles, however, they suddenly terminated, and the river changed its direction to the S.W., while a chain of ponds extended to the westward, and separated the alluvial flats from a somewhat more elevated plain before us. We kept these ponds upon our left for some time, but, as they ultimately followed the bend of the river, we left them. The blacks led us on a W. by S. course to the base of a small range two or three miles distant, near which there was a deep lagoon. It was evident they here expected to have found some other natives. Being disappointed, however, they turned in towards the river again, but we stopped short of it on the side of a serpentine sheet of water, an apparent continuation of the chain of ponds we had left behind us, forming a kind of ditch round the S.W. extremity of the range, parallel to which we had continued to travel. This range, which had been gradually decreasing in height from the lagoon, above which it rose perpendicularly, might almost be said to terminate here. We fell in with two or three natives before we halted, but the evident want of population in so fine a country, and on so noble a river, surprised me extremely. We saw several red kangaroos in the course of the day, and succeeded in killing one. It certainly is a beautiful animal, ranging the wilds in native freedom. The female and the kid are of a light mouse-colour. Wild turkeys abound on this part of the Morumbidgee, but with the exception of a few terns, which are found hovering over the lagoons, no new birds had as yet been procured; and the only plant that enriched our collection, was an unknown metrosideros. In crossing the extremity of the range, the wheels of the dray sunk deep into a yielding and coarse sandy soil, of decomposed granite, on which forest-grass prevailed in tufts, which, being far apart, made the ground uneven, and caused the animals to trip. We rose at one time sufficiently high to obtain an extensive view, and had our opinions confirmed as to the level nature of the country we were so rapidly approaching. From the N. to the W.S.W. the eye wandered over a wooded and unbroken interior, if I except a solitary double hill that rose in the midst of it, bearing S. 82 degrees W. distant 12 miles, and another singular elevation that bore S. 32 degrees W. called by the natives, Kengal. The appearance to the E.S.E. was still that of a mountainous country, while from the N.E., the hills gradually decrease in height, until lost in the darkness of surrounding objects to the northward. We did not travel this day more than 13 miles on a W. by N. course. The Morumbidgee, where we struck it, by its increased size, kept alive our anticipations of its ultimately leading us to some important point. The partial rains that had fallen while we were on its upper branch, had swollen it considerably, and it now rolled along a vast body of water at the rate of three miles an hour, preserving a medium width of 150 feet; its banks retaining a height far above the usual level of the stream. A traveller who had never before descended into the interior of New Holland, would have spurned the idea of such a river terminating in marshes; but with the experience of the former journey, strong as hope was within my breast, I still feared it might lose itself in the vast flat upon which we could scarcely be said to have yet entered. The country was indeed taking up more and more every day the features of the N.W. interior. Cypresses were observed upon the minor ridges, and the soil near the river, although still rich, and certainly more extensive than above, was occasionally mixed with sand, and scattered over with the claws of crayfish and shells, indicating its greater liability to be flooded; nor indeed could I entertain a doubt that the river had laid a great part of the levels around us under water long after it found that channel in which nature intended ultimately to confine it. We killed another fine red kangaroo in the early part of the day, in galloping after which I got a heavy fall. The two blacks who had been with us so long, and who had not only exerted themselves to assist us, but had contributed in no small degree to our amusement, though they had from M'Leay's liberality, tasted all the dainties with which we had provided ourselves, from sugar to concentrated cayenne, intimated that they could no longer accompany the party. They had probably got to the extremity of their beat, and dared not venture any further. They left us with evident regret, receiving, on their departure, several valuable presents, in the shape of tomahawks &c. The last thing they did was to point out the way to us, and to promise to join us on our return, although they evidently little anticipated ever seeing us again. In pursuing our journey, we entered a forest, consisting of box-trees, casuarinae, and cypresses, on a light sandy soil, in which both horses and bullocks sunk so deep that their labour was greatly increased, more especially as the weather had become much warmer. At noon I altered my course from N.W. by W. to W.N.W., and reached the Morumbidgee at 3 in the afternoon. The flats bordering it were extensive and rich, and, being partially mixed with sand, were more fitted for agricultural purposes than the stiffer and purer soil amidst the mountains; but the interior beyond them was far from being of corresponding quality. We crossed several plains on which vegetation was scanty, probably owing to the hardness of the soil, which was a stiff loamy clay, and which must check the growth of plants, by preventing the roots from striking freely into it. The river where we stopped for the night appeared to have risen considerably, and the fish were rolling about on the surface of the water with a noise like porpoises. No elevations were visible, so that I had not an opportunity of continuing the chain of survey with the points I had previously taken. TRAVELLING DOWN THE RIVER. As we proceeded down the river on the 8th, the flats became still more extensive than they had ever been, and might almost be denominated plains. Vegetation was scanty upon them, although the soil was of the first quality. About nine miles from our camp, we struck on a small isolated hill, that could scarcely have been of 200 feet elevation; yet, depressed as it was, the view from its summit was very extensive, and I was surprised to find that we were still in some measure surrounded by high lands, of which I took the following bearings, connected with the present ones. A High Peak.....N. 66 E. distance 40 miles. Kengal ........ N. 110 E. distant. Double Hill ... S. 10 W. distant. To the north, there were several fires burning, which appeared rather the fires of natives, than conflagrations, and as the river had made a bend to the N.N.W., I doubted not that they were upon its banks. From this hill, which was of compact granite, we struck away to the W.N.W., and shortly afterwards crossed some remarkable sand-hills. Figuratively speaking, they appeared like islands amidst the alluvial deposits, and were as pure in their composition as the sand on the sea-shore. They were generally covered with forest grass, in tufts, and a coarse kind of rushes, under banksias and cypresses. We found a small fire on the banks of the river, and close to it the couch and hut of a solitary native, who had probably seen us approach, and had fled. There cannot be many inhabitants hereabouts, since there are no paths to indicate that they frequent this part of the Morumbidgee more at one season than another. On the 9th, the river fell off again to the westward, and we lost a good deal of the northing we had made the day before. We journeyed pretty nearly equidistant from the stream, and kept altogether on the alluvial flats. As we were wandering along the banks of the river, a black started up before us, and swam across to the opposite side, where he immediately hid himself. We could by no means induce him to show himself; he was probably the lonely being whom we had scared away from the fire the day before. In the afternoon, however we surprised a family of six natives, and persuaded them to follow us to our halting place. My boy understood them well; but the young savage had the cunning to hide the information they gave him, or, for aught I know, to ask questions that best suited his own purposes, and therefore we gained little intelligence from them. Every day now produced some change in the face of the country, by which it became more and more assimilated to that I had traversed during the first expedition. Acacia pendula now made its appearance on several plains beyond the river deposits, as well as that salsolaceous class of plants, among which the schlerolina and rhagodia are so remarkable. The natives left us at sunset, but returned early in the morning with an extremely facetious and good-humoured old man, who volunteered to act as our guide without the least hesitation. There was a cheerfulness in his manner, that gained our confidence at once, and rendered him a general favourite. He went in front with the dogs, and led us a little away from the river to kill kangaroos, as he said. At about two miles we struck on an inconsiderable elevation, which the party crossed at the S.W. extremity. I ascended it at the opposite end, but although the view was extensive, I could not make out the little hill of granite from which I had taken my former bearings, and the only elevation I could recognise as connected with them, was one about ten miles distant, bearing S. 168 W. I could observe very distant ranges to the E.N.E. and immediately below me in that direction, there was a large clear plain, skirted by acacia pendula, stretching from S.S.E. to N.N.W. The crown and ridges of the hill on which I stood, were barren, stony, and covered with beef-wood, the rock-formation being a coarse granite. The drays had got so far ahead of me that I did not overtake them before they had halted on the river at a distance of ten miles. INFORMATION FROM A NATIVE. The Morumbidgee appeared, on examination, to have increased in breadth, and continued to rise gradually. It is certainly a noble stream, very different from those I had already traced to their termination. The old black informed me that there was another large river flowing to the southward of west, to which the Morumbidgee was as a creek, and that we could gain it in four days. He stated that its waters were good, but that its banks were not peopled. That such a feature existed where he laid it down, I thought extremely probable, because it was only natural to expect that other streams descended from the mountains in the S.E. of the island, as well as that on which we were travelling. The question was, whether either of them held on an uninterrupted course to some reservoir, or whether they fell short of the coast and exhausted themselves in marshes. Considering the concave direction of the mountains to the S.E., I even at this time hoped that the rivers falling into the interior would unite sooner or later, and contribute to the formation of an important and navigable stream. Of the fate of the Morumbidgee, the old black could give no account. It seemed probable, therefore, that we were far from its termination. I had hitherto been rather severe upon the animals, for although our journey had not exceeded from twelve to fifteen miles a day, it had been without intermission. I determined, therefore, to give both men and animals a day of rest, as soon as I should find a convenient place. We started on the 11th with this intention, but we managed to creep over eight or ten miles of ground before we halted. The country was slightly undulated, and much intersected by creeks, few of which had water in them. The whole tract was, however, well adapted either for agriculture, or for grazing, and, in spite of the drought that had evidently long hung over it, was well covered with vegetation. We had passed all high lands, and the interior to the westward presented an unbroken level to the eye. The Morumbidgee appeared to hold a more northerly course than I had anticipated. Still low ranges continued upon our right, and the cypress ridges became more frequent and denser; but the timber on the more open grounds generally consisted of box and flooded-gum. Of minor trees, the acacia pendula was the most prevalent, with a shrub bearing a round nut, enclosed in a scarlet capsule, and an interesting species of stenochylus. I had observed as yet, few of the plants of the more northern interior. NATIVES--THEIR UGLINESS. In this neighbourhood, the dogs killed an emu and a kangaroo, which came in very conveniently for some natives whom we fell in with on one of the river flats. They were, without exception, the worst featured of any I had ever seen. It is scarcely possible to conceive that human beings could be so hideous and loathsome. The old black, who was rather good-looking, told me they were the last we should see for some time, and I felt that if these were samples of the natives on the lowlands, I cared very little how few of I them we should meet. EXTENSIVE PLAINS. The country on the opposite side of the river had all the features of that to the north of it, but a plain of such extent suddenly opened upon us to the southward, that I halted at once in order to examine it, and by availing myself of a day of rest, to fix our position more truly than we could otherwise have done. We accordingly pitched our tents under some lofty gum-trees, opposite to the plain, and close upon the edge of the sandy beach of the river. Before they were turned out, the animals were carefully examined, and the pack-saddles overhauled, that they might undergo any necessary repairs. The river fell considerably during the night, but it poured along a vast body of water, possessing a strong current. The only change I remarked in it was that it now had a bed of sand, and was generally deeper on one side than on the other. It kept a very uniform breadth of from 150 to 170 feet--and a depth of from 4 to 20. Its channel, though occasionally much encumbered with fallen timber, was large enough to contain twice the volume of water then in it, but it had outer and more distant banks, the boundaries of the alluvial flats, to confine it within certain limits, during the most violent floods, and to prevent its inundating the country. HAMILTON'S PLAINS. With a view to examine the plain opposite to us, I directed our horses to be taken across the river early in the morning, and after breakfast, M'Leay and I swam across after them. We found the current strong, and could not keep a direct line over the channel, but were carried below the place at which we plunged in. We proceeded afterwards in a direction W.S.W. across the plain for five or six miles, before we saw trees on the opposite extremity, at a still greater distance. We thus found ourselves in the centre of an area of from 26 to 30 miles. It appeared to be perfectly level, though not really so. The soil upon it was good, excepting in isolated spots, where it was sandy. Vegetation was scanty upon it, but, on the whole, I should conclude that it was fitter for agriculture than for grazing. For I think it very probable, that those lands which lie hardening and bare in a state of nature, would produce abundantly if broken up by the plough. I called this Hamilton's plains, in remembrance of the surgeon of my regiment. The Morumbidgee forms its N.E. boundary, and a creek rising on it, cuts off a third part on the western side, and runs away from the river in a southerly direction. This creek, even before it gets to the outskirts of the plains, assumes a considerable size. Such a fact would argue that heavy rains fall in this part of the interior, to cut out such a watercourse, or that the soil is extremely loose; but I should think the former the most probable, since the soil of this plain had a substratum of clay. I place our encampment on the river in latitude 34 degrees 41 minutes 45 seconds S., and in East longitude 146 degrees 50 minutes, the variation of the compass being 6 degrees 10 minutes E. INTERCOURSE WITH THE NATIVES; SCANTINESS OF THE POPULATION. On our return to the camp we found several natives with our people, and among them one of the tallest I had ever seen. Their women were with them, and they appeared to have lost all apprehension of any danger occurring from us. The animals were benefited greatly by this day of rest. We left the plain, therefore, on the 13th with renewed spirits, and passed over a country very similar to that by which we had approached it, one well adapted for grazing, but intersected by numerous creeks, at two of which we found natives, some of whom joined our party. Our old friend left us in quest of some blacks, who, as he informed Hopkinson, had seen the tracks of our horses on the Darling. I was truly puzzled at such a statement, which was, however, further corroborated by the circumstance of one of the natives having a tire-nail affixed to a spear, which he said was picked up, by the man who gave it to him, on one of our encampments. I could not think it likely that this story was true, and rather imagined they must have picked up the nail near the located districts, and I was anxious to have the point cleared up. When we halted we had a large assemblage of natives with us, amounting in all to twenty-seven, but I awaited in vain the return of the old man. The night passed away without our seeing him, nor did he again join us. We started in the morning with our new acquaintances, and kept on a south-westerly course during the day, over an excellent grazing, and, in many places, an agricultural country, still intersected by creeks, that were too deep for the water to have dried in them. The country more remote from the river, however, began to assume more and more the character and appearance of the northern interior. I rode into several plains, the soil of which was either a red sandy loam, bare of vegetation, or a rotten and blistered earth, producing nothing but rhagodiae, salsolae, and misembrianthemum. We fell in with another tribe of blacks during the journey, to whom we were literally consigned by those who had been previously with us, and who now turned back, while our new friends took the lead of the drays. They were two fine young men, but had very ugly wives, and were for a long time extremely diffident. I found that I could obtain but little information through my black boy,--whether from his not understanding me, or because he was too cunning, is uncertain. One of these young men, however, clearly stated that he had seen the tracks of bullocks and horses, a long time ago, to the N.N.W. in the direction of some detached hills, that were visible from 20 to 25 miles distant. He remembered them, he said, as a boy, and added that the white men were without water. It was, therefore, clear that he alluded to Mr. Oxley's excursion, northerly from the Lachlan, and I had no doubt on my mind, that he had been on one of that officer's encampments, and that the hills to the north of us were those to the opposite base of which he had penetrated. I was determined, therefore, if practicable, to reach these hills, deeming it a matter of great importance to connect the surveys, but I deferred my journey for a day or two, in hopes, from the continued northerly course of the river, that we should have approached them nearer. In the evening we fell in with some more blacks, among whom were two brothers, of those who were acting as our guides. One had a very pretty girl as a wife, and all the four brothers were very good-looking young men. There cannot, I should think, be a numerous population on the banks of the Morumbidgee, from the fact of our having seen not more than fifty in an extent of more than 180 miles. They are apparently scattered along it in families. I was rather surprised that my boy understood their language well, since it certainly differed from that of the Macquarie tribes, but nevertheless as these people do not wander far, our information as to what was before us was very gradually arrived at, and only as we fell in with the successive families. Moreover, as my boy was very young, it may be that he was more eager in communicating to those who had no idea of them, the wonders he had seen, than in making inquiries on points that were indifferent to him. CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY. We passed a very large plain in the course of the day, which was bounded by forests of box, cypress, and the acacia pendula, of red sandy soil and parched appearance. The Morumbidgee evidently overflows a part of the lands we crossed, to a greater extent than heretofore, though the alluvial deposits beyond its influence were still both rich and extensive. The crested pigeon made its appearance on the acacias, which I took to be a sure sign of our approach to a country more than ordinarily subject to overflow; since on the Macquarie and the Darling, those birds were found only to inhabit the regions of marshes, or spaces covered by the acacia pendula, or the polygonum. We had not, however, yet seen any of the latter plant, although we were shortly destined to be almost lost amidst fields of it. CHANGE IN THE COUNTRY. We were now approaching that parallel of longitude in which the other known rivers of New Holland had been found to exhaust themselves; the least change therefore, for the worse was sufficient to raise my apprehensions; yet, although the Morumbidgee had received no tributary from the Dumot downwards, and was leading us into an apparently endless level, I saw no indication of its decreasing in size, or in the rapidity of its current. Certainly, however, I had, from the character of the country around us, an anticipation that a change was about to take place in it, and this anticipation was verified in the course of the following day. The alluvial flats gradually decreased in breadth, and we journeyed mostly over extensive and barren plains, which in many places approached so near the river as to form a part of its bank. They were covered with the salsolaceous class of plants, so common in the interior, in a red sandy soil, and were as even as a bowling green. The alluvial spaces near the river became covered with reeds, and, though subject to overflow at every partial rise of it, were so extremely small as scarcely to afford food for our cattle. Flooded-gum trees of lofty size grew on these reedy spaces, and marked the line of the river, but the timber of the interior appeared stunted and useless. DESCRIPTION OF THE NATIVES; MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE NATIVES. We found this part of the Morumbidgee much more populous than its upper branches. When we halted, we had no fewer than forty-one natives with us, of whom the young men were the least numerous. They allowed us to choose a place for ourselves before they formed their own camp, and studiously avoided encroaching on our ground so as to appear troublesome. Their manners were those of a quiet and inoffensive people, and their appearance in some measure prepossessing. The old men had lofty foreheads, and stood exceedingly erect. The young men were cleaner is their persons and were better featured than any we had seen, some of them having smooth hair and an almost Asiatic cast of countenance. On the other hand, the women and children were disgusting objects. The latter were much subject to diseases, and were dreadfully emaciated. It is evident that numbers of them die in their infancy for want of care and nourishment. We remarked none at the age of incipient puberty, but the most of them under six. In stating that the men were more prepossessing than any we had seen, I would not be understood to mean that they differed in any material point either from the natives of the coast, or of the most distant interior to which I had been, for they were decidedly the same race, and had the same leading features and customs, as far as the latter could be observed. The sunken eye and overhanging eyebrow, the high cheek-bone and thick lip, distended nostrils, the nose either short or acquiline, together with a stout bust and slender extremities, and both curled and smooth hair, marked the natives of the Morumbidgee as well as those of the Darling. They were evidently sprung from one common stock, the savage and scattered inhabitants of a rude and inhospitable land. In customs they differed in no material point from the coast natives, and still less from the tribes on the Darling and the Castlereagh. They extract the front tooth, lacerate their bodies, to raise the flesh, cicatrices being their chief ornament; procure food by the same means, paint in the same manner, and use the same weapons, as far as the productions of the country will allow them. But as the grass-tree is not found westward of the mountains, they make a light spear of a reed, similar to that of which the natives of the southern islands form their arrows. These they use for distant combat, and not only carry in numbers, but throw with the boomerang to a great distance and with unerring precision, making them to all intents and purposes as efficient as the bow and arrow. They have a ponderous spear for close fight, and others of different sizes for the chase. With regard to their laws, I believe they are universally the same all over the known parts of New South Wales. The old men have alone the privilege of eating the emu; and so submissive are the young men to this regulation, that if, from absolute hunger or under other pressing circumstances, one of them breaks through it, either during a hunting excursion, or whilst absent from his tribe, he returns under a feeling of conscious guilt, and by his manner betrays his guilt, sitting apart from the men, and confessing his misdemeanour to the chief at the first interrogation, upon which he is obliged to undergo a slight punishment. This evidently is a law of policy and necessity, for if the emus were allowed to be indiscriminately slaughtered, they would soon become extinct. Civilised nations may learn a wholesome lesson even from savages, as in this instance of their forebearance. For somewhat similar reasons, perhaps, married people alone are here permitted to eat ducks. They hold their corrobories, (midnight ceremonies), and sing the same melancholy ditty that breaks the stillness of night on the shores of Jervis' Bay, or on the banks of the Macquarie; and during the ceremony imitate the several birds and beasts with which they are acquainted. If these inland tribes differ in anything from those on the coast, it is in the mode of burying their dead, and, partially, in their language. Like all savages, they consider their women as secondary objects, oblige them to procure their own food, or throw to them over their shoulders the bones they have already picked, with a nonchalance that is extremely amusing; and, on the march, make them beasts of burden to carry their very weapons. The population of the Morumbidgee, as far as we had descended it at this time, did not exceed from ninety to a hundred souls. I am persuaded that disease and accidents consign many of them to a premature grave. MIRAGE. From this camp, one family only accompanied us. We journeyed due west over plains of great extent. The soil upon them was soft and yielding, in some places being a kind of light earth covered with rhagodiae, in others a red tenacious clay, overrun by the misembrianthemum and salsolae. Nothing could exceed the apparent barrenness of these plains, or the cheerlessness of the landscape. We had left all high lands behind us, and were now on an extensive plain, bounded in the distance by low trees or by dark lines of cypresses. The lofty gum-trees on the river followed its windings, and, as we opened the points, they appeared, from the peculiar effect of a mirage, as bold promontories jutting into the ocean, having literally the blue tint of distance. This mirage floated in a light tremulous vapour on the ground, and not only deceived us with regard to the extent of the plains, and the appearance of objects, but hid the trees, in fact, from our view altogether; so that, in moving, as we imagined, upon the very point or angle of the river, we found as we neared it, that the trees stretched much further into the plain, and were obliged to alter our course to round them. The heated state of the atmosphere, and the sandy nature of the country could alone have caused a mirage so striking in its effects, as this,--exceeding considerably similar appearances noticed during the first expedition. The travelling was so heavy, that I was obliged to make a short day's journey, and when we struck the river for the purpose of halting, it had fallen off very much in appearance, and was evidently much contracted, with low banks and a sandy bed. It was difficult to account for this sudden change, but when I gazed on the extent of level country before me, I began to dread that this hitherto beautiful stream would ultimately disappoint us. EXCURSION TOWARDS A RIDGE OF HILLS. I had deferred my intended excursion to the hills under which I imagined Mr. Oxley had encamped, until we were out of sight of them, and I now feared that it was almost too late to undertake it, but I was still anxious to determine a point in which I felt considerable interest. I was the more desirous of surveying the country to the northward, because of the apparent eagerness with which the natives had caught at the word Colare, which I recollected having heard a black on the Macquarie make use of in speaking of the Lachlan. They pointed to the N.N.W., and making a sweep with the arm raised towards the sky, seemed to intimate that a large sheet of water existed in that direction; and added that it communicated with the Morumbidgee more to the westward. This information confirmed still more my impressions with regard to Mr. Oxley's line of route; and, as I found a ready volunteer in M'Leay, I gave the party in charge to Harris until I should rejoin him, and turned back towards the hills, with the intention of reaching them if possible. No doubt we should have done so had it not been for the nature of the ground over which we travelled, and the impossibility of our exceeding a walk. We rode to a distance of 18 miles, but still found ourselves far short of the hills, and therefore gave up the point. I considered, however, that we were about the same distance to the south, as Mr. Oxley had been to the north of them, and in taking bearings of the highest points, I afterwards found that they exactly tallied with his bearings, supposing him to have taken them from his camp. QUIET DEMEANOUR OF THE NATIVES. On our way to the river, we Passed through some dense bushes of casuarinae and cypresses, to the outskirts of the plains through which the Morumbidgee winds. We reached the camp two or three hours after sunset, and found it crowded with natives to the number of 60. They were extremely quiet and inoffensive in their demeanour, and asked us to point out where they might sleep, before they ventured to kindle their fires. One old man, we remarked, had a club foot, and another was blind, but, as far as we could judge from the glare of the fires, the generality of them were fine young men, and supported themselves in a very erect posture when standing or walking. There were many children with the women, among whom colds seemed to prevail. It blew heavily from the N.W. during the night, and a little rain fell in the early part of the morning. Our route during the day, was over as melancholy a tract as ever was travelled. The plains to the N. and N.W. bounded the horizon; not a tree of any kind was visible upon them. It was equally open to the S., and it appeared as if the river was decoying us into a desert, there to leave us in difficulty and in distress. The very mirage had the effect of boundlessness in it, by blending objects in one general hue; or, playing on the ground, it cheated us with an appearance of water, and on arriving at the spot, we found a continuation of the same scorching plain, over which we were moving, instead of the stream we had hoped for. The cattle about this time began to suffer, and, anxious as I was to push on, I was obliged to shorten my journeys, according to circumstances. Amidst the desolation around us, the river kept alive our hopes. If it traversed deserts, it might reach fertile lands, and it was to the issue of the journey that we had to look for success. It here, however, evidently overflowed its banks more extensively than heretofore, and broad belts of reeds were visible on either side of it, on which the animals exclusively subsisted. Most of the natives had followed us, and their patience and abstinence surprised me exceedingly. Some of them had been more than twenty-four hours without food, and yet seemed as little disposed to seek it as ever. I really thought they expected me to supply their wants, but as I could not act so liberal a scale, George M'Leay undeceived them; after which they betook themselves to the river, and got a supply of muscles. I rather think their going so frequently into the water engenders a catarrh, or renders them more liable to it than they otherwise would be. In the afternoon the wind shifted to the S.W. It blew a hurricane; and the temperature of the air was extremely low. The natives felt the cold beyond belief and kindled large fires. In the morning, when we moved away, the most of them started with fire-sticks to keep themselves warm; but they dropped off one by one, and at noon we found ourselves totally deserted. DREARINESS OF THE LANDSCAPE. It is impossible for me to describe the kind of country we were now traversing, or the dreariness of the view it presented. The plains were still open to the horizon, but here and there a stunted gum-tree, or a gloomy cypress, seemed placed by nature as mourners over the surrounding desolation. Neither beast nor bird inhabited these lonely and inhospitable regions, over which the silence of the grave seemed to reign. We had not, for days past, seen a blade of grass, so that the animals could not have been in very good condition. We pushed on, however, sixteen miles, in consequence of the coolness of the weather. We observed little change in the river in that distance, excepting that it had taken up a muddy bottom, and lost all the sand that used to fill it. The soil and productions on the plains continued unchanged in every respect. From this time to the 22nd, the country presented the same aspect. Occasional groups of cypress showed themselves on narrow sandy ridges, or partial brushes extended from the river, consisting chiefly of the acacia pendula, the stenochylus, and the nut I have already noticed. The soil on which they grew was, if possible, worse than that of the barren plain which we were traversing; and their colour and drooping state rendered the desolate landscape still more dreary. On the 21st, we found the same singular substance (gypsum) embedded in the bank of the river that had been collected, during the former expedition, on the banks of the Darling; and hope, which is always uppermost in the human breast, induced me to think that we were fast approaching that stream. My observations placed me in 34 degrees 17 minutes 15 seconds S. and 145 degrees of E. longitude. BLACK BOY DESERTS. On the 22nd, my black boy deserted me. I was not surprised at his doing so, neither did I regret his loss, for he had been of little use under any circumstances. He was far too cunning for our purpose. I know not that the term ingratitude can be applied to one in his situation, and in whose bosom nature had implanted a love of freedom. We learnt from four blacks, with whom he had spoken, and who came to us in the afternoon, that he had gone up the river,--as I conjectured, to the last large tribe we had left, with whom he appeared to become very intimate. A creek coming from the N.N.W. here fell into the Morumbidgee; a proof that the general decline of country was really to the south, although a person looking over it would have supposed the contrary. COUNTRY SUBJECT TO INUNDATION. We started on the 23rd, with the same boundlessness of plain on either side of us; but in the course of the morning a change took place, both in soil and productions; and from the red sandy loam, and salsolaceous plants, amidst which we had been toiling, we got upon a light tenacious and blistered soil, evidently subject to frequent overflow, and fields of polygonum junceum, amidst which, both the crested pigeon and the black quail were numerous. The drays and animals sank so deep in this, that we were obliged to make for the river, and keep upon its immediate banks. Still, with all the appearance of far-spread inundation, it continued undiminished in size, and apparently in the strength of its current. Its channel was deeper than near the mountains, but its breadth was about the same. On the 24th, we were again entangled amidst fields of polygonum, through which we laboured until after eleven, when we gained a firmer soil. Some cypresses appeared upon our right, in a dark line, and I indulged hopes that a change was about to take place in the nature of the country. We soon, however, got on a light rotten earth, and were again obliged to make for the river, with the teams completely exhausted. We had not travelled many miles from our last camp, yet it struck me, that the river had fallen off in appearance. I examined it with feelings of intense anxiety, certain, as I was, that the flooded spaces, over which we had been travelling would, sooner or later, be succeeded by a country overgrown with reeds. The river evidently overflowed its banks, on both sides, for many miles, nor had I a doubt that, at some periods, the space northward, between it and the Lachlan, presented the appearance of one vast sea. The flats of polygonum stretched away to the N.W. to an amazing distance, as well as in a southerly direction, and the very nature of the soil bore testimony to its flooded origin. But the most unaccountable circumstance to me was, that it should be entirely destitute of vegetation, with the exception of the gloomy and leafless bramble I have noticed. M'Leay, who was always indefatigable in his pursuit after subjects of natural history, shot a cockatoo, of a new species, hereabouts, having a singularly shaped upper mandible. It was white, with scarlet down under the neck feathers, smaller than the common cockatoo, and remarkable for other peculiarities. INTERCOURSE WITH NATIVES; THE COLARE OR LACHLAN. Two or three natives made their appearance at some distance from the party, but would not approach it until after we had halted. They then came to the tents, seven in number, and it was evident from their manner, that their chief or only object was to pilfer anything they could. We did not, therefore, treat them with much ceremony. They were an ill-featured race, and it was only by strict watching during the night that they were prevented from committing theft. Probably from seeing that we were aware of their intentions, they left us early, and pointing somewhat to the eastward of north, said they were going to the Colare, and on being asked how far it was, they signified that they should sleep there. I had on a former occasion recollected the term having been made use of by a black, on the Macquarie, when speaking to me of the Lachlan, and had questioned one of the young men who was with us at the time, and who seemed more intelligent than his companions, respecting it. Immediately catching at the word, he had pointed to the N.N.W., and, making a sweep with his arms raised towards the sky had intimated, evidently, that a large sheet of water existed in that direction, in the same manner that another black had done on a former occasion: on being further questioned, he stated that this communicated with the Morumbidgee more to the westward, and on my expressing a desire to go to it, he said we could not do so under four days. We had, it appeared, by the account of the seven natives, approached within one day's journey of it, and, as I thought it would be advisable to gain a little knowledge of the country to the north, I suggested to M'Leay to ride in that direction, while the party should be at rest, with some good feed for the cattle that fortune had pointed out to us. EXCURSION TOWARDS THE LACHLAN. Our horses literally sank up to their knees on parts of the great plain over which we had in the first instance to pass, and we rode from three to four miles before we caught sight of a distant wood at its northern extremity; the view from the river having been for the last two or three days, as boundless as the ocean. As we approached the wood, two columns of smoke rose from it, considerably apart, evidently the fires of natives near water. We made for the central space between them, having a dead acacia scrub upon our right. On entering the wood, we found that it contained for the most part, flooded-gum, under which bulrushes and reeds were mixed together. The whole space seemed liable to overflow, and we crossed numerous little drains, that intersected each other in every direction. From the resemblance of the ground to that at the bottom of the marshes of the Macquarie, I prognosticated to my companion that we should shortly come upon a creek, and we had not ridden a quarter of a mile further, when we found ourselves on the banks of one of considerable size. Crossing it, we proceeded northerly, until we got on the outskirts of a plain of red sandy soil, covered with rhagodia alone, and without a tree upon the visible horizon. The country appeared to be rising before us, but was extremely depressed to the eastward. After continuing along this plain for some time, I became convinced from appearances, that we were receding from water, and that the fires of the natives, which were no longer visible, must have been on the creek we had crossed, that I judged to be leading W.S.W. from the opposite quarter. We had undoubtedly struck below to the westward of the Colare or Lachlan, and the creek was the channel of communication between it and the Morumbidgee, at least such was the natural conclusion at which I arrived. Having no further object in continuing a northerly course, we turned to the S.E., and, after again passing the creek, struck away for the camp on a S. by W. course, and passed through a dense brush of cypress and casuarina in our way to it. CONNECTION OF LACHLAN WITH MORUMBIDGEE. Considering our situation as connected with the marshes of the Lachlan, I cannot but infer that the creek we struck upon during this excursion serves as a drain to the latter, to conduct its superfluous waters into the Morumbidgee in times of flood, as those of the Macquarie are conducted by the creek at the termination of its marshes into Morrisset's Chain of Ponds. It will be understood that I only surmise this. I argue from analogy, not from proof. Whether I am correct or not, my knowledge of the facts I have stated, tended very much to satisfy my mind as to the LAY of the interior; and to revive my hopes that the Morumbidgee would not fail us, although there was no appearance of the country improving. COUNTRY COVERED WITH REEDS. We started on the 26th, on a course somewhat to the N.W., and traversed plains of the same wearisome description as those I have already described. The wheels of the drays sank up to their axle-trees, and the horses above their fetlocks at every step. The fields of polygonum spread on every side of us like a dark sea, and the only green object within range of our vision was the river line of trees. In several instances, the force of both teams was put to one dray, to extricate it from the bed into which it had sunk, and the labour was considerably increased from the nature of the weather. The wind was blowing as if through a furnace, from the N.N.E., and the dust was flying in clouds, so as to render it almost suffocating to remain exposed to it. This was the only occasion upon which we felt the hot winds in the interior. We were, about noon, endeavouring to gain a point of a wood at which I expected to come upon the river again, but it was impossible for the teams to reach it without assistance. I therefore sent M'Leay forward, with orders to unload the pack animals as soon as he should make the river, and send them back to help the teams. He had scarcely been separated from me 20 minutes, when one of the men came galloping back to inform me that no river was to be found--that the country beyond the wood was covered with reeds as far as the eye could reach, and that Mr. M'Leay had sent him back for instructions. This intelligence stunned me for a moment or two, and I am sure its effect upon the men was very great. They had unexpectedly arrived at a part of the interior similar to one they had held in dread, and conjured up a thousand difficulties and privations. I desired the man to recall Mr. M'Leay; and, after gaining the wood, moved outside of it at right angles to my former course, and reached the river, after a day of severe toil and exposure, at half-past five. The country, indeed, bore every resemblance to that around the marshes of the Macquarie, but I was too weary to make any further effort: indeed it was too late for me undertake anything until the morning. ANXIOUS COGITATIONS; SURVEY OF RIVER AND ENVIRONS. The circumstances in which we were so unexpectedly placed, occupied my mind so fully that I could not sleep; and I awaited the return of light with the utmost anxiety. If we were indeed on the outskirts of marshes similar to those I had on a former occasion found so much difficulty in examining, I foresaw that in endeavouring to move round then I should recede from water, and place the expedition in jeopardy, probably, without gaining any determinate point, as it would be necessary for me to advance slowly and with caution. Our provisions, however, being calculated to last only to a certain period, I was equally reluctant to delay our operations. My course was, therefore, to be regulated by the appearance of the country and of the river, which I purposed examining with the earliest dawn. If the latter should be found to run into a region of reeds, a boat would be necessary to enable me to ascertain its direction; but, if ultimately it should be discovered to exhaust itself, we should have to strike into the interior on a N.W. course, in search of the Darling. I could not think of putting the whale-boat together in our then state of uncertainty, and it struck me that a smaller one could sooner he prepared for the purposes for which I should require it. These considerations, together with the view I had taken of the measures I might at last be forced into, determined me, on rising, to order Clayton to fell a suitable tree, and to prepare a saw-pit. The labour was of no consideration, and even if eventually the boat should not be wanted, no injury would arise, and it was better to take time by the forelock. Having marked a tree preparatory to leaving the camp, M'Leay and I started at an early hour on an excursion of deeper interest than any we had as yet undertaken; to examine the reeds, not only for the purpose of ascertaining their extent, if possible, but also to guide us in our future measures. We rode for some miles along the river side, but observed in it no signs, either of increase or of exhaustion. Its waters, though turbid, were deep, and its current still rapid. Its banks, too, were lofty, and showed no evidence of decreasing in height, so as to occasion an overflow of them, as had been the case with the Macquarie. We got among vast bodies of reeds, but the plains of the interior were visible beyond them. We were evidently in a hollow, and the decline of country was plainly to the southward of west. Every thing tended to strengthen my conviction that we were still far from the termination of the river. The character it had borne throughout, and its appearance now so far to the westward, gave me the most lively hopes that it would make good its way through the vast level into which it fell, and that its termination would accord with its promise. Besides, I daily anticipated its junction with some stream of equal, if not of greater magnitude from the S.E. I was aware that my resolves must be instant, decisive, and immediately acted upon, as on firmness and promptitude at this crisis the success of the expedition depended. About noon I checked my horse, and rather to the surprise of my companion, intimated to him my intention of returning to the camp, He naturally asked what I purposed doing. I told him it appeared to me more than probable that the Morumbidgee would hold good its course to some fixed point, now that it had reached a meridian beyond the known rivers of the interior. It was certain, from the denseness of the reeds, and the breadth of the belts, that the teams could not be brought any farther, and that, taking every thing into consideration, I had resolved on a bold and desperate measure, that of building the whale-boat, and sending home the drays. Our appearance in camp so suddenly, surprised the men not more than the orders I gave. They all thought I had struck on some remarkable change of country, and were anxious to know my ultimate views. It was not my intention however, immediately to satisfy their curiosity. I had to study their characters as long as I could, in order to select those best qualified to accompany me on the desperate adventure for which I was preparing. BOAT BUILDING. The attention both of M'Leay, and myself, was turned to the hasty building of the whale-boat. A shed was erected, and every necessary preparation made, and although Clayton had the keel of the small boat already laid down, and some planks prepared, she was abandoned for the present, and, after four days more of arduous labour, the whale-boat was painted and in the water. From her dimensions, it appeared to me impossible that she would hold all our provisions and stores, for her after-part had been fitted up as an armoury, which took away considerably from her capacity of stowage. The small boat would still, therefore, be necessary, and she was accordingly re-laid, for half the dimensions of the large boat, and in three days was alongside her consort in the river. Thus, in seven days we had put together a boat, twenty-seven feet in length, had felled a tree from the forest, with which we had built a second of half the size, had painted both, and had them at a temporary wharf ready for loading. Such would not have been the case had not our hearts been in the work, as the weather was close and sultry, and we found it a task of extreme labour. In the intervals between the hours of work, I prepared my despatches for the Governor, and when they were closed, it only remained for me to select six hands, the number I intended should accompany me down the river, and to load the boats, ere we should once more proceed in the further obedience of our instructions. COMPLETION OF ARRANGEMENTS FOR EMBARKATION. It was impossible that I could do without Clayton, whose perseverance and industry had mainly contributed to the building of the boats; of the other prisoners, I chose Mulholland and Macnamee; leaving the rest in charge of Robert Harris, whose steady conduct had merited my approbation. My servant, Harris, Hopkinson, and Fraser, of course, made up the crews. The boats were loaded in the evening of Jan. 6th, as it had been necessary to give the paint a little time to dry. On the 4th, I had sent Clayton and Mulholland to the nearest cypress range for a mast and spar, and on the evening of that day some blacks had visited us; but they sat on the bank of the river, preserving a most determined silence; and, at length, left us abruptly, and apparently in great ill humour. In the disposition of the loads, I placed all the flour, the tea, and tobacco, in the whaleboat. The meat-casks, still, and carpenters' tools, were put into the small boat. As soon as the different arrangements were completed, I collected the men, and told off those who were to accompany me. I then gave the rest over in charge to Harris, and, in adverting to their regular conduct hitherto, trusted they would be equally careful while under his orders. I then directed the last remaining sheep to be equally divided among us; and it was determined that, for fear of accidents, Harris should remain stationary for a week, at the expiration of which time, he would be at liberty to proceed to Goulburn Plains, there to receive his instructions from Sydney; while the boats were to proceed at an early hour of the morning down the river,--whether ever to return again being a point of the greatest uncertainty. CHAPTER IV. Embarkation of the party in the boats, and voyage down the Morumbidgee--The skiff swamped by striking on a sunken tree--Recovery of boat and its loading--Region of reeds--Dangers of the navigation--Contraction of the channel--Reach the junction of a large river--Intercourse with the natives on its banks--Character of the country below the junction of the rivers--Descent of a dangerous rapid--Warlike demonstrations of a tribe of natives--Unexpected deliverance from a conflict with them--Junction of another river--Give the name of the "Murray" to the principal stream. The camp was a scene of bustle and confusion long before day-light. The men whom I had selected to accompany me were in high spirits, and so eager to commence their labours that they had been unable to sleep, but busied themselves from the earliest dawn in packing up their various articles of clothing, &c. We were prevented from taking our departure so early as I had intended, by rain that fell about six. At a little after seven, however, the weather cleared up, the morning mists blew over our heads, and the sun struck upon us with his usual fervour. As soon as the minor things were stowed away, we bade adieu to Harris and his party; and shortly after, embarked on the bosom of that stream along the banks of which we had journeyed for so many miles. Notwithstanding that we only used two oars, our progress down the river was rapid. Hopkinson had arranged the loads so well, that all the party could sit at their ease, and Fraser was posted in the bow of the boat, with gun in hand, to fire at any new bird or beast that we might surprise in our silent progress. The little boat, which I shall henceforward call the skiff, was fastened by a painter to our stern. SUPPOSED JUNCTION OF LACHLAN. As the reader will have collected from what has already fallen under his notice, the country near the depot was extensively covered with reeds, beyond which vast plains of polygonum stretched away. From the bed of the river we could not observe the change that took place in it as we passed along, so that we found it necessary to land, from time to time, for the purpose of noting down its general appearance. At about fifteen miles from the depot, we came upon a large creek-junction from the N.E., which I did not doubt to be the one M'Leay and I had crossed on the 25th of December. It was much larger than the creek of the Macquarie, and was capable of holding a very great body of water, although evidently too small to contain all that occasionally rushed from its source. I laid it down as the supposed junction of the Lachlan, since I could not, against the corroborating facts in my possession, doubt its originating in the marshes of that river. Should this, eventually, prove to be the case, the similar termination of the two streams traced by Mr. Oxley will be a singular feature in the geography of the interior. EMUS--NATIVE TOMB. We were just about to land, to prepare our dinner, when two emus swam across the river ahead of us. This was an additional inducement for us to land, but we were unfortunately too slow, and the birds escaped us. We had rushed in to the right bank, and found on ascending it, that the reeds with which it had hitherto been lined, had partially ceased. A large plain, similar to those over which we had wandered prior to our gaining the flooded region, stretched away to a considerable distance behind us, and was backed by cypresses and brush. The soil of the plain was a red sandy loam, covered sparingly with salsolae and shrubs; thus indicating that the country still preserved its barren character, and that it is the same from north to south. Among the shrubs we found a tomb that appeared to have been recently constructed. No mound had been raised over the body, but an oval hollow shed occupied the centre of the burial place, that was lined with reeds and bound together with strong net-work. Round this, the usual walks were cut, and the recent traces of women's feet were visible upon them, but we saw no natives, although, from the number and size of the paths that led from the river, in various directions across the plain, I was led to conclude, that, at certain seasons, it is hereabouts numerously frequented. Fraser gathered some rushes similar to those used by the natives of the Darling in the fabrication of their nets, and as they had not before been observed, we judged them, of course, to be a sign of our near approach to that river. ASPECT OF COUNTRY AND RIVER. As soon as we had taken a hasty dinner, we again embarked, and pursued our journey. I had hoped, from the appearance of the country to the north of us, although that to the south gave little indication of any change, that we should soon clear the reeds; but at somewhat less than a mile they closed in upon the river, and our frequent examination of the neighbourhood on either side of it only tended to confirm the fact, that we were passing through a country subject to great and extensive inundation. We pulled up at half-past five, and could scarcely find space enough to pitch our tents. The Morumbidgee kept a decidedly westerly course during the day. Its channel was not so tortuous as we expected to have found it, nor did it offer any obstruction to the passage of the boats. Its banks kept a general height of eight feet, five of which were of alluvial soil, and both its depth and its current were considerable. We calculated having proceeded from 28 to 30 miles, though, perhaps, not more than half that distance in a direct line. No rain fell during the day, but we experienced some heavy squalls from the E.S.E. THE SKIFF STRIKES AND SINKS--LABOUR IN RECOVERING ARTICLES LOST. The second day of our journey from the depot was marked by an accident that had well nigh obliged us to abandon the further pursuit of the river, by depriving us of part of our means of carrying it into effect. We had proceeded, as usual, at an early hour in the morning, and not long after we started, fell in with the blacks who had visited us last, and who were now in much better humour than upon that occasion. As they had their women with them, we pushed in to the bank, and distributed some presents, after which we dropped quietly down the river. Its general depth had been such as to offer few obstructions to our progress, but about an hour after we left the natives, the skiff struck upon a sunken log, and immediately filling, went down in about twelve feet of water, The length of the painter prevented any strain upon the whale-boat, but the consequence of so serious an accident at once flashed upon our minds. That we should suffer considerably, we could not doubt, but our object was to get the skiff up with the least possible delay, to prevent the fresh water from mixing with the brine, in the casks of meat. Some short time, however, necessarily elapsed before we could effect this, and when at last the skiff was hauled ashore, we found that we were too late to prevent the mischief that we had anticipated. All the things had been fastened in the boat, but either from the shock, or the force of the current, one of the pork casks, the head of the still, and the greater part of the carpenter's tools, had been thrown out of her. As the success of the expedition might probably depend upon the complete state of the still, I determined to use every effort for its recovery: but I was truly at a loss how to find it; for the waters of the river were extremely turbid. In this dilemma, the blacks would have been of the most essential service, but they were far behind us, so that we had to depend on our own exertions alone. I directed the whale-boat to be moored over the place where the accident had happened, and then used the oars on either side of her, to feel along the bottom of the river, in hopes that by these means we should strike upon the articles we had lost. However unlikely such a measure was to prove successful, we recovered in the course of the afternoon, every thing but the still-head, and a cask of paint. Whenever the oar struck against the substance that appeared, by its sound or feel to belong to us, it was immediately pushed into the sand, and the upper end of the oar being held by two men, another descended by it to the bottom of the river, remaining under water as long as he could, to ascertain what was immediately within arm's length of him. This work was, as may be imagined, most laborious, and the men at length became much exhausted. They would not, however, give up the search for the still head, more especially after M'Leay, in diving, had descended upon it. Had he, by ascertaining his position, left it to us to heave it up, our labours would soon have ended; but, in his anxiety for its recovery, he tried to bring it up, when finding it too heavy, he let it go, and the current again swept it away. At sunset, we were obliged to relinquish our task, the men complaining of violent head-aches, which the nature of the day increased. Thinking our own efforts would be unavailing, I directed two of the men to go up the river for the blacks, at day-light in the morning, and set the reeds on fire to attract their notice. The day had been cloudy and sultry in the afternoon, the clouds collecting in the N.E.: we heard the distant thunder, and expected to have been deluged with rain. None, however, fell, although we were anxious for moisture to change the oppressive state of the atmosphere. The fire I had kindled raged behind us, and threw dense columns of smoke into the sky, that cast over the landscape a shade of the most dismal gloom. We were not in a humour to admire the picturesque, but soon betook ourselves to rest, and after such a day of labour as that we had undergone, I dispensed with the night guard. PILFERING OF NATIVES. In the morning we resumed our search for the still head, which Hopkinson at length fortunately struck with his oar. It had been swept considerably below the place at which M'Leay had dived, or we should most probably have found it sooner. With its recovery, all our fatigues were at once forgotten, and I ordered the breakfast to be got ready preparatory to our reloading the skiff. Fraser and Mulholland, who had left the camp at daylight, had not yet returned. I was sitting in the tent, when Macnamee came to inform me that one of the frying-pans was missing, which had been in use the evening previous, for that he himself had placed it on the stump of a tree, and he therefore supposed a native dog had run away with it. Soon after this, another loss was reported to me, and it was at last discovered that an extensive robbery had been committed upon us during the night, and that, in addition to the frying-pan, three cutlasses, and five tomahawks, with the pea of the steelyards, had been carried away. I was extremely surprised at this instance of daring in the natives, and determined, if possible, to punish it. About ten, Fraser and Mulholland returned with two blacks. Fraser told me he saw several natives on our side of the river, as he was returning, to whom those who were with him spoke, and I felt convinced from their manner and hesitation, that they were aware of the trick that had been played upon us. However, as Fraser had promised them a tomahawk to induce them to accompany him, I fulfilled the promise. CONTINUE OUR VOYAGE. Leaving this unlucky spot, we made good about sixteen miles during the afternoon. The river maintained its breadth and depth nor were the reeds continuous upon its banks. We passed several plains that were considerably elevated above the alluvial deposits, and the general appearance of the country induced me strongly to hope that we should shortly get out of the region of reeds, or the great flooded concavity on which we had fixed our depot; but the sameness of vegetation, and the seemingly diminutive size of the timber in the distance, argued against any change for the better in the soil of the interior. Having taken the precaution of shortening the painter of the skiff, we found less difficulty in steering her clear of obstacles, and made rapid progress down the Morumbidgee during the first cool and refreshing hours of the morning. The channel of the river became somewhat less contracted, but still retained sufficient depth for larger boats than ours, and preserved a general westerly course. Although no decline of country was visible to the eye, the current in places ran very strong. It is impossible for me to convey to the reader's mind an idea of the nature of the country through which we passed. On this day the favourable appearances, noticed yesterday, ceased almost as soon as we embarked. On the 10th, reeds lined the banks of the river on both sides, without any break, and waved like gloomy streamers over its turbid waters; while the trees stood leafless and sapless in the midst of them. Wherever we landed, the same view presented itself--a waving expanse of reeds, and a country as flat as it is possible to imagine one. The eye could seldom penetrate beyond three quarters of a mile, and the labour of walking through the reeds was immense; but within our observation all was green and cheerless. The morning had been extremely cold, with a thick haze at E.S.E. About 2 p.m. it came on to rain heavily, so that we did not stir after that hour. CONTRACTION OF THE CHANNEL. I had remarked that the Morumbidgee was not, from the depot downwards, so broad or so fine a river as it certainly is at the foot of the mountain ranges, where it gains the level country. The observations of the last two days had impressed upon my mind an idea that it was rapidly falling off, and I began to dread that it would finally terminate in one of those fatal marshes in which the Macquarie and the Lachlan exhaust themselves. My hope of a more favourable issue was considerably damped by the general appearance of the surrounding country; and from the circumstance of our not having as yet passed a single tributary. As we proceeded down the river, its channel gradually contracted, and immense trees that had been swept down it by floods, rendered the navigation dangerous and intricate. Its waters became so turbid, that it was impossible to see objects in it, notwithstanding the utmost diligence on the part of the men. About noon, we fell in with a large tribe of natives, but had great difficulty in bringing them to visit us. If they had HEARD of white men, we were evidently the first they had ever SEEN. They approached us in the most cautious manner, and were unable to subdue their fears as long as they remained with us. Collectively, these people could not have amounted to less than one hundred and twenty in number. ANOTHER ACCIDENT. As we pushed off from the bank, after having stayed with them about half an hour, the whaleboat struck with such violence on a sunken log, that she immediately leaked on her starboard side. Fortunately she was going slowly at the time, or she would most probably have received some more serious injury. One of the men was employed during the remainder of the afternoon in bailing her out, and we stopped sooner than we should otherwise have done, in order to ascertain the extent of damage, and to repair it. The reeds terminated on both sides of the river some time before we pulled up, and the country round the camp was more elevated than usual, and bore the appearance of open forest pasture land, the timber upon it being a dwarf species of box, and the soil a light tenacious earth. ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY AND OF THE RIVER. About a mile below our encampment of the 12th, we at length came upon a considerable creek-junction from the S.E. Below it, the river increased both in breadth and depth; banks were lofty and perpendicular, and even the lowest levels were but partially covered with reeds. We met with fewer obstructions in consequence, and pursued our journey with restored confidence. Towards evening a great change also took place in the aspect of the country, which no longer bore general marks of inundation. The level of the interior was broken by a small hill to the right of the stream, but the view from its summit rather damped than encouraged my hopes of any improvement. The country was covered with wood and brush, and the line of the horizon was unbroken by the least swell. We were on an apparently boundless flat, without any fixed point on which to direct our movements, nor was there a single object for the eye to rest upon, beyond the dark and gloomy wood that surrounded us on every side. Soon after passing this hill, the whale-boat struck upon a line of sunken rocks, but fortunately escaped without injury. Mulholland, who was standing in the bow, was thrown out of her, head foremost, and got a good soaking, but soon recovered himself. The composition of the rock was iron-stone, and it is the first formation that occurs westward of the dividing range. We noticed a few cypresses in the distance, but the general timber was dwarf-box, or flooded-gum, and a few of the acacia longa scattered at great distances. In verifying our position by some lunars, we found ourselves in 142 degrees 46 minutes 30 seconds of east long., and in lat. 35 degrees 25 minutes 15 seconds S. the mean variation of the compass being 4 degrees 10 minutes E. it appearing that we were decreasing the variation as we proceeded westward. On the 13th, we passed the first running stream that joins the Morumbidgee, in a course of more than 340 miles. It came from the S.E., and made a visible impression on the river at the junction, although in tracing it up, it appeared to be insignificant in itself. The circumstance of these tributaries all occurring on the left, evidenced the level nature of the country to the north. In the afternoon, we passed a dry creek also from the S.E. which must at times throw a vast supply of water into the river, since for many miles below, the latter preserved a breadth of 200 feet, and averaged from 12 to 20 feet in depth, with banks of from 15 to 18 feet in height. Yet, notwithstanding its general equality of depth, several rapids occurred, down which the boats were hurried with great velocity. The body of water in the river continued undiminished, notwithstanding its increased breadth of channel; for which reason I should imagine that it is fed by springs, independently of other supplies. Some few cypresses were again observed, and the character of the distant country resembled, in every particular, that of the interior between the Macquarie and the Darling. The general appearance of the Morumbidgee, from the moment of our starting on the 13th, to a late hour in the afternoon, had been such as to encourage my hopes of ultimate success in tracing it down; but about three o'clock we came to one of those unaccountable and mortifying changes which had already so frequently excited my apprehension. Its channel again suddenly contracted, and became almost blocked up with huge trees, that must have found their way into it down the creeks or junctions we had lately passed. The rapidity of the current increasing at the same time, rendered the navigation perplexing and dangerous. We passed reach after reach, presenting the same difficulties, and were at length obliged to pull up at 5 p.m., having a scene of confusion and danger before us that I did not dare to encounter with the evening's light; for I had not only observed that the men's eye-sight failed them as the sun descended, and that they mistook shadows for objects under water, and VICE-VERSA, but the channel had become so narrow that, although the banks were not of increased height, we were involved in comparative darkness, under a close arch of trees, and a danger was hardly seen ere we were hurried past it, almost without the possibility of avoiding it. The reach at the head of which we stopped, was crowded with the trunks of trees, the branches of which crossed each other in every direction, nor could I hope, after a minute examination of the channel, to succeed in taking the boats safely down so intricate a passage. DANGEROUS NAVIGATION OF THE MORUMBIDGEE. We rose in the morning with feelings of apprehension, and uncertainty; and, indeed, with great doubts on our minds whether we were not thus early destined to witness the wreck, and the defeat of the expedition. The men got slowly and cautiously into the boat, and placed themselves so as to leave no part of her undefended. Hopkinson stood at the bow, ready with poles to turn her head from anything upon which she might be drifting. Thus prepared, we allowed her to go with the stream. By extreme care and attention on the part of the men we passed this formidable barrier. Hopkinson in particular exerted himself, and more than once leapt from the boat upon apparently rotten logs of wood, that I should not have judged capable of bearing his weight, the more effectually to save the boat. It might have been imagined that where such a quantity of timber had accumulated, a clearer channel would have been found below, but such was not the case. In every reach we had to encounter fresh difficulties. In some places huge trees lay athwart the stream, under whose arched branches we were obliged to pass; but, generally speaking, they had been carried, roots foremost, by the current, and, therefore, presented so many points to receive us, that, at the rate at which we were going, had we struck full upon any one of them, it would have gone through and through the boat. About noon we stopped to repair, or rather to take down the remains of our awning, which had been torn away; and to breathe a moment from the state of apprehension and anxiety in which our minds had been kept during the morning. About one, we again started. The men looked anxiously out ahead; for the singular change in the river had impressed on them an idea, that we were approaching its termination, or near some adventure. On a sudden, the river took a general southern direction, but, in its tortuous course, swept round to every point of the compass with the greatest irregularity. We were carried at a fearful rate down its gloomy and contracted banks, and, in such a moment of excitement, had little time to pay attention to the country through which we were passing. It was, however, observed, that chalybeate-springs were numerous close to the water's edge. At 3 p.m., Hopkinson called out that we were approaching a junction, and in less than a minute afterwards, we were hurried into a broad and noble river. JUNCTION OF A LARGE RIVER--CHARACTER OF THE RIVER. It is impossible for me to describe the effect of so instantaneous a change of circumstances upon us. The boats were allowed to drift along at pleasure, and such was the force with which we had been shot out of the Morumbidgee, that we were carried nearly to the bank opposite its embouchure, whilst we continued to gaze in silent astonishment on the capacious channel we had entered; and when we looked for that by which we had been led into it, we could hardly believe that the insignificant gap that presented itself to us was, indeed, the termination of the beautiful and noble stream, whose course we had thus successfully followed. I can only compare the relief we experienced to that which the seaman feels on weathering the rock upon which he expected his vessel would have struck--to the calm which succeeds moments of feverish anxiety, when the dread of danger is succeeded by the certainty of escape. To myself personally, the discovery of this river was a circumstance of a particularly gratifying nature, since it not only confirmed the justness of my opinion as to the ultimate fate of the Morumbidgee, and bore me out in the apparently rash and hasty step I had taken at the depot, but assured me of ultimate success in the duty I had to perform. We had got on the high road, as it were, either to the south coast, or to some important outlet; and the appearance of the river itself was such as to justify our most sanguine expectations. I could not doubt its being the great channel of the streams from the S.E. angle of the island. Mr. Hume had mentioned to me that he crossed three very considerable streams, when employed with Mr. Hovell in 1823 in penetrating towards Port Phillips, to which the names of the Goulburn, the Hume, and the Ovens, had been given; and as I was 300 miles from the track these gentlemen had pursued, I considered it more than probable that those rivers must already have formed a junction above me, more especially when I reflected that the convexity of the mountains to the S.E. would necessarily direct the waters falling inwards from them to a common centre. We entered the new river at right angles, and, as I have remarked, at the point of junction the channel of the Morumbidgee had narrowed so as to bear all the appearance of an ordinary creek. In breadth it did not exceed fifty feet, and if, instead of having passed down it, I had been making my way up the principal streams, I should little have dreamt that so dark and gloomy an outlet concealed a river that would lead me to the haunts of civilized man, and whose fountains rose amidst snow-clad mountains. Such, however, is the characteristic of the streams falling to the westward of the coast ranges. Descending into a low and level interior, and depending on their immediate springs for existence, they fall off, as they increase their distance from the base of the mountains in which they rise, and in their lower branches give little results of the promise they had previously made. The opinion I have expressed, and which is founded on my personal experience, that the rivers crossed by Messrs. Hovell and Hume had already united above me, was strengthened by the capacity of the stream we had just discovered. It had a medium width of 350 feet, with a depth of from twelve to twenty. Its reaches were from half to three-quarters of a mile in length, and the views upon it were splendid. Of course, as the Morumbidgee entered it from the north, its first reach must have been E. and W., and it was so, as nearly as possible; but it took us a little to the southward of the latter point, in a distance of about eight miles that we pulled down it in the course of the afternoon. We then landed and pitched our tents for the night. Its transparent waters were running over a sandy bed at the rate of two-and-a-half knots an hour, and its banks, although averaging eighteen feet in height, were evidently subject to floods. ABSENCE OF NATIVES. We had not seen any natives since falling in with the last tribe on the Morumbidgee. A cessation had, therefore, taken place in our communication with them, in re-establishing which I anticipated considerable difficulty. It appeared singular that we should not have fallen in with any for several successive days, more especially at the junction of the two rivers, as in similar situations they generally have an establishment. In examining the country back from the stream, I did not observe any large paths, but it was evident that fires had made extensive ravages in the neighbourhood, so that the country was, perhaps, only temporarily deserted. Macnamee, who had wandered a little from the tents, declared that he had seen about a dozen natives round a fire, from whom (if he really did see them) he very precipitately fled, but I was inclined to discredit his story, because in our journey on the following day, we did not see even a casual wanderer. WEATHER, TEMPERATURE, &C. The river maintained its character, and raised our hopes to the highest pitch. Its breadth varied from 160 to 200 yards; and only in one place, where a reef of iron-stone stretched nearly across from the left bank, so as to contract the channel near the right and to form a considerable rapid, was there any apparent obstruction to our navigation. I was sorry, however, to remark that the breadth of alluvial soil between its outer and inner banks was very inconsiderable, and that the upper levels were poor and sandy. Blue-gum generally occupied the former, while the usual productions of the plains still predominated upon the latter, and showed that the distant interior had not yet undergone any favourable change. We experienced strong breezes from the north, but the range of the thermometer was high, and the weather rather oppressive than otherwise. On the night of the 16th, we had a strong wind from the N.W., but it moderated with day-light, and shifted to the E.N.E., and the day was favourable and cool. Our progress was in every way satisfactory, and if any change had taken place in the river, it was that the banks had increased in height, in many places to thirty feet, the soil being a red loam, and the surface much above the reach of floods. The bank opposite to the one that was so elevated, was proportionably low, and, in general, not only heavily timbered, but covered with reeds, and backed by a chain of ponds at the base of the outer embankment. INTERCOURSE WITH NATIVES. About 4 p.m., some natives were observed running by the river side behind us, but on our turning the boat's head towards the shore, they ran away. It was evident that they had no idea what we were, and, from their timidity, feeling assured that it would be impossible to bring them to a parley, we continued onwards till our usual hour of stopping, when we pitched our tents on the left bank for the night, it being the one opposite to that on which the natives had appeared. We conjectured that their curiosity would lead them to follow us, which they very shortly did; for we had scarcely made ourselves comfortable when we heard their wild notes through the woods as they advanced towards the river; and their breaking into view with their spears and shields, and painted and prepared as they were for battle, was extremely fine. They stood threatening us, and making a great noise, for a considerable time, but, finding that we took no notice of them, they, at length, became quiet. I then walked to some little distance from the party, and taking a branch in my hand, as a sign of peace, beckoned them to swim to our side of the river, which, after some time, two or three of them did. But they approached me with great caution, hesitating at every step. They soon, however, gained confidence, and were ultimately joined by all the males of their tribe. I gave the FIRST who swam the river a tomahawk (making this a rule in order to encourage them) with which he was highly delighted. I shortly afterwards placed them all in a row and fired a gun before them: they were quite unprepared for such an explosion, and after standing stupified and motionless for a moment or two, they simultaneously took to their heels, to our great amusement. I succeeded, however, in calling them back, and they regained their confidence so much, that sixteen of them remained with us all night, but the greater number retired at sunset. On the following morning, they accompanied us down the river, where we fell in with their tribe, who were stationed on an elevated bank a short distance below--to the number of eighty-three men, women, and children. Their appearance was extremely picturesque and singular. They wanted us to land, but time was too precious for such delays. Some of the boldest of the natives swam round and round the boat so as to impede the use of the oars, and the women on the bank evinced their astonishment by mingled yells and cries. They entreated us, by signs, to remain with them, but, as I foresaw a compliance on this occasion would hereafter be attended with inconvenience, I thought it better to proceed on our journey, and the natives soon ceased their importunities, and, indeed, did not follow or molest us. ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY AND OF THE RIVER BANKS. The river improved upon us at every mile. Its reaches were of noble breadth, and splendid appearance. Its current was stronger, and it was fed by numerous springs. Rocks, however, were more frequent in its bed, and in two places almost formed a barrier across the channel, leaving but a narrow space for the boats to go down. We passed several elevations of from 70 to 90 feet in height, at the base of which the stream swept along. The soil of these elevations was a mixture of clay (marl) and sand, upon coarse sandstone. Their appearance and the manner in which they had been acted upon by water, was singular, and afforded a proof of the violence of the rains in this part of the interior. From the highest of these, I observed that the country to the S.E. was gently undulated, and so far changed in character from that through which we had been travelling; still, however, it was covered with a low scrub, and was barren and unpromising. About noon of the 18th, we surprised two women at the water-side, who immediately retreated into the brush. Shortly after, four men showed themselves, and followed us for a short distance, but hid themselves upon our landing. The country still appeared undulated to the S.E.; the soil was sandy, and cypresses more abundant than any other tree. We passed several extensive sand-banks in the river, of unusual size and solidity, an evident proof of the sandy nature of the interior generally. The vast accumulations of sand at the junctions of every creek were particularly remarkable. The timber on the alluvial flats was not by any means so large as we had hitherto observed it; nor were the flats themselves so extensive as they are on the Morumbidgee and the Macquarie. Notwithstanding the aspect of the country which I have described, no POSITIVE change had as yet taken place in the general feature of the interior. The river continued to flow in a direction somewhat to the northward of west, through a country that underwent no perceptible alteration. Its waters, confined to their immediate bed, swept along considerably below the level of its inner banks; and the spaces between them and the outer ones, though generally covered with reeds, seemed not recently to have been flooded; while on the other hand, they had, in many places, from successive depositions, risen to a height far above the reach of inundation. Still, however, the more remote interior maintained its sandy and sterile character, and stretched away, in alternate plain and wood, to a distance far beyond the limits of our examination. About the 21st, a very evident change took place in it. The banks of the river suddenly acquired a perpendicular and water-worn appearance. Their summits were perfectly level, and no longer confined by a secondary embankment, but preserved an uniform equality of surface back from the stream. These banks, although so abrupt, were not so high as the upper levels, or secondary embankments. They indicated a deep alluvial deposit, and yet, being high above the reach of any ordinary flood, were covered with grass, under an open box forest, into which a moderately dense scrub occasionally penetrated. We had fallen into a concavity similar to those of the marshes, but successive depositions had almost filled it, and no longer subject to inundation, it had lost all the character of those flooded tracts. The kind of country I have been describing, lay rather to the right than to the left of the river at this place, the latter continuing low and swampy, as if the country to the south of the river were still subject to inundation. As the expedition proceeded, the left bank gradually assumed the appearance of the right; both looked water-worn and perpendicular, and though not more than from nine to ten feet in height, their summits were perfectly level in receding, and bore diminutive box-timber, with widely-scattered vegetation. Not a single elevation had, as yet, broken the dark and gloomy monotony of the interior; but as our observations were limited to a short distance from the river, our surmises on the nature of the distant country were necessarily involved in some uncertainty. THREATENED ATTACK--AMICABLE CONFERENCE. On the 19th, as we were about to conclude our journey for the day, we saw a large body of natives before us. On approaching them, they showed every disposition for combat, and ran along the bank with spears in rests, as if only waiting for an opportunity to throw them at us. They were upon the right, and as the river was broad enough to enable me to steer wide of them, I did not care much for their threats; but upon another party appearing upon the left bank, I thought it high time to disperse one or the other of them, as the channel was not wide enough to enable me to keep clear of danger, if assailed by both, as I might be while keeping amid the channel. I found, however, that they did not know how to use the advantage they possessed, as the two divisions formed a junction; those on the left swimming over to the stronger body upon the right bank. This, fortunately, prevented the necessity of any hostile measure on my part, and we were suffered to proceed unmolested, for the present. The whole then followed us without any symptom of fear, but making a dreadful shouting, and beating their spears and shields together, by way of intimidation. It is but justice to my men to say that in this critical situation they evinced the greatest coolness, though it was impossible for any one to witness such a scene with indifference. As I did not intend to fatigue the men by continuing to pull farther than we were in the habit of doing, we landed at our usual time on the left bank, and while the people were pitching the tents, I walked down the bank with M'Leay, to treat with these desperadoes in the best way we could, across the water, a measure to which my men showed great reluctance, declaring that if during our absence the natives approached them, they would undoubtedly fire upon them. I assured them it was not my intention to go out of their sight. We took our guns with us, but determined not to use them until the last extremity, both from a reluctance to shed blood and with a view to our future security. I held a long pantomimical dialogue with them, across the water, and held out the olive branch in token of amity. They at length laid aside their spears, and a long consultation took place among them, which ended in two or three wading into the river, contrary, as it appeared, to the earnest remonstrances of the majority, who, finding that their entreaties had no effect, wept aloud, and followed them with a determination, I am sure, of sharing their fate, whatever it might have been. As soon as they landed, M'Leay and I retired to a little distance from the bank, and sat down; that being the usual way among the natives of the interior, to invite to an interview. When they saw us act thus, they approached, and sat down by us, but without looking up, from a kind of diffidence peculiar to them, and which exists even among the nearest relatives, as I have already had occasion to observe. As they gained confidence, however, they showed an excessive curiosity, and stared at us in the most earnest manner. We now led them to the camp, and I gave, as was my custom, the first who had approached, a tomahawk; and to the others, some pieces of iron hoop. Those who had crossed the river amounted to about thirty-five in number. At sunset, the majority of them left us; but three old men remained at the fire-side all night. I observed that few of them had either lost their front teeth or lacerated their bodies, as the more westerly tribes do. The most loathsome diseases prevailed among them. Several were disabled by leprosy, or some similar disorder, and two or three had entirely lost their sight. They are, undoubtedly, a brave and a confiding people, and are by no means wanting in natural affection. In person, they resemble the mountain tribes. They had the thick lip, the sunken eye, the extended nostril, and long beards, and both smooth and curly hair are common among them. Their lower extremities appear to bear no proportion to their bust in point of muscular strength; but the facility with which they ascend trees of the largest growth, and the activity with which they move upon all occasions, together with their singularly erect stature, argue that such appearance is entirely deceptive. INTERCOURSE WITH NATIVES. The old men slept very soundly by the fire, and were the last to get up in the morning. M'Leay's extreme good humour had made a most favourable impression upon them, and I can picture him, even now, joining in their wild song. Whether it was from his entering so readily into their mirth, or from anything peculiar that struck them, the impression upon the whole of us was, that they took him to have been originally a black, in consequence of which they gave him the name of Rundi. Certain it is, they pressed him to show his side, and asked if he had not received a wound there--evidently as if the original Rundi had met with a violent death from a spear-wound in that place. The whole tribe, amounting in number to upwards of 150, assembled to see us take our departure. Four of them accompanied us, among whom there was one remarkable for personal strength and stature.--The 21st passed without our falling in with any new tribe, and the night of the 22nd, saw us still wandering in that lonely desert together. There was something unusual in our going through such an extent of country without meeting another tribe, but our companions appeared to be perfectly aware of the absence of inhabitants, as they never left our side. Although the banks of the river had been of general equality of height, sandy elevations still occasionally formed a part of them, and their summits were considerably higher than the alluvial flats. RAPID IN THE RIVER--DANGEROUS DESCENT OF THE BOATS. It was upon the crest of one of these steep and lofty banks, that on the morning of the 22nd, the natives who were a-head of the boat, suddenly stopped to watch our proceedings down a foaming rapid that ran beneath. We were not aware of the danger to which we were approaching, until we turned an angle of the river, and found ourselves too near to retreat. In such a moment, without knowing what was before them, the coolness of the men was strikingly exemplified. No one even spoke after they became aware that silence was necessary. The natives (probably anticipating misfortune) stood leaning upon their spears upon the lofty bank above us. Desiring the men not to move from their seats, I stood up to survey the channel, and to steer the boat to that part of it which was least impeded by rocks. I was obliged to decide upon a hasty survey, as we were already at the head of the rapid. It appeared to me that there were two passages, the one down the centre of the river, the other immediately under its right bank. A considerable rock stood directly in own way to the latter, so that I had no alternative but to descend the former. About forty yards below the rock, I noticed that a line of rocks occupied the space between the two channels, whilst a reef, projecting from the left bank, made the central passage distinctly visible, and the rapidity of the current proportionably great. I entertained hopes that the passage was clear, and that we should shoot down it without interruption; but in this I was disappointed. The boat struck with the fore-part of her keel on a sunken rock, and, swinging round as it were on a pivot, presented her bow to the rapid, while the skiff floated away into the strength of it. We had every reason to anticipate the loss of our whale-boat, whose build was so light, that had her side struck the rock, instead of her keel, she would have been laid open from stem to stern. As it was, however, she remained fixed in her position, and it only remained for us to get her off the best way we could. I saw that this could only be done by sending two of the men with a rope to the upper rock, and getting the boat, by that means, into the still water, between that and the lower one. We should then have time to examine the channels, and to decide as to that down which it would be safest to proceed. My only fear was, that the loss of the weight of the two men would lighten the boat so much, that she would be precipitated down the rapid without my having any command over her; but it happened otherwise. We succeeded in getting her into the still water, and ultimately took her down the channel under the right bank, without her sustaining any injury. A few miles below this rapid the river took a singular bend, and we found, after pulling several miles, that we were within a stone's throw of a part of the stream we had already sailed down. The four natives joined us in the camp, and assisted the men at their various occupations. The consequence was, that they were treated with more than ordinary kindness; and Fraser, for his part, in order to gratify these favoured guests, made great havoc among the feathered race. He returned after a short ramble with a variety of game, among which were a crow, a kite, and a laughing jackass (alcedo gigantea,) a species of king's-fisher, a singular bird, found in every part of Australia. Its cry, which resembles a chorus of wild spirits, is apt to startle the traveller who may be in jeopardy, as if laughing and mocking at his misfortune. It is a harmless bird, and I seldom allowed them to be destroyed, as they were sure to rouse us with the earliest dawn. To this list of Fraser's spoils, a duck and a tough old cockatoo, must be added. The whole of these our friends threw on the fire without the delay of plucking, and snatched them from that consuming element ere they were well singed, and devoured them with uncommon relish. DESERTED NATIVE VILLAGE. We pitched our tents upon a flat of good and tenacious soil. A brush, in which there was a new species of melaleuca, backed it, in the thickest part of which we found a deserted native village. The spot was evidently chosen for shelter. The huts were large and long, all facing the same point of the compass, and in every way resembling the huts occupied by the natives of the Darling. Large flocks of whistling ducks, and other wild fowl, flew over our heads to the N.W., as if making their way to some large or favourite waters. My observations placed us in lat. 34 degrees 8 minutes 15 seconds south, and in east long. 141 degrees 9 minutes 42 seconds or nearly so; and I was at a loss to conceive what direction the river would ultimately take. We were considerably to the N.W. of the point at which we had entered it, and in referring to the chart, it appeared, that if the Darling had kept a S.W. course from where the last expedition left its banks, we ought ere this to have struck upon it, or have arrived at its junction with the stream on which we were journeying. CONVERSING BY SIGNS. The natives, in attempting to answer my interrogatories, only perplexed me more and more. They evidently wished to explain something, by placing a number of sticks across each other as a kind of diagram of the country. It was, however, impossible to arrive at their meaning. They undoubtedly pointed to the westward, or rather to the south of that point, as the future course of the river; but there was something more that they were anxious to explain, which I could not comprehend. The poor fellows seemed quite disappointed, and endeavoured to beat it into Fraser's head with as little success. I then desired Macnamee to get up into a tree. From the upper branches of it he said he could see hills; but his account of their appearance was such that I doubted his story: nevertheless it might have been correct. He certainly called our attention to a large fire, as if the country to the N.W. was in flames, so that it appeared we were approaching the haunts of the natives at last. It happened that Fraser and Harris were for guard, and they sat up laughing and talking with the natives long after we retired to rest. Fraser, to beguile the hours, proposed shaving his sable companions, and performed that operation with admirable dexterity upon their chief, to his great delight. I got up at an early hour, and found to my surprise that the whole of them had deserted us. Harris told me they had risen from the fire about an hour before, and had crossed the river. I was a little angry, but supposed they were aware that we were near some tribe, and had gone on a-head to prepare and collect them. LARGE CONCOURSE OF NATIVES--THEIR HOSTILE DEMEANOUR. After breakfast, we proceeded onwards as usual. The river had increased so much in width that, the wind being fair, I hoisted sail for the first time, to save the strength of my men as much as possible. Our progress was consequently rapid. We passed through a country that, from the nature of its soil and other circumstances, appeared to be intersected by creeks and lagoons. Vast flights of wild fowl passed over us, but always at a considerable elevation, while, on the other hand, the paucity of ducks on the river excited our surprise. Latterly, the trees upon the river, and in its neighbourhood, had been a tortuous kind of box. The flooded-gum grew in groups on the spaces subject to inundation, but not on the levels above the influence of any ordinary rise of the stream. Still they were much smaller than they were observed to be in the higher branches of the river. We had proceeded about nine miles, when we were surprised by the appearance in view, at the termination of a reach, of a long line of magnificent trees of green and dense foliage. As we sailed down the reach, we observed a vast concourse of natives under them, and, on a nearer approach, we not only heard their war-song, if it might so be called, but remarked that they were painted and armed, as they generally are, prior to their engaging in deadly conflict. Notwithstanding these outward signs of hostility, fancying that our four friends were with them, I continued to steer directly in for the bank on which they were collected. I found, however, when it was almost too late to turn into the succeeding reach to our left, that an attempt to land would only be attended with loss of life. The natives seemed determined to resist it. We approached so near that they held their spears quivering in their grasp ready to hurl. They were painted in various ways. Some who had marked their ribs, and thighs, and faces with a white pigment, looked like skeletons, others were daubed over with red and yellow ochre, and their bodies shone with the grease with which they had besmeared themselves. A dead silence prevailed among the front ranks, but those in the back ground, as well as the women, who carried supplies of darts, and who appeared to have had a bucket of whitewash capsized over their heads, were extremely clamorous. As I did not wish a conflict with these people, I lowered my sail, and putting the helm to starboard, we passed quietly down the stream in mid channel. Disappointed in their anticipations, the natives ran along the bank of the river, endeavouring to secure an aim at us; but, unable to throw with certainty, in consequence of the onward motion of the boat, they flung themselves into the most extravagant attitudes, and worked themselves into a state of frenzy by loud and vehement shouting. PREPARATIONS FOR CONFLICT--UNEXPECTED INTERFERENCE. It was with considerable apprehension that I observed the river to be shoaling fast, more especially as a huge sand-bank, a little below us, and on the same side on which the natives had gathered, projected nearly a third-way across the channel. To this sand-bank they ran with tumultuous uproar, and covered it over in a dense mass. Some of the chiefs advanced to the water to be nearer their victims, and turned from time to time to direct their followers. With every pacific disposition, and an extreme reluctance to take away life, I foresaw that it would be impossible any longer to avoid an engagement, yet with such fearful numbers against us, I was doubtful of the result. The spectacle we had witnessed had been one of the most appalling kind, and sufficient to shake the firmness of most men; but at that trying moment my little band preserved their temper coolness, and if any thing could be gleaned from their countenances, it was that they had determined on an obstinate resistance. I now explained to them that their only chance of escape depended, or would depend, on their firmness. I desired that after the first volley had been fired, M'Leay and three of the men, would attend to the defence of the boat with bayonets only, while I, Hopkinson, and Harris, would keep up the fire as being more used to it. I ordered, however, that no shot was to be fired until after I had discharged both my barrels. I then delivered their arms to the men, which had as yet been kept in the place appropriated for them, and at the same time some rounds of loose cartridge. The men assured me they would follow my instructions, and thus prepared, having already lowered the sail, we drifted onwards with the current. As we neared the sand-bank, I stood up and made signs to the natives to desist; but without success. I took up my gun, therefore, and cocking it, had already brought it down to a level. A few seconds more would have closed the life of the nearest of the savages. The distance was too trifling for me to doubt the fatal effects of the discharge; for I was determined to take deadly aim, in hopes that the fall of one man might save the lives of many. But at the very moment, when my hand was on the trigger, and my eye was along the barrel, my purpose was checked by M'Leay, who called to me that another party of blacks had made their appearance upon the left bank of the river. Turning round, I observed four men at the top of their speed. The foremost of them as soon as he got a-head of the boat, threw himself from a considerable height into the water. He struggled across the channel to the sand-bank, and in an incredibly short space of time stood in front of the savage, against whom my aim had been directed. Seizing him by the throat, he pushed backwards, and forcing all who were in the water upon the bank, he trod its margin with a vehemence and an agitation that were exceedingly striking. At one moment pointing to the boat, at another shaking his clenched hand in the faces of the most forward, and stamping with passion on the sand; his voice, that was at first distinct and clear, was lost in hoarse murmurs. Two of the four natives remained on the left bank of the river, but the third followed his leader, (who proved to be the remarkable savage I have previously noticed) to the scene of action. The reader will imagine our feelings on this occasion: it is impossible to describe them. We were so wholly lost in interest at the scene that was passing, that the boat was allowed to drift at pleasure. For my own part I was overwhelmed with astonishment, and in truth stunned and confused; so singular, so unexpected, and so strikingly providential, had been our escape. JUNCTION OF ANOTHER STREAM--PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCE FROM DANGER. We were again roused to action by the boat suddenly striking upon a shoal, which reached from one side of the river to the other. To jump out and push her into deeper water was but the work of a moment with the men, and it was just as she floated again that our attention was withdrawn to a new and beautiful stream, coming apparently from the north. The great body of the natives having posted themselves on the narrow tongue of land formed by the two rivers, the bold savage who had so unhesitatingly interfered on our account, was still in hot dispute with them, and I really feared his generous warmth would have brought down upon him the vengeance of the tribes. I hesitated, therefore, whether or not to go to his assistance. It appeared, however, both to M'Leay and myself, that the tone of the natives had moderated, and the old and young men having listened to the remonstrances of our friend, the middle-aged warriors were alone holding out against him. A party of about seventy blacks were upon the right bank of the newly discovered river, and I thought that by landing among them, we should make a diversion in favour of our late guest; and in this I succeeded. If even they had still meditated violence, they would have to swim a good broad junction, and that, probably, would cool them, or we at least should have the advantage of position. I therefore, ran the boat ashore, and landed with M'Leay amidst the smaller party of natives, wholly unarmed, and having directed the men to keep at a little distance from the bank. Fortunately, what I anticipated was brought about by the stratagem to which I had had recourse. The blacks no sooner observed that we had landed, than curiosity took place of anger. All wrangling ceased, and they came swimming over to us like a parcel of seals. Thus, in less than a quarter of an hour from the moment when it appeared that all human intervention was at on end, and we were on the point of commencing a bloody fray, which, independently of its own disastrous consequences, would have blasted the success of the expedition, we were peacefully surrounded by the hundreds who had so lately threatened us with destruction; nor was it until after we had returned to the boat, and had surveyed the multitude upon the sloping bank above us, that we became fully aware of the extent of our danger, and of the almost miraculous intervention of Providence in our favour. There could not have been less than six hundred natives upon that blackened sward. But this was not the only occasion upon which the merciful superintendance of that Providence to which we had humbly committed ourselves, was strikingly manifested. If these pages fail to convey entertainment or information, sufficient may at least be gleaned from them to furnish matter for serious reflection; but to those who have been placed in situations of danger where human ingenuity availed them not, and where human foresight was baffled, I feel persuaded that these remarks are unnecessary. NEW RIVER, SUPPOSED TO BE THE DARLING. It was my first care to call for our friend, and to express to him, as well as I could, how much we stood indebted to him, at the same time that I made him a suitable present; but to the chiefs of the tribes, I positively refused all gifts, notwithstanding their earnest solicitations. We next prepared to examine the new river, and turning the boat's head towards it, endeavoured to pull up the stream. Our larboard oars touched the right bank, and the current was too strong for us to conquer it with a pair only; we were, therefore, obliged to put a second upon her, a movement that excited the astonishment and admiration of the natives. One old woman seemed in absolute ecstasy, to whom M'Leay threw an old tin kettle, in recompense for the amusement she afforded us. HOIST THE UNION JACK. As soon as we got above the entrance of the new river, we found easier pulling, and proceeded up it for some miles, accompanied by the once more noisy multitude. The river preserved a breadth of one hundred yards, and a depth of rather more than twelve feet. Its banks were sloping and grassy, and were overhung by trees of magnificent size. Indeed, its appearance was so different from the water-worn banks of the sister stream, that the men exclaimed, on entering it, that we had got into an English river. Its appearance certainly almost justified the expression; for the greenness of its banks was as new to us as the size of its timber. Its waters, though sweet, were turbid, and had a taste of vegetable decay, as well as a slight tinge of green. Our progress was watched by the natives with evident anxiety. They kept abreast of us, and talked incessantly. At length, however, our course was checked by a net that stretched right across the stream. I say checked, because it would have been unfair to have passed over it with the chance of disappointing the numbers who apparently depended on it for subsistence that day. The moment was one of intense interest to me. As the men rested upon their oars, awaiting my further orders, a crowd of thoughts rushed upon me. The various conjectures I had formed of the course and importance of the Darling passed across my mind. Were they indeed realized? An irresistible conviction impressed me that we were now sailing on the bosom of that very stream from whose banks I had been twice forced to retire. I directed the Union Jack to be hoisted, and giving way to our satisfaction, we all stood up in the boat, and gave three distinct cheers. It was an English feeling, an ebullition, an overflow, which I am ready to admit that our circumstances and situation will alone excuse. The eye of every native had been fixed upon that noble flag, at all times a beautiful object, and to them a novel one, as it waved over us in the heart of a desert. They had, until that moment been particularly loquacious, but the sight of that flag and the sound of our voices hushed the tumult, and while they were still lost in astonishment, the boat's head was speedily turned, the sail was sheeted home, both wind and current were in our favour, and we vanished from them with a rapidity that surprised even ourselves, and which precluded every hope of the most adventurous among them to keep up with us. CHAPTER V. Character of the country--Damage of provisions--Adroitness of the natives in catching fish--The skiff broken up--Stream from the North-East supposed to be the Darling--Change of country in descending the river--Intercourse with the natives--Prevalence of loathsome diseases among them--Apparent populousness of the country--Junction of several small streams--The Rufus, the Lindesay, &c.--Rainy and tempestuous weather--Curious appearance of the banks--Troublesomeness of the natives--Inhospitable and desolate aspect of the country--Condition of the men--Change in the geological character of the country--The river passes through a valley among hills. Arrived once more at the junction of the two rivers, and unmolested in our occupations, we had leisure to examine it more closely. Not having as yet given a name to our first discovery, when we re-entered its capacious channel on this occasion, I laid it down as the Murray River, in compliment to the distinguished officer, Sir George Murray, who then presided over the colonial department, not only in compliance with the known wishes of his Excellency General Darling, but also in accordance with my own feelings as a soldier. The new river, whether the Darling or an additional discovery, meets its more southern rival on a N. by E. course; the latter, running W.S.W. at the confluence, the angle formed by the two rivers, is, therefore, so small that both may be considered to preserve their proper course, and neither can be said to be tributary to the other. At their junction, the Murray spreads its waters over the broad and sandy shore, upon which our boat grounded, while its more impetuous neighbour flows through the deep but narrow channel it has worked out for itself, under the right bank. The strength of their currents must have been nearly equal, since there was as distinct a line between their respective waters, to a considerable distance below the junction, as if a thin board alone separated them. The one half the channel contained the turbid waters of the northern stream, the other still preserved their original transparency. INUNDATED AND ALLUVIAL COUNTRY. The banks of the Murray did not undergo any immediate change as we proceeded. We noticed that the country had, at some time, been subject to extensive inundation, and was, beyond doubt, of alluvial formation. We passed the mouths of several large creeks that came from the north and N.W., and the country in those directions seemed to be much intersected by water-courses; while to the south it was extremely low. Having descended several minor rapids, I greatly regretted that we had no barometer to ascertain the actual dip of the interior. I computed, however, that we were not more than from eighty to ninety feet above the level of the sea. We found the channel of the Murray much encumbered with timber, and noticed some banks of sand that were of unusual size, and equalled the largest accumulations of it on the sea shore, both in extent and solidity. STATE OF PROVISIONS. We would gladly have fired into the flights of wild fowl that winged their way over us, for we, about this time, began to feel the consequences of the disaster that befell us in the Morumbidgee. The fresh water having got mixed with the brine in the meat casks, the greater part of our salt provisions had got spoiled, so that we were obliged to be extremely economical in the expenditure of what remained, as we knew not to what straits we might be driven. It will naturally be asked why we did not procure fish? The answer is easy. The men had caught many in the Morumbidgee, and on our first navigation of the Murray, but whether it was that they had disagreed with them, or that their appetites were palled, or that they were too fatigued after the labour of the day to set the lines, they did not appear to care about them. The only fish we could take was the common cod or perch; and, without sauce or butter, it is insipid enough. We occasionally exchanged pieces of iron-hoop for two other kinds of fish, the one a bream, the other a barbel, with the natives, and the eagerness with which they met our advances to barter, is a strong proof of their natural disposition towards this first step in civilization. DEXTERITY OF NATIVES IN FISHING. As they threw off all reserve when accompanying us as ambassadors, we had frequent opportunities of observing their habits. The facility, for instance, with which they procured fish was really surprising. They would slip, feet foremost, into the water as they walked along the bank of the river, as if they had accidentally done so, but, in reality, to avoid the splash they would necessarily have made if they had plunged in head foremost. As surely as they then disappeared under the surface of the water, so surely would they re-appear with a fish writhing upon the point of their short spears. The very otter scarcely exceeds them in power over the finny race, and so true is the aim of these savages, even under water, that all the fish we procured from them were pierced either close behind the lateral fin, or in the very centre of the head, It is certain, from their indifference to them, that the natives seldom eat fish when they can get anything else. Indeed, they seemed more anxious to take the small turtle, which, sunning themselves on the trunks or logs of trees over the water, were, nevertheless, extremely on their guard. A gentle splash alone indicated to us that any thing had dropped into the water, but the quick eyes and ears of our guides immediately detected what had occasioned it, and they seldom failed to take the poor little animal that had so vainly trusted to its own watchfulness for security. It appeared that the natives did not, from choice, frequent the Murray; it was evident, therefore, that they had other and better means of subsistence away from it, and it struck me, at the time, that the river we had just passed watered a better country than any through which the Murray had been found to flow. BREAK UP THE SKIFF. We encamped rather earlier than usual upon the left bank of the river, near a broad creek; for as the skiff had been a great drag upon us, I determined on breaking it up, since there was no probability that we should ever require the still, which alone remained in her. We, consequently, burnt the former, to secure her nails and iron work, and I set Clayton about cutting the copper of the latter into the shape of crescents, in order to present them to the natives. Some large huts were observed on the side of the creek, a little above the camp, the whole of which faced the N.E. This arrangement had previously been noticed by us, so that I was led to infer that the severest weather comes from the opposite quarter in this part of the interior. I had not the least idea, at the time, however, that we should, ere we reached the termination of our journey, experience the effects of the S.W. winds. We must have fallen considerably during the day from the level of our morning's position, for we passed down many reaches where the decline of country gave an increased velocity to the current of the river. I had feared, not only in consequence of the unceremonious manner in which we had left them, but, because I had, in some measure, rejected the advances of their chiefs, that none of the natives would follow us, and I regretted the circumstance on account of my men, as well as the trouble we should necessarily have in conciliating the next tribe. We had not, however, been long encamped, when seven blacks joined us. I think they would have passed on if we had not called to them. As it was, they remained with us but for a short time. We treated them very kindly, but they were evidently under constraint, and were, no doubt, glad when they found we did not object to their departing. NEW RIVER IDENTIFIED WITH THE DARLING. I have stated, that I felt satisfied in my own mind, that the beautiful stream we had passed was no other than the river Darling of my former journey. The bare assertion, however, is not sufficient to satisfy the mind of the reader, upon a point of such importance, more especially when it is considered how remarkable a change the Darling must have undergone, if this were indeed a continuation of it. I am free to confess that it required an effort to convince myself, but after due consideration, I see no reason to alter the opinion I formed at a moment of peculiar embarrassment. Yet it by no means follows that I shall convince others, although I am myself convinced. The question is one of curious speculation, and the consideration of it will lead us to an interesting conjecture, as to the probable nature of the distant interior, between the two points. It will be remembered that I was obliged to relinquish my pursuit of the Darling, in east long. 144 degrees 48 minutes 30 seconds in lat. 30 degrees 17 minutes 30 seconds south. I place the junction of the Murray and the new river, in long. 140 degrees 56 minutes east, and in south lat. 34 degrees 3 minutes. I must remark, however, that the lunars I took on this last occasion, were not satisfactory, and that there is, probably, an error, though not a material one, in the calculation. Before I measure the distance between the above points, or make any remarks on the results of my own observations, I would impress the following facts upon the reader's mind. I found and left the Darling in a complete state of exhaustion. As a river it had ceased to flow; the only supply it received was from brine springs, which, without imparting a current, rendered its waters saline and useless, and lastly, the fish in it were different from those inhabiting the other known rivers of the interior. It is true, I did not procure a perfect specimen of one, but we satisfactorily ascertained that they were different, inasmuch as they had large and strong scales, whereas the fish in the western waters have smooth skins. On the other hand, the waters of the new river were sweet, although turbid; it had a rapid current in it; and its fish were of the ordinary kind. In the above particulars, therefore, they differed much as they could well differ. Yet there were some strong points of resemblance in the appearance of the rivers themselves, which were more evident to me than I can hope to make them to the reader. Both were shaded by trees of the same magnificent dimensions; and the same kind of huts were erected on the banks of each, inhabited by the same description, or race, of people, whose weapons, whose implements, and whose nets corresponded in most respects. We will now cast our eyes over the chart: and see if the position of the two rivers upon it, will at all bear out our conclusion that they are one and the same; and whether the line that would join them is the one that the Darling would naturally take, in reference to its previous course.--We shall find that the two points under discussion, bear almost N.E. and S.W. of each other respectively, the direct line in which the Darling had been ascertained to flow, as far as it had been found practicable to trace it. I have already remarked that the fracture of my barometer prevented my ascertaining the height of the bed of the Darling above the sea, during the first expedition. A similar accident caused me equal disappointment on the second; because one of the most important points upon which I was engaged was to ascertain the dip of the interior. I believe I stated, in its proper place, that I did not think the Darling could possibly be 200 feet above the sea, and as far as my observations bear me out, I should estimate the bed of the Murray, at its junction with the new river, to be within 100. It would appear that there is a distance of 300 miles between the Murray River at this place, and the Darling; a space amply sufficient for the intervention of a hilly country. No one could have been more attentive to the features of the interior than I was; nor could any one have dwelt upon their peculiarities with more earnest attention. It were hazardous to build up any new theory, however ingenious it may appear. The conclusions into which I have been led, are founded on actual observation of the country through which I passed, and extend not beyond my actual range of vision; unless my assuming that the decline of the interior to the south has been satisfactorily established, be considered premature. If not, the features of the country certainly justify my deductions; and it will be found that they were still more confirmed by subsequent observation.--That the Darling should have lost its current in its upper branches, is not surprising, when the level nature of the country into which it falls is taken into consideration; neither does it surprise me that it should be stationary in one place, and flowing in another; since, if, as in the present instance, there is a great extent of country between the two points, which may perhaps be of considerable elevation, the river may receive tributaries, whose waters will of course follow the general decline of the country. I take it to be so in the case before us; and am of opinion, that the lower branches of the Darling are not at all dependent on its sources for a current, or for a supply of water. I have somewhere observed that it appeared to me the depressed interior over which I had already travelled, was of comparatively recent formation. And, by whatever convulsion or change so extensive a tract became exposed, I cannot but infer, that the Darling is the main channel by which the last waters of the ocean were drained off. The bottom of the estuary, for it cannot be called a valley, being then left exposed, it consequently remains the natural and proper reservoir for the streams from the eastward, or those falling easterly from the westward, if any such remain to be discovered. From the junction of the Morumbidgee to the junction of the new river, the Murray had held a W.N.W. course. From the last junction it changed its direction to the S.W., and increased considerably in size. The country to the south was certainly lower than that to the north; for, although both banks had features common to each other, the flooded spaces were much more extensive to our left than to our right. CHANGE OF COUNTRY. We started on the morning of the 24th, all the lighter from having got rid of the skiff, and certainly freer to act in case the natives should evince a hostile disposition towards us. As we proceeded down the river, the appearances around us more and more plainly indicated a change of country. Cypresses were observed in the distance, and the ground on which they stood was higher than that near the stream; as if it had again acquired its secondary banks. At length these heights approached the river so nearly as to form a part of its banks, and to separate one alluvial flat from another. Their summits were perfectly level; their soil was a red sandy loam; and their productions, for the most part, salsolae and misembrianthemum. From this it would appear that we had passed through a second region, that must at some time have been under water, and that still retained all the marks of a country partially subject to flood. INTRODUCED FROM TRIBE TO TRIBE. We had, as I have said, passed over this region, and were again hemmed in by those sandy and sterile tracts upon which the beasts of the field could obtain neither food nor water. We overtook the seven deputies some time after we started, but soon lost sight of them again, as they cut off the sweeps of the river, and shortened their journey as much as possible. At 2 p.m. we found them with a tribe of their countrymen, about eighty in number. We pulled in to the bank and remained with them for a short time, and I now determined to convince the blacks who had preceded us, that I had not been actuated by any other desire than that of showing to them that we were not to be intimidated by numbers, when I refused to make them any presents after their show of hostility. I now, therefore, gave them several implements, sundry pieces of iron hoop, and an ornamental badge of copper. When we left the tribe, we were regularly handed over to their care. The seven men who had introduced us, went back at the same time that we continued our journey, and two more belonging to the new tribe, went on a-head to prepare the the neighbouring tribe to receive us; nor did we see anything more of them during the day. We encamped on the left bank of the river, amidst a polygonum scrub, in which we found a number of the crested pigeon. It was late before the tents were pitched: as Fraser seldom assisted in that operation, but strolled out with his gun after he had kindled a fire, so on this occasion he wandered from the camp in search of novelty, and on his return, informed me that there was a considerable ridge to the south of a plain upon which he had been. I had myself walked out to the S.E., and on ascending a few feet above the level of the camp, got into a scrub. I was walking quietly through it, when I heard a rustling noise, and looking in the direction whence it proceeded, I observed a small kangaroo approaching me. Having a stick in my hand, and being aware that I was in one of their paths, I stood still until the animal came close up to me, without apparently being aware of my presence. I then gave it a blow an the side of the head, and made it reel to one side, but the stick, being rotten, broke with the force of the blow, and thus disappointed me of a good meal. During my absence from the camp, a flight of cockatoos, new to us, but similar to one that Mr. Hume shot on the Darling, passed over the tents, and I found M'Leay, with his usual anxiety, trying to get a shot at them. They had, he told me, descended to water, but they had chosen a spot so difficult of approach without discovery, that he had found it impossible to get within shot of them. RIDGE TO THE SOUTH-EAST. There was a considerable rapid just below our position, which I examined before dark. Not seeing any danger, I requested M'Leay to proceed down it in the boat as soon as he had breakfasted, and to wait for me at the bottom of it. As I wished to ascertain the nature and height of the elevations which Fraser had magnified into something grand, Fraser and I proceeded to the centre of a large plain, stretching from the left bank of the river to the southward. It was bounded to the S.E. by a low scrub; to the S. a thickly wooded ridge appeared to break the level of the country. It extended from east to west for four or five miles, and then gradually declined. At its termination, the country seemed to dip, and a dense fog, as from an extensive sheet of water, enveloped the landscape. The plain was crowded with cockatoos, that were making their morning's repast on the berries of the salsolae and rhagodia, with which it was covered. DISTANT RANGES SEEN. M'Leay had got safely down the rapid, so that as soon as I joined him, we proceeded on our journey. We fell in with the tribe we had already seen, but increased in numbers, and we had hardly left them, when we found another tribe most anxiously awaiting our arrival. We stayed with the last for some time, and exhausted our vocabulary, and exerted our ingenuity to gain some information from them. I directed Hopkinson to pile up some clay, to enquire if we were near any hills, when two or three of the blacks caught the meaning, and pointed to the N.W. Mulholland climbed up a tree in consequence of this, and reported to me that he saw lofty ranges in the direction to which the blacks pointed; that there were two apparently, the one stretching to the N.E., the other to the N.W. He stated their distance to be about forty miles, and added that he thought he could observe other ranges, through the gap, which, according to the alignment of two sticks, that I placed according to Mulholland's directions, bore S. 130 W. We had landed upon the right bank of the river, and there was a large lagoon immediately behind us. The current in the river did not run so strong as it had been. Its banks were much lower, and were generally covered with reeds. The spaces subject to flood were broader than heretofore, and the country for more than twenty miles was extremely depressed. Our view from the highest ground near the camp was very confined, since we were apparently in a hollow, and were unable to obtain a second sight of the ranges we had noticed. PASS THREE CREEKS. Three creeks fell into the Murray hereabouts. One from the north, another from the N.E., and the third from the south. The two first were almost choked up with the trunks of trees, but the last had a clear channel. Our tents stood on ground high above the reach of flood. The soil was excellent, and the brushes behind us abounded with a new species of melaleuca. The heat of the weather, at this time, was extremely oppressive, and the thermometer was seldom under 100 degrees of Fahr. at noon. The wind, too, we observed, seldom remained stationary for any length of time, but made its regular changes every twenty-four hours. In the morning, it invariably blew from the N.E., at noon it shifted to N.W., and as the sun set it flew round to the eastward of south. A few dense clouds passed over us occasionally, but no rain fell from them. DISEASES OF THE NATIVES. Our intercourse with the natives had now been constant. We had found the interior more populous than we had any reason to expect; yet as we advanced into it, the population appeared to increase. It was impossible for us to judge of the disposition of the natives during the short interviews we generally had with them, and our motions were so rapid that we did not give them time to form any concerted plan of attack, had they been inclined to attack us. They did not, however, show any disposition to hostility, but, considering all things, were quiet and orderly, nor did any instances of theft occur, or, at least, none fell under my notice. The most loathsome of diseases prevailed throughout the tribes, nor were the youngest infants exempt from them. Indeed, so young were some, whose condition was truly disgusting, that I cannot but suppose they must have been born in a state of disease; but I am uncertain whether it is fatal or not in its results, though, most probably it hurries many to a premature grave. How these diseases originated it is impossible to say. Certainly not from the colony, since the midland tribes alone were infected. Syphilis raged amongst them with fearful violence; many had lost their noses, and all the glandular parts were considerably affected. I distributed some Turner's cerate to the women, but left Fraser to superintend its application. It could do no good, of course, but it convinced the natives we intended well towards them, and, on that account, it was politic to give it, setting aside any humane feeling. POPULOUS DISTRICT. The country through which we passed on the 28th, was extremely low, full of lagoons, and thickly inhabited. No change took place in the river, or in the nature and construction of its banks. We succeeded in getting a view of the hills we had noticed when with the last tribe, and found that they bore from us due north, N. 22 E., and S. 130 W. They looked bare and perpendicular, and appeared to be about twenty miles from us. I am very uncertain as to the character of these hills, but still think that they must have been some of the faces of the bold cliffs that we had frequently passed under. From the size and number of the huts, and from the great breadth of the foot-paths, we were still further led to conclude that we were passing through a very populous district. What the actual number of inhabitants was it is impossible to say, but we seldom communicated with fewer than 200 daily. They sent ambassadors forward regularly from one tribe to another, in order to prepare for our approach, a custom that not only saved us an infinity of time, but also great personal risk. Indeed, I doubt very much whether we should ever have pushed so far down the river, had we not been assisted by the natives themselves. I was particularly careful not to do anything that would alarm them, or to permit any liberty to be taken with their women. Our reserve in this respect seemed to excite their surprise, for they asked sundry questions, by signs and expressions, as to whether we had any women, and where they were. The whole tribe generally assembled to receive us, and all, without exception, were in a complete state of nudity, and really the loathsome condition and hideous countenances of the women would, I should imagine, have been a complete antidote to the sexual passion. It is to be observed, that the women are very inferior in appearance to the men. The latter are, generally speaking, a clean-limbed and powerful race, much stouter in the bust than below, but withal, active, and, in some respects, intelligent; but the women are poor, weak, and emaciated. This, perhaps, is owing to their poverty and paucity of food, and to the treatment they receive at the hands of the men; but the latter did not show any unkindness towards them in our presence. Although I desired to avoid exciting their alarm, I still made a point of showing them the effects of a gunshot, by firing at a kite, or any other bird that happened to be near. My dexterity--for I did not trust Fraser, who would, ten to one, have missed his mark--was generally exerted, as I have said, against a kite or a crow; both of which birds generally accompanied the blacks from place to place to pick up the remnants of their meals. Yet, I was often surprised at the apparent indifference with which the natives not only saw the effect of the shot, but heard the report. I have purposely gone into the centre of a large assemblage and fired at a bird that has fallen upon their very heads, without causing a start or an exclamation, without exciting either their alarm or their curiosity. Whence this callous feeling proceeded, whether from strength of nerve, or because they had been informed by our forerunners that we should show off before them, I know not, but I certainly expected a very different effect from that which my firing generally produced, although I occasionally succeeded in scattering them pretty well. JUNCTION OF THE RUFUS. About 11 a.m., we arrived at the junction of a small river with the Murray, at which a tribe, about 250 in number, had assembled to greet us. We landed, therefore, for the double purpose of distributing presents, and of examining the junction, which, coming from the north, of course, fell into the Murray upon its right bank. Its waters were so extremely muddy, and its current so rapid, that it must have been swollen by some late rains. Perhaps, it had its sources in the hills we had seen; be that as it may, it completely discoloured the waters of the Murray. We made it a point never to distribute any presents among the natives until we had made them all sit, or stand, in a row. Sometimes this was a troublesome task, but we generally succeeded in gaining our point; with a little exertion of patience. M'Leay was a famous hand at ordering the ranks, and would, I am sure, have made a capital drill-sergeant, not less on account of his temper than of his perseverance. I called the little tributary I have noticed, the Rufus, in honour of my friend M'Leay's red head, and I have no doubt, he will understand the feeling that induced me to give it such a name. GEOLOGICAL EXAMINATION. Not many miles below the Rufus, we passed under a lofty cliff upon the same side with it. It is the first elevation of any consequence that occurs below the Darling, and not only on that account, but also on account of the numerous substances of which it is composed, and the singular formation that is near requires to be particularly noticed. [See Appendix.] The examination was a task of considerable danger, and both Fraser and myself had well nigh been buried under a mass of the cliff that became suddenly detached, and, breaking into thousands of pieces, went hissing and cracking into the river. THUNDER STORMS. The weather about this time was extremely oppressive and close. Thunder clouds darkened the sky, but no rain fell. The thermometer was seldom below 104 at noon, and its range was very trifling. The wind shifted several times during the twenty-four hours; but these changes had no effect on the thermometer. It was evident, however, as the sun set on the evening of the 26th, that the clouds from which thunder had for the last four or five days disturbed the silence of nature around us, would not long support their own weight. A little before midnight, it commenced raining, and both wind and rain continued to increase in violence until about seven in the morning of the 27th; when the weather moderated. Two or three blacks had accompanied us from the last tribe, and had lain down near the fire. As the storm increased, however, they got up, and swimming across the river, left us to ourselves. This was a very unusual thing, nor can I satisfy myself as to their object, unless it was to get into shelter, for these people though they wander naked over the country, and are daily in the water, feel the cold and rain very acutely. Observing the clouds collecting for so many days, I indulged hopes that we were near high lands, perhaps mountains; but from the loftiest spots we could see nothing but a level and dark horizon. Anxious to gain as correct a knowledge of the country as possible we had, in the course of the day, ascended a sandy ridge that was about a mile from the river. The view from the summit of this ridge promised to be more extensive than any we had of late been enabled to obtain; and as far as actual observation went, we were not disappointed, although in every other particular, the landscape was one of the most unpromising description. To the S. and S.E., the country might be said to stretch away in one unbroken plain, for it was so generally covered with wood that every inequality was hidden from our observation. To the S.W. the river line was marked out by a succession of red cliffs, similar to those we had already passed. To the north, the interior was evidently depressed; it was overgrown with a low scrub, and seemed to be barren in the extreme. The elevations upon which we stood were similar to the sand-hills near the coast, and had not a blade of grass upon them. Yet, notwithstanding the sterility of the soil, the large white amarillis which grew in such profusion on the alluvial plains of the Macquarie, was also abundant here. But it had lost its dazzling whiteness, and had assumed a sickly yellow colour and its very appearance indicated that it was not in a congenial soil. LINDESAY RIVER. We passed two very considerable junctions, the one coming from the S.E., the other from the north. Both had currents in them, but the former was running much stronger than the latter. It falls into the Murray, almost opposite to the elevations I have been describing, and, if a judgment can be hazarded from its appearance at its embouchure, it must, in its higher branches, be a stream of considerable magnitude. Under this impression, I have called it the Lindesay, as a tribute of respect to my commanding officer, Colonel Patrick Lindesay of the 39th regt. I place it in east long. 140 degrees 29 minutes, and in lat. 33 degrees 58 minutes south. Mr. Hume is of opinion that this is the most southerly of the rivers crossed by him and Mr. Hovel in 1823; but, as I have already remarked, I apprehend that all the rivers those gentlemen crossed, had united in one main stream above the junction of the Morumbidgee, and I think it much more probable that this is a new river, and that it rises to the westward of Port Phillips, rather than in the S.E. angle of the coast. NATIVES BECOME TROUBLESOME. We found the blacks who had deserted us with a tribe at the junction, but it was weak in point of numbers; as were also two other tribes or hordes to whom we were introduced in rapid succession. Taken collectively, they could not have amounted to 230 men, women, and children. The last of these hordes was exceedingly troublesome, and I really thought we should have been obliged to quarrel with them. Whether it was that we were getting impatient, or that our tempers were soured, I know not, but even M'Leay, whose partiality towards the natives was excessive at the commencement of our journey, now became weary of such constant communication as we had kept up with them. Their sameness of appearance, the disgusting diseases that raged among them, their abominable filth, the manner in which they pulled us about, and the impossibility of making them understand us, or of obtaining any information from them,--for if we could have succeeded in this point, we should have gladly borne every inconvenience,--all combined to estrange us from these people and to make their presence disagreeable. Yet there was an absolute necessity to keep up the chain of communication, to ensure our own safety, setting aside every other consideration; but as I had been fortunate in my intercourse with the natives during the first expedition, so I hoped the present journey would terminate without the occurrence of any fatal collision between us. The natives, it is true, were generally quiet; but they crowded round us frequently without any regard to our remonstrances, laying hold of the boat to prevent our going away, and I sometimes thought that had any of them been sufficiently bold to set the example, many of the tribes would have attempted our capture. Indeed, in several instances, we were obliged to resort to blows ere we could disengage ourselves from the crowds around us, and whenever this occurred, it called forth the most sullen and ferocious scowl--such, probably, as would be the forerunner of hostility, and would preclude every hope of mercy at their hands. With each new tribe we were, in some measure, obliged to submit to an examination, and to be pulled about, and fingered all over. They generally measured our hands and feet with their own, counted our fingers, felt our faces, and besmeared our shirts all over with grease and dirt. This was no very agreeable ceremony, and a repetition of it was quite revolting, more especially when we had to meet the grins or frowns of the many with firmness and composure. TEMPESTUOUS WEATHER. The weather had been tempestuous and rainy, for three or four successive days: on the 28th it cleared up a little. Under any circumstances, however, we could not have delayed our journey. We had not proceeded very far when it again commenced to rain and to blow heavily from the N.W. The river trended to the South. We passed down several rapids, and observed the marks of recent flood on the trees, to the height of seven feet. The alluvial flats did not appear to have been covered, or to be subject to overflow. The timber upon them was not of a kind that is found on flooded lands, but wherever reeds prevailed the flooded or blue gum stretched its long white branches over them. The country to the westward was low and bushy. SINGULAR FORMATION OF THE BANKS. The left bank of the Murray was extremely lofty, and occasionally rose to 100 feet perpendicularly from the water. It is really difficult to describe the appearance of the banks at this place; so singular were they in character, and so varied in form. Here they had the most beautiful columnar regularity, with capitals somewhat resembling the Corinthian order in configuration; there they showed like falls of muddy water that had suddenly been petrified; and in another place they resembled the time-worn battlements of a feudal castle. It will naturally be asked, of what could these cliffs have been composed to assume so many different forms? and what could have operated to produce such unusual appearances? The truth is, they were composed almost wholly of clay and sand. Wherever the latter had accumulated, or predominated, the gradual working of water had washed it away, and left the more compact body, in some places, so delicately hollowed out, that it seemed rather the work of art than of nature. This singular formation rested on a coarse grit, that showed itself in slabs. From the frequent occurrence of rapids I should imagine that we had fallen considerably, but there was no visible decline of country. The river swept along, in broad and noble reaches, at the base of the cliffs. Vast accumulations of sand were in its bed, a satisfactory proof of the sandy character of the distant interior, if other proof were wanting. We did not see so many natives on the 28th as we had been in the habit of seeing; perhaps in consequence of the boisterous weather. A small tribe of about sixty had collected to receive us, but we passed on without taking any notice of them, Nevertheless they deputed two of their men to follow us, who overtook us just as we stopped for the purpose of pitching our tents before the clouds should burst, that just then bore the most threatening appearance. The blacks seemed to be perfectly aware what kind of a night we should have, and busied themselves preparing a hut and making a large fire. The evening proved extremely dark, and towards midnight it blew and rained fiercely. Towards morning the wind moderated, and the rain ceased. Still, the sky was overcast, and the clouds were passing rapidly over us. The wind had, however, changed some points, and from the N.W. had veered round to the S.S.W.; and the day eventually turned out cool and pleasant. LARGE TRIBE OF NATIVES--THEIR INDIFFERENCE TO FIRE-ARMS. We fell in with a large tribe of natives, amounting in all to 270. They were extremely quiet, and kept away from the boat; in consequence of which I distributed a great many presents among them. This tribe was almost the only one that evinced any eagerness to see us. The lame had managed to hobble along, and the blind were equally anxious to touch us. There were two or three old men stretched upon the bank, from whom the last sigh seemed about to depart; yet these poor creatures evinced an anxiety to see us, and to listen to a description of our appearance, although it seemed doubtful whether they would be alive twenty-four hours after we left them. An old woman, a picture of whom would disgust my readers, made several attempts to embrace me. I managed, however, to avoid her, and at length got rid of her by handing her over to Fraser, who was no wise particular as to the object of his attention. This tribe must have been one of the most numerous on the banks of the Murray, since we fell in with detached families for many miles below the place where we had parted from the main body. I have omitted to mention that, while among them, I fired at a kite and killed it; yet, though close to me, the blacks did not start or evince the least surprise. It really is difficult to account for such firmness of nerve or self-command. It is not so much a matter of surprise that they were indifferent to its effects, for probably they knew them not, but it is certainly odd that they should not have been startled by the report. The river inclined very much to the southward for some miles below our last camp; at length it struck against some elevations that turned it more to the westward. Before we terminated our day's pull it again changed its direction to the eastward of south. The right bank became lofty, and the left proportionably depressed. REFLECTIONS ON THE PROGRESS OF THE EXPEDITION. In consequence of the boisterous weather we had had, we were uncertain as to our precise situation, even in point of latitude. But I was perfectly aware that we were considerably to the south of the head of St. Vincent's Gulf. I began, therefore, to contemplate with some confidence a speedy termination to our wanderings, or, at least, that we should soon reach the extreme point to which we could advance. The sun was at this time out of my reach, since the sextant would not measure double the altitude. Observations of the stars were, in like manner, uncertain, in consequence of the boisterous weather we had had, and the unavoidable agitation of the quicksilver. My last observation of Antares placed us in latitude 34 degrees 4 minutes; so that we were still 115 miles from the coast. We had now been twenty-two days upon the river, and it was uncertain how long we should be in compassing the distance we had still to run. Considering all things, we had, as yet, been extremely fortunate; and I hoped that we should terminate our journey without the occurrence of any fatal accident. Had the country corresponded with the noble stream that traversed it, we should have been proportionably elated, but it was impossible to conceal from ourselves its inhospitable and unprofitable character, as far as we had, as yet, penetrated. If we except the partial and alluvial flats on the immediate borders, and in the neighbourhood of its tributaries and creeks, the Murray might be said to flow through a barren and sandy interior. The appearance of the country through which we passed on the 29th, was far from being such as to encourage us with the hopes of any change for the better. The river was enclosed, on either side, by the same kind of banks that have already been described; and it almost appeared as if the plain had been rent asunder to allow of a passage for its waters. The view of the distant interior was unsatisfactory. It was, for the most part, covered with brush, but, at length, cypresses again made their appearance, although at a considerable distance from us. The river continued to flow to the southward, a circumstance that gave me much satisfaction, for I now began to feel some anxiety about the men. They had borne their fatigues and trials so cheerfully, and had behaved so well, that I could not but regret the scanty provision that remained for them. The salt meat being spoiled, it had fallen to the share of the dogs, so that we had little else than flour to eat. Fish no one would touch, and of wild fowl there were none to be seen. The men complained of sore eyes, from the perspiration constantly running into them, and it was obvious to me that they were much reduced. It will be borne in mind, that we were now performing the earliest part of our task, and were going down with the stream. I was sure that on our return, (For I had no hopes of meeting any vessel on the coast,) we should have to make every day's journey good against the current; and, if the men were now beginning to sink, it might well be doubted whether their strength would hold out. Both M'Leay and myself, therefore, encouraged any cheerfulness that occasionally broke out among them, and Frazer enlivened them by sundry tunes that he whistled whilst employed in skinning birds. I am sure, no galley-slave ever took to his oar with more reluctance than poor Frazer. He was indefatigable in most things, but he could not endure the oar. NATIVES BECOME UNRULY. We did not fall in with any natives on the 30th, neither did we see those who had preceded us from the last tribe. On the 31st, to my mortification, the river held so much to the northward, that we undid almost all our southing. What with its regular turns, and its extensive sweeps, the Murray covers treble the ground, at a moderate computation, that it would occupy in a direct course; and we had a practical instance of the truth of this in the course of the afternoon, when we found our friends ready to introduce us to a large assemblage of natives. On asking them how they had passed us, they pointed directly east to the spot at which we had parted. By crossing from one angle of the river to the other, they had performed in little more than half a day, a journey which it had taken us two long days to accomplish. After our usual distribution of presents, we pushed away from the bank; though not without some difficulty, in consequence of the obstinacy of the natives in wishing to detain us; and I was exceedingly vexed to find, while we were yet in sight of them, that we had proceeded down a shallow channel on one side of an island instead of the further and deeper one; so that the boat ultimately grounded. A crowd of the blacks rushed into the water, and surrounded us on every side. Some came to assist us, others, under a pretence of assisting, pulled against us, and I was at length obliged to repel them by threats. A good many of them were very much disposed to annoy us, and, after the boat was in deep water, some of them became quite infuriated, because we would not return. Had we been within distance, they would assuredly have hurled their spears at us. Thirteen of them followed us to our resting place. They kept rather apart from us, and kindled their fire in a little hollow about fifty paces to our right; nor did they venture to approach the tents unless we called to them, so that by their quiet and unobtrusive conduct they made up in some measure for the unruly proceedings of others of their tribe. We had now arrived at a point at which I hoped to gain some information from the natives, respecting the sea. It was to no purpose, however, that I questioned these stupid people. They understood perfectly, by my pointing to the sky, and by other signs, that I was inquiring about large waters, but they could not, or would not, give any information on the subject. CHANGE IN THE GEOLOGY OF THE COUNTRY. As we proceeded down the river, its current became weaker, and its channel somewhat deeper. Our attention was called to a remarkable change in the geology of the country, as well as to an apparent alteration in the natural productions. The cliffs of sand and clay ceased, and were succeeded by a fossil formation of the most singular description. At first, it did not exceed a foot in height above the water, but it gradually rose, like an inclined plane, and resembled in colour, and in appearance, the skulls of men piled one upon the other. The constant rippling of the water against the rock had washed out the softer parts, and made hollows and cavities, that gave the whole formation the precise appearance of a catacomb. On examination, we discovered it to be a compact bed of shells, composed of a common description of marine shell from two to three inches in length, apparently a species of turritella. BANKS OF PETRIFIED SHELLS. At about nine miles from the commencement of this formation, it rose to the height of more than 150 feet; the country became undulating, and a partial change took place in its vegetation. We stopped at an early hour, to examine some cliffs, which rising perpendicularly from the water, were different in character and substance from any we had as yet seen. They approached a dirty yellow-ochre in colour, that became brighter in hue as it rose, and, instead of being perforated, were compact and hard. The waters of the river had, however, made horizontal lines upon their fronts, which distinctly marked the rise and fall of the river, as the strength or depth of the grooves distinctly indicated the levels it generally kept. It did not appear from these lines, that the floods ever rose more than four feet above the then level of the stream, or that they continued for any length of time. On breaking off pieces of the rock, we ascertained that it was composed of one solid mass of sea-shells, of various kinds, of which the species first mentioned formed the lowest part. It rained a good deal during the night, but the morning turned out remarkably fine. The day was pleasant, for however inconvenient in some respects the frequent showers had been, they had cooled the air, and consequently prevented our feeling the heat so much as we should otherwise have done, in the close and narrow glen we had now entered. Among the natives who followed us from the last tribe, there was an old man, who took an uncommon fancy or attachment to Hopkinson, and who promised, when we separated, to join us again in the course of the day. FACE OF THE COUNTRY. As we proceeded down the river we found that it was confined in a glen, whose extreme breadth was not more than half-a-mile. The hills that rose on either side of it were of pretty equal height. The alluvial flats were extremely small, and the boldest cliffs separated them from each other. The flats were lightly wooded, and were for the most part covered with reeds or polygonum. They were not much elevated above the waters of the river, and had every appearance of being frequently inundated. At noon we pulled up to dine, upon the left bank, under some hills, which were from 200 to 250 feet in height. While the men were preparing our tea, (for we had only that to boil,) M'Leay and I ascended the hills. The brush was so thick upon them, that we could not obtain a view of the distant interior. Their summits were covered with oyster-shells, in such abundance as entirely to preclude the idea of their having been brought to such a position by the natives. They were in every stage of petrification. In the course of the afternoon the old man joined us, and got into the boat. As far as we could understand from his signs, we were at no great distance from some remarkable change or other. The river had been making to the N.W., from the commencement of the fossil formation, and it appeared as if it was inclined to keep that direction. The old man pointed to the N.W., and then placed his hand on the side of his head to indicate, as I understood him, that we should sleep to the N.W. of where we then were; but his second motion was not so intelligible, for he pointed due south, as if to indicate that such would be our future course; and he concluded his information, such as it was, by describing the roaring of the sea, and the height of the waves. It was evident this old man had been upon the coast, and we were therefore highly delighted at the prospect thus held out to us of reaching it. REMARKABLE CLIFFS. A little below the hills under which we had stopped, the country again assumed a level. A line of cliffs, of from two to three hundred feet in height, flanked the river, first on one side and then on the other, varying in length from a quarter of a mile to a mile. They rose perpendicularly from the water, and were of a bright yellow colour, rendered still more vivid occasionally by the sun shining full upon them. The summits of these cliffs were as even as if they had been built by an architect; and from their very edge, the country back from the stream was of an uniform level, and was partly plain, and partly clothed by brush. The soil upon this plateau, or table land, was sandy, and it was as barren and unproductive as the worst of the country we had passed through. On the other hand, the alluvial flats on the river increased in size, and were less subject to flood; and the river lost much of its sandy bed, and its current was greatly diminished in strength. NATIVE CHARACTER. It blew so fresh, during the greater part of the day, from the westward, that we had great difficulty in pulling against the breeze. The determined N.W. course the river kept, made me doubt the correctness of the story of the little old black; yet there was an openness of manner about him, and a clearness of description, that did not appear like fabrication. He pointed to the S.S.W. when he left us, as the direction in which he would again join us, thus confirming, without any apparent intention, what he had stated with regard to the southerly course the river was about to take. Among the natives who were with him, there was another man of very different manners and appearance. Our friend was small in stature, had piercing grey eyes, and was as quick as lightning in his movements The other was tall, and grey headed; anxious, yet unobtrusive; and confident, without the least mixture of boldness. The study of the human character on many occasions similar to this, during our intercourse with these people, rude and uncivilized as they were, was not only pleasing, but instructive. We found that the individuals of a tribe partook of one general character, and that the whole of the tribe were either decidedly quiet, or as decidedly disorderly. The whole of the blacks left us when we started, but we had not gone very far, when the individual I have described brought his family, consisting of about fifteen persons. We were going down a part of the river in which there was a very slight fall. The natives were posted under some blue-gum trees, upon the right bank, and there was a broad shoal of sand immediately to our left. They walked over to this shoal, to receive some little presents, but did not follow when we continued our journey. TAKE BEARINGS. During the whole of the day the river ran to the N.W. We stopped for the night under some cliffs, similar to those we had already passed, but somewhat higher. From their summit, mountains were visible to the N.W., but at a great distance from us. I doubted not that they were at the head of the southern gulfs; or of one of them, at all events. Our observations placed us in 34 degrees 08 minutes south of lat., and in long. 139 degrees 41 minutes 15 seconds; we were consequently nearly seventy miles from Spencer's Gulf, in a direct line, and I should have given that as the distance the hills appeared to be from us. They bore as follows:-- Lofty round mountain, S. 127 degrees W. Mountain scarcely visible, S. 128 degrees W. Northern extremity of a broken range, S. 102 degrees W. Southern extremity scarcely visible, S. 58 degrees W. The country between the river and these ranges appeared to be very low, and darkly wooded: that to the N.E. was more open. The summit of the cliff did not form any table-land, but it dipped almost immediately to the westward, and the country, although, as I have already remarked, it was depressed, and undulated. I walked to some distance from the river, across a valley, and started several kangaroos; but I was quite alone, and could not, therefore, secure one of them. Had the dogs been near, we should have had a fine feast. The soil of the interior still continued sandy, but there was a kind of short grass mixed with the salsolaceous plants upon it, that indicated, as I thought, a change for the better in the vegetation; and the circumstance of there being kangaroos in the valleys to the westward was also a favourable sign. FEAST ON A TORTOISE. Beneath the cliffs hereabouts, the river was extremely broad and deep. My servant thought it a good place for fishing and accordingly set a night-line, one end of which he fastened to the bough of a tree. During the night, being on guard, he saw a small tortoise floating on the water, so near that he struck it a violent blow with a large stick, upon which it dived: to his surprise, however, in the morning, he found that it had taken the bait, and was fast to the line. On examining it, the shell proved to be cracked, so that the blow must have been a severe one. It was the largest we had ever seen, and made an excellent dish. The flesh was beautifully white, nor could anything, especially under our circumstances, have been more tempting than it was when cooked; yet M'Leay would not partake of it. The prevailing wind was, at this time, from the S.W. It blew heavily all day, but moderated towards the evening. I was very anxious, at starting on the 3rd, as to the course the river would take, since it would prove whether the little old man had played us false or not. From the cliffs under which we had slept, it held a direct N.W. course for two or three miles. It then turned suddenly to the S.E., and gradually came round to E.N.E., so that after two hours pulling, we found ourselves just opposite to the spot from which we had started, the neck of land that separated the channels not being more than 200 yards across. I have before noticed a bend similar to this, which the Murray makes, a little above the junction of the supposed Darling with it. CHART OF THE RIVER. It may appear strange to some of my readers, that I should have laid down the windings of the river so minutely. It may therefore be necessary for me to state that every bend of it was laid down by compass, and that the bearings of the angles as they opened were regularly marked by me, so that not a single winding or curve of the Murray is omitted in the large chart. The length of some of the reaches may be erroneous, but their direction is strictly correct. I always had a sheet of paper and the compass before me, and not only marked down the river line, but also the description of country nearest; its most minute changes, its cliffs, its flats, the kind of country back from it, its lagoons, the places at which the tribes assembled, its junctions, tributaries and creeks, together with our several positions, were all regularly noted, so that on our return up the river we had no difficulty in ascertaining upon what part of it we were, by a reference to the chart; and it proved of infinite service to us, since we were enabled to judge of our distance from our several camps, as we gained them day by day with the current against us; and we should often have stopped short of them, weary and exhausted, had we not known that two or three reaches more would terminate our labour for the day. REMARKABLE CLIFFS. From the spot last spoken of, the river held on a due south course for the remainder of the day; and at the same time changed its character. It lost its sandy bed and its current together, and became deep, still, and turbid, with a muddy bottom. It increased considerably in breadth, and stretched away before us in magnificent reaches of from three to six miles in length. The cliffs under which we passed towered above us, like maritime cliffs, and the water dashed against their base like the waves of the sea. They became brighter and brighter in colour, looking like dead gold in the sun's rays; and formed an unbroken wall of a mile or two in length. The natives on their summits showed as small as crows; and the cockatoos, the eagles, and other birds, were as specks above us; the former made the valley reverberate with their harsh and discordant notes. The reader may form some idea of the height of these cliffs, when informed that the king of the feathered race made them his sanctuary. They were continuous on both sides of the river, but retired, more or less, from it, according to the extent of the alluvial flats. The river held a serpentine course down the valley through which it passed, striking the precipices alternately on each side. The soil on the flats was better, and less mixed with sand than it had been, but the flats were generally covered with reeds, though certainly not wholly subject to flood at any time. The polygonum still prevailed upon them in places, and the blue-gum tree alone occupied their outskirts. From the several elevations we ascended, the country to the N.W. appeared undulating and well wooded; that to the eastward, seemed to be brushy and low. Certainly there was a great difference in the country, both to the eastward and to the westward. We had frequent views of the mountains we had seen, or, I should have said, of a continuation of them. They bore nearly west from us at a very great distance all day. We fell in with several tribes, but did not see our old friend, although, from the inquiries we made, it was evident he was well known among them. It would disgust my readers were I to describe the miserable state of disease and infirmity to which these tribes were reduced. Leprosy of the most loathsome description, the most violent cutaneous eruptions, and glandular affections, absolutely raged through the whole of them; yet we could not escape from the persecuting examination of our persons that curiosity prompted them in some measure to insist upon. REJOINED BY OUR OLD NATIVE GUIDE. The old man, whose information had proved strictly correct, joined us again on the 4th, and his joy at being received into the boat was unbounded, as well as the pleasure he expressed at again meeting Hopkinson. He had been on a long journey, it would appear, for he had not then reached his tribe. As we approached their haunt, he landed and preceded us to collect them. We were, of course, more than usually liberal to so old a friend, and we were really sorry to part with him. Soon after leaving his tribe, which occupied the left bank of the river, and was very weak in point of numbers, we fell in with a very strong tribe upon the right bank. They numbered 211 in all. We lay off the bank, in order to escape their importunities; a measure that by no means satisfied them. The women appeared to be very prolific; but, as a race, these people are not to be compared with the natives of the mountains, or of the upper branches of the Murray. We passed some beautiful scenery in the course of the day. The river preserved a direct southerly course, and could not in any place have been less than 400 yards in breadth. The cliffs still continued, and varied perpetually in form; at one time presenting a perpendicular wall to the view, at others, they overhung the stream, in huge fragments. All were composed of a mass of shells of various kinds; a fact which will call for further observation and remark. DELAYED BY STRONG WINDS. Many circumstances at this time tended to confirm our hopes that the sea could not be very far from us, or that we should not be long in gaining it. Some sea-gulls flew over our heads, at which Fraser was about to shoot, had I not prevented him, for I hailed them as the messengers of glad tidings, and thought they ill deserved such a fate. It blew very hard from the S.W., during the whole of the day, and we found it extremely laborious pulling against the heavy and short sea that came rolling up the broad and open reaches of the Murray at this place. Four of the blacks, from the last tribe, followed us, and slept at the fires; but they were suspicious and timid, and appeared to be very glad when morning dawned. Our fires were always so much larger than those made by themselves, that, they fancied, perhaps, we were going to roast them. Our dogs, likewise, gave them great uneasiness; for although so fond of the native brute, they feared ours, from their size. We generally tied them to the boat, therefore, to prevent a recurrence of theft, so that they were not altogether useless. CHAPTER VI. Improvement in the aspect of the country--Increase of the river--Strong westerly gales--Chronometer broken--A healthier tribe of natives--Termination of the Murray in a large lake--Its extent and environs--Passage across it--Hostile appearance of the natives--Beautiful scenery--Channel from the lake to the sea at Encounter Bay--Reach the beach--Large flocks of water fowl--Curious refraction--State of provisions--Embarrassing situation--Inspection of the channel to the ocean--Weak condition of the men--Difficulties of the return. DELIGHTFUL COUNTRY. It now appeared that the Murray had taken a permanent southerly course; indeed, it might strictly be said that it ran away to the south. As we proceeded down it, the valley expanded to the width of two miles; the alluvial flats became proportionably larger; and a small lake generally occupied their centre. They were extensively covered with reeds and grass, for which reason, notwithstanding that they were little elevated above the level of the stream, I do not think they are subject to overflow. Parts of them may be laid under water, but certainly not the whole. The rains at the head of the Murray, and its tributaries, must be unusually severe to prolong their effects to this distant region, and the flats bordering it appear, by successive depositions, to have only just gained a height above the further influence of the floods. Should this prove to be the case, the valley may be decidedly laid down as a most desirable spot, whether we regard the richness of its soil, its rock formation, its locality, or the extreme facility of water communication along it. It must not, however, be forgotten or concealed, that the summits of the cliffs by which the valley is enclosed, have not a corresponding soil. On the contrary, many of the productions common to the plains of the interior still existed upon them, and they were decidedly barren; but as we measured the reaches of the river, the cliffs ceased, and gave place to undulating hills, that were very different in appearance from the country we had previously noted down. It would have been impossible for the most tasteful individual to have laid out pleasure ground to more advantage, than Nature had done in planting and disposing the various groups of trees along the spine, and upon the sides of the elevations that confined the river, and bounded the low ground that intervened between it and their base. Still, however, the soil upon these elevations was sandy, and coarse, but the large oat-grass was abundant upon them, which yielded pasture at least as good as that in the broken country between Underaliga and Morumbidgee. We had now gained a distance of at least sixty miles from that angle of the Murray at which it reaches its extreme west. The general aspect of the country to our right was beautiful, and several valleys branched away into the interior upon that side which had a most promising appearance, and seemed to abound with kangaroos, as the traces of them were numerous, and the dogs succeeded in killing one, which, to our great mortification, we could not find. While, however, the country to the westward had so much to recommend it, the hills to our left became extremely bare. It was evident that the right was the sheltered side of the valley. The few trees on the opposite side bent over to the N.E., as if under the influence of some prevailing wind. ADVERSE GALES. We experienced at this time a succession of gales from the S.W., against which we, on several occasions, found it useless to contend: the waves on the river being heavy and short; and the boat, driving her prow into them, sent the spray over us and soon wet us through. Indeed, it is difficult for the reader to imagine the heavy swell that rolled up the river, which had increased in breadth to the third of a mile, and in the length of its reaches to eight or ten. I was satisfied that we were not only navigating this river at a particularly stormy, perhaps THE stormy, season; but also, that the influence of the S.W. wind is felt even as far in the interior as to the supposed Darling; in consequence of the uniform build of the huts, and the circumstance of their not only facing the N.E., but also being almost invariably erected under the lee of some bush. The weather, under the influence of the wind we experienced, was cool and pleasant, although the thermometer stood at a medium height of 86 degrees; but we found it very distressing to pull against the heavy breezes that swept up the valley, and bent the reeds so as almost to make them kiss the stream. We communicated on the 6th and 7th with several large tribes of natives, whose manners were on the whole quiet and inoffensive. They distinctly informed us, that we were fast approaching the sea, and, from what I could understand, we were nearer to it than the coast line of Encounter Bay made us. We had placed sticks to ascertain if there was any rise or fall of tide, but the troubled state of the river prevented our experiments from being satisfactory. By selecting a place, however, that was sheltered from the effects of the wind, we ascertained that there was an apparent rise of about eight inches. OBLIGED TO TAKE REPOSE. It blew a heavy gale during the whole of the 7th; and we laboured in vain at the oar. The gusts that swept the bosom of the water, and the swell they caused, turned the boat from her course, and prevented us from making an inch of way. The men were quite exhausted, and, as they had conducted themselves so well, and had been so patient, I felt myself obliged to grant them every indulgence consistent with our safety. However precarious our situation, it would have been vain, with our exhausted strength, to have contended against the elements. We, therefore, pulled in to the left bank of the river, and pitched our tents on a little rising ground beyond the reeds that lined it. CHRONOMETER BROKEN. I had been suffering very much front tooth-ache for the last three or four days, and this day felt the most violent pain from the wind. I was not, therefore, sorry to get under even the poor shelter our tents afforded. M'Leay, observing that I was in considerable pain, undertook to wind up the chronometer; but, not understanding or knowing the instrument, he unfortunately broke the spring. I shall not forget the anxiety he expressed, and the regret he felt on the occasion; nor do I think M'Leay recovered the shock this unlucky accident gave him for two or three days, or until the novelty of other scenes drove it from his recollection. We landed close to the haunt of a small tribe of natives, who came to us with the most perfect confidence, and assisted the men in their occupations. They were cleaner and more healthy than any tribe we had seen; and were extremely cheerful, although reserved in some respects. As a mark of more than usual cleanliness, the women had mats of oval shape, upon which they sat, made, apparently, of rushes. There was a young girl among them of a most cheerful disposition. She was about eighteen, was well made, and really pretty. This girl was married to an elderly man who had broken his leg, which having united in a bent shape, the limb was almost useless. I really believe the girl thought we could cure her husband, from her importunate manner to us. I regretted that I could do nothing for the man, but to show that I was not inattentive to her entreaties, I gave him a pair of trousers, and desired Fraser to put them upon him; but the poor fellow cut so awkward an appearance in them, that his wife became quite distressed, and Fraser was obliged speedily to disencumber him from them again. We could not gain any satisfactory information, as to the termination of the river, from these people. It was evident that some change was at hand; but what it was we could not ascertain. APPEARANCE OF SOME APPROACHING CHANGE. On the morning of the 9th, we left our fair friend and her lame husband, and proceeded down the river. The wind had moderated, although it still blew fresh. We ascended every height as we went along, but could not see any new feature in the country. Our view to the eastward was very confined; to the westward the interior was low and dark, and was backed in the distance by lofty ranges, parallel to which we had been running for some days. The right bank of the valley was beautifully undulated, but the left was bleak and bare. The valley had a breadth of from three to four miles, and the flats were more extensive under the former than under the latter. They were scarcely two feet above the level of the water, and were densely covered with reeds. As there was no mark upon the reeds to indicate the height to which the floods rose, I cannot think that these flats are ever wholly laid under water; if they are, it cannot be to any depth: at all events a few small drains would effectually prevent inundation. The soil upon the hills continued to be much mixed with sand, and the prevailing trees were cypress and box. Among the minor shrubs and grass, many common to the east coasts were noticed; and although the bold cliffs had ceased, the basis of the country still continued of the fossil formation. At a turn of the stream hereabouts, however, a solitary rock of coarse red granite rose above the waters, and formed an island in its centre; but only in this one place was it visible. The rock was composed principally of quartz and feldspar. A little below it, we found a large tribe anxiously awaiting our arrival. They crowded to the margin of the river with great eagerness, and evinced more surprise at our appearance than any tribe we had seen during the journey; but we left them very soon, notwithstanding that they importuned us much to stay. After pulling a mile or two, we found a clear horizon before us to the south. The hills still continued upon our left, but we could not see any elevation over the expanse of reeds to our right. The river inclined to the left, and swept the base of the hills that still continued on that side. I consequently landed once more to survey the country. TERMINATION OF THE MURRAY IN A LARGE LAKE. I still retained a strong impression on my mind that some change was at hand, and on this occasion, I was not disappointed; but the view was one for which I was not altogether prepared. We had, at length, arrived at the termination of the Murray. Immediately below me was a beautiful lake, which appeared to be a fitting reservoir for the noble stream that had led us to it; and which was now ruffled by the breeze that swept over it. The ranges were more distinctly visible, stretching from south to north, and were certainly distant forty miles. They had a regular unbroken outline; declining gradually to the south, but terminating abruptly at a lofty mountain northerly. I had no doubt on my mind of this being the Mount Lofty of Captain Flinders; or that the range was that immediately to the eastward of St. Vincent's Gulf--Since the accident to the chronometer, we had not made any westing, so that we knew our position as nearly as possible. Between us and the ranges a beautiful promontory shot into the lake, being a continuation of the right bank of the Murray. Over this promontory the waters stretched to the base of the ranges, and formed an extensive bay. To the N.W. the country was exceedingly low, but distant peaks were just visible over it. To the S.W. a bold headland showed itself; beyond which, to the westward, there was a clear and open sea visible, through a strait formed by this headland and a point projecting from the opposite shore. To the E. and S.E. the country was low, excepting the left shore of the lake, which was backed by some minor elevations, crowned with cypresses. Even while gazing on this fine scene, I could not but regret that the Murray had thus terminated; for I immediately foresaw that, in all probability, we should be disappointed in finding any practicable communication between the lake and the ocean, as it was evident that the former was not much influenced by tides. The wind had again increased; it still blew fresh from the S.W. and a heavy sea was rolling direct into the mouth of the river. I hoped, notwithstanding, that we should have been enabled to make sail, for which reason we entered the lake about 2 p.m. The natives had kindled a large fire on a distant point between us and the further headland, and to gain this point our efforts were now directed. The waves were, however, too strong, and we were obliged to make for the eastern shore, until such time as the weather should moderate. We pitched our tents on a low track of land that stretched away seemingly for many miles directly behind us to the eastward. It was of the richest soil, being a black vegetable deposit, and although now high above the influence, the lake had, it was evident, once formed a part of its bed. The appearance of the country altogether encouraged M'Leay and myself to walk out, in order to examine it from some hills a little to the S.E. of the camp. From them we observed that the flat extended over about fifty miles, and was bounded by the elevations that continued easterly from the left bank of the Murray to the north, and by a line of rising-ground to the south. The whole was lightly wooded, and covered with grass. The season must have been unusually dry, judging from the general appearance of the vegetation, and from the circumstance of the lagoons in the interior being wholly exhausted. Thirty-three days had now passed over our heads since we left the depot upon the Morumbidgee, twenty-six of which had been passed upon the Murray. We had, at length, arrived at the grand reservoir of those waters whose course and fate had previously been involved in such obscurity. It remained for us to ascertain whether the extensive sheet of water upon whose bosom we had embarked, had any practicable communication with the ocean, and whether the country in the neighbourhood of the coast corresponded with that immediately behind our camp, or kept up its sandy and sterile character to the very verge of the sea. As I have already said, my hopes on the first of these points were considerably damped, but I could not help anticipating a favourable change in the latter, since its features had so entirely changed. DETAINED BY THE WIND. The greatest difficulty against which we had at present to contend was the wind; and I dreaded the exertion it would call for, to make head against it; for the men were so much reduced that I felt convinced they were inadequate to any violent or prolonged effort. It still blew fresh at 8 p.m., but at that time it began to moderate. It may be imagined that I listened to its subdued gusts with extreme anxiety. It did not wholly abate until after 2 a.m., when it gradually declined, and about 3 a light breeze sprung up from the N. E. We had again placed sticks to ascertain with more precision the rise of tide, and found it to be the same as in the river. In the stillness of the night too we thought we heard the roaring of the sea, but I was myself uncertain upon the point, as the wind might have caused the sound. From the top of the hill from which we had obtained our first view of the lake, I observed the waves breaking upon the distant headland, and enveloping the cliff in spray; so that, independent of the clearness of the horizon beyond it, I was further led to conclude that there existed a great expanse of water to the S.W.; and, as that had been the direction taken by the river, I thought it probable that by steering at once to the S.W. down the lake, I should hit the outlet. I, consequently, resolved to gain the southern extremity of the lake, as that at which it was natural to expect a communication with the ocean would be found. GEOLOGICAL FORMATION. At 4 we had a moderate breeze, and it promised to strengthen; we lost no time therefore in embarking, and with a flowing sheet stretched over to the W.S.W., and ran along the promontory formed by the right bank of the Murray. We passed close under its extreme point at nine. The hills had gradually declined, and we found the point to be a flat, elevated about thirty feet above the lake. It was separated from the promontory by a small channel that was choked up with reeds, so that it is more than probable that the point is insulated at certain periods; whilst in its stratification it resembled the first cliffs I have described that were passed below the Darling. It is a remarkable fact in the geology of the Murray, that such should be the case; and that the formation at each extremity of the great bank or bed of fossils should be the same. Thus far, the waters of the lake had continued sweet; but on filling a can when we were abreast of this point, it was found that they were quite unpalatable, to say the least of them. The transition from fresh to salt water was almost immediate, and it was fortunate we made the discovery in sufficient time to prevent our losing ground. But, as it was, we filled our casks, and stood on, without for a moment altering our course. PASSAGE ACROSS THE LAKE--ITS SHALLOWNESS. It is difficult to give a just description of our passage across the lake. The boisterous weather we had had seemed to have blown over. A cool and refreshing breeze was carrying us on at between four and five knots an hour, and the heavens above us were without a cloud. It almost appeared as if nature had resisted us in order to try our perseverance, and that she had yielded in pity to our efforts. The men, relieved for a time from the oar, stretched themselves at their length in the boat, and commented on the scenery around them, or ventured their opinions as to that which was before them. Up to this moment their conduct had been most exemplary; not a murmur had escaped from them, and they filled the water-casks with the utmost cheerfulness, even whilst tasting the disagreeable beverage they would most probably have to subsist on for the next three or four days. As soon as we had well opened the point, we had a full view of the splendid bay that, commencing at the western most of the central points, swept in a beautiful curve under the ranges. No land was visible to the W.N.W. or to the S.S.W.: in both these quarters the lake was as open as the ocean. It appeared, therefore, that the land intermediate was an island. To the north the country was extremely low, and as we increased our distance from it we lost sight of it altogether. At noon we were nearly abreast of the eastern headland, or in the centre of the strait to which I have alluded. At this time there was an open sea from W.N.W. to N. by E. A meridian altitude gave our latitude 35 degrees 25 minutes. The land to our left was bold and precipitous; that to the right was low and wooded; and there was evidently a considerable space between the shores of the lake and the base of the ranges. The country to the eastward was hidden from us by the line of cliffs, beyond which from E.S.E. to W.S.W. there was an open sea. We had kept the lead going from the first, and I was surprised at the extreme shallowness of the lake in every part, as we never had six feet upon the line. Its bottom was one of black mud, and weeds of enormous length were floating on its surface, detached by the late gales, and which, from the shallowness of the lake, got constantly entangled with our rudder. We tried to land on the eastern point, but found the water too shallow, and were obliged to try the western shore. In passing close under the head, we observed several natives upon it, who kindled a large fire as soon as they saw they were noticed, which was answered from every point; for, in less than ten minutes afterwards, we counted no fewer than fourteen different fires, the greater number of which were on the side of the ranges. SHORES OF THE LAKE. As we were standing across from one shore to the other, our attention was drawn to a most singular object. It started suddenly up, as above the waters to the south, and strikingly resembled an isolated castle. Behind it, a dense column of smoke rose into the sky, and the effect was most remarkable. On a nearer approach, the phantom disappeared and a clear and open sea again presented itself to our view. The fact was, that the refractive power upon the coast had elevated the sand-hillocks above their true position, since we satisfactorily ascertained that they alone separated the lake from the ocean, and that they alone could have produced the semblance we noticed. It is a singular fact, that this very hillock was the one which Capt. Barker ascended whilst carrying on the survey of the south coast, and immediately previous to his tragical death. It was not without difficulty that we succeeded in landing on the western shore; but we did, at length, succeed, and prepared our dinners. The shore was low, but above the reach of all floods; the soil was rich, and superficially sandy. It was covered with high grasses, and abounded in kangaroos; within the space of a few yards we found five or six, but they were immediately lost to us and to the dogs in the luxuriance of the vegetation amidst which they were feeding. As soon as we had finished our meal, we once more embarked, and stood along the shore to the S.W., but the lake was so shoal, that I was every moment apprehensive we should ground. I ran across, therefore, to the south, towards a low flat that had just appeared above the line of the horizon, in hope that, in sounding, we should have found the channel, but there either was none, or else it was so narrow that we passed over it between the heaves of the lead. At this time, the western shore was quite distinct, and the scenery was beautiful. The flat we were approaching was a mud-flat, and, from its appearance, the tide was certainly at the ebb. We observed some cradles, or wicker frames, placed far below high water-mark, that were each guarded by two natives, who threatened us violently as we approached. In running along the land, the stench from them plainly indicated what they were which these poor creatures were so anxiously watching. We steered a S.W. course, towards some low and wooded hills, passing a rocky island, and found that we had struck the mouth of a channel running to the W.S.W. It was about half-a-mile wide, was bounded to the right by some open flat ground, and to the left by a line of hills of about sixty or seventy feet in elevation, partly open and partly covered with beefwood. WARLIKE DEMEANOUR OF THE NATIVES. Upon the first of these hills, we observed a large body of natives, who set up the most terrific yells as we approached. They were fully equipped for battle and, as we neared the shore, came down to meet us with the most violent threats. I wished much to communicate with them, and, not without hopes of quieting them, stood right in with the intention of landing. I observed, however, that if I did so, I should have to protect myself. I hauled a little off, and endeavoured, by holding up a branch and a tomahawk, to gain their confidence, but they were not to be won over by my show of pacification. An elderly man walked close to the water's edge unarmed, and, evidently, directed the others. He was followed by seven or eight of the most daring, who crept into the reeds, with their spears shipped to throw at us. I, therefore, took up my gun to return their salute. It then appeared that they were perfectly aware of the weapon I carried, for the moment they saw it, they dashed out of their hiding place and retreated to the main body; but the old man, after saying something to them, walked steadily on, and I, on my part, laid my firelock down again. LOVELY EVENING. It was now near sunset; and one of the most lovely evenings I had ever seen. The sun's radiance was yet upon the mountains, but all lower objects were in shade. The banks of the channel, with the trees and the rocks, were reflected in the tranquil waters, whose surface was unruffled save by the thousands of wild fowl that rose before us, and made a noise as of a multitude clapping hands, in their clumsy efforts to rise from the waters. Not one of them allowed us to get within shot. We proceeded about a mile below the hill on which the natives were posted; some few still following us with violent threats. We landed, however, on a flat, bounded all round by the continuation of the hills. It was an admirable position, for, in the centre of it, we could not be taken by surprise, and, on the other hand, we gave the natives an opportunity of communicating with us if they would. The full moon rose as we were forming the camp, and, notwithstanding our vicinity to so noisy a host, the silence of death was around us, or the stillness of the night was only broken by the roar of the ocean, now too near to be mistaken for wind, or by the silvery and melancholy note of the black swans as they passed over us, to seek for food, no doubt, among the slimy weeds at the head of the lake. We had been quite delighted with the beauty of the channel, which was rather more than half-a-mile in width. Numberless mounds, that seemed to invite civilised man to erect his dwelling upon them, presented themselves to our view. The country round them was open, yet ornamentally wooded, and rocks and trees hung or drooped over the waters. EXTENT OF THE LAKE. We had in one day gained a position I once feared it would have cost us infinite labour to have measured. Indeed, had we been obliged to pull across the lake, unless during a calm, I am convinced the men would have been wholly exhausted. We had to thank a kind Providence that such was not the case, since it had extended its mercy to us at so critical a moment. We had indeed need of all the little strength we had remaining, and could ill have thrown it away on such an effort as this would have required. I calculated that we could not have run less than forty-five miles during the day, a distance that, together with the eight miles we had advanced the evening previously, would give the length of the lake at fifty-three miles. We had approached to within twelve miles of the ranges, but had not gained their southern extremity. From the camp, Mount Barker bore nearly north. The ranges appeared to run north and south to our position, and then to bend away to the S.S.W., gradually declining to that point, which I doubted not terminated in Cape Jervis. The natives kept aloof during the night, nor did the dogs by a single growl intimate that any had ventured to approach us. The sound of the surf came gratefully to our ears, for it told us we were near the goal for which we had so anxiously pushed, and we all of us promised ourselves a view of the boundless ocean on the morrow. CHANNEL TO THE SEA--ITS SHALLOWNESS. As the morning dawned, we saw that the natives had thrown an out-post of sixteen men across the channel, who were watching our motions; but none showed themselves on the hills behind us, or on any part of the south shore. We embarked as soon as we had breakfasted, A fresh breeze was blowing from the N.E. which took us rapidly down the channel, and our prospects appeared to be as cheering as the day, for just as we were about to push from the shore, a seal rose close to the boat, which we all regarded as a favourable omen. We were, however, shortly stopped by shoals; it was in vain that we beat across the channel from one side to the other; it was a continued shoal, and the deepest water appeared to be under the left bank. The tide, however, had fallen, and exposed broad flats, over which it was hopeless, under existing circumstances, to haul the boat. We again landed on the south side of the channel, patiently to await the high water. M'Leay, myself, and Fraser, ascended the hills, and went to the opposite side to ascertain the course of the channel, for immediately above us it turned south round the hills. We there found that we were on a narrow tongue of land. The channel was immediately below us, and continued to the E.S.E. as far as we could trace it. The hills we were upon, were the sandy hills that always bound a coast that is low, and were covered with banksias, casuarina and the grass-tree. To the south of the channel there was a flat, backed by a range of sand-hummocks, that were covered with low shrubs; and beyond them the sea was distinctly visible. We could not have been more than two and a half miles from the beach where we stood. Notwithstanding the sandy nature of the soil, the fossil formation again showed itself, not only on these hills, but also on the rocks that were in the channel. A little before high water we again embarked. A seal had been observed playing about, and we augured well from such an omen. The blacks had been watching us from the opposite shore, and as soon as we moved, rose to keep abreast of us. With all our efforts we could not avoid the shoals. We walked up to our knees in mud and water, to find the least variation in the depth of the water so as to facilitate our exertions, but it was to no purpose. We were ultimately obliged to drag the boat over the flats; there were some of them a quarter of a mile in breadth, knee-deep in mud; but at length got her into deep water again. The turn of the channel was now before us, and we had a good run for about four or five miles. We had completed the bend, and the channel now stretched to the E.S.E. At about nine miles from us there was a bright sand-hill visible, near which the channel seemed to turn again to the south; and I doubted not that it terminated there. It was to no purpose, however, that we tried to gain it. Shoals again closed in upon us on every side. We dragged the boat over several, and at last got amongst quicksands. I, therefore, directed our efforts to hauling the boat over to the south side of the channel, as that on which we could most satisfactorily ascertain our position. After great labour we succeeded, and, as evening had closed in, lost no time in pitching the tents. BEACH OF ENCOUNTER BAY. While the men were thus employed, I took Fraser with me, and, accompanied by M'Leay, crossed the sand-hummocks behind us, and descended to the sea-shore. I found that we had struck the south coast deep in the bight of Encounter Bay. We had no time for examination, but returned immediately to the camp, as I intended to give the men an opportunity to go to the beach. They accordingly went and bathed, and returned not only highly delighted at this little act of good nature on my part, but loaded with cockles, a bed of which they had managed to find among the sand. Clayton had tied one end of his shirt up, and brought a bag full, and amused himself with boiling cockles all night long. If I had previously any hopes of being enabled ultimately to push the boat over the flats that were before us, a view of the channel at low water, convinced me of the impracticability of any further attempt. The water was so low that every shoal was exposed, and many stretched directly from one side of the channel to the other; and, but for the treacherous nature of the sand-banks, it would not have been difficult to have walked over dry footed to the opposite side of it. The channel stretched away to the E.S.E., to a distance of seven or eight miles, when it appeared to turn south under a small sand-hill, upon which the rays of the sun fell, as it was sinking behind us. CURIOUS EFFECT OF REFRACTION. There was an innumerable flock of wild-fowl arranged in rows along the sides of the pools left by the tide, and we were again amused by the singular effect of the refraction upon them, and the grotesque and distorted forms they exhibited. Swans, pelicans, ducks, and geese, were mingled together, and, according to their distance from us, presented different appearances. Some were exceedingly tall and thin, others were unnaturally broad. Some appeared reversed, or as if they were standing on their heads, and the slightest motion, particularly the flapping of their wings, produced a most ridiculous effect. No doubt, the situation and the state of the atmosphere were favourable to the effect I have described. The day had been fine, the evening was beautiful,--but it was the rarefaction of the air immediately playing on the ground, and not the haze at sunset that caused what I have noticed. It is distinct from mirage, although it is difficult to point out the difference. The one, however, distorts, the other conceals objects, and gives them a false distance. The one is clear, the other is cloudy. The one raises objects above their true position, the other does not. The one plays about, the other is steady; but I cannot hope to give a proper idea either of mirage or refraction so satisfactorily as I could wish. Many travellers have dwelt upon their effects, particularly upon those of the former, but few have attempted to account for them. Our situation was one of peculiar excitement and interest. To our right the thunder of the heavy surf, that almost shook the ground beneath us, broke with increasing roar upon our ears; to our left the voice of the natives echoed through the brush, and the size of their fires at the extremity of the channel, seemed to indicate the alarm our appearance had occasioned. CRITICAL SITUATION OF THE PARTY. While the men were enjoying their cockles, a large kettle of which they had boiled, M'Leay and I were anxiously employed in examining the state of our provisions, and in ascertaining what still remained. Flour and tea were the only articles we had left, so that the task was not a difficult one. It appeared that we had not sufficient of either to last us to Pondebadgery, at which place we expected to find supplies; and, taking every thing into consideration, our circumstances were really critical. The first view of Encounter Bay had convinced me that no vessel would ever venture into it at a season when the S.W. winds prevailed. It was impossible that we could remain upon the coast in expectation of the relief that I doubted not had been hurried off for us; since disappointment would have sealed our fate at once. In the deep bight in which we were, I could not hope that any vessel would approach sufficiently near to be seen by us. Our only chance of attracting notice would have been by crossing the Ranges to the Gulf St. Vincent, but the men had not strength to walk, and I hesitated to divide my party in the presence of a determined and numerous enemy, who closely watched our motions. Setting aside the generous feelings that had prompted M'Leay to participate in every danger with me, and who I am persuaded would have deeply felt a separation, my anxiety not only on his account, but on account of the men I might leave in charge of the boat, made me averse to this measure; the chance of any misfortune to them involving in it the destruction of our boat and the loss of our provisions. My anxiety of mind would have rendered me unfit for exertion; yet so desirous was I of examining the ranges and the country at their base, that I should, had our passage to the salt water been uninterrupted, have determined on coasting it homewards, or of steering for Launceston; and most assuredly, with my present experience, I would rather incur the hazards of so desperate a step, than contend against all the evils that beset us on out homeward journey. And the reader may rest assured, I was as much without hopes of our eventual safety, as I was astonished, at the close of our labours, to find that they had terminated so happily. INSPECTION OF THE CHANNEL FROM THE LAKE TO THE OCEAN. Further exertion on the part of the men being out of the question, I determined to remain no longer on the coast than to enable me to trace the channel to its actual junction with the sea, and to ascertain the features of the coast at that important point. I was reluctant to exhaust the strength of the men in dragging the boat over the numberless flats that were before us, and made up my mind to walk along the shore until I should gain the outlet. I at length arranged that M'Leay, I, and Fraser, should start on this excursion, at the earliest dawn, leaving Harris and Hopkinson in charge of the camp; for as we were to go towards the position of the natives, I thought it improbable they would attack the camp without my being instantly aware of it. We had, as I have said, intended starting at the earliest dawn, but the night was so clear and refreshing, and the moon so bright that we determined to avail ourselves of both, and accordingly left the tents at 3 a.m. I directed Harris to strike them at 8, and to have every thing in readiness for our departure at that hour. We then commenced our excursion, and I led my companions rapidly along the shore of Encounter Bay, after crossing the sand-hills about a mile below the camp. After a hasty and distressing walk of about seven miles, we found that the sand-hills terminated, and a low beach spread before us. The day was just breaking, and at the distance of a mile from us we saw the sand-hill I have already had occasion to notice, and at about a quarter of a mile from its base, we were checked by the channel; which, as I rightly conjectured, being stopped in its easterly course by some rising ground, the tongue of land on which the blacks were posted, suddenly turns south, and, striking this sand-hill, immediately enters the sea; and we noticed, in the bight under the rising ground, that the natives had lit a chain of small fires. This was, most probably, a detached party watching our movements, as they could, from where they were posted, see our camp. At the time we arrived at the end of the channel, the tide had turned, and was again setting in. The entrance appeared to me to be somewhat less than a quarter of a mile in breadth. Under the sand-hill on the off side, the water is deep and the current strong. No doubt, at high tide, a part of the low beach we had traversed is covered. The mouth of the channel is defended by a double line of breakers, amidst which, it would be dangerous to venture, except in calm and summer weather; and the line of foam is unbroken from one end of Encounter Bay to the other. Thus were our fears of the impracticability and inutility of the channel of communication between the lake and the ocean confirmed. DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS OF THE RETURN. I would fain have lingered on my way, to examine, as far as circumstances would permit, the beautiful country between the lake and the ranges; and it was with heart-felt sorrow that I yielded to necessity. My men were indeed very weak from poverty of diet and from great bodily fatigue. Hopkinson, Mulholland, and Macnamee were miserably reduced. The two former, especially, had exerted themselves beyond their strength, and although I am confident they would have obeyed my orders to the last, I did not feel myself justified, considering the gigantic task we had before us, to impose additional labour upon them. It will be borne in mind that our difficulties were just about to commence, when those of most other travellers have ceased; and that instead of being assisted by the stream whose course we had followed, we had now to contend against the united waters of the eastern ranges, with diminished strength, and, in some measure, with disappointed feelings. Under the most favourable circumstances, it was improbable that the men would be enabled to pull for many days longer in succession; since they had not rested upon their oars for a single day, if I except our passage across the lake, from the moment when we started from the depot; nor was it possible for me to buoy them up with the hope even of a momentary cessation from labour. We had calculated the time to which our supply of provisions would last under the most favourable circumstances, and it was only in the event of our pulling up against the current, day after day, the same distance we had compassed with the current in our favour, that we could hope they would last us as long as we continued in the Murray. But in the event of floods, or any unforeseen delay, in was impossible to calculate at what moment we might be driven to extremity. Independent of these casualties, there were other circumstances of peril to be taken into consideration. As I have already observed, I foresaw great danger in again running through the natives. I had every reason to believe that many of the tribes with which we had communicated on apparently friendly terms, regretted having allowed us to pass unmolested; nor was I at all satisfied as to the treatment we might receive from them, when unattended by the envoys who had once or twice controlled their fury. Our best security, therefore, against the attacks of the natives was celerity of movement; and the men themselves seemed to be perfectly aware of the consequences of delay. Our provisions, moreover, being calculated to last to a certain point only, the slightest accident, the staving-in of the boat, or the rise of the river, would inevitably be attended with calamity. To think of reducing our rations of only three quarters of a pound of flour per diem, was out of the question, or to hope that the men, with less sustenance than that, would perform the work necessary to ensure their safety, would have been unreasonable. It was better that our provisions should hold out to a place from which we might abandon the boat with some prospect of reaching by an effort a stock station, or the plain on which Robert Harris was to await our return, than that they should be consumed before the half of our homeward journey should be accomplished. Delay, therefore, under our circumstances, would have been imprudent and unjustifiable. PATIENCE OF THE MEN--RE-ENTER THE MURRAY. On the other hand, it was sufficiently evident to me, that the men were too much exhausted to perform the task that was before them without assistance, and that it would be necessary both for M'Leay and myself, to take our share of labour at the oars. The cheerfulness and satisfaction that my young friend evinced at the opportunity that was thus afforded him of making himself useful, and of relieving those under him from some portion of their toil, at the same time that they increased my sincere esteem for him, were nothing more than what I expected from one who had endeavoured by every means in his power to contribute to the success of that enterprise upon which he had embarked. But although I have said thus much of the exhausted condition of the men,--and ere these pages are concluded my readers will feel satisfied as to the truth of my statement--I would by no means be understood to say that they flagged for a moment, or that a single murmur escaped them. No reluctance was visible, no complaint was heard, but there was that in their aspect and appearance which they could not hide, and which I could not mistake. My object in dwelling so long upon this subject has been to point out our situation and our feelings when we re-entered the Murray. The only circumstance that appeared to be in our favour was the prevalence of the south-west wind, by which I hoped we should be assisted in running up the first broad reaches of that river. I could not but acknowledge the bounty of that Providence, which had favoured us in our passage across the lake, and I was led to hope that its merciful superintendance would protect us from evil, and would silently direct us where human foresight and prudence failed. We re-entered the river on the 13th under as fair prospects as we would have desired. The gale which had blown with such violence in the morning gradually abated, and a steady breeze enabled us to pass our first encampment by availing ourselves of it as long as day light continued. Both the valley and the river showed to advantage as we approached them, and the scenery upon our left (the proper right bank of the Murray) was really beautiful. CHAPTER VII. Valley of the Murray--Its character and capabilities--Laborious progress up the river--Accident to the boat--Perilous collision with the natives--Turbid current of the Rufus--Passage of the Rapids--Assisted by the natives--Dangerous intercourse with them--Re-enter the Morumbidgee--Verdant condition of its banks--Nocturnal encounter with the natives--Interesting manifestation of feeling in one family--Reach the spot where the party had embarked on the river--Men begin to fail entirely--Determine to send two men forward for relief--Their return--Excursion on horseback--Reach Pondebadgery Plain, and meet the supplies from the colony--Cannibalism of the natives--Return to Sydney--Concluding remarks. VALLEY OF THE MURRAY. The valley of the Murray, at its entrance, cannot be less than four miles in breadth. The river does not occupy the centre but inclines to either side, according to its windings, and thus the flats are of greater or less extent, according to the distance of the river from the base of the hills. It is to be remarked, that the bottom of the valley is extremely level, and extensively covered with reeds. From the latter circumstance, one would be led to infer that these flats are subject to overflow, and no doubt can exist as to the fact of their being, at least partially, if not wholly, under water at times. A country in a state of nature is, however, so different from one in a state of cultivation, that it is hazardous to give an opinion as to its practical availableness, if I may use such a term. I should, undoubtedly, say the marshes of the Macquarie were frequently covered with water, and that they were wholly unfit for any one purpose whatever. It is evident from the marks of the reeds upon the banks, that the flood covers them occasionally to the depth of three feet, and the reeds are so densely embodied and so close to the river side that the natives cannot walk along it. The reeds are the broad flag-reed (arundo phragmatis), and grow on a stiff earthy loam, without any accompanying vegetation; indeed, they form so solid a mass that the sun cannot penetrate to the ground to nourish vegetation. On the other hand, the valley of the Murray, though covered with reeds in most places, is not so in all. There is no mark upon the reeds by which to judge as to the height of inundation, neither are they of the same kind as those which cover the marshes of the Macquarie. They are the species of round reed of which the South-sea islanders make their arrows, and stand sufficiently open, not only to allow of a passage through, but for the abundant growth of grass among them. Still, I have no doubt that parts of the valley are subject to flood; but, as I have already remarked, I do not know whether these parts are either deeply or frequently covered. Rain must fall simultaneously in the S.E. angle of the island in the inter-tropical regions, and at the heads of all the tributaries of the main stream, ere its effects can be felt in the lower parts of the Murray. If the valley of the Murray is not subject to flood, it has only recently gained a height above the influence of the river, and still retains all the character of flooded land. In either case, however, it contains land that is of the very richest kind--soil that is the pure accumulation of vegetable matter, and is as black as ebony. If its hundreds of thousands of acres were practically available, I should not hesitate to pronounce it one of the richest spots of equal extent on earth, and highly favoured in other respects. How far it is available remains to be proved; and an opinion upon either side would be hazardous, although that of its liability to flood would, most probably, be nearest to truth. It is, however, certain that any part of the valley would require much labour before it could be brought under cultivation, and that even its most available spots would require almost as much trouble to clear them as the forest tract, for nothing is more difficult to destroy than reeds. Breaking the sod would, naturally, raise the level of the ground, and lateral drains would, most probably, carry off all floods, but then the latter, at least, is the operation of an advanced stage of husbandry only. I would, however, observe that there are many parts of the valley decidedly above the reach of flood. I have, in the above observations, been particularly alluding to the lowest and broadest portions of it. I trust I shall be understood as not wishing to over-rate this discovery on the one hand, or on the other, to include its whole extent in one sweeping clause of condemnation. On the 14th, the wind still continued to blow fresh from the N.W. It moderated at noon, and assisted us beyond measure. We passed our first encampment, but did not see any natives. CORDIALITY OF THE NATIVES. On the 15th, the wind was variable at daylight, and a dense fog was on the river. As the sun rose, it was dissipated and a light breeze sprung up from W.S.W. We ran up the stream with a free sheet for six hours, when we stopped for a short time to get the kettle boiled. Four natives joined us, but with the exception of the lowest tribe upon the right bank, we had not seen any number. We were extremely liberal to this tribe, in consequence of the satisfaction they evinced at our return. We had alarmed them much on our passage down the river by firing at a snake that was swimming across it. We, at first, attempted to kill it with the boat-hook, but the animal dived at our approach, and appeared again at a considerable distance. Another such dive would have ensured his escape, but a shot effectually checked him, and as the natives evinced considerable alarm, we held him up, to show them the object of our proceedings. On our return, they seemed to have forgotten their fright, and received us with every demonstration of joy. The different receptions we met with from different tribes are difficult to be accounted for. The country appeared to rise before us, and looked more hilly to the N.W. than I had supposed it to be. Several fine valleys branched off from the main one to the westward, and, however barren the heights that confined them were, I am inclined to think, that the distant interior is fertile. The marks of kangaroos were numerous, and the absence of the natives would indicate that they have other and better means of subsisting in the back country than what the river affords. In the evening, we again ran on for two hours and a half, and reached the first of the cliffs. On the 16th, we were again fortunate in the wind, and pressed up the river as long as day-light continued. At the termination of our journey, we found ourselves a day's journey in advance. This inspirited the men, and they began to forget the labours they had gone through, as well as those that were before them. On the 17th, we again commenced pulling, the wind being at north, and contrary. It did not, however, remain in that quarter long, but backed at noon to the S.W., so that we were enabled to make a good day's journey, and rather gained than lost ground. REMARKABLE CLIFF--GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. Having left the undulating hills, at the mouth of the valley behind us, we passed cliff after cliff of fossil formation: they had a uniform appearance as to the substance of which they were composed, and varied but little in colour. Having already examined them, we thought it unnecessary to give them any further special attention, since it was improbable we should find anything new. In turning an angle of the river, however, a broad reach stretched away before us. An alluvial flat extended to our left, and a high line of cliffs, that differed in no visible respect from those we had already passed, rose over the opposite side of the river. The cliffs faced the W.N.W., and as the sun declined, his beams struck full upon them. As we shot past, we were quite dazzled with the burst of light that flashed upon us, and which gave to the whole face of the cliff the appearance of a splendid mirror. The effect was of course momentary; for as soon as we had passed the angle of refraction, there was nothing unusual in its appearance. On a nearer approach, however, it appeared again as if studded with stars. We had already determined on examining it more closely, and this second peculiarity still further excited our curiosity. On landing, we found the whole cliff to be a mass of selenite, in which the various shells already noticed were plentifully embedded, as in ice. The features of the cliff differed from any we had previously remarked. Large masses, or blocks of square or oblong shape, had fallen to its base, and its surface was hard, whereas the face of the majority of the other cliffs was soft from the effect of the atmosphere; and the rock was entirely free from every other substance, excepting the shells of which it was composed. We of course collected some good specimens, although they added very considerably to the weight of our cargo. The morning of the 18th was calm and cloudless. The wind, of which there was but little, came from the north, and was as usual warm. We availed ourselves of a favourable spot to haul our boat on shore under one of the cliffs upon the proper left of the river, and cleaned her well both inside and out. LABORIOUS ASCENT OF THE BOAT. The breezes that had so much assisted as from the lake upwards, had now lost their influence, or failed to reach to the distance we had gained. Calms succeeded them, and obliged us to labour continually at the oars. We lost ground fast, and it was astonishing to remark how soon the men's spirits drooped again under their first efforts. They fancied the boat pulled heavily, and that her bottom was foul; but such was not the case. The current was not so strong as when we passed down, since the river had evidently fallen more than a foot, and was so shallow in several places, that we were obliged to haul the boat over them. On these occasions we were necessarily obliged to get out of her into the water, and had afterwards to sit still and to allow the sun to dry our clothes upon us. The unemployed consequently envied those at the oars, as they sat shivering in their dripping clothes. I was aware that it was more from imagination than reality, that the men fancied the boat was unusually heavy, but I hesitated not in humouring them, and rather entered into their ideas than otherwise, and endeavoured to persuade them that she pulled the lighter for the cleaning we gave her. A tribe of natives joined us, and we had the additional trouble of guarding our stores. They were, however, very quiet, and as we had broken up our casks, on leaving the coast, we were enabled to be liberal in our presents of iron hoop, which they eagerly received. We calculated that we should reach the principal junction in about fifteen days from this place. NATIVE BURIAL-PLACE. The natives left us to pursue our solitary journey as soon as the boat was reloaded. Not one of them had the curiosity to follow us, nor did they appear to think it necessary that we should be attended by envoys. We stopped for the night upon the left bank; and close to a burial-ground that differed from any I had ever seen. It must have been used many years, from the number of bones that were found in the bank, but there were no other indications of such a place either by mounds or by marks on the trees. The fact, therefore, is a singular one. I have thought that some battle might have been fought near the place, but I can hardly think one of their battles could have been so destructive. IMPEDED BY SHOALS. We had now only to make the best of our journey, rising at dawn, and pulling to seven and often to nine o'clock. I allowed the men an hour from half-past eleven to half-past twelve, to take their bread and water. This was our only fare, if I except an occasional wild duck; but these birds were extremely difficult to kill, and it cost us so much time, that we seldom endeavoured to procure any. Our dogs had been of no great use, and were now too weak to have run after anything if they had seen either kangaroos or emus; and for the fish, the men loathed them, and were either too indifferent or too much fatigued to set the night-lines. Shoals frequently impeded us as we proceeded up the river, and we passed some rapids that called for our whole strength to stem. A light wind assisted us on two or three of these occasions, and I never failed hoisting the sail at every fitting opportunity. In some parts the river was extremely shallow, and the sand-banks of amazing size; and the annoyance of dragging the boat over these occasional bars, was very great. We passed several tribes of blacks on the 19th and 20th; but did not stop to communicate with them. I believe I have already mentioned that shortly after we first entered the Murray, flocks of a new paroquet passed over our heads, apparently emigrating to the N.W. They always kept too high to be fired at, but on our return, hereabouts, we succeeded in killing one. It made a good addition to our scanty stock of subjects of natural history. It is impossible to conceive how few of the feathered tribe frequent these distant and lonely regions. The common white cockatoo is the most numerous, and there are also a few pigeons; but other birds descend only for water, and are soon again upon the wing. Our botanical specimens were as scanty as our zoological, indeed the expedition may, as regards these two particulars, almost be said to have been unproductive. COMPILATION OF THE CHART. When we came down the river, I thought it advisable to lay its course down as precisely as circumstances would permit: for for this purpose I had a large compass always before me, and a sheet of foolscap paper. As soon as we passed an angle of the river, I took the bearings of the reach before us, and as we proceeded down it, marked off the description of country, and any remarkable feature. The consequence was, that I laid down every bend of the Murray River, from the Morumbidgee downwards. Its creeks, its tributaries, its flats, its valleys, and its cliffs, and, as far as I possibly could do, the nature of the distant interior. This chart was, of course, erroneous in many particulars, since I had to judge the length of the reaches of the river, and the extent of its angles, but I corrected it on the scale of the miles of latitude we made during the day, which brought out an approximate truth at all events. The hurried nature of our journey would not allow me to do more; and it will be remembered that my observations were all siderial, by reason that the sextant would not embrace the sun in his almost vertical position at noon. Admitting, however, the imperfection of this chart, it was of inconceivable value and comfort to us on our return, for, by a reference to it, we discovered our place upon the river, and our distance from our several encampments. And we should often have stopped short of them had not the chart shown us that a few reaches more would bring us to the desired spots. It cheered the men to know where they were, and gave them conversation. To myself it was very satisfactory, as it enabled me to prepare for our meetings with the larger tribes, and to steer clear of obstacles in the more difficult navigation of some parts of the stream. On the 21st, by dint of great labour we reached our camp of the 2nd February, from which it will be remembered the Murray took up a southerly course, and from which we likewise obtained a first view of the coast ranges. The journey to the sea and back again, had consequently occupied us twenty days. From this point we turned our boat's head homewards; we made it, therefore, a fixed position among the stages into which we divided our journey. Our attention was now directed to the junction of the principal tributary, which we hoped to reach in twelve days, and anticipated a close to our labours on the Murray in eight days more from that stage to the Morumbidgee. CURRENT OF THE MURRAY. The current in the Murray from the lake, to within a short distance of this singular turn in it, is weak, since its bed is almost on a level with the lake. The channel, which, at the termination, is somewhat more than the third of a mile across, gradually diminishes in breadth, as the interior is gained, but is nowhere under 300 yards; while its depth averages from eighteen to thirty feet, within a foot of the very bank. The river might, therefore, be navigated by boats of considerable burden, if the lake admitted of the same facility; but I am decidedly of opinion, that the latter is generally shallow, and that it will, in the course of years, be filled up by depositions. It is not, however, an estuary in any sense of the word, since no part of it is exposed at low water, excepting the flats in the channel, and the flat between the lake and the sea. ACCIDENT TO THE BOAT. On the 23rd, we stove the boat in for the first time. I had all along anticipated such an accident, from the difficulty of avoiding obstacles, in consequence of the turbid state of the river. Fortunately the boat struck a rotten log. The piece remained in her side, and prevented her filling, which she must, otherwise, inevitably have done, ere we could have reached the shore. As it was, however, we escaped with a little damage to the lower bags of flour only. She was hauled up on a sand bank, and Clayton repaired her in less than two hours, when we reloaded her and pursued our journey. It was impossible to have been more cautious than we were, for I was satisfied as to the fate that would have overtaken the whole of us in the event of our losing the boat, and was proportionably vigilant. MOLESTED BY THE NATIVES. At half-past five we came to an island, which looked so inviting, and so quiet, that I determined to land and sleep upon it. We consequently, ran the boat into a little recess, or bay, and pitched the tents; and I anticipated a respite from the presence of any natives, as did the men, who were rejoiced at my having taken up so snug a berth. It happened, however, that a little after sunset, a flight of the new paroquets perched in the lofty trees that grew on the island, to roost; when we immediately commenced the work of death, and succeeded in killing eight or ten. The reports of our guns were heard by some natives up the river, and several came over to us. Although I was annoyed at their having discovered our retreat, they were too few to be troublesome. During the night, however, they were joined by fresh numbers, amounting in all to about eighty, and they were so clamorous, that it was impossible to sleep. NATIVES BECOME TROUBLESOME. As the morning broke, Hopkinson came to inform me that it was in vain that the guard endeavoured to prevent them from handling every thing, and from closing in round our camp. I went out, and from what I saw I thought it advisable to double the sentries. M'Leay, who was really tired, being unable to close his eyes amid such a din, got up in ill-humour, and went to see into the cause, and to check it if he could. This, however, was impossible. One man was particularly forward and insolent, at whom M'Leay, rather imprudently, threw a piece of dirt. The savage returned the compliment with as much good will as it had been given, and appeared quite prepared to act on the offensive. At this critical moment my servant came to the tent in which I was washing myself, and stated his fears that we should soon come to blows, as the natives showed every disposition to resist us. On learning what had passed between M'Leay and the savage, I pretended to be equally angry with both, and with some difficulty forced the greater part of the blacks away from the tents. I then directed the men to gather together all the minor articles in the first instance, and then to strike the tents; and, in order to check the natives, I drew a line round the camp, over which I intimated to them they should not pass. Observing, I suppose, that we were on our guard, and that I, whom they well knew to be the chief, was really angry, they crept away one by one, until the island was almost deserted by them. Why they did not attack us, I know not, for they had certainly every disposition to do so, and had their shorter weapons with them, which, in so confined a space as that on which we were, would have been more fatal than their spears. They left us, however; and a flight of red-crested cockatoos happening to settle on a plain near the river, I crossed in the boat in order to shoot one. The plain was upon the proper left bank of the Murray. The natives had passed over to the right. As the one channel was too shallow for the boat, when we again pursued our journey we were obliged to pull round to the left side of the island. A little above it the river makes a bend to the left, and the angle at this bend was occupied by a large shoal, one point of which rested on the upper part of the island, and the other touched the proper right bank of the river. Thus a narrow channel, (not broader indeed than was necessary for the play of our oars,) alone remained for us to pass up against a strong current. On turning round the lower part of the island, we observed that the natives occupied the whole extent of the shoal, and speckled it over like skirmishers. Many of them had their spears, and their attention was evidently directed to us.--As we neared the shoal, the most forward of them pressed close to the edge of the deep water, so much so that our oars struck their legs. Still this did not induce them to retire. I kept my eye on an elderly man who stood one of the most forward, and who motioned to us several times to stop, and at length threw the weapon he carried at the boat. I immediately jumped up and pointed my gun at him to his great apparent alarm. Whether the natives hoped to intimidate us by a show of numbers, or what immediate object they had in view, it is difficult to say; though it was most probably to seize a fitting opportunity to attack us. Seeing, I suppose, that we were not to be checked, they crossed from the shoal to the proper right bank of the river, and disappeared among the reeds that lined it. TREACHERY OF THE NATIVES. Shortly after this, eight of the women, whom we had not before noticed, came down to the water side, and gave us the most pressing invitation to land. Indeed they played their part uncommonly well, and tried for some time to allure us by the most unequivocal manifestations of love. Hopkinson however who always had his eyes about him, observed the spears of the men among the reeds. They kept abreast of us as we pulled up the stream, and, no doubt, were anticipating our inability to resist the temptations they had thrown in our way. I was really provoked at their barefaced treachery, and should most undoubtedly have attacked them, had they not precipitately retreated on being warned by the women that I was arming my men, which I had only now done upon seeing such strong manifestations of danger. M'Leay set the example of coolness on this occasion; and I had some doubts whether I was justified in allowing the natives to escape with impunity, considering that if they had wounded any one of us the most melancholy and fatal results would have ensued. We did not see anything more of the blacks during the rest of the day, but the repeated indications of hostility we perceived as we approached the Darling, made me apprehensive as to the reception we should meet from its numerous population; and I was sorry to observe that the men anticipated danger in passing that promising junction. Having left the sea breezes behind us, the weather had become oppressive; and as the current was stronger, and rapids more numerous, our labour was proportionably increased. We perspired to an astonishing degree, and gave up our oars after our turn at them, with shirts and clothes as wet as if we had been in the water. Indeed Mulholland and Hopkinson, who worked hard, poured a considerable quantity of perspiration from their shoes after their task. The evil of this was that we were always chilled after rowing, and, of course, suffered more than we should otherwise have done. RE-PASS THE LINDESAY. On the 25th we passed the last of the cliffs composing the great fossil bed through which the Murray flows, and entered that low country already described as being immediately above it. On a more attentive examination of the distant interior, my opinion as to its flooded origin was confirmed, more especially in reference to the country to the S.E. On the 30th we passed the mouth of the Lindesay, and from the summit of the sand hills to the north of the Murray overlooked the flat country, through which I conclude it must run, from the line of fires we observed amid the trees, and most probably upon its banks. We did not fall in with the natives in such numbers as when we passed down to the coast: still they were in sufficient bodies to be troublesome. It would, however, appear that the tribes do not generally frequent the river. They must have a better country back from it, and most probably linger amongst the lagoons and creeks where food is more abundant. The fact is evident from the want of huts upon the banks of the Murray, and the narrowness of the paths along its margin. RE-PASSED THE RUFUS. We experienced the most oppressive heat about this time. Calms generally prevailed, and about 3 p.m. the sun's rays fell upon us with intense effect. The waters of the Murray continued extremely muddy, a circumstance we discovered to be owing to the turbid current of the Rufus, which we passed on the 1st of March. It is, really, singular whence this little stream originates. It will be remembered that I concluded it must have been swollen by rains when we first saw it; yet, after an absence of more than three weeks we found it discharging its waters as muddy as ever into the main stream; and that, too, in such quantities as to discolour its waters to the very lake. The reader will have some idea of the force of the current in both, when I assure him that for nearly fifty yards below the mouth of the Rufus, the waters of the Murray preserve their transparency, and the line between them and the turbid waters of its tributary was as distinctly marked as if drawn by a pencil. Indeed, the higher we advanced, the more did we feel the strength of the current, against which we had to pull. DIFFICULTIES AT THE RAPIDS. A little below the Lindesay, a rapid occurs. It was with the utmost difficulty that we stemmed it with the four oars upon the boat, and the exertion of our whole strength. We remained, at one time, perfectly stationary, the force we employed and that of the current being equal. We at length ran up the stream obliquely; but it was evident the men were not adequate to such exertion for any length of time. We pulled that day for eleven successive hours, in order to avoid a tribe of natives who followed us. Hopkinson and Fraser fell asleep at their oars, and even the heavy Clayton appeared to labour. We again occupied our camp under the first remarkable cliffs of the Murray, a description of which has been given in page 128 of this work. [GEOLOGICAL EXAMINATION.] Their summit, as I have already remarked forms a table land of some elevation. From it the distant interior to the S.S.E. appears very depressed; that to the north undulates more. In neither quarter, however, does any bright foliage meet the eye, to tell that a better soil is under it; but a dark and gloomy vegetation occupies both the near and distant ground, in proof that the sandy sterile tracts, succeeding the river deposits, stretch far away without a change. A little above our camp of the 28th of January, we fell in with a large tribe of natives, whose anxiety to detain us was remarkable. The wind, however, which, from the time we lost the sea breezes, had hung to the S.E., had changed to the S.W., and we were eagerly availing ourselves of it. It will not be supposed we stopped even for a moment. In truth we pressed on with great success, and did not land to sleep until nine o'clock. As long as the wind blew from the S.W., the days were cool, and the sky overcast even so much so as to threaten rain. The least circumstance, in our critical situation, naturally raised my apprehensions, and I feared the river would be swollen in the event of any heavy rains in the hilly country; I hoped, however, we should gain the Morumbidgee before such a calamity should happen to us, and it became my object to press for that river without delay. OBSTACLES TO THE NAVIGATION--DANGEROUS RAPIDS. Although we had met with frequent rapids in our progress upwards, they had not been of a serious kind, nor such as would affect the navigation of the river. The first direct obstacle of this kind occurs a little above a small tributary that falls into the Murray from the north, between the Rufus and the cliffs we have alluded to. At this place a reef of coarse grit contracts the channel of the river. No force we could have exerted with the oars would have taken us up this rapid; but we accomplished the task easily by means of a rope which we hauled upon, on the same principle that barges are dragged by horses along the canals. As we neared the junction of the two main streams, the country, on both sides of the river, became low, and its general appearance confirmed the opinion I have already given as to its flooded origin. The clouds that obscured the sky, and had threatened to burst for some time, at length gave way, and we experienced two or three days of heavy rain. In the midst of it we passed the second stage of our journey, and found the spot lately so crowded with inhabitants totally deserted. A little above it we surprised a small tribe in a temporary shelter; but neither our offers nor presents could prevail on any of them to expose themselves to the torrent that was falling. They sat shivering in their bark huts in evident astonishment at our indifference. We threw them some trifling presents and were glad to proceed unattended by any of them. PERILOUS ASCENT OF THE RAPIDS. It will be remembered that in passing down the river, the boat was placed in some danger in descending a rapid before we reached the junction of the Murray with the stream supposed by me to be the Darling. We were now gradually approaching the rapid, nor did I well know how we should surmount such an obstacle. Strength to pull up it we had not, and I feared our ropes would not be long enough to reach to the shore over some of the rocks, since it descended in minor declivities to a considerable distance below the principal rapid, in the centre of which the boat had struck. We reached the commencement of these rapids on the 6th, and ascended the first by means of ropes, which were hauled upon by three of the men from the bank; and, as the day was pretty far advanced, we stopped a little above it, that we might attempt the principal rapid before we should be exhausted by previous exertion. It was fortunate that we took such a precaution. The morning of the 7th proved extremely dark, and much rain fell. We commenced our journey in the midst of it, and soon gained the tail of the rapid. Our attempt to pull up it completely failed. The boat, as soon as she entered the ripple, spun round like a toy, and away we went with the stream. As I had anticipated, our ropes were too short; and it only remained for us to get into the water, and haul the boat up by main force. We managed pretty well at first, and drew her alongside a rock to rest a little. We then recommenced our efforts, and had got into the middle of the channel. We were up to our armpits in the water, and only kept our position by means of rocks beside us. The rain was falling, as if we were in a tropical shower, and the force of the current was such, that if we had relaxed for an instant, we should have lost all the ground we had gained. Just at this moment, however, without our being aware of their approach, a large tribe of natives, with their spears, lined the bank, and took us most completely by surprise. At no time during this anxious journey were we ever so completely in their power, or in so defenceless a situation. It rained so hard, that our firelocks would have been of no use, and had they attacked us, we must necessarily have been slaughtered without committing the least execution upon them. Nothing, therefore, remained for us but to continue our exertions. It required only one strong effort to get the boat into still water for a time, but that effort was beyond our strength, and we stood in the stream, powerless and exhausted. ASSISTED BY THE NATIVES. The natives, in the meanwhile, resting on their spears, watched us with earnest attention. One of them, who was sitting close to the water, at length called to us, and we immediately recognised the deep voice of him to whose singular interference we were indebted for our escape on the 23rd of January. I desired Hopkinson to swim over to him, and to explain that we wanted assistance. This was given without hesitation; and we at length got under the lea of the rock, which I have already described as being in the centre of the river. The natives launched their bark canoes, the only frail means they possess of crossing the rivers with their children. These canoes are of the simplest construction and rudest materials, being formed of an oblong piece of bark, the ends of which are stuffed with clay, so as to render them impervious to the water. With several of these they now paddled round us with the greatest care, making their spears, about ten feet in length,(which they use at once as poles and paddles,) bend nearly double in the water. We had still the most difficult part of the rapid to ascend, where the rush of water was the strongest, and where the decline of the bed almost amounted to a fall. Here the blacks could be of no use to us. No man could stem the current, supposing it to have been shallow at the place, but it was on the contrary extremely deep. Remaining myself in the boat, I directed all the men to land, after we had crossed the stream, upon a large rock that formed the left buttress as it were to this sluice, and, fastening the rope to the mast instead of her head, they pulled upon it. The unexpected rapidity with which the boat shot up the passage astonished me, and filled the natives with wonder, who testified their admiration of so dextrous a manoeuvre, by a loud shout. It will, no doubt, have struck the reader as something very remarkable, that the same influential savage to whom we had already been indebted, should have been present on this occasion, and at a moment when we so much needed his assistance. Having surmounted our difficulties, we took leave of this remarkable man, and pursued our journey up the river. It may be imagined we did not proceed very far; the fact was, we only pushed forward to get rid of the natives, for, however pacific, they were always troublesome, and we were seldom fitted for a trial of temper after the labours of the day were concluded. The men had various occupations in which, when the natives were present, they were constantly interrupted, and whenever the larger tribes slept near us, the utmost vigilance was necessary on the part of the night-guard, which was regularly mounted as soon as the tents were pitched. We had had little else than our flour to subsist on. Hopkinson and Harris endeavoured to supply M'Leay and myself with a wild fowl occasionally, but for themselves, and the other men, nothing could be procured to render their meal more palatable. GOOD CONDUCT OF THE MEN. I have omitted to mention one remarkable trait of the good disposition of all the men while on the coast. Our sugar had held out to that point; but it appeared, when we examined the stores, that six pounds alone remained in the cask. This the men positively refused to touch. They said that, divided, it would benefit nobody; that they hoped M'Leay and I would use it, that it would last us for some time, and that they were better able to submit to privations than we were. The feeling did them infinite credit, and the circumstance is not forgotten by me. The little supply the kindness of our men left to us was, however, soon exhausted, and poor M'Leay preferred pure water to the bitter draught that remained. I have been some times unable to refrain from smiling, as I watched the distorted countenances of my humble companions while drinking their tea and eating their damper. The ducks and swans, seen in such myriads on the lake, seldom appeared on the river, in the first stages of our journey homewards. About the time of which I am writing, however, a few swans occasionally flew over our heads at night, and their silvery note was musically sweet. From the 10th to the 15th, nothing of moment occurred: we pulled regularly from day-light to dark, not less to avoid the natives than to shorten our journey. Yet, notwithstanding that we moved at an hour when the natives seldom stir, we were rarely without a party of them, who followed us in spite of our efforts to tire them out. MOLESTED BY NATIVES. On the 15th, we had about 150 at our camp. Many of them were extremely noisy, and the whole of them very restless. They lay down close to the tents, or around our fire. I entertained some suspicion of them, and when they were apparently asleep, I watched them narrowly. Macnamee was walking up and down with his firelock, and every time he turned his back, one of the natives rose gently up and poised his spear at him, and as soon as he thought Macnamee was about to turn, he dropped as quietly into his place. When I say the native got up, I do not mean that he stood up, but that he raised himself sufficiently for the purpose he had in view. His spear would not, therefore, have gone with much force, but I determined it should not quit his hand, for had I observed any actual attempt to throw it, I should unquestionably have shot him dead upon the spot. The whole of the natives were awake, and it surprised me they did not attempt to plunder us. They rose with the earliest dawn, and crowded round the tents without any hesitation. We, consequently, thought it prudent to start as soon as we had breakfasted. FRASER IN DANGER. We had all of us got into the boat, when Fraser remembered he had left his powder-horn on shore. In getting out to fetch it, he had to push through the natives. On his return, when his back was towards them, several natives lifted their spears together, and I was so apprehensive they would have transfixed him, that I called out before I seized my gun; on which they lowered their weapons and ran away. The disposition to commit personal violence was evident from these repeated acts of treachery; and we should doubtless have suffered from it on some occasion or other, had we not been constantly on the alert. We had been drawing nearer the Morumbidgee every day. This was the last tribe we saw on the Murray; and the following afternoon, to our great joy, we quitted it and turned our boat into the gloomy and narrow channel of its tributary. Our feelings were almost as strong when we re-entered it, as they had been when we were launched from it into that river, on whose waters we had continued for upwards of fifty-five days; during which period, including the sweeps and bends it made, we could not have travelled less than 1500 miles. Our provisions were now running very short; we had, however, "broken the neck of our journey," as the men said, and we looked anxiously to gaining the depot; for we were not without hopes that Robert Harris would have pushed forward to it with his supplies. We were quite puzzled on entering the Morumbidgee, how to navigate its diminutive bends and its encumbered channel. I thought poles would have been more convenient than oars; we therefore stopped at an earlier hour than usual to cut some. Calling to mind the robbery practised on us shortly after we left the depot, my mind became uneasy as to Robert Harris's safety, since I thought it probable, from the sulky disposition of the natives who had visited us there, that he might have been attacked. Thus, when my apprehensions on our own account had partly ceased, my fears became excited with regard to him and his party. RE-ENTER THE MORUMBIDGEE. The country, to a considerable distance from the junction on either side the Morumbidgee, is not subject to inundation. Wherever we landed upon its banks, we found the calistemma in full flower, and in the richest profusion. There was, also, an abundance of grass, where before there had been no signs of vegetation, and those spots which we had condemned as barren were now clothed with a green and luxuriant carpet. So difficult is it to judge of a country on a partial and hurried survey, and so differently does it appear at different periods. I was rejoiced to find that the rains had not swollen the river, for I was apprehensive that heavy falls had taken place in the mountains, and was unprepared for so much good fortune. FEAST ON A SWAN. The poles we cut were of no great use to us, and we soon laid them aside, and took to our oars. Fortune seemed to favour us exceedingly. The men rallied, and we succeeded in killing a good fat swan, that served as a feast for all. I imagine the absence of mud and weeds of every kind in the Murray, prevents this bird from frequenting its waters. On the 18th, we found ourselves entering the reedy country, through which we had passed with such doubt and anxiety. Every object elicited some remark from the men, and I was sorry to find they reckoned with certainty on seeing Harris at the depot, as I knew they would be proportionally depressed in spirits if disappointed. However, I promised Clayton a good repast as soon as we should see him. LOSE ONE OF OUR DOGS. I had walked out with M'Leay a short distance from the river, and had taken the dogs. They followed us to the camp on our return to it, but the moment they saw us enter the tent, they went off to hunt by themselves. About 10 p.m., one of them, Bob, came to the fire, and appeared very uneasy; he remained, for a short time, and then went away. In about an hour, he returned, and after exhibiting the same restlessness, again withdrew. He returned the third time before morning dawned, but returned alone. The men on the watch were very stupid not to have followed him, for, no doubt, he went to his companion, to whom, most likely, some accident had happened. I tried to make him show, but could not succeed, and, after a long search, reluctantly pursued our journey, leaving poor Sailor to his fate. This was the only misfortune that befell us, and we each of us felt the loss of an animal which had participated in all our dangers and privations. I more especially regretted the circumstance for the sake of the gentleman who gave him to me, and, on account of his superior size and activity. ENCOUNTER WITH NATIVES. With the loss of poor Sailor, our misfortunes re-commenced. I anticipated some trouble hereabouts, for, having succeeded in their hardihood once, I knew the natives would again attempt to rob us, and that we should have some difficulty in keeping them off. As soon as they found out that we were in the river, they came to us, but left us at sunset. This was on the 21st. At nightfall, I desired the watch to keep a good look out, and M'Leay and I went to lie down. We had chosen an elevated bank for our position, and immediately opposite to us there was a small space covered with reeds, under blue-gum trees. About 11, Hopkinson came to the tent to say, that he was sure the blacks were approaching through the reeds. M'Leay and I got up, and, standing on the bank, listened attentively. All we heard was the bark of a native dog apparently, but this was, in fact, a deception on the part of the blacks. We made no noise, in consequence of which they gradually approached, and two or three crept behind the trunk of a tree that had fallen. As I thought they were near enough, George M'Leay, by my desire, fired a charge of small shot at them. They instantly made a precipitate retreat; but, in order the more effectually to alarm them, Hopkinson fired a ball into the reeds, which we distinctly heard cutting its way through them. All was quiet until about three o'clock, when a poor wretch who, most probably, had thrown himself on the ground when the shots were fired, at length mustered courage to get up and effect his escape. In the morning, the tribe kept aloof, but endeavoured, by the most earnest entreaties, and most pitiable howling, to gain our favour; but I threatened to shoot any that approached, and they consequently kept at a respectful distance, dogging us from tree to tree. It appeared, therefore, that they were determined to keep us in view, no doubt, with the intention of trying what they could do by a second attempt. As they went along, their numbers increased, and towards evening, they amounted to a strong tribe. Still they did not venture near us, and only now and then showed themselves. Our situation at this moment would have been much more awkward in the event of attack, than when we were in the open channel of the Murray; because we were quite at the mercy of the natives if they had closed upon us, and, being directly under the banks, should have received every spear, while it would have been easy for them to have kept out of sight in assailing us. APPARENT OBSTRUCTION OF THE CHANNEL. It was near sunset, the men were tired, and I was looking out for a convenient place at which to rest, intending to punish these natives if they provoked me, or annoyed the men. We had not seen any of them for some time, when Hopkinson, who was standing in the bow of the boat, informed me that they had thrown boughs across the river to prevent our passage. I was exceedingly indignant at this, and pushed on, intending to force the barrier. On our nearer approach, a solitary black was observed standing close to the river, and abreast of the impediment which I imagined they had raised to our further progress. I threatened to shoot this man, and pointed to the branches that stretched right across the stream. The poor fellow uttered not a word, but, putting his hand behind him, pulled out a tomahawk from his belt, and held it towards me, by way of claiming our acquaintance; and any anger was soon entirely appeased by discovering that the natives had been merely setting a net across the river which these branches supported. We, consequently, hung back, until they had drawn it, and then passed on. MANOEUVRES OF THE NATIVES TO ROB THE BOAT AT NIGHT. The black to whom I had spoken so roughly, cut across a bight of the river, and walking down to the side of the water with a branch in his hand, in mark of confidence, presented me with a fishing net. We were highly pleased at the frank conduct of this black, and a convenient place offering itself, we landed and pitched our tents. Our friend, who was about forty, brought his two wives, and a young man, to us: and at length the other blacks mustered courage to approach; but those who had followed us from the last camp, kept on the other side of the river. On pretence of being different families, they separated into small bodies, and formed a regular cordon round our camp. We foresaw that this was a manoeuvre, but, in hopes that if I forgave the past they would desist from further attempts, M'Leay took great pains in conciliating them, and treated them with great kindness. We gave each family some fire and same presents, and walked together to them by turns, to show that we had equal confidence in all. Our friend had posted himself immediately behind our tents, at twenty yards distance, with his little family, and kept altogether aloof from the other natives. Having made our round of visits, and examined the various modes the women had of netting, M'Leay and I went into our tent. It happened, fortunately, that my servant, Harris, was the first for sentry. I told him to keep a watchful eye on the natives, and to call me if any thing unusual occurred. We had again chosen a lofty bank for our position; behind us there was a small plain, of about a quarter of a mile in breadth, backed by a wood. I was almost asleep, when my servant came to inform me, that the blacks had, with one accord, made a precipitate retreat, and that not one of them was to be seen at the fires. I impressed the necessity of attention upon him, and he again went to his post. Shortly after this, he returned: "Master," said he, "the natives are coming." I jumped up, and, taking my gun, followed him, leaving my friend George fast asleep. I would not disturb him, until necessity required, for he had ever shown himself so devoted to duty as to deserve every consideration. Harris led me a little way from the tents, and then stopping, and pointing down the river, said, "There, sir, don't you see them?" "Not I, indeed, Harris," I replied, "where do you mean? are you sure you see them?" "Positive, sir," said he; "stoop and you will see them." I did so, and saw a black mass in an opening. Convinced that I saw them, I desired Harris to follow me, but not to fire unless I should give the word. The rascals would not stand our charge, however, but retreated as we advanced towards them. We then returned to the tents, and, commending my servant for his vigilance, I once more threw myself on my bed. I had scarcely lain down five minutes, when Harris called out, "The blacks are close to me, sir; shall I fire at them?" "How far are they?" I asked. "Within ten yards, sir." "Then fire," said I; and immediately he did so. M'Leay and I jumped up to his assistance. "Well, Harris," said I, "did you kill your man?" (he is a remarkably good shot.) "No, sir," said he, "I thought you would repent it, so I fired between the two." "Where were they, man?" said I. "Close to the boat, sir; and when they heard me, they swam into the river, and dived as soon as I fired between them." This account was verified by one of them puffing as he rose below us, over whose head I fired a shot. Where the other got to I could not tell. This watchfulness, on our part, however, prevented any further attempts during the night. I was much pleased at the coolness of my servant, as well as his consideration; and relieving him from his post, desired Hopkinson to take it. I have no doubt that the approach of the natives, in the first instance, was made with a view to draw us off from the camp, while some others might rob the boat. If so, it was a good manoeuvre, and might have succeeded. NATIVES DESERT THEIR WEAPONS--INGENUOUS CONDUCT OF A NATIVE. In the morning, we found the natives had left all their ponderous spears at their fires, which were broken up and burnt. We were surprised to find that our friend had left every thing in like manner behind him--his spears, his nets, and his tomahawk; but as he had kept so wholly aloof from the other blacks, I thought it highly improbable that he had joined them, and the men were of opinion that he had retreated across the plain into the wood. On looking in that direction we observed some smoke rising among the trees at a little distance from the outskirts of the plain, and under an impression that I should find the native at the fire with his family, I took his spears and tomahawk, and walked across the plain, unattended into the wood. I had not entered it more than fifty yards when I saw a group of four natives, sitting round a small fire. One of them, as I approached, rose up and met me, and in him I recognised the man for whom I was seeking. When near enough, I stuck the spears upright into the ground. The poor man stood thunderstruck; he spoke not, he moved not, neither did he raise his eyes from the ground. I had kept the tomahawk out of his sight, but I now produced and offered it to him. He gave a short exclamation as his eyes caught sight of it, but he remained otherwise silent before me, and refused to grasp the tomahawk, which accordingly fell to the ground. I had evidently excited the man's feelings, but it is difficult to say how he was affected. His manner indicated shame and surprise, and the sequel will prove that both these feelings must have possessed him. While we were thus standing together, his two wives came up, to whom, after pointing to the spears and tomahawk, he said something, without, however, looking at me; and they both instantly burst into tears and wept aloud. I was really embarrassed during so unexpected a scene, and to break it, invited the native to the camp, but I motioned with my hand, as I had not my gun with me, that I would shoot any other of the blacks who followed me. He distinctly understood my meaning, and intimated as distinctly to me that they should not follow us; nor did they. We were never again molested by them. I left him then, and, returning to the camp, told M'Leay my adventure, with which he was highly delighted. My object is this procedure was to convince the natives, generally, that we came not among them to injure or to molest them, as well as to impress them with an idea of our superior intelligence; and I am led to indulge the hope that I succeeded. Certain it is, that an act of justice or of lenity has frequently, if well timed, more weight than the utmost stretch of severity. With savages, more particularly, to exhibit any fear, distrust, or irresolution, will inevitably prove injurious. But although these adventures were happily not attended with bloodshed, they harassed the men much; and our camp for near a week was more like an outpost picquet than any thing else. This, however, terminated all attempts on the part of the natives. From henceforth none of them followed us on our route. BREACH THE DEPOT. At noon, I stopped about a mile short of the depot to take sights. After dinner we pulled on, the men looking earnestly out for their comrades whom they had left there, but none appeared. My little arbour, in which I had written my letters, was destroyed, and the bank on which out tents had stood was wholly deserted. We landed, however, and it was a satisfaction to me to see the homeward track of the drays. The men were sadly disappointed, and poor Clayton, who had anticipated a plentiful meal, was completely chop fallen. M'Leay and I comforted them daily with the hopes of meeting the drays, which I did not think improbable. Thus, it will appear, that we regained the place from which we started in seventy-seven days, during which, we could not have pulled less than 2000 miles. It is not for me, however, to make any comment, either on the dangers to which we were occasionally exposed, or the toil and privations we continually experienced in the course of this expedition. My duty is, simply to give a plain narrative of facts, which I have done with fidelity, and with as much accuracy as circumstances would permit. Had we found Robert Harris at the depot, I should have considered it unnecessary to trespass longer on the patient reader, but as our return to that post did not relieve us from our difficulties, it remains for me to carry on the narrative of our proceedings to the time when we reached the upper branches of the Morumbidgee. DISAPPOINTED OF SUPPLIES. The hopes that had buoyed up the spirits of the men, ceased to operate as soon as they were discovered to have been ill founded. The most gloomy ideas took possession of their minds, and they fancied that we had been neglected, and that Harris had remained in Sydney. It was to no purpose that I explained to them that my instructions did not bind Harris to come beyond Pondebadgery, and that I was confident he was then encamped upon that plain. We had found the intricate navigation of the Morumbidgee infinitely more distressing than the hard pulling up the open reaches of the Murray, for we were obliged to haul the boat up between numberless trunks of trees, an operation that exhausted the men much more than rowing. The river had fallen below its former level, and rocks and logs were now exposed above the water, over many of which the boat's keel must have grazed, as we passed down with the current. I really shuddered frequently, at seeing these complicated dangers, and I was at a loss to conceive how we could have escaped them. The planks of our boat were so thin that if she had struck forcibly against any one branch of the hundreds she must have grazed, she would inevitably have been rent asunder from stem to stern. COMPLETE EXHAUSTION OF THE MEN--ONE LOSES HIS SENSES. The day after we passed the depot, on our return, we began to experience the effects of the rains that had fallen in the mountains. The Morumbidgee rose upon us six feet in one night, and poured along its turbid waters with proportionate violence. For seventeen days we pulled against them with determined perseverance, but human efforts, under privations such as ours, tend to weaken themselves, and thus it was that the men began to exhibit the effects of severe and unremitting toil. Our daily journeys were short, and the head we made against the stream but trifling. The men lost the proper and muscular jerk with which they once made the waters foam and the oars bend. Their whole bodies swung with an awkward and laboured motion. Their arms appeared to be nerveless; their faces became haggard, their persons emaciated, their spirits wholly sunk; nature was so completely overcome, that from mere exhaustion they frequently fell asleep during their painful and almost ceaseless exertions. It grieved me to the heart to see them in such a state at the close of so perilous a service, and I began to reproach Robert Harris that he did not move down the river to meet us; but, in fact, he was not to blame. I became captious, and found fault where there was no occasion, and lost the equilibrium of my temper in contemplating the condition of my companions. No murmur, however, escaped them, nor did a complaint reach me, that was intended to indicate that they had done all they could do. I frequently heard them in their tent, when they thought I had dropped asleep, complaining of severe pains and of great exhaustion. "I must tell the captain, to-morrow," some of them would say, "that I can pull no more." To-morrow came, and they pulled on, as if reluctant to yield to circumstances. Macnamee at length lost his senses. We first observed this from his incoherent conversation, but eventually from manner. He related the most extraordinary tales, and fidgeted about eternally while in the boat. I felt it necessary, therefore, to relieve him from the oars. Amidst these distresses, M'Leay preserved his good humour, and endeavoured to lighten the task, and to cheer the men as much as possible. His presence at this time was a source of great comfort to me. The uniform kindness with which he had treated his companions, gave him an influence over them now, and it was exerted with the happiest effect. DESPATCH TWO MEN TO PONDEBADGERY. On the 8th and 9th of April we had heavy rain, but there was no respite for us. Our provisions were nearly consumed, and would have been wholly exhausted, if we had not been so fortunate as to kill several swans. On the 11th, we gained our camp opposite to Hamilton's Plains, after a day of severe exertion. Our tents were pitched upon the old ground, and the marks of our cattle were around us. In the evening, the men went out with their guns, and M'Leay and I walked to the rear of the camp, to consult undisturbed as to the moat prudent measures to be adopted, under our embarrassing circumstances. The men were completely sunk. We were still between eighty and ninety miles from Pondebadgery, in a direct line, and nearly treble that distance by water. The task was greater than we could perform, and our provisions were insufficient. In this extremity I thought it best to save the men the mortification of yielding, by abandoning the boat; and on further consideration, I determined on sending Hopkinson and Mulholland, whose devotion, intelligence, and indefatigable spirits, I well knew, forward to the plain. The joy this intimation spread was universal, Both Hopkinson and Mulholland readily undertook the journey, and I, accordingly, prepared orders for them to start by the earliest dawn. It was not without a feeling of sorrow that I witnessed the departure of these two men, to encounter a fatiguing march. I had no fears as to their gaining the plain, if their reduced state would permit them. On the other hand, I hoped they would fall in with our old friend the black, or that they would meet the drays; and I could not but admire the spirit and energy they both displayed upon the occasion. Their behaviour throughout had been such as to awaken in my breast a feeling of the highest approbation. Their conduct, indeed, exceeded all praise, nor did they hesitate one moment when I called upon them to undertake this last trying duty, after such continued exertion. I am sure the reader will forgive me for bringing under his notice the generous efforts of these two men; by me it can never be forgotten. ABANDON AND BURN THE BOAT. Six days had passed since their departure; we remaining encamped. M'Leay and myself had made some short excursions, but without any result worthy of notice. A group of sand-hills rose in the midst of the alluvial deposits, about a quarter of a mile from the tents, that were covered with coarse grasses and banksias. We shot several intertropical birds feeding in the latter, and sucking the honey from their flowers. I had, in the mean time, directed Clayton to make some plant cases of the upper planks of the boat, and then to set fire to her, for she was wholly unserviceable, and I felt a reluctance to leave her like a neglected log on the water. The last ounce of flour had been served out to the men, and the whole of it was consumed on the sixth day from that on which we had abandoned the boat. I had calculated on seeing Hopkinson again in eight days, but as the morrow would see us without food, I thought, as the men had had a little rest it would be better to advance towards relief than to await its arrival. MEN RETURN WITH SUPPLIES. On the evening of the 18th, therefore, we buried our specimens and other stores, intending to break up the camp in the morning. A singular bird, which invariably passed it at an hour after sunset, and which, from its heavy flight, appeared to be of unusual size so attracted my notice, that in the evening M'Leay and I crossed the river, in hope to get a shot at it. We had, however, hardly landed on the other side, when a loud shout called us back to witness the return of our comrades. They were both of them in a state that beggars description. Their knees and ankles were dreadfully swollen, and their limbs so painful, that as soon as they arrived in the camp they sunk under their efforts, but they met us with smiling countenances, and expressed their satisfaction at having arrived so seasonably to our relief. They had, as I had foreseen, found Robert Harris on the plain, which they reached on the evening of the third day. They had started early the next morning on their return with such supplies as they thought we might immediately want. Poor Macnamee had in a great measure recovered, but for some days he was sullen and silent: sight of the drays gave him uncommon satisfaction. Clayton gorged himself; but M'Leay, myself and Fraser could not at first relish the meat that was placed before us. It was determined to give the bullocks a day of rest, and I availed myself of the serviceable state of the horses to visit some hills about eighteen miles to the northward. I was anxious to gain a view of the distant country to the N.W., and to ascertain the geological character of the hills themselves. M'Leay, Fraser, and myself left the camp early in the morning of the 19th, on our way to them. Crossing the sand hills, we likewise passed a creek, and, from the flooded or alluvial tracks, got on an elevated sandy country, in which we found a beautiful grevillia. From this we passed a barren ridge of quartz-formation, terminating in open box forest. From it we descended and traversed a plain that must, at some periods, be almost impassable. It was covered with acacia pendula, and the soil was a red earth, bare of vegetation in many places. At its extremity we came to some stony ridges, and, descending their northern side, gained the base of the hills. They were more extensive than they appeared to be from our camp; and were about six hundred feet in height, and composed of a conglomerate rock. They were extremely barren, nor did the aspect of the country seem to indicate a favourable change. I was enabled, however, to connect my line of route with the more distant hills between the Morumbidgee and the Lachlan. We returned to the camp at midnight. MEET WITH THE DRAYS. On the following morning we left our station before Hamilton's Plains. We reached Pondebadgery on the 28th, and found Robert Harris, with a plentiful supply of provisions. He had everything extremely regular, and had been anxiously expecting our return, of which he at length wholly despaired. He had been at the plain two months, and intended to have moved down the river immediately, had we not made our appearance when we did. I had sent M'Leay forward on the 20th with letters to the Governor, whose anxiety was great on our account. I remained for a fortnight on the plain to restore the men, but Hopkinson had so much over-exerted himself that it was with difficulty he crawled along. In my despatches to the Governor, from the depot, I had suggested the policy of distributing some blankets and other presents to the natives on the Morumbidgee, in order to reward those who had been useful to our party, and in the hope of proving beneficial to settlers in that distant part of the colony. His Excellency was kind enough to accede to my request, and I found ample means for these purposes among the stores that Harris brought from Sydney. We left Pondebadgery Plain early on the 5th of May, and reached Guise's Station late in the afternoon. We gained Yass Plains on the 12th, having struck through the mountain passes by a direct line, instead of returning by our old route near Underaliga. As the party was crossing the plains I rode to see Mr. O'Brien, but did not find him at home. INSTANCE OF CANNIBALISM. While waiting at his hut, one of the stockmen pointed out two blacks to me at a little distance from us. The one was standing, the other sitting. "That fellow, sir," said he, "who is sitting down, killed his infant child last night by knocking its head against a stone, after which he threw it on the fire and then devoured it." I was quite horror struck, and could scarcely believe such a story. I therefore went up to the man and questioned him as to the fact, as well as I could. He did not attempt to deny it, but slunk away in evident consciousness. I then questioned the other that remained, whose excuse for his friend was that the child was sick and would never have grown up, adding he himself did not PATTER (eat) any of it. Many of my readers may probably doubt this horrid occurrence having taken place, as I have not mentioned any corroborating circumstances. I am myself, however, as firmly persuaded of the truth of what I have stated as if I had seen the savage commit the act; for I talked to his companion who did see him, and who described to me the manner in which he killed the child. Be it as it may, the very mention of such a thing among these people goes to prove that they are capable of such an enormity. We left Yass Plains on the 14th of May, and reached Sydney by easy stages on the 25th, after an absence of nearly six months. * * * * * CONCLUDING REMARKS. To most of my readers, the foregoing narrative will appear little else than a succession of adventures. Whilst the expedition was toiling down the rivers, no rich country opened upon the view to reward or to cheer the perseverance of those who composed it, and when, at length, the land of promise lay smiling before them, their strength and their means were too much exhausted to allow of their commencing an examination, of the result of which there could be but little doubt. The expedition returned to Sydney, without any splendid discovery to gild its proceedings; and the labours and dangers it had encountered were considered as nothing more than ordinary occurrences. If I myself had entertained hopes that my researches would have benefited the colony, I was wholly disappointed. There is a barren tract of country lying to the westward of the Blue Mountains that will ever divide the eastern coast from the more central parts of Australia, as completely as if seas actually rolled between them. GEOGRAPHICAL REMARKS. In a geographical point of view, however, nothing could have been more satisfactory, excepting an absolute knowledge of the country to the northward between the Murray and the Darling, than the results of the expedition. I have in its proper place stated, as fairly as I could, my reasons for supposing the principal junction (which I consequently left without a name) to be the Darling of my former journey, as well as the various arguments that bore against such a conclusion. Of course, where there is so much room for doubt, opinions will be various. I shall merely review the subject, in order to connect subsequent events with my previous observations, and to give the reader a full idea of that which struck me to be the case on a close and anxious investigation of the country from mountain to lowland. I returned from the Macquarie with doubts on my mind as to the ultimate direction to which the waters of the Darling river might ultimately flow; for, with regard to every other point, the question was, I considered, wholly decided. But, with regard to that singular stream, I was, from the little knowledge I had obtained, puzzled as to its actual course; and I thought it as likely that it might turn into the heart of the interior, as that it would make to the south. It had not, however, escaped my notice, that the northern rivers turned more abruptly southward (after gaining a certain distance from the base of the ranges) than the more southern streams: near the junction of the Castlereagh with the Darling especially, the number of large creeks joining the first river from the north, led me to conclude that there was at that particular spot a rapid fall of country to the south. The first thing that strengthened in my mind this half-formed opinion, was the fall of the Lachlan into the Morumbidgee. I had been told that Australia was a basin; that an unbroken range of hills lined its coasts, the internal rivers of which fell into its centre, and contributed to the formation of an inland sea; I was not therefore prepared to find a break in the chain--a gap as it were for the escape of these waters to the coast. Subsequently to our entrance into the Murray, the remarkable efforts of that river to maintain a southerly course were observed even by the men, and the singular runs it made to the south, when unchecked by high lands, clearly evinced its natural tendency to flow in that direction. Had we found ourselves at an elevation above the bed of the Darling when we reached the junction of the principal tributary with the Murray, I should still have had doubts on my mind as to the identity of that tributary with the first-mentioned river; but considering the trifling elevation of the Darling above the sea, and that the junction was still less elevated above it, I cannot bring myself to believe that the former alters its course. It is not, however, on this simple geographical principle that I have built my conclusions; other corroborative circumstances have tended also to confirm in my mind the opinion I have already given, not only of the comparatively recent appearance above the ocean of the level country over which I had passed, but that the true dip of the interior is from north to south. In support of the first of these conclusions, it would appear that a current of water must have swept the vast accumulation of shells, forming the great fossil bank through which the Murray passes from the northern extremity of the continent, to deposit them where they are; and it would further appear from the gradual rise of this bed, on an inclined plain from N.N.E. to S.S.W., that it must in the first instance, have swept along the base of the ranges, but ultimately turned into the above direction by the convexity of the mountains at the S.E. angle of the coast. From the circumstance, moreover, of the summit of the fossil formation being in places covered with oyster shells, the fact of the whole mass having been under water is indisputable, and leads us naturally to the conclusion that the depressed interior beyond it must have been under water at the same time. It was proved by barometrical admeasurement, that the cataract of the Macquarie was 680 feet above the level of the sea, and, in like manner, it was found that the depot of Mr. Oxley, on the Lachlan, was only 500, there being a still greater fall of country beyond these two points. The maximum height of the fossil bank was 300 feet; and if we suppose a line to be drawn from its top to the eastward, that line would pass over the marshes of the two rivers, and would cut them at a point below which they both gradually diminish. Hence I am brought to conclude that in former times the sea washed the western base of the dividing ranges, at or near the two points whose respective elevations I have given; and that when the mass of land now lying waste and unproductive, became exposed, the rivers, which until then had pursued a regular course to the ocean, having no channel beyond their original termination, overflowed the almost level country into which they now fall; or, filling some extensive concavity, have contributed, by successive depositions, to the formation of those marshes of which so much has been said. I regret extremely, that my defective vision prevents me giving a slight sketch to elucidate whet I fear I have, in words, perhaps, failed in making sufficiently intelligible. GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. Now, as we know not by what means the changes that have taken place on the earth's surface have been effected, and can only reason on them from analogy, it is to be feared we shall never arrive at any clear demonstration of the truth of our surmises with regard to geographical changes, whether extensive or local, since the causes which produced them will necessarily have ceased to operate. We cannot refer to the dates when they took place, as we may do in regard to the eruptions of a volcano, or the appearance or disappearance of an island. Such events are of minor importance. Those mighty changes to which I would be understood to allude, can hardly be laid to the account of chemical agency. We can easily comprehend how subterranean fires will occasionally burst forth, and can thus satisfactorily account for earthquake or volcano; but it is not to any clashing of properties, or to any visible causes, that the changes of which I speak can be attributed. They appear rather as the consequences of direct agency, of an invisible power, not as the occasional and fretful workings of nature herself. The marks of that awful catastrophe which so nearly extinguished the human race, are every day becoming more and more visible as geological research proceeds. Thus, in the limestone caves at Wellington Valley, the remains of fossils and exuviae, show that their depths were penetrated by the same searching element that poured into the caverns of Kirkdale and other places. They are as gleams of sunshine falling upon the pages of that sublime and splendid volume, in which the history of the deluge is alone to be found; as if the Almighty intended that His word should stand single and unsupported before mankind: and when we consider that such corroborative testimonies of his wrath, as those I have noticed, were in all probability wholly unknown to those who wrote that sacred book, the discovery of the remains of a past world, must strike those under whose knowledge it may fall with the truth of that awful event, which language has vainly endeavoured to describe and painters to represent. CHAPTER VIII. Environs of the lake Alexandrina--Appointment of Capt. Barker to make a further survey of the coast near Encounter Bay--Narrative of his proceedings--Mount Lofty, Mount Barker, and beautiful country adjacent--Australian salmon--Survey of the coast--Outlet of lake to the sea--Circumstances that led to the slaughter of Capt. Barker by the natives--His character--Features of this part of the country and capabilities of its coasts--Its adaptation for colonization--Suggestions for the furtherance of future Expeditions. ENVIRONS OF THE LAKE ALEXANDRINA. The foregoing narrative will have given the reader some idea of the state in which the last expedition reached the bottom of that extensive and magnificent basin which receives the waters of the Murray. The men were, indeed, so exhausted, in strength, and their provisions so much reduced by the time they gained the coast, that I doubted much, whether either would hold out to such place as we might hope for relief. Yet, reduced as the whole of us were from previous exertion, beset as our homeward path was by difficulty and danger, and involved as our eventual safety was in obscurity and doubt, I could not but deplore the necessity that obliged me to re-cross the Lake Alexandrina (as I had named it in honour of the heir apparent to the British crown), and to relinquish the examination of its western shores. We were borne over its ruffled and agitated surface with such rapidity, that I had scarcely time to view it as we passed; but, cursory as my glance was, I could not but think I was leaving behind me the fullest reward of our toil, in a country that would ultimately render our discoveries valuable, and benefit the colony for whose interests we were engaged. Hurried, I would repeat, as my view of it was, my eye never fell on a country of more promising aspect, or of more favourable position, than that which occupies the space between the lake and the ranges of St. Vincent's Gulf, and, continuing northerly from Mount Barker, stretches away, without any visible boundary. It appeared to me that, unless nature had deviated from her usual laws, this tract of country could not but be fertile, situated as it was to receive the mountain deposits on the one hand, and those of the lake upon the other. FURTHER EXAMINATION OF THE COAST. In my report to the Colonial Government, however, I did not feel myself justified in stating, to their full extent, opinions that were founded on probability and conjecture alone. But, although I was guarded in this particular, I strongly recommended a further examination of the coast, from the most eastern point of Encounter Bay, to the head St. Vincent's Gulf, to ascertain if any other than the known channel existed among the sand-hills of the former, or if, as I had every reason to hope from the great extent of water to the N.W., there was a practicable communication with the lake from the other; and I ventured to predict, that a closer survey of the interjacent country, would be attended with the most beneficial results; nor have I a doubt that the promontory of Cape Jervis would ere this have been settled, had Captain Barker lived to complete his official reports. CAPT. BARKER'S SURVEY. The governor, General Darling, whose multifarious duties might well have excused him from paying attention to distant objects, hesitated not a moment when he thought the interests of the colony, whose welfare he so zealously promoted, appeared to be concerned; and he determined to avail himself of the services of Captain Collet Barker, of the 39th regiment, who was about to be recalled from King George's Sound, in order to satisfy himself as to the correctness of my views. Captain Barker had not long before been removed from Port Raffles, on the northern coast, where he had had much intercourse with the natives, and had frequently trusted himself wholly in their hands. It was not, however, merely on account of his conciliating manners, and knowledge of the temper and habits of the natives, that he was particularly fitted for the duty upon which it was the governor's pleasure to employ him. He was, in addition, a man of great energy of character, and of much and various information. Orders having reached Sydney, directing the establishment belonging to New South Wales to be withdrawn, prior to the occupation of King George's Sound by the government of Western Australia, the ISABELLA schooner was sent to receive the troops and prisoners on board; and Captain Barker was directed, as soon as he should have handed over the settlement to Captain Stirling, to proceed to Cape Jervis, from which point it was thought he could best carry on a survey not only of the coast but also of the interior. This excellent and zealous officer sailed from King George's Sound, on the 10th of April, 1831, and arrived off Cape Jervis on the 13th. He was attended by Doctor Davies, one of the assistant surgeons of his regiment, and by Mr. Kent, of the Commissariat. It is to the latter gentleman that the public are indebted for the greater part of the following details; he having attended Captain Barker closely during the whole of this short but disastrous excursion, and made notes as copious as they are interesting. At the time the ISABELLA arrived off Cape Jervis, the weather was clear and favourable. Captain Barker consequently stood into St. Vincent's Gulf, keeping, as near as practicable, to the eastern shore, in soundings that varied from six to ten fathoms, upon sand and mud. His immediate object was to ascertain if there was any communication with the lake Alexandrina from the gulf. He ascended to lat. 34 degrees 40 minutes where he fully satisfied himself that no channel did exist between them. He found, however, that the ranges behind Cape Jervis terminated abruptly at Mount Lofty, in lat. 34 degrees 56 minutes, and, that a flat and wooded country succeeded to the N. and N.E. The shore of the gulf tended more to the N.N.W., and mud flats and mangrove swamps prevailed along it. INVITING COUNTRY--MOUNT LOFTY. Mr. Kent informs me, that they landed for the first time on the 15th, but that they returned almost immediately to the vessel. On the 17th, Captain Barker again landed, with the intention of remaining on shore for two or three days. He was accompanied by Mr. Kent, his servant Mills, and two soldiers. The boat went to the place at which they had before landed, as they thought they had discovered a small river with a bar entrance. They crossed the bar, and ascertained that it was a narrow inlet, of four miles in length, that terminated at the base of the ranges. The party were quite delighted with the aspect of the country on either side of the inlet, and with the bold and romantic scenery behind them. The former bore the appearance of natural meadows, lightly timbered, and covered with a variety of grasses. The soil was observed to be a rich, fat, chocolate coloured earth, probably the decomposition of the deep blue limestone, that showed itself along the coast hereabouts. On the other hand, a rocky glen made a cleft in the ranges at the head of the inlet; and they were supplied with abundance of fresh water which remained in the deeper pools that had been filled by the torrents during late rains. The whole neighbourhood was so inviting that the party slept at the head of the inlet. MOUNT LOFTY AND ITS ENVIRONS. In the morning, Captain Barker proceeded to ascend Mount Lofty, accompanied by Mr. Kent and his servant, leaving the two soldiers at the bivouac, at which he directed them to remain until his return. Mr. Kent says they kept the ridge all the way, and rose above the sea by a gradual ascent. The rock-formation of the lower ranges appeared to be an argillaceous schist; the sides and summit of the ranges were covered with verdure, and the trees upon them were of more than ordinary size. The view to the eastward was shut out by other ranges, parallel to those on which they were; below them to the westward, the same pleasing kind of country that flanked the inlet still continued. MOUNT BARKER. In the course of the day they passed round the head of a deep ravine, whose smooth and grassy sides presented a beautiful appearance. The party stood 600 feet above the bed of a small rivulet that occupied the bottom of the ravine. In some places huge blocks of granite interrupted its course, in others the waters had worn the rock smooth. The polish of these rocks was quite beautiful, and the veins of red and white quartz which traversed them, looked like mosaic work. They did not gain the top of Mount Lofty, but slept a few miles beyond the ravine. In the morning they continued their journey, and, crossing Mount Lofty, descended northerly, to a point from which the range bent away a little to the N.N.E., and then terminated. The view from this point was much more extensive than that from Mount Lofty itself. They overlooked a great part of the gulf, and could distinctly see the mountains at the head of it to the N.N.W. To the N.W. there was a considerable indentation in the coast, which had escaped Captain Barker's notice when examining it. A mountain, very similar to Mount Lofty, bore due east of them, and appeared to be the termination of its range. They were separated by a valley of about ten miles in width, the appearance of which was not favourable. Mr. Kent states to me, that Capt. Barker observed at the time that he thought it probable I had mistaken this hill for Mount Lofty, since it shut out the view of the lake from him, and therefore he naturally concluded, I could not have seen Mount Lofty. I can readily imagine such an error to have been made by me, more especially as I remember that at the time I was taking bearings in the lake, I thought Captain Flinders had not given Mount Lofty, as I then conceived it to be, its proper position in longitude. Both hills are in the same parallel of latitude. The mistake on my part is obvious. I have corrected it in the charts, and have availed myself of the opportunity thus afforded me of perpetuating, as far as I can, the name of an inestimable companion in Captain Barker himself. Immediately below the point on which they stood, Mr. Kent says, a low undulating country extended to the northward, as far as he could see. It was partly open, and partly wooded; and was every where covered with verdure. It continued round to the eastward, and apparently ran down southerly, at the opposite base of the mount Barker Range. I think there can be but little doubt that my view from the S.E., that is, from the lake, extended over the same or a part of the same country. Captain Barker again slept on the summit of the range, near a large basin that looked like the mouth of a crater, in which huge fragments of rocks made a scene of the utmost confusion. These rocks were a coarse grey granite, of which the higher parts and northern termination of the Mount Lofty range are evidently formed; for Mr. Kent remarks that it superseded the schistose formation at the ravine we have noticed--and that, subsequently, the sides of the hills became more broken, and valleys, or gullies, more properly speaking, very numerous. Captain Barker estimated the height of Mount Lofty above the sea at 2,400 feet, and the distance of its summit from the coast at eleven miles. Mr. Kent says they were surprised at the size of the trees on the immediate brow of it; they measured one and found it to be 43 feet in girth. Indeed, he adds, vegetation did not appear to have suffered either from its elevated position, or from any prevailing wind. Eucalypti were the general timber on the ranges; one species of which, resembling strongly the black butted-gum, was remarkable for a scent peculiar to its bark. AUSTRALIAN SALMON. The party rejoined the soldiers on the 21st, and enjoyed the supply of fish which they had provided for them. The soldiers had amused themselves by fishing during Captain Barker's absence, and had been abundantly successful. Among others they had taken a kind of salmon, which, though inferior in size, resembled in shape, in taste, and in the colour of its flesh, the salmon of Europe. I fancied that a fish which I observed with extremely glittering scales, in the mouth of a seal, when myself on the coast, must have been of this kind; and I have no doubt that the lake is periodically visited by salmon, and that these fish retain their habits of entering fresh water at particular seasons, also in the southern hemisphere. Immediately behind Cape Jervis, there is a small bay, in which according to the information of the sealers who frequent Kangaroo Island, there is good and safe anchorage for seven months in the year, that is to say, during the prevalence of the E. and N.E. winds. SURVEY OF THE COAST. Captain Barker landed on the 21st on this rocky point at the northern extremity of this bay. He had, however, previously to this, examined the indentation in the coast which he had observed from Mount Lofty, and had ascertained that it was nothing more than an inlet; a spit of sand, projecting from the shore at right angles with it, concealed the month of the inlet. They took the boat to examine this point, and carried six fathoms soundings round the head of the spit to the mouth of the inlet, when it shoaled to two fathoms, and the landing was observed to be bad, by reason of mangrove swamps on either side of it. Mr. Kent, I think, told me that this inlet was from ten to twelve miles long. Can it be that a current setting out of it at times, has thrown up the sand-bank that protects its mouth, and that trees, or any other obstacle, have hidden its further prolongation from Captain Barker's notice? I have little hope that such is the case, but the remark is not an idle one. BEAUTIFUL VALLEYS. Between this inlet and the one formerly mentioned, a small and clear stream was discovered, to which Captain Barker kindly gave my name. On landing, the party, which consisted of the same persons as the former one, found themselves in a valley, which opened direct upon the bay. It was confined to the north from the chief range by a lateral ridge, that gradually declined towards and terminated at, the rocky point on which they had landed. The other side of the valley was formed of a continuation of the main range, which also gradually declined to the south, and appeared to be connected with the hills at the extremity of the cape. The valley was from nine to ten miles in length, and from three to four in breadth. In crossing it, they ascertained that the lagoon from which the schooner had obtained a supply of water, was filled by a watercourse that came down its centre. The soil in the valley was rich, but stony in some parts. There was an abundance of pasture over the whole, from amongst which they started numerous kangaroos. The scenery towards the ranges was beautiful and romantic, and the general appearance of the country such as to delight the whole party. Preserving a due east course, Captain Barker passed over the opposite range of hills, and descended almost immediately into a second valley that continued to the southwards. Its soil was poor and stony, and it was covered with low scrub. Crossing it, they ascended the opposite range, from the summit of which they had a view of Encounter Bay. An extensive flat stretched from beneath them to the eastward, and was backed, in the distance, by sand hummocks, and low wooded hills. The extreme right of the flat rested upon the coast, at a rocky point near which there were two or three islands. From the left a beautiful valley opened upon it. A strong and clear rivulet from this valley traversed the flat obliquely, and fell into the sea at the rocky point, or a little to the southward of it. The hills forming the opposite side of the valley had already terminated. Captain Barker, therefore, ascended to higher ground, and, at length, obtained a view of the Lake Alexandrina, and the channel of its communication with the sea to the N.E. He now descended to the flat, and frequently expressed his anxious wish to Mr. Kent that I had been one of their number to enjoy the beauty of the scenery around them, and to participate in their labours. Had fate so ordained it, it is possible the melancholy tragedy that soon after occurred might have been averted. OUTLET OF LAKE TO THE SEA. At the termination of the flat they found themselves upon the banks of the channel, and close to the sand hillock under which my tents had been pitched. From this point they proceeded along the line of sand-hills to the outlet; from which it would appear that Kangaroo Island is not visible, but that the distant point which I mistook for it was the S.E. angle of Cape Jervis. I have remarked, in describing that part of the coast, that there is a sand-hill to the eastward of the inlet, under which the tide runs strong, and the water is deep. Captain Barker judged the breadth of the channel to be a quarter of a mile, and he expressed a desire to swim across it to the sand-hill to take bearings, and to ascertain the nature of the strand beyond it to the eastward. It unfortunately happened, that he was the only one of the party who could swim well, in consequence of which his people remonstrated with him on the danger of making the attempt unattended. Notwithstanding, however, that he was seriously indisposed, he stripped, and after Mr. Kent had fastened his compass on his head for him, he plunged into the water, and with difficulty gained the opposite side; to effect which took him nine minutes and fifty-eight seconds. His anxious comrades saw him ascend the hillock, and take several bearings; he then descended the farther side, and was never seen by them again. CIRCUMSTANCES ATTENDING THE LOSS OF CAPTAIN BARKER. For a considerable time Mr. Kent remained stationary, in momentary expectation of his return; but at length, taking the two soldiers with him, he proceeded along the shore in search of wood for a fire. At about a quarter of a mile, the soldiers stopped and expressed their wish to return, as their minds misgave them, and they feared that Captain Barker had met with some accident. While conversing, they heard a distant shout, or cry, which Mr. Kent thought resembled the call of the natives, but which the soldiers positively declared to be the voice of a white man. On their return to their companions, they asked if any sounds had caught their ears, to which they replied in the negative. The wind was blowing from the E.S.E., in which direction Captain Barker had gone; and, to me, the fact of the nearer party not having heard that which must have been his cries for assistance, is satisfactorily accounted for, as, being immediately under the hill, the sounds must have passed over their heads to be heard more distinctly at the distance at which Mr. Kent and the soldiers stood. It is more than probable, that while his men were expressing their anxiety about him, the fearful tragedy was enacting which it has become my painful task to detail. Evening closed in without any signs of Captain Barker's return, or any circumstance by which Mr. Kent could confirm his fears that he had fallen into the hands of the natives. For, whether it was that the tribe which had shown such decided hostility to me when on the coast had not observed the party, none made their appearance; and if I except two, who crossed the channel when Mr. Kent was in search of wood, they had neither seen nor heard any; and Captain Barker's enterprising disposition being well known to his men, hopes were still entertained that he was safe. A large fire was kindled, and the party formed a silent and anxious group around it. Soon after night-fall, however, their attention was roused by the sounds of the natives, and it was at length discovered, that they had lighted a chain of small fires between the sand-hill Captain Barker had ascended and the opposite side of the channel, around which their women were chanting their melancholy dirge. It struck upon the ears of the listeners with an ominous thrill, and assured them of the certainty of the irreparable loss they had sustained. All night did those dismal sounds echo along that lonely shore, but as morning dawned, they ceased, and Mr. Kent and his companions were again left in anxiety and doubt. They, at length, thought it most advisable to proceed to the schooner to advise with Doctor Davies. They traversed the beach with hasty steps, but did not get on board till the following day. It was then determined to procure assistance from the sealers on Kangaroo Island, as the only means by which they could ascertain their leader's fate, and they accordingly entered American Harbour. For a certain reward, one of the men agreed to accompany Mr. Kent to the main with a native woman, to communicate with the tribe that was supposed to have killed him. They landed at or near the rocky point of Encounter Bay, where they were joined by two other natives, one of whom was blind. The woman was sent forward for intelligence, and on her return gave the following details: ACCOUNT OF HIS MURDER. It appears that at a very considerable distance from the first sand-hill, there is another to which Captain Barker must have walked, for the woman stated that three natives were going to the shore from their tribe, and that they crossed his tract. Their quick perception immediately told them it was an unusual impression. They followed upon it, and saw Captain Barker returning. They hesitated for a long time to approach him, being fearful of the instrument he carried. At length, however, they closed upon him. Capt. Barker tried to soothe them, but finding that they were determined to attack him, he made for the water from which he could not have been very distant. One of the blacks immediately threw his spear and struck him in the hip. This did not, however, stop him. He got among the breakers, when he received the second spear in the shoulder. On this, turning round, he received a third full in the breast: with such deadly precision do these savages cast their weapons. It would appear that the third spear was already on its flight when Capt. Barker turned, and it is to be hoped, that it was at once mortal. He fell on his back into the water. The natives then rushed in, and dragging him out by the legs, seized their spears, and indicted innumerable wounds upon his body; after which, they threw it into deep water, and the sea-tide carried it away. HIS CHARACTER. Such, we have every reason to believe, was the untimely fate of this amiable and talented man. It is a melancholy satisfaction to me thus publicly to record his worth; instrumental, as I cannot but in some measure consider my last journey to have been in leading to this fatal catastrophe. Captain Barker was in disposition, as he was in the close of his life, in many respects similar to Captain Cook. Mild, affable, and attentive, he had the esteem and regard of every companion, and the respect of every one under him. Zealous in the discharge of his public duties, honourable and just in private life; a lover and a follower of science; indefatigable and dauntless in his pursuits; a steady friend, an entertaining companion; charitable, kind-hearted, disinterested, and sincere--the task is equally difficult to find adequate expressions of praise or of regret. In him the king lost one of his most valuable officers, and his regiment one of its most efficient members. Beloved as he was, the news of his loss struck his numerous friends with sincere grief, but by none was it more severely felt than by the humble individual who has endeavoured thus feebly to draw his portrait. From the same source from which the particulars of his death were obtained, it was reported that the natives who perpetrated the deed were influenced by no other motive than curiosity to ascertain if they had power to kill a white man. But we must be careful in giving credit to this, for it is much more probable that the cruelties exercised by the sealers towards the blacks along the south coast, may have instigated the latter to take vengeance on the innocent as well as on the guilty. It will be seen, by a reference to the chart, that Captain Barker, by crossing the channel, threw himself into the very hands of that tribe which had evinced such determined hostility to myself and my men. He got into the rear of their strong hold, and was sacrificed to those feelings of suspicion, and to that desire of revenge, which the savages never lose sight of until they have been gratified. FEATURES OF THE COUNTRY, AND CAPABILITIES OF THE COAST. It yet remains for me to state that when Mr. Kent returned to the schooner, after this irreparable loss, he kept to the south of the place at which he had crossed the first range with Captain Barker, and travelled through a valley right across the promontory. He thus discovered that there was a division in the ranges, through which there was a direct and level road from the little bay on the northern extremity of which they had last landed in St. Vincent's Gulf, to the rocky point of Encounter Bay. The importance of this fact will be better estimated, when it is known that good anchorage is secured to small vessels inside the island that lies off the point of Encounter Bay, which is rendered still safer by a horse shoe reef that forms, as it were, a thick wall to break the swell of the sea. But this anchorage is not safe for more than five months in the year. Independently of these points, however, Mr. Kent remarks, that the spit a little to the north of Mount Lofty would afford good shelter to minor vessels under its lee. When the nature of the country is taken into consideration, and the facility of entering that which lies between the ranges and the Lake Alexandrina, from the south, and of a direct communication with the lake itself, the want of an extensive harbour will, in some measure, be compensated for, more especially when it is known that within four leagues of Cape Jervis, a port little inferior to Port Jackson, with a safe and broad entrance, exists at Kangaroo Island. The sealers have given this spot the name of American Harbour. In it, I am informed, vessels are completely land-locked, and secure from every wind. Kangaroo Island is not, however, fertile by any means. It abounds in shallow lakes filled with salt water during high tides, and which, by evaporation, yield a vast quantity of salt. I gathered from the sealers that neither the promontory separating St. Vincent from Spencer's Gulf, nor the neighbourhood of Port Lincoln, are other than barren and sandy wastes. They all agree in describing Port Lincoln itself as a magnificent roadstead, but equally agree as to the sterility of its shores. It appears, therefore, that the promontory of Cape Jervis owes its superiority to its natural features; in fact, to the mountains that occupy its centre, to the debris that has been washed from them, and to the decomposition of the better description of its rocks. Such is the case at Illawarra, where the mountains approach the sea; such indeed is the case every where, at a certain distance from mountain ranges. ADAPTION OF THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY FOR COLONISATION. From the above account it would appear that a spot has, at length, been found upon the south coast of New Holland, to which the colonist might venture with every prospect of success, and in whose valleys the exile might hope to build for himself and for his family a peaceful and prosperous home. All who have ever landed upon the eastern shore of St. Vincent's Gulf, agree as to the richness of its soil, and the abundance of its pasture. Indeed, if we cast our eyes upon the chart, and examine the natural features of the country behind Cape Jervis, we shall no longer wonder at its differing in soil and fertility from the low and sandy tracks that generally prevail along the shores of Australia. Without entering largely into the consideration of the more remote advantages that would, in all human probability, result from the establishment of a colony, rather than a penal settlement, at St. Vincent's Gulf, it will be expedient to glance hastily over the preceding narrative, and, disengaging it from all extraneous matter, to condense, as much as possible, the information it contains respecting the country itself; for I have been unable to introduce any passing remark, lest I should break the thread of an interesting detail. The country immediately behind Cape Jervis may, strictly speaking, be termed a promontory, bounded to the west by St. Vincent's Gulf, and to the east by the lake Alexandrina, and the sandy track separating that basin from the sea. Supposing a line to be drawn from the parallel of 34 degrees 40 minutes to the eastward, it will strike the Murray river about 25 miles above the head of the lake, and will clear the ranges, of which Mount Lofty and Mount Barker are the respective terminations. This line will cut off a space whose greatest breadth will be 55 miles, whose length from north to south will be 75, and whose surface exceeds 7 millions of acres; from which if we deduct 2 millions for the unavailable hills, we shall have 5 millions of acres of land, of rich soil, upon which no scrub exists, and whose most distant points are accessible, through a level country on the one hand, and by water on the other. The southern extremity of the ranges can be turned by that valley through which Mr. Kent returned to the schooner, after Captain Barker's death. It is certain, therefore, that this valley not only secures so grand a point, but also presents a level line of communication from the small bay immediately to the north of the cape, to the rocky point of Encounter Bay, at both of which places there is safe anchorage at different periods of the year. HINTS FOR FUTURE EXPEDITIONS. The only objection that can be raised to the occupation of this spot, is the want of an available harbour. Yet it admits of great doubt whether the contiguity of Kangaroo Island to Cape Jervis, (serving as it does to break the force of the prevailing winds, as also of the heavy swell that would otherwise roll direct into the bay,) and the fact of its possessing a safe and commodious harbour, certainly at an available distance, does not in a great measure remove the objection. Certain it is that no port, with the exception of that on the shores of which the capital of Australia is situated, offers half the convenience of this, although it be detached between three and four leagues from the main. On the other hand it would appear, that there is no place from which at any time the survey of the more central parts of the continent could be so effectually carried on; for in a country like Australia, where the chief obstacle to be apprehended in travelling is the want of water, the facilities afforded by the Murray and its tributaries, are indisputable; and I have little doubt that the very centre of the continent might be gained by a judicious and enterprising expedition. Certainly it is most desirable to ascertain whether the river I have supposed to be the Darling be really so or not. I have stated my objection to depots, but I think that if a party commenced its operations upon the Murray from the junction upwards, and, after ascertaining the fact of its ultimate course, turned away to the N.W. up one of the tributaries of the Murray, with a supply of six months' provisions, the results would be of the most satisfactory kind, and the features of the country be wholly developed. I cannot, I think, conclude this work better than by expressing a hope, that the Colonial Government will direct such measures to be adopted as may be necessary for the extension of our geographical knowledge in Australia. The facilities of fitting out expeditions in New South Wales, render the expenses of little moment, when compared with the importance of the object in view; and although I am labouring under the effects of former attempts, yet would I willingly give such assistance as I could to carry such an object into effect. APPENDIX. APPENDIX No. I. GEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS FOUND TO THE SOUTH-WEST OF PORT JACKSON. Considering the nature of the country over which the first expedition travelled, it could hardly have been expected that its geological specimens would be numerous. It will appear, however, from the following list of rocks collected during the second expedition, that the geological formation of the mountains to the S.W. of Port Jackson is as various as that to the N.W. of it is mountainous. The specimens are described not according to their natural order, but in the succession in which they were found, commencing from Yass Plains, and during the subsequent stages of the journey. Sandstone, Old Red.--Found on various parts of Yass Plains, in contact with Limestone, Transition.--Colour dark grey; composes the bed of the Yass River, and apparently traverses the sandstone formation. Yass Plains lie 170 miles to the S.W. of Sydney. Sandstone, Old Red.--Again succeeds the limestone, and continues to the N.W. to a considerable distance over a poor and scrubby country, covered for the most part with a dwarf species of Eucalyptus. Granite.--Colour grey; feldspar, black mica, and quartz: succeeds the sandstone, and continues to the S.W. as far as the Morumbidgee River, over an open forest country broken into hill and dale. It is generally on these granite rocks that the best grazing is found. Greywacke.--Colour grey, of light hue, or dark, with black specks. Soft.--Composition of a part of the ranges that form the valley of the Morumbidgee. Serpentine.--Colour green of different shades, striped sulphur yellow; slaty fracture, soft and greasy to the touch. Forms hills of moderate elevation, of peculiarly sharp spine, resting on quartz. Composition of most of the ranges opposite the Doomot River on the Morumbidgee, in lat. 35 degrees 4 minutes and long. 147 degrees 40 minutes. Quartz.--Colour snow-white; formation of the higher ranges on the left bank of the Morumbidgee, in the same latitude and longitude as above; showing in large blocks on the sides of the hills. Slaty Quartz, with varieties.--Found with the quartz rock, in a state of decomposition. Granite.--Succeeds the serpentine, of light colour; feldspar decomposed; mica, glittering and silvery white. Sandstone, Old Red.--Composition of the more distant ranges on the Morumbidgee. Forms abrupt precipices over the river flats; of sterile appearance, and covered with Banksias and scrub. Mica Slate.--Colour dark brown, approaching red; mica glittering. The hills enclosing Pondebadgery Plain at the gorge of the valley of the Morumbidgee, are composed of this rock. They are succeeded by Sandstone.--Which rises abruptly from the river in perpendicular cliffs, of 145 feet in height. Jasper and quartz.--Colour red and white. Forms the slope of the above sandstone, and may be considered the outermost of the rocks connected with the Eastern or Blue Mountain Ranges. It will be remembered that jasper and quartz were likewise found on a plain near the Darling River, precisely similar to the above, although occurring at so great a distance from each other. Granite.--Light red colour; composition of a small isolated hill, to all appearance wholly unconnected with the neighbouring ranges. This specimen is very similar to that found in the bed of New-Year's Creek. Breccia.--Silicious cement, composed of a variety of pebbles. Formation of the most WESTERLY of the hills between the Lachlan and Macquarie Rivers. This conglomerate was also found to compose the minor and most westerly of the elevations of the more northern interior. Chrystallised Sulphate of Lime.--Found embedded in the deep alluvial soil in the banks of the Morumbidgee River, in lat. 34 degrees 30 minutes S., and long. 144 degrees 55 minutes E. The same substance was found on the banks of the Darling, in lat. 29 degrees 49 minutes S., and in long. 145 degrees 18 minutes E. A reference to the chart will show that the Morumbidgee, from the first of the above positions, may be said to have entered the almost dead level of the interior. No elevation occurs to the westward for several hundreds of miles. A coarse grit occasionally traversed the beds of the rivers, and their lofty banks of clay or marl appear to be based on sandstone and granitic sand. The latter occurs in slabs of four inches in thickness, divided by a line of saffron-coloured sand, and seems to have been subjected to fusion, as if the particles or grains had been cemented together by fusion. The first decided break that takes place in the level of the interior occurs upon the right bank of the Murray, a little below the junction of the Rufus with it. A cliff of from 120 to 130 feet in perpendicular elevation here flanks the river for about 200 yards, when it recedes from it, and forms a spacious amphitheatre that is occupied by semicircular hillocks, that partake of the same character as the cliff itself; the face of which showed the various substances of which it was composed in horizontal lines, that if prolonged would cut the same substance in the hillocks. Based upon a soft white sandstone, a bed of clay formed the lowest part of the cliff; upon this bed of clay, a bed of chalk reposed; this chalk was superseded by a thick bed of saponaceous earth, whilst the summit of the cliff was composed of a bright red sand. Semi-opal and hydrate of silex were found in the chalk, and some beautiful specimens of brown menelite were collected from the upper stratum of the cliff. A little below this singular place, the country again declines, when a tertiary fossil formation shows itself, which, rising gradually as an inclined plain, ultimately attains an elevation of 300 feet. This formation continues to the very coast, since large masses of the rock were observed in the channel of communication between the lake and the ocean; and the hills to the left of the channel were based upon it. This great bank cannot, therefore, average less than from seventy to ninety miles in width. At its commencement, it strikingly resembled skulls piled one on the other, as well in colour as appearance. This effect had been produced by the constant rippling of water against the rock. The softer parts had been washed away, and the shells (a bed of Turritella) alone remained. Plate 1, Figures 1, 2, and 3, represent the selenite formation. Plate 2, represents a mass of the rock containing numerous kinds of shells, of which the following are the most conspicuous: Cardium Pectunculus Corbula Arca Conus, and Others unknown. * * * The following is a list of the fossils collected from various parts of this formation, from which it is evident that a closer examination would lead to the discovery of numberless species. TUNICATA. PLATE III. FIG.1 Eschara celleporacea. 2 ------- piriformis. 3 ------- UNNAMED. FIG.4 Cellepora echinata. 5 --------- escharoides? 6 Retepora disticha. 7 -------- vibicata. 8 Glauconome rhombifera. All Tertiary in Westphalia and England. RADIATA 9 Scutella. 10 Spatangus Hoffmanni--Goldfuss. Tertiary, in Westphalia. 11 Echinus. CONCHIFERA--BIVALVED SHELLS. Corbula gallica--Paris basin--Tertiary. Tellina? Corbis lamellosa--Tertiary--Paris. Lucina. Venus (Cytherea) laevigata--ibid. ----- ---------- obliqua --ibid. Venus Cardium?--fragments. 12 Nucula--such is found in London clay. 13 Pecten coarctatus?--Placentia. ------ various?--recent. 14 ------ species unknown. Two other Pectens also occur. Ostrea elongata--Deshayes. 15 Terebratula. 16 One cast, genus unknown, perhaps a Cardium. MOLUSCA--UNIVALVED SHELLS. Bulla? Plate II., fig. 2. FIG.17 Natica--small. 18 ------ large species. Dentalium? 19 Trochus. 20 Turritella. ---------- in gyps. 21 Murex. 22 Buccinum? 23 Mitra. 24 ----- very short. 25 Cypraea. 26 Conus. 27 ----- (Plate II., fig. 3.) 28 Two, unknown, (Also Plate II, fig. 4.) The above all appear to belong to the newer tertiary formations. [Fig.17 to 27--These genera are scarcely ever, and some of them not at all, found in any but tertiary formations.] A block of coarse red granite forms an island in the centre of the river near the lake, but is nowhere else visible, although it is very probably the basis of the surrounding country. ROCK FORMATION OF THE COAST RANGE OF ST. VINCENT'S GULF. Primitive Transition Limestone.--Light grey, striped. Altered in appearance by volcanic action; occurs on the Ranges north of Cape Jervis. Granite.--Colour, red; found on the west side of Encounter Bay. Brown Spar.--South point of Cape Jervis. Sandstone, Old Red.--East coast of St. Vincent's Gulf. Limestone, Transition.--Colour, blue. East Coast of St. Vincent's Gulf. Formation near the first inlet. Continuing to the base of the Ranges. Clay Slate.--Composition of the lower part of the Mount Lofty Range. Granite.--Fine grained, red; forms the higher parts of the Mount Lofty Range. Quartz, with Tourmaline.--Lower parts of the Mount Lofty Range. Limestone Flustra, and their Corallines, probably tertiary.--From the mouth of the Sturt, on the coast line, nearly abreast of Mount Lofty. APPENDIX No. II. OFFICIAL REPORT TO THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. * * * * * GOVERNMENT ORDER. Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney, May 10, 1830. His Excellency the Governor has much satisfaction in publishing the following report of the proceedings of an expedition undertaken for the purpose of tracing the course of the river "Morumbidgee," and of ascertaining whether it communicated with the coast forming the southern boundary of the colony. The expedition, which was placed under the direction of Captain Sturt, of his Majesty's 39th Regiment, commenced its progress down the "Morumbidgee" on the 7th day of January last, having been occupied twenty-one days in performing the journey from Sydney. On the 14th January they entered a new river running from east to west, now called the "Murray," into which the "Morumbidgee" flows. After pursuing the course of the "Murray" for several days, the expedition observed another river (supposed to be that which Captain Sturt discovered on his former expedition), uniting with the "Murray" which they examined about five miles above the junction. The expedition again proceeded down the "Murray," and fell in with another of its tributaries flowing from the south east, which Captain Sturt has designated the "Lindesay;" and on the 8th February the "Murray" was found to enter or form a lake, of from fifty to sixty miles in length, and from thirty to forty in breadth, lying immediately to the eastward of gulf St. Vincent, and extending to the southward, to the shore of "Encounter Bay." Thus has Captain Sturt added largely, and in a highly important degree, to the knowledge previously possessed of the interior. His former expedition ascertained the fate of the rivers Macquarie and Castlereagh, on which occasion he also discovered a river which, there is every reason to believe, is, in ordinary seasons, of considerable magnitude. Should this, as Captain Sturt supposes, prove to be the same river as that above-mentioned, as uniting with the "Murray," the existence of an interior water communication for several hundreds of miles, extending from the northward of "Mount Harris," down to the southern coast of the colony, will have been established. It is to be regretted, that circumstances did not permit of a more perfect examination of the lake, (which has been called "Alexandrina"), as the immediate vicinage of Gulf St. Vincent furnishes a just ground of hope that a more practicable and useful communication may be discovered in that direction, than the channel which leads into "Encounter Bay." The opportunity of recording a second time the services rendered to the colony by Captain Sturt, is as gratifying to the government which directed the undertaking, as it is creditable to the individual who so successfully conducted it to its termination.--It is an additional cause of satisfaction to add, that every one, according to his sphere of action, has a claim to a proportionate degree of applause. All were exposed alike to the same privations and fatigue, and every one submitted with patience, manifesting the most anxious desire for the success of the expedition. The zeal of Mr. George M'Leay, the companion of Captain Sturt, when example was so important, could not fail to have the most salutary effect; and the obedience, steadiness, and good conduct of the men employed, merit the highest praise. By his Excellency's command, ALEXANDER M'LEAY. * * * * * BANKS OF THE MORUMBIDGEE, APRIL 20TH, 1830. SIR,--The departure of Mr. George M'Leay for Sydney, who is anxious to proceed homewards as speedily as possible, affords me an earlier opportunity than would otherwise have presented itself, by which to make you acquainted with the circumstance of my return, under the divine protection, to the located districts; and I do myself the honour of annexing a brief account of my proceedings since the last communication for the information of His Excellency the Governor, until such time as I shall have it in my power to give in a more detailed report. On the 7th of January, agreeably to the arrangements which had been made, I proceeded down the Morumbidgee in the whale boat, with a complement of six hands, independent of myself and Mr. M'Leay, holding the skiff in tow. The river, for several days, kept a general W.S.W. course; it altered little in appearance, nor did any material change take place in the country upon its banks. The alluvial flats had occasionally an increased breadth on either side of it, but the line of reeds was nowhere so extensive as from previous appearances I had been led to expect. About twelve miles from the depot, we passed a large creek junction from the N.E. which, from its locality and from the circumstance of my having been upon it in the direction of them, I cannot but conclude originates in the marshes of the Lachlan. On the 11th, the Morumbidgee became much encumbered with fallen timber, and its current was at times so rapid that I was under considerable apprehension for the safety of the boats. The skiff had been upset on the 8th, and, although I could not anticipate such an accident to the large boat, I feared she would receive some more serious and irremediable injury. On the 14th, these difficulties increased upon us.--The channel of the river became more contracted, and its current more impetuous. We had no sooner cleared one reach, than fresh and apparently insurmountable dangers presented themselves to us in the next. I really feared that every precaution would have proved unavailing against such multiplied embarrassments, and that ere night we should have possessed only the wrecks of the expedition. From this state of anxiety, however, we were unexpectedly relieved, by our arrival at 2 p.m. at the termination of the Morumbidgee; from which we were launched into a broad and noble river, flowing from E. to W. at the rate of two and a half knots per hour, over a clear and sandy bed, of a medium width of from three to four hundred feet. During the first stages of our journey upon this new river, which evidently had its rise in the mountains of the S.E., we made rapid progress to the W.N.W. through an unbroken and uninteresting country of equal sameness of feature and of vegetation. On the 23rd, as the boats were proceeding down it, several hundreds of natives made their appearance upon the right bank, having assembled with premeditated purposes of violence. I was the more surprised at this show of hostility, because we had passed on general friendly terms, not only with those on the Morumbidgee, but of the new river. Now, however, emboldened by numbers, they seemed determined on making the first attack, and soon worked themselves into a state of frenzy by loud and vehement shouting. As I observed that the water was shoaling fast, I kept in the middle of the stream; and, under an impression that it would be impossible for me to avoid a conflict, prepared for an obstinate resistance. But, at the very moment when, having arrived opposite to a large sand bank, on which they had collected, the foremost of the blacks had already advanced into the water, and I only awaited their nearer approach to fire upon them, their impetuosity was restrained by the most unlooked for and unexpected interference. They held back of a sudden, and allowed us to pass unmolested. The boat, however, almost immediately grounded on a shoal that stretched across the river, over which she was with some difficulty hauled into deeper water,--when we found ourselves opposite to a large junction from the eastward, little inferior to the river itself. Had I been aware of this circumstance, I should have been the more anxious with regard to any rupture with the natives, and I was now happy to find that most of them had laid aside their weapons and had crossed the junction, it appearing that they had previously been on a tongue of land formed by the two streams. I therefore landed among them to satisfy their curiosity and to distribute a few presents before I proceeded up it. We were obliged to use the four oars to stem the current against us; but, as soon as we had passed the mouth, got into deeper water, and found easier pulling, The parallel in which we struck it, and the direction from which it came, combined to assure me that this could be no other than the "Darling." To the distance of two miles it retained a breadth of one hundred yards and a depth of twelve feet. Its banks were covered with verdure, and the trees overhanging them were of finer and larger growth than those on the new river by which we had approached it. Its waters had a shade of green, and were more turbid than those of its neighbours, but they were perfectly sweet to the taste. Having satisfied myself on those points on which I was most anxious, we returned to the junction to examine it more closely. The angle formed by the Darling with the new river is so acute, that neither can be said to be tributary to the other; but more important circumstances, upon which it is impossible for me to dwell at the present moment, mark them as distinct rivers, which have been formed by Nature for the same purposes, in remote and opposite parts of the island. Not having as yet given a name to the latter, I now availed myself of the opportunity of complying with the known wishes of His Excellency the Governor, and, at the same time, in accordance with my own feelings as a soldier I distinguished it by that of the "Murray." It had been my object to ascertain the decline of the vast plain through which the Murray flows, that I might judge of the probable fall of the waters of the interior; but by the most attentive observation I could not satisfy myself upon the point. The course of the Darling now confirmed my previous impression that it was to the south, which direction it was evident the Murray also, in the subsequent stages of our journey down it, struggled to preserve; from which it was thrown by a range of minor elevations into a more westerly one. We were carried as far as 139 degrees 40 minutes of longitude, without descending below 34 degrees in point of latitude; in consequence of which I expected that the river would ultimately discharge itself, either into St. Vincent's Gulf or that of Spencer, more especially as lofty ranges were visible in the direction of them from the summit of the hills behind our camp, on the 2nd of February, which I laid down as the coast line bounding them. A few days prior to the 2nd of February, we passed under some cliffs of partial volcanic origin, and had immediately afterwards entered a limestone country of the most singular formation. The river, although we had passed occasional rapids of the most dangerous kind, had maintained a sandy character from our first acquaintance with it to the limestone division. It now forced itself through a glen of that rock of half a mile in width, frequently striking precipices of more than two hundred feet perpendicular elevation, in which coral and fossil remains were plentifully embedded. On the 3rd February it made away to the eastward of south, in reaches of from two to four miles in length. It gradually lost its sandy bed, and became deep, still, and turbid; the glen expanded into a valley, and the alluvial flats, which had hitherto been of inconsiderable size, became proportionally extensive. The Murray increased in breadth to more than four hundred yards, with a depth of twenty feet of water close into the shore, and in fact formed itself into a safe and navigable stream for any vessels of the minor class. On the 6th the cliffs partially ceased, and on the 7th they gave place to undulating and picturesque hills, beneath which thousands of acres of the richest flats extended, covered, however, with reeds, and apparently subject to overflow at any unusual rise of the river. It is remarkable that the view from the hills was always confined.--We were apparently running parallel to a continuation of the ranges we had seen on the 2nd, but they were seldom visible. The country generally seemed darkly wooded, and had occasional swells upon it, but it was one of no promise; the timber, chiefly box and pine, being of a poor growth, and its vegetation languid. On the 8th the hills upon the left wore a bleak appearance, and the few trees upon them were cut down as if by the prevailing winds. At noon we could not observe any land at the extremity of a reach we had just entered; some gentle hills still continued to form the left lank of the river, but the right was hid from us by high reeds. I consequently landed to survey the country from the nearest eminence, and found that we were just about to enter an extensive lake which stretched away to the S.W., the line of water meeting the horizon in that direction. Some tolerably lofty ranges were visible to the westward at the distance of forty miles, beneath which that shore was lost in haze. A hill, which I prejudged to be Mount Lofty, bearing by compass S. 141 degrees W. More to the northward, the country was low and unbacked by any elevations. A bold promontory, which projected into the lake at the distance of seven leagues, ended the view to the south along the eastern shore; between which and the river the land also declined. The prospect altogether was extremely gratifying, and the lake appeared to be a fitting reservoir for the whole stream which had led us to it. In the evening we passed the entrance; but a strong southerly wind heading us, we did not gain more than nine miles. In the morning it shifted to the N.E. where we stood out for the promontory on a S.S.W. course. At noon we were abreast of it, when a line of sand hummocks was ahead, scarcely visible in consequence of the great refraction about them; but an open sea behind us from the N.N.W. to the N.N.E. points of the compass. A meridian altitude observed here, placed us in 35 degrees 25 minutes 15 seconds S. lat.--At 1, I changed our course a little to the westward, and at 4 p.m. entered an arm of the lake leading W.S.W. On the point, at the entrance, some natives had assembled, but I could not communicate with them. They were both painted and armed, and evidently intended to resist our landing. Wishing, however, to gain some information from them, I proceeded a short distance below their haunt, and landed for the night, in hopes that, seeing us peaceably disposed, they would have approached the tents; but as they kept aloof, we continued our journey in the morning. The water, which had risen ten inches during the night, had fallen again in the same proportion, and we were stopped by shoals shortly after starting. In hopes that the return of tide would have enabled us to float over them, we waited for it very patiently, but were ultimately obliged to drag the boat across a mud-flat of more than a quarter of a mile into deeper water; but, after a run of about twenty minutes, were again checked by sand banks. My endeavours to push beyond a certain point were unsuccessful, and I was at length under the necessity of landing upon the south shore for the night. Some small hummocks were behind us, on the other side of which I had seen the ocean from our morning's position; and whilst the men were pitching the tents, walked over them in company with Mr. M'Leay to the sea shore, having struck the coast at Encounter Bay, Cape Jervis, bearing by compass S. 81 degrees W. distant between three and four leagues, and Kangaroo Island S.E. extremity S. 60 degrees W. distant from nine to ten. Thirty-two days had elapsed since we had left the depot, and I regretted in this stage of our journey, that I could not with prudence remain an hour longer on the coast than was necessary for me to determine the exit of the lake. From the angle of the channel on which we were, a bright sand-hill was visible at about nine miles distance to the E.S.E.; which, it struck me, was the eastern side of the passage communicating with the ocean. Having failed in our attempts to proceed further in the boat, and the appearance of the shoals at low water having convinced me of the impracticability of it, I determined on an excursion along the sea-shore to the southward and eastward, in anxious hopes that it would be a short one; for as we had had a series of winds from the S.W. which had now changed to the opposite quarter, I feared we should have to pull across the lake in our way homewards. I left the camp therefore at an early hour, in company with Mr. M'Leay and Fraser, and at day-break arrived opposite to the sand-bank I have mentioned. Between us and it the entrance into the back water ran. The passage is at all periods of the tide rather more than a quarter of a mile in width, and is of sufficient depth for a boat to enter, especially on the off side; but a line of dangerous breakers in the bay will always prevent an approach to it from the sea, except in the calmest weather, whilst the bay itself will always be a hazardous place for any vessels to enter under any circumstances. Having, however, satisfactorily concluded our pursuit, we retraced our steps to the camp, and again took the following bearings as we left the beach, the strand trending E.S.E. 1/2 E.:-- Kangaroo Island, S.E. angle S. 60 degrees W. Low rocky point of Cape Jervis S. 81 degrees W. Round Hill in centre of Range S. 164 degrees W. Camp, distant one mile S. 171 degrees W. Mount Lofty, distant forty miles N. 9 degrees E. Before setting sail, a bottle was deposited between four and five feet deep in a mound of soft earth and shells, close to the spot on which the tent had stood, which contained a paper of the names of the party, together with a simple detail of our arrival and departure. It appeared that the good fortune, which had hitherto attended us was still to continue, for the wind which had been contrary, chopped round to the S.W., and ere sunset we were again in the mouth of the river, having run from fifty to sixty miles under as much canvass as the boat would bear, and with a heavy swell during the greater part of the day. The lake which has thus terminated our journey, is from fifty to sixty miles in length, and from thirty to forty in width. With such an expanse of water, I am correct in stating its medium depth at four feet. There is a large bight in it to the S.E. and a beautiful and extensive bay to the N.W. At about seven miles from the mouth of the river, its waters are brackish, and at twenty-one miles they are quite salt, whilst seals frequent the lower parts. Considering this lake to be of sufficient importance, and in anticipation that its shores will, during her reign, if not at an earlier period, be peopled by some portion of her subjects, I have called it, in well-meant loyalty, "The Lake Alexandrina." It is remarkable that the Murray has few tributaries below the Darling. It receives one, however, of considerable importance from the S.E., to which I have given the name of the "Lindesay," as a mark of respect to my commanding-officer, and in remembrance of the many acts of kindness I have received at his hands. Having dwelt particularly on the nature of the country through which the expedition has passed in the pages of my journal, it may be unnecessary for me to enter into any description of it in this place, further than to observe, that the limestone continued down to the very coast, and that although the country in the neighbourhood of the Lake Alexandrina must, from local circumstances, be rich in point of soil, the timber upon it is of stunted size, and that it appears to have suffered from drought, though not to the same extent with the eastern coast. It is evident, however, that its vicinity to high lands does not altogether exempt it from such periodical visitations; still I have no doubt that my observations upon it will convince His Excellency the Governor, that it is well worthy of a closer, and more attentive examination, than I had it in my power to make. In a geographical point of view, I am happy to believe that the result of this expedition has been conclusive; and that, combined with the late one, it has thrown much light upon the nature of the interior of the vast Island; that the decline of waters, as far as the parallel of 139 degrees E., is to the south, and that the Darling is to the N.E. as the Murray is to the S.E. angle of the coast, the main channel by which the waters of the central ranges are thrown or discharged into one great reservoir. Our journey homewards was only remarkable for its labour: in conclusion, therefore, it remains for me to add that we reached the depot on the 23rd of March. Our sugar failed us on the 18th of February, and our salt provisions, in consequence of the accident which happened to the skiff, on the 8th of March; so that from the above period we were living on a reduced ration of flour; and as we took few fish, and were generally unsuccessful with our guns, the men had seldom more than their bread to eat. I regretted to observe that they were daily falling off, and that although unremitting in their exertions they were well nigh exhausted, ere we reached the Morumbidgee. We were from sunrise to five o'clock on the water, and from the day that we left the depot to that of our return we never rested upon our oars. We were thirty-nine days gaining the depot from the coast, against a strong current in both rivers, being seven more than it took us to go down. From the depot to this station we had seventeen days hard pulling, making a total of eighty-eight, during which time we could not have travelled over less than 2000 miles. I was under the necessity of stopping short on the 10th instant, and of detaching two men for the drays, which happily arrived on the 17th, on which day our stock of flour failed us. Had I not adopted this plan, the men would have become too weak to have pulled up to Pondebadgery, and we should no doubt have suffered some privations. This detail will, I am sure, speak more in favour of the men composing the party than anything I can say. I would most respectfully recommend them all to His Excellency's notice; and I beg to assure him that, during the whole of this arduous journey, they were cheerful, zealous, and obedient. They had many harassing duties to perform, and their patience and temper were often put to severe trials by the natives, of whom we could not have seen fewer than 4000 on the Murray alone. I am to refer His Excellency the Governor to Mr. M'Leay for any more immediate information he may require,--to whom I stand indebted on many points--and not less in the anxiety he evinced for the success of the undertaking, than in the promptitude with which he assisted in the labours attendant on our return, and his uniform kindness to the men. I have the honour to subscribe myself, Sir, Your most obedient humble Servant, CHARLES STURT, Captain of the 39th Regt. The Hon. the Colonial Secretary. END OF VOLUME II 
5334	----	JOURNALS OF TWO EXPEDITIONS INTO THE INTERIOR OF NEW SOUTH WALES, BY ORDER OF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT IN THE YEARS 1817-18. BY JOHN OXLEY, SURVEYOR GENERAL OF THE TERRITORY AND LIEUTENANT OF THE ROYAL NAVY. WITH MAPS AND VIEWS OF THE INTERIOR, OR NEWLY DISCOVERED COUNTRY. Production notes: * 12 items of errata listed in the book have been corrected in this eBook. * Illustrations, Maps and Charts have not been included in this eBook. * Notes included within the text have been included in square brackets [] in the text at the point referenced. * Italics have been converted to upper case. CONTENTS PART I LIST OF PLATES LIST OF CHARTS INRODUCTION JOURNAL OF AN EXPEDITION IN AUSTRALIA PART I. PART II PREFACE JOURNAL OF AN EXPEDITION IN AUSTRALIA PART II. APPENDIX PART I. No. I. Instructions for conducting and leading first expedition. No. II Report of tour over Blue Mountains in 1815 by the Governor. No. III Letter from Oxley to Governor advising of his return from first expedition. APPENDIX PART II. No. IV Diary of Mr. Evans, from 8th to 18th of July, 1818. No. V. Governor's report on the return of Oxley from the second expedition, together with a letter from Oxley on his arrival at Port Stephens.. No. VI. Governor's report on Oxley's discovery of Port Stephens together with a letter from Oxley to the Governor on this subject. A brief abstract of the population of N.S.W in 1815, 1816 and 1817. A statement of land in cultivation, quantities of stock, etc. from 1813 to 1817 inclusive. LIST OF PLATES (NOT INCLUDED IN THIS EBOOK). Field Plains from Mount Aymot. The Grave of a Native of Australia. Arbuthnot's Range, from the West. Liverpool Plains. West Prospect from View Hill. Bathurst's Falls. A Native Chief of Bathurst. LIST OF CHARTS (NOT INCLUDED IN THIS EBOOK). Range of the Thermometer from April 9th to August 30th 1817 by John Oxley. A Chart of Part of the Interior of New South Wales, 1817. First Expedition. A Chart of Part of the Interior of New South Wales, 1818. Second Expedition. Reduced Sketch of the Two Expeditions. A Plan of Port Macquarie Including a Sketch of Part of Hastings River, on the East Coast of New South Wales. A General Statement of the Inhabitants of New South Wales as per General Muster commencing 28th September 1818, with an account of same at Van Diemmens Land. A General Statement of the Land in Cultivation etc., the quantities of Stock etc., as accounted for at the General Muster, with an account of same at Van Diemmens Land.. JOURNAL OF AN EXPEDITION IN AUSTRALIA Part I. TO HIS EXCELLENCY LACHLAN MACQUARIE, ESQ. MAJOR GENERAL IN THE ARMY, AND CAPTAIN GENERAL AND GOVERNOR IN CHIEF IN AND OVER THE TERRITORY OF NEW SOUTH WALES AND ITS DEPENDENCIES, THE FOLLOWING JOURNAL OF AN EXPEDITION, PERFORMED UNDER HIS ADMINISTRATION AND DIRECTION, IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, BY HIS VERY OBEDIENT HUMBLE SERVANT, JOHN OXLEY. INTRODUCTION. The colony had been established many years before any successful attempt had been made to penetrate into the interior of the country, by crossing the range of hills, known to the colonists as the Blue Mountains: these mountains were considered as the boundary of the settlements westward, the country beyond them being deemed inaccessible. The year 1813 proving extremely dry, the grass was nearly all destroyed, and the water failed; the horned cattle suffered severely from this drought, and died in great numbers. It was at this period that three gentlemen, Lieutenant Lawson, of the Royal Veteran Company, Messrs. Blaxland, and William Wentworth, determined upon attempting a passage across these mountains, in hopes of finding a country which would afford support to their herds during this trying season. They crossed the Nepean River at Emu Plains, and ascending the first range of mountains, were entangled among gullies and deep ravines for a considerable time, insomuch that they began to despair of ultimate success. At length they were fortunate enough to find a main dividing range, along the ridge of which they travelled, observing that it led them westward. After suffering many hardships, their distinguished perseverance was at length rewarded by the view of a country, which at first sight promised them all they could wish. Into this Land of Promise they descended by a steep mountain, which Governor Macquarie has since named Mount York [Note: This mountain was found to be 795 feet in perpendicular height above the vale of Clwydd.]. The valley [Note: Named by Governor Macquarie the Vale of Clwydd.] to which it gave them access was covered with grass, and well watered by a small stream running easterly, and which was subsequently found to fall into the Nepean River. From Mount York they proceeded westerly eight or ten miles, passing during the latter part of the way through an open country, but broken into steep hills. Seeing that the stream before mentioned as watering the valley ran easterly, it was evident they had not yet crossed the ranges which it was supposed would give source to waters falling westerly; they had however proceeded sufficiently far for their purpose, and ascertained that no serious obstacles existed to a farther progress westward. Their provisions being nearly expended, they returned to Sydney, after an absence of little more than a month; and the report of their discoveries opened new prospects to the colonists, who had began to fear that their narrow and confined limits would not long afford pasture and subsistence for their greatly increasing flocks and herds. His Excellency Governor Macquarie, with that promptitude which distinguishes his character, resolved not to let slip so favourable an opportunity of obtaining a farther knowledge of the interior. Mr. Evans, the deputy surveyor, was directed to proceed With a party, and follow up the discoveries already made. He crossed the Nepean River on the 20th of November, 1813, and on the 26th arrived at the termination of Messrs. Lawson, Blaxland, and Wentworth's journey. Proceeding westward, he crossed a mountainous [Note: Since named Clarence Hilly Range.] broken country, the grass of which was good, and the valleys well-watered, until the 30th, when he came to a small stream, running westerly; this stream, called by him the Fish River, he continued to trace until the 7th of December, passing through a very fine country, adapted to every purpose either of agriculture or grazing; when he met another stream coming from the southward: this latter stream he named Campbell River, and when joined with the Fish River, the united streams received the name of the Macquarie River, in honour of his excellency the present governor of New South Wales. Mr. Evans continued to trace the Macquarie River until December the 18th, passing over rich tracts clear of timber, well-watered, and offering every advantage which a country in its natural state can be supposed to afford. During this excursion, Mr. Evans fell in with abundance of kangaroos and emus, and the river abounded with fine fish: he saw only six natives during the whole time of his absence, viz. two women and four children, although on his return he observed many fires in the neighbourhood of the mountains. On the 8th of January, 1814, he returned to Emu Plains, having gone in the whole near one hundred miles in a direct line due west from the Nepean River. From the report of Mr. Evans, Governor Macquarie was induced to believe that a road might be opened for the whole distance already surveyed, and was most anxious that the colony should reap as soon as possible the advantages, which the discovery of such extensive and fertile tracts seemed to open. The ample means afforded for this purpose enabled Mr. Cox, to whose superintendence this work was entrusted, to complete a road passable for loaded carriages early in 1815. This road extended in length upwards of one hundred miles, the first fifty of which passed along a narrow ridge of the Blue Mountains, bounded on each side by deep ravines, and precipitous rocks. The road which was cut down Mount York was a work of considerable labour and magnitude, and reflected the highest credit upon all employed in it. This important task being finished, the governor resolved in person to visit a country of which so much had been said, and to judge from actual observation how far the sanguine hopes which had been entertained were likely to be realized; his excellency therefore, accompanied by Mrs. Macquarie and his suite, set out from Emu Plains on the 26th of April, 1815, and arrived on the 4th of May at a small encampment (the site of which had been previously selected), on Bathurst Plains, near the termination of Mr. Evans's journey. Governor Macquarie having been pleased to publish for the information of the colonists such observations on the country as he deemed necessary, I shall not presume to add any thing to an account, which so clearly and accurately describes all that could be interesting or beneficial to the colonist and general inquirer. I have therefore inserted in the Appendix the account published by the Governor in the Sydney Gazette, of the 10th of June, 1815, as affording the best and most authentic information on the subject. During the Governor's stay at Bathurst, he despatched Mr. Evans, and a party with a month's provisions, to explore the country to the south-west, and it is the result of that journey which led to the expedition, the direction of which was entrusted to my command. The means which his excellency placed at my disposal were well calculated to attain the object in view, and it is a matter of the most sincere regret, that the nature and description of the country which we passed through was for the most part such as to afford few interesting objects of research or remark. The botanical productions of the country have however in a great measure been ascertained by Mr. Allan Cunningham, the King's botanist, who accompanied the expedition. With respect to the construction of the chart prefixed to this Journal, it is thought proper to observe, that the situation of the principal stations of Bathurst, and the depot on the Lachlan River, were ascertained by celestial observations, and connected by a series of triangles, commencing at the latter point, and closing at Bathurst. New base lines were frequently measured, and any unavoidable errors which might arise from the nature of the country were corrected at every proper opportunity by observed latitudes; so that on the return of the expedition to Bathurst, I had the satisfaction to find the connection of the angles complete, the error in the whole survey not exceeding a mile of longitude. The instruments chiefly used were a small theodolite by Ramsden, and Kater's pocket compass [Note: A most valuable instrument, combining all the advantages of the circumferentor, without being so liable to be damaged and put out of order by carriage.], with the addition of an excellent sextant, pocket chronometer, and artificial horizon. I have to lament that our mountain barometers were broken at an early stage of the expedition; the height however of some principal points had been previously obtained, and is marked on the chart; these in two instances were verified by geometrical measurement, and the difference was found to be too trilling to be noticed. The conveyance of such delicate instruments is always attended with great risk, and in our case peculiarly so, our means being only those of horseback. I am afraid that a method of constructing those instruments, so as to place them beyond the reach of injury by carriage, will always remain among the desiderata of science. I have given to our thermometrical observations the form of a chart, as affording the readiest view of the atmospherical changes which took place during our journey. The winds and weather are also more particularly noticed on the same sheet than in the narrative. It may perhaps be not superfluous to mention, that it is the intention of His Majesty's Government to follow the course of the Macquarie River, and it is sanguinely expected that the result of the contemplated expedition will be such as to leave no longer in doubt the true character of the country comprising the interior of this vast island. It would be as presumptuous as useless to speculate on the probable termination of the Macquarie River, when a few months will (it is to be hoped) decide the long disputed point, whether Australia, with a surface nearly as extensive as Europe, is, from its geological formation, destitute of rivers, either terminating in interior seas, or having their estuaries on the coast. J. O. Sydney, New South Wales, Dec. 11, 1817. ERRATA: 12 items of errata, listed in the book at this point, have been corrected in this eBook. JOURNAL OF AN EXPEDITION IN AUSTRALIA--Part I On the twenty-fourth of March I received the instructions of his excellency the Governor to take charge of the expedition which had been fitted out for the purpose of ascertaining the course of the Lachlan River, and generally to prosecute the examination of the western interior of New South Wales. On the sixth of April I quitted Sydney, and after a pleasant journey arrived at Bathurst on the fourteenth, and found that our provisions and other necessary stores were in readiness at the depot on the Lachlan River. We were detained at Bathurst by rainy unfavourable weather until the nineteenth, when the morning proving fine, the BAT horses, with the remainder of the provisions, baggage, and instruments, were sent off, we intending to follow them the ensuing morning. Bathurst had assumed a very different appearance since I first visited it in the suite of his excellency the Governor in 1815. The industrious hand of man had been busy in improving the beautiful works of nature; a good substantial house for the superintendant had been erected, the government grounds fenced in, and the stack yards showed that the abundant produce of the last harvest had amply repaid the labour bestowed on its culture. The fine healthy appearance of the flocks and herds was a convincing proof how admirably adapted these extensive downs and thinly wooded hills are for grazing, more particularly of sheep. The mind dwelt with pleasure on the idea that at no very distant period these secluded plains would be covered with flocks bearing the richest fleeces, and contribute in no small degree to the prosperity of the eastern settlements. The soil, in the immediate neighbourhood of Bathurst, is for the first six inches of a light, black, vegetable mould, lying on a stratum of sand, about eighteen inches deep, but of a poor description, and mixed with small stones, under which is a strong clay. The surface of the hills is covered with small gravel, the soil light and sandy, with a sub-soil of clay. The low flats on the immediate borders of the river are evidently formed by washings from the hills and valleys deposited by floods, and the overflowings of the watercourses. Sunday, April 20.--Proceeded on our journey towards the Lachlan River. At two o'clock we arrived at the head of Queen Charlotte's Valley, passing through a fine open grazing country; the soil on the hills and in the vale a light clayey loam, occasionally intermixed with sand and gravel: the late rains had rendered the ground soft and boggy. The trees were small and stunted, and thinly scattered over the hills, which frequently closed in stony points on the valley. The rocks a coarse granite. Monday, April 21.--Our journey for the greater part of the way lay over stony ridges, and for the last six miles over a country much wooded with ill-grown gum and stringy bark trees (all of the eucalyptus genus); the grass good, and in tolerable plenty, and much more so than the appearance of the soil would seem to promise. At three o'clock, the horses being very much fatigued, we stopped under the point of a rocky hill for the evening. April 22.--A clear and frosty morning. Last night was the coldest we had yet experienced, the thermometer being at six o'clock as low as 26. We felt the cold most severely, being far beyond what we had been accustomed to on the coast; the difference of temperature in twelve hours being upwards of twenty degrees of cold. Our route lay through a dull uninteresting country, thickly covered with dwarf timber, daviesia, etc. Passed under Mount Lachlan, a hill of very considerable height; a stream of water runs north-westerly under its base. Turned off a little from our track to the right, and ascended Mount Molle, whence there is a beautiful and extensive prospect from the south by the west to the north. The country (except the dividing range between the Lachlan and Macquarie Rivers, which is very lofty and irregular) rising into gentle hills, thinly timbered, with rich intervening valleys, through which flow small streams of water. I think from Mount Molle, between the points above mentioned, a distance of forty miles round may he seen; the view to the west being lost in the blue haze of the horizon, no hills appearing in that quarter. The Mount itself is a fine rich hill, favourably situated for a commanding prospect; the valleys which surround it are excellent land, well watered with running streams. We descended its west side, and stopped for the night in the valley beneath, on the banks of a small rivulet. April 23.--A fine clear morning. At two o'clock we arrived at Limestone Creek, passing through a beautiful picturesque country of low hills and fine valleys well watered: the timber, as usual of diminutive growth, and unfit for any useful purpose. The ridges of the higher eminences were invariably stony, and about a mile and a half from the Creek, there is a narrow slip of barren country covered with small slate stones: the soil until then was on the sides of the hills of a fine vegetable mould, the more level and lower grounds a hazel-coloured stiff loam, both equally covered with grass, particularly the anthistria. The timber standing at wide intervals, without any brush or undergrowth, gave the country a fine park-like appearance. I never saw a country better adapted for the grazing of all kinds of stock than that we passed over this day. The limestone, which is the first that has hitherto been discovered in Australia, abounds in the valley where we halted; the sides and abrupt projections of the hills being composed entirely of it, and worn by the operation of time into a thousand whimsical shapes and forms. A small stream runs through the valley, which in June 1815 was dry; the bottom of this rivulet was covered with a variety of stones, but the bases of the hills which projected into it, and from which the earth had been washed, were of pure limestone of a bluish grey colour. April 24.--A fine mild morning. A small piece of limestone which had been put in the fire last night was found perfectly calcined into the purest white lime. At eight o'clock proceeded on our journey, through a very uninteresting but good grazing country: nature here seemed to have assumed her tamest and most unvarying hue. The soil of the country we passed through was generally excellent, but the timber was still as useless as we had hitherto found it. We arrived about one o'clock at a small pond of water, where it was necessary to stop, as there was no other water nearer than the Lachlan River, which was distant about fourteen miles. April 25.--Our course for the first seven or eight miles was through a level open country, the soil and grass indifferently good. We now ascended a hill a little to the left of the road, for the purpose of viewing the country through which the river ran: it appeared a perfect plain encompassed by moderately high hills, except in the south-east and west quarters, these being apparently the points whence and to which the river flows. The whole country a forest of eucalypti, with occasionally on the banks of the river a space clear of timber: there was nothing either grand or interesting in the view from this hill, neither did I see in any direction such high land as might be expected to give source to a river of magnitude. When we quitted the hill, we went west, to make the Lachlan River, passing for nearly six miles over a perfect level, the land poor, and in places scrubby. At two o'clock saw the river, which certainly did not disappoint me: it was evidently much higher than usual, running a strong stream; the banks very steep, but not so as to render the water inaccessible: the land on each side quite flat, and thinly clothed with small trees; the soil a rich light loam: higher points occasionally projected on the river, and on those the soil was by no means so good. The largest trees were growing immediately at the water's edge on both sides, and from their position formed an arch over the river, obscuring it from observation, although it was from thirty to forty yards across. At four o'clock we arrived at the depot. We had scarcely alighted from our horses, when natives were seen in considerable numbers on the other side of the river. I went down opposite to them, and after some little persuasion about twenty of them swam across, having their galengar or stone hatchet in one hand, which on their landing they threw at our feet, to show us that they were as much divested of arms as ourselves. After staying a short time they were presented with some kangaroo flesh, with which they re-crossed the river, and kindled their fires. They were very stout and manly, well featured, with long beards: there were a few cloaks among them made of the opossum skin, and it was evident that some of the party had been at Bathurst, from their making use of several English words, and from their readily comprehending many of our questions. April 26.--Fine clear warm weather. The natives were still on the opposite bank, and five of them came over to us in the course of the morning; but remained a very short time. During the last night a few fine shrimps were caught; the soldiers stationed at the depot said they had frequently taken them in considerable numbers. During the day arranged the loads for the boats and horses, that they might be enabled to set off early the next morning. April 27.--Loaded the boats with as much of the salt provisions as they could safely carry, and despatched them to wait at the first creek about seven or eight miles down the river until the loaded horses came, and then to assist in taking their loads over the creek; intending myself to follow with the remainder of the baggage early to-morrow morning. The observations which were made here placed the depot in lat. 33. 40. S., and in long. 148. 21. E., the variation of the needle being 7. 47. E. The barometrical observations, which had been regularly taken from Sydney to this place, did not give us an elevation of more than six hundred feet above the level of the sea; a circumstance which, considering our distance from the west coast, surprised me much. The few words of which we were enabled to obtain the meaning from the natives who occasionally visited its, being different from those used by the natives on the east coast, it way perhaps be interesting to insert them. AUSTRALIAN. ENGLISH. Nh-air, The eyebrows. Whada, The ears. Ulan-gar,) The head. Nat-tang,) Anany, The beard. Morro, The nose. Er-ra, The teeth. Mill-a, The eyes. Narra, The fingers. Bulla-yega, The hair of the head. Chu-ang, The mouth. 0-ro, The neck. Bargar, The arms. Ben-ing, The breast. Bur-bing, The belly. Mille-aar, The loins. Dha-na, The thighs. Wolm-ga, The knees. Dhee-nany, The feet. Dhu-a, The back. Mor-aya, Bones worn in the cartilage of the nose. Mada, Skins, with which they are clothed. Wamb-aur, Scars, raised for ornament, or distinction, on their bodies. Gum-iil, Girdles worn round the body. Un-elenar, One night. Gow, Woman. Mar-o-gu-la, Another tribe. Mem-aa, A native man. Wam-aa, A kind of hornet's-nest, which they eat. Warenur, Fire. Curr-eli, Timber, or trees. Galu-nur, Thistles, the roots of which they eat. Gulura, The moon. Yandu, Sleep. Galen-gar,) Ori-al, ) Stone hatchets. Ta-wi-uth,) The above were all the words the meaning of which we could clearly comprehend: the words used by the natives on the coast to express the same objects have not the remotest resemblance to the above. April 28.--Fine clear mild weather. Proceeded with the remainder of the baggage to join the boats down the river; arrived at Lewis's Creek, which, although nearly dry when crossed by Mr. Evans in 1815, is now a considerable stream. The distance from the depot is about nine miles; the country on both banks of the river low but good: the upper levels would afford excellent grazing, but the soil is of inferior quality: the points of the low hills end alternately on each side the river. The land up both banks of Lewis's Creek is very rich, and covered with herbage. The boats had come safely down the river, although the large boat grounded once; the river appears to me to be from three to five feet above its usual level. Several specimens of crystallized quartz were found on the adjoining hills, also some small pieces of good iron ore. April 29.--Proceeded on our journey down the river, directing the boats to stop at the creek which terminated Mr. Evans's former journey. The country through which we passed this day in every respect resembles the tracts we have already gone over. The crowns and ridges of the hills are uniformly stony and barren, ending as before alternately on each side of the river; the greater proportion of good flat land lies on the south side of the river; there are however very rich and fertile tracts on this side. After riding about eight miles, we ascended a considerable hill upon our right, from the top of which we could see to a considerable distance; between the south-west and north-north-west, a very low level tract lay west of us, and no hill whatever bounded the view in that quarter. Three remarkable hummocks bore respectively S. 72. W., S. 51 1/2 W. and S. 34 1/2 W., within which range of bearing the country was uniformly level, or rising into such low hills, as not to be distinguished from the general surface. The tops of distant ranges could be discerned over low hills in the north-west, whilst, from north by the east to south, the country was broken into hill and valley. The whole of this extensive scene was covered with eucalypti, whilst on the rocky summits of the hills in the immediate neighbourhood a species of callitris was eminently distinguished. From this extensive view I named the hill Mount Prospect. At five o'clock in the afternoon we arrived at the place where the horses had been directed to wait for the boats, but they had not arrived; the distance is at least doubled by following the immediate course of the stream, but I had calculated that its rapidity would make up for the distance, and enable the boats to keep pace with the horses. At six o'clock the boats arrived safe, the men having had a very fatiguing row, and been obliged to clear the passage of fallen trees, and other obstructions; so that we determined to give them some repose, and halt here for the night. At half past eight o'clock proceeded down the river, intending to stop at the termination of Mr. Evans's journey in 1815, about five miles further, for the purpose of repairing the small boat, which had sustained some slight damage in coming down the river yesterday. I rode about three miles back into the country; the callitris was here more frequent, though not of large growth; the soil is not good. In returning to the river we came upon the creek which terminated Mr. Evans's journey, down which we travelled until we came to the river, about half a mile from which is a large shallow lagoon, full of ducks, bustards, black swans and red-hills. At twelve o'clock the horses arrived at the mouth of the creek, and the boats half an hour afterwards. The banks of the creek were very steep, and it was three o'clock before all the provisions were got over. The creek was named Byrne's Creek, after one of the present party, who had accompanied Mr. Evans in his former journey. May 1.--The creek fell upwards of a foot during the night, by which some of the articles in the large boat received damage. Commenced the survey of the river from this point. The flats on both sides the river were very extensive, and in general good; the same timber and grass as usual; the stream was from thirty to forty yards broad on an average. There was not even a hillock on which to ascend during this day's route, so that our view was bounded by less than a mile on each side of the river. Traces of the natives were observed, but no natives were seen. The boats were much impeded by fallen timber: it was half past two o'clock when they arrived at the place where I intended to halt, although we had only gone between nine and ten miles. The trees on the immediate banks of the river were very large and ramified, but few of them were useful: another species of callitris was seen to-day. May 2.--Our journey this day was very fatiguing, the grass being nearly breast high, thick, and entangled. The soil is tolerably good within a mile and a half of the banks: I rode five or six miles out, in hopes of finding some eminence on which to ascend, but was disappointed, the country continuing a dead level, with extensive swamps, and barren brushes. The timber, dwarf box, and gum trees (all eucalypti), with a few cypresses and casuarinas, scattered here and there: few traces of the natives were seen, and none recent. Upon the swamps were numerous swans and other wild fowl. In the evening we caught nearly a hundred weight of fine fish. May 3.--Proceeded down the river. We passed over a very barren desolate country, perfectly level, without even the slightest eminence, covered with dwarf box-trees and scrubby bushes; towards the latter part of the day a few small cypresses were seen. I think the other side of the river is much the same. We have hitherto met with no water except at the river, and a few shallow lagoons, which are evidently dry in summer. I do not know how far this level extends north and south, but I cannot estimate it at less than from ten to twelve miles on each side; but this is mere conjecture, since for the last three days I have been unable to see beyond a mile: I have, however, occasionally made excursions of five or six miles, and never perceived any difference in the elevation of the country. To-day the course of the river has been a little south of west: its windings are very frequent and sudden, fully accounting for the apparent heights of the floods, of which marks were observed about thirty-six feet above the level of the stream. At six o'clock the boats had not arrived; and as I had given directions on no account to attempt to proceed after dark, I ceased to expect them this evening. May 4.--As soon as it was light I sent two men up the river to search for the boat: at nine o'clock one of them returned, having found it about four miles back. It appeared that the large boat had got stoved against a tree under water, and that the people were obliged to unload and haul her on shore to undergo some repairs, which they had effected; but the rain prevented them from paying her bottom. They expected to be able to proceed in an hour or two, as the weather had begun to clear up. It was fortunate that no damage had befallen any part of the boat's lading. At twelve proceeded about three quarters of a mile down the river, and from a small eminence half a mile north of it, an extensive tract of clear country was seen, bearing N. 50. W., about two or three miles from us, having a low range of hills bounding them in the direction of S. 65. W. and N. 65. E. The river wound immediately under the hill, taking a westerly direction as far as I went, which was about three miles; its windings were very sudden, and its width and depth much the same as before. The country, as far as I could see, was precisely similar to that already passed over: the hills were slaty and barren, with a few small cypresses: in fact, I have seen them grow on no other spots so frequently as on those stony hills. The boats arrived about two o'clock. May 5.--Proceeded down the river, ascended the eminence mentioned yesterday, and from the top of a cypress tree a very distant view of the whole country was obtained: the opening through which the river apparently runs bore S. 75 1/2 W.; the country to the south and south-west extremely low. A range of hills, lying nearly east and west, bounded the level tract on the other side of the river; these hills and two or three detached hammocks excepted, there was nothing to break the uniformity of the scene. The country was in general poor, with partial tracts of better ground; the hills were slaty, and covered as well as the levels with small eucalypti, cypresses, and casuarinas. About a mile from this place we fell in with a small tribe of natives, consisting of eight men; their women we did not see. They did not appear any way alarmed at the sight of us, but came boldly up: they were covered with cloaks made of opossum skins; their faces daubed with a red and yellow pigment, with neatly worked nets bound round their hair: the front tooth in the upper row was wanting in them all: they were unarmed, having nothing with them but their stone hatchets. It appeared from their conduct that they had either seen or heard of white people before, and were anxious to depart, accompanying the motion of going with a wave of their hand. About three miles from our last night's halting-place we had to cross a small creek, the banks of which were so steep that we were obliged to unload the horses. I rode up the creek about three quarters of a mile, and came upon those extensive plains before-mentioned; the soil of this level appears a good loamy clay, but in some places very wet: it was far too extensive to permit us to traverse much of it; we saw sufficient to judge that the whole surface was similar to that we examined; it was covered with a great variety of new plants, and its margin encircled by a new species of acacia, which received the specific name of PENDULA, from its resembling in habit the weeping willow. Low hills to the north bounded this plain, whilst a slip of barren land, covered with small trees and shrubs, lay between it and the river. It appeared to me that the whole of these flats are occasionally overflowed by the river, the water of which is forced up the creek before-mentioned, and which again acts as a drain on the fall of the water. At four o'clock we halted for the evening, after a fatiguing day's journey; the boats were obliged to cut their passage three or four times, and the whole navigation was difficult and dangerous: the current ran with much rapidity, and the channel seemed rather to contract than widen. We were obliged to stop on a very barren desolate spot, with little grass for the horses; but further on the country appeared even worse. The south bank of the river (as far as I could judge) is precisely similar to that which we are travelling down. The clear levels examined to-day were named the Solway Flats. Many fish were caught here, one of which weighed upwards of thirty pounds. May 6.--Proceeded down the river. It is impossible to fancy a worse country than the one we were now travelling over, intersected by swamps and small lagoons in every direction; the soil a poor clay, and covered with stunted useless timber. It was excessively fatiguing to the horses which travelled along the banks of the river, as the rubus and anthistiria were so thickly intermingled, that they could scarcely force a passage. After proceeding about eight miles, a bold rocky mount terminated on the river, and broke the sameness which had so long wearied us: we ascended this hill, which I named Mount Amyot, and from the summit had one of the most extensive views that can be imagined. On the opposite side of the river was another hill precisely similar to Mount Amyot, leaving a passage between them for the river, and the immense tract of level country to the eastward; this hill was named Mount Stuart. Vast plains clear of timber lay on the south side of the river, and which, from our having travelled on a level with them, it was impossible for us to distinguish before. These plains I named Hamilton's Plains, and they were bounded by hills of considerable elevation to the southward; whilst the whole level country thus bounded was honoured with the designation of Princess Charlotte's Crescent. To the west of Mount Amyot the view was equally extensive, being bounded only by the horizon; some high detached hills, rising like islands from the ocean, broke, in some measure, the sameness of the prospect. I estimated that in the west north-west I could see at least forty miles, and in the south south-west as far; the view in other points being slightly interrupted by low ranges of hills, rising occasionally to points of considerable elevation: none of those elevated spots was nearer than twenty-five or thirty miles, and considerable spaces of clear ground could, by the assistance of the telescope, be distinguished, interspersed amidst the ocean of trees whence those hills arise: a long broken mountain, bearing W. 32 1/2. N., was named Mount Melville; one W. 24. N. Mount Cunningham; and another, bearing S. 70. W. Mount Maude. Smoke, arising from the fires of the wandering inhabitants of these desolate regions was seen in several quarters. At four o'clock we stopped for the evening, about three miles west of Mount Amyot. I have reason to believe that the whole of the tract named Princess Charlotte's Crescent is at times drowned by the overflowing of the river; the marks of flood were observed in every direction, and the waters in the marshes and lagoons were all traced as being derived from the river. During a course of upwards of seventy miles not a single running stream emptied itself into the river on either side; and I am forced to conclude that in common seasons this whole tract is extremely badly watered, and that it derives its principal if not only supply from the river within the bounding ranges Of Princess Charlotte's Crescent. There are doubtless many small eminences which might afford a retreat from the inundations, but those which were observed by us were too trifling and distant from each other to stand out distinct from the vast level surface which the crescent presents to the view. The soil of the country we passed over was a poor and cold clay; but there are many rich levels which, could they be drained and defended from the inundations of the river, would amply repay the cultivation. These flats are certainly not adapted for cattle; the grass is too swampy, and the bushes, swamps, and lagoons, are too thickly intermingled with the better portions to render it either a safe or desirable grazing country. The timber is universally bad and small; a few large misshapen gum trees on the immediate banks of the river may be considered as exceptions. If however the country itself is poor, the river is rich in the most excellent fish, procurable in the utmost abundance. One man in less than an hour caught eighteen large fish, one of which was a curiosity from its immense size, and the beauty of its colours. In shape and general form it most resembled a cod, but was speckled over with brown, blue, and yellow spots, like a leopard's skin; its gills and belly a clear white, the tail and fins a dark brown. It weighed entire seventy pounds, and without the entrails sixty-six pounds: it is somewhat singular that in none of these fish is any thing found in the stomach, except occasionally a shrimp or two. The dimensions of this fish were as follow: Feet. Inches. Length from the nose to the tail 3 5 Circumference round the shoulders 2 6 Fin to fin over the back 1 5 Circumference near the anus 1 9 Breadth of the tail 1 1 1/2 Circumference of the mouth opened 1 6 Depth of the swallow 1 foot. Most of the other fish taken this evening weighed from fifteen to thirty pounds each, and were of the same kind as the above. May 7.--A fine clear frosty morning. The horses having been much fatigued by the two last days' journey, I determined to halt to-day instead of Saturday, as the grass was good, which is more than could be said of it for some days past. Observed the latitude to be 33. 22. 59. S. May 8.--Proceeded down the river. Our general course was westerly, and the country, though equally level with any we had passed, improved in the quality of the soil, which, during the greater part of to-day's route, was a good vegetable mould, the land thickly covered with small acacia and dwarf trees. On the south side of the river it was apparently the same; and the whole we passed over bore evident marks of being subject to inundations. The banks of the river were, I think, much lower, not exceeding fifteen or twenty feet high, and they were rather clearer of timber than before. The casuarina, which used to line the banks, was now seldom seen, the acacia pendula seeming to take its place. We stopped for the night on a plain of good land, flooded, but clear of timber: large flocks of emus were feeding on it, and we were fortunate enough to kill a very large one after a fine chase. At three o'clock, the boats not having arrived, I sent a man back to look for them; at eight he returned, having found them about six miles up the river, unable to proceed until morning, having met with continual interruptions from fallen trees. These impediments in the navigation of the river obstruct our progress very materially, and its windings continue so great and frequent, that the distance travelled by land is nearly trebled by water. May 9.--The boats not having arrived at ten o'clock, Mr. Evans proceeded with the BAT horses another stage down the river. Mr. Cunningham and I waited to bring up the boats, which shortly afterwards came in sight. We proceeded to join the horses, which we did about five o'clock, the boats having gone in that time nearly thirty-six miles, although the distance from the last station did not exceed seven in a direct line. The country we had passed through during this day's route was extremely low, consisting of extensive plains divided by lines of small trees: the banks of the river, and the deep bights formed by the irregularity of its course, were covered with acacia bushes and dwarf trees. The river, at the spot where we stopped, wound along the edge of an extensive low plain, being at least six miles long and three or four broad; these I called Field's Plains, after the judge of the supreme court of this territory; they are the same which we saw from the top of Mount Amyot. The soil of these plains is a light clayey loam, very wet in many places; they were fringed round with that beautiful tree, the acacia pendula, which here seems to perform the part of the willow in Europe; the cypresses were also more frequent, and the banks of the river much lower than even those we passed yesterday. I cannot help thinking that the whole of this extensive region has been at some time or other under water, and that the present river is the drain by which the waters have been conveyed to lower grounds. It is evident that even now the plains (on those parts clear of trees) are frequently under water, and that at very high floods the wooded lands are so too, for it is almost impossible to distinguish any difference in their elevation; but the wooded lands, from being actually higher, seem to have given time for the growth of the diminutive timber with which they are covered, whereas the lower plains are too frequently covered to give time for such growth. May 10.--The horses having strayed in the night, and it being nearly noon before they were found, I determined to make this a halting day. These plains are much more extensive than I supposed yesterday, and many new plants were found on them. The river rose upwards of a foot during the night, and still continues to rise; a circumstance which appears very singular to me, there having been no rains of any magnitude for the last five weeks, and none at all for the last ten days. We are also certain that no waters fall into it or join it easterly for nearly one hundred and fifty miles. This rise must therefore be occasioned by heavy rains in the mountains, whence the river derives its source; but it is not the less singular, that during its whole course, as far as it is hitherto known, it does not receive a single tributary stream. Observed the latitude 33. 16. 33. S. May 11.--The river rose about four feet during the night, and still continues to rise. Set forward on our journey down the river. About four miles and a half from this morning's station. the river began to wash the immediate edge of the plain, and so continued to do all along. My astonishment was extreme at finding the banks of the river not more than six feet from the water: it at once confirmed my supposition that the whole of this extensive country is frequently inundated; the river was here about thirty yards broad. Mount Cunningham was at this time distant about two miles, and Mount Melville four miles; the plains winding immediately under the base of each. At twelve o'clock ascended the south end of Mount Cunningham, a small branch of the river running close under it. From this elevation our view was very extensive in every direction, particularly in the west quarter. The whole country in that direction was so low, that it might not improperly be termed a swamp, the spaces which were bare of trees being more constantly under water than those where they grew. A remarkable peaked hill bearing W. 27 1/4. N. was named Hurd's Peak [Note: After Captain Hurd, Hydrographer to the Admiralty.], and a lofty hummock S. 83 1/2. W, Mount Meyrick: these were the only elevations of any consequence in the western direction. To the north, low ranges of rocky hills bounded the swamps, which on the south had a similar boundary, except that occasionally a bolder rocky projection would obtrude itself on the flat. On descending from the hill, we proceeded to the point where the north-west arm is separated from the main branch, but apparently to join it in water, bearing from Mount Cunningham W. 40. N.: on arriving there we found the boats and horses. The crew of the former reported, that an equally considerable branch of the river, with that down which they had come, had turned off to the south-west, about two miles below the place where we stopped last night. After directing the horses and baggage to be got over the north-west arm, I returned to examine the branch passed by the boats, and found it at least as considerable as that which we were pursuing. I am in hopes that when again joined, the width and depth of the river will be considerably increased. At half past four returned to the tents on the north-west arm. The river (from whatever cause) was still rising, and no part of the banks was more than four feet above the level of the water. I consider that the river may have from eight to ten feet more water in it than usual: its present average depth is about eighteen feet. The soil of these extensive plains, designated Field's Plains, is for the most part extremely rich, as indeed might be expected, from the deposition of the quantities of vegetable matter that must take place in periods of flood. The plains are in some places even lower than the ground forming the immediate bank of the river, very soft, and difficult for loaded horses to pass over. If we had been so unfortunate as to have had a rainy season, it would have been utterly impossible to have come thus far by land. The ranges of hills are unconnected, and are rocky and barren; the swamps for the most part surrounding them. Mount Cunningham is a lofty rocky hill, about a mile and a half long, composed of granite rock, but entirely surrounded by low swampy ground. Here we were so unfortunate as to find the barometer broken, the horse which carried the instruments having thrown his load in passing the swamps: every precaution had been taken in the packing to prevent such an accident, which was the more to be regretted, as it interrupted a chain of observations by which I hoped to ascertain the height of the country with tolerable accuracy. The last observations that were made, reduced to this place, gave us an elevation of not more than five hundred feet above the sea, or about a hundred feet lower than the country at the depot. Since the river has been swollen, the fish have eluded us, none having been caught since yesterday morning. Two black swans were however shot on the river. Our present situation is by no means enviable: in the first place, there is every chance that the river may be lost in a multitude of branches, among those marshy flats, and farther navigation thus rendered impossible; and in the second, a rise of four feet in the river would sweep us all away, since we have not the smallest eminence to retreat to. Should the river lead through to the westward, and be afterwards joined by the branches we have passed, it may become something more interesting and encouraging: a wet or even a partially rainy season will, in my judgment, preclude us from returning by our present route, more especially if these low countries continue for any distance. I am by no means surprised at the paucity of natives that have been seen: it would be quite impossible in wet seasons to inhabit these marshes, and equally so for them to retreat in times of flood. Their fires are universally observed near the higher grounds, and no traces of any thing like a permanent camp has hitherto been seen; but in many places on the banks quantities of pearl muscle-shells were found near the remains of fires. That large species of bittern, known on the east-coast by the local name of Native Companions, I believe from the circumstance of their being always seen in pairs, was observed, on the flats, of very large size, exceeding six feet in height: they were so shy that we were unable to shoot any. May 12.--The fine weather still continues to favour us. The river rose in the course of the night upwards of a foot. It is a probable supposition that the natives, warned by experience of these dangerous flats, rather choose to seek a more precarious, but more safe subsistence in the mountainous and rocky ridges which are occasionally to be met with. The river and lagoons abound with fish and fowl, and it is scarcely reasonable to suppose that the natives would not avail themselves of such store of food, if the danger of procuring it did not counterbalance the advantages they might otherwise derive from such abundance. About three quarters of a mile farther westward we had to cross another small arm of the river, running to the northward, which although now full, is, I should think, dry when the river is at its usual level. It is probable that this and the one which we first crossed join each other a few miles farther to the westward, and then both united fall into the stream which gave them existence. We had scarcely proceeded a mile from the last branch, before it became evident that it would be impossible to advance farther in the direction in which we were travelling. The stream here overflowed both banks, and its course was lost among marshes: its channel not being distinguishable from the surrounding waters. Observing an eminence about half a mile from the south side, we crossed over the horses and baggage at a Place where the water was level with the banks, and which when within its usual channel did not exceed thirty or forty feet in width, its depth even now being only twelve feet. We ascended the hill, and had the mortification to perceive the termination of our research, at least down this branch of the river: the whole country from the west north-west round to north was either a complete marsh or lay under water, and this for a distance of twenty-five or thirty miles, in those directions; to the south and south-west the country appeared more elevated, but low marshy grounds lay between us and it, which rendered it impossible for us to proceed thither from our present situation. I therefore determined to return back to the place where the two branches of the principal river separated, and follow the south-west branch as far as it should be navigable; our fears were however stronger than our hopes, lest it would end in a similar manner to the one we had already traced, until it became no longer navigable for boats. In pursuance of this intention we descended the hill, which was named Farewell Hill, from its being the termination of our journey in a north-west direction at least for the present, and proceeded up the south bank of the stream. We were able to reach only a short distance from the spot where we stopped last night, having been obliged to unload the horses no less than four times in the course of the day, added to which, the travelling loaded through those dreadful marshes had completely exhausted them: my own horse, in searching for a better track, was nearly lost, and it consumed four hours to advance scarcely half a mile. My disappointment at the interruption of our labours in this quarter was extreme, and what was worse, no flattering prospect appeared of our succeeding better in the examination of the south-west branch. I was however determined to see the present end of the river in all its branches, before I should finally quit it, in furtherance of the other objects of the expedition. May 13.--Returned to the point whence the river separates into two branches; intending first to descend the south-west branch for some distance before the boats and baggage should move down, being unwilling the horses should undergo an useless fatigue in traversing such marshy ground, unless the branch should prove of sufficient magnitude to take us a considerable distance; conceiving it an object of the first importance that the horses should start fresh, if I should find it necessary to quit the river at this point of the coast. May 14.--This branch of the river has fallen about a foot. Having directed the casks in the boats to be prepared for slinging on the horses, and the tools and arms to be put in order preparatory to leaving the river, I proceeded to examine the branch. After going about four miles down, it took a similar direction (north-westerly) to that which we had previously traced. The banks on both sides were a mere marsh, and about six miles down, a small arm from it supplied the marshes between this and the north-west branch. The fall of the country from the south-east to the north-west was very remarkable; the water in the branch was here nearly level with the banks, and was narrowed to a width of not more than twenty feet. Finding that it would be equally as impracticable to follow this branch as the other, I returned and commenced preparations for setting out for the coast, which I purpose not to do until Sunday, in order that the horses may be refreshed, as they will at first be most heavily laden. My present intention is to take a south-west direction for Cape Northumberland, since should any river be formed from those marshes, which is extremely probable, and fall into the sea between Spencer's Gulf and Cape Otway, this course will intersect it, and no river or stream can arise from these swamps without being discovered. The body of water now running in both the principal branches is very considerable, fully sufficient to have constituted a river of magnitude, if it had constantly maintained such a supply of water, and had not become separated into branches, and lost among the immense marshes of this desolate and barren country, which seems here to form a vast concavity to receive them. It is impossible to arrive at any certain opinion as to what finally becomes of these waters, but I think it probable, from the appearance of the country, and its being nearly on a level with the sea, that they are partly absorbed by the soil, and the remainder lost by evaporation. May 15.--Mr. Cunningham made an excursion under Mount Melville, and found the country in that direction as full of stagnant water as to the north-west. Some tracts rather more raised above the usual level were barren, and covered with acacia scrubs. The natives had been recently under Mount Melville, perhaps to the number of a dozen: abundance of large pearl muscle-shells was found about their deserted fireplaces, but these shells had been apparently some months out of water. May 16.--Felled a tree of the acacia pendula, the wood extremely hard and beautiful; a black resinous juice exuded from the heart, which much resembled the black part of the lignum vitae. Our observations placed this spot in latitude 33. 15. 34. S.; longitude 147. 16. E. and the variation of the compass 7. 0. 8. E. May 17.--After reducing our luggage as much as possible, we sent every thing down the branch about two miles, and landed on the south shore; got every thing in readiness for proceeding on our journey to-morrow; hauled up the boats on the south bank, and secured them, together with such heavy articles as we could not take with us. The provisions occupied our whole fourteen horses, including my own, and each will still be very heavily laden. May 18.--At nine o'clock we commenced our journey towards the coast; at three stopped within four miles of Mount Maude, on a dry creek, with occasional pools of very indifferent water. The country through which we passed from the branch was for the first three miles very low and wet, with large lagoons of water. During the latter part of the journey the country was more elevated though still level, the soil light and rotten, and overrun with the acacia pendula. The horses being very heavily laden fell repeatedly during the early part of the day. Our course was nearly south-west, and we performed about ten miles. May 19.--At two miles passed over a low rocky range connected with Mount Maude: the remainder of our day's journey (nearly twelve miles) lay chiefly through a barren level country, the ground rather studded than covered with grass, and that only in patches, by far the greater part producing no grass at all. The trees were chiefly cypresses, a new species of staculia, together with scrubs of the acacia pendula. The soil a light red sand, the lower levels being stronger and more clayey. We did not meet with any water, and were obliged to stop in the middle of an acacia brush, the horses being too much fatigued to proceed farther, and as the country had been lately burnt, the grass was a little better than usual. At four o'clock sent two men to search for water, and in about half an hour they returned, having found several small ponds of good water about three quarters of a mile to the south-west: the swamp appeared to extend to the northward a considerable distance. Several native huts were on the edge of one of the ponds, but they had not been recently inhabited. May 20.--Proceeded forward south-west eleven miles through a most barren desolate country, the soil a light red sand, literally parched up with drought, there being no appearance of rain having fallen for several months. The country through which we passed being a perfect plain overrun with acacia scrubs, we could not see in any direction above a quarter of a mile; I therefore halted at two o'clock on purpose to gain time to find water before sunset, as we had seen no other signs of any on our route than a few dry pits. It is impossible to imagine a more desolate region; and the uncertainty we are in, whilst traversing it, of finding water, adds to the melancholy feelings which the silence and solitude of such wastes is calculated to inspire. The search for water was unsuccessful, about three gallons of muddy liquid being all that could be procured: our horses and dogs, I am afraid, were the greatest sufferers. May 21.--The water was so extremely bad that, pressed as we were by thirst, we could scarcely even by twice boiling it render it drinkable. After travelling ten or eleven miles through a country equally barren and destitute with that of yesterday, without meeting with the least appearance of water, and the horses being completely worn out, I determined to halt on a small patch of burnt grass; two of the horses had fallen several times under their loads, and nothing but the evenness of the road enabled us to reach thus far. The same level plain extended on all sides, and our view was confined to the scrubby brush around us. A small hollow lying across our track, I sent a man on horseback to trace it, in hopes it might lead to water: he returned about four o'clock with the joyful news that he had found water in a large swamp about five miles to the north-west: he also saw a native, who however ran too swiftly to allow him to come up with him. This was the first living creature of any kind we had seen since we quitted the river. Both the kangaroo and emu seem to have deserted these plains for other parts of the country better watered, and affording them more food. The horses being utterly unable to proceed without rest, I determined to remain here to-morrow to refresh them. May 22.--The nights cold and frosty, the days warm and clear: I think it is very evident that the altitude of the country declines in a remarkable manner to the north-west; from the south-east to the south-west it appears nearly of the same elevation; and in travelling we appear to be going along an inclined plane, the lowest edges being from west to north. I went about five miles to the north-west to the place whence the water was procured; the country poor, and as barren as can well be imagined; the soil a light red sand, acacia scrubs, small box-trees, and a few miserable cypresses. May 23.--Our route lay through a country equally bad, if not worse, than any which we had passed the preceding days: in some places it was difficult for the horses to force a passage through the brush; occasionally low stony ridges intervened, which, when viewed from higher eminences, were not to be detected from the plain out of which they rose. The soil was alternately a sterile sand and a hardened clay, without grass of any description: the country appeared to form the bottom of a dry morass, and I am convinced if the weather had not been dry for a considerable time, travelling would have been impossible. After proceeding ten miles we were obliged to stop, the horses being unable to go further. We had seen no signs of water during our route, but stopping at a stony water-course we were in hopes of finding a sufficiency to supply our wants, and on a hill at the end of it, about a quarter of a mile to the westward, water was found. May 24.--A day of rest and preparation. The country seems to rise hereabouts and to be more broken, the ridges stony: the dwarf timber and brush very thick. In searching for the horses this morning several kangaroos and emus were seen, also the huts of a tribe of natives recently inhabited. May 25.--The horses much refreshed, except one which is unable to carry any thing; his load was therefore obliged to be distributed among the rest, already too heavily laden. At nine o'clock set forward on our journey. At two we arrived at the base of a hill of considerable magnitude, terminating westward in an abrupt perpendicular rock from two hundred and fifty to three hundred feet high. The country we passed over was of the most miserable description; the last eight miles without a blade of grass. The acacia brushes grow generally on a hard and clayey soil evidently frequently covered with water, and I consider that these plains or brushes are swamps or morasses in wet weather, since they must receive all the water from the low ranges with which they are generally circumscribed. It is a remarkable feature in the hills of this country that their terminations are generally perpendicular westward, rising from the lower grounds round from south-west to north-west very gradually; their terminating rocky bluffs are usually two or three hundred feet high. I include in these observations not only the single detached hills, but the points of the ranges. This hill was named Mount Aiton. The country having been recently burnt, some good grass was found for the horses a little to the south-west. We therefore stopped for the night, and ascended the face of the mount for the purpose of looking around: a very large brown speckled snake was killed about half way up, which, in the absence of fresh provisions, was afterwards eaten by some of the party. On arriving at the summit we had an extensive prospect in every direction; the country was most generally level, but rose occasionally into gentle eminences bounded by distant low ranges from the south south-west to the north-west. The most considerable of these ranges were named PEEL'S RANGE, and GOULBURN'S RANGE: a very lofty hill, distant at least seventy miles, was named MOUNT GRANARD. Interspersed through the country, bounded by those ranges, were several large tracts entirely devoid of wood; these are however, I fear, only a repetition of the acacia plains of which we had lately been but too abundantly favoured. From south-west by south round to north-east were some low broken hills, with some to the east-south-east of greater magnitude; but their distance was so great as to appear but faintly in the horizon. Upon the whole the country appeared more open and somewhat better, particularly in the immediate vicinity of our station to the south-west. There were not the smallest signs of any stream, neither is-ere there any fires in the direction we had to take. Three or four fires were seen in the north-west, and recent traces of the natives were discovered near our tents. The inhabitants of these wilds must be very few, and I think it impossible for more than a family to subsist together; a greater number would only starve each other: indeed their deserted fires and camps which we occasionally saw, never appeared to have been occupied by more than six or eight persons. The scarcity of food must also prevent the raising of many children, from the absolute impossibility of supporting them until of an age to provide for themselves. We have seen so few animals, either kangaroo or emu, and the country appears so little capable of maintaining these animals, that the means of the natives in procuring food must be precarious indeed. We found just a sufficiency of water to answer our purpose in a drain from the Mount; our dogs are, however, in a wretched condition for want of food. May 26.--The horses having strayed in the night, every man was employed in searching for them. In passing through those barren brushes yesterday, a great quantity of small iron-stones was picked up, from the size of a large pea to a hen's-egg, all nearly round, being washed into heaps by the waters, which in time of rain sweep over those flats. The front of Mount Aiton was found to decline about fifteen degrees from the perpendicular; the rocks were composed of a hard sandy free-stone. It was eight o'clock in the evening before any of the people returned, and then only two men came back with two horses, being all they were able to find: the other three men are still absent, but they had found the track of the other horses before these men left them. The two horses were discovered in the midst of a thick brush, entangled among creeping plants and unable to get further: they must have strayed in search of water, the water at this place not being sufficient for them all. The animals were all spencilled, but such is the scarcity of both water and grass, that they will wander in search of each. The natives have been reconnoitring us: we have several times heard them, but have been unable to see them. At sunset their fires were seen about two miles to the south-west. May 27.--At day-light, despatched the other two men and horses to the assistance of the rest, who remained out all night. A native was seen about half a mile from our fires: the dogs attacked him, and when called off, he ran away shouting most lustily; he was a very stout man, at least six feet high, entirely naked, with a long bushy beard: he had no arms of any kind. At two o'clock, two of the men who had been out all night returned, after an unsuccessful search, leaving three more out to pursue it in every possible direction. Water is evidently the reason of their straying, as several patches of burnt grass have been passed by them, and they would naturally return to the place where they last found it, if they could find none nearer. At sunset the men returned with nine of the horses, five being still missing: they were found ten miles on the road back, and near the place where they fed on the 24th. May 28.--At daylight despatched four men on horseback to resume the search for the missing horses, taking with them two days' provisions. May 29.--At four o'clock in the afternoon the men returned, still unsuccessful. May 30.--At seven o'clock I proceeded to the north-east with two men, whilst Mr. Evans went to the north-west. At ten I was fortunate enough to fall in with the horses about eight miles from our camp; returned with them, and prepared every thing for setting forward to-morrow morning. In one of the brushes an emu's nest was found, containing ten eggs; our dogs also killed two small birds. Mr. Evans returned about three o'clock, having seen nothing remarkable: the country was very thick and brushy, and he was much impeded by creeping vines. Mr. Cunningham here planted the seeds of quinces, and the stones of peach and apricot trees. May 31.--Fine weather as usual, and at nine o'clock we set off with renewed hopes and spirits. Our first nine miles afforded excellent travelling through an open country of very indifferent soil. The trees thin and chiefly cypress, with occasionally a large sterculia, but no water whatever: at the ninth mile we entered a very thick eucalyptus brush, overrun with creepers and prickly acacia bushes. We continued forcing our way through this desert until sunset, when, finding no hopes of getting through it before dark, we halted in the midst of it, having travelled in the whole nearly twenty miles, and for the last mile been obliged to cut our way with our tomahawks. Both men and horses were quite knocked up, and our embarrassment was heightened by the want of water for ourselves and them, as this desert did not hold out the slightest hope of finding any. No herbage of any kind grew on this abandoned plain, being a fine red sand, which almost blinded us with its dust. It was with some little hesitation that we affixed a name to this brush; but at length nothing occurred to us more expressive of its aspect than EURYALEAN. This was the first night which we had passed absolutely without water. June 1.--A cold frosty morning. The weather during the might changed from very mild and pleasant to extreme cold; the thermometer varying 24. At daylight we loaded the horses and set forward to get out of this scrub, and endeavour to procure water and grass for the horses, which we were obliged to tie to bushes, to prevent them from straying. After going about two miles farther we cleared the thickest of it: but the country was only more open, and not in any degree more fertile. We proceeded on towards the south-east end of Peel's range until twelve o'clock, when, having gone nearly eleven miles, the horses were unable to proceed farther with their loads. There was nothing left for us but to unload them, and separate in every direction in search of that most precious of elements, without tasting a drop of which both men and horses had now existed nearly thirty-six hours. Water was found in three holes in the side of Peel's range sufficient for all our necessities, and a most grateful relief it proved, particularly to the poor horses, who were nearly famished for the want of it: one of the best of our animals was so exhausted that it was with some difficulty he could be taken to the water. I wish the grass had proved equally good, but there is nothing for them but dead wire-grass (IRA). We saw no game, with the exception of three or four kangaroo rats: many beautiful small parrots were observed; and, barren as the scrub appeared to us, yet our botanists reaped an excellent harvest here; nothing being more true than that the most beautiful plants and shrubs flourish best where no grass or other herbage will grow. June 2.--Fine and clear as usual, the nights cold. One of our best horses, mentioned yesterday as having fallen repeatedly under his load, was this morning extremely ill, having entirely lost the use of his hind quarters. Finding that he was quite unable to accompany us, and in fact unfit to do any more work, it was with extreme reluctance that I caused him to be shot, since it would have been no mercy to suffer him to linger in his present miserable condition. Observations were taken to ascertain our situation, and they placed us lat. 34. 8. 8. S., long. 146.03. E., the variation of the compass being 7. 18. E. The hills to the southward of us are curiously composed of pudding-stone in very large masses, the lower stratum being a coarse granite intermingled with pieces of quartz, and a variety of other stones. June 3.--Set forward on our route, passing over a rugged, barren, and rocky country for about four miles and a half, when we ascended a hill upon our right which promised a view in all directions. To the southward, south-west, and even west, the country was a perfect plain, interspersed with more of those dreadful scrubs which we had passed through. In coming from Mount Aiton to the south-east were some low ranges, with a level barren country between us and them; this hill was named Mount Caley, and the termination of Peel's range to the southward, a lofty rocky hill, was called Mount Brogden. On descending the hill, I had the mortification to find that one of the horses, who had hitherto performed well, now sunk under his load, and was unable to proceed farther: in short, all of them appeared so debilitated, that the utmost we could promise ourselves was their proceeding three or four miles farther in search of grass and water. Directing the man to stay by his load, we proceeded towards some burnt grass which had been seen from Mount Caley, and after going about four miles farther we stopped upon it. As the ultimate success of the expedition so entirely depended upon the capability of the horses to perform the journey, it was judged advisable that they should have two or three days rest before we attempted to penetrate farther; and as we were now on a spot that at least afforded them a mouthful of fresh wire-grass, I determined, if water should be found, to remain here until Friday morning. The country is so extremely impracticable, and so utterly destitute of the means of affording subsistence to either man or beast; water is so precarious, and when found is only the contents of small muddy holes, which under different circumstances would be rejected equally by horses and by men, that I much fear we shall not be able to proceed much further; but my mind is made up to persevere until the last horse fails us, keeping that course which, although inclining to the westward, will bring us out upon the coast upon a nearer line than Cape Northumberland, which I intended to steer for when we quitted the Lachlan River. Sent back assistance to the man and horse left under Mount Caley, and at eight o'clock they returned. After searching in every direction, no water was found, except in a small hole evidently dug by the natives under Mount Brogden, and containing scarcely sufficient for the people. June 4.--Weather as usual fine and clear, which is the greatest comfort we enjoy in these deserts, abandoned as they seem to be by every living creature capable of getting out of them. I was obliged to send the horses back to our former halting-place for water, a distance of near eight miles: this is terrible for the horses, who are in general extremely reduced; but two in particular cannot, I think, endure this miserable existence much longer. At five o'clock, two men, whom I had sent to explore the country to the south-west and see if any water could be found, returned, after proceeding six or seven miles: they found it impossible to go any farther in that direction or even south, from the thick brushes that intersected their course on every side; and no water (nor in fact the least sign of any) was discovered either by them, or by those who were sent in search of it nearer to our little camp. No other trace of inhabitants (besides the well from which we derive our supply of water) has hitherto been seen: no game of any kind, nor grass to support any, have resulted from the various routes and observations of the different persons who were employed for that purpose during the day. I almost despair of finding any, for the country being perfectly level (some few elevated stations excepted), and the soil a deep loose red sand, the rain which falls must be immediately absorbed, and indeed it is quite impossible that water should remain on the surface of the land which we have travelled over since we have left the river. At the period we quitted the river I considered our height above the level of the sea to be about five hundred feet, an elevation too trifling to afford a hope that any streams could rise in these regions and flow thence into the sea. In traversing these flats, the declivity, when it could be observed, was always towards the west and north-west, obliging me to believe that either the country continued a desert of sand as at present, or that its westerly inclination would cause all that part of it to consist of marshes and swamps. Since quitting the river we have not enjoyed what under any other circumstances would be called drinkable water; what was found being merely the contents of shallow mud holes, in the bottom of acacia swamps, over which the dryness of the season alone enabled us to travel. We have uniformly been obliged to strain our water before we drank it, and its taste, from the decayed vegetable matter it contained, was sour and unpleasant. June 5.--A clear cold frosty morning: sent the horses to the watering place: if it be any way possible to get them on, it is my intention to proceed to-morrow morning, as it is almost as much labour to them to go for water as it would be to perform a short day's journey. From every thing I can see of the country to the south-west, it appears, upon the most mature deliberation, highly imprudent to persevere longer in that direction, as the consequences to the horses of want of water and grass might be most serious; and we are well assured that within forty miles on that point the country is the same as before passed over. In adopting a north-westerly course, it is my intention to be entirely guided by the possibility of procuring subsistence for the horses, that being the main point on which all our ulterior proceedings must hinge. It is however to be expected that as the country is certainly lower to the west and north-west than from south-east to south-west, there is a greater probability of finding water in this latter direction. In our present perplexing situation, however, it is impossible to lay down any fixed plan, as (be it what it may) circumstances after all must guide us. Our horses are unable to go more than eight or ten miles a day, but even then they must be assured of finding food, of which, in these deserts, the chances are against the existence. Yesterday, being the King's birthday, Mr. Cunningham planted under Mount Brogden acorns, peach and apricot-stones, and quince-seeds, with the hope rather than the expectation that they would grow and serve to commemorate the day and situation, should these desolate plains be ever again visited by civilized man, of which, however, I think there is very little probability. Our observation placed the situation of the tent in lat. 34. 13. 33. S., long. 146. E.; the variation of the compass 8. 08. E. June 6.--A mild pleasant morning: set forward on our journey to the westward and north-west, in hopes of finding a better country: at two o'clock halted about two miles from Peel's range, after going about eight miles through a very thick cypress scrub; the country equally bad as on any of the foregoing days. We saw no signs of water during our route: the whole country seems burnt up with long continued drought; no traces of natives, or any game seen. After two hours' search a small hole of water was found at the foot of the range, sufficient for the horses, and in a hole in the rocks a little clearer was procured for ourselves. June 7.--Set forward to the north-west, the horses being a little fresher than for some days past. Halted at four o'clock, having gone ten miles through a country which, for barrenness and desolation, can I think have no equal; it was a continued scrub, and where there was timber it chiefly consisted of small cypress: we saw no water as usual, but stopped on some burnt grass near the base of a low range of stony hills west of Peel's range, from which we are distant eight or ten miles. These ranges abound with native dogs; their howlings are incessant, day as well as night: as we saw no game, their principal prey must be rats, which have almost undermined this loose sandy country. As we had brought a small keg of water with us, we did not on this occasion suffer absolute want: we hope that the instinct of the horses would lead them to water in the course of the night--but we were too sanguine. Our spirits were not a little depressed by the desolation and want that seemed to reign around us: the scene was never varied, except from bad to worse. However, the scarcity of water and grass for the horses are our greatest real privations, for the temperature is mild and equable beyond what could be expected at this season, and it is this circumstance alone that enables us to proceed: the horses are too much reduced to endure rainy weather, even if the loose soil of the country would permit us to travel over it. June 8.--During the night there was light rain. At daylight sent out in search of water, but all our efforts proved unsuccessful. Peel's range being the nearest high land, I determined to search the base of it, in hopes of finding water, since it was impossible that either men or horses could long endure this almost constant privation of the first necessary of life. I accordingly set off towards the range, but was prevented from making it by impenetrable scrubs: we then returned to the range a little to the west of the tent, whence we could see a considerable distance to the west and north-west; it is impossible to imagine a prospect more desolate. The whole country in these directions, as far as the eye could reach, was one continued thicket of eucalyptus scrub: it was physically impossible to proceed that way, and our situation was too critical to admit of delay; it was therefore resolved to return back to our last station on the 6th under Peel's range, if for no other purpose than that of giving the horses water. I felt that by attempting to proceed westerly I should endanger the safety of every man composing the expedition, without any practical good arising from such perseverance: it was therefore deemed more prudent to keep along the base of Peel's range to its termination, having some chance of finding water in its rocky ravines, whilst there was none at all in attempting to keep the level country. It was too late to pursue this resolution this evening. June 9.--During the night heavy rain. At eight o'clock set off on our return to our halting-place of the 6th, the horses having been now forty-eight hours without water. We had scarcely proceeded a mile when it began to rain hard, and continued to do so without intermission until we stopped at the place where water had been previously found: it was by this time two o'clock, the horses failed, and the people were in little better condition, not having tasted any thing since the evening before. All our clothes were wet through, a circumstance which added greatly to the unpleasantness of our situation. The true nature of the soil was fully developed by this day's rain. Being in dry weather a loose light sand without any apparent consistency, it was now discovered to have a small portion of loam mixed with it, which, without having the tenacity of clay, is sufficient to render it slimy and boggy: I am quite satisfied that two days' rain will at any time render this country impassable. The mortification and distress of mind I felt at being obliged to take a retrograde direction was heightened by seeing the horses struggling under loads far beyond their present powers, their labour rendered still more trying by the miserable country they were obliged to pass through. June 10.--Light rain during the night, the morning fair and pleasant: upon mature deliberation it was resolved to remain here until the 13th, for the purpose of refreshing the horses. I also determined to send a detachment on before us, to endeavour to find an eligible station for us to stop at, that we might proceed with more certainty. Mr. Cunningham named those thick brushes of eucalyptus that spread in every direction around us EUCALYPTUS DUMOSA, or the dwarf gum, as they never exceed twenty feet in height, and are generally from twelve to fifteen, spreading out into a bushy circle from their roots in such a manner that it is impossible to see farther than from one bush to the other; and these are very often united by a species of vine (cassytha), and the intermediate space covered with prickly wire-grass, rendering a passage through them equally painful and tedious The low ranges of hills which we quitted yesterday morning we named Disappointment Hills, from our not being able to penetrate beyond them to the north-west or west, and also from our not finding any water on them; our hopes being thus disappointed of penetrating into the interior in the direction that I intended when we quitted Mount Brogden. June 11.--A party set forward to the northward to explore our to-morrow's route, and to endeavour to find water at some eligible station. They returned about four o'clock, having proceeded eight or ten miles. Small holes of water were found in almost every gully. They saw several traces of the natives, but none recent: the dogs killed several kangaroo-rats, and some new species of plants were discovered. June 12.--Fine and clear. At eight o'clock set forward on our journey along the west side of Peel's range: we proceeded to the north, inclining westerly for about ten miles; the travelling for the horses very bad, the ground being extremely soft, the description of the country the same. The trees resembled bushes more than timber, being chiefly small cypresses, which is the prevailing wood. The grass where we stopped was very bad, but the quantity and quality of the water compensated for it. No recent marks of the natives having visited this part of the range. June 13.--Fine mild pleasant weather. Proceeded along the foot of Peel's range for about ten miles; we then inclined north-easterly, the range taking that direction, and after going about four miles farther we stopped for the evening: the country was wretchedly barren and scrubby, and to the north-west and west a continued eucalyptus dumosa scrub, extending as far as the eye could reach from the occasional small hills which we passed in our route. Water was found about two miles off in the range, affording a bare sufficiency for ourselves and horses. June 14.--Fine clear weather. Proceeded on our journey northwards: the first four or five miles was over a rocky broken country, consisting of low hills, rising westerly of Peel's range. After going about six miles and a half the country became more open and less rocky; as the grass was here better than at our last night's halting-place, and the water convenient and tolerable, we resolved upon stopping, particularly as I intended resting the horses to-morrow; and I was fearful if I proceeded farther I might meet with neither, and thus be obliged to continue travelling to-morrow; an exertion which the horses were not in a condition to make. Nothing can be more irksome than the tedious days' journeys we are obliged to make through a country in which there is not the smallest variety, each day's occurrences and scenes being but a recapitulation of the former: our patience would frequently be exhausted, were we not daily reanimating ourselves with the hopes that the morrow will bring us to a better country, and render a journey, the labour of which has hitherto been ill repaid, of some service to the colony, and of some satisfaction to the expectations which had been formed of its result. June 15.--Observed in lat. 33. 49. 09. S., and long. 145. 54. E. Mr. Cunningham went upon Peel's range in search of plants, and found a few new ones; the country to the north appeared hilly and broken, but no scrubs, such as obstructed our progress westward, were seen. Goulburn's range had a remarkable appearance, being broken into peaks and singularly shaped hills. A solitary native was seen by one of our party, but he ran off with great precipitation on friendly signs being made to him to approach. June 16.--It blew extremely hard during the night, and rained incessantly, as it still continues to do, with scarcely any intermission. This morning we had the misfortune to find one horse dead, the same that fell under his load on the 3d instant, and, as he had carried little or nothing since, he appeared to be recovering his strength. Independently of the continuance of heavy rain, which would certainly have prevented me from attempting to set forward, the ground has become so hollow and soft from the rain which fell during the night, that it was the universal opinion that the horses could not travel under their loads. It cleared up towards night, with the exception of occasional heavy showers. June 17.--Towards morning the weather became fine, with fresh winds from the north-east; at eight o'clock set forward on our journey, the ground extremely wet and soft. We could not proceed above ten miles when we stopped, one of the horses being completely disabled from going any farther. The line of country we passed over was rocky, barren, and miserable, the level grounds being a perfect bog; to the westward, low irregular rocky ranges, with blasted and decayed cypresses on their summits, were the only objects which presented themselves to our view. There was neither grass nor water where we stopped; of course, nothing but the absolute necessity that existed to spare the horses could induce us to halt. People were sent to search the range for water, but all their endeavours proved fruitless, after wandering in every probable direction until sunset. The coldness of the air would have prevented us from feeling much inconvenience from this privation, had it been in our power to have satisfied our hunger but salt pork, would have proved an aggravating meal without water; we therefore preferred an absolute fast to the certainty of increasing our thirst. About sunset the wind increased to a perfect storm, accompanied by heavy showers, which prevented the horses from suffering so severely as they otherwise would. June 18.--The weather was very tempestuous during the night: towards morning the wind somewhat abated, and left light drizzling showers. Our search after water was renewed, and so far succeeded as to procure us about a pint of rain-water each, which afforded us great relief. It did not appear that the horses had been equally successful. Upon consultation, in our present critical situation it was resolved that Mr. Evans should proceed forward to the north-north-west until he found grass and water, and as it was evident to all that the horses were utterly incapable of proceeding with their present loads to any distance, I thought it expedient to leave half our provisions behind, and proceed to the place selected by Mr Evans, and then to send back for the remainder: in fact, there remained no alternative; reduced as the horses were in their strength, it would have been in the highest degree imprudent to have dared the almost certainty of killing them by proceeding with their usual loads. After going about three miles we came upon a small valley which afforded both good grass and water; the latter was rain-water collected in holes at the base of the range, which was composed of a hard granite rock. In this valley we found several holes dug by the natives, for the purpose of receiving water; in some a few quarts of muddy water were found, others were quite dry. It rained almost incessantly during the whole of this day, rendering our situation extremely unpleasant. As if to add to our misfortunes, it was now first discovered that three of the casks, which had all along been taken for flour casks, were filled with pork; and upon a minute investigation it came out, that when, on the 1st of May, the large boat had been reported to have filled from the falling of the river without any other accident, that then, in fact, three of the upper tier of casks had been washed out of her. It was impossible, at this distance of time, to exactly ascertain how such a serious loss could have happened and not have been discovered before, for the boatmen persisted in declaring that their cargo was then all safe; but, as so large a quantity could not possibly have been consumed by the party clandestinely without certain discovery, it appeared quite clear that the loss either happened on that day or on the 4th, when the large boat sunk from having been stove. In counting our casks up to this period, three, in every respect the same as the flour casks, with similar marks, had been reckoned in their lieu by us all, whilst the deficiency being then apparently in the pork was not suspected by any. In this distressing dilemma nothing remained for us but to reduce our ration of flour in such a proportion as would leave us twelve weeks of that article, and as we had still plenty of pork, to issue an extra pound of it weekly. Since leaving the depot we had been so extremely guarded in the issue of provisions, to prevent the possibility of our suffering from any longer protraction of our journey than was expected, that never more than six pounds of flour had been issued to each person weekly, which now, from this accident coming to light, was reduced to four pounds: it was, in truth, extremely fortunate that we had thus kept within the calculated ration, as otherwise our situation would have been highly alarming. Some of our party began even now to anticipate the resources of famine, for a large native dog being killed, it was pronounced, like lord Peter's loaf, in the Tale of a Tub, to be true, good, natural mutton as any in Leadenhall-market, and eaten accordingly: for myself, I was not yet brought to the conversion of Martin and Jack. The natives had been in this valley very recently, and I conjectured that they were then not far from us. In the afternoon, the rain still continuing, I sent back the strongest of the horses to bring up the provisions left behind. Towards eight o'clock the wind increased to a storm, so that the rain was forced through our tent in every part, and we were fairly washed out: this abated about ten o'clock, and the weather partially cleared up. Upon the whole this was the most uncomfortable day and night we had experienced since we quitted the depot. June 19.--Fresh winds from the north-west, with thick small rain. The valley was now a complete bog, the hills closing on each side of it, and its widest part not exceeding two hundred yards: the soil imbibes all the water almost as fast as it falls. There was one comfort in all this bad weather; we had plenty of water, and the horses tolerable grass. Taking advantage of a fair interval, I explored to the north-north-west about a mile, whence I had a tolerable view of the country between the showers: it was broken into very remarkable hills between the north-west by north and north-east; to the west it was more level, and having been burnt, the young grass gave it a more cheering aspect than any we had seen for some time. Bearings were taken to several remarkable hills for the purpose of connecting the survey. Two swans passed over the valley to the north-west, which we considered as a sign that water lay in that direction. June 20.--The weather broke up during the night, and the morning was fair and pleasant. However desirable it was that the horses should remain another day in this valley to recruit, yet, in the present unsettled state of the season, I was unwilling to lose an hour more than was absolutely necessary. We here left all the spare horse-shoes, broken axes, etc. in order to lighten the burden of the horses. This little valley received the name of Peach Valley, from our having here planted the last of our fruit-stones. At eight we proceeded to the north-north-west, our course taking us over a broken barren country; the hills composed of rocks and small stones, the valleys and flats of sand. To the westward of our route the country was covered with scrubs of the eucalyptus dumosa; these scrubs we avoided, by keeping close along the base of Peel's range, where the country had been lately burnt. It is somewhat singular that those scrubs and brushes seldom if ever extend to the immediate base of the hills: the washings from them rendered the soil somewhat better for two or three hundred yards. As to water, we did not see the least signs of any during the whole day. After proceeding between nine and ten miles, we stopped for the evening on some burnt grass, which existed in sufficient quantity; but, although we procured a few gallons of water for ourselves, not all our researches could find a sufficiency for the horses. The dogs killed a pretty large emu, which was a most luxurious addition to our salt pork, of which alone we were all well satiated. I ascended the range behind the tent, and I never saw a more broken country, or one more barren. It appeared more open to the north-north-west, to which point our course will be directed to-morrow. June 21.--Fine mild weather: at eight o'clock set forward on our journey. The farther we proceed north-westerly, the more convinced I am that, for all the practical purposes of civilized man, the interior of this country westward of a certain meridian is uninhabitable, deprived as it is of wood, water, and grass. With respect to water, it is quite impossible that any can be retained on such a soil as the country is composed of, and no watercourses, for the same reason, can be formed; for, like a sponge, it absorbs all the rain that falls, which, judging from every appearance, cannot be much. The wandering native with his little family may find a precarious subsistence in the ruts with which the country abounds; but even he, with all the local knowledge which such a life must give him, is obliged to dig with immense labour little wells at the bottom of the hills to procure and preserve a necessary of life which is evidently not to be obtained by any other method. We proceeded through a broken irregular country for nearly six miles, when the evident weakness of the horses made it highly imprudent to attempt to proceed farther. We therefore halted under a high rocky hill, which was named Barrow's Hill; and sent round in all directions to look for water. The goodness of Providence came to our succour when we least expected it; an ample sufficiency for the people being found near the top of the hill in the hollow of a rock. I ascended Barrow's Hill, and from its summit had a very extensive prospect from the west north-west round to east-north-east. To the north the country appeared perfectly level, though the horizon was skirted with distant hammocks, which could be but faintly distinguished. To the north-east were some native's fires; and a lofty detached mountain was named Mount Flinders: a high range to the westward was named Macquarie's Range, in honour of his excellency the Governor. The men returned late after an unsuccessful search for water, having gone entirely round Mount Flinders. There was now nothing to be done but to drive the horses to the base of the hill under which we were encamped, and share with them the water whence we derived our own supply: it was obliged to be handed from man to man in the cooking kettle, out of which the poor animals drank; and I was happy to find that a sufficiency would still remain to supply us until Monday morning, when we intended again to set forward. June 22.--The morning mild, but a thick drizzling rain continued until near noon, when it cleared up. The variation of the compass was 7. 45. E. About sunset Mr. Cunningham returned from a botanical excursion to Mount Flinders; he had found many new plants on the west side of the mount, but nothing was seen from its summit which had not been previously observed from Barrow's Hill: Frazer, our botanical soldier, also returned from Mount Bowen, in Goulburn's Range; but was not fortunate enough to find any thing new in vegetation, as it had been lately burnt: it was, however, remarkable that the paneratium Macquarie should be found growing in great abundance at the very top; this plant never being found except near moist Places, and in the vicinity of water. At the foot of Mount Bowen, Frazer fell in with a native camp, which had not been quitted more than a day or two: among the reliques were three or four pearl muscles, such as we had observed on the river; and it is probable that these may have been the property of natives who live more immediately in that vicinity. These shells are used as knives, being ground very sharp against the rocks, and certainly for a scraper they may answer very well. It may here be remarked, that the composition of the lofty detached hills, designated as mounts, is uniformly different from the rock composing the bases and summits of the more connected and elevated tracts, and what may more properly be termed ranges; the latter being of hard dark coloured granite, whilst the former rather resembles hard sandstone, studded with pebbles and quartz. The west side of Mount Flinders was covered with quartz, whilst the larger pieces of rock, on being broken, appeared to be an indurated sandstone. June 23.--The watering our horses took us up so much time, that it was ten o'clock before we set forward to the northward. After proceeding about four miles, the country became much more open, extending east and west over a flat level plain, the botany of which, in every respect, resembled Field's Plains; except that a new species of eucalyptus took place of the acacia pendula. A flock of large kangaroos was seen for the first time since we quitted the Lachlan; also many emus and bustards. Our dogs killed three kangaroos and two emus. The soil of these plains was a stiff tenacious clay, and had every appearance of being frequently under water: as we were now in the parallel of the spot where the river divided into branches, the altered appearance of the country induced us to hope that we should shortly fall in with some permanent water, and be relieved from the constant anxiety attendant on the precarious supply to which we had lately been enured. After going eight miles and a quarter, we suddenly came upon the banks of the river; I call it the river, for it could certainly be no other than the Lachlan, which we had quitted nearly five weeks before. Our astonishment was extreme, since it was an incident little expected by any one. It was here extremely diminished in size, but was still nearly equal in magnitude to the south-west branch which we last quitted. The banks were about twelve or fourteen feet above the water, and it was running with a tolerably brisk stream to the westward. The banks were so thickly covered with large eucalypti, that we did not perceive it until we were within a very few yards of it; it appeared about thirty feet broad, running over a sandy bottom. I think it extremely probable that the waters of both the main branches, after losing a very considerable portion over the low grounds in the neighbourhood of Mount Cunningham and Field's Plains, have again united and formed the present stream. Our future course did not admit of any hesitation, and it was resolved to go down the stream as long as there was a chance of its becoming more considerable, and until our provisions should be so far expended as barely to enable us to return to Bathurst. It is a singular phenomenon in the history of this river, that, in a course of upwards of two hundred and fifty miles, in a direct line from where Mr. Evans first discovered it, not the smallest rivulet, or, in fact, water of any description, falls into it from either the north or south; with the exception of the two small occasional streams near the depot, which flow from the north. The country to the southward, in its soil and productions, explains pretty satisfactorily why no constant running streams can have sources in that direction; and it may be esteemed, as to useful purposes, a desert, uninhabitable country. A small strip along the sea-coast may possibly be better, and derive water from the low hills which are known to border on it: south of the parallel of 34. S. may therefore be considered as falling under the above designation and description of country. The plains south of the river, and lying from Goulburn's to Macquarie's Range, were named Strangford Plains; and a remarkable peak south of Barrow's Hill, Dryander's Head. We resolved to try if our old friends, the fish, still continued in the streams; in the course of a short time five fine ones were caught: this most seasonable refreshment had an excellent effect in raising our hitherto depressed spirits; and eternal Hope again visited us in the form of extensive lakes and a better country; and even when her companion Fear obtruded herself on our minds, the certainty of plenty of water, and the chance of a fresh meal, dispelled every remaining anxiety. It was a matter of considerable curiosity and interest to us, in what direction the Macquarie River had run; it was clear that it had not joined the present stream, for in that case it would have been much more considerable: we were within three or four miles of the latitude of Bathurst, and it was scarcely probable that it should continue for so long a course to run parallel to the Lachlan. The whole form, character, and composition of this part of the country is so extremely singular, that a conjecture on the subject is hardly hazarded before it is overturned; every thing seems to run counter to the ordinary course of nature in other countries. June 24.--The water is about three feet above the common level, and although the banks on both sides are certainly occasionally overflowed, there is no appearance of any fresh or flood having swollen the stream for a considerable time. At nine o'clock we set forward down the river; our course lay westerly, and by three o'clock we had gone nearly twelve miles in that direction; when we stopped for the night on the banks of the river near the termination of Macquarie's Range, the north point of which I named Mount Porteous. Strangford's Plains lay along our course the whole way; the river being hidden from our view by a thick border of trees. We observed several hollows and gulleys, which being connected with the river in times of flood, receive their waters from it; they were now dry; but the singularity consisted in the water being conveyed by them over the low lands instead of their being the channels by which the waters in rainy seasons might be drained off to the river. During our whole journey, we have never discovered in what manner any additional supply of water could be conveyed to it, as the back lands (with the exception of the ranges) were always lower than the immediate banks of the river itself; where we stopped, it was about thirty feet wide, and nearly choked up with fallen trees. Whilst the horses were coming up, I set off, accompanied by Mr. Cunningham, for the purpose of ascending Mount Porteous: the view from it by no means repaid us for our trouble; the same everlasting flats met our eye in every direction westerly round nearly to north, in which quarter the horizon was occasionally studded with hills, at too great a distance to render them objects of interest to us. The immediate vicinity of the river was free from timber or brush in various places; and these tracts have hitherto received the particular denomination of PLAINS, which might with equal propriety be extended to the whole country. The bases of the hills and ranges were invariably a barren red sand, affording nourishment to a few miserable cypresses and eucalypti dumosa; between which, and filling up all the intermediate spaces, grows a variety of acacia and dwarf shrubs, rendering those parts nearly a thicket. Within one hundred yards of the bank of the river, and there alone, were seen the only timber trees we had met with in the country; if huge unshapen eucalypti, which would not afford a straight plank ten feet long, may be so denominated. June 25,--Proceeded down the river, and at three o'clock halted for the night, having performed about eleven miles; the country barren, even to the very verge of the stream, which continues to run nearly west. We were obliged to keep at a small distance from the river, owing to large lagoons, partly full of water, which would have otherwise interrupted our course, or rather our multitude of courses; for I never saw a stream with such opposite windings, and no one reach was a quarter of a mile long, so that it may be said to resemble a collar of SS. The opposite plains were named Butterworth Plains. Several new plants were the result of to-day's research, among them a new species of amaryllis, upon which the botanists prided themselves much; for in this country few were supposed to be in existence. June 26--The morning cold and frosty. At nine o'clock we proceeded down the river, which inclined to the south of west for ten miles; when at three o'clock we stopped for the evening. We passed through a country to the full as barren as any we had yet seen. There were occasional clear spaces, but for the greater part thick cypress bushes, acacia, and other low shrubs, rendered it difficult for the horses to pass. On the plain, the acacia pendula again made a very fine appearance. The timber on the intermediate banks of the stream became scarcer and smaller; and from the marks on the trees in the swamps, it sometimes overflows them to the depth of two feet; but they have now apparently been long dry, the little water remaining in the hollows or holes being a milky white. The abundance of white cockatoos and crows, which is constantly about the banks of the river, is astonishing; the other smaller birds appear to be also common to the east coast. Since we have been on the river, no recent traces of the natives have been seen; here, as higher up the river, they rather seem to shun it, and frequent the higher grounds in preference: perhaps their food is more easily procured on those grounds than on the river, particularly as they appear unacquainted with the method of taking the fish by hook and line. As the horses were by no means in a condition to be forced, I determined to remain here to-morrow to refresh them, and set forward again on Saturday morning. June 27.--After breakfast, I sent two men down the river to examine our route for to-morrow: one of them crossed over to the north side, to endeavour to reach some open spaces of plains which we saw from our tent. In the course of the afternoon they both returned; one, who had gone a little way inland on this side, could make no progress for extensive swamps, covered with water of the depth of from two to four feet, and abounding with black swans and wild fowl. The other man was also unable to reach the plains on the other side for water supplied from a creek of the river, and forming an extensive and deep morass. With these unfavourable reports before us, we determined to keep close to this bank of the river during tomorrow's journey; and if we should he prevented by its overflowing from proceeding, to return, and endeavour to round the morasses to the southward. Latitude by observation 33. 22. S., long. 145. 24. 15. E.; and the variation of the compass 7. 30. E. June 28.--Upon farther consideration, it appeared more advisable that the horses should proceed round the south edge of the morasses rather than be obliged to return; after keeping by the river for three or four miles, which to all appearance was as far as we should be enabled to proceed in that direction. However, that there might remain no doubt as to which was the preferable route, I adhered to my determination to go down the banks of the river myself as far as I could, and return by the route which the horses were to take. Our principal object being to keep as close to the stream as possible, with reference to the ability of the horses to travel over the ground. The horses set forward at nine o'clock$ and I proceeded down the stream five or six miles, when I was obliged to return to the place from which I set out, being unable to cross a small drain that led from the swamps to the river. I could in no place deviate above fifty yards from the river without being bogged, the water lying in some places eighteen inches deep, and in holes, much deeper. I attempted several times to proceed southerly, intending to cross the track which I presumed Mr. Evans would be obliged to take, but I was unable to accomplish it. The route taken by Mr. Evans and the horses led along the edge of extensive morasses covered with water; we proceeded nine or ten miles, when the morasses almost assumed the appearance of lakes; very extensive portions of them being free from timber, and being apparently deep water. South of the edge of the morass along which we travelled, the country was a barren scrub, and in places very soft; the horses falling repeatedly during the day. At the place where we stopped for the evening, I calculated that we were about five miles south of the river; on the edge of a very large lagoon, or lake. The country was so extremely low, that before I returned up the river to rejoin the horses, wishing to see what the openings on the other side were, I ascended a large gum tree, which enabled me to see that the flats opposite were similar to those on the south side. Our progress, upon the whole although we had travelled upwards of ten miles, did not exceed in a direct line five miles. The lagoons abound with water fowl, although we were not so fortunate as to obtain any; we were however amply compensated by our dogs killing a fine large emu. Various old marks of natives having visited these lakes, but none recent. June 29.--Our course in the first instance was directed in such a manner as to compass the lagoons, which after travelling about three miles and a half to the south-west, we accomplished, and again came upon the stream; the country thence backward bore the marks of being at some periods near three feet under water, and was covered with small box-trees: the country from our rejoining the river, to the place at which we stopped for the evening, consisted of barren plains, extending on both sides of the stream to a considerable distance backward. The points of the bends of the river were universally wet swamps with large lagoons; the back land, though equally subject to flood, was now dry; but the travelling was very heavy, the ground being a rotten, red, sandy loam, on which nothing grew but the usual production of marshes. I never saw a stream with so many sinuosities; in many places a quarter of a mile would cut off at least three miles by the river. The stream was in places much contracted, sand banks stretching nearly across; its medium depth was about eight feet. There was not the smallest eminence whence a view might be obtained, the country appearing a dead level; and although on these plains we could see for some distance all round, yet there was not a rising ground in any direction. The plains on the north side of the stream were named Holdsworthy; and those on the south, Harrington. We were lucky enough to procure two fine emus. June 30.--The first two or three miles were somewhat harder travelling than the greater part of yesterday. Immense plains extended to the westward, as far as the eye could reach. These plains were entirely barren, being evidently in times of rain altogether under water, when they doubtless form one vast lake: they extended in places from three to six miles from the margin of the stream, which on its immediate borders was a wet bog, full of small water holes, and the surface covered with marsh plants, with a few straggling dwarf box-trees. It was only on the very edge of the bank, and in the bottoms of the bights, that any eucalypti grew; the plains were covered with nothing but gnaphalium: the soil various, in some places red tenacious clay, in others a dark hazel-coloured loam, so rotten and full of holes that it was with difficulty the horses could travel over them. Although those plains were bounded only by the horizon, not a semblance of a hill appeared in the distance; we seemed indeed to have taken a long farewell of every thing like an elevation, whence the surrounding country could be observed. To the southward, bounding those plains in that direction, barren scrubs and dwarf box-trees, with numberless holes of stagnant water, too clearly proclaimed the nature of the country in that quarter. We could see through the openings of the trees on the river that plains of similar extent occupied the other side, which has all along appeared to us to be (if any thing) the lower ground. We travelled in the centre of the plains, our medium distance from the river being from one to two miles; and although we did not go above thirteen miles, some of the horses were excessively distressed from the nature of the ground. There was not the least appearance of natives; nor was bird or animal of any description seen during the day, except a solitary native dog. Nothing can be more melancholy and irksome than travelling over wilds, which nature seems to have condemned to perpetual loneliness and desolation. We seemed indeed the sole living creatures in those vast deserts. The plains last travelled over were named Molle's Plains, after the late lieutenant-governor of the territory; and those on the opposite side, Baird's Plains, after the general to whom he once acted as aide-de-camp, and whose glory he shared. The naming of places was often the only pleasure within our reach; but it was some relief from the desolation of these plains and hills to throw over them the associations of names dear to friendship, or sacred to genius. In the evening three or four small fish were caught. July 1.--Dark cloudy morning, with showers of rain. However desirous I was to proceed, I found that to do so would greatly injure the horses. Towards noon it cleared up, permitting me to take a tolerable observation, to ascertain our situation. I consider ourselves as peculiarly fortunate in being blessed with so dry and favourable a season; since all attempts to penetrate into the country during rain, or after an inundation of the stream, must have failed. I am quite convinced that at this place, when the banks are overflowed, the waters must extend from thirty to forty miles on each side of the stream, as we are that distance from any eminence. If there had been any nearer to the north, west, or south, we must have seen it from those extensive plains on which we have travelled for the last three days; for looking eastward, we can distinctly perceive Macquarie's Range, from which we estimate ourselves to be about thirty-five miles west. The stream was sounded in various places during the day, and its greatest depth never exceeded seven feet; the bottom and sides a stiff bluish clay. Latitude observed 33. 32. 22. S., longitude 145. 5. 50. E.; variation of the compass 6. 49. E. July 2.--At nine o'clock we again set forward down the stream; our course, as it has hitherto done, lay over apparently interminable plains, nothing relieving the eye but a few scattered bushes, and occasionally some dwarf box-trees: the view was boundless as the ocean, neither eminence nor hillock appearing. On the edges of the stream alone, and the lagoons that occasionally branched from it, was any thing like timber to be seen. The occasional openings on the stream enabled us to perceive, that the north side was in every respect similar to the south: I was so much deceived, by the semblance of the plains on the other side to sheets of water, that I twice went down to the edge of the stream to assure myself to the contrary. A strong current of water must frequently pass over these plains, as is evident from the traces left by the washings of shrubs, leaves, etc. The soil was a brown hazel-coloured sandy loam, very soft and boggy; in places it was more tenacious, water still remaining in many holes. By the marks on the trees it would seem that the stream occasionally overflows its banks to the depth of three or four feet; and five miles back from it small trees were seen, that had evidently stood from twelve to eighteen inches in the water. As usual we saw no recent signs of natives having visited these parts; here and there the remains of burnt muscle-shells would denote that at certain seasons the stream is visited by them for the purpose of procuring these shell-fish: I am clearly of opinion that, in dry summers, there is no running water in the bed of the present stream, and thus it is easy for them to procure the muscles from the shallow stagnant pools which would naturally be formed at every bend of the stream. To procure any such shell-fish whilst a stream like the present is running in it, is totally impossible. Although we did not travel above eleven miles, we were nearly seven hours in performing it. Our halting place was within a few feet of the river, and so wet and spongy, that the water sprung even from the pressure of our feet; and this has been the case nearly ever since we made the stream, though of course we chose the driest spots. Neither hunting nor fishing were successful today, but as we had become from experience not over sanguine, our expectations were not much disappointed, and the aspect of the country promised nothing. It had been remarked by all, for some days past, that a putrid sour smell seemed to proceed from the plains, and we were at first at some loss to discover the cause of it, as there did not appear sufficient vegetable matter in a decayed state to produce such an effect. Mr. Cunningham discovered that it proceeded from decayed plants of the salsolae, which produce the same effect as decayed sea-weed does in salt marshes; in short, all the plants found in our journey over these plains are the natural productions of low wet situations. July 3.--So thick a fog arose during the night, that in the morning we could not see in any direction above one hundred yards; this delayed us considerably, and it was the middle of the day before we could proceed. Our course lay over the same description of country as we had previously passed. The soil in some parts a red loamy mould; in others, a dark hazel-coloured sandy soil: this last appears to have its origin in the depositions left by floods, the former being the original or prevailing soil. The plants and shrubs the same as yesterday. Several flocks of a new description of pigeon were seen for the first time; two were shot, and were beautiful and curious. Their heads were crowned with a black plume, their wings streaked with black, the short feathers of a golden colour edged with white; the back of their necks a light flesh-colour, their breasts fawn-coloured, and their eyes red. A new species of cockatoo or paroquet, being between both, was also seen, with red necks and breasts, and grey backs. I mention these birds thus particularly, as they are the only ones we have yet seen which at all differ from those known on the east coast. [Note: See the Plates.] Our visible horizon, in every direction, being merely studded with shrubs and low bushes, gave the scene a singular marine appearance. We stopped about two miles south of the river, not being able to reach it before night-fall, the marshy ground having driven us a considerable distance round. July 4.--During this day's course we repeatedly attempted to gain the situation where we supposed the river to take its course, but were always disappointed; immense swamps constantly barred our attempts to travel northerly; these swamps were now covered with several feet of water, which, from the marks of dwarf trees growing in them, is sometimes three or four feet deeper. The same dead level of country still prevailed; and the sandy deserts of Arabia could not boast a clearer horizon, the low acacia bushes not in any degree interrupting the view. It was remarkable that there was always water where the dwarf box-trees grew; we might therefore be said to coast along from woody point to point, since all attempts to pass through them were uniformly defeated. The soil the same as yesterday, and most unpleasant to travel over, from the circular pools or hollows, which covered the whole plain, and which seem to be formed by whirlpools of water, having a deep hole in the bottom, through which the water appeared to have gradually drained off. It is clear that the entire country is at times inundated, and that as every thing now bears the appearance of long-continued drought, the swamps and stagnant waters are the residuum. In the whole we proceeded upwards of fourteen miles, and stopped for the night upon the edge of one of the swamps, which are now the only places that afford any timber for firing. Some traces of natives were seen today, about three or four days old; they appeared to have been a single family of four or five persons. If there are any natives in our neighbourhood, they must have discovered us, and keep out of the way, otherwise upon these clear flats we could not avoid seeing them. We were again fortunate enough to kill an emu, a most acceptable supply, since continued exercise gives us appetites something beyond what our ration can satisfy. July 5.--Independently of the nature of the country rendering it altogether uninhabitable, the noxious vapours that must naturally arise during the heats of summer from these marshes (should the present surface of land on which we are now travelling be then free from water), would render the whole tract peculiarly unhealthy. Even during the short space of a fortnight, when it might be presumed that the winter's cold had in a great degree rendered the effluvia innoxious, every person in the expedition was more or less affected by dysenterical complaints; and the putrid sour smell that constantly attended us was symptomatic of what would be its effects when rendered active by the powerful heats of summer. Although there was no grass out of the marshes for the horses to feed upon, yet they appeared to live very tolerably upon a species of atriplex which covered the plains, and being extremely succulent was eaten with avidity by them; they certainly preferred it to the grasses which the swamps produced. Our route lay over the same unvarying plain surface as on the preceding days, and after travelling about five miles, we again saw the line of trees growing on the banks of the stream; and having performed about ten miles more, we halted on the immediate banks of it. These were considerably lower, being about six feet above the water; the current was almost imperceptible, and the depth did not exceed four feet, and was extremely muddy; the trees growing on the banks were neither so large nor so numerous as before, and a new species of eucalyptus prevailed over the old blue gum. The north-east side was precisely of the same description of country as the south-east. A very large sheet of water or lake lay on the north-west side, opposite to the place where we made the river. The horizon was clear and distinct round the whole circle, the line of trees on the river alone excepted. From the marks on these trees, the waters appear to rise about three feet above the level of the bank; a height more than sufficient to inundate the whole country. This stream is certainly in the summer season, or in the long absence of rain, nothing more than a mere chain of ponds, serving as a channel to convey the waters from the eastward over this low tract. It is certain that no waters join this river from its source to this point; and passing, as it does, for the most part, through a line of country so low as to be frequently overflowed, and to an extent north and south perfectly unknown. but certainly at this place exceeding forty miles, it must cause the country to remain for ever uninhabitable, and useless for all the purposes of civilized man. These considerations, added to the state of our provisions, of which, at the reduced ration of three pounds of flour per man per week, we had but ten weeks remaining, determined me to proceed no farther westward with the main part of the expedition; but as the state of the greater part of our horses was such as absolutely to require some days' rest and refreshment, before we attempted to return eastward, I considered that it would be acting best up to the spirit of my instructions to proceed forward myself with three men and horses, and as we should carry nothing with us but our provisions, we should be enabled to proceed with so much expedition, as to go as far and see as much in three days as would take the whole party at least seven to perform. My object in thus proceeding farther was to get so far to the westward as to place beyond all question the impossibility of a river falling into the sea between Cape Otway and Cape Bernouilli. In my opinion, the very nature of the country altogether precludes such a possibility, but I think my proceeding so far will be conclusive with those who have most strongly imbibed the conviction that a river enters the sea between the Capes in question, which was certainly an idea I also had entertained, and which nothing but the survey of a country, without either hills or permanent streams, could have destroyed. I must observe as a remarkable feature in this singular country, that for the last fifty miles we have not seen a stone or pebble of any kind, save two, and they were taken out of the maws of two emus. I am now firmly persuaded that there are no eminent grounds in this part of the country, until these low sandy hills [Note: From Encounter Bay to this slight projection (Cape Bernouilli), the coast is little else than a bank of sand, with a few hummocks on the top, partially covered with small vegetation, nor could any thing in the interior country be distinguished above the bank. Flinder's Voy. Vol. I. p. 197.] which bound the south-western coast-line are reached; and these, in my judgment, are the only barriers which prevent the ocean from extending its empire over a country which was probably once under its dominion. July 6.--A fine and pleasant morning; one of the horses was found dead, the greater part of the others in a very weakly state. July 7.--At eight o'clock, taking with me three men, I proceeded to follow the course of the stream; I attempted in the first instance to keep away from the banks, but was soon obliged to join them, as the morasses extended outwards and intersected my proposed course in almost every direction. About three miles and a half from the tent, a large arm extended from the north bank to a considerable distance on that side; the banks continually getting lower, and before we had gone six miles it was evident that the channel of the stream was only the bed of a lagoon, the current now being imperceptible, with small gum trees growing in the middle. Three miles farther the morasses closed upon us, and rendered all farther progress impossible. The water was here stagnant. The large trees that used to be met with in such numbers up the stream were entirely lost, a few diminutive gums being the only timber to be seen: the height of the bank from the water-line was three feet six inches; and the marks of floods on the trunks of the trees rose to the height of four feet six inches, being about one foot above the level of the surrounding marshes. It would appear that the water is frequently stationary at that height for a considerable time, as long moss and other marks of stagnant waters were remaining on the trunks and roots of the trees, and on the long-leaved acacia, which was here a strong plant. There could not be above three feet water in this part of the lagoon, as small bushes and tufts of tea grass were perceptible. The water was extremely muddy, and the odour arising from the banks and marshes was offensive in the extreme. There were only four different kinds of plants at this terminating point of our journey, viz. the small eucalyptus, the long-leaved acacia, the large tea grass, and a new diaeceous plant which covered the marshes, named polygonum junceum. It is possible that the bed of the lagoon might extend eight or ten miles farther, but I do not think it did, as the horizon was perfectly clear in all directions, a few bushes and acacia trees, marking the course of the lagoon, excepted. Had there been any hill or even small eminence within thirty or forty miles of me they must now have been discovered, but there was not the least appearance of any such, and it was with infinite regret and pain that I was forced to come to the conclusion, that the interior of this vast country is a marsh and uninhabitable. How near these marshes may approach the south-western coast, I know not; but I do not think that the range of high and dry land in that quarter extends back north-easterly for any great distance; it being known, that the coast from Cape Bernouilli to the head of Spencer's Gulf is sandy and destitute of water. [Note: The view from the top of Mount Brown (in lat. 32. 30. 15. S. and lon. 138. 0. 3/4. E. head of Spencer's Gulf) was very extensive, its elevation not being less than three thousand feet; but neither rivers nor lakes could be perceived, nor any thing of the sea to the south-eastward. In almost every direction the eye traversed over an uninterruptedly flat woody country, the sole exceptions being the ridge of mountains, extending north and south; and the water of the gulf to the south-westward. Flinder's Voy. Vol. I. p. 159.] Perhaps there is no river, the history of which is known, that presents so remarkable a termination as the present: its course in a straight line from its source to its termination exceeds five hundred miles, and including its windings, it may fairly be calculated to run at least twelve hundred miles; during all which passage, through such a vast extent of country, it does not receive a single stream in addition to what it derives from its sources in the eastern mountains. I think it a probable conjecture that this river is the channel by which all the waters rising in those ranges of hills to the westward of Port Jackson, known by the name of the Blue Mountains, and which do not fall into the sea on the east coast, are conveyed to these immense inland marshes; its sinuous course causing it to overflow its banks on a much higher level than the present, and in consequence, forming those low wet levels which are in the very neighbourhood of the government depot. Its length of course is, in my opinion, the principal cause of our finding any thing like a stream for the last one hundred miles, as the immense body of water which must undoubtedly be at times collected in such a river must find a vent somewhere, but being spent during so long a course without any accession, the only wonder is, that even those waters should cause a current at so great a distance from their source; everything however indicates, as before often observed, that in dry seasons the channel of the river is empty, or forms only a chain of ponds. It appears to have been a considerable length of time since the banks were overflowed, certainly not for the last year; and I think it probable they are not often so: the quantity of water must indeed be immense, and of long accumulation, in the upper marshes, before the whole of this vast country can be under water. My intention to penetrate farther westward being thus frustrated, I returned to the tent about three o'clock, and determined, should the horses appear sufficiently recovered and refreshed, finally to quit this western part of the country on Thursday next; a few days rain would prevent us from ever quitting it, but we have been bountifully favoured by Providence with a season of continued fair and pleasant weather, which could hardly have been expected, and which alone could have enabled us to decide so satisfactorily, if it can be called satisfaction to prove the negative of the existence of any navigable rivers in this part of Australia. July 8.--Observed the sun's magnetic amplitude in rising from the clear horizon of the plain, a circumstance that rarely can occur in any country unless such a one as the present; it strongly marks the. horizontal level which seems to run now from east to west. Mean lat. of our tent 33 degrees 53 minutes 19 seconds S. Comp. long. 144 33 50 E. Mean variation 7 25 00 E. Situation of the spot where the stream ceased to have a current. Lat 33 degrees 57 minutes 30 seconds S. Long. comp. 144 23 00 E. Do. do. 144 31 15 E. No hill or eminence in a south-west direction terminating in lat. 34. 22. 12. and in long. 143. 30. 00. E. which is the calculated extent of our visible clear horizon. The afternoon proved cloudy, with occasional showers: prepared every thing for our return eastward on the morrow. July 9.--The morning fair and pleasant, but cold, the ground being covered with hoar-frost. At half-past eight we set out on our return eastward, every one feeling no little pleasure at quitting a region which had presented nothing to his exertions but disappointment and desolation. Under a tree near the tent, inscribed with the words "Dig under," we buried a bottle, containing a paper bearing the date of our arrival and departure, with our purposed course, and the names of each individual that composed the party. I cannot flatter myself with the belief, however, that European eyes will ever trace the characters either on the tree or the paper; but we deposited the scroll as a memorial that the spot had been once in the tide of time visited by civilized man, and that should Providence forbid our safe return to Bathurst, the friends who might search for us should at least know the course we had taken. About two o'clock we arrived at our halting-place of the 4th; and there being no place convenient for pitching our tent within six or seven miles farther on, we determined to remain here. July 10.--Observed the variation of the compass by amp., at sun-rising, to be 7. 47. E., by Kater's compass. The horses having strayed, it was nearly eleven o'clock before we could set out, and between four and five o'clock we stopped at our halting-place of the 3d. On our way we passed a raised mound of earth which had somewhat the appearance of a burial-place; we opened it, but found nothing in it except a few ashes, but whether from bones or wood could not be distinguished; a semicircular trench was dug round one side of it, as if for seats for persons in attendance. July 11.--At nine, again set forward on our return up the river, and it was near four o'clock before we arrived at a convenient halting-place on its banks, the river presented a most singular phenomenon to our astonished view. That river which yesterday was so shallow that it could be walked across, and whose stream was scarcely perceptible, was now rolling along its agitated and muddy waters nearly on a level with the banks: whence this sudden rise, we could not divine, any more than we could account for the non-appearance of a fresh twenty miles lower down; unless the marshes which we have traced for the two last days, at a distance from the river, should have absorbed the waters in passing, or unless the extremely winding course should so protract and retard the current of them as to cause a considerable time to elapse before a flood in the upper parts could reach the lower. We considered ourselves as extremely fortunate in having quitted our station of the 8th a day or two before it was originally intended, as we should otherwise have been in considerable danger. The present height of the bank above the level of the stream is four feet nine inches. A singular instance of affection in one of the brute creation was this day witnessed. About a week ago we killed a native dog, and threw his body on a small bush: in returning past the same spot to-day, we found the body removed three or four yards from the bush, and the female in a dying state lying close beside it; she had apparently been there from the day the dog was killed, being so weakened and emaciated as to be unable to move on our approach. It was deemed mercy to despatch her. A tomb similar in form to that which we observed yesterday being discovered near our halting-place of this day, I caused it to be opened: it is as a conical mound of earth about four feet high in the centre, and nearly eight feet long in the longest part, exactly in the centre, and deep in the ground: we at first thought we perceived the remains of a human body, which had been originally placed upon sticks arranged transversely, but now nearly decayed by time; nothing remained of what we took for the body but a quantity of unctuous clayey matter. The whole had the appearance of being not recent, the semicircular seats being now nearly level with the rest of the ground, and the tomb itself overgrown with weeds. The river fell about three inches in the course of the night. July 12.--It is impossible that any weather can be finer than that which we are favoured with. For days together the sky is unobscured by even a single cloud, and although the air is cold and sharp, yet the dryness of the atmosphere amply repays us for any little inconvenience we sustain from the cold. At nine, we again set forward on our return up the river, and at three arrived on its banks, having performed about twelve miles. The river had fallen about one foot in the course of the day. The horses being much fatigued by the heavy travelling over the flats, and many of them being very sorely galled in the back, I propose halting to-morrow to refresh them. We were this day once more cheered by the sight of rising ground; Macquarie's Range just appearing above the horizon, distance about forty miles; and we felt that we were again about to tread on secure and healthy land, with a chance of procuring some sort of game, which would now be very acceptable, our diet being entirely confined to pork and our morsel of bread. The weather is far too cold for us to have any hopes of procuring fish; all our attempts to catch them for the last fortnight being unsuccessful. The odour from the river and marshes was most fetid, and was, I think, even stronger than that which we had before experienced. July 13.--In the course of the day the river fell upwards of a foot. July 14.--The river fell about eighteen inches. We found that the horses had again strayed, and they were not found and brought home until past sunset, having wandered about in search of food from eight to twelve miles in various directions. As the people had of course separated in the search, three men still remained out; and being fearful that the darkness of the night might prevent them from finding the camp, fired several musquets, and kindled a fire upon the plains. It was twelve o'clock before they were fortunate enough to regain the tents. July 15.--At three, having travelled about twelve miles, halted on the stream for the evening. The dogs killed an emu. July 16.--Cloudy, but mild and pleasant. We retraced this day much of the same ground which we travelled on the 28th ult. The horses were frequently up to their shoulders in deep holes, to the danger of breaking their own limbs, or those of their leaders or riders. There is a uniformity in the barren desolateness of this country, which wearies one more than I am able to express. One tree, one soil, one water, and one description of bird, fish, or animal, prevails alike for ten miles, and for one hundred. A variety of wretchedness is at all times preferable to one unvarying cause of pain or distress. We halted on the margin of one of the swamps, after travelling about eleven miles, which it took eight hours to accomplish. July 17.--Part of the horses again strayed; these delays in such a country try our patience to the very utmost, and their very rambling is the sole means of their being kept alive. It was past eleven before we could set out, and the rain that had fallen during the night rendered our track so extremely soft that it was with difficulty the horses could proceed. At three we halted for the evening on a large lagoon near the river, having gone about nine miles and a quarter. July 18.--At nine proceeded onwards towards Macquarie's Range; and at four, we halted at the place we rested at on the 24th ult. For the first time since we left Cypress Hill we heard natives on the other side of the river, but they kept out of our sight. July 19.--At nine we proceeded up the river, and at three arrived at the spot where we first reached the river on the 23d ult. The fresh in the river was still considerable, being from three to five feet above its apparent usual level. July 20.--Rested the horses to-day, having had a hard week's work, and the weather being unfavourable. Confirmed my intention of returning to Bathurst instead of the depot on the Lachlan, for the following reasons. The route up the Lachlan would be difficult and very tedious, not to say impracticable, without the assistance of boats in crossing the two principal creeks; and if it should have proved wet and rainy, it would be nearly impossible to travel over the low-lands with loaded horses. Again, our return by the route outward would not afford us any additional knowledge of the country, and presuming this river to be the Lachlan, the course and the country in the neighbourhood of the Macquarie would still remain unknown. To return to Bathurst by a northerly course would enable us to trace the Macquarie to a very considerable distance; it would give us a knowledge of the country at least two hundred miles below Bathurst; and although the difficulties we may meet with in the attempt are of course unknown to us, yet I consider it a far preferable route to returning by the Lachlan, the difficulties of which are known, and I think we may reach one station as soon as the other. To-morrow, therefore, I am resolved to set forward again up the stream, and take the earliest opportunity to cross it; when, should the inclination of its course be such as to give reason to believe it to be the Macquarie, we shall continue on the north bank the whole way to Bathurst: but, on the contrary, should its course leave it no longer in doubt that it is the Lachlan again rising from the marshes under Mount Cunningham, we shall quit its banks, and, taking a north-easterly course, endeavour to fall in with the Macquarie, which having found, I shall pursue my first intention of keeping along its banks until we arrive at Bathurst. The river has risen in the course of the night and morning about eighteen inches. We killed this day a red kangaroo, and three emus. July 21.--The stream has risen nearly eighteen inches in the night. It is extremely puzzling whence such a body of water can come thus suddenly. There must have been a great deal of rain in the eastern mountains, and the accumulated waters can be only now bending their way to the lower grounds; should the winter have proved wet to the eastward, it will undoubtedly solve the problem. At half past eight o'clock we proceeded up the river, which during our day's journey trended nearly north. Both banks appeared equally low: that on which we were travelling extended to the base of Goulburn's Range, and was wet and barren. About two miles from our night's encampment, we ascended a low stony hill, from which the country northerly was broken into detached hills; to the east was Goulburn's Range, and to the north-west the country was low without any rising grounds as far as we could see. The sameness which had so wearied us during the last month was somewhat relieved by the various rising hills and low ranges which were scattered over the otherwise level surface of the country. A hill bearing N. 15 E. received the name of Mount Torrens; it stood quite detached. Two of the men, who were about a mile ahead of the main party, fell in with a small native family, consisting of a man, two women and three children, the eldest about three years old. The man was very stout and tall; he was armed with a jagged spear, and no friendly motions of the men (who were totally unarmed) could induce him to lay it aside, or suffer them to approach him: during the short time they were with him, he kept the most watchful eye upon them; and when the men calling the dogs together were about to depart, he threw down with apparent fierceness the little bark guneah which had sheltered him and his family during the night, and made towards the river, calling loudly and repeatedly, as if to bring others to his assistance: he was quite naked, except the netted band round the waist, in which were womerahs. The women were covered with skins over their shoulders, and the two younger children were slung in them on their backs. There was a very considerable fresh in the stream, and its windings to-day were singularly remarkable, insomuch that it was frequently taken for two different rivers; necks of land near a mile long, but not one hundred yards wide, being the only separation between several of the reaches. At three o'clock we halted on its banks, having travelled eleven miles and a half. July 22.--The river had risen during the night upwards of a foot, and was now about eight feet from the banks; its breadth from thirty to fifty feet, whilst its apparent usual channel could not exceed from fifteen to twenty. The calls of the natives were heard this morning on the opposite side of the river. At nine o'clock we again proceeded up the river, which to-day trended east by north. About four miles east from our last station, we ascended a stony mount being near the north-east extreme of Goulburn's Range: the country to the north-east and round to east was without any eminences of magnitude, but several rising chains of low hills were scattered over the general surface of the country; they were mostly bare of trees, being stony and barren. It is impossible to imagine a worse tract of country than that through which our route lay this day; to the very edges of the stream, it was a barren acacia scrub intermingled with cypresses and dwarf box-trees. The flats were uniformly swampy, and covered with bushes (rhagodea); the hills instead of grass were clothed with gnapthalium. We repeatedly saw the river in our course, but I could find no eligible place to cross it, as the trees which would have suited our purpose for bridges were now, in consequence of the fresh or flood, in the very middle of the stream. The banks where the rising grounds came immediately on the river were high and of a red loamy clay, and when this was the case the opposite banks were seen to be low in proportion: when we halted for the night, they were not above five or six feet, and I think there must have been from ten to twelve feet more water in the bed of the stream than usual. Bad as the travelling was even close to the stream, it was still worse about two miles back from it; several small scrubs of the eucalyptus dumosa and prickly shrubs were passed through by the men who had taken out the dogs in search of game; and from the hill we first ascended, we observed several very extensive scrubs to the northward, of the same description. At half past three we halted for the night, having gone about eleven miles. July 23.--The river had fallen a little during the night. At nine o'clock we again set forward: the country became extremely low and marshy, far more so than any we had passed over east of Macquarie's Range. These marshes extended so far southerly that to have gone round them would have led us far from our purposed course without answering any useful purpose, and although we judged that at first they might not extend above three or four miles back, yet we soon had reason to change that opinion. The river had led us upon a general course nearly east about six miles, when about half a mile from the bank southerly, a very extensive lake was formed, extending about east-south-east and west-north-west from three to four miles, and being about a mile and a half wide. Excepting the sheet of water on the north side near the termination of the stream, this was the only one we had seen that could justly be entitled to the denomination of lake. We crossed over a low wet swamp, by which its overflowings are doubtless re-conveyed to the river. This lake was joined to another more easterly, but much smaller. We could not form any correct judgment how far the marshy ground extended south-east of it; but the country was low and level as far as Mount Byng, and a low range extended north-easterly from it. We now kept the banks of the stream, till at the tenth mile we ascended a small hill a mile south of it, from which Mount Byng bore N. 12. E. Close under the hill ran a considerable branch of the river, which certainly supplied the lakes and lower grounds with water; on the other side of this arm, the country was low, and apparently marshy as far as we could see. On examination I found it would be extremely difficult to cross this branch, as the water was too shallow to swim the horses over, and the ground so soft that they could not approach the banks within several yards. I therefore determined to get upon the river nearly where this branch separated from it, and endeavour to construct a bridge, by which we might convey the provisions and baggage over: as to the horses, they could easily swim across. The course of the river during the day had been nearly due east, but from the separation of the branch it seemed to take a more northerly direction; the banks were very low, and never exceeded five feet from the water. Occasional points of land somewhat more elevated than the general surface would of course make them in Places a little higher; but we could not discover any marks which denoted a greater rise than six feet, or six feet six inches, above the present level. When we halted in the evening, the stream was running with great rapidity. The water did not appear to have either risen or fallen during the day; but all the trees which would have best answered our purposes were now several feet in the water. We had however no alternative but to cross somewhere in this neighbourhood, as we were fearful of entangling ourselves in marshy ground by proceeding farther up this bank; and to attempt to penetrate, or even to round, the marshes to the southward, (if it were practicable,) would take up more time (without being of any service) than we could spare. Experience had made us too well acquainted with the nature of these marshes to run any needless risks; and we had besides great hopes that we should find better travelling to the northward, which as the river seemed inclined to come from that point would also be a great convenience to us, as I did not purpose to quit its banks as long as it continued to run any thing north of east. As to the soil and general description of country passed over this day, the low-lands were all swamps covered with atriplex bushes, and where the land was a little more elevated, the soil was sandy and barren, covered with acacias, dodonaeae, small cypresses and dwarf box-trees. Our course was E. 4. N. 6 3/4 miles; but by the windings of the river, we had measured nearly 12 miles. The lake I named Campbell Lake, in honour of Mrs. Macquarie's family name. July 24.--At day-light we attempted to construct our bridge near to the place where we were encamped, but as fast as the trees were felled they were swept away by the rapidity of the current; the breadth on an average being now, by reason of the flood, nearly sixty feet, and the trees on the immediate or proper banks being several feet in the water: we were therefore obliged to fell trees farther inland, and these, as before remarked, were swept away, falling short of the land on the opposite side. All our attempts to construct a bridge during the day were fruitless, as the flood was too violent to allow the trees to take firm hold: in searching the banks of the stream for a proper place for our purpose, an arm nearly as large as the main branch up which we had travelled was discovered about a mile down the stream on the north side; it ran to the north-north-west, and then apparently trended more westerly. Thus is this vast body of water, all originating in the Eastern or Blue Mountains, conveyed over these extensive marshes, rendering uninhabitable a tract which they might reasonably be expected to fertilize. Finding that in the present high state of the water we could not succeed in crossing the river, at least near our present station, and that if we returned lower down we should experience a farther difficulty in crossing the north-west arm recently seen, it was judged best to try if we could get over the branch on the south side, and swim the horses over in the main stream near the mouth of the branch. We could not, however, find any tree on this side that would reach across; although it was quite dark before we gave over the attempt for the night. July 25.--Every means was again employed in constructing the bridge over the south-west branch. The stream had fallen but a few inches, and continues to fall too slowly to permit us to entertain any hopes of crossing it in this vicinity. Our bridge was finished by one o'clock, but it being too late to cross the horses and baggage this evening, I went in company with Byrne on horseback to view the country to the southward. After going about two miles and a quarter south of the tent, we were most agreeably surprised with the sight of a very fine lake; we rode down to its shores, which on this side were hard and sandy beaches. On the south side the shores were bolder, being red clay cliffs. We now found that the creek or arm which I had supposed to be the source whence Campbell Lake was supplied, had not any communication with it, but supplied the lake we now saw: a low ridge of hills, bare of trees except small cypresses in clumps, lying between the two lakes, which were distant from each other two or three miles. Finding I might obtain a better view by going to the point of these bare hills about five miles westward, I rode thither along the margin of the lake, but quitted it to ascend the hill, which was about two miles and a half from it. The hill was but low in comparison with Goulburn's Range and other hills in the vicinity, but was sufficiently elevated to afford me the most varied and noble prospect I had seen in New South Wales The expanse of water was too large and winding to be seen in one point of view, but it broke in large sheets from east to west for upwards of six miles; its medium breadth being from two and a half to three miles: it was bounded six or seven miles from its eastern extremity by a low range of hills connected with Mount Byng, and from the dark broken woody appearance of the country in that direction, I felt assured that the stream came from a more northerly quarter. To the westward was Goulburn's Range, distant about five or six miles; its bold rocky peaks of lofty elevation forming a striking contrast to the dead level of the country southerly, in which however Mount Aiton appeared like a blue speck on the horizon. To the northward was Mount Granard, the highest of a very elevated range, it having been seen at a distance of seventy-two miles from Mount Aiton; and to the north-north-east were extensive open flats; in one place, bearing N. 17. E., I thought I could distinguish water. Between the hill on which I stood and the stream, Campbell Lake wound along the plain, but its width did not allow it to be so conspicuously seen as the present one. To the south-east and round to the north-east the country was covered with dark foliage of the eucalyptus, intermixed with the cypress; whilst to the south-west, as far as the base of Goulburn's Range, it was more open, with gentle hills clothed with a few small cypresses. These hills were rocky and barren, the lower grounds a red loamy clay; but the intermingled light and shade formed by the different description of trees and shrubs, the hills, but above all, the noble lake before me, gave a character to the scenery highly picturesque and pleasing. From this eminence I took the following bearings to objects connected in the survey, viz. The highest point of Goulburn's Range N. 225 degrees distance 5 or 6 miles. Do. Do. Mount Aiton 143 Table Hill 116 Mount Byng 114 West extreme of the lake N. 106. 30. distance 2 1/2 miles. East Do. Do. N. 65. distance 5 or 6 miles Highest point of Mount Granard N. 341 Extremes of extensive flats from N. 346 1/2 to N. 10. distance 12 or 14 miles, the last point being also the extreme of a low range. Appearance of water or a lake N. 17 degrees Mount Torrens N. 294 1/2 Mount Davidson N. 317 1/2 Bluff point of the clear hill on which I stand, and to which bearings had been previously taken to ascertain its situation, N. 186, distance 3/4 Mile. Low range of hills extending from Mount Byng to N. 55.; nearest part of that range, N. 81, distance 8 or 9 miles. I came back to the tent at half-past four o'clock and it was extremely satisfactory to us to find, on laying the different bearings down on the chart, that the connection of the survey with Mount Aiton corresponded to less than a mile of longitude, although it had extended on a most varied course from that point between three and four hundred miles. The water in the stream has remained stationary throughout the day. July 26.--Mr. Evans set out to view the lake and take some sketches, whilst I remained to forward the horses and baggage over the arm of the river, by which time I expected he would return, so as to enable us to proceed at least a few miles farther up. By half-past eleven we had got the horses and every other thing safely over, and they proceeded up the river. Mr. Evans did not return until half-past one to the bridge, having been highly gratified with his excursion to the lake, of which he had taken two views. After proceeding to the north-east about three miles, through a low, wet, and barren country, which is at times from eighteen inches to two feet under water, we came upon another fine lake about a mile distant from the river. This lake was not so large as the last, but was nevertheless a fine sheet of water, about three miles long and one and a half or two miles wide; the opposite or south shore was much more elevated than that near the river, which had here extremely low banks, the water in the stream not being above four feet below them; the marks of flood upon the trees were also upwards of three feet higher. The cypress-tree grew very thick and strong on the opposite side of the lake, casting a dark shade over its transparent waters, which, though certainly originating in the river, had not received any supply for apparently a considerable time. The land from hence to the place where we stopped for the night was very low and much flooded, with fine, deep, clear lagoons winding round almost every bend of the stream; the soil was also much better, having more the appearance of fertility than any we had seen for some time. About one and a half or two miles from the river a thick cypress brush bordered the low lands, and was of course free from floods. The small dwarf box-tree still, however, continued to be the prevailing wood, and covered, as usual, the more wet and boggy portions of the low land. The north-west side appeared to be higher, and the banks, as much at least as we could see of them, seemed of better soil. A large native's canoe having been found hauled tip near to the spot on which we stopped, appearing to me sufficiently strong to be capable of transporting ourselves and baggage to the opposite side of the river, I determined to make trial of it for that purpose, and if found practicable to cross at once, rather than wait the chance of the waters falling sufficiently to enable us to construct a bridge, where, in the event of failing in that design, no friendly canoe might be at hand to assist us. The waters in the stream had not fallen at all, and were about four or five feet from the banks, continuing to run with great rapidity. The first lake seen yesterday was named the Regent's Lake, in honour of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent. A superb scarlet flower, named kennedia speciosa, was found on the shore of the first named lake. The course of the river this day was north-east, and our distance five miles and a half, although we had travelled upwards of eight and three-quarters. July 27.--As soon as it was light, our little canoe was launched; but our hopes and expectations had been too sanguine as to her capability: sufficiently strong and buoyant to contain one person, more was too much for her; I therefore of necessity abandoned the design, and at half-past nine o'clock again proceeded up the strewn. The fresh did not in the least diminish, but I thought rather rose than fell. A line which had last night been thrown into the stream, with little hope or expectation of catching any thing, was found, when taken up this morning, to have hooked a very fine fish. Since the flood we had almost ceased to think of fish, as we never had the least success in our trials. The river, as we had conjectured it would, trended this day again to the north-east. The country passed over was low and nearly level. The points and immediate banks were deeply flooded, forming extensive morasses, and there were generally between them and the drier and more elevated land deep serpentine lagoons, the water in which was clear and transparent, it having been apparently a long time since that of the river had filled them. The back land was a red sandy loam, very light, covered with acacia bushes, spear-wood, and small cypresses; the only herbage, a coarse tea-grass; and yet I do not think the kind of soil which appears to be the universal one upon the drier lands, can be strictly called barren: I have seen apparently much worse soils in a state of cultivation. We crossed one or two large plains, clear of wood and even bushes; the soil a stiff tenacious clay, which, though not flooded by the river, retains all the water that falls upon it, there being no descent or fall by which it can be conveyed to its natural drain, the river. These plains were now dry and hard, and having been lately burnt, the coarse natural herbage springing up fresh, gave them a pleasing green appearance. One or two beautiful new shrubs in seed and flower were found to-day, to the great satisfaction of the botanists, who had not lately made many very splendid or valuable additions to their collections. A party of natives was seen on the opposite side of the river, consisting of one man, two lads, and two women; they disappeared as soon as they observed us. The flood had swollen the stream to a considerable breadth; it was at least sixty feet wide at the spot where we stopped, and was about six feet below the banks. July 28.--The waters in the stream continue stationary. There must have been heavy rains to the eastward, to maintain at this height such a body of water. As to the rains that fall westward of the Blue Mountains, I am clearly of opinion, that they are in no way auxiliary in forming this stream. The soil, the general level surface, without a single water-course north or south, prove that all the waters which fall are quickly absorbed; and I think it very probable that rain falls here extremely seldom, and never simultaneously with the rain of the eastern coast and mountains. The day was full of cross accidents, and ended in the separation of the expedition for the first time. The river turned suddenly north, whilst extensive swamps ran out from it to the south-east, backed by thick scrubby land, which we afterwards found, having taken another sudden bend into the north-west, to be at a considerable distance, and which we had some difficulty in finding at all, the smaller plains being separated from the larger one by lagoons, edged with trees similar to those on the banks of the river. Not having been able to find the rest of my companions this evening, I halted with three men on the spot where we reached the river, firing muskets, that if any of the missing party were near, they might be enabled to join us in the morning. The bendings of the river were singularly remarkable, trending suddenly from south-east by east to north-north-west, and then back to the north and north-east; I mean the principal bending in the general course, for the smaller ones were as usual innumerable. Of the swamps, which in places, extended from eight to ten miles from the river south-east and south, some parts were dry and others under water; and there were occasionally large lagoons covered with innumerable wild fowl of various descriptions. Great numbers of native companions, bustards, and emus, were seen on the plains, Which, at the termination of our day's journey, were of a better and drier description than usual. The north-east hills bounding them were low, thinly studded with trees, and although rocky on the summits, were covered with green tea-grass. The flood in the river was very high, but from the appearance of the banks, which were about five feet from the water, I did not think it had risen much in the course of the day. July 29.--At day-light sent a man on horseback to search for our missing companions up the river, as we thought we had heard a musquet in that direction in reply to one of ours. The man shortly returned, having met with two men whom I had seen yesterday looking for their horses; they had been joined by Mr. Cunningham, and had encamped about half a mile higher up the stream than ourselves: of Mr. Evans's party, consisting besides himself of five men, they had heard or seen nothing, nor had they fallen in with any of their marks. At half-past eight o'clock I proceeded with the horses up the river to join the two men, expecting also that Mr. Evans would certainly return downwards when he found that we did not join him. It was twelve o'clock before we found him, and we then proceeded up the river, whilst one man and myself went to a clear hill in the range of Mount Byng, and from which we expected a good prospect. We passed over a large plain, washed by the river; the soil, a stiff red clayey loam, long parched by drought; the sides of the hill light red sandy loam. Small blue gum-trees, box, cypress, and a multitude of acacia shrubs of various species, were the usual productions of the drier and more elevated grounds. Our expectations of an extensive prospect from the top of the hill were not disappointed: we had a distinct view round the compass. The river wound close under the foot of the hill, and trending to the south-east through low marshy grounds covered with atriplex bushes and the acacia pendula, evidently and distinctly showed that it originated in the separated branches of the Lachlan, which it is probable united fifteen or twenty miles below Mount Cunningham, forming the present stream. The north-east side of the river was equally low and marshy. All the points which had been set at Mount Cunningham were distinctly recognised, and bearings being now taken to them, served to correct and prove the survey. The bearings taken from this hill, named Piper's Hill, were as follows by the theodolite: Mount Cunningham E. 9 deg. 20 min. S. Mount Meyrick S. 67 10 E. Mount Maude S. 62 0 E. Table Hill S. 4 30 E. Line of Mount Byng, called Watson Taylor's range E. 7 0 W. Mount Granard N. 79 0 W. Mount Barrer N. 68 0 W. about the same distance as Mount Granard. Extreme of a high range from N. 59 1/2 W., to N. 24 1/2 W.; nearest extreme distance about thirty miles, westward 45. Extremes of another range from N. 10. W., to N. 2. W., about twelve miles long; another range, N. 3. E. to N. 50 1/2 E Hurd's Peak, N. 72. E.; a mount north of it (Mount Hawkins), N. 71. 15. E.; a distant one, N. 86 1/2 E (Mount Riley). Low ranges in N. 44. E., N. 35. E. and N. 26 1/2 E., all the intermediate spaces being low level land. On descending, we waited on the stream till the arrival of Mr. Evans, about half-past three o'clock, when we halted. It was determined that as we had now ascertained the course of the Lachlan, from the depot to its termination, any farther trace of it, running as it did from the south-east, would take us materially out of our purposed course to Bathurst, without answering any good purpose, at the same time that we should entangle ourselves in the mushy grounds which had been seen both from Mount Cunningham, Farewell Hill, and our present station; and that therefore we should immediately proceed to construct a raft on which we might transport our provisions and baggage across the river, afterwards taking such a course as we deemed most likely to bring us to the Macquarie river, and so keep along its banks to Bathurst. This work, and the task of getting the baggage over, will take two days to accomplish. The stream where we stopped was about four feet from the banks, running with much rapidity; and I think the flood in it has rather increased than abated. Almost directly under the hill near our halting-place, we saw a tumulus, which was apparently of recent construction (within a year at most). It would seem that some person of consideration among the natives had been buried in it, from the exterior marks of a form which had certainly been observed in the construction of the tomb and surrounding seats. The form of the whole was semicircular. Three rows of seats occupied one half, the grave and an outer row of seats the other; the seats formed segments of circles of fifty, forty-five, and forty feet each, and were formed by the soil being trenched up from between them. The centre part of the grave was about five feet high, and about nine long, forming an oblong pointed cone [Note: See the drawing]. I hope I shall not be considered as either wantonly disturbing the remains of the dead, or needlessly violating the religious rites of an harmless people, in having caused the tomb to be opened, that we might examine its interior construction. The whole outward form and appearance of the place was so totally different from that of any custom or ceremony in use by the natives on the eastern coast, where the body is merely covered with a piece of bark and buried in a grave about four feet deep, that we were induced to think that the manner of interring the body might also be different. On removing the soil from one end of the tumulus, and about two feet beneath the solid surface of the ground, we came to three or four layers of wood, lying across the grave, serving as an arch to bear the weight of the earthy cone or tomb above. On removing one end of those layers, sheet after sheet of dry bark was taken out, then dry grass and leaves in a perfect state of preservation, the wet or damp having apparently never penetrated even to the first covering of wood. We were obliged to suspend our operation for the night, as the corpse became extremely offensive to the smell, resolving to remove on the morrow all the earth from the top of the grave, and expose it for some time to the external air before we searched farther. July 30.--Employed in preparing dead cypress-trees for the timber of the raft. The rain continued throughout the day without intermission. and prevented us from making much progress with it. This morning we removed all the earth from the tomb and grave, and found the body deposited about four feet deep in an oval grave, four feet long and from eighteen inches to two feet wide. The feet were bent quite up to the head, the arms having been placed between the thighs. The face was downwards, the body being placed east and west, the head to the east [Note: "Nay, Cadwal, we must lay his head to the east; my father has a reason for it."--CYMBELINE.]. It had been very carefully wrapped in a great number of oppossum skins, the head bound round with the net usually worn by the natives, and also the girdle: it appeared after being enclosed in those skins to have been placed in a larger net, and then deposited in the manner before mentioned. The bones and head showed that they were the remains of a powerful tall man. The hair on the head was perfect, being long and black; the under part of the body was not totally decayed, giving us reason to think that he could not have been interred above six or eight months. Judging from his hair and teeth, he might have been between thirty and forty years of age: to the west and north of the grave were two cypress-trees distant between fifty and sixty feet; the sides towards the tomb were barked, and curious characters deeply cut upon them, in a manner which, considering the tools they possess, must have been a work of great labour and time. Having satisfied our curiosity, the whole was carefully re-interred, and restored as near as possible to the station in which it was found. The river fell in the course of the day near two feet. July 31.--Again employed in the construction of our raft, which I hope will be completed sufficiently early to-morrow to allow us time to get every thing over, and encamp on the other side. The river fell about two feet in the course of the day, and still continues to fall rapidly. The dogs were very successful, killing three emus and a small kangaroo. August 1.--Still employed on the raft, which will be ready for use about one o'clock. The river fell a foot during the night, but the trees that would have been useful to us are still under water. The mean of the different observations made here gave the following results. Mean lat. 33 deg. 04 min. 02 sec. S. Comp. long. 146 31 50 E. Variation 7 23 00 E. The series of triangles by which the longitude from our situation on the 17th of May has been computed, corresponds precisely with the bearings taken from this station to the principal objects forming their bases, and whose relative situation on the chart had been fixed on the 17th of May; it was extremely satisfactory to find in so extensive a survey that the angles should thus so completely verify our situation. Our raft was finished and launched by one o'clock; its capability of carrying any burden we had to put upon it fully answered our expectations; but here its utility ended, the violence of the current caused by the high flood or the stream rendered all our labour abortive, as no exertions we were capable of making could enable us to get it across the stream. We had stretched a line across the river by which to tow it over, but the men were not able to withstand the force of the current acting on the body of the raft; they let go their line and were carried about three quarters of a mile down, when they were brought up by some trees and got safe on shore, making the raft fast. The flood had been slowly subsiding all day, giving us hopes that we should still be enabled to fell some trees for a bridge, which was now our only resource, as it was considered most advisable to use our utmost efforts to cross here rather than go farther up the stream. August 2.--Cloudy weather with heavy rain during the night, which still continues. We commenced felling some trees, which we were in hopes would answer our purpose, our anxiety to cross being very great; as it is probable, from the long continued fine weather we have experienced until lately, that the rainy season in this part of the country may shortly set in, which would extremely embarrass and distress us. We were again disappointed in our hopes of crossing by means of trees, as the flood which still continued swept them away as soon as felled. I sent Byrne up the stream to endeavour to find a better Place; but he returned in the afternoon without any success: he reported that about three or four miles above the tent a branch joined the stream, that he had travelled up it six or seven miles, but not far enough to say where it quitted the main stream; the low plains were several inches under water from the present rain; and the ground that appeared the driest was the worst to travel on, being a wet, loose, sandy bog. As the flood continued rapidly to subside, we resolved upon again trying the raft to-morrow morning; all hands were accordingly sent to tow her up, which was accomplished by night. August 3.--A bleak cold morning, with continued small rain. At day-light we set to work with our raft: and after many trials had the satisfaction to find that we should succeed in getting over our baggage. Whilst Mr. Evans superintended this work, I rode up the river with Byrne to see the branch: I found it but an inconsiderable one, being merely a lagoon, except in times of flood like the present, when it appears nearly as large as the parent stream; it forms an island ten or twelve miles long, and from two to four broad. The impossibility of our travelling up this side was demonstrated, as well as the nature of these lower grounds or clear plains, which retain all the water that falls upon them, the little inequalities forming shallow pools. It was much better travelling over them, than on a low ridge of hills a couple of miles from the river on which I returned; the soil of the latter being so loose and boggy as to render it difficult for the horses to proceed. On my return I found considerable progress had been made in transporting our luggage, and by four o'clock every thing was safely crossed; our little bark was however completely water logged, and at last would scarcely support a single man, though when first launched, three or four might venture in her with safety. As I think the state of the seasons in New South Wales may serve to explain, at least partially, why there are no running streams in the western parts of it, it may be worth while to make some little inquiry into that subject. It appears to me that it can never rain simultaneously westward of the Blue Mountains and on the coast, for these reasons: first, That the Lachlan and Macquarie Rivers, being the sole channels by which the waters falling on the Blue Mountain range are conveyed westward to the low-lands, are always flooded in times of great rains in those mountains and on the coast; secondly, that the winter, that is to say, the period between March and August, is the time when the rains are most to be expected, and have most generally fallen on the east coast, and which so falling would naturally cause a flood in the streams above mentioned; thirdly, that in the summer season, or from September to February, which is certainly the driest period of the year, the rains fall westward of the Blue Mountains; but falling upon flat sandy land without any watercourses, do not in the smallest degree add to the waters of the Lachlan or Macquarie, which are then consequently in a state nearly if not entirely stagnant. It is at this season, therefore, that these streams are visited by the natives, as they are then enabled to procure the shell and other fish which abound in them. The tracks and impressions made by the feet of the natives were certainly made when the ground was very soft and marshy, whilst their guneahs were merely the branches of trees, and erected in places which we found to be swamps, but which in summer would, in comparison with the plains, be dry ground, the waters from them being drained off into the river. The Blue Mountain range is by far the highest in New South Wales; the ranges westerly, though high when viewed from the low grounds from which they rise, cannot in any respect be compared with them. In the summer, the north-east and south-east winds coming from the sea are forced over these mountains, and the vapours with which they are charged are attracted by the lower ranges westerly, and converted into rain. In the winter, the prevailing winds on the coast and inland, as is evident from the trees on the tops of the hills, are from south-west to north-west. In the winter, these westerly winds blowing over a vast extent of country, and coming with great violence on the Blue Mountains, confine those clouds and vapours which would occasion rain, to the vicinity of the coast, and the eastern side of the mountains. A wet summer on the east coast would occasion a flood in the Lachlan at that season; and should the rains then be attended with easterly winds, causing rain on the western side also, the whole low country must be under water for a double reason. This is a circumstance which, I think, could seldom happen, otherwise the consequence to the miserable natives must be dreadful. It may be remembered that for nearly two years (viz. 1814 and 1815), scarcely a drop of rain fell on the east coast of New South Wales; and when the country about Bathurst was first visited, it bore marks of being similarly affected by drought. The last summer was a very wet one on the east coast; at the depot on the Lachlan, during that period when the rains were heaviest (in February), the people enjoyed the finest weather, at the same time the river was constantly flooded, sometimes rising to a great height in the most sudden manner. Since the present expedition has been out it has generally enjoyed dry, clear weather, otherwise we could not have travelled. Our meteorological journal will, when compared with one kept at Sydney, throw farther light upon this subject; and I merely hazard the above ideas as hints for a more general and extended view of the natural causes which seem to govern the seasons in this truly singular country. Another proof (if more were wanting) that the river is only periodically full and flowing, I think may be derived from the numberless windings of the stream, setting aside the general course. If the water was always running, it would doubtless have forced a straighter channel through the soft, loose, sandy, loamy country through which it flows; it being also remembered that there is not a single stone or rock to be found along the whole banks of the river: the few low rocky hills that terminate upon it, either have a narrow slip of soft land between their base and the river, or the country is flat to a considerable distance on the opposite shore. Its windings and sudden bends are so remarkable, that I am sure I under estimate it, when I consider that on a straight line of ten miles from point to point, the water passes over twenty-five miles; in many places, from thirty to thirty-five would be within the truth. The animals differing from those in the neighbourhood of Bathurst are but few: the principal is a new species of red kangaroo; a smaller species of the same, having a head delicately formed, called by us the rabbit-kangaroo. Two other birds besides the pigeon and cockatoo beforementioned may be noticed: we suppose them to be both birds of night, being only heard at that time; neither of them was seen: one was remarkable for exactly imitating the calls of the natives, the other the short sharp bark of the native dog, insomuch that our dogs were constantly deceived by the noise. August 4.--Proceeded to the north-east by east, intending to keep that course for two or three days, to clear us of the low grounds north of the Lachlan, before we bent more easterly for Bathurst; the above course would also carry us so far northward, as to ensure our falling in with the Macquarie at a considerable distance from the settlement, and also enable us to discover if any similar streams had their source westerly of the high range from whence the coal river derives its source, as we shall then be some miles north of that port. Our route lay through a low wet country for the first eight or ten miles, the flats covered with the acacia pendula; the last three miles were rather more elevated: the soil in general a loose, red, sandy loam, with small cypress, box, and acacia trees; a few acres in patches had been burned, occasionally relieving the eye from the otherwise barren scrubby appearance of the country. We passed through two or three small eucalyptus scrubs, and upon getting out of one, having gone thirteen miles and a quarter, we fortunately happened to fall in with a native well, containing a few gallons of water sufficient for our own supply; whilst the open level land which the scrub led to having been burnt, we hoped would afford succulent herbage sufficient for the horses, and prevent them from suffering from the want of water. Our course was N. 69 E. thirteen miles. August 5.--The water for our breakfast drained our little well to the dregs. Hoping that we should be more fortunate in this day's route, at half past eight o'clock we again set forward, on the same point as yesterday. The first four miles of our course led through one of those dreadful scrubs of eucalyptus dumosa, and prickly grass, which we had often before experienced; it was on rather an elevated plain, and, exclusive of the difficulty of forcing a passage through it, was extremely boggy and distressing to the horses. After passing through it, the country for five or six miles farther was more open, the same elevated plain or level still continuing, being thinly studded with box and cypress trees, with abundance of acacia and other shrubs: the soil a loose, red, sandy loam. At the tenth mile we providentially found a small muddy hole of water which, bad as it was, refreshed both men and horses extremely; fearing, from the appearance of the country, that we should not find any water farther on, we filled our small keg, containing nearly three gallons, which would at all events free us from absolute want. We went four miles farther through the same desert country, when evening drawing on, and the small trees and shrubs becoming thicker, we thought it best to stop before we again encountered an eucalyptus brush; which not affording the smallest fodder for the horses, would, added to the want of water, render them in all probability unable to take either us or themselves out of the desert in which we were. The spot we halted on afforded some dry tea-grass and a few syngeneceous shrubs; and praying for a heavy dew to moisten them, we hoped the animals would not on the whole fare much worse than ourselves. The rain which had fallen while we were on the river was not perceptible here; indeed I think sufficient to deluge any other country must fall, before it is seen on the surface of such a soil as prevails in this part of New South Wales. A little rain renders it however so soft and slimy as to make it difficult to travel over; and I should conjecture, from the milky whiteness of the water in the holes we have seen, that it rests on a substratum of white clay three or four feet below the surface; the water holes at least had that bottom, although their margins were of the red, sandy loam before mentioned. An accident happened to the vessel containing the mercury of the artificial horizon, by which the greater part was lost, leaving scarcely sufficient for use. It had been a matter of surprise to me that such a misfortune had not occurred sooner, the box containing the instruments, etc., being so shaken by the horse forcing his way through the scrubs, that I considered myself extremely fortunate not to have been deprived of the use of them long before. To carry barometers, and other delicately constructed mathematical instruments, safely through such a journey as the present is impossible. Our course made good was N. 68 E., distance thirteen miles and a half. The evening fine and clear. August 6.--Proceeded on our course, which led us for nine or ten miles through what might be termed an open forest country, with respect to the timber growing on it, but it was overrun with mimosa and acacia bushes, many of which were coming into flower, relieving in some measure the sombre foliage of the cypress and box trees which were scattered among them: it was rather an elevated tract that we travelled through, with such gentle rises and descents as to be almost imperceptible from a level surface. I ascended a hill about three miles north of the road, but could see nothing remarkable in any direction, the whole appearing irregularly broken into low hills and valleys, thickly clothed with small trees and bushes. At the eighth mile we came upon a small waterhole, which our poor horses soon emptied; again at the tenth mile, just at the commencement of a very broken stony range, we also found a few gallons of water, which the horses also enjoyed, it being much too muddy for our use; and besides, we had hopes that after passing the range of hills in which we were about to enter, we should find water on the other side. The range continued in short broken hills for upwards of three miles and a half, and led through such a country as distressed both men and horses exceedingly: the surface was covered with small quartz stones, without herbage of any kind. The box and cypress trees disappeared, and their place was supplied by a numerous species of iron bark, between which the acacia, mimosa, and a new prickly acacia rendered it almost impossible to force a passage: after enduring this for upwards of three miles and a half, we began to descend, by keeping a more easterly course; but before we could come into a better country, either for grass or water, we were obliged to halt for the night, being too much fatigued to proceed farther. Our search after water was not attended with success, but the ground being extremely boggy, we were in hopes of procuring a little by digging. Our spade, which had so unfortunately been left at Bathurst, would now have been of the most essential service, but the carpenter's adze proved a useful substitute. Choosing a place which seemed most likely to have received the drainings of the hills, and on which a little rain-water still remained, we dug a tolerably good well, and in a few hours were rewarded by obtaining near a quart of thick muddy water per man, which by boiling, skimming, and straining, was rendered palatable to persons who must otherwise have gone without their dinner or breakfast the next morning, it being impossible to eat either our bread or pork without something to quench our thirst. The soil of the country passed over was of the same red, sandy description as on former days; the hills were covered with small pieces of broken white quartz, and occasionally a large granite rock showed itself from beneath the surface. The botanical productions of the hills seemed also to undergo a considerable change, indicating, as we would fain hope, that a better country is not far off. Several new plants were acquired today, some of which were very beautiful. Our course made good was N. 71. E., distance thirteen miles and a half. August 7.--The horses suffered much from want of food and water; but it is absolutely necessary to proceed and get into a better country with all the expedition which we are capable of using, and which the nature of this country will allow. It is some consolation to us that the horses are but lightly loaded, by reason of our not being now encumbered with much provisions, and are consequently enabled to travel farther and better. At half past eight o'clock we again set forward, and for four miles and a quarter continued to pass through the same thick, barren country as yesterday, the ground being absolutely covered with acacia of various species, some extremely beautiful; after which the country became more open; the grass had been burnt, and the marks of the mogo or stone hatchet on the trees, made by the wandering natives of these deserts in search of food, gave us renewed hopes of soon coming to water. A rose-hill parrot was seen for the first time for many months, and we were farther fortunate in killing a fine kangaroo. The country seemed to improve as we advanced, and at the ninth mile, as we had been gradually ascending, we were gratified by an open prospect to the eastward, which showed low gentle hills and valleys thinly studded with trees. The broom-grass, now dead, gave them a white appearance, and, contrasted with the acacia in full flower, and the darker foliage of the trees, gave the whole the most pleasing and varied aspect. To the north-west round to the north, the country was nearly the same; but from north to north-east by east, it was more broken into low barren hills; the tops and sides covered with iron bark, and cypress growing among the interstices of the granite rocks. We had however seen no water, but there was something in the aspect of the whole country that flattered our hopes of finding it in some of the valleys that lay in our course; nor were we disappointed: after going rather more than four miles farther, through a very open country, thickly covered with broom-grass (killed by the frost), we ascended a rocky hill of moderate elevation, connected with others lying east and west: opposite to us was a low rocky range, the summits of which were clothed with iron bark and casuarina trees. We saw from this hill Mount Melville bearing N. 175., Mount Cunningham N. 189 1/2., Mount Maude N. 192., a round mount N. 218., named Mount Riley, a gap in a range N. 283., distance about thirty miles: descending into the valley we found plenty of water, to our great relief, as the horses were quite exhausted, and without this seasonable supply would have been altogether unable to proceed farther. The grass in the valley, although perished by the winter's frost, was very tolerable, and the worn out state of the horses made me determine to remain here to-morrow, to recruit them a little before we proceeded farther. The country we have passed through this day afforded some of the most beautiful specimens of acacia which we had yet seen, at the same time that they were quite new in the species. The soil however was still of the same description, red and sandy, but for the last five or six miles more firm and compact; many of the plants were recognized as having been originally seen in the neighbourhood of the Macquarie River, and not since: this, with the more generally open appearance of the country, gave us hopes that in a few days we should be fortunate enough to fall in with that stream, which would free us from any farther apprehensions of suffering from want of water; for in that event it is my intention to keep in its immediate vicinity until our arrival at Bathurst. Our course made good was N. 71. E., distance thirteen miles and a quarter. August 8.--Made the usual observations to ascertain our situation, the result of which placed us in lat. 32. 47. 58. S., long. 147. 23. E., and the variation of the needle 5. 20. E. The valley in which we encamped is enclosed by forest hills on all sides but the east, affording us plenty of water from what is, even at this dry season, a perceptible stream. The grass however was quite killed by the frost, and, although abundant, did not afford such nourishment to the horses as their condition required, insomuch that if we fall in with a part of the country that has been burnt in the course of to-morrow's route, I shall give them a day's rest. Kangaroos of a very large size abound in every direction around us: our dogs killed one weighing seventy or eighty pounds, which proved a great and refreshing acquisition to us. To the valley I gave the name of Emmeline's Valley, and the hill from which we corrected our survey with Mount Melville and Mount Cunningham, Macnamara's Hill. The day was clear and mild, and in the course of it some new and fine plants were procured. August 9.--The morning fine and pleasant. At half past eight we left the valley, intending still to keep our course north of east, as the most likely point on which to make the Macquarie River, from which, judging by the botanical productions of that stream, we cannot be very far. For three or four miles the country was tolerably open and good, being clothed with luxuriant broom-grass. The cypress trees of good dimensions; but no signs of water. For the remainder of our day's journey, we passed over tracts of low barren ridges covered with brush, and iron bark trees, and open valleys; the country was of moderate elevation, but still we were not so fortunate as to find any water, although every slope was searched. After having travelled fourteen miles, during the latter part of which it rained hard, I thought it most advisable to stop, as we had just passed through a thick brush into a more open country, which would afford the horses something to eat; the rain, which still continued, relieving us from apprehension of their suffering much from want of water. As to ourselves, we had taken our now usual precaution to fill our keg, which gave us a pint each for our evening consumption, and the same quantity for breakfast the next morning. In the course of the day the stirculia heterophylla was very abundant, and we remarked that the cypresses were those originally known as the callitris australis, and not of either of the other two species, which were common in the neighbourhood of the Lachlan. The brushes and scrubs were the only places that afforded any thing to the researches of the botanists; the open lands being covered with grass, and the shrubs being of acacias whose species had been already often seen on this side of the Blue Mountain range. August 10.--The morning proved clear and mild, and at nine we again proceeded; as it was impossible to remain in a place that did not afford us any water, and not good grass. The country continued open forest land for about three miles, the cypress and the bastard box being the prevailing timber; of the former many were useful trees. We seemed neither ascending nor descending, but travelling on somewhat of an elevated plain. The broom-grass was very luxuriant, being four or five feet high; the soil, as before, a light, red, sandy loam. To this open tract succeeded three miles of barren brush land, covered with clumps of small cypresses, iron barks, and acacias; the slightest elevation or ascent was always stony, and in one or two places large masses of granite rock were observed. We have hitherto seen no other signs of this being an inhabited country than the marks usually made by the natives in ascending the trees, and none of these were very recent. It is probable that they may see us without discovering themselves, as it is much more likely for us to pass unobserved the little family of the wandering native, than that our party, consisting of so many men and horses, not travelling together, but sometimes separated a mile or two, should escape their sight, quickened as it is by constant exercise in procuring their daily food. At the end of the brush we came upon a large chain of ponds, the fall of water in which being north, induced us to believe that the Macquarie could not be far distant: we proceeded down them about a mile, when the situation offering us all we could wish for, we halted for the night, it being past two o'clock, determining to remain here to-morrow for the sake of the horses. The country on the east side of this chain of ponds was again an open forest as far as we could see in that direction; which however was not very far, as we were nearly on a level. I rode down the ponds Six or seven miles, hoping to fall in with their junction with the river. Two or three miles from our halting-place the ground became very scrubby, and was much over-run with brush and small pines; there were marks of flood in the watercourse of the ponds, from eight to ten feet high. I saw several shags, ducks, herons, cranes, and other birds that frequent low or watery situations, but the night coming on obliged me to return. August 11.--Along the banks of these ponds, several transitory encampments of the natives were found, but none that had been inhabited within these four or six months; by all of them were found abundance of the pearl muscle-shell so common on the Lachlan. The soil, as far as we examined round our tents, east of the ponds, was a good sandy loam. The timber very open, and if the country had been divested of the numerous acacia bushes with which the face of it was covered, it would be impossible to wish for land more lightly timbered: the grass anthistiria was very luxuriant. The ponds appear to have not been flooded for a very considerable time, the water in many being of a milky whiteness, and the dry channels are overrun with reeds and grass. These ponds were called Coysgaine's Ponds, and by our observations the tent was in lat. 32. 44. 29. S., long. 147. 46. 30. E., mean variation 7. 18. E. August 12.--Proceeded on our course, which, as I hoped and expected we were not far from the Macquarie River, was altered to north-east, for the purpose of joining it lower down than our former course would have done; being anxious to know as much of the country in the vicinity of the river as our time and circumstances would permit. An open forest country with tolerably good soil continued for nearly five miles, when we suddenly came upon a large swampy plain surrounded by the acacia pendula. Water was still remaining on several parts of it, and we had no doubt from its whole appearance that it would lead immediately to the river; from the south-west edge of this plain (which was six or seven miles round), we had a distant prospect of a very lofty mountainous range to the eastward, named Harvey's Range; the north extreme of which bore north, and the highest part N. 94. This range was by far the highest we had seen westward of the Blue Mountains. and its elevation could be very little if at all inferior. Crossing this plain and pursuing our north-easterly course, we entered a poor barren country covered with box trees, and low acacia shrubs; our hope of meeting the river was however disappointed. We travelled upwards of six miles through this box scrub, when coming to two or three holes of good water I thought it advisable to halt, rather than proceed a mile or two farther, which was the utmost we could have done; and then in all probability, be obliged to halt at a spot that would not afford us that necessary article. The inclination of the loftier trees, particularly the cypress trees, for these two or three days past, denoted the strength and prevalence of the south-west and westerly winds: this is more easily discernible from the tops of low ranges; the western side of the tree being generally deprived of its branches, and the trunk bent in a remark-able manner to the north-east. This inclination and prevalence of the winds was not observed in any particular degree westward of Mount Cunningham, and was most remarkable in that elevated range of country lying between the depot on the Lachlan and Bathurst; and which elevated tract continues with little interruption to the western base of the Blue Mountain range, on which there is not a single tree that does not denote prevalence of the westerly wind. August 13.--Again set forward, intending to keep a north-easterly course through the day, when if we do not fall in with the river, our future course will be directed more easterly; as we shall be then full seventy miles north of Bathurst, and north of the parallel of Port Stephens. The country through which our course led us to-day was of various description, the first three miles and a half being indifferent forest land, open with respect to timber, but much overrun with small acacia bushes; at the end of this tract was a small stream of water in ponds, having its course in the lofty range east-south-east of us, and which was not very distant from us; this stream was named Allan Water, and its stream was northerly. The next four miles north-east of this burn was through a barren scrubby country, full of dry water-holes, and thickly covered with the casuarina filifolia, box trees, and acacia bushes. The cypress seemed to shun this kind of barren clayey soil, and was more prevalent and flourishing on the open forest land where the soil was light and loamy, and covered with luxuriant broom-grass; this was the case for the last few miles, which consisted of a very good tract of land. The cypresses here grew into very handsome timber, and indeed were the only useful wood, as the box tree was usually stunted and crooked. At the end of twelve miles we found a small spring of water that supplied some ponds, which also run northerly. The grass being pretty good, although old, we determined to halt for the evening, as the horses were not all arrived having had a considerable detour to make in crossing Allan Water. On the banks of that burn many heaps of the pearl muscle-shells were found, and marks of flood about eight feet. We have for several days past seen no signs of any natives being recently in this part of the country; the marks on the trees, which were the only marks we saw, being several months old, and never seen except in the vicinity of water. Marks of the natives' tomahawks were to us certain signs of approaching water. August 14.--We had now come from the river Lachlan upwards of an hundred miles in a north-east direction, without being so fortunate as to fall in with the Macquarie; we were also near seventy miles north of Bathurst, and much about the same distance west of it: it was therefore evident that the Macquarie must have taken at least a north. north-west course from the place where it was last seen; how much farther north it had gone, of course we were ignorant: it is however probable, from the watercourses we have lately passed leading northerly, that the above point would be nearly the course which it has taken. To travel farther to the north-east would lead us very far from our proper route to Bathurst; farther indeed than we had provisions to enable us to travel, having only from Saturday next enough for fourteen days at a reduced allowance; and that time I calculated would be barely sufficient to take us to Bathurst on a direct course, presuming no local obstacles to arise. These considerations induced me to alter our course to east, which however would be nearly at right angles with that which we imagined the river to have taken, and would therefore enable us to reach it perhaps as soon as on any other course, as we could only infer its probable situation from the nature of the country over which we travelled. At half past eight o'clock, we again set forward on the above course (east): it led us generally through a good open grazing country for about eight miles, when it became more broken and hilly; these hills were all covered with grass, their summits and sides rocky, with small stones: the colour of the soil had been apparently getting darker for some miles, and was now a light, hazel-coloured, sandy loam. The small blue eucalyptus, so common in the neighbourhood of Bathurst, again made its appearance, taking the place of the box tree; iron and stringy barks of small size were also common on the tops and sides of the hills: two Sydney or coast plants were also seen. Between the eighth and ninth mile we ascended a small hill, whence we had a distant view from the south round by the west to north, taking in that tract of country over which we had passed. Not a hill or eminence of any kind broke the dead level surface of the country in those quarters; and the day was so clear, that had any been within sixty or seventy miles they must have been seen. From the east to the south was the lofty range before mentioned, and now distant five or six miles: it was broken and rocky; iron bark trees were however growing on the very summit. To the north-east and north our view was not more than ten or eleven miles, being broken into low grassy hills of pretty much the same elevation with that on which we stood. The smoke of several natives' fires were seen in the range to the eastward, and some to the north-west. Proceeding about four miles farther to the eastward among those hills, we halted in a pretty valley, having a small run of water in it falling northerly. We had just pitched our tent when hearing the noise of the stone-hatchet made by a native in climbing a tree, we stole silently upon him, and surprised him just as he was about to descend: he did not perceive us until we were immediately under the tree; his terror and astonishment were extreme. We used every friendly motion in our power to induce him to descend, but in vain: he kept calling loudly, as we supposed for some of his companions to come to his assistance; in the mean time he threw down to us the game he had procured (a ring-tailed opossum), making signs for us to take it up: in a short time another native came towards us, when the other descended from the tree. They trembled excessively, and, if the expression may be used, were absolutely INTOXICATED with fear, displayed in a thousand antic motions, convulsive laughing, and singular motions of the head. They were both youths not exceeding twenty years of age, of good countenance and figure, but most horribly marked by the skin and flesh being raised in long stripes all over the back and body; some of those stripes were full three-quarters of an inch deep, and were so close together that scarcely any of the original skin was to be seen between them. The man who had joined us, had three or four small opossums and a snake, which he laid upon the ground, and offered us. We led them to our tent, where their surprise at every thing they saw clearly showed that we were the first white men they had met with; they had however either heard of or seen tomahawks for upon giving one to one of them, he clasped it to his breast and demonstrated the greatest pleasure. After admiring it for some time they discovered the broad arrow, with which it was marked on both sides, the impression of which exactly resembles that made by the foot of the emu; it amused them extremely, and they frequently pointed to it and the emu skins which we had with us. All this time they were paying great attention to the roasting of their opossums, and when they were scarcely warm through, they opened them, and, taking out the fat of the entrails, presented it to us as the choicest morsel; on our declining to receive it they ate it themselves, and again covered up the opossums in the hot ashes. When they were apparently well done, they laid them, the snake, and the things we had presented them with, on the ground, making signs that they wished to go; which of course we allowed them to do, together with their little store of provisions and such things as we were able to spare them. The collection of words which we had made at the depot on the Lachlan, we found of no use, as they did not understand a single one. They had neither of them lost the upper front tooth, though apparently men grown. August 15.--We were somewhat disappointed in not seeing anything more of our native acquaintances, as we hoped the treatment and presents they had received would have induced them to return to us with their companions, as they had endeavoured to make us understand by signs they would. At eight we proceeded on an easterly course, when a mile of gently rising ground brought us to the edge of a fine valley, in which was a chain of ponds connected by a small stream; alternate hills and valleys of the best description of pasture land: the soil, a rich, light, sandy loam, continued until we halted, at the end of eleven miles, in a spacious, well-watered valley; where to our great surprise we found distinct marks of cattle tracks: they were old, and made when the ground was soft from rain, as appeared from the deep impression of their feet. These cattle must have strayed from Bathurst, from which place we were now distant in a direct line between eighty and ninety miles. From several of the hills over which our route led us, we had the most extensive and beautiful prospects; from thirty to forty miles round, from the north to south, the country was broken in irregular low hills thinly studded with small timber, and covered with grass: the whole landscape within the compass of our view was clear and open, resembling diversified pleasure grounds irregularly laid out and planted. The animation of the whole scenery was greatly increased by the smoke of the natives' fires arising in every quarter, distinctly marking that we were in a country which afforded them ample means of subsistence; far different from the low deserts and morasses to the south-west. The tops of the hills were generally stony (granite of different degrees and qualities), but the broom-grass grew strongly and abundantly in the interstices. We never descended a valley without finding it well watered, and although the soil and character of the country rendered it fit for all agricultural purposes, yet I think from its general clearness from brush, or underwood of any kind, that such tracts must be peculiarly adapted for sheep-grazing; there being no shelter for native dogs, which are so destructive and annoying in other more thickly wooded parts of the country. In the fine valley where we pitched our tents, our dogs had some excellent runs, and killed two large kangaroos; the clearness of the country affording us a view of the chace from the beginning to the end. Some of the baggage horses, which were a mile or two behind the others, came up to the tents, with nine natives, who had joined them on the road: they were entirely unarmed, and there was but one mogo, or stone hatchet, among them; we had reason to suppose that their women and children were at no great distance, as they were observed to hide themselves when the men were first seen. The greater part of them had either seen or heard of white men, as they were neither alarmed nor astonished at what they saw. I should think that the loss of the front upper tooth is not common to every tribe, as several of these men retained it, although others were without it; the wearing a stick, or bone, through the cartilage of the nose, appeared common to all of them. They remained about an hour with us: we gave them the fore-quarter of a kangaroo, and putting our remaining pork into a bag, we distributed the iron hoops of the keg in small pieces among them; these were received with as much pleasure as an European would have felt at being presented with the like quantity of gold. It was impossible distinctly to make out anything that they wished to express, by reason of the variety of their gestures; but their frequent pointing to the south-east (the direction of Bathurst), induced us to believe that they thought we were going there, a conjecture which we did all in our power to confirm. Wishing, if possible, to learn if they knew anything of the river, a fishing hook was given to one of them, but he did not seem to understand the use of it until Mr. Evans drew the resemblance of a fish, and made signs that the hook was to take it, when they immediately understood him, and pointing to the east made signs that the fish were there; but our endeavours to learn the distance of the river were wholly fruitless. They appeared a harmless, inoffensive race of people, extremely cautious of giving offence, and never touching anything until they had first by signs obtained permission. Many of the words collected at the depot were known to them, others were not; but ignorant as we of course were of each other's meaning, we found it a vain task to endeavour to learn their names of things. To collect a vocabulary of words in a strange language, it is in some measure necessary that the party who is to afford the knowledge should understand for what purpose he is questioned, which it was impossible to make these simple creatures comprehend. They left us about an hour before sunset, highly gratified with their adventure. August 16.--Quitted the valley (which was named Mary's Valley) on our eastern course, anxiously hoping that we should reach the river in the course of the day. We had heard last night and this morning the screams of the white cockatoo, which we have always looked upon as a certain sign of approaching water. The same fine grazing tract of country continued over irregular hills and valleys for about four miles, when ascending a high hill (named Mount Johnston), a little upon our left, we had a very extensive view to the north-east and east. In the former quarter, a beautiful range of hills stretching north and south, bounded at a distance of about eight miles the fine extensive valley before us; under those hills we would fain have found the Macquarie, fancying that we could distinguish the haze arising from water. To the northward, two hills skirted the valley at a distance of six or seven miles, which might be about the medium width of it from north to south, in which quarter a rocky range, clothed with pines and iron-bark, prevented us from seeing to any great distance; to the east and south-east, the same low irregular country appeared, thinly covered with trees and grass. Desirous of ascertaining if our conjectures were well founded in respect to the river, we altered our course, which was east, to north-east, keeping down the south side of the valley or plain, which we had seen from Mount Johnston. A finer or more fertile country than that we passed through for about four miles and a half cannot be imagined: the soil, a light brown, sandy loam, covered with broom-grass from four to five feet high. After travelling the above distance, we most unexpectedly came upon a stream, which from its high grassy banks and rocky bottom we were obliged to conclude must be the river we were in search of; but so diminished in magnitude that the motion of the water connecting the long chains of reedy ponds, was so slow as scarcely to entitle it to the appellation of a living stream. The whole country from where we quitted the Lachlan to this spot had borne evident marks of long continued drought, and in no part was it more apparent than in the present stream which was so much smaller than it was at Bathurst, even after the great drought in 1815, that after going up it three or four miles, I began to entertain great doubts of its being the same, hoping that it might be one of the channels which must convey the waters from the high ranges of hills, lying nearly midway between the Lachlan and the Macquarie Rivers. Observing a fine and extensive flat on the opposite side of the stream, which having been formerly burnt, was now covered with good grass, we crossed over at a place not ankle deep, and about six or eight feet wide, over a bottom of sand and stone, and halted for the evening; intending also to remain the ensuing day, to refresh the horses, as they had performed an excellent and continued week's work, and much required it. On reaching the present stream numerous cattle tracks were observed, and although not very recent, I do not think they were more than four or six months old, since the marks of young cattle were among them; it is probable they were those that have been missing for a length of time from the government herds at Cox's River, and are now straying wild through this beautiful country, abounding in every thing that can tempt them to remain here. The plants on the banks and in the stream were precisely similar to those on the Macquarie in the vicinity of Bathurst; but I have observed that no certain conclusions can be drawn from a similarity between the botanical productions of two places, a truth which has been exemplified more than once in the course of this Journal. August 17.--During the whole day the weather did not permit me to make the usual observations; it was not however uselessly passed, as the country was examined several miles to the north-east and east of our tents, and every report concurred as to the general beauty and goodness of the tracts passed over. Mr. Evans and myself ascended a high grassy hill about a mile and a half north of the tent, and the prospect round was highly pleasing. The general appearance of the country southerly made me still adhere to the opinion I entertained that the stream along which we were travelling would prove to derive its source from a very lofty range in that direction; whilst the Macquarie would be found still farther to the eastward, in which quarter I must have deceived myself greatly, if we do not find a stream superior to the present; and my hopes in that respect are much strengthened when I consider that we are not above fifty miles in a straight line from the spot where Mr. Evans left the Macquarie, a strong and powerful stream, and that too in a season as long and even longer dry than the present one. In these hopes and expectations I shall continue an easterly course until nearly on the meridian of Bathurst, when they must either be realized, or the negative indisputably established, that there are no considerable rivers rising in the interior of New South Wales. From the hill on which we stood, bearings were taken to the most remarkable objects, which were but few; for the country, as far as the eye could reach, was a continued series of low grassy hills and valleys; the whole thinly covered with wood, and in many places entirely bare of it. The hills to the southward and south-west on the west side of the stream, and immediately bordering on it, were rocky and irregular; a few cypresses were growing on their sides and summits. We named the hill on which we stood Mount Elizabeth, and the extensive flats or plains north of it, and on the east side of the stream, McArthur's Plains. The tracks of cattle were observed in various places on these plains, some very recent, perhaps not a month old. A fish was also caught, of the species common both to the Lachlan and the Macquarie. The soil of the country round, is far as we had time to examine it, was a rich, light, sandy loam, most abundantly covered with long broom-grass: the rocks and stones on the hills were granite of various qualities. Nothing was found new to the botanists; in truth, this is not a country adapted to their pursuits. August 18.--In pursuance of the intention formed yesterday of still continuing an easterly course, we again set forward at half past eight o'clock. The general description of country was nearly the same as that which we passed over on preceding days; several pieces of limestone were found, which proved of good quality. On going between three and four miles, ascending a range of hills which lay directly across our course, we had a prospect of a fine and spacious valley, bounded to the east by low grassy hills; there was every appearance of a watercourse being in it, but it was distant five or six miles, and our access to it was rendered difficult by lofty rocky hills forming deep and irregular glens, so narrow that I feared we should not be able to follow their windings, the rocks rising in such vast perpendicular shapes as seemingly to debar our passage. After some little hesitation, we found a place down which the horses might descend in safety. This being accomplished, we traversed the bottom of the glen along all its windings for nearly three miles and a half: a fine stream of pure water was running through it. Here, doubtful of being able before dark to gain the valley we were in search of we halted for the night. It is impossible to imagine a more beautifully romantic glen than that in which we lay. There was just level space on either side of the stream for the horses to travel along, the rocks rising almost perpendicularly from it to a towering height, covered with flowering acacia of various species, whose bright yellow flowers were contrasted and mingled with the more sombre foliage of the blue gum and cypress trees: several new plants were also found, of beautiful descriptions. The stream in the glen running north-easterly encouraged us to hope that we should ultimately be rewarded by finding a considerable stream in the valley, which was the cause of our deviation from our more direct course to Bathurst. The glen which was to afford us access to it, we named Glenfinlass: it might, perhaps, be properly termed the glen of many windings, as it was formed of several detached lofty hills; between each of which deep ravines were formed, communicating in times of rain their waters to this main one. August 19.--Full of the hopes entertained yesterday, at half past eight o'clock we pursued our course down Glenfinlass. A mile and a half brought us into the valley which we had seen on our first descending into the glen: imagination cannot fancy anything more beautifully picturesque than the scene which burst upon us. The breadth of the valley to the base of the opposite gently rising hills was, between three and four miles, studded with fine trees, upon a soil which for richness can nowhere he excelled; its extent north and south we could not see: to the west it was bounded by the lofty rocky ranges by which we had entered it; this was covered to the summit with cypresses and acacia in full bloom: a few trees of the sterculia heterophylla, with their bright green foliage, gave additional beauty to the scene. In the centre of this charming valley ran a strong and beautiful stream, its bright transparent waters dashing over a gravelly bottom, intermingled with large stones, forming at short intervals considerable pools, in which the rays of the sun were reflected With a brilliancy equal to that of the most polished mirror. I should have been well contented to have found this to be the Macquarie River, and at first conceived it to be so. Under this impression, I intended stopping upon its banks for the remainder of the day, and then proceeding up the stream southerly. Whilst we were waiting for the horses to come up we crossed the stream, and wishing to see as much of the country on its banks northerly, as possible, I proceeded down the stream, and had scarcely rode a mile when I was no less astonished than delighted to find that it joined a very fine river, coming from the east-south-east from among the chain of low grassy hills, bounding the east side of the valley in which we were. This then was certainly the long sought Macquarie, the sight of which amply repaid us for all our former disappointments. Different in every respect from the Lachlan, it here formed a river equal to the Hawkesbury at Windsor, and in many parts as wide as the Nepean at Emu Plains. These noble streams were connected by rapids running over a rocky and pebbly bottom, but not fordable, much resembling the reaches and falls at the crossing place at Emuford, only deeper: the water was bright, and transparent, and we were fortunate enough to see it at a period when it was neither swelled beyond its proper dimensions by mountain floods, nor contracted by summer droughts. From its being at least four times larger than it is at Bathurst, even in a favourable season, it must have received great accessions of water from the mountains north-easterly; for from the course it has run from Bathurst, and the number of streams we have crossed all running to form it from the south and south-west, I do not think it can receive many more from that quarter between us and Bathurst, at least of sufficient strength to have formed the present river. Reduced as our provisions were, we could not resist the temptation of halting in this beautiful country for a couple of days, to allow us time to ascertain its precise situation, and to ride down the banks of the river northerly as far as we could go and return in one day. The banks of the river in our neighbourhood were low and grassy, with a margin of gravel and pebble stones; there were marks of flood to the height of about twelve feet, when the river would still be confined within its secondary banks, and not overflow the rich lands that border it. Its proper width in times of flood would be from six to eight hundred feet, its present and usual width is about two hundred feet. The blue gum trees in the neighbourhood were extremely fine, whilst that species of eucalyptus, which is vulgarly called the apple tree, and which we had not seen since we quitted the eastern coast, again made its appearance on the flats, and of large size; as was the casuarina filifolia, growing here and there on its immediate banks. The day throughout was as fine as could be imagined, and it was spent with a more cheerful feeling than we had experienced since we quitted the depot on the Lachlan. The river running through the valley was named Bell's River, in compliment to Brevet Major Bell, of the 48th Regiment; the valley Wellington Valley; and the stream on which we halted on Sunday, Molle's Rivulet. August 20.--The day proved as favourable as could be wished, and the observations placed our situation in lat. 32. 32. 45. S., and our compared long. 148. 51. 30. E., the variation of the needle being 8. 38. 38. E. A valuable discovery was made in the course of the day by the men who were out with the dogs, the hills bounding the east side of Wellington Vale being found of the purest limestone, of precisely similar quality with that found at Limestone Creek. We were never due north of that place, and it is more than probable that the same stratum extends on the same meridian through the country. August 21--At eight o'clock, accompanied by Mr. Evans and Mr. Cunningham, set out on our intended excursion down the Macquarie River. Crossing Bell's River in the valley, we came in a mile to where the steep rocky hills forming the west side of the vale advance their perpendicular cliffs directly over the river. These hills we soon rounded, and entered the vale north of them: I shall not in this place attempt to describe the rich and beautiful country that opened to our view in every direction. Alternate fine grazing hills, fertile flats and valleys, formed its general outline; whilst the river, an object to us of peculiar interest, was sometimes contracted to a width of from sixty to eighty feet between rocky cliffs of vast perpendicular height, and again expanded into noble and magnificent reaches of the width of at least two hundred feet, washing some of the richest tracts of land that can be found in any country; the banks were in those reaches low and shelving, and covered with pebbles, whilst even at the highest floods secondary banks restrained the river from doing the smallest damage: these secondary banks might be from six to eight hundred feet in width, and I think the highest marks of flood did not exceed twenty feet perpendicular. The rapids were usually formed by small stony islands, which. dividing the stream rendered it shoaler in those places than in others, but they never extended above one hundred yards, and were none of them fordable. Limestone of the best quality and of various species abounded; and it appeared to me to be as common as the other stone forming the hills, which was a fine and hard granite. We passed through this charming country for upwards of twelve miles, the course of the river during that time being nearly north, and from appearances we thought it must continue in that direction for a considerable distance farther. A perpendicular limestone rock overhanging the river terminated our excursion; adjoining to this rock (which was called Hove's Rock, from its being covered with a beautiful new species of hovia), a stratum of fine blue-slate was found. A little lower down, the bank on the east side was formed of perpendicular red earth cliffs at least sixty feet high, extending along the reach nearly three quarters of a mile; this bank was named Red Bank: a fine grassy hill thinly covered with wood rose eastward of it. The timber was unusually fine, consisting chiefly of very large and straight blue guns; beautiful large casuarina trees were occasionally growing at the very edge of the water. The tops and sides of the rocky precipices on the west side of Wellington Vale were clothed with cypress trees, which had all the appearance of the pinus silvestris, that adorns the mountains and glens of Scotland. It was nearly five o'clock before we returned to our tent, highly gratified with our day's excursion. Nothing can afford a stronger contrast than the two rivers, Lachlan and Macquarie; different in their habit, their appearance, and the sources from which they derive their waters, but above all differing in the country bordering on them; the one constantly receiving great accession of water from four streams, and as liberally rendering fertile a great extent of country; whilst the other, from its source to its termination, is constantly diffusing and extenuating the waters it originally receives over low and barren deserts, creating only wet flats and uninhabitable morasses, and during its protracted and sinuous course is never indebted to a single tributary stream. The contrast indeed presents a most remarkable phenomenon in the natural history of the country, and will furnish matter in other parts of this Journal, for such conclusions as my observations have enabled me to form. August 22--Among the other agreeable consequences that have resulted from discovering the river in this second Vale of Tempe, may be enumerated, as not the least, the abundance of fish and emus with which, we have been supplied; swans, and ducks, were also within our reach, but we had no shot. Very large muscles were found growing among the reeds along some of the reaches; many exceeded six inches in length, and three and a half in breadth. Traces of cattle were found in various places as low as Hove's Rock, which are now doubtless straying through the country. Our horses have recruited themselves exceedingly within the last ten days, and being lightly laden, I have great hopes of being enabled to reach Bathurst before our provisions are altogether expended; we have now left but four pounds and a half of flour, and the same quantity of pork per man; our chief dependence must be on the success of our dogs for any additional supplies, and in such a country as the present, we have no fear of being in want of food. We had scarcely laden our horses and began to proceed up the river, when the rain recommenced, and continuing without intermission, obliged us to halt after we had gone about six miles; which we did upon a reach of the river, that for magnitude and extent equals if not surpasses any in the Hawkesbury, and exceeds that much admired one on the Nepean River, winding round Emu Plains. The country on both sides was of the greatest possible fertility, and beautifully diversified by hills and open valleys. Timber is good, and in two places where the hills on this side nearly closed on the river, immense quantities of fine limestone were again found, the rocks being entirely composed of it. The rapids were few and unimportant, and occasioned as usual by the river dividing into two channels forming small islets. They did not appear to me to impede in any manner the navigation of the river; the open reaches had apparently depth to float the largest vessels, and there was certainly breadth sufficient for that purpose. Nothing in fact can be imagined grander or more beautiful than we have hitherto found the river, and that too so near Bathurst that no reasonable expectation could have been formed of finding it such as we did. Many good specimens of agate forming on granite were found on the hills, chiefly where the limestone appeared in the largest and most continued stratum. We indulged ourselves in the probable speculation, that where limestone was found in such abundance as in this country, quarries of marble would also be discovered not far beneath the surface, as is usual in other countries most abounding in this useful stone. Fish and emus were procured in great quantities in the course of the afternoon. August 23--The last allowance of our provisions was now distributed, and at half past eight o'clock we proceeded up the river, which this day might be said to come through a mountainous country. Rocky points of hills frequently terminated on the river and occasionally opened into fine valleys and flats: in every valley a watercourse conveyed the waters from the back country to the river. I think the north bank was most frequently the lower: several small runs of water also fell in on that side. The hills, uniformly stony and rocky as they were, were covered with good grass to their summits. The scenery on the river was beautifully picturesque, and more magnificent reaches cannot be found in any river; these were interrupted in their uniform course by rapids, which having a much greater fall than any we had seen lower down, would materially impede the navigation of the river by boats farther than this station, up to which point I conceive it navigable. No falls had yet been seen that boats could not easily pass over; but in seasons of greater drought than the present, some difficulty might be experienced. The travelling was excessively bad along the sides and points of the hills; and as we had every reason to believe the country was much lower back from the river, I determined to quit its immediate banks, and endeavour to make a more direct course than we found it possible to do in following its windings, which, even if it were practicable, our provisions will not permit. August 24.--A very thick fog arising from the river prevented us from setting forward until nearly ten o'clock, till when we could not see fifty yards in any direction. Taking the earliest opportunity to quit the river, we passed through a mountainous tract of country extremely irregular and stony, but full of springs of water, and good grass. We found it impossible to accomplish more than eight or nine miles, the tops of the hills standing quite detached and unconnected into regular ranges. We seemed ascending the ranges, which in some measure separate the country farther westward from the river; as it was much lower in a direction from south-south-west to north-west, and appeared to be fine open grazing land. At four o'clock, we halted in a small valley for the evening. Our course made good on a variety of bearings was 8. 6. W., seven miles. August 25.--We again set forward, hoping soon to clear these lofty hills, among which we seemed to be entangled: four or five miles, on various courses, through a very rugged, but grassy country, freed us from the dividing range, as we found by the streams all running westerly, and apparently joining the river in Wellington Vale. Just before we descended what we considered the principal range, we saw Mount Lachlan bearing south from this point; and we were enabled for the remainder of the day to make a direct course towards Bathurst, through a good open grazing country of gentle hills and dales, abounding in beautiful rivulets, having their rise in the mountains east of us, which bending round to the west and north-west, and watering the finest districts in their course, contribute their waters to the Macquarie. The country now passed over was generally good, and although the hills were stony, yet the soil upon them was equal to the flats or valleys, and covered with grass. We saw no good timber, it consisting chiefly of small box trees, thinly scattered over the sides and tops of the hills. There was plenty of kangaroos and our valuable dogs killed two fine ones. Coarse gravel and small slate were the most common stones, but the bottoms of the rivulets were composed of a species of black jade. Quartz was very frequent. Few traces of natives have been observed, either on the river, or since we quitted it. The population of this country must be extremely small: as the natives derive their chief support from opossums, squirrels, and rats, which are known to frequent barren scrubs and hollow trees, such neighbourhoods are unquestionably frequented by them in preference to the open country and river banks. It must be a mere accident that enables the natives to kill either a kangaroo or emu: as to fish, they certainly are ignorant of the manner of taking them by hook and line. August 26.--At eight o'clock we proceeded on our course towards Bathurst. The country throughout the day's journey was extremely hilly, with steep descents into fine valleys, in every one of which was a running stream. It appeared to me, that we were pursuing a course which, intersecting the streams near their sources, rendered our road much more irregular and difficult than it would have been either a few miles farther westward, or even on the immediate banks of the river, the line of which we several times saw during the day. The country north-east of the river was very elevated and broken. The tops and sides of even the most mountainous parts were covered with grass, and thinly clothed with wood. Many of the valleys were composed of extremely rich soil: the hills were also generally good land and covered with grass; though there were occasionally barren stony summits, and ridges producing nothing but iron and stringy bark trees of diminutive growth. These tracts were however too inconsiderable in extent, to be considered other than what ought naturally to be expected in such an irregular tract as that which we travelled over. Had not the appearance of the country round the Macquarie, where we first reached it, fully accounted for its magnitude, the course we have pursued since would satisfactorily have explained the cause; it is in point of fact a country of running waters: on every hill we found a spring, and in every valley a rivulet, either flowing directly north-east to the river, or taking a course westerly to join the river in Wellington Vale. Of the waters that may fall into it from the north-east we were of course ignorant, but the appearances of the country indicated that they were at least as numerous as from the south-west. After proceeding a few miles, we halted for the night in an extensive valley, watered by a rivulet running through it directly to the river, from which I think we were distant six or seven miles. August 27.--Nothing could be more delightful than the climate and the temperature of the season. At eight o'clock we took our road through a very rugged and broken country. The glens were enclosed on either side by almost perpendicular rocks, mostly slate of fine quality, mixed with coarse granite. In these glens or defiles were fine running streams. The declivity and steepness of the road delayed our progress, in seeking for better paths for the horses; and after riding a few miles we came to the edge of a very steep glen or valley, at the point of junction of two large streams, the largest coming from the south-west, the other from the north-west. Both united formed a very powerful stream, rushing with great impetuosity over a rocky bottom, with frequent falls or rapids. The hills being on both sides too steep even for the men to descend in safety, we were obliged to pursue the ridge of them up the north-west river, until we found a place where we could descend and cross, which we did about five o'clock in the afternoon with considerable difficulty. So steep indeed was the side on which we now were, that we could not find a level space sufficient to pitch our tent upon. The rocks consisted chiefly of slate and coarse granite intermixed. There appeared in each river to be more water than usual; and marks of flood were visible at a height exceeding eighteen feet. Finding that we were entangled among the streams of the Macquarie, I determined on the morrow to proceed by the mountains dividing the north-west and south-west rivers; and if they should lead me considerably westward before their junction, to cross the south-west river, which, from its apparent direction and vicinity to Bathurst, I considered to be the only stream of consequence which we should find between our present station and that place. Rugged and uneven as the country generally was during this day's journey, there was considerable intermixture of the good with the barren; many portions consisting of excellent pasture land, and even the rocky hills were divested of the appearance of being so barren as they actually are, by being covered with shrubs and grass intermingled among the box and small gum trees, that find support between the interstices of the stones. August 28.--At eight o'clock we proceeded on our journey, and pursuing the ridge which separated the two streams, we found that their general direction was from the southward, opening, as we advanced, into fine valleys, rounding gentle rising hills, thinly wooded and covered with grass. The ridge itself was chiefly of slate-rock, intermixed with masses of coarse siliceous granite. We followed the ridge for about six miles, when we descended into the valley through which the south-west rivulet ran, and after travelling about four miles farther, we crossed it when it was running a strong stream. Waiting for the horses at this spot, I took the opportunity of ascending a very lofty conical hill, forming part of the range bounding the north-east side of the valley. From this hill our hopes and expectations were gratified by a view of Bathurst Plains, which I estimated to be distant about twenty-two miles, bearing on the course we were pursuing. A Journal is but ill calculated to be the record of the various hopes and fears, which doubtless in some degree pervaded every mind upon this intelligence: these feelings, whatever they might be, were soon to be realized, and in an absence from our friends and connections of nineteen weeks how much might have occurred in which we were all deeply interested! After travelling about three miles farther, we stopped for the evening, under expectations that we might possibly reach Bathurst on the morrow. From the hill whence I saw Bathurst the view in every direction (except north-east, where it was bounded by a range of equal height between me and the river) was very extensive; the country to the southward and south-west was broken into low grassy hills with four intervening valleys. The rivulets derive their main supply from those hills, and from the range upon which we had travelled the greater part of the day: almost every hollow contained a running stream, having its source in springs near the summit of the hills. Stringy bark trees were seen most generally on barren ridges, the larger sized blue gums in the valleys. In the evening the weather was unsettled with flying showers. August 29.--At eight o'clock we proceeded towards Bathurst, hoping to reach it by the evening; this we effected between eight and nine o'clock, passing over a very hilly country with numerous running streams, joining the river near Pine Hill, and afterwards keeping along its banks. The hospitable reception which we met with from Mr. Cox went far to banish all present care from our minds: relieved, as they were, by the knowledge that our friends were well, we almost forgot in the hilarity of the moment, that nineteen harassing weeks had elapsed since we last quitted it. Although the winter at Bathurst, we learnt, had been cold and severe, there had not been much rain; little or none had fallen in the depot on the Lachlan, although the people there had observed some very high floods in the river; one particularly that would nearly correspond with the time when an unexpected fresh surprised us on our return down the Lachlan on the 11th of July. JOURNAL OF AN EXPEDITION IN AUSTRALIA PART II --qua nulla pedum vestigia ducunt, Nulla rotae currus testantur signa priores. GROTIUS. TO THE RIGHT HON. ROBERT PEEL, M. P. ONE OF HIS MAJESTY'S MOST HONOURABLE PRIVY COUNCIL, etc. etc. etc. THIS JOURNAL IS MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, BY HIS VERY FAITHFUL AND OBLIGED HUMBLE SERVANT, THE AUTHOR. Sydney, New South Wales, July 21, 1819. PREFACE. The general appearance of the country of New South Wales and the magnitude of the Macquarie River, as seen on the return of the expedition in 1817, had caused the most sanguine expectation to be entertained, that either a communication with the ocean, or interior navigable waters, would be discovered by following its course. The important benefits that would result to the colony in the event of such an expectation being realized, determined his Excellency Governor Macquarie to lose no time in fitting out a second expedition, which should have the elucidation of this point for its principal object. This expedition was also entrusted to my direction. I had scarcely a doubt of ultimate success, and set out with a confidence which nothing short of ocular demonstration could destroy. The result of our voyage down the Macquarie River, and the conjectures which naturally arose in my mind founded upon observations of its apparent termination, together with our subsequent journey to the east coast, will be found in the following pages. In the map which accompanies the present Journal, every bounding range to the westward is laid down, from which it will appear that the north-west interior is nearly a perfect plain; the lower parts of which are certainly in most seasons under water. The highest land we crossed lies in lat. 31. S., and long. 151. 10. E. From this apparently dividing or principal range, the country gradually declines to the north-west; when, the hills terminating abruptly, the level land commences, over which is discharged all the waters that have their rise in this dividing range; and also those waters which rising in the hills (for they cannot with propriety be termed mountains) to the south-west, have the Lachlan River for their channel. The nature of the country will be best explained by a reference to the Journal; generally speaking, it is fine and open. The bounding high lands to the north-west seem to take a direction nearly parallel with the coast line, and the evident declension of the country northerly affords strong ground for belief, that if those interior waters have any outlet to the sea [See Note at end of this paragraph.], it will be found in that direction; and I think the probability is that the waters falling westerly, will there approach the high tracts of country, much nearer than they do to the south-west. The whole country to the north of our track appeared so extremely open and practicable, that it offers in my opinion but few obstructions to a series of triangles being carried over it; the longest sides of which, being traced along the bounding high lands to the north-west, and carried as far northerly as the isthmus, which separates the gulf of Carpentaria from the sea to the eastward, would effectually set at rest all questions as to the existence of an interior sea. Farther north than this point, there can be no reasonable expectation of finding either waters or an outlet. [Note: The observations made in the recent voyage of Lieutenant King along the west and north coasts preclude every reasonable hope of any opening being found on those coasts. The voyage which he is at present prosecuting will doubtless determine that point beyond all future question.] So few natives were seen in the interior, that those extensive regions can scarcely be described as inhabited; some scattered families comprise the entire population, and the scanty remarks we were enabled to make satisfied us of the strict identity of this race of human beings with those of the coast. The same method of procuring their food, the same arms and utensils, are common to both. This remarkable similarity in the natives of different tribes extends also to the animal and vegetable productions of the country: the eucalyptus and casuarina; the kangaroo and the emu, with their various species, alike inhabit the cold regions of Van Diemen's land, and the warmer latitudes within the tropics. A short description of the most remarkable plants collected during the expedition by Mr. Charles Frazier, the government collector, is added to this Journal; and although the result as to the principal object of the expedition has not been answerable to the expectation which was entertained when it set out, yet when the general knowledge obtained of so considerable a portion of this extensive country is considered, it is hoped that it has not been undertaken and performed in vain; and that the field which it has opened to the colonists will be attended with ultimate benefit both to them and to the parent country. Sydney, July 17, 1819. JOURNAL OF AN EXPEDITION IN AUSTRALIA--PART II. May 20, 1818. Having received his Excellency the Governor's instructions for the conduct of the expedition intended to examine the course of the Macquarie River, and every preparation having been made at the depot in Wellington Valley for that purpose, I quitted Sydney in company with Dr. Harris (late of the 102nd foot), and after a pleasant journey, arrived at Bathurst on the 25th. Our little arrangements having been completed by the 28th, we again set forward with the baggage horses and men that were to compose the expedition. We at first kept nearly upon the track pursued by us on our return from the first expedition in August last; but on approaching Wellington Valley, keeping a little more to the westward, we avoided much of that steep and rugged road which we then complained of; the country being quite open, the valleys and flats good, the hills limestone rock. We did not meet with the slightest interruption, and arrived at the depot on the 2nd of June, where we found the boats, etc. in perfect readiness for our immediate reception. June 4.--Got all the horses and provisions over to the north side of the river, and made every preparation to pursue our journey on the morrow. The river rose about a foot during the day. The accident which had befallen our barometer during the former expedition not being repaired, we are of course deprived of means to make any observations on the height of the country above the sea, otherwise than by careful observation of the several falls or rapids: I do not think that our station here is much above four hundred feet below the level of Bathurst. June 5.--About one o'clock the weather cleared up a little, when Lewis with the boat-builder's party set out on their return to Bathurst, taking with them three of the worst of the horses, and leaving with us nineteen. The river rose but little during the day: it is quite high enough for our purpose. A new species of fish was caught, having four smellers above and four under the mouth; the hind part of it resembled an eel; it had one dorsal fin, and four other fins, with a white belly; it measured twenty-one inches and a half, and weighed about two pounds three quarters. June 6.--Proceeded down the river about four miles, when the boats were finally laden. The river in Wellington Valley had been swelled by the late rains, insomuch that the water below its junction with the Macquarie was quite discoloured. From the fineness of the soil, the rain had made the ground very soft, rendering it difficult for the horses to travel. June 7.--Proceeded on our journey, both boats and horses being very heavily laden with our stores and provisions. The river rose but little. Our day's journey lay generally over an open forest country, with rich flats on either side of the river: high rocky limestone hills ended occasionally in abrupt points, obliging the horses to make considerable detours. The hills were very stony, and so light was the soil upon them, that the rain rendered the ground very soft. The river had many fine reaches, extending in straight lines from one to three miles, and of a corresponding breadth. The rapids, although frequent, offered no material obstruction to the boats. The current in the long reaches was scarcely perceptible, and it appears to me that the difference of elevation between this station and the last is not considerable. June 8.--The river expanded into beautiful reaches, having great depth of water, and from two to three hundred feet broad, literally covered with water-fowl of different kinds: the richest flats bordered the river, apparently more extensive on the south side. The vast body of water which this river must contain in times of flood is confined within exterior banks, and its inundations are thus deprived of mischief. About six miles down the river, a freestone hill ended on the north side of the river: I mention this, as the only stone of that description I had yet seen. The trees were of the eucalyptus (apple tree), and on the hills a few of the callitris macrocarpa [Note: Callitr. Vent decad.] were seen: the trees would furnish large and useful timber. Between eight and nine miles lower, passed the mouth of Molle's rivulet, now a fine stream. At four o'clock halted for the evening on rather an elevated spot, overlooking the rivulet, and a most luxuriant country, on the south side of the river, well clothed with wood. The boats, during this day's work, met with no obstructions that were not easily avoided; the rapids were not so numerous, neither were they so shoal as in the vicinity of the depot. Our sportsmen provided us with plenty of kangaroos, and a swan. June 9.--This day the river ran to the north-west by north; about six miles below our halting-place it received Mary's River, a pretty little stream. The country on the north side which we passed over was of various description; the hills barren and stony, with dwarf eucalypti, or gums, casuarinae, and a few of the sterculia heterophylla; the country hilly and open: some of the flats on the banks of the river were extensive and rich, and apparently not subject to floods. On the south side of the river, the country was more generally a rich flat, backed by distant hills; to the south-west, stony eminences occasionally ended on the river. On the hills many specimens of agate, iron-stone, and jasper were procured, also some flint; the low stones of the river produced the same: abundance of fine freestone was every where seen. The general elevation of the country still continues high; the river pours along a vast body of water; there is no fresh in it, and it is not in any respect above its usual level. The rapids are caused by the river dividing into two channels, forming small islands; the water here runs with great rapidity on a rocky and stony bottom, but of considerable depth; the obstructions solely arising from trees which have been washed by the floods from the banks, and which on the subsidence of the water have remained in the narrows. The character of this river is in every respect different from the Lachlan; its waters are pure and transparent, with no marks of flood; it derives its source and continuance from springs and additional streams, and is in no way dependent upon rains for its permanent existence. June 10.--Remained at this station for the purpose of refreshing the people and horses. Examined the country to the north-east for a few miles; it differed but little from that already passed over, in point of quality of soil, but was broken into irregular hills and valleys, without rising into any one distinguishing or remarkable hill: the surface of the country seemed elevated, and rising to the eastward. The soil for the most part a reddish light mould, the hills covered with small stones, the trees dwarf gum, box, a few cypresses and casuarinae; the soil well covered with grass. Kangaroos, fish, and swans, were the produce of this day's sport, so that we enjoyed all the necessaries, and many of the luxuries of life. June 11.--Proceeded down the river about eight miles, meeting with no obstructions of any consequence: the water had risen about a foot in the last night, and now ran with considerable rapidity, particularly in the narrows. It is by no means desirable that the river should rise any higher; there is abundance of water for our purposes, any addition would only partially cover the stumps of trees and increase our danger; at present we see and avoid them. After travelling six miles we came to a small river running from the eastward; there was at this time a fresh in it, so that we had to unload the horses and use the boats to transport our baggage over. It was three o'clock before we had got every thing across, we therefore halted for the evening. The country passed through was of the finest description, and apparently equally good on the opposite side; rich flats bounded by gentle hills were on each side of the small river, which received the name of Erskine River, after the present lieutenant governor of the colony. These flats were covered with the species of eucalyptus called apple tree, but (like the other trees) of small size. While we were employed in crossing the river, I rode up it about three miles through a similar country. I went to the north-east; the country gently rose, and was generally of an excellent soil, well watered and fit for all purposes of cultivation, with partial exceptions of stony and brushy ridges. Many hills and elevated flats were entirely clear of timber, and the whole had a very picturesque and park-like appearance. I hailed Erskine River as a good omen of ultimate success: it was the first stream we had met with falling from the eastward, and was a proof to me that the Macquarie was the natural reservoir or channel for the waters from the north-east, as I knew it to be from the south. We had as yet seen no inhabitants, and very few signs that the country is inhabited at all. Fish, flesh, and fowl are abundant, but there are no human beings to enjoy them but ourselves: native dogs are in considerable numbers, and keep up during the night a continual howling. June 12.--We this day passed over a very beautiful country, thinly wooded, and apparently safe from the highest floods; the river had considerable windings, but was of noble width and appearance; the rapids were few, and offered no obstruction; its medium width from one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty feet, and in many reaches much more. On one of the higher back ridges there are some good iron bark trees, with abundance of cypress; the apple, blue gum, and box, were the principal trees growing on the flats. Kangaroos were in very great numbers: our dogs took four; they were of that species called by Dr. Smith macropus elegans, and are very rare on the east coast. The stones and rocks were generally hard whinstone, or freestone, the former in large masses; the beach, of pebbles of all colours and kinds, from quartz to sandstone. About a mile from our resting-place, we passed the mouth of the small rivulet named in the former journey Elizabeth's Burn; the stream now in it was inconsiderable. June 13.--Our route during this day's journey was generally over a very level country, the land three or four miles back from the river very inferior to that on the borders of it, being covered with small trees and brush; the soil a light, red loam. The rich flats on the banks on either side were not flooded, and were of the best quality: these flats seemed more extensive on the south than the north side of the river, and were bounded by the fine hills, which were passed over on the return of the expedition last year. About five miles from our last night's resting-place, we fell in with a small rivulet from the north-east, which I named after Major Taylor, of the 48th regiment. On the west side of it, we came suddenly upon a couple of native families; they, however, with the exception of an old man, and a boy who was up a tree, made their escape. No entreaties could bring the boy down; he seemed, in fact, as well as the old man, petrified with terror. The man was possessed of the remains of an iron tomahawk, which he had fitted as a mogo, or native axe. I think it probable he became possessed of this treasure through others of his countrymen who had visited the party in Wellington Vale, as it was clear he had never seen white people before. The man made repeated attempts to induce us to depart, which to his great joy we shortly did. The left side of this man's body was one continued ulcer, occasioned most likely by a burn. The river wound upon every point of the compass, and its breadth was much contracted by shoals and rapids running over a rocky bottom: the stream ran with great velocity, and the boat experienced no interruptions. The banks were very high and wide, and although the marks of flood were observed to upwards of thirty feet, the waters were confined to the actual bed of the river, without flooding the lands on either side. Large masses of coarse granite were in the river where we stopped for the evening; it was of a different species from any we had hitherto seen, and the bases of the hills ending on the river seemed to be composed of it. June 14.-I had determined to halt this day, for the purpose of verifying our situation by survey, but was prevented by rain of great violence throughout the day, accompanied by strong winds from the north-west; this confined us to our tents. June 15.--Our journey lay over alternate rich flats and barren stony scrubs; the country irregular, and the banks much elevated: the land to the north-west and north, as far as we could see, (ten or twelve miles) broken into bare, irregular hills and valleys. On the south side of the river the flats were more extended; thick coppices, and tracts of barren land, were also observed on that side. About four miles down the river large blocks of granite were scattered in its bed, and formed the base of the surrounding hills, the tops of which were covered with different kinds of stone, cemented or fused together by the action of fire: many of those stones were beautifully crystallised, and the appearance of some kind of mineral was evident. The river sometimes swept along in fine reaches, then, becoming contracted into narrow rocky channels, rushed through those straits with extreme violence, rendering it difficult to steer the boats clear of the obstructions that presented themselves on every side: the large boat struck twice in those narrows. The water has fallen considerably, and it does not appear to be even now at its usual level; its quality is very hard. The granite we fell in with four miles below our last encampment was of a totally different species, being much finer and closer grained, with small black specks thickly intermingled in the mass; some freestone was also seen. The botany of the country was in all respects the same as observed on our journey homewards last year; the grassy nature of the herbage preventing any material addition to our collection. Kangaroos were in great numbers, and continued to furnish us with a welcome addition to our rations. June 16.--Our day's route was as usual over a very flat though rich country, thickly wooded with good timber of the eucalyptus and angophora species, with some fine cypresses in the looser soils, and back from the river. The country, although flat, appears considerably elevated, and is neither flooded nor swampy; the opposite side apparently of the same kind. We fell in with another small camp of natives; the women and children withdrew before we came up with them: among the men (seven in number) we recognised four whom we had seen on the last expedition at Mary's Rivulet; the recognition was mutual, and they seemed highly pleased with it: they accompanied us about eight miles farther to our evening's encampment, where being gratified with some kangaroo, and undergoing the operation of shaving, (at their earnest request, after seeing one of their number disencumbered of an immense beard) they left us at sunset to join their families, which were probably at no great distance. About four miles above our encampment, on the immediate banks of the river, we discovered a large mass of saponaceous earth; I at first took it to be a fine pipeclay, but on examination, it appears to possess all the valuable qualities of fuller's earth; and a piece of woollen cloth being partially greased, and then rubbed over with the earth, the grease was perfectly extracted and the cloth left entirely clean. Among this earth, small white pieces of a hard marly substance were found, and appeared either to be pure lime, or to contain a very considerable portion of it. On one of the beaches a small shell was found, which was unanimously adjudged to be a marine production; at least, we had never before seen any fresh-water shell resembling it. The river fell during the last night and the course of this day very considerably, and is, I think, below its proper level; there is however an ample sufficiency of water for our boats: the chief dangers are from stumps and branches of trees in the narrows; and what previously to the great fall in the water we could have passed over without difficulty, now occasions us some anxiety and trouble. The course the river took to-day was considerably to the north. June 17.--A very severe frost, the ice a quarter of an inch thick. About a mile down the river, we saw a native burial-place or tomb, not more than a month old; the characters carved on the trees were quite fresh: the tomb had no semicircular seats, but in other respects was similar to those seen on our last journey. The country still continued perfectly level, the greater part extremely good and rich; back from the river it was occasionally marshy, with barren rocky scrubs; the timber large, and generally good: we could not see beyond a mile on the opposite side, but the country there appeared much the same. One of the men, who was some distance ahead of the horses, saw a large party of the natives, who fled at his approach, and swam the river; there were upwards of twenty men, besides women and children: the moment they were safely across, they brandished their waddies and spears in token of defiance: this was the first time any of the natives were seen armed, or in any way hostilely inclined. The river ran to the north-west by north over a bottom of rock and sand: in point of depth, it was amply sufficient for much larger boats than ours; but it was impossible always to avoid concealed dangers, over which the waters did not cause the slightest ripple. The large boat struck on a sharp rock, and with such violence as to stave her bottom; she was immediately unladen, and temporarily repaired without injury to the cargo. Although the river is extremely low, there is a very large body of water in it; the outer banks are nearly a quarter of a mile wide, and far out of the reach of flood, the marks of which were, to our extreme astonishment, observed nearly fifty feet high. We have not seen during these last two days any hill or other eminence; the country within our sight and observation being perfectly level. June. 18.--As we were on the point of setting forward, a large party of natives made their appearance on the opposite side of the river: they set up a most hideous and discordant noise, making signs, as well as we could understand them, for us to depart and go down the river. After beating their spears and waddies together for about a quarter of an hour, accompanied by no friendly gestures, they went away up the river, while we pursued our course in an opposite direction. We had hitherto met with no obstructions in the navigation, except such as arose from the wrecks of successive floods lodging in the narrows; these were easily overcome: the course of the river to-day for nearly six miles was a fine and even stream, from forty to fifty yards wide, and from eight to sixteen feet deep, over a bottom of rock and sandy gravel; when a reef of rocks at once interrupted our progress in the laden boats, the water breaking with such violence over them, that I was afraid they would be greatly endangered even when light. The horses had stopped at a cataract about three quarters of a mile lower down, and it appeared that the rocky shoal extended to that distance, when a fall of five feet over a bed of rocks would have stopped the boats altogether. The horses were immediately unladen and sent to bring the cargos of the two boats, which being accomplished, we got them safely over the shoals by the cataracts; when hauling them over land about two hundred yards, they were again launched into deep water. The country on either side during this days journey was by no means so good as it had hitherto generally been, being very brushy, and thickly timbered, chiefly with the species of eucalyptus called box, and another kind appearing to be different from those frequently observed. The banks of the river were very high; and, notwithstanding the country was perfectly level, it was far above the reach of any flood. The body of water falling over the cataract was surprising, the low state of the river being considered, and this incident instead of discouraging us increased our already sanguine hopes, that its termination would not deceive the expectations we could not avoid indulging. June 19.--The boats during their progress this day did not experience any obstruction, the river winding in fine though narrow reaches, over a bottom of sand and occasionally rock; the depth from eight to sixteen feet. The country still continued perfectly level, but generally of excellent soil: two or three miles back from the river north-east, there were several extensive plains, without any timber on them, and in many places water was on the surface, probably occasioned by the heavy rain on the 14th instant; since these flats, and indeed all the country we had hitherto travelled over, were quite clear of any floods from the river. The banks of the river are, I think, ten or twelve feet lower than they are fifteen or twenty miles higher up; the floods evidently do not rise to so great a height, not exceeding, as far as we can judge, sixteen feet. I do not think the timber is either so large or so good as we had hitherto found it; but there is a great quantity of it, chiefly box, and a species of blue gum. Although at such a distance from the Lachlan, we have recognised most of the plants found in its vicinity: in all other respects the neighbourhood of the two rivers is totally dissimilar; and in nothing more observable than in the rivers themselves. The water in the river continues so extremely hard as to render it difficult to raise a lather from soap; it is also very pure and transparent. June 20.--The night cold, a sharp frost congealing some standing water by the river's side. The river rose upwards of a foot during the night, and still continues gradually to rise. Having gone upwards of one hundred and twenty-five miles from Wellington Valley, I thought it advisable that the two men who accompanied us for that purpose should return to Sydney with an account of our proceedings, agreeably to the governor's instructions. Despatched two other men on horseback to the north-east, with directions to go as far as possible in that direction, and to return by sunset; which they did, and reported that they had been from fourteen to sixteen miles, through a very fine though level country: the brushes were of small extent, and communicated with the finest tracts, chiefly of forest land thinly wooded: no marks were seen of any floods either from the river or land side, and these flats were watered by chains of ponds or watercourses, which doubtless when overflowed communicate with the river. Abundance of kangaroos and emus. June 21.--The result of the observation this day gave for our situation lat. 31. 49. 60. S., long. 147. 52. 15. E., and the variation 8. 22. E. June 22.--Completed the necessary papers for the governor's information, and made all ready to proceed on our journey tomorrow. The river in these last two days has risen between two and three feet. June 23.--Having despatched Thomas Thatcher and John Hall to Bathurst, with an account of our progress, the expedition set forward down the river. For four or five miles there was no material change in the general appearance of the country from what it had been on the preceding days, but for the last six miles the land was very considerably lower, interspersed with plains clear of timber, and dry. On the banks it was still lower, and in many parts it was evident that the river floods swept over them, though this did not appear to be universally the case. The far greater part of the last six miles was covered with shrubs, and the acacia pendula. These unfavourable appearances threw a damp upon our hopes, and we feared that our anticipations had been too sanguine. The river continued nearly as before, but much narrower, and more winding, in some measure accounting for the great height of the floods which we observed fifty or sixty miles back, where the river was probably four times as wide: we missed with regret the striking characteristics which had hitherto distinguished it, the sandy and gravelly beaches, and rocky points; though there was certainly the same volume of water which had originally given me such strong hopes that it could never be dissipated over marshes. The banks are no more than twenty feet high in their most elevated places, and the probability is, that all our doubts, speculations, and hopes, will be clearly decided within the week; the soil is of the richest quality, but the flatness of the land, and want of any eminence, are great drawbacks upon the bounties of nature: not but there are numerous spaces above the reach of either land or river flood, which would offer secure retreats to the inhabitants of these singular regions. Several new birds were seen to-day of very beautiful plumage; none however were procured, so as to enable me to describe them. We also saw the crested pigeon, and grey and red parrot of the Lachlan; some fine and singular plants also enriched our collection: it would seem as if nature here delighted in wasting her most beautiful productions upon the "desert air," rather than placing them in situations where they would become more easily accessible to the researches of science and taste. June 24.--The country was still extremely flat, and perfectly overrun with acacias, dwarf box (eucalyptus), some species of suffruticore atriplex [See Note at end of this paragraph.], and other shrubs; and intersected by nunumerous extensive lagoons now quite dry, but which when the river is about one-third full, convey the water back over vast plains and levels for the most part clear of every kind of brush, and on the fall of the waters these lagoons act as drains to the lands. The brushes were most numerous and perplexing in the neighbourhood of the river, a course we were obliged to keep, in order not to part company with the boats. The country two or three miles along the banks of the river was only partially flooded, the land being much lower at a greater distance from it; the most part of the soil was a rich, alluvial deposition from floods. Except on those clear plains which occasionally occurred on the sides of the river, we could seldom see beyond a quarter of a mile. Byrne, who was at the head of the hunting party, surprised an old native man and woman, the former digging for rats, or roots, the other lighting a fire: they did not perceive him till he was within a few yards of them, when the man threw his wooden spade at Byrne, which struck his horse; then taking his old woman by the hand, they set off with the utmost celerity, particularly when they saw the dogs, of which they seem to entertain great fears. In the evening, natives were heard on the opposite side of the river, but none came within view. There was no alteration in the appearance or size of the river during this day's course; the banks were in no respect lower: it ran with great rapidity over a sandy bottom, and was from six to thirty feet deep; the water still clear, and remarkably hard. [Note: Other genera of chenopodeae likewise exist on these plains, of which some salsolae, and that curious lanigerous shrub sclerolaena paradoxa of Mr. Brown, with spinous fruit, are most remarkable.] June 25.--The weather cold, but fine: the thermometer is about 28 degrees, and I think from this extraordinary degree of cold so far to the north, that notwithstanding the lowness of the surrounding country (as compared to its relative situation with the river), that we are still at a considerable elevation above the sea. In our last journey, three degrees farther south, we experienced at the same season no such cold, the weather being equally fine and clear as at present. The appearance of the country was much the same as yesterday; the whole ground we passed over being liable to flood, and covered with eucalyptus or gum tree, acacia pendula, and various other species of that extensive genus, one of which appeared quite new but not in flower. Four or five miles back from the river (east), the country rises and is not flooded, the soil being there much inferior, but covered with fine cypresses: notwithstanding this tract was much higher than that more immediately on the river, there was no eminence from which we could look around. The banks of the river are much lower than yesterday, scarcely exceeding twelve feet high; the floods are low in proportion, and I did not see any mark showing that the rise of water ever exceeded a foot above the banks. The river did not offer the slightest obstruction, and was from twenty to twenty-four feet deep. There is probably from two to three feet more in it than usual; the breadth varies considerably, in some places not more than sixty feet, in others two hundred. All the lagoons (though very deep), in the neighbourhood of the river are quite dry, and appearances indicate that the country has not been flooded for years. Emus and kangaroos are in abundance; but we have lately caught no fish, owing most likely to the coldness of the weather: various birds altogether unknown to us were seen; and although the leading plants were the same as those found through nearly the whole of Australia, new ones were daily met with. The river has continued inclining to the northward: its course to-day was north-north-west. June 26.--The country this day was as various as can be imagined; low but not level; in some places covered with the acacia pendula, chenopodeae, and polygonum juncium; in others, with good gum and box trees. The whole, with few exceptions, appeared liable to flood. Four or five miles back the country imperceptibly rises, and is free from river floods; but the hollows, proceeding from the inequalities of its surface, are in rainy seasons the reservoirs of the land floods. The whole country was now perfectly dry, and must have been so for a long period: it would indeed have been impossible, had the season been wet, to have kept company with the boats. The river itself continues undiminished, and is a fine stream, with nothing to impede the navigation; its windings, however, are very considerable. The banks appear lower by nearly three feet than yesterday: there are still no marks of flood rising upon the land above a foot on either side: the depth of the stream is from twenty to twenty-four feet, breadth from sixty to one hundred and sixty, and its current is about a mile and a half per hour. The river has fallen yesterday and to-day nearly eighteen inches. June 27.--The river continues to fall. We had gone about five miles through a country as low and brushy as usual, when we were agreeably surprised with the view of a small hill about a mile to the eastward: we hastened to it, in hopes that we should find that the country rose to the north-east; we however saw nothing but another hill still higher, about three miles to the north-north-west, in the direction of the river. The hill, or rather rock, we had just quitted, was about a quarter of a mile long by half a quarter broad, and about seventy feet high; it was nothing but granite, having the sides and summit covered with broken pieces of a fine and very compact species of the same mineral. We named it Welcome Rock; for any thing like an eminence was grateful to our sight. From the summit of the hill seen to the north-north-west our view was very extensive; but nothing indicated either a speedy change of country or a termination of the river. To the westward, the land was a perfect level, with clear spaces or marshes interspersed amidst the boundless desert of wood. To the east, a most stupendous range of mountains, lifting their blue heads above the horizon, bounded the view in that direction, and were distant at least seventy miles, the country appearing a perfect plain between us and them. From north-west to north-east nothing interrupted the horizontal view, except a hill similar to the one we were on, about five miles distant to the north-north-west. Extended as was our prospect, it did not afford much room for satisfactory anticipation; and there was nothing that gave us reason to believe that any stream, either from the east or west, joined the river for the next forty miles at least. The hill from which this view was taken was named Mount Harris, after my friend, who accompanied the expedition as a volunteer; that to the north-north-west, Mount Forster, after Lieutenant Forster, of the Navy; and the lofty range before mentioned to the eastward was distinguished by the name of Arbuthnot's Range, after the Right Hon. C. Arbuthnot, of His Majesty's Treasury. The two first mentioned hills are entirely of granite, from one and a half to two miles long, by half a mile to one mile wide: their formation must be considered a most singular geological phenomenon, detached as they are by an immense space from all mountainous ranges, and rising from the midst of a soft alluvial soil. Small pieces of granite were in several places thrown into heaps, as if by human means; and their whole surfaces were covered with similar pieces, detached from the solid mass to which they had once belonged. If I might hazard a conjecture, I should attribute to them a volcanic origin: I think, on examination, their constituent parts will be found to have undergone the action of fire, by which they have been fused together. To those conversant in the structure of the earth, and with the means used by nature to accomplish her purposes, these singular hills may offer a subject for curious inquiry. The natives appear numerous in these regions of apparent desolation: we fell in with several parties in the course of the day, in the whole probably not less than forty, and many fires were seen to the north. Being a mile or two ahead of our party in a thick brush, I came suddenly upon three men; two ran off with the greatest speed; the third, who was older and a little lame, first threw his firestick at me, and next (seeing me still advance) a waddie, but with such agitation, that though not more than a dozen paces distant, he missed both me and my horse. I returned to my party, and in company with them surprised the native camp; we found there eight women and twelve children, just on the point of departing with their infants in their cloaks on their backs: on seeing us, they seized each other by the hand, formed a circle, and threw themselves on the ground, with their heads and faces covered. Unwilling to add to their evident terror, we only remained a few minutes, during which time the children frequently peeped at us from beneath their clothes; indeed, they seemed more surprised than alarmed: the mothers kept uttering a low and mournful cry, as if entreating mercy. In the camp were several spears, or rather lances, as they were much too ponderous to be thrown by the arm; these were jagged: there were also some elamongs (shields), clubs, chisels, and several workbags filled with every thing necessary for the toilet of a native belle; namely, paint and feathers, necklaces of teeth, and nets for the head, with thread formed of the sinews of the opossum's tail for making their cloaks. The men belonging to the camp were heard shouting at no great distance: their affection for their families was not, however, sufficiently powerful to induce them to attempt their rescue from the hands of such unfabulous centaurs, as we doubtless appeared to them. The boats met with no interruption, the river continuing a fine and even stream, running at the rate of a mile and a half per hour: it was in places very narrow, and our astonishment would have been excited that such a channel should contain the powerful body of water falling into it, if we had not found its medium depth to be from twenty to thirty feet. The height of the banks is not more than seven feet above the water, and they appeared to have been flooded to that height. It did not seem that back from the river, beyond three or four miles, the country was ever flooded, except by the waters which would fall on its surface in rainy seasons; it was, however, now quite dry, and the hollows of the surface bore evidence of a long continued drought. The course of the river still continued to the north-north-west. The rocks composing Mount Harris are apparently basaltic, the whole seeming to have been shot up in points. the angles of which are complete. The stones are very heavy and compact, and when dashed against each other were extremely sonorous. June 28.--Remained here this day for the purpose of rest and refreshment: the grass and country poor, and covered with acacia trees and small eucalypti in our immediate vicinity. Despatched two men to view the country to the north-east. The botanical collector crossed the river and ascended Mount Forster, on which he was fortunate enough to procure many plants seemingly new: he thought he saw a branch of the river separating from it and running to the north-west, whilst the river itself continued to go northerly. The account brought by the men in the evening was far from flattering; they had been out ten or twelve miles to the north and east, and found the country as bad as can be imagined; in fact, a dry morass, with higher land, free from floods, but overrun with brushes, among which a few pines were scattered: they saw no water, and but little game of any kind. June 29.--As we proceeded down the river, the country gradually became much lower in its immediate vicinity; and between four and five miles from our resting-place it was even with the banks, and in some places overflowed them. All travelling near the river with horses was at once interrupted, and this was the more perplexing as it rendered the communication with the boats uncertain, and liable to be cut off altogether. Finding that those marshes were only impassable for a mile or little more from the river, and that occasionally we could approach within one hundred yards of it, the horses were directed to keep round the edge of them, making for the river whenever practicable, and firing guns to let the boats know our situation. At two o'clock in the after. noon we stopped, after going about ten miles and a half, about one hundred and fifty yards from the river. which we could not approach nearer by reason of wet and boggy marshes; in fact, the place where we stopped is of the same description, but now (fortunately for us) dry. The country north-east of us, along the dry edge of which we were obliged to keep, is as bad as possible, being in wet seasons full of water-holes, and consequently impassable. The river still continues undiminished, as we find that the branches and small streams that frequently run from it join it again at short distances, and that they owe their existence at this time to the full state of the river, which is certainly some feet above its usual level. The breadth and depth of the river were various throughout the day: in the places where it overflowed its banks, there was not more than from ten to twelve feet; in others, where it ran very broad, but was confined within them, fifteen feet; and in narrower places, under the same circumstances, upwards of twenty feet. Thus it seemed to vary with the capacity of the channel to contain its waters, which were very muddy, the current running at a medium rate of a mile per hour. The boats arrived at about half past four o'clock, meeting nothing to interrupt them. June 30.--After making every arrangement that we could devise to ensure our keeping company with the boats, we proceeded down the river. Our progress was, however, interrupted much sooner than I anticipated; for we had scarcely gone six miles, and never nearer to the river than from one to two miles, when we perceived that the waters which had overflowed the banks were spreading over the plains on which we were travelling, and that with a rapidity which precluded any hope of making the river again to the north-west by north, in which direction we imagined it to run for some distance, when its course appeared to take a more northerly direction. Our situation did not admit of hesitation as to the steps we were to pursue. Our journey had, in fact, been continued longer than strict prudence would have warranted, and the safety of the whole party was now at stake: no retreat presented itself except the station we left in the morning, and even there it was impossible that we could, with any regard to prudence, remain longer than to carry the arrangements which I had in contemplation into effect. The horses were therefore ordered back, and two men succeeded, after wading through the water to the middle, in making the river about three miles below the place they set out from. Fortunately the boats had not proceeded so far, and on their coming up were directed to return. The boats arrived at sunset, having had to pull against a strong current. The river itself continued, as usual, from fifteen to twenty-five feet deep, the waters which were overflowing the plains being carried thither by a multitude of little streams, which had their origin in the present increased height of the waters above their usual level. The river continued undiminished, and presented too important a body of water to allow me to believe that those marshes and low grounds had any material effect in diffusing and absorbing it: its ultimate termination, therefore, must be more consonant to its magnitude. These reflections on the present undiminished state of the river would of themselves have caused me to pause before I hastily quitted a pursuit from the issue of which so much had naturally been expected. For all practical purposes, the nature of the country precluded me from indulging the hope, that even if the river should terminate in an inland sea, it could be of the smallest use to the colony. The knowledge of its actual termination, if at all attainable, was, however, a matter of deep importance, and would tend to throw some light on the obscurity in which the interior of this vast country is still involved. My ardent desire to investigate as far as possible this interesting question, determined me to take the large boat, and with four volunteers to proceed down the river as long as it continued navigable; a due regard being had to the difficulties we should have to contend with in returning against the stream. I calculated that this would take me a month; at all events, I determined to be provided for that period, which indeed was the very utmost that could be spared from the ulterior object of the expedition. July 1.--The water not rising. Employed in making every preparation to proceed on the voyage down the river to-morrow morning. On mature deliberation, it was resolved that on my departure, the horses with the provisions should return back to Mount Harris, a distance of about fifteen miles, as the safety of the whole would be endangered by a longer stay at this station, and to that point I fixed to return with the large boat. It was determined, that during my absence Mr. Evans should proceed to the north-east from fifty to sixty miles, and return upon a more northerly course, in order that we might be prepared against any difficulties that might occur in the first stages of a journey to the north-east coast. The only one which I contemplated in a serious point of view, was the probable want of water until we came in contact with high land, and I hoped this might be partially provided against by Mr. Evans's expedition. The horses were all in good condition, and, from the length of time I expected to be absent, the baggage would be reduced to the smallest possible compass, and the cooper would have time to diminish the pork casks, which were far too heavy for the horses, being intended for boats only; for it had not been contemplated that the nature of the country would so soon deprive us of water carriage. July 2.--I proceeded down the river, during one of the wettest and most stormy days we had yet experienced. About twenty miles from where I set out, there was, properly speaking, no country; the river overflowing its banks, and dividing into streams which I found had no permanent separation from the main branch, but united themselves to it on a multitude of points. We went seven or eight miles farther, when we stopped for the night upon a space of ground scarcely large enough to enable us to kindle a fire. The principal stream ran with great rapidity, and its banks and neighbourhood, as far as we could see, were covered with wood, encreasing us within a margin or bank. Vast spaces of country clear of timber were under water, and covered with the common reed [Note: Arundo phragmites. Linn.], which grew to the height of six or seven feet above the surface. The course and distance by the river was estimated to be from twenty-seven to thirty miles, on a north-north-west line. July 3.--Towards the morning the storm abated, and at daylight we proceeded on our voyage. The main bed of the river was much contracted, but very deep, the waters spreading to the depth of a foot or eighteen inches over the banks, but all running on the same point of bearing. We met with considerable interruption from fallen timber, which in places nearly choked up the channel. After going about twenty miles, we lost the land and trees: the channel of the river, which lay through reeds, and was from one to three feet deep, ran northerly. This continued for three or four miles farther, when although there had been no previous change in the breadth, depth, and rapidity of the stream for several miles, and I was sanguine in my expectations of soon entering the long sought for Australian sea, it all at once eluded our farther pursuit by spreading on every point from north-west to north-east, among the ocean of reeds which surrounded us, still running with the same rapidity as before. There, was no channel whatever among those reeds, and the depth varied from three to five feet. This astonishing change (for I cannot call it a termination of the river), of course left me no alternative but to endeavour to return to some spot, on which we could effect a landing before dark. I estimated that during this day we had gone about twenty-four miles, on nearly the same point of bearing as yesterday. To assert positively that we were on the margin of the lake or sea into which this great body of water is discharged, might reasonably be deemed a conclusion which has nothing but conjecture for its basis; but if an opinion may be permitted to be hazarded from actual appearances, mine is decidedly in favour of our being in the immediate vicinity of an inland sea, or lake, most probably a shoal one, and gradually filling up by immense depositions from the higher lands, left by the waters which flow into it. It is most singular, that the high-lands on this continent seem to be confined to the sea-coast, or not to extend to any great distance from it. July 7.--I returned with the boat late last night, and was glad to find that every thing had been removed to Mount Harris. Mr. Evans had not yet set out on his journey, but intends to do so to-morrow. July 8.--Mr. Evans set forward to the north-east, taking with him eight or ten days' provisions, which I hoped would be sufficient to enable him to form a competent idea of the country we should now have to travel over. In the mean time we employed ourselves in diminishing our baggage, and setting aside eighteen weeks' provisions on a reduced ration, which was the utmost the horses could take; the remainder serving us for consumption during our stay here. July 18.--During the last week the weather was very variable and unsettled, with constant gales from the north-west round to the south-west, and occasional heavy rain. We had reason to congratulate ourselves on the change of our situation: a delay of a few days would have swept us from the face of the earth. On the 10th, the river began to rise rapidly, and on the 15th, in the evening it was at its height, laying the whole of the low country under water, and insulating us on the spot on which we were; the water approaching within a few yards of the tent. Nothing could be more melancholy and dreary than the scene around us; and although personally safe, we could not contemplate without anxiety the difficulties we might expect to meet with, in passing over a country which the waters would leave wet and marshy, if not impracticable. By this morning the waters had retired as rapidly as they had risen, leaving us an outlet to the eastward, though I feared that to the north-east the waters would still remain. In the evening Mr. Evans returned, after an interesting though disagreeable journey. His horses were completely worn out by the difficulties of the country they had travelled over. His report, which I shall give at length, decided me as to the steps that were now to be pursued; and I determined on making nearly an easterly course to the river which he had discovered, and which was now honoured with the name of Lord Castlereagh. This route would take us over a drier country, and the river being within a short distance of Arbuthnot's range, would enable me to examine from those elevated points the country to the north-east and east; and to decide how far it might be advisable to trace the river, which it is my present inclination to do as long as its course continues to the eastward of north. From Mr. Evans's Journal, it will be perceived that the waters of the Macquarie have flowed to the north-east, and still continued flowing among the reeds, which forced him to alter his course. The circumstance of the river and other large bodies of water crossed by Mr. Evans all flowing to the north, seems to bear out the conclusion that these waters have but one common reservoir. July 19.--A tempestuous night, with thunder, lightning, and rain. Impressed with the important use we should be able to make of our boats, it was determined to construct a carriage for the small one, which we did by the afternoon. Our labour was wasted; for we were altogether unable to contrive any harness by which the horses could draw it: we were therefore reluctantly obliged to relinquish our intention. July 20.--The morning was fine; and after much contrivance, we succeeded in taking with us whatever was essential to our future security, and the whole of the provisions except two casks or flour. The horses were, however, very heavily laden, carrying at least three hundred and fifty pounds each; a weight which I was fearful the description of country we had to pass over would render still more burthensome. We had, however, relinquished every thing that was not indispensable, and the saddle horses were equally laden with the others. Mount Harris, under which we had remained for the last fortnight, is in lat. 31. 18. S., long. 147. 31. E. and variation 7. 48. On the summit of the hill we buried a bottle, containing a written scheme of our purposed route and intentions, with some silver coin. Our course during the day was east by north, by compass, over a level country intersected with marshes, over which the horses travelled with the utmost difficulty, and not without repeated falls. Considering how heavily they were laden, I was unwilling to press them at this early period of our journey, and halted after going seven miles on the above course. From Mount Harris, bearings were taken to the most remarkable elevations in Arbuthnot's Range, as follows: Mount Exmouth, (northern extreme of the range) N. 79. E. Mount Harrison, (centre) N. 85. E. Vernon's Peake N. 88. E. July 21--Proceeded on the same course, through a country of alternate brush and marsh: whatever obstacles the former opposed to the progress of the horses, were nothing to the distress occasioned by the latter, in which they sank up to their knees at every step; I could not suffer them to proceed farther than seven miles, which, indeed, was not accomplished without severe labour. It is a singular feature in this remarkable country, that the botany and soil are in all respects the same as two hundred and fifty miles farther to the south-west, presenting nothing new to our researches. Passed a very large chain of ponds now running to the north-east, and named them Wallis's Ponds, after my friend, Captain Wallis, of the 46th regiment. July 22.--We passed over much the same country as yesterday, but having a large proportion of cypress forest. After travelling nearly ten miles, we halted on the edge of a very extensive flat, from three to four miles in diameter, covered with water. From this plain we had an excellent view of Arbuthnot's Range, which, from so low and level a country, appears of vast height. The horses failed much during the day, and several of them were severely wrung with their burthens. July 23.--The weather continues remarkably fine and favourable to our progress over these plains. Our course to-day was chiefly through a thick brush of acacia and cypresses; a few trees of the eucalyptus and casuarina were intermixed. The marshy ground was not so frequent, and we effected between eight and nine miles, when we stopped on a small chain of ponds but now a running strean, doubtless having its rise in the marshy grounds a few miles south of us: its course was to the north. We saw and shot several unknown birds within these few days, but the botanical sameness continues. These ponds were named Morrissett's Ponds, after Capt. Morrissett, of the 48th regiment. July 24.--About a mile and a half from last night's station, we crossed another small stream similar in all respects to Morrissett's Ponds. Our course was alternately over wet flats and dry brushes; but in the latter we met with difficulties which we did not anticipate, namely, dry bogs of a most dangerous description; they are from thirty to forty yards broad, and the apparent firmness of their surface treacherously conceals the danger beneath. One was discovered before the horses were too far advanced to retreat, and by unlading them, we passed safely over. The horses were upon the other before we discovered the extent of our danger, and it was only by instantly cutting away their loads and harness, and by the exertion of all hands, that they were dragged out; but they were so exhausted by the struggles they had themselves made, that I found it would be highly imprudent to proceed farther, though we had only gone five miles and a half. Such of the horses as had not come up, their loads being carried over, crossed the bog half a mile higher, where the ground was somewhat firmer. We had this day the misfortune to find two of our horses much strained in their hind quarters. The soil of the brushes is in general a light, sandy loam; on the plains it is an alluvial mould, on a substratum of clay: the water on these plains is seldom deeper than the ankles, but travelling over them is very wearisome. Arbuthnot's Range was in sight during the whole day. The country was so generally level, that it was impossible to discern any inequality in it. The waters however, ran with a pretty brisk stream northerly. July 25.--At nine o'clock we set forward with anxious hopes of reaching Castlereagh River in the course of the day; we struggled for nine miles through a line of country that baffles all description: we were literally up to the middle in water the whole way, and two of the horses were obliged to be unladen to get them over quicksand bogs. Finding a place sufficiently dry to pitch our tent on, though surrounded by water, we halted, both men and horses being too much exhausted to proceed farther. Mr. Evans thinking we could not be very far from the river, went forwards a couple of miles, when he came upon its banks. This same river, which last Wednesday week had been crossed without any difficulty, was now nearly on a level with its first or inner bank: and its width and rapidity precluded all hope of our being able to cross it until its subsidence. This was most perplexing intelligence, our situation being such that we could neither retreat nor advance beyond the bank of the river, which Mr. Evans represented as being both higher and drier ground, and to all appearance sufficiently elevated to protect us from the flood should it increase: thither I determined to remove in the morning, and to take such further measures as might be deemed advisable in our present hazardous situation. Since Mr. Evans re-crossed the river, we have had no rain in our immediate neighbourhood sufficient to cause the sudden rise, which therefore must be attributed to heavy falls among the mountains to the east-south-east, from whence I have no doubt it derives its source. It was most providential that Mr. Evans and his companions crossed the river when they did; a single day might have proved fatal to them. We would fain lessen to our own imagination the dangers which surround us, and eagerly grasp at every circumstance that tends in any way to enliven our future prospects. That Providence, whose protection has hitherto been so beneficently extended to us, will, we confidently hope, continue that protection, and lead us in safety to our journey's end. Owing most probably to the violent motion it experienced, my chronometer stopped: this accident was the more to be lamented, as the watch with which I was furnished by the crown had also stopped, and we had now nothing to regulate our time by. July 26.--We passed a dreadful night; the elements seemed to be bursting asunder, and we were almost deluged with rain. Towards noon the weather partially cleared tip. Our design of moving was however rendered abortive: we found it impossible to bring the horses near the tents to lade them, and the rain recommencing with great violence, continued throughout the day. An inmate of an alarming description took up its lodging in our tent during the last night, probably washed out of its hole by the rain: a large diamond snake was discovered coiled up among the flour bags, four or five feet from the doctor's bed. July 27.--This morning the weather cleared up just in time to enable us to retreat to the river banks in safety, for we were washed out of the tent. The provisions and heavy baggage were carried by the people to a firmer spot of ground, at which place the horses being lightly laden, we got every thing transported to the river by one o'clock. Castlereagh River is certainly a stream of great magnitude; its channel is divided by numerous islands covered with trees: it measured in its narrowest part one hundred and eighty yards, and the flood that had now risen in it was such as to preclude any attempt to cross it. The outer banks were good firm land, apparently free from floods, and extending not more on this side than a quarter of a mile, when it became wet and marshy: the banks were from twelve to seventeen feet high, and gradually sloped to the water. The trees on this firm margin of land were a species of eucalyptus, cypresses, and the sterculia heterophylla, with a few casuarinae. This river doubtless discharges itself into that interior gulf, in which the waters of the Macquarie are merged: to that river it is in no respect inferior, and when the banks are full, the body of water in it must be even still more considerable. Towards evening I thought the waters were falling, which was an event we anxiously looked for, to enable us to proceed to Arbuthnot's Range, from the heights of which we hoped for an interesting view. Natives appear to be numerous; their guniahs (or bark-huts) are in every direction, and by their fire-places several muscle-shells of the same kind as those found on the Lachlan and Macquarie Rivers were seen. Game (kangaroos and emus), frequenting the dry banks of the river, were procured in abundance. July 28.--The river during the night had risen upwards of eight feet; and still continued rising with surprising rapidity, running at the rate of from five to six miles per hour, bringing down with it great quantities of driftwood and other wreck. The islands were all deeply covered, and the whole scene was peculiarly grand and interesting. The sudden rise probably was caused by the heavy rains of the preceding days; but great must be the sources from whence so stupendous a body of water is supplied, and equally grand must be that reservoir, which is capable of containing such an accumulation of water as is derived from this and the Macquarie Rivers; not to mention the supplies from the occasional streams which had their sources in the marshes which we have crossed. The water was so extremely thick and turbid, that we could not use it; but were forced to send back to the marshes for what we wanted. At night, the river seemed at its greatest height. July 29.--The waters this day subsided rapidly. It is evident that there has been no flood in the river for a very considerable period prior to the present one, there being no marks of wreck or rubbish on the trees or banks. Now the quantity of matter is astonishing, and, such as must take some years to remove. The rapid rise and fall in the water would seem to indicate that neither its source nor its embouchure can be at any great distance. The former is probably not far east of Arbuthnot's Range. August 2.--It was not until this morning that the river had fallen sufficiently to allow us to ford it. Though the morning was unpromising with slight rain, it was not deemed prudent to lose a moment in passing it, while in our power; and by one o'clock every thing was safely over, to our great satisfaction. Before this, it had begun to rain hard, and it continued to do so throughout the day, and great part of the night. Our observations place this part of Castlereagh River in lat. 31. 14. 14. S., long. 148. 18. E., variation 8. 14. E. August 3.--A dark cloudy morning. At nine o'clock proceeded on our eastern course towards Arbuthnot's Range. The river had risen in the night so considerably, that had we delayed until this morning, we should have been unable to pass it. The rain had rendered the ground so extremely soft and boggy, that we found it impossible to proceed above three-quarters of a mile on our eastern course. We therefore returned, resolving to keep close to the river's edge, until we should be enabled to sound the vein of quagmire, with which we appeared to be hemmed in. In this attempt we were equally unfortunate, the horses falling repeatedly: one rolled into the river, and it was with difficulty we saved him: my baggage was on him, and was entirely spoiled; the chart case and charts were materially damaged, and our spare thermometer broken: we therefore unladed the horses where they stood, and the men carried the provisions to a firmer spot, where they were reladen. We again proceeded easterly, and for upwards of a mile we travelled up to our knees in water and mud: the horses were here stopped by running waters from the marshes, encircling a spot of comparatively dry ground; they were again unladen, and with the utmost difficulty we got every thing safe over. Both men and horses were so much exhausted by the constant labour they had undergone, that I determined to halt, in order to restore our baggage to some order. Our ardent hopes are fixed upon the high lands of Arbuthnot's Range, which I estimate to be about twenty miles off. The intermediate country, we fear, will be one continued morass. August 4.--Proceeded on our journey. In the seven miles and a half which we accomplished to-day, the water and bog were pretty equally divided; and a plain covered with the former was a great relief both to men and horses, since an apparently dry brush, or forest, was found a certain forerunner of quicksands and bogs. The natives appear pretty numerous: one was very daring, maintaining his ground at a distance armed with a formidable jagged spear and club, which he kept beating against each other, making the most singular gestures and noises that can be imagined: he followed us upwards of a mile, when he left us, joining several companions to the right of us. Emus and kangaroos abound, and there is a great diversity of birds, some of which have the most delightful notes, particularly the thrush. August 5.--At three o'clock we were obliged to give up all attempts to proceed farther this day; it was with the utmost difficulty we accomplished six miles: for the last half mile, the horses were not on their legs for twenty yards together. This, too, was in the middle of an apparently dry forest of iron bark and cypress trees: the surface gave way but little to the human tread, but the horses were scarcely on it before the water sprang at every step, and the ground sank with them to their girths. In this dilemma, it was agreed to rest for the night, and in the morning endeavour to proceed to the nearest hill, which appeared to be distant about two miles and a half, with very light loads upon the best track we could find, and then return for the remainder of the baggage and stores. A foreknowledge of the difficulties we should have to encounter would certainly have prevented me from attempting to reach these mountains; the nature of this country baffles all reasonable expectation and conjecture, and that which appears one thing at a distance, has a quite different form and aspect when more nearly approached. Neither rivers, brushes, nor marshes, seem to make the least difference in the vegetation of this singular tract: a dreary uniformity pervades alike its geology and its botany. August 6.--At eight o'clock the horses set forward with half the baggage; with considerable difficulty they at length reached the hill, and were immediately sent back for the remainder of the stores. The hill was about three miles from our camp, and from it a view of Arbuthnot's Range was obtained, distant nine or ten miles: its elevated points were extremely lofty, and of a dark, barren, and gloomy appearance; the rocks were of a dark grey, approaching to black, and from their crevices, a few stunted trees protruded themselves. It was half past three o'clock before every thing was removed to the foot of the hill, when it was much too late to think of proceeding, anxious as we were to arrive at the main range itself. We killed this day one of the largest kangaroos we had seen in any part of New South Wales, being from one hundred and fifty to one hundred and eighty pounds weight. These animals live in flocks like sheep; and I do not exaggerate, when I say that some hundreds were seen in the vicinity of this hill; it was consequently named Kangaroo Hill: several beautiful little rills of water have their source in it, but are soon lost in the immeasurable morass at its base. August 7.--About a mile from Kangaroo Hill, after crossing a marshy plain, we came to a limestone rock, spreading in smaller pieces over a low hill. It is somewhat remarkable, that this stone should again be found precisely under the same meridian as seen on the Lachlan and Macquarie Rivers: the same stratum appears to have run from south to north, upwards of two hundred miles. This hill is certainly its northern termination, since beyond it the low and marshy plains of the interior commence. At one o'clock we arrived under the hill which Mr. Evans had previously ascended: at this spot I intended to remain a couple of days, as well to refresh the horses, as for the purpose of ascending Mount Exmouth, from whence I promised myself an extensive view of the country over which our intended route lay. On ascending the hill before mentioned, I was surprised with the remarkable effect which the situation appeared to have on the compass. The station I had chosen was the highest part, and nearly the centre of the hill; placing the compass on the rock before me, the card flew round with extreme velocity, and then suddenly settled at opposite points, the north point becoming the south. Astonished at such a phenomenon, I made the following observations. The compass on the rock, Mount Exmouth, bore S. 60. W. (its true bearing being N. 75. E.), and on raising it gradually to the eye, the card was violently agitated, and the same point now bore N. 67. E. About one hundred yards farther south, the compass was again placed on the rock; the effect on the compass was very different, Mount Exmouth bore E. 48. S., and the tent in the valley beneath S. 74. W. The card on raising the compass was rather less agitated than before, and from the eye, Mount Exmouth bore N. 77. E., and the tent S. 15. W., the true bearing of the latter being S. 13 1/2. W. Thus the magnetic fluid seemed on this spot to have less influence on the needle, than on the spot where its power was first observed; and at a short distance from the base of the hill the needle regained its natural position. The rocks, when broken, were of a dark iron grey: they did not appear to contain any iron, for when tried at the tent, the magnet had no power over them. I could not discern any regular stratum of rock, the hill being covered with large detached stones, many of which formed figures of five and six sides: the evening was too far advanced to permit any farther observations to be made. [Note: The island of Cannay, one of the Hebrides, affects the needle in a nearly similar manner. A rock in it is named The Loadstone Rock.] Observed the variation of the needle by azimuth, to be 6. 22. E. August 8.--We set off early this morning to ascend Mount Exmouth, distant four or five miles: at its base we crossed a pretty stream of water, having its source in the Mount; it took us nearly two hours of hard labour to ascend its rugged summits: we were however amply gratified for our trouble by the extensive prospect we had of the surrounding country. Directing our view to the west, Mount Harris and Mount Forster, whose elevations do not exceed from two to three hundred feet, were distinctly seen at a distance of eighty-nine miles. These two spots excepted, from the south to the north it was a vast level, resembling the ocean in extent and appearance. From east-north-east to south, the country was broken and irregular; lofty hills arising from the midst of lesser elevations, their summits crowned with perpendicular rocks, in every variety of shape and form that the wildest imagination could paint. To this grand and picturesque scenery, Mount Exmouth presented a perpendicular front of at least one thousand feet high, when its descent became more gradual to its base in the valley beneath, its total elevation being little less than three thousand feet. To the north-east commencing at N. 33. E., and extending to N. 51. E., a lofty and magnificent range of hills was seen lifting their blue heads above the horizon. This range was honoured with the name of the Earl of Hardwicke, and was distant on a medium from one hundred to one hundred and twenty miles: its highest elevations were named respectively Mount Apsley, and Mount Shirley. The country between Mount Exmouth and this bounding range was broken into rugged hills, and apparently deep valleys, and several minor ranges of hills also appeared. The high lands from the east and south-east gradually lessened to the north-west, when they were lost in the immense levels, which bound the interior abyss of this singular country; the gulf in which both water and mountain seem to be as nothing. Mount Exmouth seems principally composed of iron-stone; and some of the richest ore I had yet seen was found upon it. On its sides were many different stones; but its perpendicular cliffs were of a dark bluish grey colour, shining when broken, very heavy, and close grained. Mount Harris, and Mount Exmouth, are composed of distinct materials, and in their formation bear not the slightest resemblance to each other; the granite of the former being more allied to the hills to the south-south-east of it, from which however it is distant at least one hundred miles, a perfect level filling up the intermediate space. Many new, and otherwise interesting subjects of the indigenous botany were discovered on the hills: among which were a species of persoonia, not previously observed, some xanthorrhaeae or grass trees, and two or three coast plants. The heteromorphous sterculia of the interior, and some species of eucalyptus of very stunted growth covered its sides, which however for a considerable distance were not deficient in grass. Sandstone was found in large masses in the rivulet at its base, with pebbles of various colours, and of species none of which was found on the mount itself. It was near four o'clock before we returned to the tent, highly gratified with our excursion. August 9.--In the course of the day, I again ascended Loadstone Hill, and repeated the experiments made on Friday, with the same results. Several different stations on the summit were tried, and the needle was variously affected; the spot where the phenomenon was first observed seemed to have the greatest effect on the needle. A common sewing needle was strongly rubbed with a magnet, and balanced on the point of the rock, when it was much agitated, and the point flew round from the north to the south. The needle of the circumferenter, taken out of the box, was affected in a similar manner, only that when balanced on the rock, the fluid did not possess sufficient power to turn the point more than one point of the circle instead of quite round, as when balanced in the compass box. A compound magnet was laid on the rock, and applied to it in different ways, but it did not seem in any manner affected by the power which had so surprised us with its effect on the compass. The weather within the last week has become perceptibly warmer: the thermometer being seldom under 70 degrees at noon. The fires of the natives were seen at no great distance from us; and they seem to attend upon our motions pretty closely. The observations made here placed us in lat. 31. 13. S., long. 148. 41. 30. E., and I estimate the mean variation to be about 7 1/2 easterly. We found that no reliance could be placed on bearings taken with the compass on heights in this vicinity, and I am fearful that the bearings taken from Mount Exmouth will require verification, a difference of 4 degrees being observed in some, when compared with other bearings, which could not be supposed to be affected by the magnetic fluid. August 10.--Proceeded on our journey: our course for the first six or seven miles being to the north-north-east, and afterwards north-east half east, which latter course I intended to steer for some time. It was the best day's travelling we had experienced since quitting the Macquarie River, being generally over low strong ridges, the sides and summits of some of which were very thick brush of cypress trees, and small shrubs, particularly the last two miles. We stopped for the evening in an extensive low valley north of Mount Exmouth, and running under its base, bounded on the north-east by low forest hills. To the south the hills were rocky, abrupt, and precipitous. On the whole we accomplished eleven miles. August 11.--Our route lay over low valleys of considerable extent of open forest ground, but so soft and boggy, that it was with difficulty we made any progress: it would seem that much rain had fallen here lately, and completely saturated the soil, which is a light, sandy mould. In these valleys there are small streams of water, having their origin in the surrounding hills; they all terminate northerly. We could accomplish but seven miles on a north-east by east course. In the evening we had an awful storm of thunder and lightning, accompanied with torrents of rain. The reverberation of sound among the hills was astonishing. The natives continue in our vicinity unheeded, and unheeding: even the noise of their mogo upon the trees is a relief from the otherwise utter loneliness of feeling we cannot help experiencing in these desolate wilds. August 12.--We found that we could not maintain our direct course, as the low ground was so boggy, that the horses were altogether unable to move on it. Keeping therefore the banks of the little stream where the ground was firmer, we reached the chain of hills bounding the valley to the southward: we wound along the base of the hills on a variety of courses, not being able to quit them twenty yards without being bogged. Finding that the hills trended too much to the south-west, we kept down the bed of a small stream for two or three miles, and halted on a fine apple tree flat of rich land, watered by a very fine small stream, which was joined by the one we came down. The main strewn ran to the northward. The apple tree flats are uniformly of firm hard ground, while the soil on which grow the iron-bark, pine, and box, is as invariably a loose sand, rendered by the rain a perfect quicksand. These bogs are the more provoking, as without such impediments the country is clear and open, and as favourable for travelling over as could be wished: we have had any thing but a dry season, and it is to the heavy rain which might naturally be expected to fall near high mountains, that our present difficulties must be ascribed. We travelled between nine and ten miles, but our course made good was nearly south-east only five miles. A few new plants were found: the hills were a mere bed of iron ore. August 13.--We proceeded at our usual hour; and did not halt till near sunset, but accomplished no more than six miles, in the course of which the horses were obliged to be unladen, and the men carried the loads upwards of half a mile before the horses could be got across the quicksands. They are indeed properly so termed, consisting of two or three inches of light mould, on about eighteen inches of loose sand, the whole covering a rocky or stony bottom. On treading on them, water would fly up several inches; and it was with difficulty men could pass over them, much less horses. Quicksands of a similar nature prevented our reaching a small creek running under a high craggy ridge of hills; we therefore stopped at the edges of them, every body completely worn out. The appearance of the country passed over was most desolate and forbidding, but quite open, interspersed with miserable rocky crags, on which grew the cypress and eucalyptus. On the more level portions of the country, a new and large species of eucalyptus, and another of its genus (the iron bark), were the principal if not the only trees. Many of the rocks were pointed and basaltic, but the general species was a coarse sandstone. Miserable as the country was in other respects, it was fruitful in new plants. August 14.--As it rained hard during the night, and the rain still continued to fall in thick showers, I thought it advisable to rest. August 15.--Cloudy, with strong winds from the south-east. We crossed the creek about two miles from our resting-place, but soon found that any attempt to advance in that quarter would be abortive, the morass and quicksands extending into the very water, and denying all egress. We therefore recrossed the rivulet about a mile more northerly with better success, and succeeded in gaining some stony hills, which, with two or three intervening marshy valleys, continued for the rest of the day's route; the latter part being up very high, rocky, barren hills, with narrow defiles. From these heights we descended into a pretty valley of considerable extent, and, to our great joy, of sound, firm soil, with plenty of good grass: the water however was strongly impregnated with iron, so that we could hardly drink it. This valley, which we named Wiltden Valley, was enclosed on all sides except the north, by lofty, rocky hills of coarse sandstone, adorned with various species of acacia in full bloom, with a vast variety of other flowering shrubs of the most beautiful and delicate description, adding greatly to our botanical collection. We accomplished in the whole twelve or thirteen miles, about six of which were in the direction of our proper course. August 16.--We had hardly begun to lade the horses, when the rain recommenced with greater violence than in the night, and effectually prevented us from proceeding. The country presents sufficient obstructions to our progress, not to render the delay caused by a day's rain a matter of much inquietude. The loss of time is of little consideration, when compared with the soft and boggy ground which such heavy falls leave. A species of banksia was seen to-day under the same meridian as on the Macquarie. It would seem that particular productions of the vegetable as well as of the mineral kingdom run in veins nearly north and south through the country. This peculiarity has been remarked of other plants, besides the species of banksia. August 17.--Our course this day led us over a barren, rocky country, consisting of low stony ranges, divided by valleys of pure sand, and usually wet and marshy: latterly we appear to be descending from a considerable height, to a lower country to the north-east. The whole was a mere scrub covered with dwarf iron barks, apple trees, and small gums; the soil scarcely any thing but sand, on which grass grew in single detached roots. The horses fell repeatedly in the course of the day, and they were now so weak that they sank at every soft place. Between four and five o'clock, after travelling about ten hours, we stopped at a small drain of water for the night, having accomplished nearly eleven miles. In our track we saw no signs of natives, and the country seemed abandoned of every living thing. Silence and desolation reigned around. August 18.--It is impossible to describe in adequate language the different trying obstructions we encountered during this day's journey: after meeting and overcoming many minor difficulties of bog and quicksand, we had accomplished nearly eleven miles, and were looking out for a place to rest, when we entered a very thick forest of small iron barks which had been lately burnt; and their black stems and branches, with the dull bluish colour of their foliage, gave the whole a singularly dismal and gloomy appearance. So thick was the forest that we could hardly turn our horses, nor could the sun's rays penetrate to the sandy desert on which these trees grew. Without the usual appearances of a bog, our horses were in an instant up to their bellies, and the difficulties we had in extricating them would hardly obtain belief. In this dilemma, scarcely able to see which way to turn, we traversed the margin of this extensive quicksand for nearly three miles in a direction contrary to our course, before we could find firm ground or water for the horses, which we did not effect till sunset; and then (as for the last three days) there was nothing for them to eat but prickly grass, which possesses no nourishing qualities. This fare, after their hard labour, reduces them daily. August 19.--After wandering about the whole day without gaining any thing on our course, for the quicksands kept us revolving as it were in a circle, the exhaustion of the horses obliged us to stop. It was painful to behold them, after being disencumbered of their loads, lay themselves down like dogs about us: it was the fourth day that they had been without grass, and they preferred the tender branches of shrubs, etc., to the prickly grass. The backs of the greater part of them were, notwithstanding every care, dreadfully galled, so that they could, when first saddled, scarcely stand under their burdens. These quicksands lie in the hollows between the low irregular hills, which rise on this otherwise level country: their point of discharge is uniformly north-westerly. The union of many of these minor drains forms occasionally a large one, and the points of the hills which meet upon them afford the only means of crossing them. It was evident that the early part of the winter had been very wet., and the late rains had probably been the cause of these morasses, which still continued to drain themselves off in running water. This region must at all times be impassable from opposite causes: in wet seasons it is a bog; in dry ones, there is no water. Finding, as above remarked, that northerly and north-east the country declined as it were to nothing, it was resolved to pursue a more easterly course than that hitherto followed; and instead of attempting to go round the morasses which we might meet with to the north, to follow them southerly, a course which in time must certainly take us to a more elevated country. Such a road is rendered now absolutely necessary by the condition of the horses. Our dogs, which had so long contributed to our support, had been for the last four days dependant upon us for theirs, and we were too much indebted to their exertions not to share our meals with them with cheerfulness. These woods abound with kangaroo rats, and it is singular that, pinched as the dogs were, they would not touch them even when cooked. August 20.--This day after travelling upwards of nine miles, and having pushed the horses at the risk of their lives through two minor branches of the bog, what was our mortification to find, that we were within a few hundred yards of the spot we set out from! We had first attempted to cross the main bog northerly, and afterwards kept along its edge southerly; and the result was, that we found it to extend in a complete circle around us. From a slight rise in the centre of it, we could see the country to the north-east, north, and north-west, low and uneven; Hardwicke's Range distant about forty miles, bounding it between the north and east. The result of this day's exertion quite subdued our fortitude, and for a moment a feeling nearly allied to despair had possession of our minds. We knew not which way to turn ourselves. To return to Arbuthnot's Range, and again undergo what it had cost us so much to overcome, could not be thought of for a moment; but upon that mature reflection which our serious situation demanded, it was deemed the most prudent plan to return so far back as would enable us to reach the higher lands to the south-east. This we expected to do by Saturday evening: twenty miles back we had left land of considerable elevation; and we could only hope that in its vicinity we should find a dry ridge on which to accomplish our purpose, and occasionally a patch of country in which the horses might find subsistence; for they were at present very much reduced. August 23.--We returned yesterday to Parry's Rivulet, within twelve miles of Weltden Valley, which was the whole distance we had gone in the direction of our course towards the coast, although we had travelled during the week upwards of seventy miles. The weather for the last four days has been extremely tempestuous, with slight showers of hail and rain: the winds were chiefly from the west and north-west, the temperature being extremely cold for the latitude and season. The observations of to-day place this station in lat. 30. 57. 20., long. 149. 20. E. Variation 8. 42. E. August 24.--We were a little surprised at finding that a severe frost had taken place during the night, and that the thermometer was now as low as 28 degrees. Ice lay within a few yards of our fire, of the thickness of a dollar. Our course throughout the day was southerly, and led us up the banks of Parry's Rivulet. We experienced fewer difficulties than on any day since we had entered this desert, and accomplished between nine and ten miles, at the end of which we entered a small valley of good forest ground with tolerable grass; though early in the day, the horses needed refreshment too much, not to induce me to stop here for the remainder of it: as we could not at the utmost have gone above two miles farther. This valley, and the appearance of forest hills to the southward, gave us strong hopes that by continuing our present course for a day or two longer we should get into a better line of country, and be enabled to resume our easterly course. Parry's Rivulet was here a series of large ponds, near which were traces of natives, but of old date. In this desert, we have never met with any signs that can lead us to believe it has ever been before crossed by any human being. August 25.--A smart frost during the night: the morning fine and clear. At eight o'clock we proceeded on our route, taking a more easterly direction according to circumstances. Between three and four miles from our camp, we had an extensive view to the east and south-east, and saw with extreme satisfaction a lofty chain of fine forest hills thinly timbered, bearing east-south-east of us; and distant fourteen or fifteen miles. To the east were extensive flats, bare of timber, and apparently either composed of white sand, or covered with dead grass; our distance would not enable us to distinguish which: these flats were bounded by remote rising hills seemingly clear and open. A high peak, bearing north, was named Kerr's Peak; and a very lofty mount, under which the west extremity of the plains lay, was named Mount Tetley: and the westernmost remarkable hill in the chain first mentioned, Whitwell Hill. The bogginess and ruggedness of our route, for the remainder of the day, sufficiently tried our strength: we accomplished however thirteen miles, and halted in a small valley about four miles south of Whitwell Hill. This valley was bounded east and west by rocky hills, but the soil was better, and the grass of good quality. The base of these hills was of close-grained white-coloured granite, or whinstone: the summits of good freestone: on the sides several good pieces of iron ore were picked up. August 26.--While Mr. Evans proceeded with the horses on an eastern course for Mount Tetley, Dr. Harris and myself went towards the spacious valley at the foot of Whitwell Hill. This we soon reached, and travelled down its centre, along the banks of a beautiful stream of water which fertilized and drained it. The extent of this valley towards the south-west, we could not discover, as its windings were lost among the forest hills in that direction. We went down to the east between seven and eight miles, when we rejoined the horses at the base of an elevated conical hill, standing detached at its east entrance, which was here four or five miles wide. On ascending this hill, the view which was on all sides presented to our delighted eyes was of the most varied and exhilarating kind. Hills, dales, and plains of the richest description lay before us, bounded to the east by fine hills, beyond which were seen elevated mountains. To the north-east an extensive valley, from eight to ten miles wide, led to Hardwicke's Range, being a distance of about thirty-five miles. In this great valley were numerous low hills and plains, thinly studded with timber, and watered by the stream, down the banks of which we had travelled. From its eastern side, these low hills gradually rose to a loftier elevation: but were still thinly timbered, and covered with grass. To the east-south-east, and south-east, clear plains extended to the foot of very lofty forest hills, at a medium distance of from twenty-five to forty miles. These were the plains seen on our yesterday's route, and which we feared were sand. We found them to consist of a rich dry vegetable soil; and although, from their vast extent, they may, as a whole, be properly denominated plains, yet their surfaces were slightly broken into gentle eminences with occasional clumps, and lines of timber. Their white appearance was occasioned by the grass having been burnt early in the year, and the young growth killed by the frosts. The little rivulet, that watered the north-west side of this track of country, had overflowed within these few days; but the ground left by the retreating waters was as firm and solid, as those parts which had not been touched. The sides of the hills were of the same black mould, stony towards their summits, and the higher eminences rocky. The rocks were of a very hard whinstone, the stratum nearly perpendicular, or rather standing up in regular basaltic figures, similar to those on Loadstone Hill. These valleys and hills abound with kangaroos, and on the plains numbers of emus were seen. We seemed to be once more in the land of plenty, and the horses as well as men had cause to rejoice at the change, from the miserable harassing deserts through which we had been struggling for the last six weeks, to this beautiful and fertile country. From the hill on which we stood, bearings were taken to the most remarkable points and objects connected with the survey; and the most distinguished, in point of beauty or singularity of appearance, were honoured with distinctive appellations. The valley down which we had travelled was called Lushington's Valley (after the Secretary to His Majesty's Treasury); the extensive one to the north-east, leading to Hardwicke's Range, Camden Valley (after the noble Marquis); the plains to the east and south-east were honoured with the name of Lord Liverpool; the hills bounding Lushington's Valley, on the south side, Vansittart's Hills, after the Chancellor of the Exchequer; while several less remarkable hills were designated after persons endeared to our recollections by early friendship. A great variety of new plants rewarded the exertions of our botanist, in ascending Mount Tetley; and many, hitherto only known on the coast, were discovered on the hills and in the valleys: the acacia pendula was also seen; it had hitherto been the usual characteristic of wet lands, but it was here growing on the most dry and elevated situations. The timber on the plains and hills was chiefly those species of eucalyptus called apple tree, box, and gum trees; and on the banks of the rivulet were a few large casuarina. So much time was consumed in ascending hills and examining the country, that we did not go more than ten miles on a direct course: it was however time well bestowed. Three native fires were seen in Lushington's Valley, but the whole of this part of the country appears to be very thinly inhabited; a few wandering families making up the total of its population. The small rivulet in Lushington's Valley was named Yorke's Rivulet, in honour of Sir J. S. Yorke. August 27.--Pursuing our course to the eastward, towards the range of low hills bordering the plains in that quarter, between five and six miles, we came to a fine stream of water, crossing the plains from the south to the north. There had been a flood in this rivulet within these few days, marks of which were observed about fifteen feet high; but still within the banks. It appears that the plains are chiefly flooded from Yorke's Rivulet, the remaining waters of which, together with rain-water, were in several places still standing on the surface; but not to the extent that the horizontal level of these plains would have led me to suppose would probably be the case. The far greater portion was a rich dry soil, and that the water is never permanent on any part of them is clearly demonstrated by the total absence of any aquatic or bog plants. From this rivulet, the three main branches of these immense plains were clearly visible to the east by south-south-east, and north-east. Of the extent of the two former, we could only judge from the lofty bounding chains of hills in those quarters; and which we could not estimate to be nearer than from forty-five to fifty miles. Hardwicke's Range bounded these to the north-east, with many intervening beautiful hills and valleys. We found the distance across the plains to the hill where we stopped, to be upwards of fourteen miles on an east line. Chains and ridges of low forest hills, which gradually rise from the horizontal level, are scattered over these plains, and stand for the most part detached like islands; varying the scenery in a most picturesque manner, as they are generally clothed with wood of apple tree, cypress, and other species of eucalyptus, intermingled with various acacias in full flower. Mr. Evans ascended Mount Tetley to take bearings from it. He found the compass to be affected in a similar manner to that remarked on Loadstone Hill; the north point of it when placed on the rock, becoming the south. This remarkable alteration of the needle was also observed on several other hills in this vicinity, but in a less degree; the bearings generally varying from two to three points from the truth. On the hill under which we stopped this evening, named View Hill, the needle varied three points. In consequence of the heavy rains and recent floods, travelling on many parts of these plains was very heavy; the soil being a rick loose loam, of a dark red approaching to a black colour, but of great apparent fertility and strength: some hundreds of kangaroos and emus were seen in the course of the day. We killed several, the dogs being absolutely fatigued with slaughter: the game was by no means shy, but came close up to us, as if to examine us. Indeed I do not think they are much disturbed by natives, of whom we have seen few signs in this neighbourhood. The stream crossing the plains was named Bowen's Rivulet, in honour of Commissioner Bowen, of the Navy Board. August 28.--The season continues to get warm and sultry. We pursued an east-north-east course during our day's journey, leading us through a fine open forest country generally level in the direction of our course, but rising into forest hills to the north and south of us. At eight miles, ascending from this level, we saw the great plains which extend along the line of our course, and are separated from us by a rich open country of hill and vale, distant four or five miles. A branch from these plains led to the north-east across our course, and was distant five or six miles. We proceeded in the whole ten miles, and stopped in a pretty forest valley, with plenty of water and good grass. The stones composing the hills were very various, sometimes different species of granite, then sandstone, and on others loose slate. On View Hill we found particularly rich iron stone. The soil was uniformly good, and covered with grass; the country by no means thickly timbered, chiefly with box, and a few cypresses. August 29.--On our departure we almost immediately descended a rocky and steep hill, covered with cypress and small brush; from thence we descended upon a level forest country, which continued for the remainder of our journey (seven and a half miles), to the edge of the extensive flat which we had seen yesterday. As we should not have been able to cross it before nightfall, I thought it better to remain where there was plenty of grass and water. From our tent we had a singularly picturesque and pleasing prospect. To the north, Hardwicke's Range, distant between forty and fifty miles: the country broken into low forest hills and plains to its base. To the north-east, east, and south-east, our view was bounded by beautiful forest hills seldom rising to any great elevation, thinly wooded, and covered with grass. These hills bounded the plains, and varied in distance from ten to thirty miles. To the north-east the country was lowest, but appeared good and open: that part of the plain near which we encamped was wet and marshy; and the horizontal level of the whole appeared to warrant the supposition that at some (perhaps not distant) period, these vast plains formed chains of inland lakes, which the washings from the hills have now nearly filled up; as the water at present does not exceed a few inches in depth, and is only partially spread on the surface, forming but a moderate proportion of the whole. In dry seasons there is evidently none: the hills passed over this day were of a curious species of pudding-stone and freestone. The hills on the opposite side of the plains were named Melville Hills, in honour of the first Lord of the Admiralty; and the valley at the extremity of it leading to Hardwicke's Range, Barrow's Valley, after one of the secretaries of that board. August 30.--A day of rest and refreshment to ourselves and horses. Game abounds, and our dogs abundantly supply us. The observations made here, place our situation in lat. 31. 7., long. 150. 10. E. August 31.--We were agreeably disappointed, in finding that the wet marshy ground did not extend above three quarters of a mile, the remainder being dry firm land of the richest description: at six miles we crossed a considerable stream, running to the north through Barrow's Valley: this stream, divided the plain into nearly two equal parts, it being ten miles and a half across. This stream had been very recently flooded, and the water, yet muddy, had not subsided within its proper level; the height of the banks from fifteen to twenty feet. On the east side of the plain, we found the marsh extend about one mile and a quarter from the forest ground which borders it; though wet, it was now strong ground, and might easily be laid dry. On quitting the plains we entered a very fine open forest flat, through which we proceeded a mile and a half, and encamped for the evening under a lofty hill named Mount Dundas, by a small spring of excellent water. Ascending this mountain, we found that the country in the line of our course was high, broken forest land, the easternmost ranges of which (distant from thirty-five to forty miles) appeared to have a stream running under them, by reason of the thick haze which rose from the valley beneath. To the north bending round to the north-east, the country was beautifully picturesque, consisting of low, open forest hills, bounded by higher chains of hills that formed the southern side of the spacious valley under Hardwicke's Range; through which I no longer doubted that a considerable stream had its course, since all the waters we had hitherto crossed ran in that direction. A great many smokes, arising from the fires of the natives, were seen to the north-east and north. To the south-east, south, and south-west, our view extended over that vast tract of level champaign country intermingled with hills, sometimes rising into lofty peaks, as has already been described. The abundance of game, such as emus, and kangaroos, and of wild ducks on the stream, was wonderful: our dogs after severe battles killed two emus, who however tore one of them very dangerously. We called the river which divided and watered the plain Field's River, in honour of the Judge of the Supreme Court. September 1.--We pursued our course to the east-north-east, winding through rich valleys bounded by lofty forest hills for seven miles; when by a gentle descent we entered a rich and spacious vale, bounded on the east by very high hills, and on the west by others less elevated. At twelve miles we stopped at some ponds near the centre of the vale. The hills were very stony, of various species--granite, freestone, and pudding-stone; they were however well covered with grass, and quite clear and open; the valleys and levels excellent, with good timber, chiefly apple tree, box, and gum. On the higher ridges of the hills, and occasionally on their sides, were many fine cypresses: there was nothing grand or imposing in the scenery; but it was simple and attractive from its richness and extent: the hills sometimes rose into singular forms which were continually changing in our progress, and appeared well calculated to afford an ample range of sheep pasture. The extensive vale in which we stopped was named Goulburn Vale, in honour of the under Secretary of State for the colonies. September 2.--Our expectations of finding a river to the eastward, were this day verified: after passing for eleven miles across this beautiful vale, we came to a deep and rapid stream running to the north, through the valley whose eastern side it waters: finding it too deep to be forded, we constructed a bridge across a narrow part of it, by felling such large trees as would meet, by which the baggage was taken over: the horses were swum across. One of the men, foolishly attempting to swim over on a horse, nearly paid for his imprudence with his life: as he could not swim, he was carried down the stream near a quarter of a mile, and was several minutes under water. His body being providentially washed across a log, was the means of his preservation. It was late in the afternoon before our passage across was effected, so that we halted on the banks. This was the largest interior river (with the exception of the Macquarie and Castlereagh), which we had yet seen. It would be impossible to find a finer or more luxuriant country than it waters: north and south, its extent is unknown, but it is certainly not less than sixty miles, whilst the breadth of the vale is on a medium about twenty miles. This space between the bounding hills is not altogether level, but rises into gentle inequalities, and independently of the river is well watered; the grass was most luxuriant; the timber good and not thick: in short, no place in the world can afford more advantages to the industrious settler, than this extensive vale. The river was named Peel's River, in honour of the Right Hon. Robert Peel. A great many new plants were found to-day and yesterday, chiefly of the orchis tribe [Note: Orchideae of Juss. and BROWN.]: we saw numbers of the ornithorynchus, or water mole, in the river, also a few turtle: we were not successful in obtaining any fish, so that we were unable to decide whether it contained the same species as the Macquarie. September 3.--After passing over a fine and gently rising country for between four and five miles, we ascended a very lofty chain of hills, being the eastern boundary of Goulburn Vale; these hills were of good soil, and covered with excellent grass to their very summits. Ascending two of the highest ridges, several circular orifices were observed on them about twelve feet in diameter, and five feet deep. Great quantities of small stones resembling basaltes were in heaps round the edges, at a little distance from which the stones were perpendicular, and firmly bedded in the earth; many of them regular six-sided figures, and all fractured into laminae, from two to nine inches in thickness. The rocks upon this range were of a peculiarly hard quality, and of a deep blue colour, approaching to black when broken. The country easterly appeared broken into a series of rocky detached hills: and on descending this range, we found an immediate change in the quality of the soil, being in the valleys of a light coarse sand, the surface covered with gritty particles as from pulverised coarse granite. The difference in the rocks composing the hills was here very remarkable, being a very coarse granite of the same description as in the neighbourhood of Bathurst, scattered in immense masses both in the valleys and on the hills; and our astonishment was more than once excited at the causes which could have effected their removal from their primitive bed. On a hill near which we encamped, was a single mass of granite apparently thrown up perpendicularly from the bosom of the earth: it was twenty-six feet high and had six distinct sides, ending in an irregular point at the summit, and was forty-eight feet in circumference. The valleys, though sandy, afforded us plenty of good grass and water, and the hills furnished abundant employment for the botanical collector. September 4.--After leaving the valley in which we encamped, we entered one much more extensive, and communicating with Goulburn Vale. Between five and six miles on our route, we reached a beautiful small river coming from the eastward and joining Peel's River, of which it appears to be a principal branch. For the remainder of the day's journey, we proceeded up the fine valley which this stream watered, bounded on the north and south by lofty and fertile hills covered with rich herbage, having numerous smaller valleys and streams terminating in this principal valley. The whole scenery was thinly clothed with wood, and occasionally a bold craggy promontory terminating at the river gave it a diversity, which its general softness of feature or outline required: there were no principal ranges of hills, but they broke in and upon each other, forming the utmost variety of shape. The rocks and stones which composed the bases and summits of these hills, were not less various than their form: scarcely two were alike. Granite, coarse porphyry, freestone, and whinstone were frequently found on the same hill, and the beds of the streams were of every variety of pebble. This fine stream received the name of Cockburn River. September 5.--Our course this day sometimes led us over very elevated ridges, and at other times through deep and rich valleys. Some of these hills were at least three thousand feet in height, and clothed with grass to their summits. Others of the less elevated were entirely free from rocks, and of the finest soil. The timber chiefly box, with some few trees of another species of eucalyptus called stringy bark, and cypress. A number of small streams watered the deep valleys to the north and south, falling into Cockburn River. Large quantities of quartz were in various places, as also good flint, which was found in large masses in the bed of Cockburn River, and also in small pieces on the hills. This was the second flint that has been discovered in New South Wales. We halted in a small and beautiful valley near Cockburn River, after having accomplished nine miles. September 6.--A day of rest. The observations place this station in lat. 31. 04. 35 S., long. 151. 05. 30. E., variation 9. 58. E. September 7.--The morning clear and fine. At half past seven o'clock we proceeded on our journey: in the whole course of it, we never experienced more precipitous travelling than during the first six miles. Travellers, less accustomed to meet difficulties, might perhaps have been a little alarmed at traversing such steep and shelving hills, the loose stones on which added to the insecurity of our footing. Nevertheless we found it extremely pleasant, from the romantic beauty of the scenery and the freshness of the verdure. We had been ascending an extremely elevated country for the last thirty miles; and I was in great hopes of soon reaching the point of division between the eastern and western waters. By a tolerably easy acclivity, we gained that which I took to be the highest of these congregated hills, in hopes it might possibly lead into a main range. From its summit we had a very extensive prospect over the country we had left, and also to the southward, in which direction the land appeared broken and hilly, and but thinly clothed with timber. To the east and north-east it appeared far less broken, and certainly less elevated than the ridge we were on. This ridge soon expanded to a broad surface of open forest land, and proceeding on it to the east about a mile, we perceived in the valley beneath us a considerable and rapid stream running to the north, and afterwards apparently taking a more easterly direction. A more remarkable change in the outward appearance of a country was perhaps never before witnessed. In less than a mile, the timber had entirely changed from the bastard box to another kind of eucalyptus, called common blue gum, which grew in great luxuriance in the country before us. Until now this species had never been seen except on the immediate banks of running streams. In the course of the day, great quantities of fine stringy bark were also seen. The soil, instead of the light black mould, which had been the general covering of the country, was now changed to a stiff tenacious clay; and although well clothed with grass, its less luxuriant growth evidently showed the difference of soil not to be favourable. From this hill or range we descended very gradually for nearly two miles to the river before seen, and up the banks of which we proceeded about a mile farther, when we halted for the evening. The country was perfectly open, though much covered with fallen timber; the banks of the river sloping and quite clear of timber; and being within one hundred miles of the sea coast, I had a strong belief that we had descended from the highest land, and that we should meet with no dividing ranges in the course of our future progress. It is impossible to form any certain conclusion at present, as to the course taken by this stream. Whether it finds its way to the coast, or is lost like the other streams of this country, will, I think, in a great measure depend upon the fact of our having crossed the highest ranges of the country. One of the men who had taken the dogs out after kangaroos fell in with a party of natives, among whom were some women and children. Two of the men accompanied him to the tent. It was evident from the whole tenor of their behaviour that they had previously heard of white people (most probably from the settlement at New Castle); their appearance was most miserable, their features approached deformity, and their persons were disgustingly filthy: their small attenuated limbs seemed scarcely able to support their bodies; and their entire person formed a marked contrast to the fine and manly figures of their brethren in the interior. We gave them a small turtle which we had just caught in the river, and they sat down to dress it instantly. In fact, their cooking was very simple; the fire soon separated the shell from the meat, which with the entrails was devoured in a few minutes. Some of the people went to visit their camp, where they found eight or ten men, but the women and children were sent away. The same jealousy of women exists throughout the interior. The great number of fallen trees was in some measure accounted for by the men observing about a dozen trees on fire near this camp, no doubt the more easily to expel the opossums, rats, and other vermin which inhabit their hollows. We were not successful with our lines, though the depth and breadth of the river had made us a little sanguine. There did not appear any great marks of flood; none was seen exceeding five feet in height, which led us to conclude its source was not very distant. This river was named Sydney, as we this day crossed the meridian of that town. September 8.--We proceeded up Sydney River to the south-east about three miles before we could find a convenient Place to Cross, as the stream ran with great rapidity over a rocky bottom. The country on either side sloped to the river with gradual declension, and was an open forest country. On crossing the river, we passed through some noble forests of stringy bark, growing generally on the sides and ridges of stony barren hills: thew forests extended above two miles from the east of the river., after which the country became perfectly open, and of a level, or rather alternately rising surface. To the north and north-east the river was beautiful, the same description of country extending as far as the eye could reach, with no elevated points or ridges to obstruct it. Indeed I am clearly of opinion, that if we had kept a more northerly course from Lushington Valley, we should have avoided the rugged though fine country we have passed through for the last two days. The determination of all the hills and slopes is northerly, and the rivers which we have crossed have also taken the same direction. We proceeded about nine miles farther through the finest open country, or rather park, imaginable; the general quality of the soil excellent, though of a strong and more tenacious description than farther westerly. We halted in a fine and spacious valley, where art, so far as it is an auxiliary of beauty, would have been detrimental to the fresher and simpler garb of nature. This valley was watered by a fine brook, and at a a distance of a mile we saw several fires, at which appeared many natives: upon discovering us, however, they immediately departed. I think that the most fastidious sportsman would have derived ample amusement during our days journey. He might without moving have seen the finest coursing, from the commencement of the chase to the death of the game: and when tired of killing kangaroos, he might have seen emus hunted with equal success. We numbered swans and ducks among our acquisitions, which in truth were caught without much exertion on our part, or deviating, in the least from our course. Granite and a hard whinstone were the most predominant among the stones; small pieces of quartz, and loose rotten slates covered the tracks, on which grew some of the finest stringy bark trees I ever saw. Indeed the other timber, which consisted chiefly of common blue gum, was far larger than usually seen on forest lands. That species of casuarina called the beef wood (or she oak), was also seen to-day for the first time: it is in part a coast tree, and sufficiently denoted that we were approaching the sea. Observed the variation of the compass to be 8. 51. E. September 9.--In the night we had a severe frost, which in the morning was succeeded by a dense fog. We found however that it was confined to the valley, for on ascending the hills, the prospect was clear and open. We passed over a beautiful and well-watered country for about six miles, when we came on the rivulet which we had quitted in the morning; but now, by the addition of several brooks from the valleys, increased to a considerable stream. Its banks were quite clear of timber, and expanded into extensive sheets of water, which added greatly to the beauty of the scenery. This stream running to the east southeast verified the conjecture that we had passed the dividing range of hills, and that this and most probably Sydney River (much superior in magnitude) were coast streams. Crossing the former, we ascended a hill on the opposite side, from whence the river's course was seen to the south-east, running through a fine and open country. To the northward and north-east the prospect was equally satisfactory, the hills being connected by long and easy slopes, which would have rendered their ascent a matter of little difficulty had our course lain over them. After crossing the river, the country still continued open, but the soil was not so good, and we found that we were ascending in a gradual manner. For the last five miles the country was thickly timbered with stringy bark and gum trees, the soil bad, and crossed by numerous wet hollows, which showed we were nearly on the summit of a level and extensive range of hills. We accomplished fourteen miles with much ease, and halted for the evening in a thick stringy bark forest, where there was worse entertainment for both man and horse than we had experienced for some weeks. September 10.--A tempestuous morning, with occasional showers of small rain, prevented us from quitting our camp. In the intervals of fair weather, I walked to a hill about one mile off, being the highest part of the range we were upon. Our prospect from it was exceedingly grand and picturesque. The country from north to south-east was broken into perpendicular rocky ridges, and divided longitudinally by deep and apparently impassable glens. The rocks were covered with climbing plants, and the glens abounded with new and beautiful ones. Our collector descended one of those nearest to us, and was amply repaid by the acquisition of nearly sixty most desirable plants, some of which appeared even to constitute new genera. The rocks were covered with epidendra [Note: Of the genera cymbidium and dendrobium of Swartz.], bignoniae, or trumpet-flowers, and clematides, or virgin's bower, of which last genus three species apparently new were discovered. Far different was the character of these glens from the rugged and barren blue mountain ranges: fine open forest land ended abruptly on the precipices. The bottoms were of the richest soil, the rocks instead of being of a coarse sandstone were of a hard texture, and of a blue shining appearance when broken. The country eastward of these glens appeared very lofty, and much broken; but as in the direction of our course, we should have some miles of good open country to travel over, we had strong hopes that our difficulties would prove greater in contemplation than reality. Among the timber in these glens were some of the stateliest stringy bark trees that we had ever beheld: in fact, the timber altogether is unusually good. To the south-west and north-west, the country is low and beautifully diversified by long sloping hills. September 11.--Our course for near eight miles led us along a broad and very elevated ridge of poor forest land, intermixed with brush; when we were stopped from proceeding farther eastward by the deep chasm or glen, which we had seen at a distance yesterday. This tremendous ravine runs near north and south, its breadth at the bottom does not apparently exceed one hundred or two hundred feet, whilst the separation of the outer edges is from two to three miles. I am certain that in perpendicular depth it exceeds three thousand feet. The slopes from the edges were so steep and covered with loose stones, that any attempt to descend even on foot was impracticable. From either side of this abyss, smaller ravines of similar character diverged, the distance between which seldom exceeded half a mile. Down them trickled rills of water, derived from the range on which we were. We could not however discern which way the water in the main valley ran, as the bottom was concealed by a thicket of vines and creeping plants. From the range on which we were, we could distinctly see the coast line of hills. The country between us and the coast was of an equal elevation, and appeared broken and divided by ravines and steep precipices. We continued along the edge of this ravine southerly for about four miles, when we halted for the day. Our only hope of being enabled to cross this barrier depends upon our pursuing a southerly course, when if the waters run northerly, the dividing range between them and Hunters River will permit us again to turn easterly. If on the contrary they run southerly, their junction with Hunter's River will equally (it is to be hoped) facilitate that object. September 12.--We were obliged during the whole of this day's journey, to keep along the ridge bordering on the glen. It is impossible to form a correct idea of the wild magnificence of the scenery without the pencil of a Salvator. Such a painter would here find an ample field for the exercise of his genius. How dreadful must the convulsion have been that formed these glens! The principal glen led us to the westward: there were others that fell into it from the southward; but we perceived that the waters in it ran north-easterly, which gave us strong hopes of soon being enabled to head it. Several times in the course of the day we attempted to descend on foot; but after getting with much difficulty a few hundred yards, we were always stopped by perpendicular precipices. Scarcely a quarter of a mile elapsed without a spring from the top of the ridge crossing our track, forming at its entrance into the main glen a vast ravine. The ridge along which we travelled was, as might be expected, very stony. It was otherwise open forest land, thickly timbered with large, stringy bark trees, casuarinae, and a large species of eucalyptus. Kangaroos abounded on it, and the tracks of emus were also seen. September 13.--We were too anxious to find a passage across this river (for such we now perceived it to be), to permit us to rest this day. We proceeded on a variety of courses to avoid the deep ravines or glens which conducted numerous small streams of water to the principal one. Our road was very rugged, and our elevation sometimes very considerable, every part heavily timbered. Our course, which led us chiefly west, now terminated at one of the most magnificent waterfalls we had ever seen. The water was precipitated over a perpendicular rock at least one hundred and fifty feet in height in one unbroken sheet, falling into a large reservoir about one third down the whole declivity: hence it wound its way through the glen for about half a mile farther, when it joined the main stream. This grand fall was called Beckett's Cataract, in honour of the Judge Advocate General. It now commenced raining so heavily that we were obliged to stop on the spot, though by no means an eligible situation. We had not seen any place where there had been the slightest possibility of descending; but as we were not many miles from the river which we crossed on Wednesday last, we knew that this rugged country must soon end. September 14.--The weather preventing us from proceeding, parties were sent out to search the banks of the glen, for a place by which to descend and cross it. Two of the people traced it up so far as to ascertain that the river which we had crossed on Wednesday was the same which had so embarrassed us. It entered the glen in a fall of vast height: above, there was no difficulty in crossing it, the country being clear and open, and of moderate height. A kangaroo was chased to this fall, down which he leapt and was dashed to pieces; like the hero of Wordsworth's "Hartleap Well." It is wonderful that the dogs escaped the same fate. We had been also successful in finding a passage nearer to the tent. About a mile above Beckett's Cataract, a pass was discovered by which we might descend, and the opposite side appeared equally favourable. It appears that we have been hitherto deceived respecting the magnitude of the river which runs through the glen, owing to the vast height from which it was viewed, and to our being seldom within a mile of it. The geologist would here have a most interesting field for research, and would doubtless be enabled to account for those natural phenomena, which, from their defiance of all rule, perplex us so greatly. These mountains abound with coal and slate. The dip of the rocks on this side (the north) of the glen, is about twenty degrees to the west. September 15.--We first attempted the pass nearest to us, and which was reported to be practicable. The horses with tolerable ease descended the first ridge, which was about one third down; but it was impossible to proceed a step farther with them: indeed we had the utmost difficulty to get them back again. Three of them actually rolled over, and were saved only by the trees from being precipitated to the bottom. Quitting this place, we proceeded up the glen, into which many small streams fell from the most awful heights, forming so many beautiful cascades. After travelling five or six miles, we arrived at that part of the river at which, after passing through a beautiful and level though elevated country, it is first received into the glen. We had seen many fine and magnificent falls, each of which had excited our admiration in no small degree, but the present one so far surpassed any thing which we had previously conceived even to be possible, that we were lost in astonishment at the sight of this wonderful natural sublimity, which perhaps is scarcely to be exceeded in any part of the eastern world. The river, after passing through an apparently gentle rising and fine country, is here divided into two streams, the whole width of which is about seventy yards. At this spot, the country seems cleft in twain, and divided to its very foundation: a ledge of rocks, two or three feet higher than the level on either side, divides the waters in two, which, falling over a perpendicular rock two hundred and thirty-five feet in height, forms this grand cascade. At a distance of three hundred yards, and an elevation of as many feet, we were wetted with the spray which arose like small rain from the bottom: the noise was deafening; and if the river had been full, so as to cover its entire bed, it would have been perhaps more awfully grand, but certainly not so beautiful. After winding through the cleft rocks about four hundred yards, it again falls in one single sheet upwards of one hundred feet, and continues in a succession of smaller falls about a quarter of a mile lower, where the cliffs are of a perpendicular height, on each side exceeding one thousand two hundred feet, the width at the edges about two hundred yards. From thence it descends as before described until all sight of it is lost, from the vast elevation of the rocky hills which it divides and runs through. The different points of this deep glen seem as if they would fit into the opposite fissures which form the smaller glens alternately on either side. The whole is indeed a grand natural spectacle, and is an indubitable mark of the vast convulsions which this country must at one period have undergone. The rocks are all slate, the upper romanae of which are of a light brown colour, rotten, and easily separated. Nearer the base or surface of the water they are of a dark blue, and of a firmer texture. The waters are quite discoloured, owing to the nature of the bed over which they run, the soluble particles of coal among the slate tinging them a dark brown. This fine fall is not more than five miles below the place where we crossed the river on the 9th instant, and we were doubtless prevented from hearing the noise of the waters, by the numerous smaller falls in the vicinity. This most magnificent fall and the river itself were respectively named Bathurst and Apsley, in honour of the Noble Secretary of State for the colonies. Although a week had elapsed in effecting the passage of this river, we could not consider it as entirely lost, especially as it enabled us to ascertain that its direction was to the coast; and we hoped that the nature of the country would permit us to fix its embouchure. September 16.--The weather for some days past has been very unseasonable, cold and tempestuous, with frequent heavy and continued showers of rain: this remarkable coldness of temperature in such a latitude (31 degrees,) I cannot but attribute to the considerable elevation of the country above the sea, being certainly between four and five thousand feet. We proceeded to the south-east during this day's journey, on purpose to avoid the broken land in the vicinity of the river. It was good travelling though hilly: the soil, for the most part, a poor clay; and the timber not so good or large as usual. There was however much good land, particularly in the valleys, through every one of which a stream of water took its course to the river. At twelve miles, we halted on the banks of a considerable and rapid stream watering an extensive and wide valley. The many waters which fall into Apsley River must very considerably increase its magnitude; and I am in hopes after it has cleared this mountainous tract and we again fall in with it, that we shall find it a useful as well as fine stream. The river on which we encamped was named Croker's River, in honour of the First Secretary of the Admiralty. September 17.--We proceeded on an easterly course during this day's journey; and seven miles from Croker's River crossed a smaller stream running to the north-east. For the first ten miles the country was very poor and badly timbered, with barren stony hills; but from the last mentioned stream to our halting-place, at the end of twelve miles, though the land was hilly the soil was excellent, consisting of a rich, dark mould. The hills were particularly rich and thickly clothed with fine timber, blue gum, and stringy bark. We halted on the side of a hill, from the top of which we could see a great distance to the north and east. In the first quarter, lofty hills were seen from eighty to one hundred miles off, and generally very irregular. To the east the land was elevated, but more divided by sloping valleys, and we augured that at least for thirty miles in the direction of our course, we should not meet with any such serious obstruction as the last: indeed we imagined we could trace the course of the river nearly on a parallel line with us. We this day saw a solitary native, but I believe we were indebted for the sight rather to the circumstance of his being deprived of the use of his limbs than to his boldness or curiosity. Two or three families had been encamped on the spot where we found him, but they had all departed. He seemed more astonished than alarmed at the sight of our cavalcade, and expressed his wonder in a singular succession of sounds, resembling snatches of a song. His countenance was mild and pleasing, and was entirely divested of the ferocity we had seen expressed in the visages of some of his countrymen: he had lost the upper front tooth, and I think it was probable that he had heard of such beings as ourselves before. He was a miserable object: several ribs on his left side had been broken; his back was twisted, which apparently had been the means of depriving him of the use of his limbs, as no injury could be discovered about them. September 18.--During the night and this morning it has continued to blow a perfect equinoctial storm. We were in constant dread that some of the branches of the trees which surrounded us would fall on the tent. Proceeding on our course to the east-north-east, we did not advance above a mile and a half before a small stream running to the north-east through a very steep and narrow valley obliged us to alter our course more southerly, which we did, and soon entered a forest of stringy bark and blue gum trees of immense size and great beauty. The soil on which they grew was a rich vegetable mould covered with fern trees [Note: Alsophila australis of Brown.] and small shrubs. We found that this part of the country was intersected by deep valleys, the sides of which were clothed with stately trees, but of what kind we were ignorant: creepers and smaller timber trees, all of species not previously noticed by us, grew so extremely thick that we found it impossible to penetrate through them. We therefore continued along the edge of those valleys, our progress much impeded by the vast trunks of fallen trees in a state of decay, some of which were upwards of one hundred and fifty feet long, without a branch, as straight as an arrow, and from three to eight and ten feet in diameter. The forest through which we travelled appeared to be an elevated level or plain, and at three o'clock in the afternoon, after proceeding three or four miles to the westward, we cleared this truly primeval forest, and descended into a small valley of open ground, through which ran the stream we had crossed in the morning. Indeed we were not more than two miles south of the place we had quitted. Our hope of proceeding without much interruption was thus disappointed: the gloominess of the weather, and the constant showers that fell, so impeded our view and distorted its objects, that what appeared plain and practicable at a distance of two or three miles, when approached was found impassable. I think it probable, however, that our most serious obstructions will be the thickness of the timber, rotten trees, and creeping plants; the soil is so rich and free from rocks, that I do not think the steepness of the descents will greatly endanger us. The wind, which had been extremely violent all day, was now accompanied by heavy showers; and we thought ourselves extremely fortunate in not being obliged to encamp in the forest. The storm as the evening advanced increased to almost a hurricane, with torrents of rain. Since Apsley River had been ascertained to take a direction coast-wise, the principle which governed the direction of our course had been to endeavour to make a port on the coast laid down in lat. 30. 45. S., and which I had an idea might probably receive this river, now increased by a multitude of smaller streams, and if so, that it might serve as a point of communication with the fine country in the interior. It is true this port is marked as a bar harbour; but I knew that it had never been examined, and I was aware how possible it was for a harbour to appear closed by a reef from a ship sailing at a distance along the coast. At all events the point was worth ascertaining; and notwithstanding the repeated disappointments we had experienced in attempting a north-easterly course, I shall, if we are enabled to clear the deep valleys we are at present embarrassed with, persevere for some time longer. I consider it every way important to know into what part of the coast these waters are discharged. September 19.--The storm continued to rage with unabated violence throughout the night and the whole of this day, accompanied by torrents of rain and hail: the weather was also extremely cold and bleak; the thermometer in the mornings and evenings being not more than 5 or 6 degrees above the freezing point: indeed, the season much nearer resembles the winter of a far more southern latitude than the spring of lat. 31. September 20.--Towards the morning the storm abated, but throughout the day it was dark and gloomy, with passing showers. In the present state of the weather we did not think it prudent to attempt penetrating through the thick forests which we knew were before us, and our horses would be the better for rest. The botanical collector descended into one of the valleys nearest to us, and found the sides of it clothed with the timber before mentioned: it was quite new to us. Some of the flower and seed were procured, as it was generally found in full flower, which gave these stately trees a richness and beauty I had never seen equalled. A great variety of other equally interesting plants was also found, some of them new species of timber. The valleys were of the richest soil, having a small run of water in their bottoms. Observed the variation by evening azimuth to be 10. 39. E. September 21.--With a severe frost, the morning and day were finer than usual, though the weather was very unsettled. We accomplished seven miles on a south-east by east course, through a very heavily wooded country; the timber generally of the best description, and the soil, with some partial exceptions, was equally good and rich. It was, however, so thickly covered with ferns and bushes among the trees, with vines running from them, that in many places we found it difficult to pass. Our course was accidentally such as to avoid all the deep valleys but two, the descents of which were extremely difficult. In them strong streams of water ran to the north-east, no doubt joining the main river. From the hill over one of the streams near which we halted the coast line of hills was plainly seen; and we appeared to have but a rugged journey before us. Our horses too were so extremely weak and crippled, that the short distance we are enabled to travel is accomplished with pain and difficulty. We were forced to leave one of them about a mile and a half from our resting-place, as he was utterly unable even to walk without his load. which was distributed among the others. Some natives' fires were seen about two miles to the north-east of us in the same valley. September 22.--A dark tempestuous morning. Sent back for the horse we left yesterday afternoon: he was somewhat recovered, and may perhaps live to reach the coast, the point whither our hopes have long pointed, and where I trust the horses will experience some relaxation from their present incessant but necessary labour. We had no choice in the route we pursued this day, taking that which appeared most practicable for men and horses: it was a continued ascending and descending of the most frightful precipices, so covered with trees and shrubs and creeping vines, that we frequently were obliged to cut our way through: at the bottom of one of these, we left the sick horse in a dying state. To add to our perplexities, it rained incessantly, and was so thick and dark, that towards evening it was with difficulty we could see sufficient of our way to avoid being dashed to pieces. About two hours before sunset, after a descent of upwards of five thousand feet, we found ourselves at the bottom of the glen, through which ran a small stream; but a passage down it was impossible, as it fell over rocky precipices to a still greater depth. The opposite side was a mountain equally steep with the one we had just descended. The horses were also so weak that it was impossible they could take their loads up it, and there was no possibility of remaining on the spot, since there was neither grass nor room even to lie down. All the heavy baggage was therefore obliged to be left behind, and by unremitted exertion we were enabled to gain a small spot of ground, formed by the mountains retiring from the immediate descent to the gulf below. It was, however, near eight o'clock before this was accomplished; and we were after all obliged to leave two of the horses below, as all our attempts to move them were fruitless, even when unladen; a circumstance which we lamented the more, as they were on a spot that did not afford a blade of grass. The rain ceasing, was succeeded about nine o'clock by one of the severest storms of wind I ever remember to have witnessed; and for the first time perhaps during the journey, we were alarmed for our personal safety. The howling of the wind down the sides of the mountain, the violent agitation of the trees, and the crash of falling branches, made us every instant fear that we should be buried under the ruins of some of the stupendous trees which surrounded us. September 23.--Towards midnight the storm abated, and allowed us to pass the remainder of the night in comparative comfort. The morning broke fair, and as the state of the horses would not permit us to attempt ascending the mountain with the baggage to-day, I contented myself with dispatching them for the provisions left last night at the bottom of the precipice, and to get up if possible the two remaining horses, whilst Mr. Evans and myself should explore the range, and endeavour to find out a somewhat more practicable route. We proceeded to ascend the mountain, the summit of which was near two miles distant, and in many places extremely difficult and abrupt. We however remarked on our road seven native huts, which increased our hopes that these mountains would lead by a comparatively easy descent to the coast line of country. Bilboa's ecstasy at the first sight of the South Sea could not have been greater than ours, when on gaining the summit of this mountain, we beheld Old Ocean at our feet: it inspired as with new life: every difficulty vanished, and in imagination we were already at home. We proceeded sufficiently far to discover, that although our descent would be both difficult and dangerous, it would not be impracticable. The country between us and the sea was broken into considerable forest hills and pleasing valleys, down the principal of which we could distinguish a small stream taking its course to the sea. To the north and south the country was mountainous and broken beyond any thing we had seen. Indeed, some idea of those barrier mountains may be formed from the circumstance, that although we could distinctly see the ocean, and the waving of the coast line, (which within the distance of ten or twelve miles from the beach appeared low), yet we were still nearly fifty miles from it. I estimated the height of this mountain at between six and seven thousand feet; and yet the country north and south appeared equally elevated. Numerous smokes arising from natives' fires announced a country well inhabited, and gave the whole picture a cheerful aspect, which reflected itself on our minds; and we returned to the tents with lighter hearts and better prospects. In removing the baggage left at the bottom of the hill a short quarter of a mile, a most distressing accident occurred. A mare, one of the strongest we had, in bringing up a very light load, not a quarter of her usual burden, and when within one hundred yards of the tent, literally burst with the violent exertion which the ascent required. In this shocking state, with her entrails on the ground, she arrived at the tent, when, to put an end to her agonies, she was shot. This was a serious loss to us, in addition to that which we suffered on the day before: and three more horses were so worn, that I scarcely expected to force them along even unladen. It must not be supposed that we attempted to climb these hills in a direct line; it would have been scarcely possible for a man to do it: we wound round them in every practicable direction; and the loose rich soil of which they were generally composed, together with the thickness of the timber, by preventing our falling, favoured our progress. In the course of the afternoon I tried the angle of elevation and depression on various parts, and found it to be from 30 to 35 and even 40 degrees. By the same means we found that the mountain which we had descended yesterday evening exceeded four thousand seven hundred feet in height on those angles. The mountain we shall have to ascend to-morrow is very considerably higher; but, with one or two exceptions, the ascents are not so abrupt. After the provisions were brought up, all hands were sent to cut a road for the horses through the brushes which surrounded the bottoms of the steepest ascents, and without which it would have been impossible for them to pass laden; the vines which crossed each other in various directions forming an almost impenetrable barrier. It may seem superfluous to speak of soil and timber among such mountains as these; yet I will say that except where the rocks presented a perpendicular face, and along the highest ridges, the soil was light and good. The timber consisted of blue gum and stringy bark, and forest oak [Note: Casuarina torulosa.] of the largest dimensions: the gorges of the valleys were covered with loose small stones, and in those gorges all the trees which are usually found in places of a similar description in the district of the Five Islands (with the exception of the red cedar), were to be met with. The stones and rocks were mixed with a considerable portion of quartz, and were generally in loose detached masses of various sizes. The mountain from whence we first saw the ocean was named Sea View Mount, and I should think might be distinctly seen by ships at some distance from the coast. September 24.--At eight o'clock the horses began to ascend the mountain, and it was twelve before we reached the summit, a distance of exactly two miles. How the horses descended I scarcely know; and the bare recollection of the imminent dangers which they escaped, makes me tremble. At one period of the descent, I would willingly have compromised for a loss of one third of them, to ensure the safety Of the remainder. It is to the exertions and steadiness of the men, under Providence, that their safety must be ascribed. The thick tufts of grass and the loose soil also gave them a surer footing, of which the men skillfully availed themselves. The length of the descent was two measured miles and three quarters, and upon first, an angle of depression of 40 degrees for one thousand two hundred and fifty-four feet: we then slightly ascended 4 or 6 degrees for four thousand six hundred and twenty, and from thence the descent, in a continued straight line, to the run of water at the base, was on the various angles of 28, 32, 35, 40, and 46 degrees, eight thousand five hundred and eighty feet; from whence I deduce the perpendicular height to be nearly six thousand feet, which is certainly underrated. The descent terminated in a very narrow steep valley, down which we proceeded for near three quarters of a mile, when the small stream before mentioned joined a very considerable one seen yesterday from Sea View Mount; and the valley opening, we halted on the banks of the river on a spot which afforded us plenty of excellent grass, and was in other respects favourable for that rest which the horses required before they could resume their journey. One of the horses when about a third down the mountain was quite incapable of proceeding, we therefore were obliged to leave him for the night, with the loads of two other horses. It was past four o'clock before we arrived at our halting-place, having been exactly three hours and a half in descending. September 25.--Despatched the men to bring down the horse and the baggage left on the mountain yesterday. They returned in the afternoon with both, but the horse was scarcely able to stand. In the course of the day examined the valley a few miles, when we found that it opened considerably four or five miles down; the hills previously thereto being very steep, but covered with grass, and abounding with kangaroos. It was therefore determined to move farther down the river to-morrow, instead of remaining here two days as originally proposed. In the present reduced state of the horses, we were obliged to make short stages with frequent halts, in hopes of sufficiently recruiting their strength so as to proceed with greater expedition along the coast. September 26.--We proceeded between four and five miles down the river, which was named Hastings River, in honour of the Governor General of India; the vale gradually opening to a greater width between steep and lofty hills, the soil on which was very stony, but rich, and covered with fine grass two or three feet high. At the place where we stopped, small rich flats began to extend on either side, and confirmed our hopes that we should find a more regular country as we approached the sea. The route which we had travelled lay over steep and sharp points of mountains ending on the river, but did not offer any great obstruction. Yet we were obliged to leave the horse which had failed the day before, half-way, as he dropped through utter weakness, though unladen. These valleys and hills are astonishingly rich in timber of various kinds, many new, and their botanic supplies were inexhaustible. Indeed our cargo now principally consists of plants. September 27.--The morning fine and clear. Sent back for the horse left yesterday, which with some difficulty was brought to the tent. Observed our latitude to be 31. 23. 10. S., longitude by estimation 152. 8. E., variation 8. 22. E. We this day cleaned all the arms, and put our military appointments in order to guard against any hostile attempts that might be made by the natives, who are reported to be in this quarter numerous and treacherous. September 28.--As we proceeded down the river, the vale still continued to open on either hand, the hills receding from each bank of the stream from two to three miles. The land on the more elevated spots, and irregular low hills, was strong but of good soil, covered with grass: the flats which occurred alternately on both sides of the river were very rich, the grass long and coarse; the timber, blue gum and apple tree. As the points of the higher hills sometimes closed on the river, we found it convenient to cross it, which in the course of the day we did no less than three times. In the hollows of the higher hills were thick brushes of the same description as those at the Five Islands. About six miles and a half down the river it was joined by a considerable stream from the northward, running through a fine and spacious valley. The accession of this water materially altered the appearance of the river, as it began to form long and wide reaches, with alternate rapids over a shingly bottom. The northern stream was named Forbes's River, in honour of the Marquis of Hastings' nephew. Although our proximity to the sea seemed to preclude the probability of Hastings River being joined by any other considerable waters; yet its present size made us a little anxious to find that it had a serviceable discharge into the ocean. The ground over which we travelled being very favourable to the weak state of the horses, we accomplished between eight and nine miles. Kangaroos abounded; four were this day killed. Marks of flood were observed to the height of sixteen feet, but the river appeared now to be in its lowest state, and the sides of the barren mountains showed that there had been no rain of any consequence for a considerable time. September 29.--The country we passed through is what is generally known in New South Wales as open forest land, with occasionally small flats on the river: steep hills sometimes ended on the river, and north and south of us were detached ranges of a similar description. The whole face of the country was abundantly covered with good grass, which, having been burnt some time, now bore the appearance of young wheat. Six miles down the river it was joined by a fine stream from the southward, apparently watering a spacious valley. We crossed this, and named it Ellenborough River, in honour of the Chief Justice of England. We proceeded about three miles farther before we halted at the edge of a thick detached brush [Note: Many very beautiful shrubs inhabit these shaded thickets, of which the following may serve as a specimen. Tetranthera dealbata, BROWN'S PRODR.; Cryptocarya glaucescens, BR., genera of laurinae. The Australian sapota fruit, Achras australis, BR.; Cargillia australis, a date plum. Myrtus trinervia of Smith, and Ripogonum album, BR.], which came nearly down to the water's edge. In this brush was a quantity of fine red cedar trees, affording us reason to hope, that this valuable wood might, as we advanced to the coast, be found in yet greater abundance. The timber generally might be termed heavy, consisting of blue gum, stringy bark, and iron bark, with fine forest oaks. The stones on the surface of the land were hard and splintery, being principally of coarse quartz; some hard sandstone was also seen: the rocks in the river were of a fine dark blue colour, singularly hard and slippery. Although we had seen no natives, there were abundant signs of them. This season probably is better calculated for them to procure their food on the coast than in the woods. September 30.--Our progress this day was greatly impeded by thick brushes, which, covering the sides of the hills, ended on the river: some of them were upwards of a mile in extent, and we were obliged to cut a road to enable the horses to pass through them. There were several rich flats on both sides of the river; the hilly projections ending alternately at the several bends of the stream. The obstruction offered by the brushes excepted, the road was no wise difficult: the hills were stony, with rocky summits: the river's course was over large rocks and pebbles; it was fordable in several places, with intervening deep reaches. It was late in the afternoon before we had accomplished six miles, and halting on a flat bounded easterly by extensive brush, I resolved to cross the river. There appears to be plenty of fish in it; we caught six fine perch, weighing above two pounds each, in a very short time. The timber continues heavy and good: we saw however but little cedar after passing the first brush. October 1.--Our travelling to-day was nearly the same as yesterday. The windings of the river were very sudden, and its banks were most generally covered with a thick brush, which in some places extended back a considerable distance. Between those brushes the ground was open forest with good grass, casuarina or beefwood, and large timber: the hills as usual stony. Near our halting-place a remarkable rocky range of hills was seen to the east-south-east of great height, and presenting nearly a perpendicular front to the north-west. Between east-north-east and east by south, with the imperfect view which we could obtain from the low hills we were traversing, it appeared but slightly broken, the higher ranges breaking off to the north-east and south-east, leaving a spacious valley through which we conjectured the river flowed. Near us were a few cedar trees, and marks of flood exceeding twenty feet, but confined to the bed of the river. On the whole we accomplished near eight miles, but scarcely five were in the direction of the sea, which we still estimate to be from twenty to twenty-five miles distant in a direct line. October 2.--In order to avoid the brushes, which lined the banks of the river, we kept at some distance from it to the south, which led us under the high rocky peaked hill mentioned yesterday. Our road was however by no means bettered, and I afterwards regretted that I did not keep close to the river. It is proper to mention that the brush land is of the richest description, being composed entirely of vegetable mould, the produce of decayed trees for ages: it is singularly well watered; every little valley has its run to the river. A great deal of cedar was seen to-day, and the more common timber was very large and good; the forest ridges between the brushes were well clothed with grass. We have hitherto seen no natives, though they are certainly numerous, as their frequent recently deserted camps witness: we are not very anxious for better proof. The leeches in the bushes were very troublesome, and made many plentiful meals at our expense: this would probably have done us no great harm, but the wounds which they made usually festered and became painful sores. Our botanical collector ascended the peaked hill on our left, and had a most extensive prospect. The river, winding a few miles below our station of this evening, was distinctly seen to the coast, which he did not estimate to be above fifteen or eighteen miles off. The account which he gave of the interesting prospect, and the circumstance of its being the only eminence between us and the coast from whence any object could be distinguished, determined me to ascend it the ensuing morning, and ascertain the principal points in this beautiful country. We travelled this day in the whole near six miles in an east-south-east course, the horses being very weak, and a road needing to be cut for them nearly the whole way, the last mile excepted, which was open forest land. October 3.--Soon after daylight, accompanied by the botanist, I returned to the peaked hill, leaving the horses with Mr. Evans to proceed to the north-east. Certainly a more beautiful and interesting view is not often seen. The spacious valley, through which the river flowed, extends along the coast from Smoaky Cape to the Three Brothers, and its width north of me was above eight miles, gradually narrowing to the base of Sea View Mount where we first entered it, and which bore west by north. Wide and extensive valleys stretched to the west-south-west, and south-south-west, under its base on either side, the hills in which were of moderate height, and of open forest land. To the north by east, though high land was seen at a distance of near sixty miles, the general face of the country was low with moderate and regular elevations, the highest lands being immediately behind the capes and projecting points into the sea. But the object that most interested me in this extensive survey was the appearance of the river: at a distance of seven or eight miles north-east of me, it opened into wide reaches extending to the sea, which it seemed after a winding course to enter nearly east, or in about the situation assigned by Captain Flinders to a lake across the entrance of which there appears to be a bar. The country on its banks, and within the limits before mentioned, appeared very brushy and low; the banks themselves seeming to be the highest ground. I conjectured that the river's extending itself to such a considerable breadth, was probably caused by the tide-water; and I could not help entertaining the strongest hope from its appearance that it would prove navigable, whatever its entrance might be. To the north of the river, a few miles from it, appeared lagoons, or swamps, probably having some beach communication with the sea. Another large lake was also seen to the south-east, under the Three Brothers. Several other small patches I thought might possibly prove to be marshes between my station and the coast; the country in its immediate vicinity appearing too low to afford drainage. Descending the hill, I proceeded after the horses, passing for nearly three miles through a good open forest country; the timber large, with numerous casuarinae. At the entrance of a brush I met the horses returning, having been prevented from continuing their easterly course by a large tea-tree swamp, full of water. We therefore pursued a more northerly course, with the hope and intention of making the river near the wide reaches, which I had seen from the hill. From the forest land we immediately entered a thick brush, and after cutting our way for near two miles, the evening advancing, I thought it best to send back the horses to the forest land, where there was plenty of grass, and proceeded myself with some men to cut the road to the river; an object, which in about another mile we effected. We happened to make it near the spot wished for. The tide was going out, the water having fallen near three feet; though not perfectly good it was drinkable, and would doubtless be sweet at low-water. A small island here divides the river into two branches: below the island the water appeared very deep, as did also the north side of the island. Its breadth might be nearly a quarter of a mile; both banks were very thick of brush, and the soil rich. About three quarters of a mile down the reach, the bank on the southern side appears to become a little more open, and, as I intended halting tomorrow, I determined to cut a road to it, and clear the way as far as possible down the banks before we proceeded on Monday. Our distance from this spot to the coast line did not exceed eight or ten miles. It was nearly dark before we returned to the place which we had fixed to encamp on, amidst abundance of fine grass and good water. October 4.--We could distinctly hear, during the night, the murmurs of the surf on the beach, and the sound was most grateful to our ears, as the welcome harbinger of the point to which eighteen weeks of anxious pilgrimage had been directed. I accompanied the men who had been appointed to cut the road along the banks of the river. We had performed about a mile when we were stopped by a large stream from the southward. It was therefore necessary to carry the road along the banks, which we did for nearly two miles, when we left of for the day and returned to our tent. I caused the main branch of the river to be sounded near the junction of the southern branch which I had named King's River, (after my friend who is now surveying the coast of this continent), and found, at one third ebb, four fathoms. King's River appeared equally deep, and was about one hundred yards broad; the water at this time of the tide brackish: the country covered with brush, the soil very rich; and a few ceder trees were scattered among the other timber. The vines were of enormous size, and in many instances had entirely enveloped the trees to which they had attached themselves, a small part of their trunks only being here and there visible. October 5.--Sent a party to cut the road up King's River. After advancing between four and five miles, a small piece of forest ground was discovered, which determined me to remove the horses and baggage thither, since the distance which the people had to go to their work occasioned much delay. A great many natives' canoes were seen on the river to-day fishing, and as the use of these canoes to cross King's River would have been very desirable, we endeavoured to tempt their owners to visit us, but without success; it being out of our power to make them understand our meaning. October 6.--We set out this morning with an intention of proceeding up the west bank of King's River by the road already cut, but before we had arrived at it, two natives in a canoe were induced to cross over to us. Their vessel we detained, making them a present of a tomahawk. The moment they saw one of the horses (which happened to be a white one), descending the bank for the purpose of being unladen, they made signs expressive of their idea, that we were going to put the horses in the canoe, which they immediately quitted and swam to the opposite shore. As it was extremely probable that many smaller branches would fall into King's River, I determined to cross it at its mouth, and so proceed along the banks of the main river. It was two o'clock before we had got every thing over, when, upon examining the road which we had to travel, we found that about half a mile lower down another small stream joined the river. To this latter stream we therefore cut a road, keeping the canoe for farther use. By its means we found that after we should cross this last stream, we should get into an open forest country, with good grass: and we hoped that we should meet with no farther obstructions in our progress, which the thickness of the country and the intersection of streams rendered extremely tedious. The river at low-water was sufficiently fresh for us to drink. From the limited observations I was enabled to make, the depth at that time of tide was from two to three fathoms, and the rise of tide was five feet: but the tides appeared very irregular, being evidently influenced by the great body of fresh water in the river. What land we saw or passed over was a rich vegetable mould; the brush extremely thick on both sides, with fine timber of various kinds. I do not think the higher forest ground was more than a mile or two back from us. King's River, and that which we shall cross tomorrow, are formed by numerous smaller runs of water from the valleys in the higher grounds to the southward and south-west. October 7.--We crossed the small stream mentioned yesterday, by the help of our friendly canoe, in safety. The horses however having had little or nothing to eat the night preceding, I halted for a couple of hours to refresh them. The horse which had been so weakly, that nothing but the short stages we were obliged to make enabled him to keep up with us, in crossing the stream landed on a small muddy patch, dry at low water: here he fell, and all our efforts were unavailing to carry him to the forest-land, where I intended to leave him for the chance of recovery. To prevent a more lingering death, I now caused him to be shot. We afterwards proceeded near four miles, through an excellent open forest country, with low rising hills well watered, and plenty of good grass and timber. We halted near a large lagoon, deriving its source from springs in the valleys southerly and south-west, having an outlet to the river, which having bent considerably to the north-westward, we have not seen since we quitted its banks this morning. The weather for some days back has been remarkably fine, and we find the brushes a great protection from the heat of the sun, which is now becoming very powerful. October 8.--We proceeded on our course, passing over for upwards of three miles a good and open country: the river three or four miles north of us. We soon afterwards came to a very large fresh water lagoon on our left, several miles in circumference, with smaller branches from the valleys, which emptied itself into the river: its point of discharge we could not discern. At five miles we were stopped by a large run of fresh water, which, from its proximity to the sea, we conjectured fell into the lower part of the harbour. At this place we were obliged to construct a bridge, which we did by two o'clock, sufficiently large and strong to take over the laden horses. During the time we were thus employed, we heard the natives' call close to us; and, on being answered, they immediately presented themselves to the number of ten, taking great care to show us, by lifting up their hands and clapping them together, that they were perfectly unarmed. Seeing them not disposed to approach near us, I went towards them, when they all retired to a greater distance except three or four, among whom I recognised the young man from whom we had borrowed the canoe. I made them several presents of fish hooks, and kangaroo skins, but could not get them to approach within a hundred yards of us. After a short interval I left them, and mounting a horse, they on seeing me took to their heels and ran as for their lives. They were all handsome, well-made men, stout in their persons, and showing evident signs of good living. Crossing this run, we passed over an excellent and rich country; alternately thick brush and clear forest, with small streams of water for near four miles more, when, to our great joy and satisfaction, we arrived on the sea-shore about half a mile from the entrance of what we saw (with no small pleasure), formed a port to the river which we had been tracing from Sea View Mount. Thus, after twelve weeks travelling over a country exceeding three hundred and fifty miles, in a direct line from the Macquarie River, without a single serious fatality, we had the gratification to find that neither our time nor our exertions had been uselessly bestowed; and we trusted that the limited examination, which our means would allow us to make of the entrance of this port, would ultimately throw open the whole interior to the Macquarie River, for the benefit of British settlers. We pitched our tent upon a beautiful point of land, having plenty of good water and grass; and commanding a fine view of the interior of the port and surrounding country. I purpose to remain here until Monday, by which period I expect to be enabled to complete (as far as possible, without the assistance of boats), the examination of the harbour's mouth. October 11.--Our time for these last two days has been occupied in making a sketch of the entrance into the river, and, as far as our limited means would permit, in ascertaining its capability to receive small vessels. The entrance between the sand-rollers and over the bay appeared sufficiently deep for vessels whose draught of water might not exceed ten or twelve feet; and when within the bar, a deeper though narrow channel seemed to afford safe means of communication with part of the country traversed by us, on the 3rd and 4th inst. The nature of the country in the immediate vicinity of this port and river has already been described; and should the channel, which, as far as we are able to judge, appears safe and sufficiently deep, hereafter prove to be so, I indulge the hope, that the knowledge we have obtained will be beneficial to the interests of the colony; and facilitate the settlement of a rich and valuable tract of country. The natives in the vicinity of the port appeared very numerous: they kept, however, on the other side of the harbour, and seemed by no means inclined to have closer communication with us. We however prevailed on four young men to come over; and by making them small presents of hooks, lines, etc., this shyness has soon worn off. They were evidently acquainted with the use of fire-arms; if any of the people took up a musket they immediately ran off, and it was only by laying it down that they could he prevailed upon to return, showing by every simple means in their power their dread of its appearance. The port abounds with fish: the sharks were larger and more numerous than I ever before observed in any place. We caught one very large one, which we offered to the natives, but they would not touch it. making signs that it would make them ill: our people however found no bad effects from eating it. The forest hills and other rising grounds in the neighbourhood are covered with large kangaroos; and the marshes, which in some places border on the port, afford shelter and support to innumerable wild fowl. Independent of Hastings River, the whole country is generally well-watered, and there is a fine spring at the very entrance into the port. I named this inlet, Port Macquarie, in honour of His Excellency the Governor, the original promoter of these expeditions. October 12.--We quitted Port Macquarie at an early hour on our course homewards, with all those feelings which that word even in the wilds of Australia can inspire. We kept at a distance from the sea shore for nearly six miles; the country was exceedingly rich, the timber large with frequent brushes. Just before we came on the beach, we observed an extensive freshwater lagoon, running for several miles behind the beach, bounded on the west by forest land of good appearance; a strip of sandy land about three quarters of a mile wide dividing it from the sea. At the back of Tacking Point rises a small stream of fresh water, which flows into the lagoon. The country is of moderate height. After travelling near fifteen miles, we stopped at the extremity of a sandy beach on a point of good land, with an excellent spring of water rising on it, about four miles north of the northernmost of the Three Brothers. Tacking Point, bearing N. 25 1/4 E. Two of our remaining three dogs, had been for the last two days deprived of the use of their limbs: one died this morning; the other, we brought on horseback with us, willing, if possible, to save the life of a valuable and faithful servant. We conjecture that something they had eaten in the woods must have caused so universal a paralysis. October 13.--Crossing the point of land on which we had been encamped, we came to a sandy beach, on which we travelled three miles and a half. At the end of it was an opening safe for boats, (and probably for small craft at high water), into an extensive lake. As we had no canoe by which to cross over, we were obliged to keep along its north shore with an intention of going round it. The lake formed a large basin with a deep channel, which as it approached the base of the northern Brother narrowed into a river-like form, and in the course of a mile it again expanded from the north-north-west to the south-west, to a very great extent. The land on its eastern side was low and marshy (fresh water). To the north and north-west, it was bounded by low forest hills covered with luxuriant grass; and to the southward and south-west extended along apparently the same description of country, nearly to the western base of the Second Brother. The ranges of high, woody hills laid down by Captain Flinders dwindle when approached into low unconnected forest hills. The Northern Brother, the highest of the three, is a long hill of moderate elevation, and is seen from such a distance in consequence of the other parts of the country being comparatively low. The timber was chiefly black butted gum [Note: Species of eucalyptus], stringy bark, turpentine tree, and forest oak [Note: Casuarina torulosa]. The stones are chiefly a hard sandstone. On the lake were great numbers of black swans, ducks, etc. Various small inlets from the lake much impeded us, and after travelling near seven miles along its shores, we halted for the evening near a small spring of fresh water, in a good rising grass country. The easternmost highest part of the North Brother was S. 4. W. From the observed amplitude of the sun at rising this morning, the variation was found to be 9. 33. E. October 14.--We were considerably delayed in our progress this day by salt water inlets, which occasioned us much trouble to cross, and at length we were altogether stopped by a very wide and deep one, near the west end of the lake: it was too late in the day to take any measures for crossing it this evening; we therefore pitched our tents on the banks near a swamp of fresh water which borders on it and the lake, from which we were distant about one mile and a half. The inlet was brackish, and must have a considerable body of fresh water near its head. In our route we had disturbed a large party of natives, some of whom were busily employed in preparing bark for a new canoe. There were several canoes on the lake, in which they all fled in great confusion; leaving their arms and utensils of every description behind them. One of the canoes was sufficiently large to hold nine men, and resembled a boat; of course we left their property untouched, though we afterwards regretted we did not seize one of their canoes, which we might easily have done. We however determined to send back in the morning for the unfinished canoe, and try our skill in completing it for use. The ground passed over for the last six miles was hilly and very stony, but covered with excellent timber of all descriptions, and also good grass. There were plenty of kangaroos, but we had but one dog able to run; so that we succeeded in killing only a small one. October 15.--A party was sent back early this morning to secure the canoe, while we examined the river. The people returned in the course of the forenoon unsuccessful, as the natives had removed it with all their effects in the course of the night, throwing down and destroying their guniahs or bark huts. We also found that about a mile higher up the river, a branch from it joined that which we last crossed about two miles back, making an island of the ground we were upon. The main branch continued to run to the north-north-west, and north-west. We therefore lost no time in returning part of the way to the entrance into the haven, (which we named after Lord Camden), where we proposed to construct a canoe. The natives seem very numerous, but are shy: we saw many large canoes on the lake, one of which would be quite sufficient for our purposes. October 18.--On Friday we returned to the entrance of the haven, and immediately commenced our endeavours to construct a canoe: our first essays were unsuccessful, but by Saturday night we had a bark one completed, which we hoped would answer our purpose; though I think if the natives saw it they would ridicule our rude attempts. This morning, the ebb tide answering, we commenced transporting our luggage, and in three hours every thing was safe over. A very serious misfortune however occurred in swimming the horses across: two of them were seized with the cramp near the middle of the channel, one with difficulty gained the shore, the other sank instantly and was seen no more; he was one of our best and strongest horses, and even now their weak state can ill afford a diminution in their number. This haven appears to have a perfectly safe entrance for boats and small craft at all times of tide, except at dead low water with a strong surge from the eastward, when it slightly breaks, but is still quite safe for boats if not for larger vessels. When we were in it, there appeared a safe and deep channel through the sand shoals which spread over it: the channel also appeared deep leading into the inner haven. There is plenty of fresh water in swamps, on almost every part of the shore on which we were. The higher lands abound with good timber, the points nearest the sea being covered with Banksia integrifolia, of large dimensions, fit for any kind of boat timber. It is high water full and change at ten minutes after nine, and the tide appears to rise between four and six feet. From a point near the entrance, several bearings were taken; and we also saw another large lake, or perhaps fresh water lagoon, Under the southernmost of the Three Brothers. A sunken rock was also discovered off to sea, lying upwards of two miles from the next point southerly of us, and bearing S. 5. W.: a deep clear channel lies between it and the shore. At one o'clock we departed, and by sunset had accomplished near fourteen miles of our journey. We saw the large lake under the Brothers from a high point on the coast very clearly, and found that on the north it was bounded by the North Brother, and separated from the sea by a strip of low marshy land about three quarters of a mile wide. This lake I think is a fresh water one: it was named Watson Taylor's Lake. The country west and southerly of the Brothers consisted of low forest hills; and a range of hills of moderate height, the entrance of which bore west-south-west distant twenty or twenty-five miles, ended near Cape Hawke, the country being to that range very low with marshes. A strip of sandy land half a mile wide bounds the shore, on which is good grass and water. On the beach where we halted we found a small boat nearly buried in the sand, but quite perfect. It had belonged to a Hawkesbury vessel, belonging to one Mills, which had been lost some time ago, and the crew of which perished. We halted on the beach, the South Brother bearing W. 32. N., and the Reef N. 53 1/2. E., and which we now saw extended near three quarters of a mile north and south, and lying two marine miles from the shore. It appears dangerous, since in fine weather (as to-day) the north part of the reef only breaks occasionally. October 19.--Proceeded on our journey up the coast: on attempting to cut off a point of land which would have saved us a distance of some miles, we found that the low part of the country was an entire fresh water swamp, interspersed with thick barren brushes, in all respects resembling the country between Sydney and Botany Bay. We therefore returned again on the beach, and crossing nearer to the point in question found the remains of a hut, which had evidently been constructed by Europeans, the saw and axe having been employed on it. About four miles farther on the beach, towards Cape Hawke, our progress was stopped by a very extensive inlet, the mouth of which was nearly a mile wide. It was near high water, and the sea broke right across with tremendous violence, affording us little hope, circumstanced as we were, of being able to effect a passage. As we had always experienced the difficulty, not to say impracticability of attempting to go round such inlets as these. we stopped about half a mile inside the entrance, on a spot affording good grass and water for the horses, the greater part of which were entirely knocked up; insomuch that I began to fear we would take very few of them to Newcastle. It being early in the day, a party proceeded to explore the shores of the inlet, to ascertain if it was possible for us to proceed round it. After several hours' examination, and walking from six to eight miles, we were obliged to give up all intention of proceeding circuitously; and found that our efforts must be directed to effect a passage near the entrance, since numerous fresh water runs having their source in deep and impassable swamps or lagoons, presented an insurmountable barrier to the horses. The main inlet extended in two wide and extensive branches to the south-west and west, the termination of which could not be seen, the water being apparently deep; and the country to the westward rising into forest hills. In this perplexing situation, with no other prospect before us but that of effecting our own passage in a bark canoe, and being obliged to leave the horses behind us; since the width of the channel (which at low water we had the satisfaction to perceive did not exceed a quarter of a mile) and the extreme rapidity of the tide, which ran at the rate of at least three miles per hour, precluded all reasonable hope that, in their present weak state, they would have strength to swim over. In this state, the boat which had been washed on the beach suddenly occurred to us. It was true that we were twelve or fourteen miles distant from it, and that we should have to carry her that distance on men's shoulders, but to persons in our situation such difficulties were as nothing. It was therefore determined that twelve men should depart before day, and use their efforts to bring her to the tent, whilst those that remained to take care of the horses and baggage should be preparing materials to give her such repair as must necessarily be required. We had now fully experienced how little dependance can be placed on the best marine charts, to show all the inlets and openings upon an extensive line of coast. Perhaps no charts can be more accurate than those published by Captain Flinders, the situation of the principal headlands and capes, with the direction of the coast, being laid down with the most minute attention to truth; but the distance at which he was obliged to keep, although it did not prevent him from laying the coast line down with an accuracy of outline sufficient for all nautical purposes, did not allow him to perceive openings which, though doubtless of little consequence to shipping, yet present the most serious obstacles to travellers by land; and of which, if they had been laid down in the chart, I should have hesitated to have attempted the passage without some assistance from the seaward, or means wherewith to have constructed boats. From our station on the north shore of the inlet, the extreme of Cape Hawke bore south 7 1/2. W., and the highest part of the Southern Brother, north 161. W.: a break in the land between high ranges of hills bore west, and was distant from seventeen to twenty miles. Black swans are very numerous on this inlet: few marks of the natives having remained here for any time were observed, at least on this side; recent marks of two men having traversed the shore being all that were seen. October 20.--At four o'clock the people set out to bring the boat, and at two o'clock they had brought her safely to the tent, having gone in that time upwards of twenty-six miles, thirteen of which they carried a twelve feet boat on their shoulders; a proof how much may be effected by a steady perseverance. In fact, I had no occasion to be anxious for the result of any measure which at all depended on their personal exertions. We had the satisfaction to find that the boat would be easily repaired, wanting little besides caulking and oars, and we did not lose a moment in commencing the necessary operations. It has blown a gale of wind from the south all day, the surge breaking across the inlet with extreme violence: within the bar the water is very deep, and in moderate weather at flood tides there is doubtless a boat passage over the bar; for, notwithstanding the break, there appears a sufficient depth of water. Whatever channel there may be is on the north side of the entrance. I think, from the height of the rise of tide (between four and seven feet), and the rapidity with which it runs, that this inlet must penetrate a very considerable distance into the country; and probably the lake which we took to be fresh water under the two Southern Brothers, may be a principal branch of this lake. It appears to be high water at the full and change at about forty minutes after nine. October 22.--Yesterday was employed in giving the boat such repairs as our means permitted. Before six o'clock this morning we had transported a good part of the baggage, when, the tide answering, we began towing the horses over, which we safely effected by half past eight. I consider the discovery of this boat most providential, for without its assistance we should never have been able to transport the horses: being obliged to cross near the entrance, the force of the tide and their own weakness would have swept them among the breakers, and they would consequently have perished. We lost no time in pursuing our journey up the coast, and had by four o'clock accomplished six miles, when, to our great mortification, another inlet barred our progress. The southerly gale. attended with incessant rain, had by this time increased to such a degree, that we could take no steps this evening to cross it. By the time the tents were pitched every thing was drenched with rain; and I think we felt the cold it occasioned more severely than on any similar occasion. I should be of opinion that this inlet communicated with the one we last crossed, as branches from each take such courses as would, I think, cause them to unite. The last inlet was named Harrington Lake, in honour of the noble earl of that title. October 23.--The storm continued through the night. Late in the morning we had intervals of fine weather, when all our strength was immediately despatched to bring up our little boat, as we found that we could not cross without its aid. When the people returned with the boat, it blew with such violence that we dared not venture to cross in her. We however moved a little nearer the point of entrance, to be more conveniently situated when the weather should clear up. The men voluntarily undertook to carry the boat on their shoulders until we should pass Port Stephens--a service, reduced as their strength was by constant exertion, I should have been unwilling to impose on them, however it might facilitate our future progress. October 24.--The weather was so extremely unfavourable (blowing in violent squalls with almost constant rain), that it was near dark before we got every thing safely over. I had sent on in the morning to examine the beach for a few miles, and another inlet was discovered about four miles in advance. We named this lake Farquhar's Lake, after Sir Walter. October 25.--From the southern point of entrance into this lake the following bearings were taken. The highest part of the South Brother, north 6. E.; ditto North Brother, north 18. E.; Cape Hawke, south 3. E. We set forward at our usual hour. At a mile along the beach we found the wreck of a small vessel, which was recognised to be the Jane, of Sydney, belonging to Mills, before mentioned as the owner of the boat in our possession. It being low water when we arrived at the lagoon seen yesterday, we crossed it at the mouth, without unlading the horses. We proceeded along the beach for six or seven miles farther, when we turned off to the westward to cut off a point of land, and entered an excellent rising forest country, with rich thick brushes, bordering the coast line. We travelled in the whole about nine miles and a half, and halted about three quarters of a mile from the beach, from a point of which (one mile south-south-east of us), we saw Cape Hawke bearing east 73. S., distant six or eight miles; and at the extremity of a long curving sandy beach, about six miles west of the same point, there was an opening which, from the appearance of the country, we thought might probably form a lake. October 26.--Two miles and a half farther travelling brought us again on the beach, along which we went for near seven miles more, when the opening or lake seen from the point yesterday obliged us to make use of our boat. On the opposite side to us we saw the wreck of the brig Governor Hunter, now nearly covered with sand, at high water the tide washing over her. We had got the horses and great part of the luggage safely over, and I was on the point of setting out to look for a place to turn the horses on (the immediate margin of the bay being a swampy brush); when an alarm was given, that the natives had speared one of the people. Previous to crossing, we had seen them in great numbers on the side opposite to us, probably to the amount of seventy of all ages; but on seeing us launch our boat, they got into canoes and went two or three miles farther up the lake, still keeping on the south side. On the north side we did not see any natives, and although on both sides of the lake we were prepared for them, had they shown themselves in numbers on the beach, yet all were not on their guard against individual treachery. One of the men, William Blake, had entered the brushes about a hundred yards from the rest of the people on the north side, with the design of cutting a cabbage palm: he had cut one about half through, when he received a spear through his back, the point of it sticking against his breast bone. On turning his head round to see from whence he was attacked, he received another, which passed several inches through the lower part of his body: he let fall the axe with which he was cutting, and which was instantly seized by a native, the only one he saw; and it was probably the temptation of the axe that was the principal incitement to the attack. Blake was immediately put into the boat and sent over to the south side, where the doctor was, who fortunately succeeded in extracting both the spears; but from the nature of the wounds, his chance of recovery was considered very doubtful. It was so late before every thing was got over, that we were obliged to remain on the spot close to the wreck of the Governor Hunter. The natives before dark had assembled in great numbers, and we could count twelve or fourteen fires from their camps. United as we were, we had little to fear from their attacks, particularly in the night; and we remained so short a time at any place, that we did not give them time to make any concerted attack. The country west and south-west of this lagoon is rising forest land of pleasant appearance; but the shores are flat, with thick brushes and steep fresh water swamps. The lagoon itself is at low water nothing but a sand shoal, with narrow and shallow channels. The surf beats quite across the entrance, and though at high water a small vessel might beat over the bar, it would be a mere chance if she escaped being lost upon the sand-rollers inside, the surf breaking with a flood tide and easterly wind full half a mile within the outer bar. The tides run near four miles per hour, and the rise is from five to eight feet. From the south side of the entrance into the lake the highest part of the North Brother bore north 15. E.; ditto of the South Brother, north 8. 10. E. The point of land of the bay northerly, distant seven or eight miles north 8. 30. E.; and a high bluff point or projection southerly, north 163. 30. E. October 27.--We did not make much progress this day, being greatly embarrassed by the thick brushes which border on the coast in the vicinity of Cape Hawke, and fresh water swamps near the edge of the lake. There was, however, a good deal of forest land, and the brushes grew in good soil. We halted in the afternoon, having gone only four miles (Cape Hawke bearing east distant two miles and a half), on a piece of forest land surrounded by brush, through which, however, in the course of the evening we cut a road to the beach, to the southward of Cape Hawke. From a hill on that line we saw that the lake was much more extensive than it was first supposed to be, reaching in a southerly direction to the base of the forest hills, which run a north-west line from the next point of south of Cape Hawke, and within a quarter of a mile of the beach. To the north-west we could trace it upwards of twenty miles, winding among forest hills and a generally fine looking country. The lake was studded with numerous islands of forest lands, the interior of the lake being apparently deep water with sandy beaches to the main and islands. The whole appearance of the lake was extremely picturesque and beautiful. October 28.--This day's journey afforded tolerably good travelling, with the exception of the last two miles, when, quitting the beach, we ascended a high hill over the lake, and again descended to a small bay under a point of land south of Cape Hawke, where we halted for the evening: having accomplished ten miles. Although we were obliged to halt the greater part of the day, the extreme heat of the weather, combined with the motion of the horse, rendered it impossible for our poor wounded man to proceed. From this point Cape Hawke bore North Peak on Ditto 357., highest part of the South Brother, N. 1. E.; North Brother, N. 7. E.; line of coast westerly, N. 306.; a point N. 328 1/2 mile; ditto N. 136 1/2. E.; ten or twelve chains islet of Sugarloaf Point, N. 168. The rocks off ditto, N. 173. Sugarloaf Point, 174 1/2. October 29.--The coast projecting into bold and perpendicular headlands obliged us to keep at a distance from it, and travel over an elevated range, from whence we saw that an extensive series of lakes, probably forming one large one, continued at the back of the coast line nearly as far as Blackhead. At five miles we descended from the range on a small beach which terminated our day's journey; the nature of the coast line preventing us from travelling along it. I therefore went with two men to mark out a road for the horses to the beach on the south-west side of Sugarloaf Point. The line we were obliged to pursue, led us through a most miserable scrubby country, formed into irregular steep hills of white sand, without a blade of grass, or herbage of any kind; but with abundance of small black butted gums, red gums, etc. We found the road across, to be too far for us to attempt this evening. Indeed it was near sunset when I returned to the tent. The natives are extremely numerous along this part of the coast; these extensive lakes, which abound with fish, being extremely favourable to their easy subsistence: large troops of them appear on the beaches, whilst their canoes on the lakes are equally numerous. In the morning their fires are to be observed in every direction: they evidently appear to shun us, and we have no wish for a farther acquaintance. When we stopped for the night, the lake was only separated from the sea by a narrow neck of sand, and at spring tides, with an easterly wind, it must be forced over it. This neck of sand appears likely to be occasionally washed away, and to form a shallow opening into this portion of the lake. Its principal entrance I expect to find southerly; we however observed no tides in it, which makes us conclude it will have but a shoal entrance. From this point, the Sugarloaf Point, and island of it in one, bore N. 14 1/2, and the direction of the lake was N. 275. October 30.--We passed for five miles and a half through the country described yesterday, when we arrived on the beach south-west of the Sugarloaf Point. The rock off ditto bearing N. 88. E.; Shoal of ditto, 120., and Blackhead, N. 212 1/2; we went nearly six miles farther on the beach, and halted near a rocky point for the evening. This beach was a peculiarly productive one to us; a great number of fine fish resembling salmon, had been pursued through the surf by larger fish, and were left dry by the retiring tide: we picked up thirty-six, and a welcome prize they proved to us. We had just got the tents pitched, when a number of unarmed natives appeared upon the hill near us, and among them a woman and a child. As they came in peace, so in peace were they received. They approached the tents without any hesitation, and in the course of an hour, their numbers amounted to upwards of thirty, men, women, and children. Most of these people seemed to have been at Newcastle, and appeared a friendly and peaceable set. We did all in our power to continue these good dispositions by shaving the men, cutting the hair of the children, and bestowing on them such little articles as we could spare; not without a hope, that our kindness might be of service to others, who might under different circumstances be thrown among them. They were so far from showing the least jealousy of their women, that every circumstance indicated that their favours might be purchased: however that may be, we did not avail ourselves of this privilege. Kindling their fires close to our tents, they seemed to have taken up their quarters for the night. The weather had appeared to threaten rain, and as they all departed about ten o'clock, it was attributed to the circumstance of their being without shelter; and we expected a friendly visit from them in the morning. From this station, Blackhead bore N. 197.; and the island off Sugarloaf Point, N. 70. E. The peak over the north entrance into Port Stephens, N. 211. October 31.--The rain of the night still continuing in the morning, and the tide not being sufficiently low to let us pass round the head, we did not set off so early as usual. Dr. Harris and Mr. Evans had gone to bathe near the point, and within one hundred and fifty yards of the tent. Mr. Evans had already bathed and had began to dress himself, when four natives, whom we recognised as being among those whom we had treated so kindly yesterday, made their appearance with their spears in their hands, in the attitude of throwing them from the cliffs above. There was scarcely time to parley with them, when a spear was thrown at Mr. Evans, Dr. Harris having leaped down the rock into the sea, and escaped to the tent under its shelter. The spear fortunately missed Mr. Evans, and he likewise escaped with the loss of his clothes, by following the doctor's example. On the alarm being given they were pursued, but they had disappeared among the brush on the hill. This instance of their treachery redoubled our circumspection, and our situation here being favourable for their attacks, I determined to pass over the brow of the hill with the horses--a road which from its extreme steepness, I had been willing to avoid by waiting for the tide; and orders were given to collect the horses and proceed on our route. Whilst this was doing, and as I was sitting in the tent with Dr. Harris and Mr. Evans writing this Journal, a shower of spears from the height above was thrown at the tent, one of which passed directly over my shoulder, and entered the ground at my feet: the others lodged around the tent, and among the people who were getting ready the baggage, but providentially without doing any harm. We had stationed men to watch the hill, but the appearance of the natives and the flight of their spears was so instantaneous, that they had not time to alarm us. To enable us therefore to proceed in safety it was necessary to clear the hill, which was soon done; for on our ascending that hill, they took their station on another more distant. We travelled unmolested along the beach for upwards of twelve miles, when we halted for the evening on a small point of clear land, which at high water was an island. Here we found ourselves secure: we had however but just unladen, when three natives were seen coming along the beach from the side of Port Stephens. We knew that the party which had behaved so treacherously had gone that way, and we suspected that these men were sent to see whether we were disposed to resent their conduct: they appeared unarmed, each holding up a fish as a peace offering to us: but when they were within three hundred yards of us, they stopped, and not receiving any encouragement from us to advance, after halting a few minutes, they returned with all speed along the beach to their companions. I had determined if they had approached nearer to have made an example of them: and for the future, never to suffer them to come near us at all. I was very much surprised to find that Blackhead proved to be an island, with a good passage, at least a mile and a half wide, between it and the main. There appears excellent anchorage and shelter under it, and indeed it seems a far better and more convenient roadstead than Port Stephens, being safe from all winds, with a passage either from north or south. The relative positions of the points and islands on this part of the coast, by no means correspond with, nor does the longitude of Port Stephens agree with that assigned to Sugarloaf Point by Captain Flinders, who commenced at that point; Port Stephens, and this part, of the coast, being laid down from other authorities. From this point, the north head of Port Stephens bore N. 199.; Sugarloaf Point N. 45. E; and several other bearings were taken for a sketch of the channel between Blackhead Island, and the main. November 1.--We departed early in the morning, and at three O'clock arrived at Port Stephens. The natives had assembled in considerable numbers at the back of the beach, and being armed, we suspected their intention to be, to throw at us from the bank and brush as we passed. On the advance of four men who were sent to clear the bank of them, they quickly retired, and did not show themselves again until we had passed. They appeared to be as cowardly as treacherous: and I am convinced, that all the mischief they do, arises from a misplaced confidence in their seeming friendly dispositions. A single person of his guard is sure to fall a sacrifice to their thirst for plunder. As we were unable to pass this port without the assistance of a large boat, it was determined that Mr. Evans and three men should cross the port in our own boat and proceed to Newcastle, from which settlement we were distant about thirty-six miles; and procure such aid as the commandant could afford us, together with a supply of provisions, our own being nearly exhausted. November 5.--Mr. Evans and party set forward at day-light on Monday morning, and arrived the same evening at Newcastle. The commandant, Captain Wallis of the 46th regiment, lost not a moment in dispatching a large boat with an abundance of every comfort that could be acceptable to travellers in our situation. We had also the satisfaction to learn generally the welfare of our friends in Sydney. APPENDIX PART I. No. I. By His Excellency, Lachlan Macquarie, Esq., Captain General, and Governor in Chief of the Territory of New South Wales, and its dependencies, etc. etc. INSTRUCTIONS FOR JOIN OXLEY, ESQ., SURVEYOR GENERAL OF LANDS. Sir, The Right Honourable Earl Bathurst, His Majesty's principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, having in a recent despatch authorised and directed me to select and employ a properly qualified and competent officer belonging to this government, for conducting and leading an expedition for the purpose of prosecuting the discoveries made some time since to the westward of the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, by Mr. George William Evans, deputy surveyor of lands; and reposing especial trust and confidence in your abilities, zeal and diligence, for conducting and leading such an expedition: I do hereby constitute and appoint you in virtue of the powers in me vested, to be chief of the expedition now fitting out to prosecute the discoveries to the westward of the Blue Mountains in the interior of the continent of Australia. You are accordingly to be obeyed and respected as chief of this expedition, and to be governed generally during the continuance of it, by the following instructions. First.--With the view of facilitating the objects of the present expedition, and in justice to his former zealous and successful exertions in making the original discoveries in the interior, to the westward of the Blue Mountains; the Right Honourable the Secretary of State has directed, that in the farther prosecution of these discoveries, Mr. George William Evans, deputy surveyor of lands, should be associated with the person appointed to head and direct the expedition; and to be considered the second in command of it. You are therefore to consider Mr. Evans as next in command to yourself during the progress of the expedition, and to consult with him on all operations and points connected therewith; it being presumed from his local experience in the interior, he will be able to afford you very useful information and assistance. Second.--Exclusive of yourself and Mr. Evans, I have deemed it advisable to permit Mr. Allan Cunningham, one of the King's botanists, (lately sent out to this country, for the purpose of collecting plants and seeds for His Majesty's gardens at Kew), to accompany the expedition. I have also ordered ten other persons to accompany you on the expedition in the various capacities of assistants, or servants; and herewith you will receive a schedule of their names, and respective designations, or employments. Third.--In order to give every facility to the objects of the expedition now fitting out, and to afford you the means of prolonging your absence from headquarters, and consequently extending the range of your discoveries, I have deemed it advisable to furnish yourself and party with a sufficient supply of good wholesome provisions for five months; in which space of time, it is concluded, you will be able to ascertain all the important objects of the expedition. And in order that this five months supply of provisions may remain untouched, until you shall have taken your final departure from the last discovered point on the Lachlan River, I have had a depot lately established there for the purpose of lodging the five months provisions, till your arrival at that point; the necessary number of BAT horses having been provided for conveying the provisions thither; and it has been lately reported to me, that almost the whole of the five months provisions have already been conveyed to the depot on the Lachlan River, and that the remaining part thereof will he deposited there in the course of seven days from this date. You will herewith receive a schedule, or account of the provisions, together with a list of the BAT horses, and other various equipments furnished and sent to the depot on the banks of the Lachlan River, for the use of the expedition. I hope it is unnecessary for me to point out or recommend to a person of your experience, the absolute necessity of observing every possible economy in the expenditure of your provisions, and preventing every possible waste thereof, so as to make them hold out for the full space of time they are intended to last. There is an ample and liberal daily ration of provisions allowed and sent for each person sufficient for five months; and you must make it your particular business to see that there shall be no waste or loss in the issuing, or carriage of your stock of provisions. Fourth.--Having been informed, first from the reports of Mr. Evans, the original discoverer of the Lachlan River, and subsequently from those of William Cox, Esq., who went thither lately at my particular request, that there was every reason from its appearance to conclude that that river would be found to be navigable for small boats; I some time since sent a boat builder for the purpose of constructing two light boats for navigating this river, and conveying the provisions and stores for the expedition along it, to its junction with the sea, in case it should be found to fall into it, which there is every reason to hope it does. In the event of this hope being realized, it will greatly facilitate the objects of the expedition to be able thus to transport all your provisions, and other equipments, by water, instead of the tedious process of carrying them by land on the backs of horses, through a woody and intricate country. Fifth.--The three grand and principal objects of the present expedition are:--First, to ascertain the real course or general direction of the Lachlan River, and its final termination, and whether it falls into the sea, or into some inland lake. Secondly, if the river falls into the sea, to ascertain the exact place of its embouchure, and whether such place would answer as a safe and good port for shipping: and thirdly, the general face of the country, nature of the soil, woods, and animal and natural productions of the country through which this river passes; carefully examining and noting down each of these particulars, and adding thereto the nature of the climate, and description of such natives or aborigines of the country as you may happen to see, or fall in with in your progress through it. For your farther information and guidance, you will receive herewith a paper marked A, which is a copy of one lately received by me from Earl Bathurst, His Majesty's principal Secretary of State for the colonies, and which I am directed by his lordship to make the groundwork of my instructions to the officer whom I might think proper to select for, and entrust with the due execution of the services therein required. And I therefore refer you for all farther instructions to the paper thus alluded to; persuaded you will do every thing in your power to comply with and execute, as far as your means will allow, the several orders and directions therein contained; communicating these instructions to the several persons employed with you on the expedition, in as far as they are severally concerned in making the observations and collections pointed out in the said instructions from the Secretary of State. Sixth.--It will of course be necessary in order to ascertain the exact distance and direction of your journies, whilst prosecuting your discoveries, that the country through which you travel shall be regularly chained and laid down upon a chart; but I leave it optional with yourself to do this either during your outward or homeward bound journey; and as it is expected that the Lachlan River will be found to empty itself into that part of the sea on the south-west coast of Australia, between Spencer's Gulf and Cape Otway, it is hoped you will he able to make all the necessary discoveries, and return again to Bathurst considerably within five months; as the greatest distance from thence to that part of the coast, where the river is supposed to fall into it, cannot exceed six hundred miles. It is also hoped and expected, that the Lachlan and Macquarie Rivers unite at some distant point from where Mr. Evans terminated his trace of the Lachlan River; and in case these two rivers are found to form a junction, the exact place of their confluence must be clearly and exactly ascertained in regard to latitude and longitude, and noted down accordingly. The latitude and longitude of the junction of both or either of these rivers with the sea, or inland lake, must also be accurately ascertained and marked down in the chart to be made of your entire tour and discoveries. Seventh.--On your return from your journey to the sea-coast to Bathurst, you are to direct all the journals or other written documents belonging to, and curiosities collected by the several individuals composing the expedition, to be carefully sealed up with your own seal, and kept in that state until after you have made your report in writing to me at Sydney, of the result of the expedition. Eighth.--I have only to add, that I wish you to set out from Sydney on the present service, on Monday, the 31st of this present month, so as to arrive at Bathurst, on or before the 8th of the ensuing month. On your arrival at Bathurst, you will find William Cox, Esq., there, and to him I beg leave to refer you for every information relative to the provisions, stores, horses for carriage, and other equipments ordered to be forwarded to the depot on the Lachlan River, for the use of the expedition; the arrangement and conveyance of all which has been wholly entrusted to him. Mr. Cox having promised to accompany you as far as the depot on the Lachlan River, he will be able to remove any unforeseen difficulties that may arise on your arrival there, in getting the provisions and stores for the use of the expedition forwarded. Wishing every success may attend the expedition under your command, and a safe return to all the individuals composing it; I remain, Sir, Your most obedient servant, (Signed,) L. MACQUARIE, Governor in chief of New South Wales. Government House, Sydney, March 24, 1817. * * * * * --A.-- COPY OF INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE SECRETARY OF STATE. Downing Street, April 18, 1816. It is most desirable that any person travelling into the interior should keep a detailed Journal of his proceedings. In this Journal all observations and occurrences of every kind, with all their circumstances, however minute, and however familiar they may have been rendered by custom, should be carefully noted down; and it is also desirable that he should be as circumstantial as possible in describing the general appearance of the country, its surface, soil, animals, vegetables and minerals, every thing that relates to the population, the peculiar manners, customs, language, etc., of the individual natives, or the tribes of them that he may meet with. The following however will be among the most important subjects, on which it will be more immediately the province of a traveller to endeavour to obtain information. The general nature of the climate, as to the heat, cold, moisture, winds, rains, etc.; the temperature regularly registered from Fahrenheit's thermometer, as observed at two or three periods of the day. The direction of the mountains; their general appearance as to shape, whether detached, or continuous in ranges. The rivers, and their several branches, their direction, velocity, breadth and depth. The animals, whether birds, beasts, or fishes, reptiles, insects, etc., distinguishing those animals, if any, which appear to have been domesticated by the natives. The vegetables, and particularly those that are applicable to any useful purpose, whether in medicine, dyeing, etc.; any scented woods, or such as may be adapted for cabinet work, or furniture, and more particularly such woods as may appear to be useful in ship-building; of all which it would be desirable to procure small specimens, labelled and numbered, so that an easy reference may be made to them in the Journal, to ascertain the quantities in which they are found, and the situations in which they grow. Minerals, any of the precious metals, or stones, if used or valued by the natives. With respect to the animals, vegetables, and minerals, it is desirable that specimens of the most remarkable should be preserved as far as the means of the traveller will admit, and especially the seeds of any plants not hitherto known: when the preservation of specimens is impossible, drawings or detailed accounts of them are most desirable. The description, and characteristic difference, of the several people whom he way meet; the extent of the population, their occupation, and means of subsistence; whether chiefly, or to what extent, by fishing, hunting, or agriculture, and the principal objects of their several pursuits. A circumstantial account of such articles, if any, as might be advantageously imported into Great Britain. A vocabulary of the language spoken by the natives whom he may meet, using in the compilation of each the same English words. If the people are sufficiently numerous to form tribes, it is important to ascertain their condition, and rules of the society; their genius and disposition; the nature of their amusements; their diseases and remedies, etc.; their objects of worship, religious ceremonies; and the influence of those ceremonies on their moral character and conduct. (Signed) JOHN THOMAS CAMPBELL, Sec. (True copy.) * * * * * No. Ia. LIST OF THE NAMES AND DESIGNATIONS OF THE SEVERAL PERSONS PROCEEDING ON THE EXPEDITION OF DISCOVERY, UNDER THE COMMAND OF JOHN OXLEY, ESQ., SURVEYOR GENERAL OF LANDS. 1 John Oxley, Esq., chief of the expedition. 2 Mr. George William Evans, second in command. 3 Mr. Allan Cunningham, King's botanist. 4 Charles Fraser, colonial botanist. 5 William Parr, mineralogist. 6 George Hubbard, boat-builder. 7 James King, 1st boatman, and sailor. 8 James King, 2nd horse-shoer. 9 William Meggs, butcher. 10 Patrick Byrne, guide and horse leader. 11 William Blake, harness-mender. 12 George Simpson, for chaining with surveyors. 13 William Warner, servant to Mr. Oxley. (Signed,) L. MACQUARIE. Sydney, March 2,1, 1817. * * * * * No. II Government House, Sydney, June 10, 1815. Mr. Cox having reported the road as completed on the 21st of January, the governor, accompanied by Mr. Macquarie, and that gentleman, commenced his tour on the 25th of April last, over the Blue Mountains, and was joined by Sir John Jamison, at the Nepean, who accompanied him during the entire tour. The following gentlemen composed the governor's suite: Mr. Campbell, secretary; Captain Antill, major of brigade; Lieutenant Watts, aid-de-camp; Mr. Redfern, assistant surgeon; Mr. Oxley, surveyor general; Mr. Meehan, deputy surveyor general; Mr. Lewin, painter, and naturalist; and Mr. G. W. Evans, deputy surveyor of lands, who had been sent forward for the purpose of making farther discoveries, and rejoined the party on the day of arrival at Bathurst Plains. The commencement of the ascent from Emu Plains, to the first depot, and then to a resting-place, now called Spring Wood, distant twelve miles from Emu Ford, was through a very handsome forest of lofty trees, and much more practicable and easy than was expected. The facility of the ascent for this distance excited surprise, and is certainly not well calculated to give the traveller a just idea of the difficulties he has afterwards to encounter. At a farther distance of four miles, a sudden change is perceived in the appearance of the timber, and the quality of the soil; the former becoming stunted, and the latter barren and rocky. At this place the fatigues of the journey may be said to commence; here the country became altogether mountainous, and extremely rugged. Near to the eighteenth mile mark (it is to be observed the measure commences from Emu Ford), a pile of stones attracted attention; it is close to the line of road, on the top of a rugged and abrupt ascent, and is supposed to have been placed by Mr. Caley, as the extreme limit of his tour; hence the governor gave that part of the mountain the name of Caley's Repulse. To have penetrated even so far, was an effort of no small difficulty. From hence forward to the twenty-sixth mile is a succession of steep and rugged hills, some of which are almost so abrupt as to deny a passage altogether; but at this place a considerably extensive plain is arrived at, which constitutes the summit of the western mountains, and from thence a most extensive and beautiful prospect presents itself on all sides to the eye. The town of Windsor, the River Hawkesbury, Prospect Hill, and other objects within that part of the colony now inhabited, of equal interest, are distinctly seen from hence. The majestic grandeur of the situation, combined with the various objects to be seen from this place, induced the governor to give it the appellation of the King's Table Land. On the south-west side of the King's Table Land, the mountain terminates in abrupt precipices of immense depth; at the bottom of which is seen a glen, as romantically beautiful as can be imagined, bounded on the farther side by mountains of great magnitude, terminating equally abruptly as the others; and the whole whole thickly covered with timber. The length of this picturesque and remarkable tract of country is about twenty-four miles, to which the governor gave the name of the Prince Regent's Glen. Proceeding hence to the thirty-third mile, on the top of a hill an opening presents itself on the south-west side of the Prince Regent's Glen, from whence a view obtained particularly beautiful and grand: mountains rising beyond mountains, with stupendous masses of rock in the fore ground, here strike the eye with admiration and astonishment. The circular form in which the whole is so wonderfully disposed, induced the governor to give the name of Pitt's Amphitheatre to this offset or branch from the Prince Regent's Glen. The road continues from hence for the space of seventeen miles, on the ridge of the mountain which forms one side of the Prince Regent's Glen, and there it suddenly terminates in nearly a perpendicular precipice of six hundred and seventy-six feet high, as ascertained by measurement. The road constructed by Mr. Cox down this rugged and tremendous descent, through all its windings, is no less than three fourths of a mile in length, and has been executed with such skill and dexterity as reflects much credit to him: the labour here undergone, and the difficulties surmounted can only be appreciated by those who view this scene. In order to perpetuate the memory of Mr. Cox's services, the governor deemed it a tribute justly due to him to give his name to this grand and extraordinary pass, and he accordingly called it Cox's Pass. Having descended into the valley at the bottom of this pass, the retrospective view of the overhanging mountain is magnificently grand. Although the present pass is the only practicable point yet discovered for descending by, yet the mountain is much higher than those on either side of it, from whence it is distinguished at a considerable distance: when approaching it from the interior, and in this point of view, it has the appearance of a very high distinct hill, although it is in fact only the abrupt termination of a ridge. The governor gave the name of Mount York to this termination of the ridge: on descending Cox's Pass, the governor was much pleased by the appearance of good pasture land, and soil fit for cultivation, which was the first he had met with since the commencement of his tour. The valley at the base of Mount York he called the Vale of Clwyd, in consequence of the strong resemblance it bore to the vale of that name in North Wales: the grass in this vale is of a good quality, and very abundant; and a rivulet of fine water runs along it from the eastward, which unites itself at the western extremity of the vale with another rivulet, containing still more water. The junction of these two streams forms a very fine river, now called by the governor Cox's River; which takes its course, as has since been re-ascertained, through the Prince Regent's Glen, and empties itself into the River Nepean; and it is conjectured from the nature of the country through which it passes, that it must be one of the principal causes of the floods which have been occasionally felt on the low banks of the River Hawkesbury, into which the Nepean discharges itself. The Vale of Clwyd from the base of Mount York, extends six miles in a westerly direction, and has its termination at Cox's River. Westward of this river the country again becomes hilly, but is generally open, forest land, and very good pasturage. Three miles to the westward of the Vale of Clwyd, Messrs. Blaxland, Wentworth, and Lawson, had formerly terminated their excursion; and when the various difficulties are considered which they had to contend with, especially until they had effected the descent from Mount York, to which place they were obliged to pass through a thick brushwood, where they were under the necessity of cutting a passage for their baggage horses, the severity of which labour had seriously affected their healths--their patient endurance of such fatigue cannot fail to excite much surprise and admiration. In commemoration of their merits, three beautiful high hills, joining each other at the end of their tour at this place, have received their names in the following order, viz., Mount Blaxland, Wentworth's Sugar Loaf, and Lawson's Sugar Loaf. A range of very lofty hills and narrow valleys alternately form the tract from Cox's River, for a distance of sixteen miles, until the Fish River is arrived at; and the stage between these rivers is consequently very severe and oppressive to the cattle: to this range the governor gave the name of Clarence's Hilly Range. Proceeding from the Fish River and a short distance from it, a very singular and beautiful mountain attracts the attention, its summit being crowned with a large and very extraordinary looking rock, nearly circular in form, which gives to the whole very much the appearance of a Hill Fort, such as are frequent in India; to this lofty hill, Mr. Evans, who was the first European discoverer, gave the name of Mount Evans. Passing on from hence the country continues hilly, but affords good pasturage; gradually improving to Sidmouth Valley, which is distant from the pass of the Fish River eight miles. The land here is level, and the first met with unencumbered with timber: it is not of very considerable extent, but abounds with a great variety of herbs and plants, such as would probably highly interest and gratify the scientific botanist. This beautiful little valley runs north-west and south-east, between hills of easy ascent thinly covered with timber. Leaving Sidmouth Valley the country again becomes hilly, and in other respects resembles very much the country to the eastward of the valley for some miles. Having reached Campbell River, distant thirteen miles from Sidmouth Valley, the governor was highly gratified by the appearance of the country, which there began to exhibit an open and extensive view of gently rising grounds and fertile plains. Judging from the height of the banks and its general width, the Campbell River must be on some occasions of very considerable magnitude; but the extraordinary drought which has apparently prevailed on the western side of the mountains, equally as throughout this colony for the last three years, has reduced this river so much, that it may be more properly called a chain of pools than a running stream at the present time. In the reaches, or pools of the Campbell River, the very curious animal called the water mole (ornithorhynchus paradoxus), is seen in great numbers. The soil on both banks is uncommonly rich, and the grass is consequently luxuriant. Two miles to the southward of the line of road which crosses the Campbell River, there is a very fine rich tract of low lands which has been named Mitchel Plains. Wild flax was found here growing in considerable quantities. The Fish River, which forms a junction with the Campbell River a few miles to the northward of the road and bridge over the latter, has also two very fertile plains on its banks, the one called O'Connell Plains, and the other Macquarie Plains, both of considerable extent, and very capable of yielding all the necessaries of life. At the distance of seven miles from the bridge over the Campbell River, Bathurst Plains open to the view, presenting a rich tract of champaign country of eleven miles in length, bounded on both sides by gently rising and very beautiful hills, thinly wooded. The Macquarie River, which is constituted by the junction of the Fish and Campbell Rivers, takes a winding course through the plains, and can be easily traced from the high lands adjoining, by the particular verdure of the trees on its banks, which are likewise the only trees throughout the extent of the plains. The level and clean surface of these plains gives them at first view very much the appearance of lands in a state of cultivation. The governor and his suite arrived at these plains on Thursday, the 4th of May, and encamped on the southern or left bank of the Macquarie River; the situation being selected in consequence of its commanding a beautiful and extensive prospect for many miles in every direction around it. At this place the governor remained for a week, which time he occupied in making excursions in different directions through the adjoining country, on both sides of the river. On Sunday, the 7th of May, the governor fixed on a site suitable for the erection of a town at some future period, to which he gave the name of Bathurst, in honour of the present Secretary of State for the colonies. The situation of Bathurst is elevated sufficiently beyond the reach of any floods which may occur, and is at the same time so near the river on its south bank, as to derive all the advantages of its clear and beautiful stream. The mechanics, and settlers of whatever description, who may be hereafter permitted to form permanent residences to themselves at this place, will have the highly important advantages of a rich and fertile soil, with a beautiful river flowing through it, for all the uses of man. The governor must however add, that the hopes which were once so sanguinely entertained of this river becoming navigable to the western sea have ended in disappointment. During the week that the governor remained at Bathurst, he made daily excursions in various directions: one of these extended twenty-two miles in a south-west direction, and on that occasion as well as on all the others, he found the country composed chiefly of valleys and plains, separated occasionally by ranges of low hills; the soil throughout being generally fertile, and well circumstanced for the purpose of agriculture, or grazing. Within a distance of ten miles from the site of Bathurst, there is not less than fifty thousand acres of land clear of timber, and fully one half of that may be considered excellent soil, well calculated for cultivation. It is a matter of regret, that in proportion as the land improves the timber degenerates; and it is to be remarked, that every where to the westward of the mountains it is much inferior, both in size and quality, to that within the present colony: there is however a sufficiency of timber of tolerable quality within the district around Bathurst, for the purposes of house building, and husbandry. The governor has here to lament, that neither coals nor limestone have been yet discovered in the western country; articles in themselves of so much importance, that the want of them must be severely felt, whenever that country shall be settled. Having enumerated the principal and most important features of this new country, the governor has now to notice some of its live productions. All around Bathurst abounds in a variety of game; and the two principal rivers contain a great quantity of fish, but all of one denomination, resembling the perch in appearance, and of a delicate and fine flavour, not unlike that of a rock cod; this fish grows to a large size, and is very voracious. Several of them were caught during the governor's stay at Bathurst, and at the halting-place on the Fish River. One of those caught weighed seventeen pounds, and the people stationed at Bathurst reported they had caught some weighing twenty-five pounds. The field game are the kangaroos, emus, black swans, wild geese, wild turkeys, bustards, ducks of various kinds, quail, bronze-winged and other pigeons, etc. etc. The water-mole also abounds in all the rivers and ponds. The site designed for the town of Bathurst by observation taken at the flag-staff, which was erected on the day of Bathurst receiving that name, is situated in latitude 33. 24. 30. S., and in longitude 149. 29. 30. E. of Greenwich; being also twenty-seven miles and a half north of Government House, in Sydney, and ninety-four and a half west of it, bearing west 18. 20. N., eighty-three geographical miles, or ninety-five and a half statute miles; the measured road distance from Sydney to Bathurst being one hundred and forty English miles. The road constructed by Mr. Cox, and the party under him, commences at Emu Ford, on the left bank of the Nepean, and is thence one hundred and one miles and a half to the flag-staff at Bathurst: this road has been carefully measured, and each mile regularly marked on the trees growing on the left side of the road, proceeding towards Bathurst. The governor in his tour made the following stages, in which he was principally regulated by the consideration of his having good pasturage for the cattle and plenty of water: 1st stage, Spring Wood, distant from Emu Ford, 12 miles. 2nd ditto, Jamison's Valley, or 2nd depot, distant from ditto, 28 miles. 3rd ditto, Blackheath, distant from ditto, 41 miles. 4th ditto, Cox's River, distant from ditto, 56 miles. 5th ditto, The Fish River, distant from ditto, 72 miles. 6th ditto, Sidmouth Valley, distant from ditto, 80 miles. 7th ditto, Campbell River, distant from ditto, 90 miles. 8th ditto, Bathurst, distant from ditto, 101 1/2 miles. At all of which places the traveller may assure himself of good grass, and water in abundance. * * * * * No. III. Bathurst, August 30, 1817. "Sir, "I have the honour to acquaint your excellency with my arrival at this place last evening, together with the persons comprising the expedition to the westward, which your excellency was pleased to place under my direction. "Your excellency is already informed of my proceedings up to the 30th of April. The limits of a letter will not permit me to enter at large into the occurrences of nineteen weeks; and as I shall have the honour of waiting on your excellency in a few days, I trust you will in the mean time have the goodness to accept the summary account which I now offer. "I proceeded down the Lachlan in company with the boats until the 12th of May, the country rapidly descending, until the waters of the river rising to a level with it, and dividing themselves into numerous branches, inundated the land to the west and north-west, and prevented any farther progress in that direction, the river itself being lost among the marshes. Up to this point, it had received no accession of waters from either side; but on the contrary, was constantly dissipating itself in lagoons and swamps. "The impossibility of proceeding farther in conjunction with the boats being evident, I determined upon mature deliberation to haul them up; and divesting ourselves of every thing that could possibly be spared, proceed with the horses loaded with the additional provisions from the boats, on such a course towards the coast as would intersect any stream that might arise from the divided waters of the Lachlan. "In pursuance of this plan, I quitted the river on the 17th of May, taking a south-west course towards Cape Northumberland, as the best adapted to answer my intended purpose. I will not here detail the difficulties and privations we experienced in passing through a barren and desolate country, without any water but such rain as was found remaining in holes and the crevices of rocks. I continued this course until the 9th of June, when having lost two horses through fatigue and want, and the others being in a deplorable condition, I changed our course to north, along a range of lofty hills running in that direction, as they afforded the only means of procuring water until we should fall in with some stream. On this course I continued until the 23rd of June, when we again fell in with a stream, which we had at first some difficulty to recognise as the Lachlan, it being little larger than one of the branches of it where we quitted it on the 17th of May. "I did not hesitate a moment to pursue the course of this stream, not that the nature of the country or its own appearance in any manner indicated that it would become navigable, or even permanent; but I was unwilling that the smallest doubt should remain whether any navigable waters fall westward into the sea, between the limits pointed out in my instructions. "I continued along the banks of the stream until the 8th of July, it having taken during this period a westerly direction, and passed through a perfectly level country, barren in the extreme, and being evidently at periods entirely under water. To this point the river had been gradually diminishing, and spreading its waters over stagnated lagoons and morasses, without receiving any tributary stream that we knew of, during the whole extent of its course. The banks were not more than three feet high, and the marks of flood on the shrubs and bushes showed that at times it rose between two and three feet higher, causing the whole country to become a marsh, and altogether uninhabitable. "Farther progress westward, had it been possible, was now useless, as there was neither hill nor rising ground of any kind within the compass of our view, which was bounded only by the horizon in every quarter, and entirely devoid of timber, unless a few diminutive gum, trees on the very edge of the stream might be so termed. The water in the bed of the lagoon, as it might now be properly denominated, was stagnant, its breadth about twenty feet, and the heads of grass growing in it showed it to be about three feet deep. "This unlooked for and truly singular termination of a river, which we had anxiously hoped, and reasonably expected, would have led to a far different conclusion, filled us with the most painful sensations. We were full five hundred miles west of Sydney, and nearly in its latitude; and it had taken us ten weeks of unremitted exertion to proceed so far. The nearest part of the coast about Cape Bernoulli, had it been accessible, was distant above one hundred and eighty miles. We had demonstrated beyond a doubt, that no river could fall into the sea between Cape Otway and Spencer's Gulf, at least none deriving its waters from the eastern coast; and that the country south of the parallel of 34 degrees, and west of the meridian 147. 30. E. was uninhabitable, and useless for all the purposes of civilized men. "It now became my duty to make our remaining resources as extensively useful to the colony as our circumstances would allow; these were much diminished: an accident which happened to one of the boats in the outset of the expedition had deprived us of one third of our dry provisions, of which we had originally a supply for only eighteen weeks, and we had been consequently for some time living on a reduced ration of two quarts of flour per man, per week. To return to the depot by the route we had come would have been as useless as impossible; and, seriously considering the spirit of your excellency's instructions, I determined, after the most mature deliberation, to take such a route, on our return, as would I hoped comport with your excellency's views, had our then situation ever been contemplated. "Returning up the Lachlan, I recommenced the survey of it from the point at which it was made on the 23rd of June, intending to continue up its banks until its connection with the marshes where we quitted it on the 17th of May was satisfactorily established, as also to ascertain if any streams might have escaped our research. The connection with all the points of the survey previously determined, was completed between the 19th of July and the 3rd of August. In the space passed over within that period, the river had divided itself into various branches, and formed three fine lakes, which, with one near the termination of our journey westward, were the only considerable pieces of water we had yet seen; and I now estimated that the river, from the place where it was first made by Mr. Evans, had run a course, including all its windings, of upwards of one thousand two hundred miles; a length altogether unprecedented, when the single nature of the river is considered, and that its original source constitutes its only supply of water during that extent. "Crossing at this point, it was my intention to take a north-east course to intersect the country, and if possible to ascertain what had become of the Macquarie River, which it was clear had never joined the Lachlan. This course led us through a country to the full as bad as any we had yet seen, and equally devoid of water, the personal want of which again much distressed us. On the 7th of August the scene began to change, and the country to assume a very different aspect; we were now quitting the neighbourhood of the Lachlan, and had passed to the north-east of the high range of hills, which on this parallel bounds the low country to the north of that river. To the north-west and north the country was high and open, with good forest land; and on the 10th we had the satisfaction of falling in with the first stream running northerly. This renewed our hopes of soon falling in with the Macquarie, and we continued upon the same course, occasionally inclining to the eastward until the 19th, passing through a fine luxuriant country, well watered; crossing in that space of time nine streams, having a northerly course through rich valleys, the country in every direction being moderately high and open, and generally as fine as can be imagined. "No doubt remained upon our minds that those streams fell into the Macquarie, and to view it before it received such an accession, was our first wish. On the 19th, we were gratified by failing in with a river running through a most beautiful country, and which I should have been well contented to have believed to be the river we were in search of. Accident led us down this stream about a mile, when we were surprised by its junction with a river coming from the south, of such width and magnitude as to dispel all doubts as to this last being the river we had so long anxiously looked for. Limited as our resources were, we could not resist the temptation which this beautiful country offered us, to remain two days upon the junction of these rivers, for the purpose of examining its vicinity to as great an extent as possible. "Our examination increased the satisfaction we had previously felt; as far as the eye could reach, in every direction, a rich and picturesque country extended, abounding in limestone, slate, good timber, and every other requisite which could render an uncultivated country desirable. "The soil cannot be excelled; whilst a noble river of the first magnitude affords the means of conveying its productions from one part of the country to the other. Where we quitted it, its course was northerly, and we were then north of the parallel of Port Stephens, being in latitude 32. 32. 45. S., and 148. 52. E. longitude. "It appeared to me that the Macquarie had taken a north-north-west course from Bathurst, and that it must have received immense accessions of water in its course from that place. We viewed it at a period best calculated to form an accurate judgment of its importance, when it was neither swelled by floods beyond its natural and usual height, nor contracted within its proper limits by summer droughts; of its magnitude when it should have received the streams we had crossed, independently of any which it may receive from the east (which, from the boldness and height of the country, I presume must be at least as many as from the south), some idea may be formed when I inform your excellency, that at this point it exceeded in breadth and apparent depth the Hawkesbury at Windsor, and that many of the reaches were of grander and more extended proportion than the admired one on the Nepean River, from the Warragamba to Emu Plains. "Resolving to keep as near the river as possible during the remainder of our course to Bathurst, and endeavour to ascertain at least on the west side what waters fall into it, on the 22nd we proceeded up the river, and, between the point quitted and Bathurst, crossed the sources of numberless streams all running into the Macquarie; two of them were nearly as large as that river itself is at Bathurst. The country whence all these streams derive their source was mountainous and irregular, and appeared equally so on the east side of the Macquarie. "This description of country extended to the immediate vicinity of Bathurst, but to the west of those lofty ranges the land was broken into low grassy hills and fine valleys, watered by rivulets rising on the western side of the mountains, which on their eastern side pour their waters directly into the Macquarie. These westerly streams appeared to me to join that which at first sight I had taken for the Macquarie, and, when united, to fall into it at the point on which it was first discovered on the 19th instant. We reached this place last evening, without a single accident having occurred to any one of the party during the whole progress of the expedition; which from this point has encircled within the parallels of 34. 30. S. and 32. S., and between the meridians of 149. 29. 30. E. and 143. 30. E. a space of nearly one thousand miles. I shall hasten to lay before your excellency the journals, charts, and drawings, explanatory of the various occurrences of our diversified route; amply gratified if our exertions should appear to your excellency commensurate with your expectations, and the ample means which your care and liberality placed at my disposal. "I feel the most particular pleasure in informing your excellency of the obligations I am under to Mr. Evans, the deputy surveyor, for his able advice and cordial co-operation throughout the expedition; and, as far as his previous researches had extended, the accuracy and fidelity of his narrative was fully established. "It would perhaps appear presumptuous in me to hazard an opinion upon the merits of persons engaged in a pursuit in which I have little knowledge; the extensive and valuable collection of plants found by Mr. A. Cunningham, the King's botanist, and Mr. C. Frazer, the colonial botanist, will best evince to your excellency the unwearied industry and zeal bestowed in the discovery and preservation of them; in every other respect they also merit the highest praise. "From the nature of the greater part of the country passed over, our mineralogical collection is but small. Mr. S. Parr did as much as could be done in that branch, and throughout endeavoured to render himself as useful as possible. "Of the men on whom the chief care of the horses and baggage devolved, it is impossible to speak in too high terms. Their conduct in periods of considerable privation, was such as must redound to their credit; and their orderly, regular, and obedient behaviour could not be exceeded. It may principally be attributed to their care and attention, that we lost only three horses; and that, with the exception of the loss of the dry provisions already mentioned, no other accident happened during the course of the expedition. I most respectfully beg leave to recommend them to your excellency's favourable notice and consideration. "I trust your excellency will have the goodness to correct any omissions or inaccuracies that may appear in this letter: the messenger setting out immediately will not allow me to revise or correct it. "I have the honour to remain, with the greatest respect, Your excellency's most obedient and humble servant, (Signed), J. OXLEY, Surveyor General." To His Excellency, Governor Macquarie, etc., etc., etc. * * * * * APPENDIX. PART II. No. IV. DIARY OF MR. EVANS, DEPUTY SURVEYOR GENERAL, FROM THE 8TH, TO THE 18TH OF JULY 1818. Wednesday, July 8.--Left Mount Harris about nine o'clock. For six miles the country tolerably good; afterwards, to the end of my day's journey, it was alternately acacia pendula scrubs, and cypress brushes; the soil light, and full of holes; abundance of water, but, latterly, no grass. In the evening halted on the bank of a gully, having gone about twelve miles. Mount Harris bearing 8. 35. W. July 9.--Set forward at eight o'clock, and continued travelling until five in the afternoon, chiefly through very thick brushes, consisting of various shrubs, with casuarina and dwarf box trees; the country nearly a marsh and almost impassable, so much so, that I had great difficulty in keeping my course, being the greater part of the day up to our knees in water. I estimate my distance this day to be about fifteen miles, on a north-east course. July 10.--The country worse than yesterday, being exceeding low and marshy, with many thick scrubs. About eleven o'clock it opened, being more thinly clothed with the acacia pendula: having travelled about ten miles, we arrived on the borders of a large apparent plain, on which I had proceeded about two miles, when we were suddenly stopped by deep water among reeds; from hence I could distinctly see Arbuthnot's Range, the north end of which bore N. 101., and the other part connected by a low range bore from N. 108 to N. 112. The country from north-west to north-east was open with the horizon, being covered with water and reeds, as far as the eye could distinguish; we saw immense numbers of wild ducks, many black swans, pelicans, and birds resembling the sea gannet: I altered my course to east, and shortly afterwards to south-east. I estimate the distance travelled this day to be eighteen miles. Being rather late, we were much at a loss to find a place dry enough to sleep on: the north end of Arbuthnot's Range bore N. 98. July 11.--Finding our efforts to travel in any direction north of east useless, I altered my course for the north end of Arbuthnot's Range. The country continuing nearly as yesterday, brushes and marshes alternately, having gone about twelve miles, the last quarter of a mile of which was at an almost imperceptible rise above the general level, I came to the edge of a river, the stream of which was thirty or fort yards wide, but the bed nearly one hundred yards, the banks being eight or nine feet high: I forded it in the middle of a very long reach bearing north and south, the stream clear, and running gently from the south, about three feet deep, over a fine sandy bottom. After crossing this river, I proceeded onwards about four miles, and halted on the edge of a brush, having travelled sixteen or seventeen miles. July 12.--After proceeding about four miles, we crossed a small stream from the south-east; the country perfectly level, not a perceptible rise in any direction, save Arbuthnot's Range: the space travelled over to-day was a complete marsh, the soil good, being clearly alluvial. It will be impossible for heavy loaded horses to walk over the country, traversed by us these last three days; the trouble we have had is more than can well be imagined. Travelled fifteen miles. July 13.--A very cold morning, set off at sunrise: at the sixth mile arrived on an open plain, over which was rather better travelling than we had latterly experienced. Finding it unlikely that we should reach the range, at least in time to view the country from it, I thought it best, as I had no time to spare, to keep more southerly for a lofty eminence about two miles distant, and apparently of easy ascent: this mount afforded me a most extensive prospect. The south extreme of Arbuthnot's Range bore south, the north extreme N. 20. E, then trends more easterly. Westerly of the hill on which I stood and the range, the country is a perfect level, without the slightest apparent rise or inequality; what I could see of the country to the south-east, appeared to be very broken and rugged, detached rocks projecting like pillars and pyramids, in various parts of the ranges; there was a number of native fires about the base of the range, and we saw plenty of kangaroos, for the first time since quitting Mount Harris: I also this day shot a new species of pigeon. The distance travelled, I suppose sixteen or seventeen miles. July 14.--Set forward on my return to the tents in a south-west direction, and passed, for four or five miles, through a good open forest country, abounding with kangaroos: after passing that, the country altered for the worse, becoming low and wet: at twelve miles, we crossed a chain of ponds leading to the north. Last evening we suspected that we had been watched by the natives. I saw some of them, and our resting-place was surrounded by their smokes; they however did not attempt to molest us. Stopped in an acacia pendula brush, having travelled about twenty miles. July 15.--It came on to rain in the night, and continued all this day. Our journey was dreadfully bad and marshy; yet on the whole the country had a better aspect, not being so much overrun with the plant called atriplex as usual. On my track out, plains, brushes, indeed almost the entire surface was covered with it, until within a few miles of Arbuthnot's Range. After going about three miles, we again fell in with and forded the river crossed on the 11th instant: it was here not quite so wide as when first seen, but deeper. Halted, having gone about ten miles. July 16.--I altered my course from south-west to west, 80 degrees south, and had an extremely tedious and unpleasant day's journey, through a wet and dreary country; continued rain. Travelled fifteen miles. July 18.--Arrived at the hut about one o'clock, p.m., having travelled yesterday and to-day about thirty-seven miles. (Signed) G. W. EVANS. * * * * * No. V. GOVERNMENT, AND GENERAL ORDERS. Government House, Parramatta, December 5, 1818. CIVIL DEPARTMENT. The sanguine hope which his excellency the governor was induced to entertain, that, by pursuing the course of the Macquarie River, which had been discovered running in a north-west direction by John Oxley, Esq., on his return last year from tracing the course of the Lachlan to the south-west, would have amply compensated for the disappointment sustained on that occasion; and his excellency having in consequence accepted the farther services of Mr. Oxley, on a second expedition; the party consisting of John Oxley, Esq., surveyor general; John Harris, Esq., late surgeon of the 102nd regiment, (who most liberally volunteered to accompany the expedition); Mr. Evans, deputy surveyor general; and Mr. Charles Fraser, colonial botanist; together with twelve men, having eighteen horses and two boats, and provisions for twenty-four weeks, took their final departure on the 4th of June last, from a depot prepared for the occasion in the Wellington Valley, at about ninety miles west of Bathurst; and those gentlemen, and the entire party, having a few days since arrived at Port Jackson by sea, from the northward, his excellency is happy in offering his most cordial congratulations to John Oxley, Esq., the conductor of this expedition, and to John Harris, Esq., Mr. Evans, and Mr. Fraser, on their safe return from this arduous undertaking. The zeal, talent, and attention manifested by Mr. Oxley, considering the perils and privations to which he and his party were exposed, in exploring a tract of country so singularly circumstanced in its various bearings, are no less honourable to Mr. Oxley than conducive to the public interest; and although the principal object, namely, that of tracing the Macquarie River to its embouchure, has not been so favourable as was anticipated, yet the failure is in a great degree counterbalanced by other important discoveries made in the course of this tour, which promise, at no very remote period, to prove of material advantage to this rising colony. Whilst his excellency thus offers this public tribute of congratulations, he desires to accompany it with expressions of his high sense and approbation of Mr. Oxley's meritorious services on this occasion; which his excellency will not fail to represent to His Majesty's ministers, by the earliest opportunity. The personal assistance and support so cheerfully and beneficially afforded to Mr. Oxley by the gentlemen associated with him on this expedition, demand his excellency's best acknowledgments, which be is happy thus publicly to request them to accept. The following letter received from Mr. Oxley on his arrival at Port Stephens, on the 1st of November last, is now published for general information on the interesting subject of this tour. By his excellency the governor's command, J. T. CAMPBELL, Secretary. * * * Port Stephens, November 1, 1818. Sir, I have the honour to inform your excellency, that I arrived at this port to-day, and circumstances rendering it necessary that Mr. Evans should proceed to Newcastle, I embrace the opportunity to make to your excellency a brief report of the route pursued by the western expedition entrusted to my direction. My letter, dated the 22nd of June last, will have made your excellency acquainted with the sanguine hopes I entertained, from the appearance of the river, that its termination would be either in interior waters, or coastwise. When I wrote that letter to your excellency, I certainly did not anticipate the possibility, that a very few days farther travelling would lead us to its termination as an accessible river. On the 28th of June, having traced its course without the smallest diminution or addition, about seventy miles farther to the north-north-west, there being a slight fresh in the river, it overflowed its banks, and although we were at the distance of near three miles from it, the country was so perfectly level that the waters soon spread over the ground on which we were. We had been for some days before travelling over such very low ground, that the people in the boats finding the country flooded, proceeded slowly; a circumstance which enabled me to send them directions to return to the station we had quitted in the morning, where the ground was a little more elevated. This spot being by no means secure, it was arranged that the horses, with the provisions, should return to the last high land we had quitted, a distance of sixteen miles; and as it appeared to me that the body of water in the river was too important to be much affected by the mere overflowing of its waters, I determined to take the large boat, and in her to endeavour to discover their point of discharge. On the 2nd of July I proceeded in the boat down the river, and in the course of the day went near thirty miles in a north-north-west course, for ten of which there had been, strictly speaking, no land, as the flood made the surrounding country a perfect sea: the banks of the river were heavily timbered, and many large spaces within our view, covered with the common reed, were also encircled by large trees. On the third, the main channel of the river was much contracted but very deep, the banks being under water from a foot to eighteen inches; the stream continued for about twenty miles on the same course as yesterday, when we lost sight of land and trees, the channel of the river winding through reeds, among which the water was about three feet deep, the current having the same direction as the river. It continued in this manner for near four miles more, when, without any previous change in the breadth, depth, and rapidity of the stream, and when I was sanguine in my expectations of soon entering the long-sought-for lake, it all at once eluded our farther pursuit, by spreading at all points from north-west to north-east over the plain of reeds which surrounded us; the river decreasing in depth from upwards of twenty feet to less than five feet, and flowing over a bottom of tenacious blue mud; and the current still running with nearly the same rapidity, as when the water was confined within the banks of the river. This point of junction with interior waters, or where the Macquarie ceased to have the form of a river, is in lat. 30. 45. S., and long. 147. 10. E. To assert positively that we were on the margin of the lake, or sea, into which this great body of water is discharged, might reasonably be deemed a conclusion that has nothing but conjecture for its basis; but if an opinion may he hazarded from actual appearances, which our subsequent route tended more strongly to confirm, I feel confident we were in the immediate vicinity of an inland sea, most probably a shoal one, and gradually decreasing, or being filled up by the immense depositions from the waters flowing into it from the higher lands, which, on this singular continent, seem not to extend beyond a few hundred miles from the seacoast; as westward of these bounding ranges, (which from the observations I have been enabled to make, appear to me to run parallel to the direction of the coast), there is not a single hill or other eminence discoverable on this apparently boundless space, those isolated points excepted, on which we remained until the 28th of July; the rocks, and stones composing which, are a distinct species from those found on the above ranges. I trust your excellency will believe, that fully impressed with the great importance of the question, as to the interior formation of this great country, I was anxiously solicitous to remove all ground for farther conjecture, by the most careful observations on the nature of the country; which though it was to me a proof that the interior was covered with water, yet I felt it my duty to leave no measure untried which would in any way tend to a direct elucidation of the fact. It was physically impracticable to gain the edge of these waters by making a detour round the flooded portion of the country on the south-west side of the river, as we proved it to be a barren wet marsh, overrun with a species of polygonum, and not offering a single dry spot to which our course might be directed; and that there was no probability of finding any in that direction, I had a certain knowledge from the observations made during the former expedition. To circle the flooded country to the north-east yet remained to be tried; and when on the 7th of July I returned to the tents, which I found pitched on the high land before mentioned, and from whence we could see mountains at the distance of eighty miles to the eastward, the country between being a perfect level, Mr. Evans was sent forward to explore the country to the north-east, that being the point on which I purposed to set forward. On the 18th of July Mr. Evans returned, having been prevented from continuing on a north-east course beyond two day's journey, by waters running north-easterly through high reeds, and which were most probably those of the Macquarie River; as during his absence it had swelled so considerably as entirely to surround us, coming within a few yards of the tent. Mr. Evans afterwards proceeded more easterly, and, at a distance of fifty miles from the Macquarie River, crossed another much wider but not so deep, running to the north: advancing still more easterly, he went nearly to the base of the mountains seen from the tent, and returning a more southerly route, found the country somewhat drier, but not in the least more elevated. The discretionary instructions with which your excellency was pleased to furnish me, leaving me at liberty as to the course to be pursued by the expedition on its return to Port Jackson, I determined to attempt making the sea-coast on an easterly course, first proceeding along the base of the high range before mentioned, which I still indulged hopes might lead me to the margin of these, or any other interior waters which this portion of New South Wales might contain; and embracing a low line of coast on which many small openings remained unexamined, at the same time that the knowledge obtained of the country to be encircled, might materially tend to the advantage of the colony, in the event of any communication with the interior being discovered. We quitted this station on the 30th of July, being in latitude 31. 18. S., and longitude 147. 31. E. on our route for the coast; and on the 8th of August arrived at the lofty range of mountains to which our course had been directed. From the highest point of this range we had the most extended prospect. From south by the west to north, it was one vast level, resembling the ocean in extent, but yet without water being discerned, the range of high land extending to the north-east by north, elevated points of which were distinguished upwards of one hundred and twenty miles. From this point, in conformity to the resolution I had made on quitting the Macquarie River, I pursued a north-east course; but after encountering numerous difficulties from the country being an entire marsh, interspersed with quicksands, until the 20th of August, and finding I was surrounded by bogs, I was reluctantly compelled to take a more easterly course, having practically proved that the country could not be traversed on any point deviating from the main range of hills which bound the interior; although partial dry portions of level alluvial land extend from their base westerly to a distance which I estimate to exceed one hundred and fifty miles, before it is gradually lost in the waters which I am clearly convinced cover the interior. The alteration in our course more easterly, soon brought us into a very different description of country, forming a remarkable contrast to that which had so long occupied us. Numerous fine streams, running northerly, watered a rich and beautiful country, through which we passed until the 7th of September, when we crossed the meridian of Sydney, as also the most elevated known land in New South Wales, being, then in latitude 31. S. We were afterwards considerably embarrassed and impeded by very lofty mountains. On the 20th of September, we gained the summit of the most elevated mountain in this extensive range, and from it we were gratified with a view of the ocean, at a distance of fifty miles; the country beneath us being formed into an immense triangular valley, the base of which extended along the coast from the Three Brothers on the south, to the high land north of Smoky Cape. We had the farther gratification to find that we were near the source of a large stream running to the sea. On descending the mountain, we followed the course of this river, increased by many accessions, until the 8th of October, when we arrived on the beach near the entrance of the port which received it; having passed over, since the 18th of July, a tract of country near five hundred miles in extent from west to east. This inlet is situated in lat. 31. 25. 45. S., and long. 162. 53. 54. E., and had been previously noticed by Captain Flinders, but from the distance at which he was necessarily obliged to keep from the coast, he did not discover that it had a navigable entrance; of course our most anxious attention was directed to this important point; and although the want of a boat rendered the examination as to the depth of water in the channel incomplete, yet there appeared to be at low water at least three fathoms, with a safe though narrow entrance between the sand-rollers on either hand. Having ascertained thus far, and that by its means the fine country on the banks, and in the neighbourhood of the river, might be of future service to the colony, I took the liberty to name it Port Macquarie, in honour of your excellency, as the original promoter of the expedition. On the 12th of October, we quitted Port Macquarie on our course for Sydney; and although no charts can be more accurate in their outline and principal points than those of Captain Flinders, we soon experienced how little the best marine charts can he depended upon, to show all the inlets and openings upon an extensive line of coast. The distance his ship was generally at, from that portion of the coast we had to travel over, did not allow him to perceive openings, which, though doubtless of little consequence to shipping, yet presented the most serious difficulties to travellers by land; and of which, if they had been laid down in the chart, I should have hesitated to have attempted the passage without assistance from the sea-ward: as it is, we are indebted for our preservation, and that of the horses, to the providential discovery of a small boat on the beach, which the men with the most cheerful alacrity carried upwards of ninety miles on their shoulders, thereby enabling us to overcome obstacles, otherwise insurmountable. Until within these few days, I hoped to have had the satisfaction to report the return of the expedition without accident to any individual composing it; but such is the ferocious treachery of the natives along the coast to the northward, that our utmost circumspection could not save us from having one man (William Blake), severely wounded by them; but by the skillful care bestowed upon him by Dr. Harris, (who accompanied the expedition as a volunteer, and to whom upon this occasion, and throughout the whole course of it, we are indebted for much valuable assistance); I trust his recovery is no longer doubtful. The general merits of Mr. Evans are so well known to your excellency, that it will here be sufficient to observe, that by his zealous attention to every point that could facilitate the progress of the expedition, he has endeavoured to deserve a continuance of your excellency's approbation. Mr. Charles Fraser, the colonial botanist, has added many new species to the already extended catalogue of Australian plants, besides an extensive collection of seeds, etc.; and in the collection, and preservation, he has indefatigably endeavoured to obtain your excellency's approval of his services. I confidently hope that the Journal of the expedition will amply evince to your excellency the exemplary and praiseworthy conduct of the men employed on it; and I feel the sincerest pleasure in earnestly soliciting for them your excellency's favourable consideration. Respectfully hoping, that on a perusal and inspection of the journals and charts of the expedition, that the course I have penned in the execution of your excellency's instructions will be honoured by your approbation, I beg leave to subscribe myself, with the greatest respect, Sir, Your excellency's most obedient and humble servant, (Signed), JOHN OXLEY, Surveyor General. To His Excellency, Governor Macquarie, etc., etc., etc. No. VI. GOVERNMENT AND GENERAL ORDERS. Government House, Sydney, Thursday, June 17, 1819. CIVIL DEPARTMENT. It is with feelings of much gratification that his excellency The Governor is at length enabled to announce, thus publicly, that a safe capacious harbour has been discovered, and now accurately described, situated to the north-east of Newcastle; from whence it is distant about one hundred and forty miles, and consequently about two hundred and twenty miles in the same direction from Port Jackson. This harbour, which was discovered by John Oxley, Esq., surveyor general, on his reaching the coast last year from his tour of discovery in the interior, then obtained from him the name of Port Macquarie; and although, owing to his not having any boat or vessel at that time, he could not then ascertain the soundings, and practicability of the entrance into this harbour, yet the general appearances were sufficiently favourable to induce him to form the opinion that it would prove safe; and from the circumstances of the surrounding country being well watered, and fertile, and the large River Hastings discharging itself into the sea there, he concluded that a port so happily situated would be a valuable acquisition to this colony. Impressed with this idea. he did not fail to report his opinion in regard to it to his excellency, who was happy to provide Mr. Oxley with a suitable vessel, to enable him to make the necessary survey of the entrance and harbour of Port Macquarie. The result of this survey having been as satisfactory as could have been expected, his excellency is pleased to give publicity to Mr. Oxley's own clear and circumstantial report on this valuable acquisition; and his excellency desires to express his full and entire approbation of Mr. Oxley's intelligent, zealous, and indefatigable exertions on this arduous occasion, which evince an earnest and well directed desire to promote the public service, and to advance the interests of the colony. His excellency is also happy to add the expression of his approbation of the liberal and judicious assistance rendered to Mr. Oxley, by Lieutenant King, commander of His Majesty's colonial cutter, Mermaid, whose exertions are so justly appreciated by Mr. Oxley, in the following report; and his excellency desires both those gentlemen to accept his thanks for the service thus rendered by their joint efforts to the colony. By his excellency's command, J. T. CAMPBELL, Secretary. * * * Sydney, June 12, 1819. Sir, In obedience to your excellency's commands to proceed in the Lady Nelson, for the purpose of examining the entrance into Port Macquarie, and how far it would be practicable and safe for vessels of a certain description to enter it, I beg leave to report to your excellency, that I arrived off the entrance of the harbour, on the 11th of May, in company with His Majesty's cutter, Mermaid, commanded by Lieutenant King, who expressed his intention to forward, by the superior means possessed by his vessel, the view of your excellency, relative to the harbour. Both vessels anchored off the bar, and the day was spent in sounding the bar and channel; when we had the pleasure to find that we could enter with safety. Accordingly the next morning they were warped into the harbour, and moored alongside a natural wharf, on the south side of the port. The examination of the harbour, and river falling therein, occupied us until the 21st, when having completed the service directed by your excellency, both vessels quitted the port with perfect ease; the Mermaid pursuing her course to the northward on her ulterior destination. Port Macquarie is situated in latitude 31. 25. 45. S., and in longitude 152. 53. 54. E. It is a bar harbour, on which however there is at low water spring tides, at least nine feet; the tide rising from three to four feet. The true channel is perfectly straight, and the tides set so, that no danger is to be apprehended from their operation. The chief danger to be avoided on entering is a sunken rock on the south side, having about three feet on it at low water; and it will he necessary, should the port he settled, that this danger should he buoyed. The bar extends about two hundred yards; the bottom a soft sand when the water deepens to two fathoms and a half, and alternately to three fathoms, when secure anchorage will be found inside the Beacon Rock. When vessels arrive off the bar, should the wind or tide be adverse to entering the port, good anchorage will he found in from five to eight fathoms outside the bar; Tacking Point being shut in by Peaked Hill Point. When the winds are from the south, round by the west to north, the bottom a clear sand. The winds from north-east and south-east, if blowing strong, cause the water to break across: but as those winds are fair for entering, no danger is to be apprehended to vessels whose draft of water does not exceed nine or ten feet. Should however circumstances render it imprudent or impracticable to enter, the coast may be cleared on either tack, the indenture of the coast line not being such as to cause it ever to be a dangerous lee shore. The port should be entered at or near high water, when, unless it blows very hard, it seldom breaks on the bar. The tide of ebb runs with great rapidity, sometimes nearly four miles per hour, owing to the great quantity of fresh water in the Hastings River, and the narrowness of the channel. The flood tide seldom exceeds one mile and three quarters per hour. The tides are however very irregular in their operation, being considerably influenced by local circumstances. The port is perfectly capable to receive vessels of the class usually employed on the coasts of this territory, and is in my opinion far better and safer than many considerable bar harbours in Europe; and which are much frequented by vessels adapted to their navigation. Within the port the water deepens to five and six fathoms, which depth continues for nearly ten miles, when the rapids of the river render it impracticable for craft drawing more than six or eight feet; which depth continues for six or eight miles farther, when the falls commence; it may however, when the river is ordinarily full, be navigable for boats some little distance farther. My report to your excellency of the proceedings of the expedition of discovery on its return in October, 1818, will have put your excellency in possession of the nature and description of country watered by the River Hastings from its source until it falls into the sea at Port Macquarie. To that report I respectfully beg to refer your excellency, as my opportunities of examining the country, at that period, were of course so much more extensive. To the productions of the country as then reported, may now be added great quantities of rose wood, the flooded gum, and coal. Flint was before noticed lying in large masses on the beach. The coal, as appears to me, may be worked without difficulty, as I think that a stratum of it pervades the whole of the south side of the harbour, which stratum is again seen southerly as far as Camden Haven. I herewith respectfully submit to your excellency a plan of the entrance into the port, with a sketch of part of Hastings River, for which I am principally indebted to the assistance rendered me on all occasions by Lieutenant King, who, I am happy in reporting to your excellency, fully coincides with me, as to the advantages that may he expected to result from the knowledge that the port has a navigable and safe entrance; thereby affording a communication with the fine country on both banks of Hastings River. I have the honour to remain, with great respect, Your excellency's most obedient and humble servant, J. OXLEY, Surveyor General. To His Excellency, Governor Macquarie, etc., etc., etc. * * * * * A BRIEF ABSTRACT OF THE GENERAL POPULATION OF NEW SOUTH WALES, NOT INCLUDING VAN DIEMEN'S LAND, FOR THE YEARS 1815, 1816, 1817, INCLUSIVE. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Souls at | |-----------------------------------------------------------| Year. | Sydney. Parramatta. Windsor. Liverpool. Newcastle.| Total. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1815 | 5668 2566 2749 1167 346 | 12,911 1816 | 6882 3581 3164 1550 413 | 15,175 1817 | 7409 4257 4257 1922 553 | 17,265 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A STATEMENT OF THE LAND IN CULTIVATION ETC., QUANTITIES OF STOCK, ETC., IN NEW SOUTH WALES, NOT INCLUDING VAN DIEMENS LAND, FOR THE FOLLOWING FIVE YEARS, VIZ. 1813,1814,1815, 1816,1817, INCLUSIVE. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Acres in | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | Peas Garden | Yr.| Bar- and Potat and Cleared Total Hor Horned| 18-|Wheat Maize ley Oats Bean -oes Orchard Ground held -ses Cattle|Sheep Hogs ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 13 7386 13814 694 299 68 308 960 52976 151057 1891 12543 45621 14641 14 8571 5880 537 355 33 205 906 61679 181787 2197 23263 73230 10921 15 10712 6089 708 610 51 333 901 67521 208547 2328 25279 62476 10106 16 13238 7540 836 787 68 380 1102 88685 221657 2451 21116 55097 11372 17 14446 11714 656 148 108 335 863 92894 224003 2851 33637 66684 15634 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
15662	----	Italics in the book are enclosed by underscores [_] in the ebook AN HISTORICAL JOURNAL OF THE TRANSACTIONS AT PORT JACKSON AND NORFOLK ISLAND WITH THE DISCOVERIES WHICH HAVE BEEN MADE IN NEW SOUTH WALES AND IN THE SOUTHERN OCEAN, SINCE THE PUBLICATION OF PHILLIP'S VOYAGE, COMPILED FROM THE OFFICIAL PAPERS; INCLUDING THE JOURNALS OF GOVERNOR PHILLIP AND KING, AND OF LIEUT. BALL; AND THE VOYAGES FROM THE FIRST SAILING OF THE SIRIUS IN 1787, TO THE RETURN OF THAT SHIP'S COMPANY TO ENGLAND IN 1792 * * * * * BY JOHN HUNTER Esq., POST CAPTAIN IN HIS MAJESTY'S NAVY * * * * * ILLUSTRATED WITH SEVENTEEN MAPS, CHARTS, VIEWS AND OTHER EMBELLISHMENTS DRAWN ON THE SPOT BY CAPTAINS HUNTER AND BRADLEY, LIEUTENANT DAWES AND GOVERNOR KING * * * * * LONDON Printed for John Stockdale, Picadilly January 1, 1793. * * * * * CONTENTS LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS LIST OF PLATES CHAPTER I The ships destined for Botany-Bay rendezvous at the Mother-Bank.--Leave that place, and proceed on the voyage.--The convicts on board one of the transports attempt an insurrection.--Are timely discovered, and the ring-leaders punished.--Arrived at Santa Cruz.--Transactions there.-- Attempt of a convict to escape.--Description of Laguna, and the adjacent country. Departure from Santa Cruz.--Pass Cape Frio.--Arrive at Rio Janeiro. Transactions there.--City of St. Sebastian described.--Table of Winds, Weather, etc. CHAPTER II Anchor in Table-Bay.--Refreshments procured there.--Depart from the Cape of Good Hope.--Captain Phillip quits the Sirius, and proceeds on the voyage in the Supply.--The Sirius arrives in Botany-Bay.--Finds the Supply at anchor there.--Arrival of the Bussole and Astrolabe.--Leave Botany-Bay, and anchor in Port Jackson.--The Table of Winds, Weather, etc. CHAPTER III Frequent interviews with the natives.--Weapons described.--Ornaments.-- Persons, manners, and habitations.--Method of hunting.--Animals described.--Birds, and insects.--Diary of the weather.--Departure of the Bussole and Astrolabe.--A convict pretends to have discovered a gold mine.--The fraud detected.--Observations for the longitude, etc CHAPTER IV The Sirius leaves Port Jackson.--Sails for the Cape of Good Hope, by the Eastern Passage.--Falls in with many large islands of ice.--Casts anchor at Robin's Island.--Tables of the winds, weather, etc. CHAPTER V Depart from Robin's Island, and anchor in Table Bay.--The sick sent on shore.--Arrival of the Alexander transport.--Provisions procured for the settlement at Port Jackson.--Departure of the Sirius.--In great danger from a violent tempest.--Arrives safe at Port Jackson.--Tables of the winds, weather, variation of the compass, etc. CHAPTER VI The small-pox makes its appearance among the natives.--Its fatal effects.--A criminal court held.--Six marines tried and convicted.--Governor Phillip visits Broken-bay.--Explores its various inlets.--Returns to Port Jackson. Broken-bay surveyed.--Botany-bay surveyed.--Two natives brought to the settlement, and kindly treated.--One of them makes his escape. CHAPTER VII The Sirius and Supply sail for Norfolk Island.--Land the marines and convicts.--Wreck of the Sirius.--Some provisions saved.--Martial Law established.--Ratio of provisions settled.--Vast numbers of birds caught.--In distress for provisions.--Receive a supply from Port Jackson.--Officers and crew of the Sirius leave Norfolk Island, and arrive at Port Jackson.--Norfolk Island described.--Its situation and extent.--Soil.--Climate, etc.--Table of Winds, etc. CHAPTER VIII Great improvement of the country at Rose Hill.--Vicissitude of the climate. Norfolk Island remarkably healthy.--A native runs away from the settlement.--Frequent visits from the natives.--Governor Phillip wounded by the natives with a spear.--Natives again visit the settlement.--Entertain the governor, etc. with a dance.--Decorate themselves for that purpose. Method of dancing described.--Music and singing. CHAPTER IX Captain Hunter leaves Port Jackson in the Waaksamheyd transport.--In danger amongst some islands.--Isle of Pines described.--Stewart's islands discovered.--Fall in with Bradley's shoals.--Discover a cluster of islands.--Name them Lord Howe's Groupe.--The natives described.--Attempt to find anchorage on the coast of New-Britain.--Are disappointed.--Anchor at the Duke of York's island.--Attempt to procure water.--Are attacked by the natives.--A few shots fired.--The natives dispersed.--A reconciliation effected.--Natives described.--Weapons.--Ornaments, etc.--Produce and soil.--Leave the Duke of York's island.--Natives from the Admiralty islands visit the ship.--Their canoes described.--Phillip's islands discovered.--Anchor at Hummock island.--Refreshments procured.--Visited by the Raja.--A quarrel ensues.--Several of the natives killed.--Articles of barter in request.--Canoes described.--Leave Hummock island.--Anchor at Batavia.--Tables of latitude and longitude, etc. CHAPTER X Captain Hunter waits on the Governor at Batavia.--Applies for a passage to England.--Purchases the Waaksambeyd for that purpose.--Leaves Batavia.--Passes the Keelings.--Arrives at the Cape of Good Hope.--Leaves that place, and anchors at Saint Helena.--Departs from Saint Helena.--Arrives at Portsmouth.--Tables for the variation of the compass.--Captain Hunter's letter to the Lords of the Admiralty. CHAPTER XI Lieutenant King visits Monsieur De la Peyrouse at Botany-Bay.--Polit reception there.--An account of his adventures.--Lieutenant King returns to Port Jackson.--Sent by Governor Phillip to form a settlement on Norfolk Island.--Leaves Port Jackson.--An island discovered.--Arrival at Norfolk Island.--Difficulty in finding a landing-place.--Lands the convicts, provisions, and stores.--Ground cleared, and tents fixed.--A store-house erected.--Vegetables, and various sorts of grain sown.--Distressed by rats.--General orders for the regulation of the settlement. CHAPTER XII Regular employment of the convicts.--Meet with an unlucky accident.--Thefts detected.--The robbers punished.--Pestered with rats.--Method of destroying them.--Live stock on the settlement.--Trees discovered which afford food for hogs.--Some of the settlers poisoned.--Cured with sweet oil.--A convict punished for using seditious language.--Birds on the island. Description of Arthur's Vale.--His Majesty's birth-day kept.--Flourishing state of the gardens.--Arrival of the Supply.--Four persons drowned.--Provisions and stores received.--Queries from Governor Phillip, and the answers.--Ball-Bay described.--The landing-place cleared.--Arrival of the Golden Grove transport.--Marines and convicts brought in the Golden Grove.--Provisions and stores. CHAPTER XIII Quantity of provisions received by the Golden Grove.--Timber sent to Port Jackson.--Observations on the navigation near Norfolk Island.--Number of persons on the settlement.--Nepean and Phillip Islands described.--Corn reaped.--A party sent to Ball Bay.--Talk-work of the convicts.--The free people exercised.--Plot to seize the island discovered.--Orders made public for the preservation of regularity.--Oath of allegiance administered.--Provisions and stores examined. CHAPTER XIV A violent hurricane at Norfolk Island.--Arrival of the Supply.--Convicts sent from Port Jackson.--Provisions and stores.--Departure of the Supply.--Robberies committed.--Employment of the convicts.--Wheat infested with caterpillars.--A store-house erected.--Arrival of a party of marines from Port Jackson.--Thefts committed.--Orders read for preserving regularity.--A female convict punished.--Pernicious effects of the grub-worm.--Gardens plundered.--A granary erected.--Wheat destroyed by paroquets.--Number of inhabitants on the island. CHAPTER XV The arrival of the Sirius and Supply at Norfolk-Island.--The loss of the Sirius.--Captain Hunter and the crew saved.--A general meeting of the officers convened.--Sundry regulations adopted.--Martial-Law proclaimed.--Lieutenant-Governor Ross takes the command.--Lieutenant King leaves Norfolk-Island.--Description of Norfolk-Island.--Face of the country.--Water--Soil--Climate--Timber-- Insects--Fish--Seasons--Winds--Coast, and Bays.--Present state of cultivation.--General behaviour of the convicts.--Number of inhabitants on the island.--Grain and live-stock.--Lieutenant King arrives at Port Jackson.--Finds the country greatly improved.--Manners and customs of the natives.--Vocabulary of the language. CHAPTER XVI Lieutenant King sails for Batavia.--Meets with a dangerous shoal.--Discovers Tench's-Island.--A description of the inhabitants.--Prince William-Henry's Island described.--Touches at Kercolang.--A description of the inhabitants, their cloathing and utensils.--Passes through the Streights of Salayer.--Arrival at Batavia.--Interview with the governor.--Batavia described.--Situation and extent.--Manners and customs of the inhabitants.--Government and police.--Annual exports.--Departure from Batavia.--Mortality amongst the sailors.--Arrival at the Isle of France.--An account of that island.--Sails from the Isle of France.--Arrival in the English Channel. CHAPTER XVII The Lady Juliana Transport arrives at Port Jackson.--Loss of the Guardian.--A settlement made at Sydney-Cove.--A state of the settlements at Sydney-Cove and Rose-Hill.--A general return of male convicts, with their employments. CHAPTER XVIII An excursion into the country.--An interview with the natives.--Governor Phillip wounded with a spear.--A second interview with the natives.--Occurrences on that occasion.--Five convicts effect their escape in a boat.--The settlement visited by the natives.--Their customs.--Arrival of the Supply from Batavia. CHAPTER XIX Fruits in season described.--The manners of the natives.--Disputes with them.--Arrival of a vessel from Batavia. CHAPTER XX The depredations of the natives.--Bannelong's behaviour.--The Supply sails for Norfolk-Island.--The quantity of provisions brought in the Waaksam-heid from Batavia.--The appearance of a prodigious number of Bats.--The return of Bannelong.--The manners of the natives further described. CHAPTER XXI An excursion into the country.--Occurrences on the journey.--Surprising dexterity of the natives in climbing trees.--Their superstition.--Their method of curing wounds.--Their language.--Their manners and disposition. CHAPTER XXII A second excursion into the country.--The first grants of land to settlers.--A barter with the natives established.--The arrival of several vessels from England.--A new harbour discovered.--The names of the first settlers. CHAPTER XXIII Arrival of the Gorgon, and several transports at Port Jackson.--The number of convicts brought out in these vessels.--A whale-fishery established on the Coast of New South Wales. CHAPTER XXIV The Supply leaves Port Jackson.--Receives some damage in a storm.--Doubles Cape Horn.--Passes Staten's land.--Anchors at Rio Janeiro.--Refreshments procured.--Departure from Rio Janciro.--Proceeds towards England.--Arrives off the Lizard.--Particulars respecting Norfolk-Island. * * * * * A LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS A. Altamont, Countess of Andrews, James Pettit, Esq; Abercorn, Marquis of Atkins, Edwin Martin, Esq; Kingston-Lisle Addington, Right Hon. Henry, Speaker of the House of Commons Arden, Sir Richard Pepper, Master of the Rolls Arden, John, Esq; Ashley-Hall, Cheshire Appleyard, Mr. 6 Copies Arch, J. and A. 6 Copies Anderson, Mr. J. 2 Copies Archer, Mr. John, Dublin, 12 Copies Astley, Mrs. Duckenfield Lodge, Cheshire B. Banks, Sir Joseph, Bart. Bolton, Duke of Berkeley, Captain Bath, Marquis of Buckingham, Marquis of Badcock, Colonel, Little Missenden-Abbey, Bucks. Best, Richard, Esq; Chatham Buccleugh, Duke of Bradshaw, Mr. Beaufort, Duke of Bunbury, Sir Charles, Bart. Barnard, Mr. jun. Bredalbane, Earl of Barker, Lieutenant-Colonel Barwell, Richard, Esq; Bayham, Lord Browne, Mr. William, Bristol Baldwin, Mr. 6 Copies Becket, Mr. 6 Copies Bell, Mr. 6 Copies Brown, Mr. 3 Copies C. Curzon, Lady Charlotte Chesterfield, Earl of Cherry, George, Esq; Chalmers, George, Esq; Charlston Library Charlston, Senate of Chichester, Sir John, Bart. Chatham, Earl of Castera, J. Paris Clarke, George Hyde, Esq; Hyde-Hall, Cheshire Cock, Thomas Theophilus, Esq; Messing, Essex Clarke, Edward, Esq; Cadell, Mr. 2 Copies Clarke and Son, 2 Copies Crowder, Mr. 2 Copies Cole, Lieutenant George Coxe, Daniel, Esq; D. Dacre, Lord Darby, W. T. Esq; Dartmouth, Earl of Dorset, Duke of Dalrymple, Alexander, Esq; Davison, Alexander, Esq; Dimsdale, R. J. Esq; Delaval, Lord Donowell, Mr. John, Architect Dover, Lord Deighton, Mr. 7 Copies Donegal, Marquis of De Lancy, Colonel De la Pole, Sir John, Bart. De Saussure, H. W. Esq; Charlston Darton and Harvey, 6 Copies Dilly, Mr. 12 Copies Dangerfield, Mr. E. Elgin, Earl of Ekins, Charles, Esq; Eardley, Lord Eliot, Lord Enys, John, Esq; Enderby, Samuel, Esq; Edwards, Mr. R. 8 Copies Edwards, Mr. J. 6 Copies Egerton, T. and J. 6 Copies Evans, Mr. James, 6 Copies Edwards, John, Esq; F. Forbes, Hon. John, Admiral of the Fleet Fife, Earl of Frederick, Sir John, Bart Fitzhenry, Thomas, Esq; Faulder, Mr. 30 Copies Faden, Mr. W. 6 Copies G. Gloucester, His Royal Highness the Duke of Grenville, Lord Grote, George, Esq; Gardner, Alan, Esq; Green, Sir William, Bart. Graeme, Charles, Esq; Grantham, Lady Goldsmith, Mr. 4 Copies Goulding, Mr. Gray, Mr. 2 Copies H. Hillsborough, Earl of Hobart, Major Hardwicke, Earl of Howe, Hon. Mrs. Howe, Countess Howe, Lady Mary Hall, Rev. Mr. Howard de Walden, Lord Heathcote, Thomas, Esq; Home, Patrick, Esq; Hood, Lord Hopetoun, Earl of Hunter, John, Esq; Hawkesbury, Lord Hawke, Lord Haydon and Son, Plymouth, 3 Copies Hamilton, Mr. 3 Copies Hookham and Carpenter, 6 Copies Hodgson, Mr. 2 Copies Hanmer, Job, Esq; Holbrook-Hall, Suffolk J. Jackson, Sir George, Bart. Jones, Robert, Esq; Fonmore-Castle, Glamorganshire. Jeffery, Mr. 3 Copies Johnson, Mr. 12 Copies K. Kelly, Earl of Kirby, Mr. 2 Copies L. Leeds, Duke of Lenox, Lord George Law, Thomas, Esq; Lucadou, James, Esq; Lettsom, Dr. Leslie, Mr. George, Edinburgh Legg, Mr. Basingstoke Loveden, Edward Loveden, Esq; Long, Charles, Esq; Long, Samuel, Esq; Law and Son, 12 Copies Lowndes, Mr. 2 Copies Lackington, Mr. 2 Copies Longman, Mr. 6 Copies M. Montrose, Duke of Martindale, John, Esq; Mossop, Rev. Mr. Academy, Brighton Mac Leod, Colonel Macdonald, Sir Archibald, Attorney-General Mitchell, Captain Meyrick, John, Esq; Macaulay, Mr. Alderman Montagu, M. Esq; Madden, James, Esq; Mornington, Earl of Miller, Lady Madox, John, Esq; M'Queen, Mr. 2 Copies Murray, Mr. 25 Copies Miller, Mr. 3 Copies N. Newcastle, Duke of Nepean, Evan, Esq; Nelthorpe, John, Esq; Lincoln Nicholls, Mr. Northesk, Earl of O. Otridge, Mr. 4 Copies Ogilvie and Co. 2 Copies P. Pitt, Right Hon. William Peachy, John, Esq; Peachy, Sir James, Bart. Petrie, William, Esq; Patterson, John, Esq; Norwich Putland, William, Esq; Pye, Henry James, Esq; Pinckney, Charles, Esq; Charleston Payne, Mr. 6 Copies Phillips, Mr. 6 Copies R. Rivers, Lord Rose, George, Esq; Rittson, John, Esq; Rastall, Rev. Mr. Newark Robinson, Thomas, Esq; Rolt, Colonel, Bagden-Lodge, Marlborough Regiment, 73d Bengal Rudge, Samuel, Esq; Robson, Mr. 27 Copies Robinsons, Messrs. G. G. J. and J. 50 Copies Rivingtons, Messrs. F. and C. 6 Copies Richardson, Mr. 6 Copies Redhead, Henry, Esq; S. Salisbury, Marquis of Stafford, Marquis of Sydney, Viscount St. John, Lord Sanderson, Sir James, Lord Mayor of the City of London Smyth, John, Esq; Salisbury, E. W. V. Esq; Spencer, Earl Stanley, Colonel Smith, Sir John, Bart. Stephens, Phillip, Esq; Sotheron, William, Esq; Sturt, Charles, Esq; Scawen, James, Esq; Spence, George, Esq; Sylvester, Mr. John Stockdale, Mr. Jeremiah, Mill-Maker to his Majesty Scott, Rev. George Sael, Mr. 2 Copies Southern, Mr. 3 Copies Sewell, Mr. 6 Copies Strachan, Mr. 6 Copies Scatchard and Co. 6 Copies Symonds, Mr. 12 Copies Steel, Mr. 6 Copies T. Thornton, Robert, Esq; Townshend, Hon. J. T. Tihe, Robert Stearne, Esq; Clanville Lodge, Andover Thornton, Mr. U. Urry, Captain, R. N. V. Vansittart, Nicholas, Esq; Vernor and Hood, 6 Copies W. Walsingham, Lord Warren, Dr. Worcester, Marquis of Weymouth, Lord Wray, Sir Cecil, Bart Woodford, Sir Ralph, Bart. Warwick, Earl of Wedgewood, Josiah, Esq; Wentworth, Lord Wright, Mr. William, Academy, Apsley, Wooburn, Bedfordshire Wenman, Right Hon. Viscount Wood, Mr. Hutton Worcester Society Watts, Lieutenant John, R. N. Warren, Sir John Borlase, Bart. Wilkie, Mr. 6 Copies White and Sons, 6 Copies Walker, Mr. David, 2 Copies Walker, Mr. John, 6 Copies Walter, Mr. 12 Copies Y. Young, Arthur, Esq Yates, Joseph, Esq Young, Sir George Yorke, Charles, Esq. * * * * * LIST OF PLATES. 1. Captain Hunter 2. Vignette on the Title Page. [Refer to paragraph "On our speaking to her, she raised herself up"...] 3. A Map of New South Wales 4. View of the Settlement on Sydney Cove, Port Jackson 5. The Southern Hemisphere, showing the Track of the Sirius 6. A Chart of Botany-Bay, Port Jackson, and Broken-Bay, with the Coast and Soundings 7. View at Rose-Hill 8. A Man of Lord Howe's Groupe 9. A Man of the Duke of York's Island 10. Canoes of the Duke of York's-Island 11. Canoes of the Admiralty Islands 12. Track of the Waaksamheyd Transport 13. A Plan of Norfolk-Island 14. A Family of New South Wales 15. Non-Descript Shells, of New South Wales, Plate I. 16. Non-Descript Shells, of New South Wales, Plate II. 17. Non-Descript Shells, of New South Wales, Plate III. * * * * * A VOYAGE TO NEW SOUTH WALES Chapter I October 1786 to September 1787 The ships destined for Botany-Bay rendezvous at the Mother-Bank.--Leave that place, and proceed on the voyage.--The convicts on board one of the transports attempt an insurrection.--Are timely discovered, and the ring-leaders punished.--Arrived at Santa Cruz.--Transactions there.--Attempt of a convict to escape.--Description of Laguna, and the adjacent country. Departure from Santa Cruz.--Pass Cape Frio.--Arrive at Rio Janeiro. Transactions there.--City of St. Sebastian described.-- Table of Winds, Weather_, etc. It being the intention of government to remove the inconvenience, which this country suffered, from the goals being so exceedingly crouded with criminals, who had been by the laws condemned to transportation, the east coast of New Holland was the place determined upon to form a settlement for this salutary purpose. The east coast of New Holland is that country, which was discovered and explored by Captain James Cook, in his first voyage round the world, and by him called New South Wales. Botany Bay, the only place he entered with the ship, which could be called a harbour, having been mentioned in the narrative of that voyage, as a convenient place for a settlement, was fixed upon by government for the intended design. On the 25th of October, 1786, his Majesty's ship Sirius, lying in the dock at Deptford, was commissioned, and the command given to Arthur Phillip, Esq; the Supply armed tender was also put in commission, and Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball was appointed to command her. The Sirius was a ship of about 540 tons burthen, exceedingly well calculated for such a service; she mounted 20 guns, and had a spar deck over them, was of a round full built, and was all together a very capacious and convenient vessel. The Supply armed tender was a brig, and was one of the vessels which were employed in carrying naval stores from one of his Majesty's dock-yards to another; she was a very firm strong little vessel, very flat floored, and roomy, mounted eight guns, and had a deep waist, which I feared would be found a very great, if not a dangerous inconvenience in so low a vessel on so long a voyage. The Sirius's compliment was 160 men; that of the Supply, 55 men. These two ships were intended, after having performed the service of escorting the convicts to the place of their destination, to remain in the country to be employed as the governor might find necessary for the public service, until they should be relieved by other ships from England. I had some reason, during the equipment of those ships, to think I might be employed upon this service, in some way or other; and as Captain Phillip was appointed governor of the new settlement, and of course had much business to transact in London, I frequently visited the Sirius, and frequently received his directions in any thing that related to the fitting her; she was out of the dock and the rigging in hand when I first went on board, On the 9th of December, the ship being ready to fall down the river, we slipped the moorings and sailed down to Long-Reach, where we took in the guns and ordnance stores. On the 15th, I was informed by a letter from Mr. Stephens, Secretary to the Admiralty, that there was a commission signed for me in that office, and desiring I would come to town and take it up. The nature of the service upon which the Sirius might be employed in those seas to which she was bound, having been considered, it was judged necessary that an officer, bearing a certain rank, should command that ship in the absence of Captain Phillip, whose prefence, it was to be supposed, would be requisite at all times wherever the seat of government in that country might be fixed. In consequence of Mr. Stephens's letter, I repaired to the Admiralty, and received a commission, appointing me Second Captain of his Majesty's ship Sirius, with the rank of Post Captain, and with power to command her in the absence of her principal Captain; subject nevertheless to his controul, and to such orders and directions for my proceedings as he might see occasion to give me, for the good of the service. This appointment of a Second Captain, to a private ship, being the first instance in our service, it could not, consistent with the established regulations of the navy, take place, but by the authority of the King's order in council: an order from his Majesty in council, authorizing the Lords of the Admiralty to make such appointment, was therefore given. On the 30th of January, 1787, two transports, one having male, the other female convicts on board, dropt down to Long-Reach, but they having business to transact with the owners of the ships, relative to their ships companies, were permitted to proceed as low as Gravesend, where the Sirius joined them the next day, and proceeded immediately to the Nore, where we anchored the same day, and were joined by his Majesty's armed tender Supply: on the 4th of February, we anchored in the Downs, and were detained there by bad weather and contrary winds, until the 19th, when we put to sea in company with the Supply and transports, and arrived on the Mother-Bank on the 21st: at this anchorage, all the transports and store-ships were directed to rendezvous; the latter were already arrived, and, while we lay here, the other transports joined us from the westward. On the 9th of May, Captain Phillip arrived in Portsmouth, and the next day came on board, and issued the signals and other necessary orders to Lieutenant John Shortland, the agent for transports, to be delivered to the masters of the different ships. On Sunday the 13th, we sailed from the Mother-Bank in company with the Supply armed tender, six transports, having on board 600 male, and 200 female convicts, and three store-ships, carrying provisions and various other stores: on board the ships carrying convicts, were embarked 160 marines, with their proper officers; Major Robert Ross was commandant of the battalion, and appointed lieutenant-governor of the new settlement; a surgeon and three assistants were also embarked in the transports, with medicines and necessaries for the people under their care. The wind being easterly, we ran out at the Needles, and were accompanied by his Majesty's ship Hyena, Captain De Coursey, who had received orders from the Admiralty to see us 100 leagues to the westward. We had light breezes with fair and pleasant weather down the channel, but had the mortification to find that two of our transports sailed exceedingly bad; one of which, the Hyena towed two or three days. On the 15th, at sun-set, the Start Point bore north-east half east by compass, distant seven or eight leagues: at noon on this day (which finishes the nautical and begins the astronomical day) the longitude, by account, was 5°. 01'. west of the meridian of Greenwich, and by a timepiece made by Mr. Kendal, with which the Board of Longitude had supplied us, it was 4°. 59'. west; we had a variety of weather from this time till the 21st. when being in latitude 47°. 52'. north, and longitude 12°. 14'. west, Captain Phillip put his dispatches on board the Hyena; she saluted us with three cheers, and we parted company; the wind was now, and had been for some days before, in the south-west quarter, with hazy weather, our progress to the southward was therefore but slow; much attention was required on our part to the rate of sailing of the different transports, in order to prevent separation. At this time a report was made from one of the transports, both by the commanding marine officer on board, and the master of the ship, that a discovery had been made of an intended insurrection amongst the convicts in that ship; in which, if they had succeeded, they were to have quitted the fleet in the night, and afterwards to have made such use of the ship, as they should, upon farther consideration of the matter, determine amongst themselves. Captain Phillip had very humanely, a few days previous to this scheme, directed that the irons with which most of the male convicts had hitherto been confined, should be taken off them generally, that they might have it more in their power to strip their cloaths off at night when they went to rest, be also more at their ease during the day, and have the farther advantage of being able to wash and keep themselves clean; this indulgence had no doubt left it more in the power of those who might be disposed to exert their ingenuity, in so daring an attempt, to carry their plan into execution with a greater probability of success; but I am thoroughly convinced, that so strict an attention to duty was paid by the whole of the marines employed on this service, that such an attempt would have terminated in the destruction of those who appeared most active and forward in it. Two of the principals were brought on board the Sirius, severely punished, and sent on board another transport, properly secured in heavy irons. On the 23d, the wind inclined to the north-west, and, after heavy rain, settled in that quarter; by the favour of this change we proceeded to the southward, at the rate of between 70 and 100 miles in 24 hours. On the 26th, the wind shifted to the northward, and from that to the north-east; our latitude at this time was 42°. 10'. north, and the longitude 11°. 36'. west; variation of the compass, 20°. 19'. west. On the 29th in the evening, (as we intended making the islands of Porto Sancto and Madeira) being but a little distance from the former, and the weather being hazy, we shortened sail, to prevent the convoy from falling suddenly in with the land in the night: at day-light the next morning, we saw the Deserters off Madeira, bearing west-south-west, five leagues distant; we had passed the island of Porto Sancto in the night, having steered to pass eight or nine leagues to the eastward of it; we found the ship set this last 24 hours 12 miles to the southward of the log. At noon the south-easternmost Deserter bore by compass north 17°. west, by which we made its latitude 32°. 29'. north, and its longitude by the time-keeper 16°. 38'. west of Greenwich; the variation of the compass was here 17°. 00' west: from hence, with a light breeze from the northward, we steered south half west, by compass, and at five P.M. on the 1st of June, we made the Salvages; which was rather sooner than we expected, by the distance we had run from the Deserters off Madeira, and the latitude observed the preceding noon, by which we judged ourselves not less than 17 leagues from them. At midnight we were exactly in their parallel, and saw them very distinctly by the light of the moon, which was very clear; their latitude, deduced from the preceding, as well as following meridian observations, is 30°. 12'. north, which is 12 miles to the northward of what they are generally placed, either in tables or charts; their longitude, by our time-keeper, is 15°. 53'. west. I had never seen these rocks before, and always understood them to be small inconsiderable spots, but the largest is so high as to be seen at the distance of seven or eight leagues, and appears to be about a mile and a half in length, from north-west to south-east; there are a few scattered rocks appear above water, to the westward; and I have been told, that a reef of considerable extent stretches out from them to the westward. From the time of our passing these rocks until the evening of the 3d, we had very light airs and variable, but mostly from the south-west quarter, and every day found we were affected by a southerly current of 10 or 12 miles in 24 hours. The wind now sprung up from the northward, and we steered for the island of Teneriffe, directing our course by the longitude determined from the time-keeper, the account being 1°. 04'. to the westward of it, and our lunar observations within three miles of it: at day-light in the morning we saw the island of Teneriffe, and at noon Point de Nagara, or north-east point, bore south-west by south, distant five leagues; some of the convoy being considerably astern we brought to, and in the afternoon, there being a fresh of wind from the north-east, we bore away and made the signal for the convoy to make all the sail possible, in order, as we were strangers to Sancta Cruz road, that we might save day-light to the anchorage, which we effected, and had the whole convoy in before dark; at half past six in the evening we anchored in 15 fathoms water, soft ground, being a mixture of sand and black mud: we moored with the bower anchors, and had the church of St. Francisco south 73°. 00'. west, the easternmost point in sight, called Point Roquet, (from a small rock which lies a little detached from it) north 78°. 00'. east, and a fort to the south-west of the town, south 45°. 00'. west, distant from the nearest shore about two and a half cables length. The ground all over this bay is said to be foul; we therefore buoyed up our cables, but had no reason, upon examining them afterwards, to believe there was any foul ground where we lay. The next morning, Captain Phillip sent an officer to wait on the governor with the usual information of whom we were, and our business at that island; but, previous to our anchoring, the master attendant, and some other officers, were on board the Sirius for this very purpose; a ceremony which I believe is seldom neglected. When the officer returned, he brought a very polite reply from the governor, signifying his sincere wishes that the island might be capable of supplying us with such articles as we were in want of, and his assurances that every refreshment the place afforded we should certainly have. Captain Phillip then waited on the governor, accompanied by Major Ross, myself, and several other officers; we were most politely received by him, and he repeated his hope that Teneriffe might afford every refreshment which we had occasion for. Two days after this visit, the governor, who was then the Marquis Branceforte, and captain-general of the whole of the Canary Islands, notwithstanding he had the day before returned Captain Phillip's visit by an officer, came on board himself, attended by several officers. He remained about an hour on board, and asked many questions respecting the extent of our voyage, and situation of the place where we were going to settle, all of which we explained to him by a general chart of the world. A day or two after this visit, Captain Phillip received an invitation to dine with him, and to bring as many of the principal officers as could be spared from the ships: we waited on him in a party about twelve, and were very hospitably and politely entertained; in short, on the whole, I never met with so polite and so pleasant a man in any foreign port I have ever visited. During the time we lay in this road, the ships companies, the marines, and convicts, were every day supplied with fresh provisions, of which there appeared to be great abundance on the island: vegetables and fruit were at this time scarce; potatoes, onions, and pumpkins _only_ were to be had, and those but in small quantities. It was Captain Phillip's intention, when we arrived here, to have remained only three or four days, but we found that the watering of the ships was a business which could not be completed in so short a time. During our stay, the watering the ships was our principal consideration, and it was often unavoidable to be employed in this necessary business on board the transports after dark; the watering-place being only contrived to load two boats at a time. A convict one evening, while every body was employed in clearing a boat of water, contrived to slip into a small boat, and dropt away from the ship unperceived; when he got to some considerable distance off, he then exerted himself at his oars, and got on board a foreign East-India ship, which was lying here, and offered himself as a seaman, but was refused; finding himself disappointed in his hope of getting off in that ship, he judged it necessary, knowing that he would very soon be missed, and search made after him, to quit that ship; he landed to the westward of the town, but on a place where there was a good deal of surf, and where the rocks behind him were inaccessible. The officer of marines on board that transport, having ordered the convicts to be mustered as usual at setting the watch, when they were always put below, found this man was missing, and immediate information of it sent to Captain Phillip; who next morning sent an officer from the Sirius to the governor, requesting his assistance in recovering the deserter; orders were immediately given by the governor for that purpose; in the morning early, boats were dispatched from the ships to row along shore to the westward, to endeavour to recover the boat he had taken away, and a little to the westward of the town, they discovered the boat beating on the rocks; and rowing in to pick her up, they discovered the fellow concealing himself in the cliff of a rock, not having been able to get up the precipice: the officer presented a musket at him, and threatened if he did not immediately come down and get into the boat he would shoot him; the fellow complied, rather than run the hazard of being shot, and was taken on board, punished, and put in irons until we got to sea, when he was liberated in the same manner as the rest. Before we were ready to put to sea, a party of us had determined to make a short excursion into the country, where we had no doubt of finding its aspect more inviting than the prospect from the ships: for this purpose, we set out one morning very early, accompanied by two British gentlemen, who were merchants resident here, (Mr. Little and Mr. Armstrong,) and who had shown us upon every occasion much civility and attention: those gentlemen had previously provided horses, mules, provisions, etc. We directed our journey to the city of Laguna, which was, and is still called the capital of the island; it is said to be but three or four miles from Santa Cruz; but, whether from the badness of the road, (which is certainly the worst I ever saw in any country,) or the slowness of our progress from that cause, I thought it not less than twice that distance. When we arrived at Laguna, we walked through many of the streets, which are very regular, and cross each other at right angles; the buildings in general are good, and some of the streets are wider than you generally see them in any of the Spanish or Portuguese towns: there are two parish churches, which have short square steeples, but they appear above all the other buildings; there are also two nunneries, and three or four convents, which are built in a quadrangular form, and have good gardens. In the middle of the town is a conduit, which supplies the inhabitants with water. This city stands on a plain of considerable extent, over part of which we rode, until we came to the foot of the hill from whence the town is supplied with water. We ascended the mountain, and traced the stream to its fountain-head, where we found it issuing from cavities in several parts of the hill, and was conveyed down the declivity in stone-troughs, and received on the plain by troughs of wood, supported about seven or eight feet above the ground by props; through this aqueduct, the water is carried to the center of the city, over a plain, from a distance of four or five miles. The plain on which Laguna stands, is pleasant and fertile; it was now the height of their harvest, and many people were employed in cutting down the corn, with which this plain seemed to be well planted; there were also many pleasant gardens here, and the soil in general appeared rich. The plain is surrounded by very high mountains, down the sides of which in the rainy season, (for their rains are periodical,) vast torrents of water run, from which cause, I apprehend, its unhealthiness must proceed; for I was told, when remarking how thinly the town of Laguna appeared to be inhabited, that very few, who had it in their power to choose their place of residence, would continue in Laguna. The governor has a palace here, but generally resides at Santa Cruz; and this city, once the residence of persons in great authority, is now quite deserted by people of any distinction. I saw nothing of the lake from which it derives its name, but was given to understand that it was now a very inconsiderable piece of water; probably the accounts given of there having been a large lake here, may have originated from the plain being quite a swamp during the fall of the heavy rains. We returned to Santa Cruz the same evening, very much pleased with our excursion: I regretted much, that the time proposed for settling our business here, would not admit of a visit to the Peak, a mountain so much spoken of by all who have visited this island, for its wonderful height. The bay of Santa Cruz is defended by many small batteries of four or five guns each, which are placed at certain distances from each other, round the bay, and close to the water-side, which exposes them much to the annoyance of ships; but their principal fort is near the landing place, and is a strong work, but the water being deep very near in, they are all exposed to the attack of ships: on the whole, it is said, they mount near one hundred pieces of cannon. The town of Santa Cruz is very irregularly built; the principal street is broad, and has more the appearance of a square than a street; the governor's house stands at the upper end; it is but a mean looking building, and has more the appearance of a country inn, than the palace of a governor: at the lower end of the street there is a square monument, commemorating the appearance of Notre Dame to the Guanches, the original inhabitants of the island. The out-skirts of the town have more the appearance of a place deserted and in ruins, than a place of trade, for many of the houses there are either left half built, or have fallen to decay from some other cause, and the stone walls, which were their principal fences, are broken down and in ruins. On the ninth of June, in the afternoon, the transports having completed their watering, the signal was made from the Sirius for every person of our fleet to repair immediately on board their respective ships, and on the 10th, in the morning, we put to sea with a light air of wind from the land. The island of Teneriffe is situated in latitude as observed in the road, 28° 29' 5" north, and longitude, determined by the time-keeper, 16° 18' 00" west. We steered to the south-west until we were near the meridian of the island of Sal, the northernmost of the Cape De Verde Islands, and then shaped our course so as to fall in a little to the eastward of it. At 10 in the evening of the 18th, being at no great distance from the island, we made the signal for the convoy to shorten sail, the distance not being sufficient to admit of our carrying sail all night; at nine the next morning we saw the island bearing north-west by north, distant four leagues: I make the latitude of the north end 16° 48' north, and its longitude, determined by the time-keeper, is 23° 03' west, the south end is in latitude 16° 39' north. We steered from abreast the center of this island, south half east by compass, which carried us about three or four miles wide of the reef, which extends from the north-east part of Bonavista, and runs from the shore in a south-east direction three or four miles: it was about two o'clock in the afternoon when we made the island of Bonavista, so that we had a very good opportunity of seeing the reef, from which I observe Captain Cook says, in one of his voyages, he was in great danger, and that it lies off the south-east part of the island; which is certainly a mistake, for we ran down the east side of the island, at the distance of three miles from the reef, and I make its latitude and longitude as follows:-- Island of Bonavista: Latitude of the north end 16° 13' north. Longitude by time-keeper 22° 51' west. Latitude of the south end 16° 00' north. Variation of the compass 11° 19' west. At twelve o'clock at night, having an intention of anchoring in Port Praya Bay, in the island of Saint Jago, we made the signal and brought-to till day-light; we then made sail, the weather very hazy, which is generally the case among these islands: we ran close round the south end of the isle of May, and stretched over for the south end of Saint Jago; but when we opened Port Praya Bay, we were suddenly taken aback with the wind from north-west, and every ship appeared to have the wind in a different direction. In this situation it was thought that any attempt to gain the anchorage under such unfavourable circumstances might be attended with the danger of some of the ships getting on board each other; it was therefore determined to give up the intention, and the signal was made for that purpose. The object for which we endeavoured to get into this bay, was, a supply of fresh vegetables for the ships companies and convicts, an article with which we had been but scantily provided at Teneriffe. Port Praya Bay, on the island of Saint Jago, is situated in latitude 14° 54' north, and longitude 23° 37' west. This was about noon of the 20th of June, and we took our leave of these islands, and steered to the southward, intending to cross the equator, if possible, two or three° to the eastward of the meridian of Saint Jago. We had a fresh gale from the north-east until we were in the latitude of 10° 30' north; the north-east trade now became faint and variable, and in 9° 30' north we had frequent calms, with dark cloudy weather, and heavy showers of rain; squalls were seen now rising from every part of the horizon, and appeared to threaten much wind, but they seldom contained any thing but torrents of rain; the breezes, which were very light, and were generally from the southward, very much retarded our progress towards the line. In latitude 8° 30' north, the wind fixed in the south-west quarter (rather an extraordinary circumstance in these latitudes) and blew a fresh gale, with which we stood to the eastward; but as it was generally far southerly, we were soon in longitude 18° 26' west, by the time-piece, on which we had more reliance than on the dead reckoning, for here we found a current setting considerably strong to the eastward; our lunar observations, which we never failed to make at every opportunity, constantly confirmed the truth of the watch. Finding no prospect of a change of wind by continuing to stand to the eastward, we tacked in the above longitude, and latitude 6° 48' north, and stood to the westward; for the wind now appeared fixed between south-west and south, a steady gale with a large sea from the southward; many of the convoy sailed so heavy, and were so leewardly, that to gain ground thus circumstanced was impossible; we had therefore only to hope, that by standing off to a greater distance from the coast of Africa, we might find the wind incline to the eastward of south: we, therefore, kept working in this manner for twelve days, in the course of which time our dead reckonings were four° to the westward of the truth, occasioned by the the strong easterly currents; in the latitude of 4° 30' north, and longitude, by the time-keeper, 19° 40' west, the wind began to incline to the south-south-east, which gave us some reason to hope that the south-east trade wind was at no great distance. It continued wavering between the south by east and south-east until we had got another degree to the southward, when it settled at south-east a steady breeze; but the easterly current, which would now have been an advantage to us by keeping the transports to windward, had ceased, and we found a strong westerly one running for several days, from 30 to 45 miles in 24 hours, by which our account was brought back to its original agreement with the time-keeper and lunar observations. The greatest velocity of the westerly current, was between latitude 3° 00' north and the line, and its direction appeared to have been nearly west, for we never found our observations for the latitude materially affected by it; the same was the case with the easterly current, which may account for the ships from the northward, bound to the coast of Brazil, who may have no other way of determining their longitude but by account, scarcely having been sensible of any current; so very nearly does the westerly set, counteract, in the passage, that to the eastward. On the 14th of July, in the evening, we crossed the equator in longitude 26° 10' west, and with 5° 00' of west variation. The south-east trade wind now made us ample amends for the failure of the north-east, for it blew a fresh and steady breeze from east-south-east to east, which I believe is rather uncommon when the sun has so great north declination: if the wind had not favoured us so much, we must have fallen in with the coast of Brazil, far to the northward, which, with this convoy, would have been attended with much loss of time, and some degree of danger; however, with this favourable slant, we carried all the sail possible, and were enabled to keep at a distance from the coast, but not so far as to be able to make the island of Trinidada, which it was Captain Phillip's intention to have done, had the wind permitted. We passed its parallel 4° 30' to the westward of it, and had for several days kept a look out for an island, which the Portuguese call Ascencao, and is said to lie between Trinidada and the coast of Brazil; but the existence of which there is much reason to doubt. We did not see any thing until the 3d of August, when we made Cape Frio; at 12 o'clock at night we were right abreast of it, and had it bearing north half west five or six miles; its longitude, by the time-keeper, is 41° 40' west of the meridian of Greenwich* and its latitude is 22° 58' south. This cape is an island distant two or three miles from the main land; we had very light airs and variable weather between the Cape and Rio Janeiro, which is a distance of 18 or 20 leagues; we never approached the shore nearer than five or six miles, at which distance we had 30 fathoms water over a soft bottom, and at four leagues distance had 42 and 43 fathoms, with the same soft ground. [* It will appear hereafter that we had not the true rate of the watch, and consequently that the above longitude is not correct.] On the 6th of August, a light breeze from the sea carried us within the islands which lie off the harbour, where we anchored for the night, with the convoy, in 14 fathoms water, clear soft ground, the island Raz (a low flat island) bearing south by west two miles, and Rodondo (a high round island) south-west by south. The next morning an officer was sent to the town, to wait on the viceroy, and give him information who we were, and for what purpose we had visited that port: in the afternoon of the 7th, with a breeze from the sea, we weighed, and, with the whole convoy, sailed into the harbour. As we passed Fort Santa Cruz, we saluted with 13 guns, which was returned by an equal number from the fort; we anchored off the town in 17½ fathoms water, over a good soft bottom, and moored with best bower to the south-east, and the small bower to the north-west; Fort Santa Cruz south 36° 00' east; the Sugar Loaf south, 7° 00' east; and the Flag-Staff, on the Island Cobres, north 78° 00' west, distant from the town one mile and a half. In going into the harbour, there being very little wind, some of our convoy were alongside of each other, and were drifting in with the tide; at which the master of the port, who was on board the Sirius, expressed much uneasiness; but he was told our seamen knew very well how to manage their ships, and that there was no danger: the Portuguese will not allow more than one of their ships in the narrows at a time. The ships in general had been remarkably healthy; the whole number buried since we left England was sixteen, six only of that number had died between Teneriffe and this place, which certainly is a very trying part of the voyage to people who have not been accustomed to warm climates, and being fed wholly on salt provisions; many of those whom we had lost since we left Portsmouth, had been lingering under diseases with which they were afflicted when they embarked; consequently little hope could be entertained of their recovery in such a situation and under such circumstances. On our arrival here, there were but four out of the whole number in fevers, and a few others with various but trifling complaints; and between 20 and 30, in whom symptoms of the scurvy had lately appeared, the seeds of which it was hoped and expected would be effectually eradicated before we left this place. Fresh provisions were immediately provided on our arrival, and served to the ships companies, marines, and convicts; vegetables were also provided, of which they were to have a proportion served with their other provisions every day whilst we remained here; oranges and other tropical fruits were in vast abundance at this time; the convicts also had a proportion of oranges with their other provisions, this fruit being in such great plenty, that the expence attending the purchase of a few for each individual a day, was too inconsiderable to be noticed. Indeed, it was no uncommon thing to see the country boats, as they passed the ships, throw in a shower of oranges amongst the people. We had not been ten days in this harbour, before we found the convicts in every ship much more healthy than when we left Spithead. Much pains had been taken by some (who, from whatever cause, were averse to the expedition) to make the world believe that we were, whilst lying at the Mother-Bank, so very sickly as to bury eight or ten every day; and that a malignant disease raged with great violence on board the transports: how far those reports were true, will best appear by the returns which will no doubt be sent to England from this place. Among such a number of people confined in small ships, to have no sick on board, was not to be expected; but the reports spread by some industrious persons exceedingly exaggerated our numbers. I may, without a probability of being much mistaken, venture to say, that there are few country towns in the island of Great-Britain, which contain 1500 inhabitants, (the number which the ships employed on this service had on board) which have not frequently as many sick as we had, at the time it was given out we buried such numbers daily. At this place we met with every thing that was civil and polite; a day or two after our arrival, the whole of the officers were introduced and paid their respects to the Vice-King, who seemed desirous of making the place as convenient and pleasant as possible, consistent with his instructions, relative to foreigners, from the court of Portugal. It has ever been a custom here, that when any foreign ships are in this harbour, a guard boat rows constantly night and day, and when any boat from such foreign vessel goes on shore, a soldier is put into the boat, and continues on board her during her stay on shore: this custom is intended to prevent smuggling, a crime which is punished here with the utmost severity; and when any foreign officer lands, an officer from the guard is ordered to attend him wherever he goes: this restraint, which would certainly have been very ill relished by us, however necessary it might have been for our own convenience to have complied with it--was not even in the beginning offered, but every officer permitted to walk where he pleased, except in the forts; a liberty never granted to strangers; nor was any centinel ever placed in any of the King's boats at landing, not even in those of the transports; an extraordinary mark of civility and confidence, and of which every officer in our fleet was perfectly sensible. But when the masters of the transports went on shore, a non-commissioned officer from the guard attended them wherever they went, and their sailors were attended by a private soldier. During our stay here, we were permitted to erect a tent on the island Enchados, (a small island about a mile and a half farther up the harbour than where we lay with the ships,) for the purpose of landing a few of the astronomical instruments which were necessary for ascertaining the rate of the time-keeper; they were put under the charge and management of Lieutenant William Dawes, of the marines, a young gentleman very well qualified for such a business, and who promises fair, if he pursue his studies, to make a respectable figure in the science of astronomy. The weather was rather unfavourable, during the time the instruments were on shore for ascertaining the rate of the time-keeper, but as constant attention was paid, every opportunity that offered was made use of, and the watch was found to be 2"-27. which is near a second more than was its rate at Portsmouth. The 21st of August being the anniversary of the Prince of Brazil's birth-day, at sun-rise in the morning we displayed the flag of Portugal at the fore top-mast head, and that of our own nation at the main and mizen: half an hour after ten, the Vice-King received compliments upon that occasion; all the officers of our fleet which could be spared from duty on board, landed, and in a body went to the palace to make their compliments upon this public day; the viceroy upon this, as well as upon every other occasion, showed us particular attention. We were the first company admitted into the levee-room, then the clergy and military, after which, the civilians and some of the military promiscuously. When we entered the room a signal was made from the palace, and the fort began to fire. Orders had been left with the commanding officer on board the Sirius, to begin to salute after the fort had fired two guns, which was particularly attended to, and a salute of twenty-one guns was given. It is rather uncommon upon such occasions, for an English ship of war to salute at so early an hour, but certainly the greatest compliment which we could at such time pay them, was to observe in this case the custom practised by their own ships. On Monday the 3d of September, the watering of the convoy, and every other part of their refitting being compleated, the signal was made from the Sirius for every person to repair immediately on board their respective ships, and at the same time the signal for unmooring was shown; and on Tuesday morning, with a light breeze from the land, we weighed with the convoy. When the Sirius had got within about half a mile of Fort Santa Cruz, that castle saluted us with 21 guns, which was answered by us with the same number; a very high and uncommon compliment, and such I believe as is seldom paid to any foreigner; but was no doubt meant as a suitable return to the attention paid by his Majesty's ship to the birth-day of the Prince of Brazil. We carried wind enough out to run us clear without the islands before night. The harbour of Rio de Janeiro may be known when you are off it, by a remarkable hill at its entrance, called Pao d'Asucar, from its resemblance to a loaf of sugar; but there is a hill to the south-east of the harbour, which is called by some the False Sugar-loaf; but which, as you view it from the eastward, I think has more the appearance of a church, with a short spire steeple; this hill points out the harbour to ships at a distance, much better than Pao d'Asucar. The land to the westward of the harbour is high and broken, and is commonly so covered with clouds, that you cannot discover the true make of it. Right off the harbour lie several small islands, all steep to, or nearly so; a few rocks project a very small distance from some of them, but which cannot be considered dangerous, as no person possessed of common prudence would ever take a ship so near as they lye; within those islands (if you have not wind to carry your ship into the harbour) you may anchor; the best birth for getting under way with any wind, is to bring the island Raz (a low island) to bear south or south half west one mile, in 14 or 15 fathoms water, soft bottom; there is nothing in the way between this anchorage and the harbour; you will observe in the entrance a small island or rock, fortified, called Lage; you sail about mid-channel between this island and Fort Santa Cruz, observing that the tide of flood sets upon Santa Cruz point, and the ebb upon the island; the soundings from the outer anchorage decrease from 14 fathoms, where we lay, regularly, till near abreast of the Sugar-loaf, where it is six and a half fathoms: from this depth you drop into 12, 14, and 16 fathoms. Run up, and anchor off the town in 17 or 18 fathoms, clear soft ground. CITY OF ST. SEBASTIAN. Latitude: 22° 54' 13" south Longitude, deduced from our time-keeper of the meridian of Greenwich, and which agrees with that laid down in the new requisite tables, but which certainly are not correct: 42° 44' 00" west. Longitude, determined by two astronomers sent from Portugal for that and other purposes: 43° 18' 45" west. Longitude, by an eclipse of Jupiter's third satellite, taken by Lieutenant Dawes, on the island Enchados: 43° 19' 00" west. Longitude, by a mean of several distances of sun and moon taken by me at the outer anchorage: 43° 11' 15" west. Longitude, by Lieutenant Bradley: 43° 33' 00" west. The tide flows here at full and change of the moon, north-east by north and south-west by south, and rises between six and seven feet. The harbour is very extensive and commodious; there are many convenient bays in it, where a vast many ships may be laid up in perfect security from any bad weather. The town is large, well built, and populous, but ill situated for the health of its inhabitants: it stands upon low ground, which was formerly swampy, and is surrounded with hills of immense height, which entirely exclude the benefit of the refreshing sea and land breezes; so that in the summer time, it is really suffocating hot, and of course very unhealthy. The streets, some few of them, are pretty wide, the others in general rather narrow, and mostly intersect each other at right-angles. The square, or parade, opposite to which the boats land, is large, and the buildings round it are good, and on the south side of this square stands the viceroy's palace. The churches are very good buildings, and their decorations exceedingly rich, and they seem to have excellent organs in them; all those which I saw here, as well as at Teneriffe, had what in a large church I conceive to be a considerable improvement, and it is what I never have seen applied to any of our organs, even in the largest churches in England; each pipe of the organ has a tube which projects from its lower part in a horizontal direction, and is wide at the outer end, like a trumpet: these tubes throw every note distinctly into the church, and prevent, what I have frequently observed, in many of our organs, some of the tones being almost lost in the body of the instrument. I observed here, that the different mechanics carry on their business in distinct parts of the town, particular streets being set apart for particular trades; you find one street filled with taylors, another with shoemakers, a third with carpenters, etc. etc. As far as numerous forts and guns can be said to give strength to any place, the city of Saint Sebastian may be considered as strong; the island of Cobres, which overlooks and lies close to the town, has a strong work upon it, the east end of it is rather low, and there is good depth of water off it, so that ships of very large size may come very near in, and there are many hills very near, which command the town and most of the works which defend it. The annual exports from Rio de Janeiro are, 3,200 arobes of gold, which are sent to Portugal, and of which the King has a tenth part; 6,000 cases of sugar, each weighing 40 arobes; 5,000 cases of rice, and 1,500 casks of rum, each cask containing eight almudas*. [* An arobe is thirty-two pounds; an almuda, four gallons and a half.] Before we left this port, we took on board the following seeds and plants, viz. Coffee plant and seed, cocoa-seed, jalap, ipecacuhana, tamarind, banana, orange, lime, and lemon-trees, guava seed, prickly pear, with the cochineal in seed upon it, pomrose, grape, tobacco, and rice for seed. [A TABLE of the WINDS and WEATHER, etc. etc. in the Passage from the Island of Teneriffe to Rio de Janeiro, Coast of Brazil, on board His Majesty's Ship SIRIUS.] [The table is included in the HTML version] Chapter II September 1787 to January 1788 Anchor in Table-Bay.--Refreshments procured there.--Depart from the Cape of Good Hope.--Captain Phillip quits the Sirius, and proceeds on the voyage in the Supply.--The Sirius arrives in Botany-Bay.--Finds the Supply at anchor there.--Arrival of the Bussole and Astrolabe.-- Leave Botany-Bay, and anchor in Port Jackson.--The Table of Winds, Weather, etc. We had light and variable winds for the two first days after leaving Rio de Janeiro, then it veered round to the north-east, and freshened up, and was some times as far to the northward as north by east; we steered off east-south-east and south-east. In latitude 25° 50' south, the weather became dark and cloudy, with much rain and lightning all round the horizon, which shifted the wind to the southward, and the weather cleared up. On the 19th, we saw several Pentada birds. On the 29th, having had thick hazy weather during the night, some of the convoy had been inattentive to the course, and were found at day-light considerably scattered and to leeward; we bore down and made the signal for closing. Nothing worth relating happened this passage. On the 12th of October, as we were expecting every hour to make the land, the weather being hazy, with a strong westerly wind, at midnight we made the signal and brought to; at day-light we bore away and made sail, and at six o'clock saw the land, distant 10 leagues; at noon, the entrance of Table-Bay, at the Cape of Good Hope, bore east three leagues. At the distance of seven or eight leagues from the land, the Supply armed tender being ordered to wait for the sternmost of the convoy, Lieutenant Ball took that opportunity of sounding, and at the before-mentioned distance had 115 fathoms, over a black sandy bottom; and at five leagues distance he had 90 fathoms, sand with small stones. The water appeared, at a much greater distance, considerably discoloured, from which I think there is reason to suppose that the soundings from this part of the coast run farther off to the westward. We were all this time in the parallel of 34° south. On the 14th of October, at five in the evening, we anchored with all the convoy in Table-Bay, Cape of Good Hope, and at sun-rise the next morning we saluted the fort with 13 guns, which was answered by the same number. By altitudes taken this morning for the time-keeper, it appeared that we had not had sufficient time at Rio Janeiro for ascertaining the true rate of the watch's going, having determined what we have allowed this passage, viz. 2"-33 from a very few observations, and those not to be relied on, the weather having been very unfavourable; for, by the difference of time between the meridian of Rio Janeiro and the cape, both which places are well determined, the watch has lost at the rate of 3"-17, which we shall hereafter allow to be the true rate; and as a proof of that having been really its rate all along, by allowing it from the time of our leaving Portsmouth, until our arrival at Rio Janeiro, we shall have the longitude of that place 43° 33' 30" west of the meridian of Greenwich, which is 45' 45" to the westward of that laid down in the new Requisite Tables, and which agrees very nearly with the observations made on the spot. As Table-Bay was the last port at which we could touch for refreshments during our voyage, such articles as we were in want of, both for present consumption, and for stocking the intended settlement, were applied for, in such quantities as we could find room for on board the different ships. Eight or ten days elapsed before any answer could be obtained from the council, what necessaries and in what quantities they could supply us with: this delay occasioned our passing more time here than was at first intended or expected. A few days before we sailed, having compleated such articles of provisions as we wanted, we embarked on board the Sirius six cows with calf, two bulls, one of which was six or seven months old, with a number of sheep, goats, hogs, and poultry of different kinds; on board one of the transports were put three mares, each having a colt of six months old, and a young stallion; a quantity of live stock was also put on board the store ships; so that the whole on government account, I think, amounted nearly to one stallion, three mares, three colts, six cows, two bulls, forty-four sheep, four goats, and twenty-eight hogs. The officers on board the transports, who were to compose the garrison, had each provided themselves with such live stock as they could find room for, not merely for the purpose of living upon during the passage, but with a view of stocking their little farms in the country to which we were going; every person in the fleet was with that view determined to live wholly on salt provisions, in order that as much live stock as possible might be landed on our arrival. November 12th, having completed all our business at the Cape, we made preparations for our sailing; and on the 13th, we weighed with the whole convoy, and stood out of the bay. During the time we lay in this bay, I took a considerable number of lunar observations, by a mean of which I make Cape Town, in longitude 18° 24' 30" east of the meridian of Greenwich: latitude observed in the bay, 33° 55' south, and variation of the compass, observed about 18 leagues to the westward, 21° 52' west. We had fresh gales from the south-south-east and south-east, and sometimes at south, for the first eight days, which, with a large sea, so very much distressed our cattle, that we were very apprehensive we should lose some of them. On the 25th, being in latitude 38° 40' south, and longitude 25° 05' east, Captain Phillip embarked on board the Supply, in order to proceed singly in that vessel to the coast of New South Wales, where he made sure of arriving a fortnight or three weeks before us, as some of the convoy sailed very heavy; he took with him from the Sirius, Mr. Philip Gidley King, second lieutenant, and Lieutenant Dawes, of the marines, who had hitherto kept an account of the time-keeper, which he also took with him; several carpenters, sawyers, and blacksmiths were likewise put on board the Supply, in order, if they arrived in sufficient time, to examine the place attentively; and the governor had fixed on the most eligible spot to build upon, there to erect some temporary store-houses for the reception of the stores, when the convoy arrived; but as a number of working people would be wanted in carrying on such service, three of the best sailing transports, under the command of Lieutenant Shortland, the agent, were also directed to quit the convoy, and make the best of their way to Botany-Bay; Major Ross, the lieutenant-governor, embarked in one of those transports; the remaining transports and store-ships were left under the care of the Sirius. The next day, after parting company, the Supply was in sight from the mast-head, and the three transports were about seven or eight miles from us, but the wind having shifted to the south-east in the night of the 27th, we stood to the southward and saw no more of them. I was at this time of opinion, that we had hitherto kept in too northerly a parallel to ensure strong and lasting westerly winds, which determined me, as soon as Captain Phillip had left the fleet, to steer to the southward and keep in a higher latitude. We had the winds from the north-east with squalls and hazy weather, until the 29th, when it backed round to the westward again, and the weather became fair. After the time-keeper was taken from the Sirius, I kept an account of the ship's way by my own watch, which I had found for a considerable time, to go very well with Kendal's; I knew it could be depended on sufficiently to carry on from one lunar observation to another, without any material error; for although its rate of going was not so regular as I could have wished, yet its variation would not in a week or ten days have amounted to any thing of consequence; it was made for me by Mr. John Brockbank, of Cornhill, London, upon an improved principle of his own. The lunar observation, which I never failed to take every opportunity, and which Lieutenant Bradley also paid constant attention to, gave me reason to think, by their near agreement with the watch, that it continued to go well. On the 1st of December our longitude, by account, was 36° 42' east; by the watch 36° 48' east; and by distance of sun and moon 36° 24' east: latitude 40° 05' south, and the variation of the compass 29° 40' west. For three successive days both Mr. Bradley and myself had a variety of distances, by which our account seemed to be very correct. I now determined (if I could avoid it) never to get to the northward of latitude 40° 00' south, and to keep between that parallel and 43° or 44° south. After the 3d, I found, by altitudes taken for the watch, that we went farther to the eastward than the log gave us, and no opportunity offered for getting a lunar observation to compare with it until the 13th, when both Mr. Bradley and I got several good distances of the sun and moon, by which our longitude was 70° 22' east, by the watch 70° 07' east, and by account 67° 37' east. On the 14th, the weather being very clear, we had another set of distances, which gave our longitude 73° 06' east, by the watch 73° 09' east, and by account 70° 34' east. Again, on the 15th, I observed with two different instruments, one by Ramsden, and the other by Dolland, and the results agreed within ten miles of longitude; the mean was 75° 18' east, by the watch 75° 16' east, and by account 72° 49' east. Mr. Bradley's mean was also 75° 18' east; so that, as I have already observed, the ship seemed gaining on the account; but there was no reason to believe, that in the middle of this very extensive ocean we were ever subject to much current: I therefore attribute this set to the eastward, to the large following sea, which constantly attended us, since we had taken a more southerly parallel. The variation of the compass continued to increase pretty fast, until we were as far to the eastward as 39° 00' east, where we found it 31° 00' west; from that longitude to 54° 30' east, it increased very slowly to 32° 00' west, which was the highest we had; during all that time we were in the parallels of 40° 00' and 41° 00' south. We saw many whales, of a very large size, during this part of our passage, but very few birds. On the 16th, we saw a quantity of sea weed, which I suppose might have come from the island of Saint Paul, as we were now near its meridian, and not more than 60 leagues from it. We had at present every prospect of an excellent passage to Van Diemen's Land: for although the wind sometimes shifted to the north-east, it seldom continued more than a few hours; then backed round again to north-west and south-west, between which quarters it seemed to blow as a trade wind; from north-north-east to the westward, and round to south-south-west are in general its limits: we had frequently hazy weather, but not so thick as to be called foggy; the wind in general very fresh. Whenever there was an appearance of hazy weather coming on, the signal to close was always made, and the convoy kept in as close order as possible, to prevent those ships which sailed heavy from the risk of being separated from the Sirius. On the 20th, the wind increased and was steady between west-north-west and south-west; we seldom sailed less than 50 leagues in the 24 hours, and frequently more. With the north-west winds we generally had foul weather, but whenever the wind changed to the south-west quarter, it cleared up and became pleasant. It seems to be exactly the reverse of the effects produced by those winds in the northern hemisphere, where it is well known to seamen, that southerly and south-west winds are generally attended with hazy and foul weather, often accompanied with strong gales; it was exactly so here with the wind from the north-west. We knew by experience, when in the open ocean at a distance from land, in either hemisphere, that the winds which blow from those quarters of the compass next to the elevated pole, are generally dry and clear, and from the opposite, generally wet and hazy. On the 1st of January we had a very heavy gale of wind from north-north-west to west-north-west, attended with frequent and very violent squalls or gusts, and hazy weather; the convoy in general were brought under a reefed fore top-sail, and the Sirius carried her three storm stay-sails; so that the transports should not find it necessary to attempt carrying more sail than was consistent with safety: the sea was very high and irregular, and broke with great violence on some of the ships; the rolling and labouring of our ship exceedingly distressed the cattle, which were now in a very weakly state, and the great quantities of water which we shipped during this gale, very much aggravated their distress; the poor animals were frequently thrown with much violence off their legs, and exceedingly bruised by their falls, although every method, which could be contrived for their ease and comfort, was practised; the ship was very ill fitted for such a cargo; and the very lumbered condition she had constantly been in rendered it impossible to do more for them, except by putting slings under them; a method which, when proposed, was rejected by those to whose care and management they were intrusted; from an idea, that they would entirely lose the use of their legs by such means, although it were only practised in bad weather. We perceived the sea now covered over with luminous spots, much resembling so many lanthorns floating on its surface; whether this appearance proceeded from the spawn of fish, which may swim in small collected quantities, or from that animal of a jelly-like substance, which is known to sailors by the name of blubber, I cannot tell, but I believe the latter, as we had seen in the day some of a large size. We had now also many sea-birds about the ship, such as albatrosses, gulls of different kinds, and a large black bird, which, in the motion of its wings, had much the appearance of a crow, but its neck and wings are longer than those of that bird, and it is altogether larger. On the 4th of January we had a number of good observations for the longitude, and as it was probable they might be the last we should have an opportunity of taking, before we should make Van Diemen's Land, the result, which gave 135° 30' east, was marked with chalk in large characters on a black painted board, and shown over the stern to the convoy; at the same time a signal was made which had been previously appointed. On the 6th in the evening, as I intended running in for the land all night, I made the signal for the convoy to close, and to drop into the Sirius's wake, under an easy sail; the night was dark, but clear in the horizon, so that we could see near two leagues a-head. This night the aurora austreales were very bright, of a beautiful crimson colour, streaked with orange, yellow, and white, and these colours were constantly changing their places: the highest part was about 45° above the horizon, and it spread from south by east to south-south-west. On the next morning at sun-rise, one of the transports having pushed a little a-head, made the signal for seeing the land, in which, however, she was mistaken: we at this time judged ourselves not less than 33 or 34 leagues from it, deducing our distance from the last lunar observation. It may not be improper, before I proceed farther, to observe of the compass, that its westerly variation decreased from the longitude of 54° 30' east, where it was greatest, (viz. 32° 10' west,) to longitude 135° 30' east, where it was 1° 00' east. We continued steering in for the land, and the weather being cloudy, in order to make sure of our latitude, which, in our present situation, was of consequence, we took two altitudes before noon, by which we were in 44° 05' south, which being seventeen miles to the southward of the rock, called the Mewstone, we hauled from east-north-east to north-east, and at three P.M. of the 8th, (by log,) we made the land in that direction, stood well in with the Mewstone, and, as the wind was fresh from the westward, I would have gone within it, and ranged along the coast from point to point; but having a convoy of transports and store-ships astern, who were to be led by the Sirius, I was apprehensive, in case it fell little wind under the land, and night set in, an accident might have happened to some of those ships, which all the knowledge I could have gained, by a nearer examination of the coast, would not have compensated: I therefore stood on without the Mewstone, and steered in for the south cape, which we passed at three miles distance, leaving the rocks Swilly and Eddistone without us. The south cape terminates in a low rocky point, and appears to be a bold shore, and the hills within it, which are moderately high, appear to have many tall trees upon them, which are very streight, and seem to have no branches, except near the top; from which circumstance, I suppose them to be the palm or cabbage tree. To the eastward of the south cape, between that and the next point of land, which is called Tasman's-head, is a large bay, at the bottom of which there appears to be an island or two; from the south-west cape to the south cape there are several bays, and pretty deep bights, which may probably afford some good harbours; there are also several appearances of islands on this part of the coast, but most of them seem to lie pretty near the land, except the Mewstone, (a high ragged rock) which is about ten miles off, and Swilly and Eddystone, which lie about south by east from the south cape, about five leagues distant. Swilly is a high rock, and the Eddistone has, at a distance, the appearance of a sail; these two rocks are at the opposite ends of a ledge of sunken rocks, on which the sea seemed to break very high: this ledge lies east-north-east and west-south-west; the two rocks are in one with that bearing. The latitudes and longitudes of the different points or capes, seem to have been very correctly determined by Captains Cook and Furneaux, when they were here; it would therefore be superfluous to mention them here from any other authority; they have settled them as under: South-west cape lat 43 37 00 S. long 146 07 00 E. of Greenwich South cape lat 43 42 00 long 146 56 00 Tasman's-head lat 43 33 00 long 147 28 00 Swilly Island, or rock lat 43 55 00 long 147 06 00 Adventure bay lat 42 21 20 long 147 29 00 Such observations as we had an opportunity of making near this coast, agree very well with the above. We had just got to the eastward of the south cape as it became dark, and were about four miles from it when it fell calm, and soon after a very light air sprung up from east-north-east, which, with a large westerly swell, scarcely gave the ships steerage way: this situation gave me some anxiety, as I was uncertain whether the sternmost ships had seen Swilly, and they were at this time a little scattered; the breeze, however, favoured us, by freshening up at north-east, which enabled the whole of us to weather those rocks, without the apprehension of passing too near them in the dark: in the morning at day-light they bore west-south-west three leagues. Here we saw many animals playing along-side, which were at first taken for seals; but, after having seen a considerable number of them, I did not think they were the seal, at least they appeared to me a very different animal from the seals to be met with on the coast of America and Newfoundland; for they have a short round head, but these creatures heads were long, and tapered to the nose; they had very long whiskers, and frequently raised themselves half the length of the body out of the water, to look round them, and often leaped entirely out; which I do not ever recollect to have seen the seal do: from these circumstances, I judged them to be something of the sea-otter. On the night of the 8th, it blew so strong from north-north-east and north, as to bring us under close reefed main top-sail and fore-sail; this gale was accompanied with thunder, lightning, and rain, which soon changed it to the south-west quarter, and immediately cleared the weather. On the 10th, we had two very violent white squalls from north-west, with lightning, thunder, and rain: these squalls came on so very suddenly, that some of the convoy were taken with too much sail out, which obliged them to let go their tacks and sheets, by which means one ship carried away her main-yard in the slings, another had her three top-sails blown from the yards, and a third lost her jibb, and some other trifling accident: this occasioned a short delay, but as soon as these accidents were repaired we made sail, and availed ourselves of every slant of wind, to get in with the coast. I was desirous of falling in with it about Cape Howe, which is in latitude 37° 30' south, and longitude 150° 00' east, and from thence to have run down along the coast to Botany-bay; but the wind prevailed so long from the north-ward and north-west, that we could not fetch that part of the coast. On the 15th, by a good lunar observation, I found our longitude to be 152° 43' east, which was twenty-five leagues farther from the coast than I expected we were. Every endeavour was exerted to get to the westward, and on the 19th in the evening, judging from the last observation, (the dead reckoning being out,) that we could not be above eight or nine leagues from the land, the wind being from the eastward, I made the signal and brought to with the convoy till day-light, when we made the land in latitude 34° 50' south, six or seven leagues distant. We steered in slanting to the northward, until we were within about six or seven miles of the shore, and then steered along the coast at that distance, not choosing, as the wind was easterly, to carry the convoy nearer. At noon, we were abreast of Red-point, which is well determined by Captain Cook: I observed its latitude to be 34° 29' south; this point being only ten leagues from Botany-bay, I made sail a-head of the convoy, in order if possible, to get sight of its entrance before night. There are a number of projecting points hereabout, which by being so near in shore deceived us a good deal; however, we perceived from the masthead before dark, what I had no doubt was the entrance of the bay, as we were now near its latitude; which is certainly the only true guide whereby you can find it; for the coast has nothing so remarkable in it as to serve for a direction for finding this harbour. About three leagues to the southward of Botany-bay, there is a range of whitish coloured cliffs on the coasts, which extend some distance farther south, and over these cliffs the land is moderately high and level; on this level land there is a small clump of trees, something like that on Post down hill, near Portsmouth: these, I think, are the only remarkable objects here. As soon as we had brought the entrance of the bay to bear north-north-west, we brought to, and made the signal for the convoy to pass in succession under the Sirius's stern, when they were informed, that I intended, as the wind was easterly, to keep working off under an easy sail till day-light, and that the entrance of the harbour bore north-north-west seven or eight miles; which I supposed they could not have been near enough to have seen before dark. The next morning being fair, with a south-east wind, we made sail at day-light for this opening, and, by signal, ordered the ships into the Sirius's wake. When the bay was quite open, we discovered the Supply and the three transports at an anchor; the former had arrived the 18th, and the three latter the 19th. At eight A. M. of the 20th, we anchored with the whole of the convoy in Botany-bay, in eight fathoms water. As the ships were sailing in, a number of the natives assembled on the south shore, and, by their motions, seemed to threaten; they pointed their spears, and often repeated the words, wara, wara. The Supply had not gained more than forty hours of us, and the three transports twenty. We probably met with fresher winds than they had done, otherwise I think these ships, all sailing well, should have had much more advantage of the heavy sailing part of the convoy. On the first day of my arrival, I went with the governor to examine the south shore, in order to fix on a spot for erecting some buildings; but we found very little fresh water, and not any spot very inviting for our purpose: we had a short conversation with a party of the natives, who were exceedingly shy. During the time we lay here, we sounded the bay all over, and found a considerable extent of anchorage in four, five, six, and seven fathoms water, but wholly exposed to easterly winds, and no possibility of finding shelter from those winds in any part of the anchorage. We anchored on the north shore, off a sandy bay, which I think as good a birth as any in the bay; Cape Banks bore east-south-east, and Point Solander south-south-east, the ground clear and good. The wind, either from the north-east or south-east quarters, set in a prodigious sea. Higher up the bay there is a spot of four fathoms, where a few ships might be laid in tolerable security, but they must be lightened, to enable them to pass over a flat of twelve feet, and that depth but of narrow limits. The day after my arrival, the governor, accompanied by me and two other officers, embarked in three boats, and proceeded along the coast to the northward, intending, if we could, to reach what Captain Cook has called Broken-bay, with a hope of discovering a better harbour, as well as a better country; for we found nothing at Botany-bay to recommend it as a place on which to form an infant settlement. In this examination, a large opening, or bay, about three leagues and a half to the northward of Cape Banks, was the first place we looked into: it had rather an unpromising appearance, on entering between the outer heads or capes that form its entrance, which are high, rugged, and perpendicular cliffs; but we had not gone far in, before we discovered a large branch extending to the southward; into this we went, and soon found ourselves perfectly land-locked, with a good depth of water. We proceeded up for two days, examining every cove or other place which we found capable of receiving ships; the country was also particularly noticed, and found greatly superior in every respect to that round Botany-bay. The governor, being satisfied with the eligibility of this situation, determined to fix his residence here, and returned immediately to the ships. On the 25th, we received the time-keeper from the Supply, which I am sorry to say, had been let down while on board her, during the passage from the Cape of Good Hope; and the same day, the governor sailed in the Supply, with a detachment of marines, to the new harbour, which Captain Cook had observed as he sailed along the coast, and named Port Jackson; he did not enter it, and therefore was uncertain of there being a safe harbour here: it has the appearance from sea of being only an open bay. The convoy was again left to my care, the masters of the ships having had previous orders from Captain Phillip to prepare for sea. On the 26th, I made the signal for the transports to get under way. We perceived this morning two large ships in the offing, standing in for the bay, under French colours: these ships had been observed two days before, but the wind blowing fresh from north-west, they were not able to get in with the land. I sent a boat with an officer to assist them in, and about an hour after, a breeze sprung up from the south-east, and they were safely anchored in the bay. I then got under way, and with the transports worked out of the bay, and the same evening anchored the whole convoy in Port Jackson. The two strangers proved to be the Bussole and Astrolabe, which sailed from Brest in June, 1785, upon discoveries, and were commanded by Mons. de la Perouse; Mons. de L'Angle, who commanded one of the ships when they left France, had been lately, when the ships were at the Islands of Navigators, murdered, with several other officers and seamen, by the natives; who had, before that unfortunate day, always appeared to be upon the most friendly and familiar terms with them. This accident, we understood, happened when their launches were on shore filling water, on the last day which they intended remaining at those islands: during the time they were employed in filling their water-casks, having the most perfect confidence in the friendly disposition of the natives, the sailors had been inattentive to the keeping the boats afloat; some misunderstanding having happened between some of the seamen and the natives, an insult had been offered by one or other, which was resented by the opposite party; a quarrel ensued, and the impossibility of moving the boats, exposed the officers and crews to the rage of the multitude, who attacked them with clubs and showers of stones, and would inevitably have massacred the whole, if there had not been a small boat at hand, which picked up those, who depending on their swimming, had quitted the shore. Many of the natives were killed upon this occasion; and the loss of the ships was said to have been fourteen persons killed, including Captain de L'Angle, and some other officers; several were much wounded; and the boats were entirely destroyed. This account of the accident is by no means to be considered as a correct statement of it; as it is only collected from little hints dropt in the course of conversation with different officers of those ships: they did not appear disposed to speak upon that subject, we therefore did not presume to interrogate. The voyage of those ships will no doubt be published by authority; till then we must wait for the particulars of that, and another unfortunate accident which happened to them upon the west coast of America, where they lost two boats and twenty-two men, including six officers, in a surf. [A TABLE of the WINDS and WEATHER, etc. etc. on a Passage from Rio de Janeiro to the Cape of Good Hope; and from thence to Botany-Bay, on the East Coast of New Holland, on board His Majesty's Ship SIRIUS, in 1787, and Beginning of 1788.] [The table is included in the HTML version] Chapter III January 1788 to August 1788 -Frequent interviews with the natives.--Weapons described.--Ornaments.--Persons, manners, and habitations.--Method of hunting.--Animals described.--Birds, and insects.--Diary of the weather.--Departure of the Bussole and Astrolabe.--A convict pretends to have discovered a gold mine.--The fraud detected.--Observations for the longitude, etc_. A Few days after my arrival with the transports in Port Jackson, I set off with a six oared boat and a small boat, intending to make as good a survey of the harbour as circumstances would admit: I took to my assistance Mr. Bradley, the first lieutenant, Mr. Keltie, the master, and a young gentleman of the quarter-deck. During the time we were employed on this service, we had frequent meetings with different parties of the natives, whom we found at this time very numerous; a circumstance which I confess I was a little surprized to find, after what had been said of them in the voyage of the Endeavour; for I think it is observed in the account of that voyage, that at Botany-bay they had seen very few of the natives, and that they appeared a very stupid race of people, who were void of curiosity. We saw them in considerable numbers, and they appeared to us to be a very lively and inquisitive race; they are a straight, thin, but well made people, rather small in their limbs, but very active; they examined with the greatest attention, and expressed the utmost astonishment, at the different covering we had on; for they certainly considered our cloaths as so many different skins, and the hat as a part of the head: they were pleased with such trifles as we had to give them, and always appeared chearful and in good humour: they danced and sung with us, and imitated our words and motions, as we did theirs. They generally appeared armed with a lance, and a short stick which assists in throwing it: this stick is about three feet long, is flattened on one side, has a hook of wood at one end, and a flat shell, let into a split in the stick at the other end, and fastened with gum; upon the flat side of this stick the lance is laid, in the upper end of which is a small hole, into which the point of the hook of the throwing stick is fixed; this retains the lance on the flat side of the stick; then poising the lance, thus fixed, in one hand, with the fore-finger and thumb over it, to prevent its falling off side-ways, at the same time holding fast the throwing-stick, they discharge it with considerable force, and in a very good direction, to the distance of about sixty or seventy yards*. Their lances are in general about ten feet long: the shell at one end of the throwing-stick is intended for sharpening the point of the lance, and for various other uses. I have seen these weapons frequently thrown, and think that a man upon his guard may with much ease, either parry, or avoid them, although it must be owned they fly with astonishing velocity. [* I have since seen a strong young man throw the lance full ninety yards; which, till then, I did not believe possible. I measured the distance.] While employed on the survey of the harbour, we were one morning early, in the upper part of it, and at a considerable distance from the ship, going to land, in order to ascertain a few angles, when we were a little surprized to find the natives here in greater numbers than we had ever seen them before in any other place: we naturally conjectured from their numbers, that they might be those who inhabited the coves in the lower part of the harbour, and who, upon our arrival, had been so much alarmed at our appearance, as to have judged it necessary to retire farther up; they appeared very hostile, a great many armed men appeared upon the shore wherever we approached it, and, in a threatening manner, seemed to insist upon our not presuming to land. During the whole time we were near them, they hailed each other through the woods, until their numbers were so much increased, that I did not judge it prudent to attempt making any acquaintance with them at this time: for, as I have already observed, we had only a six-oared boat and a smaller one; our whole number, leaving one man in each boat, amounted to ten seamen, three officers, and myself, with only three muskets; we therefore for the present, contented ourselves with making signs of friendship, and returned to the ship. In two days after, we appeared again in the same place, better armed and prepared for an interview. Their numbers were not now so many, at least we did not see them, although it is probable they were in the wood at no great distance; but having occasion to put on shore to cook some provisions for the boats crews, I chose a projecting point of land for that purpose, which we could have defended against some hundreds of such people: I ordered two marine centinels upon the neck, in order to prevent a surprize, and immediately set about making a fire. We soon heard some of the natives in the wood on the opposite shore; we called to them, and invited them by signs, and an offer of presents, to come over to us, the distance not being more than one hundred yards across: in a short time, seven men embarked in canoes and came over; they landed at a small distance from us, and advanced without their lances; on this I went up to meet them, and held up both my hands, to show that I was unarmed; two officers also advanced in the same manner; we met them and shook hands; but they seemed a good deal alarmed at our five marines who were under arms by the boats, upon which they were ordered to ground their arms and stay by them; the natives then came up with great chearfulness and good humour, and seated themselves by our fire amongst us, where we ate what we had got, and invited them to partake, but they did not relish our food or drink. I was one day on shore in another part of the harbour, making friendship with a party of natives, when in a very short time, their numbers encreased to eighty or ninety men, all armed with a lance and throwing-stick, and many with the addition of a shield, made of the bark of a tree; some were in shape an oblong square, and others of these shields were oval; these were the first shields we had seen in the country*. Upon examining some of these shields, we observed that many of them had been pierced quite through in various places, which they by signs gave us to understand had been done with a spear; but that those shields will frequently turn the spear, they also showed us, by setting one up at a small distance, and throwing a spear at it, which did not go through. They were much surprized at one of our gentlemen who pulling a pistol out of his pocket, that was loaded with ball, and standing at the same distance, fired the ball through the thickest part of the shield, which they examined with astonishment, and seemed to wonder, that an instrument so small should be capable of wounding so deep. [* It has since been found that the shields are in general made of wood.] Our numbers at this time were what I first mentioned, with only three muskets, one of which I carried. The natives were very noisy, but did not appear disposed to quarrel; we gave them such little presents as we had with us, with which they seemed well pleased; although we had much reason afterwards to believe, that such trifles only pleased them, as baubles do children, for a moment: for at other times we had frequently found our presents lying dispersed on the beach, although caught at by these people with much apparent avidity at the time they were offered. While we were employed with this party, we observed at a distance, a number of women, who were peeping from their concealments, but durst not gratify their natural curiosity, by appearing openly and conversing with us; as the men appeared here to be very absolute. I signified to the men that we had observed the women, and that I wished to make them some presents, if they might be permitted to come forward and receive them. The men seemed unwilling to suffer them to advance; for we had frequently observed, that they took particular care upon every occasion to keep the women at a distance, and I believe wholly from an idea of danger. They desired to have the presents for the women, and they would carry and deliver them, but to this proposal I positively refused to agree, and made them understand, that unless they were allowed to come forward, they should not have any. Finding I was determined, an old man, who seemed to have the principal authority, directed the women to advance, which they did immediately, with much good humour; and, during the whole time that we were decorating them with beads, rags of white linen, and some other trifles, they laughed immoderately, although trembling at the same time, through an idea of danger. Most of those we saw at this time were young women, who I judged were from eighteen to twenty-five years of age; they were all perfectly naked, as when first born. The women in general are well made, not quite so thin as the men, but rather smaller limbed. As soon as the women were ordered to approach us, about twenty men, whom we had not before seen, sallied from the wood, compleatly armed with lance and shield; they were painted with red and white streaks all over the face and body, as if they intended to strike terror by their appearance: some of them were painted with a little degree of taste, and although the painting on others appeared to be done without any attention to form, yet there were those who, at a small distance, appeared as if they were accoutred with cross-belts: some had circles of white round their eyes, and several a horizontal streak across the forehead: others again had narrow white streaks round the body, with a broad line down the middle of the back and belly, and a single streak down each arm, thigh, and leg. These marks, being generally white, gave the person, at a small distance, a most shocking appearance; for, upon the black skin the white marks were so very conspicuous, that they were exactly like so many moving skeletons. The colours they use are mostly red and white; the first of which is a kind of ochre, or red earth, which is found here in considerable quantities; the latter is a fine pipe-clay. The bodies of the men are much scarified, particularly their breasts and shoulders; these scarifications are considerably raised above the skin, and although they are not in any regular form, yet they are certainly considered as ornamental. The men, thus armed and painted, drew themselves up in a line on the beach, and each man had a green bough in his hand, as a sign of friendship; their disposition was as regular as any well disciplined troops could have been; and this party, I apprehend, was entirely for the defence of the women, if any insult had been offered them. We also observed at this interview, that two very stout armed men, were placed upon a rock, near to where our boats lay, as centinels; for they never moved from the spot until we left the beach: I therefore suppose they were ordered there to watch all our motions. We left these people, after a visit of about four hours, both parties apparently well satisfied with all that passed. In the different opportunities I have had of getting a little acquainted with the natives, who reside in and about this port, I am, I confess, disposed to think, that it will be no very difficult matter, in due time, to conciliate their friendship and confidence; for although they generally appear armed on our first meeting, which will be allowed to be very natural, yet, whenever we have laid aside our arms, and have made signs of friendship, they have always advanced unarmed, with spirit, and a degree of confidence scarcely to be expected: from that appearance of a friendly disposition, I am inclined to think, that by residing some time amongst, or near them, they will soon discover that we are not their enemies; a light they no doubt considered us in on our first arrival. The men in general are from five feet six inches, to five feet nine inches high; are thin, but very straight and clean made; walk very erect*, and are active. The women are not so tall, or so thin, but are generally well made; their colour is a rusty kind of black, something like that of soot, but I have seen many of the women almost as light as a mulatto. We have seen a few of both sexes with tolerably good features, but in general they have broad noses, large wide mouths, and thick lips; and their countenance altogether not very prepossessing; and what makes them still less so, is, that they are abominably filthy; they never clean their skin, but it is generally smeared with the fat of such animals as they kill, and afterwards covered with every sort of dirt; sand from the sea beach, and the ashes from their fires, all adhere to their greasy skin, which is never washed, except when accident, or the want of food, obliges them to go into the water. [* See a plate of the natives in Phillip's Voyage.] Some of the men wear a piece of wood or bone, thrust through the septum of the nose, which, by raising the opposite sides of the nose, widens the nostril, and spreads the lower part very much; this, no doubt, they consider as a beauty; most of those we had hitherto met, wanted the two foremost teeth on the right side of the upper jaw; and many of the women want the two lower joints of the little finger of the left hand, which we have not as yet been able to discover the reason or meaning of. This defect of the little finger we have observed in old women, and in young girls of eight or nine years old; in young women who have had children, and in those who have not, and the finger has been seen perfect in individuals of all the above ages and descriptions; they have very good teeth in general; their hair is short, strong, and curly, and as they seem to have no method of cleaning or combing it, it is therefore filthy and matted. The men wear their beards, which are short and curly, like the hair of the head. Men, women, and children go entirely naked, as described by Captain Cook; they seem to have no fixed place of residence, but take their rest wherever night overtakes them: they generally shelter themselves in such cavities or hollows in the rocks upon the sea shore, as may be capable of defending them from the rain, and, in order to make their apartment as comfortable as possible, they commonly make a good fire in it before they lie down to rest; by which means, the rock all round them is so heated as to retain its warmth like an oven for a considerable time; and upon a little grass, which is previously pulled and dryed, they lie down and huddle together. And here, we see a striking instance of the particular care of Providence for all his creatures. These people have not the most distant idea of building any kind of place which may be capable of sheltering them from the severity of bad weather; if they had, probably it would first appear in their endeavours to cover their naked bodies with some kind of cloathing, as they certainly suffer much from the cold in winter. Their ignorance in building, is very amply compensated by the kindness of nature in the remarkable softness of the rocks, which encompass the sea coast, as well as those in the interior parts of the country: they are a soft, crumbly, sandy stone; those parts, which are most exposed to, and receive the most severity of the weather, are generally harder than such parts as are less exposed; in the soft parts time makes wonderful changes; they are constantly crumbling away underneath the harder and more solid part, and this continual decay leaves caves of considerable dimensions: some I have seen that would lodge forty or fifty people, and, in a case of necessity, we should think ourselves not badly lodged for a night. Wherever you see rocks in this country, either on the sea-shore, or in the interior parts, as they are all of this soft sandy kind, you are sure of finding plenty of such caves. In the woods, where the country is not very rocky, we sometimes met with a piece of the bark of a tree, bent in the middle, and set upon the ends*, with a piece set up against that end on which the wind blows. This hut serves them for a habitation, and will contain a whole family; for, when the weather is cold, which is frequently the case in winter, they find it necessary to lie very close for the benefit of that warmth to which each mutually contributes a share. These bark huts, (if they deserve even the name of huts) are intended, as we have lately discovered, for those who are employed in hunting the kangaroo, opossums, or in short, any other animals which are to be found in the woods; for at certain seasons, when those animals are in plenty, they employ themselves frequently in catching them. [* For an exact description and representation of this hut, see Governor Phillip's Voyage.] As most of the large trees are hollow, by being rotten in the heart, the opossum, kangaroo rat, squirrel, and various other animals which inhabit the woods, when they are pursued, commonly run into the hollow of a tree: in order, therefore, to make sure of them, which they seldom fail in, when they find them in the tree, one man climbs even the tallest tree with much ease, by means of notches at convenient distances, that are made with a stone hatchet; when he is arrived at the top, or where there may be an outlet for the animal, he sits there with a club or stick in his hand, while another person below applies a fire to the lower opening, and fills the hollow of the tree with smoak; this obliges the animal to attempt to make its escape, either upwards or downwards, but whichever way it goes, it is almost certain of death, for they very seldom escape. In this manner they employ themselves, and get a livelihood in the woods. They also, when in considerable numbers, set the country on fire for several miles extent; this, we have generally understood, is for the purpose of disturbing such animals as may be within reach of the conflagration; and thereby they have an opportunity of killing many. We have also had much reason to believe, that those fires were intended to clear that part of the country through which they have frequent occasion to travel; of the brush or underwood, from which they, being naked, suffer very great inconvenience. The fires, which we very frequently saw, particularly in the summer-time, account also for an appearance, which, when we arrived here, we were much perplexed to understand the cause of; this was, that two-thirds of the trees in the woods were very much scorched with fire, some were burnt quite black, up to the very top: as to the cause of this appearance we differed much in our opinions; but it is now plain, that it has ever been occasioned by the fires, which the natives so frequently make, and which we have seen reach the highest branches of the trees: we sometimes, upon our arrival here, conjectured that it proceeded from lightning, but upon looking farther, it appeared too general amongst the woods to have been occasioned by such an accident. We had reason to believe, that the natives associate in tribes of many families together, and it appeared now that they have one fixed residence, and the tribe takes its name from the place of their general residence: you may often visit the place where the tribe resides, without finding the whole society there; their time is so much occupied in search of food, that the different families take different routs; but, in case of any dispute with a neighbouring tribe, they can soon be assembled. We are well informed by those whom we have had among us, that they sometimes have quarrels, and that they endeavour from concealments, to destroy those they are at war with. They are by no means a brave and determined people, except when passion overcomes them, and when they act as all savages do, like madmen. In all their quarrels with one another, they put themselves under the direction of a chief: how those chiefs are chosen we have not learnt, but have reason to believe it is from an opinion of their dexterity in war. All the human race, which we have seen here, appear to live chiefly on what the sea affords, and consequently we find the sea-coast more fully inhabited than the interior, or that part of the country which we have had an opportunity of visiting more remote from the sea. The men fish with a spear, or fish-gig, in the use of which, it is apparent they are very dextrous. The fish-gig is in length something more than the war lance, but they can, according to the depth of water, increase its length, by a variety of joints; some have one, some two, three, or four prongs, pointed and barbed with a fish, or other animal's bone. We have sometimes, in fine weather, seen a man lying across a canoe, with his face in the water, and his fish-gig immersed, ready for darting: in this manner he lies motionless, and by his face being a little under the surface, he can see the fish distinctly; but were his eyes above, the tremulous motion of the surface, occasioned by every light air of wind, would prevent his sight: in this manner they strike at the fish with so much certainty, that they seldom miss their aim. The women are chiefly employed in the canoes, with lines and hooks; the lines appear to be manufactured from the bark of various trees which we found here, of a tough stringy nature, and which, after being beaten between two stones for some time, becomes very much like, and of the same colour as a quantity of oakum, made from old rope: this they spin and twist into two strands: in fact, I never saw a line with more than two. Their hooks are commonly made from the inside, or mother of pearl, of different shells; the talons of birds, such as those of hawks, they sometimes make this use of; but the former are considered as best. In this necessary employment of fishing, we frequently saw a woman with two or three children in a miserable boat, the highest part of which was not six inches above the surface of the water, washing almost in the edge of a surf, which would frighten an old seaman to come near, in a good and manageable vessel. The youngest child, if very small, lies across the mother's lap, from whence, although she is fully employed in fishing, it cannot fall; for the boat being very shallow, she sits in the bottom, with her knees up to her breast, and between her knees and body, the child lies perfectly secure. The men also dive for shell-fish, which they take off from the rocks under water; we frequently saw them leap from a rock into the surf or broken water, and remain a surprizing time under: when they rise to the surface, whatever they have gathered they throw on shore, where a person attends to receive it, and has a fire ready kindled for cooking. They have no other method of dressing their food, than that of broiling. Boiling water they have no conception of, as appeared very lately; for when one of our boats was hauling the seine, one of the sailors had put a pot on the fire ready to dress some fish, and when the water was boiling, some fish were put in; but several natives, who were near, and who wished to have more fish than had been given them, seeing the fish put into the pot, and no person watching them, a native put his hand into the boiling water to take the fish out, and was of course scalded, and exceedingly astonished. With respect to religion, we have not been able yet to discover that they have any thing like an object of adoration; neither the sun, moon, nor stars seem to take up, or occupy more of their attention, than they do that of any other of the animals which inhabit this immense country. Their dead they certainly burn, of which I have been well convinced lately, when employed on the survey of a distant branch of Port Jackson. Some of my boat's crew having, when on shore, discovered a little from the water-side, upon a rising ground, what they judged to be a fresh grave, I went up and ordered it to be opened; when the earth was removed, we found a quantity of white ashes, which appeared to have been but a very short time deposited there: among the ashes we found part of a human jaw-bone, and a small piece of the scull, which, although it had been in the fire, was not so much injured, as to prevent our distinguishing perfectly what it was. We put the ashes together again and covered it up as before; the grave was not six inches under the surface of the ground, but the earth was raised the height of our graves in Europe. In the months of March and April, we found the natives to decrease in their numbers considerably; but we have no reason to suppose that they retire back into the interior parts of the country; for in all the excursions which have been made inland, very few have been seen. The sea-coast, we have every reason at present to believe, is the only part of this country which is inhabited by the human race; the land seems to afford them but a very scanty subsistence. We have seen them roast and chew the fern-root. There is a small fruit here, about the size of a cherry; it is yellow when half grown, and almost black when ripe; it grows on a tree, which is not tall, but very full and bushy at the top; of this fruit we have often seen them eat: it has a good deal the taste of a fig, and the pulp, or inside, very much resembles that fruit in appearance: but the sea is their principal resource, and shell, and other fish, are their chief support. They frequently attended our boats when hauling the seine, and were very thankful to the officer for any fish he might give them, as in cold weather the harbour is but thinly stocked; indeed, when we arrived here it was full of fish, and we caught as many as we could use, but in the winter they seem to quit our neighbourhood. I had reason to think, that the people who inhabited Port Jackson when we first entered it were gone farther to the northward, and that it is their constant custom, as the cold weather approaches, to seek a warmer climate, by following the sun; and in this practice they have another very powerful incitement, as well as the comfortable warmth of the sun, which is, that the fish incline to the northward, as the cold weather comes on: this conjecture seems, in some degree, to account for Captain Cook's having seen so few natives while he lay in Botany-bay, and that it appeared to him the seacoast was thinly inhabited; for I think it was in April, or May, that he was there. The animal described in the voyage of the Endeavour, called the kangaroo, (but by the natives patagarang) we found in great numbers; one was lately shot which weighed 140 pounds; its tail was 40 inches long, and 17 in circumference at the root; it is very well described in Phillip's Voyage: we ate the flesh with great relish, and I think it good mutton, although not so delicate as that which we sometimes find in Leadenhall-market. The strength this animal has in its hind quarters is very great: in its endeavours to escape from us, when surprized, it springs from its hind legs, which are very long, and leaps at each bound about six or eight yards, but does not appear ever in running to let its fore-feet come near the ground; indeed they are so very short, that it is not possible that the animal can use them in running: they have vast strength also in their tail; it is, no doubt, a principal part of their defence, when attacked; for with it they can strike with prodigious force, I believe with sufficent power to break the leg of a man; nor is it improbable but that this great strength in the tail may assist them in making those astonishing springs. We for some time considered their tail as their chief defence, but having of late hunted them with greyhounds very successfully, we have had an opportunity of knowing that they use their claws and teeth. The dog is much swifter than the kangaroo: the chase, if in an open wood, (which is the place most frequented by that animal,) is seldom more than eight or ten minutes, and if there are more dogs than one, seldom so long. As soon as the hound seizes him, he turns, and catching hold with the nails of his fore-paws, he springs upon, and strikes at the dog with the claws of his hind feet, which are wonderfully strong, and tears him to such a degree, that it has frequently happened that we have been under the necessity of carrying the dog home, from the severity of his wounds: few of these animals have ever effected their escape, after being seized by the dog, for they have generally caught them by the throat, and there held them until they were assisted, although many of them have very near lost their lives in the struggle. Some of the male kangaroos are of a very large size; I have seen some, that when sitting on their haunches, were five feet eight inches high, such an animal is too strong for a single dog, and although he might be much wounded, would, without the dog had assistance at hand, certainly kill him. We know that the native dogs of this country hunt and kill the kangaroo; they may be more fierce, but they do not appear to be so strong as our large greyhound; there was one not long ago seen in pursuit of a kangaroo, by a person who was employed in shooting, who mistaking the two animals as they passed him to be of the kind he was looking for, he fired at the hindmost and brought him down, but when he came up it proved to be a native dog. Of those dogs we have had many which were taken when young, but never could cure them of their natural ferocity; although well fed, they would at all times, but particularly in the dark, fly at young pigs, chickens, or any small animal which they might be able to conquer, and immediately kill, and generally eat them. I had one which was a little puppy when caught, but, notwithstanding I took much pains to correct and cure it of its savageness, I found it took every opportunity, which it met with, to snap off the head of a fowl, or worry a pig, and would do it in defiance of correction. They are a very good natured animal when domesticated, but I believe it to be impossible to cure that savageness, which all I have seen seem to possess. The opossum is also very numerous here, but it is not exactly like the American opossum; it partakes a good deal of the kangaroo in the strength of its tail and make of its fore-legs, which are very short in proportion to the hind ones; like that animal, it has the pouch, or false belly, for the safety of its young in time of danger, and its colour is nearly the same, but the fur is thicker and finer. There are several other animals of a smaller size, down as low as the field-rat, which in some part or other partakes of the kangaroo and opossum: we have caught many rats with this pouch for carrying their young when pursued, and the legs, claws, and tail of this rat are exactly like the kangaroo. It would appear, from the great similarity in some part or other of the different quadrupeds which we find here, that there is a promiscuous intercourse between the different sexes of all those different animals. The same observation might be made also on the fishes of the sea, on the fowls of the air, and, I may add, the trees of the forest. It was wonderful to see what a vast variety of fish were caught, which, in some part or other, partake of the shark: it is no uncommon thing to see a skait's head and shoulders to the hind part of a shark, or a shark's head to the body of a large mullet, and sometimes to the flat body of a sting-ray. With respect to the feathered tribe, the parrot prevails; we have shot birds, with the head, neck, and bill of a parrot, and with the same variety of the most beautiful plumage on those parts for which that bird here is distinguished, and a tail and body of a different make and colour, with long, streight, and delicate made feet and legs; which is the very reverse of any bird of the parrot kind. I have also seen a bird, with the legs and feet of a parrot, the head and neck made and coloured like the common sea-gull, and the wings and tail of a hawk. I have likewise seen trees bearing three different kinds of leaves, and frequently have found others, bearing the leaf of the gum-tree, with the gum exuding from it, and covered with bark of a very different kind. There are a great variety of birds in this country; all those of the parrot tribe, such as the macaw, cockatoo, lorey, green parrot, and parroquets of different kinds and sizes, are cloathed with the most beautiful plumage that can be conceived; it would require the pencil of an able limner to give a stranger an idea of them, for it is impossible by words to describe them*. The common crow is found here in considerable numbers, but the sound of their voice and manner of croaking, is very different from those in Europe. There are also vast numbers of hawks, of various sizes and colours. Here are likewise pigeons and quails, with a great variety of smaller birds, but I have not found one with a pleasing note. [* See very accurate representations, drawn from nature, and described by that ingenious and able naturalist, John Latham, Esq; in Phillip's Voyage.] There have been several large birds seen since we arrived in this port; they were supposed, by those who first saw them, to be the ostrich, as they could not fly when pursued, but ran exceedingly fast; so much so, that a very strong and fleet greyhound could not come near them: one was shot, which gave us an opportunity of a more close examination. Some were of opinion that it was the emew, which I think is particularly described by Dr. Goldsmith, from Linneus; others imagined it to be the cassowary, but it far exceeds that bird in size; it was, when standing, seven feet two inches, from its feet to the upper part of its head; the only difference which I could perceive, between this bird and the ostrich, was in its bill, which appeared to me to be narrower at the point, and it has three toes, which I am told is not the case with the ostrich: it has one characteristic, by which it may be known, and which we thought very extraordinary; this is, that two distinct feathers grew out from every quill*. The flesh of this bird, although coarse, was thought by us delicious meat; it had much the appearance, when raw, of neck-beef; a party of five, myself included, dined on a side-bone of it most sumptuously. The pot or spit received every thing which we could catch or kill, and the common crow was relished here as well as the barn-door fowl is in England. [* See an elegant engraving of the Cassowary in Phillip's Voyage.] Of insects there are as great a variety here as of birds; the scorpion, centipede, spider, ant, and many others; the ants are of various sizes, from the smallest known in Europe, to the size of near an inch long; some are black, some white, and others, of the largest sort, reddish; those of this kind are really a formidable little animal; if you tread near the nest, (which is generally under ground, with various little passages or outlets) and have disturbed them, they will sally forth in vast numbers, attack their disturbers with astonishing courage, and even pursue them to a considerable distance; and their bite is attended for a time with a most acute pain. Some build their nests against a tree, to the size of a large bee-hive; another kind raises little mounts on the ground, of clay, to the height of four feet. In speaking of the spider, it would be improper to be silent upon the industry of this little creature; I call them little, although, if compared with our common spider, they are very large; they spread their web in the woods between trees, generally to a distance of twelve or fourteen yards, and weave them so very strong, that it requires considerable force to break them. I have seen the silk of which the web is composed, wound off into a ball, and think it equal to any I ever saw in the same state from the silk worm; it is of the same colour, a pale yellow, or straw colour. None of the gentlemen employed here have as yet made any particular observations upon the manner in which this animal is produced, or how they prepare their silk. I have found upon bushes, on which the web has been hanging in clusters, a thin shell, something like that wherein the silk-worm prepares its silk, but of this shape, [The image is included in the HTML version] and, upon opening them, I have seen a quantity of this silk within, in which a spider was found wrapped up. Of reptiles, there are snakes from the smallest size known in England, to the length of eleven feet, and about as thick as a man's wrist; and many lizards of different kinds and sizes. The natives we have seen accompanied by dogs, which appear to be domesticated the same as ours in Europe; they are of the wolf kind, and of a reddish colour. When speaking of birds, I should have mentioned, that some of our gentlemen have seen in the lagoons and swamps which they have fallen in with, in their shooting excursions, the black swan, which is said to have been found in some parts of the west coast of this country; the extremity of their wings are described to be white, and all the rest of the plumage black. I have seen one which has been shot. It answered the above description as to colour, but the bill was a pale pink or crimson; it was about the size of a common white swan, and was good meat. The vast variety of beautiful plants and flowers, which are to be found in this country, may hereafter afford much entertainment to the curious in the science of botany; but I am wholly unqualified to describe the different sorts with which we find the woods to abound; we sometimes met with a little wild spinach, parsly, and sorrel, but in too small quantities to expect it to be of any advantage to the seamen. The flax plant has been found here in several places, but not in any considerable quantity; I have heard it reckoned a good kind, but in that also I must confess my ignorance. In the infancy of a distant settlement, the want of timber to carry on the necessary buildings, will be allowed to be a very great inconvenience; but we were here in the middle of a wood, in which were trees from the size of a man's arm to twenty-eight feet in circumference; but they were either so very crooked, so rent, or so very rotten in the heart, that we could scarcely get one sound or serviceable in a dozen; and what in our situation was a very great misfortune, we had not as yet found one piece of timber that would float in water. The wood is so exceedingly heavy, that when a large tree was cut down, in order to clear a piece of ground, it would sometimes take a party of men three or four days to dispose of it, or move it from the place. We arrived in this country in the end of January, 1788; the weather was then very fine, though warm; the sea and land breezes pretty regular, and Farenheit's thermometer was from 72° to 80°. In February, the weather was sultry, with lightning, thunder, and heavy rain; this sort of weather continued for a fortnight, with few and very short intervals of fair weather; a flash of lightning fell one night near the camp, and struck a tree near to the post of a centinel, who was much hurt by it; the tree was greatly rent, and there being at the foot of it a pen in which were a sew pigs and sheep, they were all killed. Towards the latter end of the month the weather was more settled, little thunder, lightning, or rain, and the thermometer from 65° to 77°. In the middle of this month, Lieutenant King of the Sirius, a master's mate, and surgeon's mate, with four other men from the ship, together with a few men and women convicts, embarked on board the Supply armed tender, and she sailed with them for Norfolk Island. In the passage thither, they fell in with a small island which had not before been discovered; it lies in latitude 31° 36' south, and about 140 leagues to the eastward of this coast; lieutenant Ball named it Lord Howe's Island. After having landed the party intended to remain on Norfolk Island, with their provisions and stores, Mr. Ball, in his return to Port Jackson, called at Lord Howe's Island, in order to examine it more particularly. He found anchorage on the west side of it, but the bottom was coral rock. He landed, with his boat, within a reef, and caught a number of excellent turtle upon a sandy beach: this island also abounded with a variety of birds, which were so unaccustomed to being disturbed, that the seamen came near enough to knock down as many as they wanted with sticks. In March, the weather was variable, sometimes strong gales from the southward and south-east, with moist and hazy weather; a great sea rolling in upon the coast. This month the marines were ordered to clear ground and begin to build huts and barracks for the winter; the convicts were also directed to employ certain hours in the same necessary work for themselves. The mornings and evenings were now rather cold; the thermometer from 60° to 75°. In the month of April the weather was much the same as in March; rather variable; a few days of cloudy weather with rain, which generally fell in the night, and southerly and south-east winds; but when the wind shifted to the westward or north-west, the weather became fair and pleasant, and this weather was frequently attended with sea and land breezes; the mornings and evenings cold, and the middle of the day (if calm) very hot. Thermometer from 68° to 72°. The beginning of this month much bad weather; strong gales from south to south-east, generally attended with rain in the night; middle of the month fair and settled weather for several days together, with a regular land and sea wind; towards the end of the month the wind prevailed between south-west and south-east, weather unsettled, showers of rain commonly in the night; in the day little wind and warm weather. The thermometer from 56° to 67°. The beginning of June fair and pleasant weather, attended with land and sea breezes; from the middle to the latter end, stormy weather with much rain, wind chiefly from the south-east quarter. The thermometer from 52° to 62°. This month begun as the last ended, with blustering, rainy weather; the middle was less windy, though cloudy and dull, with frequent showers; the end of the month fair weather with westerly winds. The thermometer from 52° to 63°. This month commenced with cloudy weather and much rain, southerly and south-east winds; the middle moderate and fair with variable winds; the latter part was fair weather with light and variable winds. The thermometer from 56° to 72°. From the beginning till about the 20th, the weather was cloudy with frequent showers of rain; but the latter part had strong gales from the south-east quarter. I was furnished with the following months by Lieutenant William Dawes, of the marines. The first and middle parts of this month the weather was moderate and cloudy, and the wind very variable, frequent thunder and lightning with showers of rain; the latter part was clear, fine weather in general, with distant thunder and lightning, and a few violent squalls of wind, which happened generally in the night. The Thermometer from 49° to 81°. In the beginning of this month the weather was generally cloudy and hazy, the wind from the eastward; the middle part also cloudy with frequent light showers of rain, thunder, and lightning, sometimes distant and sometimes very heavy; latter part, cloudy and hazy, with violent thunder, lightning, and rain; wind from north-east to south-east; and the thermometer from 53° to 93°. The first part was cloudy and hazy, with some thunder, attended with light rain; middle, same kind of weather, with frequent and light showers of rain; latter part, moderate weather with a good deal of rain; the wind chiefly from the northward and eastward. The thermometer from 53° to 102°. During the whole of this month, the weather was cloudy and hazy, with light showers of rain, and sometimes distant thunder; the wind chiefly, though from the north-east and south-east, and during the night, westerly, or land winds. The thermometer from 63° to 112°. The thermometer, as marked for these last four months, was in the open air occasionally exposed to the sun and wind. I judged it better, while mentioning the weather during the different months, to go on with that by itself, and not to mix it with any other occurrences: I must, therefore, return back as far as the beginning of March, at which time, as the two French ships already spoken of were preparing to leave this coast, I determined to visit Monsieur de la Perouse before he should depart; I accordingly, with a few other officers, sailed round to Botany-Bay, in the Sirius's long-boat. We staid two days on board the Bussole, and were most hospitably and politely entertained, and very much pressed to pass a longer time with them. When I took my leave the weather proved too stormy to be able to get along the coast in an open boat; I therefore left the long-boat on board the Bussole, took my gun, and, with another officer and two seamen, travelled through the woods and swamps, of which there were many in our route. We directed our course by a pocket compass, which led us within a mile of our own encampment; the distance from Botany-Bay to Port Jackson, across the land, and near the sea shore, is, in a direct line, eight or nine miles; and the country about two miles to the southward of Port Jackson abounds with high trees, and little or no underwood; but between that and Botany-Bay, it is all thick, low woods or shrubberies, barren heaths, and swamps; the land near the sea, although covered in many places with wood, is rocky from the water-side to the very summit of the hills. Whilst walking on shore with the officers of the French ships at Botany-Bay, I was shown by them a little mount upon the north shore, which they had discovered, and thought a curiosity; it was quite rocky on the top, the stones were all standing perpendicularly on their ends, and were in long, but narrow pieces; some of three, four, or five sides, exactly (in miniature) resembling the Giants Causeway in the north of Ireland. The Bussole and Astrolabe sailed from Botany-Bay the 11th of March. As I have mentioned something of the country between Botany-Bay and Port Jackson, I must farther observe, that in the neighbourhood of Sydney Cove, which is that part of this harbour in which Governor Phillip has fixed his residence, there are many spots of tolerably good land, but they are in general of but small extent; exclusive of those particular spots, it is rather a poor steril soil, full of stones; but near, and at the head of the harbour, there is a very considerable extent of tolerable land, and which may be cultivated without waiting for its being cleared of wood; for the trees stand very wide of each other, and have no underwood: in short, the woods on the spot I am speaking of resemble a deer park, as much as if they had been intended for such a purpose; but the soil appears to me to be rather sandy and shallow, and will require much manure to improve it, which is here a very scarce article; however, there are people whose judgment may probably be better than mine, that think it good land; I confess that farming has never made any part of my studies. The grass upon it is about three feet high, very close and thick; probably, farther back there may be very extensive tracts of this kind of country, but we, as yet, had no time to make very distant excursions into the interior parts of this new world. On the 6th of May, three of the transports, which were chartered by the East-India Company to load tea at China, sailed from this port; the Supply also sailed for Lord Howe Island. The carpenter of the Sirius, with his crew, had been constantly employed on shore since our arrival in this country, assisting in erecting store-houses, and other necessary buildings. The ship's company were variously employed out of the ship upon the business of the settlement. The scurvy had, for some time past, appeared more amongst the seamen, marines, and convicts, than when on board the ships, which will appear strange, after having enjoyed the advantage of being much upon the land, and eating various vegetable productions; but this the gentlemen of the faculty say is no uncommon thing, particularly when men are under the necessity of continuing the same salt diet; setting aside this, and a few with dysenteries, the health of the people cannot be said to be bad. About the middle of this month a convalescent, who had been sent from the hospital to gather wild spinach, or other greens, was murdered by the natives; there were two of them together, the one escaped, but was wounded, the other has never been heard of since; but as some part of his cloaths were found which were bloody, and had been pierced by a spear, it was concluded he had been killed. A short time after this accident, a report prevailed, that part of the bones of a man had been found near a fire by which a party of the natives had been regaling themselves; this report gave rise to a conjecture, that as this man had been killed near this place, the people who had committed the murder had certainly ate him. Whether any of the natives of this country are cannibals is yet a matter on which we cannot speak positively; but the murder of two other men, as related immediately after this, seems to contradict the conjecture that they are cannibals, as the men were left on the spot where they were killed: however, the following circumstance may, in some degree, incline us to believe, that although the natives in general do not eat human flesh, yet that that horrid custom is sometimes practised. I was one day present when two native children were interrogated on the subject of the quarrels of their countrymen; they were particularly asked, what the different chiefs did with those they killed; they mentioned some who burnt and buried the slain, but they also particularly named one who ate those he killed. Some short time after the before-mentioned accident happened, two convicts who had been employed at a little distance up the harbour, in cutting rushes for thatching, were found murdered by the natives. It has been strongly suspected that these people had engaged in some dispute or quarrel with them, and as they had hatchets and bill-hooks with them, it is believed they might have been rash enough to use violence with some of the natives, who had, no doubt, been numerous there; be that as it might, the officer who went to look after those unfortunate men, and to see what work they had done, after hailing some time for them without any reply, set his boat's crew upon the search, who, having found a considerable quantity of blood near their tent, suspected what they soon found to be the case: for they discovered the two men immediately after, lying in different places, both dead; the one had his brains beat out with a club or stone, besides several other wounds; the other had many wounds, and part of a spear, which had been broke, sticking quite through his body. Their tent, provisions, and cloaths remained, but most of the tools were taken away. The 4th of June being the birth-day of our much beloved sovereign, and the first we had seen in this most distant part of his dominions, it was celebrated by all ranks with every possible demonstration of loyalty, and concluded with the utmost chearfulness and good order. Having at this time of the year much bad weather, and very heavy gales of wind, I must observe, that I had, as well as many others, believed till now, that the gales had never blown upon the coast in such a direction, but that a ship, on being close in with the land when such a gale commenced, might gain an offing on one tack or the other; but we now found, that those gales are as variable in their direction upon this coast as any other during the winter season: I would, therefore, recommend it to ships bound to any port here to the southward of latitude 30° 00' south, at this time of the year to get in or near the parallel of their port, before they attempt to make the land; as in that case, if a gale from the eastward should take them when near the land, they would have their port under their lee, for it would be next to an impossibility for a ship to keep off the land with such a sea as these gales occasion. In the month of July, our scorbutic patients seemed to be rather worse; the want of a little fresh food for the sick was very much felt, and fish at this time were very scarce: such of the natives as we met seemed to be in a miserable and starving condition from that scarcity. We frequently fell in with families living in the hollow part of the rocks by the sea-side, where they eagerly watched every opportunity of moderate weather to provide shell or other fish for their present subsistence: if a bird was shot, and thrown to them, they would immediately pluck off the feathers, put it upon the fire without taking out the intestines, and eat the whole; sometimes they did not pull off the feathers, and, if it were a small bird, did not even throw the bones away. This season, in which fish is so scarce, subjects these poor creatures to great distress, at least we were apt to believe so; they were frequently found gathering a kind of root in the woods, which they broiled on the fire, then beat it between two stones until it was quite soft; this they chew until they have extracted all the nutritive part, and afterwards throw it away. This root appears to be a species of the orchis, or has much of its nutritive quality. Large fires were frequently seen in this season upon some of the hills, and we had been much at a loss to know for what purpose they were so frequently lighted, at this time of the year; but in going down the harbour one day, with an intention to get upon the North Head, for the purpose of ascertaining its exact latitude, we observed on a hill near that point, one of those large fires, which (with the first lieutenant and surgeon who were with me) we determined to visit; and as we thought it might probably be some funeral ceremony, which we were very desirous of seeing, we took our guns, and intended getting up amongst them unperceived; but when we arrived at the place, to our very great disappointment, not a person was to be seen: I believe there were not less than three or four acres of ground all in a blaze; we then conjectured that these fires were made for the purpose of clearing the ground of the shrubs and underwood, by which means they might with greater ease get at those roots which appear to be a great part of their subsistence during the winter. We had observed that they generally took the advantage of windy weather for making such fires, which would of course occasion their spreading over a greater extent of ground. On the 14th of July four transports, under the command of Lieutenant Shortland, sailed for England; they intended going to the northward, and passing through the streights of Macassar and Sunda, the season being too early either to attempt going round Van Diemen's land, and to endeavour to get to the westward by that tract, or to go to the eastward by Cape Horn. The 12th of August being the birth-day of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, a salute of 21 guns was fired from the Sirius and Supply, and the officers of the settlement and ships dined with the governor, as on His Majesty's birth-day. We began at this time to take equal altitudes for ascertaining the exact rate of the time-keeper. On the 17th, the governor directed two boats from the Sirius, with a proper officer in each, to go up the harbour; one to take the north, the other the south side; they were to enter every cove in their way up, in order to ascertain, as exactly as possible, the number of canoes and natives within the harbour of Port Jackson; for the same purpose, two other boats went down the harbour; in one of which the governor went, and I proceeded in the other; in the lower or north part of the harbour there was a considerable number of canoes, some of which were then employed in catching fish. Upon my going round the coves, they all left their work and pushed with great precipitation for the land, which convinced me that they were women who were thus employed; as they had always shown a desire, as much as possible, to avoid us. I did every thing in my power to prevent their being alarmed, or in any respect uneasy, by keeping at a distance from them, and making every friendly signal I could, but to no purpose; for although there was no other boat in company, they did not seem disposed to trust us near them: there were many men upon the shore, who spoke to us in their usual familiar and chearful manner, and invited us with much apparent earnestness and friendship to come on shore, which, however, I declined, in order to prosecute the business I was engaged in; although I own I thought the counting them from the boat was a very uncertain method of coming at their numbers. It blew fresh, and there was so much surf on shore, that it was impossible to land where the people stood, without the danger of hurting the boat, otherwise it is probable that I, together with Lieutenant George Johnston, of the marines, who was in the boat with me, should have landed: we went as near as possible to the shore, I believe within twenty yards, and whilst in friendly conversation with them, and lying upon our oars, we observed one of them place his lance upon the throwing-stick, but had no idea that he meant to throw it amongst us, after so friendly an invitation as we had received from them to land: but I was now convinced, that they only wanted us within their reach, no doubt from an opinion that we had no fire arms, as they did not appear: as soon as they thought that they could throw it with effect, a lance was discharged, which passed about six feet over our heads; I saw the lance in the air, and immediately snatched up my gun, which, as they run off the moment they had shown their hostile intention, I was determined to discharge amongst them, and should probably have killed one of their number, if my gun had not missed fire. Mr. Johnston, upon my gun having missed, immediately discharged his into the bushes in which they had sheltered themselves from our sight; but as it was charged only with small shot, I think it could not have hurt any of them. What reason they could have had for this treacherous kind of conduct, I am wholly at a loss to guess, for nothing hostile or mischievous had appeared on our part; on the contrary, the most friendly disposition had been manifested in every thing we said or did; even when their women took the alarm upon our approach, I spoke to them, and made such signs of friendship as we judged they would understand, and went round at a distance to prevent their apprehension of any insult. It was perhaps fortunate that my gun did not go off; as I was so displeased at their treachery, that it is highly probable I might have shot one of them. On comparing the accounts, which were taken by the different boats employed upon this business, it appeared that we had seen--Canoes 67--men 94--women 34--children 9,--which is by no means a just account of the numbers who, at that time, lived in and about this harbour; for I have since seen in one part of the harbour more than that number. On the 27th, the Supply tender arrived from Norfolk Island, where she had been with a quantity of provisions and stores for that settlement; she brought the melancholy account of the loss of Mr. James Cunningham, and four others, who were drowned in the surf, by their boat being overset in landing the stores from the Supply; so exceedingly difficult of access is the shore of that island, from an almost continual surf breaking on a reef which encompasses the coast on that part where the settlement is formed. In this month a report prevailed in the settlement, which seemed at first to gain some credit:--It was, that one -Dailey_, a convict, had discovered a piece of ground, wherein he had found a considerable quantity of a yellow coloured ore, which, upon its being tried, appeared to have a certain proportion of gold in it; at this time the governor happened to be absent on a short excursion into the country, to the northward: the report having been made to the lieutenant-governor, he, of course, examined the man, who had made the discovery, and who told his story with so much plausibility, that it was not doubted but an ore of some kind had been sound. Dailey was interrogated as to the place, but this he refused to give any information of until the return of the governor, to whom he would give a full account of the discovery, provided he would grant him what the discoverer considered as but a small compensation for so valuable an acquisition; this reward was, (as there were ships upon the point of sailing) his own and a particular woman convict's enlargement, and a passage in one of the ships to England, together with a specified sum of money, which I do not now recollect. The lieutenant-governor insisted, that as he had already mentioned the discovery he had made, he should also show what part of the country it was in, otherwise he might expect punishment, for daring to impose upon those officers to whom he had related this business: the fear of punishment disposed him to incline a little, though apparently with much reluctance; he proposed to the lieutenant-governor, that an officer should be sent down the harbour with him, for the mine, which, he said, was in the lower part of the harbour, and near the sea shore, and he would show the place to the officer. Accordingly, an officer, with a corporal and two or three private soldiers were sent with him; he landed where he said the walk would be but short, and they entered the wood in their way to the mine; soon after they got among the bushes, he applied for permission to go to one side for a minute upon some necessary occasion, which was granted him; the officer continued there some hours without seeing the discoverer again, who, immediately on getting out of his sight, had pushed off for the camp by land, for he knew the road very well, and he had cunning enough to persuade the officer to send the boat away as soon as they had landed, as he supposed he would not choose to quit the place until a good guard came down; for which purpose, the officer was to have dispatched a man by land, as soon as he arrived at the place, and was satisfied that it merited attention. The convict arrived in camp pretty early in the afternoon, and informed the lieutenant-governor, that he had left the officer who went down with him in full possession of the gold mine; he then got a few things out of his own tent, and disappeared; the party, after waiting for some hours hooping and searching through the woods for the cheat, left their stations and marched round to the camp, where they arrived at dusk, heartily tired, and not a little chagrined at the trick the villain had played them. The want of provisions soon brought him from his concealment, and a severe punishment was the necessary consequence of this imposition: however, he still gave out, that he had made the discovery which he before had mentioned, and that his reasons for quitting the officer who went with him was, that he thought, if he gave the information to the governor himself, he should certainly get what he had asked. When the governor returned, another officer was sent with him, although every person now believed that there was no truth in what he had hitherto reported. This officer informed him, in going down in the boat, that he would not suffer him to go three yards from him when landed, and that he would certainly shoot him if he attempted to run from him; for which purpose he showed him, that he was loading his gun with ball: this so terrified the cheat, that he acknowledged he knew of no gold mine. He was then interrogated respecting the ore which he had produced, and he confessed he had filed down part of a yellow metal buckle, and had mixed with it some gold filed off a guinea, all which had been blended with some earth, and made hard. The man who tried the ore was bred a silversmith, and upon separating the different parts, he discovered that it contained a small quantity of gold: the inventor was, of course, well punished for his trick. [The observations which I made here, both for the latitude and longitude, as well as those that were made by Lieutenant Bradley, were the same as are inserted in the following tables.] [The tablse are included in the HTML version] Chapter IV A VOYAGE TO CAPE OF GOOD HOPE September 1788 to January 1789 The Sirius leaves Port Jackson.--Sails for the Cape of Good Hope, by the Eastern Passage.--Falls in with many large islands of ice.--Casts anchor at Robin's Island.--Tables of the winds, weather, etc.- In the month of September, Governor Phillip signified to me, that it was his intention very soon to dispatch the Sirius to the Cape of Good Hope, in order to purchase such quantity of provisions as she might be capable of taking on board; and that she might be made as light as possible for that purpose, he desired I would land eight or ten of her guns and carriages, with any other articles which I judged the ship could spare, for the time she might be absent, and which might answer the purpose of lightening the ship and the making of room. In consequence of this order, eight guns, with their carriages, and 24 rounds of shot for each gun, 20 half barrels of powder, a spare anchor, and various other articles, were put on shore at Sydney-cove: he also directed that I should leave the ship's long-boat behind for the use of the settlement: this order I confess I with reluctance obeyed, as the want of such a boat has often been very severely felt; at the same time I was desired to endeavour, on my arrival at the Cape, to purchase such a boat for the settlement; and that written directions for that and other purposes would be given me, when I received my final instructions. Whilst upon this subject, I thought it a proper opportunity to represent, that the Sirius was (except in the carpenter's department,) perfectly ready for sea; but the carpenter's crew, together with the carpenter of the ship himself, having all been employed constantly on the business of the settlement, since our arrival in this country, the ship had, in consequence, been much neglected in that department; and as she was soon to go to sea, it was highly necessary that those people should be immediately sent on board to prepare her for a voyage. We had, it is true, (upon my representing the absolute necessity of having the ship's decks and sides caulked,) employed an old man, the carpenter's yeoman, and a convict caulker, upon the weather work of the ship; but that work, we had afterwards reason to know, had not been so well executed as it might have been, had the carpenter of the ship been permitted to stay on board and attend so necessary a duty. On Tuesday the 30th of September, I received my final orders, and on Wednesday the Ist of October, unmoored the ship; the governor and his family dined on board, and the wind being easterly, we got under weigh and worked down to the lower anchorage, where we came to, intending to take advantage of the land wind in the morning to put to sea. The Golden Grove store-ship also came down and anchored below, having on board provisions and other stores, for Norfolk Island; she had also on board a number of men and women convicts for that island; I think twenty men and twelve women, together with six marines and three seamen from the Sirius. In the evening, the governor and the other gentlemen who were with him took their leave, and early in the morning of the 2d, with the wind at south-west, we sailed out of the harbour. As I have not at any time, when speaking of this harbour, given any description of it, or any directions for sailing into it, I will take this opportunity. The entrance of the harbour of Port Jackson has nothing in its appearance, when six leagues from the land, by which it may be known; your latitude will be your most infallible guide to this harbour, or indeed to any other upon this coast. Steer in for the land, which here lies about north by east half east and south by west half west; keep as near as you can in latitude 33° 50' south; the entrance, when you come near, will show itself, by the heads on each side, which are high, steep, perpendicular cliffs, of a light reddish colour; a ship bound in here, may run in without fear between the heads, which are distant from each other one mile and three quarters; there is nothing in the way, and the shore pretty steep to on each side; the sea breaking, which it does even in fine weather, will show any rocks which may lie near under the shore. Steer in between the heads for a high bluff point, which is called Middle Cape or Head, and is steep to, until you open to the southward of you a very extensive arm of the harbour. If the wind be sufficiently large to run up this branch, (which lies by compass south-west by south) on either shore, haul round the east-most point of this arm, which is called the Inner or South Head; it is a low rocky point; give it a birth of two-thirds of a cable, and steer right in for the first sandy cove above it, on the same side, called Camp Cove; keep at a convenient, but small distance from the shore, in three and a half and four fathoms, and observe, that right off this cove, and near mid-channel, lies a patch of rocks, which appear at half-tide; the shoaling toward them is gradual all round, upon a smooth sandy bottom; it is rocky only about half a cable's length from the dry part; you may keep near the upper point of Camp Cove, in six and seven fathoms, and from thence steer directly up the harbour. If you intend to go on the west shore, and to leave this patch of rocks to the eastward of you, steer in as before for Middle Head, and when within a cable's length of it, steer up for the next point above it, on the same side, observing not to make too free with that point, as it is rocky something more than half a cable's length off. In this channel, which is much the best, being rather broader than the eastern channel, you will have four, four and a half, and five fathoms. When you are above this second point, on the west shore, you may take what part of the channel you please, or anchor wherever you wish, there being nothing in the way from shore to shore. The chart will certainly be the best guide in going in. If the wind should be southerly, a stranger would not venture to work up, but he might anchor with safety in the north part of the harbour, which he will perceive by the chart, to which I would refer him, rather than to a written description*. [* For an accurate survey of this harbour, see a Chart of Port Jackson, by Captain Hunter, in Phillip's Voyage, 4to. Edition.] We were no sooner clear of the harbour, than the wind veered more to the southward, and began to blow strong, with thick, hazy, and dirty weather; and, what gave me privately a good deal of concern, the carpenter reported, that the ship, which had hitherto been very tight, now made water. This piece of information, with such a voyage as the Sirius was now entered upon, was no doubt very unwelcome; and more particularly so, when it was considered, that the ship's company, from having been long upon salt diet, without the advantage of any sort of vegetables, were not so healthy and strong as a leaky ship might require. I had often observed, that when this voyage, upon which we were now entered, was the subject of conversation, in company with the governor, he always spoke in favour of the passage round Van Diemen's land, and to the westward; but when I signified a wish that he would direct by what route I should endeavour to perform the voyage, he declined that; and said that I should be governed by circumstances, and that he should leave it to my discretion and judgment; at the same time expressing his opinion strongly in favour of the western route; which I confess I was a little surprised at, as it had never yet been attempted, not even by ships employed in that kind of service which leaves it in their power to make experiments. I do not say that the passage from Van Diemen's land to the Cape of Good Hope, by the westward, is impracticable, as that remains yet to be tried; but from my own experience of the prevalence of strong westerly winds across that vast ocean, I am inclined to think it must be a long and tedious voyage; and at the same time so very uncertain, that the time for which the Sirius was victualled, (for four months, and of some articles not more than two weeks, for the number of men on board; having left a considerable quantity of our provision for the use of the settlement,) and the nature of the service she was going upon, which was no doubt of considerable consequence to the colony, was not an opportunity for trying such an experiment; as the consequence of a disappointment would have been, that I must have returned again to Port Jackson for a fresh supply of provisions, and the season for another passage would have been too far advanced. I therefore determined, judging from the experience of those who had before made the eastern passage, to pass to the southward of New Zealand and round Cape Horn. We stood off to the eastward, determined as early as possible to get an offing of fifty or sixty leagues; the wind continued to the southward, with the same hazy and squally weather, until the 5th, when it shifted to south-south-east; by this time we were about 70 leagues from the coast, which enabled us to tack and stand to the south-west: with this change of wind from the south-west to the south-east quarter, the same squally and unsettled weather continued. The ship upon the larboard tack made much more water than on the starboard, so much as to render it necessary to pump her every two hours, to prevent too long a spell; she made in general from ten to twelve inches in two hours. There was reason to conjecture, from this difference on the opposite tacks, that the leak was somewhere about the starboard bow, and near the surface of the water, and if it proved so, I had a hope that we might, the first moderate weather, with smooth water, be able to come at and stop it. I was the more sanguine in this expectation, as the carpenter, in a few days after, discovered it to be under the after part of the fore-channel, a little below the surface of the water; and seemed to think it proceeded from one of the butt-bolts being corroded by the copper, which I now understood had never been taken off since the ship's being first sheathed, which was now more than eight years. On the 6th, the weather cleared up, and both Mr. Bradley and myself had a few distances of the sun and moon, by which our longitude was 157° 10' east, by the time-keeper 156° 55' east, and by account 156° 17' east; the latitude 34° 49' south; variation per Azimuth 11° 40' east. At noon, the wind got round to east and east by north, with which I steered south-south-east; still favouring our endeavours to get to the southward; it next came to north-east and north, and in latitude 40° 33' south, it came to north-west, but the weather still continued squally and unsettled. As the weather began now to be rather cold, and as in the track I meant to prosecute my voyage by I might expect to have it considerably colder, and consequently the ship's company would require a shift of cloathing, slops were served to all who stood in need of them. On the 9th, we were near as far to the southward as Van Diemen's Land, or South Cape of New Holland; and the wind being apparently settled in the south-west quarter, I steered a course for the south cape of New Zealand. From Port Jackson to Van Diemen's Land we had run parallel to the coast, at the distance of 60 leagues from it, and have not seen any thing; so that we may venture to say, that there are no islands lie off that part of the coast, at the above distance from it. On the afternoon of this day (9th) we had several good setts of distances of the sun and moon, by which our longitude was 157° 26' east, by the time-keeper 157° 19' east, and by account 157° 48' east; the latitude 43° 30' south; the thermometer was now 57°. On the 12th, we passed the south cape of New Zealand, but the weather being very hazy and squally, we did not attempt to make it, but kept a degree and a half to the southward of it; here we met with vast numbers of birds of various kinds, mostly aquatic, such as albatrosses, pentada birds, divers, peterels, and a variety of gulls; some of a kind I had not before seen during the voyage, very large, of a dark brown or mouse colour; and another sort not quite so large, with a white body, dark wings, and the head of a light blue or lead colour: much sea-weed was also seen here in very large patches. We now had the wind fresh from the north-west quarter, with frequent squalls, attended with rain, and the weather cold. We found the variation of the compass 40 leagues south-south-east from the south cape of New Zealand, to be 16° 54' east. Mr. Worgan, the surgeon, having recommended the essence of malt to be served at this time to the ship's company, a certain quantity of wort was made every morning, and a pint served to each man. On the 15th, by an observation of the moon's distance from the star aquila, our longitude was 171° 16' east, the latitude was 50° 45' south, and the variation of the compass 16° 20' east; longitude by the time-keeper 171° 32' east, and by account 172° 10' east. From this time to the 22d, we had light and variable winds, sometimes from the south and south-east, and sometimes from the northward, with moist and hazy weather. On the 22d, the wind inclined from the westward, and the weather became fair; we had this day a set of distances of the sun and moon, which gave our longitude 182° 46' east, the time-keeper 182° 37' east, and the account 184° 10' east; the latitude 51° 03' south; the variation was now 13° 45' east, and the thermometer 48°. For three successive days we had lunar observations, by which it appeared that the reckoning a few days before had been more than a degree and a half to the eastward of the observations and time-keeper; but by our last distances of the sun and moon (26th) the ship was gaining on the account; these differences seem wholly to proceed from the sea, occasioned by the prevailing winds for the time; the easterly variation was decreasing, being now only 11° 00' east, in latitude 52° 42' south, and longitude 196° 11' east. We now very frequently heard the divers in the night, and as often saw them in the day; it is really wonderful how these birds get from or to the land, at such an immense distance from it as from 800 to 1000 leagues: they undoubtedly lay their eggs, and hatch them on shore, and yet we plainly perceived that those we met were of the penguin kind, and could not fly: from the slow progress such a bird can make in the water, it might be supposed that it would take them many years (were instinct to point out the direct and shortest course for them) before they could possibly reach any land, unless there are islands in these seas, and not far from our track, which have not yet been discovered. I endeavoured, in sailing from New Zealand to Cape Horn, to keep as much as possible in a parallel between the tracks of the Resolution and Adventure; so that if any island lay between the parallels in which these ships sailed, we might have a chance of falling in with them. We have bad very variable weather for some days past, with equally variable winds, and a confused jumble of a sea, which the very frequent shifting of the wind occasioned. On the 2d of November, by a lunar observation, we were in longitude 214° 27' east; the time-keeper gave 214° 19' east, and by account 213° 02' east; the latitude 55° 18' south, the variation was here 11° 00' east, and the height of the thermometer was 50°. From the 2d to the 6th, we had the winds from north by west to north-north-east: on the 6th and 7th, we had very good observations for the longitude by the sun and moon; the former gave 223° 57' east, and the latter 227° 58' east; the longitude by account was 226° 20' east, the latitude 56° 12' south: the variation increased again, being in this situation 12° 20' east, thermometer 46°. From the 7th until the 17th, the weather was very variable, and the wind very unsettled, between the south-east and south-west quarters, attended with strong gales and dark hazy weather, with frequent showers of snow and hail; the thermometer was down at 42° in the cabin, where we sometimes had a fire, but in the open air it was at 35°; the showers were commonly accompanied with heavy gusts or squalls of wind. Notwithstanding we were, with these winds from the southward, subject to snow and hail, yet we frequently found that some of the gales which had blown from the northward were attended with a more piercing degree of cold. On the 18th, the weather became more moderate and fair, and the wind shifted to west, with a moderate breeze: we were now in longitude 261° 50' east, and latitude 55° 23' south, and had 14° 43' east variation. On the 19th, we found that the variation had increased, in a run to the eastward of 25 leagues, to 17° 30' east. On the 22d, we had several good distances of the sun and moon, and found our longitude to be at noon 280° 22' east, by the time-keeper 281° 08' east, and by account 283° 09' east; the latitude was 57° 15' south; the variation of the compass increased very fast as we approached Cape Horn, being now 20° 30' east; and on the next day (23d) 22° 30' east; but a table of the variation will be inserted at the end of the chapter, where it will appear at one view. We now very frequently fell in with high islands of ice. On the 24th, we had fresh gales with hazy and cold weather, and met so many ice islands, that we were frequently obliged to alter our course to avoid them. On the 25th, we had strong gales with very heavy and frequent squalls: as we were now drawing near Cape Horn, and in all the charts of Terra del Fuego which I had seen, there is an island laid down, bearing from the Cape about south-south-west, and called Diego Ramirez, distant from the land ten or twelve leagues; and as I do not find that the existence of such an island has ever been contradicted by any person who has sailed round this promontory, I determined to keep as near as possible in its parallel, the wind being from west-north-west to west-south-west, and the weather rather hazy; if I should make it, I could pass either within or without, as might be convenient; and it would be as good a land-fall as the Cape itself, as, in case the wind should incline to the southward, we should have offing enough to clear the land, which, to us who were upon a service that would not admit of any loss of time, was of consequence. At noon on the 26th, we had a good meridian observation, and were exactly in the parallel of Diego Ramirez; and at eight A. M. an opportunity offered, for about an hour, for taking a set of distances of the sun and moon, of which both Mr. Bradley and myself availed ourselves; the result of which was (taking the mean of both observations, which agreed within a few miles) 292° 38' east, at the time of observation; so that we must then have been very near the place in which this island is laid down, for we could rely upon the observations: but as nothing appeared, we hauled in for the land, the looming of which we frequently saw, but the heavy black squalls which were constantly gathering upon it, rendered it too indistinct to be able to determine any particular point. At this time several long strings of wild ducks flew past the ship: in the evening the weather cleared a little in the horizon, and we set the extremes of Terra del Fuego from north by west to west-north-west, distant about 10 leagues. We continued our course north-east, and I think we may safely venture to determine, that there is no island so situated from Cape Horn as this Diego Ramirez is said to be. For several days before we made the land, and every day after we left it, until the 27th, we fell in with a great number of very high ice islands. Here also we met with divers and seals. We had got but a very small distance to the eastward of the cape, when the winds inclined to the northward, and from that to the north-east, and blew a fresh gale. From the 27th of November until the 12th of December, we had the wind constantly in the north-east quarter, which I believe to be rather uncommon near Cape Horn for such a length of time; as ships in general, that are bound into the south sea, find it rather tedious getting to the westward round this cape. The ship's company now began to show much disposition to the scurvy, and what made it more distressing, we had nothing in the ship with which we could hope to check the progress of that destructive disease, except a little essence of malt, that we continued to serve to the ship's company. We had only to hope for a speedy passage to the Cape of Good Hope, where we should, without a doubt, with the good things which were to be had there, be able to re-instate their health perfectly: I was so far from being surprised at this appearance of the scurvy amongst the company of the Sirius, so soon after leaving her port, that it was with me rather a matter of wonder that it had not shown itself sooner; and so it must be with every person who considers how they had lived since we left the Cape outward bound; during that time (about 13 or 14 months) they had not tasted a bit of fresh provisions of any kind, nor had they touched a single blade of vegetables. We began now to be subject to hazy moist weather, with frequent very thick fogs; the latitude 55° 30' south, and longitude 306° 00' east; the weather was very cold, and very high islands of ice were seen in every quarter, some of a prodigious size: for fourteen days after we got to the eastward of Cape Horn, we were beating to the north-east, anxious to get so far to the northward as to feel the influence of the summer sun, by which it was to be hoped and expected our scorbutic patients might be much relieved. In latitude 52° 30' south, and longitude 318° 20' east, the wind inclined to the southward of east, with hazy moist weather, and we steered to the north-east. We found many large whales here; they seemed to go in droves of from five and six to fifteen and twenty together, spouting within a cable's length of the ship, and sometimes so near that it would have been no difficult matter to harpoon them from the fore part of the ship as they passed under the bows. On the 12th of December, Henry Fitz-Gerald, a feaman, departed this life; he was troubled with a disease in his lungs, but the scurvy was his principal malady. On the 13th, in the morning, we passed one of the largest ice-islands we had seen; we judged it not less than three miles in length, and its perpendicular height we supposed to be 350 feet. In latitude 51° 33' south, and longitude 321° 00' east, the wind seemed set in at south-west, and blew a fresh steady gale, frequently attended with showers of snow or hail; the variation of the compass decreased fast, as will appear in the table annexed. On the 16th the wind shifted suddenly to the north-west quarter, and blew a steady gale. On the 19th, it blew very strong from west-north-west, with hazy weather, and frequent showers of rain, which again changed the wind to the south-west quarter, and the weather, as usual upon those changes, became fair and pleasant. We now seemed to have got out from among the ice-islands, with which, from South Georgia to the latitude of 46° south, this ocean seems at this season of the year to be overspread. In latitude 44° 00' south, we saw the last piece of ice, and in the whole, we had been twenty-eight days among the ice, and sailed a distance of 800 leagues. We had run for several days together, at the rate of from 50 to 60 leagues in the 24 hours, in a north-east direction; and had passed through a lane or street, if it may be so called, of ice-islands, the whole of that distance: in general they were from the size of a country church, to the magnitude of one, two and three miles in circumference, and proportionably high. Were it not that at this season of the year we had in such high latitudes very short nights, and scarcely an hour which could be called dark; it would certainly be attended with considerable danger to run in the night, the ice islands were in such vast numbers; indeed, we seldom sailed more than three or four miles, without having several upon each beam. I think the direction, in which those pieces of ice seemed to have been driven, is a strong proof of the prevalence of south-west winds in this part of the ocean. It is highly probable that they had been formed upon the coast of South Georgia and Sandwich Land, and separated from the ground early in the spring, or probably in a gale of wind during the winter. Many of them were half black, apparently with earth from the land to which they had adhered, or else, with mud from the bottom on which they had lain: for it is well known, that ice-islands, after having been driven about at sea for a length of time, become so light and spungy in that part which has been immersed in the water, that the upper part becomes heavier, and thereby they frequently overset, and may, by such a change, show some part of the ground on which they had rested. Others had large and distinct portions of them thoroughly tinged with a beautiful sea-green, or bright verdigrease colour. In latitude 45° 30' south, and longitude 342° 00' east, the variation of the compass, which had decreased very gradually, was only 00° 4' east. We carried on strong westerly winds with us, which amply compensated for the northerly and easterly gales which detained us so long between Cape Horn and South Georgia; and it was exceedingly fortunate for us that we were so favoured by the winds, for the ship's company were falling down very fast with the scurvy; and as I have already observed, we had nothing on board with which we could hope to check its progress, much less to cure it. Nothing certainly can promise so fair to effect so desireable a purpose, as carrying a good stock of various vegetable acids in every ship, but particularly in ships employed upon such services as the Sirius was. The elexir of vitriol, hitherto allowed, and -formerly considered_, not only as a preventive, but as a cure, was found by no means to answer the purpose of the former, far less of the latter. The vegetable acids, which might be provided for the use of ships upon long voyages, I apprehend would be found to occasion a very small additional expence, if any; and I am convinced in the end would be found a considerable saving. Having on the 25th of December arrived upon the meridian of Greenwich, from which we had sailed in an easterly direction, and completed 360° of east longitude, and consequently gained 24 hours, I dropt 360° and repeated, Thursday, 25th December. On the 30th, John Shine, a seaman, died of the scurvy. On the 31st, I had a few sets of distances of the sun and moon, by which our longitude at noon was 17° 16' east; by Mr. Bradley, it was 16° 58' east; the mean of both gave 17° 07' east, and by the time-keeper it was 18° 10' east; and we had not yet made the land; the latitude was 33° 48' south. This was a proof that the time-keeper must have altered its rate since we left Port Jackson; we had then determined it to be losing 4"-77. This change of its rate, since we left Port Jackson, I had some time suspected, and attributed it to the effects of the weather we had off, and near, Cape Horn. This evening we made a short trip off till midnight, when we tacked and stood for the land again: Joseph Caldwell, a seaman, died of the scurvy. At day-light we saw the land; the nearest, or that part which we were a-breast of, was distant about four leagues, and the Table Mountain bore south by east about nine or ten leagues; the wind, for the last twenty-four hours, had been strong from the southward, and we had, occasioned by there being too much of it, fallen to leeward. Nothing could have been more correct than our observations for the longitude. The wind coming from the sea, we stood along shore to the southward, and in the afternoon were a-breast of Robin's Island, but could not fetch round the reef, and into Table Bay. The weakly condition of that part of the ship's company, who were able to do duty upon deck, and the very dejected state of those who were confined to their beds, determined me, if possible, to bring the ship to an anchor before night; as the very idea of being in port, sometimes has an exceeding good effect upon the spirits of people who are reduced low by the scurvy; which was the case with a great many of our ship's company; and indeed, a considerable number were in the last stage of it. After endeavouring in vain to weather the reef off the south end of the island, I bore away, and ran round the north end, and anchored within, right off the flag-staff and landing-place, in nine fathoms water, coarse ground; the flag-staff bearing west, and the south end of the island, just on with the Lyon's Rump. [A Table of the winds and weather, etc. on a passage from the coast of New South Walesto the Cape of Good Hope (by the route of Cape Horn) in His Majesty's ship Sirius, in the months of October, November and December, 1788.] [An Account of Observations for finding the variation of the compass...] [The tables are included in the HTML version] Chapter V A VOYAGE TO CAPE OF GOOD HOPE AND VOYAGE TO PORT JACKSON January 1789 to May 1789 -Depart from Robin's Island, and anchor in Table Bay.--The sick sent on shore.--Arrival of the Alexander transport.--Provisions procured for the settlement at Port Jackson.--Departure of the Sirius.--In great danger from a violent tempest.--Arrives safe at Port Jackson.--Tables of the winds, weather, variation of the compass, etc.- As soon as the ship was anchored, we sent a boat with the first lieutenant on shore to the island, for such news from Europe as the commanding officer there might be able to give; I wished also to know if Governor Van de Graaff was still at the Cape, and if Colonel Gordon was still commander in chief of the troops in garrison there. The officer commanding at the island was exceedingly civil to the lieutenant who went on shore, and gave him every information he could; but it was unfortunate that the one could not speak a word of English, nor the other understand a word of Dutch: however, it was observed, that he wore a large orange cockade in his hat, and although he could not converse, he made the officer sufficiently understand, by broken expressions of half English and half Dutch, that the English and Dutch were very good friends again, and that the French had no connection at all with Holland: from all which I conjectured, that some considerable changes had taken place in the affairs of the republic, since our departure from England, and that the Stadtholder had been reinstated in all his rights. On hearing what a long voyage we had come, the officer was so kind as to send a basket of such fruit as his garden afforded; which, (to make the dejected sick well assured we were really in port,) were sent down and divided among them, for until then some of them very much doubted. In the morning of the 2d of January, with a fine breeze from the northward, we got under way, and sailed up to Table Bay. I had generally understood, that the depth of water between this island and the anchorage in Table Bay, was so very considerable as to be unsafe for anchorage, in case of being becalmed, or otherwise not able to reach the proper anchoring ground. I was the more inclined to believe that to be the case, from never having seen the soundings laid down in any chart of this bay, except where ships commonly anchor: I therefore, to ascertain whether that were the case or not, determined to go up under an easy sail, and to keep the lead going; the soundings were regular, and the deepest water was 15 fathoms; the ground was hard and probably not very clear, but still there is anchorage, which I did not before know. At ten o'clock in the morning, we anchored in Table Bay, in seven and a half fathoms, and moored a cable each way. As soon as the ship was secured, I sent an officer to wait on the governor, and to inform him of the business I was come upon: he very politely informed the officer, that there was great abundance of every thing to be had, and that I had nothing to do but to signify in writing the quantity of each article wanted, and directions would be immediately given respecting it. His excellency also took that opportunity of sending me information, that he should in a few days, send a ship for Amsterdam; and, that if I had any dispatches to forward, and would send them to his house, he would answer for their being delivered into the custody of the British ambassador, at the Hague, as far as the safety of the ship could be depended on. The governor also confirmed the political accounts we had (though imperfectly,) received at the island: he sent me the treaty of alliance formed between the Kings of Great-Britain and Prussia, and also that between the States-General and these two sovereigns, which was a very pleasing piece of intelligence. Every person here, either military or civil, wore a mark of their attachment to the Orange party and the old constitution; the former by an orange cockade, the latter, by a bit of ribbon of that colour, either at the breast, button-hole, or sleeve. Immediately after our arrival, I directed that sick-quarters should be provided for the sick, which was done; and the invalids, to the number of forty, were landed under the care of Mr. Worgan, the surgeon of the ship. Their expeditious recovery was of much consequence to the service upon which I was at that time employed; and it was also of consequence to that service, that they should be perfectly recovered before they were taken on board again; as we had yet a very long voyage to perform before we could arrive at any port, after leaving the Cape. When we arrived in this bay, we had just twelve men in each watch, and half that number, from scorbutic contractions in their limbs, were not able to go aloft. Every person here, with whom any of the officers fell in company, spoke of our voyage from the east coast of New Holland, by Cape Horn, to the Cape of Good Hope, with great surprise, not having touched at any port in our way, and having sailed that distance in ninety-one days. I was now very anxious to get some account of the transports, which, under the command of Lieutenant Shortland, the agent, had left Port Jackson on the 14th of July, 1788, and which I was sorry to understand had not been in this bay: for I thought it highly probable, that as their route was to the northward, by the Molucca Islands and Batavia, they would certainly touch here in their way home. It being now seven months since they sailed, I was apprehensive for their safety; particularly when I considered the very weakly condition of some of their crews, by the scurvy, when they left us, and not a surgeon in any one of the ships. This must be allowed to be very improper oeconomy in the owners of those ships, when the extent of the voyage they had undertaken is considered, together with the well known impossibility of their being able to procure seamen, or any recruit of strength to their ships companies, in that inhospitable and far distant part of the world. I cannot help here taking the liberty of saying, that it is much to be lamented, when ships are hired for the service of government, to perform such long and trying voyages to the health of those employed in them, that it is not made a part of the contract and practice, that they carry a surgeon; for I know well, that seamen, when taken ill upon such long passages, are, at the very idea of being without the assistance of a surgeon, (although careless and void of thought at other times, when in perfect health,) apt to give way to melancholy, and a total dejection of spirits; and that many a valuable subject has been lost to the country by such a trifling saving. Out of the nine transports which were employed on this service, one only had a surgeon; and that one, had she not been bound upon some other service, after leaving Port Jackson, would in all probability have been without one also. On the 5th, a Dutch India ship arrived here from Rio de Janeiro: by this ship I received information of the arrival at that place of two vessels from the east coast of New Holland; that they arrived singly, and in very great distress, from sickness, and the death of many of their people; that the first which arrived, had her name on her stern, (-Prince of Wales, of London_;) from which circumstance, there could be no doubt of its being one of our transports: the other vessel was also so well described, that I knew it to be the Borrowdale store-ship. The officers of this India ship observed farther, that they were so weak, that had they not been boarded by boats without the harbour, they had been unable to bring their vessels into safety. These ships, I apprehended, had parted company with Lieutenant Shortland, soon after sailing from Port Jackson, and had then determined to go to the eastward by Cape Horn; but they were wrong in my opinion, (and I judge from my own experience,) after passing Cape Horn, in preferring a port at Rio de Janeiro to the Cape of Good Hope, which last place, I have no doubt, they would have reached in less time, and with considerable less fatigue to their sickly crews; beside the advantage of being able to procure more seamen, if they were in want; which I apprehend they will find much difficulty in obtaining at Rio de Janeiro. As westerly winds are prevalent between Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, if it should so happen that these winds blow more from the north-west than the south-west quarters, their progress to the northward would be but slow along the coast of South America; but from both these quarters it is fair, if bound over to the coast of Africa: and farther, with respect to a passage to Europe, they would have been more conveniently situated at the Cape of Good Hope, than at Rio de Janeiro, for making that passage with expedition; for at Rio you are within the limits of the south-east trade, and upon that coast are consequently to leeward; so that you may be obliged to stretch as far from thence to the southward as the latitude of 30° 00' south, and sometimes 32° 00' along that coast, before you can tack and stand to the north-east, in order to be able to cross the equator far enough to the eastward, to ensure a tolerable passage across the north-east trade; but at the Cape, you are far to windward, and steer to the northward with a large wind. On the 19th, a small Dutch frigate arrived here from Batavia; from which I learned, that Lieutenant Shortland had arrived at that port with a single ship, about the beginning of December, in a very distressed condition; that he had buried the greatest part of the ship's company, and was assisted by the officers and company of the above frigate to secure his vessel and hand the sails, which he could not have done without assistance; and that he had been reduced to the necessity, some time before he arrived, to sink the other vessel which was in company with him, for the purpose of manning one out of the remaining part of the two ships companies; without which, he never could have reached Batavia with either: for when he arrived there, he had only four men out of the two crews, who were capable of standing on the deck. I was now particularly anxious for the arrival of Mr. Shortland at the Cape, that I might have something more authentic than these reports to give Governor Phillip, on my return to Port Jackson. By altitudes taken for the time-keeper, since we had been here, we found its error to be 1° 31' easterly, and Brockbank's watch erred 3° 01' easterly also; from which I conjecture, that the very cold weather which we experienced some time before we reached, and for a considerable time after we passed, Cape Horn, had affected the watch's going: when we made Terra del Fuego, it appeared to be about 1° 00' to the eastward. I made a present of a dog from New South Wales, to a gentleman who came on board, and thought it a curiosity: it was taken by many who visited the Sirius for a jackall, as it was much of that make and colour. On the 18th of February, to my no small satisfaction, (for I was preparing to sail the next day,) Mr. Shortland arrived in the Alexander transport. I was going off from the shore, when I discovered the ship coming round Green Point; I rowed directly on board, and his people were so happy to see their old friends in Table-Bay, that they cheered us as we came alongside. I now received from Mr. Shortland an exact confirmation of all the intelligence which I had received concerning him from the officers of the Dutch frigate. The two ships which I had collected some accounts of from Rio de Janeiro, he told me, had parted company with him two days after he left Port Jackson; and that he was nineteen weeks and four days on his passage to Batavia. On the 20th of February, I sailed from Table-Bay, after having taken on board twelve months provisions for the ship's company; and, in addition, about six months flour for the whole settlement; together with various stores for the colony, and many private articles for the different officers, etc. etc. in short, the ship's hold, between decks, every officer's apartment, and all the store-rooms were completely filled. During the time we lay in Table-Bay, I received many civilities, indeed many marks of the most polite and friendly attention from Governor Van de Graaf, Colonel Gordon, and many other officers of this settlement. Before we embarked any of the provisions, we heeled the ship, to endeavour to stop the leak, which had kept the pumps so much employed during the voyage, and which I mentioned before, I was in hopes of being able, in fine weather, to get at, and stop at sea; but, after several attempts, we found it impracticable: we were now so fortunate as to get at it; it proceeded from an iron bolt, which had been corroded by the copper, and by the working of the ship had dropt out, and left a hole of more than an inch in diameter. A wooden plug was put in, and covered again with copper. But beside this leak, there were many other smaller holes, which were occasioned by the decay of long spikenails with which the skirting-board (which secures the upper edge of the copper) had been fastened on, and had gone quite through the main plank of the ship's bottom. All were closed, as far as we examined, and the ship for the present made less water, but was not so tight as formerly; it was therefore my intention, upon my arrival at Port Jackson, to represent to Governor Phillip the necessity there was to lighten and examine the ship some distance below the wales; that such defects as we might find might be remedied while they were trifling. The time-keeper, which I have already mentioned to have had upon our arrival here an error of 1° 31', seemed, during the time we lay in Table-Bay, to have gradually recovered its original rate, (viz. 4"-77,) it was now losing 4"-78; this served to convince me of the justice of my conjecture, that it had been considerably affected by the very cold weather we had near Cape Horn. After we left the Cape of Good Hope, we had, for three weeks, strong gales from the southward, with squally disagreeable weather, which sometimes reduced our sails as low as courses; we did not meet with westerly winds quite so soon as I expected, or as we had done the last time we made this passage. In latitude 38° 30' and in the meridian of the Cape, we had, for two days, a current to the northward of 44 miles each day; and in latitude 40°, and longitude 22° east, we were, in two days, set 68 miles to the southward, and by the watch, 60 miles to the eastward, more than the log gave. In latitude 41° 50' south, and longitude 28° 09' east, the wind shifted from the southward to the north-north-east, and blew a very strong gale for two days; it then settled in the north-west quarter. At that time, being in latitude 43° 00' south, and longitude 37° 30' east, we found the variation of the compass had encreased as high as 32° 20' west, before we had reached as much east longitude as we found that variation in last passage; but we were now in a higher latitude, as will appear by the variation table which is annexed at the end of this chapter. On the 20th of March, having sprung the trussle trees of the main-top-mast, we struck and unrigged them, and fitted new ones. On the 22d, we had a very heavy gale of wind from north-north-east and north, with a prodigious high broken sea; our course (east-south-east) being at right angles to the wind, we kept the ship in the trough of the sea, which occasioned our shipping several heavy seas, and made me very apprehensive for the safety of the boats and booms; I was therefore under the necessity of laying the ship to, under a balanced mizzen, for about four hours; when the wind shifting suddenly to north-west, enabled me to bear away and set the reefed fore-sail. It continued to blow very hard all night, and we shipt much water, but the ship having a flush deck, no weight could lay on it, the only danger was that of filling the boats; to prevent which, I, after this gale, had them turned bottom up; the ship now made about as much water as she did on the former passage. The wind continued in the north-west quarter, and blew strong until the 8th of April, when it inclined a little to the eastward of north for two or three days, but it had not so much easting in it as to be unfavourable for our course. On the 16th, we were in latitude 44° 45' south, and in longitude 135° 30' east; and at night we perceived the sea spread over with luminous spots, resembling lanthorns floating on its surface; when nearly about the same longitude on the last voyage we discovered the same appearance upon the sea: this observation may have its use, and serve as a hint for your being at no great distance from Van Diemen's Land. On the 20th, we had a strong gale from west-north-west to north-north-west, which suddenly moderated in the night, and veered round to the westward, with a light air at south-west by south, by which we were encouraged to make all the sail possible; but we had no sooner got every thing set, than the wind veered round to the southward, and began to blow; in a few hours it increased to a very violent gale of wind. We were now in latitude 44° 29' south, by account, and longitude 144° 30' east, being so near Van Diemen's Land, and so well to the southward as I supposed we were, I had no doubt of being able to cross it, and, availing myself of this southerly wind, to run along the coast to the northward, and reach Port Jackson in a few days; but as we drew near the meridian of the south cape, the gale increased to a mere tempest, attended with thick hazy weather, and a most astonishing high sea; this brought us under a reefed fore-sail, balanced mizzen, and the three storm stay-sails. At day-light on the morning of the 21st, the fore, main, and mizzen stay-sails were all split by the violence of the wind; by this accident we were reduced to the reefed fore-sail and balanced mizzen; and for some time we were under the necessity of handing the fore-sail, the gale still continuing to increase rather than abate; and inclining to the eastward of south, was in our situation at this time particularly unfortunate: for we were now so far advanced to the eastward as to hope that in a few hours we should have been able to have made a fair wind of it, if it had continued to the southward. I still flattered myself, that we were so far to the southward, as not to have a doubt of passing some distance to the southward of Rock Swilley, and consequently at a sufficient distance from the south cape, which is the southern point or extremity of this promontory; for this rock, or ledge of rocks, is not less than fifteen miles from the south cape, and we were now about its meridian, both by the longitude carried on from the last lunar observations, which were taken five days before, and by our time-keeper, from which our situation had been determined since these observations, as long as the sun was to be seen in any part of the day: it now blew a most violent gale of wind, with thick hazy weather. It may not be improper here to observe, that three days had now elapsed without a sight of the sun during the day, or a star during the night, from which we could _exactly_ determine our latitude; but as every allowance had been made for the drifting of the ship to leeward, under a very low sail, and an exceeding heavy sea, and for every other disadvantage attending such a situation; there remained not a doubt with me, or any officer on board, but that we were near half a degree to the southward of the south cape, and as the distance from west to east, across this promontory, is not more than a degree and a half of longitude, or about twenty or twenty-two leagues in distance, (that is, from the south-west cape to Tasman's Head) we had every reason to think we were near round it; but at half past three in the afternoon it cleared a little in the horizon, and we saw the land bearing east; the haze was such that we could not well guess the distance, but it was very near; on this we wore the ship immediately, and stood to the westward. The wind had now got to south-south-east, but continued to blow with great violence, the ship upon this tack lying up south-west, we set the reefed main-sail, and at half past six we saw the land again, through the haze close under our lee bow, and the sea breaking with prodigious force upon it it, was impossible to weather it; therefore we wore the ship immediately, while there was a chance of having room for doing so. I now found that we were embayed, and the gale not in the least likely to abate, and the sea running mountain high, with very thick weather, a long dark night just coming on, and an unknown coast I may call it, (for although it has been seen by several navigators, it is not yet known) close under our lee; nothing was now left to be done but to carry every yard of canvass the ship was capable of bearing, and for every person on board to constantly keep the deck, and attentively to look out under the lee for the land, and as often as it might be discovered, to wear, and lay the ship's head the other way: but as we knew not what bay, or part of the coast we were upon, nor what dangerous ledges of rocks might be detached some distance from the shore; and in our way, we had every moment reason to fear that the next might, by the ship striking, launch the whole of us into eternity. Our situation was such that not a man could have escaped to have told where the rest suffered: however, whatever might have been the private feelings of each individual, I never saw orders executed with more alacrity in any situation; every officer and man took his station for the look-out; and, the ship being wore to the eastward, notwithstanding the strength of the gale, the close reefed fore and main top-sails were set over the reefed courses. Fortunately at this instant the wind favoured us near two points, and the ship lay better up upon this tack, than her course upon the other had promised, but still the weather was so thick, the sea so high, the gale so strong, and so dead upon the shore, that little hope could be entertained of our weathering the land. We stood on to the eastward, and the ship, to my astonishment, as well as to that of every person on board, bore such a press of sail wonderfully. We had, about midnight, run back the distance made from the first land we saw to the second, and perceived, through the haze, the looming of that land under our lee, nearly on the beam; this advantage we had gained by the shifting of the wind two points. We now stood on, and I had hopes that this might be the most projecting land; but at two in the afternoon, as I was looking from the quarter deck very anxiously to leeward, I observed the looming of a high and very steep point of rocky land, and the sea foaming with frightful violence against it. I made no mention of it; but just at that instant it was discovered by the sailors stationed forward, and they called out, "Land, close under our lee;" I replied it was very well, I had seen it some time, and that as it was now upon our beam (which it really was, for I discovered it through the main shrouds) there could be no danger from it, we should soon pass it: if this land had been seen a little sooner, the fear of not being able to weather it might have occasioned our wearing, which would have been unfortunate, as the weather just cleared up at a time when we could see that no danger was to be apprehended from it. The ship was at this time half buried in the sea by the press of sail, since she was going through it (for she could not be said to be going over it) at the rate of four knots. We soon shot past this head, and from the course we had made, I was convinced it was Tasman's Head, which is the eastern point of a bay, of which the south cape is the western, and was called by Tasman, _Storm-Bay_. The first land we had seen was within the bay, on the east shore, not so far out as Tasman's Head; and the western land, under which we wore at half past six, was the south cape. After passing Tasman's Head, we kept our wind still, and carried sail, in order, if possible, to weather Maria's Islands, which lay about six leagues to the north-east, for we had no sooner got round the last head, than the wind headed us, and we fell off from east by south to east by north; had this change taken place a little sooner, it must have proved fatal to us. At eight the next morning, we passed to the windward of Maria's Islands, which, from the haziness of the weather, we did not see until they were upon the lee quarter. If I had found it impossible to have got round those islands, it was my intention to have stood back to the westward, and have got sight of the land, between Tasman's Head and Adventure-Bay; to have run along the coast, close in, until I found the opening of that road, and there to have depended upon our anchors. In this trying situation, the ship being leaky, our pumps during such a night were a distressing tax upon us; as they were kept constantly at work. I do not recollect to have heard of a more wonderful escape. Every thing which depended upon us, I believe, was done; but it would be the highest presumption and ingratitude to Divine Providence, were we to attribute our preservation wholly to our best endeavours: his interference in our favour was so very conspicuously manifested in various instances, in the course of that night, as I believe not to leave a shadow of doubt, even in the minds of the most profligate on board, of his immediate assistance! After having weathered Maria's Islands, we continued to stand on with a press of sail to the eastward, for I was anxious to gain an offing from the coast, the ship being exceedingly disabled. All the rails of the head, round houses, and figure of the head, were washed entirely away; and the rails to which the bumkins were secured were so much weakened as to require to be frapped down to the knee of the head; the jibboom, the sprit-sail-yard, and the fore-top-gallant mast were necessarily kept down upon deck to ease the bow-sprit, in case any of its securities should be in danger from the shattered condition of the cutwater. We were no sooner to the eastward of Maria's Islands, than the wind shifted round to south-east and east-south-east, which brought us again upon a lee shore, for we could not weather Maria's Islands upon one tack, nor Shooten's Isles and Bay of Shoals upon the other; however, as it did not now blow so hard, and the land was near 20 leagues distant, I was not under any apprehensions from it. On the 26th, the wind set in from the northward, and blew fresh, frequently attended with the most violent squalls; it continued northerly until the 2d of May, when it inclined to the southward, and from that to the eastward: I had on this day several distances of the sun and moon, the result of which was 155° 25' east longitude, which was little more than one degree to the eastward of the time-keeper. On the 6th, in the morning, we made the land in latitude 33° 30' south; and at noon Cape Three Points bore west by south, distant off shore four leagues. Here, upon a rough examination of the error of the time-keeper, it appeared to be a degree or little more to the westward of the Truth, but we expected, upon our arrival at Port Jackson, to examine its error more particularly. On recurring back to the last altitudes taken for the time-keeper before our making Van Diemen's Land, and carrying it on by the log, we found that the error on making that land was but a very few miles of longitude, and that error most probably was in the carrying on the log; so that there was every reason to think, that the violent agitation of the ship during that time, was the cause of that change in the watch, and which I own I was not at all surprised at, but think it highly probable, as the watch lay in a box upon soft cushions, and that box screwed down to a place securely and firmly fixed for that purpose: I cannot help thinking but that so very valuable a piece of watch-work (for I do really think, from the experience I have had of it, that a superior piece of work was never made) would be better fixed upon a small horizontal table, made on purpose, and well secured; and under the box which contains the watch, a kind of spiral spring or worm, which, with every jerk or pitch of the ship, would yield a little with the weight of the watch, and thereby take off much of that shock which must in some degree affect its going. The winds now (rather unfortunately for us), after 24 hours calm, inclined again to the southward, and we kept plying to windward with all the sail we could carry. Right off Cape Three Points, at six leagues distance from the shore, we sounded in 75 fathoms, over a bottom of fine grey sand. On the 8th, a light air from the northward in the night, carried us by day-light in sight of the entrance of Port Jackson; and in the evening of the 9th, we entered between the heads of the harbour, and worked up to Sydney Cove, where we anchored before dark, after an absence of 219 days, 51 of which we lay in Table-Bay, Cape of Good Hope: so that, although during this voyage we had fairly gone round the world, we had only been 168 days in describing that circle; and, by taking a mean of the highest and lowest latitudes we sailed in, we shall find our track nearly in latitude 45° south. We found in the cove the Supply armed tender. Our passage, since we came round Van Diemen's Land, had been attended with much bad weather, very violent squalls, and a thick haze; particularly with the wind from the eastward: I had before observed, that in the winter-time, upon this coast, we were subject to much bad weather; and this passage convinced me of the necessity, when ships are intended to be sent to this settlement, that the season should be considered and attended to. During the summer months we were sometimes subject to thunder, lightning, and strong squalls; but in general the weather is fine. If in the fairest weather you observe it to lighten in the lee part of the horizon, you should prepare for a squall from that quarter, which is in general pretty severe. In passing (at a distance from the coast) between the islands of Schooten and Furneaux, and Point Hicks; the former being the northermost of Captain Furneaux's observations here, and the latter the southermost part, which Captain Cook saw when he sailed along the coast, there has been no land seen, and from our having felt an easterly set of current, when the wind was from that quarter (north-west) we had an uncommon large sea, there is reason thence to believe, that there is in that space either a very deep gulf, or a straight, which may separate Van Diemen's Land from New Holland: there have _no_ discoveries been made on the western side of this land in the parallel I allude to, between 39° 00' and 42° 00' south, the land there having never been seen. [A Table of the winds and weather etc. on a passage from the Cape of Good Hope to Port Jackson in His Majesty's ship Sirius, 1789.] [An Account of Observations for finding the variation of the compass...] [The tables are included in the HTML version] Chapter VI TRANSACTIONS AT PORT JACKSON May 1789 to January 1790 -The small-pox makes its appearance among the natives.--Its fatal effects.--A criminal court held.--Six marines tried and convicted.--Governor Phillip visits Broken-bay.--Explores its various inlets.--Returns to Port Jackson. Broken-bay surveyed.--Botany-bay surveyed.--Two natives brought to the settlement, and kindly treated.--One of them makes his escape.- As soon as the ship was secured, I went on shore to wait on the governor, whom I found in good health; he was sitting by the fire, drinking tea with a few friends; among whom I observed a native man of this country, who was decently cloathed, and seemed to be as much at his ease at the tea-table as any person there; he managed his cup and saucer as well, as though he had been long accustomed to such entertainment. This man was taken from his friends, by force, by Lieutenant Ball, of the Supply, and Lieutenant George Johnston, of the marines, who were sent down the harbour with two boats for that purpose; the governor having found that no encouragement he could give the natives, would dispose them to visit the settlement of their own accord: this method he had therefore determined upon, to get one man into his possession, who, by kind treatment, might hereafter be the means of disposing his countrymen to place more confidence in us. This man, whose name was _Ara-ba-noo_, was taken, as I have already said, by force, and in the following manner. After having been a short time in conversation with some of the gentlemen, one of the seamen, who had been previously directed, threw a rope round his neck, and dragged him in a moment down to the boat; his cries brought a number of his friends into the skirts of the wood, from whence they threw many lances, but without effect. The terror this poor wretch suffered, can better be conceived than expressed; he believed he was to be immediately murdered; but, upon the officers coming into the boat, they removed the rope from his neck to his leg, and treated him with so much kindness, that he became a little more chearful. He was for some time after his arrival at the governor's house, ornamented with an iron shackle about his leg, to prevent his being able to effect his escape with ease; this he was taught to consider as _bang-ally_, which is the name given in their language to every decoration; and he might well believe it a compliment paid to him, because it was no uncommon thing for him to see several (of the most worthless of the convicts, who had merited punishment) every day shackled like him; the cause of which he could not of course understand. However, he was very soon reconciled to his situation, by the very kind treatment he received from every person about him, and the iron growing uneasy, it was taken off, and he was allowed to go where he pleased. He very soon learnt the names of the different gentlemen who took notice of him, and when I was made acquainted with him, he learnt mine, which he never forgot, but expressed great desire to come on board my _nowee_; which is their expression for a boat or other vessel upon the water. The day after I came in, the governor and his family did me the honour to dine on board, when I was also favoured with the company of _Ara-ba-noo_, whom I found to be a very good natured talkative fellow; he was about thirty years of age, and tolerably well looked. I expressed, when at the governor's, much surprize, at not having seen a single native on the shore, or a canoe as we came up in the ship; the reason of which I could not comprehend, until I was informed that the small-pox had made its appearance, a few months ago, amongst these unfortunate creatures, and that it was truly shocking to go round the coves of this harbour, which were formerly so much frequented by the natives; where, in the caves of the rocks, which used to shelter whole families in bad weather, were now to be seen men, women, and children, lying dead. As we had never yet seen any of these people who have been in the smallest degree marked with the small-pox, we had reason to suppose they have never before now been affected by it, and consequently are strangers to any method of treating it: and, if we consider the various attitudes, which the different dead bodies have been found in, we may easily believe, that when any of them are taken ill, and the malady assumes the appearance of the small-pox, (having already experienced its fatality to whole families,) they are immediately deserted by their friends, and left to perish, in their helpless situation, for want of sustenance. Some have been found sitting on their haunches, with their heads reclined between their knees; others were leaning against a rock, with their head resting upon it: I have seen myself, a woman sitting on the ground, with her knees drawn up to her shoulders, and her face resting on the sand between her feet. Two children, a boy of six or seven years of age, and a girl about ten, were lately picked up, labouring under the same disease; two old men, whom we had reason to believe were the fathers of the two children, were picked up at the same time, and brought to the hospital, and much care taken of them: the two men lived but a few days, but the children both recovered, and seemed well satisfied with their _very comfortable situation_. Through the means of these children, if they should retain their native language, a more intimate and friendly intercourse with the people of this country may in time be brought about. Five or six days after my arrival, poor Ara-ba-noo was seized with the small-pox, and although every possible means for his recovery were used, he lived only till the crisis of the disease. Every person in the settlement was much concerned for the loss of this man. I was exceedingly concerned on hearing of the death of Captain Shea, of the marines, which happened while we were absent; his disorder was a general decay, which I think must have taken place very suddenly, for he was apparently strong and healthy when the Sirius sailed from Port Jackson. Several people had been lost in the woods during our absence, and had either been killed by the natives, or perished there. Another melancholy piece of information which we received on our arrival, was, that six marines had been tried by a criminal court, and found guilty of robbing the public stores: they were sentenced to death, and executed accordingly. It appeared upon the trial of these infatuated men, that they had carried on this iniquitous, (and I may add from our situation) dangerous practice to the settlement at large, for several months; and all originally occasioned by some unfortunate connections they had made with women convicts. The settlement had been, during our absence, remarkably healthy. Before the Sirius sailed from Port Jackson, the governor had determined to send a detachment of the marines, with a considerable number of convicts, for the purpose of clearing as much as might be necessary, and preparing a tract of land at the head of this harbour, (which place I have already mentioned) in order to sow corn. When we returned from our voyage, I went up to see what progress was made at this farm, which had been named Rose Hill: it certainly very much exceeded my expectations; the quantity of ground prepared for receiving grain at the proper time, was considerable; a number of huts were built, the gardens were in tolerable appearance, and there was altogether every prospect, in due time, of a very extensive farm; and we knew that if there were people enough to labour, it might be carried at least twenty miles to the westward, and every foot of the ground apparently as good as that on which they were now at work; but we found here, that although the land was tolerable, there would be great, and I think an insurmountable difficulty, in attempting an extensive farm, chiefly for want of water. At Rose Hill, there is in dry seasons but very little water, and that by no means good; but farther back to the westward, you can but now and then meet with as much as will quench the thirst of a traveller: you may walk many miles, particularly in hot dry summer weather, without meeting with as much as you may want for drinking; this scarcity, though I do not pretend to any knowledge in farming, I cannot help thinking, were water wanted only for the use of a family, a vast difficulty, and an inconvenience not to be got the better of, unless it were possible to get water by sinking wells at every half mile distance. There have been several attempts made by the gentlemen here, who had little farms in the neighbourhood of Sydney Cove, to raise grain of different kinds, for the purpose of feeding a few pigs, goats, or poultry; but although their endeavours seemed for a time to promise an ample reward, for the corn shot up very quickly, yet it no sooner formed into ear, than the rats (with which, as well as other vermin, this country is over-run) destroyed the whole of their prospect: the Indian corn, which was remarkably promising, was destroyed in a night; but I am sorry to say, that such of the corn as had escaped the vermin, notwithstanding its very promising appearance in the beginning, turned out the most miserable empty straws I ever beheld; the greatest part was mere straw of about two or two feet and an half high, and the whole produce of a patch of an acre, when cut down, could be carried in one hand. Having, since our arrival, examined the error of the time-keeper, we found it amount to 5' 20", or 1° 20' of longitude westerly, which made the error, in sailing the whole circle, only 00° 11' of longitude easterly; and as I had kept Brockbank's watch going the whole time, I examined its error also: I have already mentioned that it was, upon our arrival in Table-Bay, 3° 01' eastward; but upon our return to this place, it was correct to the fraction of a second; so that whatever its errors might have been during the voyage, it had none upon our arrival. I did not keep the account of longitude by it, but every day, when the sun could be seen, I determined our place by the time-keeper; in doing which, I generally compared my own watch with it, both before and after the altitudes were taken, and carried it upon deck, the time-piece being fixed in the cabin. On the 6th of June, I was engaged in a party, with the governor, on a visit to Broken-Bay, in order to examine some part of that harbour which had not been (for want of time and opportunity) noticed in his last visit to that place; two boats were dispatched under the care of Mr. Keltie, master of the Sirius, with provisions, etc. And the party, which consisted of the governor, Captain Collins (the judge-advocate), Captain Johnston, of the marines, Mr. White, principal surgeon of the settlement, Mr. Worgan, Mr. Fowell, and myself, from the Sirius, and two men, all armed with musquets, etc. We landed on the north part of Port Jackson, and proceeded along the sea coast to the northward; in the course of our march, we had many long sandy beaches to cross, which was a very fatiguing part of the journey: when we ascended the hills, we had frequently thick woods to pass through, but as we often fell in with paths, which the natives in travelling along the coast had trod very well down, these paths rendered our march, not only on account of pointing to us the most easy and accessible parts of the hills and woods, but, in point of direction, the shortest which could be found, if we had even been better acquainted with this tract. We left Port Jackson at six o'clock in the morning, just as the day was dawning, and arrived at the south branch of Broken-Bay at three in the afternoon, after a pretty warm and fatiguing journey, loaded as we were with provisions for several days, water, and ammunition: when we arrived at the water-side, we found our boats, which had left Port Jackson at midnight, were safely arrived. As it was now too late in the day, and we were all too much fatigued to attempt any part of the main business upon which we came here, we pitched our tents, and hauled the Seine for fish, and being successful, we sat down to regale ourselves on fresh fish and salt beef, and rested the remainder of the day. In the course of the little excursions of our boats' crews this afternoon, a native woman was discovered, concealing herself from our sight in the long grass, which was at this time very wet, and I should have thought very uncomfortable to a poor naked creature. She had, before the arrival of our boats at this beach, been, with some of her friends, employed in fishing for their daily food, but were upon their approach alarmed, and they had all made their escape, except this miserable girl, who had just recovered from the small-pox, and was very weak, and unable, from a swelling in one of her knees, to get off to any distance: she therefore crept off, and concealed herself in the best manner she could among the grass, not twenty yards from the spot on which we had placed our tents. She was discovered by some person who having fired at and shot a hawk from a tree right over her, terrified her so much that she cried out and discovered herself. Information was immediately brought to the governor, and we all went to see this unhappy girl, whom we found, as I have already observed, just recovered from the small-pox, and lame: she appeared to be about 17 or 18 years of age, and had covered her debilitated and naked body with the wet grass, having no other means of hiding herself; she was very much frightened on our approaching her, and shed many tears, with piteous lamentations: we understood none of her expressions, but felt much concern at the distress she seemed to suffer; we endeavoured all in our power to make her easy, and with the assistance of a few expressions which had been collected from poor Ara-ba-noo while he was alive, we soothed her distress a little, and the sailors were immediately ordered to bring up some fire, which we placed before her: we pulled some grass, dried it by the fire, and spread round her to keep her warm; then we shot some birds, such as hawks, crows, and gulls, skinned them, and laid them on the fire to broil, together with some fish, which she eat; we then gave her water, of which she seemed to be much in want, for when the word _Baa-do_ was mentioned, which was their expression for water, she put her tongue out to show how very dry her mouth was; and indeed from its appearance and colour, she had a considerable degree of fever on her. Before we retired to rest for the night, we saw her again, and got some fire-wood laid within her reach, with which she might, in the course of the night, recruit her fire; we also cut a large quantity of grass, dried it, covered her well, and left her to her repose, which, from her situation, I conjecture was not very comfortable or refreshing. Next morning we visited her again; she had now got pretty much the better of her fears, and frequently called to her friends, who had left her, and who, we knew, could be at no great distance from her; she repeated their names in a very loud and shrill voice, and with much apparent anxiety and concern for the little notice they took of her intreaties to return: for we imagined, in all she said when calling on them, she was informing them, that the strangers were not enemies, but friends; however, all her endeavours to bring them back were ineffectual, while we remained with her; but we were no sooner gone from the beach, than we saw some of them come out of the wood; and as there were two canoes on the shore belonging to this party, they launched one into the water, and went away. We employed this day in going up the south branch which the governor named Pitt Water, and so much of the day was spent in examining it, that when we returned down near the place where we had passed the last night, it was thought too late to proceed farther; we therefore encamped on the same spot. Our tents were no sooner up, than we went to visit our young female friend, whom we found in a little bark hut upon the beach; this hut was the place in which she and her friends were enjoying themselves, when the arrival of our boat alarmed them. She was not alone, as before, but had with her a female child, about two years old, and as fine a little infant of that age as I ever saw; but upon our approach (the night being cold and rainy, and the child terrified exceedingly) she was lying with her elbows and knees on the ground, covering the child from our sight with her body, or probably sheltering it from the weather, but I rather think on account of its fears. On our speaking to her, she raised herself up, and sat on the ground with her knees up to her chin, and her heels under her, and was at that moment, I think, the most miserable spectacle in the human shape I ever beheld*: the little infant could not be prevailed on to look up; it lay with its face upon the ground, and one hand covering its eyes. We supplied her, as before, with birds, fish, and fuel, and pulled a quantity of grass to make her a comfortable bed, and covered her little miserable hut so as to keep out the weather: she was now so reconciled to our frequent visits, seeing we had nothing in view but her comfort in them, that when she wanted _baa-do_, or _ma-gra_, which signifies fish, she would ask for them, and when she did, it was always supplied her: in the morning we visited her again; the child had now got so much the better of its fears, that it would allow us to take hold of its hand; I perceived, that young as it was, it had lost the two first joints of its little finger, of the left-hand, the reason or meaning of which we had not yet been able to learn. [* See the Vignette in the Title Page.] We gave her all the fish we had remaining, and having put a quantity of fire-wood and water within her reach, we took our leave. We embarked in the boats, and sailed across the bay to the north branch, which has a very shoally and narrow entrance. We proceeded but a small distance up, before we landed on the west shore and refreshed ourselves; after which we rowed round the first opening on the east side; this we followed up until we came to its head. It is very shallow and narrow, and ended in a large bason, full of shoals, and surrounded with mangroves; it extended near four miles to the north and eastward. When we returned from this branch, we pitched our tents on the west shore for the night, and early the next morning we proceeded to the northward: in this route we fell in with many shoals of considerable extent; and after rowing about six or seven miles up, we arrived at the head of it, which divides into two large bays, in one of which I observed the latitude to be 33° 26' 30" south. We returned from hence to a point near the entrance of this north harbour, where we encamped and spent the night; in this harbour we did not see more than twenty natives, some few of whom came and conversed with us. Across the mouth of this north harbour there is a bar or spit of sand, which extends from the sandy beach, or west point of the entrance, almost over to the eastern shore, and on which, from the wind having been from the southward the preceding night, the sea broke prodigiously from side to side, so that near low water it was impossible for the boats to get out; we were on that account obliged to remain there until it was more than two-thirds flood, when, in the deepest part of the channel, where the sea did not break, we pushed out, and pulled over for the south-west arm, or harbour, up which we went; but as part of this branch had not been looked into last winter, we entered an arm on the north side of it, and proceeded up about a mile and a half to an island we had visited the last winter. Here we encamped for the night, and hauled the seine with great success; and from the vast quantity of excellent mullet and other fish caught here, it got the name of Mullet Island. Next morning we rowed into a branch, which the boats had been in the last time we were here, but had not thoroughly examined; we proceeded to the top, and found it very shoally, extending to the northward about four miles, and navigable only for boats, having but four, five, and six feet water in it. After having satisfied ourselves as to the extent of this arm, we returned to Mullet Island, where we caught fish and dined. In the afternoon, the governor and myself went in one of the boats, leaving the rest of the party with the tents on Mullet Island; we entered another branch which had also been seen last winter, but was not examined; we rowed up this about seven or eight miles, until it became so very narrow and shoally, having scarcely water enough to float the boat, or room to use the oars, that we thought it was not worth prosecuting any farther discovery at the risk of grounding the boat, and being left during the night; we therefore returned to Mullet Island, and spent another night upon it. This branch is all shoal water, only five and six feet. The next morning we struck our tents and proceeded, in the boats, to examine a point of high land, which, from our situation in the boat the day before, had the appearance of an island; of this we were determined to be satisfied, and we found it to be an island as we had conjectured. In examining this, we were led into a branch which had not before been discovered: we proceeded up this for a considerable distance, found good depth of water, and every other appearance of its being the opening of an extensive river: we continued to row up in it the whole of this day, and in the evening we went on shore, on the most commodious spot we could find, which was a low marshy point. Here we raised our tents, and spent the night. At day-light in the morning it was so foggy, that we were obliged to defer our departure from this situation until ten o'clock, when the influence of the sun dispelled the mist, and we continued our course upwards, still finding good depth of water and strong tides; both which we considered as indications of a considerable river. The whole of this day was employed in exploring and making what progress we could; the ebb tides we observed thus far up were considerably stronger than the floods, and the water had very little the taste of sea water; indeed, it scarcely could be called brackish. We continued going up until the evening, when it was found impossible, at this time, to make any farther discovery; our provisions being nearly expended: we filled our water-casks, where we gave up the pursuit, and there, although the tide was high, the water was perfectly fresh. The general depth of this river was from three to seven fathoms, and its breadth was from 100 to 300 fathoms. There are some shoals, but they generally extend from low mangrove or marshy points. Its general direction, as far as we were up, is to the north-west. We were, when farthest up, about twenty miles from the entrance of the south-west arm of Broken-Bay. The banks of the river, on the lowest part, had many mangrove trees along it; higher up, reeds grew along its margin, and behind these reedy banks were immense perpendicular hills of barren, rocky lands, with trees growing from between the rocky cliffs; the depth of the river, when we were highest up, was six and seven fathoms. We were so anxious to prosecute this discovery, that we did not think of returning until it was near dark; and in our present situation, there was not a spot on which we could erect a tent, so very steep were the shores, except where they were marshy. We pushed down as fast as possible, in order to find a landing-place, before it should be very late; and soon after dark, we put a-shore on a parcel of rocks, which was, indeed, the only spot near on which we could find room for our tents, and here we passed the night. The morning of the next day was again foggy, until the sun had sufficient power to disperse it; we then returned down the river, and as the wind was fair, and blew fresh, we sailed down, and in the afternoon arrived in the south branch, or Pitt-Water, fixed our tents for the evening, and caught some fish, in order to spin out our provisions. Our female friend had left this place. The governor was now determined to return as fast as possible to Port Jackson, and, after resting a few days, to prosecute this useful discovery to its source. We struck the tents at night, and embarked them in the boats; for, as the wind was northerly, it was intended they should sail at midnight; a wigwam was made to shelter us during the night, and a large fire before it, by which we lay till day-light. The boats having sailed in the night, we set off at dawn of day in the morning by land; we found an easier path than that by which we came, and arrived at the north cove of Port Jackson by two in the afternoon, where the boats were already arrived. In our journey we fell in with several dead bodies, who had probably fallen by the small-pox, but they were mere skeletons, so that it was impossible to say of what disease they died. Boats were upon our arrival immediately ordered to be prepared, and provisions got ready for another excursion, the same party being engaged to go again, and, if possible, trace this river to its source. As far up as we advanced, I made an eye sketch of it. On Sunday the 28th of June, the boats being ready, provisions embarked, and the wind fair for another visit to Broken-Bay, they sailed before day-light on Monday morning; the party engaged to go by land were put on shore at the north part of the harbour at six o'clock; the same gentlemen who were on the former expedition were on this also, and an addition of five marines; on the whole, our numbers amounted to about forty, including those in the boats: we were all well armed, and capable of making a powerful resistance, in case, as we advanced up the river, we should find the interior parts of the country well in-habited, and the people hostile. Having, on our last expedition, found a good track to travel by, we were soon in the neighbourhood of the south branch of Broken-Bay, at which place one boat had been ordered to meet us, in order to save us by much the worst part of the journey. We arrived at the head of Pitt-Water before eleven o'clock, but no boat appeared, which obliged us to walk round all the bays, woods, and swamps, between the head and entrance of this branch; by which, when we joined the boats, we were exceedingly fatigued; the weather being rather warm, and each person having his knapsack and arms to carry, this last part of our journey increased the distance from twelve or fourteen miles to about twenty-five; in the course of which we had very high and steep hills to climb, and many deep swamps to wade through: by the time we joined the boats the day was too far advanced to think of proceeding any farther, we therefore pitched the tents, and occupied the spot which we had formerly done when here. On Tuesday the 30th, we embarked in the boats at day-break, intending to reach as high up this day as possible; we passed Mullet Island, and proceeded into the river, and before night, we had advanced as far up as a point on which we had rested a night the last time we were here, and which was within three or four miles of the place, where we left off the pursuit: here we slept for the night, and at day-light on the 1st of July we embarked, and after advancing a very little way beyond our farthest discovery, the river divided into two branches, one leading to the north-west, the other to the southward. We took that which led to the north-west, and continued all day rowing up this arm, which was in general shoal water, from four to ten and twelve feet, and its breadth from about 20 to 40 fathoms; the banks of this branch were in general immense perpendicular mountains of barren rock; in some places the mountains did not reach the margin of the river, but fell back a little way from it, and were joined by low marshy points, covered with reeds or rushes, which extended from the foot of the mountains to the edge of the river. At five in the evening, we put on shore, and raised our tents at the foot of one of the mountains, where we found a tolerable dry spot for that purpose; and in the morning of the 2d, we proceeded higher up, but this morning's progress was a good deal retarded by many large trees having fallen from the banks, and which reached almost across the river; for here it was so narrow, that it hardly deserved that name. By ten o'clock we were so far up, that we had not room for the oars, nor indeed water to float the boats: we therefore found it necessary to return, and before noon we put on shore, where I took the meridian altitude of the sun, which gave our latitude 33° 21' south, and we judged, by the estimated distances marked in my sketch, that we were about thirty-four miles above Mullet Island. At the place where we passed the last night we were examining the ground round us, as was customary wherever we placed our tents for the night; and about half a mile distant, some of the gentlemen found a small hut; they saw a person whom they took for a native woman, and who, upon our approach, fled with great precipitation into the woods. They went to examine the hut, and found two small helpless children in it; the poor little creatures were terribly frightened, but upon their being kindly treated, they seemed to recover a little from their fear. They appeared to be in great distress, apparently for want of food; they had a little fire by them, and in it was found a few wild yams, about the size of a walnut: upon a supposition that the parents of these children would soon return, after our leaving the place, a hatchet and some other trifles were left in the hut. Next morning, while the people were employed in striking the tents, some of the gentlemen again visited the hut which they now found unoccupied; the whole family were gone, and the hatchet, etc. were left lying by it. It is really wonderful, that these people should set so little value upon such an useful article as an axe certainly must be to them; this indifference I have frequently seen in those who have been shown the use of it, and even when its superiority over their stone hatchets has been pointed out by a comparison. It is not easily to be accounted for. We had now a strong ebb tide, and we rowed late, in order, if possible, to get out of this branch before we stopt for the night. About six o'clock in the evening we entered the southern branch, and very soon after encamped for the night. The next morning (Friday 3d) we proceeded up this arm for about seven or eight miles, where it again divided into two branches; thus far we found the depth from three to nine fathoms, and the breadth of the river from 100 to 150 fathoms; we took the branch which led to the northward, (the other went to the southward) but we had not advanced more than a quarter of a mile before we found the water very shoally; however, as it might lead to a good country, the governor determined to go as high as the boats could find water; we went through various windings, and met with many difficulties from the shoallyness of the water: notwithstanding which, we made shift to get about 13 miles up; the depth was from four to twelve feet, and the breadth from 20 to 50 fathoms; the banks of this branch were the same as the last, high, steep, and rocky mountains, with many trees growing down their sides, from between the rocks, where no one would believe there could be any soil to nourish them. Both this and the last branch we examined, probably extend many miles farther than we with our boats could trace them, but they did not appear, where we left off the examination of them, to be navigable for any vessel but the canoes of the natives, which do not draw more than two or three inches water. We saw several natives in these branches, but they fled into the woods on our approach: the wretched condition of the miserable natives who have taken up their residence, for a time, so far back from the sea coast, where no fish are to be had, is far beyond my description; they, no doubt, have methods of snaring or killing the different kinds of animals which are to be found here, otherwise I think it impossible they could exist at any distance from the sea: for the land, as far as we yet know, affords very little sustenance for the human race. Having advanced as far as possible with the boats, we returned, and having rowed two or three miles down to a point where there was tolerable landing, we put a-shore, and pitched the tents for the night. In the morning of the 4th, while the tents were putting into the boats, I measured the height of the opposite shore, which I found to be 250 feet perpendicular above the level of the river, which was here 30 fathoms wide: at seven o'clock we embarked, and rowed down until we came to the entrance of the second southern branch, where we found good depth of water, in six and seven fathoms. This, from its depth, encouraged us to hope that it might extend a great distance to the westward: we went up this branch about 13 or 14 miles before we put on shore for the night: in this distance, the general depth of water was from two to seven fathoms, and the breadth of the river from 70 to 140 fathoms; but the country still wore a very unpromising aspect, being either high rocky shores, or low marshy points. After having rested for the night, we were again under way at day-light, and this day advanced about fourteen miles against the tide. In the woods we frequently saw fires, and sometimes heard the natives; in the afternoon we saw a considerable number of people in the wood, with many fires in different places; we called to them in their own manner, by frequently repeating the word _Co-wee_, which signifies, come here; at last, two men came to the water-side with much apparent familiarity and confidence: I thought, from this circumstance, that they had certainly seen us before, either at Botany-Bay, Port Jackson, or Broken-Bay; they received a hatchet, and a wild duck, which had been just before shot from the boat; and in return, they threw us a small coil of line, made of the hair of some animal, and also offered a spear, which was refused. The only argument against their having seen us before is, that they were the first we had met with who appeared desirous of making a return for any present they received. Here the banks of the river are low and covered with what we call the pine-trees of this country; which indeed have received that name merely from the leaf, which is a good deal like the pine, but the wood is very different. The natives here, appear to live chiefly on the roots which they dig from the ground; for these low banks appear to have been ploughed up, as if a vast herd of swine had been living on them. We put on shore, and examined the places which had been dug, and found the wild yam in considerable quantities, but in general very small, not larger than a walnut; they appear to be in the greatest plenty on the banks of the river; a little way back they are scarce. We frequently, in some of the reaches which we passed through this day, saw very near us the hills, which we suppose as seen from Port Jackson, and called by the governor the Blue Mountains. At five in the evening, we put ashore at the foot of a hill, where we passed the night; and at day-light in the morning of the 5th, we embarked, and continued our way up the river; in which we still found good depth of water, from two to five fathoms, and 60 or 70 fathoms wide. As we advanced, we found the river to contract very fast in its breadth, and the channel became shoaler; from these circumstances, we had reason to believe that we were not far from its source: the ebb tides were pretty strong, but the floods were only perceptible by the swolling of the water. In the evening we arrived at the foot of a high mountain, which was spread over with Iofty trees, without any underwood; and saw a pleasant looking country, covered with grass, and without that mixture of rocky patches in every acre or two, as is common in many other places: we ascended some distance, and erected our tents for the night. The river here is not more than twenty fathoms wide. In the night, when every thing was still, we heard distinctly the roaring of what we judged to be a fall of water; and imagined from this circumstance, that we should not be able to advance much farther. In the morning, we walked to the top of the hill, and found we were not more than five or six miles from a long range of mountains, between which, and that where we stood, there is a deep valley, or low country, through which, probably, a branch of this river may run. This range of mountains we supposed to be those which are seen from Port Jackson, and called the Blue Mountains: they limit the sight to the west-north-west. In that range of high land there is a remarkable gully, or chasm, which is seen distinctly at a distance, and from which we appeared to be distant about five miles. The hills on each side of this gap were named by Governor Phillip; on one side the Carmarthen, on the other, the Lansdown hills; and that on which we stood was called Richmond-hill. In the morning of the 6th, we examined the river, which, as I have before observed, was narrow and shoally; its bed was composed of loose round stones and sand: it was now low water, and not a sufficient depth to float the boats: we therefore delayed any farther attempt to get up until it should be near high water; and, in the mean time, determined to take a view of the country round this hill; which, had it been clear of trees, would from its commmanding height, have given a most extensive prospect to the eastward, northward, and southward; but the range of hills before-mentioned were still higher, and of course limited our view to the westward. While the other gentlemen of the party were along with the governor, examining the country, I employed myself in taking the meridian altitude of the sun, by which I found the highest part of the hill to be in latitude 33° 37' south. The gentlemen spoke highly in favour of the country as far as they walked; it was perfectly clear of any kind of under-wood; the trees upon it were all very tall, and stood very wide apart; the soil was also examined, and found very good: a small patch was dug up, and a few potatoes, Indian-corn, melon, and other seeds sown. This was a common practice, when a piece of ground, favourable from its soil, and being in an unfrequented situation, was found, to sow a few seeds of different kinds: some of the little gardens, which had been planted in this manner, and left to nature, have been since visited and found thriving, others have miscarried. After making these observations, the tide being made, we put off in the boats, and endeavoured to get higher up, but were frequently aground: by the time we had reached half a mile higher than the foot of Richmond-hill, we met the stream setting down so strong, that it was with much difficulty we could get the boats so high. We here found the river to divide into two narrow branches, from one of which the stream came down with considerable velocity, and with a fall over a range of stones which seemed to lye across its entrance: this was the fall which we had heard the night before from our situation on the side of Richmond-hill. We found too little water for the boats which we had with us to advance any farther, and the stream was very strong, although weak to what it may reasonably be conjectured to be after heavy rains; for here we had evident marks of the vast torrents which must pour down from the mountains, after heavy rains. The low grounds, at such times, are entirely covered, and the trees with which they are overgrown, are laid down (with their tops pointing down the river,) as much as I ever saw a field of corn after a storm; and where any of these trees have been strong enough to resist in _any degree_ the strength of the torrent, (for they are all less or more bent downwards) we saw in the clifts of the branches of such trees, vast quantities of large logs which had been hurried down by the force of the waters, and lodged from thirty to forty feet above the common level of the river; and at that height there were great quantities of grass, reeds, and such other weeds as are washed from the banks of the river, hanging to the branches. The first notice we took of these signs of an extraordinary swelling of the water, was twelve or fourteen miles lower down, and where the river is not so confined in its breadth: there we measured the same signs of such torrents twenty-eight feet above the surface of the water: the common rise and fall of the tide did not appear to be more than six feet. On the banks here also we found yams and other roots, and had evident marks of the natives frequenting these parts in search of them for food. They have no doubt some method of preparing these roots, before they can eat them; for we found one kind which some of the company had seen the natives dig up; and with which being pleased, as it had much the appearance of horse-radish, and had a sweetish taste, and having swallowed a small quantity, it occasioned violent spasms, cramps in the bowels, and sickness at the stomach: it might probably be the casada root. We found here many traps, for catching animals, in which we observed the feathers of many birds, particularly the quail. We now gave up the hope of tracing this river higher up with our boats; and, as in case of heavy rains setting in, which might be expected at this season of the year, there would be considerable danger, while confined in this narrow part of the river, we pushed down and encamped the night of the 6th, about seven miles below Richmond-hill. In the morning early, we set off on our return, and encamped on the 7th at night, about twenty-six miles down: at seven in the morning of the 8th, we embarked again, and by four in the evening had reached a point about forty-three miles down, where we pitched our tents for the night, which was very foggy. In our way down, we stopped, and measured the perpendicular height of a hill on the north side of the river, (or more properly one of the banks of the river; for it is a long range of level land, and nearly perpendicular from the water; the opposite shore is low and marshy;) which I found to be 399 feet: the river was here 120 fathoms wide. On the 9th in the morning, we proceeded to examine some of the inferior branches; their general direction was to the southward, and the longest was not more than five or six miles in length, and was navigable for such boats as ours; the general depth was three and four fathoms for about four miles up, and then shoal water; the others were inconsiderable. In one of these branches we passed the night of the 9th, and saw a few natives, who came off to us in their boats with much chearfulness and good humour; I thought I had seen them before: they received a few presents, among which was a looking-glass, which we took much trouble to show them the use of: they were some time before they observed their own figure in the glass, but when they did, they turned it up and looked behind it; then pointed to the water, signifying that they could see their figure reflected as well from that. Having now examined every thing which was thought worth our attention, we made the best of our way to Mullet-island, where we landed on the 10th in the evening, and caught some fish. This night, and all the next day, (11th,) it blew a gale of wind from the southward, so that we were obliged to pass a second night here. In the morning of the 12th, it was more moderate, although very squally and unsettled; we struck our tents and sailed for Pitt-water, where about noon we encamped upon a point pretty high up. In our way, we put ashore to fill some fresh water, and in a cave near the stream we found a native woman, who appeared to have been dead some time, for her skin was as hard as a piece of leather; it was impossible to know whether she had died of the small-pox or not. In the morning of the 13th, as we intended to land well up this branch, in order to avoid the most difficult and tiresome part of the road to Port Jackson. We embarked, after we had breakfasted, and rowed up about a couple of miles, when the party for walking went on shore, each with his arms, and knapsack, containing two days provisions; we were about half an hour in getting through the wood, which led us to the sea-coast, where we fell into our old and well known path, and by four o'clock in the afternoon arrived at the north part of Port Jackson; but we might as well have been fifty leagues off, for here we could have no communication either with the Sirius or the settlement, and no boat had been ordered to meet us. We went immediately to work and made a large fire, by which we lay all night, which happened to be very cold. The next day we crossed the hills, and came to the mouth of the north-west harbour, but could not find the means of crossing it; muskets had been frequently fired during the night, in hopes that some boat might have been down the harbour fishing, and heard them. We found this morning a canoe upon the beach, with which we had no doubt of getting two men across the water, who could in a short time walk over to the cove where the Sirius lay; but this prospect was disappointed by the first man who entered the canoe having overset her, and she immediately sunk, and he was obliged to swim ashore: after this we went to work and made a catamaran, of the lightest wood we could find, but when finished and launched, it would not, although pretty large, bear the weight of one man. It was now proposed to walk round the head of the north-west harbour, which would have been a good long journey for at least two days, and our provisions were nearly expended; to this proposal I was under the necessity of objecting, for want of shoes, the last march having tore all but the soals from my feet, and they were tied on with spun-yarn; I therefore declined the proposed walk, and determined to go back to Broken-bay and rejoin the boats; which I had no doubt of being able to effect in the course of that day, and with far more ease than I could, without shoes, climb such rocky mountains, and thick woods, as lay in the way round the head of the north-west harbour. But as it was likely I might fall in with some parties of the natives in the way, I wished to have a companion. Captain Collins preferred accompanying me in the intended walk, and we were just upon the point of setting out, when two of the people who were with us proposed swimming over the water, and to cross through the wood to the Sirius; the distance they had to swim was not more than two cables length, or four hundred yards; they immediately stripped, and each having had a dram, they tied up in a handkerchief a shirt, trowsers, and a pair of shoes each, which was rested upon their shoulders: thus equipped, they took the water, and in seven minutes landed on the opposite shore; but one being seized with the cramp, was obliged to disengage himself from his bundle, which was of course lost: they set off through the woods, and in a short time got on board the ship, the one with his shirt and trowsers, the other perfectly naked. Upon their information, a boat was sent down, and took us on board, after a pretty fatiguing journey. I cannot help here remarking how providential it was, that we did not all agree to walk round the north-west harbour. At eight in the morning we heard the report of a great gun, which led me to suspect that some person belonging to the Sirius was missing, and had probably been lost in the woods; we frequently fired muskets that morning, and sometimes imagined we heard a musket at a considerable distance in the woods; in consequence of this suspicion, we frequently fired several together, and as often heard the report of that which we believed was meant to answer us. In short, by means of these repeated vollies, we drew nearer to that which answered us, and by hallooing all together, found we had got within hearing of the person who had answered our firing; for, after calling out, we listened attentively, and heard a very faint voice in answer; in that direction we walked, and at last, by frequent calling, and answering, we found the person out, who proved to be Peter White, sail-maker of the Sirius; who had been four days lost, and when he set out from the ship had not more than four ounces of biscuit with him, one ounce of which he had still left; he was very faint, and appeared to us to be stupid and almost exhausted, for he staggered like a man drunk; we took him with us, and by giving him such provisions as we had, in small proportions, he was in a few hours a good deal recovered; but I think if he had not been found as he was, in twenty-four hours more he would not have been able to make any farther effort to save himself, and must have perished where he lay down. It is remarkable, that the flint of his gun being worn to a stump, he could not get fire out of it the whole of the day before, when trying to shoot some birds for his subsistence, until night came on, when it was necessary for him to have a fire to sleep by; he then tried it again with very little hope of succeeding, but contrary to his expectations he got a fire and sat by it the whole night; the next morning it failed him repeatedly, until he had occasion to answer our musquets, when it struck fire every time he wished to answer us, otherwise, in all probability, we should not have found him. This is exactly his own account. In the end of August, the governor having expressed a wish to have a survey made of Broken-Bay and Botany-Bay, I offered to perform that service. The Sirius had some time ago been removed from Sydney Cove, to a cove on the north side of the harbour, much more convenient for giving her those repairs of which she now stood so much in need. The carpenter and his crew, who had been employed on shore upon the business of the settlement, ever since our return from the last voyage, were now ordered on board, to attend the repairs of the ship; a temporary wharf was built by the ship's company, and a piece of ground levelled to receive the provisions and stores: every person was now employed in lightening the ship, and in cutting down timber for the repairs wanted. A survey upon the defects of the ship was ordered by Captain Phillip, and she was reported to be very weak in her upper works; several bolts were decayed under her wales, which occasioned her making much water at sea; and that it was absolutely necessary to examine as many of the butt bolts as possible: it was also thought necessary to fix seven pair of top riders on each side, to strengthen her upper works; various other defects were given in. While the ship's company were employed in lightening the ship, and the carpenters were cutting down timber for riders and plank, I determined, before any thing material in the repairs was set about, to go round and make a survey of Broken-Bay: in this excursion I was accompanied by several gentlemen of the settlement; the boats were dispatched round, under the care of Lieutenant Bradley, by whom, and Lieutenant Ball, of the Supply, I was assisted in this work: the party went by land, but as I wished also to make a sketch of the coast between the two harbours, we determined to be two days on the journey, and to lye all night in the woods. After taking a sketch of the coast, we arrived at Pitt-Water, and joined the boats in the afternoon of the second day. We visited all those parts, which are navigable for shipping, and having before very particularly sounded and examined all the branches here, the business was finished in little more than a fortnight. Mr. Bradley returned with the boats, and we walked along shore to Port Jackson. The entrance of Broken-Bay lies in latitude 33° 34' south, and longitude 151° 27' east; the bay is large and clear; the distance from north to south head, is two miles, and the depth is eight, ten, and twelve fathoms; but as you run up the bay it shoals to six, seven, and five fathoms. Just within the north head of the bay is the entrance of the northern branch, which, from the shoalness of the water, is only navigable for boats, or small vessels; the channel going in is very narrow, occasioned by a long spit of sand, which extends from a low sandy point on the west side of the entrance, and on which, when the wind is from the eastward, the sea breaks very high. A little within the south head of the bay is the entrance of the Southern Branch or Pitt-Water; this is a good harbour, though the entrance is rendered rather narrow by a shoal bank, which extends from the eastern point full two-thirds across; keep the west shore on board, which is pretty bold, and is a high, steep, rocky point, and steer right up the branch; three fathoms is the most you will have at low water, and that depth is only in the narrows, which are of very short extent, for as you run up, you very soon deepen to four, five, six, and eight fathoms; to the shoal which narrows the entrance, it is very gradual soundings. When you are above the second point on the west shore, you have good depth of water and good room; you may run up in mid-channel without fear; both shores are pretty bold to, except off the points, from some of which it is shoal a small distance: in this branch there are several coves, in which a ship might lighten and careen; there is also fresh water in various parts of this harbour, with wood in abundance, and fish may be caught in all the sandy bays. The entrance of this branch is divided from the south-west arm by several rocky points; the land over them high and steep; between which are some small sandy bays; and right off the mouth of this arm is a very high rocky island, of but small extent; its eastern end is very high and perpendicular; this island is a good mark, for any part of the bay may be known, with certainty, by the situation of it, which the chart will point out. If a stranger were coming in here for shelter in a gale of wind, I would recommend his pushing up the south-west arm, and steering in for the island, which is now called Mount Elliot, from its similarity to the north end of Gibraltar Rock. You may pass on either side, but the south side is fairest for going up the south-west arm; keep mid-channel between the island and south shore: this shore is so bold that you may run within two cables length of it. In your way up you will perceive a branch on the north side, which runs up north-west; when thus high, you are above a bank or middle ground, on which the least water is 16 feet; you may, by keeping near the shore, pass on either side of this shoal, which has gradual soundings to it; the south side has most room and deepest water; the north side has five fathoms: when above this, you may keep in the middle, if you wish to go higher, and the least water will be five or six fathoms for several miles higher: from this south-west arm several branches extend, most of which have good depth of water, but the chart will be the best guide. If you wish to enter the north-west branch, enter it by keeping the larboard shore on board, and for some distance up, as from the starboard shore a shoal extends one-third of the distance over. After having rested a few days, I determined not to lose any time, but go immediately and make a survey of Botany-Bay, while the weather was cool and pleasant. Towards the end of September, two boats with provisions, tents, etc. were got ready, and dispatched round, under the care of Mr. Keltie, the master of the Sirius, by whom, and Mr. Blackburn, the master of the Supply, I was assisted in my work at Botany-Bay. A few gentlemen of the settlement having signified a wish to accompany me, the party resolved to walk over and meet the boats there; this route being now well known, and the path well trodden, it was not an unpleasant walk. We joined the boats about noon, and found our tents pitched. The same afternoon we began our operations, and in about ten days had finished the survey of the bay. The anchorage in this bay, as I have before observed, is extensive, and the passage into it easy; there is a cluster of rocks, which lie south-south-east, about two cables length from a little bare island on the north shore, on which the sea frequently breaks very high; but if you keep Cape Banks open, you will avoid them; both shores are bold to, till you come thus high. A little above Point Southerland (south shore) is another patch of rocks, which, to avoid in turning, keep the land below this point open. Although the anchorage here is extensive, yet by looking at the chart, it will appear a small spot for so very large a piece of water: from both the north and south sides, and from the bottom of the bay, the flats run off a great distance, from four to fifteen feet water. I did formerly believe, that there was an easy channel over the flats into the west river, but on this examination I think it rather difficult, if practicable at all, as the soundings are very irregular. This river in some parts has good depth, and that near and within its entrance; but higher up it is all shoal water, and full of knowls of sand; in short, it is only to be navigated by boats: it has two branches, in which there are several coves, or bays, containing shoal water. After having gone to the head of this river, and returned to the bay again, we then entered a small river which empties itself in the north-west part of the bay; this river, as far as I went up, which was about five miles, is all shoal water (it has since been examined to the head by Lieutenant Bradley): in short, these rivers were _with me_ no object at this time to throw away time upon; I therefore made no other survey than an eye sketch; every reach is laid down true with respect to direction; the soundings are the depth at or near low water; and the distance is estimated by short portions at a time, that they might be the more correct. It will easily be perceived, by looking at the draft of this bay, that it is not possible to lie land locked with a ship in any part of it; you will always be exposed to the large sea which tumbles in here with an easterly wind. The edge of the flatts (in three fathoms) is determined by many intersections, so that its extent is pretty nearly ascertained. In the end of October it was judged necessary to shorten the allowance of provisions one-third; for although we might expect store-ships from England by the end of January, 1790, yet as there did not remain above five months provisions in the settlement, the governor thought it necessary to issue an order for two-thirds allowance to commence the 1st of November. Having finished the placing of the top riders in the Sirius by the end of October, we took our provisions and stores on board; and on the 7th of November, we moved the ship from Careening Cove over to Sydney Cove. A few days before that time, John Mara, the gunner's mate, had been missing, and was supposed to have been lost in the woods; parties were sent out in search of him: the third day after he disappeared, I was going up the harbour in a boat early in the morning, and some distance up, I thought I heard the voice of a man upon the north shore; we lay upon the oars a considerable time, and listened attentively; we again heard the voice, and rowed immediately towards that part of the shore from whence the voice came, and there we found the person missing: he was sitting upon a rock, was exceedingly faint, and scarcely able to get into the boat; having had nothing to eat during his absence but an herb which the people use by way of tea, and which is so palatable they can drink it without sugar; it has exactly the taste of liquorish root. I interrogated him with respect to the manner of his losing himself; he said, "That having been sent on shore in the evening to fill a few water-casks, which were landed at a run of water near the ship, and that having just before he was sent on shore taken a copious drink of grog, he felt himself, soon after he landed, a good deal disposed to sleep; that the weather being warm, and the evening well advanced, he laid down upon the hill, some distance from the run of water, and fell fast asleep upon the grass; that he did not wake until it was late, and the night being dark, and he a little confused when he awoke, he went farther into the wood instead of coming out of it, and by that means lost himself entirely." He also said, "That when I took him up, he was so exhausted that he should not have been able to walk much longer, and that he had only reached the water-side the night before." He had no arms of any kind; it was therefore fortunate that he did not fall in with any of the natives, as we have much reason to believe that they are disposed to take the advantage of those they meet without fire-arms. The night before we left Careening Cove, Mr. Francis Hill, one of the master's mates, had desired permission to go over to Sydney Cove, and to return early the next morning; he went over, and was the next morning early put across to the nearest part of the north shore, intending to walk round to the ship, a route which had been often taken by many of our gentlemen, and was not more than an hour and a half's walk, but in this short distance Mr. Hill lost himself. The next day, parties were sent out different ways, and boats were sent both up and down the harbour in search of him; a gun for their and his direction was fired from the ship every two hours, and this continued for two days. The third day, many additional parties were sent, to the number of nine or ten; in short, every piece of ground where it was thought possible he might have passed, was traversed over and over by the different parties, but without effect; we had, therefore, much reason to believe that he fell in with a party of the natives, who probably murdered him, for he had no arms of any kind with him. That this opinion of a disposition in the natives to take advantage of a single person, particularly when unarmed, is not ill founded, we have had many instances to prove; one of which in this place may suffice, as it had happened very recently, and near to the place where Mr. Hill was lost. A man belonging to the Sirius, who had generally been employed in shooting for the officers, was, a few days previous to the supposed death of Mr. Hill, in the woods looking for game, and had been seen by a party of the natives from the skirts of a wood; they had not been observed by him, and taking the advantage of that, threw a large stone at him, which very narrowly missed his head, at which it was very well aimed; had it hit him, it would have knocked him down and deprived him of his senses, which opportunity they would no doubt have availed themselves of to dispatch him; but as they did not succeed in their attempt, they stood their ground, and he fired a charge of small shot at them, which I suppose they felt no inconvenience from, as they laughed at him, and advanced with their lances; he was pretty quick in loading his gun again, into which he put a heavy charge of buck shot, and as they appeared to him to be determined on mischief, he resolved, for his own safety, to be before-hand with them; he took very good aim, and fired right amongst them; two of them fell, and the rest, with great precipitation, made off, but he believed they carried their wounded (probably dead) friends with them; he stood where he was and loaded his gun, then came towards the ship without seeing any more of them. They are exceedingly terrified by fire-arms. There was one circumstance which disposed me to believe that Mr. Hill had been murdered by the people of the country, which was, that one of the boats which went down the harbour to look for him put a-shore in one of the coves in the north part of it; the young gentleman who had charge of this duty went up the beach, with five of the boat's crew, while two remained to take care of the boat; they had only been landed a few minutes, and were near the skirt of the wood, when two spears were launched from a rising ground; one of which struck the hat of one of the seamen; and as no fire-arms had appeared, the natives showed themselves, to the number of between twenty and thirty; the midshipman and the sailors returned to the boat, and brought up a musquet loaded with ball, which the natives observing, all disappeared, except two, and the ball was fired at them; whether with or without effect we knew not, but they also disappeared immediately. These hostile appearances, I think, may have been the effect of their success, in having lately murdered some of our people; for as we have had several such accidents here, we have had an opportunity of remarking, that they have generally shown immediately after them, a more than ordinary degree of hostility. The want of one of the people of this country, who, from a habit of living amongst us, might have been the means of preventing much of this hostile disposition in them towards us, was much to be lamented. If poor Ara-ba-noo had lived, he would have acquired enough of our language to have understood whatever we wished him to communicate to his countrymen; he could have made them perfectly understand, that we wished to live with them on the most friendly footing, and that we wished to promote, as much as might be in our power, their comfort and happiness. The two children mentioned formerly, and who were very happy amongst us, were yet too young to be of use in reconciling the natives to us; they now understood almost every thing we said, and could make themselves very well understood; but the governor was desirous of having a man or two in our possession, to whom we might teach enough of our language without the danger of losing any part of their own, to render them useful to their countrymen; it had therefore for some time past been in agitation to endeavour, by force, to secure one or two. For that purpose, on the 25th of November, Lieutenant Bradley, with some other officers, and a party of men, were sent down the harbour in an armed boat: they went to the north part of the harbour, where, upon one of the sandy beaches, they observed two native men walking; they immediately formed a scheme to entice them to a conversation; for that purpose, a few large fish were held up, and they were called to, which had the desired effect; the men with much confidence came forward unarmed, and with much chearfulness received the fish, and held a conversation with those who presented them. At this time there were about five of our people upon the beach, and the boat lying afloat, with her stern close to the shore, and the sailors lying on their oars: Mr. Bradley, who was in the stern of the boat, seeing the opportunity good, gave the signal for securing them; in a moment their heels were knocked up, and they were tumbled into the boat, followed by those who secured them, and the boat pulled immediately off. They called out to their friends the moment they were taken hold of, but though a considerable number appeared in the skirt of the wood, on seeing arms in the hands of those in the boat, who stood up ready to fire, they did not venture an attack. The men were lashed to the thwarts of the boat, on their first being taken into her, but after having got to such a distance from the shore, as to prevent the possibility of an escape, their hands were loosed, and they were secured by only one leg; but until they were thus far liberated, their terror was considerable. On their being landed at Sydney-Cove, they were immediately taken up to the governor's house, where they were very kindly treated; but to prevent any attempt to escape being at all probable, they had each an iron-shackle put on one of their legs, to which a piece of rope was spliced, and a man was ordered for each, who was to be answerable for their security; wherever they went those keepers accompanied them, holding one end of the rope. When these two strangers landed in Sydney-Cove, many people, prompted by curiosity, went to see them; among that number were the boy and girl, natives, whose names, I think, when speaking of them, I have never yet mentioned; the girl was called _A-ba-roo_, and the boy _Nan-bar-ry_, or _Bal-der-ry:_ the moment they saw the men, they with raptures of joy called them both by their names; the children were also known to them, and it was not improbable but that their very comfortable appearance, after having lived so long amongst us, might, in some degree, calm that perturbation of mind, which we would naturally believe might attend them in such a state of captivity; for it should be recollected, that not one of those natives whom we have had amongst us, had ever returned to inform their friends, what kind of treatment they had met with from us; it was therefore not to be wondered at, if they supposed that such as fell into our hands were put to death. The two old men who were picked up when very ill with the small-pox, at the time _A-ba-roo_ and _Nan-bar-ry_ were found, (and whom we believed to be the fathers of the children) died very soon. Poor _Ara-ba-noo_, who was at liberty to go where he pleased some time before he died, was so well reconciled to us, that he never showed the smallest inclination to go from us; he unfortunately did not survive the small-pox, and the girl and boy were now so accustomed to our manner of living, that it was not at all probable they would relish that of their own country. We soon discovered, upon the arrival of these two strangers, whom the children called by name, that one was a chief, or distinguished person, among those of the tribe of -Ca-di-gal_; his name was _Co-al-by_; he was a man of about 35 years of age; the other was about 25 years old, and was called by several different names, such as _Ba-na-lang, Vogle-troo-ye_, or _Vo-la-ra-very_; the first we thought his proper name, the others we understood from himself were names by which some of his particular connections were distinguished, and which he had, upon their death, taken up: this man was a very good looking young fellow, of a pleasant lively disposition. The presence of _Co-al-by_ seemed to be a check upon the chearful temper of _Ba-na-lang_, which inclined us to think that he paid a kind of deference to him; he was always very silent in his company. Seventeen days after these people were taken, they appeared so well satisfied, that their keepers began to be less apprehensive of their attempting to make their escape, which they did not fail to notice, and had no doubt laid a plan to avail themselves of, for they were very far from being destitute of observation and cunning. One evening, when it was pretty dark, their keepers were sitting within the door of their house, eating their supper; _Ba-na-lang_ was within also, and employed in the same manner; _Co-al-by_ was at the door, sitting just on the outside, and had with him something for his supper, which he pretended to be employed about, the end of his rope was in the hand of his keeper; while they in the inside were thus amused, -Co-al-by_ drew the splice of his rope from the shackle, and in a moment was over the paling of the yard, and out of sight; an immediate search was made for him, but without effect, we saw him no more: however we heard afterwards that he joined his friends again, and will no doubt be careful how he confides hereafter in us: his friends would certainly be something surprized to see him so well cloathed, for he carried off his whole wardrobe. I suppose it would cost him some trouble to get the shackle from his leg, which was riveted on. The other man was much more chearful after _Co-al-by-'s absence, which confirmed our conjecture, and the children's account, that he was a man more distinguished in his tribe than -Ba-na-lang_. In the month of January, 1790, in every company, the conversation turned upon the long expected arrivals from England, which we had been for some past in daily expectation of, with a supply of provisions; our store here was now in a very exhausted state, much more so than we ever expected it would have been: for it was the general opinion, that I should the last year, on my arrival at the Cape of Good Hope, have there met with store-ships bound to this country, as it was always understood that the settlement would never have been reduced lower than one year's provisions in store. We landed in this country with two years provisions, at least with what was supposed, when we sailed from England, would be the case; that time was now elapsed, yet we had not been visited by any ships from Europe, and we still had remaining provisions, at half allowance, to last until June. We all looked forward with hope for arrivals with a relief; and that every assistance necessary for strangers might be at hand, I offered, with a few men from the Sirius, to go down to the south head of the harbour, there to build a lookout-house, and erect a flag-staff upon the height, which might be seen from the sea; and which might also communicate information of ships in the offing to the governor at Sydney-cove. The governor approved my proposals. I went down with six men, and was accompanied by Mr. White and Mr. Worgan, the surgeons of the settlement and Sirius. We erected a flag-staff, and lived in a tent for ten days, in which time we compleated a tolerably good house. At the end of ten days, I was relieved by Mr. Bradley with a fresh party. Chapter VII TRANSACTIONS AT NORFOLK ISLAND February 1790 to February 1791 -The Sirius and Supply sail for Norfolk Island.--Land the marines and convicts.--Wreck of the Sirius.--Some provisions saved.--Martial Law established.--Ratio of provisions settled.--Vast numbers of birds caught.--In distress for provisions.--Receive a supply from Port Jackson.--Officers and crew of the Sirius leave Norfolk Island, and arrive at Port Jackson.--Norfolk Island described.--Its situation and extent.--Soil.--Climate, etc.--Table of Winds, etc.- In February, we began to look a little serious on our disappointment of arrivals: we had not now more than provisions till June, at the allowance I have already mentioned. The governor now saw a necessity for dividing the settlement, and signified his intention that such division should take place soon, by sending a certain number of marines and convicts, under the command of Major Ross, the lieutenant-governor, to Norfolk Island; at which place he understood there were many resources, which Port Jackson, or the country round it, did not afford; and the gardens and cultivated lands here also would then be more enjoyed by the remaining numbers. Accordingly an arrangement took place, and on the 26th of February, I received an order to prepare the Sirius for sea, and to embark the lieutenant-governor, with one company of marines, and the officers, baggage, and also 186 convicts; in all, 221 persons; with such a proportion of the remaining provisions and other stores, as the settlement at that time could furnish; and I was directed to land them upon Norfolk Island: Lieutenant Ball, commander of his Majesty's armed tender Supply, was ordered under my command, and he also embarked a company of marines, and twenty convicts. We sailed from Port Jackson on the 6th of March, and the wind being from the westward, we made Lord Howe's Island on the 9th, at four in the afternoon, bearing east-north-east, distant about 16 or 18 leagues. The south end of this island is two very high mountains, nearly perpendicular from the sea; those hills are the only land you see until you come within six or seven leagues, when the lower land begins to appear, extending from the foot of the mountains, northward: it was calm most of the night, with now and then a light air, with which, and an easterly set of current, which is generally found here, we were enabled to get in with the land by noon of the 10th. I made the Latitude of the southermost hill: (Mount Gower) 31° 35' S. Longitude, by time-keeper, 159° 10' 30" E. of Greenwich. Longitude, by distance of the sun and moon, taken at 10, A. M. 159° 08' 00" E. There is a very remarkable rock, which lies about 12 or 14 miles to the southward of the island, and which is named Ball's-pyramid, and has much the appearance of a church steeple at a distance; but as you come near, it is exceedingly high and perpendicular: we passed in the evening between the island and the pyramid, and had 26 fathoms within two miles of Mount Gower, over a rocky bottom. This island I judge to be about three miles and a half long, north-north-west and south-south-east; it is very narrow across. There is anchorage on both sides of it, but the bottom is foul. On the west side there is a bay, off which lies a reef parallel to the shore, with good swatches, or passages through for boats; this reef breaks off the sea from the shore, which is a fine sandy beach, so that there is no difficulty in landing. I have observed before, that turtle are sometimes caught here, and that there are many birds upon the island. On the 13th, at two o'clock in the morning, we made Norfolk Island, which I did not expect we should have done quite so soon, but the easterly current, which is commonly found here, had been strong: we brought to till day-light, and then, as the wind was fresh from the south-west, I well knew there could be no landing in Sydney-bay, where the settlement is fixed, on account of the high surf, which southerly winds occasion, I therefore bore away, and ran round to the north-east side of the island into a bay called Cascade-bay; where, after a few days of moderate weather, and an off-shore wind, it is possible to land; but that only on one spot, which is a rock that projects some distance into the sea, and has deep water to it: on that rock I landed, on the afternoon of the 13th, all the marines, and a considerable number of the convicts, but being set to the eastward in the night, I did not land the remainder until the 15th, when they were also put on shore on the same place. These people were no sooner on shore than the wind shifted to the eastward, and the weather became hazy and blew strong, so that I had no prospect of being able to land any part of the provisions. We had put on shore from the Sirius and Supply 270 people, and had no opportunity of sending any stores with them, as we were now driven out of sight of the island. I knew the exhausted state of the stores there; I was also acquainted with the many difficulties which Lieutenant Ball, commander of the Supply, had met with in the different voyages he had made from Port Jackson to this island, with provisions; and the length of time he had, in some of these voyages, been obliged to cruize, before he could have any access to the shore; so continually does the surf break all round it: these considerations gave me much anxiety and uneasiness. On the 19th, a slant wind from the south-east brought me again in with the island: the Supply had the preceding night parted company, but as they were better acquainted here than we were, I judged they had stood for the land in the night before I did. As we stood in, finding we could fetch the windward part of the island, I steered in for Sydney-bay; and as we drew near, I observed the Supply lying to in the bay, and the signal upon the shore was flying, that long-boats, or any other boats might land, without any danger from the surf. Anxious to avail myself of this favourable signal, I steered in as far as I judged safe, and brought to with the ship's head off shore, in the south-east or windward part of the bay, hoisted out the boats, loaded them with provisions, and sent them in; but observing that the ship settled fast to leeward, we made sail, and immediately hauled on board the fore and main tacks, the Supply had also made sail, and was to leeward of the Sirius. There is a reef of sunken rocks, which lies off the west point of the bay, and which (as the wind freshened and the sea rose) broke a considerable way out; the Supply having drawn a-head, could not weather this reef: on this she tacked; and, as we drew near, I plainly perceived that we settled so fast to leeward that we should not be able to weather it: so, after standing as near as was safe, we put the ship in stays; she came up almost head to wind, but the wind just at that critical moment baffled her, and she fell off again: nothing could now be done, but to wear her round in as little room as possible, which was done, and the wind hauled upon the other tack, with every sail set as before; but, still perceiving that the ship settled into the bay, and that she shoaled the water, some hands were placed by one of the bower anchors, in five fathoms water; the helm was again put down, and she had now some additional after-sail, which I had no doubt would ensure her coming about; she came up almost head to wind, and there hung some time; but by her sails being all a back, had fresh stern way: the anchor was therefore cut away, and all the haulyards, sheets, and tacks let go, but before the cable could be brought to check her, she struck upon a reef of coral rocks which lies parallel to the shore, and in a few strokes was bulged. When the carpenter reported to me, that the water flowed fast into the hold; I ordered the masts to be cut away, which was immediately done. There was some chance, when the ship was lightened of this weight, that by the surges of the sea, which were very heavy, she might be thrown so far in up the reef, as to afford some prospect of saving the lives of those on board, if she should prove strong enough to bear the shocks she received from every sea. It was now about eleven o'clock in the forenoon, and after the masts were gone, all hands were employed in getting out of the hold such provisions as could be come at, and securing them upon the gun-deck, that they might be at hand in case any opportunity offered of floating them on shore. In the evening the wind freshened still more, and the surf was considerably increased; in consequence of which, it was strongly recommended by the gentlemen on shore, who knew the place much better than we could, that every person should quit the ship: for this purpose the end of a small rope was floated through the surf, and over the reef, to the shore, by an empty cask; and by that rope a seven inch hawser was hauled on shore, with a wooden heart upon it for a traveller, and the end was made fast to a tree. By this traveller I corresponded with those on shore, and received their opinions. To the traveller three or four sailors at a time were made fast, and were hauled by the people on shore through the surf, and over a ragged reef to the land; another part this evening, and the remainder the next day. The whole crew were intended to have been landed that night, but when it became dark the hauling rope of the traveller got often foul of the rocks, which might have occasioned the drowning of those who were at such a time on the traveller: for the long scope of hawser (nearly the length of two hawsers) by the weight of three or four people, was more than two-thirds of the way in the surf, and the men on it under water. The second day after the landing of the crew, the weather being more moderate, and the surf less dangerous, a few of the seamen, who could depend, in case of accident, upon their good swimming, were got on board by the hawser, and the utmost exertion used to get some part of the provisions sent on shore; but it was the fifth day before any could be landed. We were now upon this little island 506 souls, upon half allowance of provisions; and that could, with our present numbers, last but a very short time; as the supply intended for the island was yet on board the Sirius; and consequently its safety very uncertain. Providence was kind to us. We had for several days the weather fine, and the surf uncommonly smooth, for this place: for although there was a continual surf breaking upon the ship, and all the way between her and the shore, yet it was considered here as uncommonly smooth: each of those fine days we got on shore from twenty to thirty casks of provisions, with various other articles of both public and private property; such articles as would swim were entrusted to the chance of being thrown on shore by the surf: all that I or any other officer saved, was found washing upon the beach; but as the shore was lined with the marines, to prevent the convicts from committing depredations, it was much, but not wholly prevented. Every thing which came on shore was placed under the care of centinels, until claimed by the proprietor, before certain officers. But that success which attended those things that were committed to the sea, proved at last a misfortune; for it occasioned their trusting every thing promiscuously of private property to the surf; by which many valuable articles of mine and some of the officers were lost, being too heavy to float, a circumstance that those who threw them overboard had not considered. The provisions being the first object, nothing besides was allowed to be sent by the traveller; and notwithstanding it was all dragged through the sea, the damaged part was but trifling. Some casks were washed out of the slings, dashed to pieces upon the rocks, and of course lost; but, taking the whole together, we saved more provisions than we could have reasonably expected. By the time we had landed the principal part of the provisions, the weather began to be rather unfavourable to our wishes and endeavours; the wind set in from the southward, the sea rose and occasioned a very high surf, which rendered it unsafe for any person to remain on board; the small bower cable, which had hitherto kept the ship's head to the sea, being cut by the rocks, and the ship being considerably lightened by what had been taken out of her, she was lifted so high by every sea, as to occasion her striking very heavily; and by those repeated shocks she was thrown for a short time broad-side to the sea: had she kept in that position, she would soon have gone to pieces; but from her being very light forward, the iron ballast having dropt out of her bottom, she was lifted fairly round, and was thrown more than her own length nearer to the shore, and was, by this change in her position, almost out of the reach of the break of the sea; that is, the surf, which before generally broke upon her, now broke outside, and its force was considerably spent, before it reached her; so that when the weather was moderate and the surf low, we got with more ease on board, and could remain there with less danger. One of the bow ports was enlarged for the purpose of getting casks and other parcels out; the hauser and traveller were also fitted and hove taught from the bow, and various stores were sent on shore with more ease and certainty than before; but the knees of the beams, being many of them broke, and the ends of the beams being dislodged from the clamps, the orlop deck blown up, and the lower deck beams loose, and many of them broken, it was dangerous to attempt going into the hold; for by every stroke of the sea, the decks were all in motion: however, every thing that could be got at by the sailors on board was sent on shore. A few days after the unfortunate loss of the Sirius, the ship's company being all on shore, with very little provisions on the island for so great a number of people, and the supply from the wreck being yet in a very precarious situation, the lieutenant-governor assembled all the officers in the settlement together; and in order that the description of people now among us in so considerable a number, (I mean the convicts, who I believe to have been some of the worst characters ever sent from Great-Britain) should fear the commission of any crime here, more than they had ever done under the laws hitherto established in this settlement, it was unanimously judged necessary for the general safety and good of the whole, that martial law be now established in this island until such time as we might be relieved from the distressing prospect that was now before us, by a supply of provisions, or until the governor in chief of his Majesty's territory in this part of the world might think fit, either to approve or disapprove of it. The necessity of such a measure in the situation we were now reduced to, I apprehend, will be apparent to every considerate person. By the proclamation of the law martial, which was generally consented to, not by an oath, as I believe is commonly the case, where it is found necessary: but, the service we had to perform not admitting of the delay that such ceremony would have occasioned, the general approbation was taken by every individual passing under the king's colours, which were displayed for that purpose; _that ceremony_ every person was previously informed would be considered as an assent, and which was done with a degree of solemnity, and at the same time an apparent chearfulness through the whole. By this proclamation of the law martial, much mischief I am of opinion was prevented: hitherto, every convict, or any other person on this island, who had committed any crime which merited a trial by the criminal court, were to be sent the first opportunity to Port Jackson, with all the necessary evidence, and there to be tried. This, in our situation, would have been attended with innumerable inconveniences and many bad consequences, which, as I have already said, I confidently believe were prevented by this proclamation; which may be said to have been held out in terrorem only: for, during the whole time of its existence, we had but once occasion to put it in force; the fear of an immediate trial, and, if found guilty, immediate execution, kept every body tolerably honest and attentive to the necessary duties, which it became the whole of us now to look forward to. As the Supply tender sailed from this island on the 24th of March, which was the fifth day after the loss of the Sirius, and we had not at that time been able to get any part of the provisions from the wreck; she could not carry to the governor any certain account, whether we should or should not be able to get any thing on shore, to help out the very scanty proportion of provisions which now remained in the store; we therefore entertained a glimmering of hope that she might, in the course of five or six weeks, return to us with the very comfortable news of arrivals from England. However, after the expiration of that time, during which we looked anxiously to the sea, our situation began to wear a very alarming aspect. We now had no doubt, but that in consequence of a disappointment in the expected arrivals, the governor had found it necessary to dispatch Lieutenant Ball to some European settlement, and that he could not relieve us with provisions from Port Jackson. In consequence of this deplorable situation, on the 14th of May, the officers composing the council met the lieutenant-governor agreeable to appointment, and published the following orders:-- "At a meeting of the governor and council held to consider of the very exhausted state of the provisions in this settlement, and to consult upon what means are most proper to be pursued, in order to preserve life until such time as we may be relieved by some arrivals from England, of which we have been so long in expectation, but probably disappointed by some unfortunate accident having happened to the ships intended for this country. The state of the provisions having been laid before the council, and the alarming situation of the settlement having been taken into the most serious consideration, the following ratio of provisions was unanimously resolved and ordered to take place on Saturday the 15th instant, viz. Flour--three pounds per week, for every grown person. Beef--one pound and an half per ditto; or, in lieu of the beef. 17 ounces of pork. Rice--one pound per ditto. Children above twelve months old, half the above ratio. Children under twelve months old, one pound and an half of flour and a pound of rice per week. In future, all crimes which may by any three members of the council be considered as not of a capital nature, will be punished at their discretion, by a farther reduction of the present allowance of provisions." Every day, and during every breeze from the westward, we now looked out upon the sea; but on this unfrequented ocean we could expect nothing to appear but what might be intended for us. Day after day we talked to each other respecting our situation, as no other subject seemed to occupy the mind of any one among us. We were here situated upon an island of only five miles long, and three in breadth, three hundred leagues from the nearest part of the Coast of New South Wales, deprived of every hope of finding any relief by a change of situation, and we had the additional mortification of anticipating, in a short time, a farther reduction of our allowance of provisions. At this particular season we had one advantage, which, when that leaves us, will reduce us to very great distress; I think, then, that many of the convicts (who are indolent to astonishment, and who can, and frequently do, eat at one meal what they are allowed for a week) must, when the resource I am going to mention fails, perish for want, or suffer death for the depredations they are so much inclined, even in times of plenty, to commit upon others. In the month of April we found that Mount Pitt, which is the highest ground on the island, was, during the night, crowded with birds. This hill is as full of holes as any rabbit warren; in these holes at this season these birds burrow and make their nests, and as they are an aquatic bird, they are, during the day-time, frequently at sea in search of food; as soon as it is dark, they hover in vast flocks over the ground where their nests are. Our people, (I mean seamen, marines, and convicts) who are sent out in parties to provide birds for the general benefit, arrive upon the ground soon after dusk, where they light small fires, which attract the attention of the birds, and they drop down out of the air as fast as the people can take them up and kill them: when they are upon the ground, the length of their wings prevents their being able to rise, and until they can ascend an eminence, they are unable to recover the use of their wings; for this purpose, nature has provided them with a strong, sharp, and hooked bill, and in their heel a sharp spur, with the assistance of which, and the strength of their bill, they have been seen to climb the stalk of a tree sufficiently high to throw themselves upon the wing. This bird, when deprived of its feathers, is about the size of a pigeon, but when cloathed, is considerably larger, for their feathers are exceedingly thick; they are webb-footed, and of a rusty black colour; they make their holes upon the hills for breeding their young in; they lay but one egg, and that is full as large as a duck's egg. They were, at the end of May, as plentiful as if none had been caught, although for two months before there had not been less taken than from two to three thousand birds every night; most of the females taken in May were with egg, which really fills the whole cavity of the body, and is so heavy that I think it must fatigue the bird much in flying. This _bird of Providence_, which I may with great propriety call it, appeared to me to resemble that sea bird in England, called the puffin: they had a strong fishy taste, but our keen appetites relished them very well; the eggs were excellent*. [* For a further description, and an engraving of this bird, see the Norfolk-Island Petrel, in Phillip's Voyage, 4to Edition.] We were highly indebted to Providence for this vast resource; but as these singular advantages could only be for a season, we reflected, with pain, that they must have an end, and that in all probability this would be the case before we got a relief. Fish was generally mentioned by Governor Phillip, when speaking of this island, as an inexhaustible resource; he also mentioned the vast quantity of birds (tropic birds and gannets) which were to be caught here upon the two small islands (Mount Pitt was not then known to be the resource we have found it). If the governor had ever been here himself, or spent a winter upon Norfolk Island, as I have done, he certainly would not have laid any stress upon resources so very precarious as we had found them; and consequently not to be depended upon as a certain advantage. I have seen the weather so stormy, and the surf so high for near a month together, that a boat could not be launched more than twice during that period, and then only for a few hours; and even when they had got out, they would sometimes bring in a hundred fish of from two to four pounds weight, and at other times only five or six fish: so that this supply was very uncertain and very trifling, when it was considered that we were above 500 people. The procurement of the birds upon the small islands was attended with the same disadvantages, by the difficulty of landing, from the constant surf. In the end of May the wreck of the ship still held together, but the beams and knees were all either broken or loose; she was so much out of the reach of the surf when it was very heavy, that it broke with considerable less force upon her than formerly. Every time that the weather would admit, a few sailors were sent on board to save whatever articles could be got at, and to send them on shore. Our distress did not occasion us to forget that the 4th of June was the birth-day of our much beloved sovereign. On the morning of this day the colours were displayed, and at noon three vollies of musquetry were fired by the marines; as an acknowledgment that we were Britons, who, however distant and distressed, revered our king, and loved our country. The seamen, having but little to do on the wreck, were now employed in clearing ground for a garden, that they might have a few vegetables to lengthen out their pittance of provisions. About the middle of this month I sent some sailors on board to see if any alteration had taken place in the wreck, that might render it possible to get at the best bower and sheet cables, or any cask from the hold; but it was found impracticable, from the orlop and lower decks lying down on the contents of the hold. On the 6th of July, a convict man who had been out in search of birds, reported, that he had been robbed of his shirt by three other convicts, who, being too lazy to work, had left the business they had been employed at, and had taken shelter in the woods: and as it became necessary to check an evil of so dangerous a nature as early as possible, lest from any inattention to it many of the very worthless characters, which were now upon the island, might be encouraged to assemble in considerable numbers, to the very great annoyance of the more industrious part of the settlement, the lieutenant-governor directed two small parties of marines, and expressed a wish that I would also order two parties of the seamen, who might probably be less suspected of any design, to apprehend them. Each man sent upon this duty was provided with a ship's pistol, and a few charges of powder and ball: in the evening of the same day on which the parties went out, the culprits were brought in, pinioned by two of the seamen who had been sent after them. A few days after, a court-martial was assembled for the trial of the above convicts, and they were sentenced to receive 300 lashes each. The Sirius's men were now wholly employed, when the weather would admit, in fishing for the settlers; and when the surf was too high, in making fishing-lines and hooks. A party of marines, and all the convicts, were employed in clearing ground for corn and potatoes. On the 24th of July, there being at that time no more than ten or twelve days salt provisions left, at the short allowance before-mentioned, and as birds, though growing scarce, were yet still to be had, it was judged necessary by the lieutenant-governor and council to stop the salt provisions entirely during the time which birds were to be caught; so that the ratio now was three pounds of flour, and one pint of rice per week, or in lieu of the flour, the same quantity of Indian corn meal, or wheat ground, with the husks and bran in the meal. The people in general were now reduced so low in bodily strength for want of a sufficiency of food, that much work could not be expected; however, it was absolutely necessary that something should be done to get seed into the ground. A considerable portion of the cleared land was planted with potatoes, as the first thing from which we could expect any relief. On the 4th of August, one of the seamen who had been walking towards the south-east part of the island, casting his eyes towards the sea, _saw a sail_; without waiting a moment to examine her particularly, he ran back with as much speed as possible, calling out as he ran, A ship! a ship! This news was all over the settlement in a few minutes, and men, women, and children were hastening in different directions to welcome the expected relief. I took a spy glass in my hand, and went to the place from whence the ship had been seen, and there, to my very great happiness, I observed a ship with an English ensign flying, not more than six or seven miles off shore. The wind at this time blowing strong from south-west, it was not possible for her to appear off Sydney-Bay, she therefore wore, and seemed to intend going under the lee of the island, in order to land a boat there. Captain Johnstone, of the marines, and myself, agreed to walk across the island and receive them. We set off, and when we arrived at the sea-side, it is impossible for me to describe our feelings, when we observed the ship before the wind, and making sail from the island. We did all we could to show ourselves, but they did not think proper to speak to us. The effect this disappointment had upon every individual on the island will be easier to conceive than to express by words. Every one agreed in opinion, that it would have been much better if no ship had been seen. There surely was an appearance of a great want of the common feelings of humanity in the commander of this ship: for although we afterwards knew that he had no relief for us, he had it in his power to have given us some comfort, some hope of relief being at no great distance; that would, in a considerable degree, have relieved the anxiety of mind under which we had laboured for five months past, and he would not have lost two hours in doing it. As Captain Johnstone and I were on our way home, lamenting our disappointment, it struck me that this ship must be from Port Jackson, and that the commander was bound to China; had nothing on board for the island, and therefore did not choose to lose any time; but if this conjecture should be just, he must have known from our friends what the probable state of this island was, and therefore might readily suppose that five minutes conversation would have been a vast relief to our anxiety. After having determined to believe that he was from Port Jackson, and that we should soon have something from thence, we kept a very good look-out, and, to our great happiness, on the 7th, a ship was discovered in the offing, and towards the evening, another appeared in sight; the surf being low, a boat was sent immediately off to go on board the nearest: they proved to be the Justinian and the Surprize, from Port Jackson, with provisions for the relief of this island, and with an addition to the number of convicts, of about 200. The masters informed us, that five ships had arrived in New South Wales with 980 convicts, and provisions for the settlement, and that they had been arrived about two months; a delay of great length, when it is considered that our situation, when the governor last heard from us, was rather an alarming one: nothing had then been saved out of the wreck of the Sirius, so that there was no certainty that we had been able to exist. Such were the reflections which I made during a moment of anxiety, and which, in a period of quiet, I do not wish to repeat. We received information, by these ships, of the unfortunate accident which befel his Majesty's ship Guardian, in her passage to this country, with provisions and stores; and also that the Gorgon was fitting, to bring farther supplies, with another lieutenant-governor, who commanded a corps that had been raised for this particular service, the marines being ordered for England. The Justinian and Surprize, by the good fortune of an uncommon time of fine weather, were cleared in little more than three weeks, and proceeded upon their voyage to China on the 30th. If these ships had been here two months before they did arrive, the weather was such that they could not have been cleared two days before the time that they were. We were now looking eagerly for the arrival of the Gorgon, which ship, the governor informed me by letter, was to take the Sirius's crew and marines off this spot, which has cost me so much distress. As soon as the above ships arrived, and we had communication with them; for their safety, as well as for the more expeditiously landing the provisions, I sent Lieutenant Bradley on board the one, he being now perfectly acquainted with the set of the tides, their uncertainty, and all the other dangers around the island; I also sent Mr. Donovan, a midshipman, on board the other, he having been near two years upon duty on this island, and was well acquainted with the above particulars: this assistance enabled them at all proper times to make more free with the shore. Mr. Keltie, the master of the Sirius, and Mr. Brooks, the boatswain, attended with me the whole day at the landing-place. The boats employed on this business were manned by the Sirius's crew; so that every possible attention to prevent danger or accident was used: but, notwithstanding which, on the 17th of August, in what was considered as good landing, one of the boats, in coming into the passage, was overtaken by a succession of heavy surfs, which threw her on one of the reefs, where she parted in less than two minutes, and seven people were drowned. I was with several other officers within twenty yards of them, and with at least thirty people beside, and could render them very little assistance. Of the persons who were drowned, there were two of the boat's crew, who belonged to the Sirius; three women convicts, who were coming from the ship in this boat, a child, and one convict man, who went off with many others to try to save the women. There were two women brought on shore, by the exertions of the people on the reef, who were, when landed, apparently dead, but recovered by the surgeons; one was mother of the child which was lost; one convict man, who was exerting himself to save others, was himself brought on shore apparently drowned, but was also brought to again. The people who were lost, were carried out by the outset from the shore, which at a certain time of tide is so strong that a boat can scarcely pull a-head against it, even when calm. This serves to convince me of the unfounded illiberality of an observation which I have seen in a certain publication, lately come out from England, wherein it is mentioned, when speaking of this island, that there was a boat's crew drowned at a certain time, but that it was occasioned by the imprudence of the midshipman, who did not attend to the orders which were given him: yet certain it is every officer here, at this time, was fully satisfied it had not been in his power to obey, owing to the out-set above-mentioned: and therefore it is equally certain, the reflection upon that gentleman's conduct was highly unjust. If there had been any act of imprudence committed at that time, it was not by the midshipman, whose duty it was to obey orders, but by sending in that narrow and intricate passage, one boat to meet another, where they must be in each other's way, and subject, by that means, (if a surf should rise at the moment) to very great danger. I found it necessary, in unloading the ships which arrived at this time, (in consequence of seeing the boats going out and meeting those coming in considerably endangered by the entangling their oars, so narrow is the passage in its most dangerous part,) to give orders that no boat should put off from the shore, when a loaded boat was near in, nor indeed until such loaded boat was safely landed. The arrival of supplies for our relief at this very critical juncture, was truly comfortable, and a strong instance of the kindness of Divine Providence to us: for our great and indeed only resource began to fail us very fast,--the Mount Pitt birds, on which it may justly be said we had for a very considerable time principally lived, were now very scarce; many people who went out to catch them, were frequently, after remaining a whole night on the ground, where they were, during the plentiful season, so very numerous, contented to bring in six or eight birds, and were sometimes unable to find one. The fish also failed us entirely; for the ships, during the time they were cruizing about the island and landing the provisions, did not catch one fish: it will therefore appear, that had not these supplies arrived so timefully, or had they been detained six weeks longer, through any accident, or other cause, what a deplorable situation we should have been reduced to. Thank God, such consequences as must have attended it, were prevented by this providential relief, and the dejected gloom, and pale sickly look, which was to be seen in every countenance, now gave way to a chearful and happy appearance of satisfaction. In the month of January, 1791, finding it impossible to get any of the remaining stores out, which were under the lower and orlop decks of the wreck, I determined to attempt getting the guns out, which, until then, I did not incline to try; the gun deck being in so infirm a state, I was suspicious, that by moving the guns, which had hitherto (being housed) hung chiefly by the bolts in the side, it might cause the deck to fall in, as the beams, from the opening of the ship's sides, did but barely keep hold of the clamp, the bolts of the knees being all broken: had this deck fallen in upon the others, it would have prevented every endeavour to save such stores as were under it, and which, from time to time, by the alterations which every heavy surf made on the wreck, we were sometimes enabled to get at: however, after every thing, which there was any possibility of getting at, was saved, we began with the guns, and in a few days got every gun and carriage on shore, by means of a traveller upon a nine inch hawser; there were only of our ordnance two carronades lost, which were carried away by the fall of the masts. We had just compleated this business of the guns, when a sail was discovered in the offing, which we all believed to be the Gorgon, that we had so long expected; but upon her nearer approach, we discovered it to be the Supply armed tender. She had been, upon her return from Norfolk Island with the account of our misfortune, immediately dispatched to Batavia; where Lieutenant Ball was directed to endeavour to hire a vessel, and to load her with such articles of provisions as he could procure, for the relief of the settlement: this service Mr. Ball succeeded in; having procured a Dutch snow, of about 300 tons, and put on board such provisions as he could procure; consisting of beef, pork, flour, rice, and various hospital stores. The season, at Batavia, while the Supply was there, was very sickly; he lost many of his men by fevers, and among the number was Mr. Newton Fowell, the second lieutenant of the Sirius, who had been put on board to assist in bringing the vessel, which might be hired, to Port Jackson. I was exceedingly concerned for the loss of this young gentleman, who was a good, well disposed, and promising young man. Mr. Ross, the gunner of the Sirius, who had been left at Port Jackson on duty, when she sailed for Norfolk Island, died also at Batavia: he had been put on board the Supply, in order to be landed at Norfolk Island, if she should be able to reach that place in her way to Batavia. After the return of the Supply to Port Jackson, she was found to require some repairs, which having been compleated, she was ordered upon the service wherein we now found her, viz. bringing a few stores for Norfolk Island, with orders to embark the remaining officers and crew of the Sirius, and to return with them to Port Jackson. This information I received with joy, as our situation was now become exceedingly irksome: we had been upon this small island eleven months, and during great part of that time, through various causes, had been oppressed by feelings more distressing than I can find words to express. On the 11th of February, I embarked, with the officers and ship's company, on board the Supply, having taken my leave of a place which had cost me so much distress and vexation. We had fine weather during our passage to Port Jackson, where we arrived on the 27th, and were kindly and hospitably received by all our friends there. I now understood from the governor, that he had entered into a contract with the master of the Dutch snow, for carrying the officers and ship's company of the Sirius to England; a piece of information which I did not by any means feel a pleasure in hearing: for, anxious as I was to reach England as soon as possible, I should with much patience rather have waited the arrival of an English ship, than to have embarked under the direction, or at the disposal, of a foreigner: however, preparations were then making for sending us off as fast as possible. As I have spent so much time upon an island, which has of late been much spoken of, and of which many flattering accounts seem to have been given, it will be expected that I should say something concerning it. NORFOLK ISLAND. Mount Pitt, or the highest land, lies in Latitude 29° 02' south. Longitude 168° 05' east of the meridian of Greenwich. Ships, on making Norfolk Island*, may stand boldly in, there not being any thing farther out than half a mile from the shore to take them up. If the wind is west to south or south-east, there is generally too much surf in Sydney-Bay for boats to land, which circumstance is signified from the shore by not hoisting any flag at the lower flag-staff; in which case you will generally find good landing in Cascade-Bay, where I think there would not be any difficulty in landing provisions from a ship. [* The remarks and directions for Norfolk Island and Sydney-Bay were made by Captain Bradley.] If she should put in here, she might always be getting her cargo out either there or at Sydney-Bay, as the winds that prevent landing in Cascade-Bay generally make smooth water in Sydney-Bay. People may at times be landed in Ball-Bay, Duncombe-Bay, and Anson's-Bay, but neither stores nor provisions can be landed, on account of the perpendicular hills that surround them. The ground of the north side of the island is clearer of rocks than in Sydney-Bay. Great attention should be paid to the tides, and on the south side of the island particularly; with southerly and south-east winds I have known the tide shift six points, at different times, in the space of half an hour; and if you cannot lie up south-south-west, standing off upon the larboard tack, the ebb tide will heave you in upon the shore. There is a mud bank to the north-east by north of Nepean's island, where a ship might safely anchor in westerly winds, and prevent being driven off Norfolk Island. SYDNEY BAY*, Lies in latitude 29° 05' south; longitude 168° 02' east; and variation 11° 00' east. The tide flows full, and changes at three quarters past seven, and rises from five to seven feet: the flood runs to the south-west by south; and the ebb to the north-east by north. [* For Sydney-Bay, Norfolk Island, upon a large scale, see Phillip's Voyage.] In general the tides are equal each way, the ebbs and the flows regular along the shore six each tide: the eastern tide is stronger than the western tide; sometimes the eastern tide runs several hours beyond its usual course, and sometimes the western tide thus irregularly, which irregularities, although they seldom happen, make it necessary to bring to, and try the tide before you come within the outer part of the Nepean Island; and be aware of an indraught, which sometimes sets into the bight on the west side of the bay, on both tides, while you are baffled by the south-east and southerly winds, as you come in with Sydney-Bay. All within Nepean Island is foul ground, and very irregular soundings, and no safe passage between it and Point Hunter; but if a ship should be pressed by necessity, I would recommend keeping within half a cable's length of Nepean Island, after having passed the bed of rocks to the westward of the little bay. Norfolk Island lies north-west by north and south-east by south, and is in this direction about five miles long, and nearly three in breadth; it is very thickly covered with wood, of which there are six or seven different kinds, and some I believe might be applied to naval purposes. The Pines, which has been particularly spoken of by Captain Cook, and by others, who have lately visited this island, is the most conspicuous of any tree here; they grow to a prodigious size, and are proportionably tall, being from 150 to 200 feet, and in circumference from 12 to 14 feet, some to 28 and 30 feet. These trees, from their immense height, have a very noble appearance, being in general very straight, and free from branches, to 40, sometimes 60 feet, above the ground; they have been by some thought fit for masts, for ships of any size; in length and diameter they certainly are, but with respect to quality they are, in my opinion, wholly unfit; even admitting them to be found, which, from experience, I know is seldom the case. I employed the carpenters of the Sirius, while here, to cut down a few sticks, which it was intended should be sent home by the first opportunity, in order for trial in his Majesty's dock-yards, to see if they were, as had been said, fit for his Majesty's navy, or not. In providing a top-mast and a top-sail-yard for a seventy-four gun ship, a thirty-two, a twenty, or a sloop, and one rough spar, in all seven sticks, 34 trees were cut down, 27 of which were found defective. When these trees were falling, it was observed that most of them discharged a considerable quantity of clear water, which continued to flow at every fresh cut of the axe; there is no turpentine in these trees but what circulates between the bark and body of the tree, and which is soluble in water. It is a very short grained and spongy kind of timber, and I think fit only for house-building, for which we know it to be very useful. When fresh cut down, five out of six will sink in water, the wood is so exceedingly heavy: and, if we suppose for a moment, that great part of the pine timber were fit for naval purposes, the great difficulty, and indeed I may say impossibility, of getting it from the interior parts of the island to the sea, would render it of little value, if designed for masts; but if for plank, it could be cut up where fallen. Those which grow on the south-east point of the island, where the land is low, are those which have hitherto been made use of. Norfolk Island, if correctly laid down in a plan, with all the hills and vallies represented accurately, would very much resemble the waves of the sea in a gale of wind; for it is composed wholly of long, narrow, and very steep ridges of hills, with deep gullies, which are as narrow at the bottom as the hills are on the top, so that there is scarcely any level country upon it; but as viewed from the sea, it appears quite level, the different ridges being nearly the same in height. Arthur's Vale, which is near the settlement, and the first place which was cleared for cultivation, is a pretty spot of level ground, and the most extensive flat yet cleared; it contains eleven acres. This very great unevenness of the ground occasions much labour in cultivation, and renders it wholly impossible to use the plough, even if the ground were sufficiently cleared, and there were cattle to work; every labour of that kind must be done by hand. There was, when I left the island, in February, 1791, something more than 100 acres cleared for the public, exclusive of private gardens, but all the roots of the trees were left in the ground, which would no doubt occupy a fifth part of it, for many of them were very large. The soil over the whole of this island is generally allowed to be remarkably fine, and it is very deep; indeed, the luxuriance with which almost every thing grows sufficiently indicates a very rich soil: it seems to be composed principally of a deep, fat clay, and decayed vegetable matter; in short, without pretending to natural knowledge, that unhappily I do not possess, I shall only observe, that a more luxuriant soil I never met with in any part of the world. The flax plant mentioned by Captain Cook grows chiefly on the sea coast, or on points which project into the sea; but as these points seem to have the same kind of soil as the other parts of the island, there can be no doubt of its succeeding in the interior parts, if planted there. In the very sanguine opinions which we find have been given of this island, since we arrived in this southern part of the world, it appears that the size of it has been wholly overlooked, otherwise I think such expectations and opinions of its value, as appears to have been entertained, could not have taken place. I only judge of such expectations by the number of people which Governor Phillip has thought proper to send there: opinions have been given, that it will maintain 2000 inhabitants; if it were all cleared and cultivated, it would no doubt furnish many of the necessaries of life for such a number; but in its present state, I should think a fourth part of that number too many, and, in my humble opinion, they should be such as have forfeited every hope of seeing their native country again; such a description of people would find it their particular interest to be industrious, as their existence might depend upon it. The crops here are very subject to blights from the sea winds, and there are immense numbers of the grub worm and caterpillars: there is also a fly of a very destructive nature to the gardens and corn; but when such vermin do not appear until the crops have arrived at a certain age, and have gained their strength, their effects are not so very ruinous; there is no certain period at which they appear; probably when a large extent of ground is cleared these vermin may not be so frequent. Indian corn grows here with great advantage, producing from forty to fifty bushels an acre, planted with about a peck. This little island is extraordinary well watered; there are several fine streams which seem to flow from the body of Mount Pitt, and empty themselves on both sides of the island into the sea. On the north side, in Cascade-Bay, there are two pretty falls from steep cliffs into the sea; there are two streams upon this island, which I have often noticed even in very dry weather, and thought them capable of turning a mill. With respect to landing upon the shore, as it is frequently attended with great difficulty and danger, stores should never be sent here but in the summer time, when there is much fine weather and easy landing; but when the landing is impracticable in Sydney-Bay, it is possible to get light stores a-shore in Cascade-Bay, which will then be smooth, if it do not blow hard; when it does, the whole island is inaccessible, for it is not of sufficient extent to prevent the sea, occasioned by bad weather, from affecting every part of the shore. [A TABLE, distinguishing those Days on which Landing was good, and those of High Surf, when there could be no landing, at the annexed Landing Places, in _Norfolk-Island_, between the 19th of _March_, 1790, and the 12th of _Feb._ 1791. By CAPTAIN BRADLEY.] Chapter VIII February 1791 to March 1791 Great improvement of the country at Rose Hill.--Vicissitude of the climate. Norfolk Island remarkably healthy.--A native runs away from the settlement.--Frequent visits from the natives.--Governor Phillip wounded by the natives with a spear.--Natives again visit the settlement.--Entertain the governor, etc. with a dance.--Decorate themselves for that purpose. Method of dancing described.--Music and singing.- After my arrival at Port Jackson I went to Rose Hill, where great improvements were carrying on; a considerable town was laid out, many good buildings were erected, and roads were cut, with about two hundred and thirteen acres of land cleared for corn, and eighty acres for buildings and gardens; that is, the trees were cut down, but the roots remained in the ground, which would certainly lessen the quantity of cleared ground; this ground being grubbed up and laid open, gave me an opportunity of examining what the soil consisted of, and although I do not pretend to any knowledge in farming, yet I thought it required no very great judgment to perceive and determine this favourite spot (which, to do it justice, is certainly better than any upon or near this harbour) to be a poor, sandy, steril, soil; the surface is covered a few inches deep with a soil which seems to be produced from decayed vegetation, rotten leaves, burnt and withered grass; and under that is a mere bed of sand. Rose Hill is certainly a pretty situation, but the country will require much manure, much dressing, and good farmers to manage it, before good crops can be expected from it; the best they have ever had, I have been informed, has amounted only to six or seven to one, and this last season has been little more than two to one, but that may in some measure be accounted for by there being a great scarcity of rain. If it be the determination of government to persevere in establishing a settlement in this country, upon an extensive plan, the nation must be contented to submit to a very heavy expence. It must be stocked with cattle, were it only for the manure, for without manure this country is too poor ever to yield tolerable crops; and if it should be resolved upon to stock it with cattle, it will be found highly necessary to employ a considerable number of people in the care of them, to prevent their being frequently attacked by the natives, whom we know are frequently driven to very great distress for food. The country about Rose Hill, which I have formerly mentioned as requiring not much labour in clearing, from its being covered only with lofty, open woods, without any underwood, and which I then observed ran to the westward about twenty miles, has since been travelled over by several gentlemen, who admit that that kind of country does extend near the distance above-mentioned to the westward, but in a north and south direction, it does not extend more than three or four miles, when you come again into barren, rocky land, wholly unfit for cultivation; in short, as I have walked over a good deal of ground since I have been here, and have frequently travelled from Botany-Bay to Broken-Bay along the sea coast, I can with much truth declare, that I have never met with a piece of ground any where sufficient for a small farm, which has not been so rocky as to be unfit for cultivation; the best of it appears to be a poor, miserable, sandy soil; and what must subject those who live on it to much inconvenience is, the very great scarcity of water. Upon my arrival here from Norfolk Island, all the streams from which we were formerly supplied, except a small drain at the head of Sydney-Cove, were entirely dried up, so great had been the drought; a circumstance, which from the very intense heat of the summer, I think it probable we shall be very frequently subject to. This frequent reduction of the streams of fresh water disposes me to think, that they originate from swamps and large collections of rain water, more than from springs. When the sudden vicissitudes of heat and cold are considered, we might be too apt to pronounce this country very unhealthy; but near four years experience has convinced us that it is not the case: it is no uncommon thing at Rose Hill, and frequently at Sydney, for the thermometer to be in the morning at 56° or 60°; and by two hours, afternoon, at 100°, sometimes 112°; and after sun-set, down to 60° again; this is, with the thermometer exposed to the air, in a shade, and not within the house. When I went last to Rose Hill, I left Sydney at five o'clock in the morning, and rowed up the harbour, a great coat was then comfortable; at noon I walked over the cleared ground, the thermometer was then more than 100°. Norfolk Island is also subject to such sudden changes, but is also remarkably healthy. I do not think I can give a stronger proof of the salubrity of the climate, than by observing, that I never saw the constitutions either of the human race or any other animal, more prolific in any part of the world; two children at a birth is no uncommon thing, and elderly women, who have believed themselves long past the period of child-bearing, have repeatedly had as fine healthy strong children as ever were seen. And there has but one old woman, who was sickly before she came to the country, and one infant, died of a natural disease on the island, since it has been settled. I have some time ago mentioned the name of Ba-na-lang, a native man, who had been taken in the lower part of the harbour, with another of the name of Co-al-by, who soon after made his escape. Ba-na-lang had been kept in his shackle, and treated with so much kindness, that it was now supposed he might be trusted with his liberty, without any fear of his leaving us; he was therefore, in the month of April, 1790, which was soon after we left Port Jackson for Norfolk Island, set at liberty, and did not appear at all disposed to leave the governor's house, or absent himself from his new acquired friends; this appearance of satisfaction he feigned with success for several days, for no person seemed to suspect him; he at last, however, took French leave; having, after dark, one evening, stripped himself of his very decent cloathing, left them behind, and walked off. Both he and Co-al-by were frequently seen by our fishing-boats, and were so familiar as to converse with the people, who often invited them to come up to Sydney (the name by which the settlement is called) but this invitation they were not much disposed to accept, until the governor in person should invite them, and give them his promise that they should not be detained; the governor did invite them, and promised to give them many things, of which they were very much in want. It was scarcely to be expected that these people, who had been deprived of their liberty in so treacherous a manner, and had been so long detained from their families and connections, should have had confidence enough to trust their liberty again in our hands; however, as the governor and every other person in the settlement had ever been kind to them, they were inclined to depend on the governor's promise, and did come to Sydney; were kindly received, went from house to house, and saw all their old acquaintances; they received many little presents, and returned to their friends when they thought proper. This confidential visit from two men, who appeared to have some influence among their countrymen, soon brought about a more general intercourse, and the next visit from those men brought the same favour from their wives and families, whose example was followed by many others; so that every gentleman's house was now become a resting or sleeping place for some of them every night; whenever they were pressed for hunger, they had immediate recourse to our quarters, where they generally got their bellies filled. They were now become exceedingly fond of bread, which when we came here first, they could not bear to put into their mouths; and if ever they did, it was out of civility to those who offered it; but now the little children had all learnt the words, -hungry, bread_; and would, to show that they were hungry, draw in their belly, so as to make it appear quite empty. Co-al-by's wife had a young female child in her arms, about three or four months old; this little creature had a ligature round the little finger of the right hand, in order to separate the two lower joints, which in the course of three weeks or a month it effected: I saw it just as the finger was about dropping off, but as it hung by a bit of skin, they begged Mr. White, the surgeon, to take it off, which he did, with a pair of scissars, and which the child did not seem to feel. This taking off the finger of the right hand appeared to be a mistake in the mother, who frequently pointed that it should have been the left hand. A short time previous to this friendly and general visiting from the natives, the governor, as I have already observed, in order to dispose them the more to confide in us, went down the harbour himself, to see and converse with our old friends Ba-na-lang and Co-al-by, and to invite them to come to his house, where they should get whatever they might be in want of; and be permitted to return when they pleased. The governor having received information that these two men with several other natives were in Collins's-Cove, went thither, accompanied by several other gentlemen, and they were all unarmed; this unfortunate want of necessary caution had very near proved fatal to the governor; the particulars of this accident were related to me by an officer who was of the party, and were, as near as I can recollect, as follows: On Thursday the 7th of September, the governor, with a few other gentlemen, went down to the look-out, in order to fix on a spot for erecting a column, or pyramid, as a mark, by which strangers might, at sea, the better know the harbour; and were returning, when they were met by a boat which had been landing a party of gentlemen, who intended walking along the coast to Broken-bay: by the cockswain of this boat, the governor was informed, that Mr. White, who was one of the above party, had seen Co-al-by and Ba-na-lang, and had a long conversation with them; that these men enquired for every body they knew, and particularly for the governor; that they had sent his excellency a piece of whale, which had been thrown on shore, and which they had been regaling themselves upon; that Ba-na-lang would go up to Sydney, if the governor would come for him. In consequence of this information, the governor returned to the look-out, and got together every thing that he could find, which he thought would be acceptable to his old friends: he also took with him four muskets, and went immediately to Collins's-Cove, where those people had been seen. In their way they examined the muskets, and found that only two of the four would strike fire, and these they loaded: when they reached the place, they observed a number of the natives sitting round a fire which was near the place where the dead whale lay; the governor stood up in the boat, and asked in their language where Ba-na-lang was; Ba-na-lang answered, I am here; the governor then said, I am the governor your father; (a name he wished the governor to be known by when he lived with him.) The governor, after desiring Captain Collins and Mr. Waterhouse to remain in the boat, and to have the muskets ready, landed, and walked up the beach with his arms extended, to show that he was unarmed, and that they might not be alarmed: they did not seem inclined to meet him; however he followed them into the wood, and one of them frequently called out governor and father; in consequence of this, and having shook hands in a friendly manner, the governor returned to the boat, and desired one of the men to bring up some wine, beef, and bread, and a jacket or two, which had been brought on purpose, and went back with those articles to them: on his holding up a bottle, one of them called out wine, and repeated several English words; two of the natives came forward and received the things, and one drank a little wine; they had likewise received from the governor a few knives. In a short time, the governor came to the boat again, and mentioned all that had happened; observing at the same time, that Ba-na-lang and Co-al-by were not among the number: he asked Captain Collins to walk up with him, and desired Mr. Waterhouse to stay by the boat. When they went up, Mr. Waterhouse frequently heard one of the natives call to Ba-na-lang, and informed him of what observations he made upon those who remained in the boat, the people being employed in keeping her afloat, upon her oars. Shortly after, one of the men came down from the governor, and informed Mr. Waterhouse, that both Ba-na-lang and Co-al-by were there, and that the former had frequently asked for Mr. Waterhouse, and the governor desired he would come up, which he did. On his arrival, he observed a considerable number of the natives on each side, and eight or ten in front, all armed with their spears, except two, with whom the governor and Captain Collins were in conversation. Mr. Waterhouse went up, but did not know Ba-na-lang, until he was pointed out to him; he then shook hands with him and Co-al-by. Ba-na-lang had at this time two jackets on, which he had received from the governor and Captain Collins; Co-al-by had also a jacket given him; after Ba-na-lang had been asked several questions, he took Mr. Waterhouse round the neck and kissed him; these questions were relative to various circumstances which happened while he lived with the governor, all of which he seemed to recollect very well: Co-al-by shook hands again with Mr. Waterhouse, and begged him to put on the jacket which had been given, and which he held in his hand, not knowing how to put it on himself, which Mr. Waterhouse did for him. Ba-na-lang, on the governor's first meeting him, had a remarkable fine spear, which the governor asked him for, but he either could not or would not understand him, but laid it down on the ground. During all this time, there was the greatest appearance of harmony and friendship. However, the natives seemed closing round the party, which being observed, the governor proposed going down to the boat, for they had by this time nearly formed a crescent, and had the governor's party in the centre: there were now nineteen armed men near, and a considerable number in the wood out of sight. The governor now told Ba-na-lang that he would return in two days, and bring him the cloaths he used to wear when in his house, and would also bring him a couple of hatchets for himself and Co-al-by; with which promise they seemed well pleased, and often repeated that it might not be forgot. Just as the governor and his party were going, Ba-na-lang pointed out and named several of the natives who were strangers, one of whom the governor went up to and offered to shake his hands, at which the man seemed much terrified, and immediately seized the spear, which Ba-na-lang had laid on the ground, fixed it on the throwing-stick, and discharged it with astonishing violence: he with all his associates made off with the utmost precipitation. The spear entered the governor's right shoulder, just above the collar-bone, and came out about three inches lower down, behind the shoulder-blade. Mr. Waterhouse, who was close by the governor at the time, supposed that it must be mortal, for the spear appeared to him to be much lower down than it really was, and supposed, from the number of armed men, that it would be impossible for any of the party to escape to the boat. He turned round immediately to return to the boat, as he perceived Captain Collins to go that way, calling to the boat's crew to bring up the muskets; the governor also attempted to run towards the boat, holding up the spear with both hands, to keep it off the ground, but owing to its great length, the end frequently took the ground and stopped him (it was about twelve feet long). Governor Phillip, in this situation, desired Mr. Waterhouse to endeavour, if possible, to take the spear out, which he immediately attempted, but observing it to be barbed, and the barb quite through, he saw it would be impossible to draw it out; he therefore endeavoured to break it, but could not. While he was making this attempt, another spear was thrown out of the wood, and took off the skin between Mr. Waterhouse's fore-finger and thumb, which alarmed him a good deal, and he thinks added power to his exertions, for the next attempt, he broke it off. By this time, the spears flew pretty thick, one of which he observed to fall at Captain Collins's feet, while he was calling to the boat's crew: the governor attempted to pull a pistol out of his pocket, but the spears flew so thick, that it was unsafe to stop: however he got it out and fired it, upon a supposition, that their knowing he had some fire-arms would deter them from any further hostility. The whole party got down to the boat without any further accident, and in two hours they arrived at the government-house, when the surgeons were sent for: Mr. Balmain, who was the first that arrived, after examining the wound, made every body happy, by assuring them he did not apprehend any fatal consequences from it; he extracted the point of the spear, and dressed the wound, and in six weeks the governor was perfectly recovered. Immediately on the arrival of the governor at Sydney, it was judged necessary to send an armed party of marines towards Broken-bay, to escort the gentlemen who had walked that way back again; lest the same hostile disposition in the natives, should incline them to make an attack on them on their return. Before I left Port Jackson, the natives were become very familiar and intimate with every person in the settlement; many of them now took up their rest every night in some of the gentlemen's houses; their very unprovoked attack on the governor and his party being passed over and almost forgot. We have frequently observed, since this familiar intercourse took place, that they often had a dance amongst themselves at night, on the lower part of Sydney-cove, where a small house had been built by the governor's order, for their accommodation. It had been signified to some of the principal amongst them, that we should be glad to have an opportunity of seeing them dance, which they readily agreed to, and the following night was appointed, when the governor and a considerable number attended; every one being provided with arms of some kind: a caution which, notwithstanding friendly appearances, was generally allowed to be necessary; for experience had convinced us that these people have a good deal of treachery in their disposition. Preparatory to this exhibition, much attention was paid to the decorating themselves; they were all Adams and Eves, without even a fig-leaf, but without their dignity. The young women were employed with all their art in painting the young men, who were chiefly ornamented with streaks of white, done with pipe-clay, and in different forms, according to the taste of the man himself, or to that of the lady who adorned him: no fop preparing for an assembly was ever more desirous of making his person irresistibly beautiful. This paint, so much in use among them, could not be applied without a little moisture, and the lady, in drawing those marks on the face, which were so essential a part of the decoration, I observed frequently to spit in the face of her friend, whom she was employed in adorning, in order to make the white clay mark the stronger. When they were all prepared, we walked down to the place appointed, after dark, for they prefer taking their amusement by fire-light; we found several fires lighted, and a considerable number of people assembled. We walked round to see that there were no armed lurkers among the bushes. The dancers being ready, we were placed in a semicircle, by Ba-na-lang, and Co-al-by, who seemed to have the chief authority and direction. The dance was begun by a few young boys, and was encreased by men and women, chiefly by the former, until their number amounted from twenty to twenty-six. Their dance was truly wild and savage, yet, in many parts, there appeared order and regularity: one man would frequently single himself out from the dance, and running round the whole of the performers, sing out in a loud voice, using some expressions in one particular tone of voice which we could not understand: he would then join the dance, in which it was observed that certain parties alternately led forward to the front, and there exhibited with their utmost skill and agility, all the various motions which, with them, seemed to constitute the principal beauties of dancing: one of the most striking was, that of placing their feet very wide apart, and by an extraordinary exertion of the muscles of the thighs and legs, moving the knees in a trembling and very surprizing manner, such as none of us could imitate; which seemed to show that it required much practice to arrive at any degree of perfection in this singular motion. There appeared a good deal of variety in their different dances; in one of which they paired themselves, and frequently danced back to back; they then changed suddenly and faced each other: sometimes all the performers sat down on the ground with their feet under them, and at a particular word, or order, they all raised themselves up: this motion they performed without any assistance from the hands; now they ran back in direct rows, then advanced in the same order; again they would form a circle, with some distinguished person in the center, and sometimes the whole of the performers would appear with a green bough in their hands, which they held up in a conspicuous manner. In all the different figures which they performed, I observed that they generally finished by certain numbers of their principal dancers advancing to the front, and going through that favourite part of the dance, the quivering motion of the knees; whenever this was done, the whole company faced to the front and went through the same motions; but it was noticed that some were more frequently in the front than others, and those, I concluded, were such as had great confidence in their own skill in the execution of this very difficult part of the performance, and no doubt were vain enough to outshine in their ability the rest of the company. On the whole, this exhibition was well worth seeing; and this was the first opportunity that had offered for us to see any thing of the kind, since we had been in the country. Their music consisted of two sticks of very hard wood, one of which the musician held upon his breast, in the manner of a violin, and struck it with the other, in good and regular time; the performer, who was a stout strong voiced man, sung the whole time, and frequently applied those graces in music, the piano and forte; he was assisted by several young boys and girls, who sat at his feet, and by their manner of crossing the thighs, made a hollow between them and their belly, upon which they beat time with the flat of their hand, so as to make a kind of sound which will be better understood from the manner of its being produced, than from any verbal description: these children also sung with the chief musical performer, who stood up the whole time, and seemed to me to have the most laborious part of the performance. They very frequently, at the conclusion of the dance, would apply to us for our opinions, or rather for marks of our approbation of their performance; which we never failed to give by often repeating the word _boojery_, which signifies good; or _boojery caribberie_, a good dance. These signs of pleasure in us seemed to give them great satisfaction, and generally produced more than ordinary exertions from the whole company of performers in the next dance. Chapter IX A VOYAGE TO BATAVIA March 1791 to September 1791 -Captain Hunter leaves Port Jackson in the Waaksamheyd transport.--In danger amongst some islands.--Isle of Pines described.--Stewart's islands discovered.--Fall in with Bradley's shoals.--Discover a cluster of islands.--Name them Lord Howe's Groupe.--The natives described.--Attempt to find anchorage on the coast of New-Britain.--Are disappointed.--Anchor at the Duke of York's island.--Attempt to procure water.--Are attacked by the natives.--A few shots fired.--The natives dispersed.--A reconciliation effected.--Natives described.--Weapons.--Ornaments, etc.--Produce and soil.--Leave the Duke of York's island.--Natives from the Admiralty islands visit the ship.--Their canoes described.--Phillip's islands discovered.--Anchor at Hummock island.--Refreshments procured.--Visited by the Raja.--A quarrel ensues.--Several of the natives killed.--Articles of barter in request.--Canoes described.--Leave Hummock island.--Anchor at Batavia.--Tables of latitude and longitude, etc.- On the 27th of March, 1791, every thing being embarked, we left Sydney-cove, in the Waaksamheyd transport, and sailed down the harbour; when we were accompanied by the governor, and most of the civil and military officers in the settlement. When we passed the lower point of the Cove, all the marines and the New South Wales corps, who were off duty, came down and cheered our people, by way of taking leave, and wishing us a good passage. Never, upon any service, did there a better, or a more friendly, understanding subsist between different corps, than had ever been the case between the seamen and soldiers employed upon this. When we came near the lower part of the harbour, our friends took leave, and soon after the wind setting in from the sea, we were obliged to anchor until the next morning, when a land wind carried us clear out. The master of the ship had orders from Governor Phillip to call at Norfolk Island, in order to take on board the dispatches of Lieutenant-Governor Ross; but this order was meant only in case it could be done without any material loss of time. We were in all, on board that little vessel, one hundred and twenty-three souls, victualled for sixteen weeks. We had a very long voyage before us. It was my wish, if possible, to avoid touching at Batavia, in order to prevent sickness among our people, in the very crouded state they were in, which, at the season we should probably be there, was much to be dreaded. I had expressed a desire to pass through amongst the Molucca Islands, and endeavour to call at Timor, for the purpose of watering, and getting such other articles as could be had there; as by the time we could arrive among those islands, the easterly wind would be set in strong; and from thence, to have proceeded as far as I could with the provisions I had, either to the Mauritius, or the Cape of Good Hope. We therefore could not afford to lose much time in an attempt to call at Norfolk Island; three weeks, however, we persevered in endeavouring to reach it, and had arrived within twenty-five leagues of it, when the wind set in strong from the eastward. I now called the officers and the master of the ship together, to consider of our situation, with respect to water and provisions. We had been fitted out in a very hasty and careless manner, with water-casks built from old worm-eaten staves, which had been laying exposed to the sun for more than a year; so that by the time we had arrived within the above distance of the island, we had lost by leakage full three weeks water, and had every reason to fear the loss of much more from the same cause: it was not therefore time, with a heavy sailing vessel, to attempt beating to windward, in order to reach a place, which we knew we could not gain without a change of wind; and the very great difficulty and uncertainty of getting a supply of water there, determined every one's opinion in favour of bearing away to the northward. Much time had already been lost in making the attempt, we therefore steered to the northward, intending to pass between the New Hebrides and Nova Caledonia; but in this intention we were disappointed. Upon making the Isle of Pines, (on the 23d of April,) which lies off the south end of New Caledonia, (the island bore when we made it north,) the wind blew so strong from the northward of east, that we could not weather and pass to the eastward of it. We had not Cook's Second Voyage on board, so that we had no account of this land, and as I had always understood that the Isle of Pines was a small inconsiderable spot, with many tall pine-trees upon it, we all concluded, that, what afterwards proved really the island was the land which Captain Cook had called the Prince of Wales's Foreland, and is the south-west part of New Caledonia. We had moreover farther reason to believe this to be the case, from the circumstance, that from this land to the south-east there lay a low island on which grew high pine-trees; from which circumstance, we considered it to be the Isle of Pines; and being unable, as I have already observed, to weather it, we bore away, intending to run along the western coast of New Caledonia: this mistake had nearly proved of fatal consequences to us, for after we had coasted along for a few leagues, and had been employed in taking angles for ascertaining the shape of the coast, as we sailed along it, land was discovered a-head; upon which the course was altered: soon afterwards, more land was seen still a-head, and as we hauled up to avoid it, more land and broken keys or low islands were discovered a-head, and as far to windward as the eye could reach; we consequently hauled our wind, and stood towards it, in order to discover our situation with more certainty. We soon found that we had sailed into a very deep bay, formed between the Isle of Pines to the eastward, and a most dangerous reef on the west, which extended from the high land or south-west point of New Caledonia, not less than ten or eleven leagues, and was nearly that distance in a south-west direction from the high part of the Isle of Pines: in this situation there was no alternative; for we must either beat to windward to go round the reef, find a channel through it, or go on shore: the first, therefore, we determined to attempt, so we made all the sail the ship could bear, and stood towards the reef, and it being then evening we wished to ascertain our exact situation before dark. We found the reef composed of a number of low islands or keys, and many rocks above the water, and of considerable breadth; in short, there was not the smallest hope of passing through it, the sea broke very high on every part of it, which we could reach with the eye from the mast-head. As soon as it was dark, and we thought ourselves near enough to it, we tacked, and kept every person upon deck during the night. We had, during the time we were running to leeward and making observations on the coast, passed by a number of low islands, covered with trees or shrubs, and had observed they were all surrounded with a reef, which the sea broke upon, and among these little islands were many reefs, which appeared only by the breaking of the sea: we were then thoroughly sensible of our mistake, and that the land which we had taken from its extent to be a part of New Caledonia, was the Isle of Pines; and that the height which we had steered down for, and thought to be a part of the coast which Captain Cook had not seen, was what he called the Prince of Wales's Foreland, and was the farthest land he had seen to the westward. We kept working to windward all night, between that extensive reef to the westward, and those small keys and reefs which lay between us and the land, and of which I have since observed, Captain Cook, in his sketch, takes no notice; the outer reef he marks, but leaves a large open space between it and the land, which describes the reef to be a round cluster of rocks above and under water: he probably had not an opportunity of observing this dangerous place so near to the land as we had: there may be a channel to the leeward between the inner end of this reef and the shore, but it had very little the appearance of it; as we saw many low shrubby islands between us and the shore, to which they were probably connected by a reef under water, which, at the distance we were from it, could not be ascertained. At day-light in the morning of the 24th, we observed with no small degree of pleasure, that we had gained ground to windward; but this we knew was not owing to any weatherly qualities in the ship, but to the wind having varied several points during the night, and of which we had availed ourselves: by noon we were so far to windward as to perceive the utmost extent of the reef to the southward under our lee, and we had a prospect of weathering it; we, of course, carried a press of sail, and did weather it about two or three miles: when a-breast of it, the highest part of the Isle of Pines was just to be seen above the horizon, which was very clear, and it bore by compass north-east by north, distant ten or eleven leagues; having passed without the reef, at noon we observed our latitude to be 23° 7' south, so that the south extremity of this dangerous reef lies in latitude 23° 00' south nearly: as soon as we were fairly clear of this situation, we bore away to the westward. The Isle of Pines, so far from being an inconsiderable spot, as I had believed, is not less than 14 or 15 miles over in a south-east and north-west direction; it is high and remarkable in the middle, being quite a pointed hill, sloping towards the extremities, which are very low; the low land had many tall pine-trees upon it; these trees, in length, seemed exceedingly to surpass those of Norfolk Island, but their branches did not appear to extend so far from the body of the tree. We continued to steer to the north-westward without seeing any thing, and when we had reached the latitude of 19° 00' south, which is supposed to be as far to the northward as any part of New Caledonia extends, we hauled to the north-east, so as to pass between Queen Charlotte's Islands and that large track of land which had been seen by Monsieurs Bougainville and Surville formerly, and lately by Lieutenant Shortland, in the Alexander Transport, and more recently still by Lieutenant Ball, in his Majesty's armed tender Supply. The part seen by Lieutenant Ball is, I believe, more to the southward, than that seen by the French, and is no doubt the same as that seen by Lieutenant Shortland; but the one sailed along the east, the other along the west side of it. It is highly probable that there is a continuation of the same track, and it is farther probable, by the breaks which have been observed in it, that it is a chain of islands extending in a south-east and north-west direction, and very nearly connected with the coast of New Guinea. On the 5th of May we were near as far to the northward as the southermost part of this land, but did not see it, being by our longitude in 163° 33' east, which is more than a degree to the eastward of the south part seen by the Supply; the weather was now dark and gloomy, with heavy rain at times, and light, variable winds. Queen Charlotte's Islands certainly lie farther to the eastward than has generally been supposed, otherwise we must have made them, for we crossed their latitude in 163° 30' east longitude, which is nearly what the west end of Egmont Island is said to lie in. On the 8th of May we had a number of very good observations of the sun and moon's distance, by which our longitude was at noon 163° 32' east, and the latitude at the same time 9° 33' south. On the 10th, in the morning, we saw land bearing west-north-west, distant about seven leagues; we bore down to make it plain, and it proved to be a cluster of small islands, five in number; they were well covered with trees, amongst which we thought we observed the cocoa-nut. These islands, when we first discovered them, appeared as only one, which induced me to think it might be Carteret's Island; and had it not been that by going nearer we discovered that there were five of them, and that they did not at all answer the description of that given by Captain Carteret, I should have concluded that it was so, although the longitude of his island must have been very erroneous, had it been the case. Their latitude is 8° 26' south, which is nearly the latitude of Carteret's; and their longitude, deduced from the preceding day's observations, is 163° 18' east. We steered from them directly to the northward, in order to see if we could discover Gower's Island, which Captain Carteret says lies about ten or eleven leagues to the northward of Carteret's; but as we saw nothing, I concluded they had never been seen before; I therefore called them Stewart's Islands, as a mark of my respect for the honourable Keith Stewart. The two largest of the islands just mentioned I judged to be about three miles in length; whether they were inhabited or not we could not discover: we passed to windward of them, and not being situated conveniently for making discoveries, or exploring unknown lands, we made the best of our way to the northward: just after we left these islands, we passed through a very strong ripling of a tide or current, and saw the trunks of several large trees in the water. On the 12th, at nine o'clock in the morning, the man at the mast-head discovered breakers on the starboard bow, and not more than six miles distant; soon after, breakers were seen on the starboard quarter, and on the beam, extending in the direction of east-south-east and west-north-west five leagues distant: at eleven, breakers were seen on the larboard beam, in different patches about two miles long, and lying parallel to those on the starboard side. On this we brought to, and sounded with 130 fathoms of line, but had no ground. This had the appearance of a dangerous cluster of shoals, for being situated in a climate where it seldom blows so strong as to raise a large sea, a ship might in the night, without a very good look-out, be in very great danger before they could be perceived: they appeared to be sand shoals, and very little below the surface: the passage we sailed through is in latitude 6° 52' south, and longitude 161° 06' east: these patches should not be crossed in the night: I called them Bradley's Shoals. The variation was here 8° 01' east. On the 14th, at day-light in the morning, we saw land, and at sunrise we observed this land to be a number of islands; some were of considerable extent, and many of a smaller size. Thirty-two were distinctly counted from the mast-head, bearing from north-west half north to north-east half east; many of them were considerably distant, so far as to make it probable that we did not see the whole of this extensive groupe. At ten o'clock we perceived six or seven canoes coming off, with large triangular sails; a little after noon, one of them, with nine men in it, came up with us, although we did not shorten sail: we could not persuade them to come along-side, or touch the ship, but we threw a few beads and nails, and other trifles, into their boat, with which they appeared much pleased; and in return, they threw some pieces of cocoa-nut on board; at one o'clock a fresh breeze sprung up, and they left us. The men in this boat were a stout, clean, well made people, of a dark copper colour; their hair was tied in a knot on the back of their head, and they seemed to have some method of taking off their beards; for they appeared to us as if clean shaved, but they had an ornament, consisting of a number of fringes, like an artificial beard, which was fastened on between the nose and mouth, and close under the nose; to that beard hung a row of teeth, which gave them the appearance of having a mouth lower than their natural one; they had holes run through the sides of the nose into the passage, into which, as well as through the septum, were thrust pieces of reed or bone; their arms and thighs were marked in the manner described by Captain Cook, of some of the natives of the islands he visited in these seas, called tatowing; and some were painted with red and white streaks; they wore a wrapper round their middle. Their canoe was about 40 feet long; it was badly made, and had an out-rigger. The islands appeared very thickly covered with wood, among which the cocoa-nut was very distinguishable; I think it highly probable that there may be good anchorage amongst them, but my situation would not admit of my examining into that matter. They lie in an east and west direction along that side on which we sailed (south side), and their latitude on that side is 5° 30' south, the longitude from 159° 14' east to 159° 37' east*. [* These islands I called Lord Howe's Groupe.] On the 18th, at eight o'clock in the morning, we saw three small islands bearing west-north-west, and very high land bearing south-west: at eleven o'clock two more islands were in sight from the mast-head, and two smaller ones, which appeared no larger than rocks: at noon five islands and two rocks were to be seen; they seemed all to be connected by a reef which on the west side extended some distance from them; great part of a sand bank within the reef appeared dry, and some natives were seen upon it; two canoes, with triangular sails, endeavoured to reach the ship, but it blew very fresh, and we could not afford to lose time. These I took to be a part of Captain Carteret's nine islands; they seemed to lie in the direction of south-east and north-west. We sailed round the south end, from which, to the westward, a reef extends about two miles. The southermost island lies in the latitude of 4 53' south, and longitude 155° 20' east; the south-westernmost island is in 4° 50' south, and longitude 155° 13' east. The land seen in the south-west was exceedingly high, and bore at noon south-south-west half west: at sun-set, the extremes of the high land bore from south by east to west-south-west, and seemed to terminate to the northward in a low woody point; about the middle part of this high land there is a considerable breach or opening, which had much the appearance of a streight or passage through; and as I judge this is the land, along the west side of which Lieutenant Shortland, in the Alexander transport, sailed, until he found an opening through which he passed to the eastward, I think it highly probable that this may be the streight; particularly as he says, "That soon after he was clear, and stretching to the north-east, he fell in with four islands, which he took to be part of Carteret's nine islands*." This opening was intersected from two stations, and the run of the ship, and was found to lie in the latitude of 5° 25' south, and longitude 154° 30' east. [* See Shortland's Journal and Charts in Phillip's Voyage, fourth Edition; and "Discoveries of the French," by M. Fleurieu, late minister of the French Navy: a very ingenious and able work on the discoveries of the French and Spaniards in the South Seas.] Whether these islands, which I have last mentioned are Captain Carteret's nine islands, or those Lieutenant Shortland saw, I will not be very positive; he says, they extended north-west by west and south-east by east; the direction is nearly the same, and the distance in that direction is fifteen leagues, and their number nine. We did not see much more than half that distance, in which seven only were to be seen. Our latitude, considering that he passed round the north end, and we the south, will agree very well; and with respect to longitude, his was determined by the reckoning of the ship, mine by lunar observations, and the difference is only about a degree. At day-light in the morning of the 19th, we saw Sir Charles Hardy's Island, bearing north 2° 00' west, five leagues distant; and Winchelsea, (or Lord Anson's Island, as marked in Captain Carteret's chart) south 48° 00' east; this last was certainly the point which terminated the high land before-mentioned, for we had kept it in sight since the evening before, and were a-breast of it at two in the morning, and were not more than fourteen or fifteen miles from it. Its latitude will be 5° 08' south, and the longitude 154° 31' east. Sir Charles Hardy's Island is low, level, and covered with wood; its latitude is 4° 41' south, and the longitude 154° 20' east. At noon on the 19th, we saw high land bearing from west to west-north-west. It was very cloudy over it, so that we could not see its extent to the northward; it was distant eight or nine leagues: the west point of it was, no doubt, Cape Saint George, New Ireland. At six in the afternoon of the 20th, Cape Saint George bore north 80° 00' west, five leagues distant. We had light winds during the night, and in the morning, the land was so covered with clouds that we could not discover the extremity or point of the Cape; we steered to the north-north-west, having found, from the general bearings of the land, that we had been set to the southward during the night: at noon it was clearer, and the Cape bore north 14° 00' east ten or eleven miles distant. We had very light and baffling airs during the night of the 21st, which made me apprehensive, from what Captain Carteret has said of strong westerly currents here, that as we had now opened St. George's Channel, we might be set past both Gower and Carteret's harbours, before we could get as much wind as would command the ship; for she was as dull and heavy sailing a vessel as I ever was embarked in, and in my opinion was wholly unfit for the service she was now employed in. When any other vessel would be going three knots with a light wind, we could scarcely give her steerage-way. In the evening, finding, as I apprehended, the ship setting fast to the westward, we hauled up to the eastward, in order to keep as near the Cape as possible, until day-light. That night also we had little wind, and that was variable; we kept her head as much as possible to the eastward, and at eight in the morning the Cape bore north 16° 00' east, distant eleven or twelve miles; which was much farther off than I wished; at the same time, a projecting point on the coast of New-Britain bore west north-west: we were becalmed most of this day, and were still setting to the westward. In the afternoon of the 22d, a very light breeze sprung up from the eastward, with which we endeavoured to get within Wallis's island; we sounded frequently, but had no ground with 130 fathoms of line: this situation was truly distressing, for although we had every thing set, we could not force the ship more than a knot and a half through the water, and had the mortification to see that we were driving to the westward: about two o'clock the breeze freshened up a little, and although we were within three miles of anchorage in Gower's harbour, we saw plainly we could not fetch it; however I had hope, as Carteret's harbour is laid down in the chart four leagues to leeward of it, that we might with ease get in there; we had a boat in shore at this time sounding, and it was the general opinion, that unless we bore away soon, we should not run the distance before dark, we therefore made the signal for the boat, and bore away. The northermost point in sight from the ship was, according to the sketch made in the Swallow, Point Carteret; we considered the north-west entrance as near to that point, but intended of course to avail ourselves of being to windward to go in at the southermost passage. The distance, as I have already mentioned, being marked four leagues from Wallis's Island to Carteret harbour, unfortunately deceived us; and Cocoa-nut island being low, when compared with the high land under which it lies, appeared like a low point projecting from it: we were past the south entrance of this harbour, before we thought ourselves within six miles of it, and had now a strong south-east wind, which two hours sooner, would have enabled us to have got into English Cove, in Gower harbour: the distance from harbour to harbour did not appear to me to be more than two leagues, if so much. It was our misfortune, that the distances marked in the sketch just mentioned, did not agree with our judgment of them. And there is another error which I must take the liberty to correct, and which also tended to deceive us; Point Carteret, in the Swallow's sketch, is the extremity of the land westward, which can be seen from a ship off Gower harbour, and the land from that point inclines immediately to the northward; but there is a point which lies north-west from Point Carteret, not less than four miles, and from that point the land trends to the northward: this point comes suddenly down from very high land to a round bluff point, which is steep to, and Point Carteret is low and woody. We discovered our mistake when it was too late to recover it in such a vessel. We ran along the shore close in, and endeavoured to find anchorage; we had also a boat a-head for the same purpose, but although we went sometimes within a cable's length of the shore, we could not find bottom. Our situation now became serious, for our water was become short, and we had yet a long voyage before us; it was now absolutely necessary to look for some supply of that article, and as we were only victualled for sixteen weeks when we left Port Jackson, and had already been eight at sea, we could not on that account lose much time, lest we should meet with calms as we came near the Line. Full allowance of water, in so sultry a climate, and so crowded a ship, was a matter which I was exceedingly anxious about, for without a sufficiency of that article, sickness amongst the people was much to be dreaded. Before we went any farther to the northward, I was determined to try the coast of New-Britain; we therefore stood over for that land, intending, if possible, to find an anchoring place. On the morning of the 22d, we came within three or four leagues of the shore; it then fell calm, and the boat was sent in shore with Mr. Keltie, the master of the Sirius, who had directions to make a certain signal if he found anchorage: in the afternoon, a light breeze sprung up, which enabled us to stand in and meet the boat. Mr. Keltie reported, that the part of the coast which he had been in with, was streight, and had no appearance of any sort of bay, or the smallest probability of anchorage; that he had frequently tried to get bottom within three cables length of the shore, but without success. On this coast we found a regular tide, its general direction was south-east and north-west. The hills mentioned by Captain Carteret, on the coast of New-Britain, by the name of the Mother and Daughters, are very remarkable; a little way within the south-eastermost Daughter, there is a small flat-top'd hill, or volcano, which all the time we were within sight of it, emitted vast columns of black smoke. On this coast there appeared many extensive spots of cleared, and apparently cultivated land. The next step that was to be pursued, was to examine the Duke of York's Island, and on the night of the 22d, we ran off the east point of it, with a light air from the westward, and brought to till day-light; having been near enough to the south-east part of the island the whole of the preceding day, to discover that there was little prospect of anchorage on that side. In the night we heard breakers at no great distance from us; this we found at day-light was a spit, which runs a small distance off the east point of the island. On the 23d in the morning, we had very little wind, and the boat was sent in shore to sound; the ship was at this time about a mile and a half off. Many canoes came off, with every appearance of friendly disposition; we gave them a few trifles, and they seemed to insist on making a return for every thing they received; cocoa-nuts, yams, and bananas, were held out on the point of a long spear, or pole, for they seemed afraid to touch the ship; the boat which was sounding endeavoured to make them understand that we wanted water, and showed a small keg, intimating by signs that they wanted it filled; the people in one of the canoes went to the boat, received the keg, went immediately on shore, filled it, and brought it back to the boat: the officer then gave them another small keg, which he meant as a present, but it was immediately sent on shore by another canoe: in the mean time a breeze sprung up, the boat steered along shore and the ship followed: the people who had taken the last keg, after having filled it, followed our boat with the utmost speed, came up with her and delivered it; this I thought a striking proof of the honesty of these people, and it will particularly appear so, when it is considered, that the keg was hooped with iron. As we ran round the western side of the island, we observed a small bay or cove, into which the boat went, followed by many canoes, and an immense multitude of people on the shore. We shortened sail to give the boat time to examine it; she very soon returned, and Mr. Keltie informed us that there was anchorage in the bay; we immediately made sail into it, and at noon of the 23d, anchored in twenty-one fathoms soft ground, with some loose patches of coral; here we were within a cable and a half of the beach. In the afternoon, we sent the boats armed to look for fresh water; a vast multitude of the natives were by this time assembled on the shore, and the bay was filled with canoes; in consequence of which we got the ship's guns loaded and ready; (she mounted six three-pounders) but although they were exceedingly clamorous, they were still apparently well disposed; they showed the officer in the boat how to find water by digging holes in the sandy beach, in the manner frequently practised in the West-Indies; we followed their advice, and sunk a cask in the sand; the water flowed into it, but was too much mixed with the sea water to be used. Some of the natives, however, afterwards pointed out another place, from which the fresh water issued in a considerable stream, out of chasms in the rocky face of a high bank: this discovery set our people upon farther searches, and they found several such discharges from the side of the bank, enough to answer our purpose, if the natives remained quiet and friendly. This business I was particularly desirous we might be able to effect, without being under the necessity of convincing them of our superiority in arms. The first day was spent in endeavouring to show them, that we were desirous of a friendly intercourse with them, and that we wanted nothing but water, which they could well spare: however, on discovering that water was to be had, we were of course determined to have as much as might be necessary for our purpose, and by such means as might be found necessary and effectual. This first night there was a very strict look-out kept, as well by the natives as by us; they had a regular watch-word, which they sung out in a very pleasing and musical manner, and it was answered by those on the next post, and so all round the skirt of the wood. The next morning we loaded one boat with empty casks, and had the other armed, to lie off the shore and cover the people employed filling water; the ship's guns were loaded with round and grape shot, and were within less than two cables length of the watering-place; twelve men, with small arms, attended on shore with the waterers. The watering business was now begun, and might have satisfied the natives what our business was there; however, their numbers increased to such a degree, all armed, and they were so very troublesome, that very little work could be done in the watering. An old man, who was powdered all over with a white powder, and who seemed to possess great authority and influence amongst his countrymen, disposed them to be more and more troublesome; presents were offered him, but he rejected every thing with a very surly and determined air; in short, he seemed resolved that we should not fill water, or remain upon their territory; he carried every appearance of an intention to dispute the point by force; every means were used to please this old fellow, but without effect. At last some stones were thrown from a sling, but this was not done until the principal part of the natives had retired to some distance from the place where our people were employed; the men who were armed for the protection of the waterers, stood the whole time with their arms ready to fire at a moment's notice, and the natives, ignorant of what the musquets were, had certainly taken them for clubs. Some of the stones, which they threw, came with the force of a shot from a gun among the sailors. The consequence of this unmerited attack was, that the officer was obliged to fire, the covering boat fired, and a few shot were fired from the ship: at this time, there were thirty or forty canoes about the ship, full of people; their terror and consternation at the noise, and probably the effect of the guns, was such, that many leaped from their boats overboard, and swam under water as far as they were able; such guns as were fired from the side on which the canoes were, were pointed well over them, being more intended to intimidate than destroy. This firing occasioned a general dispersion of the natives, and the filling of water was carried on with case and expedition. We received on board that afternoon about seven tons. The next morning, before the boats went on shore, we fired a few grape shot into the woods, and the boats landed without seeing any of the natives; at the same time we warped the ship within a cable's length of the watering-place, and secured her head and stern for covering the party on shore; the covering boat was directed to fire whenever any of the natives were seen in the woods over the watering party, which, in the course of the day, they had frequent occasion to do. Many canoes came into the bay this day, but kept at an awful distance, holding up green boughs as a signal of peace and amity; to some we made signs to go away; to others, who ventured a little nearer, we showed signs of friendship, and made them perfectly understand, that our firing was occasioned by their slinging of stones among our people, who were watering: after these hostilities, our watering went on without the smallest interruption, except that the covering boat had occasion sometimes to fire a few musquets into the woods over the watering place. In four days we compleated our water, and on the last evening, as the sailors were coming from the shore, a number of the natives from the woods right above the watering place, came down to the beach with green boughs in their hands, bringing with them cocoa-nuts, yams, plantains, etc. accompanied by a song of friendship: they seemed earnestly to with for a reconciliation, and took every means in their power to testify their concern for what had happened; a boat was sent on shore to meet them, with a green branch in the bow, and the boat's crew were desired to spread open their arms when they came near the breach, to show they were well disposed to peace. When the boat landed, the natives retired back a little, but not out of sight; having piled up upon the beach their peace-offering, which consisted of yams, cocoa-nuts, plantains, bananas, sugar-cane, and some other articles: on the top of this pile was laid a small living male and female dog, with their mouths and feet tied: (they appeared to be of the small terrier kind) in the middle of the heap was stuck in the sand, a young tree of the palm kind, upon a branch of which were hung a number of braded lines, like what is called by seamen, _sennit_, and much of the same colour, being made of the bark of a particular tree: what this could mean we were wholly at a loss to comprehend, unless, as the head of this young tree was designedly bent down by the lines above-mentioned, it was meant as a token of submission; be that as it might, they received the boat's crew, etc. with every demonstration of a true concern for what had happened; and I fear and believe they had much cause to be sorry, for I think some must have lost their lives by the grape shot from the ship. It is much to be regretted, that after having seen us employed in getting what we wanted, in doing which every person was completely employed, and not the most distant appearance of insult, or any sort of provocation had been offered them, they could not have desisted from hostility until some kind of offence had been offered, a circumstance which, during the whole time, was most particularly guarded against in those employed on shore: but from an ignorance of the effect of our arms, and from their very superior numbers, they were inclined to be insolent and troublesome; our sailors on shore were so very few, when compared with their numbers, that it became absolutely necessary to resent the first unprovoked offence which they gave, and thereby to convince them, before it might be too late, that although their numbers far exceeded ours, their real force was very inferior. After peace had been re-established on shore, the conk shell was sounded, which is the signal whereby they assemble considerable numbers; and in a very short time, they appeared coming from all parts of the wood round the bay, and were met by those who had been the means of bringing about a reconciliation, with a song of friendship, in which the whole joined, and which was really harmonious and very pleasing: the canoes crowded the bay from different parts of the island, and were as familiar as ever, except that they would not now venture on board, which many had done before this quarrel: every boat brought a green bough, that was conspicuously held up; they also brought many things to barter, and were pleased with such trifles as we had to give them in return. They are, I believe, the only people in those seas, who do not set a value upon iron work, in preference to any other thing; beads or looking-glasses they were not much pleased with, but rags of white linen, strips of scarlet cloth, or any thing of gay colours, they were very anxious to have: nails they would not accept at all. The natives of the Duke of York's Island are a stout, robust, well made people, of a light copper colour; I saw none who could be called black; they go entirely naked; the hair is woolly, but it is so managed by some sort of grease or ointment, and a white or red powder with which they dress it, that it hangs on some like so many candle wicks, or rather like the thrums of a new mop reversed, or turned upside down; they are generally as fully powdered as a beau dressed for an assembly; some have their hair of a yellow, sun burnt colour, others quite red, as if powdered wholly with the true marechall; none are seen with the hair of its natural colour. This yellow or red appearance, I believe, may be occasioned by this universal method of powdering, for the powder seems to be made from burnt shells, or coral, and is really a kind of lime; they generally carry a small goard or box filled with it about them, and when they are hostilely disposed, they frequently take a quantity of this powder into the hollow of the hand, from which, with a strong blast from the mouth, they blew it before them; and at a small distance it has exactly the appearance of firing gunpowder, and no doubt is meant as a token of defiance. This practice is certainly used by the people of New Guinea, for Captain Cook takes notice of it when his boat landed on that coast near Cape Walsh, and says, that he supposes those people have some method of producing fire in that sudden manner. He also observes, that they had a bamboo or hollow cane from which fire and smoke was observed to issue; but I am disposed to think, that the conjecture of having seen fire could only have been occasioned by the appearance of smoke, which we naturally suppose to have proceeded from fire, for it is probable that fire and smoke being projected suddenly from any confined engine, would occasion some degree of explosion, although it is also probable that the gentlemen in the Endeavour's boat might not have been near enough to have heard it: however, after all, there is much reason to believe, that what Captain Cook saw upon that coast was the very practice used here, where we saw it in a much nearer interview, as some of our people had it blown in their eyes. Their chief, upon hostile occasions, powdered his body all over, so that it was no difficult matter to discover him. They also upon such occasions painted their faces red; some had marks upon their arms and shoulders, occasioned by scarifying those parts in long stripes, and letting the sore rise above the surface of the skin; they frequently wore a bone or reed thrust through the septum of the nose, and, like the natives of Lord Howe's Groupe, had also holes cut through the wings of the nose, into which were fixed short pieces of hollow reed, as ladies wear wires to keep the ears open when newly bored; into these hollows or rings they occasionally stuck long pieces of reed, which are no doubt considered by them as ornamental. The men in general were well looking people, but such of their women as I saw were very ordinary. The weapons used by the people of this island were lances of different kinds, some were made of a kind of ebony, or hard wood, about ten feet long, frequently ornamented with feathers of different colours at the upper end; others were made of bamboo, pointed with hard wood; the lance is thrown by hand, but they had not the use of the throwing stick, like the natives of New South Wales: they also, in their quarrels, used the sling for throwing stones, which appears to be made of some tough dried leaf, several times doubled; the strings were manufactured from some soft, silky, and fibrous plant; they throw a round hard pebble, of which they generally carried a small nett full about them; the stones were about the size of a small fowl's egg, and flew with much force, and great exactness from the sling: they had also a long unhandy kind of club. They used, in fishing, a fishing spear, small seine netts, and hooks and lines; their hooks were of tortoise-shell, from which circumstance there can be no doubt but they have either turtle in their neighbourhood, or the tortoise upon the island. They had a kind of musical instrument, with which they sometimes, in their canoes alongside, endeavoured to amuse us; it was composed of a number of hollow reeds of different lengths, fastened together, but they did not seem to be very expert in proportioning their lengths, or tuning them to harmony: sound, not concord, seemed to be all they expected from it; they blew into the mouth of the different reeds by drawing the instrument across their lips, and in that manner they produced sounds: their vocal music was far more harmonious, although there was not much variety in it. Those who were considered as people of distinction were always to be found in a better sort of boat than common; and I observed, that when any canoe came near the ship with people of distinction on board, the higher ranks were always to be known by a man sitting in the middle of the boat, who held a wooden instrument in his hand, resembling in shape a common paddle, but handsomely carved and painted, with its handle finished something like the hilt of a sword. When those people were disposed to be kind and friendly, they frequently sung out in one particular tone, in which, if there were five hundred together, the nicest ear could not discover one to differ in the tone or particular note; and immediately after they all mimicked the barking of a dog: this was meant by them as a _certain proof_ of their friendly disposition. Before we had cause to quarrel with them many came on board and were shaved, an operation with which they were much pleased. This island, by its appearance from the sea, I judged to be about ten miles long, in a south-south-west and north-north-east direction; it is not high, nor can it be called low land, but appears, when near it, of moderate height and flat: it is well covered with wood, and along the sea shore were to be seen many huts of the natives, which were small and neatly made; they were chiefly built of bamboo, and generally situated under the shade of a grove of cocoa-nut trees, with a fence or railing before them, within which the ground was well cleared and trodden, which gave their little habitations a very neat and cleanly appearance: I examined whilst we lay there several neat and well fenced inclosures, in which were the plantain, banana, yam, sugar cane, and several other articles, which they seem to take some pains to cultivate. In short, from what we could discover in the little time we remained there, I may venture to pronounce the island a perfect garden, as far as it can with propriety be called so in the hands of a people, who, no doubt, trust chiefly to nature, and who are ignorant of the means of assisting her, in the improvement of those advantages, which she has so bountifully bestowed upon them. Although our time here was so short, we had an opportunity of knowing that this island produced cocoa-nuts, yams, plantains, bananas, sugar-cane, beetle-nut, mangos, bread-fruit, and guavas. There are also dogs, hogs, and the common fowls, and some spices, (the nutmeg I saw). Most of the natives chew the beetle, and with it used the chenam and a leaf, as practised in the East-Indies; by which the mouth appeared very red, and their teeth, after a time, became black. Their canoes were neatly made, and of various sizes, with an out-rigger to balance them. I sent the carpenter of the Sirius on shore, to examine the different kinds of timber; he reported to me, that he found one tree which was hard, and had something like the appearance of ebony, but was not quite so black; all the others he tried were soft and spongy, like the palm or cabbage tree. The soil I think for richness beyond any I ever saw; it exceeded Norfolk Island in that respect: I had a man with me who had been upon that island from its first settlement, and who had cleared and cultivated land there; he assured me that this was superior to any he had ever opened at that island. On the 27th in the morning, we prepared for sailing; before we got under way, two English pointers, male and female, which had been given to the master of the ship at Port Jackson, were sent on shore, and given to a party of the natives, who seemed highly delighted with them; a cock and hen were also given to them. At ten o'clock we sailed out of the bay. This bay was named Port Hunter; its latitude is 4° 7' 30" south, and longitude 152° 42' east; although it is not large, it is convenient and safe at this season; it lies on the north-west part of the island, and you may anchor in any part of it, from twenty-five to fifteen fathoms, but the shoal-water has the worst ground: in twenty fathoms it is soft, with loose patches of coral; the watering place is on the east side, but as the tide flows up to the place from whence the fresh water issues, it is best to fill from half ebb to half flood. The water is so exceedingly soft, that there were some amongst us who were so prejudiced against it that they believed it brackish; a quality I own which I never could discover in it; I was therefore of opinion that this prejudice could only have proceeded from knowing that the salt water was so very near it at high water time; such opinions were not however confirmed from experience, as we never felt any inconvenience from it. The tide here seemed to rise five or six feet, but the exact period of high water was not noticed, we had so much business to do. We steered north-west by west, and west-north-west, and at eight o'clock in the morning, saw Sandwich Island, bearing north-west; at noon, our latitude was 3° 13' south, and longitude 150° 42' east; the south-west point of Sandwich Island bearing north 45° west, distant from the nearest shore six leagues. The latitude of the south-west point will be 2° 58' south, and its longitude 150° 27' east. This island is of moderate height, and well covered with wood; we passed on the south side; its general direction is about east-north-east and west-south-west, and in that direction is about seven leagues in length: it appeared to be of considerable breadth at its eastern end, and narrow towards its western, where it terminates in a narrow point, off which lies a small woody island, with a narrow passage between that and the main island, to which it appears connected by a reef. On the north side of Sandwich Island, we observed the remarkable peaked hill mentioned by Captain Carteret, and also the corresponding one on the coast of New Ireland. As soon as we were passed Sandwich Island, we observed that the western current, which we had hitherto experienced in this strait, now took a turn more northerly, having opened the strait, or passage between New Ireland and New Hanover, which last land we saw before night. We steered during the night west by north by compass, intending to pass at a convenient distance from the Portland Islands, but at day-light we were obliged to haul up west by south, having been more to the northward than we expected: we passed them at four miles distance; they are nine in number, are low and covered with wood; the center of them is in latitude 2° 38' south, and longitude 149° 08' east. During the night of the 30th, we had heavy dull weather, with light and variable winds, and the appearance of the wind threatened much rain, which, however, fell only in light showers. At seven the next morning, we saw an island bearing north-west by west, and at eight, saw more land from the mast-head, bearing west; those we supposed to be part of the Admiralty Islands: the wind was now at south-west, and we could not weather the southermost, on which we bore away and passed between them. The smaller, which we left to leeward, was a pretty looking spot, of moderate height, its latitude was 2° 19' south, and longitude 147° 52' east. As we had seen much land, and in different directions, before dark, we determined to bring to for the night; it then fell calm, so that we had by the morning only drifted a little with a current to the north-west. At day-light of the 31st, we saw much land to the northward and westward. Five large canoes came off from the nearest island, in each of which were eleven men; six paddled, and five stood up in the center of the boat, who appeared to be of the better sort, being painted and ornamented, and seemed as if intended for war; but when they came near, they showed no hostile appearance: we invited them by signs to come on board, but they would not venture near the ship; they held up various articles, which they seemed desirous of exchanging; such as lines, shells, ornaments of different kinds, and bundles of darts or arrows: they were a stout well-looking people, rather darker than the natives of the Duke of York's Island; their hair appeared woolly, and and was knotted or tied upon the top of their head; they wore a wrapper round their waist. One of them made various motions for shaving, by holding up something in his hand, with which he frequently scraped his cheek and chin; this led me to conjecture, that some European ship had been lately amongst them, and I thought it not improbable, that it might have been Mons. de la Perouse, in his way to the northward from Botany-Bay. Their canoes appeared from forty to fifty feet long, were neatly made, and turned a little up at the extremities; there was a stage which lay across the midships of the boat, and projected out some distance on one side; it was bent upwards a little at the outer end, to prevent its dipping in the water, by the motion of the boat; this stage seemed intended for the warriors to use their weapons upon: on the opposite side, was fitted in a different manner, an out-rigger to balance the boat; three of the rowers sat before and three abaft the stage, so that those intended for battle were not at all incommoded by them. A heavy black squall coming on at this time, they all pushed for the land, otherwise I believe we might have prevailed on them to come alongside. The north-west end of this island is in latitude 2° 21' south; longitude 147° 28' east; and the southermost point in sight was in latitude 2° 28' south, and longitude 147° 33' east. A fresh breeze now sprung up, and we wished if possible to clear the islands before night: all sail was made, and as we ran past this large island, we raised many others; in short, land was seen in every direction; four islands were seen from the mast-head, bearing east-north-east, and two low level islands a-head, between which there appeared an open passage; we steered for it, and at noon passed through it: its latitude is 2° 10' south; longitude 147° 26' east. At four in the afternoon, the western extremity of a very long island bore west half south, and we steered west-north-west, determined to run no farther during the night than we could see before dark. The night was very dark, with heavy rain, and a very light air of wind. At day-light the extremity of a very large island, bore from south-east to south-west by south; at noon the latitude observed was 1° 44' south, and the extremes of this island, as far as the eye could reach, bore from south 23° 00' east, to south 50° 00' west, distant from the nearest shore five leagues. This island is so very extensive, that I believe it to be the largest of the Admiralty Islands: I do not think that we saw its western extremity, for as far as we could discern from aloft, trees were to be seen just above the horizon: the westermost point seen from the ship was in latitude 1° 59' south, and the longitude of it was 146° 30' east. This groupe of islands is very extensive, as well in a north and south direction as east and west. Having now got to the westward of the Admiralty Islands, I considered myself clear of St. George's Channel; and I agree perfectly with Captain Carteret, in thinking it a very safe, and (to ships bound northward, which want water,) a very convenient navigation; his chart was of much use to us in coming through, although, had time permitted, considerable additions, and some improvements, might have been made to it. On the 3d of June, we saw land, about two points before the starboard beam; this proved to be two islands: at eight o'clock the next morning, we saw another island, bearing south 42° 00' west; and by intersections taken by the ship's run, this last island was ten leagues distant; it was high land: at noon we determined that island in the south-west to be in latitude 1° 36' south; longitude 145° 35' east; and those to the northward, I judged to be in latitude 0° 55' south; longitude 146° 09' east. I think it probable that these islands may have been seen before, as in a general chart of these seas which I have seen, there are three islands laid down nearly in this situation. From those islands we steered to the north-west and west-north-west, with light and variable winds, and sometimes squally and very unsettled weather, with a disagreeable head-sea, against which we made very slow progress. On the 8th, at noon, by a considerable number of very good lunar distances, our longitude was found to be 144° 13' east, which agreed so very near with our account carried on from the last observations, that I think the longitude of the different lands, as marked in this Journal, will not be found very erroneous. In this part of our passage, we saw many very large trees floating about the sea. We now found the ship had set fourteen or fifteen miles a day to the northward more than the log gave; and in the parallel of 4° 00' north, or nearly, we found, that for the space of eight days, from the 19th, we had been set to the eastward at the rate of thirty-nine miles in the twenty-four hours; and there was much reason to fear, that from the next observations for the longitude which we might have, we should have the mortification to find, that this easterly current continued; for at that time, (the 28th of June,) the wind seemed to be set in from west-north-west to west-south-west. On the 30th died William Phillips, seaman. On the 5th of July, by observations of the sun and moon, we were in longitude 140° 32' east, which was 10° 10' eastward of our account, and the wind continued fixed from the westward. On the 11th of July, necessity obliged us to reduce the allowance of water; the whole allowance now to each man for all purposes, cooking, drinking, etc. was two purser's quarts for twenty-four hours, and the weather was exceedingly sultry, which made it the more distressing. On the 13th, I found it necessary, from the very unfavourable prospect before us, to call together my own officers, and the master of the ship, and to consult upon the most eligible plan to be pursued, for enabling us to reach some port or settlement, where it might be possible to obtain some supply of provisions and water, sufficient for the relief of one hundred and twenty-one men, the number now on board this small vessel. The general opinion was, that it would be highly imprudent in the present reduced state of our provisions and water, to persevere any longer in an attempt to reach the strait of Macassar, in the face of fresh westerly winds and a strong easterly current; particularly, in a vessel so very ill constructed for working to windward; and what rendered it still more necessary to give up such an attempt in our situation was, that the master of the ship, (who had been a number of years in the Dutch service among the Molucca Islands) assured me, in the presence of some of the officers, that he did not know of any one place in our route, short of Batavia, where any supply for our numbers could be had. The quantity of provisions now on board, at half allowance, was a supply for about ten weeks, and the water at about two purser's quarts a man per day, was a supply for the same time, provided we had no leakage. We were now driven by currents, notwithstanding our utmost endeavours to get to the westward, eleven° of longitude, or 220 leagues farther to the eastward than the account by the ship's run; and that had happened within the last month, and between the latitudes 3° 00' north, and 6° 30' north. On the 13th of July we bore away to the northward, it being determined either to attempt the strait through which the Acapulco ships pass to the port of Manilla, or to go round the north end of Luconia, and endeavour to fetch Macao, in China, though we were a little doubtful about fetching the latter in so leewardly a vessel. It appeared from the winds that we then had, that the south-west monsoon at times blows very strong through the opening between the islands of Mindanao and Celebes, and reaches a considerable way to the eastward; I can with certainty say as far as 142° 00' east longitude. On the 14th in the morning, we saw land bearing north; this we found to be two islands joined together, or nearly so, by a long sandy spit, above water, which reached for about two-thirds of the distance from the eastermost or largest island, to the westmost, which is small. All round the largest is a sand-bank above water, which extends from the foot of the higher land about half a mile into the sea, and may have shoal water from it. We saw on the beach a few natives running along shore, as the ship sailed past. These islands are dangerous to people in the night, on account of the sandy spits which project from them; they were covered with shrubs, and had but few tall trees on them, and the land is but low: the latitude of the large or eastmost island, is 8° 06' north, and longitude 140° 03' east. I did at first suppose them to have been part of the New Carolines, but they seem to lie quite alone, and are about five miles asunder. I called them Phillip Islands, after Arthur Phillip, the governor of New South Wales. On the 17th of July in the morning, we saw land from the mast-head, bearing west by south nine or ten leagues distant; at noon we could see it from the deck, and it appeared to be three islands; at four in the afternoon, they bore south by west three-quarters west, and were by intersections taken from the ship, distant eight leagues. A considerable number of fish being at that time round the ship, the people, in looking over the side at them, discovered rocks under the bottom; we immediately sounded, and had fifteen fathoms: the rocks appeared very large, with patches of white sand between them; in twenty minutes, the water appeared to deepen, and we had no ground with forty fathoms of line. This ridge of rocks appeared to be about half a mile in breadth, and was seen from the mast-head to stretch to the southward towards the islands, and considerably to the northward of the ship; although it be of great extent in a north-north-east and south-south-west direction, yet I do not think there is any very shoal water upon it, for we saw no break, surf, or rippling, which would indicate shoal water; and there was a sufficient swell of the sea to have occasioned some appearance where any ship would have struck the ground. These islands lie in the latitude of 9° 33' north; longitude 137° 30' east, and are probably a part of the New Carolines; at least, from the situation of those islands in the charts, they answer to the place of some of them; but as the New Carolines are marked as very numerous, and very contiguous to one another, I did expect to have seen many more; there were of these, three only; the largest was very high, but not extensive. From the time of our making these islands until the 23d, when we were in latitude 11° 56' north; longitude 132° 20' east, we had light and variable winds, but chiefly from the eastward; in the above latitude and longitude it inclined to the northward, and from that to the westward, and became very squally and unsettled weather, with very heavy rains at times. During these heavy showers, which were in our situation very comfortable, whether in the day or night, every one was employed in spreading his blanket or rug, for the purpose of saving as much water as he could for his own use; for, as we had no means of providing a quantity for the general good, every one did the best he could for himself. The sun being almost vertical, and the weather exceedingly sultry, the scarcity of water was very much felt. It continued this squally and unsettled weather until the 30th, during some part of which time it blew so strong as to bring the ship under her reefed courses: after the 30th, the wind shifted to west and west by south, with which we stood to the south-ward; for with this wind we could not now fetch the Bashee Islands, and upon the southern tack we could not reach in with any part of the coast of the Philipine Islands; it was therefore, in our situation, judged best to keep as near in with the parallel of Cape Espiritu Sancto as possible, that being the nearest land, which with a hope of a short spurt of wind from the eastward, or a slant either from the northward or southward, would serve to carry us in with the coast: we were then in latitude 13° 25' north; longitude 128° 37' east; Cape Espiritu Sancto bearing south 75° 00' west, 58 leagues distant. It was very clear to me, from the winds we had experienced since we came to the northward of the Line, that at this time of the year, and generally during the height of the south-west monsoon, in the China seas, these winds do sometimes extend far to the eastward of the Philipine Islands, and frequently blow in very heavy gales. The easterly winds, which we had after crossing the Line, had been constantly so very light, that the run for the twenty-four hours, seldom exceeded from twenty to fifty miles. The wind now became very variable, but chiefly from the south-west quarter. On the 2d of August, it shifted to west-north-west, and we stood to the south-west. On the 4th, we made the land, bearing west-south-west twelve leagues; the next morning, it bore from west-south-west to west, and at noon we saw it from south-west to west half south; this proved to be the north end of the island of St. John, and is in latitude 9° 30' north; longitude 126° 32' east. From the 31st of July to this time, we had been set to the southward one hundred miles. The wind being again set in at south-west, we could only now stand to the southward, and avail ourselves of the strong southerly current which we every day experienced so much assistance from, and which we had some reason to hope would lead us to the southward of Mindanao. If this current should fail us, we could not expect to get to the southward, but must then have steered along the coast to the northward, as far as Cape Espiritu Sancto, and enter the Strait of Manilla, where probably we might have found some settlement, short of that port, capable of assisting us with such relief as might have enabled us to proceed on our voyage. On the 6th, we saw the coast of Mindanao from south to north-west by west; it is very high land in the interior parts of the country, but moderately so on the sea-coast, which makes it rather difficult to judge of your distance from it. The current to the southward still continued from thirty to fifty miles in twenty-four hours. On the 8th, in standing to the southward, we saw an island bearing south five or six leagues; this, from its situation, must have been the island of Palmas; it seemed to lie east by south, sixteen or seventeen leagues distant from the south-east point of Mindanao; it is a high round hummock at the north-east end, and runs out in a low point to the south-west, on which are a number of round lumps or hillocks, that at five leagues distance appear like rocks just above water. Its latitude is 5° 33' north, and its longitude is 127° 00' east. Being now to the southward of Cape Augustine, which we never saw distinctly, we carried all the sail possible to get to the westward. On the 9th in the afternoon, the south-east point of Mindanao bore north 20° 00' west, five or six leagues distant. At day-light the next morning, the coast of Mindanao bore from west by north to north by east, and a high island west by south, off shore five leagues: at noon, the south point of Mindanao bore north 76° 00' west: we intended to have passed to the south ward of this island, but the wind inclining from that direction, we could not weather it, we therefore bore away, intending to pass between it and Mindanao. We now observed that what we had taken for one island, was three distinct islands; the westmost is very high, and is that which Captain Carteret saw from his anchorage on the south coast of Mindanao, and called Hummock Island; it appeared to be six miles long from north to south; the next, to the eastward of it, is about the same length, moderately high and level, and the eastmost of the three, is a little round spot, covered with small trees or shrubs; from the east side of this small island there is a reef stretches to the eastward a considerable distance, and on which the sea generally breaks: the other islands appear to be quite encircled by a reef, at the distance of a cable and a half from the shore. We passed between the small island and the next, having previously sent a boat to try the channel; we found it a clear safe passage, of one mile and a half wide; we kept about one-third of the distance from the largest island, and had from ten to twenty-five fathoms: in the shoalest water the ground was hard, but in sixteen and eighteen fathoms it was soft: here the tide or current set strong through to the westward; I rather think it a regular tide, for we did not drift at the same rate all day. We continued to work between the south point of Mindanao and these islands, during the remainder of the day; in the afternoon, a boat was seen coming off from the high island, with twelve persons on board, and a white flag flying; we stood towards them, and answered their signal with a white flag at the ensign staff; they came within a little distance of the ship, and asked a variety of questions, whether we came from _Ternate_, (a small island among the Moluccas, on which the Dutch have a factory) and if we were going to Batavia; to which they were answered in the affirmative; the conversation was carried on in the Malay language, of which the master of the ship had some knowledge, and as he had for a part of his crew twelve or fourteen Javanese, who all spoke that language, and who also spoke Dutch, we could be at no loss to be understood, or to understand those with whom we conversed. Dutch colours were hoisted to confirm the answer given: from this boat we learnt, that they were upon intimate and friendly terms with the Dutch, and that we might have as much water, wood, and various articles of refreshment as we wanted. They desired to have a note from the master of the ship to the Raja, by whom these islands were governed, which was given them, with such information as might be necessary. A larger boat armed came off also the same evening, but as it was dark they did not choose to come on board, but conversed with us at a distance. The next morning (the 11th) we stood in for Hummock Island, and sent a boat in shore to search for anchorage, which she very soon made the signal for having found; and at noon we came to in twenty-two fathoms water, over a bottom of coarse sand and loose coral, about one mile from the shore. A short time before we got into anchorage, the same canoe which had spoken us the evening before, came off again with Dutch colours flying, and brought a note from the Raja to the master, written in the Malay characters, signifying, that we should have what we wanted. In the afternoon we sent a boat to look for water, which was found in great abundance under the high land near the north-east point of the island; we went immediately to work to water the ship, and very soon had a number of canoes from the shore, on board, with a variety of refreshments, which we were very much in want of; a brisk trade was carried on for poultry, goats, fruits of various kinds, honey, sago, and tobacco; but what we wanted principally was rice, to issue to the sailors at sea, being now exceedingly short of every species of victualling. Those who were employed on shore were kindly treated by the natives, and every thing bore the most friendly and promising appearance. This day the Raja, according to previous information, which he had given, came on board in a large boat, and did us the honour of a visit; this boat was covered with an awning of split bamboo; he was attended by the person next in authority, and a considerable number of people, and was, on his arrival, saluted with five guns. Upon this occasion, it was thought necessary to have a party of ten men armed, placed on the top of the round house abaft, where they continued during the Raja's visit. The Raja and his attendants were, on coming on board, led down to the cabin, and he had every mark of civility and attention shown to him: on his taking leave, he was presented by the master of the ship with a very handsome piece of silk, and on embarking in his boat, was saluted with a volley of musquetry. While he remained on board much conversation passed between him and the master of the ship, but it being carried on in the Malay language, I could only collect, that the Raja was strongly pressed to assist us with a quantity of rice, or paddy, (which is the rice in husk.) He showed us, while in the cabin, that he was supported in his authority over these islands by the Dutch East-India Company, by producing his written appointment, which he had brought with him for that purpose: this writing I looked at, but being in the Dutch language, I did not understand it, but observed, that it was subscribed by a number of officers in the Company's service; I also perceived it was subscribed by a very respectable officer in the naval service of the States, with whom I had the pleasure of being a little acquainted, the last time I was at the Cape of Good Hope: so that the interest of the Dutch Company seemed to be well established in these islands. When the Raja left us, he promised to be on board the next day, and said, he would bring with him the articles that we were in want of. All this time we were busily employed in getting water on board, and refitting the rigging; intending, as soon as the water was completed, to employ one day in cutting wood. The next day, (the 14th) in the afternoon, the Raja again came on board, but, to our very great disappointment, instead of the expected supply, he produced four small baskets of sago powder, and one bag of paddy, which would scarcely have maintained two men for a week; this return for the civilities he received the day before, was by no means a proper one, particularly as I was told he had been given to understand, that we were much in want of provisions, and he had been greatly pressed for a quantity of paddy, sufficient to serve two hundred men, until we could reach Batavia, to which place he was told we were going; and he was also informed, that it should be paid for in bar iron and other articles. Our demand was more than perhaps might have been necessary, but it was made large from an opinion that we might not get near the quantity applied for. We had reason to believe, that the island could well furnish the supply we had asked for, without any inconvenience to the inhabitants; for eight hundred weight had been purchased out of a common boat the day before, for a few pieces of bar iron, and the natives appeared to make more use of sago and fruits than of paddy: the master of the ship showed some displeasure, and I own (if he had made our wants well understood the day before, which I had my doubts of) not without cause: he came to me at the gangway, and told me he intended to detain the Raja until he sent some of his boats on shore for the paddy wanted: I advised him against any violent measures, left our wants had not been perfectly understood; and that I did not see, that it could, in our present situation, answer any good end: at this time we had a boat and several people on shore. I recommended to him to endeavour to make the Raja understand, that unless he sent for the supply we had asked, and he had promised, that he, as commander of the Company's ship, would represent his conduct to the governor and council at Batavia, who would certainly take notice of it; I thought a threat of that sort might answer our purpose better than the means he proposed: for we were in no respect prepared for a quarrel with those people, the meanest of whom wore a cress or dagger constantly by his side, and the decks were at that time almost full of them; many of our people were also upon deck, but wholly unarmed and off their guard. The master of the ship returned, and entered again into conversation with the Raja, who was on the after part of the quarter deck, but what was said I did not understand: however, I joined them, and again recommended prudence and moderation to the master of the ship, and desired he would recollect, that we were not prepared for such violent measures as he seemed inconsiderately disposed to; that as there were a few stand of arms in the ship, and a few pairs of pistols among the officers, they should have been upon deck, and people stationed with ammunition for them; instead of which, we had not one armed man upon deck, nor a single necessary for using the carriage guns; all which rested with him, such articles being in his care and custody as master, for his owners: notwithstanding this, the violence and perverseness of his temper was such as to dispose him (probably because he was advised against it) to create a disagreement between those people who were all armed, and our people who were defenceless. Some of these islanders paid much attention to the nature and extent of our force, and some of them shrewdly observed, that the great guns were very good at a distance, but of no use when boats got alongside of the ship; if they had any fear of us, it proceeded from our numbers, which amounted now to one hundred and twenty, and when all upon deck in this small vessel, they appeared still more numerous. During the conversation between the Raja and master of the ship, our people were employed in hoisting the long boat in, at which the Raja seemed very much agitated, and at this very juncture, the master having ordered some cutlasses upon deck, of which he had but very few in the ship, they were imprudently laid down on the quarter deck, in the presence of the Raja and his attendants; this conduct confirmed me in the opinion I already entertained, that he had made use of some threats which made such preparation necessary: be that as it might, the Raja was alarmed for his liberty; his people took the alarm also, and called their companions from their boats, who boarded us with drawn daggers: an old man, about seventy years of age, who stood near the Raja and held him by the sleeve, drew his dagger, and in great rage endeavoured to reach and stab the master of the ship, but was held back by the Raja; on this, the master snatched up a hanger to defend himself, and with great vehemence called out for small arms. I was close to him at the time, and however much I disapproved of his general conduct, (which was certainly, in our unguarded situation, destitute of thought, common sense, or discretion, and was the effect of one of the most perverse and diabolical tempers I ever met with,) I judged it necessary to draw my sword and defend him: he continued to call for small arms with much agitation, which should have been previously prepared. A number of my sailors being on the fore part of the deck, trading with the natives, (a considerable number of whom were on board, but who all drew their cresses upon the alarm given by their countrymen) armed themselves with handspikes, billets of wood, or whatever lay in their way, while the petty officers of the Sirius got up the small arms, and kept up a smart fire on the natives, who were in a short time driven overboard; some into their boats, and others were obliged to take to the water; the Raja, during the scuffle, tumbled himself from the gunwall into his boat, accompanied by his faithful attendants, who certainly did themselves much honour by their attention to his safety. If I had been prepared with my loaded pistols, as I was upon the Raja's first visit, I should certainly have shot the old man before-mentioned, although I am sure, that upon a little serious reflection, and consideration of the motives of his conduct, I should have exceedingly regretted having done so: he certainly in some respect occasioned the disturbance, (although it originated with the master of the ship) but it was in consequence of an indignity offered to the person of his sovereign in his presence: we should, therefore, be disposed more to commend than condemn his conduct; the insult was too much for a loyal and affectionate subject to bear; he therefore preferred certain death in his defence, to that of living to see him so degraded. As soon as the Raja and his people were in their boat, they cut the rope which held them, and pulled from the ship with the utmost precipitation; many were killed in their boats, which (now that this affair had arrived at such length) became really necessary, to prevent their rallying and reboarding the ship; for after they got into their boats, many lances were thrown into the ship, which occasioned the fire of musquetry to be kept up something longer than it would have been. I saw the Raja pulling at an oar himself, and did every thing in my power to prevent his being shot: for as every person knew him by his dress, it was probable he might be particularly marked; I fear much he was wounded, perhaps mortally, notwithstanding my endeavours to save him, as he dropt his oar several times: during the short time, which I had been in his company, I was much pleased with him; there was a certain graceful ease and affability in his manner, which was highly prepossessing, and a degree of dignity, which bespoke him of superior rank: he appeared to be about forty-three or four years of age. In this unlucky rencontre, we were so fortunate as not to have a man wounded, which was rather extraordinary, and I believe must have been owing to the panic occasioned by so sudden and unexpected an alarm. Our boat returned from the shore just at the conclusion of this unlucky scuffle; which common prudence, or a disposition to benefit by the advice that had been offered, might have prevented; for whatever may be the natural disposition of the inhabitants of these islands, they had shown nothing either unfriendly or suspicious to us; at the same time, to place implicit confidence in the friendly disposition of such people, I think, would be highly imprudent. A ship calling here for water should be ever on her guard, a precaution which was not in any one respect taken by the master of the ship, except upon my proposing, on the Raja's first visit, to have ten of my men placed with small arms upon the top of the round house abaft, from which situation they could command the whole deck: this proposal he agreed to, which was more than I expected; for it was no uncommon thing with him to reject any plan, however necessary, which his duty should have suggested, without the assistance of other opinions. These observations I cannot help making; for they naturally arise from the distressing situation in which I found myself and officers who were placed under the direction of this most ignorant and disagreeable man. If he had felt himself qualified to have navigated a ship in the seas we had to pass through, his conduct would in all probability have been more unsufferable, if possible, than it was; but our assistance was absolutely necessary, otherwise I believe his vessel had never reached Batavia. At eight o'clock in the evening we weighed from the road and put to sea; one unfortunate Javanese seaman was by accident left on shore, but he spoke a language which most of these people understand. I therefore hope it might be the means of saving his life, but as their rage, when once roused, does not quickly subside, I feared much for the safety of this innocent man: this unlucky affair prevented our being able to complete our water, or cut any wood; however, we had filled as much as would prevent our being distressed for some time, and the sailors had received many refreshments, of which they were much in need. These islands, I have already mentioned, are three in number: Hummock Island, on which the Raja resides, is exceedingly fertile, and seemed to produce most of the tropical fruit; we found here rice, sugar cane (exceedingly fine and large), pine apple, mango, sour oranges, limes, jack, plantain, cocoa-nut, sago, sweet potatoes, tobacco, Indian corn, and a small kind of pea: dogs, goats, fowls (very fine), parrots, and many other more useful articles; but I judge that their principal article of trade with the Dutch is bees-wax, of which they appear to have a considerable quantity, and of course much honey. The islands lie about five leagues south, from the southern point of Mindanao: the road where we anchored is on the north-east side of Hummock Island, and is in latitude 5° 27' north, longitude 125° 12' east: there appeared to be a passage between this island and the next to it, lying in a north and south direction, but there is a long rocky spit, which runs from a low point on Hummock Island, and seems to throw the channel through upon the other shore: we had not an opportunity to examine it, but we found here a regular tide, which was high at full and change of the moon at seven o'clock, and rose by the shore six or seven feet. There were several inlets or openings on the west shore of the other island, which may be probably convenient and well sheltered coves. The articles, which seemed of most value here in exchange for stock, were light cloathing of white or printed linens, or cottons, such as loose gowns or jackets, coloured handkerchiefs, clasp knives, razors, and bar iron; metal buttons had for some time a good run, which a stranger on board here would soon have perceived, as there was scarcely a coat or jacket to-be seen upon deck with a button on it. The natives on these islands are the same sort of people, and speak the same language, as people on Mindanao; they have a great deal of the Malay both in appearance and disposition; they are nearly the same size, make, and colour, and have many of their features; they wore in general jackets and trousers, but the lower orders had seldom any thing but a wrapper round the waist; they commonly wore a handkerchief, or other piece of linen round the head, in the manner of a turban. In the sash or wrapper, which all wear round the waist, they had their cress or dagger stuck, the scabbard of which was a case of wood. Many of these natives were troubled with a disease much resembling the leprosy; their skins were covered with a dry scurf, like the scales of a fish, which had a very disagreeable appearance. Their canoes were of various sizes; the bottom is hollowed out of the trunk of a tree, and they were generally raised with an upper work of split bamboo, which was set very close and light; they had an outrigger on each side to balance them; they had also a larger boat on which they mounted three small pieces of cannon, of brass; these pieces, I was told, were of their own manufactory, which I could readily believe, as they were of a very different make to any I had ever seen; they were very long, and of narrow bore, and were mounted with a swivel, upon posts, placed one at each end, and one in the center of the boat; they had a long wooden tail fixed to them, by which they turn about and point them. These boats will contain and conceal a great number of men; they were commonly covered with an awning of split bamboo, raised some distance above the gunwall, like the ridge of a house. Their mast was composed of three bamboos, two of which stood as a pair of sheers, and required no shrouds; the third stood forward, and answered the purpose of a stay; and upon this mast they set a square sail. On Hummock Island, as well as the south side of Mindanao, were many pleasant looking spots, which appeared to be cultivated land. When we left these islands, the wind being from the westward, we steered to the southward. At seven o'clock in the morning, we saw a small island, bearing south-west; at ten, we saw two more, and by four in the afternoon of the 15th, there were seven islands in sight, bearing from south-west to west-north-west: at six o'clock we saw a large island a-head, with a number of smaller ones, and some single rocks of considerable height above the water, lying off it: at noon, we were near enough to observe, that several of the rocks and smaller islands had reefs lying from them, on which the sea broke. Here we found a strong south-west set of current; we sounded, and had seventy-two fathoms, over a bottom of coarse sand and coral. One of the small islands was distant little more than a mile. This island, which is very high land, is that laid down in the chart by the name of Poolo Sanguy: we observed the latitude of its north end to be 3° 44' north, and its longitude 125° 11' east; there is a continued chain lying in a north and south direction from the south coast of Mindanao thus far to the southward; and, by such charts as I have seen, this chain seems to be continued from Poolo Sanguy quite over to the north-east point of Celebes. Poolo Sanguy is a large tract of land. The wind now inclined from the southward, otherwise we should have stood on, with a view of reaching some of the Dutch settlements amongst the Molucca Islands, in order to endeavour to procure some sort of supply of provisions, as we were now reduced very low; but with this southerly wind we could only stand to the westward and push for the Strait of Macassar: the wind continued from the southward and sometimes from the south-east, but in very light airs. At day-light in the morning of the 25th, we made the island of Celebes, bearing from south 11° 00' east, to south 54° 00' east, distant eight or nine leagues: at noon on the 26th, the north-west point of Celebes bore south-south-east about ten leagues. This part of the coast runs down in a low point into the sea, and a little way back, rises in a round hill or hummock, but considerably lower than the back land, which is very high; from this point the land seems to take its direction about south-west by west. The latitude of the north-west point is 1° 22' north, and the longitude, by lunar observations, 121° 00' east. On the 27th at noon the land of Celebes was distant about eight or nine leagues; between us and the southermost land in sight there was a small island. Ever since we had made the coast of Celebes we had very little wind, and that had generally been from south-east to south-west; no current was perceptible; the weather was exceedingly sultry; the freshest winds we had were from south-west; on which account, we endeavoured to get over on the Borneo shore. At four in the morning of the 29th, we had a very heavy squall from west-north-west, which obliged us to clew all up. On the 30th, at five in the morning, we saw the island of Borneo, bearing west-north-west; this part of the coast is high land: we saw, at the same time, from the mast-head, a small island, bearing west-north-west; this I took to be one of the small islands which are laid down to the southward of the Taba Islands, and near in upon the coast: at eight in the evening, we tacked, and in the night, the wind came from the land, but squally, with which we stood to the southward. This part of the coast of Borneo seems to be a projecting point, and is in the latitude of 1° 02' north; longitude 119° 00' east. On the 31st, at day-light, the land of Celebes bore east by north half north; we had a heavy squall of thunder, lightning, and rain. On the 1st of September, about eight o'clock at night, when it was very dark, we suddenly discovered something on our weather quarter, which had much the appearance of a large row-boat, and there being but a very light air of wind, we prepared, with all possible silence, for the reception of a pirate; but as it did not approach us as we expected, we supposed it to have been a large tree adrift. In crossing from Celebes to Borneo and back, we passed nearly over the place where seven islands are laid down in the charts, about 00° 40' to the northward of the line; but, as we saw nothing, I conclude, as Captain Carteret did, "that they exist only upon paper;" or that they may have been some of those islands which have been seen near the coast, and by an incorrect account of their situation, in point of longitude, have been placed here in mid-channel. In the morning, the Island of Celebes bore from east half north to south-south-east, and a small island covered with wood bore south-east half east, four or five miles distant. This island is in latitude 00° 03' south, longitude 119° 54' east; it lies off the opening of a large bay. On the 5th, we were in the latitude of 00° 50' south, and longitude 119 06' east, and were about six or seven leagues from the coast of Celebes; here the land near the sea is of a moderate height, but the back land is remarkably high. On the 7th, we saw two large proas, in the south-west; we were standing towards them, and as they were at some distance from each other, the one bore down and joined the other, and both stood for the land; we however judged it necessary to be prepared for them all the succeeding night: they might have been trading vessels, but as they can conceal their numbers, and as we knew that these seas are infested with piratical vessels of that description, it was necessary for us to be on our guard. At noon we were in latitude 1° 47' south; longitude 118° 50' east, and no part of the Celebes shore in sight. I am convinced, from the many observations made for the longitude here, by myself, as well as by Lieutenants Bradley and Waterhouse, that the west coast of Celebes is laid down in all the charts which I have seen, much farther to the westward than it should be. On the 8th, in the evening, we were looking out for the Little Pater Nosters, being near the latitude of their north end, as determined by Captain Carteret; but although we stood to the westward all night, we saw nothing of them; I therefore suppose they lay nearer the Celebes shore than we were at this time. On the 9th in the morning, observing the water much discoloured, we sounded, and had thirty-five fathoms over a sandy bottom; soon after, we saw, from the mast-head, a small sandy island, bearing south-west by west: at noon we were within five miles of it, and observed several shoals breaking to the northward and southward of it, with some dry patches of sand. These shoals have been taken by some for the Little Pater-Nosters, but are called by the Dutch, the Triangles; they lie in latitude 2° 58' south; longitude 117° 53' east: they are so very low, that a ship in the night would be ashore before they could be perceived; there are good soundings at some distance to the eastward of them. The whole time we had been in this strait, the wind had been variable from south-south-west to west-north-west; in the night it sometimes inclined in very light airs from south-south-east to south. On the 11th, in the afternoon, as we were standing to the westward, the water appeared suddenly of a very light colour, and on looking over the side, we perceived the ground under the ship: before we had time to heave a cast of the lead, it appeared to be deeper, and we had ten and twelve fathoms; but I am inclined to think, from what I saw of the bottom, that there could not have been more than five or six: the bottom was white sand, with some dark patches upon it. From the mast-head, at the same time, was seen a dry sand-bank, bearing north-north-east six miles distant; a little way to the eastward of it, the water seemed to break. This shoal is very dangerous, and does not appear in any chart which I have seen: there is a shoal marked in the Dutch charts, nearly in the same parallel, but it is so very much misplaced in its longitude, or distance from the land, that I cannot suppose it has been meant for the same shoal. The latitude of this shoal is 3° 37' south, and the longitude 117° 54' east; it extends from the two small islands which are called the Brothers, and lie off the east part of Borneo, east half north, distant fifty-one miles. We made the Brothers at day-light in the morning, after passing this shoal, and at ten o'clock we passed within three miles of them, in from twenty-two to seventeen fathoms water, over a sandy bottom. The latitude of the Brothers is 3° 41' south, and the longitude 117° 00' east. We stood on to the south-west, after passing the Brothers, expecting that course would have carried us clear of every part of Borneo, but the south part of Borneo, and the large island called Poolo La'oot, form a considerable bight; into this bight we found a strong in-draught, by which, and the wind being light, we were drawn, and could not fetch round Borneo; we stood off and on there with light and baffling winds, and a short chop of a sea, and gained no ground: after passing two days and a night in this situation, we got a breeze, which enabled us to weather the Brothers again, and stand to the eastward, where we had more room. This situation gave me some uneasy moments; for we dropt in so fast upon the shore, that we found it necessary to prepare for anchoring; this would have occasioned a loss of time, which, from a variety of circumstances, we could not afford: the anchorage off here is clear soft ground, and shoals regularly to the shore; we had twelve fathoms four miles off. This bight ought to be carefully avoided, for certainly during the prevalence of the easterly monsoon here, there is a very strong set into it: it would be much better for ships bound to the westward to get as far to the southward as the south point of Borneo, before they stretched to the westward of the Brothers, unless they may have a fresh gale that they can depend on. The southermost part of Borneo which we saw, lies in latitude 4° 00' south, and longitude 116° 35' east, but there is land to the southward of that, which appeared to us like two islands, on the northermost of which are two remarkable round hills; whether these are really islands, or any part of Borneo, we could not ascertain; but in all the charts the south part of Borneo is laid down farther south than that land which we at first supposed to be it, and agrees nearly with this which appeared to us like two islands, the southermost of which is in latitude 4° 15' south, and longitude 115° 16' east. Having determined after we got out of this bight and to the eastward of the Brothers, to endeavour to get nearer the Celebes shore, and to work up on that side to the southward of 4° 00' south latitude, before we should attempt to cross the meridian of the Brothers, we stood to the eastward, and had the wind in the fore part of the day from south-south-east and south-east, and after sun-set it inclined to the south-west, but in very light airs; however, with these slants we got southing; but if ever the south-south-east breeze continued long enough to carry us in sight of the south east part of Borneo, we were then sure to be set to the northward: this having been the case, on the 15th, it obliged us to stand to the eastward, although it were an unfavourable tack. At day-light in the morning, we tacked to the southward, and again fell in with the dry sand-bank already mentioned; we passed it at four miles distance, and had thirty-five fathoms water (to the eastward). The dry part of this sand-bank is so very small, that in bad weather the sea must break entirely over it: there is regular soundings between it and the Brothers, from twenty-five to seventeen fathoms. Being now determined not to stand farther to the westward than we could by that means gain southing, we, by the different changes of the wind, got, by the 19th, as far as 4° 42' south latitude: that morning, as we were steering to the westward, ground was discovered under the ship which of course drew every body on deck; we had ten fathoms, over a rocky bottom, which we saw very distinctly. The latitude of this ridge is 4° 35' south, and longitude, observed that morning is 117° 19' east: I judge that it must extend from some small islands, which are laid down in most of the charts, and which we supposed lay at that time directly to the southward of us, but we saw nothing of them. From this reef we steered west-south-west, and at six in the afternoon, we saw an island bearing west half south; we hauled to the southward to weather it, and at day-light in the morning of the 20th, it bore north, distant seven leagues; its latitude is 4° 56' south, and the longitude observed that morning 115° 40' east; this we supposed to be Poolo Laut: we kept the lead going all night, and had from twenty to twenty-eight fathoms; the wind fresh from south-east by south. We continued to steer west-south-west, and, for about fourteen leagues, we crossed a flat of sixteen fathoms. At midnight on the 21st, we saw an island bearing west-north-west three or four miles distant; this we supposed to be the island of Solombo; its latitude is 5° 42' south, and the longitude 114° 24' east. We continued to steer to the westward, and had from twenty-five to thirty-five fathoms until day-light in the morning of the 23d, when we made the islands called Cariman Java; the middle or principal one is large, and of very considerable height; it is encompassed by many smaller ones, some of which are well covered with wood: the latitude of the south side of these islands is 5° 21' south, and the longitude 110° 33' east. On the morning of the 24th, we saw a number of water spouts and whirlwinds, some of which came so very near that we fired a few guns, in hopes that the concussion of the air would have dispersed them; but our guns were too small to give a sufficient shock to the atmosphere; however, a good breeze of wind sprung up and carried us clear of them. We steered from Cariman Java, west, and in the evening of the 25th, we made the small islands called the Boomkins, which lie about five leagues from the Coast of Java; we passed about three miles within them, and saw the shore of Java. During part of the night we steered west-north-west to avoid some sunken rocks which are laid down to the westward. The south side of the Boomkins lies in latitude 5° 56' south, and longitude 108° 21' east. In the morning, we saw Carawang Point on Java, bearing south-south-west six or seven miles; and at five in the afternoon of the 27th, we anchored in Batavia Road, after a passage from Port Jackson of twenty-six weeks. [A Table of the winds and weather, etc. on a passage from Port Jackson, New South Wales, to Batavia in the Waaksamheid Transport.] [The tables are included in the HTML version] Chapter X A VOYAGE TO THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE September 1791 to April 1792 Captain Hunter waits on the Governor at Batavia.--Applies for a passage to England.--Purchases the Waaksambeyd for that purpose.--Leaves Batavia.--Passes the Keelings.--Arrives at the Cape of Good Hope.--Leaves that place, and anchors at Saint Helena.--Departs from Saint Helena.-- Arrives at Portsmouth.--Tables for the variation of the compass.--Captain Hunter's letter to the Lords of the Admiralty.- The master of the ship went immediately on shore, to inform his owner (the Shebander) of his arrival: that gentleman wrote me a note the same night, begging to see me the next morning as early as possible, that he might introduce me to the governor; he informed me at the same time, that it was quite unnecessary to write to the governor upon any business I might have to settle with him, (which the master of the ship informed him I intended) as my business could be done with more ease in a personal interview. I landed the next morning, and went with the Shebander (who spoke English) to the governor, who lived about three miles out of town. I had previously told the Shebander, in writing, what my business was, which he thought necessary for enabling him the better to interpret between us. I informed the governor, that Governor Phillip had found it necessary, for the forwarding of his Majesty's service, to employ the vessel in which I was embarked to convey to that port the officers and company of his Majesty's lost ship the Sirius, with a view, that after we had procured the necessary provision and refreshments, we should be permitted to proceed in the same vessel to England: I therefore desired permission to have her refitted, and to proceed with all possible expedition. The governor, in answer to my request, informed me, that he could not consent to any vessel belonging to the company being employed as a transport, and that it was contrary to the established regulations of the company to permit that vessel, as Dutch property, to proceed from thence to Europe. I desired that he would take the trouble to consider the nature of my application; and I begged he might understand, that I was not soliciting a favour to myself, as an individual, but that I was an officer in the king's service, and that although I was not at that port in the command of one of his Majesty's ships, that I nevertheless was in actual service, and had at that time a ship's company, and their proper officers, under my command; that he would be pleased, therefore, to understand me correctly, that it was for his Majesty's service I was then making the application he had heard; and I hoped, and believed, that himself and the council would find no difficulty or inconvenience to the company's concerns, in deviating a little from their established rules for the accommodation of his Britannick Majesty's service. To this he only replied, he could do nothing of himself, and that my application must be made to the council; to which, I informed him, I had no sort of objection. The Shebander, therefore, wrote an application from me in the Dutch language, founded on the letter which I had written to him on that subject; to which he added one paragraph that, he said, would very much facilitate the business, and prevent delay; this was, after having desired permission to let the vessel proceed to Europe, "That if it were impossible, consistent with the established rules of the company, to grant such a request, that they would be pleased to give permission for my purchasing the vessel, if I could settle the business with the proprietor." I waited on the governor and council in person, and received my answer from the governor, which was, that the council had complied with my request, and would permit me to purchase the vessel; a business which the proprietor and I had previously settled. I cannot help noticing here, that this vessel was sometimes considered as belonging to the company, and at other times as the sole property of a private individual; probably, those gentlemen who hold considerable appointments under the company, and are at the same time employed in an extensive commerce on their own account, may be authorised to use the name of the company, whenever it may be necessary to promote their own private interest. This gentleman, whose name was Engelhard, acted with much liberality in the equipment of his ship, although those whom he employed on that business did not act with the same good intention: he was, upon every occasion, civil and attentive. A short time before we arrived here, the town of Batavia had been very unhealthy, and was, though much better, still sickly. Our sailors continued to enjoy good health until about a week before we were ready for sea, when they fell down fast with a fever which had raged much at Batavia: this fever was, however, in some of the seamen, brought on by a little intemperance. On the 19th of October died Daniel Buddle, seaman. On the 20th, we left the road and sailed to the island of Onrust, where we anchored and received some stores for the use of the ship. On the 22d, we sailed from Onrust, and the 26th cleared the streight of Sunda: at this time Terence Burne, seaman, died, and we had twenty-two down with the Batavia fever; it was of the intermitting kind, and exceedingly obstinate and difficult to remove; it reduced the patient to a very weakly state in a very short time, and occasioned much sickness at the stomach, and a loathing of every kind of food. On the 30th, as we were steering south-west, we kept a good lookout all night for the islands called Keelings, or Cocos Islands; being uncertain whether their situation was well ascertained: at noon on the 31st, the latitude observed was 12° 10' south; this I supposed to be rather to the southward of them, and altered the course to west-south-west: at three in the afternoon, we discovered the islands under our lee, distant about four leagues: there are three of them well covered with wood, but they are very low and flat; there are several smaller spots like rocks above water; the larger islands have sandy beaches, and in many places there were very high breakers: the latitude of the south side is 12° 06' south; the longitude by account from Java Head, but afterwards confirmed by observations of is 98° 03' east. On the 14th of November, Robert Henderson, seaman, died; and on the 11th of December died Edward Moore, seaman. On the 15th we made Cape Lagullus, and the 17th anchored in Table-Bay, at the Cape of Good Hope; but it blew so strong from the south-east that we were not able to fetch the upper anchorage: it continued to blow from the same quarter for several days, and on the 20th, it blew so violent a gale, that the two bower anchors would not hold the ship: finding in the evening that the gale did not in the smallest degree abate, and that if I continued to trust any longer to anchors, which it was plain were too light for the ship, we should run a risk of being drove upon the reef off Robbin's Island in the night, for every heavy gust set the ship a-drift, we cut both the cables before dark, and had just day-light enough to run to sea under the foresail. When we got a few leagues to sea we found the weather quite moderate, and made sail, with the hope of being able to recover the bay again. On the 22d, in the evening, we fetched close round Green Point, and hoisted the signal of distress, having but one small anchor left: his Majesty's ship Providence, the Assistant armed tender, and Pitt transport, being in the bay, repeated our signal with many guns, and sent all their boats; several English whalers and some Americans also sent their boats with anchors and hausers, and we were very soon got into safety. I was much obliged to Captain Bligh, as well as to the commanders of all the other ships for their exertions, without which we must again have been driven to sea. The same night we received anchors and cables from the shore, and secured the ship. The anchors which we had left being far down the bay when we quitted them, were entirely lost. On the 23d, the Providence and Assistant tenders left the bay, and on the 24th the Pitt transport sailed for New South Wales. As our sick, from the very low state they were in when we arrived, were likely to detain me longer here than it was my wish or intention to have staid, I determined to avail myself of that time, and convert a spare top-mast into a mizen-mast; the ship being in certain situations, very unsafe for want of after-sail; and the head of the main mast being much crippled by the weight of the try-sail, I set the carpenters immediately to work upon this job, which was soon completed; but on examining the head of the fore-mast, I found it was also very defective, which determined me to reef both the top-masts. On the 13th of January, 1792, having completed our provisions for sixteen weeks, I directed that such of the men as were sufficiently recovered to proceed upon the voyage, might be discharged from sick quarters and sent on board. On the 18th, with a breeze from south-south-east, we ran down to Robbin's Island, where, it falling calm, we anchored. On the 19th, with a south-west breeze, we stretched out to sea. We left five men at sick quarters who were too weakly to be taken on board. On the 4th of February, at five in the afternoon, we saw the island of Saint Helena, and at noon we anchored off James's Valley in fourteen and a half fathoms, and moored ship: I sent an officer on shore to wait on the governor, who wrote me a very polite note, expressing his concern for the misfortune I had met with, and offering every refreshment the island could afford to my seamen. On the 5th, I landed, and was received by the governor under the usual salute given to captains of his Majesty's ships (eleven guns). On the 13th, we left the island, having received fresh beef for our ship's company during our stay there, and having completed our water. I should very ill deserve the civilities I received here, if I were not to take this opportunity of expressing my obligations to Lieutenant Colonel Brooke, the governor of this island, and to every individual of his family, for their great politeness and very friendly attention to myself and officers whilst we remained at this island. On the 22d of April we arrived at Portsmouth. [An account of the observations for finding the variation of the compass...] [The tables are included in the HTML version] A Voyage From Port Jackson to England * * * * * The LORDS of the ADMIRALTY, from a zealous wish to promote the nautical interests of Great-Britain, were pleased to permit the publication of the following letter from CAPTAIN HUNTER; which gives his opinion on the best course from NEW SOUTH WALES to EUROPE; and which closes the instructive communications of that able navigator. To the RIGHT HONOURABLE the LORDS COMMISSIONERS of the ADMIRALTY: My Lords, As the settlement, which is now established on the coast of New South Wales, will no doubt occasion a frequent intercourse between the Mother Country and that part of the world, I conceive it to be a duty in those, who, from their own experience and observation, may be qualified to give any information in their power, relative to the navigation to and from that distant country: it is with this hope, that I presume to trouble your lordships with an opinion, which, I can with truth say, has been founded on my own experience and observation. The passage from England to the Cape of Good Hope is already so well known that it would be superfluous in me to make any observations upon it. From the Cape to our settlement at Port Jackson, the navigation is now much better known, than it was when the first convoy to that country was left in my charge; it is a plain and easy track; any person who is acquainted with the common rules of navigation, and finding the variations of the compass, may, with the necessary look-out, run across that extensive ocean without danger: I have sailed over it twice, and it has been crossed by many other ships since. The advantage of being able to ascertain the ship's place in longitude, by observations of the moon, will ever be satisfactory, but more particularly through so vast a tract of sea, in which the error of the log may considerably accumulate, when ships arrive upon that coast where the land lies so nearly in a north and south direction, there can be no difficulty in discovering what part of the coast they are upon, their latitude observed will always point that out, by applying to the general chart, given from the authority of that most correct and able navigator Captain Cook. When they arrive off Botany-Bay, Port Jackson, or Broken-Bay, they will I hope receive some assistance into any of these harbours, from the surveys done by me, copies of which I delivered to the governor, as the different harbours were completed, in order that fair copies might, as early as he should judge proper, be transmitted home: but that nothing in my power may be wanting to assist those who may be strangers on their arrival off that part of the coast, separate copies of those ports, with directions more full than were given with the first, will be delivered at your lordship's board, with this, and also a copy of the three harbours, on one sheet, connected with the intermediate coast. It is the return from that country immediately for Europe, by the safest, most certain, and expeditious route, that should be the object of our particular attention. The passage from Van Diemen's Land westward, to the Cape of Good Hope, has never yet been attempted; we can therefore say but little upon it; some, however, are of opinion, that a passage may be made that way with as much ease and expedition as by any other route. I confess that I differ from these opinions: I admit that the passage may be made; but I think, whenever it is tried, that it will be found tedious, and fatiguing to the ship's company. The ship which pursues that route should be strong and well found, and her crew healthy and capable of bearing much blowing, and some cold weather. It is not from a single voyage that we are to judge of the eligibility of this passage; it will happen in some seasons that the wind may be more favourable for making that passage than in others; but it is on the general prevalence of westerly winds here, and the heavy sea which is constantly rolling from the westward, that I conceive this route may be tedious and fatiguing, and on which account I give the preference to the southern route by Cape Horn. This passage has been frequently tried, and never yet failed of being safe and expeditious; the other never having yet been tried, leaves in my mind some doubt of its certainty and expedition, and a strong suspicion, that whenever it is, it may be found twice out of three times, attended with the difficulties I have hinted at; but if from repeated experience it should be found to be as practicable, expeditious, and certain, as some imagine, it will no doubt be preferable to all the others, as being a shorter distance. This passage will of course be attempted only in the Summer months: for admitting a ship to have gained so much to the westward, as to enable her to clear the west coast of New Holland, and to stretch to the northward, until she falls into the south-east trade wind, she will carry this trade in the Summer time probably quite home to the Cape; but in the Winter, north-west winds prevail in the neighbourhood of that coast, which would exceedingly retard her arrival there. The passage southward by Cape Horn, I have sailed, and as a proof of the prevalence of westerly winds in those high latitudes, I made my voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, in ninety-one days, from Port Jackson, although I was so unlucky as to be detained beating off Cape Horn for seventeen days, with a north-east wind; which I believe is not very common there. This is rather a long voyage to be performed in that time, and yet I think it will be done twice in three times in less, although a distance of about 3300 leagues. The northern passage, which can only be attempted during the Winter season, in the southern hemisphere, on account of the periodical trade winds in the Indian seas, and undertaken in such time as to ensure their reaching Batavia, before the setting in of the westerly winds there, which is generally in the middle or end of October. The dangers, currents, calms, and other delays to which we are liable in these little known seas, and of which we had much experience in the Waaksamheid transport, is the subject of the preceding narrative, which was written particularly for the information of your lordships, and principally with a view of showing the very great uncertainty of an expeditious voyage to Europe by that passage. I sailed from Port Jackson in March, and I can take upon me, without, I hope, being supposed to have presumed too much on my own judgment and experience to assert, that a ship leaving that port in the end of September, or beginning of October, taking her route by Cape Horn, would have reached England as soon as I have. The time I stopped at such places as I was obliged to touch at, will appear in the narrative. If ever government should find it necessary to send ships to that country, which may be intended to return immediately from thence to England, I beg leave to suggest to your lordships, that the particular seasons in the southern hemisphere should be considered, in order to prevent those delays in the return of the ships which must inevitably attend their sailing at an unfavourable time. If such ships leave England in February, or earlier, if found more convenient, they should refresh at Rio de Janeiro in preference to the Cape of Good Hope; as by the time they could arrive at the Cape the north-west winds will be setting in there, which will oblige them to go into the False bay; this will considerably encrease their expences, and probably occasion some delay: sail immediately from Rio Janeiro for the coast of New South Wales, where, if they are not uncommonly unfortunate, they will arrive early in September; this is giving them good time. They will then have time to clear, ballast, and to refresh their people for six weeks or two months, and return by Cape Horn; or, if the western passage be found preferable, the season will be equally favourable for it. If they should take their route by Cape Horn, as they will no doubt require to refresh somewhere in their voyage home, they may either stop at Santa Catherina or Rio Janeiro, on the Brazil coast, or go to the Cape; in this case I would recommend the Cape, as more convenient, in more respects than one. If they are sickly, there they may get a supply of men, which it is well known they cannot at either of the other places; and in sailing from the Cape homeward they will have the advantage of being to windward; however, if as late as April, they would probably prefer Brazil. If water only were wanted, that could be had at Falkland's Islands. In taking the liberty to offer these hints, I mean only, that in order to prevent any loss of time, upon such a service, the ships may be dispatched from England in such time as to insure their having the Summer months to return either by Cape Horn, or the western route, as may be directed. The ships upon this service will no doubt be under the inconvenience of coming upon the coast of New South Wales in some of the Winter months; we have some bad weather on that coast in the Winter, and some smart gales of wind; the easteriy gales always bring thick or hazy weather: I would recommend the not making too free with the coast, until they be near the parallel of their port. In steering in for Port Jackson, if they should fall to leeward, either with a northerly or southerly wind, they can avail themselves of either Botany-Bay or Broken-Bay, Port Jackson being the center harbour. In the sketches which will accompany the narrative of my last passage, I beg leave to inform your lordships, that the bearings and relative situations of the different lands which we fell in with were determined by intersections taken from the ship by Lieutenants William Bradley and Henry Waterhouse, who paid particular and constant attention to those very necessary observations; and that the situations of the lands in general were determined by observations for the longitude as well as latitude, which were made by myself and the above officers. I have now only to request that your lordships will do me the honour to believe, that in the liberty I have taken, I am prompted wholly by a sense of duty, and that I am, with the utmost respect, My Lords, -June_, 1792. Your Lordship's most obedient and devoted humble servant, JOHN HUNTER. * * * * * LIEUTENANT KING'S JOURNAL. The public owe an obligation, and the publisher a kindness, to Sir Joseph Banks and Mr. Stephens, of the Admiralty, to whose charge Lieutenant King had committed his journal, for liberally allowing the free use of this intelligent manuscript, in order to the publication of such parts of it as might be supplementary in its notices to the foregoing narrative of Captain Hunter. The journal of Lieutenant King, like the narrative of Captain Hunter, begins with the _plan_ of a settlement on the coast of New South Wales, for the present banishment of convicts, in the hope of future benefit to the nation; and with the outfit of the ships which had been appointed for this uncommon expedition. Like Captain Hunter, under whom he sailed in the Sirius, he conducts their little fleet from England to the Canaries; from these islands to the Brazils; from Rio de Janeiro to the Cape of Good Hope; recording such professional notices, and making such useful remarks, as occurred on a voyage, which being now perfectly known, could afford in the recital little diversity, and could furnish in the publication neither information nor amusement. Of the Sirius, which was never more to return to _the Thames_, he tells the following anecdote: "She was built in -the river_ for an east country ship; and in loading her, she took fire and was burnt down to her wales. The government wanting a roomy vessel to carry stores abroad, in 1781, purchased her bottom, which was rebuilt with such stuff as, during the war, could be found. She went two voyages as the Berwick store-ship; and without any repairs she was reported, when the present expedition was thought of, as fit for the voyage to New Holland, when she was named _The Sirius_." Experience, however, evinced, that she was altogether adequate to the service for which she was destined; and carried her crew safe through one of the most tremendous gales, on a lee shore, that the oldest seaman remembered. Lieutenant King describes the Cape of Good Hope, of which so many accounts have been given. Here was it determined, that with Governor Phillip and other officers, he was to change his ship from the Sirius to the Supply, an armed tender of one hundred and seventy tons: but this measure was not executed till the fleet had sailed 352 miles from the Cape of Good Hope, when they yet had 5582 miles of an ocean to traverse, before they could expect to see the south cape of New Holland, the object of their hopes. Soon after they had parted from their associates in the voyage, they were alarmed in the night with the cry of _rocks under the lee bow:_ but having put the helm a-lee, they soon perceived, that the Supply had passed over two enormous whales, which gave her a shock that was felt by all. Without any other accident, though they had heavy gales and a boisterous sea, they anchored at Botany-Bay on the 19th of January, 1788, after a voyage of thirty-seven weeks and a day, since their departure from England. On the fifth day after their arrival, two strange ships were seen standing into the bay, which proved to be the La Boussole and L'Astrolabe under the command of Monsieur De la Peyrouse, and which have been long wishfully looked for by all the good and wise of Europe. Chapter XI A VOYAGE TO NORFOLK ISLAND February 1788 to April 1788 Lieutenant King visits Monsieur De la Peyrouse at Botany-Bay.--Polite reception there.--An account of his adventures.--Lieutenant King returns to Port Jackson.--Sent by Governor Phillip to form a settlement on Norfolk Island.--Leaves Port Jackson.--An island discovered.--Arrival at Norfolk Island.--Difficulty in finding a landing-place.--Lands the convicts, provisions, and stores.--Ground cleared, and tents fixed.--A store-bouse erected.--Vegetables, and various sorts of grain sown.-- Distressed by rats.--General orders for the regulation of the settlement. On the 1st of February, at day-light in the morning, Lieutenant Dawes, of the marines, and myself, left Sydney Cove in a cutter, in order to proceed to Botany-Bay, and visit Monsieur De la Peyrouse, on the part of Governor Phillip, and to offer him any assistance he might stand in need of. We soon got down to the harbour's mouth, and finding a light breeze from the southward, we were obliged to row all the way: we arrived on board the Boussole at ten o'clock in the morning, and were received with the greatest attention and politeness by Monsieur Peyrouse, and the few officers he had. After delivering my message to him, he returned his thanks to Governor Phillip, and made us similar offers to those he had received, adding at the same time, that he should be in France within the space of fifteen months, and as he had stores, etc. sufficient to serve him for three years, he should be happy to send Governor Phillip any thing that he might want. Monsieur Peyrouse informed me, that a number of the convicts had been to him, and wanted to enter on board his ships, but that he had dismissed them with threats, and had given them a day's provisions to carry them back to the settlement. The wind coming on to blow fresh from the northward, I accepted Monsieur Peyrouse's invitation to pass the day with him, and to return to Port Jackson the next morning. In the course of our conversation, I learned that he had touched at, and been off, the following places, viz. Madeira, Teneriffe, and Santa Catherina: he had run down the coasts of Chili and California, on the last of which he had lost boats, officers, and men, by the surf. He had been at Kamschatka, where he replaced the wooden inscription that had been erected to the memory of Captain Clerke, (which was nearly defaced) with a copper one: for this attention I thanked him. From Kamschatka, he went to Macao; from thence to the Phillippines, the Sandwich Islands, Isles des Navigateurs, Friendly Islands, and Norfolk Island, from whence he came to Botany-Bay. At the Island Macuna, (one of the Isles des Navigateurs) in latitude 14° 19' south, longitude 173° 00' 20" east of Paris, he had been so very unfortunate as to lose Monsieur De Langle, captain of the L'Astrolabe, together with eight officers, four sailors, and one boy; all of whom were killed by the natives, besides a number who were wounded. This melancholy affair happened in the following manner: The two ships had been at the island just mentioned some days, and were on very good terms with the natives, who had furnished them with every article of stock in the greatest profusion, for barter: Monsieur De la Peyrouse, however, had sound it very necessary to be on his guard against a treacherous disposition which he discovered in them. When every thing was ready for their departure, and the ships were under weigh, De Langle requested M. Peyrouse to permit him to get another turn of water; this M. Peyrouse consented to, but with as much reluctance as De Langle seemed solicitous to obtain his request: as the long-boats were not hoisted in, they were sent on this service, with two other boats to attend them, under the direction of the unfortunate De Langle. At this time the ships were lying to, and a strong current set them round a point out of sight of the place where the boats were to land. When the boats landed, the men were, as usual, surrounded by the inhabitants, who did not immediately discover any hostile intention: unfortunately, the sailors in the long-boats had suffered them to take the ground, and whilst they were endeavouring to get them afloat again, the natives were very troublesome, and pressed close in upon the sailors; on this, De Langle ordered the men in the rowing-boats to be ready to fire on the natives, but not to do it until he ordered them. Some altercation happening at this juncture, in consequence of their pressing so close upon the French, probably occasioned a blow with a club from one of the natives, which was instantly taken as a signal by the rest, and the massacre began. The natives were armed with short heavy clubs, by which means they rendered the fire-arms useless. Orders were given to fire the swivels, etc. in the rowing boats, but it was too late, although the natives fled the moment they were fired, dragging the dead bodies after them. It was supposed that thirty of the natives were killed in this unfortunate affray. Those belonging to the ships, who escaped the massacre, swam to the rowing boats, and were carried on board the ships: many of them had received violent contusions on the head, as all the blows were aimed at that part. De la Peyrouse thought proper to quit the island immediately, after endeavouring to regain his long-boats, which he found the natives had destroyed: he describes the inhabitants of these islands as a very strong and handsome race of men; scarcely one was to be seen amongst them less than six feet high, and well proportioned; the women are delicately beautiful; their canoes, houses, etc. are well constructed, and they are much more advanced in internal policy and order than any of the islands in the Pacific Ocean. These, islands are surrounded by a coral reef, but boats may land with great safety. After dinner I attended M. Peyrouse and his officers on shore, where I found him quite established; he had thrown round his tents a stockade, which was guarded by two small guns, and in which they were setting up two long boats, which he had in frame. After these boats were built, it was the intention of M. Peyrouse to go round New Ireland, and through the Moluccas, and to pass to the Island of France, by the streights of Sunda. An observatory tent was also fixed on shore, in which were an astronomical clock, a quadrant, and other instruments under the care of Monsieur D'Agelet, Astronomer, and a member of the Academy of Sciences at Paris: he, as well as Monsieur De la Peyrouse, informed me, that at every place they had touched at, and been near, they had found all the nautical and astronomical remarks of Captain Cook to be very exact and true; and he concluded with saying, "Enfin Monsieur Cook a tant fait, qu'il ne m'a rien laissè a faire, que d'admirer ses oeuvres." In the evening I returned on board the Boussole, and was shown all the drawings they had made during their voyage; and at five o'clock the next morning I set out on my return to Port Jackson, but did not arrive on board the Sirius before seven in the evening, having been obliged to row all the way against the wind and a great swell. On the 4th, I went by land to Botany-Bay, accompanied by Lieutenant Ball, and some other officers: we found the country between that place and Port Jackson to consist chiefly of deep bays and sand hills, interspersed with a vast number of rocks: we did not return until the evening of the 5th. About this time two criminal courts were assembled in order to try offenders, and as the proceedings in these cases are, in a great measure, new, a short account of them may not be unacceptable. The judge-advocate issues his precept for the three senior naval officers and three military officers to assemble at the time appointed, dressed in their uniforms and their side-arms: when they are met, the judge-advocate administers an oath to the members, similar to that which is used at military courts-martial; afterwards, one of the members administers the same oath to the judge-advocate, who presides at the court, and the rest take their seats according to their rank. The prisoner is then asked, whether he is guilty or not, and, as the general answer is, "not guilty," the accusations against him are read, and witnesses are examined on oath to support or prove the charge; after which the prisoner enters on his defence, and brings evidence to prove his innocence: the court is then cleared, and the members consider what sentence to pronounce; if it be death, five out of the seven must concur in opinion. The governor can respite a criminal condemned to die, and the legislature has fully empowered him to execute the sentence of the law, or to temper it with mercy. Actions for debt, for a certain amount, are cognizable by this court, as are all other actions at common law, where they are decided according to the law of England, as nearly as the situation will allow. On the 6th, Governor Phillip signified his intention of sending me to Norfolk-Island, with a few people, and stock to settle it, and lieutenant Ball was ordered to receive on board the Supply the stores and provisions necessary for that purpose: this business engaged the whole of my attention until the 15th, when, having received my commission and instructions from the governor, (and taken the oaths of fidelity and allegiance, etc. etc. and the customary oath as a justice of the peace for Norfolk-Island;) by which I was appointed superintendent and commandant of Norfolk-Island, I embarked the following persons, who were appointed to go along with me, viz. Mr. James Cunningham, master's mate of the Sirius; Mr. Thomas Jameson, surgeon's first mate of the Sirius; Mr. John Altree, assistant to the surgeon; Roger Morly, weaver; William Westbrook, and---- Sawyer, seamen; Charles Heritage, and John Batchelor, marines; with nine male and six female convicts; in all, twenty-three persons. We sailed from Sydney-Cove at seven o'clock in the morning, with a fine breeze at west-south-west, and at eight, we got out of the harbour, when we found it blew very fresh, and as we got off the land it came on to blow a perfect hurricane, with a most tremendous sea running, which often broke into the vessel: the gale kept up with great violence, as did the sea during the whole day, and I often thought the vessel in a critical situation. At two o'clock in the morning, the wind veered round to south-by-west, and moderated, but a heavy sea was still running. At noon, the latitude was 32° 22' south, 154° 11' east longitude. In the evening, a flying-fish flew on board, which is rather an extraordinary event in this latitude. At day-break in the morning of the 18th, land was discovered bearing east-south-east; and, from its appearance, we judged it to be two small rocks or islands, not more than six leagues distant. At the time we first saw the land, we were standing to the northward, with the wind at east-south-east: at eight in the morning, we tacked towards the land, but the wind being light during the whole day, our progress was very slow. Early the next morning, having neared the land considerably, we perceived a pointed rock right a-head, at some distance from the island; on which, we hove to, and soundings were tried for with 120 fathoms of line, but we got no bottom. At day-light we made sail, and perceived that the two islands or hills we had seen the day before, were two very high rocky mountains, on the south side of an island, extending from north 37° east, to north 55° east. This side of the island formed a deep bay, in which there appeared to be good shelter from the north-east. At noon, we had a very good meridian altitude, by which the latitude was 31° 40' south, and the center of the island bore north 40° west, distant about six miles; consequently, its latitude is 31° 35' south, and the longitude 159° east of Greenwich. The form of the island is a crescent, and it is very small in proportion to the two stupendous rocky mountains which rise at its southern extremity. One of the rocks rises perpendicularly from the sea, and has the appearance of a regular pyramid, when seen from the westward: we sailed from it in a direct course 22 leagues, and could then see it very plainly. Lieutenant Ball, who was certainly the discoverer of this island, has named its points and rocks, as they are marked in the chart*. At noon on the 20th, we lost fight of Ball's pyramid in the haze, after having run 22 leagues from it in the direction of east by south: I think, in clear weather, it may be seen at the distance of thirty leagues. We had light winds and pleasant weather until the 24th, when we had very strong gales from east-south-east, with a high cross sea. [* For this Chart, and a View of Ball's Pyramid, with a full Description, see Phillip's Voyage, 4to. Edition.] Early in the morning of the 28th, the wind veered to south-west, and, imagining ourselves to be about fifteen leagues to the westward of Norfolk-Island, we hove to at seven in the evening. The next morning, at day-light, we made sail, steering east: we had great numbers of birds round us, and the clouds hanging very thick to the eastward, indicated our being near the land; but it was not till eleven o'clock in the forenoon that we made the largest of the two small islands which lie off the south-west end of Norfolk-Island, bearing east 16° north, five leagues distant. At noon, the body of Norfolk-Island bore north 61° east, distant seven or eight leagues. At four in the afternoon, we rounded the northern point of the island, which I named Point Howe, in honour of the first lord of the admiralty, at the time we left England: we soon after hove to, off a cascade, which is situated near the middle of the north side of the island: the boat was hoisted out, and lieutenant Ball and myself went to examine if it were possible to land on a stony beach, which is situated a little to the eastward of the cascade; but we found so great a surf rolling on the shore, that the loss of the boat, and perhaps of the sailors lives, would have been the consequence of our attempting to land; so that at sun-set we returned on board, and the boat was hoisted in. Early the next morning, lieutenant Ball and myself went in a boat to examine whether we could find a landing-place from the southermost, or Point Ross, to the north-west, or Point Howe, which was (the wind being then west-north-west,) the lee side of the island. From the cascade to a small bay, which lies on the north-east side of the island, we found the shore lined with steep inaccessible cliffs, against which the sea broke with great violence, and rendered the boat's approach impracticable. The small bay, which I named Ball-bay, (after lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball) lies in a west-north-west, and east-south-east direction, and is about four cables length deep, and two cables length wide: the bottom of the bay is a stony beach, on which the surf broke with too much force to risque the boat; though at times, the surf probably may be less. From this bay, we rowed round the south-east point, and opened the two islands, the largest of which, I named Phillip-Isle, after Governor Phillip; and the smallest, Nepean-Isle, after Evan Nepean. The point of Norfolk-Island, opposite Nepean-Isle, I called Point Hunter, after captain John Hunter, of his Majesty's ship the Sirius. Between Point Hunter and Point Ross, there is a large, though not a deep, bay, with several fine sandy beaches; but without the beaches, there runs a reef parallel with the shore, which seemed to prevent any landing on it; and, as we were opening the weather side of the island, and a great swell running, which prevented us from pulling the boat a-head, we returned along shore, and endeavoured to land on a stony beach to the westward of the cascade, but could not: we then rowed to the north-east point of the island, off which lies a cluster of high rocks; I called them Cook's rocks, in memory of the late Captain James Cook, who discovered this island, and landed near these rocks in 1774: but we found landing impossible, on account of the surf, which broke every where, though this may not be the case in fine weather. In the evening we returned on board, without being able to set our feet on shore. During the night, we had light winds from the south-west; and a current, or tide, had set us a considerable distance to the north-east of the island; which, at eight o'clock the next morning, bore south-east, eight miles distant: from this time, until three in the afternoon, we were employed in working up under the north-east point of the island, where we anchored in nineteen fathoms, distant from the nearest shore one mile. A boat was hoisted out, and after two attempts, I landed with Lieutenant Ball, on the side of a large rock, which lies close to the shore, at the west end of a small stony beach; it must have been on this rock that Captain Cook landed, as there is no other place at this side of the island, where it is possible to attempt a landing at any time, and that is only practicable here, from half ebb to half flood, in very fine weather, and the wind off the island. As it was near the evening when we landed, we very soon returned on board again, with a quantity of sorrel that we had gathered. We found this a very improper place to land either people or stores, it being impracticable to get them further than the beach, and there was no fresh water near it. At day-light in the morning of the 3d, I left the Supply, and went in her boat along with Mr. Cunningham, to examine the south-west side of the island, which we rowed round, until we opened Phillip and Nepean Isles off the south point; but it blew too hard, and there was too great a sea running for us to pull the boat any farther, so that at two in the afternoon we returned on board. There is only one place on this side of the island, where landing is at all practicable, and that is in a small bay just within the west point: the bottom of it is a fine sandy beach, but the surf broke on it with such violence, as to put landing out of the question. As it blew very fresh all night, I landed the next morning abreast of the Supply, with the midshipman and surgeon: we walked across the island to the bay which I had seen the day before. After ascending a very steep hill, we got to the top of the island, which we found to be a plain, but every foot of ground was covered with trees, or the large roots of trees which rose above the surface of the earth; these were not the only impediments to our march, as it was impossible for us to walk four yards, without encountering an almost impenetrable net-work, composed of a large kind of supple-jack, or vine; which was so very strong, as to suppress the growth of several trees, by bending them in every direction; and they so completely stopped our progress, that we were obliged to cut our way through them. No grass, or herb of any kind, grew between the roots of these trees, although the soil every where was extremely rich and good; but this may be attributed to the total exclusion of the sun, and the want of air, which doubtless prevent this sort of vegetation. The pines, which are numerous, are of an incredible growth: one of them, which had been blown down, or had fallen by age, measured 140 feet in length, and several which were measured standing, were 30 feet in circumference: they grow quite straight, and have no branches for near 80 feet from the ground. We found it impracticable to get into Anson's bay, although we saw down into it; but the hill over it was a perpendicular cliff, with a large kind of iris growing on the sides of it, which was a providential circumstance, for, in our endeavour to get into the bay, we were all in the greatest danger of falling down the cliff; indeed, if the iris had not been sufficiently strong to have supported our weight, we must have fallen down a depth of 90 feet. We were too much pleased with, and thankful for our escape, to attempt a second trial, as the whole of this side of the island had the same steep appearance. In our return, we frequently heard a very distinct cry of "yaho," which seemed as if it was uttered by an animal or bird. During this excursion, we did not see a leaf of flax, or any herb whatever; the ground, although a rich and deep soil, being quite bare, which is rather extraordinary, as Captain Cook says that the flax plant is rather more luxuriant here than at New Zealand. We saw pigeons, parrots, parroquets, doves, and a variety of other birds, in great numbers, and so very tame, that they might be knocked down with a stick. Large pieces of pumice stone were seen in every part; probably a crater, or the remains of one, may be found at, or near a mountain, which rises to a considerable height in the middle of the island, and which I called Mount Pitt, in honour of the chancellor of the exchequer. As the sandy bay, on the south-west side of the island, had not been examined to my satisfaction, Lieutenant Ball proposed going round in the brig, and endeavour to land, which there was a great probability of effecting, as the wind was then at east-north-east: accordingly, at day-light in the morning of the 5th, we weighed, and ran round to the bay, which I had named Anson-bay, after the parliamentary representative for Litch-field. We found the surf too violent to land there, and I now began to think it would be impossible to land on the island; as I had nearly made a circuit of it, and had not found a place where I could attempt landing. There yet remained one place unexamined, which was the south side of the island, in a bay, that appeared to be entirely lined with a reef, on which the surf broke with great violence. The wind being at east-north-east, we worked up for the bay, and at noon, the master was sent to examine if there were any opening through the reef; on his return he informed us, that landing in the bay was very safe and practicable, as the reef terminated about two-thirds of the bay over, and round the point of this reef, landing was easy and safe. On hearing this report, Lieutenant Ball and myself went to examine the place, and found it exactly to answer the master's description. The shore, close to the beach, was covered with a long kind of iris, within which was an impenetrable forest: the soil was good. Here I resolved to fix, and was pleased at having found a place where I could make a commencement. I had no doubt but water would be procured, and that at no great distance from the spot; but as it was very late in the evening, I returned on board the Supply, and she was soon after brought to an anchor in 20 fathoms, over a sandy bottom. At day-light on the 6th, I left the Supply with two boats, having in them all the persons belonging to the settlement, together with the tents a part of the provisions, and some of the most useful tools; all which we landed, and began clearing a small piece of ground to erect the tents on: the colours were hoisted, and before sun-set, every person and article belonging to the settlement were on shore, and the tents pitched. Before the colours were hauled down, I assembled my small colony under them, (Lieutenant Ball and some of his officers being present,) and drank the healths of his Majesty, the Queen, the Prince of Wales, and success to the settlement: and, as we had no other way of testifying our loyalty, we gave three cheers on the occasion. The wind blew very hard the whole of the 7th, and the surf ran so high that no boat could land: the Supply still remained at anchor in the road. This day I began to clear a piece of ground for sowing some seeds; the spot, which I fixed on for that purpose, is on the east side of an hill which has a tolerable easy ascent, and the soil is rich and deep. Soon after landing, we found a very fine rivulet of water, which ran close at the back of the ground where the settlement was made. I took the first opportunity of examining the island around me, and found it almost impenetrable from the size of the trees, and the entangled state of their roots, which were in general two feet above the ground, and ran along it to a considerable distance. On the spaces of ground unoccupied by these roots, there grew a kind of supple-jack, which in general was as thick as a man's leg; these supple-jacks ran up the trees, and as they grew in every direction, they formed an impenetrable kind of net-work; bending some trees to the ground, and then taking root again, they twined round other trees in the same manner, until the whole became an impervious forest. As I had only twelve men, (one of whom was seventy-two years old, and another a boy of fifteen,) exclusive of the mate and surgeon, my progress for some time must of course be very slow. On the 8th we had strong gales of wind and cloudy weather: at nine in the morning, we hoisted the colours in a west, as a signal that the Supply's boat might land; and at eleven, we received the last of our baggage, provisions, and stores, and hauled the boat up. In the afternoon, Lieutenant Ball came on shore to ask if I had any farther occasion for the Supply, and, as I had not any, he took leave and returned on board; and in the afternoon sailed for Port Jackson. I sent by him a journal of my proceedings to Governor Phillip. The 9th, being Sunday, every person in the settlement assembled in my tent, where I performed divine service; after which my commission from the Governor, to whom we were subordinate, was read, appointing me superintendant and commandant of this island: I then assured every person, that my intention was to forward the King's service to the utmost of my power; and (addressing myself to the convicts) I endeavoured to convince them, that those who were idle or dishonest should not escape that punishment, which is due to useless and destructive members of society: I also informed them what ration of provisions would be allowed daily, and I held out every encouragement for them to behave with propriety and industry. In the afternoon I saw some turtle lying on a sandy beach at the east end of the bay; two of which we turned and brought to the tents for general use; they were issued out in lieu of salt provisions. Finding we had turtle on the island, I gave strict orders that no person whatever should go near the beach where they were seen, in order to prevent them from being frightened, which might occasion the loss of this valuable resource: the two turtle we had caught weighed two hundred weight each. From this time until the 15th, every person was employed in clearing away, and turning up the garden ground, which, when finished, was enclosed by a hedge, and sown with a small quantity of all the different kinds of seeds I was furnished with. The size of the enclosure was eighty-seven feet square: the soil very rich and deep. This afternoon I turned three more turtles, which were brought to the settlement. We generally saw three lying on the beach at low water, in clear weather, but when cloudy, they never land; this, together with there being no appearance of any pits where they lay their eggs, leads me to suppose that they do not breed on any part of the island; especially as this is the only place where there is a possibility for them to make their pits. The 16th, being Sunday, I performed divine service. Two convicts, whom I had given leave the preceding day to take an excursion into the interior part of the island, returned this day at noon quite naked: they had several cuts in different parts of their bodies, some of which were deep, occasioned by the entangled state of the woods, and the sharpness of the briars: they had not been an hour from the settlement before they lost sight of the sun from the thickness of the woods; this caused them to wander about till eleven o'clock, when they heard the noise of our church bell, which was a man beating on the head of an empty cask, and presently afterwards they returned to the settlement. As my own situation, and that of every other person was very uncomfortable, owing to the tents being close to the sea shore, on which a heavy surf continually beats: I set the people to work on the 17th, to clear a piece of ground to the right of the garden, and a little above it; here I intended to move the tents, or to build houses; and having two sawyers and a carpenter, I set them to work in digging a sawpit, in order to saw pine for building a store-house for the provisions and stores, they at present being lodged in my tent, which was made of the Sirius's sprit-sail. The surgeon, in walking about the island, found out the flax-plant, which proved to be what we had hitherto called the iris: not having any description of this plant, I had no idea of its being what Captain Cook calls the flax-plant of New Zealand; the cliffs and shore near the settlement were covered with it; its root is bulbous, and eight leaves issue from it, which are, in general, five or six feet in length, and about four inches broad, close to the root: the plant bears a great resemblance to the iris, except that the leaves are much thicker and larger; the flaxy part is the fibres, which extend the whole length of the leaf; towards the root they are very thick and strong, and diminish in size as they approach the end of the Jeaf. This plant, in its green state, is of a surprising strength: from the quantity of dead leaves about the root, I imagine it is an annual, and that the root sends forth fresh leaves. The method of preparing the New Zealand flax not being described by Captain Cook, I caused three bundles of ours to be put in the rivulet to soak, intending to try it after the European method of dressing flax. The sawpit being finished on the 18th, a small pine was cut down near it, which measured 115 feet in length, and two feet six inches diameter at the base: a twelve foot length was got on the pit, and the sawyers began sawing it into framings and scantlings for the store-house. By the 19th, the greatest part of the seeds we had procured at the Cape of Good Hope, and sown in the garden, were out of the ground, and seemed likely to do well; but scarcely any of the English seeds grew, they, in general, being spoiled. From this time till the 1st of April, two men were employed in sawing up wood for the store-house; one man was building it, six were clearing away the ground, and the women burnt up the small boughs. The store-house was finished on the 2d: its dimensions were twelve feet square, and nine feet high. All the provisions and stores were immediately brought from my tent and deposited in the store-house. During the last three days the wind blew very strong from the south-west, which blighted every plant that was come up and doing very well; I had also the mortification to find that the rats were very numerous; they destroyed some Indian corn which was three inches out of the ground. As there was every reason to suppose that the south-west winds would be frequent during the winter, I began to clear the ground on the north-east side of the hill, (which I named Mount George) which, of course, would be sheltered from the south and south-west winds; and it was my intention to continue clearing the ground in that situation until the middle of June, when I purposed sowing it with wheat and barley. I now found that no vegetables would thrive at this season of the year on the south side of the mount; I therefore ordered the garden ground to be turned up and sown with wheat. The ground which we had for some time been clearing to fix the tents upon, being now ready for that purpose, all the tents were moved to it on the 3d, and some of the men began to build huts: the sawyers were employed in sawing scantling, and other necessary timber to build me a house. I had much reason to fear that the turtle were frightened away, as we had not seen any on the beach since the 14th of March, although every precaution had been used to prevent their being molested. This resource we could not help feeling the want of, as its good effects had already been experienced by every person on the island; indeed, there was not an individual who had not the scurvy on landing, and some of the convicts had it very bad; but they were now quite recovered. Another unfortunate circumstance was, that as yet we had not brought any vegetables to perfection; however, to make some amends for this accident, we found a vast number of cabbage-trees, the excellence of which are well known: they are a very good substitute for other vegetables, but one tree produces only a single cabbage. The wheat, which was sown in the garden ground on the 2d, was entirely eat up with rats by the 4th; they did not leave a single grain in the ground. As I had no cats, and only one dog, these vermin were likely to prove a serious nuisance; however, in order to rid ourselves of them as much as possible, I caused all the empty casks to be converted into traps. Behind the hill where the settlement was fixed, there was a very large swamp, occasioned by the overflowing of the rivulet: at the head of this swamp there is a fine valley, in which a number of plantain or banana trees were found on the 5th; and a small spot being near them which would not cost so much pains or trouble to clear as many other places, I judged this would be a very good place for a garden; especially as the surrounding hills entirely sheltered it from the sea winds, and, from the appearance of the banana trees, I expected they would thrive very well when cultivated; at present, they were in thick clusters, choaking each other; and being covered with wild vines and aquatic shrubs, their growth was considerably retarded. Some fruit was found on them, but the birds had destroyed it before it was ripe. The sixth, being Sunday, I performed divine service; and as some irregularities had taken place, that did not merit corporal punishment, being anxious to prevent any ill behaviour, which might render such a step necessary, I read the following orders for the preservation of regularity and decorum. ORDERS. As it is highly necessary, for the preservation of good order, regularity, and cleanliness, to establish certain rules and regulations, the following are to be observed and performed with the strictest attention. I. No person is to absent himself from public worship, which will begin every Sunday morning at eleven o'clock, in the commandant's house, when every one will come clean and orderly, and behave themselves devoutly. II. The hours of work are as follow: until further orders, to begin work at day-light, and work till half past seven; at half past eight, to work again until half past eleven; and then to work again at two until sun-set. III. In order to encourage the cultivation of gardens, every one will have the Saturdays to clear away and cultivate gardens for themselves; and those who are industrious will be encouraged, but those who misapply that indulgence will be deprived of it. IV. On application, at the proper time of the year, seeds will be distributed to those who have cleared away garden ground; and those who raise the greatest quantity of seeds and vegetables will be encouraged and rewarded. V. The women are to sweep round the houses or tents every morning, and to cook the victuals for the men; and every person is strictly forbid cleaning any fish or fowls in or near the houses, but to go to the sea-side for that purpose. VI. Every person is strictly forbid going near Turtle Bay, and those who are found in it, or going there, will be instantly and severely punished. VII. The women are to collect the dirty linen belonging to the men every Friday, and to return each man his proper linen, washed and mended, on the Sunday morning. VIII. No person is to cut down or destroy any banana tree. IX. Exchanging or selling cloaths by the convicts is strictly forbid. As their cloathing is the property of the crown, they are not to dispose of it. A disobedience of this order will be deemed a theft, and meet with a suitable punishment. It is recommended to every one to be careful of their cloathing and bedding, as accidents may happen which may prevent a speedy supply. X. Great care is to be taken of all the tools; each man taking his axe or hoe to his tent, or delivering them to the store-keeper, that they may not be injured by the weather. XI. As the future welfare of every person on this island depends on their good behaviour, it is recommended to them to persevere in that willing disposition to work which they have hitherto shown; and above all, to be honest and obliging towards each other, which will recommend them to those who may have it in their power, and who have a wish and inclination to serve them: but the dishonest or idle may not only assure themselves of being totally excluded from any present or future indulgences, but also that they will be chastised, either by corporal punishment on the island, or be sent to Port Jackson, to be tried by a criminal court there. Chapter XII TRANSACTIONS AT NORFOLK ISLAND April 1788 to October 1788 -Regular employment of the convicts.--Meet with an unlucky accident.--Thefts detected.--The robbers punished.--Pestered with rats.--Method of destroying them.--Live stock on the settlement.--Trees discovered which afford food for hogs.--Some of the settlers poisoned.--Cured with sweet oil.--A convict punished for using seditious language.--Birds on the island. Description of Arthur's Vale.--His Majesty's birth-day kept.--Flourishing state of the gardens.--Arrival of the Supply.--Four persons drowned.--Provisions and stores received.--Queries from Governor Phillip, and the answers.--Ball-Bay described.--The landing-place cleared.--Arrival of the Golden Grove transport.--Marines and convicts brought in the Golden Grove.--Provisions and stores.- The settlement being now brought to some degree of order, I distributed the people into regular working parties, in order to facilitate the different operations which I was anxious to get forward as fast possible. Five men were sent to clear away ground on the north-east side of Mount George; two were employed in clearing a road from the ground where we had pitched the tents, to the fresh-water rivulet; two sawyers were sawing timber to build me a house; two men were employed in building huts; and I sent Mr. Altree, (the surgeon's assistant) to the valley which has already been mentioned, in order to make a commencement there, but as he had only a boy to assist him, his progress was of course very flow. For some time, the people were thus invariably employed; but the work was often retarded by colds, which was the only sickness we had as yet experienced: the workmen, indeed, had been often blinded for four or five days together, by the white sap of a tree, which getting into their eyes, occasioned a most excruciating pain for several days. The best remedy we could apply, was Florence oil; which, dropped into the eye, destroyed the acrimony of the sap. One man was totally blinded with it, for want of making timely application to the surgeon. On the 17th, I detected John Batchelor, one of the marines, in my tent, stealing rum out of a small vessel, which contained what was drawn off to serve the officers and men belonging to the Sirius; and was kept in my tent, as I had not a more secure place to put it in. In the afternoon, I assembled the settlement, and punished the thief with three dozen lashes; causing him to be led by a halter to the place of punishment: I also stopped the deficiency of rum out of his allowance. Though there was reason to hope that this example would deter others from committing crimes of the like nature, yet it had not the desired effect; for on the 20th, a convict boy was detected stealing the surgeon's allowance of rum, out of his tent. This boy was only fifteen years old, and was transported for seven years. I ordered him to be punished with an hundred lashes, which I hoped would have a good effect. We now had two formidable enemies to encounter in the rat and grub-worm, both which were very numerous and destructive: some wheat had been sown in the garden ground on the 11th, and the next morning there was not a grain of it left, being all eat up by the rats; and the few potatoes and other vegetables, which escaped the bad effects of the southerly wind, were all eat up by the grub-worm. I have before observed, that on our first discovering the rats to be numerous, I ordered the empty casks to be converted into traps, and for some time they were very successful, thirty or forty rats being caught for several nights together: these were killed, and scattered about the garden, to deter the rest from coming to the place; but they soon grew too cunning to be caught in the traps, and too bold to be intimidated by their dead companions. I next caused some glass to be pounded very fine, and mixed with oatmeal, which being distributed about the garden, killed vast numbers of them. To prevent the bad effects of the grub-worm, I tried ashes, lye of ashes, and urine, but to no purpose, so that the women were kept constantly employed in picking them off the few plants we had left. Out of six ewes which I brought to the island, five died with the scab, notwithstanding every possible care was taken of them; and one of my sows was poisoned, by eating something noxious in the woods. The remainder of my small stock was likely to do very well: it consisted of two ewes, three sows, two boars, four hens, one cock, three ducks, one drake, and one goat. The sugar-cane, two Rio Janeiro banana trees, and two orange trees, which I brought with me, were kept in tubs, until I should find a sheltered situation to plant them in. The wind seemed now to be set in from the southward, and the weather was very raw and cold, so that I called this the beginning of winter. Another of my sows was poisoned on the 24th, so that I found it necessary to confine them in a hog-pen, which, in regard to feeding them, was a great inconvenience, as they used to provide very well for themselves in the woods; fortunately, however, a tree was found which afforded them very good food: this tree grows to the height of eighty feet, and the branches, which resemble those of the palm-tree in their growth, fall off every year, leaving an indentation in the trunk. The leaves of these branches, which are twelve in number, are much like the heath-fern, from whence this tree obtained the name of the fern-tree. The middle of the tree, from the root to the apex, consists of a white substance resembling a yam, and when boiled, it tastes like a bad turnip; this the hogs fed on very eagerly: the outside of the trunk is hard wood, and full of regular indentations from the top to the bottom. The tree is found in great plenty in all parts of the island. At the end of this month, I sent some of the people to assist Mr. Altree, at the plantation in Arthur's Vale, which was the name I gave to the valley he had begun to clear; the rest were employed in clearing the ground at Mount George, except three men, whom I set to dig a cellar under my house. On the 8th of May, the two sawyers, the carpenter, and three convicts were poisoned, by eating some beans, which had a very tempting appearance, and much resembled the Windsor bean: they had gathered a quantity, which were boiled, and afterwards fried with butter: in two hours time, they were seized with violent gripings, retchings, and cold sweats; fortunately, I had a gallon of sweet oil, which, with other medicines administered by the surgeon, happily gave them relief; but they were so much weakened and exhausted that they were not able to work for a week afterwards. For some time past, we had seen no turtle, and it was probable that the cold weather had driven them to a warmer climate. As we could catch no fish from the shore, I launched the boat on the 9th, and sent her into the roads to fish; they returned with the boat in two hours, and brought thirty-six very fine fish, weighing from six to eight pounds each: these I caused to be issued out in lieu of salt provisions, at the rate of six pounds of fish for one pound of beef. The boats grapnel was left in the road, and being hooked in the rocks, we never could clear it. This ample supply of fish was a most fortunate event; yet they could not be depended on as a constant resource; for sometimes it would happen, that a boat could not go without the reef for a fortnight together, on account of the very violent surf; but when a boat could be sent out, there was no danger of catching a vast quantity. On the 10th, I was obliged to inflict a punishment of forty lashes on one of the convicts, for making use of very threatening and seditious language. I had received orders from Governor Phillip, to make a saving of the salt provisions, whenever fish or turtle could be obtained, in order that they might last as long as possible: the putting this order in execution when the turtle were caught, produced murmuring; but, when the fish was issued on the 9th, the convict who was punished, said, "the people (meaning those in the settlement) were fools for suffering their salt provisions to be stopped," and "that the convicts would soon be the strongest, and then it would be seen who were masters." As I thought this language deserved punishment, I assembled the people, and pointed out to them, that, independent of the orders I had received, I saw the greatest necessity for making every possible saving of the provisions: I represented to them that misfortunes might happen to vessels, provisions might get spoiled, and many other accidents might happen, which would render it necessary for us to go to a short allowance; and, that the greater quantity of provisions which could be saved would be so much the better for the whole settlement: I concluded with assuring them, that I should invariably attend to my orders, and put them in execution; and that a very severe punishment would be inflicted on any who presumed to excite sedition, or behaved improperly on that, or any other pretext. On our first landing, we found a great number of pigeons, which were so tame, that we knocked them down with sticks; but latterly they quitted the low boughs, and generally harboured about the tops of the pines: when plucked and drawn, they weighed from three-quarters, to one pound each. The parrots are numerous, and the ugliest bird of the kind I ever heard of; this, added to the harshness of their note, makes them a very disagreeable bird. The parroquets are entirely green, except a red tuft on their head. Hawks are numerous and of two different kinds, the grey and blue: they were great enemies to the young chickens, and it was no unusual sight to see them take up the rats. Quails and curlews are plentiful, but very shy. The owls, which have very handsome plumage, make a noise like one man calling to another, and they pronounce the word "yaho" very distinctly. Many of the smaller birds have a most melodious note, and their plumage is very beautiful. There are also a species of birds which burrow in the ground like rabbits, where they hatch their eggs, and rear their young: they are web-footed; which is rather extraordinary, and their bill is like that of other sea-fowl; but they have not the least fishy taste, and their flesh is very fine. These birds never quit their holes till sun-set; from which time, until midnight, the air is full of them: they afforded us many fresh meals. I now set the two sawyers and two carpenters to work in building houses; one man was employed in making a crab to heave the boat by, another attended the live-stock, and the remainder were busied in clearing ground at Mount George, and Arthur's Vale. By the 17th, the rain was almost incessant, and, as I had every reason to suppose it would continue so three or four months longer, which would endanger the health of those who lived in tents; I caused the provisions to be removed from the store-house to a cellar under my house, which was dry, and the stores I put into a loft; and, as five men and three women lived at present in tents, I put them into the store-house, until they could build huts for themselves. The whole settlement were now well sheltered, except the surgeon and the midshipman; for whom I proposed to begin a house immediately. On the 18th, the shell of my house was finished: its dimensions were twenty-four feet long by twelve feet wide, and eight feet under the eaves: the sides and roof were weather-boarded. I sent the boat out this afternoon, and she returned with fifty very fine fish, which were issued out as usual. I set out on the 19th, with an intention of tracing the rivulet which runs through Arthur's Vale, to its source, and likewise to examine the extent of the valley; but, after wandering about the greatest part of the day, I returned back, much fatigued, and all the cloaths torn off my back by the briars and the entangled state of the woods. Arthur's Vale is situated between the north side of Mount George and the opposite hills: its direction is about north-north-west into the interior part of the island. The bottom of this valley, in some places, is not more than thirty yards wide; in others, at least three hundred. The hills on each side are cloathed with a thick forest; their ascent is not too steep for cultivation, and the soil is excellent, being a fat brown earth. A very fine rivulet runs through this vale, sufficiently large to turn any number of mills. As the bank of the sea-shore is considerably above the level of the rivulet, it sinks into the earth; and, after passing under the bank, it forces a passage for itself through a fissure of the rock, on Stony Beach and Turtle Bay, between high and low water marks, where it boils up with great force, and is excellent water. As the whole of this water is not carried off by the passage just mentioned, sufficient to keep the low ground clear, what does not pass under the bank, overflows the lower part of the valley, for the space of half a mile: this swamp might be drained by cutting a channel for the rivulet to empty itself on the sea-shore; but the operation would require time and a number of hands, and, when finished, it is not clear but that the force of the sea would soon fill the channel up again. I cannot ascertain the length of this vale, but I think it runs as far as Mount Pitt, where, most probably, the rivulet takes its rise. That part of the vale which I have already said Mr. Altree was clearing, is half a mile from the settlement, near a large cluster of plantain trees; he transplanted some of the young suckers, an operation which was likely to improve them much: a garden, which measured ninety rods was planted, and most of the plants were up and likely to do very well. The sugar-cane, orange trees, and Rio Janeiro plantains, which had hitherto been kept in tubs, were now planted in the vale, and I had hopes they would thrive, as the situation was well sheltered: I also planted a quantity of cotton seeds, as some which were sown when we first came on shore, rotted in the ground. The 1st of June, being Sunday, I performed divine service as usual. In the afternoon, I went in the boat, and attempted to land on Nepean Isle, on the south-west side of which is a small creek that goes in a considerable way, with a small sandy beach at the end of it; but as there was a number of rocks in the creek, and a surf beating on the shore, I did not land. This island is covered with pines, which grow at a distance from each other: there is a reef off the south-east side, which stretches near a mile; within a ship's length of it, there is fourteen fathoms water, and nine fathoms all round the east side, within half a mile of the shore. The passage between Point Hunter and Nepean Island is a very good one, there being three fathoms close to Nepean Isle, and eight fathoms in mid-channel. I sounded close along the back of the reef which runs along Sydney-Bay, and found four fathoms within a ship's length of the reef. I returned at sun-set, having caught thirty-six very fine fish, which were issued out as usual. I brought only five months bread and flour to the island, and it being now expended to three casks of each, which was two months bread at full allowance, and as I had near six months salt provisions, I put myself and every person on the island to two-thirds allowance of flour and bread on the 2d, until the arrival of more provisions. The 4th, being the anniversary of his Majesty's birth-day, I caused it to be observed as a holiday. The colours were hoisted at sun-rise; every person had a good dinner, of the produce of the island, and I gave the convicts some liquor to drink their sovereign's health: the evening concluded with bonfires, which, exclusive of the joy we felt at the return of his Majesty's birth-day, and the celebrating it in this distant part of the globe, we with pleasure saw some large piles of wood burnt that had been along time collecting, and which were a great incumbrance to us. At day-light in the morning of the 15th, the midshipman and four men went out in the boat to fish: they were returning at nine o'clock, and in passing the point of the reef, the fine weather, and the absence of surf, threw them so much off their guard, that the boat shipped a sea which filled her, and washed John Batchelor, a marine, overboard: the boat, with the rest of the men, drove in among the rocks to the westward of the landing-place, where they were saved with great difficulty, having received violent contusions. The boat was got round to the crab and hove up; she was much damaged, and her repairs were likely to take up a considerable time, as I had only two men who could assist in this business. The wheat which was sown on the north-east side of Mount George, the 15th of June, being all rotten in the ground, except 260 blades, which I transplanted and put together, that patch of ground was sown with barley on the 1st of July. The wheat had a very bad appearance when put into the ground, being much heated and destroyed by the weevil. The labourers were employed the greatest part of this month in clearing away and turning up some ground near my house, for a garden; its size about thirty rods. The barley which was sown on the 1st came up on the 10th, and every thing at the plantation had a promising aspect. On the 15th, the last cask of beef and pork were opened, which would serve forty-four days at full allowance; it therefore was my intention to put every person to half allowance on the 28th, should no provisions arise before that period. On the 17th, we had a most tremendous gale of wind from the northward, accompanied by a deluge of rain. The gales of wind were now very frequent from the south-west and north-west, but it seldom blew hard from the eastward. These gales generally happen about the full and change of the moon, and continue three or four days. We planted upwards of one thousand cabbages on the 23d, and every vegetable at the plantation was in a thriving state: we had turneps, carrots, lettuces of three sorts, onions, leeks, parsley, cellery, five sorts of cabbages, corn sallad, artichokes, and beet in great forwardness; but there was reason to fear that the potatoes and yams were quite destroyed by the grub-worm. At five in the evening of the 26th, his Majesty's armed tender the Supply hove in sight, coming round Point Ross: she ran to leeward of this island, between Nepean and Phillip Isles, to ride out the gale, which blew very strong at west-south-west. Mr. Waterhouse, and a midshipman belonging to the Supply, arrived at the settlement on the 27th, with my dispatches from the governor; they were sent by Lieutenant Ball, who landed them in Ball's Bay. I found the Supply had brought provisions, tools, and seeds of various kinds for the settlement. I was informed by Governor Phillip, that as the Sirius would go to the northward in the month of September, he had deferred sending any more convicts until he heard my account of the island; and that if he thought it adviseable to send more settlers, they would be brought in the Sirius, which ship he intended sending among the islands, to procure stock for breeding. At day-light on the 28th, the midshipman returned to Ball Bay, in order to go on board the Supply. The labourers were employed in removing some large stones from the landing-place, and making a road to roll up the casks. I received a message from Lieutenant Ball on the 29th, intimating, that as the wind was southerly and blew strong, he meant to anchor under the north-east part of the island; and as I expected he would anchor in Cascade Bay, I sent a man across the island on the 30th with a letter for him. At ten in the morning of the 31st, the Supply's boat landed with some light articles; Lieutenant Ball sent a carpenter in her to offer his assistance in building a convenient boat for the use of the settlement: I directed him to begin his work immediately, and set the sawyers to work in sawing plank for his use. The other workmen were employed in turning up a piece of ground to sow two pecks of good seed wheat on, which came in the Supply. From the 1st to the 4th of August, the wind blew very strong from the southward, which prevented the Supply from coming on that side of the island; but at sun-set on the 4th, the wind veering to north-east, she came round Point Ross, and anchored in the roads. The man whom I sent on the 30th of July across the island to find the Supply, returned this day at noon, much exhausted and fatigued: he had lost his way, and had been without food for three days; fortunately, the Supply was standing in for the shore and saw him, otherwise he must have perished. Landing was very safe in the afternoon of the 5th, and we received on shore a part of the provisions and stores. At day-light in the morning of the 6th, we hoisted the colours as a signal that the landing was safe, and at seven o'clock the colours were struck half staff, this being the signal that landing was dangerous, the surf having considerably increased with the flowing tide. At half past seven the Supply weighed, and soon afterwards she hove to and hoisted her boats out, and sent them towards the shore. I perceived her small boat was determined to come in, and being apprehensive that some accident might happen, I ordered Mr. Cunningham (the mate) into our boat, with four men, to lie within the point of the reef, in order to assist the Supply's boat, should any misfortune happen to her. Unfortunately, our boat was swept away to the westward by the tide, and whilst they were endeavouring to get under the point of the reef again a heavy surf broke on her broad side and overset her. The anguish I felt at this shocking accident may be more easily conceived than described: small as our numbers were before, they were now decreased by the loss of Mr. Cunningham, (whom I sincerely cherished as a good young man) the sawyer, and one of the best of the convicts; a seaman belonging to the Supply was also drowned, and another convict narrowly escaped the same sate. Immediately after this dreadful misfortune the Supply's jolly-boat landed with three casks of flour, and as the large boat was coming near the shore, I ordered some musquets to be fired, on which she returned on board: the Supply bore up, and ran to leeward of the island. At one o'clock, there being scarcely any surf, the jolly-boat went off, and ran to leeward of the island, to get on board the brig. On the 7th, I was obliged to punish one of the convicts with thirty-six lashes, for stealing a hatch of eggs from under a hen which was sitting on them. At day-light on the 8th, the Supply anchored in the road, and the landing being good, we received part of the provisions and stores; the remainder were landed on the 10th. Our new boat being finished, I sent the carpenter and Mr. Waterhouse on board the Supply, in the morning of the 11th, with my letters for the Governor; and soon afterwards she hoisted her colours, and set sail for Port Jackson. I received from Governor Phillip seventeen queries, which, with my answers to them, are as follow: Query 1. In what time do you think the island will be able to support the people you have with you, independent of supplies from this settlement? Answer. From the excellence of the soil, and the present appearances, the island will produce more than a sufficiency of grain in two years: animal food depends on the supply and breeding of stock; and cloathing on the flax-plant being brought to work. Q. 2. Do you wish to have more people sent you, and what number of men and women do you wish to have in addition to those you have already. Ans. With twenty more men, and women in proportion exclusive, I should be able to make a little progress in clearing and cultivating the ground. Q. 3. In what time do you think the island will be able to maintain the additional number of people you wish to have sent you? Ans. I think in two years, but in three at most, as answered by the first question. Q. 4. What ground have you in cultivation? Ans. Two acres and an half in barley, and one acre in garden ground: in September I shall have an acre in Indian corn and rice. Q. 5. Have you discovered the flax-plant? Ans. Yes: some bundles of the flax-plant which I put into water on the 17th of March were taken up the 27th of July, when we found that the thick vegetable of the fibres had rotted away, but still they were covered with an hard woody substance, from which we have ineffectually tried to separate the flaxy part, which I have no doubt would make good cordage, canvas, and linen, as it appears to be of a fine and strong texture. Some lines were made of it, which were tolerably strong and good; but the want of a method to separate the woody part from the flax, will be a great hindrance to its being made useful. Q. 6. How many acres of clear ground have you found in the island? Ans. Not a yard square. Q. 7. Have you any place round the island at which a vessel of thirty or forty tons can remain at anchor in security all the year round? Ans. None; without removing to the lee side of the island as the wind changes. Anchorage is good all round the island, as the bottom is a coral sand: at about two miles from the land the circular depth is twenty-two fathoms. An harbour might be made by cutting a channel through the reef about four hundred feet long, but it would be necessary to blow up some sunken rocks to facilitate the entry: if it should ever be thought proper to do this, five vessels of seven feet draught might lie all the year round in security within the reef: they will not be able to enter but in the finest weather, with the wind from north-east to north-west, and then they must warp in: perhaps less difficulty will be found when I am informed of the state of the weather during the Summer months. Q. 8. How far will it be possible to load any ship hereafter with spars for ships of the line; I mean with respect to the great difficulty, I am told, there is to land any thing on the island, or to take any thing off? Ans. I cannot answer this question so fully as I could wish, until I am acquainted with the state of the weather during the summer months. In fine weather, with the wind at north-east, spars of any dimensions may be sent off from Sydney-Bay, by mooring a boat without the reef, and hauling the spars off. I have great reason to suppose anchorage will be very safe off Sydney-Bay in the summer. I think vessels might be built and launched in Ball-Bay; and when the flax-plant can be brought to work, cordage and sails can be made of the finest and strongest sort. Q. 9. How does your stock thrive, and what does the island produce? Ans. Of the stock I brought with me, five ewes are dead with the scab, and two sows poisoned: the rest are all very thriving and likely to do well. The productions of the island, are timber for the construction of vessels, pines for masting them, and, when the flax-plant can be worked, a sufficiency of cordage for the navy of Great-Britain, which needs no cultivation, as the island abounds with it, and fresh leaves shoot from the roots. Pigeons, parrots, parroquets, and other birds, are in abundance; the sea abounds with fish, and probably we may have turtle during the summer months. A number of banana trees have been found on the island. Q. 10. What live stock do you wish to have sent you? Ans. Stock of any kind would be acceptable for breeding. I have no she-goats. The leaves of the trees and underwood, afford ample and wholesome food for many animals, and the fern-tree, which is very plentiful, is very good food for hogs. Q. 11. Are those who are with you satisfied, or do they wish to be relieved? Ans. Every one is satisfied, and no person wishes to be relieved. Q. 12. What weather have you in general? Ans. During the months of March and April, we had very fine weather; since when, it has been variable; and when the wind has been at south, and south-west, the air was raw and cold. The full and change of the moon has generally been accompanied with very heavy gales of wind and torrents of rain, from the north-east, or south-west, both of which have been very violent at times. We have had no thunder or lightning, nor ice. Q. 13. What are the prevailing winds? Ans. The winds have been variable: westerly winds appear to be most frequent during the winter, and I have great reason to suppose easterly winds are constant during the summer. Q. 14. Have you been at the small islands? Ans. I have been round Nepean Island once, but could not land on it, the wind being westerly, which made a great break in the small sandy bay which lies on the south-west side of that isle. My not having men to row, and the uncertainty of the weather, has prevented my going to Phillip isle. Q. 15. Are there any animals on the island, and of what kind are they? Ans. None but rats, which are distructive, and have been very numerous; but now they are much thinned. Q. 16. Have you found any lime or chalk stone? Ans. None. Q. 17. Have you been supplied with fish? Ans. Fish in great numbers, and of a large size, abound all round the island. Some turtle were caught soon after I landed, but the approach of cold weather drove them off. I have not been able to send the boat off so often as I wished, not having men to row, but when she has gone out, a plentiful supply of fish has been obtained. * * * At sun-rise on the 12th of August, we hoisted the colours, in observance of the birth-day of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales; and the same day a rood and an half of ground was sown with a peck of seed wheat, which I received by the Supply. From this time till the 17th, every person was employed in clearing a piece of ground to sow the remainder of the seed wheat, which was brought by the Supply; and this being completed, I sent the labourers to clear away, turn up, and plant half an acre of ground in Arthur's Vale, with Indian corn. The frequent accidents which had happened to boats here, made me anxious to search for a better landing place, or a place where landing might be practicable, when the surf ran too high to land in Sydney-Bay; and Lieutenant Ball having mentioned one as likely in Cascade-Bay, on the north side of the island, I set out at day-light in the morning, taking three men along with me, in search of it; proposing, at the same time, to examine Ball-Bay in my road. I left the surgeon commanding officer at the settlement, and I cannot help testifying the great satisfaction I felt at having a person of his character, to superintend the work in my absence, and his steadiness and general knowledge, made him a valuable associate. After climbing and descending a number of steep hills, and cutting our way through the thick woods which covered some small plains, we arrived at a gully to the westward of Ball-Bay, about eleven o'clock; from whence we walked round to the bay by the sea-shore, it being low water. The distance between the two points of Ball-Bay is about a mile and a half; it goes in west-north-west, and is nearly a mile deep. At the distance of two hundred yards from the shore, the bay is entirely surrounded with steep hills, except in the center, where there is a valley, down which, a stream of fresh water runs, and empties itself on the beach. The sides of these hills are cloathed with pines and the flax-plant; the beach is covered with large round stones, under which is a hard bottom, formed by the incrustation of sand and shells. The wind being now at south-south-east, there was not the least surf on the beach; and I apprehend, that when the wind blows from the south-west, which makes very bad landing in Sydney-Bay, the landing is very good here; so that, should I not find Cascade-Bay a more eligible place than this, it was my intention to make a creek on the beach, by removing the stones for the breadth of twenty feet, until the bottom is clear, and as they are very heavy, I do not think it would be liable to fill up again. I passed the remainder of the day here, and slept under a tent which I had brought with me. The next morning at day-light, we set out from Ball-Bay in order to go to Cascade-Bay, on the north side of the island, which is not more than three miles distant, yet we did not arrive there before five o'clock in the afternoon, quite exhausted and fatigued; having been under the necessity of cutting our way through the entangled underwood, which intercepted us in every direction. The landing place mentioned by Lieutenant Ball, is on a rock, a little detached from the island, and has communication with it at half tide: there is no objection to this being a very good landing place, if it were not for the almost total impossibility of getting any article of provisions or stores further than the rock, which is at least three hundred yards from the valley that leads down to it. Between this rock and the cascade, there is a stony beach, similar to that at Ball-Bay, on which landing is very good, with southerly winds, and they generally prevail during the winter. Spars might be sent off from hence with great ease; but should the island remain settled, it will be necessary to make the landing at this place more convenient than it is at present. We passed the night in the valley above the cascade: this valley is extensive, and a very large deep rivulet runs through it. At day-light on the 19th, we set out on our return to Sydney-Bay, where we arrived at four in the afternoon, with scarcely a rag to cover ourselves, the cloaths being torn off our backs by the briars. I observed the soil to be very good in every part of the island I visited during the excursion, and it was well watered; but the woods were almost impassable. There is a deal of level ground on the tops of the hills, and most of them will admit of cultivation; and where they are too steep for that purpose, the timber which grows on them might he reserved for fuel. The wheat which we had sown on the 12th and 17th, was all out of the ground by the 24th, and had a very promising appearance. Early in the morning of the 25th, the surgeon, with six men, went to Ball-Bay, to make a commencement on the creek; taking a week's provisions and four tents along with them. I visited this party on the 27th, and found they had made good progress, considering that their labour was greatly retarded by neap tides, and an easterly wind, which threw a great surf upon the beach. The surgeon and his party returned on the 30th, and the next morning, at day-light, I set out, with some men, to see what further could be effected: we got to the bay by half past eight o'clock, and found the tides of the preceding day had thrown a number of loose small stones into the cut. As the tide ebbed, I directed the labourers to clear away a number of large stones which lay in the entrance of the cut; and at low water, all the stones were removed as far out as possible, which was compleated at five o'clock in the afternoon. The out was about three feet deep, and at half tide there was upwards of six feet at the entrance: with any other wind than between south-west and north-west, there is a surf on the beach, which often breaks with so much violence, as to render any attempt to land highly dangerous. As I found every thing done at this place, which could be effected with the small number of men I had, we returned to Sydney-Bay on the 3d. Hitherto, the people on the settlement had not done much work for themselves; and, all the good seed of Indian corn being sown, I gave every person liberty from this time till the 14th, to clear away their gardens, and sow them. For four days past, a single turtle had been observed on the beach; I was loath to turn it, hoping it would draw others on, but finding that did not happen, it was turned on the 6th day, and brought to the settlement, where it was served out as usual. This turtle had been recently wounded between the shoulders with a kind of peg; which circumstance, together with some pieces of canoes, a wooden image resembling a man, and a fresh cocoa-nut, found in Ball-Bay, induced me to suppose that there is a considerable island undiscovered, not far from the eastward of Norfolk-Island. The Indian-corn sown during the last and present month, was now all up, and likely to do well. I set off at day-light in the morning of the 15th, and went to the western or rocky point. The entangled state of the woods on this part of the island, were worse, if possible, than any where else, but the soil and general appearance was much the same. From Point-Ross to Rocky-Point, the shore is inaccessible; consisting altogether of steep cliffs, which rise perpendicular from the sea. I returned at sun-set, much fatigued, and my cloaths, as usual on these excursions, were torn from my back. As the houses and tents were surrounded by a thick wood, I set the men to make an opening to the sea-side, by cutting down the trees and piling up the timber. In the course of this month, we saw a great number of whales and thrashers, some of which came close to the reef: indeed, on our first landing here, I found the entire skeletons of two whales, which had every appearance of having been driven on shore, and the flesh destroyed by rats and birds. On counting some of the plants of barley, I found one grain produced 124 stalks; this pleasing prospect induced me to set about building a granary of eighteen feet long by twelve feet wide; and I set the sawyers and carpenters to work in sawing wood for that purpose: some of the labourers were ordered to assist them in placing the granary on posts, others were employed in making shingles to cover it with, and the rest were digging a cellar under the surgeon's house, for stowing provisions: the women were employed in picking grubs off the Indian corn. In the beginning of October, we found a sensible alteration in the weather, it being very warm, except the mornings and evenings, which were still cold: gales of wind were less frequent, and the landing was better in general than it had been for two months back. Some heavy rain fell on the 3d, which lodged the barley, that had been some time in ear, and the rats got to it, so that our return was likely to be but small. The Indian corn, which was about eight inches high, suffered greatly from the grub-worm, which got into the plant and cut it off close to the ground, destroying forty or fifty plants in the course of one night, which obliged me to keep the women constantly employed in picking them off: every other remedy was tried; such as sprinkling ashes, and lye of ashes round the roots, but with no good effect. I made an excursion to Mount Pitt in the morning of the 4th, and arrived there at noon: from the top of this mount, I had a complete view of the whole island, and a part of its sea-coast. The whole exhibited a picturesque scene of luxuriant natural fertility, being one continued thick wood, and I found the soil every where excellent. Within a mile of the summit of Mount Pitt, the ground, which is a red earth, was full of very large holes, and I fell into one of them at every step, as they were concealed by the birds making their burrows aslant. Near the summit of the mount, there grew a number of very large pines, which I was surprised at; it is indeed wonderful how they can withstand the violent gales of wind which often blow here. On the 13th, at day-light, we saw the Golden-Grove transport lying at an anchor in the road, and soon afterwards, Mr. Donovan, a midshipman belonging to the Sirius, came on shore, and delivered the governor's letters: by this gentleman I also received a letter from Mr. Blackburn, the master of the Supply, informing me that he sailed from Port Jackson on the 24th of September, being ordered by Governor Phillip to conduct the transport to this island; that he had brought Mr. Donovan, a serjeant, a corporal, and five private marines, two gardeners, who were seamen belonging to the Sirius, and twenty-one men and eleven women convicts; also the Supply's jolly-boat and boat's crew, to assist in unloading the Golden-Grove. In the course of the 15th, we received on shore the party of marines and all the convicts; also most of the stores, and some provisions. The next day we landed 56 casks of flour, and 18 casks of salt provisions, besides a quantity of stores. This day I turned a turtle, which weighed 200 pounds. Towards evening, the Golden-Grove weighed, and stood off and on during the night. Ever since her arrival the weather had been fine, and not the least surf. Chapter XIII TRANSACTIONS AT NORFOLK ISLAND October 1788 to February 1789 -Quantity of provisions received by the Golden Grove.--Timber sent to Port Jackson.--Observations on the navigation near Norfolk Island.--Number of persons on the settlement.--Nepean and Phillip Islands described.--Corn reaped.--A party sent to Ball Bay.--Talk-work of the convicts.--The free people exercised.--Plot to seize the island discovered.--Orders made public for the preservation of regularity.--Oath of allegiance administered.--Provisions and stores examined.- The flood tide running strong all the morning of the 16th, and the wind being to the eastward, prevented the Golden Grove from working up; and though she fetched Point Ross in the afternoon, the flood making, she was swept to leeward. Having received instructions from Governor Phillip to send all the useful timber I conveniently could to Port Jackson, I set the men to work in cutting spars, and sawing boards for that purpose. At day-light in the morning of the 17th, the Golden Grove stood into the road and anchored, but the surf ran so high that no boats could pass before low water, which was at three in the afternoon, when I sent the Coble off; but as the surf increased, I made the signal for her to be hoisted in, and soon afterwards the transport got under weigh. The next forenoon, the coble came on shore, and soon afterwards the Golden Grove anchored in the road. The same afternoon we landed eighteen casks of flour, and ten of salt provisions. Landing was very good until the evening of the 21st, and during that time we received the whole of the stores and provisions from the Golden Grove: I also received two sows and fourteen young pigs belonging to the crown, and a she-goat, which was the property of Mr. Collins, the judge-advocate. The provisions received were--one hundred and twenty-six barrels of flour, thirty-nine tierces of beef and twenty-two tierces of pork, twenty-three firkins of butter, thirty-three casks of peas, and five puncheons of rum, which were about seventeen months provisions at the following ratio:--For one man for a week, flour, seven pounds: beef, three pounds and a half: pork, two pounds: butter, six ounces: peas, three pints. For one woman for a week, flour, four pounds and a half: beef, two pounds and a quarter: pork, one pound and a quarter: butter, four ounces: peas, two pints. It should be observed, that the above ratio was full avoirdupoise weight, without any deduction whatever. During the night of the 22d, we had very strong gales of wind, and at day-light, I perceived the Golden Grove had left the road; I afterwards learnt that she parted her cable at ten o'clock, and was not more than her own length to windward of the reef of rocks which lie off the south-east end of Nepean Island in passing it. From this time to the 28th, we had only three days good landing, during which a number of spars and planks were sent on board the Golden Grove, for Port Jackson. Previous to the departure of that vessel, I wrote a letter to Mr. Blackburn, requesting him to communicate his remarks on the navigation round these islands; as he had a better opportunity of making himself acquainted with it than I possibly could have, to which he returned the following answer; and, from the abilities of this officer, I believe his observations are very accurate. "North-north-west, about five miles from Duncombe Bay, there is a bank of coarse sand and coral, with sixteen and seventeen fathoms on it, between which and the anchoring place there are twenty-five fathoms: there are also soundings north-east from Phillip Isle, from thirty-five to twenty-five fathoms at least four leagues off; at which distance it is foulest and shoallest. The bearings, when at anchor in Duncombe Bay, were Cook's rocks east-south-east, and the rocks off Point Howe, west-south-west one quarter west, the landing rock south, distance off one mile; the depth nineteen fathoms, coarse sand and coral. The best anchorage in the Cascade Bay is with the great cascade south-west, and Cook's Point north-east; distance off shore about a mile and a half; the ground tolerably good. Cascade Bay is a very good road in the strong south-west wind, and very smooth water; the landing is easy, as is the access to the island. As the ebb goes very strong nine hours to the eastward, the most convenient place for anchoring off Sydney Bay, on account of the boats, is, with the body of Nepean's Isle east-north-east half east, or east by north; the flag-staff north-north-east half east, Point Ross north-west by west, and the west end of Phillip Isle south-south-east nineteen fathoms; _but here the ground is rocky:_ the best anchoring is with the middle of Nepean Isle east-north-east half east, the west end of Phillip Isle south by east, the outermost breaker off Point Ross north-west by west half west, the flag-staff north by east half east, and Collins's Head north-east by east half east, seventeen fathoms clear ground. "The tides round the island are very strong, and from the observations I have been able to make, and the difficulty we always found in the Supply of getting from Cascade Bay round to Sydney Bay, (which ever end of the island we tried at) I have every reason to believe that the flood sets south-south-west, and the ebb north-north-east: it flows about seven o'clock all round the island: now as the ebb runs nine hours north-north-east, it strikes directly against Rocky Point, which divides the tide, the eastern part runs with rapidity through the islands, and then resumes its former course of north-north-east: the other part goes north-north-west past Anson Bay, round the west end of the island, and then north-north-east; so that in coming from the north side of the island (unless the wind gives aslant) you have the tide right a-head which-ever end of the island you attempt to get round. As to the flood it runs but three hours, and with little strength." The master of the Golden Grove's observations, which I requested him to communicate to me, are as follow:--"The flood comes directly from the south-east, strikes in with Ball Bay, and sets up through between the islands: the other part, as it divides itself, sets round the north-east part of the island; so that a ship coming round from Cascade Bay, can never work up with the wind to the southward and westward, as both tides take her directly on the weather bow. From what I have seen of Ball Bay, I by no means like it; my reason is, it is a bay that a ship can never get out of with an _in-blowing wind_, and I do not think it a safe one to ride in: the Cascade Bay I give much the preference to, as it can hardly happen but a ship can get to sea on one tack or another, and ride in very smooth water at anchor. I could load the Golden Grove very well with timber or masts, taking the advantage of the winds in Cascade and Sydney bays." As I was very much in want of a carpenter, a man who had been discharged from the Sirius, and was on board the Golden Grove as a sailor, offered to remain on the island on any terms, but I could make no agreement with him, not being impowered to take any step of that kind; I therefore informed him, that if he chose to remain he must take it on himself: this he with great readiness consented to, and I found him a great acquisition. The Golden Grove sailed for Port Jackson on the 29th. As an encouragement to the convicts who came by the Golden Grove, I gave them from the time of their landing until the 30th to build houses for themselves, and to clear away a little garden ground. The huts were very soon built, being composed of logs, and thatched with bullrushes and flaggs, which made them very comfortable; and as a farther encouragement, I gave some of them (who had the best characters) permission to build their houses in the vale, and to clear away ground near them for their own use. The settlement now consisted of the following persons, viz. Mr. Stephen Dunnavan, midshipman of the Sirius 1 Mr. Thomas Jamieson, surgeon's first mate of ditto 1 Mr. John Altree, assistant-surgeon 1 Roger Morley, Robert Webb, Thomas Webb, seamen belonging to ditto 3 John Livington, carpenter, late belonging to ditto 1 Serjeant, corporal, six private marines 8 16 free. Male convicts 29 Female convicts 17 The total number, besides two children, 62 Soon after the departure of the Golden Grove, I made public the following extract from Governor Phillip's letter to me:-- "You will return any marine, convict, or other person, with whose conduct you are not satisfied; and you are at liberty to permit those, whose good behaviour merits the indulgence, to work one day in the week on lots of land, one or two acres of ground to a convict, which you will cause to be pointed out for that purpose, and which they may consider as their own property while they behave well; after the time for which they are sentenced may expire, lands will be granted them, if they wish to remain as settlers, and you may give them such part of the public stock to breed from, as you may judge proper, forbidding any person on the island ever to sell any fowl, hog, or any other animal, without having first obtained your permission; and you are not to permit the killing of any live stock until you have a sufficient quantity on the island for your support, except in cases of sickness. "You will make the report to me, when opportunity offers, of such who are not convicts, and who are desirous of settling on the island; and you are at liberty to permit them to cultivate ground for their own benefit, not exceeding ten acres to any one person; they will receive the indulgence of such part of the live stock as you may judge necessary to give them, but neither settler, nor any other person on the island, is to be at liberty to kill any animal without having obtained your permission. Hereafter, grants will be made to those who wish to remain on the island, of a larger extent of ground." During the month of November, the weather was very warm, except four days, when we had strong gales of wind from the southward, which made it as cold as winter. On the 14th, I planted about thirty rod of ground with Indian corn: some which had been planted in September was now five feet high, and the wheat grew so very rank that I was obliged to crop it. I went out in the coble on the 22d, and sounded between Point Hunter and Nepean Isle: there is a good channel, and there are not less than three fathoms close to Point Hunter; and on the north side of Nepean Isle in mid-channel, there are eight fathoms water. On the 29th, I landed on Nepean Island, and found it to consist entirely of one mass of sand, held together by the surrounding cliffs, which are a border of hard rocks: notwithstanding there was not the least appearance of earth or mould on the island, yet there were upwards of two hundred very fine pines growing on it; the surface was covered with a kind of coarse grass. The weather being now very hot, I changed the working hours, and gave the labourers from half past ten o'clock until half past twelve, to avoid the heat of the sun: they were employed in clearing ground for cultivation, making shingles, cutting a road from the settlement to Ball Bay, and reaping wheat and barley. The heat of the sun split the weather boarding with which my house was covered; and it being very leaky, I fet the carpenters and sawyers to work to put a new roof on, and to raise the house five feet, in order to make room for stores and provisions. At day-light in the morning of the 2d of December, I went in the coble to Phillip Isle, where I landed on a rock, in a small bay on the north side. It was with difficulty that I ascended the first hills, which were covered with a sharp long grass that cut like a knife; this was interspersed with brushwood. The soil is a light red earth, and was so full of holes, which had been made by the birds, that walking was very laborious. A small valley runs the whole length of the island, in which, and on some of the hills, a few pines grow, but I think the whole island does not produce more than one hundred and fifty. I found no fresh water on the island, but probably there may be some, as I saw a number of hawks, pigeons, and parrots; but as I had only two convicts to row the boat, I left the island, and got to Sydney Bay in the evening. On the 8th, I housed all the barley which had been raised on an acre of ground, and was sown in June and July. During the first of its growth, it had a most promising appearance, but when the ear was shot and nearly filled, some heavy rains in September laid a great part of it down, and the quantity destroyed by the rats and quails was almost incredible: there was every prospect of getting at least fifty bushels of grain, but the whole quantity, when gleaned, yielded only ten bushels. The barley was very fine, and 116 ears were produced from one grain. Garden vegetables throve very well, and cabbages were cut weighing twenty-six pounds each. I have no doubt but potatoes would thrive very well here; unfortunately, we had only two sets on the island, which were brought by the Golden Grove. Most of the marines and convicts had now very good gardens, but the grub-worm was a great and perpetual enemy to their vegetables. It has already been observed, that 260 plants of wheat were transplanted the beginning of June; these were threshed on the 15th, and the produce was three quarts of a very fine full grain. The weather often was very favourable for landing in Sydney-Bay, and the boat was frequently sent out; but the surf often rose presently afterwards which made it dangerous for her to come on shore, so that she was obliged to go to Ball Bay, and men were sent from the settlement to haul her up, which occasioned a great loss of time: I therefore resolved to send Mr. Altree, who was a very trusty young man, a gardener, and one convict, together with three women to remain there, as they would not only cultivate the ground in the valley, but would, at all times, be ready to assist in hauling the boat up. This party went to Ball-Bay on the 18th, where they found landing as fine as could be wished, though the surf ran very high in Sydney-Bay; the wind being at south, and blowing hard. Some wheat was reaped on the 22d, which had been sown on the 11th of August: the grain was very full and fine, but as it was sown late the stock was not so fine as might have been expected. The 25th, being Christmas-day, it was observed as a holyday. The colours were hoisted at sun-rise: I performed divine service; the officers dined with me, and I gave each of the convicts half a pint of rum, and double allowance of beef, to celebrate the festival: the evening concluded with bonfires, which consisted of large piles of wood, that had been previously collected for the occasion. Spring-tides were now at the height, and I sent every person on the 26th to Ball-Bay to make the cut deeper, and to clear away some stones which were washed into it. The wheat which was sown the latter end of August, was reaped on the 29th, and the Indian corn was nearly fit for the sickle. I now began to perceive a very great difference between the work done since the arrival of the convicts by the Golden-Grove, and what was done before, in proportion to our numbers; the reason was, that when the number of convicts was increased, I had not persons sufficient to overlook them and keep them at work: I therefore adopted the plan of talking them; for which purpose I consulted those whom I thought conversant in the different employments that were carrying on; and their opinions, added to what I had observed myself, determined me to six the different tasks as follow, with which they were all contented. Six men were to cut the timber down on an acre of ground in one week: six men to clear away and turn up an acre of ground fit for receiving seed, in twenty-eight days: two sawyers to saw one hundred feet of sawing each day. At these tasks the convicts would have an opportunity of saving time to themselves; and, as that time was to be employed in clearing gardens and ground to cultivate for their own use, what was thus saved from the public work would not be lost to society; although it was to be feared that some would pass their time in idleness. Having six musquets on the island, exclusive of the marines arms, I thought it necessary to instruct the few free persons I had (which were six) in the use of fire-arms, in case the marines should be sick, or any other exigency should happen; I therefore gave orders to Mr. Dunavan to exercise them every Saturday morning; and the serjeant was to exercise the marines at the same time, or oftener: I intended that the former, after they were a little expert, should fire half a dozen rounds once a month. I went in the boat on the 5th, and examined the north and west side of the island, which I found every where surrounded by perpendicular cliffs. I landed on the beach in Anson's-Bay, where I found the remains of a canoe, which had been washed there by the tide; a very good cocoa-nut was also found. This beach is very small, and appeared to be a mere quicksand; there is no fresh water near it, and the bay is surrounded by steep hills, on which there grows a quantity of the flax-plant. The 8th ushered a male child into the world, and as he was the first born on the island, he was baptized by the name of Norfolk. At noon on the 15th, parties were sent out in search of the cockswain of the coble, who had lost himself in the woods, as he was returning from Ball-Bay, where the boat had been hauled up the preceding day at sun-set: he was found on the 18th, naked and almost exhausted, insomuch that he was obliged to be carried to the settlement, having received several deep cuts and bruises which rendered him incapable of getting out of his bed for some time. Thomas Watts, a convict, was punished with twenty-four lashes, on the 19th, for contemptuously refusing to work, and being abusive to the corporal of marines, who reprimanded him for not going to work with the rest of the convicts. The weather, during this month, was very fine and settled, and the wind northerly until the 22d; from which time to the end of the month, we had constant heavy rain, without an hour's interval of dry weather: such a continuance of rainy weather I never heard of, and it was frequently attended with heavy gales of wind from the north-east. In consequence of some irregularities which had happened, I found it necessary to assemble all the free people on the 23d, and to read the articles of war. The next day, Robert Webb, a seaman belonging to the Sirius, but who was employed as a gardener on the island, came to me, and signified a wish to speak with me in private, which being granted, he informed me that a plan had been concerted among the convicts, to surprize me, with the rest of the officers, marines, and free people; and to possess themselves of the public stores, and afterwards to endeavour to surprize the Supply, or any other vessel that might come here, and make their escape from the island. On my interrogating him, he said that Elizabeth Anderson, a female convict, who lived with him, had given him this information the day before, and on his doubting the truth of what she advanced, she offered to convince him of the truth of her assertion, by bringing him within hearing of a convict whom she would entice to relate the plan; which being agreed to by Webb, this morning (the 23d.) Elizabeth Anderson invited William Francis (a convict) into the hut, to drink a dram, when he related the circumstances of the plan, and how it was to be carried into execution; Webb being at this time hid from the view of Francis, by a piece of tent which was hung before the bed he lay in. As I thought it necessary to substantiate this information, I caused Robert Webb and Elizabeth Anderson to be kept apart, and took their depositions on oath separately, both of which perfectly agreed in every particular, and were in substance as follow: "That yesterday (the 22d.) between nine in the morning and noon, Elizabeth Anderson being washing, she sighed, when William Francis, who stood near her, asked what she sighed for; she answered, she was very low; William Francis then asked her, if she could get her liberty, whether she would leave Webb, and on her saying yes, he said, the first ship that comes here, except the Sirius, we will every man and woman have our liberty, to which we were all sworn last Saturday; and we (the convicts) would have had it already, if the Sirius was not the first ship expected, and the day that Watts was flogged was intended to have been the day for making Mr. King and the free people prisoners." Francis added, "that it was proposed to take the Golden-Grove on her passage, as they (the convicts) were all for it, except one man, and he was the forwardest in the present plot. Robert Webb appearing, put an end to this conversation; and Elizabeth Anderson repeated to Webb all that passed between her and Francis: on Robert Webb's suspecting the story being an invention of hers; they agreed that he should lie concealed in the bed, which had a curtain made of a piece of tent, while she should endeavour to draw from Francis a fuller account of the plan laid by him and the rest of the convicts; and this morning (the 23d.) at day-light, Robert Webb being still in bed, Elizabeth Anderson got up, and on seeing Francis near the hut, she wished him the 'good morrow,' and informed him that Webb was gone to town to grind his tools; she then said, 'come Bill, sit down and drink a little rum, it will do us both good, and drink to the boys of the ship that will take us from this place:' to which health they both drank. Elizabeth Anderson then asked Francis how long it was since they (the convicts) had planned the scheme; he said they were all sworn on this Saturday month past, at Thompson's, in the vale, excepting Widdicome and Rice, (convict rope-makers,) who were Mr. King's right-hand men, and therefore not to be trusted: Lucas (the convict carpenter) had not been asked, but they were sure he would be on their side, when they (the convicts) got the day. "Francis continued saying, 'I'll tell you how it is to be done; the whole is left to my management, and the best time will be the first Saturday after the arrival of any other vessel than the Sirius. Most of the marines and free people will be a-cabbaging*, and as Mr. King generally goes to the farm twice a day, in his absence I will step into his house and hand out the arms** to my men; then I will go out and take Mr. King, and after that the other officers, and what marines are in camp, and the rest as they come in from cabbaging: we will then put them all in irons, two and two together, when they will be as helpless as bees. We will then make the signal for a boat, and when she lands, we'll _nab_ the boat's crew; then send the coble off with Mr. King's compliments, and request another boat may be sent to carry off plank, as the first boat was stove, and the coble could not carry luggage: when the second boat comes, the people belonging to it will be _nabbed_, and the two boats with the coble will be filled with our people (the convicts) and the women, and take possession of the ship. Three of the sailors might remain, if they were willing, and one officer should be kept to navigate the ship; the rest of the officers and ship's company will be left on Nepean or Phillip-Island, with the coble, from whence they might go to Norfolk-Island and liberate the commandant. [* Getting the wood-cabbages.] [** The marines arms were kept in my house.] "Elizabeth Anderson then expressed her wishes that it might succeed, and Francis left her." The taking Webb and Anderson's depositions, and interrogating them, took up two hours; and it being Saturday, most of the convicts were out getting cabbages: there was a possibility that the accusation against William Francis might be an invention; yet, having received that information, it became necessary to use every precaution against a surprize; I therefore ordered a constant guard of three privates, to be commanded by Mr. Dunavan, the serjeant, and corporal, and a guard-house was built between my house and the surgeon's, in which the provisions and stores were deposited. The store-house occupied by the marines, I removed from the water side nearer to my house. Every person, without exception, was ordered to live in the town, or camp, and I recalled the party who had been sent to Ball-Bay. Being still desirous to obtain fuller proof the criminality of the parties concerned in this diabolical scheme, I desired Messrs. Dunavan and Jamieson to watch the return of John Bryant, a convict, who had always behaved very well: they were to interrogate him respecting the plan laid by the convicts, and to assure him of a pardon, if he would discover all he knew. I also sent to the house of William Thompson, in the Vale, to search for any written agreement that might have been drawn up, but none was found; however, the persons employed in this search found a quantity of Indian corn in a chest in Thompson's house, which, from its not being quite hard, must have been stolen from the King's grounds in Arthur's Vale, as there was no other on the island. The next step I took was to order William Francis, John Thompson, Samuel Picket, and Joshua Peck to be taken into custody, on their return from cabbaging. Messrs. Dunavan and Jamieson met John Bryant, and persuaded him to discover all he knew about the plot; presently afterwards, they brought him before me, when he was sworn on the cross, being a catholic, and I took his deposition; the substance of which was as follows: "That on the passage from Port Jackson to Norfolk-Island it was talked among the convicts to take the Golden-Grove transport from the officers and crew and run away with her, and on its being proposed to Bryant he said they could be only fools to think of such a thing. That in going out to work on the 14th of this month with all the "convicts, Samuel Picket remarked how easy it would be to take the island, by making the commandant prisoner, when going to, or returning from the farm in Arthur's Vale; after which, coming in and seizing the arms, and making prisoners of the marines and other free people. It was soon after agreed that the rest of the convicts were to be consulted, and if they were willing, a meeting was to be held at John Thompson's house in the Vale; Samuel Picket and Joshua Peck being inmates of his." The remainder of Bryant's deposition, respecting how the island was to be taken, agreed in every particular with the testimony of Elizabeth Anderson and Robert Webb. I next sent for Joshua Peck, and examined him on oath, and after much prevarication, he gave nearly the same account how the business was to be conducted as the others had done, except as to the manner how the officers were to be made prisoners, which was, "that after "they had secured me, they were to go to Mr. Dunavan's house at "the entrance of the vale, and take him and conduct him to the farm, "where we were to be tied back to back; after which, one of the "convicts was to be sent in with a message as from me, to speak with "the surgeon, serjeant of marines, and the rest, and they were to be "secured one by one as they came out." To Bryant and Peck, I put the two following questions, telling them, that as their depositions and examination would be sent to the Governor, it was necessary that they recollected the nature of the oath they had taken, and to give a just answer. Question.--Can you assign any reason for the aforesaid plot being formed? Answer.--None, but the hopes of regaining our liberty. Question.--Have you at any time heard any convict on the island express any discontent at the conduct of officers, or on any other ground? Answer.--None. It was now clear to me that a scheme had been entered into, in which all the convicts were concerned, except the rope-makers and carpenter already mentioned; and their succeeding in it, so far as regarded the taking myself and the officers prisoners was not to be doubted; for, I must own, that I was not sufficiently upon my guard against the description of people I had to deal with; as the apparent satisfaction which they often expressed at being on this island in preference to Port Jackson, added to the great indulgences they had frequently received from me, lulled any suspicion of their having the most distant idea of the kind. The second part of their plan, viz. that of taking any ship which might come to the island, was very doubtful; but had the first succeeded, the destruction of the provisions and stores would have followed; and it is difficult to say what fatal consequences would have ensued from the drunken state they would have been in whilst the rum lasted: indeed, I must in justice to them observe, that no sanguinary measures were thought of; on the contrary, they proposed good treatment to myself and the free people; but how far that intention would have been observed by a set of men of their description, when in a state of drunken madness, may easily be conceived. I ordered Samuel Picket and William Francis to wear irons, and the next day (Sunday), after prayers, I addressed the convicts, and pointed out to them the absurdity of their plan, admitting they had made themselves masters of a vessel. I endeavoured to convince them of the advantages they enjoyed on this island, where nothing but industry was requisite to insure them a happy and comfortable livelihood; after which, I exhorted them to let their future conduct wipe away the present impropriety of their behaviour: those who distinguished themselves by a regular, honest, and industrious line of conduct, I promised to countenance and encourage, whilst those of a contrary description were sure to be made severe and dreadful examples of. I likewise cautioned them against stealing and plundering the grounds and gardens; assuring them that they would be severely punished on detection. Having finished my address to the convicts, I caused the following orders to be read, in addition to those which were before made public for the preservation of order. "The commandant strictly forbids any officer, soldier, free person, or convict, male or female, ever absenting themselves from the camp or town for ten minutes together, without having first obtained leave from the officer charged with the guard, who will obtain the commandant's leave, if he should think fit to grant it. The officer of the guard will take an account of the names of those who are absent on leave, on a slate, which will be kept in the guard-house for that purpose. Every person returning from that leave, is to acquaint the officer of the guard of their return. Every convict who is observed to go over the hill to the farm, without having obtained leave, or going to work there, will be fired at by the centinel. The convicts, and not more than three together, are to build houses for themselves, at their leisure hours, in such places as will be pointed out. No person for the future will be suffered to live out of the camp. John Thompson and Samuel Pickett are dispossessed of their garden ground, in consequence of their ill behaviour. Though I had not the most distant reason to suspect any free person whatever, of being in the least disaffected, yet I judged it necessary to finish this affair by administering the oaths of allegiance and fidelity to the officers, marines, and free people individually, in the presence of the convicts. The theft of the Indian corn being fully proved, on the 26th, I ordered William Thompson to be punished with fifty lashes; and Thomas Jones, another convict, was punished with thirty-six lashes, for abuse and insolence to Messieurs Jamieson and Dunavan. The whole of the convicts were now employed in cutting down trees, and clearing the ground near the houses, in order to give more room for building others. As the rains were very violent, and seemed to be set in, and the heat of the weather had made much of our Indian corn to shoot out, I began gathering that which was sown in September. Joseph Long, a convict, was punished with twelve lashes on the 28th, for quitting his work and absenting himself without leave. The month of February commenced with heavy gales of wind and deluges of rain, which greatly damaged the Indian corn, and different plants that were seeding. The small patch of barley which was cut on the 20th of last month, was quite spoiled by the constant rain, and the swamp was entirely overflowed. On the 6th, we had a very heavy gale of wind from the northward, attended with lightning, which was the first I had seen since my arrival on the island. Two convicts were punished on the 9th, for absenting themselves after ten o'clock at night from their quarters, with a bad intention. The 15th, being Sunday, after performing divine service, and reading the orders, I forgave the prisoners, Samuel Pickett and William Francis, for their ill behaviour in the affair of the plot; but it was my intention to send Francis to Port Jackson the first opportunity, as he was a worthless, troublesome villain. The heavy rains had now in a great measure subsided, and the weather on the 16th being fair, we embraced that opportunity of examining the provisions which were stowed in the cellars. On getting up the ground tier of flour casks from under the surgeon's house, I found a quantity of water had lodged amongst them; and although they were well dunnaged, yet we found many of the casks much damaged, and the flour in them spoiled; but the quantity lost could not immediately be ascertained: however, it was of the utmost consequence to have the whole overlooked, and every person was employed till the 21st in cleaning the flour and separating the damaged part of it from that which was dry and in good condition. Chapter XIV TRANSACTIONS AT NORFOLK ISLAND February 1789 to March 1790 -A violent hurricane at Norfolk Island.--Arrival of the Supply.--Convicts sent from Port Jackson.--Provisions and stores.--Departure of the Supply.--Robberies committed.--Employment of the convicts.--Wheat infested with caterpillars.--A store-house erected.--Arrival of a party of marines from Port Jackson.--Thefts committed.--Orders read for preserving regularity.--A female convict punished.--Pernicious effects of the grub-worm.--Gardens plundered.--A granary erected.--Wheat destroyed by paroquets.--Number of inhabitants on the island.- The interval of fine weather, which gave us an opportunity of examining the state of our provisions, and cleaning the damaged flour, was succeeded by a hurricane that was dreadful beyond description. In the morning of the 25th, we had light winds from the north-east, and very dismal, dark, cloudy weather, with constant torrents of heavy rain: towards noon, the wind blew a heavy gale, and kept increasing in violence. At midnight, it shifted to east-south-east, and blew with great fury, attended with constant deluges of rain. At four o'clock the next morning several of the largest pines were blown up by the roots, one of which fell on the hog-stye and killed a very fine English sow and a litter of seven pigs that were my property, and three sows and two boars belonging to the crown. This was a severe loss to young colonists, but a still worse accident afterwards happened, and which had nearly deprived us of our flour. From four in the morning until noon, the wind increased to a very severe hurricane, with the heaviest rain I ever saw or heard of. Pines, and oak-trees of the largest size, were blown down every instant; the roots were torn up, together with rocks that surrounded them; frequently leaving pits at least ten feet deep. Some of the very large trees, which measured 180 feet in length, and four feet diameter, were thrown by the violence of the tempest to a considerable distance from the place where they grew; and others, whose roots were too deep in the earth to be torn up, bent their tops nearly to the ground. In addition to the horror of this scene, a very large tree fell across the granary and dashed it to pieces, staving a number of flour casks that were in it; but by the general activity of every person on the settlement, the flour, Indian corn, and stores were in a short time collected, and removed to my house, with the loss of a few pounds of flour and some small stores that were blown away. The gale now raged with the most violent fury, which defies all description: whole forests seemed, as it were, swept away by the roots, and many of the trees were carried to a considerable distance. By one o'clock in the afternoon, there were as many trees blown down round the settlement as would have employed fifty men for a fortnight to cut down. The swamp and the adjoining vale were overflowed, and had every appearance of a large, navigable river: the surf ran mountains high, but did not overflow the bank, although very near its level: in the road, the sea ran very high, often eclipsing Nepean Isle. At two in the afternoon, the gardener, two convict men, and one woman, who lived in the vale, came to the settlement, having narrowly escaped with their lives from the falling of trees, and great depth of water in many parts of the valley; and their houses, which had been built and framed with strong logs, were blown down. Three acres of ground that had recently been cleared were almost covered with trees: every thing in the gardens was nearly destroyed, and an acre of Indian corn, which was in a promising state, and nearly fit for reaping, was laid flat and covered with water four feet deep; nay, incredible as it may appear, the violence of the wind blew up cabbages, turnips, and other vegetables by the roots; and what remained in the gardens were turned as black as if they had been burnt. At three o'clock, the wind veered round to south, and moderated, and at sun-set, the weather was very pleasant. It was a providential circumstance that the discovery of the plot (as has already been related) happened previous to this dreadful storm, as, on that account, the convicts had altogether been employed in cutting down large trees round the settlement, to make room for building other houses: had not this been done, our houses would probably have been destroyed and many lives lost, as we had no asylum or retreat whatever: fortunately, however, only one man was hurt; he received a violent contusion on his right side by the branch of a tree falling on him. There was no appearance on any part of the island of such a storm having ever happened before. During the remainder of the month we had very pleasant weather; the wind at south-west, but a heavy surf kept still running. On the 2d of March, at day-light, we saw the Supply in the road; on which I sent Mr. Dunavan on board her: he soon returned, bringing letters for me from Governor Phillip, who, I learnt, had sent twenty-one men and six women convicts, with three children in the Supply, to be landed on this island. As I had the fullest confidence in the few free persons who were with me, I did not hesitate one moment in receiving the additional number of convicts who were now arrived, although some of them had very bad characters. By the Supply I also received a bushel of potatoes, and some seed-wheat and barley, that had been saved at Port Jackson; and in the course of the day, all the convicts and the greatest part of the provisions and stores were landed. One turn of provisions were got on shore early the next morning, but the surf increasing, no more boats passed that day. Landing was very practicable on the 4th, and we received the remainder of the provisions and stores; also two three-pounders and their carriages belonging to the Supply, which should have been landed when I first came to the island, but were prevented by the surf. The surf ran so high on the 5th, that no boats could land: at two o'clock the Supply parted her cable, and stood off and on during the night. The Supply's boats were employed during the 6th, in sweeping for her anchor, as no landing could be attempted; but the surf abating on the 7th, we received every article on shore that was intended for the settlement. I now ordered the surgeon to examine all the convicts who had lately arrived, in order to discover if any of them were infected with diseases, or troubled with complaints of any kind; but on examination, he found them all healthy. The Supply having ineffectually swept for her anchor till the morning of the 10th, she made sail for Port Jackson at ten o'clock in the forenoon. The ground in the road off Sydney-Bay is very foul in general, although there may be some clear spots. The Golden-Grove parted her cable in the road, but regained her anchor, which the Supply was not lucky enough to accomplish; and she had the additional misfortune of nearly ruining two new cables in sweeping for it. It is somewhat remarkable, that the beach in Sydney-Bay has at times five feet of sand on the stones, and at other times it is all cleared away: this has happened when the wind has been at south-east, and when the beach was filled with sand, the wind has been at south-west: this probably may be the case in the road. I gave the convicts who were newly arrived until the 18th, to build habitations for themselves; the others were employed at task-work. The numbers now on the island were as follows, viz. Officers, marines, and free men, 16 Male convicts, 50 Female convicts, 23 Children, 5 Total 94 In order to prevent the water from overflowing the cultivated grounds in the upper part of Arthur's Vale, I set eight labourers to work on the 19th, in cutting a water-way of sixty rods long, by six feet deep. I have hitherto forborn mentioning the numerous thefts that had almost daily been committed; and, notwithstanding the utmost vigilance, we had not been able to detect any person. Gardens had been constantly plundered; the harness cask, containing the provisions that were daily issued out, had been robbed; and one night an attempt was made to get into the upper part of my house, where the slops were deposited. Great rewards had been offered to tempt one or other to discover their accomplices, but without effect: however, at eleven o'clock in the night of the 23d, Thomas Watson, a convict, was detected in another convict's house, stealing a bag of flour. From the number of daring thefts which had been committed, without my being able to fix on the thief, it became necessary to inflict a very severe punishment on this offender; and as I had no authority to give him any very severe corporal chastisement; after examining witnesses upon oath, and fully proving the theft, I ordered him into confinement, with an intention of sending him to Port Jackson to take his trial. In order to prevent these depredations as much as possible in future, I gave orders for the convicts to be mustered in their huts three times every night, and the hour of muster to be constantly changed: this had a good effect, but did not entirely prevent robberies from being committed. James Davis, a convict, was punished with twenty-four lashes, on the 25th, for using seditious expressions, and throwing away some fish which had been issued, in a contemptuous manner. On inspecting the seed-wheat, I found the weevil had begun its depredations, on which, I set some of the labourers to winnow and clear it. On the 30th, some atrocious villain stabbed one of the hogs belonging to the crown, which occasioned its death: this, amongst many other actions which happened, of a similar nature, served to show that there are wretches equal to any act of inhumanity and barbarity. The sugar-cane, which I planted soon after my arrival on the island, being in a very exposed situation, I removed it on the 31st, and planted out 106 very good joints, which were produced from only four canes. The Indian corn, that had been damaged by the hurricane, was reaped this afternoon. The different employments of the convicts were as follows: At task-work, clearing away ground for cultivation, 30 Sawyers, sawing boards, for building a store-house, 2 2 free. Carpenters, building a store-house, 2 1 free. Blacksmith, making fish-hooks, and other necessary work, 1 1 free. Coble-men fishing, 3 Gardeners, 3 1 free. Making shingles, 4 Schoolmaster, 1; officers servants, 3; care of stock, 1, 5 Total 50 5 On the 2d of April, three quarters of an acre of ground was sown with wheat, the produce of that ground which had been first cleared on the north side of Mount George. The season for sowing wheat was as yet rather early, but I did it to try different periods, and to see which would answer best. April On the 5th, (Sunday) after divine service, Thomas Jones, a convict, acquainted me that the term of his transportation expired that day. I had been informed by Governor Phillip that the different terms for which the convicts were sentenced was not known, as the masters of the transports had left the papers necessary for that information with their owners; but that he had wrote to England for them, and until their arrival no steps could be taken, as the convicts words were not sufficient: I therefore informed Thomas Jones that he was at liberty to work for whom he pleased, and if he chose to work for the public good, he would be used the same as others were, until I received further orders concerning him. An acre of ground, in Arthur's Vale, was sown with wheat on the 6th; and on the 8th, Noah Mortimer, a convict, was punished with sixty lashes, for refusing to work, on being ordered by the overseer, and being abusive. The 10th, being Good-Friday, I performed divine service, and no work was done on the settlement. On the 13th, three acres of wheat were sown with four bushels of seed. Every garden vegetable, now growing, were much blighted by west and south-west winds; indeed, this was a very improper time to sow any garden seeds, it being the commencement of winter; but the potatoes I had by me grew out so very fast, that I was obliged to sow them all. I had found the last year that June and July were the best months for sowing the general crop. We had a very heavy gale of wind this day from the south-west, which was the first southerly wind that had blown with any degree of force since last August; and the last year, the southerly winds did not begin until the 10th of April: from which I conclude that southerly and westerly winds are not frequent in the summer; especially as we had not one gale from that quarter during the last summer. Three acres of wheat were sown in Arthur's vale on the 16th, and by the 21st eight acres of wheat were up, and had a promising appearance. As there was a projection of the reef where boats used to land, which, if taken away, would greatly lessen the danger of landing; I set six men to work about removing it on the 22d, with orders to continue at the employment every tide until it was finished. Notwithstanding every convict had suffered exemplary punishment for their crimes, whenever they were detected; yet this was not sufficient to keep the free people in proper subordination; for on the 26th, John Williams, a marine, quitted his guard, and raised a quarrel in a convict's house; the consequence of which was a battle between himself and another marine: on which, I assembled the marines and all the other free people under arms, under the flag-staff, on which the colours were hoisted; and I punished him with twenty-four lashes, for quitting his post, and fighting with his comrade. I observed on the 7th of May, that all the wheat which hitherto had a very fine appearance, was blighted in many places, and particularly where it was thinnest sown: on examining it, I found it entirely covered with a small black caterpillar, which had eat off the stems within an inch of the ground: these destructive vermin kept on the wheat during the whole month; they began on the lower part of the eight acres that were sown in Arthur's Vale, and proceeded regularly through it, destroying every blade. We tried various methods to extirpate them, such as rolling the wheat with a heavy roller, and beating it with turf-beaters, in order to kill them, but with little effect; for in an hour's time they were as numerous as ever, and daily increased in size. I found they were bred from a small moth, vast numbers of which infested the air in the mornings and evenings: the number of these caterpillars on the wheat was incredible; and they were so thick in the gardens that we swept them in heaps: the adjoining rivulet was also covered with them. The whole wheat of eight acres (which was a foot high when these pernicious vermin first attacked it) was eat close to the ground by the 28th, and three acres of it never grew afterwards. Having gone through the gardens and wheat, these destructive insects left us on the 29th. The carpenters had now finished the new store-house: its dimensions were thirty feet long by eighteen feet wide, and ten feet under the eaves: the sides were covered with weather boarding, and the roof was shingled. I ordered the provisions to be brought from my house and from the surgeon's, and deposited in the new store-house: the stores were also removed, and lodged there. The 4th of June, being the anniversary of his Majesty's birth-day, it was observed as a holiday. The colours were hoisted at sun-rise: at noon, the marines and free people drew up under arms, to the right and left of the two three-pounders which were on the parade, in front of my house. The male convicts were also drawn up on the right, and the females on the left. Three rounds of the guns and musquetry were fired; after which, the whole party gave three cheers, and were dismissed. In consideration of the behaviour of the convicts on the day when the hurricane happened, and their general conduct since the discovery of the plot, I was induced to let them partake of the general festivity of the day; and ordered half a pint of rum for each man, and a pint of wine for each woman, for them to drink his Majesty's health: the officers dined at my table, and on our drinking the King's health after dinner, three rounds of the great guns were fired: in the evening bonfires were lighted up, and the front windows of my house were illuminated with the initials G. R. When every person was assembled, and before the firing began, I ordered the prisoner, Thomas Watson, who was in confinement for a theft, (and whom I proposed sending to Port Jackson to be tried) to be brought out, and in consideration of the day I forgave him. The remaining four acres of wheat, which the caterpillars had not totally destroyed, were now shot out again, and had a very promising appearance. On the 11th, I drilled thirty pints of wheat into sixty roods of ground; and, as I had but little seed left, this was, in my own opinion, disposing of it to the best advantage; especially as it was probable that the increase would be equal to that which had been sown at a broad cast: I also drilled in eighteen pints of marrow-fat peas. At day-light in the morning of the 13th, we perceived his Majesty's armed tender, the Supply, in the road: the surf at that time ran very high in Sydney-Bay, and there being but little easterly wind, with a strong flood-tide, she could not get to Ball-Bay before three o'clock in the afternoon; when I received my letters from Governor Phillip, who informed me, that he had sent Lieutenant John Cresswell, of the marines, with fourteen privates, to the island; that Mr. Cresswell was to put himself under my command; and that in case of my death, or absence, the government of the island was to devolve on him. I had also the pleasing satisfaction to find that my conduct was approved of by Governor Phillip. The surf ran very high on the 14th, until three o'clock in the afternoon, when Lieutenant Cresswell landed with his detachment and part of their baggage; but nothing else could be received on shore until the 17th, when part of the provisions and stores were landed. As another boat was now become necessary for the use of the settlement, I wrote to Lieutenant Ball, requesting him to send his carpenter on shore to build a coble, that being the most convenient sort of boat for going out and coming into this place. The carpenter landed in the afternoon, and immediately got to work in building a boat. During the 18th, all the provisions were received on shore, except sixteen casks of flour; but the surf increasing very much in the evening, I made a signal for the Supply to hoist the coble in. The sea ran so very high, that no boat could land until the 21st, when we received the remainder of the provisions and stores; after which, the boats were employed in carrying off water for the Supply, and planks for Port Jackson. Two pecks of wheat were drilled into an acre of ground in Arthur's Vale, on the 24th; and on the next day, one acre and a quarter was sown with half a bushel of wheat at a broad cast. We now had very strong gales at south-west, and at nine o'clock in the morning the Supply passed between Nepean Isle and Point Hunter. The gale continuing heavy from the south-west, I sent a person round to the lee side of the island on the 26th, to look for the Supply; but she could not be seen until day-light in the morning of the 30th, when she was perceived hull down to the southward, and working up to the island. By this time the new boat was in great forwardness, and my own workmen being able to finish it, I sent the carpenter of the Supply on board; and at four in the afternoon that vessel made sail for Port Jackson. Lieutenant Ball had orders to examine a shoal, which was seen by the master of the Golden Grove, on her return from this island in October last, in latitude 29° 25' south, longitude 159° 59' east of Greenwich: he was also to look for an island and shoal that were seen by Lieutenant Shortland, in the Alexander transport: the shoal, in latitude 29° 20' south, longitude 158° 40' east, and the island 28° 10' south latitude, and 159° 50' east longitude. Mr. Shortland named them Sir Charles Middleton's Island and Shoal, and imagined they were joined together. On the 1st of July, the new coble was finished, and her bottom payed: her dimensions were twenty-two feet long, by six feet six inches wide. This business being compleated, the sawyers and carpenters began to erect a house for Lieutenant Cresswell, of eighteen feet long, by 12 feet wide, with a back part nine feet square. The garden in Arthur's Vale being quite exposed and open, I employed six men to surround it with a wattled hedge. Edward Gaff, a convict, was punished with 100 lashes on the 6th, for stealing three quarts of wheat: indeed, scarcely a day passed without complaints being made of thefts, which were committed with such dexterity that it was impossible to detect them. That thefts in so small a society should so frequently happen was really astonishing; but when it is considered, that the greatest part of that society were hardened villains, the wonder will cease. Eleven acres of wheat were now up in Arthur's Vale, and had a very promising appearance: every vegetable in the gardens were also in a thriving state. Nothing material happened in the course of this month until the 28th, when a tree fell on John Bryant, a convict, which bruised his head so much that he died two hours afterwards. This man was one among the very few honest convicts which I had on the island. Two bushels of seed wheat, being the remaining part of what I had left, was sown this day, on the sides of Mount George, on two acres of ground. Most of the marines who came to the island with Lieutenant Cresswell, had now very comfortable huts and good gardens. In the month of August we had, in general, heavy gales of wind, chiefly at north-west and south-west, attended with rain. The general employment of the convicts was now as follows: Clearing away ground for cultivation and other necessary work 30 Sawyers sawing scantlings, and boards for buildings 2 2 free. Carpenters building a house for Lieutenant Cresswell 2 1 free. Blacksmith making and repairing necessary iron work 1 1 free. Coblemen fishing 3 Gardeners 2 1 free. Making shingles 4 Schoolmaster 1, officers servants 3, care of stock 1 5 Total 49 5 The 12th, being the anniversary of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales's birth-day, the colours were hoisted at sun-rise, and it was observed with the same ceremony as his Majesty's birth-day, except giving liquor to the convicts, as their recent behaviour, with regard to thefts, had totally excluded them from that indulgence. As the wheat in Arthur's Vale grew very rank, I was advised to crop it, which was done on the 13th: however, I let three acres remain in order to see which way it would be most productive. The carpenters having finished the shell of Lieutenant Cresswell's house, I employed them in building an addition to the back part of my habitation, as I was apprehensive of its being blown down by the violent south-west winds, which were now almost constant. After divine service on the 16th, (Sunday) the following orders were read for preserving regularity and good order among the inhabitants of the island. ORDERS I. All persons on the island are regularly to attend muster and divine service, unless prevented by sickness: a disobedience of this order will be punished by extra-work, or by stopping a day's provisions for the first offence; which, if repeated, will be punished by corporal chastisement. II. No persons are to absent themselves from their quarters, either by night or day, except they have obtained leave, or are going to their respective work; and if any one is observed lurking about after the watch is set, he will be fired at by the centinel. III. The working hours are to be regularly attended to, and all persons absent from their work after the drum beats for that purpose, will lose a portion of the time they may save from their tasks; and in case of a second offence, they will be severely punished. IV. The tasks will be continued as usual, and the time saved by the gangs is at their own disposal: those who distinguish themselves by employing their time in cultivating their gardens, and clearing ground for their own use, will meet with encouragement and reward. V. If the overseers, or the greatest part of any gang, should have reason to complain of the idleness of any one man belonging to that gang, and the complaint should be found just, the offender will be severely punished. VI. Those who render themselves unable to work by their neglect or obstinacy, in not building themselves warm huts, or who cut themselves through carelessness, will have a part of their provisions stopped until they are able to go to work again. VII. All the tools and utensils are to be returned regularly every night to the store-house when the retreat beats; and any person who is found secreting any tool, or any article of the King's stores, or committing any robbery whatever, will, on detection and conviction, receive such punishment on the island as his Majesty's Justices of the peace may judge the offence deserves; or the offender will be sent to Port Jackson, to be tried by the criminal court, as the commandant may judge proper. VIII. It is recommended to every one to be very careful of their cloathing, and every free person or convict is strictly forbid buying or selling any article of slop cloathing: those who disobey this order will be prosecuted for buying or selling the King's stores, whether free people or convicts. IX. Whenever it may be necessary to make any complaint, the person making the complaint is to inform the corporal of the guard, who will immediately report it; when the commandant (or, in his absence, Lieutenant John Cresswell,) will hear the complaint and decide upon it. X. Disobedience of orders, insolence to officers or overseers, or any other improper behaviour, tending to the disturbance of the peace, or hindrance of the King's service, will meet with severe punishment; and a regular, honest, good behaviour, will meet with encouragement and reward. His Majesty's justices of the peace for this island, viz. the Commandant and Lieutenant John Cresswell, (on whom the government of the island devolves, in case of the commandant's death or absence) have appointed Roger Morley and John Altree, to hold the office of constables; and every person is ordered to be assisting to either or both of them in the execution of their office. Such were the laws, which our then situations required. Four acres of ground in Arthur's Vale were planted with Indian corn on the 24th; and, as the rats had dug up most of that which had been planted in the gardens, I replaced it, putting five grains of corn into each pit. During the remainder of this month, we had heavy gales of wind from the south-west, which turned all the wheat quite black, that was growing on the south side of Mount George: but I did not apprehend that it was otherwise injured than by being kept back. This gale was of longer duration, and blew with greater force than any I had hitherto observed. On the 29th, Ann Coombs, a female convict, received fifty lashes at the cart's tail, for defrauding Thomas Jones, of some provisions: this punishment, however, did not deter her from committing crimes of a similar nature; for the very next day she was detected stealing two new check shirts from Francis Mew, a private marine, and was punished with 100 lashes. The weather during the month of September was variable; we had some heavy gales of wind from the south-west and east-north-east, but they were not of long duration. Frequent notice has been taken of the destructive effects of the grub-worm, and they were now as troublesome as ever. These pernicious vermin are generated from the eggs of a fly, which are left on the leaves of plants: here they come to life, and daily gathering strength and vigour, they destroy the leaves; and afterwards, falling on the ground, they cut off the roots and stalks. The surgeon, who, with great perseverance and industry, had got a very good garden, and every thing in it in great forwardness, had all his plants and vegetables nearly destroyed by the grub-worm, and most of the other gardens shared the same fate. The mischief done at my garden in Arthur's Vale was not so great, which I attributed to the quantity of cultivated ground near it; and, probably, when more extensive pieces of ground come to be cleared, the bad effects of the grub-worm will be in a great measure prevented, but at present, these destructive vermin, and the depredations of the convicts, rendered the cultivation of gardens very discouraging to individuals. The corporal of marines, who was a very industrious young man, had cleared and planted a piece of ground, and by attention and assiduity, had raised a quantity of vegetables, besides a very fine crop of potatoes, which would have yielded him at least five bushels; but, on the evening of the 5th, between sun-set and the time of the watch being set, some villains dug up every one of the potatoes, and destroyed a quantity of other vegetables; and although the convicts were mustered in their huts at sun-set, and three times more during the night, yet the theft was not discovered until the next morning, when a very strict search was made, in order to find out the offender, but to no purpose, as the potatoes were (in the cant phrase) _all planted_; viz. buried in the ground, so as to be taken out as they were wanted. This was one of the many acts of villainy that were daily committed by these atrocious wretches. Catherine Johnson, a female convict, was punished with fifty lashes on the 7th, for abusing the store-keeper, and accusing him of theft wrongfully. Two acres were sown with Indian corn on the 16th, and the ground being quite shaded from the sun, I employed a gang of labourers to cut down the trees from three acres of land, in order to let the sun in upon the corn. On the 28th, the produce of 240 sets of potatoes, which had been planted on three roods of ground the first of June, were dug up, and yielded five bushels of very fine potatoes. During the month of October, the weather was in general very mild; the wind chiefly from the south-east. On the 1st, the carpenters, with two men to assist them, began framing a barn, which I proposed to erect in Arthur's Vale. The grub-worms were still very numerous, notwithstanding the women convicts were daily employed in picking them off the plants and out of the ground: they totally destroyed one acre of Indian corn, and cut off every cabbage and other plants as fast as they sprang up. As it would be very convenient to have a path to the west side of the island, I employed six men to cut a road from the settlement to Mount Pitt, and from thence to Anson-Bay, which business was completed on the 21st. I went out in the morning of the 23d, to survey the west side of Sydney-Bay, in the course of which, I found most of the bones belonging to the body of one of the men who were drowned on the 6th of August, 1788: I brought them to the settlement, where they were interred. On the 27th, we had a strong gale of wind from the east, attended with heavy rain, which was the first that had happened since the 23d of September, and was much wanted. Fifteen acres of wheat were now in ear, and had a good appearance; and the Indian corn, of which we had seven acres, was in a thriving state, although much thinned by the grub-worm: one acre of barley was also in ear, and the garden vegetables were in great forwardness. The grub-worm had totally disappeared, but still our calamities were not at an end; for the parroquets (of which we had myriads) were constantly destroying the wheat, and the garden productions; insomuch that we were obliged to keep a number of persons employed in beating them away with long poles. During the month of November, the weather was hot and sultry, with only one shower of rain; the wind from the east-south-east. The carpenters finished the barn on the 9th: its dimensions were 30 feet long by 16 feet wide, and 17 feet under the eaves, with a loft over it. The roof was well shingled, and the sides weather-boarded: in short, it was a complete building, and conveniently situated, being in the center of the cultivated grounds in Arthur's Vale. On the 13th, Lieutenant Cresswell turned a turtle in a small bay, to the westward of the settlement, which he distributed amongst the free persons and others, as far as it would go. Robert Webb, a seaman belonging to the Sirius, went on the 15th, to the valley above the Cascade-Bay; having obtained my permission to become a settler, if Governor Phillip should have no objection to it. Some barley which had been sown the latter end of May, about three quarters of an acre with one bushel and an half of seed, was cut this day, and the produce was twenty-three bushels of a very fine full grain. The potatoes which were sown during the month of September, in Arthur's vale, were all running to stalk, and not one potatoe formed at the roots: the fibres were very strong and shooting out of the ground, notwithstanding they had been well earthed: this was probably owing to the very great heat and drought which we had recently experienced. Large flocks of parroquets still infested the wheat, and made great havock in one acre; but as it ripened very fast, I did not apprehend much farther damage from them or the caterpillars, which were again become very numerous. As it would be necessary to have the hogs and poultry near the granary, during the time of harvest, I employed a party of labourers in bringing logs to make an inclosure round the barn, and other conveniencies for the stock; and on the 30th, we began the wheat harvest. On the 3d of December, at day-light, the Supply arrived in the road, and soon afterwards, I received my letters from Governor Phillip. In the course of the day, six men and eight women convicts were landed, with some provisions and stores for the settlement. By an order from Governor Phillip, all persons on the island were to be put to two-thirds allowance of provisions, which commenced on the 5th: the settlement at Port Jackson went to this allowance in November. Having received every thing from the Supply, that vessel sailed for Port Jackson on the 7th. All the labourers were now employed in reaping, stacking, and thatching the wheat, which business was all finished by the 24th. Four acres of the wheat were greatly damaged by some very heavy rain, which fell from the 14th to the 18th, and caused it to shoot out; but this was put into a stack by itself for present consumption. The wheat now reaped had been sown at different periods, notwithstanding which, it was ripe nearly at the same time; but the last sown did not stock so well as that which was put more early in the ground: that which was sown in drills, suffered much from the blighting winds; and, as this island is subject to these winds at all times of the year, the method of drilling wheat or barley in rows, will not answer so well as when sown at a broad cast. The best time for sowing wheat, is from the latter end of May to the middle of June; indeed, that which was sown in August, yielded a very large sound grain; but, (as I have already observed) it did not stock so well as the other. At sun-rise on the 25th, the colours were hoisted, in observance of Christmas-day; divine service was performed at ten o'clock, and I ordered two hogs, belonging to the crown, to be killed and issued out to the free people and convicts, at the rate of one pound and an half to each person: and, as the crop of wheat had turned out tolerably well, I ordered two pounds of flour to each man, and the women one pound each, to celebrate the festival. During the month of January, the weather was very variable, with frequent strong gales of wind from the south-east. The general employment of the labourers was clearing away ground for the next season, and turning up the fifteen acres of wheat stubble, threshing, making shingles, cutting logs, to make a log-house for the store-keeper, and other necessary business. The small union flag had hitherto been used as a signal for landing, but as it could not easily be distinguished from the roads, on the 11th, I had a flag-staff fixed in the front of my house, the lower mast of which was 20 feet long, and the top-mast 36 feet; on which a large union was occasionally to be hoisted. Some villain stabbed a very fine sow which was near farrowing, on the 18th, but though the strictest enquiry was made, I could not discover who was the perpetrator of this atrocious act. Most of the labourers were now employed in cutting down, gathering, and cleaning the Indian corn, a vast quantity of which was destroyed by the parroquets, although men were constantly employed in beating them off with long poles. A greater number of people were sick during this month, than had been the case since my landing on the island. The complaint, in general, was a diarrhoea, but those who had this disorder were soon recovered. The surgeon was of opinion that the great change of weather which had happened, joined to the great quantity of vegetables that were daily consumed, was the cause of this sickness. The appearance of a vessel in the road at day-light in the morning of the 29th, caused the greatest acclamations of joy through the whole settlement; every person imagining that ships had arrived from England; especially as the Supply had been with us so recently: but, presently afterwards, we perceived it to be that vessel; and on receiving my letters from the governor, I found that no ships had arrived from our native country; which piece of intelligence being circulated through the settlement, a dejection took place equal to the joy that was visible a short time before. Twenty-two male convicts and one female arrived by the Supply, but no provisions were sent along with them, there being only a sufficient quantity at Port Jackson to serve until the latter end of May, at the present allowance; and as our crops had been good, and our resources, with respect to fish and vegetables, were greater than at Port Jackson, the governor had thought proper to send this additional number of convicts. Our present numbers were now as follow, viz. Civil and military, 32 Male convicts, 79 Female convicts, 33 Children, 5 Total 149 I was also informed by Governor Phillip, that as it was necessary for the Sirius to have her full complement of officers, he had ordered me to be discharged from that ship; and had appointed Mr. Newton Fowell to be second-lieutenant in my room, and Mr. Henry Waterhouse to be third-lieutenant, instead of Lieutenant George William Maxwell, who was reported by the surgeons to be insane. Having received all the convicts from the Supply, and sent my letters for Governor Phillip on board, she set sail for Port Jackson on the 2d of February. During this month we had heavy gales of wind, with some intervals of fine weather, and the rain becoming frequent, I ordered sheds to be built over the saw-pits, that the sawyers might work without interruption. Those few amongst the convicts who had been industrious, were now rewarded for it, as some had raised from one thousand to fifteen hundred cobs of Indian corn; which, together with the fish that was procured from time to time, was of great service to them now that their allowance of salt provisions was reduced. The remainder of the Indian corn was got in on the 19th. Richard Phillimore, a convict, had informed me that the term of his transportation expired on the 16th of January; and having taken the oath administered on that occasion, he signified a wish of becoming a settler: as he was a sober, industrious man, I gave him time to consider of it, and to look out for a situation where he would like to settle at: he informed me on the 22d, that he still was desirous of fixing on the island, and had found a spot where he wished to reside; on which, I sent some labourers to build him an house, and to clear away a little ground for a commencement; I also gave him a sow with young, and some poultry, and he was fully of opinion, that in one year, or two at farthest, he should be able to support himself, without any assistance from the settlement. During the month of March, we had a deal of blowing weather, and much rain; the wind generally from the south-west. The labourers were employed in clearing ground for cultivation, husking and stripping Indian corn, and other necessary work; and six men were sawing frames for building barracks. Chapter XV TRANSACTIONS AT NORFOLK ISLAND AND PORT JACKSON March 1790 to April 1790 -The arrival of the Sirius and Supply at Norfolk-Island.--The loss of the Sirius.--Captain Hunter and the crew saved.--A general meeting of the officers convened.--Sundry regulations adopted.--Martial-Lawproclaimed.--Lieutenant-Governor Ross takes thecommand.--Lieutenant King leaves Norfolk-Island.--Description of Norfolk-Island.--Face of the country.--Water--Soil--Climate--Timber--Insects--Fish--Seasons--Winds--Coast, and Bays.--Present state of cultivation.--General behaviour of the convicts.--Number of inhabitants on the island.--Grain and live-stock.--Lieutenant King arrives at Port Jackson.--Finds the country greatly improved.--Manners and customs of the natives.--Vocabulary of the language.- At the break of day on the 13th of March, I was alarmed with a tumultuous noise of huzzaing and rejoicing; on enquiry into the cause, I found that two vessels were seen in the offing. Every one of us were now fully persuaded that the long looked for and much expected relief was at length arrived, and we began to felicitate each other that the time was now come, when we should hear news from England: some of us anticipated pleasing and unpleasing accounts from our friends in the northern hemisphere, as we had been near three years absent, without having received the least intelligence from our relatives, or native country. As the wind blew strong at south-west, and a great sea was running in the bay; the vessels, (which we found were the Sirius and Supply,) bore up for Ball-Bay, to which place I went, and received from Lieutenant Ball my letters from Governor Phillip. Our expectations were once more blasted, for, instead of those pleasing hopes being realized, which the appearance of the vessels had created in the morning, we were informed that no relief had arrived, nor had any intelligence been received from England. I found by the governor's letter, that he had sent Lieutenant-Governor Ross in the Sirius, to take the command at Norfolk-Island, as the service rendered it necessary for my returning to England, in order to give such information to his Majesty's ministers, respecting the settlement I had established, as could not be conveyed by letter. I was also directed to furnish Lieutenant-Governor Ross with copies of all such orders as I had from time to time received from the governor, and which had not been put in execution; together with all the information I had acquired respecting the nature of the soil, and the mode of cultivation which had been followed; as also my observations respecting the climate, and the general line of conduct of the people under my direction; and to leave him such rules and regulations as I had established for preserving good order and regularity among the convicts. I was farther directed to embark on board the Sirius, whose commander had orders to receive me on board, with all such petty officers, seamen, and marines, belonging to that ship, who were not desirous of becoming settlers; directions having been given the Lieutenant-Governor to that effect. Lieutenant-Governor Ross brought with him, one captain, five subalterns, a number of non-commissioned officers and privates, with the colours: also a number of male and female convicts, and children; with their proportion of cloaths, provisions, and stores. The two vessels went round to Cascade-Bay, where part of the detachment of marines and some of the convicts were landed; and the next forenoon, the remainder of the marines and convicts, with a great part of their baggage, were landed, and they marched to the settlement. The Lieutenant-Governor arrived at the settlement at noon. In the orders for the night, he requested that I would continue the command of the island until my departure. On the 15th, the remains of the provisions and other stores on the island were surveyed by Captain Johnston and Lieutenants Cresswell and Clark: after which, I got the receipts from Mr. Roger Morley, to whom I had given an order to act as store-keeper, with the approbation of Governor Phillip. The wind blew strong from the east-south-east; and on the 16th, we had strong gales from the north-east, with almost constant heavy rain. The Sirius and Supply were seen from Mount Pitt, some distance at sea, in the south-east quarter. This day, Jeremiah Leary, a convict, ran the gantlet among the convicts for a theft, and was severely punished. We had very strong gales from the north-east on the 17th, attended with almost constant rain. The two vessels were working up for the island; and at one o'clock in the afternoon, the Supply came into the road, and landed a quantity of luggage, some stock, and thirteen casks of provisions. No landing could be attempted on the 18th, the wind still blowing very strong at north-east; but on the 19th, the wind shifted to the east-south-east, and grew more moderate; so that at day-light, the Supply came into the road, and the Sirius was at some distance to the southward, standing in for the island. There being very fine landing, I made the signal that large boats could land safely, and by ten o'clock every thing was received from the Supply. Soon afterwards, the Sirius hove to, in order to hoist her boats out, which, being accomplished, she made sail; but the tide of flood still ran very strong, and she could not weather the outer rock of the reef which runs off Point Ross: after an unsuccessful attempt to stay, she wore and came to the wind on the starboard tack: unfortunately, the wind shifted to the south-east, and the strong hold which the tide had on the ship, forced her near the island, and she got to the back of the reef: she was now hove in stays, but having fresh stern way, she tailed on the reef and struck. The masts were instantly cut away, and the surf increasing along-side of her, only two boats load of provisions could be got out: an anchor was let go, which prevented the ship from coming broadside to on the reef. From noon until four o'clock, every person was employed in getting a hawser from the ship, and fastening it to a tree on the shore: a heart was fixed on the hawser as a traveller, and a grating was slung to it, fastened to a small hawser, one end of which was on shore and the other end on board. At five o'clock, the surgeon's mate came on shore by the grating, being hauled through a very great surf: he brought me a note from Captain Hunter, desiring to know if I thought it would be safe for the sailors to abide by the wreck all night. The wind was now at south, and the weather had a very threatening appearance, and as the surf had risen considerably, I thought there was the utmost danger of the ship's parting at the flowing tide, the consequence of which must have been the destruction of every person on board: I therefore made a signal for the wreck to be quitted, and by the time it grew dark, the captain and most of the sailors were on shore, being dragged through a very heavy surf; many of them received violent blows from the rocks over which they were dragged. Captain Hunter and Mr. Waterhouse were got on shore together, and just as they got footing on the reef, the captain was so much exhausted, that he had nearly quitted his hold: the first and second lieutenant, with some of the sailors, remained on board all night. The instant the ship struck, Lieutenant-Governor Ross ordered the drums to assemble all the marines and convicts: martial law was then proclaimed, and the people were told that if any one killed any animal or fowl, or committed any robbery whatever, they would be instantly made a severe example of. The officers and marines were ordered to wear their side-arms: guards were set over the barn and store-houses, and some other necessary regulations were ordered by the Lieutenant-Governor. On the 20th, we had very strong gales of wind at south, and a great surf running: by four o'clock, every person were got out of the wreck without any other accident than receiving a few bruises. Those who came last from the wreck, reported, that the beams of the lower deck were started from the side, and that at high water, the sea came to the after hatchway on the lower deck, the fore part of the ship being under water; and that the provisions were mostly on deck. The gale continued very strong on the 21st, with a heavy surf running; but the wreck being in the same position as the preceding day, we entertained the pleasing hopes of being able to save all the provisions, and most of the ship's effects. At ten in the morning, Lieutenant-Governor Ross, Captain Hunter, all the commissioned officers of marines and of the Sirius, and myself, assembled in the government-house, when the lieutenant governor laid the situation of the island before the meeting, and pointed out the necessity of a law being made, by which criminals might be punished with death for capital crimes, there being no law in force on the island that could notice capital offences: he also proposed the establishment of martial law until further orders, which was unanimously agreed to; and that in all cases where sentence of death was pronounced, five persons out of seven should concur in opinion: it was also resolved, that all private stock, Indian corn, and potatoes should be given in to the store-keeper, and appropriated for the use of the public; and that every person should go to half allowance of provisions until it should be known what quantity could be saved from the wreck; also, that three locks should be put on the store-house and barn; one key to be in the possession of Captain Hunter, another in possession of a person to be named by the lieutenant-governor, and the third to be kept by a person to be named by the convicts. These resolutions were agreed to, and signed by the lieutenant-governor and the rest of the officers assembled. At eight o'clock in the morning of the 22d, all persons on the island were assembled near the lower flag-staff, on which the union was hoisted: the marines were drawn up in two lines, leaving a space in the center, at the head of which was the union. The colours of the detachment were then unfurled, and the Sirius's crew were drawn up on the right, and the convicts on the left, the officers being in the center. The proclamation was then read, declaring, that the island was to be governed by martial law, until further orders: the lieutenant-governor next addressed the convicts, and, after pointing out the situation of the settlement, he exhorted them to be honest, industrious, and obedient. This being concluded, the whole gave three cheers; and every person, beginning with the lieutenant-governor, passed under the union flag, taking off their hats as they passed it, in token of an oath to submit and be amenable to the martial law, which had then been declared. After this ceremony was concluded, the convicts and the Sirius's crew were sent round to Cascade-Bay, where a proportion of flour and pork was received from the Supply, and brought round to the settlement. In the afternoon, John Brannagin and William Dring (two convicts) offered to go on board the wreck, in order to heave the live stock over-board; and having obtained the permission of Captain Hunter and the Lieutenant-Governor, they went to the wreck, and sent a number of pigs and some poultry on shore, but they remained on board; and at the dusk of the evening, a light was perceived in the after part of the ship; on which, a volley of small arms were fired, to make them quit the wreck, or put the light out; which not being done, a three pounder shotted was fired into the wreck, but with no effect: on this, John Arscot, a convict carpenter, offered to go off; and although it was quite dark, and the surf ran very high, yet he got on board, and obliged the other two convicts to quit the wreck by the hawser. Arscot hailed the shore, but we could not understand what he said, except that he should stay on board the wreck. Brannagin (one of the convicts) was drunk when he came on shore. On the 23d, we had very strong gales of wind at west by north, but the landing was good early in the morning, and the large coble was sent on board the Supply, (which was in the road) with some of my baggage, and the officers and men belonging to the Sirius, who were going to Port Jackson. The master of the Sirius, with eight men, went on board the wreck by the hawser, and a triangle was erected on the reef, to keep the bight of the hawser from the ground; which would greatly facilitate the landing any article from the wreck. The master informed Captain Hunter, by a note, that Brannagin and Dring (the two convicts) had set fire to the wreck, which had burnt through the gun deck; but had been happily extinguished by Arscot, who went on board to send them out of the ship: on this, they were ordered into confinement previous to their being tried for setting fire to the wreck. The weather being moderate and pleasant in the morning of the 24th, I went on board the Supply, along with Lieutenants Waterhouse and Fowell, and twenty-two of the crew, belonging to the late Sirius; and at noon, we made sail for Port Jackson. As I have now taken leave of this island, I shall add my general observations on it; and although several of them may probably have been made before, in the course of this journal, yet it perhaps may not be amiss to collect them together in one point of view. NORFOLK ISLAND. By the mean of several meridional altitudes of the sun, and a great number of lunar observations, the latitude of Sydney-Bay is 29° 04' 40" south, and its longitude 168° 12' east, of Greenwich. The form of the island is a long square, and it contains about fourteen thousand acres: it is six miles in length and four in breadth. Face of the country_.--The island is very hilly, and some of the valleys are tolerably large, considering the size of the island; but most of them are only deep hollows, formed by the steep hills on each side, some of which rise so perpendicular that they cannot be cultivated. There are some extensive plains on the summits of the hills. Mount Pitt is the only remarkable hill on the island, and is about two hundred fathoms high. The cliffs round the island are about forty fathoms high, and are quite perpendicular: the basis of them, as well as most of the rocks and reefs round the island, is a hard, firm clay, of a very fine texture. The whole island is covered with a very thick forest, choaked up with underwood, which makes it impassable until it is cleared away. -Water_.--The island is well supplied with many streams of very fine water, some of which are sufficiently large to turn a number of mills: it is probable that most of these rivulets originate from springs near Mount Pitt. On a hill, near the middle of the island, between Cascade and Sydney bays, there is a pond of fresh water, about half an acre: there is no rivulet near it, nor can any spring be perceived, yet, in the greatest drought, it constantly remains full, and has a very good taste. All these streams abound with very fine eels. -Soil_.--From the sides of the cliffs which surround the coast, to the summit of Mount Pitt, there is a continuation of the finest soil, varying from a rich brown mould to a light red earth. Some large stones are found on different parts of the island. -Air_.--As a proof of the salubrity and wholesomeness of the air, it is to be remarked, that there had been scarcely any sickness since I landed, nor had we any illness whatever, except a few colds. -Timber and trees_.--There are only five sorts of trees on the island which can be called timber; viz. the pine, a wood resembling the live oak; a yellow wood; a hard black wood; and a wood resembling the English beech. The pine-trees are of a great size, many of them being from one hundred and eighty to two hundred and twenty feet high, and from four to eight feet diameter some distance from the ground. Those trees, which measure from one hundred to one hundred and eighty feet high, are in general sound, and are without branches for eighty or ninety feet, but the upper part is too knotty and hard to be useful; indeed, it frequently happens, that after twenty feet have been cut off from the butt, the trees becomes rotten and shaky, and is also very brittle; for which reason, no dependance can be put on them for masts or yards. The turpentine which exudes freely from the bark, is of a milk-white glutinous substance; but it is rather remarkable, that there is none in the timber. We tried to render this turpentine useful in paying boats, and other purposes, but without success; as it would neither melt nor burn: we also tried to make pitch or tar, by burning the old pines; but there being no turpentine in the wood, our efforts were useless. The pine is very useful in buildings, and being dispersed in various parts of the island, is well calculated for such buildings as hereafter may be necessary: from what I have been able to observe, it is very durable, as that which we had used for erecting houses, stood the weather very well. Two cobles were built of this wood, one of which was built in June, 1788: she was water-soaked, owing to our want of any kind of stuff to pay her with. The live-oak, yellow-wood, black-wood, and beech, are all of a close grain, and durable; in general they are from fourteen to twenty inches diameter. The branches of the live-oak are fit for timbers and knees of boats or small vessels. There are a variety of other small trees on the island, but as they are not useful, it is unnecessary to enumerate them here; though I should not omit the fern-tree, the bark of which serves many purposes, instead of twine and rope. The cabbage-palm were in great plenty when I first landed on the island, but, by continual cutting, they were almost destroyed. There is a plant among the underwood, which produces a kind of pepper; its leaves are broad, and have an aromatic, pungent taste: the core which contains the seed, shoots out between the leaf and the stalk, and is in general two or three inches long, and full of small seeds, which have nearly the same taste as the leaves; but, on their being dried, the smell and taste leaves them: it is also difficult to find them in a state of ripeness, as the parroquets destroy them before they can arrive at any degree of perfection. The flax-plant of New Zealand, grows spontaneously, and in great quantities on many parts of the island, but chiefly on the coasts and in the vallies near the sea: the leaves of this plant, when full grown, are from six to eight feet long, and six inches wide at the bottom: each plant contains seven leaves, and a woody stalk rises from the center, which bears the flowers: it seeds annually, and the old leaves are forced off by the young one every year. The method of soaking and preparing European flax and hemp, had been tried, but with no other effect than separating the vegetable part from the fibres; and a ligneous substance still remaining, it could not be reduced to an useful state. Some lines have been made of it, but they were not very strong; though the flax appears capable of being worked into a very fine substance, if the method of preparing it were known. -Insects_.--These have already been described. The ground is much infested by the grub-worm, which are very destructive to the growth of vegetables: they are mostly troublesome about the spring. Various methods have been tried to destroy these vermin, but without effect. The caterpillar has also been very troublesome in the spring; having destroyed acres of Indian corn and acres of wheat: they came in upon the grain quite suddenly, and after remaining three weeks, they went away with the same rapidity. -Fish_.--The coasts of the island abound with very fine fish, which are principally the snapper, and weigh from four to eight pounds each. A few fish are at times caught from the shore; this, however, happens but seldom; so that a supply of fish must depend on the weather and the surf permitting boats to go out. In moderate weather, boats might land in Collins's-Bay, on Phillip-Island, where a great quantity of fish might be cured, from March to September; after which time the fly prevents it. -Seasons_.--The spring is very visible in August, but the trees on many parts of the island are in a constant succession of flowering and seeding the whole year round. The summer is very hot: I had no thermometer to determine the degree of heat, but it is excessive. From the 23d of September, 1789, to the 22d of February, 1790, not one drop of rain fell, excepting on two days in December; but it should be remarked, that we had no drought in the former year. All the grain, and the European plants seeded in December. From February to August may be called the rainy season; not that I think there is any regular time of rains during these months, as the weather is sometimes very fine for a fortnight together; but when the rain does fall, it pours in torrents. I do not recollect more than three claps of thunder, or lightning, during the time I remained on the island. The winter, (which may be said to commence in April, and end in July,) is very pleasant; there is never any frost; but when the south-west winds blow, which are very frequent and violent in these months, the air is raw and cold. It is very remarkable, that during some days in December and January, the weather has been much colder than in the winter months. The south-east, and east winds are very parching and dry, as no dew falls when those winds prevail. -Winds_.--During the winter months, the wind is mostly from south to west, blowing with great violence for a week together; afterwards it veers round to the southward and south-east, which brings fine weather for a few days, then it veers to east, north-east, and north-west, blowing in heavy gales, and generally accompanied with violent torrents of rain: after which it shifts to south-west: indeed, I do not remember one instance of the wind coming to the north-east, round by west. The south-east wind blows during the summer with very little variation, and sometimes very strong. -Coasts of the island_.--The coasts of the island are in general steep to, and (excepting Sydney, Anson, Ball, and Cascade Bays,) are inaccessible; being surrounded by steep cliffs, which rise perpendicularly from the sea. A number of large rocks lie scattered about close to the shore, on which a continual surf breaks with great force. SYDNEY-BAY, (which was so named after Lord Viscount Sydney,) lies on the south side of the island, and here the settlement was formed: this bay is formed by Point Hunter and Point Ross, which lie east half north, and west half south of each other, and are about a mile and three-quarters asunder. A reef of clay and coral extends from Point Hunter, at the distance of 150 yards from the shore, and parallel to it, for about three-quarters of a mile: close to the back of this reef, there is four fathoms water; it terminates abreast of the settlement with a corner, round which is the landing place; but, as the surf breaks with great violence on the reef, it sometimes breaks into the passage off the corner, so that landing is then impossible. The landing in this bay, entirely depends on the state of the sea without, and the direction of the wind; great attention should also be paid to the signals from the shore. I have seen the landing, for a month together, as good as could be wished; and sometimes a very heavy surf would continue for a fortnight: on the whole, the best time for landing is from half ebb to half flood, and an easterly, north-east, and north-west wind, generally make smooth water. There is another reef off Point Ross, which stretches about half a mile into the sea; and no vessel ought ever to go within the outer breaker of this reef, and the south point of Nepean-Isle. The tide sets right through between the islands, and when the flood runs to the westward, it sets very strong round Nepean-Island into the bight of Sydney-Bay; therefore all vessels ought to be particularly cautious not to go within Nepean-Island with an inblowing wind: should the wind be from the eastward or westward, vessels might stand very close in; but even this ought not to be done, except for the purpose of taking a boat up, and then the tide must be considered. The passage between Point Hunter and Nepean-Island is a very good one, there being three fathoms water close to Nepean-Isle, and nine fathoms in mid-channel. There lies a rock off Point Hunter in the direction of south-west with one fathom and a half on it, but it is out of the passage. The tide occasions a very strong race between the islands, which makes it very difficult for vessels to have communication with the shore, as they cannot anchor, the bottom being rocky. The ebb runs nine hours to the east, and the flood three hours to the west, but at times, the flood has been observed to run five hours: it flows in this bay at seven hours and an half, full and change, and rises seven feet perpendicular. ANSON-BAY, (which was named after George Anson, the member of parliament for Litchfield,) is a small bay with a sandy beach: the landing here is tolerably good in settled weather, and when the sea is quite smooth; but as the interior parts of the island are so very difficult of access from thence, no ship's boats have ever landed there. BALL-BAY, (which was named after Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball,) goes in about three-quarters of a mile: the beach is formed of large loose stones, which renders beaching boats here dangerous, though it often happens that the landing here is very good when the surf has increased so much in Sydney-Bay as to render landing there impracticable. A good landing place was cleared away here, but in the course of three months the stones were washed into it again, although many of them weighed two hundred pounds each. This bay is surrounded by very steep hills, which renders the access to the settlement from hence rather difficult. CASCADE-BAY.--The south-west winds, which generally prevail during the winter months, make this the best side of the island for landing on at that season. A good landing place may easily be made, where any thing might be landed from half ebb to half flood. It is the intention of the lieutenant-governor to erect a store-house, and make a good landing place; indeed this would have been done before, but the want of hands prevented it. The Golden-Grove and Supply have both lain at anchor in this bay, bringing the great Cascade to bear south-west, at one mile from the shore, in seventeen fathoms coral and sand, but the bottom is foul, as there is great reason to suppose it is all round the island. -Present state of cultivation_.--The proper time for sowing wheat or barley is from May to August: that which is sown in sheltered situations, should be sown in May, June, and July: and that which is sown in places that are exposed to the sea-winds on the south side of the island, should not be sown before July; and if so late as August, it would yield well. The wheat, which has been sown, produced more than twenty fold; and, I think in future, it will yield a still greater increase. We have found a bushel and an half of seed sufficient for an acre of ground newly broke up. Two bushels of barley sown in May on an acre of ground yielded twenty-four bushels. Indian corn should be planted from June until August, in places not much exposed to the sea winds: it yields well, and is in my opinion the best grain to cultivate, on account of the little trouble attending its growth, and the manufacturing it for food. The sugar-cane grows very strong, and I think will come to perfection; although it suffers much from the blighting winds, and the grub-worm. Vines, orange, and lemon trees, are in a very thriving state: the banana trees found growing on the island, will, I make no doubt, thrive very well, when those which have been planted out from the old trees come to perfection; indeed some of them have already yielded good fruit. That useful article of food, the potatoe, thrives amazingly, and two crops a year may be obtained with ease: I have seen 120 potatoes at one root, 80 of which were larger than an hen's egg. Every kind of garden vegetable (which the grub spares,) grows well and comes to great perfection: cabbages weigh from ten to twenty-seven pounds each: melons and pumpkins also grow very fine. I think situations might be found on the island, where cotton and indigo will thrive: of the latter, there are two trees, both which are very large and fine, but the ant destroys the blossom as fast as it flowers. Rice has been sown twice, viz. once each year, but the south-east winds blighted a great part of it: that which escaped the blight, yielded a great increase. The quantity of ground cleared and in cultivation on the 13th of March, 1790, was thirty acres belonging to the crown, and about eighteen acres cleared by free people and convicts, for their gardens. It was my intention to put as many labourers as could be spared from other necessary work, to clear ground for cultivation; and I had reason to believe that I should have had from fifty to seventy acres sown with grain by the end of October: I purposed to continue clearing ground in Arthur's Vale, and on the hill round it, in order to have all the cultivated lands belonging to the public as much connected together as possible; this would have answered much better for the growth of wheat, Indian corn, or barley, than their being sown in confined situations; which experience had shown were not at all productive: the parroquets and other birds would not have destroyed so much of the grain before it was got in, and it might be much better guarded from thieves than if the cultivated grounds were dispersed in different parts of the island: another very material reason for clearing all the ground in this particular situation was, that the barn was situated in the center of the vale. I proposed building a strong log store-house at Cascade-Bay, and making the landing place there more easy of access; which, from the increased number of the inhabitants on the island, was now become absolutely necessary; especially as landing there is much oftener practicable than in Sydney-Bay: indeed, I should have got this business done, but that it would have been a great hindrance to cultivation, which I ever thought was the principal object to attend to. The other buildings which I meant to erect, were barracks for the soldiers, of 54 feet long by 16 feet wide; a granary, 36 feet long by 20 feet wide, and a store-house, 60 feet long by 24 feet wide; all which, I hoped, would have been completed by the ensuing December. Respecting the flax, although we made repeated trials, yet, having no person conversant in the preparation of it, I found it could not at present be brought to an useful state: but I may venture to say, that if proper flax-dressers could be sent to New Zealand, to observe their method of manufacturing it, they might render it a valuable commodity, both to furnish the inhabitants with cloathing, and for other purposes. It was my intention to have built an house and a shed on Phillip-Island, and, after landing three or four months water on it, to have sent six convicts with a boat to catch and cure fish; this would have been a great resource for Norfolk-Island; but the fish must have been cured from April to September, on account of the fly. I apprehend, from the goodness of the soil, that Norfolk-Island is very capable of maintaining at least one hundred families, allowing to each an hundred acres of ground, and reserving two thousand acres for fuel: with industry, they would have in a short time, all the necessaries of life, except cloathing, and that must depend on the flax of the island, or the growth of European flax. The want of a safe harbour for vessels to lie in, is a very great inconvenience, and renders it difficult to have access to the island; indeed, vessels may load and unload, by going to the lee-side, and embracing other favourable opportunities, but unfortunately the vast quantity of coral rocks which cover the bottom, render anchorage very unsafe. However, should the settlement at Port Jackson be continued, in the course of a few years these difficulties will scarcely be thought on, when compared with the advantages arising from the quantity of grain that there is every reason to suppose may be drawn from this island, for the support of the inhabitants of New South-Wales. -General behaviour of the convicts, and other remarks_.--The few convicts that first landed with me, in general behaved well; but, as their numbers increased, they renewed their wicked practices: the most artful and daring thefts were now almost daily committed, and the perpetrators could seldom be discovered; and nothing but the certainty of meeting with a very severe punishment, and the mustering them frequently during the night in their huts could prevent these thefts in any degree whatever: indeed, they were often troublesome, and some of them were incorrigible, notwithstanding every encouragement was held out to them, and the indulgencies they received were fully sufficient to convince them that they would be treated according to their deserts: some few of them were susceptible of the advantages arising from industry and good behaviour; those of this description had the satisfaction of enjoying a quantity of Indian corn, potatoes, and other vegetables, which were a great assistance to them at the time they were put to short allowance of provisions; and some of them had cleared from one to three acres of ground, which they proposed sowing with Indian corn and potatoes: these formed a respectable set of convicts, compared to the greater part, who were idle, miserable wretches. When I first landed on the island, the convicts were kept at day-work, having stated times for their dinners and other meals: this method answered very well whilst there were few to look after; but when their numbers increased, I had not people of confidence to overlook them and keep them at work: I therefore judged it would be more eligible to task them, taking the opinion of those whom I thought most conversant in the different kinds of work that were going forward. The numbers of inhabitants I left on Norfolk Island were as follow: Civil, military, and free 90 Belonging to the Sirius 80 Male convicts 191 Female convicts 100 Children 37 Total 498 The quantities of grain, potatoes, and live stock I left were as follow: Wheat, from 250 to 300 bushels. Barley 6 bushels. Indian corn 130 to 140 bushels. Potatoes, one acre, would be ready to dig in May. Hogs, large and small, belonging to the public, 26, besides 18 hogs, a quantity of poultry, 3 goats, and 1 ewe, my property; and some stock belonging to individuals. Before I take my final leave of this island, (where I remained two years) I cannot help acknowledging the great assistance I have received from the few officers I had with me; nor was this propriety of conduct confined to the officers alone, as all the marines and other free people were steady and regular in their behaviour; and it gives me a sensible satisfaction to remark, that, excepting on one or two occasions, I never had any reason to be dissatisfied with any of the few free persons I had under my command. Exclusive of this general approbation of the good conduct of the free people, I must particularise Mr. Cresswell, the officer of marines; Mr. Stephen Dunavan, midshipman; and Mr. Thomas Jamieson, surgeon's mate, of the Sirius, I feel the greatest satisfaction in saying that a constant, uniform propriety of conduct, and a readiness in forwarding the service, were ever zealously shown by these gentlemen. At noon on the 24th, the Supply made sail, and we arrived at Port Jackson on the 4th of April. When I left Port Jackson in February, 1788, the ground about Sydney-Cove was covered with a thick forest, but on my arrival at this time, I found it cleared to a considerable distance, and some good buildings were erected. The governor, the lieutenant-governor, the judge-advocate, and the greatest part of the civil and military officers were comfortably lodged. The governor's house is built of stone, and has a very good appearance, being seventy feet in front. The lieutenant-governor's house is built of brick, as are also those belonging to the judge and the commissary: the rest of the houses are built with logs and plaistered; and all the roofs are either covered with shingles or thatched. The hospital is a good temporary building: the soldiers were in barracks, and the officers had comfortable huts, with gardens adjoining to them; but unfortunately, these gardens afford but little, as there is not more than two feet of soil over a bed of rocks, and this soil is little better than black sand; and to this inconvenience must be added, the depredations of rats and thieves. At the distance of an hour's walk from Sydney-Cove, the soil is better in some places, and these are occupied by the officers and others, as their farms: there are also brick-kilns and a pottery, both which articles they make very well, but a great inconvenience arises in their not being able to glaze the earthenware. From the little I saw of the soil about Sydney-Cove, I think it is very bad, most of the ground being covered with rocks, or large stones, which are used for building, and when cut, greatly resemble the Portland stone; they are easily worked, and harden very much after being wrought. A little below Sydney-Cove, there is another, called Farm-Cove, at the head of which there are about fifteen acres of ground in cultivation, but the soil is very indifferent. Governor Phillip, it seems, had made several excursions, in order to inform himself more fully about the nature of the soil, and to find out a place more proper for cultivation, than the land about the lower part of the harbour; and, at length, had fixed on a situation at the head of it, about eleven miles from Sydney-Cove. The soil here was found to be much better than at Sydney-Cove, and a number of convicts were sent there in 1789, with a captain's guard, in order to prevent any disputes with the natives, and to preserve regularity amongst the convicts. I accompanied Governor Phillip to this place, which is named Rose-Hill, on the 9th: we left Sydney-Cove at eight in the morning, and arrived at Rose-Hill before noon. About two miles below this settlement, the harbour becomes quite narrow, being not more than ten or twelve yards across, and the banks are about six feet high: here, the country has the appearance of a park. In rowing up this branch, we saw a flock of about thirty kangaroos or paderong, but they were only visible during their leaps, as the very long grass hid them from our view. We landed about half a mile from the settlement, and walked up to it. This settlement is on an elevated ground, which joins to a fine crescent, as regular as if formed by art; it is probable that this crescent, and the regular slopes which surround the settlement, have been formed by very heavy rains. The soil is loam, sand, and clay: the trees are not so large here as lower down the harbour, but the large roots lying on the ground render it difficult to clear. A fine stream of fresh water runs into the head of the harbour, which, in the winter, and when heavy rains fall, sometimes rises seven or eight feet, and becomes a rapid torrent. A redoubt is constructed here, in which are very good barracks for officers and soldiers: there is likewise a store-house. On the opposite side of the brook, there is a farm-house, where a servant of Governor Phillip's resides, who is charged with the superintendence of the convicts and the cultivation of the ground; to which charge he is very equal, and is of the greatest service to the governor, as he has no other free person whatever to overlook any piece of work carrying on by the convicts. Near to this farm-house, there is a very good barn and a granary. The convicts houses form a line at some distance, in front of the barracks, with very good gardens before and behind each house: indeed, the whole, joined to the pleasantness of the situation, makes it a beautiful landscape. In 1789, the quantity of ground sown with wheat here, and at Sydney-Cove, was twenty-two acres; with barley, seventeen acres; flax, Indian corn, and beans, three acres. The quantity of wheat raised was two hundred bushels; of barley, sixty bushels; flax, beans, and other seeds, ten bushels: the wheat is a fine full grain. This year (1790) near one hundred acres will be cleared at Rose-Hill, of which forty are to be sown with wheat. After dinner, I accompanied the governor from Rose-Hill to Prospect-Hill, which is about four miles distant: we walked through a very pleasant tract of country, which, from the distance the trees grew from each other, and the gentle hills and dales, and rising slopes covered with grass, appeared like a vast park. The soil from Rose-hill to Prospect-Hill is nearly alike, being a loam and clay. It is remarkable, that although the distance between these two places is only four miles, yet the natives divide it into eight different districts. Prospect-Hill is a small elevation, which commands a very extensive prospect of the country to the southward: a range of very high mountains bound the view to the westward: these mountains, which lie nearly north and south, are about forty miles from Prospect-Hill; and the intervening country is a thick forest: the northernmost of these mountains is called Richmond-Hill, at the foot of which the Hawkesbury takes its rise from a bed of fresh water coal. A river has been discovered by Captain Tench, of the marines, which runs near the foot of Lansdown-Hills; its direction appears to be north and south, but how far it runs to the southward cannot be ascertained, though there is great reason to suppose it runs a considerable way, as it does not empty itself into Botany-Bay, it therefore appears probable that it may come into the sea about Long-Nose, or Cape St. George, where there is an appearance of a good harbour. There were at this time three of the natives who lived at Port Jackson, viz. a man about twenty-eight years old, a girl about thirteen, and a boy about nine years old. The man was taken by stratagem, by Lieutenant Bradley, who enticed him and another native to the boat by holding up a fish: they were both secured, a number of the natives being at the same time on the shore; these threw a number of spears, and although they are only made of wood, yet one of them went through four folds of the boat's sail, and struck the apron of the boat's stern with such violence as to split it. One of these natives made his escape presently afterwards, but the other grew reconciled to his situation, and lives with the governor: he is a very intelligent man, and much information may, no doubt, be procured from him, when he can be well understood. Mr. Collins, the judge-advocate, is very assiduous in learning the language, in which he has made a great progress. This native has no less than five names, viz. "-Bannelon, Wollewarre, Boinba, Bunde-bunda, Wogé trowey_," but he likes best to be called by the second: he is a stout, well made man, about five feet six inches high, and now that the dirt is washed from his skin, we find his colour is a dark black: he is large featured, and has a flat nose; his hair is the same as the Asiatics, but very coarse and strong: he is very good-natured, being seldom angry at any jokes that may be passed upon him, and he readily imitates all the actions and gestures of every person in the governor's family; he sits at table with the governor, whom he calls "-Beanga_," or Father; and the governor calls him "-Dooroow_," or Son: he is under no restraint, nor is he the least aukward in eating; indeed, considering the state of nature which he has been brought up in, he may be called a polite man, as he performs every action of bowing, drinking healths, returning thanks, etc. with the most scrupulous attention. He is very fond of wine, but cannot bear the smell of spirits, although they have often tried to deceive him, by mixing very weak rum or brandy and water, instead of wine and water; but he would instantly find out the deception, and on these occasions he was angry: his appetite is very good, for he soon began to perceive the difference between a full and a short allowance. He walks about constantly with the governor, who, to make him sensible of the confidence he placed in him, always took off a small sword which he usually wore, and gave it to Wolle-warrè, who put it on, and was not a little pleased at this mark of confidence. His dress is a jacket, made of the coarsest red kersey, and a pair of trowsers; but on Sundays, he is drest in nankeen. The governor's reason for making him wear the thick kersey is, that he may be so sensible of the cold as not to be able to go without cloaths. Wolle-warre has had a wife, who, it seems, died a short time before he was taken: he sometimes mentions this circumstance, and it occasions a momentary gloom; but this his natural gaiety soon dissipates: he sings, when asked, but in general his songs are in a mournful strain, and he keeps time by swinging his arms: whenever asked to dance, he does it with great readiness; his motions at first are very slow, and are regulated by a dismal tune, which grows quicker as the dance advances, till at length he throws himself into the most violent posture, shaking his arms, and striking the ground with great force, which gives him the appearance of madness. It is very probable that this part of the dance is used as a sort of defiance, as all the natives which were seen when we first arrived at Port Jackson, always joined this sort of dance to their vociferations of "-woroo, woroo_," go away. To what I have already said, respecting this man, a few more particulars will be added in the following vocabulary, which Mr. Collins permitted me to copy. The native boy lived with Mr. White, the surgeon, who, with that humanity for which he is distinguished, cured both the boy and girl of a confluent small-pox, which swept off hundreds of the natives in the winter of 1788. This dreadful disorder, which, there is no doubt, is a distemper natural to the country, together with the difficulty of procuring a subsistance, renders the situtation of these poor wretches truly miserable. The girl lived with the chaplain's wife, and both she and the boy were very tractable; but the girl at times would be out of temper, and could not bear to be thwarted. I shall now add a vocabulary of the language, which I procured from Mr. Collins and Governor Phillip; both of whom had been very assiduous in procuring words to compose it; and as all the doubtful words are here rejected, it may be depended upon to be correct*. [* This Vocabulary was much enlarged by Captain Hunter.] Allocy, _To stay_. Annegar, _To ask any thing_. A-ra-goon, _A war shield_. Ar-row-an, _Distant, or far off_. Bòe, _or_ Bo-y, _Dead_. Bourbillie remul, _Buried_. *Bado-burra, _or_ Burra-bado, _To pour water_. [* It should be observed, that in speaking, Wolle-warre frequently changes the position of his words, as in Bado-burra: so when walking one night from Prospect-Hill to Rose-Hill, we frequently stumbled against the roots, and he exclaimed "Wèrè Wadè, and Wadè Werè," bad wood, or bad roots.] Bado-go-bally-vuida, _I am dry, or I want water to drink_. Barong-boruch, _A belly-full_. Boor emil diow, _To put on_. Bo-me, _To breathe_. Bo-gay, _To dive_. Boorana, _Yesterday_. Boora-Carremay, _A fine day_. Beal, _or_ Bidgeree, _Good_. Byalla, _To speak_. Bomar, _A grave_. Bourra, _A cloud, or the clouds_. Bengalle, _Ornaments in general_. Barrong, _The belly_. Booroow, _The testicles_. Boon-abbiey, _To kiss each other_. Berille, _The finger- Bib-be, _The ribs_. Boot Boot, _The heart_. Bur-ra, _A fish-book_. Bur-boga, _To rise_. Bir-ra, _The cheek_. Bin-ning, _The leg_. Bin-yang, _A bird_. Bee-an-bing, _A quail_. Ba-ra-goo-la, _The flood-tide_. Birrang, _The stars_. Be-anga, _A father_. Boon-ya, _To kiss_. Ban-ga-ray, _The red kanguroo_. Bo-ra-ya, _To sing_. Bur-ra-doo, _or_ Moona, _A louse_. Ba-rin, _An apron worn by young females_. Bin-ny, _With young_. Bul-mie, _To clap hands in dancing_. Ba-na-rang, _The blood_. Barbuka, _To get up_. Boming, _A bird called the red-bill_. Bun-ya-dil, _To singe the beard off_. Bolwara, _To stare, or open the eyes_. Bur-ra-nè, _To-morrow_. Baggy, _The skin_. Boo-roo-an, _An island_. Bò-ye, _Death, or a ghost_. Cowull, _The male of animals_. Car-re-nar-e-bille, _To cough_. Cannadinga, _To burn_. Can-no-can, _Any vegetable fit to eat_. Cà-ma, _To call_. Carre-mille-bado, _To soak, or wash in water_. Coing-bibo-la, _The sun-rise_. Coing-burra-go-lah, _The sun-set_. Camurra, _A day_. Chiang, _or_ Chang-ulah, _To chew_. Cot-ban-jow, _Broken_. Cot-bàniè, _or_ Cot-barry, _To cut_. Carra-duin, _A fishing-line_. Canno, _A belly-full_. Caberra, _The head_. Cad-lwar, _or_ Col-liang, _The neck_. Corungun, _A nail_. Carra-mah, _A gut_. Camye, _A spear, or lance_. Ca-la-ra, _A large fish-gig, with four prongs_. Ca-rall, _The black cockatoo_. Ca-ra-ga-rang, _The sea_. Ca-ra-goo-la, _The cbb-tide_. Cow-ee, _To come_. Can-ning, _A cave in the rock_. Can, _A snake, guana, or lizard_. Ca-la-ba-ran, _A large sword, or scymetar_. Ca-ra-goon, _A centipede_. Cud-yal, _Smoak_. Ca-ban, _An egg_. Cal-loo-a, _To climb_. Cur-ra-yura, _The sky_. Cot-ban-la, _It is broke_. Cot-ban, _To break_. Diera, _A bone_. Din, _and_ Din aillon, _Women_. Derra-bangel-dion crelli bow, _To take off, or imitate_. Dyennibbe, _Laughter_. Dère-nignan, _To sneeze_. Didgerry-goor, _I thank you_. Didgerry goor Wogul Banne, _I thank you for a bit_. Die, _Here_. Diàm-o-wau, _Where are you?- Dara, _The teeth_. Diwarra, _The hair_. Da-ma-na Beril, _The hand and fingers_. Duralia, _A hearn_. Doo-roy, _The grass_. Doo-ra, _A musquito_. Doo-ra-gy-a, _To spit_. Door-a-lang, _To prick_. Dir-gally, _To scratch_. Dar-ra-Burra-Boorià, _To pick the teeth_. Dooroow, _A son_. Eo-ra, _Men or People_. Era-mad-ye-winnia, _To snatch_. Eranga, _T'other side of the hill_. Eri, _Full_. Elabi-la-bo, _To make water_. E-roo-ka, _To sweat_. E-li-mang, _A small shield, made of bark_. Gall Gall, _Small-pox_. Gnoowing, _The night- Gna-oong, _The nose ornament_. Gnia-na, _To sigh_. Go-wally, _A shag, or cormorant_. Goomun, _The fir-tree_. Godie-by, _Rotten, or decayed_. Go-roon, _A muscle_. Gorey, _Juice_. Gnia, _I myself!- Ger-rub-ber, _Any thing that gives fire, as a gun, etc_. Gorai, _The ear_. Gor-rook, _The knee_. Gading, _The arm_. Gwo-meil, _Feathers_, Gnal-loa, _To sit_. Go-ril, _A parrot_. Ga-ra-way, _A white cockatoo_. Girra-girra, _A fishing-gull_. Gwarra, _The wind_. Gur-gy, _The fern-root- Gon-yi, _A house or hut_. Goor-ing, _A female child_. Gwee-ang, _Fire_. Gar-ree, _To cough_. Go-mi-ra, _A hole_. Goon-gan, _A barbed spear, for close fighting_. Gur-go, _A meteor, or shooting star_. Gong-ara, _Ornamental scars on the body_. Gweè-rang, _Ornaments made of reeds, and strung round the waist or neck_. Gna-ra, _A knot in a line_. Goora, _To drown_. Gu-na-murra, _A stink, or bad smell_. Gitte-Gittim, _To tickle_. Go-roo-da, _To snore when asleep_. Ilga, _To leap_. Jamel Jamel, _A hawk_. Kalga, _The mouth_. Kamai, _A spear_. Kibba, _A rock_. Ka-ra-ma, _To steal_. Mogo, _A stone hatchet_. Mulla, _A man_. Moola, _Sick, to vomit_. Maugerry, _Fishing_. Murray, _Every thing large_. Murray-nowey, _The Sirius_. Murray-cara-diera, _Swelled wrist_. Mediey, _I do not know_. Maracry, _or_ Mar-ry-ang, _The emu_. Mullin-ow-ule, _To-morrow morning_. Murray-yannadah, _Full moon_. Marroway, _To creep_. Manioo, _To pick up any thing_. Morun-gle, _Thunder_. Moor-rone, _A large fly that bites_. Morungle-birrong mongle, _Struck with thunder and lightning_. Murong, _Sand_. Man-ye-ro, _I do not know_. Mi, _The eye_. Murray-can-na dinga mi, _The effect of the hot burning sun on the eye_. Menoe, _The foot_. Me-noe-wa, _The feet_. Moo-tang, _A small fiz-gig_. Mur-tin, _Milk_. Med-yanq, _A sore_. Ma-gra, _Fish_. Mang-a, _Lightning_. My-ang-a, _A fly_. Mong, _An ant_. Man-a-ro, _The navel_. Moo-tang, _Living_. Me-gal, _Tears_. Ma-na-ran, _The teeth of the kanguroo stuck in the head with gum as an ornament_. Mawn, _A ghost or apparition_. Moono, _The bill of a bird_. Mo-ro, _A path or road_. Min-ney, _To scrape_. Myi-mogro, _To shut the eyes_. Maur, _To take hold_. Narrong, _Any thing small_. Nowey, _A canoe_. Narrong nowey, _The Supply_. Narra-dew, _To hear_. Noone, _Now_. Nogur, _The nose_. Naga, _The liver_. Nar-ra-mee, _A net_. Nan-ga-ra, _To sleep_. Nabanq, _Womens breasts- Nul-la, _The forehead_. Na-ro-wang, _A paddle_. Nang-oon, _A bone or piece of wood thrust through the septum of the nose_. Nam-mel, _A sinker for a fish-line_. Narri-keebu, _Stand on the rock_. Oôna, _The elbow_. Pyalla-pya-bow, _To fight or beat_. Pan-nie-jeminga, _To give one the hand_. Patanga, _An oyster_. Paddewah, _A fish called a flat-head_. Parry-buga, _To-morrow_. Paran-banie-diow, _Eating (the act of)_. Pa-boo-nang, _A black ant_. Parra-berry, _Empty_. Par-rangle, _The throat_. Pan-ne-ra, _The blood_. Pow-book, _An owl_. Pan-na, _Rain_. Pa-ta-ga-rang, _The large grey kanguroo_. Pil-lia, _To laugh_. Pe-mall, _Earth or clay_. Po-cul-bee, _The flag or iris of this country_. Teura, _A musquito_. Teura-dieny, _Musquito bite_. Tag-go-rah-yago, _To shiver_. Taboa-millie, _Painted white_. Tonga-doro, _You must say_. Talling, _or_ Ta-lang, _The tongue_. Tamira, _The hand_. Tarra, _The leg_. Tarong, _The shoulder_. Troo-gad-ya, _A large gull_. Ta-ga-ra, _Cold_. Tingo, _A dog_. Tonga, _To weep_. Tang o-ra, _To dance_. Te-re-nang, _To sneeze_. Ta-ra, _Teeth_. Ter-ra-wan-a, _A magpie_. Ta-lang-a, _To yawn_. Ter-ral, _Feathers used as an ornament for the head_. Taman, _A berry_. Toon, _The tail of a bird, or any animal_. Tan-naing, _Mine_. _(My property.)- Ury-diow, _To sit nearer any one_. Wering, _Female_. Womerraa, _To run_. Womerra-berra, _To jump_. Wèrè, _Bad_. Wadby, _To swim_. Warre-wee, _To stand_. Wanne-bow, _To throw away_. Waltegal, _A large fish_. Woolamie, _A fish called a light-horseman_. Waré, _Where_. Wogan-minnering, _Cutting off_. Womar, _A throwing-stick_. Wea-ja-minga, Wea-jow-inia. Wianga, _Relating to the giving of any thing_. Wal-lu-merun-wea, _Will you have any more?- Walloo-bu-diown, _To turn when walking_. Woroo-woroo! _Go away, or an exclamation of defiance_. Willin, _The lips_. Wallo, _The chin_. Woo-da, _A club_. Wee-de, _To drink or suck_. Wan-aree, _The eyebrow_. Wee-lang, _Lips_. War-ra, _The breast of a man_. Wa-gan, _A crow_. Wir-gan, _A bird called fryar_. Wad-dy, _A stick or tree_. Wong-ara, _A male child_. Wy-anga, _A mother_. Wo-la-ba, _A young kanguroo_. Waregal, _A large dog_. Wy-a-jenuriga, _Give me_. Wur-ra, _A rat_. Wil-bing, _To fly, or the wing of a bird_. Wa-ra-bee, _A cockel_. Worgye, _To whistle_. Wya-bo-in-ya, _Take this_. We-ring, _The female of animals_. Wa, _Where_. Wong-ara jug-ga-me, _A child carried on the shoulder_. Yenu, Yenmow, Yenminia, Yen, _The termination of the verb--to walk_. Yu-ru-gurra, _Hungry_. Yenna, _Gone_. Yennibun, _Walking away_. Yagoona, _To-day_. Yannadah paragi, _New moon_. Yery, _or_ Curna, _To throw_. Yery-dioma, _To fall down_. Ya-ban, _To sing_. Yarre, _or_ Yerring, _A beard_. Yer-ra, _A sword_. Yen-our-yenna, _Go away_. Yo-ra, _A number of people_. Goang-un, _A spear about eight feet long, with four barbs on each side_.--The natives make use of this spear when they advance near their adversary, and the thrust, or rather the stroke, is made at the side, as they raise the spear up, and have a shield in the left-hand. A wound from this spear must be mortal. The only colours we have as yet discovered they have any knowledge of, are--Red, _Morjal_; White, _Taboa_; Black, _Nand_; Green, _Boolga_. The females of each tribe are distinguished by the word "-Leon_," added to the name which distinguishes the chief: it is supposed that the word "-Gal_," signifies -tribe_, and the word preceding it is the word of distinction; probably, it is the place where the tribe resides. The following instances may serve to confirm these suppositions. MEN. WOMEN. Camera-gal Cameragal-leon. Cadi-gal. Cadigal-leon. Won-gal. Wongal-leon. Gwea-gal. Gwea-gal-leon. Boora me di-gal. Booramedigal-leon. Norongera-gal. Norongera-gal-leon. Wallume-de-gal. Wallume-degal-leon. Borogegal-yurrey. Borogegal-leon. Gommerigal-tongara. Gommerigal-leon. We have every reason to believe, that the natives are divided into tribes, and that the persons belonging to each tribe derive their name from the chief. We have heard much of -Camme-ro-gal_, who lives in the interior part of the country, and is a great warrior. Wolare-warrè must have had some severe conflicts with this chief, as he showed several scars which proceeded from wounds that he had received from him. The tribe of Camerra inhabit the north side of Port Jackson. The tribe of Cadi inhabit the south side, extending from the south head to Long-Cove; at which place the district of Wanne, and the tribe of Wangal, commences, extending as far as Par-ra-mata, or Rose-Hill. The tribe of Wallumede inhabit the north shore opposite Warrane, or Sydney-Cove, and are called -Walumetta_. I have already observed, that the space between Rose-Hill and Prospect-Hill is distinguished by eight different names, although the distance is only four miles. Wolare-warrè has given us to understand, that there are apparitions in the country which he calls "-Manè:-" he describes them as coming up with a strange noise, and catching hold of any one by the throat: he made use of many words on this occasion, and pointed up to the sky: he also informed us, that these apparitions singe the beards and the hair: this, he describes as a very painful operation, rubbing his face after every application of the brand. They put their dead, for some time, in a fire, after which they are laid at length in a grave, dug very clean out, the bottom being first very carefully covered with long grass, or fern; the body is then put in, and covered over with long grass, and the grave is then filled with earth, the mould rising above it as in England. No signs of any religion have been observed among them, yet they are not entirely ignorant of a future state, as they say the bones of the dead are in the grave, and the body is in the clouds; or, as those we have had with us may have been misunderstood, they probably mean that the soul is in the clouds: Wolare-warrè once asked the judge-advocate, if the white men went to the clouds also. The sun, moon, and stars, they call -Werè_ (bad): the native girl once went into very violent convulsions on seeing a falling star, and said that every body would be destroyed, although some who were about her observed, that she particularly alluded to the "-Murray nowey_," the Sirius. The Emu, (Maroang) the Patagorang, and the Menagine, (a small animal) are all named "-Goa-long_," which term is supposed to mean an animal, as Wolarewarrè uses it in contradistinction to a bird or a fish: on being asked, if the Emu was a bird, (Binyan) he shook his head, and said, "-Goa-long_." He calls Governor Phillip, _Beanga- (father); and names himself, _Dooroow_ (son): the judge and commissary he calls _Babunna_ (brother). He sings a great deal, and with much variety: the following are some words which were caught--"E eye at wangewah-wandeliah chiango wandego mangenny wakey angoul barre boa lah barrema." He throws the spear ninety yards with great force and exactness. In counting the numerals, he cannot reckon beyond four; viz. One, Wogul, or Ya-ole; Two, Bulla and Yablowxe; Three, Boorooi, or Brewè; Four, Cal-una-long. On laying down a fifth object, he named it with the rest, "-Marry-diolo_." He calls the four principal winds by the following names:--The North, Boo-roo-way; The South, Bain-marree; The West, Bow-wan; The East, Gonie-mah. The natives sing an hymn or song of joy, from day-break until sunrise. They procure fire with infinite labour, by fixing the pointed end of a round piece of stick into a hole made in a flat piece of wood, and twirling it round swiftly betwixt both hands, sliding them at the same time upwards and downwards until the operator is fatigued, when he is relieved by some of his companions, who are all seated in a circle for that purpose, and each takes his turn in the operation until fire is procured: this being the process, it is no wonder that they are never seen without a piece of lighted wood in their hand. Chapter XVI VOYAGE TO BATAVIA AND VOYAGE FROM BATAVIA TO ENGLAND April 1790 to December 1790 -Lieutenant King sails for Batavia.--Meets with a dangerous shoal.--Discovers Tench's-Island.--A description of the inhabitants.--Prince William-Henry's Island described.--Touches at Kercolang.--A description of the inhabitants, their cloathing and utensils.--Passes through the Streights of Salayer.--Arrival at Batavia.--Interview with the governor.--Batavia described.--Situation and extent.--Manners and customs of the inhabitants.--Government and police.--Annual exports.--Departure from Batavia.--Mortality amongst the sailors.--Arrival at the Isle of France.--An account of that island.--Sails from the Isle of France.--Arrival in the English Channel.- Having received the dispatches for his Majesty's principal Secretary of State, and for the Secretary of the Admiralty, from Governor Phillip, together with his order for me to go on board the Supply, and to proced in her to Batavia, and from thence, to make the best of my way to England, with the above dispatches, and Lieutenant Ball having also received his orders, I took my leave of the governor, and at noon on the 17th of April, we set sail; carrying with us the fervent prayers of those we left behind, for our safety. From this time till the 22d, we had variable weather, the wind in general from the south-east. Lieutenant Ball was directed to call at Norfolk-Island, if it did not occasion him too much loss of time; but, as the winds seemed to hang to the eastward, there was every probability of losing at least a fortnight; and, as the Supply did not carry any thing which could be of the least assistance to those on the island, he thought proper to proceed on the voyage, and accordingly bore up in order to go to the westward of the shoal seen by the Golden-Grove, in latitude 29° 25' south, and 159° 59' east longitude: Lieutenant Shortland also saw another shoal, as hath already been mentioned, which may probably be the same, if they exist: this, however, seems to be a matter of doubt, as Lieutenant Ball, in July, 1789, cruized in these and the adjacent latitudes and longitudes for a fortnight, and could not see the least appearance either of an island or shoals; although Mr. Blackburn, the master of the Supply, who was at that time on board the Golden-Grove, is very confident that a shoal was seen in that vessel. We had very heavy gales of wind from east until the 28th, with violent squalls, attended with rain: the air in general thick and hazy, and a high hollow sea running. At one o'clock on the 28th, we perceived a great alteration in the sea, which was become so smooth, that at four o'clock it was, comparatively speaking, smooth water: at half past five, the man who was stationed at the mast-head, saw breakers in the south-east, which were found to be a shoal, bearing from south-east by east to east-south-east, about seven miles distant: it appeared to trend south-south-east and north-north-west; and the north end seemed to break off suddenly in a small bluff. The man at the mast-head had seen this shoal a considerable time before he spoke of it, and, when asked why he did not mention it sooner, he said that he took it for the reflection of the setting-sun; forgetting that the sun, if it had been visible, set to the westward: this circumstance occasioned Lieutenant Ball to name it "-Booby shoal:-" its latitude is 21° 24' south, and the longitude, by the time-keeper, 159° 24' east of Greenwich. Immediately after passing this shoal, we found the same high hollow sea running as we had in the morning. At noon on the 3d of May, our latitude was 12° 13' south, and the longitude, by the time-keeper, 161° 33' east. We were now drawing near the situation in which Lieutenant Shortland had discovered land, and being surrounded by birds, and a number of trees floating about the vessel, we were induced to suppose ourselves not far distant from it. In the evening of the 4th we sounded, but got no ground with 150 fathoms of line. The next morning high land was seen, bearing from north-north-west to west-north-west, seven or eight leagues distant; it seemed to trend about north-north-east, and south-south-west. At noon, the latitude was 11° 7' south, and the longitude 162° 34' east: the northernmost land bore north by west, five leagues distant: it appeared like a small island covered with trees; and in the center of it there is a conspicuous mount, formed by some very high trees: the land to the west-ward, which extends from this island as far as north-west a quarter north, is low, and in clumps like islands. The weather now was very hot and sultry, with dark heavy clouds all round the horizon: we had also a great deal of thunder and lightning, attended with heavy rain. In the afternoon of the 6th, we perceived the northernmost land to be two small islands, which appeared to trend north-north-east and south-south-west; the main land lying a little to the westward of them. The easternmost of these two islands Lieutenant Ball named Sirius's-Island; it is situated in 10° 52' south latitude, and 162° 30' east longitude: the other was named Massey's-Island. We observed by the land, that a very strong current, or tide, set us fast to the northward. It is unfortunate that the changeable state of the wind and weather did not permit us to range this coast, by hauling in with the land, as something might have probably been discovered, without occasioning any loss of time. In the evening we had very heavy squalls, attended with rain, thunder, and lightning. At eight o'clock the next morning, we saw land, which had the appearance of a large high island, lying along the shore: Lieutenant Ball named it Smith's-Island; it is situated in 9° 44' south latitude, and 161° 54' east longitude. On the 8th, at day-light, the land bore from west by south to south by west, seven or eight leagues distant: Smith's Island then bearing south-south-east ten leagues. This land in general is very high, and appears well wooded: there is the appearance of a number of openings, resembling bays or harbours; but our distance from shore was too great to ascertain any observation of that kind. At noon our latitude was 9° 00' south, and the longitude 161° 41' east; and the land trending away to the north-west, it was evident that we had rounded the east part of that island which Lieutenant Shortland coasted on its south side, from the latitude of 10° 44' south longitude 161° 41' east, to 6° 55' south latitude, and 156° 30' east longitude. As Lieutenant Shortland made the land on the opposite side of this island in latitude 10° 44' south, longitude 161° 30' east, and the Supply being this day in latitude 9° 00' south, longitude 161° 41' east; there remains a space between the situation of the two vessels, which, reduced to bearings and distances from these latitudes and longitudes, will give south 6° east; distance 104 miles: now, the Supply was ten leagues off shore, and, admitting the Alexander (Lieutenant Shortland's ship,) to have been four leagues, it will make the breadth of the island 62 miles, and its length and bearings will be south 57° east, and north 57° west, 436 miles. The eastern extremity of this land is an island about 18 miles in circuit, lying at a small distance from the main island: I have before observed that it was named Sirius-Island, between which, and the Queen Charlotte's Islands, there cannot be many leagues, supposing Captain Carteret's longitude to have been right. The north-east coast of this island Lieutenant Ball named "-Ball's Maiden Land_;" and the passage between Sirius and Queen Charlotte's Islands, "-Supply's Passage_." At day-light in the morning of the 9th, land was seen, bearing from south to west, eleven leagues distant; it was very high, and there appeared to be a number of openings in it. Our latitude at noon on the 10th, was 7° 16' south, and the longitude 162° 23' east. We now daily found the vessel set considerably to the northward and westward, and on the 16th she was set 48 miles west-north-west during the 24 hours. A different kind of sea-fowl was seen about the vessel to any we had hitherto met with; it was of the ganet kind; the back, wings, and head being a glossy black, and the breast entirely white. At ten o'clock in the morning of the 19th, we saw an island bearing west by north six or seven leagues distant: the latitude at noon, was 1° 44' south, and the longitude 150° 39' east. With a fine breeze at east-south-east, we steered for the island, as it lay directly in our course, and soon perceived that it was inhabited, as we saw a number of people standing on the south point, and a great many canoes were coming off to meet us; but as the vessel approached them they paddled towards the shore; yet they seemed desirous to have some communication with us, and the vessel being hove to, in a short time they came near us, but no invitation or intreaty could prevail on them to come along-side. At length, two of the canoes, which had seven men in each, and two others, with two men each, came close under the stern, but none of them would venture on board, and it was with great difficulty they were persuaded to come near enough to receive a string of beads which were let down over the stern; after this, they all paddled on shore. During the time these canoes were near the vessel, the beach on the island was covered with natives; and on the south point of the island, a man stood alone, with a long pole in his hand, which had something large at the end of it, and which he seemed to use as a signal to those in the canoes. These canoes appeared to be made out of a large tree, and were well shaped, with a hook made of wood at each end, the use of which we could not possibly guess: the largest of them appeared to be about 28 feet long. Each canoe had a long out-rigger, to prevent them from oversetting. The natives who were in the canoes, were the stoutest and healthiest looking men I ever beheld; their skin was perfectly smooth and free from any disorder: they were quite naked, and of a copper colour; their hair resembled that of the New-Hollanders. Some of their beards reached as low as the navel, and there was an appearance of much art being used in forming them into long ringlets; so that it should seem as if the prevailing fashion on this island was that of keeping the beard well combed, curled, and oiled. Two or three of the men had something like a bead or bone suspended to a string, which was fastened round the neck. The size and very healthy appearance of these people excited our admiration very much; indeed it is wonderful how so small a spot of ground can support the vast number of inhabitants we saw on the island, all of whom appeared equally strong and handsome as those who were in the canoes. The island cannot be more than two miles in circumference: it is low, but entirely covered with trees, many of which are the cocoa-nut; we likewise saw a number of large trees which bore a very fine red blossom, but the red was so very conspicuous, that I am inclined to think the leaves were of that colour. These trees reached to the margin of a very fine sandy beach, which entirely surrounds the island; a great number of canoes were lying on the beach, and, from the number of natives we saw there, besides what were in the canoes, there cannot be less than a thousand inhabitants on the island. Lieutenant Ball named this place _Tench's Island_, after Captain Watkin Tench of the marines: it is situated in 1° 39' south latitude, and 150° 31' east longitude. After lying-to near an hour, and finding we could have no farther intercourse with the natives, without considerable loss of time, we bore up and kept on our course, steering west by north. At sun-set, we saw another island bearing west by north, Tench's Island bearing east half north. The next morning at day-light, the island seen the preceding evening, bore from south by west, to west by south, about three leagues distant; on this, we altered our course, in order to run along the shore. This island is pretty high, and appears to be about 70 miles in circumference, if I may judge from the length of its east side, which I measured by angles. It is well wooded, and there were a number of clear cultivated tracts of ground, on which something was growing that had the appearance of Indian corn, or sugar-cane. As we ran along shore, we could not perceive any place of shelter for a vessel on the east side of the island, but there probably is on some part of it. The island is surrounded by a sandy beach, on which the surf beats with some violence: a number of canoes were lying on the beach, and some parts of the shore were covered with the natives; but none of them attempted to come off, although the vessel was not more than a mile and a half from the shore. We saw several houses amongst the trees, which appeared to be large and well constructed. This island has a luxuriant and picturesque appearance, and there can scarcely be a doubt but it is very fertile and well peopled. The natives were quite naked, and seemed to be the same sort of people we had seen at Tench's Island; and their canoes were apparently of the same construction. At ten o'clock in the forenoon, being abreast of the south-east point of the island, we bore up and made sail, steering west-north-west. Lieutenant Ball requesting me to name this island, I called it _Prince William-Henry Island_, in honour of his Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence. In making this island from the eastward, a very high mount rises in the center of it, which Lieutenant Ball named _Mount Phillip_, in honour of Governor Phillip: it lies west-north-west from Tench's-Island, and is situated in 1° 32' south latitude, and 149° 30' east longitude. At midnight on the 22d, we had a perfect deluge of rain, but it did not continue more than a quarter of an hour. We had now a vast number of tropic birds and ganets round the vessel: the sea was covered with trees of the largest size, which had both roots and branches to them; there were also cocoa-nut trees, sugar-cane, bamboo, and a variety of other drift wood: many of the trees were so large, that we could plainly see them at the distance of two leagues: most of the roots lay to the west-north-west, from which circumstance, and the vessel being considerably to the westward of account by the time-keeper, we were induced to suppose that a strong current set in that direction. We steered west-north-west until the 4th of June, with moderate breezes from the eastward, and pleasant weather: the sea was constantly covered with large entire trees, junks of wood, bamboos, and a variety of other drift wood and rock weed. Our latitude at noon on the 4th, was 4° 33' north, and the longitude, by the time-keeper, 127° 58' east. At day-light the next morning, we saw an island bearing north-west, which is called _Kercolang_ in the charts; finding we could not weather the south end, we bore up to go to the northward of it. At noon, it bore from north 68° west to south 41° west: our latitude was 4° 25' north, and the longitude, by lunar observation, 126° 50' east. Another island, called _Kerolang_ in the charts, bore from north to north 14° east; having a remarkable hummock on the east end of it. At eight o'clock in the morning of the 6th, being close under the east side of Kercolang, we saw a canoe with a matt sail coming towards us: the natives soon came under the stern without any signs of fear. There were twelve Malays in this canoe, who were all cloathed: the outriggers of the canoe, which were long and slight, would not permit them to come alongside, but a jacket and a hatchet being given them, and signs made for them to go on shore and bring something to eat, they left the vessel and went towards the shore, where we followed them. Before they landed, a still larger canoe, with fifteen Malays in it, went to the canoe which had left us; and as we were not more than two miles from the shore, Lieutenant Ball and myself went in the jolly-boat and joined the two canoes; on this, two of the Malays jumped out of the canoes into our boat, and went immediately to the oars: such a step could not be misunderstood, it was saying, "we put ourselves entirely in your power without any precaution." When we came near the beach, observing the surf to break on it, we made signs for the canoes to go on shore, and bring us some cocoa-nuts and plantains, as we saw vast quantities on the trees. They were very desirous for our boat to land; but that not being agreed to, they left a native in the jolly-boat, and one of our men went on shore in the canoe: he soon returned with several canoes which were laden with cocoa-nuts, yams, plantains, sweet potatoes, rice, a little flour, and several other articles, all which we purchased for axes and other barter: soon afterwards we returned on board, and were followed by upwards of an hundred canoes. At noon, a breeze springing up from the northward, we made sail, and many of the canoes followed us to a considerable distance. The latitude of the north end of Kercolang is 4° 28', and the longitude of the center 126° 31' east. This island is between eighty and one hundred miles in circumference, and is in general of a very good height: the face of the country seems to be steep hills and extensive vallies, and every part of it was covered with trees and verdure: there were also some cultivated grounds which had a very pleasant appearance. These Malays wore no erid or cress, nor did we see any offensive weapons amongst them, excepting two which were on the beach, who had something like halberts in their hands, but whether they were of iron or wood we could not discern. The houses stood on posts; they appeared to be well built, and neatly thatched. Their canoes were also neatly made, being hollowed out of trees, with bamboo outriggers on each side to prevent them from oversetting; a piece of wood is left at the stern, which projects like a proa, to break the water before it comes to the bow: each canoe has a mast, on which they hoist a square piece of matt as a sail. Their fishing-hooks and lines are mostly European, and it is possible that there is a Dutch resident on the island, as we saw a small Dutch flag placed before a house to the northward of the place where we went with the boat; though it is natural to suppose, that if any European had been there, he would have come to the boat, or that the natives would have made us understand there was one on the island. The cloathing these people in general wore, was made of a coarse kind of callico, though some of them wore silk, and most of them had something resembling a turban round their heads; a few, indeed, wore a Chinese pointed hat. There can be no doubt but the Dutch supply these people with cloathing and other necessaries, which, of course, must be for some production of the island. I showed one of the natives some cloves, and he gave me to understand that they had the same. I do not think the Dutch send very often to this island, from the extreme avidity the natives showed in purchasing our hatchets and cloathing: they are mild, and apparently a quiet people, and the confidence they placed in us was sufficient to prove that strangers were not unwelcome guests among them. From the 6th to the 10th, we had fresh gales of wind at west, with very heavy squalls and much rain, which often obliged us to clew all up. During the last four days we only got eight leagues on our course, and there being every appearance of a continuation of westerly winds, (this being the south-west monsoon in the China seas) with heavy squalls, or rather tornados of wind and rain, which endangered the masts: on the 10th, Lieutenant Ball relinquished the purpose of going through the streights of -Macasser_, and adopted that of making the passage between -Celebes_ and _Gilolo_, through the _Moluccas_ and the streights of _Salayer_; accordingly, at six in the morning, we bore up for the south point of _Lirog_, which lay south-east by east twelve or fourteen leagues distant. At day-light on the 12th, we saw the island of _Morotia_, which bore from south 31° east, to south 4° east. At noon, we were in 2° 36' south latitude, and 127° 51' east longitude: in a chart of Hamilton Moore's, there is an island without a name laid down exactly in that situation; but, as the weather was very clear, and no such land could be seen, the existence of it is very doubtful. The weather was now extremely pleasant, with light winds from south by west to south-east. At noon on the 14th, Gilolo bore from south by west half west, to east by north: there is a chain of small islands laying the whole length of these bearings about two leagues from Gilolo; between which and that island, there appears to be good shelter. On the 16th, we were directly opposite three remarkable conical hills; they are very high; the southernmost lies in 1° 30' north latitude, and 127° 5' east longitude. The land near this situation is high and well wooded, with some cultivated spots: the shore appears bold to. At midnight, we had a perfect deluge of rain, attended with loud thunder and very fierce lightning, which lasted two hours; after which, the weather became serene and pleasant. The next morning, the island of _Ternate_ bore south-south-east, and a little to the northward of it there appears to be a large and safe harbour, on the island of Gilolo, which now bore east by south five or six leagues distant. Ternate rises in a high conical mount; its latitude is 00° 50' north, and the longitude 127° 4' east. A very pleasant little island lies about two miles to the north-north west of Ternate, which, in the charts, is called _Heri_; it is pretty high, and not more than two miles in circumference. The cultivated spots on this island, contrasted with the brown shade of the trees, and the interspersed situation of the houses, give this little spot a most picturesque appearance: it appeared, as well as Ternate, to be in a perfect state of cultivation; and from the number of houses we saw, they must both be well inhabited. The latitude, at noon, was 1° 2' north, and the longitude 126° 49' west: Heri then bore south-east by east; the peak of Ternate, south-east half south; the south point of Tidere, south by east, and Makian, south-south-east. All these islands are very high; they rise in peaks, and are well cultivated. We saw a vast number of fires on Ternate, which probably were lighted for a signal. Besides the island of Makian, which is not more than two miles in circumference, there are a number of other small islots, which form a considerable group, and they were all cultivated. A number of boats were passing from one islot to another, with some Europeans in them. The weather was excessive hot and sultry; the thermometer, when in the open air and shade, being 91°. On the 19th, we perceived a great ripling on the water, which appeared to be a strong current, and we afterwards found it had set the vessel considerably to the westward. At noon, the north-west point of _Manere_ or _Batachina_ bore east-north-east nine leagues distant; its latitude is 0° 16' south, and the longitude 126° 41' east. At noon on the 20th, an island a head, which we took to be _Pulo Oubi_, bore east half south about twelve leagues distant, and _Stemo Sulla_, south-south-west thirteen leagues: the latitude was 1° 17' south, and the longitude 126° 22' east. Hitherto, we had found the currents set us to the westward; but in the morning of the 21st, a strong ripling of a current set the vessel considerably to the east-south-east, which may easily be accounted for: the passage between New Guinea and Aigeu was quite open, and bore from us south-east, and I think that the current we now felt is an out-set; and as we had experienced a southerly current ever since we made the island of Morotia, it may be presumed that there is an indraught between the Celebes and Gilolo; and an out-set between Gilolo, New Guinea, and Aigeu, which is called "-Pitt's Passage_." In the afternoon, the boat was hoisted out in order to try the current, when it was found to set east by south, at the rate of a mile and an half an hour; however, the current among these islands is by no means certain, as we found, on the 22d, a strong current or tide setting to the north-west. A great number of very large whales were seen, which moved exceeding slow, and came very near the vessel. At noon, the center of _Burro_ bore south, and the south point of _Sulla Bessi_, north 76° west. Burro is a very high island, and may be seen at the distance of twenty leagues with great ease. As the following latitudes and longitudes were taken with great exactness, they perhaps may not be unacceptable. South latitude. East longitude. ° ' ° ' East point of Burro 3 7 126 38 West point of ditto 3 4 125 41 North-east point of Sulla Mangol 2 0 126 3 South point of Sulla Bessi 2 29 125 57 In the afternoon of the 23d, being clear of the south point of Burro, we found a strong south-east trade, with which we steered south-south-west. We passed a great quantity of drift wood, and some very large trees with both roots and branches to them, some of which were so large as to be taken for vessels. In the morning of the 25th, we saw two small islands bearing south-east about six miles distant; we imagined them to be the northernmost of the small islands, called _Touchaeilly_, in the charts: soon afterwards, we saw land bearing south-west, which we took to be _Bouton_, but we soon perceived it to be three islands lying nearly north and south. At this time, our longitude, by the time-keeper, was 123° 39' east, and the latitude, by two altitudes, was 5° 36' south. Concluding the islands we saw in the morning were those of St. Matthew's, and the others _Touchaeilly_, we bore up in order to run between the northernmost and middle of three islands in sight. In our run from Burro to St. Matthew's Island, we found a strong current setting to the south-east. St. Matthew's Islands are situated in 5° 23' south latitude, and 123° 51' east longitude. With a moderate breeze from the south-east, we steered west-south-west between the Toucaheilly Islands; and at noon on the 26th, we passed a sandy key, which had a tuft of green bushes on its north end, and its south end runs off in a long spit for three or four miles, on which the sea breaks very high. These islands are covered with wood, and well cultivated. At four o'clock in the afternoon we hove to, and soon afterwards a small proa came alongside loaded with cocoa-nuts, which we purchased. The people in this canoe gave us to understand, that the island on our starboard hand was called -Combado_, and that on the larboard _Toucambaso_. At half past four, we made sail, and soon afterwards, a man, who was stationed at the mast-head, said he saw a shoal a-head of the vessel; on this we looked out, and saw a reef about six miles distant, extending from the west-north-west as far as the eye could reach in a south-east direction: on this, we hauled the wind and lay under Combado during the night. The next morning, we made sail and steered west-north-west, looking out for the shoal and running along its eastern side about four miles distant. This reef is very large, and its eastern side is bound with rugged rocks, and when the water is smooth there is no breaker on it. At four in the afternoon, we rounded the shoal at two miles distance, and steered for the south end of _Bouton_, which we passed early the next morning, and soon afterwards passed the streights, steering west half north. When you are to the eastward of Camborra, the entrance of the streights of Bouton may be known by three small islands which lie off the east point that forms the streights, one of which is large, and the other two are small: off the large one lie several rocks, but at no great distance. The only chart we had on board, which took any notice of these islands and the shoal, was one of Hamilton Moore's, which we found tolerably correct, except in some instances where the islands are misplaced, as _St. Matthew's Islands, Toucambessis_, the south end of _Bouton_ and _Kercolang_, with some other trifling differences; however, upon the whole, it may be called a good chart. At day-light, the island of Salayer bore from south 40° west to north 80° east, and the entrance of the streights north 70° west. On entering the streights, we found a very strong ripling of the sea, which we were apprehensive were overfalls; but we found it was a strong current setting to the westward. At noon, being through the streights, we hauled up west by south. The best passage through these streights is between the two small islands, the southernmost of which lies close to -Salayer_. The island of Salayer appears to be well inhabited, and cultivated to advantage, as each piece of ground was fenced in, and the houses appeared to be very good ones. The course from the streights of _Salayer_ to -Cambona_ is east by south eighty-four miles: they lie west by north half north, and east by south half south, about five miles through: the entrance to the westward is in 5° 45' south latitude, and 120° 3' east longitude. This latitude was determined by a good meridional altitude, and the longitude by the time-keeper and lunar observations, so that there is a very considerable mistake in Hamilton Moore's chart respecting the position of these streights. At three in the afternoon, a man, who was stationed at the mast-head, said he saw a great ripling, and on looking over the side, the bottom was distinctly seen; on this, we hauled off to the southward, and hove the lead, but got no ground, and the vessel going very fast, we immediately lost sight of the bottom, and soon afterwards steered west by south. At the time we were on this bank, the south end of Salayer bore south-south-east, and the north end, east. In my opinion, ships going through the streights of Salayer from the westward, should bring the north point of _Salayer- to bear east, or east half north, with which course there could be no risk from that bank. We now steered west by south, and having run sixty-six miles in that direction from the streights of Salayer, on the morning of the 29th, we saw some high land on the Celebes, bearing north-east nine leagues distant; this must be the land between the south-west point of Celebes, and the islands called, by Captain Carteret, _Tonakiky_; so that the end of Celebes from the streights of Salayer to the south-west point cannot be more than twenty leagues, as Mr. Dalrymple has already observed in a small pamphlet. Lieutenant Ball directed the vessel to be kept north-north-west, in order to make the land plainer; but the charts we had on board differed so much in the position and extent of the land, and some time might perhaps be lost in looking for Tonakiky, to take a departure from, Mr. Ball determined on bearing up and running in that parallel of latitude which was likeliest to keep the vessel clear of danger, viz. 5° 45' or 5° 50' south. At noon, the observed latitude was 5° 48' south, and the longitude 118° 44' east. At half past two in the afternoon, having steered west twelve miles since noon, we saw what we took for _Tonyn-'s Islands, or -Sarras_, bearing north. Hamilton Moore's chart places the south end of this shoal in 5° 58' south, but it cannot be farther than 5° 40' south at most, as we were now in latitude 5° 48', and the island could only be seen from the mast-head, bearing north: the longitude of the south end of these islands and shoal (if there be any) is 118° 11' east. On the 30th, at ten in the forenoon, we saw the great -Solombo_ bearing north by west half west two leagues distant. On sounding, we struck the ground with 32 fathoms, over an oozy bottom. The next morning, the island of _Lubeck- bore from south 14° west to south 55° west, five leagues distant. This island is considerably misplaced in the charts. A very good altitude was got at eight in the morning, for the time-keeper, and a very good meridional altitude was also taken for the latitude; which, with the bearings of Lubeck in the morning and at noon, places it in 5° 50' south latitude, and 112° 22' east longitude. On the 3d, at three o'clock in the afternoon, the isles of -Cariman Java_ were seen, bearing south 79° west. During the night, the weather was very squally, attended with much thunder and lightning. The latitude of Cariman Java is 5° 56' south, and the longitude 110° 12' east. At half past three o'clock in the morning of the 5th, we saw a small island bearing west half south, not more than a mile and a half from the vessel; on this we hauled our wind to the southward, and tacked occasionally until day-light. We sounded with twenty-six fathoms, over a bottom of blue mud. This island is called in the charts _Pulo Packit:_ it is very low and covered with trees. There are two islands laid down in Dunn's and Moore's charts, but we only saw one island, and a rocky reef: this island is laid down in Dunn's chart in 6° 18° south, but its real latitude is 5° 50' south: this mistake had very near proved fatal to the Supply, but it being a moon-light night, the danger was discovered, though at the distance of two miles only. Ships bound to the westward, or to Batavia from Carimon Java, should steer west half north, or west by north, to avoid the shoal to the northward of Pulo Packit. In the afternoon, seeing a brig at anchor under the land, we bore up in order to speak her, and in standing in, had regular soundings to seven fathoms. I went with Mr. Ball on board the brig, where we learned that the point of _Pamonakan_ bore south-south-west from us; on this, we returned on board the Supply and made sail, and in the afternoon of the 6th, we anchored in Batavia Road. Upwards of thirty Dutch ships were lying there, besides a number of snows and Chinese junks. The next morning, I waited on the general, at the request of Lieutenant Ball, and settled the salute, which took place at five in the evening, when the Supply saluted the fort with nine guns, which were returned by an equal number. On the 8th, Lieutenant Ball waited on the general, accompanied by the Shebander and myself. As the general could not speak any other language than Dutch, and the Shebander could not speak sufficient English to explain himself, I was obliged to interpret between Lieutenant Ball and the latter; and I beg here to remark, that during this conversation, which was in the general's office, we were not asked to sit down; indeed, had the general been polite enough to have made the offer, there was not a second chair in the room; so unusual a thing is it to be seated in the general's presence, when talking to him on business. After Lieutenant Ball had signified his business, and the service he was sent on, a number of frivolous enquiries were made respecting the setlement at New South Wales, and much astonishment was expressed, that we came from that country and could not tell _what became of the Bounty, Lieutenant Bligh's Ship_. No other answer could be got, than that the council were to be requested to permit Lieutenant Ball to purchase whatever he wanted, and to hire a vessel to carry what he might want to Port Jackson: this being settled we took our leave. The Shebander drew up a request, which Lieutenant Ball signed, and the next day it was presented to the council, (at which the director-general presided, on account of the general's indisposition) when every thing was granted; but they refused to interfere in taking up a vessel, or in purchasing provisions, saying, that those matters were to be managed by Lieutenant Ball. As every vessel here either belonged to the company, or were too flimsy to go on such a voyage, it was for a short time doubtful whether one could be procured: at length, the Shebander hearing that a snow of 250 tons or upwards lay at a port called -Samarre_, on the east side of Java, he offered her to Lieutenant Ball; saying that he would purchase her and fit her out completely, if Mr. Ball would contract with him to pay eighty rix-dollars a ton for the voyage; the Shebander to take all risques upon himself, with respect to the loss of the vessel. As the necessity for a supply of provisions was very great, and as there was no other vessel to be procured, Lieutenant Ball was obliged to make the agreement, and the snow was sent for. Provisions were easily purchased, and at a cheap rate: very excellent beef and pork at six-pence per pound. Of flour, there was little to be procured, as all the people here eat rice, Europeans as well as natives. Batavia has been so very well and so fully described in Captain Cook's first voyage, that any attempt of mine to describe this vast and splendid settlement may be deemed superfluous; however, as these pages may probably fall into the hands of some who have read no other account, I shall subjoin what few remarks occurred to me during my stay there. According to the best accounts I could obtain, the city and its environs cover a space of eight square miles: it is situated about half a mile from the sea-shore, and has communication with it by a canal, which will admit vessels of eight feet draught of water. The city stands on a flat, which extends forty leagues to the foot of the nearest mountains. Two large rivers, which are divided into a number of canals, run through all the principal streets of the city, and on both sides of the different roads: these canals are navigable for large boats; they are planted with trees on each side, which are kept cut in the form of a fan. The streets are all drawn at right angles, and are in general wide, with very good pavements; along the sides of which a double row of trees are planted, which greatly prevents the circulation of air, and tends very much to increase the natural unhealthiness of the place. Within the past four years, most of the canals which contained putrid water have been filled up, and great attention is now paid to removing dirt and other nuisances. All the houses are well built; indeed, some of them are magnificent buildings, and are finished with elegant neatness; which, added to the great cleanliness observed by the inhabitants, renders them very agreeable retreats from the intense heat which is constant here. No European can do without a carriage, the paint of which, and his other equipage, denote the rank of the owner; to whom the necessary respect must be paid by people of an inferior rank; for a noncompliance with this custom, a fine is levied by the Fiscal. The town is but indifferently defended, as the fortifications are irregular and extensive, and the walls (which are painted) are very low: it is surrounded with a deep and wide canal, but the best defence of this settlement is its extreme unhealthiness. The citadel, or castle, stands on the right of the city: in it are deposited a vast quantity of cannon and other munitions of war: the governor-general, and the rest of the company's servants, have apartments in it, and here the governor and council meet twice a week, to transact public business. The police of this city is strictly attended to, and is calculated to preserve great order and regularity; but it is attended with some mortifying and degrading circumstances, which Europeans find great difficulty and repugnance in complying with; however, the inhabitants and the company's servants must observe its rules with a scrupulous attention, not only to avoid paying the fines, but also to avoid the resentment of those who have it entirely in their power to advance or retard their promotion. The suburbs are inhabited by the Chinese and Portuguese: the houses of the former are very numerous, but they are low and dirty. The number of Chinese resident in and about Batavia in 1788, was 200,000: it is these people who are the support of this important settlement; and if they were obliged to abandon it by any impolitic measure, it would soon lose its splendor. The Chinese carry on every trade and occupation; the better sort are very rich, but they are subject to great exactions from the company, or their servants. They are suffered to farm the duties of exportation and importation, for which they pay the company 12,000 rix-dollars in silver money per month. All goods belonging to the company are exempt from duties, but those of every other person pay eight per cent. About three quarters of a mile from the city is the Chinese burying-ground, consisting of fifteen or twenty acres: for the annual rent of this ground they pay 10,000 rix-dollars, and, at the end of every ten years, they repurchase it for a very great sum, which in general is regulated by the governor and council. A person of consequence assured me, that the Chinese pay a tax of 20,000 rix-dollars a year, for the privilege of wearing their hair queued; and, besides what I have already mentioned, these industrious people are subject to many more exactions. The Chinese are subject to a set of officers (appointed by the governor and council) who are Chinese, and are previously chosen by that people: they are called captains and lieutenants, and hear all complaints, and their sentence is decisive; but cases of property, above a certain sum, and all felonies, are taken cognizance of by the fiscal and court of justices. The police established among them is so very good, that, except in cases of property, the fiscal or justices are seldom troubled with a Chinese criminal. They trade to every part of India, and the number of large junks which arrive annually from China, is between thirty and forty. It is remarkable that the Chinese are the only strangers which are not affected by the unhealthiness of this place: indeed, much may be said in favour of their temperance and regular manner of living, although one would imagine that the close manner in which a number of them live together could not fail to produce diseases, but it certainly does not. The roads, or rather handsome avenues, which lead from the different gates of the city, are lined with buildings, where nature and art have been exhausted to render them elegant and commodious beyond description: each house has a large garden, in which a degree of elegance and convenience is observable, equal to what there is in the magnificent piles which they surround. These houses are inhabited by the principal people of Batavia, where they pass most of their time, and those amongst them who have no inducement to return to Europe, and who enjoy their health, may spend their days very comfortably here. The government of this island, and indeed of all the Dutch possessions in India, is lodged in the governor-general, who is assisted by a number of counsellors, called "counsellors of India," or "-edele heerens:-" twelve of these counsellors must reside at Batavia, but the number is not fixed; at this time, there is one who governs at each of the following places, viz. Cochin, Ceylon, Macasser, and at the Emperor's court at -Jamarre_, or Java, where, I am told, 400 European cavalry are kept, to _do honour_ to the emperor. The council meet every Tuesday and Friday in the council-room at the castle; the general presides, but, if prevented by ill health or any other circumstance, the director-general supplies his place, who, as well as the edele heerens, are received into the castle, and conducted to the council-room with great pomp and ceremony. Every thing relating to the civil and military government, commerce, and every other concern of the company, is transacted by this council, but the governor-general has a plenary power to put into execution any measure he may judge necessary for the good of the company. The present governor-general, whose name is William Arnold Alting, has been resident upwards of thirty years at Batavia, eleven of which he has been governor-general: I am told his private character is very amiable and respectable, but how any man possessed of common feelings, can suffer such humiliations from those around him, I cannot conceive. When any person approaches the general to speak to him, his behaviour and address must be the most abject imaginable, and the respect and profound submission which every servant of the company, and every inhabitant must necessarily assume on these occasions, are little short of the adoration paid to the Divinity: this homage is carried to so great a height, that when the general enters the church, although the congregation may be at prayers, yet every person is obliged to get up and face him until he is seated in his pew, bowing as he passes. The deference paid to the several ranks, is not confined to carriages, but extends to the cloathing of individuals, as no person under the rank of an _edele heeren_ is permitted to wear velvet: there are a number of other distinctions in dress equally ridiculous, but they seem to be wearing away: a few years ago, the women were strictly forbid wearing any European dress, and ordered to conform to the Malay custom. At the time I was at Batavia, there were only five European women on the island of Java, the rest being born of Malay or Creole mothers; and it is really distressing to see how much they affect the manners of their Malay slaves in chewing beetle, and other actions equally disagreeable. Their dress is a loose white or flowered muslin robe, which is open and large, reaching to the wrists and neck: but if the adjustment of their garments does not take up much time at the toilet, the arranging of their hair makes sufficient amends for it: they have in general very thick long black hair, which is gathered into a knot on the back part of the head, and is so nicely combed that not a single hair is out of its place; round this a wreath of diamonds is fixed, which is more or less valuable, according to the circumstances of the wearer. In the evenings, a large wreath of jessamine is also put round the hair, which gives a very agreeable perfume. Not more than two women in Batavia could speak any other language than Dutch or Malay, the former of which they understand very imperfectly, always preferring Malay. The office of shebander is a principal one in this place, and is a situation of much profit; no stranger can transact the least business without his permission; the exports and imports are entirely regulated by him; every boat which goes into the road pays him a certain sum; he also regulates and comptrols the Chinese in the receipt of duties: this post is very laborious, but is also very lucrative. Nineteen thousand pekul* of tin are brought every year from -Palambam_, or Sumatra, to the company's stores on -Onrust_, which is sent in their ships to China. The company send annually from hence to Europe 20,000 pekul of pepper, for which they pay on an average two stivers and an half per pound, and sell it in Europe for fourteen stivers per pound: they also export annually 200,000 pekul of coffee, at two stivers and an half per pound, which is sold in Holland at ten stivers per pound. [* A pekul is equal to 130 pounds.] Onrust is a very small island, about a quarter of a mile in circumference, and situated about two leagues and an half from Batavia: here the company's ships refit and heave down, there being very good wharfs for that purpose, at which five ships may heave down at one time; there are also large machines for dismasting vessels. Small as this island is, there are generally from five to six hundred people on it; of which number, one hundred are European carpenters, but, excepting a few officers and a few other Europeans, the rest are slaves. The _baas_, or master carpenter, is the commandant of the island: an under merchant is also resident here, to receive and take care of the tin, pepper, and coffee, which is brought into the company's stores here, from Sumatra and different parts of Borneo and Java. Onrust is surrounded by guns, and there is a kind of citadel on it; but as no troops are kept there, in the war, the carpenters were trained to the use of great guns. It is supposed that Onrust is more healthy than Batavia, and it may be so; but when I say that twenty men are constantly employed in making coffins for those who die on this island, it cannot be supposed to have a very healthy scite. During my stay at Batavia, I lived at the hotel, which was the governor-general's house at the time Captain Cooke was here: it is a large and spacious building, divided into two parts, one of which is occupied by strangers, and the other by Dutch. Every person, who is a stranger, is obliged to live at this hotel: the terms are three rix-dollars a day, for which you have good lodging, and a well furnished table is provided. Gratitude induces me to say, that I received the greatest attention and civility from many of the first people at Batavia, who, not content with showing me every politeness in their power during my stay there, extended their good offices to me after my departure. On the 21st of July, the _Snelheid_, a packet of 140 tons, belonging to the company, arrived at Onrust, and I made application to the governor and council for a passage to Europe in that vessel: on this, the captain of the packet was ordered to receive me, for which I paid 190 rix-dollars into the company's chest. The order to the captain specified, that in consideration of that sum being paid, I was to have a passage to Europe in the Snelheid, and to be accommodated and victualled as a sailor: I therefore found myself necessitated to make a further agreement with the captain for the use of half of his cabin, (Mr. Andrew Millar, late commissary of stores and provisions at Port Jackson having the other half) for which I was to pay him 300 rix-dollars, and my proportion of what provisions were laid in by him, above what the company allowed. Being informed that the packet would be dispatched in a few days, I went to Onrust on the 31st, in order to be in readiness. Lieutenant Ball expected to sail for Port Jackson on the 8th of August, and the snow which he had taken up was to be dispatched on the 24th. The captain of the packet having received his final orders, we sailed from Onrust on the 4th of August; and in the evening of the 5th, were clear of the streights of Sunda. It was now that the pestiferous air of Batavia began to show itself; for the vessel had not been five days at sea before six men were taken ill with the putrid fever; and very soon afterwards, the captain, his two mates, and all the sailors, except four, were incapable of getting out of their beds; and what aggravated the horror of this situation was, that the surgeon, who indeed knew very little of his profession, was so ill that he could not even help himself. In this dilemma, I found it absolutely necessary to use every means for self-preservation; and having obtained the consent of the captain (who was not yet delirious) and the chief mate, I spoke to the only four men who were well, and represented to them, that going below would subject them to the infection; I assured them that I would never go below myself, except on extraordinary occasions, when I should use every precaution against the infection; and I further observed, that the preservation of our lives and the vessel, with the recovery of those who were sick, depended on their conforming to my orders; and that I hoped, with God's assistance, not only to preserve them in health, but to get the vessel into a port. They promised me implicit obedience, and I began to make a tent on the after part of the quarter deck, for us to lie under. I had great difficulty to make them relinquish the drams of new arrack, of which they got ten a day; but this was effected, and in lieu of it, I gave to each man three large wine glasses of port wine, with two tea-spoons full of bark in each glass: fortunately, I had a small supply of those articles, as there were not any medicines on board. Three of the sick men soon died of the putrid fever, their faces being covered with purple spots: I ordered them to be lashed up in their hammocks, and hove overboard with their cloaths, making those who performed that office, wash themselves very freely with vinegar, and fill their noses with tobacco. The captain was now delirious, as were most of those who were sick. On the 12th, I obtained the captain and chief mate's consent to bear up for the Isle of France, when we should get into the latitude of it. The chief mate's complaint terminating in an intermitting fever, I prevailed on him to lie under the tent; and by a plentiful administration of bark and port wine, he became able to keep a day watch. On the 14th, my friend and companion Mr. Millar was taken ill, and the captain and most of the sailors were dying, not having had any medicine administered to them during their illness: three or four among them, of a strong constitution, were in a state of raving madness, uttering dreadful imprecations against the doctor, so that I was obliged to order them to be lashed in their hammocks, and they died a few days afterwards. Being in 18° 46' south latitude, and 80° 59' east longitude, after some persuasion, the chief mate consented to bear up for the Isle of France; it may, indeed, be thought strange that he should hesitate one moment in our present distressing situation: however, going to the Isle of France did not destroy the hopes he had formed, when he objected to bearing up. Between the 12th and the 27th, five men died; and on the 28th, Mr. Millar departed this life: the whole were carried off by a most malignant putrid fever. On the 29th, we made the Island of Mauritius, and anchored the same day at the entrance of the north-west harbour. The captain and three sailors died as we were carrying them on shore. Most providentially, we had a succession of the finest weather and the fairest winds we could have wished, from the time we left the streights of Sunda until our arrival at the Isle of France; and another great consolation was, that the vessel was perfectly tight. From the direction of the wind being at south-east, all vessels going to the north-west harbour, must luff close round the gunner's quoin, and haul over for the island, taking care to avoid the reefs with which the shore is lined, and on which the surf breaks with great violence. A continuation of forts and batteries extend from the harbour's mouth as far as it is possible for any vessel to fetch; though, independent of these forts, landing here must be attended with much danger, from the constant surf which breaks on the reefs already mentioned; and as the wind always blows out of the harbour, every vessel is obliged to warp in. No vessel ought to touch at this island during the hurricane months*, as the harbour cannot afford shelter for more than six or eight vessels. In 1788, six large ships were wrecked in this harbour. [* October, November, and December.] At this time there were lying in the harbour, _La Thetis_, of 38 guns, commanded by Compte M'Namarra, Chef de Division; _La Nymphe_, 38 guns, Le Compte de Forineaux, Chef de Division; _La Medusa_, 38 guns, Le Compte de Rossilly; three American vessels, and a great number of French merchant ships. The revolution of this island, which had taken place about three weeks before our arrival, was attended with great excesses by the people, who carried Le Compte M'Namarra to the gallows, where he was near being executed. The governor, _Le Compte de Conway_, had resigned his government to a Monsieur _De Caussigny_, commandant of Bourbon, who arrived here only three days before us. Monsieur de Conway waited the equipment of La Nymphe frigate, in which ship he proposed returning to France. The town of Port Louis is large, and covers a deal of ground, but the houses are in general paltry buildings. Here are large stores, and every thing necessary for the equipment of fleets. The number of inhabitants on the island, exclusive of the military, is about 8000; and blacks, 12,000. Fresh provisions, especially butchers meat, are very scarce here; what there is costs 20 sous per pound; but turtle is procured from _St. Branden_, and sold at a much cheaper rate. The general object of cultivation on this island is the indico, of which from four to five crops a year are procured: one person sent to Europe 30,000 lb. in 1789, of a very superior quality. Attempts have been made here to rear cochineal, as the island abounds with the plant which the insects lie on, but a small bird destroys the insect. The soil of this island is little superior to that at Port Jackson. At the distance of three leagues from the port, is _le gardin du Roi_, which is kept with the utmost care: a gardener lives here at the King's expence, who rears the plants, and distributes them, gratis, to the colonists. This year the following plants were to be distributed to those who chose to ask for them. 300 True acacias. 150 Bibeaux. 84 Avocayers. 10 Baobabs. 180 Bibaciers. 80 Bilembiers. 300 Badamiers. 17 Brindaonniers. 86 Cocoa-nut trees. 50 Camphor trees. 104 Caneficiers. 148 Caramboliers aigres. 50 Ditto doux. 10 Quince trees. 200 Dolbiers. 20 Foccias. 4163 Clove trees. 50 Illipes. 50 Jamiers. 12 Jaquiers, large kind. 8 Jambou--boles. 3000 Jambou--rosadiers. 92 Lataniers nains de la chine. 23 Longaniers. 20 Lit-chis, grosse espee. 36 Sapotes, negros de Moluquas. 30 Tata-mapacas of Madagascar. 3000 Small voakoas. 80 Mangostans. 56 Molavis. 1544 Nutmeg trees. 218 Sweet oranges. 4 Peach trees. 50 Perchers. 40 Rangoustans. 400 Rouffias. 40 Savonniers des Antillas. 80 Spirceas de la China. 300 Sagoutiers. 145 Wova-jourindis of Madagascar 40 Wouau guasailliers. It should be observed, that 550 of the nutmeg trees were reserved for _Cayenne, St. Domingo, Martinico_, and the Seyehilles. I cannot omit mentioning the great civilities I received from Messieurs De Conway, M'Namarra, Fourneaux, Rossilly, and in short all the respectable people here, who all did their utmost to persuade me to take my passage in La Nymphe frigate: Monsieur de Fourneaux very politely offered me half his cabin, and no inducement was wanting to make me accept it; besides, there was a probability of the fever not being totally eradicated in the packet; but as I heard of a misunderstanding between England and Spain; I thought it my duty to remain with that vessel. I mention this circumstance for no other reason than to express my gratitude to the above officers for their polite attention to me during my short stay at this island. The packet being thoroughly cleansed, and a fresh crew entered, which was composed of all nations, we sailed on the 21st of September, having only four sailors on board out of the twenty-six, which came from Batavia, the rest being either dead, or left at the hospital with little hopes of recovery. Nothing material happened during our passage from the Isle of France until our arrival at the Cape of Good Hope, on the 9th of October. Here I found Lieutenant Riou waiting for orders from England. As I understood that all vessels belonging to the Dutch Company were strictly forbid stopping at any port, or having communication with any vessels during their passage from the Cape to Amsterdam, I wrote a letter to Mr. Van de Graff, the Dutch governor, representing my being charged with dispatches, and requesting that the captain might be permitted to heave the vessel to, off the most convenient port in the English channel, in order to land me with the dispatches: this request he very readily granted, giving the captain an order for that purpose, and furnishing me with a copy of it. Five large French ships put in here loaded with slaves from the east coast of Africa, and bound to the West-Indies. On the 20th of October, La Nymphe frigate arrived here from the Isle of France, and the same day the packet sailed. On the 2d of November, we passed the Island of St. Helena, with a strong gale at south-east; and on the 7th, we saw the Island of Ascension. We crossed the equator in 20° 18' longitude west of London. The south-east trade carried us as far as 5° north latitude, when we got the north-east trade, which did not come to the eastward of north-east until we got near the western islands. After a pleasant voyage of two months from the Cape of Good Hope, I arrived in England on the 20th of December, having been absent on the public service, in various stations, and in different places, in the southern hemisphere, three years and seven months. * * * * * Here ends Lieutenant King's _Journal_, which, as it gives an authentic account of the first settlement of a new colony, in a very distant region, must ever be interesting to those, who delight in tracing the origin of nations. The following Narrative was taken from the official dispatches of Governor Phillip, and forms a continuation of the history of the people and country under his charge, from the conclusion of his late Voyage to the I test period. Chapter XVII. TRANSACTIONS AT PORT JACKSON June 1790 to July 1790 -The Lady Juliana Transport arrives at Port Jackson.--Loss of the Guardian.--A settlement made at Sydney-Cove.--A state of the settlements at Sydney-Cove and Rose-Hill.--A general return of male convicts, with their employments.- The Lady Juliana transport, which sailed from England in September, 1789, arrived at Port Jackson on the 3d of June, 1790, bringing supplies from England, and also dispatches from the Guardian at the Cape of Good Hope; which having sailed from England in August, struck unhappily on the 23d day of December, 1789, in 44° south latitude, and 41° 30' east longitude, on an island of ice. By the unfortunate loss of the Guardian the colony was deprived of those liberal supplies, which had been sent from England, the want of which threw the settlement back so much, that it will require a length of time to put it in the situation it would have been in, had the Guardian arrived before Governor Phillip was obliged to send away the Sirius, to give up labour, and to destroy the greatest part of the live stock. Nevertheless, the settlers had little to apprehend from the natives; against whom, no one ever thought any defence necessary, more than what out-houses and barracks afforded: indeed, at the first landing, a barrier would have been very desirable; but at that time, and for months afterwards, the slighest defence could not have been made, without neglecting what was so absolutely and immediately necessary, for securing the stores and provisions. There is, however, little reason to think that the natives will ever attack any building, and still less to suppose they will attack a number of armed men: not that they want innate bravery, but they are perfectly sensible of the great superiority of fire-arms. Setting fire to the corn was what was most feared, but this they had never attempted; and, as they avoided those places, which were frequented by the colonists, it was seldom that any of them were now seen near the settlement. If the natives should find any cattle in the woods, they undoubtedly would destroy them, which mischief is all that the settler would have to apprehend. They naturally attack the strangers, who go out to rob them of their spears, and of the few articles they possess; and who do this too frequently; since the punishments that the delinquents sometimes meet with are not attended with the desired effect. The situation of Port Jackson, between two harbours, so that if a ship fall in with the coast in bad weather, a few miles either to the northward or to the southward, she can find immediate shelter, is a great advantage; and it perhaps will be found hereafter, that the seat of government has not been improperly placed. Governor Phillip observes, that they, as first settlers, laboured under some inconvenience from not being able to employ the convicts in agriculture on the spot where the provisions and stores were landed; but this was the only inconvenience, as having the convicts at some distance from the military was attended with many advantages. When the governor first arrived, he had little time to look round him, as his instructions particularly pointed out, that he was not to delay the disembarking of the people, with a view of searching for a better situation than what Botany-Bay might afford. He was obliged to look farther, but did not think himself at liberty to continue his searches after he had been Sydney-Cove. Had he seen the country near the head of the harbour, he might have been induced to have made the settlement there, but nothing was known of that part of the country, until the creek which runs up to Rose-hill was discovered, in a journey that the governor made to the westward, three months after they landed; and although he was then fully satisfied of the goodness of the soil, and saw the advantages of that situation, most of the stores and provisions were landed, and it required some little time to do away the general opinion, that such a situation could not be healthy, and that he was inclined to think himself, until he had examined the country for some miles round, and was satisfied that there was a free circulation of air, in the goodness of which, few places equal it. The numbers of people, who had been settled at Rose-Hill, on an average for eighteen months, exceeded one hundred; and during that time they had only two deaths: a woman, who had been subject to a dropsy, and a marine, who had been there but a very short time before he died. It is in that part of the country, that the governor proposed employing the convicts in agriculture, and in the neighbourhood of which, he proposed fixing the first settlers who might be sent out. The impossibility of conveying stores and provisions for any distance inland obliged the governor to mark out the first township near Rose-Hill, where there is a considerable extent of good land: the sea-coast does not offer any situation within their reach at present, which is calculated for a town, whose inhabitants are to be employed in agriculture. In order to know in what time a man might be able to cultivate a sufficient quantity of ground to support himself, the governor, in November, 1789, ordered a hut to be built in a good situation, an acre of ground to be cleared, and once turned up: it was then put into the possession of a very industrious convict, who was told, if he behaved well, he should have thirty acres. This man had said, that the time for which he had been sentenced was expired, and he wished to settle: he has been industrious, has received some little assistance, and in June, 1790, informed the governor, that if one acre more were cleared for him, he would be able to support himself after next January: this was much doubted, but it was thought he would do tolerably well, after being supported for eighteen months. Others may prove more intelligent, though they cannot well be more industrious. The river Hawkesbury will, no doubt, offer some desirable situations, and the great advantages of a navigable river are obvious; but before a settlement can be made there, proper people to conduct it must be found, and they must be better acquainted with the country. The Lady Juliana being the only vessel, which was at that time in the country, Governor Phillip was obliged to send her to Norfolk-Island with a part of the provisions; and had not that ship been chartered for China, he proposed sending the Sirius's officers and men to England in her; but this intention was laid aside, as the master of her informed him, that it would be attended with a loss of more than six thousand pounds to the owners, and consequently might occasion an expence to government, which would exceed what attended their remaining a few months longer in the country: besides, he was not willing to break through the charter-party, as other ships were coming out. As the Lady Juliana was to touch at Norfolk-Island with provisions, and one of the superintendants professed himself to understand the cultivation and dressing of the flax-plant, the governor sent thither most of the women who came out in that ship, and he intended to send an equal number of male convicts, when other ships should arrive. Of the superintendants sent out in the Guardian, for the purpose of instructing the convicts in agriculture, five only arrived in the Lady Juliana, and of the five superintendants who arrived, one only was a farmer; two said that they were used to the farming business when seventeen and nineteen years of age, but they were then unable, from the knowledge they formerly obtained, to instruct the convicts, or direct a farm. The two gardeners were said to be lost, having left the Guardian in a small boat after the unfortunate accident, which deprived the colony of her invaluable cargo. The Neptune, Surprize, and Scarborough transports arrived at Port Jackson the latter end of June, 1790, with about six hundred casks of beef and pork, which were sent round from the Guardian, and nineteen convicts, who had been transported in that ship. In order to ascertain the time in which it is probable the colony will be able to support itself, it will be necessary to point out those circumstances, that may advance or retard the settlement. It will depend on the numbers who are employed in agriculture, and who, by their labour, are to provide for those that make no provision for themselves. Governor Phillip did not reckon on the little labour which may be got from the women, though some were employed in the fields; as the greatest part would always find employment in making their own, and the men's cloathing, and in the necessary attention to their children. The ground, which the military may cultivate, will be for their own convenience. The providing of houses and barracks for the additional number of officers and soldiers, the rebuilding of those temporary ones, which were erected on their first arrival, and which must be done in the course of another year, as well as the building of more store-houses and huts for the convicts as they arrive, employed a considerable number of hands, and works of this kind will always be carrying on. Temporary buildings on their first landing were absolutely necessary; but they should be avoided in future; as, after three or four years, the whole work is to be begun again; and the want of lime greatly increases the labour of building with bricks, as the builders are obliged to increase the thickness of the walls, which cannot be carried to any height; at the same time, if very heavy rains fall before the houses are covered in, they are considerably damaged. The annexed return will show in what manner the convicts are employed at present; and the governor had increased the number of those employed in clearing the land for cultivation, as far as it would be possible to do it before January, 1791, except by convalescents, from whom little labour could be expected. He hoped next year, that a very considerable quantity of ground would be sown with wheat and barley: but the settlement has never had more than one person to superintend the clearing and cultivating of ground for the public benefit, or who has ever been the means of bringing a single bushel of grain into the public granary. One or two others had been so employed for a short time, but were removed, as wanting either industry or probity; and if the person who has at present the entire management of all the convicts, who are employed in clearing and cultivating the land, should be lost, there would be no one in the settlement to replace him. It was originally supposed that a sufficient number of good farmers might have been found amongst the convicts to have superintended the labours of the rest; and men have been employed who answer the purpose of preventing their straggling from their work; but none of them were equal to the charge of directing the labour of a number of convicts, with whom most of them were connected by crimes, which they would not wish to have brought forward. From their former habits of life, it may easily be supposed, that few of the convicts would be good farmers. From what has been said, it may be seen how impossible it was to detach a body of convicts to any distance, if there had been any necessity for it. The land at Rose-Hill is very good, and in every respect well calculated for arable and pasture ground, though it be loaded with timber, the removal of which requires great labour and time; but this is the case with the whole country, as far as had been seen, particular spots excepted. As the good land could not at present be cultivated by the colonists, it was reserved for the first settlers that should come out. The consequence of a failure of a crop, when the colony can no longer expect supplies from Great-Britain, is obvious; and to guard against such consequences, it would be of great use to have a few settlers, to whom great encouragement should be given. The fixing the first settlers in townships would, indeed, tend to prevent that increase of live stock, which might be raised in farms at a distance from villages, where the stock would be less liable to suffer from the depredations, which may be expected from the soldier and the convict, and against which there is no effectual security. The many untoward circumstances which the colony had hitherto met with were done away; and at length there was reason to hope, that after two years from July, 1790, they would want no farther supply of flour, though various accidents might render a supply necessary after that period. How long a regular supply of beef and pork would be necessary depended on the quantity of live stock which might be introduced into the settlement, and on its increase, of which no judgment could be formed. A town was now laid out at Rose-Hill, of which the principal street was to be occupied by the convicts: the huts were building at the distance of one hundred feet from each other, and each hut was to contain ten convicts. In these huts they will live more comfortably than they could possibly do if numbers were confined together in larger buildings; and having good gardens to cultivate, and frequent opportunities to exchange vegetables for little necessaries which the stores do not furnish; these accommodations will make them feel the benefits they may draw from their industry. Some few inconveniences, indeed, ensue from the convicts being so much dispersed, but their being indulged with having their own gardens is a spur to industry, which they would not have, if employed in a public garden, though entirely for their own benefits, as they never seemed to think it was their own; and it was not observed, that many of those who had been for some months in huts, and consequently were more at liberty than they would be if numbers were confined together, had abused the confidence placed in them, any farther than the robbing of a garden. A GENERAL RETURN of MALE CONVICTS, with their respective employments, on the 23d of July, 1790. AT SYDNEY. 40 Making bricks and tiles. 50 Bringing in bricks, etc. for the new store-house. 19 Bricklayers and labourers employed in building a store-house and huts at Rose-Hill. 8 Carpenters employed at the new store, and in building huts at Rose-Hill. 9 Men who can work with the axe, and who assist the carpenters. 2 Sawyers. 9 Smiths. 10 Watchmen. 40 Receiving stores and provisions from the ships. 12 Employed on the roads--mostly convalescents. 18 Bringing in timber. 4 Stone-masons. 10 Employed in the boats. 3 Wheelwrights. 6 Employed in the stores. 38 Employed by the officers of the civil and military departments at their farms. These men will be employed for the public when the relief takes place. 2 Assistants to the provost marshal. 3 Gardeners and labourers employed by the governor. 3 Coopers. 6 Shoe-makers. 4 Taylors. 5 Bakers. 6 Attending the sick at the hospital. 3 Barbers. 3 Gardeners, and others, employed at the hospital. 3 Employed by the governor bringing in of wood, etc. 316 413 Under medical treatment. --- 729 AT ROSE-HILL. 2 Employed at the store. 3 Servants to the three superintendants. 1 Employed in taking care of the stock. 2 Employed at the hospital. 5 Men who work with the axe in building huts. 1 Baker. 1 Cook. 4 Boys variously employed. 1 Assistant to the provost marshal. 3 Thatchers. 1 Servant to the store-keepers. 1 Ditto to the assistant surgeon. 4 Overseers. 25 Sick. 113 Clearing and cultivating the ground. 12 Sawyers. --- 179 Chapter XVIII TRANSACTIONS AT PORT JACKSON August 1790 to October 1790 -An excursion into the country.--An interview with the natives.--Governor Phillip wounded with a spear.--A second interview with the natives.--Occurrences on that occasion.--Five convicts effect their escape in a boat.--The settlement visited by the natives.--Their customs.--Arrival of the Supply from Batavia.- Towards the latter end of August, 1790, several officers made an excursion into the country, and going south-south-west from-Prospect-Hill for twenty miles, they came to a run of water, which they supposed to be the head of the Nepean river. They described the country through which they passed to be good land for ten miles, the rest ordinary ground, intersected by deep ravines and a large marsh, which they supposed, formed a very extensive piece of water, after heavy rains. A number of convicts going out to search for sweet tea, some of them separated from the rest, and were lost in the woods for several days, and one of them was never heard of afterwards. It is hardly possible to conceive the obstinacy and inattention of many of these people, even in matters which concern only their own safety. In the morning of the 7th of September, Governor Phillip went down the harbour to fix on a spot for raising a brick column, which might point out the entrance to ships which were unacquainted with the coast, as the flag-staff could not be seen by vessels until they drew very near the land, and was also liable to be blown down. A rising ground at the distance of a cable's length from the south head was chosen, and the stone necessary for the base of the column being already cut, that work was immediately begun, and the party were returning to Sydney, when the governor was informed by some officers, who had landed in Manly-Bay, and who were going on a shooting excursion, that they had seen -Bannelong_, a native who had ran away from the settlement, and who had enquired after all his friends, and received several presents. It seems Bannelong, and _Colebe_, another native who had escaped from the settlement, with near two hundred others, were assembled in Manly-Bay to feast on a dead whale which was lying on the beach. Bannelong sent a large piece of it to the governor, as a present, which the sailors had in the boat: he was very glad to see those he knew of the party, particularly a native boy named _Nanbarre_, but seemed afraid of being retaken, and would not permit any one to come so near as to lay their hands on him. As Governor Phillip had always been desirous of meeting with this man, and had sought an opportunity from the day he left his house, he returned to the look-out, and collecting every little thing which was likely to please him, went to the spot where he had been seen. Several natives appeared on the beach as the governor's boat rowed into the bay, but on its nearer approach, they retired amongst the trees. It had ever been the governor's opinion, and what he had observed of these people confirmed it, that the best means of obtaining the confidence of a native was by example, and by placing confidence in him; with this purpose, he left the judge-advocate and Lieutenant Water-house, who had accompanied him in the boat, and landed himself, followed only by a seaman who had some beef and bread, with a few other articles which he was desirous of giving to such of the natives as might join him: after calling repeatedly on his old acquaintance by all his names, he was answered by a native who appeared with several others at a distance, and as he increased his distance from the boat, the native approached nearer, and took a number of little presents, on their being laid down at the distance of a few paces; but he would not come near the governor, although in answer to the question--"where was Banne-long?" he repeatedly said he was the man; this, however, could not be believed, as he was so much altered: at length a bottle was held up, and on his being asked, what it was in his own language, he answered, "_the King_;" for as he had always heard his Majesty's health drank in the first glass after dinner at the governor's table, and had been made to repeat the word before the drank his own glass of wine, he supposed the liquor was named "the King;" and though he afterwards knew it was called wine, yet he would frequently call it King. This convinced the governor that it could be no other than Bannelong, and every method was tried to entice him to come near, but he always retired on their approaching him nearer than he wished, so that they were presently out of sight of the boat, though at no great distance from it; but on eight or ten of the natives placing themselves in a situation to prevent Bannelong being carried off, had it been attempted, he came up, together with Colebe, and held out his hand; but he was so changed, and appeared so poor and miserable, that even then there was a doubt whether he were the man, though Colebe was well known. After some conversation, Governor Phillip went down to the beach, and the two officers came on shore; the boat's crew, with the arms, were still in the boat, for as the natives kept the position they had taken, which showed they were under some apprehensions, he was afraid of alarming them. Bannelong appeared glad to see his old acquaintances; he was very chearful, and repeatedly shook hands with them, asking for hatchets and cloaths, which were promised to be brought him in two days: he pointed to a small fire which was burning near them, and said he should sleep there the two nights until the governor's return. Knives, hats, and various other articles were given to him and Colebe; and the latter, laughing, showed them that he had got the iron from his leg by which he had been secured when at the settlement: he also seemed glad to see his former acquaintances, and made himself very merry at the manner of his friend Bannelong's getting away from Sydney, by laying his head on his hand, shutting his eyes, and saying, "Governor _nangorar_," (asleep) and imitating the manner in which his companion had ran off. The governor and his party now began to retire towards the beach, when they were joined by a stout, corpulent native who had been for some time standing at a small distance; he approached them under strong marks of fear, but this soon subsided on his being treated in a friendly manner, and he became very conversable: he showed them a wound he had received in his back with a spear; Bannelong also was desirous of showing that he had been wounded in various parts of the body since he left the settlement; one of his wounds was made with a spear which went through his left arm, and was pretty well healed, but another dangerous one over the left eye was not in so good a state: these wounds, he said, were received at Botany-Bay. After a pretty long conversation, our party were going away, but they were detained by Bannelong, who was still solicitous to talk about the hatchets and cloaths he was to have sent him in two days, and a native who had been standing for some time at the distance of twenty or thirty yards, was pointed out by him in a manner which showed he wished him to be taken notice of; on this, the governor advanced towards him; and on the man's making signs that he should not come near, and appearing to be afraid, he threw his sword down, still advancing towards him, at the same time opening his hands to show that he had no arms. In the course of this interview, they had stopped near a spear which was lying on the grass, and which Bannelong took up; it was longer than common, and appeared to be a very curious one, being barbed and pointed with hard wood; this exciting Governor Phillip's curiosity, he asked Bannelong for it; but instead of complying with this request, he took it where the stranger was standing, threw it down, and taking a common short spear from a native who, with several others, stood at some distance behind him, he presented that and a club to the governor, which gave reason to suppose that the spear which had been asked for did not belong to him. As Governor Phillip advanced towards the man whose fears he wished to remove, he took up the spear in question, and fixing it in a throwing-stick, appeared to stand on his defence; but as there was no reason to suppose he would throw it without the least provocation, and when he was so near those with whom our party were on such friendly terms, the governor made a sign for him to lay it down, and continued to approach him, at the same time repeating the words---weree weree_, which the natives use when they wish any thing not to be done that displeases them. Notwithstanding this, the native, stepping back with his right leg, threw the spear with great violence, and it struck against Governor Phillip's collar bone, close to which it entered, and the barb came out close to the third vertebrae of the back. Immediately after throwing the spear, the native ran off, as did Bannelong and Colebe, with those that were standing to the right and left; and the latter, in their retreat, threw several spears, which, however, did no farther mischief. As bringing any arms on shore would probably have prevented an interview taking place, the musquets had been left in the boat; but the governor having a pistol in his pocket, he discharged it as he went down to the beach, as several of the natives stopped at no great distance, and the cockswain coming up at the same instant, fired a musquet, though there was no reason to apprehend the natives meant to molest them any farther. The conduct of this savage may be supposed to do away any idea that had been formed of the natives not abusing a confidence placed in them; and yet, there is no great reason to draw that inference from the accident just mentioned; for, it should be remembered that the man who wounded Governor Phillip was a stranger, and might fear their taking him away, as they had carried off others; against which he might not think their numbers a sufficient security; besides, he had not joined the party, nor probably thought the friendship, which-subsisted between them and others of a different tribe, any way binding on him; for it is supposed the different tribes are in every respect perfectly independant of each other. This man had stood for some time peaceably and quietly, and the governor certainly was more in his power before he went to call the officers out of the boat, than at the time the spear was thrown; it is therefore most likely that the action proceeded from a momentary impulse of fear; but the behaviour of Bannelong on this occasion is not so easily to be accounted for; he never attempted to interfere when the man took the spear up, or said a single word to prevent him from throwing it; he possibly did not think the spear would be thrown, and the whole was but the business of a moment. A few minutes before this affair happened, nineteen of the natives had been counted round our party, and the position they took showed their judgment: on the ground where Bannelong and Colebe joined them, the trees stood at the distance of forty or fifty feet from each other, and, had the natives kept together, shelter might have been found from their spears behind a tree; but whilst four of them remained in front, at the distance of forty yards, four or five others placed themselves on the right, and the same number on the left, at about the same distance; others again were planted between them and the beach, at the distance of ten or fifteen yards, which rendered it impossible either to carry off their companions or to gain shelter from their spears, if hostilities commenced; and though these people do not always keep their spears in their hands, they are seldom without their throwing-sticks, and generally have a spear lying near them in the grass, which they move with their feet as they change their ground: however, it is not likely that this disposition was made with any bad intention, but merely as a security for Bannelong and Colebe; indeed, these men directed the manoeuvre and waited till it was made, before they came near enough to shake hands. It may naturally be supposed that many would be desirous of punishing what was generally deemed an act of treachery, but Governor Phillip did not see the transaction in that light, and as soon as he arrived at Sydney, he gave the necessary directions to prevent any of the natives being fired on, unless they were the aggressors, by throwing spears; and, in order to prevent the party who were out on a shooting excursion from meeting with an attack of a similar nature, an officer and some soldiers were sent after them: they returned the next day, and coming by the place where the accident happened, some of the natives appeared on an eminence; on their being asked who had wounded the governor, they named a man, or a tribe, who resided to the northward: the boy, Nanbarre, was their interpreter, and he said the man's name was _Caregal_, and that he lived at, or near Broken-Bay. Nanbarre was also directed to enquire after Bannelong and Colebe, and those to whom the question was put, pointed to some people at a distance. One of these natives threw a spear to an officer who asked for it, and this he did in such a manner that very particularly marked the care he took it should not fall near any person. It may be thought remarkable that, after what had happened, the natives should appear in the fight of seventeen armed men; and what was more extraordinary, the cockswains of the two boats which lay at anchor all night near the beach, with several soldiers in them, said, that after the party they landed were gone off, the natives returned, made up some fires, and slept there all night; but, as the officer who went to bring home the party that were out a shooting, found by the marks on the sand, when he was returning the next morning, that he had been followed by three men and a dog, it is probable that they had others looking out likewise, and had the boats approached the beach in the night, they would have immediately fled into the woods. It was Governor Phillip's intention, as soon as he should be able to go out, to endeavour to find Bannelong, and, if possible, to have the man given up who wounded him, or some of his tribe; not with a view of inflicting any punishment, but of detaining one or more of these people till they understood each other's language. Some days after this affair, as several officers were going down the harbour, they saw some natives, and amongst them Bannelong and his wife; on this, the boat's head was put to the rocks, and he came down, shook hands with several of the party, and enquired if the governor was dead; they told him no; on which he promised to come and see him; said he had beat the man who wounded him, and whose name he told them was -Wil-le-me-ring_, of the tribe of Kay-yee-my, the place were the governor was wounded. The native boy and girl were in the boat, and through them this conversation was held: the girl pointed out one of the natives who she said was her father: none of these people showed any signs of fear, though they saw the officers were armed, and the girl was very desirous of remaining with them; she was now of an age to want to form a connection with the other sex, which she had no opportunity of doing in the clergyman's family where she lived, and very innocently told him, when she asked to go away, that she wanted to be married. As it would be difficult to prevent her getting away, if she was determined to go, it was thought most prudent to consent to her leaving the settlement, and she was told that she would be permitted to go, and to take all her cloaths with her; and that whenever she chose to come and see her friends, whatever she wished for should be given her; at the same time, several reasons were urged, that were likely to induce her to remain in her present situation a few months longer, as she did not sufficiently understand the language to explain their intentions towards the natives so sully as could have been wished. On the 16th of September, a shoal of fish appeared on the coast, which extended as far as the eye could reach, and part of them entering the harbour, as many were caught at two hauls with the seine, as served the whole settlement: there were not less than three thousand, which, on an average, weighed about five pounds each. As a party were going to visit Bannelong, some fish were sent him, which he received, and appeared free from any apprehensions; and the same afternoon, the commissary and Governor Phillip's orderly serjeant, for whom he had always showed great friendship, went with an additional supply: they found him on the rocks with his wife, who was fishing, and though on their first approach he ran into the woods, yet as soon as he knew them he returned, and joined them when they landed, bringing down his wife, as he had done to those who visited him before, and on these occasions, he showed that he was still fond of a glass of wine. Governor Phillip was so well recovered of his wound, as to be able to go in a boat on the 17th, to the place where Bannelong and his wife then resided: he found nine natives on the spot, who informed him that Bannelong was out a fishing; the native girl was in the boat, and her father being among the natives, a hatchet and some fish were given him; in return for which, he gave the governor a short spear that had been pointed with a knife, which the natives now used when they could procure one, in preference to the shell. The party had just left these people, and were going farther in quest of Bannelong, when they perceived four canoes coming towards them, in one of which was the person they wanted; on this they returned to the Cove. As soon as Bannelong had laid up his canoe, he came to the boat, and held up both his hands, to show that he had no arms: presently afterwards, the party landed, and he joined them very readily, asked Governor Phillip where he was wounded, and said that he had beat the man who wounded him, and whose name he repeated: being told that the man would be killed for this treacherous action, he desired it might be done. A hatchet, some fishing-lines, and several other articles were given him, and he wanted to have some presents that were brought for his wife _Ba-rang-aroo_, but this being refused, he readily went to fetch her: a petticoat, and several other little presents were given to the lady, and a red jacket with a silver epaulet, which Bannelong used to wear when at the settlement, were now given him, which pleased him more than any thing else. On being asked to dine with Governor Phillip the next day, he readily consented, and promised to bring his wife: he likewise pointed out a youth and two men to whom hatchets had been given, and said he would bring them with him also. Bannelong's wife, Ba-rang-aroo, appeared to be older than himself, and had had two children by a former husband, both of which were dead: this probably was the woman he had so often mentioned when at the settlement, and whom he had taken as a wife since he left it; she likewise had been twice wounded by spears, one of which had passed through her thigh. Though Bannelong probably might be glad that Governor Phillip was not killed, yet there is not doubt but that the natives throw their spears, and take a life in their quarrels, which are very frequent, as readily as the lower class of people in England strip to box, and think as little of the consequences. Mau-go-ran, the father of the native girl who lived with the clergyman, bad a bad wound on the back of his head, which he told the surgeon who dressed it, was done by a spear: it seems a dispute had taken place amongst these people, about sharing the whale, in which several lives were lost, and this man got his wound; and on the girl naming to her father a youth at -Kay-yee-my_, who she said would marry her, he told her not to go there, for they had quarrelled, and would throw spears, and that they would also throw spears at any white man; indeed, if this man's information could be depended on, the natives were very angry at so many people being sent to Rose-hill; certain it is, that wherever our colonists fix themselves, the natives are obliged to leave that part of the country. The weather being now very dry, the natives were employed in burning the grass on the north shore opposite to Sydney, in order to catch rats and other animals, whilst the women were employed in fishing: this is their constant practice in dry weather. Though Bannelong did not pay Governor Phillip a visit, as he had promised, he readily joined those he saw in different parts of the harbour, notwithstanding they were armed, and went in his canoe to the longboat, though he saw several musquets in her: his wife was along with him in the canoe, and he gave those in the boat to understand that he would pay the governor a visit; probably the fear of being detained had hitherto prevented him, but whilst there was the least chance of his coming voluntarily, Governor Phillip was not willing to take him a second time by force, as it was likely he would soon be reconciled to pass a considerable part of his time at Sydnev, when he found he could be his own master, and go and come when he pleased. On the 19th, Governor Phillip went to Rose-hill and returned to Sydney in the evening. The corn looked better than could be expected; but, the earth was so parched up by the dry weather that they could not get the remainder of their Indian corn into the ground until some rain fell. The weather for the last fortnight had frequently been cloudy and unsettled, and some light showers of rain had fallen at different times, but very little compared to what the ground required, or what might have been expected at this season. In the night of the 24th it began to rain, and some smart showers fell the next day, which enabled them to sow the remainder of their Indian corn; it was also of great service to the wheat and the vegetables in the gardens. The column intended as a mark for the entrance of the harbour was now finished; it stands (as has already been observed,) on a cliff, a cable's length from the south-head: it is a brick column on a stone base, and rises to the height of thirty feet. In the night of the 26th of September, five convicts took a punt from Rose-Hill, in which they came down to the look-out, where they exchanged the punt for a four-oared boat, and got off undiscovered. These people certainly meant to go along the coast to the northward, and to attempt getting to some of the Friendly islands; but this project must be almost impossible, and there was every reason to suppose they would perish in a very few days. As Governor Phillip and a party were going to Rose-Hill towards the latter end of September, a native was seen on one of the points; and being asked where Bannelong was, he replied, -Memilla_ (at Memill): on this, they rowed up to the island, and when they drew near the rocks, Bannelong came down to the boat, and brought his wife without the least appearance of fear, though they were the only persons on the island. There was no fish in the boat, but they were glad of some bread, and presently afterwards the governor and his party left them, and from the confidence Bannelong now placed in his visitors, there was no doubt but he would soon come to the settlement as usual. On the governor's return, two days after this meeting, Bannelong had left the island. The governor again went to Rose-Hill on the 6th of October, and on his return he was repeatedly called to by Bannelong, who was on the north shore with several officers; and the surgeon, in whom he placed great confidence, being of the party, persuaded him to come over to the governor: he brought three natives in his canoe, and they were all well pleased with hatchets and fishing-lines which were given them. It seems Bannelong's wife had opposed his coming, and finding her tears had no effect, she flew into a violent passion, and broke a very fine fiz-gig, for which she would probably have been very severely chastised on her husband's return, but for the interference of the surgeon, who carried these people back to their cave on the north shore, where they intended to reside for some time. Bannelong appeared very much at his ease, and not under the least apprehension of being detained; promising, when he went away, to bring his wife over, which he did two days afterwards: his sister and two men came likewise, and a third soon followed: blankets, and some cloathing were given them, and each had a belly-full of fish; Bannelong sat down to dinner with Governor Phillip, and drank his wine and coffee as usual. The governor bought a spear from one of his visitants, and endeavoured to make them understand that spears, lines, birds, or any thing they brought should always be purchased; at the same time he promised Bannelong a shield, for which he was to bring a spear in return, as accustoming these people to barter was judged the most likely means of bringing them to reside amongst the colonists. The next day, a large party came over for the shield, but it was not finished: two men of this party were owned by the native girl, who lived with the clergyman, as her brothers, and for whom she procured two hatchets, which appeared to be the most valuable articles that could be given them. When Bannelong came for his present, those who accompanied him, after staying a short time, went away, but he staid dinner, and left the place highly delighted with his shield, which being made of sole leather and covered with tin, was likely to resist the force of their spears. As it was late in the afternoon before Bannelong thought of departing, his wife and sister, with two men, came over in their canoes to fetch him, so that there was every appearance of these people being perfectly reconciled, and no doubt could be entertained but that they would visit the settlement as frequently as could be wished. Some days after this interview, a canoe with Bannelong's sister and several young people coming to one of the points of the cove, the girl who had now lived seventeen months with the clergyman's wife, joined them, and was so desirous of going away that it was consented to: the next day she was seen naked in a canoe, but she put on a petticoat before she joined the clergyman and some others who went to visit her; she appeared to be pleased with having her liberty, and the boy, Nanbarre, who was of the party that went to see her, now wished to stay with the natives all night; he was left behind, but the next morning he returned to the surgeon, with whom he lived, and having fared but badly, did not seem inclined to go to them again. The very little rain, which had fallen since the latter end of June, had destroyed all their hopes of good crops, and which they had every reason to expect till the beginning of September: at present, there was the appearance of rain, though it was feared, that it would come too late to be of any great service to the corn, though it might save the few vegetables they had in the gardens which were parched up. Some rain fell on the 14th and 15th of October, but it was barely sufficient to refresh the ground. The natives now visited the settlement daily, and Bannelong, who had not been there for several days, came early in the morning of the 17th, but took leave of Governor Phillip after breakfast, saying, that he was going a great way off, and would return, with two young men who were with him, after three days: there was reason to suppose that he was going to fight. If the natives of this country be less civilised than the inhabitants of the neighbouring islands, they are much honester; for they very seldom attempt to take any thing by stealth; and, it is certain, that when a thief is caught, they beat him to death with sticks. On the 18th, Governor Phillip was informed, that Colebe, with two little girls and two young men who had before been at the settlement, were waiting at the next cove to see him; on this, he went to the place: a hatchet was, as usual, desired and given, and Colebe promised to come to dinner the next day. A convict had been missing some time, and was reported to have been killed by the natives: those who could have given any information of this man must have been with him, and consequently expected punishment, if they were known, for having left their huts contrary to orders; it was, therefore, impossible to fix the report on any individual, and no information could be gained by those who were sent to search the country for some miles round; but two parties of the natives had been seen, one party consisting of about forty, the other not more than half that number: soon afterwards, Bannelong, with sixteen men and boys, were met by a serjeant and three men who had been sent after the convict that was missing; Bannelong pressed them very much to return with him and kill a native who was well known from having lost an eye, and who was supposed to be a leader of the tribe that reside about Botany-Bay; but this request not being complied with, the natives continued their route, and Colebe, who was of the party, came to dine with the governor as he had promised, Bannelong and several others accompanying him. At dinner, Bannelong observed that his shield was a good one, and said, that he had been to fight the man who had some time before wounded him, and that his spear had gone through both the shield and hand of his antagonist; he also said, that the people he had been to fight with had killed the man who was lost: however, admitting that to be the case, it is more than probable that he had been found by the natives stealing their spears or gum, and which the convicts continued to procure, and contrive to secrete until ships arrive. On the 18th of October, the Supply armed tender returned from Batavia: they had lost a lieutenant, the gunner of the Sirius, and several seamen at that unhealthy settlement. The commander of the Supply had intended to go through the streights of Macasser; but when to the westward of Kercolang, meeting with strong gales from the westward, he bore away to the southward, running down near the small islands which are on the western coast of Gillola; and going to the westward of the island of Bouro, to the southward of Bouton, and between Salayer and Celebes, had fine weather and favourable winds. Ships leaving the coast of New South Wales for Batavia, between the months of April and September, should keep to the southward, and go between New Guinea and Gillola; they then might make their passage in seven or eight weeks, probably in less time. The Supply was eighty days on her passage, and sixty-four on her return. On the 28th of October, two convicts suffered death for robbing a hut, and dangerously wounding a man who endeavoured to prevent their carrying away his property. The settlement had now some heavy showers of rain, and the weather continued showery for several days, but the long drought had destroyed a very considerable part of the wheat and barley. The native girl, who had left the settlement, returned, after being absent fourteen days; but though she appeared to have fared badly, and had been beat by her friend Colebe, yet she would not remain at Sydney more than two days, after which she returned to her companions. It now appeared, that Governor Phillip did not wrong the natives in supposing that they treated their women with very little tenderness; for Bannelong had beat his wife twice very severely in a short time, and for which, as far as could be learnt from the girl, he had very little reason: still she appeared very fond of him, and he professed great affection for her, but laughed when he was told that it was wrong to beat a woman: he now visited the settlement daily, with his wife, several children, and half a dozen of his friends, and Colebe was generally one of the party. Several of these people had recently a dispute, in which one of them received two severe wounds in the head from a spear, and two others were wounded in the head by hatchets; but the parties appeared two days after the affray as good friends as ever. It has already been observed, that the natives have some idea of a future state, and that they believe in spirits; the following circumstance leaves no doubt but that they likewise believe in charms:--Bannelong's wife one day complaining of a pain in the belly, went to the fire and sat down with her husband, who, notwithstanding his beating her occasionally, seemed to express great sorrow on seeing her ill, and after blowing on his hand, he warmed it, and then applied it to the part affected; beginning at the same time a song, which was probably calculated for the occasion: a piece of flannel being warmed and applied by a bye-stander, rendered the warming his hand unnecessary, but he continued his song, always keeping his mouth very near to the part affected, and frequently stopping to blow on it, making a noise after blowing in imitation of the barking of a dog; but though he blew several times, he only made that noise once at every pause, and then continued his song, the woman always making short responses whenever he ceased to blow and bark. How long this ceremony would have continued was uncertain, for Governor Phillip sent for the doctor, and she was persuaded to take a little tincture of rhubarb, which gave her relief, and so put an end to the business. Bannelong, with his wife and two children, who appeared to have been adopted by him when their parents died, now lived in a hut built for them on the eastern point of the cove; they were frequently visited by many of the natives, some of whom daily came to the barracks: all of them were very fond of bread, and they now found the advantage of coming amongst the settlers. The Supply immediately after her arrival began to refit, as Governor Phillip was desirous of sending to Norfolk Island some provisions, and many little articles which were wanted, and with which he now had it in his power to supply them; but on stripping the lower masts, the foremast was found to be so bad that it was necessary to get it out, and when examined, it proved to be so much decayed that they were obliged to cut several feet off the head of the mast, and several feet from the heel: the tops, likewise, were so much decayed, that they could not be repaired, so that new ones were to be made. It had hitherto been the opinion at Sydney, that the custom of losing the front tooth amongst the natives was confined to the men only, but a woman was lately seen who had lost the front tooth, and two women were met with who had the septum of the nose perforated; one of them was Barangaroo, who now visited the settlement daily, in company with her husband, and seemed to be pleased as though she thought herself drest when her nose was occasionally ornamented with a small bone or a bit of stick: she is very strait and exceeding well made; her features are good, and though she goes entirely naked, yet there is such an air of innocence about her that cloathing scarcely appears necessary. These people are frequently ornamented, or, to speak more properly, disfigured with broad white marks under the eyes and on the breasts; but they seem to have another motive for using this mode of ornament, besides a wish of appearing handsome, though as yet it had not been discovered. The red earth is likewise frequently used, generally about the nose and under the eyes. Chapter XIX TRANSACTIONS AT PORT JACKSON November 1790 to December 1790 -Fruits in season described.--The manners of the natives.--Disputes with them.--Arrival of a vessel from Batavia.- The new moon, in the beginning of November, brought a few hours thunder, and rain for a short time, which they still continued greatly to want. Several fruits peculiar to the country were now in season: that which was supposed to be the fruit Captain Cook calls a cherry, the natives call _mizooboore_; the taste of it is insipid, and it differs little from another fruit similar in its appearance, but something smaller, and which, as well as the former, is found in great abundance: there is likewise a third sort which differs as little in appearance and taste. Though there is little variety either in the shape or taste of the fruits just mentioned, yet, it is very remarkable that the trees on which they grow are of very different kinds. The fruits, or berries, just mentioned, have so insipid a taste, that they are held in very little estimation by our colonists; but that is not the case with the acid berry, which is about the size of a currant, and grows on a tree, the leaves of which resemble the broom: the acid of this fruit, even when ripe, is very strong, and is, perhaps, the purest in the world: it is pleasant to the taste, and Governor Phillip found it particularly so when on a journey in hot weather: the surgeon held it in great estimation as an antiscorbutic; and, with a large proportion of sugar, it makes excellent tarts and jellies. There is also another fruit, which, when ripe, is of a transparent red colour, about the size of a currant, and shaped like a heart: it has an agreeable flavour, leaving an astringency on the palate, and cannot be otherwise than wholesome, as the settlers had ate great quantities of it at times, without any pernicious consequences. There is likewise a nut, which had violent effects on those who ate it unprepared: the natives soak it in water for seven or eight days, changing the water every day; and at the expiration of that time they roast it in the embers; but the kernel is taken out of the hard shell with which it is enclosed, previous to its being put into the water: it is nearly equal to the chesnut in goodness. -Boorong_, the native girl who had lived with the clergyman, returned to him again, after a week's absence: some officers had been down the harbour, and she was very happy to embrace that opportunity of getting from the party she had been with. By her own account, she had joined the young man she wished to marry, and had lived with him three days; but he had another wife, who the girl said was jealous, and had beat her; indeed, evident marks of this appeared about her head, which was so bruised as to require the surgeon's attention: in return for this unkind treatment, it seems her favourite had beat his wife. But opportunities were not now wanting to show that the women are in general treated very roughly; for Colebe brought his wife to visit Governor Phillip, and though she was big with child, and appeared to be within a very few days of her time, there were several wounds on her head, which she said he had lately given her: he seemed to be pleased that she could show her marks, and took some pains to inform the governor that he had beat her with a wooden sword. Early in the morning of the 13th of November, sixteen of the natives visited the settlement, and some fish being distributed amongst them, they made a fire in the governor's yard, and sat down to breakfast in great good humour: those that were strangers, appeared highly delighted with the novelties that surrounded them. Amongst the strangers, there was a woman whose skin, when free from dirt and smoke, was of a bright copper colour; her features were pleasing, and of that kind of turn, that had she been in any European settlement, no one would have doubted her being a Mulatto Jewess. Bannelong, who had been for two days with some of his party at Botany-Bay, came along with these people and brought his wife with him: she appeared to be very ill, and had a fresh wound on her head, which he gave Governor Phillip to understand she had merited, for breaking a fiz-gig and a throwing stick. The governor's reasoning with him on this subject had no effect; he said she was bad, and therefore he had beat her; neither could it be learned what inducement this woman could have to do an act which she must have known would be followed by a severe beating; for Bannelong either did not understand the questions put to him, or was unwilling to answer them. When these people had finished their breakfast, they all went to the hospital to get the womens' heads dressed; for besides Bannelong's wife, a woman who was a stranger, had received a blow on the head, which had laid her scull bare. After this business was over, most of them returned and sat down in the yard at the back of Governor Phillip's house; but Bannelong went into the house as usual, and finding the governor writing, sat down by him: he appeared very much out of humour, and frequently said that he was going to beat a woman with a hatchet which he held in his hand: it was impossible to persuade him to say he would not beat her, and after some time he got up, saying that he could not dine with the governor, as he was going to beat the woman. Governor Phillip then insisted on going with him, to which he made no objection, though he was given to understand that he would not be suffered to beat any woman, and they set off for his hut at the point. The governor took his orderly serjeant along with him, and they were joined by the judge advocate. Though Bannelong had frequently said he would kill the woman, when Governor Phillip was endeavouring to persuade him not to beat her, yet, it could not be believed that he had any such intention; nor did they suppose there would be much trouble in preventing his beating her; however, fearing he might strike her a blow with the hatchet which must have been fatal, it was taken from him before they got to the hut, and as he seemed unwilling to part with it, the governor gave him his cane; but his expressions and his countenance soon made them think even the cane too much for him to be trusted with, and that was taken from him also. On their arrival at the hut, they found five men, two youths, and several women and children: some of these people were on the grass before the door of the hut, and though the governor fixed his eyes on Bannelong, in order to find out the object of his revenge, and whom he determined to protect, yet this furious savage seized a wooden sword, and struck a young female, who was either asleep, or seeing him coming had hid her face, over the head, and repeated his blow before the weapon could be wrested from him; he then got a hatchet, which was likewise taken away. Reasoning with him was now out of the question; the savage fury which took possession of him when he found himself kept from the girl, who was lying senseless, is not to be described: he had now got another wooden sword, but the judge-advocate and the serjeant held him, and what passed being observed from the Supply, Lieutenant Ball and the surgeon of the hospital, came over to the spot armed, and the poor girl was put into the boat without any opposition on the part of the natives, who had armed themselves the moment they saw Governor Phillip and his party interfere, and one of them repeatedly pressed him to give Bannelong the hatchets and sword which had been taken from him. None of these people, either men or women, (the two youths excepted, who appeared to be much frightened,) showed the least concern at the girl's fate, though they must have known, that Bannelong intended to kill her, and they certainly armed in his defence. When the boat was gone off with the girl, our party returned to the governor's house, several of the native men and boys joining them, as well as Bannelong; and, after some time, when his passion began to subside, Governor Phillip gave him to understand, that he was exceedingly angry with him for attempting to kill a woman, and tried to divert him from his purpose by threats, telling him that if he did kill her, or even beat her any more, he should lose his life; but threats had no greater effect than entreaties, and all his answers showed that he thought himself greatly injured by having his victim taken from him; saying that she was his, that her father was the man who had wounded him over the eye, that all their tribe were bad, and that the governor should see he would kill her; and when the judge-advocate reasoned with him, and told him that if he killed the girl the governor would kill him, he marked with his finger those parts of the head, breast, and arms, where he said he would wound her, before he cut her head off: in this resolution he went away, and the girl was removed in the evening from the Supply to Governor Phillip's house, where a young man who lived with Bannelong desired to remain with her, and, from the tenderness he showed her when Bannelong was not present, was supposed to be her husband; though he had not dared to open his lips, or even to look dissatisfied, when her life was in danger. Several of the natives came to see this girl, and (except the supposed husband) they all appeared very desirous that she might return to the hut, though they must have known that she would be killed; and, what is not to be accounted for, the girl herself appeared desirous of going. After an absence of two days, Bannelong returned to the governor's house, apparently in good humour, and said he would not beat the girl; at the same time he gave them to understand, that he had again beat his wife about the head, and that he had received a severe blow on the shoulder from a club in return; on this, Governor Phillip proposed their going to the hospital to have his own shoulder and his wife's head drest, but this he refused, saying, that White (the surgeon) would shoot him, and that he durst not sleep in the house which had been built for him, as the surgeon would shoot him in the night. This story was not told without many threats on his part; and during the recital, he twice went out to fetch a spear, which the governor had made him leave in a back room, in order to show that he was not afraid, and that he would use it if he saw the surgeon; however, Governor Phillip soon convinced him that he was not to be shot unless he killed the girl, or threw spears at the white men. The moment Bannelong was satisfied that the surgeon was still his friend, he said he would go to him for a plaister for his shoulder, and another for his wife's head; but, as the governor wished to be present when they first met, he sent for the surgeon, whom Bannelong received as usual, gave him part of what he was eating, and went with him to the hospital; after which, he went to the surgeon's house, and the girl being there to whom he had lately shown so much animosity, he took her by the hand, and spoke to her in a friendly manner. But this attention so exasperated his wife, and put her in such a rage, that those who were present at the time could not, without some difficulty, prevent her from knocking the girl on the head with a club which she had taken from one of the men for that purpose; nor did her husband seem inclined to prevent her till he was spoke to, when he gave her a pretty smart slap on the face; on this, his wife left them crying with passion, and came over to the governor's house, where the girl was now brought for greater security, and was followed by several men. Governor Phillip had ordered the girl to be put into his maid servant's room, with which Bannelong seemed pleased, and desired him to let the young man who had remained with her at the surgeon's, stay there likewise; in the mean time, his wife was very noisy, and used many threats; she had got her husband's spears, which she sat down upon, and would not give them up to a soldier, whom the governor had ordered to take them from her, until force was used; and when the soldier had them, Bannelong wanted to take them from him, saying he would give them to the governor: they were then delivered to him, and he immediately gave them to Governor Phillip, making signs for them to be put into the house: this, at a time when there was a guard of soldiers drawn up in the yard, and when he was telling his companions, that the soldiers would fire, showed that he placed some confidence in the governor; though at the same time, he was very violent, and appeared very much inclined to use his club against those who prevented his going into the house; and one of the natives who was generally his companion, seemed ready to support him in any attempt he might be disposed to make. On this they were given to understand, that if any of the soldiers were struck, they would be put to death, and Governor Phillip immediately ordered them all to be turned out of the yard, except Bannelong and the young man he had desired might remain with the girl: Bannelong's wife was turned away amongst the rest, but this did not prevent his staying to dinner, and behaving with the same indifference as if nothing had passed; and, in the evening when he was going away, a scene took place which was little expected: the young man who had been so desirous of remaining with the girl, would now go away, and the girl cried, and forced her way out of the room to go with Bannelong: she was brought in again, and told if she went away she would be beat, but Bannelong said he would not beat her, neither was his wife angry with her now; and the young man pressed Governor Phillip very much to let her go, saying Barangaroo would not beat the girl, as her passion was over, and she was now very good. As the information of Barangaroo's anger having so entirely subsided, could only have been brought by a boy, who had returned to the house in the afternoon, the governor was not the least inclined to let the girl go away; but there was no possibility of detaining her unless she was confined, and there appeared so much sincerity in Bannelong's countenance, when he said she should not be beat, that leave was given, and the moment the girl was without the gate, she ran towards Bannelong's hut, without waiting for those who were going along with her. Governor Phillip himself was fully persuaded that Bannelong would keep his word, but the general opinion was, that the girl would be sacrificed; and in the evening, a considerable number of natives being seen about the hut, gave rise to various stories; but the next day, Bannelong came to dinner, and said, he had sent the girl to her father, which was afterwards confirmed by others. How Bannelong got this girl into his possession could not be learnt; but it appeared she was the same girl whom he went to look after when he ran away from the settlement: she appeared to be about fifteen years of age, and when she went away, her wounds were in a fair way of doing well: fortunately for her, the weapon which had first presented itself when Bannelong beat her, was a boy's wooden sword, and made of very light wood; but these people pay little attention to wounds, and even those which by the faculty are deemed dangerous, do not seem to require the common attention of closing the lips of the wound and keeping it clean; this shows that they must be of a most excellent habit of body. Governor Phillip having occasion to go to Rose-Hill, Bannelong said he would accompany him: accordingly they set out, and stopped at the point, in order to take Barangaroo into the boat; but she refused, and persuaded her husband not to go. On the governor's return to Sydney, he was informed that this party had been lamenting the loss of a brother, who had been killed by one of the Cammeragals: the women were crying in the usual manner, but their grief was not of long duration, and Bannelong went to breakfast with some officers, who, hearing the womens' cries, had gone to the hut to learn the cause; and as they were going down the harbour to look after a small boat belonging to the hospital, which had been lost, with five convicts, he desired them to land him on the north shore, in order, it was supposed, to collect all his friends, and revenge his brother's death. However, he was seen soon afterwards with some of the Cammeragals, who were collecting the wild fruits which were now in season; so that he must have been misunderstood as to his intention of fighting with the Cammeragals; nor can we account for his being frequently with a tribe whom he always spoke of as bad, and desired Governor Phillip to kill; and what was equally mysterious, a man belonging to the Botany-Bay tribe had for more than a fortnight slept at his hut, though he said the man was bad, and spoke of him as his enemy. The party who went in search of the boat found the wreck of her, and one of the bodies; as the boat had been seen under sail when it blew hard, it should seem that the men sent in her did not know how to manage her, and were driven on the rocks. Several natives assisted in saving the oars and other articles that were driven ashore; and Colebe, who was on the spot, exerted himself greatly on this occasion, and saved the seine, which was entangled amongst the rocks: for these services, they were all rewarded with blankets and some cloathing. But, however well you may cloath these people, they generally return naked the next day. Of all the cloaths and the multiplicity of other articles which had been given to Bannelong, very little now remained in his possession; his shield, and most of his cloaths, were, by his own account, sent a great distance off; but whether he had lost them, or given them away, was uncertain. In the evening of the 21st of November, Bannelong and his wife came to Sydney, and he requested leave to sleep in Governor Phillip's house, as there were a great number of people at -Tubow-gule_, the point on which their hut stood. Bannelong told the governor, that the Cammeragals had killed his -friend_, or _relation_, for we are not clear that these words in their language, which had been supposed to mean Father or Brother, are made use of by the natives in that sense: he said, they had burnt his body, which he seemed to lament; and being told, that Governor Phillip would take the soldiers and punish them, he prest him very much to go and kill them: indeed, from the first day he was able to make himself understood, he was desirous to have all the tribe of Cammeragal killed, yet he was along with that tribe when Governor Phillip was wounded, and, as hath already been observed, was seen with them since the loss of his friend, or brother. After Bannelong and his wife had supped they retired to sleep in a back room, and he was particularly anxious for the governor to lock the door and put the key in his pocket; from which circumstance, it is probable he had other reasons for coming that evening to sleep at the governor's house, besides that of having a number of people at his own habitation. When Governor Phillip's guests left him, the girl who lived with the clergyman went away with them, and slept at their hut, nor would she probably have returned till she was compelled by hunger, or had received a beating; but being seen the next morning in a canoe, fishing, she very readily returned with the person who had been sent to look after her. Many of the small streams of water in different parts of the harbour were dried up, and at Sydney, the run of water was small, but it afforded sufficient for the use of the settlement; nor was there any reason to suppose they would ever want water. At Rose-Hill, the settlers never can be under any apprehensions on that head, and though from the stream being small in dry weather, the water has an unpleasant taste, occasioned by a number of dead trees falling into the brook, yet that may be prevented hereafter: it will also be necessary, at some future period, to make a dam across the creek, in order to prevent the tides making the water brackish at the lower part of it: when that is done, it will not be a difficult matter to carry a run of water at the back of those houses which are situated at the greatest distance from the brook. A new store at Rose-Hill, which the workmen had been building for some time past, was tiled in on the 25th of November, and a barrack of the same dimensions (100 feet by 24 feet 6 inches) was immediately begun. At the latter end of the month, the weather was unsettled, with frequent showers of rain: most of the barley was now ripe, and they began to house it. The 3d of December was a day of constant rain, which continued during the night. Governor Phillip had recently ordered a small hut to be built for his own accommodation at Rose-Hill, and he was going to remain there a few days, when several of the natives were desirous of accompanying him, amongst whom were Bannelong and Colebe: the governor got into his boat with three of them, and Bannelong, going to fetch his cloak, was detained by his wife; however, as they were going out of the cove, he appeared on the rocks, and got into the boat notwithstanding her threats; but, the moment the boat put off, she went to her canoe, which was a new one, and after driving her paddles through the bottom, she threw them into the water, and afterwards went off to their hut, probably to do more damage. The husband had endeavoured to pacify her, and promised several times not to be absent more than one night; as it was likely that he would prefer remaining behind, though he appeared unwilling to ask to be landed, it was proposed to him, and after picking up the paddles which his wife had thrown away, he was put on shore. The governor then proceeded to Rose-Hill, with Colebe and two other natives, none of whom ever opened their lips during this altercation: indeed, none of these people have ever been seen to interfere with what did not immediately concern themselves. The three natives slept that night at Rose-Hill, and though fed very plentifully, yet, the next morning, they were very desirous of returning; on this, Governor Phillip sent the boat down with them, on the return of which he fully expected to hear that mistress Barangaroo's head was under the care of the surgeon; but, to his great surprise, both she and her husband came up in the boat the next morning, and Bannelong said he had not beat her; but whether he was deterred by what had so frequently been said to him on the subject, or from some other cause, could not be known: however, a reconciliation had taken place, and they both dined with the governor in great good humour. Every thing this couple wished for was given them, and they had both fish and _baggaray_; but after dinner was over, the lady wanted to return, and Bannelong said she would cry if she was not permitted to go; so that late in the afternoon, the governor was obliged to send the boat down with them. It is rather singular that none of the natives like Rose-Hill, probably because fish is seldom procured there: both Arrabannu and Bannelong, whilst they lived with Governor Phillip, always appeared to dislike going there, and after the first day, would be continually pressing him to return to Sydney. Lieutenant Ball, who commanded the Supply, had been ill for some time; and when Governor Phillip returned from Rose-Hill on the 11th of December, the surgeon informed him that there were little hopes of Mr. Ball's recovery: at the same time he was told, that his game-keeper had been brought in so dangerously wounded by a spear, that there was little probability of saving his life. It seems the game-keeper went out with three others, one of whom was a serjeant; and in the heat of the day, they retired to a hut which they had made with boughs, and went to sleep. One of them waking, and hearing a noise in the bushes, supposed it to be some animal; but on their coming out of the hut, four natives jumped up from amongst the bushes and ran away: the game-keeper, supposing one of them to be a man who had been at Sydney, as he appeared to have been shaved and his hair cut, followed them without his gun, (though the most positive orders had been given for no one ever to join the natives unarmed) calling on them to stop, and he would give them some bread; and observing that one of those who followed him from the hut had a gun in his hand, he bid him lay it down, saying, that the natives would not hurt him. The game-keeper had now advanced forty or fifty yards before his companions, and was not more than ten yards from one of the natives, who stopped; and getting on a tree which had been burnt down, and was lying on the ground, he surveyed those who approached him: in a moment he found they were unarmed, so, fixing his spear, he threw it at the man who was nearest to him: the spear entered on the left side, and penetrated the lower lobe of the lungs: it was barbed, and consequently could not be extracted till a suppuration took place. Immediately after throwing the spear, the native fled, and was soon out of sight of the man who followed him. As they were eleven miles from Sydney when this accident happened, it was not without some difficulty that the unfortunate game-keeper could be brought in after his strength failed him: he was of the catholic persuasion, but on being brought to the hospital, he desired to have the clergyman sent for, to whom he confessed that he had been a bad man, and desired his prayers; but, at the same time, he declared that he had never killed or wounded any native, except once; when, having had a spear thrown at him, he discharged his piece, which was loaded with small shot, and possibly wounded the man who threw the spear. This declaration, made at the time he requested the surgeon not to attempt taking out the spear, until he had asked pardon of his God, whom, he said, he had often offended, added to the testimony of those who were with him, left no room to doubt that the native had taken the advantage of their being unarmed, without having received any kind of provocation. The natives had been frequently told, that numbers of them would be killed if they continued to throw spears; and both Bannelong and the girl who lived with the clergyman had repeatedly said, that the tribes which resided about Botany-Bay and the inland parts near the head of that harbour, always killed the white men; yet, as it was evident that they had generally received some provocation on the part of our settlers, Governor Phillip was unwilling to proceed to extremities whilst there was a possibility of avoiding it: many of the natives had recently visited the settlement; they had all been well received, and some of their children frequently remained there for several days, without their parents ever seeing them; and if any of them were going where their children would be an incumbrance, they used to leave them at Sydney. Bannelong, Colebe, and two or three others, now lived at Sydney three or four days in the week, and they all repeatedly desired those natives might be killed who threw spears; at the same time, Governor Phillip began to suspect, though very unwillingly, that there was a great deal of art and cunning in Bannelong; he had lately been at Botany-Bay, where, he said, they danced, and that one of the tribe had sung a song, the subject of which was, his house, the governor, and the white men at Sydney: the people of that tribe, he said, would not throw any more spears, as they and the Cammeragals were all friends, and were good men; this was only a few days after he had said that he liked his house at the point, because the Botany-Bay men and the Cammeragals would not come to it on account of the white men; and had, as usual, whenever those tribes were mentioned, requested the governor to kill them all. The game-keeper was well known to those natives who frequented Sydney, and when they saw him at the hospital, they expressed great marks of sorrow, all the women and several of the men shedding tears. Colebe, who, it seems, understood the nature of wounds, and their method of drawing teeth, said, that the spear must remain for some time before it was drawn out, as it was barbed: at the same time he made signs that the man would die. It appeared rather extraordinary that the natives should immediately know the man who wounded the game-keeper, and his tribe; they said, his name was _Pemullaway_, of the tribe of -Bejigal_, and both Colebe and Bannelong promised to bring him to the settlement; but the former, after remaining at Sydney that night and part of the next day, went off, as was supposed, to Botany-Bay; and Governor Phillip going down the harbour, in consequence of a number of natives being seen armed at the look-out, found Colebe there, who returned to Sydney the next day, did not seem inclined to give himself any trouble about Pemullaway, but left the governor's house after dinner, to go, as he said, to his wife, who was at Botany-Bay. Bannelong had not appeared for some days; he was said to be gone to assist at the ceremony of drawing the front tooth from some young men, and as he went to the district in which the Cammeragals reside, there can scarcely be a doubt but that the tooth is paid as a tribute. The native girl who lived with the clergyman, had left his house some time, and now resided with the Cammeragals: on going away, she promised to return with the young man she wanted to marry, and his present wife; from which circumstance it seems pretty clear, that when a native can procure two women, the custom of the country allows them to have two wives; and there is some reason to suppose that most of their wives are taken by force from the tribes with whom they are at variance, as the females bear no proportion to the males. It became absolutely necessary to put a stop to the natives throwing spears, against which it was impossible to guard in going through the woods, and Governor Phillip wished to do it with as little severity as possible; yet he was well convinced that nothing but a severe example, and the fear of having all the tribes who resided near the settlement destroyed, would have the desired effect: for this purpose, a party were sent out on the 14th of December, consisting of two captains, two lieutenants, four noncommissioned officers, and forty privates: the surgeon, and a surgeon's mate belonging to the Sirius, went with the party, and the three persons who were with the game-keeper when he was wounded, went as guides. The governor's motive for sending so large a party was, that if a number of the natives should be found together, they might be deterred from making any resistance, or attempting to rescue those who might be secured as prisoners. The officer who commanded this party was directed to proceed to the spot where the game-keeper had been wounded, and to search for the natives in that part of the country; six of whom were to be secured and brought in as prisoners; or if that was found impracticable, six of them were to be put to death; spears, and all other weapons which they happened to meet with, were to be destroyed and left on the ground, that the natives might see it was intended as a punishment inflicted on them; particular attention was also to be paid to the women and children, who were not to be injured on any account whatever; and, as Governor Phillip wished to impress the natives with an idea that no deceit was ever used, and that they might always depend on having protection after it had been once offered; on this occasion, none of the party were ever to hold up their hands, (which, amongst the natives, is a signal that they come as friends) nor to answer that sign of friendship if made to them. It was more than probable that the man who threw the spear would not be found, though Colebe had said he might easily be known by the toes of his left foot having been bruised with a club; and there was reason to fear that the innocent might suffer; but the natives had lately behaved with a boldness and insolence on several occasions, which it was absolutely necessary to check, and the punishments inflicted on a few, would, in the end, be an act of mercy to numbers. A suppuration taking place in the game-keeper's wound, the spear was taken out; it was armed with small pieces of red stone, and had penetrated seven inches and an half into his body, though the point was broke off by striking against a rib: from this circumstance, some judgment may be formed of the force with which these spears are thrown. They generally are armed for seven or eight inches from the point, with small bits of sharp stone, bone, or shells; and, since our settling amongst them, bits of glass bottle: these are fixed on with the yellow gum, which is softened by fire, and afterwards grows hard and firm, making a very good cement; this the natives also use to stop the leaks in their canoes. The spear with which the game-keeper was wounded, being shown to one of the natives, he immediately named the tribe to whom it belonged; which shows that some of them arm their weapons differently from others, and that they are all marked; this, as they have no places to secure them in, effectually prevents their robbing one another. The party who had been sent out in search of the natives, returned on the 17th of December, without being able to get near any of them, as they all fled at their approach, and eluded their pursuit. They found Colebe near the head of Botany-Bay, where he was striking fish, and ran some risk of being shot. The same afternoon, the vessel arrived which had been hired at Batavia to bring provisions to the colony, having been eighty-eight days on her passage, and buried sixteen of her crew. In the evening of the 22d, a party were again sent out towards the head of Botany-Bay; they were to endeavour to secure some of the natives, and had the same orders as were given before on that head. They left the parade in the evening, and hopes were entertained that they would be able to surprize some of the natives at their fires; but they did not see a single inhabitant during two days which they remained out. Colebe had left his wife at Botany-Bay, and she came over to Sydney on the 23d of December, bringing an infant with her not more than two or three days old; the child was laid on a piece of bark, and both the parents appeared to treat it with great tenderness: they took up their residence for that night in Governor Phillip's house, and a family, who accompanied Colebe's wife, gave an opportunity of observing, that the marriage ceremony in this country, whatever it may be, is not very binding: this man belonged to the tribe who reside about Botany-Bay, but he had occasionally lived at Sydney for some time past, and a woman whose name was _Mawberry_, had been his wife; but, it seems, he had broke her arm with beating her, and had turned her away; and he had got another woman for a wife, who came along with him, bringing also a child about three years of age. Mawberry, his first wife, happened to be at the governor's house when he came in, and did not seem pleased at the meeting. This man, with his wife and child, after remaining at Governor Phillip's two days, were going away; and, as usual, had bread and fish given them for their journey; but, it should seem, that they could not agree, for he took away his first wife, and left the woman and child who came along with him behind. The poor woman shed tears when Governor Phillip enquired into the matter, and, after repeatedly using the word _yalloway_, which is a term of execration, she said she would live with his servants, which she was permitted to do. Besides this person, Governor Phillip had a further addition to his family of a young woman, who for some time had been desirous of being received amongst his maid servants, and a youth about fourteen years of age, both of whom appeared much pleased with their situations. The weather was so intensely hot on the 27th of December, that the thermometer stood at 102° in the shade. Chapter XX TRANSACTIONS AT PORT JACKSON December 1790 to February 1791 -The depredations of the natives.--Bannelong's behaviour.--The Supply sails for Norfolk-Island.--The quantity of provisions brought in the Waaksam-heid from Batavia.--The appearance of a prodigious number of Bats.--The return of Bannelong.--The manners of the natives further described.- Several of the natives who had been pretty constant visitors at Sydney for some weeks, were detected stealing potatoes on the 28th of December; and, on the person they belonged to, endeavouring to drive them out of his garden, a fiz-gig was thrown at him. These people had lately made a practice of threatening any person whom they found in a hut alone, unless bread was given to them; and one of those who were suspected in the present instance, had, on several occasions, shown himself to be a daring fellow, who did not seem to dread any consequences. As it was necessary to prevent these depredations in future, a serjeant and six privates were sent out in order to secure the three natives who had been digging up the potatoes, and particularly the man who threw the fiz-gig; but not to fire on them, unless they made use of their spears or other offensive weapons. Governor Phillip, accompanied by two or three officers, followed the party to a place where the natives had retired and made a fire; at which, the serjeant, who arrived there a few minutes before, found two men, one of whom he laid hold of, and the other was seized by the surgeon's mate of the Sirius, who went with the party, as he knew the men they were in search of: both these men, however, got away; and a club, which at first was taken for a spear, being thrown by one of them, three musquets were fired. Two women and a child were found at the fire, but as it was then dark, it was in vain to look for the two men, though one of them was supposed to be wounded. The women were brought away, together with several sticks, which the natives use for digging roots, and some other articles, in order to learn more fully who were the aggressors. The women, though alarmed at first, yet, when they got to Governor Phillip's house, appeared under no concern, but slept that night in a shed in the yard, as much at their ease as if nothing had happened; though it was impossible for them to know that the men fired at were not killed; and one of them was husband to one of the women: the other woman was she who had been left at the governor's house, when her husband took away a former wife. The fiz-gig, which had been thrown at the man in the garden, being shown to these women, they said it belonged to a native who has already been noticed as a daring fellow; indeed he was so much so, that though Governor Phillip thought it necessary to watch for an opportunity of checking his insolence, he could not but admire his spirit. Some bread and fish being given to the women the next morning, they went away, well pleased with their reception. On the 29th of December, Bannelong made his appearance at Governor Phillip's house, after an absence of ten days, and brought his wife with him: he said he had been with a great number of the Cameragals, and they had drawn the front tooth from several young men, and had raised those scars which the natives regard as ornaments. The largest of these scars are made by cutting two lines through the skin, parallel to each other, with a sharp shell, and afterwards stripping off the intermediate skin: this operation is repeated till the wound rises considerably above the flesh, after which, it is suffered to heal over. These scars, or ornaments, are not very common among the women, yet some have them on the arms, back, and breasts. Bannelong had a throwing-stick, which he took pains to show had been cut for the purpose of knocking out the front tooth, and there was some reason to think he had performed that office: it seems, he was now on good terms with the Cameragals, as he said they were all good men; and being asked if he had seen the man who threw the spear at Governor Phillip, he said yes, and had slept with him; nor was there any reason to suppose he had ever beat, or even quarreled with him on that account. Bannelong's wife, who had been with him on this excursion, was painted in a different manner to what she had been seen before, and it appeared to have been done with a good deal of attention: her cheeks, nose, and upper lip, were rubbed over with red ochre, on which, and under the eyes, some white clay was laid in spots; the small of her back was likewise rubbed with red ochre, and she seemed to be sensible that she was finer than common. After dinner, this couple went away, and the girl who had been desirous of living with the governor's servants, wanted to go along with them, which she was permitted to do. This girl, who might be about eighteen years old, stripped herself before she went away, but kept her night-cap to sleep in, as her head had been shaved when she was first taken into the governor's family: she never had been under any kind of restraint, so that her going away could only proceed from a preference to the manner of life in which she had been brought up, and which is rather surprising, as the women are certainly treated with great cruelty; this, however, the custom of the country seems to have perfectly reconciled them to. Two colonists, who had been in a boat fishing, returned with a piece of intelligence very little to the credit of Bannelong, who had robbed them of what fish they had caught; and, as they had no arms, and he had several spears in his canoe, along with his wife and sister, they were deterred from making any resistance. In consequence of the fishing-boat being robbed, orders were given that no boat in future should go out of the cove unarmed, and the natives were forbid ever going to the western point of the cove, where they stole the potatoes and threw the fiz-gig. Three convicts, who went into the woods contrary to orders, were lost for several days; and when found, they were pretty severely punished: this, however, did not prevent one of these men from going out again, and he had now been so long absent, that there was no doubt but that he perished from hunger: another fell into the brook at Rose-Hill, and was drowned. The number of deaths this year, 1790, were, From sickness, 142 Lost in the woods, 4 Executed, 4 Drowned, 6 The total number of deaths, 156 On the 3d of January, 1791, several of the natives came to Governor Phillip's house, and told him that the native who had been fired at on the 28th of December, was wounded and would die; it was explained to them, that the reason of his being fired at, was, his attempting to wound a white man: on this, they did not appear dissatisfied. Bannelong and his wife came in soon afterwards, and Governor Phillip charged him with taking the fish from the two colonists, which he denied; saying he had been a great way off; but when the two persons were sent for, and he found himself known, he entered into a long conversation, the purport of which was, an endeavour to justify himself; and this he did with an insolence that explained itself very clearly: he frequently mentioned the man who had been wounded, and threatened revenge; but appearing to recollect himself, he offered the governor his hand, which not being accepted, he grew violent, and seemed inclined to make use of his stick. One of the centinels was now called in, as it was much feared he would do some violent act, that would oblige Governor Phillip to order him to be put to death; for his behaviour was the height of savage insolence, and would have been immediately punished in any other person; but this man had so often made use of the word _be-ah-nah_, that they wished to bring him to reason without proceeding to force; especially, as it was suggested by an officer who was in the room, that he might not be understood clearly, and the governor was very unwilling to destroy the confidence Bannelong had for some time placed in him, which the slightest punishment or confinement would have done: he therefore told him to come near, for he was then standing at some distance, but he refused and went away. Bannelong had not left the governor with any intention of returning; for, in passing the wheelwright's shop, the workmen being at dinner, he stole a hatchet, with which, though pursued he got clear off. In the afternoon of the 3d, the surgeon and some others went to the place where the wounded native was said to be, having directions to bring him to the hospital, if there were any hopes of his recovery. When they got to the spot to which the native boy and girl, who were in the boat, directed them, two natives appeared; one of whom, having been concerned in stealing the potatoes, kept at a distance; the other came near enough to converse with them, and said, the man they were in search of was dead, in an adjoining cove, whither they went and found his body. The ball had passed through the shoulder, and had cut the subclavian artery: the body was warm, and as his friends had left it covered with some boughs and fern, it was probable they did not intend either to bury or burn it. It proved to be the man who had thrown the fiz-gig; and as there was a necessity for firing on him, the taking place of the ball was rather to be wished for. The woman who had been deserted by her husband, after remaining eight or ten days at Governor Phillip's house, went away on the 5th of January, and was reconciled to him again; his first wife now lived with another man, but she frequently visited Sydney, and was said to have granted favours to several of the convicts. All the wheat and barley was now housed, except what was sown very late, and yielded better than could have been expected after the long drought. On the 18th, her Majesty's birthday was celebrated with the customary marks of respect. The Supply, having been put into thorough repair, sailed out of the cove on the 19th, with provisions and stores for Norfolk Island; but the wind coming round to the south-east, she was obliged to anchor, and did not get out of the harbour till the 22d. The game-keeper, who was wounded on the 9th of December, as hath already been related, died on the 20th of January: his death was sudden, as at one time he was thought to be in a very fair way of recovery, being able to walk about. On opening the body, it appeared that the lungs on the left side, which had been wounded, were entirely wasted away: the pleura firmly adhered to the ribs for some inches round the wound; several of the small stones with which the spear had been armed, were found adhering to the side, and the rib against which the spear had broke, was splintered. A considerable quantity of ground was now cleared, and large enclosures were made for cattle, which there was reason to hope would be brought from the Cape of Good Hope, by the ships daily expected to arrive with the remainder of the corps raised for the service of this country, and the convicts from Ireland. The person who had hitherto superintended the labour of the convicts, died on the 28th of January. This man left England with Governor Phillip, as a servant; but he had employed him in the public service from their first landing, and few men, who may hereafter be placed in his situation, will attain that ascendency which he had over the convicts, or be able to go through so much fatigue. He was replaced by a superintendant who came from England in the last ships. The Dutch vessel, which had been hired at Batavia to bring provisions purchased for the Colony, and which arrived at Port Jackson on the 17th of December, 1790, was cleared, and was ready for sea by the 5th of February. The provisions brought in her consisted of one hundred and seventy-one barrels of beef, one hundred and seventy-two barrels of pork, thirty-nine barrels of flour, one thousand pounds of sugar, and seventy thousand pounds of rice: five pounds in the hundred were to be allowed as loss on the rice; and after that deduction, there was a deficiency of forty-two thousand nine hundred pounds; for which, the master of the vessel would only allow the commissary at the rate of one halfpenny a pound; or, if paid in butter, at the rate of one pound of butter for eighteen pounds of rice: he had rice and flour on board, which he called his own property; and as he was a foreigner, and particularly circumstanced, the commissary was ordered to accept the butter in lieu of the deficiency of rice. This vessel was hired by the officer, who commanded the Supply armed tender, and who was obliged to accept her at three hundred and fifty tons measurement, though she did not measure three hundred tons: the freight for bringing the provisions was fixed at twenty-eight thousand rix-dollars; bills for which had been given at Batavia. The master on his arrival, said, that after leaving Port Jackson, he should proceed to New Guinea in search of spices, which that island was supposed to produce; he was also to stop at Timur and several other settlements before he returned to Batavia: at the same time, he offered the vessel for sale, or to lett her on freight; but as he conjectured that the colony wanted such a vessel, his demands were exorbitant. He first valued her at sixty thousand rix-dollars, and before he was ready to sail, he offered her for two and thirty thousand rix-dollars. If she was hired, he talked of eleven pounds sterling per month; but no attention being paid to any of these demands, he came down to forty shillings sterling a ton per month, if let on freight to carry the officers and seamen who had belonged to the Sirius to England; that freight to be paid until the vessel should return to Batavia. He was now ready to sail, and finding no attention would be paid to any such proposals, he offered to sell the vessel for thirty thousand rix-dollars, or to go to England on freight at forty shillings per ton; the vessel to be continued in pay for two months after her arrival at Portsmouth or Plymouth; or to have twenty thousand rix-dollars for the voyage. A considerable time had passed since Governor Phillip had reason to expect the arrival of some ships from England, and he wished to secure a vessel for sending home the officers and men who had belonged to the Sirius, or to send for a farther supply of provisions, should no ships arrive before the month of March: the Dutch vessel was, therefore, hired at twenty shillings per ton. Two native youths who had frequently left Governor Phillip's house, in order to have their front teeth drawn, had now been absent several days for that purpose. They were seen in a bay down the harbour on the 8th of February, where a considerable number of the natives were assembled, it was supposed not less than a hundred, including women and children. Most of the men were painted, and it should seem that they were assembled for the purpose of drawing the front teeth from several men and boys. Soon afterwards, the two youths returned to the governor's; they had their heads bound round with rushes, which were split, and the white side was put outwards: several pieces of reed were stuck through this fillet and came over the forehead; their arms were likewise bound round and ornamented in the same manner, and each had a black streak on his breast, which was broad at one end, and terminated in a point. They had lost their front teeth, and considering their manner of drawing teeth in this country, it was not surprising to see that one of them had lost a piece of his jaw-bone, which was driven out with the tooth. Both these boys appeared to be in pain, but they would not own it, and seemed to value themselves on having undergone the operation; though why it is performed, or why the females lose a part of the little finger, could not as yet be learnt. The weather was very close and sultry, and the natives having fired the country for several miles round, the wind, which blew strong on the 12th, was heated to a very extraordinary degree, particularly at Rose-Hill, where the country was on fire for several miles to the northward and southward. Great numbers of parroquets were picked up under the trees, and the bats, which had been seen frequently flying about Rose-Hill soon after the evening closed in, and were supposed to go to the southward every night, and return to the northward before the day broke, now appeared in immense numbers: thousands of them were hanging on the branches of the trees, and many dropped down, unable to bear the burning winds. The head of this bat strongly resembles that of a fox, and the wings of many of them extend three feet ten inches: Governor Phillip saw one which measured upwards of four feet from the tip of each wing. Some were taken alive, and would eat boiled rice, or other food readily out of the hand, and in a few days were as domestic as if they had been bred in the house: the governor had one, a female, that would hang by one leg a whole day without changing its position; and in that pendant situation, with its breast neatly covered with one of its wings, it ate whatever was offered it, lapping out of the hand like a cat. Their smell is stronger than that of a fox; they are very fat, and are reckoned by the natives excellent food. From the numbers which fell into the brook at Rose-Hill, the water was tainted for several days, and it was supposed that more than twenty thousand of them were seen within the space of one mile. The dry weather still continued, and many runs of water which were considerable at this season the last year, were now dried up; but the brook at Rose-Hill, though greatly reduced, was still a run of water that would supply more inhabitants than that settlement is likely to contain for many years; and in all the ponds there was plenty of good water; nor had the dry weather affected a spring that rises on the side of a hill, the water of which is better than what the brook affords. At Sydney, the run of water was now very small, but was sufficient for all culinary purposes; and should it hereafter be found necessary, wells may easily be made: a well at Governor Phillip's house was very little affected by the drought. The natives continued to visit Sydney after Bannelong stole the hatchet, and behaved in a manner that gave every one reason to think he never would return; this, however, was not the case; for, after having frequently visited the fishing-boats, and made many enquiries to know if Governor Phillip was angry, and would shoot him, he ventured to go to the hospital, and seemed very desirous of knowing if he might come to the governor's house; at the same time, he named a man who, he said, had stolen the hatchet, and denied having ever used any threats: however, not being satisfied with the answers which were given to him, he went away. But some days afterwards he came to the governor's, who, happening to be in the yard when he came to the gate, ordered him away. He was seen soon afterwards, and as he appeared very desirous of being received again, and disclaimed any knowledge of the hatchet, or any intention of revenging the death of the native who had been shot, Governor Phillip appeared to believe him, and he was permitted to come into the yard, which was always open to the natives, and some bread and fish were given him; but he was no longer permitted to enter the house; this was putting him on a level with the other natives, and he appeared to feel his degradation; but it did not prevent him from repeating his visits very frequently. -By-gone_, who has been mentioned as the daring fellow who lived with Bannelong, and was in campany with the man who had been shot, ventured to come to Rose-Hill; and as Governor Phillip wished for a friendly intercourse to be kept up with the natives, he was well received, and no notice was taken of past offences, so that he soon became perfectly at his ease. A second store-house of brick was now tiled in, and though the crops in the ground had suffered from the very dry weather for the last eight months, it had been favourable for the buildings. The barrack at Rose-Hill was nearly ready to receive the men, and one wing of the officers barracks was ready for tiling. The Supply returned from Norfolk Island on the 26th of February, with the officers and seamen who had remained there after the loss of the Sirius; and the Dutch vessel being hired to carry them to England, she began to prepare for the voyage. In the night of the 27th, they had very heavy rain, which was highly acceptable. On the 28th, it blew very fresh, and a fishing boat, in working up the harbour, filled; fortunately, she was an English cutter, and did not sink. A young woman, a little girl, and two children, (all natives) were in the boat when the accident happened: the young woman had the two children on her shoulders in a moment, and swam on shore with them; the girl also swam on shore, as did such of the boat's crew that could swim. Several of the natives seeing this accident as the boat drove towards the rocks, gave them every possible assistance, without which, in all probability, one of the crew would have been drowned. After clearing the boat, they collected the oars and such articles as had been driven on shore in different places; and in these friendly offices, Bannelong was very assiduous: this behaviour gave Governor Phillip an opportunity of receiving him in a more kindly manner than he had done since his bad behaviour. Though our colonists had never been able to learn the reason for the females losing two joints of the little finger, they now had an opportunity of seeing in what manner that operation is performed. Colebe's wife brought her child to Governor Phillip's house a few days after it was born, and as it was a female, both the father and mother had been repeatedly told, that if the finger was to be cut off, the governor wished to see the operation. The child was now two months old, and a ligature was applied round the little finger at the second joint; but two or three days afterwards, when she brought the child again, the ligature was either broke, or had been taken off: this being mentioned to the mother, she took several hairs from the head of an officer who was present, and bound them very tight round the child's finger. After some time, a gangrene took place; and though the child appeared uneasy when the finger was touched, it did not cry, nor was any attention paid to it after the ligature was applied. It has already been observed, that this operation always took place on the left hand of the females; but this child was an exception, for it was the little finger on the right hand on which the ligature was applied: this bandage was continued until the finger was ready to drop off, when its parents carried it to the surgeon, who, at their request, separated it with a knife. Making love in this country is always prefaced by a beating, which the female seems to receive as a matter of course. The native girl, who still resided occasionally at the clergyman's, had been absent two days, when she returned with a bad wound on the head, and some severe bruises on her shoulder; the girl whose life Governor Phillip had saved, returned with her; she also had a wound on her head, and one of her arms was much bruised by a blow with a club: the story they told was, that two men who frequently visited the settlement, wanted to sleep with them, and on their refusing, had, as usual on such occasions, beat them most unmercifully. Bannelong, after an absence of several days, returned to the settlement; and the services he had rendered the boat's crew when they were in danger of being lost, being considered as an atonement for his past offences, he was admitted into Governor Phillip's house; in consequence of this reconciliation, the number of visitors greatly increased, the governor's yard being their head quarters. Chapter XXI TRANSACTIONS AT PORT JACKSON April 1791 to May 1791 An excursion into the country.--Occurrences on the journey.--Surprising dexterity of the natives in climbing trees.--Their superstition.--Their method of curing wounds.--Their language.--Their manners and disposition. On the 11th of April, 1791, Governor Phillip left Rose-Hill with a party, intending to reach Hawkesbury-River, opposite Richmond-Hill; and, if possible, to cross the river and get to the mountains. Besides the governor, the party consisted of a servant, and three convicts, who were good marksmen, eight soldiers, two serjeants, one captain, Lieutenant Tench, and Lieutenant Dawes; they took seven days provisions with them. As a few hours heavy rain would raise the waters at the head of the Hawkesbury, and render their return very difficult, if not impracticable, the party were made so considerable, that they might divide if it was possible to cross the river, which the governor meant to do with only half a dozen persons; leaving the remainder to prepare a raft of light wood, if any could be found, or to assist their return, with lines carried for that purpose. It was near eleven o'clock when the party set off, and, after crossing Rose-Hill creek, they went to the northward, as Governor Phillip wished to see if, after so long a drought, there was any water in a ravine near to which he intended to place a settler, the ground being good, lying well for cultivation, and having plenty of water where the farm-house was intended to be fixed. This track of good ground runs to the eastward, and was separated from the cultivated land on the north side of Rose-Hill creek by a small patch of brush-wood, and a narrow slip of poor sandy soil. Water being found in the bottom of the ravines, our party shaped their course so as to cross a part of the country, with which they were unacquainted, going north-west by the compass, and counting their paces. Colebe, and Ballederry, the young man who has been mentioned as living chiefly at Governor Phillip's house, were desirous of joining this party; and, as much information was expected from them, they were encouraged to go, and they carried their own provisions. After passing several deep ravines, and going round the heads of others, over a barren country for an hour, the land grew better, and was tolerable, till one o'clock, when it again grew bad and rocky. The natives informed them that this part of the country was inhabited by the _Bidjigals_, but that most of the tribe were dead of the small-pox. Though the country they passed over in their morning's walk was chiefly poor stony ground, it was covered with timber, and was pleasing to the eye. At half past one o'clock, the party came to a low piece of ground where they found water, and which, in any future excursion, would be a good sleeping place. The country continued a dry, arid soil, and the surface was mostly covered with loose stones, till forty minutes past three o'clock, when they came to some pools of good water, which were very acceptable, as one of the party was taken ill. Here they made fires and laid down for the night. In the course of the day, they had seen numbers of Pattagorong, and Baggaray; in one herd, it was supposed there could not be less than forty. Soon after the fires were lighted, the voice of a native was heard in the woods, hunting his dog; and, as Colebe and Ballederry were very desirous of having an interview with him, though they said the tribe of _Bu-ru-be-ron-gal_, who were bad men and their enemies, resided near the spot, they frequently hallooed, and were answered by the stranger; and, as the voice drew nearer, they desired our party would all lie down and keep silence. A light was now seen in the woods, and our natives advancing towards it, a pretty long conversation ensued between them and the stranger, who approached them with great precaution: a little boy who was with him carried the fire, which was a piece of the bark of the tea-tree. This boy being sent forward first, joined Colebe and Ballederry, who, having told the stranger their names, the tribe to which they belonged, and received the like information from him, they joined, and the stranger was now told the names of the party who remained at the fire; at the same time, some of them were desired to speak. At Governor Phillip's approach, the boy ran away, and the man did not appear perfectly at his ease when he saw four or five persons near him, though none of them were armed. They were all introduced to the stranger by name, and he was pressed to come to their fire, which was forty or fifty yards distant; but this he declined, saying he would go and fetch his family, and would return in the morning. Colebe and Ballederry told this man that their party were going to the river, which he pointed out as lying in the direction they had taken. When these natives first endeavoured to make themselves heard by the stranger, they had advanced some little distance from the rest, but as he approached them they retreated, and wanted the serjeant, in whom they always placed great confidence, to take his gun, and go with them, which was not permitted: this showed that they, as well as the other native, thought there was some danger in the meeting; and the caution with which the stranger approached them was very great; by sending the boy before him with the fire, he could see if those he was going to join were armed or not, whilst the trees kept him from their view. This man had a stone hatchet, a spear, and a throwing-stick, which one of our natives was very desirous of his leaving; probably as a pledge for his returning in the morning, but this he refused: he was a young man, of the tribe of Bu-ru-be-ron-gal, and named -Bur-ro-wai_; his hair was ornamented with the tails of several small animals, and he had preserved all his teeth. On Colebe being asked how this man lived, he said that he had no canoe, but lived by the chace. The next morning, (the 12th of April,) our party set off at half past six o'clock, keeping their course north-west, through a poor country, though covered with timber, till three quarters past eight, when they saw the river, which, in this situation, is about 300 feet wide: the banks are high, and the soil a light sand, but producing fine strait timber: this sand, which in some places does not appear to have any mixture of mould, extends several hundred yards from the river. The party were now eighteen miles and an half from Rose-Hill, which bore from them north 28° west. The current in the river was running down, and they set off at half past ten o'clock, to follow its windings, as it ran to the eastward. The person who was charged with counting his paces, and setting the objects to which they directed their march, had hitherto gone first; but the long sedge, the dead branches which had fallen from the trees, the nettles, and a weed resembling ivy which entangled the feet, made walking on, or near the banks of the river very fatiguing; he was therefore directed to follow the party, and to take the bearings of those who went before him from time to time, still counting his paces, that they might always know their situation in the woods, and the direction it would be necessary to take when they returned across the country. They proceeded in an Indian file, the person who went first, always falling into the rear whenever he found himself fatigued. Several good situations were seen on the opposite side of the river as our party went along, and the ground appeared to be good: they also passed some good spots on their side of the river, and saw several places where the natives had slept on its banks. Ducks were seen in great numbers, but the party seldom got a shot. In the afternoon, a creek obliged them to leave the banks of the river, and go round its head, as it was too deep to cross: having rounded the head of this creek, they found themselves on the borders of a river not more than eighty feet wide; the banks were low, and covered with a thick brush, which did not make walking less laborious to those who went first. Their view was now very contracted, the ground rising on the right so as to confine the prospect to fifty or one hundred yards; and what they could see was mostly a poor stony soil. In the afternoon, they fell in with one of the native's hunting-huts, which Colebe and Ballederry would have cut to pieces, had not Governor Phillip prevented them; they said it belonged to their enemies, and they were much displeased at not being permitted to destroy it. The natives were known to eat a grub which is found in the small gum-tree, and when our party came to the creek already mentioned, a native fled on their approach, leaving his fire, and some decayed wood he had drawn out of the creek, for the purpose of procuring a large worm which is found in it, and which they eat. The smell of this wood is so strong, that few Europeans are able to bear it for any length of time; indeed, it cannot be distinguished from the foulest privy. At four o'clock the party halted and made fires for the night, being all pretty well tired. Just before they stopped for the night, several natives were heard, and Colebe and Ballederry wanted to join them, but they went away in their canoes. In the morning of the 13th, the party set off again, still following the creek, which was now little larger than a good ditch, and went through a very barren rocky country, until noon, when, being at the head of the creek they crossed it, and, after resting some time, they endeavoured to go to the north-west, in order to fall in with the river which they had lost by going round the creek in the afternoon of the preceding day; but they were soon stopped by a deep ravine; and the surgeon going to a rising ground on the left, saw the country open to the westward, and thought he could distinguish Richmond-Hill; this led them all to the spot, and, from the break in the mountain, and the trending of the land, Governor Phillip imagined it to be Richmond-Hill, which they saw, being the southern extremity of a range of hills. It bore west by south, and appeared to be from eleven to thirteen miles distant, as near as could be determined. The place from whence our party had this prospect, was called -Tench's Prospect-Hill_, that officer being of the party, and having from thence seen Richmond-Hill for the first time. The spot where they had made the river on the 12th, being little more than four miles distant, it was thought best to return there, and from thence to trace the river to the westward till they got opposite to Richmond-Hill. The Governor was well aware of the difficulties they would have to encounter on the banks of a river where walking was laborious, and every little creek they met with would oblige them to follow it up the country till they could cross it; but in a country like this, you may travel many miles through the woods and not get sight of very high land, though it may not be half a mile from you. Our party set off, in order to get back to sleep near the head of the creek, which they had crossed at noon, and which they soon attained: it was flood-tide when they got there, and they found the tide to rise about eighteen inches, making high water at nine o'clock: this was on the night of the 13th. After crossing the creek at half past seven o'clock the next morning, they shaped a course that was likely to carry them to the river, without being embarrassed with the bad walking on its banks, or the windings of the creek, until they got near the spot, from whence they proposed taking a fresh departure. After crossing the creek, and some very rocky ground, they had good walking over a country, full of timber and pleasing to the eye; but the ground was poor, and the surface mostly covered with stones. Here some ants nests were seen, composed of an amazing number of small stones, which formed a circle of five or six feet diameter, rising regularly in the center to the height of twenty or thirty inches. An hour and a half s walking brought them to a swamp, where they stopped to fire at some ducks, and then crossing it, they continued their course nearly west 8° north till eleven o'clock, when they came to a pool of good water. The country was now sandy, and presently afterwards, they arrived on the borders of the river, and soon got to the place where they first stopped in the morning of the 12th. Several canoes being seen, our two natives were very desirous of speaking to the persons in them, and the party were all desired to hide themselves in the grass until the canoes should come abreast of them; Colebe and Ballederry also concealed themselves, but the canoes stopping on the opposite shore before they came near, one of our natives was told to call to them, which he did, and was soon answered by an old man, who, after a short conversation, came over in his canoe, being known to Colebe. This man joined the party without the least fear; and from the questions that were put to him respecting the river, Colebe and Ballederry concluded they had come this journey in order to procure stone hatchets, as the natives get the stones whereof they make their hatchets from that part of the river near Richmond-Hill, which the old man said was a great way off, and the road to it was very bad. Colebe and Ballederry had at first supposed, that Governor Phillip and his party came from the settlement to kill ducks and patagorongs; but finding they did not stop at the places where those animals were seen in any numbers, they were at a loss to know why the journey was taken; and though they had hitherto behaved exceedingly well, yet, as they now began to be tired of a journey, which yielded them no sort of advantage, they endeavoured to persuade the governor to return, saying, it was a great way to the place where the stone hatchets were to be procured, and that they must come in a boat. On the party leaving this place, the old native returned to his canoe, but he joined them soon afterwards, and gave Governor Phillip two stone hatchets, two spears, and a throwing-stick: this present was made in consequence of our two natives telling him who all the party were. In return for the old man's present, he had some bread, some fish-hooks, and a couple of small hatchets given him. The spears were well made; one of them had a single barb of wood fixed on with gum, the other had two large barbs cut out of the solid wood, and it was as finely brought to a point as if it had been made with the sharpest instrument. The throwing-stick had a piece of hard stone fixed in gum instead of the shell which is commonly used by the natives who live on the sea coast: it is with these stones, which they bring to a very sharp edge, that the natives make their spears. The old native followed our party in his canoe as they kept along the banks of the river, and another canoe, with a woman and child, joined him: the old man observing that they did not keep near enough the water's edge to have the least fatigue in walking, came out of his canoe and took the lead, and he soon brought them to a path made by the natives, where it was very good walking, and which ran alongside the river. It was near four o'clock when they stopped for the night, and were joined by a young man and a lively little boy, who they soon found intended, as well as the old man, to take up their residence with them, though their families were on the opposite bank, and they had two fires lighted. Though our natives appeared to be on very friendly terms with their new acquaintances, yet they certainly had no particular affection for them, and spoke of them very lightly when they were out of hearing; particularly Ballederry, who said the youngest man of the two was bad: his name was _Yal-lah-mien-di_; they supposed him to be the old man's son, and the child to be his grandson. The old man called himself _Go-me-bee-re_, and said the child's name was _Jim-bah_; they were of the tribe of _Bu-ru-be-rong-al_. Colebe and Ballederry, in describing that tribe on the second day's journey, had called them _climbers of trees_, and men who lived by hunting; certainly, no persons can better deserve the appellation of climbers, if we may judge from what was seen of Go-me-bee-re, who, for a biscuit, in a very few minutes cut his notches in the bark of a tree and mounted it with surprising agility, though an old man. These notches are cut in the bark little more than an inch deep, which receives the ball of the great toe; the first and second notches are cut from the ground; the rest they cut as they ascend, and at such a distance from each other, that when both their feet are in the notches, the right foot is raised nearly as high as the middle of the left thigh: when they are going to raise themselves a step, their hatchet is held in the mouth, in order to have the use of both their hands; and, when cutting the notch, the weight of the body rests on the ball of the great toe: the fingers of the left hand are also fixed in a notch cut on the side of the tree for that purpose, if it is too large to admit their clasping it sufficiently with the left arm to keep the body close to the tree. In this manner do these people climb trees, whose circumference is ten or fifteen feet, or upwards, after an opossum or a squirrel, though they rise to the height of sixty or eighty feet before there is a single branch. Governor Phillip had occasionally seen a few of the natives climb the trees at Sydney and Rose-Hill, but this old man greatly surpassed them. In the evening, the four natives and the child took their places at the fire, and a scene ensued which shows that these people are not a little superstitious. Colebe had been wounded below the left breast with a fiz-gig, and though it must have been done many years back, or the wound must have been slight, as it was difficult to discover any scar, yet it was supposed he felt some pain, though it probably might be occasioned by the straps of his knapsack; however, the youngest of the two strangers was applied to for relief. He began the ceremony by taking a mouthful of water, which he squirted on the part affected, and then applying his mouth, he began to suck as long as he could without taking breath; this seemed to make him sick, and when he rose up, (for his patient was sitting on the ground) he walked about for a few minutes, and then began to suck again, till it was again necessary for him to take breath: this was repeated three times, and he seemed, by drawing in his stomach, to feel the pain he had drawn from the breast of his patient; and having picked up a bit of stick or stone, which he did with so little caution that several of the party saw him, he pretended to take something out of his mouth and throw it into the river. He certainly did throw something away, which must be what he picked up; but Colebe, after the ceremony was over, said it was what he had sucked from his breast, which some understood to be two barbs of a fiz-gig, as he made use of the word _Bul-ler-doo-ul_; but Governor Phillip was of opinion he meant two pains. Before this business was finished, the doctor felt his patient's back below the shoulder, and seemed to apply his fingers as if he twitched something out; after which, he sat down by the patient, and put his right arm round his back; the old man, at the same time, sat down on the other side the patient, with his face the contrary way, and clasped him round the breast with his right arm; each of them had hold of one of the patient's hands, in which situation they remained a few minutes. Thus ended the ceremony, and Colebe said he was well. He gave his worsted night cap and the best part of his supper to the doctor as a fee; and being asked, if both the men were doctors, he said, yes, and the child was a doctor also, so that it may be presumed the power of healing wounds descends from father to son. This affair being finished, most of the party fell asleep, whilst the two doctors were amused by Colebe and Ballederry, with an account of the buildings at Sydney and Rose-Hill, and in what manner the colonists lived: in this history, names were as particularly attended to as if their hearers had been intimately acquainted with every person who was mentioned. Though the tribe of Buruberongal, to which these men belonged, live chiefly by hunting, the women are employed in fishing, and our party were told, that they caught large mullet in the river. Neither of these men had lost their front tooth, and the names they gave to several parts of the body were such as the natives about Sydney had never been heard to make use of. Ga-dia (the penis), they called _Cud-da_; Go-rey (the ear), they called -Ben-ne_; in the word _mi_ (the eye), they pronounced the letter _I_ as an _E_; and in many other instances their pronunciation varied, so that there is good reason to believe several different languages are spoken by the natives of this country, and this accounts for only one or two of those words given in Captain Cook's vocabulary having ever been heard amongst the natives who visited the settlement. Having taken leave of their new friends the -Car-ra-dy-gans_ (doctors), our party set off at a quarter past seven o'clock in the morning of the 15th of April, and followed the natives path along the banks of the river, walking at a good pace till a quarter past eight o'clock, when they came to a creek which was too wide to be crossed by cutting down a tree, and was too deep to be forded; they were, therefore, obliged to follow its windings till they supposed themselves at the head of it, and then they endeavoured to regain the banks of the river; but they presently found that they had only rounded a small arm of this creek, the principal branch of which they continued to trace with infinite fatigue for the remainder of the day. It was high water in this creek at forty minutes past twelve o'clock, and at half past three, they found it divide into two branches, either of which might have been crossed on a tree; but by this time the party were tired, and threatened with heavy rain, which would make their night very uncomfortable, as they had no tent; they therefore took up their residence at a spot where a quantity of timber, from trees, which had already been burnt down by the natives, promised them good fires with little labour. The rain went off after a few light showers, but our two natives now began to grow quite impatient to return home. Colebe talked about his wife, and said his child would cry; and Ballederry lost all patience when the rain began, telling the governor, that there were good houses at Sydney and Rose-Hill, but that they had no house now, no fish, no melon (of which fruit all the natives are very fond); and there is no doubt but they would have left the party, had they been acquainted with the country through which they had to return. It was most likely that the greatest part of the next day would be spent in getting to that part of the river which the creek had obliged them to quit, so that two days would be taken up in getting to the opposite side of a creek, not one hundred feet wide; it was, therefore, determined to return to Rose-Hill, which bore from the sleeping place south-east, sixteen miles distant. The river which Governor Phillip had named the Nepean in a former excursion, was then traced for some miles, and he expected to have fallen in with it this journey, and to have traced it down to where it empties itself into the Hawkesbury, which it is supposed to do above Richmond-Hill: indeed, during the first day of this excursion, he supposed it possible that the river they were then tracing might be the Nepean, but what they saw of it afterwards, left no doubt but that they had fallen in with the Hawkesbury some miles below Richmond-Hill. In the morning of the 16th of April, at half past seven o'clock, Governor Phillip and his party set off on their return to Rose-Hill; and, as soon as they were clear of the creek, they went south 40° east, which, they supposed, would carry them into the path leading from Rose-Hill to Prospect-Hill.--The face of the country where they slept, and for several miles in their road, was a poor soil, but finely formed, and covered with the stately white gum-tree. At noon, they came to a hollow, in which they found some very good water; here they stopped near an hour: after passing this gully, and a rocky piece of ground, the soil grew better, and they soon came to a brook of good water, which they had occasion to cross twice; the soil was good, and covered with long grass: they were now drawing near to Rose-Hill, where they arrived a little before four o'clock. The dry weather still continued, and though they had a few showers, the quantity of rain which fell in the month of April, was not sufficient to bring the dry ground into proper order for sowing the grain; a few acres, however, of what was in the best condition, were sown with wheat the last week in the month. This long continuance of dry weather, not only hurt their crops of corn very much, but the gardens likewise suffered greatly; many being sown a second and a third time, as the seed never vegetated, from the want of moisture in the soil; this was a double misfortune, for vegetables were not only growing scarce, but seed also. The expected supply of provisions not arriving, Governor Phillip was obliged to reduce the ratio of daily subsistence; but this reduction did not extend to the women and children. After saying that there were many of the convicts, who, if not attended to, ate their week's allowance of provisions in two or three days; it will be obvious that the labour hitherto drawn from that class of people, must be greatly lessened by the necessity the Governor was under of reducing even that allowance; indeed, it was felt by every individual, for the daily ratio of provisions issued from the public stores, was the same to the convict as it was to the governor. Two seamen, who had belonged to the Sirius, became settlers, and were fixed on the creek leading to Rose-Hill, where they had sixty acres of ground each allotted them, and they were to be victualled from the public store for eighteen months. A person who was sent from England to superintend the labour of the convicts, also became a settler, and one hundred and forty acres of land were allotted him on the creek: he was allowed the labour of four convicts for a year, and himself and his daughter were to be victualled from the public store for twelve months. Several convicts, whose terms for which they were sentenced were expired, were permitted to cultivate ground at the foot of Prospect-Hill, and to those who became settlers, Governor Phillip gave what live stock he could spare, as there was not any belonging to the public in the settlement; nor were individuals possessed of any considerable quantity of live stock, the greatest part having been killed the last year, when they were distressed for want of provisions; and those who were able to cultivate a little maize, were glad to make use of it as a substitute for bread. Little more than twelve months back, hogs and poultry were in great abundance, and were increasing very rapidly; but, at this time, a hen that laid eggs sold for twenty shillings; pork sold for a shilling per pound, but there was seldom any to sell; a roasting-pig sold for ten shillings, and good tobacco for twenty shillings per pound: tobacco, the growth of this country, which, if properly cured, would probably equal the best Brazil tobacco, sold in its green state, for ten shillings per pound. Such was the state of the colony at this time. All the maize was now got in, and, notwithstanding the extraordinary drought for some time before, and long after it was put into the ground, the crop was not a bad one, and the cobs were remarkably large where the ground had been well prepared. In the beginning of May, the officers and men of the New South-Wales corps went into the new barrack at Rose-Hill. The barrack for the soldiers had been finished some time, but one of the wings, which was intended for the officers, could not be compleated before the end of the month. Those natives who had been most accustomed to live at the settlement, would now leave it frequently for several days together, as they found plenty of fish towards the head of the harbour. The savage ferocity of these people shows itself whenever they find themselves thwarted. Bannelong and Colebe with their wives, dined at the governor's on the 8th of May, and came in as usual, to have a glass of wine and a dish of coffee; after which they left the house to go and sleep at Bannelong's hut on the point; but, in the middle of the night, Governor Phillip was called up by the cries of the young girl whom he had formerly rescued from Bannelong: she, it seems, had gone to sleep in a shed at the back of the governor's house, and Bannelong, Colebe, and two others got over the paling, and were endeavouring to carry her off, which the centinels prevented; and, as Governor Phillip did not know at the moment, but that Bannelong and those who were with him, had returned to sleep in the yard after he went to bed, and before the gate was locked, they were permitted to escape; which, indeed, could only have been prevented by ordering them to be put to death. One of these men was seen the next day, and, being taxed with attempting to carry off the girl, he denied the charge; as the natives always do when they are not caught in the fact. Bannelong and Colebe were not seen for a week, and the latter appearing first, when accused, said he was asleep at the time, and laid the blame on Bannelong, who coming soon after, and not being able to make any excuse, or to deny being in the yard, appeared sullen; and when Governor Phillip told him that he was angry, and that the soldiers should shoot him if he ever came again to take any woman away, he very cooly replied, that then he would spear the soldier; at the same time, he said he was very hungry; and, as no advantage would have followed punishing him, he was ordered something to eat, after the threat had been repeated of his being shot, if ever he came again in the night. It was probable, that the displeasure of Governor Phillip with Bannelong would have a better effect than any corporal punishment, which might only lead him to revenge himself on some of those who frequently went into the woods unarmed; at the same time, orders were given for the centinels to fire on any of the natives who might be seen getting over the paling in the night, and the sleeping of the women in the yard when their husbands were not with them was discouraged, The girl was asked if the natives were going to take her away in order to beat her,--she said no, it was to force her to sleep with them; at the same time these men had left their own wives at their fires. The Supply had now so far exceeded the time in which she generally made the voyage to and from Norfolk-Island, that fears were entertained for her safety, but they were removed by her arrival on the 30th of May. As she was the only vessel in this country, it was not without great concern that Governor Phillip found the necessary repairs she wanted would require more time than he could have wished her to remain in the harbour. Chapter XXII TRANSACTIONS AT PORT JACKSON June 1791 to September 1791 -A second excursion into the country.--The first grants of land to settlers.--A barter with the natives established.--The arrival of several vessels from England.--A new harbour discovered.--The names of the first settlers.- The weather continuing dry, two officers (Tench and Dawes,) who were with Governor Phillip on his last excursion, and two soldiers, set off in the beginning of June, 1791, to trace the Hawkesbury, from the place where the former party were turned off by the creek. They got opposite Richmond-Hill on the 5th day after their departure, and were assisted in crossing the river by a native, who lent his canoe to one of the soldiers that could not swim; but they afterwards found the river so very shallow near the fall, that the water did not reach above the ancles. It has already been observed, that when the floods come down from the mountains, the flat country near the head of the Hawkesbury is, in many places, under water, and the river, in that part, rises to a great height. It now appeared that the Nepean does, as was supposed, empty itself into the Hawkesbury; and, in Governor Phillip's opinion, the fall and the sudden contraction of that noble river are very sufficient reasons for confining its name from where it empties itself into Broken-Bay up to the fall; and for continuing the name given to the river (Nepean) which was discovered in going westward from Prospect-Hill. The buildings at Rose-Hill being carried on so far as to form hereafter a regular town between Rose-Hill and the landing-place in the creek, Governor Phillip named it _Parramatta_; the name given by the natives to the spot on which the town was building. Grants of land were now given to those who became settlers; and those who had been permitted to clear ground in their leisure hours, and on one day of the week which was allowed them for that purpose, went on very well. The grants which had already been made, were, to James Ruse, thirty acres, which is called in the grant _Experiment Farm-: to Philip Schaffer, who came from England as a superintendant, one hundred and forty acres; called in the grant, the _Vineyard-: to Robert Webb and William Reid, who were seamen, lately belonging to the Sirius, sixty acres each, and which were called in the grants, _Webb_ and _Reid's Farms_. On the 4th of June, the anniversary of his Majesty's birth-day was celebrated, and, on this occasion, an addition was made to the daily ratio of provisions; a pound of pork and a pound of rice were given to each man, half that quantity to every woman, and a quarter of a pound of pork, with half a pound of rice to every child. Some refreshing showers of rain had lately fallen, but not sufficient to bring up the wheat that was sown in April and the beginning of May; however, some came up well where the ground, lying low, had a little moisture in it. The Supply's main-mast being got out was found very rotten, and that vessel wanted repairs which they found difficult to give her. A soldier of the New South Wales corps, going from Parramatta with some of his comrades for the purpose of procuring sweet tea, left them to go after a pattegorong, and lost himself in the woods: after roving about for some time, he saw a number of the natives, who fled on seeing his gun, except one that had frequently visited the settlement, and was known by the name of -Botany-Bay Colebe_. This man joined the soldier, and was followed by one of his companions; the soldier, to gain their good-will, and in hopes of inducing them to show him the way to Parramatta, offered them some of his cloaths, which were not accepted; he made them understand where he wanted to go, but they were on the point of leaving him till he offered his gun, which the native, who was known at the settlement, took, and then conducted him to Sydney; making him understand that Parramatta was a great way off. When they drew near to Sydney, Colebe returned the soldier his gun, and, bidding him tell _Beanah_, (the governor) that he was _Botany-Bay Colebe_, he left him, without even taking what the soldier had first offered him as a present. As the natives frequently caught more fish than was necessary for their own immediate use, and such of them as had lived amongst the colonists, were very fond of bread, rice, and vegetables; some pains had been taken to make them carry the surplus of what fish they caught near the head of the harbour, to Parramatta, and exchange it for bread, etc. Several of them had carried on this traffic lately, and Governor Phillip had reason to hope that a pretty good fish-market would be established the ensuing summer. Amongst those who thus bartered their fish, was a young man that had lived some months with the governor, but had left him from time to time in order to go a fishing: his canoe was a new one, and the first he had ever been master of, so that it may be supposed he set no small value on it. Strict orders had been given, that the natives' canoes should never be touched, and the interest which both the soldiers and the convict had in inducing them to bring their fish, which they exchanged for a very small quantity of bread or rice, would, it might have been supposed, have secured them from insult; but this barter had not been carried on many days, when the young man just mentioned, came to Governor Phillip's hut at Parramatta in a violent rage, said the white men had broke his canoe, and he would kill them: he had his throwing-stick and several spears, and his hair, face, arms, and breast were painted red, which is a sign of great anger: it was with some difficulty that he was made to promise not to kill a white man; which he at length did, on the governor's telling him, that he would kill those who destroyed his canoe. A short time afterwards, the villains were discovered and punished: they were convicts, and the young native saw the punishment inflicted, yet it was thought necessary to tell him that one of the offenders had been hanged, with which he appeared to be satisfied; but, whilst these men were under examination, his behaviour showed, that he thought it belonged to him to punish the injury he had received; and three weeks after the loss of his canoe, when every one thought he was sufficiently repaid for his misfortune by several little articles, which Governor Phillip had given him, by his seeing the aggressor punished, and by his supposing one of them had been put to death, he took his revenge; which confirmed the general opinion, that these people do not readily forgive an injury until they have punished the aggressor. A convict, who strayed some distance from the settlement, was met by two young native men, a woman, and two children, who passed by him, but immediately afterwards he was wounded in the back with a spear; several spears were thrown at him, and he received a second wound in the side; however, he got away; and as it did not appear that the natives followed him to get his cloaths, or attempted to take any thing from him, there was no doubt but the canoe being destroyed was the cause of this attack; especially as the same evening, when Governor Phillip was returning from Parramatta to Sydney, he saw some natives assembled round a fire, and asking them who it was that wounded the white man, he was immediately answered, _Ballederry_; (the owner of the canoe which had been destroyed) he was also told the name of the young man who was with him, and of the women and children. Indeed, it is not a little extraordinary, that these people always tell the names of those who have thrown a spear, or who have stole any thing, if the question is asked them, though they know that you intend to punish the offenders; and it cannot be from a principle of strictly adhering to truth; for, should one of them be charged with doing any thing wrong, he is sure to deny it, and to lay the blame on another who is not present; and it is not only surprising that they should always tell the name of the offender, but that they do it openly; nay, often in the hearing of women and children. The destruction of this canoe was very unfortunate, as it was likely to prevent the natives carrying up their fish to barter; and no canoe was seen in the creek for some time afterwards. Ballederry, the owner of the canoe, was one whom Governor Phillip had hopes of attaching to himself, and intended bringing him to England. Hawks and crows were now frequently seen in great numbers, though, at times, several months would pass without one of either species being seen. At Parramatta, after the wheat was sown, the crows were very troublesome, and though frequently fired at, they did great damage. On the 21st of June, they had rain, which continued till the morning of the 24th, and, at times, was very violent; indeed, more rain fell in three days than had done in many months past, so that the low grounds were thoroughly soaked. On the 9th of July, our colonists had the pleasure of seeing the signal made for a sail, and the next day, the Mary Ann transport anchored in the cove, having on board one hundred and forty-one women, and six children, all very healthy, some few excepted, who had disorders which were contracted in England, and only three persons died on the passage. This vessel had passed through the Downs on the 25th of the preceding February, and stopped eight days at St. Jago. By this ship our colonists received some stores, and nine months provisions for the women who came in her: they had also the satisfaction of hearing that the Gorgon, whose arrival had been expected for twelve months back, was safe, and was to sail for the colony a week after the Mary Ann. Two pounds of rice were now added to the weekly ratio of provisions, the stores not admitting a greater addition; for though an ample supply of provisions might reasonably be expected by the middle of the ensuing month, yet their situation did not admit their trusting to the various accidents, which had hitherto been so very unfavourable to the colony: however, they were now convinced, that from the plan proposed by government for furnishing the settlement with provisions until it could support itself, there was no reason to fear in future those inconveniences which they had already laboured under. In the night of the 16th of July, a serjeant, going the rounds, found the door of the spirit cellar open, and the centinel in the cellar, drawing off wine: this man, being ordered for trial, offered himself as an evidence for the crown, and charged two of his comrades with having frequently robbed the store, of which there was not the least doubt: however, the only evidence against these men being that of an accomplice, it was not sufficient to convict them, and he saved his own life by being admitted as an evidence for the crown. He was afterwards tried by a batallion court-martial, (as being a marine, he could not be tried by a general court-martial) and sentenced to receive corporal punishment, and to be drummed out of the corps. The men he had accused were the two who had been charged with robbing the store at Rose-Hill, by one of those marines who suffered death for robbing the store at Sydney in 1788, at which time, likewise, they escaped, the only evidence against them being an accomplice under sentence of death. The rice which they received from Batavia was not of the best kind, and was very full of dirt and wevil when landed; and the wevil had now increased to such a degree that a very considerable quantity of rice was destroyed: indeed, what remained had been thought too bad to issue to the garrison, had the stores admited of its being given to the hogs. Five pounds of this rice were estimated as only equal to two pounds of flour, with respect to the nourishment it afforded, and this estimation was deemed pretty just. It being the intention of government, that as the time for which the convicts were sentenced, expired, they should be permitted to become settlers; those who chose to accept this bounty were received as such, and lands were granted them in the following proportion; viz. Thirty acres to the single men, fifty acres to those who were married, and ten acres more for every child. It had been proposed to victual and cloath them from the public store for twelve months, from the time they became settlers; but to encourage those who first offered themselves, Governor Phillip promised to cloath and support them for eighteen months from the public stores: they were to have the necessary tools and implements of husbandry, with seeds and grain to sow the ground the first year; two young sow pigs were also to be given to each settler, which was all the governor's stock would afford, and it has already been observed, that they had no live stock in the settlement belonging to the crown. On these conditions, twenty-seven convicts were admitted settlers; twelve of them were fixed at the foot of Prospect-Hill, four miles from Parramatta, and fifteen, at some ponds, an eligible situation about two miles to the northward of those settlers who were placed on the creek leading to Parramatta. In laying out the different allotments, an intermediate space, equal to what was granted the settler, was retained between every two allotments, for the benefit of the crown; and as this set them at some distance from each other, and there being a wood between every two settlers, in which the natives might conceal themselves, if they were inclined to mischief, several musquets were distributed amongst the settlers, and they took possession of their allotments on the 18th of July, and began to erect their huts: however, very few days elapsed before a large body of the natives appeared in the grounds of one of the new settlers at Prospect-Hill, who, alarmed at the sight of a number of natives, (by his account more than a hundred) fired off his musquet and retreated; this, of course, encouraged them, and they advanced, and set fire to his hut, which was nearly finished.--On hearing the report of a musquet, another settler took up his arms, and running to the spot, fired on the natives, who retired to some distance. As soon as this affair was known at Parramatta, a party of soldiers were detached, who, getting sight of about fifty of the natives, obliged them to disperse. This circumstance induced Governor Phillip to deviate from the royal instructions, which pointed out in what manner the allotments of land were to be made; and as the only means of enabling the settlers to defend themselves against similar accidents, he granted all those intermediate lands which had been reserved for the use of the crown, to the settlers: by this means, all the land would be cleared of timber, so that the natives could find no shelter, and, in all probability, there would be little danger from them in future: however, a noncommissioned officer and three privates were detached to each settlement, with orders to remain there until the lands were cleared. In making this arrangement, no additional ground was given to the settler, but their allotments were brought more into a square, and the ground not occupied at present, would be granted to others in future. When these settlers were placed at such a distance from Parramatta, it was on account of the soil being good, and that their live stock and gardens might not be so liable to depredations as they would have been if nearer the town. On the 1st of August, the Matilda transport anchored at Sydney, with cloathing, provisions, and two hundred and five male convicts. She sailed from England on the 27th of the preceding March, in company with four others, and parted with them the first night. Although this ship had made so good a passage, she buried twenty-four convicts; twenty were sick, and many were in so emaciated a state, that scarcely any labour could be expected from them for some months. The Matilda had lost three days in endeavouring to get into St. Jago; she lay nine days at the Cape of Good Hope, and was two days at anchor on the Coast of New South Wales, within an island in the latitude of 42° 15' south, where the master found very good anchorage and shelter for five or six vessels. This island, by the master's account, lies twelve miles from the main. Off Cape Dromedary, he saw a small island, which bore south-west by west, seven miles from the cape; within which, he was of opinion, two or three ships would find good shelter. An ensign and twenty privates, of the corps raised for the service of this country, came out in the Matilda, and a serjeant died on the passage. Governor Phillip intended to have sent the Matilda to Norfolk Island, with the stores, provisions, and convicts she had brought out, as soon as the sick were landed; but she being leaky, her cargo was put on board the Mary Ann, with one hundred and thirty-three male, and one female convict; and that vessel sailed on the 8th of August. A noncommissioned officer, and eleven privates of the New South Wales corps, were sent for the security of the ship, and they were to remain on the island. Ballederry, the young native who absented himself after wounding a man, in revenge for some of the convicts having destroyed his canoe, had lately made several enquiries by his friends, whether Governor Phillip was still angry; and they were always told in answer to those enquiries, that he was angry, and that Ballederry should be killed for wounding a white man; yet this did not deter him from coming into the cove in a canoe, and the governor being informed of it, ordered a party of soldiers to go and secure him; but Bannelong, who was present at the time, seeing the soldiers go towards the point, gave him the alarm, and he went off. Governor Phillip was in the garden at the time Bannelong was talking to the young man who was in his canoe going out of the cove, and gave him to understand, that Ballederry should be killed; on which, he immediately called to him, and said, the governor was still very angry: Ballederry, on hearing this, went off pretty briskly to the other side of the harbour, but, in answer to the threats of punishment, spears were mentioned, though he was then at so great a distance that the governor could not distinguish whether it was himself or the soldiers which he threatened: certain it is, that these people set little value on their lives, and never fail to repay you in kind, whether you praise or threaten; and whenever a blow is given them, be it gentle or with force, they always return it in the same manner. The Atlantic transport, Lieutenant Bowen, who was one of the agents to the transports, arrived on the 20th of August. This ship sailed from Plymouth the 23d of March, in company with the Salamander and the William and Ann, but she parted with the former vessel on the 5th of July, and with the latter on the 12th. These vessels had been to Rio de Janeiro, where they anchored the 28th of May, and sailed from thence on the 12th of June, 1791. The Atlantic's passage may be reckoned a very good one, particularly from Rio de Janeiro to the South Cape, which was only sixty-nine days. This vessel brought out a serjeant and seventeen privates, belonging to the New South Wales corps; also provisions, stores, and two hundred and two male convicts. One soldier was lost in a gale of wind, and eighteen convicts died on the passage: few of the convicts were sick when landed, but many of them were very weak, and in a few days, forty were under medical treatment. Lieutenant Bowen had stood into a bay on this coast, which has been mentioned as promising a good harbour, and of which he gave the following particulars.--"The latitude where he made his observation was 35° 12' south, the entrance from a mile to a mile and a half wide; the southernmost point of which is an island, almost connected with the main land; the north point is pretty high, and rises perpendicularly out of the sea. It is the southern extremity of a peninsula, that at first was taken for a long low island: the entrance runs in west-north-west for about a mile, and then turns suddenly round to the northward, forming a very capacious bason, three or four miles wide, and five or six miles in length. The soundings, as far as they could be examined, were very regular, with a bottom of slimy sand; the depth, for a considerable extent round the middle of the bay, is from thirteen to fourteen fathoms. The west side, and the head of the bay, is a white sandy beach; the eastern shore is bold and rocky. There is a small ledge or shoal in the middle of the entrance, bearing about south from the second point on the north shore, on which there was conjectured to be twenty feet water*." [* It does not appear that there is any shoal in the entrance, as it has since been examined by the Master of the Matilda.] The Salamander arrived on the 21st; she brought out twelve privates belonging to the New South Wales corps, and one hundred and fifty-four male convicts, with stores and provisions. Most of the convicts on board this ship were in a weak emaciated state; and they complained that they had not proper attention paid to them, after parting company with the agent. The master of the Salamander was ordered to proceed to Norfolk-Island, with the convicts, stores, and provisions he had brought out; but unfortunately it had not been foreseen that it might be expedient to send some of these ships to land their cargoes at that place, and it was therefore necessary to clear this vessel of the greatest part of the stores, in order that they might be stowed in such a manner as to permit the landing of the cargo, where, there being no good anchorage, it must be done with the ship under sail, and subject to blowing weather, where there was a necessity of keeping her always in proper trim for working. On the 23d of August a number of natives visited the settlement, and six men, with seven or eight and twenty women and children came to Governor Phillip's house; amongst whom some bread was dividing, when he was informed that Ballederry was on the opposite side of the cove, with a number of the natives, and that he was armed, as were most of his companions. Whether his coming in, after what had passed, proceeded from an opinion that Governor Phillip would not punish him, or from supposing himself safe whilst surrounded by so many of his countrymen, it was thought necessary to order him to be seized, as soon as those who were then in the yard eating what had been given them should be gone; for, as Ballederry could not be taken without their hearing the dispute, it was probable they would suppose themselves in danger, and make use of their spears against those who were treating them with kindness; in which case some of them must have suffered; indeed, this was the more likely to happen, as several of these men and women were strangers, who had now come to Sydney for the first time. This party were going to dance at Botany-Bay, and, having finished their meal, and received some fish-hooks, they set off; immediately after which, a party of soldiers were ordered out to secure Ballederry; but before they got sight of him, the boy Nanbarre had heard what was going forward and left the place: on this, a serjeant with a party were sent after him; they came up with several natives, who joined them in a friendly manner, and, whilst they were talking to the serjeant, one of them attempted to wrest a firelock from a soldier, and immediately afterwards a spear was thrown, supposed to be by Ballederry. Two musquets were then fired, by which a native was wounded in the leg; but unfortunately it was neither the man who attempted to take the musquet, nor the person who threw the spear. Soon afterwards, the natives were said to be assembled near the brick-fields; an officer was therefore ordered out with a strong party to disperse them, and to make a severe example of them, if any spears were thrown; but they never saw a native, for the boy Nanbarre, true to his countrymen, on seeing the soldiers form on the parade, ran into the woods, and stripping himself, that he might not be known, joined the natives, and put them on their guard; after which, he returned, and seeing the governor go past with some officers, whilst he was hid in a bush, he afterwards showed himself to an officer's servant, and asked where the governor and the soldiers were going, and being told, he laughed, and said they were too late, for the natives were all gone. Bannelong came in soon afterwards with his wife, and though he was told that the soldiers were gone out to punish Ballederry for wounding a white man, yet this intelligence did not prevent him from eating a hearty dinner; and when he was going away, he left a large bundle of spears, fiz-gigs, and various other articles under Governor Phillip's care. It might be supposed that the natives, after being fired at, and one of them being wounded, would not have trusted themselves again at the settlement for some time: this, however, was not the case: they very well understood that nothing more was intended than to punish the person who wounded the white man, and that they would not have been fired on, had not a spear been thrown at the party, who, they well knew, were looking for Ballederry; and, on the 24th, more than twenty of them called at Governor Phillip's house, in their way from Botany-Bay to the lower part of the harbour, where most of them resided; and others went to those with whom they were acquainted, with the same freedom as if nothing had happened. On enquiry being made after the man who had been wounded, they said he was gone to his tribe. Several of these people remained at the settlement all night, and amongst them were two strangers, who seemed as much at their ease as those who were old acquaintances. Bannelong's wife was now very near her time, which gave our colonists an opportunity of seeing the preparations the women of New South Wales make on these occasions: she had two nets hanging from her neck, one of which being new, Governor Phillip was desirous of obtaining, and it was given him, after she had taken a large piece of the bark of the tea-tree out of it, nicely folded up, and which was intended to lay her infant upon; this seems to be the only preparation, which is made by lying-in women in that country. The bark of the tea-tree is thick in proportion to the size of the tree, and is composed of a great number of layers of very thin bark, in appearance not unlike the bark of the birch-tree; but it is so very soft, that nothing this country affords can be better calculated for the purpose for which it was intended: Bannelong, however, desired to have a blanket for the child, which was given him, and the next day, a net made in the English manner, which appeared more acceptable to his wife than the one she had parted with. He told Governor Phillip that his wife intended doing him the honour of being brought to bed in his house; but the governor at length persuaded him that she would be better accommodated at the hospital. The women do not appear to suffer any great inconvenience, while in this state, and they all seem best pleased with having boys: Bannelong often said his was to be a son. A disorder had frequently been seen amongst the natives, which had the same appearance as the itch, and yielded to the same remedies; it was now so common, that nearly the whole of them were infected with it, and several boys were cured at the hospital by rubbing in of brimstone. Bannelong was a perfect Lazarus, and though he was easily persuaded to go to the hospital and rub himself, yet it was not possible to make him stay there till he was cured. On the 28th of August, the William and Ann transport anchored in the cove. This vessel brought out stores and provisions, with a serjeant and thirteen privates belonging to the New South Wales corps, and several of their wives and children; also one hundred and eighty male convicts: seven died on the passage, and thirty-six were sick when they landed. The continuance of the dry weather gave our colonists reason to fear that their crops would suffer more this year than they did the last: it was now the season for putting the maize into the ground, which was so extremely dry that there was little probability of its vegetating, if sown, before some rain fell: the sun also began to have great power, and several ponds, adjoining to which Governor Phillip had placed several settlers, were losing their water very fast. It has already been observed, that on some particular days, the winds were heated to such a degree as to be almost insupportable, which had always been imputed to the country round the settlement being fired by the natives. Early in the morning of the 31st of August, the wind was northerly, and heated as though it came from the mouth of an oven, though no fires could then be seen; however, as the day advanced, smoke appeared over the hills, and in the evening, a considerable tract of country was seen to be on fire; some natives were likewise burning the ground on the north side of the harbour, opposite the settlement: this firing of the country, which the natives constantly do when the weather is dry, renders any observation made by the thermometer very uncertain. But if the 31st of August was an unpleasant day, the evening made ample amends, for it began to rain, and continued raining until the next day at noon. Although few of the convicts were sick when they were first landed from the transports, yet many of them were extremely weak from long confinement, and a few days carried numbers of them to the hospital. The surgeon's returns, on the first of September, were two hundred and eighty-five convicts under medical treatment: several soldiers and seamen were likewise in the hospital with a fever of a bad sort, which was supposed to be brought on board by the convicts. On the 4th of September, the Salamander sailed for Norfolk-Island, with one hundred and sixty male convicts, some stores, and provisions: two non-commissioned officers, and eleven privates of the New South Wales corps went as a guard. The Mary-Ann transport returned from Norfolk-Island on the 8th, having landed all the stores, provisions, and convicts safe; but they had lost a boat in going off from the island: the sailors, however, were all saved. A number of emu's had been seen lately, and this appears to be the season in which they breed, as a nest was found near some fresh water, at the head of the harbour, containing fourteen eggs. The nest was composed of fern, but it had more the appearance of a quantity of fern collected for a person to sit on, than a nest. Soon after taking these eggs, an old emu was seen near Prospect-Hill with some young ones; several of the settlers chased them, and the young birds were taken: they did not appear to be more than a week old, and great pains were taken to rear them, but they died, after being in Governor Phillip's possession near five weeks. Thirteen of these old birds were seen together in the course of this month, but it was a considerable time since an emu had been shot. The pattagorong and baggaray frequently supplied our colonists with fresh meals, and Governor Phillip had three young ones, which were likely to live: he has not the least doubt but these animals are formed in the false belly, having frequently seen them in that situation, when they were so small, that it did not appear possible for them to be placed there by the female for the purpose of gaining strength, which is the general opinion, and for which purpose it is supposed nature has given them the false belly; indeed, the idea of their being formed in the false belly, and not in the womb, seems to be confirmed from the following particulars, communicated to Governor Phillip by a person who had a male and a female opossum in his possession near two years. "On the 10th of May, I discovered the young one in the belly of the female opossum, apparently not larger than the end of my little finger. I do not exactly recollect when I had examined before, but I am sure it could not have been long, as I made a constant practice of searching for what I then found, but always had much difficulty in introducing my finger, the female contracting the orifice so extremely close. The belly of the female had for some days been observed to be increasing in size, and on the 15th of August, I saw a young one, for the first time, the mouth, or opening of the false belly, being very much dilated. In the first week of September, it was compleatly haired, and it ventured out, getting on the mother's back, but on the least alarm, it instantly returned to the false belly. On the 18th of September, I observed the young one eating sow-thistle, and it continued on the mother's back, but at night it got into the false belly. From the day I first saw the young one until now, I have generally seen the mother licking it with her tongue, and it is to be remarked, that she has driven the male away from her since the 15th of August." Notice has already been taken of those persons who became settlers, and of the quantity of land allotted them; however, as the subjoined table shows every particular respecting them in one point of view, it may not, perhaps, be unacceptable. THE FIRST SETTLERS Names. When became Quantity of Place where. Settlers. land granted. Philip Schaffer. Superintendant. One hundred and On the north side 30th March, 1791. forty acres. of the creek leading to Parramatta. The following were all marines or sailors. Robert Webb. Ditto Sixty acres. William Reid. Ditto Sixty acres. Robert Watson. 5th April. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. John Drummond. 5th April. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. James Proctor. 5th April. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. Peter Hibbs. 5th April. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. Owen Cavenaugh. 5th April. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. James Painter. 5th April. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. William Mitchell.5th April. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. William Hambly. 5th April. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. Charles Heritage.5th April. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. Samuel King. 5th April. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. William Mitchell. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. Thomas Bramwell. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. Thomas Bishop. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. John M'Carthey. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. Lawrence Richards. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. John Munday. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. Thomas Chipp. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. William Strong. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. James M'Manus. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. Thomas O'Bryen. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. Richard Knight. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. Abraham Hand. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. William Dempsey. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. Thomas Sculley. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. John Barrisford. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. James Redmond. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. William Tonks. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. Thomas Halfpenny. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. William Standley. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. John Gowen. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. Thomas Dukes. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. James Williams. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. Daniel Standfield. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. John Roberts. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. William Simms. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. John Foley. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. Patrick Connell. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. John Redman. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. Thomas Spencer. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. John Scott. Sixty acres. Norfolk Island. THE CONVICT SETTLERS. Names. When became Quantity of Place where. Settlers. land granted. James Ruse. 30th March, 1791. Thirty acres. Parramatta. Charles Williams.18th July. Thirty acres. South side of the creek leading to Parramatta. James Stuart. 18th July. Twenty acres. South side of the creek leading to Parramatta. George Lisk. 18th July. Thirty acres. Four miles to the westward of Parramatta. William Kilby. 18th July. Fifty acres. Four miles to the westward of Parramatta. William Butler. 18th July. Fifty acres. Ditto. John Nicholls. 18th July. Thirty acres. Ditto. John Ramsay. 18th July. Fifty acres. At the ponds, two miles to the north-east of Parramatta. Mathew Everingham.18th July. Fifty acres. Ditto. John Summers. 18th July. Thirty acres. Ditto. John Richards. 18th July. Thirty acres. Ditto. William Field. 18th July. Fifty acres. Ditto. Joseph Bishop. 18th July. Fifty acres. Ditto. Curtis Brand. 18th July. Thirty acres. Ditto. John Silverthorn.18th July. Thirty acres. Four miles to the westward of Parramatta. Thomas Martin. 18th July. Thirty acres. Ditto. Samuel Griffiths.18th July. Thirty acres. Ditto. James Castles. 18th July. Thirty acres. Ditto. Joseph Morley. 18th July. Fifty acres. Ditto. William Hubbard. 18th July. Fifty acres. At the ponds, two miles to the north-east of Parramatta. John Anderson. 18th July. Fifty acres. Ditto. William Elliott. 18th July. Thirty acres. Ditto. Joseph Marshall. 18th July. Thirty acres. Ditto. Edward Varndell. 18th July. Thirty acres. Ditto. Simon Burn. 17th August. Fifty acres. At the northern boundary farms, two miles from Parramatta. John Brown. 17th August. Sixty acres. Ditto. William Moulds. 17th August. Thirty acres. Ditto. John Baffen. 17th August. Fifty acres. Ditto. John Williams. 17th August. Fifty acres. Ditto. Edward Pugh, 17th August. Seventy acres.Four miles to the westward of Parramatta. William Parish. 17th August. Sixty acres. Ditto. Robert Forrester. Ten acres. Norfolk Island. James White. Ten acres. Norfolk Island. William Cross. Ten acres. Norfolk Island. James Walbourne. Ten acres. Norfolk Island. Benjamin Fentum. Ten acres. Norfolk Island. Peter Woodcock. Ten acres. Norfolk Island. Edward Kimberly. Ten acres. Norfolk Island. John Welch. Ten acres. Norfolk Island. William Bell. Ten acres. Norfolk Island. John Turner. Ten acres. Norfolk Island. Thomas Kelley. Thirty acres. At the ponds, two miles to the north-east of Parramatta. William Parr. Fifty acres. At the northern boundary farms, two miles from Parramatta. John Herbert. Sixty acres. Four miles to the westward of Parramatta. Chapter XXIII TRANSACTIONS AT PORT JACKSON September 1791 to December 1791 -Arrival of the Gorgon, and several transports at Port Jackson.--The number of convicts brought out in these vessels.--A whale-fishery established on the Coast of New South Wales.- On the 21st of September, 1791, the Gorgon, Captain John Parker, came into the harbour. She sailed from Spithead on the 15th of the preceding March, had stopped at Teneriff, St. Jago, and the Cape of Good Hope; and having received on board as much of the provisions and stores, which were of the Guardian's cargo, as the ship could stow, together with three bulls, twenty-three cows, four rams, sixty-two ewes, and one boar; she left the Cape on the 30th of July. Captain King returned in this ship, his Majesty having been pleased to give him the rank of master and commander in the navy, with a commission as Lieutenant-Governor of Norfolk Island, in consideration of his useful services. The chaplain of the New South Wales corps, and several who were appointed to civil employments, came out likewise in the Gorgon, and as she was to bring out stores and provisions, her lower deck guns were left in England, and her complement reduced to one hundred men. Of the cattle received on board the Gorgon, at the Cape of Good Hope, three bulls, six cows, three rams, and nine ewes died on the passage; one cow died soon after landing, and the ewes were severely afflicted with the scab, but it was hoped they would soon recover: the bulls all dying was an unfortunate circumstance; however, our Colonists had a bull calf and patience still left. Seed and a variety of fruit-trees in good condition were likewise received by the Gorgon; and when she left the Cape, five transports were preparing to leave it for this colony. Thirty male convicts were on board the Gorgon, and assisted in working the ship, her complement as a store-ship being only one hundred men, officers included. On the 26th of September, the Queen transport, having Lieutenant Blow on board as an agent, arrived from Ireland with provisions, and one hundred and twenty-six male, and twenty-one female convicts: seven male convicts and one female died on the passage. The Active transport arrived the same day with provisions, and one hundred and fifty-four male convicts: both these ships brought a part of the Guardian's cargo from the Cape of Good Hope, and detachments from the New South Wales corps. The weather still continued showery, and the gardens began to promise plenty of vegetables; the wheat also, which, it was feared, would have been lost by the long continuance of dry weather, improved greatly in appearance: nearly all the maize was put into the ground, and the greater part of it was up. The weather had lately been very unsettled, but better than what Governor Phillip ever found it in the Brazils at this season of the year. The surgeon's return of sick was greatly increased since the arrival of the last vessels; for though the number of sick convicts were not considerable when landed from the ships, they were, in general, greatly emaciated, and appeared starved, and worn out with confinement. The return of sick on the 1st of October was three hundred and four convicts. One soldier, fifteen male, and one female convict, with three children, died in the last month; and two convicts were lost in the woods. The Albemarle transport, Lieutenant R. P. Young as agent, arrived on the 13th, and the Britannia came in the next day: the Albemarle brought out twenty-three soldiers and one woman of the New South Wales corps, two hundred and fifty male, and six female convicts, one free woman, a convict's wife and one child. Thirty-two male convicts died on the passage, and forty-four were sick on their arrival. The Britannia brought out thirteen soldiers, one woman, and three children of the New South Wales corps, and one hundred and twenty-nine male convicts. One soldier and twenty-one convicts died on the passage, and thirty-eight were sick when landed. When these vessels came in, the Admiral Barrington transport was off the port, but it blowing hard on the night of the 14th, that ship was not in sight the next day. The convicts on board the Albemarle, during the passage, attempted to seize on the ship, and the ringleader, having knocked down a centinel, and seized his sword, got on the quarter-deck, and was going to kill the seaman at the helm; but the master of the ship, hearing a noise, took up a blunderbuss, which was loaded, and discharged it at the villain, who finding himself wounded, dropped the sword and ran away. Many of the convicts had got their irons off, and were rushing aft for the quarter-deck; but, on seeing their leader wounded, they ran forward and hid themselves, so that the whole business was put an end to in a few minutes. After a short conversation amongst the officers, two of the ringleaders were hanged, and two seamen, who had furnished the convicts with knives, and who were to have conducted the ship to America after all the officers and ship's company, with the soldiers, had been put to death, were landed at Madeira, in order that they might be sent to England: they were both Americans, and one of them had a superficial knowledge of navigation. The Admiral Barrington arrived on the 16th of October. This ship brought out a captain, three noncommissioned officers, and twenty-four privates of the New South Wales corps, with two hundred and sixty-four male convicts: four women came out with their husbands, who were convicts, and two children. Ninety-seven were sick on board this ship. The whole number of convicts embarked on board the ten transports, including thirty in the Gorgon, were one thousand six hundred and ninety-five males, sixty-eight females, and eleven children; of whom, one hundred and ninety-four males, four females, and one child died on the passage. What provisions were in the store, added to those which were brought out in these transports, would not furnish many months provisions for this colony; Governor Phillip, therefore, took the Atlantic into the service as a naval transport. The Lieutenant-Governor of Norfolk Island, Captain Paterson, of the New South Wales corps, with part of his company, twenty-nine marines who had been discharged to become settlers; several convicts, whose time of transportation being expired, were admitted as settlers, with thirty-three male, and twelve female convicts, and a considerable quantity of stores and provisions were embarked on board the Atlantic, for Norfolk Island, under the direction of Lieutenant Bowen, as naval agent; who, after landing what he had on board for the island, had orders to proceed to Calcutta, where he was to load with provisions for the colony. The great number of spermaceti whales that had been seen on the coast of New South Wales, induced the masters of those vessels which were fitted out for that fishery, and intended, after landing the convicts, to proceed to the north-west coast of America, to try for a cargo here: indeed, the master of the Britannia, a vessel belonging to Messieurs Enderbys, of London, who have the merit of being the first that adventured to the South Seas for whales, assured Governor Phillip, that he had seen more spermaceti whales in his passage from the south cape to Port Jackson, than he had ever seen on the Brazil coast, although he had been six years on that fishery. No time was lost by the masters of these ships in getting ready for sea: the Britannia sailed on the 25th of October, in company with the William and Ann: the Mary Ann and the Matilda sailed the day before, and the Salamander sailed on the 1st of November. The Britannia returned from her cruize on the 10th of November, being the first ship which had ever fished for whales on the coast of New South Wales. The following letter from the Master of the Britannia, to Messrs. Enderbys, his owners, we subjoin for the reader's satisfaction, because it shows the first introduction of a whale-fishery, on the coast of New South Wales. -Ship Britannia, Sydney, Port-Jackson_, -November 29, 1791_. Messrs. Samuel Enderby and Sons, Gentlemen, I have the pleasure to inform you of our safe arrival in Port Jackson, in New South Wales, October 13, after a passage of fifty-five days from the Cape of Good Hope. We were only six weeks from the Cape to Van Diemen's Land, but met with contrary winds after we doubled Van Diemen's Land, which made our passage longer than I expected. We parted company with our agent the next day after we left the Cape of Good Hope, and never saw him again till we arrived at Port-Jackson, both in one day. The Albemarle and we sailed much alike. The Admiral Barrington arrived three days after us. I am very well myself, thank God, and all the crew are in high spirits. We lost in all on our passage from England twenty-one convicts and one soldier. We had one birth on our passage from the Cape. I tried to make and made the island of Amsterdam, and made it in the longitude of 76° 4' 14" east from Greenwich, by a good lunar observation: my intention was to run close to it to discover whether the sealing business might not have been carried on there; but the weather was so bad, and thick weather coming on, I did not think it prudent to attempt it, likewise to lose a night's run, and a fair wind blowing. The day before we made it we saw two shoals of sperm-whales. After we doubled the south-west cape of Van Diemen's Land, we saw a large sperm whale off Maria's-Islands, but did not see any more, being very thick weather and blowing hard, till within fifteen leagues of the latitude of Port Jackson. Within three leagues of the shore, we saw sperm whales in great plenty: we sailed through different shoals of them from twelve o'clock in the day till after sun-set, all round the horizon, as far as I could see from the mast-head: in fact, I saw a very great prospect in making our fishery upon this coast and establishing a fishery here. Our people were in the highest spirits at so great a sight, and I was determined, as soon as I got in and got clear of my live lumber, to make all possible dispatch on the fishery on this coast. On our arrival here, I waited upon his Excellency Governor Phillip, and delivered my letters to him. I had the mortification to find he wanted to dispatch me with my convicts to Norfolk-Island, and likewise wanted to purchase our vessel to stay in the country, which I refused to do. I immediately told him the secret of seeing the whales, thinking that would get me off going to Norfolk-Island, that there was a prospect of establishing a fishery here, and might be of service to the colony, and left him. I waited upon him two hours afterwards with a box directed to him: he took me into a private room, he told me he had read my letters, and that he would render me every service that lay in his power; that next morning he would dispatch every long-boat in the fleet to take our convicts out, and take our stores out immediately, which he did accordingly, and did every thing to dispatch us on the fishery. Captain King used all his interest in the business; he gave his kind respects to you. The secret of seeing whales our sailors could not keep from the rest of the whalers here, the news put them all to the stir, but have the pleasure to say, we were the first ship ready for sea; notwithstanding they had been some of them a month arrived before us. We went out, in company with the William and Ann, the eleventh day after our arrival. The next day after we went out, we had very bad weather, and fell in with a very great number of sperm whales. At sun-rising in the morning, we could see them all round the horizon. We run through them in different bodies till two o'clock in the afternoon, when the weather abated a little, but a very high sea running. I lowered away two boats, and Bunker followed the example; in less than two hours we had seven whales killed, but unfortunately a heavy gale came on from the south-west, and took the ship aback with a squall, that the ship could only fetch two of them, the rest we were obliged to cut from, and make the best of our way on board to save the boats and crew. The William and Ann saved one, and we took the other and rode by them all night with a heavy gale of wind. Next morning it moderated, and we took her in; she made us twelve barrels. We saw large whales next day, but were not able to lower away our boats; we saw whales every day for a week after, but the weather being so bad, we could not attempt to lower a boat down: we cruized fifteen days in all, having left our sixty shakes of butts on shore with the Gorgon's cooper, to set up in our absence, which Captain Parker was so kind as to let us have, and wanting to purchase more casks of Mr. Calvert's ships, and having no prospect of getting any good weather, I thought it most prudent to come in and refit the ship, and compleat my casks and fill my water, and by that time the weather would be more moderate. The day after we came in, the Mary-Ann came in off a cruize, having met with very bad weather, shipped a sea, and washed her try-works overboard. He informed me, he left the Matilda in a harbour to the northward, and that the Salamander had killed a forty barrel whale, and lost her by bad weather. There is nothing against making a voyage on this coast but the weather, which I expect will be better next month; I think to make another month's trial of it. If a voyage can be got upon this coast, it will make it shorter than going to Peru; and the governor has been very attentive in sending greens for refreshment to our crew at different times. Captain Parker has been kind, and has given me every assistance that lay in his power; he carries our long-boat home, as we cannot sell her here: he will dispose of her for you, or leave her at Portsmouth: he will wait upon you on his arrival in London. Captain Ball, of the Supply, who is the bearer of this letter, has likewise been very kind, and rendered us every service that lay in his power; he will wait upon you likewise. The colony is all alive, expecting there will be a rendezvous for the fishermen. We shall be ready to sail on Tuesday the 22d, on a cruize. The Matilda has since arrived here; she saw the Salamander four days ago: she had seen more whales, but durst not lower their boats down: she has been into harbour twice. We have the pleasure to say, we killed the first four whales on this coast. I have enclosed you the certificates for the convicts, and receipts for the stores. Captain Nepean has paid every attention to me, and has been so kind as to let us have a cooper: he dines with me to-morrow. I am collecting you some beautiful birds, and land animals, and other curiosities for you. The ship remains tight and strong, and in good condition. I will write you by the Gorgon man of war; she sails in about a month or six week's time. I am, Sirs, Your humble servant, THOMAS MELVILLE. The Matilda and the Mary-Ann transports returned from their fishing-cruize on the 10th of November. These vessels had run to the southward in search of seals, and met with very bad weather, but saw no fish. The Matilda had put into Jervis-Bay, which, according to the master's account, is a very fine harbour, the anchorage very good, and capable of receiving the largest ships. These two vessels, after refitting, sailed again to try for fish on this coast. Our colonists began to reap the barley on the 22d of November, and the wheat was getting ripe. The Supply armed tender, after having been under repair from the time she returned from Norfolk-Island, was found, on a survey, to be in so bad a state, that the best repair which could be given her in this country, would only render her serviceable for six months longer; Governor Phillip, therefore, ordered her to England, and she sailed on the 26th of November. From the debilitated state in which many of the convicts were landed from the last ships, the number of sick were greatly increased; the surgeon's returns on the 27th, being upwards of four hundred sick at Parramatta; and the same day medicines were distributed to one hundred and ninety-two at Sydney. To the number of sick at Parramatta, upwards of one hundred may be added, who were so weak that they could not be put to any kind of labour, not even to that of pulling grass for thatching the huts. Forty-two convicts died in the month of November, and in these people nature seemed fairly to be worn out; many of them were so thoroughly exhausted that they expired without a groan, and apparently without any kind of pain. Showers of rain had been more frequent lately than for many months past, but not in the abundance which the ground required; and, from the extreme dryness of the weather, and from the ground not being sufficiently worked before the maize was put into it, a great number of acres were likely to be destroyed. This was one of the many inconveniencies the settlement laboured under, from the want of people to employ in agriculture, who would feel themselves interested in the labour of those that were under their direction, and who had some knowledge as farmers. The following parcels of land were in cultivation at Parramatta, in November, 1791. Acres./Roods./Perches. 351 2 5 in Maise. 44 1 8 Wheat. 6 1 30 Barley. 1 0 0 Oats. 2 0 3 Potatoes. 4 2 0 Not cultivated, but cleared. 4 2 15 Mostly planted with vines. 6 0 0 The governor's garden, partly sown with maize and wheat. 80 0 0 Garden-ground belonging to individuals. 17 0 0 Land in cultivation by the New South Wales corps. 150 0 0 Cleared, and to be sowed with turnips. 91 3 2 Ground in cultivation by settlers. 28 0 0 Ground in cultivation by officers of the civil and military. 134 0 0 Inclosed, and the timber thinned for feeding cattle. The above grounds were measured by David Burton, the public gardener, who observes, that the soil in most places is remarkably good, and only wants cultivation to be fit for any use, for the ground that has been the longest in cultivation bears the best crops. Of the convicts who were received by the last ships, there were great numbers of the worst of characters, particularly amongst those who came from Ireland, and whose great ignorance led them into schemes more destructive to themselves than they were likely to be to the settlement. Some of these people had formed an idea that they could go along the coast, and subsist on oysters and other shell-fish, till they reached some of the Chinese settlements: others had heard that there were a copper coloured people only one hundred and fifty miles to the northward, where they would be free. Full of these notions, three parties set off; but, after straggling about for many days, several of them were taken, and others returned to the settlement. Governor Phillip was less inclined to inflict any punishment on these people, than to punish those who had deceived them by the information of "not being far from some of the Chinese settlements, and near people who would receive them, and where they would have every thing they wanted, and live very happy:" These reasons most of them assigned for going into the woods, and where some of them still remained, dreading a severe punishment if they returned: a general pardon was therefore promised to all those who came back within a certain time, as several were supposed to be lurking in the woods near the settlement; however, some of these wretches were so prepossessed with the idea of being able to live in the woods and on the sea-coast until they could reach a settlement, or find a people who would maintain them without labour, that several who were brought in when almost famished, and carried to the hospital, went away again as soon as they were judged able to return to their labour; and although what would be called a day's work in England is very seldom done by any convict in the settlement, yet some of them declared that they would sooner perish in the woods than be obliged to work; and forty were now absent. In order to give those who might be still lurking near the settlement an opportunity of returning, all the convicts were assembled, and a pardon was promised to all who returned within five days; at the same time they were assured that very severe punishment would be inflicted on any who were taken after the expiration of that time, or who should in future attempt to leave the settlement. Several appeared sensible of the lenity shown them when their irons were taken off, but some of them appeared capable of the most desperate attempts, and even talked of seizing on the soldiers arms; they were, however, informed, that no mercy would be shown to any who were even seen near those that might make an attempt of the kind. All the whalers who came into the harbour to refit, sailed again by the 1st of December, and the Albemarle and the Active transports sailed on the 2d for Bombay, where they were to load with cotton for England. A new store was now covered in at Sydney, which was the best that had been built in the colony; and was intended for the convicts cloathing and the implements of husbandry: it has a second floor, and is eighty feet in length by twenty-four feet in breadth. A building of fifty-six feet by twenty-four was likewise covered in at Parramatta, and was intended for a place of worship, until a church could be built. The idea of finding a Chinese settlement at no great distance to the northward, still prevailed amongst the Irish convicts; and on the 4th of December, two of them stole the surgeon's boat, but they only got a few miles to the northward of the harbour when they were obliged to run her on shore. Some officers who were out a shooting, saw this boat on the beach, and stove a plank in her, that she might not be carried away; they also saw the two men, who ran into the woods; however, a convict who had been six weeks in the woods, and was scarcely able to walk, gave himself up to the officers, and, with their assistance, was able to return to Sydney. Many of those convicts who left the settlement, as has already been related, came back; some were still missing, and several were said to be killed by the natives. The miserable situation of those who returned to the settlement, would, it was believed, most effectually prevent any more excursions of the like nature. On the 5th of December, the Queen transport returned from Norfolk-Island, with the lieutenant-governor of the territory, who was relieved by Lieutenant-Governor King; a detachment of marines who had been doing duty on the island; a party of the New South Wale corps, who were relieved by Captain Paterson, and some convicts, whose times for which they had been sentenced were expired. By the 7th, the Gorgon was nearly ready for sea, and the detachment of marines who came from England in the first ships was ordered to hold themselves ready to embark, except one captain, three lieutenants, eight non-commissioned officers, and fifty privates, who were to stay at Port Jackson until the remainder of the New South Wales corps should arrive: those marines who were desirous of becoming settlers, remained likewise, to the number of thirty-one. Governor Phillip had frequently been solicited by Bannelong, to receive Ballederry, the native who wounded a convict in June, 1791, into favour again, but he always refused; however, on the 14th of December, he was informed that Ballederry was extremely ill. The surgeon had been to see him, and found him in a fever; and the first question he asked was, whether the Governor was still angry, or if he would let him be brought to the hospital to be cured. Bannelong had fetched the surgeon to Ballederry, and returned with him to Governor Phillip; who saying he was not angry, and telling him to bring his companion to the settlement, he said he would; so, early the next morning, Ballederry was brought in. At first, he seemed under great apprehensions, but they presently subsided, on the governor taking him by the hand, and promising that when he was recovered he should reside with him again. Poor Ballederry appeared to be very ill, and went with the surgeon to the hospital. Of those convicts who were received from the last ships, one hundred and fourteen males, and two females, died before the 15th of December: the number of sick had considerably decreased lately; the surgeon's list being now reduced from six hundred and two to four hundred and three. The Matilda and the Mary-Ann transports came into the harbour on the 16th; these ships had been out but nine days. The Matilda had been into Jervis-Bay, but had not seen any spermaceti whales. The Mary-Ann fell in with one shoal; it was in the evening when all the boats were absent from the ship: the master was in hopes they should have the fish about them the next morning, but he had the mortification to find that a current had driven the ship fifty miles to the southward. The Gorgon dropped down the harbour on the 17th of December, Captain Parker intending to sail the next day. The detachment under the command of Major Ross were embarked, agreeable to the orders which had previously been given. * * * * * Here closes the Journal of Governor Phillip; which contained the latest accounts from New South Wales; being received by the Gorgon, that left Port Jackon in December, 1791. The following Journal of Lieutenant Ball of the Supply, is subjoined; because it contains an account of a voyage from Port Jackson by the route of Cape Horn, which was made in a shorter time than had ever been performed by any other vessel. Chapter XXIV VOYAGE TO ENGLAND FROM PORT JACKSON November 1791 to April 1792 -The Supply leaves Port Jackson.--Receives some damage in a storm.--Doubles Cape Horn.--Passes Staten's land.--Anchors at Rio Janeiro.--Refreshments procured.--Departure from Rio Janciro.--Proceeds towards England.--Arrives off the Lizard.--Particulars respecting Norfolk-Island.- Having received orders from Governor Phillip to get the Supply ready for sea, I had every thing in readiness by the 25th of November; and early the next morning, we weighed anchor, and stood out of Sydney Cove, with a moderate breeze at east-north-east, and pleasant weather. I had a Kanguroo on board, which I had directions to carry to Lord Grenville, as a present for his Majesty. Governor Phillip, accompanied by Captain John Parker, of the Gorgon, breakfasted on board the Supply the morning of our departure; and soon afterwards they left us, and proceeded to the look-out at Port Jackson. At four o'clock in the afternoon, we lost sight of the land, and stood to the southward, with a moderate breeze at north-east. In the forenoon of the 29th, the wind shifted to the southward, and blew a very strong gale, which brought us under low sail, but at five o'clock the weather grew moderate. A vast number of birds were about the ship, and a land bird, of a singular kind, was caught: our latitude, at noon, was 38° 31' south, and the longitude 154° 23' east. On the 2d of December, we saw a whale; our latitude, at noon, was 44° 21' south, and the longitude, by lunar observation, 156° 20' east: the variation of the compass, 10° 00' east. I now ordered the ship to be well cleaned every day between decks, being firmly convinced that cleanliness conduces very much to preserve the health of seaman. On the 4th, we had light, variable winds, chiefly from the northward: the latitude, at noon, was 47° 10' south, the longitude, by observed distances of the sun and moon, 160° 20', and the variation of the compass 11° 20' east. In the afternoon, a thick fog came on, with light drizzling rain, which continued till the forenoon of the 5th, when the fog dispersed, and the weather cleared up. We saw some rock weed, and a great number of blue petrels and albatrosses were about the ship. In the afternoon, we passed more rock weed, and saw a number of whales. On the 6th, we had a fresh gale from the southward, and saw a vast number of petrels; albatrosses, etc. were about the vessel: we passed a great quantity of rock-weed, and perceiving the water to change colour, we hove to, and sounded, but got no bottom with 120 fathoms of line. The wind continued to blow strong from the southward, which brought on a very high, irregular swell, and occasioned the ship to labour and work very much: we still passed vast quantities of rock-weed, and had a number of birds about the ship. The latitude, at noon on the 8th, was 50° 44' south, and the longitude, by the time-keeper, 172° 56' east. The ship laboured greatly, which occasioned her to make water in her top-sides. Great numbers of petrels, gulls, albatrosses, etc. were daily seen about the ship, and a whale was seen in the afternoon of the 10th. The wind continued to blow from the southward, strong and in squalls, until the 12th, when it shifted to the northward and westward. The latitude, at noon, was 53° 56' south, and the longitude, by the time-keeper, 188° 49' east. At two o'clock in the morning of the 13th, the ship was pooped with a very heavy sea, which entirely stove in the two midship windows of the stern, and filled the cabin with water, great part of which ran down into the bread-room. In the afternoon of the 14th, a violent squall came on from the westward, which at six o'clock increased to a perfect storm, with an exceeding high sea; this occasioned me to keep the ship before it, and I found her steer very well; indeed, much better than I could possibly have expected in such a situation. The weather continued squally, with hail and snow, until the morning of the 16th, when the wind shifted to the southward, and the weather grew more moderate. The latitude, at noon, was 52° 58' south, and the longitude 207° 09' east. On the 20th, we passed a large patch of sea-weed; several gulls and divers sea-birds were at that time about the ship. Portable soup, essence of malt, and sour krout were now served out to the ship's company. The weather was thick and foggy, which prevented us from getting any observation until the 22d, when our latitude, at noon, was 53° 59' south, and the longitude, by the time-keeper, 231° 36' east. A number of sheerwaters and petrels were about the ship. We had frequent squalls, attended with hail and snow. On the 24th, the wind shifted to the eastward, and the weather was more moderate, but on the 27th, it again got to the westward, blowing strong, and in violent squalls, attended with snow and hail. A great number of albatrosses, blue petrels, and sheerwaters were about the ship; a high, irregular sea caused her to labour much, and she made a deal of water in her topsides. The latitude, at noon, was 57° 32' south, and 245° 42' east longitude. On the 29th, the longitude, by the time-keeper, was 259° 16' east, and by account 256° 50' east; at the same time the latitude was 56° 30' south. The wind was still to the westward, attended with very heavy rain. In the morning of the 31st, the wind blew strong from the northward. Great numbers of gulls were about the ship, and we passed a deal of rock-weed. During the 1st and 2d of January, 1792, the wind was variable, frequently shifting from north-north-west to west-south-west and south-east by east. At noon on the 3d, we were in 56° 15' south latitude, and 281° 57' east longitude. The next forenoon, we saw a seal, and had a number of albatrosses about the ship: we now had strong gales from the north-east quarter, attended with snow and sleet. A heavy squall came on in the morning of the 5th, and in hauling down the main-top-mast staysail, the brails broke, and the sail was blown in pieces, the greatest part of which fell overboard before it could be got down and stowed. In the afternoon, we saw several gulls, a seal, and some shell-drakes. At noon on the 6th, we saw Cape Horn, bearing west-south-west half west, and the northernmost land in sight, west half south, distant six or seven leagues. At that time, our latitude was 56° 02' south, and the longitude 291° 45' east. At eight o'clock in the morning of the 7th, we saw Staten Land, bearing from north by west to north-west by west half west, twelve or thirteen leagues distant: at noon, the north point bore north, a little westerly, distant about eight leagues. In the afternoon, several whales were seen near the ship, the body of Staten Land then bore south-south-west. The wind, which for some days had been to the southward, shifted, in the morning of the 8th, to north-west, with a moderate breeze and fine weather. In the afternoon, we passed some pieces of sea-weed, amongst which was a seal; we also saw another seal and some penguins: several whales and large flocks of blue petrels were about the ship. The next forenoon, we passed some sea-weed and a number of penguins; on which we sounded, but got no ground with 100 fathoms of line. Our latitude, at noon, was 52° 58' south, and longitude, by the time-keeper, 296° 13' east. We sounded again in the evening, but got no ground with 145 fathoms of line. At midnight, we had a calm for about two hours, the weather thick and foggy, with thunder and lightning to the southward. Early in the morning, the fog cleared a little, and a light breeze sprung up from the northward. Many seals and whales were about the ship; and in the afternoon, we saw a number of penguins. At eight o'clock in the evening we sounded, and had 96 fathoms of water, over a bottom of fine sand and mud. During the night, we had moderate breezes from the southward, attended with small rain. In the forenoon of the 11th, we saw a great number of whales, and several penguins. During the afternoon and night, we had strong gales from the southward, attended with frequent squalls. The next forenoon, we saw several large patches of sea-weed: the wind still continued to blow very strong from the southward, which occasioned a high sea; and the ship rolling very much, occasioned her to make a deal of water in her upper works. In the morning of the 13th, the weather grew more moderate: we saw a port Egmont hen, and several pieces of rock-weed. At noon our latitude was 45° 46' south, and the longitude 302° 49' east. On the 15th, the weather grew moderate, the wind to the northward. Some observed distances of the sun and moon on the 16th, gave 305° 46' east longitude; the latitude at that time was 42° 34' south. In the afternoon of the 17th, we had a strong appearance of a current, and passed a large number of whales. The next day, the water being discoloured, we sounded with 160 fathoms of line, but got no ground. The wind still kept to the northward, with moderate breezes and fine weather. Essence of malt and vinegar were served to the ship's company on the 24th, and every precaution was taken to preserve their health. In the evening, we had much lightning to the northward: the wind blew fresh from the north-east, and we had frequent heavy squalls attended with rain. Towards noon on the 26th, the wind grew light and variable: the latitude was 32° 20' south, and the longitude 311° 02' east. In the evening, we had much lightning to the northward: towards midnight, a fresh breeze sprung up from the south-east. The next forenoon, we saw a turtle and several flying-fish; and at six o'clock in the afternoon, we saw a brig to the northward, and soon afterwards spoke with her. At six o'clock in the morning of the 28th, we saw the land bearing from north-west to west-south-west. We sounded in 26 fathoms of water, over a bottom of soft mud. At eight o'clock, some high level land bore west half south, eight or nine leagues distant. I ordered the jolly-boat to be hoisted out, and we tried the current, which was found to set north-east by north, at the rate of half a mile an hour, or nearly. At noon, we had clear soundings in 24, 22, 20, and 18 fathoms over a bottom of fine brown sand and mud. At six o'clock, we tacked, the extremes of the land bearing from south-west to north by east; the nearest land about four miles distant. During the night, we had regular soundings from 13 to 25 fathoms. The next morning, we tacked and stood towards the land, with light variable winds. At noon, the extremes of the land were from north to south 50° west; the nearest land about ten miles distant. In the afternoon, we saw a large turtle; and at three o'clock, we sounded in 19 fathoms, over a muddy bottom. At six o'clock, the nearest land bore north by west half west, about three leagues distant. During the night, we had a light breeze from the westward: we frequently sounded, and had from 17 to 23 fathoms water. At noon on the 30th, the nearest land bore north 75° west, eight or nine miles distant. We stood along shore, with a light breeze at south-south-east; and at sun-set, the land bore from north 32° west to south 50° west. The next morning, we steered along the island of St. Catherine; and at four o'clock in the afternoon, were abreast of the Fort of Santa Cruz. I sent an officer on shore to the fort, and soon afterwards we anchored in five fathoms water; the fort of Santa Cruz bearing north-north-west, and the opposite fort north-east. We saluted the fort with nine guns, which was returned by an equal number. The next morning, we weighed, and anchored nearer to the watering-place; mooring the ship with a cable each way, (north-east and south-west) in three fathoms and a half, over a muddy bottom. In this situation, the fort of Santa Cruz bore north-north-east, the opposite fort, south-east; the point to the southward of the watering-place south-west, and the watering-place west, half a mile distant. We erected a tent on shore for the cooper, who was busily employed in repairing our casks, and the other hands were employed in watering and other necessary duties. As we had now made 310° 43' of east longitude, which is equal to 20 h. 42 min. 52 sec. of time, we, of course, dropped one day, and called the 5th of February, Saturday the 4th. This afternoon I sent two boats on shore for various refreshments, having nearly completed our water. In the morning of the 5th, the cutter swamped at her moorings aftern; the oars and tiller washed out of her, and were lost. On the 7th, most of our business being finished, we unmoored; and after standing a little farther out of the harbour, we anchored with the small bower, in five and a quarter fathoms; the Fort of Santa Cruz bearing north-north-west, and the opposite fort, north-east. We completed our water and every other duty on the 8th, and the next morning weighed and made sail. At eleven o'clock, we saluted the fort with eleven guns, which was returned by an equal number: at noon, we were abreast of Santa Cruz Fort. With a light breeze from the northward, we were employed in turning down the harbour; and at seven o'clock, we came to in five fathoms, over a muddy bottom; the Island Averade bearing north-east half north, and Santa Cruz Fort south-west by west. Early the next morning, we weighed and stood out of the harbour, and the wind being very light, the jolly-boat was sent a-head to tow the vessel: in the afternoon, a moderate breeze came on from the eastward. At noon on the 11th, the land bore from south 57° west, to north 82° west: the wind being variable, we tacked occasionally. Our latitude was 27° 19' south, and the longitude 48° 21' west. 'Till the 17th, we had light winds, chiefly from the north-east quarter, and fine clear weather; the wind then shifted to the westward, with frequent squalls and heavy showers of rain. The latitude, at noon, was 29° 27' south, and 41° 14' west longitude. On the 20th, we had the ship well cleaned between decks, and thoroughly washed with vinegar. The variation of the compass was 4° 40' easterly. At noon on the 21st, a severe squall came on, attended with thunder, and very heavy rain; the wind all round the compass: this occasioned us to clew up the top-sails, and reef the foresail; however, towards evening, the weather growing more moderate we set the top-sails. We opened a cask of beef on the 22d, which was marked R. H. N° 72, and was received from the commissary at the victualling-office, Port Jackson: it contained sixty-six double pieces, which was four double pieces short of the number there ought to have been. During the 23d and 24th, we had light easterly winds, with intervening calms, and dark cloudy weather, attended with rain. On the 25th, in latitude 26° 13' south, and 31° 33' east longitude, we found 1° 22' easterly variation; and on the 27th the variation was 00° 45' westerly; the latitude being 22° 32' south, and the longitude 29° 03' west. I ordered the cables to be hauled up, the tier to be well cleaned, and washed with vinegar. The wind now hauled to the westward, with a moderate breeze and clear weather. On the 28th, the wind shifted to the northward, and at one o'clock in the morning of the 29th, a very severe squall came on from north-north-east, attended with heavy rain: soon after day-light, the weather moderated. We now had a settled easterly wind and fine weather, until the morning of the 6th of March, when the wind blew strong and in squalls, and continued very unsettled till the afternoon of the 7th, when it grew moderate. The latitude was 14° 26' south, and the longitude 23° 02' west. On the 12th, we were in 02° 11' south latitude, and 25' 16" west longitude, and in the afternoon we saw a sail to the northward; we bore up and spoke her; she proved to be the Cleopatra, of Boston, bound to Calcutta. I ordered the jolly-boat to be hoisted out and sent on board her; at six o'clock the boat returned, we got her on board, and made sail. From the 16th to the 18th, we had squally unsettled weather, attended with thunder, lightning, and heavy rain. Our latitude at noon on the 20th, was 08° 45' north, the longitude 30° 16' west, and the variation by azimuth 7° 52' west: the wind blew strong from the north-east, which occasioned a very high sea. On the 22d, John Miles was punished for sleeping on his watch, neglect of duty, and contemptuous behaviour. In the morning of the 28th, having a strong gale of wind at east, we clewed up the sails, and kept the vessel before the sea, whilst the masts were stayed, and the rigging set up; which being completed, and the weather growing moderate, we made sail. During the forenoon, we saw a deal of gulph weed. Our latitude was 20° 25' north, and the longitude 37° 06' west. On the 1st of April, we mustered the ship's company, and read the articles of war to them: our observation at noon, gave 29° 14' north latitude, the longitude was 39° 05' west, and the variation of the compass 07° 45' west. On the 5th, we had 11° 04' westerly variation; our latitude, at that time, was 35° 39' north, and the longitude, by lunar observation, 36° 16' west. The trade wind had now left us, and we had strong breezes generally from the north-west quarter. The variation, by azimuth, on the 13th, was 22° 00' west; the latitude at noon being 47° 09' north, and the longitude 17° 46' west. In the morning of the 15th, we saw several vessels standing to the westward, and at ten o'clock, spoke a sloop from Bristol, bound to Saint Michael's. At six o'clock in the afternoon of the 17th, we sounded and struck the ground in sixty-five fathoms, over a bottom of fine sand, mixed with black specks. Our latitude at noon, on the 19th, was 49° 23', and the longitude, by lunar observation, 6° 56' west. At four o'clock in the morning of the 20th, we saw the land, bearing north-north-west, and at noon the Lizard bore from north-north-east, to north-east by east, five miles distant. * * * * * Transactions at Norfolk Island The following particulars, respecting NORFOLK-ISLAND, which comprehend the substance of Lieutenant-Governor King's latest dispatches, being dated the 29th of December, 1791; and which were received the 30th of November 1792, by the William and Anne transport, that ought to have touched at Port Jackson, but was forced by contrary winds to bear away for England. The wheat harvest at Norfolk-Island was finished by the 10th of December, 1791; when about one thousand bushels of wheat were got in, and well thatched in stacks. The Indian corn had suffered by a series of dry hot weather ever since the preceding July. Lieutenant-Governor King finding great inconvenience from the size and construction of the frame of a store-house, which was 80 feet long by 24 feet wide, as well as from its situation, it being near the shore, determined to build one, 40 feet by 24, on the Terrace, at Mount-George: he had also found it necessary to build a goal, opposite the barrack-yard, and another at Queensborough. A good road has been made to the landing rock in Cascade-Bay, so that now, any thing may be landed with the greatest safety. Eighteen copper bolts, six copper sheets, two sixteen-inch cables, two hundred weight of lead, one fish-tackle fall, twenty pounds of chalk, three rudder chains, two top-chains, and iron-work of various sorts, had been saved from the wreck of the Sirius; the greatest part of these articles, Lieutenant-Governor King proposed sending to Port Jackson. Ten settlers, who lately belonged to the Sirius, were doing exceedingly well, but there was reason to fear that great part of the marine settlers, when the novelty of their situation was gone off, would have neither ability nor inclination to improve the portions of ground allotted them: they had already been extremely troublesome, and the lieutenant-governor had been under the necessity of imposing heavy fines on two; the first, for beating the watch and using inflammatory language, and the second, for cruelly beating a convict woman. The convict settlers were all doing very well, and were quiet, attentive, and orderly: they were increased to the number of forty; the whole number of settlers on the island were eighty, and it will be difficult to fix more until the ground is farther cleared. A quantity of coral and other testaceous substances, with different kinds of stones, were burnt forty-eight hours, and produced a very fine white lime, much superior to any lime made of chalk, and it proved a very tough cement. Eighteen convicts, under the direction of an overseer, who is a settler, were employed in making bricks. A bricklayer was much wanted, as one who was sent in the Queen, died on the passage. Lieutenant-Governor King finding it necessary to discharge Mr. Doridge, the superintendant of convicts at Queensborough, has appointed Mr. D'arcy Wentworth to succeed him: Mr. Wentworth had behaved with the greatest attention and propriety as assistant-surgeon, which duty he still continued to discharge. Mr. W. N. Chapman was appointed store-keeper at Phillipsburgh. A corporal and six privates were stationed in a house with a good garden to it, on an eminence commanding Queensborough, and a serjeant and ten men were fixed in a similar situation at Phillipsburgh, and they were kept as separate from the convicts as possible. The lieutenant-governor had been under the necessity of appointing a town-adjutant and inspector of out-posts, and he named Lieutenant Abbott for these duties; he also established rules and regulations for the observance of every person on the island, and for keeping a night-patrole: a deputy provost-marshal was also appointed. The wreck of the Sirius went to pieces on the 1st of January, 1792, and every thing possible was saved out of her. The same day, every person on the island went to a reduced allowance of provisions, but the fish daily caught was sufficient to serve all the inhabitants three times over. Some of the settlers were permitted to employ the convicts as their servants, on condition of maintaining them without the aid of the public store; and some of the convicts were allowed to work for themselves, on the same condition. It will be absolutely necessary to establish a court of justice, as corporal punishments have but little effect; although robberies were confined only to a particular class of convicts, and were by no means general. By the 15th of January, two hundred and sixty bushels of Indian corn were gathered in; a number of acres were then in different states of growth, which were likely to yield about three hundred bushels more. The wheat thrashed well, and yielded plentifully. The granary was finished, and every endeavour was used to keep the wevil out of it. The End 
4330	----	TWO EXPEDITIONS INTO THE INTERIOR OF SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA DURING THE YEARS 1828, 1829, 1830, 1831 WITH OBSERVATIONS ON THE SOIL, CLIMATE AND GENERAL RESOURCES OF THE COLONY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. IN TWO VOLUMES VOLUME I. "For though most men are contented only to see a river as it runs by them, and talk of the changes in it as they happen; when it is troubled, or when clear; when it drowns the country in a flood, or forsakes it in a drought: yet he that would know the nature of the water, and the causes of those accidents (so as to guess at their continuance or return), must find out its source, and observe with what strength it rises, what length it runs, and how many small streams fall in, and feed it to such a height, as make it either delightful or terrible to the eye, and useful or dangerous to the country about it."...SIR WILLIAM TEMPLE'S NETHERLANDS. TO THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF RIPON, VISCOUNT GODERICH, Lord Privy Seal &c. &c. &c. MY LORD, The completion of this Work affords me the opportunity I have long desired of thanking your Lordship thus publicly, for the kindness with which you acceded to my request to be permitted to dedicate it to you. The encouragement your Lordship was pleased to give me has served to stimulate me in the prosecution of a task, which would, I fear, have been too great for me to have accomplished in my present condition, under any ordinary views of ambition. Indeed, labouring as I have been for many months past, under an almost total deprivation of sight, (the effect of exposure and anxiety of mind in the prosecution of geographical researches,) I owe it to the casual assistance of some of my friends, that I am at length enabled to lay these results before your Lordship and the public. While I feel a painful conviction that many errors must necessarily pervade a work produced under such unfavourable circumstances, it affords me no small consolation to reflect that Your Lordship has been aware of my situation, and will be disposed to grant me every reasonable indulgence. I have the honor to be, With the highest respect, My Lord, Your Lordship's Very obedient and humble servant, CHARLES STURT London, June, 1833. CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME PRELIMINARY CHAPTER. Purpose of this Chapter--Name of Australia--Impressions of its early Visitors--Character of the Australian rivers--Author's first view of Port Jackson--Extent of the Colony of New South Wales--its rapid advances in prosperity--Erroneous impressions--Commercial importance of Sydney--Growth of fine wool--Mr. M'Arthur's meritorious exertions--Whale-fishery--Other exports--Geographical features--Causes of the large proportion of bad soil--Connection between the geology and vegetation--Geological features-- Character of the soil connected with the geological formation--County of Cumberland--Country westward of the Blue Mountains--Disadvantages of the remote settlers--Character of the Eastern coast--Rich tracts in the interior--Periodical droughts--The seasons apparently affected by the interior marshes--Temperature--Fruits--Emigrants: Causes of their success or failure--Moral disadvantages--System of emigration recommended--Hints to emigrants--Progress of inland discovery--Expeditions across the Blue Mountains--Discoveries of Mr. Evans, Mr. Oxley, and others--Conjectures respecting the interior. EXPEDITION DOWN THE MACQUARIE RIVER, AND INTO THE WESTERN INTERIOR IN 1828 AND 1829. CHAPTER I. State of the Colony in 1828-29--Objects of the Expedition--Departure from Sydney--Wellington Valley--Progress down the Macquarie--Arrival at Mount Harris--Stopped by the marshes--Encamp amidst reeds--Excursions down the river--Its termination--Appearance of the marshes--Opthalmic affection of the men--Mr. Hume's successful journey to the northward-- Journey across the plain--Second great marsh--Perplexities--Situation of the exploring party--Consequent resolutions. CHAPTER II. Prosecution of our course into the interior--Mosquito Brush--Aspect and productions of the country--Hunting party of natives--Courageous conduct of one of them--Mosquitoes--A man missing--Group of hills called New-Year's Range--Journey down New-Year's Creek--Tormenting attack of the kangaroo fly--Dreariness and desolation of the country--Oxley's Table Land--D'Urban's Group--Continue our journey down New-Year's Creek-- Extreme Disappointment on finding it salt--Fall in with a tribe of natives--Our course arrested by the want of fresh water--Extraordinary sound--Retreat towards the Macquarie. CHAPTER III. Intercourse with the natives--Their appearance and condition--Remarks on the Salt or Darling River--Appearance of the marshes on our return-- Alarm for safety of the provision party--Return to Mount Harris--Miserable condition of the natives--Circumstances attending the slaughter of two Irish runaways--Bend our course towards the Castlereagh--Wallis's Ponds-- Find the famished natives feeding on gum--Channel of the Castlereagh-- Character of the country in its vicinity--Another tribe of natives-- Amicable intercourse with them--Morrisset's chain of Ponds--Again reach the Darling River ninety miles higher up than where we first struck upon it. CHAPTER IV. Perplexity--Trait of honesty in the natives--Excursion on horseback across the Darling--Forced to return--Desolating effects of the drought--Retreat towards the colony--Connection between the Macquarie and the Darling-- Return up the banks of the Macquarie--Starving condition of the natives. CHAPTER V. General remarks--Result of the expedition--Previous anticipations-- Mr. Oxley's remarks--Character of the Rivers flowing westerly-- Mr. Cunningham's remarks--Fall of the Macquarie--Mr. Oxley's erroneous conclusions respecting the character of the interior, naturally inferred from the state in which he found the country--The marsh of the Macquarie merely a marsh of the ordinary character--Captain King's observations-- Course of the Darling--Character of the low interior plain--The convict Barber's report of rivers traversing the interior--Surveyor-General Mitchell's Report of his recent expedition. CHAPTER VI. Concluding Remarks--Obstacles that attend travelling into the interior of Australia--Difficulty of carrying supplies--Importance of steady intelligent subordinates--Danger from the natives--Number of men requisite,--and of cattle and carriages--Provisions--Other arrangements-- Treatment of the natives--Dimensions of the boat used in the second expedition. APPENDIX. No. I. Letter of Instructions No. II. List of Stores supplied for the Expedition No. III. Sheep-farming Returns No. IV. List of Geological Specimens No. V. Official Report to the Colonial Government, (Jan. 1829.) No. VI. Ditto (April 1829.) ILLUSTRATIONS TO THE FIRST VOLUME (Not included in this etext) Native Burial Place near Budda Vice Admiral Arthur Phillip Cataract of the Macquarie A Selenite Chrystallized Sulphate of Lime PRELIMINARY CHAPTER Purpose of this Chapter--Name of Australia--Impressions of its early Visitors--Character of the Australian rivers--Author's first view of Port Jackson--Extent of the Colony of New South Wales--its rapid advances in prosperity--Erroneous impressions--Commercial importance of Sydney--Growth of fine wool--Mr. M'Arthur's meritorious exertions--Whale-fishery--Other exports--Geographical features--Causes of the large proportion of bad soil--Connection between the geology and vegetation--Geological features-- Character of the soil connected with the geological formation--County of Cumberland--Country westward of the Blue Mountains--Disadvantages of the remote settlers--Character of the Eastern coast--Rich tracts in the interior--Periodical droughts--The seasons apparently affected by the interior marshes--Temperature--Fruits--Emigrants: Causes of their success or failure--Moral disadvantages--System of emigration recommended--Hints to emigrants--Progress of inland discovery--Expeditions across the Blue Mountains--Discoveries of Mr. Evans, Mr. Oxley, and others--Conjectures respecting the interior. PURPOSE OF THIS PRELIMINARY CHAPTER. When I first determined on committing to the press a detailed account of the two expeditions, which I conducted into the interior of the Australian continent, pursuant to the orders of Lieutenant General Darling, the late Governor of the Colony of New South Wales, it was simply with a view of laying their results before the geographical world, and of correcting the opinions that prevailed with regard to the unexplored country to the westward of the Blue Mountains. I did not feel myself equal either to the task or the responsibility of venturing any remarks on the Colony of New South Wales itself. I had had little time for inquiry, amidst the various duties that fell to my lot in the ordinary routine of the service to which I belonged, when unemployed by the Colonial Government in the prosecution of inland discoveries. My observations had been in a great measure confined to those points which curiosity, or a desire of personal information, had prompted me to investigate. I did not, therefore, venture to flatter myself that I had collected materials of sufficient importance on general topics to enable me to write for the information of others. Since my return to England, however, I have been strenuously urged to give a short description of the colony before entering upon my personal narrative; and I have conversed with so many individuals whose ideas of Australia are totally at variance with its actual state, that I am encouraged to indulge the hope that my observations, desultory as they are, may be of some interest to the public. I am strengthened in this hope by the consideration that some kind friends have enabled me to add much valuable matter to that which I had myself collected. It is not my intention, however, to enter at any length on the commercial or agricultural interests of New South Wales. It may be necessary for me to touch lightly on those important subjects, but it is my wish to connect this preliminary chapter, as much as possible with the subjects treated of in the body of the work, and chiefly to notice the physical structure, the soil, climate, and productions of the colony, in order to convey to the reader general information on these points, before I lead him into the remote interior. NAME OF AUSTRALIA. It may be worthy of remark that the name "Australia," has of late years been affixed to that extensive tract of land which Great Britain possesses in the Southern Seas, and which, having been a discovery of the early Dutch navigators, was previously termed "New Holland." The change of name was, I believe, introduced by the celebrated French geographer, Malte Brun, who, in his division of the globe, gave the appellation of Austral Asia and Polynesia to the new discovered lands in the southern ocean; in which division he meant to include the numerous insular groups scattered over the Pacific. IMPRESSIONS OF ITS EARLY VISITORS. Australia is properly speaking an island, but it is so much larger than every other island on the face of the globe, that it is classed as a continent in order to convey to the mind a just idea of its magnitude. Stretching from the 115th to the 153rd degree of east longitude, and from the 10th to the 37th of south latitude, it averages 2700 miles in length by 1800 in breadth; and balanced, as it were, upon the tropic of that hemisphere in which it is situated, it receives the fiery heat of the equator at one extremity, while it enjoys the refreshing coolness of the temperate zone at the other. On a first view we should be led to expect that this extensive tract of land possessed more than ordinary advantages; that its rivers would be in proportion to its size; and that it would abound in the richest productions of the inter-tropical and temperate regions. Such, indeed, was the impression of those who first touched upon its southern shores, but who remained no longer than to be dazzled by the splendour and variety of its botanical productions, and to enjoy for a few days the delightful mildness of its climate. But the very spot which had appeared to Captain Cook and Sir Joseph Banks an earthly paradise, was abandoned by the early settlers as unfit for occupation; nor has the country generally been fount to realize the sanguine expectations of those distinguished individuals, so far as it has hitherto been explored. CHARACTER OF AUSTRALIAN RIVERS. Rivers which have the widest mouths or the most practicable entrances, are, in Europe or America, usually of impetuous current, or else contain such a body of water as to bear down all opposition to their free course; whilst on the other hand, rivers whose force is expended ere they reach the sea, have almost invariably a bar at their embouchure, or where they mingle their waters with those of the ocean. This last feature unfortunately appears to characterise all rivers of Australia, or such of them at least as are sufficiently known to us. Falling rapidly from the mountains in which they originate into a level and extremely depressed country; having weak and inconsiderable sources, and being almost wholly unaided by tributaries of any kind; they naturally fail before they reach the coast, and exhaust themselves in marshes or lakes or reach it so weakened as to be unable to preserve clear or navigable months, or to remove the sand banks that the tides throw up before them. On the other hand the productions of this singular region seem to be peculiar to it, and unlike those of any other part of the world; nor have any indigenous fruits of any value as yet been found either in its forests or on its plains. He who has never looked on any other than the well-cultured fields of England, can have little idea of a country that Nature has covered with an interminable forest. Still less can he estimate the feelings with which the adventurer approaches a shore that has never (or perhaps only lately) been trodden by civilized man. FIRST VIEW OF PORT JACKSON. It was with feelings peculiar to the occasion, that I gazed for the first time on the bold cliffs at the entrance of Port Jackson, as our vessel neared them, and speculated on the probable character of the landscape they hid; and I am free to confess, that I did not anticipate anything equal to the scene which presented itself both to my sight and my judgment, as we sailed up the noble and extensive basin we had entered, towards the seat of government. A single glance was sufficient to tell me that the hills upon the southern shore of the port, the outlines of which were broken by houses and spires, must once have been covered with the same dense and gloomy wood which abounded every where else. The contrast was indeed very great--the improvement singularly striking. The labour and patience required, and the difficulties which the first settlers encountered effecting these improvements, must have been incalculable. But their success has been complete: it is the very triumph of human skill and industry over Nature herself. The cornfield and the orchard have supplanted the wild grass and the brush; a flourishing town stands over the ruins of the forest; the lowing of herds has succeeded the wild whoop of the savage; and the stillness of that once desert shore is now broken by the sound of the bugle and the busy hum of commerce. EXTENT OF NEW SOUTH WALES AND DIVISIONS OF THE COLONY. The Colony of New South Wales is situated upon the eastern coast of Australia; and the districts within which land has been granted to settlers, extends from the 36th parallel of latitude to the 32nd, that is say, from the Moroyo River to the south of Sydney on the one hand, and to the Manning River on the other, including Wellington Valley within its limits to the westward. Thus it will appear that the boundaries of the located parts of the colony have been considerably enlarged, and some fine districts of country included within them. In consequence of its extent and increasing population, it has been found convenient to divide it into counties, parishes, and townships; and indeed, every measure of the Colonial Government of late years, has had for its object to assimilate its internal arrangements as nearly as possible, to those of the mother country. Whether we are to attribute the present flourishing state of the colony to the beneficial influence of that system of government which has been exercised over it for the last seven years it is not for me to say. That the prosperity of a country depends, however, in a great measure, on the wisdom of its legislature, is as undoubted, as that within the period I have mentioned the colony of N. S. Wales has risen unprecedentedly in importance and in wealth, and has advanced to a state of improvement at which it could not have arrived had its energies been cramped or its interests neglected. ITS ADVANCES IN PROSPERITY. There is a period in the history of every country, during which it will appear to have been more prosperous than at any other. I allude not to the period of great martial achievements, should any such adorn its pages, but to that in which the enterprise of its merchants was roused into action, and when all classes of its community seem to have put forth their strength towards the attainment of wealth and power. ERRONEOUS IMPRESSIONS. In this eventful period the colony of New South Wales is already far advanced. The conduct of its merchants is marked by the boldest speculations and the most gigantic projects. Their storehouses are built on the most magnificent scale, and with the best and most substantial materials. Few persons in England have even a remote idea of its present flourishing condition, or of the improvements that are daily taking place both in its commerce and in its agriculture. I am aware that many object to it as a place of residence, and I can easily enter into their feelings from the recollection of what my own were before I visited it. I cannot but remark, however, that I found my prejudices had arisen from a natural objection to the character of a part of its population; from the circumstance of its being a penal colony, and from my total ignorance of its actual state, and not from any substantial or permanent cause. On the contrary I speedily became convinced of the exaggerated nature of the reports I had heard in England, on some of the points just adverted to; nor did any thing fall under my observation during a residence in it of more than six years to justify the opinion I had been previously led to entertain of it. I embarked for New South Wales, with strong prejudices against it: I left it with strong feelings in its favour, and with a deep feeling of interest in its prosperity. It is a pleasing task to me, therefore, to write of it thus, and to have it in my power to contribute to the removal of any erroneous impressions with regard to its condition at the present moment. COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE OF SYDNEY. I have already remarked, that I was not prepared for the scene that met my view when I first saw Sydney. The fact was, I had not pictured to myself; nor conceived from any thing that I had ever read or heard in England, that so extensive a town could have been reared in that remote region, in so brief a period as that which had elapsed since its foundation. It is not, however, a distant or cursory glance that will give the observer a just idea of the mercantile importance of this busy capital. In order to form an accurate estimate of it, he should take a boat and proceed from Sydney Cove to Darling Harbour. He would then be satisfied, that it is not upon the first alone that Australian commerce has raised its storehouse and wharfs, but that the whole extent of the eastern shore of the last more capacious basin, is equally crowded with warehouses, stores, dockyards, mills, and wharfs, the appearance and solidity of which would do credit even to Liverpool. Where, thirty years ago, the people flocked to the beach to hail an arrival, it is not now unusual to see from thirty to forty vessels riding at anchor at one time, collected there from every quarter of the globe. In 1832, one hundred and fifty vessels entered the harbour of Port Jackson, from foreign parts, the amount of their tonnage being 31,259 tons. The increasing importance of Sydney must in some measure be attributed to the flourishing condition of the colony itself, to the industry of its farmers, to the successful enterprise of its merchants, and to particular local causes. It is foreign to my purpose, however, to enter largely into an investigation of these important points. To do so would require more space than I can afford for the purpose, and might justly be considered as irrelevant in a work of this kind. Without attempting any lengthened detail, it may be considered sufficient if I endeavour merely to point out the principal causes of the present prosperity (and, as they may very probably prove) of the eventual progress of our great southern colony to power and independence. STAPLE OF THE AUSTRALIAN COLONIES. The staple of our Australian colonies, but more particularly of New South Wales, the climate and the soil of which are peculiarly suited to its production,--is fine wool. There can be no doubt that the growth of this article has mainly contributed to the prosperity of the above mentioned colony and of Van Diemen's Land. At the close of the last century, wool was imported into England from Spain and Germany only, and but a few years previously from Spain alone. Indeed, long after its introduction from the latter country, German wool, obtained but little consideration in the London market; and in like manner, it may be presumed that many years will not have elapsed before the increased importation of wool from our own possessions in the southern hemisphere, will render us, in respect to this commodity, independent of every other part of the world. The great improvements in modern navigation are such, that the expense of sending the fleece to market from New South Wales is less than from any part of Europe. The charges for instance on Spanish and German wool, are from fourpence to fourpence three farthings per pound; whereas the entire charge, after shipment from New South Wales, and Van Diemen's Land, does not exceed threepence three farthings,--and in this the dock and landing charges, freight, insurance, brokerage, and commission, are included. GROWTH OF FINE WOOL. MR. M'ARTHUR'S EXERTIONS. As some particulars respecting the introduction of this source of national wealth into Australia may prove interesting to the public, I have put together the following details of it, upon the authenticity of which they may rely. The person who foresaw the advantage to be derived from the growth of fine wool in New South Wales, and who commenced the culture of it in that colony, was Mr. John M'Arthur. So far back, I believe, as the year 1793, not long after the establishment of the first settlement at Sydney, this gentleman commenced sheep-farming, and about two years afterwards he obtained a ram and two ewes from Captain Kent, of the royal navy, who had brought them, with some other stock for the supply of the settlement, from the Cape of Good Hope, to which place a flock of these sheep had been originally sent by the Dutch government. Sensible of the importance of the acquisition, Mr. M'Arthur began to cross his coarse-fleeced sheep with Merino blood; and, proceeding upon a system, he effected a considerable improvement in the course of a few years. So prolific was the mixed breed, that in ten years, a flock which originally consisted of not more than seventy Bengal sheep, had increased in number to 4,000 head, although the wethers had been killed as they became fit for slaughter. It appears, however, that as the sheep approached to greater purity of blood, their extreme fecundity diminished. TO REAR MERINO FLOCKS. In 1803, Mr. M'Arthur revisited England; and there happening at the time to be a committee of manufacturers in London from the clothing districts, he exhibited before them samples of his wool, which were so much approved, that the committee represented to their constituents the advantages which would result from the growth of fine wool, in one of the southern dependencies of the empire. In consequence of this a memorial was transmitted to His Majesty's government, and Mr. M'Arthur's plans having been investigated by a Privy Council, at which he was present, they were recommended to the government as worthy of its protection. With such encouragement Mr. M'Arthur purchased two ewes and three rams, from the Merino flock of His Majesty King George the Third. He embarked with them on his return to New South Wales in 1806, on board a vessel named by him "the Argo," in reference to the golden treasure with which she was freighted. On reaching the colony he removed his sheep to a grant of land which the Home Government had directed he should receive in the Cow Pastures. To commemorate the transaction, and to transmit to a grateful posterity the recollection of the nobleman who then presided over the colonies, the estate, together with the district in which it is situated, was honoured by the name of Camden. EXPORT OF WOOL TO ENGLAND. Since that time the value of New South Wales wool has been constantly on the increase, and the colony are indebted to Mr. M'Arthur for the possession of an exportable commodity which has contributed very materially to its present wealth and importance. Such general attention is now paid to this interesting branch of rural economy, that the importation of wool into England from our Australian colonies, amounted, in 1832, to 10,633 bales, or 2,500,000 lbs. It has been sold at as high a price as 10s. per lb.; but the average price of wool of the best flocks vary from 1s. 6d. to 4s. 6d. at the present moment. The number of sheep in New South Wales alone was calculated in the last census at 536,891 head. The ordinary profits on this kind of stock may be extracted from the Table given in the Appendix to the first volume of this work. WHALE FISHERY. Among the various speculations undertaken by the merchants of Sydney, there is not one into which they have entered with so much spirit as in the South Sea Fishery. The local situation of Port Jackson gives them an advantage over the English and the American merchants, since the distance of both these from the field of their gains, must necessarily impede them greatly; whereas the ships that leave Sydney on a whaling excursion, arrive without loss of time upon their ground, and return either for fresh supplies or to repair damages with equal facility. The spirit with which the colonial youth have engaged in this adventurous and hardy service, is highly to their credit. The profits arising from it may not be (indeed I have every reason to think are not) so great as might be supposed, or such as might reasonably be expected; but the extensive scale on which it is conducted, speaks equally for the energy and perseverance of the parties concerned, in the prosecution of their commercial enterprises. It has enabled them to equip a creditable colonial marine, and given great importance to their mercantile interests in the mother country. In the year 1831, the quantity of sperm and black oil, the produce of the fisheries exported from New South Wales, amounted to 2,307 tons, and was estimated, together with skins and whalebone, to be worth 107,971 pounds sterling. The gross amount of all other exports during that year, did not exceed 107,697 pounds sterling. Of these exports, the following were the most considerable: Timber 7,410 pounds Butter and Cheese 2,376 Mimosa bark 40 Hides 7,333 Horses 7,302 Salt provisions 5,184 Wool 66,112 The above is exclusive of 61,000 pounds value of British manufactures re-exported to the various ports and islands in the Southern Seas. OTHER EXPORTS. In this scale, moreover, tobacco is not mentioned; but that plant is now raised for the supply of every private establishment, and will assuredly form an article of export, as soon as its manufacture shall be well understood. Neither can it be doubted but that the vine and the olive will, in a short time, be abundantly cultivated; and that a greater knowledge of the climate and soil of the more northern parts of the colony, will lead to the introduction of fresh sources of wealth. GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. Having taken this hasty review of the commercial interests of the colony, we may now turn to a brief examination of its internal structure and principal natural features. I have already given a cursory sketch of the geographical features of the whole continent. Of the vast area which its coasts embrace, the east part alone has been fully explored. A range of hills runs along the eastern coast, from north to south, which, in different quarters, vary in their distance from the sea; at one place approaching it pretty nearly, at another, receding from it to a distance of forty miles. It is a singular fact, that there is no pass or break in these mountains, by which any of the rivers of the interior can escape in an easterly direction. Their spine is unbroken. The consequence is, that there is a complete division of the eastern and western waters, and that streams, the heads of which are close to each other, flow away in opposite directions; the one to pursue a short course to the sea; the other to fall into a level and depressed interior, the character of which will be noticed in its proper place. GREAT PROPORTION OF BAD SOIL. The proportion of bad soil to that which is good in New South Wales, is certainly very great: I mean the proportion of inferior soil to such as is fit for the higher purposes of agriculture. Mr. Dawson, the late superintendent of the Australian Agricultural Company's possessions, has observed, as a singular fact, that the best soil generally prevails on the summits of the hills, more especially where they are at all level. He accounts for so unusual a circumstance by the fact, that elevated positions are less subject to the effects of fire or floods than their valleys or flanks, and attributes the general want of vegetable mould over the colony chiefly to the ravages of the former element, whereby the growth of underwood, so favourable in other countries to the formation of soil, is wholly prevented. Undoubtedly this is a principal cause for the deficiency in question. There is no part of the world in which fires create such havoc as in New South Wales and indeed in Australia generally. The climate, on the one hand, which dries up vegetation, and the wandering habits of the natives on the other, which induce them to clear the country before them by conflagration, operate equally against the growth of timber and underwood. CAUSE OF THIS. But there is another circumstance that appears to have escaped Mr. Dawson's observation; which is the actual property of the trees themselves, as to the quantity of vegetable matter they produce in decay. Being a military man, I cannot be supposed to have devoted much of my time to agricultural pursuits; but it has been obvious to me, as it must have been to many others, that in New South Wales, the fall of leaves and the decay of timber, so far from adding to the richness of its soil, actually destroy minor vegetation. This fact was brought more home to me in consequence of its having been my lot to spend some months upon Norfolk Island, a distant penal settlement attached to the Government of Sydney. There the abundance of vegetable decay was as remarkable as the want of it on the Australian Continent. I have frequently sunk up to my knees in a bed of leaves when walking through its woods; and, often when I placed my foot on what appeared externally to be the solid trunk of a tree, I have found it yield to the pressure, in consequence of its decomposition into absolute rottenness. But such is not the case in New South Wales. There, no such accumulations of vegetable matter are to be met with; but where the loftiest tree of the forest falls to the ground, its figure and length are marked out by the total want of vegetation within a certain distance of it, and a small elevation of earth, resembling more the refuse or scoria of burnt bricks than any thing else, is all that ultimately remains of the immense body which time or accident had prostrated. Thus it would appear, that it is not less to the character of its woods than to the ravages of fire that New South Wales owes its general sterility. CONNECTION BETWEEN THE GEOLOGY AND VEGETATION. Whilst prosecuting my researches in the interior of the colony, I could not but be struck with the apparent connection between its geology and vegetation; so strong, indeed, was this connection, that I had little difficulty, after a short experience, in judging of the rock that formed the basis of the country over which I was travelling, from the kind of tree or herbage that flourished in the soil above it. The eucalyptus pulv., a species of eucalyptus having a glaucus-coloured leaf, of dwarfish habits and growing mostly in scrub, betrayed the sandstone formation, wherever it existed, This was the case in many parts of the County of Cumberland, in some parts of Wombat Brush, at the two passes on the great south road, over a great extent of country to the N.W. of Yass Plains, and at Blackheath on the summit of the Blue Mountains. On the other hand, those open grassy and park-like tracts, of which so much has been said, characterise the secondary ranges of granite and porphyry. The trees most usual on these tracts, were the box, an unnamed species of eucalyptus, and the grass chiefly of that kind, called the oat or forest grass, which grows in tufts at considerable distances from each other, and which generally affords good pasturage. On the richer grounds the angophora lanceolata, and the eucalyptus mammifera more frequently point out the quality of the soil on which they grow. The first are abundant on the alluvial flats of the Nepean, the Hawkesbury and the Hunter; the latter on the limestone formation of Wellington Valley and in the better portions of Argyle; whilst the cupressus calytris seems to occupy sandy ridges with the casuarina. It was impossible that these broad features should have escaped observation: it was naturally inferred from this, that the trees of New South Wales are gregarious; and in fact they may, in a great measure, be considered so. The strong line that occasionally separates different species, and the sudden manner in which several species are lost at one point, to re-appear at another more distant, without any visible cause for the break that has taken place, will furnish a number of interesting facts in the botany of New South Wales. It was observed both on the Macquarie river and the Morumbidgee, that the casuarinae ceased at a particular point. On the Macquarie particularly, these trees which had often excited our admiration from Wellington Valley downwards, ceased to occupy its banks below the cataract, nor were they again noticed until we arrived on the banks of the Castlereagh. The blue-gum trees, again, were never observed to extend beyond the secondary embankments of the rivers, occupying that ground alone which was subject to flood and covered with reeds. These trees waved over the marshes of the Macquarie, but were not observed to the westward of them for many miles; yet they re-appeared upon the banks of New-Year's Creek as suddenly as they had disappeared after we left the marshes, and grew along the line of the Darling to unusual size. But it is remarkable, that, even in the midst of the marshes, the blue-gum trees were strictly confined to the immediate flooded spaces on which the reeds prevailed, or to the very beds of the water-courses. Where the ground was elevated, or out of the reach of flood, the box (unnamed) alone occupied it; and, though the branches of these trees might be interwoven together, the one never left its wet and reedy bed, the other never descended from its more elevated position. The same singular distinction marked the acacia pendula, when it ceased to cover the interior plains of light earth, and was succeeded by another shrub of the same species. It continued to the banks of New-Year's Creek, a part of which it thickly lined. To the westward of the creek, another species of acacia was remarked for the first time. Both shrubs, like the blue-gum and the box, mixed their branches together, but the creek formed the line of separation between them. The acacia pendula was not afterwards seen, but that which had taken its place, as it were, was found to cover large tracts of country and to form extensive brushes. Many other peculiarities in the vegetation of the interior are noticed in the body of this work, but I have thought that these more striking ones deserved to be particularly remarked upon. GEOLOGICAL FEATURES. If we strike a line to the N.W. from Sydney to Wellington Valley, we shall find that little change takes place in the geological features of the country. The sand-stone of which the first of the barrier ranges is composed, terminates a little beyond Mount York, and at Cox's River is succeeded by grey granite. The secondary ranges to the N.W. of Bathurst, are wholly of that primitive rock; for although there are partial changes of strata between Bathurst and Moulong Plains, granite is undoubtedly the rock upon which the whole are based: but at Moulong Plains, a military station intermediate between Bathurst and Wellington Valley, limestone appears in the bed of a small clear stream, and with little interruption continues to some distance below the last-mentioned place. The accidental discovery of some caves at Moulong Plains, led to the more critical examination of the whole formation, and cavities of considerable size were subsequently found in various parts of it, but more particularly in the neighbourhood of Wellington Valley. The local interest which has of late years been taken in the prosecution of geological investigations, led many gentlemen to examine the contents of these caverns; and among the most forward, Major Mitchell, the Surveyor-General, must justly be considered, to whose indefatigable perseverance the scientific world is already so much indebted. The caves into which I penetrated, did not present anything particular to my observation; they differed little from caves of a similar description into which I had penetrated in Europe. Large masses of stalactites hung from their roofs, and a corresponding formation encrusted their floors. They comprised various chambers or compartments, the most remote of which terminated at a deep chasm that was full of water. A close examination of these caves has led to the discovery of some organic remains, bones of various animals embedded in a light red soil; but I am not aware that the remains of any extinct species have been found, or that any fossils have been met with in the limestone itself. There can, however, be little doubt but that the same causes operated in depositing these mouldering remains in the caves of Kirkdale and those of Wellington Valley. About twenty miles below the junction of the Bell with the Macquarie, free-stone supersedes the limestone, but as the country falls rapidly from that point, it soon disappears, and the traveller enters upon a flat country of successive terraces. A schorl rock, of a blue colour and fine grain, composed of tourmaline and quartz, forms the bed of the Macquarie at the Cataract; and, in immediate contact with it, a mass of mica slate of alternate rose, pink, and white, was observed, which must have been covered by the waters of the river when Mr. Oxley descended it. From the Cataract of the Macquarie, a flat extends to the marshes in which that river exhausts itself. From the midst of this flat Mount Foster and Mount Harris rise, both of which are porphyritic: but as I have been particular in describing these heights in their proper place, any minute notice of them here may be considered unnecessary. We will rather extend our enquiries to those parts of the colony upon which we shall not be called upon to remark in the succeeding pages. Returning to the coast, we may mark the geological changes in a line to the S.W. of Sydney; and as my object is to extend the information of my readers, I shall notice any particular district on either side of the line I propose to touch upon, which may be worthy of notice. It would appear that the first decided break in the sandstone formation which penetrates into the county of Camden, is at Mittagong Range. It is there traversed by a dike of whinstone, of which that range is wholly composed. The change of soil and of vegetation are equally remarkable at this place; the one being a rich, greasy, chocolate-coloured earth, the other partaking greatly of the intertropical character. In wandering over them, I noticed the wild fig and the cherry-tree, growing to a much larger size than I had seen them in any other part of the colony. Upon their branches, the satin bird, the gangan, and various kinds of pigeons were feeding. Birds unknown to the eastward of the Blue Mountains, were numerous in the valleys; and there was an unusual appearance of freshness and moisture in the vegetation. These signs of improvement, however, vanish the moment Mittagong range is crossed, and sand-stone again forms the basis of the country to a considerable distance beyond Bong-bong. At a small farm called the Ploughed Ground, it is again traversed by a dike of whinstone, and a rich but isolated spot is thus passed over. With occasional and partial interruption, however, the sand-stone formation continues to an abrupt pass, from which the traveller descends to the county of Argyle. This pass is extremely abrupt, and is covered with glaucus, the low scrub I have noticed as common to the sand-stone formation. A small but lively stream, called Paddy's River, runs at the bottom of this pass, and immediately to the S.W. of it, an open forest country of granite base extends for many miles, on which the eucalyptus manifera is prevalent, and which affords the best grazing tracts in Argyle. At Goulburn Plains, however, a vein of limestone occurs, which is evidently connected with that forming the ShoalHaven Gully, which is perhaps the most remarkable geological feature in the colony of New South Wales. It is a deep chasm of about a quarter of a mile in breadth, and 1200 feet in depth. The country on either side is perfectly level, so much so that the traveller approaches almost to its very brink before he is aware of his being near so singular an abyss. A small rivulet flows through the Gully, and discharges itself into the sea at ShoalHaven; but this river is hardly perceptible, from the summit of the cliffs forming the sides of the Gully, which are of the boldest and most precipitous character. The ground on the summit is full of caves of great depth, but there has been a difficulty in examining them, in consequence of the violent wind that rushes up them, and extinguishes every torch. The open and grassy forests of Argyle are terminated by another of those abrupt sand-stone passes I have just described, and the traveller again falls considerably from his former level, previously to his entering on Yass Plains, to which this pass is the only inlet. From Yass Plains the view to the S. and S.W. is over a lofty and broken country: mountains with rounded summits, others with towering peaks, and others again of lengthened form but sharp spine, characterise the various rocks of which they are composed. The ranges decline rapidly from east to west, and while on the one hand the country has all the appearance of increasing height, on the other it sinks to a dead level; nor on the distant horizon to the N. W. is there a hill or an inequality to be seen. From Yass Plains to the very commencement of the level interior, every range I crossed presented a new rock-formation; serpentine quartz in huge white masses, granite, chlorite, micaceous schist, sandstone, chalcedony, quartz, and red jasper, and conglomerate rocks. It was however, out of my power, in so hurried a journey as that which I performed down the banks of the Morumbidgee River, to examine with the accuracy I could have wished, either the immediate connection between these rocks or their gradual change from the one to the other. I was content to ascertain their actual succession, and to note the general outlines of the ranges; but the defect of vision under which I labour, prevents me from laying them before the public. CHARACTER OF THE SOIL CONNECTED WITH GEOLOGICAL FORMATION. From what has been advanced, however, it will appear that the physical structure of the southern parts of the colony is as varied, as that of the western interior is monotonous, and we may now pursue our original observations on the soil of the colony with greater confidence. In endeavouring to account for the poverty of the soil in New South Wales, and in attributing it in a great degree to the causes already mentioned, it appears necessary to estimate more specifically the influence which the geological formation of a country exercises on its soil, and how much the quality of the latter partakes of the character of the rock on which it reposes. And although I find it extremely difficult to explain myself as I should wish to do, in the critical discussion on which I have thus entered, yet as it is material to the elucidation of an important subject in the body of the work, I feel it incumbent on me to proceed to the best of my ability. I have said that the soil of a country depends much upon its geological formation. This appears to be particularly the case in those parts of the colony with which I am acquainted, or those lying between the parallels of 30 degrees and 35 degrees south. Sandstone, porphyry, and granite, succeed each other from the coast to a very considerable distance into the interior, on a N. W. line. The light ferruginous dust that is distributed over the county of Cumberland, and which annoys the traveller by its extreme minuteness, to the eastward of the Blue Mountains, is as different from the coarse gravelly soil on the secondary ranges to the westward of them, as the barren scrubs and thickly-wooded tracts of the former district are to the grassy and open forests of the latter. As soon as I began to descend to the westward it became necessary to pay strict and earnest attention to the features of the country through which I passed, in order to determine more accurately the different appearances which, as I was led to expect, the rivers would assume. In the course of my examination I found, first, that the broken country through which I travelled, was generally covered with a loose, coarse, and sandy soil; and, secondly, that the ranges were wholly deficient in that peat formation which fills the valleys, or covers the flat summits of the hills or mountains, in the northern hemisphere. The peculiar property of this formation is to retain water like a sponge; and to this property the regular and constant flow of the rivers descending from such hills, may, in a great measure, be attributed. In New South Wales on the contrary, the rains that fall upon the mountains drain rapidly through a coarse and superficial soil, and pour down their sides without a moment's interruption. The consequence is that on such occasions the rivers are subject to great and sudden rises, whereas they have scarcely water enough to support a current in ordinary seasons. At one time the traveller will find it impracticable to cross them: at another he may do so with ease; and only from the remains of debris in the branches of the trees high above, can he judge of the furious torrent they must occasionally contain. This seeming deviation on the part of Nature from her usual laws will no longer appear such, if we consider its results for a moment. The very floods which swell the rivers to overflowing, are followed by the most beneficent effects; and, rude and violent as the means are by which she accomplishes her purpose, they form, no doubt, a part of that process by which she preserves the balance of good and evil. Vast quantities of the best soil have been thus washed down from the mountains to accumulate in more accessible places. From frequent depositions, a great extent of country along the banks of every river and creek has risen high above the influence of the floods, and constitutes the richest tracts in the colony. The alluvial flats of the Nepean, the Hawkesbury, and the Hunter, are striking instances of the truth of these observations; to which the plains of O'Connell and Bathurst must be added. The only good soil upon the two latter, is in the immediate neighbourhood of the Macquarie River: but, even close to its banks, the depositions are of little depth, lying on a coarse gravelly soil, the decomposition of the nearer ranges. The former is found to diminish in thickness, according to the concavity of the valley through which the Macquarie flows, and at length becomes mixed with the coarser soil. This deposit is alone fit for agricultural purposes; but it does not necessarily follow that the distant country is unavailable since it is admitted, that the best grazing tracts are upon the secondary ranges of granite and porphyry. These ranges generally have the appearance of open forest, and are covered with several kinds of grasses, among which the long oat-grass is the most abundant. COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND. If we except the valley of the Nepean, the banks of the South Creek, the Pennant Hills near Parramatta, and a few other places, the general soil of the county of Cumberland, is of the poorest description. It is superficial in most places, resting either upon a cold clay, or upon sandstone; and is, as I have already remarked, a ferruginous compound of the finest dust. Yet there are many places upon its surface, (hollows for instance,) in which vegetable decay has accumulated, or valleys, into which it has been washed, that are well adapted for the usual purposes of agriculture, and would, if the country was more generally cleared, be found to exist to a much greater extent than is at present imagined. I have frequently observed the isolated patches of better land, when wandering through the woods, both on the Parramatta River, and at a greater distance from the coast. And I cannot but think, that it would be highly advantageous to those who possess large properties in the County of Cumberland to let Portions of them. The concentration of people round their capital, promotes more than anything else the prosperity of a colony, by creating a reciprocal demand for the produce both of the country and the town, since the one would necessarily stimulate the energy of the farmer, as the other would rouse the enterprise of the merchant. The consideration, however, of such a subject is foreign to my present purpose. It must not be supposed, that because I have given a somewhat particular description of the County of Cumberland, I have done so with a view to bring it forward as a specimen of the other counties, or to found upon it a general description of the colony. It is, in fact, poorer in every respect than any tract of land of similar extent in the interior, and is still covered with dense forests of heavy timber, excepting when the trees have been felled by dint of manual labour, and the ground cleared at an expense that nothing but its proximity to the seat of government could have justified. But experience has proved, that neither the labour nor the the expense have been thrown away. Many valuable farms and extensive gardens chequer the face of the country, from which the proprietors derive a very efficient income. COUNTRY WEST OF BLUE MOUNTAINS. To the westward of the Blue Mountains, the country differs in many respects from that lying between those ranges and the coast; and although, its aspect varies in different places, three principal features appear more immediately to characterise it. These are, first, plains of considerable extent wholly destitute of timber; secondly, open undulating woodlands; and, thirdly, barren unprofitable tracts. The first almost invariably occur in the immediate neighbourhood of some river, as the Plains of Bathurst, which are divided by the Macquarie; Goulburn Plains, through which the Wallandilly flows; and Yass Plains, which are watered by a river of the same name. The open forests, through which the horseman may gallop in perfect safety, seem to prevail over the whole secondary ranges of granite, and are generally considered as excellent grazing tracts. Such is the country in Argyleshire on either side of the Lachlan, where that river crosses the great southern road near Mr. Hume's station; such also are many parts of Goulburn and the whole extent of country lying between Underaliga and the Morumbidgee River. The barren tracts, on the other hand, may be said to occupy the central spaces between all the principal streams. With regard to the proportion that these different kinds of country bear to each other, there can be no doubt of the undue preponderance of the last over the first two; but there are nevertheless many extensive available tracts in every part of the colony. MEANS OF INLAND TRANSPORT. The greatest disadvantage under which New South Wales labours, is the want of means for conveying inland produce to the market, or to the coast. The Blue Mountains are in this respect a serious bar to the internal prosperity of the colony. By this time, however, a magnificent road will have been completed across them to the westward, over parts of which I travelled in 1831. Indeed the efforts of the colonial government have been wisely directed, not only to the construction of this road, which the late Governor, General Darling commenced, but also in facilitating the communication to the southern districts, by an almost equally fine road over the Razor Back Range, near the Cow Pastures; so that as far as it is possible for human efforts to overcome natural obstacles, the wisdom and foresight of the executive have ere this been successful. DISADVANTAGES OF DISTANT SETTLERS. The majority of the settlers in the Bathurst country, and in the more remote interior, are woolgrowers; and as they send their produce to the market only once a year, receiving supplies for home consumption, on the return of their drays or carts from thence, the inconvenience of bad roads is not so much felt by them. But to an agriculturist a residence to the westward of the Blue Mountains is decidedly objectionable, unless he possess the means with which to procure the more immediate necessaries of life, otherwise than by the sale of his grain or other produce, and can be satisfied to cultivate his property for home consumption, or for the casual wants of his neighbours. Under such circumstances, a man with a small private income would enjoy every rational comfort. But of course, not only in consequence of the loss of labour, but the chance of accidents during a long journey, the more the distance is increased from Sydney, as the only place at which the absolute necessaries of life can be purchased, the greater becomes the objection to a residence in such a part of the country; and on this account it is, that although some beautiful locations both as to extent and richness, are to be found to the westward of Bathurst, equally on the Bell, the Macquarie and the Lachlan, it is not probable they will be taken up for many years, or will only be occupied as distant stock stations. CHARACTER OF EASTERN COAST. Since, therefore, it appears from what has been advanced, that it is not to the westward the views of any settlers should be directed, excepting under particular circumstances, it remains for us to consider what other parts of the colony hold out, or appear to hold out, greater advantages. The eye naturally turns to the south on the one hand, and to Port Macquarie northerly on the other. It is to be remarked that the eastern shores of Australia partake of the same barren character that marks the other three. It is generally bounded to a certain extent by a sandy and sterile tract. There are, however, breaks in so prolonged a line, as might have been expected, where, from particular local causes, both the soil and vegetation are of a superior kind. At Illawarra for instance, the contiguity of the mountains to the coast leaves no room for the sandy belt we have noticed, but the debris from them reaches to the very shore. Whether from reflected heat, or from some other peculiarity of situation, the vegetation of Illawarra is of an intertropical character, and birds that are strangers to the county of Cumberland frequent its thickets. There is no part of Australia where the feathered race are more beautiful, or more diversified. The most splendid pigeon, perhaps, that the world produces, and the satin bird, with its lovely eye, feed there upon the berries of the ficus (wild fig,) and other trees: and a numerous tribe of the accipitrine class soar over its dense and spacious forests. PORT MACQUARIE AND FIVE ISLANDS. We again see a break in the sandy line of the coast at Broken Bay, at Newcastle, and still further north at Port Macquarie; at which places the Hawkesbury, the Hunter, and the Hastings severally debouche. Of Port Macquarie, as a place of settlement, I entertain a very high opinion, in consequence of its being situated under a most favourable parallel latitude. I am convinced it holds out many substantial advantages. One of the most important of these is the circumstance of its having been much improved when occupied as a penal settlement. And since the shores of the colony are how navigated by steam-boats, the facility of water communication would be proportionably great. I believe the Five Islands or Illawarr district is considered peculiarly eligible for small settlers. The great drawback to this place is the heavy character of its timber and the closeness of its thickets, which vie almost with the American woods in those respects. The return, however, is adequate to the labour required in clearing the ground. Between the Five Islands and Sydney, a constant intercourse is kept up by numerous small craft; and a communication with the interior, by branch roads from the great southern line to the coast, would necessarily be thrown open, if the more distant parts of it were sufficiently peopled. RICH TRACTS IN THE INTERIOR. Recent surveys have discovered to us rich and extensive tracts in the remote interior between Jervis Bay and Bateman's Bay, and southwards upon the western slope of the dividing range. The account given by Messrs. Hovel and Hume is sufficient to prove that every valley they crossed was worthy of notice, and that the several rivers they forded were flanked by rich and extensive flats. The distance of Moneroo Plains, and of the Doomot and Morumbidgee Rivers from Sydney, alarms the settler, who knows not the value of those localities; but men whose experience has taught them to set this obstacle at nought, have long depastured their herds on the banks of the last two. The fattest cattle that supply the Sydney market are fed upon the rich flats, and in the grassy valleys of the Morumbidgee; and there are several beautiful farms upon those of the Doomot. Generally speaking, the persons who reside in those distant parts, pay little attention to the comfort of their dwellings, or to the raising of more grain than their establishments may require; but there can be no doubt this part of the interior ought to be the granary of New South Wales; its climate and greater humidity being more favourable than that of Sydney for the production of wheat. PERIODICAL DROUGHTS; THE SEASONS AFFECTED BY THE MARSHES. The most serious disadvantages under which the colony of New South Wales labours, is in the drought to which it is periodically subject. Its climate may be said to be too dry; in other respects it is one of the most delightful under heaven; and experience of the certainty of the recurrence of the trying seasons to which I allude, should teach men to provide against their effects. Those seasons, during which no rain falls, appear, from the observations of former writers, to occur every ten or twelve years; and it is somewhat singular that no cause has been assigned for such periodical visitations. Whether the state of the interior has anything to do with them, and whether the wet or dry condition of the marshes at all regulate the seasons, is a question upon which I will not venture to give my decisive opinion. But most assuredly, when the interior is dry, the seasons are dry, and VICE VERSA. Indeed, not only is this the case, but rains, from excessive duration in the first year after a drought, decrease gradually year after year, until they wholly cease for a time. It seems not improbable, therefore, that the state of the interior does, in some measure, regulate the fall of rain upon the eastern ranges, which appears to decrease in quantity yearly as the marshes become exhausted, and cease altogether, when they no longer contain any water. A drought will naturally follow until such time as the air becomes surcharged with clouds or vapour from the ocean, which being no longer able to sustain their own weight, descend upon the mountains, and being conveyed by hundreds of streams into the western lowlands, again fill the marshes, and cause the recurrence of regular seasons. TEMPERATURE OF THE CLIMATE. The thermometer ranges during the summer months, that is, from September to March, from 36 degrees to 106 degrees of Fahrenheit, but the mean of the temperature during the above period is 70 degrees. The instrument in the winter months ranges from 27 degrees to 98 degrees, with a mean of 66 degrees. However great the summer heat may appear, it is certain that the climate of New South Wales has not the relaxing and enfeebling effect upon the constitution, which renders a residence in India or other parts of the south so intolerable. Neither are any of the ordinary occupations of business or of pleasure laid aside at noon, or during the hottest part of the day. The traveller may cast himself at length under the first tree that invites him, and repose there as safely as if he were in a palace. Fearless of damps, and unmolested by noxious insects, his sleep is as sound as it is refreshing, and he rises with renewed spirits to pursue his journey. Equally so may the ploughman or the labourer seek repose beside his team, and allow them to graze quietly around him. The delicious coolness of the morning and the mild temperature of the evening air, in that luxurious climate, are beyond the power of description. It appears to have an influence on the very animals, the horses and the cattle being particularly docile; and I cannot but think it is is some degree the same happy effect upon some of the hardened human beings who are sent thither from the old world. FRUITS. As I have before observed, it has not yet been discovered whether there are any indigenous fruits of any value in Australia. In the colony of New South Wales there certainly are none; yet the climate is peculiarly adapted for the growth of every European and of many tropical productions. The orange, the fig, the citron, the pomegranate, the peach, the apple, the guava, the nectarine, the pear, and the loquette, grow side by side together. The plantain throws its broad leaves over the water, the vine encircles the cottages, and the market of Sydney is abundantly supplied with every culinary vegetable. In a climate, therefore, so soft that man scarcely requires a dwelling, and so enchanting that few have left it but with regret, the spirits must necessarily be acted upon,--and the heart feel lighter. Such, indeed, I have myself found to be the case; nor have I ever been happier than when roving through the woods or wandering along one of the silent and beautiful bays for which the harbour of Port Jackson is so celebrated. I went to New South Wales as I have already remarked, highly prejudiced against it, both from the nature of the service, and the character of the great body of its inhabitants. My regiment has since quitted its shores, but I am aware there are few of them who would not gladly return. The feeling I have in its favour arises not, therefore, from the services in which I was employed, but from circumstances in the colony itself; and I yet hope to form one of its community and to join a number of valuable and warm-hearted friends whom I left in that distant part of the world. REMARKS ON EMIGRATION. On the subject of emigration, it is not my intention to dwell at any length. My object in these preliminary remarks has been to give the reader a general idea of the country, in the interior recesses of which I am about to lead him. Still, however, it may be useful to offer a few general observations on a topic which has, of late years, become so interesting to the British public. The main consideration with those who, possessing some capital, propose to emigrate as the means of improving their condition, is, the society likely to be found in the land fixed on for their future residence. One of the first questions I have been asked, when conversing on the subject of emigration, has consequently related to this important matter. I had only then to observe in reply, that the civil and military establishments in New South Wales, form the elements of as good society as it is the lot of the majority to command in Great Britain. The houses of the settlers are not scattered over a greater surface than the residences of country gentlemen here, and if they cannot vie with them in size, they most assuredly do in many other more important respects; and if a substantial cottage of brick or stone has any claim to the rank of a tenantable mansion, there are few of them which do not posses all the means of exercising that hospitality for which young communities are remarkable. But to sever the links of kindred, and to abandon the homes of our fathers after years of happy tranquillity, is a sacrifice the magnitude of which is unquestionable. The feelings by which men are influenced under such circumstances have a claim to our respect. Indeed, no class of persons can have a stronger hold upon our sympathies than those whom unmerited adverse fortune obliges to seek a home in a distant country. Far, therefore, be it from me to dispute a single expression of regret to which they may give utterance. It must, however, he remembered that the deepest feelings of anguish are providentially alleviated in time. Our heaviest misfortunes are frequently repaired by industry and caution. The sky clears up, as it were: new interests engage the attention, and the cares of a family or the improvement of a newly acquired property engross those moments which would otherwise be spent in vain and unprofitable regrets. DESCRIPTION OF IMMIGRANTS; MOST LIKELY TO PROSPER. It cannot be doubted that persons such as I have described, whose conduct has hitherto been regulated by prudence, and whose main object is to provide for their children, are the most valuable members of every community, whether young or old. To such men few countries hold out greater prospects of success than New South Wales; for the more we extend our enquiries, the more we shall find that the success of the emigrant in that colony depends upon his prudence and foresight rather than on any collateral circumstance of climate or soil; and to him who can be satisfied with the gradual acquirement of competency, it is the land of promise. Blessed with a climate of unparalleled serenity, and of unusual freedom from disease, the settler has little external cause of anxiety, little apprehension of sickness among his family or domestics, and little else to do than to attend to his own immediate interests. I should wish to illustrate the observations by two or three instances of their practical bearing and tendency. CASES OF EMIGRANTS; CAUSES OF SUCCESS OR FAILURE. It was on my return from my second expedition, that I visited Lieut. ****** who resides in the southern parts of the colony. The day after my arrival, he took me round his property, and explained the various improvements he had made, considering the small means with which he had commenced. At this part of our conversation, we came within view of his house, a substantial weather-board cottage. "I trust," said I, turning to him, "you will excuse the question I am about to ask; for your frankness emboldens me to propose it, and on your answer much of the effect of what you have been saying will depend. In effecting these various improvements, and in the building of that house, have you been obliged to embarrass yourself, or are they free from incumbrance?"--"Your question," he said, "is a reasonable one, and I will answer it with the frankness you are kind enough to ascribe to me. I have ever made it a rule not to exceed my income. Mrs. ****** bore our first trials with so much cheerfulness, and contributed so much to my happiness and my prosperity, that I felt myself bound to build her a good house with the first money I had to spare." I confess this answer raised my host in my estimation, and it was a gratifying proof to me of the success that attends industry and perseverance. But let us look at another case. Mr. *** had a property to the N.W. of Sydney, and having considerable funded means when he arrived in the colony, he soon put his property into a state of progressive improvement, and being in truth an excellent practical farmer, it assumed the appearance of regularity and order. Had Mr. *** stopped at this moment, he would have been in the enjoyment of affluence and of every rational comfort. But instead of exercising prudent rules of hospitality, he gave way to the natural generosity of his disposition, entered into expenses he could not afford, and was ultimately obliged to part with his estate. Now it is deeply to be regretted, that one whose energies and abilities particularly fitted him for the life he had chosen, should have failed through such conduct; and it is more than probable, that if he had commenced with smaller means, and had gradually improved his property, his fate would have been very different. I shall leave these cases without any further comment, convinced as I am, that each of them furnishes matter for serious consideration, and that they are practical illustrations of the causes of success or failure of those who emigrate to the colony of New South Wales. And although I do not mean to affirm, that the majority follow Mr. ***'s example, I must venture to assert that thoughtlessness--useless expenditure in the first instance--waste of time and other circumstances, lead to equally ruinous consequences. MORAL OBJECTIONS TO THE COLONY. One of the greatest objections which families have to New South Wales, is their apprehension of the moral effects that are likely to overwhelm them by bad example, and for which no success in life could compensate. In a colony constituted like that of New South Wales, the proportion of crime must of course be great. Yet it falls less under the notice of private families than one might at first sight have been led to suppose. Drunkenness, as in the mother country, is the besetting sin; but it is confined chiefly to the large towns in consequence of the difficulty of procuring spirits in the country. There are, no doubt, many incorrigible characters sent to settle in the interior, and it is an evil to have these men, even for a single day, to break the harmony of a previously well regulated establishment, or to injure its future prospects by the influence of evil example. They are men who are sent upon trial, from on board a newly arrived ship, and they generally terminate their misconduct either on the roads or at a penal settlement, being thus happily removed from the mass of the prisoners. Frequently, however, men remain for years under the same master. They become attached to their occupations, their hearts become softened by kindness, and they atone as much as they possibly can for previous error. SYSTEM OF IMMIGRATION RECOMMENDED; ENCOURAGEMENT FOR EMIGRATION. Still there can be no doubt, but that the evil complained of is considerable. It is from this reason, and from my personal knowledge of the southern parts of the colony, that I should rejoice to see its flats and its valleys filled with an industrious population of a better description of farmers. A hope might then be reasonably indulged, that the Home Government would not be backward in recognising, and in acting upon a principle, the soundness of which has been felt and acknowledged in all ages, but the chief difficulty of which rests in its judicious application. I allude to a system of emigration. Sure I am that if it were well organized, and care were taken to profit by the experience of the past in similar attempts, it could not fail to be attended with ultimate success. The evils resulting from a surplus population in an old community, were never more seriously felt than in Great Britain at the present moment. Assuming that the amount of surplus population is 2,000,000, the excess of labour and competition thus occasioned by diminishing profits and wages, creates, it has been said, an indirect tax to the enormous extent of 20,000,000 pounds per annum. It has appeared to many experienced persons, that it is in emigration, we should best find the means of relief from this heavy pressure; particularly if the individuals encouraged to go out to the colonies were young persons of both sexes, from the industrious classes of the community. Even if no more than three couples were induced to emigrate from each parish in England in ten years, the relief to the springs of industry would be very great. Besides, the funds necessary for this purpose would revert to the country by a thousand indirect channels. Persons unacquainted with our Australian colonies, whether Van Dieman's Land or New South Wales, can form little idea of the increasing demand for, and consumption in them of every species of British manufacture. The liberal encouragement given by government to every practicable scheme of emigration, and the sum advanced by it towards the expenses of the voyage to the labouring classes, sufficiently indicate the light in which the subject is viewed by the legislature; and the fact that no private family taking out servants to Sydney, has in any one instance been able to retain them, on account of offers more advantageous from other quarters, shows clearly the great demand for labour in the colony. If I might judge of the feelings of the majority of respectable individuals there, from the assurances of the few, they would willingly defray any parochial expenses attendant on the voyage, provided the services of such individuals could be secured to them for a time sufficiently long to remunerate them for such pavement. The tide of emigration should be directed to Sydney, Van Dieman's Land, or Western Australia, upon condition of the labourer's receiving a certain sum in wages, and his daily subsistence from his employer, with an understanding, however, that he must consider himself bound for two years to such employer. Surely there are hundreds of our indigent countrymen, who would gladly seek a land of such plenty, and cast away the natural, but unavailing regret of leaving home to secure to themselves and their families, the substantial comforts of life on such easy conditions. COMMITTEE FOUND AT SYDNEY. It is not, perhaps, generally known that a committee has been formed in Sydney, to advise settlers as to the best mode of proceeding on arrival there. Such a plan is one of obvious utility; and if those who may find themselves at a loss for information would apply to this committee for advice, rather than to individuals with whom they may become casually acquainted, they would further their own interests, and in all probability ensure success. Still there are some broad rules upon which every man ought to act, which I shall endeavour to point out, and it will give me no ordinary satisfaction, if I should be the means of directing any one to the road of prosperity and comfort. HINTS TO EMIGRANTS. It is to be feared that those who emigrate to New South Wales, generally anticipate too great facility in their future operations and certainty of success in conducting them; but they should recollect that competency cannot be obtained without labour. Every trade--every profession in this respect, is subject to the same law--the lawyer, the physician, the tradesman, and the mechanic. This labour is required at our hands, even in an old community; how much more then is it called for in a new, where the ingenuity of men is put to trial to secure those means of accomplishing their ends which here are abundant. Now, it appears to me but consistent, that he who is obliged to leave his native country from want of means to hold his station there, can hardly expect to find, or rather to secure, abundance elsewhere without some exertion. Every man who emigrates should proceed with a conviction on his mind, that he is about to encounter years of labour and privation. He will not then be disappointed at partial reverses, and will be more thankful for unexpected prosperity. I feel persuaded the tone of mind has a great deal to do with success, because it influences the conduct of the individual. Supposing, however, that an emigrant has taken this rational view of his situation, he should determine on his pursuits, and allow nothing but absolute certainty of better fortune to turn him aside. Men, however, landing at Sydney, in their eagerness for information get bewildered, give up their original plans, adopt new and uncertain speculations, trifle away both their time and their money, and ultimately ruin themselves. An individual who goes to New South Wales for the purpose of settling, should not remain in Sydney a day longer than is necessary for the arrangement of his affairs. Every shilling spent there is thrown away. The greatest facility is given by the different departments of the Colonial Government to the settlers; and it is entirely his own fault if he trifles away his time in search of information elsewhere than at the fountainhead, or if he trusts to any other opinion than his own, supposing him experienced as to the quality of the land he may fix upon. Let him be speedy in his selection, and fix himself upon his allotment as soon as possible. Instead of overstocking his farm, or employing more labourers than he can afford to keep, let him be satisfied with a gradual increase of his stock, and wait patiently till he can better afford to employ labour; above all, let him avoid embarrassing himself by the purchase of any superfluous or unnecessary comfort. I consider that man has already failed, who runs into debt in the first instance, or who exhausts his means in the purchase of large herds, from the vain expectation that their increase will clear him. The time was when those idle speculations were occasionally attended with success, but such is not now the case. The energies of the agriculturist are directed to their proper channel, and if the few are unable to make rapid fortunes, the many have escaped inevitable ruin. No farm in a state of nature can be expected to yield any return of consequence for the first year. It is incumbent on a settler to provide for his establishment, or to retain the means of providing for it as circumstances may require. Farming implements are as cheap in Sydney as in England. Horses and cattle are cheaper. It requires little, therefore, to stock a farm in a reasonable manner. On the other hand, the climate is so mild that the want of a house is scarcely felt, and a temporary residence easily constructed. On the whole I am convinced, that a man who regulates his conduct by prudence, and who perseveringly follows up his occupations, who behaves with kindness to those around him, and performs his social and moral duties with punctuality, will ultimately secure to himself a home that will make up for the one he has quitted in the land of his fathers, and place him in as respectable and as happy a situation as that which he there enjoyed. ***** PROGRESS OF INLAND DISCOVERY. Having thrown out the foregoing remarks for the information of the general reader, and of persons who look to Australia with the more earnest views of selecting a colonial home, I now return to the immediate object of these volumes; but before entering on the narrative of my own expeditions, I think it necessary to advert cursorily to the discoveries previously accomplished. The journeys of Mr. Oxley, far into the western interior of Australia, gave rise to various and conflicting opinions as to the character of the more central parts of that extensive continent, of which the colony of New South Wales forms but a small portion. I feel, therefore, called upon briefly to advert to the conclusions which that able and intelligent officer drew from his personal observation of the country into which he penetrated, as an acquaintance with his opinions will not only tend to throw a clearer light on the following details, but will, also, convey much necessary information to those of my readers who may not have perused his journals. It is necessary, however, in order to divest the subject of all obscureness, to trace, in the first instance, the progress of inland discovery, in New South Wales, from the first foundation of the colony to the period when Mr. Oxley's exertions attracted the public attention. In the year 1788, the British Government took formal possession of the eastern coast of Australia, by the establishment of a penal colony at Port Jackson. The first settlers, under Governor Phillips, had too many difficulties to contend with to submit themselves to be thwarted from pursuits essential to their immediate safety and comfort, by the prospect of remote and uncertain advantages. It was by perseverance and toil alone that they first established and ultimately spread themselves over that part of the territory, which, flanked by the ocean on the one hand, and embraced as it were by the Nepean River on the other, is now entitled the County Of Cumberland. For many years, this single district supplied the wants of the settlers. Upon it they found ample pasture for their herds, and sufficient employment for themselves. Nor was it until a succession of untoward seasons, and the rapid increase of their stock pointed out to them the necessity of seeking for more extensive pasturage, that they contemplated surmounting that dark and rugged chain of mountains, which, like the natural ramparts of Spain and Italy, rose high over the nether forest, and broke the line of the western horizon. MR. CALEY'S ATTEMPT. A Mr. Caley is said to have been the first who attempted to scale the Blue Mountains: but he did not long persevere in struggling with difficulties too great for ordinary resolution to overcome. It appears that he retraced his steps, after having penetrated about sixteen miles into their dark and precipitous recesses; and a heap of stones, which the traveller passes about that distance from Erne Ford, on the road to Bathurst, marks the extreme point reached by the first expedition to the westward of the Nepean river. LIEUT. LAWSON'S EXPEDITION. Shortly after the failure of this expedition, the sad effects of a long protracted drought called forth a more general spirit of enterprise and exertion among the settlers; and Mr. Oxley makes honorable mention of the perseverance and resolution with which Lieut. Lawson, of the 104th regiment, accompanied by Messrs. Blaxland and Wentworth, conducted an expedition into the Blue Mountains. Their efforts were successful: and the objects of their enterprise would have been completely attained, but for the failure of their provisions at a moment when their view of the distant interior was such as to convince them that they had overcome the most formidable obstacles to their advance, and that in their further progress few impediments would have presented themselves. MR. EVANS' DISCOVERIES. The success of this undertaking induced Governor Macquarie to further the prosecution of inland discovery, and of attempts to ascertain the nature of the country of which Mr. Lawson only obtained a glimpse. An expedition was accordingly dispatched under Mr. Evans, the Deputy Surveyor-General, to follow the route taken by the former one, and to penetrate as far as practicable into the western interior. The result was the discovery of the Macquarie river, and of Bathurst Plains. The report of Mr. Evans was so favourable, that orders were immediately issued for the construction of a line of road across the mountains. When that was completed, the Governor went in person to fix the site of a future town on Bathurst Plains. From thence Mr. Evans, who accompanied the Governor on the occasion, was directed to proceed to the southward and westward, to ascertain the nature of the country in that direction. He discovered another considerable river, flowing, like the Macquarie, to the west, to which he gave the name of the Lachlan. The promising appearance of these two streams, and the expectation of all parties that they would be found to water rich and extensive tracts of country, led to the fitting out of a more important expedition than any which had before been contemplated. MR. OXLEY'S DISCOVERIES. Mr. Oxley, the Surveyor-General of the Colony, was appointed chief of this expedition, and was directed to trace the Lachlan and Macquarie rivers, as far as practicable, with a view to ascertain their capabilities and the nature of the country they watered. In 1817, Mr. Oxley directed his attention to the former river, and continued to follow its windings, until it appeared that its waters were lost in successive marshes and it ceased to be a river. In the following year he turned towards the Macquarie, and traced it, in like manner, until he was checked by high reeds that covered an extensive plain before him, amidst which the channel of the river was lost. From what he observed of the country, on both these occasions, he was led to infer that beyond the limits of his advance the interior had a uniform level, and was, for the most part, uninhabitable and under water. Its features must have been strongly marked to have confirmed such an opinion in the mind of the late Surveyor-General. It stands recorded on the pages of his journal, that he travelled over a country of many miles in extent, after clearing the mountains, which so far from presenting any rise of ground to the eye, bore unequivocal marks of frequent and extensive inundation. He traced two rivers of considerable size, and found that, at a great distance from each other, they apparently terminated in marshes, and that the country beyond them was low and unbroken. In his progress eastward, he crossed a third stream (the Castlereagh), about forty-five miles from the Macquarie, seemingly not inferior to it in size, originating in the mountains for which he was making, and flowing nearly parallel to the other rivers into a level country like that which he had just quitted. DISCOVERIES OF MESSRS. MECHAN, HUME, HOVEL AND CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Evans, moreover, who accompanied Mr. Oxley on these journeys, and who had been detached by his principal from Mount Harris, to ascertain the nature of the country in the line which the expedition was next to pursue, having crossed the Castlereagh considerably below the place at which the party afterwards effected a passage, reported that the river was then running through high reeds. The inference naturally drawn by Mr. Oxley, was, that it terminated as the Lachlan and the Macquarie had done; and that their united waters formed an inland sea or basin. It is evident that Mr. Oxley had this impression on his mind, when he turned towards the coast; but the wet state of the lowlands prevented him from ascertaining its correctness or error. Doubt, consequently, still existed as to the nature of the country he had left behind him; a question in which the best interests of the colony were apparently involved. Subsequently to these discoveries, Mr. Surveyor Mechan, accompanied by Mr. Hamilton Hume, a colonist of considerable experience, explored the country more to the southward and westward of Sydney, and discovered most of the new country called Argyle, and also Lake Bathurst. Mr. Hume was afterwards associated with a Mr. Hovel, in an excursion to the south coast, under the auspices of Sir Thomas Brisbane. After a most persevering and laborious journey, they reached the sea; but it is uncertain whether they made Port Philips, or Western Port. Mr. Hume, whose practical experience will yield to that of no man, entertains a conviction that it was to the former they descended from the neighbouring ranges; but Mr. Hovel, I believe supports a contrary opinion. In the early stage of their journey, they passed over York or Yass Plains; and, after crossing the Morumbidgee, were generally entangled among mountain ranges that increased in height to the east and south-east. They crossed three considerable rivers, falling westerly, which they named the Goulburn, the Hume, and the Ovens; and found a beautiful and well-watered country in the vicinity of the coast. In 1826, Mr. Allan Cunningham, Botanical Collector to his late Majesty, traversed a considerable portion of the interior to the north of Bathurst, and, with a laudable zeal, devoted his labours to the acquisition of general information, as well as to his more immediate professional pursuits. In 1827, this gentleman again bent his steps towards the northward, and succeeded in gaining the 28th parallel of latitude; and, on a subsequent occasion, having taken his departure from Moreton Bay, he connected his former journey with that settlement, and thus contributed largely to our knowledge of the mountain country between it and the capital. Mr. Cunningham, who, independently of his individual excursions, had not only circumnavigated the Australian Continent with Capt. King, but had formed also one of the party with Mr. Oxley, in the journeys before noticed, had adopted this gentleman's opinion with regard to the swampy and inhospitable character of the distant interior. Its depressed appearance from the high ground on which Mr. Cunningham subsequently moved, tended to confirm this opinion, which was moreover daily gaining strength from the reports of the natives, who became more frequent in their intercourse with the whites, and who reported that there were large waters to the westward, on which the natives had canoes, and in which there were fish of great size. It became, therefore, a current opinion, that the western interior of New Holland comprehended an extensive basin, of which the ocean of reeds which had proved so formidable to Mr. Oxley, formed most probably the outskirts; and it was generally thought that an expedition proceeding into the interior, would encounter marshes of vast extent, which would be extremely difficult to turn, and no less dangerous to enter. It remained to be proved, however, whether these conjectures were founded in fact. The chief difficulty lay in the character of the country, and in providing the necessary means to ensure success. Those which were resorted to will be found in the succeeding chapter. Whether they would have been found sufficient and applicable had the interior been wholly under water, is doubtful; and my impression on this point induced me to make more efficient arrangements on the second expedition. EXPEDITION DOWN THE BANKS OF THE MACQUARIE RIVER IN 1828 AND 1829. CHAPTER I. State of the Colony in 1828-29--Objects of the Expedition--Departure from Sydney--Wellington Valley--Progress down the Macquarie--Arrival at Mount Harris--Stopped by the marshes--Encamp amidst reeds--Excursions down the river--Its termination--Appearance of the marshes--Opthalmic affection of the men--Mr. Hume's successful journey to the northward-- Journey across the plain--Second great marsh--Perplexities--Situation of the exploring party--Consequent resolutions. The year 1826 was remarkable for the commencement of one of those fearful droughts to which we have reason to believe the climate of New South Wales is periodically subject. It continued during the two following years with unabated severity. The surface of the earth became so parched up that minor vegetation ceased upon it. Culinary herbs were raised with difficulty, and crops failed even in the most favourable situations. Settlers drove their flocks and herds to distant tracts for pasture and water, neither remaining for them in the located districts. The interior suffered equally with the coast, and men, at length, began to despond under so alarming a visitation. It almost appeared as if the Australian sky were never again to be traversed by a cloud. OBJECTS OF THE EXPEDITION. But, however severe for the colony the seasons had proved, or were likely to prove, it was borne in mind at this critical moment, that the wet and swampy state of the interior had alone prevented Mr. Oxley from penetrating further into it, in 1818. Each successive report from Wellington Valley, the most distant settlement to the N. W., confirmed the news of the unusually dry state of the lowlands, and of the exhausted appearance of the streams falling into them. It was, consequently, hoped that an expedition, pursuing the line of the Macquarie, would have a greater chance of success than the late Surveyor General had; and that the difficulties he had to contend against would be found to be greatly diminished, if not altogether removed. The immediate fitting out of an expedition was therefore decided upon, for the express purpose of ascertaining the nature and extent of that basin into which the Macquarie was supposed to fall, and whether any connection existed between it and the streams falling westerly. As I had early taken a great interest in the geography of New South Wales, the Governor was pleased to appoint me to the command of this expedition. JOURNEY FROM SYDNEY TO EMU PLAINS. In the month of September, 1828, I received his Excellency's commands to prepare for my journey; and by the commencement of November, had organized my party, and completed the necessary arrangements. On the 9th of that month, I waited on the Governor, at Parramatta, to receive his definitive instructions. As the establishments at Sydney had been unable to supply me with the necessary number of horses and oxen, instructions had been forwarded to Mr. Maxwell, the superintendent of Wellington Valley, to train a certain number for my use; and I was now directed to push for that settlement without loss of time. I returned to Sydney in the afternoon of the 9th, and on the 10th took leave of my brother officers, to commence a journey of very dubious issue; and, in company with my friend, Staff-surgeon M'Leod, who had obtained permission to accompany me to the limits of the colony, followed my men along the great western road. We moved leisurely over the level country, between the coast and the Nepean River, and availed ourselves of the kind hospitality of those of our friends whose property lay along that line of road, to secure more comfortable places of rest than the inns would have afforded. We reached Sheane, the residence of Dr. Harris, on the 11th, and were received by him with the characteristic kindness with which friends or strangers are ever welcomed by that gentleman, He had accompanied Mr. Oxley as a volunteer in 1818, and his name was then given to the mount which formed the extreme point to which the main body of the first expedition down the banks of the Macquarie penetrated, in a westerly direction. The general appearance of the property of Dr. Harris, showed how much perseverance and labour had effected towards its improvement. Many acres of ground bore a promising crop, over which a gloomy forest had once waved. The Doctor's farming establishment was as complete as his husbandry seemed to be prosperous; but he did not appear to be satisfied with the extent of his dwelling, to which he was making considerable additions, although I should have thought it large enough for all ordinary purposes of residence or hospitality. The rewards of successful industry were everywhere visible. FROM EMU PLAINS TO WELLINGTON VALLEY. On the 13th, we gained Regent's Ville, the more splendid mansion of Sir John Jamieson, which overlooks the Nepean River, and commands the most beautiful and extensive views of the Blue Mountains. Crossing the ford on the 14th, we overtook the men as they were toiling up the first ascent of those rugged bulwarks, which certainly gave no favourable earnest of the road before us; and, as we could scarcely hope to reach the level country to the westward without the occurrence of some accident, I determined to keep near the drays, that I might be on hand should my presence be required. We gained O'Connell's plains on the 20th November, and arrived at Bathurst on the 22nd, with no other damage than the loss of one of the props supporting the boat which snapped in two as we descended Mount York. On examination, it was found that the boat had also received a slight contusion, but it admitted of easy repair. I was detained at Bathurst longer than I intended, in consequence of indisposition, and during my stay there experienced many proofs of the kind hospitality of the settlers of that promising district: nor was I ever more impressed with the importance of the service upon which I was employed, or more anxious as to the issue, than while contemplating the rapid advance of agriculture upon its plains, and the formidable bar to its prosperity which I had left behind me, in the dark and gloomy ranges which I had crossed. On the 27th, Mr. Hamilton Hume, whose experience well qualified him for the task, and who had been associated with me in the expedition, having joined me, we proceeded on our journey, and reached Wellington Valley about the end of the month. WELLINGTON VALLEY. I wished to push into the interior without any delay, or at least, so soon as we should have completed our arrangements and organized the party; but, although Mr. Maxwell had paid every attention to the training of the cattle, he was of opinion that they could not yet be wholly relied upon, and strongly recommended that they should be kept at practice for another week. As we could not have left the settlement under the most favourable circumstances in less than four days, the further delay attendant on this measure was considered immaterial, and it was, accordingly, determined upon. Mr. Hume undertook to superintend the training of the animals, and this left me at leisure to gather such information as would be of use to us in our progress down the river. In his description of Wellington Valley, Mr. Oxley has not done it more than justice. It is certainly a beautiful and fertile spot, and it was now abundant in pasturage, notwithstanding the unfavourable season that had passed over it. The settlement stands upon the right bank of the Bell, about two miles above the junction of that stream with the Macquarie. Its whitewashed buildings bore outward testimony to the cleanliness and regularity of the inhabitants; and the respectful conduct of the prisoners under his charge, showed that Mr. Maxwell had maintained that discipline by which alone he could have secured respect to himself and success to his exertions, at such a distance from the seat of government. The weather was so exceedingly hot, during our stay, that it was impossible to take exercise at noon; but in the evening, or at an early hour in the morning, we were enabled to make short excursions in the neighbourhood. Mr. Maxwell informed me that there were three stations below the settlement, the first of which, called Gobawlin, belonging to Mr. Wylde, was not more than five miles from it; the other two, occupied by Mr. Palmer, were at a greater distance, one being nineteen, the other thirty-four miles below the junction of the Bell. He was good enough to send for the stockman (or chief herdsman), in charge of the last, to give me such information of the nature of the country below him, as he could furnish from personal knowledge or from the accounts of the natives. LOW STATE OF THE MACQUARIE RIVER. Mr. Maxwell pointed out to me the spot on which Mr. Oxley's boats had been built, close upon the bank of the Macquarie; and I could not but reflect with some degree of apprehension on the singularly diminished state of the river from what it must then have been to allow a boat to pass down it. Instead of a broad stream and a rapid current, the stream was confined to a narrow space in the centre of the channel, and it ran so feebly amidst frequent shallows that it was often scarcely perceptible. The Bell, also, which Mr. Oxley describes as dashing and rippling along its pebbly bed, had ceased to flow, and consisted merely of a chain of ponds. On the 3rd of Dec, the stockman from below arrived; but the only information we gathered from him was the existence of a lake to the left of the river, about three days' journey below the run of his herds, on the banks of which he assured us, the native companions, a species of stork, stood in rows like companies of soldiers. He brought up a nest of small paroquets of the most beautiful plumage, as a present to Mr. Maxwell, and affirmed that they were common about his part of the river. The peculiarity of the seasons had also brought a parrot into the valley which had never before visited it. This delicate bird was noticed by Captain Cook upon the coast, and is called PSITTACUS NOVAE HOLLANDIAE, or New Holland Parrot, by Mr. Brown. It had not, however, been subsequently seen until the summer of 1828, when it made its appearance at Wellington Valley in considerable numbers, together with a species of merops or mountain bee-eater. DEPARTURE FOR THE INTERIOR. On the 5th, our preparations being wholly completed, and the loads arranged, the party was mustered, and was found to consist of myself and Mr. Hume, two soldiers and eight prisoners of the crown, two of whom were to return with dispatches. Our animals numbered two riding, and seven pack, horses, two draft, and eight pack, bullocks, exclusive of two horses of my own, and two for the men to be sent back. BANKS OF THE MACQUARIE. The morning of the 7th December, the day upon which we were to leave the valley, was ushered in by a cloudless sky, and that heated appearance in the atmosphere which foretells an oppressively sultry day. I therefore put off the moment of our departure to the evening, and determined to proceed no further than Gobawlin. I was the more readily induced to order this short journey because the animals had not been practised to their full loads, and I thought they might have given some trouble at starting with an unusual weight. They moved off however very quietly, and as if they had been accustomed to their work by a long course of training. We took our departure from the settlement at 3 p.m. and, crossing to the right bank of the Macquarie, a little above its junction with the Bell, reached Mr Wylde's station about half-past five. Thus we commenced our journey under circumstances as favorable as could have been wished. In disengaging ourselves on the following day from the hills by which Wellington Valley is encompassed on the westward, with a view to approach Mr. Palmer's first station, we kept rather wide of the river, and only occasionally touched on its more projecting angles. The soil at a distance from the stream was by no means so good as that in its immediate vicinity, nor was the timber of the same description. On the rich and picturesque grounds near the river the angophora prevailed with the flooded gum, and the scenery upon its banks was improved by the casuarinae that overhung them. On the latter, inferior eucalypti and cypresses were mixed together. The country was broken and undulating, and the hills stony, notwithstanding which, they appeared to have an abundance of pasture upon them. Mr. Hume rode with me to the summit of a limestone elevation, from which I thought it probable we might have obtained such a view as would have enabled us to form some idea of the country into which we were about to descend. But in following the river line, the eye wandered over a dark and unbroken forest alone. The ranges from which we were fast receding formed an irregular and beautiful landscape to the southward; and contrasted strongly with the appearance of the country to the N. W., in which direction it was rapidly assuming a level. We reached Mr. Palmer's at a late hour in the afternoon, in consequence of a delay we experienced in crossing a gully, and encamped upon a high bank immediately opposite to the mouth of Molle's rivulet which here joins the Macquarie from the southward. The cattle had consumed all the food, and the ground on both sides of the river looked bare and arid. No doubt, however, the face of the country in ordinary seasons wears a very different appearance. Its general elevation continued high; nor did the Macquarie assume any change of aspect. Mountain debris and rounded pebbles of various kinds formed its bed, which was much encumbered with timber. DIBILAMBLE. We had been unable to persuade any of the natives of Wellington Valley to accompany us as guides, on our leaving that settlement. Even Mr. Maxwell's influence failed; for, notwithstanding the promises of several, when they saw that we were ready to depart, they either feigned sickness or stated that they were afraid of the more distant natives. The fact is, that they were too lazy to wander far from their own district, and too fond of Maxwell's beef to leave it for a precarious bush subsistence. Fortunately we found several natives with Mr. Palmer's stockmen, who readily undertook to conduct us by the nearest route to the cataract, which we considered to be midway between Wellington Valley and Mount Harris. We started under their guidance for Dibilamble, Mr. Palmer's second station, and reached it about half-past 4 p.m. The distance between the two is sixteen miles. The country for some miles differs in no material point from that through which we had already passed. The same rich tracts of soil near the river and the same inferiority in the tracks remote from it. Near Dibilamble, however, the limestone formation terminates, and gives place to barren stony ridges, upon which the cypress callities is of close and stunted growth. The ridges themselves were formed of a coarse kind of freestone in a state of rapid decomposition. The Tabragar (the Erskine of Mr. Oxley) falls into the Macquarie at Dibilamble. It had long ceased to flow, being a small mountain torrent whose source, if we judge from the shingly nature of its bed, cannot be very distant. Our descent was considerable during the day; the rapids were frequent in the river, but it underwent no change in its general appearance. Its waters were hard and transparent, and its banks, in many places, extremely lofty; with a red sandy loam and gravel under the alluvial deposits. It generally happened that where the bank was high on the one side it was low and subject to flood, to a limited extent at least, on the other. Upon these low grounds the blue-gum trees were of lofty growth, but on the upper levels box prevailed. SCENERY NEAR THE RIVER. The views upon the river were really beautiful, and varied at every turn; nor is it possible for any tree to exceed the casuarina in the graceful manner in which it bends over the stream, or clings to some solitary rock in its centre. It here became necessary for us to cross to the left bank of the river, not only to avoid its numerous windings, and thus to preserve as much as possible the direct line to Mount Harris; but also, because the travelling was much better on the south side. We therefore availed ourselves of a ford opposite to the ground on which the tents had stood; and then pursued our journey, in a south-westerly course, over a country of a description very inferior to that of any we had previously noticed. Iron-bark and cypresses generally prevailed along our line of route on a poor and sandy soil, which improved after we passed Elizabeth Burn, a small creek mentioned by Mr. Oxley. TAYLOR'S RIVULET. We approached the river again early in the day, and pitched our tent on the summit of a sloping bank that overlooked one of its long still reaches. We were protected from the sun by the angophora trees, which formed a hanging wood around us, and, with its bright green foliage, gave a cheerfulness to the scene that was altogether unusual. The opposite side of the river was rather undulated, and the soil appeared to be of the finest description. The grass, although growing in tufts, afforded abundance of pasture for the cattle; and, on the whole, this struck me as a most eligible spot for a station, and I found it occupied as such on the return of the expedition. We had encamped about a quarter of a mile from Taylor's Rivulet, which discharges itself into the Macquarie from the N. E., and is the first stream, upon the right bank, below the Wellington Valley. Immediately after receiving it the river sweeps away to the southward, in consequence of which it became again necessary for us to cross it. Our guides, who were intelligent lads, led the cattle to a ford, a little below the junction of Taylor's Rivulet, at which we effected a passage with some difficulty; the opposite bank being very steep, and we were obliged to force our way up a gully for some eighty or a hundred yards before we could extricate the team. Pursuing our journey, in a N. W. direction, we soon left the rich and undulating grounds bordering the river behind us. A poor, level, and open country, succeeded them. The soil changed to a light red, sandy loam, on which eucalypti, cypresses, and casuarinae, were intermixed with minor shrubs; of which latter, the cherry tree (exocarpus cupressiformis) was the most prevalent. At about seven miles from the river we passed some barren freestone ridges, near which Mr. Hume killed the first kangaroo we had seen. At mid-day we passed a small creek, at which the cattle were watered; and afterwards continued our journey through a country similar to that over which we had already made our way. As we neared the stream we noticed the acacia pendula for the first time,--an indication of our approach to the marshes. The weather still continued extremely hot. Our journey this day was unusually long, and our cattle suffered so much, and moved so slowly, that it was late when we struck upon the Macquarie, at a part where its banks were so high that we had some difficulty in finding a good watering place. SURPRISE SOME NATIVES. Being considerably in front of the party, with one of our guides, when we neared the river, I came suddenly upon a family of natives. They were much terrified, and finding that they could not escape, called vehemently to some of their companions, who were in the distance. By the time Mr. Hume came up, they had in some measure recovered their presence of mind, but availed themselves of the first favourable moment to leave us. I was particular in not imposing any restraint on these men, in consequence of which they afterwards mustered sufficient resolution to visit us in our camp. We now judged that we were about ten miles from the cataract, and that, according to the accounts of the stockman, we could not be very distant from the lake he had mentioned. NATIVE BURIAL PLACE. As I was unwilling to pass any important feature of the country without enquiry or examination, I requested Mr. Hume to interrogate the strangers on the subject. They stated that they belonged to the lake tribe, that the lake was a short day's journey to the eastward, and that they would guide us to it if we wished. The matter was accordingly arranged. They left us at dusk, but returned to the camp at the earliest dawn; when we once more crossed the river, and, after traversing a very level country for about nine miles, arrived at our destination. We passed over the dried beds of lagoons, and through coppices of cypresses and acacia pendula, or open forest, but did not observe any of the barren stony ridges so common to the N.E. About a mile, or a mile and a half, from the lake we examined a solitary grave that had recently been constructed. It consisted of an oblong mound, with three semicircular seats. A walk encompassed the whole, from which three others branched off for a few yards only, into the forest. Several cypresses, overhanging the grave, were fancifully carved on the inner side, and on one the shape of a heart was deeply engraved. BUDDAH LAKE. We were sadly disappointed in the appearance of the lake, which the natives call the Buddah. It is a serpentine sheet of fresh water, of rather more than a mile in length, and from three to four hundred yards in breadth. Its depth was four fathoms; but it seemed as if it were now five or six feet below the ordinary level. No stream either runs into it or flows from it; yet it abounds in fish; from which circumstance I should imagine that it originally owed its supply to the river during some extensive inundation. Notwithstanding that we had crossed some rich tracts of land in our way to it, the neighbourhood of the lake was by no means fertile. The trees around it were in rapid decay, and the little vegetation to be seen appeared to derive but little advantage from its proximity to water. EXTREME HEAT OF THE WEATHER. We had started at early dawn; and the heat had become intolerable long ere the sun had gained the meridian. It was rendered still more oppressive from the want of air in the dense bushes through which we occasionally moved. At 2 p.m. the thermometer stood at 129 degrees of Fahrenheit, in the shade; and at 149 degrees in the sun; the difference being exactly 20 degrees. It is not to be wondered at that the cattle suffered, although the journey was so short. The sun's rays were too powerful even for the natives, who kept as much as possible in the shade. In the evening, when the atmosphere was somewhat cooler, we launched the boat upon the lake, in order to get some wild fowl and fish; but although we were tolerably successful with our guns, we did not take anything with our hooks. The natives had, in the course of the afternoon, been joined by the rest of the tribe, and they now numbered about three and twenty. They were rather distant in their manner, and gazed with apparent astonishment at the scene that was passing before them. If there had been other proof wanting, of the lamentably parched and exhausted state of the interior, we had on this occasion ample evidence of it, and of the fearful severity of the drought under which the country was suffering. As soon as the sun dipped under the horizon, hundreds of birds came crowding to the border of the lake, to quench the thirst they had been unable to allay in the forest. Some were gasping, others almost too weak to avoid us, and all were indifferent to the reports of our guns. CATARACT OF THE MACQUARIE. On leaving the Buddah, eleven only of the natives accompanied us. We reached the river again about noon, on a north-half-east course, where it had a rocky bed, and continued to journey along it, until we reached the cataract at which we halted. We travelled over soil generally inferior to that which we had seen on the preceding day, but rich in many places. The same kind of timber was observed, but the acacia pendula was more prevalent than any other, although near the river the flooded gum and Australian apple-tree were of beautiful growth. It had appeared to me that the waters of the Macquarie had been diminishing in volume since our departure from Wellington Valley, and I had a favourable opportunity of judging as to the correctness of this conclusion at the cataract, where its channel, at all times much contracted, was particularly so on the present occasion. So little force was there in the current, that I began to entertain doubts how long it would continue, more especially when I reflected on the level character of the country we had entered, and the fact of the Macquarie not receiving any tributary between this point and the marshes. I was in consequence led to infer that result, which, though not immediately, eventually took place. As they were treated with kindness, the natives who accompanied us soon threw off all reserve, and in the afternoon assembled at the pool below the fall to take fish. They went very systematically to work, with short spears in their hands that tapered gradually to a point, and sank at once under water without splash or noise at a given signal from an elderly man. In a short time, one or two rose with the fish they had transfixed; the others remained about a minute under water, and then made their appearance near the same rock into the crevices of which they had driven their prey. Seven fine bream were taken, the whole of which they insisted on giving to our men, although I am not aware that any of themselves had broken their fast that day. They soon, however, procured a quantity of muscles, with which they sat down very contentedly at a fire. My barometrical admeasurement gave the cataract an elevation of 680 feet above the level of the sea; and my observations placed it in east longitude 148 degrees 3 minutes and in latitude 31 degrees 50 minutes south. It became an object with us to gain the right bank of the Macquarie as soon as possible; for it was evident that the country to the southward of it was much more swampy than it was to the north: but for some distance below the cataract, we found it impossible to effect our purpose. The rocks composing the bed of the river at the cataract, which are of trapp formation, disappeared at about eight miles below it, when the river immediately assumed another character. Its banks became of equal height, which had not before been the case, and averaged from fifteen to eighteen feet. They were composed entirely of alluvial soil, and were higher than the highest flood-marks. Its waters appeared to be turbid and deep, and its bed was a mixture of sand and clay. The casuarina, which had so often been admired by us, entirely disappeared and the channel in many places became so narrow as to be completely arched over by gum-trees. A TRIBE OF NATIVES. On the 16th, we fell in with a numerous tribe of natives who joined our train after the very necessary ceremonies of an introduction had passed, and when added to those who still accompanied us, amounted to fifty-three. On this occasion I was riding somewhat in front of the party, when I came upon them. They were very different in appearance from those whom we had surprised at the river; and from the manner in which I was received, I was led to infer that they had been informed of our arrival, and had purposely assembled to meet us. I was saluted by an old man, who had stationed himself in front of his tribe, and who was their chief. Behind him the young men stood in a line, and behind them the warriors were seated on the ground. CONDUCT OF THE NATIVES. I had a young native with me who had attached himself to our party, and who, from his extreme good nature and superior intelligence, was considered by us as a first-rate kind of fellow. He explained who and what we were, and I was glad to observe that the old chief seemed perfectly reconciled to my presence, although he cast many an anxious glance at the long train of animals that were approaching. The warriors, I remarked, never lifted their eyes from the ground. They were hideously painted with red and yellow ochre, and had their weapons at their sides, while their countenances were fixed, sullen, and determined. In order to overcome this mood, I rode up to them, and, taking a spear from the nearest, gave him my gun to examine; a mark of confidence that was not lost upon them, for they immediately relaxed from their gravity, and as soon as my party arrived, rose up and followed us. That which appeared most to excite their surprise, was the motion of the wheels of the boat carriage. The young native whom I have noticed above, acted as interpreter, and, by his facetious manner, contrived to keep the whole of us in a fit of laughter as we moved along. He had been named Botheri by some stockman. In consequence of our wish to cross the river, we kept near it, and experienced considerable delay from the frequent marshes that opposed themselves to our progress. In one of these we saw a number of ibises and spoonbills; and the natives succeeded in killing two or three snakes. Our view to the westward was extremely limited; but to the eastward the country appeared in some places to expand into plains. CROSSING OF THE RIVER. After travelling some miles down the banks of the river, finding that they still retained their steep character, we turned back to a place which Mr. Hume had observed, and at which he thought we might, with some little trouble, cross to the opposite side. And, however objectionable the attempt was, we found ourselves obliged to make it. We descended, therefore, into the channel of the river, and unloaded the animals and boat-carriage. In order to facilitate the ascent of the right bank, some of the men were directed to cut steps up it. I was amused to see the natives voluntarily assist them; and was surprised when they took up bags of flour weighing 100 pounds each, and carried them across the river. We were not long in getting the whole of the stores over. The boat was then hoisted on the shoulders of the strongest, and deposited on the top of the opposite bank; and ropes being afterwards attached to the carriage, it was soon drawn up to a place of safety. The natives worked as hard as our own people, and that, too, with a cheerfulness for which I was altogether unprepared, and which is certainly foreign to their natural habits. We pitched our tents as soon as we had effected the passage of the river; after which, the men went to bathe, and blacks and whites were mingled promiscuously in the stream. I did not observe that the former differed in any respect from the natives who frequent the located districts. They were generally clean limbed and stout, and some of the young men had pleasing intelligent countenances. They lacerate their bodies, inflicting deep wounds to raise the flesh, and extract the front teeth like the Bathurst tribes; and their weapons are precisely the same. They are certainly a merry people, and sit up laughing and talking more than half the night. BAROMETER BROKEN. During the removal of the stores my barometer was unfortunately broken, and I had often, in the subsequent stages of the journey, occasion to regret the accident. I apprehend that the corks in the instrument, placed to steady the tube, are too distant from each other in most cases; and indeed I fear that barometers as at present constructed, will seldom be carried with safety in overland expeditions. DESERTED BY THE NATIVES. Nine only of the natives accompanied us on the morning succeeding the day in which we crossed the river. Botheri was, however, at the head of them; and, as we journeyed along, he informed me that he had been promised a wife on his return from acting as our guide, by the chief of the last tribe. The excessive heat of the weather obliged us to shorten our journey, and we encamped about noon in some scrub after having traversed a level country for about eleven miles. Several considerable plains were noticed to our right, stretching east and west, which were generally rich in point of soil; but we passed through much brushy land during the day. It was lamentable to see the state of vegetation upon the plains from want of moisture. Although the country had assumed a level character, and was more open than on the higher branches of the Macquarie, the small freestone elevations, backing the alluvial tracts near the river, still continued upon our right, though much diminished in height, and at a great distance from the banks. They seemed to be covered with cypresses and beef-wood, but dwarf-box and the acacia pendula prevailed along the plains; while flooded-gum alone occupied the lands in the immediate neighbourhood of the stream, which was evidently fast diminishing, both in volume and rapidity; its bed, however, still continuing to be a mixture of sand and clay. The cattle found such poor feed around the camp that they strayed away in search of better during the night. On such an occasion Botheri and his fraternity would have been of real service; but he had decamped at an early hour, and had carried off an axe, a tomahawk, and some bacon, although I had made him several presents. I was not at all surprised at this piece of roguery, since cunning is the natural attribute of a savage; but I was provoked at their running away at a moment when I so much required their assistance. Left to ourselves, I found Mr. Hume of the most essential service in tracking the animals, and to his perseverance we were indebted for their speedy recovery, They had managed to find tolerable feed near a serpentine sheet of water, which Mr. Hume thought it would be advisable to examine. We directed our course to it as soon as the cattle were loaded, moving through bush, and found it to be a very considerable creek that receives a part of the superfluous waters of the Macquarie, and distributes them, most probably, over the level country to the north. It was much wider than the river, being from fifty to sixty yards across, and is resorted to by the natives, who procure muscles from its bed in great abundance. We were obliged to traverse its eastern bank to its junction with the river, at which it fortunately happened to be dry. We had, however, to cut roads down both its banks before we could cross it; and, consequently, made but a short day's journey. The soil passed over was inferior to the generality of soil near the river, but we encamped on a tongue of land on which both the flooded-gum and the grass were of luxuriant height. We found a quantity of a substance like pipe-clay in the bed of the river, similar to that mentioned by Mr. Oxley. GREAT HEAT. The heat, which had been excessive at Wellington Valley, increased upon us as we advanced into the interior. The thermometer was seldom under 114 degrees at noon, and rose still higher at 2 p.m. We had no dews at night, and consequently the range of the instrument was trifling in the twenty-four hours. The country looked bare and scorched, and the plains over which we journeyed had large fissures traversing them, so that the earth may literally be said to have gasped for moisture. The country, which above the cataract had borne the character of open forest, excepting on the immediate banks of the river, where its undulations and openness gave it a park-like appearance, or where the barren stony ridges prevailed below that point, generally exhibited alternately plain and brush, the soil on both of which was good. On the former, crested pigeons were numerous, several of which were shot. We had likewise procured some of the rose-coloured and grey parrots, mentioned by Mr. Oxley, and a small paroquet of beautiful plumage; but there was less of variety in the feathered race than I expected to find, and most of the other birds we had seen were recognised by me as similar to specimens I had procured from Melville Island, and were, therefore, most probably birds of passage. ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY, AND THE RIVER. As we neared Mount Harris, the Macquarie became more sluggish in its flow, and fell off so much as scarcely to deserve the name of a river. In breadth, it averaged from thirty-five to forty-five yards, and in the height of its banks, from fifteen to eighteen. Mr. Hume had succeeded in taking some fish at one of the stock stations; but if I except those speared by the natives, we had since been altogether unsuccessful with the hook, a circumstance which I attribute to the lowness of the river itself. About thirty miles from the cataract the country declines to the north as a medium point, and again changes somewhat in its general appearance. To the S. and S.W. it appeared level and wooded, while to the N. the plains became more frequent, but smaller, and travelling over them was extremely dangerous, in consequence of the large fissures by which they were traversed. The only trees to be observed were dwarf-box and the acacia pendula, both of stunted growth, although flooded-gum still prevailed upon the river. On the 20th we travelled on a N.W. course, and in the early part of the day passed over tolerably good soil. It was succeeded by a barren scrub, through which we penetrated in the direction of Welcome Rock, a point we had seen from one of the Plains and had mistaken for Mount Harris. ARRIVAL AT MOUNT HARRIS. On a nearer approach, however, we observed our error, and corrected it by turning more to the left; and we ultimately encamped about a mile to the W.S.W. of the latter eminence. On issuing from the scrub we found ourselves among reeds and coarse water-grass; and, from the appearance of the country, we were led to conclude that we had arrived at a part of the interior more than ordinarily subject to overflow. As soon as the camp was fixed, Mr. Hume and I rode to Mount Harris, over ground subject to flood and covered for the most part by the polygonum, being too anxious to defer our examination of its neighbourhood even for a few hours. VESTIGES OF MR. OXLEY'S ENCAMPMENT. Nearly ten years had elapsed since Mr. Oxley pitched his tents under the smallest of the two hills into which Mount Harris is broken. There was no difficulty in hitting upon his position. The trenches that had been cut round the tents were still perfect, and the marks of the fire-places distinguishable; while the trees in the neighbourhood had been felled, and round about them the staves of some casks and a few tent-pegs were scattered. Mr. Oxley had selected a place at some distance from the river, in consequence of its then swollen state. I looked upon it from the same ground, and could not discern the waters in its channel; so much had they fallen below their ordinary level. He saw the river when it was overflowing its banks; on the present occasion it had scarcely sufficient water to support a current. On the summit of the greater eminence, which we ascended, there remained the half-burnt planks of a boat, some clenched and rusty nails, and an old trunk; but my search for the bottle Mr. Oxley had left was unsuccessful. A reflection naturally arose to my mind on examining these decaying vestiges of a former expedition, whether I should be more fortunate than the leader of it, and how far I should be enabled to penetrate beyond the point which had conquered his perseverance. Only a week before I left Sydney I had followed Mr. Oxley to the tomb. A man of uncommon quickness, and of great ability, the task of following up his discoveries was not less enviable than arduous; but, arrived at that point at which his journey may be said to have terminated and mine only to commence, I knew not how soon I should be obliged, like him, to retreat from the marshes and exhalations of so depressed a country. My eye instinctively turned to the North-West, and the view extended over an apparently endless forest. I could trace the river line of trees by their superior height; but saw no appearance of reeds, save the few that grew on the banks of the stream. Mount Foster, somewhat higher than Mount Harris, on the opposite side of the river, alone broke the line of the horizon to the North N.W. at a distance of five miles. From that point all round the compass, the low lands spread, like a dark sea, before me; except where a large plain stretching from E. to W., and lying to the S.E. broke their monotony; and if there was nothing discouraging, there certainly was nothing cheering, in the prospect. ILLNESS OF TWO OF THE MEN. On our return to the camp, I was vexed to find two of the men, Henwood and Williams, with increased inflammation of the eyes, of which they had previously been complaining, and I thought it advisable to bleed the latter. In consequence of the indisposition of these men, we remained stationary on the 21st, which enabled me to pay a second visit to Mount Harris. On ascending the smaller hill, I was surprised to find similar vestiges on its summit to those I had noticed on the larger one; in addition to which, the rollers still continued on the side of the hill, which had been used to get the boat up it. [Mr. Oxley had two boats; one of which he dragged to the top of each of these hills, and left them turned bottom upwards, buryinq a bottle under the head of the larger boat, which was conveyed to the more distant hill.] Mount Harris is of basaltic formation, but I could not observe any columnar regularity in it, although large blocks are exposed above the ground. The rock is extremely hard and sonorous. MOUNT FOSTER AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD. We moved leisurely towards Mount Foster, on the 22nd, and arrived opposite to it a little before sunset. The country between the two is mostly open, or covered only with the acacia pendula and dwarf-box. The soil, although an alluvial deposit, is not of the best; nor was vegetation either fresh or close upon it. As soon as the party stopped, I crossed the river, and lost no time in ascending the hill, being anxious to ascertain if any fresh object was visible from its summit, I thought that from an eminence so much above the level of the surrounding objects, I might obtain a view of the marshes, or of water; but I was wholly disappointed. The view was certainly extensive, but it was otherwise unsatisfactory. Again to the N.W. the lowlands spread in darkness before me; there were some considerable plains beyond the near wood; but the country at the foot of the hill appeared open and promising. Although the river line was lost in the distance, it was as truly pointed out by the fires of the natives, which rose in upright columns into the sky, as if it had been marked by the trees upon its banks. To the eastward, Arbuthnot's range rose high above the line of the horizon, bearing nearly due East, distant seventy miles. The following sketch of its outlines will convey a better idea of its appearance from Mount Foster than any written description. [small sketch here--not shown in etext] I stayed on the mount until after sunset, but I could not make out any space that at all resembled the formidable barrier I knew we were so rapidly approaching. I saw nothing to check our advance, and I therefore returned to the camp, to advise with Mr. Hume upon the subject. Not having been with me on Mount Foster, he took the opportunity to ascend it on the following morning; and on his return concurred with me in opinion, that there was no apparent obstacle to our moving onwards. As the men were considerably better, I had the less hesitation in closing with the marshes. We left our position, intending to travel slowly, and to halt early. The first part of our journey was over rich flats, timbered sufficiently to afford a shade, on which the grass was luxuriant; but we were obliged to seek more open ground, in consequence of the frequent stumbling of the cattle. We issued, at length, upon a plain, the view across which was as dreary as can be imagined; in many places without a tree, save a few old stumps left by the natives when they fired the timber, some of which were still smoking in different parts of it. Observing some lofty trees at the extremity of the plain, we moved towards them, under an impression that they indicated the river line. But on this exposed spot the sun's rays fell with intense power upon us, and the dust was so minute and penetrating, that I soon regretted having left the shady banks of the river. About 2.p.m. we neared the trees for which we had been making, over ground evidently formed by alluvial deposition, and were astonished to find that reeds alone were growing under the trees as far as the eye could penetrate. It appeared that we were still some distance from the river, and it was very doubtful how far we might be from water, for which the men were anxiously calling. I therefore halted, and sent Fraser into the reeds towards some dead trees, on which a number of spoonbills were sitting. He found that there was a small lake in the centre of the reeds, the resort of numerous wild fowl; but although the men were enabled to quench their thirst, we found it impossible to water the animals. We were obliged, therefore, to continue our course along the edge of the reeds; which in a short time appeared in large masses in front of us, stretching into a vast plain upon our right; and it became evident that the whole neighbourhood was subject to extensive inundation. ENCAMP AMIDST REEDS. I was fearful that the reeds would have checked us; but there was a passage between the patches, through which we managed to force our way into a deep bight, and fortunately gained the river at the bottom of it much sooner than we expected. We were obliged to clear away a space for the tents; and thus, although there had been no such appearance from Mount Foster, we found ourselves in less than seven hours after leaving it, encamped pretty far in that marsh for which we had so anxiously looked from its summit, and now trusting to circumstances for safety, upon ground on which, in any ordinary state of the river, it would have been dangerous to have ventured. Indeed, as it was, our situation was sufficiently critical, and would not admit of hesitation on my part. NATURE OF THE COUNTRY. After the cattle had been turned out, Mr. Hume and I again mounted our horses, and proceeded to the westward, with a view to examine the nature of the country before us, and to ascertain if it was still practicable to move along the river side. For, although it was evident that we had arrived at what might strictly be called the marshes of the Macquarie, I still thought we might be at some distance from the place where Mr. Oxley terminated his journey. There was no indication in the river to encourage an idea that it would speedily terminate; nor, although we were on ground subject to extensive inundation, could we be said to have reached the heart of the marshes, as the reeds still continued in detached bodies only. We forced a path through various portions of them, and passed over ground wholly subject to flood, to a distance of about six miles. We then crossed a small rise of ground, sufficiently high to have afforded a retreat, had necessity obliged us to seek for one; and we shortly afterwards descended on the river, unaltered in its appearance, and rather increased than diminished in size. A vast plain extended to the N.W., the extremity of which we could not discern; though a thick forest formed its northern boundary. It was evident that this plain had been frequently under water, but it was difficult to judge from the marks on the trees to what height the floods had risen. The soil was an alluvial deposit, superficially sandy; and many shells were scattered over its surface. To the south, the country appeared close and low; nor do I think we could have approached the river from that side, by reason of the huge belts of reeds that appeared to extend as far as the the eye could reach. MEN ATTACKED WITH OPHTHALMIA. The approach of night obliged us to return to the camp. On our arrival, we found that the state of Henwood and Williams would prevent our stirring for a day or two. Not only had they a return of inflammation, but several other of the men complained of a painful irritation of the eyes, which were dreadfully blood-shot and weak. I was in some measure prepared for a relapse in Henwood, as the exposure which he necessarily underwent on the plain was sufficient to produce that effect; but I now became apprehensive that the affection would run through the party. Considering our situation in its different bearings, it struck me that the men who were to return to Wellington Valley with an account our our proceedings for the Governor's information, had been brought as far as prudence warranted. There was no fear of their going astray, as long as they had the river to guide them; but in the open country which we were to all appearance approaching, or amidst fields of reeds, they might wander from the track, and irrecoverably lose themselves. I determined, therefore, not to risk their safety, but to prepare my dispatches for Sydney, and I hoped most anxiously, that ere they were closed, all symptoms of disease would have terminated. In the course of the day, however, Spencer, who was to return with Riley to Wellington Valley, became seriously indisposed, and I feared that he was attacked with dysentery. Indeed, I should have attributed his illness to our situation, but I did not notice any unusual moisture in the atmosphere, nor did any fogs rise from the river. I therefore the rather attributed it to exposure and change of diet, and treated him accordingly. To my satisfaction, when I visited the men late in the evening, I found a general improvement in the whole of them. Spencer was considerably relieved, and those of the party who had inflammation of the eyes no longer felt that painful irritation of which they had before complained. I determined, therefore, unless untoward circumstances should prevent it, to send Riley and his companion homewards, and to move the party without loss of time. We had not seen any natives for many days, but a few passed the camp on the opposite side of the river on the evening of the 25th. They would not, however, come to us; but fled into the interior in great apparent alarm. DEPARTURE OF TWO MEN FOR WELLINGTON. On the morning of the 26th, the men were sufficiently recovered to pursue their journey. Riley and Spencer left us at an early hour; and about 7 a.m. we pursued a N.N.W. course along the great plain I have noticed, starting numberless quails, and many wild turkeys, by the way. Leaving that part of the river on which Mr. Hume and I had touched considerably to the left, we made for the point of a wood, projecting from the river line of trees into the plain. The ground under us was an alluvial deposit, and bore all the marks of frequent inundation. The soil was yielding, blistered, and uneven; and the claws of cray-fish, together with numerous small shells, were every where collected in the hollows made by the subsiding of the waters, between broad belts of reeds and scrubs of polygonum. CONSULTATION. On gaining the point of the wood, we found an absolute check put to our further progress. We had been moving directly on the great body of the marsh, and from the wood it spread in boundless extent before us. It was evidently lower than the ground on which we stood; we had therefore, a complete view over the whole expanse; and there was a dreariness and desolation pervading the scene that strengthened as we gazed upon it. Under existing circumstances, it only remained for us either to skirt the reeds to the northward, or to turn in again upon the river; and as I considered it important to ascertain the direction of the Macquarie at so critical and interesting a point, I thought it better to adopt the latter measure. We, accordingly, made for the river, and pitched our tents, as at the last station, in the midst of reeds. There were two points at this time, upon which I was extremely anxious. The first was as to the course of the river; the second, as to the extent of the marshes by which we had been checked, and the practicability of the country to the northward. In advising with Mr. Hume, I proposed launching the boat, as the surest means of ascertaining the former, and he, on his part, most readily volunteered to examine the marshes, in any direction I should point out. It was therefore, arranged, that I should take two men, and a week's provision with me in the boat down the river; and that he should proceed with a like number of men on an excursion to the northward. After having given directions as to the regulations of camp during our absence, we separated, on the morning of the 26th for the first time, in furtherance of the objects each had in view. BOAT EXCURSION. In pulling down the river, I found that its channel was at first extremely tortuous and irregular, but that it held a general N.W. course, and bore much the same appearance as it had done since our descent from Mount Foster. We had a laborious task in lifting the boat over the trunks of trees that had fallen into the channel of the river or that had been left by the floods, and at length we stove her in upon a sunken log. The injury she received was too serious not to require immediate repair; and we, therefore, patched her up with a tin plate. This accident occasioned some delay, and the morning was consumed without our having made any considerable progress. At length, however, we got into a more open channel. The river suddenly increased in breadth to thirty-five or forty-five yards, with a depth of from twelve to twenty feet of water. Its banks shelved perpendicularly down, and were almost on a level with the surface of the stream; and the flood mark was not more than two feet high on the reeds by which they were lined. We had hitherto passed under the shade of the flooded gum, which still continued on the immediate banks of the river; but, the farther we advanced, the more did we find these trees in a state of decay, until at length they ceased, or were only rarely met with. TERMINATION OF THE RIVER. About 2 p.m. I brought up under a solitary tree, in consequence of heavy rain: this was upon the left bank. In the afternoon, however, we again pushed forward, and soon lost sight of every other object amidst reeds of great height. The channel of the river continued as broad and as deep as ever, but the flood mark did not show more than a foot above the banks, which were now almost on a level with the water; and the current was so sluggish as to be scarcely perceptible. These general appearances continued for about three miles, when our course was suddenly, and most unexpectedly, checked. The channel, which had promised so well, without any change in its breadth or depth, ceased altogether; and whilst we were yet lost in astonishment at so abrupt a termination of it, the boat grounded. It only remained for us to examine the banks, which we did with particular attention. Two creeks were then discovered, so small as scarcely to deserve the name, and which would, under ordinary circumstances, have been overlooked. The one branched off to the north--the other to the west. We were obliged to get out of the boat to push up the former, the leeches sticking in numbers to our legs. The creek continued for about thirty yards, when it was terminated; and, in order fully to satisfy myself of the fact, I walked round the head of it by pushing through the reeds. Night coming on, we returned to the tree at which we had stopped during the rain, and slept under it. The men cut away the reeds, or we should not have had room to move. At 2 a.m. it commenced raining, with a heavy storm of thunder and lightning; the boat was consequently hauled ashore, and turned over to afford us a temporary shelter. The lightning was extremely vivid, and frequently played upon the ground, near the firelocks, for more than a quarter of a minute at a time. It is singular, that Mr. Oxley should, under similar circumstances, have experienced an equally stormy night, and most probably within a few yards of the place on which I had posted myself. Notwithstanding that the elements were raging around me, as if to warn me of the danger of my situation, my mind turned solely on the singular failure of the river. I could not but encourage hopes that this second channel that remained to be explored would lead us into an open space again; and as soon as the morning dawned we pursued our way to it. In passing some dead trees upon the right bank, I stopped to ascend one, that, from an elevation, I might survey the marsh, but I found it impossible to trace the river through it. The country to the westward was covered with reeds, apparently to the distance of seven miles; to the N.W. to a still greater distance; and to the north they bounded the horizon. The whole expanse was level and unbroken, but here and there the reeds were higher and darker than at other places, as if they grew near constant moisture; but I could see no appearance of water in any body, or of high lands beyond the distant forest. As soon as we arrived at the end of the main channel, we again got out of the boat, and in pushing up the smaller one, soon found ourselves under a dark arch of reeds. It did not, however, continue more than twenty yards when it ceased, and I walked round the head of it as I had done round that of the other. We then examined the space between the creeks, where the bank receives the force of the current, which I did not doubt had formed them by the separation of its eddies. Observing water among the reeds, I pushed through them with infinite labour to a considerable distance. The soil proved to be a stiff clay; the reeds were closely embodied, and from ten to twelve feet high; the waters were in some places ankle deep, and in others scarcely covered the surface. They were flowing in different points, with greater speed than those of the river, which at once convinced me that they were not permanent, but must have lodged in the night during which so much rain had fallen. They ultimately appeared to flow to the northward, but I found it impossible to follow them, and it was not without difficulty that, after having wandered about at every point of the compass, I again reached the boat. CAUSES OF THE FAILURE OF THE RIVER. The care with which I had noted every change that took place in the Macquarie, from Wellington Valley downwards, enabled me, in some measure, to account for its present features. I was led to conclude that the waters of the river being so small in body, excepting in times of flood, and flowing for so many miles through a level country without receiving any tributary to support their first impulse, became too sluggish, long ere they reached the marshes, to cleave through so formidable a barrier; and consequently spread over the surrounding country--whether again to take up the character of a river, we had still to determine. Unless, however, a decline of country should favour its assuming its original shape, it was evident that the Macquarie would not be found to exist beyond this marsh, of the nature and extent of which we were still ignorant. The loss of my barometer was at this time severely felt by me, since I could only guess at our probable height above the ocean; and I found that my only course was to endeavour to force my way to the northward, to ascertain, if I could, from the bottom of the marshes; then penetrate in a westerly direction beyond them, in order to commence my survey of the S.W. interior. I was aware of Mr. Hume's perseverance, and determined, therefore, to wait the result of his report ere I again moved the camp, to which we returned late in the afternoon of the second day of our departure. We found it unsufferably hot and suffocating in the reeds, and were tormented by myriads of mosquitoes, but the waters were perfectly sweet to the taste, nor did the slightest smell, as of stagnation, proceed from them. I may add that the birds, whose sanctuary we had invaded, as the bittern and various tribes of the galinule, together with the frogs, made incessant noises around us, There were, however, but few water-fowl on the river; which was an additional proof to me that we were not near any very extensive lake. MR. HUME'S REPORT. Mr. Hume had returned before me to the camp, and had succeeded in finding a serpentine sheet of water, about twelve miles to the northward; which he did not doubt to be the channel of the river. He had pushed on after this success, in the hope of gaining a further knowledge of the country; but another still more extensive marsh checked him, and obliged him to retrace his steps. He was no less surprised at the account I gave of the termination of the river, than I was at its so speedily re-forming, and it was determined to lose no time in the further examination of so singular a region. FALSE CHANNEL; PERPLEXITIES. On the morning of the 28th therefore we broke up the camp, and proceeded to the northward, under Mr. Hume's guidance, moving over ground wholly subject to flood, and extensively covered with reeds; the great body of the marsh lying upon our left. After passing the angle of a wood, upon our right, from which Mount Foster was distant about fourteen miles, we got upon a small plain, on which there was a new species of tortuous box. This plain was clear of reeds, and the soil upon it was very rich. Crossing in a westerly direction we arrived at the channel found by Mr. Hume, who must naturally have concluded that it was a continuation of the river. The boat was immediately prepared, and I went up it in order to ascertain the nature of its formation. For two miles it preserved a pretty general width of from twenty to thirty yards; but at that distance began to narrow, and at length it became quite shallow and covered with weeds. We were ultimately obliged to abandon the boat, and to walk along a native path. The country to the westward was more open than I had expected. About a quarter of a mile from where we had left the boat, the channel separated into two branches; to which I perceived it owed its formation, coming, as they evidently did, direct from the heart of the marsh. The wood through which I had entered it on the first occasion bore south of me, to which one of the branches inclined; as the other did to the S.W. An almost imperceptible rise of ground was before me, which, by giving an impetus to the waters of the marsh, accounted to me for the formation of the main channel. It was too late, on my return to the camp, to prosecute any further examination of it downwards; but in the morning, Mr. Hume accompanied me in the boat, to ascertain to what point it led; and we found that at about a mile it began to diminish in breadth, until at length it was completely lost in a second expanse of reeds. We passed a singular scaffolding erected by the natives, on the side of the channel, to take fish; and also found a weir at the termination of it for the like purpose so that it was evident the natives occasionally ventured into the marshes. There was a small wood to our left which Mr. Hume endeavoured to gain, but he failed in the attempt. He did, however, reach a tree that was sufficiently high to give him a full view of the marsh, which appeared to extend in every direction, but more particularly to the north, for many miles. We were, however, at fault, and I really felt at a loss what step to take. I should have been led to believe from the extreme flatness of the country, that the Macquarie would never assume its natural shape, but from the direction of the marshes I could not but indulge a hope that it would meet the Castlereagh, and that their united waters might form a stream of some importance. Under this impression I determined on again sending Mr. Hume to the N.E. in order to ascertain the nature of the country in that direction. EXCURSION TO THE NORTH-WEST. The weather was excessively hot, and as my men were but slowly recovering, I was anxious while those who were in health continued active, to give the others a few days of rest. I proposed, therefore, to cross the river, and to make an excursion into the interior, during the probable time of Mr. Hume's absence; since if, as I imagined, the Macquarie had taken a permanent northerly course, I should not have an opportunity of examining the distant western country. Mr. Hume's experience rendered it unnecessary for me to give him other than general directions. A PLAIN ON FIRE. On the last day of the year we left the camp, each accompanied by two men. I had the evening previously ordered the horses I intended taking with me across the channel, and at an early hour of the morning I followed them. Getting on a plain, immediately after I had disengaged myself from the reeds on the opposite side of the river, which was full of holes and exceedingly treacherous for the animals, I pushed on for a part of the wood Mr. Hume had endeavoured to gain from the boat, with the intention of keeping near the marsh. On entering it, I found myself in a thick brush of eucalypti, casuarinae and minor trees; the soil under them being mixed with sand. I kept a N.N.W. course through it, and at the distance of three miles from its commencement, ascended a tree, to ascertain if I was near the marshes; when I found that I was fast receding from them. I concluded, therefore, that my conjecture as to their direction was right, and altered my course to N.W., a direction in which I had observed a dense smoke arising, which I supposed had been made by some natives near water. At the termination of the brush I crossed a barren sandy plain, and from it saw the smoke ascending at a few miles' distance from me. Passing through a wood, at the extremity of the plain, I found myself at the outskirts of an open space of great extent, almost wholly enveloped in flames. The fire was running with incredible rapidity through the rhagodia shrubs with which it was covered. Passing quickly over it, I continued my journey to the N.W. over barren plains of red sandy loam of even surface, and bushes of cypresses skirted by acacia pendula. It was not until after sunset that we struck upon a creek, in which the water was excellent; and we halted on its banks for the night, calculating our distance at twenty-nine miles from the camp. The creek was of considerable size, leading northerly. Several huts were observed by us, and from the heaps of muscle-shells that were scattered about, there could be no doubt of its being much frequented by the natives. The grass being fairly burnt up, our animals found but little to eat, but they had a tolerable journey and did not attempt to wander in search of better food. I shot a snipe near the creek, much resembling the painted snipe of India; but I had not the means with me of preserving it. A TRIBE OF NATIVES. Continuing our journey on the following morning, we at first kept on the banks of the creek, and at about a quarter of a mile from where we had slept, came upon a numerous tribe of natives. A young girl sitting by the fire was the first to observe us as we were slowly approaching her. She was so excessively alarmed, that she had not the power to run away; but threw herself on the ground and screamed violently. We now observed a number of huts, out of which the natives issued, little dreaming of the spectacle they were to behold. But the moment they saw us, they started back; their huts were in a moment in flames, and each with a fire-brand ran to and fro with hideous yells, thrusting them into every bush they passed. I walked my horse quietly towards an old man who stood more forward than the rest, as if he intended to devote himself for the preservation of his tribe. I had intended speaking to him, but on a nearer approach I remarked that he trembled so violently that it was impossible to expect that I could obtain any information from him, and as I had not time for explanations, I left him to form his own conjectures as to what we were, and continued to move towards a thick brush, into which they did not venture to follow us. CONTINUE OUR JOURNEY. After a ride of about eighteen miles, through a country of alternate plain and brush, we struck upon a second creek leading like the first to the northward. The water in it was very bitter and muddy, and it was much inferior in appearance to that at which we had slept. After stopping for half-an-hour upon its banks, to rest our animals, we again pushed forward. We had not as yet risen any perceptible height above the level of the marshes, but had left the country subject to overflow for a considerable space behind us. The brushes through which we had passed were too sandy to retain water long, but the plains were of such an even surface, that they could not but continue wet for a considerable period after any fall of rain. They were covered with salsolaceous plants, without a blade of grass; and their soil was generally a red sandy loam. There were occasional patches that appeared moist, in which the calystemma was abundant, and these patches must, I should imagine, form quagmires in the wet season. On leaving the last-mentioned creek, we found a gently rising country before us; and about three or four miles from it we crossed some stony ridges, covered with a new species of acacia so thickly as to prevent our obtaining any view from them. As the sun declined, we got into open forest ground; and travelled forwards in momentary expectation, from appearances, of coming in sight of water; but we were obliged to pull up at sunset on the outskirts of a larger plain without having our expectation realized. The day had been extremely warm, and our animals were as thirsty as ourselves. Hope never forsakes the human breast; and thence it was that, after we had secured the horses, we began to wander round our lonely bivouac. It was almost dark, when one of my men came to inform me that he had found a small puddle of water, to which he had been led by a pigeon. It was, indeed, small enough, probably the remains of a passing shower; it was, however, sufficient for our necessities, and I thanked Providence for its bounty to us. We were now about sixty miles from the Macquarie, in a N.W. by W. direction, and the country had proved so extremely discouraging, that I intimated to my men my intention of retracing my steps, should I not discover any change in it before noon on the morrow. A dense brush of acacia succeeded to the plain on which we had slept, which we entered, and shortly afterwards found ourselves in an open space, of oblong shape, at the extremity of which there was a shallow lake. The brush completely encircled it, and a few huts were upon its banks. About 10 p.m. we got into an open forest track of better appearance than any over which we had recently travelled. ISOLATED HILL. There was a visible change in the country, and the soil, although red, was extremely rich and free from sand. A short time afterwards we rose to the summit of a round hill, from which we obtained an extensive view on most points of the compass. We had imperceptibly risen considerably above the general level of the interior. VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT. Beneath us, to the westward, I observed a broad and thinly wooded valley; and W. by S., distant apparently about twenty miles, an isolated mountain, whose sides seemed almost perpendicular, broke the otherwise even line of the horizon; but the country in every other direction looked as if it was darkly wooded. Anticipating that I should find a stream in the valley, I did not for a moment hesitate in striking down into it. Disappointed, however, in this expectation, I continued onwards to the mountain, which I reached just before the sun set. Indeed, he was barely visible when I gained its summit; but my eyes, from exposure to his glare, became so weak, my face was so blistered, and my lips cracked in so many places, that I was unable to look towards the west, and was actually obliged to sit down behind a rock until he had set. Perhaps no time is so favourable for a view along the horizon as the sunset hour; and here, at an elevation of from five to six hundred feet above the plain, the visible line of it could not have been less than from thirty-five to forty-five miles. The hill upon which I stood was broken into two points; the one was a bold rocky elevation; the other had its rear face also perpendicular, but gradually declined to the north, and at a distance of from four to five miles was lost in an extensive and open plain in that direction. In the S.E. quarter, two wooded hills were visible, which before had appeared to be nothing more than swells in the general level of the country. A small hill, similar to the above, bore N.E. by compass; and again, to the west, a more considerable mountain than that I had ascended, and evidently much higher, reflected the last beams of the sun as he sunk behind them. I looked, however, in vain for water. I could not trace either the windings of a stream, or the course of a mountain torrent; and, as we had passed a swamp about a mile from the hill, we descended to it for the night, during which we were grievously tormented by the mosquitoes. RESULTS OF THE EXCURSION. I had no inducement to proceed further into the interior. I had been sufficiently disappointed in the termination of this excursion, and the track before me was still less inviting. Nothing but a dense forest, and a level country, existed between me and the distant hill. I had learnt, by experience, that it was impossible to form any opinion of the probable features of so singular a region as that in which I was wandering, from previous appearances, or to expect the same result, as in other countries, from similar causes. In a geographical point of view, my journey had been more successful, and had enabled me to put to rest for ever a question of much previous doubt. Of whatever extent the marshes of the Macquarie might be, it was evident they were not connected with those of the Lachlan. I had gained knowledge of more than 100 miles of the western interior, and had ascertained that no sea, indeed that little water, existed on its surface; and that, although it is generally flat, it still has elevations of considerable magnitude upon it. Although I had passed over much barren ground, I had likewise noticed soil that was far from poor, and the vegetation upon which in ordinary seasons would, I am convinced, have borne a very different aspect. Yet, upon the whole, the space I traversed is unlikely to become the haunt of civilized man, or will only become so in isolated spots, as a chain of connection to a more fertile country; if such a country exist to the westward. The hill which thus became the extreme of my journey, is of sandstone formation, and is bold and precipitous. Its summit is level and lightly timbered. As a tribute of respect to the late Surveyor-General, I called it Oxley's Table Land, and I named the distant hills D'Urban's Group, after Sir Benjamin D'Urban, in compliance with a previous request of my friend Lieut. De la Condamine, that I would so name any prominent feature of the interior that I might happen to come upon. RETURN TO THE CAMP. In returning to the camp, I made a circuit to the N.E., and reached the Macquarie late on the evening of the 5th of January; having been absent six days, during which we could not have ridden less than 200 miles. Yet the horses were not so fatigued as it was natural to expect they would have been. My servant informed me that a party of natives had visited the camp on the 3rd, but that they retired precipitately on seeing the animals. I regretted to find the men but little better than when I left them. Several still complained of a painful irritation of the eyes, and of great weakness of sight. Attributing their continued indisposition in some measure to our situation, I was anxious to have moved from it; but as Mr. Hume was still absent, I could not decide upon the measure. He made his appearance, however, on the 6th, having ridden the greater part of the day through rain, which commenced to fall in the morning. Soon after his arrival, Dawber, my overseer of animals, who had accompanied him, was taken suddenly ill. During the night he became much worse, with shivering and spasms, and on the following morning he was extremely weak and feverish. To add to my anxiety, Mr. Hume also complained of indisposition. His state of health made me the more anxious to quit a position which I fancied unwholesome, and in which, if there was no apparent, there was certainly some secret, exciting cause; and as Mr. Hume reported having crossed a chain of ponds about four miles to the eastward, and out of the immediate precincts of the marshes, I ordered the tents to be struck, and placing Dawber on my horse, we all moved quietly over to them. MR. HUME'S EXCURSION. The result of Mr. Hume's journey perplexed me exceedingly. He stated, that on setting out from the Macquarie his intention was to have proceeded to the N.E., to ascertain how far the reeds existed in that direction, and, if at all practicable, to reach the Castlereagh; but in case of failure, to regain the Macquarie by a westerly course. At first he travelled nearly four miles east, to clear the marshes, when he came on the chain of ponds to which we had removed. He travelled over good soil for two miles after crossing this chain of ponds, but afterwards got on a red sandy loam, and found it difficult to proceed, by reason of the thickness of the brush, and the swampy state of the ground in consequence of the late rain. The timber in the brushes was of various kinds, and he saw numerous kangaroos and emus. On issuing from this brush, he crossed a creek, leading northerly, the banks of which were from ten to twelve feet high. Whatever the body of water usually in it is, it now only afforded a few shallow puddles. Mr. Hume travelled through brushes until he came upon a third creek, similar to the one he had left behind him, at which he halted for the night. The water in it was bad, and the feed for the animals extremely poor. The brush lined the creek thickly, and consisted chiefly of acacia pendula and box. The country preserved an uniform level, nor did Mr. Hume, from the highest trees, observe any break on the horizon. On the 2nd of January, Mr. Hume kept more northerly, being unable to penetrate the brushes he encountered. At two miles he crossed a creek leading to the N.W., between which and the place at which he had slept, he passed a native burial ground, containing eight graves. The earth was piled up in a conical shape, but the trees were not carved over as he had seen them in most other places. The country became more open after he had passed the last mentioned creek, which he again struck upon at the distance of eight miles, and as it was then leading to the N.N.E. he followed it down for eighteen or twenty miles, and crossed it frequently during the day. The creek was dry in most places, and where he stopped for the night the water was bad, and the cattle feed indifferent. Mr. Hume saw many huts, but none of them had been recently occupied, although large quantities of muscle-shells were scattered about. He computed that he had travelled about thirty miles, in a N.N.W. direction, and the whole of the land he passed over was, generally speaking, bad, nor did it appear to be subject to overflow. On the 3rd, Mr. Hume proceeded down the creek on which he had slept, on a northern course, under an impression that it would have joined the Castlereagh, but it took a N.W. direction after he had ridden about four miles, and then turned again to the eastward of north. In consequence of this, he left it, and proceeded to the westward, being of opinion that the river just mentioned must have taken a more northerly course than Mr. Oxley supposed it to have done. A short time after Mr. Hume turned towards the Macquarie, the country assumed a more pleasing appearance. He soon cleared the brushes, and at two miles came upon a chain of ponds, again running northerly in times of flood. Shortly after crossing these, he found himself on an extensive plain, apparently subject to overflow. The timber on it was chiefly of the blue-gum kind, and the ground was covered with shells. He then thought he was approaching the Macquarie, and proceeded due west across the flat for about two miles. At the extremity of it there was a hollow, which he searched in vain for water. Ascending about thirty feet, he entered a thick brush of box and acacia pendula, which continued for fourteen miles, when it terminated abruptly, and extensive plains of good soil commenced, stretching from N. to S. as far as the eye could reach, on which there were many kangaroos. Continuing to journey over them, he reached a creek at 5 p.m. on which the wild fowl were numerous, running nearly north and south, and he rested on its banks for the night. The timber consisted both of blue and rough gum, and the soil was a light earth. Mr. Hume expected in the course of the day to have reached the Macquarie, but on arriving at the creek, he began to doubt whether it any longer existed, or whether it had not taken a more westerly direction. On the following morning, therefore, he crossed the creek, and travelled W.S.W., for about two miles over good plains; then through light brushes of swamp-oak, cypress, box, and acacia pendula, for about twelve miles, to another creek leading northerly. He shortly afterwards ascended a range of hills stretching W.N.W. to which he gave the name of New Year's Range. From these hills, he had an extensive view, although not upon the highest part, but the only break he could see in the horizon was caused by some hills bearing by compass W. by S. distant about twenty-five miles. There was, however, an appearance as of high land to the northward, although Mr. Hume thought it might have been an atmospheric deception. From the range he looked in vain for the Macquarie, or other waters, and, as his provisions were nearly consumed, he was obliged to give up all further pursuit, and to retrace his steps. He fell in with two parties of natives, which, taken collectively, amounted to thirty-five in number, but had no communication with them. It was evident, from the above account, that supposing a line to have been drawn from the camp northerly, Mr. Hume must have travelled considerably to the westward of it, and as I had run on a N.W. course from the marshes, it necessarily followed that our lines of route must have intersected each other, or that want of extension could alone have prevented them from having done so; but that, under any circumstances, they could not have been very far apart. This was too important a point to be left undecided, as upon it the question of the Macquarie's termination seemed to depend. Both Mr. Hume and myself were of opinion, that a medium course would be the most satisfactory for us to pursue, to decide this point; and it appeared that we could not do better than, by availing ourselves of the creek on which we were, and skirting the reeds, to take the first opportunity of dashing through them in a westerly direction. DOUBTS OF THE FURTHER EXTENSION OF THE RIVER. I entertained great doubts as to the longer existence of the river, and as I foresaw that, in the event of its having terminated we should strike at once into the heart of the interior, I became anxious for the arrival of supplies at Mount Harris; and although I could hardly expect that they had yet reached it, I determined to proceed thither. Mr. Hume was too unwell for me to think of imposing additional fatigue upon him; I left him, therefore, to conduct the party, by easy stages, to the northward, until such time as I should overtake them. Even in one day there was a visible improvement in the men, and Dawber's attack seemed to be rather the effects of cold than of any thing else. A death, however, under our circumstances, would have been so truly deplorable an event, that the least illness was sufficient to create alarm. I can hardly say that I was disappointed on my arrival at Mount Harris, to find its neighbourhood silent and deserted. I remained, however, under it for the greater part of the next day, and, prior to leaving it, placed a sheet of paper with written instructions against a tree, though almost without a hope that it would remain untouched. PERPLEXING SITUATION. A little after sun-set we reached the first small marsh, at which we slept; and on the following morning I crossed the plains of the Macquarie, and joined the party at about fifteen miles from the creek at which I had left it. I found it in a condition that was as unlooked for by Mr. Hume as it was unexpected by me, and really in a most perplexing situation. On the day I left him, Mr. Hume only advanced about two miles, in consequence of some derangement in the loads. Having crossed the creek, he, the next morning, proceeded down its right bank, until it entered the marshes and was lost. He then continued to move on the outskirts of the latter, and having performed a journey or about eight miles, was anxious to have stopped, but there was no water at hand. The men, however, were so fatigued, in consequence of previous illness, that he felt it necessary to halt after travelling about eleven miles. No water could be procured even here, notwithstanding that Mr. Hume, who was quite unfit for great exertion, underwent considerable bodily fatigue in his anxiety to find some. He was, therefore, obliged to move early on the following morning, but neither men nor animals were in a condition to travel; and he had scarcely made three miles' progress, when he stopped and endeavoured to obtain a supply or water by digging pits among the reeds. From these he had drawn sufficient for the wants of the people when I arrived. Some rain had fallen on the 6th and 7th of the month, or it is more than probable the expedient to which he resorted would have failed of success. Mr. Hume, I was sorry to observe, looked very unwell; but nothing could prevent him from further endeavours to extricate the party from its present embarrassment. JOURNEY CONTINUED. As soon as I had taken a little refreshment, therefore, I mounted a fresh horse; and he accompanied me across a small plain, immediately in front of the camp, which was subject to overflow and covered with polygonum, having a considerable extent of reeds to its right. From the plain we entered a wood of blue-gum, in which reeds, grass, and brush formed a thick coppice. We at length passed into an open space, surrounded on every side by weeds in dense bodies. The great marsh bore south of us, and was clear and open, but behind us the blue-gum trees formed a thick wood above the weeds. About two hundred yards from the outskirts of the marsh there was a line of saplings that had perished, and round about them a number of the tern tribe (sea swallow) were flying, one of which Mr. Hume had followed a considerable way into the reeds the evening before, in the hope that it would have led him to water. The circumstance of their being in such numbers led us to penetrate towards them, when we found a serpentine sheet of water of some length, over which they were playing. We had scarcely time to examine it before night closed in upon us, and it was after nine when we returned to the tents. From the general appearance of the country to the northward, and from the circumstance of our having got to the bottom of the great marsh, which but a few days before had threatened to be so formidable, I thought it probable that the reeds would not again prove so extensive as they had been, and I determined, if I could do so, to push through them in a westerly direction from our position. SECOND GREAT MARSH. The pits yielded us so abundant a supply during the night, that in the morning we found it unnecessary to take the animals to water at the channel we had succeeded in finding the evening before; but pursuing a westerly course we passed it, and struck deep into the reeds. At mid-day we were hemmed in by them on every side, and had crossed over numerous channels, by means of which the waters of the marshes are equally and generally distributed over the space subject to their influence. Coming to a second sheet of water, narrower, but longer, as well as we could judge, than the first, we stopped to dine at it; and, while the men were resting themselves, Mr. Hume rode with me in a westerly direction, to ascertain what obstacles we still had to contend with. Forcing our way through bodies of reeds, we at length got on a plain, stretching from S.E. to N.W., bounded on the right by a wood of blue-gum, under which the reeds still extended, and on the left by a wood in which they did not appear to exist. Certain that there was no serious obstacle in our way, we returned to the men; and as soon as they had finished their meal, led them over the plain in a N.W. by W. direction. It was covered with shells, and was full of holes from the effects of flood. CONCLUSIONS IN REGARD TO THE MACQUARIE. As we were journeying over it, I requested Mr. Hume to ride into the wood upon our left, to ascertain if it concealed any channel. On his return he informed me that he descended from the plain into a hollow, the bottom of which was covered with small shells and bulrushes. He observed a new species of eucalypti, on the trunks of which the water-mark was three feet high. After crossing this hollow, which was about a quarter of a mile in breadth, he gained an open forest of box, having good grass under it; and, judging from the appearance of the country that no other channel could exist beyond him, and that he had ascertained sufficient for the object I had in view, he turned back to the plain. We stopped for the night under a wood of box, where the grass, which had been burnt down, was then springing up most beautifully green, and was relished exceedingly by the animals. It was in consequence of our not having crossed any channel, while penetrating through the reeds, that could by any possible exaggeration have been laid down as the bed of the river, that I detached Mr. Hume; and the account he brought me at once confirmed my opinion in regard to the Macquarie, and I thenceforth gave up every hope of ever seeing it in its characteristic shape again. Independently however of all circumstantial evidence, it was clear that the river had not re-formed at a distance of twenty-five miles to the north of us, since Mr. Hume had gone to the westward of that point, at about the same distance on his late journey, without having observed the least appearance of reeds or of a river. He had, indeed, noticed a hollow, which occasionally contained water, but he saw nothing like the bed of a permanent stream. I became convinced, also, from observation of the country through which we had passed, that the sources of the Macquarie could not be of such magnitude as to give a constant flow to it as a river, and at the same time to supply with water the vast concavity into which it falls. In very heavy rains only could the marshes and adjacent lands be laid wholly under water, since the evaporation alone would be equal to the supply. The great plains stretching for so many miles to the westward of Mount Harris, even where they were clear of reeds, were covered with shells and the claws of cray-fish and their soil, although an alluvial deposit, was superficially sandy. They bore the appearance not only of frequent inundation, but of the floods having eventually subsided upon them. This was particularly observable at the bottom of the marshes. We did not find any accumulation of rubbish to indicate a rush of water to any one point; but numerous minor channels existed to distribute the floods equally and generally over every part of the area subject to them, and the marks of inundation and subsidence were everywhere the same. The plain we had last crossed, was, in like manner, covered with shells, so that we could not yet be said to be out of the influence of the marshes; besides which we had not crossed the hollow noticed by Mr. Hume, which it was clear we should do, sooner or later. SITUATION OF THE PARTY. To have remained in our position would have been impossible, as there was no water either for ourselves or the animals; to have descended into the reeds again, for the purpose of carrying on a minute survey, would, under existing circumstances, have been imprudent. Our provisions were running short, and if a knowledge of the distant interior was to be gained, we had no time to lose. It was determined, therefore, to defer our further examination of the marshes to the period of our return; and to pursue such a course as would soonest and most effectually enable us to determine the character of the western interior. CHAPTER II. Prosecution of our course into the interior--Mosquito Brush--Aspect and productions of the country--Hunting party of natives--Courageous conduct of one of them--Mosquitoes--A man missing--Group of hills called New-Year's Range--Journey down New-Year's Creek--Tormenting attack of the kangaroo fly--Dreariness and desolation of the country--Oxley's Table Land--D'Urban's Group--Continue our journey down New-Year's Creek-- Extreme Disappointment on finding it salt--Fall in with a tribe of natives--Our course arrested by the want of fresh water--Extraordinary sound--Retreat towards the Macquarie. We left our position at the head of the plain early on the 13th of January, and, ere the sun dipped, had entered a very different country from that in which we had been labouring for the last three weeks. We had, as yet, passed over little other than an alluvial soil, but found that it changed to a red loam in the brushes immediately backing the camp. An open forest track succeeded this, over which the vegetation had an unusual freshness, indicating that the waters had not long subsided from its surface. We shortly afterwards crossed a hollow, similar to that Mr. Hume had described, in which bulrushes had taken the place of reeds. Flooded-gum trees, of large size, were also growing in it, but on either side box alone prevailed, under which the forest grass grew to a considerable height. We crossed the hollow two or three times, and as often remarked the line of separation between those trees. The last time we crossed it the country rose a few feet, and we journeyed for the remainder of the day, at one time over good plains, at another through brushes, until we found water and feed, at which we stopped for the night, after having travelling about thirteen miles on a W. by N. course. The mosquitoes were so extremely troublesome at this place that we called it Mosquito Brush. At this time my men were improving rapidly, and Mr. Hume complained less, and looked better. I hoped, therefore, that our progress would be rapid into the interior. CREEK LEADING NORTHERLY; PRODUCTIONS OF THE COUNTRY. On the 14th we took up a westerly course, and in the first instance traversed a plain of great extent; the soil of which was for the most part a red sandy loam, but having patches of light earth upon it. The former was covered with plants of the chenopedia kind; the latter had evidently been quagmires, and bore even then the appearance of moisture. At about seven miles from Mosquito Brush we struck upon a creek of excellent water, upon which the wild fowl were numerous. Some natives was seen, but they were only women, and seemed so alarmed that I purposely avoided them. As the creek was leading northerly, we traced it down on that course for about seven miles, and then halted upon its banks, which were composed of a light tenacious earth. Brushes of casuarina existed near it, but a tortuous box was the prevailing tree, which, excepting for the knees of small vessels, could not have been applied to any use, while the flooded-gum had entirely disappeared. Some ducks were shot in the afternoon, which proved a great treat, as we had been living for some time on salt provisions. Our animals fared worse than ourselves, as the bed of the creek was occupied by coarse rushes, and but little vegetation was elsewhere to be seen. I here killed a beautiful snake, of about four feet in length, and of a bright yellow colour: I had not, however, the means of preserving it. Fraser collected numerous botanical specimens, and among them two kinds of caparis. Indeed a great alteration had taken place in the minor shrubs, and few of those now prevalent had been observed to the eastward of the marshes. From the creek, which both I and Mr. Hume must have crossed on our respective journeys, we held a westerly course for about fifteen miles, through a country of alternate plain and brush, the latter predominating, and in its general character differing but little from that we had traversed the day previous. The acacia pendula still continued to exist on the plains backed by dark rows of cypresses (Cupressus callitris). In the brushes, box and casuarina (Casuarina tortuosa), with several other kinds of eucalypti, prevailed; but none of them were sufficiently large to be of use. The plains were so extremely level that a meridian altitude could have been taken without any material error; and I doubt much whether it would have been possible to have traversed them had the season been wet. HUNTING PARTY OF NATIVES. As we were travelling through a forest we surprised a hunting party of natives. Mr. Hume and I were considerably in front of our party at the time, and he only had his gun with him. We had been moving along so quietly that we were not for some time observed by them. Three were seated on the ground, under a tree, and two others were busily employed on one of the lower branches cutting out honey. As soon as they saw us, four of them ran away; but the fifth, who wore a cap of emu feathers, stood for a moment looking at us, and then very deliberately dropped out of the tree to the ground. I then advanced towards him, but before I got round a bush that intervened, he had darted away. I was fearful that he was gone to collect his tribe, and, under this impression, rode quickly back for my gun to support Mr. Hume. On my arrival I found the native was before me. He stood about twenty paces from Mr. Hume, who was endeavouring to explain what he was; but seeing me approach he immediately poised his spear at him, as being the nearest. Mr. Hume then unslung his carbine, and presented it; but, as it was evident my re-appearance had startled the savage, I pulled up; and he immediately lowered his weapon. His coolness and courage surprised me, and increased my desire to communicate with him. He had evidently taken both man and horse for one animal, and as long as Mr. Hume kept his seat, the native remained upon his guard; but when he saw him dismount, after the first astonishment had subsided, he stuck his spear into the ground, and walked fearlessly up to him. We easily made him comprehend that we were in search of water; when he pointed to the west, as indicating that we should supply our wants there. He gave his information in a frank and manly way, without the least embarrassment, and when the party passed, he stepped back to avoid the animals, without the smallest confusion. I am sure he was a very brave man; and I left him with the most favourable impressions, and not without hope that he would follow us. From a more open forest, we entered a dense scrub, the soil in which was of a bright-red colour and extremely sandy, and the timber of various kinds. A leafless species of stenochylus aphylta, which, from the resemblance, I at first thought one of the polygonum tribe, was very abundant in the open spaces, and the young cypresses were occasionally so close as to turn us from the direction in which we had been moving. In the scrub we crossed Mr. Hume's tract, and, from the appearance of the ground, I was led to believe mine could not be very distant. FATE OF THE MACQUARIE. We struck upon a creek late in the afternoon, at which we stopped; New Year's Range bearing nearly due west at about four miles' distance. Had we struck upon my track, the question about which we were so anxious would still have been undecided; but the circumstance of our having crossed Mr. Hume's, which, from its direction, could not be mistaken, convinced me of the fate of the Macquarie, and I felt assured that, whatever channels it might have for the distribution of its waters, to the north of our line of route, the equality of surface of the interior would never permit it again to form a river; and that it only required an examination of the lower parts of the marshes to confirm the theory of the ultimate evaporation and absorption of its waters, instead of their contributing to the permanence of an inland sea, as Mr. Oxley had supposed. NEW YEAR'S RANGE. On the 17th of January we encamped under New Year's Range, which is the first elevation in the interior of Eastern Australia to the westward of Mount Harris. Yet when at its base, I do not think that we had ascended above forty feet higher than the plains in the neighbourhood of that last mentioned eminence. There certainly is a partial rise of country, where the change of soil takes place from the alluvial deposits of the marshes, to the sandy loam so prevalent on the plains we had lately traversed; but I had to regret that I was unable to decide so interesting a question by other than bare conjecture. Notwithstanding that Mr. Hume had already been on them, I encouraged hopes that a second survey of the country from the highest point of New Year's Range would enable us to form some opinion of it, by which to direct our future movements; but I was disappointed. The two wooded hills I had seen from Oxley's Table Land were visible from the range, bearing south; and other eminences bore by compass S.W. and W. by S.; but in every other direction the horizon was unbroken. To the westward, there appeared to be a valley of considerable extent, stretching N. and S., in which latter direction there was a long strip of cleared ground, that looked very like the sandy bed of a broad and rapid river. The bare possibility of the reality determined me to ascertain by inspection, whether my conjecture was right, and Mr. Hume accompanied me on this excursion. After we left the camp we crossed a part of the range, and travelled for some time through open forest land that would afford excellent grazing in most seasons. We passed some hollows, and noticed many huts that had been occupied near them; but the hollows were now quite dry, and the huts had been long deserted. After about ten miles' ride we reached a plain of white sand, from which New Year's Range was distinctly visible; and this no doubt was the spot that had attracted my attention. Pools of water continued on it, from which circumstance it would appear that the sand had a substratum of clay or marl. From this plain we proceeded southerly through acacia scrub, bounding gently undulating forest land, and at length ascended some small elevations that scarcely deserved the name of hills. They had fragments of quartz profusely scattered over them; and the soil, which was sandy, contained particles of mica. MOSQUITOES. The view from them was confused, nor did any fresh object meet our observation. We had, however, considerably neared the two wooded hills, and the elevations that from the range were to the S.W., now bore N.W. of us. We had wandered too far from the camp to admit of our returning to it to sleep; we therefore commenced a search for water, and having found some, we tethered our horses near it for the night, and should have been tolerably comfortable, had not the mosquitoes been so extremely troublesome. They defied the power of smoke, and annoyed me so much, that, hot as it was, I rolled myself in my boat cloak, and perspired in consequence to such a degree, that my clothes were wet through, and I had to stand at the fire in the morning to dry them. Mr. Hume, who could not bear such confinement, suffered the penalty, and was most unmercifully bitten. A MAN MISSING. We reached the camp about noon the following day, and learnt, to our vexation, that one of the men, Norman, had lost himself shortly after we started, and had not since been heard of. Dawber, my overseer, was out in search of him. I awaited his return, therefore, before I took any measures for the man's recovery; nor was I without hopes that Dawber would have found him, as it appeared he had taken one of the horses with him, and Dawber, by keeping his tracks, might eventually have overtaken him. He returned, however, about 3 p.m. unsuccessful, when Mr. Hume and I mounted our horses, and proceeded in different directions in quest of him, but were equally disappointed. We met at the creek in the dark, and returned to the camp together, when I ordered the cypresses on the range to be set on fire, and thus illuminated the country round for many miles. In the morning, however, as Norman had not made his appearance, we again started in search of the poor fellow, on whose account I was now most uneasy; for his horse, it appeared, had escaped him, and was found with the others at watering time. I did not return to the camp until after sunset, more fatigued than I recollect ever having been before. I was, however, rejoiced on being informed that the object of my anxiety was safe in his tent; that he had caught sight of the hill the evening before, and that he had reached the camp shortly after I left it. He had been absent three nights and two days, and had not tasted water or food of any kind during that time. To my enquiries he replied, that, being on horseback, he thought he could have overtaken a kangaroo, which passed him whilst waiting at the creek for the cattle, and that in the attempt, he lost himself. It would appear that he crossed the creek in the dark, and his horse escaped from him on the first night. He complained more of thirst than of hunger, although he had drunk at the watering-place to such an excess, on his return, as to make him vomit; but, though not a little exhausted, he had escaped better than I should have expected. COUNTRY AROUND NEW YEAR'S RANGE. New Year's Range consists of a principal group of five hills, the loftiest of which does not measure 300 feet in height. It has lateral ridges, extending to the N.N.W. on the one hand, and bending in to the creek on the other. The former have a few cypresses, sterculia, and iron bark upon them; the latter are generally covered with brush, under box; the brush for the most part consisting of two distinct species of stenochylus, and a new acacia. The whole range is of quartz formation, small fragments of which are profusely scattered over the ridges, and are abundantly incrusted with oxide of iron. The soil in the neighbourhood of New Year's Range is a red loam, with a slight mixture of sand. An open forest country lies between it and the creek, and it is not at all deficient in pasture. NEW YEAR'S CREEK. That a change of soil takes place to the westward of the creek, is obvious, from the change of vegetation, the most remarkable feature of which is the sudden check given to the further extension of the acacia pendula, which is not to be found beyond it, it being succeeded by another acacia of the same species and habits; neither do the plants of the chenopedia class exist in the immediate vicinity of the range. I place these hills, as far as my observations will allow, in east lon. 146 degrees 32 minutes 15 seconds, and in lat. 30 degrees 21 minutes south; the variation of the compass being 6 degrees 40 minutes easterly. As New Year's Creek was leading northerly, it had been determined to trace it down as long as it should keep that course, or one to the westward of it. We broke up the camp, therefore, under the range, on the evening of the 18th, and moved to the creek, about two miles north of the place at which we had before crossed it, with the intention of prosecuting our journey on the morrow. But both Mr. Hume and I were so fatigued that we were glad of an opportunity to rest, even for a single day. We remained stationary, therefore, on the 19th; nor was I without hope that the natives whom we had surprised in the woods, would have paid us a visit, since Mr. Hume had met them in his search for Norman, and they had promised not only to come to us, but to do all in their power to find the man, whose footsteps some of them had crossed. They did not, however, venture near us; and I rather attribute their having kept aloof, to the circumstance of Mr. Hume's having fired a shot, shortly after he left them, as a signal to Norman, in the event of his being within hearing of the report. They must have been alarmed at so unusual a sound; but I am sure nothing was further from Mr. Hume's intention than to intimidate them; his knowledge of their manners and customs, as well as his partiality to the natives, being equally remarkable. The circumstance is, however, a proof of the great caution that is necessary in communicating with them. ANNOYED BY KANGAROO FLIES. I have said that we remained stationary the day after we left the range, with a view to enjoy a little rest; it would, however, have been infinitely better if we had moved forward. Our camp was infested by the kangaroo fly, which settled upon us in thousands. They appeared to rise from the ground, and as fast as they were swept off were succeeded by fresh numbers. It was utterly impossible to avoid their persecution, penetrating as they did into the very tents. The men were obliged to put handkerchiefs over their faces, and stockings upon their hands; but they bit through every thing. It was to no purpose that I myself shifted from place to place; they still followed, or were equally numerous everywhere. To add to our discomfort, the animals were driven almost to madness, and galloped to and fro in so furious a manner that I was apprehensive some of them would have been lost. I never experienced such a day of torment; and only when the sun set, did these little creatures cease from their attacks. SUDDENLY RELIEVED. It will be supposed that we did not stay to subject ourselves to another trial; indeed it was with some degree of horror that the men saw the first light of morning streak the horizon. They got up immediately, and we moved down the creek, on a northerly course, without breakfasting as usual. We found that dense brushes of casuarina lined the creek on both sides, beyond which, to our left, there was open rising ground, on which eucalypti, cypresses, and the acacia longifolia, prevailed; whilst to the east, plains seemed to predominate. Although we had left the immediate spot at which the kangaroo flies (cabarus) seemed to be collected, I did not expect that we should have got rid of them so completely as we did. None of them were seen during the day; a proof that they were entirely local. They were about half the size of a common house fly, had flat brown bodies, and their bite, although sharp and piercing, left no irritation after it. About noon we stopped at the creek side to take some refreshment. The country bore an improved appearance around us, and the cattle found abundance of pasture. It was evident that the creek had been numerously frequented by the natives, although no recent traces of them could be found. It had a bed of coarse red granite, of the fragments of which the natives had constructed a weir for the purpose of taking fish. The appearance of this rock in so isolated a situation, is worthy of the consideration of geologists. DESOLATION OF THE COUNTRY. The promise of improvement I have noticed, gradually disappeared as we proceeded on our day's journey, and we at length found ourselves once more among brushes, and on the edge of plains, over which the rhagodia prevailed. Nothing could exceed in dreariness the appearance of the tracks through which we journeyed, on this and the two following days. The creek on which we depended for a supply of water, gave such alarming indications of a total failure, that I at one time, had serious thoughts of abandoning my pursuit of it. We passed hollow after hollow that had successively dried up, although originally of considerable depth; and, when we at length found water, it was doubtful how far we could make use of it. Sometimes in boiling it left a sediment nearly equal to half its body; at other times it was so bitter as to be quite unpalatable. That on which we subsisted was scraped up from small puddles, heated by the sun's rays; and so uncertain were we of finding water at the end of the day's journey, that we were obliged to carry a supply on one of the bullocks. There was scarcely a living creature, even of the feathered race, to be seen to break the stillness of the forest. The native dogs alone wandered about, though they had scarcely strength to avoid us; and their melancholy howl, breaking in upon the ear at the dead of the night, only served to impress more fully on the mind the absolute loneliness of the desert. It appeared, from their traces that the natives had lingered on this ground, on which they had perhaps been born, as long as it continued to afford them a scanty though precarious subsistence; but that they had at length been forced from it. Neither fish nor muscles remained in the creek, nor emus nor kangaroos on the plains. How then could an European expect to find food in deserts through which the savage wandered in vain? There is no doubt of the fate that would have overtaken any one of the party who might have strayed away, and I was happy to find that Norman's narrow escape had made a due impression on the minds of his comrades. SANDY PLAINS; LEAVE THE CREEK. We passed some considerable plains, lying to the eastward of the creek, on parts of which the grass, though growing in tufts, was of luxuriant growth. They were, however, more generally covered with salsola and rhagodia, and totally destitute of other vegetation, the soil upon them being a red sandy loam. The paths across the plains, which varied in breadth from three to eight miles, were numerous; but they had not been recently trodden. The creek continued to have a thick brush of casuarina and acacia near it, to the westward of which there was a rising open forest track; the timber upon it being chiefly box, cypress, and the acacia longifolia. It was most probably connected with New Year's Range, those elevations being about thirty miles distant. It terminated in some gentle hills which, though covered in places with acacia shrub, were sufficiently open to afford an extensive view. From their summit Oxley's Table Land, towards which we had been gradually working our way, was distinctly visible, distant about twenty miles, and bearing by compass W. by S. On descending from these hills (called the Pink Hills, from the colour of a flower upon them) which were scattered over with fragments of slaty quartz, we traversed a box flat, apparently subject to overflow, having a barren sandy scrub to its left. I had desired the men to preserve a W.N.W. direction, on leaving them, supposing that that course would have kept them near the creek; but, on overtaking the party, I found that they had wandered completely away from it. The fact was, that the creek had taken a sudden bend to the eastward of N. and had thus thrown them out. It was with some difficulty that we regained it before sunset; and we were at length obliged to stop for the night at a small plain, about a quarter of a mile short of it, but we had the satisfaction of having excellent feed for the animals. OXLEY'S TABLE LAND. Fearful that New Year's Creek would take us too far to the eastward, and being anxious to keep westward as much as possible, it struck me that we could not, under existing circumstances, do better than make for Oxley's Table Land. Water, I knew, we should find in a swamp at it's base, and we might discover some more encouraging feature than I had observed on my hasty visit to it. We left the creek, therefore on the 23rd, and once more took up a westerly course. Passing through a generally open country, we stopped at noon to rest the animals; and afterwards got on an excellent grazing forest track, which continued to the brush, through another part of which I had penetrated to the marsh more to the south. While making our way through it, we came upon a small pond of water, and must have alarmed some natives, as there was a fresh made fire close to it. Our journey had been unusually long, and the cattle had felt the heat so much, that the moment they saw water they rushed into it; and, as this created some confusion, I thought it best to stop where we were for the night. In the morning, Mr. Hume walked with me to the hill, a distance of about a mile. It is not high enough to deserve the name of a mountain, although a beautiful feature in the country, and showing well from any point of view. We ascended it with an anxiety that may well be imagined, but were wholly disappointed in our most sanguine expectations. Our chief object, in this second visit to Oxley's Table Land, had been to examine, more at leisure, the face of the country around it, and to discover, if possible, some fixed point on which to move. If the rivers of the interior had already exhausted themselves, what had we to expect from a creek whose diminished appearance where we left it made us apprehend its speedy termination, and whose banks we traversed under constant apprehension? In any other country I should have followed such a water course, in hopes of its ultimately leading to some reservoir; but here I could encourage no such favourable anticipation. The only new object that struck our sight was a remarkable and distant hill of conical shape, bearing by compass S. 10 E. To the southward and westward, in the direction of D'Urban's Group, a dense and apparently low brush extended; but to the N. and N.W., there was a regular alternation of wood and plain. I left Mr. Hume upon the hill, that he might the more readily notice any smoke made by the natives; and returned myself to the camp about one o'clock, to move the party to the swamp. Mr. Hume's perseverance was of little avail. The region he had been overlooking was, to all appearance, uninhabited, nor did a single fire indicate that there was even a solitary wanderer upon its surface. EXCURSION TO D'URBAN'S GROUP. Our situation, at this time, was extremely embarrassing, and the only circumstance on which we had to congratulate ourselves was, the improved condition of our men; for several of the cattle and horses were in a sad plight. The weather had been so extremely oppressive, that we had found it impossible to keep them free from eruptions. I proposed to Mr. Hume, therefore, to give them a few days' rest, and to make an excursion, with such of them as were serviceable, to D'Urban's Group. We were both of us unwilling to return to the creek, but we foresaw that a blind reliance upon fortune, in our next movements, might involve us in inextricable difficulty. On the other hand, there was a very great risk in delay. It was more than probable, from the continued drought, that our retreat would be cut off from the want of water, or that we should only be enabled to effect our retreat with loss of most of the animals. The hope, however, of our intersecting some stream, or of falling upon a better country, prevailed over other considerations; and the excursion was, consequently, determined upon. DISTRESS FROM WANT OF WATER. We left the camp on the 25th, accompanied by Hopkinson and the tinker; and, almost immediately after, entered an acacia scrub of the most sterile description, and one, through which it would have been impossible to have found a passage for the boat carriage. The soil was almost a pure sand, and the lower branches of the trees were decayed so generally as to give the whole an indescribable appearance of desolation. About mid-day, we crossed a light sandy plain, on which there were some dirty puddles of water. They were so shallow as to leave the backs of the frogs in them exposed, and they had, in consequence, been destroyed by solar heat, and were in a state of putrefaction. Our horses refused to drink, but it was evident that some natives must have partaken of this sickening beverage only a few hours before our arrival. Indeed, it was clear that a wandering family must have slept near this spot, as we observed a fresh made gunneah (or native hut), and their foot-prints were so fresh along the line we were pursuing, that we momentarily expected to have overtaken them. It was late in the evening when we got out of this brush into better and more open ground, where, in ordinary seasons we should, no doubt, have found abundance of water. But we now searched in vain for it, and were contented to be enabled to give our wearied animals better food than they had tasted for many days, the forest grass, though in tufts, being abundant. We brought up for the night at the edge of a scrub, having travelled from thirty-two to thirty-five miles, judging the distance from the mountains still to be about twelve. BEARINGS FROM OXLEY'S TABLE LAND. In the morning we started at an early hour, and immediately entered the brush, beneath which we had slept; pursuing a westerly course through it. After a short ride, we found ourselves upon a plain, that was crowded with flocks of cockatoos. Here we got a supply of water, such as it was--so mixed with slime as to hang in strings between the fingers; and, after a hasty breakfast, we proceeded on our journey, mostly through a barren sandy scrub that was a perfect burrow from the number of wombats in it, to within a mile of the hill group, where the country appeared like one continuous meadow to the very base of them. I never saw anything like the luxuriance of the grass on this tract of country, waving as it did higher than our horses' middles as we rode through it. We ascended the S.W. face of the mountain to an elevation of at least 800 feet above the level of the plain, and had some difficulty in scaling the masses of rock that opposed themselves to our progress. But on gaining the summit, we were amply repaid for our trouble. The view extended far and wide, but we were again disappointed in the main object that had induced us to undertake the journey. I took the following bearings by compass. Oxley's Table Land bore N. 40 E. distant forty-five miles; small and distant hill due E.; conical peak seen from Oxley's Table Land S. 60 E., very distant; long ridge of high land, S.E., distant thirty-five miles; high land, S. 30 E., distant thirty miles; long range, S. 25 W. To the westward, as a medium point, the horizon was unbroken, and the eye wandered over an apparently endless succession of wood and plain. A brighter green than usual marked the course of the mountain torrents in several places, but there was no glittering light among the trees, no smoke to betray a water hole, or to tell that a single inhabitant was traversing the extensive region we were overlooking. We were obliged to return to the plain on which we had breakfasted, and to sleep upon it. D'URBAN'S GROUP. D'Urban's Group is of compact sandstone formation. Its extreme length is from E.S.E. to W.N.W., and cannot be more than from seven to nine miles, whilst its breadth is from two to four. The central space forms a large basin, in which there are stunted pines and eucalyptus scrub, amid huge fragments of rocks. It rises like an island from the midst of the ocean, and as I looked upon it from the plains below, I could without any great stretch of the imagination, picture to myself that it really was such. Bold and precipitous, it only wanted the sea to lave its base; and I cannot but think that such must at no very remote period have been the case, and that the immense flat we had been traversing, is of comparatively recent formation. We reached the camp on the 28th of the month, by nearly the same route; and were happy to find that, after the few days' rest they had enjoyed, there was a considerable improvement in the animals. Our experience of the nature of the country to the southward, and the westward, was such as to deter us from risking anything, by taking such a direction as was most agreeable to our views. Nothing remained to us but to follow the creek, or to retreat; and as we could only be induced to adopt the last measure when every other expedient should have failed, we determined on pursuing our original plan, of tracing New Year's Creek as far as practicable. DESCRIPTION OF OXLEY'S TABLE LAND. Oxley's Table Land is situated in lat. 29 degrees 57 minutes 30 seconds, and in E. long. 145 degrees 43 minutes 30 seconds, the mean variation being 6.32 easterly. It consists of two hills that appear to have been rent asunder by some convulsion of nature, since the passage between them is narrow and their inner faces are equally perpendicular. The hill which I have named after the late Surveyor-general, is steep on all sides; but the other gradually declines from the south, and at length loses itself in a large plain that extends to the north. It is from four to five miles in length, and is picturesque in appearance, and lightly wooded. A few cypresses were growing on Oxley's Table Land; but it had, otherwise, very little timber upon its summit. Both hills are of sandstone formation, and there are some hollows upon the last that deserve particular notice. They have the appearance of having been formed by eddies of water, being deeper in the centre than at any other part, and contain fragments and slabs of sandstone of various size and breadth, without a particle of soil or of sand between them. It is to be observed that the edges of these slabs, which were perfect parallelograms, were unbroken, and that they were as clean as if they had only just been turned out of the hand of the mason. We counted thirteen of these hollows in one spot about twenty-five feet in diameter, but they are without doubt of periodical formation, since a single hollow was observed lower than the summit of the hill upon its south extremity, that had evidently long been exposed to the action of the atmosphere, and had a general coating of moss over it. CONTINUE THE JOURNEY; DOWN NEW YEAR'S CREEK. We left Oxley's Table Land on the morning of the 31st of January, pursuing a northern course through the brush and across a large plain, moving parallel to the smaller hill, and keeping it upon our left. The soil upon this plain differed in character from that on the plains to the eastward, and was much freer from sand. We stopped to dine at a spot, whence Oxley's Table Land bore by compass, S. by W., distant about twelve miles. Continuing our journey, at 2 p.m. we cleared the plain, and entered a tract covered with the polygonum junceum, on a soil evidently the deposit of floods. Box-trees were thinly scattered over it, and among the polygonum, the crested pigeons were numerous. These general appearances, together with a dip of country to the N.N.W., made us conclude that we were approaching the creek, and we accordingly intersected it on a N.N.E. course, at about three miles' distance from where we had dined. It had, however, undergone so complete a change, and had increased so much in size and in the height of its banks, that we were at a loss to recognise it. Still, with all these favourable symptoms, there was not a drop of water in it. But small shells lay in heaps in its bed, or were abundantly scattered over it; and we remarked that they differed from those on the plains of the Macquarie. A circumstance that surprised us much, was the re-appearance of the flooded-gum upon its banks, and that too of a large size. We had not seen any to the westward of the marshes, and we were, consequently, led to indulge in more sanguine expectation as to our ultimate success than we had ever ventured to do before. The party crossed to the right bank of the creek, and then moved in a westerly direction along it in search of water. A brush extended to our right, and some broken stony ground, rather elevated, was visible, to which Mr. Hume rode; nor did he join me again until after I had halted the party for the night. DISTRESSED FOR WATER. My search for water had been unsuccessful, and the sun had set, when I came upon a broad part of the creek that appeared very favourable for an encampment, as it was encompassed by high banks, and would afford the men a greater facility of watching the cattle, that I knew would stray away if they could. My anxiety for them led me to wander down the bed of the creek, when, to my joy, I found a pond of water within a hundred yards of the tents. It is impossible for me to describe the relief I felt at this success, or the gladness it spread among the men. Mr. Hume joined me at dusk, and informed me that he had made a circuit, and had struck upon the creek about three miles below us but that, in tracing it up, he had not found a drop of water until he came to the pond near which we had so providentially encamped. On the following morning, we held a westerly course over an open country for about eight miles and a half. The prevailing timber appeared to be a species of eucalypti, with rough bark, of small size, and evidently languishing from the want of moisture. The soil over which we travelled was far from bad, but there was a total absence of water upon it. At 6 p.m. Oxley's Table Land was distant from us about fifteen miles, bearing S. 20 E. by compass. We had not touched upon the creek from the time we left it in the morning, having wandered from it in a northerly direction, along a native path that we intersected, and that seemed to have been recently trodden, since footsteps were fresh upon it. At sunset, we crossed a broad dry creek that puzzled us extremely, and were shortly afterwards obliged to stop for the night upon a plain beyond it. We had, during the afternoon, bent down to the S.W. in hopes that we should again have struck upon New Year's Creek; and, under an impression that we could not be far from it, Mr. Hume and I walked across the plain, to ascertain if it was sufficiently near to be of any service to us. We came upon a creek, but could not decide whether it was the one for which we had been searching, or another. Its bed was so perfectly even that it was impossible to say to what point it flowed, more especially as all remains of debris had mouldered away. It was, however, extremely broad, and evidently, at times, held a furious torrent. In the centre of it, at one of the angles, we discovered a pole erected, and at first thought, from the manner in which it was propped up, that some unfortunate European must have placed it there as a mark to tell of his wanderings, but we afterwards concluded that it might be some superstitious rite of the natives, in consequence of the untowardness of the season, as it seemed almost inconceivable that an European could have wandered to such a distance from the located districts in safety. REACH A LARGE RIVER. The creek had flooded-gum growing upon its banks, and, on places apparently subject to flood, a number of tall straight saplings were observed by us. We returned to the camp, after a vain search for water, and were really at a loss what direction next to pursue. The men kept the cattle pretty well together, and, as we were not delayed by any preparations for breakfast, they were saddled and loaded at an early hour. The circumstance of there having been natives in the neighbourhood, of whom we had seen so few traces of late, assured me that water was at hand, but in what direction it was impossible to guess. As the path we had observed was leading northerly, we took up that course, and had not proceeded more than a mile upon it, when we suddenly found ourselves on the banks of a noble river. Such it might in truth be called, where water was scarcely to be found. The party drew up upon a bank that was from forty to forty-five feet above the level of the stream. The channel of the river was front seventy to eighty yards broad, and enclosed an unbroken sheet of water, evidently very deep, and literally covered with pelicans and other wild fowl. Our surprise and delight may better be imagined than described. Our difficulties seemed to be at an end, for here was a river that promised to reward all our exertions, and which appeared every moment to increase in importance to our imagination. Coming from the N.E., and flowing to the S.W., it had a capacity of channel that proved that we were as far from its source as from its termination. The paths of the natives on either side of it were like well trodden roads; and the trees that overhung it were of beautiful and gigantic growth. DISAPPOINTMENT ON FINDING THE RIVER SALT. Its banks were too precipitous to allow of our watering the cattle, but the men eagerly descended to quench their thirst, which a powerful sun had contributed to increase; nor shall I ever forget the cry of amazement that followed their doing so, or the looks of terror and disappointment with which they called out to inform me that the water was so salt as to be unfit to drink! This was, indeed, too true: on tasting it, I found it extremely nauseous, and strongly impregnated with salt, being apparently a mixture of sea and fresh water. Whence this arose, whether from local causes, or from a communication with some inland sea, I knew not, but the discovery was certainly a blow for which I was not prepared. Our hopes were annihilated at the moment of their apparent realization. The cup of joy was dashed out of our hands before we had time to raise it to our lips. Notwithstanding this disappointment, we proceeded down the river, and halted at about five miles, being influenced by the goodness of the feed to provide for the cattle as well as circumstances would permit. They would not drink of the river water, but stood covered in it for many hours, having their noses alone exposed above the stream. Their condition gave me great uneasiness. It was evident they could not long hold out under their excessive thirst, and unless we should procure some fresh water, it would impossible for us to continue our journey. On a closer examination, the river appeared to me much below its ordinary level, and its current was scarcely perceptible. We placed sticks to ascertain if there was a rise or fall of tide, but could arrive at no satisfactory conclusion, although there was undoubtedly a current in it. Yet, as I stood upon its banks at sunset, when not a breath of air existed to break the stillness of the waters below me, and saw their surface kept in constant agitation by the leaping of fish, I doubted whether the river could supply itself so abundantly, and the rather imagined, that it owed such abundance, which the pelicans seemed to indicate was constant, to some mediterranean sea or other. Where, however, were the human inhabitants of this distant and singular region? The signs of a numerous population were around us, but we had not seen even a solitary wanderer. The water of the river was not, by any means, so salt as that of the ocean, but its taste was precisely similar. Could it be that its unnatural state had driven its inhabitants from its banks? One would have imagined that our perplexities would have been sufficient for one day, but ere night closed, they increased upon us, although our anxiety, with regard to the cattle, was happily removed. Mr. Hume with his usual perseverance, walked out when the camp was formed; and, at a little distance from it, ascended a ridge of pure sand, crowned with cypresses. From this, he descended to the westward, and, at length, struck upon the river, where a reef of rocks creased its channel, and formed a dry passage from one side to the other; but the bend, which the river must have taken, appeared to him so singular, that he doubted whether it was the same beside which we had been travelling during the day. Curiosity led him to cross it, when he found a small pond of fresh water on a tongue of land, and, immediately afterwards, returned to acquaint me with the welcome tidings. It was too late to move, but we had, at least, the prospect of a comfortable breakfast in the morning. JUNCTION OF NEW YEAR'S CREEK. In consequence of the doubts that hung upon Mr. Hume's mind, as to the course of the river, we arranged that the animals should precede us to the fresh water; and that we should keep close in upon the stream, to ascertain that point. After traversing a deep bight, we arrived nearly as soon as the party, at the appointed rendezvous. The rocks composing the channel of the river at the crossing place, were of indurated clay. In the course of an hour, the animals appearing quite refreshed, we proceeded on our journey, and at about four miles crossed New Year's Creek, at its junction with the salt river. We passed several parts of the main channel that were perfectly dry, and were altogether at a loss to account for the current we undoubtedly had observed in the river when we first came upon it. At midday D'Urban's Group bore S. 65 E. distant about 32 miles. We made a little westing in the afternoon. The river continued to maintain its character and appearance, its lofty banks, and its long still reaches: while, however, the blue-gum trees upon its banks were of magnificent size, the soil had but little vegetation upon it, although an alluvial deposit. We passed over vast spaces covered with the polygonum junceum, that bore all the appearance of the flooded tracks in the neighbourhood of the marshes, and on which the travelling was equally distressing to the animals. Indeed, it had been sufficiently evident to us that the waters of this river were not always confined to its channel, capacious as it was, but that they inundated a belt of barren land, that varied in width from a quarter of a mile to a mile, when they were checked by an outer embankment that prevented them from spreading generally over the country, and upon the neighbouring plains. At our halting place, the cattle drank sparingly of the water, but it acted as a violent purgative both on them and the men who partook of it. NATIVE VILLAGE. On the 5th, the river led us to the southward and westward. Early in the day, we passed a group of seventy huts, capable of holding from twelve to fifteen men each. They appeared to be permanent habitations, and all of them fronted the same point of the compass. In searching amongst them we observed two beautifully made nets, of about ninety yards in length. The one had much larger meshes than the other, and was, most probably, intended to take kangaroos; but the other was evidently a fishing net. In one hut, the floor of which was swept with particular care, a number of white balls, as of pulverised shells or lime, had been deposited--the use of which we could not divine. A trench was formed round the hut to prevent the rain from running under it, and the whole was arranged with more than ordinary attention. TERROR OF THE NATIVES. We had not proceeded very far when we came suddenly upon the tribe to which this village, as it might be called, belonged. In breaking through some brush to an open space that was bounded on one side by the river, we observed three or four natives, seated on a bank at a considerable distance from us; and directly in the line on which we were moving. The nature of the ground so completely favoured our approach, that they did not become aware of it until we were within a few yards of them, and had ascended a little ridge, which, as we afterwards discovered, ended in an abrupt precipice upon the river, not more than thirty yards to our right. The crack of the drayman's whip was the first thing that aroused their attention. They gazed upon us for a moment, and then started up and assumed an attitude of horror and amazement; their terror apparently increasing upon them. We stood perfectly immovable, until at length they gave a fearful yell, and darted out of sight. THEY FIRE THE BUSH. Their cry brought about a dozen more natives from the river, whom we had not before observed, but who now ran after their comrades with surprising activity, and without once venturing to look behind them. As our position was a good one, we determined to remain upon it, until we should ascertain the number and disposition of the natives. We had not been long stationary, when we heard a crackling noise in the distance, and it soon became evident that the bush had been fired. It was, however, impossible that we could receive any injury on the narrow ridge upon which we stood, so that we waited very patiently to see the end of this affair. REMARKS ON THE NATIVES; DISEASE AMONG THEM. In a short time the fire approached pretty near to us, and dense columns of smoke rose into the air over our heads. One of the natives, who had been on the bank, now came out of the bush, exactly from the spot into which he had retreated. He advanced a few paces towards us, and bending his body so that his hands rested on his knees, he fixed his gaze upon us for some time; but, seeing that we remained immovable, he began to throw himself into the most extravagant attitudes, shaking his foot from time to time. When he found that all his violence had no effect, he turned his rear to us in a most laughable manner, and absolutely groaned in spirit when he found that this last insult failed of success. He stood perplexed and not knowing what next to do, which gave Mr. Hume an opportunity to call out to him, and with considerable address he at length got the savage to approach close up to him; Mr. Hume himself having advanced a short distance from the animals in the first instance. As soon as I thought the savage had sufficiently recovered from his alarm, I went up to him with a tomahawk, the use of which he immediately guessed. We now observed that the natives who had fled from the river, had been employed in setting a net. They had placed it in a semicircle, with either end to the shore, and rude pieces of wood were attached to it to keep the upper part perpendicular. It was in fact a sein, only that the materials, with the exception of the net-work, were simpler and rougher than cork or lead--for which last, we afterwards discovered stones had been substituted. We had on this occasion a remarkable instance of the docility of the natives of the interior, or of the power they have of subduing their apprehensions; manifesting the opposite extremes of fear and confidence. These men whom we had thus surprised, and who, no doubt, imagined that we were about to destroy them, having apparently never seen nor heard of white men before, must have taken us for something preternatural; yet from the extremity of fear that had prompted them to set their woods in flames, they in a brief space so completely subdued those fears as to approach the very beings who had so strongly excited their alarm. The savage who had been the principal actor in the scene, was an elderly man, rather descending to the vale of years than what might be strictly called aged. I know not how it was, but I regarded him with peculiar interest. Mr. Hume's manners had in a great measure contributed to allay his evident agitation; but, from the moment I approached him, I thought there was a shade of anxiety upon his brow, and an expression of sorrow over his features, the cause of which did not originate with us. I could see in a moment, that his bosom was full even to bursting, and he seemed to claim at once our sympathy and our protection, although we were ignorant of that which oppressed him. We had not long been seated together, when some of his tribe mustered sufficient courage to join him. Both Mr. Hume and I were desirous of seeing the net drawn, but the old man raised some objection, by pointing to the heavens and towards the sun. After a little more solicitation, however, he gave a whistle, and, four or five natives having obeyed the summons, he directed them to draw the net, but they were unfortunate, and our wish to ascertain the kind of fish contained in the river was disappointed. As his tribe gathered round him, the old chief threw a melancholy glance upon them, and endeavoured, as much as he could, to explain the cause of that affliction which, as I had rightly judged, weighed heavily upon him. It appeared, then, that a violent cutaneous disease raged throughout the tribe, that was sweeping them off in great numbers. He called several young men to Mr. Hume and myself, who had been attacked by this singular malady. Nothing could exceed the anxiety of his explanations, or the mild and soothing tone in which he addressed his people, and it really pained me that I could not assist him in his distress. We now discovered the use to which the conical substance that had been deposited with such unusual care in one of the huts, was applied. There were few of the natives present who were not more or less marked with it, and it was no doubt, indicative of mourning. DEPARTURE OF THE NATIVES. Some of the men, however, were painted with red and yellow ochre, with which it was evident to me they had besmeared themselves since our appearance, most likely in preparing for the combat in which they fancied they would be engaged. We distributed such presents as we had to those around us, and when we pursued our journey, the majority accompanied us, nor did they wholly leave us until we had passed the place to which their women had retired. They might have left us when they pleased, for we intended them no harm; as it was, however, they struck into the brushes to join their families, and we pushed on to make up for lost time. The travelling near the river had been so bad, not only in consequence of the nature of the soil and brush, but from the numerous gullies that had been formed by torrents, as they poured into its channel after heavy rains and floods, that it was thought advisable to keep at a greater distance from it. We turned away, therefore, to the plains, and found them of much firmer surface. They partook, however, of the same general character as the plains we had traversed more to the eastward. Their soil was a light sandy loam, and the same succulent plants still continued to prevail upon them, which we have already noticed as existing upon the other plains. Both emus and kangaroos were seen, though not in any considerable numbers, but our dogs were not in a condition to run, and were all but killed by the extreme heat of the weather. We had fallen on a small pool of water shortly after we started in the morning, but we could do no more than refresh ourselves and the animals at it. In the afternoon, we again turned towards the river, and found it unaltered. Its water was still salt, and from the increased number of wild fowl and pelicans upon it, as well as from the general flatness of the country, I certainly thought we were rapidly approaching some inland sea. It was, however, uncertain how long we should be enabled to continue on the river. The animals were all of them extremely weak, and every day increased the probable difficulty of our return. There was not the least appearance of a break-up of the drought, the heavens were without a cloud, and the atmosphere was so clear that the outline of the moon could be distinctly seen, although she was far in her wane. BRINE SPRINGS IN THE RIVER. On the 6th, we journeyed again through a barren scrub, although on firmer ground, and passed numerous groups of huts. At about eight miles from our last encampment, we came upon the river, where its banks were of considerable height. In riding along them, Mr. Hume thought he observed a current running, and be called to inform me of the circumstance. On a closer examination, we discovered some springs in the very bed of the river, from which a considerable stream was gushing, and from the incrustation around them, we had no difficulty in guessing at their nature: in fact, they were brine springs, and I collected a quantity of salt from the brink of them. DISTRESS FOR WANT OF FRESH WATER. After such a discovery, we could not hope to keep our position. No doubt the current we had observed on first reaching the river, was caused by springs that had either escaped our notice or were under water. Here was at length a local cause for its saltness that destroyed at once the anticipation and hope of our being near its termination, and, consequently, the ardour with which we should have pressed on to decide so interesting a point. Our retreat would have been a measure of absolute necessity ere this, had we not found occasional supplies of fresh water, the last pond of which was now about eighteen miles behind us. OUR COURSE ARRESTED. Whether we should again find any, was a doubtful question, and I hesitated to run the risk. The animals were already, from bad food, and from the effects of the river water, so weak, that they could scarcely carry their loads, and I was aware, if any of the bullocks once fell, he would never rise again. Under such circumstances, I thought it better to halt the party at the edge of the scrub, though the feed was poor, and the water not drinkable. Our situation required most serious consideration. It was necessary that we should move either backward or forward in the morning. Yet we could not adopt either measure with satisfaction to ourselves, under such unfavorable circumstances. I determined to relieve my own mind by getting the animals into a place of safety, as soon as possible; and, as the only effectual way of doing this was to retire upon the nearest fresh water, I resolved at once to do so. The party turned back on the morning of the 6th; nor do I think the cattle would ever have reached their destination had we not found a few buckets of rain water in the cleft of a rock, to refresh them. Thus it will appear that under our most trying circumstances, we received aid from Providence, and that the bounty of Heaven was extended towards us, when we had least reason to expect it. Notwithstanding we had been thus forced to a partial retreat, both Mr. Hume and myself were unwilling to quit the pursuit of the river, in so unsatisfactory a manner. There was no difference in the appearance of the country to the westward of it; but a seeming interminable flat stretched away in that direction. A journey across it was not likely, therefore, to be attended with any favorable results, since it was improbable that any other leading feature was within our reach. I proposed, therefore, to take the most serviceable of the horses with me down the river, that, in the event of our finding fresh water, we might again push forward. Mr. Hume requesting to be permitted to accompany me, it was arranged that we should start on the 8th, thereby giving the animals a day's rest. We had not seen any natives since our parting with the chief horde; and as we were stationed at some little distance from the river, I hoped that they would not visit the camp during my absence. This was the only circumstance that gave me uneasiness, but the men had generally been behaving so well that I relied a great deal upon them. EXTRAORDINARY SOUND. About 3 p.m. on the 7th, Mr. Hume and I were occupied tracing the chart upon the ground. The day had been remarkably fine, not a cloud was there in the heavens, nor a breath of air to be felt. On a sudden we heard what seemed to be the report of a gun fired at the distance of between five and six miles. It was not the hollow sound of an earthly explosion, or the sharp cracking noise of falling timber, but in every way resembled a discharge of a heavy piece of ordnance. On this all were agreed, but no one was certain whence the sound proceeded. Both Mr. Hume and myself had been too attentive to our occupation to form a satisfactory opinion; but we both thought it came from the N.W. I sent one of the men immediately up a tree, but he could observe nothing unusual. The country around him appeared to be equally flat on all sides, and to be thickly wooded: whatever occasioned the report, it made a strong impression on all of us; and to this day, the singularity of such a sound, in such a situation, is a matter of mystery to me. FURTHER ATTEMPT TO EXPLORE THE RIVER. On the 8th, we commenced our journey down the river, accompanied by two men, and a pack-horse, carrying our provisions on one side and a bucket of water on the other. Keeping in general near the stream, but making occasional turns into the plains, we got to the brush from which the party had turned back, about 3 p.m. Passing through, we crossed a small plain, of better soil and vegetation than usual; but it soon gave place to the sandy loam of the interior; nor did we observe any material alteration, either in the country or the river, as we rode along. The flooded-gum trees on the banks of the latter, were of beautiful growth, but in the brushes dividing the plains, box and other eucalypti, with cypresses and many minor shrubs, prevailed. We slept on the river side, and calculated our distance from the camp at about twenty-six or twenty-eight miles. The horses would not drink the river water, so that we were obliged to give them a pint each from our own supply. On the following morning we continued our journey. The country was generally open to the eastward, and we had fine views of D'Urban's Group, distant from twenty to twenty-five miles. About noon, turning towards the river to rest, both ourselves and the horses, we passed through brush land for about a mile and a half. When we came upon its banks, we found them composed of a red loam with sandy superficies. We had, in the course of the day, crossed several creeks, but in none of them could we find water, although their channels were of great depth. The day had been extremely warm, and from shaking in the barrel our supply of water had diminished to a little more than a pint; it consequently became a matter of serious consideration, how far it would be prudent to proceed farther; for, however capable we were of bearing additional fatigue, it was evident our animals would soon fail, since they trembled exceedingly, and had the look of total exhaustion. We calculated that we were forty miles from the camp, in a S.W. direction, a fearful distance under our circumstances, since we could not hope to obtain relief for two days. Independently however, of the state of the animals, our spirits were damped by the nature of the country, and the change which had taken place on the soil, upon which it was impossible that water could rest; while the general appearance of the interior showed how much it had suffered from drought. On the other hand, although the waters of the river had become worse to the taste, the river itself had increased in size, and stretched away to the westward, with all the uniformity of a magnificent canal, and gave every promise of increasing importance; while the pelicans were in such numbers upon it as to be quite dazzling to the eye. Considering, however, that perseverance would only involve us in inextricable difficulties, and that it would also be useless to risk the horses, since we had gained a distance to which the bullocks could not have been brought, I intimated my intention of giving up the further pursuit of the river, though it was with extreme reluctance that I did so. CALLED IT THE "DARLING". As soon as we had bathed and finished our scanty meal, I took the bearings of D'Urban's Group, and found them to be S. 58 E. about thirty-three miles distant; and as we mounted our horses, I named the river the "Darling," as a lasting memorial of the respect I bear the governor. ABANDON THE ATTEMPT. I should be doing injustice to Mr. Hume and my men, if I did not express my conviction that they were extremely unwilling to yield to circumstances, and that, had I determined on continuing the journey, they would have followed me with cheerfulness, whatever the consequences might have been. CHAPTER III. Intercourse with the natives--Their appearance and condition--Remarks on the Salt or Darling River--Appearance of the marshes on our return-- Alarm for safety of the provision party--Return to Mount Harris--Miserable condition of the natives--Circumstances attending the slaughter of two Irish runaways--Bend our course towards the Castlereagh--Wallis's Ponds-- Find the famished natives feeding on gum--Channel of the Castlereagh-- Character of the country in its vicinity--Another tribe of natives-- Amicable intercourse with them--Morrisset's chain of Ponds--Again reach the Darling River ninety miles higher up than where we first struck upon it. We kept near the river as we journeyed homewards, and in striking across a plain, found an isolated rock of quartz and jasper, just showing itself partially above the surface of the ground. We were anxious to get to the small plain I have mentioned, if possible, for the sake of the animals, and pushed on rapidly for it. About 4 p.m. we had reached our sleeping place of the previous evening, and being overpowered by thirst, we stopped in hopes that by making our tea strong we might destroy, in some measure, the nauseous taste of the water. The horses were spancelled and a fire lit. Whilst we were sitting patiently for the boiling of the tins, Mr. Hume observed at a considerable distance above us, a large body of natives under some gum trees. They were not near enough for us to observe them distinctly, but it was evident that they were watching our motions. We did not take any notice of them for some time, but at last I thought it better to call out to them, and accordingly requested Mr. Hume to do so. In a moment the whole of them ran forward and dashed into the river, having been on the opposite side, with an uproar I had never witnessed on any former occasion. INTERCOURSE WITH NATIVES. Mr. Hume thought they intended an attack, and the horses had taken fright and galloped away. I determined, therefore, to fire at once upon them if they pressed up the bank on which we were posted. Mr. Hume went with me to the crest of it, and we rather angrily beckoned to the foremost of the natives to stop. They mistook our meaning, but laid all their spears in a heap as they came up. We then sat down on the bank and they immediately did the same; nor did they stir until we beckoned to them after the horses had been secured. As they conducted themselves so inoffensively, we gave them everything we had to spare. My gun seemed to excite their curiosity, as they had seen Mr. Hume shoot a cockatoo with it; they must consequently have been close to us for the greater part of the day, as the bird was killed in the morning. It was of a species new to me, being smaller than the common white cockatoo, and having a large scarlet-and-yellow instead of a pine-yellow top-knot. Having stayed about half an hour with them, we remounted our horses, and struck away from the river into the plains, while the natives went up its banks to join their hordes. Those whom we saw were about twenty-seven in number and the most of them were strangers. DISTRESS FROM THIRST. It was some time after sunset before we reached the little plain on which we had arranged to sleep, and when we dismounted we were in a truly pitiable state. I had been unable to refrain from drinking copiously at the river, and now became extremely sick. Mr. Hume had been scarcely more prudent than myself, but on him the water had a contrary effect, as well as upon Hopkinson. The tinker was the only man fit for duty, and it was well for us that such was the case, as the horses made frequent attempts to stray, and would have left us in a pretty plight had they succeeded. We reached the camp on the following day a little before sunset, nor was I more rejoiced to dismount from my wearied horse than to learn that everything in the camp had been regular during our absence and that the men had kept on the best terms with the natives who had paid them frequent visits. The bullocks had improved, but were still extremely weak, and as the horses we had employed on the last journey required a day or two's rest, it was arranged that we should not break up our camp until the 12th, beyond which period we could not stop, in consequence of the low state of our salt provisions, we having barely sufficient to last to Mount Harris, at the rate of two pounds per week. REMARKS ON THE NATIVES. The morning after we returned from our excursion, a large party of natives, about seventy in number, visited the camp. On this occasion, the women and children passed behind the tents, but did not venture to stop. Most of the men had spears, and were unusually inquisitive and forward. Several of them carried fire-sticks under the influence of the disease I have already noticed, whilst others were remarked to have violent cutaneous eruptions all over the body. We were pretty well on the alert; notwithstanding which, every minor article was seized with a quickness that would have done credit to a most finished juggler. One of the natives thus picked up my comb and toothbrush, but as he did not attempt to conceal them, they were fortunately recovered. After staying with us a short time the men followed the women. They appeared to be strangers who had come from a distance. CUSTOMS OF THE NATIVES. The natives of the Darling are a clean-limbed, well-conditioned race, generally speaking. They seemingly occupy permanent huts, but their tribe did not bear any proportion to the size or number of their habitations. It was evident their population had been thinned. The customs of these distant tribes, as far as we could judge, were similar to those of the mountain blacks, and they are essentially the same people, although their language differs. They lacerate their bodies, but do not extract the front teeth. We saw but few cloaks among them, since the opossum does not inhabit the interior. Those that were noticed, were made of the red kangaroo skin. In appearance, these men are stouter in the bust than at the lower extremities; they have broad noses, sunken eyes, overhanging eyebrows, and thick lips. The men are much better looking than the women. Both go perfectly naked, if I except the former, who wear nets over the loins and across the forehead, and bones through the cartilages of the nose. Their chief food is fish, of which they have great supplies in the river; still they have their seasons for hunting their emus and kangaroos. The nets they use for this purpose, as well as for fishing, are of great length, and are made upon large frames. These people do not appear to have warlike habits nor do they take any pride in their arms, which differ little from those used by the inland tribes, and are assimilated to them as far as the materials will allow. One powerful man, however, had a regular trident, for which Mr. Hume offered many things without success. He plainly intimated to us that he had a use for it, but whether against an enemy or to secure prey, we could not understand. I was most anxious to have ascertained if any religious ceremonies obtained among them, but the difficulty of making them comprehend our meaning was insurmountable; and to the same cause may be attributed the circumstance of my being unable to collect any satisfactory vocabulary of their language. They evinced a strange perversity, or obstinacy rather, in repeating words, although it was evident that they knew they were meant as questions. The pole we observed in the creek, on the evening previously to our making the Darling, was not the only one that fell under our notice; our impression therefore, that they were fixed by the natives to propitiate some deity, was confirmed. It would appear that the white pigment was an indication of mourning. Whether these people have an idea of a superintending Providence I doubt, but they evidently dread evil agency. On the whole I should say they are a people, at present, at the very bottom of the scale of humanity. REMARKS ON THE DARLING RIVER. We struck the Darling River in lat. 29 degrees 37 minutes S. and in E. long. 145 degrees 33 minutes, and traced it down for about sixty-six miles in a direct line to the S.W. If I might hazard an opinion from appearance, to whatever part of the interior it leads, its source must be far to the N.E. or N. The capacity of its channel, and the terrific floods that must sometimes rage in it, would argue that it is influenced by tropical rains, which alone would cause such floods. It is likely that it seldom arrives at so reduced a state as that in which we found it, and that, generally speaking, it has a sufficient depth of water for the purposes of inland navigation: in such case its future importance cannot be questioned, since it most probably receives the chief streams falling westerly from the coast ranges. But, with every anticipation of the benefit that may at some time or other be derived from this remarkable and central stream, it is incumbent on me to state that the country, through which it flows, holds out but little prospect of advantage. Certainly the portion we know of it, is far from encouraging. The extent of alluvial soil, between the inner and outer banks of the river, is extremely limited, and, instead of being covered with sward, is in most places over-run by the polygonum. Beyond this the plains of the interior stretch away, whose character and soil must change, ere they can be available to any good purpose. But there is a singular want of vegetable decay in the interior of New Holland, and that powerfully argues its recent origin. REMARKS ON THE COUNTRY. There is no life upon its surface, if I may so express myself; but the stillness of death reigns in its brushes, and over its plains. It cannot, however, be doubted that we visited the interior during a most unfavorable season. Probably in ordinary ones it wears a different appearance, but its deserts are of great extent, and its productions are of little value. Agreeably to our arrangements, we broke up our camp at an early hour on the morning of the 12th, and proceeded up the river to the junction of New Year's Creek. We then struck away in an easterly direction from it, detaching a man to trace the creek up, lest we should pass any water; and we should certainly have been without it had we not taken this precaution. On the following day, we again passed to the eastward, through an open country, having picturesque views of Oxley's Table Land. We crossed our track about noon, and struck on the creek at about five miles beyond it, and we were fortunate enough to procure both water and grass. The timber upon the plains, between us and the Darling, we found to be a rough gum, but box prevailed in the neighbourhood of the creek at this part of it. On the 14th, we changed our direction more to the southward, but made a short journey, in consequence of being obliged to make some slight repairs on the boat carriage. REGAIN OUR OLD ROUTE. On the 15th, we kept an E.S.E. course, and, crossing the creek at an early hour, got upon our old track, which we kept. We had the lateral ridge of the Pink Hills upon our right, and travelled through a good deal of brush. Four or five natives joined us, and two followed us to the end of our day's journey. In the course of the evening, they endeavoured to pilfer whatever was in their reach, but were detected putting a tin into a bush, and soon took to their heels. This was the first instance we had of open theft among the natives of the interior. We passed Mosquito Brush on the 18th, but found the ponds quite dry, we were, therefore, under the necessity of pushing on, to shorten the next day's journey, as we could not expect to get water nearer than the marshes. At noon, on the 19th, we entered the plain, and once more saw them spreading in dreariness before us. While the party was crossing to the first channel, I rode to the left, in order to examine the appearance of the country in the direction of the wood, and as far as I skirted the reeds had my impressions confirmed as to their partial extension. I was obliged, however, to join the men without completing the circuit of the marshes. They had found the first channel dry, and had passed on to the other, in which, fortunately, a small quantity of water still remained. It was, however, so shallow as to expose the backs of the fish in it, and a number of crows had congregated, and were pecking at them. Wishing to satisfy my mind as to the distance to which the river extended to the northward, Mr. Hume rode with me on the following day, to examine the country in that direction, leaving the men stationary. We found that the reeds gradually decreased in body, until, at length, they ceased, or gave place to bulrushes. There were general appearances of inundation, and of the subsidence of waters, but none that led us to suppose that any channel existed beyond the flooded lands. ALARM FOR THE SAFETY OF THE PROVISION PARTY. On our return to the camp, we observed dense masses of smoke rising at the head of the marshes, and immediately under Mount Foster. This excited our alarm for the safety of the party we hoped to find at Mount Harris, and obliged us to make forced marches, to relieve it if threatened by the natives. On the 22nd, we crossed the plains of the Macquarie, and surprised a numerous tribe on the banks of the river; and the difficulty we found in getting any of them to approach us, their evident timidity, and the circumstance of one of them having on a jacket, tended to increase our apprehensions. When two or three came to us, they intimated that white men either had been or were under Mount Harris, but we were left in uncertainty and passed a most anxious night. The body of reeds was still on fire; and the light embers were carried to an amazing distance by the wind, falling like a black-shower around us. As we knew that the natives never made such extensive conflagration, unless they had some mischievous object in view, our apprehension for the safety of Riley, with his supplies, was increased. At the earliest dawn, we pushed for the hill. In passing that part of the meadows under Mount Foster, we observed that the grass had also been consumed, and we scarcely recognised the ground from its altered appearance. As we approached Mount Harris, we saw recent traces of cattle, but none were visible on the plains. Under the hill, however, we could distinctly see that a hut of some kind had been erected, and it is impossible for me to describe the relief we felt when a soldier came forward to reconnoitre us. I could no longer doubt the safety of the party, and this was confirmed by the rest of the men turning out to welcome us. It appeared that our suspicions with regard to the natives had not been without foundation, since they attempted to surprise the camp, and it was supposed the firing of the marshes was done with a view to collect the distant tribes, to make a second attack; so that our arrival was most opportune. The party I found awaiting our arrival at Mount Harris consisted of one soldier, Riley, who had the charge of the supplies, and a drayman. They had found the paper I had fixed against the tree, and also the letters I had hid, and had forwarded them to Sydney, by another soldier and a prisoner; which had weakened their party a good deal. Riley informed me, that he had been between a month and three weeks at the station, and that knowing our provisions must have run short he had expected us much earlier than we had made our appearance. My dispatches stated, that additional supplies had been forwarded for my use, together with horses and bullocks, in the event of my requiring them. On examination, the former were found to be in excellent order; and, as it would take some time to carry any changes I might contemplate, or find it necessary to make, into effect, I determined to give the men who had been with me a week's rest. ENCAMP AT MOUNT HARRIS. The camp was made snug; and as the weather had become much cooler I thought it a good opportunity to slaughter one of the bullocks, in order to guard against any bad effects of our having been living for some weeks exclusively on salt provisions. I was also induced to this measure, from a wish to preserve my supplies as much as possible. These matters having been arranged, I had a temporary awning erected near the river, and was for three or four days busily employed writing an account of our journey for the Governor's information. Having closed my despatches, and answered the numerous friendly letters I had received, my attention was next turned to the changes that had taken place at Mount Harris during our absence. The Macquarie, I found, had wholly ceased to flow, and now consisted of a chain of ponds. Such of the minor vegetation as had escaped the fires of the natives, had perished under the extreme heat of the season. The acacia pendula stood leafless upon the plains, and the polygonum junceum appeared to be the only plant that had withstood the effects of the drought. Yet, notwithstanding this general depression of the vegetable kingdom, the animals that had been brought from Wellington Valley were in the best condition, and were, indeed, too fat for effective labour; it might, therefore, be reasonably presumed, that herbage affording such nourishment in so unfavourable a season, would be of the richest quality, if fresh and vigorous under the influence of seasonable, and not excessive, rains. FIRING OF THE GREAT MARSHES. The appearance of the country was, however, truly melancholy; there was not a flower in bloom, nor a green object to be seen. Whether our arrival had increased their alarm, is uncertain, but the natives continued to fire the great marshes, and as the element raged amongst them, large bodies of smoke rose over the horizon like storm clouds, and had the effect of giving additional dreariness to the scene. I am inclined to think that they made these conflagrations to procure food, by seizing whatsoever might issue from the flames, as snakes, birds, or other animals; for they had taken every fish in the river, and the low state of its waters had enabled them to procure an abundance of muscles from its bed, which they had consumed with their characteristic improvidence. They were, consequently, in a starving condition, and so pitiable were their indications of it, that I was induced to feed such of them as visited the camp, notwithstanding their late misconduct; being likewise anxious to bring about a good understanding, as the best means of ensuring the safety of the smaller party when we should separate, of which I had reason to be doubtful. These people had killed two white men not long before my arrival among them, and as the circumstances attending the slaughter are singular, I shall relate them. SLAUGHTER OF TWO IRISH RUNAWAYS. The parties were two Irish runaways, who thought they could make their way to Timor. They escaped from Wellington Valley with a fortnight's provision each, and a couple of dogs, and proceeded down the Macquarie. About the cataract, they fell in with the Mount Harris tribe, and remained with them for some days, when they determined on pursuing their journey. The blacks, however, wanted to get possession of their dogs, and a resistance on the part of the Europeans brought on a quarrel. It appears, that before the blacks proceeded to extremities, they furnished the Irishmen, who were unarmed, with weapons, and then told them to defend themselves, but whether against equal or inferior numbers, I am uninformed. One of them soon fell, which the other observing, he took his knife out, and cut the throats of both the dogs before the blacks had time to put him to death. He was, however, sacrificed; and both the men were eaten by the tribe generally. I questioned several on the subject, but they preserved the most sullen silence, neither acknowledging nor denying the fact. ARBUTHNOT'S RANGE. Mr. Hume had been one day on Mount Harris, and while there, had laid his compass on a large rock, near to which Mr. Oxley's boat had been burnt. To his surprise, he found the needle affected; and his bearings were all wrong. I subsequently went up to ascertain the extent of the error produced, and found it precisely the same as Mr. Hume noticed. When I placed the compass on the rock, Mount Foster bore from me N. by W., the true bearing of the one hill from the other being N.N.W. My placing my notebook under the compass did not alter the effect, nor did the card move until I raised the instrument a couple of feet above the stone, when it first became violently agitated, and then settled correctly; and my bearings of the highest parts of Arbuthnot's Range, and of its centre, were as follows: Mount Exmouth to the N ...... N. 86 E. Centre....................... N. 85 E. Vernon's Peak................ N. 89 E. Distance 70 miles. Having finished my reports and letters, it became necessary to consider the best point on which to move, and to fix a day for our departure from Mount Harris. It struck me that having found so important a feature as the Darling River, the Governor would approve my endeavouring to regain it more to the southward, in order to trace it down. I, therefore, detached Mr. Hume to survey the country in that direction, and to ascertain if a descent upon the Bogen district would be practicable, through which I had been informed a considerable river forced itself. The report he made on his return was such as to deter me from that attempt, but he stated that the country for 30 miles from the Macquarie was well watered, and superior to any he had passed over during the journey; beyond that distance, it took up the character of the remote interior, and alternated with plains and brush, the soil being too sandy to retain water on its surface. He saw some hills from the extremity of his journey, bearing by compass W.S.W. We consequently determined to make for the Castlereagh, agreeably to our instructions. Preparations were made for breaking up the camp, all the various arrangements in the change of animals were completed, the boat carriage was exchanged for a dray, and I took Boyle in the place of Norman, whose timidity in the bush rendered him unfit for service. CIRCUIT OF THE GREAT MARSHES. There is a small hill on the opposite side of the river, and immediately facing Mount Harris, and to the S.E. of it there is a small lagoon, the head of a creek, by means of which its superfluous waters are carried off. This creek runs parallel to the river for about ten miles, and enters the marshes at the S.E. angle. This I ascertained one day in riding to carry on my survey of the southern extremity of the marshes, and to join my line of route by making the circuit of that part of them. I found that the river was turned to its northerly course by a rising ground of forest land, which checks its further progress westerly. I proceeded round the S.W. angle, and then, taking a northerly course, got down to the bottom of the first great marsh, thus completing the circuit of them. I did not return to the camp until after 10 p.m., having crossed the river at day-light, nor did we procure any water from the time we left the stream to the moment of our recrossing it. WALLIS'S PONDS. Having completed our various arrangements, and closed our letters, we struck our tents on the morning of the 7th March; we remained, however, to witness the departure of Riley's party for Wellington Valley, and then left the Macquarie on an E.N.E. course for Wallis's Ponds, and made them at about 14 miles. They undoubtedly empty themselves into the marshes, and are a continuation of that chain of ponds on which I left the party in Mr. Hume's charge. About a mile from Mount Harris, we passed a small dry creek, that evidently lays the country under water in the wet seasons. There was a blue-gum flat to the eastward of it, which we crossed, and then entered a brush of acacia pendula and box. The soil upon the plain was an alluvial deposit; that in the brushes was sandy. From the extremity of the plain, Mount Harris bore, by compass, S.W. by W.; Mount Foster due west. The scrub through which we were penetrating, at length became so dense, that we found it impossible to travel in a direct line through it, and frequent ridges of cypresses growing closely together, turned us repeatedly from our course. The country at length became clearer, and we travelled over open forest of box, casuarina, and cypresses, on a sandy soil; the first predominating. For about two miles before we made the creek, the country was not heavily timbered, the acacia pendula succeeding the larger trees. The ground had a good covering of grass upon it, and there were few of the salsolaceous plants, so abundant on the western plains, to be found. The rough-gum abounded near the creek, with a small tree bearing a hard round nut, and we had the luxury of plenty of water. We remained stationary on the 8th, in hopes that Riley would have met the soldier who had been sent back to Wellington Valley, and that he would have forwarded any letters to us, of which he might have been the bearer. The day, however, passed over without realizing our expectations; and we started once more for the interior, and cut ourselves off from all communication with society. MORRISSET'S PONDS. We made for Morrisset's chain of ponds, and travelled over rich and extensive plains, divided by plantations of cypress, box, and casuarina, in the early and latter period of the day. About noon we entered a dense forest of cypresses, which continued for three miles, when the cypresses became mixed with casuarina, box, and mountain-gum, a tree we had not remarked before in so low a situation. We struck upon the creek after a journey of about 15 miles. It had a sandy bed, and was extremely tortuous in its course, nor was it until after a considerable search, that we at length succeeded in finding water, at which a party of natives were encamped. The moment they saw us, they fled, and left all their utensils, &c. behind them. Among other things, we found a number of bark troughs, filled with the gum of the mimosa, and vast quantities of gum made into cakes upon the ground. From this it would appear these unfortunate creatures were reduced to the last extremity, and, being unable to procure any other nourishment, had been obliged to collect this mucilaginous food. The plains we traversed, were of uniform equality of surface. Water evidently lodges and continues on them long after a fall of rain, and in wet seasons they must, I should imagine, be full of quagmires, and almost impassable. On the 10th, we passed through a country that differed in no material point from that already described. We stopped at 10 a.m. under some brush, in the centre of a large plain, from which Arbuthnot's range bore S. 84 E. distant from 50 to 55 miles, and afterwards traversed or rather crossed, those extensive tracts described by Mr. Evans as being under water and covered with reeds, in 1817. They now bore a very different appearance, being firm and dry. The soil was in general good, and covered with forest grass and a species of oxalia. We did not observe any reeds, or the signs of inundation, but, as is invariably the case with plains in the interior, they were of too even surface, as I have so lately remarked, to admit of the waters running quickly off them; and no doubt, when they became saturated, many quagmires are formed, that would very much impede the movements of an expedition. REACH THE CASTLEREAGH RIVER. We reached the Castlereagh about 4 p.m., and although its channel could not have been less than 130 yards in breadth, there was apparently not a drop of water in it. Its bed consisted of pure sand and reeds; amid the latter, we found a small pond of 15 yards circumference, after a long search. There is a considerable dip in the country towards the river, at about two miles from it; and the intervening brush was full of kangaroo, which, I fancy, had congregated to a spot where there was abundance of food for them. The soil covering the space was of the richest quality, and the timber upon it consisted of box, mountain gum, and the angophora lanceolata, a tree that is never found except on rich ground. WANT OF WATER; CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY. It appeared that our troubles were to recommence, and that in order to continue on the Castlereagh, it would be necessary for Mr. Hume and myself to undertake those fatiguing journeys in search of water that had so exhausted us already: and after all, it was doubtful how soon we might be forced back. I had certainly expected that, on our gaining the banks of the river, we should have had a constant supply of water, but the circumstance of the Castlereagh having not only ceased to flow, but being absolutely dry, while it afforded the best and clearest proof of the severity and continuance of the drought in the interior, at the same time damped the spirits and ardour of the men. We kept the left bank of the river as we proceeded down it, and passed two or three larger ponds about a mile below where we had slept, but there they ceased. The bed of the river became one of pure sand, nor did there appear to be any chance of our finding any water in it. I stopped the party at about eight miles, and desired the men to get their dinners, to give Mr. Hume and myself time to search for a supply upon the plains. Disappointed to the left, we crossed the channel of the Castlereagh, and struck over a small plain upon the right bank, and at the extremity of it, came upon a swamp, from which we immediately returned for the cattle, and got them unloaded by seven o'clock. As there was sufficient pasture around us, I proposed to Mr. Hume on the following day, to leave the party stationary, and to ride down the river to see how far its present appearances continued. Like the generality of rivers of the interior, it had, where we struck upon it, outer banks to confine its waters during floods, and to prevent them from spreading generally over the country; the space between the two banks being of the richest soil, and the timber chiefly of the angophora kind. Flooded-gum overhung the inner banks of the river, or grew upon the many islands, with casuarina. It became evident, however, that the outer banks declined in height as we proceeded down the river, nor was it long before they ceased altogether. As we rode along, we found that the inner ones were fast decreasing in height also. Riding under a hanging wood of the angophora, which had ceased for a time, we were induced to break off to our right, to examine some large flooded-gum trees about a couple of miles to the N.W. of us. On arriving near them, we were astonished to find that they concealed a serpentine lagoon that had a belt of reeds round it. Keeping this lagoon upon our right, we at length came to the head of it, past which the river sweeps. Crossing the channel of the river, we continued to ride in an easterly direction to examine the country. In doing this, we struck on a second branch of the Castlereagh, leading W. by N. into a plain, which it of course inundates at times, and running up it, we found its bed at the point of separation, to be considerably higher than that of the main channel, which still continued of pure sand--and was stamped all over with the prints of the feet of natives, kangaroos, emus, and wild dogs, We then turned again to the head of the lagoon, and took the following bearings of Arbuthnot's range: Mount Exmouth .......... E. 90 S. Centre Range ........... E. 35 E. Vernon's Peak .......... E. 20 S. From the head of the lagoon, the river appeared to enter a reedy hollow, shaded by a long line of flooded gum trees, and on proceeding to it, we found the banks ceased here altogether; and that a very considerable plain extended both to the right and the left, which cannot fail of being frequently laid under water. LAGOONS AND CREEKS OF THE CASTLEREAGH. On the following morning we moved the party to the lagoon, and, passing its head, encamped to the north of it; after which we again rode down the river in search of water. It continued to hold a straight and northerly course for about five miles, having a plain on either side. The reeds that had previously covered the channel then suddenly ceased, and the channel, contracting in breadth, gained in depth: it became extremely serpentine, and at length lost all the character and appearance of a river. It had many back channels, as large as the main one, serving to overflow the neighbouring country. We succeeded in finding a small pond of water in one of the former, hardly large enough to supply our necessities, but as it enabled us to push so much further on, we turned towards the lagoon, making a circuitous journey to the right, across a large plain, bounded to the north by low acacia brush and box. We struck upon a creek at the further extremity of the plain, in which there was a tolerably sized pond. It appeared from the traces of men, that some natives had been there the day before; but we did not see any of them. The water was extremely muddy and unfit for use. The lagoon at which we had encamped, was of less importance than we had imagined. JOURNEY DOWN THE RIVER. Whilst Mr. Hume led the party down the river, I rode up its northward bank, to examine it more closely. I found it to be a serpentine sheet of about three miles in length, gradually decreasing in depth until it separated into two small creeks. In following one of them up, I observed that they re-united at the distance of about two miles, and that the lagoon was filled from the eastward, and not by the river as I had at first supposed. The waters at the head of the lagoon were putrid, nor was there a fish in, or a wild fowl upon it. The only bird we saw was a beautiful eagle, of the osprey kind, with plumage like a sea gull, which had a nest in the tree over the tents. In turning to overtake the party I rode through a great deal of acacia scrub, and on arriving at the place at which I expected to have overtaken them, I found they had pushed on. The Castlereagh, as I rode down it, diminished in size considerably, and became quite choked up with rushes and brambles. Rough-gum again made its appearance, with swamp-oak and a miserable acacia scrub outside. The country on both sides of the river seemed to be an interminable flat, and the soil of an inferior description. WRETCHED APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. I came up with with Mr. Hume about 1 o'clock and we again pushed forward at 3, and halted for the night without water, the want of which the cattle did not feel. The river held a general westerly course, and the country in its neighbourhood became extremely depressed and low. On the following day we moved forward a distance of not more than nine miles, through a country on which, at first, the acacia pendula alone was growing on a light alluvial soil. The river had many back drains, by means of which, in wet seasons, it inundates the adjacent plains. It was evident, however, that they had not been flooded for many years; and, notwithstanding that the country was low, the line of inundation did not appear to be very extensive, nor were there any reeds growing beyond the immediate banks of the river. Swamp-oak and rough-gum again prevailed near the stream at our halting place, and the improvement that had taken place, both in the country and in the Castlereagh, had induced us to make so short a journey; for not only was there abundance of the grass for the animals, but large ponds of water in the river. Some natives had only just preceded us down it: we came upon their fires that were still smoking; and upon them were the remains of some fish they had taken, near which they had left a cumbrous spear. The circumstances cheered us with hopes that an improvement would take place in the country, and that some new feature would soon open upon us. In the course of the following day, however, every favorable change, both in the river and in the country, disappeared. The latter continued extremely depressed, and in general open, or lightly covered with acacia pendula; the former dwindled into a mere ditch, choked up with brambles and reeds, and having only here and there a stagnant pool of water. We travelled on a N.W. 1/2 W. course for about ten miles, and again stopped for the night without water. In the course of the afternoon, we traversed several flats, on which the rough-gum alone was growing. These flats were evidently subject to flood; and contained an alluvial soil. They became more frequent as we travelled down the river, and the work was so heavy for the animals, that I was obliged to keep wide of them, in doing which we struck upon a creek of large size, coming from the N.E. and, having crossed, we traversed its right bank to its junction with the Castlereagh, and stopped close to it at a pond of water, though the feed for the animals was bad. The country to the left of the river, though somewhat high, was the same, in essential points, as that to the right. The Castlereagh seemed to have increased in size below the creek, but still it had no resemblance to a river. We had not proceeded very far down its banks, on the 18th, when we crossed a broad footpath leading to it from the interior. I turned my horse to the left, and struck upon a long sheet of water, from which I startled a number of pelicans. It was evident that the natives had recently been in the neighbourhood, but we thought it probable they might have been a hunting party, who had returned again to the plains. The whole track we passed over during the day was miserably poor and bare of vegetation, nor did the appearance of the country to the N.E. indicate any improvement. We lost the traces of the natives immediately after crossing their path or beat, and again found the bed of the river dry, after we had passed the sheet of water to which it led. The soil was so rotten and yielding, that the team knocked up early; indeed, it was a matter of surprise to me that they should not have failed before. The river made somewhat to the westward with little promise of improvement. The wretched appearance of the country as we penetrated into it, damped our spirits; we pressed on, however, with difficulty, over ground that was totally destitute of vegetation. Instead of lofty timber and a living stream, we wandered along the banks of an insignificant watercourse, and under trees of stunted size and scanty foliage. We stopped on the 20th at the angle of a creek, in which there was some dry grass, in consequence of the animals being almost in a starving state, but even here they had but little to eat. A violent thunder-storm passed over us in the afternoon, but it made no change in the temperature of the air. The weather, although it had been hot and sultry, had fallen far short of the intense heat we experienced in crossing the marshes of the Macquarie, when it was such as to melt the sugar in the canisters, and to destroy all our dogs; and our nights were now become agreeably cool. A PARTY OF NATIVES. We still, however, continued to travel over a dead level, nor was a height or break visible from the loftiest trees we ascended. A little before we stopped at the creek, we surprised a party of natives; old men, women, and children. They were preparing dinners of fish in much larger quantities than they could have devoured--probably for a part of the tribe that were absent; but the moment they saw us they fled, and left every thing at our mercy. On examining the fish, we found them totally different from any in the Macquarie, and took two of the most perfect to preserve. In the afternoon one of the men came to inform me that the tribe was coming down upon us. Mr. Hume and I, therefore, went to meet them. They were at this time about 150 yards from the tent, but seeing us advance, they stopped, and forming two deep, they marched to and fro, to a war song I suppose, crouching with their spears. We had not, however, any difficulty in communicating with them, and I shall detail the manner in which this was brought about, in hopes that it may help to guide others. When the natives saw us advance, they stopped, and we did the same. Mr. Hume then walked to a tree, and broke off a short branch. It is singular that this should, even with these rude people, be a token of peace. As soon as they saw the branch, the natives laid aside their spears, and two of them advanced about twenty paces in front of the rest, who sat down. Mr. Hume then went forward and sat down, when the two natives again advanced and seated themselves close to him. Now it is evident that a little insight into the customs of every people is necessary to insure a kindly communication; this, joined with patience and kindness, will seldom fail with the natives of the interior. It is not to avoid alarming their natural timidity that a gradual approach is so necessary. They preserve the same ceremony among themselves. These men, who were eighteen in number, came with us to the tents, and received such presents as we had for them. They conducted themselves very quietly, and, after a short time, left us with every token of friendship. LARGE CREEK. On the 21st we proceeded down the river on a N.N.W. course, and at about five miles struck upon a very large creek, apparently coming from the E.N.E. Although the Castlereagh had increased in size, this creek was infinitely larger; it was, however, perfectly dry. Lofty flooded-gum trees were upon its banks, and it appeared so much superior to the river that I was induced to halt the party at the junction, in order to examine it more closely. Mr. Hume, therefore, rode with me up the right bank. We had not proceeded very far, when some natives called out to us from the opposite scrub. Thinking that they belonged to the tribe we had left behind us, we pointed to the junction, and motioned them to go there, but one of the party continued to follow and call to us for some time. On our return to the men, we found that the natives had joined them, and they now gave us to understand that we were going away from water. This had indeed been apparent to us. The creek was perfectly dry, as far as we traced it up; and seemed to have been totally deserted by the natives. We were about to proceed on our journey, when from twenty to thirty natives approached us from down the river. We sent two of those who had been with us to them, and the whole accompanied us for some miles, talking incessantly to the men, but keeping at a very respectful distance from the animals. We at length got opposite to their camp, near which there was a very fine pool of water, and they were earnest in persuading us to stop at it. We were, however, too anxious to get forward to comply; under the improved appearance of the river since it had received the creeks from the eastward, little anticipating what was before us. NATIVE ARMOURY. The natives did not follow us beyond their own encampment. Within sight of it, we came upon their armoury, if I may so term it. Numerous spears were reared against the trees, and heaps of boomerangs were lying on the ground. The spears were very heavy, and half barbed; and it is singular that three of them were marked with a broad arrow. We saw the natives watching us, fearful, I imagine, that we should help ourselves; but I would not permit any of their weapons to be touched. EXAMINATION OF CREEKS NEAR THE CASTLEREAGH. Pursuing our journey, we reached another creek, at about five miles, similar to the last in appearance and size, and we crossed it repeatedly during the afternoon. We had been induced to keep along a native path in the hope that it would have led us to the river by a short cut; but it eventually led us to this creek, and away from the Castlereagh; for, notwithstanding that we subsequently changed our course to the S.W., we failed, as we supposed, again to strike upon the latter, and were obliged to stop for the night on the banks of what appeared to be a third large dry creek, which we intersected nearly at right angles. We travelled through a good deal of brush during the day, nor did the country change from the miserable and barren character it had assumed for the last thirty or forty miles. The Castlereagh had so frequently changed, that both Mr. Hume and myself were puzzled as to the identity of the creek upon which we had halted. We searched its bed in vain for water, although it was most capacious. Under an impression that the river was still to the south, and that we were at a point to which many watercourses from the high lands tended, I crossed the creek early in the morning, and held a S.W. course, over an open forest country. At about eight miles, we came upon a large space over-run by the polygonum junceum, a certain indication of flooded ground, and of our consequent proximity to some stream. Accordingly, after pushing through it, we struck upon a small creek with abundance of water in it. Whether this creek was the Castlereagh, which it resembled much more than the one we had left in the morning, was doubtful; but it was a great source of comfort to us to have so unexpected a supply of water as that which was now at our disposal. Whatever channel this was, whether a river or a creek, our tracing it down would lead us in the direction we wished to go, and probably to some junction. The neighbourhood of the creek was well clothed with vegetation, and the cattle found good feed; but the only trees near it were rough-gum and casuarinae; the flooded-gum had again disappeared. The soil of the forest land over which we journeyed was a light sandy loam; and its timber consisted chiefly of eucalypti, acacia pendula, and the angophora. Some natives visited us in the afternoon, and among them, both Mr. Hume and I recognised one of those we had seen on the Darling. He also knew us again, but we could not make out from him how far we were from that river. They stayed with us till sunset, and then went down the creek, leaving their spears against a tree, for which they said they would return. On the 23rd we took up a W.N.W. course, and when we again touched on the creek it was dry. This was at a distance of about five miles from where we had slept. As the animals had not recovered from their late privations, I deemed it better to halt the party and to examine the creek for a few miles below us, that in case it should prove destitute of water, we might return to that we had left. Mr. Hume accordingly rode down it for about three miles, without success; and on his rejoining the men, we returned with them to our last camp, or to within a short distance of it. Wishing to examine the creek above our position, I requested Mr. Hume to take two men with him, and to trace it down in search of water, while I should proceed in the opposite direction. I went from the camp at an early hour, and as I wandered along the creek, I passed a regular chain of ponds. The country on both sides of the creek was evidently subject to flood, but more extensively to the south than to the north. From the creek, I struck away to my left, and after penetrating through a belt of swamp-oak and minor shrubs, got on a small plain, which I crossed N.E. and, to my annoyance, found it covered with rhagodia and salsolae. As I had not started with the intention of sleeping, I turned to the S.W. a little before sunset, and reached the tents between ten and eleven. I found Mr. Hume awaiting me. He informed me that at about nine miles from where we had turned back with the party, he had struck upon a junction; and that as the junction was much larger than the channel he had been tracing, he thought it better to follow it up for a few miles. He found that it narrowed in width, and that its banks became steep, with a fine avenue of flooded-gum trees overhanging them. At four miles, he came upon another junction, and at four miles more, found himself opposite to the ground on which we had slept on the previous Saturday. From this point he retraced the channel, but not finding any water for three miles below the lower junction, he returned to the camp, with a view of prosecuting a longer journey on the morrow. Mr. Hume had become impressed with an opinion, that the junction up which we had slept was no other than the Castlereagh itself; and that our position was on a creek, probably Morrisset's chain of ponds, flowing into it. As the cattle wanted a few days' rest, Mr. Hume and I determined to ride, unattended, along our track to our camp of the 21st, and then to follow the channel upwards, until we should arrive at the station of the natives, or until we should have ridden to such a distance as would set our conjectures at rest. In the morning, however, instead of running upon our old track, we followed that of Mr. Hume to the junction, giving up our first intention, with a view to ascertain if there existed any water which we could, by an effort, gain, below where Mr. Hume had been. The channel was very broad, with a considerable fall in its bed, and, in appearance, more resembled the slope of a lawn than the bed of a river. It had two gum-trees in the centre of its channel, in one of which the floods had left the trunk of a large tree. We could discover where it narrowed and its banks rose, but, as we intended to make a closer examination before we left the neighbourhood, we continued our journey down the principal channel. The ground exhibited an abundance of pasture in its immediate neighbourhood, but the distant country was miserably poor and bare. At about three miles, we came upon the fresh traces of some natives, which led us to the channel again, from which we had wandered unintentionally. In it we found there had been water very lately, and it appeared that the natives had dug holes at the bottom to insure a longer supply. These were now exhausted, but still retained the appearance of moisture. At a mile and a half beyond these, we were led to some similar holes, by observing a number of birds flying about them. The water was too muddy for us to drink, but the horses emptied them successively. We now kept sufficiently near the channel to insure our seeing any pool that might still remain in it, but rode for about seven miles before we again saw water, and even here, although it was a spring, we were obliged to dig holes, and await their filling, before we could get sufficient for our use. Having dined, we again pursued our journey, and almost immediately came upon a long narrow ditch, full of water, and lined by bulrushes. The creek or river had for some time kept the centre of a deep alluvial valley, in which there was plenty of food for the cattle, and which, at this place, was apparently broader than anywhere else. The situation being favourable, we returned to the camp, and reached it late. DEPRESSION OF THE MEN. I do not know whether I was wrong in my conjecture, but I fancied, about this time, that the men generally were desponding. Whether it was that the constant fatigue entailed on myself and Mr. Hume, and that our constant absence, or the consequent exhaustion it produced, had any effect on their minds, or that they feared the result of our perseverance, is difficult to say; but certainly, they all had a depression of spirits, and looked, I thought, altered in appearance; nor did they evince any satisfaction at our success--at least, not the satisfaction they would have shown at an earlier period of our journey. Before moving forward, it remained for us to ascertain if the channel from the junction was the Castlereagh, or only a creek. The intersection of so many channels in this neighbourhood, most of them so much alike, made it essentially necessary that we should satisfy ourselves on this point. Mr. Hume, therefore, accompanied me, as had at first been intended the morning of our return to the place at which we had slept. We took fresh horses, but dispensed with any other attendants, and indeed went wholly unarmed. CAMP OF NATIVES. After following our old track to its termination, we kept up the right bank of the channel, and at length arrived at the camp of the natives; thus satisfying ourselves that we had been journeying on the Castlereagh, and that we were still following it down. By this ride we ascertained that there was a distance of five-and-forty miles in its bed without a drop of water. Few of the natives were in the camp. The women avoided us, but not as if they were under any apprehension. Crossing at the head of the pool, we again got on our old track, but seeing two or three men coming towards us we alighted, and, tying our horses to a tree, went to meet them. One poor fellow had two ducks in his hand, which he had just taken off the fire; these he offered to us, and on our declining to accept of them, he called to a boy, who soon appeared with a large trough of honey, of which we partook. One of the men had an ulcer in the arm, and asked me what he should do to heal it; indeed, I believe Fraser had promised him some ointment, but not having any with me, I signified to him that he should wash it often, and stooping down, made as if I was taking up water in my hand. The poor fellow mistook me, and, also stooping down, took up a handful of dust which he threw over the sore. This gave me the trouble of explaining matters again, and by pointing to the water, I believe I at length made him understand me. DRY CHANNEL OF THE RIVER. These good natured people asked us where we had slept the day we passed, and when informed of the direction, shook their heads, motioning at the same time, that we must have been without water. We informed them where the party was, and asked them to come and see us, but I fancy the distance was too great, or else we were in the beat of another tribe. On mentioning these facts to the men, they said that two of the natives had followed us for some miles, calling out loudly to us, but Mr. Hume and I both being in front, we did not hear them, although, evidently, they wished to save us distress. Since the result of our excursion proved that the channel, about which I had been so doubtful, was the Castlereagh, it necessarily followed, that the creek at which we were encamped was one of those (most probably Morrisset's chain of ponds,) which we had already crossed nearer its source, and which Mr. Hume must have struck upon when endeavouring to gain the Castlereagh from the marshes of the Macquarie. A perusal of these sheets will ere this have impressed on the reader's mind, the peculiarity of that fortune which led us from the Castlereagh to the creek, at which alone our wants could have been supplied. Had we wandered down the river, as we undoubtedly should have done had we recognised it as such, the loss of many of our animals would have been the inevitable consequence, and very probably a final issue would have been put to our journey. It is only to those who are placed in situations that baffle their own exertions or foresight, that the singular guidance of Providence becomes fully apparent. NATIVES PERISHING FROM FAMINE. It would appear that the natives were dying fast, not from any disease, but from the scarcity of food; and, should the drought continue, it seemed probable they may became extinct. The men found the body of a woman covered with leaves near the tents, and very properly buried it. We made Friday a day of rest for ourselves, as indeed was necessary; and on the following morning proceeded down the river, and encamped on a high bank above it, at the base of which, our cattle both fed and watered. At this spot one of the largest gum-trees I had ever seen had fallen, having died for want of moisture; indeed, the state of the vegetable kingdom was such as to threaten its total extinction, unless a change of seasons should take place. It may be worthy of remark that, from our first arrival on the banks of the Castlereagh, to our arrival at the present camp, we never picked up a stone, or a pebble, in its bed. JUNCTION OF THE CASTLEREAGH WITH THE DARLING. In the hope that we should fall on some detached pond, we pursued our journey on the 29th. The Castlereagh gave singular proofs of its violence, as if its waters, confined in the valley, had a difficulty in escaping from it. We had not travelled two miles, when in crossing, as we imagined, one of its bights, we found ourselves checked by a broad river. A single glimpse of it was sufficient to tell us it was the Darling. At a distance of more than ninety miles nearer its source, this singular river still preserved its character, so strikingly, that it was impossible not to have recognised it in a moment. The same steep banks and lofty timber, the same deep reaches, alive with fish, were here visible as when we left it. A hope naturally arose to our minds, that if it was unchanged in other respects, it might have lost the saltness that rendered its waters unfit for use; but in this we were disappointed--even its waters continued the same. As it was impossible for us to cross the Darling, I determined on falling back upon our last encampment, which was at a most Convenient distance, and of concerting measures there for our future movements. Prior to doing so, however, I rode to the junction of the Castlereagh with the Darling, accompanied by Mr. Hume, a distance of about half a mile. Upon the point formed by the two streams, there were a number of huts, and on the opposite bank of the Darling, about twenty natives had collected. We called out to them, but they would not join us. At the junction, the Castlereagh, with whatever impetuosity it rushes from its confinement, makes not apparently the least impression on the Darling River. The latter seemed to loll on, totally heedless of such a tributary. CHAPTER IV. Perplexity--Trait of honesty in the natives--Excursion on horseback across the Darling--Forced to return--Desolating effects of the drought--Retreat towards the colony--Connection between the Macquarie and the Darling-- Return up the banks of the Macquarie--Starving condition of the natives. On our return to the party, we found them surrounded by the natives, who were looking with an eye of wonder on the cattle and horses. We pointed out to them the direction in which we were going, and invited them to visit us; and nothing appeared to astonish them so much as the management of the team by a single man. We got back to our position early, and again fixed ourselves upon it. It now only remained for us to consider what we should do under circumstances of certainly more than ordinary perplexity. We had nothing to hope for from travelling in a southerly direction, while to the E. and N.E., the state of the country was worse than that by which we had penetrated to the Darling. It was evident, that the large creeks joining the Castlereagh in that direction were dry, since the natives not only intimated this to us, but it was unquestionable that they themselves had deserted them, and had crowded to such places as still contained a supply of water. Even in retreating, we could not hope to retrace our steps. Experience had proved to us, that the dry state of the interior was as injurious to the movements of an expedition as a too wet season would have been. Taking everything, therefore, into consideration, I determined on leaving the party stationary, and on crossing the Darling to the N.W., and, if any encouraging feature presented itself, to return for the party, and persevere in an examination of the distant interior. Such, at least, appeared to me the most judicious plan: indeed, an attempt to have moved in any other direction would have been fruitless. And, as the result of this journey would be decisive, and would either fix or determine our advance or retreat, I was anxious for Mr. Hume's attendance. The natives followed to the camp, and in the course of the afternoon, were joined by their women. The latter however, would not approach nearer than the top of a little hillock on which they sat. The men did not come round the tents, but stood in a row at a short distance. At sunset, they gained a little courage, and wandered about a little more; at length they went off to the Darling. HONESTY OF A NATIVE. It was quite dark, when I heard a native call from the hill on which the women had been, and I desired Hopkinson to take his firelock and ascertain what the man wanted. He soon after returned, and brought a blanket, which he said the man had returned to him. The native was alone, and when he offered the blanket, kept his spear poised in his right hand; but, seeing that no violence was intended him, he lowered his weapon, and walked away. REWARD THE MAN FOR HIS CONDUCT. I was extremely pleased at this trait of honesty, and determined to reward it. On inquiry, I found that the men had availed themselves of the day to wash their blankets and that one of them had been flung over a bush hanging over the bank of the river, and it was supposed that one of the natives must have pulled it down with him. In the morning, the tribe went away from their encampment before day-light as we judged from the cry of their dogs, than which nothing could be more melancholy; but about eight, the men made their appearance on the hill occupied by the women the evening previously, and seemed to be doubtful whether to approach nearer. I went out to them, and, with a downward motion of my hand, beckoned for them to come to me: they mistook the signal, but laid all their spears on the ground, and it was not until after the sign had been reversed that they stirred or moved towards me. I then got them in a row, and desired Hopkinson to single out the man who had given him the blanket. It was, however, with great difficulty that he recognised him, as the man stood firm and motionless. At length, after walking two or three times along the line, he stopped before one man, and put his hand on his shoulder, upon which the manner of the native testified as to the correctness of his guess. The blanket being produced, I explained to the savage, with Mr. Hume's assistance, that I was highly pleased with him, and forthwith presented him with a tomahawk and a clasp-knife. The tribe were perfectly aware of the reason of my conduct, and all of them seemed highly delighted. I was happy in having such an opportunity of showing the natives of the interior that I came among them with a determination to maintain justice in my communication with them, and to impress them, at the same time, with a sense of our love of it in them. That they appreciated my apparent lenity in not calling for the defaulter, I am sure, and I feel perfectly conscious that I should have failed in my duty had I acted otherwise than I did. EFFECT OF FIRING A GUN. Although the natives had shown so good a disposition, as they were numerous, I thought it as well, since I was about to leave the camp, to show them that I had a power they little dreamt of about me. I therefore called for my gun and fired a ball into a tree. The effect of the report upon the natives, was truly ridiculous. Some stood and stared at me, others fell down, and others ran away; and it was with some difficulty we collected them again. At last, however, we did so, and, leaving them to pick out the ball, mounted our horses and struck away for the Darling. We crossed the river a little above where we struck it, and then proceeded N.W. into the interior. EXCURSION ACROSS THE DARLING. It is impossible for me to describe the nature of the country over which we passed, for the first eight miles. We rode through brushes of polygonum, under rough-gum, without a blade of vegetation, the whole space being subject to inundation. We then got on small plains of firmer surface, and red soil, but these soon changed again for the former; and at 4 p.m. we found ourselves advanced about two miles on a plain that stretched away before us, and bounded the horizon. It was dismally brown; a few trees only served to mark the distance. Up one of the highest I sent Hopkinson, who reported that he could not see the end of it, and that all around looked blank and desolate. It is a singular fact, that during the whole day, we had not seen a drop of water or a blade of grass. DESOLATING EFFECTS OF THE DROUGHT. To have stopped where we were, would, therefore, have been impossible; to have advanced, would probably have been ruin. Had there been one favorable circumstance to have encouraged me with the hope of success, I would have proceeded. Had we picked up a stone as indicating our approach to high land, I would have gone on; or had there been a break in the level of the country, or even a change in the vegetation. But we had left all traces of the natives far behind us; and this seemed a desert they never entered--that not even a bird inhabited. I could not encourage a hope of success, and, therefore, gave up the point; not from want of means, but a conviction of the inutility of any further efforts. If there is any blame to be attached to the measure, it is I who am in fault, but none who had not like me traversed the interior at such a season, would believe the state of the country over which I had wandered. During the short interval I had been out, I had seen rivers cease to flow before me, and sheets of water disappear; and had it not been for a merciful Providence, should, ere reaching the Darling, have been overwhelmed by misfortune. I am giving no false picture of the reality. So long had the drought continued, that the vegetable kingdom was almost annihilated, and minor vegetation had disappeared. In the creeks, weeds had grown and withered, and grown again; and young saplings were now rising in their beds, nourished by the moisture that still remained; but the largest forest trees were drooping, and many were dead. The emus, with outstretched necks, gasping for breath, searched the channels of the rivers for water, in vain; and the native dog, so thin that it could hardly walk, seemed to implore some merciful hand to despatch it. How the natives subsisted it was difficult to say, but there was no doubt of the scarcity of food among them. We arrived in camp at a late hour, and having nothing to detain us longer, prepared for our retreat in the morning. The natives had remained with the party during the greater part of the day, and had only left them a short time prior to our arrival. When examining the creek on which we had been encamped for some days, Mr. Hume observed a small junction; and as we knew we were almost due N. of the marshes of the Macquarie, both of us were anxious to ascertain whence it originated. To return to Mount Harris, by retracing our steps up the Castlereagh, would have entailed the severest distress upon us; we the rather preferred proceeding up this creek, and taking our chance for a supply of water. We therefore crossed Morrisset's chain of ponds, and encamped in the angle formed by the junction of the two creeks. Before we left this position, we were visited by a party of natives, twelve in number, but not of the Darling tribe. They accompanied us a short way, and then struck off to the right. At about a mile and a half, we crossed Mr. Hume's track, leading westerly, which still remained observable. The creek was, no doubt, the hollow he stated that he crossed on that excursion, and its appearance certainly justified his opinion of it. Its bed was choked up with bulrushes or the polygonum, and its banks were level with the country on either side, or nearly so. We passed over extremely rich soil the whole day, on a S.W. and by W. course, though the timber upon it was dwarfish, and principally of the rough-gum kind. On the 2nd of April, we stopped in order to make some repairs upon the dray; the wheels of which had failed us. Clayton put in four new spokes, and we heated the tyres over again, by which means we got it once more serviceable. WILD MELON. The soil in the creek was of the richest quality, and was found to produce a dwarf melon, having all the habits and character of the cucumber. The fruit was not larger than a pigeon's egg, but was extremely sweet. There were not, however, many ripe, although the runners were covered with flowers, and had an abundance of fruit upon them. In the morning, we sent the tinker on horseback up the creek, to ascertain how far the next water was from us, desiring him to keep the creek upon his right, and to follow his own track back again. He thought fit, however, considering himself a good bushman, to wander away to his left, and the consequence was, that he soon lost himself. It would appear that he doubled and passed through some thick brush at the back of the camp, and at length found himself at dark on the banks of a considerable creek. In wandering along it, he luckily struck upon the natives we had last seen, who, good-naturedly, led him to the track of the dray, which his horse would not afterwards desert, and the tinker sneaked into the tent about 3 o'clock in the morning, having failed in his errand, and made himself the butt of the whole party. RETURN UP THE CREEK. The day succeeding this adventure, we moved up the creek, which was, for the most part, even with the plain. The country continued the same as that we had passed over from the junction, being subject to flood, and having patches of bulrushes and reeds upon it. No change took place in the timber, but the line of acacia pendula, which forms the line of inundation, approached neater to us; nor was the mark of flood so high on the trunks of trees as below. We halted, with abominable water, but excellent food for the animals in the plains behind us. In continuing our journey, we found several changes take place in the appearance of the creek and its neighbourhood. The former diminished in size, and at length separated into two distinct channels, choked up, for the most part, with dead bulrushes, but having a few green reeds in patches along it. The flats on either side became slightly timbered, and blue gum was the prevailing tree. Crossing one of the channels, we observed every appearance of our near approach to the marshes, the flats being intersected by many little water-runs, such as we had noticed at the bottom of them. About noon we struck upon a body of reeds under the wood of eucalypti, below the second great morass, and keeping a little to our right to avoid them, fell shortly afterwards into our old track on the plain, upon which we continued to move, making the best of our way to the channel which had supplied our wants on our first return from the Darling. It was now, however, quite dry, and we were obliged to push on further, to shorten the journey of the morrow. CONNECTION OF MACQUARIE AND DARLING. The result of our journey up the creek was particularly satisfactory, both to myself and Mr. Hume; since it cleared up every doubt that might have existed regarding the actual termination of the Macquarie, and enabled us to connect the flow of waters at so interesting and particular a point. It will be seen by a reference to the chart, that the waters of the marshes, after trickling through the reeds, form a small creek, which carries off the superfluous part of them into Morrisset's chain of ponds, which latter again falls into the Castlereagh, at about eight miles to the W.N.W. and all three join the Darling in a W. by N. direction, in lat. 30 degrees 52 minutes south and E. lon. 147 degrees 8 minutes at about 90 miles to the N.N.W. of Mount Harris, and about an equal distance to the E.S.E. of where we struck upon the last-mentioned river. Thus it is evident that the Darling had considerably neared the eastern ranges, although it was still more than 150 miles from their base. It was apparently coming from the N.E., and whether it has its sources in the mountains behind our distant settlements, or still farther to the northwards, is a question of curious speculation, although, as I have already stated, I am of opinion that none but tropical rains could supply the furious torrent that must sometimes rage in it. It would be presumptuous to hazard any opinion as to the nature of the interior to the westward of that remarkable river. Its course is involved in equal mystery, and it is a matter of equal doubt whether it makes its way to the south coast, or ultimately exhausts itself in feeding a succession of swamps, or falls into a large reservoir in the centre of the island. RETURN TO MOUNT HARRIS. We reached Mount Harris on the 7th of the month, and moving leisurely up the banks of the Macquarie, gained Mr. Palmer's first station on the 14th, and Wellington Valley on the 21st, having been absent from that settlement four months and two weeks. The waters of the Macquarie had diminished so much, that its bed was dry for more than half a mile at a stretch, nor did we observe the least appearance of a current in it, until after we had ascended the ranges. The lower tribes were actually starving, and brought their children to us to implore something to eat. The men attempted to surprise the camp, but I believe they were urged from absolute necessity to procure subsistence for themselves, and that they intended robbery rather than personal violence. DEPLORABLE STATE OF THE COUNTRY. We left the interior in a still more deplorable state than that in which we found it; but it is more than probable that under other circumstances, we should have found it impossible to traverse its distant plains, as it is certain that unless rain fell in less than three weeks, all communication with the Darling would have been cut off: CHAPTER V. General remarks--Result of the expedition--Previous anticipations-- Mr. Oxley's remarks--Character of the Rivers flowing westerly-- Mr. Cunningham's remarks--Fall of the Macquarie--Mr. Oxley's erroneous conclusions respecting the character of the interior, naturally inferred from the state in which he found the country--The marsh of the Macquarie merely a marsh of the ordinary character--Captain King's observations-- Course of the Darling--Character of the low interior plain--The convict Barber's report of rivers traversing the interior--Surveyor-General Mitchell's Report of his recent expedition. RESULT OF THE EXPEDITION. Whether the discoveries that have been made during this expedition, will ultimately prove of advantage to the colony of New South Wales, is a question that time alone can answer. We have in the meanwhile to regret that no beneficial consequences will immediately follow them. The further knowledge that has been gained of the interior is but as a gleam of sunshine over an extensive landscape. A stronger light has fallen upon the nearer ground, but the distant horizon is still enveloped in clouds. The veil has only as it were been withdrawn from the marshes of the Macquarie to be spread over the channel of the Darling. Unsatisfactory, however, as the discoveries may as yet be considered in a commercial point of view, the objects for which the expedition had been fitted out were happily attained. The marsh it had been directed to examine, was traversed on every side, and the rivers it had been ordered to trace, were followed down to their terminations to a distance far beyond where they had ceased to exist as living streams. To many who may cast their eyes over the accompanying chart, the extent of newly discovered country may appear trifling; but when they are told, that there is not a mile of that ground that was not traversed over and over again, either by Mr. Hume or by myself, that we wandered over upwards of 600 miles more than the main body of the expedition, on different occasions, in our constant and anxious search for water, and that we seldom dismounted from our horses, until long after sunset, they will acknowledge the difficulties with which we had to contend, and will make a generous allowance for them; for, however unsuccessful in some respects the expedition may have been, it accomplished as much, it is to be hoped, as under such trying circumstances could have been accomplished. It now only remains for me to sum up the result of my own observations, and to point out to the reader, how far the actual state of the interior, has been found to correspond with the opinions that were entertained of it. MR. OXLEY'S REMARKS. I have already stated, in the introduction to this work, that the general impression on the minds of those best qualified to judge was, that the western streams discharged themselves into a central shoal sea. Mr. Oxley thus expresses himself on the subject:-- "July 3rd. Towards morning the storm abated, and at day-light, we proceeded on our voyage. The main bed of the river was much contracted, but very deep; the waters spreading to the depth of a foot or eighteen inches over the banks, but all running on the same point of bearing. We met with considerable interruptions from fallen timber, which in places nearly choked up the channel. After going about twenty miles, we lost the land and trees; the channel of the river, which lay through reeds, and was from one to three feet deep, ran northerly.--This continued for three or four miles farther, when, although there had been no previous change in the breadth, depth, or rapidity of the stream for several miles, and I was sanguine in my expectations of soon entering the long-sought-for Australian sea, it all at once eluded our farther pursuit, by spreading on every point from N.W. to N.E. among the ocean of reeds which surrounded us, still running with the same rapidity as before. There was no channel whatever among those reeds, and the depth varied from three to five feet. This astonishing change (for I cannot call it a termination of the river) of course left me no alternative but to endeavour to return to some spot on which we could effect a landing before dark. I estimated, that during the day, we had gone about twenty-four miles, on nearly the same point of bearing as yesterday. To assert, positively, that we were on the margin of the lake, or sea, into which this great body of water is discharged, might reasonably be deemed a conclusion, which has nothing but conjecture for its basis. But if an opinion may be permitted to be hazarded from actual appearances, mine is decidedly in favour of our being in the immediate vicinity of an inland sea, or lake, most probably a shoal one, and gradually filling up by numerous depositions from the high lands, left by the waters which flow into it. It is most singular, that the high lands on this continent seem to be confined to the sea-coast, and not to extend to any distance from it." MR. CUNNINGHAM'S REMARKS. In a work published at Sydney, containing an account of Mr. Allan Cunningham's journey towards Moreton Bay, in 1828, the following remarks occur, from which it is evident Mr. Cunningham entertained Mr. Oxley's views of the character and nature of the Western interior. Towards the conclusion of the narrative, the author thus observes:-- "Of the probable character of the distant unexplored interior, into which it has been ascertained ALL the rivers falling westerly from the dividing ranges flow, some inference may be drawn from the following data. "Viewing, between the parallels of 34 degrees and 27 degrees, a vast area of depressed interior, subjected in seasons of prolonged rains to partial inundation, by a dispersion of the several waters that flow upon it from the eastern mountains whence they originate; and bearing in mind at the same time, that the declension of the country within the above parallels, as most decidedly shown by the dip of its several rivers, is uniformly to the N.N.W. and N.W., it would appear very conclusive, that either a portion of our distant interior is occupied by a lake of considerable magnitude, or that the confluence of those large streams, the Macquarie, Castlereagh, Gwydir, and the Dumaresq, with the many minor interfluent waters, which doubtless takes place upon those low levels, forms one or more noble rivers, which may flow across the continent by an almost imperceptible declivity of country to the north of north-west coasts, on certain parts of which, recent surveys have discovered to us extensive openings, by which the largest accumulations of waters might escape to the sea." CHARACTER OF THE RIVERS. It is the characteristic of the streams falling westerly from the eastern, or coast ranges, to maintain a breadth of channel and a rapidity of current more immediately near their sources, that ill accords with their diminished size, and the sluggish flow of their waters in the more depressed interior. In truth, neither the Macquarie nor the Castlereagh can strictly be considered as permanent rivers. The last particularly is nothing more than a mountain torrent. The Macquarie, although it at length ceased to run, kept up the appearance of a river to the very marshes; but the bed of the Castlereagh might have been crossed in many places without being noticed, nor did its channel contain so much water as was to be found on the neighbouring plains. There are two circumstances upon which the magnitude, and velocity of a river, more immediately depend. The first is the abundance of its sources, the other the dip of its bed. If a stream has constant fountains at its head, and numerous tributaries joining it in its course, and flows withal through a country of gradual descent, such a stream will never fail; but if the supplies do not exceed the evaporation and absorption, to which every river is subject, if a river dependant on its head alone, falls rapidly into a level country, without receiving a single addition to its waters to assist the first impulse acquired in their descent, it must necessarily cease to flow at one point or other. Such is the case with the Lachlan, the Macquarie, the Castlereagh, and the Darling. Whence the latter originates, still remains to be ascertained; but most undoubtedly its sources have been influenced by the same drought that has exhausted the fountains of the three first mentioned streams. In supporting his opinion of the probable discharge of the interior waters of Australia upon its north-west coast, Mr. Cunningham thus remarks in the publication from which I have already made an extract. "To those remarkable parts of the north-west coast above referred to in the parallel of 16 degrees south, the Macquarie river, which rises in lat. 33 degrees, and under the meridian of 150 degrees east, would have a course of 2045 statute miles throughout, while the elevation of its source, being 3500 feet above the level of the sea as shown by the barometer, would give its waters an average descent of twenty inches to the mile, supposing the bed of the river to be an inclined plane. "The Gwydir originating in elevated land, lying in 31 degrees south, and long. 151 degrees east, at a mean height of 3000 feet, would have to flow 2020 miles, its elevated sources giving to each a mean fall of seventeen inches. "Dumaresq's river falling 2970 feet from granite mountains, in 28 1/4 degrees under the meridian of 152 degrees, would have to pursue its course for 2969 miles, its average fall being eighteen inches to a mile." As I have never been upon the banks either of the Gwydir or the Dumaresq, I cannot speak of those two rivers; but in estimating the sources of the Macquarie at 3500 feet above the level of the sea, Mr. Cunningham has lost sight of, or overlooked the fact, that the fall of its bed in the first two hundred miles, is more than 2800 feet, since the cataract, which is midway between Wellington Valley and the marshes, was ascertained by barometrical admeasurement, to be 680 feet only above the ocean. The country, therefore, through which the Macquarie would have to flow during the remainder of its course of 1700 miles, in order to gain the N.W. coast, would not be a gradually inclined plain, but for the most part a dead level, and the fact of its failure is a sufficient proof in itself how short the course of a river so circumstanced must necessarily be. MR. OXLEY'S OPINIONS. Having conversed frequently with Mr. Oxley on the subject of his expeditions, I went into the interior prepossessed in favour of his opinions, nor do I think he could have drawn any other conclusion than that which he did, from his experience of the terminations of the rivers whose courses he explored. Had Mr. Oxley advanced forty, or even thirty miles, farther than he did, to the westward of Mount Harris; nay, had he proceeded eight miles in the above direction beyond the actual spot from which he turned back, he would have formed other and very different opinions of the probable character of the distant interior. But I am aware that Mr. Oxley performed all that enterprise, and perseverance, and talent could have performed, and that it would have been impracticable in him to have attempted to force its marshes in the state in which he found them. It was from his want of knowledge of their nature and extent, that he inferred the swampy and inhospitable character of the more remote country, a state in which subsequent investigation has found it not to be. The marsh of the Macquarie is nothing more than an ordinary marsh or swamp in another country. However large a space it covers, it is no more than a concavity or basin for the reception of the waters of the river itself, nor has it any influence whatever on the country to the westward of it, in respect to inundation; the general features of the latter being a regular alternation of plain and brush. These facts are in themselves sufficient to give a fresh interest to the interior of the Australian continent, and to increase its importance. CAPT. KING'S OPINIONS. With respect to that part of its coast at which the rivers falling from the eastern mountains, discharge themselves, it is a question of very great doubt. It seems that Capt. King, in consequence of some peculiarities in the currents at its N.W. angle, supports Mr. Cunningham's opinion as to their probable discharge in that quarter. But I fear the internal structure of the continent is so low, as to preclude the hopes of any river reaching from one extremity of it to the other. A variety of local circumstances, as the contraction of a channel, a shoal sea, or numerous islands, influence currents generally, but more especially round so extensive a continent as that of which we are treating; nor does it strike me that any observations made by Capt. King during his survey, can be held to bear any connection with the eastern ranges, or their western waters. It may, however, be said, that as the course of the Darling is still involved in uncertainty, the question remains undecided; but it appears to me, the discovery of that river has set aside every conjecture (founded on previous observation) respecting the main features of the interior lying to the westward of the Blue Mountains. Both Mr. Oxley and Mr. Cunningham drew their conclusions from the appearances of the country they severally explored. The ground on which those theories were built, has been travelled over, and has not been found to realise them, but subsequent investigation has discovered to us a river, the dip of whose bed is to the S.W. We have every reason to believe that the sources of this river must be far to the northward of the most distant northerly point to which any survey has been made, as we are certain that it is far beyond the stretch of vision from the loftiest and most westerly of the barrier ranges; from which circumstance, it is evident that whatever disposition the streams descending from those ranges to the westward may show to hold a N.W. course more immediately at the base, the whole of the interior streams, from the Macquarie to the Dumaresq, are tributaries to the principal channel which conveys their united waters at right angles, if not still more opposite to the direction they were supposed to take, as far as is yet known. COURSE OF THE DARLING. The Darling River must be considered as the boundary line to all inland discoveries from the eastward. Any judgment or opinion of the interior to the westward of that stream, would be extremely premature and uncertain. There is not a single feature over it to guide or to strengthen either the one or the other. CHARACTER OF THE WESTERN INTERIOR. My impression, when travelling the country to the west and N.W. of the marshes of the Macquarie, was, that I was traversing a country of comparatively recent formation. The sandy nature of its soil, the great want of vegetable decay, the salsolaceous character of its plants, the appearance of its isolated hills and flooded tracts, and its trifling elevations above the sea, severally contributed to strengthen these impressions on my mind. My knowledge of the interior is, however, too limited to justify me in any conclusion with regard to the central parts of Australia. An ample field is open to enterprise and to ambition, and it is to be hoped that some more decisive measures will be carried into effect, both for the sake of the colony and of geography, to fill up the blank upon the face of the chart of Australia, and remove from us the reproach of indifference and inaction. BARBER'S STATEMENT. Since the above pages were written, an expedition was undertaken by Major Mitchell, the Surveyor-General, to ascertain the truth of a report brought in by a runaway convict of the name of Barber, or Clarke, who had been at large for five years, at different times, among the natives to the northward of Port Macquarie. This man stated that a large river, originating in the high lands near Liverpool Plains, and the mountains to the north of them, pursued a N.W. course to the sea. His story ran thus: Having learnt from the natives the existence of this river, he determined to follow it down, in hopes that he might ultimately be enabled to make his escape from the colony. He accordingly started from Liverpool Plains, and kept on a river called the Gnamoi, for some time, which took him N.W. After a few days' journey, he left this river, traversed the country northwards, and crossed some lofty ranges. Descending to the N.E. he came to another large river, the Keindur, which again took him N.W. He travelled 400 miles down it, when he observed a large stream joining it upon its left bank, which he supposed to be the Gnamoi. The river he was upon was broad and navigable. It flowed through a level country with a dead current and muddy water, and spread into frequent lakes. He found that it ultimately discharged itself into the sea, but was uncertain at what distance from its sources. He was positive he never travelled to the SOUTHWARD OF WEST. He ascended a hill near the sea, and observed an island in the distance, from which, the natives informed him, a race of light-coloured men came in large canoes for a scented wood; but having failed in the immediate object of his journey, he was eventually obliged to return. MAJOR MITCHELL'S REPORT. The following official report of Major Mitchell will sufficiently point out the incorrectness of the preceding statement. It is most probable that Barber merely told that which he had heard from the natives, and that having a more than ordinary share of cunning, he made up a story upon their vague and uncertain accounts, in hopes that it would benefit him, as in truth it did. * * * * * Bullabalakit, on the River Nammoy, in lat. 30 degrees 38 minutes 21 seconds S., long. 149 degrees 30 minutes 20 seconds E. 23d December, 1831. SIR, I have the honour to state, for the information of His Excellency the Governor, the progress I have made in exploring the course of the interior waters to the northward of the Colony, with reference to the letter which I had the honour to address to Col. Lindesay, on this subject, on the 19th ult. On crossing Liverpool Range my object was to proceed northward, so as to avoid the plains and head the streams which water them, and avoiding also the mountain ranges on the east. I arrived accordingly, by a tolerably straight and level line, at Walamoul, on Peel's River; this place (a cattle station of Mr. Brown) being nearly due north from the common pass across Liverpool Range, and about a mile-and-a-half above the spot where Mr. Oxley crossed this river. PEEL'S RIVER. I found the general course of the Peel below Walamoul to be nearly west; and after tracing this river downwards twenty-two miles (in direct distance), I crossed it at an excellent ford, named Wallamburra. I then traversed the extensive plain of Mulluba; and leaving that of Coonil on the right, extending far to the north-east, we passed through a favourable interval of what I considered Hardwicke's Range, the general direction of this range being two points west of north. On passing through this gorge, which, from the name of a hill on the south side, may be named Ydire, I crossed a very extensive tract of flat country, on which the wood consisted of iron-bark and acacia pendula; this tract being part of a valley evidently declining to the north-west, which is bounded on the south by the Liverpool Range, and on the south-west by the extremities from the same. On the west, at a distance of twenty-two miles from Hardwicke's Range, there stands a remarkable isolated hill named Bounalla; and towards the lowest part of the country, and in the direction in which all the waters tend, there is a rocky peak named Tangulda. On the north, a low range (named Wowa), branching westerly from Hardwicke's Range, bounds on that side this extensive basin, which includes Liverpool Plains. Peel's River is the principal stream, and receives, in its course, all the waters of these plains below the junction of Connadilly,--which I take to be York's River, of Oxley. THE RIVER NAMMOY. The stream is well known to the natives by the name Nammoy; and six miles below Tangulda, the low extremities from the surrounding ranges close on the river, and separate this extensive vale from the unexplored country which extends beyond to an horizon which is unbroken between W.N.W. and N.N.W. The impracticable appearance of the mountains to the northward, induced me to proceed thus far to the west; and on examining the country thirty miles N.E. by N. from Tangulda, I ascended a lofty range extending westward from the coast chain, and on which the perpendicular sides of masses of trachyte (a volcanic rock) were opposed to my further progress even with horses: it was therefore evident that the river supposed to rise about the latitude of 28 degrees would not be accessible, or at least available to the Colony, in that direction, and that in the event of the discovery of a river beyond that range flowing to the northern or north-western shores, it would become of importance to ascertain whether it was joined by the Nammoy, the head of this river being so accessible that I have brought my heavily laden drays to where it is navigable for boats, my present encampment being on its banks six miles below Tangulda. From this station I can perceive the western termination of the Trachytic range, and I am now about to explore the country between it and the Nammoy, and the further course of this river; and in the event of its continuance in a favourable direction, I shall fix my depot on its right bank, whence I now write, and descend the stream in the portable boats. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant, T. L. MITCHELL, SURVEYOR-GENERAL The Hon. The Colonial Secretary. * * * * * Peel's River, 29th February, 1832. SIR, I have the honour to inform you, for the information of His Excellency the Governor, that I have reached the left bank of this River with my whole party on my return from the northern interior, having explored the course of the river referred to in my letter of 22nd December last, and others within the 29th parallel of latitude. There was so much fallen timber in the Nammoy, and its waters were so low, that the portable boats could not be used on that river with advantage, and I proceeded by land in a north-west direction, until convinced by its course turning more to the westward that this river joined the river Darling. I therefore quitted its banks with the intention of exploring the country further northward, by moving round the western extremities of the mountains mentioned in my former letter, and which I have since distinguished in my map by the name of the Lindesay Range. These mountains terminate abruptly on the west, and I entered a fine open country at their base, from whence plains (or rather open ground of gentle undulation) extended westward as far as could be seen. On turning these mountains I directed my course northward, and to the eastward of north, into the country beyond them, in search of the river KINDUR; and I reached a river flowing westward, the bed of which was deep, broad, and permanent, but in which there was not then much water. THE RIVER KARAULA. The marks of inundation on trees, and on the adjoining high ground, proved that its floods rose to an extraordinary height; and from the latitude, and also from the general direction of its course, I considered this to be the river which Mr. Cunningham named the Gwydir, on crossing it sixty miles higher, on his route to Moreton Bay. I descended this river, and explored the country on its left bank for about eighty miles to the westward, when I found that its general course was somewhat to the southward of west. This river received no addition from the mountains over that part of its left bank traversed by me; and the heat being intense, the stream was at length so reduced that I could step across it. The banks had become low, and the bed much contracted, being no longer gravelly, but muddy. I therefore crossed this river and travelled northward, on a meridian line, until, in the latitude of 29 degrees 2 minutes, I came upon the largest river I had yet seen. The banks were earthy and broken, the soil being loose, and the water of a white muddy colour. Trees, washed out by the roots from the soft soil, filled the bed of this river in many places. There was abundance of cod-fish of a small size, as well as of the two other kinds of fish which we had caught in the Peel, the Nammoy, and the Gwydir. The name of this river, as well as we could make it out from the natives, was Karaula. Having made fast one tree to top of another tall tree, I obtained a view of the horizon, which appeared perfectly level, and I was in hopes that we had at length found a river which would flow to the northward and avoid the Darling. I accordingly ordered the boat to be put together, and sent Mr. White with a party some miles down to clear away any trees in the way. Mr. White came upon a rocky fall, and found besides the channel so much obstructed by trees, and the course so tortuous, that I determined to ascertain before embarking upon it, whether the general course was in the desired direction. Leaving Mr. White with half the party, I accordingly traced the Karaula downwards, and found that its course changed to south, a few miles below where I had made it, and that it was joined by the Gwydir only eight miles below where I had crossed that river. Immediately below the junction of the Gwydir (which is in latitude 29 degrees 30 minutes 27 seconds, longitude 148 degrees 13 minutes 20 seconds) the course of the river continues southward of west, directly towards where Captain Sturt discovered the River Darling; and I could no longer doubt that this was the same river. I therefore returned to the party, determined to explore the country further northward. The results of my progress thus far were sufficient, I considered, to prove that the division of the waters falling towards the northern and southern shores of Australia is not, as has been supposed, in the direction of the Liverpool and Warrabangle range, but extends between Cape Byron on the eastern shore, towards Dick Hartog's Island on the west; the greater elongation of this country being between these points, and intermediate between the lines of its northern and southern coasts. The basin of the streams I have been upon must be bounded on the north by this dividing ground or water-shed, and although no rise was perceptible in the northern horizon, the river was traversed by several rocky dykes, over which it fell southward; their direction being oblique to the course, and nearly parallel to this division of the waters. I beg leave to state, that I should not feel certain on this point without having seen more, were it not evident from Mr. Cunningham's observations, made on crossing this division on his way to Moreton Bay. Mr. Cunningham, on crossing the head of this river, nearly in the same latitude, but much nearer its sources, found the height of its bed above the sea to be 840 feet; at about forty-five miles further northward the ground rose to upwards of 1700 feet, but immediately beyond, he reached a river flowing north-west, the height of which was only 1400 feet above the sea. He had thus crossed this dividing higher ground, between the parallels of 29 degrees and 28 degrees. It appears, therefore, that all the interior rivers we know of to the northward of the Morumbidgee, belong to the basin of the Karaula; this stream flowing southward, and hence the disappearance of the Macquarie and other lower rivers may be understood, for all along the banks of the Karaula, the Gwydir, and the Nammoy, the country, though not swampy, bears marks of frequent inundation; thus the floods occasioned by these rivers united, cover the low country, and receive the Macquarie so that no channel marks its further course. That a basin may be found to the northward receiving the waters of the northern part of the coast range in a similar manner is extremely probable, and that they form a better river, because the angle is more acute between the high ground, which must bound it on the N.E. and the watershed on the south. I therefore prepared to cross the Karaula, in hopes of seeing the head at least of such a river, and to explore the country two degrees further northward, but moving in a N.W. direction. My tent was struck, and I had just launched my portable boat for the purpose of crossing the river, when Mr. Surveyor Finch, whom I had instructed to bring up a supply of flour, arrived with the distressing intelligence, that two of his men had been killed by the natives, who had taken the flour, and were in possession of everything he had brought--all the cattle, including his horse, being also dispersed or lost. I therefore determined not to extend my excursion further, as the party were already on reduced rations, and on the 8th instant I retired from the Karaula, returning by the marked line, which being cut through thick scrubs in various places, is now open, forming a tolerably direct line of communication in a N.W. direction from Sydney, to a river, beyond which the survey may be extended whenever His Excellency the Governor thinks fit. The natives had never troubled my party on our advance; indeed I only saw them when I came upon them by surprise, and then they always ran off. Their first visit was received at my camp on the Karaula, during my absence down that river, when they were very friendly, but much disposed to steal. Various tribes followed us on coming back, but never with any show of hostility, although moving in tribes of a hundred or more parallel to our marked line, or in our rear; it was necessary to be ever on our guard, and to encamp in strong positions only, arranging the drays for defence during the night: three men were always under arms, and I have much pleasure in stating, that throughout the whole excursion, and under circumstances of hardship and privation, the conduct of the men was very good. I took an armed party to the scene of pillage, and buried the bodies of the two men, who appeared to have been treacherously murdered while asleep by the blacks during the absence of Mr. Finch: no natives were to be found when I visited the spot, although it appeared from columns of smoke on hills which overlooked if, that they were watching our movements. The party has now arrived within a day's journey of Brown's station, and I have instructed Assistant-Surveyor White (from whom I have received great assistance during the whole journey) to conduct it homewards, being desirous to proceed without delay to Sydney, and to receive the instructions of His Excellency the Governor. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, T. L. MITCHELL, SURVEYOR-GENERAL. THE HON. THE COLONIAL SECRETARY, "&c. &c. &c." Chapter VI. CONCLUDING REMARKS Obstacles that attend travelling into the interior of Australia-- Difficulty of carrying supplies--Importance of steady intelligent subordinates--Danger from the natives--Number of men requisite,--and of cattle and carriages--Provisions--Other arrangements--Treatment of the natives--Dimensions of the boat used in the second expedition. Having now had considerable experience in the fitting out and management of expeditions in New South Wales, I cannot refrain from making some few observations on the subject. And without presuming to lay dawn any fixed rules, I shall only refer to those by which I have best succeeded, in hopes that some of my remarks may prove of use to future travellers who may venture to penetrate into the trackless deserts over so small a portion of which I wandered. DIFFICULTIES OF EXPLORING AUSTRALIA. The great difficulty of examining the interior of Australia, is that of carrying supplies; for increasing the number of individuals composing an expedition is of no avail, since an additional number of men must necessarily increase the consumption of food. In order to meet this difficulty it has been proposed to establish depots upon which an expedition could fall back to recruit its supplies, and in ordinary cases this plan might answer; but I am decidedly of opinion that no party could long remain stationary in the distant interior without some fatal collision with the natives, which would be attended with the most deplorable consequences; and I do think, considering all things, that the experiment is too dangerous to be tried; for when I reached Mount Harris, on my first retreat from the Darling, I found the party who were awaiting me, with a supply of provisions, under very great alarm, in consequence of the hostile proceedings of the Mount Harris tribe. The men had been obliged to put the camp into a state of defence. The blacks had attempted to surprise them, and would, had I not returned, have combined in some general attack. It appears to me that the most judicious plan would be to send a supply of provisions, with an expedition, to a distant point, under the charge of a minor party. These provisions could replace those already expended, and the animals that carried them could be taken back. SELECTION OF SUBORDINATES. The number of individuals of which the expedition down the banks of the Macquarie was composed, was fourteen: that is to say, myself, Mr. Hume, two soldiers, one free man, and seven prisoners of the crown. The latter behaved, on all occasions, as steadily as it was possible for men to do. Yet the circumstance of the two soldiers being with me increased my confidence in the whole, for I was aware that their example would influence the rest. However well disposed the prisoners of the crown may be, (as in this instance they certainly were,) the beneficial example of steady discipline cannot be denied. I should not have considered myself justified in leaving the camp as I did for a week, and in detaching Mr. Hume at the same time when at the bottom of the marshes, or in making the last effort to maintain our position on the banks of the Darling, if I had not reposed every confidence in the man to whom I entrusted the safety of the camp during my absence. Experience, therefore, of the value of the two soldiers, whom General Darling was good enough to permit me to take on the strength of the party, fully bears me out in recommending that one man, at least, of general responsibility shall be attached to all future expeditions. The success of an expedition depends so much on the conduct of the persons of whom it is composed, that too much attention cannot be given to the selection even of the most subordinate. Men of active intelligent minds, of persevering habits, and of even temper, should be preferred to mechanics who do not possess these most requisite qualities. On the other hand, it is impossible to do without a good carpenter, however defective he may be in other respects. I was indebted to Mr. Maxwell, the superintendent of Wellington Valley, for some excellent men, both on my first and on my second journey, because he understood the nature of the service for which they were required, and the characters of those whom he recommended. But however well selected the party, or the men rather, might be, I still consider a man of general responsibility necessary for its complete organisation. I would have him somewhat superior to the rest in his station in life. Him I would hold answerable for the immediate discipline of the camp, whilst I was present, and for its safety when absent. The assistant to the leader I would put entirely out of the question. He has other and most important duties to perform. I would rate this man wholly independent of him. DANGER OF COLLISION WITH THE NATIVES. In reference to what I have already said with regard to the natives, it was supposed that they were so little to be apprehended, that when I went on the first occasion into the interior, I applied for a limited number of men only, under an impression that with a few men I could carry provisions equal to a consumption of a greater number, and by this means be enabled to keep the field for a greater length of time. But I do not think it would be safe to penetrate into the distant country with fewer than fifteen men, for although, happily, no rupture has as yet taken place with the natives, yet, there is no security against their treachery, and it is very certain that a slight cause might involve an expedition in inextricable difficulty, and oblige the leader to throw himself on the defensive, when far away from other resources than those with which he should have provided himself, and that, perhaps, when navigating a close and intricate river, with all the dangers and perplexities attendant on such a situation. It is absolutely necessary to establish nightly guards, not only for the security of the camp, but of the cattle, and at the same time to have a force strong enough to maintain an obstinate resistance against any number of savages, where no mercy is to be expected. It will be borne in mind, that there is a wide difference between penetrating into a country in the midst of its population, and landing from ships for the purpose of communication or traffic. Yet, how few voyages of discovery have terminated without bloodshed! Boats while landing are covered by their ships, and have succour within view; but not so parties that go into unknown tracts. They must depend on their immediate resources and individual courage alone. PACK-OXEN, HORSES, WHEEL-CARRIAGES. With regard to the animals, I should recommend an equal number of horses as of bullocks; since it has been found that the latter, though slow, travel better over swampy ground than horses, which, on the other hand, are preferable for expeditious journeys, to which bullocks would never be equal. One of the colonial pack-saddles weighs fifty pounds complete, and is preferable to those sent out from England. This, with a load of 250 lbs. is sufficient for any animal, since it enables the men to place a part of their provisions with the general loads. The difficulty of keeping the backs of the animals free from injury, more especially where any blemish has before existed, is exceedingly great. They should undergo an examination twice a-day, that is, in the morning prior to moving off, and in the afternoon before they are turned out to feed; and measures should then be taken to ease them as circumstances require. I never suffered the saddles to be removed from the backs of the animals under my charge for twenty minutes after the termination of the journey for the day, in order to guard against the effects of the sun; and where the least swelling appeared the saddle was altered and the place dressed. Yet, notwithstanding all this care and attention, several both of the horses and bullocks were at one time in a sad condition, during the first journey,--so much so as almost to paralyse our efforts. It would be advisable that such animals as are entirely free from blemish should be chosen for the service of expeditions, for, with proper management they might he kept in order. The anxiety of mind attendant on a bad state of the animals is really quite embarrassing, for it not only causes a delay in the movements, but a derangement in the loads. Other animals are overburdened, and there is no knowing where the evil will stop. In addition to the pack-animals, I would recommend the employment of a dray or cart under any practicable circumstances. It serves to carry necessary comforts, gives an expedition greater facility for securing its collections, and is of inconceivable advantage in many other respects. ISSUE OF PROVISIONS. Constant and most earnest attention should be paid to the issue of provisions, on the discreet management of which so much depends, and the charge of them should be committed to the second in command. The most important articles are flour, tea, sugar, and tobacco. All should be husbanded with extreme care, and weighed from time to time. The flour is best carried in canvass bags, containing 100 pounds each, and should at the termination of each day's journey, be regularly piled up and covered with a tarpaulin. Tea, sugar and tobacco lose considerably in weight, so that it is necessary to estimate for somewhat more than the bare supply. With regard to the salt meat, the best mode of conveying it appears to be in small barrels of equal weight with the bags of flour. Salt pork is better than beef. It should be deprived of all bones and be of the very best quality. I have heard spirits recommended, but I do not approve their use. Tea is much more relished by the men; indeed they could not do well without it. A small quantity of spirits would, however, of course be necessary in the event of its being required. LIVE STOCK. Mr. Cornelius O'Brien, an enterprising and long-established settler, who has pushed his flocks and herds to the banks of the Morumbidgee, was good enough to present me with eight wethers as I passed his station. It may be some gratification to Mr. O'Brien to know, that they contributed very materially to our comforts, and he will, perhaps, accept my acknowledgements in this place, not only for so liberal a present to myself, but for his attention and kindness to my men as long as they remained in his neighbourhood. It was found that the sheep gave but little additional trouble, requiring only to be penned at night, as much to secure them from the native dogs as to prevent them from straying away. They followed the other animals very quietly, and soon became accustomed to daily movements. They proved a most available stock; no waste attended their slaughter, and they admitted of a necessary and wholesome change of fresh food from the general salt diet, on which the men would otherwise have had to subsist. The provisions should, if possible, be issued weekly, and their diminution should be so regulated as to give an equal relief to the animals. For general information I have annexed a list of the supplies I took with me on my first expedition. It may appear long, but the articles were packed in a small compass, and their value immaterial. As a precautionary measure I should advise, that one of the pack animals be kept apart for the purpose of carrying water. Two casks of equal weight are the best for such a purpose. In long and hot marches, the men experience great relief from having water at hand. INTERCOURSE WITH THE NATIVES. In reference to the natives, I hope sufficient has been said of the manner of communicating with them to prevent the necessity of a repetition here. The great point is not to alarm their natural timidity: to exercise patience in your intercourse with them; to treat them kindly; and to watch them with suspicion, especially at night. Never permit the men to steal away from the camp, but keep them as compact as possible; and at every station so arrange your drays and provisions that they may serve as a defence in case of your being attacked. The natives appeared to me to be indifferent to our presents, in most cases. Tomahawks, knives, pieces of iron, and different coloured ribbons for the forehead, were most esteemed by them. They will barter and exchange their fish for articles, and readily acquire confidence. I believe I have now touched on all the more important points: on minor ones no observation I can make will be of use; men must, in many things, be guided by circumstances. * * * * * WHALE BOAT EMPLOYED ON THE SECOND EXPEDITION. I may here notice that, in my second expedition, as it was anticipated that I should require adequate provision for water conveyance, at one stage or other of my journey down the Morumbidgee, I was furnished with a whale-boat, the dimensions of which are given below. She was built by Mr. Egan, the master builder of the dock-yard and a native of the colony, and did great credit to his judgment. She carried two tons and a half of provisions, independently of a locker, which I appropriated for the security of the arms, occupying the space between the after-seat and the stern. She was in the first instance put together loosely, her planks and timbers marked, and her ring bolts, &c. fitted. She was then taken to pieces, carefully packed up, and thus conveyed in plank into the interior, to a distance of four hundred and forty miles, without injury. She was admirably adapted for the service, and rose as well as could have been expected over the seas in the lake. It was evident, however, that she would have been much safer if she had had another plank, for she was undoubtedly too low. The following were her dimensions:-- Breadth across 7th timber aft, 5 ft. 1/2 an inch outside. Across 12th timber, 5 ft. 11 1/4 in. Across 17th timber forward, 5 ft. 25 ft. 8 in. in length inside. Curve of the keel No. 1, from the after side of each apron, 3 ft. 3 3/4in. No. 2, from head to head of the dead wood, 13 1/2 in. No. 3, from one end of keel to the other inner side, 3 in. No. 4, round of keel from the toe of each dead wood, 7/8 1/16th. The timbers were marked, beginning from the stern to the bow on the starboard side, and from bow to stern on the larboard. APPENDIX No. I. LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS. By His Excellency Lieutenant General Ralph Darling, Commanding His Majesty's Forces, Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the Territory of New South Wales, and its dependencies, and Vice Admiral of the same, &c. &c. &c. TO CHARLES STURT, ESQ. CAPTAIN IN THE 39TH REGIMENT OF FOOT. Whereas it has been judged expedient to fit out an expedition for the purpose of exploring the interior of New Holland, and the present dry season affords a reasonable prospect of an opportunity of ascertaining the nature and extent of the large marsh or marshes which stopped the progress of the late John Oxley Esq, Surveyor General, in following the courses of the rivers Lachlan and Macquarie in the years 1817 and 1818. And whereas I repose full confidence in your abilities and zeal for conducting such an expedition, I do hereby constitute and appoint you to command and take charge of the expedition now preparing for the purpose of exploring the interior of the country, and for ascertaining, if practicable, the nature and extent of the marsh or marshes above mentioned. In the prosecution of this service, you will be guided generally by the following instructions. 1. You will be accompanied on this expedition by Mr. Hamilton Hume, whose great experience in travelling through the remote parts of the Colony, cannot fail to be highly useful to you. You will also be attended by two soldiers and six convicts, of whom one is to understand the shoeing of horses, one to be a carpenter, one a harness-maker and three stock-men, and you will be provided with six horses and twelve bullocks. 2. A small boat has been built here for the use of the expedition, and for its conveyance, there is provided a light four-wheeled carriage to be drawn by two bullocks. The deputy Commissary General has received orders for supplying the expedition with provisions of the best quality sufficient for six months' consumption, together with tents, blankets, clothing, pack-saddles, utensils, instruments, tools, and necessaries of all kinds of which you are likely to stand in need. Orders are also given for providing you with arms and ammunition, with rockets for signals, and an ample supply of simple medicines--You are to consider it an important duty to attend to the providing of all these supplies, and to take care that not only every article is of the best quality that can be procured, but also that no article be wanting with which you may desire to be provided. 3. Orders are given for forwarding without delay all your provisions, stores and supplies of every kind to Wellington Valley, at which place, you, Mr. Hume, and all your men are to rendezvous as soon as possible. Mr Maxwell, the superintendent, will furnish you with well-trained bullocks, and afford you all the assistance you may require in arranging every thing for your departure from that station. 4. After you shall have completed all your arrangements, you are to lose no time in finally departing from Wellington Valley in prosecution of the immediate objects of the expedition. 5. You are first to proceed to Mount Harris, where you are to form a temporary depot, by means of which you will have an opportunity of more readily communicating with Mr. Maxwell. 6. You are then to endeavour to determine the fate of the Macquarie River, by tracing it as far as possible beyond the point to which Mr. Oxley went, and by pushing westward, you are to ascertain if there be any high lands in that direction, or if the country be, as it is supposed, an unbroken level and under water. If you should fail in these objects, you will traverse the plains lying behind our north-west boundaries, with a view to skirt any waters by which you may have been checked to the westward; and if you should succeed in skirting them, you are to explore the country westward and southward as far as possible, endeavouring to discover the Macquarie beyond the marsh of Mr. Oxley, and following it to its mouth if at all practicable. 7. There is some reason to believe that the over-flowing of the Macquarie when visited by Mr. Oxley, was occasioned by heavy rains falling in the mountains to the eastward, and that as you are to visit the same spot at a different season of the year, you may escape such embarrassment; but although you should get beyond the point at which Mr. Oxley stopped, it would not be prudent to risk your own health or that of your men, by continuing long in a swampy country. Therefore it may be advisable for you in the first instance to leave the greater part of your men, bullocks, and baggage, at Mount Harris, and if you should see a probability of your being able to cross into the interior, you will then return to Mount Harris for such additional supplies as you may judge necessary. You can there communicate with Mr. Maxwell respecting any ulterior arrangements which you may be desirous of making. 8. The success of the expedition is so desirable an object, that I cannot too strongly impress upon you the importance of perseverance in endeavouring to skirt any waters or marshes which may check your course as long as you have provisions sufficient for your return; but you must be cautious not to proceed a single day's journey further than where you find that your provisions will be barely sufficient to enable you to reach the nearest place at which you can depend upon getting supplies. 9. If after every endeavour you should find it totally impracticable to get to the westward, you are still to proceed northward, keeping as westerly a direction as possible; and when the state of your provisions will oblige you to retreat, you will be guided by your latitude, as to the place to which you are to make the best of your way, but you are not to make for any place on the coast, if Wellington valley should still be nearer. 10. You must be aware that the success of the expedition will greatly depend upon the time for which your provisions will hold out, and therefore you will see the great importance of observing every possible economy in the expenditure of provisions, and preventing waste of every kind. 11. You are to keep a detailed account of your proceedings in a journal, in which all observations and occurrences of every kind, with all their circumstances, however minute, are to be carefully noted down. You are to be particular in describing the general face of all the country through which you pass, the direction and shape of the mountains, whether detached or in ranges, together with the bearings and estimated distances of the several mountains, hills, or eminences from each other. You are likewise to note the nature of the climate, as to heat, cold, moisture, winds, rains, &c, and to keep a register of the temperature from Fahrenheit's thermometer, as observed at two or three periods of each day. The rivers, with their several branches, their direction, velocity, breadth, and depth, are carefully to be noted. It is further expected that you will, as far as may be in your power, attend to the animal, vegetable, and mineral productions of the country, noting down every thing that may occur to you, and preserving specimens as far as your means will admit, especially some of all the ripe seeds which you may discover; when the preservation of specimens is impossible, drawings or detailed accounts of them, are very desirable. 12. You will note the description of the several people whom you may meet, the extent of the population, their means of subsistence, their genius and disposition, the nature of their amusements, their diseases and remedies, their objects of worship, religious ceremonies, and a vocabulary of their language. Lastly. On your return from your journey, you are to cause all the journals or other written documents belonging to, and curiosities collected by the several individuals composing the expedition, to be carefully sealed up with your own seal and kept in that state until you shall have made your report to me in writing of the result of the expedition. Given at Sydney, this eighteenth day of November, 1828. By Command of His Excellency the Governor, ALEXANDER M'LEAY. APPENDIX No. II. LIST OF STORES SUPPLIED FOR THE EXPEDITION. List of Articles delivered from His Majesty's Stores, in charge of D. A. C. Goodsir, to Captain Sturt, viz.-- 1 Hack saddle. 9 Harness casks. 1 Bridle. 23 Canvas bags. 2 Tents. 4 Tin cases. 14 Pack saddles. 16 Padlocks. 14 Pair hobbles. 6 Tarpaulens. 24 Sets horse shoes. 10 Haversacks. 2000 Horse nails. 113 Fathom one-inch rope. 113 Fathoms 1 1/2 inch rope. 1 Boat compass. 1 Hammer, (Blacksmith's) 1 Telescope. 1 Paring knife. 1 Spare glass for ditto. 2 Chipping do. 1 Tin case (for charts.) 2 Rasps. 100 Fish-hooks, (large.) 1 Pair pincers. 12 Fishing-lines. 1 Cutter. 10 Knives. 2lb. Pack thread. 10 Forks. 24 Needles. 10 Spoons. 1/4lb. Bristles. 2 Frying-pans. 7lbs. Leather. 2 Tinder-boxes. 1/2lb. Thread. 1 Tea-kettle, (tin.) 1 Pair of steelyards. 10 Tin dishes. 10 Tin pots. 8 Jackets. 1 Flour seive. 8 Duck frocks. 2 Felling-axes. 8 Shirts. 4 Tomahawks. 16 Trousers. 2 Hammers. 24 Pair shoes. 1 Hand-saw. 16 Blankets. 3 Bill-hooks. 16 Pair stockings. 3 Awls. 2 Bullock collars. 3 Broad hoes. 2 Do. back-bands and pipes. 4 Razors. 2 Leading cruppers. 4 Brushes. 1 Boat with sail and oars. 4 Combs. 1 Do. carriage. 3 Iron pots, (camp kettles.) 1 Canvass boat-cover. 1 Pair scissors. 3 Water breaker. COMMISSARIAT OFFICE, SYDNEY, NOV. 10TH, 1828. P.S.--l Tarpaulin. Large Fish-hook. 1 Tin tea-kettle. 1 Camp kettle. Pitch and oil. Hemp or twine. APPENDIX No. III. SHEEP-FARMING RETURNS, SHOWING THE INCREASE IN FOUR YEARS, from two Breeding Flocks, consisting of 670 Ewes in Lamb. (A.)--1st JUNE, 1828. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flocks. Breeding Ewes. Lambs. Total. Remarks. 2 yrs. old. 3 yrs. old. Male.-Female. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lambs. No. 1 330 148 149 627 Deaths 6. Incr.297 No. 2 330 154 154 638 4 308 ---- -- --- * 1265 10 605 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * The increase throughout these returns is calculated at from 270 to 290 Lambs, to 300 Ewes, which is the usual average in N.S.W. ABSTRACT. Purchased two Flocks of Ewes, at 84s.............................670 Ewes. Increase of Lambs.......................................... 605 Casual Deaths............................................... 10 595 --- Total as per Return............................................ 1265 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (B.)--1st JUNE, 1829. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flocks.|Breeding|Maiden|Wethers.|Rams.| Lambs. |Total.| Remarks. | Ewes. | Ewes.| |Male. Female.| -------------------------------------------------------------------------- No. Lambs. 1 3-yr. 327 154 154 635 Deaths 3 Incr.308 2 4-yr. 326 155 155 636 4 310 3 1-yr. 302 302 1 --- 4 1-yr. 302 18 320 -- 618 ---- 8 1893 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT. Return (A) Total...............................................1265 Increase by Lambing....................................618 Ditto Rams purchased....................................18 --- 636 Casual Deaths......................................... 8 628 ---- Total as per return............................................1893 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (C.)--1st JUNE, 1830. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flocks.|Breeding|Maiden|Wethers.|Rams.| Lambs. |Total.| Remarks. | Ewes. | Ewes.| |Male. Female.| -------------------------------------------------------------------------- No. Lambs. 1 2-yr. 296 133 154 562 Deaths 6 Incr.266 2 4-yr. 325 150 155 625 2 300 3 5-yr. 326 160 646 320 4 2-yr. 302 27 329 --- 5 1-yr. 309 309 886 6 1-yr. 309 309 --- ---- 3 Rams died 2780 12 ditto purchased -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT. Return (B) Total............................................ 1893 Increase by Lambing....................................886 Ditto Rams purchased....................................12 --- 898 Deaths............................................... 11 887 ---- Total as per return......................................... 2780 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (D.)--1st JUNE, 1831. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flocks.|Breeding|Maiden|Wethers.|Rams.| Lambs. |Total.| Remarks. | Ewes. | Ewes.| |Male. Female.| -------------------------------------------------------------------------- No. Lambs. 1 2-yr. 304 136 136 576 Deaths 5 Incr.272 2 3-yr. 293 135 136 564 3 271 3 5-yr. 324 156 156 636 1 312 4 6-yr. 320 156 156 632 2 312 Killed 4 --- 5 3-yr. 300 300 Deaths 2 1167 6 2-yr. 308 308 1 7 1-yr 443 443 8 1-yr 442 442 1 9 40 40 5 ---- -- 3941 20 Purchased 12 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT. Return (C) Total............................................ 2780 Increase by Lambing...................................1167 Ditto Rams purchased....................................18 --- 1185 Casual deaths 20 ...Killed for use 4 ................. 24 1161 ---- Total as per return.......................................... 3941 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (E.)--1st JUNE, 1832. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flocks.|Breeding|Maiden|Wethers.|Rams.| Lambs. |Total.| Remarks. | Ewes. | Ewes.| |Male. Female.| -------------------------------------------------------------------------- No. Lambs. 1 2-yr. 344 154 154 652 Deaths 6 Incr.308 2 3-yr. 344 162 161 667 4 323 4 3-yr. 342 164 165 671 3 329 5 6-yr. 320 155 155 630 2 310 6 7-yr. 300 145 145 590 2 290 7 4-yr. 300 300 ---- 1560 8 3-yr 302 302 2 9 2-yr 440 440 1 10 1-yr 583 583 11 1-yr 584 584 12 45 45 5 Purch. 10 ---- ---- ---- --- --- --- ---- 1650 584 1625 45 780 780 5464 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT. Return (D) Total............................................ 3941 Increase by Lambing...................................1560 Ditto Rams purchased....................................10 --- 1570 Decrease by casual death .............................. 25 Decrease by slaughter for use ......................... 22 --- 1523 ---- Grand Total .............................. 5464 as above -------------------------------------------------------------------------- MEMORANDUM,--The deaths have been calculated at the lowest rate under the best management. It may be safer to assume a rate of four or five per cent. per annum. Account of Expenditure and Income upon Sheep Stock in Australia, appended to Returns A. B. C. D. and E. 1st YEAR, (RETURN A.) JUNE, 1829. INCOME. By 11265 fleeces, average weight 2 1/4 lbs. 284 lbs wool at 1s. 6d. per lb. 213 9 0 EXPENDITURE. To 2 Shepherds at 30 pounds 60 0 0 To 1 Watchman at 20 20 0 O PROFIT. To Hurdles, &c. 10 0 0 -------- 90 0 0 -------- 123 9 0 2nd YEAR, (B.) JUNE, 1830. INCOME. By 1893 fleeces, at 2 1/4 lbs. 4259lbs. wool at 1s. 6d. 319 8 6 EXPENDITURE. To 2 Shepherds at 30 pounds 60 0 0 To 2 Ditto 20 40 0 0 To 1 Watchman 20 0 0 To Hurdles &c. 5 0 0 --------- 125 0 0 To 18 Rams at 10 pounds* 180 0 0 --------- 305 0 0 --------- 14 8 6 *The price of rams will probably fall to 5 pounds 3rd YEAR, (C.) JUNE, 1831. INCOME. By 2780 fleeces, at 2 1/4 lbs. 6255lbs. wool at 1s. 6d. 469 2 6 EXPENDITURE. To 2 Shepherds at 30 pounds 60 0 0 To 2 Ditto 25 25 0 0 To 3 Ditto 20 60 0 0 To 2 Watchman 20 40 0 0 To Hurdles &c. 10 0 0 --------- 195 0 0 To 12 Rams at 10 pounds 120 0 0 --------- 315 0 0 --------- 154 2 6 4th YEAR, (D.) JUNE, 1832. INCOME. By 3941 fleeces, at 2 1/4 lbs. 8867lbs. wool at 1s. 6d. 665 0 0 EXPENDITURE. To 2 Shepherds at 30 pounds 60 0 0 To 2 Ditto 25 50 0 0 To 4 Ditto 20 80 0 0 To 3 Watchman &c. 60 0 0 (one to take charge of rams) To Hurdles &c. 10 0 0 --------- 260 0 0 To 18 Rams at 10 pounds 180 0 0 --------- 440 0 0 --------- 225 0 0 5th YEAR, (E.) JUNE, 1833.* INCOME. By 5864 fleeces, at 2 lbs. 12,294lbs. wool at 1s. 6d. 922 0 0 EXPENDITURE. To 2 Shepherds at 30 pounds 60 0 0 To 3 Ditto 25 75 0 0 To 5 Ditto 20 100 0 0 To 3 Watchman 20 60 0 0 To Hurdles &c. 20 0 0 --------- 315 0 0 To 10 Rams at 10 pounds 100 0 0 --------- 415 0 0 --------- 507 0 0 ---------- Net profit by sales of wool in 5 years 1024 0 0 1024 0 0 divided by 5 gives 204 8 0 for annual interest on the original capital of 2814 0 0, (about 7 1/4 percent per annum) in addition to the accumulation of capital itself, shown by the valuation of stock. *These accounts are a year in advance of the sheep returns, in order to bring them to the time at which the wool would be sold. VALUATION OF SHEEP, JUNE, 1832----(RETURN E.) 1614 Ewes from 1 to 4 years old at 3 pounds each 4842 0 O 620 Do. 4 to 7 years old 2 1240 0 0 780 Female Lambs 2 1560 0 0 2405 Wethers and Male Lambs 15s. 1803 0 0 45 Rams (original cost, 450l.) 400 0 0 ---------- 9845 0 0 Note.--About 500 pounds would be added to the Income on the fifth year, by the sale of wethers of 3 and 4 years old. The cost of rams ought, strictly speaking, to be added to capital, and not deducted from Income; but these returns were made out in their present form at the request of a gentleman proceeding to the Colony with a limited capital, and who wished to know how much he might safely invest in sheep. APPENDIX No. IV. LIST OF GEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS, COLLECTED IN THE DISTANT INTERIOR DURING THE FIRST EXPEDITION, WITH THEIR LOCALITIES AND THEIR RELATIVE DISTANCES FROM EACH OTHER. It may be necessary to observe that the height of the Cataract of the Macquarie River above the sea, was ascertained by barometrical admeasurement to be 650 feet. The country subsequently traversed is considerably lower. The specimens refer only to the geological formation of the distant interior. Schorl Rock.--Colour blueish grey, fine grained, extremely hard. Composed of Tourmaline and Quartz. Forms the bed of the Macquarie at the Cataract, 75 miles to the N.W. of Wellington Valley. Decomposed Mica Slate.--Colour white; yields to the knife; adheres strongly to the tongue. Decomposed Feldspar.--Colour pale rose-pink; very fine grained; easily scratched with the knife; adheres strongly to the tongue. Both specimens immediately succeed the Schorl rock at the Cataract, in large smooth-sided masses. This formation may be said to terminate the rocks connected with the dividing ranges, since it is the last that occurs at their western base. A little below the Cataract, the county undergoes a remarkable change, and becomes extremely depressed. Porphyry with Feldspar.--Colour dull red, with white spots, or grey with red spots; very hard, compact, sonorous, magnetic. [See pp. 27 and 115.] Composition of Mount Harris, a hill called by Mr. Oxley, elevated about 170 feet above the level of the plains. It lies 65 miles to the N.N.W. of the Cataract, and is about 16 miles distant from the first of the marshes of the Macquarie. Porphyry with Feldspar.--Colour grey with red spots, similar to the last. Was not observed to affect the needle. Formation of Mount Foster. Mount Foster is more than 200 feet in height, and lies about 5 miles to the N.N.W. of Mount Harris. From the summit of both, Arbuthnot's range is visible, bearing nearly due east, distant 70 miles. [See page 28.] Quartz Rock varieties--Slaty Quartz varieties.--Composition of the first elevations to the Westward of the marshes of the Macquarie, called New Year's Range, a group of five hills. The loftiest about 200 feet in elevation; distant about 80 miles to the N.W. of Mount Harris. Granite.--Colour red, coarse-grained. Composed of Quartz, Feldspar, and Mica. Granite, Porphyritic.--Colour light red. Both occurring in the bed of New Year's Creek, traversing it obliquely, and are visible for a few hundred yards only. This granite occurs about 16 miles from the Range in a N. by E. direction. Old Red Sandstone.--Composition of Oxley's Table Land, 500 feet above the level of the plains. It is broken into two hills, that appear to have been separated by some convulsion. [See page 81.] It bears N.W. by W. from New Year's Range, distant 50 miles. Old Red Sandstone.--Composition of D'Urban's group. The highest elevation ascended during the expedition, being nearly 600 feet above the level of the plain in which it rises. It lies to the S.S.W. of Oxley's Table Land, distant 40 miles, and the rock of which it is composed is much harder and closer. Breccia.--Colour pale yellow, silicious cement. Composition of some trifling elevations to the North of New-Year's range, with which it is doubtful whether they are connected. Crystallized Sulphate of Lime.--Found imbedded in the alluvial soil forming the banks of the Darling river. Occurring in a regular vein. Soft, yielding to the nail; not acted on by acids.--See Plate. Breccia.--Pale ochre colour, silicious cement, extremely hard. Cellular, and sharp edges to the fractured pebbles. Has apparently undergone fusion. Occurs in the bed of the Darling in one place only. Sandstone Varieties.--Colour dull red and muddy white; appears like burnt bricks; light, easily frangible; adheres to the tongue; occurs in large masses in the bed of the Darling; probably in connection with the rock-salt of the neighbourhood, which, from the number of brine springs discovered feeding the river, must necessarily exist. Variety of the same description of rock. Jasper and Quartz.--Showing itself above the surface of a plain, from which D'Urban's group bore S. 40 E. distant 33 miles. It is a remarkable fact, that not a pebble or a stone was picked up during the progress of the expedition, on any one of the plains; and that after it again left Mount Harris for the Castlereagh, the only rock-formation discovered was a small Freestone tract near the Darling river. There was not a pebble of any kind either in the bed of the Castlereagh, or in the creeks falling into it. APPENDIX No. V. OFFICIAL REPORTS TO THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. * * * * * GOVERNMENT ORDER COLONIAL SECRETARY'S OFFICE, 23RD JANUARY, 1829. His Excellency the Governor has been pleased to order, that the following communication, dated the 25th of December last, from Captain Sturt, of the 39th Regiment, who is employed in an exploring expedition into the interior of the country, be published for general information. By his Excellency's Command, ALEXANDER M'LEAY. * * * * * WESTERN MARSHES, 25TH DECEMBER, 1828. SIR,--I do myself the honor to forward, for the Governor's perusal, a copy of my journal up to the date of my arrival at Mount Harris. I should not have directed the messenger to return so soon, had I not subsequently advanced to Mount Foster, and surveyed the country from that eminence. I could distinctly see Arbuthnot's Range to the eastward. From that point the horizon appeared to me unbroken, but the country to the northward and westward seemed to favour an attempt to penetrate into it. I did not observe any sheet of water, and the course of the Macquarie was lost in the woodlands below. Mr. Hume ascended the hill at sun-rise, and thought he could see mountains to the north east, but at such a distance as to make it quite a matter of uncertainty. Agreeing, however, in the prudence of an immediate descent, we left our encampment on the morning of the 23rd, under Mount Foster, to which we had removed from Mount Harris, and pursued a north-north-west course to the spot on which we rest at present. We passed some fine meadow land near the river, and were obliged to keep wide of it in consequence of fissures in the ground. Traversing a large and blasted plain, on which the sun's rays fell with intense heat, and on which there was but little vegetation, we skirted the first great morass, and made the river immediately beyond it. It is of very considerable extent, the channel of the river passing through it. We are encompassed on every side by high reeds, which exist in the woods as well as in the plains. Mr. Hume and myself rode forward yesterday through the second morass, and made the river on slightly elevated ground, at a distance of about five miles; the country beyond appeared to favour our object, and we, to-morrow, proceed with the party to the north-west. The river seems to bend to the north-east; but in this level country it is impossible to speak with certainty, or to give any decided opinion of the nature of it, beyond the flats on which we are travelling. The reeds to the north-east and northward extend over a circumference of fifty miles; but if Mr. Hume really saw mountains or rising ground in the former point, the apparent course of the Macquarie is at once accounted for. The country, however, seems to dip to the north, though generally speaking it is level, and I am inclined to think that the state of the atmosphere caused a deception in this appearance. I regret to add, that the effects of the sun on the plain over which we passed on the 23rd produced a return of inflammation in the eyes of the men, I have named in my journals, and caused the same in the eyes of several others of my party. I halted, therefore, to expedite their recovery. They are doing well now, and we can proceed in the cool of the morning without any fear of their receiving injury by it. One of the men, who were to return to Wellington Valley, was attacked slightly with dysentery, but the medicines I gave him carried it off in the course of a day or two. I have taken every precaution with regard to the health of the men, in preparing them for the country into which they are going; and I have to request that you will inform the governor that the conduct of the whole party merits my approbation, and that I have no fault to find. The men from Sydney are not so sharp as those from Wellington Valley, but are equally well disposed. The animals, both horses and bullocks, are in good order, and I find the two soldiers of infinite service to me. The boat has received some damage from exposure to intense heat, but is otherwise uninjured. We still retain the carriage and have every prospect of dragging it on with us. His Excellency, having been good enough to order a fresh supply of provisions to Wellington Valley, I have to beg they may be forwarded to Mount Harris, and that the person in charge thereof be instructed to remain at that station for one month. We shall, during the interval, have examined the country to the north-west; and, in case we are forced back, shall require a supply to enable us to proceed to the northward, in furtherance of the views I have already had the honor to submit for the Governor's approval. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient and humble Servant, CHARLES STURT, Captain, 39th Regt. THE HONOURABLE THE COLONIAL SECRETARY * * * * * GOVERNMENT ORDER. COLONIAL SECRETARY'S OFFICE, 6TH APRIL, 1829. His Excellency the Governor is pleased to direct that the following interesting Report which has been received from Captain Sturt, 39th Regiment, who has been employed for some months past, (as will be seen on reference to the Government Order, No. 4, published with Captain Sturt's First Report in the Sydney Gazette, of the 24th of January last) in exploring the interior, be communicated for the information of the public. It appears that the river Macquarie ceases to exist near the spot where the expedition under the late Mr. Oxley terminated, which, from the state of country at the time, being then flooded, could not be ascertained; and that another river of no inconsiderable magnitude, fed by salt springs, was discovered by Captain Sturt on the 2nd February last, about 100 miles to the westward of the Macquarie, running to the southward and westward. By His Excellency's Command, ALEXANDER M'LEAY. * * * * * MOUNT HARRIS, 4TH MARCH, 1829. SIR,--I do myself the honor to acquaint you, for the information of His Excellency the Governor, that I returned to this eminence on Monday, the 23rd ult. having been driven from the interior, in consequence of the extreme drought which prevails there. I am to state, in reference to my former communication, that agreeably to what I then reported, I moved, on the 26th December last, lower down the plains of the Macquarie, but encountered a barrier of reeds, formed by the marshes of that river, through which we in vain endeavoured to force our way. I was in consequence obliged to make the nearest part of the river to my left, and to take such measures as the nature of my situation required. Here, for the first time, I set the boat afloat, deeming it essential to trace the river, as I could not move upon its banks, and wishing also to ascertain where it again issued from the marshes, I requested Mr. Hume to proceed northerly, with a view to skirt them, and to descend westerly, wherever he saw an open space. He was fortunate enough to strike upon the channel about twelve miles north of our position, but was obstructed in his further progress by another marsh, in consequence of which he returned to the camp the next day; in the mean time, I had taken the boat, and proceeded down the Macquarie, my way being at first considerably obstructed by fallen timber: clearing this obstacle, however, I got into a deeper channel, with fine broad reaches, and a depth of from twelve to fifteen feet water. I had a short time previously cleared all woods and trees, and was now in the midst of reeds of great height. After proceeding onwards for about eight miles from the place whence I started, my course was suddenly and unexpectedly checked; I saw reeds before me, and expected I was about to turn an angle of the river, but I found that I had got to the end of the channel, and that the river itself had ceased to exist. Confounded at such a termination to a stream, whose appearance justified the expectation that it would have led me through the heart of the marsh to join Mr. Hume, I commenced a most minute examination of the place, and discovered two creeks, if they deserve the name, branching, the one to the north-west, and the other to the north-east; after tracing the former a short distance, I reached its termination, and in order to assure myself that such was the case, I walked round the head of it by pushing through the reeds; it being then too dark to continue where I was, I returned to a place on the river, at which I had rested during a shower, and slept there. In the morning I again went to the spot to examine the north-eastern branch, when I was equally disappointed. I then examined the space between the two creeks, opposite to the main channel of the river, and where the bank receives the force of the current. Here I saw water in the reeds, but it was scarcely ankle deep, and was running off to the north-west quicker than the waters of the river, which had almost an imperceptible motion, I was therefore at once convinced that it was not permanent, but had lodged there in the night, during which much rain had fallen. I next pushed my way through the reeds into the marsh, and at length clearly perceived that the waters which were perfectly sweet, after running several courses, flowed off to the north, towards which point there was an apparent declination or dip. Finding it impossible to proceed further, I regained the boat, and thence returned to the camp, under a conviction that I had reached the very spot, at which Mr. Oxley lost the channel of the river in 1818. The next day I moved to the place where Mr. Hume had struck upon the channel of the river, but was again doubtful in what direction to proceed. The marsh, at the commencement of which we now found ourselves, being the third from Mount Foster, but the second great one, seemed to extend beyond us to the north for many miles, but varying in breadth. In the evening I went in the boat up the channel, and found it at first, deep and sullen, as that of the river above. It soon however, narrowed, and the weeds formed over its surface, so that I abandoned the boat and walked along a path up it. I had not gone far when the channel divided; two smaller channels came, the one from the southern, and the other from the western parts of the marsh into it. There was an evident declination where they were, and it was at their junction the river again rallied and formed. On my return to the camp, Mr. Hume and I went down the river, but found that about a mile it lost itself, and spread its waters ever the extensive marsh before it. In this extremity, I knew not what movement to make, as Mr. Hume had been checked in his progress north. I therefore determined to ascertain the nature of the country to the eastward and to the westward, that I might move accordingly; I proposed to Mr. Hume, to take a week's provisions, with two attendants, and go to the north-east, in order again to turn the marsh, but with the expectation that the angle formed by the junction of the Castlereagh with the Macquarie would arrest its progress, as the last was fast approaching the former. I myself determined to cross the river, and to skirt the marshes on the left, and in case they turned off to the north east, as they appeared to do, it was my intention to pursue a N.W. course into the interior, to learn the nature of it. With these views I left the camp on the 31st of December, and did not return until the 5th of January. Having found early in my journey, from the change of soil and of timber, that I was leaving the neighbourhood of the Macquarie, I followed a N.W. course, from a more northerly one, and struck at once across the country, under an impression that Mr. Hume would have made the river again long before my return. I found, after travelling between twenty and thirty miles, the country began to rise; and at the end of my journey, I made a hill of considerable elevation, from the summit of which I had a view of other high lands; one to the S.W. being a very fine mountain. As I had not found any water excepting in two creeks, which I had left far behind me, and as I had got on a soil which appeared incapable of holding it, I made this the termination of my journey, having exceeded 100 miles in distance from the camp, on my return to which I found Mr. Hume still absent. When he joined, he stated to me, that not making the Castlereagh as soon as he expected, he had bent down westerly for the Macquarie, and that he ended his journey at some gentle hills he had made; so that it appeared we must either have crossed each other's line of route, or that they were very near, and that want of length must alone have prevented them from crossing; but as such all assumption led to the conclusion that the Macquarie no longer existed, I determined to pursue a middle course round the swamps, to ascertain the point; as in case the river had ended, a westerly course was the one which my instructions directed me to pursue. In the immediate neighbourhood of the marshes we were obliged to sink wells for water, and it was thus early that we began to feel the want of a regular supply. Having made a creek about four miles from our position by cutting through the reeds where there was a narrow space, we pursued a westerly course over a plain, having every appearance of frequent inundation, and for four or five days held nearly the same direction; in the course of which we crossed both our tracks on the excursions we had made, which had intersected each other in a dense oak brush; thus renewing the few doubts, or rather the doubt we had as to the fate of the Macquarie, whose course we had been sent to trace. Indeed, had I not felt convinced that that river had ceased, I should not have moved westward without further examination, but we had passed through a very narrow part of the marshes, and round the greater part of them, and had not seen any hollow that could by any possible exaggeration be construed into or mistaken for the channel of a river. It appears, then, that the Macquarie, flowing as it does for so many miles, through a bed, and not a declining country, and having little water in it, except in times of flood, loses its impetus long ere it reaches the formidable barrier that opposes its progress northwards; the soil in which the reeds grow being a stiff clay. Its waters consequently spread, until a slight declivity giving them fresh impulse, they form a channel again, but soon gaining a level, they lose their force and their motion together, and spread not only over the second great marsh, but over a vast extent of the surrounding country, the breadth of ground thus subject to inundation being more than twenty miles, and its length considerably greater; around this space there is a gentle rise which confines the waters, while small hollows in various directions lead them out of the marshes over the adjacent plains, on which they eventually subside. On my return from the interior, I examined those parts round which I had not been, with particular attention, partly in company with Mr. Hume, and this statement was confirmed by what we saw. Thus, at a distance of about twenty-five miles from Mount Foster to the N.N.W. the river Macquarie ceases to exist, in any shape as a river, and at a distance of between fifty and sixty, the marshes terminate, though the country subject to inundation from the river is of a very considerable extent, as shown by the withered bulrushes, wet reeds, and shells, that are scattered over its surface. Having executed the first part of the instructions with which I had been honoured, I determined on pursuing a west, or north-west course into the interior, to ascertain the nature of it, in fulfilment of the second, but in doing this I was obliged to follow creeks, and even on their banks had to carry a supply of water, so uncertain was it that we should meet with any at the termination of our day's journey, and that what we did find would be fit to drink. Our course led us over plains immediately bordering the lower lands of the Macquarie, alternating with swamp oak, acacia pendula, pine, box, eucalyptus, and many other trees of minor growth, the soil being inclined to a red loam, while the plains were generally covered with a black scrub, though in some places they had good grass upon them. We crossed two creeks before we made the hills Mr. Hume had ascended, and which he called New Year's Range. Around these hills the country appeared better--they are gentle, picturesque elevations, and are for the most part, covered with verdure, and have, I fancy, a whinstone base, the rock of which they are composed being of various substances. I place New Year's Range in lat. 30 degrees 21 minutes, long. 146 degrees 3 minutes 30 seconds. Our course next lying north-west along a creek, led us to within twenty miles of the hill that had terminated my excursion, and as I hoped that a more leisurely survey of the country from its summit would open something favourable to our view, I struck over for it, though eventually obliged to return. From it Mr. Hume and I rode to the S.W. mountain, a distance of about forty miles, without crossing a brook or a creek, our way leading through dense acacia brushes, and for the most part over a desert. We saw high lands from this mountain, which exceeds 1,300 feet in elevation, and is of sandstone formation, and thickly covered with stunted pine, in eight different points--the bearings of which are as follows:-- Oxley's Table Land, N. 40 E., distant 40 miles. Kengall Hill, due E. very distant. Conical Hill, S. 60 E. Highland, S.E. distance 30 miles. Highland, S. 30 E. distance 25 miles. Long Range, S. 16 E. distance 60 miles. Long Range, S. 72 W. distance 60 miles. Distant Range, S. 25 W. supposed. It was in vain, however, that we looked for water. The country to the north-west, was low and unbroken, and alternated with wood and plain. The country from New Year's Range to the hill I had made, and which I called Oxley's Table Land, had been very fair, with good soil in many places, but with a total want of water, except in the creeks, wherein the supply was both bad and uncertain; on our second day's journey from the former, we came to the creek on which we were moving, where it had a coarse granite bottom. The country around it improved very much in appearance, and there was abundance of good grass on the surface of it, in spite of the drought. On the right of this creek, a large plain stretches parallel to it for many miles, varying in quality of soil. Near Oxley's Table Land, we passed over open forest, the prevailing timber of which was box. I have placed Oxley's Table Land in latitude 29 degrees 57 minutes 30 seconds, longitude 145 degrees 43 minutes 30 seconds. Finding it impracticable to move westward from the hill I again descended on the creek, whose general course was to the north-west, in which direction we at length struck upon a river whose appearance raised our most sanguine expectations. It flowed round an angle from the north-east to the north-west, and extended in longitude five reaches as far as we could see. At that place it was about sixty yards broad, with banks of from thirty to forty feet high, and it had numerous wild fowl and many pelicans on its bosom, and seemed to be full of fish, while the paths of the natives on both sides, like well-trodden roads, showed how numerous they were about it. On tasting its waters, however, we found them perfectly salt, and useless to us, and as our animals had been without water the night before, this circumstance distressed us much; our first day's journey led us past between sixty and seventy huts in one place, and on our second we fell in with a numerous tribe of natives, having previously seen some between two creeks before we made New-Year's Range. At some places the water proved less salt than at others; our animals drank of it sparingly: we found two small fresh-water holes, which served us as we passed. After tracing the river for a considerable distance, we came on brine springs in the bed of it, the banks having been encrusted with salt from the first; and as the difficulty of getting fresh water was so great, I here foresaw an end to our wanderings. And as I was resolved not to involve my party in greater distress, I halted it, on overtaking the animals, and the next morning turned back to the nearest fresh-water, at a distance of eighteen miles from us. Unwilling, however, to give up our pursuit, Mr. Hume and I started with two men on horseback, to trace the river as far as we could, and to ascertain what course it took; in the hopes also that we should fall on some creek, or get a more certain supply of drinkable water. We went a distance to which the bullocks could not have been brought, and then got on a red sandy soil, which at once destroyed our hopes; and on tasting the river water we found it salter than ever, our supply being diminished to two pints. Our animals being weak and purged, and having proceeded at least forty miles from the camp, I thought it best to yield to circumstances, and to return, though I trust I shall be believed when I add, it was with extreme reluctance I did so; and had I followed the wishes of my party, should still have continued onwards. Making a part of the river where we had slept, we stayed to refresh, and in consequence of the heat of the weather were obliged to drink the water in it, which made us sick. While here, a tribe of blacks came to us and behaved remarkably well. At night we slept on a plain without water, and the next day we regained the camp, which had been visited by the natives during our absence. We found the river held a south-west course, and appeared to be making for the central space between a high land, which I called Dunlop's Range, at Mr. Hume's request, and a lofty range to the westward. It still continued its important appearance, having gained in breadth and in the height of its banks, while there were hundreds of pelicans and wild-fowl on it. Flowing through a level country with such a channel, it may be presumed that this river ultimately assumes either a greater character, or that it adds considerably to the importance of some other stream. It had a clay bottom, generally speaking, in many places semi-indurated and fast forming into sandstone, while there was crystallized sulphate of lime running in veins through the soil which composed the bank. This river differs from most in the colony, in having a belt of barren land of from a quarter of a mile to two miles in breadth in its immediate neighbourhood, and which is subject to overflow. This belt runs to the inland plains, where a small elevation checks the further progress of the flood. There is magnificent blue gum on both sides the river, but the right bank is evidently the most fertile, and I am mistaken greatly if there is not a beautiful country north of it. Of the country over which we have passed, it is impossible for me to have formed a correct opinion under its present melancholy circumstances. It has borne the appearance of barrenness, where in even moderate rain, it might have shown very differently, though no doubt we passed over much of both good and bad land; our animals on the whole, have thrived on the food they have had, which would argue favourably for the herbage. Generally speaking, I fear the timber is bad--the rough-gum may be used for knees, and such purposes, and we may have seen wood for the wheelwright and cabinet-maker, specimens of which I have procured, but none for general or household purposes. The creeks we have traced are different in character from those in the settled districts, inasmuch as that, like the river, they have a belt of barren land near then and but little grass--they have all of them been numerously frequented by the natives, as appeared from the number of muscle-shells on their banks, but now having scarcely any water in them, the fish having either been taken, or are dead, and the tribes gone elsewhere for food, while the badness of the river water has introduced a cutaneous disease among the natives of that district, which is fast carrying them off. Our intercourse with these people was incessant from the time we first met them, and on all occasions they behaved remarkably well, nor could we have seen less than than two hundred and fifty of them. Our return is to be attributable to the want of water alone, and it is impossible for me to describe the effects of the drought on animal as well as vegetable nature. The natives are wandering in the desert, and it is melancholy to reflect on the necessity which obliges them to drink the stinking and loathsome water they do--birds sit gasping in the trees and are quite thin--the wild dog prowls about in the day-time unable to avoid us, and is as lean as he can be in a living state, while minor vegetation is dead, and the very trees are drooping. I have noticed all these things in my Journal I shall have the honour of submitting through you, for the Governor's perusal and information, on my return. Finally, I fear our expedition will not pave the way to any ultimate benefit; although it has been the means by which two very doubtful questions,--the course of the Macquarie, and the nature of the interior, have been solved; for it is beyond doubt, that the interior for 250 miles beyond its former known limits to the W.N.W., so far from being a shoal sea, has been ascertained not only to have considerable elevations upon it, but is in itself a table land to all intents and purposes, and has scarcely water on its surface to support its inhabitants. I beg you will inform His Excellency the Governor, that I have on all occasions received the most ready and valuable assistance from Mr, Hume. His intimate acquaintance with the manners and customs of the natives, enabled him to enter into intercourse with them, and chiefly contributed to the peaceable manner in which we have journeyed, while his previous experience put it in his power to be of real use to me. I cannot but say he has done an essential service to future travellers, and to the colony at large, by his conduct on all occasions since he has been with me; nor should I be doing him justice, if I did not avail myself of the first opportunity of laying my sentiments before the Governor, through you. I am happy to add that every individual of the party deserves my warmest approbation, and that they have, one and all, borne their distresses, trifling certainly, but still unusual, with cheerfulness, and that they have at all times been attentive to their duty, and obedient to their orders. The whole are in good health, and are eager again to start. I have the honor to be, Sir Your most obedient and most humble servant, CHARLES STURT, Capt. 39th Regt. THE HONORABLE THE COLONIAL SECRETARY. * * * * * MOUNT HARRIS, 5TH MARCH, 1829. SIR,--It having appeared to me, that after discovering such a river as the one I have described in my letter of yesterday, His Excellency the Governor would approve of my endeavouring to regain it. There being a probability that it ultimately joins the Southern Waters, I thought of turning my steps to the southward and westward; and with a view to learn the nature of the country, I despatched Mr. Hume in that direction on Saturday last. He returned in three days, after having gone above forty miles from the river, and states, that he crossed two creeks, the one about twenty-five miles, the other about thirty-two distance, evidently the heads of the creeks we passed westward of the marshes of the Macquarie. He adds, that, to the second creek the land was excellent, but that on crossing it, he got onto red soil, on which he travelled some miles further, until he saw a range of high land, bearing from him S.W.. by W., when, knowing from the nature of the country around him, and from the experience of our late journey, that he could not hope to find a regular supply of water in advance, and that in the present dry state of the low lands, a movement such as I had contemplated would be impracticable, he returned home. I do myself the honour, therefore, to report to you, for His Excellency's information, that I shall proceed on Saturday next in a N.E. direction towards the Castlereagh, intending to trace that river down, and afterwards to penetrate as far to the northward and westward as possible; it being my wish to get into the country north of the more distant river, where I have expectations that there is an extensive and valuable track of country, but that in failure of the above, I shall examine the low country behind our N.W. boundaries, if I can find a sufficiency of water to enable me to do so. I am to inform you that in this neighbourhood the Macquarie has ceased to flow, and that it is now a chain of shallow ponds. The water is fast diminishing in it, and unless rain descends in a few weeks it will be perfectly dry. I am also to report, that the natives attempted the camp with the supplies before my arrival at Mount Harris, but that on the soldier with the party firing a shot, after they had thrown a stone and other of the weapons, they fled. It was in consequence of their fires, which I saw at a distance of forty miles, and which they never make on so extensive a scale, except as signals when they want to collect, and are inclined to be mischievous, that I made forced marches up, and I am led to believe my arrival was very opportune. The natives have visited us since, and I do not think they will now attempt to molest either party when we separate. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient and most humble servant, CHARLES STURT, Capt. 39th Regt. THE HON. THE COLONIAL SECRETARY. END OF VOLUME I * * * * * * * VOLUME II. CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME EXPEDITION DOWN THE MORUMBIDGEE AND MURRAY RIVERS, IN 1829, 1830 AND 1831. CHAPTER I. Introductory--Remarks on the results of the former Expedition--The fitting out of another determined on--Its objects--Provisions, accoutrements, and retinue--Paper furnished by Mr. Kent--Causes that have prevented the earlier appearance of the present work. CHAPTER II. Commencement of the expedition in November, 1829.--Joined by Mr. George M'Leay--Appearance of the party--Breadalbane Plains--Hospitality of Mr. O'Brien--Yass Plains--Hill of Pouni--Path of a hurricane--Character of the country between Underaliga and the Morumbidgee--Appearance of that river-- Junction of the Dumot with it--Crossing and recrossing--Geological character and general aspect of the country--Plain of Pondebadgery--Few natives seen. CHAPTER III. Character of the Morumbidgee where it issues from the hilly country-- Appearance of approach to swamps--Hamilton Plains--Intercourse with the natives--Their appearance, customs, &c.--Change in the character of the river--Mirage--Dreariness of the country--Ride towards the Lachlan river --Two boats built and launched on the Morumbidgee; and the drays, with part of the men sent back to Goulburn Plains. CHAPTER IV. Embarkation of the party in the boats, and voyage down the Morumbidgee-- The skiff swamped by striking on a sunken tree--Recovery of boat and its loading--Region of reeds--Dangers of the navigation--Contraction of the channel--Reach the junction of a large river--Intercourse with the natives on its banks--Character of the country below the junction of the rivers-- Descent of a dangerous rapid--Warlike demonstrations of a tribe of natives--Unexpected deliverance from a conflict with them--Junction of another river--Give the name of the "Murray" to the principal stream. CHAPTER V. Character of the country--Damage of provisions--Adroitness of the natives in catching fish--The skiff broken up--Stream from the North-East supposed to be the Darling--Change of country in descending the river--Intercourse with the natives--Prevalence of loathsome diseases among them--Apparent populousness of the country--Junction of several small streams--The Rufus, the Lindesay, &c.--Rainy and tempestuous weather--Curious appearance of the banks--Troublesomeness of the natives--Inhospitable and desolate aspect of the country--Condition of the men--Change in the geological character of the country--The river passes through a valley among hills. CHAPTER VI. Improvement in the aspect of the country--Increase of the river--Strong westerly gales--Chronometer broken--A healthier tribe of natives-- Termination of the Murray in a large lake--Its extent and environs-- Passage across it--Hostile appearance of the natives--Beautiful scenery --Channel from the lake to the sea at Encounter Bay--Reach the beach-- Large flocks of water fowl--Curious refraction--State of provisions-- Embarrassing situation--Inspection of the channel to the ocean--Weak condition of the men--Difficulties of the return. CHAPTER VII. Valley of the Murray--Its character and capabilities--Laborious progress up the river--Accident to the boat--Perilous collision with the natives --Turbid current of the Rufus--Passage of the Rapids--Assisted by the natives--Dangerous intercourse with them--Re-enter the Morumbidgee-- Verdant condition of its banks--Nocturnal encounter with the natives-- Interesting manifestation of feeling in one family--Reach the spot where the party had embarked on the river--Men begin to fail entirely-- Determine to send two men forward for relief--Their return--Excursion on horseback--Reach Pondebadgery Plain, and meet the supplies from the colony--Cannibalism of the natives--Return to Sydney--Concluding remarks. CHAPTER VIII. Environs of the lake Alexandrina--Appointment of Capt. Barker to make a further survey of the coast near Encounter Bay--Narrative of his proceedings--Mount Lofty, Mount Barker, and beautiful country adjacent-- Australian salmon--Survey of the coast--Outlet of lake to the sea-- Circumstances that led to the slaughter of Capt. Barker by the natives-- His character--Features of this part of the country and capabilities of its coasts--Its adaptation for colonization--Suggestions for the furtherance of future Expeditions. APPENDIX. No. I. Geological Specimens found to the south-west of Port Jackson No. II. Official Report to the Colonial Government ILLUSTRATIONS TO THE SECOND VOLUME (Not included in this etext) View on the Morumbidgee River Junction of the supposed Darling with the Murray Palaeornis Melanura, or Black Tailed Paroquet Pomatorhinus Temporalis Pomatorhinus Superciliosus Chart of Cape Jervis, and Encounter Bay Mass of Fossils of the Tertiary Formation Bulla Conus Genus Unknown Chrystallized Selenite Selenite Single Fossils of the Tertiary Formation EXPEDITION DOWN THE MORUMBIDGEE AND MURRAY RIVERS, IN 1829, 1830 AND 1831. CHAPTER I. Introductory Remarks on the results of the former Expedition--The fitting out of another determined on--Its objects--Provisions, accoutrements, and retinue--Paper furnished by Mr. Kent--Causes that have prevented the earlier appearance of the present work. OBJECTS OF THE EXPEDITION. The expedition of which we have just detailed the proceedings was so far satisfactory in its results, that it not only set at rest the hypothesis of the existence of an internal shoal sea in southern Australia, and ascertained the actual termination of the rivers it had been directed to trace, but also added very largely to our knowledge of the country considerably to the westward of former discoveries. And although no land had been traversed of a fertile description of sufficient extent to invite the settler, the fact of a large river such as the Darling lying at the back of our almost intertropical settlements, gave a fresh importance to the distant interior. It was evident that this river was the chief drain for carrying off the waters falling westerly from the eastern coast, and as its course indicated a decline of country diametrically opposite to that which had been calculated upon, it became an object of great importance to ascertain its further direction. Had not the saline quality of its waters been accounted for, by the known existence of brine springs in its bed, it would have been natural to have supposed that it communicated with some mediterranean sea; but, under existing circumstances, it remained to be proved whether this river held on a due south course, or whether it ultimately turned westerly, and ran into the heart of the interior. In order fully to determine this point, it would be necessary to regain it banks, so far below the parallel to which it had been traced as to leave no doubt of its identity; but it was difficult to fix upon a plan for approaching that central stream without suffering from the want of water, since it could hardly be expected that the Lachlan would afford such means, as it was reasonable to presume that its termination was very similar to that of the Macquarie. The attention of the government was, consequently, fixed upon the Morumbidgee, a river stated to be of considerable size and of impetuous current. Receiving its supplies from the lofty ranges behind Mount Dromedary, it promised to hold a longer course than those rivers which, depending on periodical rains alone for existence, had been found so soon to exhaust themselves. PREPARATIONS. The fitting out of another expedition was accordingly determined upon; and about the end of September 1829, I received the Governor's instructions to make the necessary preparations for a second descent into the interior, for the purpose of tracing the Morumbidgee, or such rivers as it might prove to be connected with, as far as practicable. In the event of failure in this object, it was hoped that an attempt to regain the banks of the Darling on a N.W. course from the point at which the expedition might be thwarted in its primary views, would not be unattended with success. Under any circumstances, however, by pursuing these measures, an important part of the colony would necessarily be traversed, of which the features were as yet altogether unknown. It became my interest and my object to make the expedition as complete as possible, and, as far as in me lay, to provide for every contingency: and as it appeared to me that, in all likelihood, we should in one stage or other of our journey have to trust entirely to water conveyance, I determined on taking a whale-boat, whose dimensions and strength should in some measure be proportioned to the service required. I likewise constructed a small still for the distillation of water, in the event of our finding the water of the Darling salt, when we should reach its banks. The whale-boat, after being fitted, was taken to pieces for more convenient carriage, as has been more particularly detailed in the last chapter of the preceding volume. So little danger had been apprehended from the natives in the former journey, that three firelocks had been considered sufficient for our defence. On the present occasion, however, I thought it adviseable to provide arms for each individual. Mr. Hume declined accompanying me, as the harvest was at hand. Mr. George M'Leay therefore supplied his place, rather as a companion than as an assistant; and of those who accompanied me down the banks of the Macquarie, I again selected Harris (my body servant), Hopkinson, and Fraser. MR. KENT'S REPORT. The concluding chapter of this volume, relative to the promontory of St. Vincent, or Cape Jervis, has been furnished me by the kindness of Mr. Kent, who accompanied the lamented officer to whom the further exploration of that part of coast unhappily proved fatal. There is a melancholy coincidence between Captain Barker's death and that of Captain Cook, which cannot fail to interest the public, as the information that has been furnished will call for their serious consideration. I shall leave for their proper place, the remarks I have to offer upon it, since my motive in these prefatory observations has been, to carry the reader forward to that point at which he will have to view the proceedings of the expedition alone, in order the more satisfactorily to arrive at their results. And, although he must expect a considerable portion of dry reading in the following pages, I have endeavoured to make the narrative of events, some of which are remarkably striking, as interesting as possible. REMARKS ON THE PRESENT WORK; DELIVERANCE FROM DANGERS. It only remains for me to refer the reader to the concluding chapter of the preceding volume, for such general information as I have been enabled to furnish upon the nature of the services on which I was employed, and on the manner of conducting similar expeditions. Indeed, I trust that this book (whatever be its defects) will be found to contain much valuable information of a practical character, and I may venture to affirm, that it will give a true description of the country, and of the various other subjects of which it treats. Notwithstanding that I have in my dedication alluded to the causes that prevented the earlier appearance of this work, I feel it due both to myself and the public here to state, that during these expeditions my health had suffered so much, that I was unable to bear up against the effects of exposure, bodily labour, poverty of diet, and the anxiety of mind to which I was subjected. A residence on Norfolk Island, under peculiarly harassing circumstances, completed that which the above causes had commenced; and, after a succession of attacks, I became totally blind, and am still unable either to read what I pen, or to venture abroad without an attendant. When it is recollected, that I have been unassisted in this work in any one particular, I hope some excuse will be found for its imperfections. A wish to contribute to the public good led me to undertake those journeys which have cost me so much. The same feeling actuates me in recording their results; and I have the satisfaction to know, that my path among a large and savage population was a bloodless one; and that my intercourse with them was such as to lessen the danger to future adventurers upon such hazardous enterprises, and to give them hope where I had so often despaired. Something more powerful, than human foresight or human prudence, appeared to avert the calamities and dangers with which I and my companions were so frequently threatened; and had it not been for the guidance and protection we received from the Providence of that good and all-wise Being to whose care we committed ourselves, we should, ere this, have ceased to rank among the number of His earthly creatures. CHAPTER II. Commencement of the expedition in November, 1829.--Joined by Mr. George M'Leay--Appearance of the party--Breadalbane Plains--Hospitality of Mr. O'Brien--Yass Plains--Hill of Pouni--Path of a hurricane--Character of the country between Underaliga and the Morumbidgee--Appearance of that river-- Junction of the Dumot with it--Crossing and recrossing--Geological character and general aspect of the country--Plain of Pondebadgery--Few natives seen. The expedition which traversed the marshes of the Macquarie, left Sydney on the 10th day of Nov. 1828. That destined to follow the waters of the Morumbidgee, took its departure from the same capital on the 3rd of the same month in the ensuing year. Rain had fallen in the interval, but not in such quantities as to lead to the apprehension that it had either influenced or swollen the western streams. It was rather expected that the winter falls would facilitate the progress of the expedition, and it was hoped that, as the field of its operations would in all probability be considerably to the south of the parallel of Port Jackson, the extreme heat to which the party and the animals had been exposed on the former journey, would be less felt on the present occasion. As there was no Government establishment to the S.W. at which I could effect any repairs, or recruit my supplies, as I had done at Wellington Valley, the expedition, when it left Sydney, was completed in every branch, and was so fully provided with every necessary implement and comfort, as to render any further aid, even had such been attainable, in a great measure unnecessary. The Governor had watched over my preparations with a degree of anxiety that evidenced the interest he felt in the expedition, and his arrangements to ensure, as far as practicable, our being met on our return, in the event of our being in distress, were equally provident and satisfactory. It was not, however, to the providing for our wants in the interior alone that His Excellency's views were directed, but orders were given to hold a vessel in readiness, to be dispatched at a given time to St. Vincent's Gulf, in case we should ultimately succeed in making the south coast in its neighbourhood. LEAVE SYDNEY. The morning on which I left Sydney a second time, under such doubtful circumstances, was perfectly serene and clear. I found myself at 5 a.m. of that delightful morning leading my horses through the gates of those barracks whose precincts I might never again enter, and whose inmates I might never again behold assembled in military array. Yet, although the chance of misfortune flashed across my mind, I was never lighter at heart, or more joyous in spirit. It appeared to me that the stillness and harmony of nature influenced my feelings on the occasion, and my mind forgot the storms of life, as nature at that moment seemed to have forgotten the tempests that sometimes agitate her. APPEARANCE OF THE PARTY. I proceeded direct to the house of my friend Mr. J. Deas Thomson, who had agreed to accompany me to Brownlow Hill, a property belonging to Mr. M'Leay, the Colonial Secretary, where his son, Mr. George M'Leay, was to join the expedition. As soon as we had taken a hasty breakfast, I went to the carters' barracks to superintend the first loading of the animals. Mr. Murray, the superintendent, had arranged every article so well, and had loaded the drays so compactly that I had no trouble, and little time was lost in saddling the pack animals. At a quarter before 7 the party filed through the turnpike-gate, and thus commenced its journey with the greatest regularity. I have the scene, even at this distance of time, vividly impressed upon my mind, and I have no doubt the kind friend who was near me on the occasion, bears it as strongly on his recollection. My servant Harris, who had shared my wanderings and had continued in my service for eighteen years, led the advance, with his companion Hopkinson. Nearly abreast of them the eccentric Fraser stalked along wholly lost in thought. The two former had laid aside their military habits, and had substituted the broad brimmed hat and the bushman's dress in their place, but it was impossible to guess how Fraser intended to protect himself from the heat or the damp, so little were his habiliments suited for the occasion. He had his gun over his shoulder, and his double shot belt as full as it could be of shot, although there was not a chance of his expending a grain during the day. Some dogs Mr. Maxwell had kindly sent me followed close at his heels, as if they knew his interest in them, and they really seemed as if they were aware that they were about to exchange their late confinement for the freedom of the woods. The whole of these formed a kind of advanced guard. At some distance in the rear the drays moved slowly along, on one of which rode the black boy mentioned in my former volume, and behind them followed the pack animals. Robert Harris, whom I had appointed to superintend the animals generally, kept his place near the horses, and the heavy Clayton, my carpenter, brought up the rear. I shall not forget the interest Thomson appeared to take in a scene that must certainly have been new to him. Our progress was not checked by the occurrence of a single accident, nor did I think it necessary to remain with the men after we had gained that turn which, at about four miles from Sydney, branches off to the left, and leads direct to Liverpool. From this Point my companion and I pushed forward, in order to terminate a fifty miles' ride a little sooner than we should have done at the leisurely pace we had kept during the early part of our journey. We remained in Liverpool for a short time, to prepare the commissariat office for the reception, and to ensure the accommodation, of the party; and reached Brownlow Hill a little after sunset. LIVERPOOL-GOULBURN PLAINS. As I have already described the country on this line of road as far us Goulburn Plains, it will not be considered necessary that I should again notice its features with minuteness. WALLANDILLY-TYRANNA. The party arrived at Glendarewel, the farm attached to Brownlow Hill, on the 5th. I resumed my journey alone on the 8th. M'Leay had still some few arrangements to make, so that I dispensed with his immediate attendance. He overtook me, however, sooner than I expected, on the banks of the Wallandilly. I had encamped under the bluff end of Cookbundoon, and, having been disappointed in getting bearings when crossing the Razor Back, I hoped that I should be enabled to connect a triangle from the summit of Cookbundoon, or to secure bearings of some prominent hill to the south. I found the brush, however, so thick on the top of the mountain, that I could obtain no satisfactory view, and and M'Leay, who accompanied me, agreed with me in considering that we were but ill repaid for the hot scramble we had had. Crossing the western extremity of Goulburn Plains on the 15th, we encamped on a chain of ponds behind Doctor Gibson's residence at Tyranna, and as I had some arrangements to make with that gentleman, I determined to give both the men and animals a day's rest. I availed myself of Doctor Gibson's magazines to replace such of my provisions as I had expended, as I found that I could do so without putting him to any inconvenience; and I added two of his men to the party, intending to send them back, in case of necessity, or, when we should have arrived at that point from which it might appear expedient to forward an account of my progress and ultimate views, for the governor's information. On the 17th we struck the tents, and, crossing the chain of ponds near which they had been pitched, entered a forest track, that gave place to barren stony ridges of quartz formation. These continued for six or seven miles, in the direction of Breadalbane Plains, upon which we were obliged to stop, as we should have had some difficulty in procuring either water or food, within any moderate distance beyond them. The water, indeed, that we were obliged to content ourselves with was by no means good. Breadalbane Plains are of inconsiderable extent, and are surrounded by ridges, the appearance of which is not very promising. Large white masses of quartz rock lie scattered over them, amongst trees of stunted growth. Mr. Redall's farm was visible at the further extremity of the plains from that by which we had entered them. It would appear that these plains are connected with Goulburn Plains by a narrow valley, that was too wet for the drays to have traversed. BREADALBANE PLAINS. Doctor Gibson had kindly accompanied us to Breadalbane Plains. On the morning of the 18th he returned to Tyranna, and we pursued our journey, keeping mostly on a W.S.W. course. From the barren hills over which we passed, on leaving the plains, we descended upon an undulating country, and found a change of rock, as well as of vegetation, upon it. Granite and porphyry constituted its base. An open forest, on which the eucalyptus mannifera alone prevailed, lay on either side of us, and although the soil was coarse, and partook in a great measure of the decomposition of the rock it covered, there was no deficiency of grass. On the contrary, this part of the interior is decidedly well adapted for pasturing cattle. THE LORN. About 1 p.m. we passed Mr. Hume's station, with whom I remained for a short time. He had fixed his establishment on the banks of the Lorn, a small river, issuing from the broken country near Lake George, and now ascertained to be one of the largest branches of the Lachlan River. We had descended a barren pass of stringy bark scrub, on sandstone rock, a little before we reached Mr. Hume's station, but around it the same, open forest tract again prevailed. We crossed the Lorn, at 2 o'clock, leaving Mr. Broughton's farm upon our left, and passed through a broken country, which was very far from being deficient in pasture. We encamped on the side of a water-course, about 4 o'clock, having travelled about fifteen miles. On the 19th, we observed no change in the soil or aspect of the country, for the first five miles. The eucalyptus mannifera was the most prevalent of the forest trees, and certainly its presence indicated a more flourishing state in the minor vegetation. At about five miles, however, from where we had slept, sandstone reappeared, and with it the barren scrub that usually grows upon a sandy and inhospitable soil. One of the drays was upset in its progress down a broken pass, where the road had been altogether neglected, and it was difficult to avoid accidents. Fortunately we suffered no further than in the delay that the necessity of unloading the dray, and reloading it, occasioned. Mr. O'Brien, an enterprising settler, who had pushed his flocks to the banks of the Morumbidgee, and who was proceeding to visit his several stations, overtook us in the midst of our troubles. We had already passed each other frequently on the road, but he now preceded me to his establishment at Yass; at which I proposed remaining for a day. We stopped about three miles short of the plains for the night, at the gorge of the pass through which we had latterly been advancing, and had gradually descended to a more open country. From the place at which we were temporarily delayed, and which is not inappropriately called the Devil's Pass, the road winds about between ranges, differing in every respect from any we had as yet noticed. The sides of the hills were steeper, and their summits sharper, than any we had crossed. They were thickly covered with eucalypti and brush, and, though based upon sandstone, were themselves of a schistose formation. YASS PLAINS. Yharr or Yass Plains were discovered by Mr. Hovel, and Mr. Hume, the companion of my journey down the Macquarie, in 1828. They take their name from the little river that flows along their north and north-west boundaries. They are surrounded on every side by forests, and excepting to the W.N.W., as a central point, by hill. Undulating, but naked themselves, they have the appearance of open downs, and are most admirably adapted for sheep-walks, not only in point of vegetation, but also, because their inequalities prevent their becoming swampy during the rainy season. They are from nine to twelve miles in length, and from five to seven in breadth, and although large masses of sandstone are scattered over them, a blue secondary limestone composes the general bed of the river, that was darker in colour and more compact than I had remarked the same kind of rock, either at Wellington Valley, or in the Shoal Haven Gully. I have no doubt that Yass Plains will ere long be wholly taken up as sheep-walks, and that their value to the grazier will in a great measure counterbalance its distance from the coast, or, more properly speaking, from the capital. Sheep I should imagine would thrive uncommonly well upon these plains, and would suffer less from distempers incidental to locality and to climate, than in many parts of the colony over which they are now wandering in thousands. And if the plains themselves do not afford extensive arable tracts, there is, at least, sufficient good land near the river to supply the wants of a numerous body of settlers. HOSPITALITY OF MR. O'BRIEN. We left Mr. O'Brien's station on the morning of the 21st, and, agreeably to his advice, determined on gaining the Morumbidgee, by a circuit to the N.W., rather than endanger the safety of the drays by entering the mountain passes to the westward. Mr. O'Brien, however, would not permit us to depart from his dwelling without taking away with us some further proofs of his hospitality. The party had pushed forward before I, or Mr. M'Leay, had mounted our horses; but on overtaking it, we found that eight fine wethers had been added to our stock of animals. HILL OF POUNI; ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY. To the W.N.W. of Yass Plains there is a remarkable hill, called Pouni, remarkable not so much on account of its height, as of its commanding position. It had, I believe, already been ascended by one of the Surveyor-general's assistants. The impracticability of the country to the south of it, obliged us to pass under its opposite base, from which an open forest country extended to the northward. We had already recrossed the Yass River, and passed Mr. Barber's station, to that of Mr. Hume's father, at which we stopped for a short time. Both farms are well situated, the latter I should say, romantically so, it being immediately under Pouni, the hill we have noticed. The country around both was open, and both pasture and water were abundant. Mr. O'Brien had been kind enough to send one of the natives who frequented his station to escort us to his more advanced station upon the Morumbidgee. Had it not been for the assistance we received from this man, I should have had but little leisure for other duties: as it was however, there was no fear of the party going astray. This gave M'Leay and myself an opportunity of ascending Pouni, for the purpose of taking bearings; and how ever warm the exertion of the ascent made us, the view from the summit of the hill sufficiently repaid us, and the cool breeze that struck it, although imperceptible in the forest below, soon dried the perspiration from our brows. The scenery around us was certainly varied, yet many parts of it put me forcibly in mind of the dark and gloomy tracks over which my eye had wandered from similar elevations on the former journey. This was especially the case in looking to the north, towards which point the hills forming the right of the valley by which we had entered the plains, decreased so rapidly in height that they were lost in the general equality of the more remote country, almost ere they had reached abreast of my position. From E.S.E. to W.S.W. the face of the country was hilly, broken and irregular; forming deep ravines and precipitous glens, amid which I was well aware the Morumbidgee was still struggling for freedom; while mountains succeeded mountains in the back-ground, and were themselves overtopped by lofty and very distant peaks. To the eastward, however, the hills wore a more regular form, and were lightly covered with wood. The plains occupied the space between them and Pouni; and a smaller plain bore N.N.E. which, being embosomed in the forest, had hitherto escaped our notice. We overtook the party just as it cleared the open ground through which it had previously been moving. A barren scrub succeeded it for about eight miles. The soil in this scrub was light and sandy. We stopped for the night at the head of a valley that seemed to have been well trodden by cattle. The feed, therefore, was not abundant, nor was the water good. We had, however, made a very fair journey, and I was unwilling to press the animals. But in consequence, I fancy, of the scarcity of food, they managed to creep away during the night, with the exception of three or four of the bullocks, nor should we have collected them again so soon as we did, or without infinite trouble, had it not been for our guide and my black boy. We unavoidably lost a day, but left our position on the 23rd, for Underaliga, a station occupied by Doctor Harris, the gentleman I have already had occasion to mention. We reached the banks of the creek near the stock hut, about 4 p.m., having journeyed during the greater part of the day through a poor country, partly of scrub and partly of open forest-land, in neither of which was the soil or vegetation fresh or abundant. At about three miles from Underaliga, the country entirely changed its character, and its flatness was succeeded by a broken and undulating surface. The soil upon the hills was coarse and sandy, from the decomposition of the granite rock that constituted their base. Nevertheless, the grass was abundant on the hills, though the roots or tufts were far apart; and the hills were lightly studded with trees. COURSE OF A HURRICANE. In the course of the day we crossed the line of a hurricane that had just swept with resistless force over the country, preserving a due north course, and which we had heard from a distance, fortunately too great to admit of its injuring us. It had opened a fearful gap in the forest through which it had passed, of about a quarter of a mile in breadth. Within that space, no tree had been able to withstand its fury, for it had wrenched every bough from such as it had failed to prostrate, and they stood naked in the midst of the surrounding wreck. I am inclined to think that the rudeness of nature itself in these wild and uninhabited regions, gives birth to these terrific phenomena. They have never occurred, so far as I know, in the located districts. Our guide deserted us in the early part of the day without assigning any reason for doing so. He went off without being noticed, and thus lost the reward that would have been bestowed on him had he mentioned his wish to return to Yass. I the more regretted his having sneaked off, because he had had the kindness to put us on a track we could not well lose. COUNTRY FROM UNDERALIGA TO MORUMBIDGEE. Underaliga, is said to be thirty miles from the Morumbidgee. The country between the two has a sameness of character throughout. It is broken and irregular, yet no one hill rises conspicuously over the rest. We found ourselves at one time on their summits beside huge masses of granite, at others crossing valleys of rich soil and green appearance. A country under cultivation is so widely different from one the sod of which has never been broken by the plough, that it is difficult and hazardous to form a decided opinion on the latter. If you ask a stockman what kind of a country lies, either to his right, or to his left, he is sure to condemn it, unless it will afford the most abundant pasture. Accustomed to roam about from one place to another, these men despise any but the richest tracts, and include the rest of the neighbourhood in one sweeping clause of condemnation. Thus I was led to expect, that we should pass over a country of the very worst description, between Underaliga and the Morumbidgee. Had it been similar to that midway between Yass and Underaliga, we should, in truth, have found it so; but it struck me, that there were many rich tracts of ground among the valleys of the former, and that the very hills had a fair covering of grass upon them. What though the soil was coarse, if the vegetation was good and sufficient? Perhaps the greatest drawback to this part of the interior is the want of water; yet we crossed several creeks, and remarked some deep water holes, that can never be exhausted, even in the driest season. Wherever the situation favoured our obtaining a view of the country on either side of us, while among these hills, we found that to the eastward lofty and mountainous; whilst that to the westward, had the appearance of fast sinking into a level. JUGGIONG. A short time before we reached the Morumbidgee, we forded a creek, which we crossed a second time where it falls into the river. After crossing it the first time we opened a flat, on which the marks of sheep were abundant. In the distance there was a small hill, and on its top a bark hut. We were not until then aware of our being so near the river, but as Mr. O'Brien had informed me that he had a station for sheep, at a place called Juggiong, by the natives, on the immediate banks of the river, I did not doubt that we had, at length, arrived at it. And so it proved. I went to the hut, to ascertain where I could conveniently stop for the night, but the residents were absent. I could not but admire the position they had taken up. The hill upon which their hut was erected was not more than fifty feet high, but it immediately overlooked the river, and commanded not only the flat we had traversed in approaching it, but also a second flat on the opposite side. The Morumbidgee came down to the foot of this little hill from the south, and, of course, running to the north, which latter direction it suddenly takes up from a previous S.W. one, on meeting some hills that check its direct course. From the hill on which the hut stands, it runs away westward, almost in a direct line, for three miles, so that the position commands a view of both the reaches, which are overhung by the casuarina and flooded-gum. Rich alluvial flats lie to the right of the stream, backed by moderate hills, that were lightly studded with trees, and clothed with verdure to their summits. Some moderate elevations also backed a flat, on the left bank of the river, but the colour of the soil upon the latter, as well as its depressed situation, showed clearly that it was subject to flood, and had received the worst of the depositions from the mountains. The hills behind it were also bare, and of a light red colour, betraying, as I imagined, a distinct formation from, and poorer character than, the hills behind us. At about three miles the river again suddenly changes its direction from west to south, for about a mile, when it inclines to the S.E. until it nearly encircles the opposite hills, when it assumes its proper direction, and flows away to the S.W. CROSS THE UNDERALIGA; REACH THE MORUMBIDGEE. We crossed the Underaliga creek a little below the stock hut, and encamped about a mile beyond it, in the centre of a long plain. We were surrounded on every side by hills, from which there was no visible outlet, as they appeared to follow the bend of the river, with an even and unbroken outline. The scenery around us was wild, romantic, and beautiful; as beautiful as a rich and glowing sunset in the most delightful climate under the heavens could make it. I had been more anxious to gain the banks of the Morumbidgee on this occasion, than I had been on a former one to gain those of the Macquarie, for although I could not hope to see the Morumbidgee all that it had been described to me, yet I felt that on its first appearance I should in some measure ground my anticipations of ultimate success. When I arrived on the banks of the Macquarie, it had almost ceased to flow, and its current was so gentle as to be scarcely perceptible. Instead, however, of a river in such a state of exhaustion, I now looked down upon a stream, whose current it would have been difficult to breast, and whose waters, foaming among rocks, or circling in eddies, gave early promise of a reckless course. It must have been somewhat below its ordinary level, and averaged a breadth of about 80 feet. Its waters were hard and transparent, and its bed was composed of mountain debris, and large fragments of rock. As soon as the morning dawned, the tents were struck and we pursued our journey. We followed the line of the river, until we found ourselves in a deep bight to the S.E. The hills that had been gradually closing in upon the river, now approached it so nearly, that there was no room for the passage of the drays. We were consequently obliged to turn back, and, moving along the base of the ranges, by which we were thus apparently enclosed, we at length found a steep pass, the extreme narrowness of which had hidden it from our observation. By this pass we were now enabled to effect our escape. On gaining the summit of the hills, we travelled south for three or four miles, through open forests, and on level ground. But we ultimately descended into a valley in which we halted for the night. On a closer examination of the neighbourhood, it appeared that our position was at the immediate junction of two valleys, where, uniting the waters of their respective creeks, the main branch declines rapidly towards the river. One of these valleys extended to to the S.W., the other to the W.N.W. It was evident to us that our route lay up the former; and I made no doubt we should easily reach Whaby's station on the morrow. ADJACENT COUNTRY. We were now far beyond the acknowledged limits of the located parts of the colony, and Mr. Whaby's station was the last at which we could expect even the casual supply of milk or other trifling relief. Yet, although the prospect of so soon leaving even the outskirts of civilization, and being wholly thrown on our own resources, was so near, it never for a moment weighed upon the minds of the men. The novelty of the scenery, and the beauty of the river on which they were journeying, excited in them the liveliest anticipations of success. The facility with which we had hitherto pushed forward blinded them to future difficulties, nor could there be a more cheerful spectacle than that which the camp daily afforded. The animals browzing in the distance, and the men talking over their pipes of the probable adventures they might encounter. The loads had by this time settled properly, and our provisions proved of the very best quality, so that no possible improvement could have been made for the better. WHABY'S STATION. On the morrow we pushed up the southernmost of the valleys, at the junction of which we had encamped, having moderate hills on either side of us. At the head of the valley we crossed a small dividing range into another valley, and halted for the night, on the banks of a creek from the westward, as we found it impossible to reach Whaby's station, as we had intended, before sunset. Nothing could exceed the luxuriance of the vegetation in this valley, but the water of the creek was so impregnated with iron, as to be almost useless. Being anxious to obtain a view of the surrounding country, I ascended a hill behind the camp, just as the sun was sinking, a time the most favourable for the object I had in view. The country, broken into hill and dale, seemed richer than any tract I had as yet surveyed; and the beauty of the near landscape was greatly heightened by the mountainous scenery to the S. and S.E. Both the laxmania, and zanthorea were growing around me; but neither appeared to be in congenial soil. The face of the hill was very stony, and I found, on examination, that a great change had taken place in the rock-formation, the granite ranges having given place to chlorite schist. We reached Whaby's about 9 a.m. of the morning of the 27th, and received every attention and civility from him. The valley in which we had slept opened upon an extensive plain, to the eastward of which the Morumbidgee formed the extreme boundary; and it was in a bight, and on ground rather elevated above the plain, that he had fixed his residence. He informed me that we should have to cross the river, as its banks were too precipitous, and the ranges too abrupt, to admit of our keeping the right side; and recommended me to examine and fix upon a spot at which to cross, before I again moved forward, expressing his readiness to accompany me as a guide. We accordingly rode down the river, to a place at which some stockman had effected a passage,--after a week's labour in hewing out a canoe. I by no means intended that a similar delay should occur in our case, but I saw no objection to our crossing at the same place; since its depth, and consequent tranquillity, rendered it eligible enough for that purpose. THE RIVER DUMOT. The Dumot river, another mountain stream, joins the Morumbidgee opposite to Mr. Whaby's residence. It is little inferior to the latter either in size or in the rapidity of its current, and, if I may rely on the information I received, waters a finer country, the principal rock-formation upon it being of limestone and whinstone. It rises amidst the snowy ranges to the S.E., and its banks are better peopled than those of the stream into which it discharges itself. Of course, such a tributary enlarges the Morumbidgee considerably: indeed, the fact is sufficiently evident from the appearance of the latter below the junction. During our ride with Whaby down its banks, we saw nothing but the richest flats, almost entirely clear of timber and containing from 400 to 700 acres, backed by ranges that were but partially wooded, and were clothed with verdure to their very summits. The herds that were scattered over the first were almost lost in the height of the vegetation, and the ranges served as natural barriers to prevent them from straying away. CROSS AND RE-CROSS THE MORUMBIDGEE. On the following morning, we started for the place at which it had been arranged that we should cross the Morumbidgee, but, though no more than five miles in a direct line from Whaby's house, in consequence of the irregularity of the ground, the drays did not reach it before noon. The weight and quantity of our stores being taken into consideration, the task we had before us was not a light one. Such, however, was the industry of the men, that before it became dark the whole of them, including the drays and sheep, were safely deposited on the opposite bank. We were enabled to be thus expeditious, by means of a punt that we made with the tarpaulins on an oblong frame. As soon as it was finished, a rope was conveyed across the river, and secured to a tree, and a running cord being then fastened to the punt, a temporary ferry was established, and the removal of our stores rendered comparatively easy. M'Leay undertook to drive the horses and cattle over a ford below us, but he did not calculate on the stubborn disposition of the latter, and, consequently, experienced some difficulty, and was well nigh swept away by the current. So great was his difficulty, that he was obliged to land, to his great discomfiture, amidst a grove of lofty nettles. Mulholland, who accompanied him, and who happened to be naked, was severly stung by them. The labour of the day was, however, satisfactorily concluded, and we lay down to rest with feelings of entire satisfaction. A great part of the following day was consumed in reloading, nor did we pursue our journey until after two o'clock. We then passed over tracks on the left of the river of the same rich description that existed on its right; they were much intersected by creeks, but were clear of timber, and entirely out of the reach of floods. At about seven miles from where we started, we found ourselves checked by precipitous rocks jutting into the stream, and were obliged once more to make preparations for crossing it. Instead of a deep and quiet reach, however, the Morumbidgee here expanded into a fretful rapid; but it was sufficiently shallow to admit of our taking the drays over, without the trouble of unloading them. There was still, however, some labour required in cutting down the banks, and the men were fully occupied until after sunset; and so well did they work, that an hour's exertion in the morning enabled us to make the passage with safety. On ascending the right bank, we found that we had to force through a dense body of reeds, covering some flooded land, at the base of a range terminating upon the river; and we were obliged, in order to extricate ourselves from our embarrassments, to pass to the N.W. of the point, and to cross a low part of the range. This done, we met with no further interruptions during the day, but travelled along rich and clear flats to a deep bight below an angle of the river called Nangaar by the natives; where we pitched our camp, and our animals revelled amid the most luxuriant pasture. Only in one place did the sandy superficies upon the plain indicate that it was there subject to flood. The Morumbidgee from Juggiong to our present encampment had held a general S.S.W. course, but from the summit of a hill behind the tents it now appeared to be gradually sweeping round to the westward; and I could trace the line of trees upon its banks, through a rich and extensive valley in that direction, as far as my sight could reach. The country to the S.E. maintained its lofty character, but to the westward the hills and ranges were evidently decreasing in height, and the distant interior seemed fast sinking to a level. The general direction of the ranges had been from N. to S., and as we had been travelling parallel to them, their valleys were shut from our view. Now, however, several rich and extensive ones became visible, opening from the southward into the valley of the Morumbidgee, and, as a further evidence of a change of country from a confused to a more open one, a plain of considerable size stretched from immediately beneath the hill on which I was to the N.W. GEOLOGY OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. The Morumbidgee itself, from the length and regularity of its reaches, as well as from its increased size, seemed to intimate that it had successfully struggled through the broken country in which it rises, and that it would henceforward meet with fewer interruptions to its course. It still, however, preserved all the characters of a mountain stream; having alternate rapids and deep pools, being in many places encumbered with fallen timber, and generally running over a shingly bed, composed of rounded fragments of every rock of which the neighbouring ranges were formed, and many others that had been swept by the torrents down it. The rock formation of the hills upon its right continued of that chlorite schist which prevailed near Mr. Whaby's, which I have already noticed, and quartz still appeared in large masses, on the loftier ranges opposite, so that the geology of the neighbourhood could not be said to have undergone any material change. It might, however, be considered an extraordinary feature in it, that a small hill of blue limestone existed upon the left bank of the river. The last place at which we had seen limestone was at Yass, but I had learned from Mr. Whaby, that, together with whinstone, it was abundant near a Mr. Rose's station on the Dumot, that was not at any great distance. The irregularity, however, of the intervening country, made the appearance of this solitary rock more singular. Although the fires of the natives had been frequent upon the river, none had, as yet, ventured to approach us, in consequence of some misunderstanding that had taken place between them and Mr. Stuckey's stockmen. Mr. Roberts' stockmen [these men had lately fixed themselves on the river a little below Mr. Whaby's], however, brought a man and a boy to us at this place in the afternoon, but I could not persuade them to accompany us on our journey--neither could I, although my native boy understood them perfectly, gain any particular information from them. In consequence of rain, we did not strike the tents so early as usual. At 7 a.m. a heavy thunder storm occurred from the N.W. after which the sky cleared, and we were enabled to push forward at 11 a.m., moving on a general W.N.W, course, over rich flats, which, having been moistened by the morning's showers, showed the dark colour of the rich earth of which they were composed. Some sand-hills were, however, observed near the river, of about fifteen feet in elevation, crowned by banksias; and the soil of the flats had a very partial mixture of sand in it. How these sand-hills could have been formed it is difficult to say; but they produced little minor vegetation, and were as pure as the sand of the sea-shore. Some considerable plains were noticed to our right, in appearance not inferior to the ground on which we were journeying. At noon we rose gradually from the level of these plains, and travelled along the side of a hill, until we got to a small creek, at which we stopped, though more than a mile and a half from the river. The clouds had been gathering again in the N.W. quarter, and we had scarcely time to secure our flour, when a second storm burst upon us, and it continued to rain violently for the remainder of the day. BEAUTIFUL PROSPECT. From a small hill that lay to our left Mr. M'Leay and I enjoyed a most beautiful view. Beneath us to the S. E. the rich and lightly timbered valley through which the Morumbidgee flows, extended, and parts of the river were visible through the dark masses of swamp-oak by which it was lined, or glittering among the flooded-gum trees, that grew in its vicinity. In the distance was an extensive valley that wound between successive mountain ranges. More to the eastward, both mountain and woodland bore a dark and gloomy shade, probably in consequence of the light upon them at the time. Those lofty peaks that had borne nearly south of us from Pouni, near Yass, now rose over the last-mentioned ranges, and by their appearance seemed evidently to belong to a high and rugged chain. To the westward, the decline of country was more observable than ever; and the hills on both sides of the river, were lower and more distant from it. Those upon which we found ourselves were composed of iron-stone, were precipitous towards the river in many places, of sandy soil, and were crowned with beef-wood as well as box. The change in the rock-formation and in the soil, produced a corresponding change in the vegetation. The timber was not so large as it had been, neither did the hills any longer bear the green appearance which had distinguished those we had passed to their very summits. The grass here grew in tufts amidst the sand, and was of a burnt appearance as if it had suffered from drought. NATIVES--THEIR SUFFERING FROM COLD. Some natives had joined us in the morning, and acted as our guides; or it is more than probable that we should have continued our course along the river, and got enbarrassed among impediments that were visible from our elevated position; for it was evident that the range we had ascended terminated in an abrupt precipice on the river, that we could not have passed. The blacks suffered beyond what I could have imagined, from cold, and seemed as incapable of enduring it as if they had experienced the rigour of a northern snow storm. The morning of the 2nd December was cloudy and lowering, and the wind still hung in the N.W. There was truly every appearance of bad weather, but our anxiety to proceed on our journey overcame our apprehensions, and the animals were loaded and moved off at 7 a.m. The rain which had fallen the evening previous, rendered travelling heavy; so that we got on but slowly. At 11, the clouds burst, and continued to pour down for the rest of the day. On leaving the creek we crossed the spine of the range, and descending from it into a valley, that continued to the river on the one hand, and stretched away to the N.W. on the other, we ascended some hills opposite to us, and moved generally through open, undulating forest ground, affording good pasturage. SMOKING AN OPOSSUM. One of the blacks being anxious to get an opossum out of a dead tree, every branch of which was hollow, asked for a tomahawk, with which he cut a hole in the trunk above where he thought the animal lay concealed. He found however, that he had cut too low, and that it had run higher up. This made it necessary to smoke it out; he accordingly got some dry grass, and having kindled a fire, stuffed it into the hole he had cut. A raging fire soon kindled in the tree, where the draft was great, and dense columns of smoke issued from the end of each branch as thick as that from the chimney of a steam engine. The shell of the tree was so thin that I thought it would soon be burnt through, and that the tree would fall; but the black had no such fears, and, ascending to the highest branch, he watched anxiously for the poor little wretch he had thus surrounded with dangers and devoted to destruction; and no sooner did it appear, half singed and half roasted, than he seized upon it and threw it down to us with an air of triumph. The effect of the scene in so lonely a forest, was very fine. The roaring of the fire in the tree, the fearless attitude of the savage, and the associations which his colour and appearance, enveloped as he was in smoke, called up, were singular, and still dwell on my recollection. We had not long left the tree, when it fell with a tremendous crash, and was, when we next passed that way, a mere heap of ashes. ACCIDENTS. Shortly before it commenced raining, the dogs started an emu, and took after it, followed by M'Leay and myself. We failed in killing it, and I was unfortunate enough to lose a most excellent watch upon the occasion, which in regularity was superior to the chronometer I had with me. As there was no hope of the weather clearing up, I sent M'Leay and one of the blacks with the flour to the river, with directions to pile it up and cover it with tarpaulins, as soon as possible, remaining myself to bring up the drays. It was not, however, until after 4 p.m. that we gained the river-side, or that we were enabled to get into shelter. Fraser met with a sad accident while assisting the driver of the teams, who, accidentally, struck him with the end of the lash of his whip in the eye, and cut the lower lid in two. The poor fellow fell to the ground as if he had been shot, and really, from the report of the whip, I was at first uncertain of the nature of the accident. PONDEBADGERY. We had gradually ascended some hills; and as the sweep of the valley led southerly, we continued along it until we got to its very head; then, crossing the ridge we descended the opposite side, towards a beautiful plain, on the further extremity of which the river line was marked by the dark-leafed casuarina. In spite of the badness of the weather and the misfortunes of the day, I could not but admire the beauty of the scene. We were obliged to remain stationary the following day, in consequence of one of the drays being out of repair, and requiring a new axle-tree. I could hardly regret the necessity that kept us in so delightful a spot. This plain, which the natives called Pondebadgery, and in which a station has since been formed, is about two miles in breadth, by about three and a-half in length. It is surrounded apparently on every side by hills. The river running E. and W. forms its southern boundary. The hills by which we had entered it, terminating abruptly on the river to the north-east, form a semi-circle round it to the N.N.W. where a valley, the end of which cannot be seen, runs to the north-west, of about half a mile in breadth. On the opposite side of the river moderate hills rise over each other, and leave little space between them and its banks. The Morumbidgee itself, with an increased breadth, averaging from seventy to eighty yards, presents a still, deep sheet of water to the view, over which the casuarina bends with all the grace of the willow, or the birch, but with more sombre foliage. To the west, a high line of flooded-gum trees extending from the river to the base of the hills which form the west side of the valley before noticed, hides the near elevations, and thus shuts in the whole space. The soil of the plain is of the richest description, and the hills backing it, together with the valley, are capable of depasturing the most extensive flocks. Such is the general landscape from the centre of Pondebadgery Plain. Behind the line of gum-trees, the river suddenly sweeps away to the south, and forms a deep bight of seven miles, when, bearing up again to the N.W. it meets some hills about 10 miles to the W.N.W. of the plain, thus encircling a still more extensive space, that for richness of soil, and for abundance of pasture, can nowhere be excelled; such, though on a smaller scale, are all the flats that adorn the banks of the Morumbidgee, first on one side and then on the other, as the hills close in upon them, from Juggiong to Pondebadgery. TRAVELLING DOWN THE RIVER. It is deeply to be regretted that this noble river should exist at such a distance from the capital as to be unavailable. During our stay on the Pondebadgery Plain, the men caught a number of codfish, as they are generally termed, but which are, in reality, a species of perch. The largest weighed 40lb. but the majority of the others were small, not exceeding from six to eight. M'Leay and I walked to the N.W. extremity of the plain, in order to ascertain how we should debouche from it, and to get, if possible, a view of the western interior. We took with us two blacks who had attached themselves to the party, and had made themselves generally useful. On ascending the most westerly of the hills, we found it composed of micaceous schist, the upper coat of which was extremely soft, and broke with a slaty fracture, or crumbled into a sparkling dust beneath our feet. The summit of the hill was barren, and beef-wood alone grew on it. The valley, of which it was the western boundary, ran up northerly for two or three miles, with all the appearance of richness and verdure. To the south extended the flat I have noticed, more heavily timbered than we had usually found them, bounded, or backed rather, by a hilly country, although one fast losing in its general height. To the W.N.W. there was a moderate range of hills on the opposite side of an extensive valley, running up northerly, from which a lateral branch swept round to the W.N.W. with a gradual ascent into the hills, which bore the same appearance of open forest, grazing land, as prevailed in similar tracts to the eastward. The blacks pointed out to us our route up the valley, and stated that we should get on the banks of the river again in a direction W. by N. from the place on which we stood. We accordingly crossed the principal valley on the following morning, and gradually ascended the opposite line of hills. They terminate to the S.E. in lofty precipices, overlooking the river flats, and having a deep chain of ponds under them. The descent towards the river was abrupt, and we encamped upon its banks, with a more confined view than any we had ever had before. There was an evident change in the river; the banks were reedy, the channel deep and muddy, and the neighbourhood bore more the appearance of being subject to overflow than it had done in any one place we had passed over. The hills were much lower, and as we gained the southern brow of that under which we encamped, we could see a level and wooded country to the westward. The line of the horizon was unbroken by any hills in the distance, and the nearer ones seemed gradually to lose themselves in the darkness of the landscape. The two natives, whom the stockmen had named Peter and Jemmie, were of infinite service to us, from their knowledge of all the passes, and the general features of the country. Having, however, seen us thus far on the journey from their usual haunts, they became anxious to return, and it was with some difficulty we persuaded them to accompany us for a few days longer, in hopes of reward. The weather had been cool and pleasant; the thermometer averaging 78 of Fahrenheit at noon, in consequences of which the animals kept in good condition, the men healthy and zealous. The sheep Mr. O'Brien had presented to us, gave no additional trouble; they followed in the rear of the party without attempting to wander, and were secured at night in a small pen or fold. No waste attended their slaughter, nor did they lose in condition, from being driven from ten to fifteen miles daily, so much as I had been led to suppose they would have done. CHAPTER III. Character of the Morumbidgee where it issues from the hilly country-- Appearance of approach to swamps--Hamilton Plains--Intercourse with the natives--Their appearance, customs, &c.--Change in the character of the river--Mirage--Dreariness of the country--Ride towards the Lachlan river --Two boats built and launched on the Morumbidgee; and the drays, with part of the men sent back to Goulburn Plains. NATIVES--WILD GAME,&c.; CHARACTER OF THE RIVER AND THE ADJOINING COUNTRY. From our camp, the Morumbidgee held a direct westerly course for about three miles. The hills under which we had encamped, rose so close upon our right as to leave little space between them and the river. At the distance of three miles, however, they suddenly terminated, and the river changed its direction to the S.W., while a chain of ponds extended to the westward, and separated the alluvial flats from a somewhat more elevated plain before us. We kept these ponds upon our left for some time, but, as they ultimately followed the bend of the river, we left them. The blacks led us on a W. by S. course to the base of a small range two or three miles distant, near which there was a deep lagoon. It was evident they here expected to have found some other natives. Being disappointed, however, they turned in towards the river again, but we stopped short of it on the side of a serpentine sheet of water, an apparent continuation of the chain of ponds we had left behind us, forming a kind of ditch round the S.W. extremity of the range, parallel to which we had continued to travel. This range, which had been gradually decreasing in height from the lagoon, above which it rose perpendicularly, might almost be said to terminate here. We fell in with two or three natives before we halted, but the evident want of population in so fine a country, and on so noble a river, surprised me extremely. We saw several red kangaroos in the course of the day, and succeeded in killing one. It certainly is a beautiful animal, ranging the wilds in native freedom. The female and the kid are of a light mouse-colour. Wild turkeys abound on this part of the Morumbidgee, but with the exception of a few terns, which are found hovering over the lagoons, no new birds had as yet been procured; and the only plant that enriched our collection, was an unknown metrosideros. In crossing the extremity of the range, the wheels of the dray sunk deep into a yielding and coarse sandy soil, of decomposed granite, on which forest-grass prevailed in tufts, which, being far apart, made the ground uneven, and caused the animals to trip. We rose at one time sufficiently high to obtain an extensive view, and had our opinions confirmed as to the level nature of the country we were so rapidly approaching. From the N. to the W.S.W. the eye wandered over a wooded and unbroken interior, if I except a solitary double hill that rose in the midst of it, bearing S. 82 degrees W. distant 12 miles, and another singular elevation that bore S. 32 degrees W. called by the natives, Kengal. The appearance to the E.S.E. was still that of a mountainous country, while from the N.E., the hills gradually decrease in height, until lost in the darkness of surrounding objects to the northward. We did not travel this day more than 13 miles on a W. by N. course. The Morumbidgee, where we struck it, by its increased size, kept alive our anticipations of its ultimately leading us to some important point. The partial rains that had fallen while we were on its upper branch, had swollen it considerably, and it now rolled along a vast body of water at the rate of three miles an hour, preserving a medium width of 150 feet; its banks retaining a height far above the usual level of the stream. A traveller who had never before descended into the interior of New Holland, would have spurned the idea of such a river terminating in marshes; but with the experience of the former journey, strong as hope was within my breast, I still feared it might lose itself in the vast flat upon which we could scarcely be said to have yet entered. The country was indeed taking up more and more every day the features of the N.W. interior. Cypresses were observed upon the minor ridges, and the soil near the river, although still rich, and certainly more extensive than above, was occasionally mixed with sand, and scattered over with the claws of crayfish and shells, indicating its greater liability to be flooded; nor indeed could I entertain a doubt that the river had laid a great part of the levels around us under water long after it found that channel in which nature intended ultimately to confine it. We killed another fine red kangaroo in the early part of the day, in galloping after which I got a heavy fall. The two blacks who had been with us so long, and who had not only exerted themselves to assist us, but had contributed in no small degree to our amusement, though they had from M'Leay's liberality, tasted all the dainties with which we had provided ourselves, from sugar to concentrated cayenne, intimated that they could no longer accompany the party. They had probably got to the extremity of their beat, and dared not venture any further. They left us with evident regret, receiving, on their departure, several valuable presents, in the shape of tomahawks &c. The last thing they did was to point out the way to us, and to promise to join us on our return, although they evidently little anticipated ever seeing us again. In pursuing our journey, we entered a forest, consisting of box-trees, casuarinae, and cypresses, on a light sandy soil, in which both horses and bullocks sunk so deep that their labour was greatly increased, more especially as the weather had become much warmer. At noon I altered my course from N.W. by W. to W.N.W., and reached the Morumbidgee at 3 in the afternoon. The flats bordering it were extensive and rich, and, being partially mixed with sand, were more fitted for agricultural purposes than the stiffer and purer soil amidst the mountains; but the interior beyond them was far from being of corresponding quality. We crossed several plains on which vegetation was scanty, probably owing to the hardness of the soil, which was a stiff loamy clay, and which must check the growth of plants, by preventing the roots from striking freely into it. The river where we stopped for the night appeared to have risen considerably, and the fish were rolling about on the surface of the water with a noise like porpoises. No elevations were visible, so that I had not an opportunity of continuing the chain of survey with the points I had previously taken. TRAVELLING DOWN THE RIVER. As we proceeded down the river on the 8th, the flats became still more extensive than they had ever been, and might almost be denominated plains. Vegetation was scanty upon them, although the soil was of the first quality. About nine miles from our camp, we struck on a small isolated hill, that could scarcely have been of 200 feet elevation; yet, depressed as it was, the view from its summit was very extensive, and I was surprised to find that we were still in some measure surrounded by high lands, of which I took the following bearings, connected with the present ones. A High Peak.....N. 66 E. distance 40 miles. Kengal ........ N. 110 E. distant. Double Hill ... S. 10 W. distant. To the north, there were several fires burning, which appeared rather the fires of natives, than conflagrations, and as the river had made a bend to the N.N.W., I doubted not that they were upon its banks. From this hill, which was of compact granite, we struck away to the W.N.W., and shortly afterwards crossed some remarkable sand-hills. Figuratively speaking, they appeared like islands amidst the alluvial deposits, and were as pure in their composition as the sand on the sea-shore. They were generally covered with forest grass, in tufts, and a coarse kind of rushes, under banksias and cypresses. We found a small fire on the banks of the river, and close to it the couch and hut of a solitary native, who had probably seen us approach, and had fled. There cannot be many inhabitants hereabouts, since there are no paths to indicate that they frequent this part of the Morumbidgee more at one season than another. On the 9th, the river fell off again to the westward, and we lost a good deal of the northing we had made the day before. We journeyed pretty nearly equidistant from the stream, and kept altogether on the alluvial flats. As we were wandering along the banks of the river, a black started up before us, and swam across to the opposite side, where he immediately hid himself. We could by no means induce him to show himself; he was probably the lonely being whom we had scared away from the fire the day before. In the afternoon, however we surprised a family of six natives, and persuaded them to follow us to our halting place. My boy understood them well; but the young savage had the cunning to hide the information they gave him, or, for aught I know, to ask questions that best suited his own purposes, and therefore we gained little intelligence from them. Every day now produced some change in the face of the country, by which it became more and more assimilated to that I had traversed during the first expedition. Acacia pendula now made its appearance on several plains beyond the river deposits, as well as that salsolaceous class of plants, among which the schlerolina and rhagodia are so remarkable. The natives left us at sunset, but returned early in the morning with an extremely facetious and good-humoured old man, who volunteered to act as our guide without the least hesitation. There was a cheerfulness in his manner, that gained our confidence at once, and rendered him a general favourite. He went in front with the dogs, and led us a little away from the river to kill kangaroos, as he said. At about two miles we struck on an inconsiderable elevation, which the party crossed at the S.W. extremity. I ascended it at the opposite end, but although the view was extensive, I could not make out the little hill of granite from which I had taken my former bearings, and the only elevation I could recognise as connected with them, was one about ten miles distant, bearing S. 168 W. I could observe very distant ranges to the E.N.E. and immediately below me in that direction, there was a large clear plain, skirted by acacia pendula, stretching from S.S.E. to N.N.W. The crown and ridges of the hill on which I stood, were barren, stony, and covered with beef-wood, the rock-formation being a coarse granite. The drays had got so far ahead of me that I did not overtake them before they had halted on the river at a distance of ten miles. INFORMATION FROM A NATIVE. The Morumbidgee appeared, on examination, to have increased in breadth, and continued to rise gradually. It is certainly a noble stream, very different from those I had already traced to their termination. The old black informed me that there was another large river flowing to the southward of west, to which the Morumbidgee was as a creek, and that we could gain it in four days. He stated that its waters were good, but that its banks were not peopled. That such a feature existed where he laid it down, I thought extremely probable, because it was only natural to expect that other streams descended from the mountains in the S.E. of the island, as well as that on which we were travelling. The question was, whether either of them held on an uninterrupted course to some reservoir, or whether they fell short of the coast and exhausted themselves in marshes. Considering the concave direction of the mountains to the S.E., I even at this time hoped that the rivers falling into the interior would unite sooner or later, and contribute to the formation of an important and navigable stream. Of the fate of the Morumbidgee, the old black could give no account. It seemed probable, therefore, that we were far from its termination. I had hitherto been rather severe upon the animals, for although our journey had not exceeded from twelve to fifteen miles a day, it had been without intermission. I determined, therefore, to give both men and animals a day of rest, as soon as I should find a convenient place. We started on the 11th with this intention, but we managed to creep over eight or ten miles of ground before we halted. The country was slightly undulated, and much intersected by creeks, few of which had water in them. The whole tract was, however, well adapted either for agriculture, or for grazing, and, in spite of the drought that had evidently long hung over it, was well covered with vegetation. We had passed all high lands, and the interior to the westward presented an unbroken level to the eye. The Morumbidgee appeared to hold a more northerly course than I had anticipated. Still low ranges continued upon our right, and the cypress ridges became more frequent and denser; but the timber on the more open grounds generally consisted of box and flooded-gum. Of minor trees, the acacia pendula was the most prevalent, with a shrub bearing a round nut, enclosed in a scarlet capsule, and an interesting species of stenochylus. I had observed as yet, few of the plants of the more northern interior. NATIVES--THEIR UGLINESS. In this neighbourhood, the dogs killed an emu and a kangaroo, which came in very conveniently for some natives whom we fell in with on one of the river flats. They were, without exception, the worst featured of any I had ever seen. It is scarcely possible to conceive that human beings could be so hideous and loathsome. The old black, who was rather good-looking, told me they were the last we should see for some time, and I felt that if these were samples of the natives on the lowlands, I cared very little how few of I them we should meet. EXTENSIVE PLAINS. The country on the opposite side of the river had all the features of that to the north of it, but a plain of such extent suddenly opened upon us to the southward, that I halted at once in order to examine it, and by availing myself of a day of rest, to fix our position more truly than we could otherwise have done. We accordingly pitched our tents under some lofty gum-trees, opposite to the plain, and close upon the edge of the sandy beach of the river. Before they were turned out, the animals were carefully examined, and the pack-saddles overhauled, that they might undergo any necessary repairs. The river fell considerably during the night, but it poured along a vast body of water, possessing a strong current. The only change I remarked in it was that it now had a bed of sand, and was generally deeper on one side than on the other. It kept a very uniform breadth of from 150 to 170 feet--and a depth of from 4 to 20. Its channel, though occasionally much encumbered with fallen timber, was large enough to contain twice the volume of water then in it, but it had outer and more distant banks, the boundaries of the alluvial flats, to confine it within certain limits, during the most violent floods, and to prevent its inundating the country. HAMILTON'S PLAINS. With a view to examine the plain opposite to us, I directed our horses to be taken across the river early in the morning, and after breakfast, M'Leay and I swam across after them. We found the current strong, and could not keep a direct line over the channel, but were carried below the place at which we plunged in. We proceeded afterwards in a direction W.S.W. across the plain for five or six miles, before we saw trees on the opposite extremity, at a still greater distance. We thus found ourselves in the centre of an area of from 26 to 30 miles. It appeared to be perfectly level, though not really so. The soil upon it was good, excepting in isolated spots, where it was sandy. Vegetation was scanty upon it, but, on the whole, I should conclude that it was fitter for agriculture than for grazing. For I think it very probable, that those lands which lie hardening and bare in a state of nature, would produce abundantly if broken up by the plough. I called this Hamilton's plains, in remembrance of the surgeon of my regiment. The Morumbidgee forms its N.E. boundary, and a creek rising on it, cuts off a third part on the western side, and runs away from the river in a southerly direction. This creek, even before it gets to the outskirts of the plains, assumes a considerable size. Such a fact would argue that heavy rains fall in this part of the interior, to cut out such a watercourse, or that the soil is extremely loose; but I should think the former the most probable, since the soil of this plain had a substratum of clay. I place our encampment on the river in latitude 34 degrees 41 minutes 45 seconds S., and in East longitude 146 degrees 50 minutes, the variation of the compass being 6 degrees 10 minutes E. INTERCOURSE WITH THE NATIVES; SCANTINESS OF THE POPULATION. On our return to the camp we found several natives with our people, and among them one of the tallest I had ever seen. Their women were with them, and they appeared to have lost all apprehension of any danger occurring from us. The animals were benefited greatly by this day of rest. We left the plain, therefore, on the 13th with renewed spirits, and passed over a country very similar to that by which we had approached it, one well adapted for grazing, but intersected by numerous creeks, at two of which we found natives, some of whom joined our party. Our old friend left us in quest of some blacks, who, as he informed Hopkinson, had seen the tracks of our horses on the Darling. I was truly puzzled at such a statement, which was, however, further corroborated by the circumstance of one of the natives having a tire-nail affixed to a spear, which he said was picked up, by the man who gave it to him, on one of our encampments. I could not think it likely that this story was true, and rather imagined they must have picked up the nail near the located districts, and I was anxious to have the point cleared up. When we halted we had a large assemblage of natives with us, amounting in all to twenty-seven, but I awaited in vain the return of the old man. The night passed away without our seeing him, nor did he again join us. We started in the morning with our new acquaintances, and kept on a south-westerly course during the day, over an excellent grazing, and, in many places, an agricultural country, still intersected by creeks, that were too deep for the water to have dried in them. The country more remote from the river, however, began to assume more and more the character and appearance of the northern interior. I rode into several plains, the soil of which was either a red sandy loam, bare of vegetation, or a rotten and blistered earth, producing nothing but rhagodiae, salsolae, and misembrianthemum. We fell in with another tribe of blacks during the journey, to whom we were literally consigned by those who had been previously with us, and who now turned back, while our new friends took the lead of the drays. They were two fine young men, but had very ugly wives, and were for a long time extremely diffident. I found that I could obtain but little information through my black boy,--whether from his not understanding me, or because he was too cunning, is uncertain. One of these young men, however, clearly stated that he had seen the tracks of bullocks and horses, a long time ago, to the N.N.W. in the direction of some detached hills, that were visible from 20 to 25 miles distant. He remembered them, he said, as a boy, and added that the white men were without water. It was, therefore, clear that he alluded to Mr. Oxley's excursion, northerly from the Lachlan, and I had no doubt on my mind, that he had been on one of that officer's encampments, and that the hills to the north of us were those to the opposite base of which he had penetrated. I was determined, therefore, if practicable, to reach these hills, deeming it a matter of great importance to connect the surveys, but I deferred my journey for a day or two, in hopes, from the continued northerly course of the river, that we should have approached them nearer. In the evening we fell in with some more blacks, among whom were two brothers, of those who were acting as our guides. One had a very pretty girl as a wife, and all the four brothers were very good-looking young men. There cannot, I should think, be a numerous population on the banks of the Morumbidgee, from the fact of our having seen not more than fifty in an extent of more than 180 miles. They are apparently scattered along it in families. I was rather surprised that my boy understood their language well, since it certainly differed from that of the Macquarie tribes, but nevertheless as these people do not wander far, our information as to what was before us was very gradually arrived at, and only as we fell in with the successive families. Moreover, as my boy was very young, it may be that he was more eager in communicating to those who had no idea of them, the wonders he had seen, than in making inquiries on points that were indifferent to him. CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY. We passed a very large plain in the course of the day, which was bounded by forests of box, cypress, and the acacia pendula, of red sandy soil and parched appearance. The Morumbidgee evidently overflows a part of the lands we crossed, to a greater extent than heretofore, though the alluvial deposits beyond its influence were still both rich and extensive. The crested pigeon made its appearance on the acacias, which I took to be a sure sign of our approach to a country more than ordinarily subject to overflow; since on the Macquarie and the Darling, those birds were found only to inhabit the regions of marshes, or spaces covered by the acacia pendula, or the polygonum. We had not, however, yet seen any of the latter plant, although we were shortly destined to be almost lost amidst fields of it. CHANGE IN THE COUNTRY. We were now approaching that parallel of longitude in which the other known rivers of New Holland had been found to exhaust themselves; the least change therefore, for the worse was sufficient to raise my apprehensions; yet, although the Morumbidgee had received no tributary from the Dumot downwards, and was leading us into an apparently endless level, I saw no indication of its decreasing in size, or in the rapidity of its current. Certainly, however, I had, from the character of the country around us, an anticipation that a change was about to take place in it, and this anticipation was verified in the course of the following day. The alluvial flats gradually decreased in breadth, and we journeyed mostly over extensive and barren plains, which in many places approached so near the river as to form a part of its bank. They were covered with the salsolaceous class of plants, so common in the interior, in a red sandy soil, and were as even as a bowling green. The alluvial spaces near the river became covered with reeds, and, though subject to overflow at every partial rise of it, were so extremely small as scarcely to afford food for our cattle. Flooded-gum trees of lofty size grew on these reedy spaces, and marked the line of the river, but the timber of the interior appeared stunted and useless. DESCRIPTION OF THE NATIVES; MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE NATIVES. We found this part of the Morumbidgee much more populous than its upper branches. When we halted, we had no fewer than forty-one natives with us, of whom the young men were the least numerous. They allowed us to choose a place for ourselves before they formed their own camp, and studiously avoided encroaching on our ground so as to appear troublesome. Their manners were those of a quiet and inoffensive people, and their appearance in some measure prepossessing. The old men had lofty foreheads, and stood exceedingly erect. The young men were cleaner is their persons and were better featured than any we had seen, some of them having smooth hair and an almost Asiatic cast of countenance. On the other hand, the women and children were disgusting objects. The latter were much subject to diseases, and were dreadfully emaciated. It is evident that numbers of them die in their infancy for want of care and nourishment. We remarked none at the age of incipient puberty, but the most of them under six. In stating that the men were more prepossessing than any we had seen, I would not be understood to mean that they differed in any material point either from the natives of the coast, or of the most distant interior to which I had been, for they were decidedly the same race, and had the same leading features and customs, as far as the latter could be observed. The sunken eye and overhanging eyebrow, the high cheek-bone and thick lip, distended nostrils, the nose either short or acquiline, together with a stout bust and slender extremities, and both curled and smooth hair, marked the natives of the Morumbidgee as well as those of the Darling. They were evidently sprung from one common stock, the savage and scattered inhabitants of a rude and inhospitable land. In customs they differed in no material point from the coast natives, and still less from the tribes on the Darling and the Castlereagh. They extract the front tooth, lacerate their bodies, to raise the flesh, cicatrices being their chief ornament; procure food by the same means, paint in the same manner, and use the same weapons, as far as the productions of the country will allow them. But as the grass-tree is not found westward of the mountains, they make a light spear of a reed, similar to that of which the natives of the southern islands form their arrows. These they use for distant combat, and not only carry in numbers, but throw with the boomerang to a great distance and with unerring precision, making them to all intents and purposes as efficient as the bow and arrow. They have a ponderous spear for close fight, and others of different sizes for the chase. With regard to their laws, I believe they are universally the same all over the known parts of New South Wales. The old men have alone the privilege of eating the emu; and so submissive are the young men to this regulation, that if, from absolute hunger or under other pressing circumstances, one of them breaks through it, either during a hunting excursion, or whilst absent from his tribe, he returns under a feeling of conscious guilt, and by his manner betrays his guilt, sitting apart from the men, and confessing his misdemeanour to the chief at the first interrogation, upon which he is obliged to undergo a slight punishment. This evidently is a law of policy and necessity, for if the emus were allowed to be indiscriminately slaughtered, they would soon become extinct. Civilised nations may learn a wholesome lesson even from savages, as in this instance of their forebearance. For somewhat similar reasons, perhaps, married people alone are here permitted to eat ducks. They hold their corrobories, (midnight ceremonies), and sing the same melancholy ditty that breaks the stillness of night on the shores of Jervis' Bay, or on the banks of the Macquarie; and during the ceremony imitate the several birds and beasts with which they are acquainted. If these inland tribes differ in anything from those on the coast, it is in the mode of burying their dead, and, partially, in their language. Like all savages, they consider their women as secondary objects, oblige them to procure their own food, or throw to them over their shoulders the bones they have already picked, with a nonchalance that is extremely amusing; and, on the march, make them beasts of burden to carry their very weapons. The population of the Morumbidgee, as far as we had descended it at this time, did not exceed from ninety to a hundred souls. I am persuaded that disease and accidents consign many of them to a premature grave. MIRAGE. From this camp, one family only accompanied us. We journeyed due west over plains of great extent. The soil upon them was soft and yielding, in some places being a kind of light earth covered with rhagodiae, in others a red tenacious clay, overrun by the misembrianthemum and salsolae. Nothing could exceed the apparent barrenness of these plains, or the cheerlessness of the landscape. We had left all high lands behind us, and were now on an extensive plain, bounded in the distance by low trees or by dark lines of cypresses. The lofty gum-trees on the river followed its windings, and, as we opened the points, they appeared, from the peculiar effect of a mirage, as bold promontories jutting into the ocean, having literally the blue tint of distance. This mirage floated in a light tremulous vapour on the ground, and not only deceived us with regard to the extent of the plains, and the appearance of objects, but hid the trees, in fact, from our view altogether; so that, in moving, as we imagined, upon the very point or angle of the river, we found as we neared it, that the trees stretched much further into the plain, and were obliged to alter our course to round them. The heated state of the atmosphere, and the sandy nature of the country could alone have caused a mirage so striking in its effects, as this,--exceeding considerably similar appearances noticed during the first expedition. The travelling was so heavy, that I was obliged to make a short day's journey, and when we struck the river for the purpose of halting, it had fallen off very much in appearance, and was evidently much contracted, with low banks and a sandy bed. It was difficult to account for this sudden change, but when I gazed on the extent of level country before me, I began to dread that this hitherto beautiful stream would ultimately disappoint us. EXCURSION TOWARDS A RIDGE OF HILLS. I had deferred my intended excursion to the hills under which I imagined Mr. Oxley had encamped, until we were out of sight of them, and I now feared that it was almost too late to undertake it, but I was still anxious to determine a point in which I felt considerable interest. I was the more desirous of surveying the country to the northward, because of the apparent eagerness with which the natives had caught at the word Colare, which I recollected having heard a black on the Macquarie make use of in speaking of the Lachlan. They pointed to the N.N.W., and making a sweep with the arm raised towards the sky, seemed to intimate that a large sheet of water existed in that direction; and added that it communicated with the Morumbidgee more to the westward. This information confirmed still more my impressions with regard to Mr. Oxley's line of route; and, as I found a ready volunteer in M'Leay, I gave the party in charge to Harris until I should rejoin him, and turned back towards the hills, with the intention of reaching them if possible. No doubt we should have done so had it not been for the nature of the ground over which we travelled, and the impossibility of our exceeding a walk. We rode to a distance of 18 miles, but still found ourselves far short of the hills, and therefore gave up the point. I considered, however, that we were about the same distance to the south, as Mr. Oxley had been to the north of them, and in taking bearings of the highest points, I afterwards found that they exactly tallied with his bearings, supposing him to have taken them from his camp. QUIET DEMEANOUR OF THE NATIVES. On our way to the river, we passed through some dense bushes of casuarinae and cypresses, to the outskirts of the plains through which the Morumbidgee winds. We reached the camp two or three hours after sunset, and found it crowded with natives to the number of 60. They were extremely quiet and inoffensive in their demeanour, and asked us to point out where they might sleep, before they ventured to kindle their fires. One old man, we remarked, had a club foot, and another was blind, but, as far as we could judge from the glare of the fires, the generality of them were fine young men, and supported themselves in a very erect posture when standing or walking. There were many children with the women, among whom colds seemed to prevail. It blew heavily from the N.W. during the night, and a little rain fell in the early part of the morning. Our route during the day, was over as melancholy a tract as ever was travelled. The plains to the N. and N.W. bounded the horizon; not a tree of any kind was visible upon them. It was equally open to the S., and it appeared as if the river was decoying us into a desert, there to leave us in difficulty and in distress. The very mirage had the effect of boundlessness in it, by blending objects in one general hue; or, playing on the ground, it cheated us with an appearance of water, and on arriving at the spot, we found a continuation of the same scorching plain, over which we were moving, instead of the stream we had hoped for. The cattle about this time began to suffer, and, anxious as I was to push on, I was obliged to shorten my journeys, according to circumstances. Amidst the desolation around us, the river kept alive our hopes. If it traversed deserts, it might reach fertile lands, and it was to the issue of the journey that we had to look for success. It here, however, evidently overflowed its banks more extensively than heretofore, and broad belts of reeds were visible on either side of it, on which the animals exclusively subsisted. Most of the natives had followed us, and their patience and abstinence surprised me exceedingly. Some of them had been more than twenty-four hours without food, and yet seemed as little disposed to seek it as ever. I really thought they expected me to supply their wants, but as I could not act so liberal a scale, George M'Leay undeceived them; after which they betook themselves to the river, and got a supply of muscles. I rather think their going so frequently into the water engenders a catarrh, or renders them more liable to it than they otherwise would be. In the afternoon the wind shifted to the S.W. It blew a hurricane; and the temperature of the air was extremely low. The natives felt the cold beyond belief and kindled large fires. In the morning, when we moved away, the most of them started with fire-sticks to keep themselves warm; but they dropped off one by one, and at noon we found ourselves totally deserted. DREARINESS OF THE LANDSCAPE. It is impossible for me to describe the kind of country we were now traversing, or the dreariness of the view it presented. The plains were still open to the horizon, but here and there a stunted gum-tree, or a gloomy cypress, seemed placed by nature as mourners over the surrounding desolation. Neither beast nor bird inhabited these lonely and inhospitable regions, over which the silence of the grave seemed to reign. We had not, for days past, seen a blade of grass, so that the animals could not have been in very good condition. We pushed on, however, sixteen miles, in consequence of the coolness of the weather. We observed little change in the river in that distance, excepting that it had taken up a muddy bottom, and lost all the sand that used to fill it. The soil and productions on the plains continued unchanged in every respect. From this time to the 22nd, the country presented the same aspect. Occasional groups of cypress showed themselves on narrow sandy ridges, or partial brushes extended from the river, consisting chiefly of the acacia pendula, the stenochylus, and the nut I have already noticed. The soil on which they grew was, if possible, worse than that of the barren plain which we were traversing; and their colour and drooping state rendered the desolate landscape still more dreary. On the 21st, we found the same singular substance(gypsum) embedded in the bank of the river that had been collected, during the former expedition, on the banks of the Darling; and hope, which is always uppermost in the human breast, induced me to think that we were fast approaching that stream. My observations placed me in 34 degrees 17 minutes 15 seconds S. and 145 degrees of E. longitude. BLACK BOY DESERTS. On the 22nd, my black boy deserted me. I was not surprised at his doing so, neither did I regret his loss, for he had been of little use under any circumstances. He was far too cunning for our purpose. I know not that the term ingratitude can be applied to one in his situation, and in whose bosom nature had implanted a love of freedom. We learnt from four blacks, with whom he had spoken, and who came to us in the afternoon, that he had gone up the river,--as I conjectured, to the last large tribe we had left, with whom he appeared to become very intimate. A creek coming from the N.N.W. here fell into the Morumbidgee; a proof that the general decline of country was really to the south, although a person looking over it would have supposed the contrary. COUNTRY SUBJECT TO INUNDATION. We started on the 23rd, with the same boundlessness of plain on either side of us; but in the course of the morning a change took place, both in soil and productions; and from the red sandy loam, and salsolaceous plants, amidst which we had been toiling, we got upon a light tenacious and blistered soil, evidently subject to frequent overflow, and fields of polygonum junceum, amidst which, both the crested pigeon and the black quail were numerous. The drays and animals sank so deep in this, that we were obliged to make for the river, and keep upon its immediate banks. Still, with all the appearance of far-spread inundation, it continued undiminished in size, and apparently in the strength of its current. Its channel was deeper than near the mountains, but its breadth was about the same. On the 24th, we were again entangled amidst fields of polygonum, through which we laboured until after eleven, when we gained a firmer soil. Some cypresses appeared upon our right, in a dark line, and I indulged hopes that a change was about to take place in the nature of the country. We soon, however, got on a light rotten earth, and were again obliged to make for the river, with the teams completely exhausted. We had not travelled many miles from our last camp, yet it struck me, that the river had fallen off in appearance. I examined it with feelings of intense anxiety, certain, as I was, that the flooded spaces, over which we had been travelling would, sooner or later, be succeeded by a country overgrown with reeds. The river evidently overflowed its banks, on both sides, for many miles, nor had I a doubt that, at some periods, the space northward, between it and the Lachlan, presented the appearance of one vast sea. The flats of polygonum stretched away to the N.W. to an amazing distance, as well as in a southerly direction, and the very nature of the soil bore testimony to its flooded origin. But the most unaccountable circumstance to me was, that it should be entirely destitute of vegetation, with the exception of the gloomy and leafless bramble I have noticed. M'Leay, who was always indefatigable in his pursuit after subjects of natural history, shot a cockatoo, of a new species, hereabouts, having a singularly shaped upper mandible. It was white, with scarlet down under the neck feathers, smaller than the common cockatoo, and remarkable for other peculiarities. INTERCOURSE WITH NATIVES; THE COLARE OR LACHLAN. Two or three natives made their appearance at some distance from the party, but would not approach it until after we had halted. They then came to the tents, seven in number, and it was evident from their manner, that their chief or only object was to pilfer anything they could. We did not, therefore, treat them with much ceremony. They were an ill-featured race, and it was only by strict watching during the night that they were prevented from committing theft. Probably from seeing that we were aware of their intentions, they left us early, and pointing somewhat to the eastward of north, said they were going to the Colare, and on being asked how far it was, they signified that they should sleep there. I had on a former occasion recollected the term having been made use of by a black, on the Macquarie, when speaking to me of the Lachlan, and had questioned one of the young men who was with us at the time, and who seemed more intelligent than his companions, respecting it. Immediately catching at the word, he had pointed to the N.N.W., and, making a sweep with his arms raised towards the sky had intimated, evidently, that a large sheet of water existed in that direction, in the same manner that another black had done on a former occasion: on being further questioned, he stated that this communicated with the Morumbidgee more to the westward, and on my expressing a desire to go to it, he said we could not do so under four days. We had, it appeared, by the account of the seven natives, approached within one day's journey of it, and, as I thought it would be advisable to gain a little knowledge of the country to the north, I suggested to M'Leay to ride in that direction, while the party should be at rest, with some good feed for the cattle that fortune had pointed out to us. EXCURSION TOWARDS THE LACHLAN. Our horses literally sank up to their knees on parts of the great plain over which we had in the first instance to pass, and we rode from three to four miles before we caught sight of a distant wood at its northern extremity; the view from the river having been for the last two or three days, as boundless as the ocean. As we approached the wood, two columns of smoke rose from it, considerably apart, evidently the fires of natives near water. We made for the central space between them, having a dead acacia scrub upon our right. On entering the wood, we found that it contained for the most part, flooded-gum, under which bulrushes and reeds were mixed together. The whole space seemed liable to overflow, and we crossed numerous little drains, that intersected each other in every direction. From the resemblance of the ground to that at the bottom of the marshes of the Macquarie, I prognosticated to my companion that we should shortly come upon a creek, and we had not ridden a quarter of a mile further, when we found ourselves on the banks of one of considerable size. Crossing it, we proceeded northerly, until we got on the outskirts of a plain of red sandy soil, covered with rhagodia alone, and without a tree upon the visible horizon. The country appeared to be rising before us, but was extremely depressed to the eastward. After continuing along this plain for some time, I became convinced from appearances, that we were receding from water, and that the fires of the natives, which were no longer visible, must have been on the creek we had crossed, that I judged to be leading W.S.W. from the opposite quarter. We had undoubtedly struck below to the westward of the Colare or Lachlan, and the creek was the channel of communication between it and the Morumbidgee, at least such was the natural conclusion at which I arrived. Having no further object in continuing a northerly course, we turned to the S.E., and, after again passing the creek, struck away for the camp on a S. by W. course, and passed through a dense brush of cypress and casuarina in our way to it. CONNECTION OF LACHLAN WITH MORUMBIDGEE. Considering our situation as connected with the marshes of the Lachlan, I cannot but infer that the creek we struck upon during this excursion serves as a drain to the latter, to conduct its superfluous waters into the Morumbidgee in times of flood, as those of the Macquarie are conducted by the creek at the termination of its marshes into Morrisset's Chain of Ponds. It will be understood that I only surmise this. I argue from analogy, not from proof. Whether I am correct or not, my knowledge of the facts I have stated, tended very much to satisfy my mind as to the LAY of the interior; and to revive my hopes that the Morumbidgee would not fail us, although there was no appearance of the country improving. COUNTRY COVERED WITH REEDS. We started on the 26th, on a course somewhat to the N.W., and traversed plains of the same wearisome description as those I have already described. The wheels of the drays sank up to their axle-trees, and the horses above their fetlocks at every step. The fields of polygonum spread on every side of us like a dark sea, and the only green object within range of our vision was the river line of trees. In several instances, the force of both teams was put to one dray, to extricate it from the bed into which it had sunk, and the labour was considerably increased from the nature of the weather. The wind was blowing as if through a furnace, from the N.N.E., and the dust was flying in clouds, so as to render it almost suffocating to remain exposed to it. This was the only occasion upon which we felt the hot winds in the interior. We were, about noon, endeavouring to gain a point of a wood at which I expected to come upon the river again, but it was impossible for the teams to reach it without assistance. I therefore sent M'Leay forward, with orders to unload the pack animals as soon as he should make the river, and send them back to help the teams. He had scarcely been separated from me 20 minutes, when one of the men came galloping back to inform me that no river was to be found--that the country beyond the wood was covered with reeds as far as the eye could reach, and that Mr. M'Leay had sent him back for instructions. This intelligence stunned me for a moment or two, and I am sure its effect upon the men was very great. They had unexpectedly arrived at a part of the interior similar to one they had held in dread, and conjured up a thousand difficulties and privations. I desired the man to recall Mr. M'Leay; and, after gaining the wood, moved outside of it at right angles to my former course, and reached the river, after a day of severe toil and exposure, at half-past five. The country, indeed, bore every resemblance to that around the marshes of the Macquarie, but I was too weary to make any further effort: indeed it was too late for me undertake anything until the morning. ANXIOUS COGITATIONS; SURVEY OF RIVER AND ENVIRONS. The circumstances in which we were so unexpectedly placed, occupied my mind so fully that I could not sleep; and I awaited the return of light with the utmost anxiety. If we were indeed on the outskirts of marshes similar to those I had on a former occasion found so much difficulty in examining, I foresaw that in endeavouring to move round then I should recede from water, and place the expedition in jeopardy, probably, without gaining any determinate point, as it would be necessary for me to advance slowly and with caution. Our provisions, however, being calculated to last only to a certain period, I was equally reluctant to delay our operations. My course was, therefore, to be regulated by the appearance of the country and of the river, which I purposed examining with the earliest dawn. If the latter should be found to run into a region of reeds, a boat would be necessary to enable me to ascertain its direction; but, if ultimately it should be discovered to exhaust itself, we should have to strike into the interior on a N.W. course, in search of the Darling. I could not think of putting the whale-boat together in our then state of uncertainty, and it struck me that a smaller one could sooner he prepared for the purposes for which I should require it. These considerations, together with the view I had taken of the measures I might at last be forced into, determined me, on rising, to order Clayton to fell a suitable tree, and to prepare a saw-pit. The labour was of no consideration, and even if eventually the boat should not be wanted, no injury would arise, and it was better to take time by the forelock. Having marked a tree preparatory to leaving the camp, M'Leay and I started at an early hour on an excursion of deeper interest than any we had as yet undertaken; to examine the reeds, not only for the purpose of ascertaining their extent, if possible, but also to guide us in our future measures. We rode for some miles along the river side, but observed in it no signs, either of increase or of exhaustion. Its waters, though turbid, were deep, and its current still rapid. Its banks, too, were lofty, and showed no evidence of decreasing in height, so as to occasion an overflow of them, as had been the case with the Macquarie. We got among vast bodies of reeds, but the plains of the interior were visible beyond them. We were evidently in a hollow, and the decline of country was plainly to the southward of west. Every thing tended to strengthen my conviction that we were still far from the termination of the river. The character it had borne throughout, and its appearance now so far to the westward, gave me the most lively hopes that it would make good its way through the vast level into which it fell, and that its termination would accord with its promise. Besides, I daily anticipated its junction with some stream of equal, if not of greater magnitude from the S.E. I was aware that my resolves must be instant, decisive, and immediately acted upon, as on firmness and promptitude at this crisis the success of the expedition depended. About noon I checked my horse, and rather to the surprise of my companion, intimated to him my intention of returning to the camp, He naturally asked what I purposed doing. I told him it appeared to me more than probable that the Morumbidgee would hold good its course to some fixed point, now that it had reached a meridian beyond the known rivers of the interior. It was certain, from the denseness of the reeds, and the breadth of the belts, that the teams could not be brought any farther, and that, taking every thing into consideration, I had resolved on a bold and desperate measure, that of building the whale-boat, and sending home the drays. Our appearance in camp so suddenly, surprised the men not more than the orders I gave. They all thought I had struck on some remarkable change of country, and were anxious to know my ultimate views. It was not my intention however, immediately to satisfy their curiosity. I had to study their characters as long as I could, in order to select those best qualified to accompany me on the desperate adventure for which I was preparing. BOAT BUILDING. The attention both of M'Leay, and myself, was turned to the hasty building of the whale-boat. A shed was erected, and every necessary preparation made, and although Clayton had the keel of the small boat already laid down, and some planks prepared, she was abandoned for the present, and, after four days more of arduous labour, the whale-boat was painted and in the water. From her dimensions, it appeared to me impossible that she would hold all our provisions and stores, for her after-part had been fitted up as an armoury, which took away considerably from her capacity of stowage. The small boat would still, therefore, be necessary, and she was accordingly re-laid, for half the dimensions of the large boat, and in three days was alongside her consort in the river. Thus, in seven days we had put together a boat, twenty-seven feet in length, had felled a tree from the forest, with which we had built a second of half the size, had painted both, and had them at a temporary wharf ready for loading. Such would not have been the case had not our hearts been in the work, as the weather was close and sultry, and we found it a task of extreme labour. In the intervals between the hours of work, I prepared my despatches for the Governor, and when they were closed, it only remained for me to select six hands, the number I intended should accompany me down the river, and to load the boats, ere we should once more proceed in the further obedience of our instructions. COMPLETION OF ARRANGEMENTS FOR EMBARKATION. It was impossible that I could do without Clayton, whose perseverance and industry had mainly contributed to the building of the boats; of the other prisoners, I chose Mulholland and Macnamee; leaving the rest in charge of Robert Harris, whose steady conduct had merited my approbation. My servant, Harris, Hopkinson, and Fraser, of course, made up the crews. The boats were loaded in the evening of Jan. 6th, as it had been necessary to give the paint a little time to dry. On the 4th, I had sent Clayton and Mulholland to the nearest cypress range for a mast and spar, and on the evening of that day some blacks had visited us; but they sat on the bank of the river, preserving a most determined silence; and, at length, left us abruptly, and apparently in great ill humour. In the disposition of the loads, I placed all the flour, the tea, and tobacco, in the whaleboat. The meat-casks, still, and carpenters' tools, were put into the small boat. As soon as the different arrangements were completed, I collected the men, and told off those who were to accompany me. I then gave the rest over in charge to Harris, and, in adverting to their regular conduct hitherto, trusted they would be equally careful while under his orders. I then directed the last remaining sheep to be equally divided among us; and it was determined that, for fear of accidents, Harris should remain stationary for a week, at the expiration of which time, he would be at liberty to proceed to Goulburn Plains, there to receive his instructions from Sydney; while the boats were to proceed at an early hour of the morning down the river,--whether ever to return again being a point of the greatest uncertainty. CHAPTER IV. Embarkation of the party in the boats, and voyage down the Morumbidgee-- The skiff swamped by striking on a sunken tree--Recovery of boat and its loading--Region of reeds--Dangers of the navigation--Contraction of the channel--Reach the junction of a large river--Intercourse with the natives on its banks--Character of the country below the junction of the rivers-- Descent of a dangerous rapid--Warlike demonstrations of a tribe of natives--Unexpected deliverance from a conflict with them--Junction of another river--Give the name of the "Murray" to the principal stream. The camp was a scene of bustle and confusion long before day-light. The men whom I had selected to accompany me were in high spirits, and so eager to commence their labours that they had been unable to sleep, but busied themselves from the earliest dawn in packing up their various articles of clothing, &c. We were prevented from taking our departure so early as I had intended, by rain that fell about six. At a little after seven, however, the weather cleared up, the morning mists blew over our heads, and the sun struck upon us with his usual fervour. As soon as the minor things were stowed away, we bade adieu to Harris and his party; and shortly after, embarked on the bosom of that stream along the banks of which we had journeyed for so many miles Notwithstanding that we only used two oars, our progress down the river was rapid. Hopkinson had arranged the loads so well, that all the party could sit at their ease, and Fraser was posted in the bow of the boat, with gun in hand, to fire at any new bird or beast that we might surprise in our silent progress. The little boat, which I shall henceforward call the skiff, was fastened by a painter to our stern. SUPPOSED JUNCTION OF LACHLAN. As the reader will have collected from what has already fallen under his notice, the country near the depot was extensively covered with reeds, beyond which vast plains of polygonum stretched away. From the bed of the river we could not observe the change that took place in it as we passed along, so that we found it necessary to land, from time to time, for the purpose of noting down its general appearance. At about fifteen miles from the depot, we came upon a large creek-junction from the N.E., which I did not doubt to be the one M'Leay and I had crossed on the 25th of December. It was much larger than the creek of the Macquarie, and was capable of holding a very great body of water, although evidently too small to contain all that occasionally rushed from its source. I laid it down as the supposed junction of the Lachlan, since I could not, against the corroborating facts in my possession, doubt its originating in the marshes of that river. Should this, eventually, prove to be the case, the similar termination of the two streams traced by Mr. Oxley will be a singular feature in the geography of the interior. EMUS--NATIVE TOMB. We were just about to land, to prepare our dinner, when two emus swam across the river ahead of us. This was an additional inducement for us to land, but we were unfortunately too slow, and the birds escaped us. We had rushed in to the right bank, and found on ascending it, that the reeds with which it had hitherto been lined, had partially ceased. A large plain, similar to those over which we had wandered prior to our gaining the flooded region, stretched away to a considerable distance behind us, and was backed by cypresses and brush. The soil of the plain was a red sandy loam, covered sparingly with salsolae and shrubs; thus indicating that the country still preserved its barren character, and that it is the same from north to south. Among the shrubs we found a tomb that appeared to have been recently constructed. No mound had been raised over the body, but an oval hollow shed occupied the centre of the burial place, that was lined with reeds and bound together with strong net-work. Round this, the usual walks were cut, and the recent traces of women's feet were visible upon them, but we saw no natives, although, from the number and size of the paths that led from the river, in various directions across the plain, I was led to conclude, that, at certain seasons, it is hereabouts numerously frequented. Fraser gathered some rushes similar to those used by the natives of the Darling in the fabrication of their nets, and as they had not before been observed, we judged them, of course, to be a sign of our near approach to that river. ASPECT OF COUNTRY AND RIVER. As soon as we had taken a hasty dinner, we again embarked, and pursued our journey. I had hoped, from the appearance of the country to the north of us, although that to the south gave little indication of any change, that we should soon clear the reeds; but at somewhat less than a mile they closed in upon the river, and our frequent examination of the neighbourhood on either side of it only tended to confirm the fact, that we were passing through a country subject to great and extensive inundation. We pulled up at half-past five, and could scarcely find space enough to pitch our tents. The Morumbidgee kept a decidedly westerly course during the day. Its channel was not so tortuous as we expected to have found it, nor did it offer any obstruction to the passage of the boats. Its banks kept a general height of eight feet, five of which were of alluvial soil, and both its depth and its current were considerable. We calculated having proceeded from 28 to 30 miles, though, perhaps, not more than half that distance in a direct line. No rain fell during the day, but we experienced some heavy squalls from the E.S.E. THE SKIFF STRIKES AND SINKS--LABOUR IN RECOVERING ARTICLES LOST. The second day of our journey from the depot was marked by an accident that had well nigh obliged us to abandon the further pursuit of the river, by depriving us of part of our means of carrying it into effect. We had proceeded, as usual, at an early hour in the morning, and not long after we started, fell in with the blacks who had visited us last, and who were now in much better humour than upon that occasion. As they had their women with them, we pushed in to the bank, and distributed some presents, after which we dropped quietly down the river. Its general depth had been such as to offer few obstructions to our progress, but about an hour after we left the natives, the skiff struck upon a sunken log, and immediately filling, went down in about twelve feet of water, The length of the painter prevented any strain upon the whale-boat, but the consequence of so serious an accident at once flashed upon our minds. That we should suffer considerably, we could not doubt, but our object was to get the skiff up with the least possible delay, to prevent the fresh water from mixing with the brine, in the casks of meat. Some short time, however, necessarily elapsed before we could effect this, and when at last the skiff was hauled ashore, we found that we were too late to prevent the mischief that we had anticipated. All the things had been fastened in the boat, but either from the shock, or the force of the current, one of the pork casks, the head of the still, and the greater part of the carpenter's tools, had been thrown out of her. As the success of the expedition might probably depend upon the complete state of the still, I determined to use every effort for its recovery: but I was truly at a loss how to find it; for the waters of the river were extremely turbid. In this dilemma, the blacks would have been of the most essential service, but they were far behind us, so that we had to depend on our own exertions alone. I directed the whale-boat to be moored over the place where the accident had happened, and then used the oars on either side of her, to feel along the bottom of the river, in hopes that by these means we should strike upon the articles we had lost. However unlikely such a measure was to prove successful, we recovered in the course of the afternoon, every thing but the still-head, and a cask of paint. Whenever the oar struck against the substance that appeared, by its sound or feel to belong to us, it was immediately pushed into the sand, and the upper end of the oar being held by two men, another descended by it to the bottom of the river, remaining under water as long as he could, to ascertain what was immediately within arm's length of him. This work was, as may be imagined, most laborious, and the men at length became much exhausted. They would not, however, give up the search for the still head, more especially after M'Leay, in diving, had descended upon it. Had he, by ascertaining his position, left it to us to heave it up, our labours would soon have ended; but, in his anxiety for its recovery, he tried to bring it up, when finding it too heavy, he let it go, and the current again swept it away. At sunset we were obliged to relinquish our task, the men complaining of violent head-aches, which the nature of the day increased. Thinking our own efforts would be unavailing, I directed two of the men to go up the river for the blacks, at day-light in the morning, and set the reeds on fire to attract their notice. The day had been cloudy and sultry in the afternoon, the clouds collecting in the N.E.: we heard the distant thunder, and expected to have been deluged with rain. None, however, fell, although we were anxious for moisture to change the oppressive state of the atmosphere. The fire I had kindled raged behind us, and threw dense columns of smoke into the sky, that cast over the landscape a shade of the most dismal gloom. We were not in a humour to admire the picturesque, but soon betook ourselves to rest, and after such a day of labour as that we had undergone, I dispensed with the night guard. PILFERING OF NATIVES. In the morning we resumed our search for the still head, which Hopkinson at length fortunately struck with his oar. It had been swept considerably below the place at which M'Leay had dived, or we should most probably have found it sooner. With its recovery, all our fatigues were at once forgotten, and I ordered the breakfast to be got ready preparatory to our reloading the skiff. Fraser and Mulholland, who had left the camp at daylight, had not yet returned. I was sitting in the tent, when Macnamee came to inform me that one of the frying-pans was missing, which had been in use the evening previous, for that he himself had placed it on the stump of a tree, and he therefore supposed a native dog had run away with it. Soon after this, another loss was reported to me, and it was at last discovered that an extensive robbery had been committed upon us during the night, and that, in addition to the frying-pan, three cutlasses, and five tomahawks, with the pea of the steelyards, had been carried away. I was extremely surprised at this instance of daring in the natives, and determined, if possible, to punish it. About ten, Fraser and Mulholland returned with two blacks. Fraser told me he saw several natives on our side of the river, as he was returning, to whom those who were with him spoke, and I felt convinced from their manner and hesitation, that they were aware of the trick that had been played upon us. However, as Fraser had promised them a tomahawk to induce them to accompany him, I fulfilled the promise. CONTINUE OUR VOYAGE. Leaving this unlucky spot, we made good about sixteen miles during the afternoon. The river maintained its breadth and depth nor were the reeds continuous upon its banks. We passed several plains that were considerably elevated above the alluvial deposits, and the general appearance of the country induced me strongly to hope that we should shortly get out of the region of reeds, or the great flooded concavity on which we had fixed our depot; but the sameness of vegetation, and the seemingly diminutive size of the timber in the distance, argued against any change for the better in the soil of the interior. Having taken the precaution of shortening the painter of the skiff, we found less difficulty in steering her clear of obstacles, and made rapid progress down the Morumbidgee during the first cool and refreshing hours of the morning. The channel of the river became somewhat less contracted, but still retained sufficient depth for larger boats than ours, and preserved a general westerly course. Although no decline of country was visible to the eye, the current in places ran very strong. It is impossible for me to convey to the reader's mind an idea of the nature of the country through which we passed. On this day the favourable appearances, noticed yesterday, ceased almost as soon as we embarked. On the 10th, reeds lined the banks of the river on both sides, without any break, and waved like gloomy streamers over its turbid waters; while the trees stood leafless and sapless in the midst of them. Wherever we landed, the same view presented itself--a waving expanse of reeds, and a country as flat as it is possible to imagine one. The eye could seldom penetrate beyond three quarters of a mile, and the labour of walking through the reeds was immense; but within our observation all was green and cheerless. The morning had been extremely cold, with a thick haze at E.S.E. About 2 p.m. it came on to rain heavily, so that we did not stir after that hour. CONTRACTION OF THE CHANNEL. I had remarked that the Morumbidgee was not, from the depot downwards, so broad or so fine a river as it certainly is at the foot of the mountain ranges, where it gains the level country. The observations of the last two days had impressed upon my mind an idea that it was rapidly falling off, and I began to dread that it would finally terminate in one of those fatal marshes in which the Macquarie and the Lachlan exhaust themselves. My hope of a more favourable issue was considerably damped by the general appearance of the surrounding country; and from the circumstance of our not having as yet passed a single tributary. As we proceeded down the river, its channel gradually contracted, and immense trees that had been swept down it by floods, rendered the navigation dangerous and intricate. Its waters became so turbid, that it was impossible to see objects in it, notwithstanding the utmost diligence on the part of the men. About noon, we fell in with a large tribe of natives, but had great difficulty in bringing them to visit us. If they had HEARD of white men, we were evidently the first they had ever SEEN. They approached us in the most cautious manner, and were unable to subdue their fears as long as they remained with us. Collectively, these people could not have amounted to less than one hundred and twenty in number. ANOTHER ACCIDENT. As we pushed off from the bank, after having stayed with them about half an hour, the whaleboat struck with such violence on a sunken log, that she immediately leaked on her starboard side. Fortunately she was going slowly at the time, or she would most probably have received some more serious injury. One of the men was employed during the remainder of the afternoon in bailing her out, and we stopped sooner than we should otherwise have done, in order to ascertain the extent of damage, and to repair it. The reeds terminated on both sides of the river some time before we pulled up, and the country round the camp was more elevated than usual, and bore the appearance of open forest pasture land, the timber upon it being a dwarf species of box, and the soil a light tenacious earth. ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY AND OF THE RIVER. About a mile below our encampment of the 12th, we at length came upon a considerable creek-junction from the S.E. Below it, the river increased both in breadth and depth; banks were lofty and perpendicular, and even the lowest levels were but partially covered with reeds. We met with fewer obstructions in consequence, and pursued our journey with restored confidence. Towards evening a great change also took place in the aspect of the country, which no longer bore general marks of inundation. The level of the interior was broken by a small hill to the right of the stream, but the view from its summit rather damped than encouraged my hopes of any improvement. The country was covered with wood and brush, and the line of the horizon was unbroken by the least swell. We were on an apparently boundless flat, without any fixed point on which to direct our movements, nor was there a single object for the eye to rest upon, beyond the dark and gloomy wood that surrounded us on every side. Soon after passing this hill, the whale-boat struck upon a line of sunken rocks, but fortunately escaped without injury. Mulholland, who was standing in the bow, was thrown out of her, head foremost, and got a good soaking, but soon recovered himself. The composition of the rock was iron-stone, and it is the first formation that occurs westward of the dividing range. We noticed a few cypresses in the distance, but the general timber was dwarf-box, or flooded-gum, and a few of the acacia longa scattered at great distances. In verifying our position by some lunars, we found ourselves in 142 degrees 46 minutes 30 seconds of east long., and in lat. 35 degrees 25 minutes 15 seconds S. the mean variation of the compass being 4 degrees 10 minutes E. it appearing that we were decreasing the variation as we proceeded westward. On the 13th, we passed the first running stream that joins the Morumbidgee, in a course of more than 340 miles. It came from the S.E., and made a visible impression on the river at the junction, although in tracing it up, it appeared to be insignificant in itself. The circumstance of these tributaries all occurring on the left, evidenced the level nature of the country to the north. In the afternoon, we passed a dry creek also from the S.E. which must at times throw a vast supply of water into the river, since for many miles below, the latter preserved a breadth of 200 feet, and averaged from 12 to 20 feet in depth, with banks of from 15 to 18 feet in height. Yet, notwithstanding its general equality of depth, several rapids occurred, down which the boats were hurried with great velocity. The body of water in the river continued undiminished, notwithstanding its increased breadth of channel; for which reason I should imagine that it is fed by springs, independently of other supplies. Some few cypresses were again observed, and the character of the distant country resembled, in every particular, that of the interior between the Macquarie and the Darling. The general appearance of the Morumbidgee, from the moment of our starting on the 13th, to a late hour in the afternoon, had been such as to encourage my hopes of ultimate success in tracing it down; but about three o'clock we came to one of those unaccountable and mortifying changes which had already so frequently excited my apprehension. Its channel again suddenly contracted, and became almost blocked up with huge trees, that must have found their way into it down the creeks or junctions we had lately passed. The rapidity of the current increasing at the same time, rendered the navigation perplexing and dangerous. We Passed reach after reach, presenting the same difficulties, and were at length obliged to pull up at 5 p.m., having a scene of confusion and danger before us that I did not dare to encounter with the evening's light; for I had not only observed that the men's eye-sight failed them as the sun descended, and that they mistook shadows for objects under water, and VICE-VERSA, but the channel had become so narrow that, although the banks were not of increased height, we were involved in comparative darkness, under a close arch of trees, and a danger was hardly seen ere we were hurried past it, almost without the possibility of avoiding it. The reach at the head of which we stopped, was crowded with the trunks of trees, the branches of which crossed each other in every direction, nor could I hope, after a minute examination of the channel, to succeed in taking the boats safely down so intricate a passage. DANGEROUS NAVIGATION OF THE MORUMBIDGEE. We rose in the morning with feelings of apprehension, and uncertainty; and, indeed, with great doubts on our minds whether we were not thus early destined to witness the wreck, and the defeat of the expedition. The men got slowly and cautiously into the boat, and placed themselves so as to leave no part of her undefended. Hopkinson stood at the bow, ready with poles to turn her head from anything upon which she might be drifting. Thus prepared, we allowed her to go with the stream. By extreme care and attention on the part of the men we passed this formidable barrier. Hopkinson in particular exerted himself, and more than once leapt from the boat upon apparently rotten logs of wood, that I should not have judged capable of bearing his weight, the more effectually to save the boat. It might have been imagined that where such a quantity of timber had accumulated, a clearer channel would have been found below, but such was not the case. In every reach we had to encounter fresh difficulties. In some places huge trees lay athwart the stream, under whose arched branches we were obliged to pass; but, generally speaking, they had been carried, roots foremost, by the current, and, therefore, presented so many points to receive us, that, at the rate at which we were going, had we struck full upon any one of them, it would have gone through and through the boat. About noon we stopped to repair, or rather to take down the remains of our awning, which had been torn away; and to breathe a moment from the state of apprehension and anxiety in which our minds had been kept during the morning. About one, we again started. The men looked anxiously out ahead; for the singular change in the river had impressed on them an idea, that we were approaching its termination, or near some adventure. On a sudden, the river took a general southern direction, but, in its tortuous course, swept round to every point of the compass with the greatest irregularity. We were carried at a fearful rate down its gloomy and contracted banks, and, in such a moment of excitement, had little time to pay attention to the country through which we were passing. It was, however, observed, that chalybeate-springs were numerous close to the water's edge. At 3 p.m., Hopkinson called out that we were approaching a junction, and in less than a minute afterwards, we were hurried into a broad and noble river. JUNCTION OF A LARGE RIVER--CHARACTER OF THE RIVER. It is impossible for me to describe the effect of so instantaneous a change of circumstances upon us. The boats were allowed to drift along at pleasure, and such was the force with which we had been shot out of the Morumbidgee, that we were carried nearly to the bank opposite its embouchure, whilst we continued to gaze in silent astonishment on the capacious channel we had entered; and when we looked for that by which we had been led into it, we could hardly believe that the insignificant gap that presented itself to us was, indeed, the termination of the beautiful and noble stream, whose course we had thus successfully followed. I can only compare the relief we experienced to that which the seaman feels on weathering the rock upon which he expected his vessel would have struck--to the calm which succeeds moments of feverish anxiety, when the dread of danger is succeeded by the certainty of escape. To myself personally, the discovery of this river was a circumstance of a particularly gratifying nature, since it not only confirmed the justness of my opinion as to the ultimate fate of the Morumbidgee, and bore me out in the apparently rash and hasty step I had taken at the depot, but assured me of ultimate success in the duty I had to perform. We had got on the high road, as it were, either to the south coast, or to some important outlet; and the appearance of the river itself was such as to justify our most sanguine expectations. I could not doubt its being the great channel of the streams from the S.E. angle of the island. Mr. Hume had mentioned to me that he crossed three very considerable streams, when employed with Mr. Hovell in 1823 in penetrating towards Port Phillips, to which the names of the Goulburn, the Hume, and the Ovens, had been given; and as I was 300 miles from the track these gentlemen had pursued, I considered it more than probable that those rivers must already have formed a junction above me, more especially when I reflected that the convexity of the mountains to the S.E. would necessarily direct the waters falling inwards from them to a common centre. We entered the new river at right angles, and, as I have remarked, at the point of junction the channel of the Morumbidgee had narrowed so as to bear all the appearance of an ordinary creek. In breadth it did not exceed fifty feet, and if, instead of having passed down it, I had been making my way up the principal streams, I should little have dreamt that so dark and gloomy an outlet concealed a river that would lead me to the haunts of civilized man, and whose fountains rose amidst snow-clad mountains. Such, however, is the characteristic of the streams falling to the westward of the coast ranges. Descending into a low and level interior, and depending on their immediate springs for existence, they fall off, as they increase their distance from the base of the mountains in which they rise, and in their lower branches give little results of the promise they had previously made. The opinion I have expressed, and which is founded on my personal experience, that the rivers crossed by Messrs. Hovell and Hume had already united above me, was strengthened by the capacity of the stream we had just discovered. It had a medium width of 350 feet, with a depth of from twelve to twenty. Its reaches were from half to three-quarters of a mile in length, and the views upon it were splendid. Of course, as the Morumbidgee entered it from the north, its first reach must have been E. and W., and it was so, as nearly as possible; but it took us a little to the southward of the latter point, in a distance of about eight miles that we pulled down it in the course of the afternoon. We then landed and pitched our tents for the night. Its transparent waters were running over a sandy bed at the rate of two-and-a-half knots an hour, and its banks, although averaging eighteen feet in height, were evidently subject to floods. ABSENCE OF NATIVES. We had not seen any natives since falling in with the last tribe on the Morumbidgee. A cessation had, therefore, taken place in our communication with them, in re-establishing which I anticipated considerable difficulty. It appeared singular that we should not have fallen in with any for several successive days, more especially at the junction of the two rivers, as in similar situations they generally have an establishment. In examining the country back from the stream, I did not observe any large paths, but it was evident that fires had made extensive ravages in the neighbourhood, so that the country was, perhaps, only temporarily deserted. Macnamee, who had wandered a little from the tents, declared that he had seen about a dozen natives round a fire, from whom (if he really did see them) he very precipitately fled, but I was inclined to discredit his story, because in our journey on the following day, we did not see even a casual wanderer. WEATHER, TEMPERATURE, &C. The river maintained its character, and raised our hopes to the highest pitch. Its breadth varied from 160 to 200 yards; and only in one place, where a reef of iron-stone stretched nearly across from the left bank, so as to contract the channel near the right and to form a considerable rapid, was there any apparent obstruction to our navigation. I was sorry, however, to remark that the breadth of alluvial soil between its outer and inner banks was very inconsiderable, and that the upper levels were poor and sandy. Blue-gum generally occupied the former, while the usual productions of the plains still predominated upon the latter, and showed that the distant interior had not yet undergone any favourable change. We experienced strong breezes from the north, but the range of the thermometer was high, and the weather rather oppressive than otherwise. On the night of the 16th, we had a strong wind from the N.W., but it moderated with day-light, and shifted to the E.N.E., and the day was favourable and cool. Our progress was in every way satisfactory, and if any change had taken place in the river, it was that the banks had increased in height, in many places to thirty feet, the soil being a red loam, and the surface much above the reach of floods. The bank opposite to the one that was so elevated, was proportionably low, and, in general, not only heavily timbered, but covered with reeds, and backed by a chain of ponds at the base of the outer embankment. INTERCOURSE WITH NATIVES. About 4 p.m., some natives were observed running by the river side behind us, but on our turning the boat's head towards the shore, they ran away. It was evident that they had no idea what we were, and, from their timidity, feeling assured that it would be impossible to bring them to a parley, we continued onwards till our usual hour of stopping, when we pitched our tents on the left bank for the night, it being the one opposite to that on which the natives had appeared. We conjectured that their curiosity would lead them to follow us, which they very shortly did; for we had scarcely made ourselves comfortable when we heard their wild notes through the woods as they advanced towards the river; and their breaking into view with their spears and shields, and painted and prepared as they were for battle, was extremely fine. They stood threatening us, and making a great noise, for a considerable time, but, finding that we took no notice of them, they, at length, became quiet. I then walked to some little distance from the party, and taking a branch in my hand, as a sign of peace, beckoned them to swim to our side of the river, which, after some time, two or three of them did. But they approached me with great caution, hesitating at every step. They soon, however, gained confidence, and were ultimately joined by all the males of their tribe. I gave the FIRST who swam the river a tomahawk (making this a rule in order to encourage them) with which he was highly delighted. I shortly afterwards placed them all in a row and fired a gun before them: they were quite unprepared for such an explosion, and after standing stupified and motionless for a moment or two, they simultaneously took to their heels, to our great amusement. I succeeded, however, in calling them back, and they regained their confidence so much, that sixteen of them remained with us all night, but the greater number retired at sunset. On the following morning, they accompanied us down the river, where we fell in with their tribe, who were stationed on an elevated bank a short distance below--to the number of eighty-three men, women, and children. Their appearance was extremely picturesque and singular. They wanted us to land, but time was too precious for such delays. Some of the boldest of the natives swam round and round the boat so as to impede the use of the oars, and the women on the bank evinced their astonishment by mingled yells and cries. They entreated us, by signs, to remain with them, but, as I foresaw a compliance on this occasion would hereafter be attended with inconvenience, I thought it better to proceed on our journey, and the natives soon ceased their importunities, and, indeed, did not follow or molest us. ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY AND OF THE RIVER BANKS. The river improved upon us at every mile. Its reaches were of noble breadth, and splendid appearance. Its current was stronger, and it was fed by numerous springs. Rocks, however, were more frequent in its bed, and in two places almost formed a barrier across the channel, leaving but a narrow space for the boats to go down. We passed several elevations of from 70 to 90 feet in height, at the base of which the stream swept along. The soil of these elevations was a mixture of clay (marl) and sand, upon coarse sandstone. Their appearance and the manner in which they had been acted upon by water, was singular, and afforded a proof of the violence of the rains in this part of the interior. From the highest of these, I observed that the country to the S.E. was gently undulated, and so far changed in character from that through which we had been travelling; still, however, it was covered with a low scrub, and was barren and unpromising. About noon of the 18th, we surprised two women at the water-side, who immediately retreated into the brush. Shortly after, four men showed themselves, and followed us for a short distance, but hid themselves upon our landing. The country still appeared undulated to the S.E.; the soil was sandy, and cypresses more abundant than any other tree. We passed several extensive sand-banks in the river, of unusual size and solidity, an evident proof of the sandy nature of the interior generally. The vast accumulations of sand at the junctions of every creek were particularly remarkable. The timber on the alluvial flats was not by any means so large as we had hitherto observed it; nor were the flats themselves so extensive as they are on the Morumbidgee and the Macquarie. Notwithstanding the aspect of the country which I have described, no POSITIVE change had as yet taken place in the general feature of the interior. The river continued to flow in a direction somewhat to the northward of west, through a country that underwent no perceptible alteration. Its waters, confined to their immediate bed, swept along considerably below the level of its inner banks; and the spaces between them and the outer ones, though generally covered with reeds, seemed not recently to have been flooded; while on the other hand, they had, in many places, from successive depositions, risen to a height far above the reach of inundation. Still, however, the more remote interior maintained its sandy and sterile character, and stretched away, in alternate plain and wood, to a distance far beyond the limits of our examination. About the 21st, a very evident change took place in it. The banks of the river suddenly acquired a perpendicular and water-worn appearance. Their summits were perfectly level, and no longer confined by a secondary embankment, but preserved an uniform equality of surface back from the stream. These banks, although so abrupt, were not so high as the upper levels, or secondary embankments. They indicated a deep alluvial deposit, and yet, being high above the reach of any ordinary flood, were covered with grass, under an open box forest, into which a moderately dense scrub occasionally penetrated. We had fallen into a concavity similar to those of the marshes, but successive depositions had almost filled it, and no longer subject to inundation, it had lost all the character of those flooded tracts. The kind of country I have been describing, lay rather to the right than to the left of the river at this place, the latter continuing low and swampy, as if the country to the south of the river were still subject to inundation. As the expedition proceeded, the left bank gradually assumed the appearance of the right; both looked water-worn and perpendicular, and though not more than from nine to ten feet in height, their summits were perfectly level in receding, and bore diminutive box-timber, with widely-scattered vegetation. Not a single elevation had, as yet, broken the dark and gloomy monotony of the interior; but as our observations were limited to a short distance from the river, our surmises on the nature of the distant country were necessarily involved in some uncertainty. THREATENED ATTACK--AMICABLE CONFERENCE. On the 19th, as we were about to conclude our journey for the day, we saw a large body of natives before us. On approaching them, they showed every disposition for combat, and ran along the bank with spears in rests, as if only waiting for an opportunity to throw them at us. They were upon the right, and as the river was broad enough to enable me to steer wide of them, I did not care much for their threats; but upon another party appearing upon the left bank, I thought it high time to disperse one or the other of them, as the channel was not wide enough to enable me to keep clear of danger, if assailed by both, as I might be while keeping amid the channel. I found, however, that they did not know how to use the advantage they possessed, as the two divisions formed a junction; those on the left swimming over to the stronger body upon the right bank. This, fortunately, prevented the necessity of any hostile measure on my part, and we were suffered to proceed unmolested, for the present. The whole then followed us without any symptom of fear, but making a dreadful shouting, and beating their spears and shields together, by way of intimidation. It is but justice to my men to say that in this critical situation they evinced the greatest coolness, though it was impossible for any one to witness such a scene with indifference. As I did not intend to fatigue the men by continuing to pull farther than we were in the habit of doing, we landed at our usual time on the left bank, and while the people were pitching the tents, I walked down the bank with M'Leay, to treat with these desperadoes in the best way we could, across the water, a measure to which my men showed great reluctance, declaring that if during our absence the natives approached them, they would undoubtedly fire upon them. I assured them it was not my intention to go out of their sight. We took our guns with us, but determined not to use them until the last extremity, both from a reluctance to shed blood and with a view to our future security. I held a long pantomimical dialogue with them, across the water, and held out the olive branch in token of amity. They at length laid aside their spears, and a long consultation took place among them, which ended in two or three wading into the river, contrary, as it appeared, to the earnest remonstrances of the majority, who, finding that their entreaties had no effect, wept aloud, and followed them with a determination, I am sure, of sharing their fate, whatever it might have been. As soon as they landed, M'Leay and I retired to a little distance from the bank, and sat down; that being the usual way among the natives of the interior, to invite to an interview. When they saw us act thus, they approached, and sat down by us, but without looking up, from a kind of diffidence peculiar to them, and which exists even among the nearest relatives, as I have already had occasion to observe. As they gained confidence, however, they showed an excessive curiosity, and stared at us in the most earnest manner. We now led them to the camp, and I gave, as was my custom, the first who had approached, a tomahawk; and to the others, some pieces of iron hoop. Those who had crossed the river amounted to about thirty-five in number. At sunset, the majority of them left us; but three old men remained at the fire-side all night. I observed that few of them had either lost their front teeth or lacerated their bodies, as the more westerly tribes do. The most loathsome diseases prevailed among them. Several were disabled by leprosy, or some similar disorder, and two or three had entirely lost their sight. They are, undoubtedly, a brave and a confiding people, and are by no means wanting in natural affection. In person, they resemble the mountain tribes. They had the thick lip, the sunken eye, the extended nostril, and long beards, and both smooth and curly hair are common among them. Their lower extremities appear to bear no proportion to their bust in point of muscular strength; but the facility with which they ascend trees of the largest growth, and the activity with which they move upon all occasions, together with their singularly erect stature, argue that such appearance is entirely deceptive. INTERCOURSE WITH NATIVES. The old men slept very soundly by the fire, and were the last to get up in the morning. M'Leay's extreme good humour had made a most favourable impression upon them, and I can picture him, even now, joining in their wild song. Whether it was from his entering so readily into their mirth, or from anything peculiar that struck them, the impression upon the whole of us was, that they took him to have been originally a black, in consequence of which they gave him the name of Rundi. Certain it is, they pressed him to show his side, and asked if he had not received a wound there--evidently as if the original Rundi had met with a violent death from a spear-wound in that place. The whole tribe, amounting in number to upwards of 150, assembled to see us take our departure. Four of them accompanied us, among whom there was one remarkable for personal strength and stature.--The 21st passed without our falling in with any new tribe, and the night of the 22nd, saw us still wandering in that lonely desert together. There was something unusual in our going through such an extent of country without meeting another tribe, but our companions appeared to be perfectly aware of the absence of inhabitants, as they never left our side. Although the banks of the river had been of general equality of height, sandy elevations still occasionally formed a part of them, and their summits were considerably higher than the alluvial flats. RAPID IN THE RIVER--DANGEROUS DESCENT OF THE BOATS. It was upon the crest of one of these steep and lofty banks, that on the morning of the 22nd, the natives who were a-head of the boat, suddenly stopped to watch our proceedings down a foaming rapid that ran beneath. We were not aware of the danger to which we were approaching, until we turned an angle of the river, and found ourselves too near to retreat. In such a moment, without knowing what was before them, the coolness of the men was strikingly exemplified. No one even spoke after they became aware that silence was necessary. The natives (probably anticipating misfortune) stood leaning upon their spears upon the lofty bank above us. Desiring the men not to move from their seats, I stood up to survey the channel, and to steer the boat to that part of it which was least impeded by rocks. I was obliged to decide upon a hasty survey, as we were already at the head of the rapid. It appeared to me that there were two passages, the one down the centre of the river, the other immediately under its right bank. A considerable rock stood directly in own way to the latter, so that I had no alternative but to descend the former. About forty yards below the rock, I noticed that a line of rocks occupied the space between the two channels, whilst a reef, projecting from the left bank, made the central passage distinctly visible, and the rapidity of the current proportionably great. I entertained hopes that the passage was clear, and that we should shoot down it without interruption; but in this I was disappointed. The boat struck with the fore-part of her keel on a sunken rock, and, swinging round as it were on a pivot, presented her bow to the rapid, while the skiff floated away into the strength of it. We had every reason to anticipate the loss of our whale-boat, whose build was so light, that had her side struck the rock, instead of her keel, she would have been laid open from stem to stern. As it was, however, she remained fixed in her position, and it only remained for us to get her off the best way we could. I saw that this could only be done by sending two of the men with a rope to the upper rock, and getting the boat, by that means, into the still water, between that and the lower one. We should then have time to examine the channels, and to decide as to that down which it would be safest to proceed. My only fear was, that the loss of the weight of the two men would lighten the boat so much, that she would be precipitated down the rapid without my having any command over her; but it happened otherwise. We succeeded in getting her into the still water, and ultimately took her down the channel under the right bank, without her sustaining any injury. A few miles below this rapid the river took a singular bend, and we found, after pulling several miles, that we were within a stone's throw of a part of the stream we had already sailed down. The four natives joined us in the camp, and assisted the men at their various occupations. The consequence was, that they were treated with more than ordinary kindness; and Fraser, for his part, in order to gratify these favoured guests, made great havoc among the feathered race. He returned after a short ramble with a variety of game, among which were a crow, a kite, and a laughing jackass (alcedo gigantea,) a species of king's-fisher, a singular bird, found in every part of Australia. Its cry, which resembles a chorus of wild spirits, is apt to startle the traveller who may be in jeopardy, as if laughing and mocking at his misfortune. It is a harmless bird, and I seldom allowed them to be destroyed, as they were sure to rouse us with the earliest dawn. To this list of Fraser's spoils, a duck and a tough old cockatoo, must be added. The whole of these our friends threw on the fire without the delay of plucking, and snatched them from that consuming element ere they were well singed, and devoured them with uncommon relish. DESERTED NATIVE VILLAGE. We pitched our tents upon a flat of good and tenacious soil. A brush, in which there was a new species of melaleuca, backed it, in the thickest part of which we found a deserted native village. The spot was evidently chosen for shelter. The huts were large and long, all facing the same point of the compass, and in every way resembling the huts occupied by the natives of the Darling. Large flocks of whistling ducks, and other wild fowl, flew over our heads to the N.W., as if making their way to some large or favourite waters. My observations placed us in lat. 34 degrees 8 minutes 15 seconds south, and in east long. 141 degrees 9 minutes 42 seconds or nearly so; and I was at a loss to conceive what direction the river would ultimately take. We were considerably to the N.W. of the point at which we had entered it, and in referring to the chart, it appeared, that if the Darling had kept a S.W. course from where the last expedition left its banks, we ought ere this to have struck upon it, or have arrived at its junction with the stream on which we were journeying. CONVERSING BY SIGNS. The natives, in attempting to answer my interrogatories, only perplexed me more and more. They evidently wished to explain something, by placing a number of sticks across each other as a kind of diagram of the country. It was, however, impossible to arrive at their meaning. They undoubtedly pointed to the westward, or rather to the south of that point, as the future course of the river; but there was something more that they were anxious to explain, which I could not comprehend. The poor fellows seemed quite disappointed, and endeavoured to beat it into Fraser's head with as little success. I then desired Macnamee to get up into a tree. From the upper branches of it he said he could see hills; but his account of their appearance was such that I doubted his story: nevertheless it might have been correct. He certainly called our attention to a large fire, as if the country to the N.W. was in flames, so that it appeared we were approaching the haunts of the natives at last. It happened that Fraser and Harris were for guard, and they sat up laughing and talking with the natives long after we retired to rest. Fraser, to beguile the hours, proposed shaving his sable companions, and performed that operation with admirable dexterity upon their chief, to his great delight. I got up at an early hour, and found to my surprise that the whole of them had deserted us. Harris told me they had risen from the fire about an hour before, and had crossed the river. I was a little angry, but supposed they were aware that we were near some tribe, and had gone on a-head to prepare and collect them. LARGE CONCOURSE OF NATIVES--THEIR HOSTILE DEMEANOUR. After breakfast, we proceeded onwards as usual. The river had increased so much in width that, the wind being fair, I hoisted sail for the first time, to save the strength of my men as much as possible. Our progress was consequently rapid. We passed through a country that, from the nature of its soil and other circumstances, appeared to be intersected by creeks and lagoons. Vast flights of wild fowl passed over us, but always at a considerable elevation, while, on the other hand, the paucity of ducks on the river excited our surprise. Latterly, the trees upon the river, and in its neighbourhood, had been a tortuous kind of box. The flooded-gum grew in groups on the spaces subject to inundation, but not on the levels above the influence of any ordinary rise of the stream. Still they were much smaller than they were observed to be in the higher branches of the river. We had proceeded about nine miles, when we were surprised by the appearance in view, at the termination of a reach, of a long line of magnificent trees of green and dense foliage. As we sailed down the reach, we observed a vast concourse of natives under them, and, on a nearer approach, we not only heard their war-song, if it might so be called, but remarked that they were painted and armed, as they generally are, prior to their engaging in deadly conflict. Notwithstanding these outward signs of hostility, fancying that our four friends were with them, I continued to steer directly in for the bank on which they were collected. I found, however, when it was almost too late to turn into the succeeding reach to our left, that an attempt to land would only be attended with loss of life. The natives seemed determined to resist it. We approached so near that they held their spears quivering in their grasp ready to hurl. They were painted in various ways. Some who had marked their ribs, and thighs, and faces with a white pigment, looked like skeletons, others were daubed over with red and yellow ochre, and their bodies shone with the grease with which they had besmeared themselves. A dead silence prevailed among the front ranks, but those in the back ground, as well as the women, who carried supplies of darts, and who appeared to have had a bucket of whitewash capsized over their heads, were extremely clamorous. As I did not wish a conflict with these people, I lowered my sail, and putting the helm to starboard, we passed quietly down the stream in mid channel. Disappointed in their anticipations, the natives ran along the bank of the river, endeavouring to secure an aim at us; but, unable to throw with certainty, in consequence of the onward motion of the boat, they flung themselves into the most extravagant attitudes, and worked themselves into a state of frenzy by loud and vehement shouting. PREPARATIONS FOR CONFLICT--UNEXPECTED INTERFERENCE. It was with considerable apprehension that I observed the river to be shoaling fast, more especially as a huge sand-bank, a little below us, and on the same side on which the natives had gathered, projected nearly a third-way across the channel. To this sand-bank they ran with tumultuous uproar, and covered it over in a dense mass. Some of the chiefs advanced to the water to be nearer their victims, and turned from time to time to direct their followers. With every pacific disposition, and an extreme reluctance to take away life, I foresaw that it would be impossible any longer to avoid an engagement, yet with such fearful numbers against us, I was doubtful of the result. The spectacle we had witnessed had been one of the most appalling kind, and sufficient to shake the firmness of most men; but at that trying moment my little band preserved their temper coolness, and if any thing could be gleaned from their countenances, it was that they had determined on an obstinate resistance. I now explained to them that their only chance of escape depended, or would depend, on their firmness. I desired that after the first volley had been fired, M'Leay and three of the men, would attend to the defence of the boat with bayonets only, while I, Hopkinson, and Harris, would keep up the fire as being more used to it. I ordered, however, that no shot was to be fired until after I had discharged both my barrels. I then delivered their arms to the men, which had as yet been kept in the place appropriated for them, and at the same time some rounds of loose cartridge. The men assured me they would follow my instructions, and thus prepared, having already lowered the sail, we drifted onwards with the current. As we neared the sand-bank, I stood up and made signs to the natives to desist; but without success. I took up my gun, therefore, and cocking it, had already brought it down to a level. A few seconds more would have closed the life of the nearest of the savages. The distance was too trifling for me to doubt the fatal effects of the discharge; for I was determined to take deadly aim, in hopes that the fall of one man might save the lives of many. But at the very moment, when my hand was on the trigger, and my eye was along the barrel, my purpose was checked by M'Leay, who called to me that another party of blacks had made their appearance upon the left bank of the river. Turning round, I observed four men at the top of their speed. The foremost of them as soon as he got a-head of the boat, threw himself from a considerable height into the water. He struggled across the channel to the sand-bank, and in an incredibly short space of time stood in front of the savage, against whom my aim had been directed. Seizing him by the throat, he pushed backwards, and forcing all who were in the water upon the bank, he trod its margin with a vehemence and an agitation that were exceedingly striking. At one moment pointing to the boat, at another shaking his clenched hand in the faces of the most forward, and stamping with passion on the sand; his voice, that was at first distinct and clear, was lost in hoarse murmurs. Two of the four natives remained on the left bank of the river, but the third followed his leader, (who proved to be the remarkable savage I have previously noticed) to the scene of action. The reader will imagine our feelings on this occasion: it is impossible to describe them. We were so wholly lost in interest at the scene that was passing, that the boat was allowed to drift at pleasure. For my own part I was overwhelmed with astonishment, and in truth stunned and confused; so singular, so unexpected, and so strikingly providential, had been our escape. JUNCTION OF ANOTHER STREAM--PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCE FROM DANGER. We were again roused to action by the boat suddenly striking upon a shoal, which reached from one side of the river to the other. To jump out and push her into deeper water was but the work of a moment with the men, and it was just as she floated again that our attention was withdrawn to a new and beautiful stream, coming apparently from the north. The great body of the natives having posted themselves on the narrow tongue of land formed by the two rivers, the bold savage who had so unhesitatingly interfered on our account, was still in hot dispute with them, and I really feared his generous warmth would have brought down upon him the vengeance of the tribes. I hesitated, therefore, whether or not to go to his assistance. It appeared, however, both to M'Leay and myself, that the tone of the natives had moderated, and the old and young men having listened to the remonstrances of our friend, the middle-aged warriors were alone holding out against him. A party of about seventy blacks were upon the right bank of the newly discovered river, and I thought that by landing among them, we should make a diversion in favour of our late guest; and in this I succeeded. If even they had still meditated violence, they would have to swim a good broad junction, and that, probably, would cool them, or we at least should have the advantage of position. I therefore, ran the boat ashore, and landed with M'Leay amidst the smaller party of natives, wholly unarmed, and having directed the men to keep at a little distance from the bank. Fortunately, what I anticipated was brought about by the stratagem to which I had had recourse. The blacks no sooner observed that we had landed, than curiosity took place of anger. All wrangling ceased, and they came swimming over to us like a parcel of seals. Thus, in less than a quarter of an hour from the moment when it appeared that all human intervention was at on end, and we were on the point of commencing a bloody fray, which, independently of its own disastrous consequences, would have blasted the success of the expedition, we were peacefully surrounded by the hundreds who had so lately threatened us with destruction; nor was it until after we had returned to the boat, and had surveyed the multitude upon the sloping bank above us, that we became fully aware of the extent of our danger, and of the almost miraculous intervention of Providence in our favour. There could not have been less than six hundred natives upon that blackened sward. But this was not the only occasion upon which the merciful superintendance of that Providence to which we had humbly committed ourselves, was strikingly manifested. If these pages fail to convey entertainment or information, sufficient may at least be gleaned from them to furnish matter for serious reflection; but to those who have been placed in situations of danger where human ingenuity availed them not, and where human foresight was baffled, I feel persuaded that these remarks are unnecessary. NEW RIVER, SUPPOSED TO BE THE DARLING. It was my first care to call for our friend, and to express to him, as well as I could, how much we stood indebted to him, at the same time that I made him a suitable present; but to the chiefs of the tribes, I positively refused all gifts, notwithstanding their earnest solicitations. We next prepared to examine the new river, and turning the boat's head towards it, endeavoured to pull up the stream. Our larboard oars touched the right bank, and the current was too strong for us to conquer it with a pair only; we were, therefore, obliged to put a second upon her, a movement that excited the astonishment and admiration of the natives. One old woman seemed in absolute ecstasy, to whom M'Leay threw an old tin kettle, in recompense for the amusement she afforded us. HOIST THE UNION JACK. As soon as we got above the entrance of the new river, we found easier pulling, and proceeded up it for some miles, accompanied by the once more noisy multitude. The river preserved a breadth of one hundred yards, and a depth of rather more than twelve feet. Its banks were sloping and grassy, and were overhung by trees of magnificent size. Indeed, its appearance was so different from the water-worn banks of the sister stream, that the men exclaimed, on entering it, that we had got into an English river. Its appearance certainly almost justified the expression; for the greenness of its banks was as new to us as the size of its timber. Its waters, though sweet, were turbid, and had a taste of vegetable decay, as well as a slight tinge of green. Our progress was watched by the natives with evident anxiety. They kept abreast of us, and talked incessantly. At length, however, our course was checked by a net that stretched right across the stream. I say checked, because it would have been unfair to have passed over it with the chance of disappointing the numbers who apparently depended on it for subsistence that day. The moment was one of intense interest to me. As the men rested upon their oars, awaiting my further orders, a crowd of thoughts rushed upon me. The various conjectures I had formed of the course and importance of the Darling passed across my mind. Were they indeed realized? An irresistible conviction impressed me that we were now sailing on the bosom of that very stream from whose banks I had been twice forced to retire. I directed the Union Jack to be hoisted, and giving way to our satisfaction, we all stood up in the boat, and gave three distinct cheers. It was an English feeling, an ebullition, an overflow, which I am ready to admit that our circumstances and situation will alone excuse. The eye of every native had been fixed upon that noble flag, at all times a beautiful object, and to them a novel one, as it waved over us in the heart of a desert. They had, until that moment been particularly loquacious, but the sight of that flag and the sound of our voices hushed the tumult, and while they were still lost in astonishment, the boat's head was speedily turned, the sail was sheeted home, both wind and current were in our favour, and we vanished from them with a rapidity that surprised even ourselves, and which precluded every hope of the most adventurous among them to keep up with us. CHAPTER V. Character of the country--Damage of provisions--Adroitness of the natives in catching fish--The skiff broken up--Stream from the North-East supposed to be the Darling--Change of country in descending the river--Intercourse with the natives--Prevalence of loathsome diseases among them--Apparent populousness of the country--Junction of several small streams--The Rufus, the Lindesay, &c.--Rainy and tempestuous weather--Curious appearance of the banks--Troublesomeness of the natives--Inhospitable and desolate aspect of the country--Condition of the men--Change in the geological character of the country--The river passes through a valley among hills. Arrived once more at the junction of the two rivers, and unmolested in our occupations, we had leisure to examine it more closely. Not having as yet given a name to our first discovery, when we re-entered its capacious channel on this occasion, I laid it down as the Murray River, in compliment to the distinguished officer, Sir George Murray, who then presided over the colonial department, not only in compliance with the known wishes of his Excellency General Darling, but also in accordance with my own feelings as a soldier. The new river, whether the Darling or an additional discovery, meets its more southern rival on a N. by E. course; the latter, running W.S.W. at the confluence, the angle formed by the two rivers, is, therefore, so small that both may be considered to preserve their proper course, and neither can be said to be tributary to the other. At their junction, the Murray spreads its waters over the broad and sandy shore, upon which our boat grounded, while its more impetuous neighbour flows through the deep but narrow channel it has worked out for itself, under the right bank. The strength of their currents must have been nearly equal, since there was as distinct a line between their respective waters, to a considerable distance below the junction, as if a thin board alone separated them. The one half the channel contained the turbid waters of the northern stream, the other still preserved their original transparency. INUNDATED AND ALLUVIAL COUNTRY. The banks of the Murray did not undergo any immediate change as we proceeded. We noticed that the country had, at some time, been subject to extensive inundation, and was, beyond doubt, of alluvial formation. We passed the mouths of several large creeks that came from the north and N.W., and the country in those directions seemed to be much intersected by water-courses; while to the south it was extremely low. Having descended several minor rapids, I greatly regretted that we had no barometer to ascertain the actual dip of the interior. I computed, however, that we were not more than from eighty to ninety feet above the level of the sea. We found the channel of the Murray much encumbered with timber, and noticed some banks of sand that were of unusual size, and equalled the largest accumulations of it on the sea shore, both in extent and solidity. STATE OF PROVISIONS. We would gladly have fired into the flights of wild fowl that winged their way over us, for we, about this time, began to feel the consequences of the disaster that befell us in the Morumbidgee. The fresh water having got mixed with the brine in the meat casks, the greater part of our salt provisions had got spoiled, so that we were obliged to be extremely economical in the expenditure of what remained, as we knew not to what straits we might be driven. It will naturally be asked why we did not procure fish? The answer is easy. The men had caught many in the Morumbidgee, and on our first navigation of the Murray, but whether it was that they had disagreed with them, or that their appetites were palled, or that they were too fatigued after the labour of the day to set the lines, they did not appear to care about them. The only fish we could take was the common cod or perch; and, without sauce or butter, it is insipid enough. We occasionally exchanged pieces of iron-hoop for two other kinds of fish, the one a bream, the other a barbel, with the natives, and the eagerness with which they met our advances to barter, is a strong proof of their natural disposition towards this first step in civilization. DEXTERITY OF NATIVES IN FISHING. As they threw off all reserve when accompanying us as ambassadors, we had frequent opportunities of observing their habits. The facility, for instance, with which they procured fish was really surprising. They would slip, feet foremost, into the water as they walked along the bank of the river, as if they had accidentally done so, but, in reality, to avoid the splash they would necessarily have made if they had plunged in head foremost. As surely as they then disappeared under the surface of the water, so surely would they re-appear with a fish writhing upon the point of their short spears. The very otter scarcely exceeds them in power over the finny race, and so true is the aim of these savages, even under water, that all the fish we procured from them were pierced either close behind the lateral fin, or in the very centre of the head, It is certain, from their indifference to them, that the natives seldom eat fish when they can get anything else. Indeed, they seemed more anxious to take the small turtle, which, sunning themselves on the trunks or logs of trees over the water, were, nevertheless, extremely on their guard. A gentle splash alone indicated to us that any thing had dropped into the water, but the quick eyes and ears of our guides immediately detected what had occasioned it, and they seldom failed to take the poor little animal that had so vainly trusted to its own watchfulness for security. It appeared that the natives did not, from choice, frequent the Murray; it was evident, therefore, that they had other and better means of subsistence away from it, and it struck me, at the time, that the river we had just passed watered a better country than any through which the Murray had been found to flow. BREAK UP THE SKIFF. We encamped rather earlier than usual upon the left bank of the river, near a broad creek; for as the skiff had been a great drag upon us, I determined on breaking it up, since there was no probability that we should ever require the still, which alone remained in her. We, consequently, burnt the former, to secure her nails and iron work, and I set Clayton about cutting the copper of the latter into the shape of crescents, in order to present them to the natives. Some large huts were observed on the side of the creek, a little above the camp, the whole of which faced the N.E. This arrangement had previously been noticed by us, so that I was led to infer that the severest weather comes from the opposite quarter in this part of the interior. I had not the least idea, at the time, however, that we should, ere we reached the termination of our journey, experience the effects of the S.W. winds. We must have fallen considerably during the day from the level of our morning's position, for we passed down many reaches where the decline of country gave an increased velocity to the current of the river. I had feared, not only in consequence of the unceremonious manner in which we had left them, but, because I had, in some measure, rejected the advances of their chiefs, that none of the natives would follow us, and I regretted the circumstance on account of my men, as well as the trouble we should necessarily have in conciliating the next tribe. We had not, however, been long encamped, when seven blacks joined us. I think they would have passed on if we had not called to them. As it was, they remained with us but for a short time. We treated them very kindly, but they were evidently under constraint, and were, no doubt, glad when they found we did not object to their departing. NEW RIVER IDENTIFIED WITH THE DARLING. I have stated, that I felt satisfied in my own mind, that the beautiful stream we had passed was no other than the river Darling of my former journey. The bare assertion, however, is not sufficient to satisfy the mind of the reader, upon a point of such importance, more especially when it is considered how remarkable a change the Darling must have undergone, if this were indeed a continuation of it. I am free to confess that it required an effort to convince myself, but after due consideration, I see no reason to alter the opinion I formed at a moment of peculiar embarrassment. Yet it by no means follows that I shall convince others, although I am myself convinced. The question is one of curious speculation, and the consideration of it will lead us to an interesting conjecture, as to the probable nature of the distant interior, between the two points. It will be remembered that I was obliged to relinquish my pursuit of the Darling, in east long. 144 degrees 48 minutes 30 seconds in lat. 30 degrees 17 minutes 30 seconds south. I place the junction of the Murray and the new river, in long. 140 degrees 56 minutes east, and in south lat. 34 degrees 3 minutes. I must remark, however, that the lunars I took on this last occasion, were not satisfactory, and that there is, probably, an error, though not a material one, in the calculation. Before I measure the distance between the above points, or make any remarks on the results of my own observations, I would impress the following facts upon the reader's mind. I found and left the Darling in a complete state of exhaustion. As a river it had ceased to flow; the only supply it received was from brine springs, which, without imparting a current, rendered its waters saline and useless, and lastly, the fish in it were different from those inhabiting the other known rivers of the interior. It is true, I did not procure a perfect specimen of one, but we satisfactorily ascertained that they were different, inasmuch as they had large and strong scales, whereas the fish in the western waters have smooth skins. On the other hand, the waters of the new river were sweet, although turbid; it had a rapid current in it; and its fish were of the ordinary kind. In the above particulars, therefore, they differed much as they could well differ. Yet there were some strong points of resemblance in the appearance of the rivers themselves, which were more evident to me than I can hope to make them to the reader. Both were shaded by trees of the same magnificent dimensions; and the same kind of huts were erected on the banks of each, inhabited by the same description, or race, of people, whose weapons, whose implements, and whose nets corresponded in most respects. We will now cast our eyes over the chart: and see if the position of the two rivers upon it, will at all bear out our conclusion that they are one and the same; and whether the line that would join them is the one that the Darling would naturally take, in reference to its previous course.--We shall find that the two points under discussion, bear almost N.E. and S.W. of each other respectively, the direct line in which the Darling had been ascertained to flow, as far as it had been found practicable to trace it. I have already remarked that the fracture of my barometer prevented my ascertaining the height of the bed of the Darling above the sea, during the first expedition. A similar accident caused me equal disappointment on the second; because one of the most important points upon which I was engaged was to ascertain the dip of the interior. I believe I stated, in its proper place, that I did not think the Darling could possibly be 200 feet above the sea, and as far as my observations bear me out, I should estimate the bed of the Murray, at its junction with the new river, to be within 100. It would appear that there is a distance of 300 miles between the Murray River at this place, and the Darling; a space amply sufficient for the intervention of a hilly country. No one could have been more attentive to the features of the interior than I was; nor could any one have dwelt upon their peculiarities with more earnest attention. It were hazardous to build up any new theory, however ingenious it may appear. The conclusions into which I have been led, are founded on actual observation of the country through which I passed, and extend not beyond my actual range of vision; unless my assuming that the decline of the interior to the south has been satisfactorily established, be considered premature. If not, the features of the country certainly justify my deductions; and it will be found that they were still more confirmed by subsequent observation.--That the Darling should have lost its current in its upper branches, is not surprising, when the level nature of the country into which it falls is taken into consideration; neither does it surprise me that it should be stationary in one place, and flowing in another; since, if, as in the present instance, there is a great extent of country between the two points, which may perhaps be of considerable elevation, the river may receive tributaries, whose waters will of course follow the general decline of the country. I take it to be so in the case before us; and am of opinion, that the lower branches of the Darling are not at all dependent on its sources for a current, or for a supply of water. I have somewhere observed that it appeared to me the depressed interior over which I had already travelled, was of comparatively recent formation. And, by whatever convulsion or change so extensive a tract became exposed, I cannot but infer, that the Darling is the main channel by which the last waters of the ocean were drained off. The bottom of the estuary, for it cannot be called a valley, being then left exposed, it consequently remains the natural and proper reservoir for the streams from the eastward, or those falling easterly from the westward, if any such remain to be discovered. From the junction of the Morumbidgee to the junction of the new river, the Murray had held a W.N.W. course. From the last junction it changed its direction to the S.W., and increased considerably in size. The country to the south was certainly lower than that to the north; for, although both banks had features common to each other, the flooded spaces were much more extensive to our left than to our right. CHANGE OF COUNTRY. We started on the morning of the 24th, all the lighter from having got rid of the skiff, and certainly freer to act in case the natives should evince a hostile disposition towards us. As we proceeded down the river, the appearances around us more and more plainly indicated a change of country. Cypresses were observed in the distance, and the ground on which they stood was higher than that near the stream; as if it had again acquired its secondary banks. At length these heights approached the river so nearly as to form a part of its banks, and to separate one alluvial flat from another. Their summits were perfectly level; their soil was a red sandy loam; and their productions, for the most part, salsolae and misembrianthemum. From this it would appear that we had passed through a second region, that must at some time have been under water, and that still retained all the marks of a country partially subject to flood. INTRODUCED FROM TRIBE TO TRIBE. We had, as I have said, passed over this region, and were again hemmed in by those sandy and sterile tracts upon which the beasts of the field could obtain neither food nor water. We overtook the seven deputies some time after we started, but soon lost sight of them again, as they cut off the sweeps of the river, and shortened their journey as much as possible. At 2 p.m. we found them with a tribe of their countrymen, about eighty in number. We pulled in to the bank and remained with them for a short time, and I now determined to convince the blacks who had preceded us, that I had not been actuated by any other desire than that of showing to them that we were not to be intimidated by numbers, when I refused to make them any presents after their show of hostility. I now, therefore, gave them several implements, sundry pieces of iron hoop, and an ornamental badge of copper. When we left the tribe, we were regularly handed over to their care. The seven men who had introduced us, went back at the same time that we continued our journey, and two more belonging to the new tribe, went on a-head to prepare the the neighbouring tribe to receive us; nor did we see anything more of them during the day. We encamped on the left bank of the river, amidst a polygonum scrub, in which we found a number of the crested pigeon. It was late before the tents were pitched: as Fraser seldom assisted in that operation, but strolled out with his gun after he had kindled a fire, so on this occasion he wandered from the camp in search of novelty, and on his return, informed me that there was a considerable ridge to the south of a plain upon which he had been. I had myself walked out to the S.E., and on ascending a few feet above the level of the camp, got into a scrub. I was walking quietly through it, when I heard a rustling noise, and looking in the direction whence it proceeded, I observed a small kangaroo approaching me. Having a stick in my hand, and being aware that I was in one of their paths, I stood still until the animal came close up to me, without apparently being aware of my presence. I then gave it a blow an the side of the head, and made it reel to one side, but the stick, being rotten, broke with the force of the blow, and thus disappointed me of a good meal. During my absence from the camp, a flight of cockatoos, new to us, but similar to one that Mr. Hume shot on the Darling, passed over the tents, and I found M'Leay, with his usual anxiety, trying to get a shot at them. They had, he told me, descended to water, but they had chosen a spot so difficult of approach without discovery, that he had found it impossible to get within shot of them. RIDGE TO THE SOUTH-EAST. There was a considerable rapid just below our position, which I examined before dark. Not seeing any danger, I requested M'Leay to proceed down it in the boat as soon as he had breakfasted, and to wait for me at the bottom of it. As I wished to ascertain the nature and height of the elevations which Fraser had magnified into something grand, Fraser and I proceeded to the centre of a large plain, stretching from the left bank of the river to the southward. It was bounded to the S.E. by a low scrub; to the S. a thickly wooded ridge appeared to break the level of the country. It extended from east to west for four or five miles, and then gradually declined. At its termination, the country seemed to dip, and a dense fog, as from an extensive sheet of water, enveloped the landscape. The plain was crowded with cockatoos, that were making their morning's repast on the berries of the salsolae and rhagodia, with which it was covered. DISTANT RANGES SEEN. M'Leay had got safely down the rapid, so that as soon as I joined him, we proceeded on our journey. We fell in with the tribe we had already seen, but increased in numbers, and we had hardly left them, when we found another tribe most anxiously awaiting our arrival. We stayed with the last for some time, and exhausted our vocabulary, and exerted our ingenuity to gain some information from them. I directed Hopkinson to pile up some clay, to enquire if we were near any hills, when two or three of the blacks caught the meaning, and pointed to the N.W. Mulholland climbed up a tree in consequence of this, and reported to me that he saw lofty ranges in the direction to which the blacks pointed; that there were two apparently, the one stretching to the N.E., the other to the N.W. He stated their distance to be about forty miles, and added that he thought he could observe other ranges, through the gap, which, according to the alignment of two sticks, that I placed according to Mulholland's directions, bore S. 130 W. We had landed upon the right bank of the river, and there was a large lagoon immediately behind us. The current in the river did not run so strong as it had been. Its banks were much lower, and were generally covered with reeds. The spaces subject to flood were broader than heretofore, and the country for more than twenty miles was extremely depressed. Our view from the highest ground near the camp was very confined, since we were apparently in a hollow, and were unable to obtain a second sight of the ranges we had noticed. PASS THREE CREEKS. Three creeks fell into the Murray hereabouts. One from the north, another from the N.E., and the third from the south. The two first were almost choked up with the trunks of trees, but the last had a clear channel. Our tents stood on ground high above the reach of flood. The soil was excellent, and the brushes behind us abounded with a new species of melaleuca. The heat of the weather, at this time, was extremely oppressive, and the thermometer was seldom under 100 degrees of Fahr. at noon. The wind, too, we observed, seldom remained stationary for any length of time, but made its regular changes every twenty-four hours. In the morning, it invariably blew from the N.E., at noon it shifted to N.W., and as the sun set it flew round to the eastward of south. A few dense clouds passed over us occasionally, but no rain fell from them. DISEASES OF THE NATIVES. Our intercourse with the natives had now been constant. We had found the interior more populous than we had any reason to expect; yet as we advanced into it, the population appeared to increase. It was impossible for us to judge of the disposition of the natives during the short interviews we generally had with them, and our motions were so rapid that we did not give them time to form any concerted plan of attack, had they been inclined to attack us. They did not, however, show any disposition to hostility, but, considering all things, were quiet and orderly, nor did any instances of theft occur, or, at least, none fell under my notice. The most loathsome of diseases prevailed throughout the tribes, nor were the youngest infants exempt from them. Indeed, so young were some, whose condition was truly disgusting, that I cannot but suppose they must have been born in a state of disease; but I am uncertain whether it is fatal or not in its results, though, most probably it hurries many to a premature grave. How these diseases originated it is impossible to say. Certainly not from the colony, since the midland tribes alone were infected. Syphilis raged amongst them with fearful violence; many had lost their noses, and all the glandular parts were considerably affected. I distributed some Turner's cerate to the women, but left Fraser to superintend its application. It could do no good, of course, but it convinced the natives we intended well towards them, and, on that account, it was politic to give it, setting aside any humane feeling. POPULOUS DISTRICT. The country through which we passed on the 28th, was extremely low, full of lagoons, and thickly inhabited. No change took place in the river, or in the nature and construction of its banks. We succeeded in getting a view of the hills we had noticed when with the last tribe, and found that they bore from us due north, N. 22 E., and S. 130 W. They looked bare and perpendicular, and appeared to be about twenty miles from us. I am very uncertain as to the character of these hills, but still think that they must have been some of the faces of the bold cliffs that we had frequently passed under. From the size and number of the huts, and from the great breadth of the foot-paths, we were still further led to conclude that we were passing through a very populous district. What the actual number of inhabitants was it is impossible to say, but we seldom communicated with fewer than 200 daily. They sent ambassadors forward regularly from one tribe to another, in order to prepare for our approach, a custom that not only saved us an infinity of time, but also great personal risk. Indeed, I doubt very much whether we should ever have pushed so far down the river, had we not been assisted by the natives themselves. I was particularly careful not to do anything that would alarm them, or to permit any liberty to be taken with their women. Our reserve in this respect seemed to excite their surprise, for they asked sundry questions, by signs and expressions, as to whether we had any women, and where they were. The whole tribe generally assembled to receive us, and all, without exception, were in a complete state of nudity, and really the loathsome condition and hideous countenances of the women would, I should imagine, have been a complete antidote to the sexual passion. It is to be observed, that the women are very inferior in appearance to the men. The latter are, generally speaking, a clean-limbed and powerful race, much stouter in the bust than below, but withal, active, and, in some respects, intelligent; but the women are poor, weak, and emaciated. This, perhaps, is owing to their poverty and paucity of food, and to the treatment they receive at the hands of the men; but the latter did not show any unkindness towards them in our presence. Although I desired to avoid exciting their alarm, I still made a point of showing them the effects of a gunshot, by firing at a kite, or any other bird that happened to be near. My dexterity--for I did not trust Fraser, who would, ten to one, have missed his mark--was generally exerted, as I have said, against a kite or a crow; both of which birds generally accompanied the blacks from place to place to pick up the remnants of their meals. Yet, I was often surprised at the apparent indifference with which the natives not only saw the effect of the shot, but heard the report. I have purposely gone into the centre of a large assemblage and fired at a bird that has fallen upon their very heads, without causing a start or an exclamation, without exciting either their alarm or their curiosity. Whence this callous feeling proceeded, whether from strength of nerve, or because they had been informed by our forerunners that we should show off before them, I know not, but I certainly expected a very different effect from that which my firing generally produced, although I occasionally succeeded in scattering them pretty well. JUNCTION OF THE RUFUS. About 11 a.m., we arrived at the junction of a small river with the Murray, at which a tribe, about 250 in number, had assembled to greet us. We landed, therefore, for the double purpose of distributing presents, and of examining the junction, which, coming from the north, of course, fell into the Murray upon its right bank. Its waters were so extremely muddy, and its current so rapid, that it must have been swollen by some late rains. Perhaps, it had its sources in the hills we had seen; be that as it may, it completely discoloured the waters of the Murray. We made it a point never to distribute any presents among the natives until we had made them all sit, or stand, in a row. Sometimes this was a troublesome task, but we generally succeeded in gaining our point; with a little exertion of patience. M'Leay was a famous hand at ordering the ranks, and would, I am sure, have made a capital drill-sergeant, not less on account of his temper than of his perseverance. I called the little tributary I have noticed, the Rufus, in honour of my friend M'Leay's red head, and I have no doubt, he will understand the feeling that induced me to give it such a name. GEOLOGICAL EXAMINATION. Not many miles below the Rufus, we passed under a lofty cliff upon the same side with it. It is the first elevation of any consequence that occurs below the Darling, and not only on that account, but also on account of the numerous substances of which it is composed, and the singular formation that is near requires to be particularly noticed. [See Appendix.] The examination was a task of considerable danger, and both Fraser and myself had well nigh been buried under a mass of the cliff that became suddenly detached, and, breaking into thousands of pieces, went hissing and cracking into the river. THUNDER STORMS. The weather about this time was extremely oppressive and close. Thunder clouds darkened the sky, but no rain fell. The thermometer was seldom below 104 at noon, and its range was very trifling. The wind shifted several times during the twenty-four hours; but these changes had no effect on the thermometer. It was evident, however, as the sun set on the evening of the 26th, that the clouds from which thunder had for the last four or five days disturbed the silence of nature around us, would not long support their own weight. A little before midnight, it commenced raining, and both wind and rain continued to increase in violence until about seven in the morning of the 27th; when the weather moderated. Two or three blacks had accompanied us from the last tribe, and had lain down near the fire. As the storm increased, however, they got up, and swimming across the river, left us to ourselves. This was a very unusual thing, nor can I satisfy myself as to their object, unless it was to get into shelter, for these people though they wander naked over the country, and are daily in the water, feel the cold and rain very acutely. Observing the clouds collecting for so many days, I indulged hopes that we were near high lands, perhaps mountains; but from the loftiest spots we could see nothing but a level and dark horizon. Anxious to gain as correct a knowledge of the country as possible we had, in the course of the day, ascended a sandy ridge that was about a mile from the river. The view from the summit of this ridge promised to be more extensive than any we had of late been enabled to obtain; and as far as actual observation went, we were not disappointed, although in every other particular, the landscape was one of the most unpromising description. To the S. and S.E., the country might be said to stretch away in one unbroken plain, for it was so generally covered with wood that every inequality was hidden from our observation. To the S.W. the river line was marked out by a succession of red cliffs, similar to those we had already passed. To the north, the interior was evidently depressed; it was overgrown with a low scrub, and seemed to be barren in the extreme. The elevations upon which we stood were similar to the sand-hills near the coast, and had not a blade of grass upon them. Yet, notwithstanding the sterility of the soil, the large white amarillis which grew in such profusion on the alluvial plains of the Macquarie, was also abundant here. But it had lost its dazzling whiteness, and had assumed a sickly yellow colour and its very appearance indicated that it was not in a congenial soil. LINDESAY RIVER. We passed two very considerable junctions, the one coming from the S.E., the other from the north. Both had currents in them, but the former was running much stronger than the latter. It falls into the Murray, almost opposite to the elevations I have been describing, and, if a judgment can be hazarded from its appearance at its embouchure, it must, in its higher branches, be a stream of considerable magnitude. Under this impression, I have called it the Lindesay, as a tribute of respect to my commanding officer, Colonel Patrick Lindesay of the 39th regt. I place it in east long. 140 degrees 29 minutes, and in lat. 33 degrees 58 minutes south. Mr. Hume is of opinion that this is the most southerly of the rivers crossed by him and Mr. Hovel in 1823; but, as I have already remarked, I apprehend that all the rivers those gentlemen crossed, had united in one main stream above the junction of the Morumbidgee, and I think it much more probable that this is a new river, and that it rises to the westward of Port Phillips, rather than in the S.E. angle of the coast. NATIVES BECOME TROUBLESOME. We found the blacks who had deserted us with a tribe at the junction, but it was weak in point of numbers; as were also two other tribes or hordes to whom we were introduced in rapid succession. Taken collectively, they could not have amounted to 230 men, women, and children. The last of these hordes was exceedingly troublesome, and I really thought we should have been obliged to quarrel with them. Whether it was that we were getting impatient, or that our tempers were soured, I know not, but even M'Leay, whose partiality towards the natives was excessive at the commencement of our journey, now became weary of such constant communication as we had kept up with them. Their sameness of appearance, the disgusting diseases that raged among them, their abominable filth, the manner in which they pulled us about, and the impossibility of making them understand us, or of obtaining any information from them,--for if we could have succeeded in this point, we should have gladly borne every inconvenience,--all combined to estrange us from these people and to make their presence disagreeable. Yet there was an absolute necessity to keep up the chain of communication, to ensure our own safety, setting aside every other consideration; but as I had been fortunate in my intercourse with the natives during the first expedition, so I hoped the present journey would terminate without the occurrence of any fatal collision between us. The natives, it is true, were generally quiet; but they crowded round us frequently without any regard to our remonstrances, laying hold of the boat to prevent our going away, and I sometimes thought that had any of them been sufficiently bold to set the example, many of the tribes would have attempted our capture. Indeed, in several instances, we were obliged to resort to blows ere we could disengage ourselves from the crowds around us, and whenever this occurred, it called forth the most sullen and ferocious scowl--such, probably, as would be the forerunner of hostility, and would preclude every hope of mercy at their hands. With each new tribe we were, in some measure, obliged to submit to an examination, and to be pulled about, and fingered all over. They generally measured our hands and feet with their own, counted our fingers, felt our faces, and besmeared our shirts all over with grease and dirt. This was no very agreeable ceremony, and a repetition of it was quite revolting, more especially when we had to meet the grins or frowns of the many with firmness and composure. TEMPESTUOUS WEATHER. The weather had been tempestuous and rainy, for three or four successive days: on the 28th it cleared up a little. Under any circumstances, however, we could not have delayed our journey. We had not proceeded very far when it again commenced to rain and to blow heavily from the N.W. The river trended to the South. We passed down several rapids, and observed the marks of recent flood on the trees, to the height of seven feet. The alluvial flats did not appear to have been covered, or to be subject to overflow. The timber upon them was not of a kind that is found on flooded lands, but wherever reeds prevailed the flooded or blue gum stretched its long white branches over them. The country to the westward was low and bushy. SINGULAR FORMATION OF THE BANKS. The left bank of the Murray was extremely lofty, and occasionally rose to 100 feet perpendicularly from the water. It is really difficult to describe the appearance of the banks at this place; so singular were they in character, and so varied in form. Here they had the most beautiful columnar regularity, with capitals somewhat resembling the Corinthian order in configuration; there they showed like falls of muddy water that had suddenly been petrified; and in another place they resembled the time-worn battlements of a feudal castle. It will naturally be asked, of what could these cliffs have been composed to assume so many different forms? and what could have operated to produce such unusual appearances? The truth is, they were composed almost wholly of clay and sand. Wherever the latter had accumulated, or predominated, the gradual working of water had washed it away, and left the more compact body, in some places, so delicately hollowed out, that it seemed rather the work of art than of nature. This singular formation rested on a coarse grit, that showed itself in slabs. From the frequent occurrence of rapids I should imagine that we had fallen considerably, but there was no visible decline of country. The river swept along, in broad and noble reaches, at the base of the cliffs. Vast accumulations of sand were in its bed, a satisfactory proof of the sandy character of the distant interior, if other proof were wanting. We did not see so many natives on the 28th as we had been in the habit of seeing; perhaps in consequence of the boisterous weather. A small tribe of about sixty had collected to receive us, but we passed on without taking any notice of them, Nevertheless they deputed two of their men to follow us, who overtook us just as we stopped for the purpose of pitching our tents before the clouds should burst, that just then bore the most threatening appearance. The blacks seemed to be perfectly aware what kind of a night we should have, and busied themselves preparing a hut and making a large fire. The evening proved extremely dark, and towards midnight it blew and rained fiercely. Towards morning the wind moderated, and the rain ceased. Still, the sky was overcast, and the clouds were passing rapidly over us. The wind had, however, changed some points, and from the N.W. had veered round to the S.S.W.; and the day eventually turned out cool and pleasant. LARGE TRIBE OF NATIVES--THEIR INDIFFERENCE TO FIRE-ARMS. We fell in with a large tribe of natives, amounting in all to 270. They were extremely quiet, and kept away from the boat; in consequence of which I distributed a great many presents among them. This tribe was almost the only one that evinced any eagerness to see us. The lame had managed to hobble along, and the blind were equally anxious to touch us. There were two or three old men stretched upon the bank, from whom the last sigh seemed about to depart; yet these poor creatures evinced an anxiety to see us, and to listen to a description of our appearance, although it seemed doubtful whether they would be alive twenty-four hours after we left them. An old woman, a picture of whom would disgust my readers, made several attempts to embrace me. I managed, however, to avoid her, and at length got rid of her by handing her over to Fraser, who was no wise particular as to the object of his attention. This tribe must have been one of the most numerous on the banks of the Murray, since we fell in with detached families for many miles below the place where we had parted from the main body. I have omitted to mention that, while among them, I fired at a kite and killed it; yet, though close to me, the blacks did not start or evince the least surprise. It really is difficult to account for such firmness of nerve or self-command. It is not so much a matter of surprise that they were indifferent to its effects, for probably they knew them not, but it is certainly odd that they should not have been startled by the report. The river inclined very much to the southward for some miles below our last camp; at length it struck against some elevations that turned it more to the westward. Before we terminated our day's pull it again changed its direction to the eastward of south. The right bank became lofty, and the left proportionably depressed. REFLECTIONS ON THE PROGRESS OF THE EXPEDITION. In consequence of the boisterous weather we had had, we were uncertain as to our precise situation, even in point of latitude. But I was perfectly aware that we were considerably to the south of the head of St. Vincent's Gulf. I began, therefore, to contemplate with some confidence a speedy termination to our wanderings, or, at least, that we should soon reach the extreme point to which we could advance. The sun was at this time out of my reach, since the sextant would not measure double the altitude. Observations of the stars were, in like manner, uncertain, in consequence of the boisterous weather we had had, and the unavoidable agitation of the quicksilver. My last observation of Antares placed us in latitude 34 degrees 4 minutes; so that we were still 115 miles from the coast. We had now been twenty-two days upon the river, and it was uncertain how long we should be in compassing the distance we had still to run. Considering all things, we had, as yet, been extremely fortunate; and I hoped that we should terminate our journey without the occurrence of any fatal accident. Had the country corresponded with the noble stream that traversed it, we should have been proportionably elated, but it was impossible to conceal from ourselves its inhospitable and unprofitable character, as far as we had, as yet, penetrated. If we except the partial and alluvial flats on the immediate borders, and in the neighbourhood of its tributaries and creeks, the Murray might be said to flow through a barren and sandy interior. The appearance of the country through which we passed on the 29th, was far from being such as to encourage us with the hopes of any change for the better. The river was enclosed, on either side, by the same kind of banks that have already been described; and it almost appeared as if the plain had been rent asunder to allow of a passage for its waters. The view of the distant interior was unsatisfactory. It was, for the most part, covered with brush, but, at length, cypresses again made their appearance, although at a considerable distance from us. The river continued to flow to the southward, a circumstance that gave me much satisfaction, for I now began to feel some anxiety about the men. They had borne their fatigues and trials so cheerfully, and had behaved so well, that I could not but regret the scanty provision that remained for them. The salt meat being spoiled, it had fallen to the share of the dogs, so that we had little else than flour to eat. Fish no one would touch, and of wild fowl there were none to be seen. The men complained of sore eyes, from the perspiration constantly running into them, and it was obvious to me that they were much reduced. It will be borne in mind, that we were now performing the earliest part of our task, and were going down with the stream. I was sure that on our return, (For I had no hopes of meeting any vessel on the coast,) we should have to make every day's journey good against the current; and, if the men were now beginning to sink, it might well be doubted whether their strength would hold out. Both M'Leay and myself, therefore, encouraged any cheerfulness that occasionally broke out among them, and Frazer enlivened them by sundry tunes that he whistled whilst employed in skinning birds. I am sure, no galley-slave ever took to his oar with more reluctance than poor Frazer. He was indefatigable in most things, but he could not endure the oar. NATIVES BECOME UNRULY. We did not fall in with any natives on the 30th, neither did we see those who had preceded us from the last tribe. On the 31st, to my mortification, the river held so much to the northward, that we undid almost all our southing. What with its regular turns, and its extensive sweeps, the Murray covers treble the ground, at a moderate computation, that it would occupy in a direct course; and we had a practical instance of the truth of this in the course of the afternoon, when we found our friends ready to introduce us to a large assemblage of natives. On asking them how they had passed us, they pointed directly east to the spot at which we had parted. By crossing from one angle of the river to the other, they had performed in little more than half a day, a journey which it had taken us two long days to accomplish. After our usual distribution of presents, we pushed away from the bank; though not without some difficulty, in consequence of the obstinacy of the natives in wishing to detain us; and I was exceedingly vexed to find, while we were yet in sight of them, that we had proceeded down a shallow channel on one side of an island instead of the further and deeper one; so that the boat ultimately grounded. A crowd of the blacks rushed into the water, and surrounded us on every side. Some came to assist us, others, under a pretence of assisting, pulled against us, and I was at length obliged to repel them by threats. A good many of them were very much disposed to annoy us, and, after the boat was in deep water, some of them became quite infuriated, because we would not return. Had we been within distance, they would assuredly have hurled their spears at us. Thirteen of them followed us to our resting place. They kept rather apart from us, and kindled their fire in a little hollow about fifty paces to our right; nor did they venture to approach the tents unless we called to them, so that by their quiet and unobtrusive conduct they made up in some measure for the unruly proceedings of others of their tribe. We had now arrived at a point at which I hoped to gain some information from the natives, respecting the sea. It was to no purpose, however, that I questioned these stupid people. They understood perfectly, by my pointing to the sky, and by other signs, that I was inquiring about large waters, but they could not, or would not, give any information on the subject. CHANGE IN THE GEOLOGY OF THE COUNTRY. As we proceeded down the river, its current became weaker, and its channel somewhat deeper. Our attention was called to a remarkable change in the geology of the country, as well as to an apparent alteration in the natural productions. The cliffs of sand and clay ceased, and were succeeded by a fossil formation of the most singular description. At first, it did not exceed a foot in height above the water, but it gradually rose, like an inclined plane, and resembled in colour, and in appearance, the skulls of men piled one upon the other. The constant rippling of the water against the rock had washed out the softer parts, and made hollows and cavities, that gave the whole formation the precise appearance of a catacomb. On examination, we discovered it to be a compact bed of shells, composed of a common description of marine shell from two to three inches in length, apparently a species of turritella. BANKS OF PETRIFIED SHELLS. At about nine miles from the commencement of this formation, it rose to the height of more than 150 feet; the country became undulating, and a partial change took place in its vegetation. We stopped at an early hour, to examine some cliffs, which rising perpendicularly from the water, were different in character and substance from any we had as yet seen. They approached a dirty yellow-ochre in colour, that became brighter in hue as it rose, and, instead of being perforated, were compact and hard. The waters of the river had, however, made horizontal lines upon their fronts, which distinctly marked the rise and fall of the river, as the strength or depth of the grooves distinctly indicated the levels it generally kept. It did not appear from these lines, that the floods ever rose more than four feet above the then level of the stream, or that they continued for any length of time. On breaking off pieces of the rock, we ascertained that it was composed of one solid mass of sea-shells, of various kinds, of which the species first mentioned formed the lowest part. It rained a good deal during the night, but the morning turned out remarkably fine. The day was pleasant, for however inconvenient in some respects the frequent showers had been, they had cooled the air, and consequently prevented our feeling the heat so much as we should otherwise have done, in the close and narrow glen we had now entered. Among the natives who followed us from the last tribe, there was an old man, who took an uncommon fancy or attachment to Hopkinson, and who promised, when we separated, to join us again in the course of the day. FACE OF THE COUNTRY. As we proceeded down the river we found that it was confined in a glen, whose extreme breadth was not more than half-a-mile. The hills that rose on either side of it were of pretty equal height. The alluvial flats were extremely small, and the boldest cliffs separated them from each other. The flats were lightly wooded, and were for the most part covered with reeds or polygonum. They were not much elevated above the waters of the river, and had every appearance of being frequently inundated. At noon we pulled up to dine, upon the left bank, under some hills, which were from 200 to 250 feet in height. While the men were preparing our tea, (for we had only that to boil,) M'Leay and I ascended the hills. The brush was so thick upon them, that we could not obtain a view of the distant interior. Their summits were covered with oyster-shells, in such abundance as entirely to preclude the idea of their having been brought to such a position by the natives. They were in every stage of petrification. In the course of the afternoon the old man joined us, and got into the boat. As far as we could understand from his signs, we were at no great distance from some remarkable change or other. The river had been making to the N.W., from the commencement of the fossil formation, and it appeared as if it was inclined to keep that direction. The old man pointed to the N.W., and then placed his hand on the side of his head to indicate, as I understood him, that we should sleep to the N.W. of where we then were; but his second motion was not so intelligible, for he pointed due south, as if to indicate that such would be our future course; and he concluded his information, such as it was, by describing the roaring of the sea, and the height of the waves. It was evident this old man had been upon the coast, and we were therefore highly delighted at the prospect thus held out to us of reaching it. REMARKABLE CLIFFS. A little below the hills under which we had stopped, the country again assumed a level. A line of cliffs, of from two to three hundred feet in height, flanked the river, first on one side and then on the other, varying in length from a quarter of a mile to a mile. They rose perpendicularly from the water, and were of a bright yellow colour, rendered still more vivid occasionally by the sun shining full upon them. The summits of these cliffs were as even as if they had been built by an architect; and from their very edge, the country back from the stream was of an uniform level, and was partly plain, and partly clothed by brush. The soil upon this plateau, or table land, was sandy, and it was as barren and unproductive as the worst of the country we had passed through. On the other hand, the alluvial flats on the river increased in size, and were less subject to flood; and the river lost much of its sandy bed, and its current was greatly diminished in strength. NATIVE CHARACTER. It blew so fresh, during the greater part of the day, from the westward, that we had great difficulty in pulling against the breeze. The determined N.W. course the river kept, made me doubt the correctness of the story of the little old black; yet there was an openness of manner about him, and a clearness of description, that did not appear like fabrication. He pointed to the S.S.W. when he left us, as the direction in which he would again join us, thus confirming, without any apparent intention, what he had stated with regard to the southerly course the river was about to take. Among the natives who were with him, there was another man of very different manners and appearance. Our friend was small in stature, had piercing grey eyes, and was as quick as lightning in his movements The other was tall, and grey headed; anxious, yet unobtrusive; and confident, without the least mixture of boldness. The study of the human character on many occasions similar to this, during our intercourse with these people, rude and uncivilized as they were, was not only pleasing, but instructive. We found that the individuals of a tribe partook of one general character, and that the whole of the tribe were either decidedly quiet, or as decidedly disorderly. The whole of the blacks left us when we started, but we had not gone very far, when the individual I have described brought his family, consisting of about fifteen persons. We were going down a part of the river in which there was a very slight fall. The natives were posted under some blue-gum trees, upon the right bank, and there was a broad shoal of sand immediately to our left. They walked over to this shoal, to receive some little presents, but did not follow when we continued our journey. TAKE BEARINGS. During the whole of the day the river ran to the N.W. We stopped for the night under some cliffs, similar to those we had already passed, but somewhat higher. From their summit, mountains were visible to the N.W., but at a great distance from us. I doubted not that they were at the head of the southern gulfs; or of one of them, at all events. Our observations placed us in 34 degrees 08 minutes south of lat., and in long. 139 degrees 41 minutes 15 seconds; we were consequently nearly seventy miles from Spencer's Gulf, in a direct line, and I should have given that as the distance the hills appeared to be from us. They bore as follows:-- Lofty round mountain, S. 127 degrees W. Mountain scarcely visible, S. 128 degrees W. Northern extremity of a broken range, S. 102 degrees W. Southern extremity scarcely visible, S. 58 degrees W. The country between the river and these ranges appeared to be very low, and darkly wooded: that to the N.E. was more open. The summit of the cliff did not form any table-land, but it dipped almost immediately to the westward, and the country, although, as I have already remarked, it was depressed, and undulated. I walked to some distance from the river, across a valley, and started several kangaroos; but I was quite alone, and could not, therefore, secure one of them. Had the dogs been near, we should have had a fine feast. The soil of the interior still continued sandy, but there was a kind of short grass mixed with the salsolaceous plants upon it, that indicated, as I thought, a change for the better in the vegetation; and the circumstance of there being kangaroos in the valleys to the westward was also a favourable sign. FEAST ON A TORTOISE. Beneath the cliffs hereabouts, the river was extremely broad and deep. My servant thought it a good place for fishing and accordingly set a night-line, one end of which he fastened to the bough of a tree. During the night, being on guard, he saw a small tortoise floating on the water, so near that he struck it a violent blow with a large stick, upon which it dived: to his surprise, however, in the morning, he found that it had taken the bait, and was fast to the line. On examining it, the shell proved to be cracked, so that the blow must have been a severe one. It was the largest we had ever seen, and made an excellent dish. The flesh was beautifully white, nor could anything, especially under our circumstances, have been more tempting than it was when cooked; yet M'Leay would not partake of it. The prevailing wind was, at this time, from the S.W. It blew heavily all day, but moderated towards the evening I was very anxious, at starting on the 3rd, as to the course the river would take, since it would prove whether the little old man had played us false or not. From the cliffs under which we had slept, it held a direct N.W. course for two or three miles. It then turned suddenly to the S.E., and gradually came round to E.N.E., so that after two hours pulling, we found ourselves just opposite to the spot from which we had started, the neck of land that separated the channels not being more than 200 yards across. I have before noticed a bend similar to this, which the Murray makes, a little above the junction of the supposed Darling with it. CHART OF THE RIVER. It may appear strange to some of my readers, that I should have laid down the windings of the river so minutely. It may therefore be necessary for me to state that every bend of it was laid down by compass, and that the bearings of the angles as they opened were regularly marked by me, so that not a single winding or curve of the Murray is omitted in the large chart. The length of some of the reaches may be erroneous, but their direction is strictly correct. I always had a sheet of paper and the compass before me, and not only marked down the river line, but also the description of country nearest; its most minute changes, its cliffs, its flats, the kind of country back from it, its lagoons, the places at which the tribes assembled, its junctions, tributaries and creeks, together with our several positions, were all regularly noted, so that on our return up the river we had no difficulty in ascertaining upon what part of it we were, by a reference to the chart; and it proved of infinite service to us, since we were enabled to judge of our distance from our several camps, as we gained them day by day with the current against us; and we should often have stopped short of them, weary and exhausted, had we not known that two or three reaches more would terminate our labour for the day. REMARKABLE CLIFFS. From the spot last spoken of, the river held on a due south course for the remainder of the day; and at the same time changed its character. It lost its sandy bed and its current together, and became deep, still, and turbid, with a muddy bottom. It increased considerably in breadth, and stretched away before us in magnificent reaches of from three to six miles in length. The cliffs under which we passed towered above us, like maritime cliffs, and the water dashed against their base like the waves of the sea. They became brighter and brighter in colour, looking like dead gold in the sun's rays; and formed an unbroken wall of a mile or two in length. The natives on their summits showed as small as crows; and the cockatoos, the eagles, and other birds, were as specks above us; the former made the valley reverberate with their harsh and discordant notes. The reader may form some idea of the height of these cliffs, when informed that the king of the feathered race made them his sanctuary. They were continuous on both sides of the river, but retired, more or less, from it, according to the extent of the alluvial flats. The river held a serpentine course down the valley through which it passed, striking the precipices alternately on each side. The soil on the flats was better, and less mixed with sand than it had been, but the flats were generally covered with reeds, though certainly not wholly subject to flood at any time. The polygonum still prevailed upon them in places, and the blue-gum tree alone occupied their outskirts. From the several elevations we ascended, the country to the N.W. appeared undulating and well wooded; that to the eastward, seemed to be brushy and low. Certainly there was a great difference in the country, both to the eastward and to the westward. We had frequent views of the mountains we had seen, or, I should have said, of a continuation of them. They bore nearly west from us at a very great distance all day. We fell in with several tribes, but did not see our old friend, although, from the inquiries we made, it was evident he was well known among them. It would disgust my readers were I to describe the miserable state of disease and infirmity to which these tribes were reduced. Leprosy of the most loathsome description, the most violent cutaneous eruptions, and glandular affections, absolutely raged through the whole of them; yet we could not escape from the persecuting examination of our persons that curiosity prompted them in some measure to insist upon. REJOINED BY OUR OLD NATIVE GUIDE. The old man, whose information had proved strictly correct, joined us again on the 4th, and his joy at being received into the boat was unbounded, as well as the pleasure he expressed at again meeting Hopkinson. He had been on a long journey, it would appear, for he had not then reached his tribe. As we approached their haunt, he landed and preceded us to collect them. We were, of course, more than usually liberal to so old a friend, and we were really sorry to part with him. Soon after leaving his tribe, which occupied the left bank of the river, and was very weak in point of numbers, we fell in with a very strong tribe upon the right bank. They numbered 211 in all. We lay off the bank, in order to escape their importunities; a measure that by no means satisfied them. The women appeared to be very prolific; but, as a race, these people are not to be compared with the natives of the mountains, or of the upper branches of the Murray. We passed some beautiful scenery in the course of the day. The river preserved a direct southerly course, and could not in any place have been less than 400 yards in breadth. The cliffs still continued, and varied perpetually in form; at one time presenting a perpendicular wall to the view, at others, they overhung the stream, in huge fragments. All were composed of a mass of shells of various kinds; a fact which will call for further observation and remark. DELAYED BY STRONG WINDS. Many circumstances at this time tended to confirm our hopes that the sea could not be very far from us, or that we should not be long in gaining it. Some sea-gulls flew over our heads, at which Fraser was about to shoot, had I not prevented him, for I hailed them as the messengers of glad tidings, and thought they ill deserved such a fate. It blew very hard from the S.W., during the whole of the day, and we found it extremely laborious pulling against the heavy and short sea that came rolling up the broad and open reaches of the Murray at this place. Four of the blacks, from the last tribe, followed us, and slept at the fires; but they were suspicious and timid, and appeared to be very glad when morning dawned. Our fires were always so much larger than those made by themselves, that, they fancied, perhaps, we were going to roast them. Our dogs, likewise, gave them great uneasiness; for although so fond of the native brute, they feared ours, from their size. We generally tied them to the boat, therefore, to prevent a recurrence of theft, so that they were not altogether useless. CHAPTER VI. Improvement in the aspect of the country--Increase of the river--Strong westerly gales--Chronometer broken--A healthier tribe of natives-- Termination of the Murray in a large lake--Its extent and environs-- Passage across it--Hostile appearance of the natives--Beautiful scenery --Channel from the lake to the sea at Encounter Bay--Reach the beach-- Large flocks of water fowl--Curious refraction--State of provisions-- Embarrassing situation--Inspection of the channel to the ocean--Weak condition of the men--Difficulties of the return. DELIGHTFUL COUNTRY. It now appeared that the Murray had taken a permanent southerly course; indeed, it might strictly be said that it ran away to the south. As we proceeded down it, the valley expanded to the width of two miles; the alluvial flats became proportionably larger; and a small lake generally occupied their centre. They were extensively covered with reeds and grass, for which reason, notwithstanding that they were little elevated above the level of the stream, I do not think they are subject to overflow. Parts of them may be laid under water, but certainly not the whole. The rains at the head of the Murray, and its tributaries, must be unusually severe to prolong their effects to this distant region, and the flats bordering it appear, by successive depositions, to have only just gained a height above the further influence of the floods. Should this prove to be the case, the valley may be decidedly laid down as a most desirable spot, whether we regard the richness of its soil, its rock formation, its locality, or the extreme facility of water communication along it. It must not, however, be forgotten or concealed, that the summits of the cliffs by which the valley is enclosed, have not a corresponding soil. On the contrary, many of the productions common to the plains of the interior still existed upon them, and they were decidedly barren; but as we measured the reaches of the river, the cliffs ceased, and gave place to undulating hills, that were very different in appearance from the country we had previously noted down. It would have been impossible for the most tasteful individual to have laid out pleasure ground to more advantage, than Nature had done in planting and disposing the various groups of trees along the spine, and upon the sides of the elevations that confined the river, and bounded the low ground that intervened between it and their base. Still, however, the soil upon these elevations was sandy, and coarse, but the large oat-grass was abundant upon them, which yielded pasture at least as good as that in the broken country between Underaliga and Morumbidgee. We had now gained a distance of at least sixty miles from that angle of the Murray at which it reaches its extreme west. The general aspect of the country to our right was beautiful, and several valleys branched away into the interior upon that side which had a most promising appearance, and seemed to abound with kangaroos, as the traces of them were numerous, and the dogs succeeded in killing one, which, to our great mortification, we could not find. While, however, the country to the westward had so much to recommend it, the hills to our left became extremely bare. It was evident that the right was the sheltered side of the valley. The few trees on the opposite side bent over to the N.E., as if under the influence of some prevailing wind. ADVERSE GALES. We experienced at this time a succession of gales from the S.W., against which we, on several occasions, found it useless to contend: the waves on the river being heavy and short; and the boat, driving her prow into them, sent the spray over us and soon wet us through. Indeed, it is difficult for the reader to imagine the heavy swell that rolled up the river, which had increased in breadth to the third of a mile, and in the length of its reaches to eight or ten. I was satisfied that we were not only navigating this river at a particularly stormy, perhaps THE stormy, season; but also, that the influence of the S.W. wind is felt even as far in the interior as to the supposed Darling; in consequence of the uniform build of the huts, and the circumstance of their not only facing the N.E., but also being almost invariably erected under the lee of some bush. The weather, under the influence of the wind we experienced, was cool and pleasant, although the thermometer stood at a medium height of 86 degrees; but we found it very distressing to pull against the heavy breezes that swept up the valley, and bent the reeds so as almost to make them kiss the stream. We communicated on the 6th and 7th with several large tribes of natives, whose manners were on the whole quiet and inoffensive. They distinctly informed us, that we were fast approaching the sea, and, from what I could understand, we were nearer to it than the coast line of Encounter Bay made us. We had placed sticks to ascertain if there was any rise or fall of tide, but the troubled state of the river prevented our experiments from being satisfactory. By selecting a place, however, that was sheltered from the effects of the wind, we ascertained that there was an apparent rise of about eight inches. OBLIGED TO TAKE REPOSE. It blew a heavy gale during the whole of the 7th; and we laboured in vain at the oar. The gusts that swept the bosom of the water, and the swell they caused, turned the boat from her course, and prevented us from making an inch of way. The men were quite exhausted, and, as they had conducted themselves so well, and had been so patient, I felt myself obliged to grant them every indulgence consistent with our safety. However precarious our situation, it would have been vain, with our exhausted strength, to have contended against the elements. We, therefore, pulled in to the left bank of the river, and pitched our tents on a little rising ground beyond the reeds that lined it. CHRONOMETER BROKEN. I had been suffering very much front tooth-ache for the last three or four days, and this day felt the most violent pain from the wind. I was not, therefore, sorry to get under even the poor shelter our tents afforded. M'Leay, observing that I was in considerable pain, undertook to wind up the chronometer; but, not understanding or knowing the instrument, he unfortunately broke the spring. I shall not forget the anxiety he expressed, and the regret he felt on the occasion; nor do I think M'Leay recovered the shock this unlucky accident gave him for two or three days, or until the novelty of other scenes drove it from his recollection. We landed close to the haunt of a small tribe of natives, who came to us with the most perfect confidence, and assisted the men in their occupations. They were cleaner and more healthy than any tribe we had seen; and were extremely cheerful, although reserved in some respects. As a mark of more than usual cleanliness, the women had mats of oval shape, upon which they sat, made, apparently, of rushes. There was a young girl among them of a most cheerful disposition. She was about eighteen, was well made, and really pretty. This girl was married to an elderly man who had broken his leg, which having united in a bent shape, the limb was almost useless. I really believe the girl thought we could cure her husband, from her importunate manner to us. I regretted that I could do nothing for the man, but to show that I was not inattentive to her entreaties, I gave him a pair of trousers, and desired Fraser to put them upon him; but the poor fellow cut so awkward an appearance in them, that his wife became quite distressed, and Fraser was obliged speedily to disencumber him from them again. We could not gain any satisfactory information, as to the termination of the river, from these people. It was evident that some change was at hand; but what it was we could not ascertain. APPEARANCE OF SOME APPROACHING CHANGE. On the morning of the 9th, we left our fair friend and her lame husband, and proceeded down the river. The wind had moderated, although it still blew fresh. We ascended every height as we went along, but could not see any new feature in the country. Our view to the eastward was very confined; to the westward the interior was low and dark, and was backed in the distance by lofty ranges, parallel to which we had been running for some days. The right bank of the valley was beautifully undulated, but the left was bleak and bare. The valley had a breadth of from three to four miles, and the flats were more extensive under the former than under the latter. They were scarcely two feet above the level of the water, and were densely covered with reeds. As there was no mark upon the reeds to indicate the height to which the floods rose, I cannot think that these flats are ever wholly laid under water; if they are, it cannot be to any depth: at all events a few small drains would effectually prevent inundation. The soil upon the hills continued to be much mixed with sand, and the prevailing trees were cypress and box. Among the minor shrubs and grass, many common to the east coasts were noticed; and although the bold cliffs had ceased, the basis of the country still continued of the fossil formation. At a turn of the stream hereabouts, however, a solitary rock of coarse red granite rose above the waters, and formed an island in its centre; but only in this one place was it visible. The rock was composed principally of quartz and feldspar. A little below it, we found a large tribe anxiously awaiting our arrival. They crowded to the margin of the river with great eagerness, and evinced more surprise at our appearance than any tribe we had seen during the journey; but we left them very soon, notwithstanding that they importuned us much to stay. After pulling a mile or two, we found a clear horizon before us to the south. The hills still continued upon our left, but we could not see any elevation over the expanse of reeds to our right. The river inclined to the left, and swept the base of the hills that still continued on that side. I consequently landed once more to survey the country. TERMINATION OF THE MURRAY IN A LARGE LAKE. I still retained a strong impression on my mind that some change was at hand, and on this occasion, I was not disappointed; but the view was one for which I was not altogether prepared. We had, at length, arrived at the termination of the Murray. Immediately below me was a beautiful lake, which appeared to be a fitting reservoir for the noble stream that had led us to it; and which was now ruffled by the breeze that swept over it. The ranges were more distinctly visible, stretching from south to north, and were certainly distant forty miles. They had a regular unbroken outline; declining gradually to the south, but terminating abruptly at a lofty mountain northerly. I had no doubt on my mind of this being the Mount Lofty of Captain Flinders; or that the range was that immediately to the eastward of St. Vincent's Gulf--Since the accident to the chronometer, we had not made any westing, so that we knew our position as nearly as possible. Between us and the ranges a beautiful promontory shot into the lake, being a continuation of the right bank of the Murray. Over this promontory the waters stretched to the base of the ranges, and formed an extensive bay. To the N.W. the country was exceedingly low, but distant peaks were just visible over it. To the S.W. a bold headland showed itself; beyond which, to the westward, there was a clear and open sea visible, through a strait formed by this headland and a point projecting from the opposite shore. To the E. and S.E. the country was low, excepting the left shore of the lake, which was backed by some minor elevations, crowned with cypresses. Even while gazing on this fine scene, I could not but regret that the Murray had thus terminated; for I immediately foresaw that, in all probability, we should be disappointed in finding any practicable communication between the lake and the ocean, as it was evident that the former was not much influenced by tides. The wind had again increased; it still blew fresh from the S.W. and a heavy sea was rolling direct into the mouth of the river. I hoped, notwithstanding, that we should have been enabled to make sail, for which reason we entered the lake about 2 p.m. The natives had kindled a large fire on a distant point between us and the further headland, and to gain this point our efforts were now directed. The waves were, however, too strong, and we were obliged to make for the eastern shore, until such time as the weather should moderate. We pitched our tents on a low track of land that stretched away seemingly for many miles directly behind us to the eastward. It was of the richest soil, being a black vegetable deposit, and although now high above the influence, the lake had, it was evident, once formed a part of its bed. The appearance of the country altogether encouraged M'Leay and myself to walk out, in order to examine it from some hills a little to the S.E. of the camp. From them we observed that the flat extended over about fifty miles, and was bounded by the elevations that continued easterly from the left bank of the Murray to the north, and by a line of rising-ground to the south. The whole was lightly wooded, and covered with grass. The season must have been unusually dry, judging from the general appearance of the vegetation, and from the circumstance of the lagoons in the interior being wholly exhausted. Thirty-three days had now passed over our heads since we left the depot upon the Morumbidgee, twenty-six of which had been passed upon the Murray. We had, at length, arrived at the grand reservoir of those waters whose course and fate had previously been involved in such obscurity. It remained for us to ascertain whether the extensive sheet of water upon whose bosom we had embarked, had any practicable communication with the ocean, and whether the country in the neighbourhood of the coast corresponded with that immediately behind our camp, or kept up its sandy and sterile character to the very verge of the sea. As I have already said, my hopes on the first of these points were considerably damped, but I could not help anticipating a favourable change in the latter, since its features had so entirely changed. DETAINED BY THE WIND. The greatest difficulty against which we had at present to contend was the wind; and I dreaded the exertion it would call for, to make head against it; for the men were so much reduced that I felt convinced they were inadequate to any violent or prolonged effort. It still blew fresh at 8 p.m., but at that time it began to moderate. It may be imagined that I listened to its subdued gusts with extreme anxiety. It did not wholly abate until after 2 a.m., when it gradually declined, and about 3 a light breeze sprung up from the N. E. We had again placed sticks to ascertain with more precision the rise of tide, and found it to be the same as in the river. In the stillness of the night too we thought we heard the roaring of the sea, but I was myself uncertain upon the point, as the wind might have caused the sound. From the top of the hill from which we had obtained our first view of the lake, I observed the waves breaking upon the distant headland, and enveloping the cliff in spray; so that, independent of the clearness of the horizon beyond it, I was further led to conclude that there existed a great expanse of water to the S.W.; and, as that had been the direction taken by the river, I thought it probable that by steering at once to the S.W. down the lake, I should hit the outlet. I, consequently, resolved to gain the southern extremity of the lake, as that at which it was natural to expect a communication with the ocean would be found. GEOLOGICAL FORMATION. At 4 we had a moderate breeze, and it promised to strengthen; we lost no time therefore in embarking, and with a flowing sheet stretched over to the W.S.W., and ran along the promontory formed by the right bank of the Murray. We passed close under its extreme point at nine. The hills had gradually declined, and we found the point to be a flat, elevated about thirty feet above the lake. It was separated from the promontory by a small channel that was choked up with reeds, so that it is more than probable that the point is insulated at certain periods; whilst in its stratification it resembled the first cliffs I have described that were passed below the Darling. It is a remarkable fact in the geology of the Murray, that such should be the case; and that the formation at each extremity of the great bank or bed of fossils should be the same. Thus far, the waters of the lake had continued sweet; but on filling a can when we were abreast of this point, it was found that they were quite unpalatable, to say the least of them. The transition from fresh to salt water was almost immediate, and it was fortunate we made the discovery in sufficient time to prevent our losing ground. But, as it was, we filled our casks, and stood on, without for a moment altering our course. PASSAGE ACROSS THE LAKE--ITS SHALLOWNESS. It is difficult to give a just description of our passage across the lake. The boisterous weather we had had seemed to have blown over. A cool and refreshing breeze was carrying us on at between four and five knots an hour, and the heavens above us were without a cloud. It almost appeared as if nature had resisted us in order to try our perseverance, and that she had yielded in pity to our efforts. The men, relieved for a time from the oar, stretched themselves at their length in the boat, and commented on the scenery around them, or ventured their opinions as to that which was before them. Up to this moment their conduct had been most exemplary; not a murmur had escaped from them, and they filled the water-casks with the utmost cheerfulness, even whilst tasting the disagreeable beverage they would most probably have to subsist on for the next three or four days. As soon as we had well opened the point, we had a full view of the splendid bay that, commencing at the western most of the central points, swept in a beautiful curve under the ranges. No land was visible to the W.N.W. or to the S.S.W.: in both these quarters the lake was as open as the ocean. It appeared, therefore, that the land intermediate was an island. To the north the country was extremely low, and as we increased our distance from it we lost sight of it altogether. At noon we were nearly abreast of the eastern headland, or in the centre of the strait to which I have alluded. At this time there was an open sea from W.N.W. to N. by E. A meridian altitude gave our latitude 35 degrees 25 minutes. The land to our left was bold and precipitous; that to the right was low and wooded; and there was evidently a considerable space between the shores of the lake and the base of the ranges. The country to the eastward was hidden from us by the line of cliffs, beyond which from E.S.E. to W.S.W. there was an open sea. We had kept the lead going from the first, and I was surprised at the extreme shallowness of the lake in every part, as we never had six feet upon the line. Its bottom was one of black mud, and weeds of enormous length were floating on its surface, detached by the late gales, and which, from the shallowness of the lake, got constantly entangled with our rudder. We tried to land on the eastern point, but found the water too shallow, and were obliged to try the western shore. In passing close under the head, we observed several natives upon it, who kindled a large fire as soon as they saw they were noticed, which was answered from every point; for, in less than ten minutes afterwards, we counted no fewer than fourteen different fires, the greater number of which were on the side of the ranges. SHORES OF THE LAKE. As we were standing across from one shore to the other, our attention was drawn to a most singular object. It started suddenly up, as above the waters to the south, and strikingly resembled an isolated castle. Behind it, a dense column of smoke rose into the sky, and the effect was most remarkable. On a nearer approach, the phantom disappeared and a clear and open sea again presented itself to our view. The fact was, that the refractive power upon the coast had elevated the sand-hillocks above their true position, since we satisfactorily ascertained that they alone separated the lake from the ocean, and that they alone could have produced the semblance we noticed. It is a singular fact, that this very hillock was the one which Capt. Barker ascended whilst carrying on the survey of the south coast, and immediately previous to his tragical death. It was not without difficulty that we succeeded in landing on the western shore; but we did, at length, succeed, and prepared our dinners. The shore was low, but above the reach of all floods; the soil was rich, and superficially sandy. It was covered with high grasses, and abounded in kangaroos; within the space of a few yards we found five or six, but they were immediately lost to us and to the dogs in the luxuriance of the vegetation amidst which they were feeding. As soon as we had finished our meal, we once more embarked, and stood along the shore to the S.W., but the lake was so shoal, that I was every moment apprehensive we should ground. I ran across, therefore, to the south, towards a low flat that had just appeared above the line of the horizon, in hope that, in sounding, we should have found the channel, but there either was none, or else it was so narrow that we passed over it between the heaves of the lead. At this time, the western shore was quite distinct, and the scenery was beautiful. The flat we were approaching was a mud-flat, and, from its appearance, the tide was certainly at the ebb. We observed some cradles, or wicker frames, placed far below high water-mark, that were each guarded by two natives, who threatened us violently as we approached. In running along the land, the stench from them plainly indicated what they were which these poor creatures were so anxiously watching. We steered a S.W. course, towards some low and wooded hills, passing a rocky island, and found that we had struck the mouth of a channel running to the W.S.W. It was about half-a-mile wide, was bounded to the right by some open flat ground, and to the left by a line of hills of about sixty or seventy feet in elevation, partly open and partly covered with beefwood. WARLIKE DEMEANOUR OF THE NATIVES. Upon the first of these hills, we observed a large body of natives, who set up the most terrific yells as we approached. They were fully equipped for battle and, as we neared the shore, came down to meet us with the most violent threats. I wished much to communicate with them, and, not without hopes of quieting them, stood right in with the intention of landing. I observed, however, that if I did so, I should have to protect myself. I hauled a little off, and endeavoured, by holding up a branch and a tomahawk, to gain their confidence, but they were not to be won over by my show of pacification. An elderly man walked close to the water's edge unarmed, and, evidently, directed the others. He was followed by seven or eight of the most daring, who crept into the reeds, with their spears shipped to throw at us. I, therefore, took up my gun to return their salute. It then appeared that they were perfectly aware of the weapon I carried, for the moment they saw it, they dashed out of their hiding place and retreated to the main body; but the old man, after saying something to them, walked steadily on, and I, on my part, laid my firelock down again. LOVELY EVENING. It was now near sunset; and one of the most lovely evenings I had ever seen. The sun's radiance was yet upon the mountains, but all lower objects were in shade. The banks of the channel, with the trees and the rocks, were reflected in the tranquil waters, whose surface was unruffled save by the thousands of wild fowl that rose before us, and made a noise as of a multitude clapping hands, in their clumsy efforts to rise from the waters. Not one of them allowed us to get within shot. We proceeded about a mile below the hill on which the natives were posted; some few still following us with violent threats. We landed, however, on a flat, bounded all round by the continuation of the hills. It was an admirable position, for, in the centre of it, we could not be taken by surprise, and, on the other hand, we gave the natives an opportunity of communicating with us if they would. The full moon rose as we were forming the camp, and, notwithstanding our vicinity to so noisy a host, the silence of death was around us, or the stillness of the night was only broken by the roar of the ocean, now too near to be mistaken for wind, or by the silvery and melancholy note of the black swans as they passed over us, to seek for food, no doubt, among the slimy weeds at the head of the lake. We had been quite delighted with the beauty of the channel, which was rather more than half-a-mile in width. Numberless mounds, that seemed to invite civilised man to erect his dwelling upon them, presented themselves to our view. The country round them was open, yet ornamentally wooded, and rocks and trees hung or drooped over the waters. EXTENT OF THE LAKE. We had in one day gained a position I once feared it would have cost us infinite labour to have measured. Indeed, had we been obliged to pull across the lake, unless during a calm, I am convinced the men would have been wholly exhausted. We had to thank a kind Providence that such was not the case, since it had extended its mercy to us at so critical a moment. We had indeed need of all the little strength we had remaining, and could ill have thrown it away on such an effort as this would have required. I calculated that we could not have run less than forty-five miles during the day, a distance that, together with the eight miles we had advanced the evening previously, would give the length of the lake at fifty-three miles. We had approached to within twelve miles of the ranges, but had not gained their southern extremity. From the camp, Mount Barker bore nearly north. The ranges appeared to run north and south to our position, and then to bend away to the S.S.W., gradually declining to that point, which I doubted not terminated in Cape Jervis. The natives kept aloof during the night, nor did the dogs by a single growl intimate that any had ventured to approach us. The sound of the surf came gratefully to our ears, for it told us we were near the goal for which we had so anxiously pushed, and we all of us promised ourselves a view of the boundless ocean on the morrow. CHANNEL TO THE SEA--ITS SHALLOWNESS. As the morning dawned, we saw that the natives had thrown an out-post of sixteen men across the channel, who were watching our motions; but none showed themselves on the hills behind us, or on any part of the south shore. We embarked as soon as we had breakfasted, A fresh breeze was blowing from the N.E. which took us rapidly down the channel, and our prospects appeared to be as cheering as the day, for just as we were about to push from the shore, a seal rose close to the boat, which we all regarded as a favourable omen. We were, however, shortly stopped by shoals; it was in vain that we beat across the channel from one side to the other; it was a continued shoal, and the deepest water appeared to be under the left bank. The tide, however, had fallen, and exposed broad flats, over which it was hopeless, under existing circumstances, to haul the boat. We again landed on the south side of the channel, patiently to await the high water. M'Leay, myself, and Fraser, ascended the hills, and went to the opposite side to ascertain the course of the channel, for immediately above us it turned south round the hills. We there found that we were on a narrow tongue of land. The channel was immediately below us, and continued to the E.S.E. as far as we could trace it. The hills we were upon, were the sandy hills that always bound a coast that is low, and were covered with banksias, casuarina and the grass-tree. To the south of the channel there was a flat, backed by a range of sand-hummocks, that were covered with low shrubs; and beyond them the sea was distinctly visible. We could not have been more than two and a half miles from the beach where we stood. Notwithstanding the sandy nature of the soil, the fossil formation again showed itself, not only on these hills, but also on the rocks that were in the channel. A little before high water we again embarked. A seal had been observed playing about, and we augured well from such an omen. The blacks had been watching us from the opposite shore, and as soon as we moved, rose to keep abreast of us. With all our efforts we could not avoid the shoals. We walked up to our knees in mud and water, to find the least variation in the depth of the water so as to facilitate our exertions, but it was to no purpose. We were ultimately obliged to drag the boat over the flats; there were some of them a quarter of a mile in breadth, knee-deep in mud; but at length got her into deep water again. The turn of the channel was now before us, and we had a good run for about four or five miles. We had completed the bend, and the channel now stretched to the E.S.E. At about nine miles from us there was a bright sand-hill visible, near which the channel seemed to turn again to the south; and I doubted not that it terminated there. It was to no purpose, however, that we tried to gain it. Shoals again closed in upon us on every side. We dragged the boat over several, and at last got amongst quicksands. I, therefore, directed our efforts to hauling the boat over to the south side of the channel, as that on which we could most satisfactorily ascertain our position. After great labour we succeeded, and, as evening had closed in, lost no time in pitching the tents. BEACH OF ENCOUNTER BAY. While the men were thus employed, I took Fraser with me, and, accompanied by M'Leay, crossed the sand-hummocks behind us, and descended to the sea-shore. I found that we had struck the south coast deep in the bight of Encounter Bay. We had no time for examination, but returned immediately to the camp, as I intended to give the men an opportunity to go to the beach. They accordingly went and bathed, and returned not only highly delighted at this little act of good nature on my part, but loaded with cockles, a bed of which they had managed to find among the sand. Clayton had tied one end of his shirt up, and brought a bag full, and amused himself with boiling cockles all night long. If I had previously any hopes of being enabled ultimately to push the boat over the flats that were before us, a view of the channel at low water, convinced me of the impracticability of any further attempt. The water was so low that every shoal was exposed, and many stretched directly from one side of the channel to the other; and, but for the treacherous nature of the sand-banks, it would not have been difficult to have walked over dry footed to the opposite side of it. The channel stretched away to the E.S.E., to a distance of seven or eight miles, when it appeared to turn south under a small sand-hill, upon which the rays of the sun fell, as it was sinking behind us. CURIOUS EFFECT OF REFRACTION. There was an innumerable flock of wild-fowl arranged in rows along the sides of the pools left by the tide, and we were again amused by the singular effect of the refraction upon them, and the grotesque and distorted forms they exhibited. Swans, pelicans, ducks, and geese, were mingled together, and, according to their distance from us, presented different appearances. Some were exceedingly tall and thin, others were unnaturally broad. Some appeared reversed, or as if they were standing on their heads, and the slightest motion, particularly the flapping of their wings, produced a most ridiculous effect. No doubt, the situation and the state of the atmosphere were favourable to the effect I have described. The day had been fine, the evening was beautiful,--but it was the rarefaction of the air immediately playing on the ground, and not the haze at sunset that caused what I have noticed. It is distinct from mirage, although it is difficult to point out the difference. The one, however, distorts, the other conceals objects, and gives them a false distance. The one is clear, the other is cloudy. The one raises objects above their true position, the other does not. The one plays about, the other is steady; but I cannot hope to give a proper idea either of mirage or refraction so satisfactorily as I could wish. Many travellers have dwelt upon their effects, particularly upon those of the former, but few have attempted to account for them. Our situation was one of peculiar excitement and interest. To our right the thunder of the heavy surf, that almost shook the ground beneath us, broke with increasing roar upon our ears; to our left the voice of the natives echoed through the brush, and the size of their fires at the extremity of the channel, seemed to indicate the alarm our appearance had occasioned. CRITICAL SITUATION OF THE PARTY. While the men were enjoying their cockles, a large kettle of which they had boiled, M'Leay and I were anxiously employed in examining the state of our provisions, and in ascertaining what still remained. Flour and tea were the only articles we had left, so that the task was not a difficult one. It appeared that we had not sufficient of either to last us to Pondebadgery, at which place we expected to find supplies; and, taking every thing into consideration, our circumstances were really critical. The first view of Encounter Bay had convinced me that no vessel would ever venture into it at a season when the S.W. winds prevailed. It was impossible that we could remain upon the coast in expectation of the relief that I doubted not had been hurried off for us; since disappointment would have sealed our fate at once. In the deep bight in which we were, I could not hope that any vessel would approach sufficiently near to be seen by us. Our only chance of attracting notice would have been by crossing the Ranges to the Gulf St. Vincent, but the men had not strength to walk, and I hesitated to divide my party in the presence of a determined and numerous enemy, who closely watched our motions. Setting aside the generous feelings that had prompted M'Leay to participate in every danger with me, and who I am persuaded would have deeply felt a separation, my anxiety not only on his account, but on account of the men I might leave in charge of the boat, made me averse to this measure; the chance of any misfortune to them involving in it the destruction of our boat and the loss of our provisions. My anxiety of mind would have rendered me unfit for exertion; yet so desirous was I of examining the ranges and the country at their base, that I should, had our passage to the salt water been uninterrupted, have determined on coasting it homewards, or of steering for Launceston; and most assuredly, with my present experience, I would rather incur the hazards of so desperate a step, than contend against all the evils that beset us on out homeward journey. And the reader may rest assured, I was as much without hopes of our eventual safety, as I was astonished, at the close of our labours, to find that they had terminated so happily. INSPECTION OF THE CHANNEL FROM THE LAKE TO THE OCEAN. Further exertion on the part of the men being out of the question, I determined to remain no longer on the coast than to enable me to trace the channel to its actual junction with the sea, and to ascertain the features of the coast at that important point. I was reluctant to exhaust the strength of the men in dragging the boat over the numberless flats that were before us, and made up my mind to walk along the shore until I should gain the outlet. I at length arranged that M'Leay, I, and Fraser, should start on this excursion, at the earliest dawn, leaving Harris and Hopkinson in charge of the camp; for as we were to go towards the position of the natives, I thought it improbable they would attack the camp without my being instantly aware of it. We had, as I have said, intended starting at the earliest dawn, but the night was so clear and refreshing, and the moon so bright that we determined to avail ourselves of both, and accordingly left the tents at 3 a.m. I directed Harris to strike them at 8, and to have every thing in readiness for our departure at that hour. We then commenced our excursion, and I led my companions rapidly along the shore of Encounter Bay, after crossing the sand-hills about a mile below the camp. After a hasty and distressing walk of about seven miles, we found that the sand-hills terminated, and a low beach spread before us. The day was just breaking, and at the distance of a mile from us we saw the sand-hill I have already had occasion to notice, and at about a quarter of a mile from its base, we were checked by the channel; which, as I rightly conjectured, being stopped in its easterly course by some rising ground, the tongue of land on which the blacks were posted, suddenly turns south, and, striking this sand-hill, immediately enters the sea; and we noticed, in the bight under the rising ground, that the natives had lit a chain of small fires. This was, most probably, a detached party watching our movements, as they could, from where they were posted, see our camp. At the time we arrived at the end of the channel, the tide had turned, and was again setting in. The entrance appeared to me to be somewhat less than a quarter of a mile in breadth. Under the sand-hill on the off side, the water is deep and the current strong. No doubt, at high tide, a part of the low beach we had traversed is covered. The mouth of the channel is defended by a double line of breakers, amidst which, it would be dangerous to venture, except in calm and summer weather; and the line of foam is unbroken from one end of Encounter Bay to the other. Thus were our fears of the impracticability and inutility of the channel of communication between the lake and the ocean confirmed. DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS OF THE RETURN. I would fain have lingered on my way, to examine, as far as circumstances would permit, the beautiful country between the lake and the ranges; and it was with heart-felt sorrow that I yielded to necessity. My men were indeed very weak from poverty of diet and from great bodily fatigue. Hopkinson, Mulholland, and Macnamee were miserably reduced. The two former, especially, had exerted themselves beyond their strength, and although I am confident they would have obeyed my orders to the last, I did not feel myself justified, considering the gigantic task we had before us, to impose additional labour upon them. It will be borne in mind that our difficulties were just about to commence, when those of most other travellers have ceased; and that instead of being assisted by the stream whose course we had followed, we had now to contend against the united waters of the eastern ranges, with diminished strength, and, in some measure, with disappointed feelings. Under the most favourable circumstances, it was improbable that the men would be enabled to pull for many days longer in succession; since they had not rested upon their oars for a single day, if I except our passage across the lake, from the moment when we started from the depot; nor was it possible for me to buoy them up with the hope even of a momentary cessation from labour. We had calculated the time to which our supply of provisions would last under the most favourable circumstances, and it was only in the event of our pulling up against the current, day after day, the same distance we had compassed with the current in our favour, that we could hope they would last us as long as we continued in the Murray. But in the event of floods, or any unforeseen delay, in was impossible to calculate at what moment we might be driven to extremity. Independent of these casualties, there were other circumstances of peril to be taken into consideration. As I have already observed, I foresaw great danger in again running through the natives. I had every reason to believe that many of the tribes with which we had communicated on apparently friendly terms, regretted having allowed us to pass unmolested; nor was I at all satisfied as to the treatment we might receive from them, when unattended by the envoys who had once or twice controlled their fury. Our best security, therefore, against the attacks of the natives was celerity of movement; and the men themselves seemed to be perfectly aware of the consequences of delay. Our provisions, moreover, being calculated to last to a certain point only, the slightest accident, the staving-in of the boat, or the rise of the river, would inevitably be attended with calamity. To think of reducing our rations of only three quarters of a pound of flour per diem, was out of the question, or to hope that the men, with less sustenance than that, would perform the work necessary to ensure their safety, would have been unreasonable. It was better that our provisions should hold out to a place from which we might abandon the boat with some prospect of reaching by an effort a stock station, or the plain on which Robert Harris was to await our return, than that they should be consumed before the half of our homeward journey should be accomplished. Delay, therefore, under our circumstances, would have been imprudent and unjustifiable. PATIENCE OF THE MEN--RE-ENTER THE MURRAY. On the other hand, it was sufficiently evident to me, that the men were too much exhausted to perform the task that was before them without assistance, and that it would be necessary both for M'Leay and myself, to take our share of labour at the oars. The cheerfulness and satisfaction that my young friend evinced at the opportunity that was thus afforded him of making himself useful, and of relieving those under him from some portion of their toil, at the same time that they increased my sincere esteem for him, were nothing more than what I expected from one who had endeavoured by every means in his power to contribute to the success of that enterprise upon which he had embarked. But although I have said thus much of the exhausted condition of the men,--and ere these pages are concluded my readers will feel satisfied as to the truth of my statement--I would by no means be understood to say that they flagged for a moment, or that a single murmur escaped them. No reluctance was visible, no complaint was heard, but there was that in their aspect and appearance which they could not hide, and which I could not mistake. My object in dwelling so long upon this subject has been to point out our situation and our feelings when we re-entered the Murray. The only circumstance that appeared to be in our favour was the prevalence of the south-west wind, by which I hoped we should be assisted in running up the first broad reaches of that river. I could not but acknowledge the bounty of that Providence, which had favoured us in our passage across the lake, and I was led to hope that its merciful superintendance would protect us from evil, and would silently direct us where human foresight and prudence failed. We re-entered the river on the 13th under as fair prospects as we would have desired. The gale which had blown with such violence in the morning gradually abated, and a steady breeze enabled us to pass our first encampment by availing ourselves of it as long as day light continued. Both the valley and the river showed to advantage as we approached them, and the scenery upon our left (the proper right bank of the Murray) was really beautiful. CHAPTER VII. Valley of the Murray--Its character and capabilities--Laborious progress up the river--Accident to the boat--Perilous collision with the natives --Turbid current of the Rufus--Passage of the Rapids--Assisted by the natives--Dangerous intercourse with them--Re-enter the Morumbidgee-- Verdant condition of its banks--Nocturnal encounter with the natives-- Interesting manifestation of feeling in one family--Reach the spot where the party had embarked on the river--Men begin to fail entirely-- Determine to send two men forward for relief--Their return--Excursion on horseback--Reach Pondebadgery Plain, and meet the supplies from the colony--Cannibalism of the natives--Return to Sydney--Concluding remarks. VALLEY OF THE MURRAY. The valley of the Murray, at its entrance, cannot be less than four miles in breadth. The river does not occupy the centre but inclines to either side, according to its windings, and thus the flats are of greater or less extent, according to the distance of the river from the base of the hills. It is to be remarked, that the bottom of the valley is extremely level, and extensively covered with reeds. From the latter circumstance, one would be led to infer that these flats are subject to overflow, and no doubt can exist as to the fact of their being, at least partially, if not wholly, under water at times. A country in a state of nature is, however, so different from one in a state of cultivation, that it is hazardous to give an opinion as to its practical availableness, if I may use such a term. I should, undoubtedly, say the marshes of the Macquarie were frequently covered with water, and that they were wholly unfit for any one purpose whatever. It is evident from the marks of the reeds upon the banks, that the flood covers them occasionally to the depth of three feet, and the reeds are so densely embodied and so close to the river side that the natives cannot walk along it. The reeds are the broad flag-reed (arundo phragmatis), and grow on a stiff earthy loam, without any accompanying vegetation; indeed, they form so solid a mass that the sun cannot penetrate to the ground to nourish vegetation. On the other hand, the valley of the Murray, though covered with reeds in most places, is not so in all. There is no mark upon the reeds by which to judge as to the height of inundation, neither are they of the same kind as those which cover the marshes of the Macquarie. They are the species of round reed of which the South-sea islanders make their arrows, and stand sufficiently open, not only to allow of a passage through, but for the abundant growth of grass among them. Still, I have no doubt that parts of the valley are subject to flood; but, as I have already remarked, I do not know whether these parts are either deeply or frequently covered. Rain must fall simultaneously in the S.E. angle of the island in the inter-tropical regions, and at the heads of all the tributaries of the main stream, ere its effects can be felt in the lower parts of the Murray. If the valley of the Murray is not subject to flood, it has only recently gained a height above the influence of the river, and still retains all the character of flooded land. In either case, however, it contains land that is of the very richest kind--soil that is the pure accumulation of vegetable matter, and is as black as ebony. If its hundreds of thousands of acres were practically available, I should not hesitate to pronounce it one of the richest spots of equal extent on earth, and highly favoured in other respects. How far it is available remains to be proved; and an opinion upon either side would be hazardous, although that of its liability to flood would, most probably, be nearest to truth. It is, however, certain that any part of the valley would require much labour before it could be brought under cultivation, and that even its most available spots would require almost as much trouble to clear them as the forest tract, for nothing is more difficult to destroy than reeds. Breaking the sod would, naturally, raise the level of the ground, and lateral drains would, most probably, carry off all floods, but then the latter, at least, is the operation of an advanced stage of husbandry only. I would, however, observe that there are many parts of the valley decidedly above the reach of flood. I have, in the above observations, been particularly alluding to the lowest and broadest portions of it. I trust I shall be understood as not wishing to over-rate this discovery on the one hand, or on the other, to include its whole extent in one sweeping clause of condemnation. On the 14th, the wind still continued to blow fresh from the N.W. It moderated at noon, and assisted us beyond measure. We passed our first encampment, but did not see any natives. CORDIALITY OF THE NATIVES. On the 15th, the wind was variable at daylight, and a dense fog was on the river. As the sun rose, it was dissipated and a light breeze sprung up from W.S.W. We ran up the stream with a free sheet for six hours, when we stopped for a short time to get the kettle boiled. Four natives joined us, but with the exception of the lowest tribe upon the right bank, we had not seen any number. We were extremely liberal to this tribe, in consequence of the satisfaction they evinced at our return. We had alarmed them much on our passage down the river by firing at a snake that was swimming across it. We, at first, attempted to kill it with the boat-hook, but the animal dived at our approach, and appeared again at a considerable distance. Another such dive would have ensured his escape, but a shot effectually checked him, and as the natives evinced considerable alarm, we held him up, to show them the object of our proceedings. On our return, they seemed to have forgotten their fright, and received us with every demonstration of joy. The different receptions we met with from different tribes are difficult to be accounted for. The country appeared to rise before us, and looked more hilly to the N.W. than I had supposed it to be. Several fine valleys branched off from the main one to the westward, and, however barren the heights that confined them were, I am inclined to think, that the distant interior is fertile. The marks of kangaroos were numerous, and the absence of the natives would indicate that they have other and better means of subsisting in the back country than what the river affords. In the evening, we again ran on for two hours and a half, and reached the first of the cliffs. On the 16th, we were again fortunate in the wind, and pressed up the river as long as day-light continued. At the termination of our journey, we found ourselves a day's journey in advance. This inspirited the men, and they began to forget the labours they had gone through, as well as those that were before them. On the 17th, we again commenced pulling, the wind being at north, and contrary. It did not, however, remain in that quarter long, but backed at noon to the S.W., so that we were enabled to make a good day's journey, and rather gained than lost ground. REMARKABLE CLIFF--GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. Having left the undulating hills, at the mouth of the valley behind us, we passed cliff after cliff of fossil formation: they had a uniform appearance as to the substance of which they were composed, and varied but little in colour. Having already examined them, we thought it unnecessary to give them any further special attention, since it was improbable we should find anything new. In turning an angle of the river, however, a broad reach stretched away before us. An alluvial flat extended to our left, and a high line of cliffs, that differed in no visible respect from those we had already passed, rose over the opposite side of the river. The cliffs faced the W.N.W., and as the sun declined, his beams struck full upon them. As we shot past, we were quite dazzled with the burst of light that flashed upon us, and which gave to the whole face of the cliff the appearance of a splendid mirror. The effect was of course momentary; for as soon as we had passed the angle of refraction, there was nothing unusual in its appearance. On a nearer approach, however, it appeared again as if studded with stars. We had already determined on examining it more closely, and this second peculiarity still further excited our curiosity. On landing, we found the whole cliff to be a mass of selenite, in which the various shells already noticed were plentifully embedded, as in ice. The features of the cliff differed from any we had previously remarked. Large masses, or blocks of square or oblong shape, had fallen to its base, and its surface was hard, whereas the face of the majority of the other cliffs was soft from the effect of the atmosphere; and the rock was entirely free from every other substance, excepting the shells of which it was composed. We of course collected some good specimens, although they added very considerably to the weight of our cargo. The morning of the 18th was calm and cloudless. The wind, of which there was but little, came from the north, and was as usual warm. We availed ourselves of a favourable spot to haul our boat on shore under one of the cliffs upon the proper left of the river, and cleaned her well both inside and out. LABORIOUS ASCENT OF THE BOAT. The breezes that had so much assisted as from the lake upwards, had now lost their influence, or failed to reach to the distance we had gained. Calms succeeded them, and obliged us to labour continually at the oars. We lost ground fast, and it was astonishing to remark how soon the men's spirits drooped again under their first efforts. They fancied the boat pulled heavily, and that her bottom was foul; but such was not the case. The current was not so strong as when we passed down, since the river had evidently fallen more than a foot, and was so shallow in several places, that we were obliged to haul the boat over them. On these occasions we were necessarily obliged to get out of her into the water, and had afterwards to sit still and to allow the sun to dry our clothes upon us. The unemployed consequently envied those at the oars, as they sat shivering in their dripping clothes. I was aware that it was more from imagination than reality, that the men fancied the boat was unusually heavy, but I hesitated not in humouring them, and rather entered into their ideas than otherwise, and endeavoured to persuade them that she pulled the lighter for the cleaning we gave her. A tribe of natives joined us, and we had the additional trouble of guarding our stores. They were, however, very quiet, and as we had broken up our casks, on leaving the coast, we were enabled to be liberal in our presents of iron hoop, which they eagerly received. We calculated that we should reach the principal junction in about fifteen days from this place. NATIVE BURIAL-PLACE. The natives left us to pursue our solitary journey as soon as the boat was reloaded. Not one of them had the curiosity to follow us, nor did they appear to think it necessary that we should be attended by envoys. We stopped for the night upon the left bank; and close to a burial-ground that differed from any I had ever seen. It must have been used many years, from the number of bones that were found in the bank, but there were no other indications of such a place either by mounds or by marks on the trees. The fact, therefore, is a singular one. I have thought that some battle might have been fought near the place, but I can hardly think one of their battles could have been so destructive. IMPEDED BY SHOALS. We had now only to make the best of our journey, rising at dawn, and pulling to seven and often to nine o'clock. I allowed the men an hour from half-past eleven to half-past twelve, to take their bread and water. This was our only fare, if I except an occasional wild duck; but these birds were extremely difficult to kill, and it cost us so much time, that we seldom endeavoured to procure any. Our dogs had been of no great use, and were now too weak to have run after anything if they had seen either kangaroos or emus; and for the fish, the men loathed them, and were either too indifferent or too much fatigued to set the night-lines. Shoals frequently impeded us as we proceeded up the river, and we passed some rapids that called for our whole strength to stem. A light wind assisted us on two or three of these occasions, and I never failed hoisting the sail at every fitting opportunity. In some parts the river was extremely shallow, and the sand-banks of amazing size; and the annoyance of dragging the boat over these occasional bars, was very great. We passed several tribes of blacks on the 19th and 20th; but did not stop to communicate with them. I believe I have already mentioned that shortly after we first entered the Murray, flocks of a new paroquet passed over our heads, apparently emigrating to the N.W. They always kept too high to be fired at, but on our return, hereabouts, we succeeded in killing one. It made a good addition to our scanty stock of subjects of natural history. It is impossible to conceive how few of the feathered tribe frequent these distant and lonely regions. The common white cockatoo is the most numerous, and there are also a few pigeons; but other birds descend only for water, and are soon again upon the wing. Our botanical specimens were as scanty as our zoological, indeed the expedition may, as regards these two particulars, almost be said to have been unproductive. COMPILATION OF THE CHART. When we came down the river, I thought it advisable to lay its course down as precisely as circumstances would permit: for for this purpose I had a large compass always before me, and a sheet of foolscap paper. As soon as we passed an angle of the river, I took the bearings of the reach before us, and as we proceeded down it, marked off the description of country, and any remarkable feature. The consequence was, that I laid down every bend of the Murray River, from the Morumbidgee downwards. Its creeks, its tributaries, its flats, its valleys, and its cliffs, and, as far as I possibly could do, the nature of the distant interior. This chart was, of course, erroneous in many particulars, since I had to judge the length of the reaches of the river, and the extent of its angles, but I corrected it on the scale of the miles of latitude we made during the day, which brought out an approximate truth at all events. The hurried nature of our journey would not allow me to do more; and it will be remembered that my observations were all siderial, by reason that the sextant would not embrace the sun in his almost vertical position at noon. Admitting, however, the imperfection of this chart, it was of inconceivable value and comfort to us on our return, for, by a reference to it, we discovered our place upon the river, and our distance from our several encampments. And we should often have stopped short of them had not the chart shown us that a few reaches more would bring us to the desired spots. It cheered the men to know where they were, and gave them conversation. To myself it was very satisfactory, as it enabled me to prepare for our meetings with the larger tribes, and to steer clear of obstacles in the more difficult navigation of some parts of the stream. On the 21st, by dint of great labour we reached our camp of the 2nd February, from which it will be remembered the Murray took up a southerly course, and from which we likewise obtained a first view of the coast ranges. The journey to the sea and back again, had consequently occupied us twenty days. From this point we turned our boat's head homewards; we made it, therefore, a fixed position among the stages into which we divided our journey. Our attention was now directed to the junction of the principal tributary, which we hoped to reach in twelve days, and anticipated a close to our labours on the Murray in eight days more from that stage to the Morumbidgee. CURRENT OF THE MURRAY. The current in the Murray from the lake, to within a short distance of this singular turn in it, is weak, since its bed is almost on a level with the lake. The channel, which, at the termination, is somewhat more than the third of a mile across, gradually diminishes in breadth, as the interior is gained, but is nowhere under 300 yards; while its depth averages from eighteen to thirty feet, within a foot of the very bank. The river might, therefore, be navigated by boats of considerable burden, if the lake admitted of the same facility; but I am decidedly of opinion, that the latter is generally shallow, and that it will, in the course of years, be filled up by depositions. It is not, however, an estuary in any sense of the word, since no part of it is exposed at low water, excepting the flats in the channel, and the flat between the lake and the sea. ACCIDENT TO THE BOAT. On the 23rd, we stove the boat in for the first time. I had all along anticipated such an accident, from the difficulty of avoiding obstacles, in consequence of the turbid state of the river. Fortunately the boat struck a rotten log. The piece remained in her side, and prevented her filling, which she must, otherwise, inevitably have done, ere we could have reached the shore. As it was, however, we escaped with a little damage to the lower bags of flour only. She was hauled up on a sand bank, and Clayton repaired her in less than two hours, when we reloaded her and pursued our journey. It was impossible to have been more cautious than we were, for I was satisfied as to the fate that would have overtaken the whole of us in the event of our losing the boat, and was proportionably vigilant. MOLESTED BY THE NATIVES. At half-past five we came to an island, which looked so inviting, and so quiet, that I determined to land and sleep upon it. We consequently, ran the boat into a little recess, or bay, and pitched the tents; and I anticipated a respite from the presence of any natives, as did the men, who were rejoiced at my having taken up so snug a berth. It happened, however, that a little after sunset, a flight of the new paroquets perched in the lofty trees that grew on the island, to roost; when we immediately commenced the work of death, and succeeded in killing eight or ten. The reports of our guns were heard by some natives up the river, and several came over to us. Although I was annoyed at their having discovered our retreat, they were too few to be troublesome. During the night, however, they were joined by fresh numbers, amounting in all to about eighty, and they were so clamorous, that it was impossible to sleep. NATIVES BECOME TROUBLESOME. As the morning broke, Hopkinson came to inform me that it was in vain that the guard endeavoured to prevent them from handling every thing, and from closing in round our camp. I went out, and from what I saw I thought it advisable to double the sentries. M'Leay, who was really tired, being unable to close his eyes amid such a din, got up in ill-humour, and went to see into the cause, and to check it if he could. This, however, was impossible. One man was particularly forward and insolent, at whom M'Leay, rather imprudently, threw a piece of dirt. The savage returned the compliment with as much good will as it had been given, and appeared quite prepared to act on the offensive. At this critical moment my servant came to the tent in which I was washing myself, and stated his fears that we should soon come to blows, as the natives showed every disposition to resist us. On learning what had passed between M'Leay and the savage, I pretended to be equally angry with both, and with some difficulty forced the greater part of the blacks away from the tents. I then directed the men to gather together all the minor articles in the first instance, and then to strike the tents; and, in order to check the natives, I drew a line round the camp, over which I intimated to them they should not pass. Observing, I suppose, that we were on our guard, and that I, whom they well knew to be the chief, was really angry, they crept away one by one, until the island was almost deserted by them. Why they did not attack us, I know not, for they had certainly every disposition to do so, and had their shorter weapons with them, which, in so confined a space as that on which we were, would have been more fatal than their spears. They left us, however; and a flight of red-crested cockatoos happening to settle on a plain near the river, I crossed in the boat in order to shoot one. The plain was upon the proper left bank of the Murray. The natives had passed over to the right. As the one channel was too shallow for the boat, when we again pursued our journey we were obliged to pull round to the left side of the island. A little above it the river makes a bend to the left, and the angle at this bend was occupied by a large shoal, one point of which rested on the upper part of the island, and the other touched the proper right bank of the river. Thus a narrow channel, (not broader indeed than was necessary for the play of our oars,) alone remained for us to pass up against a strong current. On turning round the lower part of the island, we observed that the natives occupied the whole extent of the shoal, and speckled it over like skirmishers. Many of them had their spears, and their attention was evidently directed to us.--As we neared the shoal, the most forward of them pressed close to the edge of the deep water, so much so that our oars struck their legs. Still this did not induce them to retire. I kept my eye on an elderly man who stood one of the most forward, and who motioned to us several times to stop, and at length threw the weapon he carried at the boat. I immediately jumped up and pointed my gun at him to his great apparent alarm. Whether the natives hoped to intimidate us by a show of numbers, or what immediate object they had in view, it is difficult to say; though it was most probably to seize a fitting opportunity to attack us. Seeing, I suppose, that we were not to be checked, they crossed from the shoal to the proper right bank of the river, and disappeared among the reeds that lined it. TREACHERY OF THE NATIVES. Shortly after this, eight of the women, whom we had not before noticed, came down to the water side, and gave us the most pressing invitation to land. Indeed they played their part uncommonly well, and tried for some time to allure us by the most unequivocal manifestations of love. Hopkinson however who always had his eyes about him, observed the spears of the men among the reeds. They kept abreast of us as we pulled up the stream, and, no doubt, were anticipating our inability to resist the temptations they had thrown in our way. I was really provoked at their barefaced treachery, and should most undoubtedly have attacked them, had they not precipitately retreated on being warned by the women that I was arming my men, which I had only now done upon seeing such strong manifestations of danger. M'Leay set the example of coolness on this occasion; and I had some doubts whether I was justified in allowing the natives to escape with impunity, considering that if they had wounded any one of us the most melancholy and fatal results would have ensued. We did not see anything more of the blacks during the rest of the day, but the repeated indications of hostility we perceived as we approached the Darling, made me apprehensive as to the reception we should meet from its numerous population; and I was sorry to observe that the men anticipated danger in passing that promising junction. Having left the sea breezes behind us, the weather had become oppressive; and as the current was stronger, and rapids more numerous, our labour was proportionably increased. We perspired to an astonishing degree, and gave up our oars after our turn at them, with shirts and clothes as wet as if we had been in the water. Indeed Mulholland and Hopkinson, who worked hard, poured a considerable quantity of perspiration from their shoes after their task. The evil of this was that we were always chilled after rowing, and, of course, suffered more than we should otherwise have done. RE-PASS THE LINDESAY. On the 25th we passed the last of the cliffs composing the great fossil bed through which the Murray flows, and entered that low country already described as being immediately above it. On a more attentive examination of the distant interior, my opinion as to its flooded origin was confirmed, more especially in reference to the country to the S.E. On the 30th we passed the mouth of the Lindesay, and from the summit of the sand hills to the north of the Murray overlooked the flat country, through which I conclude it must run, from the line of fires we observed amid the trees, and most probably upon its banks. We did not fall in with the natives in such numbers as when we passed down to the coast: still they were in sufficient bodies to be troublesome. It would, however, appear that the tribes do not generally frequent the river. They must have a better country back from it, and most probably linger amongst the lagoons and creeks where food is more abundant. The fact is evident from the want of huts upon the banks of the Murray, and the narrowness of the paths along its margin. RE-PASSED THE RUFUS. We experienced the most oppressive heat about this time. Calms generally prevailed, and about 3 p.m. the sun's rays fell upon us with intense effect. The waters of the Murray continued extremely muddy, a circumstance we discovered to be owing to the turbid current of the Rufus, which we passed on the 1st of March. It is, really, singular whence this little stream originates. It will be remembered that I concluded it must have been swollen by rains when we first saw it; yet, after an absence of more than three weeks we found it discharging its waters as muddy as ever into the main stream; and that, too, in such quantities as to discolour its waters to the very lake. The reader will have some idea of the force of the current in both, when I assure him that for nearly fifty yards below the mouth of the Rufus, the waters of the Murray preserve their transparency, and the line between them and the turbid waters of its tributary was as distinctly marked as if drawn by a pencil. Indeed, the higher we advanced, the more did we feel the strength of the current, against which we had to pull. DIFFICULTIES AT THE RAPIDS. A little below the Lindesay, a rapid occurs. It was with the utmost difficulty that we stemmed it with the four oars upon the boat, and the exertion of our whole strength. We remained, at one time, perfectly stationary, the force we employed and that of the current being equal. We at length ran up the stream obliquely; but it was evident the men were not adequate to such exertion for any length of time. We pulled that day for eleven successive hours, in order to avoid a tribe of natives who followed us. Hopkinson and Fraser fell asleep at their oars, and even the heavy Clayton appeared to labour. We again occupied our camp under the first remarkable cliffs of the Murray, a description of which has been given in page 128 of this work. [GEOLOGICAL EXAMINATION.] Their summit, as I have already remarked forms a table land of some elevation. From it the distant interior to the S.S.E. appears very depressed; that to the north undulates more. In neither quarter, however, does any bright foliage meet the eye, to tell that a better soil is under it; but a dark and gloomy vegetation occupies both the near and distant ground, in proof that the sandy sterile tracts, succeeding the river deposits, stretch far away without a change. A little above our camp of the 28th of January, we fell in with a large tribe of natives, whose anxiety to detain us was remarkable. The wind, however, which, from the time we lost the sea breezes, had hung to the S.E., had changed to the S.W., and we were eagerly availing ourselves of it. It will not he supposed we stopped even for a moment. In truth we pressed on with great success, and did not land to sleep until nine o'clock. As long as the wind blew from the S.W., the days were cool, and the sky overcast even so much so as to threaten rain. The least circumstance, in our critical situation, naturally raised my apprehensions, and I feared the river would be swollen in the event of any heavy rains in the hilly country; I hoped, however, we should gain the Morumbidgee before such a calamity should happen to us, and it became my object to press for that river without delay. OBSTACLES TO THE NAVIGATION--DANGEROUS RAPIDS. Although we had met with frequent rapids in our progress upwards, they had not been of a serious kind, nor such as would affect the navigation of the river. The first direct obstacle of this kind occurs a little above a small tributary that falls into the Murray from the north, between the Rufus and the cliffs we have alluded to. At this place a reef of coarse grit contracts the channel of the river. No force we could have exerted with the oars would have taken us up this rapid; but we accomplished the task easily by means of a rope which we hauled upon, on the same principle that barges are dragged by horses along the canals. As we neared the junction of the two main streams, the country, on both sides of the river, became low, and its general appearance confirmed the opinion I have already given as to its flooded origin. The clouds that obscured the sky, and had threatened to burst for some time, at length gave way, and we experienced two or three days of heavy rain. In the midst of it we passed the second stage of our journey, and found the spot lately so crowded with inhabitants totally deserted. A little above it we surprised a small tribe in a temporary shelter; but neither our offers nor presents could prevail on any of them to expose themselves to the torrent that was falling. They sat shivering in their bark huts in evident astonishment at our indifference. We threw them some trifling presents and were glad to proceed unattended by any of them. PERILOUS ASCENT OF THE RAPIDS. It will be remembered that in passing down the river, the boat was placed in some danger in descending a rapid before we reached the junction of the Murray with the stream supposed by me to be the Darling. We were now gradually approaching the rapid, nor did I well know how we should surmount such an obstacle. Strength to pull up it we had not, and I feared our ropes would not be long enough to reach to the shore over some of the rocks, since it descended in minor declivities to a considerable distance below the principal rapid, in the centre of which the boat had struck. We reached the commencement of these rapids on the 6th, and ascended the first by means of ropes, which were hauled upon by three of the men from the bank; and, as the day was pretty far advanced, we stopped a little above it, that we might attempt the principal rapid before we should be exhausted by previous exertion. It was fortunate that we took such a precaution. The morning of the 7th proved extremely dark, and much rain fell. We commenced our journey in the midst of it, and soon gained the tail of the rapid. Our attempt to pull up it completely failed. The boat, as soon as she entered the ripple, spun round like a toy, and away we went with the stream. As I had anticipated, our ropes were too short; and it only remained for us to get into the water, and haul the boat up by main force. We managed pretty well at first, and drew her alongside a rock to rest a little. We then recommenced our efforts, and had got into the middle of the channel. We were up to our armpits in the water, and only kept our position by means of rocks beside us. The rain was falling, as if we were in a tropical shower, and the force of the current was such, that if we had relaxed for an instant, we should have lost all the ground we had gained. Just at this moment, however, without our being aware of their approach, a large tribe of natives, with their spears, lined the bank, and took us most completely by surprise. At no time during this anxious journey were we ever so completely in their power, or in so defenceless a situation. It rained so hard, that our firelocks would have been of no use, and had they attacked us, we must necessarily have been slaughtered without committing the least execution upon them. Nothing, therefore, remained for us but to continue our exertions. It required only one strong effort to get the boat into still water for a time, but that effort was beyond our strength, and we stood in the stream, powerless and exhausted. ASSISTED BY THE NATIVES. The natives, in the meanwhile, resting on their spears, watched us with earnest attention. One of them, who was sitting close to the water, at length called to us, and we immediately recognised the deep voice of him to whose singular interference we were indebted for our escape on the 23rd of January. I desired Hopkinson to swim over to him, and to explain that we wanted assistance. This was given without hesitation; and we at length got under the lea of the rock, which I have already described as being in the centre of the river. The natives launched their bark canoes, the only frail means they possess of crossing the rivers with their children. These canoes are of the simplest construction and rudest materials, being formed of an oblong piece of bark, the ends of which are stuffed with clay, so as to render them impervious to the water. With several of these they now paddled round us with the greatest care, making their spears, about ten feet in length,(which they use at once as poles and paddles,) bend nearly double in the water. We had still the most difficult part of the rapid to ascend, where the rush of water was the strongest, and where the decline of the bed almost amounted to a fall. Here the blacks could be of no use to us. No man could stem the current, supposing it to have been shallow at the place, but it was on the contrary extremely deep. Remaining myself in the boat, I directed all the men to land, after we had crossed the stream, upon a large rock that formed the left buttress as it were to this sluice, and, fastening the rope to the mast instead of her head, they pulled upon it. The unexpected rapidity with which the boat shot up the passage astonished me, and filled the natives with wonder, who testified their admiration of so dextrous a manoeuvre, by a loud shout. It will, no doubt, have struck the reader as something very remarkable, that the same influential savage to whom we had already been indebted, should have been present on this occasion, and at a moment when we so much needed his assistance. Having surmounted our difficulties, we took leave of this remarkable man, and pursued our journey up the river. It may be imagined we did not proceed very far; the fact was, we only pushed forward to get rid of the natives, for, however pacific, they were always troublesome, and we were seldom fitted for a trial of temper after the labours of the day were concluded. The men had various occupations in which, when the natives were present, they were constantly interrupted, and whenever the larger tribes slept near us, the utmost vigilance was necessary on the part of the night-guard, which was regularly mounted as soon as the tents were pitched. We had had little else than our flour to subsist on. Hopkinson and Harris endeavoured to supply M'Leay and myself with a wild fowl occasionally, but for themselves, and the other men, nothing could be procured to render their meal more palatable. GOOD CONDUCT OF THE MEN. I have omitted to mention one remarkable trait of the good disposition of all the men while on the coast. Our sugar had held out to that point; but it appeared, when we examined the stores, that six pounds alone remained in the cask. This the men positively refused to touch. They said that, divided, it would benefit nobody; that they hoped M'Leay and I would use it, that it would last us for some time, and that they were better able to submit to privations than we were. The feeling did them infinite credit, and the circumstance is not forgotten by me. The little supply the kindness of our men left to us was, however, soon exhausted, and poor M'Leay preferred pure water to the bitter draught that remained. I have been some times unable to refrain from smiling, as I watched the distorted countenances of my humble companions while drinking their tea and eating their damper. The ducks and swans, seen in such myriads on the lake, seldom appeared on the river, in the first stages of our journey homewards. About the time of which I am writing, however, a few swans occasionally flew over our heads at night, and their silvery note was musically sweet. From the 10th to the 15th, nothing of moment occurred: we pulled regularly from day-light to dark, not less to avoid the natives than to shorten our journey. Yet, notwithstanding that we moved at an hour when the natives seldom stir, we were rarely without a party of them, who followed us in spite of our efforts to tire them out. MOLESTED BY NATIVES. On the 15th, we had about 150 at our camp. Many of them were extremely noisy, and the whole of them very restless. They lay down close to the tents, or around our fire. I entertained some suspicion of them, and when they were apparently asleep, I watched them narrowly. Macnamee was walking up and down with his firelock, and every time he turned his back, one of the natives rose gently up and poised his spear at him, and as soon as he thought Macnamee was about to turn, he dropped as quietly into his place. When I say the native got up, I do not mean that he stood up, but that he raised himself sufficiently for the purpose he had in view. His spear would not, therefore, have gone with much force, but I determined it should not quit his hand, for had I observed any actual attempt to throw it, I should unquestionably have shot him dead upon the spot. The whole of the natives were awake, and it surprised me they did not attempt to plunder us. They rose with the earliest dawn, and crowded round the tents without any hesitation. We, consequently, thought it prudent to start as soon as we had breakfasted. FRASER IN DANGER. We had all of us got into the boat, when Fraser remembered he had left his powder-horn on shore. In getting out to fetch it, he had to push through the natives. On his return, when his back was towards them, several natives lifted their spears together, and I was so apprehensive they would have transfixed him, that I called out before I seized my gun; on which they lowered their weapons and ran away. The disposition to commit personal violence was evident from these repeated acts of treachery; and we should doubtless have suffered from it on some occasion or other, had we not been constantly on the alert. We had been drawing nearer the Morumbidgee every day. This was the last tribe we saw on the Murray; and the following afternoon, to our great joy, we quitted it and turned our boat into the gloomy and narrow channel of its tributary. Our feelings were almost as strong when we re-entered it, as they had been when we were launched from it into that river, on whose waters we had continued for upwards of fifty-five days; during which period, including the sweeps and bends it made, we could not have travelled less than 1500 miles. Our provisions were now running very short; we had, however, "broken the neck of our journey," as the men said, and we looked anxiously to gaining the depot; for we were not without hopes that Robert Harris would have pushed forward to it with his supplies. We were quite puzzled on entering the Morumbidgee, how to navigate its diminutive bends and its encumbered channel. I thought poles would have been more convenient than oars; we therefore stopped at an earlier hour than usual to cut some. Calling to mind the robbery practised on us shortly after we left the depot, my mind became uneasy as to Robert Harris's safety, since I thought it probable, from the sulky disposition of the natives who had visited us there, that he might have been attacked. Thus, when my apprehensions on our own account had partly ceased, my fears became excited with regard to him and his party. RE-ENTER THE MORUMBIDGEE. The country, to a considerable distance from the junction on either side the Morumbidgee, is not subject to inundation. Wherever we landed upon its banks, we found the calistemma in full flower, and in the richest profusion. There was, also, an abundance of grass, where before there had been no signs of vegetation, and those spots which we had condemned as barren were now clothed with a green and luxuriant carpet. So difficult is it to judge of a country on a partial and hurried survey, and so differently does it appear at different periods. I was rejoiced to find that the rains had not swollen the river, for I was apprehensive that heavy falls had taken place in the mountains, and was unprepared for so much good fortune. FEAST ON A SWAN. The poles we cut were of no great use to us, and we soon laid them aside, and took to our oars. Fortune seemed to favour us exceedingly. The men rallied, and we succeeded in killing a good fat swan, that served as a feast for all. I imagine the absence of mud and weeds of every kind in the Murray, prevents this bird from frequenting its waters. On the 18th, we found ourselves entering the reedy country, through which we had passed with such doubt and anxiety. Every object elicited some remark from the men, and I was sorry to find they reckoned with certainty on seeing Harris at the depot, as I knew they would be proportionally depressed in spirits if disappointed. However, I promised Clayton a good repast as soon as we should see him. LOSE ONE OF OUR DOGS. I had walked out with M'Leay a short distance from the river, and had taken the dogs. They followed us to the camp on our return to it, but the moment they saw us enter the tent, they went off to hunt by themselves. About 10 p.m., one of them, Bob, came to the fire, and appeared very uneasy; he remained, for a short time, and then went away. In about an hour, he returned, and after exhibiting the same restlessness, again withdrew. He returned the third time before morning dawned, but returned alone. The men on the watch were very stupid not to have followed him, for, no doubt, he went to his companion, to whom, most likely, some accident had happened. I tried to make him show, but could not succeed, and, after a long search, reluctantly pursued our journey, leaving poor Sailor to his fate. This was the only misfortune that befell us, and we each of us felt the loss of an animal which had participated in all our dangers and privations. I more especially regretted the circumstance for the sake of the gentleman who gave him to me, and, on account of his superior size and activity. ENCOUNTER WITH NATIVES. With the loss of poor Sailor, our misfortunes re-commmenced. I anticipated some trouble hereabouts, for, having succeeded in their hardihood once, I knew the natives would again attempt to rob us, and that we should have some difficulty in keeping them off. As soon as they found out that we were in the river, they came to us, but left us at sunset. This was on the 21st. At nightfall, I desired the watch to keep a good look out, and M'Leay and I went to lie down. We had chosen an elevated bank for our position, and immediately opposite to us there was a small space covered with reeds, under blue-gum trees. About 11, Hopkinson came to the tent to say, that he was sure the blacks were approaching through the reeds. M'Leay and I got up, and, standing on the bank, listened attentively. All we heard was the bark of a native dog apparently, but this was, in fact, a deception on the part of the blacks. We made no noise, in consequence of which they gradually approached, and two or three crept behind the trunk of a tree that had fallen. As I thought they were near enough, George M'Leay, by my desire, fired a charge of small shot at them. They instantly made a precipitate retreat; but, in order the more effectually to alarm them, Hopkinson fired a ball into the reeds, which we distinctly heard cutting its way through them. All was quiet until about three o'clock, when a poor wretch who, most probably, had thrown himself on the ground when the shots were fired, at length mustered courage to get up and effect his escape. In the morning, the tribe kept aloof, but endeavoured, by the most earnest entreaties, and most pitiable howling, to gain our favour; but I threatened to shoot any that approached, and they consequently kept at a respectful distance, dogging us from tree to tree. It appeared, therefore, that they were determined to keep us in view, no doubt, with the intention of trying what they could do by a second attempt. As they went along, their numbers increased, and towards evening, they amounted to a strong tribe. Still they did not venture near us, and only now and then showed themselves. Our situation at this moment would have been much more awkward in the event of attack, than when we were in the open channel of the Murray; because we were quite at the mercy of the natives if they had closed upon us, and, being directly under the banks, should have received every spear, while it would have been easy for them to have kept out of sight in assailing us. APPARENT OBSTRUCTION OF THE CHANNEL. It was near sunset, the men were tired, and I was looking out for a convenient place at which to rest, intending to punish these natives if they provoked me, or annoyed the men. We had not seen any of them for some time, when Hopkinson, who was standing in the bow of the boat, informed me that they had thrown boughs across the river to prevent our passage. I was exceedingly indignant at this, and pushed on, intending to force the barrier. On our nearer approach, a solitary black was observed standing close to the river, and abreast of the impediment which I imagined they had raised to our further progress. I threatened to shoot this man, and pointed to the branches that stretched right across the stream. The poor fellow uttered not a word, but, putting his hand behind him, pulled out a tomahawk from his belt, and held it towards me, by way of claiming our acquaintance; and any anger was soon entirely appeased by discovering that the natives had been merely setting a net across the river which these branches supported. We, consequently, hung back, until they had drawn it, and then passed on. MANOEUVRES OF THE NATIVES TO ROB THE BOAT AT NIGHT. The black to whom I had spoken so roughly, cut across a bight of the river, and walking down to the side of the water with a branch in his hand, in mark of confidence, presented me with a fishing net. We were highly pleased at the frank conduct of this black, and a convenient place offering itself, we landed and pitched our tents. Our friend, who was about forty, brought his two wives, and a young man, to us: and at length the other blacks mustered courage to approach; but those who had followed us from the last camp, kept on the other side of the river. On pretence of being different families, they separated into small bodies, and formed a regular cordon round our camp. We foresaw that this was a manoeuvre, but, in hopes that if I forgave the past they would desist from further attempts, M'Leay took great pains in conciliating them, and treated them with great kindness. We gave each family some fire and same presents, and walked together to them by turns, to show that we had equal confidence in all. Our friend had posted himself immediately behind our tents, at twenty yards distance, with his little family, and kept altogether aloof from the other natives. Having made our round of visits, and examined the various modes the women had of netting, M'Leay and I went into our tent. It happened, fortunately, that my servant, Harris, was the first for sentry. I told him to keep a watchful eye on the natives, and to call me if any thing unusual occurred. We had again chosen a lofty bank for our position; behind us there was a small plain, of about a quarter of a mile in breadth, backed by a wood. I was almost asleep, when my servant came to inform me, that the blacks had, with one accord, made a precipitate retreat, and that not one of them was to be seen at the fires. I impressed the necessity of attention upon him, and he again went to his post. shortly after this, he returned: "Master," said he, "the natives are coming." I jumped up, and, taking my gun, followed him, leaving my friend George fast asleep. I would not disturb him, until necessity required, for he had ever shown himself so devoted to duty as to deserve every consideration. Harris led me a little way from the tents, and then stopping, and pointing down the river, said, "There, sir, don't you see them?" "Not I, indeed, Harris," I replied, "where do you mean? are you sure you see them?" "Positive, sir," said he; "stoop and you will see them." I did so, and saw a black mass in an opening. Convinced that I saw them, I desired Harris to follow me, but not to fire unless I should give the word. The rascals would not stand our charge, however, but retreated as we advanced towards them. We then returned to the tents, and, commending my servant for his vigilance, I once more threw myself on my bed. I had scarcely lain down five minutes, when Harris called out, "The blacks are close to me, sir; shall I fire at them?" "How far are they?" I asked. "Within ten yards, sir." "Then fire," said I; and immediately he did so. M'Leay and I jumped up to his assistance. "Well, Harris," said I, "did you kill your man?" (he is a remarkably good shot.) "No, sir," said he, "I thought you would repent it, so I fired between the two." "Where were they, man?" said I. "Close to the boat, sir; and when they heard me, they swam into the river, and dived as soon as I fired between them." This account was verified by one of them puffing as he rose below us, over whose head I fired a shot. Where the other got to I could not tell. This watchfulness, on our part, however, prevented any further attempts during the night. I was much pleased at the coolness of my servant, as well as his consideration; and relieving him from his post, desired Hopkinson to take it. I have no doubt that the approach of the natives, in the first instance, was made with a view to draw us off from the camp, while some others might rob the boat. If so, it was a good manoeuvre, and might have succeeded. NATIVES DESERT THEIR WEAPONS--INGENUOUS CONDUCT OF A NATIVE. In the morning, we found the natives had left all their ponderous spears at their fires, which were broken up and burnt. We were surprised to find that our friend had left every thing in like manner behind him--his spears, his nets, and his tomahawk; but as he had kept so wholly aloof from the other blacks, I thought it highly improbable that he had joined them, and the men were of opinion that he had retreated across the plain into the wood. On looking in that direction we observed some smoke rising among the trees at a little distance from the outskirts of the plain, and under an impression that I should find the native at the fire with his family, I took his spears and tomahawk, and walked across the plain, unattended into the wood. I had not entered it more than fifty yards when I saw a group of four natives, sitting round a small fire. One of them, as I approached, rose up and met me, and in him I recognised the man for whom I was seeking. When near enough, I stuck the spears upright into the ground. The poor man stood thunderstruck; he spoke not, he moved not, neither did he raise his eyes from the ground. I had kept the tomahawk out of his sight, but I now produced and offered it to him. He gave a short exclamation as his eyes caught sight of it, but he remained otherwise silent before me, and refused to grasp the tomahawk, which accordingly fell to the ground. I had evidently excited the man's feelings, but it is difficult to say how he was affected. His manner indicated shame and surprise, and the sequel will prove that both these feelings must have possessed him. While we were thus standing together, his two wives came up, to whom, after pointing to the spears and tomahawk, he said something, without, however, looking at me; and they both instantly burst into tears and wept aloud. I was really embarrassed during so unexpected a scene, and to break it, invited the native to the camp, but I motioned with my hand, as I had not my gun with me, that I would shoot any other of the blacks who followed me. He distinctly understood my meaning, and intimated as distinctly to me that they should not follow us; nor did they. We were never again molested by them. I left him then, and, returning to the camp, told M'Leay my adventure, with which he was highly delighted. My object is this procedure was to convince the natives, generally, that we came not among them to injure or to molest them, as well as to impress them with an idea of our superior intelligence; and I am led to indulge the hope that I succeeded. Certain it is, that an act of justice or of lenity has frequently, if well timed, more weight than the utmost stretch of severity. With savages, more particularly, to exhibit any fear, distrust, or irresolution, will inevitably prove injurious. But although these adventures were happily not attended with bloodshed, they harassed the men much; and our camp for near a week was more like an outpost picquet than any thing else. This, however, terminated all attempts on the part of the natives. From henceforth none of them followed us on our route. BREACH THE DEPOT. At noon, I stopped about a mile short of the depot to take sights. After dinner we pulled on, the men looking earnestly out for their comrades whom they had left there, but none appeared. My little arbour, in which I had written my letters, was destroyed, and the bank on which out tents had stood was wholly deserted. We landed, however, and it was a satisfaction to me to see the homeward track of the drays. The men were sadly disappointed, and poor Clayton, who had anticipated a plentiful meal, was completely chop fallen. M'Leay and I comforted them daily with the hopes of meeting the drays, which I did not think improbable. Thus, it will appear, that we regained the place from which we started in seventy-seven days, during which, we could not have pulled less than 2000 miles. It is not for me, however, to make any comment, either on the dangers to which we were occasionally exposed, or the toil and privations we continually experienced in the course of this expedition. My duty is, simply to give a plain narrative of facts, which I have done with fidelity, and with as much accuracy as circumstances would permit. Had we found Robert Harris at the depot, I should have considered it unnecessary to trespass longer on the patient reader, but as our return to that post did not relieve us from our difficulties, it remains for me to carry on the narrative of our proceedings to the time when we reached the upper branches of the Morumbidgee. DISAPPOINTED OF SUPPLIES. The hopes that had buoyed up the spirits of the men, ceased to operate as soon as they were discovered to have been ill founded. The most gloomy ideas took possession of their minds, and they fancied that we had been neglected, and that Harris had remained in Sydney. It was to no purpose that I explained to them that my instructions did not bind Harris to come beyond Pondebadgery, and that I was confident he was then encamped upon that plain. We had found the intricate navigation of the Morumbidgee infinitely more distressing than the hard pulling up the open reaches of the Murray, for we were obliged to haul the boat up between numberless trunks of trees, an operation that exhausted the men much more than rowing. The river had fallen below its former level, and rocks and logs were now exposed above the water, over many of which the boat's keel must have grazed, as we passed down with the current. I really shuddered frequently, at seeing these complicated dangers, and I was at a loss to conceive how we could have escaped them. The planks of our boat were so thin that if she had struck forcibly against any one branch of the hundreds she must have grazed, she would inevitably have been rent asunder from stem to stern. COMPLETE EXHAUSTION OF THE MEN--ONE LOSES HIS SENSES. The day after we passed the depot, on our return, we began to experience the effects of the rains that had fallen in the mountains. The Morumbidgee rose upon us six feet in one night, and poured along its turbid waters with proportionate violence. For seventeen days we pulled against them with determined perseverance, but human efforts, under privations such as ours, tend to weaken themselves, and thus it was that the men began to exhibit the effects of severe and unremitting toil. Our daily journeys were short, and the head we made against the stream but trifling. The men lost the proper and muscular jerk with which they once made the waters foam and the oars bend. Their whole bodies swung with an awkward and laboured motion. Their arms appeared to be nerveless; their faces became haggard, their persons emaciated, their spirits wholly sunk; nature was so completely overcome, that from mere exhaustion they frequently fell asleep during their painful and almost ceaseless exertions. It grieved me to the heart to see them in such a state at the close of so perilous a service, and I began to reproach Robert Harris that he did not move down the river to meet us; but, in fact, he was not to blame. I became captious, and found fault where there was no occasion, and lost the equilibrium of my temper in contemplating the condition of my companions. No murmur, however, escaped them, nor did a complaint reach me, that was intended to indicate that they had done all they could do. I frequently heard them in their tent, when they thought I had dropped asleep, complaining of severe pains and of great exhaustion. "I must tell the captain, to-morrow," some of them would say, "that I can pull no more." To-morrow came, and they pulled on, as if reluctant to yield to circumstances. Macnamee at length lost his senses. We first observed this from his incoherent conversation, but eventually from manner. He related the most extraordinary tales, and fidgeted about eternally while in the boat. I felt it necessary, therefore, to relieve him from the oars. Amidst these distresses, M'Leay preserved his good humour, and endeavoured to lighten the task, and to cheer the men as much as possible. His presence at this time was a source of great comfort to me. The uniform kindness with which he had treated his companions, gave him an influence over them now, and it was exerted with the happiest effect. DESPATCH TWO MEN TO PONDEBADGERY. On the 8th and 9th of April we had heavy rain, but there was no respite for us. Our provisions were nearly consumed, and would have been wholly exhausted, if we had not been so fortunate as to kill several swans. On the 11th, we gained our camp opposite to Hamilton's Plains, after a day of severe exertion. Our tents were pitched upon the old ground, and the marks of our cattle were around us. In the evening, the men went out with their guns, and M'Leay and I walked to the rear of the camp, to consult undisturbed as to the moat prudent measures to be adopted, under our embarrassing circumstances. The men were completely sunk. We were still between eighty and ninety miles from Pondebadgery, in a direct line, and nearly treble that distance by water. The task was greater than we could perform, and our provisions were insufficient. In this extremity I thought it best to save the men the mortification of yielding, by abandoning the boat; and on further consideration, I determined on sending Hopkinson and Mulholland, whose devotion, intelligence, and indefatigable spirits, I well knew, forward to the plain. The joy this intimation spread was universal, Both Hopkinson and Mulholland readily undertook the journey, and I, accordingly, prepared orders for them to start by the earliest dawn. It was not without a feeling of sorrow that I witnessed the departure of these two men, to encounter a fatiguing march. I had no fears as to their gaining the plain, if their reduced state would permit them. On the other hand, I hoped they would fall in with our old friend the black, or that they would meet the drays; and I could not but admire the spirit and energy they both displayed upon the occasion. Their behaviour throughout had been such as to awaken in my breast a feeling of the highest approbation. Their conduct, indeed, exceeded all praise, nor did they hesitate one moment when I called upon them to undertake this last trying duty, after such continued exertion. I am sure the reader will forgive me for bringing under his notice the generous efforts of these two men; by me it can never be forgotten. ABANDON AND BURN THE BOAT. Six days had passed since their departure; we remaining encamped. M'Leay and myself had made some short excursions, but without any result worthy of notice. A group of sand-hills rose in the midst of the alluvial deposits, about a quarter of a mile from the tents, that were covered with coarse grasses and banksias. We shot several intertropical birds feeding in the latter, and sucking the honey from their flowers. I had, in the mean time, directed Clayton to make some plant cases of the upper planks of the boat, and then to set fire to her, for she was wholly unserviceable, and I felt a reluctance to leave her like a neglected log on the water. The last ounce of flour had been served out to the men, and the whole of it was consumed on the sixth day from that on which we had abandoned the boat. I had calculated on seeing Hopkinson again in eight days, but as the morrow would see us without food, I thought, as the men had had a little rest it would be better to advance towards relief than to await its arrival. MEN RETURN WITH SUPPLIES. On the evening of the 18th, therefore, we buried our specimens and other stores, intending to break up the camp in the morning. A singular bird, which invariably passed it at an hour after sunset, and which, from its heavy flight, appeared to be of unusual size so attracted my notice, that in the evening M'Leay and I crossed the river, in hope to get a shot at it. We had, however, hardly landed on the other side, when a loud shout called us back to witness the return of our comrades. They were both of them in a state that beggars description. Their knees and ankles were dreadfully swollen, and their limbs so painful, that as soon as they arrived in the camp they sunk under their efforts, but they met us with smiling countenances, and expressed their satisfaction at having arrived so seasonably to our relief. They had, as I had foreseen, found Robert Harris on the plain, which they reached on the evening of the third day. They had started early the next morning on their return with such supplies as they thought we might immediately want. Poor Macnamee had in a great measure recovered, but for some days he was sullen and silent: sight of the drays gave him uncommon satisfaction. Clayton gorged himself; but M'Leay, myself and Fraser could not at first relish the meat that was placed before us. It was determined to give the bullocks a day of rest, and I availed myself of the serviceable state of the horses to visit some hills about eighteen miles to the northward. I was anxious to gain a view of the distant country to the N.W., and to ascertain the geological character of the hills themselves. M'Leay, Fraser, and myself left the camp early in the morning of the 19th, on our way to them. Crossing the sand hills, we likewise passed a creek, and, from the flooded or alluvial tracks, got on an elevated sandy country, in which we found a beautiful grevillia. From this we passed a barren ridge of quartz-formation, terminating in open box forest. From it we descended and traversed a plain that must, at some periods, be almost impassable. It was covered with acacia pendula, and the soil was a red earth, bare of vegetation in many places. At its extremity we came to some stony ridges, and, descending their northern side, gained the base of the hills. They were more extensive than they appeared to be from our camp; and were about six hundred feet in height, and composed of a conglomerate rock. They were extremely barren, nor did the aspect of the country seem to indicate a favourable change. I was enabled, however, to connect my line of route with the more distant hills between the Morumbidgee and the Lachlan. We returned to the camp at midnight. MEET WITH THE DRAYS. On the following morning we left our station before Hamilton's Plains. We reached Pondebadgery on the 28th, and found Robert Harris, with a plentiful supply of provisions. He had everything extremely regular, and had been anxiously expecting our return, of which he at length wholly despaired. He had been at the plain two months, and intended to have moved down the river immediately, had we not made our appearance when we did. I had sent M'Leay forward on the 20th with letters to the Governor, whose anxiety was great on our account. I remained for a fortnight on the plain to restore the men, but Hopkinson had so much over-exerted himself that it was with difficulty he crawled along. In my despatches to the Governor, from the depot, I had suggested the policy of distributing some blankets and other presents to the natives on the Morumbidgee, in order to reward those who had been useful to our party, and in the hope of proving beneficial to settlers in that distant part of the colony. His Excellency was kind enough to accede to my request, and I found ample means for these purposes among the stores that Harris brought from Sydney. We left Pondebadgery Plain early on the 5th of May, and reached Guise's Station late in the afternoon. We gained Yass Plains on the 12th, having struck through the mountain passes by a direct line, instead of returning by our old route near Underaliga. As the party was crossing the plains I rode to see Mr. O'Brien, but did not find him at home. INSTANCE OF CANNIBALISM. While waiting at his hut, one of the stockmen pointed out two blacks to me at a little distance from us. The one was standing, the other sitting. "That fellow, sir," said he, "who is sitting down, killed his infant child last night by knocking its head against a stone, after which he threw it on the fire and then devoured it." I was quite horror struck, and could scarcely believe such a story. I therefore went up to the man and questioned him as to the fact, as well as I could. He did not attempt to deny it, but slunk away in evident consciousness. I then questioned the other that remained, whose excuse for his friend was that the child was sick and would never have grown up, adding he himself did not PATTER (eat) any of it. Many of my readers may probably doubt this horrid occurrence having taken place, as I have not mentioned any corroborating circumstances. I am myself, however, as firmly persuaded of the truth of what I have stated as if I had seen the savage commit the act; for I talked to his companion who did see him, and who described to me the manner in which he killed the child. Be it as it may, the very mention of such a thing among these people goes to prove that they are capable of such an enormity. We left Yass Plains on the 14th of May, and reached Sydney by easy stages on the 25th, after an absence of nearly six months. * * * * * CONCLUDING REMARKS. To most of my readers, the foregoing narrative will appear little else than a succession of adventures. Whilst the expedition was toiling down the rivers, no rich country opened upon the view to reward or to cheer the perseverance of those who composed it, and when, at length, the land of promise lay smiling before them, their strength and their means were too much exhausted to allow of their commencing an examination, of the result of which there could be but little doubt. The expedition returned to Sydney, without any splendid discovery to gild its proceedings; and the labours and dangers it had encountered were considered as nothing more than ordinary occurrences. If I myself had entertained hopes that my researches would have benefited the colony, I was wholly disappointed. There is a barren tract of country lying to the westward of the Blue Mountains that will ever divide the eastern coast from the more central parts of Australia, as completely as if seas actually rolled between them. GEOGRAPHICAL REMARKS. In a geographical point of view, however, nothing could have been more satisfactory, excepting an absolute knowledge of the country to the northward between the Murray and the Darling, than the results of the expedition. I have in its proper place stated, as fairly as I could, my reasons for supposing the principal junction (which I consequently left without a name) to be the Darling of my former journey, as well as the various arguments that bore against such a conclusion. Of course, where there is so much room for doubt, opinions will be various. I shall merely review the subject, in order to connect subsequent events with my previous observations, and to give the reader a full idea of that which struck me to be the case on a close and anxious investigation of the country from mountain to lowland. I returned from the Macquarie with doubts on my mind as to the ultimate direction to which the waters of the Darling river might ultimately flow; for, with regard to every other point, the question was, I considered, wholly decided. But, with regard to that singular stream, I was, from the little knowledge I had obtained, puzzled as to its actual course; and I thought it as likely that it might turn into the heart of the interior, as that it would make to the south. It had not, however, escaped my notice, that the northern rivers turned more abruptly southward (after gaining a certain distance from the base of the ranges) than the more southern streams: near the junction of the Castlereagh with the Darling especially, the number of large creeks joining the first river from the north, led me to conclude that there was at that particular spot a rapid fall of country to the south. The first thing that strengthened in my mind this half-formed opinion, was the fall of the Lachlan into the Morumbidgee. I had been told that Australia was a basin; that an unbroken range of hills lined its coasts, the internal rivers of which fell into its centre, and contributed to the formation of an inland sea; I was not therefore prepared to find a break in the chain--a gap as it were for the escape of these waters to the coast. Subsequently to our entrance into the Murray, the remarkable efforts of that river to maintain a southerly course were observed even by the men, and the singular runs it made to the south, when unchecked by high lands, clearly evinced its natural tendency to flow in that direction. Had we found ourselves at an elevation above the bed of the Darling when we reached the junction of the principal tributary with the Murray, I should still have had doubts on my mind as to the identity of that tributary with the first-mentioned river; but considering the trifling elevation of the Darling above the sea, and that the junction was still less elevated above it, I cannot bring myself to believe that the former alters its course. It is not, however, on this simple geographical principle that I have built my conclusions; other corroborative circumstances have tended also to confirm in my mind the opinion I have already given, not only of the comparatively recent appearance above the ocean of the level country over which I had passed, but that the true dip of the interior is from north to south. In support of the first of these conclusions, it would appear that a current of water must have swept the vast accumulation of shells, forming the great fossil bank through which the Murray passes from the northern extremity of the continent, to deposit them where they are; and it would further appear from the gradual rise of this bed, on an inclined plain from N.N.E. to S.S.W., that it must in the first instance, have swept along the base of the ranges, but ultimately turned into the above direction by the convexity of the mountains at the S.E. angle of the coast. From the circumstance, moreover, of the summit of the fossil formation being in places covered with oyster shells, the fact of the whole mass having been under water is indisputable, and leads us naturally to the conclusion that the depressed interior beyond it must have been under water at the same time. It was proved by barometrical admeasurement, that the cataract of the Macquarie was 680 feet above the level of the sea, and, in like manner, it was found that the depot of Mr. Oxley, on the Lachlan, was only 500, there being a still greater fall of country beyond these two points. The maximum height of the fossil bank was 300 feet; and if we suppose a line to be drawn from its top to the eastward, that line would pass over the marshes of the two rivers, and would cut them at a point below which they both gradually diminish. Hence I am brought to conclude that in former times the sea washed the western base of the dividing ranges, at or near the two points whose respective elevations I have given; and that when the mass of land now lying waste and unproductive, became exposed, the rivers, which until then had pursued a regular course to the ocean, having no channel beyond their original termination, overflowed the almost level country into which they now fall; or, filling some extensive concavity, have contributed, by successive depositions, to the formation of those marshes of which so much has been said. I regret extremely, that my defective vision prevents me giving a slight sketch to elucidate whet I fear I have, in words, perhaps, failed in making sufficiently intelligible. GEOLOGICAL REMARKS. Now, as we know not by what means the changes that have taken place on the earth's surface have been effected, and can only reason on them from analogy, it is to be feared we shall never arrive at any clear demonstration of the truth of our surmises with regard to geographical changes, whether extensive or local, since the causes which produced them will necessarily have ceased to operate. We cannot refer to the dates when they took place, as we may do in regard to the eruptions of a volcano, or the appearance or disappearance of an island. Such events are of minor importance. Those mighty changes to which I would be understood to allude, can hardly be laid to the account of chemical agency. We can easily comprehend how subterranean fires will occasionally burst forth, and can thus satisfactorily account for earthquake or volcano; but it is not to any clashing of properties, or to any visible causes, that the changes of which I speak can be attributed. They appear rather as the consequences of direct agency, of an invisible power, not as the occasional and fretful workings of nature herself. The marks of that awful catastrophe which so nearly extinguished the human race, are every day becoming more and more visible as geological research proceeds. Thus, in the limestone caves at Wellington Valley, the remains of fossils and exuviae, show that their depths were penetrated by the same searching element that poured into the caverns of Kirkdale and other places. They are as gleams of sunshine falling upon the pages of that sublime and splendid volume, in which the history of the deluge is alone to be found; as if the Almighty intended that His word should stand single and unsupported before mankind: and when we consider that such corroborative testimonies of his wrath, as those I have noticed, were in all probability wholly unknown to those who wrote that sacred book, the discovery of the remains of a past world, must strike those under whose knowledge it may fall with the truth of that awful event, which language has vainly endeavoured to describe and painters to represent. CHAPTER VIII. Environs of the lake Alexandrina--Appointment of Capt. Barker to make a further survey of the coast near Encounter Bay--Narrative of his proceedings--Mount Lofty, Mount Barker, and beautiful country adjacent-- Australian salmon--Survey of the coast--Outlet of lake to the sea-- Circumstances that led to the slaughter of Capt. Barker by the natives-- His character--Features of this part of the country and capabilities of its coasts--Its adaptation for colonization--Suggestions for the furtherance of future Expeditions. ENVIRONS OF THE LAKE ALEXANDRINA. The foregoing narrative will have given the reader some idea of the state in which the last expedition reached the bottom of that extensive and magnificent basin which receives the waters of the Murray. The men were, indeed, so exhausted, in strength, and their provisions so much reduced by the time they gained the coast, that I doubted much, whether either would hold out to such place as we might hope for relief. Yet, reduced as the whole of us were from previous exertion, beset as our homeward path was by difficulty and danger, and involved as our eventual safety was in obscurity and doubt, I could not but deplore the necessity that obliged me to re-cross the Lake Alexandrina (as I had named it in honour of the heir apparent to the British crown), and to relinquish the examination of its western shores. We were borne over its ruffled and agitated surface with such rapidity, that I had scarcely time to view it as we passed; but, cursory as my glance was, I could not but think I was leaving behind me the fullest reward of our toil, in a country that would ultimately render our discoveries valuable, and benefit the colony for whose interests we were engaged. Hurried, I would repeat, as my view of it was, my eye never fell on a country of more promising aspect, or of more favourable position, than that which occupies the space between the lake and the ranges of St. Vincent's Gulf, and, continuing northerly from Mount Barker, stretches away, without any visible boundary. It appeared to me that, unless nature had deviated from her usual laws, this tract of country could not but be fertile, situated as it was to receive the mountain deposits on the one hand, and those of the lake upon the other. FURTHER EXAMINATION OF THE COAST. In my report to the Colonial Government, however, I did not feel myself justified in stating, to their full extent, opinions that were founded on probability and conjecture alone. But, although I was guarded in this particular, I strongly recommended a further examination of the coast, from the most eastern point of Encounter Bay, to the head St. Vincent's Gulf, to ascertain if any other than the known channel existed among the sand-hills of the former, or if, as I had every reason to hope from the great extent of water to the N.W., there was a practicable communication with the lake from the other; and I ventured to predict, that a closer survey of the interjacent country, would be attended with the most beneficial results; nor have I a doubt that the promontory of Cape Jervis would ere this have been settled, had Captain Barker lived to complete his official reports. CAPT. BARKER'S SURVEY. The governor, General Darling, whose multifarious duties might well have excused him from paying attention to distant objects, hesitated not a moment when he thought the interests of the colony, whose welfare he so zealously promoted, appeared to be concerned; and he determined to avail himself of the services of Captain Collet Barker, of the 39th regiment, who was about to be recalled from King George's Sound, in order to satisfy himself as to the correctness of my views. Captain Barker had not long before been removed from Port Raffles, on the northern coast, where he had had much intercourse with the natives, and had frequently trusted himself wholly in their hands. It was not, however, merely on account of his conciliating manners, and knowledge of the temper and habits of the natives, that he was particularly fitted for the duty upon which it was the governor's pleasure to employ him. He was, in addition, a man of great energy of character, and of much and various information. Orders having reached Sydney, directing the establishment belonging to New South Wales to be withdrawn, prior to the occupation of King George's Sound by the government of Western Australia, the ISABELLA schooner was sent to receive the troops and prisoners on board; and Captain Barker was directed, as soon as he should have handed over the settlement to Captain Stirling, to proceed to Cape Jervis, from which point it was thought he could best carry on a survey not only of the coast but also of the interior. This excellent and zealous officer sailed from King George's Sound, on the 10th of April, 1831, and arrived off Cape Jervis on the 13th. He was attended by Doctor Davies, one of the assistant surgeons of his regiment, and by Mr. Kent, of the Commissariat. It is to the latter gentleman that the public are indebted for the greater part of the following details; he having attended Captain Barker closely during the whole of this short but disastrous excursion, and made notes as copious as they are interesting. At the time the ISABELLA arrived off Cape Jervis, the weather was clear and favourable. Captain Barker consequently stood into St. Vincent's Gulf, keeping, as near as practicable, to the eastern shore, in soundings that varied from six to ten fathoms, upon sand and mud. His immediate object was to ascertain if there was any communication with the lake Alexandrina from the gulf. He ascended to lat. 34 degrees 40 minutes where he fully satisfied himself that no channel did exist between them. He found, however, that the ranges behind Cape Jervis terminated abruptly at Mount Lofty, in lat. 34 degrees 56 minutes, and, that a flat and wooded country succeeded to the N. and N.E. The shore of the gulf tended more to the N.N.W., and mud flats and mangrove swamps prevailed along it. INVITING COUNTRY--MOUNT LOFTY. Mr. Kent informs me, that they landed for the first time on the 15th, but that they returned almost immediately to the vessel. On the 17th, Captain Barker again landed, with the intention of remaining on shore for two or three days. He was accompanied by Mr. Kent, his servant Mills, and two soldiers. The boat went to the place at which they had before landed, as they thought they had discovered a small river with a bar entrance. They crossed the bar, and ascertained that it was a narrow inlet, of four miles in length, that terminated at the base of the ranges. The party were quite delighted with the aspect of the country on either side of the inlet, and with the bold and romantic scenery behind them. The former bore the appearance of natural meadows, lightly timbered, and covered with a variety of grasses. The soil was observed to be a rich, fat, chocolate coloured earth, probably the decomposition of the deep blue limestone, that showed itself along the coast hereabouts. On the other hand, a rocky glen made a cleft in the ranges at the head of the inlet; and they were supplied with abundance of fresh water which remained in the deeper pools that had been filled by the torrents during late rains. The whole neighbourhood was so inviting that the party slept at the head of the inlet. MOUNT LOFTY AND ITS ENVIRONS. In the morning, Captain Barker proceeded to ascend Mount Lofty, accompanied by Mr. Kent and his servant, leaving the two soldiers at the bivouac, at which he directed them to remain until his return. Mr. Kent says they kept the ridge all the way, and rose above the sea by a gradual ascent. The rock-formation of the lower ranges appeared to be an argillaceous schist; the sides and summit of the ranges were covered with verdure, and the trees upon them were of more than ordinary size. The view to the eastward was shut out by other ranges, parallel to those on which they were; below them to the westward, the same pleasing kind of country that flanked the inlet still continued. MOUNT BARKER. In the course of the day they passed round the head of a deep ravine, whose smooth and grassy sides presented a beautiful appearance. The party stood 600 feet above the bed of a small rivulet that occupied the bottom of the ravine. In some places huge blocks of granite interrupted its course, in others the waters had worn the rock smooth. The polish of these rocks was quite beautiful, and the veins of red and white quartz which traversed them, looked like mosaic work. They did not gain the top of Mount Lofty, but slept a few miles beyond the ravine. In the morning they continued their journey, and, crossing Mount Lofty, descended northerly, to a point from which the range bent away a little to the N.N.E., and then terminated. The view from this point was much more extensive than that from Mount Lofty itself. They overlooked a great part of the gulf, and could distinctly see the mountains at the head of it to the N.N.W. To the N.W. there was a considerable indentation in the coast, which had escaped Captain Barker's notice when examining it. A mountain, very similar to Mount Lofty, bore due east of them, and appeared to be the termination of its range. They were separated by a valley of about ten miles in width, the appearance of which was not favourable. Mr. Kent states to me, that Capt. Barker observed at the time that he thought it probable I had mistaken this hill for Mount Lofty, since it shut out the view of the lake from him, and therefore he naturally concluded, I could not have seen Mount Lofty. I can readily imagine such an error to have been made by me, more especially as I remember that at the time I was taking bearings in the lake, I thought Captain Flinders had not given Mount Lofty, as I then conceived it to be, its proper position in longitude. Both hills are in the same parallel of latitude. The mistake on my part is obvious. I have corrected it in the charts, and have availed myself of the opportunity thus afforded me of perpetuating, as far as I can, the name of an inestimable companion in Captain Barker himself. Immediately below the point on which they stood, Mr. Kent says, a low undulating country extended to the northward, as far as he could see. It was partly open, and partly wooded; and was every where covered with verdure. It continued round to the eastward, and apparently ran down southerly, at the opposite base of the mount Barker Range. I think there can be but little doubt that my view from the S.E., that is, from the lake, extended over the same or a part of the same country. Captain Barker again slept on the summit of the range, near a large basin that looked like the mouth of a crater, in which huge fragments of rocks made a scene of the utmost confusion. These rocks were a coarse grey granite, of which the higher parts and northern termination of the Mount Lofty range are evidently formed; for Mr. Kent remarks that it superseded the schistose formation at the ravine we have noticed--and that, subsequently, the sides of the hills became more broken, and valleys, or gullies, more properly speaking, very numerous. Captain Barker estimated the height of Mount Lofty above the sea at 2,400 feet, and the distance of its summit from the coast at eleven miles. Mr. Kent says they were surprised at the size of the trees on the immediate brow of it; they measured one and found it to be 43 feet in girth. Indeed, he adds, vegetation did not appear to have suffered either from its elevated position, or from any prevailing wind. Eucalypti were the general timber on the ranges; one species of which, resembling strongly the black butted-gum, was remarkable for a scent peculiar to its bark. AUSTRALIAN SALMON. The party rejoined the soldiers on the 21st, and enjoyed the supply of fish which they had provided for them. The soldiers had amused themselves by fishing during Captain Barker's absence, and had been abundantly successful. Among others they had taken a kind of salmon, which, though inferior in size, resembled in shape, in taste, and in the colour of its flesh, the salmon of Europe. I fancied that a fish which I observed with extremely glittering scales, in the mouth of a seal, when myself on the coast, must have been of this kind; and I have no doubt that the lake is periodically visited by salmon, and that these fish retain their habits of entering fresh water at particular seasons, also in the southern hemisphere. Immediately behind Cape Jervis, there is a small bay, in which according to the information of the sealers who frequent Kangaroo Island, there is good and safe anchorage for seven months in the year, that is to say, during the prevalence of the E. and N.E. winds. SURVEY OF THE COAST. Captain Barker landed on the 21st on this rocky point at the northern extremity of this bay. He had, however, previously to this, examined the indentation in the coast which he had observed from Mount Lofty, and had ascertained that it was nothing more than an inlet; a spit of sand, projecting from the shore at right angles with it, concealed the month of the inlet. They took the boat to examine this point, and carried six fathoms soundings round the head of the spit to the mouth of the inlet, when it shoaled to two fathoms, and the landing was observed to be bad, by reason of mangrove swamps on either side of it. Mr. Kent, I think, told me that this inlet was from ten to twelve miles long. Can it be that a current setting out of it at times, has thrown up the sand-bank that protects its mouth, and that trees, or any other obstacle, have hidden its further prolongation from Captain Barker's notice? I have little hope that such is the case, but the remark is not an idle one. BEAUTIFUL VALLEYS. Between this inlet and the one formerly mentioned, a small and clear stream was discovered, to which Captain Barker kindly gave my name. On landing, the party, which consisted of the same persons as the former one, found themselves in a valley, which opened direct upon the bay. It was confined to the north from the chief range by a lateral ridge, that gradually declined towards and terminated at, the rocky point on which they had landed. The other side of the valley was formed of a continuation of the main range, which also gradually declined to the south, and appeared to be connected with the hills at the extremity of the cape. The valley was from nine to ten miles in length, and from three to four in breadth. In crossing it, they ascertained that the lagoon from which the schooner had obtained a supply of water, was filled by a watercourse that came down its centre. The soil in the valley was rich, but stony in some parts. There was an abundance of pasture over the whole, from amongst which they started numerous kangaroos. The scenery towards the ranges was beautiful and romantic, and the general appearance of the country such as to delight the whole party. Preserving a due east course, Captain Barker passed over the opposite range of hills, and descended almost immediately into a second valley that continued to the southwards. Its soil was poor and stony, and it was covered with low scrub. Crossing it, they ascended the opposite range, from the summit of which they had a view of Encounter Bay. An extensive flat stretched from beneath them to the eastward, and was backed, in the distance, by sand hummocks, and low wooded hills. The extreme right of the flat rested upon the coast, at a rocky point near which there were two or three islands. From the left a beautiful valley opened upon it. A strong and clear rivulet from this valley traversed the flat obliquely, and fell into the sea at the rocky point, or a little to the southward of it. The hills forming the opposite side of the valley had already terminated. Captain Barker, therefore, ascended to higher ground, and, at length, obtained a view of the Lake Alexandrina, and the channel of its communication with the sea to the N.E. He now descended to the flat, and frequently expressed his anxious wish to Mr. Kent that I had been one of their number to enjoy the beauty of the scenery around them, and to participate in their labours. Had fate so ordained it, it is possible the melancholy tragedy that soon after occurred might have been averted. OUTLET OF LAKE TO THE SEA. At the termination of the flat they found themselves upon the banks of the channel, and close to the sand hillock under which my tents had been pitched. From this point they proceeded along the line of sand-hills to the outlet; from which it would appear that Kangaroo Island is not visible, but that the distant point which I mistook for it was the S.E. angle of Cape Jervis. I have remarked, in describing that part of the coast, that there is a sand-hill to the eastward of the inlet, under which the tide runs strong, and the water is deep. Captain Barker judged the breadth of the channel to be a quarter of a mile, and he expressed a desire to swim across it to the sand-hill to take bearings, and to ascertain the nature of the strand beyond it to the eastward. It unfortunately happened, that he was the only one of the party who could swim well, in consequence of which his people remonstrated with him on the danger of making the attempt unattended. Notwithstanding, however, that he was seriously indisposed, he stripped, and after Mr. Kent had fastened his compass on his head for him, he plunged into the water, and with difficulty gained the opposite side; to effect which took him nine minutes and fifty-eight seconds. His anxious comrades saw him ascend the hillock, and take several bearings; he then descended the farther side, and was never seen by them again. CIRCUMSTANCES ATTENDING THE LOSS OF CAPTAIN BARKER. For a considerable time Mr. Kent remained stationary, in momentary expectation of his return; but at length, taking the two soldiers with him, he proceeded along the shore in search of wood for a fire. At about a quarter of a mile, the soldiers stopped and expressed their wish to return, as their minds misgave them, and they feared that Captain Barker had met with some accident. While conversing, they heard a distant shout, or cry, which Mr. Kent thought resembled the call of the natives, but which the soldiers positively declared to be the voice of a white man. On their return to their companions, they asked if any sounds had caught their ears, to which they replied in the negative. The wind was blowing from the E.S.E., in which direction Captain Barker had gone; and, to me, the fact of the nearer party not having heard that which must have been his cries for assistance, is satisfactorily accounted for, as, being immediately under the hill, the sounds must have passed over their heads to be heard more distinctly at the distance at which Mr. Kent and the soldiers stood. It is more than probable, that while his men were expressing their anxiety about him, the fearful tragedy was enacting which it has become my painful task to detail. Evening closed in without any signs of Captain Barker's return, or any circumstance by which Mr. Kent could confirm his fears that he had fallen into the hands of the natives. For, whether it was that the tribe which had shown such decided hostility to me when on the coast had not observed the party, none made their appearance; and if I except two, who crossed the channel when Mr. Kent was in search of wood, they had neither seen nor heard any; and Captain Barker's enterprising disposition being well known to his men, hopes were still entertained that he was safe. A large fire was kindled, and the party formed a silent and anxious group around it. Soon after night-fall, however, their attention was roused by the sounds of the natives, and it was at length discovered, that they had lighted a chain of small fires between the sand-hill Captain Barker had ascended and the opposite side of the channel, around which their women were chanting their melancholy dirge. It struck upon the ears of the listeners with an ominous thrill, and assured them of the certainty of the irreparable loss they had sustained. All night did those dismal sounds echo along that lonely shore, but as morning dawned, they ceased, and Mr. Kent and his companions were again left in anxiety and doubt. They, at length, thought it most advisable to proceed to the schooner to advise with Doctor Davies. They traversed the beach with hasty steps, but did not get on board till the following day. It was then determined to procure assistance from the sealers on Kangaroo Island, as the only means by which they could ascertain their leader's fate, and they accordingly entered American Harbour. For a certain reward, one of the men agreed to accompany Mr. Kent to the main with a native woman, to communicate with the tribe that was supposed to have killed him. They landed at or near the rocky point of Encounter Bay, where they were joined by two other natives, one of whom was blind. The woman was sent forward for intelligence, and on her return gave the following details: ACCOUNT OF HIS MURDER. It appears that at a very considerable distance from the first sand-hill, there is another to which Captain Barker must have walked, for the woman stated that three natives were going to the shore from their tribe, and that they crossed his tract. Their quick perception immediately told them it was an unusual impression. They followed upon it, and saw Captain Barker returning. They hesitated for a long time to approach him, being fearful of the instrument he carried. At length, however, they closed upon him. Capt. Barker tried to soothe them, but finding that they were determined to attack him, he made for the water from which he could not have been very distant. One of the blacks immediately threw his spear and struck him in the hip. This did not, however, stop him. He got among the breakers, when he received the second spear in the shoulder. On this, turning round, he received a third full in the breast: with such deadly precision do these savages cast their weapons. It would appear that the third spear was already on its flight when Capt. Barker turned, and it is to be hoped, that it was at once mortal. He fell on his back into the water. The natives then rushed in, and dragging him out by the legs, seized their spears, and indicted innumerable wounds upon his body; after which, they threw it into deep water, and the sea-tide carried it away. HIS CHARACTER. Such, we have every reason to believe, was the untimely fate of this amiable and talented man. It is a melancholy satisfaction to me thus publicly to record his worth; instrumental, as I cannot but in some measure consider my last journey to have been in leading to this fatal catastrophe. Captain Barker was in disposition, as he was in the close of his life, in many respects similar to Captain Cook. Mild, affable, and attentive, he had the esteem and regard of every companion, and the respect of every one under him. Zealous in the discharge of his public duties, honourable and just in private life; a lover and a follower of science; indefatigable and dauntless in his pursuits; a steady friend, an entertaining companion; charitable, kind-hearted, disinterested, and sincere--the task is equally difficult to find adequate expressions of praise or of regret. In him the king lost one of his most valuable officers, and his regiment one of its most efficient members. Beloved as he was, the news of his loss struck his numerous friends with sincere grief, but by none was it more severely felt than by the humble individual who has endeavoured thus feebly to draw his portrait. From the same source from which the particulars of his death were obtained, it was reported that the natives who perpetrated the deed were influenced by no other motive than curiosity to ascertain if they had power to kill a white man. But we must be careful in giving credit to this, for it is much more probable that the cruelties exercised by the sealers towards the blacks along the south coast, may have instigated the latter to take vengeance on the innocent as well as on the guilty. It will be seen, by a reference to the chart, that Captain Barker, by crossing the channel, threw himself into the very hands of that tribe which had evinced such determined hostility to myself and my men. He got into the rear of their strong hold, and was sacrificed to those feelings of suspicion, and to that desire of revenge, which the savages never lose sight of until they have been gratified. FEATURES OF THE COUNTRY, AND CAPABILITIES OF THE COAST. It yet remains for me to state that when Mr. Kent returned to the schooner, after this irreparable loss, he kept to the south of the place at which he had crossed the first range with Captain Barker, and travelled through a valley right across the promontory. He thus discovered that there was a division in the ranges, through which there was a direct and level road from the little bay on the northern extremity of which they had last landed in St. Vincent's Gulf, to the rocky point of Encounter Bay. The importance of this fact will be better estimated, when it is known that good anchorage is secured to small vessels inside the island that lies off the point of Encounter Bay, which is rendered still safer by a horse shoe reef that forms, as it were, a thick wall to break the swell of the sea. But this anchorage is not safe for more than five months in the year. Independently of these points, however, Mr. Kent remarks, that the spit a little to the north of Mount Lofty would afford good shelter to minor vessels under its lee. When the nature of the country is taken into consideration, and the facility of entering that which lies between the ranges and the Lake Alexandrina, from the south, and of a direct communication with the lake itself, the want of an extensive harbour will, in some measure, be compensated for, more especially when it is known that within four leagues of Cape Jervis, a port little inferior to Port Jackson, with a safe and broad entrance, exists at Kangaroo Island. The sealers have given this spot the name of American Harbour. In it, I am informed, vessels are completely land-locked, and secure from every wind. Kangaroo Island is not, however, fertile by any means. It abounds in shallow lakes filled with salt water during high tides, and which, by evaporation, yield a vast quantity of salt. I gathered from the sealers that neither the promontory separating St. Vincent from Spencer's Gulf, nor the neighbourhood of Port Lincoln, are other than barren and sandy wastes. They all agree in describing Port Lincoln itself as a magnificent roadstead, but equally agree as to the sterility of its shores. It appears, therefore, that the promontory of Cape Jervis owes its superiority to its natural features; in fact, to the mountains that occupy its centre, to the debris that has been washed from them, and to the decomposition of the better description of its rocks. Such is the case at Illawarra, where the mountains approach the sea; such indeed is the case every where, at a certain distance from mountain ranges. ADAPTION OF THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY FOR COLONISATION. From the above account it would appear that a spot has, at length, been found upon the south coast of New Holland, to which the colonist might venture with every prospect of success, and in whose valleys the exile might hope to build for himself and for his family a peaceful and prosperous home. All who have ever landed upon the eastern shore of St. Vincent's Gulf, agree as to the richness of its soil, and the abundance of its pasture. Indeed, if we cast our eyes upon the chart, and examine the natural features of the country behind Cape Jervis, we shall no longer wonder at its differing in soil and fertility from the low and sandy tracks that generally prevail along the shores of Australia. Without entering largely into the consideration of the more remote advantages that would, in all human probability, result from the establishment of a colony, rather than a penal settlement, at St. Vincent's Gulf, it will be expedient to glance hastily over the preceding narrative, and, disengaging it from all extraneous matter, to condense, as much as possible, the information it contains respecting the country itself; for I have been unable to introduce any passing remark, lest I should break the thread of an interesting detail. The country immediately behind Cape Jervis may, strictly speaking, be termed a promontory, bounded to the west by St. Vincent's Gulf, and to the east by the lake Alexandrina, and the sandy track separating that basin from the sea. Supposing a line to be drawn from the parallel of 34 degrees 40 minutes to the eastward, it will strike the Murray river about 25 miles above the head of the lake, and will clear the ranges, of which Mount Lofty and Mount Barker are the respective terminations. This line will cut off a space whose greatest breadth will be 55 miles, whose length from north to south will be 75, and whose surface exceeds 7 millions of acres; from which if we deduct 2 millions for the unavailable hills, we shall have 5 millions of acres of land, of rich soil, upon which no scrub exists, and whose most distant points are accessible, through a level country on the one hand, and by water on the other. The southern extremity of the ranges can be turned by that valley through which Mr. Kent returned to the schooner, after Captain Barker's death. It is certain, therefore, that this valley not only secures so grand a point, but also presents a level line of communication from the small bay immediately to the north of the cape, to the rocky point of Encounter Bay, at both of which places there is safe anchorage at different periods of the year. HINTS FOR FUTURE EXPEDITIONS. The only objection that can be raised to the occupation of this spot, is the want of an available harbour. Yet it admits of great doubt whether the contiguity of Kangaroo Island to Cape Jervis, (serving as it does to break the force of the prevailing winds, as also of the heavy swell that would otherwise roll direct into the bay,) and the fact of its possessing a safe and commodious harbour, certainly at an available distance, does not in a great measure remove the objection. Certain it is that no port, with the exception of that on the shores of which the capital of Australia is situated, offers half the convenience of this, although it be detached between three and four leagues from the main. On the other hand it would appear, that there is no place from which at any time the survey of the more central parts of the continent could be so effectually carried on; for in a country like Australia, where the chief obstacle to be apprehended in travelling is the want of water, the facilities afforded by the Murray and its tributaries, are indisputable; and I have little doubt that the very centre of the continent might be gained by a judicious and enterprising expedition. Certainly it is most desirable to ascertain whether the river I have supposed to be the Darling be really so or not. I have stated my objection to depots, but I think that if a party commenced its operations upon the Murray from the junction upwards, and, after ascertaining the fact of its ultimate course, turned away to the N.W. up one of the tributaries of the Murray, with a supply of six months' provisions, the results would be of the most satisfactory kind, and the features of the country be wholly developed. I cannot, I think, conclude this work better than by expressing a hope, that the Colonial Government will direct such measures to be adopted as may be necessary for the extension of our geographical knowledge in Australia. The facilities of fitting out expeditions in New South Wales, render the expenses of little moment, when compared with the importance of the object in view; and although I am labouring under the effects of former attempts, yet would I willingly give such assistance as I could to carry such an object into effect. APPENDIX. APPENDIX No. I. GEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS FOUND TO THE SOUTH-WEST OF PORT JACKSON. Considering the nature of the country over which the first expedition travelled, it could hardly have been expected that its geological specimens would be numerous. It will appear, however, from the following list of rocks collected during the second expedition, that the geological formation of the mountains to the S.W. of Port Jackson is as various as that to the N.W. of it is mountainous. The specimens are described not according to their natural order, but in the succession in which they were found, commencing from Yass Plains, and during the subsequent stages of the journey. Sandstone, Old Red.--Found on various parts of Yass Plains. Limestone, Transition.--Colour dark grey; composes the bed of the Yass River, and apparently traverses the sandstone formation. Yass Plains lie 170 miles to the S.W. of Sydney. Sandstone, Old Red.--Again succeeds the limestone, and continues to the N.W. to a considerable distance over a poor and scrubby country, covered for the most part with a dwarf species of Eucalyptus. Granite.--Colour grey; feldspar, black mica, and quartz: succeeds the sandstone, and continues to the S.W. as far as the Morumbidgee River, over an open forest country broken into hill and dale. It is generally on these granite rocks that the best grazing is found. Greywacke.--Colour grey, of light hue, or dark, with black specks. Soft.--Composition of a part of the ranges that form the valley of the Morumbidgee. Serpentine.--Colour green of different shades, striped sulphur yellow; slaty fracture, soft and greasy to the touch. Forms hills of moderate elevation, of peculiarly sharp spine, resting on quartz. Composition of most of the ranges opposite the Doomot River on the Morumbidgee, in lat. 35 degrees 4 minutes and long. 147 degrees 40 minutes. Quartz.--Colour snow-white; formation of the higher ranges on the left bank of the Morumbidgee, in the same latitude and longitude as above; showing in large blocks on the sides of the hills. Slaty Quartz, with varieties.--Found with the quartz rock, in a state of decomposition. Granite.--Succeeds the serpentine, of light colour; feldspar decomposed; mica, glittering and silvery white. Sandstone, Old Red.--Composition of the more distant ranges on the Morumbidgee. Forms abrupt precipices over the river flats; of sterile appearance, and covered with Banksias and scrub. Mica Slate.--Colour dark brown, approaching red; mica glittering. The hills enclosing Pondebadgery Plain at the gorge of the valley of the Morumbidgee, are composed of this rock. They are succeeded by Sandstone.--Which rises abruptly from the river in perpendicular cliffs, of 145 feet in height. Jasper and quartz.--Colour red and white. Forms the slope of the above sandstone, and may be considered the outermost of the rocks connected with the Eastern or Blue Mountain Ranges. It will be remembered that jasper and quartz were likewise found on a plain near the Darling River, precisely similar to the above, although occurring at so great a distance from each other. Granite.--Light red colour; composition of a small isolated hill, to all appearance wholly unconnected with the neighbouring ranges. This specimen is very similar to that found in the bed of New-Year's Creek. Breccia.--Silicious cement, composed of a variety of pebbles. Formation of the most WESTERLY of the hills between the Lachlan and Macquarie Rivers. This conglomerate was also found to compose the minor and most westerly of the elevations of the more northern interior. Chrystallized Sulphate of Lime.--Found embedded in the deep alluvial soil in the banks of the Morumbidgee River, in lat. 34 degrees 30 minutes S., and long. 144 degrees 55 minutes E. The same substance was found on the banks of the Darling, in lat. 29 degrees 49 minutes S., and in long. 145 degrees 18 minutes E. A reference to the chart will show that the Morumbidgee, from the first of the above positions, may be said to have entered the almost dead level of the interior. No elevation occurs to the westward for several hundreds of miles. A coarse grit occasionally traversed the beds of the rivers, and their lofty banks of clay or marl appear to be based on sandstone and granitic sand. The latter occurs in slabs of four inches in thickness, divided by a line of saffron-coloured sand, and seems to have been subjected to fusion, as if the particles or grains had been cemented together by fusion. The first decided break that takes place in the level of the interior occurs upon the right bank of the Murray, a little below the junction of the Rufus with it. A cliff of from 120 to 130 feet in perpendicular elevation here flanks the river for about 200 yards, when it recedes from it, and forms a spacious amphitheatre that is occupied by semicircular hillocks, that partake of the same character as the cliff itself; the face of which showed the various substances of which it was composed in horizontal lines, that if prolonged would cut the same substance in the hillocks. Based upon a soft white sandstone, a bed of clay formed the lowest part of the cliff; upon this bed of clay, a bed of chalk reposed; this chalk was superseded by a thick bed of saponaceous earth, whilst the summit of the cliff was composed of a bright red sand. Semi-opal and hydrate of silex were found in the chalk, and some beautiful specimens of brown menelite were collected from the upper stratum of the cliff. A little below this singular place, the country again declines, when a tertiary fossil formation shows itself, which, rising gradually as an inclined plain, ultimately attains an elevation of 300 feet. This formation continues to the very coast, since large masses of the rock were observed in the channel of communication between the lake and the ocean; and the hills to the left of the channel were based upon it. This great bank cannot, therefore, average less than from seventy to ninety miles in width. At its commencement, it strikingly resembled skulls piled one on the other, as well in colour as appearance. This effect had been produced by the constant rippling of water against the rock. The softer parts had been washed away, and the shells (a bed of Turritella) alone remained. Plate 1, Figures 1, 2, and 3, represent the selenite formation. Plate 2, represents a mass of the rock containing numerous kinds of shells, of which the following are the most conspicuous: Cardium Pectunculus Corbula Arca Conus, and Others unknown. * * * The following is a list of the fossils collected from various parts of this formation, from which it is evident that a closer examination would lead to the discovery of numberless species. TUNICATA. PLATE III. FIG.1 Eschara celleporacea. 2 ------- piriformis. 3 ------- UNNAMED. FIG.4 Cellepora echinata. 5 --------- escharoides? 6 Retepora disticha. 7 -------- vibicata. 8 Glauconome rhombifera. All Tertiary in Westphalia and England. RADIATA 9 Scutella. 10 Spatangus Hoffmanni--Goldfuss. Tertiary, in Westphalia. 11 Echinus. CONCHIFERA--BIVALVED SHELLS. Corbula gallica--Paris basin--Tertiary. Tellina? Corbis lamellosa--Tertiary--Paris. Lucina. Venus (Cytherea) laevigata--ibid. ----- ---------- obliqua --ibid. Venus Cardium?--fragments. 12 Nucula--such is found in London clay. 13 Pecten coarctatus?--Placentia. ------ various?--recent. 14 ------ species unknown. Two other Pectens also occur. Ostrea elongata--Deshayes. 15 Terebratula. 16 One cast, genus unknown, perhaps a Cardium. MOLUSCA--UNIVALVED SHELLS. Bulla? Plate II., fig. 2. FIG.17 Natica--small. 18 ------ large species. Dentalium? 19 Trochus. 20 Turritella. ---------- in gyps. 21 Murex. 22 Buccinum? 23 Mitra. 24 ----- very short. 25 Cypraea. 26 Conus. 27 ----- (Plate II., fig. 3.) 28 Two, unknown, (Also Plate II, fig. 4.) The above all appear to belong to the newer tertiary formations. [Fig.17 to 27--These genera are scarcely ever, and some of them not at all, found in any but tertiary formations.] A block of coarse red granite forms an island in the centre of the river near the lake, but is nowhere else visible, although it is very probably the basis of the surrounding country. ROCK FORMATION OF THE COAST RANGE OF ST. VINCENT'S GULF. Primitive Transition Limestone.--Light grey, striped. Altered in appearance by volcanic action; occurs on the Ranges north of Cape Jervis. Granite.--Colour, red; found on the west side of Encounter Bay. Brown Spar.--South point of Cape Jervis. Sandstone, Old Red.--East coast of St, Vincent's Gulf. Limestone, Transition.--Colour, blue. East Coast of St. Vincent's Gulf. Formation near the first inlet. Continuing to the base of the Ranges. Clay Slate.--Composition of the lower part of the Mount Lofty Range. Granite.--Fine grained, red; forms the higher parts of the Mount Lofty Range. Quartz, with Tourmaline.--Lower parts of the Mount Lofty Range. Limestone Flustra, and their Corallines, probably tertiary.--From the mouth of the Sturt, on the coast line, nearly abreast of Mount Lofty. APPENDIX No. II. OFFICIAL REPORT TO THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. * * * * * GOVERNMENT ORDER. Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney, May 10, 1830. His Excellency the Governor has much satisfaction in publishing the following report of the proceedings of an expedition undertaken for the purpose of tracing the course of the river "Morumbidgee," and of ascertaining whether it communicated with the coast forming the southern boundary of the colony. The expedition, which was placed under the direction of Captain Sturt, of his Majesty's 39th Regiment, commenced its progress down the "Morumbidgee" on the 7th day of January last, having been occupied twenty-one days in performing the journey from Sydney. On the 14th January they entered a new river running from east to west, now called the "Murray," into which the "Morumbidgee" flows. After pursuing the course of the "Murray" for several days, the expedition observed another river (supposed to be that which Captain Sturt discovered on his former expedition), uniting with the "Murray" which they examined about five miles above the junction. The expedition again proceeded down the "Murray," and fell in with another of its tributaries flowing from the south east, which Captain Sturt has designated the "Lindesay;" and on the 8th February the "Murray" was found to enter or form a lake, of from fifty to sixty miles in length, and from thirty to forty in breadth, lying immediately to the eastward of gulf St. Vincent, and extending to the southward, to the shore of "Encounter Bay." Thus has Captain Sturt added largely, and in a highly important degree, to the knowledge previously possessed of the interior. His former expedition ascertained the fate of the rivers Macquarie and Castlereagh, on which occasion he also discovered a river which, there is every reason to believe, is, in ordinary seasons, of considerable magnitude. Should this, as Captain Sturt supposes, prove to be the same river as that above-mentioned, as uniting with the "Murray," the existence of an interior water communication for several hundreds of miles, extending from the northward of "Mount Harris," down to the southern coast of the colony, will have been established. It is to be regretted, that circumstances did not permit of a more perfect examination of the lake, (which has been called "Alexandrina"), as the immediate vicinage of Gulf St. Vincent furnishes a just ground of hope that a more practicable and useful communication may be discovered in that direction, than the channel which leads into "Encounter Bay." The opportunity of recording a second time the services rendered to the colony by Captain Sturt, is as gratifying to the government which directed the undertaking, as it is creditable to the individual who so successfully conducted it to its termination.--It is an additional cause of satisfaction to add, that every one, according to his sphere of action, has a claim to a proportionate degree of applause. All were exposed alike to the same privations and fatigue, and every one submitted with patience, manifesting the most anxious desire for the success of the expedition. The zeal of Mr. George M'Leay, the companion of Captain Sturt, when example was so important, could not fail to have the most salutary effect; and the obedience, steadiness, and good conduct of the men employed, merit the highest praise. By his Excellency's command, ALEXANDER M'LEAY. * * * * * BANKS OF THE MORUMBIDGEE, APRIL 20TH, 1830. SIR,--The departure of Mr. George M'Leay for Sydney, who is anxious to proceed homewards as speedily as possible, affords me an earlier opportunity than would otherwise have presented itself, by which to make you acquainted with the circumstance of my return, under the divine protection, to the located districts; and I do myself the honour of annexing a brief account of my proceedings since the last communication for the information of His Excellency the Governor, until such time as I shall have it in my power to give in a more detailed report. On the 7th of January, agreeably to the arrangements which had been made, I proceeded down the Morumbidgee in the whale boat, with a complement of six hands, independent of myself and Mr. M'Leay, holding the skiff in tow. The river, for several days, kept a general W.S.W. course; it altered little in appearance, nor did any material change take place in the country upon its banks. The alluvial flats had occasionally an increased breadth on either side of it, but the line of reeds was nowhere so extensive as from previous appearances I had been led to expect. About twelve miles from the depot, we passed a large creek junction from the N.E. which, from its locality and from the circumstance of my having been upon it in the direction of them, I cannot but conclude originates in the marshes of the Lachlan. On the 11th, the Morumbidgee became much encumbered with fallen timber, and its current was at times so rapid that I was under considerable apprehension for the safety of the boats. The skiff had been upset on the 8th, and, although I could not anticipate such an accident to the large boat, I feared she would receive some more serious and irremediable injury. On the 14th, these difficulties increased upon us.--The channel of the river became more contracted, and its current more impetuous. We had no sooner cleared one reach, than fresh and apparently insurmountable dangers presented themselves to us in the next. I really feared that every precaution would have proved unavailing against such multiplied embarrassments, and that ere night we should have possessed only the wrecks of the expedition. From this state of anxiety, however, we were unexpectedly relieved, by our arrival at 2 p.m. at the termination of the Morumbidgee; from which we were launched into a broad and noble river, flowing from E. to W. at the rate of two and a half knots per hour, over a clear and sandy bed, of a medium width of from three to four hundred feet. During the first stages of our journey upon this new river, which evidently had its rise in the mountains of the S.E., we made rapid progress to the W.N.W. through an unbroken and uninteresting country of equal sameness of feature and of vegetation. On the 23rd, as the boats were proceeding down it, several hundreds of natives made their appearance upon the right bank, having assembled with premeditated purposes of violence. I was the more surprised at this show of hostility, because we had passed on general friendly terms, not only with those on the Morumbidgee, but of the new river. Now, however, emboldened by numbers, they seemed determined on making the first attack, and soon worked themselves into a state of frenzy by loud and vehement shouting. As I observed that the water was shoaling fast, I kept in the middle of the stream; and, under an impression that it would be impossible for me to avoid a conflict, prepared for an obstinate resistance. But, at the very moment when, having arrived opposite to a large sand bank, on which they had collected, the foremost of the blacks had already advanced into the water, and I only awaited their nearer approach to fire upon them, their impetuosity was restrained by the most unlooked for and unexpected interference. They held back of a sudden, and allowed us to pass unmolested. The boat, however, almost immediately grounded on a shoal that stretched across the river, over which she was with some difficulty hauled into deeper water,--when we found ourselves opposite to a large junction from the eastward, little inferior to the river itself. Had I been aware of this circumstance, I should have been the more anxious with regard to any rupture with the natives, and I was now happy to find that most of them had laid aside their weapons and had crossed the junction, it appearing that they had previously been on a tongue of land formed by the two streams. I therefore landed among them to satisfy their curiosity and to distribute a few presents before I proceeded up it. We were obliged to use the four oars to stem the current against us; but, as soon as we had passed the mouth, got into deeper water, and found easier pulling, The parallel in which we struck it, and the direction from which it came, combined to assure me that this could be no other than the "Darling." To the distance of two miles it retained a breadth of one hundred yards and a depth of twelve feet. Its banks were covered with verdure, and the trees overhanging them were of finer and larger growth than those on the new river by which we had approached it. Its waters had a shade of green, and were more turbid than those of its neighbours, but they were perfectly sweet to the taste. Having satisfied myself on those points on which I was most anxious, we returned to the junction to examine it more closely. The angle formed by the Darling with the new river is so acute, that neither can be said to be tributary to the other; but more important circumstances, upon which it is impossible for me to dwell at the present moment, mark them as distinct rivers, which have been formed by Nature for the same purposes, in remote and opposite parts of the island. Not having as yet given a name to the latter, I now availed myself of the opportunity of complying with the known wishes of His Excellency the Governor, and, at the same time, in accordance with my own feelings as a soldier I distinguished it by that of the "Murray." It had been my object to ascertain the decline of the vast plain through which the Murray flows, that I might judge of the probable fall of the waters of the interior; but by the most attentive observation I could not satisfy myself upon the point. The course of the Darling now confirmed my previous impression that it was to the south, which direction it was evident the Murray also, in the subsequent stages of our journey down it, struggled to preserve; from which it was thrown by a range of minor elevations into a more westerly one. We were carried as far as 139 degrees 40 minutes of longitude, without descending below 34 degrees in point of latitude; in consequence of which I expected that the river would ultimately discharge itself, either into St. Vincent's Gulf or that of Spencer, more especially as lofty ranges were visible in the direction of them from the summit of the hills behind our camp, on the 2nd of February, which I laid down as the coast line bounding them. A few days prior to the 2nd of February, we passed under some cliffs of partial volcanic origin, and had immediately afterwards entered a limestone country of the most singular formation. The river, although we had passed occasional rapids of the most dangerous kind, had maintained a sandy character from our first acquaintance with it to the limestone division. It now forced itself through a glen of that rock of half a mile in width, frequently striking precipices of more than two hundred feet perpendicular elevation, in which coral and fossil remains were plentifully embedded. On the 3rd February it made away to the eastward of south, in reaches of from two to four miles in length. It gradually lost its sandy bed, and became deep, still, and turbid; the glen expanded into a valley, and the alluvial flats, which had hitherto been of inconsiderable size, became proportionally extensive. The Murray increased in breadth to more than four hundred yards, with a depth of twenty feet of water close into the shore, and in fact formed itself into a safe and navigable stream for any vessels of the minor class. On the 6th the cliffs partially ceased, and on the 7th they gave place to undulating and picturesque hills, beneath which thousands of acres of the richest flats extended, covered, however, with reeds, and apparently subject to overflow at any unusual rise of the river. It is remarkable that the view from the hills was always confined.--We were apparently running parallel to a continuation of the ranges we had seen on the 2nd, but they were seldom visible. The country generally seemed darkly wooded, and had occasional swells upon it, but it was one of no promise; the timber, chiefly box and pine, being of a poor growth, and its vegetation languid. On the 8th the hills upon the left wore a bleak appearance, and the few trees upon them were cut down as if by the prevailing winds. At noon we could not observe any land at the extremity of a reach we had just entered; some gentle hills still continued to form the left lank of the river, but the right was hid from us by high reeds. I consequently landed to survey the country from the nearest eminence, and found that we were just about to enter an extensive lake which stretched away to the S.W., the line of water meeting the horizon in that direction. Some tolerably lofty ranges were visible to the westward at the distance of forty miles, beneath which that shore was lost in haze. A hill, which I prejudged to be Mount Lofty, bearing by compass S. 141 degrees W. More to the northward, the country was low and unbacked by any elevations. A bold promontory, which projected into the lake at the distance of seven leagues, ended the view to the south along the eastern shore; between which and the river the land also declined. The prospect altogether was extremely gratifying, and the lake appeared to be a fitting reservoir for the whole stream which had led us to it. In the evening we passed the entrance; but a strong southerly wind heading us, we did not gain more than nine miles. In the morning it shifted to the N.E. where we stood out for the promontory on a S.S.W. course. At noon we were abreast of it, when a line of sand hummocks was ahead, scarcely visible in consequence of the great refraction about them; but an open sea behind us from the N.N.W. to the N.N.E. points of the compass. A meridian altitude observed here, placed us in 35 degrees 25 minutes 15 seconds S. lat.--At 1, I changed our course a little to the westward, and at 4 p.m. entered an arm of the lake leading W.S.W. On the point, at the entrance, some natives had assembled, but I could not communicate with them. They were both painted and armed, and evidently intended to resist our landing. Wishing, however, to gain some information from them, I proceeded a short distance below their haunt, and landed for the night, in hopes that, seeing us peaceably disposed, they would have approached the tents; but as they kept aloof, we continued our journey in the morning. The water, which had risen ten inches during the night, had fallen again in the same proportion, and we were stopped by shoals shortly after starting. In hopes that the return of tide would have enabled us to float over them, we waited for it very patiently, but were ultimately obliged to drag the boat across a mud-flat of more than a quarter of a mile into deeper water; but, after a run of about twenty minutes, were again checked by sand banks. My endeavours to push beyond a certain point were unsuccessful, and I was at length under the necessity of landing upon the south shore for the night. Some small hummocks were behind us, on the other side of which I had seen the ocean from our morning's position; and whilst the men were pitching the tents, walked over them in company with Mr. M'Leay to the sea shore, having struck the coast at Encounter Bay, Cape Jervis, bearing by compass S. 81 degrees W. distant between three and four leagues, and Kangaroo Island S.E. extremity S. 60 degrees W. distant from nine to ten. Thirty-two days had elapsed since we had left the depot, and I regretted in this stage of our journey, that I could not with prudence remain an hour longer on the coast than was necessary for me to determine the exit of the lake. From the angle of the channel on which we were, a bright sand-hill was visible at about nine miles distance to the E.S.E.; which, it struck me, was the eastern side of the passage communicating with the ocean. Having failed in our attempts to proceed further in the boat, and the appearance of the shoals at low water having convinced me of the impracticability of it, I determined on an excursion along the sea-shore to the southward and eastward, in anxious hopes that it would be a short one; for as we had had a series of winds from the S.W. which had now changed to the opposite quarter, I feared we should have to pull across the lake in our way homewards. I left the camp therefore at an early hour, in company with Mr. M'Leay and Fraser, and at day-break arrived opposite to the sand-bank I have mentioned. Between us and it the entrance into the back water ran. The passage is at all periods of the tide rather more than a quarter of a mile in width, and is of sufficient depth for a boat to enter, especially on the off side; but a line of dangerous breakers in the bay will always prevent an approach to it from the sea, except in the calmest weather, whilst the bay itself will always be a hazardous place for any vessels to enter under any circumstances. Having, however, satisfactorily concluded our pursuit, we retraced our steps to the camp, and again took the following bearings as we left the beach, the strand trending E.S.E. 1/2 E.:-- Kangaroo Island, S.E. angle S. 60 degrees W.. Low rocky point of Cape Jervis S. 81 degrees W. Round Hill in centre of Range S. 164 degrees W. Camp, distant one mile S. 171 degrees W. Mount Lofty, distant forty miles N. 9 degrees E. Before setting sail, a bottle was deposited between four and five feet deep in a mound of soft earth and shells, close to the spot on which the tent had stood, which contained a paper of the names of the party, together with a simple detail of our arrival and departure. It appeared that the good fortune, which had hitherto attended us was still to continue, for the wind which had been contrary, chopped round to the S.W., and ere sunset we were again in the mouth of the river, having run from fifty to sixty miles under as much canvass as the boat would bear, and with a heavy swell during the greater part of the day. The lake which has thus terminated our journey, is from fifty to sixty miles in length, and from thirty to forty in width. With such an expanse of water, I am correct in stating its medium depth at four feet. There is a large bight in it to the S.E. and a beautiful and extensive bay to the N.W. At about seven miles from the mouth of the river, its waters are brackish, and at twenty-one miles they are quite salt, whilst seals frequent the lower parts. Considering this lake to be of sufficient importance, and in anticipation that its shores will, during her reign, if not at an earlier period, be peopled by some portion of her subjects, I have called it, in well-meant loyalty, "The Lake Alexandrina." It is remarkable that the Murray has few tributaries below the Darling. It receives one, however, of considerable importance from the S.E., to which I have given the name of the "Lindesay," as a mark of respect to my commanding-officer, and in remembrance of the many acts of kindness I have received at his hands. Having dwelt particularly on the nature of the country through which the expedition has passed in the pages of my journal, it may be unnecessary for me to enter into any description of it in this place, further than to observe, that the limestone continued down to the very coast, and that although the country in the neighbourhood of the Lake Alexandrina must, from local circumstances, be rich in point of soil, the timber upon it is of stunted size, and that it appears to have suffered from drought, though not to the same extent with the eastern coast. It is evident, however, that its vicinity to high lands does not altogether exempt it from such periodical visitations; still I have no doubt that my observations upon it will convince His Excellency the Governor, that it is well worthy of a closer, and more attentive examination, than I had it in my power to make. In a geographical point of view, I am happy to believe that the result of this expedition has been conclusive; and that, combined with the late one, it has thrown much light upon the nature of the interior of the vast Island; that the decline of waters, as far as the parallel of 139 degrees E., is to the south, and that the Darling is to the N.E. as the Murray is to the S.E. angle of the coast, the main channel by which the waters of the central ranges are thrown or discharged into one great reservoir. Our journey homewards was only remarkable for its labour: in conclusion, therefore, it remains for me to add that we reached the depot on the 23rd of March. Our sugar failed us on the 18th of February, and our salt provisions, in consequence of the accident which happened to the skiff, on the 8th of March; so that from the above period we were living on a reduced ration of flour; and as we took few fish, and were generally unsuccessful with our guns, the men had seldom more than their bread to eat. I regretted to observe that they were daily falling off, and that although unremitting in their exertions they were well nigh exhausted, ere we reached the Morumbidgee. We were from sunrise to five o'clock on the water, and from the day that we left the depot to that of our return we never rested upon our oars. We were thirty-nine days gaining the depot from the coast, against a strong current in both rivers, being seven more than it took us to go down. From the depot to this station we had seventeen days hard pulling, making a total of eighty-eight, during which time we could not have travelled over less than 2000 miles. I was under the necessity of stopping short on the 10th instant, and of detaching two men for the drays, which happily arrived on the 17th, on which day our stock of flour failed us. Had I not adopted this plan, the men would have become too weak to have pulled up to Pondebadgery, and we should no doubt have suffered some privations. This detail will, I am sure, speak more in favour of the men composing the party than anything I can say. I would most respectfully recommend them all to His Excellency's notice; and I beg to assure him that, during the whole of this arduous journey, they were cheerful, zealous, and obedient. They had many harassing duties to perform, and their patience and temper were often put to severe trials by the natives, of whom we could not have seen fewer than 4000 on the Murray alone. I am to refer His Excellency the Governor to Mr. M'Leay for any more immediate information he may require,--to whom I stand indebted on many points--and not less in the anxiety he evinced for the success of the undertaking, than in the promptitude with which he assisted in the labours attendant on our return, and his uniform kindness to the men. I have the honour to subscribe myself, Sir, Your most obedient humble Servant, CHARLES STURT, Captain of the 39th Regt. The Hon. the Colonial Secretary. END OF VOLUME II 
9943	----	Notes in the book are shown in square brackets at the point referenced. Maps and plates not shown in the text version of this ebook ======================================================================= Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia In Search of a Route from Sydney to the Gulf of Carpentaria (1848) by Lt. Col. Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell Kt. D.C.L. (1792-1855) Surveyor-General of New South Wales TO THE HONOURABLE THE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF NEW SOUTH WALES, THIS JOURNAL OF AN EXPEDITION OF DISCOVERY, PETITIONED FOR BY THE COUNCIL, AND UNDERTAKEN AT THE EXPENSE OF THE COLONY, IS DEDICATED BY THEIR MOST OBEDIENT, HUMBLE SERVANT, T. L. MITCHELL PREFACE. "Admiring Nature in her wildest grace,"[* Burns.] it has ever been the most attractive of the author's duties to explore the interior of Australia. There the philosopher may look for facts; the painter and the poet for original studies and ideas; the naturalist for additional knowledge; and the historian might begin at a beginning. The traveller there seeks in vain for the remains of cities, temples, or towers; but he is amply compensated by objects that tell not of decay but of healthful progress and hope;--of a wonderful past, and of a promising future. Curiosity alone may attract us into the mysterious recesses of regions still unknown; but a still deeper interest attaches to those regions, now that the rapid increase of the most industrious and, may we add most deserving people on earth, suggests that the land there has been reserved by the Almighty for their use. In Australia, the great family of civilized man seems still at that early period between history and fable, upon which, even in "the world as known to the ancients," the Roman poet had to look very far back:-- "Communemque priùs, ceu lumina solis et auras, Cautus humum longo signavit limite mensor." [* Ovid, Met. lib. i.] The Journey narrated in this work was undertaken for the extension of arrangements depending on physical geography. It completes a series of internal surveys, radiating from Sydney towards the west, the south, and the north, which have occupied the author's chief attention during the last twenty years; and, as on former occasions, it has enabled him to bring under the notice of men of science some of the earth's productions hitherto unknown. He cannot sufficiently express his sense of obligation in this respect, to Mr. Bentham, Sir William Hooker, Dr. Lindley, and Professor De Vriese, for supplying the botanical matter and notes contained in this volume, and thus contributing to the general stock of human knowledge. It is also his pleasing duty to state, that during the long journey of upwards of a year, Captain P. P. King, R. N., kept a register of the state of the barometer at the sea side; and, in the midst of his important avocations, determined, by a very elaborate comparison of minute details, all the heights of localities herein mentioned. The new geographical matter is presented to the public with confidence in its accuracy, derived as it is from careful and frequent observations of latitude; trigonometrical surveying with the theodolite, whereever heights were available; and, by actual measurement of the line of route. This route was connected, at its commencement and termination, with the trigonometrical survey of the colony; and, in closing on Mount Riddell, a survey extending two degrees within the tropics, the near coincidence of his intersections with that summit, as fixed by his survey of 1830, could not but be very satisfactory to the author. The geological specimens collected during this journey have been deposited in the British Museum, and their original locality is shown on the maps by the numbers marked upon the specimens, so that they may be available to geologists; hence, in the progress of geological science, the fossils now brought from these remote regions will be accessible at any future time, and something known of the geology as well as of the geography of the interior. As Professor Forbes most readily undertook to describe the freshwater shells after the work had passed through the press, that portion of the collection also has thus been brought under the notice of geologists. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. GENERAL MAP Objects of the expedition.--Unexpected delay--by reference to Lord Stanley.--List of the Party.--Departure from Buree.--Sheep stations.-- Scattered population.--Passage through Hervey's Range.--Encroachment of sheep on cattle runs.--A tea-totaller.--Meet an old acquaintance.-- Sulphureous springs.--Currandong--Necessity for damming up the Bogan. Leave Bultje's country.--Ephemeral existence of Aborigines.--Line between the squatters and the wild natives.--Velocity of the Bogan.--Supply of young bullocks.--Richard Cunningham--Young cattle troublesome.--A night without water.--Distress from heat and thirst.--Excessive heat.--Reunion of the party.--Melancholy fate of the Bogan tribe.--Interesting plants discovered.--Encampment at Mudaà.--Carry water forward.--Arrive at Daròbal.--Nyingan.--Water at Canbelègo.--Discovery of a lagoon.--Encamp near Canbelègo. Explore the Bogan in search of water.--Long ride.--Quit the Bogan.--Party attacked with ophthalmia CHAPTER II. MAP OF THE RIVERS BOGAN AND MACQUARIE Move to the ponds of Cannonbà.--Set up our bivouac.--Hot wind.--Piper's intention to quit the party.--Piper sent to Bathurst.--Change of weather.--A day of rain.--Mr. Kennedy returns.--Salt made from the salt plant.--Reconnoitre Duck Creek.--Ophthalmia still troublesome.--Approach of a flood announced.--It arrives in clear moonlight.--(Frontispiece.)-- Marshes of the Macquarie.--Difficulty of watering cattle.--(Plate 2. p. 61.) A new guide.--Cattle astray.--Yulliyally.--Docility of the Aborigines.--Water insufficient for cattle.--Want of water.--Small ponds destroyed by cattle.--At last find abundance.--Aboriginal preferable to modern names.--Cattle again astray--and delay the journey.--Junction of the Macquarie and Bàrwan.--The Darling as at present, and formerly.-- Admirable distribution of water. The ford at Wyàbry.--The party crosses the Darling CHAPTER III. MAP OF THE RIVERS NARRAN, CULGOA, AND BALONNE TO ST. GEORGE'S BRIDGE,-- SHOWING ALSO THE ROUTE HOMEWARD, AS DESCRIBED IN CHAPTER X. Plains and low hills.--The Caràwy ponds.--Delayed by weak cattle.--The Narran.--Arrived at--encamp by:--Narran swamp.--A bridge required.-- During the delay of drays take a ride forward.--Rich pastures on the Narran.--New plants.--Arrival of drays.--Bridge laid down for their passage.--The party fords the Narran.--Advances but slowly.--Low hills examined.--Good grassy country.--Food of the natives.--Rising ground west of the river.--Ride up.--Abodes and food of natives.--Rich grass.--Parley with a native.--Gravelly ridges.--Two natives conduct us to the river.-- Approach the assembled natives.--Interview with the tribes.--Cordial reception.--Cross the Balonne.--Reach the Culgòa.--Cross that river.-- Route beyond.--The Upper Balonne.--Explore its course.--Numerals cut on trees.--A native scamp.--Fine country.--Splendid reaches of the river (Plate 3. page 119.)--Lagoons near it.--Lake Parachute.--Seek a position--for a depôt camp.--Ride to the north-west.--Character of the country.--Search for water. Uncommon birds.--Return to the camp.--New Acacia CHAPTER IV. MAP OF THE ADVANCE TO THE MARANÒA--SHOWING ALSO THE ROUTE BY WHICH THE PARTY RETURNED TO ST. GEORGE'S BRIDGE, AS DESCRIBED IN CHAPTER VII. Advance with a light party.--Fine river scenery.--Junction of rivers.-- Trace one up, then cross to the other.--Mr. Kennedy instructed to explore it.--Fine country for grazing.--Turanimga lagoon.--Trace up a small tributary.--Mountains discovered.--Camp visited by three natives.--"Cogoon" the name of tributary.--Charms of the Australian climate.--Mount Minute.--Extreme cold.--Traces of high floods in the Cnogoa.---Mount Inviting.--Mount Abundance.--Ascend that mountain.-- Fitzroy Downs.--The Bottle Tree, or DELABECHEA.--Frosty Creek.--Travel due north over open downs.--Advantages of mountains.--Ascend one.--Mount Bingo.--Thenod Tagando tribe.--The party advances to the Amby--followed by the tribe.--How we got rid of them.--Enter the country through the pass.--Find one pond.--A large river discovered.--Position taken up on its banks.--There await Mr. Kennedy's arrival.--Explore to the north- west.--Ascend a hill and tree to take angles from.--Interior country visited.--View of the western interior.--Its character.--Determine to trace the river upwards.--Ascend Mount Kennedy.--Extensive prospect.-- Native visit during my absence.--Arrival of Mr. Kennedy's party.--The Tagando tribe again.--Their visit to Mr. Kennedy.--Prepare to advance again with a light party.--Instructions left with Mr. Kennedy CHAPTER V. MAP OF THE COUNTRY AND THE ROUTES BETWEEN THE MARANOA AND MOUNT MUDGE, AND THOSE ALONG THE RIVER VICTORIA AS DESCRIBED IN CHAPTER VII. My departure.--A team of bullocks sent back for.--Good grassy country.-- Ride north-west during rain.--Hostile natives menace our camp.--The party crosses Possession Creek.--A small river found.--Another ride to the north-west.--Banks of the little river.--Mount Owen seen.--Travel towards it.--Flank movement to the Maranòa for water.--None found in its bed.-- View from Mount Owen.--Names of localities on the map.--Scarcity of water impedes our progress.--Water found in rocky gullies.--Excursion northward.--Mount Aquarius.--View from northern summit of Mount Owen.-- Progress through a broken country.--Night without water.--Another route explored amongst the gullies.--Plants found near Mount Owen.--Route for the advance of the carts.--View of mountains--from Mount P. P. King.-- View from western extremity of Table Land of Hope.--Mount Faraday.-- Strange Hakea.--A running stream discovered.--Return towards the camp.-- The party with the carts advances.--(Pyramids, Plate IV., page 222.)-- Course of the new found river.--New plants.--A large lake receives the river.--(Plate V., John Martin's Range, page 225.)--The outlet dry.-- Enter a scrub.--Return to the Salvator.--Discovery of the Claude.--Rich soil on the downs.--The party moves to the Claude.--Cross that river. Fossil wood.--Again shut up in a rocky country.--Slow progress in a gully.--Balmy Creek.--New plants.--Emerge from the ravines.--Tower Almond.--(Pl. 6. page 237.)--View from Mount Kilsyth.--View from Mount Mudge.--Two natives met.--Remarkable tree CHAPTER VI. MAP OF THE RIVER BELYANDO, Head of another river.--Water again scarce.--Abundance found.--Climate and country--under the Tropic Line.--Plants.--Peculiar character of the water-course.--One cause of open spaces in the woods.--New plants.-- Causes of the outspread of channel.--Plains of wild indigo.--Large river channel from the south.--Cross.--Novelties beyond.--The river much increased.--Long journey through scrub.--New plants.--Journey along the river bank.--Character of this river.--Distant prospect.--No water.-- Fatiguing journey through scrubs. Reach the river by moonlight.--Large lagoons.--New tributary--from the S. W.--Excursion to the N. W.--Night without water.--Interview with natives.--Camp visited by natives during my absence.--An affair at the camp.--The party crosses the river.-- Conclusions.--The party returns.--Tilled ground of the natives.--The shepherd astray.--Singular phenomenon.--Extraordinary vegetable production.--Heavy rain comes on.--Probability of finding a river.-- Singular meteor.--Intertropical temperature.--Effects of the rain.-- Recross the Tropic.--Regain the higher land.--Remarkable tree.--(Hakea?)--Dip of the strata.--Character of the Belyando.--How to explore a river in brigalow.--A more direct way homewards.--Successful passage with carts and drays.--Open downs.--Fossil wood.--Recross the Claude.--Mantuan downs.--Natives of the Salvator.--Position taken up for a depôt camp.--Interesting plants.--(View on the Salvator, Pl. 8.) CHAPTER VII. (Having reference to Map V., Page 189.) Preparations and departure.--Mount Pluto.--Route amongst the three volcanic hills.--Interview with a female native.--Cross a range beyond.-- The Nive and the Nivelle.--Burning of grass by the natives.--Water found, after a night of thirst.--Pastures green, and quiet waters at sunset.-- Morning view from a rock.--A new river followed down-over extensive open downs.--Brigalow scrubs away from the river.--River much increased.-- Security from natives--Thoughts in these solitudes.--The downs and the river.--An emu shot there.--A river joins from the east.--Structure of native's huts.--Two separate channels unite.--The river well filled.-- Packhorse unserviceable.--Rare pigeon--numerous.--A wild tribe-- surprised at a lagoon.--Recross the river--and return homewards.--The savage compared--with the civilized.--Hills in the S. W.--Short cut along the left bank of the river.--Name it the Victoria.--Privations in exploring.--Return to the Nive and Nivelle.--Gallant charge by a snake.-- Sources of the Salvator.--View from Mount Pluto.--Arrival at the camp of the pyramids.--Rare and new plants collected there.--(View of Lindley's Range, Pl. 9.) CHAPTER VIII. (Having reference to Map V., Page 189., and Map IV., Page 133.) Fossils and plants.--A new genus.--LINSCHOTENIA DISCOLOR.--Ascend Mount Faraday.--Valley of the Warregò.--Meet an old native.--Return to the camp over the gullies.--Encamp by the Maranòa.--The river found to be near our former track--with water in abundance.--Loss of a horse.--Cattle tracks.--Arrival at the camp of Mr. Kennedy.--Visits of the natives-- during our absence.--(Pl. 7. ABORIGINAL DANCE, page 358).--Plants gathered at the depôt camp.--New plants.--Fossils at Mount Sowerby.-- Ascent of Mount Kennedy.--The party leaves the depôt camp following the course of the Maranòa.--Discovery of a fine open country.--Numbered trees at camps.--The country on the Maranòa.--Singular habits of a fish.--Name of river obtained from good authority.--(Pl. 10. VIEW ON THE MARANÒA, page 372).--The Acacia varians.--Water scarce again.--Some at length discovered by a dog.--Country between the two routes.--Plants.--Arrive at the Balonne.--Return to St. George's Bridge CHAPTER IX. (Having reference to Map III., Page 81.) (VIEW OF ST. GEORGE'S BRIDGE, Pl. 11)--Despatches sent forward.-- Acquisitions during the delay.--Mr. Kennedy's return and report.--The party crosses the Balonne.--Arrives at the Mooni.--A white woman.--Cattle stations.--Heavy rain.--The country impassable.--Camp removed to a hill.--Dam thrown up.--The waters subside.--The party proceeds.--Arrival at the Barwan.--A flood.--(Pl. 12. LAST USE OF THE BOATS, page 395).-- Cross the Màal, also in boats.--Country between the rivers.--Mount Riddell recognised.--The Gwydir crossed.--Termination of the journey.--A stockman.--Night on the open plain.--The Nammoy.--First news CHAPTER X. Instructions to Mr. Kennedy for the survey of the river Victoria.--Of the Aborigines.--Simple conditions of human existence.--Grass, fire, kangaroos, and men.--Case of the aboriginal natives.--My native guides.-- Experiment worth trying.--Of the Convicts.--Character of the men of the party.--Of convicts generally.--Of the Colony of New South Wales,-- capabilities of soil and climate.--Progress of colonization,--Division and appropriation of the territory.--Capricornia and Austral-india MAP OF EASTERN AUSTRALIA Page 430 APPENDIX. The Colonial Secretary to the Surveyor General of New South Wales.-- Letter, dated 28th October, 1830 Systematical List of Plants ILLUSTRATIONS. [Not included in the text-file version of this eBook] Flood coming down the Macquarie (pl. 1. p. 58) Map I. The Indian Archipelago Portrait of Bultje Remnant of the Bogan tribe Map II. The Rivers Bogan and Macquarie First use of the boats (pl. 2) Map III. The Rivers Narran, Culgoa, and Balonne to St. George's Bridge, shewing also the route thence homeward to Snodgrass Lagoon Separation of the Balonne into the Culgoa, Narran, &c. The River Balonne, 7th April (pl. 3) Map IV. Advance to the Maranòa, and route returning to St. George's Bridge The Bottle tree, DELABECHEA The black awaiting the white Map V. The country and the routes between the Maranòa and Mount Mudge, and those along the River Victoria Tree without branches The Pyramids (pl. 4) Martin's Range (pl. 5) Tower Almond (pl. 6) Map VI. The River Belyando Missile club of natives of Central Australia Remarkable tree (HAKEA ?) The River Salvator, 5th Sept. (pl. 8) Lindley's Range (pl. 9) Old native female Aboriginal dance (pl. 7) View on the River Maranòa (pl. 10) Acacia VARIANS St. Georgia's Bridge (pl. 11) Last use of the boats (pl. 12) Map VII. Eastern Australia, with recent discoveries * * * * * JOURNEY INTO TROPICAL AUSTRALIA, ETC. Chapter I. OBJECTS OF THE EXPEDITION.--IT IS DELAYED BY A REFERENCE TO LORD STANLEY.--LIST OF THE PARTY.--DEPARTURE FROM BUREE.--SCATTERED POPULATION.--IRISH AMONGST THE SQUATTERS.--A TEA-TOTALLER FROM SYDNEY.--A SHEPHERDESS IN AUSTRALIA. SHEEP WALK WHERE CATTLE RUN.--MEET AN OLD ABORIGINAL ACQUAINTANCE.--CATTLE STATIONS ABANDONED.--THE BOGAN RIVER.-- YOUNG BULLOCKS TROUBLESOME.--EXCESSIVE HEAT.--GREAT SCARCITY OF WATER.-- THE PARTY MUCH DISTRESSED BY HEAT AND DROUGHT.--MELANCHOLY FATE OF THE BOGAN TRIBE.--INTERESTING PLANTS DISCOVERED.--CARRY WATER FORWARD.-- DESPERATE RIDE DOWN THE BOGAN.--FIND ITS CHANNEL DRY.--DOGS DIE FROM THIRST.--THE PARTY ATTACKED WITH OPHTHALMIA.--QUIT THE BOGAN, BY MOVING TO THE PONDS OF CANNONBÀ.--ENCAMP THERE TO REST AND REFRESH THE PARTY. The exploration of Northern Australia, which formed the object of my first journey in 1831, has, consistently with the views I have always entertained on the subject [* See London Geographical Journal, vol. vii. part 2, p. 282.], been found equally essential in 1846 to the full development of the geographical resources of New South Wales. The same direction indicated on Mr. Arrowsmith's map, published by the Royal Geographical Society in 1837, was, in 1846, considered, by a committee of the Legislative Council of New South Wales, the most desirable to pursue at a time when every plan likely to relieve the colony from distress found favour with the public. At no great distance lay India and China, and still nearer, the rich islands of the Indian Archipelago; all well-peopled countries, while the industrious and enterprising colonists of the South were unable to avail themselves of the exuberance of the soil and its productions, "Which mock'd their scant manurings, and requir'd MORE HANDS THAN THEIRS to prune their wanton growth." The same attraction which drew the greatest of discoverers westward, "al nacimiento de la especeria [* To the region where spices grew.]," seemed to invite the Australian explorer northward; impelled by the wayward fortunes of the Anglo-Saxon race already rooted at the southern extremity of the land whose name had previously been "Terra Australis incognita." The character of the interior of that country still remained unknown, the largest portion of earth as yet unexplored. For the mere exploration, the colonists of New South Wales might not have been very anxious just at that time, but when the object of acquiring geographical knowledge could be combined with that of exploring a route towards the nearest part of the Indian Ocean, westward of a dangerous strait, it was easy to awaken the attention of the Australian public to the importance of such an enterprise. A trade in horses required to remount the Indian cavalry had commenced, and the disadvantageous navigation of Torres Straits had been injurious to it: that drawback was to be avoided by any overland route from Sydney to the head of the Gulf of Carpentaria. But other considerations, not less important to the colonists of New South Wales, made it very desirable that a way should be opened to the shores of the Indian Ocean. That sea was already connected with England by steam navigation, and to render it accessible to Sydney by land, was an object in itself worthy of an exploratory expedition. In short, the commencement of such a journey seemed the first step in the direct road home to England, for it was not to be doubted that on the discovery of a good overland route between Sydney and the head of the Gulf of Carpentaria, a line of steam communication would thereupon be introduced from that point to meet the English line at Singapore. In this view of the subject, it seemed more desirable to open a way to the head of the Gulf of Carpentaria, the nearest part of the sea, than to the settlement at Port Essington, on a presque-île forming the furthest point of the land; and, that the journey would terminate at the Gulf was therefore most probable. The map of Australia, when compared with that of the world, suggested reasonable grounds for believing that a considerable river would be found to lead to the Gulf of Carpentaria. My department having been reduced to a state of inactivity in 1843, I submitted a plan of exploration to Sir George Gipps, the Governor, when His Excellency promised, that if the Legislative Council made such reductions as they seemed disposed to make in the public expenditure, he should be able to spare money for such an expedition. The Legislative Council not only made reductions in the estimates to save much more money than His Excellency had named, but even voted 1000L. towards the expense of the journey, and petitioned the Governor to sanction it. His Excellency, however, then thought it necessary to refer the subject to the Secretary for the Colonies. Much time was thus lost, and, what was still worse, the naturalist to whom I had explained my plan, and invited to join my party, Dr. Leichardt. This gentleman, tempted by the general interest taken by the colonists at the time in a journey of discovery, which afforded a cheering prospect amid the general gloom and despondency, raised and equipped a small party by public subscription, and proceeded by water to Moreton Bay. Dr. Leichardt, and the six persons who finally accompanied him thence to the northward, had not been heard of, and were supposed to have either perished or been destroyed by natives. [* Dr. Leichhardt returned afterwards to Sydney from Port Essington by sea; and the journal of his journey, recently published, shows what difficulties may be surmounted by energy and perseverance.] The reply of Lord Stanley was, as might have been anticipated, favourable to the undertaking; but the Governor of the colony still declined to allow the journey to be undertaken, without assigning any reason for keeping it back. This was the more regretted by me, when it became known in New South Wales that Captain Sturt was employed, with the express sanction of Lord Stanley, to lead an exploring expedition from Adelaide into the northern interior of Australia, and that he was actually then in New South Wales. Sir George Gipps had expressed, in one of his early despatches to the British Government, his readiness to encourage such an undertaking as that, and stated that "no one came forward to claim the honour of such an enterprise;" yet now that Lord Stanley had sanctioned the plan of the Surveyor General, whose duty it was to survey the country, he refused to allow this officer to proceed. The Legislative Council, however, renewed the petition for this undertaking, to which the Governor at length assented, in 1845; and the sum of 2000L. was unanimously voted for the outfit of the party, but with the clear understanding on the part of the Council, that the plan of the Surveyor General should be adopted. The idea of a river flowing to the northward, was not, however, new. The journey in 1831 was undertaken chiefly in consequence of a report that a large river had been followed down to the coast by a bushranger, accompanied by the natives: and the ultimate course of the Condamine, still a question, was a subject of controversy in some of the first papers published in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society. My suggestions on the subject are detailed at length in the London Geographical Journal, Vol. VII., Part 2., page 282., and accompanied by a map showing the line of exploration then recommended. In making preparations for this expedition, the means of conveyance by land and water required the earliest consideration. These were strong bullock-drays and portable boats. Horses and light carts had been preferred by me: but the longer column of march, and necessity for a greater number of men, were considered objections; while many experienced persons suggested that the bullocks, though slow, were more enduring than horses. [* The results of this journey proved quite the reverse.] Eight drays were therefore ordered to be made of the best seasoned wood: four of these by the best maker in the colony, and four by the prisoners in Cockatoo Island. Two iron boats were made by Mr. Struth, each in two parts, on a plan of my own, and on the 17th of November the whole party moved off from Paramatta on their way to the proposed camp at Buree. I joined the party encamped at Buree on the 13th of December, having rode there from Sydney in four and a half days, and on the following Monday, 15th of December, 1845, I put it in motion towards the interior. The Exploring party now consisted of the following persons:-- SIR T. L. MITCHELL, Kt., Surveyor General, Chief of the Expedition. EDMUND B. KENNEDY, Esq. Assistant Surveyor, Second in command. W. STEPHENSON, M.R.C.S.L. Surgeon and Collector of objects of Natural History. PETER M'AVOY, Mounted Videttes. Charles Niblett, William Graham, ANTHONY BROWN, Tent-keeper. WILLIAM BALDOCK, In charge of the horses. John Waugh Drysdale, Store-keeper. Allan Bond, Bullock-drivers. Edward Taylor, William Bond, William Mortimer, George Allcot, John Slater, Richard Horton, Felix Maguire, James Stephens, Carpenters. Job Stanley, Edward Wilson, Blacksmith. George Fowkes, Shoemaker. John Douglas, Barometer carrier. Isaac Reid, Sailor and Chainman. Andrew Higgs, Chainman. William Hunter, With the horses. Thomas Smith, Patrick Travers, Carter and Pioneer. Douglas Arnott, Shepherd and Butcher. Arthur Bristol, Sailmaker and Sailor. 8 drays, drawn by 80 bullocks; 2 boats; 13 horses; 4 private do.; and 3 light carts, comprised the means of conveyance; and the party was provided with provisions for a year:--250 sheep (to travel with the party), constituting the chief part of the animal food. The rest consisted of gelatine, and a small quantity of pork. With the exception of a few whose names are printed in italics, the party consisted of prisoners of the Crown in different stages of probation, with whom the prospect of additional liberty was an incentive so powerful, that no money payment was asked by them or expected, while, from experience, I knew that for such an enterprise as this I could rely on their zealous services. The patience and resolution of such men in the face of difficulties, I had already witnessed; and I had hired three of the old hands, in order the more readily to introduce my accustomed camp arrangements. Volunteers of all classes had certainly come eagerly forward, offering their gratuitous services on this expedition of discovery; but discipline and implicit obedience were necessary in such a party to ensure the objects in view, as well as its own preservation; and it was not judged expedient, where some prisoners were indispensable as mechanics, to mix with them men of a different class, over whom the same kind of authority could not be exercised. Following the same road by which I quitted Buree, in 1835, my former line of route across Hervey's Range lay to the left. The party thus arrived at Bramadura, a sheep station occupied by Mr. Boyd. It was on the same chain of ponds crossed by me on the journey of 1835, and then named Dochendoras Creek, but now known as the Mundadgery chain of ponds. These ponds had been filled by heavy rains which fell on Tuesday the 9th December--the day on which I left Sydney, where the weather had been clear and sultry. A tornado or hurricane had, on the same day, levelled part of the forest near this place, laying prostrate the largest trees, one side of which was completely barked by the hailstones. Many branches of trees along the line of route, showed that the wind had been very violent to a considerable distance. 16TH DECEMBER.--Some of the bullocks missing: the party could not, therefore, quit the camp until 11 o'clock. The passage of the bed of the chain of ponds (which we travelled up) was frequently necessary, and difficult for heavily laden drays, which I found ours were, owing, chiefly to a superabundance of flour, above the quantity I intended to have taken, but supplied to my party, and brought forty miles by my drays before my arrival at the camp. We halted at another sheep station of Mr. Boyd's. Here I perceived that Horehound grew abundantly; and I was assured by Mr. Parkinson, a gentleman in charge of these stations, that this plant springs up at all sheep and cattle stations throughout the colony, a remarkable fact, which may assist to explain another, namely, the appearance of the Couchgrass, or Dog's-tooth-grass, wherever the white man sets his foot, although previously unknown in these regions. 17TH DECEMBER.--Set off about 7 A.M. and travelled along a good road, for about 6 miles. Then, at a sheep station, we crossed the chain of ponds, following a road leading to Dr. Ramsay's head station, called Balderudgery. Leaving that road, and, at 7 miles, taking to the left, we finally encamped on Spring Creek, after a journey of about 9 miles. We had passed over what I should have called a poor sort of country, but everywhere it was taken up for sheep; and these looked fat; yet not a blade of grass could be seen; and, but for the late timely supply of rain, it had been in contemplation to withdraw these flocks to the Macquarie. Calling at a shepherd's hut to ask the way, an Irish woman appeared with a child at her breast and another by her side: she was hut-keeper. She had been there two years, and only complained that they had never been able to get any potatoes to plant. She and her husband were about to leave the place next day, and they seemed uncertain as to where they should go. Two miles further on, a shoemaker came to the door of a hut, and accompanied me to set me on the right road. I inquired how he found work in these wild parts. He said, he could get plenty of work, but very little money; that it was chiefly contract work he lived by: he supplied sheep-owners with shoes for their men, at so much per pair. His conversation was about the difficulty a poor man had in providing for his family. He had once possessed about forty cows, which he had been obliged to entrust to the care of another man, at 5S. per head. This man neglected them: they were impounded and sold as unlicensed cattle under the new regulations. "So you saw no more of them?" "Oh, yes, your honour, I saw some of them AFTER THEY HAD BEEN SOLD AT THE POUND!--I wanted to have had something provided for a small family of children, and if I had only had a few acres of ground, I could have kept my cows." This was merely a passing remark made with a laugh as we walked along, for he was one of the race-- "Who march to death with military glee." But the fate of a poor man's family was a serious subject: such was the hopeless condition of a useful mechanic ready for work even in the desolate forests skirting the haunts of the savage. So fares it with the DISJECTA MEMBRA of towns and villages, when such arrangements are left to the people themselves in a new colony. 18TH DECEMBER.--The party moved off about 7 A.M., and continued along a tolerable road, crossing what shepherds called Seven Mile Creek, in which there was some water; and a little further on we quitted the good beaten road leading to Balderudgery, and followed one to the left, which brought us to another sheep station on the same chain of ponds, three miles higher up than Balderudgery. Having directed the party to encamp here, I pursued the road south-westward along the chain of ponds, anxious to ascertain whether I could in that direction pass easily to the westward of Hervey's Range, and so fall into my former line of route to the Bogan. At about five miles I found an excellent opening through which the road passed on ground almost level. Having ascended a small eminence on the right, I fell in with some natives with spears, who seemed to recognise me, by pointing to my old line of route, and saying, "Majy Majy" (Major Mitchell). I little thought then that this was already an outlying picquet of the Bogan Blacks, sent forward to observe my party. The day was hot, therm. 97° in the shade. The chain of ponds, there called "the Little River," contained water in abundance, and was said to flow into the Macquarie, in which case the Bogan can have but few sources in Hervey's Range. The station beside which we had encamped, comprised a stock yard, and had been formerly a cattle station belonging to Mr. Kite. It was now a sheep station of Dr. Ramsay's, and there was another sheep station a mile and a half from it, along the road I had examined. Thus the country suitable for either kind of stock is taken up by the gradual encroachment of sheep on cattle runs, not properly such. This easily takes place--as where sheep feed, cattle will not remain, and sheep will fatten where cattle would lose flesh. Fortunately, however, for the holders of the latter description of stock, there are limits to this kind of encroachment. The plains to the westward of these ranges afford the most nutritive pasturage in the world for cattle, and they are too flat and subject to inundations to be desirable for sheep. A zone of country of this description lies on the interior side of the ranges, as far as I have examined them. It is watered by the sources of the rivers Goulburn, Ovens, Murray, Murrumbidgee, Lachlan, Bogan, Macquarie, Castlereagh, Nammoy, Peel, Gwydir, and Darling; on which rivers the runs will always make cattle fat. There are two shrubs palpably salt, and, perhaps, there is something salsolaceous in the herbage also on which cattle thrive so well; and the open plains and muddy waterholes are their delight. Excessive drought, however, may occasionally reduce the owners of such stock to great extremities, and subject them to serious loss. The Acacia pendula, a tree whose HABITAT is limited and remarkable, is much relished by the cattle. It is found only in clay soils, on the borders of plains, which are occasionally so saturated with water as to be quite impassable; never on higher ground nor on any lower than that limited sort of locality, in the neighbourhood of rivers which at some seasons overflow. In such situations, even where grass seems very scarce, cattle get fat; and it is a practice of stockmen to cut down the Acacia pendula (or Myall trees, as they call them) for the cattle to feed on. At this sheep station where we had encamped, I met with an individual who had seen better days, and had lost his property amid the wreck of colonial bankruptcies--a tea-totaller, with Pope's Essay on Man for his consolation, in a bark hut. This "melancholy Jaques" lamented the state of depravity to which the colony was reduced, and assured me that there were shepherdesses in the bush! This startling fact should not be startling, but for the disproportion of sexes, and the squatting system which checks the spread of families. If pastoralisation were not one thing, and colonisation another, the occupation of tending sheep should be as fit and proper for women as for men. The pastoral life, so favourable to love and the enjoyment of nature, has ever been a favourite theme of the poet. Here it appears to be the antidote of all poetry and propriety, only because man's better half is wanting. Under this unfavourable aspect the white man first comes before the aboriginal native; were the intruders accompanied by women and children, they could not be half so unwelcome. One of the most striking differences between squatting and settling in Australia consists in this. Indeed if it were an object to uncivilise the human race, I know of no method more likely to effect it than to isolate a man from the gentler sex and children; remove afar off all courts of justice and means of redress of grievances, all churches and schools, all shops where he can make use of money, then place him in close contact with savages. "What better off am I than a black native?" was the exclamation of a shepherd to me just before I penned these remarks. 19TH DECEMBER.--The party moved along the road I had previously examined. On passing through to the western side, I recognised the trees, plants, and birds of the interior regions. Granitic hills appeared on each side, and the sweet-scented Callitris grew around, with many a curious shrub never seen to the eastward of these ranges. On descending, grassy valleys, with gullies containing little or no water, reminded me of former difficulties in the same vicinity, and it was not until we had travelled upwards of sixteen miles that I could encamp near water. This consisted of some very muddy holes of the Goobang Creek, on which I had formerly been pleasantly encamped with Mr. Cunningham. [* See Vol. I. of Three Expeditions, etc., page 171.] Two or three natives soon made their appearance, one of whom I immediately recognised to be my old friend Bultje, who had guided me from thence to the Bené Rocks, on my former journey along the Bogan. He brought an offering of honey. Ten years had elapsed since I formerly met the same native in the same valley, and time had made no alteration in his appearance. With the same readiness to forward my views that he formerly evinced, he informed me where the water was to be found; and how I should travel so as to fall in with my former route, by the least possible DÉTOUR. Mount Laidley bore 23° E. of N. 20TH DECEMBER.--This day I gave the cattle a rest, as the grass seemed good, while I rode to look at my old line of marked trees. A cattle station (of Mr. Kite) was within a mile and a half of our camp, and at about three miles below it, I fell in with the former line. Where it crossed the Goobang, a track still continued by them, but finally diverged, leaving the line of marked trees, without the slightest trace of the wheels or hoofs that had formerly passed by it. Reaching a hill laid down on my former survey, and from which I recognised Mount Laidley, I returned directly to the camp. We had encamped near those very springs mentioned as seen on my former journey, but instead of being limpid and surrounded by verdant grass, as they had been then, they were now trodden by cattle into muddy holes, where the poor natives had been endeavouring to protect a small portion from the cattle's feet, and keep it pure, by laying over it trees they had cut down for the purpose. The change produced in the aspect of this formerly happy secluded valley, by the intrusion of cattle and the white man, was by no means favourable, and I could easily conceive how I, had I been an aboriginal native, should have felt and regretted that change. The springs which issue from the level plains of clay, while the bed of the water-course some twenty feet lower continues dry and dusty, are numerous. One had a strong taste of sulphur, and might probably be as salubrious as other springs more celebrated. They show that, in this country at least, the water-courses are not supplied by springs, but depend wholly on heavy torrents of rain descending from the mountains. Some holes in the bed of the Goobang Creek did however retain some water which had fallen during the last rain. The thermometer stood at 107° in the tent. 21ST DECEMBER.--Guided by my old friend Bultje, we pursued a straight line of route through the forest to Currandong, which was half way to the Bogan. We passed over a very open, gently undulating country, just heading a gully called Brotherba--showing how well our guide knew the country--and we reached Currandong at 2 o'clock. Here also were two flocks belonging to Dr. Ramsay; Balderudgery, the head station, being fifteen miles distant, by a mountain road through a gap. While travelling this day, Corporal Graham overtook me with letters from Buree, and a cart had also been sent after us by Mr. Barton with a small supply of corn. That country is considered excellent as a fattening run for sheep; the shepherd told me they there find a salt plant, which keeps them in excellent condition and heart for feeding. The scarcity of water at some seasons occasions a conversion here of cattle runs into sheep runs, and VICE VERSÂ, a contingency which seems to render these lands of Hervey's range of temporary and uncertain value. 22D DECEMBER.--Guided by Bultje we continued to follow down the little chain of ponds which, as he said, led to the Bogan. The road was good-- the Currandong ponds running in a general direction about N. N. W. It was the first of the sources of the Bogan we had reached. Crossing at length to its left bank, near an old lambing station of Dr. Ramsay's, we further on came to a large plain with the Yarra trees of the Bogan upon its western skirts. Some large lagoons on the eastern side of the plains had been filled by the late rains, and cattle lay beside them. We at length arrived in sight of a cattle station of Mr. Templar's, called Ganànaguy, and encamped on the margin of a plain opposite to it. The cattle here looked very fat, and although the herd comprised about 2000 head, there was abundance of grass. The Bogan thus first appeared on our left hand, and must have its sources in the comparatively low hills, about the country crossed by my former line of route, rather than in Hervey's or Croker's ranges, as formerly supposed. The water in the ponds of the Bogan seemed low. This fine grazing country had been abandoned more than once from the failure of the water, and yet these ponds seemed capable of holding an almost inexhaustible supply. A single dam would have retained the water for miles, the Bogan always flowing through clay in a bed of uniform width and depth like a canal. No doubt a little art and labour would be sufficient to render the land permanently habitable: but on an uncertain tenure this remedy was not likely to be applied, and therefore the sovereignty of art's dominion remained unasserted there. The incursions of the savage, who is learning to "bide his time" on the Darling, are greatly encouraged by the hardships of the colonists when water is scarce; and I was shown where no less than 800 head of fat bullocks had been run together by them when water was too abundant. Then horses cannot travel, and cattle stick fast in the soft earth and are thus at the mercy of the natives. The stone ovens, such as they prepare for cooking kangaroos, had been used for the consumption of about twenty head of cattle a day, by the wild tribes who had assembled from the Darling and lower Bogan on that occasion. Thermometer in tent 109° at noon, wind W.N.W. 23D DECEMBER.--We crossed the Bogan (flowing eastward) at Mr. Templar's station at Ganànaguy, and the overseer most hospitably stood by the party as it passed with a bucket of milk, of which he gave a drink to each of the men. Bultje put us on the right road to the next nearest water-holes (Mr. Gilmore's station), and having rendered me the service he promised, I gave him the tomahawk, pipe, and two figs of tobacco promised him, and also took a sketch of his singularly Socratic face. This native got a bad name from various stockmen, as having been implicated in the murder of Mr. Cunningham. Nothing could be more unfounded; and it must indeed require in a man so situated the wisdom of a Socrates to maintain his footing, or indeed his life, between the ignorant stockmen or shepherds on one hand, and the savage tribes on the other. These latter savages naturally regard those who are half civilised, in the same light as we should look on deserters to the enemy, and are extremely hostile to them, while perhaps even his very usefulness to our party had most unjustly connected this native's name with the murder of one of our number. His laconic manner and want of language would not admit of any clear explanation of how much he had done to serve our race--and the difficulties he had to encounter with his own; while the circumstance of his having been met with at an interval of ten years in the same valley in a domesticated state, if it did not establish any claim to the soil, at least proved his strong attachment to it, and a settled disposition. Much tact must be necessary on his part to avoid those savages coming by stealth to carry off his gins; and to escape the wrath of white men, when aroused by the aggressions of wild tribes to get up a sort of foray to save or recover their own. How Bultje has survived through all this, without having nine lives like a cat, still to gather honey in his own valley, "surpasseth me to know." We encamped at two large water-holes of the Bogan near Mr. Gilmore's station, and the overseer sent to the men two buckets of milk. At the station a well had been made to the depth of eighty feet, but a flood had come, and risen so high as to wash in the sides and so fill up the well. The workmen had passed through yellow clay chiefly, and the clay was wet and soft when the further sinking was interrupted. Thermometer in my tent 109°, wind W. N. W. 24TH DECEMBER. A lurid haze hung among the trees as the earliest sunbeams shot down amongst them. The party were ready to move off early, but the progress was slow from various impediments. A hot wind blew like a blast furnace. A bullock dropt down dead at the yoke. We encamped on the Currandong, or Back Creek, near a small plain, after travelling about ten miles. Thermometer in tent, 103.° Hot wind from the west. 25TH DECEMBER. Halted to rest the cattle. The wind blew this day more from the northward, and was cooler. Thermometer in tent, 107°. 26TH DECEMBER.--Proceeded to Graddle, a cattle station belonging to Mr. Coss, 2½ miles. Thermometer, 109°. 27TH DECEMBER.--The bullock-drivers having allowed twenty-two of the bullocks to stray, it was impossible to proceed. At early morning the sky was overcast, the weather calm, a slight wind from the west carried off these clouds, and at about eleven a very hot wind set in. The thermometer in my tent stood at 117°, and when exposed to the wind rose rapidly to 129°, when I feared the thermometer would break as it only reached to 132°. 28TH DECEMBER.--All the cattle having been recovered, we set off early, accompanied by a stockman from Graddle, Mr. Coss's station. The day was excessively warm, a hot wind blowing from the west. We finally encamped on the Bogan, at a very muddy water-hole, after travelling eleven miles. Thermometer in tent, 115°. At half past five, the sky became overcast, and the hot wind increased to a violent gust, and suddenly fell. I found that tartaric acid would precipitate the mud, leaving a jug of the water tolerably clear, but then the acid remained. Towards evening the sky was overcast, and a few drops of rain fell. The night was uncommonly hot. At ten the thermometer stood at 102°, and at day-break at 90°. 29TH DECEMBER.--The remaining water was so muddy that the cattle would no longer drink it. The sky was overcast, with the wind from south. Finding a cart road near our camp, I lost no time in conducting the lighter portion of our equipment to Mr. Kerr's station at Derribong. In the hollows I saw, for the first time on this journey, the POLYGONUM JUNCEUM, reminding me of the river Darling, and on the plains a SOLANUM in flower, of which I had only seen the apple formerly. At length, greener grass indicated that the late rains had fallen more heavily there, and at about twelve miles I reached the station situated on a rather clear and elevated part of the right bank of the Bogan. Here the stock of water had been augmented by a small dam, and a channel cut from a hollow part of the clay surface conducted any rain water into the principal pool, where the water was very good. We had now arrived at the lowest station on the Bogan. The line of demarcation between the squatter and the savage had been once much lower down, at Mudà, and even at Nyingan (see INFRA), but the incursions of the blacks had rendered these lower stations untenable, without more support than the Colonial government was able to afford. There, at least, the squatter is not only not the real discoverer of the country, but not even the occupier of what had been discovered. The map will illustrate how it happens that the colonists cannot keep their ground here from the marauding disposition of the savage tribes. [* See map of Eastern Australia--INFRA.] The Darling is peopled more permanently by these natives, than perhaps any other part of Australia: affording as it does a more certain supply of food. It is only in seasons of very high flood that this food, the fish, cannot be got at, and that they are obliged to resort to the higher country at such seasons, between the Darling, the Lachlan, and the Bogan. It also happens that the cattle of the squatter are most accessible from the soft state of the ground; the stockmen cannot even ride to protect them. The tribes from the Lachlan and Macquarie meet on these higher lands, and when tribes assemble they are generally ready for any mischief. The Bogan is particularly within their reach, and when wet seasons do occur the cattle of squatters must be very much at the mercy of the savages. The tribes from the Darling are extremely hostile, even to the more peaceably disposed hilltribes near the colony, and several stations have already been abandoned in consequence of the outrages of the aborigines from the Darling and Lachlan. Nothing is so likely to increase these evils as the precarious or temporary occupation of such a country. The supply of water must continue uncertain so long as there is no inducement from actual possession to form dams, and by means of art to secure the full benefit of the natural supply. Hence it is that half a million of acres, covered with the finest grass, have been abandoned, and even savages smile at the want of generalship by which they have been allowed to burn the white man's dairy station and stockyards on the banks of the Bogan. The establishment of a police station near the junction of the Bogan with the Darling, or the formation of an inland township about Fort Bourke, had been sufficient to have secured the stations along the Bogan and Macquarie, and to have protected the Bogan natives as well as our own countrymen from frequent robbery, murder, and insult. Such are the results where SQUATTING has been permitted to supersede settling. With possession, deficiency of water in dry seasons had been remedied, and no such debateable land had remained on the borders of a British colony. The part of the Bogan where least water can be found, has always been that between our present camp and Mudà, a very large lagoon about 50 miles lower down. I found by the barometer that there is a fall of 206 feet in that distance of 50 miles; whereas the fall in the bed of the Bogan is only 50 feet between Mudà and New Year's Range, in a distance of upwards of 100 miles. The general course of the Bogan changes at Mudà from N.W. to north, the former being nearly in the direction of the general declination of the country, the latter rather across it, of which the overflowings of the parallel river Macquarie into Duck Creek, and other channels to the westward, seemed to afford sufficient proofs. Where the declination is least, the water is most likely to remain in ponds in the channel of the river after floods, the water of which can neither flow with so much velocity, nor bear down any of the obstructions by which ponds are formed. Mr. Dixon found the velocity of the Bogan at this part, during a flood in 1833, to be four miles in an hour; which is about double the average rate of the larger rivers of Australia. I had an order from Mr. Kerr, the proprietor of this station of Derribong, to his superintendant, for such fat cattle as I might require to take with me as live stock. Finding that the sheep answered very well, having lost none, and that they rather improved in travelling, whereas the working oxen had been much jaded and impoverished by the long journey, heavy loads, and warm weather; I determined to take as many young bullocks as might suffice to relieve and assist the others, and break them in as we proceeded. 30TH DECEMBER.--The wind changed to S.E., and brought a cool morning. Thermometer, 68°. This day we selected from the herds of Mr. Kerr 32 young bullocks, and they were immediately yoked up in the stockyard. Received letters from Sydney, by Corporal Graham. 31ST DECEMBER, 1845.--Thermometer at 5 A. M., 62°: at noon, 109°. Wind S.E. At noon a whirlwind passed over the camp, fortunately avoiding the tents in its course; but it carried a heavy tarpaulin into the air, also some of the men's hats, and broke a half-hour sand-glass, much wanted for the men on watch at night. The sky overcast from the west in the evening. 1ST JANUARY, 1846.--A strong wind from N.E. blew during the day, and was very high at 11 A. M. The party were chiefly employed breaking in the young bullocks. At noon, nimbus, and some rain, tantalised us with the hope of a change; but the sky drew up into clouds of cumulus by the evening. The vegetation of the Bogan now recalled former labours: the ATRIPLEX SEMIBACCATA of Brown was a common straggling plant. 2D JANUARY.--The young cattle still occasioned delay. The morning was cloudy and promised rain; but a N.W. wind broke through the clouds, which resolved themselves into cirrostratus, and we had heat again. Besides the SALSOLA AUSTRALIS, we found a HALGANIA with lilac flowers, probably distinct from the species hitherto described, which are natives of the south-west coast. 3D JANUARY.--This morning the young cattle were yoked up with the old; and, after considerable delay, the party proceeded to some ponds in the Bogan about five miles lower down. We were now nearly opposite to the scene of Mr. Cunningham's disasters: I had recognised, amongst the first hills I saw when on the Goobang Creek, the hill which I had named Mount Juson, at his request, after the maiden name of his mother. The little pyramid of bushes was no longer there, but the name of Cunningham was so identified with the botanical history of almost all the shrubs in the very peculiar scenery of that part of the country, that no other monument seemed necessary. Other recollections recalled Cunningham to my mind; his barbarous murder, and the uncertainty which still hung over the actual circumstances attending it. The shrubs told indeed of Cunningham; of both brothers, both now dead; but neither the shrubs named by the one, nor the gloomy CASUARINOE trees that had witnessed the bloody deed, could tell more. There the ACACIA PENDULA, first discovered and described by Allan, could only "Like a weeping mourner stooping stand, For ever silent, and for ever sad." 4TH JANUARY.--The early cooler part of the morning was taken up with the young cattle. It was now but too obvious that this means of conveyance was likely to retard the journey to an extent that no pecuniary saving would compensate, as compared with light carts and horses. I proceeded forward in search of a deserted stockyard, called Tabbaratong, where some water was said still to remain. We found some mud and water only; although some that was excellent was found about two miles lower down the Bogan, late in the evening. We had crossed the neutral ground between the savage and the squatter. The advanced posts of an army are not better kept, and humiliating proofs that the white man had given way, were visible in the remains of dairies burnt down, stockyards in ruins, untrodden roads. We hoped to find within the territory of the native, ponds of clear water, unsoiled by cattle, and a surface on which we might track our own stray animals, without their being confused by the traces of others. 5TH JANUARY.--Three of the young cattle having escaped during the night, retarded us in the morning until 8 o'clock, at which hour they were brought into the camp, having been tracked by Yuranigh, a most useful native who had come with us from Buree. I proceeded with the light carts, guided by a very young native boy, not more than ten years old, who had come with the party from Kerr's station, and who, being a native of the lower Bogan, could tell us where water was likely to be found. Our route was rather circuitous, chiefly to avoid a thick scrub of CALLITRIS and other trees, which, having been recently burnt, presented spikes so thickly set together, that any way round them seemed preferable to going through. We reached plains, and came upon an old track of the squatters. The grass in parts was green and rich. I could see no traces of my former route, but we arrived at length at an open spot which Dicky, the young native, said was "Cadduldury." Leaving Dr. Stephenson with the people driving the light carts there, I proceeded towards the bed of the Bogan, which was near, to see what water was there, and following the channel downwards, I met with none. Still I rode on, accompanied by Piper (also on horseback), and the dryness of the bed had forbidden further search, but that I remembered the large ponds we had formerly seen at Bugabadà and Mudà, which could not be far distant. But it was only after threading the windings of the Bogan, in a ride of at least twelve miles, that we arrived at the most eastern of the Bugabadà ponds. The water was however excellent, purer indeed than any we had seen for many days, and we hastened back to the party at Cadduldury, which place we only arrived at as darkness came on, so that Piper had nearly lost his way. The drays with Mr. Kennedy had not come up, and I sent William Baldock and Yuranigh back in haste to inform him that I was encamped without water, and that I wished him, if still EN ROUTE, immediately to unyoke the cattle, encamp on a grassy spot, and have them watched in their yokes during the night, and to come forward at earliest dawn to the water-holes I had found near Bugabadà. We passed a miserable night without water at Cadduldury. 6TH JANUARY.--William Baldock returned at daybreak, bringing a message from Mr. Kennedy, saying he should do as I had requested. I went forward with the light party, and reached the water-holes by 8 A. M.. The morning happened to be extremely hot, which, under the want of water and food the preceding evening, made Drysdale very ill, and John Douglas and Isaac Reid were scarcely able to walk when we arrived at the first water-hole. But how the jaded bullocks were to draw the heavy loads thus far in the extreme heat, was a subject of anxious thought to me. William Baldock again returned to Mr. Kennedy with two barrels of water on a horse, a horn full of tea, etc. On his way he met six of the drays, the drivers of which were almost frantic and unable to do their work from thirst. He brought me back intelligence that Mr. Kennedy still remained at his encampment, with the two remaining drays, whereof the drivers (Mortimer and Bond) had allowed their teams, with bows, yokes, and chains, to escape, although each driver had been expressly ordered to watch his own team during the night. This was a most serious misfortune to the whole party. The rest of the drays could not be brought as far as my camp, but I ordered the cattle to be released and driven forward to the water, which they reached by the evening, sufficient guards being left with the drays. The shepherd with the sheep could not get so far as the water, and the poor fellow had almost lost his senses, when Mr. Stephenson, who had hastened back with several bottles, relieved his thirst, and, as the man said, "saved his life." Our position might indeed have been critical, had the natives been hostile, or as numerous as I had formerly seen them at that very part of the Bogan. Separated into three parties, and exhausted with thirst and heat, the men and the drays might have been easily assailed. No natives, however, molested us; and I subsequently found that the tribe, with which I was on very friendly terms there formerly, were still amicably disposed towards us. 7TH JANUARY.--Early this morning, M'Avoy brought in the spare bullocks, having been sent forward by Mr. Kennedy to travel on during the night. The shoemaker also brought in one of the lost teams and part of the other. I sent back, by Baldock, this morning, water for the men in charge of the drays, and some tea and bread for Mr. Kennedy. He would also have gone in search of the four bullocks still missing, but Mr. Kennedy sent him again to me to procure something to eat. The drays carrying the provisions had not come up, and my party too was short. The day surpassed in heat any I had ever seen: the thermometer at noon in the shade stood at 109°, a gentle hot wind blowing. The camp of Mr. Kennedy was distant at least 16 miles from mine near Bugabadà. The six drays came in about 4 P. M.; the sheep not until long after dark. Bread, gelatine, and ten gallons of water were sent back to Mr. Kennedy, and a memorandum from me apprising him of my arrangement for drawing forward the two drays, which he had taken such good care of, and which was as follows: Two teams to leave my camp on the evening of next day, to be attached on their arrival to the two drays with which they were to come forward, travelling by moonlight during the rest of the night, until they should be met by two other fresh teams, destined to meet them early next morning. Also I informed Mr. Kennedy that it was not my intention to send after the four stray bullocks until the drays came in, and the party could be again united. Thermometer again 109° in the shade all day. The CALOTIS CUNEIFOLIA was conspicuous amongst the grass. This was the common BURR, so detrimental to the Australian wool. Small as are the capitula of this flower, its seeds or achenia are armed with awns having reflexed hooks scarcely visible to the naked eye; it is these that are found so troublesome among the wool. 8TH JANUARY.--The messenger returned from Mr. Kennedy saying he had found him and the men with him, in a state of great distress from want of water, having given great part of what had formerly been sent to a young dying bullock, in hopes thereby to save its life. He also stated that a tribe of natives were on their track about three miles behind. Baldock had seen several bullocks dead on the way. In the evening the two first teams were sent off as arranged. This day had also been very sultry, especially towards evening. 9TH JANUARY.--Early this morning, the two relieving teams were despatched as arranged, and at noon Mr. Kennedy and the whole entered the camp. We had been very fortunate, under such trying circumstances, to suffer so little loss, and I determined never to move the party again, until I could ascertain where the water was at which it should encamp. I had been previously assured by the young native that water was still to be found at Cadduldury, and the disappointment had nearly proved fatal to the whole party. On the banks of the Bogan, the ATRIPLEX HAGNOIDES formed a round white- looking bush. I rode forward to Mudà, accompanied by Dr. Stephenson and by Piper, and had an interview with some of the heads of the old tribe, who remembered my former visit, and very civilly accompanied me to show me my old track and marked trees, which I found passed a little to the northward of my present encampment. The chief, my old friend, had been killed in a fight with the natives of the Macquarie, not long before. Two old grey-haired men sitting silent in a gunya behind, were pointed out to me as his brothers, one of whom so very much resembled him, that I had at first imagined he was the man himself. These sat doubled up on their hams opposite to each other, under the withered bushes, naked, and grey, and melancholy--sad and hopeless types of their fading race! The chief who formerly guided us so kindly had fallen in a hopeless struggle for the existence of his tribe with the natives of the river Macquarie, allied with the border police, on one side; and the wild natives of the Darling on the other. All I could learn about the rest of the tribe was, that the men were almost all dead, and that their wives were chiefly servants at stock stations along the Macquarie. The natives of Mudà assured me there was no water nearer than Nyingan, a large pond which I knew was 22 1/3 miles distant, in a direct line lower down the Bogan. The ponds of Mudà, their great store of water, and known to white men as the largest on the Bogan, were alarmingly low, and it became evident that our progress under such a scarcity of water would be attended with difficulty. These natives gave us also a friendly hint that "GENTLEMEN" should be careful of the spears of the natives of Nyingan, as many natives of Nyingan had been shot lately by white men from Wellington Valley. Among the woods we observed the white-flowered TEUCRIUM RACEMOSUM, the JUSTICIA MEDIA, a small herbaceous plant with deep pink flowers; also a STENOCHILUS and FUSANUS (the Quandang), although not in fruit; a new species of STIPA, remarkable for its fine silky ears and coarse rough herbage.[*] This place produced also a fine new species of Chloris in the way of C. TRUNCATA, but with upright ears, and hard three-ribbed pales,[**] and we here observed, for the first time, a fine new EREMOPHILA with white flowers, forming a tree fifteen feet high.[***] The beautiful DAMASONIUM OVALIFOLIUM, with white flowers red in the centre, still existed in the water. [* S. SCABRA (Lindl. MS.), aristis nudis, paleis pubescentibus basi villosis, glumis setaceo-acuminatis glabris, foliis scabropilosis involutis culmis brevioribus, geniculis pubescentibus, ligulâ oblongâ subciliatâ.] [** C. SCLERANTHA (Lindl. MS.), culmo stricto, foliis planis glabris tactu scabris, spicis 4--7-strictis, spiculis bifloris, flore utroque breviaristato cartilagineo truncato 3-nervi glabro supremo sterili vacuo.] [*** E. MITCHELLI (Benth. MS.), glabra viscidula, foliis alternis linearibus planis, corolla alba extus glabra fauce amplo laciniis 4 superioribus subaequalibus infima majore retusa, staminibus inclusis.] In the evening it was discovered that no one had seen the shepherd and the sheep since the morning, and Piper and Yuranigh went in search. It was night ere they returned with the intelligence that they had found his track ten miles off to the S. W. when darkness prevented them from following it further. I ascertained, by observations of the stars Aldebaran and Orionis, that out present camp near Bugabadà was in latitude 31° 56', and thus very near the place where Mr. Dixon's journey down the Bogan in 1833 had terminated. Thermometer at noon, 90°; at 9 P. M., 70°; with wet bulb, 63°. 10TH JANUARY.--Early this morning Mr. Kennedy and Piper went to the S. W. in search of the shepherd and sheep, while at the same time I sent William Baldock and Yaranigh back along our track in search of the stray bullocks. Meanwhile I conducted the party along my former track to Mudà, where we met Mr. Kennedy and Piper with the shepherd and sheep, already arrived there. The shepherd stated that the fatigue of having been on watch the previous night had overcome him; that he fell asleep, and that the sheep went astray; that he followed and found them, but lost himself. He had met one or two natives who offered him honey, etc. which he declined. We encamped beside the old stock-yard and the ruins of a dairy, only visible in the remaining excavation. But a paddock was still in such a state of preservation, that in one day we completed the enclosure. We had passed near Bugabadà similar remains of a cattle station. This position of Mudà was a fine place for such an establishment; a high bank nearly clear of timber, overlooking a noble reach of great capacity, and surrounded by an open forest country, covered with luxuriant grass. The last crop stood up yellow, like a neglected field of oats, in the way of a young crop shooting up amongst it. 11TH JANUARY, 1846.--Sunday. Prayers were read to the men, and the cattle and party rested. The day was cool and cloudy. 12TH JANUARY.--Still I halted at Mudà for the lost bullocks. To-day I noticed the KOCHIA BREVIFOLIA, a little salt-bush, with greenish yellow fruit, edged with pink. 13TH JANUARY.--Baldock and Yuranigh arrived early in the morning (by moonlight) with five of the stray bullocks. Two others (young ones) could not be driven along, and one old bullock was still astray at Mr. Kerr's station (to which they had returned) and could not even then be found. We had now in all 106 bullocks, and, considering the great scarcity of water, heat, and consequent drought, I was most thankful that our loss had been so slight. I proceeded to reconnoitre the country in a straight line towards Nyingan, which bore 353°--and having found a tolerably open country for about six miles, I returned and took the party on so far, and encamped, sending back all the cattle and horses to the water at Mudà. Enough had been carried forward for the men who were to remain at the camp. To ensure the early return of the cattle, I had repaired, as already stated, the paddock at Mudà, in which during this night, they could be secured, having also sufficient grass,--likewise the horses. In my ride I found a new grass of the genus CHLORIS[*], something like CHL. TRUNCATA in habit, some starved specimens of TRICHINIUM LANATUM; amongst the grasses I also found the ARISTIDA CALYCINA of Brown, the curious NEURACHNE MITCHELLIANA Nees, discovered originally by me in 1836, and also a new PAPPOPHORUM with the aspect of our European Anthoxanthum.[**] A smart shower fell during the evening. [* C. ACICULARIS (Lindl. MS.); culmo stricto, foliis involutis glabris tactu scabris, spicis 8--9 subacutis, spiculis bifloris, flore utroque setaceo aristato, supremo sterili angustissimo, paleis dorso scabris.] [** P. FLAVESCENS (Lindl. MS.); aristis 9 rigidis pallidis plumosis, spicâ compositâ densissimâ oblongâ, paleis lanatis, glumis ovatis pilosis, foliis vaginisque pubescentibus tactu scabris, geniculis villosis.] 14TH JANUARY.--The cattle arrived early from Mudà, and were immediately yoked to the drays. I proceeded with the light carts, still on the same bearing, until arriving near Dar, where I had formerly been encamped, I turned to the left to ascertain if there really was no water there. I found two excellent ponds, and encamped beside them after a journey of about ten miles. The drays arrived early and I subsequently found I had encamped near my old ground of 9th May, 1835, when I was guided by the friendly chief of the Bogan tribe to the best water holes his country afforded. By the route I had selected from my former surveys, I had cut off the great bend described by the Bogan in changing from a north- westerly to a northerly course, and the track now left by our wheels will probably continue to be used as a road, when the banks of the Bogan may be again occupied by the colonists. At Darwere still most substantial stock-yards, and, as usual, the deep dug foundations of a dairy that had been burnt down. 15TH JANUARY.--Eight bullocks were missing, and although the day was fine, not too hot, I could not think of moving until these cattle were found. Accordingly, at earliest dawn, I despatched William Baldock and the native to look for them. In the course of the day six were found by Baldock in one direction, and the remaining two, afterwards, in another. An inconspicuous blue-flowered Erigeron grew here, also the JASMINUM LINEARE, with its sweet-scented white flowers--and, near the water, I saw the ALTERNANTHERA NODIFLORA. 16TH JANUARY.--At a good early hour the party moved from Dar, crossing the Bogan and falling into my former track and line of marked trees. We lost these, however, on crossing the Bogan at Murgabà, and made a slight détour to the eastward before we found Nyingan, where we encamped, and were joined by the drays by twelve o'clock. During this day's journey Piper and Yuranigh discovered fresh traces of horsemen with those of the feet of a native guide, come from the East to my old track, and returning, apparently, as our natives thought, looking for traces of our party. At Nyingan we found many recent huts and other indications of the natives, but saw none. Large stock-yards and a paddock remained, but a house and garden fences had been burnt down. The great ponds were sunken very low and covered with aquatic weeds. As soon as the camp had been established with the usual attention to defence, I set out to look for the next water, and after riding twelve miles nearly in the direction of my former route, I reached the dry channel of the Bogan, and tracing it thence upwards, I sought in every hollow at all its turnings for water, but in vain, and I reached the camp only at dusk, without having seen, during the day, any other ponds than those of Nyingan. 17TH JANUARY.--Early this morning, I sent Mr. Kennedy with the native Yuranigh, also on horseback, to run back my track of yesterday to the Bogan where I had commenced its examination upwards, and from that point to examine the channel downwards to the nearest water, provided this did not take Mr. Kennedy too far to admit of his return by sunset. Two old women came to the ponds of Nyingan for water, by whom Piper was told that the nearest permanent water was "NIMINÉ," where white men had attempted to form a cattle-station, and been prevented by natives from the Darling, many of whom had since been shot by the white men. They said the place was far beyond Canbelego, the next stage of my former journey, and where these women also said little or no water remained. Mr. Kennedy returned at eleven A.M., having found water at Canbelego. Yuranigh brought with him a large green specimen of the fruit of the CAPPARIS MITCHELLII, which he called an apple, being new to him, but which Dicky, the younger native from the Lower Bogan, knew, and said was called "MOGUILE;" he also said that it was eaten by the natives. 18TH JANUARY.--The party moved to Canbelego where one or two small ponds remained, but on the plains adjacent there was better grass than we had hitherto found near those places where, for the sake of water, we had been obliged to encamp. I sent Mr. Kennedy again forward looking for water, but he returned sooner than I expected, and after following the river down twelve miles, without finding any. I was now within the same distance of Duck Creek, in which Mr. Larmer had found abundance of water when I sent him to survey it upwards during my last return journey up the Bogan. It also seemed, from the direction in which Piper pointed, that the old gins referred to Duck Creek, as containing water; and as the course of that creek, so far as shown on maps, led even more directly to the Darling than did the Bogan, I was willing in such a season of extreme drought, to avail myself of its waters. My eye had been much injured by straining at stars while at the camp near Walwadyer, and I was obliged to send Mr. Kennedy on one of my own horses, followed by Graham, to examine the water in Duck Creek. I instructed him to proceed on a bearing of 35° E. of North, until he should reach the creek, and if he found water in it to return direct to the camp, but that if water was not found on first making the creek, then he was to follow Duck Creek up to its junction with an eastern branch, surveyed also by Mr. Larmer, and to return thence to the camp on a bearing of 240°. I also sent Corporal Macavoy with Yuranigh down the Bogan, to ascertain if the channel contained any pond between our camp and the part previously examined by Mr. Kennedy. This officer returned from Duck Creek after an absence of twelve hours, and reported that he had found no water in Duck Creek after examining its bed twelve miles; but that he had found a fine lagoon on the plains near the head of the eastern branch, but around which there was no grass, all having been recently burnt. 20TH JANUARY.--Macavoy returned at seven A.M., saying he had been twenty- four miles down the Bogan without finding any water. About the same time Sergeant Niblett, in charge of the bullocks, came to inform me that these animals were looking very ill, and could not drink the mud remaining in the pond. At the same time intelligence was brought me that four of the horses had broken their tether ropes during the night, and that William Baldock had been absent in search of them on foot, from an early hour in the morning. I immediately sent back the whole of the bullocks to Nyingan, with a dray containing the empty harness casks, also the horses, and a cart carrying all our other empty casks; and the whole of the cattle and horses returned in the evening with all the casks filled. 21ST JANUARY.--Having again despatched the bullocks back to Nyingan, I conducted the light carts forward along my old track (of 1835), having on two of these carts two of the half-boats, and in the carts under them all the water-kegs that had been filled. My object was to use the iron boat as a tank, at which we might water the bullocks at one stage forward; that by so gaining that point and proceeding onwards towards the water I hoped to find next day, we might encamp at least at such a convenient distance from it, as would admit of the cattle being driven forward to return next day and draw the drays to it. This I considered possible, even if it might be found necessary to go as far for water as the fine reach described in my journal as the place of my encampment on the 14th May, 1835, beyond Mount Hopeless, and which I concluded from the gin's description, must have been what she called Nimine, or the disputed station of Lee. I encamped this party on a plain about twelve miles from Canbelego, where I had left Mr. Kennedy, with instructions to bring the drays on with the spare cattle and horses early next morning. I had sent thence Corporal Macavoy and Yuranigh to follow the track of Baldock and the horses; but it was obvious that we could remain no longer at Canbelego. As soon as we could set up one of the half-boats, the contents of the water-kegs were emptied into it, and the cart was immediately sent back with the empty kegs to Canbelego, where fresh horses had been left, to continue with the same cart and empty kegs to Nyingan during the night, so as to arrive in time to admit of the dray--already there with the harness casks--bringing an additional supply back in the kegs, when the bullocks returned next day. It was now necessary that I should ascertain as soon as possible the state of the ponds lower down the Bogan, and thereupon determine at once, whether to follow that dry channel further in such a season, or to cross to the pond in Duck Creek, and await more favourable weather. I accordingly set out at 3 P.M., from where the water had been placed in the half-boat, accompanied by Dr. Stephenson, and followed by Corporal Graham and Dicky the native boy. By the advice of the latter, I rode from the camp in the direction of 30° E. of N., and, crossing the Bogan, we reached at about 3½ miles beyond it, a channel like it, which I supposed was Duck Creek; and in it, just where we made it, there was a small pond of water. Having refreshed our horses, we followed this channel downwards, without meeting with more water. To my surprise, I found the general direction was westward, until it JOINED THE BOGAN. We next followed the course of the Bogan as long as daylight allowed us to do so, without discovering any indication that water had recently lodged in any of the hollows, and we finally tied up our horses and lay down to sleep, in hopes that next day might enable us to be more successful. 22D JANUARY.--Having proceeded some miles along the western bends of the Bogan, hastily--being desirous to see that day the great pond beyond Mount Hopeless--I observed that the clay was very shining and compact in a hollow sloping into an angle of the river-bed, that the grass was green as from recent rain, and that there was more chirping of birds; I was tempted once more by these indications, to look for water in the Bogan's almost hopeless channel, and there we found a pond, at sight of which poor Dicky shouted for joy; then drank, and fell asleep almost in the water. It was small, but being sufficient for our immediate wants, we thankfully refreshed our horses and ourselves, and proceeded on our eventful journey. Almost immediately after leaving this pond I discovered my old track, which we continued to follow across those large plains, whence I had formerly discovered Mount Hopeless. These plains I soon again recognized from the old tracks of my draywheels, distinctly visible in many places after a lapse of nearly eleven years. Arriving at length near the debateable land of Lee's old station, we resumed our examination of the Bogan. There we perceived old cattle tracks; the ovens in which the natives had roasted whole bullocks, and about their old encampments many heaps of bones; but in none of the deep beds of former ponds or lagoons could we discover any water. The grass was nevertheless excellent and abundant; and its waste, added to the distress the want of water occasioned us, made us doubly lament the absence of civilised inhabitants, by whose industry that rich pasture and fine soil could have been turned to good account. We saw no natives; nor were even kangaroos or emus to be seen, as formerly, any longer inhabitants of these parts. I turned at length, reluctantly, convinced that it would have been unsafe to venture with cattle and drays into these regions before rain fell. In returning, we at first found it difficult to find our old track, by which alone we could hope that night to reach the small pond of the morning; but Dr. Stephenson very fortunately found it, and we had also the good fortune, for so we considered it, to arrive at the pond before sunset. There we tied up our horses and lay down, glad indeed to have even that water before our eyes. Dicky, the native boy, had repeatedly thrown himself from his horse during the afternoon, quite ill from thirst. 23D JANUARY.--After our horses had drank, we left no water in the pond; but they had fed on good grass, and we were well refreshed, although with water only, for our ride back to the camp. Setting off from an old marked tree of mine near the Bogan, on a bearing of 160°, I several times during our ride fell in with the old track, and finally reached the camp after a rapid ride of four hours. I found the whole party had arrived the previous evening with the water, as arranged; but that Mr. Kennedy was absent, having set off that morning in search of water to the N. E. with Corporal Macavoy, on two government horses, leaving word that he should return by twelve o'clock. He did not return at that hour, however, and at two I moved the party across the Bogan, and proceeded along open plains towards the ponds at Duck Creek, with the intention of there refreshing the cattle and horses, and awaiting more favourable weather. I previously watered out of the half-boat, 106 bullocks, and gave a quart to each of the horses. On the way, the heat was so intense that our three best and strongest kangaroo dogs died, and it was not until 10 P. M. that the drays reached the ponds where I had proposed to encamp. About an hour and a half before, Mr. Kennedy also came in, having galloped the two horses 66 miles, and hurt both their backs, Macavoy being a heavy man. At 9 P. M., therm. 80°, wet bulb, 68°. 24TH JANUARY.--This morning I awoke completely blind, from ophthalmia, and was obliged to have poultices laid on my eyes; several of the men were also affected in the same manner. The exciting cause of this malady in an organ presenting a moist surface was, obviously, the warm air wholly devoid of moisture, and likely to produce the same effect until the weather changed. At 9 P. M., therm. 84°, with wet bulb, 68°. Chapter II. SEND TO NYINGAN FOR LEECHES.--BETTER PONDS FOUND TO THE NORTHEAST.--MOVE TO THE PONDS OF CANNONBÀ AND SET UP OUR BIVOUAC.--HOT WIND.--HEAT GREATER THAN MY TABLE FOR EXPANSION OF MERCURY WAS CALCULATED FOR.--PIPER'S INTENTION TO QUIT THE PARTY.--HIS SENT TO BATHURST.--WEATHER CHANGES.-- RAIN.--MR. KENNEDY RETURNS FROM THE MACQUARIE.--SALT MADE FROM THE SALT PLANT.--RECONNOITRE "DUCK CREEK."--THE PARTY QUITS CANNONBÀ--CROSSES PLAINS TO MARRA CREEK--AND THENCE TO THE RIVER MACQUARIE.--OPHTHALMIA STILL TROUBLESOME.--APPROACH OF A FLOOD ANNOUNCED.--ITS ARRIVAL IN CLEAR MOONLIGHT.--MR. KINGHORNE GUIDES THE PARTY ALONG THE REEDY BANKS.--NO WATER FOUND IN "DUCK CREEK."--DIFFICULTY OF WATERING THE CATTLE FROM SOFTNESS OF THE BANKS OF PONDS AMONGST THE REEDS.--"YULLIYALLY," A NATIVE, GUIDES THE PARTY.--NEW PLANTS DISCOVERED.--DESCRIPTION OF OUR NATIVE GUIDE.--CONDITION OF HIS COUNTRYMEN.--HOW AFFECTED BY THE INTRUSION OF THE WHITE RACE.--AT LENGTH EMERGE FROM THE REEDS.--WATER SCARCE.--NECESSITY FOR PRESERVING ABORIGINAL NAMES OF RIVERS.--DELAYED BY STRAY BULLOCKS SEVERAL DAYS.--AT LENGTH ARRIVE AT THE JUNCTION OF THE RIVER WITH THE DARLING.--CROSS THE MACQUARIE NEAR ITS JUNCTION--AND FORD THE DARLING AT WYÀBRY. 25TH JANUARY.--Dr. Stephenson having recommended the application of leeches, and having observed them in the ponds at Nyingan, I sent William Baldock and Yuranigh there in search of some, and they brought back enough. Fourteen were applied to my eyes the same afternoon. The ground here was quite naked; it was, in fact, the blue clay of the Darling, with the same sterile looking plants; and no time was to be lost in seeking some ponds where there might be also good grass for the cattle. Therm. at sunrise, 97°; at noon, 100°; at 9 P.M. 90°; with wet bulb, 71°. 26TH JANUARY.--I sent Corporal Graham with Piper, in a N. E. direction to where we had observed the light of burning woods reflected from a cloudy sky last evening; considering that a sure indication that water was near, as natives are seldom found where there is none. He returned early with the welcome tidings that he had found abundance of water in a creek about five miles off, and excellent grass upon its banks. My eyes were so far recovered that I could observe the altitude of a star, thus ascertaining the latitude of this camp to be 31° 20' 20" S. Therm. at sunrise, 85°; at noon, 112°; at 9 P.M. 84°; with wet bulb, 70°. 27TH JANUARY.--The whole party moved to the ponds called "Cannonbà" by the natives. There we found greater abundance of water and better grass than we had seen near water during the whole journey, and I determined to halt for at least two weeks, as part of the time I had previously intended to devote to the repose and refreshment of the cattle, when we should have reached the Darling. The cattle and their drivers had been much harassed, and both needed and deserved rest. The horses had got out of condition, and I considered that when we arrived at the Darling their services would be more required. I was also to try the experiment here, whether I might prosecute the journey without danger of losing my eyesight; to have abandoned the undertaking at that point, had been almost as painful to me as the other alternative. There were no hostile natives here, the fire having been set up by some solitary gins; rain was daily to be expected, at least cooler weather would certainly come in a short time; the wheels of the drays had been long represented to me as needing a thorough repair, from the effect of the heat on the wheels;-- and, upon the whole, I considered it very fortunate that we could encamp under such circumstances on so favourable a spot. We placed our tents amongst shady bushes--set up the blacksmith's forge, and soon all hands were at work in their various avocations, whilst the cattle and horses enjoyed the fresh grass, leisure to eat it, and abundance of water. Amongst the bushes here, a HAKEA, with simple filiform mucronulate leaves without flower, occurred, loaded with oblong hard galls resembling dry plums. Also the SENECIO CUNNINGHAMI (D.C.), found by Allan Cunningham on the shores of Lake George. Mr. Stephenson discovered here a very pretty new TRICHINIUM, with heads of hoary pink flowers. [* T. SEMILANATUM (Lindl. MS.); ramosa, pubescens, ramulis, angulatis, foliis linearibus acutis noveillis villosis, capitulis paucifloris hemisphericis, rachi densè bracteis uninerviis acutis scpalisque angustis plumosis parcè lanatis.] I learnt from the natives that this creek also joined the Bogan, consequently that the real Duck Creek must either be still to the N. E. of us, or be a branch out of this. At all events, the creek surveyed by Larmer is thus proved to have been a discovery of his, and a most useful one it has thus proved to us on this emergency. That chain of ponds (whence we had just come) was called Bellaringa; this "Cannonbà;" and to what I suppose must be Duck Creek, water to which the natives point northward, they give the name of "Marra." Therm. at sunrise, 78°; at noon, 115°; at 4 P.M. 96°; at 9, 88°; with wet bulb, 73°. 28TH JANUARY.--Several kettles, a good spade, a Roman balance with large chain complete, barrels, and other articles, were found at the bottom of one of the ponds; and old tracks of cattle were numerous about the banks. Thus it was clear that this favourable spot for a cattle station had not been unheeded by the white man. It was vaguely asserted by some old gins seen by Piper, that three men had been killed here when the place was abandoned. We were about twelve or fourteen miles to the W.N.W. of Mount Harris; and certainly the general bed of this watercourse was broader than that of the Bogan, and moreover contained much granitic sand, all but identifying its sources with those of the Macquarie. This day was very hot; a thunder cloud passed over us, and a shower fell about 3 P.M. Thermometer at sunrise, 78°; at noon, 115°; at 4 P.M. 108°; at 9, 84°; with wet bulb, 63°. 29TH JANUARY.--A more than usually hot wind raised the thermometer to 115° in the shade; but distant thunder was soon heard, and the horizon became clouded. The day was very sultry, and although no rain fell near us, it was evident that other parts to the north-east were receiving a heavy shower. Thermometer at sunset, 102°. 30TH JANUARY.--An easterly wind brought a refreshing air from the quarter where the thunder-cloud had exhausted itself last evening. This day the doctor found the tree mentioned as bearing a nondescript fruit in my former journal, Vol. I. page 82., but this tree bore neither flower nor fruit. Thermometer at sunrise, 80°; at noon, 103°; at 4 P.M., 108°; at 9, 100 ½°; with wet bulb, 79°. 31ST JANUARY.--The weather still very sultry. I commenced a series of observations with a syphon barometer (made by Bunten of Paris). The table for expansion of mercury and mean dilatation of glass, sent me by my friend Captain P. P. King, came but to 88° of Fahrenheit, whereas at 4 P.M., the centigrade thermometer stood at 44½°, which is equal to 112° of Fahrenheit. This day I was apprised of Piper's intention to leave the party, taking with him the two younger and more useful natives. He had recently made some very unreasonable demands. It was now obvious from various sayings and doings thus brought to my recollection, that he had never any serious intention of accompanying this expedition throughout its progress. The services of other more intelligent natives might easily have been obtained, having been proffered by many in the settled districts, but Piper from having been with me before, was preferred as a matter of course. He had not improved in speech or manners during the long interval of ten years that had elapsed since our former acquaintance, although during that time he had visited Adelaide, Sydney, Moreton Bay, the river Hunter, etc., etc. From the day on which he had joined the party on this last occasion, he had been allowed a horse, saddle, doublebarrelled gun, clothing, and the same rations as the other men, blankets, place in a tent with the men, etc. Unlike most other natives, he was a very bad shot, and very awkward about a horse; it was impossible to obtain any clear intelligence from his countrymen through him as interpreter; he went very unwillingly about doing anything. He had drawn his rations and those of the two young natives separately from the men's mess the week before this, on the plea that they did not obtain their fair share; he was thus premeditately preparing for his clandestine departure, foreseeing that on the Saturday, when rations were issued, he could thus obtain a week's provisions in advance, without suspicion. He also had it in his power, like a true savage, to take the lion's share from the other two, in thus drawing rations apart from the men's mess. He had heard of the gins who had made the conflagration having retired towards the cattle-stations on the Macquarie. Here, then, while other men were actively at their work,--blacksmiths, carpenters, bullock-drivers,--this man, who was as well fed and clothed as they, carried on a horse to boot, and doing no work, was the only dissatisfied person. Me, whom he called his "old master," he would heartlessly leave, without a native guide, just at the time when such guides were most required. The only difficulty I felt on this occasion was how to secure the services of the two others, and yet dismiss him. He had just received a week's ration in advance, and he was baking the whole of the flour into bread. I sent to have him instantly seized, and brought with the dough and the other native, Yuranigh, before Mr. Kennedy and myself, as magistrates. He denied the intention to decamp. The other declared he had proposed to him to leave the party and go in search of gins, and that he could not understand him; that he was afraid to accompany Piper in a country so far from his own home (Buree). On this I ordered Piper to be sent to Bathurst, and the rations he was about to carry off, to be given to the other two, and that he should be kept apart from them during the night. Thermometer at sunrise, 85°; at noon, 111°; at 4 P.M., 112°; at 9, 101°;--with wet bulb, 78°. 1ST FEBRUARY.--This morning Piper was sent off with Corporal Graham. Mr. Kennedy rode on also in order to find out the nearest police station, and make arrangements, if possible, there, for forwarding Piper to Bathurst, his own district, which would put it out of his power to molest the party by endeavouring to induce the other natives to leave it. On them this measure appeared to have a salutary effect, Yuranigh calmly observing that Piper had only himself to blame for what had befallen him, and that he had acted like a fool. Mr. Kennedy undertook also to obtain, if he could, some more kangaroo dogs to replace those which had died from excessive heat. By that loss our party was left almost without dogs; and dogs were useful not only to kill kangaroos and emus, but to afford protection from, or to give notice of, nightly attacks by the natives, in which attacks those on that part of the Darling we were approaching, had been rather too successful against various armed parties of whites. Thermometer at sunrise, 88°; at noon, 104°; at 4 P.M., 106°; at 9 P.M., 88°;--with wet bulb, 76°. 2ND FEBRUARY.--The setting sun descended on a blue stratus cloud which appeared along the edge of all other parts of the horizon, and eagerly watching any indication of a change, I drew even from this a presage of rain. Thermometer at sunrise, 88°; at noon, 104°; at 4 P.M., 106; at 9, 88°;--with wet bulb, 72°. 3RD FEBRUARY.--High winds whistled among the trees this morning, and dark clouds of stratus appeared in the sky. A substantial shower fell about 9 A.M., and the horizon was gradually shut in by clouds of nimbus. The high wind had blown steadily from north both yesterday and this morning, and in the same quarter a thunder cloud seemed busy. But when the rain began to fall, the wind shifted to the S.W., from which quarter the rain seemed to come. With it came a very peculiar smell, which I had noticed near Mount Arapiles in 1836, about the time of the commencement of the rainy weather there; and nothing could have been more welcome to us now, than the prospect of rain, and the decided change in the temperature from 115° to 73°. This was almost the first day during a month in which the air had not been warmer than our blood; often had it been greater than fever heat, so that 73° felt to us as cool as 50° would have been to a resident of Sydney. Much rain did not fall at our camp, but it seemed that rain was falling about the sources of the Bogan and other places at which a supply of water was indispensable to enable us to proceed. At sunset, glimpses of a clear sky appeared about the horizon, and during the night the moon and stars came forth, and destroyed all hopes of more rain. We were thankful, however, for the relief afforded by what had fallen, which had lowered the temperature about 40 degrees, and enabled us to enjoy a night of refreshing rest. Thermometer at sunrise, 85°; at noon, 80°; at 4 P.M., 73°; at 9, 68°;--with wet bulb, 67°. 4TH FEBRUARY.--The morning dawned in a most serene sky, with refreshing breezes from the south, and the thermometer at 61°. This day we had completed the repair of the wheels of half the drays. Many of the tire- rings had been cut, rewelded, and again fixed and bolted on the wheels; the wood of these having contracted so much in the intense heat, as to have rendered these repairs indispensable. The same repairs were required by the wheels of the remaining drays and those of the light carts, and the smith and wheelwright continued their work with activity and zeal. Meanwhile the cattle were daily regaining strength and vigour for another effort. Thermometer at sunrise, 61°; at noon, 89°; at 4 P.M., 89°; at 9, 72°;--with wet bulb, 62°. 5TH FEBRUARY.--This morning the mercurial column stood higher than I had yet observed it here, and clouds of cirrus lay in long streaks across the sky, ranging from east to west, but these were most abundant towards the northern horizon. The day was comparatively cool and pleasant, the thermometer never having risen above 96°. By 6 P.M., the barometer had fallen nearly four millimetres, and even upon this apparently trivial circumstance, I could build some hope of rain; such was my anxiety for a change of weather at that time, when the earth was so parched as not only to preclude our travelling, but almost to deprive us of sight. Thermometer at sunrise, 60°; at noon, 94°; at 4 P.M., 96°; at 9, 73°; with wet bulb, 64°. 6TH FEBRUARY.--Dark stratus-shaped clouds wholly covered the sky, and shut out the sun, to my unspeakable delight. A most decided change seemed to have taken place; still the barometer remained as low as on the previous evening. A slight breeze from south-east changed to north, and at about 7 A.M. the rain began to fall. Clouds of nimbus closed on the woody horizon, and we had a day of rain. In the evening the barometer had fallen still lower, and it was probable that the rain might continue through the night. Range of thermometer from 74° to 72°. 7TH FEBRUARY.--Some heavy showers fell during the night, and the mercurial column stood exactly at the same point as on the last evening. About 10 A.M. a very heavy shower fell, after which the sun broke through, and the mass of vapour separated into vast clouds of nimbus. Much rain seemed to be still falling in the east, where the Macquarie, Bogan, and other rivers had their sources. At noon, the barometer had risen one millimetre. The rain had penetrated the clay soil of the plains about five inches. Mr. Kennedy returned in the afternoon, having duly provided for Piper's conveyance by the mounted police to Bathurst, and brought back a good bull-dog, and also some useful information respecting the various water- courses, and the river Macquarie, which he had gathered from the natives about the stations along the banks of that river. Thermometer at sunrise, 74°; at noon, 86°; at 4 P.M., 90°; at 9, 80°;--with wet bulb, 75°. 8TH FEBRUARY.--The moisture recently imbibed by the earth and air made us much more sensible of the high temperature in which we had been living, although it had been reduced by the late rains. The night air, especially, breathed no refreshing coolness as heretofore during the dry heat. The drier earth below seemed to be steaming the wet soil above it (as Brown, our cook, justly observed). Thermometer at sunrise, 80°; at noon, 96°; at 4 P.M., 95°; at 9, 80°;--with wet bulb, 75°. 9TH FEBRUARY.--The leisure we enjoyed at this camp, enabled us to bestow more attention on the vegetable and animal productions of these remarkable plains, than had been given during my former journey. It appeared that the saltwort plants, which were numerous, were not only efficacious in keeping the cattle that fed on them in the best possible condition; but as wholly preventing cattle and sheep from licking clay, a vicious habit to which they are so prone, that grassy runs in the higher country nearer Sydney are sometimes abandoned only on account of the "licking holes" they contain. It is chiefly to take off that taste for licking the saline clay, that rock-salt is in such request for sheep, lumps of it being laid in their pens for this purpose. At all events, it is certain that by this licking of clay both sheep and cattle are much injured in health and condition, losing their appetite for grass, and finally passing clay only, as may be seen near such places. In the salt plants on these plains, nature has amply provided for this taste of these large herbivora for salt. Our sheep nibbled at the mesembryanthemum, and the cattle ate greedily of various bushes whereof the leaf was sensibly salt to the taste. The colour of the leaves of such bushes is usually a very light bluish green, and there are many species. That with the largest leaves, called salt-bush by stockmen, and by Dr. Brown RHAGODIA PARABOLICA, was very useful as a vegetable after extracting the salt sufficiently from it. This we accidentally discovered from some experiments made by Mr. Stephenson, for the purpose of ascertaining the proportion of salt contained in the leaves. The leaves contained as much as a twentieth part of salt, nearly two ounces having been obtained from two pounds of the leaves.[*] We also found that after twice boiling the leaves a few minutes in water to extract the salt, and then an hour in a third water, the leaves formed a tender and palatable vegetable, somewhat resembling spinach. As the superior excellence of these runs for fattening cattle is admitted on all hands, as compared with others more abundant in grass on the eastern side of the great range, would it not be advisable for the colonists to cultivate this salt-supplying bush, and thereby to produce a vegetable substitute for the rock salt, which is not only expensive, but only a very imperfect remedy for the clay-licking propensities of sheep and cattle on many runs? Thermometer at sunrise, 70°; at noon, 94°; at 4 P.M., 98°; at 9, 86°;--with wet bulb, 75°. [* The process of Mr. Stephenson was as follows:--"Two pounds of the green leaf were boiled in eight quarts of water for half an hour, then strained and evaporated nearly to dryness. The mass was then submitted to a red heat for half an hour. The residuum was next digested in one pint of water, filtered, and again evaporated to six ounces. It was then exposed to the sun's rays, which completed the desiccation; crystals of a cubic shape having previously been formed."] 10TH FEBRUARY.--This morning the natives caught, in a hollow tree, an animal apparently of the same genus as the DIPUS MITCHELLII, and which seemed to live solely on vegetables. The barometer had fallen three millimetres last evening, and by noon this day it had declined three more. A fresh breeze blew from N. N. E., and at 2 P.M. a dark thunder cloud came from the S. S. W. and passed over the camp. The thunder was very loud, the lightning close and vivid; the wind for some time high, and rain heavy. The sky was, however, clear by 4 P.M., except in the N. E. where the thunder continued. Thermometer at sunrise, 75°. 11TH FEBRUARY.--The real "Duck Creek" was still to the northeastward of our camp, as Mr. Kennedy had ascertained when on the Macquarie. I hoped to find in it water sufficient at least to serve the party halting on it one night, on its way to the Macquarie, by which line alone I was now convinced water enough might be obtained to supply the party until it could arrive at the Darling; I therefore rode this day to examine it, with the elder native. I followed the bearing of N. N. E. from our camp, a direction in which it was likely to be met with, so as equally to divide the journey of the drays to the Macquarie, into two days. I crossed plains covered with luxuriant crops of very rich grass, and at length obtained a sight of Mount Foster bearing east. I reached Duck Creek (that of Sturt), or the "Marra" of the natives, ascertained by the bearing of Mount Foster, the native name of which is Narrab. I examined the bed of the Marra downwards for about two miles, without seeing therein the least indication of water, and returned to the camp fully resolved to proceed next day to the Macquarie, so as to reach it a little way below Mount Foster, a distance in that direction rather too great for the cattle to travel over in one day. Thermometer at sunrise, 59°; at noon, 73°; at 4 P.M., 76°; at 9, 61°;--with wet bulb, 57°. From an average of twenty-five observations of the mercurial column, the height of this station has been determined to be 566 English feet above the level of the sea. 12TH FEBRUARY.--We broke up our encampment on Cannonbà ponds, where we had greatly recruited ourselves, both men and cattle, and crossing the channel of the water-course near our camping ground, we travelled over open grassy plains towards the river Macquarie. At thirteen miles we reached the western branch of Duck Creek, or "Marra," a name by which it is universally known to natives and stockmen. Of this we crossed several branches, from which it would appear as if the name was derived from that of the hand, which is the same, especially as natives sometimes hold up the hand and extend the fingers, when they would express that a river has various branches or sources. I went on with an advanced party towards the Macquarie, and encamped on the bank of that river at 5 P. M. The thick grass, low forests of yarra trees, and finally the majestic blue gum trees along the river margin, reminded me of the northern rivers seen during my journey of 1831. Still even the bed of this was dry, and I found only two water holes on examining the channel for two miles. One of these was, however, deep, and we encamped near it, surrounded by excellent grass in great abundance. The Macquarie, like other Australian rivers, has a peculiar character, and this was soon apparent in the reeds and lofty yarra trees growing on reedy plats, and not, as usual in other rivers, on the edge of water-worn banks. The channel was here deep and dry. We found this day, in the scrubs by Marra Creek, the ACACIA SALICINA, whereof the wood has a strong perfume resembling violets, also a new small-leaved KOCHIA with intricate branches.[*] Thermometer at sunrise, 47°; at 4 P. M., 77°; at 9, 57°;--with wet bulb, 56°. [* K. THYMIFOLIA (Lindl. MS.); fruticosa, ramosissima, ramulis intricatis pubescentibus, foliis carnosis obtusis teretibus fructibusque glabris.] 13TH FEBRUARY.--I was again laid up with the MALADIE DU PAYS--sore eyes. Mr. Stephenson took a ride for me to the summit of Mount Foster, and to various cattle stations about its base, with some questions to which I required answers, about the river and stations on it lower down. But no one could tell what the western side of the marshes was like, as no person had passed that way; the country being more open on the eastern side, where only the stations were situated; Mr. Kinghorne's at Gràway, about five miles from our camp, being the lowest down on the west bank. Mr. Stephenson returned early, having met two of the mounted police. To my most important question--what water was to be found lower down in the river--the reply was very satisfactory; namely, "plenty, and a FLOOD COMING DOWN from the Turmountains." The two policemen said they had travelled twenty miles with it, on the day previous, and that it would still take some time to arrive near our camp. About noon the drays arrived in good order, having been encamped where there was no water about six miles short of our camp, the whole distance travelled, from Cannonbà to the Macquarie, having been about nineteen miles. In the afternoon two of the men taking a walk up the river, reported on their return, that the flood poured in upon them when in the river bed, so suddenly, that they narrowly escaped it. Still the bed of the Macquarie before our camp continued so dry and silent, that I could scarcely believe the flood coming to be real, and so near to us, who had been put to so many shifts for want of water. Towards evening, I stationed a man with a gun a little way up the river, with orders to fire on the flood's appearance, that I might have time to run to the part of the channel nearest to our camp, and witness what I had so much wished to see, as well from curiosity as urgent need. The shades of evening came, however, but no flood, and the man on the look-out returned to the camp. Some hours later, and after the moon had risen, a murmuring sound like that of a distant waterfall, mingled with occasional cracks as of breaking timber, drew our attention, and I hastened to the river bank. By very slow degrees the sound grew louder, and at length, so audible as to draw various persons besides from the camp to the river-side. Still no flood appeared, although its approach was indicated by the occasional rending of trees with a loud noise. Such a phenomenon in a most serene moonlight night was quite new to us all. At length, the rushing sound of waters and loud cracking of timber, announced that the flood was in the next bend. It rushed into our sight, glittering in the moonbeams, a moving cataract, tossing before it ancient trees, and snapping them against its banks. It was preceded by a point of meandering water, picking its way, like a thing of life, through the deepest parts of the dark, dry, and shady bed, of what thus again became a flowing river. By my party, situated as we were at that time, beating about the country, and impeded in our journey, solely by the almost total absence of water--suffering excessively from thirst and extreme heat,--I am convinced the scene never can be forgotten. Here came at once abundance, the product of storms in the far off mountains, that overlooked our homes. My first impulse was to have welcomed this flood on our knees, for the scene was sublime in itself, while the subject--an abundance of water sent to us in a desert--greatly heightened the effect to our eyes. Suffice it to say, I had witnessed nothing of such interest in all my Australian travels. Even the heavens presented something new, at least uncommon, and therefore in harmony with this scene; the variable star ARGUS had increased to the first magnitude, just above the beautiful constellation of the southern cross, which slightly inclined over the river, in the only portion of sky seen through the trees. That very red star, thus rapidly increasing in magnitude, might, as characteristic of her rivers, be recognized as the star of Australia, when Europeans cross the Line. The river gradually filled up the channel nearly bank high, while the living cataract travelled onward, much slower than I had expected to see it; so slowly, indeed, that more than an hour after its first arrival, the sweet music of the head of the flood was distinctly audible from my tent, as the murmur of waters, and the diapason crash of logs, travelled slowly through the tortuous windings of the river bed. I was finally lulled to sleep by that melody of living waters, so grateful to my ear, and evidently so unwonted in the dry bed of the thirsty Macquarie. Thermometer, at sunrise, 47°; at noon, 79°; at 4 P. M., 88°; at 9, 63°;--with wet bulb, 57°. 14TH FEBRUARY.--The river had risen to within six feet of the top of the banks, and poured its turbid waters along in fulness and strength, but no longer with noise. All night that body of water had been in motion downwards, and seemed to me enough to deluge the whole country to the Darling, and correct at least any saltness in its waters, if stagnant; a probability which had greatly reconciled me to the necessity for changing the line of my intended route, as the waters above the junction of the Castlereagh had never been known to become salt. We proceeded, falling soon into a cart track which led us to Gràway, Mr. Kinghorne's cattlestation, and we encamped about five miles beyond it, near a bend of the river. We were already in the midst of reeds, but these had been so generally burnt, that we had little difficulty in crossing those parts of the marshes. The IMPERATA ARUNDINACEA, with its long head of white silky flowers, was common, and a straggling naked branched species of dock, on the parts unburnt. Thermometer at sunrise, 54°; at noon, 91°; at 4 P. M., 82°; at 9, 72°;--with wet bulb, 60°. Height above the level of the sea, 475 feet. 15TH FEBRUARY.--Mr. Kinghorne obligingly accompanied me this day, and guided us across arms of the marshy ground. I was very glad to have his assistance, for I saw no line of trees as on other rivers, nor other objects by which I could pursue its course or keep near its waters; trees of the aquatic sort and reeds grew together. At one time nothing was visible to the eastward but a vast sea of reeds extending to the horizon. Where the long reeds remained unburnt, they presented a most formidable impediment, especially to men on foot and sheep, and twenty of these got astray as the party passed through. We encamped on a bank of rather firm ground, in lat. 30° 53' 55" S. The grass was very rich on some parts of open plains near the marshes, and the best was the PANICUM LOEVINODE of Dr. Lindley, mentioned in my former journals[*] as having been found pulled, and laid up in heaps for some purpose we could not then discover. Mr. Kinghorne now informed me that it was called by the natives "coolly," and that the gins gather it in great quantities, and pound the seeds between stones with water, forming a kind of paste or bread; thus was clearly explained the object of those heaps of this grass which we had formerly seen on the banks of the Darling. There they had formed the native's harvest field. There also I observed a brome grass, probably not distinct from the BROODS AUSTRALIS of Brown; it called to mind the squarrose brome grass of Europe. Thermometer at sunrise, 59°; at noon, 87°; at 4, 89°; at 9, 73°;--with wet bulb, 66°. [* Vol. i. p. 237.] 16TH FEBRUARY.--Mr. Kinghorne set out with a man of our party to examine Duck Creek, a native boy having told him that water was to be found in it lower down. I sent back early this morning, our native, with the store- keeper, some of the men, and the shepherd, to look for the lost sheep in the reeds, and Yuranigh fortunately found them out, still not very far from the spot where they had been separated from the rest of the flock. Our greatest difficulty in these marshes was the watering of the cattle. We had still the Macquarie at hand--deep, muddy, and stagnant--not above thirty feet wide, the banks so very soft that men could scarcely approach the water without sinking to the knees. We could water the horses with buckets, but not the bullocks. The great labour of filling one of the half-boats, and giving the cattle water by that means, was inevitable, and this operation took up three hours of the morning; a wheel required repair, the box having been broken yesterday. I for these reasons found it advisable to halt this day, which I did very reluctantly. At sunset, Mr. Kinghorne returned, having found no water in the "Marra," (Duck Creek). Among the grasses growing among the reeds, we perceived the ANDROPOGON SERICEUS and an ERIANTHUS, which appeared to differ from E. FULVUS in having no hair upon the knees. The smooth variety of the European LYTHRUM SALICARIA, raised its crimson spikes of flowers among the reeds of the Macquarie, as it does in England on the banks of the Thames. We saw also MORGANIA FLORIBUNDA, SENECIO BRACHYLOENUS (D. C.), a variety with toothed leaves, also a BRACHYCOME resembling B. HETERODONTA, only the leaves were entire. A new species of LOTUS appeared among the reeds, very near the narrow-leaved form of L. AUSTRALIS on the one hand, and the South European narrow-leaved form of L. CORNICULATUS on the other; the flowers were pink, and smaller than in L. AUSTRALIS.[*] Also an ETHULIA [**], which may, on further examination, constitute a new genus; it was found by Allan Cunningham on the Lachlan. Thermometer at sunrise, 54°; at noon, 86°; at 4 P.M., 84°; at 9, 61°;--with wet bulb, 54°. [* L. LAEVIGATUS (Benth. MS.); subglaber glaucescens, foliolis linearibus v. lineari-cuneatis vix acutatis, pedunculis folio longioribus 3--6- floris, calycis subsessilis appresse pubescentis dentibus setaceo- acuminatis tubo suo paullo longioribus, legumine recto tereti glabro.] [** ETHULIA CUNNINGHAMI (Hooker MS.); glaberrima, caule dichotomo, foliis oblongis sessilibus dentato-serratis, capitulis paucis corymbosis globosis, involucri squamis oblongis imbricatis viridibus, pappo e setis paucis brevibus.] 17TH FEBRUARY.--The party moved off early, and Mr. Kinghorne having shown me a few miles more of the best ground between the scrubs and reeds, went towards a cattle station beyond the Macquarie, where a belt of open forest separated the reeds and enabled him to pass. He prevailed on a native whom he met with there to come with him to me, and to guide me to water until I reached the Bàrwan. This native at first seemed rather afraid of our numerous party, but our own native, Yuranigh, endeavoured by every means to make him at ease, and to induce him to remain with us. He guided us this day by fine open ground westward of the marshes, to a part of the Macquarie where the banks were solid enough to admit of the cattle drinking. The name was Bilgawàngara; I reached the spot early, but at sunset no drays had come up. At length I was informed that such was the softness of the soil, that the drays had sank frequently, that two were fast in one place, four in another, and that two of the bullocks were astray. The marshes were said to be just then occupied by some angry tribes, of whom Mr. Kinghorne had warned me to be on my guard. The patience necessary to any traveller depending on bullocks and bullock drivers, I then thought ought to exceed that of Job. Our native guide was very shy, and Yuranigh feared he meant to "bolt." We depended on him for finding water--on our own native for finding bullocks; but it would not have done then to have sent him away. The weather might change, and these marshes become impassable; indeed, we were as much at the mercy of Providence in this respect as the Israelites were in the bed of the Red Sea. It depended on the weather whether we should deserve to be considered Jews or Egyptians. The teams came in about midnight, after the moon had risen, by which the drivers were enabled to see my track. Lat. 30° 45' 55" S. Thermometer at sunrise, 48°; at noon, 85°; at 4 P.M., 88°; at 9, 60°;--with wet bulb, 54°. 18TH FEBRUARY.--Two bullocks were still astray some miles behind, and the iron axle of one of the drays having got bent, required repair. The cattle, I was told, were so jaded, as to be unable to make a day's journey without more rest, and I was again obliged to halt. One only of the two lost bullocks was found, and for this one we were indebted to little Dicky, a native only ten years of age, whom the big fool who had lost them was at some trouble to coax to go and assist him in the search, as Yuranigh could not be spared from the more important duty of entertaining our less civilised guide, and preventing him from making his escape. It must, indeed, appear strange to these people of the soil, that the white man who brought such large animals as oxen with them into the country, should be unable to find them without the assistance of a mere child of their own race. Dicky had soon found both, but one of them being young and wild, escaped again amongst the tall reeds. In the rich soil near the river bed, we saw the yellowish flowers of the native tobacco, NICOTIANA SUAVEOLEUS, the MINURIA HETEROPHYLLA (D.C.), found by Allan Cunningham near the Lachlan, and a FUGOSIA near F. DIGITATA of Senegambia. In the scrub we found a fine new silvery ATRIPLEX with broad rounded leaves and strings of circular toothed fruits.[*] Thermometer at sunrise, 53°; at noon, 93°; at 4 P.M., 96°; at 9, 67°;-- with wet bulb 59°. [* A. NUMMULARIA (Lindl. MS.); caule suffruticoso glabro ramoso, foliis alternis ovato-subrotundis integerrimis petiolatis basi cuneatis utrinque argenteis, floribus monoïcis, spicis longis pendulis, bracteis subrotundis dentatis basi connatis.] 19TH FEBRUARY.--We set off early, guided by our native friend. He was a very perfect specimen of the GENUS HOMO, and such as never is to be seen, except in the precincts of savage life, undegraded by any scale of graduated classes, and the countless bars these present to the free enjoyment of existence. His motions in walking were more graceful than can be imagined by any who have only seen those of the draped and shod animal. The deeply set yet flexible spine; the taper form of the limbs; the fulness yet perfect elasticity of the GLUTEI muscles. The hollowness of the back, and symmetrical balance of the upper part of the torso, ornamented as it was, like a piece of fine carving, with raised scarifications most tastefully placed; such were some of the characteristics of this perfect "piece of work." Compared with it, the civilised animal, when considered merely in the light of a specimen in natural history, how inferior! In vain might we look amongst thousands of that class, for such teeth; such digestive powers; for such organs of sight, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling; for such powers of running, climbing, or walking; for such full enjoyment of the limpid water, and of all that nature provides for her children of the woods. Such health and exemption from disease; such intensity of existence, in short, must be far beyond the enjoyments of civilised men, with all that art can do for them; and the proof of this is to be found in the failure of all attempts to persuade these free denizens of uncultivated earth to forsake it for the tilled ground. They prefer the land unbroken and free from the earliest curse pronounced against the first banished and first created man. The only kindness we could do for them, would be to let them and their wide range of territory alone; to act otherwise and profess good- will is but hypocrisy. We cannot occupy the land without producing a change, fully as great to the aborigines, as that which took place on man's fall and expulsion from Eden. They have hitherto lived utterly ignorant of the necessity for wearing fig leaves, or the utility of ploughs; and in this blissful state of ignorance they would, no doubt, prefer to remain. We bring upon them the punishments due to original sin, even before they know the shame of nakedness. Such were the reflections suggested to my mind by the young savage as he tripped on lightly before me by the side of his two half-civilised brethren of our party, who, muffled up in clothes, presented a contrast by no means in favour of our pretensions to improve and benefit their race. Yet our faithful Yuranigh was all that could be wished. He was assiduously making to the stranger such explanations of our wants and purposes, as induced him to conduct us in the direction these required. He led us, thus admonished, over those parts of the country most favourable for the passage of wheels. The rosewood acacia was abundant, but many parts were covered with most luxuriant grass. We encamped on the edge of a salt-bush plain, where there was a small pond of water left by the last rains on a clay surface. There was certainly enough for ourselves and horses, but it appeared that our guide had greatly underrated the capacity for water, of our hundred bullocks. For these, however, there was superb grass to the westward, and a little dew fell on it during the night. Thermometer at sunrise, 59°; at noon, 102°; at 4 P. M., 104°; at 9, 77°;--with wet bulb, 65°. 20TH FEBRUARY.--From the necessity for obtaining water as soon as possible for the bullocks, we travelled over ground which was rather soft, otherwise our guide would have pursued a course more to the westward, and over a firmer surface. We, at length, crossed two narrow belts of reeds not more than twenty feet across, and had the great satisfaction to learn from him that these were the last of the reeds. A shallow creek appeared soon thereafter on our right, in which our guide had expected to find water, but was disappointed; cattle having recently drank up there, what had been a large pond when he was there formerly. He showed us the recent prints of numerous cloven feet, and thus we were made to feel, in common with the aborigines, those privations to which they are exposed by the white man's access to their country. On proceeding some miles further, our guide following down the channel, he at length appeared at a distance making the motions of stooping to bathe, on which Yuranigh immediately said "He has found plenty of water;" and there, in fact, our guide had found two large ponds. They were still in the attenuated channel of the Macquarie, here called by them Wámmerawá, the course of which river is continuous throughout the marshes; and marked by some high reeds greener than the rest, even when the reeds may have been generally burnt. These reeds are distinctly different from the "balyan," growing on the marshy parts of the rivers Lachlan, Murrumbidgee, and Millewà; the former being a cane or bamboo, the latter a bulrush, affording, in its root, much nutritious gluten. We found good grass for the cattle on both sides of the water-course, which was fringed with a few tall reeds, near which the pretty little KOCHIA BREVIFOLIA observed at Mudá on the Bogan, again occurred. The native name of the spot was "Warranb." The soft earth had again impeded the drays; the teams of two came in at twilight, an axle of one dray having been damaged; the six others were brought up in the course of the evening. Thermometer at sunrise, 60°; at 4 P. M., 103°; at 9, 78°;--with wet bulb, 68°. 21ST FEBRUARY.--The first thing done this morning was to send back cattle to draw forward the dray with a bent axle, to the camp, that it might be repaired. This was done so as to enable the party to continue the journey by 1 P. M. The barometer was going down at a rate which was alarming enough, considering what our position must have been there in a flood, or even after a heavy fall of rain. I therefore pressed forward with the light carts, and guided by the native. He brought us at 5 P. M. to "Willery," the place where he had expected to find water; but here again, he had been anticipated by cattle, which had drunk up all, and trodden the ponds as dry as a market-place. He gave us no hopes of finding water that night, nor until we could reach the Bàrwan, then distant, I was quite sure, at least twenty-four miles, according to the latitude observed (30° 19' 54" South). We encamped here, and I sent back directions that the drays should at once halt, taking their places beside the leading dray, and that the cattle should be driven back in the morning to be watered at the last camp (Warranb), and then to return and follow in my track. Mr. Drysdale, the storekeeper, had also to go back to serve out a week's rations to the party with the drays, and he returned to my camp by 2 A. M., in the moonlight, bringing, on the horse of the former messenger, rations for my party. Here we found the KERAUDRENIA INTEGRIFOLIA. Thermometer at sunrise, 70°; at noon, 105°; at 9, 83°;-- with wet bulb, 57°. 22D FEBRUARY.--My guide was now desirous that I should cross the Macquarie, to open plains which he represented to be much more favourable for wheel carriages; but I endeavoured to explain to him, by drawing lines in the clay surface, how the various rivers beyond would cross and impede my journey to the Bàrwan. There were the Castlereagh, Morissett's Ponds, and the Nammoy.[* If Arrowsmith's map had been correct, which it was not, for the Nammoy joins the Darling separately, at least fifty miles higher than the junction of the Castlereagh.] An instance occurred here of the uselessness of new names, and the necessity for preserving the native names of Rivers. I could refer, in communicating with our guide, to the Nammoy only, and to the hills which partly supplied the Castlereagh, whereof the native name was Wallambangle. I wanted to make them understand the probability that some flood had come down the channel of the Castlereagh, and that we might therefore hope to find water below its junction with the Macquarie. This, with the aid of Yuranigh, our own native, was at length made intelligible to our Bàrwan guide, and he shaped his course accordingly. He took us through scrubs, having in the centre those holes where water usually lodges for some time after rain, where some substratum of clay happens to be retentive enough to impede the common absorption. But the water in these holes had been recently drunk, and the mud trampled into hard clay by the hoofs of cattle. Thus it is, that the aborigines first become sensible of the approach of the white man. These retired spots, where nature was wont to supply enough for their own little wants, are well known to the denizens of the bush. Each locality has a name, and such places are frequented by helpless females with their children, or by the most peaceably disposed natives with their families. There they can exist apart from belligerent tribes, such as assemble on large rivers. Cattle find these places and come from stations often many miles distant, attracted by the rich verdure usually growing about them, and by thus treading the water into mud, or by drinking it up, they literally destroy the whole country for the aborigines, and thereby also banish from it the kangaroos, emus, and other animals on which they live. I felt much more disgusted than the poor natives, while they were thus exploring in vain every hollow in search of water for our use, that our "cloven foot" should appear everywhere. The day was extremely hot, which usually happened to be the case whenever we were obliged to experience the want of water. The thermometer under a tree stood at 110°. The store-keeper was taken ill with vertigo. Our bull-dog perished in the heat, and the fate of the cattle, still a day's journey behind us, and of the sheep, which had not drunk for two days, were subjects of much anxiety to me at that time. It may, therefore, be imagined with what pleasure I at length saw before me large basins of water in the channel of the Macquarie, when I next approached the banks, after a journey at a good pace for six hours and a half. We had made it below the junction of Morissett's Ponds, and found that a recent flood had filled its channel with water. The natives dived into it to cure their headaches, as they said, and seemed to go completely under water, in order to take a cool drink. We had reached the united channel of the Macquarie and Morissett's Ponds, and were at an easy day's journey only distant from the junction with the BÀRWAN or "Darling." The use of the aboriginal name of this river is indispensable amongst the squatters along its banks, who do not appear to know it to be the "Darling." It is most desirable to restore to such rivers their proper names as early as possible after they have been ascertained, were it only to enable strangers thereby to avail themselves of the intelligence and assistance of the natives, in identifying the country by means of the published maps. The river Castlereagh is known to the natives as the Barr; Morissett's Ponds, as the Wàwill; and the lower part of the Macquarie, as the Wammerawà. The squatting system of occupation requires still more that the native names of rivers should be known to commissioners empowered to parcel out unsurveyed regions of vast extent, whereof the western limits would be, indeed, beyond their reach or control, but for the line of an angry savage population, which line the squatter dares not to cross unsupported by an armed mounted police. Thermometer at sunrise, 59°; at noon, 110°; at 4 P. M., 107°; at 9, 89°; --with wet bulb 72°. 23RD FEBRUARY.--The drays did not come up, nor was any intelligence of them received at our camp until late in the afternoon, when a man I had sent back in the morning to tell the drivers to halt in good time to send forward the cattle by daylight along my track to the water, brought me word that he left them on the way ten miles off about eleven in the morning. This man (Smith) also brought forward the sheep with him. They had not drank for two nights, and ran skipping and baaing to the water, as soon as they saw it. The heat of this day and yesterday was excessive, a hot wind blowing hard all the time. Among the scrub on the banks of the Macquarie, a salt plant belonging to the genus SCLEROLOENA was remarked; it was perhaps not distinct from S. UNIFLORA. The GOODENIA GENICULATA overran the ground, with its strawberry-like runners, and yellow flowers. Latitude, 30° 12' 56" S. Thermometer at sunrise, 75°; at noon, 105°; at 4 P.M., 94°; at 9, 73°;--with wet bulb, 62°. 24TH FEBRUARY.--Some of the teams came up, having been out all night. The drivers brought me word that they had been detached at twilight to come six miles; the night was very dark; of course they could not see my track, and as a matter equally of course, the spare bullocks had strayed from them. Such were the almost daily recurring causes of delay by the bullock drivers on this journey. Here, within a day's journey (thirteen miles) of the Bàrwan, I was compelled to halt thus several days, and really the prospect of performing so long a journey with such drivers seemed almost hopeless. Thermometer at sunrise, 59°; at noon, 80°; at 4 P.M., 85°; at 9, 64°;--with wet bulb, 59°. 25TH FEBRUARY.--In the evening, the carpenter brought in ten of the stray bullocks; four were still wanting, and I dispatched Mortimer, a bullock driver, and the carpenter to show him where he had last left the track of the animals still astray; both were mounted. Thermometer at sunrise, 53°; at noon, 90°; at 4 P.M., 94°; at 9, 79°;--with wet bulb, 62°. 26TH FEBRUARY.--Mortimer came in early, saying he had found only one of the bullocks, that the others had gone back to the last wateringplace twenty-two miles distant. His companion did not arrive during the day; he said he had left him bringing on the animal they had fallen in with. I blamed him for leaving him, and ordered him to find him forthwith on foot. I could not afford to lose horses. Here, it seemed, we were doomed to remain. I endeavoured to make the most of the time by carrying on the mapping of our survey, in order to make good our longitude at crossing the Bàrwan. Thermometer at sunrise, 60°; at noon, 94°; at 4 P.M., 101°; at 9, 72°;--with wet bulb, 62.° 27TH FEBRUARY.--When the teams were about to be put to the drays this morning, I was informed that five bullocks were astray. This delayed the party until 10 A.M., and then we left one lame bullock still missing. I reduced the men's rations by one pound per week, and declared that a proportional reduction should be regularly made to correspond with such unlooked-for delays in the journey. We proceeded over firmer ground, having the river almost always in sight, until, after travelling about six miles, our guide showed me the river, much increased in width, and said they called that the "Bàrwan." As it was still a mere chain of ponds, though these were large, I was sure this was not the main channel; he also said this joined the main channel a good way lower down. I was convinced that it was only the Castlereagh that had thus augmented the channel of the Macquarie, which I found afterwards to be the case, the junction taking place two miles higher. I willingly encamped on it, however, to afford more time for the lost man, and the man sent after him, to rejoin the party. I this day gave "Yulliyàlly," our guide, the promised tomahawk, a pipe, tobacco; and, in addition, a shirt; also a few lines to Mr. Kinghorne, certifying that this native had done what he had engaged to do. Thermometer at sunrise, 62°; at noon, 94°; at 4 P.M., 97°; at 9, 70°;-- with wet bulb, 57°. 28TH FEBRUARY.--The wheelwright and Mortimer came into the camp at 6 A.M., bringing back the horse of the former, and one of the lost bullocks. We set out early, and after travelling about six miles I came upon a cart-track, which I followed to the westward until overtaken by a stockman, who informed me that the Wammerawà, on which I had been encamped, joined the Bàrwan, then on my right, within two miles of the spot on which we stood; that he belonged to the cattle station of Mr. Parnell, Jun., which was distant from my last camp about five miles, and on the main river; also that the track I was following led to Mohanna, Mr. Lawson's station, seventy-five miles lower down the Bàrwan. I turned with him towards the junction of the Macquarie and Bàrwan, and encamped thereby, right glad to reach at length, the river beyond which our exploratory tour was to commence. The river looked well, with a good current of muddy water in it, of considerable width, and really like a river. I understood from my guide to this point, that there was a good ford across the river at his station; also that Commissioner Mitchell had been down the river a short time back, making a map to show all the cattle stations on both banks. We had neither seen nor heard anything of Mr. Wright, the commissioner of the Macquarie district through which we had just passed, except that he "might visit the district when the hot weather was over." Here we found a new species of CALOTIS.[*] Thermometer at sunrise, 61°; at noon, 101°; at 4 P.M., 100°; at 9, with wet bulb, 62°. [* Calotis SCAPIGERA (Hook. MSS.); stolonifera glaberrima, foliis omnibus radicalibus lineari-spathulatis, scapo nudo monocephalo, achenii aristis robustis subulatis retrorsum pilosis apice rectis vel uncinatis.--A very distinct species. Habit of BRACHYSTEPHIUM SCAPIGERUM D. C.: but that ought to have no aristae to the achenium: here the awns are very stout in proportion to the size of the capitulum.] 1ST MARCH.--When, fifteen years before, I visited this river at a higher point where it was called the Karaula [*], no trace of hoofs of horses or bullocks had been previously imprinted on the clayey banks. Now, we found it to be the last resource of numerous herds in a dry and very hot season, and so thickly studded were the banks of this river with cattle stations, that we felt comparatively at home. The ordinary precautionary arrangements of my camp against surprise by savage natives seemed quite unnecessary, and, to stockmen, almost ridiculous. We had at length arrived at the lowest drain of that vast basin of clay absorbing many rivers, so that they lose themselves as in the ocean. Here the final outlet or channel of the waters of the Macquarie, was but a muddy ditch one might step across, which the magnificent flood we had seen in the same river above the marshes was not at all likely to reach. That flood had gone to fill thousands of lagoons, without which supply, those vast regions had been unfit for animal existence. Here we discover another instance of that wonderful wisdom which becomes more and more apparent to man, when he either looks as far as he can into space, or attentively examines the arrangement of any matter more accessible to him. The very slight inclination of the surface of these extensive plains seems finely adapted to the extremely dry and warm climate over this part of the earth. If the interior slope of the land from the eastern coastranges were as great as that in other countries supplying rivers of sustained current, it is obvious that no water would remain in such inclined channels here; but the slope is so gentle that the waters spread into a net-work of reservoirs, that serve to irrigate vast plains, and fill lagoons with those floods that, when confined in any one continuous channel, would at once run off into the ocean. [* We then understood the natives very imperfectly and might have been wrong about the name, which is the more likely, as CARÀWY, which the name resembles, means any deep water-hole.] In a wet season, the country through which we had traced out a route with our wheels had been impassable. The direction I should have preferred, and in which I had endeavoured to proceed, was along the known limits of this basin, and formed a curved line, or an arc, to which the route necessity had obliged us to follow was the chord; thus we had not lost time; but had, in fact, shortened the distance to be travelled over very considerably. A permanent route had, however, seemed to me more desirable to any country we might discover, than one liable to be interrupted by flooded rivers and soft impassable ground. The track of our drays, along the western side of the Macquarie marshes opened a new and direct route from Sydney to the banks of the river Darling, by way of Bathurst; and afforded access to a vast extent of excellent pasturage on the Macquarie, along the western margin of the marshes, which land would, no doubt, be soon taken up by squatters. In so dry a climate, and where water is so frequently scarce, it may, indeed, be found that the shortest line of route with such advantages would be more frequented than any longer line, possessing only the remote advantage of security from interruption by too much water. Thermometer at sunrise, 64°; at noon, 100°; at 4 P.M., 101°; at 9, 81°; with wet bulb, 61°. 2ND MARCH--MONDAY. I took a ride to examine the ford at Wyàbry, (Mr. Parnell, Jun.'s station,) which I found practicable for our drays, although, for their descent and ascent, it was necessary to cut better approaches on each side. The Macquarie, although the channel was so attenuated and ditch-like, was likely to prove also an obstacle without some work of the same kind. Accordingly, on my return to the camp, I sent some men to the last-mentioned work. I learnt from natives whom I met at Mr. Parnell's station, that the rivers Bolloon, Culgoa, and Biree were then flowing, some abundant rains having fallen about their sources. Also, from the stockman, that the Narran was thirty-five miles distant, but that a native could be found to guide me to water only ten miles off. Water was also to be obtained at a distance of only seven miles beyond the Bàrwan there at the "Morella Ridges," to which the natives were in the habit of resorting at certain seasons, by a path of their own, to gather a fruit of which they were very fond, named by them "Moguile," and which I had previously ascertained to be that formerly discovered by me, and named by Dr. Lindley CAPPARIS MITCHELLII.[*] We found back from this camp the RUTIDOSIS HELYCHRYSOIDES of De Candolle. Thermometer at sunrise, 72°; at noon, 101°; at 4 P.M.; 100°; at 9, 78°; and with wet bulb, 62°. [* See "Three Expeditions," etc., vol. i. page 315.] 3D MARCH.--Early this morning a party of men were sent to cut better approaches to the ford across the Bàrwan at Mr. Parnell's station. Ascertained the longitude of the junction of the rivers Macquarie and Darling at our present camp to be 147° 33' 45" E., by actual measurements connected with my former surveys of the colony. Mr. Kennedy had chained the whole of the route from Bellaringa, and I had connected his work with latitudes observed at almost every encampment, and after determining at various points the magnetic variation, which appeared to be very steady, I made the latitude of this camp 30° 6' 11" south. Thermometer at sunrise, 72°; at noon, 99°; at 4 P.M., 97°; at 9, 72°; and with wet bulb, 65°. The height above the sea level of the bed of the river here, the average result of eight observations, as calculated by Capt. King, was 415 feet. 4TH MARCH.--The party moved off towards the ford over the Bàrwan at Wyàbry, crossing the bed of the Macquarie about half a mile above its junction with the Bàrwan; there, although the approaches had been well enough cut, we found the bottom too soft for our heavy vehicles, one of which dipped its wheel to near the axle. We were obliged to pave the soft and muddy bed with logs, and to cover these with branches, on which earth was thrown, ere the rest could be got across. The party arrived about noon at Wyàbry, and by 2 P.M. the whole was safely encamped on the right bank of the Bàrwan. I had received this morning a dispatch from my son, commissioner of this district, in which he gave me a most favourable account of several rivers he had explored in the direction of my proposed route. These dispatches came to me at the last camp by the hands of a native, in forty-four hours after the superintendent of Mr. Lawson, being then on his way down the river, had promised to send them to me, from a station forty-five miles off, towards Fort Bourke, where it had been supposed my party would pass. Lat. of this camp, 30° 5' 41" S. On this northern bank of the Darling we looked for novelty in botany, and found some interesting plants, such as a toothed variety of SENERIO BRACHYLOENUS D. C., a kind of groundsel; MORGANIA FLORIBUNDA, loaded with purple blossoms, and a variety of HELICHRYSUM BRACTEATUM, somewhat different in the leaves from the usual state of the species. Thermometer at sunrise, 70°; at 4 P.M., 98°; at 9, 72°;--with wet bulb, 61°. Chapter III. THE PARTY ADVANCES INTO THE UNKNOWN REGION BEYOND THE DARLING,--GUIDED BY TWO ABORIGINAL NATIVES.--PLAINS AND LOW HILLS.--ARRIVE AT PONDS OR SPRINGS CALLED "CARÀWY."--DELAYED BY THE WEAKNESS OF THE CATTLE.--REACH THE NARRAN SWAMP SOONER THAN EXPECTED.--BRIDGE MADE TO CROSS SOFT PART OF SWAMP,--WHILE AWAITING THE ARRIVAL OF TIRED BULLOCKS.--SWAMP VERY EXTENSIVE TO THE EASTWARD.--NEW PLANTS.--RIDE ACROSS THE SWAMP AND RECONNOITRE THE RIVER NARRAN THIRTY MILES UPWARDS.--THE SWAMP THE LAST RECEPTACLE OF THE RIVER.--BRIDGE LAID DOWN BY MOONLIGHT.--THE WHOLE PARTY CROSSES IT, AND AFTERWARDS FORD THE NARRAN,--CROSSING TO THE LEFT BANK.-- ADVANCE BY VERY SHORT STAGES FROM WEAKNESS OF THE CATTLE.--RICH GRASS ON THE NARRAN.--ELEVATED STONY GROUND TO THE WESTWARD.--AGAIN RECONNOITRE THE RIVER IN ADVANCE WHILE THE CATTLE REST.--PARLEY WITH A NATIVE.--TWO NATIVES OF THE BALONNE GUIDE ME TO THAT RIVER.--APPROACH THE ASSEMBLED POPULATION OF ITS BANKS.--INTERVIEW WITH THE TRIBES.--CORDIAL RECEPTION.--CROSS THE BALONNE,--AND REACH THE CULG.--CIVILITY OF THE NATIVES.--CROSS THE CULG.--TRAVEL UP ALONG THE RIGHT BANK OF THE BALONNE.--GRASSY PLAINS ALONG ITS BANKS.--THE OLD DELAY, CATTLE MISSING.--A NATIVE SCAMP.--SPLENDID REACHES OF THE RIVER.--DÉPÔT CAMP AT A NATURAL BRIDGE.--RIDE TO THE NORTHWEST.--RECEIVE DISPATCHES FROM SYDNEY.--RETURN TO THE CAMP AT ST. GEORGE'S BRIDGE. 5TH MARCH.--Early this morning the stockman brought over two natives, brothers, who were to guide us to water ten miles on towards the Narran, which was said to be thirty-five miles off. In the first two miles we passed over some soft ground. Further on, hills were visible to the left, which our native guides called Goodeingora. Fragments of conglomerate rocks appeared in the soil of the plains, pebbles and grains of quartz cemented by felspar. These plains appeared to become undulating ground as we proceeded northward, and the surface became firmer. At length the country opened into slight undulations, well clothed with grass, and good for travelling over, the soil being full of the same hard rock found on the rising grounds nearest to the Darling, in the lowest parts of that river explored formerly by me. The red earth seemed to be but the decomposed matrix of that rock, as the water-worn pebbles of quartz so thickly set therein, here covered the ground in some places so thickly as to resemble snow. Much Anthistiria and other good grasses grew on those plains. I was, indeed, most agreeably surprised at the firm undulating stony surface and open character of the country, where I had expected to see soft clay, and holes and scrubs. At six miles, other slight elevations appeared to the N. E. which the natives called Toolowly, a name well calculated to fix in white men's memory elevations TOO LOW to be called hills. They were quite high enough, however, along a line of route for such heavy drays as those following us. There appeared much novelty in the trees on this side the Darling. The ANGOPHORA LANCEOLATA was every where; Callitris grew about the base of the hills, and some very singular acacias, a long-leaved grey kind of wattle, the ACACIA STENOPHYLLA of Cunningham. On one tree large pods hung in such profusion as to bend the branches to the ground. From this abundance I supposed it was not good to be eaten; nevertheless, I found in another place many of the same pods roasted at some fires of the natives, and learnt from our guides that they eat the pea. The pod somewhat resembled that of the Cachou nut of the Brazils,--Mùnumulà is the native name. The grasses comprised a great variety, and amongst the plants a beautiful little BRUNONIA, not more than four inches high, with smaller flower-heads than those of BR. SERICEA, quite simple or scarcely at all lobed, and a hairy indusium.[*] The tree, still a nondescript, although the fruit had been gathered by me in 1831, and then sent to Mr. Brown, was also here; and I saw one or two trees of a species of CAPPARIS. Mr. Stephenson found a great variety of new insects also. [* B. SIMPLEX (Lindl. MSS.); pumila, foliis undique scapisque longitudinaliter sericeis, villis appressis, capitulis subsimplicibus, bracteis majoribus oblongis, indusio extus piloso.] Our guides brought us at length to some waterholes, amongst some verdant grass on a plain, where no stranger would have looked for water; and here we encamped fifteen good miles from the Barwan. The ponds were called "Caràwy," and were vitally important to us, enabling us to pass on towards the Narran, which was still, as we had been informed, twenty-five miles off. As we approached these springs, I saw some natives running off, and I sent one of the guides after them to say we should do them no harm, and beg them to stop, but he could not overtake them. The undulations crossed by us this day seemed to extend east and west in their elongations, and were probably parallel to the general course of the main channel of drainage. The same felspathic rock seen in other parts of this great basin, seems the basis of the clay, although the fragments imbedded are very hard. The earth is reddish, and much resembles in this respect the matrix of the conglomerate. Near these springs we found a new HELICHRYSUM.[*] Thermometer at sunrise, 61°; at noon, 100°; at 4 P. M., 102°; at 9, 79°;--with wet bulb, 65°. [* HELICHRYSUM RAMOSISSIMUM (Hook. MSS.); suffruticosum valde ramosum arachnoideo-tomentosum, foliis lineari-spathulatis subflaccidis acutis, capitulis in racemis terminalibus parvis globosis flavis, involucri squamis lineari-subulatis undulatis fimbriato-ciliatis.] 6TH MARCH.--The drays not having come up, in consequence of the excessive length of yesterday's journey, and very hot weather--(16½ miles by latitude alone)--we were obliged to remain inactive here on a beautiful cool morning. I found near the ponds, several huts made of fresh branches of trees and the remains of fires, doubtless the deserted home of the fugitives of yesterday. At these fires I found the roasted pods of the acacia already mentioned (Mùnumulà). The water was surrounded by fresh herbage, and such was the simple fare of those aborigines, such the home whence they fled. As I looked at it in the presence of my sable guides, I could not but reflect that the white man's cattle would soon trample these holes into a quagmire of mud, and destroy the surrounding verdure and pleasant freshness for ever. I feared that my good-natured but acute guides thought as much, and I blushed inwardly [*] for our pallid race. [* The author of Waverley maintains that one may LAUGH inwardly-- conscience may, I suppose, make us also blush inwardly sometimes.] All day we sat still in anxious suspense about the non-arrival of our drays--the ground having been so good. With a country so interesting before us, this delay was doubly irksome, and as the cattle could only be watered by coming forward, why they did not come was the question; and this was not solved until evening, when a messenger came forward to ask if they might come, and to inform me that they were nearly exhausted. The fatal alternative of endeavouring to make them work in the morning, after passing a night without water, had been adopted, and as, on the day before, they had been worked until dusk in expectation of reaching my camp, they could not draw on the morning after; I instantly directed them to be brought forward; but the consequence of this derangement was the death of one, and much injury to many others. This contretemps arose wholly from the guides not having been understood at the Barwan as to the real distance, and this we had calculated too surely upon. Latitude 29° 52' 26" south. Thermometer at sunrise, 68°; at noon, 96°; at 4 P. M., 102°; at 9, 83°;--with wet bulb, 68°. 7TH MARCH, 1846.--The bullocks having been sent back after they had been watered last evening, the drays came up about 9 A. M. I left them in Mr. Kennedy's charge, and proceeded with the light carts followed by all the bullocks yoked up. They had trodden into mud the little water that had been left at that camp, and could not live much longer without more. The guides assured us the Narran was not far off, although we had understood when at the Barwan that the distance was twenty-five miles from these springs. We passed over very good ground, and found the country to improve as we advanced. We were conducted through the most open parts of scrubs by our guides, who were made to comprehend clearly how desirable that was for our "wheelbarrows;" and after travelling about seven miles, they pointed to a line of trees as the "Narran," beyond an extensive open country, which had a singular appearance from being higher than that we were upon. We crossed one or two slight elevations wholly composed of compact felspar in blocks--forming ridges resembling an outcrop of strata, whereof the strike always pointed N. W. and S. E. Various curious new plants and fruits appeared; amongst others a solanum, the berry of which was a very pleasant-tasted fruit. The plant was a runner and spread over several yards from one root. There was also a fruit shaped like an elongated egg; it appeared to be some Asclepiad, and was called by the natives "Doobàh." They ate it, seeds and all, but said it was best roasted. As we approached the elevated country between us and the distant line of trees, we perceived that the vast level was covered with POLYGONUM JUNCEUM in a verdant state. The colour was dark green, such as I had never seen elsewhere in this "leafless bramble," as Sturt called it, which looks ever quite dry and withered along the margins of the Darling. We had good reason to love and admire its verdure now, when we found amongst it pure water in great abundance, into which all our native companions immediately plunged, and rolled about like porpoises. This, they said, was the "Narran," but to the vast swampy plain they gave the name of Keegur, a name quite useless for white men's memories or maps. They seemed to say it was wholly an emanation from the Narran, and pointed to the nearest part of the trees beyond, saying the river Narran was there. I still endeavoured to proceed, as they wished, towards the nearest trees beyond, until a winding narrow pond of water, in very soft mud, precluded all hopes of crossing with our drays, without some sort of bridge; I therefore immediately counter-marched the party with me, now far advanced in that sea of dark green polygonum, and conducted it into a position on open stony ground to the westward of our route, with the intention to await there the arrival of the drays, and to prepare materials for a bridge to be laid across the muddy pond, as I had seen a small clump of pines (Callitris) at no great distance back. My guides did not encourage a hope I entertained, that this swamp might be turned by the westward, in which direction the open country extended to the horizon. The man who travels with bullocks must expect to be impeded by wet ground, as well as by the scarcity of water, in many situations where horses could pass without difficulty. I directed the bullocks, that had been driven forward with me, to be allowed to graze beside the water until sunset, and then to be taken slowly back by moonlight to Mr. Kennedy. Five had dropped down on the way, and had not come forward to the water. Those sent back were also ordered to be allowed to feed all the next day at Mr. Kennedy's camp, and only to start with the drays there next evening, to come on by moonlight, thus avoiding the intense heat, so oppressive under extreme thirst. The thermometer during the day, rose to 103° in the shade. Latitude of the camp on Narran swamp, 29° 45' 51" S. Thermometer at sunrise, 47°; at noon, 97°; at 4 P. M., 97°; at 9, 69°; ditto with wet bulb, 57°. The height of this camp above the sea, the average of five registered observations, is 442 feet. 8TH MARCH.--The view northward from our present camp was most extensive. Far in the northeast a yellow slope presented the unusual appearance there, of a cultivated country. It was doubtless ripe grass, yet still the earth there had not even been imprinted with any hoof. Between that slope and our camp, lay the element, in abundance, which had been so scarce on the other side of the Darling. To the northward, at no great distance, was the river, where, as our guides informed us, we should no longer be ill off for water in pursuing our journey along its banks. I set the carpenter to cut sleepers and slabbing to enable us to bridge the muddy creek, for I had examined it early in the morning, and had crossed it with my horse; although I found several watercourses almost as soft, beyond. The natives maintained that the water in this extensive swamp came neither from the east nor west, but from the river directly before us, which came from the northward. Just behind our camp, to the southward, was a gentle elevation, almost a hill, consisting of the usual rock, felspar; and it seemed to me that this stony ground alone impeded the further progress of the water towards the Barwan. The ridge trended north-west, as most others did in this extensive basin; and this direction being nearly parallel to that of the coast ranges further northward, seemed to afford additional reason for expecting to find anticlinal and synclinal lines, and, consequently, rivers, much in the same direction. D'Urban's group, distant 150 miles lower down the Darling, consisted of a quartzose rock, exactly similar to this, exhibiting a tendency, like it, to break into irregular polygons, some of the faces being curved. This rock is most extensively distributed in the interior of New South Wales. It was not until the evening of this day that the approach of the drays was announced, and then prematurely, the teams only having been brought forward to the water without them. So weak were the unfortunate animals, that not even by night, nor by doubling the numbers, could they be made to draw the drays forward, for the short distance of eight miles; a distance which we had been given to understand was so much greater. Forward, all was most promising, and it may be imagined how bitterly I regretted the alteration of my original plan of equipment, which had reference to horses and light carts alone. A new species of ANTHISTIRIA occurred here, perfectly distinct from the kangaroo grass of the colony, very like APLUDA MUTICA, and remarkable for the smooth shining appearance of the thin involucral leaves.[*] The TRICHINIUM ALOPECUROIDEUM, in great abundance, was conspicuous, with its long silky ears of green flowers. On the stony ground occurred a very curious new woolly KOCHIA [**], also a species of CYPERUS; the TRICHINIUM LANATUM in great perfection; a grass resembling the close reed (CALAMAGROSTIS of England), and which proved to be the little-known TRIRAPHIS MOLLIS. On the margin of the morass the DACTYLOCTENIUM RADULANS, spreading over the interstices, reminded the traveller of the grasses of Egypt; and, in stony ground near the morass, we observed the JUSTICIA MEDIA of Brown. Thermometer at sunrise, 66°; at noon, 98°; at 4 P. M. 102°; at 9, 81°; ditto with wet bulb, 74°. [* A. MEMBRANACEA (Lindl. MSS); involucris carinatis margine membranaceis foliis vaginisque glaberrimis, floribus verticillatis pedicellatis (masculis?), glumis omnibus scabris, aristâ glaberrimâ glumâ 3plo longiore.] [** K. LANOSA (Lindl. MSS); ramis strictis foliisque linearibus acutis cinereis tomentosis, fructibus lanatis, calycis laciniis elongatis.] 9TH MARCH.--My native guides, tired of the delay, were anxious to return, and as the assistance they could afford me was likely to be extremely useful, and the arrival of the drays was most uncertain, I went forward this morning with one of them, two men, and Youranigh, our interpreter, all mounted. Amongst the trees, beyond the swamp, fine reaches of water appeared in a river channel, apparently continuous to the northward, but which, in the other direction, or towards the swamp, abruptly terminated like a cul-de-sac. On my asking the natives where it went to, they pointed to the various narrow water courses and the swamp as the final depositories of the water. Admirable distribution of the contents of a river in a country where water is so scarce, and the climate so hot and dry! We proceeded along the margin of the "Narran," which led us nearly due north, until we forded it, at the desire of our guides, on a good gravelly bottom, the water reaching to our saddle-flaps. Crossing a slight elevation where the soil was gravelly, and in which grew the shrubs of the ordinary scrubs with several interesting novelties, we again came upon an angle of the Narran, and continued along its banks for about thirty miles, until near sunset, when we tethered our horses, and lay down for the night. The Narran was full of water every where, and with this abundance of water there was also plenty of most excellent grass. The PANICUM LOEVINODE of Dr. Lindley seemed to predominate, a grass whereof the seed ("Cooly") is made by the natives into a kind of paste or bread. Dry heaps of this grass, that had been pulled expressly for the purpose of gathering the seed, lay along our path for many miles. I counted nine miles along the river, in which we rode through this grass only, reaching to our saddle-girths, and the same grass seemed to grow back from the river, at least as far as the eye could reach through a very open forest. I had never seen such rich natural pasturage in any other part of New South Wales. Still it was what supplied the bread of the natives; and these children of the soil were doing every thing in their power to assist me, whose wheel tracks would probably bring the white man's cattle into it. We had followed well-beaten paths of natives during the whole of this day's ride, and most anxious were my guides and I to see them; but they avoided us. Our guide was of that country, and not at all unwilling or timid; but evidently very desirous to introduce us to the inhabitants, and procure amongst them other guides to lead us further. The night was very hot, and flies and mosquitos did their utmost to prevent us from sleeping. Thermometer at sunrise, 75°; at noon, 99°; at 4 P. M., 105°; at 9, 83°; ditto with wet bulb, 75°. 10TH MARCH.--Anxious for an interview with some of the natives, I continued the pursuit of the Narran's course about five miles higher, but with no better success. I then turned, after obtaining from our guide, through Youranigh, what information could be gathered thus, as to the river's further course, the best bank for the passage of our drays, etc. We were still, he said, a long way from the "Culgoa." There was no perceptible change in the aspect of the "Narran" as far as we had examined it, except that where we turned, there were flood-marks, and the dead logs and river wreck, deposited on the upper side of trees and banks, showing a current and high floods. The last of these, our guide said, had occurred about five moons before. In riding back to the camp we kept the castern bank, that the track might be available for our drays. This ride along a river where we could, when we pleased, either water our horses, or take a drink ourselves, was quite new and delightful to us, under a temperature of 105° in the shade. Our guide, aged apparently about fifty, walked frequently into the river, while in a state of perspiration; dipped quite under water, or drank a little with his lip on the level of its surface, and then walked on again. He was at last very tired, however, and pointed to the large muscles of the RECTUS FEMORIS as if they pained him. We found at the camp, on our return, five of the drays that had come up, the other three being still behind, and requiring double teams of exhausted cattle to bring them forward. In the vicinity of our camp we found the TRICHINIUM ALOPECUROIDEUM, with heads of flowers nearly five inches long; an eucalyptus near E. PULVERULENTA, but having more slender peduncles; a sort of Iron-bark. We found also a tall glaucous new HALORAGIS [*], and a curious new shaggy KOCHIA was intermingled with the grass.[**] Thermometer at sunrise, 77°; at noon, 102°; at 4, 107°; at 9, 76°;--with wet bulb, 71°. [* H. GLAUCA (Lindl. MSS.); annua, stricta, glaberrima, glauca, foliis oppositis lineari-oblongis obtusis petiolatis grossè serratis, racemis apice aphyllis, fructu globoso tuberculato laevi.] [** K. VILLOSA (Lindl. MSS.); ramis erectis foliisque linearibus villosissimis, fructibus glabris.] 11TH MARCH.--All the drays came in early. I gave to the two natives, the tomahawks, tobacco, and pipes, as promised; also a note to the stockman on the Barwan, who had provided me with them, saying that they had been very useful. I this morning examined the country to the westward of the swamp, and found a narrow place at which we could pass, and so avoid much soft heavy ground. The ramifications of the watery Narran penetrated into the hollows of the stony ridge, presenting there little hollows full of rich verdure and pools of water, a sight so unwonted amongst rocks characteristic of D'Urban's arid group. In one little hollow, to the westward of our camp, it seemed possible for two men with a pickaxe and shovel to have continued it through, and so to have opened a new channel for the passage of the waters of the Narran swamp, into the dry country between it and the Barwan. Thermometer at sunrise, 55°; at noon, 105°; at 4 P. M., 102°; at 9, 75°;--with wet bulb, 59°. 12TH MARCH.--I found it necessary to sit still here and refresh the jaded bullocks; thus days and months passed away, in which with horses I might have continued the journey. The very extensive country before us, which appeared to absorb these waters, was quite clear of timber, and irrigated by little canals winding amongst POLYGONUM JUNCEUM. This open country appeared to extend north-eastward about eight miles, thence to turn eastward, as if these waters found some outlet that way to the Barwan. I regretted that this swamp led too far out of our way, to admit of our tracing its limits to the eastward. This day I received letters from Commissioner Mitchell, in which he strongly recommended to my attention the rivers Biree, Bokhara, and Narran, as waters emanating from, and leading to, the Balonne, a river which he said might supply our party with water, in this very dry season, almost to the tropic. I was able to inform him in reply, that I was already on the Narran, and that I had already availed myself of his account of the rivers formerly sent me, on which I must have been obliged to depend, even if the party had passed by Fort Bourke. This evening, by moonlight, I conducted a dray, carrying two platforms, to the place where the narrow channel, feeding the swamp, could be passed without our meeting beyond any other impediment to the drays. The sleepers used for this purpose were made of pine (CALLITRIS PYRAMIDALIS), found half a mile back from our camp. They were fourteen feet long, two feet wide, being composed of cross-pieces, two feet long, fixed at each end between two sleepers, so that they somewhat resembled a wooden railway. These, when laid at the proper distance apart to carry both wheels, were bedded on the soft earth, and the interval between was filled to a level with them, by layers of polygonum and long grass, alternate with earth, forming together a mass of sufficient resistance to support the feet of the draught oxen. The whole formed a compact bridge or gangway. Thermometer at sunrise, 51°; at noon, 95°; at 4 P. M., 107°; at 9, 70°;--with wet bulb, 61°. 13TH MARCH.--The party once more moved onward, and the drays trundled across the swampy arm by means of our bridge, which, even in the event of an accession of water there, might have proved serviceable on our return. Three miles beyond it we had to ford the Narran, passing over a gravelly bottom to the eastern bank, and encamping there. The drays were slow in arriving at this ford and camp, as the ground was soft and hollow, but by sunset all had crossed, and our camp established on the Narran. Thermometer at sunrise, 71°; at noon, 100°; at 4 P. M., 100°; at 9, 71°;--with wet bulb, 65°. The height of this camp above the sea, according to ten registered observations, is 487 feet. 14TH MARCH.--We now had before us water and grass in abundance, to a distance as unlimited and indefinite, as our hopes of discovery. I intended to set out early each morning, and travel only four or five miles, that the jaded animals, exhausted by want of water and hard work, might have time to feed and refresh. One old cause of delay, however, again occurred to impede us,--three bullocks were reported missing. Now it was nearly full moon, and two men had been on watch all night. It really seemed that delay and disappointment must attend all who depend on bullocks and bullock-drivers. The stray cattle were not brought up until 9 A. M., when we proceeded, and encamped on an angle of the Narran, after travelling about five miles. In the scrubs passed through, we found the fragrant JASMINUM LINEARE in fruit, the flowers being nearly past; a bulb which proved to be the ANTHERICUM BULBOSUM of Brown; a shrub ten feet high, in fruit, the CANTHIUM OLEIFOLIUM of Sir William Hooker; a fine new CHENOPODIUM, with long naked spikes of woolly yellow flowers [*]; and a hoary variety of ACACIA LEPTOCLADA, or perhaps a distinct species, having a good deal of the aspect of A. DEALBATA, but the leaves and glands nearer those of A. LEPTOCLADA, according to Mr. Bentham. Thermometer at sunrise, 70°; at noon, 103°; at 4 P. M., 102°; at 9, 81°;--with wet bulb, 75°. [* C. AURICOMUM (Lindl. MSS.); totum glaucum farinosum, caule stricto, foliis petiolatis oblongis subhastatis lobisque posticis obtusis supremis lanceolatis, spicis compositis nudis aphyllis glomeratis multifloris tomentosis.] 15TH MARCH.--The sand amongst the scrubs was so soft and yielding, that the draught animals could not draw the drays through it without great difficulty; indeed, it was only possible by double-backing, as the drivers termed their practice of alternately assisting one another, a process to which all had had recourse with one exception. It was not until 1 A. M. of this morning, therefore, that the last dray was brought to the camp. Another bullock died on the way, and thus I felt, when the field of discovery lay open before me, that my means of conveyance were unsuited to the task. Overloading at Boree, unskilful driving, excessive heat, and want of water, had contributed to render the bullocks unserviceable, and I already contemplated the organization of a lighter party and fewer men, with which I might go forward at a better rate, leaving the heavy articles of equipment and tired cattle in a depôt, on some good grassy spot. The latitude of this camp was 29° 38' 21" south. Thermometer at sunrise, 73°; at noon, 84°; at 4 P. M., 86°; at 9, 65°;-- with wet bulb, 60°. 16TH MARCH.--I proceeded six miles, and chose a camp beside a bend of the Narran, full of deep water, and in the midst of most luxuriant grass. The drays arrived by 11 A. M. in such good order, that I was induced to try whether, by early starting, good feeding, and short journeys, the party could not be got forward to the Balonne, where I could leave the whole in one depôt, to rest and refresh, while I took my intended ride forward. Latitude, 29° 34' 11" S. Thermometer at sunrise, 43°; at noon, 86°; at 4 P. M., 87°; at 9, 62°;--with wet bulb, 55°. 17TH MARCH.--I proceeded seven miles, and the drays came forward as well as they did yesterday, so that I again entertained hopes of the progress of the united party, which was very desirable, as these plains were evidently sometimes so saturated with water as to be rendered wholly impassable for wheel-carriages or even horses. Latitude, 29° 29' 11" S. Thermometer at sunrise, 47°; at noon, 87°; at 4 P. M., 91°; at 9, 62°;-- with wet bulb, 52°. 18TH MARCH.--Again we made out a short journey over rather soft ground; all the drays coming in, although slowly. I rode to a gently rising ground, a great novelty, which appeared bearing E. N. E. from our camp, at a distance of 2½ miles. I found it consisted of gravel of the usual conglomerate decomposed--of rounded fragments of about a cubic inch in bulk. The grass was good there, and I perceived that the same gravelly ridge extended back from the river in a north and south direction. Graceful groups of trees grew about this stony ground, which looked, upon the whole, better than the red sandy soil of the scrubs and callitris forest. This seemed the dividing ridge between the Narran and Barwan. From this elevation, I saw that the course of the former ran still in a good direction for us, to a great distance northward. On that stony ground I found a new PITTOSPORUM five feet high, with long narrow leaves, in the way of P. ROEANUM and ANGUSTIFOLIUM, but distinct from both in the form of its fruit.[*] Latitude of camp 29° 25' 21". Thermometer at sunrise, 53°; at noon, 90°; at 4 P. M., 96°; at 9, 69°;--with wet bulb, 61°. [* P. SALICINUM (Lindl. MS.); foliis lineari-lanceolatis coriaccis acutissimis aveniis, pedunculis unifloris aggregatis axillaribus, fructibus subglobosis vix compressis.] 19TH MARCH.--Pursuing the Narran, keeping its eastern or left bank, our course this day was more to the northward. I encamped after travelling six miles, not only because the ground was soft and heavy for the drays, but because I saw that the Narran turned much to the eastward, and I contemplated the passage across it, intending to look for it again, by travelling northward. Accordingly, as soon as our ground had been marked out, I crossed to reconnoitre the country in that direction. I found a fine, open, grassy country, but no signs of the river at the end of five miles, nor even until I had ridden as far eastward. There, recrossing it, I returned to the camp through some fine open forest country. Latitude observed, 29° 21' 51", S. Thermometer at sunrise, 57°; at 4 P. M., 96°; at 9, 71°;--with wet bulb, 62°. 20TH MARCH.--Retracing my homeward tracks of yesterday, we proceeded in a nearly E. N. E. direction, along much firmer ground than we had recently traversed. The great eastern bend of the river was found amongst much excellent grass and amidst much fine timber. A species of Anthistiria appeared here, which seemed different from the ordinary sort, although this was no stranger to me, when exploring the waterless plains westward of the Lachlan, where it looked as if stunted for want of moisture. Here, however, this variety presented the same knotty head, where other grasses grew luxuriantly. After getting round the extreme eastern turn of the Narran we encamped. Near the spot large rocks appeared in the bed, as if the river was passing through the stock of the gravelly ridge I had visited on the 18th. The rock consisted of that found about the basin of the Darling; a quartzose conglomerate with much felspar, and having pebbles of quartz imbedded. The large fragments of the conglomerate in the river bed were angular, and not at all rounded at the edges. Here the poor natives had been very industrious, as was evident from heaps of the grass PANICUM LOEVINODE, and of the same redstalked coral-like plant, also mentioned as having been observed in similar heaps, on the banks of the Darling, during my journey of 1835 (vol. i. p. 238). I now ascertained that the seed of the latter is also collected by the natives and made into a paste. This seed was black and small, resembling fine gunpowder when shaken out. Nevertheless it was sweet and pleasant to the taste, possessing a nutty flavour. The human inhabitants were few, and as invisible as other animals in these forests--the prints of whose feet were also plain in the soft smooth surface. As faithless as the snows of the North [*], this soil bore the impressions of all animals obliged to go to the water, and amongst them those of the naked feet of men, women, and children, with the prints likewise of other BIPEDS, such as emus and kangaroos, and also those of the native dog. Here still was our own race amongst other animals all new and strange to Europeans. The prints of the foot of man alone were familiar to us. But here he was living in common with other animals, simply on the bounty of nature; artless, and apparently as much afraid of us, and as shy, as other animals of the forest. It seemed strange, that in a climate the most resembling that of Milton's paradise, the circumstances of man's existence should be the most degrading. Latitude of our camp, 29° 19' 26" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 55°; at noon, 100°; at 4 P. M., 101°; at 9, 70°;--with wet bulb, 65°. The mean elevation above the sea of our camps thus far on the Narran, seven in number, was 477 feet; the bed of the river being about 15 feet lower. [* "And hungry Maukin's ta'en her way To kailyards green, While faithless snaws ilk step betray Whar she has been." BURNS.] 21ST MARCH.--Proceeded as usual through fine grass, the river coming favourably round towards the north. At about two miles I found some traces of horses, and I looked at the river bank for Commissioner Mitchell's initials, supposing this might be "Congo," where he had forded the Narran. But we had not reached the latitude of Congo according to his map. Nevertheless we found here such an excellent dry ford, with gently sloping banks to a stony bottom, that the two circumstances induced me to cross the Narran with the party. I travelled west-ward, until meeting with a dense scrub, I turned towards the friendly Narran, where we encamped in latitude 29° 15' 31" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 56°; at noon, 97°; at 4 P. M., 101°; at 9, 72°; ditto with wet bulb, 66°. 22D MARCH.--Gave the party a day's rest, prayers being read by the surgeon, as was usual whenever circumstances admitted of our halting on Sunday. The bed of the Narran presented in several places the denuded rock, which seems the basis of all the soil and gravel of the country. At one place irregular concretions of milk-white quartz, cemented by a ferruginous basis, was predominant; at another, the rough surface of compact felspar weathering white presented merely the cavities in which large rounded pebbles had been imbedded, until the partial decomposition of the felspar, under the river floods, had exposed them once more to the action of water. The force of those waters, however, had not been sufficient to cut a channel through very soft rocks extending right across their course--a circumstance rather characteristic, perhaps, of a river like the Narran, watering a nearly level country, and terminating in a swamp. Thermometer at sunrise, 53°; at noon, 95°; at 4 P. M., 98°; at 9, 72°;--with wet bulb, 66°. Height above the sea, 515 feet, from eight observations. 23RD MARCH.--All hands were bent on an early start this morning, and, soon after seven, the party moved off. We crossed much grassy land, almost approaching to the character of scrub as to bushes; but we pursued a tolerably straight course to the N.W., until we again made the Narran at 8½ miles. Various new plants attracted my attention this day, especially a beautiful Loranthus on the rosewood Acacia, and a small bush bearing a green pod resembling a small capsicum in shape. Among the sedges by the river we found the KYLLINGA MONOCEPHALA; and, on the rich black clayed soil near it, a species of bindweed out of flower, with large sagittate leaves: in the scrubs back from the river, grew a small bush, about four feet high, which has been considered either a variety of Brown's SANTALUM OBLONGATUM, or a new species distinguished by its narrow sharp-pointed leaves. The LORANTHUS LINEARI. FOLIUS was growing on the rosewood Acacia, and the branches of Eucalypti were inhabited by the parasitical ORANGE LORANTH.[*] Lat., 29°1 0' 6" S. Therm. at sunrise, 51°; at noon, 95°; at 4 P. M., 99°; at 9, 70°;--wet bulb, 63°. [* L. AURANTIACUS (All. Cunn. MS.); ramis elongatis laxis gracilibus, foliis oppositis longe petiolatis oblongis obtusis lanceolatisve acuminatis glabris 3-5-nerviis tenui-marginatis, paniculis folio brevioribus ditrichotomis, floribus erectis, calycibus subcylindraceis superne latioribus truncatis, petalis linearibus 6, stylo infra apicem geniculato, stigmate dilatato truncato.--W. J. H.] 24TH MARCH.--We set off still earlier this morning. I hoped to reach the Bokhara, on the West, a river shown on the map sent me by the Commissioner of the district, but after travelling about seven miles to the northward, I saw rising ground before me, which induced me to turn towards our own friendly river the Narran; but it proved to be very far from us, while in my search for it, to my surprise, I found it necessary to descend several considerable declivities, covered with waterworn pebbles. At length a slight opening in the dense scrubs through which we had forced our way, afforded a view towards the south-east of the low range we were upon, which trended very continuously to the north-west, covered thickly with the "Malga" tree of the natives; to the traveller the most formidable of scrubs. After several other descents, we reached the Narran, but only at half-past three in the afternoon, when we had travelled nearly twenty miles. How the teams were to accomplish this, it was painful to consider. I sent back a messenger to desire that the cattle should be detached and brought forward to the water; content to lose one day, if that indeed would suffice to recover the jaded animals. Casuarinae now grew amongst the river trees, and reminded me of the banks of the Karaula in 1831. We had also noticed another novelty in the woods we passed through this day; a small clump of trees of iron-bark with a different kind of leaf from that of the tree known by that name in the colony. On the higher stony land, a bush was common, and proved to be a broad-leaved variety of EREMOPHILA MITCHELLII, if not a distinct species. We there met with a new species of the rare and little-known genus, GEIJERA; forming a strong-scented shrub, about ten feet high, and having long, narrow, drooping leaves. Its fruit had a weak, peppery taste.[*] The rare ENCHYLOENA TOMENTOSA formed a shrub a foot high, loaded with yellow berries: all the specimens were digynous, in which it differed from the description of Brown. The CAPPARIS LASIANTHA was observed amongst the climbing shrubs still in fruit; and a beautiful new LORANTH, with red flowers tipped with green, was parasitical on trees.[**] On the bank of the Narran we found the AMARANTHUS UNDULATUS of Brown. [* G. PARVIFLORA (Lindl. MS.); ramis erectis, foliis longis linearibus pendulis in petiolum sensim angustatis 4 unc. longis.] [** Loranthus LINEARIFOLIUS (Hook. MS.); foliis lineari-filiformibus acutis carnosis glabris teretibus, pedunculis axillaribus brevibus bifloris, calycibus cylindraceis truncatis contractis, petalis 6 linearibus supra basin coalitis.] The cattle arrived in the dark, and were watered in the muddy-banked Narran, by the light of burning boughs; then set to feed. Lat. 29° 6' 33" S.; therm. at sunrise, 48°; at 4 P. M., 101°; at 9, 74°; ditto with wet bulb, 62°. 25TH MARCH.--The cattle had now to return to bring forward the drays. Meanwhile I took a ride up the river, in order to ensure a moderate journey for these exhausted animals. Proceeding along the right bank, I found gravelly slopes almost closing upon the river. The direction of its course for four miles, was nearly southward. Then I saw gravelly ridges on the left, and a line of wood before me, while the river evidently came from the East round the margin of an extensive plain. I continued northward; found a rosewood scrub: then saw the Malga tree; passed through scrubs thereof; found myself on stony ridges, whence descending in a N. E. direction, again passed through rosewood scrubs, and only reached the river after riding 2½ miles in that direction. I saw a continuous ridge, bare and distant, beyond what I considered the river bed, and a similar ridge to the westward. I crossed a native camp where the newly deserted fires still smoked. We saw one man at a distance, who did not mind us much; I could not have obtained any information from him, and therefore did not seek a parley. Crossing the Narran there, by a beaten track, beside a native fishing fence, I returned to the camp, on the bearing of S. S. W., and found a grassy plain the whole way back, until within sight of the tents, and a good rocky ford for the passage of the party next day. On the stony ridge I found a remarkable shrub, a species of Sida (ABUTILON), allied to S. GRAVEOLENS, Roxb., but distinct. The teams brought the drays in, about 5 P. M.; one animal of all being missing. Therm. at sunrise, 72°; at noon, 89°; at 4 P. M., 91°; at 9, 60°;--with wet bulb, 53°. 26TH MARCH.--Early this morning, William Baldock was sent back in search of the stray bullock, while the party crossed the Narran, and proceeded along my horse's track of yesterday. Baldock over took the party, having found the bullock on the river, four miles below our late encampment. The natives seen yesterday had disappeared, having previously set fire to the grass. We proceeded two miles beyond their fires, and encamped on the river bank in lat. 29° 1' 57" S. A small path along the river margin; marks on trees, where hollow portions of bark had been taken off; some ancient, some recent, huts of withered boughs and dry grass; freshwater muscle shells, beside the ashes of small fires; and, in some places, a small heap of pulled grass (PANICUM LOEVINODE), or of the coral plant; such were the slight but constant indications of the existence of man on the Narran. Such was the only home of our fellow-beings in these parts, and from it they retired on our approach. Ducks, which were rather numerous, and emus (coming to drink), probably constituted their chief food, as nets to ensnare both these kinds of birds, were found about their huts. Youranigh brought me one of their chisels, a small bit of iron fastened to a stick with gum, and tied with a piece of striped shirting. I directed him to place it carefully where he had found it. Thermometer at sunrise, 47°; at noon, 90°; at 4 P. M., 95°; at 9, 69°;--with wet bulb, 60°. The mean height above the sea of the camps of 23d, 24th, and 26th March, was 461 feet. 27TH MARCH.--Pursuing, as well as we could, the course of the Narran, which came more from the northward, we again encamped on its banks after a journey of seven miles, without recognising any indication of the vicinity of the larger stream, which, according to our latitude, we ought by this to have reached. The current here had evidently been more decided, and dry trunks and other FLUVIATILE DEBRIS lay more in masses against whatever had lain in the water's way. Excellent grass clothed the plains over which we had passed during the two last days, and grew abundantly also about the banks of the river; but, in general, a belt of the POLYGONUM JUNCEUM, about 400 or 500 yards wide, grew between the immediate margin and the grassy plains. This shrub was found an infallible guide to the vicinity of the river, when, as sometimes happened, other lines of trees, resembling those on its banks, had led me to a distance from it. The day was cool and rather cloudy, a great novelty to us; for every day had been clear and unclouded, since long before we crossed the Barwan. Abundance of the stones of the quandang fruit (FUSANUS ACUMINATUS) lay at an old fire of the natives, and showed that we were not far from the northern limit of the great clay basin, as the quandang bush grows only upon the lowest slopes of hilly land. Lat. 28° 55' 13" S. Thermometer at sunrise, 70°; at noon, 90°; at 4 P. M., 89; at 9, 70°;--with wet bulb, 61°. 28TH MARCH.--At 2 A. M., loud thunder was heard in the south-west, where a dark cloud arose and passed round to the northward; a few drops of rain fell. The morning was otherwise clear, with a cooling breeze from S. W. Thermometer at sunrise, 56°. We proceeded, travelling chiefly amongst very luxuriant grass. The river now disappeared as far to the westward of my northerly course on this left bank, as it had left me when on the other bank by unexpected turns to the eastward. I came upon its banks after travelling about eight miles. At the spot where I wished to place the camp I perceived a native, and with Youranigh's assistance, managed to prevent him from running away. He spoke only "Jerwoolleroy," a dialect which my native did not understand at all well. He told us, however, that this was still the Narran, and pointed N. W. to the Balonne. Upon the whole we gathered from him that neither that river nor the Bokhara was far from us. I endeavoured to convince him, by Youranigh's assurances, and our own civility to him, that we meant no harm to any natives, and were only passing through the country. He did not seem afraid, although he had never, until then, seen white men. We encamped near him. The river channel was very narrow, and contained but little water here-abouts. I understood from the native (through Youranigh) that the river here spread into various channels, and that "BARRO" was the name of a river beyond the Culg, which falls into it from the northward; "TOORINGORRA," the lagoon on which we encamped after meeting natives on the 31st March. Near this camp we found a PHYLLANTHUS, scarcely different from P. SIMPLEX; a SESBANIA near S. ACULEATA, but with smaller flowers; and the CHENOPODIUM AURICOMUM, formed a white-leaved shrub, three or four feet high. Thermometer at sunrise, 56°; at noon, 78°; at 4 P. M., 82°; at 9, 61°;-- with wet bulb, 56°. 29TH MARCH.--After prayers (the day being Sunday) I sent Mr. Kennedy forward to explore the course of the river, in order to ensure a more direct line for to-morrow's route. Mr. Kennedy was accompanied by one of the men armed, and also by Youranigh, all being mounted. He returned in about four hours, having found the river coming from the northward, and he also reported favourably of the ground. Thermometer at sunrise, 48°; at 4 P. M., 81°; at 9, 51°;--with wet bulb, 47°. 30TH MARCH.--The night had been cool and pleasant, Thermometer at sunrise only 42°. The cattle were yoked up early, and we travelled on over fine grassy plains, and with open gravelly ridges on our right. At length, about the sixth mile, these ridges closed on the river, where there was one hill almost clear of trees or bushes. I ascended it, but could only see plains to the westward, and a dense line of river-trees running north. We at length encamped on what appeared to be still the Narran, after a journey of about eight miles. We this day passed a small group of trees of the yellow gum, a species of eucalyptus growing only on the poor sandy soil near Botany Bay, and other parts of the sea-coast near Sydney. Thermometer at sunrise, 42°; at 4 P. M., 83°; at 9, 61°;--with wet bulb, 57°. Mean height of the camps of the 27th, 28th, and 30th, above the level of the sea, 509 feet. 31ST MARCH.--The various lines of trees were now so much dispersed across the country, that to follow the line of the Narran, it was necessary to see its ponds and channel as frequently as possible. The course, if not of the river, at least of its ana-branches; and there were besides those, branches of another kind, namely, true branches coming from the main channel, as branches leave the stem of a tree, never to unite with it again. Some of those of this description, so closely resembled in every respect the Narran, that the difference was only to be distinguished by observing the marks of flood on trees, and ascertaining the direction of the current. We had crossed several such, and were rather in a "fix" with some lagoons, when I perceived several native children in one of them. I wished here to intercept some natives who might tell us where was the ford of "Congo," where white men had crossed the Balonne, or where was the river Balonne. The children fled, but two manly voices were heard immediately, and two natives came confidently up to Youranigh and then to me. The eldest seemed about fifty-five years of age; the other was a lad of about twenty. They spoke of "Congo," and the Balonne (BALONGO) as quite at hand, and undertook to conduct us to both. It was quite evident from their pronunciation, that "Baloon" was not the proper native name, but Bal, the termination they gave it of "GO," being an article they very often use, Bal-go being equivalent to THE Balonne; as in speaking of the Barwan, they say "Barwàngo." I had nearly completed the usual short journey when we fell in with these natives, but I was unwilling to lose the advantage of their assistance, and so travelled on under their guidance, full five miles further, before I fixed on a spot for the camp. This was by a splendid piece of water, named by them Tooningora, nearly on a level with the adjacent plains, and covered with ducks. We had passed other fine sheets of water guided by our native friends, and over a rich grassy country remarkably level and free from scrub. It was evidently changed by the vicinity of the larger river. I continued to follow our new friends beyond where I had directed the party to encamp, in expectation of seeing the marked tree at Congo, and the river Balonne. After going forward thus about four miles, we saw five gins running off at a great distance across some open plains, apparently near the river. The eldest of our guides ran after them, and I requested him to assure them that the white men would do no harm, and to tell them not to run away. At length he overtook them. Two appeared to carry unseemly loads across their backs, dangling under large opossum-skin cloaks, and it was evident that these were mummied bodies. I had heard of such a custom, but had not before seen it. I had then but a distant view of these females, as they resumed their flight, and continued it until they reached woods bounding the plain on the westward. The line of Yarra trees of the great Balonne river ran parallel to our march westward, and there also, according to my guides, was "Congo," the ford marked out by my son, and which spot I most anxiously desired to see and identify by his initials. Still my guides led westward towards the woods, and as we approached them, the shout or scream of little Dicky, a native child of the Bogan, follower of my camp, first drew my attention to a black phalanx within the forest, of natives presenting a front like a battalion. Youranigh my interpreter halted and remonstrated: our elder guide ran forward, and on his reaching that body, the sound of gruff voices that arose from it strongly reminded me of Milton's description of Satan's army: "Their rising all at once was as the sound Of thunder heard remote." Youranigh would not advance another step, although much pressed by the other native remaining with us to do so, but declared that "those fellows were murry coola," (very angry). We therefore retraced our footsteps to the camp, without having seen either the Balongo or Congo. Our guide soon overtook us, accompanied by fourteen of the strange natives, who, all curiosity, passed the night at our camp, and they brought with them a lad named "Jemmy," who spoke a little English, and had visited many of our cattle-stations. He was very intelligible to Youranigh, who but very imperfectly understood the language of the rest. They seemed upon the whole a frank and inoffensive race. Their food consisted of the fish of the river, ducks, and the small indigenous melon, CUCUMIS PUBESCENS, which grew in such abundance, that the whole country seemed strewed with the fruit, then ripe, and of which the natives eat great quantities, and were very fond. It is about the size of a plum only, and in the journal of my first interior journey (in 1831), is mentioned as a cucumber we were afraid to eat. (Vol. I. p. 88.) Latitude of camp, 28° 38' 47" S. Thermometer at sunrise, 42°; at 4 P. M., 83°; at 9, 61°;--with wet bulb, 57°. 1ST APRIL.--The whole party moved off about the usual hour, 7 A. M., still under the guidance of our new acquaintance, towards the Balonne. On our way the natives were very careful to point out how muddy hollows could best be avoided by our drays. I saw seated at a distance, in due form, the tribe to which they belonged; and having directed the party to halt, went up to them. They were seated in three groups; old men on the right, painted red; old women in the centre, painted white; and other women and children on the left. The few strong men who appeared, formed a circle around me, and told me their names as they came up to me. I desired Youranigh to tell them that we were passing that way across the Balonne to a very far-off country, and did not wish to disturb them, etc. When all was said that could be said, and I was about to return, one of the chiefs, "Yarree," said "good night," words which he must have learnt at some cattle station. Although it was only morning, I returned the compliment with all possible gravity, and took my leave. Soon after, we arrived on the bank of the Balonne, as fine a looking river as I have seen in the colony, excepting only the Murray. There was a slight current, and the waters lay in broad reaches, under banks less elevated above the bed than those of the Darling. In breadth the channel surpassed that of the last named river in any part, I believe, of its course. We encamped near a shallow place, which the natives at first said was "Congo," but where we found no marks on the trees. The curiosity of the natives having been gratified, they disappeared; but I must mention that, having missed the elder of the two men who had guided us here since the first evening, I learnt, on inquiring what had become of him, that he had gone back to his little boys, whom he had left at the water-holes where he first met us, six miles back, and for whom he had apparently gathered his little net of melons. Nothing could have been finer than this man's conduct. He had at once come on with us to guide us where we wanted to go; took great pains to make us known to his own tribe, and, I believe, to other assembled tribes at some risk to himself; and then, without claiming my promised gifts, he had returned to his little family, left at such a distance, only that he might do that which was civil, to us strangers. Yet we call these men savages! I fear such disinterested acts of civility on the part of the civilised portion of mankind are rather rare. He had rendered to us, at all events, a very great service; for the danger of sudden collision with the natives was at an end, after our introduction by him to the tribes. In the afternoon, Slater, one of the bullock-drivers, found a good fording-place; and I sent a few men to cut the banks, and fill up a soft part of the river bed with logs, branches, and earth, for the better passage of the drays; a work they completed before night. I rode about five miles beyond the river to the north-west, and met, first with a very broad lagoon full of water, nearly on a level with the plains, and apparently permanent; secondly, I found beyond this, a river or chain of ponds somewhat like the Narran. This I ascertained was called the Càwan by the natives, and that it meandered very much. The country was rather fine. These waters were bordered by well-grown trees, and the plains were covered with good grass. Lat. of our camp, on the Balonne, 28° 25' 38" S. Thermometer at sunrise, 44°; at noon, 75°; at 4 P.M., 79°; at 9, 60;--with wet bulb, 54°. Height of the bed of the Balonne above the level of the sea, 494 feet; an average of three observations. 2D APRIL.--All the drays and the party crossed the river this morning in good order, and without any accident or much delay, by the little bridge we had made in its bed. While they were crossing, the place seemed to me so favorable for a ford that it might still be possible to find some of the marked trees said to be at "Congo." I again questioned the natives on this point, and one youth undertook to point out some marks made by white men. Mr. Kennedy ran with him on foot up the left bank of the river, and was shown two trees marked, the one with "J. Towns," the other with "Bagot, 1845." Being thus convinced that this ford was really at or near the place called "Congo," where Commissioner Mitchell had crossed, and found the Culgoa, at a distance of only seven miles north-west, I determined to go forward, in the same direction, to that river, taking my track of yesterday, which enabled me to avoid the broad lagoon. On arriving at the "Cawan" we saw two natives fishing in a pond with hoop nets, and Yuranigh went to ask them about the "Culgoa." He returned accompanied by a tall athletic man; the other was this man's gin, who had been fishing with him. There he had left her to take care of his nets, and, without once looking at me or the party, proceeded to conduct us to the Culgoa. I never saw a Spanish or Portuguese guide go with a detachment half so willingly. Yuranigh and he scarcely understood a word of what each other said, and yet the former had the address to overcome the usual difficulties to intercourse between strange natives, and their shyness to white men, and to induce this native thus to become our guide. He took us to the Culgoa, which we made at about seven miles from the Balonne, and I was so much pleased with the willing service and true civility of this native, that I presented him with an iron tomahawk, and I heard him twice ask Yuranigh if it really was meant for him to keep. He then hastened back to his gin, whom he had left five miles off. This river presented as deep a section as, but a narrower bed than, the one we had just left. It had all the characteristics, however, of a principal river, and really looked more important than the Barwan, except that its waters were not then fluent. Gigantic blue gum trees overhang the banks, and the Mimosa grew near the bed of the current. I should say that these and much sand were the chief characteristics of the Culgoa. There were no recent marks of natives' fires, and I was informed that they did not much frequent that part of the river. The grass along the banks was very luxuriant. Latitude 28° 31' 19" south. Thermometer at sunrise, 39°; at noon, 75°; at 4 P.M., 76°; at 9, 50°;--with wet bulb, 46°. The height of this camp above the level of the sea, being forty feet above the bed of the river, 543 feet; from the mean of four observations. 3RD APRIL.--The section of this river being forty feet deep, and the banks in general steep, the work necessary to render it passable to our heavy drays could not be accomplished yesterday afternoon. This day, however, our camp was established on the right bank of the Culgoa. Thermometer at sunrise, 35°; at noon, 80°.; at 4 P.M., 77°; at 9, 49°; and with wet bulb, 46°. 4TH APRIL.--We were now to proceed along the right bank of the Culgoa upwards to the United Balonne, and thence to continue ascending along the right bank of that river also, as far as the direction was favourable to our progress northward. This remained to be ascertained in exploring that river upwards. In gaining the right bank of the Culgoa, we had crossed the vast basin of clay extending from the Bogan on the south, to this river on the north, and westward to New Year's Range and Fort Bourke. That country was liable to be rendered quite impassable, had the rains set in. But even in such seasons we could still travel over the dry, firm ground bounding this basin of clay on the northward, as the left bank of the Bogan was also passable, however rainy the season, indeed more conveniently then than during a dry one. Rain, if it had fallen at this time, had greatly facilitated our exploration of the northern interior; but these rivers we had reached would supply us with water for some degrees to the northward, as I had been informed by the Commissioner of the district, and in our progress so far, I hoped we should arrive at a better watered country. Taking a northerly course, we traversed fine grassy land, on which grew luxuriantly the ACACIA PENDULA and other shrubs, that reminded us of the banks of the Bogan, to which country we found here the exact counterpart, only that this was better watered. The course of the Culgoa was more easterly than I had calculated on, for, after going six miles northward, I had to travel at least as many eastward before I again found the river. We encamped on the acute north-western angle of an anabranch biting into the firm soil, and it was evident that we had reached the Balonne Major, or that part above the separation of the Culgoa from the Minor Balonne, both of which we had already crossed, and which ran thus, as from our camp the lines of trees along each of the minor channels were distinctly visible. The character of these rivers had been described to me by Commissioner Mitchell, the discoverer thereof. It was late before the drays came in, and Mr. Kennedy was led into the camp quite blind, having been suddenly attacked with purulent ophthalmia, when engaged in the survey of our route, about four miles from the camp. The heat had somewhat abated, but still this complaint, which we had attributed to it, had lately affected many of the party suddenly, as in the case of Mr. Kennedy. Latitude, 28° 27' 11" S. Thermometer at sunrise, 33°; at noon, 83°; at 4 P.M., 88°; at 9, 53°; with wet bulb, 47°. 5TH APRIL.--The party halted, and I took a ride to explore the course of the river, proceeding first northward. In that direction I came upon an angle of the Balonne, at about three miles from the camp. Beyond, after passing through much ACACIA PENDULA, I crossed a small plain, bounded by a Casuarina scrub. Partly to ascertain its extent and character, and partly in the hope of falling in with the river beyond, I entered it. I found this scrub full of holes, that obliged me to pursue a very tortuous course, impeded as I was too by the rugged stems and branches. I got through it, only after contending with these impediments for three miles. The country beyond it looked not at all like that back from the river, and I turned to the N.E., pursuing that course some miles; then eastward two miles, and next two miles to the S.E., still without finding any river; but, on the contrary, scrub in every direction. The sun was declining, and I turned at last to the S.W., and in that direction reached an extensive open forest, beyond which I saw at length the river line of trees. I continued to ride S.S.W., and finally south, until I saw our cattle grazing, and the tents, without having regained first, as I wished, my outward track. On the bank of the Balonne we found an apparently new species of ANDROPOGON with loose thin panicles of purplish flowers, and in the scrub I passed through, in my ride, I found a CASUARINA, indeterminable in the absence of flowers or fruit. It produces a gall as large as a hazel nut. Thermometer at sunrise, 37°; at noon, 90°; at 4 P.M., 94°; at 9, 57°;--with wet bulb, 53°. 6TH APRIL.--Mr. Kennedy's eyes being still very bad, I could not proceed, as the survey of our route was very important, in order to keep our account of longitude correctly. The necks of the cattle were much galled, and I therefore the more willingly halted another day. It was not without some impatience, however, that I did so, as we were approaching a point whence I could set out with horses to the north-west, and leave the cattle to refresh in a depôt on this fine river, which afforded an excellent base for our exploratory operations, in the wholly unknown regions immediately beyond it. This line of exploration I had anxiously wished to pursue in 1831, when obliged to return from the Karaula or Upper Barwan; and whatever had since been ascertained about that part of the interior, confirmed me the more in my first opinion as to the eligibility of that direction. It had occurred to me, on crossing the Culgoa, that by marking deeply on a tree, at each camp, a number of reference, our survey might be more practically useful and available to the colonists, as connecting so many particular localities therewith. I therefore marked that No. I. in Roman numerals; this II., and I shall add in this journal, at the end of the narrative of each day's proceedings, whatever number or mark may be made to distinguish the place of encampment described. In the scrub near this, we observed an Acacia, apparently new, a broadleaved, white-looking wattle. There was also a branching Composite, which Sir W. Hooker has determined to be a very distinct and undoubted species of FLAVERIA of which all the other species are natives of the New World.[*] The CAPPARIS LASIANTHA was also found here growing on EXOCARPUS APHYLLA of Brown; it was found by Allan Cunningham and Frazer on Liverpool Plains, also, at Swan River. Thermometer, at sunrise, 44°; at noon, 95°; at 4 P.M., 96°; at 9, 63°;--with wet bulb, 57°. Height above the sea, 497 feet. [* FLAVERIA AUSTRALASICA (Hook. MSS.) foliis lineari-lanceolatis integerrimis basi dilatatis, capitulis densissime globoso-fasciculatis, fasciculis subinvolucratis, bracteis exterioribus praecipue fasciculos superantibus omnibus late amplexantibus.] 7TH APRIL.--When all were preparing to set off early this morning, I was informed that two bullocks were missing, and a third fast in the mud on the river bank. The two stray animals were soon found; but it was impossible to bring on the other in the mud, for he was blown, from having drunk too much water, after over-eating himself with grass. Our journey was continued round one angle of the river in my horse's track. Afterwards turning to the N. E., we crossed two miles of open forest land, where the grass was good, and having the river in sight. At length, even on an easterly course we could not keep it longer in view, but got involved in a scrub on soft red sand. Emerging from this on a course of E. S. E., we again got upon open ground, and soon saw the majestic trees of the river in a line circling round to the northward. Coming upon it at an angle where scrubs of rosewood and ACACIA PENDULA crowned the slopes, we encamped on a beautiful spot. The river was magnificent, presenting a body of water of such breadth, as I had only seen in one other river of Australia, and the banks were grassy to the water's edge. This day, "Jemmy," a young native whom we had seen on the Minor Balonne, came to our camp with another youth, and the voices of a tribe were heard in the woods. As Jemmy had not kept his word formerly, having left us suddenly, and was evidently a scamp, I peremptorily ordered him away. I had heard of his having brought gins to my camp at night on the former occasion, and he was very likely to be the cause of mischief, and could not, or at least, would not, render us any service. We desired no further intercourse, at that time, with the natives, as those with us did not understand their language. The misfortunes of Mr. Finch arose through that sort of intercourse with his men, and had arrested my journey fifteen years ago, when I had advanced to within forty miles of this camp, intent on those discoveries I hoped at length to make even now. I had good reason, therefore, to keep the natives at a distance here, at a time, too, when the bodies of six white men were said to be still uninterred in this neighbourhood. A species of CYPERUS with panicled globular heads of flowers was found here in the sloping bank. Thermometer, at sunrise, 47°; at noon, 97°; at 4 P. M. 97°; at 9, 69°;-- with wet bulb 57°. Height above the sea 634 feet. Latitude 28° 23' 59" S. (Camp III.) 8TH APRIL.--We continued our journey nearly northward, keeping the river woods in sight, as much as the country permitted. An arm or anabranch, at first containing much water, and coming from the north, was on our right for some miles. In following it, our natives found the tracks of three horses, one only having had shoes on, and two foals, as if proceeding first towards our camp, then returning. The branch from the river became dry and sandy, but still we followed its course. We saw about a mile to the eastward, beyond this dry channel, a splendid sheet of water on a level with the general surface, and having extensive tracts of emerald green vegetation about it. The dry channel obliged me to make a longer journey than I had intended. At length, on finding the requisite water in its bed, I encamped. This was near a pond, on whose sandy margin we saw still the tracks of the three horses that had been there to drink. The scrubs came close to the river with intervals of grassy plain. The ACACIA PENDULA, and its concomitant shrubs, the SANTALUM OBLONGATUM, and others, gave beauty to the scenery, and with abundance of water about, all hands considered this a very fine country. At sunset, thunder-clouds gathered in the S. W., and at about 7 P. M. the storm reached our camp, accompanied by a sudden, very strong gale from the S. E. The lightning was very vivid, and for half an hour it rained heavily. By 8 P. M. it was over, and the serene sky admitted of an observation of Regulus, by which the latitude was found to be 28° 17' 8" S. (No. IV.) Thermometer at sunrise, 61°; at noon, 91°; at 4 P. M. 94°; at 9, 66°;--with wet bulb 63°. 9TH APRIL.--The branches of the river, and flats of Polygonum, obliged me to follow a N. W. course. I did so most willingly, as we had already got further to the eastward than I wished. The arm of the river spread into a broad swamp, in which two of the drays sank, the drivers having taken no notice of a tree I had laid across the track, to show where the carts had been backed out. I made them unload the drays and carry the loads to firm ground. Keeping afterwards along the margin of this swamp for many miles, I perceived abundance of water in it, and passed the burning fires of natives, where their water kids and net gear hung on trees about. At length, upon turning to the eastward, I came upon the main river, where it formed a noble reach, fully 120 yards wide, and sweeping round majestically from N. E. to S. E. We here encamped, after a long journey. The banks were grassy to the water's edge. We saw large fishes in it; ducks swam on it, and, at some distance, a pair of black swans. This surpassed even the reach at camp III., and I must add, that such an enormous body of permanent water could be seen nowhere else in New South Wales save in the river Murray during its floods. The Anthistiria grew abundantly where we encamped, which was in latitude, 28° 13' 34" S. and marked V. Thermometer, at sunrise, 63°; at noon, 94°; at 4 P. M., 97°; at 9, 63°;--with wet bulb, 62°. 10TH APRIL.--Pursuing a N. W. course, we crossed small grassy plains, fringed with rosewood and other acacias; but, in order to keep near the river, I was soon obliged to turn more towards the east, as Callitris scrubs were before me. In avoiding these, I again came upon the more open and firm ground adjacent to the river, and saw its course in the line of large Yarra trees, which always point out its banks with their white and gnarled arms. I may here state that the scrubs generally consist of a soft red sandy soil; the land near the river, of clay, which last is by far the best of the two soils for crossing with wheel carriages; the soft red sand being almost as formidable an impediment in some situations as mud. At length, in travelling N. eastward, we came upon a spacious lagoon, extending westward, and covered with ducks. Perceiving, by drift marks, that it came from the West, I kept along its margin, following it as it trended round to N. E., where we arrived at the main channel, about that part whence the waters of the lagoon emanate during high floods. That lagoon presented an excellent place for a cattle-station. Water could never fail, as the main stream was at hand, if even the lagoon dried up, which seemed not at all likely. PSORALEA ERIANTHA was abundant in the bed of the river, along with INDIGOFERA HIRSUTA, and CROTALARIA MITCHELLII.[*] Thermometer, at sunrise, 44°; at noon, 99°; at 4 P. M., 97° at 9, 66°;--with wet bulb, 58°. [* C. MITCHELLII (Benth. MS.) erecta, ramulis flavescenti-tomentosis, stipulis parvis subulatis, foliis ovali-ellipticis obtusis retusisve basi angustatis supra glabris subtus calycibusque subsericeo- pubescentitomentosis, bracteolis in pedicello brevissimo minutis setaceis, legumine sessili glabro. Allied to C. RETUSA and SERICEA, but flowers much smaller, in short dense spikes. It agrees in most respects with the short character of C. NOVOE HOLLANDIOE, etc., but the leaf is not articulated on the footstalk, and the stipules exist.] 11TH APRIL.--Proceeding due north we had the river close on our right hand, when two miles on. After making a slight detour to avoid a gully falling into it, we continued the same course over open forest land, and, at length, saw an immense sheet of water before us, with islands in it. This was also a lagoon supplied by floods in the Balonne. It was covered with ducks, pelicans, etc. I called it Lake Parachute, no natives being near to give me their name for it. I must here add that the true aboriginal name is not Baloon, however, but Balonne, and this I the more readily adopt to avoid the introduction of a name so inappropriate amongst rivers. I was obliged to turn this lagoon, by moving some way about to my right, for it sent forth a deep arm to the S. W. which lay across my intended route. Continuing to travel northward, we arrived upon the banks of a lagoon, where they resembled those of the main channel, having trees of the same kind and fully as large. The breadth was very uniform, and as great as that of the river, so that it seemed this had once been the bed of the Balonne. We crossed it at a dry part of the swamp, the waters extending and increasing in it to the eastward. In the opposite direction it was equally uniform and continuous, but apparently dry. On crossing this old channel, I turned sharply to the N. E., aware that it is usually at acute angles in a river's course that such overflowings break out. I found it necessary in the present case to turn eastward, and even to the southward of east before I could find the river again. At length we came upon the channel divided amongst ridges of sand, where the waters took a sharp turn and broke thus into separate currents. I was now very desirous to select a camp where the cattle might remain to rest and refresh while I proceeded with a small party to the N. W. This place did not please me, having been too scrubby, the water not well tasted, and the grass dry, therefore liable to be set on fire by the natives, or by accident. A bulbous species of CYPERUS grew on the bank of the Balonne, and in the river we found the common European reed, ARUNDO PHRAGMITES: a Loranthus allied to L. LINEARIFOLIUS, but with broader leaves, grew on some of the trees, and we saw a fine new species of ADRIANIA.[*] (No. VII.) Thermometer, at sunrise, 47°; at noon, 102°; at 4 P. M., 104°; at 9, 69°; with wet bulb, 62°. Average height above the sea, of camps V. VI. and VII., 559 feet. [* A. HETEROPHYLLA (Hooker MSS.) foliis ovato-acuminatis grosse sinuatoserratis integris cordatisve trifidis, utrinque bracteisque glaberrimis.] 12TH APRIL.--I accordingly put the party in motion at an early hour, and soon came upon the river, where it formed a noble reach of water and came from the westward, a new direction, which, with the sand that had for some days appeared in shallow parts of its bed, raised my hopes that this river might be found to come from the north-west, a direction it maintained for five miles. The breadth was uniform, and the vast body of water was a most cheering sight. The banks were 120 yards apart, the course in general very straight, contributing much to the perspective of the scenery upon it. At one turn, denuded rocks appeared in its bed, consisting of ironstone in a whitish cement or matrix, which might have been decomposed felspar. I at length arrived at a natural bridge of the same sort of rock, affording easy and permanent access to the opposite bank, and at once selected the spot for a dépôt camp, which we established on a fine position commanding long vistas both up and down the river. It was, in fact, a tête-de-pont overlooking the rocky passage which connected the grass on both sides. This was No. VIII., and in latitude 28° 1' 37''. Thermometer, at sunrise, 68°; at noon, 104°; at 4 P. M., 101°; at 9, 74°;--with wet bulb, 64°. 13TH APRIL.--Here I could leave the jaded cattle to refresh, while, with a small party on horse-back, I could ascertain the farther course of the river, and explore the country to the north-west where centred all my hopes of discovery. I set on foot various preparations, such as the stuffing of saddles, shoeing of horses, drying of mutton, and, first of all in importance, though last likely to be accomplished, the making a pair of new wheels for a cart to carry water. Thermometer, at sunrise, 47°; at noon, 100°; at 4 P. M., 101°; at 9, 67°;--with wet bulb, 62°. 15TH APRIL.--This day I sent Mr. Kennedy to examine the country in the direction of 331½°, my intended route, and he returned about 10 P. M., having seen what he considered indications of the river on his right when about twelve miles from the camp, and plains to the left. Upon the whole, I resolved, from what he said of the scrubs he had met with, to travel north-west, that direction being perpendicular to the general course of this river, and therefore the most likely to lead the soonest to higher ground. Thermometer, at sunrise, 68°; at noon, 104°; at 4 P. M., 103°; at 9, 72°;--with wet bulb, 67°. 16TH APRIL.--In order better to contend with the difficulty of wanting water, and be better prepared for it, I formed my party rather of infantry than cavalry, taking only two horses, drawing a cart loaded chiefly with water, and six trusty men, almost all old soldiers. We were thus prepared to pass several nights without requiring other water than that we carried with us. I hoped thus to be enabled to penetrate the scrubs, and reach, and perhaps cross, the higher land bounding this great basin. Our first day's progress, being rather experimental, did not extend above ten miles. I had been obliged to send back the shaft horse, and exchange him for a better, as our load of water was heavy. The day was very sultry. Thermometer 105° Fahrenheit, in the shade. We had passed over ground more open than I expected, but by no means clear of scrubs. Thermometer, at sunrise, 64°; at 4 P. M., 105°; at 9, 71°;--with wet bulb, 67°. 17TH APRIL.--The messenger returned early with two horses, one being my own second charger, which I put as leader to the cart. We then got forward on foot as fast as the men could walk, or rather as fast as they could clear a way for the cart. We passed through much scrub, but none was of the very worst sort. The natives' marks on trees were numerous, and the ground seemed at first to fall westward as to some water-course; and, after travelling about five miles, there appeared a similar indication of water to the eastward of our route. At one place even the white-barked gum trees appeared; but, although they had the character of river trees, we found they grew on an elevated piece of clay soil. After completing about ten miles, I halted for two hours to rest the horses, where there was a patch of good grass, and we gave them some water from our stock. The mercurial column afforded no indication that we were at all higher than our camp overlooking the river, and it seemed, therefore, not improbable that we might meet with some other channel or branch of that prolific river. After resting two hours we continued, passing through woods partly of open forest trees, and partly composed of scrub. Towards the end of our day's journey, we crossed land covered with good grass, and having only large trees on it, so thinly strewed as to be of the character of the most open kind of forest land. Saw thereon some very large kangaroos, and throughout the day we had found their tracks numerous. We finally set up our bivouac a little before sunset, on a grassy spot surrounded by scrub. In this scrub I found the CLEOME FLAVA of Banks, and the strong-smelling AMBRINA CARINATA. A very remarkable whiteness appeared on the leaves of the EUCALYPTUS POPULIFOLIUS, which, on very close examination, appeared to be the work of an insect.[*] On the plains the SALSOLA AUSTRALIS formed a round bush, which, when loose from its very slight root, was liable to be blown about. Thermometer at sunrise, 71°; at 9 P. M, 68°;--with wet bulb, 64°. [* The following letter from Mr. Westwood to Dr. Lindley relates to specimens of this brought to England:-- "I am sorry that the state of the specimens from Sir Thomas Mitchell (or rather, I should say, the time when they were gathered) does not allow me to say much about the insect by which they are formed. It is an extremely beautiful production, quite unlike any thing I have yet seen, and is, I have no doubt, the scale of a coccus. It is of a very peculiar form, resembling a very delicate, broad, and flattened valve of a bi-valve shell, such as the genus Iridina, the part where the hinge is being a little produced and raised, and forming the cover of the coccus which secretes the beautiful material just in the same unexplained way as the scale insects form the slender attenuated scales beneath which they are born. I could not discover any insect beneath the specimens of Sir Thomas Mitchell's production in a state sufficient to determine what it really is, as I only found one or two exceedingly minute atoms of shrivelled up insects. It is extremely brittle, and looks more like dried, white, frothed sugar than any thing else."] 18TH APRIL.--A pigeon had flown last evening over our camp in a N. N. E. direction, and as the ground sloped that way, and the men believed that water was there, I rode this morning in that direction, leaving the other horses to feed in the meantime. At two miles from our bivouac I found some hollows in a scrub where the surface consisted of clay, and which evidently at some seasons contained water, although they were then dry. Polygonum grew around them, and I doubt not that after a fall of rain water would remain there some time. On riding two miles beyond, in the same direction, I found open forest land only. The country was well covered with good grass, very open, yet finely wooded. We again proceeded north-west over some fine forest land. The soil was, however, only soft red sand, and made it very heavy work for our horses drawing the watercart. On passing through a Casuarina scrub, we entered upon a different kind of country as to wood and grass, the soil being much the same, or still more loose and sandy. The surface bore a sterile heathy appearance, and the trees consisted chiefly of a stunted box, growing but thinly. Instead of grass, black, half-burnt roots of a wiry plant appeared, which I afterwards found in flower (SEE INFRÀ), and one small, shrubby, brown bush, very much resembling heath; apparently a Chenopod with heathlike leaves, and globular hairy heads of flowers. The roots of the firstmentioned plant presented much obstruction to our cart-wheels in passing over the soft sand. As I stood awaiting the cart's arrival, some birds drew my attention, as I perceived I had attracted theirs. They descended to the lowest branches of the tree in whose shade I stood, and seemed to regard my horse with curiosity. On my imitating their chirp one fluttered down, and attempted to alight on my horse's ears. On my whistling to them, one whistled some beautifully varied notes, as soft as those of an octave flute, although their common chirp was harsh and dissonant. The male and female seemed to have very different plumage, especially about the head; that on the one having the varying tint of the Rifle bird, the head of the other more resembling in colour, that of the DACELO GIGANTEUS. They were about the size of a thrush, and seemed the sole residents of that particular spot, and I had not seen them elsewhere. The carts came slowly forward, the horses being much distressed. I continued to ride some miles ahead, and passed through a scrub in a clay hollow, to which succeeded another open forest country with more of the soft red sand. The people with the cart could not overtake me, and I returned. Meeting them at a rather bad place, I determined to encamp at some patches of grassy ground somewhat out of our line, in latitude, 27° 43' S. It is remarkable that, according to the barometer, we had not ascended higher than our depôt camp on the river, at a distance of nearly forty miles from it. I had just quitted my horse's back, and had resolved to return, when two horsemen were seen approaching along our track. They were two of our party come from the depôt to bring me a despatch, which had been forwarded by Commissioner Wright, communicating the news of Dr. Leichardt's return from Port Essington, and enclosing the Gazette with his own account of his journey. Thus it became known to us that we could no longer hope to be the first to reach the shores of the Indian Ocean by land. Thermometer, at sunrise, 62°; at 4 P. M., 93°; at 9, 71°;--with wet bulb, 64°. 19TH APRIL,--I left the men with the cart, to follow while I rode forward along its track, and sat down to peruse the newspapers sent me, until the cart overtook me in the evening, the horses being quite exhausted by the heat and the heavy sand. Thermometer, at sunrise, 61°; at noon, 86°; at 9, 63°;--with wet bulb, 59°. 20TH APRIL.--The men who brought the despatches yesterday having been ordered to bring fresh horses this day from the depôt, I sent our tired animals on thither at once, as we could give them but a limited quantity of water. I rode forward also to the camp, and met the fresh horses about half-way. I immediately ordered the repair of the wheels of another light cart, determined to lose no time in exploring a passage towards the head of Carpentaria. Thermometer, at sunrise, 48°; at noon, 95; at 4 P. M., 93°; at 9, 63°;--with wet bulb, 58°. 21ST APRIL.--The cart came in about 9 A. M. The morning was cloudy, for the first time this month, and a slight shower fell. Had three or four days' rain fallen at that time, it would have enabled me to have explored by much less circuitous routes, than along the bank of this great river, the country to the north-west. In this case, the tour from which I had just returned might have been continued, as I wished and intended, had it been possible to find water, to the mountains or higher ground, whatever it might be that formed the limits to this basin on that side. Thermometer, at sunrise, 65°; at noon, 76°; at 4 P. M., 77°; at 9, 60°; --with wet bulb, 53°. 22D APRIL.--The clouds continued to lower, and a great change in the temperature accompanied this visible change in the sky, but the mercurial column remained uncommonly steady. Arrangements for a concentrated party engrossed my attention so fully this day, with the insertion also of our late work on the general map, that even the newspapers from the colony lay unread. Mr. Kennedy took a ride across the river in a S. S. E. direction, and found a fine grazing country with open forest, as far as he went, which was about twelve miles. On the banks of the Balonne, during my absence, they had found, besides a small bearded CYPERUS, a new creeping PSORALEA [*], and a new species of Acacia, which Mr. Bentham has named A. VARIANS.[*] Thermometer, at sunrise, 41°; at noon, 76°; at 4 P. M., 77°; at 9, 61°;--with wet bulb, 56°. Mean elevation of this camp above the level of the sea, being 50 feet above the river, 623 feet. [* P. ERIANTHA (Benth. MS.) prostrata, canescenti-pubescens, foliis pinnatim trifoliolatis, foliolis ovatis oblongisve dentatis, pedunculis elongatis multifloris, floribus inferioribus remotis superioribus approximatis, calycibus pube molli albida dense tomentosis, legumine molliter villoso.] [* A. VARIANS (Benth. MS.) glabra, pallida v. glauca, ramulis subangulatis, phyllodiis oblongo-lanceolatis v. inferioribus late obovatis summisve linearibus, omnibus basi longe angustatis apice obtusis v. oblique mucronatis subimmarginatis vix obscure glanduliferis uninervibus tenuiter reticulato-penniveniis, capitulis sub 20-floris solitariis subracemosis v. in racemos foliatos dispositis, calycibus truncatis, legumine glabro crasso sublignoso. Very near A. SALICINA, and possibly a mere variety; but the phyllodia are generally considerably broader, and the inflorescence different.] Chapter IV. ADVANCE WITH A LIGHT PARTY--LEAVING THE REMAINDER WITH THE BULLOCKS AND DRAYS TO REST THREE WEEKS AT ST. GEORGE'S BRIDGE.--DISCOVER A RIVER JOINING THE BALONNE FROM THE NORTH-WEST.--CROSS IT, AND STILL TRACE THE BALONNE UPWARDS.--FINE RIVER SCENERY.--VAST PLAINS EXTENDING TO THE EASTERN HORIZON DISCOVERED FROM A TREE.--TRIBUTARY FROM THE NORTH-WEST-- AND RICH PLAINS.--TRACE THIS SMALL RIVER UPWARDS.--EXCELLENT COUNTRY FOR GRAZING PURPOSES.--MOUNTAINS, SEEN AT LENGTH, TO THE NORTHWARD.--NATIVES AT OUR CAMP.--ASCEND MOUNT FIRST VIEW.--MOUNT INVITING.--ASCEND MOUNT RED CAP.--RIDE TO THE BORDERS OF FITZROY DOWNS, AND ASCEND MOUNT ABUNDANCE.-- THE BOTTLE TREE.--ASCEND MOUNT BINDÀNGO.--DISCOVERY OF THE RIVER "AMBY."--DANGEROUS FOLLOWERS OF A CAMP.--RECONNOISSANCE TO THE NORTH- WEST.--ASCEND A TRAPITIC RANGE.--A GAP OR GOOD OPENING THROUGH IT FOUND FOR THE CARTS.--SMALL RIVER DISCOVERED BEYOND, CONTAINING ONE POND OF WATER.--THE CHANNEL DISAPPEARS ON OPEN FLATS.--DISCOVER THE RIVER MARAN.--SELECT A POSITION FOR A DEPÔT.--RIDE OF RECONNOISSANCE TO THE NORTHWARD.--RIDE INTO THE WESTERN INTERIOR.--ASCEND MOUNT LONSDALE.-- EXTENSIVE VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT.--WATER NOT VERY PLENTIFUL.--RETURN TO THE CAMP.--ASCEND A HIGH POINT TO THE EASTWARD.--VIEW THENCE OF THE SUMMITS OF A RANGE TO THE NORTHWARD.--CAMP VISITED BY HOSTILE NATIVES DURING MY ABSENCE.--ARRIVAL OF MR. KENNEDY WITH THE MAIN BODY OF THE PARTY.--HIS ACCOUNT OF THE HOSTILITY OF THE CHIEF AND TRIBE AT "TAGANDO."--VARIOUS PREPARATIONS MADE FOR AGAIN ADVANCING WITH A LIGHT PARTY.--DEPÔT CAMP ESTABLISHED ON THE MARAN. 23RD APRIL.--Our little party started at noon. I took with me eight men, two native boys, twelve horses, besides my own two, and three light carts with provisions for ten weeks--determined, if possible, to penetrate northward, into the interior country, and ascertain where the division of the waters was likely to be found. I intended, with this view, to trace upwards the course of the Balonne, until I found mountains to the north- westward of it; then, to endeavour to turn them by the west, and thus acquire some knowledge on that most interesting point, the watershed towards the Gulf. I left instructions with Mr. Kennedy to follow my track with the drays and main body of the party, and to set out on Monday, the 4th of May, when the cattle would have had three weeks' rest. The first few miles of this day's journey were along a clayey flat or hollow, which enabled me to avoid scrubby and sandy ground on each side. I believed its direction (N. E.), to be about parallel to the river. Leaving it at length to make the river, I met with rather a thick scrub; but came upon the river where the banks were very rocky and picturesque. Its course seemed to be from N. E.; but, following another flat of firm clay, I got again into scrub so thick that I turned eastward towards the river, and travelled along its bank until I encamped in lat. 27° 56' 12" S. There was but little water in the bed of the river there; but long islands of sand, water-worn banks, with sloping grassy bergs behind. The bed, in most places, consisted of rock, the same ferruginous conglomerate, or clay ironstone, seen in the same river lower down. Grass was excellent and abundant on the bergs and near the river, but thick scrub crowned these bergs on our side. It was too late to admit of my examining the other. On our way through the scrub this day, we saw the ENOCARPUS SPARTEA of Brown, a leaf-like wing-branched shrub; and the beautiful parasite, LORANTHUS AURANTIACUS, occupied the branches of Eucalyptus. Thermometer, at sunrise, 49°; at 9 P. M., 47°;--with wet bulb, 41°. [* The dates on the map show my camps; the Roman numerals those afterwards taken up by Mr. Kennedy, in following my track with the main body.] 24TH APRIL.--Set off early, travelling along the bank. The direction was N. N. W. and N. W. For the first few miles, the scenery was wild and very fine. Masses of rock, lofty trees, shining sands and patches of water, in wild confusion, afforded evidence of the powerful current that sometimes moved there and overwhelmed all. At this time, the outlines were wild, the tints sublimely beautiful. Mighty trees of Casuarinae, still inclined as they had been made to bend before the waters, contrasted finely with erect Mimosae, with prostrate masses of driftwood, and with perpendicular rocks. Then the hues of the Anthistiria grass, of a redbrown, contrasted most harmoniously with the light green bushes, grey driftwood, blue water, and verdure by its margin; all these again--grass, verdure, driftwood, and water--were so opposed to the dark hues of the Casuarinae, Mimosae, and rifted rocks, that a Ruysdael, or a Gains-borough, might there have found an inexhaustible stock of subjects for their pencil. It was, indeed, one continuous Ruysdael. "That artist lov'd the sternly savage air, And scarce a human image plac'd he there." May the object of our journey be successful, thought I then; and we may also hope that these beauties of nature may no longer "waste their sweetness in the desert air;" and that more of her graces may thus be brought within the reach of art. Noble reaches next extended in fine perspective before us; each for several miles, presenting open grassy margins along which we could travel on firm ground unimpeded by scrub. At length I perceived before me a junction of rivers, and could see along each of them nearly a mile. I had no alternative but to follow up that nearest to me, and found upon its bank many recent encampments of natives; at one of which the fires were still burning. The country was grassy, and so open, as almost to deserve the colonial name of "plain." This channel took me a long way northward, and to the N. N. E.; but finally turned west, and at last south. Its bed was full of sand; and at length we found it quite dry, so that, when I would have encamped, I could find no water. Yet it bore all the character of a large river; marks of high floods, Mimosae, sand, and river driftwood, like the other. It might, and probably did, finally come out of the main channel; but this seemed too remote a contingency for our wants then, and I crossed it, to look for the other. In riding eastward, I found a wide plain bounded by trees that looked like those along the river. No time could be spared for further reconnoissance: I took the party across, and made for the nearest part. My course was first N. E., then East, finally South, in following the various slopes; and it was only after travelling fifteen miles beyond the point where I met with this river, that I reached the bank of the other, at a spot distant only FOUR miles from where I had quitted it. This was only accomplished at forty minutes after 4 P. M., when we had travelled twenty-six miles. As our circuitous route was likely, if followed by Mr. Kennedy with the heavy drays, to cause delay and inconvenience, I resolved to halt next day, and write to him on the subject, explaining how he could most readily fall into my track by crossing the other channel, quitting first the other track, at a spot to be marked by Graham, who took the letter. Nevertheless, it had been imperative on me to follow it up as I had done; because, whether as a separate tributary or an ana-branch only, the right bank was likely to suit us best, provided only that water could have been found in its bed. Near the new river, the INDIGOFERA HIRSUTA of Linnaeus, with its spikes of reflexed hairy pods, was common; and also the MOSCHOSMA POLYSTACHYUM. Lat. 27° 47' 57'' S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 38°; at 9 P. M., 59°;--with wet bulb, 56°. 25TH APRIL.-- "The dawn is overcast, the morning lowers, And heavily in clouds brings on the day." A grateful change in the weather promised rain; but suggested to me a contingency for which I had not provided in my letter to Mr. Kennedy, and Graham was gone. A flood coming down, might fill the channel of the other, and prevent Mr. Kennedy's party from crossing to fall into my track; or, if that should finally prove only an ana-branch, shut me up in an island. On this point I again, therefore, wrote to Mr. Kennedy, and buried my letter at the spot marked by Graham, and according to marks on trees, as I had previously arranged with him. I then instructed him to examine the dry channel far enough upwards (halting his party for the day) to ascertain whether it was a separate river, or an ana-branch; and, in the latter case, to keep along its banks, and so avoid the possible difficulty of crossing it during rainy weather. Thermometer, at sunrise, 65°; at noon, 70°; at 4 P. M., 66°; at 9, 64°;--with wet bulb, 63°. Mean height above the sea, 586 feet. 26TH APRIL.--Sunday. Corporal Graham returned from the depôt camp at 1 P. M. The sky continued cloudy, and the barometer low. High wind from the west arose about 3 P. M. Thermometer, at sunrise, 63°; at noon, 78°; at 4 P. M., 78°; at 9, 56°;--with wet bulb, 53°. 27TH APRIL.--The party set off early. We found that a river from the north joined the channel we were about to follow up in its course from the east. The northern river contained water in abundance; and I determined to follow it up so long as the course was favourable, and water remained in it. The general course was much the same as that of the first (about 39 E. of N.). The bed and ponds increased; and after following it up about eleven miles, I encamped the party, and rode northward to ascertain if it was likely to change its course. In ten minutes, I came upon a splendid reach, extending north-west as far as I could see it. Lat. of our camp, 27° 42' 42" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 37°; at noon, 69°; at 4 P. M., 72°; at 9, 57°;--with wet bulb, 55°. 28TH APRIL.--Masses of a ferruginous rock extended across the river bed like a dyke, in a N. W. and S. E. direction; and as the river here broke through these rocks, changing, at a sharp angle, its course to the S. W., it seemed probable that the general course from above might be parallel to these rocks. Continuing along the bank, we found the reaches large, full of water; the country clear of scrub and covered with luxuriant grass. One singular flat sweeping round to the W. S. W. was covered with the rich grass PANICUM LOEVINODE. The tropical PEROTIS RARA, a delicate grass, producing long purple tufts of reflexed bristles, was also here observed. The general direction of the river was towards the N. W., and whenever it took any turn towards the east, I continued to travel northward, and thus, on three occasions, came upon its bank again, cutting off detours I must otherwise have described in following its course. We encamped on a beautiful spot, the sight of which would have rejoiced the heart of a stockholder. A fresh westerly breeze blew during the day, and we were as free from the annoyance of heat, as if we had been in England during the same month. Latitude 27° 32' 37" S. The direction of the river's course was uncommonly straight, and its long sweeping reaches, full of water, seemed capable of being rendered available for the purpose of forming water communications. The surface of the adjacent country presented a thin deposit of sand, near the river, attesting the great height to which its waters sometimes rise; and minor features of ground near, showed, in their water-worn sections, that they had been wholly deposited by the river. Thermometer, at sunrise, 39°; at 4 P. M., 69°; at 9, 48°;--with wet bulb, 46°. 29TH APRIL.--The tendency of the soft earth of the banks to break into gullies, branching back into impervious scrubs, was such as to prevent me from either seeing much of the river during this day's journey, or pursuing a straight course. At one place I could only follow the grassy margin of the river, by passing between its channel and the berg, all seared as it was with water-worn gullies, and crowned with scrub; but I was soon locked up under these where a bad hole impeded our progress along the river, and I was obliged to back the carts out, the best way I could. While travelling along the margin I perceived a slight current in a gravelly part of the bed. I had previously observed a whitish tinge like that of a fresh in the river water, this day and yesterday, doubtless the product of the late rain, and probably from these clay gullies. After a circuitous journey, we came out on a clear grassy brow over-looking much open country. There I still met with heads of gullies, but could easily avoid them, and after traversing a fine grassy plain, we encamped as near the river as the gullies would allow, in latitude 27° 28' 27". One of the party, John Douglas, from the top of a tree, discovered vast plains in the N. E. extending to the horizon, a river line pursuing a northerly course, and in the N. W. a mass of cloud hung over what he supposed to be mountains. Thermometer, at sunrise, 36°; at 4 P. M., 63°; at 9, 47°; with wet bulb, 44°. 30TH APRIL.--Obliged to keep at some distance from the river, I came upon open forest land, where gentle undulations took the place of the rugged gullies. Thus we travelled over a beautiful country, due north, with sufficient indications of the river on our right, in the slopes that all fell to that side. There were ponds in some hollows, and we made the river itself at various parts of our route. At length, where it bit on a high scrubby bank, I again proceeded northward and came upon a large lagoon, sweeping round to S. W. and S. S. W., further than we could see. It had on its surface numerous ducks, and a large encampment of native huts appeared at one end. We encamped by this lagoon, in latitude 27° 20' S. Again vast plains and downs to the N. E. were seen by Dicky, our youngest native, from a tree. Thermometer, at sunrise, 27°; at 4 P. M., 65°; at 9, 43°. 1ST MAY.--On leaving the lagoon, passing between its head and the river, we were soon enveloped in a thick scrub of Casuarinae, on ground broken into gullies falling to the river. I tried to pass by the lower margin of this, but gullies in the way obliged me to ascend and seek a passage elsewhere. Forcing our way, therefore, through the scrub and out of it, we found outside of it, in an open forest, the box and Angophora, and could go forward without impediment, first to the N. W., afterwards northward, and N. E. At length the woods opened into fine grassy plains, bounded on the east by trees belonging to the river berg. There I saw still the trees we had so gladly got away from, the Casuarina; also the cheering white arms of the Yarra, or blue gum. The prospect before us improved greatly; fine plains presented a clear way to the northward, with the river apparently coming thence, and even round from the N. W. From a tree, Yuranigh descried hills in the N. E. and the plains extending before us. I also perceived, from the wide plain, a distant low rise to the N. W. We crossed two hollows on these grassy plains, each containing deep ponds, and descended towards what seemed a branch of the river; we encamped near it, in latitude 27° 15' 4" S. As we approached this spot, natives were seen first looking at us, and then running off-- Yuranigh said he recognized one of them as a countryman of his own. I endeavoured to make him cooey to them, or call them, but they made off, setting fire to the grass. Any information from natives of these parts might have been very useful to us then, and I hoped they would at length come to us. Thermometer, at sunrise, 26°; at 4 P. M., 67°; at 9, P. M., 48°;--with wet bulb, 46°. 2D MAY.--There was a decided difference between the river we were now upon, as well as the country along its banks, and the large river by which we had travelled so far. This was undoubtedly but a small tributary, as its direction seen this day showed, being from the westward, while its waters, meandering in various narrow channels amongst plains, reminded us of some of the finest parts of the south. Which was the principal channel, and which to cross, which to travel by, was rather difficult to determine. The country was very fine. These water courses lay between finely rounded grassy slopes, with a few trees about the water's edge, marking their various courses at a distance. A considerable breadth of open grassy plain, intervened between this river and the woods back from it. At length, sloping stony bergs came near the river's bed, but there the smooth naked water-worn clay was the best ground we could have for wheels, and we thus hugged each bend of the river, passing close to the channel. I hoped thus to find plains on the next change of the river's course. And so it turned out for some way, but the receding bergs guided me, even when only seen at a considerable distance, in shaping my course. Keeping my eye on their yellow slopes, I travelled far along a grassy flat which brought me to a lake containing water like chrystal, and fringed with white lotus flowers. Its western shore consisted of shelving rock. An immense number of ducks floated on its eastern extremity. From this lake, following a grassy flat to the N. W., we at length reached the river, or rather its bed, seared into numerous channels. The lake, and long flat connected with it, appeared to me more like the vestiges of a former channel, than as the mere outlet of surplus waters; nor did it seem that the water is now supplied from the floods of the river. I followed this a few miles further, and then encamped just beyond, where much gravel appeared in the banks. While the men were erecting the tents, I rode some miles to the westward, and found an open iron-bark forest covering it, with much luxuriant grass. This was rather peculiar, as compared with any other part passed through. It was also undulating; and, from a tree ascended by Yuranigh, it was ascertained we were approaching mountains, as he saw one which bore 77°, also a hill to the eastward, in which latter direction (or rather in that of 333°), he saw also an open country. Thermometer, at sunrise, 47°; at 4 P. M., 62°; at 9 P. M 57°; mean height above the sea, 694 feet. 3RD MAY.--Natives were heard near our camp during the night, and we perceived the smoke of their fires, in the bushes, behind in the morning. Yuranigh went up to them, accompanied by one of the party bearing a green branch, and he prevailed on three of their tribe to come to our tents. One stood amongst the carts and tents, apparently quite absorbed in observation. Intense curiosity in these men had evidently overcome all their fears of such strangers. They were entirely naked, and without any kind of ornament or weapon, offensive or defensive. With steady fixed looks, eyes wide open, and serious intelligent countenances, what passed in their minds was not disguised, as is usual with savages. On the contrary, there was a manly openness of countenance, and a look of good sense about them, which would have gained my full confidence, could we but have understood each other. They asked for nothing, nor did they show any covetousness, although surrounded by articles, the smallest of which might have been of use to them. There must be an original vein of mind in these aboriginal men of the land. O that philosophy or philanthropy could but find it out and work it! Yuranigh plied them with all my questions, but to little purpose; for although he could understand their language, he complained that they did not answer him in it, but repeated, like parrots, whatever he said to them. In the same manner, they followed me with a very exact repetition of English words. He, however, gathered from them that the lake was called "Turànimga," this river "Cogoon," a hill to the eastward "Toolumbà," etc. They had never before seen white men, and behaved as properly as it was possible for men in their situation to do. At length we set out on our journey, and in mounting my horse, which seemed very much to astonish them, I made signs that we were going to the mountains. Travelling by the river bank was easy, over grassy forest land. The deep ponds were tolerably well filled, but the quantity of water was small, in comparison with that in the Balonne; which the natives seemed to say we had left to the right, and that this was "one of its brothers." Malga scrub crowned the bergs of the river, where they bounded one of these forest flats forming its margin, and the mere sight of that impervious sort of scrub was sufficient to banish all thoughts of making straighter cuts to the north-west. Our course, with the river, was, however, now rather to the west of north-west; and that this was but a tributary to the Balonne, was evident. That river line, as traced by us, pursued a tolerably straight direction between the parallels of 29° and 27°, coming round from nearly north-east to about north. For these last three days we had travelled with this minor channel, to the westward of north-west; in which direction I had, therefore, good reason to expect that we should soon find mountains. As soon as we arrived at an eligible spot for the camp, I proceeded, with Yuranigh, towards a height presenting a rocky face, which I saw through the trees, and seemed distant about two miles. From that crest, I perceived woody ridges on all sides, but all apparently sloping from the south-west; and a misty valley beyond the nearest of them in the northeast, like the line of the Balonne. But the most interesting sight to me then, was that of blue pics at a great distance to the north-west, the object of all my dreams of discovery for years. No white man had before seen these. There we might hope to find the DIVISA AQUARUM, still undiscovered; the pass to Carpentaria, still unexplored: I called this hill Mount First View, and descended, delighted with what I had seen from its rocky crest. The sides were covered with Malga scrub. The rock was felspathic, apparently allied to those already seen in the Balonne. Lat. 27° 2' 57" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 45°; at 4 P. M., 68°; at 9 P. M., 45°;--with wet bulb, 43°. 4TH MAY.--An Australian morning is always charming,--amid these scenes of primaeval nature it seemed exquisitely so. The BARITA? or GYMNORHINA, the organ-magpie, was here represented by a much smaller bird, whose notes, resembling the softest breathings of a flute, were the only sounds that met the ear. What the stillness of even adds to such sounds in other climes, is felt more intensely in the stillness of morning in this. "The rapture of repose that's there" gratifies every sense; the perfume of the shrubs, of those even that have recently been burnt, and the tints and tones of the landscape, accord with the soft sounds. The light red tints of the ANTHISTIRIA, the brilliant green of the MIMOSA, the white stems of the EUCALYPTUS, and the deep grey shadows of early morning, still slumbering about the woods, are blended and contrasted in the most pleasing harmony. The forms in the soft landscape are equally fine, from the wild fantastic tufting of the Eucalyptus, and its delicate willow- like ever-drooping leaf, to the prostrate trunks of ancient trees, the mighty ruins of the vegetable world. Instead of autumnal tints, there is a perpetual blending of the richest hues of autumn with the most brilliant verdure of spring; while the sun's welcome rays in a winter morning, and the cool breath of the woods in a summer morning, are equally grateful concomitants of such scenes. These attach even the savage to his woods, and might well reclaim the man of crime from thoughts likely to disturb the harmony of human existence. Following up the little river with more confidence now, since I had seen whence it came, I proceeded more directly north-west. Thus I found myself on a small creek, or chain of ponds, from the west and southwest, so that I crossed it and made for some open ground, between ridges clothed with dense Malga scrub. We thus crossed a low ridge, and descended towards a fine open country, on which pigeons were numerous, and traces of natives. It was also sloping to the northward, and I had no doubt that we had passed into a valley which I had observed yesterday from Mount First View, and had supposed it contained a larger river. In the open ground, I found a small rocky knoll which I named Mount Minute. From its summit, I recognised Mount First-Sight, bearing 128° 30'. We next passed through some scrub, and came to a hollow full of Acacia pendula. Following this down we arrived at a chain of ponds, and these led to an open grassy valley, in which we found our old friend, the river, still pursuing, steadily, a north-west course. Travelling along the bank, for a mile or two, we found that these now consisted of fine open forest flats; and at length encamped on the margin, after a journey of about twelve miles. Near our camp, I saw natives on the opposite bank, first standing in mute astonishment, then running away. I held up a green bough, but they seemed very wild; and, although occasionally seen during the afternoon, none of them would approach us. We found on the banks of this river, a purple- flowered CALANDRINIA, previously unknown.[*] Lat. 26° 57' 39" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 25°; at 4 P. M., 70°; at 9, 37°;--with wet bulb, 34°. [* C. BALONENSIS (Lindl. MS.); foliis angustis obovato-lanceolatis alternis oppositisque, racemis secundis multifloris caulibus multo longioribus, floribus (conspicuis) polyandris.] 5TH MAY.--The three last nights had been cold, each, in succession, colder than the former. This morning the thermometer stood at 19° E., yet the water was not frozen, nor did our natives, sleeping in the open air, seem to feel it. Hence, it was obvious that, in a dry atmosphere, extreme cold can be more easily borne than in one that is moist. So, also, in the opposite extreme of heat and drought, we had been so accustomed to a higher temperature than 100° F., that any degree under that felt refreshing. Our journey this day by the side of the little river was still very straight towards the N. W. We met with rocks at the westerly bends; from which side it was also joined by a small tributary, with ponds and hollows containing marks of flood, and beds of the POLYGONUM ACRE. Still, however, the main channel could be distinguished from these, and the open forest flats along its banks became more and more extensive and open as we ascended this channel,--leading so directly where we wished to go. Hills were occasionally seen back from it, chiefly covered with scrub, but some were grassy and seemed fit for sheep. Others were clothed with callitris, and there the woods were open enough to be travelled through. I rode to the summit of one and recognized two of the points seen from Mount First Sight. At one sharp turn of the river rugged rocks had to be removed to make a way for the carts, but this was soon done. Beyond, there was a noble reach of water in a rocky bed, traversed by a dyke of felspathic rock, which exhibited a tendency to break into irregular polygons, some of the faces of which were curved; its strike was E. and W. We encamped on open forest land in lat. 26° 54' 16" S. It was only during the last two days that I could perceive in the barometer, any indication that we were rising to any higher level above the sea than that of the great basin, in which we had journeyed so long, and the difference was still but trifling, as indicated by not more than six or seven millimetres of the Syphon barometer; our actual height above the sea being 737 feet. Thermometer, at sunrise, 19°; at 4 P. M., 67°. 6TH MAY.--The banks of the Cogoon became more open, and the slopes less abrupt as we advanced. They frequently consisted of a mixture of sand, at a height of twenty feet above its bed; where it occupied a section of considerable width, as much, perhaps, as 100 yards between bank and bank. On these rounded off banks or bergs of forest land, Youranigh drew my attention to large, old, waterworn, trunks of trees, which he showed me had been deposited there by floods. As they were of a growth and size quite disproportioned to other trees there, I was convinced that they were the debris of floods; and, consequently, that a vast body of water sometimes came down this channel. This native was taciturn and observant of such natural circumstances, to a degree that made his opinion of value in doubtful cases. Such, for instance, as which of two channels, that might come both in our way, might be the main one; thus my last resource, when almost "in a fix," was to "tomar el parecer," as they say in Spain, of this aboriginal, and he was seldom wrong. At length, the cheering expanse of an open country appeared before us, and a finely shaped hill, half-covered only, with bushes. On reaching an elevated clear part, I saw extensive downs before me. The river turned amongst woods to the eastward, and I continued on our route to the north, sure of meeting with it again, as some fine forest ridges hemmed in the valley to the eastward. Besides the hill already mentioned (which I named Mount Inviting), there was a curious red cone some miles to the westward, crowned with a bit of rock, on which I longed to plant my theodolite. After crossing the plain, we entered an open scrub of Acacia pendula which gradually changed to an open forest, within which I met with a chain of ponds, and encamped in lat. 26° 46' S. I immediately set out, with a man carrying my theodolite, for Mount Red Cap, distant from our camp about six miles. This little red cone had a very singular appearance, as we approached it from the east. A dark tinted scrub of flat-topped trees enveloped its base, on the outside of which the light and graceful Acacia pendula also grew on the grassy plain. I found the red rock to be the common one of the country, in a state of decomposition. It was hollowed out by some burrowing animal, whose tracks had opened ways through the thick thorny scrub, enabling us to lead our horses to near the top. From the apex, I obtained an extensive view of the country then before us, in many parts clear of wood to the verge of the horizon, and finely studded with isolated hills of picturesque form, and patches of wood. Looking backward, or in the direction whence we had come, our valley appeared hemmed in by more continuous ridges; and, towards the extremity of them, I could just recognise Mount First View, this being one of the distant cones I had seen from it. I took as many angles as the descending sun permitted, and then retraced our horses' tracks to the camp. Thermometer, at sunrise, 20°; at 9 P. M., 47°. Height above the sea, 747 feet. 7TH MAY.--Pursuing a N. W. course, we crossed a fine tract of open forest, then a plain, beyond which we entered a scrub of Acacia pendula, in which pigeons and quail were very numerous. Turning northward, now anxious again to see the river, on approaching this open country, we found what we considered the highest branch of it, in a chain of ponds skirting the wood bounding the plains. Halting the party, I continued my ride a mile and a half further northward, to the summit of a clear ridge. From thence I saw an open country to the northward, with some little wood. On my right, or to the eastward, a double topped hill sate in the centre of this fine open country, and from the abundance of good pasturage around it, I named it Mount Abundance. We continued still to follow the now attenuated channel upwards, and found it to come from the west, and even south-west, leaving the extreme corner of the open downs, and leading us into a scrub. There, it formed two branches, in neither of which could we find any water, and had consequently to return to the last of its ponds, situated exactly at the close of the open country towards the S. W. There, we encamped in latitude 26° 42' 27" S., thankful that we had been enabled by its means to advance thus far, and to discover so fine a tract of country as that watered by it. Thermometer, at sunrise, 48°; at 4 P. M., 68°; at 9, 30°. 8TH MAY.--This morning Fahrenheit's thermometer stood at 21° in my tent, a degree of cold I should never have expected to have seen indicated from my own sensations, or from the state of the pond, which was not frozen, neither was there any hoar frost. The sun rose in splendour; pigeons cooed, and birds were as merry as usual in the woods. The business of the day was most exciting; I was to ride over the fine open country to the westward of Mount Abundance, and there look still for a higher branch of the river, or A river; confident that so fine a region could not be deficient in water, but more confident from what I had seen of the range to which we had approached so near. Riding to the N. N. E. in about two hours we came upon the identical river we had so long followed up. It was accompanied, as usual, by the Acacia pendula; had its rounded bergs; reedy water holes; and an open strip along the left bank. Crossing it I rode over towards an elevated part of the open downs, in hopes to obtain a sight of what the country was beyond, but I found that to be impossible, as it seemed boundless. So, turning, I ascended an elevated north-eastern extremity of Mount Abundance, and from it beheld the finest country I had ever seen in a primaeval state. A champaign region, spotted with wood, stretching as far as human vision, or even the telescope, could reach. It was intersected by river lines from the north, distinguishable by columns of smoke. A noble mountain mass arose in the midst of that fine country, and was so elongated in a S. W. and N. E. direction, as to deserve the name of a range. A three-topped hill appeared far to the north of the above, and to the S. E. of the first described, another mass, also isolated, overlooking that variegated land of wood and plain. To the S. E. of all these, the peaks of a very distant range were just visible. I determined to name the whole country Fitzroy Downs, and to identify it, I gave the name of the Grafton Range to the fine mass in the midst of it. In hopes of obtaining an elevated view over the country to the westward, I endeavoured to ascend the northern summit of Mount Abundance, but although the surface to near the top was tolerably smooth, and the bush open, I was met there by rugged rocks, and a scrub of thorny bushes so formidable as to tear leathern overalls, and even my nose. After various attempts, I found I was working round a rocky hollow, somewhat resembling a crater, although the rock did not appear to be volcanic. The trees and bushes there were different from others in the immediate vicinity, and, to me, seemed chiefly new. It is, indeed, rather a curious circumstance, but by no means uncommon, that the vegetation on such isolated summits in Australia, is peculiar and different from that of the country around them. Trees of a very droll form chiefly drew my attention here. The trunk bulged out in the middle like a barrel, to nearly twice the diameter at the ground, or of that at the first springing of the branches above. These were small in proportion to their great girth, and the whole tree looked very odd. These trees were all so alike in general form that I was convinced this was their character, and not a LUSUS NATUROE. [A still more remarkable specimen of this tree was found by Mr. Kennedy in the apex of a basaltic peak, in the kind of gap of the range through which we passed on the 15th of May, and of which he made the accompanying drawing.] These trees grew here only in that almost inaccessible, crater-like hollow, which had impeded me in my attempt to reach the summit.[*] Leaving the horses, however, I scrambled through the briars and up the rocks to the summit, but found it, after all this trouble, too thickly covered with scrub to afford me the desired view to the westward, even after I had ascended a tree on the edge of the broad and level plateau, so thickly covered with bushes. On returning and descending eastward towards the open country, I found a much more practicable way down than that by which I had ascended. Returning to the valley of the Cogoon, I passed between the two summits, and found a good open passage to the westward between the brigalow. Thermometer, at sunrise, 20°; at noon, 70°; at 4 P. M., 68°; at 9, 30°. Height above the sea 1043 feet. [* This remarkable plant constitutes a new and very curious genus of Sterculiads. It agrees with STERCULIA in the position of the radicle with respect to the hilum, but it is, otherwise, a BRACHYCHITON, with which it more especially corresponds in the singular condition of the seeds. These are placed, six together, in the interior of long-stalked, ovate, mucronate, smooth, deep brown follicles, of a tough papery texture, and lined with a thin fur of stellate hairs. The seeds themselves are also closely covered with starry hairs, which are so entangled that they hold the seeds together firmly; these hairs, however, are absent from the upper half of the seed, whose thin brittle vascular primine is shining, smooth, and marked with a brown nipple, the remains of the foramen. Within the primine lies the bony crustaceous secundine, which is quite loose, and seems as if it were independent of the primine. Eventually the end of the thin brittle primine breaks like an eggshell and the secundine falls out. The seeds themselves, remaining attached to each other and to the follicle, resemble six deep cells, or may be rather compared to half a dozen brown eggshells, placed on the broad end, from which the young have escaped through the point. Sir Thomas Mitchell has named the genus after Sir Henry T. De la Beche, as president of a Society which has greatly encouraged him in his Australian researches; and in honour of a science which has occasionally thrown some light on his dark and difficult path. It may be scientifically described as follows:-- DELABECHEA. CHAR. GEN. CALYX 5-fidus, valvatus. ANTHEROE congestae. STYLI. ... STIGMATA. ... FOLLICULI coriaceo-papyracei, 6-spermi, longè stipitati, intus stellato-pubescentes. SEMINA albuminosa, albumine bipartibili cotyledonibus foliaceis parum adhaerente, pube stellari basi vestita, inter se et fundo folliculi cohaerentia; PRIMINÂ laxâ, tenui, fragili, apice foramine incrassato notatâ, SECUNDINÂ crustaceâ, demum liberâ chalazâ magnâ circulari notatâ. EMBRYONIS radicula hilo contraria. DELABECHEA RUPESTRIS. ARBOR grandis, trunco in dolii speciem tumescente. LIGNUM album, laxum, mucilagine repletum, vasis porosis (bothrenchymate) maximis faciem internam cujusque zonae occupantibus, radiis medullaribus tenuibus equidistantibus. FOLIA lineari-oblonga, acuminata, integerrima, in petiolum filiformem ipsis duplbreviorem insidentia, subtus pallida et quasi vernice quâdam cinereâ obducta. INFLORESCENTIA axillaris, trichotoma, tomentosa, foliis brevior. CALYX valvatus, utrinque tomentosus. The wood of the tree has a remarkably loose texture: it is soft, and brittle, owing to the presence of an enormous quantity of very large tubes of pitted tissue, some of which measure a line and half across; they form the whole inner face of each woody zone. When boiling water is poured over shavings of this wood a clear jelly, resembling tragacanth, is formed and becomes a thick viscid mass; iodine stains it brown, but not a trace of starch is indicated in it. No doubt the nutritious quality of the tree is owing to the mucilage, which is apparently of the same nature as that of the nearly allied Tragacanth tree of Sierra Leone (STERCULIA TRAGACANTHA). It is not a little remarkable that the barrel-like form of the trunk should be almost exactly paralleled by another Sterculiad, the CHORISIA VENTRICOSA of Nees, called by the Brazilian Portuguese PAO BARRIGUDO. It seems, however, that a tendency to a short lumpish mode of growth is common among the order, as is indicated by the Baobab of Senegal, which is almost as broad as it is long, and the great buttress trees, or Silk- Cottons of tropical America.--J. L.] 9TH MAY.--The thermometer stood at 19° in my tent this morning, yet no ice appeared on the adjacent pool; for this reason, we named that branch of the river Frosty Creek. In order to leave a more direct track for Mr. Kennedy to follow with the drays, I made the carts return about two miles to the spot where we first made these ponds. There I had a trench cut across the track to the camp we had quitted, and also buried a letter for Mr. Kennedy, in which I instructed him to avoid that detour which might have otherwise led him into scrubs. We then prolonged our track from the south, northward across the open downs. I travelled in the direction of the meridian, and most of our route, this morning, marked a due north line. We came, at length, upon a watercourse which I took for our river, as the banks were finely rounded, the ponds full of water, and the woods quite open. The scenery was parklike and most inviting. The watercourse, soon, however, dwindled into a mere chain of ponds, and these at last were found to contain no water, when we had completed our day's journey. Open downs surrounded us, and fortunately I could still distinguish my rocky position of yesterday, where I had noted that the general direction of the river channel we had now again left, bore N. W. We were still much to the southward of the line so observed, apprehending, as I did think then, that some tempting plains might take us too far along some western tributary. Riding in search of water, I perceived a column of smoke to the northward; and, taking the party in that direction, we found, in the first valley we fell in with, a chain of ponds, and in one of these water enough for our use, whereupon I gladly encamped. This day we discovered a new EUCALYPTUS which casts its bark in small angular pieces.[*] Latitude, 26° 33' 34" S. Thermometer, at 4 P. M., 74°; at sunset, 63°. Height above the sea, 1299 feet. [* E. VIMINALIS (Hook. MS.); foliis alternis glaucis lineari-lanceolatis breviter tenuiter petiolatis subfalcatis utrinque acuminatis reticulatovenosis, nervis lateralibus marginem prope, racemis paucifloris axillaribus, calyce turbinato in pedicellum brevem attenuato.] 10TH MAY.--Continued nearly northwards, over fine open forest land. The sprinkling of mountains of peculiar forms here and there, and the open country, which showed a bluey distance, were new features in the scenery, and most pleasing to us, so long accustomed to travel through a level woody country. The visible possibility of overlooking the country from any eminence, is refreshing at all times, but to an explorer it is every thing; besides he is not half so much in danger of wanting water, when in the neighbourhood of mountains: with these sentiments I went forward this morning, even although rather despairing of seeing more of our friendly river. We crossed two chains of dry ponds, apparently some of its highest sources. Still I travelled steadily towards a fine mountain before us, over open downs, but with scrubs on either side. Reaching a dry bushy hill S. E. of the mountains, about the time we should have encamped, I perceived that the country sloped most to the eastern side of it, which was rather out of my course; for the sake of finding water more readily I got into a water-course falling that way, and followed it down. This, opening soon into grassy flats, enabled us to avoid the scrubs. The welcome white-trunked Eucalyptus next over-hung the holes of the water- course, and the valleys spread into beautiful open plains, gracefully fringed with Acacia pendula. Still, the ponds were dry. I crossed a bare grassy eminence, and, where several channels met, I saw luxuriant white trunks; heard and saw many cockatoos of the same colour (PSITTACUS GALERITUS); and found there an abundant pond of water, beside which we encamped. On some of the Eucalyptus trees grew a beautiful Loranthus, which was new to us; it proved to be one formerly discovered by the indefatigable Allan Cunningham, but only now described by Sir William Hooker.[*] Thermometer, at sunrise, 28°; at 4 P. M., 76°; at 9, 38°;-- with wet bulb, 34°. [* L. NUTANS (All. Cunn. in Hook. Herb.) totus incano-glaucescens, foliis oblongis ellipticis sublanceolatis obtusis coriaceis obscure trinerviis tenui-rubro-marginatis basi in petiolum mediocrem attenuatis, pedunculis axillaribus longitudine petiolorum racemosis compositis, floribus ternis nutantibus, calycibus globoso-campanulatis ore contracto, petalis linearibus.--Two varieties, a narrow-leaved and a broad-leaved, were subsequently discovered; that now described was the narrow-leaved form.] 11TH MAY.--I ascended the mountain accompanied by two men with axes, and one carrying my theodolite. The summit was covered with thick scrub interlaced with vines, but my horse could push his way almost any where. I fortunately found a rock near the summit, and, on throwing down a few of the trees about it, obtained an extensive view over the country to the northward. Open downs surrounded the mountain. Beyond these, valleys, also clear of trees, or thinly wooded, fell on one side to the S. E., on another side, other valleys fell to the N. W., leaving a rather elevated tract between; which appeared to connect this mountain with a range just dimly visible, bearing nearly north. The valley descending towards the N. W., seemed to me to be the head of a river likely to pass through a remarkable gap in a flat range, beyond which the view did not extend. To the westward a woody, and rather level country appeared, from which I thought I saw ridges, with plains or downs between them, descending towards the N. W. river. Anxious to discover the division of the waters, I carefully levelled my theodolite and swept the northern horizon, but found, to my surprise, that the country to the westward was lower than the hill on which I stood, and that the ridge northward with the gap in it, was lower still, the only greater elevation visible being the lofty mass bearing about due north. Could this be all the obstruction I was prepared to open a pass through? Could the hidden mystery of the division between the northern and southern waters be here? Far in the east, a river line was evident from columns of smoke, as well as from the termination of various lateral ranges, between my position and the great mountain to the northward. That was, probably, still the Balonne falling southward. Here I had found an interior river that would, at all events, lead north-west, and this I resolved to follow. On this mountain there grew, in several spots, the remarkable trees I had first seen on Mount Abundance; some of them much resembling bottles, but tapering near the root. On descending and returning to the camp, which was about five miles from the hill, I found eight natives, who had come frankly forward to the party during my absence. I was very glad to see them, and gave to an old man, a tomahawk to express my sentiments, and welcome the strangers, for little could be understood by our native, of their speech, or by them, of his. We did, however, make out from them, that the hill I had just returned from, was "Bindango;" its lesser brother to the westward of it, Bindyègo; and the ponds or creek beside which we were then encamped, "Tagàndo;" all very good sonorous names, which I was glad to adopt at once in my notes and map. These natives were coloured with iron-ochre, and had a few feathers of the white cockatoo, in the black hair of their foreheads and beards. These simple decorations gave them a splendid holiday appearance, as savages. The trio who had visited us some days before, were all thoughtful observation; these were merry as larks, and their white teeth, constantly visible, shone whiter than even the cockatoo's feathers on their brows and chins. Contrasted with our woollen-jacketted, straw- hatted, great-coated race, full of work and care, it seemed as if nature was pleased to join in the laugh, at the expense of the sons of art. Sun never shone upon a merrier group of mortals than these children of nature appeared to be. One amongst them was a fine powerful fellow, whose voice sounded so strongly, that it seemed as if his very whisper might be heard half a mile off. The old man remained by our fire all night; the others who, as I understood, were all his sons, had departed about 11 P. M., having left their gins in the vicinity. Thermometer, at sunrise, 22°; at noon, 76°; at 4 P. M., 59°; at 9, 35°. 12TH MAY.--I took a ride in the direction where I hoped to find a river flowing towards the interior, according to my observations at Mount Bindango. I rode over an open plain, or open forest country, soon found the dells marked by water-courses, and, at length, the channel of a river, with the Yarra trees. Following this new channel downwards a short way, I found the beds of the ponds moist, and seven emus, running from one a-head of me, first indicated the situation of a large pond; from which three wood-ducks also waddled away as I approached it. This water was only fifteen miles from where I had left the party encamped, to which I hastened back with the tidings of a discovery that was likely to expedite so much our momentous journey. Thermometer, at sunrise, 30°; at noon, 81°; at 4 P. M., 59°; at 9, 52°;--with wet bulb, 51°. Height above the sea, 1168 feet. 13TH MAY.--I buried a letter here for Mr. Kennedy. This day the party crossed the dividing ground, which I found to be elevated only 1563 feet above the sea, and consisting, as already stated, of fine open grassy downs, sprinkled with Acacia pendula and other shrubs. One or two knolls projected, however, and resembled islands in a sea of grass. I rode to one and found it consisted wholly of trap-rock in nodules. This was the first trap I had seen during the journey beyond the Barwan, and from their aspect I thought that other minor features of the mountains Bindango and Bindyègo, which I had not leisure to examine then, also consisted of this rock. The little knoll I did visit, was about one hundred yards in diameter at its base on the plains, and was covered with trees wholly different from those in the adjacent forest, namely, CALLITRIS PYRAMIDALIS, EUCALYPTUS (Iron-bark species), etc. We next descended to a separate system of drainage, apparently falling to the north-west. Instead of following rivers upwards, as we had hitherto been doing, and finding them grow less, or taking a tributary for a main channel, we were now to follow one downwards, with the prospect of finding it to increase as we proceeded. The relief from the constant apprehension of not falling in with water was great, as each day's journey was likely to show additional tributaries to our new found river, and, of course, to augment the supply. The old native at Tagàndo, had pointed much to the north-west, frequently repeating the word "MARAN;" whether that was, or what was, the name of this river, remained to be ascertained. A sweet breeze from the N. W. met us as we descended the slopes, and thus it was that white men first passed in that direction, "AL NACIMIENTO DE LA ESPECERIA." Thermometer, at sunrise, 26°; at noon, 75°; at 4 P. M., 64°; at 9, 43°. Height of camp above the sea, 1226 feet. 14TH MAY.--The left bank of the river being rather steep and broken, I crossed it, determined to pursue a N. W. course, so long as I found the country open, thinking I might easily fall in with the river about the time I wished to encamp, believing its course would be towards the gap. We passed through some scrub, but chiefly over good forest land. When we had travelled on about ten miles, I saw hills nearly clear of wood before me, and halted the party while I went forward to look at the country in that direction. I soon overlooked a deep dell, full of the richest grass, and wooded like a park. The fall of the enclosing ranges showed me, however, that our river might be further to the westward than I had thought at all likely. On returning to the party, I found they had been called to by natives in our rear, one of whom was formally seated in advance, prepared for a ceremonious interview; and I accordingly went forward to him with the green bough, and accompanied by Yuranigh. We found him in a profuse perspiration about the chest, (from terror, which was not, however, obvious in his manner,) and that he had nothing at all to say to us after all; indeed his language was wholly unintelligible to my native, who, moreover, apprised me that he was the big bully from the tribe at our former encampment, then distant some twenty-five miles. He handled my hat, asked for my watch, my compass, and was about to examine my pockets, when Yuranigh desired him to desist, in a tone that convinced him we were not quite at his mercy. I thought he said that the river was called the "Amby," and something about the "Culgoa!" It then, for the first time, occurred to me, from a gesture of this man's arm, that this might be only a tributary to the Culgoa after all. We bade him adieu as civilly as we could, but he hung upon our rear for a mile or two, and I perceived that he had brought with him his whole tribe after us. Nothing more unfortunate can befall an explorer, than to be followed by a wild tribe like this, as I had experienced in former journies. The gift of the tomahawk had done all this mischief, and how it would end, was a thought which caused me some anxiety. The tall savage had set his heart upon our goods and chattels, and it was not in human nature for him to desist from his aggressive purpose, if we could not, in some way, contrive to cheek the pursuit. I knew instinctively, by the first sound of a loud whisper of his at "Tagando" at night, near our tents, that there was no music in this man's soul. We soon arrived at a ridge of ferruginous sandstone, whereof the strike tended S. S. W. and the dip was to the eastward. A gradual ascent brought us to the verge of a low ridge, which was steep towards the N. W., and a rocky knoll (of red sand-stone) afforded me a view of the gap I had seen from Bindango, and hills about it. I perceived, with great disappointment, that the structure of the country was not according to my anticipations. The river course seemed marked out by plains far to the south-west, and all the valleys and watercourses fell FROM the gap in that direction, and not TO the gap. Still the country about that opening looked very inviting. Picturesque hills, clothed with grass and open forest, especially on their summits, and dells between them, yellow or red with rich ripe grass, indicated a spot of the finest description; and through the gap lay my destined line of route, to the north-west, river or no river. Just then, however, we wanted water, but on following a little channel about a mile downwards, we found in it a spacious pond, and encamped. I rode three miles further down this channel, which there turned SOUTHWARD, so that I despaired of my newly discovered river Amby being of any further utility now; but I was almost convinced that it would have brought me into this very country, had I come round by Fort Bourke. Latitude 26° 17' 8" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 35°; at 4 P. M., 80°; at 7 P. M., 71°; at 9, 48°. Height above the sea, 1150 feet. 15TH MAY.--My servant Brown drew my attention, early this morning, to natives occasionally peeping at us from a hill overlooking our camp. Some time after, I perceived a figure resembling a large black quadruped, with head erect like a lion, prowling about, amongst the long grass beside my after breakfast tree. Taking my glass, I recognized the identical big savage of yesterday. Hamlet might here have exclaimed-- "What a piece of work is man! ... ..... how infinite in faculties! In form and action how like a QUADRUPED! In apprehension, how like a DEVIL!" There the fate of Mr. Darke[*] doubtless awaited me; and this was to be the result of my spontaneous gift of a tomahawk to the old man! This savage had evidently been watching us all night, and his party were concealed behind the hill. Our only remaining little dog, Procyon, had been very restless during the night, when these people were, probably, drinking at the pond near us. My rifle (fortunately I now think) was in the case, but I fired a carbine so that the fellow should hear the bullet whistle near him into the long grass; and at the same time shouted, expressive of my disgust at his conduct, making the men join in a loud JEERING cheer as he galloped off, still on all-fours, towards his camp. My horse was standing saddled for a ride of reconnoissance in a different direction, and, as it was not desirable that these people should know either where I went, or even that I was absent, I took this opportunity of frightening them away from our rear, and covering my ride the other way. With this intention, I immediately mounted, rode first to the tree, with my rifle in hand, and, accompanied by one of the men and Yuranigh, both mounted, I next examined their camp behind the hill, whence I found that a great number had just retired, leaving even their opossums still roasting on the fire;--they having, in a very brief interval, by rapid strides, retired to a considerable distance, where I heard their shouts in the woods, calling their gins together for a precipitate retreat-- aware that we were now justly offended. I then set out, passing behind some hills on the opposite side of our camp, and proceeded with the business of the day, through woods in an opposite direction. I found a low flat-topped range, extending nearly W. N. W., and consisting of black ferruginous sandstone. It was broad and of peculiar structure, so that it might well have been considered a dividing feature. Parallel to it on the south, a line of pointed hills of trap or basalt, extended so as to give birth, in the valley intervening, to the watercourse by which we were encamped. On one of these Mr. Kennedy afterwards found the Bottle tree, represented at page 154. I at length reached the gap in this range, and in it discovered a most favourable and curious opening to the country westward. Passing, then, into that region, I eagerly sought a watercourse, soon found one, and followed it down to Yarra trees and dry ponds; its first direction having been, as usually remarked in the commencement of various other channels, to the N. W. Following this downwards, I found the valley to improve, and two retreating emus drew our attention to a particular spot, where we found water, at length, in a pond. But the course of this little river had come round to S. W., and the ridges enclosing its tributaries from the eastward, being apparently in the same direction, I was still rather at a loss, but determined to bring forward my little party to this pond, and then to reconnoitre the country beyond. The XEROTES LEUCOCEPHALA was just coming into flower, and the country seemed to contain much good grass. Thermometer, at sunrise, 38°; at noon, 82°; at 4 P. M., 82°; at 9, 43°. [* This gentleman was killed by natives when obeying the calls of nature behind a tree.] 16TH MAY.--We pursued a tolerably straight and level route with the carts, from the camp to the Pass. The trap hills appearing successively on the right hand, rendered the scenery more than ordinarily picturesque, while the probable future utility of this pass, gave them still more importance in my estimation. We found a more direct route than along the creek, to my pond of yesterday, where we encamped, thankful to find water at such a convenient distance, during such a dry season. Lat. 26° 15' 24" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 27°; at 4 P. M., 83°; at 9, 49°. Height above the sea, of the Pass, 1458 feet;--of this camp, 1256 feet. 17TH MAY.--Another reconnoissance seemed indispensable, before I could move the carts. Taking the direction of an opening in the sandstone ranges before us, I found that our little creek turned (as I hoped it would), to the W. and N. W., having on all sides broken ranges enveloping valleys of good open forest land. Some of the tops of these ranges were clear of timber, and bore a heavy crop of grass. I ascended one, and found it was capped with trap rock in amygdaloidal nodules. This height afforded me an extensive view northward, where the country appeared to be chiefly flat and thinly wooded. A low range of hills broke the horizon, and presented some favourable points, and I thought I could trace the course of our little river, through an extensive intervening woody flat. I descended from the hill, and followed the little river down, but could find no more water in its ponds. There were the Yarra trees, and fine grassy flats on its banks; and I came to a fine looking piece of rising ground, on the right bank, where the grass was on fire. We sought the inhabitants of the woods, but could discover none. I now found our creek turning towards the south, and that its channel disappeared in a spacious open flat. While thus perplexed, and under an apprehension that our further progress northward in such a season would be found impossible, I perceived a dense line of trees, skirting a grassy flat, and rode towards it, observing, that any where else I should have said we were approaching a large river. I next perceived steep sloping earthy banks; then, below these, a deep section of rock, and at length, dark green reeds, and the blue surface of extensive reaches of water. I had left my party at a pond that could not have lasted long,--here I saw at once secure, a firm footing thus far into the interior. Whence the river came, or whither it went, was of less importance; thus far we had water. The river was fully as large as the Darling, and I very soon saw that its course was from N. to S.; but in that case, we could, by following it upwards, penetrate far on our way into the interior, and at its sources probably fall in with other streams, flowing where we wished to go. I followed the course downwards about two miles, and passed through native camps just deserted, the water vessels and other gear of the natives having been left suspended on trees near their fires. I found that the river turned sharp under the rocky extremities of sandstone spurs from the S., and that its final course was an enigma not to be solved without much more research. I returned to my camp, glad that I could take the party forward to a permanent supply of water. Thermometer, at sunrise, 29°; at noon, 78°; at 4 P. M. 75°; at 9, 49°. 18TH MAY.--Leaving a buried letter for Mr. Kennedy we proceeded to trace, with our cart-wheels, the best route I could find for the heavy drays coming forward with him. The soil was sandy, but in other respects the country was good: consisting chiefly of open forest, and being well covered with grass. Another gap enabled me to pass very directly on to the newly-discovered river, and it seemed that this, and the other gap behind it, were almost the only openings in the ranges from which we had descended. Both led in the direction of our route, and the pond we had just left was ascertained to be the only one in the little channel. I sought a good position for a depôt camp on the newly-discovered river, and found one extremely favourable, on a curve concave to the N. W., overlooking, from a high bank, a dry ford, on a smooth rocky bed; and having also access to a reach of water, where the bottom was hard and firm. We approached this position with our carts, in the midst of smoke and flame; the natives having availed themselves of a hot wind to burn as much as they could of the old grass, and a prickly weed which, being removed, would admit the growth of a green crop, on which the kangaroos come to feed, and are then more easily got at. Latitude of this camp, 26° 12' 47" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 40°; at 4 P. M., 78°; at 9, 57°. 19TH MAY.--I could now venture to halt a day without any apprehensions about leaving sufficient water for the party who were following us; and I had recently obtained many angles I wished to put together, in order to learn the character of the country, which required much study. That I should have overlooked an extensive country, without perceiving any indication of a large river flowing through it, almost at my feet, seemed a singular circumstance, and I was still as little aware of its ultimate course. I found on laying down my work on paper, that the chief elevations ran, in a continuous line, nearly due north from Mount Red Cap, Bindango, and Bindyègo, to the high ranges nearer the coast. That the nascent stream on the western side of Bindango (the Amby), and flowing first N. W., turned towards the S. W. within a range of basaltic rock, which was a branch from the main stem between Bindango and the northern range. Thus, upon the whole, this seemed but one side, and that the south-eastern, of the basin of the river we had discovered. Where was the other? The marks of flood were not high. The waters were full of fish, but they would not take the bait. Thermometer, at sunrise, 46°; at noon, 73°; at 4 P. M., 76°; at 9, 65°. 20TH MAY.--The sky was wholly overcast, and drizzling rain afforded us some grounds for hoping that the great impediment to our exploration during this dry season, was at an end. The temperature underwent a sudden change, and this day was the coldest as yet experienced during the journey; the thermometer at noon being only 48°. F. Yuranigh contrived to catch three fishes, of a kind wholly different from those of the rivers in the south; leaving it doubtful, again, whether this river could belong to the system of the Barwan. Thermometer, at sunrise, 53°; at noon, 48°; at 4 P. M., 45°; at 9, 45°. 21ST MAY.--The morning being clear, frosty, and serene, induced me to ride towards an elevated point, about thirteen miles to the north-west, in hopes of obtaining a view of more distant mountains. Crossing the river near our camp I met with no obstruction, but found open forests, and a good grassy country throughout; the soil being, however, rather too loose and sandy, for the easy passage of wheel carriages. I crossed three channels of water-courses all dry, but evidently receptacles of water in ordinary seasons. They now contained a most luxuriant crop of oat-grass (Anthistiria). The hill was rocky and open on the summit, the chief trees being very remarkable; especially a species of FICUS, of a unique kind, but not in fruit, closely resembling the English ash; but growing wholly on rock. Bottle trees (DELABECHEA) grew also in a romantic nook, such as they seem to delight in, in the neighbourhood of minor shrubs, equally strange. The rock consisted of a sandstone with vegetable impressions, such as I had never seen on the sandstone of the ranges. From this summit, the crests of very distant ranges appeared to the northward; the highest bearing nearly north, by compass, and apparently distant 70 or 80 miles. The course of the river, or at least of a river, judging by a line of smoke, came from the north-westward, between that mountain, and others to the westward of it. More to the right, or eastward, the horizon presented flat-topped ranges; increasing in elevation as they receded from that side of the country whence we had come. That sort of level horizon seemed always to bound our view to the southward, the little gap was the only relieving blue break in the whole of that side. The eye ranged over a vast extent of country, however, at its base, extending eastward, where open plains or downs shone bright in the remote distance; in which direction, much smoke arose from fires of the natives. I returned from the hill but little wiser than I went, except that I had observed the strata dipping southward, and that we might, therefore, still look for their synclinal line to the northward; and beyond that, for the heads of other rivers. These hills, overlooking the valley of the river, resembled rocky bergs, at a distance of ten or twelve miles west of it. They, however, partly formed a small range, and belonged to an extensive tract of sandstone country; which, on the south, was broken into gullies, falling towards the river. Thermometer, at sunrise, 27°; at noon, 54°; at 4 P. M., 55°; at 9, 30°. 22D MAY.--This morning, the thermometer in my tent stood at 20°; and in the open air, at 12°. The river was frozen, and the grass was white with hoar-frost. The soil appearing so sandy in the country before us, I resolved to form a depôt with our drays and heavy equipment here, and to await their arrival before I proceeded further with the carts. The spot was eligible in every respect; and in awaiting the arrival of Mr. Kennedy with the drays, I could have time to investigate more extensively the character of the surrounding country. I was, indeed, rather apprehensive that the drays could not reach without difficulty even this point; and I was resolved, on their arrival, to make some arrangement for continuing the journey, without dragging them any further through the heavy sand. It was most irksome, during the finest of weather, thus to be obliged to remain comparatively inactive, in the middle of such a journey, when horses and light carts might have enabled me to have pursued it to a conclusion, without such delays. Thermometer, at noon, 54°; at 4 P. M., 55°; at 9, 27°. 23D MAY.--The river seemed to cut its way through rocky ranges, and to receive many tributaries; had, in some places, bergs, and margins of ancient gravel and sedimentary strata; in others, rocky escarps of great height, presented sections of rocks through which it passed. Its further course downwards, seemed accessible for some way from this camp; and, in awaiting the arrival of the drays, I resolved to explore it. With this view, I this day proceeded westward to head the gullies falling to it from the other bank, from the sandstone country already mentioned. I ascended by an extremity of the hill, to the rocky crest without difficulty, or much deviation from my intended course. On reaching the western side of the rough scrubby table of the range, I found the descent gradual, through an open forest: traversed two flats, having in them the Yarra gums, but no water-course, the surface very sandy. Here grew the ACACIA CONFERTA, a small shrub just coming into flower; the XANTHORRHOEA MIMOSA (with rough bark), yellow gum, black-butted gum, iron-bark, and stringy bark. The woods astonished my native companion Yuranigh; who remarked that they were trees belonging to the sea coast at Sydney. But deep rocky ravines prevented me from exploring the country, in the direction in which I should have expected to find the river. At length, we approached a valley, in which was a deep channel with rocky banks; but quite dry, and very sandy. It ran to the southward; in which direction I turned with it, to follow it to its junction with the main river; but it pursued a very tortuous course, and our time did not admit of my going far enough that day, and I returned to the camp, resolved to extend this interesting search on a greater scale subsequently. I had seen, from the furthest point I reached, that the same table land to the southward, extended west; and it therefore appeared to me probable that the river would be found at its base. In the evening we heard, at a short distance from our camp, the songs of females or children; as if the overflowing of their animal spirits. I had seen their smoke in a part of the range I passed this day, to which I feared they had fled on our approach, hearing our guns, and in terror of strangers. I was, therefore, glad to find that they had no longer any dread of us, and had returned to THEIR home, the river bank. These people had no clothing,--the mercury stood at 19° and 20° F.; the means of subsistence open to them, had been scarcely enough to have kept white men alive, even with the aid of their guns. Yet, under such circumstances, and with such strange visitors so close to them, these human beings were so contented and happy, that the overflowings of their hearts were poured forth in song! Such is human nature in a wild state. Their happiness was not such as we could envy; on the contrary, I was so solicitous that we should not disturb it, that, much as I wished to learn the original name of this interior river, and something about its course, I forbade any of the party from taking any notice of these, its original inhabitants. Our last intercourse with the natives, had also taught me to bear ever in mind aesop's fable of the camel. Thermometer, at sunrise, 12°; at noon, 52°; at 4 P. M., 56°; at 9, 32°. 24TH MAY.--I proceeded, with two men bearing axes, to a hill about two miles S. W. of our camp, one of the extremities of the range already mentioned, (which I call River Head Range). We passed, at no great distance from our camp, those natives whose song we had heard last evening, but without taking any notice of them, except by slightly waving my hand. One tall female stooped amongst the long grass, and several others, male and female, endeavoured to hide themselves in a similar manner, as they beheld, probably for the first time, a white man on horseback, followed by others bearing a saw and axes. On the summit, grew the Malga tree; which is an acacia of such very hard wood, that I was obliged to be content to cut off the top branches only of a tree on the summit I had endeavoured to cut down, and to erect a sort of platform on the remainder, whence I took my angles. Up the river, there appeared some open plains, and a level horizon, in the direction of its apparent course. Thermometer, at sunrise, 11°; at noon, 65°; at 4 P. M., 67°; and at 9, 30°. 25TH MAY.--Protracting the observed angles I endeavoured to fix, if possible, some prominent points, whereby I might obtain some knowledge of the structure of the surrounding country. The result of my work was a conviction that the course of the river was parallel to the projecting extremities of the low range beyond it (River Head Range), and that its basin had extensive ramifications, back amongst the sandstone cliffs on this side. But the course downwards still remained a question, which diminished in its importance, as I discovered the upper course to come from where it was my wish to go. I resolved, nevertheless, while thus awaiting the arrival of the drays, to extend my ride of the 23RD MAY, and ascertain whether it could turn westward under the southern cliffs, the only direction in which it was likely to be available to us, downwards, at this time. Thermometer, at sunrise, 17°; at noon, 70°; at 4 P.M. 68°; and at 9, 38°. 26TH MAY.--Taking with me two men and Yuranigh, mounted, I retraced my former track to the westward, and on proceeding beyond the dry river bed, where I had previously been, I entered amongst sandstone gullies, where one grassy flat extended nearly in the direction I wished to pursue; and this brought me to a sort of table-land, covered with an open forest of iron-bark (with the common leaf). The rock consisted here of the same felspathic sort characterising most of the hills of the Barwan basin; the soil sterile, bearing, in lieu of the ordinary grass, the stiff, hard leaved, glutinous TRIODIA PUNGENS. But this was better than scrub, and, further on, I perceived through a forest on the western slopes, the blue distance and yellow plains of an open country. As plains usually accompany rivers, I believed I was approaching the river I was in search of. We crossed a deep watercourse falling to the S.E.b.S., and entered on a noble flat of firm rich soil, whereon grew luxuriantly, the ACACIA PENDULA (not previously seen by us in that region), and the two best kinds of grass, ANTHISTIRIA and PANICUM LOEVINODE. Then we came to a good pond of water, with recent footmarks of natives, and, at about a mile beyond, we reached the open downs. They extended eastward as far as we could see between the range on the S., under which I had expected to find the river, and the rocky country over which we had come. Westward, the downs were bounded by several very picturesque isolated conical hills,-- the southern sandy ranges on the S., still continuing westward like a limit to all this interior open country. Yet through that barrier the river had found a course, and instead of its overlooking the river, I found that the ground rose towards it, and I hastened four or five miles further westward, in hopes still to see it beyond the open downs, but I saw nothing like it. Kangaroos showed their heads occasionally amid the long grass: the air was all astir with pigeons, and traces of native inhabitants were numerous. As the sun was then near setting, we hastened back to the pond, and lay down beside it for the night, which happened to be a mild one. Thermometer, at sunrise, 20°; at noon, 72°; at 4 P.M., 71°; at 9, 44°. 27TH MAY.--We rode nearly westward towards a conical hill, which I had seen on the evening before, and named Mount Lonsdale. This peak appeared to me then to promise an extensive view to the W. and S.W., and in that expectation I was not disappointed. I also fortunately recognised two of my fixed points, at distances of thirty-two and fortytwo miles respectively, besides an elevated extremity of the continuous range on the S., which I had previously intersected, and here determined to be only five miles off, bearing about S.E.b.S. I could now see not only westward, but to the southward of S.W., for nearly twenty miles over a long flat, containing indeed, a line of ACACIA PENDULA scrub, such as accompanies lines of water drainage, but no river. All the country in sight more to the northward seemed to fall that way, or southward, and although it seemed possible that a cross line of valley and blue mist at the far extremity of the flat might be the river, it was much more probable, from the general slope of the country, that it was only another tributary coming from the north.[*] Such was Yuranigh's opinion too, who alone stood on that peak with me, and who there reminded me of the fate of the rivers Macquarie and Narran, and maintained that rivers were not to be found every where. "Where then is our river, Mr. Yuranigh?" "Bel me know," was the reply. I could soon have found this out, however, had it been an object for our journey northward. It was enough to know then that it did not turn into that interior country, which was open, and looked much lower, and how much further the fine valley extended beyond the twenty miles, an adjacent woody hill prevented me from seeing. The land around me was fair to look on; nothing could be finer than the forms of the hills--half clear of wood, the disposition of open grassy downs and vales--or the beauty of the woods. Water was not wanting, at least there seemed to be enough for the present inhabitants, and to an admirer of nature there was all that could be desired. Deeply impressed with its sublime and solitary beauty, I sketched the scene, and descended from that hill, resolved to follow the river upwards, as more favourable, in that direction, to the chief object of my mission. I named the hill overlooking that lonely dale, Mount Lonsdale, in honour of my valuable geological friend. We reached the dépot camp in the evening, and found all well, only that a very tall and powerful native had been reconnoitring our position during the day, from various trees commanding a view of it; probably only from curiosity. These visits, however, always happened to be made, as it would appear, when some portion of the party was absent, as on this occasion. Thermometer, at sunrise, 34°; at noon, 79°; at 4 P.M., 68°; at 9, 59°; with wet bulb, 50°. [* Probably the Nive. See INFRA.] 28TH AND 29TH MAY.--My ride westward had enabled me to intersect more points to the northward; but this was certainly the most intricate country I had ever either to survey or explore; for neither by laying down points on a map, nor by overlooking it from high summits, could I gain a satisfactory knowledge of its structure. Upon the whole, however, I was convinced that the downward course of the river, above our depôt camp, was in a favourable direction for the continuation of our journey. The arrival of the drays and the rest of the party was now an important desideratum; for I had resolved to establish them in a dephere, and continue the journey with a smaller party and the horses; the sandy soil beyond the river, appearing almost impassable for the absurdly heavy drays, with which the party had been equipped. They had now had nearly time sufficient to come thus far, making due allowance for sand and other obstructions. In the mean while I determined to extend my reconnoissance northward from a commanding height, distant fourteen miles, and bearing 27½° E. of N. from my camp. Thermometer, at sunrise, 47°; at noon, 85°; at 4 P.M., 79°: at 9, 65°. 30TH MAY.--I proceeded, accordingly, to the hill, over a tract of excellent open forest land, which extended to its base. The summit consisted of trap-rock in nodules, and, towards the highest point, was much broken. On the most elevated part of the summit, grew one of those remarkable trees, first seen by me on Mount Abundance. I had since seen them in various solitary singular situations; two on the Hogs'-back crest of Bindango; two or three near the summit of various other heights. The girth of this was thirty feet at its greatest circumference, and only sixteen at the ground. There was only one companion of the same kind, a very young one, beside this; which in locality, form, and quality, seems to be as remarkable a tree, amongst trees in general, as the kangaroo is remarkable amongst other animals. Of its quality, much, I am sure, remains to be said, when it becomes better known; the wood being so light, moist, and full of gum, that a man, having a knife or tomahawk, might live by the side of one without other food or water; as if nature in pity for the most distressed of mortals, hiding in solitary places, had planted even there this tree of Abundance. The wood must contain a great portion of mucilage, for, on chewing it, it seems to contain as much nutritious matter, as fibre. The pods contain a great number of seeds which are eaten by the natives, and also by many birds; and, from the circumstance of my having found one pod half-eaten by a bird on a rock, the very apex of a lofty summit, the solitary locality of this tree may, perhaps, be considered at least partly owing to its seeds being the favourite food of some birds inhabiting such places, each seed probably requiring to be picked out of the thick shell, in order that it may grow.[*] The view the hill afforded me was most gratifying and satisfactory. I saw again Mounts Bindango, Bindyego and Abundance, to the southward; the cone I had lately visited in the west, (Mount Lonsdale): the course of the river downwards, marked by open plains in the S. W.; and, an extensive rather level country lay to the northward, beyond which, at great distances, the summits of lofty mountains were just visible. Through the wide champagne country intervening, the river's course seemed marked by a line of smoke; a hot wind was then blowing, and the natives are in the habit of burning off the old grass on such occasions. The river seemed to come from the mountains, nearly from the N.N.W.; so that the prospect of finding water in that direction, or towards these mountains, was all I could desire. Here I intersected various lofty distant summits seen on the 21st instant, and could thus connect the whole trigonometrically with back angles to Bindango, Mount Abundance, etc. In the eastward, a range of tabular masses, some almost clear of wood, extended apparently to the coast ranges; and seemed to be also connected with those stretching towards Bindango, and separating the basin of the upper Balonne from this interior country. A hill similar to that on which I stood, but of less height, lay on the interior side of it, having a remarkable conic summit clear of bushes. The valley at the base of these two hills contained a fine crop of ANTHISTIRIA; and there was also a chain of ponds, where natives had been encamped not long before, but in which no water then remained. [* A new genus, since named DELABECHEA.] On returning to the camp in the evening, I learnt that soon after I left it in the morning, two natives came boldly up, painted white, bearing, each, several spears and four or five bommerengs. They were followed by two females bearing loads of spears. The men were got immediately under arms, forming a line before the tents, and Corporal Graham beckoned to the natives to halt. They pointed after me, and by very plain gestures motioned to the party to follow me, or to begone. Finding the men before the tents made the same signs to them, and stood firm, the principal speaker edged off towards a man at a distance, in charge of the horses. Graham got between, so as to cover the man and the horses, when they advanced more boldly upon him, quivering their poised spears at him, at a distance of only ten or twelve paces. At length the foremost man turned round, and by slapping his posteriors, gave him to understand by that vulgar gesture, his most contemptuous defiance: this induced the old soldier to discharge his carbine over the head of the savage, who first sprung some feet into the air, and then ran off with all the others. Soon after, the same native was seen creeping up the steep bank, so as to approach the camp under the cover of some large trees, the rest following, and he was again met by our party. He then seemed to recite with great volubility a description of the surrounding territory, as he continually pointed in the course of his harangue to various localities, and in this description he was prompted by the female behind, who also, by rapid utterance and motions of the arm, seemed to recite a territorial description. Finding, however, that his speech made no impression on the white strangers, and that they still beckoned them to depart; he stuck a spear into the ground, and, by gestures, seemed to propose that, on the one side, the ground should be occupied by the strangers, and on the other side, by them. Graham apparently assenting to this, they seemed more satisfied and departed. There were two deep reaches; one above, the other below, our camp. The upper one was deepest, largest, and more remote from our party, and most within reach of the natives. I gave strict orders that no man should go there; nor that the cattle should be allowed to feed there; that it should, in fact, be left wholly to the natives; that no ducks should be shot, that no men should fish there. Nothing could be more reasonable than the proposal of this native, nor more courageous than his appearance before our more numerous party, with his spears and open defiance; and I was determined to take every precaution to avoid a collision with his small tribe, and prevent, during our probably long residence here, our people from doing them any harm. Thermometer, at sunrise, 22°; at noon, 60°; at 4 P.M., 63°; at 9, 31°. 1ST JUNE.--The sound of a distant shot about noon, which proceeded from the Doctor firing at a bird, gave us the first notice of the approach of the other party. Soon after, Mr. Kennedy came in, measuring the line; and, subsequently, the drays, and the whole of the men in good health. The cattle had got refreshed without delaying me, and I could now again proceed with a good supply of stores, leaving them again in depôt here. Mr. Kennedy had examined the river, about which I had written to him, for twelve miles up, and found that it was a separate river, coming from the N.W., and that in all its bed no water could be found. The tribe of Tagando had been troublesome to him, as I feared they would, after their attempt upon us. The following account of their visit to Mr. Kennedy is from his own notes:--"At 1 P.M., an old native, accompanied by five younger men, approached the camp, each carrying a green bough, and when within forty yards, they sat down in a line, the old man (probably their chief) taking up his position about four yards in advance of the rest. Sir Thomas Mitchell having mentioned, in a communication I received here, that the natives had been friendly to him, I was anxious to preserve that good feeling, but at the same time to keep them at a distance, according to my instructions. I therefore went up to them with a green bough, and endeavoured by signs to make them leave:--finding that of no avail, I presented the chief with an old hat, and gave to each a piece of bread. After they had eaten it, I raised the old man with my right hand, and taking another in my left, I led them away in the direction whence they had come, broke off a green branch, gave a portion to each, and bid them farewell. As the others still remained in STATU QUO, I went through the same ceremony with them until they were all on their path homewards. Having heard nothing more of them for some time, I flattered myself that I had succeeded in giving them a friendly hint that we did not wish them beside us; but I soon discovered my mistake, for at 4 P.M. a large number of natives, accompanied by two or three gins and children, came boldly up and encamped within a few yards of the tents, and two hundred more were reported to me by Mortimer as being at a short distance in their rear. I gave strict orders that no man should go near them, and I mustered the party myself at 8 P.M. Shortly afterwards, three or four natives came down to our fires, and on the men saying that they would not be made to leave, I put my hand upon their shoulders, and shewed them their own camp. One tall young native in particular, wearing an opossum cloak, exhibited a strong inclination to resist. I continued to watch their movements until half-past eleven, P.M. up to which time they were talking very earnestly, continually repeating the words "white fellow." I had not retired to my tent five minutes when I heard Baldock (one of the two men on watch) several times desire the natives to go back, who, as it appeared, would insist on coming forward to our fires. Serjeant Niblet then called me, saying he thought "all was not right," that the natives refused to keep away, and that he had seen the fire sticks of others approaching from several directions. On turning out, I found them making a line of fires within twenty-five yards or less of our tents, and the grass on fire, the old man urging them on in their mischievous work. I called to them in the language of some of the aborigines, to go away quickly, using the words "Yau-a-ca-burri!" but seeing that they still drew nearer with their fires, to the imminent danger of the camp, I desired the men, who by this time had got ready with their arms, to charge them with a shout, but not to fire until they received orders. We succeeded in making them run; when, to add to their alarm, one or two shots were fired in the air. In their haste, they left the old hat I had given them, an iron tomahawk, and a few other implements, behind them, all of which I caused to be left untouched, in order to show them that we had only objected to their intrusion. All being quiet, and the cattle brought close to the camp, I added a third man to the morning watch, and no more was heard of the natives." This was a specimen of the treacherous nature of their mode of warfare, and very characteristic of the aborigines, but by no means so creditable to them, as the conduct of our neighbours at this camp, where the arrival of the other party was likely to convince them still more, that they could not induce us to quit that position, until we thought proper to do so. I had instructed Mr. Kennedy to continue the numbering of the camps; but as the drays could not keep pace with mine, only some of my camps have been so numbered, the others marked being those where his party had passed the night. This depôt camp was, thus, No. XXIX, and the numbers of such others of mine as have been marked between this and VIII., shall be added to this journal, and the whole marked on the map. A new species of CALLITRIS appeared among the trees, the ACACIA STENOPHYLLA, and the large leaved variety of ACACIA DECORA, further removed than usual from the common form, and approaching, in some respects, to A. RUBIDA. Among the bushes was the beautiful little A. CONFERTA, remarkable for its little heath-like leaves, and among the grasses was remarked an abundance of a new annual SPOROBOLUS with extremely minute flowers.[*] Thermometer, at sunrise, 18°; at noon, 64°; at 4 P.M., 64°; at 9, 30°. [* S. PALLIDUS (Lindl. MS.) foliis planis glabris ligulâ nulla nisi squamulâ quâdam, paniculâ effusâ ramis brevibus alternis verticillatisque scabriusculis, paleis truncatis alterâ 3-nervi alterâ binervi.] 2D JUNE.--Two half-boats were mounted on frames, and fixed over two of the light carts, and other preparations made for the prosecution of the journey with a small party. My plan was to reduce each man's ration of flower from 7lbs. to 4lbs. per week: to allow a larger quantity of mutton: some gelatine and barley, dried potatoes, etc. With my party, I now proposed to take forward a portion of the sheep, as not requiring carriage, and Mr. Stephenson, a man to assist him, and the shepherd, formed the only addition to the number with which I had advanced to this point. Mr. Kennedy had brought me a dispatch from Commissioner Mitchell, accompanied by some newspapers, in which I read such passages as the following:--"Australia Felix and the discoveries of Sir Thomas Mitchell now dwindle into comparative insignificance." "We understand the intrepid Dr. Leichardt is about to start another expedition to the Gulf, keeping to the westward of the coast ranges," etc., etc. Not very encouraging to us, certainly; but we work for the future. Thermometer, at sunrise, 11°; at noon, 67°; at 4 P.M., 67°; at 9, 30°. 3D JUNE.--This day one of the party caught several fishes in the river, which appeared to be of the same species as the Eelfish, or Plotosus tandanus described in the journal of my first journey (Vol. i. p. 95). It is therein stated to be an Asiatic form of fish, on the authority of Mr. Wm. M'Leay, but in other respects this was identical with one in the Barwan. The course downwards of the new river, which we even now believed to be called the Maran, from what we had gathered from the natives, was thus almost proved to be towards the southern rivers. I instructed Mr. Kennedy to employ the party in digging, and fencing in, and daily watering, a garden; also, to make a stockyard wherein to lodge the cattle at night, as this would leave more men disposable for the immediate protection, if necessary, of the camp and stores. I also gave him very particular instructions as to the natives, that no intercourse should be allowed between them and the men; that he should, nevertheless, use them very civilly, and endeavour to obtain some information, if possible, respecting the final course of the Maran, etc. Thermometer, at sunrise, 16°; at noon, 69°; at 4 P.M., 66°; at 9, 34°. Chapter V. CROSS THE MARANOA WITH A LIGHT PARTY.--SEND BACK FOR ONE DRAY AND THE FRESHEST TEAM.--JUNCTION OF A RIVER FROM N.N.W.--FOLLOW UP THE MINOR BRANCH.--A DAY'S RAIN, AND RECONNAISSANCE TO THE N.W.--HOSTILE TRIBE.-- HOW DISPERSED.--CROSS POSSESSION CREEK.--ARRIVE AT A SMALL RIVER FROM THE WEST.--CROSS IT, AND REACH ANOTHER.--AGAIN RIDE TO THE N.W.--DETERMINE TO FOLLOW THE FIRST RIVER DOWN-WARDS.--AGAIN ARRIVE ON THE MARANOA.--CROSS THE SECOND RIVER FROM THE WEST.--ASCEND A SMALL ROCKY HILL.--MOUNT OWEN AGAIN RECOGNIZED.--TRAVEL IN THAT DIRECTION.--THROUGH SCRUBS, AND OVER SANDY GROUND.--AGAIN WANT WATER.--TURN TO THE MARANOA.--FIND ITS CHANNEL DRY.--ASCEND MOUNT OWEN.--RIDE OF RECONNAISSANCE.--DISTANT MOUNTAINS.-- ADVANCE WITH THE PARTY.--ASCEND MOUNT P. P. KING.--THE RIVER WARREGO DISCOVERED.--IT TURNS TO THE S.W.,--THE PARTY CROSSES IT.--MOUNT FARADAY.--THE PYRAMIDS.--RIVER SALVATOR.--THE SALVATOR JOINS THE NOGOA.-- COURSE OF THE NOGOA, N.E.--CROSS IT AND CUT THROUGH TEN MILES OF SCRUB, IN A N.W. DIRECTION.--THE RIVER CLAUDE DISCOVERED.--FINE OPEN DOWNS.-- BALMY CREEK, AND VERY DIFFICULT COUNTRY.--TOWER ALMOND.--MOUNT MUDGE.-- LINE OF RIVER SEEN TO THE NORTHWARD. 4TH JUNE.--EVERY preparation having been made, I bade Mr. Kennedy adieu, for at least four months, and crossed the Maranwith my party and light carts. It was not without very much regret that I thus left this zealous assistant, and so large a portion of my men, behind, in departing on a hazardous enter prise, as this was likely to be, where the population might be numerous. Anxiety for the safety of the party left, predominated with me, for whatever might be the danger of passing and repassing through these barbarous regions, that of a party stationary for a length of time in one place, seemed greater, as they were more likely to be assailed by assembled numbers, and more exposed to their cunning and treachery. I gave to Mr. Kennedy the best advice I could, and we parted in the hope of a happy meeting, at the period of my return--a hope, I must confess, I could not indulge in then, with any degree of pleasure, looking forward to the many difficulties we were prepared to encounter, and considering the state of my own health. The sandy bed of the river was difficult to cross with the carts, and delayed us an hour. A different adjustment of the loads was necessary; therefore I was obliged to turn out of my intended route for this day, and go into a bight of the river for water, in making a much shorter journey. This was only of six miles from the depôt camp. Amongst the waterworn pebbles in the bed of the river, we found various portions of coal and the rocky sections in parts of the banks resembled its concomitant strata. Thermometer, at sunrise, 16°; at 9 P.M., 40°. 5TH JUNE.--The ground was sandy, and several gullies descending to the river occasioned difficulties which tried the mettle of our horses, and convinced me that we now carried too much weight for them. I accordingly sent back Edward Taylor and another man with a note to Mr. Kennedy, and with directions to pick out ten good bullocks, and bring forward one of the drays as soon as possible. We met with various dry channels of tributaries so deep and rocky, that they seemed, at first sight, like the main river. I wished to reach the bank of this, at a favourable point to encamp at, and await the arrival of the expected dray. But there gullies rendered the access difficult. Sand and callitris covered the intermediate ground, and augmented the impediments the horses had to contend with. After crossing three rather important channels, I turned to the N. E., and fortunately came upon the river, where the ground was very open, and the acclivities gentle. The bed of the river was full of water, forming a long reach covered with a red weed, the course from north to south, straight. Height above the sea, 1190 feet. This we marked XXXI., last camp being XXX. Thermometer, at sunrise, 24°; at 4 P.M., 70°; at 9, 43°. 6TH JUNE.--Taylor arrived early with a fine team and strong dray, confident in being able to keep up with the carts, and lightly loaded, of course, that he might cross heavy sand, or deep gullies. I employed the time usefully, in adapting Mr. Kennedy's measurements to my map. I had now measured bases, besides those of latitude for my trigonometrical work, and I should not have regretted even a day longer in camp, to have had more time to protract angles, but time was too precious, as my men were voluntarily on very reduced rations. The DODONOEA HIRTELLA of Miquel was the only novelty found here. Latitude 26° 6' 25" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 30°; at noon, 75°; at 4 P.M., 76°; at 9, 50°. 7TH JUNE.--We set off at a better pace this morning, and kept it up, as we found the ground firmer, and less broken. Several hollows with water- courses in them, lay in our way, but presented no serious impediment. At length, I saw some of the heads of River-Head Range, and a long ridge appeared before us. On ascending it obliquely, following up the smooth clay floor of a water-course, I found myself gradually entangled in a bad scrub of brigalow and rosewood. After cutting our way through it, for a mile and a half, I sought on the other side for any hollow leading off water, and found one which brought us into an open forest flat with a fine chain of ponds. The Acacia pendula appeared on its skirts; and, at length, abundance of water, also, in the ponds. The grass was so luxuriant near one of these, that I encamped beside it, without seeking the river, to which these ponds seemed adjacent. Thermometer, at sunrise, 36°; at 4 P.M., 85°; at 9, 70° (XXXII.). Height above the sea, 1309 feet. 8TH JUNE.--The country beyond this camp in a northerly direction was very fine. The Acacia pendula, open forests, and gently undulating country intersected by chains of ponds then dry, were its characteristics. At length, we reached the river bank, and could travel along it to the west. Just there, I perceived the junction of a river (perhaps the main channel) from the N. N. W. It seemed full of water, whereas that which I was obliged to follow, being the most westerly, was nearly dry, although its banks were boldly broken, and precipitous. Its course came round even from S. W., and deep ravines and water-courses coming into it, obliged me to travel to the southward of that bearing in order to avoid them. We thus, at length, came into a fine open grassy country, tolerably level, and could resume a north-west course. In that direction, we crossed a water-course from the S. W., and came to another in a deeper valley, where we saw natives, who did not run away. There was a water-hole nearest to our side, and one from which a native was ascending when I approached. I directed the men (having encamped here) to keep the cattle from that water-hole, if possible, anxious to avoid giving any offence on this delicate point to the natives of these forests. Thermometer, at sunrise, 36°; at 4 P. M., 85°; at 9, 70°. (XXXIII.) 9TH JUNE.--The sky being overcast, and rain likely to fall, I considered that the bullocks' necks might be galled by the yokes in wet weather; and, being in some doubt about finding water in the direction in which I wished now to travel, I set out with two men on horseback to explore the country to the N. W., leaving the party to enjoy a day's rest. Little rain fell, and the ride was very pleasant. A perfume like that of hay, but much more fragrant, arose from the moistened vegetation, and I found a beautiful country of open forest with ACACIA PENDULA in graceful clumps. A few miles on, we were suddenly hailed from behind a few bushes, by about twenty-five natives, painted red. We halted and endeavoured to talk to them, but not a word was intelligible to Yuranigh, who was with me. In vain he inquired about rivers, or water, in his language, and in vain they bawled to us in theirs: so, after this unintelligible parley at some distance, (for they would not come close up,) we rode on. We came at length on a sandy country with much Callitris, but the whole surface was undulating, and we crossed several chains of deep ponds, all falling to our right, or eastward; some containing water. At length, I perceived on the right, a deeper valley, and found in it a little river with a rocky bed, and coming from the N. N. W. At two miles further, along my N. W. course, I found it crossed it, coming from W. S. W., and here I turned, well pleased to find an abundant supply of water, and a good country in the best direction for our interior journey. The river ran chiefly on rock, and the water was plentiful. Having returned to the camp, in the evening, after sunset we were called to by a numerous tribe of natives, assembled on the opposite steep bank of the chain of ponds, over which we had encamped. By the particular cooey, I recognised the same party we had seen in the morning. Their language was now loud and angry, and war was evidently their purpose; from experience I judged it best to nip the evil in the bud, and ordered five men under arms, who were first formed in line before the tents, and with whom, at the bugle's sound, I advanced steadily up the opposite bank, as our only reply to all their loud jeering noise. They set up a furious yell on our approach, and advanced to the brow of the cliff, as if prepared to defend it; but as we silently ascended, they fell off, and, by the time we gained the height, they had retired to a considerable distance, still shouting vociferously. Two, however, were seen drawing round our left flank, in a little gully, followed by a female carrying spears. I discharged my rifle over their heads, upon which they hastened to their fellows. On firing another shot over the dark noisy mass before us, they became suddenly quite silent, probably persuaded that we were really in earnest. We marched through their camp, made a feint, by descending into a gully, of coming upon them unawares, and continued there, until silence and darkness secured our peaceful occupation of the ground. Thus I prevented a night of alarms and noise, which might have been kept up until morning, and until they had worked themselves into that sort of frenzy, without which I do not think they have courage to fight Europeans; and having once got their steam up, they were sure to have followed us, and gathered a savage population in our rear. Lat., 25° 54' 17" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 56°; at 4 P. M., 70; at 9, 50°. (XXXIII.) 10TH JUNE.--We advanced at an early hour, crossing Possession Creek, for so we called it (and which proved rather an impediment, until we filled a hollow with logs), and followed my horse's tracks of yesterday. Thus we reached the little river in good time, notwithstanding much heavy sand in the way of our carts, and encamped at the furthest point I had previously visited. Thermometer, at sunrise, 30°; at 4 P.M., 75°; at 9, 39°. Height above the sea, 1240 feet. (XXXIV.) 11TH JUNE.--Keeping along the bank of the rocky river, we were obliged to turn southward, and even S.S.E., such was the direction whence the river came. I therefore encamped the party, after a journey of only 3½ miles, and proceeded to explore again, towards the N. W. I thus came upon the rocky river where the rock formed a bridge affording an easy means of crossing it, and this I valued more, as being the only passable place I had seen in it, so deep and rocky was the bed elsewhere. The strata at this bridge dipped N. N. E., a circumstance which induced me to travel westward instead of N. W., in hopes to cross thereby sooner, a synclinal line, and so arrive at the sources of some northern river. We passed through some scrub, and attained, by gradual ascent, considerable elevation. The country in general consisted of open forest, and contained grass in great abundance. At nine miles, I came upon a chain of ponds falling northward, and in which were two good ponds of water, whereupon I returned to the camp. Thermometer, at sunrise, 38°; at 9 P.M., 38°. Height above the sea, 1287 feet. (XXXV.) 12TH JUNE.--The rock about the river here was deeply impressed with ripple marks, and also dipped N.N.E. or northward. It consisted of a yellow sandstone in thin strata, covered in some parts with beds of waterworn pebbles. These consisted chiefly of quartz, felspar, and a silicious petrifaction of woody appearance. We proceeded along my horse track of yesterday. In crossing what seemed a principal ridge on which grew brigalow scrub (through which we had, in parts, to cut a way), we came upon a fine specimen of the Bottle Tree (DELABECHEA); near it grew the GEIJERA PARVIFLORA, which did not attain a greater height than 10 feet. I found by the syphon barometer that our height above the sea was here 1579 feet. By the same gauge I found that two other ridges further on were still higher (1587 feet). In the afternoon, the sky became overcast with dark, round, heavy clouds, and in the evening, slight showers fell. Thermometer, at sunrise, 20°; at noon, 74°; at 4P.M., 73°; at 9, 60°. The wind and clouds came from the west. 13TH JUNE.--The line of ponds we were upon might turn to the northward; nevertheless I was unwilling to follow them down, and again lose westing, until I had made another attempt to penetrate to the N. W. The morning was rainy, and, as in such weather travelling was likely to gall the necks of the bullocks, I halted the party, and took a ride in that direction. I encountered much soft sand and scrubs of brigalow, rosewood, and Callitris. Scrubs of the latter were most dense and continuous. I fell in with a goodly little river at five miles; its course there was from S. W. to N. E. Beyond it, I found the country still more sandy, although intersected by one or two water-courses falling to the northward. The furthest one, at fifteen miles from our camp, had in it ponds containing no water. It seemed near the source, and that we had almost reached the crest of some dividing feature. A thunder-storm then burst over us, and the time of day did not admit of going further. I therefore returned, convinced that I could not in that direction make much progress.* Thermometer, at sunrise, 49°; at noon, 57°; at 4 P.M., 54°; at 9, 48°. [* This was unfortunate: it will be seen by the map, that ten miles further would have taken me to the river Warregin a direct line to the head of the river Victoria, avoiding the mountains.] 14TH JUNE.--A drizzling rain continued, and the barometer indicated a change; hence I hoped the rain would last until the water-holes were filled. The day being Sunday, I gave the party another day of rest, and took that opportunity of laying down on my map, the recently discovered rivers and water-courses. It was only after I had done so, that I began to think the water-course we were encamped upon, was worth following down. The evening was clear, and I ascertained the latitude to be 25° 47' 28" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 52°; at noon, 55°; at 4 P.M., 57°; at 9, 38° (XXXVI.). Height above the sea, 1528 feet. 15TH JUNE.--In following down this chain of ponds, we found its channel became a well-formed river, with abundance of water in it, a few miles below our camp. The course thus far was northward; and I saw in one part of it rocks dipping to the westward. I was in expectation that it would have continued northward, when it suddenly turned towards the S.S.W. I thereupon crossed it, and resumed my N.W. course. My path was thus again crossed by our river flowing northward: we had then travelled 12½ miles, and I encamped on its banks. The whole of the day's journey, with little exception, had been over heavy sand, and, but for the rain that had fallen, it must have greatly distressed the horses and oxen. As it was, they got over it wondrous well. In a pond of this river, Mr. Stephenson caught a great number of the harlequin fish, a circumstance almost proving that this was a tributary to the Maran. We found this day a new narrow-leaved TRISTANIA[*], thirty feet high, with bark thick, soft, and fibrous. A smooth narrow-leaved variety of ACACIA HOLOSERICEA was loaded with spikes of crooked sickle-shaped pods. Among the herbage was observed the TEUCRIUM ARGUTUM of Brown; and the XEROTES LEUCOCEPHALA grew in the light dry sand. Novelty in the plants, animals, and fishes, was now to be expected; the weather was cool and pleasant, and our travelling equipment tolerably efficient. Thermometer, at sunrise, 30°; at 4 P. M., 58°; at 9 P. M., 46° (XXXVII.). Height above the sea, 1827 feet. [* T. ANGUSTIFOLIA (Hook. MS.); foliis angusto-linearibus mucronatoacuminatis supra glabris subtùs subsericeis marginibus arcte revolutis, paniculis terminalibus folio brevioribus calycibusque incano- tomentosis. These specimens were in fruit. It is very distinct from every other species.] 16TH JUNE.--Proceeding nearly north-west, we met with the little river I had discovered a few miles beyond my camp of the 13th and 14th instant. The distance of this point from the camp we had left this morning was about 2½ miles. We crossed it, and turned to the westward, and even south-west, to avoid it. Over its extreme south-western bend there was a little rocky hill, which I ascended, and thence saw a mountain I had intersected from the high station east of the depôt. It now bore 12° west of north, and I directed my course towards it, as well as the country would permit. We crossed several sandy ranges on which the callitris was, as usual, the chief tree, as it was also on the soft heavy sand between them. Occasionally, the lowest parts where water would take its course, consisted of firm clay, and we took advantage of such flats, when their direction was favourable. I was at length under the necessity of encamping on one of these, where there was no water, nor any to be found in it after I had followed it down four miles. In my search for water, I found a curious new PHEBALIUM.[*] Thermometer, at sunrise, 43°; at 9 P. M., 54°. Height above the sea, 1646 feet. [* P. GLANDULOSUM (Hook. MS.); foliis angusto-lineari-cuneatis retusis canaliculatis marginibus revolutis subtus ramulisque argenteo-lepidotis superne (praecipue) grosse glandulosis nudis, corymbis terminalibus parvis sessilibus fusco-lepidotis, calycibus subtruncatis, petalis ovatis concavis. Allied to P. SQUAMULOSUM and P. ELOEAGNOIDES, but very distinct, especially in the presence of the large semipellucid hemispherical glands, seen more or less in various parts of the plant, but very conspicuous on the upper side of the leaves.] 17TH JUNE.--Pursuing a course in the direction of the mountain already mentioned, I met with much heavy sand on which grew thick forests of callitris, frequently quite impervious to our carts except at open places amongst which we had to wind, as they permitted. The ground was undulating, and there was clay in the hollows, but the direction of these ran across my intended route, falling all to the east-ward. We at length attained what seemed the highest of these ridges, and on the summit I ascertained its elevation to be 1833 feet above the sea. Beyond it, we came to a flat of firmer surface, consisting of clay, and, as we greatly wanted water, I followed it down to the north-east. I found it soon hemmed in by sandstone rocks; but we travelled still on a broad grassy flat which fell into one still broader, through which ran a continuous but dry channel coming from the north-west. After following this downwards about a mile, we crossed towards an opening between the sandstone cliffs beyond it; this opening terminated under shelving rocks. Ascending at another place, with my horse, I found a table-land above, and an open forest country. I succeeded in getting the carts and dray up at a rocky point, and travelled thence E.S.E., anxious now to find the Maran, convinced by a deep ravine on our right, that it could not be far off. We descended by a gently inclined part of the sandstone to a dry watercourse lined with brigalow, and which soon guided us to the river. Here, however, the bed was dry and full of sand, of spacious and uniform breadth, and with grassy sloping banks. The course was towards S.W., and I followed it upwards, in hopes soon to meet with a pond. No water, however, was to be seen, when a rocky precipitous bank before us, and the sun setting in the west, obliged me to encamp the party. I hastened up the dry channel, followed by all the horses and the bullocks. We found some rain water on a level piece of rock, about two miles from the camp, which was scarcely enough for the horses, and afforded a few gallons for our kegs; nor could I find more, although I continued my search upwards until dusk; the bullocks had therefore to pass a second night without drinking. The bed and banks of this river were of very uniform extent throughout; averaging, in width about 100 feet; in height of banks from 30 to 50 feet. The course was straight, and it seemed as if a few dams might have sufficed to render it navigable, or at least to have retained a vast supply of water; for although the bed was sandy, the bottom was rocky, and the banks consisted of stiff clay. These being covered with rich grass, and consisting of good soil, water alone was wanting to make the whole both valuable and useful. Yet this was not so scarce amongst the gullies and tributaries, nor in the channel itself, lower down. I found, growing in the bed, the ALPHITONIA EXCELSA of Reissek, collected by Allan Cunningham and Frazer along the Brisbane and upper part of Hunter's River; also a remarkable kind of Brome grass I had never seen on the Darling. Thermometer, at sunrise, 36°; at 9 P. M., 61°. 18TH JUNE.--Drizzling rain had fallen during the night, which greatly refreshed the grass for the cattle. Early this morning, I sent Corporal Graham and another man, up the river, in search of water; and the bullock-driver with his cattle down the river, with orders to go on until he fell in with some. Others of the party were directed to search amongst the rocky crevices nearer to our camp. I set out with Yuranigh for the summit of the mountain already mentioned, which, according to my survey, lay about seven miles off to the N.W. My ride to it was unimpeded by gullies; and, on ascending it, I obtained a most extensive view, embracing lofty ranges to the eastward and south-east. A line of volcanic cones (of which this was one) extended from these ranges in the direction of about N.E.b.N. But, besides these elevated summits, little could be seen of the adjacent country: nothing of the sandstone gullies, by which the party was then shut in. I could only imagine one bluey tint in a long line of ravines, to be over the bed of the Maran, which seemed thus to pass through the line of cones, and to come from high ranges about the 25th parallel. The country to the northward was still hidden from my sight by a portion of the old crater which was higher than that I had ascended. The western interior was visible to a great distance bounded by low ranges; some of which seemed to have precipitous sides, like cliffs, towards the west. Lines of open plains, and columns of smoke, indicated a good country, and inhabitants. I recognised, from this station, that eastward of the depôt camp, to which, from the peculiar interest then attaching to that distant spot, I now named Mount Kennedy after the officer in charge of the party there. I could now intersect many of the summits observed therefrom; thus adding extensively to the general map, and checking my longitude, by back angles into the interior. I was now at a loss for names to the principal summits of the country. No more could be gathered from the natives, and I resolved to name the features, for which names were now requisite, after such individuals of our own race as had been most distinguished or zealous in the advancement of science, and the pursuit of human knowledge; men sufficiently well-known in the world to preclude all necessity for further explanation why their names were applied to a part of the world's geography, than that it was to do honour to Australia, as well as to them. I called this hill Mount Owen; a bald- forest hill to the N.E. of it, Mount Clift; a lofty truncated cone, to the eastward of these, the centre of a group, and one of my zero points, Mount Ogilby; a broad-topped hill far in the north-west, where I wished to continue my route, Mount Faraday; a high table land intervening, Hope's Table Land; the loftiest part of the coast ranges, visible on all sides, Buckland's Table Land, etc. etc. The part of Mount Owen on which I stood, consisted of basalt, which had crystallised cubically so as to form a tottering pile on the summit, not unlike the ruins of a castle, "nodding to its fall," and almost overhanging their base. Curious bushes grew amongst these rocks, unlike those in the lower country; amongst them, a climber, resembling a worm, which wholly enveloped a tree. On returning to the camp, I learnt that the bullock-driver had found a spacious basin in a rocky part of the bed, some miles down the river; having thereat watered his cattle and returned; also, that Corporal Graham had met with a pond ten miles higher up the river than our camp: thus it was evident that many miles intervened between these two ponds in the river. The other men left at the camp had fortunately found in the crevice of a rock beyond the river-channel, enough of water for the horses and themselves. But, had this river-channel contained much more water, I could not have followed it in its upward course, and so go to the north-east, instead of the north-west; neither had this been possible from the precipitous rocks overhanging it at almost every turning. I had found, in Mount Owen, a nucleus, which was a key to these sandstone gullies radiating about it, and I had also perceived from it that towards Mount Faraday, the north-western interior was tolerably clear of mountainous obstructions; three small or very distant cones, seemed the principal features beyond it. I wished much to have explored a route for our carts in that direction; but it was necessary that I should first establish the party near water. I accordingly determined to conduct it along the range towards Mount Owen next day, as far as might be necessary, in order to turn off to the right, and encamp, overlooking some rocky gully within a convenient distance of Mount Owen; and, again to explore these recesses for water, or send for it to Corporal Graham's pond in the main channel. Mr. Stephenson gathered near this camp two beautiful and delicate ferns, the ADIANTUM HISPIDULUM, and ADIANTUM ASSIMILE, the Australian maiden's hair. The ACACIA IXIOPHYLLA, and ACACIA CUNNINGHAMII, on the rocky cliffs; occurred with an Exocarpus, probably a variety of E. SPARTEA, and a new Eucalyptus.[*] Thermometer at sunrise, 56°; at noon, 69°; at 4 P.M., 63°; at 9, 55°. Height above the sea, 1578 feet; and above river bed 40 feet. [* E. POPULIFOLIA (Hook. MS.); foliis rhombeo-triangularibus obtusissimis longius petiolatis coriaceis minute punctatis (punctis pallidis) reticulatovenosis. This species is remarkable in the size and shape of its petiolated leaves. The branches bear turbinated woody excrescences (galls), each with two or more, generally three, sharp angles, and as many unequal projecting wings, altogether exactly resembling the fruit of some BEGONIÀ.] 19TH JUNE.--Another dewy night had providentially refreshed the grass for our thirsty animals. We ascended, at a very favourable point, the sandstone table-land, and travelled for some miles along my horse's track towards Mount Owen, turning round the heads of gullies which broke abruptly in steep rocks both to our right and left. Then, turning to the right, where a branch of the high land projected eastward towards the river, we encamped on its extreme eastern point, overlooking a grassy valley, hemmed in by precipitous cliffs, yet easily accessible to our horses and cattle, from the point on which we had encamped. I had already found a deep hole in a rock on the right, containing water sufficient for the men and horses for several days, and, on riding down the valley while they pitched the tents, I found a large pond only a mile from the camp. The valley contained many still larger, but all, save this one, were dry. Grass grew there in great abundance, and of excellent quality. Pigeons were numerous of that species (GEOPHAPS SCRIPTA) which is so great a luxury; the most delicate food, perhaps, of all the feathered race. The highest of the sandy tableland crossed this day appeared (by Captain King's subsequent calculations) to be 1863 feet. That of the camp over the cliffs, 1840 feet above the sea, the height of these cliffs above the bed of the river being thus about 300 feet. Thermometer, at sunrise, 50°; at 4 P.M., 65°; at 9, 61°. 20TH JUNE.--I set out (with two men and Yuranigh) to explore the country beyond Mount Owen. From its base I observed some open forest land, and a less broken country, in a direction much further to the westward than the course I had previously selected, which was N.N.W. I now proceeded W.N.W. towards that open forest land. We found the country open for some miles, then, entering a flat or valley, I descended gradually between sandstone rocks, to a valley in which a chain of deep ponds led to the north-west. On following this down, I found it turned more and more to the westward, and at length to the south-west, whereupon I quitted its bed and cliffy banks, and, following up a ravine from the other side, again endeavoured to pursue my intended course. We crossed, at the head of the ravine, a sandstone range, and descended by another valley which led first northward, but terminated in joining a spacious grassy flat with dry ponds in it. I endeavoured to trace this downwards for several miles in a rainy evening, and found at last, to my disappointment, that this also turned to the S.W. This flat was broad and hemmed in by low rocky points of ground, of very uniform shape. Many marks of natives appeared on the trees, and, in good seasons, it must be one of their favourite spots. I left it, however, when darkness and heavy rain obliged me to look for shelter in a gloomy forest to the westward. By the time we arrived at this, we could see no grassy spot for our horses, nor any sort of cover for ourselves. Douglas found, at length, a fallen tree, and under this, covered with a few boughs, we lay down on the wet earth for the night, being ourselves as wet, yet wanting withal, water for ourselves and horses. Thermometer, at sunrise, 54°; at noon, 69°; at 4 P.M., 67°; at 9, 57°. 21ST JUNE.--The rain had abated to my great disappointment, for we should have been amply compensated for wet jackets, by the sight of well filled ponds of water, the want of which was the great impediment to this journey. The sky was still overcast, and the wet bushes were unavoidable. On I travelled north-west, until we approached some fine open forest hills, the bare tops of which, just visible from the foot of Mount Owen, had first drawn me in that direction. One tempting peak induced me to approach it, and to think of an ascent. In a rugged little water-course in its bosom, we found water enough for our horses, the product of last night's rain. The view from the summit, made up for the deviation from my route. A group of the most picturesque hills imaginable lay to the northward, and were connected with this, the whole being branches from the Table Land of Hope. Some appeared of a deep blue colour, where their clothing was evergreen bush. Others were partly of a golden hue, from the rich ripe grass upon them. The sun broke through the heavy clouds and poured rays over them, which perfected the beauty of the landscape. I recognised, from this apex, my station on Mount Owen, and several hills I had intersected from it. Amongst others, the three remarkable cones to the westward of Mount Faraday, apparently a continuation of the line of summits I have already mentioned. This hill consisted of amygdaloidal trap in nodules, the crevices being filled with crystals of sulphate of lime, and there were many round balls of ironstone, like marbles or round shot, strewed about. A red ferruginous crust projected from the highest part, and, on this summit, the magnetic needle was greatly affected by local attraction, and quite useless. Fortunately, I had also my pocket sextant, and with it took some valuable angles. On descending, I heartily enjoyed a breakfast, and named the hill which gave us the water, Mount Aquarius. Returning towards Mount Owen, by a more direct route, I arrived at the head of a gully which led tolerably direct until we found our track, in the creek I had run down on the preceding day. But night was approaching, and we had water enough in a rocky hollow, and also a cavern before which a large fire gave such warmth, that, in passing the night there in my cloak, I was quite insensible to a frost without, which, at the camp, at 4 P. M., had lowered the mercury in Fahrenheit's thermometer to 22°, or 10° below the freezing point. 22D JUNE.--Our provisions being out, I hastened back to the camp, determined to explore in a more northerly direction, according to my original intention. Water was only to be found in so dry a season, in the neighbourhood of mountains, or in rocky gullies likely to retain a passing shower. In our way back, I ascended the north-western shoulder of Mount Owen, and was much more inclined to take a northerly route, from the appearance of the mountains on that side. The view from that summit to the northward, was very grand; I saw more plainly the line of the Maranfrom its upper sources. Two mighty masses of table-land seemed the highest of all. One I had already seen and named Buckland's Table Land. I could here distinguish the apex of Mount Aquarius, and fix it in my map. I perceived a hollow part of the range immediately to the northward, and a sort of hiatus amongst the peaks in the broken country beyond, through which I hoped to find a way. I hastened to the camp to prepare for a "raid" of a whole week, if necessary, in that direction. Thermometer, at sunrise, 27°; at noon, 52°; at 4 P. M., 55°; at 9, 59°. 23D JUNE.--Returning early by the foot of Mount Owen, I travelled nearly northward through a fine open forest, in which we saw a large kangaroo entirely black. Rocky gullies next came in my way, and, in avoiding those on the left, others falling to the right, or to the Maran, showed me that this was a dividing feature. I knew it was continuous to Mount Clift from my former observations, and therefore followed it by keeping between the heads of gullies breaking to each side, until I found one favourable for a descent to the left. Below, we found a broad, grassy, valley, extending about W.N.W., and in it, deep ponds, which sometimes evidently held much water, although they were then dry. This soon, however, turned to the south-west, evidently to join the channel I had before explored. Quitting it, therefore, much disappointed, I ascended sandstone cliffs and pushed through scrubs, determined to proceed directly north-ward, until I met with valleys falling north-west. We thus passed just under the most easterly part of Hope's Table Land, and came, about sunset, to a hollow containing ponds, in two of which we found water. Here we gladly bivouacked for the night. ZAMIAS grew here, and were numerous higher up the valley. Thermometer, at sunrise, 26°; at noon, 54°; at 4 P. M., 50°; at 9, 40°. 24TH JUNE.--The hoar-frost had stiffened the grass, and the water was frozen so that the horses cared not to drink. I proceeded N. N. W., in which direction a beautiful cone rose to a great height, and sharp apex. Stony hills of trap appearing also in that line, I turned northward, and, after crossing a level tract of high ground, much like a dividing feature, (especially as seen from Mount Owen,) I entered a valley descending to the northwest. It fell rapidly, contained large water holes, and in two of these, at length, an abundant supply of water. The course, throughout all its windings, was towards the north-west, and this I, at the time, thought, might be a northern water. I therefore returned, anxious to bring the party thus far, at all events, and resolved to follow this little river down. We arrived, on our way back, in the evening of the same day, in the valley I had quitted in the morning, having followed down a water-course from the end of Hope's Table Land, under which I had passed, in search of a good way for the carts. Although we had seen promising ponds of water in this little channel, we could find none in the lower part, having in the expectation of finding some, rode on until darkness prevented me from going further. We were thus obliged to pass the night (a very cold one) without water, and almost without fuel. I missed the comfortable cavern where I had slept a few nights before, especially when I arose here in the night to mend the fire, and found we had no more wood at hand. I learnt afterwards that at the camp, the thermometer at 4 P. M. had been as low as 17° of Fahrenheit.[*] Thermometer, at sunrise, 21°; at noon, 51°; at 4 P. M. 49°; at 9, 29°. [* This was 15° degrees below the freezing point, and shows how much more easily cold may be endured in a dry atmosphere than where there is moisture, as instanced in the following extract from a despatch of Captain James C. Ross (in command of the Antarctic Expedition), dated 7th April, 1841, and published in the Tasmanian Journal. "With a temperature of 20° below the freezing point, we found the ice to form so rapidly on the surface, that any further examination of the barrier in so extremely severe a period of the season being impracticable, we stood away to the westward, for the purpose of making another attempt to approach the magnetic pole, and reached its latitude (76° S.) on the 15th February."] 25TH JUNE.--Continuing our ride as soon as day-light permitted, ten minutes brought us to a pond containing plenty of water under a shelving rock, and here we alighted to breakfast, which was pleasant enough, but not so gratifying as the position of this pond, which would enable me to bring the carts through these valleys, to this convenient intermediate stage in the way to the Northern river. The next question was, whether the route to the eastward, descending into these valleys near Mount Clift, or that by my first route, when I discovered this rocky country, should be preferred; and I returned towards our camp this morning by the eastern gullies, in hopes to find an easy descent nearer to Mount Clift than at the point where I before came down. But I found them much more acclivitous and rocky. We at length, with difficulty, got our horses up a rocky point, on which grew a thick scrub of "blackwood," as Yuranigh called it, an acacia having many tough stems growing thickly together from one root, and obstructing the passage, and covering the ground with its half-fallen and fallen timber. Our passage along the range thence towards Mount Owen, having been too much to the eastward, brought us upon the bend of a gully falling to the Maran; a wild and impracticable looking dell as ever was seen. On regaining our track near Mount Owen, and returning along it to the camp, I found that another pond had been discovered in the valley, by Felix Maguire, who on two occasions, had dreamt of water, risen, and walked directly to where he found it! However that might have been, this man had a happy knack in finding water. In the neighbourhood of this camp some interesting plants were collected; viz. NOTHOCHLOENA DISTANS, GRAMMITIS RUTOEFOLIA, CHEILANTHES TENUIFOLIA, ADIANTUM HISPIDULUM and ASSIMILE, all ferns, together with HOVEA LANCEOLATA, the weedy SPHOERANTHUS HIRTUS, GREVILLEA FLORIBUNDA, a low shrub, occupying the ravines. Besides these we observed a small species of SIDA in the sandy soil of forests, the DOODIA CAUDATA Br., a verdant fern, and the SOLANUM FURFURACEUM with lilac flowers, and small red berries. A shrub loaded with succulent drupes, seated in reddish cups, appeared to be a new species of VITEX, but its genus was uncertain, there being no flowers. What is here called GREVILLEA FLORIBUNDA may have been an allied species, for the leaves were more downy, almost tomentose above. In addition to this a new species of the common genus DODONOEA, frequently met with afterwards, was now producing its flowers.[*] Thermometer, at sunrise, 12°; at noon, 50°; at 4 P. M. 51°; at 9, 22°. [* D. MOLLIS (Lindl. MS.); molliter pubescens, ramulis subteretibus, foliis obovatis acutis truncatis rotundatis retusis tridentatisque, capsulis tetragonis trigonisque pubescentibus apteris.] 26TH JUNE. The party moved forward, at length, with the certainty of finding water for at least three days' journey, and of a hopeful water- course being before us. Passing by the foot of Mount Owen, I observed the barometer which gave an elevation of 2083 feet: the summit might be 700 feet higher. My plan of route was, to enter the little river that turned to the south-west (as I had found it did, on the 20th,) and to travel along its valley upwards, until I reached the pond near which I had bivouacked on the 25th. This we accomplished most successfully before sunset, encamping beside the large pond already mentioned, near which were two others. The earth by the margin was so soft that neither the horses nor bullocks could approach the water; they could only be watered out of buckets; but the water was excellent, and water of any quality, in abundance too, was to us rather uncommon good fortune, and quite cheering, even when surrounded by soft mud. Thermometer, at sunrise, 14°; at noon, 48°; at 4 P. M. 47°; at 9, 37°. 27TH JUNE. We had next to trace up a grassy valley which seemed to come directly from the vicinity of that in which I had found water and bivouacked on the 24th. It formed an excellent line, and we found it possible to keep this fine firm level surface, until we had approached to within two miles of that spot. Leaving a little hill of trap to the left, and some brigalow scrub on the right, we reached the old ground and encamped. The small ponds had evaporated, but, in the frosty night, the cattle were not likely to require water, as they had been watered on the way, about 3 P. M., at a rocky well in the valley. We had now traced with our wheels, a good way through a country much broken and shut up by sandstone gullies; but which contained also many rich valleys, and extensive hilly tracts of trap rock, on which the grass was very luxuriant, apparently available for either sheep or cattle. Immediately to the westward of this camp (marked XXXVIII.) an extensive valley was bounded by the fine trap range of Hope's Table Land; which range was open along the summit, and contained springs, in various ravines along its sides. In these ravines, we first saw the arborescent Zamia, and various remarkable shrubs; the MYOPORUM CUNNINGHAMII of Swan River, forming a shrub six feet high, with white fragrant flowers. Thermometer, at sunrise, 20°; at 9 P. M., 29°. Height above the sea, 2064 feet. 28TH JUNE.--Severe frost whenever the sky was clear, seemed the ordinary weather of that country, at that season; showing, as the barometer also indicated, that we were at a great height above the sea. I sent the party forward, guided by Yuranigh, along my former track, to the ponds in the newly discovered channel, falling north-west; and I proceeded myself, accompanied by Mr. Stephenson, to the summit of the fine cone already mentioned. From this, I beheld a splendid and extensive view of the mountains further northward. Most of the summits I had previously intersected, and many others, very remarkable, just appeared over an intermediate woody range, through which I was at a loss to discover where our supposed northern river would pass. Far in the north-west, I could just distinguish the tops of curiously broken hills arising from a much lower country; and therein I hoped to find, whatever might be the final course of our river, a passage to the north-west, and water. The most important feature in that scene seemed to me to be a grey misty tint, as if it marked a valley descending from the highest eastern mountains, towards the curiously broken summits in the northwest. Bare crests of similar hills, appeared to arise throughout the whole extent of that valley. Under those lofty mountains, at such elevation, in such a clime, with these romantic hills, that valley must be a paradise if watered well, as I hope it is. So flowed the "spring" of hope at least, as it was fed by the scene then before me. The cone we had ascended consisted of trap rock, much resembling that of Mount Aquarius; but, at its base, and on its sides, I found in large masses, the very compact felspathic rock which characterises the valley of the Darling. This has been considered a very fine-grained sandstone; but it is evidently an altered rock. Here, in contact with trap, it possessed the same tendency to break into irregular polygons, some of the faces of which were curved; and I observed one mass which had been so tossed up, that its lower side lay uppermost, inclined at an angle of about 60°. That this is a hypogene rock, sometimes in contact with granite as well as with trap, is evident at Oxley's Table Land, and other places. I was glad to find it here, as affording a prospect of meeting with better soil than the loose sand we had seen so much of. We here found the grey, prickly SOLANUM ELLIPTICUM. I named this cone Mount P. P. King; and, I have since ascertained, by that officer's register and calculations, the height of this summit above the sea, to be 2646 feet; and the height of this camp, 2159 feet. Thermometer, at sunrise, 25°; at 4 P. M., 55°; at 9, 25°. (XXXIX) 29TH JUNE.--Crossing a small tributary which was full of water (coming from Hope's Table Land), we continued to travel along the left bank of the newly found river. Rocky precipices overhanging it, obliged me to make some détours, and to pass through some scrubs; but still we regained the banks of the river, although our progress was not considerable. Its general course was still north-west, to the spot selected for my second camp on its banks. The channel was now broad; the banks high, rounded, and grassy; in some places, rocky. Water in the channel was rarely to be seen, but at the junction of tributaries, where recent temporary showers seemed to have fallen. By careful observation, I ascertained the variation of the needle to be 8° 4' E. here. Thermometer, at sunrise, 25°; at 4 P. M., 68°; at 9, 53°. Height above the sea, 1914 feet. (XL.) 30TH JUNE.--The course of the river was now found to turn to the southward of west; and, even in that direction, rugged cliffs covered with scrub greatly impeded our progress. I endeavoured to conduct the carts along the bed of the river, soft and sandy as it was; but we did not proceed far in it, before rocks, fallen trees, and driftwood, obliged us to abandon that course as speedily as we could. Then, ascending a projecting eminence, we plunged into the scrubs; but, even in a southwest direction, we came upon the river. Pursuing its course along the bank, southward, I arrived near the base of a fine open forest hill; and, directing the party to encamp, I hastened to its summit. I there obtained a view of most of the mountains of the eastern range formerly observed, and enough of the fixed points, to enable me to determine the position of this. In the south-west, a line of open forest, and a vast column of smoke seemed too plainly to mark the further course of our river; but, towards the north-west, I saw much to reconcile me to this disappointment. Summits of broken and uncommon aspect, beyond an intervening woody range, there indicated a much lower and different kind of country, as if that was, indeed, the basin of a system of northern waters; the woody intervening range appearing to be the division between them. As our last explored river again turned southward, it seemed reasonable to expect, beyond that very continuous range, rivers pursuing a different course. This range was plainly traceable from the high mountains more to the eastward, and was continuous westward to three remarkable conical hills, beyond which, the view did not extend. On the same range, a fine tableshaped mountain appeared nearly north. This I had already intersected from other stations, and named Mount Faraday. The hill on which I stood consisted of trap-rock, and seemed to be almost the western extremity of Hope's Table Land. A copious spring was afterwards found by Mr. Stephenson, in a valley to the eastward of this summit. That ravine was extensive; and in it grew various remarkable trees. The bottle-tree (Delabechea) grew more gregariously than we had ever seen it, in the stony banks of the channel of the torrent from the hills. One thorny tree or shrub (first seen at the base of Mount P. P. King) again appeared here; it was, generally, in a withered state; had a leaf somewhat like the human hand, and a pod containing two peas of a bright scarlet colour, about the shape and size of a French bean. This, sometimes grew to a tree as much as a foot in diameter; and the natives, who, like Nature herself, may be said to do nothing in vain, had cut one down, and carried off the whole of the trunk. The wood was of a leaden colour. This proved to be a new species of ERYTHRINA, or coral tree.[*] By our last day's journey, we had lost two miles of northing, and had thus recrossed the 25th parallel of south latitude. I therefore determined to cross our friendly little river, and look for another beyond the range to the northward. Thermometer, at sunrise, 44°; at noon, 68°; at 4 P. M., 65°; at 9, 38°. Height above the sea, 1732 feet. (XLI.) [* E. VESPERTILIO (Benth. MS.); glaberrima, caule fruticoso aculeato, foliorum petiolo elongato, foliolis trilobis lobo medio recto acutiusculo lateralibus multo majoribus falcato-divaricatis obtusissimis.--Although no flowers were seen, the genus of this shrub is well indicated by the pod and the general habit. The leaflets are often above four inches broad and not two inches long, not unlike the form of a bat with its wings extended.] 1ST JULY.--With that view, I rode towards Mount Faraday, anxious to look into the valley beyond it. After a two hours' ride, I passed under its western summit, and still pressed forward, in hopes of seeing at length into the valleys beyond. I thus entered a very thick scrub, so impervious that I was obliged to turn westward, until I came upon sandstone gullies into one of which I descended. Following this downwards, I found it fell to the westward, and in a hollow part of its rocky bed I came to some clear water. But this was inaccessible, even to my horse, nor could I take him further down that wildly broken gully; therefore we backed out, and ascended as we could. Then riding southward in search of one more accessible, I at length, descended into a grassy valley, which ran northwest, and gave promise of something still better. I could not follow it then without provisions, having none with me, and I therefore hastened back to the camp, resolved to take with me men and provisions sufficient to enable me to explore this further. In the scrub I passed through on my way back, I found various very remarkable shrubs new and strange to me. One grew on a large stalk, from which leaves radiated without other or any branches. These leaves, hanging gracefully around the stem, gave to this shrub the resemblance of the plume of a staff-officer. The outer side of each leaf was dark and shining, the inner white and woolly. Rarely these tall stems separated into two. Other branches there were none. Some very beautiful new acacias also grew there. One, in particular, with leaves exactly similar to those of the silver-leaved ironbark, was very remarkable, a broad rough-leaved FICUS, with opposite leaves not unlike those of the New Holland Upas. The white-flowered lead- wort (PLUMBAGO ZEYLANICA) and the TRIODIA PUNGENS were abundant among the grasses. A downy Dodonaea, with triangular leaves, was producing its small flowers[*], and a scrubby bush with hard narrow leaves and globular fruit the size of a rifle-ball, proved to be a new CAPPARIS.[**] Thermometer, at daybreak, 35°; at 9 P.M., 38°. [* D. TRIANGULARIS (Lindl. MS.); molliter pubescens, foliis obtriangularibus tridentatis, pedunculis masculis axillaribus subsolitariis.] [** C. LORANTHIFOLIA (Lindl. MS.) ramosa, inermis, ramulis tomentosis, foliis lineari-oblongis obtusis coriaceis glabris sesqui-pollicaribus aveniis, pedunculis solitariis axillaribus tomentosis foliis brevioribus, stipite duplo longiore, fructu sphaerico tuberculato glabro.] 2D JULY.--Returning with two men and Yuranigh to the valley where I had been yesterday, I followed it downwards, and soon found that it widened very much, and contained large dry ponds, with the traces of a deep current of water at some seasons. At length, the rocky precipices seemed to recede, and formed occasionally bold headlands of most picturesque outline. Two, that towered above the woods before us, resembled pyramids, and I saw an open country beyond them, from which other summits of extraordinary form seemed to emerge. Yet we had found no moisture in the ponds, and lamented that a country, in every other respect so fine, should be without water. Further on, I perceived reeds in the hollow of the valley, and Yuranigh said there must be a spring, upon which he walked in amongst them, but still found the earth dry. The reeds at length covered an extensive flat, and looked, at the lower part of the flat, so green, that I sent Corporal Graham to examine that point. He emerged from the reeds with a face that, at a distance, made Douglas, my other man, say, "He has found water." He had found A RUNNING STREAM, to which he had been guided by its own music, and taking a tin pot, he brought me some of it. The water was clear and sparkling, tasting strongly of sulphur, and Yuranigh said that this was the head of a river that NEVER DRIED UP. In this land of picturesque beauty and pastoral abundance, within eighty miles of the tropics, we had discovered the first running stream seen on this journey. I returned, determined to bring the party thus far, and with the intention of passing that night where we had found water in a rock about six miles back, that we might sooner reach the camp next day. At that spot we had also the benefit of a cavern, before which, a good fire being made, we defied the frost of a very cold night, the thermometer having been registered at the camp, at 3 A.M., as low as 7°. In the scrubs we had passed through in the morning, a variety of the ACACIA PODALYRIIFOLIA, with grey velvety leaves, was scarcely in flower; and I observed a beautiful new species of STENOCHILUS with large tubular flowers.[*] The ACACIA FALCATA appeared also on the sandstone ground above the gullies, and a broad-leaved form of the EREMOPHILA MITCHELLII. The moon shone brightly, and the rock being full of silver mica, the splendour of the scene imparted to my eye and mind then a degree of gratification far beyond any associations of the richest furniture of a palace. We found it impossible to get our horses to the water; but we hit upon an expedient which answered even better than a bucket,--my Mackintosh cloak. [* S. CURVIPES (Benth. MS.) glaber, foliis lanceolatis integerrimis basi in petiolum angustatis pedicellis recurvis, calycis foliolis latis acuminatis, corollae glabrae ventricosae laciniis acutis inferiore ultra medium solutâ.--Flowers large and thick on recurved pedicels 4 to 6 lines long. Calycine leaves broader than in all the other species.] 3D JULY.--In returning, we looked for a good line of approach, and found an easy way for the carts to descend into the valley. On arriving at the camp, I learnt that a large pond had been discovered in a rocky part of the river, about a mile below our camp. Thermometer, at sunrise, 14°; at noon, 60; at 4 P.M., 61°; at 9, 26°. Height of camp above the sea, 1800 feet. (XLII.) 4TH JULY.--The clouds had gathered, and it rained heavily this morning. Nevertheless, the party moved off, crossing the river where the banks had been cut to facilitate the passage. With Yuranigh's assistance we hit upon an excellent line of route, availing ourselves of a grassy valley descending from Mount Faraday, just so far as to avoid the rocky crooked part, and then crossing and cutting through a piece of scrub directly to the point of easy ascent, we thus made a good road into the valley, and arrived in good time, notwithstanding the rain, at the rock of my bivouac. The night-sky cleared up, and I found our latitude (by Arcturus) to be 24° 54' 12" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 43°; at 4 P.M., 49°; at 9, 38°. Height above the sea, 1437 feet. (XLIII.) 5TH JULY.--Another frosty night succeeded the day of rain, and froze our tents into boards, not easily to be packed up this morning. We proceeded along our horses' track, and the beautiful headland which appeared quite isolated, and just such as painters place in middle distance, I named Mount Salvator. We encamped on a slight elevation of the right bank of the reedy rivulet, near the pyramids. Our prospects had suddenly brightened, when instead of following chains of dry ponds, we had before us a running stream, carrying life and nourishment towards the country we were about to explore. The whole aspect of the country seemed new to us. The barometer showed we were rapidly descending, and I expected that our living stream would soon join that greater stream, the basin of which I thought I could trace in the line of mist seen from Mount P. P. King on the 28th June. The course of this river, unlike the others, curved round from N.W. towards north, and having its origin in mountains equidistant between Cape York and Wilson's Promontory, it was reasonable to suppose that we had at length crossed the division between northern and southern waters. That between eastern and western waters was still to be discovered, and in a country so intricate, and where water was so scarce then, the course of rivers afforded the readiest means of determining where that division was. If the general course of this river was found to be to the eastward of north, we might safely conclude that the dividing ground was on the west or to the left of our route; if to the westward of north, it might be to the eastward, or on the right of our route, and this seemed the more probable from the line of a river flowing north- westward, which I had seen the valley of, from Mount P. P. King. Latitude 24° 50' 2". S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 16°; at noon, 50°; at 4 P. M., 49°; at 9, 38°. Height above the sea, according to sixteen observations, 1421 feet. (XLIV.) 6TH JULY.--A number of small bushes of CRYPTANDRA PROPINQUA appeared amongst the rocks; back from the valley, and in the woods below, we found an acacia, apparently, but distinct from, A. DECORA (Reichb.) VAR. MACROPHYLLA; it approached A. AMOENA, but the stem was less angular, and the phyllodia bore but one gland. A large tree with long hoary leaves, and flat round capsules, proved to be a fine new BURSARIA, at a later season found in flower. See October 10th.* A Loranthus also was found here, which Sir William Hooker has since described.[**] Travelling along the bank of this stream, we found it flowing, and full of sparkling water to the margin. The reeds had disappeared, and we could only account for the supply of such a current, in such a country, at such a season, by the support of many springs. We made sure of water now for the rest of our journey; and that we might say of the river "Labitur et labetur in omne volubilis aevum." The hills overhanging it surpassed any I had ever seen in picturesque outline. Some resembled gothic cathedrals in ruins; others forts; other masses were perforated, and being mixed and contrasted with the flowing outlines of evergreen woods, and having a fine stream in the foreground, gave a charming appearance to the whole country. It was a discovery worthy of the toils of a pilgrimage. Those beautiful recesses of unpeopled earth, could no longer remain unknown. The better to mark them out on my map, I gave to the valley the name of Salvator Rosa.[***] The rocks stood out sharply, and sublimely, from the thick woods, just as John Martin's fertile imagination would dash them out in his beautiful sepia landscapes. I never saw anything in nature come so near these creations of genius and imagination. Where we encamped, the river was very deep, the banks steep and muddy, so that the use of a bucket was necessary in watering the cattle. Notwithstanding every precaution, one animal walked into the river, and could not be got out without great difficulty. The only fish we caught in this river were two enormous eels, beautifully spotted. Large shells of the UNIO genus lay abundantly on the banks, about the old fires of the natives. These were larger than either those found on the Darling, or those of the Maran; and although such freshwater mussles seem to have but one shape, a peculiarity in these was pointed out to me by Yuranigh, who said they much resembled the impressions left by a black-fellow's foot, (which is much broader at the toes than at the heel). We here met with a new species of BORONIA, resembling B. ANETHIFOLIA, of which many varieties afterwards occurred. It grows about two feet high, and had solitary pale purple flowers.[****] A new species of ACACIA with straight, oblong, shining leaves, also grew here.[*****] In the valley we found ERECHTITES ARGUTA, a weed resembling European groundsel; on the rocks, a small slender shrub with white flowers; and in the sandy scrub, the LEUCOPOGON CUSPIDATUS formed a small shrub. Thermometer, at sunrise, 16°; at noon, 50°; at 4 P.M., 49°; at 9, 38°. (XLV.) Height above the sea, 1270 feet. [* B. INCANA (Lindl. MS.); arborea, inermis, foliis oblongo-linearibus supra glabris subtus incanis, paniculâ terminali tomentosâ, floribus distantibus.] [** L. SUBFALCATUS (Hook. MS.); ramis dichotomis patentibus, foliis oppositis linearibus lineari-lanceolatisve obtusis subfalcatis glabris trinerviis, floribus axillaribus binis arcte pendentibus brevissime pedicellatis, calycis contracti cylindracei ore dilatato, petalis 6 linearibus glaberrimis supra medium coalitis.] [*** "His soul naturally delighted in scenes of savage magnificence and ruined grandeur; his spirit loved to stray in lonely glens, and gaze on mouldering castles."--ALLAN CUNNINGHAM (THE POET).] [**** B. BIPINNATA (Lindl. MS.) glabra vel pilosa, foliis bipinnatis pinnatisque, foliolis linearibus subteretibus obtusis, floribus subsolitariis axillaribus foliis brevioribus 8-andris.] [***** A. EXCELSA (Benth. MS.) glabra, ramulis subangulatis, phyllodiis falcato-oblongis obtusiusculis mucronulatisve basi angustatis subcoriaceis nitidis multinervibus venulosis eglandulosis, pedunculis solitariis geminisve capitulo dense multifloro brevioribus vel brevissimis. Very near A. VENULOSA, Cunn.; but smooth, the phyllodia shining, 2 to 3 inches long, 6-9 lines broad, the flower heads usually almost sessile.] 7TH JULY.--Continuing along the eastern margin of the reeds, we soon found that the river expanded into a lake covered with them, and that in one or two spots there also grew the "Balyan" of the Lachlan, (a bulrush mentioned in my former journals). We listened, and still heard the current of water amongst these reeds. From the margin of this lake the hills, rocks, and woods, on the opposite shore, presented a most charming morceau of picturesque scenery. Our route was through an open forest which skirted the reedy margin, over very firm ground, and in a general direction about north-west. At length we approached the northern limits of the reedy lake, no river being visible flowing out of it, as we had reason to expect. We found there, however, only a dry channel, which bore the marks of a considerable stream at some seasons. Following this dry channel down, I found its course turned to the northward, and even to the north-east. When we were disposed to encamp, I could find no water in the bed, nor were we better off when we had encamped, until Corporal Graham dug between two rocks therein, and, fortunately, found a spring. Thus, in one day vanished the pleasing prospect we had enjoyed in the morning, of a stream flowing in the direction of our intended route. This might be, I then thought, the tributary to a larger river, which I still hoped would be found to flow westward from the coast ranges, and, finally, take the desired north-west direction. Thermometer, at sunrise, 23°; at 4 P.M., 58°; at 9, 25°. (XLVI.) Height above the sea, 1191 feet. 8TH JULY.--Entertaining this opinion, I still should have followed this river down, had I not been impeded by gullies as deep as itself falling into it, and which obliged me to cross to the left bank. There a thick brigalow scrub grew to the very margin, and this was seared by rugged gullies. A deep and continuous channel, entering from the westward, induced me to turn in that direction so far, that I at length determined to penetrate at once, if possible, to the north-west, expecting that there I might intercept our river, if it should turn in that direction, or, if not, cross some range into a more open country. The whole day was lost, however, in toiling through a brigalow scrub. Various water-courses crossed our route, but all descending towards the river we had left. The scrub was so thick that we could only pass where accidental openings admitted us, and by this sort of progress, until within an hour of sunset, I found we had travelled about nine miles, and had gained only half a minute of latitude. Having penetrated, on foot, and with difficulty, about two miles ahead of the party, in pursuing the course of a small watercourse, I found that even this turned south-east, evidently to fall into the reedy basin we had previously explored; therefore, I determined on an immediate retreat out of that labyrinth of scrub, back to our friendly river. It was comparatively easy to return through the opening we had made by cutting down much of the brush as we advanced, so that by twilight we reached a good grassy spot about half way to the river, and near it, found some good ponds of water. A pigeon, flying almost in my face, first drew my attention to the hollow where we afterwards found the water. It was in soft mud, however, in which one of the bullocks got bogged, and could only be taken out by the whole strength of the party dragging him with ropes. Thermometer, at sunrise, 18°; at 4 P.M., 54°; at 9, 25°. Height above the sea, 1241 feet. 9TH JULY.--The cattle were so much exhausted by drawing through the scrub, and I had so much to do at my map, that I gave to the cattle and the party, a day's rest. Latitude, 24° 34' 12" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 14°; (in my tent, 18°;) at 9 P.M., 48°. 10TH JULY.--Returning, still along our old track, towards a slight eminence, three miles from our camp, I there set the party to work, to cut a way across the gully, which had first obliged me to turn westward. While the men were so employed, I rode about five miles northward, but met with no opening or water-course admitting of a passage in that direction. On the contrary, I returned, on intercepting one running S. E. towards our river. The party had taken all things across when I rejoined them, and we travelled along the left bank of the gully, chiefly through open forest land, until we approached the river. Scrub, and muddy gullies, obliged us to cross the river soon after we reached its banks. Water appeared more abundant in its bed here, and we encamped on the border of a small plain, hemmed in by brigalow scrub, in latitude 24° 33' 25" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 23°; at noon, 58°; at 4 P.M., 62°; at 9, 29°. Height (XLVII.) above the sea, 1192 feet. 11TH JULY.--We travelled along the right bank of the river, through a fine open forest, until our route, in a N. E. by N. direction, was again impeded by the river. We had now descended from the upper sources of this river, at least 1000 feet according to the barometer. We had seen, in a large pond, a fish called mullet, which abounds in the rivers falling to the eastern coast, but which I had never seen in those falling westward. It was also obvious that there was no coast range between us and the coast, and consequently that a very decided break, at least, occurred in it, about the latitude of 25° S. This was more apparent to me on crossing the river, and sending Yuranigh up a tree, about three miles beyond. He could see no mountains to the northward or north-east, but only the high table land already seen to the eastward, in which direction he could trace the course of the river. I hastened back to the party, directed them to encamp, and proceeded with two men and Yuranigh in a N. W. direction, carrying provisions for a long ride. We plunged into the sea of Brigalow-- "----And we did buffet it, With lusty sinews throwing it aside, And stemming it with JACKETS ALL IN TATTERS." After working out our way thus, for about ten miles, our toils were rewarded with a scene of surpassing beauty, that gradually opened to us. That long-lost tree, the graceful Acacia pendula, received us in the foreground, and open plains, blended with waving lines of wood, extended far into bluey distance, beyond which an azure coronet of mountains of romantic forms, terminated the charming landscape. "Far in the west, the long, long vale withdrawn," included columns of smoke, marking out the line of a river, which, with its dark and luxuriant woods, pervaded the whole scene; perhaps the finest I ever had the good fortune to discover. I beheld it from a perfectly clear and grassy hill of rich black soil, on which we had emerged, through a fringe of Acacia pendula. I could not advance beyond that spot, until I had taken bearings and angles on the peaks and summits before me. To the north-west, an apparent opening, seen between these masses, seemed to indicate the bed of another river. On completing my observations we rode forward across the plain, towards the woody vale, the sun being then near setting. A solitary emu ran towards us, from a great distance, apparently encouraged by the mere appearance of quadrupeds, which, although new to it, seemed to have no terrors for it. I could not allow the men to fire at it, partly, I believe, from a sense of shame that we should thereby appear to take unfair advantage, and prove ourselves more brutal than the quadrupeds, whom nature had indulgently destined to carry us on their backs. The open down we traversed, consisted of rich black mould, in which there was fossil wood in great abundance, presenting silicified fragments so curiously wooden as to be only distinguishable from wood, by their detached and broken character. Such fossils are not uncommon in Australia, on plains of rich black earth, which is a constant concomitant. Their geological history may be simple, and would probably be very interesting, if philosophy could but find it out. We found, further on, a channel full of water, with reeds about the bed of it. There had been a current in it a short time previously, and, indeed, we had seen the remains of recent rain, in some hollows in the Brigalow scrub. The river came from the westward, and thus might have afforded the means of travelling in that direction, had other directions been found impracticable. We made our fire in a hollow near the water, not wishing either to alarm or attract the natives; and thus we passed the night pleasantly enough, with a large fire before us. Thermometer, at sunrise, 18°; at 4 P.M., 65°; at 9, 30°. 12TH JULY.--Returning to the camp, I sought and found, with the assistance of Yuranigh, a more open way through the scrub for our carts, than that by which we had penetrated to the good country. I had directed Mr. Stephenson to examine, during my absence, the western shore of the reedy lake of Salvator, in order to ascertain whether it had any outlet in that direction; but he returned without having reached the base of the remarkable rocky range to the westward; thus leaving it still uncertain, although the direction of the river since discovered, left little reason for supposing that any waters from the valley of the Salvator, could escape to the westward. Thermometer, at sunrise, 11°; in my tent, 15°; at noon, 67° at 4 P.M., 65°; at 9, 35°. Height above the sea, 1107 feet. 13TH JULY.--After marking this camp XLVIII., we quitted the river Salvator, and travelled along our track of yesterday, or nearly N. W., but deviating from this track occasionally, where broken ground or thick scrub was to be avoided. The highest part of the scrubby land we crossed, was 1310 feet above the sea. We arrived in good time at the river, where I had previously slept, and there encamped. On the plains adjacent, the ACACIA PENDULA grew, as on those near the Bogan; and we saw also various new and curious grasses, and some very singular shrubs in the scrub. The banks of the river were steep, and consisted of soft clay. I employed the party to make a bridge across it, and this was well completed before sunset. Thermometer, at sunrise, 23°; at noon, 65°; at 4 P.M. 68°; at 9, 40°. Height above the sea, 951 feet. (XLIX.) 14TH JULY.--Crossing the river, (which I called the Claude), we travelled, first, through an open forest, and then across one of the richest plains I had ever seen, and on which the ANTHISTIRIA AUSTRALIS, and PANICUM LOEVINODE, the two best Australian grasses, grew most abundantly. The soil was black; the surface quite level. There might have been about a thousand acres in the first plain we crossed, ere we arrived at another small river, or water-course, which also contained water. We soon reached the borders of other very extensive plains and open downs, apparently extending far to the eastward. On our left, there was a scrub of Acacia pendula. The undulating parts of the clear land, were not so thickly covered with grass as the plains, not because the soil was bad, but because it was so loose, rich, and black, that a sward did not so easily take root and spread upon it, from its great tendency to crack, after imbibing moisture, on its subsequent evaporation. All this rich land was thickly strewed with small fragments of fossil wood, in silex, agate, and chalcedony. Many of the stones, as already observed, most strikingly resembled decayed wood, and in one place the remains of an entire trunk lay together like a heap of ruins, the DILAPIDATED remains of a tree! I obtained even a portion of petrified bark; but specimens of this were rare. The elevation of the highest part of these downs, was 1512 feet above the sea. Crossing an open forest hill, which had hitherto bounded our view to the westward, I perceived a deep grassy valley on our right, sloping towards a much lower country, but I still travelled westward, in hopes to find an open country, beyond a low woody range on which we had at length arrived. I soon, however, perceived rocky gullies before me, and having halted the party to examine them, I found they were quite impassable. Such an unexpected obstacle, on the horizon of the fine open country, yet UNDER that smooth horizon, was certainly as singular as it was unexpected, and I returned to descend into the deep grassy valley I had seen on our right, which seemed open and inviting. We therein also found some large ponds of water, and encamped. While the men were pitching the tents I rode down the valley about two miles, and found that the direction of the water-course was about north-east. Such a direction was not very favourable for us, and I resolved to look at the country beyond the limits of this valley to the westward, before we followed it further. Latitude, 24° 17' 42" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 19°; at 4 P. M., 66°; at 9, 49°. (L.) 1279 feet above the sea. 15TH JULY.--Following up a flat which came from the N. W., I proceeded about five miles amid overhanging precipices, until, at length, mighty rocks rendered it quite impossible to push my horse further. Leaving him in a hollow, I ascended a rocky point, which was barely accessible with Yuranigh's assistance, and, on reaching an elevated summit, I saw still worse gullies before us, amongst which I could perceive no feature affording any cue to their final outlet, nor any characteristic of the structure of these labyrinths. I looked in vain for the rugged summits I had seen peeping over the plains when first discovered, and could not then be convinced (as I found long afterwards, on completing my map), that they were then under my feet. The highest parts seemed to extend south-westward. To cross such a region with our carts, was quite impossible, and I could only return, and, however reluctantly, follow down the valley in which we had encamped, until it should afford access to a more open country. The banks of the watercourse were steep, the bottom was sandy. The course was very tortuous, alternately closing on rocky precipices, at each side of the valley. Thus we were obliged to cross at every turning, and the steep banks rendered each crossing a difficult operation, occasioning so much delay, that after crossing ten times, evening obliged us to encamp, although our direct distance from the last camp did not exceed five miles. We had, at each crossing, cut the banks, filled up hollows with logs, etc. The general direction, I ascertained to be N.E. Water was found providentially near the spot, where the approach of night had obliged us to encamp; this having been the first water we had seen during that day's laborious journey. Thermometer, at sunrise, 21°; at 4 P.M., 65°; at 9, 44°. 16TH JULY.--After some examination of the valley before us, I considered it best, upon the whole, to travel in the bed of the river itself, and thus avoid the frequent necessity for crossing with so much labour and delay: the sandy bed was heavy for the wheels, and therefore distressing to the animals, and one or two rocky masses obliged us to work out of it, to get round them. The whole day was consumed in proceeding thus about 5½ miles, and in an easterly direction. The closing in of the valley lower down, seemed to shut us from further progress even so, and I encamped, rather at a loss how to proceed. Just then Mr. Stephenson came to inform me that he had seen, from a rocky point on the left, an opening to the north-west, and level ground beyond it. I therefore determined to accompany him next day, and to reconnoitre the country in that direction. By digging in the bed of the creek, water was again obtained by Corporal Graham. Some extremely fragrant shrubs were discovered in these rocky recesses, especially one, which filled the air with perfume to a great distance around. It seemed to be a EUCALYPTUS without flowers or fruit, but with a powerful odour of balm, and formed a bush five feet high, growing on sandstone rocks, having a narrow leaf, and rather thorny stalk. The lower leaves were also rough.[*] There was another bush, with leaves of the same shape, and glossy, but having a perfume equally strong of the lime.[**] We regretted much, that neither the seed, flower, nor fruit of these interesting shrubs could be obtained at that season. In that valley, we saw also the DAUCUS BRACHIATUS, an inconspicuous weed, and MYOPORUM CUNNINGHAMII. The soft leaved ACACIA PODALYRIOEFOLIA began to indicate its flowering season, and we found a magnificent new crimson CALLISTEMON with its young flowers and leaves wrapped in wool.[***] A new DODONOEA with wingless, 3-cornered, 3-celled fruit[****]; a new species of AOTUS, with narrow hoary leaves[*****], and one of the forest trees was a splendid new GEIGERA, with broad lance-shaped leaves.[******] The PLATYZOMA MICROPHYLLUM, a very singular and little known fern, with narrow leaves and small orbicular leaflets, was also there, with the ACACIA FALCATA, ACACIA EXCELSA, and a shaggy-leaved variety of the AJUGA AUSTRALIS, the Australian bugle. The BRUNONIA SERICEA, with its scabious- like heads of flowers, was common; and the blue flowered HARDENBERGIA MONOPHYLLA was observed among the grass. Thermometer, at sunrise, 25°; at 9 P.M., 41°. [* E. MELISSIODORA (Lindl. MS.); ramis ferrugineo-tomentosis scabris, foliis utrinque papillis rubiginosis scabris ovato-oblongis obtusis supra basim peltatis (floribus fructibusque ignotis).] [** E. CITRIODORA (Hook. MS.); ramis angulatis fuscis minute tuberculatis, foliis lato-lanceolatis petiolatis pinnulatis patenti- parallelo-venosis viridibus (non glaucis). Sir Wm. Hooker has ventured to name this EUCALYPTUS, though without flower or fruit, from the deliciously fragrant lemon-like odour, which exists in the dry as well as the recent state of the plant.] [*** C. NERVOSUM (Lindl. MS.); ramis pallidis, foliis ovato-lanceolatis quinque-nerviis mucronatis junioribus tomentosis, rachi calycibusque lanatis.] [**** D. TRIGONA (Lindl. MS.); ramulis subpilosis, foliis obovato- lanceolatis parum pilosis integerrimis vel utrinque unidentatis, capsulis 3-locularibus trigonis apteris.] [***** A. MOLLIS (Benth. MS.); undique molliter tomentoso-villosus, ramis crectis-rigidis, foliis sparsis anguste oblongis margine revolutis, calycis vix bilabiati dentibus subaequalibus, ovario breviter stipitato villosissimo.--Near A. PASSERINOÏDES Meisn., but differing in the narrow and longer leaves, the calyx and ovary.] [****** G. LATIFOLIA (Lindl. MS.); foliis ovato-lanceolatis longe petiolatis subtus obscure pubescentibus junioribus convolutis.--This appears to differ from G. SALICIFOLIA in its long-stalked leaves.] 17TH JULY.--Our ride this morning soon led amongst different scenes. By merely turning to the left we came upon a flat, in which another water- course, similar to that we had been tracing (Balmy Creek), came from the west, apparently out of that inaccessible country, across which I had previously looked in vain for a passage. Several other gullies joined this water-course, and seared the flat, which consisted of a deep clay deposit, in almost every direction. After crossing these, we found a fine broad opening between rocky precipices of most picturesque forms. This gap I called Stephenson's Pass; it led into a spacious glen surrounded on all sides but the N.W. by mountains such as I have described, recalling to my memory the most imaginative efforts of Mr. Martin's saepia drawing, and showing how far the painter's fancy may anticipate nature. But, at the gorge of this valley, there stood a sort of watch-tower, as if to guard the entrance, so like a work of art, that even here, where men and kangaroos were equally wild and artless, I was obliged to look very attentively, to be quite convinced that the tower was the work of nature only. A turret with a pointed roof, of a colour corresponding, first appeared through the trees, as if it had been built on the summit of a round hill. On a nearer approach the fine tints of the yellowish grey rocks, and the small pines climbing the sides of a hill abruptly rising out of a forest of common trees, presented still a very remarkable object. I named the valley "Glen Turret," and this feature "Tower Almond," after an ancient castle, the scene of many early associations, and now quite as uninhabited as this. Passing through Glen Turret, we ascended the nearest summit on the right, and from it beheld a prospect most cheering, after our toils amid rocky ravines. On the westward, the rocky range seemed to terminate abruptly towards the north, in an elevated point, which seemed to command an extensive view over the unknown W. and N.W. Out of that region two isolated mountain masses arose from an open country, and were clothed with open forests to their summits. Further eastward, masses of mountain in the extreme distance appeared covered, also, with open forests, and presented finely rounded outlines, not likely to impede our passage, in any direction. But towards the N.W. our view was not so extensive; like the uncertain future, it still lay hid. The retrospect was very extensive, including Mount Faraday in the extreme distance, and which thus afforded me a valuable back angle for the correction of our longitude from any errors of detailed survey. The lofty mass of Buckland's Table Land still overlooked all from the E., and I could here again intersect its three principal points. The view back to the Pass was very fine, for the rocks and wood were so blended on the bold summits, as to present sublime studies for the artist. Far to the westward, an interior line of cliffy range resembled a sea beach, presenting a crescent, concave on that side, apparently the limit to the basin of the Nogoa, and the dividing range between eastern and western waters. Our Pass seemed to be the only outlet through the labyrinths behind us. Even the open plains beyond them were visible in a yellow streak above the precipices. Far beyond these plains, Mount Faraday was distinctly visible, on the horizon of the landscape. Thermometer, at sunrise, 29°; at 9 P.M., 43°. (LI.) 1234 feet above the sea. 18TH JULY.--By retracing our horses' footsteps, the carts were soon brought to the base of the same hill; deep gullies in the clay having obliged us to pass close under it, and, indeed, to cross two of its elevated extremities. We found the country beyond, in a N.W. direction, tolerably open, and we encamped in a valley containing abundance of grass, and near to our camp, water was found in a chain of ponds descending to the eastward. A new SUAEDA, with short leaves, and the habit of a dwarf Tamarisk, was found this day.[*] Latitude, 24° 6' 47" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 31°; at noon, 65°; at 4 P.M., 69°; at 9, 44°. (LII.) [* S. TAMARISCINA (Lindl. MS.); fruticosa, ramosissima, foliis brevibus cylindraceis imbricatis obtusissimis, axillis lanatis, floribus solitariis sessilibus.] 19TH JULY.--With the intention to lose no opportunity of getting further to the westward, I travelled on towards the base of the most northern summit of the range in the west; but I was, at length, so shut up by gullies and scrubby extremities near its base and all radiating from it, and becoming very deep, that I took the party aside into a grassy ravine near, where I directed the men to encamp, and hastened myself to the summit. From it, the view westward was not so extensive as I expected. Something like precipitous slopes to some channel or water-course, apparently falling either S. W. or N. E., formed the most promising feature; but, although my object was to have travelled in that direction, the scrub seemed too thick to admit of a passage. Open forest land appeared to the N. E., and there, the gently undulating features, although much lower than the range on whose northern extremity I then stood, seemed nevertheless to form a connection between it and some higher ranges of open forest land, that appeared between me and the coast. Through one wide opening in these, about east, I saw some broken hills, at a very great distance, say seventy or eighty miles. The ridgy- connected undulations formed the heads of some valleys sloping to the south-east, whereof the waters would evidently join those of the Balmy Creek, while others, rising on the north-west side, seemed to belong to a separate basin, and to form a river falling to the north-west. This river was indicated only by slopes meeting and interlacing in a valley. To the left or westward of that supposed river channel, a mighty isolated mountain mass shut out any view of the further course of the water of the valley formed between it and these slopes; but, as the very lowest point of the whole horizon, as indicated by the spirit-level of the theodolite, lay in that direction, I determined to pursue that bearing, (10° W. of N.) through the open forest country that intervened. I found that the mountain commanding this view, was elevated 2247 feet above the sea, according to the Syphon barometer, and in using this instrument, I could not forget Colonel Mudge, who had kindly taught me its use; I therefore named that summit Mount Mudge. In the gravel at the base of the hill, were water-worn pebbles of trap and basalt. The rock of which the range itself consisted, seemed to be a calcareous grit, with vegetable impressions, apparently of GLOSSOPTERIS BROWNII. On descending to the camp, I was informed that the cattle-watering party came suddenly upon two natives, one of whom was a placid old man, the other middle-aged. Corporal Graham did all he could to allay their fears, and convince them that they were in no danger from such strangers. The elder at length handed his little bundle to the younger and sat down, on seeing the Corporal's green bough; meanwhile the other walked on. When Graham took the old man's hand, and shook it, also patting him on the back, and expressing a friendly disposition only, the poor helpless man of the woods burst into tears, finding himself incapable of either words or deeds suitable for a meeting so uncommon. They could not relieve him from this state of alarm, so readily as by leaving him sitting, and moving on, which they did. In the scrubs near this camp, Mr. Stephenson discovered a very remarkable tree, apparently a casuarina, having long drooping leaves, hanging like long hair from its upper boughs[*]; and in the stony gullies a DODONAEA allied to D. SALSOLIFOLIA A. CUNN., from Van Diemen's Land, but the leaves slenderer, and three or four times longer[**]. Although we were approaching the tropics, the weather was most cool and pleasant. A delicious breeze played amongst the woods, and welcomed us to the Torrid Zone. Until now, during every clear night the air had been frosty. Latitude, 24° 6' 50" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 34°; at noon, 68°; at 4 P.M., 61°; at 9, 47°. [* See page 285.] [* D. FILIFOLIA (Hook. MS.); foliis sparsis ramis binis ternisve lineariangustissimis elongatis subrugosis viscosis glabris utrinque canaliculatis falcatis, fructibus trialatis.] Chapter VI. THE PARTY DESCENDS INTO A VALLEY FALLING NORTHWARD.--COMES UPON A CHAIN OF PONDS.--THE HEAD OF THE RIVER BELYANDO.--FOLLOW IT DOWN, THROUGH MUCH WATER SCARCE AT FIRST, IN ITS BED.--RANGE OF HILLS VISIBLE TO THE EASTWARD.--CROSS THE TROPIC OF CAPRICORN.--MOUNT NARRIEN.--OPEN PLAINS, WEST OF THE RIVER.--WATER MORE PLENTIFUL.--NEW PLANTS DISCOVERED.--DRY CHANNEL OF A LARGE RIVER JOINS FROM S.W.--CROSS IT AND PROCEED N.W.--FROM A HEIGHT OBTAIN A VIEW OF THE NORTHERN HORIZON.--MUCH BRIGALOW SCRUB TRAVERSED.--REACH THE RIVER BY MOONLIGHT.--FOLLOW THE CHANNEL MORE CLOSELY.--COME UPON LARGE REACHES OF WATER.--ANOTHER DRY CHANNEL JOINS FROM W.S.W.--RIDE OF RECONNAISSANCE BEYOND IT, TO THE NORTH-WEST.--CROSS FINE DOWNS.--LIMESTONE IN A THICK SCRUB.--ENTER THICK BRIGALOW.--NIGHT WITHOUT WATER.--NEXT DAY MEET WITH THE RIVER.--ITS COURSE BEING EASTWARD OF NORTH, DETERMINE TO RETURN.--NATIVES.--RETRACE OUR TRACK TO THE PYRAMIDS, IN ORDER TO EXPLORE MORE TO THE WESTWARD.--PREPARE TO DEPART, WITH TWO MEN AND YURANIGH.--WRITE DESPATCH TO THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. 20TH JULY.--AFTER a little trouble with the gullies and brigalow scrub, on first setting off, we came upon fine undulating open forest land, and crossed many a gully and small water-course, all declining towards the N.E. A very remarkable flat-topped hill appeared on our right, resembling a wart, on one of these ridges; to the northward it was precipitous, and seemed to consist of a very red rock. At length, after crossing a ridge rather broader than the rest, with some brigalow scrub upon it, and one or two specimens of that tree of solitary places, the bottle tree, (DELABECHEA) we arrived at valleys and water-courses descending to the southward of west, into a valley turning to the N.W. One, at length, on our right, taking the direction in which I was proceeding, viz., 10° W. of N., I followed it down, and thus entered a broader valley leading N.W. Following this, on a wide flat of open forest, we found at length a fine pond of water in it, and encamped beside it, after a journey of about twelve miles. This valley seemed to continue to the base of the lofty isolated mountain already mentioned, where a lower valley crossed it, falling either to the northward or southward. This I left in pleasing uncertainty until next morning, for I had remarked in that locality, when I stood on Mount Mudge, a long line of grey mist running north and south. I named the large mountain beyond that valley, Mount Beaufort, in honour of my scientific friend at the Admiralty. Thermometer, at sunrise, 40°; at noon, 66°; at 4 P.M., 73°; at 9, 62°. (LIII.) 21ST JULY.--On following downwards the chain of ponds and broad valley, we came upon the bed of a river, running to the N.N.E. We gladly turned in that direction, and after it had received various tributaries from the south, I found it took the course I had foreseen it must from Mount Mudge. We saw water in the channel, and now again I believed that we had at length discovered the head of a northwestern river. The soil consisted of firm clay, and tributaries occasionally impeded our journey. We got amongst brigalow scrub, and could find no water in looking for the channel of the river, which we knew must still have been on our left. Ponds in the scrub could not easily be identified as channels. I met with no better success on turning to the left, and encamped amongst the brigalow, where I found some grass. On riding westward I came upon arid stony ground, on which many of the trees were dead, apparently from drought, and so near the Tropic such a scene was by no means encouraging. On turning my horse, he trod on an old heap of fresh watermussles, at an old fireplace of the natives. This was a cheering proof that water was not distant, which was further indicated by the flight of two native companions, from the N.W. We had encamped on a flat of clay, on which salsolaceous bushes, such as grew on similar plains on the Bogan, had been growing, but were then all withered from drought. The very grass seemed parched and useless. I never saw vegetation so checked by drought. A longer continuance was likely to kill all the trees, and convert the country into open downs. I determined, before I ventured further, to send the cattle to a pond four miles back, next morning, and to examine the country before us. Latitude, 23° 48' 36". Thermometer, at sunrise, 57°; at noon, 69°; at 4 P.M., 75°; at 9, 48°. 22D JULY.--Having sent bullocks, horses, and sheep back to the water, I went forward on the bearing of 30° W. of N. I soon fell in with the united channel of the river, and found in it abundant ponds of water, the direction of the course being as favourable as could be wished. From these ponds I perceived a clear hill to the westward, which I hastened to ascend, and from its summit I beheld some fine mountains to the northward, although an easterly wind and sea air brought a haze over them, which soon obscured some of my points. But I saw enough to relieve me of all anxiety at that time about the want of water. A promising valley from the mountains in the eastward, came due west, and from it arose the smoke of many natives' fires. Lines of other rivers, from other ranges, were partly visible beyond, until the haze obscured the outlines of mountains still more remote. The bright prospects of this morning were a pleasing contrast to the temporary difficulties of yesterday. Such is human life in travelling, and so it was in war at Salamanca this day thirty-four years back. We encamped after a short journey on the bank of the river. Latitude, 24° 46' 46". Thermometer, at sunrise, 49°, at noon, 74°; at 4 P.M., 73°; at 9, 64°. (LIV.) 23D JULY.--The water in the adjacent pond was trodden into mud, so that none remained for the horses and bullocks this morning. Accordingly, on arriving at a pond about two miles on, we gave water to all, that they might better bear the privation in the afternoon, should we not fortunately find more. The river had a singular tendency to spread into little channels within a belt of brigalow scrub. The little holes formed by these channels were almost all dry, while the withered state of the grass, and even of the forest trees, showed that rain had long been due, and we therefore hoped some would fall before our return. When we had travelled about twelve miles, keeping as close to the river line as the scrub would permit, and crossing one or two fine rising grounds covered with a very open forest, and consisting of large gravel, I found a pond, and encamped near it, on a plain of almost naked clay. Amongst the water- worn pebbles, of which the rising ground consisted, there were, besides the ingredients of the Barwan gravel, many of trap and basalt. Very old and dry grass only, could be had for the cattle. In the pond were small fishes of a different form from any we had seen, having a large forked tail, only two or three spikes in the dorsal fin, and a large jet-black eye within a broad silvery ring. Mr. Stephenson found three crabs, apparently identical with those about the inlets near Sydney. Latitude, 23° 37' 51". S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 46°; at noon, 73°; at 4 P.M. 80; at 9, 55°. (LV.) 24TH JULY.--The morning was overcast by heavy clouds, and the air was balmy and mild, reminding us of the spring season near Sydney. Lightning had been seen to the northward during the night. In following the little wayward channel downward, we met with much brigalow scrub, and crossed two apparently important tributaries. In one of them was a good large pond. We had some trouble with an ana-branch, resembling the main channel, which we had twice to cross at a distance of two miles. With the last tributaries, plains and an open forest country became neighbours to the river; and where we encamped beside it, no scrub was to be seen, and the water lay in a deep broad reach, nearly half a mile in length, with ducks upon it. Towards evening, the unwonted sound of thunder was heard in the west, reminding us, at this season of the year, that we were near the Tropic. In the same direction, two distant storms exhausted themselves, and most likely giving birth to young grass where they fell. During the night, much thunder was heard, and also early next morning, to the northward. Latitude, 23° 31' S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 56°; at noon, 75°; at 4, P.M., 82°; at 9, 66°. (LVI.) 25TH JULY.--There was no hill or other geographical feature near our route, whereby it might have been possible to mark there the limit of Tropical Australia. We were the first to enter the interior beyond that line. Three large kangaroos hopping across a small plain, were visible, just as we entered these regions of the sun. The air was extremely fragrant; the shrubs and grass being still moist with the thunder-shower. The course of the river continued favourable, and the country seemed to improve as we advanced, opening into plains skirted by scrubs of rosewood, and drooping shrubs whose verdure was most refreshing to the eye, after just having passed through dry and withered brigalow. At eight miles a large lagoon appeared on our left, on which we saw many ducks, and at nine miles we encamped where the grass seemed good, finding that water was at hand now, in the river bed, wherever we required it. Latitude, 23° 25' 26" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 45°; at noon, 77°; at 4 P.M., 85°; at 9, 53°. (LVII.) 26TH JULY.--The river appearing to pursue a W. N.W. course, I set out in that direction, attracted there, also, by some open plain separated by scrub from the river. We travelled on, a good many miles, when, instead of the firm clay, we found, under foot soft, red sand, and trees of the genus callitris growing in close thickets. I turned to the northward, and travelled many miles to the eastward of north, without seeing any indications of the river, whose general course had been previously straight. Scrubs of almost every description lay in our way. Brigalow, rosewood, casuarina, a thick light-green scrub of a close-growing bush, new to us, and some scrubs of the tree as yet undescribed for want of flowers or fruit, although well known to us as a graceful, and, indeed; useful bush; of which, as an impediment, we could not much complain; and useful, as forming excellent whip-shafts. This is the tree of unknown fruit figured in my former journal. At length, when it was growing late, I travelled eastward to make sure of the river, and, at length, regained its banks, where we found in its bed plenty of water. The surface looked bare, and the grass dry; but this day I discovered green shoots amongst it, evidently the product of recent rain, and indicating the approach of spring. On sandstone rocks, we found a plant which Sir William Hooker terms "a singular Euphorbiaceous (?) plant[*]," destitute of flower and fruit. Branches very thick, and they, as well as the long petioles and underside of the leaves clothed with dense white wool. Leaves a span long, cordato acuminate; the laminae all pointing downwards, glossy green and glabrous above. Also a new DODONOEA, with very narrow, linear, pinnated leaves. The only hills visible, from a tree ascended by Yuranigh, during this day's journey were those to the eastward, already seen. None appeared above the horizon in any other direction. Thermometer, at sunrise, 39°; at noon, 79°; at 4 P.M., 89°; at 9, 75°. (LVIII,) [* D. TENUIFOLIA (Lindl. MS.); glaberrima, viscosa, ramulis angulatis, foliis impari pinnatis: foliolis 3-5-jugis linearibus obtusis subalternis.] 27TH JULY.--The same characteristic, still distinguished our river; a variety of channels, so concatenated amongst brigalow scrub, much whereof lay dead, that it was scarcely possible to ascertain whether there was any main channel. Hitherto, I had not detected one; but this was of little consequence to us, so long as these ponds contained abundance of water. This we saw in many parts of our route this day; for I kept as close as possible to the river's course, to avoid such detours as that of yesterday, and being very anxious about the river's general direction, I was glad to find it turn somewhat westward of north. After travelling thus about nine miles, I perceived a blue pic nearly due north, which I named Mount Narrien; and Yuranigh saw from a tree, that there was a range in the same direction, but very distant. This seemed likely not only to send down some additional waters to our river, but also to turn it westward. Entering, soon after, upon a plain of good grass, I looked for water; and, on finding some, encamped after a journey of about eleven miles. Latitude, 23° 9'S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 43°; at noon, 83°; at 4 P.M., 90°; at 9, 53°. (LIX.) 28TH JULY.--The brigalow scrub, still a concomitant of our river, so hemmed in the patch of plain, that I was obliged to move out of it, in a southerly direction. Even thus, however, the scrub was not to be avoided, and we were obliged to force a way through, where the still more formidable impediment of much fallen timber, rendered it almost impossible that our vehicles could pass. This dead wood seemed peculiar to that sort of brigalow, and appeared to remain unburnt, chiefly from the usually naked surface of the ground where brigalow grows. I left the party, when brought almost to a stand, and sought for a more open part, by riding northward. This rather singular river seemed to have spread over a considerable extent of surface, and much of the brigalow, however fond of water, appeared to have died of too much, on spots which had been flooded. I traversed a plain, beyond which I found, what seemed there, the main chain of ponds or channel. There was a fine reach of water, and beside it, were the still smoking fires, water-vessels, etc., of a tribe of natives, who had disappeared. On the plain, the remains of decayed stumps of brigalow showed that there also, this tree had once grown, and that the openings were caused only by such trees perishing; as if, according to seasons, the half-dead scrub might either give place to open downs, or, that the plains might, by long succession of regular seasons, become again covered with scrub. I returned to the party halted in the scrub, and conducted it through an opening I had found, to the plain, and across it, in a N.W. direction; where, after passing through some open forest, we had again to contend with brigalow. One of the many dry channels assisted us much in seeking openings, as the bottom then consisted of smooth, firm, clay. A pond, however, obliged us to quit it, and seek our way through the wood. We arrived next at slightly undulating ground, and finally entered an open forest, where I saw the LORANTHUS SUBFALCATUS of Sir William Hooker. I made Yuranigh climb a tree, from whence he again saw the pic seen yesterday, (the bearing of which I ascertained), and also a gap appeared in the range beside it, through which, as he thought, a river was likely to come down. The extreme westerly escarp of these hills bore 17° E. of N., so that nothing was likely to impede the continued course of our friendly river in the direction we wished. The scrub we met with on the rising ground, consisted of the verdant bushes in rosewood scrubs, and we next found brigalow all dead, with a rich crop of grass growing amongst the dead stems. I had never seen grass, amongst brigalow, when in a healthy state. On turning northward, we next entered upon an open plain covered with good grass mixed with verdant polygonum. I selected a corner of this plain, nearest to the river, for my camp; and, on approaching its bed, found water as usual, near some old huts of the natives. Latitude, 23° 5' 20" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 44°; at noon, 82°; at 4 P.M., 88°; at 9, 58°. (XL.) 29TH JULY.--The scrub between our camp and the river, admitted of easy access from it to open forest ground, over which we travelled in a N.W. direction for several miles. Belts of scrub, consisting of rosewood and other acacias intervened, and, in some parts, TRIODIA PUNGENS grew in the place of grass. But, upon the whole, the country was fine, open, park- like, and with much anthistiria, and other grasses in which a greenness was observed quite novel to us, and unexpected in these tropical regions. Amongst the shrubs, we recognised the CASSIA HETEROLOBA, a small yellow- flowered shrub; also a glutinous Baccharislike plant, and a form of Eremophila Mitchellii, intermediate between the two other varieties. This was a shrub ten feet high. Another new species of the genus GEIJERA formed a tree twenty feet high, with long slender weeping branches. It was otherwise much like the GEIJERA PARVIFLORA, except that its flowers were larger.[*] A dwarf shrub belonging to the genus STENOCHILUS, but new, was found here[**]; and we met also with a large spreading tree, from which we could bring away nothing that would enable botanists to describe it, except as to the texture and nervation of the leaves, which, Sir William Hooker observes, resemble CAPPARIDEOE; but the fruit appeared to be sessile, and was too young and too imperfect to lead to any satisfactory conclusion. The very crows cawed differently from those near Sydney, or, (as Yuranigh observed) "talked another language." This river was not the least unique of our recent discoveries. It still consisted of a great breadth of concatenated hollows without any one continuous channel, and this character seemed to be preserved by various trees growing in the banks. When their large roots became denuded by the floods, or were washed out, or partially gave way, so that the tree fell over the stream, they presented impediments, first to the floating-wreck, and, next, to the water itself: when that collection of floating wreck became consolidated with muddy deposit, new banks so formed forced the river into new currents, working out new courses; and this appeared to give the peculiar character so uniformly observed. It seems extremely favourable for the retention of water in a country where it may be scarce; for the many ponds so formed and shaded from the sun, preserve it much better and longer, than if one continuous unobstructed channel alone, received and carried off, the water of the surface. I found the hollows we saw this day drier than usual; but we at length succeeded in discovering three good ponds. The foliage of the trees, with dry and naked water-worn roots, presented all the hues of an English autumn, although none of these were deciduous. This effect I was disposed to attribute to unseasonable drought, or past heat. The weather we had was delightful; for, although the thermometer in the shade rose sometimes to 90° about 4 P.M., the heat of the Bogan was still fresh in our recollection; and the frosts which, not above three weeks before, had disturbed our sleep, made this degree of heat as welcome as the flowers in May. Latitude, 22° 55' 35" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 38°; at noon, 80°; at 4 P.M., 85°; at 9, 51°. (LXI.) [* G. PENDULA (Lindl. MS.); ramis gracilibus pendulis, foliis linearibus in petiolum sensim angustatis 5 uncias longis cum ramo parallelis.] [** S. SALICINUS (Benth. MS.); foliis lanceolato-linearibus integerrimis apice subuncinato ramulisque canescentibus, calycis foliolis brevibus lanceolatis, corollae puberulae inferne attenuatae laciniis obtusis infimâ retusâ vix caeteris magis solutâ.--Very near S. PUBIFLORUS, but much whiter, the flowers smaller with the lobes much more equal, the lower one much broader.] 30TH JULY.--The scrub of the river being likely to surround us, I endeavoured to pass it, and cross the river, but on examination I found the brigalow belt beyond, so serious an obstruction, that I adhered to the left bank still, and proceeded N. N. W. The woods opened into extensive plains covered with wild Indigo, as high as a horse's head, and that was skirted by a plain covered with rich grass. Beyond these, we entered an open forest where the anthistiria grew luxuriantly. I saw, from the skirts of the plain, the mass of mountains partly seen in the east for several days past, and I was able to intersect various points. We seemed to be descending to a very low country. A fine large lagoon, covered with ducks, appeared on our right. The whole country was improved both as to grass and trees. The MYOPORUM DULCE, a shrub about five feet high, was perhaps a distinct species intermediate between M. DULCE and M. DESERTI. It had the habit of the latter, but the leaves nearly of M. DULCE. A hollow at length indicated the river bed near us. It contained abundance of transparent water, a continuous channel, rocky bed, and, instead of brigalow, there grew on its banks a thick crop of strong grass, and much verdure. A tributary from the west cost us some trouble to cross, and soon after crossing it, I encamped. The course this day had run well to the westward. We had crossed the 147° of E. longitude, and I was very anxious to learn more of the further course of this river. I crossed it, and hastened to some rising ground, whence I perceived a flat-topped cliffy range extending from S. W. to the N. of west. It was low; the middle part, appearing highest, was probably the nearest to our camp. It was likely to turn our river too far to the northward for our purpose. Latitude, 22° 51' 55". Thermometer, at sunrise, 54°; at noon, 82°; at 4 P.M., 83°; at 9, 45°. (LXII.) 31ST JULY.--We travelled over a rather different sort of country from that recently seen upon the river. It was still on our right, and ran in a deep, well-marked channel. I pursued a N.W. course, although the range I had seen yesterday lay across it. I thus came upon the bed of a large river from the south, very near where our little river joined it. This new river was there fully 100 yards broad, with a sandy bed. I hastened across it, and proceeded still N.W. In the bed, just above the junction of the two rivers, I found a large podded pea, the seed both in green pods and dry pods, was very sweet and edible. The pods were larger than those of Turkey beans, and contained each ten or eleven peas (Dr. L.?) Beyond the last found river, we travelled over open forest land, occasionally passing patches of rosewood scrub on the left. When we might again see water was rather a desperate thought, for we had witnessed our abundant little river, wholly absorbed in a deep mass of dry sand, for such was the bed of the larger. At length we came upon a very spacious dry lagoon. Following this, as it appeared to be the channel of large floods from the river, we arrived at a part containing water, and, still continuing along the hard dry bank, another and another pond appeared, and I finally encamped near the last, where I saw some good grass. The course and character of the river below the junction last mentioned, remained to be ascertained. Parts of the surface in the scrub, which, before the rain, had been quite bare, now presented a crop of lichen, which bore some resemblance to the orchilla. It might have been gathered in any quantity. The ant-hills in this region, presented a different form from any to be seen in the south, consisting of slender cones of hard clay about the size and shape of sugar-loaves on an average, many being larger, or as much as 3½ feet high, others smaller. In some places they were so numerous, as to be rather inconvenient to ride amongst, especially where the grass was long. Latitude of this camp, 22° 44' 45". Thermometer, at sunrise, 52°; at noon, 70°; at 4 P.M., 69°; at 9, 43°. (LXIII.) 1ST AUGUST.--Supposing that this line of lagoons led to the river, I followed that direction westward, until it disappeared where we came upon the water brigalow. Then, turning northward, I travelled many miles in that direction, through rosewood scrubs, and over ground where the very coarse hard grass grew on red sand. The callitris and casuarina appeared amongst the trees. On a spot rather clear of wood, Yuranigh went to the top of a callitris tree, and saw a lofty mountain somewhat to the eastward of north, and he thought he could trace the trees marking the course of the river to the westward of it. Further westward, the low range already mentioned, was still visible, and he saw that the country between the two ranges was very "deep," as he termed it, meaning very low. Upon the whole, there was reason to believe that the river pursued a course, somewhat to the westward of north. I turned in that direction, and forced our way through scrub and brush, until, after cutting through much fallen brigalow, I entered upon good grassy land, and saw the large Yarra trees before me. These grew by the river, which here looked very important, having a bed wider than that of the Barwan, with sloping grassy banks at least sixty feet high, and Yarra trees growing from the lower margin. Continuing along its banks, we soon found various large ponds of water, and in the short course of it we had to trace before we encamped, the direction was S. W. Many curious plants and trees now appeared about the banks. A rough-leaved fig tree with well-formed woolly, globular fruit; an ALTERANTHERA, with very large balls of satiny white flowers, resembling A. NODIFLORA; the ACACIA FARNESIANA, a prickly tree; the narrow-leaved smooth variety of ACACIA HOLOSERICEA; and in the bed of the river, the ACACIA SIMSII (Cunn.) A broad-leaved form of LORANTHUS NUTANS was parasitical on trees, and the EURYBIA SUBSPICATA of Sir W. Hooker also grew on the upper bank. A very extraordinary CAPPARIS was here observed in fruit. Its leaves were as much as eight inches long, although not more than three quarters of an inch wide, and their hard leathery texture gave them the appearance of straps. It did not afterwards occur.[*] The water in the river was excellent. Thermometer, at sunrise, 23°; at noon, 65°; at 4 P.M., 69°; at 9, 44°. Latitude, 22° 38' 40". (LXIV.) [* C. UMBONATA (Lindl. MSS.); inermis, glaberrima, foliis coriaceis longissimis loratis obtusis in petiolum sensim angustatis, pedunculis solitariis (2 poll.) stipite brevioribus, fructu ovoideo umbonato.] 2D AUGUST.--We had approached this fine river over a park-like plain, but lower down we found the banks lined with scrub. I pursued a N.W. course in passing through it, and emerged on plains and open forests alternating with scrubs. The scrubs were remarkable, as always involving dry hollows where water had lodged. The clay was then hard; but, in all these hollows, the deep impressions of naked feet of men, women, and children, remained since the bottom had consisted of mud. These numerous receptacles for water, when it is sent, attest the wisdom with which even the clods of the valley have been disposed for the benefit of the animal world. The day's journey was long, and chiefly through that sort of scrub. I was disappointed in my hope of falling in with the river, by travelling N.W. Yuranigh descried from a tree, the continuation, far to the westward, of the low range that had been already seen from a former camp. Its direction had then appeared to be nearly N. and S. The turn the river had taken westward was, therefore, favourable to my hopes, that it would continue in that direction. Its general course was found to be nearly northward. On the other hand, the high ranges in the E. seemed to terminate abruptly towards the N., so that a very low country appeared to be to the northward of our position then, stretching from 40° N. of W. to 40° E. of N., a full quarter circle which the course of the river almost bisected. After travelling twelve miles without seeing any thing of the river, I reluctantly turned N.E., and then E., and in the last-mentioned direction, I hit the river where it contained a fine reach of water. In the dry part of the bed, grew various curious plants in flower, all quite new to me; a species closely allied to the ACACIA DELIBERATA (Cunn.), and a very fine silky leaved TRICHODESMA.[*] A new VELLEYA was also found near this camp.[**] In the scrubs back from the river, the STENOCHILUS CURVIPES was loaded with its long tubular flowers. A small species of Acacia was perhaps a variety of A. LEUCADENDRON Cunn.; and we found also a curious scrubby species of JACKSONIA.[***] Latitude, 22° 30' 10" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 29°; at noon, 61°; at 4 P.M., 69°; at 9, 40°. (LXV.) [* T. SERICEUM (Lindl. MSS.); caule erecto sericeo setis nullis, foliis oppositis lineari-lanceolatis basi angustatis sericeopilosis, pedicellis pilosis lateralibus longis, calycis lobis lanceolatis pubescentibus basi pilosis, nucis dorso polito maculato.--Near T. ZEYLANICUM, but quite distinct.] [** V. MACROCALYX (De Vriese MSS.); foliis omnibus radicalibus, oblongospathulatis acutis, integris, membranaceis, remote, minute et obsolete dentatis, uninerviis, glabris, subdecurrentibus, glabris; scapis radicalibus elongatis, folia vix exaequantibus; bracteis dichotomiarum vel trichotomiarum binis ternisve lanceolatis acutis vel lineari- lanceolatis, floribus 2-3nis; calycibus (involucris) ternis, magnis, membranaceis, ovatis, ellipticisque, acuminatis, basi cordatis, petiolatisque; antherae liberae, stigmatis indusium maximum ciliatum, labiis compressis, cochleariforme.--Folia sunt 6-12 cent. longa, 3 cent. lata, crassinervia; scapi adscendentes, inferne tenuiores, sursum parum elongati.] [*** J. RAMOSISSIMA (Benth. MSS.) inermis, ramis angulatis ramosissimis glabriusculis, floribus subsessilibus, calycis colorati profunde divisi laciniis duabus supremis diù vel omnino cohaerentibus, legumine subsessili ovato-acuto ventricoso.] 3D AUGUST.--Our carts had been so much jolted about and shaken, in crossing the dead timber yesterday, that I resolved to keep along the river bank this day, if the ground and woods permitted. To a certain distance from the banks, there was less fallen timber, as the natives had been accustomed there to make their fires, and roast the mussles of the river, and other food. The river was found to spread into separate channels, in which I did not readily recognise it, until I found them again united in a splendid reach of water under steep banks. The general course was by no means promising, being somewhat to the E. of N.; it was much to be apprehended that this river, too, would run to the E. coast, and become another instance of the utter want of any knowledge of the interior country, that still may prevail, long after complete surveys have been made of the lines of coast. Again we came upon wide fields of polygonum, and tracks of open forest with large lagoons. Then scrubs of brigalow obliged us to travel in the river bed, as the only open part where we could pass. That surface consisted of clay iron-stone, denuded by torrents, and the "DISJECTA MEMBRA," of a river. Ponds, water-worn banks, and timber, alive and dead, were there intermixed. Emerging from these obstructions, as from a feverish dream, we entered upon park-like scenery and good grass. The latter had been a desideratum during the last two days. We next came upon a river containing plenty of water, and coming from the N.W. I expected this would terminate our journey along the other, and I encamped on discovering it, after a journey of ten miles. The Australian rivers have all distinguishing characteristics, which they seem to possess from their sources to their termination. That we had just quitted, had a great affection, like its upper tributary, for brigalow scrubs, and spreading into ana-branches. This last discovered river seemed quite the reverse of all this. Its channel was very uniform; the banks being covered with open forests and good grass. The bed was sandy, but contained water in abundance, so that I hoped it would lead us to higher regions, by following it upwards, to where other waters might fall in the direction of the Gulf. This river contained the Harlequin fish of the Maranin great abundance. Yet we had found none of these in the river to which this was a tributary, but, on the contrary, two other sorts. There was much novelty in the trees and plants. One tree in particular, growing in the bed of the river, had the thin white shining bark of the tea-tree (mimosa), and drooping leaves shaped like those of the eucalyptus; a HIBISCUS allied to, if not the same, with II. LINDLEYI, but not in flower; a CASSIA, perhaps C. CORONILLOIDES in ripe fruit, or at least closely allied to it, occupied the dry sandy ground with MONENTELES REDOLENS, a silveryheaded weed; and some Cinchonad allied to Coffea, with young fruit, the size of small olives. Latitude, 22° 23' 10". Thermometer, at sunrise, 21°; at noon, 59°; at 4 P.M., 64°; at 9, 37°; with wet bulb, 28°. (LXVI.) 4TH AUGUST.--We had still so much westing to make, in order to hit the head of the Gulf, that I was disposed to follow up the new river in any direction that did not take us much to the S. The river, however, was soon found to come from the S.W. and S., so that I was obliged to cross it. I then travelled W. through open forest three miles, which brought us to undulating ground. I then turned to the W.N.W., and proceeded over ground equally open and favourable for the passage of our carts. At length, a hard ferruginous conglomerate rock, projected from the surface, and clumps of thick brigalow grew on some of the summits. On one piece of rising ground, I found a mass of rocks, a few feet higher than the rest, and from it I perceived a continuation of the slightly elevated flattopped range, to the southward and westward. A somewhat higher but similar sort of range appeared in the east, beyond a very broad and level woody country, through which it was probable that our first-found river still pursued a northerly course. Beyond that flat, and further to the eastward, the same hills already seen were still visible, and others northward of them, just like them. There was a high summit beyond all these bearing about E. I could not discover any satisfactory line to follow in the country thus partially visible, and as the sun was near the horizon, I only continued, to go forward to a valley wherein I hoped to have found water, but was disappointed, the soil being too sandy and absorbent. There we nevertheless encamped, in Lat. 22° 19' 45" S. On this day's journey, I saw two of the rose-coloured paroqueets of the Barwan, none of these birds having been seen by any of the party since we crossed the Culgoa. A fragrant stenochilus, with leaves smelling exactly like mint, was found this day, and a splendid banksia in flower, also a new MELALEUCA.[*] Thermometer, at sunrise, 23°; at noon, 58°; at 4 P.M., 63°; at 9, 29°; with wet bulb, 18°. [* M. TAMARISCINA (Hook. MSS.); ramosissima ramulis gracillimis copiose excavatis e foliis delapsis, foliis rameis remotis parvis ovatis acuminatis appressis, ramulinis minutissimis squamaeformibus convexis obtusis imbricatis immersis, capsulis circa ramos spicatis parvis globosis.--A very singular MELALEUCA, somewhat allied to M. HUGELII, Endl.: but extremely different in the very minute squamiform leaves of the copious slender branchlets, from which they fall and leave the bleached slender branchlets full of little pits or cavities in which the leaves had been, as it were, sunk.] 5TH AUGUST.--The last-found river not having answered my expectations, we had come quite far enough from the one we had previously followed, which still might have turned N.W., where we wished it to go; although I confess the prospect was by no means promising. The doubt was still to be removed, and, after a night passed without water, the earliest dawn saw us again going forward, in a direction a little to the eastward of N. It was only after pursuing that line for seventeen miles, that we again found the river, unchanged in character, and still running northerly. This was a trying day for our animals, as they could not be watered until long after it was dark; a brigalow scrub, full of much fallen timber, having retarded and impeded the carts so that they could not be got to the water sooner. Nor had this been possible, even then, but for the fortunate circumstance of our having the light of a nearly full moon. I had preceded the party by some miles, accompanied by Yuranigh, the rest following my horse's tracks, and I had thus passed through the four miles of scrub, and reached the river early in the day. On returning, we found the party in the midst of this scrub, and succeeded in guiding it, even by moonlight, to the pond at which we had watered our horses during the day. Many dry hollows of indurated mud appeared, as usual, in the brigalow we had passed through; and we endeavoured to lead the carts, as much as possible, through these hollows, in order to avoid the dead logs, many of which we were obliged to cut, before the carts could pass. Many deep impressions of natives' feet appeared in these clay hollows; also the tracks of emus. Yuranigh showed me several tracks where a native had been following a kangeroo's track; and he told me of a certain method adopted by the natives of killing the kangeroo during wet weather,--which is, to pursue the track, following it up day after day, until they overtake the animal, which, on being so incessantly followed, becomes at length so defenceless, that one native can despatch it with a tomahawk. According to the barometer, it appeared that this river was not now much higher above the level of the sea, than the Bogan or the Balonne. Still it spread into many channels and isolated ponds; the latter being sometimes in good grassy land, apart from the brigalow. Nothing could be more sterile than the surface where the brigalow grew; but the first indication of the river was an open space covered with luxuriant grass, and we had to ride two miles along this, before Yuranigh and I could find the river, having been guided to it chiefly by some smoke of the natives. At the first place we approached, we found two ponds of excellent water, under the shining boughs of lofty Yarra trees. Latitude, 22° 10' 15" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 39°; at noon, 64°; at 4 P.M., 61°; at 9, 36°;-- with wet bulb, 28°. (LXVII.) 6TH AUGUST.--I gave the jaded cattle a day's rest, and the men thus had an opportunity to screw up and repair their carts. 7TH AUGUST.--The brigalow scrub obliged me this day to travel along the river banks, upon which I found it pleasant to go, as they proved open and grassy. Large lagoons and reaches of water appeared in the scattered channels. At length, a deep broad reach, brim full of pure water, glittered before us. Clouds of large ducks arose from it, and larger water-fowl shrieked over our heads. A deep receding opening appeared to the northeast, as if our river had been either breaking off in that direction, or met with some important tributary from that side. I continued to travel northwest, passing through some fine open forests. The character of the country seemed changed. The grass was of a different kind, and a refreshing breeze from the north-east seemed to "smell of water," as Yuranigh expressed it. The dense line of Yarra trees appeared still to be continuous on the right, and the more I travelled westward, the more I was convinced that we still had the river at hand. We did at length approach its banks after a journey of ten miles, when we found this was a river FROM the west appearing fully as deep and important as the one we had been following, and containing ponds of water. This new tributary from the west, left no room to hope that the channel we had been pursuing would turn westward--on the contrary, it became but too probable that below the junction of this river, the channel would turn towards the N. E. It could not well be doubted that this went to the eastern coast; but, to remove all doubt, as Yuranigh was of a different opinion, I sent Corporal Graham with him up the newly-found river, to ascertain whether it did not come from the north-west, in which case we could not expect that the other it joined would go in that direction. Their report on returning, only rendered it necessary that I should take a ride forward next morning. They said this river came from the S. W., and at two miles higher, had a very narrow channel. Lower down, it was found to join the main channel, which, below the junction, still continued northward. There, we found a beautiful new Grevillea.[*] The STENOCHILUS PUBIFLORUS formed a willow-leaved shrub about twelve feet high, and in the sandy bed of the river was an EUPHORBIA very near E. HYPERICIFOLIA, but with narrower leaves, and the ovary pubescent not glabrous. The DODONOEA VESTITA, with its hairy foliage and large shaggy fruits, clothed the sandstone surface back from the river.[**] Latitude, 22° 2' 15" S. Thermometer, at sunrise, 30°; at noon, 78°; at 4 P.M., 77°; at 9, 55°;--with wet bulb 49°. (LXVIII). [* G. MITCHELLI (Hook. MSS.); appresso-subsericesa, foliis pinnatifidis bipinnatifidisque, laciniis angustissime linearibus elongatis marginibus arcte reflexis subtus concoloribus, racemis elongatis secundis densifloris, floribus subverticillatis, perianthiis pedicellisque tomentosis, folliculis oblique ovatis tomentosis sessilibus, stylis glabris.--Allied to G. CHRYSODENDRON, Br., but the segments of the leaves are narrower, not golden-coloured beneath: the flowers are entirely secund: a splendid species.] [** D. VESTITA (Hook. MSS.); tota densissimè pilosa, foliis pinnatis pinnis oppositis 4--5-jugis cuneatis apice lunulato-emarginatis vel incisis, rachi articulatâ articulis obovatis, capsulis profundis tetrapteris villosissimis.] 8TH AUGUST.--With two men and Yuranigh, I proceeded first, northward by compass, for some miles, when I emerged from scrub, upon fine open downs covered with a crop of excellent grass. The soil was soft and rich, the grass PANICUM LOEVINODE. Small clumps of Acacias were strewed over these downs, which were very extensive, and from them I saw several rather high hills to the eastward, terminating abruptly over a low country to the northward. Supposing that the main channel would there turn round to the eastward, I proceeded north-west to examine the country. I soon entered a thick scrub of rosewood and other Acacias. I remarked the CALLISTEMON NERVOSUM, previously seen (July) with rich crimson flowers, forming a large tree, in the dry open forest, with perfectly green spikes; also, on the branches of Eucalypti, a beautiful orange coloured LORANTH. The soil was rich, yielding, and rather bare of vegetation. Nodules of variegated limestone, or marble, appeared on the surface, showing that the improvement in the soil was owing to a change in the rocks under it. Again emerging on open plains, the country seemed to fall northward, which induced me to ride again in that direction, thinking we might meet with some river either coming from the N. W. or leading there. The open plains terminated upon a hollow full of trees, growing, as was very evident, on a lower surface. The hollows resembled those of brigalow scrub, and we soon found this tree in full possession of them. Dry channels, leading in various directions between N. W. and E. engaged my attention throughout the afternoon: indeed, they seemed interminable. At length, we detected some continuity in the hollows, leading towards the N.N.E. Yarra trees at length appeared in it, abundance of grass on the banks, and deep dry ponds. Two crows hovering over one, raised our hopes that it contained water, as we also perceived a line of green vegetation over the margin. It was deep and full of water. Here, about 4 P. M., we were thus enabled to water our horses, and continue our ride independently of finding more water that evening. We next perceived an open forest hill on our right; but, on examining the country from it, we saw no immediate indications of the river. On reentering the brigalow scrub, the continuity of ponds was very indistinct, and I at length lost it, as it seemed, on its turning off to the eastward, a direction in which I was unwilling to follow it at that time. I threaded the mazes of another chain of hollows, which turned in various directions between N. W. and 20° N. of E., the latter being the general course. During this unsatisfactory sort of exploration, night overtook us, where the dry and naked clay presented neither grass nor water. Our horses had come thirty miles, and it was only after considerable search, in the dark, that I found a grassy spot for our horses, and where we tied them up, and lay down to pass the night. 9TH AUGUST.--We saddled them as soon as day broke, and proceeded again into the scrub; but the hollows took no longer any continuous channel, and I again travelled N. W., in which direction I entered upon a plain. Thence I perceived a low flat, and a line of trees beyond it, very much resembling those of a river, and towards this I hastened, and found the river we had followed so far, unchanged in character. The scattered ponds, and nearly northerly course, were legible proofs of its identity. We watered our horses and took some breakfast, after which, while engaged laying down our route, one of the men observed some natives looking at us from a point of the opposite bank. I held up a green bough to one who stood forward in a rather menacing attitude, and who instantly replied to my signal of peace by holding up his bommareng. It was a brief but intelligible interview; no words could have been better understood on both sides; and I had fortunately determined, before we saw these natives, to return by tracing the river upwards. Our horses had been turned loose, the better to allow them to make the most of their time while we breakfasted. Graham got them together while I was telegraphing with the natives, some of whom I perceived filling some vessel with water, with which they retired into the woods. We saddled, and advanced to examine their track and the spot they had quitted, also that they might afterwards see our horses' tracks there, lest our green bough and subsequent return might have encouraged them to follow us. Yuranigh was burning the mutton bones we had picked; but I directed him to throw them about, that the natives might see that we neither eat their kangaroos nor emus. I found the course of the river very straight, but rather more than it had been, to the eastward of north. In some parts of the channel, lay deep reaches of water, fully a mile long; at other places, shallow hollows quite dry, seemed to be the only channel for the river's currents. We avoided brigalow scrubs, and passed the night on a grassy part of the bank, about ten miles back from the farthest point we had reached that morning. 10TH AUGUST.--Early in the morning a moist breeze blew from the north, with low scud not very high above the trees. Higher clouds drove as rapidly from the westward. The extremely moist air was a great novelty to us there. About 9 A.M., the sky was wholly overcast; but it finally cleared up, and the day was cool. We reached the camp about 3 P.M., having hit the river on which it was situated, two miles lower. There I found, to my surprise, that its channel was very deep and full of water, being broader than that of the main river. I was, therefore, inclined to explore its sources by proceeding upwards next day, as the direction of the northerly stream, did not promise much. The camp had just been visited by seventeen natives, apparently bent on hostile purposes, all very strong, several of them upwards of six feet high. Each of them carried three or four missile clubs. They were headed by an old man, and a gigantic sort of bully, who would not keep his hands off our carts. They said, by signs, that the whole country belonged to the old man. They pointed in the direction in which I had gone, and to where Mr. Stephenson happened to be at the time, down in the river bed; and then beckoned to the party that they also should follow or go where I had gone, or leave that place. They were received very firmly, but civilly and patiently, by the men, and were requested to sit down at a distance, my man Brown, being very desirous that I should return before they departed; thinking the old man might have given me some information about the river, which he called "Belyando." But a noisy altercation seemed to arise between the old chief and the tallest man, about the clubs, during which the latter again came forward, and beckoned to others behind, who came close up also. Each carried a club under each arm, and another in each hand, and from the gestures made to this advanced party, by the rest of the tribe of young men at a distance, it appeared that this was intended to be a hostile movement. Brown accordingly drew out the men in line before the tents, with their arms in their hands, and forbade the natives to approach the tents. "Nothing damps the ardour of troops so much," says General Lloyd, "as an unexpected obstacle at the moment of attack," and these strong men stood still and looked foolish, when they saw the five men in line, with incomprehensible weapons in their hands. Just then, our three dogs ran at them, and no charge of cavalry ever succeeded better. They all took to their heels, greatly laughed at, even by the rest of their tribe; and the only casualty befell the shepherd's dog, which biting at the legs of a native running away, he turned round, and hit the dog so cleverly with his missile on the rump, that it was dangerously ill for months after; the native having again, with great dexterity, picked up his club. The whole of them then disappeared, shouting through the woods to their gins. It was remarkable that on seeing the horses, they exclaimed "Yerraman," the colonial natives' name for a horse, and that of these animals they were not at all afraid, whereas they seemed in much dread of the bullocks. That these natives were fully determined to attack the white strangers, seems to admit of no doubt, and the result is but another of the many instances that might be adduced, that an open fight, without treachery, would be contrary to their habits and disposition. That they did not, on any occasion, way-lay me or the doctor, when detached from the body of the party, may perhaps, with equal truth, be set down as a favourable trait in the character of the aborigines; for whenever they visited my camp, it was during my absence, when they knew I was absent, and of course must have known where I was to be found. The old man had very intelligibly pointed out to Brown the direction in which this river came, I. E. from the S. W., and I therefore abandoned the intention of exploring it upwards, and determined to examine how it joined, and what the character of the river might be, about and below that junction, in hopes I might still obtain an interview with the natives, and learn something of the country to the north-west. Thermometer, at sunrise, 59°; at noon, 82°; at 4 P.M., 81°; at 9, 62°;-- with wet bulb, 59°. 11TH AUGUST.--Crossing this river at a favourable spot near our camp, we travelled on, eleven miles, and encamped early, on a fine reach of the main river. Here I had leisure to lay down my late ride on paper, and to connect it with the map; whereupon I concluded, with much regret, that this river must be either a tributary to, or identical with, that which M. Leichardt saw joining the Suttor in latitude 21° 6' S., and which he supposed to come from the west. It had supplied me with water across three degrees of latitude, and had gradually altered its course from N.W. to about 30° E. of N. In my ride I had traced it to 21° 30' of latitude south, and no high land had appeared, as I expected, to the northward, at all likely to turn its course towards the west. I found the height of its bed, moreover, to be so little above the sea (not much more than 600 feet), that I could no longer doubt that the division between eastern and western waters was still to the westward; and I arrived at the following conclusions:-- 1st. That the river of Carpentaria should have been sought for to the westward of all the sources of the river Salvator. 2nd. That the deepest indentation as yet discovered of the division of the waters, was at the sources of that river, and corresponded with the greatest elevation indicated by the barometer (about 2500 feet); and, 3dly. That there, I. E. under the parallel of 25° S., the highest spinal range must extend westward, in a line of truncated cones, whereof Mount Faraday appeared to be one. I accordingly determined to retrace our wheel-tracks back to the head of the Salvator, and to explore from thence the country to the north-west, as far as our stock of provisions and the season would permit. I had marked my camps by Roman letters cut deep in sound trees, and at this, I left the number LXIX. cut under the initials of the colony, N.S.W.; this being the number marked from the Culgoa. We had, at least, laid out a good carriage road from the colony to a river in M. Leichardt's route; which road, as far as we had marked it with our wheels, led through pastoral regions of much greater extent than all the colonists now occupied. At this farthest point traced by our wheels within the Tropics, the plants were still known to botanists, but with some interesting exceptions. We here found the CASSIA HETEROLOBA in flower; also the burr plant, CALOTIS CUNEIFOLIA of Brown; the PITTOSPORUM LANCEOLATUM of A. Cunningham, a shrub with yellow flowers and narrow willowy leaves; and the beautiful laurel-leaved GEIGERA LATIFOLIA was still conspicuous among the forest trees. But here also we found a very fine new species of STENOCHILUS[*], a new pine-leaved DODONOEA, allied to the D. PINIFOLIA of Swan River[**], and a most singular hard-leaved shrub, with spiny foliage resembling five pointed stars, proved to be a new species of LABICHEA.[***] Thermometer, at sunrise, 36°; at noon, 71°; at 4 P.M., 70°; at 9, 35°;--with wet bulb, 30°. [* S. PUBIFLORUS (Benth. MS.) foliis lanceolato-linearibus elongatis integerrimis apice subuncinato novellis ramulisque tomentellis mox glabratis, calycis foliolis lanceolatis, corollae pubescentis inferne attenuatae laciniis oblatis infima breviter soluta.--This agrees pretty well with Brown's short diagnosis of S. LONGIFOLIUS, as well as with Cunningham's specimens so named; but those have no corolla, which Brown also had not seen, and his is a south coast plant. (Another new species with leaves like this, but very different flowers, was gathered by Sir T. Mitchell in his former expedition.)] [** D. ACEROSA (Lindl. MS.); foliis tenuibus acerosis subfalcatis glandulosis, corymbis axillaribus paucifloris folio brevioribus, capsulis tetrapteris alis apice rotundatis.] [*** L. DIGITATA (Benth. MS.) ramulis tomentellis, foliis subsessili bus, foliolis 3-5-digitatis lineari-oblongis spinoso-mucronatis coriaceis reticulatis terminali caeteris vix majore, antheris parum inaequalibus conformibus.] 12TH AUGUST.--I reluctantly ordered my men, (who believed themselves on the high-way to Carpentaria,) to turn the horses' heads homewards, merely saying that we were obliged to explore from a higher point. The track already marked out by our party advancing, was so much easier for the draught animals, as requiring less driving, that they arrived at an early hour again at the river they formerly crossed, and travelled with ease three and a half miles further back to a lagoon, on the banks of which the grass was good, and where we therefore now encamped. The track of the large feet of the natives showed they had followed us this morning, from our camp of yesterday; and a fragment of burning wood they had dropped, showed that they had this day met us in the scrub as we returned, and had gone out of our way. Even to the lagoon, their track along our route was also plainly visible. I was now, apparently to them, at their request, leaving the country; and we should soon see if their purpose in visiting our camp was an honest one, and whether their reasonable and fair demand, was really all they contemplated on that occasion. Thermometer, at sunrise, 37°; at noon, 70°; at 4 P.M., 71°; at 9, 65°. 13TH AUGUST.--We continued back, along the old track, to beyond Camp LXVII. I then took the direction of the camp two stages back, in order to avoid the great detour formerly pursued; the camp without water, and the thick brigalow. All these we successfully avoided, passing over fine open forest land, and encountering no brigalow. We found the river on our left when we required it, and encamped on a plain near the water, and distant only a few miles from the camp two journies back from LXVII. I was guided by the bearing of 10° E. of N. We found much of the grass on fire, and heard the natives' voices although we saw none. We crossed some patches of dry swamp where the clods had been very extensively turned up by the natives, but for what purpose Yuranigh could not form any conjecture. These clods were so very large and hard that we were obliged to throw them aside, and clear a way for the carts to pass. The whole resembled ground broken up by the hoe, the naked surface having been previously so cracked by drought as to render this upturning possible without a hoe. There might be about two acres in the patch we crossed, and we perceived at a distance, other portions of the ground in a similar state. The river had, where we made it, a deep wellmarked channel, with abundance of clear water in it, and firm accessible banks. It was still, however, enveloped in a narrow belt of brigalow. The shepherd having most imprudently taken the sheep to water when it was near sunset, lost his way in the scrub, and could not be found all night. Some thought he had fallen into the hands of the aborigines who were closely watching us; and it was obvious that had they got possession of our sheep, they could have annoyed us very seriously, or indeed, destroyed the whole party. The night was very dark, the sky having been overcast. Thermometer, at sunrise, 56°; at noon, 61°; at 4 P.M., 60; at 9, 60. 14TH AUGUST.--Drizzling rain this morning with an easterly wind, and high barometer, reminded me of the coast rains of Sydney. At dawn, I sent Yuranigh with one of the men, both being mounted, in search of the shepherd, and they returned with him and the sheep about 8 A. M. He had been found in full march to the eastward, where he never could have fallen in with the party. His track, circling in all directions, had soon been come upon by Yuranigh in the scrub. We then proceeded, and still found a way clear of brigalow, which, once or twice during the day, seemed almost to surround us. At about seven miles from where we had encamped, we crossed the first discovered tributary from the S. W., and at a mile further on, we fell in with our old track, travelled two miles more along it, and then encamped beside a fine reach of the river. The drizzling rain continued, and I hoped the ponds at the higher range, towards which we were returning, might be replenished by still heavier rain. An unpleasant smell prevailed every where this day, resembling that from a kitchen sewer or sink. Whether it arose from the earth, or from decayed vegetable matter upon it, I could not form any opinion; but it was certainly very different from the fragrance produced by a shower in other parts of New South Wales, even when it falls only on sunburnt grass. It was equally new and unaccountable to Yuranigh. Two proteads, probably GREVILLEAS, were found here.[*] [* The one with singularly thick, firm, and rigid leaves, a foot long, linear attenuated at each extremity, pubescenti-sericeous, striated: the other with white acerose leaves pinnated in two pairs. Both were large forest trees, neither in flower nor in fruit.] 15TH AUGUST.--We continued to return along the old track until we arrived at Camp LXV., taking the direction of the river's general course, (7° E. of S.). I travelled along its banks several miles, endeavouring to cut off a detour we had previously described. The river, however, obliged me to go so far to the westward, that I met with my former track, about midway between the two camps. We soon left that track, crossing a strip of brigalow and a rich grassy plain; beyond which, I found the river, and encamped about 3 P.M., when the rain again came on, the morning having been, until then, fair, although the sky was cloudy and overcast. Thermometer, at sunrise, 57°; at noon, 64°; at 4 P.M., 66°; at 9, 60°;-- with wet bulb, 58°. 16TH AUGUST.--The sky still clouded, seemed to promise rain in the country to which we were returning. We came to the channel of the main river, after proceeding about three miles in the direction of a turn in our route beyond next camp. The channel here was broad, and occasionally filled with a good body of water. The bed was sandy, and in it grew a tree with thin loose white bark, resembling that of the mimosa or tea- tree of the colony; some of these trees were of large dimensions. There also grew, in the sandy bed of this river, a new white-flowered MELALEUCA, resembling M. ERICIFOLIA, but with long mucronate leaves[*]; and, in the scrubby bank the STENOCHILUS BIGNONIOEFLORUS formed a willow- like shrub fifteen feet high. We again came came upon our track where I intended to hit it, although we had been retarded by brigalow scrub. We thus left Camp LXIV. on the left, and finally again pitched our tents at that of LXIII. Thermometer, at sunrise, 58°; at noon, 65; at 4 P.M., 63°; at 9, 63°;--with wet bulb, 57°. [* M. TRICHOSTACHYA (Lindl. MS.); folsaepius oppositis linearibus planis utrinque acutissimis, spicâ terminali laxiusculâ rachi pilosâ, calyce glabro dentibus herbaceis, phalangibus polyandris ungue petalis breviore.] 17TH AUGUST.--The ground was covered in many parts with a lichen, the product of the late rain, and which had no root in, nor attachment to, the soil, but could be collected in handfuls, and lay quite loose in heaps, or rather in a thick layer. I could not comprehend the origin of this singular vegetable production, which might then have been gathered in any quantity. The day was cool, cloudy, and pleasant. Fine round clouds driving still from the eastward, with a high barometer (for this of Bunten stood seven millimetres higher, than it did when we had been formerly encamped on the same ground). On recrossing the great river from S. W., we found more of the pea with large pods, it seemed to grow only on the dry sand of the river bed. This was a most interesting river, and I could have wished much to have explored it upwards, had the state of my horses and provisions permitted. On its banks we had discovered various rare trees and plants seen by us nowhere else; and the pea just mentioned, which had, as Mr. Stephenson thought, valuable qualities as a laxative medicine. The bed of the river was broad and sandy; the banks were quite clear of brigalow or other scrubs, level, open, and in most parts covered with luxuriant anthistiria and wild indigo. We arrived in good time, the way being good, at Camp LXII., and there again established ourselves for the night. It was an excellent spot for the purpose, having plenty of water in rocky ponds, and abundance of grass, half green. The wind lulled, and heavy clouds of stratus appeared in the east, towards evening. Some stars were afterwards visible, and about 9 P. M., a wind from the S.E. suddenly arose, but no rain fell. Thermometer, at sunrise, 55°; at noon, 71°; at 4 P. M., 74°; at 9, 68°;--with wet bulb, 62°. 18TH AUGUST.--The mercurial column was lower this morning, and the sky was overcast. No wind could be felt from any quarter. We moved off, at our usual hour, 7 A. M. About nine, the western portion of the sky seemed loaded with rain; the wind suddenly arose from S. W., and a heavy rain began to fall steadily, to my great joy. The soil consisted of clay, which clogged the wheels, nevertheless, we arrived, without much delay, at a large lagoon, not much more than a mile short of Camp LXI., and there, of necessity, encamped. The rain continued without intermission until the evening, turning the surface around our tents into mud, almost knee deep. Still I rejoiced in the prospect the rain afforded, of water in the remaining part of our journey; the grand object of which was still to be accomplished, namely, the discovery of an interior river, flowing towards the Gulf of Carpentaria. Thermometer, at sunrise, 51°; at noon, 54°; at 4 P. M., 53°. 19TH AUGUST.--The soft clay was still impassable, but the sun shone brightly in the morning, and was likely soon to put a crust upon the earth. The wind continued, however, in the same quarter, the S. W., and I had thus a little leisure to mature my plan of farther exploration in that interesting country, to the westward of the vale of Salvator Rosa. I had ascertained that the whole of that fine country so named, and all the gullies falling towards it, were on the seaward side of the dividing range, if range there was. That, southward of the high ground under the parallel of 24° or 25°, the fall of waters and of the whole country was towards the south; whereas, northward of that parallel, the fall was so decidedly in the very opposite direction, or northward, that the river we had just explored extended across three degrees of latitude, descending from a mean elevation of at least 2000 feet, to one of only 600 feet above the sea. No river of any importance came from the westward; those we had seen, coming from S. W. What then could be supposed, but that the water-shed on that side was not far distant? Nor was it less reasonable to expect to find beyond it, the heads of a river or rivers leading to the Gulf of Carpentaria. In that nook, where it seemed that the spinal range extended westward in the elongated direction of this great island, and there probably separated from whatever high land extended northward and formed a limit to the basin of the Belyando, was therefore, to be sought the solution of this important geographical question; one result of which would probably be, the discovery of a river falling towards the north-west, to enter the Gulf of Carpentaria. The exploration of the country to which we were returning was, therefore, of the most momentous interest; and although our cattle were tired, and our time and provisions almost exhausted (the sun being likely to approach the tropic line before we could return to it), I was determined to carry the exploration so far, with whatever means could be spared from the party, even had it been necessary to have travelled on foot, or to have lived, like a native, on opossums, in order to investigate that point. Thermometer, at sunrise, 45°; at noon, 63°; at 4 P. M., 63°; at 9, 47°;--with wet bulb, 44°. 20TH AUGUST.--Heavy clouds promised more rain, but a crust had been formed on the surface which enabled us to proceed. The day cleared up, and we encamped within two miles of Camp LX.; much of the ground passed over having been sandy and dry. We now found water in every hollow, a great blessing brought by the rain, and affording some prospect of relief from one great difficulty for some time to come. At 10 minutes past 10 P.M. a very extraordinary meteor alarmed the camp, and awoke every man in it. First, a rushing wind from the west shook the tents; next, a blaze of light from the same quarter drew attention to a whirling mass, or revolving ball of red light, passing to the southward. A low booming sound, accompanied it, until it seemed to reach the horizon, after which a sound like the report of a cannon was heard, and the concussion was such that some tin pots, standing reversed on a cart-wheel, fell to the ground, and the boat on the dray vibrated for some minutes. The sky was very clear. Fahrenheit's thermometer 46°. 21ST AUGUST.--Following our former route, the track led us through hollows, formerly clear of the fallen brigalow, but now rendered impassable by water, a new impediment. I was, however, most thankful for the glorious abundance of that element, the want of which had hitherto confined my route, and retarded the exploration of the country. We cheerfully sought round-about ways to avoid these new ponds. Our journey was accomplished very satisfactorily, having made two cuts to avoid the former camp (LX.), which formed an angle in the route, and much bad brigalow near Camp LIX., where we again encamped, for the sake of a piece of good grassy plain near it. The weather was most pleasant, temperate, and Englishlike, though we were still within the tropics. A sweet breeze blew from the S. W., and the degree of temperature was between 50° and 60° of Fahrenheit, the most agreeable, I believe, of any, to the human frame. There was abundance of water, and young grass was daily growing higher; many trees were also beginning to blossom. We were retiring, nevertheless, RE INFECTÂ, from these tropical regions, and I was impatient to arrive at the great range once more, to resume my explorations. At this camp, we found a plant, which was a wild carrot, tasting exactly like parsley. The men did not like to eat it, from the effects they had recently experienced from eating the large pea already mentioned--violent vomiting and purging; but I had no doubt whatever, that this carrot would have been found a good vegetable. The GEIJERA PARVIFLORA again attracted attention, by the strong pungent odour of its long narrow leaves; and we here observed the EREMOPHILA MITCHELLII, in the form of a shrub, from ten to twelve feet high. Its wood was remarkable from a perfume like roses. 22D AUGUST.--The morning was beautiful, our way plainly marked and sufficiently open, although it led wholly through a scrub for twelve miles. Flowers, the product of the late rain, were beginning to deck the earth, and water lodged in every hollow. We arrived early at Camp LVIII., and encamped 300 yards beyond it, to be nearer to a plain of good grass. Thermometer, at sunrise, 25°; at noon, 69°; at 4 P. M., 72°; at 9, 43°;-- with wet bulb, 40°. 23D AUGUST.--The route back to the next camp went too far to the westward; and I therefore endeavoured to make a direct cut back to it. We thus encountered much scrub, and twice crossed the river. A bank, or berg, of water-worn pebbles, appeared on the west side of the river; and, to the eastward, a hill was visible amongst the trees. The river channel was full of water, and seemed to have been even running, with the late rain. The whole journey was through scrub; but this was chiefly of rosewood, which is not nearly so formidable an impediment as brigalow. We encamped on the river bank before we got so far as Camp LVII., at a spot where there was grass, the ground generally about that camp being very bare, although a fresh spring was observable, which would soon alter the case. At this camp I found, on a very low bush with a small leaf, splendid specimens of the fruit of a CAPPARIS, in a dry state, containing seeds. A crop of young fruit appeared also on the same bushes. This must be a very different species from the C. MITCHELII; the bush seldom exceeding the height and size of a gooseberry bush, although the fruit was larger than that of the tree CAPPARIS, and of a more uniform size and spherical shape. It seemed to grow only within the tropic. Thermometer, at sunrise, 28°; at noon, 73°; at 4 P. M., 75°; at 9, 44°;--with wet bulb, 41°. 24TH AUGUST.--The fine grassy plain had afforded better food for our horses and cattle, than they had seen for some time. Keeping along its eastern side, I continued to travel until I fell in with our former track; and in passing Camp LVII., I caused the letter T to be cut above the letters N.S.W., to distinguish it as our first camp within the line of Capricorn. I left the intertropical regions with feelings of regret; the weather had favoured our undertaking, and water had become abundant. The three last mornings had been frosty; the thermometer having stood on these mornings at 25°, 28°, and 29°, respectively. Many interesting trees and shrubs were just putting forth buds, of which we might never be able to gather the flower for the botanist. We travelled from Camp LVII., along our old track, to Camp LVI., in latitude 23° 31' 36" S.; and there again set up our tents, having been exactly one month in the interior of tropical Australia. A pigeon this day arose from her nest in the grass near our route, and Yuranigh found in it two full fledged young ones. These being of that sort of pigeon preferable to all others for the table, GEOPHAPS SCRIPTA, we took this pair in hopes it might be possible to bring them up, and, perhaps, to obtain from them a domestic brood. This bird seemed to have the shortest beak of all the pigeon tribe, and flew more clumsily than others. It had three streaks of white about the head, assimilating it to the poultry class; and in building on the ground, it afforded another indication of its resemblance to our domestic birds. The flesh is very white, firm, yet tender. It is, perhaps, the most delicate of all birds. Thermometer, at sunrise, 29°; at noon, 75°; at 4 P.M., 76°; at 9, 46°;--with wet bulb, 42°. 25TH AUGUST.--The former route to this camp having been very crooked from following the course of the river amongst brigalow scrub, I set out on the bearing of the next camp, and reached it by travelling in a straight line, without much impediment, having found tolerably open ground. The blue summits of mountains appearing again above the trees, were welcome to our eyes; and Mounts Beaufort and Mudge reminded me of the Persian proverb, "The conversation of a friend brighteneth the eyes." We encamped a mile on, from Camp LV., for the sake of better grass than we had left formerly at that camp. The hills adjacent consisted of gravel; and amongst the large water-worn pebbles, of which it consisted, I found basalt and trachite, neither of which rocks had been detected by me amongst the gravel of the basin of the Darling. Thermometer, at sunrise, 48°; at noon, 76°; at 4 P.M., 77°; at 9, 52°;--with wet bulb, 47°. 26TH AUGUST.--After cutting off an angle in the old track, and so shortening the way about a mile, we pursued it back to Camp LIV.; which spot we again occupied for the night. The horses were leg-weary; but I could spare no time for rest, otherwise than by making the daily journies short, until we could return to the foot of the dividing ranges. One of the young pigeons was found nearly dead this morning; but Yuranigh, by chafing and warming it by the fire, soon recovered it. The thermometer had been as low as 38°; but the birds had been kept in a box well covered with wool, and also by canvas. On the hill, southward of this camp, I found one tree, of the remarkable kind mentioned, as having been first seen by Mr. Stephenson, near Mount Mudge. Thermometer, at sunrise, 37°; at noon, 80°; at 4 P.M., 81°; at 9, 44°;--with wet bulb, 40°. 27TH AUGUST.--On reaching a difficult place for the passage of carts along the rocky margin of the river, we took a new direction, more to the right, crossing the clear hill, from which, on the 23d July, I had a view of the mountains to the eastward. Then descending, we came upon plains of firm clay, whereon grew some trees of ACACIA PENDULA. The rock in the hills seemed calcarious, and on a detached slab of ferruginous sandstone, I saw a more perfect specimen of ripple marks than I had ever seen elsewhere, except on the sea-beach. I had now an opportunity of observing, in the hills forming a low range on my right, or to the westward, that their stratification dipped toward the east, at an angle of about 25° with the horizon; on which side those slopes did not exceed that angle, whereas on the westward, they presented abrupt, precipitous sides, each terminating in two steep sides, forming an angle at the highest point. We encamped on a fine plain on the east side of that range, but westward of the river (beyond which lay our former route), and we found water in a lagoon a quarter of a mile eastward of our camp; also, in a mountain rivulet two miles south of the camp, coming from near Mount Beaufort, and some, very clear, was found in a rocky gully immediately westward of our camp. Still, the bed of the main channel was dry, and we had been obliged to seek for the water before it was found in these several directions. Thermometer, at sunrise, 41°; at noon, 79; at 4 P.M., 82°; at 9, 48°;--with wet bulb 39°. 28TH AUGUST.--The cattle were well refreshed by the grass on the plain: a fresh growth was now apparent in it. We continued to travel due southward over the plain, and through a brigalow scrub beyond it, until we crossed, for the last time, the little river that had led us so far astray. Just beyond it, we joined our old track, at about five miles short of Camp LIII., to which we proceeded, and where we again encamped, although the pond we formerly found there had dried up. We afterwards found a good supply, at a lagoon about half a mile lower down; from which a little dog of mine (called Procyon), had come out wet, and so made it known to us. Thermometer, at sunrise, 40°; at noon, 81°; at 4 P.M., 76°; at 9, 49°;-- with wet bulb, 41°. 29TH AUGUST.--Continuing along the old track, we this day quitted the basin of the Belyando, and ascended those grassy slopes, and that range, which I had formerly taken to be the water-shed of the coast rivers. We thus crossed to the basin of another eastern river, the Nog; and, in quitting that of the Belyando, I have to observe, that like most other Australian rivers, it maintained a peculiar character throughout its course, with great uniformity, even after it received tributaries apparently larger than itself. All these lapsed into the same concatenated line of ponds; at one place, spreading amidst brigalow scrub, at another, forming one well-defined deep channel. For the formation of ponds, and the retention of water, in so dry a climate, we see here something between the ordinary character of rivers, and artificial works which man must construct, when population may spread into these regions. The fallen timber of the brigalow decays very slowly, and is not liable to be burnt, like most other dead wood in open forests, because no grass grows amongst the brigalow, as in open forests. The accumulations of dead logs become clogged with river rack and the deposit of floods; to which floods these heaps present obstructions, forcing the waters into new channels, and, in their progress, scooping out new ponds, and completing the embankment of dead logs; which thus form natural dams and reservoirs to hold, under the shade of the brigalow trees, more water for a longer time than any single river channel could retain, however sluggish its course. Thus it was, that during a season of unusual drought, we had found abundance in this river's course, across nearly 3½ degrees of latitude. The fallen brigalow presents awkward obstructions to wheel carriages; and, as the river spreads into broad plains, and is very favourable to the growth of brigalow, the difficulty of travelling along this river is greatest, where its waters are most scattered. Experience has taught us, in such cases, to endeavour to follow the river channel as closely as possible (the general course being very straight); and thus, open grassy spots and small plains are frequently met with, beyond which nothing could be distinguished, and from which it is safest to go forward in the known general course of the chain of ponds. We again encamped under Mount Mudge, where I perceived that a projecting portion of white rock on the summit, had fallen since I had stood upon it; and that the avalanche of rock had strewed the woody side of the mountain with white fragments down to the very base. In the sheltered ravine below, a curious new CASSIA formed a shrub six feet high.[*] Thermometer, at sunrise, 39°; at noon, 70°; at 4 P.M., 82°; at 9, 56°;--with wet bulb, 50°. [* C. ZYGOPHYLLA (Benth. MS.) glabra vel pube tenuissimâ subcanescens, foliolis unijugis linearibus planis crassis, glandula inter foliola parva depressa, racemis petiolo brevioribus 2-4-floris.--Near C. NEMOPHILA Cunn.; but there appear never to be more than one pair of leaflets, the plant is smoother, the leaflets longer, and the glands different.] 30TH AUGUST.--The old track guided the party, while I preceded it to sketch one or two landscapes. A fine breeze blew from the northward, and goodly clouds seemed to promise rain. I completed my drawings before the arrival of the carts; and on their coming up I conducted them to a spot where we encamped, on the left bank of the creek, or opposite to camp LI., being resolved to seek a better and more direct way to the plains, than that down the bed of Balmy Creek, which we formerly found so difficult. As soon as I had chosen a spot for the tents, I took a ride, accompanied by Mr. Stephenson and Yuranigh, to explore the ravines eastward of that of Balmy Creek, and which led in a more direct line towards the plains of the Claude. We found the precipices in this direction much lower. After riding a few miles, we could ride up one of the points, and following the ridge we had ascended (which was thickly covered with brigalow), we at length got to an open forest, and once more saw the open plains before us. In returning, I selected, with Yuranigh's able assistance, a smaller valley, by which I hoped to succeed in conducting the carts next day, so as to avoid the ascent of the brigalow range. The barometer at this camp had fallen ten millimetres lower than the point at which the mercury stood formerly at the adjacent camp (marked LI.). By the side of the water-course, we found the ACACIA DORATOXYLON and also the ACACIA CONFERTA. The valley was gay with the ultramarine blue flowers of a new species of HOVEA[*]; and on rich soil we saw also the PODOLEPIS ACUMINATA? D. C. A shrub with long curved leaves and singular zigzag stems, was ascertained to be the ACACIA MACRADENIA, a very striking new species; and on Balmy Creek we found also a new BOSSIOEA, with deep red flowers.[**] Thermometer, at sunrise, 59°; at noon, 83°; at 4 P.M., 81°; at 9, 62°; with wet bulb, 54°. [* H. LEIOARPA (Benth. MS.) fruticosa, foliis anguste oblongis sublanceolatisve integerrimis subtus reticulatis pubescentibus, venis primariis obliquis, pedicellis in pedunculo brevissimo axillari subgeminis calyce longioribus, calyce adpresse tomentoso, legumine glaberrimo.--Not unlike some forms of H. LANCEOLATA, but readily distinguished, besides the shorter leaves, by the smooth fruit and the veins of the leaves, which diverge from the midrib at a very acute instead of a right angle.] [** B. CARINALIS (Benth. MS.) ramulis teretibus puberulis foliosis, foliis subsessilibus subcordato-ovatis acutiusculis puberulis, pedicello calyce paullo breviore, corollae alis vexillo longioribus carinâ multo brevioribus.--The same remarkable proportion of the petals may be seen in an unpublished species gathered by Fraser on the Brisbane river.] 31ST AUGUST.--Some heavy showers fell during the night, and in the morning the sky was wholly overcast. We crossed various formidable gullies, and travelled some way down the bed of Balmy Creek, then ascending by the valley through which I yesterday penetrated in my ride, we travelled southward in a tolerably direct line through the valley up to its highest heads, from one of which we contrived to draw up carts and drays along three traverses, formed by nature on the face of a rocky slope. Above this, we found a plateau of flowering shrubs, chiefly new and strange, so that Mr. Stephenson was soon loaded like a market gardener. He had found in the hollow of the little gulley by which we ascended a variety of ACACIA DECORA with leaves shorter that usual; the CASSIA ZYGOPHYLLA, a very curious new species; and the BERTYA OLEOEFOLIA, a shrub three feet high, with green flowers. On the top of the plateau grew a singular dwarf shrub, loaded with yellow flowers, and covered by strong sharp leaves resembling the curved blade of a penknife. It has been ascertained by Mr. Bentham to be an Acacia, referable to his ACACIA TRIPTERA. A little upright bush, with glandular leaves smelling strongly of thyme, proved to be a new PROSTANTHERA.[*] The beautiful ACACIA DECORA appeared as a shrub four feet high; the DODONOEA NOBILIS was just forming its fruit; the DODONOEA VESTITA was also there; the white flowered MYOPORUM CUNNINGHAMI with its viscid branches, formed a bush about four feet high: PITTOSPORUM LANCEOLATUM was a shrub about three feet high, with yellow flowers; and here we met in abundance with the beautiful TECOMA OXLEYI, a kind of Bignonia, loaded with yellowishwhite flowers. [* P. ODORATISSIMA (Benth. MS.) viscoso-puberula foliis linearibus sublanceolatisve obtusissimis paucidentatis integrisve crassis ad axillas fasciculatis, floribus paucis axillaribus subsessilibus, calycis labiis integris inferiore minore, antherarum calcare longiore loculum superante.--Near P. ASPALATHOIDES: leaves two or three lines long, remarkably thick. Calyx strongly ribbed. The specimens found were past flower, having only a few fragments remaining of the corolla and stamens. The whole plant appears very viscid and retains when dry a very strong smell of thyme.] There ended all our troubles with the sandstone gullies, for we soon entered open forests, and crossed a grassy valley gently sloping to the eastward, in whose bosom we found a fine deep rocky pond. Beyond that valley we arrived at open downs of the richest soil, and of an extent not to be embraced by the eye at any one point of view. The finest sorts of grass were fast springing up, and curious herbs were beginning to shoot from the rich alluvium in the vallies. We encamped on these downs, about ten miles from our former camp by the Claude, XLIX. 1ST SEPTEMBER.--The morning clear and frosty; Thermometer 25°. All prospects of rain had vanished "into thin air." The scene now around us was as different as could well be imagined, from that which surrounded us at the same hour yesterday. As we proceeded, we crossed a hill quite clear of trees, which commanded a view over an extent of similar country, large enough for a county. The broken summits, just appearing above the placid horizon of undulating downs, had formerly looked like a range to us, and were certainly highly ornamental to the scenery; but no stranger could have supposed these features to have been only the highest parts of such a broken sandstone country as that from which we had just emerged. The plains, or rather, I should say, downs, for they were nowhere level but everywhere gently undulating, were first seen in white streaks high above us, when we first perceived them through the scrubs. These downs consisted of the richest sort of black mould, on which grew luxuriantly, ANTHISTIRIA and PANICUM LOEVINODE. But the surface in general was loose, resembling that of a field after it had lain long in fallow. Herbs in great variety were just emerging from the recently watered earth, and the splendid morning did ample justice to the vernal scene. The charm of a beginning seemed to pervade all nature, and the songs of many birds sounded like the orchestral music before the commencement of any theatrical performance. Such a morning, in such a place, was quite incompatible with the brow of care. Here was an almost boundless extent of the richest surface in a latitude corresponding to that of China, yet still uncultivated and unoccupied by man. A great reserve, provided by nature for the extension of his race, where economy, art, and industry might suffice to people it with a peaceful, happy, and contented population. These plains are much higher than the sandstone ravines, and the soil contains not only pebbles, but angular fragments of the knots and fibres of wood in a silicified state, and much encrusted with chalcedony. The component parts of the sandstone in the gullies resemble those of a sea beach. These fragments of fossil wood in rich soils of plains or downs above formations of sandstone, are found in various parts of Australia, and I have seen fossil wood from similar plains in Tasmania. The fossil wood of such plains has no appearance of having been exposed to fire. The ACACIA PENDULA grows on the skirts of them, and indicates a salsolaceous soil. These circumstances are obvious to everybody, but no geologist has yet explained to us the causes of such changes as may have produced that rich black mould, on which trees, now silicified, formerly grew; or these wide plains and downs of rich earth, above a red sandstone formation. One has called the interior of Australia a "dry seabottom;" but this phrase admits of no easy application to such cases as these. Fragments of a ferruginous conglomerate of water-worn pebbles, apparently identical with those in the basin of the Darling, in some places accompany these angular fragments of fossil wood. We found this day a new ERIOSTEMON allied to E. BREVIFOLIUM, with small knobby fleshy leaves[*]; also a fine new shrubby EURYBIA.[**] Scattered plants of BOSSIOEA RHOMBIFOLIA also appeared in the adjacent gullies; and LORANTHUS SUBFALCATUS (Hook), was parasitical on trees. We encamped on the margin of the rich plain N. of Camp XLIX, and about a mile distant from it, our draught oxen being very weak and leg-weary. Thermometer, at sunrise, 25°; at noon, 67°; at 4 P.M., 73°; at 9, 44°;--with wet bulb, 40°. [* E. RHOMBEUM (Lindl. MS.); ramulis pubescentibus, foliis carnosis obtuse rhombeis revolutis subtus glabris, pedicellis terminalibus unifloris tomentosis foliis brevioribus, staminibus pilosis.] [* E. SUBSPICATA (Hook. MS.); foliis linearibus obtusis supra glabris subtus ramisque albo-tomentosis, corymbis terminalibus spiciformibus, involucri squamis lineari-oblongis albis apice viridipunctatis.] 2D SEPTEMBER.--We recrossed the perfectly level plain formerly mentioned. We found, on reaching the Claude, that our bridge, then made, had been much damaged by a flood. The little river was still running, and it was cheering to learn thus, that rain had fallen at its sources, beyond which, I had still much to do. We lost no time in repairing our bridge, so that all things were got across safely. We ascended the undulating downs along our old track, and where many curious specimens of trees in flint, lay mixed with the rich black mould. I observed that no entire sections of trunks were cylindrical, all appearing to have been compressed so as to present a diameter of two to one. Yuranigh brought me one specimen which he said was "pine;" (Callitris), which so far confirmed what has hitherto been observed of the coniferous character of Australian fossil woods; but, from the appearance of other specimens, I am not at all convinced that these fossils are all of that description. I left these beautiful regions with feelings of regret, that the direct route to the gulf, could not be carried through them. I was rather at a loss for names of reference to these parts. I had given the name of Claude to the river; and it occurred to me, that the scenery of the Mantuan bard, which this painter has so finely illustrated with pastoral subjects, deserved a congenial name; and that this country might, therefore, be distinguished by that of the Mantuan Downs and Plains. About half-way through our former stage, I found water in ponds which had been formerly dry; and there we encamped, our animals being almost exhausted. It is one redeeming quality of brigalow scrub, that water is to be found within its recesses, at times when all other channels or sources are dry; the soil in which it grows being stiff, retentive, and usually bare of vegetation. Thermometer at sunrise, 28°; at noon, 73°; at 4 P.M., 78°; at 9, 47°;--with wet bulb, 42°. 3D SEPTEMBER.--Another morning worthy of "Eden in her earliest hour." The thermometer 31° at day-break, with a little dew. The notes of the magpie or GYMNORHINA, resounded through the shady brigalow, and the rich browns and reddish greens of that prolific bush contrasted with its dense grey shades, were very beautiful. We found the Nogoa much in the same state as when we left it. No flood had come down the channel of that river. The tracks of the feet of many natives were visible along the old route, and bushes had been burnt all along the line; but it is remarkable that in no case had they injured or defaced the letters and numerals marked on trees at the various camps, nor disturbed our temporary bridges. We cut our way through a scrub of brigalow, thus passing camps XLVIII., XLVII., and XLVI., encamping at a short distance from the latter of these places. Thermometer, at sunrise, 31°; at noon, 74°; at 4 P. M., 75°; at 9, 52°; with wet bulb, 40°. 4TH SEPTEMBER.--The surrounding grass, and also the reeds in the lake, had been very extensively burnt along our former tracks, and a green crop was springing to the great gratification and refreshment of our cattle. Formerly this splendid valley appeared to be uninhabited, but this day, proofs were not wanting that it was too charming a spot of earth to be left so. In proceeding over an open part of the plains bordering the river, we perceived a line of about twelve or fourteen natives before they had observed us. Through my glass, I saw they were painted red about the face, and that there were females amongst them. They halted on seeing us, but some soon began to run, while two very courageously and judiciously took up a position on each side of a reedy swamp, evidently with the intention of covering the retreat of the rest. The men who ran had taken on their backs the heavy loads of the gins, and it was rather curious to see long-bearded figures stooping under such loads. Such an instance of civility, I had never before witnessed in the Australian natives towards their females; for these men appeared to carry also some of the uncouth-shaped loads like mummies. The two acting as a rear guard behaved as if they thought we had not the faculty of sight as well as themselves, and evidently believed that by standing perfectly still, and stooping slowly to a level with the dry grass, when we passed nearest to them, they could deceive us into the idea that they were stumps of burnt trees. After we had passed, they were seen to enter the brigalow, and make ahead of us; by which movement I learnt that part of the tribe was still before us. Some time afterwards, we overtook that portion when crossing an open interval of the woods; they made for the scrub on seeing us. Meanwhile columns of smoke ascended in various directions before us, and two natives beyond the river, were seen to set up a great blaze there. To the westward of the beautifully broken rocky woody range beyond Lake Salvator, a dense smoke also arose, and continued until evening; thus adding much sublimity to the effect of a gorgeous sunset, which poured its beams through the smoke between the rocky pinnacles, as I sat drawing the scene at my camp by the lake, two miles northward of XLV. Thermometer, at sunrise, 26°; at noon, 67°; at 4 P.M., 65°; at 9, 39°;-- with wet bulb, 32°. 5TH SEPTEMBER.--The cooler air reminded us that we had returned to a more elevated region than that on the Belyando. This morning heavy clouds of cumulostratus promised more rain, and gave a cool day for the last effort of the jaded animals, which the driver doubted could not be driven much farther. I cut off all the roundabouts and steep pulls, where this could be done, by laying logs across such gullies as we were obliged to cross. We thus saw more of the river and its romantic scenery, which well deserved the name of a painter. No natives, nor columns of smoke, were seen this day; and I concluded that they concentrated the tribe yesterday, and had departed this morning. We finally took up a very snug position near the pyramids, in the very gorge of the mountain valley by which we had approached this country; camp XLVI. being within sight, and the swamp with the spring, at the foot of this hill on which we now encamped, as a camp of occupation during my intended absence, on an excursion with horses only, to the north-west. The genial influence of spring had already induced many plants to show their colours, which had formerly been passed by us unnoticed. In the sandy soil, grew the purple- flowered CHLOANTHES STOECHADIS; THE ACACIA CUNNINGHAMII; the pink- flowered CRYPTANDRA PROPINQUA; and a species of CALYTRIX; these two forming small shrubs, the latter from four to six feet high. A very handsome new BORONIA, with large white and red downy flowers, here first appeared in the open forest.[*] The rocks were partly covered with a small white-flowered shrub, which proved to be a new species of LEPTOSPERMUM allied to L. PUBESCENS, but perfectly distinct.[**] At the foot of them, was found the AOTUS MOLLIS, a little hoary bush, with yellow black flowers; a santalaceous plant like CHORETRUM, forming a tree fifteen or twenty feet high: the CALLITRIS GLAUCA or CUPRESSUS GLAUCA of ALL. CUNN. (in Hook. Herb.). A small tree, about twenty-five feet high, proved to be a new species of Acacia, or possibly a variety of A. CUNNINGHAMII, but handsomer, with larger phyllodia, longer spikes of flowers, and everywhere clothed with a soft velvety pubescence.[***] Thermometer, at sunrise, 33°; at noon, 68°; at 4 P. M., 64°; at 9, 40°;-- with wet bulb, 31°. [* B. ERIANTHA (Lindl. MS.); foliis pinnatis cum impari 1-3-jugis, foliolis glaberrimis linearibus retusis emarginatisque laevibus, pedunculis solitariis unifloris axillaribus foliis brevioribus, sepalis triangularibus glabris, petalis tomentosis, staminibus 8.] [** L. SERICATUM (Lindl. MS.); foliis obovatis linearibus planis obtusis aveniis impunctatis utrinque sericeis, calycibus tomentosis dentibus acutis persistentibus.] [*** A. LONGISPICATA (Benth. MS.) pube brevi mollissima vestita, ramulis elevato-angulatis, phyllodiis amplis falcatis utrinque angustatis subcoriaceis tenuiter striato-multinervibus nervis 3-5 validioribus, spicis elongato-cylindricis densis, calyce dentato corolla 2-3-plo breviore, ovario villoso.] Chapter VII. PREPARATIONS FOR A RIDE TO THE NORTH-WEST.--DESPATCH LEFT WITH THE PARTY STATING WHAT HAD BEEN DONE.--ASCEND EAST SHOULDER OF MOUNT PLUTO.-- PASSAGE TO THE WESTWARD.--NAME OF THE WARREGASCERTAINED.--THE RIVER NIVE.--ITS COURSE TURNS SOUTHWARD.--CROSS A LOW RANGE.--PLAINS OF THE VICTORIA DISCOVERED.--EXTENSIVE DOWNS TRAVERSED.--RIVER SPREADS INTO VARIOUS CHANNELS.--TRIBUTARIES JOIN IT FROM THE N. E. OR RIGHT BANK.--THE RIVER ALICE.--NATIVE CAMP.--A TRIBE SURPRISED WHILE BATHING.--LOWEST POINT OF THE RIVER REACHED.--RETURN BY THE LEFT BANK.--TRIBUTARIES FROM THE SOUTH.--GOWEN RANGE.--ENTER OUTWARD TRACK.--PROVISIONS EXHAUSTED.-- ASCEND WEST SHOULDER OF MOUNT PLUTO.--RETURN TO THE CAMP AT THE PYRAMIDS.--NEW PLANTS COLLECTED THERE DURING MY ABSENCE. 6TH AND 7TH SEPTEMBER.--It being necessary to rest and refresh the horses for a few days before setting out with the freshest of them, all being leg-weary, I determined to halt here four clear days; and during these two, I completed my maps, and took a few rough sketches of scenery within a few miles of the camp. The whole of the grass had been assiduously burnt by the natives, and a young crop was coming up. This rendered the spot more eligible for our camp, both because the young grass was highly relished by the cattle, and because no dry grass remained to be set fire to, which, in the case of any hostility on the part of the natives, is usually the first thing they do. Thermometer, at sunrise, 33°; at noon, 68°; at 4 P.M., 64°; at 9, 40°;--with wet bulb, 31°. 8TH AND 9TH SEPTEMBER.--I employed my time these two days in writing a despatch to the governor of New South Wales, giving a detailed account of my proceedings and discoveries down to the present time; that in the event of any misfortune befalling me or the very small party now to accompany me, this despatch should be forthcoming, as I intended to leave it at this depôt camp. On the 8th, heavy clouds gathered over us, and a fine heavy shower fell, a circumstance most auspicious for our intended ride; but it was of brief duration; and, although the sky continued overcast even until the evening of the 9th, no rain fell, in sufficient quantity to fill the water-courses. It was, however, enough to produce dew for some mornings to come. Thermometer, at sunrise of the 8th, 53°; at noon, 55°; at 4 P. M., 57°; at 9, 50°;--with wet bulb, 46°; and at sunrise of the 9th, 39°; at noon, 77°; at 4 P.M., 70°; at 9, 52°;--with wet bulb, 45°. 10TH SEPTEMBER.--I set out on a fine clear morning, with two men and Yuranigh mounted, and leading two pack-horses carrying my sextant, false horizon, and a month's provisions. Returning, still up the valley, along our old track to Camp XLIII., I there struck off to the S.W., following up a similar valley, which came down from that side. This valley led very straight towards Mount Pluto, the nearest of the three volcanic cones, which I had already intersected from various points. The other two I had named Mount Hutton and Mount Playfair. These three hills formed an obtuse-angled triangle, whereof the longest side was to the north-west, and, therefore, I expected that there the elevated land might be found to form an angle somewhat corresponding with the directions of the two shorter sides; in which case, it was probable that, to the westward of such an angle in the range, I might find what had been so long the object of these researches, viz., a river flowing to the Gulf of Carpentaria. We reached Mount Pluto, at the distance given by my former observations as far as could be ascertained by the mode of measurement I employed then; which was by counting my horse's paces. On ascending the mountain on foot, I found a deep chasm still between me and the western summit, which was not only the highest, but the only part clear of bushes. A thick and very thorny scrub had already so impeded my ascent, that the best portion of the afternoon was gone, before I could return to the horses; and I resolved, therefore, to continue my ride, and to defer the ascent and observation of angles from the summit, until my return from the unknown western country, which we were about to explore; the search for water that night being an object of too much importance to be longer deferred. We, accordingly, passed on by the southward and westward of the mountain, following a watercourse, which led first N. W., then north, and next E. of N.; to where it at length joined one from the west, up which I turned, and continued the search for water until darkness obliged us to halt. During that search for water, my horse fell with me into a deep hole, so concealed and covered with long grass, that we both wholly disappeared from those following; and yet, strange to say, without either of us being in the least hurt. We encamped where there was, at least, good grass; but--no water. 11TH SEPTEMBER.--Within 400 yards of the spot where we had slept, we found a small pond. The water was of that rich brown tint so well known to those with whom water is most precious, and to whom, after long custom, clear water seems, like some wines, to want body. Here we had breakfast, and we took also a bagful of water[*] with us. This timely supply relieved me from the necessity for following up the windings of some water-course; and I could proceed in a straight direction, westward. We passed, at first, through rather thick scrub, until, at length, I perceived a sharp pic before me, which I ascended. It consisted of trap rock, as did also the range to which it belonged, being rather a lateral feature thereof. Mount Hutton, Mount Pluto, and Mount Playfair, were all visible from it, as were also Mounts Owen and Faraday. The connections extended westward; for to the W.N.W. the broken cliffs at the head of the Salvator and the Claude, were not very distant, and these I was careful to avoid. A range immediately westward of this cone, was higher than it, and extended from Mount Playfair. To cross that range at its lowest part, which bore 26° W. of S., was our next object. We found the range covered with brigalow and other still more impervious scrubs. On the crest, the rock consisted of clay ironstone. The centigrade thermometer stood, at noon, at 30° 5' equal to 87°, of Fahrenheit; the height above the sea we made 2032 feet. Beyond this crest, we encountered a scrub of matted vines, which hung down like ropes, and pulled some of us off our horses, when it happened that any of these ropes were not observed in time in riding through the thicket. A very dense forest of young Callitris trees next impeded us, and were more formidable than even the vines. The day was passed in forcing our way through these various scrubs, the ground declining by a gentle slope only. We next found firmer soil underfoot, that where the Callitris scrub grew having been sandy, and we saw at length, with a feeling of relief, that only brigalow scrub was before us; we ascended gravelly hills, came upon a dry water-course, and then on a chain of ponds. Near one of these ponds, sate an old woman, beside a fire, of course, although the weather was very warm; and a large net, used for taking emus, hung on a brigalow bush close by. The men were absent, looking for food, as we partly conjectured, for little could Yuranigh make out of what she said, besides the names of some rivers, to which I could point with the hand. I was surprised to find that here, the name for water was "Narran," the name for it in the district of the Balonne being "Nadyeen," whereas the word for water amongst the tribes of the Darling is Kalli. That the "Narran" river and swamp are named from this language of tribes now dwelling much further northward, seems obvious; and, as the natives on the Darling know little of the "Narran" or its swamp, it may be inferred that there the migration of native tribes has been progressive from south to north; the highest known land in Australia being also to the southward of the Darling. The chain of ponds, according to the old woman, was named "Cùnno," and ran into the "Warreg" which, as she pointed, was evidently the name of the river we had formerly traced downwards from near Mount P. P. King. I left the "Cùnno," and plunged into the brigalow to the northward, thus crossing a slightly elevated range, where we found a little water-course falling N.N.W. By following this downwards, we found water in it, as twilight grew obscure, and gladly halted beside it for the night, in latitude 25° S. [* A thick flour-bag covered outside with melted mutton-fat.] 12TH SEPTEMBER.--At 7 A.M. the thermometer was 59°; our height then above the sea has been ascertained to have been 1787 feet. Continuing to follow down the brigalow creek, we found that it joined a chain of ponds running N.E., and these we traced in the contrary direction, or upwards, as far as seemed desirable. We struck off from that water-course, first to the N.W., then to the W., arriving soon at a steep low ridge of clay ironstone, which was covered thick with brigalow. We crossed that low ridge, and, at a distance of about a mile and a half beyond, met another acclivity still more abrupt and stony. This we also ascended, and found upon it a "malga" scrub: the "malga" being a tree having hard spiky dry branches, which project like fixed bayonets, to receive the charge of ourselves, horses, and flour-bags; but all which formidable array we nevertheless successfully broke through, and arrived at the head of a rocky gully, falling N.W. Down this, however, we attempted in vain to pass, and in backing out we again faced the "malga," until, seeing a flat on the right, I entered it, and there fell in with the water-course again. It led us many miles, generally in a N.W. direction, and contained some fine ponds, and entered, at length, a little river, whose banks were thickly set with large yarra trees. The general course of this river was W.N.W., until it was joined by one coming from the N., and at the junction there was a deep broad pond of clear water. At this we watered our horses, and passed on to encamp under some rocky hills, three quarters of a mile to the N.N.W. of that junction, in latitude 24° 52' 50" S. The temperature at noon this day, on the highest part of the ridge we crossed, was 84°; the height there above the sea, 1954 feet; and at 3 P.M., in channel of water-course, the thermometer stood at 89°; the height there above the sea being 1778 feet. 13TH SEPTEMBER.--At 7 A.M. the thermometer stood at 38°; the height above the sea was found to be 1659 feet. I verily believed that THIS river would run to Carpentaria, and I called it the Nive, at least as a conventional name until the native name could be ascertained, in commemoration of Lord Wellington's action on the river of that name; and, to the tributary from the north, I gave the name of Nivelle. Pursuing the united channel downwards, we traversed fine open grassy plains. The air was fragrant from the many flowers then springing up, especially where the natives had burnt the grass. Among them were MORGANIA GLABRA; EREMOPHILA MITCHELLII; a singular little POLYGONUM with the aspect of a TILLOEA; two very distinct little FRANKENIAS[*], and a new scabrous HALORAGIS with pinnatifid leaves.[**] The extensive burning by the natives, a work of considerable labour, and performed in dry warm weather, left tracts in the open forest, which had become green as an emerald with the young crop of grass. These plains were thickly imprinted with the feet of kangaroos, and the work is undertaken by the natives to attract these animals to such places. How natural must be the aversion of the natives to the intrusion of another race of men with cattle: people who recognise no right in the aborigines to either the grass they have thus worked from infancy, nor to the kangaroos they have hunted with their fathers. No, nor yet to the emus they kill FOR their fathers ONLY; these birds being reserved, or held sacred, for the sole use of the old men and women! [* F. SCABRA (Lindl. MS.); undique scabro-tomentosa, foliis linearibus margine revolutis non ciliatis, floribus solitariis pentameris, calycibus patentim pilosis. F. SERPYLLIFOLIA (Lindl. MS.); tomentosa hispida, foliis oblongis planis longè ciliatis, floribus solitariis subcapitatis pentameris, calycibus patentim hispidis.] [** H. ASPERA (Lindl. MS.) caule angulato foliis fructuque scabris, foliis alternis oppositisque linearibus acutis apice pinnatifidis, floribus distanter spicatis monoicis pendulis, stigmatibus plumosis, fructu subgloboso.] The river pursued a course to the southward of west for nine miles, but it turned afterwards southward, eastward, and even to the northward of E. After tracing it thus twenty-two miles, without seeing any water in its bed (which was broad, but every where choked with sand), we were obliged to encamp, and endure this privation after a very warm and laborious day. Where the natives obtained water themselves, quite puzzled Yuranigh, for we passed by spacious encampments of theirs, and tracts they had set fire to, where trees still lay smoking. 14TH SEPTEMBER.--The temperature at 7 this morning was 72° of Fahrenheit; the height above the sea, of the river bed, as subsequently determined by Captain King, 1470 feet. With the earliest light, I had laid down my survey of this river, by which the course appeared to have turned towards the S.E. This not being what was desired, I took a direct northerly course through the scrub, towards a hill on the left bank, whence I had seen, on our way down, a rocky gap to the N.W. in a brigalow range. After a ride of eight miles, by which we cut off the grand curve in the river's course, we arrived at this hill. I hoped to have found water near the spot, in a sharp turn in the river which I had not examined, and near which, on the day before, I had seen two emus, under a bank covered with brigalow scrub. Nor was I disappointed, for after finding traces of a recent current into the river-bed at that point, I discovered, at less than a hundred yards up, a fine pond of precious OPAL--I mean not crystal, but that fine bluey liquid which I found always so cool and refreshing when it lay on clay in the shady recesses of brigalow scrubs, a beverage much more grateful to our taste than the common "crystal spring." Here, then, we watered our impatient horses, and enjoyed a wash and breakfast--the men (two old soldiers) being D'ACCORD in one sentiment of gratitude to a bountiful Providence for this water. Like "a giant refreshed with wine," we next set out for the gap to the north-west, and passed through an open brigalow scrub, ascending very gradually, during a ride of three miles, to where I at length could discover that the fall was in the other direction. At this point, I observed the barometer, which indicated our height above the sea to be 1812 feet. Fahrenheit's thermometer stood then (5 P.M.) at 86°. The dry channel of a water-course had afforded us an opening through the scrub, and had also guided us to the highest part of the ground. The fresh prints of the feet of three men in the smooth bare sand, told us that the same natives whose track Yuranigh had seen in the river we traced yesterday, were now going in the same direction as ourselves, and just before us; for the smell of their burning fire-sticks, and even small portions of burning embers which had dropped, made this evident. The higher ground was flat, and on it the rosewood acacia grew amongst the brigalow. The rocky gap (in a ridge) was still distant at least three miles; the sun nearly set, and not a blade of grass visible amongst the brigalow bushes. But what was all this to the romantic uncertainty as to what lay beyond! With eager steps we followed a slight channel downwards; found that it descended more rapidly than the one by which we had ascended; that it also increased, and we were guided by it into a little valley, verdant with young grass, while yet the red sky over a departed sun shone reflected from several broad ponds of water. This seemed to us a charming spot, so opportunely and unexpectedly found, and we alighted on a fine grassy flat by the margin of a small lagoon, where stood a most graceful group of bushes for shelter or shade. After sunset, the sky was overcast with very heavy clouds; the air was sultry, and we expected rain. 15TH SEPTEMBER.--As soon as daylight appeared I hastened towards the gap, and ascended a naked rock on the west side of it. I there beheld downs and plains extending westward beyond the reach of vision, bounded on the S. W. by woods and low ranges, and on the N. E. by higher ranges; the whole of these open downs declining to the N. W., in which direction a line of trees marked the course of a river traceable to the remotest verge of the horizon. There I found then, at last, the realization of my long cherished hopes, an interior river falling to the N. W. in the heart of an open country extending also in that direction. Ulloa's delight at the first view of the Pacific could not have surpassed mine on this occasion, nor could the fervour with which he was impressed at the moment have exceeded my sense of gratitude, for being allowed to make such a discovery. From that rock, the scene was so extensive as to leave no room for doubt as to the course of the river, which, thus and there revealed to me alone, seemed like a reward direct from Heaven for perseverance, and as a compensation for the many sacrifices I had made, in order to solve the question as to the interior rivers of Tropical Australia. To an European, the prospect of an open country has a double charm in regions for the most part covered with primaeval forests, calling up pleasing reminiscences of the past, brighter prospects for the future--inspiring a sense of freedom, especially when viewed from the back of a good horse:-- "A steed! a steed! of matchless speede, A sword of metal keene--All else to noble minds is drosse, All else on earth is meane!" --OLD SONG. I hastened back to my little party (distant a mile and a half from the gap), and immediately made them mount to follow me down the watercourse, which, as I had seen from the rock, would lead us into the open country. The little chain of ponds led westward, until the boundless downs appeared through the woods; a scene most refreshing to us, on emerging from so many thick scrubs. Our little river, after crossing much open plain, fell into another coming from E.S.E., and columns of smoke far in the N.W. showed that there was water, by showing there were inhabitants. The grass on these downs was of the richest sort, chiefly PANICUM LOEVINODE, and I was not sorry to recognise amongst it, SALSOLOE, and the ACACIA PENDULA, amongst the shrubs. As we followed the river downwards, the open downs appeared on the W.N.W. horizon as if interminable. This river, unlike that I had called the Nive, had no sand in its bed, which consisted of firm clay, and contained deep hollows, and the beds of long reaches, then, however, all dry, while abundance of large UNIO shells lay upon the banks, and proved that the drought was not of common occurrence. The general course of the river I found to be about W.N.W. true. We continued to follow it through its windings all day, which I certainly should not have done, but for the sake of water, as our progress downwards was thus much retarded. Towards evening, Corporal Graham discovered water in a small tributary coming from the S.E., while Yuranigh found some also in the main channel, where that tributary fell into it. We encamped on Graham's ponds, as this was called, and turned our horses loose on the wide plain, up to the knees in grass half dry, half green, that they might be the more fit "for the field to-morrow." The sky had been lowering all day, and the heat was intense; but during the night, the air was delicious for sleeping in, under heaven's canopy and protection. 16TH SEPTEMBER.--The "gorgeous curtains of the East" over grandly formed clouds harmonised well with my sentiments on awaking, again to trace, as if I had been the earliest man, the various features of these fine regions of earth. At 7 A.M. the temperature was 63°; and (from observations registered then) the height above the sea has been found to be 1216 feet. Throughout the day we travelled over fine downs and plains covered with the finest grass, having the river on our right. Beyond it, we saw hills, which seemed to be of greater height in proportion as we descended with the river. Some were much broken, and appeared to present precipices on the other side. A broad valley extended westward from between the farthest of these broken ranges, which range seemed to be an offshoot from one further eastward. On examining the river, below the supposed junction of a tributary from the east, I found its character altered, forming ponds amongst brigalow trees. Water was, however, scarce. We fortunately watered our horses about 3 P.M., at the only hole we had seen that day, a small muddy puddle. The ACACIA PENDULA formed a belt outside the brigalow, between the river and the open plains, and many birds and plants reminded us of the Darling; the rose cockatoo and crested-pigeon, amongst the former; SALSOLOE and SOLANUM amongst the latter. At length, we saw before us, to the westward, bold precipitous hills, extending also to the southward of west. A thunder storm came over us, and night advancing, we halted without seeing more, for that day, of the interesting country before us, and having only water enough for our own use, the product of the shower. No pond was found for the horses, although we had searched for one, many miles in the bed of the river. Still, the remains of mussel shells on the banks bore testimony that water was seldom so scarce in this river, flowing as it did through the finest and most extensive pastoral region I had ever seen. 17TH SEPTEMBER.--The temperature at seven this morning was 57°; our height above the sea 1112 feet. "Like the gay birds that" awoke us from "repose" we were "content," but certainly not "careless of tomorrow's fare;" for unless we found water to-day, "to-morrow" had found us unable either to proceed or return! Trusting wholly to Providence, however, we went forward, and found a pond in the river bed, not distant more than two miles from where we had slept. In making a cut next through a brigalow scrub, towards where I hoped to hit the river, in a nearly westerly direction, I came out upon open downs, and turned again into a brigalow scrub on my right. After travelling a good many miles, N.W., through this scrub, we arrived on the verge of a plain of dead brigalow; and still pursuing the same course, we came out, at length, upon open downs extending far to the northward. I continued to ride in that direction to a clear hill, and from it I obtained a view of a range of flat-topped hills, that seemed to extend W.N.W.; the most westerly portion of these being the steep-sided mass seen before us yesterday. They now lay far to the northward, and the intervening country was partly low and woody, and partly consisted of the downs we were upon. But where was the river? Yarra trees and other indications of one appeared nearest to us in an easterly direction, at the foot of some well-formed hollows on that side the downs. Towards that point I therefore shaped my course, and there found the river--no longer a chain of dry ponds in brigalow scrub, but a channel shaded by lofty yarra trees, with open grassy banks, and containing long reaches full of water. White cockatoos shrieked above us; ducks floated, or flew about, and columns of smoke began to ascend from the woods before us. This was now, indeed, a river, and I lost no time in following it downwards. The direction was west; then north-west, tolerably straight. Water was abundant in its bed; the breadth was considerable, and the channel was well-marked by bold lofty banks. I remarked the salt-bush of the Bogan plains, growing here, on sand-islands of this river. The grass surpassed any I had ever seen in the colony in quality and abundance. The slow flying pelican appeared over our heads, and we came to a long broad reach covered with ducks, where the channel had all the appearance of a river of the first magnitude. The old mussle shells (UNIO) lay in heaps, like cart-loads, all along the banks, but still we saw none of the natives. Flames, however, arose from the woods beyond the opposite bank, at once in many directions, as if by magic, as we advanced. At 3 P.M. Fahrenheit's thermometer in the shade stood at 90°. Towards evening, we saw part of the bed dry, and found it continuously so, as night came on. The sun had set, while I still anxiously explored the dry recesses of the channel in search of water, without much hopes of success, when a wild yell arose from the woods back from the channel, which assured us that water was near. Towards that quarter we turned, and Yuranigh soon found a fine pond in a small ana- branch, upon which we immediately halted, and took up our abode there for the night. It may seem strange that so small a number could act thus unmolested by the native tribes, but our safety consisted chiefly in the rapidity of our movements, and their terror of strangers wholly unknown, perhaps unheard of, arriving on the backs of huge animals, or centaurs whose tramp they had only heard at nightfall. Like Burns's "Auld Nick," ----"rustling through the boortrees comin' Wi' eerie sought!" our passage was too rapid to admit of any design for attack or annoyance being concocted, much less, carried into effect; next night we hoped to sleep thirty miles off, where our coming would be equally unexpected by natives. Latitude, 24° 34' 30" S. 18TH SEPTEMBER.--At 7 A.M. the temperature of the air was 72°; the height of the spot above the sea, 995 feet. Keeping along the river bank for some miles, I found its general course to be about N.W.; and seeing clear downs beyond the right bank, I crossed, and proceeded towards the highest clear hill on the horizon. There I obtained a distant view of the ranges intersected yesterday, and of their prolongations. That to the northward of the river, whose general direction to the point already fixed had been 22° W. of N., there formed an angle, and continued, as far as I could judge by the eye, nearly northward. The range to the southward of the river also turned off, extending nearly to the southward. These two limits of the vast valley, thus receding from the river so as to leave it ample room to turn and wind on either side, amidst its accompanying woods, through grassy downs of great extent, obliged me to explore its course with closer attention. From another clear hill on these downs, to which I next proceeded, I thought I perceived the line of another river coming from ranges in the N.E., and expecting it would join that whose course we had thus far explored, I proceeded in a nearly N.W. direction over open downs towards the line of trees. I found therein a fine pond of water, the soil of the downs consisting of stiff clay. MESEMBRYANTHEMUM and various SALSOLOE appeared in some parts. My horses being rather jaded, I halted rather early here, and laid down my journey, protracting also the angles I had observed of the points of distant ranges. Latitude, 24° 27' 27" S. I found by the barometer that we were already much lower than the rivers Salvator and Claude, and the upper part, at least, of the Belyando; while we were still remote from the channel we were pursuing. 19TH SEPTEMBER.--The thermometer at 7 A.M. stood at 57°. The height of these ponds above the sea was 861 feet. Young, I think, has said, that a situation might be imagined between earth and heaven, where a man should hear nothing but the thoughts of the Almighty; but such a sublime position seems almost attained by him who is the first permitted to traverse extensive portions of earth, as yet unoccupied by man; to witness in solitude and silence regions well adapted to his use, brings a man into more immediate converse with the Author both of his being, and of all other combinations of matter than any other imaginable position he can attain. With nothing but nature around him; his few wants supplied almost miraculously; living on from day to day, just as he falls in with water; his existence is felt to be in the hands of Providence alone; and this feeling pervades even the minds of the least susceptible, in journeys like these. Those splendid plains where, without a horse, man seems a helpless animal, are avoided, and are said to be shunned and disliked by the aboriginal man of the woods. Even their lonely inhabitant, the emu, seems to need both wings and feet, that he may venture across them. We travelled nearly west over plains; then through a brigalow scrub, two miles in breadth; emerging from which, on a perfectly level plain of very rich soil, we turned rather to the southward of west, to where the distant line of river-trees seemed most accessible. Bushes of ACACIA PENDULA skirted this plain; and, passing through them, we crossed a track of nearly half a mile wide of soft sand, evidently a concomitant feature of the river. We next traversed a belt of firm blue clay, on which a salsolaceous bush appeared to be the chief vegetation; and, between it and the river, was another belt of sand a mile broad, on which grew a scrub of rosewood acacia. The river there ran in four separate channels, amongst various trees; brigalow and yarra being both amongst them. I crossed these channels, and continued westward that I might ascend a hill on the downs beyond. From that eminence, no hill was visible on any part of the horizon, which everywhere presented only downs and woods. Far in the S.W. a hollow admitted of a very distant view, which terminated in downs beyond a woody valley. The course of our river appeared to be N.W., as seen by Yuranigh, from a tree we found here. In that direction I therefore proceeded; recrossing the river, where, in a general breadth of about 400 yards, it formed five channels. The grass was more verdant here, and the ponds in these small separate channels seemed likely to contain water. We continued N. W. across fine clear downs, where we found the heat so intense, (Centigrade thermometer, 37°, or 99° of Fahrenheit,) that I halted two hours under the shade of a small clump of trees. When we continued our ride in the afternoon, three emus that had been feeding on the downs came inquisitively forward; curiosity, apparently inspiring them with more courage than even the human inhabitants. Unfortunately for these birds, our bacon had become so impalatable that a change of diet was very desirable, and Graham, therefore, met them half-way on his horse; the quadruped inspiring more confidence in the bird. It was curious to witness the first meeting of the large indigenous bird and large exotic quadruped--such strange objects to each other! on the wide plains where either of them could ----"overtake the south wind." One of the emus was easily shot from the horse's side, and, that evening being the Saturday night of a very laborious week, we were not slow in seeking out a shady spot by the side of a pond in the river bed. There my men had a feast, with the exception of Yuranigh; who, although unable to eat our salt bacon, religiously abstained from eating emu flesh, although he skinned the bird and cut it up, SECUNDUM ARTEM, for the use of the white men. The channel of the river was still divided here, amongst brigalow bushes. We only reached it by twilight. Thermometer, at 6 P.M., 86°. Height above the sea, 758 feet. 20TH SEPTEMBER.--At 7 A.M. the thermometer was 78°. Water appearing to be more constant now in the river, I ventured to pursue its general course in straighter lines, across the fine open downs, which lay to the eastward of it. Beyond these I perceived lines of wood as belonging to another river; and, on advancing in that direction, I first encountered a great breadth of brigalow scrub; next, we entered a rosewood scrub, redolent with blossom; then an open forest, in which we found the deep well-formed channel of a river coming from the eastward. The bottom was rocky, and bore marks of a recent current. This river also spread into branches: we crossed three, and then again entered upon open downs. Next we crossed a well-defined line of deep ponds, with yarra trees, and coming from E.N.E. over the downs; and three miles further on, we crossed another coming from N.E., on which, finding a good lagoon, I encamped early, that the men might have time to cook for themselves some of the emu, and that the horses might also have some sufficient rest. Latitude, 24° 12' 42" S. Thermometer, at 1 P.M., 86°. Height above the sea, 724 feet. 21ST SEPTEMBER.--Thermometer at 6 A.M., 63°. I found that the various tributaries to the river channel had imparted to it a greater tendency westward; but we fell in with it again six miles to the westward of where we had passed the night. Its character was the same--a concatenation of ponds amongst brigalow; but these seemed better filled with water, apparently from the more decided slopes and firmer soil of the adjacent country. The course next turned considerably to the southward of west, while one ana-branch separating from it, ran about westward. I found an open plain between these, across which I travelled; until, again meeting the southern branch, we crossed it where it seemed to turn more to the northward. The day was warm, and I halted two hours under the shade of some trees, where I laid down our journey on paper, and found we were making great progress towards Carpentaria, across a very open country. We were no longer in doubt about finding water, although in the heart of Australia, surrounded by an unbroken horizon. On proceeding, we passed some large huts near the river, which were of a more substantial construction, and also on a better plan than those usually set up by the aborigines of the south. A frame like a lean-to roof had first been erected; rafters had next been laid upon that; and, thereupon thin square portions of bark were laid, like tiles. A fine pond of water being near, we there spancelled our horses and lay down for the night. At 5 P.M. the thermometer was at 82°. Height above the sea, 707 feet. 22D SEPTEMBER.--Thermometer, at 6 A.M., 58°. This was no sandybedded river like others we had discovered. The bed still consisted of firm clay, and now the rich vegetation on the banks presented so much novelty, that, without the means of carrying an herbarium, I was nevertheless tempted to select a bouquet of flowers for Dr. Lindley, and carry them amongst my folded maps. The very herbage at this camp was curious. One plant supplied an excellent dish of vegetables. There were others resembling parsley, and having the taste of water-cresses with white turnip-like roots. Here grew also a dwarf or tropical CAPPARIS. Among the grasses was a tawny ERIANTHUS, apparently the same as that formerly seen on the banks of the Bogan, and the curious DANTHONIA PECTINATA, gathered in Australia Felix in 1836. There was also amongst the grasses a PAPPOPHORUM, which was perhaps the P. GRACILE, formerly collected in the tropical part of New Holland by Dr. Brown; and a very remarkable new species of the same curious genus, with an open narrow panicle, and little branches not unlike those of a young oat.[*] The river again formed a goodly continuous channel. Its most splendid feature, the wide open plains, continued along its banks, and I set out on this, as we had indeed on all other mornings since we made the discovery, intensely interested in the direction of its course. We had not prolonged our journey very far across the plains, keeping the trees of the river we had left visible on our right, when another line of river trees appeared over the downs on our left. Thus it seemed we were between two rivers, with their junction before us, for the ground declined in that direction. And so we found it. At about seven miles from where we had slept, we arrived at the broad channel of the first river we had traced down, whose impetuous floods had left the trees half bent to the earth, and clogged with drift matter; not on any narrow space, but across a deep section of 400 yards. The rocks in the channel were washed quite bare, and crystal water lay in ponds amongst these rocks. A high gravelly bank, crowned with brigalow, formed the western margin, but no brigalow could withstand the impetuous currents, that evidently, at some seasons, swept down there. It was quite refreshing to see all clear and green, over so broad a water-worn space. The junction with the northern river took place just below, and I continued my journey, not a little curious to see what sort of a river would be formed by these channels when united. I found the direction of the course to be about N.W., both running nearly parallel. About three miles on I approached the united channel, and found the broad, deep, and placid waters of a river as large as the Murray. Pelican and ducks floated upon it, and mussle-shells of extraordinary size lay in such quantities, where the natives had been in the habit of eating them, as to resemble snow covering the ground. But even that reach seemed diminutive when compared with the vast body of water whereof traces had, at another season, been left there; these affording evidence that, although wide, they had still been impetuous in their course. Verdure alone shone now, over the wide extent to which the waters sometimes rose. Beyond that channel lay the almost boundless plains, the whole together forming the finest region I had ever seen in Australia. Two kinds of grass grew on these plains; one of them a brome grass, possessing the remarkable property of shooting up green from the old stalk. [* P. AVENACEUM (Lindl. MS.); aristis 9 inaequalibus scabris infra medium plumosis, paniculâ pilosâ angustâ interruptâ ramulis inferioribus demum refractis, spiculis 3-floris, glumis pubescentibus multistriatis, paleis villosis, foliis......] The bees were also new to Yuranigh, who drew my attention to their extreme smallness; not much exceeding in size a knat or mosquito. Nevertheless, he could cut out their honey from hollow trees, and thus occasionally procure for us a pleasant lunch, of a waxy compound, found with the honey, which, in appearance and taste much resembled fine gingerbread. The honey itself was slightly acid, but clear and fine flavoured. I hoped the deep reach would have been continuous, as it looked navigable, even for steamers, but it continued so only for a few miles, beyond which the channel contained ponds only. I finally alighted beside one of these ponds, which was so large, indeed, that the colonists would have called it a lagoon; this one being high above the river channel, on a verdant plain. As yet, we had not seen a single inhabitant of this El Dorado of Australia. At 2 P.M. thermometer 88°. Height above the sea 712 feet. 23D SEPTEMBER.--At 7 A.M. thermometer 59°. Latitude 24° 2' S. New flowers perfumed the dry bed of this river, and these showed, in their forms and structure, that nature even in variety is infinite. I regretted I could not collect specimens. Our only care now, was the duration of our provisions. Water was less a subject of anxiety with me now, than it had been at any period of the journey. We had made the Emu eke out our little stock, and my men (two old soldiers) were willing to undergo any privation that might enable me to prolong my ride. This day completed half the month, but I was determined to follow the course of this interesting river at least four days longer. The back of one of our pack horses had become so sore, that he would no longer endure a load; we threw away the pack saddle, and divided his load, so as to distribute it in portions, on some of the saddle horses and the other pack animal. The course of the river towards the west, and our limited time, obliged me to stride over as much of the general direction as possible. I crossed the river, and travelled across open downs. I saw the tops of its Yarra trees on my left. At about four miles, we crossed what seemed a large river, but which must have been only an ana-branch from the main stream. We next traversed a fine open down of six miles; the soil, a firm blue clay with gravel, and on this grew two varieties of grass which I had seen nowhere else. The valley I next approached, contained the channel of a river flowing towards our river; a tributary, which evidently bore impetuous floods into it, sometimes. This also ran in three channels. I called it the Alice. As this new river was likely to turn the main stream off to the westward or south, I travelled west by compass over vast downs, finely variegated with a few loose trees like a park, but extending on all sides to the horizon. Where I looked for the main channel, I saw rising ground of this kind; and meeting with another small river, with a stoney bed and water in it, I bivouacqued, for the day was very hot; the thermometer, at 3 P.M., 90° in the shade. The pond here was much frequented by pigeons, and a new sort of elegant form and plumage, was so numerous that five were killed at two shots. The head was jet-black, the neck milkwhite, the wings fawn-colour, having lower feathers of purple. I had no means of preserving a specimen, but I took a drawing of one.[*] Height above the sea here, 826 feet. [* By which I find it has been named GEOPHAPS HISTRIONIEA.] 24TH SEPTEMBER.--I continued to seek the river across extensive downs, in many parts of which dead brigalow stumps remained, apparently as if the decay of that species of scrub gave place to open ground. I turned now to the S.W., and became anxious to see the river again. At length we came upon a creek, which I followed down, first to the S.W. and next southerly, until it was time to alight, when we established our bivouac by a large lagoon in its bed, in latitude 24° 3' 30" S. Thermometer, at 3 P.M. 98°. Height above the sea, 688 feet. 25TH SEPTEMBER.--At 6 A.M. the thermometer stood at 73°. We ought to have been retrogressive yesterday, according to the time calculated on for our stock of provisions; but we could not leave the river without tracing it to the furthest accesible point. We still continued, therefore, to follow the water-course which had brought us thus far, expecting at every turn to find its junction with the river, whose course had obviously turned more than usual to the southward. We fell in with a larger tributary from the N. W.; after which junction, the tributary took a more westerly direction than the minor channel which brought us to it. We thus came upon a large lagoon, beside which were the huts of a very numerous tribe of natives, who appeared to have been there very recently, as some of the fires were still burning. Well beaten paths, and large permanent huts, were seen beyond that encampment; and it was plain that we had entered the home of a numerous tribe. I should have gladly avoided them at that time, had not a sight of the river been indispensable, and the course of the creek we were upon, the only certain guide to it. Level plains extended along its banks, and I had been disappointed by the appearance of lofty Yarra trees, which grew on the banks of large lagoons. On approaching one of these, loud shrieks of many women and children, and the angry voices of men, apprised me that we had, at length, overtaken the tribe; and, unfortunately, had come upon them by surprise. "AYA MINYÀ!" was vociferated repeatedly, and was understood to mean, "What do you want!" (What seek ye in the land of Macgregor!) I steadily adhered to my new plan of tactics towards the aborigines, and took not the slightest notice of them, but steadily rode forward, according to my compass bearing. On looking back for my men, I saw one beckoning me to return. He had observed two natives, with spears and clubs, hide themselves behind a bush in the direction in which I was advancing. On my halting, they stole away, and, when a little further on, I perceived an old white-haired woman before me, on seeing whom I turned slightly to one side, that we might not frighten her or provoke the tribe. The whole party seemed to have been amusing themselves in the water during the noon-day heat, which was excessive; and the cool shades around the lagoon looked most luxuriant. Our position, on the contrary, was anything but enviable. With jaded horses scarcely able to lift a leg, amongst so many natives, whose language was incomprehensible, even to Yuranigh. I asked him whether we might not come to a parley with them, and see if they could understand him. His answer was brief; and, without turning even his head once to look at them:--"You go on!" which advice, quite according with my own notions, founded on experience, I willingly went on. Even there, in the heart of the interior, on a river utterly unheard of by white men, an iron tomahawk glittered on high in the hand of a chief, having a very long handle to it. The anxious care of the females to carry off their children seemed the most agreeable feature in the scene, and they had a mode of carrying them on the haunch, which was different from anything I had seen. Some had been digging in the mud for worms, others searching for freshwater muscles; and if the whole could have been witnessed unperceived, such a scene of domestic life amongst the aborigines had been worth a little more risk. The strong men assumed a strange attitude, which seemed very expressive of surprise; having the right knee bent, the left leg forward, the right arm dropping, but grasping clubs; the left arm raised, and the fingers spread out. "Aya, aya, minyà!" they continually shouted; and well might they ask what we wanted! Hoping they would believe us to be Centaurs, and include the two old pack-horses in counting our numbers, I had not the slightest desire to let them know us more particularly; and so travelled on, glad, at length, to hear their "Aya minyàs" grow fainter, and that we were leaving them behind. About five miles further south, the perfume from the liliaceous banks of the river was the first indication of its vicinity. We found it full 400 yards broad, presenting its usual characteristics,--several separate channels and ponds of water; there, according to the barometer, the height above the sea was only 633 feet; the temperature at 3 P. M., in the shade, 99° of Fahrenheit. We watered our horses, crossed, and plunged into the brigalow beyond, where I meant to steal a march upon the noisy tribe; who, by that time, probably were sending to call in their hunting parties, that they might follow our track. Their mode of killing a kangaroo may best exemplify their tactics towards strangers; whose path in the same manner could be followed by day, and sat down beside at night, to be again tracked in the morning, until the object of pursuit could be overtaken. The brigalow beyond the river grew on a rising ground of sharpedged red gravel, and, from a small opening, I saw the course of the river running nearly northward. Here, then, I turned towards the east to travel home by ascending the left bank, with the intention to cut off the great sweep which the river described, as we had found on tracing it down; and, in hopes we should so intercept any tributaries it might receive from that side. At dusk, I met with one containing a fine lagoon, and near this I fixed my bivouac. Yuranigh most firmly objected to our sitting down close by the water, saying we might there be too easily speared by the wild natives who were then, probably, on our track; but he did not object to my bivouac on the more open plain adjacent, one man keeping a good look-out. I called these, Yuranigh's ponds. Latitude, 24° 19' 2" S. 26TH SEPTEMBER.--At 6 A. M. the thermometer stood at 61°. My horse was quite leg-weary, and I was very loath to force him on, but one day's journey further was indispensable. We traversed open plains and passed through patches of brigalow of an open kind of scrub. The surface was grassy, but very gravelly; indeed it was, in many places, so devoid of mould as to resemble a newly Macadamized road,--the fragments being much of that size, and in general of a reddish colour, consisting, for the most part, of a red siliceous compound. In a ride of twenty-six miles, we saw no country much better, and I was obliged to conclude that the left bank was by no means so good as the country on the right, or to the northward of the river. We arrived, however, by nightfall, at a goodly water-course, in which we providentially found a pond, and encamped; resolved there to rest our horses next day, (being Sunday,) and most thankful to Him to whom the day was dedicated. Latitude 24° 12' 37" S. Thermometer, at 6 P.M., 92°. 27TH SEPTEMBER.--Thermometer, at 6 A. M., 68°. On laying down my work on paper, I found we had made a most favourable cut on the way homewards, our old bivouac of the 21st inst., being about due east from us, and distant not quite fifteen miles; the great tributary from the S.E. passing between, upon which we could depend for a supply of water, if it should be required. It would appear that the finer the climate, and the fewer man's wants, the more he sinks towards the condition of the lower animals. Where the natives had passed the night, no huts, even of bushes, had been set up; a few tufts of dry grass only, marked the spot where, beside a small fire, each person had sat folded up, like the capital letter N; but with the head reclining on the knees, and the whole person resting on the feet and thigh-joints, clasped together by the hands grasping each ankle. Their occupation during the day was only wallowing in a muddy hole, in no respect cleaner than swine. They have no idea of any necessity for washing themselves between their birth and the grave, while groping in mud for worms, with hands that have always an unpleasant fishy taint that clings strangely to whatever they touch. The child of civilization that would stain even a shoe or a stocking with one spot of that mud, would probably be whipt by the nurse: savage children are not subject to that sort of restraint. Whether school discipline may have any thing to do with the difference so remarkable between the animal spirits of children of civilised parents and those of savages, I shall make no remark; but that the buoyancy of spirit and cheerfulness of the youth amongst the savages of Australia, seem to render them agreeable companions to the men on their hunting excursions, almost as soon as they can run about. If the naturalist looks a savage in the mouth, he finds ivory teeth, a clean tongue, and sweet breath; but in the mouth of a white specimen of similar, or indeed less, age, it is ten to one but he would discover only impurity and decay, however clean the shoes and stockings worn, or however fine the flour of which his or her food had consisted. What, then, is civilization in the economy of the human animal? one is led to inquire. A little reflection affords a satisfactory answer. Cultivated man despises the perishable substance, and pursues the immortal shadow. Animal gratification is transient and dull, compared to the acquisition of knowledge--the gratification of mind--the raptures of the poet, or the delight of the enthusiast, however imaginary. It is true that, amongst civilized men, substance is still represented by the yellow ore, and that the votaries of beauty "bend in silken slavery;" but are not beauty or gold as dust in the balance, substantial though they be, when weighed in lofty minds against glory or immortality? When the shadow he pursues is worth more, and is more enduring than the substance, well might it be said that "Man is but a shadow, and life a dream." Such were my reflections on this day of rest, in the heart of a desert, while protected from the sun's rays by a blanket, and in some uncertainty how long these dreams under it would continue undisturbed. "The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a heaven of hell: a hell of heaven!" Thermometer, at 6 P. M., 90°. 28TH SEPTEMBER.--Thermometer, at 6 A. M., 63°. The horses were much refreshed by that day's repose, and we this morning continued our journey in an easterly direction, over downs and through open scrubs, meeting no impediment from brigalow. We crossed the various branches of a considerable tributary coming from E.S.E., the only water seen this day, besides the great river; which we met with, exactly where, according to its general course, it was to be looked for. We crossed it, and encamped on the right bank of the northern river, at the place where I had previously crossed. This day I had discovered, from the highest parts of the downs, a range to the S. W., and was able to intersect some of the principal hills, and so determine its place and direction. I named the most westerly feature, Mount Gray; the lofty central mass, the Gowen Range, and a bold summit forming the eastern portion, Mount Koenig. I had now obtained data sufficient to enable me to determine the extent of the lower basin of the river, by laying down the position and direction of the nearest ranges. The last-mentioned appeared flat-topped, and presented yellow cliffs like sandstone. At 6 P.M., the temperature was 81°. 29TH SEPTEMBER.--At 6 A.M., the thermometer was 59°. Re-crossing the river, I travelled, in a straight line, towards my camp of 19th September: thus, performing in one, the journeys of two former days. We crossed the main channel we had previously traced down, thus identifying it. The country was, in general, open; the downs well covered with grass, and redolent with the rich perfume of lilies and strange flowers, which grew all over them amongst the grass. We arrived at the spot I sought, and there encamped. Our provisions were nearly out; the sun having reduced the men's sugar, and melted the bacon, which had been boiled before we set out. This was an unfortunate blunder. Bacon, in such warm weather, should be carried uncooked, and our's might have then been very good. The men jocosely remarked, that, although we had out-manoeuvred the natives, the weather had been so hot that, nevertheless, we could not "save our bacon." Thermometer, at 5 P.M., 83°. 30TH SEPTEMBER.--Thermometer, at 7 A.M., 67°. I found, by my map, that I might very much shorten the homeward route to next camp (that of 18th September), by travelling towards it in a straight line across the downs. We accordingly set out on the bearing of 5½° S. of E., and hit the spot exactly at a distance of eighteen miles; arriving early, so as to afford some good rest to our horses. We crossed open downs chiefly, passed through a narrow belt of brigalow (about a mile wide), and twice crossed a tributary to the river, which tributary we thus discovered. The water- course on which we had again encamped, arose in open downs of fine firm clay, and it was pleasant to see a great river thus supplied by the waters collected only amongst the swelling undulations and valleys of the country through which it passed, like the rivers of Europe. The river we had discovered, seemed, in this respect, essentially different from others in Australia, which usually arise in mountains, and appear to be rather designed to convey water into regions where it is wanting, than to carry off any surplus from the surfaces over which they run. 1ST OCTOBER.--Our track back across the downs, brought again into view the Northern range, and I now named the prominent mountain at its salient, Mount Northampton, in honour of the noble marquis at the head of the Royal Society. The range to the southward also appeared above the trees of the valley, and I gave the name of Mount Inniskillen to the salient mountain, which appeared so remarkable a feature to us on first advancing into that region, from the eastward. We again reached the river this day, after traversing the wide plains. Its woods still resounded with the plaintive cooing of a dove, which I had not seen elsewhere. At a distance, the sound resembled the distant cooy of female natives, and we at first took it for their voices until we ascertained whence these notes came. I had arrived at a fine reach of the river, and while watering the horses, preparatory to leaving its banks, (to make a short cut on our former route,) when a pair of these birds appeared on a bough over head, so near that I could take a drawing, by which I have since ascertained the bird to have been GEOPELIA CUNEATA. But the river we were about to leave required a name, for no natives could be made to understand our questions, even had they been more willing than they were to communicate at all. It seemed to me, to deserve a great name, being of much importance, as leading from temperate into tropical regions, where water was the essential requisite,--a river leading to India; the "nacimiento de la especeria," or REGION WHERE SPICES GREW: the grand goal, in short, of explorers by sea and land, from Columbus downwards. This river seemed to me typical of God's providence, in conveying living waters into a dry parched land, and thus affording access to open and extensive pastoral regions, likely to be soon peopled by civilised inhabitants. It was with sentiments of devotion, zeal, and loyalty, that I therefore gave to this river the name of my gracious sovereign, Queen Victoria. There seemed to be much novelty in the plants along its banks. The shells of the fresh-water mussle (UNIO), which lay about the old fires of the natives, exceeded in size any we had seen elsewhere. I measured one, and found it six inches long, and three and a half broad. On the plains near this spot, grew a beautiful little ACACIA, resembling A. PENDULA, but a distinct species, according to Mr. Bentham.[*] We crossed the open downs and our former route, hastening to make the tributary river before night. We reached the channel by sunset; the moon was nearly full, and we continued to search in the bed for water, until we again fell in with our former track, near the place where we had watered our horses on the morning of the 17th September. On hastening to the pond, we found the intense heat of the last twelve days had dried it up, and we were obliged to encamp without water; a most unpleasant privation after a ride of thirty miles, under an almost vertical sun. The river must receive a great addition below this branch from the Northampton ranges, entering probably about that great bend we had this day cut off; leaving the deep reaches formerly seen there, on our left, or to the northward. An uncommon drought had not only dried up the waters of this river, but killed much of the brigalow scrub so effectually, that the dead trunks alone remained on vast tracts, thus becoming open downs. [* A. VICTORIAE (Benth. MS.) glabra, glauca, ramulis teretibus, phyllodiis linearibus subfalcatis obtusis basi angustatis crassis enervibus, glandulâ prope basin immersâ, pedunculis glaberrimis gracilibus racemosis capitulo parvo 12-20-floro multoties longioribus.] 2D OCTOBER.--At 6 A.M. the thermometer gave a temperature of 59°. The height above the sea was 1081 feet. In tracing back our old track, I sent Corporal Graham to examine a part of the river channel likely to contain water, and the report of his pistol some time after in the woods, welcomer than sweetest music to our ears just then, guided us to the spot, where he had found a small pond containing enough for all our wants. For the men, having no more tea or sugar, a good drink was all that was required; the poor fellows prepared my tea not the less assiduously, although I could have had but little comfort in drinking it under such circumstances, without endeavouring to share what was almost indivisible. We this day performed a long journey, reaching our former bivouac, of the 16th September, on Graham's creek, at an early hour. Three emus were seen feeding close by; but, although several attempts were made to get near them, with a horse stalking, we could not kill any of them. 3D OCTOBER.--Soon after we had quitted our bivouac, the emus were again seen on the plains. I could not deny the men the opportunity thus afforded them of obtaining some food; for, although they concealed their hunger from me, I knew they were living on bread and water. Graham succeeded in wounding one of the birds, which, nevertheless, escaped. He then chased a female followed by about a dozen young ones, towards us, when we caught three. It had occurred to me this morning, to mark and number the bivouacs we had occupied thus far, for the purpose of future reference, when any other party might proceed, or be sent again, into this country. I had, therefore, cut the number 73 on a tree at this bivouac of 3d October, under the initials N.S.W. We pursued a straight course over the downs, east by compass, until we joined our old route along the water-course, from our camp near the gap, and this brought us back, at an early hour to that spot, where I marked a tree with the figures 72. 4TH OCTOBER.--We recrossed the brigalow range, (where the temperature, at 9 A.M., was 79°,) and alighted by the pond at the junction of the Nivelle and Nive; near where we had passed the night of the 12th September. This day we again saw the CALLITRIS; a tree so characteristic of sandy soils, but of which we had not observed a single specimen in the extensive country beyond. Marked 71 on a tree. 5TH OCTOBER.--Soon after we left our bivouac, I saw in the grass before me, a large snake. This was rather a novelty to us, being almost the first we had seen in these northern regions of Australia. I dismounted, and went forward to strike it with a piece of wood. Yuranigh did the same, both missed it, when it unexpectedly turned upon us, took a position on higher ground beside a large tree, then descended with head erect, moving nimbly towards the horses, and the rest of the party. The deadly reptile glided straight to the forefeet of my horse, touched the fetlock with his head, but did not bite; then passed to the hind legs and did the same, fortunately the horse stood quietly. The snake darted thence towards one of the men, who was about to throw a stick at him, and was next in the act of pursuing Yuranigh, when Graham gave him a charge of small shot, which crippled his movements until he could be despatched. This snake was of a brown colour, red spotted on the belly, about six feet long, and five inches in circumference. I had never before known any Australian snake to attack a party, but we had certainly brought the attack on ourselves. We made a good cut on our former circuitous route when tracing down the river Nive, and arrived at our former bivouac at an early hour. This was fortunate, as all the ponds, formerly full of good water, had, in the interim, dried up; and I proceeded to cross the scrubby range, by pursuing a straight direction towards Mount Pluto. But some magnetic influence so deranged my compass, that, on reaching the crest of the range, I found that mountain bore nearly east instead of N. E. N. I saw three of my fixed points, however, by which, with my pocket sextant, I could ascertain our true position, which proved to be very wide of my intended course. It was, like many other accidental frustrations of my plans in this journey, an aberration that did us good, for we had thereby avoided the bad scrub formerly passed through, and also a rocky part of the range. We next descended into a valley in which, after following down a dry watercourse two miles, we found a fine pond of water, exactly as the sun was setting. This day I had shot a curious bird, somewhat resembling a small turkey, in a tree. The feathers were black; the head was bare and red. This fowl was apparently of the galinaceous tribe. The flesh was delicious, and afforded a most timely dinner to the party. A numerous body of natives had followed our former track across the rocky ranges we traversed this day, as appeared by their foot-marks, and Yuranigh also discovered, in the same manner, that three natives had this morning preceded us on our return; nevertheless we saw none of these denizens of the woods. 6TH OCTOBER.--Thermometer, at 6 A. M., 48°. Height above the sea, 696 feet. This day we hoped to rejoin the party at the camp of the Pyramids; but the journey was long, and it included an ascent of Mount Pluto, from which I had still to observe some important angles. I marked this bivouac, with 70 cut on a tree, the two last being, respectively marked, 71 and 72, as already stated; these numbers continuing the series from LXIX, my lowest camp on the Belyando. The scrub is thick about these volcanic ranges, but on the downs and plains of Central Australia, that impediment disappears. My men and myself were in rags from passing through these scrubs, and we rejoiced at the prospect of rejoining, this day, our countrymen at the Pyramids. I found a fine open forest between the ponds where we had formerly passed the night, and Mount Pluto; and we crossed several water-courses, the grass on their banks being green and young, because the old grass had been burnt off by the natives. These water-courses form the highest sources of the Salvator. We were at no very considerable elevation above the sea where we had slept (696 feet), yet we found the air on the mountains much cooler than that of the interior plains. There was much Callitris in the woods passed through this day; and the soil, although well covered with grass, was sandy. I ascended Mount Pluto by the N. W. side, where the loose fragments of trap, on a very steep slope, obstruct the growth of a thorny scrub, covering other parts of the mountain sides. The view from the summit was very favourable for my purpose, and I passed an hour and a half in taking angles on all distant points. Mount Owen and Mount Kilsyth were both visible; Buckland's Table-land in the East, and some of the recently discovered ranges in the west, were just visible across the trap-rock range, which connected Mount Playfair with Mount Hutton; which range almost shut out the view to the westward. In the S. W., some very remarkable features appeared to terminate westward, in abrupt cliffs over a low country, into which the Maran (as far as known), the Warrego, and the Nive, seem to carry their waters. What that country is, was a most interesting point, which I was very reluctant to leave still a mystery. No volcanic hills appeared to the westward of this trio, which thus seem to mark the place where the upheaving forces have most affected the interior structure of Australia. The temperature on Mount Pluto, at noon, was 90°; and the elevation above the sea, 2420 feet. On descending to where I had left the horses, we mounted, and struck into the old outward track; but we had difficulty in following it, although it was not above a month old. We saw many kangaroos to the eastward of Mount Pluto, but could not get a shot at any. I had seen much smoke in the direction of our camp, and was anxious about the safety of the party left there. We reached it before sunset, and were received with loud cheers. All were well, the natives had not come near, the cattle were in high condition. Mr. Stephenson had a fine collection of insects, and some curious plants. My man Brown had contrived to eke out the provisions so as to have enough to take us back to Mr. Kennedy. The grass looked green and luxuriant about the camp, and the spot proved a most refreshing home both to us and to our jaded horses, on whose backs we had almost constantly been for nearly a month. The party had collected specimens of XEROTES LEUCOCEPHALA; BOSSIOEA CARINALIS; the purple INDIGOFERA AUSTRALIS; XEROTES MULTIFLORA; the DODONOEA HIRTELLA of Miquel, a hairy shrub with pinnated leaves; EVOLVULUS LINIFOLIUS; GOODENIA PULCHELLA Benth.; HIBBERTIA CANESCENS; these had been found on the rocky ground near the camp, some on the sides, and even near the summits of the pyramids. On the sandy flats at the foot of these hills, were gathered, AJUGA AUSTRALIS; DAMPIERA ADPRESSA, a gay, though, almost leafless herb, with blue flowers nestling in grey wool; three miles below the camp a species of VIGNA, closely allied to V. CAPENSIS Walp., was found; and among the larger forest trees was a Eucalyptus, allied to, but probably distinct from, the E. SIDEROXYLON A. Cunn. The LABICHEA DIGITATA was now in fruit; the JACKSONIA SCOPARIA formed a shrub, ten or twelve feet high, occupying sandy places, and having much resemblance to the common broom of Europe. The ACACIA CUNNINGHAMII grew about the same height; the GREVILLEA LONGISTYLA was seen on the sandstone, forming a shrub seven or eight feet high; and there also grew the pretty ZIERIA FRAZERI[*]; the DODONOEA MOLLIS was a small shrub six feet high, whereof the fruit was now ripe; the LEUCOPOGON CUSPIDATUS, also small. A PIMELEA near P. LINIFOLIA formed a shrub, only two feet high, growing on the rocks; the HOVEA LANCEOLATA, grew ten feet high in similar situations; the LEPTOSPERMUM SERICATUM was still abundant on the sandstone rocks, and amongst these also grew the POMAX HIRTA, a plant six inches high. [* Z. FRASERI (Hook. MS.); ramulis junioribus puberulis, foliis impunctatis brevissime petiolatis, foliolis lanceolatis acutis marginibus leviter revolutis subtus pallidis pubescenti-sericeis, pedunculis trifloris folio brevioribus.--Very distinct from all other ZIERIOE. Detected by Fraser on Mount Lindsay.] At the base of these mountains, a slight variety of ACACIA VISCIDULA formed a bush twelve feet high; a variety of BORONIA BIPINNATA formed a small upright shrub, with flowers larger than usual; and much finer specimens were now also found, of the white and red flowered BORONIA ERIANTHA; the DODONOEA PEDUNCULARIS was loaded with its fruit; the SCHIDIOMYRTUS TENELLUS, or a new species nearly allied to it, formed a shrub six feet high. A variety of AOTUS MOLLIS, with rather less downy leaves and rather smaller calyxes; the ACACIA LONGISPICATA, with its silvery leaves and long spikes of yellow blossoms, acquired a stature of twelve feet, at the foot of the rocks; and small specimens of the beautiful LINSCHOTENIA DISCOLOR, which we had also observed, in a finer state, near Mount Pluto. The LABICHEA DIGITATA was abundant in sheltered ravines amongst the rocks; and, also, the DODONOEA ACEROSA, loaded with its four-winged reddish fruit, formed a shrub there four feet high. On the flats at the base of these ranges, grew the stiff, hard leaved, glutinous TRIODIA PUNGENS, with fine erect panicles of purple and green flowers (the first occasion this, on which I had seen this plant in flower). The BRUNONIA SERICEA continued to appear; also a minute species of ALTERNANTHERA. The DIANELLA STRUMOSA formed a coarse, sedgy herbage, relieved by its large panicles of blue flowers; and a fine species of Dogbane near TABERNOEMONTANA, and probably not distinct from that genus, according to Sir William Hooker. A shrub, five feet high, which proved to be a new species of ACACIA, also grew at the foot of the precipices[*]; a new and very distinct species of LOGANIA[**]; a new RUTIDOSIS, a tall herbaceous perennial[***]; a fine, new, long leaved GREVILLEA, with yellow flowers.[****] A woolly-leaved KERAUDRENIA, with inconspicuous flowers[*****]; and, in the open forest, a pretty species of Comesperm, about five feet high, with rosy flowers, and smooth or downy stems; it was allied to C. RETUSA.[******] [* A. UNCIFERA (Benth. MS.) molliter velutino-pubescens, ramulis subteretibus, stipulis subulatis caducissimis, phyllodiis falcatoellipticis v. oblique oblongis utrinque acutis uncinato-mucronatis minute 1-2- glandulosis, racemis polycephalis phyllodio paullo longioribus, capitulis multifloris tomentosis.--Near A. CALEYI and A. VESTITA. Phyllodia from an inch and a half to two inches long, half an inch broad, resembling much in shape those of A. MYRTIFOLIA.] [** L. CORDIFOLIA (Hook. MS.); herbacea erecta estipulata glabra, foliis cordato-acuminatis sessilibus 3-5-nerviis, racemis corymbosis axillaribus terminalibusque in paniculam contractam terminalem foliosam magis minusve congestis.] [*** R. ARACHNOIDEA (Hook. MS.); elata, arachnoideo-tomentosa, foliis remotis lanceolatis acuminatis calloso-cuspidatis, panicula laxa, ramis longis polycephalis, capitulis aggregatis, involucris ovatis.--A widely distinct species from the only hitherto described species of this genus (R. HELICHRYSOIDES), both in the leaves and flower-heads.] [**** G. JUNCIFOLIA (Hook. MS.); ramis angulatis pubescenti-sericeis, foliis rigidis angustissime linearibus elongatis semiteretibus acutis glabris marginibus revolutis, racemis ovatis multifloris, pedicellis perianthiisque sericeis, ovariis sessilibus longissime albosericeis, stylis glabris, folliculis oblique ovatis sericeo-tomentosis.] [***** K. ? INTEGRIFOLIA (Hook. MS.); foliis oblongo-lanceolatis apiculatis subtus pannoso-tomentosis marginibus costa nervisque glandulosis.--In this the styles are connected at the apex, free below. The capsule is deeply 5-lobed. The anthers are remarkably curved outwards, like a horse-shoe, which is not the case in true KERAUDRENIA. W. I. H.] [****** C. SYLVESTRIS (Lindl. MS.); erecta a basi divisa, caulibus pubescentibus glabrisve, foliis oblongis mucronatis, racemis corymbosis terminalibus, bracteis deciduis, corollae lobo medio integerrimo.] On the rocky slopes, or crests, were found, also, various new plants which have been since described, viz. A small shrub, with leaves from three to four inches long, found to be a new species of CONOSPERMUM[*]; a small shrubby species of LABICHEA[**]; an inconspicuous shrub, two feet high, was a new species of MICRANTHEUM, allied to M. ERICOIDES, Desf.[***]; a downy DODONOEA, very near D. PEDUNCULARIS, but with thinner truncated leaves, and more glutinous fruit[****]; and, on the edge of the mountain, grew a curious new Acacia, resembling a pine tree[*****], but with the stature of a shrub, and a GREVILLEA, forming a shrub seven or eight feet high.[*] [* C. SPHACELATUM (Hook. MS); foliis linearibus subfalcatis sphacelatoapiculatis molliter incano-pubescentibus inferne longe attenuatis uninerviis paniculis pedunculatis corymbosis, floribus bracteisque sericeis.] [** L. RUPESTRIS (Benth. MS.) glabra vel vix in partibus novellis puberula, foliis sessilibus plerisque trifoliolatis, foliolis lineari- oblongis spinosomucronatis coriaceis marginatis terminali lateralibus bis pluriesve longiore, antheris subaequalibus conformibus.] [*** M. TRIANDRUM (Hook. MS.); foliis cuneatis solitariis, floribus masculis triandris.] [**** D. PUBESCENS (Lindl. MS.); minutissime pubescens, viscosa, foliis brevibus apice triangularibus tridentatis truncatisque, capsulis tetrapteris pedunculatis alis rotundatis.] [***** A. PINIFOLIA (Benth. MS.) glabra ramulis teretibus, phyllodiis erectosubincurvis longe lineari-filiformibus nervo utrinque prominenti subtetragonis breviter pungenti-mucronatis, pedunculis solitariis brevissimis, capitulis multifloris, sepalis spathulatis liberis v. vix basi cohaerentibus.--Very near A. PUGIONIFORMIS, but the phyllodia are five, six, or more inches long, being longer even than in A. CALAMIFOLIA. It differs from the latter species in the inflorescence and calyx.] [****** G. LONGISTYLA (Hook. MS.); ramis pubescentibus, foliis longissime linearibus acutis basi attenuatis margine subrevolutis supra glabris subtus albo-tomentosis, racemis oblongo-ovatis, perianthiis glandulosis, ovariis semiglobosis stipitatis sericeo-hirsutissimis, stylo longissimo glabro.--Leaves a span and more long; flowers rather large, apparently purple.] Chapter VIII. SINGULAR FOSSILS NEAR THE CAMP.--INTERESTING PLANTS DISCOVERED.--ASCENT OF MOUNT FARADAY.--RETURN TO THE WARREGO.--A NATIVE OLD MAN.--PASS BY MOUNT OWEN.--THE MARANOÀ.--RECROSS THE MINOR STREAMS.--ITS TRIBUTARIES.-- NONDESCRIPT ANIMAL.--POSSESSION CREEK.--A HORSE KILLED BY ACCIDENT.-- APPROACH THE CAMP OF MR. KENNEDY.--FIND ALL WELL THERE.--MANY PLANTS FOUND THERE.--HIS ACCOUNT OF THE NATIVES' VISITS.--RIDE TO MOUNT SOWERBY.--FOSSILS FOUND THERE.----THE WHOLE PARTY FINALLY QUITS THE DEPÔT CAMP.--TRACE THE MARANÒA DOWNWARDS.--OPEN DOWNS ON ITS BANKS.--WATER SCARCE.--REQUISITE PONDS.--REACH ITS JUNCTION WITH THE BALONNE.--TRACES OF HORSEMEN ALONG OUR OLD TRACK.--THE PARTY ARRIVES, AND HALTS, AT ST. GEORGE'S BRIDGE.--MR. KENNEDY SENT TO RECONNOITRE THE COUNTRY IN A DIRECT LINE TOWARDS MOUNT RIDDELL. 7TH AND 8TH OCTOBER.--THESE two days were devoted to the completion of my maps of the late tour, and of drawings of two of the birds seen on the Victoria. Our horses required a day or two's rest, and I had enough to do in my tent, although the heat was intense. 9TH OCTOBER.--Once more I rode into the lower country a few miles, to take a sketch of another remarkable hill. In the afternoon I examined the sandstone caverns in the hill opposite to our camp; some very curious organic remains having been found there by one of the party during my absence. I found that these occurred on the lower side of sandstone strata, and that they had become denuded by the decomposition of sandstone underneath. We were to leave this camp next morning. The men were on very reduced rations, and I was apprehensive that we might be disappointed in our search for water in many places where we had before encamped and found it. In the afternoon, the sky became suddenly overcast, distant thunder was heard; and the southern portion of the heavens, over the country to which we were about to return, was evidently discharging some heavy rain there. At twilight, the rain commenced to fall heavily at our camp, and continued to do so during four hours. Such a supply came most opportunely for us, and, although I could not be so vain as to suppose that the thunder rolled only for our benefit alone, I felt as thankful as though it had. This day I saw on the cavernous hill the woolly ACTINOTUS HELIANTHI, one of the most singular of umbelliferous plants; and, on descending to the base, a white variety of the COMESPERMA SYLVESTRIS, with smooth branches: unlike the kind observed in September, it did not grow above one foot high. A small shrub grew on the rocks, a pretty little Calytrix, near C. MICROPHYLLA A Cunn. (from Port Essington and Melville Island); but the branches, with their leaves, are more stout, and the bracts more obtuse. Sir W. Hooker supposes it to be a new species. We here found this day a woolly-leaved plant, with long branching panicles of brilliantly blue flowers, which Professor de Vriese has ascertained to be a new genus of the natural order of Goodeniads, and which he calls LINSCHOTENIA DISCOLOR.[*] Thermometer, meter, at sunrise, 60°; at noon, 94°; at 4 P. M., 76°; at 9, 64°;--with wet bulb, 64°. [* LINSCHOTENIA DE VRIESE. Calyx superus, limbo obsoleto. Corollae quinquefidae tubo hine fisso, lobis majoribus margine utroque auriculato- crispis, alatisve, duobus minoribus lanceolatis, interne appendice proprio cuculliformi instructis. Antherae imberbes, cohaerentes. Filamenta libera, quandoque subflexuosa. Ovarium uniovulatum; stylus inflexus; stigmatis indusium ore nudum; semen in nuce solitarium. Genus dicatum Jano Huigenio Linschotenio, geographo, navarcho, itineratori seculi XVI., qui historiae naturalis, imprimis vero geographiae et rei nauticae progressui eximie profuit. Linschotenia Dampierae proxime habitu et plurimis cum floris, tum habitus characteribus, paracolla cuculliforme ab omnibus Goodeniacearum generibus huc usque cognitis, diversa. L. DISCOLOR, suffruticosa, erecta, albo-lineata, foliis alternis, petiolatis, oblongis, acutis, integris, planis, superne pallide viridibus, glaberrimis, inferne densissime albo-lanatis. Inflorescentia spicata, ramosa, griseo-lanata, floribus subsessilibus, basi bracteolatis, corollis quinquelobis, lilacinis, extus griseo-barbatis; paracorollis nigrescentibus. Legit anno 1846, Praefectus militaris nobil. T. L. Mitchell in Nova- Hollandia subtropica. Planta elegantissima, inter Scaevolas persimilis habitu SC. REINWARDTII de Vriese in LEHM. PL. PREISS. videtur esse suffruticosa. Caulis est teres. Folia sunt alterna, fere 7 cent. longa et 1½ cent. lata, petiolata, petiolo ad insertionem quodammodo crassiore, fere ½ cent. longo, integerrima, utrinque acuta, nervo medio crassiore, subtus lanata, fere alutacea, albissima; superne viridia, opaca; bracteae lineari- lanceolatae, utraque superficie lanatae, acutae; rhachis elongata, fere 10-15 cent. longa, inferne albo-lanata, sursum griseo-lanata. Pedunculi communes 5-10 cent. longi, patentes, alterni, griseo-tomentosi. Flores alterni, sessiles, bracteolati, bracteolis suboppositis; calyces villosi, limbis obsoletis; corollae persistentis lobis marginibus inflexis, externe medio calycis instar hirsutis, interne glaberrimis: cucullis corollae badiis, convexis, uno latere hiantibus, interiori mediaeque loborum parti affixis; filamenta libera, filiformia, antherae his continuae, glabrae. Stigma capitatum, indusio imberbe.--DE VRIESE.] 10TH OCTOBER.--We commenced our retreat with cattle and horses in fine condition, and with water in every crevice of the rocks. That in the reedy swamp near the pyramids, had a sulphureous taste, and nausea and weak-stomach were complained of by some of the men. I certainly did not think the swamp a very desirable neighbour, with the thermometer sometimes above 100°, and therefore I was more desirous to retire from it. As the party returned along their former track, I went to the summit of Mount Faraday, and observed a number of useful angles for my map. Mr. Stephenson was with me, and found some new plants and insects, while I ascertained the height, by the barometer, to be 2523 feet above the sea. The plants growing there were COMMELINA UNDULATA, THYSANOTUS ELATIOR, PLECTRANTHUS PARVIFLORUS, the yellow VIGNA LANCEOLATA, with a villous form of AJUGA AUSTRALIS, and a little PILOTHECA, with narrow, closepressed leaves.[*] The mountain is volcanic, the broken side of the crater being towards the N.W. Some compact basalt appeared near the summit. On reaching the Warrego in the evening, we found the party had arrived there at 3 P. M., the distance travelled comprising two former days' journeys. They had also found water close to the camp, where none had been when they had been there before. Many beautiful shrubs were now beginning to bloom. The BURSARIA INCANA was now covered with its panicles of white flowers; the OZOTHAMNUS DIOSMOEFOLIUS, a shrub four feet high, was loaded with small bulbs of snow white flowers; a downy variety of LOTUS AUSTRALIS, with pink flowers[*], was common on the open ground; the ACACIA PODALYRIOEFOLIA was now forming its fruit; in the open forest we found a beautiful little GOMPHOLOBIUM[***]; the HAKEA PURPUREA, a spiny- leaved, hard shrub, with numerous crimson leaves[****], and the EUPHORBIA EREMOPHILA, an inconspicuous species of SPURGE.[*****] Mr. Stephenson and I had been so busy collecting these on our way back, that we only reached the camp at sunset. Thermometer, at sunrise, 58°; at noon, 75°; at 4 P. M., 82; at 9, 62°;--with wet bulb, 59°. [* P. CILIATA (Hook. MS.); ramulis pilosis, foliis erectis subimbricatis linearibus obtusis ciliatis dorso convexis glandulosis superne planis nudis, petalis ovali-ellipticis obtusis marginibus extus albopubescentibus.--Allied to P. AUSTRALIS, but different in the leaves, which are here ciliated at the margin, very glandulous on the back; and in the flowers, which are smaller, the petals more obtuse, and having a broad, white line of pubescence round the margin at the back.] [** L. AUSTRALIS var. PUBESCENS, ramis pedunculisque pilis mollibus patentibus vestitis. G. B.] [*** G. FOLIOLOSUM (Benth. MS.) foliis impari-pinnatis, foliolis 15-25 obovato-truncatis obcordatisve glabris, petiolis ramulisque pilosulis, racemis terminalibus subcorymbosis laxis paucifloris. Fruticulus ramosissimus foliolis confertis vix lineam longis.] [**** H. PURPUREA (Hook. MS.) foliis tereti-filiformibus rigidis trifidis segmentis simplicibus furcatisve mucronatis glabris, floribus purpureis pedicellisque glabris, capsulis obovatis acutis lignosis stipitatis subtuberculatis.] [***** E. EREMOPHILA (All. Cunn. in Hook. Herb.); fruticosa, ramulis fastigiatis foliisque parvis linearibus dentato-scrratis glabris, capsulis globosotriangularibus laevibus glabris.--Collected by Allan Cunningham in Dirk Hartog's island.] 11TH OCTOBER.--Following the chord of the arc described by our journeys of 30th June, and 1st July, on tracing down the Warregò, I made the furthest of the two camps, by a straight line of nine miles, passing through a fine open forest country. The pond, which formerly supplied us here, was now quite dry, but one much larger in a rocky bed was found a few hundred yards further up the river. Thermometer, at sunrise, 54°; at noon, 80°; at 4 P. M. 88°; at 9, 57°;--with wet bulb, 52°. 12TH OCTOBER.--This day we also turned two former days' journeys into one, and arrived at Camp XXXVIII. by 2 P. M., the ponds at the intermediate camp (XXXIX.) being dry. Nevertheless, the recent rains had left some water in rocky hollows, at which we could water our horses on the way. By the river side this morning, we found a variety of the HELIPTERUM ANTHEMOIDES, D.C., with the leaves pubescent and the scales of the involucre paler. The silky grass, IMPERATA ARUNDINACEA, occurred in the swampy flat we crossed before we encamped. Soon after we set out in the morning, an old man was seen coming along the valley towards us, without at first seeing the party. When he did, which was not until he had come very near, he uttered a sort of scream, "OOEY!", and ran up amongst some rocks beyond the water-course, nor would he stop, when repeatedly called to by Yuranigh. He carried a firestick, a small bag on his back, and some bomarengs under his left arm. His hair was grey but very bushy, and he looked fat. The poor fellow was dreadfully frightened, which I much regretted, for I might otherwise have obtained from him some information about the ultimate course of the Warrego, etc. We found water in one of the rocky ponds near our former encampment, but others in which some had formerly been found, were dry, and I was not without some doubt about finding water, on our way back to join Mr. Kennedy. Thermometer, at sunrise, 42°; at noon, 87°; at 4 P. M., 96°; at 9, 78°;--with wet bulb, 60°. 13TH OCTOBER.--The night was uncommonly hot, thermometer 79° here, where in June last it had been as low as 7°. The sky had been clouded, but the morning cleared up, and we enjoyed a cool breeze in passing amongst the sandstone gullies. On arriving at the foot of Mount Owen the day became very sultry, and there was a haziness in the air. On Mount Owen Mr. Stephenson found a new species of VIGNA with yellow flowers[*], and the SWAINSONIA PHACOIDES, conspicuous with its pink flowers. We took up our old ground over the gullies, and I went in quest of water. The ponds formerly here, had dried up, but Yuranigh found a deep one in the solid rock, containing enough for months. It was inaccessible to horses, but with a bucket we watered both these and the bullocks. The mercurial column was low, the sky became overcast, and a slight shower raised our hopes that at length rain might fall in sufficient quantity to relieve us from the difficulty about water, in returning towards Mr. Kennedy's camp. Thermometer, at sunrise, 63°; at noon, 79°; at 4 P. M., 76°; at 9, 64°;-- with wet bulb, 59°. [* V. LANCEOLATA (Benth. MS.) glabra volubilis, foliolis lanceolatis reticulatis integris v. basi hastato-lobatis, pedunculis folio multo longioribus apice paucifloris, calyce glabro campanulato dentibus tubo brevioribus, carina rostrata acuta.--Flowers smaller than in V. VILLOSA, but of the same form.] 14TH OCTOBER.--During the night several smart showers fell, and at daybreak the sky seemed set for rain. When we set off it rained rather heavily. I took a new direction, and got into a gully which led to our former track of 17th June. Crossing it, I passed into the bed of the Maranòa, and followed it down with the carts, until we arrived at the large pond in solid rock, to which I had sent the bullocks on the 18th June. Here we encamped, and I marked a tree with the number 74, as it might be necessary on future occasions to refer to where a permanent supply of water may be found in that part of the country. Thermometer, at sunrise, 60°; at noon, 71°; at 4 P. M., 66°; at 9, 52°;--with wet bulb, 48°. 15TH OCTOBER.--Last evening the wind blew keenly, and the night was cold, the temperature very different from that experienced of late. The morning presented a thick haze and drizzling rain, this kind of weather being rather favourable for crossing the loose sandy surface, which the men dreaded, remembering how it had before affected their eyes. I at first endeavoured to travel this day along the river bank, but I found its course so tortuous, and the country on its banks so hilly and rocky, that I left it, and proceeded in a direction that would intersect the former track. We thus passed through a fine open forest, fell in with our old track at a convenient point, and found water still in the pond at the camp of 15th June, where we therefore again set up our tents. The sky had cleared up, and the air was pleasantly cool, with a fine breeze blowing from S.E. On the river bank, we observed this day the native bramble, or Australian form of RUBUS PARVIFOLIUS, L. A small nondescript animal ran before Mr. Stephenson and myself this morning. It started from a little bush at the foot of a tree, had large ears, a short black tail, ran like a hare, and left a similar track. It was about the size of a small rabbit. The death of our dogs on the Bogan, under the intense heat and drought, had been a very serious loss to us, as we found on many occasions like this; and where kangaroos, of apparently rare species, escaped from us from our having no dogs. We were, also, from want of such dogs, much more exposed to attacks of the natives. Evening again cloudy. Thermometer, at sunrise, 45°; at noon, 64°; at 4 P.M., 67°; at 9, 57°;-- with wet bulb, 50°. 16TH OCTOBER.--A clear cool morning, with a fine refreshing breeze from east, succeeded the cloudy weather of yesterday. I crossed the little river, and travelled straight towards Camp XXXVII. On the higher ground grew a heath-like bush, (ERIOSTEMON RHOMBEUM,) three or four feet high. At a distance of only nine miles, we came upon the little river beside that camp, and fell into the old track a mile on beyond it; and, early in the day, we arrived at a chain of ponds, half-way to the next camp at Possession Creek. The ponds where I went to encamp were dry; but, on following the water-course downwards, I came to its junction with the Maranòa, at half a mile from the camp, and found a large basin of water at that point. Here, the NOTELOEA PUNCTATA was no longer a low trailing bush, but a shrub ten or twelve feet high, with the appearance of a European PHILLYREA. On the wet ground at the river bank, grew an entire- leaved variety (?) of PLANTAGO VARIA. The wild carrot, DAUCUS BRACHIATUS, with an annual wiry root, was also seen in the rich ground near the river. Yuranigh found more of the native tobacco, which the men eagerly asked for some of. This was a variety of the southern NICOTIANA SUAVEOLENS, with white flowers, and smoother leaves. Thermometer, at sunrise, 37°; at noon, 70°; at 4 P.M., 76°; at 9, 51°;--with wet bulb, 42°. Height above the sea, 1315 feet. (Camp 75.) 17TH OCTOBER.--The thermometer stood as low as the freezing point this morning, and the day was cooled by a wind from the N. E. In crossing Possession Creck, we saw nothing of the formerly belligerent natives. From Camp XXXIII, I took a direct course to Camp XXXII, where we arrived early. No water remaining in the adjacent ponds, I followed the dry channel down to its junction, and found the Maranòa full of water; this point being three quarters of a mile from our camp. We had this day passed over a fine open forest country, in which were also groves of the ACACIA PENDULA. The vegetation, in general, seemed drooping, from the want of rain; but the whole was available for grazing purposes. We saw, this day, plants of PYCNOSORUS GLOBOSUS, in the dry forest land; and the purple-flowered RUELLIA AUSTRALIS. The ACACIA SPECTABILIS formed a spreading bush, about eight feet high. The HOVEA LEIOCARPA, and CONVOLVULUS ERUBESCENS, were also found; with a new MYRIOGYNE[*], and a small shrub, three feet high, with narrow, blunt, glaueous leaves, tasting like rum. A small fruit, with the fragrance of an orange, proved to be a new species of TRIPHASIA.[**] [* M. RACEMOSA (Hook. MS.) radice perenni fusiformi superne multicipiti, caulibus decumbentibus, foliis lineari-cuneatis grosse serratis punctatis, capitulis in racemis subnudis terminalibus.--Very different from any described MYRIOGYNE, in the terminal racemed capitula.] [** T. GLAUCA (Lindl. MS.); spinosa, foliis coriaceis integerrimis crenatisque linearibus glaucis obtusis retusisque, floribus trimeris dodecandris 2-3nis brevi-pedicellatis.] It is much to be regretted, that the specimens gathered here of the brigalow, should have been so imperfect that they could not be described. If an Acacia, Mr. Bentham says, it is different from any he knows. The vicinity of the river here affords security for a supply of water, in seasons like the present, when any contained in the smaller channels may be dried up. In the afternoon we lost a horse, which fell from a precipitous part of the bank, at the junction of the creek with the river. One man was leading four, when one horse kicked another, which, falling perpendicularly, from a height of about forty feet, was so much hurt as to be unable to rise. The folly, or rather obstinacy of the man, leading so many together, on the verge of a precipice, was contrary to particular orders previously given, and which ought to have been enforced by Graham, who was in charge. Thermometer, at sunrise, 32°; at noon, 78°; at 4 P.M., 79°; at 9, 60°;--with wet bulb, 45°. 18TH OCTOBER.--The horse, still unable to get on his legs, and apparently dying, was shot, and buried in the sand of the bed of the creek. This loss, when we were so near our depôt camp, was much to be regretted, as we should have otherwise taken back every bullock and horse, after an absence, from that camp, of four months and fifteen days. We saw not a single native about the woods or the river, and were, therefore, the more anxious to know how Mr. Kennedy and the natives had agreed at the depôt camp, now within a day's ride of us. We continued to follow our former track to Camp XXXI, and it may be remarked, to their credit, that the aborigines had not attempted to deface any of these marked trees. It might have occurred, even to them, that such marks were preparatory to the advent of more white men into their country. The fine, deep reaches in the river, looked still full and unfailing; and a short journey to- morrow would take us to the camp of the rest of the party. We this day found a little jasmine in flower, of which Mr. Stephenson had formerly collected the seeds. It was white, not more than a foot high, with solitary white flowers, emitting a delightful fragrance, and it grew in the light sandy forest land.[*] A tree loaded with pods, which the natives eat, has been determined by Sir William Hooker to be the BRACHYCHITON POPULNEUM, Br., or STERCULIA HETEROPHYLLA of Cunn. Here was picked up a singular little annual plant, belonging to the genus PIMELEA, with hairy, loose spikes of minute green flowers[**]; and by the river we found the CALANDRINIA BALONENSIS. [* J. SUAVISSIMUM (Lindl. MS.); herbaceum, ramis angulatis, foliis sessilibus simplicibus alternis oppositisque lineari-lanceolatis, pedunculis solitariis unifloris supra medium bibracteatis foliis longioribus, sepalis subulatis, corollae laciniis 5-7 acutissimis.] [** P. TRICHOSTACHYA (Lindl. MS.); annua, foliis alternis linearibus pilis paucis adpressis, spicis laxis terminalibus villosissimis.] The morrow was looked forward to with impatience. Four months and a half had the main body of the party been stationary; and that was a long time to look back upon, with the expectation that it had remained undisturbed, although isolated in a country still claimed and possessed by savages. Thermometer, at sunrise, 38°; at noon, 83°; at 4 P.M., 86°; at 9, 64°;-- with wet bulb, 48°. 19TH OCTOBER.--The party was early in motion along the old track. Leaving the intermediate camp to the left, we struck across the country so as to hit the track again within a few miles of the depôt camp. Old tracks of cattle, when the earth had been soft, and the print of A SHOE, were the first traces of the white man's existence we met with; nor did we see any thing more conclusive, until the tents on the cliffs overhanging the river were visible through the trees. We saw men, also, and even recognised some of them, before our party was observed; nor did they see us advancing, with a flag on the cart, until Brown sounded the bugle. Immediately all were in motion, Mr. Kennedy coming forward to the cliffs, while the whole party received us with cheers, to which my men heartily responded. Mr. Kennedy ran down the cliffs to meet me, and was the first to give me the gratifying intelligence that the whole party were well; that the cattle and sheep were safe and fat; and, that the aborigines had never molested them. A good stock-yard had been set up; a storehouse had also been built; a garden had been fenced in, and contained lettuce, radishes, melons, cucumbers. Indeed, the whole establishment evinced the good effects of order and discipline. Drysdale, the storekeeper, had collected many birds and plants, and had also been careful of the stores. The orphan from the Bogan, little Dicky, had grown very much, and seemed a very intelligent boy; and the little intercourse Mr. Kennedy had had with the aborigines, limited as it was, by my instructions to him, was curiously characteristic of the tact and originality of this singular race. On one occasion, when on being informed that natives were near, he had hastened to meet them, taking little Dicky with him, he found remaining only a female and her mother, a remarkably old woman, who had before concealed herself among the reeds. The daughter on his approach sung a beautiful song, rapidly running through the whole gammut. Then bowing her head, she presented the back of it to him, and placing her stone-tomahawk in his hand, she bade him strike. Mr. Kennedy threw the tomahawk on the ground; and seeing the grey head amongst the reeds, he prevailed on the mother to come out. She was hideous in person, which was much more AFFREUX from the excessive rage with which she seemed to denounce the white men;--her fiend-like eyes flashing fire, as if prophetic of the advent of another race, and the certain failure of her own. The daughter seemed, at first, to treat lightly the ire of her aged parent, playfully patting with her finger her mother's fearfully protruding lip. Mr. Kennedy endeavoured to ascertain, through Dicky, the downward course of the river, and she seemed to express, and to point also, that the river passed southerly into the Balonne, which river she named, and even the Culgòa: she seemed to say the name of that locality was "Mundì." Neither of these females had any covering, but the younger wore, by way of ornament, a page of last year's Nautical Almanac, suspended by a cord from her neck. The mother continuing implacable, the daughter, with a graceful expression of respect for her, and courtesy to the stranger, waved her arm for him to retire, which gesture Mr. Kennedy and Dicky immediately obeyed. At another interview, a scheme to decoy Dicky away was tried, as related thus in Mr. Kennedy's journal:--"Sunday, 26th July. Prayers were read at 11 A.M., after which, having been told by Drysdale that the natives were still near the camp, and that there was a native amongst them who could make himself more intelligible to Dicky than the rest, I had started down the river to see them to collect what information I could, and then induce them to go farther from the camp. I had not gone far before the cooys from the tents made me aware that the natives were by this time in sight. I therefore returned, and the first object that caught my eye was the bait--a gin, dancing before some admiring spectators; and behind her was a fine, lusty native advancing by great strides, as he considered the graceful movements of his gin were gaining as fast upon the hearts of the white men. On going up to him Dicky put the usual questions as to the name of the river, and its general course. His reply to the first was not very satisfactory, but our impression was that he called it Bàlun. With respect to its course, he plainly said that it joined the Balonne; repeatedly pointing in the direction of that river and then following with his hand, the various windings of this branch; repeating the while some word implying 'walk, walk,' and ending with 'Balonne.' He knew the names of the mountains Bindàngo and Bindyègo. After this conversation he took some fat, which he appeared to have brought for the purpose, and anointed Dicky by chewing it, and then spitting upon his head and face. He next whispered to him, and (as Dicky says) invited him to join them. I then motioned to the men, who were looking on at a short distance, to go to the camp; and as they obeyed, I made the same signs to the native to move in the opposite direction, which he at length did with evident reluctance and disappointment, throwing away his green bough, and continually looking back as he retired. I desired Dicky to tell him never to come near our tents, and that no white man should go to his camp." It seems that one family only inhabits these parts, as only three huts at most were to be seen in any part of the country, either up or down the river; a very fortunate circumstance for our party, obliged to remain so long at one spot, after such a formal notice had been given to quit it, as our visitors of the 30th of May gave during my absence. Mr. Drysdale, the store-keeper, had collected an herbarium during the long sojourn of the party at that camp, which included many new plants. In August, plants had begun to blossom; and in September various novelties had been found in flower. In August, he gathered EURYBIA SUBSPICATA, Hook. EURYBIOPSIS MACRORHIZA; or a species allied to it. ACACIA DECORA; GOODENIA CORONOPIFOLIA R. Br.; CONVOLVULUS ERUBESCENS; a hairy variety of BORONIA BIPINNATA, with smaller flowers than usual, and most of the leaves simply pinnate. A cruciferous plant, probably new; two new species of EURYBIA and CALOTIS, SENECIO CARNOSULUS? D. C. An ASPERULA? with the habit of Galium. MYOPORUM DULCE; VERONICA PLEBEIA; an acerose LEUCOPOGON; a species of violet, with small, densely-spiked flowers (was covered with wild bees in search of its honey). A species of BRUNONIA, apparently the same as the B. SIMPLEX of the north bank of the Darling, but taller and less hairy. A NYSSANTHES, apparently undescribed; SWAINSONA CORONILLOEFOLIA; a small variety of SALSOLA AUSTRALIS; XEROTES DECOMPOSITA, a hard-leaved, sedgy plant; a fine LEUCOPOGON, with unilateral flowers; and another species with yellowish blossoms, both perhaps new. A pretty little grass belonging to the genus PAPPOPHORUM, with a blackish green colour.[*] A magnificent new ACACIA, with leaves nearly a foot long.[**] A minute annual CALANDRINIA.[***] An ERODIUM, closely resembling the European E. LITTOREUM, Arn. and Benth., from Isle of St. Lucie; it was also found by A. Cunningham in the swamps of the Lachlan. A new PROSTANTHERA, with indented glandular viscid leaves.[****] A beautiful ever-lasting plant belonging to the genus HELIPTERES.[*****] A new LEPTOCYAMUS, with slender, trailing, hairy stems.[******] SIDA VIRGATA (Hook. MS.)[*******] SIDA FILIFORMIS (A. Cunn.).[********] A new DODONOEA in the way of the D. CUNEATA of the colony, with long, slender flower stalks.[*********] [* P. VIRENS (Lindl. MS.); pumilum, caespitosum, aristis 9 plumosis rigidis apice nudis, spicâ compositâ laxâ tenui villosâ, glumis pilosis, paleis sericeo-pilosis, foliis tactu scabris vaginis pilosis juxta ligulam villosis.] [** A. MACRADENIA (Benth. MS.); glabra, ramulis angulatis, phyllodiis elongatis subfalcatis acutiusculis basi longe angustatis marginatis crassiusculis uninervibus penniveniis nitidis glandula magna prope basin, racemis brevibus polycephalis flexuosis subpaniculatis, capitulis multifloris, calyce breviter dentato apice corollaque aureo-hispidulis, ovario tomentoso.--Near A. FALCIFORMIS D. C. Phyllodia eight to ten inches, or near a foot long, from six to ten lines broad.] [*** C. PUSILLA (Lindl. MS.); foliis equitantibus subacinaciformibus radicalibus, caulibus simplicibus racemosis v. unifloris, floribus longè pedunculatis infimis divaricatis, floribus minutis 8-andris.] [**** P. EUPHRASIOIDES (Benth. MS.) tota viscoso-villosa, foliis linearioblongis pinnatifido-dentatis ad axillas subfasciculatis, floribus paucisaxillaribus breviter pedicellatis, calycis labiis integris, antherarum calcare longiore loculum superante.--The foliage and flowers look at first sight very much like those of some of the AUSTRALIAN EUPHRASIOE. The leaves are about three lines long.] [***** H. GLUTINOSA (Hook. MS.); piloso-glandulosa, viscosa, foliis angustolinearibus cuspidato-acuminatissimis, capitulis solitariis.--Young buds rich rose-colour: full blown capitula pure white, the involucre having a slight tinge of purple.] [****** L. LATIFOLIUS (Benth. MS.); molliter villosus, foliolis membranaceis oblique obovatis ovalibusque utrinque adpresse pubescentibus villosisve, calycibus subsessilibus villosis.] [******* S. FILIFORMIS (All. Cunn. MS.); tota stellato-tomentosa, ramis patentissimis elongatis, foliis brevissime petiolatis cordato-ovatis crenato-serratis, pedunculis axillaribus unifloris gracillimis folio triplo longioribus, calyce 5-fido petalis duplo breviore.] [******** S. VIRGATA (Hook. MS.); ramis elongatis virgatis stellato- tomentosis, foliis brevissime petiolatis lineari-oblongis serratis supra pubescentivelutinis subtus calyceque 5-fido stellato-pannosis fulvescentibus, stipulis acicularibus rigidis spinescentibus, pedunculis axillaribus unifloris folio brevioribus, petalis (flavis) calyce duplo longioribus.] [********* D. PEDUNCULARIS (Lindl. MS.); viscosa, glabra, foliis rigidis elongatis spathulatis acutis tridentatis integrisque lobo medio majore, pedicellis 1-3-filiformibus, capsulis tetrapteris viscosis alis coriaceis rotundatis.] In September, were gathered in water-holes on the ranges, RANUNCULUS SESSILIFLORUS, Br. in De Cand.; and near the camp the hard-leaved XEROTES LAXA; JUSTICIA MEDIA; EVOLVULUS LINIFOLIUS; GOODENIA FLAGELLIFERA De Vr.; CHLOANTHES STOECHADIS; the beautiful ACACIA SPECTABILIS, loaded with yellow flowers, on the banks of the river S. W. of the camp. A broader haired variet of ACACIAPENNIFOLIA; BOERHAAVIA MUTABILIS, Br. ? TECOMA OXLEYI; ACACIA CUNNINGHAMII; CARISSA OVATA Br.? a spiny, zigzag, shrub with shining leaves and white flowers; CASSIA ZYGOPHYLLA. A variety of SIDA PISIFORMIS, A. Cunn., with closer leaves and a browner pubescence; SIDA (Abutilon) FRAZERI Hook. var. PUMILA. KERAUDRENIA INTEGRIFOLIA; LEPTOCYAMUS LATIFOLIUS; POMAX HIRTA? D. C., or a variety. EREMOPHILA MITCHELLII var.? LATIFOLIA (Benth. MS.). DODONOEA ACEROSA, A. HELICHRYSUM? near H. ODORUM D. C., but with the leaves downy on both sides. PIMELEA COLORANS, a plant found by A. Cunningham along the river Macquarie. STACKHOUSIA MURICATA, Lindl., which is, perhaps, not distinct from S. SPATULATA, Sieb. A PODOLEPIS, resembling P. RUGATA Labill. PODOLEPIS LONGIPEDATA, D. C. SOLANUM BIFLORUM, a grey-leaved, dwarf, herbaceous plant. RANUNCULUS PLEBEIUS, very like an English buttercup. A PLEURANDRA, near P. ERICIFOLIA, probably a variety. RUELLIA AUSTRALIS; PITTOSPORUM SALICINUM. One of the Dodder laurels (CASSYTHA PUBESCENS, R. Br.), a species also found near Port Jackson. VIGNA LANCEOLATA; XEROTES LONGIFOLIA, a very common, hard-leaved plant. ANTHERICUM BULBOSUM, R. Br. GERANIUM PARVIFLORUM? or one nearly allied to it: exactly the same species is found in Van Diemen's Land. HELIPTERUM ANTHEMOIDES? D. C., but smaller in all its parts. NEPTUNIA GRACILIS; BRUNONIA SERICEA; SIDA, apparently new. A new and fine species of MENTHA.[*] A new, round-leaved species of PROSTANTHERA.[**] A new species of SWAINSONA[***]; PLEURANDRA CISTOIDEA (Hook. MS.).[****] A new TRICHINIUM, with conical flower- heads.[*****] A species of HIBISCUS, with purple flowers.[******] A new species of DAVIESIA, with spiny, shaggy leaves.[*******] Thermometer, at sunrise, 46°; at noon, 81°; at 4 P.M., 75°; at 9, 50°;--with wet bulb, 47°. [* M. GRANDIFLORA (Benth. MS.); molliter pubescens, caulibus erectis, foliis petiolatis ovatis acutiusculis dentatis planis verticillatis laxis sexfloris, calycis dentibus lanceolato-subulatis intus vix pilosis, corolla calyce subduplo longiore, staminibus exsertis.--Near M. AUSTRALIS Br., but the leaves broader and flowers larger.] [** P. RINGENS (Benth. MS.); ramulis puberulis, foliis petiolatis rhombeoorbiculatis integerrimis utrinque opacis glandulosis, calycis glandulosi glabri labiis integris, corollae labio superiore subgaleato, antherarum calcaribus loculo brevioribus.--Foliage nearly that of P. RHOMBEA. Flowers much larger.] [*** S. PHACOIDES (Benth. MS.); decumbens molliter pubescens, foliolis 13- 15-linearibus cuneatisve, pedunculis folio longioribus apice paucifloris, legumine brevissime stipitato villoso.--A low plant with much the habit of several PHACAS or ASTRAGALI. Flower yellow, smaller than in S. CORONILLOEFOLIA.] [**** P. CISTOIDEA (Hook. MS.); pilis stellatis brevibus rigidis asperis, foliis angusto-linearibus obtusis marginibus revolutis, floribus in ramos breves solitariis, staminibus sub-12 unilateralibus, filamentis infra medium inaequaliter connexis antheras longitudine aequantibus, ovario parvo globoso lanato.] [***** T. CONICUM (Lindl. MS.); hirto-pubescens, caule basi diviso, ramis ascendentibus subsimplicibus, foliis lineari-lanceolatis acutis, spicâ conicâ, bracteis unincrviis mucronatis glabris, rachi tomentosâ.] [****** H. STURTII (Hook. MS.); suffruticosus ubique subtus praecipue dense stellatim tomentosus, foliis petiolatis oblongo-ovatis ellipticisve obtusis grosse crenato-serratis, pedunculis axillaribus unifloris solitariis folio brevioribus, involucro monophyllo ..... turbinato 6-8- fido calycem 5-fidum aequante, capsulis hispidissimis.--This species was also found by Capt. Sturt in the south interior. The flowers are purple, sometimes yellowish in drying. The involucre is very remarkable, monophyllous, broad at top and 6 or 8-cleft, almost wholly concealing the calyx.--W. J. H.] [******* D. FILIPES (Benth. MS.); ramis hirsutis inermibus, foliis ovalioblongis sublanceolatisve apice spinoso-mucronatis planis pubescentibus, pedicellis filiformibus folio demum longioribus in pedunculo brevissimo solitariis geminisve.] 20TH OCTOBER.--It was necessary to halt here a day or two, that the blacksmith might have time to repair the light carts, and shoe the horses. I took a ride this day with Mr. Kennedy to a hill some miles eastward of the camp, in which he had found some remarkable fossils. The hill consisted of a red ferruguinous sandstone, in parts of which were imbedded univalve and bivalve shells, pieces of water-worn or burnt wood, and what seemed fragments of bone. To some of the portions of wood, young shells adhered, but others bore, evidently, marks of fire; showing the black scarified parts, and those left untouched or unscarified, very plainly. Other portions of woods had their ends waterworn, and were full of long cracks, such as appear in wood long exposed to the sun. These specimens were, in general, silicified: but the outer parts came off in soft flakes resembling rotten bark, being equally pliant, although they felt gritty, like sand, between the teeth. This hill was rather isolated, but portions of tabular masses, forming the range of St. George's Pass, and in contact with the volcanic hill of Mount Kennedy which forms a nucleus to these cliffy ranges, being about 9 miles N. E. of this hill, to which, from its contents, I gave the name of Mount Sowerby. The weeping GEIJERA PENDULA again occurred in abundance near Mount Sowerby; the CAPPARIS LASIANTHA was climbing up the rocks there, and amongst the grasses we observed a species of the genus LAPPAGO, perhaps not distinct from the Indian L. BIFLORA. Thermometer, at sunrise, 39°; at noon, 56°; 4 P.M., 87°; at 9, 67°; with wet bulb, 52°. 21ST OCTOBER.--I took a ride with Mr. Kennedy to the summit to which I had attached his name, having occasion to take a back angle from it on Mount Owen, and one or two other points. I could there show him many of the distant summits to the northward of the country, I was about to lay down on my map. We rode over a fine tract of forest land, extending from the camp to the foot of the mountain, a distance of about twelve miles. On the high range grew a profusion of a beautiful little PTEROSTYLIS, quite new, but in the way of P. RUFA[*], a single specimen of a new KENNEDYA was gathered there.[**] On the plains we found a curious new form of the genus DANTHONIA, much resembling wheat in ear[***], and a new JASMINE, with a rich perfume, resembling I. LINEARE, but with short axillary corymbs of flowers. This species has been named by Dr. Lindley after myself.[****] We found also the SOLANUM VIOLACEUM with its violet flowers and orange spines. A fine wiry herbage was formed by the LAXMANNIA GRACILIS, now in flower, ERYTHROEA AUSTIALIS D. C., a smallflowered species of CENTAURY, the DIANELLA RARA, R. Br. and SALVIA PLEBEIA. Thermometer, at sunrise, 48°; at noon, 85°; at 4, P.M., 84°; at 9, 65° with wet bulb, 52°. [* P. MITCHELLII (Lindl. MS.); foliis omnibus radicalibus stellatis, vaginis scapi multiflori 3 remotis, scpalis setaceo-acuminatis, labelli laminâ ovato-lineari obtusâ canaliculatâ supra pilis (luteis) articulatis crinitâ.] [** K. PROCURRENS (Benth. MS.); foliolis 3 ellipticis ovatisve mucronulatis utrinque hirtellis subtus reticulatis, stipulis subcordato- lanceolatis acutissimis striatis, pedunculis versus apicem plurifloris petiolo multo longioribus, floribus subnutantibus.--Flowers considerably smaller than in K. PROSTRATA, and petals narrower.] [*** D. TRITICOIDES (Lindl. MS.); culmo ramoso stricto, foliis glabris margine spinoso-scabris basi planis apice involutis, spicâ cylindraceâ distichâ secundâ, spiculis subtrifloris flore summo mutico abortiente, paleae inferioris dorso lanatae aristâ rectâ glumâ mucronatâ multinervi longiore.] [**** J. MITCHELLII; foliis ternatis glabris; foliolis linearibus linearilanceolatisque, ramis teretibus, corymbis axillaribus subsessilibus foliis multo brevioribus, calycibus pubescentibus subtruncatis 5-dentatis, corollae limbo 5-fido acuto.] 22D OCTOBER.--The information Mr. Kennedy had gathered from the natives, about the final course of the river; his surveys thereof, which, even on foot, he had extended sixteen miles (eight miles each way from the camp), and the fact, that the fish of the Balonne, Cod, or GRISTES PEELII had, at length been caught in it, all led to the conclusion that this river was no other than the tributary which on the 24th, of April I at first followed up, and afterwards halted and wrote back to Mr. Kennedy about. By following this down, the probability that we should find water seemed greater, than by returning along our old track, where we had left behind some ponds so small that we could not hope to find any water remaining, especially at two of the camps between us and Bindango, I therefore determined to follow this river downward, and to survey its course. We left the depôt camp this morning, and to avoid some overhanging cliffs on the river, we travelled first over an open tract. The camp we left, namely, XXIX, or "MOONDI," or the "second depôt camp," will be found a valuable cattle-station or sheep-station, by the first squatter coming this way. The runs about it are very extensive; the natives few and inoffensive, and the stock-yard etc., left there, renders it very complete. I must not omit, however, to mention, that the water had become slightly brackish, but not so as to be unpalatable, or even, indeed, perceptible, except to persons unused to it. The large reach had fallen two feet since the party first occupied that station. In other reaches lower down, that we passed during this day's journey, the water was perfectly sweet. I proceeded about thirteen miles with the light party, and encamped at the junction of a little river from the N. W. formerly crossed by me (on my ride of 23d May). A new poppy was found on the flats by the river, near PAPAVER DUBIUM; but the leaves, when dry, became darkgreen not pale; the aculei are too numerous and stout, pectant not depressed, and the flowers very small. The teams and drays did not arrive as expected, and the men with me had not brought any provisions with them. We saw natives in the woods before we encamped, and parts of the grass on fire. A beautifully worked net, laid carefully under a piece of bark, having two curiously carved stakes attached to it, was found by Mr. Kennedy, who made deep impressions of his boots in the soil near it, that the natives might see that white men had been there, and had left the net untouched. Thermometer, at sunrise, 47°; at noon, 81°; at 4 P.M., 85°; at 9, 70°; with wet bulb, 56°. Height above the sea, 1185 feet (Camp 76). 23RD OCTOBER.--We were obliged to halt, and await the arrival of the drays, which only took place at ½ past 11, A.M. The cattle were found to be so fat and fresh, that the drivers could not get them along faster. Mr. Stephenson obtained a specimen of the dove observed by me on the Victoria. (GEOPALIA CUNEATA). I had heard the note in the woods, and directed his attention to it. The SWANSONIA CORONILLOEFOLIA adorned the rich flats with its crimson pear-shaped blossoms, and the CROTALARIA DISSITIFLORA, was also in flower, but smaller than usual; more rigid, with a denser silky pubescence, and smaller, shorter leaflets. The SIDA (Abutilon) FRAZERI (Hook. M S.)[*] and also the CLEMATIS STENOPHYLLA[**], were found on this part of the river. Thermometer, at sunrise, 48°; at noon, 91°; at 4 P. M., 93°; at 9, 65°;--with wet bulb, 53°. [* S. (ABUTILON) FRASERI (Hook. MS.); tota stellato-pubescens, foliis ovatiscordatis acutis argutè crenato-serratis, petiolo folium aequante, pedunculis axillaribus solitariis unifloris apicem versus articulatis, calycis 5-partiti segmentis ovato-lanceolatis.--SIDA DUMOSA, J. Backhouse MS. in Hook. Herb. (not Swartz). This has a most extensive range; having been found at Moreton Bay by Mr. Backhouse, at Brisbane River by Fraser and Smith, and in other parts of this colony by All. Cunningham.] [** C. STENOPHYLLA Fraser in Hook. Herb. C. OCCIDENTALIS A. Cunn. in Hook. Herb.--Very nearly allied to C. MICROPHYLLA of De Cand. Syst. i. p. 147. but in that the carpels are said to be glabrous.] 24TH OCTOBER.--Soon after leaving the camp this morning, we entered upon an open country, the downs extending before us from the right bank of the river, the course of which was somewhat to the eastward of south. The cattle came on faster this day, and we encamped on the skirts of the plain, near a fine reach of water in the river. We were now upwards of twenty miles to the westward of Bindango, with abundance of water; whereas I had always looked back to much difficulty in returning by that route, as the ponds near it were likely to be dried up. I had seen the higher parts of these downs from the summit of Bindango, but did not then suspect that a large river was in the midst of them, whose course was so favourable for a traveller proceeding northward. The discovery of these extensive downs was an important incident in this journey, watered as they were by a fine river; especially as the country to the N. W. was open or thinly wooded, and likely to be found so as far as the central downs and plains on the banks of the river Victoria. A new and very remarkable Ventilago was found this day.[*] I now again numbered the camps, continuing the series backwards, by a different character; this was numbered 77; the last, 76. The utility of these numbers along our surveyed line will be admitted, when the country is taken up, as they will not only serve to identify localities with the map, but may also enable the land-surveyors to connect local surveys with the general map of the country. The sky was overcast with thunder-clouds in the afternoon, and the mercurial column was low; but no rain fell, and a clear starry sky, at 9 P. M., admitted of our observations as usual. Thermometer, at sunrise, 53°; at noon, 85°; at 4 P. M., 83°; at 9, 58°;-- with wet bulb, 47°. Height above the sea, 1295 feet. (Camp 77.) [* V. VIMINALIS (Hook. MS.); foliis anguste elongato-lanceolatis integerrimis nervis costa parallelis, paniculis axillaribus terminalibusque.--The other hitherto known species of the genus, have broad leaves, more or less denticulate, with patent nerves. The flowers and fruit entirely accord with those of the genus.--W. J. H. "Tree 20 feet high, growing on high sandy ridges."] 25TH OCTOBER.--We continued in the direction of a column of smoke I had perceived yesterday, believing that there I should intersect the river, or at least find water. We found the open downs at length, hemmed in by ACACIA PENDULA, growing openly; but which gave place to a scrub, as we approached some ridges. These ridges consisted of red gravel; the scrub contained callitris, casuarina, silver-leaved iron-bark, malga and brigalow, the two latter growing so thickly as to compel me to turn eastward to avoid them. This elevated rocky ground was found more extensive than I had expected, throwing down many water-courses to the east and north-east; but, at length, we made the river, and encamped after a journey of 10 1/3 miles. It there ran through a deep valley, due south, with a broad channel, in which we found a reach of water covered with ducks. The country beyond it, to the eastward, over which our former route passed, appeared like high table-land in bluey distance; but neither of the mountains Bindango or Bindyego were visible from the country traversed by the party this day. Thermometer, at sunrise, 43°; at noon, 81°; at 4 P. M., 94°; at 9, 65°;--with wet bulb, 51°. Height above the sea, 1186 feet. (Camp 78.) 26TH OCTOBER.--A river coming into the Maranòa, about a mile from our camp, was apparently the river Amby; but without having traced its course throughout, I could not feel certain of this, after all I had seen of these rivers: I think this was the same, however. We kept the Maranòa on our left during the whole of this day's journey, and were thus able to pursue a tolerably straight line in the direction of about 20° E. of S. At length, arriving at the junction of an important tributary from the N. W., full of water, and seeing another also join from the east, I crossed the main channel and encamped on the left bank, in sight of a reach of broad blue water below the junction, of an extent which reminded us of the Balonne itself. The valley of the river seemed bounded by continuous ranges of high land, which looked in the back-ground like table-land. Recently, much grass and bushes had been burnt, along the banks of the river, by the natives; and we this day passed over a tract where the grass was still in a blaze on both sides of us. Crows and hawks hovered over the flames, apparently intent on depriving the devouring clement of whatever prey more properly belonged to them. In a dry part of the bed of the river, I met with many instances of a singular habit of the eelfish (JEWFISH) PLOTOSUS TANDANUS.[*] I had previously observed, elsewhere, in the aquatic weeds growing in extensive reaches, clear circular openings, showing white parts of the bottom, over which one or two fishes continually swam round in circles. I now found in the dry bed, that such circles consisted of a raised edge of sand, and were filled with stones, some as large as a man's closed fist. Yuranigh told me that this was the nest of a pair of these fish, and that they carried the stones there, and made it. The general bed of the river where I saw these nests, consisted wholly of deep firm sand; and that the fish had some way of carrying or moving stones to such spots, seemed evident, but for what purpose I could not discover. Thermometer, at sunrise, 56°; at noon, 83°; at 4 P. M., 93°; at 9, 75°;--with wet bulb, 59°. [* See Pl. 6. fig. 2. p. 44. vol. i. of Three Expeditions.] 27TH OCTOBER.--We now travelled along the left bank of the river, and found the country tolerably open. The ADRIANIA ACERIFOLIA grew on an islet in the river.[*] This still pursued a remarkably straight course, and contained abundance of water. After passing over a place where the bush was on fire, we saw a female in the act of climbing a tree. When she had ascended about eight feet, she remained stationary, looking at us without any appearance of dismay. I continued to pursue a straight- forward course, but told Yuranigh to inquire, EN PASSANT, what was the name of the river; to which question she replied, in his own language, "The name of that water is Maranòa:" thus confirming the name we had already understood, however indirectly, to be that of the river. It proved the accuracy of my servant Brown's ear, for it was first communicated to him, during my absence, by the old chief at Bindango. The gin appeared to be climbing in search of honey. To state that this female wore no sort of clothing, were superfluous to any reader of this journal who may have been in such interior parts of Australia. After travelling about fourteen miles, we came upon a fine reach of the river, and encamped beside it. Thermometer, at sunrise, 59°; at noon, 68°; at 4 P. M., 95°; at 9, 77°;--wet bulb, 65°. Height above the sea, 832 feet. (Camp 80.) [* A. ACERIFOLIA (CROTON ACERIFOLIUM All. Cunn. MS.); foliis cordato- ovatis trifidis segmentis acuminatis grosse inaequaliter sinuato- serratis, subtus bracteisque pubescenti-tomentosis.--Shrub three feet high. Flowers scarlet. Collected by Allan Cunningham along the Lachlan river.] 28TH OCTOBER.--Heavy rain was falling soon after day-break, and I most willingly sat still in my tent, hoping the rain would continue. Just in sight of it grew a picturesque tree: the half-dead, half-alive aspect presented by the same sort of tree, was not unfrequent in the Australian woods; and I was induced to sketch this specimen, as highly characteristic of the scenery. These trees, "so wither'd and so wild in their attire," generally appear under the shelter of other taller trees; have half their branches dead, the part still in foliage drooping like the willow, the leaf being very small. It is an Acacia (A. VARIANS), and I was informed by Yuranigh that it is the Upas of Australia; the natives call it "Goobang," and use a bough of it to poison the fish in waterholes. They are too honest and fair in their fights to think of poisoning their weapons. The aspect of this half-dead tree is certainly characteristic of its deleterious qualities, in the wild romantic outline resembling Shakspeare's lean, poison-selling apothecary,-- --"who dwelt about the very gates of death, Pale misery had worn him to the bones." Some good soaking rain fell until about 10 A. M., after which we had a cool day and cloudy sky. The rain ensured to us at least dew on the grass for a morning or two; and this, with the prospect of finding the channel dry lower down, was a great advantage. Thermometer, at sunrise, 61°; at noon, 75°; at 4 P. M., 76°; at 9, 60°;--wet bulb, 51°. 29TH OCTOBER.--A clear cool morning. We travelled this day with so much ease, that we got over twenty miles without apparent fatigue, to bullocks or horses. The necessity for travelling so far arose from the utter want of water in the river bed. The course was very direct; the country was open, and clothed with rich verdure on which our cattle could have reposed, doubtless with great satisfaction, both to themselves and drivers, had water also been at hand; but after travelling over, and measuring twenty miles, we were obliged to encamp without any. As this seemed only a branch of the river. I sent Corporal Graham to ascertain what was beyond, while I, with Yuranigh, examined this channel backwards. We found no water in either direction, but Corporal Graham discovered the main channel at a mile and a half westward from our camp, and traced it to near the junction with the ana-branch on which we were encamped. We discovered this day a club and shield, such as the natives use on the Belyando, carefully put away upon a sort of scaffold of bark, and covered with bark. The shield was made of very light wood, the face being rounded, and having been covered with a dark varnish like japan; for which the surface had been made rough by crossed lines, resembling those made on the first coat of plaster. It was evident, from the marks on this shield, that the clubs were frequently used as missiles.[*] Each man of the tribe that visited my camp on the Belyando, carried three or four of these, but no shields; a plain indication that they were not then armed for war against other aborigines. Thermometer, at sunrise, 36°; at noon, 68°; at 4 P.M., 73°; at 9, 49°;--with wet bulb, 40°. [* Deposited in the British Museum (60, 61.).] 30TH OCTOBER.--We were now fifty-two miles from the junction of the dry channel we crossed by the Balonne, and forty from the nearest part of our former route, in advancing into this country. The risk of want of water was worth encountering in the most direct line homewards, which was by following down this river. I travelled, as straight as the bush would allow, towards the junction; Graham examining the channel while we proceeded. No water was found where the rivers united. Having halted the small party with me, I followed one branch many miles with Yuranigh, but all we could find were some wells, dug by natives, in a part of the sandy bed; in one of which Yuranigh found, by a long bough he thrust in, that there was moisture about five feet below the surface. I returned, determined to encamp near this, and dig a well. The bullock teams had also arrived when I returned to the party, and I learnt that Drysdale, having observed that my little dog Procyon came in wet, had been led to the discovery of a lagoon about three miles back, at which the cattle had been already watered. I immediately encamped. At finding water the dog was most expert, the native next, we inferior to both. We had come about fifteen miles, and I wished to lay down the journey on the map. On doing this, I found we had at length attained a point from whence, in case of necessity, we could go as far as the Balonne, even if no water were found in the country intervening, the direct distance being under forty miles. During the afternoon, a still larger lagoon was found, higher up than the first. I resolved to give the cattle a day's rest, and then to proceed prepared, by well watering them previously, to travel on to the Balonne, but not with much expectation that scarcity of water would oblige us to go so far. Thermometer, at sunrise, 34°; at noon, 70°; at 4 P. M., 78°; at 9, 60°;--with wet bulb, 46°. 31ST OCTOBER.--Two men were sent to the westward, where they found a dry sandy country with pines, the same as that seen by me on my first ride from St. George's bridge to the N.W., on the 18th of April. I was myself engaged at the camp, on my general map of the country. Thermometer, at sunrise, 33°; at noon, 81°; at 4 P. M., 84°; at 9, 51°--wet bulb, 43°. Height above the sea, 882 feet. 1ST NOVEMBER.--The cattle and horses, having been all night loose beside Drysdale's ponds, were brought in early, and we then proceeded. After travelling about eight miles, over ground bearing traces of inundation, and looking, as we proceeded, into the river channel for water, Yuranigh found a lagoon in a hollow parallel to the river, and I encamped, resolved to reduce as much as possible the distance to be traversed in uncertainty about finding water. We had, however, found rocky ridges on the left, like bergs to the river; and the voices of natives in the woods, as well as these ridges, redeemed the country from the aspect of drought. This was but a small portion of the fine pastoral country, traversed by this river, where we found the channel dry; and I think this want was compensated by many lagoons and watercourses in that back country extending to the little river from Mount Abundance, the Cogoon. 2D NOVEMBER.--After watering all the animals, we went forward, prepared to go on to the Balonne, even if we should meet with no water until we arrived at that river. We found, however, that the country we were to traverse was well watered. Three miles on from our camp, the country appeared quite verdant, and park-like in its woods. The channel of the river was bordered with green reeds, and contained a deep reach of sparkling water. The river took a turn to the eastward, and, in the angle formed by its again turning south, a little tributary entered it from the north, which was full of ponds of water, and had not long ceased to run. This came from the rocky tract situated between our old line of route, along the little river Cogoon near Mount First View, and the Maranòa. The water now found supplied the only link wanting in our explored line along the last mentioned river, and I had no doubt that, by crossing that country more directly towards the upper part of the Maranòa, a supply would be found at convenient stages. On crossing the little tributary (which I called Requisite Ponds), we found that the river resumed its straight course towards the Balonne; and, in latitude 27° 31' 37" S., we again saw green reeds and a good pond, beside which we encamped. Thermometer, at sunrise, 50°; at noon, 76°; at 4 P. M., 79°; at 9, 63°; --with wet bulb, 61°. (Camp 82.) Height above the sea, 969 feet. 3D NOVEMBER.--The river accompanied us but a short way this day, as I had determined to follow a straight line towards the junction with the Balonne, aware that the course of the river, for ten or twelve miles above that point, turned very much to the westward. We passed through much open forest, and over much sandy ground, on which the callitris always appeared to predominate. Little scrub lay in our way. At length, plains again appeared before us through the trees; and, beyond them, after travelling twenty-two miles, we saw before us the river line, running north-east. We crossed it, and still continued to travel on towards the main river; but night overtook us when not far distant from it, so that we were obliged to encamp within the distance of a mile and a half, after a journey, with carts, of 26½ miles. Here occurred the only Epiphyte observed during the expedition. It was growing in the dead parts of trees in the forest, and proved to be the CYMBIDIUM CANALICULATUM of Brown. One of the specimens had a raceme of flowers above a foot long. The fragrant JASMINUM MITCHELLII occurred, with narrower leaves than usual, at the foot of the forest trees. JUSTICIA ADSCENDENS, an inconspicuous weed, covered the plains in large tufts. The MELALEUCA TRICHOSTACHYA was there; and on the plains, and in open forests, grew a woolly. ANDROPOGON, which appeared not to be distinct from the A. BOMBYCINUS. In the open forest grew, here and there, the delicate COESIA OCCIDENTALIS, and on the plains a small species of HEDYOTIS; a new CALOCEPHALUS in bunches[*], and a creeping plant, with yellow flowers, since found to be a new species of GOODENIA.[**] Thermometer, at sunrise, 51°; at noon, 85°; at 4 P.M., 86°; at 9, 66°;--with wet bulb, 54°. Height above the sea, 819 feet. [* C. GNAPHALIOIDES (Hook. MS.); annua erecta arachnoidea superne dichotome ramosa, foliis linearibus, capitulorum glomerulis laxiusculis corymbosis, involucri cylindracei squamis pellucidis albis.--Probably a distinct genus.] [** G. FLAGELLIFERA (de Vriese MS.); herbacea, glabra, foliis radicalibus longe petiolatis, spathulatis, flagellis elongatis: floribus radicalibus, axillaribus, longissime pedunculatis; calyce supero, quinquefido, laciniis lineari-lanceolatis, bibracteolato; corolla bilabiata flava, labio superiore fisso; fllamentis et antheris liberis; stigmatis indusio ciliato; flagellis folii-et floriferis valde elongatis capsula prismatica, biloculari; seminibus marginatis compressis; flagellis floriferis; floribus in axilla folii ovatorotundati, auriculati, subamplexicaulis, contentis, brevius pedunculatis.--Folia radicalia, 8-10 cent. longa, 1½-2 cent. lata, apice rotundata, subrepandula, deorsum attenuata, subdecurrentia, utrinque glaberrima, subtus pallidiora; folia flagellorum bracteiformia, ovata, subrotunda, uno vel utroque latere auriculata, alterutra auricula multo minore, floribus vero in bractearum illarum axillis, reliquis multo minoribus neque ad normam perfectis, brevius pedunculatis. Affinis species G. HEDERACEOE.--DE VR.] 4TH NOVEMBER.--At an early hour we proceeded, and had the satisfaction soon to find our old wheeltracks along the bank of the majestic Balonne. This truly noble river was here as broad as the Thames at Richmond; its banks were verdant with a luxuriant crop of grass, and the merry notes of numerous birds gave the whole scene a most cheering appearance; especially to us who were again upon a route connected with home, and at a point 200 miles nearer to it, than where we had last seen that route. We had since made the discovery, and completed the survey, of the lower Maranòa, a river which had brought us in a very straight direction back to this point; and by tracing this down, we had established a well watered line of route back to the fine regions we had discovered in the more remote interior. I marked a tree at this camp (83.), which mark is intended to show where this route turns towards the Maranòa x. being marked at the next camp back along the old track. In the Balonne, huge cod-fish (GRISTES PEELII) were caught this afternoon; indeed, we already felt comparatively at home, although still far from the settled districts, and strangers to all that had been passing in the world during seven months. I was busy endeavouring to complete my maps before other cares should divert my attention from the one subject that had occupied it so long. But in perusing nature's own book, I could, at leisure, think sometimes on many other subjects, and I fancied myself wiser than when I set out,--much improved in health,--bronzed and bearded; sunproof, fly- proof, and water-proof: that is to say, proof against the want of it, "LUCUS A NON LUCENDO." Thermometer, at sunrise, 44°; at noon, 76°; at 4 P.M., 85°; at 9, 71°;--wet bulb, 59°. Height above the sea, 738 feet. 5TH NOVEMBER.--We now travelled back along our old track towards Camp VIII., at St. George's Bridge, where the first depôt had been stationed; the tracks of several horsemen, returning after rain, were visible along our route, and the prints of natives' feet with them. How far these parties had been further on, along the other route by which we had advanced, we could not then ascertain. In the course of our ride this day, we came suddenly upon two females, who were so busy digging roots on a plain crossed by our track, that we were too near to admit of their running off before they perceived us; they therefore remained on the spot until we went up to them. They informed us, through Yuranigh, that "the tracks were those of five white men on horseback, who had been accompanied by natives on foot. They came there about one moon before then, and had been looking very much all about; these females could not think what for." We took up our old position, overlooking the rocky bed of the river. Pieces of old iron had been left untouched by the natives, both at this camp, and were found on our old track in returning. As these articles were such as they could have made great use of, I considered their leaving them a proof of their good disposition towards the exploring party; and of the very favourable impression we had made formerly on the aborigines, at the interview with the assembled tribes of this river. In the scrubs adjacent, we found, for the first time, the ripe fruit of the "Quandang" (FUSANUS ACUMINATUS), and several shrubs in flower that we thought new to botany. Thermometer, at sunrise, 44°; at noon, 76°; at 4 P.M., 85°; at 9, 71°;--wet bulb, 59°. Chapter IX. MR. KENNEDY SENT TO EXPLORE THE MOONI PONDS.--I COMPLETE THE MAPS.-- EXCESSIVE HEAT AGAIN.--NEW PLANTS FOUND.--MR. KENNEDY RETURNS--AFTER SUFFERING MUCH FROM THE HEAT AND DROUGHT.--CORPORAL GRAHAM SENT WITH DESPATCHES FOR THE GOVERNOR OF NEW SOUTH WALES.--THE PARTY CROSSES THE BALONNE--BY ST. GEORGE'S BRIDGE.--REACHES THE MOONI PONDS--OR RIVER.-- TRACKS OF CATTLE AND HORSES NUMEROUS.--A WHITE WOMAN MET WITH.--CATTLE STATIONS.--HEAVY AND CONTINUED RAIN RETARDS THE PARTY.--FLOODS ALMOST SURROUND THE CAMP.--THE WATERS KEPT BACK BY A DAM OF SAND.--AFTER SEVENTEEN DAYS HALT, THE PARTY CROSSES FROM THE MOONI TO THE BARWAN.--A FLOOD IN THE BARWAN.--PASSAGE WITH THE BOATS.--MUSQUITOES NUMEROUS AFTER THE RAIN.--STRAY HORSES JOIN OURS.--THE MAAL ALSO FLOODED.--CROSS IT WITH THE BOATS.--THE MEEI CROSSED.--CROSS OTHER BRANCHES OF THE GWYDIR.-- RECOGNISE MOUNT RIDDELL.--ENTER ON EXTENSIVE PLAINS.--SNODGRASS LAGOON.-- A YOUNG SQUATTER.--LEAVE THE PARTY IN CHARGE OF MR. KENNEDY.--RIDE HOMEWARDS. 5TH to 9TH NOVEMBER.--These days I devoted to the protracting of angles taken on the Victoria, and the last day to writing my despatch to the Government; and on this morning (the 9th) I sent Mr. Kennedy, followed by Corporal Graham and John Douglas, to examine the country in the direction of the furthest point attained by me on my journey of 1831; that was on the Barwan (Karaula) in latitude 29° 2' S., and bearing about 20° E. of S. from this camp. A chain of ponds, called the "Mooni" ponds, were said to water the intervening country, and I wished to ascertain whether they were favourable for the connection of our recently explored route, with the termination of that marked out by me in 1831, when my journey, undertaken expressly with the same objects in view, was accidentally frustrated. Corporal Graham was to go forward to the postoffice at Tamworth with the despatches, when Mr. Kennedy, having ascertained the situation of the Mooni ponds, should return. In the meanwhile, I continued to finish maps and drawings, although suffering much inconvenience from excessive heat, under a tent infested with numerous flies. The banks of the river were gay with the purple flowers of SWAINSONA CORONILLOEFOLIA; FUSANUS ACUMINATUS, produced its crimson-coloured fruit, which Yuranigh brought us from the bush; the spotted bark tree, ELOEODENDRON MACULOSUM, was also in these scrubs. A yellow-flowered herbaceous plant, has been determined by Professor De Vriese to be identical with the Swan River GOODENIA PULCHELLA. A salt plant, greedily eaten by the cattle, proved to be a variety of the ATRIPLEX NUMMULARIS, observed in February on the Macquarie. A species of GREWIA, in fruit, appeared to be the same as the G. RICHARDIANA of Walpers. The TRICHINIUM FUSIFORME R. Br., was covered with its globular, shaggy flower-heads, in the sandy open parts of the forest. A very remarkable shrub, five or six feet high, with the foliage of a Phyllirea, and spreading branches, was loaded with short racemes of white flowers. It proved to be a plant of the natural order of Bixads, and allied to MELICYTUS, but with hermaphrodite flowers.[*] A submerged plant, in the water, was found to be a new species of MYRIOPHYLLUM, with tuberculate fruit.[**] CASSIA CORONILLOIDES, a low shrub, was in flower.[***] A shrubby MYOPORUM put forth sweet and edible fruit. A new ELOEODENDRON, with small panicles of white flowers, formed a forest tree twenty feet high, remarkable for its spotted bark.[****] A fir-leaved CASSIA, with thin, sickle-leaved pods, formed a bush, from four to five feet high.[*****] A new blue-flowered MORGANIA, decorated the river- bank[******]; lastly, a new species of indigo[*******], completed the list of plants we gathered at this season at the camp over St. George's Bridge. [* M. ? OLEASTER (Lindl. MS.); glaberrimus, foliis lineari-lanceolatis supra griseis subtus virentibus venosis racemis strictis multo longioribus, floribus hermaphroditis.--OBS. SEP. 5. PET. 5 hypog. imbricata. ST. 5 in margine disci magni inserta. OVAR. ovatum 1-loc. plac. 3-par. STYLUS simplex. STIGMA parvum 3-dent. FRUCTUS ignotus, verisim. carnosus.] [** M. VERRUCOSUM (Lindl. MS.); foliis submersis capillaceo-multifidis emersis ternatim verticillatis ovatis pinnatifidis, floribus octandris, fructibus tuberculatis.] [*** C. CORONILLOIDES (A. Cunn. MS.); ramis subangulatis petiolisque minute puberulis, foliolis 8-10-jugis lineari-oblongis obtusiusculis glabris, glandula cylindrica inter par infimum, racemis axillaribus 2-3- floris folio multo brevioribus.--Very near C. AUSTRALIS, but the leaflets are fewer and smaller, and the subulate glands of that species are wanting.--G. B. M. DULCE (Benth. MS.); ramulis laevibus, foliis anguste lanceolatis planis acutis uninervibus basi angustatis, laciniis calycinis linearilanceolatis acutis brevibus, corollae limbo imberbi.--Intermediate between M. TENUIFOLIUM Br. and M. DESERTI Cunn.] [**** E. MACULOSUM (Lindl. MS.); inerme, foliis linearibus obovatis integerrimis obtusis, paniculis terminalibus ultra folia evectis.] [***** C. CIRCINNATA (Benth. MS.); glabriuscula, petiolis phyllodineis lineari-subteretibus, foliolis nullis, racemis phyllodio plerumque brevioribus 1-2-floris, legumine plano glabro cincinnato v. spiraliter contorto.--Phyllodia one to one and a half inch long, resembling the leaflets of C. HETEROLOBA. Pod like that of several PITHECOLOBIA, but not yet ripe.] [****** M. FLORIBUNDA (Benth. MS.); dense glandulosa, caeterum glabra, ramis strictis dense foliosis foliis linearibus rarissime dentatis, pedicellis plerisque geminis folio florali multo brevioribus.--This is a very distinct species which was also gathered by Sir T. Mitchell in 1836, but my specimen was not complete enough to describe it accurately, the branches are thickly covered with leaves and flowers. The lower leaves are one to two inches long, the flowers blue, like those of M. GLABRA. G.B.] [******* I. BREVIDENS (Benth. MS.) fruticosa, gracilis, pilis parvis canescens, foliolis 6-10-jugis cum impari oppositis obovatis subplanis mucronatis v. emarginatis utrinque strigosis, racemis multifloris laxis folia vix superantibus, bracteis minutis, calycis villosuli dentibus brevissimis obtusis, corolla pubescente, legumine strigilloso incurvo.-- It has much the aspect of I. MICRANTHA (Bunge), but the flowers are not quite so small, and the teeth of the calyx are very different.] 15TH NOVEMBER.--Mr. Kennedy having been absent much longer than was expected, at length appeared on the opposite bank of the river with Douglas, both being on foot, and Douglas leading only one (strange) horse. The information Mr. Kennedy brought me was favourable to the project of uniting this route with that to the Barwan, and the (now) settled district of the Nammoy. He had found that the Mooni ran nearly north and south, and that its banks were occupied with cattle-stations to within a day's ride of our camp. This ride of discovery had, however, cost the lives of two of our horses, the bearing already mentioned as the direction given for Mr. Kennedy's guidance having been TRUE and not magnetic. Pursuing that bearing BY COMPASS, Mr. Kennedy had ridden almost parallel to the Mooni, sixty-three miles, without hitting them, or finding water. The heat was intense, one of the horses died, and the men were very ill; when they at length reached these ponds. In returning, he had travelled by the stations, and borrowed the horse brought back, from the station nearest to us, occupied by Messrs. Hook. From these gentlemen Mr. Kennedy had ascertained that Sir Charles Fitzroy was the new Governor. 17TH NOVEMBER.--The whole party crossed the Balonne by St. George's Bridge, and I arrived, the same afternoon, with a small advanced party on the Mooni, which we made in latitude 28° 17' 51" S. The channel was full of water, and thus we completed the last link wanted to form a chain of communication DIRECT FROM SYDNEY, to the furthest limits we had explored. The ground was imprinted with the hoofs of cattle, and we already felt as if at home. The day was one of extreme heat without any wind; the thermometer stood at 104° in the shade. Yet the horses drew the carts easily twenty-four miles and a quarter. We had passed over a country covered with excellent grass, consisting chiefly of plains and open forest, with scrubs of ACACIA PENDULA, and a soil of clay. In the scrubs we found a new species of CANTHIUM, a shrub ten or twelve feet high; and in the open forest ACACIA NERIIFOLIA was observed in fruit; HIBISCUS STURTII Hook.; an Evolvulus related to SERICEUS; a new yellow CROTALARIA[*] ; and a noble new species of STENOCHILUS, with willowy leaves and large trumpet flowers.[**] Thermometer, at sunrise, rise, 62°; at noon, 103°; at 4 P.M., 104°; at 9, 81°;--with wet bulb, 67°. Height above the sea, 622 feet. (Camp 84.) [* C. DISSITIFLORA (Benth. MS.); herbacea, laxe ramosa, stipulis setaceis, foliolis elliptico-oblongis rarius ovalibus obtusis supra glabris subtus ramulisque pube tenui subcanescentibus, racemis erectis oppositifoliis elongatis, floribus (ultra 20) distantibus, carinae rostro brevi recto, ovulis numerosis, legumine breviter stipitato pubescente.-- Very near to C. SENEGALENSIS among the LONGIROSTRES, but the habit is more rigid, the leaflets rather larger, the beak of the keel shorter, and the pod (which is only very young in the specimen) is borne on a short stalk.] [** S. (PLATYCHILUS) BIGNONIAEFLORUS (Benth. MS.); glaber viscosus-foliis longe lanceolatis linearibusve apice subuncinato, calycis foliolis latis acutis, corollae glabrae ventricosae laciniis obtusissimis infima dilatata subtriloba vix caeteris magis soluta, staminibus vix exsertis.-- Leaves three to six inches long, two to six lines broad, thick and clammy. Flowers above an inch long, remarkable for the broad divisions of the corolla, and the general form much that of a BIGNONIA. This difference in the form of the corolla, would perhaps justify the placing it into a distinct genus instead of a mere section, especially as that peculiarity which gave the name of STENOCHILUS does not exist, were it not that the forms of the corolla are so different in different other species, that they will not furnish generic characters where the habit is similar.--G. B.] 18TH NOVEMBER.--The teams came in very early, not having been above one mile behind. I remained encamped there, in the expectation of some decided change of weather. The night had been oppressively hot. The season during which we had been beyond the Balonne, viz., that between the 23rd April and 5th November, was the most proper for visiting the tropical regions of Australia. Here we found TRICORYNE ELATIOR, a delicate yellow-flowered plant; a species of the genus Fugosia near F. DIGITATA, a plant of Senegambia, but less glabrous, and with the leaflets of the involucre much larger. MORGANIA GLABRA, a little erect herbaceous plant, having the appearance of being parasitical on roots; ACACIA VARIANS, in the open forest, in rich soil. ANTHERICUM BULBOSUM, formerly seen on the Narran. In the thick forest, a shrub six feet high with small white flowers, CATHA CUNNINGHAMII[*] (Hook. MS.), and a new species of VIGNA very near V. LANCEOLATA, though very different in habit.[**] Thermometer, at sunrise, 58°; at noon, 102°; at 4 P.M., 103°; at 9, 76°;--with wet bulb, 64°. [* C. CUNNINGHAMII (Hook. MS.); inermis, foliis lineari-lanceolatis rigidis mucronato-acutis integerrimis subfalcatis superne latioribus basi in petiolum perbrevem attenuatis, floribus axillaribus fasciculatis, pedunculis simplicibus vel racemosis bracteolatis.] [* V. SUBERECTA (Benth. MS.); leviter pubescens, suberecta, ramosissima, foliolis lato-lanceolatis basi integris vel hastato-trilobatis, pedunculis folio subbrevioribus apice paucifloris, calycis pubescentis campanulati dentibus tubo subaequilongis, carina rostrata acuta, legumine puberulo.] 19TH NOVEMBER.--The party moved off at an early hour. The tracks of cattle and horses became more and more numerous as we proceeded, and the channel of the little river was full of water, on which a large species of duck was very plentiful. At length we came upon the track of wheels, and followed them towards the station; which was not yet visible when our young native, Dicky, fell a shouting and laughing, drawing my attention to what certainly was a "RARA AVIS" to him. This was a white woman going with pails to milk the cows, and the first white female he could ever have seen. The jeering laugh of the young savage was amusing, as he pointed to that swaddled, straw-bonneted object, as something curious in natural history, to which my attention, as he thought, would be rivetted: but the sight was, nevertheless, a welcome one to all the party. Soon two comfortable stations, one on each side of the river, appeared before us; and the neatly dressed mother of two chubby white children stood at the door of one of them. I had a memorandum from Mr. Kennedy to call at the other, to thank the owner for lending him a horse; and there I first entered again under a roof, and a most agreeable cover it did seem to me after living nearly a year under canvass, in houseless wilds. These were cattle stations, and both appeared to be well-laid out for the purpose, and upon a scale more substantial and worthy of it, than I had hitherto seen in squatting districts. The placing of two such stations thus near each other, is a good arrangement, not only affording better security against the depredations of natives, but also as banishing that aspect of solitude and loneliness such places in general present; and in the outset of such a life, implanting, in the still uncultivated soil, the germs of social union, on the solid basis of mutual protection. I continued to travel some miles beyond these stations, for the sake of obtaining better grass for our cattle; and thus lengthened the journey to near twenty miles, in very warm weather, the thermometer being 104° in the shade. Thermometer, at sunrise, 58°; at noon, 102°; at 4 P.M., 104°; at 9, 75°;--with wet bulb, 63°. (Camp 85.) Latitude, 28° 30' 51" S. 20TH NOVEMBER.--Travelling south by compass, we found a tolerably open forest, and the Mooni on our left, until we fell in with Mr. Kennedy's track on riding back. Following this (as he had been guided back by an experienced stockman), we at length crossed the Mooni, and fell into a cart-track leading southward, and at a few miles beyond where we fell into that track, we encamped on the left bank of the Mooni; a tree at this camp being marked 86. Again we saw, in the woods about this camp, the HYLOCOCCUS SERICEUS R. Br., a remarkable tree, with oblong leaves, and fruit resembling a small orange. It is a curious genus, and belongs to the poisonous order of Spurgeworts. We found here also, the HELICHRYSUM SEMIPAPPOSUM D. C.; ACACIA SPECTABILIS; a new species of BEYERIA, near B. VISCOSA, Mig.; the variety of CASSIA SOPHERA (Linn.) cultivated in some botanical gardens, under the name of C. SOPHERELLA; a beautiful tree with pinnate leaves and spreading panicles of large white flowers, called THOUINIA AUSTRALIS; the EUCALYPTUS BICOLOR A. Cunn. MS., a species closely allied to E. HOEMATOMMA Sm., but the marginal nerve is not so close to the edge of the leaf (this is the "bastard box" of the carpenters); a fine new large-flowered SIDA[*]; and it appears that the "Yarra" tree of the natives here, is a new Eucalyptus, which Sir William Hooker calls E. ACUMINATA.[**] [* S. (ABUTILON) TUBULOSA (All. Cunn. MS.); tota velutino-pubescens, foliis cordato-ovatis (sinu profundo angusto) sublonge acuminatis dentatoserratis, stipulis subulatis flaccidis, pedunculis axillaribus solitariis unifloris folio brevioribus, calyce elongato tubuloso 5-fido laciniis acuminatis, petalis (flavis) vix duplo brevioribus.--W. J. H.] [** E. ACUMINATA (Hook. MS.); foliis alternis petiolatis lanceolatis longe acuminatis subaristatis penninerviis glaucis reticulatis nervis lateralibus a margine remotiusculis, floribus umbellatis (4-6-floris), umbellis pedunculatis, calycis tubo hemisphaerico in pedicellum gracilem attenuato, calyptra conico-acuminato calycis tubum superante.] Just as we sat down here, rain came on; the wind changed to S. W. and the sky looked more portentous of rainy weather than we had ever seen it on this journey. Now this was the first country in which we had any reason to dread wet weather, since we crossed the Culgoa about the beginning of April. Here rain would render the ground impassable, and inundate the country. The mercury in the barometer was falling, and so was the rain. Thermometer, at sunrise, 61°; at noon, 62°; at 4 P.M., 57°; at 9, 53°;-- with wet bulb, 53°. 21ST NOVEMBER.--The wind had shifted from E. to S. W., and the rain had set in,--to proceed was quite impossible. The coolness of a cloudy day rendered the tent much more agreeable and convenient for finishing maps in, than one under the extremely hot sunshine which mine had been recently exposed to so long at St. George's Bridge. I had now, therefore, a good opportunity of completing the maps. The great heat which had prevailed during so many successive days there, portended some such change as this; and we were thus likely to be caught in that very region so subject to inundation, which I was formerly so careful to avoid, that I endeavoured to travel so as to be within reach of a hilly country. For that reason chiefly I had proceeded into the interior, by the circuitous route of Fort Bourke. 21ST NOVEMBER TO 7TH DECEMBER.--The sky resembled that in Poussin's picture of the Deluge; and to one who had contended a whole year with scarcity of water, in regions where this coming supply had so long been due, the reflection would often occur, that this rain, if it had fallen a year sooner, might have expedited that journey very much indeed; whereas it was now very likely to retard the return of the party. This was the only spot where such a rain could have seriously impeded our progress; the waters of the great rivers were sure to come down, and we had still to traverse extensive low tracts, where, in 1831, I had seen the marks of floods on trees, which had left an impression still remaining on my mind, that I thought it very desirable then, to get my party safe out of these flats as soon as possible. On the 28th November, or eight days after the rains set in, the Mooni waters came down, at first slowly, but gradually filling up the channel, until they rose to such a height, as to oblige me to move three of the drays. During the night, the rising inundation began to spread over the lower parts of the surface back from the river; while the current came down with such rapidity, and, judging from marks of former inundations on the trunks of box-trees ("GOBORRA"), it appeared probable the water might reach our camp. I therefore determined to move it by daylight to a sand- hill, about a quarter of a mile back from the river. This was effected in good time, and only in time. Between the camp beside the Mooni, and that we afterwards established on the sand-hill, there was a hollow by which the rising floods would pass to an extensive tract of low ground almost surrounding our camp on the sand-hill, and which would, probably, render our passage out of that position difficult, even after the waters had subsided. I therefore employed the men in throwing up a dam across this hollow, between our hill-camp and the river, so as to prevent the inundation from passing that way. We had no better material than sand to oppose to this water; yet, by throwing up enough, we succeeded in arresting the waters there, although they rose to the height of two feet four inches on the upper side of our dam, and gave, to the country above it, the appearance of a vast lake, covering our old encampment; so that the figures 86 cut on a tree, were the only traces of it that remained above water. Our camp on the sand-hill was elevated above the sea 641 feet, or about 80 feet higher than the river. The waters continued to rise until the 2d of December, when they became stationary; and next day they began slowly to subside. By the evening of the 5th, they had receded from the dam; and the sky, which had been lowering until the 1st, began to present clouds of less ominous form. Still the return of clear weather was slow, and accompanied by thunder-showers. Plants put forth their blossoms as soon as the sun re-appeared; amongst others, the DIDISCUS PILOSUS Benth.; a pretty little umbelliferous plant. BOERHAAVIA was again seen here; CARISSA OVATA, a shrub three feet high, with spiny branches, and very sweet white flowers; the NEPTUNIA GRACILIS also, with the appearance of a sensitive plant, was seen in the open flats. It was only on the 7th that a crust had been formed on the earth, sufficiently firm for the cattle to travel upon; and we embraced the earliest opportunity of quitting that camp, where the superabundance of water had detained us seventeen days. Musquitoes now tormented us exceedingly, and had obliged us to tether the horses at night, to prevent them from straying. We this day passed over the soil without finding the wheels to sink much, until we arrived at Johnston's station, five miles from our camp, and where I had been told the ground was firm. There, on the contrary, we encountered the only two swamps at all difficult. Even the drays got through them, however, and I gladly quitted the banks of the Mooni, taking a straight direction towards the Barwan, and encamped ten miles from the former. That central ground between the Mooni and the Barwan, had brigalow growing upon it, was firm, and in some hollows we found water. A heavy thunder-shower fell at sunset, but we were on such firm soil, that I was under no apprehension that it would have the effect of retarding our journey. 8TH DECEMBER.--Thermometer, at 6 A.M., 69°. Height above the sea, 782 feet. Having determined our position on the map, I now chose such a direction for our homeward route, as would form the most eligible general line of communication between Sydney and the Maranòa. It seemed desirable that this should cross the Barwan (the Karaula of my journey of 1831), some miles above the point where I had formerly reached that river; and thus avoid the soft low ground upon the Nammoy, falling into my old track about Snodgrass lagoon, or when in sight of Mount Riddell. With this view, our latitude being 28° 57' 20" S., longitude 149° 11' E., I chose the bearing of S.S.E. (or rather 23½° E. of S.), for my homeward guidance; and this morning I travelled, over a good firm surface, for sixteen miles in that direction, when we arrived at the bank of the Barwan and there encamped. We had passed through some open scrub, chiefly of the rosewood kind, and crossed several small grassy plains; saw one or two patches of brigalow, but very little callitris. An improvement was visible in the quality of the grass, when we came within the distance of about two miles from the river; and open forests or plains of richer soil, its usual concomitants, plainly enough indicated the presence of the Barwan (or "Darling"). In the country we traversed, we saw no cart tracks; but the deep impressions of a few stray cattle, apparently pursued by natives, were visible throughout the scrubs. There was still a considerable flood in the river, although the water had been recently much higher, as was obvious from the state of the banks. Latitude, 28° 37' 20" S. Height above the sea, 590 feet. 9TH DECEMBER.--All hands were busy this morning in making preparations for crossing the Barwan. The boats were soon put together, and on reconnoitring the river in one of them, I soon found a favourable place for swimming the cattle and horses at, and which was effected without accident. The unloaded drays were next drawn through the river at the same place; which was about three hundred yards lower down the river than that at which we had encamped, and which was marked by the number 87, cut on a tree. My former camp on this river in 1831, for want of such a mark, could not be recognised. According to my surveys, it should have been found seventeen miles lower down the river. All our stores and equipment were carried across in the boats. These looked well in the water; their trim appearance and utility, then renewed my regret that I had not reached the navigable portion of the Victoria, and that its channel had been so empty. Perhaps more efficient portable boats never were constructed, or carried so far inland undamaged. They were creditable to the maker, Mr. Struth of Sydney. By their means, the whole party was comfortably encamped this afternoon, on the left bank of the Barwan, just before a heavy thunder-shower came down. The river had fallen several feet during the day. Thermometer, at 6 P.M., 82°. 10TH DECEMBER.--At 6 A.M. thermometer 68°. The mosquitoes were most tormenting; as was well expressed by one of the men outside my tent, who remarked to his companion, "That the more you punishes 'em, the more they brings you to the scratch:" a tolerable pun for one of "the fancy," of which class we had rather too many in the party. The horses, although tethered and close spancelled, could not be secured, even thus. Some had broken away and strayed during the night. It was ascertained by Yuranigh, that four other strange horses were with ours, having come amongst them and led them astray. These had broken loose from a neigh- bouring station, whence a native came to the men I had left to await the horses at the Barwan, and took back the strange horses. I had gone forward with the party, still pursuing the same bearing, and came thus upon the "Maäl," a channel not usually deep, but, at the time, so full of water, with a very slight current in it, that here again we were obliged to employ the boats. This channel was distant 5½ miles from where we had crossed the Barwan. The bullocks were made to swim across in the yokes, drawing the empty drays through, which they accomplished very well; "RARÎ NANTES IN GURGITE VASTO." The loads were carried in the boats, and the horses taken across, as before. The camp was established at an early hour on the left bank of the "Maal," which camp I caused to be marked 88, in figures cut on an iron bark tree. Latitude, 29° 1' 20" S. This seemed to be the same channel crossed by me on 5th February, 1832, at a similar distance from the main river. 11TH DECEMBER.--Thermometer, at 7 A.M., 70°. We continued to travel homewards on the same bearing; thus tracing with our wheels, a direct line of road from Sydney to the northern interior and coast. The plains were gay with the blue flowers of a new CYCLOGYNE[*]; a new CANTHIUM, was in fruit[**]; and we found also a species of Malva, which Sir William Hooker has determined to be MALVA OVATA (Cav.), or scarcely differing from that species, except in the rather soft and short hairs to the calyx (not long and rigid): the two ends of the curved carpels are equal or blunt; but in M. OVATA the upper one is longer and attenuated into a short beak. The same plant was found by Frazer along the Brisbane. The THYSANOTUS ELATIOR was again found here; and a shrubby CRUCIFEROUS plant, quite woody at the base, with very narrow linear setaceous pinnatifid leaves,[***] and linear curved torulose silicules. A new HAKEA with stout needle like leaves, was also found this day in the scrub. We met with no impediment for eighteen miles, when I encamped, although without reaching water enough for our cattle. I knew we could not expect to meet with any watercourse between the Barwan and the Gwydir; which latter river I wished to cross as soon as possible, in hopes then to meet with roads and inhabitants. Even cattle-tracks had again become rare in this intermediate ground, although the grass was in its best state, and most exuberant abundance. We crossed much open plain, and passed through several shady forests of casuarina. A curious provision of nature for the distribution of the seeds of a parasitical plant was observed here, each seed being enclosed within a sort of pulp, like bird-lime, insoluble in water; the whole resembling a very thin-skinned berry. On this being broken, probably by birds, the bird-lime is apt to attach the seed to trees or branches, and so the parasitical growth commences. On the plains, the blue flowers of a large variety of MORGANIA GLABRA caught the eye: the rare and little known HETERODENDRON OLOEFOLIUM of Desfontaines, a genus referred to Soapworts by Mr. Planchon. We found also this day, a new POLYMERIA with erect stems, silky leaves, and pink flowers.[****] Height above the sea, 554 feet. [* C. SWAINSONIOIDES (Benth. MS.); foliolis 8-11 anguste oblongis, racemis laxis dissitifloris, carina spiraliter contorta.--Habit of a SWAINSONIA or LESSERTIA. Flowers blue, as in the original Swan river species (C. CANESCENS). That has not a spirally-twisted keel, but the structure is indicated both by the circinnate apex of the style, and by a slight curl at the summit of the keel.] [** C. OLEIFOLIUM (Hook. MS.); foliis obovato-oblongis obtusis glaucis basi in petiolum gracilem attenuatis, stipulis parvis acutis, fructibus didymis.] [*** H. LONGICUSPIS (Hook. MS.); rigida glaberrima, ramis junioribus subpubescentibus, foliis bi-triuncialibus tereti-filiformibus rigidis strictis longe mucronatis, perianthiis glabris, capsulis suboblique ovatis lignosis glabris brevi-acuminatis.] [**** P. LONGIFOLIA (Lindl. MS.); erecta, foliis sericeo-nitentibus linearilanceolatis auriculatis, pedunculis unifloris foliis multo brevioribus.] 12TH DECEMBER.--Thermometer, at 6 A.M., 67°. Passing over a similar sort of country for some miles (and through a scrub, on first leaving the camp), we at length came upon a more open country, where the ground seemed to fall southward. Cattle-tracks were again numerous, and cow-dung abundant, an article in much request with us just then, its smoke being a valuable specific for keeping off the mosquitoes, when a little of it was burnt before a tent. We next came upon more spacious plains than any we had seen southward of the Balonne; and I recognised, with great pleasure and satisfaction, the blue peak of Mount Riddell, distant 61 miles. This seemed to peep through the obscurity of fifteen laborious years, that had intervened since I had given a name to that summit. It now proved the accuracy of my recent survey, appearing exactly in the direction, where, according to my maps, I pointed my glass to look for it. Like the face of an old friend, which, as the Persian proverb says, "brighteneth the eyes," so this required clear eyes to be seen at all; even Yuranigh, could not at first be persuaded that it was not a cloud. This fine peak must always be a good landmark on these vast plains, and may yet brighten the eye of the traveller from India, when emerging from the level regions upon the Barwan. We next perceived at a distance, a cloud of dust raised by a numerous herd of cattle, and came upon a water-course, or branch of the Gwydir, called, I believe, the "Meei." As I wanted to cross the Gwydir, I crossed this and continued; met with another deep ditch or channel, four miles beyond the Meei; and, at three miles beyond that, another: none of these resembling the Gwydir I had formerly seen. I had ridden twenty-five miles, and hastened back to meet the carts, and encamped them just beyond the first-mentioned of these two water-courses. The heavy drays were, of course, far behind. Latitude, 29° 34' 41" S. Height above the sea, 553 feet. 13TH DECEMBER.--Thermometer, at 10 A.M., 70°. The drays joined us early, having performed an immense distance yesterday. This being Sunday, rest for the remainder of the day was both proper and necessary. I found we were within a less distance of Snodgrass Lagoon, than we were from the camp we had left the previous day. I expected to fall in with some road, when we reached the country to which I had formerly led the way. At sunset the sky seemed charged with rain, and the barometer had fallen 2½ millimetres; much thunder, and but a slight shower followed, after which the sky cleared up. Heavy rain there, must have caused much difficulty and delay to the party, as we were upon low levels subject to inundation. Height above the sea, 499 feet. Thermometer, at 6 P.M., 88°. 14TH DECEMBER.--Thermometer, at 6 A.M., 76°. During the night, and at day-break, heavy rain pattered on my tent, but a streak of the blue sky appeared in the N.W., which increased; and before 7 A.M. the sun shone on the ground, and dried it so that we could proceed. We crossed a channel of the river, at three miles, which is called the "Moomings;" and still I doubted whether we had not yet to cross the main channel of the Gwydir, having seen no current in any of those channels I had crossed. I had however already crossed the latitude of the river I had formerly seen; and, coming soon to rising ground, and seeing before me the wide-spread plains of my former journey, I was convinced that the late rains had not extended to the Gwydir, and that this river had been crossed by us in these several channels. At length, I arrived at the lagoon I had named, in former times, after Colonel Snodgrass; thus terminating this journey, having travelled in a direct line the last seventy-three miles of it, to meet at this point the line from Sydney, traced by me thus far in the year 1831. Height above the level of the sea, 545 feet. Thermometer, at 7 P.M., 87°. The temporary occupation of the country by squatters, imprints but few traces of colonization. Cattle-tracks were visible, certainly, but nothing else. No track remained along the line which I had so many years before laboured to mark out. Having ordered some of the men to look out for a stockman, one was at length caught, and persuaded to come to my tent, but not without some apprehension that the people he had come amongst so suddenly were robbers. He was a youth, evidently of the Anglo- Saxon race, in a state of transition to the condition of an Australian stockman. His fair locks strayed wildly from under a light straw hat about the ears of an honest English face, and the large stock whip in his hand explained what he was about,--"in search of some stray cattle." He had evidently never heard of exploring expeditions, past or present; nor of such a name as "Snodgrass Lagoon." Mount Riddell was called "Cow hill," according to him. Knew there was a road to Maitland, but of Sydney he seemed to require some minutes to recal the recollection. He had come from the station of Mr.----, where he was employed as stockman. Came out from England about six years ago with a brother. When asked if his brother was with him, he said "No." To my next question, as to the rest of his relatives, a tear was the only reply, and I pushed my inquiries no further. 16TH DECEMBER.--I left the camp, accompanied by Mr. Kennedy, and, in looking for my old route, we soon arrived at cattle stations. The lagoon was full, and the first station we saw was on the opposite bank; but having crossed some miles higher, we arrived at one, where the master and some men were busy in the stockyard, and there we were hospitably received. It was then about 2 P.M., and tea mixed with milk was set before us, with a quart pot full of fine salt, and some hard-boiled eggs. Having put into my tea a table-spoonful of the salt, mistaking it for sugar, and there being no sugar, I had two strong reasons for not taking much tea. Fortunately for me, however, I did eat one of the hard-boiled eggs, for from that hour I was doomed to fast two days. There I bade Mr. Kennedy farewell, leaving him in charge of the party, and proceeded along a cart-track homewards, followed by John Douglas, and a led horse. Before we could arrive at the station where I intended to halt, night overtook us on a plain, with very heavy rain, and total darkness. The cart-track was no longer visible, and, after groping on some way without it, we were obliged to alight and sit in the mud, without the shelter of even a tree, until day-break. Daylight exhibited the station not above two miles off, but that did not avail us much; for, on awaking the inmates, and asking them for some breakfast, the hut-keeper shook his head, and said he had no provisions to spare. Once more I struck away from these "abodes of civilized men," to look for my old track, which had been traced along the base of the Nundawàr Range, where the bold outlines of Mounts Lindesay and Forbes hung dimly, like shadows of the past, amongst clouds lighted by beams from the rising sun. After having been long in unknown regions, time and distance seem of little consequence when we return to those previously known; and thus the whole day soon passed in looking for my former track. But I sought it in vain; and was glad at night to turn towards the banks of the Nammoy, in search of a cattle-station. Since I had first explored that country to which my wheel-tracks marked and led the way, station after station had been taken up by squatters, not by following any line of route, but rather according to the course of the river, for the sake of water; and in such cases, the beaten track from station to station, no matter how crooked, becomes the road. Thus it is, in the fortuitous occupation of Australia, that order and arrangement may precede, and be followed only by "CHAOS come again." I arrived about sunset, at Mr. Cyrus Doyle's station near the Nammoy, where I was hospitably entertained by a man in charge of it, who rode eight miles in twenty minutes only, to borrow some tea and sugar for me, and who lived on very friendly terms with some old natives who remembered me, and my first advance into that country. 18TH DECEMBER.--At 6 A.M., Thermometer 75°. Height above the sea 750 feet. Guided by one of these natives, I reached the "great road," saw many wool drays upon it, before I arrived at Maule's creek; and I endeavoured, for a considerable time, to pass two gentlemen in a gig, and wearing veils, who were driving a lot of mares before them, and who seemed to derive amusement from making their mares keep pace with my entire horse. The road this day traversed the luxuriant flats of the Nammoy, one of the richest districts in the colony, as the fat cattle on the banks of the river sufficiently attested. The mountains behind, afforded equally eligible runs for sheep. Nothing could surpass the beauty of the scenery, amid abundance of water, umbrageous trees, cattle, verdure, and distant mountains. I was most comfortably lodged that night at Mr. Wentworth's station on the Nammoy, elevated above the sea 1055 feet, and next day I reached the dwelling of a resident squatter, and saw a lady in a comfortable house near the very spot, where, fifteen years before, I had taken a lonely walk by the then unknown Nammoy, the first white man permitted there to discover a "flowery desert."[*] I was most kindly welcomed by this family; but I asked in vain, even there, to be favoured with the perusal of a newspaper. When I expressed anxiety about my numerous family, and spoke of my long absence of a year, I observed a tear in the lady's eye, which I then thought the product of mere sensibility; but I learnt subsequently, that she was aware the newspapers she possessed, and out of sympathy withheld, would have apprised me of the death of a son, which sad tidings were only communicated to me some days after.[**] [* Three Expeditions, etc., vol. i. p. 54.] [** He died on the 16th July, at the age of eighteen, from the want of medical aid, when surveying, in winter, the Australian Alps. His grave, trodden by cattle hoofs, is in a desolate unconsecrated spot. He had served the public, gratis, upwards of two years, as a draughtsman and surveyor.] Chapter X. MR. KENNEDY CONDUCTS THE PARTY TO SYDNEY.--PROCEEDS OF THE SALE OF THE CATTLE AND EQUIPMENT.--APPLIED TO THE REFITTING OF A LIGHT PARTY ON HORSEBACK.--MR. KENNEDY'S INSTRUCTIONS TO TRACE DOWN THE VICTORIA.--Of the aborigines.--CHARACTER OF YURANIGH.--IMPEDIMENTS TO THEIR CIVILIZATION.--Of the Convicts.--THEIR USES IN THE COLONY.--CHARACTER OF THOSE OF THE PARTY.--DIFFERENT CLASSES OF CRIMINALS.--THE UNFORTUNATE AND THE DEPRAVED.--Of the present Colony of New South Wales.--NATURAL STATE. --CAPABILITIES.--ITS TEMPORARY USES.--ULTIMATE COLONIZATION.--RETENTION OF WATER.--NEW SYSTEMS OF AGRICULTURE REQUISITE.--GROWTH OF COTTON AND SUGAR ALONG THE EASTERN COAST.--THE VINE AND THE OLIVE.--WHEAT CROPS.-- DIFFICULTY OF ACCESS TO MARKETS.--ROADS.--PROJECTED RAILWAYS.-- Conclusion.--ORIGIN OF THIS SURVEY.--ITS PRIMARY OBJECTS.--ULTIMATE TENDENCY.--MY RESPONSIBILITY TO THE IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT.--CO-OPERATION OF THE COLONIAL LEGISLATURE.--FINAL REPORT.--GREAT GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES.-- THE NATURAL DIVISIONS OF THE TERRITORY.--PORT BOWEN--CAPRICORNIA.--GULF OF CARPENTARIA--AUSTRALINDIA. The party which I had left in charge of Mr. Kennedy near Snodgrass Lagoon arrived in the neighbourhood of Sydney on the 20th of January, and the new Governor, Sir Charles Fitzroy, kindly granted such gratuities to the most deserving of my men as I had recommended, and also sent the names to England of such prisoners as His Excellency thought deserving of Her Majesty's gracious pardon. The sale of the cattle and equipment produced about 500L.; and as Mr. Kennedy volunteered his services, when the proper season should arrive (March), to trace down the course of the river Victoria with a light party on horseback, I submitted a plan to Sir Charles Fitzroy, and obtained His Excellency's permission to send this officer to survey the river, and to apply the above-mentioned proceeds of sale in providing the equipment of his party. Mr. Kennedy finally left Sydney about the middle of March, with a party of eight men, all well mounted and leading spare horses, with two light carts carrying a stock of provisions for fourteen months. The following copy of his instructions will show what Mr. Kennedy was required to do. * * * Surveyor-General's Office, Sydney, 22d February, 1847. "Sir, "His Excellency the Governor having been pleased to sanction my proposal for the further exploration of the river Victoria with a small party to be sent under your command; I have now the honour to enclose to you a copy of instructions by which I was guided in conducting the late expedition into the northern interior, and I have to request that you will conform thereto, as much as the following particular instructions for your especial guidance may permit. "You will as early as possible return by the road across Liverpool Plains so as to fall into the return route of the late expedition before you leave the settled districts, and in this manner you will recross the Balonne at St. George's Bridge, take the route back to Camp (83), and thence by the route along the Maranoa to Camp (XXIX), beyond which you will proceed as hereinafter detailed, with reference to the accompanying tracing of my survey. "You will cross the Maranoa at Camp (XXIX), and continue along my return route until you reach Camp (75). I beg you will be particular so far in looking for the track of my party returning, as you will perceive by the map that many very circuitous detours may be thus avoided. But beyond Camp (75), about seven miles, you will have to leave my return track on your right, and not cross a little river there at all, but go along my old advance track to Camp (XXXIV). Thence you will proceed by Camps (XXXV) and (XXXVI), in order to approach the bed of the Warregò in the direction of my ride of 14th June, in a general N. W. direction. It is very desirable that you should keep my horse tracks there; but this I can scarcely expect, and I can only therefore request that you will proceed as closely in that direction as you can. The bed of the Warregò may be looked for at a distance further on, equal to that of my ride of 14th June. "You will next pursue the course of the Warregò upwards towards Mount Playfair, which the accompanying map will be sufficient to guide you to. You will follow up the Cùnno Creek, leaving Mount Playfair on your right or to the eastward, and you will thus fall into the line of my horse- track about the spot where I spoke to an old native female. I wish you would then take some pains to travel in the direction of my track from the head of Cùnno through the Brigalow, which is comparatively open, in the direction of my bivouac of 11th September. "Keeping the direction of my track of next day, you will arrive at a low, but stony, ridge (A) (across which you must be careful how you pass your carts, but it is of no breadth), and you will descend into a flat, from which you will ascend another stony ridge (B), of no greater height but more asperity than the first, and covered with fallen timber. You will have about a mile of that sort of difficulty to deal with on the higher part, but by turning then to the right, you will fall into a well watered valley, which will lead you to the Nive. In the whole of your route thus far, you can meet with no difficulty in tracing it, guided by the map, and following these instructions; but if Douglas should be with you, he will no doubt recognize the country through which he passed with me. It is very important that you should keep that route, as leading to the Victoria in a very straight direction from Sydney, and a direction in which, should your return be delayed beyond the time for which your party is to be provisioned, it is probable, that any party sent after you to your aid or assistance would proceed to look for you. After you shall have reached the Nive and Camp (77), you cannot have any difficulty in finding Camp (72) near the Gap, and from that valley you have only to follow down the watercourse to be certain that you are on my track to the Victoria, and, as you have been instructed to take an expert native with you, you ought to find still my horse's track across the downs, cutting off large bends of the river. But beyond Camps 16th September or 1st October, you must keep by the river along my route back, and not follow the circuitous track which I took through Brigalow to the westward. After about four miles by the river, you will see, by the map, that my return track again crossed the outward track over the downs, so that you may fall into the route westward of the great northern bend of the Victoria. I fear you must depend on the latitude, pace measurement, and bearings, for ascertaining the situations of my camps of 29th September and 28th September. You will see by the map how generally straight my journeys were between these points, and how important it would be for you to know the situation of the camp of 28th September, that you may thence set out westward in the direction of my return route, instead of following the main channel throughout the very circuitous turn it then takes to the northward. Beyond the lowest point attained by me, or the point (wherever that may be) to which you will be able to identify the accompanying map with my track, of course it will be your duty to pursue the river, and determine the course thereof as accurately as your light equipment and consequent rapid progress, may permit. You may, however, employ the same means by which I have mapped that river so far; and, for your guidance, I shall add the particulars of my method of measuring the relative distances. If you count the strokes of either of your horse's fore feet, either walking or trotting, you will find them to be upon an average, about 950 to a mile. In a field-book, as you note each change of bearing, you have only to note down also the number of paces (which soon becomes a habit); and to keep count of these, it is only necessary to carry about thirty-five or forty small pieces of wood, like dice (beans or peas would do), in one waistcoat pocket, and, at the end of every 100 paces, remove one to the empty pocket on the opposite side. At each change of bearing, you count these, adding the odd numbers to the number of hundreds, ascertained by the dice, to be counted and returned at each change of bearing to the other pocket. You should have a higher pocket for your watch, and keep the two lower waisctoat pockets for this important purpose. "Now, to plot such a survey, you have only to take the half-inch scale of equal parts (on the 6-inch scale in every case of instruments), and allowing TEN for a hundred, the half-inch will represent 1000 paces. You may thus lay down any broken number of paces to a true scale, and so obtain a tolerably accurate map of each day's journey. The latitude will, after all, determine finally the scale of paces; and you can, at leisure, adjust each day's journey by its general bearing between different latitudes; and, subsequently, introduce the details. You will soon find the results sufficiently accurate to afford some criterion of even the variation of the needle, when the course happens to be nearly east or west, and when, of course, it behoves you to be very well acquainted with the rate of your horse's paces, as determined by differences of latitude. You will be careful to intersect the prominent points of any range that may appear on the horizon; and the nature of the rock also should be ascertained in the country examined: small specimens, with letters of reference, will be sufficient for this. Specimens of the grasses, and of the flower or seed of new trees, should be also preserved, with dates, in a small herbarium. But the principal object of the journey being the determination of the course of the Victoria, and the discovery of a convenient route to the head of the Gulph of Carpentaria, the accomplishment of these great objects must be steadily kept in view, without regard to minor considerations. Should the channel finally spread into an extensive bed, whether dry or swampy, you will adhere, as a general rule, to the eastern side or shore, as, in the event of any scarcity of water, the high land known to be there will thus be more speedily accessible to you; and I am also strongly of opinion, that you would cross in such a route more tributaries from the east than from the west. On arriving at or near the Gulph of Carpentaria, I have particularly to caution you against remaining longer than may be unavoidable there, or, indeed, in any one place, in any part of your route, where natives may be numerous. "Having completed (at least roughly) the map of your general route, it will be in your power in returning, to take out detours, and cut off angles, by previously ascertaining the proper bearings for doing so; and when so returning, it would be convenient to number your camps, that the route and the country may be better described by you, and recognised afterwards by others. These numbers may be cut in common figures on trees; and if, as I hope, you should reach the Gulph, you can commence them there: you may prefix C to each number commencing with 1, thus avoiding any confusion with the numbers of my numbered camps on the Victoria. "On returning to the colony, you will report to me, or to the officer in charge of the Survey Department, the progress and results of your journey. "I have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, "T. L. MITCHELL, SURVEYOR-GENERAL. "E. B. C. Kennedy, Esq. J. P. Assistant Surveyor, Sydney." OF THE ABORIGINES. There is no subject connected with New South Wales, or Australia, less understood in England than the character and condition of the aboriginal natives. They have been described as the lowest in the scale of humanity, yet I found those who accompanied me superior in penetration and judgment to the white men composing my party. Their means of subsistence and their habits, are both extremely simple; but they are adjusted with admirable fitness to the few resources afforded by such a country, in its wild state. What these resources are, and how they are economised by the natives, can only be learnt by an extensive acquaintance with the interior; and the knowledge of a few simple facts, bearing on this subject, may not be wholly devoid of interest. Fire, grass, kangaroos, and human inhabitants, seem all dependent on each other for existence in Australia; for any one of these being wanting, the others could no longer continue. Fire is necessary to burn the grass, and form those open forests, in which we find the large forest-kangaroo; the native applies that fire to the grass at certain seasons, in order that a young green crop may subsequently spring up, and so attract and enable him to kill or take the kangaroo with nets. In summer, the burning of long grass also discloses vermin, birds' nests, etc., on which the females and children, who chiefly burn the grass, feed. But for this simple process, the Australian woods had probably contained as thick a jungle as those of New Zealand or America, instead of the open forests in which the white men now find grass for their cattle, to the exclusion of the kangaroo, which is well-known to forsake all those parts of the colony where cattle run. The intrusion therefore of cattle is by itself sufficient to produce the extirpation of the native race, by limiting their means of existence; and this must work such extensive changes in Australia as never entered into the contemplation of the local authorities. The squatters, it is true, have also been obliged to burn the old grass occasionally on their runs; but so little has this been understood by the Imperial Government that an order against the burning of the grass was once sent out, on the representations of a traveller in the south. The omission of the annual periodical burning by natives, of the grass and young saplings, has already produced in the open forest lands nearest to Sydney, thick forests of young trees, where, formerly, a man might gallop without impediment, and see whole miles before him. Kangaroos are no longer to be seen there; the grass is choked by underwood; neither are there natives to burn the grass, nor is fire longer desirable there amongst the fences of the settler. The occupation of the territory by the white race seems thus to involve, as an inevitable result, the extirpation of the aborigines; and it may well be pleaded, in extenuation of any adverse feelings these may show towards the white men, that these consequences, although so little considered by the intruders, must be obvious to the natives, with their usual acuteness, as soon as cattle enter on their territory. The foregoing journal affords instances of the habits of the natives in these respects. Silently, but surely, that extirpation of aborigines is going forward in grazing districts, even where protectors of aborigines have been most active; and in Van Diemen's Land, the race has been extirpated, even before that of the kangaroos, under an agency still more destructive. It would be but natural, even admitting these aboriginal inhabitants to be, as men, "only a little lower than the angels," that they should feel disposed, when urged by hunger, to help themselves to some of the cattle or sheep that had fattened on the green pastures kept clear for kangaroos from time immemorial by the fires of the natives and their forefathers; but such cases have been, nevertheless, of rare occurrence, partly because much human life has been sacrificed to the manes of sheep or cattle. No orders of the local government can prevent the perpetration of these atrocities. Government Orders have been put forth in formal obedience to injunctions from home, and the policy of the local authorities has not been influenced by less humane motives. It would ill become me to disparage the character of the aborigines, for one of that unfortunate race has been my "guide, companion, councillor, and friend," on the most eventful occasions during this last Journey of Discovery. Yuranigh was small and slender in person, but (as the youth Dicky said, and I believed,) he was of most determined courage and resolution. His intelligence and his judgment rendered him so necessary to me, that he was ever at my elbow, whether on foot or horseback. Confidence in him was never misplaced. He well knew the character of all the white men of the party. Nothing escaped his penetrating eye and quick ear. His brief but oracular sentences were found to be SAGE, though uttered by one deemed a SAVAGE; and his affection and kindness towards the little native Dicky seemed quite paternal. The younger was the willing servant of the elder; who obliged him to wash and clean himself before he allowed him to sleep near him. Yuranigh was particularly clean in his person, frequently washing, and his glossy shining black hair, always well-combed, gave him an uncommonly clean and decent appearance. He had promised himself and Dicky a great reception on returning to Sydney, and was perhaps disappointed. Dicky had never before seen houses, and Yuranigh took much delight in showing him the theatre, and whatever else was likely to gratify his curiosity. The boy was all questions and observation. I was at a loss how to make these natives comfortable; or suitably reward their services. The new Governor kindly granted the small gratuity asked for Yuranigh, and Dicky became a favourite in my family. Both these natives loathed the idea of returning to the woods, as savages; and, as if captivated with the scenes of activity around them, both expressed a desire "to work and live like white men." This shows that, when treated on a footing of equality, as these had been in my party, the Australian native MIGHT be induced to take part in the labours of white men; but at the first annoyance, the old freedom of the bush seems to overmaster their resolutions, and attracts them back to it. Yuranigh was engaged (for wages, and under regular agreement,) as stockman to a gentleman who had cattle in the north, and he took an affecting leave of my family. I carried Dicky to my house in the country, with the intention of having him educated there with my children, provided A TUTOR COULD BE FOUND, which seemed doubtful when I left the colony. It has been long a favourite project with me, to educate an aboriginal native, as a husband for Ballandella, and that their children should form, at least, one civilized family of the native race, upon which the influence of education and religious principles might be fairly tried. This has never yet been done, although the experiment is one of much interest. It seems scarcely practicable, except by withdrawing the married couple to another country, where the children might be educated, and kept clear of all predilections for a life in the woods. I thought of sending such a pair to some congenial climate, such as the South of Europe, where they should be taught the whole art of cultivating the grape, fig, and olive, as well as the management of other productions of similar latitudes in that hemisphere. They might return to Australia with their family in ten or twelve years; when, in speaking a different language from those about them, they would be less open to the influences that interpose between the employers and the employed in that colony; while the utility of their employment might be of some benefit to it. Were this experiment to succeed, the decent and comfortable condition afforded by industry might raise the aborigines in their own estimation, and inspire them with hope to attain to a state of equality with the white men, which, without having some such examples set before them, must seem to them unattainable. The half-clad native finds himself in a degraded position in the presence of the white population: a mere outcast, obliged to beg a little bread. In his native woods, the "noble savage" knows no such degrading necessity.--All there participate in, and have a share of, Nature's gifts. These, scanty though they be, are open to all. Experience here has proved, and the history of the aborigines of other countries has shown, the absurdity of expecting that any men, "as free as Nature first made man," will condescend to leave their woods, and come under all the restraints imposed by civilisation, purely from choice, unless they can do so on terms of the most perfect equality. Surely it behoves the nation so active in the suppression of slavery to consider betimes, in taking up new countries, how the aboriginal races can be preserved; and how the evil effects of spirituous liquors, of gunpowder, and of diseases more inimical to them than even slavery, may be counteracted. OF THE CONVICTS. The prisoners who had hitherto formed the bulk of all the exploring parties previously led by me into the interior of New South Wales, were chosen chiefly from amongst men employed on the roads, who had acquired good recommendations from their immediate overseers; but, on this last occasion, the men forming the party were for the most part chosen from amongst those still remaining in Cockatoo Island, the worst and most irreclaimable of their class. The concentration of convicts in that island was intended, I believe, to follow out the Norfolk Island system, keeping the men under rigorous surveillance, and making them work at their respective trades, or as labourers. Even there, so near to Sydney, that labour, so available to lay the foundations of a colony, might have been employed with great advantage, in constructing a naval arsenal and hospital for our seamen on the Indian station, with a dry dock attached to it for the repair of war- steamers. Such a dock has been long a desideratum at Sydney, and private enterprize might, ere this time, have embarked in a work so essential to an important harbour, had not the Government always possessed the means of cheaply constructing such a work by convict labour, and been thus able at any time to have entered into such competition as might have been very injurious to a private speculator. At Cockatoo Island, blacksmiths, shoemakers, wheelwrights, were at work in their various avocations; all the shoes, for both the men and horses of the expedition, were made there; also one half of the carts, which proved equally good as the other portion, although that was made by the best maker in the colony, a celebrated man. The eagerness evinced by all these men, so confined in irons on Cockatoo Island, to be employed in an exploring expedition, was such that even the most reckless endeavoured to smooth their rugged fronts, and seemed to wish they had better deserved the recommendation of the superintendent. The prospect of achieving their freedom, by one year of good behaviour in the interior, was cheering to the most depressed soul amongst these prisoners. All pressed eagerly forward with their claims and pretensions, which, unfortunately for the knowing ones, were strictly investigated by Mr. Ormsby the superintendent, and Captain Innes, the visiting magistrate. The selection of such as seemed most eligible was at length made, after careful examination of the phrenological developments and police history of each; and it was not easy to find one without a catalogue of offences, filling a whole page of police-office annals. Still there were redeeming circumstances, corroborated by physical developments, sufficient to guide me in the selection of a party from amongst these prisoners. With them, I mixed one or two faithful Irishmen, on whom I knew I could depend, and two or three of my old followers on former journeys, who had become free. This party of convicts, so organized, with such strong inducements to behave well, and so few temptations to lead them astray, may be supposed to have afforded a favourable opportunity for studying the convict character. It may be asked by some, how such a party could have been made to yield submissive obedience for so long a period as a year, away from all other authority, than mere moral controul. This was chiefly because these men were placed in a position where it was so very clearly for their own interest to conduct themselves properly. Accordingly, the greater number, as on all former expeditions, gave the highest satisfaction, submitting cheerfully to privations, enduring hardships, and encountering dangers, apparently willing and resolved to do anything to escape from the degraded condition of a convict. But still there were a few, amounting in all to six, who, even in such a party, animated by such hopes, could not divest themselves of their true character, nor even disguise it for a time, as an expedient for the achievement of their liberty. These men were known amongst the rest as the "flash mob." They spoke the secret language of thieves; were ever intent on robbing the stores, with false keys (called by them SCREWS). They held it to be wrong to exert themselves at any work, if it could be avoided; and would not be seen to endeavour to please, by willing cooperation. They kept themselves out of sight as much as possible; neglected their arms; shot away their ammunition contrary to orders; and ate in secret, whatever they did kill, or whatever fish they caught. Professing to be men of "the Fancy," they made converts of two promising men, who, at first, were highly thought of, and although one of them was finally reclaimed, a hero of the prize ring, it was too obvious that the men, who glory in breaking the laws, and all of whose songs even, express sentiments of dishonesty, can easily lead the unwary and still susceptible of the unfortunate class, into snares from which they cannot afterwards escape if they would. Once made parties to an offence against the law, they are bound as by a spell, to the order of flash-boys, with whom it is held to be base and cowardly to act "upon the square," or HONESTLY in any sense of the word; their order professing to act ever "upon the cross." These men were so well-known to the better disposed and more numerous portion of the party, that the night-guards had to be so arranged, as that the stores or the camp should never be entirely in their hands. Thus a watch was required to be set as regularly over the stores, when the party was close to Sydney, as when it was surrounded by savage tribes in the interior. Between the "flash men" and the other men of the party, there was a wide difference: An old man to whom they once offered some stolen flour, refused it, saying, "I have been led into enough of trouble in my younger days, by flash friends, and now I wish to lead a quiet life." Convicts, in fact, consist of two distinctly different classes: the one, fortunately by far the most numerous, comprising those whose crime was the result of impulse; the other class consisting of those whose principle of action is dishonesty; whose trade is crime, and of whose reformation, there is much less hope. The offenders of the one class, repented of their crime from the moment of conviction; those of the other, know no such word in their vocabulary. The one, is still "a thing of hope and change;" and would eagerly avail himself of every means afforded him to regain the position he had lost; the other, true to his "order," will "die game." For the separation of the wheat from the chaff, a process by no means difficult, the colony of New South Wales was formerly well adapted. The ticket of leave granted to the deserving convict was one of the most perfect of reformatory indulgences; each individual being known to the authorities, and liable, on the least misconduct, to be sent to work on the public roads. The colony of New South Wales has been the means of restoring many of our unfortunate countrymen to positions in which they have shown that loyalty, industry, public spirit, and patriotism, are not always to be extinguished in the breasts of Englishmen, even by fetters and degradation. It is to be regretted that a more vigilant discrimination had not interposed a more marked line between those convicts deserving emancipation, and those whose services are still wanted on the roads and bridges of the colony. OF THE COLONY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. There is no country in which labour appears to be more required to render it available to, and habitable by, civilised men, than New South Wales or Australia. Without labour, the inhabitants must be savages, or, at least, such helpless people as we find the aborigines. The squatters' condition is intermediate, temporary, and one of necessity. That country without navigable rivers, intersected by rocky ranges, and subject to uncertain seasons, is unfavourable to agriculture and trade; to social intercourse, and to the moral and physical prosperity of civilised man. With equal truth, it may be observed, that there is no region of earth susceptible of so much improvement, solely by the labour and ingenuity of man. If there be no navigable rivers, there are no unwholesome savannas; if there are rocky ranges, they afford, at least, the means of forming reservoirs of water; and, although it is there uncertain when rain may fall, it is certain that an abundant supply does fall; and the hand of man alone is wanting to preserve that supply and regulate its use. In such a clime, and under such a sun, that most important of elements in cultivation, water, could thus be rendered much more subservient to man's use than it is in other warm regions, where, if the general vegetation be more luxuriant, the air is less salubrious. Sufficient water for all purposes of cultivation, health, and enjoyment, is quite at the command of art and industry in this most luxuriant of climates. Thus, the peculiar disadvantages Australia presents in her wild state, are such as would greatly enhance the value of such a country under the operation of human industry. In such a climate, for instance, an abundance of water would be found a much greater luxury when retained, distributed, and adjusted, by such means, to man's uses, than where an abundance is but the natural product of cloudy skies and frequent rains. Where natural resources exist, but require art and industry for their development, the field is open for the combination of science and skill, the profitable investment of capital, and the useful employment of labour. Such is New South Wales. But the age of such adaptations there is still to come. The future is too much speculated upon; hence no system of agriculture has been yet adjusted to the peculiarities of climate and soil. Instead of studying and adopting the agriculture of similar climates, and the arts by which deficiencies in similar latitudes have from time immemorial been corrected: irrigation, for instance, has not been yet attempted; the natural fertility of the soil has alone been relied on, to compensate, in favourable, seasons, for the deficiencies of others, not favourable, perhaps, for the growth of wheat or barley, but the best imaginable for that of other kinds of productions. So generally available is the structure of the country for the reservation of water by dams, that a small number of these might be made to retain as much of the surface water as might even impart humidity to the atmosphere. This is because the channels of rivers are in general confined by high banks, within which many, or indeed most of them, might be converted by a few dams into canals. To such great purposes convict labour ought to have been applied, had it been possible to have allowed colonization and transportation to work together. But the undulations of the land present everywhere facilities for constructing reservoirs, which heavy showers would fill, and thus afford means sufficient for the purposes of irrigation, were not labour now too scarce there, to admit of the progress of colonization in a manner suitable to the spirit of the age, and character of the nation. The rich lands along the eastern coast, under a lofty range which supplies abundance of water for the purposes of irrigation, are well adapted for the cultivation of cotton and sugar, and, with labour, nothing could prevent these regions from being made extensively productive of both articles. Of the vine and the olive[*], it remains to be ascertained whether some parts of the country may not be made as productive as Andalusia, for instance, is, in the same parallel of latitude, in the opposite hemisphere. The want of hands alone retards the development of every branch of production derivable from industry in these regions. [* Five months ago, soon after my return to England, I gave to the Society of Arts two bottles of olive oil, the first samples ever produced, I believe, in Australia. The oil was made by Mr. Kid, superintendent of the Botanic garden at Sydney, from olives grown there, and seemed very clear and good.] Settled districts, back from the coast, at elevations of 1000 feet and upwards, have produced abundant crops of wheat of very superior quality; and, but for the non-completion of the roads between these districts and the capital, in consequence of the withdrawal of convict labour, the progress of agriculture in its adaptation to the soil and climate, and, as a field for the employment of British immigrants, had been much more advanced than it is there. The roads which were opened by the above means, or proposed to be opened, have become almost impassable, or remain wholly so; and it is, therefore, the less surprising that the colonists look to the possible introduction of railways with much interest. In a country like that around Sydney, where extensive tracts of inferior land must be traversed by roads in order to arrive at lands which are productive and settled, the value and importance of a railway would be greatly enhanced; and calculations have been made to show that a railway between Sydney and the southern districts would pay, even from the traffic at present along that line. The town of Goulburn, 124 miles from Sydney, in an open undulating country, at a considerable height above the sea, is rapidly growing into importance; and, by making either a good road or a railway, between that town and Sydney, access would be gained to very extensive tracts of valuable territory, easily traversed, and to which Goulburn is a sort of centre. On the whole, it may be said that the difficulty of access to the best lands, from the want of good roads to them from the principal port, has, of late years, greatly impeded the introduction of immigrants to the rural districts, and added to the population of Sydney many individuals who had been brought to the colony at the public expense, for the assistance of settlers in the country. CONCLUSION. The employment of convicts on useful public works was, twenty years ago, a primary object with the government of New South Wales. The location of settlers on their grants by the measurement of their farms, then much in arrear, and the division of the territory into counties, hundreds, and parishes, in order to complete the deeds of grant to settlers, altogether rendered necessary a general survey of the colony, which work I commenced in 1827, EX OFFICIO, and, pursuant to Royal Instructions, sent to the colony in 1825. The time between the years 1827 and 1837 was the most prosperous in the history of the colony of New South Wales, when convicts made good roads, farms were measured up, and the country was surveyed and divided into countries. Colonization extended rapidly to the shores of the southern ocean, and Australia Felix was made known to the British public. The survey touched the limits of the then unknown country, for the direction of great roads from a centre could not be considered permanent, however limited the colony, without such consideration of their ultimate tendency as could only be given with a knowledge of the whole intervening country. My plans of exploration have been governed by these views and objects, and the journey recorded in these pages was intended to complete the last of three lines radiating from Sydney. One led across the Blue mountains to Bathurst and the western interior as far as the land seemed worth exploring; another by Goulburn to Australia Felix and the southern coast; and, lastly, this, the third general route, to the northern shores at the nearest point, the head of the Gulf of Carpentaria,--from which I trust that by this time my assistant Mr. Kennedy will have returned to Sydney. Held responsible by the Government for the performance of such a duty[*], I have endeavoured to work out its views with that unity of plan which must result from a mathematical principle, and which has enabled me to bring to a satisfactory conclusion, after the lapse of many years, and in the face of considerable difficulty, an undertaking commenced at the command of my Sovereign, and under the auspices of the British Government. That the Royal Instructions were originally intended for the benefit of the colony of New South Wales is best evinced by the fact that this journey of survey and exploration has been undertaken on the petition of the Legislative Council of the Colony, and performed wholly at the expense of the colony of New South Wales. [* Appendix, Letter No. 30/1252., page 431.] It now remains for me to submit my final "Report," or, in other words, to point out how the geographical knowledge thus acquired may be available for the economical extension of that colonisation which the expansive energies of this great nation seem to require. New South Wales may be benefited, it is true, by the establishment of any additional market on the eastern coast, for her produce; and by a road to the Gulf of Carpentaria; but a timely knowledge of the structure of the interior was necessary to enable the Government to determine on the sites most eligible for centres of colonisation required along the coast. It is now ascertained that a great range separates the coast settlements from the open pastoral country of the interior, as far as the parallel of 25° south. That there it breaks off at the lofty plateau of Buckland's Table Land, which overlooks a much lower country in the north;--a country but lightly wooded, watered by good rivers, and which affords an easy access to extensive pastoral regions in the interior, without the intervention of any such formidable barrier between that interior open country and the coast, as the great range nearer the actual colony. Precisely on that part of the coast, to which the united channels of the water lead, a harbour has been surveyed and approved of by competent naval officers. These geographical facts, therefore, render it easy to define one situation more favourable than any other that might be found along that coast, for the nucleus of a colony, and which would divide almost equally the whole coast line between Sydney and Cape York. I allude to Port Bowen, near Broad Sound; and the river Nogoa, which has been (I believe) called lower down, the Mackenzie. A port on that part of the coast, at the entrance within the reefs, would be advantageous to steam navigation. The occupation of the fine country on the rivers Victoria, Salvator and Claude, must depend on some such sea-port for supplies; and on the occupation of that back-country must again, in a great measure, depend the establishment of a direct line of communication between Sydney and the Gulf of Carpentaria. At the head of that gulf, admitting that a practicable and direct line of route can be opened to it, the country, and the sea adjacent, may soon require attention. By timely examination and good arrangement, a commodious place of embarkation may be established there, which might, by degrees, become an important town; where horses might be shipped and conveyed by a short passage to India, free from the hazards of Torres Straits. It would appear from the brief but intelligible description by Captain Flinders, that Wellesley Islands, or Sweer's Island, being both higher than the main land, might be connected with it, by some permanent work, and thus afford a good port for steamers, and shelter and anchorage for other ships. According to the interesting narrative of Captain Stokes, the temperature is remarkably low, and convict labour might there be very usefully employed upon such works. The head of the Gulf of Carpentaria, being that part of the Indian Ocean nearest to Sydney, has appeared of more importance to the colonists, since steam navigation became regular between England and the Indian archipelago. Then it became more desirable for the colonists to know the nature of the interior country between their capital and that northern coast. The interior has been found very open and accessible; the fine country at the head of the Victoria must soon be occupied, and thus divide the whole distance into two equal parts, each of these not much exceeding the distance between Sydney and Melbourne, in Australia Felix; between which places mail- carriages now run twice a week. Thus, while, by the extension of geographical research, the proper fields for colonization are laid open for selection, and prepared for timely arrangements on the part of the Imperial Government; the colonists of New South Wales have promoted the general interests of their fellow subjects at home, by the developement of the resources of the territory around them. He "who measured out the sea in the hollow of his hand, and weighed the earth in a balance," has determined, by the condition of these two elements, the situation of the Gulf, and that of the great break in the East Coast range--the one affording the nearest access to an important sea, the other the easy way to a rich interior land. I would, with deference to Him, "who led Israel like a flock," and me in safety through the Australian wilds, distinguish the two regions by timely descriptive names on the map I now lay before the public; Capricornia, to express the country under the tropics, from the parallel of 25° South, where nature has set up her own land-marks, not to be disputed: Australindia, the country on the shores of the most southern part of the Indian archipelago; which two regions may be made conterminous according to natural limits, when such limits can be accurately ascertained. APPENDIX. The Colonial Secretary to the Surveyor-General of New South Wales. No. 30/1252. Colonial Secretary's Office, October 28. 1830. Sir, I have the honour, by the direction of His Excellency the Governor, to inform you that the Right Honourable the Secretary of State has been pleased to signify the King's instructions for the discontinuance of the office of the Commissioners appointed to survey and value the lands of the Colony, and His Majesty's commands that the performance of their duties is for the future to be entrusted to the Surveyor-General, who, with the aid of the Assistant Surveyors, will be held responsible for all arrangements connected with the survey and division of the territory. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant, ALEX. M'LEAY. To T.L. Mitchell, Esquire, Surveyor-General. * * * * * A SYSTEMATICAL LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL PLANTS COLLECTED IN THE FOREGOING JOURNEY. THOSE MARKED * ARE NEW. [numerals refer to page numbers in the book] FERNS. Adiantum hispidulum, 204, 212. ----assimile, 204. 212. Nothochlaena distans, 212. Grammitis rutaefolia, 212. Cheilanthes tenuifolia, 212. Doodia caudata, 212. Platyzoma microphyllum, 236. GRASSES. Aristida calycina, 33. Arundo Phragmites, 124. * Anthistiria membranacea, LINDL. 88. ----australis PASSIM. ----sp. 97. Andropogon sericeus, 62. ----bombycinus, 378. ----sp. 117. Bromus australis, 61. * Chloris selerantha, LINDL. 31. ----acicularis LINDL. 33. Dactyloctenium radulans, 88. Danthonia pectinata, 319. ----* triticoides LINDL. 365. Erianthus, fulvo aff. 62. Imperata arundinacea, 60. 349. Lappago biflora, 364. Neurachne Mitchelliana, 33. Perotis rara, 139. Panicum laevinode 60. AND PASSIM. Pappophorum gracile, 319. ----* avenaceum LINDL. 320. ----* virens, LINDL. 360. ----* flavescens, LINDL. 34. * Stipa scabra, LINDL. 31. * Sporobolus pallidus, LINDL. 187. Triodia pungens, 177. 340. Triraphis mollis, 88. SEDGES. Cyperus, sp. bulbosa. 124. ----sp. 120. Kyllinga monocephala, 100. MISCELLANEOUS ENDOGENS. Damasonium ovalifolium, 31. Xerotes laxa, 361. ----leucocephala, 198. Cymbidium canaliculatum, 378. * Pterostylis Mitchellii, LINDL. 3 Commelina undulata, 347. Thysanotus elatior, 347. Tricoryne elatior, 387. Laxmannia gracilis, 365. Dianella rara, 366. ----strumosa, 341. GYMNOGENS. Zamia, 209. Callitris sp. n. 187. ----glauca, 298. ---- pyramidalis, 93. SPURGEWORTS (EUPHORBIACEAE). * Adriania acerifolia, HOOKER, 371. ----* heterophylla, HOOKER, 124. Beyeria, sp. n. 390. Bertya oleaefolia, 290. Euphorbia hypericifolia? 265. ----* eremophila, A. CUNN. 348. Hylococcus sericeus, 389. * Micrantheum triandrum, HOOKER, 342. Phyllanthus simplex? 106. CUCURBITS. Cucumis pubescens, 110. BIXADS (FLACOURTIACEAE). * Melicytus? oleaster, LINDL. 383. FRANKENIADS. * Frankenia scabra, LINDL. 305. ----* serpyllifolia, LINDL. 305. CAPPARIDS. * Capparis umbonata, LINDL. 257. ----* loranthifolia, LINDL. 220. ---- lasiantha, 102. ----Mitchellii, 36. Cleome flava, 127. STERCULIADS. Brachychiton populneum, 355. * Delabechea rupestris MITCHELL, 155. BYTTNEBIADS. * Keraudrenia integrifolia, HOOKER, 341. MALLOWWORTS. Hibiscus Lindleyi? 260. ----* Sturtii, HOOKER, 363. Fugosia digitata? 387. ----sp. 64. Malva ovata, 397. * Sida Frazeri, HOOKER, 368. ---- pisiformis, 362. ----* virgata, HOOKER, 361. ----filiformis, A. CUNN. 361. ----tubulosa, CUNN. 390. ----sp. n. 103. LINDENBLOOMS (TILIACEAE). Grewia Richardiana, 383. MILKWORTS (POLYGALACEAE). * Comesperma sylvestris, LINDL. 342. SOAPWORTS (SAPINDACEAE). Thouinia australis, 390. * Dodonaea acerosa, LINDL. 273. ----* filifolia, HOOKER, 241. ----* hirtella, 191. ----* mollis, LINDL. 212. ----* peduncularis, LINDL. 340. 361. ----* pubescens, LINDL. 342. ----* tenuifolia, LINDL. 248. ----* trigona, LINDL. 236. ----* triangularis, 219. ----* vestita, HOOKER, 265. DILLENIADS. Pleurandra ericifolia, 362. ----* cistoidea, HOOKER, 363. Hibbertia canescens, 339. CROWFOOTS (RANUNCULACEAE). Clematis stenophylla, 368. Ranunculus plebeius, 362. ----sessiliflorus, 361. PITTOSPORADS. * Bursaria incana, LINDL. 224. * Pittosporum salicinum, LINDL. 97. ---- lanceolatum, 272. EPACRIDS. Leucopogon cuspidatus, 226. CITRONWORTS (AURANTIACEAE). * Triphasia glauca, LINDL. 353. RUEWORTS (RUTACEAE). * Boronia bipinnata, LINDL. 225. ----* eriantha, LINDL. 298. * Eriostemon rhombeum, LINDL. 293. * Geijera parviflora, LINDL. 102. ----* latifolia, LINDL. 236. ----* pendula, LINDL. 251. Heterodendron oleaefolium, 398. * Pilotheca ciliata, HOOKER, 347. * Phebalium glandulosum, HOOKER, 199. * Zieria Frazeri, HOOKER, 339. CRANESBILLS (GERANIACEAE). Geranium parviflorum? 362. Erodium littoreum? 360. PURSLANES (PORTULACACEAE). * Calandrinia balonensis, LINDL. 148. ----* pusilla, LINDL. 360. BUCKWHEATS (POLYGONACEAE). Polygonum acre, 149. ----junceum, 85. NYCTAGOS. Boerhaavia mutabilis, 362. AMARANTHS. Amaranthus undulatus, 102. Alternanthera nodiflora, 35. ----sp. 341. Nyssanthes? 360. * Trichinium semilanatum, LINDL. 45. ----Janatum, 33. 88. ----* conicum, LINDL. 363. ----fusiforme, 383. ----alopecuroideum, 88. 91. CHENOPODS. Ambrina carinata, 127. * Atriplex nummularia, LINDL. 64. ---- elaeagnoides, 29 Atriplex semibaccata, 23. * Chenopodium auricomum, LINDL. 94. Enchylaena tomentosa, 102. Kochia brevifolia, 33. 67. ----* thymifolia, LINDL. 56. ----* lanosa, LINDL. 88. ----* villosa, LINDL. 91. Rhagodia parabolica, 53. Salsola australis, 24, etc. Seleroaena uniflora, 72. * Suaeda tamariscina, LINDL. 239. FICOIDS. Mesembryanthemum, sp. 315. DAPHNADS. Pimelea linifolia? 340. ----* trichostachya, LINDL. 355. ----colorans, 362. Exocarpus aphylla, 118. ----spartea, 135. PROTEADS. * Conospermum sphacelatum, HOOKER, 342. * Grevillea Mitchellii, HOOKER, 265. ----* juncifolia, HOOKER, 341. ----floribunda, 212. ----* longistyla, HOOKER, 343. ----sp. 276. * Hakea longicuspis, HOOKER, 397. ----* purpurea, HOOKER, 348. DODDER LAURELS (CASSYTHACEAE). Cassytha pubescens, 362. LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. Acacia conferta, 174. 289. ----Cunninghamii, 204. ----doratoxylon, 289. ----delibrata, 258. ----decora, 359. var. 223. ----* excelsa, BENTH. 225. ----Farnesiana, 256. ----falcata, 221. Acacia holosericea, 256. ---- Simsii, 256. ----leucadendron, 258. ----* longespicata, BENTH. 298. ---- ixiophylla, 204. ----leptoclada, var. 95. ----* macradenia, BENTH. 360. ----neriifolia, 386. ----pendula, PASSIM. ----pennifolia, 361. ---- podalyriifolia, 221. ----* pinifolia, BENTH. 342. ----stenophylla, 81. ----spectabilis, 353. ----salicina, 56. ----triptera, 291. ----* varians, BENTH. 132. ----* Victoriae, BENTH. 333. ----* uncifera, BENTH. 341. ---- viscidula, 340. * Aotus mollis, BENTH. 236. * Bossiaea carinalis, BENTH. 290. ----rhombifolia, 294. * Cassia circinata, BENTH. 384. ----* coronilloides, CUNN. 384. ----* zygophylla, BENTH. 288. ----sophera, 390. ----occidentalis, 378. ----heteroloba, 251. * Crotalaria dissitiflora, BENTH. 386. ----* Mitchellii, BENTH. 120. * Cyclogyne swainsonioides, BENTH. 397. * Daviesia filipes, BENTH. 363. * Erythrina vespertilio, BENTH. 218. * Gompholobium foliosum, BENTH. 348. Hardenbergia monophylla, 236. Hovea lanceolata, 212. ----* leiocarpa, BENTH. 289. * Indigofera brevidens, BENTH. 385. ----hirsuta, 122. * Jacksonia ramosissima, BENTH. 258. ----scoparia, 339. * Kennedya procurrens, BENTH. 365. Labichea rupestris, BENTH. 342. * Labich ea digitata, BENTH. 273. * Leptocyamus latifolius, BENTH. 361. * Lotus laevigatus, BENTH. 62. ----australis, var. 348. Neptunia gracilis, 362. * Psoralea eriantha, BENTH. 131. Sesbania aculeata? 106. * Swainsona phacoides, BENTH. 363. Vigna, an capensis? 339. ----* lanceolata, BENTH. 350. ----* suberecta, BENTH. 388. ROSEWORTS. Rubus parvifolius, 351. LOOSESTRIFES (LYTHRACEAE). Lythrum Salicaria, 62. RHAMNADS. Alphitonia excelsa, 201. Cryptandra propinqua, 223. * Ventilago viminalis, HOOKER, 369. SPINDLE TREES (CELASTRACEAE). * Catha Cunninghamii, HOOKER, 387. * Elaeodendron maculosum, LINDL. 384. STACKHOUSIADS. Stackhousia muricata, 362. DOGBANES (APOCYNACEAE). Carissa ovata, 393. Tabernaemontana, sp. 341. * Doobàh, 85. LOGANIADS. * Logania cordifolia, HOOKER, 341. GENTIANWORTS. Erythraea australis, 366. OLIVEWORTS. Notclaea punctata, 352. NIGHTSHADES (SOLANACEAE). Nicotiana suaveolens, 64. Solanum ellipticum, 215. ----furfuraceum, 212. ----biflorum, 362. ----violaceum, 365. ----sp. 85. BINDWEEDS. * Polymeria longifolia, 398. Convolvulus erubescens, 353. Evolvulus, sericeo aff., 386. ----linifolius, 339. LEADWORTS. Plumbago zeylanica, 219. RIBWORTS (PLANTAGINACEAE). Plantago varia, 352. JASMINWORTS. * Jasminum suavissimum, LINDL. 355. ----lineare, 94. ----* Mitchellii, LINDL. 365. EHRETIADS. Halgania, sp. 24. BORAGEWORTS. * Trichodesma sericeum, LINDL. 258. BRUNONIADS. Brunonia sericea, 341. ----simplex? 360. ----* simplex, LINDL. 82. LABIATES. Ajuga australis, var., 236. 347. * Mentha grandiflora, BENTH., 362. Moschosma polystachya, 137. Plectranthus parviflorus, 347. * Prostanthera odoratissima, BENTH., 291. ----* ringens, BENTH., 363. ----* euphrasioides, BENTH., 360. Teucrium recemosum, 31. ----argutum, 198. Salvia plebeia, 366. VERBENES. Chloanthes stoechadis, 298. Vitex, sp. n., 212. MYOPORADS. * Eremophila Mitchelli, BENTH., 31. * Myoporum dulce, 253. ---- Cunninghamii, 214. * Stenochilus pubiflorus, BENTH., 273. ----* salicinus, BENTH., 251. ----* curvipes, BENTH., 221. ----* bignoniaeflorus, BENTH., 386. BIGNONIADS. Tecoma Oxleyi, 291. ACANTHADS. Justicia media, 31. 89. 361. ----ascendens, 97. Ruellia australis, 353. FIGWORTS (SCROPHULARIACEAE). Morgania floribunda, 62. 384. Veronica plebeia, 360. GOODENIADS. Dampiera adpressa, 339. Goodenia pulchella, 339. ----* flagellifera, DE VRIESE, 378. ----coronopifolia, 359. ----geniculata, 72. * Linschotenia bicolor, DE VRIESE, 340. 345. * Velleya macrocalyx, DE VRIESE, 258. COMPOSITES. Brachycome, heterodontae prox., 62. * Calotis scapigera, HOOKER, 75. ---- cuneifolia, 28. * Calocephalus gnaphalioides, HOOKER., 378. * Eurybia subspicata, HOOKER, 293. Eurybiopsis macrorhiza, 359. Erechthites arguta, 225. * Ethulia Cunninghami, HOOKER, 62. * Flaveria australasica, HOOKER, 118. Helichrysum bracteatum, 79. ----* ramosissimum, HOOK., 83. ---- semipapposum, 389. ----odorum? 362. Helipteres anthemoides, 349. ----* glutinosa, HOOK., 361. Minuria heterophylla, 64. Monenteles redolens, 263. * Myriogyne racemosa, HOOK., 353. Ozothamnus diosmaefolius, 347. Podolepis acuminata? 289. ----rugata? 362. ----longipedunculata, 362. Pycnosorus globosus, 353. Rutidosis helichrysoides, 78. ----* arachnoidea, HOOK., 341. Senecio carnosulus? 360. ----Cunninghami, 45. ----brachylaenus, 62. Sphaeranthus hirtus 212. HIPPURIDS (HALORAGACEA). * Haloragis aspera, LINDL., 306. ----* glauca, LINDL., 91. * Myriophyllum verrucosum, LINDL. 384. MYRTLE BLOOMS (MYRTACEAE). Angophora lanceolata, 81. * Callistemon nervosum, LINDL. 235. Eucalyptus sideroxylon, 339. ----* acuminatus, HOOK. 390. Eucalyptus pulverulento aff. 91. ----* melissiodorus, LINDL., 235. ----* citriodorus, HOOKER, 235. ----* populifolius, HOOKER, 204. ----bicolor, 390. ----* viminalis, HOOKER, 157. * Leptospermum sericatum, LINDL. 298. * Melaleuca trichostachya, LINDL. 277. ----* tamariscina, HOOKER, 262. Schidiomyrtus tenellus, 340. * Tristania angustifolia, HOOK. 198. CINCHONADS. Canthium sp. 386. ----* oleifolium, HOOKER, 397. Pomax hirta, 340. STELLATES. Asperula? 360. UMBELLIFERS. Actinotus Helianthi, 345. Daucus brachiatus, 235. Didiscus pilosus, 593. SANDALWORTS (SANTALACEAE). Fusanus acuminatus, 105. Santalum oblongatum 101. LORANTHS. * Loranthus linearifolius, HOOK. 102. ----* aurantiacus, HOOKER, 101. ----* subfalcatus, HOOKER, 224. ----* nutans, CUNN. 158. [* The routes of the party advancing are coloured red (long-short-short- long) on the maps; those by which it returned, blue (short-short-short).] LONDON, FEB. 15. 1848. 
12565	----	AN ACCOUNT OF THE ENGLISH COLONY IN NEW SOUTH WALES: WITH REMARKS ON THE DISPOSITIONS, CUSTOMS, MANNERS, etc. OF THE NATIVE INHABITANTS OF THAT COUNTRY. TO WHICH ARE ADDED, SOME PARTICULARS OF NEW ZEALAND; COMPILED, BY PERMISSION, FROM THE MSS. OF LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR KING. By DAVID COLLINS, Esquire, LATE JUDGE ADVOCATE AND SECRETARY OF THE COLONY. ILLUSTRATED BY ENGRAVINGS. VOLUME I. Many might be saved who now suffer an ignominious and an early death; and many might be so much purified in the furnace of punishment and adversity, as to become the ornaments of that society of which they had formerly been the bane. The vices of mankind must frequently require the severity of justice; but a wise State will direct that severity to the greatest moral and political good. ANON. LONDON: PRINTED FOR T. CADELL JUN. AND W. DAVIES, IN THE STRAND. 1798. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THOMAS LORD VISCOUNT SYDNEY One of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Chief Justice in Eyre South of Trent, A Governor of the Charter-house, and a Vice-President of the Asylum MY LORD, The honour that your Lordship has done me, in permitting this volume to go forth into the world under the sanction of your name, demands my warmest acknowledgments. I can only wish that the Work had been more worthy of its patron. The originator of the plan of colonization for New South Wales was too conspicuous a character to be overlooked by the narrator of its rise and progress. The benevolent mind of your Lordship led you to conceive this method of redeeming many lives that might be forfeit to the offended laws; but which, being preserved, under salutary regulations, might afterward become useful to society: and to your patriotism the plan presented a prospect of commercial and political advantage. The following pages will, it is hoped, serve to evince, with how much wisdom the measure was suggested and conducted; with what beneficial effects its progress has been attended; and what future benefits the parent country may with confidence anticipate. That your Lordship may long live to enjoy those grateful reflections which a sense of having advanced the public welfare must be presumed to excite; and that our most gracious sovereign, the father of his people, may long, very long reign over these kingdoms, and continue to be served by statesmen of tried talents and integrity, is the earnest prayer of, MY LORD, Your Lordship's much obliged, and most devoted servant, DAVID COLLINS Poland Street, May 25, 1798 * * * * * PREFACE To the public the following work is with respectful deference submitted by its author, who trusts that it will be found to comprise much information interesting in its nature, and that has not been anticipated by any former productions on the same subject. If he should be thought to have been sometimes too minute in his detail, he hopes it will be considered, that the transactions here recorded were penned as they occurred, with the feelings that at the moment they naturally excited in the mind; and that circumstances which, to an indifferent reader, may appear trivial, to a spectator and participant seem often of importance. To the design of this work (which was, to furnish a complete record of the transactions of the colony from its foundation), accuracy and a degree of minuteness in detail seemed essential; and on reviewing his manuscript, the author saw little that, consistently with his plan, he could persuade himself to suppress. For his labours he claims no credit beyond what may be due to the strictest fidelity in his narrative. It was not a romance that he had to give to the world; nor has he gone out of the track that actual circumstances prepared for him, to furnish food for sickly minds, by fictitious relations of adventures that never happened, but which are by a certain description of readers perused with avidity, and not unfrequently considered as the only passages deserving of notice. Though to a work of this nature a style ornamental and luxuriant would have been evidently inapplicable, yet the author has not been wholly inattentive to this particular, but has endeavoured to temper the dry and formal manner of the mere journalist, with something of the historian's ease. Long sequestered, however, from literary society, and from convenient access to books, he had no other models than those which memory could supply; and therefore does not presume to think his volume proof against the rigid censor: but to liberal criticism he submits, with the confidence of a man conscious of having neither negligence nor presumption to impute to himself. He wrote to beguile the tedium of many a heavy hour; and when he wrote looked not beyond the satisfaction which at some future period might be afforded to a few friends, as well as to his own mind, by a review of those hardships which in common with his colleagues he had endured and overcome; hardships which in some degree he supposes to be inseparable from the first establishment of any colony; but to which, from the peculiar circumstances and description of the settlers in this instance, were attached additional difficulties. In the progress of his not unpleasing task, the author began to think that his labours might prove interesting beyond the small circle of his private friends; that some account of the gradual reformation of such flagitious characters as had by many (and those not illiberal) persons in this country been considered as past the probability of amendment, might be not unacceptable to the benevolent part of mankind, but might even tend to cherish the seeds of virtue, and to open new streams from the pure fountain of mercy*. [* "It often happens," says Dr. Johnson, "that in the loose and thoughtless and dissipated, there is a secret radical worth, which may shoot out by proper cultivation; that the spark of heaven, though dimmed and obstructed, is yet not extinguished, but may, by the breath of counsel and exhortation, be kindled into flame . . . "Let none too hastily conclude that all goodness is lost, though it may for a time be clouded and overwhelmed; for most minds are the slaves of external circumstances, and conform to any hand that undertakes to mould them; roll down any torrent of custom in which they happen to be caught; or bend to any importunity that bears hard against them." _Rambler_, No. 70.] Nor was he without hope, that through the humble medium of this history, the untutored savage, emerging from darkness and barbarism, might find additional friends among the better-informed members of civilized society. With these impressions, therefore, he felt it a sort of duty to offer his book to the world; and should the objects alluded to be in any degree promoted by it, he shall consider its publication as the most fortunate circumstance of his life. Occurrences such as he has had to relate are not often presented to the public; they do not, indeed, often happen. It is not, perhaps, once in a century that colonies are established in the most remote parts of the habitable globe; and it is seldom that men are found existing perfectly in a state of nature. When such circumstances do occur, curiosity, and still more laudable sentiments, must be excited. The gratification even of curiosity alone might have formed a sufficient apology for the author; but he has seen too much of virtue even among the vicious to be indifferent to the sufferings, or backward in promoting the felicities of human nature. A few words, he hopes, may be allowed him respecting the colony itself, for which he acknowledges what, he trusts, will be considered as at least an excusable partiality. He bore his share of the distresses and calamities which it suffered; and at his departure, in the ninth year of its growth, with pleasure saw it wear an aspect of ease and comfort that seemed to bid defiance to future difficulties. The hardships which it sustained were certainly attributable to mischance, not to misconduct. The Crown was fortunate in the selection of its governors, not less with respect to the gentlemen who were sent out expressly in that capacity, than in those on whom the temporary administration occasionally devolved. Under Governor Hunter, who at present presides there, the resources of the country and the energies of the colonists will assuredly be called forth. The intelligence, discretion, and perseverance of that officer will be zealously applied to discover and fix every local advantage. His well-known humanity will not fall to secure the savage islander from injury or mortification; reconcile him to the restraints, and induce him to participate in the enjoyments, of civilized society; and instruct him to appreciate justly the blessings of rational freedom, whose salutary restrictions are not less conducive to individual benefit than to the general weal. With respect to the resources of the settlement, there can be little doubt, that at this moment it is able to support itself in the article of grain; and the wild stock of cattle to the westward of the Nepean will soon render it independent on this country in the article of animal food. As to its utility, beside the circumstance of its freeing the mother country from the depraved branches of her offspring, in some instances reforming their dispositions, and in all cases rendering their labour and talents conducive to the public good, it may prove a valuable nursery to our East India possessions for soldiers and seamen. If, beside all this, a whale fishery should be established, another great benefit may accrue to the parent country from the coast of New South Wales. The island, moreover, abounds with fine timber in every respect adapted to the purposes of ship-building: iron too it possesses in abundance. Coal has been found there, and some veins of copper; and however inconsiderable the quantity of these articles that has been hitherto found, yet the proof of their existence will naturally lead to farther research, and most probably terminate in complete success. The flax plant grows spontaneously, and may, with the assistance of proper implements and other necessaries, be turned to very profitable account. The climate is for the most part temperate and healthy; cattle are prolific; and fruits and culinary vegetables thrive with almost a tropical luxuriance. To be brief: Such is the English Colony in New South Wales, for which the author is anxiously solicitous to obtain the candid consideration of his countrymen; among whom it has been painful to him to remark a disposition too prevalent for regarding it with odium and disgust. London, May 25, 1798 * * * * * CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Section I Transports hired to carry convicts to Botany Bay The _Sirius_ and the _Supply_ commissioned Preparations for sailing Tonnage of the transports Persons left behind Two convicts punished on board the _Sirius_ The _Hyaena_ leaves the Fleet Arrival of the fleet at Teneriffe Proceedings at that island Some particulars respecting the town of Santa Cruz An excursion made to Laguna A convict escapes from one of the transports, but is retaken Proceedings The fleet leaves Teneriffe, and puts to sea Section II Proceed on the voyage Altitude of the peak of Teneriffe Pass the isles of Sal, Bonavista, May, and St. Iago Cross the equator Progress Arrive at the Brazils Transactions at Rio de Janeiro Some particulars of that town Sail thence Passage to the Cape of Good Hope Transactions there Some particulars respecting the Cape Depart for New South Wales Section III Proceed on the voyage Captain Phillip sails onward in the _Supply_, taking with him three of the transports Pass the island of St. Paul Weather, January 1788 The South Cape of New Holland made The _Sirius_ and her convoy anchor in the harbour of Botany Bay. CHAPTER I Arrival of the fleet at Botany Bay The governor proceeds to Port Jackson, where it is determined to fix the settlement Two French ships under M. de la Perouse arrive at Botany Bay The _Sirius_ and convoy arrive at Port Jackson Transactions Disembarkation Commission and letters patent read Extent of the territory of New South Wales Behaviour of the convicts The criminal court twice assembled Account of the different courts The _Supply_ sent with some settlers to Norfolk Island Transactions Natives Weather CHAPTER II Broken Bay visited M. de la Perouse sails Transactions The _Supply_ returns Lord Howe Island discovered The ships for China sail Some convicts wounded by the natives Scurvy New store-house Necessary orders and appointments Excursions into the country New branch of the harbour into Port Jackson Sheep CHAPTER III Transactions Transports sail for China The _Supply_ sails for Lord Howe Island Return of stock in the colony in May The _Supply_ returns Transactions A convict wounded Rush-cutters killed by the natives Governor's excursion His Majesty's birthday Behaviour of the convicts Cattle lost Natives Proclamation Earthquake Transports sail for England _Supply_ sails for Norfolk Island Transactions Natives Convicts wounded CHAPTER IV Heavy rains Public works Sheep stolen Prince of Wale's birthday Fish Imposition of a convict Natives Apprehensive of a failure of provisions Natives Judicial administration A convict murdered CHAPTER V Settlement of Rose Hill The _Golden Grove_ returns from Norfolk Island The storeships sail for England Transactions James Daley tried and executed for housebreaking Botany Bay examined by the governor A convict found dead in the woods Christmas Day A native taken and brought up to the settlement Weather Climate Report of deaths from the departure of the fleet from England to the 31st of December 1788 CHAPTER VI New Year's Day Convicts, how employed Their disposition to idleness and vice Her Majesty's birthday kept Natives Captain Shea dies Regulations respecting the convicts Instances of their misconduct Transactions The _Supply_ sails for Norfolk Island Public Works Natives Convicts killed Stores robbed The _Supply_ returns Insurrection projected at Norfolk Island Hurricane there Transactions at Rose Hill CHAPTER VII Neutral Bay Smallpox among the natives Captain Hunter in the _Sirius_ returns with supplies from the Cape of Good Hope Middleton Island discovered Danger of wandering in the forests of an unknown country Convicts The King's birthday kept Convicts perform a play A reinforcement under Lieutenant Cresswell sent to Norfolk Island Governor Phillip makes an excursion of discovery Transactions Hawkesbury River discovered Progress at Rose Hill Important papers left behind in England CHAPTER VIII Barracks Stock Intelligence from Norfolk Island Police established at the principal settlement A successful haul of fish A soldier tried for a rape Provisions begin to fail Natives A launch completed Rats Ration reduced to two-thirds _Sirius_ returns to the Cove One of her mates lost in the woods _Supply_ sails for Norfolk Island Utility of the night watch A female convict executed for house-breaking Two natives taken Serious charge against the assistant commissary satisfactorily cleared up Lieutenant Dawes's excursion The _Supply_ returns Transactions CHAPTER IX A convict made a free settler A pleasing delusion Extraordinary supply of fish Caesar's narrative Another convict wounded by the natives The _Supply_ arrives from Norfolk Island A large number of settlers sent thither on board the _Sirius_ and _Supply_ Heavy rains Scarcity of provisions increasing in an alarming degree Lieutenant Maxwell's insanity News brought of the loss of the _Sirius_ Allowance of provisions still further reduced The _Supply_ sent to Batavia for relief Robberies frequent and daring An old man dies of hunger Rose Hill Salt and fishing-lines made The native escapes Transactions CHAPTER X The _Lady Juliana_ transport arrives from England _The Guardian_ His Majesty's birthday Thanksgiving for His Majesty's recovery The _Justinian_ storeship arrives Full ration ordered Three transports arrive Horrid state of the convicts on board Sick landed Instance of sagacity in a dog A convict drowned Mortality and number of sick on the 13th Convicts sent to Rose Hill A town marked out there Works in hand at Sydney Instructions respecting grants of land Mr. Fergusson drowned Convicts' claims on the master of the _Neptune_ Transactions Criminal Court Whale CHAPTER XI Governor Phillip wounded by a native Intercourse opened with the natives Great haul of fish Convicts abscond with a boat Works Want of rain Natives _Supply_ returns from Batavia Transactions there Criminal Courts James Bloodworth emancipated Oars found in the woods A convict brought back in the _Supply_ A boat with five people lost Public works A convict wounded by a native Armed parties sent out to avenge him A Dutch vessel arrives with supplies from Batavia Decrease by sickness and casualties in 1790 CHAPTER XII New Year's Day A convict drowned A native killed Signal colours stolen _Supply_ sails for Norfolk Island H. E. Dodd, Superintendant at Rose Hill, dies Public works Terms offered for the hire of the Dutch snow to England The _Supply_ returns State of Norfolk Island Fishing-boat overset Excessive heats Officers and seamen of the _Sirius_ embark in the snow _Supply_ sails for Norfolk Island, and the _Waaksamheyd_ for England William Bryant and other convicts escape from New South Wales Ruse, a settler, declares that he can maintain himself without assistance from the public stores Ration reduced Orders respecting marriage Port regulations Settlers Public works CHAPTER XIII A Musket found by a native Reports of plans to seize boats _Supply_ arrives from Norfolk Island The King's birthday A canoe destroyed Its evil effects Corn sown Battery begun One hundred and forty acres inclosed for cattle The _Mary Ann_ arrives Two criminal courts held Ration improved The _Matilda_ arrives The _Mary Ann_ sails for Norfolk Island Settlers The _Atlantic_ and _Salamander_ arrive Full ration issued The _William and Ann_ arrives Natives Public works CHAPTER XIV The _Salamander_ sails for, and the _Mary Ann_ arrives from Norfolk Island Bondel, a native, returns A seaman, for sinking a canoe, punished The _Gorgon_ arrives Commission of emancipation, and public seal The _Active_ and _Queen_ arrive Complaints against the master of the _Queen_ _Supply_ ordered home _Albemarle_ arrives Mutiny on board _Britannia_ and _Admiral Barrington_ arrive Future destination of the transports The _Atlantic_ and _Queen_ hired _Atlantic_ sails for Bengal _Salamander_ returns from Norfolk Island Transactions Public works Suicide CHAPTER XV A party of Irish convicts abscond The _Queen_ sails for Norfolk Island Whale fishery Ration altered The _Supply_ sails for England Live stock (public) in the colony Ground in cultivation Sick Run of water decreasing Two transports sail Whale fishery given up The _Queen_ arrives from Norfolk Island The Marines embark in the _Gorgon_ for England Ration further reduced Transactions Convicts who were in the _Guardian_ emancipated Store finished Deaths in 1791 CHAPTER XVI The _Queen_ sails for Norfolk Island Whalers on their fishing voyages Convicts missing Various depredations Dispensary and bake-house robbed Proclamation A criminal court held Convict executed Transactions The _Pitt_ with Lieutenant-Governor Grose arrives Military duty fixed for Parramatta Goods selling at Sydney from the _Pitt_ The _Pitt_ ordered to be dispatched to Norfolk Island Commissions read Sickness The _Pitt_ sails Mr. Burton killed Stormy weather Public works Regulations respecting persons who had served their terms of transportation Natives CHAPTER XVII Mortality in April Appearance and state of the convicts Ration again reduced Quantity of flour in store Settlers State of transactions with the natives Indian corn stolen Public works Average prices of grain, etc at Sydney, and at Parramatta Mortality decreases King's birthday The _Atlantic_ returns from Bengal Account received of Bryant and his companions Ration farther reduced _Atlantic_ cleared Sheep-pens at Parramatta attempted Quality of provisions received from Calcutta The _Brittania_ arrives from England Ration increased A convict emancipated Public works CHAPTER XVIII The _Britannia_ cleared Survey of provisions Total of cargo received from Bengal _Atlantic_ sails with provisions for Norfolk Island Transactions General behaviour of convicts Criminal Courts Prisoner pardoned conditionally Another acquitted New barracks begun Thefts The _Atlantic_ returns from Norfolk Island Information Settlers there discontented Principal works The _Britannia_ taken up by the officers of the New South Wales Corps to procure stock The _Royal Admiral_ East Indiaman arrives from England Regulations at the store A Burglary committed Criminal Court The _Britannia_ sails Shops opened Bad conduct of some settlers Oil issued Slops served Governor Phillip signifies his intention of returning to England CHAPTER XIX A vessel from America arrives Part of her cargo purchased George Barrington and others emancipated conditionally The _Royal Admiral_ sails Arrival of the _Kitty_ Transport £1001 received by her Hospital built at Parramatta Harvest begun at Toongabbie Ration increased The _Philadelphia_ sails for Norfolk Island State of the cultivation previous to the governor's departure Settlers Governor Phillip sails for England Regulations made by the Lieutenant Governor The _Hope_, an American Ship, arrives Her cargo purchased for the colony The _Chesterfield_ whaler arrives Grant of land to an officer Extreme heat and conflagration Deaths in 1792 Prices of Stock, etc CHAPTER XX Order respecting. spirits Seamen punished Convicts enlisted into the new corps Regulations respecting Divine Service The _Hope_ sails The _Bellona_ arrives Cargo damaged Information Two women and a child drowned The _Kitty_ sails for Norfolk Island Ration An Officer sent up to inspect the cultivation at Parramatta A theft committed Works Kangaroo Ground opened Settlers Liberty Plains Conditions _Bellona_ sails Transactions The _Shah Hormuzear_ from Calcutta arrives Information received by her The Dholl expended Sickness and death occasioned by the American spirits The _Chesterfield_ sent to Norfolk Island Convicts sell their clothing Two Spanish ships arrive Information Epitaph A Criminal Court The _Kitty_ returns from Norfolk Island Fraud at the store at Parramatta CHAPTER XXI The Spanish ships sail The _Chesterfield_ returns from Norfolk Island A contract entered into for bringing cattle from India to this country Provisions embarked on board the Bengal ship for Norfolk Island The _Daedalus_ arrives Cattle lost Discoveries by Captain Vancouver Two natives of New Zealand brought in Bengal ship sails Phenomenon in the sky The hours of labour and ration altered Lead stolen Detachment at Parramatta relieved Accident at that settlement Lands cleared by officers Mutiny on board the _Kitty_ The _Kitty_ sails for England His Majesty's birthday State of the provision store The _Britannia_ arrives Loss of cattle General account of cattle purchased, lost in the passage, and landed in New South Wales Natives CHAPTER XXII The _Daedalus_ sails for Nootka A temporary church founded Criminal court The colonial vessel launched A scheme to take a longboat Two soldiers desert Counterfeit dollars in circulation A soldier punished The _Boddingtons_ arrives from Cork General Court Martial held The _Britannia_ hired and chartered for Bengal The new church opened Accident Provisions in store Corn purchased from settlers The _Britannia_ sails for Bengal, and the _Francis_ Schooner for New Zealand Irish convicts steal a boat The _Sugar Cane_ arrives Intended mutiny on board prevented Excursion to the westward Public works CHAPTER XXIII The _Boddingtons_ and _Sugar Cane_ sail A mill erected Thefts committed Convicts emancipated Two persons killed by lightning The _Fairy_ arrives Farms sold Public works The _Francis_ returns from New Zealand The _Fairy_ sails Ration altered Transactions Harvest begun Criminal Court held A convict executed Provisions Mill at Parramatta Christmas Day Natives Convicts Boats Grants of land Settlers Public works Expenses how to be calculated Deaths in 1793 Prices of grain, stock, and labour CHAPTER XXIV A murder committed near Parramatta The _Francis_ sails for Norfolk Island Provisions Storm of wind at Parramatta Crops A Settlement fixed at the Hawkesbury Natives A burglary committed Samuel Burt emancipated Death of William Crozier Cook The watches recovered The _Francis_ returns from Norfolk Island Information The New Zealand natives sent to their own country Disturbance at Norfolk Island Court of inquiry at Sydney The _Francis_ returns to Norfolk Island Natives troublesome State of provisions CHAPTER XXV Alarming State of the provisions The _William_ arrives with supplies from England, and the _Arthur_ from Bengal The amor patriae natural to man in all parts of the earth Information Mr. Bampton Captain Bligh _Admiral Barrington_ transport lost Full ration issued Ingratitude and just punishment of the settlers Buffin's corn-mill set to work Gaming Honesty of a native The _Daedalus_ arrives from America Information Female inconstancy, and its consequences The _Arthur_ sails The _Francis_ returns from Norfolk Island A boat stolen Natives killed A new mill Disorder in the eyes prevalent CHAPTER XXVI The _William_ sails Cultivation Excursion in search of a river A storeship arrives Captain Bampton Full ration The _Britannia_, _Speedy_, and _Halcyon_ arrive The _Indispensable_ and _Halcyon_ sail The _Fanny_ arrives from Bombay Information Two convicts executed The _Hope_ sails CHAPTER XXVII The _Speedy_ sails and returns Excursion to the western mountains The _Francis_ returns from Norfolk Island Corn bills not paid The _Britannia_ sails for the Cape, and the _Speedy_ on her fishing voyage Notification respecting the corn bills The _Resolution_ and _Salamander_ arrive from England Irish prisoners troublesome Gales of wind Natives _Daedalus_ sails for Norfolk Island Emancipations _The Fancy_ sails A death Bevan executed A settler murdered at Parramatta The _Mercury_ arrives Spanish ships Emancipation Settlers and natives Civil Court The _Surprize_ arrives Deaths _Resolution_ and _Salamander_ sail Transactions The _Daedalus_ returns from Norfolk Island The _Mercury_ sails for America The Lieutenant-Governor leaves the Settlement The _Daedalus_ sails for England, and the _Surprize_ for Bengal The Experiment arrives Captain Paterson assumes the government _pro tempore_ Ration Deaths in 1794 CHAPTER XXVIII Gangs sent to till the public grounds The _Francis_ sails Regulations for the Hawkesbury Natives Works Weather Deaths Produce at the river Transactions there Natives The _Francis_ arrives from the Cape The _Fancy_ from New Zealand Information The _Experiment_ sails for India A native killed Weather Wheat Criminal Court Ration reduced The _Britannia_ hired to procure provisions Natives at the Hawkesbury The _Endeavour_ arrives with cattle from Bombay Deaths Returns of ground sown with wheat The _Britannia_ sails for India The _Fancy_ for Norfolk Island Convicts Casualties CHAPTER XXIX Ration A Criminal and a Civil Court held Circumstances of the death of Francis T. Daveney Salt made Wilson, Knight, and the natives The new mill _Providence_ arrives from England Four convicts brought from Port Stephens Public labour Storm The _Fancy_ arrives from Norfolk Island The _Supply_ and _Reliance_ arrive Governor Hunter's commission read Transactions The India ships sail Another arrival from England Military promotions Colonial regulations The _Providence_, _Supply_, and _Young William_ sail The _Sovereign_ storeship arrives from England Criminal court held Convict executed Printing-press employed Ration Information from Norfolk Island The Cattle lost in 1788 discovered Transactions Bennillong's Conduct after his return from England Civil Court held Harvest Regulations Natives Meteorological phenomenon at the Hawkesbury Mr. Barrow's death Deaths in 1795 CHAPTER XXX The _Arthur_ arrives from India _Francis_ from Norfolk Island A playhouse opened Her Majesty's birthday kept Stills destroyed _Ceres_ storeship arrives and _Experiment_ from India Ship _Otter_ from America Natives Harvest got in Deaths A hut demolished by the military A Transport arrives with prisoners from Ireland A criminal court held Caesar shot General court martial _Otter_ takes away Mr. Muir _Abigail_ from America arrives A forgery committed Works The _Reliance_ Particulars respecting Mr. Bampton, and of the fate of Captain Hill and Mr. Carter A Schooner arrives from Duskey-Bay Crops bad Robberies committed _Supply_ for Norfolk Island Natives Bennillong _Cornwallis_ sails Gerald and Skirving die CHAPTER XXXI Slops served Orders Licences granted The _Supply_ returns from Norfolk Island The _Susan_ from North America and the _Indispensable_ from England A Criminal and Civil Court held Sick Thefts committed The _Britannia_ arrives from Bengal Mr. Raven's opinion as to the time of making a passage to India A Civil Court The _Cornwallis_ and _Experiment_ sail for India Caution to masters of ships A Wind-mill begun Thefts committed State of the settlers The Governor goes to Mount Hunter Regulations Public works Deaths CHAPTER XXXII Two men killed; consequent regulations The _Britannia_ hired to proceed to England Report of the natives The _Francis_ arrives from Norfolk Island Public works Deaths A criminal court assembled A settler executed for murder The _Susan_ sails A civil court held An American ship arrives from Boston A long-boat lost Deaths Weather A temporary church opened at Parramatta Appointments The _Supply_ sails for Norfolk Island and the Cape Account of stock Land in cultivation, and numbers in the colony A murder committed _Britannia_ sails for England General observations CONCLUSION Comprising particulars of the _Britannia's_ voyage to England; with remarks on the state of Norfolk Island, and some account of New Zealand. Particulars of the state of Norfolk Island to the time when the ships left it: Court of Judicature Number of Inhabitants Male Convicts State of Cultivation Appropriation of the Land Statement of the Stock belonging to Government and individuals on the 18th October 1796 Hours of Labour Ordinary Price of Labour Average Prices of Provisions raised on the Island Account of Grain raised on Norfolk Island, from the 6th of March 1788 (when it was first settled) to October 1796 Account of Births and Deaths from November 12th, 1791, to September 31st, 1796 State of the Flax Manufactory An Account of New Zealand and its inhabitants A Short Vocabulary of the New Zealand Language APPENDICES General Remarks: Government and Religion Stature and Appearance Habitations Mode of Living Courtship and Marriage Customs and Manner Superstition Diseases Property Dispositions Funeral Ceremonies Language POSTSCRIPT LIST OF PLATES Chart of the three harbours of Botany Bay, Port Jackson, and Broken Bay, showing the cultivated grounds in and about the different settlements, with the course of the Rivers Hawkesbury and Nepean, and the situation of the wild cattle to the westward of the last-mentioned river. View of the Governor's house at Rose Hill in the township of Parramatta By water to Parramatta, with a distant view of the western mountains Eastern view of Sydney Western view of Sydney Cove Direct south view of Sydney South-east view in Sydney, including the church, etc. North view of Sydney Cove Baker's Farm on the banks of the river Western view of Toongabbie Portraits of Ben-nil-long, Wo-lar-ra-bar-ray, Wo-gul-trow-el Boin-ba, and Bun-de-bun-da The Brick Field, or High Road to Parramatta View of Sydney in Norfolk Island Facsimile of a chart of New Zealand, drawn by Too-gee Saunderson's Farm Yoo-long Erah-ba-diang, No. 1 Ditto No. 2 Ditto No. 3 Ditto No. 4 Ditto No. 5 Ditto No. 6 Ditto No. 7 Ditto No. 8 Ceremony of burning a corpse * * * * * INTRODUCTION A VOYAGE TO NEW SOUTH WALES SECTION I Transports hired to carry convicts to Botany Bay The _Sirius_ and the _Supply_ commissioned Preparations for sailing Tonnage of the transports Persons left behind Two convicts punished on board the _Sirius_ The _Hyaena_ leaves the Fleet Arrival of the fleet at Teneriffe Proceedings at that island Some particulars respecting the town of Santa Cruz An excursion made to Laguna A convict escapes from one of the transports, but is retaken Proceedings The fleet leaves Teneriffe, and puts to sea 1786.] The Commissioners of his Majesty's Navy, near the end of the year 1786, advertised for a certain number of vessels to be taken up for the purpose of conveying between seven and eight hundred male and female felons to Botany Bay in New South Wales, on the eastern coast of New Holland; whither it had been determined by Government to transport them, after having sought in vain upon the African coast for a situation possessing the requisites for the establishment of a colony. The following vessels were at length contracted for, and assembled in the River to fit, and take in stores and provisions, _viz_ the _Alexander_, _Scarborough_, _Charlotte_, _Lady Penrhyn_, and _Friendship_, as transports; and the _Fishbourn_, _Golden Grove_, and _Borrowdale_, as store-ships. The _Prince of Wales_ was afterwards added to the number of transports, on a representation being made to the Treasury Board that such an addition was necessary. The transports were immediately prepared for the reception of the convicts, and the store-ships took on board provisions for two years, with tools, implements of agriculture, and such other articles as were considered necessary to a colonial establishment. October.] On the 24th of October, Captain Arthur Phillip hoisted a pendant on board his Majesty's ship the _Sirius_ of 20 guns, then lying at Deptford. This ship was originally called the _Berwick_, and intended for the East India Company; but having, while on the stocks, met with some accident by fire, was purchased by Government for a store-ship, and as such had performed one voyage to America. Her burden was about 520 tons; and being, from her construction, well-calculated for this expedition, she was taken into the service as a man of war, and with her capacity changed also her name. As the government of the intended colony, as well as the command of the _Sirius_, was given to Captain Phillip, it was thought necessary to appoint another captain to her, who might command her on any service in which she might be employed for the colony, while Captain Phillip should be engaged in his government. For this purpose an order was signed by his Majesty in Council, directing the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to appoint John Hunter esquire (then a master and commander) second captain of the Sirius, with the rank of post. Although this ship mounted only 20 guns, and those but six-pounders, yet on this particular service her establishment was not confined to what is usual in a ship of that class; but, with a first and second captain, she had also three lieutenants, a master, purser, surgeon and two mates, a boatswain, a gunner, and a subaltern's detachment of marines. The _Supply_ brig was also put into commission, and the command given to Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball. This vessel was to accompany the Sirius as an armed tender; and both ships, having completed their equipment at Deptford-yard, dropped down on the 10th of December to Long Reach, where they took in their guns, powder, and other stores. 1787.] January.] They were here joined by some of the transports, and continued waiting for orders until the 30th of January 1787, when they sailed for Spithead; which port, however, they were prevented from reaching, by heavy and contrary gales of wind, which they continued to experience both in the Downs and on their passage, until the latter end of the following month. One or two of the transports had in the mean time arrived at Portsmouth, and the _Charlotte_ and _Alexander_ proceeded to Plymouth, where they were to receive the male and female convicts that were ready for them. March.] On the 5th of March, the order for their embarkation, together with that of the detachment of marines provided as an escort, was sent from the Secretary of State's office, with directions for their immediately joining the other ships of the expedition at the Motherbank. This was done accordingly; and, every necessary arrangement having taken place, the troops intended for the garrison embarked, and the convicts, male and female, were distributed in the different transports. May.] On Monday the 7th of May Captain Phillip arrived at Portsmouth, and took the command of his little fleet, then lying at the Motherbank. Anxious to depart, and apprehensive that the wind, which had for a considerable time been blowing from the quarter favourable to his passage down the Channel, might desert him at the moment when he most wished for its continuance, he on the Thursday following made the signal to prepare for sailing. But here a demur arose among the sailors on board the transports, who refused to proceed to sea unless they should be paid their wages up to the time of their departure, alleging as a ground for this refusal, that they were in want of many articles necessary for so long a voyage, which this money, if paid, would enable them to purchase. The custom of their employ, however, being against a demand which yet appeared reasonable, Captain Phillip directed the different masters to put such of their people as refused to proceed with them to sea, on board of the _Hyaena_ frigate, and to receive an equal number of her seamen, who should afterwards be re-exchanged at sea, her captain being directed to accompany the fleet to a certain distance. This difficulty being removed, and the ship's companies of the _Sirius_ and the _Supply_ having received the usual advance of two months' wages, on Saturday the 12th the men of war and some of the transports got under sail, with a view of dropping down to St. Helen's, and thence proceeding to sea; but the wind falling short, and proving unfavourable, they brought up at Spithead for the night, and at day-break next morning the whole fleet weighed with a fresh breeze, and, having a leading wind, passed without any accident through the Needles. The transports were of the following tonnage, and had on board the undermentioned number of convicts, and other persons, civil and military, viz The _Alexander_, of 453 tons, had on board 192 male convicts; 2 lieutenants, 2 sergeants, 2 corporals, 1 drummer, and 29 privates, with 1 assistant surgeon to the colony. The _Scarborough_, of 418 tons, had on board 205 male convicts; 1 captain, 2 lieutenants, 2 sergeants, 2 corporals, 1 drummer, and 26 privates, with 1 assistant surgeon to the colony. The _Charlotte_, of 346 tons, had on board 89 male and 20 female convicts; 1 captain, 2 lieutenants, 2 sergeants, 3 corporals, 1 drummer, and 35 privates, with the principal surgeon of the colony. The _Lady Penrhyn_, of 338 tons, had on board 101 female convicts; 1 captain, 2 lieutenants, and 3 privates, with a person acting as a surgeon's mate. The _Prince of Wales_, of 334 tons, had on board 2 male and 50 female convicts; 2 lieutenants, 3 sergeants, 2 corporals, 1 drummer, and 24 privates, with the surveyor-general of the colony. The _Friendship_, (snow,) of 228 tons, had on board 76 male and 21 female convicts; 1 captain, 2 lieutenants, 2 sergeants, 3 corporals, 1 drummer, and 36 privates, with 1 assistant surgeon to the colony. There were on board, beside these, 28 women, 8 male and 6 female children, belonging to the soldiers of the detachment, together with 6 male and 7 female children belonging to the convicts. The _Fishbourn_ store-ship was of 378 tons; the _Borrowdale_ of 272 tons; and the _Golden Grove_ of 331 tons. On board this last ship was embarked the chaplain of the colony, with his wife and a servant. Not only these as store-ships, but the men of war and transports, were stored in every part with provisions, implements of agriculture, camp equipage, clothing for the convicts, baggage, etc. On board of the _Sirius_ were taken, as supernumeraries, the major commandant of the corps of marines embarked in the transports*, the adjutant and quarter-master, the judge-advocate of the settlement, and the commissary; with 1 sergeant, 3 drummers, 7 privates, 4 women, and a few artificers. [* This officer was also lieutenant-governor of the colony.] Proper day and night signals were established by Captain Phillip for the regulation of his convoy, and every necessary instruction was given to the masters to guard against separation. On board the transports a certain number of prisoners were allowed to be upon deck at a time during the day, the whole being properly secured at night: and as the master of each ship carrying convicts had indented for their security in a penalty of forty pounds for every one that might escape, they were instructed constantly to consult with the commanding marine officer on board the transports, both as to the number of convicts that were to be suffered to come on deck during the passage, and the times when such indulgence should be granted. To the military was left the care of those essential services, the preservation of their health, the inspection of their provisions, and the distribution of the sentinels who were to guard them. Their allowance of provisions during the voyage (two-thirds of the usual allowance to a seaman in the navy) was contracted for in London*; and Mr. Zachariah Clark was sent out in one of the transports as the agent responsible for the due performance of the contract. This allowance was to be suspended on their arrival at any foreign port, the commissary of the settlement being then to furnish them with fresh provisions. [* By William Richards jun. esquire, of Walworth in the county of Surry.] At our outset we had the mortification to find that two of our convoy were very heavy sailers, and likely to be the occasion of much delay in so long a voyage as that in which we had embarked. The _Charlotte_ was on the first and second day taken in tow by the _Hyaena_, and the _Lady Penrhyn_ fell considerably astern. As the separation of any of the fleet was a circumstance to be most sedulously guarded against and prevented, the _Sirius_ occasionally shortened sail to afford the sternmost ships time to come up with her; at the close of evening she was put under an easy sail for the night, during which time she carried, for the guidance of the whole, a conspicuous light in the main-top. On the 15th the signal was made for the transports to pass in succession within hail under the stern of the _Sirius_, when, on inquiry, it appeared, that the provost-marshal of the settlement (who was to have taken his passage on board the _Prince of Wales_) was left behind, together with the third mate of the _Charlotte_ transport, and five men from the _Fishbourn_ store-ship; the loss of these five persons was supplied by as many seamen from on board the _Hyaena_. Light or unfavourable winds prevented our getting clear of the Channel until the 16th, at which time we had the satisfaction of finding that we had accomplished it without returning, or putting in at any of the ports which offered themselves in our way down. Sunday the 20th was marked by the discovery of a design formed among the convicts on board the _Scarborough_ transport to mutiny and take possession of the ship. The information was given by one of the convicts to the commanding marine officer on board, who, on the lying-to of the convoy at noon to dispatch Captain De Courcy to England, waited on the major-commandant on board the _Sirius_, and communicated the particulars to him and Captain Phillip, who, after some deliberation, directed that the ringleaders (two in number) should be brought on board the _Sirius_, there punished, and afterwards secured in the _Prince of Wales_ transport. This was accordingly put in execution, and two dozen lashes were inflicted by the boatswain's mate of the Sirius on each of the offenders, who stedfastly denied the existence of any such design as was imputed to them. A boat from each of the transports coming on board the _Sirius_ with letters for England, some additional signals were given to the masters, with directions to those who had convicts on board to release from their irons such as might by their behaviour have merited that indulgence; but with orders to confine them again with additional security on the least appearance among them of irregularity. These necessary regulations being adjusted, and the _Hyaena_ sent off with the commanding officer's letters, the fleet made sail again in the evening. But it should have been observed, that when the _Hyaena's_ boat came on board she brought some necessaries for the five men belonging to her, who had been lent to the _Fishbourn_ store-ship, and who, animated with a spirit of enterprise, chose rather to remain in her than return in the frigate to England. The wind was more favourable to the _Hyaena's_ return to Plymouth (which port she was directed to make) than to our progress southward, for the two following days; but it then coming round to the NW, by the 24th we had reached the latitude of Cape Ortegal. On the 25th, the signal was made for Lieutenant Shortland, the agent on board the Alexander, who, at his coming on board, was directed to visit the several transports, and collect from each a list of the different trades and occupations of the respective convicts, agreeably to a form given him for that purpose by Captain Phillip. From this time to the 29th the wind continued favourable, but blowing exceedingly fresh, and attended with a heavy rolling sea. The _Supply_ was now directed to make sail and keep six miles ahead during the day, and two during the night; and to look out for the land, as it was expected that the fleet would on the morrow be in the neighbourhood of the Madeira Isles. Accordingly, soon after day-break the following morning, she made the signal for seeing land, and at noon we were abreast of the Deserters--certain high barren rocks so named, to the SSE of the Island of Madeira, and distant about three leagues. In the afternoon of the 31st, the _Supply_ ahead again made the signal for seeing land; and shortly after we were abreast of the ridge of rocks situated between the Madeira and Canary Isles, called the Salvages. June.] Our strong trade-wind appeared to have here spent its force, and we were baffled (as frequently happens in the vicinity of islands) by light airs or calms. With these and contrary winds our patience was exercised until the evening of the 2nd of June, when a favourable breeze sprang up, which continued during that night. At six the next morning the island of Teneriffe was seen right ahead; and about seven in the evening the whole fleet came to an anchor in the road of Santa Cruz. The ships were immediately moored, taking the precaution of buoying their cables with empty casks, to prevent their being injured by rocks or foul ground, an inconvenience which had frequently been experienced by navigators in this road. We found riding here a Spanish packet, an English brig bound to London, and some smaller vessels. Captain Phillip designed to have sent an officer forward in the _Supply_, to announce his arrival to the governor, and to settle as well the hour of his waiting upon him, as some necessary arrangements respecting fresh provisions, water, etc.; but as it was growing dark before the fleet anchored, and night coming on, when business of that nature could not well be transacted, his visit was postponed until the morning. Before we came to an anchor the port-officer, or harbour-master, came on board to make the customary inquiries, accompanied by some Spanish officers and gentlemen of the town. The ceremony of a salute was on their side declined, having, as was alleged, but two or three guns mounted for use; and on our part this omission was readily acquiesced in, as expediting the service which brought us thither, that of watering the ships, and taking on board wine and such other refreshments as could be procured; an object of more consequence than the scrupulous observance of compliment and etiquette, particularly in the then necessarily crowded state of the _Sirius_. And as it was afterwards understood, that it was not usual at this place to return an equal number of guns upon those occasions (a circumstance always insisted on by his Majesty's ships when they salute), all unpleasant discussion of this point was thereby avoided. Early in the morning the officer was dispatched on shore by Captain Phillip to learn at what time he might pay his respects to the governor. The hour of noon was appointed for that ceremony; and accordingly at that time Captain Phillip, accompanied by the civil, military, and naval officers under his orders, waited on his excellency the Marquis De Branceforte, and were received by him with the utmost politeness. The same reasons which induced Captain Phillip to acquiesce in omitting to salute on his arrival at this port, operated against his taking public notice of his Majesty's birthday, which he would otherwise have made a point of celebrating with every mark of respect. In the afternoon of this day the marquis sent an officer on board the _Sirius_, politely offering Captain Phillip whatever assistance he might stand in need of, and that was in his power to furnish. In the forenoon of Wednesday the 6th, he came in person on board, attended by several of his officers, to return Captain Phillip's visit; and afterwards entertained him, the lieutenant-governor, and other officers of the settlement, navy, and marines, to the number of ten, at dinner. The next being the day of Corpus Christi, a day of great religious observance and ceremony in Roman Catholic countries, no boats were sent from the transports to the shore. The business of watering, getting off wine, etc. was suspended by Captain Phillip's directions until the morrow, to prevent the least interruption being given by any of the people under his command to the ceremonies and processions which were to take place. Those officers, whose curiosity led them to observe the religious proceedings of the day, very prudently attended uncovered, and knelt, wherever kneeling was required, in the streets, and in their churches; for, when it was considered that the same great Creator of the universe was worshipped alike by Protestant and Catholic, what difficulty could the mind have in divesting their pageant of its tinsel, its trappings, and its censers, and joining with sincerity in offering the purest incense, that of a grateful heart? The Marquis De Branceforte, whom we found in the government of the Canary Isles, was, we were informed, a major-general in the Spanish service, and having been three years in the government, only waited, it was said, for his promotion to the rank of lieutenant-general to return to Spain. The salary annexed to this government, as we understood, was not quite equal to fifteen hundred pounds a year. His Excellency's house was situated at the upper end of the High Street, or Square, as it was called, and was by no means the best in the town. Mr. Carter (the treasurer) and some private merchants appearing to reside in larger and much better habitations. The houses in most of the streets were built with quadrangles, a gallery running round the interior sides of the first floor, on which indeed the families chiefly resided, appropriating the ground floor to offices for domestic purposes. The dwelling-rooms were not ceiled, but were open to the roof of the building, which rarely exceeded two stories in height. The upper part of the windows was glazed with very bad glass; the lower part consisted of close lattice-work, through the small apertures of which, as we traversed the streets, we had now and then opportunities of noticing the features of the women, whom the custom of the country had confined within doors to the lattice, and in the street to the _roba zilia_, or veil. There were but few objects in the town sufficiently striking to draw the attention of a stranger. The landing-place was commodious, being formed by a stone pier, alongside of which two boats at a time might lie with great ease and take in their fresh water. It appeared by an inscription in Spanish, that the pier, having fallen nearly into a state of entire ruin, was indebted for its present convenience to the liberality of the governor assisted indeed by some merchants, who superintended and contributed largely to its repair, which was completed in the year 1786. At the lower end of the High Street was observed a light and well-finished monument of white marble, commemorating the marvellous appearance of the image or bust of Our Lady at Candelaria, to the Guanches, the aborigines of the country, who were thereby converted to Christianity 104 years before the preaching of the gospel. The four sides of the monument bore long inscriptions to this effect, and further intimated, that it was erected, as an act of piety and cordial devotion, at the expense of Don Bartholomi di Montagnes, perpetual captain of the Royal Marine Castle at Candelaria. In the centre of this street were a stone basin and fountain, from which the inhabitants were supplied with a stream of very good water, conveyed from the neighbouring hills by wooden troughs supported on slight posts, and reaching quite to the town. At the head of the street, near the government-house, stood a large stone cross, and at a small distance the church of St Francis, annexed to which was a monastery of Franciscans. The name of Santa Cruz, the Holy Cross, seemed not inapplicable to this town, for one or more crucifixes of wood or stone were to be found in most of the streets, and in others the form of the Cross was painted upon the walls of the houses. Over the entrances of some houses we observed, inclosed in small glass-cases, the images and pictures of favourite saints, with lamps before them, which were lighted in the evenings and on certain public occasions. There were not any fortifications upon the commanding ground above the town; but at each end of the bay stood a fort, between which were erected three or four circular redoubts, connected with each other by a low parapet wall, wearing the appearance of a line of communication between the forts; but very few cannon were to be seen in the works. On the skirts of the town to the southward we visited a workhouse, which had been originally designed for the reception of the mendicants with which the town had been very much infested. About forty families had subscribed a certain sum to erect this building, and to furnish in a manner every way convenient and consistent with such a design. But we were informed that the governor had filled it with the daughters of the labouring poor, who were here instructed in weaving and spinning, and were brought up in industry and cleanliness, remaining in the house until of a marriageable age, when a portion equal to ten pounds sterling was given with each on the day of her nuptials. This and the other expenses of the house were furnished by a fund produced from the labour of the young people, who appeared all in the same dress, plain indeed, but cleanly and neat. We heard with surprise, and not without regret, that this institution was likely to fall to the ground whenever the governor's departure should take place, the subscribers being dissatisfied with the plan that was then pursued, alleging that their money had been given to get rid of their beggars, whose numbers were not diminished; and that the children were only taught what they could learn from their mothers at home. To us however, judging without prejudice or partiality, the design of the institution appeared to have been more effectually answered by striking at the root of beggary, than if the charity had been merely confined to objects who would have been found daily to multiply, from the comfortable provision held out to them by that charity. A whole-length picture of the governor was hung up in the working-rooms of the house. He was represented, agreeably to the end that was at first proposed by the institution, conducting a miserable object to the gate of the workhouse; a front view of which was also given. These islands, known to the Romans by the appellation of the Fortunate Islands, appeared even at this day to deserve that epithet; for the inhabitants were so fortunate, and the soil so happy, that no venomous creature had been found to live there; several toads, adders, and other poisonous reptiles, which had been brought thither for proof, having died almost immediately after their arrival. The air of this place is very salubrious; an instance of which was remarked in a gentleman who was said to be 113 years of age, and who had been happy enough to preserve his faculties through such a series of time, nearly entire, his memory alone appearing to be impaired. He came from Waterford in Ireland, and had been vice-consul at this port ever since the year 1709. We were informed that a slight shock of an earthquake had been felt here in the month of February preceding, but was unattended with any eruption from the Peak, which had not alarmed the island since the year 1703, when it destroyed the port of Guarrachica. When the weather was very hot at Santa Cruz, the better sort of the inhabitants chose cooler residences higher up in the mountains, and these they could establish in whatever degree of temperature they chose; for in proportion as they ascended the air became cooler, the famous Peak being (though a volcano) clad in perpetual snow at its summit. We understood that the rain fell very heavy at certain seasons; and, on the sides of the hills which surrounded the town, ridges or low walls of stone were constructed at short distances, with intervals in them, to break the force of the water, which otherwise, descending in torrents, would sweep away every thing before it. Around Santa Cruz, indeed, there appeared but little vegetation for which to be apprehensive, nor did the prospect brighten till we came within view of the town named Laguna, an inland settlement, and once the capital of the island. For this place a party of us set forward on the 8th, mounted, according to the custom of the country, upon mules or asses. Our route lay over hills and mountains of rock continually ascending, until within a short distance of the town, at which we arrived in between two and three hours from our leaving Santa Cruz. The road over which we passed was wide, but for the greatest part of it we travelled over loose stones that bore all the appearance of cinders; in some places resembling a regular pavement, and in others our beasts were compelled to scramble as well as they could over the hard solid rock. We found that Laguna, which was somewhat better than three English miles distant from Santa Cruz, had formerly been a populous city; the streets were spacious, and laid out at right angles with each other. Here were two monasteries and as many convents. The monastery of St Augustine we visited; and the good fathers of it with great civility conducted us to their chapel, though it was preparing for the celebration of some religious ceremony. We found the altar-piece, on which was commonly displayed all their finery and taste, neat, light, and elegant. Few paintings were to be seen; the best were half-lengths of some of the saints disposed round the pulpit. The form of this building was a quadrangle, the centre of which was laid out in garden-ground, elegantly divided into walks, bordered with roses, myrtle, and a variety of other shrubs and flowers. Hence we proceeded to the retreat of religious females, but had not chosen the proper time for paying our respects, which ceremony we therefore deferred until our return in the evening from an excursion into the adjacent country. The town of Laguna (a name which signifies Lake or Swamp) is situated upon a plain surrounded by high hills, and watered by the same means as Santa Cruz, from a great distance up the country. We noticed, indeed, two stone-basins, and fountains playing in different streets of the place. The buildings here had a manifest superiority over those of Santa Cruz, the streets were far more spacious, and the houses larger. In some of the former we perceived a regular line of shops filled chiefly with articles from England. The insalubrity of the air of this place, however, had driven, and was continuing to drive, such numbers almost daily from its influence, that it had more the appearance of a deserted than of an inhabited town, weeds and grass literally growing in the streets. As this town decreased in its population, Santa Cruz, with some others on the island, received the benefit; and it must be acknowledged, that although in quitting Laguna they removed from fertile fields and a romantic pleasant country, to uncouth and almost barren rocks at Santa Cruz, they changed a noxious for a very healthy situation. After viewing the town we remounted our beasts, and proceeded by the side of the aqueduct into a most delightful country, where we found the people cheerfully employed in gathering their harvest, and singing their rural roundelays. The soil produced oats, barley, wheat, and Indian corn; but, though it bore always two, and sometimes three crops, it was nevertheless unequal in the whole of its produce to the consumption of the island, the deficiency being supplied from the Grand Canary. The sides of the hills were clothed with woods, into one of which we rode, and arriving at a place named Il Plano de los Vieios, or the Plain of the Old People, we rested for some little time, and afterward, crossing through a cultivated valley, ascended the hill on the opposite side, where we visited the source of the stream that supplied the aqueduct. Returning thence, we refreshed under the walls of a small chapel, where a friar occasionally performed mass for the neighbouring country people. About five o'clock we again entered Laguna, with the intention of paying our compliments to the sisterhood of the convent which we had visited in the morning; but whether our party was too numerous, or from what other cause it proceeded we could not learn, we were only favoured with the company of four or five of the elder ladies of the house, who talked very loud and very fast. After purchasing some few bunches of artificial fruit, we took our leave, and proceeded to Santa Cruz, cautiously indeed, down the hills and rocks which we had ascended in the morning, and arrived about sun-set. An outward-bound Dutch East-Indiaman had anchored in the road since the morning. In the evening of this day John Powers, a convict, made his escape from the _Alexander_ transport, in a small boat which by some accident was suffered to lie unattended to alongside the ship, with a pair of oars in it; he was however retaken at day-break the next morning, by the activity of the master and a party of marines belonging to the transport, and brought on board the _Sirius_, whence he was removed to his own ship, with directions for his being heavily ironed. It appeared that he had at first conceived hopes of being received on board the Dutch East India ship that arrived in the morning; but, meeting with a disappointment there, rowed to the southern part of the island, and concealed himself among the rocks, having first set his boat and oars adrift, which fortunately led to a discovery of the place he had chosen for his retreat. The Marquis de Branceforte, on hearing of his escape, expressed the greatest readiness to assist in his recovery; and Captain Phillip offered a considerable reward for the same purpose. Having completed the provisioning and watering of the fleet, and being again ready to proceed on our voyage, in the afternoon of Saturday the 9th the signal was made from the _Sirius_ for all boats to repair on board; shortly after which she unmoored, and that night lay at single anchor. At daybreak the following morning the whole fleet got under way. SECTION II Proceed on the voyage Altitude of the peak of Teneriffe Pass the isles of Sal, Bonavista, May, and St. Iago Cross the equator Progress Arrive at the Brazils Transactions at Rio de Janeiro Some particulars of that town Sail thence Passage to the Cape of Good Hope Transactions there Some particulars respecting the Cape Depart for New South Wales Light airs had, by the noon of Monday the 11th, carried the fleet midway between the islands of Teneriffe and the Grand Canary, which latter was now very distinctly seen. This island wore the same mountainous appearance as its opposite neighbour Teneriffe, from which it seemed to be divided by a space of about eleven leagues. Being the capital of the Canary Islands, the chief bishop had his residence there, and evinced in his diocese the true spirit of a primitive Christianity, by devoting to pious and charitable purposes the principal part of a revenue of ten thousand pounds _per annum_. The chief officers of justice also reside in this island, before whom all civil causes are removed from Teneriffe and the other Canary Islands, to be finally decided. While detained in this spot, we had a very fine view of the Peak of Teneriffe, lifting its venerable and majestic head above the neighbouring hills, many of which were also of considerable height, and perhaps rather diminished the grandeur of the Peak itself, the altitude of which we understood was 15,396 feet, only 148 yards short of three miles. On the 14th, the wind began to blow steady from the north-east; and on the 15th, about eleven in the forenoon, we crossed the tropic of Cancer. Our weather now became hot and close, and we rolled along through a very heavy sea, the convoy, however, keeping well together. At six o'clock in the morning of the 18th, the _Supply_, then ahead of the fleet, made the signal for seeing land. The weather being very hazy, we had but an indistinct view of the Isle of Sal, one of the Cape de Verd islands, bearing NW by W ¼ W distant eight leagues; and at one the same day, we came in sight of the Island of Bonavista, bearing S.W. distant two leagues. Captain Phillip designing to anchor for a few hours at the Island of St. Iago, to procure water and other refreshments, if he could get in without any risk or difficulty, in the evening shortened sail, and made the convoy's signal to close, the run from thence to that island being too great to admit of our reaching it before dark. The _Supply_ was directed at the same time to keep ahead with a light during the night; and at twelve o'clock the night signal was made for the fleet to bring-to. At six the next morning we made sail again, and soon after passed the Isle of May, distant about four leagues, bearing NW by W of us. Between nine and ten o'clock we made the south end of the Island of St. Iago and at the distance of about two leagues. The wind freshening soon after we saw the island, at noon we were ranging along the south side of it, with the signal flying for the convoy to prepare to anchor; but at the moment of our opening Praya-bay, and preparing to haul round the southern extremity of it, the fleet was suddenly taken aback, and immediately after baffled by light airs. We could however perceive, as well by the colours at the fort, as by those of a Portuguese snow riding in the bay, that the wind blew directly in upon the shore, which would have rendered our riding there extremely hazardous; and as it was probable that our coming to an anchor might not have been effected without some accident happening to the convoy, Captain Phillip determined to wave, for the superior consideration of the safety of the fleet under his care, the advantages he might otherwise have derived from the supply of fresh provisions and vegetables to be procured there: the breeze therefore coming off the land, and with sufficient effect to carry us clear of the island and its variable weather, the anchoring signal was taken in, and we made sail about two o'clock, the fleet standing away due south. Our sudden departure from the island, we imagined, must have proved some disappointment to the inhabitants, as we noticed that a gun was fired at the fort, shortly after our opening the bay; a signal, it was supposed, to the country people to bring down their articles for trade and barter. July.] On the 14th of July the fleet crossed the equator in the 26th degree of east longitude. Such persons as had never before crossed the Line were compelled to undergo the ridiculous ceremonies which those who were privileged were allowed to perform on them. From this time our weather was pleasant, and we had every appearance of soon reaching our next port, the Rio de Janeiro, on the Brazil coast. The track which we had to follow was too beaten to afford us any thing new or interesting. Captain Phillip proposed making the Island of Trinidada; but the easterly winds and southerly currents which we had met with to the northward of the Line having set us so far to the westward when we crossed it, he gave up all expectation of seeing it, and on the 28th altered his course, steering SW. Trinidada is laid down in 20 degrees 25 minutes south latitude, and 28 degrees 35 minutes west longitude, while we at noon on the 29th were in 19 degrees 36 minutes south latitude, and 33 degrees 18 minutes west longitude. The longitude, when calculated by either altitudes of the sun, for the time-piece (of Kendal's constructing, which was sent out by the Board of Longitude), or by the means of several sets of lunar observations, which were taken by Captain Hunter, Lieutenant Bradley, and Lieutenant Dawes, was constantly shown to the convoy, for which purpose the signal was made for the whole to pass under the stern of the _Sirius_, when a board was set up in some conspicuous part of the ship with the longitude marked on it to that day at noon. A good look-out (to make use of the sea-phrase usual on these occasions) was kept for an island, not very well known or described, which was laid down in some charts, nearly in the track which we were to cross, but it was not seen by any of the ships of the fleet; nor was implicit credit given to its existence, although named (the island of Ascension) and a latitude and longitude assigned to it. It was conjectured, that the islands of Martin Vas and Trinidada, lying within about five leagues of each other, had given rise to the idea of a new island, and that Ascension was in reality one or other of those islands. Only two accidents happened during the passage to the Brazils. A seaman belonging to the _Alexander_ was so unfortunate as to fall overboard, and could not be recovered--and a female convict on board the _Prince of Wales_ was so much bruised by the falling of a boat from off the booms (which, owing to the violent motion of the ship, had got loose) that she died the following day, notwithstanding the professional skill and humane attention of the principal surgeon; for as the boat in launching forward fell upon the neck and crushed the vertebrae and spine, all the aid he could render her was of no avail. August.] On Thursday the 2nd of August we had the coast of South America in sight; and the head-land, named Cape Frio, was distinctly seen before the evening closed in. Our time-piece had given us notice when to look out for it, and the land was made precisely to the hour in which it had taught us to expect it. It was not, however, until the evening of the 4th that we anchored within the islands at the entrance of the harbour of Rio de Janeiro. At day-break the next morning an officer was dispatched from the _Sirius_ to inform the viceroy of the arrival of the fleet; and he most readily and politely promised us every assistance in his power. A ship bound to Lisbon passing us about noon, that opportunity was taken of sending an account to England of the fortunate progress which we had so far made in the long voyage before us; soon after which the port-officer, or harbour-master, came on board, and, the seabreeze beginning to blow, the fleet got under sail. About five in the afternoon we crossed the bar, and soon after passing the fort of Santa Cruz, saluted it with thirteen guns, which were returned by an equal number of guns from the fort. While saluting, it fell calm; but by the assistance of a light breeze which afterwards sprung up, and the tide of flood, the _Sirius_ was enabled to reach far enough in by seven o'clock to come to an anchor in the harbour of Rio de Janeiro; the convoy also anchored as they came up, at the distance of about a mile and a half from the landing-place, which was found very commodious. Our passage from Teneriffe, although rather a long one, had fortunately been unattended with any disease, and the surgeon reported that we had brought in only ninety-five persons sick, comprehending every description of people in the fleet. Many, however, of this number were bending only under the pressure of age and its attendant infirmities, having no other complaints among them. On the morning after our arrival the intendant of the port, with the usual officers, repaired on board the _Sirius_, requiring the customary certificates to be given, as to what nation she belonged to, whither bound, the name of her commander, and his reason for coming into that port; to all which satisfactory answers were given; and at eleven o'clock the day following Captain Phillip, accompanied by the officers of the settlement, civil and military, waited upon Don Louis Vasconcellos, the viceroy of the Brazils, at his excellency's palace, who received them with much politeness, readily assenting to a tent being pitched on shore for the purpose of an observatory; as well as to the drawing of the Seine in different parts of the bay for fish; only pointing out the restrictions that would be necessary to prevent the sailors from straggling into the country. On their taking leave, it was most politely intimated, that no restraint would be imposed upon the officers, whenever they came on shore to the town, in which they were free to pass wherever they desired. A conduct so opposite to that in general observed to foreigners in this port could by us be attributed only to the great esteem in which Captain Phillip was held here by all ranks of people during the time of his commanding a ship in the Portuguese service; for on being informed of the employment he now held, the viceroy's guard was directed to pay him the same honours during his stay here, that were paid to himself as the representative of the crown of Portugal. The palace of the viceroy stood in the Royal Square, of which, together with the public prison, the mint, and the opera-house, it formed the right wing. Of these buildings the opera-house alone was shut up; and we were informed, that the gloom which was thrown over the court and kingdom of Portugal by the death of the late king, had extended in full force to the colonies also; all private and public amusements being since that time discouraged as much as possible, the viceroy himself setting the example. Once a week, indeed, his excellency had a music-meeting at the palace for the entertainment of himself and a few select friends; but nothing more. The town of St. Sebastian (or, as it is more commonly named, the town of Rio de Janeiro, which was in fact the name of the river forming the bay, on the western side of which was built the town) is large, and was originally designed to have had an elevated and airy situation, but was, unfortunately for the inhabitants, erected on low ground along the shore, and in a recess almost wholly out of the reach of the refreshing seabreeze, which was observed to be pretty regular in its visitations. The inhabitants, nevertheless, deemed the air salubrious; and we were informed that epidemic distempers were rare among them. In their streets, however, were frequently seen objects of wretchedness and misery, crawling about with most painful and disgusting swellings in their legs and privities. The hospital, which had formerly been a Jesuit's convent, stood near the summit of the hill, in an open situation, at the back of the town. From the great estimation in which English surgeons were held here, it would seem that the town is not too well provided in that respect. Senor Ildefonse, the principal in the place had studied in England, where he went under the course of surgical education called walking the hospitals, and might by his practice in this place, which was considerable, and quite as much as he could attend to, have soon realised a handsome fortune; but we understood, that to the poor or necessitous sick he always administered _gratis_. The township of the Rio de Janeiro was said to contain on the whole not less than 40,000 people, exclusive of the native Indians and negroes. These last appear to be very numerous, of a strong robust appearance, and are brought from the coast of Guinea, forming an extensive article of commerce. With these people of both sexes the streets were constantly filled, scarcely any other description of people being seen in them. Ladies or gentlemen were never seen on foot in the streets during the day; those whose business or inclination led them out being carried in close chairs, the pole of which came from the head of the vehicle, and rested on the shoulders of the chairmen, having, notwithstanding the gaudiness of the chair itself, a very awkward appearance. The language spoken here by the white people was that of the mother country--Portuguese. The ecclesiastics in general could converse in Latin; and the negro slaves spoke a corrupt mixture of their own tongue with that of the people of the town. The native Indians retained their own language, and could be distinctly discerned from the natives of Guinea, as well by the colour of the skin, as by the hair and the features of the face. Some few of the military conversed in French; but this language was in general little used. The town appeared to be well supplied with water, which was conveyed into it from a great distance by means of an aqueduct (or carioca) which in one place having to cross a road or public way was raised upon a double row of strong lofty arches, forming an object that from the bay, and at the entrance of the harbour, added considerably to the beauty of the imagery. From this aqueduct the water was received into stone fountains, constructed with capacious basins, whither the inhabitants sent their linen, to have the dirt rather beaten than washed out of it, by slaves. One of these fountains of a modern construction was finished with great taste and neatness of execution. We also observed several large and rich convents in the town. The chief of these were, the Benedictine and the Carmelite; one dedicated to St. Anthony, another to Our Lady of Assistance, and another to St. Theresa. The two last were for the reception of nuns; and of the two, that of St. Theresa was reported the severest in its religious duties, and the strictest in its restraints and regulations. The convent D. Ajuda, or of Assistance, received as pensioners, or boarders, the widows of officers, and young ladies having lost their parents, who were allowed to remain, conforming to the rules of the convent, until married, or otherwise provided for by their friends. There were many inferior convents and churches, and the whole were under the spiritual direction of a bishop, whose palace was in the town, a short distance from one of the principal convents. Near the carioca, or aqueduct, stood the seminary of St. Joseph, where the servants of the church received their education, adopting on their entrance the clerical habit and tonsure. The chapel to the seminary was neat, and we were conducted by a sensible well-informed father of the Benedictine Order to a small library belonging to it. To a stranger nothing could appear more remarkable than the innumerable religious processions which were to be seen at all hours in this town. At the close of every day an image of the Virgin was borne in procession through the principal streets, the attendants arrayed in white surplices, and bearing in their hands lighted tapers; chanting at the same time praises to her in Latin. To this, as well as to all other religious processions, the guards turned out, grounded their arms, kneeled, and showed the most submissive marks of respect; and the bells of each church or convent in the vicinity of their progress sounded a peal while they were passing. Every church, chapel, or convent, being under the auspices of some tutelary saint, particular days were set apart as the festival of each, which were opened with public prayers, and concluded with processions, music, and fireworks. The church and altars of the particular saint whose protection was to be solicited were decorated with all the splendor of superstition*, and illuminated both within and without. During several hours after dark, on these solemn festivals, the inhabitants might be seen walking to and from the church, dressed in their best habiliments, accompanied by their children, and attended by their slaves and their carriages. [* We were informed that they never permitted any base metals near their altars, all their vessels, etc. being of the purest gold or silver.] An instance was related to us, of the delay that was thrown in the way of labour by this extravagant parade of public worship, and the strict observance of saints' days, which, though calculated, no doubt, by the glare which surrounds the shrine, and decorates the vesture of its priests, to impress and keep in awe the minds of the lower sort of people, Indians and slaves, had nevertheless been found to be not without its evil effects: A ship from Lisbon, laden chiefly with bale goods, was burnt to the water's edge, with her whole cargo, and much private property, the fourth day after her anchoring in the harbour, owing to the intervention of a sabbath and two saints' days which unfortunately ensued that of her arrival. All that could be done was, to tow the vessel on shore near the Island of Cobres, clear of the shipping in the bay, where grounding, she was totally consumed. One of the passengers, whose whole property was destroyed with her, came out to fill an high judicial employment, and had with all his family removed from Lisbon for that purpose, bringing with him whatever he had valuable in Europe. At a corner of almost every street in the town we observed a small altar, dedicated generally to the Virgin, and decorated with curtains and lamps. Before these altars, at the close of every evening, the negroes assembled to chant their vespers, kneeling together in long rows in the street. The policy of thus keeping the minds of so large a body, as that of the black people in this town, not only in constant employment, but in awe and subjection, by the almost perpetual exercise of religious worship, was too obvious to need a comment. In a colony where the servants were more numerous than the masters, a military, however excellent, ought not to be the only control; to keep the mind in subjection must be as necessary as to provide a check on the personal conduct. The trades-people of the town have adopted a regulation, which must prove of infinite convenience to strangers, as well as to the inhabitants. We found the people of one profession or trade dwelling together in one, two, or as many streets as were necessary for their numbers to occupy. Thus, for instance, the apothecaries resided in the principal street, or Rua Direita, as it was named; one or more streets were assigned to the jewellers; and a whole district appeared to be occupied by the mercers. By this regulation the labour of traversing from one street to another, in search of any article which the purchaser might wish to have a choice of, was avoided*. Most of the articles were from Europe, and were sold at a high price. [* The same useful regulation is observed at Aleppo.] Houses here were built, after the fashion of the mother-country, with a small wooden balcony over the entrance; but to the eye of one accustomed to the cheerful appearance of glass windows, a certain sombre cast seemed to pervade even their best and widest streets, the light being conveyed through window-frames of close lattice-work. Some of these, indeed, being decorated on the outside with paint and some gilding, rather improved the look of the houses to which they belonged. The winter, we were informed, was the only season in which the inhabitants could make excursions into the country; for when the sun came to the southward of the Line, the rain, as they most energetically assured us, descended for between two and three months rather in seas than in torrents. At this season they confined themselves to their houses in the town, only venturing out by the unscorching light of the moon, or at those intervals when the rains were moderated into showers. But, though the summer season is so extremely hot, the use of the cold bath, we found, was wholly unknown to the inhabitants. The women of the town of Rio de Janeiro, being born within the tropics, could not be expected to possess the best complexions; but their features were in general expressive--the eye dark and lively, with a striking eye-brow. The hair was dark, and nature had favoured them with that ornament in uncommon profusion: this they mostly wore with powder, strained to a high point before, and tied in several folds behind. By their parents they were early bred up to much useful knowledge, and were generally mistresses of the polite accomplishments of music, singing, and dancing. Their conversation appeared to be lively, at times breaking out in sallies of mirth and wit, and at others displaying judgment and good _sense_. In their dress for making or receiving visits, they chiefly affected silks and gay colours; but in the mornings, when employed in the necessary duties of the house, a thin but elegant robe or mantle thrown over the shoulders was the only upper garment worn. Both males and females were early taught to dress as men and women; and we had many opportunities of seeing a hoop on a little Donna of three years of age, and a bag and a sword on a Senor of six. This appearance was as difficult to reconcile as that of the saints and virgins in their churches being decorated with powdered perukes, swords, laced clothes, and full-dressed suits. Attentions to the women were perhaps carried farther in this place than is customary in Europe. To a lady, in the presence of a gentleman, a servant never was suffered to hand even a glass of water, the gentleman (with a respect approaching to adoration) performing that office; and these gallantries appeared to be received as the homage due to their superior rank in the creation. It was said, indeed, that they were not disinclined to intrigues, but in public the strictest decorum and propriety of behaviour was always observed in the women, single as well as married. At houses where several people of both sexes were met together, the eye, on entering the room, was instantly hurt, at perceiving the female part of the company ranged and seated by themselves on one side, and the gentlemen on the other, an arrangement certainly unfavourable to private or particular conversation. These daughters of the sun should, however, neither be censured nor wondered at, if found indulging in pleasures against which even the constitutions of colder regions are not proof. If frozen chastity be not always found among the children of ice and snow, can she be looked for among the inhabitants of climates where frost was never felt? Yet heartily should she be welcomed wherever she may be found, and doubly prized if met with unexpectedly. The mines, the great source of revenue to the crown of Portugal, and in the government of this place the great cause of jealousy both of strangers and of the inhabitants, were situated more than a week's journey hence, except some which had been lately discovered in the mountains near the town. Sufficient employment was found for the Mint, at which was struck all the coin that was current here, besides what was sent to Europe. The diamond-trade had been for some time taken into the hands and under the inspection of Government; but the jewellers' shops abounded with topazes, chrysolites, and other curious and precious stones. Beside the forts at the entrance of the harbour, there were two others of considerable force, one at either extremity of the place, constructed on islands in the bay. On an eminence behind the town, and commanding the bay, stood the Citadel. The troops in these works were relieved regularly on the last day of every month, previous to which all the military in the garrison passed in review before the viceroy in the quadrangle of the palace. About 250 men with officers in proportion were on duty every day in the town, distributed into different guards, from which sentinels were stationed in various parts of the place, who, to keep themselves alert, challenge and reply to each other every quarter of an hour. In addition to these sentinels, every regiment and every guard sent parties through the streets, patrolling the whole night for the preservation of peace and good order. An officer from each regiment attended every evening at the palace to take orders for the following day, which were delivered by the adjutant of orders, who himself received them directly from the viceroy. At the palace every transaction in the town was known, and thence, through the adjutant of orders, the inhabitants received the viceroy's commands and directions whenever he thought it necessary to guide or regulate their conduct. The regiments that came here from Lisbon had been twenty years in the country, although, on leaving Europe, they were promised to return at the expiration of the third. They were recruited in the Brazils; and such officers as might wish to visit Portugal obtained leave of absence on application to the court, through the viceroy. To each regiment is attached an officer, who is styled an Auditor, and whose office is to inquire into all crimes committed by the soldiers of his regiment. If he sees it necessary, he has power to inflict corporal punishment, or otherwise, as the offender may in his judgment merit; but his authority does not extend either to life or limb. For exercising his employment he is allowed the pay of a captain of infantry. The barracks for the troops appeared to be commodious, and to be kept in good order. A small number of cavalry were always on duty, employed in the antichamber of the palace, or in attending the viceroy either on days of parade, or in his excursions into the country. A captain's guard of infantry with a standard mounted every day at the palace. During our stay in this port all the transports struck their yards and top-masts, and overhauled their rigging preparatory to our passage to the Cape of Good Hope. An observatory was erected on the Island of Enchados, where Lieutenant Dawes, with two young gentlemen from the _Sirius_ as assistants, went on shore, taking with them the instruments requisite for ascertaining the exact rate of going of the time-piece; and for making other necessary observations. Sailmakers were also sent to the island; and some of the camp-equipage of the settlement was landed to be inspected and thoroughly aired, with proper guards for its security. Some propensities to the practice of their old vices manifesting themselves among the convicts* soon after their arrival in this port had given them an opportunity, the governor, with the lieutenant-governor, visited the transports, and informed the prisoners, both male and female, that in future any misbehaviour on their part should be attended with severe punishment, while on the other hand propriety of conduct should be particularly distinguished and rewarded with proportionate indulgence. [* Counterfeit coin was offered by some of them to a boat which came alongside one of the transports.] On the 21st, being the birthday of the prince of Brazil, the _Sirius_, in compliment to the court of Portugal, displayed a Portuguese flag at her fore-top-masthead, and, on the saluting of the fort on the Island of Cobres, saluted also with twenty-one guns. At ten o'clock the same morning, Captain Phillip, with the principal officers of the settlement and garrison. went on shore to pay their compliments to the viceroy in honour of the day, who on this and similar occasions had a court, at which all the civil and military officers and principal inhabitants of the town attended to pay their respects to his excellency as the representative of the sovereign, who received them standing under a canopy in the presence-chamber of the palace. September.] Preparations were now making for putting to sea; and on Saturday the 1st of September, having appointed to sail on the Monday following, the governor, lieutenant-governor, and other officers, waited upon and took leave of the viceroy, who expressed himself in the handsomest terms at their departure. During their stay in this port of refreshment, the convicts were each served daily with a pound of rice and a pound and an half of fresh meat (beef), together with a suitable proportion of vegetables. Great numbers of oranges were at different times distributed among them, and every possible care was taken to refresh and put them into a state of health and condition to resist the attacks of the scurvy, should it make its appearance in the long passage over the ocean which was yet between them and New South Wales. The Reverend Mr. Johnson gave also his full share of attention to their welfare, performing divine service on board two of the transports every Sunday of their stay in port. We were unluckily not in season for any other of the fruits of this country than oranges and bananas; but these were truly delicious, and amply compensated, both in quantity and quality, for the want of others. Some few guavas, and a pine-apple or two, were purchased; but we were informed that their flavour then, and when in perfection, was not to be compared. Vegetables (which were brought from the opposite shore) were in great plenty. The beef was small and lean, and sold at about two-pence halfpenny _per_ pound: mutton was in proportion still smaller, and poultry dear, but not ill-tasted. The marketplace was contiguous to the palace. On the evening of Sunday the 2nd of September, a Portuguese boat, just at the close of the day, after once or twice rowing round the _Sirius_, dropped a soldier of the island on board, who, it appeared from his own account, had been for five or six days absent from his duty, and dreading perhaps to return, or perhaps wishing to change his situation, requested that he might be received on board, and permitted to sail to New Holland with Captain Phillip; who, however, not choosing to comply with his request, caused him to be immediately conveyed on shore in one of the ship's boats; but with great humanity permitted him to be landed wherever he thought he might chance to escape unobserved, and have an opportunity of returning to his duty. An officer was this day sent to signify Captain Phillip's intention of saluting the forts when he took his departure, which would be the following morning, and presuming that an equal number of guns would be fired in return. The viceroy answered, that no mark of attention or respect should on his part be omitted that might testify his esteem for Captain Phillip, and the high sense he entertained of the decorum observed by those under his command during their stay in that port. The land-wind not blowing on Monday morning, all idea of sailing was given up for that day. In the afternoon the signal was made for unmooring, and for all boats to cease communication with the shore. At day-break the following morning the harbour-master came on board the _Sirius_, and, a light land breeze favouring her departure, took charge of that ship over the bar; the _Supply_ and convoy getting under sail, and following her out of the bay. When the _Sirius_ arrived nearly abreast of the fort of Santa Cruz, it was saluted with twenty-one guns; a marked compliment paid by the viceroy to Captain Phillip, who immediately returned it with the like number of guns. Shortly after this the harbour-master left the ship, taking with him Mr. Morton, the master of the _Sirius_, who from ill health was obliged to return to England in the _Diana_, a whaler, which was lying here on our arrival. By this gentleman were sent the public and private letters of the fleet. The land-breeze carrying us clear of the islands in the offing, the _Supply_ was sent to speak a ship that was perceived at some little distance ahead, and which proved to be a ship from Oporto. By her we learned that the viceroy was superseded in his government, and it was imagined that his successor was standing into the harbour in a royal yacht which we then saw under the land. Toward evening it fell calm, and the islands and high land were still in sight. The calm continued during the greatest part of the following day; but toward evening a light and favourable breeze sprung up, which enabled us to cross the tropic of Capricorn, and bend our course toward the Cape of Good Hope. On the night of Friday the 7th we had heavy squalls of rain, thunder, and lightning. From that time until the 1lth the wind was rather unfavourable; but shifting to the northward on that day, it blew during the two following in strong gales, with squalls of heavy rain, attended with much sea. These strong gales having, on Friday the 14th, terminated in a calm, Lieutenant Shortland, the day following, reported to the commanding officer, that there were eleven soldiers sick on board the _Alexander_ and five or six convicts on board the _Charlotte_. The calm continued until the 16th, when a favourable breeze sprung up; but those ships of the fleet which could sail were prevented from making the most of the fair wind, by the _Lady Penrhyn_ transport and others, which were inattentive, and did not make sail in proper time. On the 19th the wind was fresh, and frequently blew in squalls, attended with rain. In one of these squalls the _Charlotte_ suddenly hove-to, a convict having fallen overboard; the man, however, was drowned. Our weather was at this time extremely cold; and the wind, which had for some days been unfavourable, shifting on the 22nd, we again looked towards the Cape. At one o'clock the next morning it came on to blow very hard, accompanied with a great sea; we had nevertheless the satisfaction to observe that the convoy appeared to get on very well, though some of them rolled prodigiously. This gale continued with very little variation until the morning of the 28th, when it moderated for a few hours, and shifted round to the SE. It now again blew in fresh gales, attended with much rain and sea. But a calm succeeding all this violence shortly after, on Sunday morning the 30th the weather was sufficiently clear to admit of some altitudes being taken for the time-keeper, when our longitude was found to be 3 degrees 04 minutes. October.] Thence to the 4th of October both wind and weather were very uncertain, the wind sometimes blowing in light airs, very little differing from a calm, with clear skies; at others, in fresh breezes, with rain. On the 4th, Captain Phillip was informed that thirty of the convicts on board of the _Charlotte_ were 111; some of them, as it was feared, dangerously. To render this information still more unpleasant, the wind was foul during the two succeeding days. In the forenoon of Saturday the 6th, four seamen of the _Alexander_ transport were sent on board the _Sirius_, under a charge of having entered into a conspiracy to release some of the prisoners while the ship should be at the Cape of Good Hope, and of having provided those people with instruments for breaking into the fore-hold of the ship (which had been done, and some provisions stolen thereout). The four seamen were ordered to remain in the _Sirius_, a like number of her people being sent in lieu of them on board the transport. On Thursday the 11th, by an altitude of the sun taken that morning, the fleet was found to be in the longitude of 15 degrees 35 minutes E at which time there was an unfavourable change of the wind, and the sick on board the _Charlotte_ were not decreasing in number. On the next day, as it was judged from the information given by the time-keeper that we were drawing nigh the land, the _Supply_ was sent forward to make it; but it was not seen until the following morning. At noon on the 13th the _Supply_ was sent to instruct the sternmost ships of the convoy in what direction they should keep to enter the bay; and about four in the afternoon, the harbour-master getting on board the _Sirius_, that ship was brought safely to an anchor in Table Bay, the convoy doing the same before dark; having crossed over from one Continent to the other, a distance of upwards of eleven hundred leagues, in the short space of five weeks and four days, fortunately without separation, or any accident having happened to the fleet. Immediately on our anchoring, an officer from the _Sirius_ was sent on shore to the governor, who politely promised us every assistance in his power; and at sun-rise the next morning the _Sirius_ saluted the garrison with thirteen guns, which were returned by an equal number from the fort. From the great uncertainty of always getting readily on shore from the bay, and the refreshments found at the Cape of Good Hope being so necessary after, and so well adapted to the fatigues and disorders consequent on a long voyage, we found it a custom with most strangers on their arrival to take up their abode in the town, with some one or other of the inhabitants, who would for two rix-dollars (eight shillings of English money) or a ducatoon (six shillings English) per week, provide very good lodgings, and a table amply furnished with the best meats, vegetables, and fruits which could be procured at the Cape. This custom was, as far as the nature of our service would admit, complied with by several officers from the ships; and, on the second day after our arrival, Captain Phillip, with the principal officers of the navy and settlement, proceeded to the government-house in the Company's garden, where they were introduced to Mr. Van de Graaf (the governor, for the Dutch East India Company, of this place and its dependencies) and by him politely received. With a requisition made by Captain Phillip of a certain quantity of flour and corn, the governor expressed his apprehensions of being unable to comply, as the Cape had been very lately visited by that worst of scourges--a famine, which had been most severely felt by every family in the town, his own not excepted. This was a calamity which the settlement had never before experienced, and was to be ascribed rather to bad management of, than any failure in, the late crops. Measures were however taking to guard, as much as human precaution could guard, against such a misfortune in future; and magazines were erecting for the reception of grain on the public account, which had never been found necessary until fatal experience had suggested them. Captain Phillip's request was to be laid before the Council, without whose concurrence in such a business the governor could not act, and an answer was promised with all convenient dispatch. This answer, however, did not arrive until the 23rd, when Captain Phillip was informed that every article which he had demanded was ordered to be furnished. November.] In the meantime the ships of the fleet had struck their yards and topmasts (a precaution always necessary here to guard against the violence of the south-east wind, which had been often known to drive ships out of the bay) and began filling their water. On board of the _Sirius_ and some of the transports, the carpenters were employed in fitting up stalls for the reception of the cattle that was to be taken hence as stock for the intended colony at New South Wales. These were not ready until the 8th of the next month, November, on which day, 1 bull, 1 bull-calf, 7 cows, 1 stallion, 3 mares, and 3 colts, together with as great a number of rams, ewes, goats, boars, and breeding sows, as room could be provided for, were embarked in the different ships, the bulls and cows on board the _Sirius_, the horses on board the _Lady Penrhyn_; the remainder were put into the _Fishbourn_ store-ship and _Friendship_ transport. Shortly after our arrival in the bay, a soldier belonging to the Swiss regiment of Muron, quartered here, swam off from his post and came on board one of the transports, requesting to be permitted to proceed in her to New South Wales; but, as an agreement had been mutually entered into between the Dutch and English commanders, that deserters in the service of, or subjects of either nation, should be given up, Captain Phillip sent him on shore, previously obtaining a promise of his pardon from the regiment. On the 9th the watering of the fleet being completed, corn and hay for the stock, and flour, wine, and spirits for the settlement, being all on board, preparations were made for putting to sea, and on the 10th the signal was made to unmoor. The convicts while in this port had been served, men and women, with one pound and an half of soft bread each _per diem_; a pound of fresh beef, or mutton, and three quarters of a pound for each child, together with a liberal allowance of vegetables. While in this harbour, as at Rio de Janeiro, Mr. Johnson, the chaplain, preached on board two of the transports every Sunday; and we had the satisfaction to see the prisoners all wear the appearance of perfect health on their being about to quit this port, the last whereat any refreshment was to be expected before their arrival in New South Wales. As it was earnestly wished to introduce the fruits of the Cape into the new settlement, Captain Phillip was ably assisted in his endeavours to procure the rarest and the best of every species, both in plant and seed, by Mr. Mason, the king's botanist, whom we were so fortunate as to meet with here, as well as by Colonel Gordon, the commander in chief of the troops at this place; a gentleman whose thirst for natural knowledge amply qualified him to be of service to us, not only in procuring a great variety of the best seeds and plants, but in pointing out the culture, the soil, and the proper time of introducing them into the ground. The following plants and seeds were procured here and at Rio de Janeiro: AT RIO DE JANEIRO Coffee--both seed and plant Cocoa-in the nut Cotton-seed Banana-plant Oranges--various sorts, seed and plant Lemon--seed and plant Guava--seed Tamarind Prickly pear-plant, with the cochineal on it Eugenia, or Pomme Rose--a plant bearing a fruit in shape like an apple, and having the flavour and odour of a rose Ipecacuana--three sorts Jalap AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE The Fig-tree Bamboo Spanish Reed Sugar Cane Vines of various sorts Quince Apple Pear Strawberry Oak Myrtle To these must be added all sorts of grain, as Rice, Wheat, Barley, Indian corn, etc. for seed, which were purchased to supply whatever might be found damaged of these articles that were taken on board in England. During our stay here, the Ranger packet, _Captain Buchanan_, arrived after a passage of twelve weeks from Falmouth, bound to Bengal. She sailed again immediately. One officer alone of our fleet was fortunate enough to receive letters by her from his connexions in England. At the time of our arrival the inhabitants of this agreeable town had scarcely recovered from the consternation into which they had been thrown by one of the black people called Malays, with whom the place abounded; and who, taking offence at the governor for not returning him to Batavia (where, it seemed, he was of consequence among his own countrymen, and whence he had been sent to the Cape as a punishment for some offence), worked himself up to frenzy by the effect of opium, and, arming himself with variety of weapons, rushed forth in the dusk of the evening, killing or maiming indiscriminately all who were so unfortunate as to be in his route, women alone excepted. He stabbed the sentinel at the gate of the Company's gardens, and placed himself at his post, waiting some time in expectation of the governor's appearance, who narrowly escaped the fate intended for him, by its falling on another person accidentally passing that way. On being pursued, he fled with incredible swiftness to the Table Mountain at the back of the town, whence this single miscreant, still animated by the effect of the opium, for two days resisted and defied every force that was sent against him. The alarm and terror into which the town was thrown were inconceivable; for two days none ventured from within their houses, either masters or slaves; for an order was issued (as the most likely means of destroying him, should he appear in the town) that whatever Malay was seen in the streets should be instantly killed by the soldiery. On the evening of the second day, however, he was taken alive on the Table Mountain, having done much injury to those who took him, and was immediately consigned to the death he merited, being broken on the wheel, and his head and members severed after the execution, and distributed in different parts of the country. Of this man, who had killed fourteen of the inhabitants, and desperately wounded nearly double that number, it was remarked, that in his progress his fury fell only on men, women passing him unhurt; and it was as extraordinary as it was unfortunate, that among those whom his rage destroyed, were some of the most deserving and promising young men in the town. This, at Batavia, was called running a muck, or amocke, and frequently happened there, but was the first instance of the kind known at the Cape. Since that time, every Malay or other slave, having business in the street after a certain hour in the evening, is obliged to carry a lighted lantern, on pain of being stopped by the sentinel and kept in custody until morning. Murder and villany are strongly depicted on the features of the slaves of that nation; and such of them as dared to speak of this dreadful catastrophe clearly appeared to approve the behaviour of their countryman. The government of the Cape we understood to be vested in a governor and council, together with a court of justice. The council is composed of the governor, the second or lieutenant-governor, the fiscal, the commanding officer of the troops for the time being, and four counsellors. With these all regulations for the management of the colony originate; and from them all orders and decrees are issued. The court of justice is composed of the fiscal, the second governor, a secretary, and twelve members, six of whom are from among the burghers, and six from among the bourgeoisie. The fiscal, who was the first magistrate, had hitherto been styled independent, that is to say, his decisions were not subject to the interference of the governor and council; but we were informed, that since the death of the late fiscal, M. Serrurier, it had been determined by the States, that the decrees of the fiscal should be subject to the revision of the council. Before this officer were tried all causes both civil and criminal. He had a set of people belonging to him who constantly patrolled the streets armed, to apprehend all vagrant and disorderly persons. Every fourteen days offences were tried. The prison was adjacent to and had communication with the court-house. The place where all sentences were executed stood to the left of the landing-place, a short distance above the fort or castle. The ground on which it stood was raised by several steps above the road. Within the walls were to be seen (and seen with horror) six crosses for breaking criminals, a large gibbet, a spiked pole for impalements, wheels, etc., etc. together with a slight wooden building, erected for the reception of the ministers of justice upon execution-days. Over the entrance was a figure of justice, with the usual emblems of a sword and balance, and the following apposite inscription: 'Felix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum.' The bodies of those broken on the wheel were exposed in different parts of the town, several instances of which, and some very recent ones, were still to be seen. It had been always imagined, that the police of the Cape-town was so well regulated as to render it next to impossible for any man to escape, after whom the fiscal's people were in pursuit. This, however, did not appear to be the case; for very shortly after our arrival four seamen belonging to a ship of our fleet deserted from her; and although rewards were offered for apprehending them, and every effort made that was likely to insure success, two only were retaken before our departure. Since the attempt meditated upon the Cape by the late Commodore Johnstone, the attention of the government appeared to have been directed to its internal defence. To this end additional works had been constructed on each side of the town, toward the hill called the Lion's Rump, and beyond the castle or garrison. But the defence in which they chiefly prided themselves, and of which we were fortunate enough to arrive in time to be spectators, consisted of two corps of cavalry and one of infantry, formed from the gentlemen and inhabltants of the town. We understood that these corps were called out annually to be exercised during seven days, and were reviewed on the last day of their exercise by the governor attended by his whole council. They appeared to be stout and able-bodied men, particularly those who composed the two corps of cavalry, and who were reputed to be excellent marksmen. Their horses, arms, and appointments were purchased at their own expense, and they were expected to hold them selves in readiness to assemble whenever their services might be required by the governor. For uniform, they wore a blue coat with white buttons, and buff waistcoat and breeches. Their parade was the Square or Market-place, where they were attended by music, and visited by all the beauty of the place, who animated them by their smiles from the balcony of the town-hall, and if the weather was favourable accompanied them to the exercising ground, where tents were pitched for their reception, and whence they beheld these patriotic Africans (for few of them knew Holland but by name) enuring themselves to the tolls of war, '_pro aris et focis_'. We were however told, that at the least idea of an enemy coming on the coast, the women were immediately sent to a distance in the country. The militia throughout the whole district of the Cape were assembled at this time of the year, exercised for a week, and reviewed by the governor or his deputy, commencing with the militia of the Capetown. The present governor of the Cape, Mr. Van de Graaf, though a colonel of engineers in the service of the States, yet holds his commission as governor under the authority of the Dutch East India Company, to which body the settlement wholly belongs. Every ship or vessel wearing a pendant of the States, be her rate what it may, is on entering the harbour saluted by the fort, which salute she returns with an inferior number of guns. The governor, at the landing-place, with his officers and carriages, attends the coming on shore of her captain or senior officer, to receive his commands, and escort him to his lodgings in the town, treating him with every mark of respect in his power. Such an humiliation of the Company's principal servant and officers in a commercial community bore, it must be confessed, rather an extraordinary appearance; but such, as we were informed, was the distinction between the two services; and Mr. Van de Graaf was obliged to obtain his prince's permission before he could accept of the government of the Cape from the East India Company. Residence at the Cape would be highly agreeable, were it not for the south-east wind. This during the summer season blows with such violence, and drives every where such clouds of sand before it, that the inhabitants at certain times dare not stir out of their houses. Torrents of dust and sand, we were told, had been frequently known to fall on board of ships in the road. This circumstance accounted for every thing we got here being gritty to the taste; sand mixing with their flour, their rice, their sugar, and with whatever was capable of receiving it, finding its way in at doors, windows, and wherever there was an entrance for it. From the great height of the Table Mountain*, whatever clouds are within its influence are attracted when the south-east wind prevails; and as it increases in violence, these clouds hang over the side of the mountain, and descend into the valley, sometimes rolling down very near the town. From the curling of the vapour over the mountain, the inhabitants predict the arrival of the south-easter, and say, 'The Table-cloth is spread;' but with all its violence, and the inconvenience of the dust and sand, it has a good effect, for the climate and air of the Cape Town (though wonderfully beneficial and refreshing to strangers after a long voyage) is not reckoned salubrious by the inhabitants, who, we understood, were at times visited by pains in the chest, sore throats, and putrid fevers; and the place would certainly be still more unhealthy were it not for this south-east wind, which burns as it blows, and while it sweeps disorder before it purifies the air. [* 3353 Rhineland feet--a Rhineland foot being twelve inches and 5/12 English.] The Cape is celebrated for producing in the highest perfection all the tropical and other fruits; but of the few that were in season during our stay we could not pronounce so favourably. The oranges and bananas in particular were not equal to those of Rio de Janeiro. The grape we could only taste from the bottle; that of Constantia, so much famed, has a very fine, rich, and pleasant flavour, and is an excellent cordial; but much of the wine that is sold under that name was never made of the grape of Constantia; for the vineyard is but small, and has credit for a much greater produce that it could possibly yield: this reminds us of those eminent masters in the art of painting, to whom more originals are ascribed than the labour of the longest life of man could produce. Wines of their own growth formed a considerable article of traffic here; and the neatness, regularity, and extent of their wine-vaults, were extremely pleasing to the eye; but a stranger should not visit more than one of them in a day; for almost every cask has some peculiarity to recommend it, and its contents must be tasted. We found the paper currency here very inconvenient, from its lightness; as more than one instance occurred among ourselves during our stay, of its being torn from our hands by the violence of the south-east wind, when we were about to make a payment in the street, or even at the door of a shop. The meat of the Cape was excellent; the black cattle were large, very strong, and remarkable for the great space between their horns. It was not uncommon to see twelve, fourteen, or sixteen oxen yoked in pairs to a waggon, and galloping through the streets of the town, preceded by a Hottentot boy, who accompanied them on foot, conducting the foremost couple by a leathern thong, which caution they are compelled to observe by an order of government, some accidents having formerly happened from some of these large teams having been imprudently driven through the streets without any one to lead them; the lash of the charioteer (for the driver of such a team deserves a more honourable appellation than that of waggoner) had been sometimes heard, we were told, on board of ships in the bay. The sheep are fat, well-flavoured, and remarkable for the weight and size of their tails. Wonders have been related of them by travellers; but travellers from this part of the world are privileged to exaggerate in their narrations, if they choose so to do; the truth however is, that their tails weigh from eight to sixteen pounds; some few perhaps may be heavier by a pound or two; but though the sheep itself will very well endure the voyage to Europe, yet its tall considerably decreases in size and weight during the passage. Strangers coming into the bay are served with beef, mutton, etc. by the Company's butcher, who contracts to supply the Company, its officers and ships, with meat at a certain price, which is fixed at about three halfpence per pound, although he may have to purchase the cattle at three or four times that sum; but in return for this exaction, he has the sole permission of selling to strangers, and at a much higher price, though even in that instance his demand is not allowed to exceed a certain quota. Four-pence _per_ pound was the price given for all the meat served to our ships after we came in. During our stay here we made frequent visits to the Company's garden, pleasantly situated in the midst of the town. The ground on each side of the principal walk, which was from eight to nine hundred paces in length, was laid out in fruit and kitchen gardens, and at the upper end was a paddock where we saw three large ostriches, and a few antelopes. Behind this paddock was a menagerie, which contained nothing very curious--a vicious zebra, an eagle, a cassowary, a falcon, a crowned falcon, two of the birds called secretaries, a crane, a tiger, an hyaena, two wolves, a jackal, and a very large baboon, composed the entire catalogue of its inhabitants. In the town are two churches, one for the Calvinists, and another for the followers of Luther. In the first of these was a handsome organ; four large plain columns supported the roof, and the walls were ornamented with escutcheons and armorial quarterings. The body of the church was filled with chairs for the women, the men sitting in pews round the sides. By the pulpit stood an hour-glass, which, we were told, regulated the duration of the minister's admonition to his congregation. In the churchyards the gravestones, instead of bearing the names of the deceased, were all numbered, and the names were registered in a book kept for the purpose. Weddings were always solemnized on a Sunday at one or other of these churches, and the parties were habited in sables, a dress surely more congenial with the sensations felt on the last than on the first day of such an union. To the care of an officer belonging to a regiment in India, who was returning to Europe in a Danish vessel, Captain Phillip committed his dispatches; and by this ship every officer gladly embraced the last opportunity of communicating with their friends and connections, until they should be enabled to renew their correspondence from the new world to which they were now bound. Nothing remaining to be done that need detain the convoy longer in this port, every article having been procured that could tend to the present refreshment of the colonists, or to the future advantage of the colony, the _Sirius_ was unmoored in the evening of Sunday the llth, Captain Phillip purposing to put to sea the following morning; but the wind at that time not being favourable, the boats from the _Sirius_ were once more sent on shore for a load of water, in order than no vessel which could be filled with an article so essential to the preservation of the flock might be taken to sea empty. The south-east wind now beginning to blow, the signal was made for weighing, and at ten minutes before two in the afternoon of Monday the 12th of November the whole fleet was under sail standing out with a fresh of wind to the northward of Robin Island. It was natural to indulge at this moment a melancholy reflection which obtruded itself upon the mind. The land behind us was the abode of a civilized people; that before us was the residence of savages. When, if ever, we might again enjoy the commerce of the world, was doubtful and uncertain. The refreshments and the pleasures of which we had so liberally partaken at the Cape, were to be exchanged for coarse fare and hard labour at New South Wales. All communication with families and friends now cut off, we were leaving the world behind us, to enter on a state unknown; and, as if it had been necessary to imprint this idea more strongly on our minds, and to render the sensation still more poignant, at the close of the evening we spoke a ship from London*. The metropolis of our native country, its pleasures, its wealth, and its consequence, thus accidentally presented to the mind, failed not to afford a most striking contrast with the object now principally in our view. [* The _Kent_--southern whaler.] Before we quitted the Cape Captain Hunter determined the longitude of the Cape-town in Table-bay to be, by the mean of several sets of lunar observations taken on board the _Sirius_, 18 degrees 23 minutes 55 seconds east from Greenwich. SECTION III Proceed on the voyage Captain Phillip sails onward in the _Supply_, taking with him three of the transports Pass the island of St. Paul Weather, January 1788 The South Cape of New Holland made The _Sirius_ and her convoy anchor in the harbour of Botany Bay. Every precaution being absolutely necessary to guard against a failure of water on board the different ships, the whole were put upon an allowance of three pints _per_ man _per diem_ soon after our departure from the Cape. This regulation was highly proper, as from the probable continuance of the easterly wind which then blew, the fleet might be detained a considerable time at sea. For several days after we had sailed, the wind was unfavourable, and blowing fresh, with much sea, some time elapsed before we had reached to the eastward of the Cape of Good Hope. On the 16th, Captain Phillip signified his intention of proceeding forward in the _Supply_, with the view of arriving in New South Wales so long before the principal part of the fleet, as to be able to fix on a clear and proper place for the settlement. Lieutenant Shortland was at the same time informed, that he was to quit the fleet with the _Alexander_, taking on with him the _Scarborough_ and _Friendship_ transports. These three ships had on board the greater part of the male convicts, whom Captain Phillip had sanguine hopes of employing to much advantage, before the _Sirius_, with that part of the fleet which was to remain under Captain Hunter's direction, should arrive upon the coast. This separation, the first that had occurred, did not take place until the 25th, on which day Captain Phillip went on board the _Supply_, taking with him, from the _Sirius_, Lieutenants King and Dawes, with the time-keeper. On the same day Major Ross, with the adjutant and quarter-master of the detachment, went into the _Scarborough_, in order to co-operate with Captain Phillip in his intention of preparing, as far as time might allow, for the reception of the rest of the convoy. The _Supply_ and the three transports having taken their departure, Captain Hunter drew his little convoy into the order of sailing prescribed for them; and the boats, which had been employed passing and repassing between the _Sirius_ and the transports, being hoisted in, about noon the fleet made sail to the south-east, having a fresh breeze at west-north-west. December.] On Sunday the 16th of December, by computation, we were abreast of the Island of St. Paul, passing it at the distance of about sixty leagues. The following day, on the return of a boat from the _Fishbourn_ store-ship which had been sent to inquire into the state of the stock, we heard that several of the sheep were dead, as well as eight of the hogs belonging to the public stock. Christmas day found us in the latitude of 42 degrees 10 minutes south, and steering, as we had done for a considerable time, an east-south-east course. We complied, as far as was in our power, with the good old English custom, and partook of a better dinner this day than usual; but the weather was too rough to admit of much social enjoyment. With the wind at south-west, west-south-west, and south and by west, the weather was clear and cold, while to the northward of east or west it generally blew in strong gales. We now often noticed pieces of sea-weed floating by the ships; and on the 28th the sun just appeared in time to show us we were in the latitude of 42 degrees 58 minutes south. On the 29th, being in latitude 43 degrees 35 minutes south, the course was altered to east and by south half south, in order to run down our easting without going any further to the southward. The run at noon on this day was found to be the greatest we had made in any twenty-four hours since our departure from England, having 182 miles on the log-board since twelve o'clock the preceding day. By lunar observations taken on the 30th the longitude was found to be 118 degrees 19 minutes east. 1788.] January.] The new year opened with a gale of wind from the northward, which continued with much violence all the day, moderating towards evening. The evening of the third proved fine and moderate, and the sun setting clear gave a good observation for the amplitude, when the variation was found to be 1 degree 00 minutes east. At noon the fleet was in the latitude of 44 degrees 00 minutes south, and longitude by lunar observation 135 degrees 32 minutes east, of which the convoy was informed. At noon on the 4th preparations were made on board the _Sirius_ for falling in with the land; her cables were bent, signal-guns prepared, and every possible precautions taken to ensure the safety of the fleet. About ten at night on the 5th, a very beautiful aurora australis was observed bearing about south-west of the fleet; and for some nights a luminous phenomenon had been seen resembling lights floating on the surface of the water. By a lunar observation taken at ten o'clock of the forenoon of Monday the 7th, the fleet was then distant seventeen leagues from the South Cape of New Holland; and at five minutes past two in the afternoon the signal was made for seeing the land. The rocks named the Mewstone and Swilly were soon visible, and the fleet stood along shore with fair moderate weather and smooth water, the land of New Holland distant from three to five miles. Nothing could more strongly prove the excellence and utility of lunar observations, than the accuracy with which we made the land in this long voyage from the Cape of Good Hope, there not being a league difference between our expectation of seeing it, and the real appearance of it. A thick haze hanging over the land, few observations could be made of it. What we first saw was the South-west Cape of New Holland, between which and the South Cape the land appeared high and rocky, rising gradually from the shore, and wearing in many places a very barren aspect. In small cavities, on the summit of some of the high land, was the appearance of snow. Over the South Cape the land seemed covered with wood; the trees stood thick, and the bark of them appeared in general to have a whitish cast. The coast seemed very irregular, projecting into low points forming creeks and bays, some of which seemed to be deep; very little verdure was any where discernible; in many spots the ground looked arid and sterile. At night we perceived several fires lighted on the coast, at many of which, no doubt, were some of the native inhabitants, to whom it was probable our novel appearance must have afforded matter of curiosity and wonder. In all the preceding passage we had been scarcely a day without seeing birds of different kinds; and we also met with many whales. The weather was in general very rough, and the sea high, but the wind favourable, blowing mostly from north-west to south-west. The convoy behaved well, paying more attention and obedience to signals than ships in the merchant service are commonly known to do. The ships, however, began to grow foul, not one of them being coppered, and we now anxiously wished for a termination of the voyage, particularly as the hay provided for the horses was on the point of being wholly expended. The fair wind which had accompanied us to New Holland suddenly left us, shifting round to north-east and by east; we were obliged to lay our heads off-shore, in order to weather Swilly and the Eddystone (a perpendicular rock about a league to the eastward of Swilly) and the next day we had the mortification of a foul wind, a thing to which we had been long unaccustomed. In the night of the 9th the _Golden Grove_ shipped a sea, which stove in all her cabin windows: it was nearly calm at the time, with a confused heavy swell*. [* This circumstance has since occurred to other ships nearly in the same situation.] At two o'clock in the afternoon of the following day a very heavy and sudden squall took the _Sirius_ and laid her considerably down on her starboard side: it blew very fresh, and was felt more or less by all the transports, some of which suffered in their sails. Our progress along the coast to the northward was very slow, and it was not until the 19th that we fell in with the land, when we were nearly abreast of the Point named by Captain Cook Red Point. Before evening, however, we were gratified with the sight of the entrance into Botany Bay, but too late to attempt standing into it with the transports that night. The convoy therefore was informed by Captain Hunter how the entrance of the bay bore, and directed to be very attentive in the morning when the _Sirius _made sail or bore up. When the morning came we found the fleet had been carried by a current to the southward as far as a clump of trees which had the preceding day obtained, from some resemblance in the appearance, the name of Post-down Clump; but with the assistance of a fine breeze we soon regained what we had lost in the night; and at ten minutes before eight in the morning the _Sirius_ came to an anchor in Botany Bay. The transports were all safe in by nine o'clock. AN ACCOUNT OF THE ENGLISH COLONY IN NEW SOUTH WALES CHAPTER I Arrival of the fleet at Botany Bay The governor proceeds to Port Jackson, where it is determined to fix the settlement Two French ships under M. de la Perouse arrive at Botany Bay The _Sirius_ and convoy arrive at Port Jackson Transactions Disembarkation Commission and letters patent read Extent of the territory of New South Wales Behaviour of the convicts The criminal court twice assembled Account of the different courts The _Supply_ sent with some settlers to Norfolk Island Transactions Natives Weather When the _Sirius_ anchored in the bay, Captain Hunter was informed that the _Supply_ had preceded him in his arrival only two days; and that the agent Lieutenant Shortland, with his detachment from the fleet, had arrived but the day before the _Sirius_ and her convoy. Thus, under the blessing of God, was happily completed, in eight months and one week, a voyage which, before it was undertaken, the mind hardly dared venture to contemplate, and on which it was impossible to reflect without some apprehensions as to its termination. This fortunate completion of it, however, afforded even to ourselves as much matter of surprise as of general satisfaction; for in the above space of time we had sailed five thousand and twenty-one leagues; had touched at the American and African Continents; and had at last rested within a few days sail of the antipodes of our native country, without meeting any accident in a fleet of eleven sail, nine of which were merchantmen that had never before sailed in that distant and imperfectly explored ocean: and when it is considered, that there was on board a large body of convicts, many of whom were embarked in a very sickly state, we might be deemed peculiarly fortunate, that of the whole number of all descriptions of persons coming to form the new settlement, only thirty-two had died since their leaving England, among whom were to be included one or two deaths by accidents; although previous to our departure it was generally conjectured, that before we should have been a month at sea one of the transports would have been converted into an hospital ship. But it fortunately happened otherwise; the high health which was apparent in every countenance was to be attributed not only to the refreshments we met with at Rio de Janeiro and the Cape of Good Hope, but to the excellent quality of the provisions with which we were supplied by Mr. Richards junior, the contractor; and the spirits visible in every eye were to be ascribed to the general joy and satisfaction which immediately took place on finding ourselves arrived at that port which had been so much and so long the subject of our most serious reflections, the constant theme of our conversations. The governor, we found, had employed the time he had been here in examining the bay, for the purpose of determining where he should establish the settlement; but as yet he had not seen any spot to which some strong objection did not apply. Indeed, very few places offered themselves to his choice, and not one sufficiently extensive for a thousand people to sit down on. The southern shore about Point Sutherland seemed to possess the soil best adapted for cultivation, but it was deficient in that grand essential fresh water, and was besides too confined for our numbers. There was indeed a small run of water there; but it appeared to be only a drain from a marsh, and by no means promised that ample or certain supply which was requisite for such a settlement as ours. The governor, therefore, speedily determined on examining the adjacent harbours of Port Jackson and Broken Bay, in one of which he thought it possible that a better situation for his young colony might be found. But as his search might possibly prove fruitless, and that the few days which it should occupy might not be altogether thrown away, he left the lieutenant-governor at Botany Bay, with instructions to clear the ground about Point Sutherland, and make preparations for disembarking the detachment of marines and the convicts on his return, should that place at last be deemed the most eligible spot. At the same time Lieutenant King, of the _Sirius_, was directed to examine such parts of the bay as, from want of time, the governor had not himself been able to visit. The governor set off on Monday the 21st, accompanied by Captain Hunter, Captain Collins (the judge-advocate), a lieutenant, and the master of the _Sirius_, with a small party of marines for their protection, the whole being embarked in three open boats. The day was mild and serene, and there being but a gentle swell without the mouth of the harbour, the excursion promised to be a pleasant one. Their little fleet attracted the attention of several parties of the natives, as they proceeded along the coast, who all greeted them in the same words, and in the same tone of vociferation, shouting every where 'Warra, warra, warra' words which, by the gestures that accompanied them, could not be interpreted into invitations to land, or expressions of welcome. It must however be observed, that at Botany Bay the natives had hitherto conducted themselves sociably and peaceably toward all the parties of our officers and people with whom they had hitherto met, and by no means seemed to regard them as enemies or invaders of their country and tranquillity*. [* How grateful to every feeling of humanity would it be could we conclude this narrative without being compelled to say, that these unoffending people had found reason to change both their opinions and their conduct!] The coast, as the boats drew near Port Jackson, wore so unfavourable an appearance, that Captain Phillip's utmost expectation reached no farther than to find what Captain Cook, as he passed by, thought might be found, shelter for a boat. In this conjecture, however, he was most agreeably disappointed, by finding not only shelter for a boat, but a harbour capable of affording security to a much larger fleet than would probably ever seek for shelter or security in it. In one of the coves of this noble and capacious harbour, equal if not superior to any yet known in the world, it was determined to fix the settlement; and on the 23rd, having examined it as fully as the time would allow, the governor and his party left Port Jackson and its friendly and peaceful inhabitants (for such he everywhere found them), and returned to Botany Bay. In the report, of the survey made by Lieutenant King, during the governor's absence, the latter found nothing to induce him to alter his resolution of fixing in Port Jackson: directions were therefore given, that the necessary supply of water and grass for the stock should be immediately sent off to the ships, and the next morning was appointed for their departure from Botany Bay. Several trees had been cut down at Point Sutherland, a saw-pit had been dug, and other preparations made for disembarking, in case the governor had not succeeded as, to the great satisfaction of every one, it was found he had; for had he been compelled to remain in Botany Bay, the swampy ground every where around it threatened us with unhealthy situations; neither could the shipping have ridden in perfect security when the wind blew from the SE to which the bay lay much exposed, the sea at that time rolling in with a prodigious swell. A removal therefore to Port Jackson was highly applauded, and would have taken place the next morning, but at daylight we were surprised by the appearance of two strange sail in the offing. Of what nation they could be, engaged the general wonder for some time, which at last gave way to a conjecture that they might be the French ships under M. de la Perouse, then on a voyage round the world. This was soon strengthened by the view of a white pendant, similar in shape to that of a commodore in our service, and we had no longer a doubt remaining that they were the ships above mentioned. They were, however, prevented by a strong southerly current from getting into the bay until the 26th, when it was known that they were the _Boussole_ and _Astrolabe_, French ships, which sailed, under the command of M. de la Perouse, from France in the year 1785, on a voyage of discovery. As Captain Hunter, with whom the governor had left the charge of bringing the _Sirius_ and transports round to Port Jackson (whither he had preceded them in the _Supply_ the day before), was working out when M. de la Perouse entered Botany Bay, the two commanders had barely time to exchange civilities; and it must naturally have created some surprise in M. de la Perouse to find our fleet abandoning the harbour at the very time he was preparing to anchor in it: indeed he afterwards said, that until he had looked round him in Botany Bay, he could not divine the cause of our quitting it, which he was so far from expecting, that having heard at Kamschatka of the intended settlement, he imagined he should have found a town built and a market established; but from what he had seen of the country since his arrival, he was convinced of the propriety and absolute necessity of the measure. M. de la Perouse sailed into the harbour by Captain Cook's chart of Botany Bay, which lay before him on the binnacle; and we had the pleasure of hearing him more than once pay a tribute to our great circumnavigator's memory, by acknowledging the accuracy of his nautical observations. The governor, with a party of marines, and some artificers selected from among the seamen of the _Sirius_ and the convicts, arrived in Port Jackson, and anchored off the mouth of the cove intended for the settlement on the evening of the 25th; and in the course of the following day sufficient ground was cleared for encamping the officer's guard and the convicts who had been landed in the morning. The spot chosen for this purpose was at the head of the cove, near the run of fresh water, which stole silently along through a very thick wood, the stillness of which had then, for the first time since the creation, been interrupted by the rude sound of the labourer's axe, and the downfall of its ancient inhabitants; a stillness and tranquillity which from that day were to give place to the voice of labour, the confusion of camps and towns, and 'the busy hum of its new possessors.' That these did not bring with them, 'Minds not to be changed by time or place,' was fervently to have been wished; and if it were possible, that on taking possession of Nature, as we had thus done, in her simplest, purest garb, we might not sully that purity by the introduction of vice, profaneness, and immorality. But this, though much to be wished, was little to be expected; the habits of youth are not easily laid aside, and the utmost we could hope in our present situation was to oppose the soft harmonising arts of peace and civilisation to the baneful influence of vice and immorality. In the evening of this day the whole of the party that came round in the _Supply_ were assembled at the point where they had first landed in the morning, and on which a flag-staff had been purposely erected and an union jack displayed, when the marines fired several vollies; between which the governor and the officers who accompanied him drank the healths of his Majesty and the Royal Family, and success to the new colony. The day, which had been uncommonly fine, concluded with the safe arrival of the _Sirius_ and the convoy from Botany Bay--thus terminating the voyage with the same good fortune that had from its commencement been so conspicuously their friend and companion. The disembarkation of the troops and convicts took place from the following day until the whole were landed. The confusion that ensued will not be wondered at, when it is considered that every man stepped from the boat literally into a wood. Parties of people were every where heard and seen variously employed; some in clearing ground for the different encampments; others in pitching tents, or bringing up such stores as were more immediately wanted; and the spot which had so lately been the abode of silence and tranquillity was now changed to that of noise, clamour, and confusion: but after a time order gradually prevailed every where. As the woods were opened and the ground cleared, the various encampments were extended, and all wore the appearance of regularity. February.] A portable canvas house, brought over for the governor, was erected on the East side of the cove (which was named Sydney, in compliment to the principal secretary of state for the home department) where also a small body of convicts was put under tents. The detachment of marines was encamped at the head of the cove near the stream, and on the West side was placed the main body of the convicts. The women did not disembark until the 6th of February; when, every person belonging to the settlement being landed, the numbers amounted to 1030 persons. The tents for the sick were placed on the West side, and it was observed with concern that their numbers were fast increasing. The scurvy, that had not appeared during the passage, now broke out, which, aided by a dysentery, began to fill the hospital, and several died. In addition to the medicines that were administered, every species of esculent plants that could be found in the country were procured for them; wild celery, spinach, and parsley, fortunately grew in abundance about the settlement; those who were in health, as well as the sick, were very glad to introduce them into their messes, and found them a pleasant as well as wholesome addition to the ration of salt provisions. The public stock, consisting of one bull, four cows, one bull-calf, one stallion, three mares, and three colts (one of which was a stone-colt) were landed on the East point of the cove, where they remained until they had cropped the little pasturage it afforded; and were then removed to a spot at the head of the adjoining cove, that was cleared for a small farm, intended to be placed under the direction of a person brought out by the governor. Some ground having been prepared near his excellency's house on the East side, the plants from Rio-de-Janeiro and the Cape of Good Hope were safely brought on shore in a few days; and we soon had the satisfaction of seeing the grape, the fig, the orange, the pear, and the apple, the delicious fruits of the Old, taking root and establishing themselves in our New World. As soon as the hurry and tumult necessarily attending the disembarkation had a little subsided, the governor caused his Majesty's commission, appointing him to be his captain-general and governor in chief in and over the territory of New South Wales and its dependencies, to be publicly read, together with the letters patent for establishing the courts of civil and criminal judicature in the territory, the extent of which, until this publication of it, was but little known even among ourselves. It was now found to extend from Cape York (the extremity of the coast to the northward) in the latitude of 20 degrees 37 minutes South, to the South Cape (the southern extremity of the coast) in the latitude of 43 degrees 39 minutes South; and inland to the westward as far as 135 degrees of East longitude, comprehending all the islands adjacent in the Pacific Ocean, within the latitudes of the above-mentioned capes. By this definition of our boundaries it will be seen that we were confined along the coast of this continent to such parts of it solely as were navigated by Captain Cook, without infringing on what might be claimed by other nations from the right of discovery. Of that right, however, no other nation has chosen to avail itself. Whether the western coast is unpromising in its appearance, or whether the want of a return proportioned to the expense which the mother-country must sustain in supporting a settlement formed nearly at the farthest part of the globe, may have deterred them, is not known; but Great Britain alone has followed up the discoveries she had made in this country, by at once establishing in it a regular colony and civil government. The ceremony of reading these public instruments having been performed by the judge-advocate, the governor, addressing himself to the convicts, assured them, among other things, that 'he should ever be ready to show approbation and encouragement to those who proved themselves worthy of them by good conduct and attention to orders; while on the other hand, such as were determined to act in opposition to propriety, and observe a contrary conduct, would inevitably meet with the punishment which they deserved.' He remarked how much it was their interest to forget the habits of vice and indolence in which too many of them had hitherto lived; and exhorted them to be honest among themselves, obedient to their overseers, and attentive to the several works in which they were about to be employed. At the conclusion of this address three volleys were fired by the troops, who thereupon returned to their parade, where the governor, attended by Captain Hunter and the principal officers of the settlement, passed along the front of the detachment, and received the honours due to a captain-general; after which he entertained all the officers and gentlemen of the settlement at dinner, under a large tent pitched for the purpose at the head of the marine encampment. The convicts had been mustered early in the morning, when nine were reported to be absent. From the situation which we had unavoidably adopted, it was impossible to prevent these people from straggling. Fearless of the danger which must attend them, many had visited the French ships in Botany Bay, soliciting to be taken on board, and giving a great deal of trouble. It was soon found that they secreted at least one-third of their working tools, and that any sort of labour was with difficulty procured from them. The want of proper overseers principally contributed to this. Those who were placed over them as such were people selected from among themselves, being recommended by their conduct during the voyage; few of these, however, chose to exert the authority that was requisite to keep the gangs at their labour, although assured of meeting with every necessary support. Petty thefts among themselves began soon to be complained of; the sailors from the transports, although repeatedly forbidden, and frequently punished, still persisted in bringing spirits on shore by night, and drunkenness was often the consequence. To check these enormities, the court of criminal judicature was assembled on the 11th of February, when three prisoners were tried; one for an assault, of which being found guilty, he was sentenced to receive one hundred and fifty lashes; a second, for taking some biscuit from another convict, was sentenced to a week's confinement on bread and water, on a small rocky island near the entrance of the cove; and a third, for stealing a plank, was sentenced to receive fifty lashes, but, being recommended to the governor, was forgiven. The mildness of these punishments seemed rather to have encouraged than deterred others from the commission of greater offences; for before the month was ended the criminal court was again assembled for the trial of four offenders, who had conceived and executed a plan for robbing the public store during the time of issuing the provisions. This crime, in its tendency big with evil to our little community, was rendered still more atrocious by being perpetrated at the very time when the difference of provisions, which had till then existed, was taken off, and the convict saw the same proportion of provision issued to himself that was served to the soldier and the officer, the article of spirits only excepted. Each male convict was that day put upon the following weekly ration of provisions, two-thirds of which was served to the female convicts, viz 7 pounds of biscuit; 1 pound of flour; 7 pounds of beef, or 4 pounds of pork; 3 pints of peas; and 6 ounces of butter. It was fair to suppose that so liberal a ration would in itself have proved the security of the store, and have defended it from depredation; but we saw with concern, that there were among us some minds so habitually vicious that no consideration was of any weight with them, nor could they be induced to do right by any prospect of future benefit, or fear of certain and immediate punishment. The charge being fully proved, one man, James Barrett, suffered death: his confederates were pardoned, on condition of their being banished from the settlement. Another culprit was sentenced to receive three hundred lashes; but, not appearing so guilty as his companions, was pardoned by the governor, the power of pardoning being vested in him by his Majesty's commission. His excellency, having caused one example to be made, extended lenity to some others who were tried the following day; and one convict, James Freeman, was pardoned on condition of his becoming the public executioner. It appeared by the letters patent under the great seal of Great Britain, which were read after the governor's commission, that 'the appointment of the place to which offenders should be transported having been vested in the crown by an act of parliament, his Majesty, by two several orders in council, bearing date the 6th of December 1786, had declared, that certain offenders named in two lists annexed to the orders in council should be transported to the eastern coast of New Holland, named New South Wales, or some one or other of the islands adjacent:' and it being deemed necessary that a colony and civil government should be established in the place to which such felons should be transported, and that a court of criminal jurisdiction should also be established therein, with authority to proceed in a more summary way than is used within the realms of Great Britain, according to the known and established laws thereof, his Majesty, by the 27th Geo. 3. cap. 56. was enabled to authorise, by his commission under the great seal, 'the governor, or in his absence the lieutenant-governor of such place, to convene from time to time, as occasion may require, a court of criminal jurisdiction, which court is to be a court of record, and is to consist of the judge-advocate and such six officers of the sea and land service as the governor shall, by precept issued under his hand and seal, require to assemble for that purpose.' This court has power to inquire of, hear, determine, and punish all treasons, misprisions of treasons, murders, felonies, forgeries, perjuries, trespasses, and other crimes whatsoever that may be committed in the colony; the punishment for such offences to be inflicted according to the laws of England as nearly as may be, considering and allowing for the circumstances and situation of the settlement and its inhabitants. The charge against any offender is to be reduced into writing, and exhibited by the judge-advocate: witnesses are to be examined upon oath, as well for as against the prisoner; and the court is to adjudge whether he is guilty or not guilty by the opinion of the major part of the court. If guilty, and the offence is capital, they are to pronounce judgment of death, in like manner as if the prisoner had been convicted by the verdict of a jury in England, or of such corporal punishment as the court, or the major part of it, shall deem meet. And in cases not capital, they are to adjudge such corporal punishment as the majority of the court shall determine. But no offender is to suffer death, unless five members of the court shall concur in adjudging him to be guilty, until the proceedings shall have been transmitted to England, and the king's pleasure signified thereupon. The provost-marshal is to cause the judgment of the court to be executed according to the governor's warrant under his hand and seal. The resemblance of this to the military courts may be easily traced in some particulars. The criminal court is assembled, not at stated times, but whenever occasion may require. It is composed of military officers (the judge-advocate excepted, whose situation is of a civil nature) who assemble as such in their military habits, with the insignia of duty, the sash and the sword. Their judgments are to be determined by the majority; and the examination of the witnesses is carried on by the members of the court, as well as by the judge-advocate. But in other respects it differs from the military courts. The judge-advocate is the judge or president of the court; he frames and exhibits the charge against the prisoner, has a vote in the court, and is sworn, like the members of it, well and truly to try and to make true deliverance between the king and the prisoner, and give a verdict according to the evidence. When the state of the colony and the nature of its inhabitants are considered, it must be agreed, that the administration of public justice could not have been placed with so much propriety in any other hands. The outward form of the court, as well as the more essential part of it, are admirably calculated to meet the characters and disposition of the people who form the major part of the settlement. As long confinement would be attended with a loss of labour, and other evils, the court is assembled within a day or two after the apprehension of any prisoner whose crime is of such magnitude as to call for a criminal proceeding against him. He is brought before a court composed of a judge and six men of honour, who hear the evidence both for and against him, and determine whether the crime exhibited be or be not made out; and his punishment, if found guilty, is adjudged according to the laws of England, considering and allowing for the situation and circumstances of the settlement and its inhabitants; which punishment, however, after all, cannot be inflicted without the ratification of the governor under his hand and seal. Beside this court for the trial of criminal offenders, there is a civil court, consisting of the judge-advocate and two inhabitants of the settlement, who are to be appointed by the governor; which court has full power to hear and determine in a summary way all pleas of lands, houses, debts, contracts, and all personal pleas whatsoever, with authority to summon the parties upon complaint being made, to examine the matter of such complaint by the oaths of witnesses, and to issue warrants of execution under the hand and seal of the judge-advocate. From this court, on either party, plaintiff or defendant, finding himself or themselves aggrieved by the judgment or decree, an appeal lies to the governor, and from him, where the debt or thing in demand shall exceed the value of three hundred pounds, to the king in council: but these appeals must be put in, if from the civil court, within eight days, and if from the governor or superior court, within fourteen days after pronouncing the said judgments. To this court is likewise given authority to grant probates of wills and administration of the personal estates of intestates dying within the settlement. But as property must be acquired in the country before its rights can come into question, few occasions of assembling this court can occur for many years. In addition to these courts for the trial of crimes, and the cognisance of civil suits, the governor, the lieutenant-governor, and the judge-advocate for the time being, are by his Majesty's letters patent constituted justices for the preservation of the peace of the settlement, with the same power that justices of the peace have in England within their respective jurisdictions. And the governor, being enabled by his Majesty's commission, soon after our arrival, caused Augustus Alt esq. (the surveyor-general of the territory) to be sworn a justice of the peace, for the purpose of sitting once a week, or oftener as occasion might require, with the judge-advocate, to examine all offences committed by the convicts, and determine on and punish such as were not of sufficient importance for trial by the criminal court. There is also a vice-admiralty court for the trial of offences committed upon the high seas, of which the lieutenant-governor is constituted the judge, Mr. Andrew Miller the registrar, and Mr. Henry Brewer the marshall. The governor has, beside that of captain-general, a commission constituting him vice-admiral of the territory; and another vesting him with authority to hold* general courts-martial, and to confirm or set aside the sentence. The major-commandant of the detachment had the usual power of assembling regimental or battalion courts-martial for the trial of offences committed by the soldiers under his command. [* Captain Collins, the judge-advocate of the settlement, had also a warrant from the Admiralty appointing him judge-advocate to the marine detachment.] By this account of the different modes of administering and obtaining justice, which the legislature provided for this settlement, it is evident that great care had been taken on our setting out, to furnish us with a stable foundation whereon to erect our little colony, a foundation which was established in the punishment of vice, the security of property, and the preservation of peace and good order in our community. The governor having also received instructions to establish a settlement at Norfolk Island, the _Supply_ sailed for that place about the middle of the month of February, having on board Lieutenant King of the _Sirius_, named by Capt. Phillip superintendant and commandant of the settlement to be formed there. Lieutenant King took with him one surgeon (Mr. Jamieson, surgeon's mate of the _Sirius_), one petty officer (Mr. Cunningham, also of the _Sirius_), two private soldiers, two persons who pretended to some knowledge of flax-dressing, and nine male and six female convicts, mostly volunteers. This little party was to be landed with tents, clothing for the convicts, implements of husbandry, tools for dressing flax, etc. and provisions for six months; before the expiration of which time it was designed to send them a fresh supply. Norfolk Island is situated in the latitude of 29 degrees south, and in longitude 168 degrees 10 minutes east of Greenwich, and was settled with a view to the cultivation of the flax plant, which at the time when the island was discovered by Captain Cook was found growing most luxuriantly where he landed; and from the specimens taken to England of the New Zealand flax (of which sort is that growing at Norfolk Island), it was hoped some advantages to the mother country might be derived from cultivating and manufacturing it. Mr. King, previous to his departure for his little government, was sworn in as a justice of the peace, taking the oaths necessary on the occasion, by which he was enabled to punish such petty offences as might be committed among his people, capital crimes being reserved for the cognisance of the criminal court of judicature established here. Our own preservation depending in a great measure upon the preservation of our stores and provisions, houses for their reception were immediately begun when sufficient ground was found to be cleared; and the persons who had the direction of these and other works carrying on, found it most to the advantage of the public service to employ the convicts in task work, allotting a certain quantity of ground to be cleared by a certain number of persons in a given time, and allowing them to employ what time they might gain, till called on again for public service, in bringing in materials and erecting huts for themselves. But for the most part they preferred passing in idleness the hours that might have been so profitably spent, straggling into the woods for vegetables, or visiting the French ships in Botany Bay. Of this latter circumstance we were informed by M. de Clonard, the captain of the _Astrolabe_, in an excursion he made from the ships, to bring round some dispatches from M. de la Perouse, which that officer requested might be forwarded to the French ambassador at the court of London by the first of our transports that might sail from hence for Europe. He informed us, that they were daily visited by the convicts, many of whom solicited to be received on board before their departure, promising (as an inducement) to be accompanied by a number of females. M. de Clonard at the same time assured us, that the general (as he was termed by his officers and people) had given their solicitations no kind of countenance, but had threatened to drive them away by force. Among the buildings that were undertaken shortly after our arrival, must be mentioned an observatory, which was marked out on the western point of the cove, to receive the astronomical instruments which had been sent out by the Board of Longitude, for the purpose of observing the comet which was expected to be seen about the end of this year. The construction of this building was placed under the direction of Lieut. Dawes of the marines, who, having made this branch of science his particular study, was appointed by the Board of Longitude to make astronomical observations in this country. The latitude of the observatory was 33 degrees 52 minutes 30 seconds S; the longitude, from Greenwich, 151 degrees 19 minutes 30 seconds E. Governor Phillip, having been very much pressed for time when he first visited this harbour, had not thoroughly examined it. The completion of that necessary business was left to Captain Hunter, who, with the first lieutenant of the _Sirius_, early in the month of February, made an accurate survey of it. It was then found to be far more extensive to the westward than was at first imagined, and Captain Hunter described the country as wearing a much more favourable countenance toward the head or upper part, than it did immediately about the settlement. He saw several parties of the natives, and, treating them constantly with good humour, they always left him with friendly impressions. It was natural to suppose that the curiosity of these people would be attracted by observing, that, instead of quitting, we were occupied in works that indicated an intention of remaining in their country; but during the first six weeks we received only one visit, two men strolling into the camp one evening, and remaining in it for about half an hour. They appeared to admire whatever they saw, and after receiving each a hatchet (of the use of which the eldest instantly and curiously showed his knowledge, by turning up his foot, and sharpening a piece of wood on the sole with the hatchet) took their leave, apparently well pleased with their reception. The fishing-boats also frequently reported their having been visited by many of these people when hauling the seine, at which labour they often assisted with cheerfulness, and in return were generally rewarded with part of the fish taken. Every precaution was used to guard against a breach of this friendly and desirable intercourse, by strictly prohibiting every person from depriving them of their spears, fizgigs, gum, or other articles, which we soon perceived they were accustomed to leave under the rocks, or loose and scattered about upon the beaches. We had however great reason to believe that these precautions were first rendered fruitless by the ill conduct of a boat's crew belonging to one of the transports, who, we were told afterwards, attempted to land in one of the coves at the lower part of the harbour, but were prevented, and driven off with stones by the natives. A party of them, consisting of sixteen or eighteen persons, some time after landed on the island* where the people of the _Sirius_ were preparing a garden, and with much artifice, watching their opportunity, carried off a shovel, a spade, and a pick-axe. On their being fired at and hit on the legs by one of the people with small shot, the pick-axe was dropped, but they carried off the other tools. [* Since known by the name of Garden Island.] To such circumstances as these must be attributed the termination of that good understanding which had hitherto subsisted between us and them, and which Governor Phillip laboured to improve whenever he had an opportunity. But it might have been foreseen that this would unavoidably happen: the convicts were every where straggling about, collecting animals and gum to sell to the people of the transports, who at the same time were procuring spears, shields, swords, fishing-lines, and other articles from the natives, to carry to Europe; the loss of which must have been attended with many inconveniences to the owners, as it was soon evident that they were the only means whereby they obtained or could procure their daily subsistence; and although some of these people had been punished for purchasing articles of the convicts, the practice was carried on secretly, and attended with all the bad effects which were to be expected from it. We also had the mortification to learn, that M. De la Perouse had been compelled to fire upon the natives at Botany Bay, where they frequently annoyed his people who were employed on shore. This circumstance materially affected us, as those who had rendered this violence necessary could not discriminate between us and them. We were however perfectly convinced that nothing short of the greatest necessity could have induced M. De la Perouse to take such a step, as we heard him declare, that it was among the particular instructions that he received from his sovereign, to endeavour by every possible means to acquire and cultivate the friendship of the natives of such places as he might discover or visit; and to avoid exercising any act of hostility upon them. In obedience to this humane command, there was no doubt but he forbore using force until forbearance would have been dangerous, and he had been taught a lesson at Maouna, one of the Isles des Navigateurs, that the tempers of savages were not to be trusted too far; for we were informed, that on the very day and hour of their departure from that island, the boats of the two ships, which were sent for a last load of water, were attacked by the natives with stones and clubs, and M. De l'Angle, the captain of the _Astrolabe_, with eleven officers and men, were put to death; those who were so fortunate as to get off in the small boats that attended on the watering launches (which were destroyed), escaped with many wounds and contusions, some of which were not healed at the time of their relating to us this unfortunate circumstance. It was conjectured, that some one of the seamen, unknown to the officers, must have occasioned this outrage, for which there was no other probable reason to assign, as the natives during the time the ships were at the island had lived with the officers and people on terms of the greatest harmony. And this was not the first misfortune that those ships had met with during their voyage; for on the north-west coast of America, they lost two boats with their crews, and several young men of family, in a surf. Notwithstanding the pressure of the important business we had upon our hands after our landing, the discharge of our religious duties was never omitted, divine service being performed every Sunday that the weather would permit: at which time the detachment of marines paraded with their arms, the whole body of convicts attended, and were observed to conduct themselves in general with the respect and attention due to the occasion on which they were assembled. It was soon observed with satisfaction, that several couples were announced for marriage; but on strictly scrutinizing into the motive, it was found in several instances to originate in an idea, that the married people would meet with various little comforts and privileges that were denied to those in a single state; and some, on not finding those expectations realised, repented, wished and actually applied to be restored to their former situations; so ignorant and thoughtless were they in general. It was however to be wished, that matrimonial connexions should be promoted among them; and none who applied were ever rejected, except when it was clearly understood that either of the parties had a wife or husband living at the time of their leaving England. The weather during the latter end of January and the month of February was very close, with rain, at times very heavy, and attended with much thunder and lightning. In the night of the 6th February, six sheep, two lambs, and one pig, belonging chiefly to the lieutenant-governor, having been placed at the foot of a large tree, were destroyed by the lightning. But accidents of this kind were rather to be expected than wondered at, until the woods around us could be opened and cleared. CHAPTER II Broken Bay visited M. de la Perouse sails Transactions The _Supply_ returns Lord Howe Island discovered The ships for China sail Some convicts wounded by the natives Scurvy New store-house Necessary orders and appointments Excursions into the country New branch of the harbour into Port Jackson Sheep March.] Early in March the governor, accompanied by some officers from the settlement and the _Sirius_, went round by water to the next adjoining harbour to the northward of this port, which is laid down in the charts by the name of Broken Bay, from the broken appearance of the land by which it is formed. The intention of this visit was, not only to survey the harbour, if any were found to exist, but to examine whether there were within it any spots of ground capable of cultivation, and of maintaining a few families; but in eight days that he was absent, though he found an harbour equal in magnitude to Port Jackson, the governor saw no situation that could at all vie with that which he had chosen for the settlement at Sydney Cove, the land at Broken Bay being in general very high and in most parts rocky and barren. The weather proved very unfavourable to an excursion in a country where the residence for each night was to be provided by the travellers themselves; and some of the party returned with dysenteric complaints. The weather at Port Jackson had been equally adverse to labour, the governor finding at his return upwards of two hundred patients under the surgeon's care, in consequence of the heavy rains that had fallen. A building for the reception of the sick was now absolutely necessary, and one, eighty-four feet by twenty-three, was put in hand, to be divided into a dispensary, (all the hospital stores being at that time under tents,) a ward for the troops, and another for the convicts. It was to be built of wood, and the roof to be covered in with shingles, made from a species of fir that is found here. The heavy rains also pointed out the necessity of sheltering the detachment, and until barracks could be built, most of them covered their tents with thatch, or erected for themselves temporary clay huts. The barracks were begun early in March; but much difficulty was found in providing proper materials, the timber being in general shakey and rotten. They were to consist of four buildings, each building to be sixty-seven feet by twenty-two, and to contain one company. They were placed at a convenient distance asunder for the purpose of air and cleanliness, and with a space in the centre for a parade. On or about Monday the 10th of March, the French ships sailed from Botany Bay, bound, as they said, to the northward, and carrying with them the most unfavourable ideas of this country and its native inhabitants; the officers having been heard to declare, that in their whole voyage they no where found so poor a country, nor such wretched miserable people. During their stay in Botany Bay, they set up the frames of two large boats which they brought out from Europe, to replace those they lost at Maouna, and on the north-west coast of America. We had, during their stay in this country, a very friendly and pleasant intercourse with their officers, among whom we observed men of abilities, whose observations, and exertions in the search after knowledge, will most amply illustrate the history of their voyage: and it reflected much credit on the minister when he arranged the plan of it, that people of the first talents for navigation, astronomy, natural history, and every other science that could render it conspicuously useful, should have been selected for the purpose. We found after their departure the grave of the Abbé L. Receveur, who died but a short time before they sailed: he was buried not very far from the spot where their tents were erected, at the foot of a tree, on which were nailed two pieces of board with the following inscription: Hic jacet L. Receveur Ex F. F. Minoribus Galliae Sacerdos Physicus in Circumnavigatione Mundi Duce D. de la Perouse Obiit Die 17 Febr. Anno 1788. Governor Phillip, on hearing that these boards had fallen down from the tree, caused the inscription to be engraven on a plate of copper, which was put up in place of the boards; but rain, and the oozing of gum from the tree, soon rendered even that illegible. We continued to be still busily employed; a wharf for the convenience of landing stores was begun under the direction of the surveyor-general: the ordnance, consisting of two brass six-pounders on travelling carriages, four iron twelve-pounders, and two iron six-pounders, were landed; the transports, which were chartered for China, were clearing; the long-boats of the ships in the cove were employed in bringing up cabbage-tree from the lower part of the harbour, where it grew in great abundance, and was found, when cut into proper lengths, very fit for the purpose of erecting temporary huts, the posts and plates of which being made of the pine of this country, and the sides and ends filled with lengths of the cabbage-tree, plastered over with clay, formed a very good hovel. The roofs were generally thatched with the grass of the gum-rush; some were covered with clay, but several of these failed, the weight of the clay and heavy rain soon destroying them. A gang of convicts was employed, under the direction of a person who understood the business, in making bricks at a spot about a mile from the settlement, at the head of Long Cove; at which place also two acres of ground were marked out for such officers as were willing to cultivate them and raise a little grain for their stock; it not being the intention of government to give any grants of land until the necessary accounts of the country, and of what expectations were likely to be formed from it, should be received. Great inconvenience was found from the necessity that subsisted of suffering the stock of individuals to run loose amongst the tents and huts; much damage in particular was sustained by hogs, who frequently forced their way into them while the owners were at labour and destroyed and damaged whatever they met with. At first these losses were usually made good from the store, as it was unreasonable to expect labour where the labourer did not receive the proper sustenance; but this being soon found to open a door to much imposition, and to give rise to many fabricated tales of injuries that never existed, an order was given, that any hog caught trespassing was to be killed by the person who actually received any damage from it. The principal street of the intended town was marked out at the head of the cove, and its dimensions were extensive. The government-house was to be constructed on the summit of a hill commanding a capital view of Long Cove, and other parts of the harbour; but this was to be a work of after-consideration; for the present, as the ground was not cleared, it was sufficient to point out the situation and define the limits of the future buildings. On the 19th the _Supply_ returned from Norfolk Island, having been absent four weeks and six days. We learned that she made the island on the 29th of last month, but for the five succeeding days was not able to effect a landing, being prevented by a surf which they found breaking with violence on a reef of rocks that lay across the principal bay. Lieutenant King had nearly given up all hopes of being able to land, when a small opening was discovered in the reef wide enough to admit a boat, through which he was so fortunate as to get safely with all his people and stores. When landed, he could nowhere find a space clear enough for pitching a tent; and he had to cut through an almost impenetrable wilderness before he could encamp himself and his people. Of the flock he carried with him, he lost the only she-goat he had, and one ewe. He had named the bay wherein he landed and fixed the settlement Sydney Bay, and had given the names of Phillip and Nepean to two small islands which are situated at a small distance from it. Lieutenant King, the commandant, wrote in good spirits, and spoke of meeting all his difficulties like a man determined to overcome them. The soil of the island appeared to be very rich, but the landing dangerous, Sydney Bay being exposed to the southerly winds, with which the surf constantly breaks on the reef. The _Supply_ lost one of her people, who was washed off the reef and drowned. There is a small bay on the other side of the island, but at a distance from the settlement, and no anchoring ground in either. The flax plant (the principal object in view) he had not discovered when the _Supply_ sailed. Lieutenant Ball, soon after he left this harbour, fell in with an uninhabited island in lat. 31 degrees 56 minutes S and in long. 159 degrees 4 minutes East, which he named Lord Howe Island. It is inferior in size to Norfolk Island, but abounded at that time with turtle, (sixteen of which he brought away with him,) as well as with a new species of fowl, and a small brown bird, the flesh of which was very fine eating. These birds were in great abundance, and so unused to such visitors, that they suffered themselves to be knocked down with sticks, as they ran along the beach. Pines, but no small trees, grow on this island, in which there is a good bay, but no anchoring ground. Of the pines at Norfolk Island, one measured nine feet in diameter, and another, that was found lying on the ground, measured 182 feet in length. As the scurvy was at this time making rapid strides in the colony, the hope of being able to procure a check to its effects from the new island, rendered it in every one's opinion a fortunate discovery. The _Scarborough_, _Charlotte_, and _Lady Penrhyn_ transports being cleared, were discharged from government service in the latter end of the month, and the masters left at liberty to proceed on their respective voyages pursuant to the directions of their owners. In the course of this month several convicts came in from the woods; one in particular dangerously wounded with a spear, the others very much beaten and bruised by the natives. The wounded man had been employed cutting rushes for thatching, and one of the others was a convalescent from the hospital, who went out to collect a few vegetables. All these people denied giving any provocation to the natives: it was, however, difficult to believe them; they well knew the consequences that would attend any acts of violence on their part, as it had been declared in public orders early in the month, that in forming the intended settlement, any act of cruelty to the natives being contrary to his Majesty's most gracious intentions, the offenders would be subject to a criminal prosecution; and they well knew that the natives themselves, however injured, could not contradict their assertions. There was, however, too much reason to believe that our people had been the aggressors, as the governor on his return from his excursion to Broken Bay, on landing at Camp Cove, found the natives there who had before frequently come up to him with confidence, unusually shy, and seemingly afraid of him and his party; and one, who after much invitation did venture to approach, pointed to some marks upon his shoulders, making signs they were caused by blows given with a stick. This, and their running away, whereas they had always before remained on the beach until the people landed from the boats, were strong indications that the man had been beaten by some of our stragglers. Eleven canoes full of people passed very near the _Sirius_, which was moored without the two points of the cove, but paddled away very fast upon the approach of some boats toward them. The curiosity of the camp was excited and gratified for a day or two by the sight of an emu, which was shot by the governor's game-killer. It was remarkable by every stem having two feathers proceeding from it. Its height was 7 feet 2 inches, and the flesh was very well flavoured. The run of water that supplied the settlement was observed to be only a drain from a swamp at the head of it; to protect it, therefore, as much as possible from the sun, an order was given out, forbidding the cutting down of any trees within fifty feet of the run, than which there had not yet been a finer found in any one of the coves of the harbour. April.] As the winter of this hemisphere was approaching, it became absolutely necessary to expedite the buildings intended for the detachment; every carpenter that could be procured amongst the convicts was sent to assist, and as many as could be hired from the transports were employed at the hospital and storehouses. The long-boats of the ships still continued to bring up the cabbage-tree from the lower part of the harbour, and a range of huts was begun on the west side for some of the female convicts. Our little camp now began to wear the aspect of distress, from the great number of scorbutic patients that were daily seen creeping to and from the hospital tents; and the principal surgeon suggested the expediency of another supply of turtle from Lord Howe Island: but it was generally thought that the season was too far advanced, and the utmost that could have been procured would have made but a very trifling and temporary change in the diet of those afflicted with the disorder. On the 6th, divine service was performed in the new storehouse, which was covered in, but not sufficiently completed to admit provisions. One hundred feet by twenty-five were the dimensions of this building, which was constructed with great strength; yet the mind was always pained when viewing its reedy combustible covering, remembering the livid flames that had been seen to shoot over every part of this cove: but no other materials could be found to answer the purpose of thatch, and every necessary precaution was taken to guard against accidental fire. An elderly woman, a convict, having been accused of stealing a flat iron, and the iron being found in her possession, the first moment she was left alone she hung herself to the ridge-pole of her tent, but was fortunately discovered and cut down before it was too late. Although several thefts were committed by the convicts, yet it was in general remarked, that they conducted themselves with more propriety than could have been expected from people of their description; to prevent, however, if possible, the commission of offences so prejudicial to the welfare of the colony, his excellency signified to the convicts his resolution that the condemnation of any one for robbing the huts or stores should be immediately followed by their execution. Much of their irregularity was perhaps to be ascribed to the intercourse that subsisted, in spite of punishment, between them and the seamen from the ships of war and the transports, who at least one day in the week found means to get on shore with spirits. Notwithstanding it was the anxious care of every one who could prevent it, that the venereal disease might not be introduced into the settlement, it was not only found to exist amongst the convicts, but the very sufferers themselves were known to conceal their having it. To stop this evil, it was ordered by the governor, that any man or woman having and concealing this disorder should receive corporal punishment, and be put upon a short allowance of provisions for six months. Lieutenant Dawes of the marines was directed in public orders to act as officer of artillery and engineers; in consequence of which the ordnance of the settlement, and the constructing of a small redoubt on the east side, were put under his direction. Mr. Zachariah Clark, who came out of England as agent to Mr. Richards the contractor, was at the same time appointed an assistant to the commissary; and the issuing of the provisions, which was in future to be once a week, was put under his charge. In the course of this month a stone building was begun on the west side for the residence of the lieutenant-governor, one face of which was to be in the principal street of the intended town. The governor, desirous of acquiring a knowledge of the country about the seat of his government, and profiting by the coolness of the weather, made during the month several excursions into the country; in one of which having observed a range of mountains to the westward, and hoping that a river might be found to take its course in their neighbourhood, he set off with a small party, intending if possible to reach them, taking with him six days provisions; but returned without attaining either object of his journey--the mountains, or a river. He penetrated about thirty miles inland, through a country most amply clothed with timber, but in general free from underwood. On the fifth day of his excursion he had, from a rising ground which he named Belle Vue, the only view of the mountains which he obtained during the journey; and as they then appeared at too great a distance to be reached on one day's allowance of provisions, which was all they had left, he determined to return to Sydney Cove. In Port Jackson another branch extending to the northward had been discovered; but as the country surrounding it was high, rocky, and barren, though it might add to the extent and beauty of the harbour, it did not promise to be of any benefit to the settlement. The governor had the mortification to learn on his return from his western expedition, that five ewes and a lamb had been destroyed at the farm in the adjoining cove, supposed to have been killed by dogs belonging to the natives. The number of sheep which were landed in this country were considerably diminished; they were of necessity placed on ground, and compelled to feed on grass, that had never before been exposed to air or sun, and consequently did not agree with them; a circumstance much to be lamented, as without stock the settlement must for years remain dependent on the mother-country for the means of subsistence. CHAPTER III Transactions Transports sail for China The _Supply_ sails for Lord Howe Island Return of stock in the colony in May The _Supply_ returns Transactions A convict wounded Rush-cutters killed by the natives Governor's excursion His Majesty's birthday Behaviour of the convicts Cattle lost Natives Proclamation Earthquake Transports sail for England _Supply_ sails for Norfolk Island Transactions Natives Convicts wounded May.] The month of May opened with the trial, conviction, and execution of James Bennett, a youth of seventeen years of age, for breaking open a tent belonging to the _Charlotte_ transport, and stealing thereout property above the value of five shillings. He confessed that he had often merited death before he committed the crime for which he was then about to suffer, and that a love of idleness and bad connexions had been his ruin. He was executed immediately on receiving his sentence, in the hope of making a greater impression on the convicts than if it had been delayed for a day or two. There being no other shelter for the guard than tents, great inconvenience was found in placing under its charge more than one or two prisoners together. The convicts, therefore, who were confined at the guard until they could be conveyed to the southward, were sent to the Bare Island at the entrance of this cove, where they were to be supplied weekly with provisions from the store, and water from the _Sirius_, until an opportunity offered of sending them away. The three transports sailed on the 5th, 6th, and 7th of this month for China. The _Supply_ also sailed on the 6th for Lord Howe Island, to procure turtle and birds for the settlement, the scurvy continuing to resist every effort that could be made to check its progress by medicine; from the lateness of the season, however, little hope was entertained of her success. The governor having directed every person in the settlement to make a return of what livestock was in his possession, the following appeared to be the total amount of stock in the colony: 1 Stallion 2 Bulls 19 Goats 5 Rabbits 35 Ducks 3 Mares 5 Cows 49 Hogs 18 Turkeys 122 Fowls 3 Colts 29 Sheep 25 Pigs 29 Geese 87 Chickens There having been found among the convicts a person qualified to conduct the business of a bricklayer, a gang of labourers was put under his direction, and most of the huts which grew up in different parts of the cleared ground were erected by them. Another gang of labourers was put under the direction of a stonemason, and on the 15th the first stone of a building, intended for the residence of he governor until the government-house could be erected, was laid on the east side of the cove. The following inscription, engraven on a piece of copper, was placed in the foundation: His Excellency ARTHUR PHILLIP Esq. Governor in Chief and Captain General in and over the Territory of New South Wales, landed in this Cove with the first Settlers of this Country, the 24th Day of January 1788; and on the 15th Day of May in the same Year, being the 28th of the Reign of His present Majesty GEORGE the THIRD, The First of these Stones was laid. The large store-house being completed, and a road made to it from the wharf on the west side, the provisions were directed to be landed from the victuallers, and proper gangs of convicts placed to roll them to the store. Carpenters were now employed in covering in that necessary building the hospital, the shingles for the purpose being all prepared; these were fastened to the roof (which was very strong) by pegs made by the female convicts. The timber that had been cut down proved in general very unfit or the purpose of building, the trees being for the most part decayed, and when cut down were immediately warped and split by the heat of the sun. A species of pine appeared to be the best, and was chiefly used in the frame-work of houses, and in covering the roofs, the wood splitting easily into shingles. The _Supply_ returned in the afternoon of the 25th from Lord Howe Island, without having procured any turtle, the weather being much too cold and the season too late to find them so far to the southward. To the southward and eastward of Lord Howe Island there is a rock, which may be seen at the distance of eighteen leagues, and which from its shape Lieutenant Ball has named Ball Pyramid. On the 26th a soldier and a sailor were tried by the criminal court of judicature for assaulting and dangerously wounding James McNeal, a seaman. These people belonged to the _Sirius_, and were employed on the island where the ship's company had their garden, the seamen in cultivating the ground, and the soldier in protecting them; for which purpose he had his firelock with him. They all lived together in a hut that was built for them, and on the evening preceding the assault had received their week's allowance of spirits, with which they intoxicated themselves, and quarrelled. They were found guilty of the assault, and, as pecuniary damages were out of the question, were each sentenced to receive five hundred lashes. Farther and still more unpleasant consequences of the ill-treatment which the natives received from our people were felt during this month. On the evening of the 21st a convict belonging to the farm on the east side was brought into the hospital, very dangerously wounded with a barbed spear, which entered about the depth of three inches into his back, between the shoulders. The account he gave of the transaction was, that having strayed to a cove beyond the farm with another man, who did not return with him, he was suddenly wounded with a spear, not having seen any natives until he received the wound. His companion ran away when the natives came up, who stripped him of all his clothes but his trousers, which they did not take, and then left him to crawl into the camp. A day or two afterwards the clothes of the man that was missing were brought in, torn, bloody, and pierced with spears; so that there was every reason to suppose that the poor wretch had fallen a sacrifice to his own folly and the barbarity of the natives. On the 30th an officer, who had been collecting rushes in a cove up the harbour, found and brought to the hospital the bodies of two convicts who had been employed for some time in cutting rushes there, pierced through in many places with spears, and the head of one beaten to a jelly. As it was improbable that these murders should be committed without provocation, inquiry was made, and it appeared that these unfortunate men had, a few days previous to their being found, taken away and detained a canoe belonging to the natives, for which act of violence and injustice they paid with their lives. Notwithstanding these circumstances, a party of natives in their canoes went alongside the _Sirius_, and some submitted to the operation of shaving: after which they landed on the western point of the cove, where they examined every thing they saw with the greatest attention, and went away peaceably, and apparently were not under any apprehension of resentment on our parts for the murders above-mentioned. June.] The governor, however, on hearing that the two rushcutters had been killed, thought it absolutely necessary to endeavour to find out, and, if possible, secure the people who killed them; for which purpose he set off with a strong party well armed, and landed in the cove where their bodies had been found; whence he struck across the country to Botany Bay, where on the beach he saw about fifty canoes, but none of their owners. In a cove on the sea-side, between Botany Bay and Port Jackson, he suddenly fell in with an armed party of natives, in number between two and three hundred, men, women, and children. With these a friendly intercourse directly took place, and some spears, etc. were exchanged for hatchets; but the murderers of the rush-cutters, if they were amongst them, could not be discovered in the crowd. The governor hoped to have found the people still at the place where the men had been killed, in which case he would have endeavoured to secure some of them; but, not having any fixed residence, they had, perhaps, left the spot immediately after glutting their sanguinary resentment. His Majesty's birthday was kept with every attention that it was possible to distinguish it by in this country; the morning was ushered in by the discharge of twenty-one guns from the _Sirius_ and _Supply_; on shore the colours were hoisted at the flag-staff, and at noon the detachment of marines fired three volleys; after which the officers of the civil and military establishment waited upon the governor, and paid their respects to his excellency in honor of the day. At one o'clock the ships of war again fired twenty-one guns each; and the transports in the cove made up the same number between them, according to their irregular method on those occasions. The officers of the navy and settlement were entertained by the governor at dinner, and, among other toasts, named and fixed the boundaries of the first _county_ in his Majesty's territory of New South Wales. This was called Cumberland County, in honor of his Majesty's second brother; and the limits of it to the northward were fixed by the northernmost point of Broken Bay, to the southward by the southernmost point of Broken [sic] Bay, and to the westward by Lansdown and Carmarthen Hills (the name given to the range of mountains seen by the governor in an excursion to the northward). At sunset the ships of war paid their last compliment to his Majesty by a third time firing twenty-one guns each. At night several bonfires were lighted; and, by an allowance of spirits given on this particular occasion, every person in the colony was enabled to drink his Majesty's health. Some of the worst among the convicts availed themselves of the opportunity that was given them in the evening, by the absence of several of the officers and people from their tents and huts, to commit depredations. One officer on going to his tent found a man in it, whom with some difficulty he secured, after wounding him with his sword. The tent of another was broken into, and several articles of wearing apparel stolen out of it; and many smaller thefts of provisions and clothing were committed among the convicts. Several people were taken into custody, and two were afterwards tried and executed. One of these had absconded, and lived in the woods for nineteen days, existing by what he was able to procure by nocturnal depredations among the huts and stock of individuals. His visits for this purpose were so frequent and daring, that it became absolutely necessary to proclaim him an outlaw, as well as to declare that no person must harbour him after such proclamation. Exemplary punishments seemed about this period to be growing daily more necessary. Stock was often killed, huts and tents broke open, and provisions constantly stolen about the latter end of the week; for among the convicts there were many who knew not how to husband their provisions through the seven days they were intended to serve them, but were known to have consumed the whole at the end of the third or fourth day. One of this description made his week's allowance of flour (eight pounds) into eighteen cakes, which he devoured at one meal; he was soon after taken speechless and senseless, and died the following day at the hospital, a loathsome putrid object. The obvious consequence of this want of economy was, that he who had three days to live, and nothing to live on, before the store would be again open to supply his wants, must steal from those who had been more provident. Had a few persons been sent out who were not of the description of convicts, to have acted as overseers, or superintendants, regulations for their internal economy, as well in the articles of clothing as provisions, might have been formed which would have prevented these evils: it would then too have been more practicable to detect them in selling or exchanging the slops which they received, and their provisions would have been subject to a daily inspection. But overseers drawn from among themselves were found not to have that influence which was so absolutely necessary to carry any regulation into effect. And although the convicts, previous to the birthday, were assembled, and their duty pointed out to them, as well as the certain consequence of a breach or neglect thereof, both by his excellency the governor and the lieutenant-governor, yet it soon appeared that there were some among them so inured to the habits of vice, and so callous to remonstrance, that they were only restrained until a favourable opportunity presented itself. The convicts who had been sent to the rock, in the hope that lenity to them might operate also upon others, were, on the occasion of his Majesty's birthday, liberated from their chains and confinement, and his excellency forgave the offences of which they had been respectively guilty, and which had occasioned their being sent thither. By some strange and unpardonable neglect in the convict who had been entrusted with the care of the cattle, the two bulls and four cows were lost in the beginning of this month. The man had been accustomed to drive them out daily to seek the freshest grass and best pasturage, and was ordered never on any pretence to leave them. To this order, as it afterwards appeared, he very seldom attended, frequently coming in from the woods about noon to get his dinner, leaving them grazing at some little distance from the farm where they were kept; and in this manner they were lost. They had strayed from the spot he expected to find them on, or perhaps had been driven from it by the natives, and he spent two days in searching for them before the governor was made acquainted with the accident. Several parties were successively sent out to endeavour the recovery of stock so essential to the colony; but constantly returned without success. On the 27th a party of the natives, supposed to be in number from twenty to thirty, landed at the point on the east side of the cove, between the hours of eleven and twelve at night, and proceeded along close by the sentinels, stopping for some time at the spot where the governor's house was building, and in the rear of the tents inhabited by some of the women. It was said that they appeared alarmed on hearing the sentinels call out 'All is well,' and, after standing there for some time, went off toward the run of water. The sentinels were very positive that they saw them, and were minute in their relation of the above circumstances; notwithstanding which, it was conjectured by many to be only the effect of imagination. It is true, the natives might have chosen that hour of the night to gratify a curiosity that would naturally be excited on finding that we still resided among them; and perhaps for the purpose of observing whether we all passed the night in sleep. The cold weather which we had at this time of the year was observed to affect our fishing, and the natives themselves appeared to be in great want. An old man belonging to them was found on the beach of one of the coves, almost starved to death. It having been reported, that one of the natives who had stolen a jacket from a convict had afterwards been killed or wounded by him in an attempt to recover it, the governor issued a proclamation, promising a free pardon, with remission of the sentence of transportation, to such male or female convict as should give information of any such offender or offenders, so that he or they might be brought to trial, and prosecuted to conviction; but no discovery was made in consequence of this offer. In the afternoon of the 22nd a slight shock of an earthquake was observed, which lasted two or three seconds, and was accompanied with a distant noise like the report of cannon, coming from the southward; the shock was local, and so slight that many people did not feel it. July.] The _Alexander_, _Prince of Wales_, and _Friendship_ transports, with the _Borrowdale_ storeship, having completed their preparations for sea, sailed together on the 14th of the month for England. Two officers from the detachment of marines, Lieutenant Maxwell and Lieutenant Collins, were embarked as passengers; these gentlemen having obtained permission to return to Europe for the recovery of their healths, which had been in a bade state from the time of their arrival in the country. The following report was made by the principal surgeon, of the state of the sick in the settlement, at the time of the departure of the ships: The number of marines under medical treatment were 36 The number of convicts under medical treatment were 66 Convicts unfit for labour from old age and infirmities 52 And if idleness might have been taken into the account, as well it might, since many were thereby rendered of very little service to the colony, the number would have been greatly augmented. It was now necessary to think of Norfolk Island; and on the 20th the _Supply_ sailed with stores and provisions for that settlement. Only two transports remained of the fleet that came out from England; these were the _Golden Grove_ and _Fishburn_, and preparations were making for clearing and discharging them from government service. The people were employed in constructing a cellar on the west side for receiving the spirits which were on board the _Fishburn_, and in landing provisions from the _Golden Grove_, which were stowed in the large storehouse by some seamen belonging to the _Sirius_, under the inspection of the master of that ship. From the nature of the materials with which most of the huts occupied by the convicts were covered in, many accidents happened by fire, whereby the labour of several people was lost, who had again to seek shelter for themselves, and in general had to complain of the destruction of provisions and clothing. To prevent this, an order was given, prohibiting the building of chimneys in future in such huts as were thatched. Several thefts were committed by and among the convicts. Wine was stolen from the hospital, and some of those who had the care of it were taken upon suspicion and tried, but for want of sufficient evidence were acquitted. There was such a tenderness in these people to each other's guilt, such an acquaintance with vice and the different degrees of it, that unless they were detected in the fact, it was generally next to impossible to bring an offence home to them. As there was, however, little doubt, though no positive proof of their guilt, they were removed from the hospital, and placed under the direction of the officer who was then employed in constructing a small redoubt on the east side. The natives, who had been accustomed to assist our people in hauling the seine, and were content to wait for such reward as the person who had the direction of the boat thought proper to give them, either driven by hunger, or moved by some other cause, came down to the cove where they were fishing, and, perceiving that they had been more successful than usual, took by force about half of what had been brought on shore. They were all armed with spears and other weapons, and made their attack with some show of method, having a party stationed in the rear with their spears poised, in readiness to throw, if any resistance had been made. To prevent this in future, it was ordered that a petty officer should go in the boats whenever they were sent down the harbour. No precautions, however, that could be taken, or orders that were given, to prevent accidents happening by misconduct on our part, had any weight with the convicts. On the evening of the 27th one of them was brought in wounded by the natives. He had left the encampment with another convict, to gather vegetables, and, contrary to the orders which had been repeatedly given, went nearly as far as Botany Bay, where they fell in with a party of the natives, who made signs to them to go back, which they did, but unfortunately ran different ways. This being observed by the natives, they threw their spears at them. One of them was fortunate enough to escape unhurt, but the other received two spears in him, one entering a little above his left ear, the other in his breast. He took to an arm of the bay, which, notwithstanding his wounds, he swam across, and reported that the natives stood on the bank laughing at him. Much credit, indeed, was not to be given to any of their accounts; but it must be remarked, that every accident that had happened was occasioned by a breach of positive orders repeatedly given. Still, notwithstanding this appearance of hostility in some of the natives, others were more friendly. In one of the adjoining coves resided a family of them, who were visited by large parties of the convicts of both sexes on those days in which they were not wanted for labour, where they danced and sung with apparent good humour, and received such presents as they could afford to make them; but none of them would venture back with their visitors. CHAPTER IV Heavy rains Public works Sheep stolen Prince of Wale's birthday Fish Imposition of a convict Natives Apprehensive of a failure of provisions Natives Judicial administration A convict murdered August.] All public labour was suspended for many days in the beginning of the month of August by heavy rain; and the work of much time was also rendered fruitless by its effects; the brick-kiln fell in more than once, and bricks to a large amount were destroyed; the roads about the settlement were rendered impassable; and some of the huts were so far injured, as to require nearly as much labour to repair them as to build them anew. It was not until the 14th of the month, when the weather cleared up, that the people were again able to work. The public works then in hand were, the barracks for the marine detachment; an observatory on the west point of the cove; the houses erecting for the governor and the lieutenant-governor; and the shingling of the hospital. Thefts among the convicts during the bad weather were frequent; and a sheep was stolen from the farm on the east side a few nights prior to the birthday of his royal highness the Prince of Wales, for celebrating of which it had been for some time kept separate from the others and fattened; and although a proclamation was issued by the governor offering a pardon, and the highest reward his excellency could offer, emancipation, to any male or female convict who should discover the person or persons concerned in the felony, except the person who actually stole or killed the sheep, no information was given that could lead to a discovery of the perpetrators of this offence. The anniversary of the Prince of Wales's birth was observed by a cessation from all kinds of labour. At noon the troops fired three volleys at the flag-staff on the east side, after which the governor received the compliments usual on this occasion. The _Sirius_ fired a royal salute at one o'clock, and a public dinner was given by the governor. Bonfires were lighted on each side of the cove at night, with which the ceremonies of the day concluded. It had been imagined in England, that some, if not considerable savings of provisions might be made, by the quantities of fish that it was supposed would be taken; but nothing like an equivalent for the ration that was issued to the colony for a single day had ever been brought up. We were informed, that the French ships, while in Botany Bay, had met with one very successful haul of large fish, that more than amply supplied both ships companies; but our people were not so fortunate. Fish enough was sometimes taken to supply about two hundred persons; but the quantity very rarely exceeded this. Three sting-rays were taken this month, two of which weighed each about three hundred weight, and were distributed amongst the people. His royal highness Prince William Henry's birthday was distinguished by displaying the colours at the flag-staff; and this compliment was paid to other branches of the royal family whose birthdays were not directed to be observed with more ceremony. On the 26th the _Supply_ returned from Norfolk Island, having been absent five weeks and two days. From the commandant the most favourable accounts were received of the richness and depth of the soil and salubrity of the climate, having been visited with very little rain, or thunder and lightning. His search after the flax-plant had been successful; where he had cleared the ground he found it growing spontaneously and luxuriant: a small species of plaintain also had been discovered. His gardens promised an ample supply of vegetables; but his seed-wheat, having been heated in the long passage to this country, turned out to be damaged, and did not vegetate. The landing was found to be very dangerous, and he had the misfortune to lose Mr. Cunningham, the midshipman, with three people, and the boat they were in, by the surf on the reef, a few days before the _Supply _sailed. Short, however, as the time was, the carpenter of chat vessel replaced the boat by building him a coble of the timber of the island, constructed purposely for going without the reef, and for the hazardous employ she must often be engaged in. The settlement at Sydney Cove was for some time amused with an account of the existence and discovery of a gold mine; and the impostor had ingenuity enough to impose a fabricated tale on several of the officers for truth. He pretended to have found it at some distance down the harbour; and, offering to conduct an officer to the spot, a boat was provided; but immediately on landing, having previously prevailed on the officer to send away the boat, to prevent his discovery being made public to more than one person, he made a pretence to leave him, and, reaching the settlement some hours before the officer, reported that he had been sent up by him for a guard. The fellow knew too well the consequences that would follow on the officer's arrival to wait for that, and therefore set off directly into the woods, whence he returned the day following, when he was punished with fifty lashes for his imposition. Still, however, persisting that he had discovered a metal, a specimen of which he produced, the governor, who was absent from the settlement at the opening of the business, but had now returned, ordered him to be taken again down the harbour, with directions to his adjutant to land him on the place the man should point out, and keep him in his sight; but on being assured by that officer, that if he attempted to deceive him he would put him to death, the man saved him the trouble of going far with him, and confessed that his story of having discovered a gold mine was a falsehood which he had propagated the hope of imposing on the people belonging to the _Fishburn_ and _Golden Grove_, from whom, being about to prepare for Europe, he expected to procure cloathing and other articles in return for his promised gold-dust; and that he had fabricated the specimens of the metal which he had exhibited, from a guinea and a brass buckle; the remains of which he then produced. For this imposture he was afterwards ordered by the magistrates before whom he was examined to receive a hundred lashes, and to wear a canvas frock, with the letter R cut and sewn upon it, to distinguish him more particularly from others as a rogue. Among the people of his own description, there were many who believed, notwithstanding his confession and punishment, that he had actually made the discovery he pretended, and was induced to say it was a fabrication merely to secure it to himself, to make use of at a future opportunity. So easy is it to impose on the minds of the lower class of people! The natives continued to molest our people whenever they chanced to meet any of them straggling and unarmed; yet, although forcibly warned by the evil and danger that attended their straggling, the latter still continued to give the natives opportunity of injuring them. About the middle of the month a convict, who had wandered beyond the limits of security which had been pointed out for them, fell in with a party of natives, about fourteen in number, who stripped and beat him shockingly, and would have murdered him had they not heard the report of a musket, which alarming them, they ran away, leaving him his clothes. On the 21st a party of natives landed from five canoes, near the point where the observatory was building, where, some of them engaging the attention of the officers and people at the observatory, the others attempted forcibly to take off a goat from the people at the hospital; in which attempt finding themselves resisted by a seaman who happened to be present, they menaced him with their spears, and, on his retiring, killed the animal and took it off in a canoe, making off toward Long Cove with much expedition. They were followed immediately by the governor, who got up with some of the party, but could neither recover the goat, nor meet with the people who had killed it. It was much to be regretted, that none of them would place a confidence in and reside among us; as in such case, by an exchange of languages, they would have found that we had the most friendly intention toward them, and that we would ourselves punish any injury they might sustain from our people. September.] The seed-wheat that was sown here did not turn out any better than that at Norfolk Island; in some places the ground was twice cropped, and there was reason to apprehend a failure of seed for the next year. The governor, therefore, early in this month, signified his intention of sending the _Sirius_ to the Cape of Good Hope, to procure a sufficient quantity of grain for that purpose; together with as much flour for the settlement as she could stow, after laying in a twelvemonth's provisions for her ship's company. Her destination was intended to have been to the northward; but on making a calculation, and comparing the accounts of those navigators who had procured refreshments among the islands, it was found, that although she might provide very well for herself, yet, after an absence of three or four months, which would be the least time she would be gone, she could not bring more than would support the colony for a fortnight. At the same time his excellency made known his intention of establishing a settlement on some ground which he had seen at the head of this harbour when he made his excursion to the westward in April last, and which, from its form, he had named the Crescent. This measure appeared the more expedient, as the soil in and about the settlement seemed to be very indifferent and unproductive, and by no means so favourable for the growth of grain as that at the Crescent. The _Sirius_ was therefore ordered to prepare for her voyage with all expedition; and as she would be enabled to stow a greater quantity of flour by not taking all her guns, eight of them were landed on the west point of the cove, and a small breast-work thrown up in front of them. The master of the _Golden Grove_ storeship also was ordered to prepare for sea, the governor intending to employ that ship in taking provisions and stores, with a party of convicts, to Norfolk Island. The stores of the detachment having been kept on board the _Sirius_ until a building could be erected for their reception, and a storehouse for that purpose being now ready, they were removed on shore. Two boats, one of eight and another of sixteen oars, having been sent out in frame for the use of the settlement, the carpenter of the _Supply_ was employed in putting them together during that vessel's day in port, and one of them, the eight-oared boat, was got into the water this month; but the want of a schooner or two, of from thirty to forty tons burden, to be employed in surveying this coast, was much felt and lamented. We had now given up all hope of recovering the cattle which were so unfortunately lost in May last; and the only cow that remained not being at that time with calf, and having since become wild and dangerous, the lieutenant-governor, whose property she was, directed her to be killed; she was accordingly shot at his farm, it being found impracticable to secure and slaughter her in the common way. About the middle of September several canoes passed the _Sirius_, and above 30 natives landed from them at the observatory or western point of the cove. They were armed, and, it was imagined, intended to take off some sheep from thence; but, if this was their intention, they were prevented by the appearance of two gentlemen who happened to be there unarmed; and, after throwing some stones, they took to their canoes and paddled off. On the 25th the people in the fishing-boat reported that several spears were thrown at them by some of the natives; for no other reason, than that, after giving them freely what small fish they had taken, they refused them a large one which attracted their attention. On the 30th one midshipman and two seamen from the _Sirius_, one sergeant, one corporal, and five private marines, and twenty-one male and eleven female convicts, embarked on board the _Golden Grove_ for Norfolk Island, and the day following she dropped down, with his Majesty's ship _Sirius_, to Camp Cove, whence both ships sailed on the 2nd of October. October.] Captain Hunter, having been sworn as a magistrate soon after the arrival of the fleet, continued to act in that capacity until his departure for the Cape of Good Hope, sitting generally once a week, with the judge-advocate and the surveyor-general, to inquire into petty offences. Saturday was commonly set apart for these examinations; that day being given to the convicts for the purpose of collecting vegetables and attending to their huts and gardens. The detachment also finding it convenient to collect vegetables, and being obliged to go for them as far as Botany Bay, the convicts were ordered to avail themselves of the protection they might find by going in company with an armed party; an never, upon any account, to straggle from the soldiers, or go to Botany Bay without them, on pain of severe punishment. Notwithstanding this order and precaution, however, a convict, who had been looked upon as a good man (no complaint having been made of him since his landing, either for dishonesty or idleness), having gone out with an armed party to procure vegetables at Botany Bay, straggled from them, though repeatedly cautioned against it, and was killed by the natives. On the return of the soldiers from the bay, he was found lying dead in the path, his head beat to a Jelly, a spear driven through it, another through his body, and one arm broken. Some people were immediately sent out to bury him; and in the course of the month the parties who went by the spot for vegetables three times reported that his body was above ground, having been, it was supposed, torn up by the natives' dogs. This poor wretch furnished another instance of the consequences that attended a disobedience of orders which had been purposely given to prevent these accidents; and as nothing of the kind was known to happen, but where a neglect and contempt of all order was first shown, every misfortune of the kind might be attributed, not to the manners and disposition of the natives, but to the obstinacy and ignorance of our people. On the departure of the _Sirius_, one pound of flour was deducted from the weekly ration of those who received the full proportion, and two-thirds of a pound from such as were at two-thirds allowance. The settlement was to continue at this ration until the return of the _Sirius_, which was expected not to exceed six months. But public labour was not affected by this reduction. The cellar being completed and ready for the reception of the spirits that were on board the _Fishburn_, they were landed from that ship; and she, being cleared and discharged from government employ, hove down, and prepared for her return to England. A gang of convicts were employed in rolling timber together, to form a bridge over the stream at the head of the cove; and such other public works as were in hand went on as usual; those employed on them in general barely exerting themselves beyond what was necessary to avoid immediate punishment for idleness. A warrant having about this time been granted by the governor, for the purpose of assembling a general court-martial, a defect was discovered in the marine mutiny act; and it was determined by the officers, that, as marine officers, they could not sit under any other than a warrant from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. The marines are so far distinct from his Majesty's land forces, that while on shore in any part of his Majesty's dominions, they are regulated by an act of parliament passed expressly for their guidance; and when it was found necessary to employ a corps of marines during the late war in America, they were included in the mutiny act passed for his Majesty's forces employed in that country. This provision having been neglected on the departure of the expedition for this country, and not being discovered until the very instant when it was wanted, all that could be done was to state their situation to the governor, which they did on the 13th. and at the same time requested, 'That they might be understood to be acting only in conformity with an act of the British legislature, passed expressly for their regulation while on shore in any part of his Majesty's dominions; and that they had not in any shape been wanting in the respect that belonged to the high authority of his Majesty's commission, or to the officer invested with it in this country.' On the 24th a party of natives, meeting a convict who had straggled from the settlement to a fence that some people were making for the purpose of inclosing stock, threw several spears at him; but, fortunately, without doing him any injury. The governor, on being made acquainted with the circumstance, immediately went to the spot with an armed party, where some of them being heard among the bushes, they were fired at; it having now become absolutely necessary to compel them to keep at a greater distance from the settlement. CHAPTER V Settlement of Rose Hill The _Golden Grove_ returns from Norfolk Island The storeships sail for England Transactions James Daley tried and executed for housebreaking Botany Bay examined by the governor A convict found dead in the woods Christmas Day A native taken and brought up to the settlement Weather Climate Report of deaths from the departure of the fleet from England to the 31st of December 1788 November.] The month of November commenced with the establishment of a settlement at the head of the harbour. On the 2nd, his excellency the governor went up to the Crescent, with the surveyor-general, two officers, and a small party of marines, to choose the spot, and to mark out the ground for a redoubt and other necessary buildings; and two days after a party of ten convicts, being chiefly people who understood the business of cultivation, were sent up to him, and a spot upon a rising ground, which his excellency named Rose Hill, in compliment to G. Rose Esq. one of the secretaries of the treasury, was ordered to be cleared for the first habitations. The soil at this spot was of a stiff clayey nature, free from that rock which every where covered the surface at Sydney Cove, well clothed with timber, and unobstructed by underwood. The party of convicts having, during the course of the month, been gradually increased, the subaltern's command was augmented by a captain with an additional number of private men; and it being found necessary that the commanding officer should be vested with civil power and authority sufficient to inflict corporal punishment on the convicts for idleness and other petty offences, the governor constituted him a justice of the peace for the county of Cumberland for that purpose. 10th. While this little settlement was establishing itself, the _Golden Grove_ returned from Norfolk Island, having been absent five weeks and four days. It brought letters from Lieutenant King, the commandant, who wrote in very favourable terms of his young colony. His people continued healthy, having fish and vegetables in abundance; by the former of which he was enabled to save some of his salted provisions. He had also the promise of a good crop from the grain which had been last sown, and his gardens wore the most flourishing appearance. A coconut perfectly fresh, and a piece of wood said to resemble the handle of a fly-flap as made at the Friendly Islands, together with the remains of two canoes, had been found among the rocks, perhaps blown from some island which might lie at no great distance. The _Golden Grove_, on her return to this port, saw a very dangerous reef, the south end of which, according to the observation of Mr. Blackburn (the master of the _Supply_) who commanded her for the voyage, lay in the latitude of 29 degrees 25 minutes South, and longitude 159 degrees 29 minutes East. It appeared to extend, when she was about four leagues from it, from the NE by N to N. The _Golden Grove_ brought from Norfolk Island a lower yard and a top-gallant-mast for herself, and the like for the _Fishburn_. A soldier belonging to the detachment, who was employed with some others in preparing shingles at a little distance from the settlement, was reported by his comrades, toward the latter end of last month, to be missing from the hut or tent, and parties were sent out in search of him; but returning constantly without success, he was at length given up; and a convict who was employed in assisting the party, and who had been the last person seen with him, was taken into custody; but on his examination nothing appeared that could at all affect him. Another soldier of the detachment died at the hospital of the bruises he received in fighting with one of his comrades, who was, with three others, taken into custody, and afterward tried upon a charge of murder, but found guilty of manslaughter. Instead of burning in the hand, (which would not have been in this country an adequate punishment), each was sentenced to receive two hundred lashes. The two storeships sailed for England on the 19th. By these ships the governor sent home dispatches, and he strongly recommended to the masters to make their passage round by the south cape of this country; but it was conjectured that they intended to go round Cape Horn, and touch at Rio de Janeiro. The small redoubt that was begun in July last being finished, a flag-staff was erected, and two pieces of iron ordnance placed in it. In order to prevent, if possible, the practice of thieving, which at times was very frequent, an order was given, directing that no convict, who should in future be found guilty of theft, should be supplied with any other clothing than a canvas frock and trousers. It was at the same time ordered, that such convicts as should in future fail to perform a day's labour, should receive only two thirds of the ration that was issued to those who could and did work. Unimportant as these circumstances may appear when detailed at a distance from the time when they were necessary, they yet serve to show the nature of the people by whom this colony (whatever may be its fate) was first founded; as well as the attention that was paid by those in authority, and the steps taken by them, for establishing good order and propriety among them, and for eradicating villany and idleness. December.] James Daley, the convict who in August pretended to have discovered an inexhaustible source of wealth, and was punished for his imposition, was observed from that time to neglect his labour, and to loiter about from hut to hut, while others were at work. He was at last taken up and tried for breaking into a house, and stealing all the property he could find in it; of this offence he was convicted, and suffered death; the governor not thinking him an object of mercy. Before he was turned off, he confessed that he had committed several thefts, to which he had been induced by bad connections, and pointed out two women who had received part of the property for the acquisition of which he was then about to pay so dear a price. These women were immediately apprehended, and one of them made a public example of, to deter others from offending in the like manner. The convicts being all assembled for muster, she was directed to stand forward, and, her head having been previously deprived of its natural covering, she was clothed with a canvas frock, on which was painted, in large characters, R. S. G. (receiver of stolen goods) and threatened with punishment if ever she was seen without it. This was done in the hope that shame might operate, at least with the female part of the prisoners, to the prevention of crimes; but a great number of both sexes had too long been acquainted with each other in scenes of disgrace, for this kind of punishment to work much reformation among them. This, however, must be understood to be spoken only of the lowest class of these people, among whom the commission of offences was chiefly found to exist; for there were convicts of both sexes who were never known to associate with the common herd, and whose conduct was marked by attention to their labour, and obedience to the orders they received. On the 11th, the governor set off with a small party in boats, to examine the different branches of Botany Bay, and, after an excursion of five days, returned well satisfied that no part of that extensive bay was adapted to the purpose of a settlement; thus fully confirming the reports he had received from others, and the opinions he had himself formed. A convict having been found dead in the woods near the settlement, an enquiry into the cause of his death was made by the provost-marshal; when it appeared from the evidence of Mr. Balmain, one of the assistant-surgeons who attended to open him, and of the people who lived with the deceased, that he died through want of nourishment, and through weakness occasioned by the heat of the sun. It appeared that he had not for more than a week past eaten his allowance of provisions, the whole being found in his box. It was proved by those who knew him, that he was accustomed to deny himself even what was absolutely necessary to his existence, abstaining from his provisions, and selling them for money, which he was reserving, and had somewhere concealed, in order to purchase his passage to England when his time should expire. Mr. Reid, the carpenter of the _Supply_, now undertook the construction of a boat-house on the east side, for the purpose of building, with the timber of this country, a launch or hoy, capable of being employed in conveying provisions to Rose Hill, and for other useful and necessary purposes. The working convicts were employed on Saturdays, until ten o'clock in the forenoon, in forming a landing-place on the east side of the cove. At the point on the west side, a magazine was marked out, to be constructed of stone, and large enough to contain fifty or sixty barrels of powder. Christmas Day was observed with proper ceremony. Mr. Johnson preached a sermon adapted to the occasion, and the major part of the officers of the settlement were afterward entertained at dinner by the governor. It being remarked with concern, that the natives were becoming every day more troublesome and hostile, several people having been wounded, and others, who were necessarily employed in the woods, driven in and much alarmed by them, the governor determined on endeavouring to seize and bring into the settlement, one or two of those people, whose language it was become absolutely necessary to acquire, that they might learn to distinguish friends from enemies. Accordingly, on the 30th a young man was seized and brought up by Lieutenant Ball of the _Supply_, and Lieutenant George Johnston of the marines. A second was taken; but, after dragging into the water beyond his depth the man who seized him, he got clear off. The native who was secured was immediately on his landing led up to the governor's, where he was clothed, a slight iron or manacle put upon his wrist, and a trusty convict appointed to take care of him. A small hut had been previously built for his reception close to the guardhouse, wherein he and his keeper were locked up at night; and the following morning the convict reported, that he slept very well during the night, not offering to make any attempt to get away. The weather, during the month of December, was for the first part hot and close; the middle was fine; the latter variable, but mostly fine--upon the whole the month was very hot. The climate was allowed by every one, medical as well as others, to be fine and salubrious. The rains were heavy, and appeared to fall chiefly on or about the full and change of the moon. Thunder and lightning at times had been severe, but not attended with any bad effects since the month of February last. The following report of the casualties which had happened from the day of our leaving England to the 31st of December 1788, was given in at this time, viz. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Casualties from May 13, 1787, Garrison Convicts to December 31, 1788 Man Woman Child Man Woman Child Total --------------------------------------------------------------------- Died on the passage, from May 13, 1787, to Januarv 26, 1788, 1 1 1 20 4 9 36 Died between January 26, 1788, and January 1, 1789, 5 0 1 28 13 9 56 Killed by the natives in the above time, 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 Executed in the above time, 0 0 0 5 0 0 5 Missing in the above time, 1 0 0 12 1 0 14 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 7 1 2 69 18 18 115 --------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER VI New Year's Day Convicts, how employed Their disposition to idleness and vice Her Majesty's birthday kept Natives Captain Shea dies Regulations respecting the convicts Instances of their misconduct Transactions The _Supply_ sails for Norfolk Island Public Works Natives Convicts killed Stores robbed The _Supply_ returns Insurrection projected at Norfolk Island Hurricane there Transactions at Rose Hill 1789.] January.] The first day of the new year was marked as a holiday by a suspension of all kinds of labour, and by hoisting the colours at the fort. The ration of provisions, though still less by a pound of flour than the proper allowance, was yet so sufficient as not to be complained of, nor was labour diminished by it. Upon a calculation of the different people employed for the public in cultivation, it appeared, that of all the numbers in the colony there were only two hundred and fifty so employed--a very small number indeed to procure the means of rendering the colony independent of the mother-country for the necessaries of life. The rest were occupied in carrying on various public works, such as stores, houses, wharfs, etc. A large number were incapable, through age or infirmities, of being called out to labour in the public grounds; and the civil establishment, the military, females, and children, filled up the catalogue of those unassisting in cultivation. The soil immediately about the settlement was found to be of too sandy a nature to give much promise of yielding a sufficient produce even for the small quantity of stock it possessed. At Rose Hill the prospect was better; indeed whatever expectations could be formed of successful cultivation in this country rested as yet in that quarter. But the convicts by no means exerted themselves to the utmost; they foolishly conceived, that they had no interest in the success of their labour; and, if left to themselves, would at any time rather have lived in idleness, and depended upon the public stores for their daily support so long as they had any thing in them, than have contributed, by the labour of their hands, to secure themselves whereon to exist when those stores should be exhausted. Idleness, however, was not the only vice to be complained of in these people. Thefts were frequent among them; and one fellow, who, after committing a robbery ran into the woods, and from thence coming at night into the settlement committed several depredations upon individuals, and one upon the public stores, was at length taken and executed, in the hope of holding out an example to others. His thefts had been so frequent and daring, that it became necessary to offer a reward of one pound of flour to be given weekly, in addition to the ration then issued, for his apprehension. Another convict, named Ruglass, was tried for stabbing Ann Fowles, a woman with whom he cohabited, and sentenced to receive seven hundred lashes, half of which were inflicted on him while the other unhappy wretch was suffering the execution of his sentence. The 19th was observed as the birthday of her Majesty; the colours were displayed at sunrise; at noon the detachment of marines fired three rounds; after which the governor received the compliments of the day; and at one o'clock the _Supply_, the only vessel in the country, fired twenty-one guns. The governor entertained the officers at dinner, and the day concluded with a bonfire, for which the country afforded abundant materials. A day or two after this the place was agitated by a report that a great gun had been fired at sea; but on sending a boat down without the harbour's mouth, nothing was seen there that could confirm a report which every one anxiously wished might be true. A boat having been sent down the harbour with some people to cut rushes, a party of natives came to the beach while they were so employed, and took three of their jackets out of the boat. On discovering this theft, the cockswain pursued a canoe with two men in it as far as a small island that lay just by, where the natives landed, leaving the canoe at the rocks. This the cockswain took away, contrary to an order, which had been made very public, on no account to touch a canoe, or any thing belonging to a native, and towed it to the bay where they had been cutting rushes. The natives returned to the same place unobserved, and, while the cockswain and his people were collecting what rushes they had cut, threw a spear at the cockswain, which wounded him in the arm, notwithstanding they must have known that at that time we had one of their people in our possession, on whom the injury might be retaliated. He, poor fellow, did not seem to expect any such treatment from us, and began to seem reconciled to his situation. He was taken down the harbour once or twice, to let his friends see that he was alive, and had some intercourse with them which appeared to give him much satisfaction. For fifteen days of this month the thermometer rose in the shade above eighty degrees. Once on the 8th, at one in the afternoon, it stood at 105 degrees in the shade. February 2nd.] Captain John Shea, of the marines, who had been for a considerable time in a declining state of health, died, and was interred with military honours the day following; the governor and every officer of the settlement attending his funeral. The major commandant of the detachment shortly after filled up the vacancy which this officer's death had occasioned by appointing Captain Lieutenant Meredith to the company; and First Lieutenant George Johnston succeeded to the captain-lieutenancy. Second Lieutenant Ralph Clarke was appointed a First, and volunteer John Ross a Second Lieutenant; but their commissions were still to receive the confirmation of the lords commissioners of the Admiralty. The convicts being found to continue the practice of selling their clothing, an order was issued, directing, that if in future a convict should give information to the provost-marshal against any person to whom he had sold his clothes, the seller should receive them again, be permitted to keep whatever was paid him for them, and receive no punishment himself for the sale. It was also found necessary to direct, that all stragglers at night who, on being challenged by the patrole, should run from them, should be fired at; but orders, in general, were observed to have very little effect, and to be attended to only while the impression made by hearing them published remained upon the mind; for the convicts had not been accustomed to live in situations where their conduct was to be regulated by written orders. There was here no other mode of communicating to them such directions as it was found necessary to issue for their observance; and it was very common to have them plead in excuse for a breach of any regulation of the settlement, that they had never before heard of it; nor had they any idea of the permanency of an order, many of them seeming to think it issued merely for the purpose of the moment. It was much to be regretted, that there existed a necessity for placing a confidence in these people, as in too many instances the trust was found to be abused: but unfortunately, to fill many of those offices to which free people alone should have been appointed in this colony, there were none but convicts. From these it will be readily supposed the best characters were selected, those who had merited by the propriety of their conduct the good report of the officers on board the ships in which they were embarked, and who had brought with them into those ships a better name than their fellows from the prisons in which they had been confined. Those also who were qualified to instruct and direct others in the exercise of professions in which they had superior knowledge and experience, were appointed to act as overseers, with gangs under their direction; and many had given evident proofs or strong indications of returning dispositions to honest industry. There were others, however, who had no claim to this praise. Among these must be particularised William Bryant, to whom, from his having been bred from his youth to the business of a fisherman in the western part of England, was given the direction and management of such boats as were employed in fishing, every encouragement was held out to this man to keep him above temptation; an hut was built for him and his family; he was always presented with a certain part of the fish which he caught; and he wanted for nothing that was necessary, or that was suitable to a person of his description and situation. But he was detected in secreting and selling large quantities of fish; and when the necessary enquiry was made, this practice appeared to have been of some standing with him. For this offence he was severely punished, and removed from the hut in which he had been placed; yet as, notwithstanding his villainy, he was too useful a person to part with and send to a brick cart, he was still retained to fish for the settlement; but a very vigilant eye was kept over him, and such steps taken as appeared likely to prevent him from repeating his offence, if the sense of shame and fear of punishment were not of themselves sufficient to deter him. A person of the name of Smith having procured a passage from England in the _Lady Penrhyn_, with a design to proceed to India in the event of his not finding any employment in this country, on his offering his services, and professing to have some agricultural knowledge was received into the colony, and, being judged a discreet prudent man, was placed about the provision store under the assistant to the commissary at Rose Hill, and was moreover sworn in as a peace-officer, to act as such immediately under the provost-marshal; a line wherein, from the circumstance of his being a free man, it was supposed he might render essential aid to the civil department of the colony. It was farther intended, at a future period, to place some people under his direction, to give him an opportunity of exercising the abilities he was said to possess as a practical farmer. 14th.] The magazine at the Point being now completed, the powder belonging to the settlement was lodged safely within its walls. It being of importance to the colony to ascertain the precise situation and extent of the reefs seen by Mr. Blackburn, in the _Golden Grove_ storeship, in November last, Leiutenant Ball (who was proceeding to Norfolk Island with provisions and convicts) was directed to perform that duty on his return. He sailed with the vessel under his command on the 17th, having on board twenty-one male and six female convicts, and three children; of the latter two were to be placed under Mr. King's care as children of the public. They were of different sexes; the boy, Edward Parkinson, who was about three years of age, had lost his mother on the passage to this country, the girl, who was a year older, had a mother in the colony; but as she was a woman of abandoned character*, the child was taken from her to save it from the ruin which would otherwise have been its inevitable lot. These children were to be instructed in reading and writing, and in husbandry. The commandant of the island was directed to cause five acres of ground to be allotted and cultivated for their benefit, by such person as he should think fit to entrust with the charge of bringing them up according to the spirit of this intention, in promoting the success of which every friend of humanity seemed to feel an interest. [* The same who was wounded by Ruglass, earlier this chapter] The cove was now, for the first time, left without a ship; a circumstance not only striking by its novelty, but which forcibly drew our attention to the peculiarity of our situation. The _Sirius_ was gone upon a long voyage to a distant country for supplies, the arrival of which were assuredly precarious. The _Supply_ had left us, to look after a dangerous reef; which service, in an unknown sea, might draw upon herself the calamity which she was seeking to instruct others to avoid. Should it have been decreed, that the arm of misfortune was to fall with such weight upon us, as to render at any time the salvation of this little vessel necessary to the salvation of the colony, how deeply was every one concerned in her welfare! Reflection on the bare possibility of its miscarriage made every mind anxious during her absence from the settlement. From the evident necessity that existed of maintaining a strict discipline among the military employed in this country, it became a requisite to punish with some severity any flagrant breach of military subordination that might occur. Joseph Hunt, a soldier in the detachment, having been found absent from his post when stationed as a sentinel, was tried by a court-martial, and sentenced to receive seven hundred lashes; which sentence was put in execution upon him at two periods, with an interval of three weeks. Toward the end of this month the detachment took possession of their barracks; two of which, having been nearly twelve months in hand, were now completed, and ready for their reception. A brick house, forty feet by thirteen, was begun on the east side for the commissary; and materials were preparing for a guard-house. At Rose Hill the people were principally employed in clearing and cultivating land; but the labour of removing the timber off the ground when cut down very much retarded the best efforts of the people so employed. The military and convicts still lived under tents; and, as a proof of the small space which they occupied, two Emus or Cassowaries, who must have been feeding in the neighbourhood, ran through the little camp, and were so intermingled with the people, who ran out of their tents at so strange an appearance, that it became dangerous to fire at them; and they got clear off, though literally surrounded by a multitude of people, and under the very muzzles of some of their muskets. Very little molestation was at this time given by the natives; and had they never been ill treated by our people, instead of hostility, it is more than probable that an intercourse of friendship would have subsisted. March.] The impracticability of keeping the convicts within the limits prescribed for them became every day more evident. Almost every month since our arrival had produced one or more accidents, occasioned principally by a non-compliance with the orders which had been given solely with a view to their security; and which, with thinking beings, would have been of sufficient force as examples to deter others from running into the same danger. But neither orders nor dangers seemed to be at all regarded where their own temporary convenience prompted them to disobey the one, or run the risk of incurring the other. A convict belonging to the brick-maker's gang had strayed into the woods for the purpose of collecting sweet tea; an herb so called by the convicts, and which was in great estimation among them. The leaves of it being boiled, they obtained a beverage not unlike liquorice in taste, and which was recommended by some of the medical gentlemen here, as a powerful tonic. It was discovered soon after our arrival, and was then found close to the settlement; but the great consumption had not rendered it scarce. It was supposed, that the convict in his search after this article had fallen in with a party of natives, who had killed him. A few days after this accident, a party of the convicts, sixteen in number, chiefly belonging to the brick-maker's gang, quitted the place of their employment, and, providing themselves with stakes, set off toward Botany Bay, with a determination to revenge, upon whatever natives they should meet, the treatment which one of their brethren had received at the close of the last month. Near Botany Bay they fell in with the natives, but in a larger body than they expected or desired. According to their report, they were fifty in number; but much dependance was not placed on what they said in this respect, nor in their narrative of the affair; it was certain, however, that they were driven in by the natives, who killed one man and wounded six others. Immediately on this being known in the settlement, an armed party was sent out with an officer, who found the body of the man that had been killed, stripped, and lying in the path to Botany Bay. They also found a boy, who had likewise been stripped and left for dead by the natives. He was very much wounded, and his left ear nearly cut off. The party, after burying the body of the man, returned with the wounded boy, but without seeing any of the perpetrators of this mischief; the other wounded people had reached the settlement, and were taken to the hospital. The day following, the governor, judging it highly necessary to make examples of these misguided people, who had so daringly and flagrantly broken through every order which had been given to prevent their interfering with the natives as to form a party expressly to meet with and attack them, directed that those who were not wounded should receive each one hundred and fifty lashes, and wear a fetter for a twelvemonth; the like punishment was directed to be inflicted upon those who were in the hospital, as soon as they should recover from their wounds; in pursuance of which order, seven of them were tied up in front of the provision store, and punished (for example's sake) in the presence of all the convicts. The same day two armed parties were sent, one toward Botany Bay, and the other in a different direction, that the natives might see that their late act of violence would neither intimidate nor prevent us from moving beyond the settlement whenever occasion required. Such were our enemies abroad: at home, within ourselves, we had enemies to encounter of a different nature, but in their effects more difficult to guard against. The gardens and houses of individuals, and the provision store, were overrun with rats. The safety of the provisions was an object of general consequence, and the commissary was for some time employed in examining into the state of the store. One morning, on going early to the store, he found the wards of a key which had been broken in the padlock that secured the principal door, and which it was the duty of the patrols to visit and inspect every night. Entering the storehouse, he perceived that an harness-cask had been opened and some provisions taken out. It being supposed that the wards of the key might lead to a discovery of the perpetrator of this atrocious act, they were sent to a convict blacksmith, an ingenious workman through whose hands most of the work passed that was done in his line, who immediately knew them to belong to a soldier of the name of Hunt, the same who in the course of the preceding month received seven hundred lashes, and who had some time back brought the key to this blacksmith to be altered. On this information, Hunt was taken up; but offering to give some material information, he was admitted an evidence on the part of the crown, and made an ample confession before the lieutenant-governor and the judge-advocate, in which he accused six other soldiers of having been concerned with him in the diabolical practice of robbing the store for a considerable time past of liquor and provisions in large quantities. This crime, great enough of itself, was still aggravated by the manner in which it was committed. Having formed their party, seven in number, and sworn each other to secrecy and fidelity, they procured and altered keys to fit the different locks on the three doors of the provision store; and it was agreed, that whenever any one of the seven should be posted there as sentinel during the night, two or more of the gang, as they found it convenient, were to come during the hours in which they knew their associate would have the store under his charge, when, by means of their keys, and sheltered in the security which he afforded them (by betraying in so flagrant a manner the trust and confidence reposed in him as a sentinel), they should open a passage into the store, where they should remain shut up until they had procured as much liquor or provisions as they could take off. If the patrols visited the store while they chanced to be within its walls, the door was found locked and secure, the sentinel alert and vigilant on his post, and the store apparently safe. Fortunately for the settlement, on the night preceding the discovery one of the party intended to have availed himself of his situation as sentinel, and to enter the store alone, purposing to plunder without the participation of his associates. But while he was standing with the key in the lock, he heard the patrol advancing. The key had done its office, but as he knew that the lock would be examined by the corporal, in his fright and haste to turn it back again, he mistook the way, and, finding that he could not get the key out of the lock, he broke it, and was compelled to leave the wards in it; the other part of the key he threw away. On this information, the six soldiers whom he accused were taken up and tried; when, the evidence of the accomplice being confirmed by several strong corroborating circumstances, among which it appeared that the store had been broken into and robbed by them at various times for upwards of eight months, they were unanimously found guilty, and sentenced to suffer that death which they owned they justly merited. Their defence wholly consisted in accusing the accomplice of having been the first to propose and carry the plan into execution, and afterwards the first to accuse and ruin the people he had influenced to associate with him. A crime of such magnitude called for a severe example; and the sentence was carried into execution a few days after their trial. Some of these unhappy men were held in high estimation by their officers, but the others, together with the accomplice Hunt, had been long verging toward this melancholy end. Four of them had been tried for the death of their comrade Bulmore, which happened in a contest with one of them in November last; and their manner of conducting themselves at various times appeared to have been very reprehensible. The liquor which they procured from the store was the cause of drunkenness, which brought on affrays and disorders, for which, as soldiers, they were more than once punished. To these circumstances must be added (what perhaps must be considered as the root of these evils) a connexion which subsisted between them and some of the worst of the female convicts, at whose huts, notwithstanding the internal regulations of their quarters, they found means to enjoy their ill-acquired plunder. On the morning of their execution, one of them declared to the clergyman who attended him, that the like practices had been carried on at the store at Rose Hill by similar means and with similar success. He named two soldiers and a convict as the persons concerned; these were afterwards apprehended, and underwent an examination of several hours by the lieutenant-governor and the judge-advocate, during which nothing being drawn from either that could affect the others, they were all discharged. It was, however, generally believed, that the soldier would not in his dying moments have falsely accused three men of a crime which they had never committed; and that nothing but their constancy to each other had prevented a discovery of their guilt. While these transactions were passing at Sydney, the little colony at Norfolk Island had been threatened with an insurrection. The _Supply_ returned from thence the 24th, after an absence of five weeks, and brought from Lieutenant King, the commandant, information of the following chimerical scheme. The capture of the island, and the subsequent escape of the captors, was to commence by the seizure of Mr. King's person, which was intended to be effected on the first Saturday after the arrival of any ship in the bay, except the _Sirius_. They had chosen that particular day in the week, as it had been for some time Mr. King's custom on Saturdays to go to a farm which he had established at some little distance from the settlement, and the military generally chose that day to bring in the cabbage palm from the woods. Mr. King was to be secured in his way to his farm. A message, in the commandant's name, was then to be sent to Mr. Jamison, the surgeon, who was to be seized as soon as he got into the woods; and the sergeant and the party were to be treated in the same manner. These being all properly taken care of, a signal was to be made to the ship in the bay to send her boat on shore, the crew of which were to be made prisoners on their landing; and two or three of the insurgents were to go off in a boat belonging to the island, and inform the commanding officer that the ship's boat had been stove on the beach, and that the commandant requested another might be sent ashore; this also was to be captured: and then, as the last act of this absurd scheme, the ship was to be taken, with which they were to proceed to Otaheite, and there establish a settlement. They charitably intended to leave some provisions for the commandant and his officers, and for such of the people as did not accompany them in their escape--this was their scheme. Not one difficulty in the execution of it ever occurred to their imagination: all was to happen with as much facility as it was planned; and, had it not been fortunately revealed to a seaman belonging to the _Sirius_, who lived with Mr. King as a gardener, by a female convict who cohabited with him, there was no doubt but that all these improbabilities would have been attempted. On being made acquainted with these circumstances, the commandant took such measures as appeared to him necessary to defeat them; and several who were concerned in the scheme confessed the share which they were to have had in the execution of it. Mr. King had hitherto, from the peculiarity of his situation--secluded from society, and confined to a small speck in the vast ocean, with but a handful of people--drawn them round him, and treated them with the kind attentions which a good family meets with at the hands of a humane master; but he now saw them in their true colours, and one of his first steps, when peace was restored, was to clear the ground as far as possible round the settlement, that future villainy might not find a shelter in the woods for its transactions. To this truly providential circumstance, perhaps, many of the colonists afterwards were indebted for their lives. On Thursday the 26th of February the island was visited by a hurricane which came on early in the morning in very heavy gales of wind and rain. By four o'clock several pines of 180 and 200 feet in length, and from 20 to 30 feet in circumference, were blown down. From that hour until noon the gale increased to a dreadful hurricane, with torrents of heavy rain. Every instant pines and live oaks, of the largest dimensions, were borne down by the fury of the blast, which, tearing up roots and rocks with them, left chasms of eight or ten feet depth in the earth. Those pines that were able to resist the wind bent their tops nearly to the ground; and nothing but horror and desolation everywhere presented itself. A very large live oak tree was blown on the granary, which it dashed to pieces, and stove a number of casks of flour; but happily, by the activity of the officers and free people, the flour, Indian corn, and stores, were in a short time collected, and removed to the commandant's house, with the loss only of about half a cask of flour, and some small stores. At noon the gale blew with the utmost violence, tearing up whole forests by the roots. At one o'clock there were as many trees torn up by the roots as would have required the labour of fifty men for a fortnight to have felled. Early in the forenoon the swamp and vale were overflowed, and had every appearance of a large navigable river. The gardens, public and private, were wholly destroyed; cabbages, turnips, and other plants, were blown out of the ground; and those which withstood the hurricane seemed as if they had been scorched. An acre of Indian corn which grew in the vale, and which would have been ripe in about three weeks, was totally destroyed*. [* The direction of the hurricane was across the island from the South-east; and as its fury had blown down more trees than were found lying on the ground when Mr. King landed on it, he conjectured that it was not an annual visitant of the island. This conjecture seems now to be justified, as nothing of the kind has since occurred there.] His people continued to be healthy, and the climate had not forfeited the good opinion he had formed of it. He acquainted the governor, that for his internal defence he had formed all the free people on the island into a militia, and that a military guard was mounted every night as a picket. There were at this time victualled on the island sixteen free people, fifty-one male convicts, twenty-three female convicts, and four children. The arrival of the _Supply_ with an account of these occurrences created a temporary variety in the conversation of the day; and a general satisfaction appeared when the little vessel that brought them dropped her anchor again in the cove. Lieutenant Ball, having lost an anchor at Norfolk Island, did not think it prudent to attempt to fall in with the shoal seen by the _Golden Grove_ storeship; his orders on that head being discretionary. We now return to the transactions of the principal settlement. The person who was noticed in the occurrences of the last month as being employed at Rose Hill under the commissary, had been also entrusted with the direction of the convicts who were employed in clearing and cultivating ground at that place; but, being advanced in years, he was found inadequate to the task of managing and controlling the people who were under his care, the most of whom were always inventing plausible excuses for absence from labour, or for their neglect of it while under his eye. He was therefore removed, and succeeded by a person who came out from England as a servant to the governor. This man joined to much agricultural knowledge a perfect idea of the labour to be required from, and that might he performed by the convicts; and his figure was calculated to make the idle and the worthless shrink if he came near them. He had hitherto been employed at the spot of ground which was cleared soon after our arrival at the adjoining cove, since distinguished by the name of Farm Cove, and which, from the natural poverty of the soil, was not capable of making an adequate return for the labour which had been expended on it. It was, however, still attended to, and the fences kept in repair; but there was not any intention of clearing more ground in that spot. Toward the latter end of the month two of the birds distinguished in the colony by the name of Emus were brought in by some of the people employed to shoot for the officers. The weight of each was seventy pounds. CHAPTER VII Neutral Bay Smallpox among the natives Captain Hunter in the _Sirius_ returns with supplies from the Cape of Good Hope Middleton Island discovered Danger of wandering in the forests of an unknown country Convicts The King's birthday kept Convicts perform a play A reinforcement under Lieutenant Cresswell sent to Norfolk Island Governor Phillip makes an excursion of discovery Transactions Hawkesbury River discovered Progress at Rose Hill Important papers left behind in England April.] The governor thinking it probable that foreign ships might again visit this coast, and perhaps run into this harbour for the purpose of procuring refreshments, directed Mr. Blackburn to survey a large bay on the north shore, contiguous to this cove; and a sufficient depth of water being found, his excellency inserted in the port orders, that all foreign ships coming into this harbour should anchor in this bay, which he named Neutral Bay, bringing Rock Island to bear SSE and the hospital on the west side of Sydney Cove to bear SW by W. Early in the month, and throughout its continuance, the people whose business called them down the harbour daily reported, that they found, either in excavations of the rock, or lying upon the beaches and points of the different coves which they had been in, the bodies of many of the wretched natives of this country. The cause of this mortality remained unknown until a family was brought up, and the disorder pronounced to have been the smallpox. It was not a desirable circumstance to introduce a disorder into the colony which was raging with such fatal violence among the natives of the country; but the saving the lives of any of these people was an object of no small importance, as the knowledge of our humanity, and the benefits which we might render them, would, it was hoped, do away the evil impressions they had received of us. Two elderly men, a boy, and a girl were brought up, and placed in a separate hut at the hospital. The men were too far overcome by the disease to get the better of it; but the children did well from the moment of their coming among us. From the native who resided with us we understood that many families had been swept off by this scourge, and that others, to avoid it, had fled into the interior parts of the country. Whether it had ever appeared among them before could not be discovered, either from him or from the children; but it was certain that they gave it a name (gal-gal-la); a circumstance which seemed to indicate a preacquaintance with it. The convicts, among other public works, were now employed in forming a convenient road on the west side from the hospital and landing-place to the storehouses; and in constructing a stable at Farm Cove, with some convenient out-houses for stock. May.] Of the native boy and girl who had been brought up in the last month, on their recovery from the smallpox, the latter was taken to live with the clergyman's wife, and the boy with Mr. White, the surgeon, to whom, for his attention during the cure, he seemed to be much attached. While the eruptions of this disorder continued upon the children, a seaman belonging to the _Supply_, a native of North America, having been to see them, was seized with it, and soon after died; but its baneful effects were not experienced by any white person of the settlement, although there were several very young children in it at the time. From the first hour of the introduction of the boy and girl into the settlement, it was feared that the native who had been so instrumental in bringing them in, and whose attention to them during their illness excited the admiration of every one that witnessed it, would be attacked by the same disorder; as on his person were found none of those traces of its ravages which are frequently left behind. It happened as the fears of every one predicted; he fell a victim to the disease in eight days after he was seized with it, to the great regret of every one who had witnessed how little of the savage was found in his manner, and how quickly he was substituting in its place a docile, affable, and truly amiable deportment. 6th.] After an absence of seven months and six days, to the great satisfaction of every one, about five in the evening his Majesty's ship _Sirius_ anchored in the cove from the Cape of Good Hope. Captain Hunter sailed from this port on the 2nd of October 1788, and, during the space which had elapsed between his departure and his return, had circumnavigated the globe. He made his passage by Cape Horn, arriving on the 2nd of last January at the Cape of Good Hope, from which place he sailed on the 20th of the following month. Off the southern extremity of this country the _Sirius_ met with a gale of wind, when so close in with the land that it was for some time doubtful whether she would clear it. In this gale she received considerable damage; the head of the ship, the figure of the Duke of Berwick, was torn from the cutwater, and she was afterwards found to have been very much weakened. The _Sirius_ brought 127,000 weight of flour for the settlement, and a twelvemonth's provisions for her ship's company; but this supply was not very flattering, as the short space of four months, at a full ration, would exhaust it. It was, however, very welcome, and her return seemed to have gladdened every heart. Eager were our inquiries after intelligence from that country from which we had been now two years divided, and to whose transactions we were entire strangers. With joy, mingled with concern that we were not personal sharers in the triumph, did we hear of our country's successful efforts in the cause of the Stadtholder, and of the noble armaments which our ministers had fitted out to support it. We trusted, however, that while differently employed, our views were still directed to the same object; for, though labouring at a distance, and in an humbler scene, yet the good, the glory, and the aggrandizement of our country were prime considerations with us. And why should the colonists of New South Wales be denied the merit of endeavouring to promote them, by establishing civilization in the savage world; by animating the children of idleness and vice to habits of laborious and honest industry; and by showing the world that to Englishmen no difficulties are insuperable? We heard with concern that Lieutenant Shortland was near five months in reaching Batavia in the _Alexander_, in which ship he sailed from this port on the 14th of last July, in company with the _Friendship_, _Borrowdale_, and _Prince of Wales_. From this ship and the _Borrowdale_ he parted company very shortly after leaving our harbour; they proceeded round Cape Horn, to Rio de Janeiro, where in last December they were left lying ready for sea. The _Alexander_ and _Friendship_ proceeding to the northward kept company together as far as the island of Borneo, where, the crews of both ships being so much reduced by the scurvy (the _Alexander_ had buried seventeen of her seamen) that it was impossible to navigate both vessels against the strong currents which they met with, and the western monsoon which had then set in, both ships were brought to an anchor, and most of the _Friendship's_ stores, with all her people, being taken out and received on board the _Alexander_, she was scuttled and sunk. When the Alexander arrived at Batavia, she had, of both ship's crews, but one man who was able to go aloft. Lieutenant Shortland, in his letter, noticed some discoveries which he had made; particularly one of an extensive and dangerous shoal, which obtained the name of Middleton Shoal, and was reckoned to be in the latitude of 29 degrees 20 minutes South, and in the longitude of 158 degrees 40 minutes East. He had also discovered an island, which he placed in the latitude of 28 degrees 10 minutes South, and in the longitude of 159 degrees 50 minutes East, and named Sir Charles Middleton Island: his other discoveries, not being so immediately in the vicinity of this territory, were not likely to be of any advantage to the settlement; but it was of some importance to it to learn that an extensive reef was so near, and to find its situation ascertained to be in the track of ships bound from hence to the northward; for if Sir Charles Middleton Island should hereafter be found to possess a safe and convenient harbour, it might prove an interesting discovery for this colony. A Dutch ship, bound for Europe, sailing from the Cape of Good Hope on the 9th of last January, Captain Hunter took that opportunity of forwarding the dispatches with which he had been charged by Governor Phillip. He was informed by the master of the _Harpy Whaler_, who had put into Table Bay, that in England there had been a general anxiety to hear of our safety and arrival in this country, and that ships to be taken up had been advertised for, but had not been engaged, as the government waited for accounts from Governor Phillip. Of these accounts it was hoped that ministers had been some time in possession, and that in consequence supplies were at this hour on their passage to New South Wales. Our attention was now directed to receiving from the _Sirius_ the provisions she had brought us; and as the flour had been packed in bags at the Cape of Good Hope, the coopers were immediately employed in setting up and preparing casks for its reception on shore. These being soon completed, the flour was landed and deposited in the store. This, with the building and covering-in of a new hut for the smith's work, formed the principal labour of the convicts at Sydney during this month. The boats in the colony not being found sufficient for the purpose of transporting provisions from the store at Sydney to the settlement at Rose Hill, a launch or hoy was put upon the stocks, under the direction of Mr. Reid, the carpenter of the _Supply_, to be employed for that and other necessary purposes. She was to be built of the timber of the country, and to carry ten tons. From that settlement, early in the month, two soldiers of the detachment doing duty there were reported to be missing; and, though parties had been sent out daily in different directions to seek for them, yet all was unavailing. It was supposed that they must have lost their way in some of the thick and almost impenetrable brushes which were in the vicinity of Rose Hill, and had there perished miserably. They had gone in search of the sweet tea plant already mentioned; and perhaps when they resigned themselves to the fate which they did not see how to avoid, oppressed with hunger, and unable to wander any farther, they may have been but a short distance from the relief they must so earnestly have desired. A dog that was known to have left the settlement with them reached Rose Hill, almost famished, nine days after they had left it. The extreme danger attendant on a man's going beyond the bounds of his own knowledge in the forests of an unsettled country could no where be more demonstrable than in this. To the westward was an immense open track before him, in which, if unbefriended by either sun or moon, he might wander until life were at an end. Most of the arms which extended into the country from Port Jackson and the harbour on each side of Port Jackson, were of great length, and to round them without a certain and daily supply of provisions was impossible*. [* In many of these arms, when sitting with my companions at my ease in a boat, I have been struck with horror at the bare idea of being lost in them; as, from the great similarity of one cove to another, the recollection would be bewildered in attempting to determine any relative situation. It is certain, that if destroyed by no other means, insanity would accelerate the miserable end that must ensue.] To guard as much as possible against these accidents every measure which could be suggested was adopted. A short time after the settlement was established at Rose Hill, the governor went out with some people in a direction due South, and caused a visible path to be made; that if any person who had strayed beyond his own marks for returning, and knew not where he was, should cross upon his path, he might by following it have a chance of reaching the settlement; and orders were repeatedly given to prohibit straggling beyond the limits which were marked and known. Toward the end of the month, some convicts having reported that they had found the body of a white man lying in a cove at a short distance from the settlement, a general muster of the convicts at Sydney was directed; but no person was unaccounted for except Caesar, an incorrigibly stubborn black, who had absconded a few days before from the service of one of the officers, and taken to the woods with some provisions, an iron pot, and a soldier's musket, which he had found means to steal. Garden robberies, after Caesar's flight, were frequent, and some leads belonging to a seine being stolen, a reward of a pardon was held out to any of the accomplices on discovering the person who stole them; and the like reward was also offered if, in five days, he should discover the person who had purchased them; but all was without effect. It was conjectured that they had been stolen for the purpose of being converted into shot by some person not employed or authorized to kill the game of this country. The weather during the latter part of this month was cold; notwithstanding which a turtle was seen in the harbour. June 4.] The anniversary of his Majesty's birthday, the second time of commemorating it in this country, was observed with every distinction in our power; for the first time, the ordnance belonging to the colony were discharged; the detachment of marines fired three volleys, which were followed by twenty-one guns from each of the ships of war in the cove; the governor received the compliments due to the day in his new house, of which he had lately taken possession as the government-house of the colony, where his excellency afterwards entertained the officers at dinner, and in the evening some of the convicts were permitted to perform Farquhar's comedy of the Recruiting Officer, in a hut fitted up for the occasion. They professed no higher aim than 'humbly to excite a smile,' and their efforts to please were not unattended with applause. In addition to the steps taken by the commandant of Norfolk Island for his internal security, the governor thought an increase of his military force absolutely necessary. Accordingly, the day after his Majesty's birthday, Lieutenant Creswell, with fourteen privates from the detachment of marines, embarked on board the _Supply_ for Norfolk Island; and at the same time he received a written order from his excellency to take upon himself the direction and execution of the authority vested in Mr. King, in the event of any accident happening to that officer, until a successor should be formally appointed and sent from hence. The _Supply_, on her return from Norfolk Island, was to visit the island seen by Lieutenant Shortland, and laid down by him, in the latitude of 28 degrees 10 minutes South. She was also to cruise for the shoal seen by that officer, and stated to be in the latitude of 29 degrees 20 minutes South, and for the shoal seen by Mr. Blackburn, the south end of which lay in the latitude of 29 degrees 25 minutes South; all of which, if the observations of both officers were equally correct, would, it was supposed, be found contiguous to each other. Lieutenant Ball was directed to land upon the island, if landing should be found practicable; and to determine, if he could, the extent and situation of the shoals. On these services the _Supply_ sailed the 6th of this month; on which day the governor set off with a party on a second excursion to Broken Bay, in the hope of being able, from the head of that harbour, to reach the mountains inland. His excellency returned to the settlement on the evening of the 16th, having discovered a capacious freshwater river, emptying itself into Broken Bay, and extending to the westward. He was compelled to return without tracing it to its source, not having a sufficient quantity of provisions with him; but immediately made the necessary preparations for returning to finish his examination of it; and set off on that design with an increased party, and provisions for twenty-one days, on Monday the 29th. Caesar, being closely attended to, was at length apprehended and secured. This man was always reputed the hardest working convict in the country; his frame was muscular and well calculated for hard labour; but in his intellects he did not very widely differ from a brute; his appetite was ravenous, for he could in any one day devour the full ration for two days. To gratify this appetite he was compelled to steal from others, and all his thefts were directed to that purpose. He was such a wretch, and so indifferent about meeting death, that he declared while in confinement, that if he should be hanged, he would create a laugh before he was turned off, by playing off some trick upon the executioner. Holding up such a mere animal as an example was not expected to have the proper or intended effect; the governor therefore, with the humanity that was always conspicuous in his exercise of the authority vested in him, directed that he should be sent to Garden Island, there to work in fetters; and in addition to his ration of provisions he was to be supplied with vegetables from the garden. The _Sirius_ had, in the gale of wind which she met with off Tasman's Head, sustained much more damage, and was, upon inspection, found to have been weakened much more than was at first conjectured. This was the more unfortunate, as, from the nature of our situation, many important services were yet to be rendered by her to the colony. It became, therefore, a matter of public concern to have her damages repaired and the ship strengthened as expeditiously and as efficaciously as our abilities would admit. A convenient retired cove on the north shore being fixed on for the purpose of a careening cove, she dropped down and took possession of it toward the latter end of the month. She could have been refitted with much ease at Sydney; but there was no doubt that the work necessary to be done to her would meet with fewer interruptions, if the people who were engaged in it were removed from the connections which seamen generally form where there are women of a certain character and description. The gang under the direction of the overseer employed at the brick fields had hitherto only made ten thousand bricks in a month. A kiln was now constructed in which thirty thousand might be burnt off in the same time, which number the overseer engaged to deliver. The carpenter of the _Supply_, who had undertaken the construction of the hoy, being obliged to proceed with that vessel on her going to sea, the direction of the few people employed upon her was left with the carpenter of the _Sirius_ during his absence. July 14.] The governor returned from his second visit to the river, which he named the Hawkesbury, in honor of the noble lord at the head of the committee of council of trade and plantations. He traced the river to a considerable distance to the westward, and was impeded in his further progress by a shallow which he met with a short distance above the hill formerly seen, and then named by him Richmond Hill, to the foot of which the course of the Hawkesbury conducted him and his party. They were deterred from remaining any time in the narrow part of the river, as they perceived evident traces of the freshes having risen to the height of from twenty to forty feet above the level of the water. They represented the windings of the river as beautiful and picturesque; and toward Richmond Hill the face of the country appeared more level and open than in any other part. The vast inundations which had left such tokens behind them of the height to which they swell the river seemed rather unfavourable for the purpose of settling near the banks, which otherwise would have been convenient and desirable, the advantages attending the occupation of an allotment of land on the margin of a fresh-water river being superior to those of any other situation. The soil on the banks of the river was judged to be light; what it was further inland could not be determined with any certainty, as the travellers did not penetrate to any distance, except at Richmond Hill, where the soil appeared to be less mixed with sand than that on the branches. During the governor's absence the sail-maker of the _Sirius_ had strayed into the woods about the cove where she was repairing, and, not knowing the country, wandered so far that he could not find his way back to the ship. Fortunately for him, the governor, on his return from Broken Bay, met with him in the north arm of this harbour, but so weakened by hunger and fatigue, as to have all the appearance of intoxication when first discovered and spoken to, and in a situation so remote from a probability of assistance, that perhaps a few days more would have fixed the period of his existence. On visiting the settlement at Rose Hill, the convicts were all found residing in very good huts, apparently under proper regulations, and encouraged to work in the gardens, which they had permission to cultivate during those hours which were not dedicated to public labour. A barrack for the soldiers was erected in the small redoubt which had been constructed, and in which also stood the provision store. Some ground had been opened on the other side of the stream of water which ran into the creek, where a small house had been built for the superintendant Dodd, under whose charge were to be placed a barn and granaries, in which the produce of the ground he was then filling with wheat and barley was to be deposited. The people of all descriptions continued very healthy; and the salubrity of the climate rendered medicine of little use. Notwithstanding little more than two years had elapsed since our departure from England, several convicts about this time signified that the respective terms for which they had been transported had expired, and claimed to be restored to the privileges of free men. Unfortunately, by some unaccountable oversight, the papers necessary to ascertain these particulars had been left by the masters of the transports with their owners in England, instead of being brought out and deposited in the colony; and as, thus situated, it was equally impossible to admit or to deny the truth of their assertions, they were told to wait until accounts could be received from England; and in the mean time by continuing to labour for the public, they would be entitled to share the public provisions in the store. This was by no means satisfactory, as it appeared that they expected an assurance from the governor of receiving some gratuity for employing their future time and labour for the benefit of the settlement. One of these people having, in the presence of his excellency, expressed himself disrespectfully of the lieutenant-governor, he was brought before a criminal court and tried for the same, of which offence being found guilty, he was sentenced to receive six hundred lashes, and to wear irons for the space of six months. It must be acknowledged, that these people were most peculiarly and unpleasantly situated. Conscious in their own minds that the sentence of the law had been fulfilled upon them, it must have been truly distressing to their feelings to find that they could not be considered in any other light, or received into any other situation, than that in which alone they had been hitherto known in the settlement. In the infancy of the colony, however, but little was to be gained by their being restored to the rights and privileges of free people, as no one was in possession of such abundance as to afford to support another independent of the public store. Every man, therefore, must have wrought for his provisions; and if they had been gratified in their expectation of being paid for their labour, the price of provisions in this country would certainly have been found equal, if not superior, to any value they could have set upon their time and labour for the public. As these considerations must have offered themselves to the notice of many good understandings which were among them, it was rather conjectured, that the dissatisfaction which evidently prevailed on this subject was set on foot and fomented by some evil-designing spirits and associates in former iniquities. The governor, however, terminated this business for the present, by directing the judge-advocate to take the affidavits of such persons as would make oath that they had served the term prescribed by the law, and by recommending them to work for the public until some information was received from government on that head. The observatory which was erected on our first landing being found small and inconvenient, as well for the purpose of observing as for the residence of Lieutenant Dawes and the reception of the astronomical instruments, the stone-cutters began preparing stone to construct another, the materials for which were found in abundance upon the spot, the west point of the cove. CHAPTER VIII Barracks Stock Intelligence from Norfolk Island Police established at the principal settlement A successful haul of fish A soldier tried for a rape Provisions begin to fail Natives A launch completed Rats Ration reduced to two-thirds _Sirius_ returns to the Cove One of her mates lost in the woods _Supply_ sails for Norfolk Island Utility of the night watch A female convict executed for house-breaking Two natives taken Serious charge against the assistant commissary satisfactorily cleared up Lieutenant Dawes's excursion The _Supply_ returns Transactions August.] Of the four barracks which were begun in March 1788, and at that time intended to be finished as such, two had been for some time occupied by the detachment, two companies residing in each; a third was at the beginning of this month converted into a storehouse; and the wood-work of the fourth was taken down and applied to some other purpose; the labour and time required to finish it being deemed greater than the utility that would be derived from it as a barrack, the two that were already occupied conveniently and comfortably accommodating the detachment. As every circumstance became of importance that might in its tendency forward or retard the day whereon the colony was to be pronounced independent of the mother-country for provisions, it was soon observed with concern, that hitherto by far a greater proportion of males than females had been produced by the animals we had brought for the purpose of breeding. This, in any other situation, might not have been so nicely remarked; but here, where a country was to be stocked, a litter of twelve pigs whereof three only were females became a subject of conversation and inquiry. Out of seven kids which had been produced in the last month, one only was a female; and many similar instances had before occurred, but no particular notice was attracted until their frequency rendered them remarkable. This circumstance excited an anxious care in every one for the preservation of such females as might be produced; and at the moment now spoken of no person entertained an idea of slaughtering one of that sort; indeed males were so abundant that fortunately there was no occasion. On the 7th Lieutenant Ball returned from Norfolk Island, and from an unsuccessful cruise of nearly six weeks in search of the island and shoals for which he was directed to look. He sailed over the identical spot on which Mr. Shortland had fixed the latitudes and longitudes of his island and his shoal, without seeing either, and therefore concluded, that they had not been placed far enough to the northward. The error might have lain in copying the account from his log-book into his letter. From Norfolk Island Lieutenant King wrote, that he had cleared seventeen acres of ground upon the public account, all of which were either sown or ready for sowing; that caterpillars had done much damage to some wheat which had just come up; and that he was erecting a storehouse capable of containing a large quantity of stores and provisions, and had made a visible road from Sydney Bay to Cascade Bay. The pine trees, of the utility of which such sanguine hopes had been entertained, were found to be unfit for large masts or yards, being shakey or rotten at thirty or forty feet from the butt; the wood was so brittle that it would not make a good oar, and so porous that the water soaked through the planks of a boat which had been built of it. Mr. King also lamented their ignorance of the proper mode of preparing the flax plant, which rendered it useless to them. A single pod of cotton had been found on the island, and a tree had been discovered, the bark of which was strong, and of a texture like cotton. A species of bird also had been met with, which burrowed in the ground, and had been seen in such numbers about the summit of Mount Pitt, the highest hill on the island, that they were contemplated as a resource in any future season of distress, should they be found to visit the island at stated periods, and to deposit their eggs on it. Mr. King spoke well of the general behaviour of the subjects of his little government since the detection of their late scheme to overturn it. From the frequent commission of offences in this settlement and at Rose Hill, where scarcely a night passed but complaint was made on the following morning of a garden being robbed, or a house broken into, so favourable a report could not be given of the general conduct of the people. The frequency of these enormities had become so striking, that it appeared absolutely necessary to devise some plan which might put a stop to an evil that was every day increasing. The convicts who were employed in making bricks, living in huts by themselves on the spot where their work was performed, were suspected of being the perpetrators of most of the offences committed at Sydney; and orders had been given, forbidding, under pain of punishment, their being seen in town after sunset. These depredations continuing, however, a convict of the name of Harris presented to the judge-advocate a proposal for establishing a night-watch, to be selected from among the convicts, with authority to secure all persons of that description who should be found straggling from the huts at improper hours. This proposal being submitted to the governor, and the plan thoroughly digested and matured, the first attempt toward a police in this settlement commenced on Saturday the 8th of August. The following are the heads of the plan: The settlement was divided into four districts, over each of which was placed a watch consisting of three persons, one principal and two subordinate watchmen. These, being selected from among those convicts whose conduct and character had been unexceptionable since their landing, were vested with authority to patrol at all hours in the night, to visit such places as might be deemed requisite for the discovery of any felony, trespass, or misdemeanor, and to secure for examination all persons that might appear to be concerned therein; for which purpose they were directed to enter any suspected hut or dwelling or to use any other means that might appear expedient. They were required to detain and give information to the nearest guardhouse of any soldier or seaman who should be found straggling after the taptoo had been beat. They were to use their utmost endeavours to trace out offenders on receiving accounts of any depredation; and in addition to their night duty, they were directed to take cognizance of such convicts as gamed, or sold or bartered their slops or provisions, and report them for punishment. A return of all occurrences during the night was to be made to the judge-advocate; and the military were required to furnish the watch with any assistance they might be in need of, beyond what the civil power could give them. They were provided each with a short staff, to distinguish them during the night, and to denote their office in the colony; and were instructed not to receive any stipulated encouragement or reward from any individual for the conviction of offenders, but to expect that negligence or misconduct in the execution of their trust would be punished with the utmost rigour. It was to have been wished, that a watch established for the preservation of public and private property had been formed of free people, and that necessity had not compelled us, in selecting the first members of our little police, to appoint them from a body of men in whose eyes, it could not be denied, the property of individuals had never before been sacred. But there was not any choice. The military had their line of duty marked out for them, and between them and the convict there was no description of people from whom overseers or watchmen could be provided. It might, however, be supposed, that among the convicts there must be many who would feel a pride in being distinguished from their fellows, and a pride that might give birth to a returning principle of honesty. It was hoped that the convicts whom we had chosen were of this description; some effort had become necessary to detect the various offenders who were prowling about with security under cover of the night; and the convicts who had any property were themselves interested in defeating such practices. They promised fidelity and diligence, from which the scorn of their fellow-prisoners should not induce them to swerve, and began with a confidence of success the duty which they had themselves offered to undertake. The _Sirius_, on being closely inspected and surveyed by her own carpenter and the carpenter of the _Supply_, was found to be so much weakened, that the repairs which were requisite to put her in a state fit to encounter the storms of this coast would require the labour of four men for six months and twenty-four days, not including Sundays in the calculation. This was unfortunate; the resources of a king's yard were not to be found in the careening cove in Port Jackson; people who looked forward beyond the event of the morrow began to think that her services might be wanted before she could be in a condition to render them; and it was considered a matter of the utmost moment, to bestow the labour that she required in as little time and with as much skill as the circumstances of our situation would admit. 12th.] Such attentions as were within our power were shown to the anniversary of his royal highness the Prince of Wales's birthday; and although the table of our festivity was not crowned with luxuries or delicacies, yet the glass that was consecrated on that occasion to his royal highness's name was in no part of the British dominions accompanied with more sincere wishes for his happiness. On the 20th, Daniel Gordon, a convict, was brought to trial for stealing a quantity of provisions and clothes, the property of persons employed by the lieutenant-governor at some ground which he had in cultivation near the settlement. The prisoner appearing wild and incoherent on being brought before the court, the principal surgeon of the settlement was directed to examine him, and giving it as his opinion, upon oath, that the man's pulse very strongly indicated either a delirium or intoxication, his trial was put off until the following morning, when, the same appearances of wildness continuing on him, witnesses were examined as to the tenor of his conduct during his being in confinement for the offence; and the court were of opinion from their testimony, 'That the prisoner was not in a state of mind to be put upon his trial.' He was therefore placed under the care of the surgeon at the hospital, and the court broke up. It was generally supposed, that a firm belief that his offence would be fixed upon him occasioned the derangement of intellect which appeared. He was a notorious offender, and had been once pardoned in this country under the gallows. Many of his fellow-prisoners gave him credit for the ability with which he had acted his part, and perhaps he deserved their applause; but disordered as he appeared before the court, their humanity would not suffer them to proceed against a wretch who either had not, or affected not to have, a sufficient sense of his situation. Slops were served to the convicts during this month, and the detachment received the remainder of the shoes which they brought from England. September.] In England some dependence had been placed on fish as a resource for the settlement, but sufficient for a general distribution had not hitherto been caught at any one time. On the 4th of this month the people belonging to the _Supply_ had a very large haul; their seine was so full, that had they hauled it ashore it must have burst; the ropes of it were therefore made fast on shore, and the seine was suffered to lie until left dry by the tide. The fish were brought up to the settlement, and distributed among the military and convicts. A night or two after this, a fishing-boat caught about one hundred dozen of small fish; but this was precarious, and, happening after the provisions were served, no other advantage could be derived from the circumstance, than that of every man's having a fish-meal. On the 10th a criminal court of judicature was assembled for the trial of Henry Wright, a private soldier in the detachment, for a rape on a child of eight years of age; of which heinous offence being found guilty, he received sentence to die; but being recommended by the court to the governor, his excellency was pleased to pardon him, on condition of his residing, during the term of his natural life, at Norfolk Island. This was an offence that did not seem to require an immediate example; the chastity of the female part of the settlement had never been so rigid, as to drive men to so desperate an act; and it was believed, that beside the wretch in question there was not in the colony a man of any description who would have attempted it. On the 12th, the butter, which had hitherto been served at six ounces per week to each man in the settlement, being expended, the like quantity of sugar was directed to be issued in its stead. This was the first of the provisions brought from England which had wholly failed; and, fortunately, the failure was in an article which could be the best spared. It never had been very good, and was not, strictly speaking, a necessary of life. A small boat belonging to a gentleman of the settlement, having been too deeply laden with cabbage-trees which had been collected in a bay down the harbour for the purpose of building, was overset on her return to the cove, by touching on a rock which lay off one of the points. There were three people in her, two of whom swam on shore; the third remained five hours on her keel, and was accidentally met with and picked up by the people of a fishing boat. Captain Hunter, unwilling to lose any opportunity of rendering a service to the colony, while the repairs of his ship were going on, surveyed the two adjoining harbours of Broken Bay and Botany Bay; and correct charts were thus obtained of these two harbours, so admirably situated with relation to Port Jackson. The natives, who had for some time past given very little interruption, toward the end of the month attacked Henry Hacking, one of the quarter-masters of the _Sirius_, who, being reckoned a good shot, was allowed to shoot for the officers and ship's company. His account was, that, being in the woods, a stone was thrown at him from one of two natives whom he perceived behind him, and that on looking about he found dispersed among the trees a number that could not be less than forty. Wishing to intimidate them, he several times only presented his piece toward them; but, finding that they followed him, he at last gave them the contents, which happened to be small shot for birds. These he replaced with buckshot, and got rid of his troublesome and designing followers by discharging his piece a second time. They all made off; but some of them stumbling as they ran, he apprehended they had been wounded. This account met with more credit than could usually be allowed to such tales, as the person who gave it was held in great estimation by the officers of his ship both as a man and as a seaman. Mr. Palmer, the purser of the _Sirius_, having occasion to cut timber in a cove down the harbour, was visited by some natives, who took an opportunity of concealing two of his axes in the bushes. On his missing the implements, the natives went off in some consternation, leaving two children behind them, whom Mr. Palmer detained, and would have brought up to the settlement, had not their friends ransomed them with the property that had been stolen. At Rose Hill, where the corn promised well, an Emu had been killed, which stood seven feet high, was a female, and when opened was found to contain exactly fifty eggs. October.] The launch that was begun in May last by the carpenter of the _Supply_, being completed, was put into the water the 5th of October. From the quantity of wood used in her construction she appeared to be a mere bed of timber, and, when launched, was named by the convicts, with an happiness that is sometimes visible in the allusions of the lower order of people, The Rose Hill Packet*. She was very soon employed in transporting provisions to Rose Hill, and going up with the tide of flood, at the top of high water, passed very well over the flats at the upper part of the harbour. [* She was afterwards generally known by the name of The Lump, a word more strictly applying to her size and construction.] Our enemies the rats, who worked unseen, and attacked us where we were most vulnerable, being again observed in numbers about the provision store, the commissary caused the provisions to be moved out of one store into another; for, alas! at this period they could be all contained in one. These pernicious vermin were found to be very numerous, and the damage they had done much greater than the state of our stores would admit. Eight casks of flour were at one time found wholly destroyed. From the store, such as escaped the hunger of the different dogs that were turned loose upon them flew to the gardens of individuals, where they rioted upon the Indian corn which was growing, and did considerable mischief The presence of a captain being no longer deemed necessary at Rose Hill, the military guard there for the protection of the stores was reduced to a subaltern officer, and a proportionate number of privates. Mr. Dodd, who had for some time been authorized by the governor to inflict corporal punishment on the convicts for idleness, rioting, or other misdemeanors, had obtained such an influence over them, that military coercion was not so necessary as when the settlement was first established. Of this person, the officers who had been on duty at Rose Hill from time to time gave the most favourable reports, speaking of him as one in every respect qualified to execute the trust which had been reposed in him by the governor. During this month a gang of convicts were employed at Sydney in forming a convenient road from the hospital to the magazine and observatory on the point; and a small hut, for the reception of a corporal's guard at the hospital, was erected. Of the few people who died in October, (one soldier, three women, and one child), one was an unhappy woman who had been sent on board in a state of insanity, and who had remained in that condition until the day of her death; she and another of the three women died in child-bed; and the soldier was carried off by a disorder which he brought with him into the country. These circumstances tended to establish the good opinion which was at first formed of the salubrity of the climate of New South Wales. November.] This month opened with a serious, but prudent and necessary alteration in our provisions. The ration which had hitherto been issued was, on the first of the month, reduced to two thirds of every species, spirits excepted, which continued as usual. This measure was calculated to guard against accidents; and the necessity of it was obvious to every one, from the great uncertainty as to the time when a supply might arrive from England, and from the losses which had been and still were occasioned by rats in the provision store. Two years provisions were landed with us in the colony: we had been within two months of that time disembarked, and the public store had been aided only by a small surplus of the provisions which remained of what had been furnished by the contractor for the passage, and the supply of four months flour which had been received by the _Sirius_ from the Cape of Good Hope. All this did not produce such an abundance as would justify any longer continuance of the full ration; and although it was reasonable to suppose, as we had not hitherto received any supplies, that ships would arrive before our present stock was exhausted; yet, if the period of distress should ever arrive, the consciousness that we had early foreseen and strove to guard against its arrival would certainly soften the bitterness of our reflections; and, guarding thus against the worst, that worst providentially might never happen. The governor, whose humanity was at all times conspicuous, directed that no alteration should he made in the ration to be issued to the women. They were already upon two thirds of the man's allowance; and many of them either had children who could very well have eaten their own and part of the mother's ration, or they had children at the breast; and although they did not labour, yet their appetites were never so delicate as to have found the full ration too much, had it been issued to them. The like reduction was enforced afloat as well as on shore, the ships' companies of the _Sirius_ and _Supply_ being put to two thirds of the allowance usually issued to the king's ships. This, as a deduction of the eighths allowed by custom to the purser was made from their ration, was somewhat less than what was to be issued in the settlement. Thus opened the month of November in this settlement; where, though we had not the accompanying gloom and vapour of our own climate to render it terrific to our minds, yet we had that before us, in the midst of all our sunshine, which gave it the complexion of the true November so inimical to our countrymen. It was soon observed, that of the provisions issued at this ration on the Saturday the major part of the convicts had none left on the Tuesday night; it was therefore ordered, that the provisions should be served in future on the Saturdays and Wednesdays. By these means, the days which would otherwise pass in hunger, or in thieving from the few who were more provident, would be divided, and the people themselves be more able to perform the labour which was required from them. Overseers and married men were not included in this order. On the 7th Captain Hunter brought the _Sirius_ into the cove completely repaired. She had been strengthened with riders placed within board, her copper had been carefully examined, and she was now in every respect fit for sea. Previous to her quitting the careening cove, Mr. Hill, one of the master's mates, having had some business at Sydney, was landed on his return early in the morning on the north shore, opposite Sydney Cove, from whence the walk to the ship was short; but he was never afterwards heard of. Parties were sent day after day in quest of him for several days. Guns were fired from the _Sirius_ every four hours, night and day, but all to no effect. He had met with some fatal accident, which deprived a wife of the pleasurable prospect of ever seeing him return to her and to his friends. He had once before missed his way; and it was reported, when his loss was confirmed, that he declared on the fatal morning, when stepping out of the boat, that he expected to lose himself again for a day or two. His conjecture was more than confirmed; he lost himself for ever, and thus added one to the number of those unfortunate persons who had perished in the woods of this country. On the 11th the _Supply_ sailed for Norfolk Island, having on board provisions and six male and eight female convicts for that colony. She was to stop at Lord Howe Island, to endeavour to procure turtle for this settlement; a supply of which, in its present situation, would have been welcomed, not as a luxury, but as a necessary of life. The night-watch was found of infinite utility. The commission of crimes, since their institution, had been evidently less frequent, and they were instrumental in bringing forward for punishment several offenders who would otherwise have escaped. The fear and detestation in which they were held by their fellow-prisoners was one proof of their assiduity in searching for offences and in bringing them to light; and it possibly might have been asserted with truth, that many streets in the metropolis of London were not so well guarded and watched as the small, but rising town of Sydney, in New South Wales. By their activity, a woman (a female convict of the name of Ann Davis alias Judith Jones), was apprehended for breaking into the house of Robert Sidaway (a convict) in the daytime, and stealing several articles of wearing apparel thereout. The criminal court being assembled, she was tried and found guilty. On receiving sentence to die, she pleaded being quick with child; but twelve of the discreetest women among the convicts, all of whom had been mothers of children, being impanelled as a jury of matrons, they pronounced that she was not pregnant; on which she was executed the Monday following, acknowledging at that fatal moment which generally gives birth and utterance to truth, that she was about to suffer justly, and that an attempt which she made, when put on her defence, to criminate another person (a woman whose character was so notorious that she hoped to establish her own credit and innocence upon her infamy), as well as her plea of pregnancy, were advanced merely for the purpose of saving her life. She died generally reviled and unpitied by the people of her own description. The summer was observed to be the chief season of fish. A fishing-boat belonging to the colony had so many fish in the seine, that had it not burst at the moment of landing, it was imagined that a sufficiency would have been taken to have served the settlement for a day; as it was, a very considerable quantity was brought in; and not long after a boat belonging to the _Sirius_ caught forty-seven of the large fish which obtained among us the appellation of Light Horse Men, from the peculiar conformation of the bone of the head, which gave the fish the appearance of having on a light-horse man's helmet. The governor, after the death of the native who was carried off by the smallpox in May last, never had lost sight of a determination to procure another the first favourable opportunity. A boat had several times gone down the harbour for that purpose; but without succeeding, until the 25th of this month, when the first lieutenant of the _Sirius_, accompanied by the master, fortunately secured two natives, both men, and brought them up to the settlement without any accident. Being well known to the children, through their means every assurance was given them of their perfect safety in our possession. They were taken up to the governor's, the place intended for their future residence, where such restraint was laid upon their persons as was judged requisite for their security. The assurances of safety which were given them, and the steps which were taken to keep them in a state of security, were not perfectly satisfactory to the elder of the two; and he secretly determined to take the first opportunity which offered of giving his attendants no further trouble upon his account. The negligence of his keeper very soon gave him the opportunity he desired; and he made his escape, taking with him into the woods the fetter which had been rivetted to his ankle, and which every one, who knew the circumstance, imagined he would never be able to remove. His companion would have joined him in his flight, but fear detained him a few minutes too late, and he was seized while tremblingly alive to the joyful prospect of escaping. During the month of November a brick house was begun on the east side of the cove for the judge-advocate. The huts which were got up on our first landing were slight and temporary; every shower of rain washed a portion of the clay from between the interstices of the cabbage-tree of which they were constructed; their covering was never tight; their size was necessarily small and inconvenient; and although we had not hitherto been so fortunate as to discover limestone any where near the settlement, yet to occupy a brick house put together with mortar formed of the clay of the country, and covered with tiles, became in point of comparative comfort and convenience an object of some importance. December.] Among the various business which came before the magistrates at their weekly meetings, was one which occupied much of their time and attention. The convicts who were employed about the provision store informed the commissary, by letter, that from certain circumstances, they had reason to accuse Mr. Zachariah Clark, his assistant, of embezzling the public provisions. A complaint of such a nature, as well on account of its importance to the settlement, as of its consequence to the person accused, called for an immediate enquiry; and the judge-advocate and Captain Hunter lost no time in bringing forward the necessary investigation. The convicts charged Mr. Clark with having made at different times, and applied to his own use, a considerable over-draught of every species of provisions, and of the liquor which was in store. A dread of these circumstances being one day discovered by others, when the blame of concealment might involve them in a suspicion of participation, induced them to step forward with the charge. The suspicious appearances, however, were accounted for by Mr. Clark much to the satisfaction of the magistrates under whose consideration they came. He stated, that expecting to be employed in this country, he had brought out with him large quantities of provisions, wine, rum, draught and bottled porter, all of which he generally kept at the store; that when parties have applied to him for provisions or spirits at an hour when the store was shut, he had frequently supplied them from his own case, or stock which he had for present use in his tent or in his house, and afterwards repaid himself from the store; and that being ill with the scurvy for several months after his arrival, he did not use any salt provisions, which gave him a considerable credit for such articles at the store: from all which circumstances the convicts who accused him might, as they were unknown to them, be induced to imagine that he was taking up more than his ration from time to time. With Mr. Clark's ample and public acquittal from this accusation, a commendation equally public was given to the convicts, who, noticing the apparent over-draught of spirits and provisions, and ignorant at the same time of the causes which occasioned it, had taken measures to have it explained. From the peculiarity of our situation, there was a sort of sacredness about our store; and its preservation pure and undefiled was deemed as necessary as the chastity of Caesar's wife. With us, it would not bear even suspicion. In the course of this month the harvest was got in; the ground in cultivation at Rose Hill produced upwards of two hundred bushels of wheat, about thirty-five bushels of barley, and a small quantity of oats and Indian corn; all of which was intended to be reserved for feed. At Sydney, the spot of ground called the Governor's Farm had been sown only with barley, and produced about twenty-five bushels. A knowledge of the interior parts of this extensive country was anxiously desired by every one; but the difficulty of attaining it, and the various employments in which we had all been necessarily engaged, had hitherto prevented any material researches being made. The governor had penetrated to the westward as far as Richmond Hill, perhaps between fifty and sixty miles inland; but beyond that distance all was a blank. Early in this month Lieutenant Dawes with a small party, taking with them just as much provisions as they could conveniently carry, set off on an attempt to reach the western mountains by and from the banks of the fresh water river, first seen, some time since, by Captain Tench, and supposed to be a branch of the Hawkesbury. From this excursion he returned on the ninth day, without accomplishing his design, meeting with nothing, after quitting the river, but ravines that were nearly inaccessible. He had, notwithstanding the danger and difficulty of getting on through such a country, reached within eleven miles of the mountains, by computation. During his toilsome march he met with nothing very remarkable, except the impressions of the cloven feet of an animal differing from other cloven feet by the great width of the division in each. He was not fortunate enough to see the animal that had made them. In this journey Lieutenant Dawes's line of march, unfortunately and unpleasantly for him, happened to lie, nearly from his setting out, across a line of high and steep rocky precipices, which required much caution in descending, as well as labour in ascending. Perhaps an open country, which might have led him readily and conveniently to the point he proposed to attain, was lying at no great distance from him either to his right or left. To seek for that, however, might have required more time than his stock of provisions would have admitted; and he was compelled to return through the same unprofitable country which he had passed. On the 21st, between ten and eleven o'clock at night, the _Supply_ returned from Norfolk Island, having been absent six weeks within a day. From thence Lieutenant King wrote that he expected his harvest would produce from four to six months flour for all his inhabitants, exclusive of a reserve of double feed for twenty acres of ground. Beside this promising appearance, he had ten acres in cultivation with Indian corn, which looked very well. His gardens had suffered much by the grub worm and from a want of rain, of which they had had scarcely any since the 23rd of September last. The ground which was cleared for the crown amounted to about twenty-eight acres, and he was busied in preparations for building a redoubt on an eminence named by him Mount George. The _Supply_, in her visit at Lord Howe Island, turned eighteen turtle; several of which unluckily dying before she reached Norfolk Island, she could leave only four there, and but three survived the short voyage thence to this place. Several thefts having been lately committed by the convicts, and the offenders discovered by the vigilance of the members of our new police, several of them were tried before the criminal court of juidicature. Caesar the black, whose situation on Garden Island had been some time back rendered more eligible, by being permitted to work without irons, found means to make his escape, with a mind insensible alike to kindness and to punishment, taking with him a canoe which lay there for the convenience of the other people employed on the island, together with a week's provisions belonging to them; and in a visit which he made them a few nights after in his canoe, he took off an iron pot, a musket, and some ammunition. The working convicts at Sydney had lately been principally employed in constructing two convenient kitchens and ovens for the use of the detachment, adjoining to the quarters; building a house for the judge-advocate; forming roads either in or leading to the town; and removing the provisions from the old thatched storehouse to that in the marine quarters, which, by being covered in with tiles, was not so liable to an accident by fire, nor likely to prove so great an harbour for rats, to guard against whom it had become necessary to take as many precautions as against any other enemy. They, however, in defiance of every care which was taken to shut them out, when the provisions were removed, found means, by working under ground, to get in; and as it was now a matter of much moment to preserve every ounce of provisions that belonged to us, they were all taken out, and restowed with an attention suitable to their important value. At Rose Hill, where as yet there was not any night-watch established, petty thefts and depredations were frequently committed, particularly on the wheat as it ripened. The bakehouse also was robbed of a quantity of flour by a person unknown. These offences were generally attributed to the reduction which had taken place in the ration of provisions; and every one dreaded how much the commission of them might be increased, if accident or delay should render a still greater reduction necessary. Mr. Dodd, the superintendant at that settlement, a few days before Christmas, cut and sent down a cabbage which weighed twenty-six pounds. The other vegetables productions of his garden, which was by no means a rich mould, were plentiful and luxuriant. Some people who had been out with a gun from Rose Hill brought in with them, on their return, a tinder-box, to which chance conducted them in a thick brush distinguished by the name of the New Brush, about six miles from the settlement. This article was known to have belonged to the two unfortunate soldiers who had been unaccounted for since last April, and who, in great probability, found there a miserable period to their existence. They also picked up in the same brush a piece of linen, said to have formed part of a petticoat which belonged to Anne Smith, a female convict who absconded a few days after our landing in the country. This might have been carried thither and dropped by some natives in their way through the brush; but it gave a strong colour to the supposition of her having likewise perished, by some means or other, in the woods. CHAPTER IX A convict made a free settler A pleasing delusion Extraordinary supply of fish Caesar's narrative Another convict wounded by the natives The _Supply_ arrives from Norfolk Island A large number of settlers sent thither on board the _Sirius_ and _Supply_ Heavy rains Scarcity of provisions increasing in an alarming degree Lieutenant Maxwell's insanity News brought of the loss of the _Sirius_ Allowance of provisions still further reduced The _Supply_ sent to Batavia for relief Robberies frequent and daring An old man dies of hunger Rose Hill Salt and fishing-lines made The native escapes Transactions 1790.] January.] Early in the new year the _Supply_ sailed again for Norfolk Island with twenty-two male and two female convicts, and one child; Lieutenant King having in his last letters intimated, that he could very well find employment for a greater number of people than he then had under his orders. With those convicts and some stores she sailed on the 7th, and on her return was to touch at Lord Howe island to procure turtle. Of the convicts the period of whose sentences of transportation had expired, and of whom mention was made in the transactions of July last, one, who signified a wish of becoming a settler, had been sent up to Rose Hill by the governor; where his excellency, having only waited to learn with certainty that he had become a free man before he gave him a grant of land, caused two acres of ground to be cleared of the timber which stood on them, and a small hut to be built for him. This man had been bred to the business of a farmer, and during his residence in this country had shown a strong inclination to be industrious, and to return to honest habits and pursuits. Rewarding him, therefore, was but holding out encouragement to such good dispositions. The governor had, however, another object in view, beside a wish to hold him up as a deserving character: he was desirous of trying, by his means, in what time an industrious active man, with certain assistance, would be enabled to support himself in this country as a settler; and for that purpose, in addition to what he caused to be done for him at first, he furnished him with the tools and implements of husbandry necessary for cultivating his ground, with a proportion of grain to sow it, and a small quantity of live stock to begin with. He took possession of his ground the 21st of November 1789, and under some disadvantages. An opinion had prevailed, and had been pretty generally disseminated, that a man could not live in this country; and in addition to this discouragement, although he still received a ration from the public store, yet it was not a ration that bore any proportion to the labour which his situation required from him. The man himself, however, resolved to be industrious, and to surmount as well as he was able whatever difficulties might lie in his way. The flour which had been brought from England did not serve much beyond the beginning of this month, and that imported from the Cape now supplied its place. Every one began to look forward with much anxiety to the arrival of supplies from England; and as it was reasonable to conclude that every day might bring them on the coast, Captain Hunter, accompanied by Mr. Worgan, the surgeon of the _Sirius_, and Mr. White, with six or eight seamen, having chosen a spot proper for their purpose, erected a flagstaff on the South Head of this harbour, whence, on the appearance of a ship in the offing, a signal might be made, as well to convey the wished-for information to the settlement, as to serve as a mark for the stranger. An hut was built for their accommodation, and this little establishment was of such importance, that our walks were daily directed to a spot whence it could be seen; thus fondly indulging the delusion, that the very circumstance of looking out for a sail would bring one into view. A sufficient quantity of fish having been taken one night in this month, to admit the serving of two pounds to each man, woman, and child belonging to the detachment, the governor directed, that a boat should in future be employed three times in the week to fish for the public; and that the whole quantity caught should be issued at the above rate to every person in turn. This allowance was in addition to the ration of provisions; and was received with much satisfaction several times during the month. Caesar, after his escape from and subsequent visit at Garden Island, found his way up to Rose Hill, whence he was brought on the 30th, very much wounded by some natives whom he had met with in the woods. Being fearful of severe punishment for some of his late offences, he reported, on being brought in, that he had fallen in with our cattle which had been so long lost; that they were increased by two calves; that they seemed to be under the care of eight or ten natives, who attended them closely while they grazed; and that, on his attempting to drive the cattle before him, he was wounded by another party of the natives. The circumstance of his being wounded was the only part of his story that met with any credit, and that could not well be contradicted, as he had several spear wounds about him in different parts of his body; but every thing else was looked upon as a fabrication (and that not well contrived) to avert the lash which he knew hung over him. He was well known to have as small a share of veracity as of honesty. His wounds however requiring care and rest, he was secured, and placed under the surgeon's care at the hospital. Information was also received at this time from Rose Hill, that a convict who had been employed to strike the sting ray, with another, on the flats, having gone on shore, engaged in some quarrel with the natives, who took all his clothes from him, severely wounded, and would inevitably have killed him, but for the humane, friendly, and disinterested interference of one of their own women, who happened to be present. This accident, and many others of the same nature, could not have happened, had the orders which he had received, not to land upon any account, been attended to. The bricklayers, having finished the judge-advocate's house, were employed in building a dispensary on the west side contiguous to the hospital, the medicines and chirurgical instruments being much exposed to damps in the place where they had hitherto been necessarily kept. Garden robberies were frequent, notwithstanding the utmost care and vigilance were exerted to prevent them. A rainy tempestuous night always afforded a cloak for the thief, and was generally followed in the morning by some one complaining of his or her garden having been stripped of all its produce. February.] The first signal from the flagstaff at the South Head was displayed on the 10th of February; and though every imagination first turned toward the expected stranger, yet happening about the time at which the _Supply_ was expected from Norfolk Island, conjecture soon fixed on the right object; and the temporary suspence was put an end to, by word being brought up to the settlement, that the _Supply_, unable to get into Port Jackson, had borne up for Botany Bay, in which harbour she anchored in the dusk of the evening. The next morning the letters which she had brought were received. Lieutenant King wrote, that his people continued healthy, and his settlement went on well. His wheat had returned twenty fold, notwithstanding he had had much dry weather. He had relinquished his intention of throwing up a redoubt on Mount George; but, instead of that work, had employed his people in constructing a stockade of piles round his house, inclosing an oblong square of one hundred feet by one hundred and forty, within which he purposed erecting storehouses, and a barrack for the military. He stated, that the convicts under his orders had in general very good gardens, and that many of them would have a very large produce of Indian corn. The _Supply_ having in her way to Norfolk Island touched at Lord Howe Island, Lieutenant Ball left the gunner and a small party to turn turtle, but they met with no success; so that no dependance was to be placed on that island for any material relief. The gunner examined the island, and found fresh water in cavities, but not in any current. The _Supply_ could not get round from Botany Bay until the 12th, when she came to anchor in the cove, whence she had been absent just five weeks. Lieutenant King having constantly written in high terms of the richness of the soil of Norfolk Island, the governor, on comparing the situation of the convicts there and in this settlement, where their gardens had not that fertility to boast of, and where the ration from the store was with too many hastily devoured, and with most derived but an uncertain and scanty aid from any other source, determined, and about the middle of the month announced his determination, to detach thither a large body of convicts, male and female, together with two companies of the marines. Some immediate advantages were expected to be derived from this measure; the garden ground that would be left by those who embarked would be possessed by those who remained, while the former would instantly on their arrival at Norfolk Island participate in the produce of luxuriant gardens, in a more constant supply of fish, and in the assistance that was occasionally obtained from the birds which settled on Mount Pitt. At the same time that this intention was made public, the day of their departure was fixed. The whole were to embark on board the _Sirius_ and the _Supply_ in the beginning of the following month, and were, if no ship arrived from England to prevent them, to sail on the 5th. Should, unfortunately, the necessity of adopting the measure then exist, the _Sirius_ was to proceed to China directly from Norfolk Island to procure a supply of provisions for the colony. China was chosen, under an idea that salt provisions were to be obtained there, and that it was preferable to sending to any of the islands in those seas, or to the Cape of Good Hope at this season of the year, when the _Sirius_ and her crew would have had to encounter the cold and boisterous weather of a winter's passage thither. As the numbers on Norfolk Island would be considerably increased by the arrival of this detachment from hence, the governor judged the presence of Major Ross necessary there, as lieutenant-governor of the territory. Lieutenant King was to be recalled and return to this settlement. Preparations were immediately set on foot for the embarkation of the marines and other persons who were to quit this colony. It had been a part of the first determinations on this business, that the _Sirius_ should, as I have mentioned, proceed directly from Norfolk Island on her voyage to China; but Captain Hunter having represented the absolute necessity he should be under of touching somewhere to wood and water, owing to the number he should have on board, that idea was given up, and Captain Hunter was directed to return with the _Sirius_ to this port for the above purposes of wooding and watering. An additional reason offered itself to influence this determination; it was hoped, that before she could return, the arrival of the expected supplies would have rendered the voyage altogether unnecessary; and it was but reasonable to suppose that this would happen. The governor had, in all his dispatches, uniformly declared the strong necessity there was of having at least two years provisions in store for some time to come; and as this information, together with an exact account of the situation of the colony, had been transmitted by seven different conveyances, if only one had arrived safe, it could not reasonably be doubted that supplies would be immediately dispatched. From the length of time too which had elapsed since the departure of the last ships* that sailed from hence direct for England (full fifteen months), it was as reasonable to suppose that they might arrive within the time that the _Sirius_ would be absent. [* The _Golden Grove_ and the _Fishburn_ sailed from this port the 19th of November 1788, intending to make their passage round by Cape Horn, to which the season was most favourable.] The month passed in the arrangements and preparations requisite on this occasion, to which the weather was extremely unfavourable, heavy rains, with gales of wind, prevailing nearly the whole time. The rain came down in torrents, filling up every trench and cavity which had been dug about the settlement, and causing much damage to the miserable mud tenements which were occupied by the convicts. By these rains, a pit which had been dug for the purpose of procuring clay to plaister the walls of a hut, was filled with water; and a boy upwards of two years of age, belonging to one of the female convicts, falling into it, was drowned. The surgeons tried, but without success, to save his life, using the methods practised by the Humane Society. Yet bad as the weather was, several gardens were robbed, and, as at this time they abounded with melons and pumpkins, they became the object of depredation in common with other productions of the garden. A brick building, fifty-nine feet in front, designed for a guard-house, of which the foundation had been laid a few days before the heavy rains commenced, suffered much by their continuance. The situation of this building was on the east side of the cove, at the upper part, contiguous to the bridge over the run of water, and convenient for detaching assistance to any part of the place where it might be requisite. On the 1st of March a reduction in the allowance of spirits took place; the half pint _per diem_, which had hitherto been issued to each man who was entitled to receive it, was to be discontinued, and only the half of that allowance served. Thus was the gradual decrease in our stores followed by a diminution of our daily comforts and necessaries. One immediate consequence, and that an evil one, was the effect of the intended embarkation for Norfolk Island. It being found that great quantities of stock were killed, an order was immediately given to prevent the further destruction of an article so essential in our present situation, until some necessary regulations could be published; but the officers and people who were about to embark were not included in this prohibition. The mention of future regulations in this order instantly begat an opinion among the convicts, that on the departure of the ships all the live stock in the colony would be called in, or that the owners would be deprived of the benefits which might result from the possession of it. Under colour, therefore, of its belonging to those who were exempted in the late order, nearly all the stock in the settlement was in the course of a few nights destroyed; a wound being thereby given to the independence of the colony that could not easily be salved, and whose injurious effects time and much attention alone could remove. The expected supplies not having arrived, on the 3rd, the two companies of marines with their officers and the colours of the corps embarked on board the _Sirius_ and the _Supply_. With them also embarked the lieutenant-governor, and Mr. Considen the senior assistant surgeon of the settlement. On the day following, one hundred and sixteen male and sixty-eight female convicts, with twenty-seven children, were put on board; among the male convicts the governor had sent the troublesome and incorrigible Caesar, on whom he had bestowed a pardon. With these also was sent, though of a very different description, a person whose exemplary conduct had raised him from the situation of a convict to the privileges of a free man. John Irving had since our landing in the country been employed as an assistant at the hospital. He was bred a surgeon, and in no instance whatever, since the commission of the offence for which he was transported, had he given cause of complaint. He was now sent to Norfolk Island, to act as an assistant to the medical gentlemen there. On the 5th the _Sirius_ and the _Supply_ left the cove, but did not get to sea until the following day, when at the close of the evening they were scarcely to be discerned from the South Head. At the little post at this place Captain Hunter left the gunner, a midshipman, and six of the _Sirius's_ people. Mr. Maxwell, one of her lieutenants, having been for a considerable time past in a melancholy and declining way, and his disorder pronounced by the surgeons to be insanity, he was discharged from the ship, and had taken up his residence on shore under the care of the surgeon, with proper people who were left from the ship to attend him. This was the second officer whose situation in the _Sirius_ it became necessary to have filled. Lieutenant King, the commandant of Norfolk Island, had for some time been discharged from the ship's books; and Mr. Newton Fowell, a young gentleman of the _Sirius's_ quarter-deck, being deemed well qualified, was appointed by the governor (as the naval commanding officer) to succeed him. To fill the vacancy occasioned by Mr. Maxwell's unfortunate state of health, Mr. Henry Waterhouse, a young gentleman of promising abilities, was taken from the quarter-deck. Both these appointments were to wait the confirmation of the lords commissioners of the admiralty. Immediately after the departure of these ships, the governor directed his attention to the regulation of the people who were left at Sydney, and to the preservation of the stock in the colony. For these purposes, he himself visited the different huts and gardens whose tenants had just quitted them, distributing them to such convicts as were either in miserable hovels, or without any shelter at all. It was true, that by this arrangement the idle found themselves provided for by the labour of many who had been industrious; but they were at the same time assured, that unless they kept in good cultivation the gardens which they were allowed to possess, they would be turned out from the comforts of a good hut, to live under a rock or a tree. That they might have time for this purpose, the afternoon of Wednesday and the whole of Saturday in each week were given to them. Much room was made every where by the numbers who had embarked (in all two hundred and eighty-one persons); the military quarters had a deserted aspect; and the whole settlement appeared as if famine had already thinned it of half its numbers. The little society that was in the place was broken up, and every man seemed left to brood in solitary silence over the dreary prospect before him. With respect to the stock, his excellency directed, that no hogs under three months old should be killed, nor were any to be butchered without information being first given at headquarters. Those who bred poultry were left at liberty to dispose of it in such manner as they thought proper; and the commissary was directed to purchase for the use of the hospital such live stock as the owners were desirous of selling, complying with the above regulations, and receiving one shilling a pound as the price. Some provisions which yet remained in the old large thatched store were removed for greater security into the store in the marine quarters. It was strongly suspected, that an attempt had been made to obtain some part of these provisions in the night; and some convicts were examined before the judge-advocate on suspicion of having taken some flour from the store; but nothing appeared that could materially affect them. The provisions, when all collected together under one roof and into one view, afforded but a melancholy reflection; it was well that we had even them. On the 27th of the month, the long-expected signal not having been displayed, it became necessary to put the colony upon a still shorter ration of provisions. It was a painful but a necessary duty. The governor directed that the provisions should in future be served daily; for which purpose the store was to be opened from one to three in the afternoon. The ration for the week was to consist of four pounds of flour, two pounds and a half of pork, and one pound and a half of rice, and these were to be issued to every person in the settlement without distinction; but as the public labour must naturally be affected by this reduction, the working hours were in future to be from sunrise, with a small interval for breakfast, until one o'clock: the afternoons were to be allowed the people to receive their provisions and work in their gardens. These alterations in the ration and in the hours of labour, however, were not to commence until the 1st of the following month. At Rose Hill similar regulations were made by the governor. The garden ground was enlarged; those who were in bad huts were placed in better; and every thing was said that could stimulate them to be industrious. This, with a few exceptions, appeared to be the principal labour both there and at Sydney; and the nightwatch were called upon by the common interest to be more than ever active and sedulous in their efforts to protect public and private property; for robberies of gardens and houses were daily and nightly committed. Damage was also received from the little stock which remained alive; the owners, not having wherewith to feed them, were obliged to turn them loose to browse among the grass and shrubs, or turn up the ground for the fern-root; and as they wandered without any one to prevent their doing mischief, they but too often found an easy passage over fences and through barriers which were now grown weak and perishing. It was however ordered, that the stock should be kept up during the night, and every damage that could be proved to have been received during that time was to be made good by the owners of the stock that might be caught trespassing; or the animals themselves were to be forfeited. The carpenters were employed in preparing a roof for a new storehouse, those which were first erected being now decaying, and having been always insecure. It was never expected to get up a building of one hundred feet in front, which this was designed to be, upon so reduced a ration as the present; but while the people did labour, it was proper to turn that little labour to the public account. The working gangs being now so much reduced by the late embarkation, the hoy was employed in bringing the timber necessary for this building from the coves where it was cut down and deposited for that purpose. This vessel, when unemployed for public services, was given to the officers, and by them sent down the harbour to procure cabbage-tree for their stock, in the preservation and maintenance of which every one felt an immediate and anxious concern. The weather had been very wet during this month; torrents of rain again laid every place under water; many little habitations, which had withstood the inundations of the last month, now suffered considerably; several chimneys fell in; but this was owing, perhaps, as much to their being built by job or taskwork (which the workmen hurried over in general to get a day or two to themselves) as to the heavy rains. April.] The reduced ration and the change in the working hours commenced, as was directed, on the 1st of this month; much time was not consumed at the store, and the people went away to dress the scanty allowance which they had received. Attention to our religious duties was never omitted. Divine service was performed in one of our emptied storehouses on the morning of the next day, being Good Friday; and the convicts were recommended to employ the remainder of it in their gardens. But, notwithstanding the evident necessity that existed for every man's endeavouring to assist himself, very few were observed to be so profitably occupied. As every saving that could be made in the article of provisions was of consequence in the present situation of the stores, it was directed on the 3rd, that such fish as should in future be taken by the public boats should be issued at the store, in the proportion of ten pounds of fish to two pounds and a half of pork; and one hundred and fifty pounds of fish, which had been brought up before the issuing of provisions commenced on that day, were served out agreeable to that order. Mr. Maxwell, whose disorder at times admitted of his going out alone, was fortunately brought up from the lower part of the harbour, where he had passed nearly two days, without sustenance, in rowing from one side to the other, in a small boat by himself. He was noticed by a sergeant who had been fishing, and who observed him rowing under the dangerous rocks of the middle-head, where he must soon have been dashed to pieces, but for his fortunate interposition. After this escape he was more narrowly watched. While occupied in listening to the tale, of his distresses, the _Supply_ returned from Norfolk Island, with an account that was of itself almost sufficient to have deranged the strongest intellect among us. A load of accumulated evils seemed bursting at once upon our heads. The ships that were expected with supplies were still to be anxiously looked for; and the _Sirius_, which was to have gone in quest of relief to our distresses, was lost upon the reef at Norfolk Island, on the 19th of last month. This was a blow which, as it was unexpected, fell with increased weight, and on every one the whole weight seemed to have fallen. This untoward accident happened in the following manner: Captain Hunter was extremely fortunate in having a short passage hence to Norfolk Island, arriving there in seven days after he sailed. The soldiers, and a considerable part of the convicts, were immediately landed in Cascade Bay, which happened at the time to be the leeward side of the island. Bad weather immediately ensued, and for several days, the provisions could not be landed, so high was the surf occasioned by it. This delay, together with a knowledge that the provisions on the island were not adequate to the additional numbers that were now to be victualled, caused him to be particularly anxious to get the provisions on shore. The bad weather had separated the _Sirius_ from the _Supply_; but meeting with a favourable slant of wind on the 19th, Captain Hunter gained the island from which he had been driven, and stood for Sydney Bay, at the south end of it, where he found the _Supply_; and it being signified by signal from the shore (where they could form the best judgment) that the landing might be effected with any boat, he brought to in the windward part of the bay, with the ship's head off the shore, got out the boats, and loaded them with provisions. When the boats had put off from the ship, it being perceived that she settled very much to leeward, the tacks were got on board, and every sail set that was possible to get her free from the shore. Notwithstanding which, she could not weather the reef off the south-west end of the bay, the wind having at that time very unfavourably shifted two points. The ship was then thrown in stays, which she missed, being with great difficulty wore clear of the breakers, and brought to the wind on the other tack, when every sail was again set. Finding that she still drifted fast upon the shore, another attempt was made to stay her; but being out of trim, it did not succeed. All the sheets and hallyards were then ordered to be let fly, and an anchor to be cut away; but before it reached the ground, she struck with violence on the reef, very soon bulged, and was irrecoverably lost. Her officers and people were all saved, having been dragged on shore, through the surf, on a grating. This day, which untoward circumstances had rendered so gloomy to us, was remarkably fine, and at the unfortunate moment of this calamity there was very little wind. On the next or second day after, permission was given to two convicts (one of whom, James Brannegan, was an overseer) to get off to the ship, and endeavour to bring on shore what live hogs they might be able to save; but with all that lamentable want of resolution and consideration which is characteristic of the lower order of people when temptations are placed before them, they both got intoxicated with the liquor which had escaped the plunder of the seamen, and set the ship on fire in two places. A light on board the ship being observed from the shore, several shot were fired at it, but the wretches would neither put it out, nor come on shore; when a young man of the name of Ascott, a convict, with great intrepidity went off through the surf, extinguished the fire, and forced them out of the ship. The lieutenant-governor, immediately after the loss of the Sirius, called a council of all the naval and marine officers in the settlement, when it was unanimously determined that martial law should be proclaimed; that all private stock, poultry excepted, should be considered as the property of the state; that justice should be administered by a court-martial to be composed of seven officers, five of whom were to concur in a sentence of death; and that there should be two locks upon the door of the public store, whereof one key was to be in the keeping of a person to be appointed by Captain Hunter in behalf of the seamen; the other to be kept by a person to be appointed in behalf of the military. The day following, the troops, seamen, and convicts, being assembled, these resolutions were publicly read, and the whole confirmed their engagement of abiding by them by passing under the king's colour, which was displayed on the occasion. In the _Supply_ arrived the late commandant of Norfolk Island, two lieutenants, four petty officers, twenty-four seamen, and two marines, lately belonging to the _Sirius_. These officers spoke in high terms of the activity and conduct of Mr. Keltie the master, Mr. Brooks the boatswain, and Mr. Donovan a midshipman of the _Sirius_, who ventured off to the ship in one of the island boats through a very dangerous surf, and brought on shore the end of the hawser, to which was slung the grating that saved the lives of the officers and people. They likewise somewhat blunted the edge of this calamity, by assurances that it was highly probable, from the favourable appearance of the weather when the _Supply_ left Norfolk Island, that all or at least the greatest part of the provisions would be landed from the _Sirius_. The general melancholy which prevailed in this settlement when the above unwelcome intelligence was made public need not be described; and when the _Supply_ came to an anchor in the cove every one looked up to her as to their only remaining hope. In this exigency the governor thought it necessary to assemble all the officers of the settlement, civil and Military, to determine on what measures were necessary to be adopted. At this meeting, when the situation of the colony was thoroughly weighed and placed in every point of view, it was determined to reduce still lower what was already too low; the ration was to be no more then two pounds and a half of flour, two pounds of pork, one pint of peas, and one pound of rice, for each person for seven days. This allowance was to be issued to all descriptions of people in the colony, children under eighteen months excepted, who were to have only one pound of salt meat. Every exertion was to be made here, and at Botany Bay, in fishing for the general benefit. All private boats were to be surrendered to the public use; every effort was to be put in practice to prevent the robbing of gardens; and, as one step toward this, all suspicious characters were to be secured and locked up during the night. People were to be employed to kill, for the public, the animals that the country afforded; and every step was to be taken that could save a pound of the salt provisions in store, It was proposed to take all the hogs in the settlement as public property; but as it was absolutely necessary to keep some breeding sows, and the stock being small and very poor, that idea was abandoned. In pursuance of these resolutions, the few convicts who had been employed to shoot for individuals were given up for the public benefit; and a fishery was established at Botany Bay, under the inspection of one of the midshipmen of the _Sirius_. But this plan, not being found to answer, was soon relinquished. The quantity of fish that was from time to time taken was very inconsiderable, and the labour of transporting it by land from thence was greater than the advantage which was expected to be derived from it. The boats were therefore recalled, and employed with rather more success at Sydney. It was well known, that the integrity of the people employed in fishing could not be depended upon; the officers of the settlement therefore voluntarily took upon themselves the unpleasant task of superintending them; and it became a general duty, which every one cheerfully performed. The fishing-boat never went out without an officer, either by night or by day. On the 7th, about four hundred weight of fish being brought up, it was issued agreeable to the order; and could the like quantity have been brought in daily, some saving might have been made at the store, which would have repaid the labour that was employed to obtain it. But the quantity taken during this month, after the 7th, was not often much more than equal to supplying the people employed in the boats with one pound of fish per man, which was allowed them in addition to their ration. The small boats, the property of individuals, were therefore returned to their owners, and the people who had been employed in them, together with the seamen of the _Sirius_ now here, were placed in the large boats belonging to the settlement. Neither was much advantage obtained by employing people to shoot for the public. At the end of the month only three small kangaroos had been brought in. The convicts who were employed on this service, three in number, were considered as good marksmen, and were allowed a ration of flour instead of their salt provisions, the better to enable them to sustain the labour and fatigue of traversing the woods of this country. The necessity of procuring relief became every day more pressing. The voyage of the _Sirius_ to China was at an end; and nothing had yet arrived from England, though hourly expected. It was the natural and general opinion, that our present situation was to be attributed to accident rather than to procrastination. It was more probable, that the vessels which had been dispatched by the British government had met with some distress, that had either compelled them to return or had wholly prevented them from any further prosecution of the voyage, than that any delay should have taken place in their departure. The governor, therefore, determined on sending the _Supply_ armed tender to Batavia; and, as her commander was most zealously active in his preparations for the voyage, she was soon ready for sea. Her tonnage, however, was trifling when compared with our necessities. Lieutenant Ball was, therefore, directed to procure a supply of eight months provisions for himself, and to hire a vessel and purchase 200,000 pounds of flour, 80,000 pounds of beef, 60,000 pounds of pork, and 70,000 pounds of rice; together with some necessaries for the hospital, such as sugar, sago, hogs lard, vinegar, and dongaree. The expectation of this relief was indeed distant, but yet it was more to be depended upon than that which might be coming from England. A given time was fixed for the return of the _Supply_; but it was impossible to say when a vessel might arrive from Europe. Whatever might be our distress for provisions, it would be some alleviation to look on to a certain fixed period when it might be expected to be removed. Lieutenant Ball's passage lay through the regions of fine weather, and the hope of every one was fixed upon the little vessel that was to convey him; yet it was painful to contemplate our very existence as depending upon her safety; to consider that a rough sea, a hidden rock, or the violence of elemental strife, might in one fatal moment precipitate us, with the little bark that had all our hopes on board, to the lowest abyss of misery. In the well-known ability and undoubted exertions of her commander however, under God, all placed their dependance; and from that principle, when she sailed, instead of predicting mischance, we all, with one wish for her safe return, fixed and anticipated the period at which it might reasonably be expected. She sailed on Saturday the 17th of April, having on board Lieutenant King, the late commandant of Norfolk Island, who was charged with the governor's dispatches for the secretary of state, and Mr. Andrew Miller, the late commissary, whose ill state of health obliging him to resign that employment, the governor permitted him to return to England. and had appointed Mr. John Palmer, the purser of the _Sirius_, to supply his place. Lieutenant Newton Fowell, of the _Sirius_, was, together with the gunner of that ship, also embarked. The _Supply_ was to touch at Norfolk Island, if practicable, and take on board Lieutenant Bradley of the _Sirius_, who, from his knowledge of the coast, was chosen by the governor to proceed to Batavia, and was to return to this port in whatever vessel might be freighted by Lieutenant Ball; Mr. Fowell and the gunner were to be left at the island. Mr. Palmer received his appointment from his excellency on the 12th of this month, on which day the following was the state of the provisions in the public store, viz Pork 23,851 pounds,) Which was 26th Aug.---4 months 14 days. Beef 1,280 pounds,) to serve Rice 24,455 pounds,) at the 13th Sept.--5 months 1 day. Peas 17 bushels,) ration Flour 56,884 pounds,) then issued 19th Dec.---8 months 7 days. Biscuit 1,924 pounds,) until The duration of the _Supply's_ voyage was generally expected to be six months; a period at which, if no relief arrived in the mean time from England, we should be found without salt provisions, rice, and peas. In the above statement three hundred bushels of wheat, which had been produced at Rose Hill, were not included, being reserved for seed. The governor, from a motive that did him immortal honor, in this season of general distress, gave up three hundred weight of flour which was his excellency's private property, declaring that he wished not to see any thing more at his table than the ration which was received in common from the public store, without any distinction of persons; and to this resolution he rigidly adhered, wishing that if a convict complained, he might see that want was not unfelt even at Government house. On the 20th of the month, the following was the ration issued from the public store to each man for seven days, or to seven people for one day: flour, 2½ pounds, rice, 2 pounds, pork, 2 pounds. The peas were all expended. Was this a ration for a labouring man? The two pounds of pork, when boiled, from the length of time it had been in store. shrunk away to nothing; and when divided among seven people for their day's sustenance, barely afforded three or four morsels to each. The inevitable consequences of this scarcity of provisions ensued; labour stood nearly suspended for want of energy to proceed; and the countenances of the people plainly bespoke the hardships they underwent. The convicts, however, were employed for the public in the forenoons; and such labour was obtained from them as their situation would allow. The guard-house on the east side was finished and taken possession of during the month. There being many among the convicts who availed themselves of this peculiar situation to commit thefts, it became necessary to punish with severity all who were fully convicted before the court of criminal jurisdiction. One convict was executed for breaking into a house, and several others were sentenced to severe corporal punishments. Garden robberies were the principal offences committed. These people had been assembled by the governor, and informed that very severe punishment would follow the conviction of persons guilty of robbing gardens, as a necessary step toward preventing the continuance of such an evil; and he strongly inculcated the absolute necessity that existed for every man to cultivate his own garden, instead of robbing that of another. To the few who, from never having been industrious, had not any ground sown or planted with vegetables, he allotted a small but sufficient spot for their use, and encouraged them in their labour by his presence and directions; but they preferred any thing to honest industry. These people, though the major part of them were, during the night, locked up in the building lately occupied as a guardhouse, were ever on the watch to commit depredations on the unwary during the hours in which they were at large, and never suffered an opportunity to escape them. A female convict, who came down from Rose Hill, was robbed of her week's provisions; and as it was impossible to replace them from the public store, she was left to subsist on what she could obtain from the bounty (never more truly laudable than at this distressing juncture) of others who commiserated her situation. One male convict was executed; one female convict and one child died. The female convict occasioned her own death, by overloading her stomach with flour and greens, of which she made a mess during the day, and ate heartily; but, not being satisfied, she rose in the night and finished it. This was one of the evil effects of the reduced ration. May.] The expedient of shooting for the public not being found to answer the expectations which had been formed of it, sixty pounds of pork only having been saved, the game-killers were called in, and the general exertion was directed to the business of fishing. The seine and the hooks and lines were employed, and with various success; the best of which afforded but a very trifling relief. As the _Sirius_ was fated not to return to perform her intended voyage to India, the biscuit which had been baked for that purpose was issued, in lieu of flour, that article being served again when the biscuit was expended; and it lasted only through seven days. It was naturally expected, that the miserable allowance which was issued would affect the healths of the labouring convicts. A circumstance occurred on the 12th of this month, which seemed to favor this idea; an elderly man dropped down at the store, whither he had repaired with others to receive his day's subsistence. Fainting with hunger, and unable through age to hold up any longer, he was carried to the hospital, where he died the next morning. On being opened, his stomach was found quite empty. It appeared, that not having any utensil of his own wherein to cook his provisions, nor share in any, he was frequently compelled, short as his allowance for the day was, to give a part of it to any one who would supply him with a vessel to dress his victuals; and at those times when he did not choose to afford this deduction, he was accustomed to eat his rice and other provisions undressed, which brought on indigestion, and at length killed him. It might have been supposed, that the severity of the punishments which had been ordered by the criminal court on offenders convicted of robbing gardens would have deterred others from committing that offence; but while there was a vegetable to steal, there were those who would steal it, wholly regardless as to the injustice done to the person they robbed, and of the consequences that might ensue to themselves. For this sort of robbery the criminal court was twice assembled in the present month. The clergyman had taken a convict in his garden in the act of stealing potatoes. Example was necessary, and the court that tried him, finding that the severity of former courts did not prevent the commission of the same offence, instead of the great weight of corporal punishment which had marked their former sentences, directed this prisoner to receive three hundred lashes, his ration of flour to be stopped for six months, and himself to be chained for that time to two public delinquents who had been detected in the fact of robbing the governor's garden, and who had been ordered by the justices to work for a certain time in irons. This sentence was carried into execution; but the governor remitted, after some days trial, that part of it which respected the prisoner's ration of flour, without which he could not long have existed. The governor's garden had been the object of frequent depredation; scarcely a night passed that it was not robbed, notwithstanding that many received vegetables from it by his excellency's order. Two convicts had been taken up, who confessed that within the space of a month they had robbed it seven or eight times, and that they had killed a hog belonging to an officer. These were the people who were ordered by the justices to work in irons. A soldier, a man of infamous character, had been detected robbing the garden while sentinel in the neighbourhood of it, and, being tried by a court-martial for quitting his post, was sentenced and received five hundred lashes. Yet all this was not sufficient: on the evening of the 26th, a seaman belonging to the _Sirius_ got into the governor's garden, and was fired at by a watchman who had been stationed there for some nights past, and wounded, as it afterwards appeared, but so slightly as not to prevent his effecting his escape; leaving, however, a bag behind him, filled with vegetables. On close examination it was fixed upon him, and, being brought before a criminal court, he was sentenced to receive five hundred lashes; but at the same time was recommended to the governor's clemency, on account of a good character which had been given him in court. The governor, as it was his garden that was robbed, attended to the recommendation, remitting four out of the five hundred lashes which had been ordered him*. Being, after this, villain enough to accuse some of his shipmates of crimes which he acknowledged existed only in his own malicious mind, he received, by order of the justices, a further punishment of fifty lashes. [* Sixty pounds of flour, which had been offered as a reward for bringing to justice a garden-thief, were paid to the watchman who fired at him.] So great was either the villainy of the people, or the necessities of the times, that a prisoner lying at the hospital under sentence of corporal punishment having received a part of it, five hundred lashes, contrived to get his irons off from one leg, and in that situation was caught robbing a farm. On being brought in, he received another portion of his punishment. Among other thefts committed in this season of general distress, was one by a convict employed in the fishing boats, who found means to secrete several pounds of fish in a bag, which he meant to secure in addition to the allowance which was to be made him for having been out on that duty. To deter others from committing the like offence, which might, by repetition, amount to a serious evil, he was ordered to receive one hundred lashes. At Rose Hill the convicts conducted themselves with much greater propriety; not a theft nor any act of ill behaviour having been for some time past heard of among them*. [* They had vegetables in great abundance.] At that settlement a kangaroo had been killed of one hundred and eighty pounds weight; and the people reported that they were much molested by the native dogs, which had been seen together in great numbers, and, coming by night about the settlement, had killed some hogs which were not housed. The colony had hitherto been supplied with salt from the public stores, a quantity being always shaken off from the salt provisions, and reserved for use by the store-keepers; but the daily consumption of salt provisions was now become so inconsiderable, and they had been so long in store, that little or none of that article was to be procured. Two large iron boilers were therefore erected at the east point of the cove; some people were employed to boil the salt water, and the salt which was produced by this very simple process was issued to the convicts. Our fishing tackle began now, with our other necessaries, to decrease. To remedy this inconvenience, we were driven by necessity to avail ourselves of some knowledge which we had gained from the natives; and one of the convicts (a rope-maker) was employed to spin lines from the bark of a tree which they used for the same purpose. The native who had been taken in November last convinced us how far before every other consideration he deemed the possession of his liberty, by very artfully effecting his escape from the governor's house, where he had been treated with every indulgence and had enjoyed every comfort which it was in his excellency's power to give him. He managed his escape so ingeniously, that it was not suspected until he had completed it, and all search was rendered fruitless. The boy and the girl appeared to remain perfectly contented among us, and declared that they knew their countryman would never return. During this month the bricklayer's gang and some carpenters were sent down to the Look-out, to erect two huts for the midshipmen and seamen of the _Sirius_ who were stationed there, where the stonemason's gang were employed quarrying stone for two chimneys. The greatest quantity of fish caught at any one time in this month was two hundred pounds. Once the seine was full; but through either the wilfulness or the ignorance of the people employed to land it, the greatest part of its contents escaped. Upwards of two thousand pounds were taken in the course of the month, which produced a saving of five hundred pounds of pork at the store, the allowance of thirty-one men for four weeks. Very little labour could be enforced from people who had nothing to eat. Nevertheless, as it was necessary to think of some preparations for the next season, the convicts were employed in getting the ground ready both at Sydney and at Rose Hill for the reception of wheat and barley. The quantity of either article, however, to be now sown, fell far short of what our necessities required. CHAPTER X The _Lady Juliana_ transport arrives from England _The Guardian_ His Majesty's birthday Thanksgiving for His Majesty's recovery The _Justinian_ storeship arrives Full ration ordered Three transports arrive Horrid state of the convicts on board Sick landed Instance of sagacity in a dog A convict drowned Mortality and number of sick on the 13th Convicts sent to Rose Hill A town marked out there Works in hand at Sydney Instructions respecting grants of land Mr. Fergusson drowned Convicts' claims on the master of the _Neptune_ Transactions Criminal Court Whale June.] The first and second days of this month were exceedingly unfavourable to our situation; heavy rain and blowing weather obstructed labour and prevented fishing. But it was decreed that on the 3rd we should experience sensations to which we had been strangers ever since our departure from England. About half past three in the afternoon of this day, to the inexpressible satisfaction of every heart in the settlement, the long-looked-for signal for a ship was made at the South Head. Every countenance was instantly cheered, and wore the lively expressions of eagerness, joy, and anxiety; the whole settlement was in motion and confusion. Notwithstanding it blew very strong at the time, the governor's secretary, accompanied by Captain Tench and Mr. White, immediately went off, and at some risk (for a heavy sea was running in the harbour's mouth) reached the ship for which the signal had been made just in time to give directions which placed her in safety in Spring Cove. She proved to be the _Lady Juliana_ transport from London, last from Plymouth; from which latter place we learned, with no small degree of wonder and mortification, that she sailed on the 29th day of last July (full ten months ago) with two hundred and twenty-two female convicts on board. We had long conjectured, that the non-arrival of supplies must be owing either to accident or delays in the voyage, and not to any backwardness on the part of government in sending them out. We now found that our disappointment was to be ascribed to both misfortune and delay. The _Lady Juliana_, we have seen, sailed in July last, and in the month of September following his majesty's ship _Guardian_, of forty-four guns, commanded by Lieutenant Edward Riou, sailed from England, having on board, with what was in the _Lady Juliana_, two years provisions, viz 295,344 pounds of flour, 149,856 pounds of beef, and 303,632 pounds of pork, for the settlement; a supply of clothing for the marines serving on shore, and for those belonging to the _Sirius_ and _Supply_; together with a large quantity of sails and cordage for those ships and for the uses of the colony; sixteen chests of medicines; fifteen casks of wine; a quantity of blankets and bedding for the hospital; and a large supply of unmade clothing for the convicts; with an ample assortment of tools and implements of agriculture. At the Cape of Good Hope Lieutenant Riou took on board a quantity of stock for the settlement, and completed a garden which had been prepared under the immediate direction of Sir Joseph Banks, and in which there were near one hundred and fifty of the finest fruit trees, several of them bearing fruit. There was scarcely an officer in the colony that had not his share of private property embarked on board of this richly freighted ship; their respective friends having procured permission from government for that purpose. But it was as painful then to learn, as it will ever be to recollect, that on the 23rd day of December preceding, the _Guardian_ struck against an island of ice in latitude 45 degrees 54 minutes South, and longitude 41 degrees 30 minutes East, whereby she received so much injury, that Lieutenant Riou was compelled, in order to save her from instantly sinking, to throw overboard the greatest part of her valuable cargo both on the public and private account. The stock was all killed, (seven horses, sixteen cows, two bulls, a number of sheep, goats, and two deer,) the garden destroyed, and the ship herself saved only by the interposition of Providence, and the admirable conduct of the commander. The _Guardian_ was a fast-sailing ship, and would probably have arrived in the latter end of January or the beginning of February last. At that period the large quantity of live stock in the colony was daily increasing; the people required for labour were, comparatively with their present state, strong and healthy; the necessity of dividing the Convicts, and sending the _Sirius_ to Norfolk Island, would not have existed; the ration of provisions, instead of the diminutions which had been necessarily directed, would have been increased to the full allowance; and the tillage of the ground consequently proceeded in with that spirit which must be exerted to the utmost before the settlement could render itself independent of the mother country for subsistence. But to what a distance was that period now thrown by this unfortunate accident, and by the delay which took place in the voyage of the _Lady Juliana_! Government had placed a naval officer in this transport, Lieutenant Thomas Edgar*, for the purpose of seeing justice done to the convicts as to their provisions, cleanliness, etc. and to guard against any unnecessary delays on the voyage. Being directed to follow the route of the _Sirius_ and her convoy, he called at Teneriffe and St. Iago, stayed seven weeks at Rio de Janeiro, and one month at the Cape of Good Hope; completing his circuitous voyage of ten months duration by arriving here on the 3rd day of June 1790. [* He had sailed with the late Captain Cook.] On Lieutenant Edgar's arrival at the Cape he found the _Guardian_ lying there, Lieutenant Riou having just safely regained that port, from which he had sailed but a short time, with every fair prospect of speedily and happily executing the orders with which he was entrusted, and of conveying to this colony the assistance of which it stood so much in need. Unhappily for us, she was now lying a wreck, with difficulty and at an immense expense preserved from sinking at her anchors. Beside the common share which we all bore in this calamity, we had to lament that the efforts of our several friends, in amply supplying the wants that they concluded must have been occasioned by an absence of three years, were all rendered ineffectual, the private articles having been among the first things that were thrown overboard to lighten the ship*. [* The private property of the officers was all stowed, as the best and safest place in the ship, in the gun-room. Some officers were great losers.] Government had sent out in the _Guardian_ twenty-five male convicts, who were either farmers or artificers, together with seven persons engaged to serve as superintendants of convicts, for three years from their landing, at salaries of forty pounds per annum each. Of these, two, who were professed gardeners, were supposed to be drowned, having left the ship soon after she struck, with several other persons in boats, and not been heard of when the _Lady Juliana_ left the Cape. The superintendants who remained came on in the transport; but the convicts, of whose conduct Lieutenant Riou spoke in the highest terms, were detained at the Cape. A clergyman also was on board the _Guardian_, the Rev. Mr. Crowther, who had been appointed, at a salary of eight shillings per diem, to divide the religious duties of the settlement with Mr. Johnson. This gentleman left the ship with the master and purser in the long-boat, taking provisions and water with them; and of five boats which were launched on the same perilous enterprise, this was the only one that conducted her passengers into safety. They were fortunately, after many days sailing, picked up by a French ship, which took them into the Cape, and thence to Europe. One-third of the stores and provisions intended for the colony were put on board the transport, the remaining two-thirds were on board the _Guardian_; none of which it was supposed would ever reach the settlement, the small quantity excepted (seventy-five barrels of flour) which was put on board the transport at the Cape. The Dutch at that place were profiting by our misfortune, their warehouses being let out at an immense expense to receive such of the provisions and stores as remained on board the _Guardian_ when she got in. In addition to the above distressing circumstances, we learned that one thousand convicts of both sexes were to sail at the latter end of the last year, and that a corps of foot was raising for the service of this country under the command of a major-commandant, Francis Grose esq. from the 29th foot, of which regiment, he was major. The transports which sailed hence in May, July, and November 1788 (the _Friendship_ excepted) arrived in England within a very short time of each other; and their arrival relieved the public from anxiety upon our account. The joy that was diffused by the arrival of the transports was considerably checked by the variety of unpleasant and unwelcome intelligence which she brought. We learned that our beloved Sovereign had been attacked and for some months afflicted with a dangerous and alarming illness, though now happily recovered. Our distance from his person had not lessened our attachment, and the day following the receipt of this information being the anniversary of his Majesty's birth, it was kept with every mark of distinction that was in our power. The governor pardoned all offenders who were under confinement, or under sentence of corporal punishment; the ration was increased for that day, that every one might rejoice; at the governor's table, where all the officers of the settlement and garrison were met, many prosperous and happy years were fervently wished to be added to his Majesty's life; and Wednesday the 9th was appointed for a public thanksgiving on occasion of his recovery. The _Lady Juliana_ was, by strong westerly winds and bad weather, prevented from reaching the cove until the 6th, when, the weather moderating, she was towed up to the settlement. The convicts on board her appeared to have been well treated during their long passage, and preparations for landing them were immediately made; but, in the distressed situation of the colony, it was not a little mortifying to find on board the first ship that arrived, a cargo so unnecessary and unprofitable as two hundred and twenty-two females, instead of a cargo of provisions; the supply of provisions on board her was so inconsiderable as to permit only an addition of one pound and a half of flour being made to the weekly ration. Had the _Guardian_ arrived, perhaps we should never again have been in want. On the 9th, being the day appointed for returning thanks to Almighty God for his Majesty's happy restoration to health, the attendance on divine service was very full. A sermon on the occasion was preached by the Rev. Mr. Johnson, who took his text from the book of Proverbs, 'By me kings reign.' The officers were afterwards entertained at the governor's, when an address on the occasion of the meeting was resolved to be sent to his Majesty. When the women were landed on the 11th, many of them appeared to be loaded with the infirmities incident to old age, and to be very improper subjects for any of the purposes of an infant colony. Instead of being capable of labour, they seemed to require attendance themselves, and were never likely to be any other than a burden to the settlement, which must sensibly feel the hardship of having to support by the labour of those who could toll, and who at the best were but few, a description of people utterly incapable of using any exertion toward their own maintenance. When the women were disembarked, and the provisions and stores landed, it was found that twenty casks of flour (from the unfitness of the ship to perform such a voyage, being old and far from tight) were totally destroyed. This was a serious loss to us, when only four pounds of flour constituted the allowance of that article for one man for seven days. From this situation of distress, however, we were in a short time afterwards effectually relieved, and the colony might be pronounced to be restored, by the arrival (on the 20th) of the _Justinian_ storeship, Mr. Benjamin Maitland master, from England, after a short passage of only five months. Mr. Maitland, on the 2nd of this month, the day preceding the arrival of the _Lady Juliana_, was off the entrance of this harbour, and would certainly have been found by that ship at anchor within the heads, had he not, by a sudden change of the wind, aided by a current, been driven as far to the northward as Black Head, in latitude 32 degrees S. where he was very nearly lost in an heavy gale of wind; but which he providentially rode out, having been obliged to come to an anchor, though close in with some dangerous rocks. The wind was dead on the shore, and the rocks so close when he anchored, that the rebound of the wave prevented him from riding any considerable strain on his cable. Had that failed him, we should never have seen the _Justinian_ or her valuable cargo, which was found to consist of stores and provisions, trusted, it was true, to one ship; but as she had happily arrived in safety, and was full, we all rejoiced that we had not to wait for the arrival of a second before the colony could be restored to its former plenty. We now learned that three transports might be hourly expected, having on board the thousand convicts of whose destination we had received some information by the _Lady Juliana_, together with detachments of the corps raised for the service of this country. The remainder of this corps (which was intended to consist of three hundred men) were to come out in the _Gorgon_ man of war, of forty-four guns. This ship was also to bring out Major Grose, who had been appointed lieutenant-governor of the territory in the room of Major Ross, which officer, together with the marines under his command, were intended to return to England in that ship. Of the change which had been effected in the system of government in France we now first received information, and we heard with pleasure that it was not likely to interrupt the tranquillity of our own happy nation--happy in a constitution which might well excite the admiration and become the model of other states not so free. The _Justinian_ had sailed on the 17th of last January from Falmouth, and touched only at St. Iago, avoiding, as she had not any convicts on board, the circuitous passage by the Rio de Janeiro and the Cape of Good Hope. On the day following her arrival, every thing seemed getting into its former train; the full ration was ordered to be issued; instead of daily, it was to be served weekly as formerly; and the drum for labour was to beat as usual in the afternoons at one o'clock. How general was the wish, that no future necessity might ever occasion another deduction in the ration, or an alteration in the labour of the people! That Norfolk Island, whose situation at this time every one was fearful might call loudly for relief, should as quickly as possible reap her share of the benefit introduced among us by these arrivals, it was intended to send the _Lady Juliana_ thither; and as she required some repairs, without which she could not proceed to sea, some carpenters from the shore were sent on board her, and employed to sheath her bends, which were extremely defective. A shop was opened on shore by the master of this ship, at the hut lately occupied as a bakehouse for the _Supply_, for the sale of some articles of grocery, glass, millinery, perfumery, and stationary; but the risk of bringing them out having been most injudiciously estimated too highly, as was evident from the increase on the first cost, which could not be disguised, they did not go off so quickly as the owners supposed they would. A report having been circulated soon after the establishing of this settlement, that a considerable sum of money had been subscribed in England, to be expended in articles for the benefit of the convicts who embarked for this country, which articles had been entrusted to the Rev. Mr. Johnson, to be disposed of according to the intention of the subscribers after our arrival, Mr. Johnson wrote to his friends in England to confute this report; and by accounts lately received, it appeared that no such public collection had ever been made; at Mr. Johnson's request, therefore, the governor published a contradiction of the above report in the general orders of the settlement. The convicts had hitherto imagined that they had a right to the articles which had from time to time been distributed among them; but Mr. Johnson now thought it necessary that they should know it was to his bounty they were indebted for them, and that consequently the partakers of it were to be of his own selection. The female convicts who had lately arrived attending at divine service on the first Sunday after their landing, Mr. Johnson, with much propriety, in his discourse, touched upon their situation, and described it so forcibly as to draw tears from many who were the least hardened among them. Early in the morning of the 23rd, one of the men at the Lookout discerned a sail to the northward, but, the weather coming on thick, soon lost sight of it. The bad weather continuing, it was not seen again until the 25th, when word was brought up to the settlement, that a large ship, apparently under jury-masts, was seen in the offing; and on the following day the _Surprise_ transport, Nicholas Anstis master (late chief mate of the _Lady Penrhyn_) anchored in the cove from England, having on board one captain, one lieutenant, one surgeon's mate, one serjeant, one corporal, one drummer, and twenty-three privates of the New South Wales corps; together with two hundred and eighteen male convicts. She sailed on the 19th of January from Portsmouth in company with two other transports, with whom she parted between the Cape of Good Hope and this place. We had the mortification to learn, that the prisoners in this ship were very unhealthy, upwards of one hundred being now in the sick list on board. They had been very sickly also during the passage, and had buried forty-two of these unfortunate people. A portable hospital had fortunately been received by the _Justinian_, and there now appeared but too great a probability that we should soon have patients enough to fill it; for the signal was flying at the South Head for the other transports, and we were led to expect them in as unhealthy a state as that which had just arrived. On the evening of Monday the 28th, the _Neptune_ and _Scarborough_ transports anchored off Garden Island, and were warped into the cove the following morning. We were not mistaken in our expectations of the state in which they might arrive. By noon the following day, two hundred sick had been landed from the different transports. The west side afforded a scene truly distressing and miserable; upwards of thirty tents were pitched in front of the hospital, the portable one not being yet put up; all of which, as well as the hospital and the adjacent huts, were filled with people, many of whom were labouring under the complicated diseases of scurvy and the dysentery, and others in the last stage of either of those terrible disorders, or yielding to the attacks of an infectious fever. The appearance of those who did not require medical assistance was lean and emaciated. Several of these miserable people died in the boats as they were rowing on shore, or on the wharf as they were lifting out of the boats; both the living and the dead exhibiting more horrid spectacles than had ever been witnessed in this country. All this was to be attributed to confinement, and that of the worst species, confinement in a small space and in irons, not put on singly, but many of them chained together. On board the _Scarborough_ a plan had been formed to take the ship, which would certainly have been attempted, but for a discovery which was fortunately made by one of the convicts (Samuel Burt) who had too much principle left to enter into it. This necessarily, _on board that ship_, occasioned much future circumspection; but Captain Marshall's humanity considerably lessened the severity which the insurgents might naturally have expected. On board the other ships, the masters, who had the entire direction of the prisoners, never suffered them to be at large on deck, and but few at a time were permitted there. This consequently gave birth to many diseases. It was said, that on board the _Neptune_ several had died in irons; and what added to the horror of such a circumstance was, that their deaths were concealed, for the purpose of sharing their allowance of provisions, until chance, and the offensiveness of a corpse, directed the surgeon, or some one who had authority in the ship, to the spot where it lay. A contract had been entered into by government with Messrs. Calvert, Camden, and King, merchants of London, for the transporting of one thousand convicts, and government engaged to pay £17 7s 6d per head for every convict they embarked. This sum being as well for their provisions as for their transportation, no interest for their preservation was created in the owners, and the dead were more profitable (if profit alone was consulted by them, and the credit of their house was not at stake) than the living. The following accounts of the numbers who died on board each ship were given in by the masters: Men Women Children On board the _Lady Juliana_ 0 5 2 On board the _Surprise_ 42 0 0 On board the _Scarborough_ 68 0 0 On board the _Neptune_ 151 11 2 ----------------- Total 261 16 4 ----------------- All possible expedition was used to get the sick on shore; for even while they remained on board many died. The bodies were taken over to the north shore, and there interred. Parties were immediately sent into the woods to collect the acid berry of the country, which for its extreme acetosity was deemed by the surgeons a most powerful antiscorbutic. Among other regulations, orders were given for baking a certain quantity of flour into pound loaves, to be distributed daily among the sick, as it was not in their power to prepare it themselves. Wine and other necessaries being given judiciously among those whose situations required such comforts, many of the wretches had recourse to stratagem to obtain more than their share by presenting themselves, under different names and appearances, to those who had the delivery of them, or by exciting the compassion of those who could order them. Blankets were immediately sent to the hospital in sufficient numbers to make every patient comfortable; notwithstanding which, they watched the moment when any one died to strip him of his covering (although dying themselves) and could only be prevented by the utmost vigilance from exercising such inhumanity in every instance. The detachment from the New South Wales corps, consisting of one captain, three subalterns, and a proportionate number of non-commissioned officers and privates, was immediately disembarked, and room being made in the marine barracks, they took possession of the quarters allotted for them. Lieutenant Shapcote, the naval agent on board the _Neptune_, died between the Cape of Good Hope and this place. A son of this gentleman arrived in the _Justinian_, to which ship he belonged, and received the first account of his father's death, on going aboard the _Neptune_ to congratulate him on his arrival. An instance of sagacity in a dog occurred on the arrival of the _Scarborough_, too remarkable to pass unnoticed; Mr. Marshall, the master of the ship, on quitting Port Jackson in May 1788, left a Newfoundland dog with Mr. Clark (the agent on the part of the contractor, who remained in the colony), which he had brought from England. On the return of his old master, Hector swam off to the ship, and getting on board, recognised him, and manifested, in every manner suitable to his nature, his Joy at seeing him; nor could the animal be persuaded to quit him again, accompanying him always when he went on shore, and returning with him on board. At a muster of the convicts which was directed during this month, one man only was unaccounted for, James Haydon. Soon after the muster was over, word was brought to the commissary, that his body had been found drowned in Long Cove, at the back of the settlement. Upon inquiry into the cause of his death, it appeared that he had a few days before stolen some tobacco out of an officer's garden in which he had been employed, and, being threatened with punishment, had absconded. He was considered as a well-behaved man; and if he preferred death to shame and punishment, which he had been heard to declare he did, and which his death seemed to confirm, he was deserving a better fate. The total number of sick on the last day of the month was three hundred and forty-nine. July.] The melancholy scenes which closed the last month appeared unchanged at the beginning of this. The morning generally opened with the attendants of the sick passing frequently backwards and forwards from the hospital to the burying-ground with the miserable victims of the night. Every exertion was made to get up the portable hospital; but, although we were informed that it had been put up in London in a very few hours, we did not complete it until the 7th, when it was instantly filled with patients. On the 13th, there were four hundred and eighty-eight persons under medical treatment at and about the hospital--a dreadful sick list! Such of the convicts from the ships as were in a tolerable state of health, both male and female, were sent up to Rose Hill, to be employed in agriculture and other labours. A subaltern's detachment from the New South Wales corps was at the same time sent up for the military duty of that settlement in conjunction with the marine corps. There also the governor in the course of the month laid down the lines of a regular town. The principal street was marked out to extend one mile, commencing near the landing-place, and running in a direction west, to the foot of the rising ground named Rose Hill, and in which his excellency purposed to erect a small house for his own residence whenever he should visit that settlement. On each side of this street, whose width was to be two hundred and five feet, huts were to be erected capable of containing ten persons each, and at the distance of sixty feet one from the other; and garden ground for each hut was allotted in the rear. As the huts were to be built of such combustible materials as wattles and plaster, and to be covered with thatch, the width of the street, and the distance they were placed from each other, operated as an useful precaution against fire; and by beginning on so wide a scale the inhabitants of the town at some future day would possess their own accommodations and comforts more readily, each upon his own allotment, than if crowded into a small space. While these works were going on at Rose Hill, the labouring convicts at Sydney were employed in constructing a new brick storehouse, discharging the transports, and forming a road from the town to the brick-kilns, for the greater ease and expedition in bringing in bricks to the different buildings. Our stores now wore a more respectable appearance than they had done for some time. In addition to the provisions put on board the transports in England, Lieutenant Riou had forwarded by those ships four hundred tierces of beef and two hundred tierces of pork, which he had saved from the wreck of the _Guardian_, and which we had the satisfaction to find were nothing the worse for the accident which befel her. These, with the seventy-five casks of flour which were brought on by the _Lady Juliana_, formed the amount of what we were now to receive of the large cargo of that unfortunate ship. Lieutenant Riou also sent by these ships the twenty male convicts which had been selected as artificers and put on board the _Guardian_ in England; and with them he sent the most pointed recommendations in their favour, describing their conduct, both before and after the accident which happened to the ship under his command, in the strongest terms of approbation. The _Lady Juliana_ being found on inspection to require such extensive repairs as would too long delay the dispatching the necessary supplies to Norfolk Island, the governor directed the _Surprise_ transport and _Justinian_ storeship to proceed thither. By the 19th, the _Justinian_ was cleared of her cargo, excepting about five hundred casks of provisions, which were not to be taken out until she arrived at Norfolk Island; and both that ship and the _Surprise_ were preparing with all expedition for sailing. The _Justinian_, however, from the circumstance of retaining some part of her large cargo on board, was ready first, and sailed on the 28th. The master, Mr. Benjamin Maitland, was directed to follow his former orders after landing his stores and provisions at Norfolk Island, and proceed to Canton to freight home with teas upon account of government. She was hired by the month at fifteen shillings and sixpence per ton, and was to be in government employ until her return to Deptford. By this ship the governor sent dispatches to the secretary of state. The _Lady Juliana_, having received some repairs by the carpenters of the colony at the time when it was designed she should to Norfolk Island, and some others by the assistance of her own carpenters, sailed a day or two after the _Justinian_ for Canton. From the extravagant price set on his goods by the master, his shop had turned out badly; and it was said that he took many articles to sea, which he must of necessity throw overboard before he reached Canton. The governor received by these ships dispatches from the secretary of state, containing, among other articles of information, instructions respecting the granting of lands and the allotting of ground in townships. Soon after their arrival it was declared in public orders: That, in consequence of the assurances that were given to the non-commissioned officers and men belonging to the detachment of marines, on their embarking for the service of this country, that such of them as should behave well should be allowed to quit the service on their return to England, or be discharged abroad upon the relief, and permitted to settle in the country; his Majesty had been graciously pleased to direct the following terms to be held out as an encouragement to such non-commissioned officers and private men of the marines as might be desirous of becoming settlers in this country, or in any of the islands comprised within the government of the continent* of New South Wales, on the arrival of the corps raised and intended for the service of this country, and for their relief, viz. [* Now so called officially for the first time.] To every non-commissioned officer, an allotment of one hundred and thirty acres of land if single, and one hundred and fifty if married. To every private man, eighty acres of land if single, one hundred if married; and ten acres of land for each child at the time of granting the allotment; free of all fees, taxes, quit-rents, and other acknowledgments, for the term of five years; at the expiration of which term to be liable to an annual quit-rent of one shilling for every fifty acres. As a further encouragement, a bounty was offered of three pounds per man to every non-commissioned officer and private man who would enlist in the new corps (to form a company to be officered from the marines) and an allotment of double the above proportion of land if they behaved well for five years, to be granted them at the expiration of that time; the said allotments not to be subject to any fee or tax for ten years, and then to be liable to an annual quit-rent of one shilling for every fifty acres. And upon their discharge at either of the above periods they were to be supplied with clothing and one year's provisions, with feed grain, tools, and implements of agriculture. The service of a certain number of convicts was to be assigned to them for their labour when they could make it appear that they could maintain, feed, and clothe them. In these instructions no mention was made of granting lands to officers; and to other persons who might emigrate and be desirous of settling in this country, no greater proportion of land was to be allotted than what was to be granted to a non-commissioned officer of the marines. Government, between every allotment, reserved to itself a space on either side, which, as crown land, was equal to the largest grant, not to be granted, but leased only to individuals for the term of fourteen years. Provision was made for the church, by allotting in each township which should be marked out four hundred acres for the maintenance of a minister; and half of that number was to be allotted for the maintenance of a school master. If the allotments should happen to be made on the banks of any navigable river or creek, care was to be taken that the breadth of each track did not extend along the banks thereof more than one-third of the length of such track, in order that no settler should engross more than his proportion of the benefit which would accrue from such a situation. And it was also directed, that the good and the bad land should be as equally divided as circumstances would allow. No new regulations were directed to take place in respect of granting lands to convicts emancipated or discharged; the original instructions, under which each male convict if single was to have thirty, if married fifty, and ten acres for every child he might have at the time of settling, remained in force. The particular conditions required by the crown from a settler were, the residing upon the ground, proceeding to the improvement and cultivation of his allotment, and reserving such of the timber thereof as might be fit for naval purposes for the use of his Majesty. The period fixed by government for victualling a settler from the public stores, twelve months, was in general looked upon as too short, and it was thought not practicable for any one at the end of that period to maintain himself, unless during that time he should have very great assistance given him, and be fortunate in his crops. About the latter end of this month a spermaceti whale was seen in the harbour, and some boats from the transports went after it with harpoons; but, from the ignorance of the people in the use of them, the fish escaped unhurt. In a few days afterwards word was received that a punt belonging to Lieutenant Poulden had been pursued by a whale and overset, by which accident young Mr. Ferguson (a midshipman of the _Sirius_) and two soldiers were unfortunately drowned. The soldiers, with another of their companions, who saved his life by swimming, had been down the harbour fishing, and, calling at the Look-out, took in Mr. Ferguson, who had sat up all the preceding night to write to his father, Captain James Ferguson, lieutenant-governor of Greenwich hospital, and was now bringing his letters to Sydney for the purpose of sending them by the _Justinian_. Mr. Ferguson was a steady well-disposed young man, and the service, in all probability, by this extraordinary accident, lost a good officer. The _Scarborough_ was cleared this month, and, being discharged from government employ, the master was left at liberty to proceed to Canton, where he was to load home with teas. Much irregularity was committed by the seamen of the transports, who found means to get on shore at night, notwithstanding the port orders; and one, a sailor from the _Neptune_, was punished with twenty-five lashes for being found on shore without any permission at eleven o'clock at night. The sick list, now consisting of only three hundred and thirty-two persons, was found to be daily decreasing, and the mortality was infinitely less at the end, than at the beginning of the month. August.] The _Surprise_ transport sailed on the first of August for Norfolk Island, having on board thirty-five male and one hundred and fifty female convicts, two of the superintendants lately arrived, and one deputy commissary, Mr. Thomas Freeman, appointed such by the governor's warrant. There came out in the _Neptune_ a person of the name of Wentworth, who, being desirous of some employment in this country, was now sent to Norfolk Island to act as an assistant to the surgeon there, being reputed to have the necessary requisites for such a situation. On the 8th, the _Scarborough_ sailed for Canton, and the _Neptune_ was preparing to follow her as soon as she could be cleared of the cargo she had on board upon account of government. While this was delivering, some of the convicts who came out in that ship put in before the judge-advocate their claims upon the master, Mr. Donald Trail, not only for clothing and other articles, but for money, which they stated to have been taken from them at the time of their embarkation, and had never since been returned to them. Many of these claims were disputed by Mr. Trail, and others were settled to the satisfaction of the claimants; but of their clothing, knives, buckles, etc. he could give no other account, than that he was directed by the naval agent, Lieutenant Shapcote, to destroy them at their embarkation for obvious reasons, tending to the safety of the ship and for the preservation of their healths. On the 19th the _Neptune_ was cleared and discharged the service, having landed the cargo she brought out on government account in good condition. Preparatory to her sailing for China, she quitted the cove on the 22nd; soon after which, information being received that several convicts purposed to attempt making their escape in her from the colony, a small armed party of soldiers was sent on board her, under the direction of Lieutenant Long* of the marines, to search the ship, when one man and one woman were found on board. The man was one who had just arrived in the colony, and, being soon tired of his situation, had prevailed on some of the people to secrete him among the fire-wood which they had taken on board. In the night another person swam off to the ship, and was received by the guard. He pleaded being a free man, but as he had taken a very improper mode of quitting the colony, he was, by order of the governor, punished the day following, together with the convict who had been found concealed among the fire-wood. The _Neptune_ sailed on the 24th, leaving behind her one mate Mr. Forfar, and two seamen; and the cove was once more without a ship. [* Appointed by Governor Plillip, after the arrival of the New South Wales corps, to do the duty of town-adjutant.] An excursion into the country had been undertaken this month by Captain Tench and some other officers. They were absent six days, and on their return we learned, that they had proceeded in a direction SSW of Rose Hill; that they met with fresh water running to the northward; found the traces of natives wherever they went, and passed through a very bad country intersected every where with deep ravines. They had reason to think, that in rainy weather the run of water which they met with rose above its ordinary level between thirty and forty feet. They saw a flock of emus twelve in number. It having been found that the arms and ammunition which were entrusted to the convicts residing at the distant farms for their protection against the natives, were made a very different use of, an order was given recalling them, and prohibiting any convicts from going out with arms, except McIntire, Burn, and Randall, who were licensed game-killers. The clergyman complaining of non-attendance at divine service, which it must be observed was generally performed in the open air, alike unsheltered from wind and rain, as from the fervor of the summer's sun, it was ordered that three pounds of flour should be deducted from the ration of each overseer, and two pounds from that of each labouring convict, who should not attend prayers once on each Sunday, unless some reasonable excuse for their absence should be assigned. Toward the latter end of the month a criminal court was held for the trial of Hugh Low, a convict, who had been in the _Guardian_, and who was in custody for stealing a sheep, the property of Mr. Palmer the commissary. Being most clearly convicted of the offence by the evidence of an accomplice and others, he received sentence of death, and, the governor not deeming it advisable to pardon an offence of that nature, suffered the next day, acknowledging the commission of the fact for which he died. The preservation of our stock was an object of so much consequence to the colony, that it became indispensably necessary to protect it by every means in our power. Had any lenity been extended to this offender on account of his good conduct in a particular situation, it might have been the cause of many depredations being made upon the stock, which it was hoped his punishment would prevent. On the 28th a pair of shoes were served to each convict. The female convicts were employed in making the slops for the men, which had been now sent out unmade. Each woman who could work at her needle had materials for two shirts given her at a time, and while so employed was not to be taken for any other labour. The storehouse which was begun in July was finished this month, and was got up and covered in without any rain. Its dimensions were one hundred feet by twenty-two. At Rose Hill the convicts were employed in constructing the new town which had been marked out, building the huts, and forming the principal street. The governor, who personally directed all these works, caused a spot of ground for a capacious garden to be allotted for the use of the New South Wales corps, contiguous to the spot whereon his excellency meant to erect the barracks for that corps. In addition to the flagstaff which had been erected on the South Head of the harbour, the governor determined to construct a column, of a height sufficient to be seen from some distance at sea, and the stonemasons were sent down to quarry stone upon the spot for the building. The body of one of the unfortunate people who were drowned at the latter end of July last with Mr. Ferguson was found about the close of this month, washed on shore in Rose Bay, and very much disfigured. The whale which occasioned this accident, we were informed, had never found its way out of the harbour, but, getting on shore in Manly Bay, was killed by the natives, and was the cause of numbers of them being at this time assembled to partake of the repasts which it afforded them. CHAPTER XI Governor Phillip wounded by a native Intercourse opened with the natives Great haul of fish Convicts abscond with a boat Works Want of rain Natives _Supply_ returns from Batavia Transactions there Criminal Courts James Bloodworth emancipated Oars found in the woods A convict brought back in the _Supply_ A boat with five people lost Public works A convict wounded by a native Armed parties sent out to avenge him A Dutch vessel arrives with supplies from Batavia Decrease by sickness and casualties in 1790 September.] Since the escape of Bennillong the native in May last, nothing had been heard of him, nor had any thing worthy of notice occurred among the other natives. In the beginning of this month, however, they were brought forward again by a circumstance which seemed at first to threaten the colony with a loss that must have been for some time severely felt; but which was succeeded by an opening of that amicable intercourse with these people which the governor had always laboured to establish, and which was at last purchased by a most unpleasant accident to himself, and at the risk of his life. The governor, who had uniformly directed every undertaking in person since the formation of the colony, went down in the morning of the 7th to the South Head, accompanied by Captain Collins and Lieutenant Waterhouse, to give some instructions to the people employed in erecting a column at that place. As he was returning to the settlement, he received information, by a boat which had landed Mr. White and some other gentlemen in the lower part of the harbour (they were going on an excursion towards Broken Bay) that Bennillong had been seen there by Mr. White, and had sent the governor as a present a piece of the whale which was then lying in the wash of the surf on the beach. Anxious to see him again, the governor, after taking some arms from the party at the Look-out, which he thought the more requisite in this visit as he heard the cove was full of natives, went down and landed at the place where the whale was lying. Here he not only saw Bennillong, but Cole-be also, who had made his escape from the governor's house a few days after his capture. At first his excellency trusted himself alone with these people; but the few months Bennillong had been away had so altered his person, that the governor, until joined by Mr. Collins and Mr. Waterhouse, did not perfectly recollect his old acquaintance. Bennillong had been always much attached to Mr. Collins, and testified with much warmth his satisfaction at seeing him again. Several articles of wearing apparel were now given to him and his companions (taken for that purpose from the people in the boat, who, all but one man, remained on their oars to be ready in case of any accident), and a promise was exacted from the governor by Bennillong to return in two days with more, and also with some hatchets or tomahawks. The cove was full of natives allured by the attractions of a whale feast; and it being remarked during the conference that the twenty or thirty which appeared were drawing themselves into a circle round the governor and his small unarmed party (for that was literally and most inexcusably their situation) the governor proposed retiring to the boat by degrees; but Bennillong, who had presented to him several natives by name, pointed out one, whom the governor, thinking to take particular notice of, stepped forward to meet, holding out both his hands toward him. The savage not understanding this civility, and perhaps thinking that he was going to seize him as a prisoner, lifted a spear from the grass with his foot, and fixing it on his throwing-stick, in an instant darted it at the governor. The spear entered a little above the collar bone, and had been discharged with such force, that the barb of it came through on the other side. Several other spears were thrown, but happily no further mischief was effected. The spear was with difficulty broken by Lieutenant Waterhouse, and while the governor was leading down to the boat the people landed with the arms, but of four muskets which they brought on shore one only could be fired. The boat had five miles to row before it reached the settlement; but the people in her exerting themselves to the utmost, the governor was landed and in his house in something less than two hours. The spear was extracted with much skill by Mr. Balmain, one of the assistant-surgeons of the hospital, who immediately pronounced the wound not mortal. An armed party was dispatched that evening toward Broken Bay for Mr. White, the principal surgeon, who returned the following day, and reported that in the cove where the whale lay they saw several natives; but being armed nothing had happened. No other motive could be assigned for this conduct in the savage, than the supposed apprehension that he was about to be seized by the governor, which the circumstance of his advancing toward him with his hands held out might create. But it certainly would not have happened had the precaution of taking even a single musket on shore been attended to. The governor had always placed too great a confidence in these people, under an idea that the sight of fire arms would deter them from approaching; he had now, however, been taught a lesson which it might be presumed he would never forget. This accident gave cause to the opening of a communication between the natives of this country and the settlement, which, although attended with such an unpromising beginning, it was hoped would be followed with good consequences. A few days after the accident, Bennillong, who certainly had not any culpable share in the transaction, came with his wife and some of his companions to a cove on the north shore not far from the settlement, where, by means of Boo-roong, the female who lived in the clergyman's house, an interview was effected between the natives and some officers, Mr. White, Mr. Palmer, and others, who at some personal risk went over with her. At this time the name of the man who had wounded the governor was first known, Wil-le-me-ring; and Bennillong made many attempts to fix a belief that he had beaten him severely for the aggression. Bennillong declared that he should wait in that situation for some days, and hoped that the governor would be able, before the expiration of them, to visit him. On the tenth day after he had received the wound, his excellency was so far recovered as to go to the place, accompanied by several officers all armed, where he saw Bennillong and his companions. Bennillong then repeated his assurances of his having, in conjunction with his friend Cole-be, severely beaten Wille-me-ring; and added that his throwing the spear at the governor was entirely the effect of his fears, and done from the impulse of self-preservation. The day preceding the governor's visit, the fishing boats had the greatest success which had yet been met with; near four thousand of a fish, named by us, from its shape only, the salmon, being taken at two hauls of the seine. Each fish weighed on an average about five pounds; they were issued to this settlement, and to that at Rose Hill; and thirty or forty were sent as a conciliating present to Bennillong and his party on the north shore. These circumstances, and the visit to the natives, in which it was endeavoured to convince them that no animosity was retained on account of the late accident, nor resentment harboured against any but the actual perpetrator of the fact, created a variety in the conversation of the day; and those who were desirous of acquiring the language were glad of the opportunity which the recently-opened intercourse seemed to promise them. In the night of the 26th a desertion of an extraordinary nature took place. Five male convicts conveyed themselves, in a small boat called a punt, from Rose Hill undiscovered. They there exchanged the punt, which would have been unfit for their purpose, for a boat, though very small and weak, with a mast and sail, with which they got out of the harbour. On sending to Rose Hill, people were found who could give an account of their intentions and proceedings, and who knew that they purposed steering for Otaheite. They had each taken provisions for one week; their cloaths and bedding; three iron pots, and some other utensils of that nature. They all came out in the last fleet, and took this method of speedily accomplishing their sentences of transportation, which were for the term of their natural lives. Their names were, John Tarwood, a daring, desperate character, and the principal in the scheme; Joseph Sutton, who was found secreted on board the _Neptune_ and punished; George Lee; George Connoway, and John Watson. A boat with an officer was sent to search for them in the north-west branch of this harbour, but returned, after several hours search, without discovering the least trace of them. They no doubt pushed directly out upon that ocean which, from the wretched state of the boat wherein they trusted themselves, must have proved their grave. The governor purposing to erect a capacious storehouse and a range of barracks at Rose Hill, a convict who understood the business of brickmaking was sent up for the purpose of manufacturing a quantity sufficient for those buildings, a vein of clay having been found which it was supposed would burn into good bricks. A very convenient wharf and landing place were made at that settlement, and twenty-seven huts were in great forwardness at the end of the month. Very small hopes were entertained of the wheat of this season; extreme dry weather was daily burning it up. Toward the latter end of the month some rain fell, the first which deserved the name of a heavy rain since last June. October.] The little rain which fell about the close of the preceding month soon ceased, and the gardens and the corn grounds were again parching for want of moisture. The grass in the woods was so dried, that a single spark would have set the surrounding country in flames; an instance of this happened early in the month, with the wind blowing strong at N W. It was however happily checked. Bennillong, after appointing several days to visit the governor, came at last on the 8th, attended by three of his companions. The welcome reception they met with from every one who saw them inspired the strangers with such a confidence in us, that the visit was soon repeated; and at length Bennillong solicited the governor to build him a hut at the extremity of the eastern point of the cove. This the governor, who was very desirous of preserving the friendly intercourse which seemed to have taken place, readily promised, and gave the necessary directions for its being built. 19th.] While we were thus amusing ourselves with these children of ignorance, the signal for a sail was made at the South Head, and shortly after the _Supply_ anchored in the cove from Batavia, having been absent from the settlement six months and two days. Lieutenant Ball arrived at Batavia on the 6th of July last, where he hired a vessel, a Dutch snow, which was to sail shortly after him with the provisions that he had purchased for the colony. While the _Supply_ lay at Batavia the season was more unhealthy than had ever been known before; every hospital was full, and several hundreds of the inhabitants had died. Lieutenant Ball, at this grave of Europeans, buried Lieutenant Newton Fowell, Mr. Ross the gunner, and several of his seamen. He tried for some days to touch at Norfolk Island, but ineffectually, being prevented by easterly winds. Mr. King and Mr. Miller (the late commissary) had sailed on the 4th of last August in a Dutch packet for Europe. By the return of this vessel several comforts were introduced into the settlement; her commander, with that attention to the wants of the different officers which always characterised him, having procured and taken on board their respective investments. In his passage to Batavia, Lieutenant Ball saw some islands, to which, conjecturing, from not finding them in any charts which he had on board, that he might claim being the discoverer of them, he gave names accordingly. Although anxious to make an expeditious passage, he had the mortification to be baffled by contrary winds both to and from Batavia; and at that settlement, instead of finding the governor-general (to whom in his orders he was directed to apply for permission to purchase provisions, and for a ship to bring them) ready to forward the service he came on, which he represented as requiring the utmost expedition, he was referred to the Sabandhaar, Mr. N. Engelhard, who, after much delay and pretence of difficulty in procuring a vessel, produced one, a snow, which they estimated at three hundred and fifty tons burden, and demanded to be paid for at the rate of eighty rix dollars for every ton freight, amounting together to twenty-eight thousand rix dollars, each rix dollar being computed at forty-eight Dutch pennies; and the freight was to be paid although the vessel should be lost on the passage. As it was impossible to hire any vessel there upon cheaper terms, Lieutenant Ball was compelled to engage for the _Waaksamheyd_ (that being her name, which, englished, signified 'Good look out') upon the terms they proposed. Of the provisions which he was instructed to procure, the whole quantity of flour, two hundred thousand pounds, was not to be had, he being able only to purchase twenty thousand and twenty-one pounds, for which they charged ten stivers per pound, and an addition of about one-third of a penny per pound was charged for grinding it*. Instead of the flour Lieutenant Ball purchased two hundred thousand pounds of rice, at one rix dollar and forty-four stivers per hundred weight over and above the seventy thousand pounds he was directed to procure. The salt provisions were paid for at the rate of seven stivers per pound, and the amount of the whole cargo, including the casks for the flour, wood for dunnage, hire of cooleys, and of craft for shipping the provisions, was thirty thousand four hundred and forty-one rix dollars and thirty-three stivers; which added to the freight (twenty-eight thousand rix dollars) made a total of fifty-eight thousand four hundred and forty-one rix dollars and thirty-three stivers, or £11,688 6s 9d sterling. [* The flour, without the freight, including one hundred and ten rix dollars which were charged for twenty-two half leagers in which it was contained, amounted as nearly as possible to tenpence three farthings per pound.] Mr. Ormsby, a midshipman from the _Sirius_, was left to come on with the snow, which it was hoped would sail in a few weeks after the _Supply_. The criminal court was twice assembled during this month. At the first a soldier was tried for a felony, but acquitted. At the second William Harris and Edward Wildblood were tried for entering a hut at Parramatta, in which was only one man, and that a sick person, whom they knocked down, and then robbed the hut. They were clearly convicted of the offence, and, being most daring and flagrant offenders, were executed at Rose Hill, near the hut which they had robbed. These people had given a great deal of trouble before they committed the offence for which they suffered. At the latter end of the last month they took to the woods, having more than once or twice robbed their companions at Rose Hill. As they were well known, the watch soon brought them in to the settlement at Sydney. They confessed, that the night before they were apprehended they killed a goat belonging to Mr. White. The governor directed them immediately to be linked together by the leg, and sent them back to Rose Hill, there to labour upon bread and water. It was in this situation that, taking advantage of their overseer's absence for a few minutes, they went to the hut, of the situation of which they had previous knowledge, and robbed it of every thing they could carry away. While these people were suffering the punishment they deserved, James Bloodworth, mentioned before in this narrative, received the most distinguishing mark of approbation which the governor had in his power to give him, being declared free, and at liberty to return to England whenever he should choose to quit the colony. Bloodworth had approved himself a most useful member of the settlement, in which there was not a house or building that did not owe something to him; and as his loss would be severely felt should he quit it while in its infancy, he bound himself by an agreement with the governor to work for two years longer in the colony, stipulating only to be fed and clothed during that time. Encouraged by the facility with which Tarwood and his companions made their escape from the colony, some others were forming plans for a similar enterprise. A convict gave information that a scheme nearly ripe for execution was framed, and that the parties had provided themselves with oars, masts, sails, etc. for the purpose, which were concealed in the woods; and as a proof of the veracity of his account, he so clearly described the place of deposit, that on sending to the spot, four or five rude unfinished stakes were found, which he said were to be fashioned into oars. The person who gave the information dreaded so much being known as the author, that no further notice was taken of it than destroying the oars, and keeping a very vigilant eye on the conduct of the people who had been named by him as the parties in the business. Attempts of this sort were always likely to be made, at least as long as any difficulty occurred in their quitting the colony after the term had expired for which by law they were sentenced to remain abroad. There must be many among them who would be anxious to return to their wives or children, or other relations, and who, perhaps, might not resort again to the companions of their idle hours. If these people found any obstacles in their way, they would naturally be driven to attempt the attainment of their wishes in some other mode; and it would then become an object of bad policy, as well as cruelty, to detain them. The weather about this period was evidently becoming warmer every day; and although the trees never wholly lost their foliage, yet they gave manifest signs of the return of spring. November.] James Williams, who was missing on the sailing of the _Supply_ for Batavia, was found by Lieutenant Ball to have secreted himself on board that vessel, and on her return he delivered him up as a prisoner to the provost-marshal. Williams owned that his flight was to avoid a punishment which he knew awaited him; and Lieutenant Ball spoke so favourably of his conduct while he was under his observation, that the governor would have forgiven him, had he not feared that others might, from such an example, think to meet the same indulgence: he therefore directed him to receive two hundred and fifty lashes, half of the punishment which by the court that tried him he was sentenced to receive, and remitted the remainder. A small boat belonging to Mr. White, which had been sent out with a seine, was lost this month somewhere about Middle Head. She had five convicts in her; and, from the reports of the natives who were witnesses of the accident, it was supposed they had crossed the harbour's mouth, and, having hauled the seine in Hunter's Bay, were returning loaded, when, getting in too close with the rocks and the surf under Middle Head, she filled and went down. The first information that any accident had happened was given by the natives, who had secured the rudder, mast, an oar, and other parts of the boat, which they had fixed in such situations as were likely to render them conspicuous to any boat passing that way. Mr. White and some other gentlemen, going down directly, found their information too true. One of the bodies was lying dead on the beach; with the assistance of Cole-be and the other natives he recovered the seine which was entangled in the rocks, and brought away the parts of his boat which they had secured. This appeared to be a striking instance of the good effect of the intercourse which had been opened with these people; and there seemed only to be a good understanding between us and them wanting to establish an harmony which would have been productive of the best consequences, and might have been the means of preventing many of the unfortunate accidents that had happened. The governor, however, thought it necessary to direct, that offensive weapons should not be given to these people in exchange for any of their articles; being apprehensive that they might use them among themselves, and not wishing by any means to arm them against each other. At Rose Hill a storehouse was begun and finished during the month, without any rain; its dimensions were one hundred feet by twenty-four feet. The bricks there, either from some error in the process, or defect in the clay, were not so good in quality as those made at Sydney. In their colour they were of a deep red when burned, but did not appear to be durable. At Sydney, a good landing-place on the east side was completed; and two small brick huts, one for a cutler's shop, and another for the purpose of boiling oil or melting tallow, were built on the same side. A wharf was also marked out on the west side, which was to be carried far enough out into deep water to admit of the loaded hoy coming along-side at any time of tide. The hut, a brick one twelve feet square and covered with tiles, was finished for Bennillong, and taken possession of by him about the middle of the month. Notwithstanding the accidents which had happened to many who had strayed imprudently beyond the known limits of the different settlements, two soldiers of the New South Wales corps, who had had every necessary caution given them on the arrival of their detachment at Rose Hill, strayed into the woods, and were missing for four or five days, in which time they had suffered severely from anxiety and hunger. December.] The temporary barrack which had been erected within the redoubt at Rose Hill, formed only of posts and shingles nailed or fastened with pegs on battens, going fast to decay, and being found inadequate to guard against either the rain or wind of the winter months and the heat of those of the summer, the foundation of a range of brick buildings for the officers and soldiers stationed there was laid early in the month. The governor fixed the situation contiguous to the storehouse lately erected there, to which they might serve as a protection. They were designed for quarters for one company, with the proper number of officers, a guardroom, and two small store-rooms. On the 10th, John McIntire, a convict who was employed by the governor to shoot for him, was dangerously wounded by a native named Pe-mul-wy*, while in quest of game in the woods at some considerable distance from the settlement. When brought in he declared, and at a time when he thought himself dying, that he did not give any offence to the man who wounded him; that he had even quitted his arms, to induce him to look upon him as a friend, when the savage threw his spear at about the distance of ten yards with a skill that was fatally unerring. When the spear was extracted, which was not until suppuration took place, it was found to have entered his body under the left arm, to the depth of seven inches and a half. It was armed for five or six inches from the point with ragged pieces of shells fastened in gum. His recovery was immediately pronounced by Mr. White to be very doubtful. [* His name was readily obtained from the natives who lived among us, and who soon became acquainted with the circumstances.] As the attack on this man was wanton, and entirely unprovoked on the part of McIntire, not only from his relation of the circumstance, but from the account of those who were with him, and who bore testimony to his being unarmed, the governor determined to punish the offender, who it was understood resorted with his tribe above the head of Botany Bay. He therefore directed that an armed party from the garrison should march thither, and either destroy or make prisoners of six persons (if practicable) of that tribe to which the aggressor belonged, carefully avoiding to offer any injury to either women or children. To this measure the governor resorted with reluctance. He had always wished that none of their blood might ever be shed; and in his own case, when wounded by Wille-me-ring, as he could not punish him on the spot, he gave up all thoughts of doing it in future. As, however, they seemed to take every advantage of unarmed men, some check appeared absolutely necessary. Accordingly, on Tuesday the 14th a party, consisting of two captains, Tench, of the marines, and Hill of the New South Wales corps, with two subalterns, three sergeants, two corporals, one drummer, and forty privates, attended by two surgeons, set off with three days' provisions for the purpose abovementioned. There was little probability that such a party would be able so unexpectedly to fall in with the people they were sent to punish, as to surprise them, without which chance, they might hunt them in the woods for ever; and as the different tribes (for we had thought fit to class them into tribes) were not to be distinguished from each other, but by being found inhabiting particular residences, there would be some difficulty in determining, if any natives should fall in their way, whether they were the objects of their expedition, or some unoffending family wholly unconnected with them. The very circumstance, however, of a party being armed and detached purposely to punish the man and his companions who wounded McIntire, was likely to have a good effect, as it was well known to several natives, who were at this time in the town of Sydney, that this was the intention with which they were sent out. On the third day after their departure they returned, without having wounded or hurt a native, or made a prisoner. They saw some at the head of Botany Bay, and fired at them, but without doing them any injury. Whenever the party was seen by the natives, they fled with incredible swiftness; nor had a second attempt, which the governor directed, any better success. The governor now determining to avail himself as much as possible of the health and strength of the working convicts, while by the enjoyment of a full ration they were capable of exertion, resolved to proceed with such public buildings as he judged to be necessary for the convenience of the different settlements. Accordingly, during this month, the foundation of another storehouse was laid, equal in dimensions and in a line with that already erected on the east side of the cove at Sydney. On the 17th the Dutch snow the _Waaksamheyd_ anchored in the cove from Batavia, from which place she sailed on the 20th day of last September, meeting on her passage with contrary winds. She was manned principally with Malays, sixteen of whom she buried during the passage. Mr. Ormsby the midshipman arrived a living picture of the ravages made in a good constitution by a Batavian fever. He was in such a debilitated state, that it was with great difficulty he supported himself from the wharf on which he landed to the governor's house. The master produced a packet from the sabandhaar (his owner) at Batavia, inclosing two letters to the governor, one written in very good English, containing such particulars respecting the vessel as he judged it for his interest to communicate; the other, designed to convey such information as he was possessed of respecting European politics, being written in Dutch, unfortunately proved unintelligible; and we could only gather from Mr. Ormsby and the master, who spoke bad English, that a misunderstanding subsisted between Great Britain and Spain; but on what account could not be distinctly collected. On the first working day after her arrival the people were employed in delivering the cargo from the snow. The quantity of rice brought in her was found to be short of that purchased and paid for by Lieutenant Ball 42,900 weight, and the governor consented to receive in lieu a certain proportion of butter*, the master having a quantity of that article on board very good. This deficiency was ascertained by weighing all the provisions which were landed; a proceeding which the master acquiesced in with much reluctance and some impertinence. [* One pound of butter to eighteen pounds of rice.] The numbers who died by sickness in the year 1790, were two seamen, one soldier, one hundred and twenty-three male convicts, seven females, and ten children; in all, one hundred and forty-three persons. In the above time four male convicts were executed; one midshipman, two soldiers, and six male convicts were drowned; one male convict perished in the woods, and two absconded from the colony, supposed to be secreted on board a transport; making a total decrease of one hundred and fifty-nine persons. CHAPTER XII New Year's Day A convict drowned A native killed Signal colours stolen _Supply_ sails for Norfolk Island H. E. Dodd, Superintendant at Rose Hill, dies Public works Terms offered for the hire of the Dutch snow to England The _Supply_ returns State of Norfolk Island Fishing-boat overset Excessive heats Officers and seamen of the _Sirius_ embark in the snow _Supply_ sails for Norfolk Island, and the _Waaksamheyd_ for England William Bryant and other convicts escape from New South Wales Ruse, a settler, declares that he can maintain himself without assistance from the public stores Ration reduced Orders respecting marriage Port regulations Settlers Public works 1791.] January.] On the first day of the new year the convicts were excused from all kind of labour. At Rose Hill, however, this holiday proved fatal to a young man, a convict, who, going to a pond to wash his shirt, slipped from the side, and was unfortunately drowned. The Indian corn beginning to ripen at that settlement, the convicts commenced their depredations, and several of them, being taken with corn in their possession, were punished; but nothing seemed to deter them, and they now committed thefts as if they stole from principle; for at this time they received the full ration, in which no difference was made between them and the governor, or any other free person in the colony. When all the provisions brought by the Dutch snow were received into the public stores, the governor altered the ration, and caused five pounds of rice to be issued in lieu of four pounds of flour, which were taken off. Information having been received toward the close of the last month, that some natives had thrown a spear or fiz-gig at a convict in a garden on the west side, where they had met together to steal potatoes, the governor sent an armed party to disperse them, when a club being thrown by one of the natives at the party, the latter fired, and one man was wounded. This circumstance was at first only surmised, from tracing a quantity of blood from the spot to the water; but in a few days afterward the natives in the town told us the name of the wounded man, and added, that he was then dead, and to be found in a cove which they mentioned. On going to the place, a man well known in the town since the intercourse between us and his countrymen had been opened was found dead, and disposed of for burning. He had been shot under the arm, the ball dividing the subclavian artery, and Mr. White was of opinion that he bled to death. It was much to be regretted that any necessity existed for adopting these sanguinary punishments, and that we had not yet been able to reconcile the natives to the deprivation of those parts of this harbour which we occupied. While they entertained the idea of our having dispossessed them of their residences, they must always consider us as enemies; and upon this principle they made a point of attacking the white people whenever opportunity and safety concurred. It was also unfortunately found, that our knowledge of their language consisted at this time of only a few terms for such things as, being visible, could not well be mistaken; but no one had yet attained words enough to convey an idea in connected terms. It was also conceived by some among us, that those natives who came occasionally into the town did not desire that any of the other tribes should participate in the enjoyment of the few trifles they procured from us. If this were true, it would for a long time retard the general understanding of our friendly intentions toward them; and it was not improbable but that they might for the same reason represent us in every unfavourable light they could imagine. About the middle of the month a theft of an extraordinary nature was committed by some of the natives. It had been the custom to leave the signal colours during the day at the flagstaff on the South Head, at which place they were seen by some of these people, who, watching their opportunity, ran away with them, and they were afterwards seen divided among them in their canoes, and used as coverings. On the 18th the _Supply_ quitted the cove, preparatory to her sailing for Norfolk Island, which she did on the 22nd, having some provisions on board for that settlement. She was to bring back Captain Hunter, with the officers and crew of his Majesty's late ship _Sirius_. Her commander, Lieutenant Ball, labouring under a very severe and alarming indisposition, Mr. David Blackburn, the master, was directed by the governor to take charge of her until Mr. Ball should be able to resume the command. The wound which McIntire had received proved fatal to him on the 22nd of this month. He had appeared to be recovering, but in the afternoon of that day died somewhat suddenly. On opening the body, the spear appeared to have wounded the left lobe of the lungs, which was found adhering to the side. In the cavity were discovered some of the pieces of stone and shells with which the weapon had been armed. This man had been suspected of having wantonly killed or wounded several of the natives in the course of his excursions after game; but he steadily denied, from the time he was brought in to his last moment of life, having ever fired at them but once, and then only in defence of his own life, which he thought in danger. 26th. Our colours were hoisted in the redoubt, in commemoration of the day on which formal possession was taken of this cove three years before. On the night of the 28th Henry Edward Dodd, the superintendant of convicts employed in cultivation at Rose Hill, died of a decline. He had been ill for some time, but his death was accelerated by exposing himself in his shirt for three or four hours during the night, in search after some thieves who were plundering his garden. His body was interred in a corner of a large spot of ground which had been inclosed for the preservation of stock, whither he was attended by all the free people and convicts at Rose Hill. The services rendered to the public by this person were visible in the cultivation and improvements which appeared at the settlement where he had the direction. He had acquired an ascendancy over the convicts, which he preserved without being hated by them; he knew how to proportion their labour to their ability, and, by an attentive and quiet demeanor, had gained the approbation and countenance of the different officers who had been on duty at Rose Hill. Mr. Thomas Clark, a superintendant who arrived here in the last year, was directed by the governor to carry on the duties with which Mr. Dodd had been charged, in which, it must be remarked, the care of the public grain was included. At Rose Hill great progress was made in the building of the new barracks. At Sydney, the public works in hand were, building the new storehouse, and two brick houses, one for the Rev. Mr. Johnson, and the other for Mr. Alt, the surveyor-general. These two buildings were erected on the east side of the cove, and in a line with those in the occupation of the commissary and judge-advocate. February.] The master of the Dutch snow having received instructions from his owner, the sabandhaar at Batavia, to offer the vessel to the governor, either for sale or for hire, after she should be cleared of her cargo, mentioned the circumstance to his excellency, and proposed to him to sell the vessel with all her furniture and provisions for the sum of thirty-three thousand rix dollars, about £6,600, or to let her to hire at fifteen rix dollars per ton per month; in either of which cases a passage was to be provided for his people to the Cape of Good Hope. The governor was desirous of sending this vessel to England with the officers and people of the _Sirius_; but it was impossible to close with either of these offers, and he rejected them as unreasonable. Her master therefore dropped the vessel down to the lower part of the harbour, meaning to sail immediately for Batavia. Choosing, however, to try the success of other proposals, he wrote from Camp Cove to the secretary, offering to let the vessel for the voyage to England for twenty-thousand rix dollars, stipulating that thirty thousand rix dollars should be paid for her in the event of her being lost; the crew to be landed at the Cape, and himself to be furnished with a passage to England. On receiving this his second offer, the governor informed him, that instead of his proposal one pound sterling per ton per month should be given for the hire of the snow, to be paid when the voyage for which she was to be taken up should be completed. With this offer of the governor's, the master, notwithstanding his having quitted the cove on his first terms being rejected, declared himself satisfied, and directly returned to the cove, saluting with five guns on coming to an anchor. In adjusting the contract or charter-party, the master displayed the greatest ignorance and the most tiresome perverseness, throwing obstacles in the way of every clause that was inserted. It was however at length finally settled and signed by the governor on the part of the crown, and by Detmer Smith, the master, on the part of his owners, he consenting to be paid for only three hundred tons instead of three hundred and fifty, for which she had been imposed upon Lieutenant Ball at Batavia. The carpenter of the _Supply_ measured her in this cove. Directions were now given for fitting her up as a transport to receive the _Sirius's_ late ship's company and officers; and Lieutenant Edgar, who came out in the _Lady Juliana_ transport, was ordered to superintend the fitting her, as an agent; in which situation he was to embark on board her and return to England. 26th. The _Supply_, after an absence of just five weeks, returned from Norfolk Island, having on board Captain Hunter, with the officers and people of the _Sirius_; and Lieutenant John Johnson of the marines, whose ill state of health would not permit him to remain there any longer. We now found that our apprehensions of the distressed situation of that settlement until it was relieved were well founded. The supply of provisions which was dispatched in the _Justinian_ and _Surprise_ reached them at a critical point of time, there being in store on the 7th of August, when they appeared off the island, provisions but for a few days at the ration then issued, which was three pounds of flour and one pint of rice; or, in lieu of flour, three pounds of Indian meal or of wheat, ground, and not separated from the husks or the bran. Their salt provisions were so nearly expended, that while a bird or a fish could be procured no salt meat was issued. The weekly ration of this article was only one pound and an half of beef, or seventeen ounces of pork. What their situation might have been but for the providential supply of birds which they met with, it was impossible to say; to themselves it was too distressing to be contemplated. On Mount Pitt they were fortunate enough to obtain, in an abundance almost incredible, a species of aquatic birds, answering the description of that known by the name of the Puffin. These birds came in from the sea every evening, in clouds literally darkening the air, and, descending on Mount Pitt, deposited their eggs in deep holes made by themselves in the ground, generally quitting, them in the morning, and returning to seek their subsistence in the sea. From two to three thousand of these birds were often taken in a night. Their seeking their food in the ocean left no doubt of their own flesh partaking of the quality of that upon which they fed; but to people circumstanced as were the inhabitants on Norfolk Island, this lessened not their importance; and while any Mount Pitt birds (such being the name given them) were to be had, they were eagerly sought. The knots of the pine tree, split and made into small bundles, afforded the miserable occupiers of a small speck in the ocean sufficient light to guide them through the woods, in search of what was to serve them for next day's meal. They were also fortunate enough to lose but a few casks of the provisions brought to the island in the _Sirius_, by far the greater part being got safely on shore; but so hazardous was at all times the landing in Sydney Bay, that in discharging the two ships, the large cutter belonging to the _Sirius_ was lost upon the reef, as she was coming in with a load of casks, and some women; by which accident, two seamen of the _Sirius_, of whom James Coventry, tried at Sydney in 1788, for assaulting McNeal on Garden Island, was one, three women, one child, an infant at the breast whose mother got safe on shore, and one male convict who swam off to their assistance, were unfortunately drowned. The weather, notwithstanding this accident, was so favourable at other times, that in one day two hundred and ninety casks of provisions were landed from the ships. The experience of three years had now shown, that the summer was the only proper season for sending stores and provisions to Norfolk Island, as during that period the passage through the reef had been found as good, and the landing as practicable as in any cove in Port Jackson. But this was by no means certain or constant; for the surf had been observed to rise when the sea beyond it was perfectly calm, and without the smallest indication of any change in the weather. A gale of wind at a distance from the island would suddenly occasion such a swell, that landing would be either dangerous or impracticable. It was matter of great satisfaction to learn, that the _Sirius's_ people, under the direction of Captain Hunter, had been most usefully and successfully employed in removing several rocks which obstructed the passage through the reef, and that a correct survey of the island had been made by Lieutenant Bradley, by which several dangers had been discovered, which until then had been unknown. The lieutenant-governor had, since taking upon him the command of the settlement, caused one hundred and fourteen acres of land to be cleared; and the late crops of maize and wheat, it was supposed, would have proved very productive had they not been sown somewhat too late, and not only retarded by too dry a season but infested by myriads of grubs and caterpillars, which destroyed every thing before them, notwithstanding the general exertions which were made for their extirpation. These vermin were observed to visit the island during the summer, but at no fixed period of that season. Two pieces of very coarse canvas manufactured at Norfolk Island were sent to the governor; but, unless better could be produced from the looms than these specimens, little expectation was to be formed of this article ever answering even the common culinary purposes to which canvas can be applied. Those officers who had passed some time in both settlements remarked, that the air of Norfolk Island was somewhat cooler than that of ours, here at Sydney; every breeze that blew being, from its insular situation, felt there. Martial law continued in force until the supplies arrived; and of the general demeanor of the convicts during that time report spoke favourably. The _Lady Juliana_, passing the island in her way to China, was the first ship that was seen; but, to the inexpressible disappointment and distress of those who saw her, as well as to the surprise of all who heard the circumstance, the master did not send a boat on shore. Nor were they relieved from their anxiety until two days had passed, when the other ships arrived. This was the substance of the information received from Norfolk Island. From an exact survey which had been made, it was computed, that not more than between three and four hundred families could be maintained from the produce of the island; and that even from that number in the course of twenty years many would be obliged to emigrate. On the _Supply's_ coming to an anchor, the _Sirius's_ late ship's company, whose appearance bore testimony to the miserable fare they had met with in Norfolk Island for several months, were landed, and lodged in the military or portable hospital, until the _Waaksamheyd_ Dutch snow could be got ready to receive them. William Bryant, who had been continued in the direction of the fishing-boat after the discovery of his malpractices, was, at the latter end of the month, overheard consulting in his hut after dark, with five other convicts, on the practicability of carrying off the boat in which he was employed. This circumstance being reported to the governor, it was determined that all his proceedings should be narrowly watched, and any scheme of that nature counteracted. The day following this conference, however, as he was returning from fishing with a boat-load of fish, the hook of the fore tack giving way in a squall of wind, the boat got stern-way, and filled, by which the execution of his project was for the present prevented. In the boat with Bryant was Bennillong's sister and three children, who all got safe on shore, the woman swimming to the nearest point with the youngest child upon her shoulders. Several of the natives, on perceiving the accident, paddled off in their canoes, and were of great service in saving the oars, mast, etc. and in towing the boat up to the cove. In addition to other works in hand this month, the surveyor was employed in clearing and deepening the run of water which supplied the settlement at Sydney, and which, through the long drought, was at this time very low, although still sufficient for the consumption of the place. Fresh water was indeed every where very scarce, most of the streams or runs of water about the cove being dried up. At Rose Hill the heat on the 10th and 11th of the month, on which days at Sydney the thermometer stood in the shade at 105 degrees, was so excessive (being much increased by the fire in the adjoining woods) that immense numbers of the large fox bat were seen hanging at the boughs of the trees, and dropping into the water, which, by their stench, was rendered unwholesome. They had been observed for some days before regularly taking their flight in the morning from the northward to the southward, and returning in the evening. During the excessive heat many dropped dead while on the wing; and it was remarkable, that those which were picked up were chiefly males. In several parts of the harbour the ground was covered with different sorts of small birds, some dead, and others gasping for water. The relief of the detachment at Rose Hill unfortunately took place on one of these sultry days, and the officer having occasion to land in search of water was compelled to walk several miles before any could be found, the runs which were known being all dry; in his way to and from the boat he found several birds dropping dead at his feet. The wind was about north-west, and did much injury to the gardens, burning up every thing before it. Those persons whose business compelled them to go into the heated air declared, that it was impossible to turn the face for five minutes to the quarter from whence the wind blew. 8 a.m. 2 p.m, 10 p.m. The greatest height of the thermometer during this month was, 90 105 84 The least height of the thermometer during this month was, 62 64½ 61 March.] On the 2nd of March Lieutenant Thomas Edgar hoisted a pendant on board the snow, in quality of naval agent, on which occasion she fired five guns. The preparations which were making on board that vessel were not completed until toward the latter end of the month, at which time the officers and seamen who were to go home in her were embarked. Of the _Sirius's_ late ship's company, ten seamen and two marines chose rather to settle here than return to their friends. Two of the seamen made choice of their lands in this country, the others in Norfolk Island. The majority of them had formed connections with women, for whose sake they consented to embrace a mode of life for which the natural restlessness of a sailor's disposition was but ill calculated. This motive, it is true, they disavowed; but one of the stipulations which they were desirous of making for themselves being the indulgence of having the women who had lived with them permitted still to do so, and it appearing not the least important article in their consideration, seemed to confirm the foregoing opinion. The number of officers who were to embark was lessened by Mr. Jamison, the surgeon's mate of the _Sirius_, receiving the governor's warrant appointing him an assistant surgeon to the colony, in which capacity he was to be employed at Norfolk Island. For that settlement the _Supply_ was now ready to sail; and on the 21st, one captain, two subalterns, one serjeant, one corporal, one drummer, and eighteen privates of the New South Wales corps, embarked on board that vessel, to relieve a part of the marine detachment doing duty there. Mr. Jamison and the ten settlers from the _Sirius_ were also put on board, together with some stores that had been applied for. Allotments of sixty acres each were to be marked out for the settlers, which they were to possess under the same conditions as were imposed on settlers in this country. The _Supply_ sailed the following morning, carrying an instrument under the hand and seal of the governor, restoring to the rights and privileges of a free man John Ascott, a convict at Norfolk Island, who had rendered himself very conspicuous by his exertions in preventing the _Sirius_ from being burnt soon after she was wrecked. On Monday the 28th the _Waaksamheyd_ transport sailed for England, having on board Captain Hunter, with the officers and crew of his majesty's late ship _Sirius_. By Captain Hunter's departure, which was regretted by every one who shared the pleasure of his society, the administration of the country would now devolve upon the lieutenant-governor, in case of the death or absence of the governor; a dormant commission having been signed by his majesty investing Captain Hunter with the chief situation in the colony in the event of either of the above circumstances taking place. In the course of the night of the 28th, Bryant, whose term of transportation, according to his own account, expired some day in this month, eluded the watch that was kept upon him, and made his escape, together with his wife and two children (one an infant at the breast) and seven other convicts, in the fishing-boat, which, since the accident at the latter end of the last month, he had taken care to keep in excellent order. Their flight was not discovered until they had been some hours without the Heads. They were traced from Bryant's hut to the Point, and in the path were found a hand-saw, a scale, and four or five pounds of rice, scattered about in different places, which, it was evident, they had dropped in their haste. At the Point, where some of the party must have been taken in, a seine belonging to government was found, which, being too large for Bryant's purpose, he had exchanged for a smaller that he had made for an officer, and which he had from time to time excused himself from completing and sending home. The names of these desperate adventurers were, Came in the first fleet, William Bryant, His sentence was expired. Mary Braud his wife, and two children, She had 2 years to serve. James Martin, He had 1 year to serve. James Cox, He was transported for life. Samuel Bird, He had 1 year and 4 months to serve. Came in the second fleet, William Allen, He was transported for life. Samuel Broom, He had 4 years and 4 months to serve. Nathaniel Lilly, He was transported for life. William Morton, He had 5 years and 1 month to serve. So soon as it was known in the settlement that Bryant had got out of reach, we learned that Detmer Smith, the master of the _Waaksamheyd_, had sold him a compass and a quadrant, and had furnished him with a chart, together with such information as would assist him in his passage to the northward. On searching Bryant's hut, cavities under the boards were found, where he had secured the compass and such other articles as required concealment: and he had contrived his escape with such address, that although he was well known to be about making an attempt, yet how far he was prepared, as well as the time when he meant to go, remained a secret. Most of his companions were connected with women; but if these knew any thing, they were too faithful to those they lived with to reveal it. Had the women been bound to them by any ties of affection, fear for their safety, or the dislike to part, might have induced some of them to have defeated the enterprise; but not having any interest either in their flight, or in their remaining here, they were silent on the subject. For one young woman, Sarah Young, a letter was found the next morning, written by James Cox, and left at a place where he was accustomed to work in his leisure hours as a cabinet-maker, conjuring her to give over the pursuit of the vices which, he told her, prevailed in the settlement, leaving to her what little property he did not take with him, and assigning as a reason for his flight the severity of his situation, being transported for life, without the prospect of any mitigation, or hope of ever quitting the country, but by the means he was about to adopt. It was conjectured that they would steer for Timor, or Batavia, as their assistance and information were derived from the Dutch snow. The situation of these people was very different from that of Tarwood and his associates, who were but ill provided for an undertaking so perilous; but Bryant had long availed himself of the opportunities given him by selling fish to collect provisions together, and his boat was a very good one, and in excellent order; so that there was little reason to doubt their reaching Timor, if no dissension prevailed among them, and they had but prudence enough to guard against the natives wherever they might land. William Morton was said to know something of navigation; James Cox had endeavoured to acquire such information on the subject as might serve him whenever a fit occasion should present itself, and Bryant and Bird knew perfectly well how to manage a boat. What story they could invent on their arrival at any port, sufficiently plausible to prevent suspicion of their real characters, it was not easy to imagine. The depredations committed on the Indian corn at Rose Hill were so frequent and so extensive, that it became absolutely necessary to punish such offenders as were detected with a severity that might deter others; to this end, iron collars of seven pounds weight were ordered as a punishment for flagrant offenders, who were also linked together by a chain, without which precaution they would still have continued to plunder the public grounds. The baker at that settlement absconded with a quantity of flour with which he had been entrusted, belonging to the military on duty there, and other persons. He was taken some days afterward in the woods near Sydney. It must be remarked, however, that all these thefts were for the procuring of provisions, and that offences of any other tendency were very seldom heard of. Some time in this month, James Ruse, the first settler in this country, who had been upon his ground about fifteen months, having got in his crop of corn, declared himself desirous of relinquishing his claim to any further provisions from the store, and said that he was able to support himself by the produce of his farm. He had shown himself an industrious man; and the governor, being satisfied that he could do without any further aid from the stores, consented to his proposal, and informed him that he should be forthwith put in possession of an allotment of thirty acres of ground in the situation he then occupied. To secure our fresh water, which, though very low, might still be denominated _a run_, the governor caused a ditch to be dug on each side of it at some distance from the stream, and employed some people to erect a paling upon the bank, to keep out stock, and protect the shrubs within from being destroyed. April.] The supplies of provisions which had been received in the last year not warranting the continuing any longer at the ration now issued, the governor thought it expedient to make a reduction of flour, rice, and salt provisions. Accordingly, on the first Saturday in this month each man, woman, and child above ten years of age, was to receive: 3 pounds of flour, 1 pound being taken off; 3 pounds of rice, ditto; 3 pounds of pork, ditto; or when beef should be served, 4½ pounds of beef, 2½ pounds being taken off. A small proportion was to be given to children under ten years of age; and this ration the commissary was directed to issue until further orders. Of this allowance the flour was the best article; the rice was found to be full of weevils; the pork was ill-flavoured, rusty, and smoked; and the beef was lean, and, by being cured with spices, truly unpalatable. Much of both these articles when they came to be dressed could not be used, and, being the best that could be procured at Batavia, no inclination was excited by these specimens to try that market again. It having been reported to the governor, that Bryant had been frequently heard to express, what was indeed the general sentiment on the subject among the people of his description, that he did not consider his marriage in this country as binding; his excellency caused the convicts to be informed, that none would be permitted to quit the colony who had wives or children incapable of maintaining themselves and likely to become burdensome to the settlement, until they had found sufficient security for the maintenance of such wives or children as long as they might remain after them. This order was designed as a check upon the erroneous opinion which was formed of the efficacy of Mr. Johnson's nuptial benediction; and if Bryant had thought as little of it as he was reported to do, his taking his wife with him could only be accounted for by a dread of her defeating his plan by discovery if she was not made personally interested in his escape. This order was shortly after followed by another, limiting the length of such boats as should be built by individuals to fourteen feet from stem to stern, that the size of such boats might deter the convicts from attempts to take them off. About this time some information being received, that it was in agitation to take away the sixteen-oared boat belonging to the colony, or some one or two of the smaller boats, a sentinel was placed at night on each wharf, and the officer of the guard was to be spoken to before any boat could leave the cove. In addition to this regulation, it was directed, that the names of all such people as it might be necessary to employ in boats after sun-set should be given in writing to the officer of the guard, to prevent any convicts not belonging to officers or to the public boats from taking them from the wharfs under pretence of fishing or other services. Mr. Schaffer, who came out from England as a superintendent of convicts, finding himself, from not speaking the language (being a German) inadequate to the just discharge of that duty, gave up his appointment as a superintendant, and accepted of a grant of land; and an allotment of one hundred and forty acres were marked out for him on the south side of the creek leading to Rose Hill. On the same side of the creek, but nearer to Rose Hill, two allotments of sixty acres each were marked out for two settlers from the _Sirius_. On the opposite side the governor had placed a convict, Charles Williams, who had recommended himself to his notice by extraordinary propriety of conduct as an overseer, giving him thirty acres, and James Ruse received a grant of the same quantity of land at Rose Hill. These were all the settlers at this time established in New South Wales; but the governor was looking out for some situations in the vicinity of Rose Hill for other settlers, from among the people whose sentences of transportation had expired. During this month the governor made an excursion to the westward, but he reached no farther than the banks of the Hawkesbury, and returned to Rose Hill on the 6th, without making any discovery of the least importance. At that settlement, the Indian corn was nearly all gathered off the ground; but it could not be said to have been all gathered in, for much of it had been stolen by the convicts. So great a desire for tobacco prevailed among these people, that a man was known to have given the greatest part of his week's provisions for a small quantity of that article; and it was sold, the produce of the place, for ten and even fifteen shillings per pound. The governor, on being made acquainted with this circumstance, intimated an intention of prohibiting the growth of tobacco, judging it to be more for the true interest of the people to cultivate the necessaries than the luxuries of life. The public works at Rose Hill consisted in building the officers barracks; a small guardhouse near the governor's hut; a small house for the judge-advocate (whose occasional presence there as a magistrate was considered necessary by the governor), and for the clergyman; and in getting in the Indian corn. At Sydney, the house for the surveyor-general was covered in; and the carpenters were employed in finishing that for the clergyman. Bricks were also brought in for a house for the principal surgeon, to be built near the hospital on the west side. Many thefts, and some of money, were committed during the month at both settlements. A hut belonging to James Davis, employed as a coxswain to the public boats, was broken into; but nothing was stolen, Davis having taken his money with him, and nothing else appearing to have been the object of their search. His hut was situated out of the view of any sentinel, and a night was chosen for the attempt when it was known that he was on duty at Rose Hill. CHAPTER XIII A Musket found by a native Reports of plans to seize boats _Supply_ arrives from Norfolk Island The King's birthday A canoe destroyed Its evil effects Corn sown Battery begun One hundred and forty acres inclosed for cattle The _Mary Ann_ arrives Two criminal courts held Ration improved The _Matilda_ arrives The _Mary Ann_ sails for Norfolk Island Settlers The _Atlantic_ and _Salamander_ arrive Full ration issued The _William and Ann_ arrives Natives Public works May.] Cole-be, the native who since our communication with these people had attached himself to Mr. White, the principal surgeon, made his appearance one morning in the beginning of the month with a musket, which, on diving into the sea for something else, he had brought up with him. It was supposed to have been lost from Mr. White's boat in November last at the lower part of the harbour. The scheme for seizing one of the boats was resumed in this month, and appeared to be in great forwardness. The boat however was changed, the long-boat being chosen instead of that which was at first thought of. She was to be seized the first time she should be employed in towing the boy with provisions to Rose Hill; out of which they were to take what quantity they required for their purpose, land the crew, and run her ashore. On receiving this information, the governor, instead of sending the hoy up with different species of provisions, caused her to be loaded with rice, and a small quantity of flour, in some measure to defeat their scheme, at least for that time, as the information did not state that they had collected any salt provisions. She was accordingly dispatched with flour and rice, and returned safely, no attempt having been made to stop her. It was then said, that they were at a loss for a person to navigate her; and that a deposit of powder and ball was made at a farm near the brick-fields; where however, on searching, nothing of the kind was found. Various other reports were whispered during the month, which, whether founded in truth or not, had this good effect, that every necessary precaution was taken to prevent their succeeding in any attempt of that kind which they might be desperate enough to make. Much anxiety was excited on account of the long and unusual absence of the _Supply_, which sailed for Norfolk Island on the 22nd day of March, and did not return to this harbour until the 30th of this month, which completed ten weeks within a day since she sailed. Contrary winds and heavy gales had prevented her arrival at the time she might have been reasonably expected. She was three weeks in her passage hither, and was blown off the island for eleven days. Captain Johnston, Lieutenants Creswell and Kellow, one sergeant, one corporal, one drummer, and twenty privates of the marine detachment, arrived in the _Supply_; with two prisoners, one a soldier for some irregularity of conduct when sentinel, the other a convict. The weather had been as dry at Norfolk Island as it had been here; which, with the blighting winds, had considerably injured all the gardens, and particularly some crops of potatoes. Of the great fertility of the soil every account brought the strongest confirmation; and by attending to the proper season for sowing, it was the general opinion that two crops of corn might be got off in a year. Their provisions, like ours, were again at so low an ebb, that the lieutenant-governor had reduced the ration. The whole number victualled when the _Supply_ sailed amounted to six hundred and twenty-nine persons; and for that number there were in store at the _full_ ration, flour and Indian corn for twenty weeks, beef for eighteen weeks, and pork for twenty-nine weeks; and these, at the ration then issued, would be prolonged, the grain to twenty-seven, the beef to forty-two, and the pork to twenty-nine weeks. It must however be remarked, that the ration at Norfolk Island was often uncertain, being regulated by the plenty or scarcity of the Mount Pitt birds. Great numbers of these birds had been killed for some time before the _Supply_ sailed thence; but they were observed about that time to be quitting the island. On board the _Supply_ were some planks, and such part of the stores belonging to the _Sirius_ as the lieutenant-governor could get on board. That ship had not then gone to pieces; the side of her which was on the reef was broken in and much injured, but the side next the sea (the larboard side) appeared fresh and perfect. At Sydney, by an account taken at the latter end of the month of the provisions then remaining in store, there appeared to be at the ration then issued of Flour and rice 40 weeks, a supply till 31st March 1792; Beef 12 weeks, a supply till 31st August 1791; Pork 27 weeks, a supply till 21st December 1791. In this account the rice and flour were taken together as one article, but the rice bore by far the greatest proportion. It was remarked by many in the settlement, that both at Sydney and at Rose Hill the countenances of the labouring convicts indicated the shortness of the ration they received; this might be occasioned by their having suffered so much before from the same cause, from the effects of which they had scarcely been restored when they were again called upon to experience the hardship of a reduced ration of provisions. The convicts who arrived in June had not recovered from the severity of their passage to this country. It having been said that James Ruse, who in March last had declared his ability to support himself independent of the store, was starving, the governor told him, that in consideration of his having been upon a short allowance of provisions during nearly the whole of the time he had been cultivating ground upon his own account, the storekeeper should be directed to supply him with twenty pounds of salt provisions. The man assured his excellency that he did not stand in need of his bounty, having by him at the time a small stock of provisions; a quantity of Indian corn (which he found no difficulty in exchanging for salt meat) and a bag of flour; all which enabled him to do so well, that he absolutely begged permission to _decline_ the offer. So very contradictory was his own account of his situation to that which had been reported. The barracks at Rose Hill, being so far completed as to admit of being occupied, were taken possession of this month by the New South Wales corps. Several thefts of provisions were committed; two, that were of some consequence, appeared as if the provisions had been collected for some particular purpose; and, if so, perhaps only passed from the possession of one thief to that of another. While a stalk of Indian corn remained upon the ground, the convicts resolved to plunder it, and several were severely punished; but it did not appear that they were amended by the correction, nor that others were deterred by the example of their punishment. So truly incorrigible were many of these people! Finishing the clergyman's and surveyor's houses; bringing in bricks for other buildings; posts and paling for a fence round the run of water; and making clothing for the people, occupied the convicts at Sydney. June.] The bad weather met with by the _Supply_ during her late voyage to Norfolk Island had done her so much injury, that, on a careful examination of her defects, it appeared that she could not be got ready for sea in less than three months. In addition to other repairs which were indispensable, her main mast was found so defective, that after cutting off eighteen feet from the head of it and finding the heel nearly as bad, the carpenter was of opinion that she must be furnished with an entire new mast. This, when the difficulty of finding timber for her foremast (which, it must be remarked, bore the heavy gales of wind she met with, as well as could be desired even of wood the fittest for masts) was recollected, was an unlucky and an ill-timed want; for, should it happen that supplies were not received from England by the middle or end of the month of July, the services of this vessel would be again required; and, to save the colony, she must at that time have been dispatched to some settlement in India for provisions. She was therefore forthwith hauled along side the rocks, and people were employed to look for sound timber fit for a mast. On his Majesty's birthday an extra allowance of provisions was issued to the garrison and settlements; each man receiving one pound of salt meat, and the like quantity of rice; each woman half a pound of meat and one pound of rice; and each child a quarter of a pound of meat and half a pound of rice. And to make it a cheerful day to every one, all offenders who had for stealing Indian corn been ordered to wear iron collars were pardoned. The town which had been marked out at Rose Hill, and which now wore something of a regular appearance, on this occasion received its name. The governor called it Parramatta, being the name by which the natives distinguished the part of the country on which the town stood. Notwithstanding the lenity and indulgence which had been shown on his Majesty's birthday, in pardoning the plunderers of gardens and the public grounds, and by issuing an extra allowance of provisions to every one, the governor's garden at Parramatta was that very night entered and robbed by six men, who assaulted the watchman, Thomas Ocraft, and would have escaped all together, had he not, with much resolution, secured three of them for punishment. Indulgences of this nature were certainly thrown away upon many who partook of them; but as it was impossible to discriminate so nicely between the good and the bad as wholly to exclude the undeserving, no distinction could be made. The people who had assaulted the watchman were severely punished, as his authority could never have been supported without such an example; but either his vigilance, or the countenance which was shown to him on account of his strict performance of his duty, created him many enemies; and it became necessary to give him arms, as well for his own defence, as for the more effectual protection of the district he watched over. Some nights after, in a turnip ground at Parramatta, he was obliged to fire at a convict, whom he wounded, but not dangerously, and secured. He was sent down to the hospital at Sydney. Since the establishment of that familiar intercourse which now subsisted between us and the natives, several of them had found it their interest to sell or exchange fish among the people at Parramatta; they being contented to receive a small quantity of either bread or salt meat in barter for mullet, bream, and other fish. To the officers who resided there this proved a great convenience, and they encouraged the natives to visit them as often as they could bring them fish. There were, however, among the convicts some who were so unthinking, or so depraved, as wantonly to destroy a canoe belonging to a fine young man, a native, who had left it at some little distance from the settlement, and as he hoped out of the way of observation, while he went with some fish to the huts. His rage at finding his canoe destroyed was inconceivable; and he threatened to take his own revenge, and in his own way, upon all white people. Three of the six people who had done him the injury, however, were so well described by some one who had seen them, that, being closely followed, they were taken and punished, as were the remainder in a few days after. The instant effect of all this was, that the natives discontinued to bring up fish; and Bal-loo-der-ry, whose canoe had been destroyed, although he had been taught to believe that one of the six convicts had been hanged for the offence, meeting a few days afterwards with a poor wretch who had strayed from Parramatta as far as the Flats, he wounded him in two places with a spear. This act of Ballooderry's was followed by the governor's strictly forbidding him to appear again at any of the settlements; the other natives, his friends, being alarmed, Parramatta was seldom visited by any of them, and all commerce with them was destroyed. How much greater claim to the appellation of savages had the wretches who were the cause of this, than the native who was the sufferer? During this month some rain had fallen, which had encouraged the sowing of the public grounds, and one hundred and sixteen bushels of wheat were sown at Parramatta. Until these rains fell, the ground was so dry, hard, and literally burnt up, that it was almost impossible to break it with a hoe, and until this time there had been no hope or probability of the grain vegetating. In the beginning of the month, the stone-mason, with the people under his direction, had begun working at the west point of the cove, where the governor purposed constructing out of the rock a spot whereon to place the guns belonging to the settlement, which was to wear the appearance of a _work_. The flagstaff was to be placed in the same situation. The house for the principal surgeon was got up and covered in during this month. Among the convicts who died about this time, was ---- Frazer, a man who came out in the first fleet, and who, since his landing, had been employed as a blacksmith. He was an excellent workman, and was supposed to have brought on an untimely end by hard drinking, as he seldom chose to accept of any article but spirits in payment for work done in his extra hours. July.] To guard against a recurrence of the accident which happened to our cattle soon after we had arrived, the governor had for some time past employed a certain number of convicts at Parramatta in forming inclosures; and at the commencement of this month not less than one hundred and forty acres were thinned of the timber, surrounded by a ditch, and guarded by a proper fence. In addition to the quantity of ground sown with wheat, a large proportion was cleared to be sown this season with Indian corn; and the country about Parramatta, as well as the town itself, where eight huts were now built, wore a very promising appearance. At Sydney, the little ground that was in cultivation belonged to individuals; the whole labour of the convicts employed in clearing ground being exerted at Parramatta, where the soil, though not the best for the purposes of agriculture (according to the opinion of every man who professed any knowledge of farming) was still better than the sand about Sydney, where, to raise even a cabbage after the first crop, manure was absolutely requisite. On the morning of the ninth, the signal for a sail was made at the South Head; and before night it was made known that the _Mary Ann_ transport was arrived from England, with one hundred and forty-one female convicts on board, six children, and one free woman, some clothing, and the following small quantity of provisions: one hundred and thirty-two barrels of flour; sixty-one tierces of pork; and thirty-two tierces of beef. This ship sailed alone; but we were informed that she was to be followed by nine sail of transports, on board of which were embarked (including one hundred and fifty women, the number put into the _Mary Ann_) two thousand and fifty male and female convicts; the whole of which were to be expected in the course of six weeks or two months, together with his Majesty's ship _Gorgon_. We also learned that Lieutenant King, who sailed hence the 17th April 1790, arrived in London the 20th day of December following, having suffered much distress after leaving Batavia, whence he was obliged to go to the Mauritius, having lost nearly all the crew of the packet he was in by sickness. Mr. Millar, the late commissary, died on the 28th of August. With great satisfaction we heard, that from our government having adopted a system of sending out convicts at two embarkations in every year, at which time provisions were also to be sent, it was not probable that we should again experience the misery and want with which we had been but too well acquainted, from not having had any regular mode of supply. Intimation was likewise given, that a cargo of grain might be expected to arrive from Bengal, some merchants at that settlement having proposed to Lord Cornwallis, on hearing of the loss of the _Guardian_, to freight a ship with such a cargo as would be adapted to the wants of the colony, and to supply the different articles at a cheaper rate than they could be sent hither from England. We were also to expect a transport with live stock from the north west coast of America. The master, Mark Monroe, had not any private letters on board; but (what added to the disappointment every one experienced) he had not brought a single newspaper; and, having been but a few weeks from Greenland before he sailed for this country, he was destitute of any kind of information. The _Mary Ann_ had a quick passage, having been only four months and sixteen days from England. She touched nowhere, except at the island of St. Iago, where she remained ten days. The master landed a boat in a bay on this coast about fifteen miles to the southward of Botany Bay; but made no other observation of any consequence to the colony, than that there was a bay in which a boat might land. The women, who were all very healthy, and who spoke highly of the treatment which they had experienced from Mr. Monroe, were landed immediately after the arrival of the transport in the cove, and were distributed among the huts at Sydney, while the governor went up to Parramatta to make such preparation as the time would admit for the numbers he expected to receive. The convicts whose terms of transportation had expired were now collected, and by the authority of the governor informed, that such of them as wished to become settlers in this country should receive every encouragement; that those who did not, were to labour for their provisions, stipulating to work for twelve or eighteen months certain; and that in the way of such as preferred returning to England no obstacles would be thrown, provided they could procure passages from the masters of such ships as might arrive; but that they were not to expect any assistance on the part of Government to that end. The wish to return to their friends appeared to be the prevailing idea, a few only giving in their names as settlers, and none engaging to work for a certain time. We had twice in this month found occasion to assemble the court of criminal judicature. In the night of Saturday the 16th, a soldier of the marine detachment was detected by the patrols in the spirit cellar adjoining to the deputy-commissary's house, the lock of which he had forced. On being taken up, he offered, if he could be admitted an evidence, to convict two others; which being allowed, the court was assembled on the 19th, when two of his brother soldiers were tried; but for want of evidence sufficiently strong to corroborate the testimony of the accomplice, they were of necessity acquitted. Godfrey the accomplice was afterwards tried by a military court for neglect of duty and disobedience of orders in quitting his post when sentinel; which offence being proved against him, he was sentenced to receive eight hundred lashes, and to be drummed out of the corps. In the evening of the day on which he was tried (the 21st) he received three hundred lashes, and was drummed out with every mark of disgrace that could be shown him. In a short time afterwards the two soldiers who had been acquitted were sent to do duty at the South Head. There was little room to doubt, but that in concert with Godfrey they had availed themselves of their situations as sentinels, and frequently entered the cellar; and it was judged necessary to place them where they would be disabled from concerting any future scheme with him. A convict was tried for a burglary by the same court, but was acquitted. On the 27th another court was assembled for the trial of James Chapman, for a burglary committed in the preceding month in the house of John Petree, a convict, in which he stole several articles of wearing apparel. Charles Cross and Joseph Hatton, two convicts, were also tried for receiving them knowing them to be stolen. Chapman the principal, refusing to plead any thing but guilty, received sentence of death. Against the receivers it appeared in evidence, that after the burglary was committed the property was concealed in the woods between Sydney and Parramatta, at which place all the parties resided; that having suffered it to remain some weeks, Chapman and Cross went from Parramatta to bring it away; and while they were so employed, Hatton found that the watchmen were going in pursuit of Chapman; on which he directly set off to meet and advertise them of it, and receive the property, which, by a clear chain of evidence, he was proved to have taken and concealed again in the woods. Hatton was found guilty, and sentenced to receive eight hundred lashes. Cross was acquitted. Chapman was executed the following day at noon. Half an hour before he died, he informed the judge-advocate and the clergyman who attended him, that a plan was formed of breaking into the government-house, and robbing it of a large sum of money which it was imagined the governor kept in it; and that it was to be executed by himself and three other convicts, all of whom were, however, very far from being of suspicious characters. But as there was no reason to suppose that a person in such an awful situation would invent an accusation by which he could not himself be benefited, and which might injure three innocent people, the governor took all the precautions that he thought necessary to guard against the meditated villainy. A practice having been discovered, of purchasing the soldiers regimental necessaries for the purpose of disposing of them among the shipping, and this requiring a punishment that should effectually check it, Bond, a convict who baked for the hospital and others, was brought before two magistrates, and, being convicted of having bought several articles of wearing apparel which had been served to a soldier, was sentenced to pay the penalty prescribed by act of parliament, five pounds; or, on failure within a certain time, to go to prison. Having made some considerable profits in the exercise of his trade as a baker, he preferred paying the penalty. It being always desirable to go as near the established ration as the state of the stores would allow, and the governor never wishing to keep the labouring man one moment longer than was absolutely necessary upon a reduced allowance of provisions, he directed two pounds of rice to be added to the weekly proportion of that article; but, although by this addition eight pounds of grain were issued, viz three pounds of flour and five pounds of rice, the ration was far from being brought up to the standard established by the Treasury for the colony; five pounds of bad worm-eaten rice making a most inadequate substitute for the same quantity of good flour. In the article of meat the labouring man suffered still more; for in a given quantity of sixty pounds, which were issued on one serving day to two messes, there were no less than forty pounds of bone, and the remainder, which was intended to be eaten, was almost too far advanced in putrefaction for even hunger to get down. It must be observed that it came in the snow from Batavia. Patrick Burn, a person employed to shoot for the commanding officer of the marine detachment, died this month: and the hut that he had lived in was burnt down in the night a few hours after his decease, by the carelessness of the people, who were Irish and were sitting up with the corpse, which was with much difficulty saved from the flames, and not until it was much scorched. August.] On Monday, the 1st of August, the _Matilda_, the first of the expected fleet of transports, arrived, after an extraordinary passage of four months and five days, from Portsmouth; having sailed from thence on the 27th day of March last, with four sail of transports for this place, with whom she parted company that night off Dunnoze. Another division of transports had sailed a week before from Plymouth Sound. On board the _Matilda_ were two hundred and five male convicts, one ensign, one. sergeant, one corporal, one drummer, and nineteen privates, of the New South Wales corps; and some stores and provisions calculated as a supply for the above number for nine months after their arrival. The master of this ship anchored for two days in a bay of one of Schoeten's Islands, distant from the main land about twelve miles, in the latitude of 42 degrees 15 minutes S.: where, according to his report, five or six ships might find shelter. Those who were on shore saw the footsteps of different kinds of animals, and traces of natives, such as huts, fires, broken spears, and the instrument which they use for throwing the spear. They spoke of the soil as sandy, and observed that the ground was covered with shrubs such as were to be found here. The convicts in this ship, on their landing, appeared to be aged and infirm, the state in which they were said to have been embarked. It was not therefore to be wondered at, that they had buried twenty-five on the passage. One soldier also died. Twenty were brought in sick, and were immediately landed at the hospital. It was intended by the governor that this ship should have proceeded immediately to Norfolk Island with the greater part of the convicts she had on board, together with all the stores and provisions; but the master, Mr. Matthew Weatherhead, requesting that as the ship was very leaky the _Mary Ann_ might be permitted to perform the service required, instead of the _Matilda_ (both ships belonging to the same owners), and the _Mary Ann_ being perfectly ready for sea, the governor consented to this proposal; and that ship was hauled alongside the _Matilda_ to receive her cargo. Fifty-five of the convicts brought in this ship, selected from the others as farmers or artificers, were sent up to Parramatta; of the remainder, those whose health would permit them to go were put on board the _Mary Ann_, together with thirty-two convicts of bad character from among those who came out in the preceding year, and eleven privates of the New South Wales corps. On the Monday following (the 8th) the _Mary Ann_ sailed for Norfolk Island. At Parramatta the only accommodation which the shortness of the notice admitted of being provided for the people who were on their passage was got up; two tent huts, one hundred feet long, thatched with grass, were erected; and, independent of the risk which the occupiers might run from fire, they would afford good and comfortable shelter from the weather. The governor had now chosen situations for his settlers, and fixed them on their different allotments. Twelve convicts, whose terms of transportation had expired, he placed in a range of farms at the foot of a hill named Prospect Hill, about four miles west from Parramatta; fifteen others were placed on allotments in a district named the Ponds, from a range of fresh-water ponds being in their vicinity; these were situated two miles in a direction north-east of Parramatta. Between every allotment, a space had been reserved equal to the largest grant on either side, pursuant to the instructions which the governor had received; but it was soon found that this distribution might be attended with much disadvantage to the settler; a thick wood of at least thirty acres must lie between every allotment; and a circumstance happened which showed the inconvenience consequent thereon, and determined the governor to deviate from the instructions, whenever, by adhering to them, the settlers were likely to be material sufferers. In the beginning of the month information was received, that a much larger party of the natives than had yet been seen assembled at any one time had destroyed a hut belonging to a settler at Prospect Hill, who would have been murdered by them, but for the timely and accidental appearance of another settler with a musket. There was no doubt of the hut having been destroyed, and by natives, though perhaps their numbers were much exaggerated; the governor, therefore, determined to place other settlers upon the allotments which had been reserved for the crown; by which means assistance in similar or other accidents would be more ready. After the arrival of the _Matilda_, the governor, judging that his stores would admit of increasing the weekly allowance of flour, directed that (instead of three) five pounds of that article should be issued to each man; and to each woman an addition of half a pound to the three which they before received. The other articles of the ration remained as before. The platform which had been constructing on the West Point since June last being ready for the reception of the cannon, they were moved thither about the middle of the month; in doing which, a triangle which was made use of, not being properly secured, slipped and fell upon a convict (an overseer), by which accident his thigh was dislocated, and his body much bruised. He was taken to the hospital, where, fortunately, Mr. White immediately reduced the luxation. About noon on Saturday the 20th, the _Atlantic_ transport anchored in the cove from Plymouth, whence she sailed with two other transports, and parted with them about five weeks since in bad weather between Rio de Janeiro and this port, the passage from which had not been more than ten weeks. She had on board a sergeant's party of the new corps as a guard to two hundred and twenty male convicts, eighteen of whom died on the passage. The remainder came in very healthy, there being only nine sick on board. The evening before her arrival she stood into a capacious bay, situated between Long Nose and Cape St. George, where they found good anchorage and deep water. Lieutenant Richard Bowen, the naval agent on board, who landed, described the soil to be sandy, and the country thickly covered with timber. He did not see any natives, but found a canoe upon the beach, whose owners perhaps were not far off. This canoe, by Lieutenant Bowen's account, appeared to be on a somewhat stronger construction than the canoes of Port Jackson. The signal for another sail was made the next morning at the Lookout, and about one o'clock the _Salamander_ transport arrived. She sailed from England under Lieutenant Bowen's orders, with a sergeant's party of the new corps and one hundred and sixty male convicts on board, one hundred and fifty-five of whom she brought in all healthy, except one man who was in the sick list. The party arrived without the sergeant, he having deserted on their leaving England. Both these transports having brought a supply of provisions calculated to serve nine months for the convicts that were embarked, the governor directed the commissary to issue the full ration of provisions, serving rice in lieu of peas; the reduced ration having continued from Saturday the 2nd day of last April to Saturday the 27th of August; twenty-one weeks. A party of one hundred convicts were sent from the Atlantic to Parramatta, the remainder were landed and disposed of at Sydney. The _Salamander_ was ordered to proceed to Norfolk Island with the people and the cargo she had on board. There were at this time not less than seventy persons from the _Matilda_ and _Atlantic_ under medical treatment, being weak, emaciated, and unfit for any kind of labour; and the list was increasing. It might have been supposed that on changing from the unwholesome air of a ship's between-decks to the purer air of this country, the weak would have gathered strength; but it had been observed, that in general soon after landing, the convicts were affected with dysenteric complaints, perhaps caused by the change of water, many dying, and others who had strength to overcome the disease recovering from it but slowly. On the 28th the _William and Ann_ transport arrived (the last of Lieutenant Bowen's division). She had on board one sergeant and twelve privates of the new corps, one hundred and eighty-one male convicts, with her proportion of stores and provisions. She sailed with one hundred and eighty-eight convicts from England, but lost seven on the passage; the remainder came in very healthy, five only being so ill as to require removal. The first mate of this ship, Mr. Simms, formerly belonged to the _Golden Grove_ transport. The town beginning to fill with strangers (officers and seamen from the transports) and spirituous liquors finding their way among the convicts, it was ordered that none should be landed until a permit had been granted by the judge-advocate; and the provost-marshal, his assistant, and two principals of the watch, were deputed to seize all spirituous liquors which might be landed without. Ballooderry, the proscribed native, having ventured into the town with some of his friends, one or two armed parties were sent to seize him, and a spear having been thrown (it was said by him) two muskets were fired, by which one of his companions was wounded in the leg; but Ballooderry was not taken. On the following day it was given out in orders, that he was to be taken whenever an opportunity offered; and that any native attempting to throw a spear in his defence, as it was well known among them why vengeance was denounced against him, was, if possible, to be prevented from escaping with impunity. Those who knew Ballooderry regretted that it had been necessary to treat him with this harshness, as among his countrymen we had no where seen a finer young man. The person who had been wounded by him in the month of June last was not yet recovered. Discharging the transports formed the principal labour of the month; the shingles on the roof of the old hospital being found to decay fast, and many falling off, the whole were removed, and the building was covered with tiles. The convicts at Parramatta were employed in opening some ground about a mile and a half above that settlement, along the south side of the creek; and it was expected from the exertions which they were making, that between forty and fifty acres would be soon ready for sowing with Indian corn for this season. Their labour was directed by Thomas Daveney, a free person who came out with the governor. CHAPTER XIV The _Salamander_ sails for, and the _Mary Ann_ arrives from Norfolk Island Bondel, a native, returns A seaman, for sinking a canoe, punished The _Gorgon_ arrives Commission of emancipation, and public seal The _Active_ and _Queen_ arrive Complaints against the master of the _Queen_ _Supply_ ordered home _Albemarle_ arrives Mutiny on board _Britannia_ and _Admiral Barrington_ arrive Future destination of the transports The _Atlantic_ and _Queen_ hired _Atlantic_ sails for Bengal _Salamander_ returns from Norfolk Island Transactions Public works Suicide September.] It became necessary to land the cargo brought out in the _Salamander_, for the purpose of restowing it in a manner convenient for getting it out at Norfolk Island while the ship was under sail. The great inconvenience attending landing a cargo in such a situation had been pointed out in letters which could not yet have been attended to. It was at the same time suggested, that ships should be freighted purposely for Norfolk Island, with casks and bales adapted to the size of the island boats, which would in a great measure lessen the inconvenience above mentioned. On the 3rd, near two hundred male convicts, with a sergeant's party of the New South Wales corps, some stores and provisions, having been put on board the _Salamander_, she sailed for Norfolk Island the following morning: and the _Mary Ann_ returned from that settlement on the 8th, having been absent only four weeks and two days. The convicts, troops, stores, and provisions, were all landed safely; but an unexpected surf rising at the back of the reef, filling the only boat (a Greenland whale-boat) which the master took with him, she was dashed upon the reef, and stove; the people, who all belonged to the whaler, fortunately saved themselves by swimming. From Norfolk Island we learned, that the crops of wheat then in the ground promised well, having been sown a month earlier than those of the last season. Of the public ground ninety acres were in wheat, and one hundred in Indian corn: of the ground cleared by the convicts, and cultivated by themselves for their own maintenance, there were not less, at the departure of the transport, than two hundred and fifty acres. Bondel, a native boy, who went thither with Captain Hill, to whom he was attached, in the month of March last, came back by this conveyance to his friends and relations at Port Jackson. During his residence on the island, which Mr. Monroe said he quitted reluctantly, he seemed to have gained some smattering of our language, certain words of which he occasionally blended with his own. Some prisoners having been sent from Norfolk Island, the criminal court was assembled on the 15th for the trial of one of them for a capital offence committed there; but for want of sufficient evidence he was acquitted. Great inconvenience was experienced from having to send prisoners from that island with all the necessary witnesses. In the case just mentioned the prosecutor was a settler, who being obliged to leave his farm for the time, the business of which was necessarily suspended until he could return, was ruined: and one of the witnesses was in nearly the same situation. But as the courts in New South Wales would always be the superior courts, it was not easy to discover a remedy for these inconveniences.' A seaman of one of the transports having been clearly proved to have wantonly sunk a canoe belonging to a native, who had been paddling round the ship, and at last ventured on board, he was ordered to be punished, and to give the native a complete suit of wearing apparel, as a satisfaction for the injury he had done him, as well as to induce him to abandon any design of revenge which he might have formed. The corporal punishment was however afterwards remitted, and the seaman ordered to remain on board his ship while she should continue in this port. Some of the soldiers who came out in the _William and Ann_ transport having exhibited complaints against the master, whom they accused of assaulting and severely beating them during the passage, the affair was investigated before three magistrates, and a fine laid upon the master, which he paid. On Wednesday the 21st his Majesty's ship _Gorgon_ of forty-four guns, commanded by Captain John Parker, anchored within the heads of the harbour, reaching the settlement the following morning, and anchoring where his Majesty's late ship _Sirius_ used to moor. The _Gorgon_ sailed from England on the 15th of March last, touching on her passage at the islands of Teneriffe and St. Iago, and at the Cape of Good Hope, where she remained six weeks, taking in three bulls, twenty-three cows, sixty-eight sheep, eleven hogs, two hundred fruit trees, a quantity of garden seed, and other articles for the colony. Unfortunately, the bulls and seven of the cows died; but a bull calf, which had been produced on board, arrived in good condition. Six months provisions for about nine hundred people, with stores for his Majesty's armed tender the _Supply_, and for the marine detachment, were sent out in the _Gorgon_; wherein also was embarked Mr. King, the late commandant of Norfolk Island, now appointed by his Majesty lieutenant-governor of that settlement, and a commander in the navy; together with Mr. Charles Grimes, commissioned as a deputy surveyor-general to be employed at Norfolk Island; the chaplain and quarter-master of the New South Wales corps, and Mr David Burton, a superintendant of convicts. By this ship we received a public seal to be affixed to all instruments drawn in his Majesty's name, and a commission under the great seal empowering the governor for the time being to remit, either absolutely or conditionally, the whole or any part of the term for which felons, or other offenders, should have been or might hereafter be transported to this country. Duplicates of each pardon were to be sent to England, for the purpose of inserting the names of the persons so emancipated in the first general pardon which should afterward issue under the great seal of the kingdom. To deserving characters, of which description there were many convicts in the colony, a prospect of having the period of their banishment shortened, and of being restored to the privilege which by misconduct they had forfeited, had something in it very cheering, and was more likely to preserve well intentioned men in honest and fair pursuits, than the fear of punishment, which would seldom operate with good effect on a mind that entertained no hope of reward for propriety of conduct. The people with whom we had to deal were not in general actuated by that nice sense of feeling which draws its truest satisfaction from self approbation; they looked for something more substantial, something more obvious to the external senses. In determining the device for the seal of the colony, attention had been paid to its local and peculiar circumstances. On the obverse were the king's arms, with the royal titles in the margin; on the reverse, a representation of convicts landing at Botany Bay, received by Industry, who, surrounded by her attributes, a bale of merchandise, a beehive, a pickaxe, and a shovel, is releasing them from their fetters, and pointing to oxen ploughing and a town rising on the summit of a hill, with a fort for its protection. The masts of a ship are seen in the bay. In the margin are the words _Sigillum. Nov. Camb. Aust._; and for a motto _'Sic fortis Etruria crevit.'_ The seal was of silver; its weight forty-six ounces and the devices were very well executed. The cattle were immediately landed, and turned into the inclosures which had been prepared for them. One cow died in the boat going up. The remaining transports of the fleet were now dropping in. On the 26th the _Active_ from England, and the _Queen_ from Ireland, with convicts of that country arrived and anchored in the cove. On board of the _Active_, beside the sergeant's guard, were one hundred and fifty-four male convicts. An officer's party was on board the _Queen_, with one hundred and twenty-six male and twenty-three female convicts and three children. These ships had been unhealthy, and had buried several convicts in their passage. The sick which they brought in were landed immediately; and many of those who remained, and were not so ill as to require medical assistance, were brought on shore in an emaciated and feeble condition, particularly the convicts from the _Active_. They in general complained of not having received the allowance intended for them; but their emaciated appearance was to be ascribed as much to confinement as to any other cause. The convicts from the _Queen_, however, accusing the master of having withheld their provisions, an inquiry took place before the magistrates, and it appeared beyond a doubt, that great abuses had been practised in the issuing of the provisions; but as to the quantity withheld, it was not possible to ascertain it so clearly, as to admit of directing the deficiency to be made good, or of punishing the parties with that retributive justice for which the heinousness of their offence so loudly called; the proceedings of the magistrates were therefore submitted to the governor, who determined to transmit them to the secretary of state. Nothing could have excited more general indignation than the treatment which these people appeared to have met with; for, what crime could be more offensive to every sentiment of humanity, than the endeavour, by curtailing a ration already not too ample, to derive a temporary advantage from the miseries of our fellow-creatures! By the arrival of these ships several articles of comfort were introduced among us, there being scarcely a vessel that had not brought out something for sale. It could not, however, be said that they were procurable on easier terms than what had been sold here in the last year. The Spanish dollar was the current coin of the colony, which some of the masters taking at five shillings and others at four shillings and six-pence, the governor, in consideration of the officers having been obliged to receive the dollars at five shillings sterling when given for bills drawn in the settlement, issued a proclamation fixing the currency of the Spanish dollar at that sum. The _Supply_ was now carefully surveyed, when it appeared, that her defects were such as to render it by no means difficult to put her into a state that would enable her to reach England; but that if she remained six months longer in this country, she would become wholly unserviceable. It was therefore determined to dispatch her immediately to England. Timber had with infinite labour been procured for her main-mast, and her other repairs were put in train for her sailing hence in the course of the next month. October.] The remainder of the transports expected did not arrive until the middle of October. The _Albermarle_ was off the coast some days, being prevented by a southerly current from getting in. She arrived on Thursday the 13th, with two hundred and fifty male and six female convicts, her proportion of stores and provisions, and one sergeant, one corporal, one drummer, and twenty privates of the new corps. The convicts of this ship had made an attempt, in conjunction with some of the seamen, to seize her on the 9th of April, soon after she had sailed from England; and they would in all probability have succeeded, but for the activity and resolution shown by the master Mr. George Bowen, who, hearing the alarm, had just time to arm himself with a loaded blunderbuss, which he discharged at one of the mutineers, William Syney (then in the act of aiming a blow with a cutlass at the man at the wheel), and lodged its contents in his shoulder. His companions, seeing what had befallen him, instantly ran down below; but the master, his officers, and some of the seamen of the ship, following them, soon secured the ringleaders, Owen Lyons and William Syney. A consultation was held with the naval agent, Lieutenant Robert Parry Young, the ship's company, and the military persons on board, the result of which was, the immediate execution of those two at the fore-yard arm. They had at this time parted company with the other transports, and no other means seemed so likely to deter the convicts from any future attempt of the like nature. It afterwards appearing that two of the seamen had supplied them with instruments for sawing off their irons, these were left at the island of Madeira, where the _Albermarle_ touched, to be sent prisoners to England. On the day following the _Britannia_ arrived, with one hundred and twenty-nine male convicts, stores, and provisions on board; and on the 16th the _Admiral Barrington_, the last of the ten sail of transports, anchored in the cove. This ship had been blown off the coast, and fears were entertained of her safety, as she left the cape with a crippled main-mast and other material defects. She had on board a captain and a party of the New South Wales corps, with two hundred and sixty-four male convicts, four free women, and one child. She had been unhealthy too, having lost thirty-six convicts in the passage, and brought in eighty-four persons sick, who were immediately landed. Her stores and proportion of provisions were the same as on board of the other ships. The whole number of convicts now received into the colony, including thirty on board the _Gorgon_, were, male convicts one thousand six hundred and ninety-five; female convicts one hundred and sixty-eight; and children nine. There were also eight free women (wives of convicts) and one child; making a total number of one thousand eight hundred and eighty-one persons, exclusive of the military. Upwards of two hundred convicts, male and female, did not reach the country. Of the ten sail of transports lately arrived, five, after delivering their cargoes, were to proceed on the southern whale fishery, viz the _Mary Ann_, _Matilda_, _William and Ann_, _Salamander_, and _Britannia_. Melville, the master of the _Britannia_, conceiving great hopes of success on this coast from the numbers of spermaceti whales which he saw between the south cape and this port, requested to be cleared directly on his coming in, that he might give it a trial; and, the governor consenting, his ship was ready by the 22nd (a week after her arrival), and sailed on the 24th with the other whalers. The _Queen_, _Atlantic_, _Active_, _Albemarle_, and _Admiral Barrington_, after being discharged from government employ, were to proceed to Bombay, by consent of the East India Company, and load home with cotton upon private account under the inspection of the company's servants at that settlement, provided the cotton should be afterwards sold at the company's sales, subject to the usual expenses (their duty only excepted), and provided the ships did not interfere with any other part of the company's exclusive commerce*. [* Notwithstanding this provision, which was expressed more at large in the licence given by the company, and which extended to the prohibition of every article except the stores and provisions put on board by government, there was on board of these ships a very large quantity of iron, steel, and copper, intended for sale at a foreign settlement in India, with the produce of which they were to purchase the homeward-bound investment of cotton.] The quantity of provisions received by these ships being calculated for the numbers on board of each for nine months only after their arrival, and as, so large a body of convicts having been sent out, it was not probable that we should soon receive another supply, the governor judged it expedient to send one of the transports to Bengal, to procure provisions for the colony; for which purpose he hired the _Atlantic_ at fifteen shillings and sixpence per ton per month. In the way thither she was to touch at Norfolk Island, where lieutenant-governor King, with some settlers, was to be landed; and the _Queen_ transport was hired for the purpose of bringing back lieutenant-governor Ross, and the marine detachment serving there, relieved by a company of the New South Wales corps. On the 25th, the anniversary of his Majesty's accession to the throne, a salute of twenty-one guns was fired by the _Gorgon_, and the public dinner given on the occasion at the government-house was served to upwards of fifty officers, a greater number than the colony had ever before seen assembled together. The following morning the _Atlantic_ sailed for Norfolk Island and Calcutta. For the first of these places, she had on board Lieutenant-Governor King and his family; Captain Paterson of the New South Wales corps (lately arrived in the _Admiral Barrington_); Mr. Balmain, the assistant-surgeon, sent to relieve Mr. Considen; the Rev. Mr. Johnson, who voluntarily visited Norfolk Island for the purpose of performing those duties of his office which had hitherto been omitted through the want of a minister to perform them; twenty-nine settlers discharged from the marines; several male and female convicts, and some few settlers from that class of people. At Calcutta, Lieutenant Bowen, who was continued in his employment of naval agent, was to procure a cargo of flour and peas, in the proportion of two tons of flour to one ton of peas; and was for that purpose furnished with letters to the merchants who had made proposals to Lord Cornwallis to supply the colony, the governor meaning for that reason to give their house the preference. The _Salamander_ had returned from Norfolk Island, where every person and article she had on board were safely landed. By letters received thence, we learned that it was supposed there had formerly been inhabitants upon the island, several stone hatchets, or rather stones in the shapes of adzes, and others in the shapes of chisels, having been found in turning up some ground in the interior parts of the island. Lieutenant-Governor King had formerly entertained the same supposition from discovering the banana tree growing in regular rows. It was not to be doubted but that the tranquillity and regularity of our little town would in some degree be interrupted by the great influx of disorderly seamen who were at times let loose from the transports. Much less cause of complaint on this score, however, arose than was expected. The port orders, which were calculated to preserve the peace of the place, were from time to time enforced; and on one occasion ten seamen belonging to the transports were punished for being found in the settlement after nine o'clock at night. At Parramatta, whither the greatest part of the convicts lately arrived had been sent, petty offences were frequently committed, and the constant presence of a magistrate became daily more requisite. The convicts at that place were chiefly employed in opening some new ground at a short distance from the settlement. The foundation of a new storehouse was begun this month at Sydney, on the spot where the redoubt had hitherto stood; which, since the construction of the platform near the magazine on the east point of the cove, had been pulled down, and the mould removed into the garden appropriated to government-house. This, and clearing the transports, formed the principal labour at Sydney. On the last day of this month, James Downey was found hanging in his hut. The cause of this rash action was said to have been the dread of being taken up for a theft which, according to some intimation he had received, was about to be alleged against him. He came out in the first fleet, had served his term of transportation, had constantly worked as a labourer in the bricklayers gang, and was in general considered as a harmless fellow. From Parramatta two convicts were missing, and were said to be killed by the natives. CHAPTER XV A party of Irish convicts abscond The _Queen_ sails for Norfolk Island Whale fishery Ration altered The _Supply_ sails for England Live stock (public) in the colony Ground in cultivation Sick Run of water decreasing Two transports sail Whale fishery given up The _Queen_ arrives from Norfolk Island The Marines embark in the _Gorgon_ for England Ration further reduced Transactions Convicts who were in the _Guardian_ emancipated Store finished Deaths in 1791 November.] On the first day of this month, information was received from Parramatta, that a body of twenty male convicts and one female, of those lately arrived in the _Queen_ transport from Ireland, each taking a week's provisions, and armed with tomahawks and knives, had absconded from that settlement, with the chimerical idea of walking to China, or of finding in this country a settlement wherein they would be received and entertained without labour. It was generally supposed, however, that this improbable tale was only a cover to the real design, which might be to procure boats, and get on board the transports after they had left the cove. An officer with a party was immediately sent out from Parramatta in pursuit of them, who traced them as far down the harbour as Lane Cove, whence he reached the settlement at Sydney, without seeing or hearing any thing more of them. A few days afterward the people in a boat belonging to the _Albemarle_ transport, which had been down the harbour to procure wood on the north shore, met with the wretched female who had accompanied the men. She had been separated from them for three days, and wandered by herself, entirely ignorant of her situation, until she came to the water side, where, fortunately, she soon after met the boat. Boats were sent down the next day, and the woman's husband was found and brought up to the settlement. They both gave the same absurd account of their design as before related, and appeared to have suffered very considerably by fatigue, hunger, and the heat of the weather. The man had lost his companions forty eight hours before he was himself discovered; and no tidings of them were received for several days, although boats were constantly sent in to the north west arm, and the lower part of the harbour. Three of these miserable people were some time after met by some officers who were on an excursion to the lagoon between this harbour and Broken Bay; but, notwithstanding their situation, they did not readily give themselves up, and, when questioned, said they wanted nothing more than to live free from labour. These people were sent up to Parramatta, whence, regardless of what they had experienced, and might again suffer, they a second time absconded in a few days after they had been returned. Parties were immediately dispatched from that settlement, and thirteen of those who first absconded were brought in, in a state of deplorable wretchedness, naked, and nearly worn out with hunger. Some of them had subsisted chiefly by sucking the flowering shrubs and wild berries of the woods; and the whole exhibited a picture of misery, that seemed sufficient to deter others from the like extravagant folly. The practice of flying from labour into the woods still, however, prevailing, the governor caused all the convicts who arrived this year to be assembled, and informed them of his determination to put a stop to their absconding from the place where he had appointed them to labour, by sending out parties with orders to fire upon them whenever they should be met with; and he declared that if any were brought in alive, he would either land them on a part of the harbour whence they could not depart, or chain them together with only bread and water for their subsistence, during the remainder of their terms of transportation. He likewise told them, that he had heard they were intending to arm themselves and seize upon the stores (such a design had for some days been reported); but that if they made any attempt of that kind, every man who might be taken should be instantly put to death. Having thus endeavoured to impress them with ideas of certain punishment if they offended in future, he forgave some offences which had been reported by the magistrate, exhorted them to go cheerfully to their labour, and changed their hours of work, agreeably to a request which they had made. Four hundred and two of these miserable people had received medicines from the hospital in the morning of the day when the governor had thus addressed them. The prevailing disease was a dysentery, which was accompanied by a general debility. The _Queen_ sailed early in the month with an officer and a detachment of the New South Wales corps, some convicts, stores and provisions, for Norfolk Island. The _Salamander _sailed at the same time on her fishing voyage. From her intended trial of the whale-fishery on the coast the _Britannia_ arrived on the 10th, and was followed the next day by the _Mary Ann_. Mr. Melvill killed, in company with the _William and Ann_, the day after he went out, seven spermaceti whales, two only of which they were able to secure from the bad weather which immediately succeeded. From the whale which fell to the _Britannia's_ share, although but a small one, thirteen barrels of oil were procured; and in the opinion of Mr. Melvill, the oil, from its containing a greater proportion of that valuable part of the fish called by the whalers the head-matter, was worth ten pounds more per ton than that of the fish of any other part of the world he had been in. He thought that a most advantageous voyage might be made upon this coast, as he was confident upwards of fifteen thousand whales were seen in the first ten days that he was absent, the greater number of which were observed off this harbour; and he was prevented from filling his ship by bad weather alone, having met with only one day since he sailed in which he could lower down a boat. The success and report of the master of the _Mary Ann_ were very different; he had been as far to the southward as the latitude of 45 degrees without seeing a whale; and in a gale of wind shipped a sea that stove two of his boats, and washed down the vessels for boiling the oil, which were fixed in brick-work, and to repair which he came into this harbour. The _Matilda_ came in a few days afterwards from Jervis Bay, in latitude 35 degrees 6 minutes S and longitude 152 degrees 0 minutes E, where she had anchored for some days, being leaky. The master of this ship, Mr. Matthew Weatherhead, saw many whales, but was prevented from killing any by the badness of the weather. The _William and Ann_ came in soon after, confirming the report of the great numbers of fish which were to be seen upon the coast, and the difficulty of getting at them. She had killed only one fish, and came in to repair and shorten her main-mast. A difference of opinion prevailed among the masters of the ships which had been out respecting the establishing a whale-fishery upon this coast. In one particular, however, they all agreed, which was, that the coast abounded with fish; but the major part of them thought that the currents and bad weather prevailing at this season of the year, and which appeared to be also the season of the fish, would prevent any ships from meeting with that success, of which on their setting out they themselves had had such sanguine hopes. One of them thought that the others, in giving this opinion, were premature, and that they were not sufficiently acquainted with the weather on the coast to form any judgment of the advantage to be derived from future attempts. They were determined, nevertheless, to give it another trial, on the failure of which they meant to prosecute their voyage to the coast of Peru. Having set up their rigging, they went out again toward the latter end of the month. About the middle of the month an alteration took place in the ration; two pounds of flour were taken off, and one pint of peas and one pint of oatmeal were issued in their stead; the full ration, which was first served on the 27th of August last, having been continued not quite three months. The _Supply_ armed tender, having completed her repairs, sailed for England on the 26th, her commander, Lieutenant Ball, purposing to make his passage round Cape Horn, for which the season of the year was favourable. Lieutenant John Creswell of the marines went in her, charged with the governor's dispatches. The services of this little vessel had endeared her, and her officers and people, to this colony. The regret which we felt at parting with them was, however, lessened by a knowledge that they were flying from a country of want to one of abundance, where we all hoped that the services they had performed would be rewarded by that attention and promotion to which they naturally looked up, and had an indisputable claim. At this time the public live stock in the settlement consisted of one stallion aged, one mare, two young stallions, two colts, sixteen cows, two calves, one ram, fifty ewes, six lambs, one boar, fourteen sows (old and young), and twenty-two pigs. The ground in cultivation at and about Parramatta amounted to three hundred and fifty-one acres in maize, forty-four in wheat, six in barley, one in oats, two in potatoes, four in vines, eighty-six in garden ground, and seventeen in cultivation by the New South Wales corps. In addition to these there were one hundred and fifty acres cleared to be sown with turnips, ninety-one acres were in cultivation by settlers, twenty-eight by officers civil and military at and about Sydney; and at Parramatta one hundred and forty acres were inclosed and the timber thinned for cattle; making a total of nine hundred and twenty acres of land thinned, cleared, and cultivated. The platform at the west point of the cove was completed during this month. The flag-staff had been for some time erected, and the cannon placed on the platform. A corporal's guard was also mounted daily in the building which had been used as an observatory by Lieutenant Dawes. The mortality during this month had been great, fifty male and four female convicts dying within the thirty days. Five hundred sick persons received medicines at the end of the month. That list however was decreasing. The extreme heat of the weather during the month had not only increased the sick list, but had added one to the number of deaths. On the 4th, a convict attending upon Mr. White, in passing from his house to his kitchen, without any covering upon his head, received a stroke from a ray of the sun which at the time deprived him of speech and motion, and, in less than four-and-twenty hours, of his life. The thermometer on that day stood at twelve o'clock at 94¾ degrees and the wind was at NW. By the dry weather which prevailed our water had been so much affected, beside being lessened by the watering of some of the transports, that a prohibition was laid by the governor on the watering of the remainder at Sydney, and their boats were directed to go to a convenient place upon the north shore. To remedy this evil the governor had employed the stone-mason's gang to cut tanks out of the rock, which would be reservoirs for the water large enough to supply the settlement for some time. December.] On the 3rd of this month the ships _Albemarle_ and _Active_ sailed for India. After their departure several people were missing from the settlement; some whose sentences of transportation had expired, and others who were yet convicts. Previous to their sailing (it having been reported that the seamen intended to conceal such as had made interest among them to get off) the governor instructed the master to deliver any persons whom he might discover to be on board without permission to quit the colony, as prisoners to the commanding officer of the first British settlement they should touch at in India. About this time a boat belonging to Mr. White was taken from its mooring; and it was for a time supposed that she had been taken off by some runaways to get on board one of the ships then about to sail, and afterwards set adrift; but she was found by some gentlemen of the _Gorgon_ the day after their departure, between this harbour and Broken Bay, with two men in her, who on the appearance of the party which found her ran into the woods. The gentlemen left her with a plank knocked out, an oar and the rudder broken, and otherwise rendered useless to the people who ran away with her. They also fell in with a convict, an Irishman, who had been absent five weeks from Parramatta, and who had set off with some others to proceed along the coast in search of another settlement. The boat was brought up a few days afterwards. Two of the whalers, the _Matilda_ and _Mary Ann_, came in from sea the day on which the other ships sailed. The former landed a boat in a bay on the coast about six miles to the southward of Port Stephens, where the seine was hauled and a large quantity of fish taken; but of the fish which they went to procure (whales) they saw none. The _Mary Ann_ was rather more fortunate. By going to the southward, she killed nine fish; of five of them she secured enough to procure about thirty barrels of oil; but was prevented by bad weather from getting more. These ships sailed again immediately, and both ran down the coast as far to the southward as 36 degrees 30 minutes, and returned on the 16th without killing a fish. The masters attributed their bad success to currents; and, giving up all hopes of a fishery here, they determined, after refitting, to quit the coast. The _Salamander_ and _Britannia_ whalers came in at the same time, and with like ill fortune. Melvill the master of the _Britannia_, who had been formerly so sanguine in his hopes of a fishery, seemed now to have adopted a different opinion, and hinted to some in the colony, that he did not think he should try the coast any longer. It must be remarked however, that the whalers were not out of port at any one time long enough to enable them to speak with any great degree of precision either for or against the probability of success. They seemed more desirous of obtaining a knowledge of the harbours on the coast; the _William and Ann_ had been seen in Broken Bay; others had visited Botany Bay and Jervis Bay; the _Salamander_ had remained long enough in Port Stephens (an harbour to the northward, until then not visited by any one) to take an eye-sketch of the harbour and of some of its branches or arms; and Port Jackson was found to have its conveniences. After a well-manned and well-found whaler should have kept the sea for an entire season, the success might be determined. The _Queen_ transport having returned from Norfolk Island, with the lieutenant-governor and the officers and soldiers of the marine corps, who were to take their passage to England in the _Gorgon_, the greatest part of the marine detachment embarked on board of that ship on the 13th. Those who did not embark were left for the duty of the place until the remainder of the New South Wales corps should arrive. By the _Queen_ several convicts whose sentences of transportation had expired were allowed to return to this settlement, pursuant to a promise made them on their going thither; and we were informed, that the _Atlantic_ sailed from Norfolk Island for Calcutta on the 13th of the last month. Both ships landed safely every article they had on board for the colony, being favoured by very fine weather while so employed. Lieutenant-governor King, on taking upon him the government of the island, pardoned all offenders whom he found in custody. Governor Phillip having no further occasion for the services of the _Gorgon_, that ship sailed for England on Sunday the 18th. Two convicts had the folly to attempt making their escape from the colony in this ship, but they were detected and brought back. A woman was also supposed to have effected her escape; but she was found disguised in men's apparel at the native's hut on the east point of the cove. On board of the _Gorgon_ were embarked the marines who came from England in the first ships; as valuable a corps as any in his Majesty's service. They had struggled here with greatly more than the common hardships of service, and were now quitting a country in which they had opened and smoothed the way for their successors, and from which, whatever benefit might hereafter be derived, must be derived by those who had the easy task of treading in paths previously and painfully formed by them. The cove and the settlement were now resuming that dull uniformity of uninteresting circumstances which had generally prevailed. The _Supply_ and the _Gorgon_ had departed, and with them a valuable portion of our friends and associates. The transports which remained were all preparing to leave us, and in a few days after the _Gorgon_, the _Matilda_ and _Mary Ann_ sailed for the coast of Peru. These ships had some convicts on board, who were permitted to ship themselves with the masters. A further reduction of the ration was directed to take place at the end of the month, one pound being taken from the allowance of flour served to the men. From the state of the provision stores, the governor, on Christmas Day, could only give one pound of flour to each woman in the settlement. On that day divine service was performed here and at Parramatta, Mr. Bayne, the chaplain of the new corps, assisting Mr. Johnson in the religious duties of the morning. There were some among us, however, by whom even the sanctity of this day was not regarded; for at night the marine store was robbed of twenty-two gallons of spirits. At Parramatta various offences were still committed, notwithstanding the lenity which had been shown to several offenders at the close of the last month. Many of the convicts there not having any part of their ration left when Tuesday or Wednesday night came, the governor directed, as he had before done from the same reason, that the provisions of the labouring convicts should be issued to them daily. This measure being disapproved of by them, they assembled in rather a tumultuous manner before the governor's house at Parramatta on the last day of the month, to request that their provisions might be served as usual on the Saturdays. The governor, however, dispersed them without granting their request; and as they were heard to murmur, and talk of obtaining by different means what was refused to entreaty (words spoken among the crowd, and the person who was so daring not being distinguishable from the rest), he assured them that as he knew the major part of them were led by eight or ten designing men to whom they looked up, and to whose names he was not a stranger, on any open appearance of discontent, he should make immediate examples of them. Before they were dismissed they promised greater propriety of conduct and implicit obedience to the orders of their superiors, and declared their readiness to receive their provisions as had been directed. This was the first instance of any tumultuous assembly among these people, and was now to be ascribed to the spirit of resistance and villany lately imported by the new comers from England and Ireland. Among the public works of the month the most material was the completing and occupying the new store on the east side, which was begun in October last; its dimensions were eighty by twenty-four feet; and as it was built for the purpose of containing dry stores, the height was increased beyond that commonly adopted here, and a spacious loft was formed capable of containing a large quantity of bale goods. This was by far the best store in the country. In the course of the month a warrant of emancipation passed the seal of the territory to John Lowe, Henry Cone, Richard Chears, Thomas Fisk, Daniel Cubitt, Charles Pass, George Bolton, William Careless, William Curtis, John Chapman Morris, Thomas Merrick, William Skinner, and James Weavers, convicts who left England in the _Guardian_, on condition of their residing within the limits of this government, and not returning to England within the period of their respective sentences. Instructions to this effect had been received from home, Lieutenant Riou having interested himself much in their behalf. They were to be at liberty to work at any trade they might be acquainted with; but during their continuance in the country they were to be disposed of wherever the governor should think proper. They were also at liberty to settle land upon their own account. The numbers who died by sickness in the year 1791 were, one of the civil establishment (H. E. Dodd); two soldiers; one hundred and fifty-five male and eight female convicts; and five children: in all one hundred and seventy-one persons (twenty-eight more than had died during the preceding year). In the above time one male convict was executed; one drowned; four lost in the woods (exclusive of the Irish convicts who had absconded, of whom no certain account was procured); one destroyed himself, and eight men, one woman, and two children, had run from the settlement; making a loss of one hundred and eighty-nine persons. CHAPTER XVI The _Queen_ sails for Norfolk Island Whalers on their fishing voyages Convicts missing Various depredations Dispensary and bake-house robbed Proclamation A criminal court held Convict executed Transactions The _Pitt_ with Lieutenant-Governor Grose arrives Military duty fixed for Parramatta Goods selling at Sydney from the _Pitt_ The _Pitt_ ordered to be dispatched to Norfolk Island Commissions read Sickness The _Pitt_ sails Mr. Burton killed Stormy weather Public works Regulations respecting persons who had served their terms of transportation Natives 1792.] January.] Early in this month sixty-two people, settlers and convicts, with Mr. Bayne, the chaplain of the New South Wales corps, who offered his services, as there never had been a clergyman there, embarked on board the _Queen_ transport for Norfolk Island, the master of that ship having engaged to carry them and a certain quantity of provisions thither for the sum of £150. Of the settlers twenty-two were lately discharged from the marine service, and the remainder were convicts; some of the latter, whose terms of transportation had expired, had chosen Norfolk Island to settle in, and others were sent to be employed for the public. This ship, with the _Admiral Barrington_ for India, sailed on the 6th; and the _Salamander_ and _Britannia_ whalers on the 7th, the masters of the two latter ships signifying an intention of cruising for three months upon this coast; at the end of which time, according to their success, they would either return to this port, or pursue their voyage to the northward. Several convicts attempted to escape from the settlement on board of these ships, some of whom were discovered before they sailed, and, being brought on shore, were punished; but there was great reason to suppose that others were secreted by the connivance of the seamen, and eluded the repeated searches which were made for them. In addition to this exportation, the colony lost some useful people whom it could ill spare; but who, their terms of transportation having expired, would not be induced to remain in the settlement, and could not be prevented from quitting it. By the commissary's report of the muster it appeared, that forty-four men and nine women were absent and unaccounted for; among which number were included those who were wandering in the woods, seeking for a new settlement, or endeavouring to get into the path to China! Of these people many, after lingering a long time, and existing merely on roots and wild berries, perished miserably. Others found their way in, after being absent several weeks, and reported the fate of their wretched companions, being themselves reduced to nearly the same condition, worn down and exhausted with fatigue and want of proper sustenance. Yet, although the appearance of these people confirmed their account of what they had undergone, others were still found ignorant and weak enough to run into the woods impressed with the idea of either reaching China by land, or finding a new settlement where labour would not be imposed on them, and where the inhabitants were civil and peaceable. Two of these wretches at the time of their absconding met a convict in their way not far from the new grounds, whom they robbed of his provisions, and beat in so cruel a manner that, after languishing for some time, he died in the hospital at Parramatta. He described their persons, and mentioned their names, with the precise circumstances attending their treatment of him, and it was hoped that they would have lived to return, and receive the reward of their crime; but one of their companions who survived them brought in an account of their having ended a wicked and miserable existence in the woods. Depredations being nightly committed at the skirts of the town, and at the officers' farms, by some of these vagrants, who were supposed to lurk between this place and Parramatta, it was thought necessary to send armed parties out at night for a certain distance round the settlement, with orders to seize, or fire on, all persons found straggling; and several were detected by them in the act of robbing the gardens at the different farms. Indeed neither the property nor the persons of individuals were safe for some time. Two villains came to a hut which was occupied by one Williams a sawyer, and which he had erected at a spot at some distance from the town where he could have a little garden ground, and attempted to rob him; but the owner surprised them, and, in endeavouring to secure them, was wounded so severely in the arm with a tomahawk, that the tendon was divided; and it was supposed that he never would recover the perfect use of the limb. They even carried their audacity so far, as to be secretly meditating an attempt upon the barrack and storehouse at Parramatta; at least, information of such a plan was given by some of the convicts; and as there had been seen among them people silly enough to undertake to walk to the other side of this extensive continent, expecting that China would be found there, it was not at all improbable that some might be mad enough to persuade others that it would be an easy matter to attempt and carry the barracks and stores there. But no other use was made of the report than the exertion of double vigilance in the guards, which was done without making public the true motive. To the credit of the convicts who came out in the first fleet it must be remarked, that none of them were concerned in these offences; and of them it was said the new comers stood so much in dread, that they never were admitted to any share in their confidence. As the Indian corn began to ripen the convicts recommenced their depredations, and many were punished with a severity seemingly calculated to deter others, but actually without effect. They appeared to be a people wholly regardless of the future, and not dreading any thing that was not immediately present to their own feelings. It was well known that punishment would follow the detection of a crime; but their constant reliance was on a hope of escaping that detection; and they were very rarely known to stand forward in bringing offenders to punishment, although such rewards were held out as one would imagine were sufficient to induce them. It being necessary to secure four dangerous people, who, after committing offences, had withdrawn into the woods, a reward of fifty pounds of flour was offered for the apprehension of either of them, but only one was taken. The easy communication between Sydney and Parramatta had been found to be a very great evil from the time the path was first made; but since the numbers had been so much augmented at Parramatta, it became absolutely necessary to put a stop to the intercourse. The distance was about sixteen miles; and, unless information was previously given, a person would visit Sydney and return without being missed: and as stolen property was transferred from one place to another by means of this quick conveyance, orders were given calculated to cut off all unlicensed intercourse. A report having been falsely propagated at Parramatta, that it was intended by the governor to take the corn of individuals on the public account, the settlers and convicts who had raised maize or other grain, and who were not provided with proper places to secure it in, were informed, that they might send it to the public store, and draw it from thence as their occasions required; and farther, that they were at liberty to dispose of such live stock, corn, grain, or vegetables, which they might raise, as they found convenient to themselves, the property of every individual being equally secured to him, and by the same law, whether belonging to a free man or a convict. Such of the above articles as they could not otherwise dispose of, they were told, would be purchased by the commissary on the public account at a fair market-price. Toward the latter end of the month some villains broke into the dispensary at the hospital, and stole two cases of portable soup, one case of camomile flowers, and one case containing sudorific powder. These articles had been placed in the dispensary on the very evening it was broken into, to be sent to Parramatta the following morning. The cases with the camomile and sudorific powder (which perhaps they had taken for sugar or flour) were found at the back of the hill behind the hospital; and, in order to discover the persons concerned in this theft, as well as those who maimed the sawyer, as before related, a proclamation was published, offering to any person or persons giving such information as should convict the principal offenders, a free pardon for every offence which he, she, or they might have committed since their arrival in this country; and that a full ration of provisions should be issued to such person or persons during the remainder of their respective terms of transportation. Several people died at Parramatta, some of whom were at labour, apparently in health, and dead in twenty-four hours. An extraordinary circumstance attended, though it was not the cause of the death of one poor creature: while dragging with others at a brick cart he was seized with a fainting fit, and when he recovered was laid down under a cart which stood in the road, that he might be in the shade. Being weak and ill, he fell asleep. On waking, and feeling something tight about his neck, he put up his hand, when, to his amazement and horror, he grasped the folds of a large snake which had twined itself round his neck. In endeavouring to disengage it, the animal bit him by the lip, which became instantly tumid. Two men, passing by, took off the snake and threw it on the ground, when it erected itself and flew at one of them; but they soon killed it. The man who had fainted at the cart died the next morning, not, however, from any effect of the bite of the snake, but from a general debility. At Parramatta the public bakehouse was broken into, and robbed of a large quantity of flour and biscuit. The robber had made his way down the chimney of the house, and, though a man and woman slept in the place, carried off his booty undiscovered. The convicts having assembled there at the latter end of the last month in an improper and tumultuous manner, the governor now thought proper to issue a proclamation, directing that 'in case of any riot or disturbance among the convicts, every one who was seen out of his hut would (if such riot or disturbance should happen in the night, or during the hours of rest from labour, or if he were absent from his labour during the hours of work) be deemed to be aiding and assisting the rioters, and be punished accordingly.' The convicts were strictly forbidden ever to assemble in numbers under any pretence of stating a complaint, or for any other cause whatever, all complaints being to be made through the medium of the superintendants or overseers. A disobedience to this proclamation was to be punished with the utmost severity; and any person who, knowing of any intended riot or tumultuous and unlawful assembly among the convicts, did not take the first opportunity of informing either the commanding officer of the military or one of the superintendants thereof, would be deemed and punished as a principal in such riot. An instance of the profligacy of the convicts which occurred at this time is deserving of notice: a woman who had been entrusted to carry the allowance of flour belonging to two other women to the bakehouse, where she had run in debt for bread which she had taken up on their account, mixed with it a quantity of pounded stone, in the proportion of two-thirds of grit, to one of flour. Fortunately, she was detected before it had been mixed with other flour at the bakehouse, and was ordered to wear an iron collar for six months as a punishment. February.] A criminal court was held at Parramatta on the 7th of this month for the trial of James Collington, who, as before mentioned, had broken into the public bakehouse at that place by getting down the chimney in the night. It appeared that he had taken off about fifty pounds of flour, which he tied up in an apron that he found in the room, and the leg of a pair of trousers. He deposited the property under a rock, and occasionally visited it; but it was soon seized by some other nocturnal adventurer, and Collington then broke into another hut, wherein eight people were sleeping, and took thereout a box containing wearing apparel and provisions, without disturbing them, so soundly did fatigue make them sleep; but he was detected in a garden with the property, and secured. Being found guilty, he received sentence of death, and was executed early the following morning. At the tree he addressed the convicts, warning them to avoid the paths he had pursued; but said, that he was induced by hunger to commit the crime for which he suffered. He appeared desirous of death, declaring that he knew he could not live without stealing. Information having been received, that a great body of convicts at the new grounds intended to seize some arms which had been given to the settlers for their protection against the natives, and (after robbing their huts) to proceed to the sea-coast, where, destroying every person who should oppose them, they were to build a vessel, a convict who was said to be a ringleader was taken up, and, upon the information which he gave, five others were apprehended and chained together; in which situation they continued for some time, when their scheme having been defeated, and other steps taken to prevent their putting it in execution, they were liberated, and returned to their usual labour. Information would have been at all times more readily procured from these people, had they not been constantly apprehensive of receiving ill-treatment not only from the parties concerned, but from others who were not; and although every assurance of protection was given by those who were authorised to hold it out, yet it was not found sufficient to do away the dread they were said to labour under. Accident, or a quarrel among themselves, sometimes furnished information that was not otherwise to be procured; and in general to one or other of these causes was to be attributed every information that was received of any malpractices among them. A person who had been employed under one of the superintendants at Parramatta, and in whom, from an uniformity of good conduct during his residence in this country, some trust was at times placed, was detected in giving corn to a settler from the public granary, to which he had occasional access. The offence being fully proved, he was sentenced to receive three hundred lashes, and the person to whom he had given the corn two hundred lashes. It was seen with great concern, that there were but few among them who were honest enough to resist any temptation that was placed in their way. A convict who had absconded five weeks since was apprehended by some of the military at the head of one of the coves leading from Parramatta. He had built himself a hut in the woods, and said when brought in, that he had preserved his existence by eating such fish as he was fortunate enough to catch, rock oysters, and wild berries; and that the natives had more than once pursued him when employed in these researches. But very little credit was given to any account he gave, and it was generally supposed that he had lived by occasionally visiting and robbing the huts at Sydney and Parramatta. He had taken to the woods to avoid a punishment which hung over him, and which he now received. Early in the month eight settlers from the marines received their grants of land situated on the north side of the harbour near the Flats, and named by the governor the Field of Mars. The convicts employed in cultivating and clearing public ground beyond Parramatta, having been landed in a weak and sickly state, wore in general a most miserable and emaciated appearance, and numbers of them died daily. The reduced ration by no means contributed to their amendment; the wheat that was raised last year (four hundred and sixty-one bushels) after reserving a sufficiency for seed, was issued to them at a pound per man per week, and a pound of rice per week was issued to each male convict at Sydney. On Tuesday the 14th the signal was made for a sail, and shortly after the _Pitt_, Captain Edward Manning, anchored in the cove from England. She sailed the 17th of last July from Yarmouth Roads, and had rather a long passage, touching at St. Iago, Rio de Janeiro, and the Cape of Good Hope. She had on board Francis Grose, esq the lieutenant-governor of the settlements, and major-commandant of the New South Wales corps, one company of which, together with the adjutant and surgeon's mate, came out with him. She brought out three hundred and nineteen male and forty-nine female convicts, five children, and seven free women; with salt provisions calculated to serve that number of people ten months, but which would only furnish the colony with provisions for forty days. The supply of provisions was confined to salt meat, under an idea that the colony was not in immediate want of flour, and that a supply had been sent from Calcutta, which, together with what had been procured from Batavia, that which had been sent before from England, and the grain that might have been raised in the settlements, would be adequate to our consumption for the present. The dispatches, however, which had been forwarded from this place by the _Justinian_ in July 1790 having been received by the secretary of state, what appeared from those communications to be necessary for the colony were to be sent in one or more ships to be dispatched in the autumn of last year, with an additional number of convicts, and the remaining company of the New South Wales corps. A sloop in frame, of the burden of forty-one tons, was sent out in the _Pitt_; to make room for which, several bales of clothing, and many very useful articles, were obliged to be shut out. By this conveyance information was received, that the _Daedalus_ hired storeship, which was sent out to carry provisions to the Sandwich islands for two ships employed in those parts on discovery, was directed to repair to this settlement after performing that service, to be employed as there should be occasion, and that she might be expected in the beginning of the year 1793. The _Pitt_ brought in many of her convicts sick; and several of her seamen and fifteen soldiers of the New South Wales corps had died shortly after her leaving St. Iago, owing to her having touched there during an unhealthy season. The whole of the New South Wales corps, except one company, being now arrived, the numbers requisite for the different duties were settled; and one company, consisting of a captain, two lieutenants, one ensign, three sergeants, three corporals, two drummers, and seventy privates, was fixed for the duty of Parramatta; a like number for Norfolk Island, and the remainder were to do duty at Sydney, the head quarters of the corps. Permission having been obtained, a shop was opened at a hut on shore for the sale of various articles brought out in the _Pitt_; and notwithstanding a fleet of transports had but lately sailed hence, notwithstanding the different orders which had been sent to Bengal, and the high price at which every thing was sold, the avidity with which all descriptions of people grasped at what was to be purchased was extraordinary, and could only be accounted for by the distance of our situation from the mother country, the uncertainty of receiving supplies thence, and the length of time which we had heretofore the mortification to find elapse without our receiving any. March.] It being necessary to send to Norfolk Island a proportion of what provisions were in store, the Pitt was engaged for that purpose; and for performing this service her owners were to receive £651, a sum equal to six weeks demurrage for that ship. From Norfolk Island she was to proceed, upon her owners account, to Bengal; and her commander was charged with duplicates of the letters and instructions given to Lieutenant Bowen. In the event of any accident having prevented the arrival of that officer at Calcutta, Captain Manning was to cause the service with which he was entrusted to be executed, by applying to the governor-general, and the house of Messrs. Lambert, Ross, and company, for the supply of provisions, which the _Atlantic_ was to have brought, to be forwarded to this country either by the _Pitt_, or by vessels to be hired by that house at Calcutta. This precaution was taken rather to guard against the worst that might happen, than from any probability that the _Atlantic_ would not have reached Calcutta, that ship being well fitted for such a voyage, strong, well manned, and under the direction of an able and an active officer. To her arrival, however, we looked forward at this period with some anxiety, as the flour and salt provisions in the settlement already occupied but a small portion of the stores which contained them, there being only fifty-two days flour, and twenty-one weeks salt meat in store at the ration now issued. On the morning of Saturday the 17th the marines and New South Wales corps formed under arms on the parade in front of the quarters, when his Majesty's commission appointing Francis Grose, Esquire, to be lieutenant-governor of this territory, and the letters patent under the great seal for establishing the civil and criminal courts of judicature, were publicly read by the judge-advocate. The governor and the principal officers of the settlement attended, and his excellency received from the corps under arms the honours due to his rank in the colony. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the _Pitt_, by a well-concerted signal, saluted with fifteen guns, as a compliment to the lieutenant-governor. A person who came out to this country in the capacity of a carpenter's mate on board the _Sirius_, and who had been discharged from that ship's books into the _Supply_, having been left behind when that vessel sailed for England, offered his services to put together the vessel that arrived in frame in the _Pitt_; and being deemed sufficiently qualified as a shipwright, he was engaged at two shillings _per diem_ and his provisions to set her up. Her keel was accordingly laid down on blocks placed for the purpose near the landing-place on the east side. As this person was the only shipwright in the colony, the vessel would much sooner have rendered the services which were required of her, had she been put together, coppered, and sent out manned and officered from England; by these means too the colony would have received many articles which were of necessity shut out of the _Pitt_ to make room for her stowage. About this time a malady of an alarming nature was perceived in the colony. Four or five of the convicts were seized with insanity; and, as the major part of those who were visited by this calamity were females, who on account of their sex were not harassed with hard labour, and who in general shared largely of such little comforts as were to be procured in the settlement, it was difficult to assign a cause for this disorder. April.] With a dreadful sick list, and with death making rapid strides among us, the month of April commenced: a lamentable circumstance to those who had to provide by their labour for the support of a colony, in which, from its great distance, not only from the parent country, but from every port where supplies could be procured, it became an object of the first magnitude and importance to endeavour speedily, and by every possible exertion, to place its inhabitants in a situation that accident or delay might not affect. His Majesty's ship _Guardian_ afforded a melancholy recollection how much this colony had already felt from misadventure, and the delay which occurred in the voyage of the _Lady Juliana_ transport had proved equally calamitous. The recent circumstance of a ship arriving without a supply of flour, and other contingencies, spoke with a warning voice, and loudly demanded that every arm which could be raised should be exerted to make provision against the hour of want. Few, however, in comparison with the measure of our necessities, were the numbers daily brought into the field for the purpose of cultivation; and of those who could handle the hoe or the spade by far the greater part carried hunger in their countenances; but it was earnestly hoped and anxiously expected, that by the speedy arrival of supplies from England the full ration of every species of provisions would be again issued, when labour would be renewed with additional vigour and effect; health and strength be seen residing among us; and the approaches of independence on Great Britain be something more than a sanguine hope or visionary speculation. The convicts, and such stores and provisions as the governor thought it necessary to send to Norfolk Island, being embarked, the _Pitt_ sailed on the 7th. Previous to her departure, a female convict was found secreted on board, who declaring in her justification that the fourth mate of the ship had assisted her in her escape, he was tried by the civil court of judicature for taking a convict from the settlement, but, for want of sufficient proof, was acquitted. The practicability of being secreted on board of ships would always operate as an inducement to wretches who saw a long term of servitude before them to attempt their escape; but it certainly behoved every master of a merchantman bound from this port to be very vigilant and sedulous to prevent their succeeding, as the safety of the ship might be very much endangered by having numbers of such people on board mixing with their ship's company. On Friday the 13th died Mr. David Burton, of a gunshot wound which he received on the preceding Saturday. This young man, on account of the talents he possessed as a botanist, and the services which he was capable of rendering in the surveying line, could be but ill spared in this settlement. His loss was occasioned by one of those accidents which too frequently happen to persons who are inexperienced in the use of fire-arms. Mr. Burton had been out with Ensign Beckwith, and some soldiers of the New South Wales corps, intending to kill ducks on the Nepean. With that sensation of the mind which is called presentiment he is said to have set out, having more than once observed, that he feared some accident would happen before his return; and he did not cease to be tormented with this unpleasant idea, until his gun, which he carried rather awkwardly, went off, and lodged its contents in the ground within a few inches of the feet of the person who immediately preceded him in the walk through the woods. Considering this as the accident which his mind foreboded, he went on afterwards perfectly freed from any apprehension. But he was deceived. Reaching the banks of the river, they found on its surface innumerable flocks of those fowl of which they were in search. Mr. Burton, in order to have a better view of them, got upon the stump of a tree, and, resting his hand upon the muzzle of his piece, raised himself by its assistance as high as he was able. The butt of the piece rested on the ground, which was thickly covered with long grass, shrubs, and weeds. No one saw the danger of such a situation in time to prevent what followed. By some motion of this unfortunate young man the piece went off, and the contents, entering at his wrist, forced their way up between the two bones of his right arm, which were much shattered, to the elbow. Mr. Beckwith, by a very happy presence of mind, applying bandages torn from a shirt, succeeded in stopping the vast effusion of blood which ensued, or his patient must soon have bled to death. This accident happened at five in the afternoon, and it was not till ten o'clock at night of the following day that Mr. Burton was brought into Parramatta. The consequence was, such a violent fever and inflammation had taken place that any attempt to save life by amputation would only have hastened his end. In the night of the 12th the mortification came on, and he died the following morning, leaving behind him, what he universally enjoyed while living, the esteem and respect of all who knew him. A person of a far different character and description met with an accidental death the following day. He had been employed to take some provisions to a settler who occupied a farm on the creek leading to Parramatta, and was killed by a blow from the limb of a tree, which fell on his head and fractured his skull, without having allowed him that time for repentance of which a sinful life stood so much in need. His companions and fellow prisoners (for he was a convict) declared him to have been so great a reprobate, that he was scarcely ever known to speak without an oath, or without calling on his Maker as a witness to the truth of the lie he was about to utter. The weather had been for some days extremely bad, heavy storms of wind and rain having generally prevailed from Monday the 9th till Friday the 13th, when fair weather succeeded. At Parramatta the gale had done much damage; several huts which were built in low grounds were rendered almost inaccessible, and the greater part of the wattled huts suffered considerably. A large portion of the cleared ground was laid under water, and such corn as had not been reaped was beaten down. At Sydney the effects of the storm, though it had been equally violent, were not so severe. Most of the houses were rendered damp, and had leaks in different parts; seeds which had been recently sown were washed out of the ground, and the bridge over the stream was somewhat injured. In the woods it had raged with much violence; the people employed to kill game reported that it was dangerous to walk in the forests; and the ground, covered with huge limbs or whole trunks of trees, confirmed the truth of their report. The bricklayers were immediately sent up to Parramatta, to repair the damages effected by the storm; and the bridge at Sydney was not only repaired, but considerably widened. On Saturday the 13th an alteration took place in the ration. Three pounds of flour, and two pounds of maize, with four pounds of pork, were served to each man, and three pounds of flour, and one pound of maize, with four pounds of pork, were served to each woman in the settlement.The children received the usual proportion. To such alterations the settlement had now for some years been habituated; and although it was well known that they never were imposed but when the state of the stores rendered them absolutely necessary, it was impossible to meet the deduction without reflecting, that the established ration would have been adequate to every want; the plea of hunger could not have been advanced as the motive and excuse for thefts; and disease would not have met so powerful an ally in its ravages among the debilitated and emaciated objects which the gaols had crowded into transports, and the transports had landed in these settlements. The works in hand were, building brick huts at Sydney for convicts, consisting of two apartments, each hut being twenty-six feet in front, and fourteen feet in width, and intended to contain ten people, with a suitable allotment of garden ground; completing tanks for water; widening the bridge, etc. One day in each week was dedicated to issuing provisions, and the labour of the other five (with interruptions from bad weather, and the plea of the reduced ration) did not amount in all to three good working days. At Parramatta the principal labour was the getting in and housing the maize, and preparing ground for the next year's grain. The foundations of two material buildings were laid, a town-hall and an hospital. The town-hall was intended to include a market-place for the sale of grain, fish, poultry, live stock, wearing apparel, and every other article that convicts might purchase or sell. An order establishing this regulation had been given out at Parramatta, and a clerk of the market appointed to register every commodity that was brought for sale or barter; directing, in the case of non-compliance, the forfeiture both of the purchase-money and of the article, to be given, one moiety to the informer, and the other to the hospital for the benefit of the sick. This order was meant to prevent the selling or interchanging of stolen goods among the convicts; a measure that appeared to be daily becoming more necessary. The depredations which were committed, hourly it might be said, upon the maize, were very serious, and called for the interposition of some measure that might prevent them, as punishments, however severe, were not found effectually to answer the end. A convict who lived as a servant with an officer was tried by the criminal court for robbing his master, and being found guilty was sentenced to receive three hundred lashes. The colony had now been so long established, that many convicts who had come out in the first fleet, and might be termed the first settlers in the country, had served the several terms of transportation to which they had been sentenced. Of the people of this description, some had become settlers; some had left the country; others, to use their own expressions, had taken themselves off the stores, that is to say, had declined receiving any farther provisions from the public stores or doing any public labour, but derived their support from such settlers or other persons as could employ and maintain them; while others, with somewhat more discretion, continued to labour for government, and to receive their provisions as usual from the commissary. Of the latter description, fourteen who were indulged with the choice of the place where they were to labour, preferred the settlement at Sydney, and there had one hut assigned to them for their residence. To prevent any imposition on the part of those who professed to be supported by settlers, they were directed to render an account at the end of each week of their respective employments; for people who had not any visible means of living would soon have become nuisances in the settlement. It required something more than common application to adapt remedies to the various irregularities which from time to time grew up in the settlement, and something more than common ingenuity to counteract the artifices of those whose meditations were hourly directed to schemes of evasion or depredation. The natives had not lately given us any interruption by acts of hostility. Several of their young people continued to reside among us, and the different houses in the town were frequently visited by their relations. Very little information that could be depended upon respecting their manners and customs was obtained through this intercourse; and it was observed, that they conversed with us in a mutilated and incorrect language formed entirely on our imperfect knowledge and improper application of their words. CHAPTER XVII Mortality in April Appearance and state of the convicts Ration again reduced Quantity of flour in store Settlers State of transactions with the natives Indian corn stolen Public works Average prices of grain, etc at Sydney, and at Parramatta Mortality decreases King's birthday The _Atlantic_ returns from Bengal Account received of Bryant and his companions Ration farther reduced _Atlantic_ cleared Sheep-pens at Parramatta attempted Quality of provisions received from Calcutta The _Brittania_ arrives from England Ration increased A convict emancipated Public works May.] The mortality in the last month had been extremely great. Distressing as it was, however, to see the poor wretches daily dropping into the grave, it was far more afflicting to observe the countenances and emaciated persons of many that remained soon to follow their miserable companions. Every step was taken that could be devised to save them; a fishery was established at the South Head, exclusively for the use of the sick, under the direction of one Barton, who had been formerly a pilot, and who, in addition to this duty, was to board all ships coming into the harbour and pilot them to the settlement. The different people who were employed by individuals to kill game were given up for the use of the hospital; and to stimulate them to exertion, two pounds of flour in addition to the ration were ordered for every kangaroo that they should bring, beside the head, one forequarter, and the pluck of the animal. The weakest of the convicts were excused from any kind of hard labour; but it was not hard labour that destroyed them; it was an entire want of strength in the constitution to receive nourishment, to throw off the debility that pervaded their whole system, or to perform any sort of labour whatever. This dreadful mortality was chiefly confined to the convicts who had arrived in the last year; of one hundred and twenty-two male convicts who came out in the _Queen_ transport from Ireland, fifty only were living at the beginning of this month. The different robberies which were committed were also confined to this class of the convicts, and the wretches who were concerned in the commission of them were in general too weak to receive a punishment adequate to their crimes. Their universal plea was hunger; but it was a plea that in the then situation of the colony could not be so much attended to as it certainly would have been in a country of greater plenty. The quantity of Indian corn stolen and destroyed this season was not ascertained, but was supposed to have been at least one sixth of what was raised. The people employed in bringing it in daily reported that they found immense piles of the husks and stalks concealed in the midst of what was standing, having been there shelled and taken off at different times. This was a very serious loss, and became an object of immediate consideration in such a scarcity as the colony then experienced; most anxiously it expected supplies from England, which did not arrive, though the time had elapsed in which they should have appeared had their departure taken place at the period mentioned by the secretary of state (the autumn of last year). His excellency therefore thought it prudent still farther to abridge the ration of flour which was then issued; and on the 9th of the month directed the commissary to serve weekly, until further orders, one pound and an half of flour with four pounds of maize to each man; and one pound and an half of flour with three pounds of maize to each woman, and to every child ten years of age; but made no alteration in the ration of salt provisions. This ration was to take place on Saturday the 12th; and as maize or Indian corn was now necessarily become the principal part of each person's subsistence, hand-mills and querns were set to work to grind it coarse for every person both at Sydney and at Parramatta; and at this latter place, wooden mortars, with a lever and a pestle, were also used to break the corn, and these pounded it much finer than it could be ground by the hand-mills; but it was effected with great labour. On comparing this ration with that issued in the month of April 1790, it will appear that the allowance then received from the public store was in most respects better than that now ordered. We then received, in addition to two pounds and a half of flour, two pounds of rice, which taken together yielded more nutritive substance than the four pounds of maize and one pound and a half of flour; for the maize when perfectly ground, sifted, and divested of the unwholesome and unprofitable part, the husk, would not give more than three pounds of good meal; and the rice was used by the convicts in a much greater variety of modes than it was possible to prepare the maize in. As at this period the flour in store was reduced to a very inconsiderable quantity, twenty-four days at the new ration (one pound and a half per week), and the salt provisions at the present ration not affording a supply for a longer time than three months, it became a melancholy, although natural reflection, that had not such numbers died, both in the passage and since the landing of those who survived the voyage, we should not at this moment have had any thing to receive from the public stores; thus strangely did we derive a benefit from the miseries of our fellow creatures! Several of the settlers who had farms at or near Parramatta, notwithstanding the extreme drought of the season preceding the saving of their corn, had such crops that they found themselves enabled to take off from the public store, some one, and others two convicts, to assist in preparing their grounds for the next season. The salt provisions with which they supplied them they procured by bartering their corn for that article, reserving a sufficiency for the support of themselves and families, and for seed. Mr. Schaffer from a small patch of ground got in about two hundred bushels of Indian corn; and with the assistance of four convicts expected to have thirty acres in cultivation the next season. But others of the settlers, inattentive to their own interests, and more desirous of acquiring for the present what they deemed comforts, than studious to provide for the future, not only neglected the cultivation of their lands, but sold the breeding stock with which they had been supplied by order of the governor. Two settlers of the former description having clearly forfeited their grants, and it being understood that they did not intend to proceed to cultivation any further than to save appearances till they could get away, their grants were taken from them, and other settlers placed on the grounds. But exclusive of the idle people, of which there were but few, the settlers were found in general to be doing very well, their farms promising to place them shortly in a state of independence on the public stores in the articles of provisions and grain; and it must not be omitted in this account, that they had to combat with the bad effects of a short and reduced ration nearly the whole of the time that they had been employed in cultivating ground on their own account. Many complaints having been made by the settlers, of depredations committed on their Indian corn by some of the convicts, it was ordered, that every convict residing at Parramatta, who should be fully convicted before a magistrate of stealing Indian corn, should, in addition to such corporal punishment as he might think it necessary to adjudge, be sent from Parramatta to the New Grounds, there to be employed in cultivation. Mr. Richard Atkins, who came out in the Pitt, and who had been sworn a Justice of the peace, went up to Parramatta to reside there, the constant presence of a magistrate being deemed by the governor indispensable at that settlement. It was soon perceived, that the punishment of being sent from Parramatta was more dreaded by the convicts than any corporal correction, however severe, that could have been inflicted on them. The being deprived of a comfortable hut and garden, and quitting a place whence the communication with Sydney was frequent, particularly when shipping were in the cove, operated so powerfully with one offender, who was ordered out to the New Grounds, that he chose rather to make an attempt to destroy himself than be sent thither; and had very nearly effected his purpose, having made an incision in his neck of such depth as to lay bare the carotid artery. In addition to the depredations of our own people, the natives had for some time been suspected of stealing the corn at the settlements beyond Parramatta. On the 18th a party of the tribe inhabiting the woods, to the number of fifteen or sixteen, was observed coming out of a hut at the middle settlement, dressed in such clothing as they found there, and taking with them a quantity of corn in nets. The person who saw them imagined at first from their appearance that they were convicts; but perceiving one of them preparing to throw a spear at him, he levelled his piece, which was loaded with small shot, and fired at him. The native instantly dropped his spear, and the whole party ran away, leaving behind them the nets with the corn, some blankets, and one or two spears. It was supposed that the native was wounded; for in a few days information was received from Parramatta, that a convict who was employed in well-digging at Prospect Hill, having come in from thence to receive some slops which were issued, was on his return met midway and murdered, or rather butchered by some of the natives. When the body was found, it was not quite cold, and had at least thirty spear wounds in it. The head was cut in several places, and most of the teeth were knocked out. They had taken his clothing and provisions, and the provisions of another man which he was carrying out to him. The natives with whom we had intercourse said, that this murder was committed by some of the people who inhabited the woods, and was done probably in revenge for the shot that was fired at the natives who some time before were stripping the hut. Toward the end of the month the corn was all got in and housed at Parramatta. As the grounds were cleared of the stalks, the depredations which had been committed became visible; and several of the convicts were detected by the night-watch in bringing in large quantities of shelled corn which had been stolen, buried or concealed in the woods, and shelled as they could find opportunity. Seven bushels were recovered in one night by the vigilance of the watch; and as different quantities were found from time to time in the huts, the people who resided in them were all ordered to the New Grounds. The works during this month, both at Sydney and at Parramatta, went on but slowly. At Sydney a tank that would contain about seven thousand nine hundred and ninety-six gallons of water, with a well in the centre fifteen feet deep, was finished, and the water let into it. Brick huts were in hand for the convicts in room of the miserable hovels occupied by many, which had been put up at their first landing, and in room of others which, from having been erected on such ground as was then cleared, were now found to interfere with the direction of the streets which the governor was laying out. People were also employed in cutting paling for fencing in their gardens. At Parramatta and the New Grounds, during the greatest part of the month, the people were employed in getting in the maize and sowing wheat. A foundation for an hospital was laid, a house built for the master carpenter, and roofs prepared for the different huts either building, or to be built in future. The following were the prices of grain and other articles, as they were sold during this month at Sydney, and at the market-place at Parramatta. AT SYDNEY Flour from 6d to 1s per lb. Maize per bushel from 12s 6d to 15s. Laying hens from 7s to 10s each. Cocks for killing from 4s to 7s each. Half grown chickens from 2s 6d to 3s 6d each. Chickens six weeks old 1s each. Eggs 3s per dozen, or 3d a-piece. Fresh pork 1s per lb. Potatoes 3d per lb. Good white heart cabbages 1d each. Greens per dozen 6d. Turnips 6d per dozen. Sows in pig from £4 10s to £6 6s. Sows just taken the boar from £3 to £4 4s. Growing pigs from £1 to £2 10s each. Sucking pigs 10s each. Moist sugar from 1s 6d to 2s 6d per lb. Coffee 2s to 2s 6d per lb. Salt pork per lb. from 8d to 9d. Tobacco, Brazil, per lb. from 3s to 5s. AT PARRAMATTA Flour 1s per lb. Maize per bushel from 11s to 13s. Laying hens from 7s 6d to 10s each. Cocks for killing from 4s 6d to 5s each. Chickens two months old 3s each. Eggs per dozen 3s. Fresh pork per lb. from 1s 1d to 1s 3d. Salt pork per lb. from 10d to 1s. Potatoes per lb. from 3d to 4d. A lot of cabbages, per hundred 10s. Tea per lb. from 16s to £1 1s. Coffee per lb. from 2s to 3s. Moist sugar from 2s to 2s 6d per lb. Tobacco grown in the country from 1s 6d to 2s per lb. Virginia or Brazil from 4s to 6s. Soap from 1s 6d to 2s 6d per lb. Cheese from 1s 6d to 2s per lb. June.] With infinite satisfaction it was observed at the beginning of the month, that the mortality and sickness among the people had very much decreased. This was attributed by the medical gentlemen to the quantities of fresh meat which had been obtained at Parramatta by the people who were employed to shoot for the hospital; a sufficiency having been brought in at one time to supply the sick with fresh meat for a week; and for the remainder of the month in the proportion of twice or three times a week. Great quantities of vegetables had also been given to those who were in health, as well as to the sick, both from the public ground at the farther settlement (which had been sown, and produced some most excellent turnips) and from the governor's garden. 4th.] The anniversary of his Majesty's birthday was observed with as much distinction as was in our power. The governor always wished to celebrate that day in the year in a manner that should render it welcome to all descriptions of people in the different settlements. Heretofore on the same occasion he had increased the ration of provisions; but the situation of the public stores not admitting of such increase at the present, the commissary was directed to issue on that day half a pint of rum to each person of the civil and military department, and a quarter of a pint of rum to each female in the settlement. At noon the New South Wales corps fired three volleys, and the governor received the compliments of the day; after which the officers of each department were entertained by his Excellency at dinner at government-house. Bonfires were made at night, and the day concluded joyfully, without any interruption to the peace of the settlement. The small allowance of spirits which was given for the day to the convalescents, and to such sick in the hospital as the surgeon judged proper, being found of infinite service to them, the governor directed that the surgeon should receive a certain quantity, and at his discretion issue it from time to time to such sick under his care as he thought would derive benefit from it; the remainder was ordered to be reserved for the use of the sloop when it might be necessary to send her to sea. The spirits at this time in the colony were the surplus of what had been sent out for his majesty's ship _Sirius_, and the _Supply_ armed tender. As it had been customary too, on this day, to grant a pardon to such offenders as might be in custody or under sentence of corporal punishment, his Excellency was pleased a few days after to release such convicts as were sentenced to work in irons for a limited time at Parramatta and the New Grounds, and who were not very notorious offenders. This lenity was the rather shown at this time, as the convicts were in general giving proofs of a greater disposition to honesty than had for some time been visible among them. The convicts at the New Grounds being assembled for this purpose, the governor acquainted them, 'that the state of the colony requiring a still farther reduction in the ration, it would very shortly take place; but that he hoped soon to have it in his power to augment it. The deficiencies in the established ration, he informed them, should at a future period be made up; but in the meantime he expected that every man would continue to exert himself and get the corn into the ground to insure support for the next year.' Indeed these exertions became every day more necessary. On the 6th of this month there was only a sufficiency of flour in store to serve till the 2nd of July, and salt provisions till the 6th of August following, at the ration then issued; and neither the _Atlantic_ storeship from Calcutta, nor the expected supplies from England, had arrived. Notwithstanding the mortality and sickness which had prevailed among the convicts who came out in the last ships, much labour had been performed at the New Grounds by those who were capable of handling the hoe and the spade. At this time the quantity of ground in wheat, and cleared and broken up for maize, there and at Parramatta, was such as (if not visited again by a dry season) would at least, computing the produce even at what it was the last year, yield a sufficiency of grain for all our numbers for a twelvemonth. But every one doubted the possibility of getting all the corn into the ground within the proper time, unless the colony should be very speedily relieved from its distresses, as the reduction in the ration would inevitably be followed by a diminution of the daily labour. On the 20th however, to the inexpressible joy of all ranks of people in the settlements, the _Atlantic_ storeship anchored safely in the cove, with a cargo of rice, soujee, and dholl, from Calcutta, having been much longer performing her voyage than was expected, owing to some delays at Calcutta, in settling and arranging the contract for the supply of provisions which had been required. The merchants who, in the year 1790, had made a tender to supply this colony with certain articles at a stipulated price, were, from several concurring circumstances, unable to furnish what was required by Lieutenant Bowen, agreeable to the prices then stipulated; it was therefore determined by the members of the council at Calcutta, to whom Lieutenant Bowen delivered his letters and instructions (Earl Cornwallis, who had, several months previous to his arrival, been desired by the secretary of state to direct any supplies which might be required for this settlement, being absent with the army), to invite offers for supplying the different articles which were required by contract. Lieutenant Bowen arrived at Calcutta on the 4th of February, and it was not till the 27th of the following month that the business was finally arranged, and a contract entered into by the house of Lambert, Ross, and Co. satisfactory to the council and to Lieutenant Bowen. It appearing that the flour of Bengal, unless it was dressed for the purpose, which would have taken a great deal of time, was not of a quality to keep even for the voyage from Calcutta to this country a large proportion of rice, of that sort which was said to be the fittest for preservation, was purchased. A small quantity of flour too was put on board, but merely for the purpose of experiment. It was called soujee by the natives, but was much inferior in quality to the flour prepared in Europe, and more difficult to make into bread. The _Atlantic_ left Calcutta the 28th of March, and on her passage met with much bad weather, and some heavy gales of wind. She brought two bulls and a cow of the Bengal breed, together with twenty sheep and twenty goats; but these were of so diminutive a species, that, unless the breed could be considerably improved by that already in the country, very little benefit was for a length of time to be expected from their importation. Various seeds and plants also were received from the company's botanical garden; and much commendation was due to Colonel Kydd, the gentleman who superintended the selection and arrangement of them for the voyage; as well as to Lieutenant Bowen, for his care, and for the accommodation which he gave up, both to them and to the cattle, in the cabin of the ship. Information was received by the Calcutta papers of the loss of his Majesty's ship _Pandora_, Captain Edwards, who had been among the Friendly islands in search of Christian and his piratical crew, fourteen of whom he had secured, and was returning with the purpose of surveying Endeavour Straits pursuant to his instructions, when he unfortunately struck upon a reef in latitude 23 degrees S eleven degrees only to the northward of this port. By his boats he providentially reached Timor with ninety-nine of his officers and people, being the whole of his ship's company which were saved. At Timor, on his arrival, he found Bryant and his companions, who made their escape from this place in the fishing cutter in the night of the 28th of March 1791. These people had framed and told a plausible tale of distress, of their having been cast away at sea; and this for a time was believed; but they soon, by their language to each other, and by practising the tricks of their former profession, gave room for suspicion; and being taken up, their true characters and the circumstances of their escape were divulged. The Dutch governor of Timor delivered them to Captain Edwards, who took them on with him to Batavia, whence he was to proceed to England. The circumstance of these people having reached Timor confirmed what was suggested immediately after their departure, that the master of the snow _Waaksamheyd_ had furnished Bryant with instructions how to proceed, and with every thing he stood in need of for his voyage; and it must be remembered, that though this man, during his stay in this port, had constantly said that every sort of refreshment was to be procured at Timor, yet when Captain Hunter, while at sea, proposed to steer for that island, he declared that nothing was to be got there, and so prevented that officer from going thither. There cannot be a doubt that, expecting to find his friends at Timor, he did not choose either to endanger them, or risk a discovery of the part he had acted in aiding their escape. Had it not been for the fortunate discovery and subsequent delivery of these people to a captain of a British man of war, the evident practicability of reaching Timor in an open boat might have operated with others to make the attempt, and to carry off boats from the settlements; which, during the absence of the king's ships belonging to the station, was never difficult; and it was now hoped, that the certainty of every boat which should reach that or any other Dutch settlement under similar circumstances being suspected and received accordingly, would have its due effect here. The supply of provisions received by the Atlantic being confined to grain, it became necessary to reduce the ration of salt meat. It was therefore ordered on the 21st, that after the Friday following only two pounds of pork should be issued in lieu of four. The allowance of one pound and a half of flour and four pounds of maize was continued, but one pound of rice and one quart of peas were added. The general order given out on this occasion stated, That the arrival of ships with further supplies of provisions might be daily looked for; but as it was possible that some unforeseen accident might have happened to the ships which were expected to have sailed from England shortly after the departure of the _Pitt_, it became necessary to reduce the ration of provisions then issued, in order that the quantity in store might hold out till the arrival of those ships, which might be supposed to have sailed for this country about the months of January or February last; it having been the intention of government that ships should sail from England for this colony twice in every year. And as all deficiencies in the ration were to be made good hereafter, the following extract from the instructions which fixed the ration for the colony was inserted, viz Ration for each marine and male convict for seven days successively: 7 pounds of bread, or in lieu thereof 7 pounds of flour; 7 pounds of beef, or in lieu thereof 4 pounds of pork; 3 pints of peas; 6 ounces of butter; 1 pound of flour, or in lieu thereof half a pound of rice: Being the same as are allowed his Majesty's troops serving in the West-India Islands, excepting only the allowance of spirits. And two thirds of the above ration were directed to be issued to each woman in the settlement. So far the general order. As, however, a sufficient quantity of rice could not be landed in time to issue on the Saturday, one pound of maize was issued in lieu of the same quantity of rice. At this ration the rice and flour or soujee were calculated to last five months; and the peas or dholl for nearly a twelvemonth. But if the _Atlantic_ had not arrived, the prospect in the colony would have been truly dreary and distressing; as it was intended to have issued only one pound and a half of flour, three pounds of maize, and two pounds of pork per week, on Saturday the 23rd; a ration that would have derived very little assistance from vegetables, as at that season of the year the gardens had scarcely any thing in them. Gloomy and unpromising, however, as was the situation of the settlements before her arrival, that event, which happened the very day on which, two years before, the colony had been relieved by the arrival of the _Justinian_ storeship, cast a gleam of sunshine which penetrated everyone capable of reflection, and, by effecting a sudden change in the ideas, operated so powerfully on the mind, that we all felt alike, and found it impossible to sit for one minute seriously down to any business or accustomed pursuit. A black, the same who had secreted himself on board the _Supply_ when she went to Batavia, having found means to conceal himself on board the _Atlantic_ on her departure for Calcutta, and to remain concealed until she had left Norfolk Island, was brought back again to the settlement, notwithstanding he endeavoured to escape from the ship in the Ganges. As it appeared that he had served the term for which he was sentenced to be transported even before he got off on board the _Atlantic_, of which Lieutenant Bowen had only his assertion, no punishment was inflicted upon him, and he was left at liberty to get away in any ship that would receive him on board. The little live stock that was received by the _Atlantic_ was landed at Parramatta directly after her arrival, and placed in an inclosure separated from the others. About two hundred and fifty gallons of Bengal rum having been received, the governor directed, that in consequence of the ration being reduced, that quantity, together with what was in store, and had been intended for the use of the sloop at a future time, should be issued to the civil and military, reserving a proportion for those at Norfolk Island. The flag-staff which had been erected at the South Head under the direction of Captain Hunter, in the month of January 1790, being found too short to show the signal at any great distance, a new one was taken down the harbour, and erected the day the _Atlantic_ arrived, within a few feet of the other; its height above ground was sixty feet. It was not found that the return of the _Atlantic_ had caused any diminution in the price of grain or stock, either at Parramatta or at Sydney. At this latter place a market had been established for the sale of grain, fish, or poultry, similar to that at Parramatta; a clerk being appointed to superintend it, and take account of the different articles brought for sale, to prevent the barter of goods stolen by the convicts. On the last day of the month, some natives residing at the south shore of Botany Bay, whether from a hope of reward, or from actually having seen some ships at a distance, informed the governor that a few days before they had perceived four or five sail, one of which they described to be larger than the others, standing off the land, with a westerly wind. Little credit was however given to their report. July.] As the merchants who supplied the provisions received by the _Atlantic_ were only to be paid for such part of the cargo as was actually landed, and found to be in a merchantable condition, it became necessary to weigh and survey the whole of the cargo; for which purpose two surveyors were appointed by the governor. This of course proved a very tedious business, from the weakness of the gangs at Sydney. Seldom more than four hundred bags, each bag containing one hundred and sixty-four pounds, were at first landed in a day; latterly, this number was by great exertions got up to somewhat more than five hundred in a day. It was not, however, till the 21st of the month that she was cleared. Having discharged her cargo, she began the serious labour of ballasting, and it being wished to expedite her preparations for Norfolk Island, her ship's company were assisted with twelve convicts from the settlement, and the occasional use of such boats as could be spared to convey the ballast to the ship. The governor was anxious to learn the state of that dependency, not having heard from it since the return of the _Queen_ transport early in the last December. The maize being all got in, it was hoped that the convicts would not find any new object for their depredations, and that order and tranquillity would for a time at least be restored among them. But the houses of individuals soon became their prey, and three or four daring burglaries were committed this month: I say daring burglaries, as the houses which were broken into were either within the view of a sentinel, or within the round of a watchman. This, however, must not be otherwise understood than as a proof of the perseverance and cunning of these people, who could find means to elude any vigilance that was opposed to their designs. An attempt to steal some of the sheep at Parramatta was also made by two notorious offenders, who, from being deemed incorrigible, were not included in the pardon which the governor granted to the wretches in irons after his Majesty's birthday, but were ordered to be chained together for some longer time. Being fortunately overheard by the person who lived in the inclosure, and had the care of the stock, he snapped a piece at them, and, finding it miss fire, gave an alarm to the watch, by whose activity they were apprehended two miles from the place. They were provided with every thing necessary for their design, such as a tomahawk, an iron kettle, knives, spoons, platters, and a quantity of vegetables. It was found, that with the assistance of the tomahawk they had divided the chain that linked them together, and had secured round the leg the iron that remained with each, so as not to be heard when they moved. The different species of provisions which had been received from Calcutta were not much esteemed by the people. The flour or soujee, from our not knowing the proper mode of preparing it for bread, soon became sour, particularly if not assisted with some other grain; the dholl, or peas, were complained of as boiling hard, and not breaking, though kept on the fire for a greater length of time than the impatience of those who were to use it would in general admit of; and the rice, though termed the best of the cargo, was found to be full of husks, and ill dressed. Some pork also, of which eight casks had been sent as an experiment, was, on being issued, found to be for the most part putrid, and, in the language of surveyors of provisions, not fit for men to eat. These circumstances, together with the extreme minuteness of the Bengal breed of cattle, excited a general hope, that these settlements would not have to depend upon that country for supplies. To the parent country every one anxiously looked for a speedy and substantial assistance; and day after day used to pass in a fruitless hope that the morrow would come accompanied with the long wished-for arrival of ships. The natives who lived among us assured us from time to time, that the report formerly propagated of ships having been seen on the coast had a foundation in reality; and as every one remembered that the _Justinian_, after making the heads of Port Jackson, had been kept at sea for three weeks, a fond hope was cherished that the sun had shone upon the whitened sails of some approaching vessel, which had been discovered by the penetrating eyes of our savage neighbours at Botany Bay. In this anxiety and expectation we remained till the 26th, when the long-wished-for signal was made, and in a few hours after the _Britannia_ storeship, Mr. William Raven master, anchored in the cove, after a passage of twenty-three weeks from Falmouth, having sailed from thence on the 15th of last February, the day after the arrival of the _Pitt_ in this country. The _Britannia_ was the first of three ships that were to be dispatched hither, having on board twelve months clothing for the convicts, four months flour, and eight months beef and pork for every description of persons in the settlements, at full allowance, calculating their numbers at four thousand six hundred and thirty-nine, which it was at home supposed they might amount to after the arrival of the _Pitt_. It was still a matter of uncertainty in England, even at the departure of the _Britannia_, whether the merchants of Calcutta had supplied this country with provisions; and under the idea that some circumstance might have prevented them, this supply was ordered to be forwarded. The _Kitty_ transport, one of the three ships which were to contain these supplies, had sailed from Deptford, at the time the _Britannia_ passed through the Downs; her arrival therefore might be daily expected, and in her, or on board of the other ship, it was imagined that fifteen families of Quakers, who had made proposals to government to be received in this country as settlers, were to take their passage. It was with great pleasure heard in the colony, that some steps had been taken toward prosecuting Donald Trail, the master of the _Neptune_ transport, for his treatment of the convicts with which he sailed from England for this settlement in the year 1790. The sickness and mortality which prevailed among them excited a suspicion that they had been improperly treated; and information upon oath was soon procured of many acts of neglect, ill usage, and cruelty toward them. In the consequence of the arrival of the _Britannia_, the commissary was on the following day directed to issue, _until further orders_, the following weekly ration, viz to each man 4 pounds of maize, 3 pounds of soujee, 7 pounds of beef, or in lieu thereof 4 lbs. of pork, 3 pints of peas or dholl, and ½ a pound of rice. Two thirds of the man's ration was directed to be issued to each woman and to every child above ten years of age; one half of the man's ration to each child above two, and under ten years of age; and one fourth of the man's ration to each child under two years of age. Thus happily was the colony once more put upon something like a full ration of provisions; a change in our situation that gave universal satisfaction, as at the hour of the arrival of the _Britannia_ there were in the public store only twenty-four days salt provisions for the settlement at the ration then issued. A delay of a month in her voyage would have placed the colony in a state that must have excited the commiseration of its greatest enemies; a vast body of hard-working people depending for their support upon one pound and a half of soujee, or bad Bengal flour, four pounds of maize, one pound of rice, and one quart of peas for one man per week, without one ounce of meat! But with this new ration all entertained new hopes, and trusted that their future labours would be crowned with success, and that the necessity of sending out supplies from the mother country until the colony could support itself without assistance would have become so evident from the frequency of our distresses and the reduction of the ration, that the journalist would no longer have occasion to fill his page with comparisons between what we might have been and what we were; to lament the non arrival of supplies; nor to paint the miseries and wretchedness which ensued; but might adopt a language to which he might truly be said to have been hitherto a stranger, and paint the glowing prospects of a golden harvest, the triumph of a well-filled store, and the increasing and consequent prosperity of the settlements. His excellency this month thought fit to exercise the power vested in him by act of parliament, and by his Majesty's commission under the great seal, of remitting either wholly, or in part, the term for which felons might be transported, by granting an absolute remission of the term for which Elizabeth Perry had been sentenced. This woman came out in the _Neptune_ in 1790, and had married James Ruse a settler. The good conduct of the wife, and the industry of the husband, who had for some time supported himself, his wife, a child, and two convicts, independent of the public store, were the reasons assigned in the instrument which restored her to her rights and privileges as a free woman, for extending to her the hand of forgiveness. This power, so pleasing to the feelings of its possessor, had hitherto been very sparingly exercised; and those persons who had felt its influence were not found to have been undeserving. I speak only of such convicts as had been deemed proper objects of this favour by the governor himself; the convicts, however, who came out in the _Guardian_ were emancipated by the King's command, and of these by far the greater part conducted themselves with propriety. Preparing roofs for new barracks, bringing in bricks to the spot appointed for their construction, and discharging the _Atlantic_ and the _Britannia_, were the principal works in hand at Sydney during the month. At the settlements beyond Parramatta (which had lately obtained and were in future to be distinguished by the name of Toongabbie) the convicts were employed in preparing the ground for the reception of next year's crop of maize. At and near Parramatta, the chief business was erecting two houses on allotments of land which belonged to Mr. Arndell the assistant surgeon, and to John Irving (one of those persons whose exemplary conduct and meritorious behaviour both in this country and on the passage to it had been rewarded with unconditional freedom by the governor), each of whom had been put in possession, the former of sixty and the latter of thirty acres of land on the creek leading to Parramatta; erecting chimneys for the different settlers at the ponds, preparing roofs for various buildings, sawing timber, cutting posts and railing for inclosures, and hoeing and preparing ground for maize. CHAPTER XVIII The _Britannia_ cleared Survey of provisions Total of cargo received from Bengal _Atlantic_ sails with provisions for Norfolk Island Transactions General behaviour of convicts Criminal Courts Prisoner pardoned conditionally Another acquitted New barracks begun Thefts The _Atlantic_ returns from Norfolk Island Information Settlers there discontented Principal works The _Britannia_ taken up by the officers of the New South Wales Corps to procure stock The _Royal Admiral_ East Indiaman arrives from England Regulations at the store A Burglary committed Criminal Court The _Britannia_ sails Shops opened Bad conduct of some settlers Oil issued Slops served Governor Phillip signifies his intention of returning to England August.] The Britannia was cleared, and discharged from government employ, on the 17th of this month. A deficiency appearing in the weight of the salt provisions delivered from that ship, a survey was immediately ordered; and it appeared from the report of the persons employed to conduct it, and who from their situations were well qualified to judge, Mr. Bowen, a lieutenant in the navy, and Mr. Raven, the commander of the _Britannia_ and a master of a man of war, that the casks of beef were deficient, on an average, thirty-six pounds and one-third, and the tierces twenty-one pounds and one-third. It also appeared that the meat was lean, coarse, and boney, and worse than they have ever been issued in his Majesty's service. A deception of this nature would be more severely felt in this country, as its inhabitants had but lately experienced a change from a very short ration of salt provisions; and every ounce lost here was of importance, as the supply had been calculated on a supposition of each cask containing its full weight. It having been covenanted, as already mentioned, by Messrs. Lambert, Ross, and Company, that only such part of the cargo as on its arrival here should be found to be in a merchantable state should be paid for, the following quantity, having been deemed merchantable by the persons appointed to take the survey, was received into the store; viz Tons Cwt Qrs lbs Rice 190 3 2 3 Dholl 152 18 2 13 Peas 15 9 2 23 Soujee 57 3 0 4 Wheat 1 15 1 24 --------------------- Total of Grain 417 10 1 11 --------------------- [28lb=1qr, 4qr=1cwt, 20cwt=1ton. 67lb=2qr+11lb, etc.] Eight casks of pork (as an experiment) from Lambert and Company; and two casks of rum containing one hundred and twenty-six gallons, supplied at 3s per gallon. Four casks of flour, and four casks of soujee from Mr. Cockraine (sent likewise as an experiment) were also received into the store. The unmerchantable articles, consisting of soujee, dholl, and rice, were sold at public auction; and though wholly unfit for men to eat, yet being not too bad for stock, were quickly purchased, and in general went off at a great price. Several lots, consisting of five bags of the soujee, each bag containing about one hundred and fourteen pounds, sold for £4 14s. The whole quantity of damaged grain which was thus disposed of amounted to nine hundred and ninety-one bags, and sold for £373 9s making a most desirable and acceptable provision for the private stock in the colony. For this sum of £373 9s credit was given to the merchants at the final settling of the account; at which time it appeared, that the whole of the _Atlantic's_ cargo of rice, dholl, peas, soujee, wheat, and rum, which was to be paid for by government, amounted to the sum of £7538 14s 4d. This cargo might be termed an experiment, to which it was true we were driven by necessity; and it had become the universal and earnest wish that no cause might ever again induce us to try it. The maize being expended, except a certain proportion which was reserved for seed, seven pounds of soujee were issued per week to each man; but as the quantity of this article which had been received from India was but small (fifty-seven tons) compared with the rice and dholl, toward the latter end of the month it became necessary to make up a new ration compounded of the various grain which had been introduced from Calcutta, and the different articles of food which had been received from England. One third of the provisions received from Bengal by the _Atlantic_, and the like proportion of the stores add provisions which had been landed from the _Britannia_, having been put on board the former of those ships, she sailed on the 19th for Norfolk Island, having also on board two settlers from the marine detachment, twenty-two male convicts, an incorrigible lad who had been drummed out of the New South Wales corps, three natives, and a free woman, wife to one of the convicts. Among the latter description of persons were some of very bad character; others who were supposed to have formed a design of escaping from the colony; some who professed to be flax dressers, and a few artificers who might be useful at that island. At the head of a party of convicts who were said to have formed a design of seizing a boat and effecting their escape, was J. C. Morris, one of those convicts who left England in the _Guardian_, and who, from their meritorious behaviour before and after the disaster that befel that ship, received conditional emancipation by his Majesty's command. Morris was at Norfolk Island when the intimation of the royal bounty reached this country. Being permitted to return to this settlement, he obtained a grant of thirty acres of land at the Eastern Farms, in an advantageous situation on the northside of the creek leading to Parramatta. Here it soon became evident that he had not the industry necessary for a _bona fide_ settler, and that, instead of cultivating his own ground, he lent himself to his neighbours, who were to repay his labour by working for him at a future day. The governor deemed this a clear forfeiture of his grant, in which it was unequivocally expressed, that he held the thirty acres on condition of his residing within the same, and proceeding to the improvement and cultivation thereof. Being no longer a settler, he declared himself able to procure his daily support without the assistance of the public stores, from which, it must be remarked, he had been maintained all the time he held his grant. Soon after this, it was said, he formed the plan of going off with a boat; yet not so cautiously, but that information was given of it to the governor, who resolved to send him back to Norfolk Island, whence an escape was by no means so practicable as from this place; and he was, very much against his inclination, put on board the _Atlantic_ for that purpose. He found means, however, to get on shore in the night preceding her departure; and she sailed without him. A reward being offered for apprehending him, he was soon taken, and sent up to Parramatta, there to be confined on a reduced ration, until an opportunity offered of sending him to Norfolk island. During the month the governor thought it necessary to issue some regulations to be observed by those convicts whose sentences of transportation had expired. The number of people of this description in the colony had been so much increased of late, that it had become requisite to determine with precision the line in which they were to move. Having emerged from the condition of convicts, and got rid of the restraint which was necessarily imposed on them while under that subjection, many of them seemed to have forgotten that they were still amenable to the regulations of the colony, and appeared to have shaken off, with the yoke of bondage, all restraint and dependence whatsoever. They were, therefore, called upon to declare their intentions respecting their future mode of living. Those who wished to be allowed to provide for themselves were informed, that on application to the judge-advocate, they would receive a certificate of their having served their several periods of transportation, which certificate they would deposit with the commissary as his voucher for striking them off the provision and clothing lists; and once a week they were to report in what manner and for whom they had been employed. Such as should be desirous of returning to England were informed, that no obstacle would be thrown in their way, they being at liberty to ship themselves on board of such vessels as would give them a passage. And those who preferred labouring for the public, and receiving in return such ration as should be issued from the public stores, were to give in their names to the commissary, who would victual and clothe them as long as their services might be required. Of those, here and at Parramatta, who had fulfilled the sentence of the law, by far the greater part signified their intention of returning to England by the first opportunity; but the getting away from the colony was now a matter of some difficulty, as it was understood that a clause was to be inserted in all future contracts for shipping for this country, subjecting the masters to certain penalties, on certificates being received of their having brought away any convicts or other persons from this settlement without the governor's permission; and as it was not probable that many of them would, on their return, refrain from the vices or avoid the society of those companions who had been the causes of their transportation to this country, not many could hope to obtain the sanction of the governor for their return. With very few exceptions, however, the uniform good behaviour of the convicts was still to be noted and commended. September.] The month of September was ushered in with rain, and storms of wind, thunder, and lightning. At Parramatta and Toongabbie too, as well as at Sydney, much rain fell for several days. On the return of fine weather, it was seen with general satisfaction that the wheat sown at the latter settlement looked and promised well, and had not suffered from the rain. Early in the month the criminal court was assembled for the trial of Benjamin Ingram, a man who had served the term for which he was ordered to be transported. He had broken into a house belonging to a female convict, in which he was detected packing up her property for removal. Being found guilty, he received sentence of death; but, on the recommendation of the court, the governor was induced to grant him a pardon, upon condition of his residing for life on Norfolk Island. With this extension of mercy the culprit was not made acquainted till that moment had arrived which he thought was to separate him from this world for ever. Upon the ladder, and expecting to be turned off, the condition on which his life was spared was communicated to him; and with gratitude both to God and the governor, he received the welcome tidings. He afterwards confessed, that he had for some time past been in the habit of committing burglaries and other depredations; for, having taken himself off the stores to avoid working for the public, he was frequently distressed for food, and was thus compelled to support himself at the expense perhaps of the honest and industrious. He readily found a rascal to receive what property he could procure for sale, and for a long time escaped detection. This depraved man had two brothers in the colony; one who came out with him in the first fleet, and who had been for some time a sober, hard-working, industrious settler, having also served the term of his transportation; the other brother came out in the last year, and bore the character of a well-behaved man. There was also a fourth brother; but he was executed in England. It was said, that these unfortunate men had honest and industrious people for their parents; they could not, however, have paid much attention to the morals of their family; or, out of four, some might surely have laid claim to the character of the parents. The criminal court was again assembled on the 20th of this month, for the trial of William Godfrey, who was taken up on a suspicion of having seized the opportunity of some festivity on board of the _Britannia_, then nearly ready for sea, and taken half a barrel of powder out of the gun-room, about nine o'clock at night. Proof however was not brought home to him; although many circumstances induced every one to suppose he was the guilty person. This month was fixed for beginning the new barracks. For the private soldiers there were to be five buildings, each one hundred feet by twenty-four in front, and connected by a slight brick wall. At each end were to be two apartments for officers, seventy-five feet by eighteen; each apartment containing four rooms for their accommodation, with a passage of sixteen feet. Of these barracks, one at each end was to be constructed at right angles with the front, forming a wing to the centre buildings. Kitchens were to be built, with other convenient offices, in the rear, and garden ground was to be laid out at the back. Their situation promised to be healthy, and it was certainly pleasant, being nearly on the summit of the high ground at the head of the cove, overlooking the town of Sydney, and the shipping in the cove, and commanding a view down the harbour, as well of the fine piece of water forming Long Cove, as that branching off to the westward at the back of the lieutenant governor's farm. The foundation of one of the buildings designed for an officer's barrack having been dug, and all the necessary materials brought together on the spot, the walls of it were got up, and the whole building roofed and covered in, in eleven days. Their situation being directly in the neighbourhood of the ground appropriated to the burial of the dead, it became necessary to choose another spot for the latter purpose; and the governor, in company with the Rev. Mr. Johnson, set apart the ground formerly cultivated by the late Captain Shea of the marines. Several thefts were committed at Sydney and at Parramatta, from which latter place three male convicts absconded, taking with them the provisions of their huts, intending, it was supposed, to get on board the _Britannia_. Rewards being offered, some of them were taken in the woods. It had been found, that the masters of ships would give passages to such people as could afford to pay them from ten to twenty pounds for the same, and the perpetrators of some of the thefts which were committed appeared to have had that circumstance in view, as one or two huts, whose proprietors were well known to have amassed large sums of money for people in their situations, were broken into; and in one instance they succeeded. On the night of the 22nd the hut of Mary Burne, widow of a man who had been employed as a game-killer, was robbed of dollars to the amount of eleven pounds; with which the pillagers got off undiscovered. On the 30th the _Britannia_ left the cove, dropping down below Bradley's Point, preparatory to sailing on her intended voyage to Dusky Bay in New Zealand; and while every one was remarking, that the cove (being left without a ship) again looked solitary and uncomfortable, the signal was made at the South Head, and at ten o'clock at night the _Atlantic_ anchored in the cove from Norfolk Island, where, we had the satisfaction to learn, the large cargo which she had on board was landed in safety, although at one time the ship was in great danger of running ashore at Cascade Bay. We now learned that the expectations which had been formed of the crops at Norfolk Island had been too sanguine; but their salt provisions lasted very well. Governor King, however, wrote that the crops then in the ground promised favourably, although he would not venture to speak decidedly, as they were very much annoyed by the grub. This was an enemy produced by the extreme richness of the soil; and it was remarked, that as the land was opened and cleared, it was found to be exposed to the blighting winds which infest the island. The great havoc and destruction which the reduced ration had occasioned among the birds frequenting Mount Pitt had so thinned their numbers, that they were no longer to be depended upon as a resource. The convicts, senseless and improvident, not only destroyed the bird, its young, and its egg, but the hole in which it burrowed; a circumstance that ought most cautiously to have been guarded against; as nothing appeared more likely to make them forsake the island. The stock in the settlement was plentiful, but, from being fed chiefly on sow thistle during the general deficiency of hard food, the animals looked ill, and were as badly tasted. The _Pitt_, however, took from the island a great quantity of stock; barrow pigs and fowls, pumpkins and other vegetables; for which Captain Manning and his officers paid the owners with many articles of comfort to which they had long been strangers. The convicts in general wore a very unhealthy cadaverous appearance, owing, it was supposed, not only to spare diet, but to the fatigue consequent on their traversing the woods to Mount Pitt, by night, for the purpose of procuring some slender addition to their ration, instead of reposing after the labours of the day. They had committed many depredations on the settlers, and one was shot by a person of that description in the act of robbing his farm. Governor King, having discovered that the island abounded with that valuable article lime-stone, was building a convenient house for his own residence, and turning his attention to the construction of permanent storehouses, barracks for the military, and other necessary buildings. The weather had been for some time past very bad, much rain having fallen accompanied with storms of wind, thunder, and lightning. In some of these storms the wreck of his Majesty's ship _Sirius_ went to pieces and disappeared, no part of that unfortunate ship being left together, except what was confined by the iron ballast in her bottom. On board of the _Atlantic_ came sixty-two persons from Norfolk Island, among whom were several whose terms of transportation had expired; thirteen offenders; and nine of the marine settlers, who had given up the hoe and the spade, returned to this place to embrace once more a life to which they certainly were, from long habit, better adapted than to that of independent settlers. They gave up their estates, and came here to enter as soldiers in the New South Wales corps.' Mr. Charles Grimes, the deputy-surveyor, arrived in the _Atlantic_, being sent by Mr. King to state to the governor the situation of the settlers late belonging to the _Sirius_, whose grounds had, on a careful survey by Mr. Grimes, been found to intersect each other. They had been originally laid down without the assistance of proper instruments, and being situated on the side of the Cascade Stream, which takes several windings in its course, the different allotments, being close together, naturally interfered with each other when they came to be carried back. The settlers themselves saw how disadvantageously they were situated, and how utterly impossible it was for every one to possess a distinct allotment of sixty acres, unless they came to some agreement which had their mutual accommodation in view; but this, with an obstinacy proportioned to their ignorance, they all declined: as their grounds were marked out so would they keep them, not giving an inch in one place, though certain of possessing it with advantage in another. These people proved but indifferent settlers; sailors and soldiers, seldom bred in the habits of industry, but ill brooked the personal labour which they found was required from them day after day, and month after month. Men who from their infancy had been accustomed to have their daily subsistence found them were but ill calculated to procure it by the sweat of their brows, and must very unwillingly find that without great bodily exertions they could not provide it at all. A few months experience convinced them of the truth of these observations, and they grew discontented; as a proof of which they wrote a letter to the judge-advocate, to be submitted to the governor, stating, as a subject of complaint among other grievances, that the officers of the settlement bred stock for their own use, and requesting that they might be directed to discontinue that practice, and purchase stock of them. Very few of the convicts at Norfolk Island whose terms of transportation had expired were found desirous of becoming permanent settlers; the sole object with the major part appearing to be, that of taking ground for the purpose of raising by the sale of the produce a sum sufficient to enable them to pay for their passages to England. The settler to benefit this colony, the _bona fide_ settler, who should be a man of some property, must come from England. He is not to be looked for among discharged soldiers, shipwrecked seamen, or quondam convicts. Governor King finding, after trying every process that came within his knowledge for preparing and dressing the flax-plant, that unless some other means were devised, it never would be brought to the perfection necessary to make the canvas produced from it an object of importance, either as an article of clothing for the convicts or for maritime purposes, proposed to Mr. Ebor Bunker, the master of the _William and Ann_, who had some thoughts of touching at Dusky Bay in New Zealand, to procure him two natives of that country, if they could be prevailed on to embark with him, and promised him one hundred pounds if he succeeded, hoping from their perfect knowledge of the flax-plant, and the process necessary to manufacture it into cloth, that he might one day render it a valuable and beneficial article to his colony; but Captain Bunker had never returned. Norfolk Island had been visited by all the whalers which sailed from this port on that fishery. The _Admiral Barrington_ and _Pitt_ left with Mr. King eleven men and two female convicts, who had secreted themselves at this port on board of those ships. October.] The _Britannia_, which had quitted the cove on the last day of September, preparatory to her departure on a fishing voyage (a licence for which had been granted by the East India Company for the space of three years), returned to the cove on the third of this month for the purpose of fitting for the Cape of Good Hope, the officers of the New South Wales corps having engaged the master to proceed thither and return on their account with a freight of cattle, and such articles as would tend to the comfort of themselves and the soldiers of the corps, and which were not to be found in the public stores. Mr. Raven, the master, let his ship for the sum of £2000; and eleven shares of £200 each were subscribed to purchase the stock and other articles. The ship was well calculated for bringing cattle, having a very good between-decks; and artificers from the corps were immediately employed to fit her with stalls proper for the reception and accommodation of cows, horses, etc. A quantity of hay was put on board sufficient to lessen considerably the expense of that article at the Cape; and she was ready for sea by the middle of the month. Previous to her departure, on the 7th, the _Royal Admiral_ East-Indiaman, commanded by Captain Essex Henry Bond, anchored in the cove from England, whence she had sailed on the 30th of May last. Her passage from the Cape of Good Hope was the most rapid that had ever been made, being only five weeks and three days from port to port. On board of the _Royal Admiral_ came stores and provisions for the colony; one sergeant, one corporal, and nineteen privates, belonging to the New South Wales corps; a person to be employed in the cultivation of the country; another as a master miller; and a third as a master carpenter; together with two hundred and eighty-nine male and forty-seven female convicts. She brought in with her a fever, which had been much abated by the extreme attention paid by Captain Bond and his officers to cleanliness, the great preservative of health on board of ships, and to providing those who were ill with comforts and necessaries beyond what were allowed for their use during the passage. Of three hundred male convicts which she received on board, ten only died, and one made his escape from the hospital at False Bay; in return for whom, however, Captain Bond brought on with him Thomas Watling, a male convict, who found means to get on shore from the _Pitt_ when at that port in December last, and who had been confined by the Dutch at the Cape town from her departure until this opportunity offered of sending him hither. We had the satisfaction of hearing that the _Supply_ armed tender made good her passage to England in somewhat less than five months, arriving at Plymouth on the 21st of April last. It was, however, matter of much concern to all who were acquainted with him, to learn at the same time, that Captain Hunter, who sailed from this port in March 1791, in the Dutch snow _Waaksamheyd_, and who had anxiously desired to make a speedy passage, had been thirteen months in that vessel striving to reach England, where he at last let go his anchor a day after the termination of Lieutenant Ball's more successful voyage in the _Supply_, arriving at Spithead on the evening of the 22nd of April last. His Majesty's ship _Gorgon_ had been at the Cape of Good Hope, but had not arrived in England when the _Royal Admiral_ left that country. We were also informed, that the _Kitty_ transport had sailed with provisions and a few convicts from England some weeks before the _Royal Admiral_; and Captain Bond left at False Bay an American brig, freighted on speculation with provisions for this colony, and whose master intended putting to sea immediately after him. The sick, to the number of eighty, were all immediately disembarked from the Indiaman; the remainder of her convicts were sent up to be employed at Parramatta and the adjoining settlement. At these places was to be performed the great labour of clearing and cultivating the country; and thither the governor judged it necessary at once to send such convicts as should arrive in future, without permitting them to disembark at Sydney, which town (from the circumstance of its being the only place where shipping anchored) possessed all the evils and allurements of a sea port of some standing, and from which, if once they got into huts, they would be with difficulty removed when wanted; they pleaded the acquirement of comforts, of which, in fact, it would be painful though absolutely necessary to deprive them. At once to do away therefore the possibility of any attachment to this part of the colony, the governor gave directions for their being immediately sent from the ship to the place of their future residence and employment; and, having no other thoughts, they went with cheerfulness. There arrived in the _Royal Admiral_ as a superintendant charged with the care of the convicts, Mr. Richard Alley, who formerly belonged to the _Lady Juliana_ transport, in quality of surgeon, in the memorable voyage of that ship to this colony; a voyage that could never be thought on by an inhabitant of it without exciting a most painful sensation. This gentleman went to England in the snow with Captain Hunter, whither the comforts of long voyages seemed to accompany him. Immediately on his arrival there, he was appointed by the commissioners of the navy to come out in the _Royal Admiral_ as surgeon and superintendant of the convicts embarked in that ship, with an allowance of twelve shillings and sixpence _per diem_ until his arrival in England, exclusive of his half pay as surgeon of the navy. It had always been an object of the first consequence, that the people employed about the stores, if not free, should at least have been so situated as to have found it their interest to resist temptation. This had never hitherto been accomplished; capital and other exemplary punishments did not effect it; the stores were constantly robbed, although carefully watched, and as well secured as bolts, locks, and iron fastenings could make them. The governor therefore now adopted a plan which was suggested to him; and, discharging all the convicts employed at the provision-store, replaced them by others, to whom he promised absolute emancipation at the end of a certain number of years, to be computed from the dates of their respective arrivals in this country. If any thing could produce the integrity so much to be desired, this measure seemed the best calculated for the purpose; an interest was created superior to any reward that could have been held out, a certain salary, an increase of ration, a greater proportion of clothing, or even emancipation itself, if given at the time. To those who had no other prospect but that of passing their lives in this country, how cheering, how grateful must have been the hope of returning to their families at no very distant period, if not prevented by their own misconduct! There were two in this situation among those placed at the stores, Samuel Burt and William Sutton, both of whom had conducted themselves with the greatest propriety since their conviction, and who beheld with joy the probability that appeared of their being again considered and ranked in the class of honest men and good members of society; estimations that depended wholly upon themselves. As a store-keeper was a person on whom much dependence must necessarily be placed, it being his duty to be constantly present whenever the stores were opened, and with a vigilant eye to observe the conduct of the inferior servants, at the strong recommendation of the officers under whom he had served, Sergeant Thomas Smyth was discharged from the marine detachment, and placed upon the list of superintendants of convicts as a storekeeper. This appointment gave general satisfaction; and the commissary now felt himself, under all these arrangements, more at ease respecting the safety of the stores and provisions under his charge. On the night of the 10th a daring burglary was committed. Mr. Raven, the master of the _Britannia_, occupied a hut on shore, which was broken open and entered about midnight, and from the room in which he was lying asleep, and close to his bedside, his watch and a pair of knee-buckles were stolen; a box was forced open, in which was a valuable timepiece and some money belonging to Mr. Raven, who, fortunately waking in the very moment that the thief was taking it out at the door, prevented his carrying it off. Assistance from the guard came immediately, but too late--the man had got off unseen. In a day or two afterwards, however, Charles Williams, a settler, gave information that a convict named Richard Sutton, the morning after the burglary, had told him that he had stolen and secured the property, which he estimated at sixty pounds, and which he offered to put into his possession for the purpose of sale, first binding him by a horrid ceremony* and oath not to betray him. Williams, on receiving the watch, which proved a metal one, worth only about ten pounds, and the disproportion of which to the value he had expected, probably had induced him to make the discovery, immediately caused him to be taken into custody, and delivered the property to a magistrate, giving at the same time an account how he came by them. All these circumstances were produced in evidence before a criminal court; but the prisoner, proving an _alibi_ that was satisfactory to the court, was acquitted. With the evidence that he produced in his defence it was impossible to convict him; but the court and the auditors were in their consciences persuaded that the prisoner had committed the burglary and theft, and that he intended to have employed Williams to dispose of the property; which the latter had undertaken, and would have performed, had the watch proved to have been a timepiece which the prisoner imagined he had been lucky enough to secure. Williams, had he been put to prove where he was at the very time the house was entered, had people ready to depose that he was on his way by water to his farm near Parramatta. This man had formerly been remarkable for propriety of conduct; but, after he became a settler, gave himself up to idleness and dissipation, and went away from the court in which he had been giving his testimony, much degraded in the opinion of every man who heard him. [* They cut each other on the cheek with their knives.] The _Britannia_ sailed on the 24th for the Cape of Good Hope, Mr. Raven taking with him Governor Phillip's dispatches for England, in which was contained a specific demand for twelve months provisions for the colony, and the wishes as well of those whom he considered as his employers, as of those who were not, for the safe and speedy execution of his commission; as his return to the colony would introduce many articles of comfort which were not to be found in the public stores among the articles issued by government. At Sydney and at Parramatta shops were opened for the sale of the articles of private trade brought out in the _Royal Admiral_. A licence was given for the sale of porter; but, under the cover of this, spirits found their way among the people, and much intoxication was the consequence. Several of the settlers, breaking out from the restraint to which they had been subject, conducted themselves with the greatest impropriety, beating their wives, destroying their stock, trampling on and injuring their crops in the ground, and destroying each other's property. One woman, having claimed the protection of the magistrates, the party complained of, a settler, was bound over to the good behaviour for two years, himself in twenty pounds, and to find two sureties in ten pounds each. Another settler was at the same time set an hour in the stocks for drunkenness. The indulgence which was intended by the governor for their benefit was most shamefully abused; and what he suffered them to purchase with a view to their future comfort, was retailed among themselves at a scandalous profit; several of the settlers houses being at this time literally nothing else but porter-houses, where rioting and drunkenness prevailed as long as the means remained. It was much to be regretted that these people were so blind to their own advantage, most of them sacrificing to the dissipation of the moment what would have afforded them much comfort and convenience, if reserved for refreshment after the fatigue of the day. The only addition made to the weekly ration in consequence of the arrival of the _Royal Admiral_ was an allowance of six ounces of oil to each person; a large quantity, nine thousand two hundred and seventy-eight gallons, having been put on board that ship and the _Kitty_ transport, to be issued in lieu of butter; as an equivalent for which it certainly would have answered well, had it arrived in the state in which it was reported to have been put on board; but it grew rancid on the passage, and was in general made more use of to burn as a substitute for candles, than for any other purposes to which oil might have been applied. Toward the latter end of the month, the convicts received a general serving of clothing, and other necessary articles. To each male were issued two frocks made of coarse and unsubstantial osnaburgs, in which there were seldom found more than three weeks wear; two pairs of trousers made of the same slight materials as the frocks, and open to the same observation as to wear; one pair of yarn stockings; one hat; one pair of shoes; one pound of soap; three needles; a quarter of a pound of thread, and one comb. The females received each one cloth petticoat; one coarse shift; one pair of shoes; one pair of yarn stockings; one pound of soap; a quarter of a pound of thread; two ounces of pins; six needles; one thimble, and one pair of scissors. These articles were supplied by commission; and Mr. Davison, the person employed by government, was limited in the price of each article, which was fixed too low to admit of his furnishing them of the quality absolutely necessary for people who were to labour in this country. The osnaburgs in particular had always been complained of, for it was a fact, that the frocks and trousers made of them were oftener known to have been worn out within a fortnight, than to have lasted three weeks. The month closed with a circumstance that excited no small degree of concern in the settlement: Governor Phillip signified a determination of quitting his government, and returning to England in the _Atlantic_. To this he was induced by perceiving that his health hourly grew worse, and hoping that a change of air might contribute to his recovery. His Excellency had the satisfaction, at the moment that he came to this resolution, of seeing the public grounds wear every appearance of a productive harvest. At Toongabbie, forty-two acres of wheat, sown about the middle of last March, looked as promising as could be wished; the remainder of the wheat, from being sown six weeks later, did not look so fine and abundant, but still held out hopes of an ample return. The Indian corn was all got into the ground, and such of it as was up looked remarkably well. CHAPTER XIX A vessel from America arrives Part of her cargo purchased George Barrington and others emancipated conditionally The _Royal Admiral_ sails Arrival of the _Kitty_ Transport £1001 received by her Hospital built at Parramatta Harvest begun at Toongabbie Ration increased The _Philadelphia_ sails for Norfolk Island State of the cultivation previous to the governor's departure Settlers Governor Phillip sails for England Regulations made by the Lieutenant Governor The _Hope_, an American Ship, arrives Her cargo purchased for the colony The _Chesterfield_ whaler arrives Grant of land to an officer Extreme heat and conflagration Deaths in 1792 Prices of Stock, etc November.] On the 1st of November, about eleven o'clock at night, the _Philadelphia_ brigantine, Mr. Thomas Patrickson master, anchored in the cove from Philadelphia. Lieutenant-governor King, on his passage to this country in the _Gorgon_ in the month of July 1791, had seen Mr. Patrickson at the Cape of Good Hope, and learning at that time from the _Lady Juliana_ and _Neptune_ transports, which had just arrived there from China, that the colony was in great distress for provisions, suggested to him the advantage that might attend his bringing a cargo to this country on speculation. On this hint Captain Patrickson went to England, and thence to Philadelphia, from which place he sailed the beginning of last April with a cargo consisting chiefly of American beef, wine, rum, gin, some tobacco, pitch, and tar. He sailed from Philadelphia with thirteen hands; but, in some very bad weather which he met with after leaving the African shore, his second mate was washed overboard and lost, it blowing too hard to attempt saving him. The governor directed the commissary to purchase such part of the _Philadelphia's_ cargo as he thought was immediately wanting in the colony; and five hundred and sixty-nine barrels of American cured beef, each barrel containing one hundred and ninety-three pounds, and twenty-seven barrels of pitch and tar, were taken into store; the expense of which amounted to £2829 lls. Notwithstanding the great length of time Captain Patrickson had been on his voyage (from the beginning of April to November) his speculation did not prove very disadvantageous to him. A great part of his cargo, that was not taken by government, was disposed of among the officers and others of the settlement; and the governor hired his vessel to take provisions to Norfolk Island, giving him £150 for the run. Captain Patrickson had formed some expectation of disposing of his vessel in this country; but the governor, having received intimation that the _Kitty_ might be detained in the service as long as he found it necessary after her arrival, did not judge it expedient to purchase the vessel. On the 3rd of the month three warrants of emancipation passed the seal of the territory: one to John Trace, a convict who came out in the first fleet; having but three months of his term of transportation remaining, that portion of it was given up to him, that he might become a settler. The second was granted to Thomas Restil (alias Crowder) on the recommendation of the lieutenant-governor of Norfolk Island, on condition that he should not return to England during the term of his natural life, his sentence of transportation being _durante vitae_. The third warrant was made out in favour of one who whatever might have been his conduct when at large in society, had here not only demeaned himself with the strictest propriety, but had rendered essential services to the colony--George Barrington. He came out in the _Active_; on his arrival the governor employed him at Toongabbie, and in a situation which was likely to attract the envy and hatred of the convicts, in proportion as he might be vigilant and inflexible. He was first placed as a subordinate, and shortly after as a principal watchman; in which situation he was diligent, sober, and impartial; and had rendered himself so eminently serviceable, that the governor resolved to draw him from the line of convicts; and, with the instrument of his emancipation, he received a grant of thirty acres of land in an eligible situation near Parramatta.* Here was not only a reward for past good conduct, but an incitement to a continuance of it; and Barrington found himself, through the governor's liberality, though not so absolutely free as to return to England at his own pleasure, yet enjoying the immunities of a free man, a settler, and a civil officer, in whose integrity much confidence was placed. [* He was afterwards sworn in as a peace officer.] On the 13th the _Royal Admiral_ sailed for Canton. Of the private speculation brought out in this ship, they sold at this place and at Parramatta to the amount of £3600 and left articles to be sold on commission to the amount of £750 more. Captain Bond was obliged to leave behind him one of his quartermasters and six sailors, who ran away from the ship. The quartermaster had served in the same capacity on board of the _Sirius_, and immediately after his arrival in England (in the snow) engaged himself with Captain Bond for the whole of the voyage; but a few days before the departure of the ship from this port, he found means to leave her, and, assisted by some of the settlers, concealed himself in the woods until concealment was no longer necessary. On giving himself up, he entered on board the _Atlantic_; but on his declaring that he did not intend returning to England, the governor ordered him into confinement. The sailors were put into one of the longboats, to be employed between this place and Parramatta, until they could be put on board a ship that might convey them hence. It was never desirable that seamen should receive encouragement to run from their ships; they became public nuisances here; the masters of such ships would find themselves obliged to procure convicts at any rate to supply their places; indeed, so many might be shipped or secreted on board, as might render the safety of the vessel very precarious; and as the governor determined to represent the conduct of any master who carried away convicts without his approbation, so he resolved never to deprive them of their seamen. Under this idea, a hut, in which a seaman from the _Royal Admiral_ was found concealed, was pulled down, and two convicts who had been secreted on board that ship were sent up to Toongabbie, as a punishment, as well as to be out of the way of another attempt. On the 18th the _Kitty_ transport anchored in the cove from England, after a circuitous passage of thirty-three weeks, round by the Rio de Janeiro and the Cape of Good Hope. She twice sailed from England. On her first departure, which was in March last, she had on board thirty female and ten male convicts; but being obliged to put back to Spithead, to stop a leak which she sprung in her raft port, eight of her ten male convicts found means to make their escape. This was an unfortunate accident; for they had been particularly selected as men who might be useful in the colony. Of the two who did remain, the one was a brick-maker and the other a joiner. When her cargo was landing, it was found to have suffered considerably by the bad weather she had experienced; the flour in particular, an article which could at no time bear any diminution in this country, was much damaged. The convicts had for a long time been nearly as much distressed for utensils to dress their provisions, as they had been for provisions; and we had now the mortification to find, that of the small supply of iron pots which had been put on board, a great part were either broken or cracked, having been literally stowed among the provision casks in the hold. There arrived in this ship two chests, containing three thousand eight hundred and seventy ounces of silver, in dollars, amounting to £1001. This remittance was sent out for the purpose of paying such sums as were due to the different artificers who had been employed in this country. It was also applied to the payment of the wages due to the superintendants, who had experienced much inconvenience from not receiving their salaries here; and indeed the want of public money had been very much felt by every one in the colony. When the marines, who became settlers before and at the relief of the detachment, were discharged for that purpose, they would have suffered great difficulties from the want of public money to pay what was due to them, had not the commissary taken their respective powers of attorney, and given them notes on himself, payable either in cash, or in articles which might be the means of rendering them comfortable, and of which he had procured a large supply from Calcutta. These notes passed through various hands in traffic among the people of the description they were intended to serve, and became a species of currency which was found very convenient to them. The female convicts who arrived in the _Kitty_, twenty-seven in number, were immediately sent up to Parramatta. Government had put on board the _Kitty_ a naval agent, Lieutenant Daniel Woodriff, for the purpose of seeing that no unnecessary delays were made in the voyage, and that the convicts on board were not oppressed by the master or his people. This officer, on his arrival, stated to the governor his opinion that the master had not made the best of his way, and that he had remained longer in the port of Rio de Janeiro than there could possibly be occasion for. He likewise stated several disagreements which had occurred between him and the master, and in which the latter seemed to think very lightly of the authority of a naval agent on board his ship. There was also on board this ship, on the part of the crown, a medical gentleman who was appointed for the express purpose of attending to such convicts as might be ill during the voyage; so extremely solicitous were the members of Administration to guard against the evils which had befallen the convicts in former passages to this country. At Parramatta a brick hospital, consisting of two wards, was finished this month; and the sick were immediately removed into it. The spot chosen for this building was at some distance from the principal street of the town, and convenient to the water; and, to prevent any improper communication with the other convicts, a space was to be inclosed and paled in round the hospital, in which the sick would have every necessary benefit from air and exercise. At the other settlement they had begun to reap the wheat which was sown in April last; and for want of a granary at that place it was put into stacks. From not being immediately thrashed out, there was no knowing with certainty what the produce of it was; but it had every appearance of turning out well. The ear was long and full, and the straw remarkably good. December.] On the 3rd of this month, the governor, as one of his last acts in the settlement, ordered one pound of flour to be added to the weekly ration, which, by means of this addition, stood on his departure at 3 pounds of flour, 5 pounds of rice, 4 pounds of pork or 7 pounds of beef, 3 pounds of dholl, and 6 ounces of oil. On the 7th the _Philadelphia_ sailed for Norfolk Island, having on board for that settlement Mr. Grimes, the deputy surveyor; Mr. Jamieson who was to superintend the convicts employed there in cultivations; Mr. Peat, the master-carpenter (there being a person* in that situation here of much ability); a convict who came out in the _Royal Admiral_, to be employed as a master-tailor; two Convicts sawyers, and one convict carpenter, the same who came out with his family in the _Kitty_; together with some provisions and stores. His excellency had always attended to this little colony with a parental care; often declaring, that from the peculiarity of its situation he would rather that want should be felt in his own government than in that dependency; and as they would be generally eight or ten weeks later than this colony in receiving their supplies, by reason of the time which the ships necessarily required to refit after coming in from sea, he purposed furnishing them with a proportion of provisions for three months longer than the provisions in store at this place would last: and his excellency took leave of that settlement, by completing, as fully as he was able, this design. [* Mr. Thomas Livingstone, at a salary of £50 per annum.] He was now about taking leave of his own government. The accommodations for his excellency and the officers who were going home in the _Atlantic_ being completed, the detachment of marines under the command of Lieutenant Poulden embarked on the 5th, and at six o'clock in the evening of Monday the 10th Governor Phillip quitted the charge with which he had been entrusted by his Sovereign, and in the execution of which he had manifested a zeal and perseverance that alone could have enabled him to surmount the natural and artificial obstacles which the country and its inhabitants had thrown in his way. The colony had now been established within a few weeks of five years; and a review of what had been done in cultivation under his excellency's direction in that time cannot more properly be introduced than at the close of his government. Previous to the sailing of the _Britannia_ on the 24th of last October, an accurate survey of the whole ground in cultivation, both on account of the crown, and in the possession of individuals, was taken by the surveyor-general, and transmitted to England by that ship; and from the return which he then made, the following particulars were extracted: GROUND IN CULTIVATION, THE 16TH OCTOBER 1792 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Acres Acres Acres Ground Total in in in Garden cleared number wheat barley maize ground of timber of acres ----------------------------------------------------------------------- At Parramatta ¾ 7½ 308 - - 316¼ At and leading to 171½ 14 511 - - 696½ Toongabbie Total public ground 172¼ 21½ 819 - - 1012¾ _Belonging to Settlers and others_ At Parramatta, (1 The governor's garden - ½ 2 (3 vines - 6½ Garden ground belonging to different people, including convicts' gardens - - - 104 - 104 At Parramatta, 1 settler 3 - 18 1 7 29 At Prospect Hill, four miles to the westward of Parramatta, 18 settlers 11¼ - 84 - - 95¼ At the Ponds, two miles to the northeast of Parramatta, 16 settlers 10¼ 2¼ 63 3½ 16½ 95½ At the Northern boundary farms, two miles from Parramatta, 5 settlers 3 - 35 2¾ 11 51¾ At the Field of Mars, on the north shore, near the entrance of the creek leading to Parramatta, 8 settlers, (marines) 4 - 44½ 2 31 81½ At the Eastern farms, 12 settlers - - 40½ - 12½ 53 On the creek leading to Parramatta, 7 settlers 4¾ - 80½ 4 22 111¼ In cultivation by the civil and military at Sydney - - - - 6½ 6½ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 208½ 24¼ 1186½ 121¼ 162½ 1703 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Of the sixty-seven settlers above enumerated, one, James Ruse, who had a grant of thirty acres at Parramatta, went upon his farm the latter end of November 1789; but none of the others began to cultivate ground upon their own accounts earlier than the middle of July 1791; but many of them at a much later date. The eight marine settlers at the Field of Mars took possession of their allotments at the beginning of February 1792. The conditions held out to settlers were, to be victualled and clothed from the public store for eighteen months from the term of their becoming settlers; to be furnished with tools and implements of husbandry; grain to sow their grounds, and such stock as could be spared from the public. They were likewise to have assigned them the services of such a number of convicts as the governor should think proper, on their making it appear that they could employ, feed, and clothe them. Every man had a hut erected on his farm at the public expense. At the time of the governor's departure, many of them, by their own industry, and the assistance he had afforded them, were enabled to have one or two convicts off the store, and employed by them at their farms; and such as were not married were allowed a convict hutkeeper. In general they were not idle, and the major part were comfortably situated. At this time the quantity of land which had passed to settlers* in this territory under the seal of the colony amounted to three thousand four hundred and seventy acres; of which quantity four hundred and seventeen acres and a half were in cultivation, and the timber cleared from one hundred more, ready for sowing; which, compared with the total of the _public ground_ in cultivation (one thousand and twelve acres and three quarters) will be found to be by eleven acres more than equal to one half of it. A striking proof of what some settlers had themselves declared, on its being hinted to them that they had not always been so diligent when labouring for the whole, 'We are now working for ourselves.' One material good was, however, to be expected from a tract of land of that extent being cultivated by individuals, if at any time an accident should happen to the crop on the public ground, they might be a resource, though an inconsiderable one. Fortunately, no misfortune of that nature had ever fallen upon the colony; but it had been, at the beginning of this month, very near experiencing a calamity that would have blasted all the prospects of the next season, and in one moment have rendered ineffectual the labour of many hands and of many months. Two days after the wheat had been reaped, and got off the ground at Toongabbie, the whole of the stubble was burnt. The day on which this happened had been unusually hot, and the country was every where on fire. Had it befallen us while the wheat was upon the ground, nothing could have saved the whole from being destroyed. From this circumstance, however, one good resulted; precautions against a similar accident were immediately taken, by clearing the timber for a certain distance round the cultivated land. [* Some few had been added since the surveyor's return of the 16th October.] The stock belonging to the public was kept at Parramatta. It consisted of three bulls*, two bull calves, fifteen cows, three calves, five stallions, six mares, one hundred and five sheep, and forty-three hogs. [* Two from Calcutta, and one which was calved on board the _Gorgon_.] Of the sheep, the governor gave to each of the married settlers from the convicts, and to each settler from the marines, and from the _Sirius_, one ewe for the purpose of breeding; and to others he gave such female goats as could be spared. This stock had been procured at much expense; and his excellency hoped that the people among whom he left it would see the advantage it might prove to them, and cherish it accordingly. His excellency, at embarking on board the _Atlantic_, was received near the wharf on the east-side, (where his boat was lying), by Major Grose, at the head of the New South Wales corps, who paid him, as he passed, the honors due to his rank and situation in the colony. He was attended by the officers of the civil department, and the three marine officers who were to accompany him to England. At daylight on the morning of the 11th, the _Atlantic_ was got under way, and by eight o'clock was clear of the Heads, standing to the ESE with a fresh breeze at south. By twelve o'clock she had gained a considerable offing. With the governor there embarked, voluntarily and cheerfully, two natives of this country, Bennillong and Yem-mer-ra-wan-nie, two men who were much attached to his person; and who withstood at the moment of their departure the united distress of their wives, and the dismal lamentations of their friends, to accompany him to England, a place that they well knew was at a great distance from them." One or two convicts also who had conducted themselves to his satisfaction, and whose periods of transportation were expired, were permitted by the governor to return to England in the same ship with himself. The _Atlantic_ had likewise on board various specimens of the natural productions of the country, timber, plants, animals, and birds. Among the animals were four fine kangaroos, and several native dogs. The _Atlantic_ had been put into excellent condition for the voyage which she had to perform; she was well found and well manned, and there appeared no reason to doubt her reaching England in six months from her departure. A safe and speedy passage to her was the general wish, not only on account of the governor, whose health and constitution (already much impaired) might suffer greatly by the fatigues of a protracted voyage; but that the information of which his excellency was in possession respecting these settlements, from their establishments to the moment of his quitting them, might as quickly as possible be laid before administration. The government of the colony now devolved, by his Majesty's letters patent under the great seal of Great Britain, upon the lieutenant-governor. This office was filled by the major-commandant of the New South Wales corps, Francis Grose, esq who arrived in February last in the _Pitt_ transport. At his taking upon himself the government, on which occasion the usual oaths were administered by the judge-advocate, he gave out the following order, regulating the mode of carrying on the duty at Parramatta: 'All orders given by the captain who commands at Parramatta, respecting the convicts stationed there, are to be obeyed; and all complaints or reports that would be made to the lieutenant-governor when present, are in his absence to be communicated to captain Foveaux, or such other captain as may be doing duty with the detachment.' The alteration which this order produced, consisted in substituting the military for the civil officer. Before this period, all complaints had been inquired into by the civil magistrate, who, in the governor's absence from Parramatta, punished such slight offences as required immediate cognizance, reporting to the governor from time to time whatever he did; and all orders and directions which regarded the convicts, and all reports which were made respecting them, went through him. The military power had hitherto been considered as requisite only for the protection of the stores, and the discharge of such duties as belonged to their profession, without having any share in the civil direction of the colony*; but as it was provided by his Majesty's commission already spoken of, that, in case, of the death or absence both of the governor and lieutenant-governor of the territory, the officer next in rank on service in the colony should take upon himself and exercise the functions of the governor, until such time as instructions should be received from England; under this idea, the lieutenant-governor issued the above order, placing the captain commanding the detachment of the New South Wales corps at Parramatta, in the direction of the civil duties of that settlement. [* The commanding officer of the corps or regiment serving in the territory excepted, who held likewise the _civil_ appointment of lieutenant-governor.] Similar regulations took place at Sydney, where 'the captain of the day was directed to report to the commanding officer all convict prisoners, stating by whom and on what account they might be confined;' and this order was in a few days after enforced by another, which directed 'that all inquiries by the civil magistrate were in future to be dispensed with, until the lieutenant-governor had given directions on the subject; and the convicts were not on any account to be punished but by his particular order.' At Sydney, it had been usual for the magistrates to take examinations, and make enquiry into offences, either weekly, or as occasion required, and to order such punishment as they thought necessary, always reporting their proceedings to the chief authority. It must be noticed, that at this time the civil magistrates in the colony consisted of the lieutenant-governor and the judge-advocate, who were justices of the peace by virtue of their respective commissions; the Rev. Mr. Johnson; Augustus Alt and Richard Atkins*, Esquires, who had been sworn in as magistrates by authority of the governor. [* This gentleman had been appointed registrar of the court of vice-admiralty by Governor Phillip.] As no inconvenience had ever been experienced in the mode which was practised of conducting the business of the settlement, the necessity or cause of these alterations was not directly obvious, and could not be accounted for from any other motive than that preference which a military man might be supposed to give to carrying on the service by means of his own officers, rather than by any other. On Saturday the 15th the convicts received their provisions according to the ration that was issued before the governor's departure; but on the Monday following, the usual day of serving provisions to the civil and military, a distinction was made, for the first time, in the ration they received; the commissary being directed to issue to the officers of the civil and military departments, the soldiers, superintendants, watchmen, overseers, and settlers from the marines, six pounds of flour, and but two pounds of rice per man, per week, instead of three pounds of flour, and five pounds of rice, which was the allowance of the convicts. This distinction was intended to be discontinued whenever the full ration could be served. The stock which had been distributed among the married settlers and others by Governor Phillip for the purpose of breeding from (as has been already observed) appeared to have been thrown away upon them when viewed as a breeding stock for settlers. No sooner had the _Atlantic_ sailed, than the major part of them were offered for sale; and there was little doubt (many of their owners making no scruple to publish their intentions) that had they not been bought by the officers, in a very few weeks many of them would have been destroyed. By this conduct, as far as their individual benefit was concerned, they had put it out of their own power to reap any advantage from the governor's bounty to them; but the stock by this means was saved, and had fallen into hands that certainly would not wantonly destroy it. There were a few among the settlers who exchanged their sheep for goats, deeming them a more profitable stock; but, in general, spirits were the price required by the more ignorant and imprudent part of them; and several of their farms, which had been, and ought to have always been, the peaceful retreats of industry, were for a time the seats of inebriety and consequent disorder. About this time there anchored in the cove an American ship, the _Hope_, commanded by a Mr. Benjamin Page, from Rhode island, with a small cargo of provisions and spirits for sale. The cause of his putting into this harbour, the master declared, was for the purpose of procuring wood and water, of which he stated his ship to be much in want; thus making the sale of his cargo appear to be but a secondary object with him. As the colony had not yet seen the day when it could have independently said, 'We are not in want of provisions; procure your wood and your water, and go your way,' the lieutenant-governor directed the commissary to purchase such part of his cargo as the colony stood in need of; and two hundred barrels of American cured beef, at four pounds per barrel; eighty barrels of pork, at four pounds ten shillings per barrel; forty-four barrels of flour, at two pounds per barrel; and seven thousand five hundred and ninety-seven gallons of (new American) spirits at four shillings and sixpence per gallon, were purchased; amounting in all to the sum of £2957 6s 6d. This ship had touched at the Falkland Islands for the purpose of collecting skins from the different vessels employed in the seal trade from the United States of America, with which she was to proceed to the China market. From the Cape of Good Hope her passage had been performed in two months and one day. The master said, he found the prevailing winds were from the NW and described the weather as the most boisterous he had ever known for such a length of time. By one sea, his caboose was washed over the side, and one of his people going with it was drowned. He observed, when about the South-cape of this country, that the weather was clear; but after passing the latitude of the Maria Islands, he found it close, hazy, and heated, and had every appearance of thick smoke. About that time we had the same sort of weather here; and the excessive heats which at other times have been experienced in the settlements have been also noticed at sea when at some distance from the land. By this ship we were not fortunate enough to receive any European news. The master saw only one English ship at the Cape, the _Chesterfield_ whaler, commanded by a Mr. Alt, who had formerly been a midshipman in his Majesty's ship _Sirius_, and who went home on board of the _Neptune_ transport." In a few days after the arrival of the _Hope_, the signal was again made at the South Head, and in a few hours the _Chesterfield_, the ship just mentioned to us by the American, anchored in the cove. She sailed from the Cape of Good Hope shortly after Mr. Page; and the master said he touched at Kerguelan's Land, where, some other ship having very recently preceded him (which he judged from finding several sea elephants dead on the beach, and a club which is used in killing them) he remained but a short time, having very bad weather. He supposed the ship which preceded him to have been the first which had visited those desolate islands since Captain Cook had been there, as he found the fragments of the bottle in which that officer had deposited a memorial of his having examined them. This was conjecture and might be erroneous, as the mere pieces of the bottle afforded no proof that it had been recently broken. Mr. Alt spoke of meeting with very bad weather, and of his ship having thereby suffered such injury, that he was compelled on the representation of his people to put in here for the purpose of getting repairs. Indeed her appearance very amply justified their representations; and it was a wonder how she had swam so far, for her complaints must have been of very long standing. To expedite the building of the new barracks, which formed the most material labour at Sydney, two overseers and forty men were sent down from Parramatta. One barrack being now completed, towards the latter end of the month it was occupied by Captain George Johnston, a party-wall having been thrown down adapting the building to the accommodation of one instead of two officers. On the last day of the month, two warrants of emancipation passed the seal of the territory, together with a grant of twenty-five acres of land to Ensign Cummings of the New South Wales corps. In the instructions for granting lands in this country, no mention of officers had yet been made; it was however fairly presumed that the officers could not be intended to be precluded from the participation of any advantages which the crown might have to bestow in the settlements; particularly as the greatest in its gift, the free possession of land, was held out to people who had forfeited their lives before they came into the country. Among the regulations which took place at Sydney, must be noticed the dispensing with the officer's guard which had always mounted there; and the changing the hours of labour. The convicts now had more time given to them, for the purpose not only of avoiding the heat of the day, but of making themselves comfortable at home. They were directed to work from five in the morning until nine; rest until four in the afternoon, and then labour until sun-set. The _Kitty_, having delivered her cargo, began to prepare for taking some stores and provisions and a detachment of the New South Wales corps to Norfolk Island. The weather during this month was very hot. The 5th was a day most excessively sultry. The wind blew strong from the northward of west; the country, to add to the intense heat of the atmosphere, was everywhere on fire. At Sydney, the grass at the back of the hill on the west side of the cove, having either caught or been set on fire by the natives, the flames, aided by the wind which at that time blew violently, spread and raged with incredible fury. One house was burnt down, several gardens with their fences were destroyed; and the whole face of the hill was on fire, threatening every thatched hut with destruction. The conflagration was with much difficulty (notwithstanding the exertions of the military) got under, after some time, and prevented from doing any further mischief. At different times during this uncomfortable day distant thunder was heard, the air darkened, and some few large drops of rain fell. The apparent danger from the fires drew all persons out of their houses; and on going into the parching air, it was scarcely possible to breathe; the heat was insupportable; vegetation seemed to suffer much, the leaves of many culinary plants being reduced to a powder. The thermometer in the shade rose above one hundred degrees. Some rain falling toward evening, the excessive heat abated. At Parramatta and Toongabbie also the heat was extreme; the country there too was every where in flames. Mr. Arndell was a great sufferer by it. The fire had spread to his farm; but by the efforts of his own people and the neighbouring settlers it was got under, and its progress supposed to be effectually checked, when an unlucky spark from a tree, which had been on fire to the topmost branch, flying upon the thatch of the hut where his people lived, it blazed out; the hut with all the out-buildings, and thirty bushels of wheat just got into a stack, were in a few minutes destroyed. The erecting of the hut and out-houses had cost £15 a short time before. The day preceding that of the excessive heat, James Castles, an industrious and thriving settler at Prospect Hill, had his hut accidentally burnt down, with all his comforts, and three bushels of wheat which he had just reaped. The governor ordered his hut to be rebuilt, and every assistance given which the stores afforded to repair his loss. There died between the 1st of January and 31st of December 1792, two of the civil department, six soldiers, four hundred and eighteen male convicts, eighteen female convicts, and twenty-nine children; one male convict was executed; and three male convicts were lost in the woods; making a decrease by death of four hundred and eighty-two persons. The following were the prices of stock, grain, and other articles, as they were sold at Sydney, and at Parramatta, at the close of the year: AT SYDNEY Maize per lb. 3d Rice per lb 3d Peas or dholl from 1½d to 2d per lb. Flour 9d per lb. Potatoes 3d per lb. Sheep £10 10s each. Milch goats from £8 8s to £10 10s Kids from £2 10s to £4 Breeding sows from £6 6s to £7 7s and £10 10s Young ditto from £3 to £4 Laying hens 10s Full grown fowls from 5s to 7s 6d Chickens 1s 6d Fresh pork per lb 1s Prime salt pork from 6d to 8d Salt beef 4d Eggs per dozen from 2s to 3s Moist sugar per lb 1s 6d Tea from 8s to 16s Soap 1s Butter from 1s 6d to 2s Cheese from 1s 6d to 2s Hams from 1s 6d to 2s Bacon from 1s 6d to 2s AT PARRAMATTA Maize per lb. 3d Rice per lb. 3d Peas or dholl 2d per lb. Flour 6d per lb Potatoes 2d per lb Sheep £10 10s each Milch goats from £5 5s to £10 Breeding sows from £6 6s to £10 10s Pigs of a month old 12s Laying hens from 7s to 10s Full grown fowls from 7s to 10s Chickens 1s 6d Fresh pork per lb 1s Prime salt pork 6d Salt beef 4d Eggs per dozen 2s Moist sugar per lb 1s 6d Tea from 6s to 16s Soap 1s Coffee 2s Tobacco, American Brazil, 4s Tobacco of the colony 2s The price of fish and vegetables varied from day to day; spirits in exchange were estimated at from twelve to twenty shillings per gallon; porter was sold from nine to ten pounds per hogshead, or from one shilling to one shilling and three pence per quart. It did not appear that the settlers had brought any new wheat or other grain to market. CHAPTER XX Order respecting spirits Seamen punished Convicts enlisted into the new corps Regulations respecting Divine Service The _Hope_ sails The _Bellona_ arrives Cargo damaged Information Two women and a child drowned The _Kitty_ sails for Norfolk Island Ration An Officer sent up to inspect the cultivation at Parramatta A theft committed Works Kangaroo Ground opened Settlers Liberty Plains Conditions _Bellona_ sails Transactions The _Shah Hormuzear_ from Calcutta arrives Information received by her The dholl expended Sickness and death occasioned by the American spirits The _Chesterfield_ sent to Norfolk Island Convicts sell their clothing Two Spanish ships arrive Information Epitaph A Criminal Court The _Kitty_ returns from Norfolk Island Fraud at the store at Parramatta 1793.] January.] The lieutenant-governor having directed the commissary to dispose of the spirits purchased from the American to the military and civil officers of the colony, in which were included the superintendants, and some others in that line, it was found that it had been purchased by many individuals of the latter description with the particular view of retailing it among the convicts. He therefore found it necessary to declare in public orders, 'That it was his intention to make frequent inquiries on the subject; and it might be relied upon, that if it ever appeared that a convict was possessed of any of the liquor so supplied by the commissary, the conduct of those who had thought proper to abuse what was designed as an accommodation to the officers of the garrison, would not be passed over unnoticed.' Some such order had indeed become very necessary; for the American spirit had by some means or other found its way among the convicts; and, a discreet use of it being wholly out of the question with those people, intoxication was become common among them. The free use of spirits had been hitherto most rigidly prohibited in the colony; that is to say, it was absolutely forbidden to the convicts. It might therefore have been expected, that when that restraint was in ever so small a degree removed, they would break out into acts of disorder and contempt of former prohibitions. It was therefore indispensable to the preservation of peace and good order in the settlement, to prevent, if possible, the existence of so great an evil as drunkenness; which, if suffered, would have been the parent of every irregularity. The fondness expressed by these people for even this pernicious American spirit was incredible; they hesitated not to go any lengths to procure it, and preferred receiving liquor for labour, to every other article of provisions or clothing that could be offered them. The master of the _Kitty_ having represented to the lieutenant-governor that the conduct of his ship's company was at times so irregular and mutinous (some of them refusing to do their duty, going on shore and taking boats from the ship without permission) that he found it impossible to carry on the business of the ship, unless he could receive some assistance from the civil authority, the lieutenant-governor directed one, of whom the master particularly complained, Benjamin Williams, to receive one hundred lashes, and another, Adams, to receive twenty-five lashes. This in some measure checked the spirit of disobedience in the ship, and the duty was carried on better than before. Her preparations for Norfolk Island however went on but slowly, four or five of her hands having left her. These, together with some other seamen who had been left behind from the _Royal Admiral_, were either employed in the public boats belonging to the colony, or had entered into the New South Wales corps; into which corps also several convicts of good character had been lately received, to complete the company that had been formed from the marines under the command of Captain Johnston. This company was a valuable addition, being composed of many excellent soldiers from the marines; who entered into it voluntarily, and whose conduct had met the entire approbation of their officers. On the departure of the governor, the house that he had lived in was taken possession of by the oldest captain of the corps, his apartments in the officers quarters being confined, and tumbling to pieces. Divine service was now performed at six o'clock in the morning. For want of a building dedicated to that purpose, many inconveniences were suffered, as well by the clergyman as by those who attended him. The lieutenant-governor therefore did not require the ceremony to be performed more than once a day; and that the health of the convicts might not be injured from the heat of the sun, which at this season of the year was excessive, he directed the church call to be beat at a quarter before six in the morning. The overseers were enjoined to be particularly careful to collect as many of their gangs to attend Mr. Johnson as could conveniently be brought together; for, although it was not wished that the huts should be left without proper persons to look after them, it was nevertheless expected, that no idle excuses should keep the convicts from attending divine service. On the 10th the _Hope_ sailed for Canton, the master having been allowed to ship three convicts, whose sentences of transportation had expired; viz Murphy, a sail-maker; Sheppard, a joiner; and Bateman, a lad who had been employed as an attendant on an officer. At six o'clock in the evening of Tuesday the 15th, the signal which always gave satisfaction in the colony was made at the South Head; several boats went down, but when night closed it was only known that a ship was off. A large fire for the information of the stranger was made at the South Head; and at about ten o'clock the following morning, the _Bellona_ transport, Mr. Mathew Boyd commander, anchored in the cove from England; from which place she sailed on the 8th day of August last, having on board a cargo of stores and provisions for the colony; seventeen female convicts; five settlers, and their families; Thorpe, a person engaged as a master millwright at a salary of £100 per annum; and Walter Broady, who returned to New South Wales to be employed in his former capacity of master blacksmith. The quaker families which had been expected for some time past had engaged to take their passage in the _Bellona_; but it was said, that they had been diverted from their purpose by some misrepresentations which had been made to them respecting this country. Among other articles now received were five pipes of port wine and a quantity of rum, which were consigned to the governor for the purpose of being sold to the officers of the civil and military establishments at prime cost; and three thousand pounds of tobacco for the use of the soldiers of the garrison and others. The shameful impositions which had been practised by many who had brought out articles for sale in the colony, and the advantage which had been taken in too many instances of our necessities, had been properly stated at home, and this measure had been adopted by Government for our accommodation. The wine was immediately distributed; coming to the officer, after every expense of wharfage, etc. at £19 10s per hogshead, and the rum at five shillings per gallon. The tobacco was likely to remain for some time undisposed of, as a quantity had been lately brought into the settlement, and was selling at a lower price than could be taken for that imported by this ship; and tobacco formed a material article of the different investments in the _Britannia_. With great pleasure we also found that Government, in consequence of the representations of Governor Phillip, had directed a strong substantial Russia duck to be substituted for the slight unserviceable Osnaburgs with which the convicts had been hitherto supplied. We learned by the _Bellona_, that his Majesty's ship _Gorgon_ arrived at Spithead on the 19th of June last. In her passage, which she made by Cape Horn, on the 18th of February last, being in the latitude of 51 degrees 30 minutes S and longitude 34 degrees 07 minutes W variation 13 degrees 37 minutes E she fell in with twenty-nine islands of ice. When the ship reached within three or four miles of the first of these islands, they observed one compact body, without the smallest appearance of any opening, bearing from NNE to WNW and which with some difficulty, being embayed*, they were enabled to clear, by hauling the ship from N to WSW. This was done at ten in the forenoon; they did not reach the extreme western point of the ice until five in the evening; and from the rate at which the ship sailed, from her coming up with the first island of ice, until she cleared the north-west point of the field abovementioned, it was computed that she had run full twenty leagues. [* When near this great body of ice, the thermometer was as low as thirty-six degrees; and it rose from that point, as she drew off, to forty degrees.] It must be remarked, that the _Sirius_, in the month of December 1788, saw several islands of ice in nearly the same latitude and longitude. At the Cape of Good Hope Captain Parker had met with Captain Edwards of the _Pandora_, who delivered to him Mary Braud, the widow of Bryant, who escaped to Timor in the fishing cutter, with one of the children, and only four of the male convicts who accompanied Bryant in his flight. Bryant died at Batavia, with the other child, and two of his companions; one of them, James Cox, was said to be drowned in the Straits of Sunda. On their arrival in England the story of their sufferings in the boat excited much compassion; and, before the _Bellona_ sailed, they had been brought up to the bar of the Old Bailey, and ordered by the court to remain in Newgate until the period of their original sentence of transportation should expire, there to finish their unsuccessful attempts to regain their liberty. While the cargo of the _Bellona_ was landing much of it was found to be damaged; the ship had been overloaded, and had met with very boisterous weather on her passage. This practice of crowding too much into one ship had in many instances been very prejudicial to the colony; in the present instance, of the Russia duck, which was excellent in its kind, and which had cost the sum of £6636 0s 9d; sixty-eight bales, containing thirteen thousand one hundred and forty-eight yards, were damaged; sixty-nine casks of flour also were found to be much injured. Of seventy-six hogsheads of molasses, eleven hundred and seventy-two gallons were found to have leaked out; one cask of pork was stinking and rotten; seventy-nine gallons of rum, and one hundred and ninety-eight gallons of wine, were deficient, owing to improper stowage; three hundred and thirty-five hammocks, thirteen rugs, five hundred and twenty-seven yards of brown cloths, and one case of stationary, were rendered totally unfit for use. Of the articles thus found to be unserviceable to the colony, there was not one which in its proper state would not have been valuable; and when the expense attending their conveyance, the risk of the passage, the inconvenience that must be felt from the want of every damaged article, and the impossibility of getting them replaced for a great length of time, were considered, it was difficult to ascertain their precise value. Among the occurrences of this month one appears to deserve particular notice. On Friday the 18th, Eleanor McCave, the wife of Charles Williams, the settler, was drowned, together with an infant child, and a woman of the name of Green. These unfortunate people had been drinking and revelling with Williams the husband and others at Sydney, and were proceeding to Parramatta in a small boat, in which was a bag of rice belonging to Green. The boat heeling considerably, and some water getting at the bag, by a movement of Green's to save her rice the boat overset near Breakfast Point, and the two women and the child were drowned. If assistance could have been obtained upon the spot, the child might have been saved; for it was forced from the wretched mother's grasp just before she finally sunk, and brought on shore by the father; but for want of medical aid it expired. The parents of this child were noted in the colony for the general immorality of their conduct; they had been rioting and fighting with each other the moment before they got into the boat; and it was said, that the woman had imprecated every evil to befal her and the infant she carried about her (for she was six months gone with child) if she accompanied her husband to Parramatta. The bodies of these two unfortunate women were found a few days afterwards, when the wretched and rascally Williams buried his wife and child within a very few feet of his own door. The profligacy of this man indeed manifested itself in a strange manner: a short time after he had thus buried his wife, he was seen sitting at his door, with a bottle of rum in his hand, and actually drinking one glass and pouring another on her grave until it was emptied, prefacing every libation by declaring how well she had loved it during her life. He appeared to be in a state not far from insanity, as this anecdote certainly testifies; but the melancholy event had not had any other effect upon his mind. The _Kitty_ transport being ready for sea, on Sunday the 20th two subalterns, three sergeants, three corporals, one drummer, and sixty privates, of the New South Wales corps, were embarked, for the purpose of relieving the detachment from that corps now on duty at Norfolk Island under the command of a captain, who received orders to return to this settlement. On board of this ship were also embarked, Mr. Clarke, the deputy-commissary for Norfolk Island; Mr. Peate, the master carpenter, who came out in the _Royal Admiral_; two coopers; two tailors; two officers' servants; John Chapman Morris, Benjamin Ingram (pursuant to the conditional pardon which he received from Governor Phillip), and a few women: and on the 25th she sailed. On Saturday the 26th, the rice being expended, the convicts received three pounds of flour, and the civil and military one pound of flour in addition to the former allowance. In the course of this month the lieutenant-governor judged it necessary to send an officer to Parramatta, whom he could entrust with the direction of the convicts employed there and at Toongabbie in cultivation, as well as to take charge of the public grain. This business had always been executed by one of the superintendants, under the immediate inspection and orders of the governor, who latterly had dedicated the greatest part of his time and attention to these settlements. But it was attended with infinite fatigue to his excellency; and the business had now grown so extensive, that it became absolutely necessary that the person who might have the regulation of it should reside upon the spot, that he might personally enforce the execution of his orders, and be at all times ready to attend to the various applications which were constantly making from settlers. The lieutenant-governor, therefore (his presence being required at Sydney, the head-quarters of his regiment, and the seat of the government of the country) deputed this trust to Lieutenant John Macarthur, of the New South Wales corps; the superintendants, storekeepers, overseers, and convicts at the two settlements, being placed under his immediate inspection. Charles Gray, a man who had rendered himself notorious in the registers of this colony by repeated acts of villainy, exhibited himself again to public view at the close of this month, and at a time when every one thought him a reclaimed man. He had been sent to Norfolk Island as a place where he would have fewer opportunities of exercising his predatory abilities than at Sydney; but the law having spent its force against him, he returned to this settlement as a free man in September last. On his declaring that he was able to provide for himself, he was allowed to work for his own support, and for some time past he had cut wood and drawn water for a drummer in the New South Wales corps, a man who, by much self-denial and economy, had got together and laid up thirty-three guineas, for the prudent and laudable purpose of hereafter apprenticing his children; but having unfortunately and most indiscreetly suffered this man to know, not only that he had such a sum, but where he kept it, Gray availed himself of a convenient opportunity, and carried off the whole sum, together with a shirt which lay in his way. On being taken up (for suspicion was directly fixed on him) he readily acknowledged the theft, and either was, or pretended to be, very much in liquor. On being urged to restore the property, he sent the watchmen to search for it in different places, but without directing them to the spot where he had concealed it. At last he was taken out himself, when accidentally meeting the lieutenant-governor he threw himself on the ground, pretending to be in a fit; on which he was directly ordered to be tied up and punished with one hundred lashes. After this he would not make any discovery, and was sent to the hospital. The drummer who had suffered so materially by this wretch, although the object of pity, yet, knowing as he must have done the character of the man, was certainly entitled to no small degree of blame for trusting with a secret of such importance to his family a man who he must have known could not have withstood so great a temptation. The lieutenant-governor proposing to open and cultivate the ground commonly known by the name of the Kangaroo Ground, situate to the westward of the town of Sydney between that settlement and Parramatta, a gang of convicts was sent from the latter place for that purpose. The soil here was much better for agriculture than that immediately adjoining to the town of Sydney, and the ground lay well for cultivation; but it had hitherto been neglected, from its being deficient in the very essential requisite of water; on which account Parramatta had been preferred to it. The eligibility of cultivating it was however now going to be tried; and, permission having been received by the _Bellona_ to grant lands to those officers who might desire it, provided the situations of the allotments were such as might be advantageous to _bona fide_ settlers hereafter, if they ever should fall into such hands, several officers chose this as the spot which they would cultivate, and allotments of one hundred acres each were marked out for the clergyman (who, to obtain a grant here, relinquished his right to cultivate the land allotted for the maintenance of a minister), for the principal surgeon, and for two officers of the corps. February.] The settlers who came out in the _Bellona_ having fixed on a situation at the upper part of the harbour above the Flats, and on the south side, their different allotments were surveyed and marked out; and early in this month they took possession of their grounds. Being all free people, one convict excepted, who was allowed to settle with them, they gave the appellation of '_Liberty Plains_' to the district in which their farms were situated. The most respectable of these people, and apparently the best calculated for a _bona fide_ settler, was Thomas Rose, a farmer from Dorsetshire, who came out with his family, consisting of his wife and four children. An allotment of one hundred and twenty acres was marked out for him. With him came also Frederic Meredith, who formerly belonged to the _Sirius_, Thomas Webb, who also belonged to the _Sirius_, with his nephew, and Edward Powell, who had formerly been here in the _Lady Juliana_ transport. Powell having since his arrival married a free woman, who came out with the farmer's family, and Webb having brought a wife with him, had allotments of eighty acres marked out for each; the others had sixty each. The conditions under which they engaged to settle were, 'To have their passages provided by government*; an assortment of tools and implements to be furnished them out of the public stores; to be supplied with two years' provisions; their lands to be granted free of expense; the service of convicts also to be assigned them free of expense; and those convicts whose services might be assigned them to be supplied with two years' rations and one year's clothing.' The convict who settled with them (Walter Rouse, an industrious quiet man) came out in the first fleet, and being a bricklayer by trade they thought he might be of some service to them in constructing their huts. He had an allotment of thirty acres marked out for him. [* Government paid for each person above ten years of age the sum of eight pounds eight shillings; and allowed one shilling _per diem_ for victualling them; and sixpence _per diem_ for every one under that age.] Many more officers availed themselves of the assent given by government to their occupying land, and fixed, some at Parramatta and others in different parts of the harbour, where they thought the ground most likely to turn out to their convenience and advantage. They began their settlements in high spirits; the necessary tools and implements of husbandry were furnished to them from the stores; and they were allowed each the use of ten convicts. From their exertions the lieutenant-governor was sanguine in his hopes of being enabled to increase considerably the cultivation of the country; they appeared indeed to enter vigorously into these views, and not being restrained from paying for labour with spirits, they got a great deal of work done at their several farms (on those days when the convicts did not work for the public) by hiring the different gangs; the great labour of burning the timber after it was cut down requiring some such extra aid. On the 5th of the month the _Bellona_ was discharged from government employ. Twenty-one days were allowed for the delivery of her cargo; but, by taking off the people from the brick carts, and from some other works, she was cleared within the time. This ship was of four hundred and fifty-four tons burden, and was paid by government at the rate of four pounds four shillings per ton per month. A clause was inserted in the charter-party, forbidding the master to receive any person from the colony, without the express consent and order of the governor. The governor was also empowered to take her up for the purposes of the colony should he want her; but as the _Daedalus_ was expected, and the _Kitty_ was already here, both in the service of government, it was not necessary to detain her, and she sailed on the 19th for Canton. The master having been permitted to receive on board two convicts (the number he requested) whose terms of transportation had expired, consented to his ship being smoked, when four people were found secreted on board, two of whom had not yet served the full periods of their sentences. To prevent this ship's coming on demurrage while her cargo was delivering, the convicts worked in their own hours, as well as those allotted to the public, under a promise of having the extra time allowed them at a future day. While this labour was in hand, the building of the barracks stood still for want of materials; it therefore became necessary, when the brick carts could again be manned, to lose no time in bringing in a sufficient number of bricks to employ the bricklayers. This having performed, they claimed their extra time, which now amounted to sixteen days. As it would have proved very inconvenient to have allowed them to remain unemployed for that number of days, the lieutenant-governor directed the commissary to issue to each person so employed half a pint of spirits _per diem_ for sixteen days. Liquor given to them in this way operated as a benefit and a comfort to them: it was the intemperate use of spirits, procured at the expense of their clothing or their provisions, which was to be guarded against, and which operated as a serious evil. For want of sufficient store-room, it was found necessary to stow a great part of the wet provisions and flour arrived by the _Bellona_ in tiers before the provision-store. Care was taken to shelter them from the sun and from the weather; and when the pile was completed, it was, until the eye was accustomed to the sight, an object of novelty and wonder; it never having occurred to us since we first built a store, to have more provisions than our stores could contain. Gray, who had recovered from his last punishment, being now again urged to discover what he had done with the drummer's money, trifled until he was again punished, and then declared he had buried it in the man's garden; but being taken to the spot he could not find it, and in fact did not seem to know where to look for it. It was supposed, that, being in liquor when he committed the robbery, he was ignorant how he had disposed of the property, or that it had fallen into the hands of some person too dishonest to give it to the right owner. He was afterwards sent to the hospital, whence he made his escape into the woods. On the evening of Sunday the 24th the signal was made at the South Head, a short time before dark, but too late to be observed at the settlement; at nine o'clock, however, information was received by the boat belonging to the South Head, that a ship from Calcutta was at anchor in the lower part of the harbour. In the morning she worked up, and anchored just without the cove. She proved to be the _Shah Hormuzear_, of about four hundred tons burden, commanded by Mr. Matthew Wright Bampton, from Calcutta, who had embarked some property on a private speculation for this country. Mr. Bampton, in September last, had sailed from Bombay, with a cargo of provisions and stock for this settlement; but when near the Line, his ship springing a leak, he was obliged to return, and got to Bengal, where, with the sanction of Lord Cornwallis, he took on board a fresh cargo for the colony. At Bengal he had met with Captain Manning, who sailed from hence in the _Pitt_ in April last, and who mentioned to him such articles as he thought were most wanted in these settlements. Mr. Bampton had on board when he sailed, one bull, twenty-four cows, two hundred and twenty sheep, one hundred and thirty goats, five horses, and six asses; together with a quantity of beef, flour, rice, wheat, gram, paddy, and sugar; a few pipes of wine, some flat iron, and copper sufficient for the sloop's bottom which had been received in frame by the _Pitt_, and which Captain Manning remembered to have been sent out without that necessary article; a large quantity of spirits, and some canvas. In the article of stock, however, Mr. Bampton had been very unfortunate. His cattle died; of the sheep more than half perished; one horse and three asses died; and very few of the goats survived the voyage, a voyage by no means a long one, having been performed in eight weeks wanting three days, and in good weather. This mortality evidently did not proceed from any want of proper care, but was to be ascribed to their having been embarked immediately on being taken from the fields, and consequently wanting that stamina which a sea-voyage required. The cattle that survived was purchased by the different officers of the colony, while the other part of the cargo, the spirits and canvas excepted, were taken by government. The amount of the whole purchased by government was £9603 5s 6d; for although a supply of provisions had been lately received from England, it was but a small one, and we were not yet in possession of that plenty which would have warranted our rejecting a cargo of provisions, particularly when brought on speculation. The hour of distress might again arrive, and occasions might occur that would excite a wish, perhaps in vain, for a cargo of provisions from Bengal. In addition to these reasons, it must be remarked, that the different articles which were purchased were of the best quality, and offered on reasonable terms. By this ship we received information, that the _Queen_ transport had arrived safe at Bombay; but it was much feared that the _Admiral Barrington_, which sailed in company with the _Queen_ from this place on the 6th of January 1792, was lost, as no accounts had been received of her at any port in India, a considerable time after her arrival at Bombay from Batavia might reasonably have been expected. There arrived in the _Chesterfield_ a person who had been a convict in this country, but who had been allowed to take his passage on board the _Admiral Barrington_. This man quitted the _Admiral Barrington_ at Batavia, and got to the Cape in a Dutch ship, where meeting with Mr. Alt, he embarked with him, and by the accident which brought the _Chesterfield_ hither returned to this colony. On his arrival here, he circulated a report, that several of the convicts who had got on board of these two ships had been landed by order of the masters at an island which they met with in their passage to Batavia, inhabited indeed, but by savages; and that those who remained experienced such inhuman treatment, that they were glad to run away from them at the first port where any civilised people were to be found. He was himself among this number, and now declared that he was ready to make oath to the truth of his relation if it should be required. If there was any truth in his account, and the masters of these ships did actually turn any people on shore in the manner already described, it was more than probable that an act of such apparent cruelty had been occasioned by some attempt of the convicts to take the ships from them; and the numbers which were supposed to have been on board (seventeen) rather justified the supposition. Captain Manning, of the _Pitt_, who had taken from this settlement twenty men and nine women, found them so useless and troublesome, that he was very glad to leave the greatest part of them at Batavia*, and now declared that he regretted ever having received them on board. When these circumstances should be made public, it was thought that the masters of ships would not be so desirous of recruiting their ships' companies from among the inhabitants of this colony. [* At that grave of Europeans the _Pitt_ lost eighteen of her people.] The grain called dholl, which had been issued as part of the ration at the rate of three pints per man per week since the arrival of the _Atlantic_, was discontinued on the 25th, the whole of that article having been served out. It had been found useful for stock. At Toongabbie the workmen were now employed in constructing a barn and granary upon a very extensive scale. Among the females who died this month was one, a stout healthy young woman, of the name of Martha Todd, who came out in the _Mary Ann_, and fell a victim to a dysenteric complaint, which seized her after drinking too freely of the pernicious spirits which had been lately introduced into the colony. The same fate attended James Hatfield, a man who had been looked upon as a sober good character. He was on the point of obtaining a grant of land, and came from Parramatta to Sydney for the purpose of speaking about his allotment, when, unfortunately, he met with some of his friends, and partaking intemperately of the American rum, he was seized with a dysentery, which carried him off in a few days. In this way many others were affected after drinking, through want of a sufficient stamina to overcome the effect of the spirit. March.] The repairs of the _Chesterfield_ having been completed, she was on the point of proceeding to sea, when the lieutenant-governor proposed to the master for the sum of £120 to take on board a freight of provisions for Norfolk Island; which he consenting to, she was hauled alongside the ship from Bengal, and a certain proportion of grain was put into her; after which, such salt provisions and stores as were intended to be conveyed by her were sent from the colony, and on the 10th she sailed for Norfolk Island. In lieu of the three pints of dholl, which were now discontinued, an additional pound of flour was served; the civil and military receiving eight pounds, and the convicts seven pounds of flour per week, from the 9th; and in order to make a little room in the store, and that the officers might be accommodated with a better kind of flour, they were permitted to receive from the commissary two casks of American flour each, which were to be deducted from their ration. The ship from Bengal, which was manned with Lascars, had no sooner hauled into the cove, and opened a communication with the shore, than a practice commenced among the convicts of disposing of the slops and blankets which they had lately received to the Lascars, who, trembling with the cold even of this climate, very readily availed themselves of their propensity to part with them; which was so great, that it became necessary to punish with severity such offenders as were detected. On Tuesday the 12th the signal was made at the South Head, and by the noon of the following day two Spanish ships anchored in the lower part of the harbour. An officer from one of them arriving at the settlement, we learned that they were the two ships of whose expected arrival information had been received from government in the year 1790; and to whom it was recommended that every attention should be paid. They were named the _Descuvierta_ and _Atrevida_ (the _Discovery_ and the _Intrepid_); the former commanded by Don Alexandro Malaspina, with a broad pendant as the commander of the expedition, and the latter by Don Jose de Bustamante y Guerra. They had been three years and a half from Europe on a voyage of discovery and information; and were now arrived from Manilla, after a passage of ninety-six days; touching in their way hither at Dusky Bay in New Zealand, from which they had sailed about a fortnight. On their coming up, they anchored just abreast of the two points which form Sydney Cove, declining saluting, as it was not in our power to return it. These ships were of three hundred and five tons burden each, and were built for the particular voyage on which they were sent. Great care was observable in their construction, both as to the strength of the vessels and the accommodation of the officers and the equipage. They were well manned, and had, beside the officers customary in king's ships, a botanist and limner on board each vessel. They had visited all the Spanish possessions in South America and other parts of the world, ascertaining with precision their boundaries and situations; gaining much information respecting their customs and manners, their importance with regard to the mother country, their various productions commercial, agricultural, botanical, and mineral. For all which purposes the officers on board appeared to have been selected with the happiest success. They most forcibly reminded us of the unfortunate Count de la Perouse and his followers, of whom these gentlemen had only heard that they were no more; and for whose destiny they expressed a feeling arising from their having traversed the ocean in the same pursuit, and followed in the same path. Equally sincere and polite as Count de la Perouse, the Spanish commodore paid a tribute to the abilities and memory of our circumnavigator Cook, in whose steps the Chevalier Malaspina, who was an Italian marquis and a knight of Malta, declared it was a pleasure to follow, as it left him nothing to attend to, but to remark the accuracy of his observations. They lost at the island of Luconia Don Antonio Pineda, a colonel of the Spanish guards, who was charged with that department of the expedition which respected the natural history of the places they visited. They spoke of him in high terms as a man of science and a gentleman, and favoured us with an engraving of the monument which they had caused to be erected over his grave at the place where he died; and from which the following inscription was copied: ANTONIO . PINEDA . Tribuno . Militum . Virtute . In . Patriam . Bello . Armisque . Insigni . Naturae . Demum . Indefesso . Scrutatori . Trienni . Arduo . Itinere . Orbis . Extrema . Adiit . Telluris . Viscera . Pelagi . Abyssos . Andiumque . Cacumina. Lustrans . Vitae . Simul . Et . Laborum . Gravium . Diem . Supremum . Obiit . In . Luconia . Phillipicarum . VI Calendas . Julii . M.D.C.C.X.C.II. Prematuram . Optimi . Mortem . Luget . Patria . Luget . Fauna . Lugent . Amici . Qui . Hocce . Posuere . Monumenturn . The monument was designed by Don Fernando Brambila, the landscape-painter on board the _Atrevida_; and the inscription did credit to the classical knowledge of Senor Don Fadeo Heencke, the botanist on board the _Descuvierta_. Having requested permission to erect an observatory, they chose the point of the cove on which a small brick hut had been built for Bennillong by Governor Phillip, making use of the hut to secure their instruments. They did not profess to be in want of much assistance; but such as they did require was directed to be furnished them without any expense; it was indeed too inconsiderable to become an object of charge. The arrival of these strangers, together with that of the ship from Bengal, gave a pleasant diversity to the dull routine that commonly prevailed in the town of Sydney; everyone striving to make their abode among us as cheerful as possible, and to convince them, that though severed from the mother country, and residing in woods and among savages, we had not forgotten the hospitalities due to a stranger. The commission of offences was now so frequent, that it had become necessary to assemble the criminal court during this month; and William Ashford, a lad who had been drummed out of the New South Wales corps, was tried for stealing several articles of wearing apparel from some of the convicts; of which being convicted, he was sentenced to receive three hundred lashes. On the 21st the _Kitty_ returned from Norfolk Island, having on board Captain Paterson and his company of the new corps, together with a number of free people and convicts; amounting in all to one hundred and seventy-two persons; Governor King having been desired to get rid of any such characters as might be dangerous or troublesome to him. Mr. King wrote very favourably of the state of the settlements, under his command. The crops of wheat and maize had produced so abundantly, as to insure him a sufficiency of that article for the next twelve months. The inhabitants were healthy; and such had been the effects of some wholesome regulations, and the attention of the magistrates to enforce them, that for the last three months not any offence deserving of punishment had been committed, nor a cob of corn purloined either of private or public property. At the departure of the _Kitty_, he was busied in erecting some necessary buildings, as barracks, a granary, storehouses, etc. and had completed a very excellent house for his own use. Lime-stone having been found in great abundance on Norfolk Island, enabled him to build with some extent and security than had hitherto been done even in New South Wales. Several casks of this useful article were now imported in the _Kitty_, with a quantity of plank. Captain Johnston's company in the new corps received some addition by this ship. Eight of the marine settlers, whose grounds, on extending the lines of their allotments, were found to intersect each other, and who had declined such accommodation as Governor King thought it proper to offer them, had resigned their farms, and preferred returning to their former profession. Toward the latter end of the month information was received of some nefarious practices which had been carrying on at the store at Parramatta; the sum of which was, that the two convicts who had been employed in issuing the provisions under the storekeeper had been for some time in the habit of serving out on each issuing-day an extra allowance of provisions to one, or occasionally to two messes. The messes consisted of six people, and one of these six (taking any mess he chose) used to be previously informed by one or other of the convicts who served the provisions, that an extra allowance for the whole mess would be served to him, which he was to receive and convey away, taking care to return the allowance to them at night, then to be divided into three shares. To accomplish this fraud, an opportunity was to be taken of the storekeeper's absence, which might happen during the course of a long serving, and for which they took care to watch. On his return the mess for which one allowance had just been served was publicly called, and the whole served a second time. With this practice they had trusted nine or ten different people; and the wife of one man, who had assisted in the crime, in a fit of drunkenness confessed the whole. On examination before the judge-advocate it appeared, in addition to the above circumstances, that this scheme had been carried on for about two months past; but there was little doubt of its having existed much longer. It was no difficult matter to discover the persons who had assisted in this practice; and on their being taken up several confessed the share that they and others had had in it: upon which the lieutenant-governor ordered them all to be severely punished. In the _Kitty_ arrived one of the superintendants who had at Norfolk Island been employed in manufacturing the flax plant; but which, for want of some necessary tools, he could not bring to much perfection. These had been written for to England, and he came hither to be employed at these settlements till they should arrive. He was now sent up to Toongabbie, to superintend the delivery of provisions at that place. Notwithstanding the orders which had been given respecting spirits being in the possession of the convicts, on a search made in some suspected houses, fourteen or fifteen gallons were found in one night; and, being seized by the watchmen and the guard, were divided among them as a stimulus to future vigilance. The evil effect of this spirit was perceptible in the number of prisoners which were to be found every morning in the watch-house; for, when intoxicated, it could not be expected that people of this description would be very careful to avoid breaking the peace. CHAPTER XXI The Spanish ships sail The _Chesterfield_ returns from Norfolk Island A contract entered into for bringing cattle from India to this country Provisions embarked on board the Bengal ship for Norfolk Island The _Daedalus_ arrives Cattle lost Discoveries by Captain Vancouver Two natives of New Zealand brought in Bengal ship sails Phenomenon in the sky The hours of labour and ration altered Lead stolen Detachment at Parramatta relieved Accident at that settlement Lands cleared by officers Mutiny on board the _Kitty_ The _Kitty_ sails for England His Majesty's birthday State of the provision store The _Britannia_ arrives Loss of cattle General account of cattle purchased, lost in the passage, and landed in New South Wales Natives April.] The Spanish officers having nearly completed the astronomical observations which the commodore thought it necessary to make in this port, that officer signified his intention of shortly putting to sea on the further prosecution of the instructions and orders which he had received from his court. Previous to their departure, however, the lieutenant-governor, with the officers of the settlement and of the corps, were entertained first on board the _Descuvierta_, and the next day on board the _Atrevida_, the lieutenant-governor being each day received with a salute of nine guns, with the Spanish flag hoisted on the foretopmast-head, being the compliment that is paid in the Spanish service to a lieutenant-general. The dinner was prepared and served up after their own custom, and bore every appearance of having been furnished from a plentiful market.* The healths of our respective sovereigns, being united in one wish, were drank with every token of approbation, under a discharge of cannon; and 'Prosperity to the British colonies in New South Wales' concluded the ceremonials of each day. [* A small cow from Monterrey was sacrificed on the occasion] The commodore presented the lieutenant-governor with two drawings of this settlement, and one of Parramatta, done in Indian ink, by F. Brambila; together with a copy of the astronomical observations which had been made at the observatory, and at Parramatta. From these it appeared that the longitude of the observatory which they had erected at the Point, deduced from forty-two sets of distances of the sun and moon, taken on the morning of the 2nd of this month, was 151 degrees 18 minutes 8 seconds E from Greenwich; and the latitude, 33 degrees 51 minutes 28 seconds S. The latitude of the governor's house at Parramatta was 33 degrees 48 minutes 0 seconds S; and the distance west from the observatory about nineteen miles. The commodore left a packet with dispatches for the Spanish ambassador at the court of London, to be forwarded by the first ship which should depart hence direct for England; and on the 12th both ships sailed. Their future route was never exactly spoken of by them; but, from what the officers occasionally threw out, it appeared that they expected to be in Europe in about fourteen months from their departure. They spoke of visiting the Society and Friendly Islands, and of proceeding again to the coast of South America. As it had been the general wish to render the residence of these strangers among us as pleasant as our situation would allow, we received with great satisfaction the expressions of regret which they testified at their departure, a regret that was at least equally felt on our part. Our society was very small; we could not therefore but sensibly feel the departure of these gentlemen, who united to much scientific knowledge those qualities of the heart which render men amiable in society; and the names of Malaspina, Bustamante, Tova, Espinosa, Concha, Cevallos, Murphy*, Robredo, Quintano, Viana, Novales, Pineda**, Bauza, Heencke***, Nee***, Ravenet****, and Brambila****, were not likely to be soon forgotten by the officers of this settlement. During their stay here, the greatest harmony subsisted between the seamen of the two ships and our people, the latter in but few instances exercising their nimble-fingered talents among them; such, however, as did choose to hazard a display, and were detected, were severely punished. [* This gentleman was of Irish extraction.] [** Brother of D. A. Pineda.] [*** The botanists.] [**** The limner, and landscape-painter.] A few days before these ships left us, the _Chesterfield_ returned (after an absence of only thirty days) from Norfolk Island, where she landed safely every thing she had on board for that settlement. Mr. Alt anchored for some days in Cascade Bay, where Governor King had constructed a wharf, and had hopes of making the landing more convenient that could ever be practicable at Sydney Bay. This was truly a desideratum, as few ships had gone to this island without having in the course of their stay either been blown off, or been in some danger on the shore. It was understood that scarcely any thing less than a miracle could have saved the _Kitty_ from being wrecked on a rock just off the reef. The master of the _Shah Hormuzear_ having laid before the lieutenant-governor some proposals for bringing cattle to this country, they were taken into consideration; and as the introducing cattle into the colony was a most desirable object, and Bengal had been pointed out as the settlement from which they were to be procured, after some days a contract was entered into between Mr. Bampton on his own part, and the lieutenant-governor on behalf of the crown, wherein it was covenanted, that Mr. Bampton should freight at some port in India a ship with one hundred head of large draught cattle; one hundred and fifty tons of the best provision rice, and one hundred and fifty tons of dholl, both articles to be equal in quality to samples then produced and approved of, and one hundred tons of the best Irish cured beef or pork; or, in lieu of the salt provisions, fifty tons of rice. For the cattle, it was covenanted on the part of the crown that Mr. Bampton should receive at the rate of thirty-five pounds sterling per head for all that he should land in a merchantable condition in the colony; for the rice he was to be paid twenty-six pounds sterling, and for the dholl eighteen pounds sterling, for every merchantable ton which should be landed; and, lastly, for the salt provisions he was to receive four-pence halfpenny per pound for all that should be landed in proper condition. In this contract there were several conditions and restrictions, and the master was bound in one thousand five hundred pounds penalty to fulfil them. The lieutenant-governor, wishing to send a supply to Norfolk Island sufficient to place that settlement, as far as depended upon him, in a comfortable state in point of provisions, engaged the _Shah Hormuzear_ to carry two hundred and twenty tons of provisions thither for the sum of £220; and the quantity now sent, added to what the _Kitty_ and _Chesterfield_ had already conveyed, insured to Governor King provisions for more than twelve months for all his people at the full ration. Mr. Bampton engaging the _Chesterfield_ to carry some part of these provisions, both ships began taking them in, and by the 19th had quitted the cove, intending to sail the following morning; but the signal being made for a sail at daylight, they waited to see the event. At the close of the evening of the 10th the _Daedalus_ storeship anchored in the cove, from the north-west coast of America. The _Daedalus_ left England with a cargo of provisions and stores, consisting chiefly of articles of traffic, for the use of the vessels under the command of Captain Vancouver, whom she joined at Nootka Sound on the north-west coast of America, and it was designed that she should, after delivering her cargo, be dispatched to this colony with such stock as she might be able to procure from the different islands whereat she might touch, and be afterwards employed as the service might require, should Captain Vancouver not make any application for her return; which was thought probable, as well as that he might require some assistance from the colony. Captain Vancouver, after taking out as much of the cargo as could be received on board the vessels under his command, dispatched her according to his orders, although not so early as he could have wished, owing to particular circumstances; and he was now obliged to send with her a requisition for the remainder of the provisions and stores being returned to him, together with a certain quantity of provisions from the colony; the whole to be dispatched from hence so as to join him either at Nootka, or some of the Sandwich islands, in the month of October next. The agent Lieutenant Richard Hergist, who left England in this ship, was unfortunately killed, together with a Mr. Gootch (an astronomer, on his way to join Captain Vancouver) and one seaman, at Wahool one of the Sandwich Islands, where they touched to procure refreshments. Captain Vancouver had replaced this officer, by Lieutenant James Hanson, of the _Chatham_ armed-tender, who now arrived in the ship. On board of the _Daedalus_ were embarked at Monterrey, a Spanish settlement at a short distance from Nootka, six bulls, twelve cows, six rams, and eight ewes; and at Otaheite, Lieutenant Hanson took on board upwards of one hundred hogs (most of them, unluckily, barrows) of all which stock four sheep and about eighty hogs only survived the passage. The loss of the cattle was attributed to their having been caught wild from the woods, and put on board without ever having tasted dry food. The major part of the hogs, apparently of a fine breed, arrived in very poor condition. Lieutenant Hanson, having touched at the northernmost island of New Zealand, brought away with him two natives of that country, having received directions to that effect for the purpose of instructing the settlers at Norfolk Island in the manufacture of the flax plant. They were both young men, and, as they arrived before the departure of the _Shah Hormuzear_, the lieutenant-governor determined to send them at once to Norfolk Island. Captain Vancouver transmitted by Lieutenant Hanson a chart and drawings of a spacious harbour, which he discovered on the southwest coast of this country, and which he named King George the Third's Sound. Its situation was without the line prescribed as the boundary of the British possessions in this country, being in the latitude of 35 degrees 05 minutes 30 seconds South, and longitude 118 degrees 34 minutes 0 seconds E. He also sent an account of the discovery of a dangerous cluster of rocks, which he named the Snares, the largest of which was about a league in circuit, and lay in latitude 48 degrees 03 minutes S and longitude 166 degrees 20 minutes East, bearing from the South-end of New Zealand S 40 degrees W true, twenty leagues distant; and from the southernmost part of the Traps (rocks discovered by Captain Cook) S 67½ degrees W true, twenty leagues distant. The largest of these rocks, which was the highest and the northeasternmost, might be seen in clear weather about eight or nine leagues: the whole cluster was composed of seven barren rocks, extending in a direction about N 70 degrees E and S 70 degrees W true, occupying the space of about three leagues. The _Chatham_, being separated in a gale of wind from the _Discovery_, fell in with an island, which was named 'Chatham Island,' and along the north-side of which she sailed for twelve leagues. Its inhabitants much resembled the natives of New Zealand, and it was situated in latitude 43 degrees 48 minutes S and longitude 183 degrees 02 minutes East. We learned from Lieutenant Hanson, that the _Matilda_ whaler, which sailed hence in the latter end of the year 1791, on her fishing voyage, was wrecked on a reef in 22 degrees South latitude, and 138 degrees 30 minutes West longitude. The master and people reached Otaheite, from whence some were taken by an American vessel, and some by Captain Bligh of the Providence. Five sailors only remained on the island, with one runaway convict from this place, when the _Daedalus_ touched there in her route hither, and of that number one sailor only could be prevailed on to quit it. We had now the satisfaction of learning that Captain Bligh had sailed for Jamaica in July last, with ten thousand breadfruit plants on board in fine order; having so far accomplished the object of this his second mission to that island. The natives from New Zealand having been put on board the _Shah Hormuzear_ at the last moment of her stay in port, Lieutenant Hanson remaining with them until the ship was without the Heads, she sailed, together with the _Chesterfield_, on the 24th. Mr. Bampton purposed making his passage to India through the straits at the south end of New Guinea, known by the name of Torres Straits. Captain Hill, of the New South Wales corps, took his passage to England by the way of India with Mr. Bampton. But few convicts were allowed to quit the colony in these ships; four men and one woman only, whose terms of transportation were expired, being received on board. Gray, who had absconded from the hospital in February last, made his appearance about the latter end of this month at Toongabbie, where he was detected in stealing Indian corn. Richard Sutton was stabbed with a knife in the belly by one Abraham Gordon, at the house of a female convict, on some quarrel respecting the woman, and at a time when both were inflamed with liquor. In the struggle Sutton was also dangerously cut in the arm; and when the surgeon came to dress him, he found six inches of the omentum protruding at the wound in his belly. Gordon was taken into custody. Some people were taken up at Parramatta on suspicion of having murdered one of the watchmen belonging to that settlement; the circumstances of which affair one of them had been overheard relating to a fellow convict, while both were under confinement for some other offence. A watchman certainly had been missing for some time past; but after much inquiry and investigation nothing appeared that could furnish matter for a criminal prosecution against them. A soldier, who had been sentenced by a court-martial to receive three hundred lashes, on being led out to receive his punishment, attempted to cut his throat, wounding himself under the ear with a knife. The punishment was put off until the evening, when he declared that he was the person who killed the watchman at Parramatta, which he effected by shooting him; and that he would lead any one to the place where the body lay. This, however, not preventing his receiving as much of his punishment as he could bear, he afterwards declared that he knew nothing of the murder, and had accused himself of perpetrating so horrid a crime solely in the hope of deferring his punishment. The natives, who now and then showed themselves about the distant settlements, toward the latter end of the month wounded a convict who was taking provisions from Parramatta to a settler at Prospect Hill. The wound was not dangerous; but it occasioned the loss of the provisions with which he was entrusted. The rains of this month came too late to save the Indian corn of the season, which now wore a most unpromising appearance. A grain had been lately introduced into the settlement, and grown at Toongabbie, and other places, which promised to answer very well for stock. It was the caffre corn of Africa, and had every appearance of proving a useful grain. An extraordinary appearance in the sky was observed by several people between five and six o'clock in the evening of Friday the 12th of this month. It was noticed in the north-west, and appeared as if a ray of forked lightning had been stationary in that quarter of the sky for about fifteen minutes, which was the time it was visible. It was not to be discerned, however, after the sun had quitted the horizon. May.] The days being considerably shortened, and the weather having lately been bad, it became necessary to alter the hours of labour. On the first of May, therefore, the lieutenant-governor directed that the convicts employed in cultivation, those employed under the master bricklayer, and those who worked at the brick carts and timber carriages, should labour from seven in the morning until ten, rest from that time until three in the afternoon, and continue at their work till sunset. The carpenters, whose business mostly lay within doors, and who were therefore not exposed to the weather, were directed to work one hour more in the afternoon, beginning at one instead of two o'clock. On the 4th the weekly ration was altered, the male convicts receiving (instead of seven) four pounds of flour, to which were added four pounds of wheat and four pounds of maize; the allowance of salt provisions continued the same; but, the oil being expended, six ounces of sugar were issued in lieu of that article. The wheat was that received from Bengal, and the maize was issued the first week shelled, but unground; on the second the people received it in the cob, getting six pounds in that state in lieu of four shelled. This was unquestionably a good ration, and when a sufficient number of mills were put up to grind the maize and the wheat, the people themselves allowed it to be so. With a ration that they admitted to be a good one, with about six hours labour during five days of the week, and with the advantages of gardens and good huts, the situation of the convicts might at this period be deemed comfortable, and such as precluded all excuse for misconduct. Garden robberies were, notwithstanding, often committed at Sydney; and at the other settlements the maize which was still in the field suffered considerable depredation. A distinction was made in the ration served to the civil and military, they receiving weekly six instead of eight pounds of flour, two pounds of wheat, and four pounds of maize _per_ man. About the middle of the month the weather was remarkably bad. In the forenoon of the 15th a report was spread, in the midst of a most violent squall of wind and rain, that a ship was coming in. The wind having blown from the southward for some days before favoured the story, and, every one who heard it believing it to be true, the town was soon in motion notwithstanding the storm; for, although it was not so rare as it had been to hear of a ship, yet there was always something cheering and grateful, and perhaps ever will be, in entertaining the idea that our society was perhaps about to be increased, and that we were on the point of receiving intelligence from our connections, or information of what was doing in that world from which we felt ourselves almost severed. On this occasion, however, we were disappointed; for, on the return of a boat which had been sent to the South Head, we were informed that the signal had not been made, nor a ship seen to occasion it. But we had been well trained in New South Wales to meet and endure disappointment! On the night of this day, during the very heavy rain which fell, some person or persons found means to take off, undiscovered by the sentinel at the store on the east side, five hundred weight of sheet lead, which had been landed from the _Daedalus_, and rolled to the storehouse door, where, being an article not likely from its weight to become an easy object of depredation, it was supposed to be perfectly safe. A very diligent search was made, but without success; and it remained undiscovered until the 27th, when a seaman belonging to the _Kitty_ transport, on the ebbing of a spring tide, perceived it lying on the shore at low-water mark, opposite to the spot where the _Daedalus_ lay at anchor. From this circumstance suspicion fell upon the people belonging to that ship; but as any design they could have in stealing it was not very obvious it was more probable that some of the convicts had dropped it there for the purpose of secreting it till a future day, when it would have been got up, and cast into shot for those who are allowed to kill game. About the end of the month the detachment of the New South Wales corps on duty at Parramatta was relieved. The party that remained there was placed under the command of Lieutenant Macarthur, the officer charged with the direction of the civil duties of that settlement. The relief took place by land, the party from Sydney marching up in about seven hours, and that from Parramatta arriving at their quarters in Sydney in something more than six. The computed distance by land is between seventeen and eighteen miles. On the 29th our colours were displayed at the fort, in grateful remembrance of the restoration of monarchy in England. Information was the same day received from Parramatta, that on the evening of Saturday the 24th a settler of the name of Lisk, having been drinking at the house of Charles Williams with Rose Burk (a woman with whom he cohabited) until they were very much intoxicated, as he was returning to his farm through the town of Parramatta, a dispute arose between him and the woman, during which a gun that he had went off, and the contents lodged in the woman's arm below the elbow, shattering the bones in so dreadful a manner as to require immediate amputation; which Mr. Arndell, being fortunately at home, directly performed. The unhappy woman acquitted her companion of any intention to do her so shocking an injury, and when the account reached Sydney she was in a favourable way. In this accident Williams, it is true, had no further share than what he might claim from their having intoxicated themselves at his house; but that, however, established him more firmly in the opinion of those who could judge of his conduct as a public nuisance. The principal labour in hand at Sydney at this time was what the building of the barracks occasioned; and at the other settlements the people were chiefly employed in getting into the ground the grain for the ensuing season, and in preparing for sowing the maize. This article of subsistence having in the late season proved very unprofitable, the average quantity being not more than six bushels per acre in the whole, the lieutenant-governor determined to sow with wheat as much of the public grounds as he could; and every settler who chose to apply was permitted to draw as much wheat from the public granary as his ground required, proper care being taken to insure its being applied solely to that use. At Toongabbie no addition had been made to the public ground since Governor Phillip's departure; but by a survey made at the latter end of this month it appeared, that the officers to whom lands had been granted, had cultivated and cleared two hundred and thirty-three acres, and had cut down the timber from two hundred and nineteen more. All the settlers of a different description had added something to their grounds; and there were many who might be pronounced to be advancing fast toward the comfortable situation of independent farmers. The quantity of land granted since the governor's departure amounted to one thousand five hundred and seventy-five acres, eight hundred and thirty of which lay between the towns of Sydney and of Parramatta, the lieutenant-governor wishing and purposing to form a chain of farms between these settlements. The advantages to be derived from this communication were, the opening of an extent of country in the neighbourhood of both townships, and the benefit that would ultimately accrue to the colony at large from the cultivation of a track of as good land as any that had been hitherto opened; by some indeed it was deemed superior to the land immediately about Parramatta or Toongabbie. In this chain, on the Parramatta side, were placed those settlers who came out in the _Bellona_; and although they had only taken possession of their farms about the middle of February, they had got some ground ready for wheat, and by their industry had approved themselves deserving of every encouragement. June.] The _Kitty_ transport, which, since her arrival from Norfolk Island on the 21st of April last, had been fitting for her return to England, at length hauled out of the cove on the 1st of this month, it being intended that she should sail on the following morning. Her departure, however, was delayed by the appearance of a mutiny among the sailors at the very moment of being ordered to get the anchor up and proceed to sea. The master, George Ramsay, had frequently complained of some of the sailors belonging to the ship for various offences, and several of them had been punished on shore; one in particular, Benjamin Williams, for resisting Mr. Ramsay's authority as master of this ship, had been punished with one hundred lashes. This man, and four or five of the other sailors, having procured half a gallon of liquor from a man who (his term of transportation having expired) was permitted to return to England, were found by the master drinking, and with a light burning in the forecastle, at the late and improper hour of twelve o'clock on the night preceding their intended sailing. On being ordered to put out the light, they refused, Williams declaring with an oath, that if the master extinguished it, he would light it again. This, however, the master effected; but on his afterwards going forward for the purpose of discovering if they had procured another light, he was seized by Williams and the other sailors, and thrown clear of the ship into the water. Fortunately he could swim, a circumstance unknown to these miscreants, and he reached the ship's side, whence, the mate coming to his assistance, he was, though with some difficulty, being a very heavy man, got into the ship. The master, notwithstanding the outrage which he had thus experienced at their hands, would have contented himself with making a deposition of the circumstance, and have put to sea the next morning; but when he ordered the topsails to be hoisted, and the ship got under way, Williams stood forward, and, for himself and the rest, declared with much insolence, that the anchor should not be moved until the proper number of hands belonging to the ship were on board*. The anchor, however, was got up by the assistance of the passengers and some people who had boats from the settlement alongside, and with the wind at west she dropped gradually down the harbour. The lieutenant-governor, on being informed by some officers who were present of the dangerous and alarming temper which the seamen manifested on board, resolved, by taking a firm and very active part, to crush the disorder at once, He accordingly went on board in person, with some soldiers, and, ordering the ship to be brought to an anchor, returned with Williams, and two others who were pointed out by the master as his confederates, not only in refusing the duty of the ship, but in throwing him overboard during the preceding night. This resolute step was instantly followed up by their being taken to the public parade, and there punished, Williams with one hundred and fifty, and his companions with one hundred lashes each, by the drummers of the New South Wales corps. At the place and in the moment of punishment Williams's courage forsook him, and the spirit which he had displayed on board the _Kitty_ was all evaporated**. He would have said or done any thing to have averted the lash. [* She was deficient three men and two boys. The latter had run away the night before.] [** He pretty well knew what a flogging was; for he was recognised by a soldier of the New South Wales corps, who had seen him flogged from ship to ship at Spithead for a similar offence.] The appearance of a mutiny is at all times and in every situation to be dreaded; but in this country nothing could be more alarming. The lieutenant-governor saw the affair in that light; and with a celerity and firmness adapted to the exigency of the case restored tranquillity and safety to all those who were concerned in the fate of the _Kitty_. The day following several depositions were taken by the judge-advocate, for the purpose of being transmitted to the navy-board, and the three seamen who had been taken out of the _Kitty_ being replaced by two convicts and one seaman lately discharged from the _Daedalus_, she sailed at daylight on the morning of the 4th instant, and by twelve o'clock at noon was not to be seen from the South Head. On board the _Kitty_ were embarked Mr. Dennis Considen, one of the assistant-surgeons of the settlement, who had received permission to return to England on account of his health, which had been formerly impaired in the East Indies, Lieutenant Stephen Donovan, who had been employed in superintending the landing of provisions and stores at Norfolk Island, and was now returning to England, having been appointed a lieutenant in the navy; Mr. Richard Clarke, who came out in the _Bellona_ as a medical superintendant; Mr. Alexander Purvis Cranston, late surgeon of his Majesty's sloop _Discovery_, who was returning to England, being from ill health no longer capable of attending to the duties of his profession; Mr. Henry Phillips, late carpenter of the same vessel, who was sent hither to be forwarded to England as a prisoner; two seamen and one marine, invalids from the vessels under the command of Captain Vancouver; five men and one woman*, who, their terms of transportation being expired, were permitted to return to their friends; the seaman who was left behind from the _Atrevida_; also five men, who were permitted to enter on board the _Kitty_ for the purpose of navigating her. For the officers and invalids who were on board, provisions for six months were sent from the colony; but the others provided for themselves. [* Dorothy Handland, who at the time of her departure was upwards of eighty years of age, but who nevertheless had not a doubt of weathering Cape Horn.] The services of the _Kitty_ were to be summed up in very few words. Of ten artificers with which she sailed from England, she lost eight; and of the cargo of stores and provisions which she brought out, a part was damaged. In seventeen months that she had been in the service of government, she had made a long and circuitous voyage from England, and had taken one freight of provisions, stores, and troops to Norfolk Island from this place. For these services her owners were to receive the sum of £3500; and, allowing her to be seven months on her passage to England, the total amount of her hire will be found to be very little short of £5000. His Majesty's birthday passed with the usual marks of distinction. The regiment fired three vollies on their own parade, and the convicts were allowed the day to themselves. On this occasion also the lieutenant-governor caused twelve of the largest hogs which had been received by the _Daedalus_, to be killed and divided among the military, superintendants, and sick at the hospital; sufficient being given to the latter for two days. Notwithstanding the purchases of provisions which had fortunately been made from the _Philadelphia_ brigantine before governor Phillip's departure, and since that time from the _Hope_ and from the _Shah Hormuzear_, the lieutenant-governor found it necessary on the 12th of the month to give notice, 'That unless supplies arrived before the 22nd he should be under the disagreeable necessity of ordering the ration to be reduced on that day.' A view of the provisions remaining in store here and at Parramatta on the 24th of last month (the date of the return sent home by the commissary in the _Kitty_) will evince the necessity of such an alteration. On the 24th of May there were in store Of Flour 137,944 lbs Of Wheat 154,560 lbs Of Paddy 49,248 lbs making a total of three hundred and forty-one thousand seven hundred and fifty-two pounds of grain; which, at the established ration of eight pounds per man per week, would last six weeks and three days. Beef 93,969 lbs Pork 125,178 lbs which, at the ration of seven pounds of beef, or four pounds of pork, per man per week, would last, the beef five weeks, and the pork eleven weeks and a half. There was also in store, though not at present issued, the Indian corn rendering it unnecessary, seventy-one thousand two hundred and eighty pounds of grain and peas; which, at the allowance of three pints per man per week, would last eight weeks and a half, and nineteen thousand eight hundred pounds of sugar; which, at six ounces per man per week, would last eighteen weeks and a half. This latter article had been issued since the beginning of the last month, when it was served as an equivalent for oil. It must be remarked, that but for the purchases which had most fortunately been made of provisions, the colony must at this moment have been again groaning under the oppression of a very reduced ration. From the Philadelphia were purchased Beef 109,817 lbs. From the Hope were purchased Beef 38,600 lbs. From the Shah Hormuzear were purchased Beef 107,988 lbs. ------- Total of Beef 256,405 lbs. From the Hope were purchased Pork 15,600 lbs. ------- Whole quantity purchased 272,005 lbs. of which, deducting the quantity remaining, we shall be found to have then consumed fifty-two thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight pounds, something more than equal to one-fifth part. From the Hope were purchased Flour 8,800 lbs. From the Shah Hormuzear were purchased Flour 36,539 lbs. ------- Whole quantity purchased 45,339 lbs. which deducted from the quantity remaining, we should then only have had in store 92,605 lbs. of the other articles of which the present ration was composed (the maize excepted) we should not have had any in the colony; for the wheat and the sugar were brought hither in the ship from Bengal. As none of these incidental supplies could be known in England, it was fair to conclude, that our situation must have been adverted to, and that ships with provisions were now not very distant. Under this idea, although on the 22nd no supplies had arrived, the lieutenant-governor did not make any alteration in the ration, determining to wait one week longer before he directed the necessary reduction. It was always a painful duty to abridge the food of the labouring man, and had been too often exercised here. The putting off, therefore, the evil day for another week in the hope of any decrease being rendered unnecessary by the arrival of supplies, met with general applause. On the Monday following the signal was made for a sail, and about nine o'clock at night the _Britannia_ was safe within the Heads, having to a day completed eight months since she sailed hence. The length of time she had been absent gave birth to some anxiety upon her account, and her arrival was welcomed with proportionate satisfaction. Mr. Raven touched at Dusky Bay in New Zealand, where he left his second mate Mr. John Leith and some of his people, for the purpose of procuring seals (the principal object of his voyage from England); and of the timber which he found there he made a very favourable report, pronouncing it to be light, tough, and in every respect fit for masts or yards. From New Zealand the _Britannia_, after rounding Cape Horn in very favourable weather, proceeded to the island of Santa Catherina, on the Brasil coast, where the Portuguese have a settlement, and from whose governor Mr. Raven received much civility during the eighteen days that he remained there. Not being able to procure at this place any of the articles he was instructed to purchase (one cow and one cow-calf excepted) he stood over to the African continent, and arrived at the Cape of Good Hope on the 24th of March last. At this port he took on board thirty cows; three mares; twelve goats; a quantity of flour, sugar, tobacco, and spirits; and other articles, according to the orders of his employers. Mr. Raven afforded another instance of the great difficulty attending the transporting of cattle to this country; for, notwithstanding the extreme care and attention which were paid to them, twenty-nine of the cows and three goats unfortunately died. This he attributed solely, and no doubt justly, to their not being properly prepared for such a voyage, and previously fed for some weeks on dry food. In her passage from the Cape of Good Hope to this port, the _Britannia_ met with much bad weather, running for fourteen days under her bare poles. The prevailing winds were from SW to NW. She came round Van Dieman's Land in a gale of wind without seeing it. To the southward of New Zealand Mr. Raven fell in with the rocks seen by Captain Vancouver, and named by him the Snares. In the latitude of them Mr. Raven differed from Captain Vancouver only four miles; their longitude he made exactly the same. Such similarity in the observations was rare and remarkable. He passed some islands of ice at three and five leagues distance, in latitudes 51 degrees and 52 degrees S and longitudes 232 degrees and 240 degrees East. At the Cape Mr. Raven found the _Pitt_, Captain Manning, from Calcutta, to whom he delivered his dispatches; and he received information from the captains of the _Triton_ and _Warley_ East Indiamen of the agitated state of Europe; of the naval and military preparations which were making in our own country; and of the spirit of loyalty and affection for our justly-revered sovereign which breathed throughout the nation, accompanied with firm and general determinations to maintain inviolate our happy constitution. These accounts, while they served to excite an ardent wish for the speedy arrival of a ship from England, seemed to throw the probability of one at a greater distance, particularly as Mr. Raven could not learn with any certainty of a ship being preparing for New South Wales. Among other circumstances which he mentioned was one which deserved notice. The _Royal Admiral_ East Indiaman, Captain Bond, was lying on the 19th of last December in the Tigris. She sailed hence on the 13th of November, and, admitting that she had only arrived on the day on which she was stated to a certainty to be at anchor in the river, she must have performed the voyage in thirty-seven days from this port. This ship, it may be remembered, made the passage from the Cape of Good Hope to this place in five weeks and three days; a run that had never before been made by any other ship coming to this country. From the length of time which the _Britannia_ had been absent, our observation was forcibly drawn to the distance whereat we were placed from any quarter which could furnish us with supplies; and a calculation of the length of time which had been taken by other ships to procure them confirmed the necessity that existed of using every exertion that might place the colony in a state of independence. When the _Sirius_ went to the Cape of Good Hope in 1788, she was absent seven months and six days. The _Supply_, which was sent for provisions in 1789, returned herself in six months and two days; but the supplies which had been purchased for the colony were two months longer in reaching it. The _Atlantic_ sailed hence for Calcutta on the 26th of October 1791, touching at Norfolk Island, from which place she took her departure on the 13th of November; and, calculating her passage from that time, she will be found to have been seven months and one week in procuring the supplies for which she was sent out. The _Britannia_ too was eight months absent. From all this it was to be inferred, that there should not only be always provisions in the stores for twelve months beforehand; but that, to guard against accidents, whenever the provisions in the colony were reduced to that quantity and no more, then would be the time to dispatch a ship for supplies. The difficulty of introducing cattle into the colony had been rendered evident by the miscarriage of the different attempts made by this and other ships. In this particular we had indeed been singularly unfortunate; for we had not only lost the greatest part of what had been purchased and embarked for the colony, as will appear by the following statement; but we had at the beginning, as will be remembered, lost the few that did survive the passage. Of these it never was known with any certainty what had been the fate. Some of the natives who resided among us did, in observing some that had been landed, declare that they had seen them destroyed by their own people; and even offered to lead any one to the place where some of their bones might be found; but, from the distance of the supposed spot, and our more important concerns, this had never been sought after. It was very probable that they had been so destroyed; if not, and that they had met with no other accident, their increase at this time must have been very considerable. Account of Black Cattle purchased for, lost in the passage to, and landed in New South Wales. Purchased Lost in Landed Passage (B=Bull Cw=Cow Cf=Calf) B Cw Cf B Cw Cf B Cw Cf Embarked in 1787 on board the Sirius and one of the transports 1 7 1 - 2 - 1 5 1 Embarked in 1789 on board the Guardian 2 16 - 2 16 - - - - Embarked in 1791 on board the Gorgon, Admiral Barrington, and calved on the passage 3 24 1 3 7 - - 17 1 Bull Embarked on board the Atlantic in 1792, at Calcutta 2 2 1 - 1 1 2 1 - Embarked on board the Pitt - 2 - - 1 - - 1 - Embarked on board the Royal Admiral - 1 - - - - - - 0 Embarked on board the Shah Hormuzear in 1792, in India 1 24 2 1 23 - - 1 2 Embarked on board the Daedalus 6 12 - 6 12 - - - - Embarked on board the Britannia - 31 1 - 29 - - 2 1 Total Purchased 15 bulls, 119 cows, 6 calves; Total Lost in the passage 12 bulls, 91 cows, 1 calf; Total Landed 3 bulls, 28 cows, 5 calves. Of the three bulls which were landed two only were living at this period, beside the bull calf produced on board the _Gorgon_. Of the twenty-eight cows only twenty, and of the five calves only two were living; but the cows which arrived in the _Gorgon_ had produced three cow and two bull calves; and one small cow must be added to the number in the colony, which had been presented by the Spanish commodore to the lieutenant-governor. Sheep, horses, and hogs were found, better than any other stock, to stand the rough weather which was in general met with between the Cape of Good Hope and this country. The mortality which had happened among the stock on board the _Britannia_ set a high price on those which survived. For the cows Mr. Raven bought at the Cape he gave twenty dollars each, and for each horse he gave thirty dollars. For the cow with her calf, which he purchased at Santa Catharina, he gave no more than sixteen Spanish dollars. On Saturday the 29th, the lieutenant-governor determining to try the present ration yet another week, the usual allowance was issued, and on the next day the following general order appeared: 'It being unsafe to continue at the present ration, the commissary has received instructions to reduce the weekly allowance, either one pound of pork, or two pounds of beef, making a proportionate deduction from the women and children. This alteration to take place on Saturday the 6th of July.' The natives had lately become troublesome, particularly in lurking between the different settlements, and forcibly taking provisions and clothing from the convicts who were passing from one to another. One or two convicts having been wounded by them, some small armed parties were sent out to drive them away, and to throw a few shot among them, but with positive orders to be careful not to take a life. Several of these people, however, continued to reside in the town, and to mix with the inhabitants in the most unreserved manner. It was no uncommon circumstance to see them coming into town with bundles of fire-wood which they had been hired to procure, or bringing water from the tanks; for which services they thought themselves well rewarded with any worn-out jacket or trousers, or blankets, or a piece of bread. Of this latter article they were all exceedingly fond, and their constant prayer was for bread, importuning with as much earnestness and perseverance as if begging for bread had been their profession from their infancy; and their attachment to us must be considered as an indication of their not receiving any ill treatment from us. CHAPTER XXII The _Daedalus_ sails for Nootka A temporary church founded Criminal court The colonial vessel launched A scheme to take a longboat Two soldiers desert Counterfeit dollars in circulation A soldier punished The _Boddingtons_ arrives from Cork General Court Martial held The _Britannia_ hired and chartered for Bengal The new church opened Accident Provisions in store Corn purchased from settlers The _Britannia_ sails for Bengal, and the _Francis_ Schooner for New Zealand Irish convicts steal a boat The _Sugar Cane_ arrives Intended mutiny on board prevented Excursion to the westward Public works July.] On the first of this month the _Daedalus_ sailed to convey to Captain Vancouver the provisions and stores which had been required by that officer. Lieutenant Hanson, the naval agent on board, received the most pointed orders for the ship to return to this port immediately after having executed the service on which she was then going. The _Daedalus_ was considered as a colonial ship; and nothing but Captain Vancouver's express requisition to have the stores and provisions which were on board her (the stores being chiefly articles of traffic) sent back to him, to enable him to fulfil the instructions he had received, would have induced the lieutenant-governor, in the present state of the colony, to have parted with her, when it was not improbable that her services might be wanting to procure supplies, and at no very distant period, if ships did not arrive. The _Daedalus_ being, like other ships which had preceded her, short of hands, the master was permitted to recruit his numbers here, and took with him six convicts, who had served their several terms of transportation, and were of good character; and two seamen, who had been left behind from other ships. The extensive population of the islands at some of which the _Daedalus_ might have occasion to touch rendered it absolutely necessary that she should be completely manned; as we well knew the readiness with which, at all times, their inhabitants availed themselves of any inferiority or weakness which they might discover among us. On board of the _Daedalus_ also was embarked a native of this country, who was sent by the lieutenant-governor for the purpose of acquiring our language. Lieutenant Hanson was directed by no means to leave him at Nootka, but, if he survived the voyage, to bring him back safe to his friends and countrymen. His native names were Gnung-a gnung-a, Mur-re-mur-gan; but he had for a long time entirely lost them, even among his own people, who called him 'Collins,' after the judge-advocate, whose name he had adopted on the first day of his coming among us. He was a man of a more gentle disposition than most of his associates; and, from the confidence he placed in us, very readily undertook the voyage, although he left behind him a young wife (a sister of Bennillong who accompanied Governor Phillip) of whom he always appeared extremely fond. On Saturday the 6th the intended change took place in the ration; and it being a week on which pork was to be issued, three pounds of that article were served instead of four. The other articles remained the same. The clergyman, who suffered as much inconvenience as other people from the want of a proper place for the performance of divine service, himself undertook to remove the evil, on finding that, from the pressure of other works it was not easy to foresee when a church would be erected. He accordingly began one under his own inspection, and chose the situation for it at the back of the huts on the east side of the cove. The front was seventy-three feet by fifteen; and at right angles with the centre projected another building forty feet by fifteen. The edifice was constructed of strong posts, wattles, and plaster, and was to be thatched.* Much credit was due to the Rev. Mr. Johnson for his personal exertions on this occasion. [* The expense of building it was computed to be about forty pounds] Representation having been made to the lieutenant-governor, that several of the soldiers had been so thoughtless as to dispose of the sugar and tobacco which had been served out to them by their officers since the arrival of the _Britannia_, almost as soon as they had received those articles, and that some artful people had availed themselves of their indiscretion, in many instances bartering a bottle of spirits (Cape brandy) for six times its value, he judged it necessary to give notice, that any convict detected in exchanging liquor with the soldiers for any article served out to them by their officers, would immediately be punished, and the articles purchased taken away: and further (now become a most necessary restriction), that any persons attempting to sell liquor without a licence might rely on its being seized, and the houses of the offending parties pulled down. About the middle of the month all the wheat which was to be sown on the public account was got in at and near Toongabbie; the quantity of ground was about three hundred and eighty acres. The wheat of last season being now nearly thrashed out, some judgment was formed of its produce, and it was found to have averaged between seventeen and eighteen bushels an acre. A large quantity of wheat was also sown this season by individuals, amounting to about one thousand three hundred and eighty-one bushels, every encouragement having been given to them to sow their grounds with that grain. Several houses having been lately broken open, the criminal court of judicature was assembled on the 15th, when Samuel Wright, a convict who arrived in 1791, was tried for breaking into a hut in the day-time, and stealing several articles of wearing apparel; of which offence being found guilty, he received sentence of death, and was to have been executed on the Monday following; but the court having recommended him to mercy on account of his youth, being only sixteen years of age, the lieutenant-governor as readily forgave as the court had recommended him; but, that the prisoner might have all the benefit of so awful a situation, the change in his fate was not imparted to him until the very moment when he was about to ascend the ladder from which he was to be plunged into eternity. He had appeared since his conviction as if devoid of feeling; but on receiving this information, he fell on his knees in an agony of joy and gratitude. The solemn scene appeared likewise to make a forcible impression on all his fellow prisoners, who were present. The weather of this winter having been colder than any that we had before experienced, great exertions were made to clothe all the labouring convicts; and for that purpose the work of the tailors had for some time been confined to them. Every male convict received one cloth jacket, two canvas frocks, one pair of shoes, and one leathern cap. The females also had been clothed. The vessel which had been received in frame by the _Pitt_ was now completed, and, to avoid the labour which would have attended her being launched in the usual manner, Mr. Raven, the master of the _Britannia_, offered his own services and the assistance of his ship to lay her down upon her bilge, and put her into the water on rollers. This mode having been adopted, in the forenoon of Wednesday the 24th of this month she was safely let down upon the rollers, and by dusk, with the assistance of the _Britannia_, was hove down to low-water mark, whence, at a quarter before eight o'clock, she floated with the tide, and was hauled safely alongside the _Britannia_. The ceremony of christening her was performed at sunrise the next morning, when she was named _The Francis_, in compliment to the lieutenant-governor's son, whose birthday this was; and, Mr. Raven coinciding with the general opinion that she would be much safer if rigged as a schooner than as a sloop, for which she had been originally intended, the carpenters were directed to fit her accordingly; and that gentleman very obligingly supplied a spar, which he had procured for the _Britannia_ at Dusky Bay, to make her a foremast. The command of this little vessel, of whose utility great expectations were formed, was given by the lieutenant-governor to Mr. William House, late boatswain of the _Discovery_, who arrived here in the _Daedalus_ for the purpose of proceeding to England as an invalid; but being strongly recommended by Captain Vancouver as an excellent seaman, with whom he was very unwilling to part, and signifying a wish to be employed in this country, the command of this vessel was given to him, with the same allowance that is made to a superintendant; on which list he was placed. The two boys who were left behind from the _Kitty_ were also entered for her, and she was ordered to be fitted forthwith for sea. As it was well known that many people had their eyes upon this vessel as the means of their escaping from the colony, it was intended, in addition to other precautions, that none but the most trusty people should ever be employed in her. On the last day of the month a plan to take off one of the longboats was revealed to the lieutenant-governor. The principal parties in it were soldiers; and their scheme was, to proceed to Java, with a chart of which they had by some means been furnished. If their plan had been put into execution, the evil would have carried with it its own punishment; for, had they survived the voyage, they would never have been countenanced by the Dutch, who were always very jealous of strangers coming among them, and had, no doubt, heard of the desertion of Bryant and his associates from this settlement. Two of the soldiers were immediately put into confinement; and in the night two others, one a corporal, went off into the woods, taking with them their arms, about one hundred rounds of powder and ball, which they collected from the different pouches in the barrack, their provisions and necessaries. The principal works in hand by the people at Sydney were, erecting kitchens and storerooms for the officers' new barracks, bringing in timber for rollers for the sloop, and constructing huts at Petersham for convicts. At Toongabbie the Indian corn was not all gathered, and housing of that, and preparing the ground for the reception of the next season's crop, occupied the labouring convicts at that settlement. Some counterfeit dollars were at this time in circulation; but the manufacturers of them were not discovered. August.] The two soldiers who were put into confinement on suspicion of being parties in a plan to seize one of the long-boats, were tried by a regimental court-martial on the first day of this month, and one was acquitted; but Roberts, a drummer, who was proved to have attempted to persuade another drummer to be of the party, was sentenced to receive three hundred lashes, and in the evening did receive two hundred and twenty-five of them. While smarting under the severity with which his punishment was inflicted, he gave up the names of six or eight of his brother soldiers as concerned with him, among whom were the two who had absented themselves the preceding evening. These people, the day following their desertion, were met in the path to Parramatta, and told an absurd story of their being sent to the Blue Mountains. They were next heard of at a settler's (John Nicholls) at Prospect Hill, whose house they entered forcibly, and, making him and a convict hutkeeper prisoners, passed the night there. At another settler's they took sixteen pounds of flour, which they sent by his wife to a woman well known to one of them, and had them baked into small loaves. They signified a determination not to be taken alive, and threatened to lie in wait for the game-killers, of whose ammunition they meant to make themselves masters. These declarations manifested the badness of their hearts, and the weakness of their cause; and the lieutenant-governor, on being made acquainted with them, sent out a small armed party to secure and bring them in, rightly judging that people who were so ready at expressing every where a resolution to part with their lives rather than be taken, would not give much trouble in securing them. This desertion, and the disaffection of those who meant to take off a long-boat, was the more unaccountable, as the commanding officer had uniformly treated them with every indulgence, putting it entirely out of their power to complain on that head. Spirits and other comforts had been procured for them; he had distinguished them from the convicts in the ration of provisions; he had allowed them to build themselves comfortable huts, permitting them while so employed the use of the public boats; he had indulged them with women; and, in a word, have never refused any of them a request which did not militate against the rules of the service, or of the discipline which he had laid down for the New South Wales corps; at the same time, however, to prevent these indulgencies from falling into contempt, they were counterbalanced by a certainty of their being withdrawn when abused, and flagrant offenders were sure of meeting with punishment: yet there were many among them who were so ungrateful for the benefits which they received, and so unmindful of their own interest and accommodation, that they behaved ill whenever they had an opportunity. The parties who had been sent after the runaways, by dividing themselves, fell in with them near Toongabbie on the 6th. and secured them without any opposition. There were at this time in the New South Wales corps, distributed among the different companies, thirty recruits who had been selected from among the convicts as people of good characters, and, having formerly been in the army, were permitted to enlist. These people had conducted themselves with remarkable propriety, one man only excepted, who had some time since been punished by the sentence of a court-martial, and who afterwards misbehaving was discharged from the corps. They were in general enlisted for life, a condition to which they subscribed on being attested; and such as had a long time to serve under their sentence, were emancipated on the above condition. On the 7th the _Boddingtons_ transport anchored in the cove from Ireland, having sailed from Cork on the 15th of February last, with one hundred and twenty-four male, and twenty female convicts of that kingdom on board, provisions calculated to serve them nine months* after their arrival, and a proportion of clothing for twelve months. As a guard, there was embarked a subaltern's party of the New South Wales corps; and this precaution was found to have been very necessary, the ignorance of the Irish convicts having displayed itself in an absurd scheme to take the ship; but which was happily frustrated by the vigilance and activity of the master** and the officers. [* Two hundred and twenty-eight barrels of flour; one hundred and eight tierces of pork, and fifty-four tierces of beef, twenty-eight bales and thirteen cases of stores.] [* Captain Robert Chalmers, on the captain's half pay of the marines.] Mr. Richards jun, who had the contract for supplying the ships which sailed for this country in 1788 and the _Lady Juliana_ transport, was employed again by government; a circumstance of general congratulation among the colonists on its being made known. On the present occasion he had contracted to furnish two ships to bring out three hundred male and female convicts from Ireland, with stores and provisions. The _Boddingtons_, being the first ready, sailed alone; the _Sugar Cane_ (the second ship) was at Deptford ready to drop down to Gravesend when her intended companion was about leaving Ireland. Government were to pay four pounds four shillings per ton for such stores as should be put on board, and for the convicts at the rate of twenty-two pounds per head. This mode of payment was complained of in the contract made formerly with Messrs. Calvert and Co.; but in the present instance the evil attending that contract was avoided, by a part of the above sum (five pounds) being left to be paid by certificate for every convict which should be landed. No ship, however, could have brought out their convicts in higher order, nor could have given stronger proofs of attention to their health and accommodation, than did this vessel. Each had a bed to himself, and a new suit of clothes to land in. On the part of the crown also, to see justice done to the convicts, there was a surgeon of the navy on board, Mr. Kent, as a superintendant; and on the part of the contractor, a gentleman who had visited us before with Mr. Marshall, in the second voyage of the _Scarborough_ to this country, Mr. A. Jac. Bier, a surgeon also. They had not any sick list, and had lost only one man on the passage. Captain Chalmers informed us, that on his arrival at Rio de Janeiro, in which port he anchored on the 10th of last April, he heard that the _Atlantic_ transport had sailed thence about three weeks, and had made her passage from this country round Cape Horn to Rio de Janeiro in fifty-eight days. He learned from the gentlemen about the palace, that his excellency Governor Phillip when he touched there appeared to be in perfect health. He had there too heard of the agitated state of Europe; and understanding that in all probability the Channel would be infested with French privateers, he purchased some guns, to strengthen the force which he had already on board the _Atlantic_. Advices were received by this ship, that administration intended to make arrangements for our being supplied from Bengal with live cattle: and this became a favourite idea with every person in the colony; for the sheep, though small, were found to be very productive, breeding twice in the year, and generally bringing two lambs at a birth. The climate was also found to agree well with the cattle of the buffalo species which had been received. The convicts received by the _Boddingtons_ were disembarked a day or two after her arrival, and sent up to Toongabbie. On quitting the ship they with one voice bore testimony to the humane treatment they had received from Captain Chalmers, declaring that they had not any complaints to prefer, and cheering him when the boats which carried them put off from her side. It being necessary to mark with some degree of severity the offence which had been committed by the two soldiers, a general court-martial was assembled for their trial on the 12th. The lieutenant-governor, with much humanity, forebore to charge them with a capital offence; bringing them to trial for absenting themselves from head-quarters without leave, instead of the more serious crime of desertion. By the mutiny act, a general court-martial may, in Africa, consist of less than thirteen commissioned officers, but not less than five; the like provision was also extended to New South Wales; and nine officers formed the court now assembled for the first time in this colony. Captain Collins officiated as deputy judge-advocate. The prisoners did not deny the crime they were charged with; and the court, after reducing the corporal to the ranks, sentenced him to receive five hundred lashes, and the private soldier eight hundred. The sentence, being approved by the lieutenant-governor, was in part carried into execution on Saturday the 17th, the corporal receiving two hundred and seventy-five, and the soldier three hundred lashes. The _Britannia_ being now nearly ready for sea, having had some very necessary articles of repair done to her, and which the master declared had been as well executed by the artificers of the colony as if the ship had been in England, she was tendered to be employed for the service of the settlement wherever the lieutenant-governor might think it necessary to send her. In the charter-party of the _Boddingtons_, a clause was inserted, empowering the governor to send her to Norfolk Island, or elsewhere, should he have occasion, the crown paying the same hire as was paid for the _Atlantic_ transport (fifteen shillings and sixpence per ton per month) during the time she should be so employed. The _Britannia_ was tendered at one shilling per ton less, and had moreover the advantage of being a coppered ship. It has been seen that the supply brought by the _Boddingtons_ was very inconsiderable. No greater quantity was expected with any degree of certainty by the _Sugar Cane_. The salt provisions remaining in store (by a calculation made up to the 28th) were sufficient for only fourteen weeks at the full ration, including what had been received by the _Boddingtons_, and some surplus provisions which had been purchased of the agent to the contractor, and one hundred casks of pork, which had been omitted by an oversight in the last account taken in May a few days before the _Kitty_ sailed. When it was considered that our supplies would always be affected by commotions at home, and that if a war should take place between England and any other nation, which at the departure of the _Boddingtons_ was hourly expected, they might be retarded, or taken by the enemy, the lieutenant-governor determined, while he had in his own hands the means of supplying himself, to employ them; and on the 26th chartered the _Britannia_ for India. Our principal want was salt provisions; of flour we well remembered that Bengal produced none, and a coming crop was before us on our own grounds. The _Britannia_ was therefore to proceed to Bengal, to be freighted by the government of that presidency with salt provisions, Irish beef or pork; and in the event of its not being possible to procure them, the ship was to return loaded with sugar, rice, and dholl, these being the articles which, next to salt provisions, were the most wanted in the colony. Mr. Raven, the master of the _Britannia_, having, as was before observed, left a mate and some of his people at Dusky Bay in New Zealand, the lieutenant-governor directed the _Francis_ to be got ready with all expedition, purposing that she should accompany the _Britannia_ as far on her way as that harbour, where she had permission to touch; and Mr. Raven was directed to transmit by the master all such information respecting that extensive bay, and the seal-fishery in its vicinity, as he should be of opinion might in anywise tend to the present or future benefit of his Majesty's service as connected with these settlements. The clergyman having completed the building which he began in July last, divine service was performed in it for the first time on Sunday the 25th of this month; and for a temporary accommodation it appeared likely to answer very well. Mr. Johnson in his discourse, which was intended to impress the minds of his audience with the necessity of holiness in every place, lamented that the urgency of public works had prevented any undertaking of the kind before, and had thus thrown it upon him; he declared that he had no other motive for standing forward in the business, than that of establishing a place sheltered from bad weather, and from the summer heats, where public worship might be performed. He said, that the uncertainty of a place where they might attend had prevented many from coming; but he now hoped the attendance would be full whenever he preached there. The place was constructed to hold five hundred people. It appeared by an estimate which Mr. Johnson afterwards gave in, for the purpose of being reimbursed what it had cost him, that the expense of this building considerably exceeded his first calculation, the whole amount of it being £67 12s 11½d; of which Mr. Johnson paid to the different artificers he had employed £59 18s in dollars; twenty gallons and a half of spirits; one hundred and sixteen pounds of flour; fifty-two pounds of salt provisions; three pounds of tobacco; and five ounces of tea. Spirits were at this time sold in the colony at ten shillings per gallon; but Mr. Johnson observed in his estimate that he only charged that and other articles at the prices which they had actually cost him. This account Mr. Johnson requested might be transmitted to the secretary of state, and he accompanied it with a letter stating his reasons for having undertaken the building? The _Boddingtons_ were cleared of her cargo, and discharged from Government employ on the 26th. The cargo, when landed, was found in most excellent condition, not a single article being damaged; far different from that received by the _Bellona_, where the ship was overloaded. Had the _Boddingtons_ been coppered, no ship could have been better calculated for the transport of provisions to this country from any part of the world. A remarkable instance of fecundity in a female goat occurred at the house of one of the superintendants at Sydney. She produced five kids, three females and two males, all of which died (a blow which the animal received bringing them before their time) excepting the first which was kidded, a female. The same goat in March last brought four kids, three males and one female, all of which lived. She was a remarkably fine creature. Much apprehension was now entertained for the wheat, which began to look yellow and parched for want of rain. Toward the latter end of the month, however, some rain fell during three days and nights, which considerably refreshed it. But there being no fixed period at which wet weather was to be expected in this country, it might certainly be pronounced too dry for wheat. An unpleasant accident occurred at the lieutenant-governor's farm. A convict of good character, who had the care of the sheep, was found dead in the woods. He had declined coming in to his breakfast, and was left eating some bread made of Indian corn and coarse-ground wheat. His body was opened, but no cause for his sudden dissolution could be assigned from its appearance. At the Ponds, a district of settlers in the neighbourhood of Parramatta, John Richards, in possession of a grant of thirty acres of land, died of intoxication. This was the first death which had occurred among any of the people of that description. By an account taken of the provisions remaining in store on the 28th of the month, it appeared that we had, calculating each article at the established ration for two thousand eight hundred and forty-five persons, the numbers victualled at Sydney and Parramatta, Flour, to last 4 weeks, -- or 91,040 lbs Beef, to last 3 weeks, -- or 59,745 lbs Pork, to last 11 weeks, -- or 125,180 lbs Wheat, to last 1 week, -- or 22,760 lbs Gram and Peas, to last 8 weeks, -- or 68,280 lbs Sugar, to last 3 weeks, -- or 3,200 lbs Paddy, 43,000 lbs September.] Unproductive as the Indian corn proved which was sown last year on the public grounds, the settlers must have had a better crop; for, after reserving a sufficiency for seed for the ensuing season, and for their domestic purposes, a few had raised enough to enable them to sell twelve hundred bushels to Government, who, on receiving it into the public stores, paid five shillings per bushel to the bringer. Government, however, was not resorted to in the first instance by the settler, who preferred disposing of his corn where he could receive spirits in payment (which he retailed for labour) to bringing it to the commissary for five shillings a bushel; but at this price, from whose hands soever it might come, it was received into the public stores. The _Britannia_ and _Francis_ schooner sailed on Sunday. the 8th for Dusky Bay. The _Francis_ was manned with seamen and boys who had been left here from ships, and the master had for his assistant as mate Robert Watson, who formerly belonged to his Majesty's ship _Sirius_, and was afterwards a settler at Norfolk Island; but his allotment having been erroneously surveyed, he, being obliged to resign a part of it, gave up the whole, and gladly returned to his former way of life. One of the three seamen who had been taken out of the _Kitty_, and punished, was permitted to enter on board the schooner; another of them was taken by the captain of the _Boddingtons_; Williams, the principal, remained in the colony, not bearing that sort of character which would recommend him to any master of a ship. Captain Nicholas Nepean, the senior captain in the New South Wales corps, having been for some time past in an ill state of health, obtained the lieutenant-governor's leave to return to England by the way of Bengal, and quitted the colony in the _Britannia_. Three men and one woman also received permission to leave the settlement. It might have been supposed, that the fatal consequences of endeavouring to seek a place in the woods of this country where they might live without labour had been sufficiently felt by the convicts who arrived here in the _Queen_ transport from Ireland, to deter others from rushing into the same error, as they would, doubtless, acquaint the new comers with the ill success which attended their schemes of that nature. Several of those, however, who came out in the _Boddingtons_ went off into the woods soon after their landing; and a small party, composed of some desperate characters, about the same time stole a boat from Mr. Schaffer, the settler, with which, as they were not heard of for some days after, it was supposed they had either got out of the harbour, or were lying concealed until, being joined by those who had taken to the woods, they could procure a larger and a safer conveyance from the country. A slight change took place in the ration this month; the sugar being expended, molasses was ordered to be served in lieu of that article, in the proportion of a pint of molasses to a pound of sugar. On Sunday the 15th died James Nation, a soldier in the New South Wales corps, into which he had entered from the marine detachment. He sunk under an inflammatory complaint brought on by hard drinking. With this person Martha Todd cohabited at the time of her decease, which, as before related, was occasioned by the same circumstance, and which, together with her death, Nation had been frequently heard to say was the cause of much unhappiness to him. On Tuesday the 17th the signal was made at the South Head, and about six o'clock in the evening the _Sugar Cane_ transport anchored in the cove from Cork, whence she sailed the 13th of last April, having on board one hundred and ten male and fifty female convicts, with a sergeant's party of the New South Wales corps as a guard. Nothing had happened on board her until the 25th of May, when information was given to Mr. David Wake Bell, the agent on the part of Government, that a mutiny was intended by the convicts, and that they had proceeded so far as to saw off some of their irons. Insinuations were at the same time thrown out, of the probability of their being joined by certain of the sailors and of the guard. The agent, after making the necessary inquiry, thought it indispensable to the safety of the ship to cause an instant example to be made, and ordered one of the convicts who was found out of irons to be executed that night. Others he punished the next morning; and by these measures, as might well be expected, threw such a damp on the spirits of the rest, that he heard no more during the voyage of attempts or intentions to take the ship. Since the arrival of the _Boddingtons_ many circumstances respecting the intended mutiny in that ship had been disclosed by the convicts themselves which were not before known. They did not hesitate to say, that all the officers were to have been murdered, the first* mate and the agent excepted, who were to be preserved alive for the purpose of conducting the ship to a port, when they likewise were to be put to death. [* Mr. Duncan McEver. He belonged to the _Atlantic_, which ship he quitted at Bengal.] As intentions of this kind had been talked of in several ships, the military guard should never have been less than an officer's command, and that guard (especially when embarked for the security of a ship full of wild lawless Irish) ought never to have been composed either of young soldiers, or of deserters from other corps. This ship had a quick passage from Rio de Janeiro, arriving here in sixty-five days from that port. She brought the following quantity of provisions and stores for the colony: Beef 46 tierces 15,496 ) 31,496 pounds; Shipped at Cork 80 barrels 16,000 ) Pork 92 tierces 29,440 ] 45,440 pounds; Shipped at Cork 80 barrels 16,000 ] Flour 192 barrels, 64,512 pounds; Lime-stone, shipped at Cork 44 tons; Clothing and necessaries 17 bales and 5 cases The convicts arrived in a very healthy state, nor was any one lost by sickness during the voyage. Captain Paterson, of the New South Wales corps, an account of whose journeys in Africa appeared in print some years ago, conceiving that he might be able to penetrate as far as, or even beyond, the western mountains (commonly known in the colony by the name of the Blue Mountains, from the appearance which land so high and distant generally wears), set off from the settlement with a small party of gentlemen (Captain Johnston, Mr. Palmer, and Mr. Laing the assistant-surgeon) well provided with arms, and having provisions and necessaries sufficient for a journey of six weeks, to make the attempt. Boats were sent round to Broken Bay, whence they got into the Hawkesbury, and the fourth day reached as far as Richmond Hill. At this place, in the year 1789, the governor's progress up the river was obstructed by a fall of water, which his boats were too heavy to drag over. This difficulty Captain Paterson overcame by quitting his large boats, and proceeding from Richmond Hill with two that were smaller and lighter. He found that this part of the river carried him to the westward, and into the chasm that divided the high land seen from Richmond Hill. Hither, however, he got with great difficulty and some danger, meeting in the space of about ten miles with not less than five waterfalls, one of which was rather steep, and was running at the rate of ten or twelve miles an hour. Above this part the water was about fifteen yards from side to side, and came down with some rapidity, a fall of rain having swollen the stream. Their navigation was here so intricate, lying between large pieces of rock that had been borne down by torrents, and some stumps of trees which they could not always see, that (after having loosened a plank in one boat, and driven the other upon a stump which forced its way through her bottom) they gave up any further progress, leaving the western mountains to be the object of discovery at some future day. It was supposed that they had proceeded ten miles farther up the river than had ever before been done, and named that part of it which until then had been unseen, 'the Grose;' and a high peak of land, which they had in view in the chasm, they called 'Harrington Peak.' Captain Paterson, as a botanist, was amply rewarded for his labour and disappointment by discovering several new plants. Of the soil in which they grew, he did not, however, speak very favourably. He saw but few natives, and those who did visit them were almost unintelligible to the natives of this place who accompanied him. He entertained a notion that their legs and arms were longer than those of the inhabitants of the coast. As they live by climbing trees, if there really was any such difference, it might perhaps have been occasioned by the custom of hanging by their arms and resting on their feet at the utmost stretch of the body, which they practise from their infancy. The party returned on the 22nd, having been absent about ten days. In their walk to Pitt Water, they met with the boat which had been stolen by some of the Irish convicts; and a few days after their return some of those who had run into the woods came into Parramatta, with an account of two of their party having been speared and killed by the natives. The men who were killed were of very bad character, and had been the principals in the intended mutiny on board the _Boddingtons_. Their destruction was confirmed by some of the natives who lived in the town. The foundation of another barrack for officers was begun in this month. For the privates one only was yet erected; but this was not attended with any inconvenience, as all those who were not in quarters had built themselves comfortable huts between the town of Sydney and the brick-kilns. This indulgence might be attended with some convenience to the soldiers; but it had ever been considered, that soldiers could no where be so well regulated as when living in quarters, where, by frequent inspections and visitings, their characters would be known, and their conduct attended to. In a multiplicity of scattered huts the eye of vigilance would with difficulty find its object, and the soldier in possession of a habitation of his own might, in a course of time, think of himself more as an independent citizen, than as a subordinate soldier. On the 23rd the first part of the cargo of the _Sugar Cane_ was delivered, and in a very few days all that she had on board on account of government was received into the store, together with some surplus provisions of the contractor's. The convicts which she brought out were, very soon after her arrival, sent to the settlements up the harbour. At these places the labouring people were employed, some in getting the Indian corn for the ensuing season into such ground as was ready, and others in preparing the remainder. At the close of the month, through the favourable rains which had fallen, the wheat in general wore the most flattering appearance, giving every promise of a plenteous harvest. At Toongabbie the wheat appeared to bid defiance to any accident but fire, against which some precautions had however been judiciously and timely taken. From this place, and from the settlers, a quantity of corn sufficient to supply all our numbers for a twelvemonth was expected to be received into the public granaries, if those who looked so far forward, and took into their calculation much corn not yet in ear, were not too sanguine in their expectations. CHAPTER XXIII The _Boddingtons_ and _Sugar Cane_ sail A mill erected Thefts committed Convicts emancipated Two persons killed by lightning The _Fairy_ arrives Farms sold Public works The _Francis_ returns from New Zealand The _Fairy_ sails Ration altered Transactions Harvest begun Criminal Court held A convict executed Provisions Mill at Parramatta Christmas Day Natives Convicts Boats Grants of land Settlers Public works Expenses how to be calculated Deaths in 1793 Prices of grain, stock, and labour October.] The _Boddingtons_ and _Sugar Cane_ being both bound for the same port in India (Bengal) the masters agreed to proceed together; and on the 13th, the _Sugar Cane_ having set up her rigging, and hurried through such refitting as was indispensably necessary, both ships left the harbour with a fair wind, purposing to follow in the _Atlantic's_ track. The master of the _Boddingtons_ was furnished by us with a copy of a chart made on board the _Pitt_ Indiaman, and brought hither by the _Britannia_, of a passage or channel found by that ship in the land named by Lieutenant Shortland New Georgia; which channel was placed in the latitude of 8 degrees 30 minutes S and in the longitude of 158 degrees 30 minutes E and named 'Manning's Straits,' from the commander of the _Pitt_. The master of the _Sugar Cane_, had he been left to sail alone, determined to have tried the passage to India by the way of the South Cape of this country, instead of proceeding to the northward, and seemed not to have any doubt of meeting with favourable winds after rounding the cape. By their proceeding together, however, it remained yet to be determined, whether a passage to India round the South Cape of this country was practicable, and whether it would be a safer and a shorter route than one through Endeavour or Torres Strait, the practicability of which was likewise undetermined as to any knowledge which was had of it in this colony. Seven persons whose terms of transportation had expired, were permitted to quit the colony in these ships, and the master of the _Sugar Cane_ had shipped Benjamin Williams, the last of the _Kitty's_ people who remained undisposed of. One free woman, the wife of a convict, took her passage in the _Sugar Cane_. Notwithstanding the facility with which passages from this place were procured (very little more being required by the masters than permission to receive them, and that the parties should find their own provisions) it was found after the departure of these ships that some convicts had, by being secreted on board, made their escape from the colony; and two men, whose terms as convicts had expired, were brought up from the _Sugar Cane_ the day she sailed, having got on board without permission; for which the lieutenant-governor directed them to be punished with fifty lashes each, and sent up to Toongabbie. Early in the month an alteration took place in the weekly ration, the four pounds of wheat served to the convicts were discontinued, and a substitution of one pint of rice, and two pints of gram (an East India grain resembling dholl) took place. The serving of wheat was discontinued for the purpose of issuing it as flour; to accomplish which a mill had been constructed by a convict of the name of James Wilkinson, who came to this country in the _Neptune_. His abilities as a millwright had hitherto lain dormant, and perhaps would longer have continued so, had they not been called forth by a desire of placing himself in competition with Thorpe the millwright sent out by government. His machine was a walking mill, the principal wheel of which was fifteen feet in diameter, and was worked by two men; while this wheel was performing one revolution, the mill-stones performed twenty. As it was in opposition to the public millwright that he undertook to construct this mill, he of course derived no assistance whatever from Thorpe's knowledge of the business, and had to contend not only with his opinion, but the opinion of such as he could prejudice against him. The heavy part of the work, cutting and bringing in the timber, and afterwards preparing it, was performed by his fellow-prisoners, who gave him their labour voluntarily. He was three months and five days from taking it in hand to his offering it for the first trial. On this trial it was found defective in some of the machinery, which was all constructed of the timber of the country, and not properly seasoned. Its effects in grinding were various; at first it would grind no more than two bushels an hour; with some alteration, it ground more, and did for some time complete four bushels; it afterwards ground less, and at the end of the month produced not more than one bushel. Had the whole of the machinery been upon a larger scale, there was reason to suppose it would have answered every expectation of the most interested. The constructor, however, had a great deal of merit, and perceiving himself what the defects were in this, he undertook to make another upon a larger scale at Sydney, and on an improved plan. For this purpose, all the artificers and a gang of convicts were brought down from Parramatta, and were first employed in forming a timber-yard at Petersham, two hundred feet square. At that place, a small district in the neighbourhood of Sydney so named by the lieutenant-governor, nine huts for labouring convicts were built, and sixty acres of government ground cleared of timber, twenty of which were sown with Indian corn. This was the only addition made to the public ground this season; and the sole difference that was observable in the progress of our cultivation consisted in sowing this year with wheat a large portion of that ground which last year grew Indian corn. The weather throughout the month continued extremely favourable for wheat. The number of convicts which it was intended to receive for the present into the New South Wales corps being determined, a warrant of emancipation passed the seal of the territory, giving conditional freedom to twenty three persons of that description, seven of whom were transported for life, and three had between six and nine years to serve, having been sent out for fourteen. The condition of the pardon was, their continuing to serve in the corps into which they had enlisted until they should be regularly discharged therefrom. Several instances of irregularity and villainy among the convicts occurred during this month. From Parramatta, information was received, that in the night of the 15th four people broke into the house of John Randall, a settler, where with large bludgeons they had beaten and nearly murdered two men who lived with him. The hands and faces of these miscreants were blackened; and it was observed, that they did not speak during the time they were in the hut. It was supposed, that they were some of the new-comers, and meant to rob the house; and this they would have effected, but for the activity of the two men whom they attacked, and for the resistance which they met with from them. At this time seven of the male convicts lately arrived from Ireland, with one woman, had absconded into the woods. Some of these people were afterwards brought in to Parramatta, where they confessed that they had planned the robbing of the millhouse, the governor's, and other houses; and that they were to be visited from time to time in their places of concealment by others of their associates who were to reside in the town, and to supply them with provisions, and such occasional information as might appear to be necessary to their safety. They also acknowledged that the assault at Randall's hut was committed by them and their companions. About the same time the house of Mr. Atkins at Parramatta was broken into, and a large quantity of provisions, and a cask of wine, removed from his store-room to the garden fence, where they left them on being discovered and pursued. They, however, got clear off, though without their booty. At Sydney, in the night of the 26th, a box belonging to John Sparrow (a convict) was broke open, and three watches stolen out, one of which with the seals had cost thirty-two guineas, and belonged to an officer. This theft was committed at the hospital, where Sparrow was at the time a patient, although able to work occasionally at his business; and being a young man of abilities as a watchmaker, and of good character, was employed by most of the gentlemen of the settlement. Suspicion fell upon a notorious thief who was in the same ward, and who had some time before proposed to another man to take the box. On his examination he accused two others of the theft, but with such equivocation in his tale as clearly proved the falsehood of it. As there was no evidence against him, except the proposal just mentioned, he was discharged, and during the month nothing was heard of the watches. An old man belonging to the hospital was robbed at the same time of eight guineas and some dollars, which he had got together for the purpose of paying for his passage and provisions in any ship that would take him home. During a storm of rain and thunder which happened in the afternoon of Saturday the 26th, two convict lads Dennis Reardon and William Meredith, who were employed in cutting wood just by the town when the rain commenced, ran to a tree for shelter, where they were found the next morning lying dead, together with a dog which followed them. There was no doubt that the shelter which they sought had proved their destruction, having been struck dead by lightning, one or two flashes of which had been observed to be very vivid and near. One of them, when he received the stroke, had his hands in his bosom; the hands of the other were across his breast, and he seemed to have had something in them. The pupils of their eyes were considerably dilated, and the tongue of each, as well as that of the dog, was forced out between the teeth. Their faces were livid, and the same appearance was visible on several parts of their bodies. The tree at the foot of which they were found was barked at the top, and some of its branches torn off. In the evening they were decently buried in one grave, to which they were attended by many of their fellow-prisoners. Mr. Johnson, to a discourse which he afterwards preached on the subject, prefixed as a text these words from the first book of Samuel, chap xx verse 3. 'There is but a step between me and death.' This was the first accident of the kind that, to our knowledge, had occurred in the colony, though lightning more vivid and alarming had often been seen in storms of longer duration. While every one was expecting our colonial vessel, the _Francis_, from New Zealand. the signal for a sail was made on the 29th; and shortly after the _Fairy_, an American snow, anchored in the cove from Boston in New England, and last from the island of St. Paul, whence she had a passage of only four weeks. The master, Mr. Rogers, touched at False Bay; but from there not having been any recent arrivals from Europe, he procured no other intelligence at that port, than what we had already received. At the island of St. Paul he found five seamen who had been left there from a ship two years before, and who had procured several thousand seal-skins. They informed him, that Lord Macartney in his Majesty's ship the _Lion_, and the _Hindostan_ East-Indiaman, had touched there in their way to China, and Mr. Rogers expected to have heard that his lordship had visited this settlement. The _Fairy_ was to proceed from this place to the north-west coast of America, where the master hoped to arrive the first for the fur market. Thence he was to go to China with his skins, and from China back to St. Paul, where he had left a mate and two sailors. Their success was to regulate his future voyages. Mr. Rogers expressed a surprise that we had not any small craft on the coast, as he had observed a plentiful harvest of seals as he came along. He came in here merely to refresh, not having any thing on board for sale, his cargo consisting wholly of articles of traffic for the north-west coast of America. Charles Williams, the settler so often mentioned in this narrative, wearied of being in a state of independence, sold his farm with the house, crop, and stock, for something less than one hundred pounds, to an officer of the New South Wales corps, Lieutenant Cummings, to whose allotment of twenty-five acres Williams's ground was contiguous. James Ruse also, the owner of Experiment farm, anxious to return to England, and disappointed in his present crop, which he had sown too late, sold his estate with the house and some stock (four goats and three sheep) for forty pounds. Both these people had to seek employment until they could get away; and Williams was condemned to work as a hireling upon the ground of which he had been the master. But he was a stranger to the feelings which would have rendered this circumstance disagreeable to him. The allotment of thirty acres, late in the possession of James Richards, a settler at the Ponds, deceased, was put into the occupation of a private soldier of the New South Wales corps; and a grant of thirty acres at the Eastern Farms was purchased for as many pounds by another soldier. The greatest inconvenience attending this transfer of landed property was the return of such a miscreant as Williams, and others of his description, to England, to be let loose again upon the public. The land itself came into the possession of people who were interested in making the most of it, and who would be more studious to raise plentiful crops for market. Building and covering the new barrack, and bringing in timber for the new mill-house, which was not to be built of brick, formed the principal labour of this month at Sydney. The shipwrights were employed in putting up the frame of a long-boat purchased of the master of the _Britannia_, and repairing the hoy, which had been lying for some months useless for want of repairs, having been much injured by the destructive worm that was found in the waters of this cove. At the other settlements the convicts were employed in planting the Indian corn. About four hundred and twenty acres were planted with that article for this season's crop. November.] In the night of Thursday the 7th of November, the _Francis_ schooner anchored in the cove from Dusky Bay in New Zealand; her long absence from this place (nearly nine weeks) having been occasioned by meeting with contrary and heavy gales of wind. The alteration which had been made in this vessel by rigging her as a schooner instead of a sloop, for which she was built, was found to have materially affected her sailing; for a schooner she was too short, and, for want of proper sail, she did not work well. Four times she was blown off the coast of New Zealand, the _Britannia_ having anchored in Dusky Bay sixteen days before the _Francis_. Mr. Raven found in health and safety all the people whom he had left there. They had procured him only four thousand five hundred seal-skins, having been principally occupied in constructing a vessel to serve them in the event of any accident happening to the _Britannia_. This they had nearly completed when Mr. Raven arrived. She was calculated to measure about sixty-five tons, and was chiefly built of the spruce fir, which Mr. Raven stated to be the fittest wood he had observed there for ship-building, and which might be procured in any quantity or of any size. The carpenter of the _Britannia_, an ingenious man, and master of his profession, compared it to English oak for durability and strength. The natives had never molested the _Britannia's_ people: indeed they seemed rather to abhor them; for if, by chance, in their excursions, which were but very few, they visited and left any thing in a hut, they were sure, on their next visit, to find the hut pulled down, and their present remaining where it had been left. Some few articles which Mr. Raven had himself placed in a hut, when he touched there to establish his little fishery, were found three months after by his people in the same spot. Their weather had been very bad; severe gales of wind from the north-west and heavy rains often impeding their fishery and other labour. A shock of an earthquake too had been felt. They had an abundance of fresh provisions, ducks, wood-hens, and several other fowl; and they caught large quantities of fish. The soil, to a great depth, appeared to be composed of decayed vegetable substances. From Mr. Raven, who had waited some days for the appearance of the _Francis_, the master received such assistance as he stood in need of; and on the 20th of October she sailed from Dusky Bay, in company with the _Britannia_, with whom she parted immediately, leaving her to pursue her voyage to Bengal. Nothing appeared by this information from Dusky Bay, that held out encouragement to us to make any use of that part of New Zealand. So little was said of the soil, or face of the country, that no judgment could be formed of any advantages which might be expected from attempting to cultivate it; a seal fishery there was not an object with us at present, and, beside, it did not seem to promise much. The time, however, that the schooner was absent was not wholly misapplied; as we had the satisfaction of learning the event of a rather uncommon speculation, that of leaving twelve people for ten months on so populous an island, the inhabitants whereof were known to be savages, fierce and warlike. We certainly may suppose that these people were unacquainted with the circumstance of there being any strangers near them; and that consequently they had not had any communication with the few miserable beings who were occasionally seen in the coves of Dusky Bay. A few days after the arrival of the _Francis_, Mr. Rogers sailed for China, taking with him two women and three men who had received permission to quit the colony. On board of the _Fairy_ was found a convict, John Crow, who for some offence had been confined in the military guardhouse at Parramatta, whence he found means to make his escape, and reached Sydney in time to swim on board the American. On being brought on shore he received a slight punishment, and was confined in the black hole at the guardhouse at Sydney, out of which he escaped a night or two after, by untiling a part of the roof. After this he was not heard of, till the watch apprehended him at Parramatta, where he had broken into two houses, which he had plundered, and was caught with the property upon him. The frequency of enormous offences had rendered it necessary to inflict a punishment that should be more likely to check the commission of crimes than mere flagellation at the back of the guardhouse, or being sent to Toongabbie. Crow, therefore, was lodged in the custody of the civil power, and ordered for trial by the court of criminal judicature. During the time the _Fairy_ lay at anchor in this cove, a sergeant and three privates of the New South Wales corps were sent and remained on board, for the purpose of preventing all improper visitations from the shore, and inspecting whatever might be either received into or sent from the ship in a suspicious manner: a regulation from which the master professed to have found essential service, as he thereby kept his decks free from idle or bad people, and his seamen went on unmolested with the duty of the vessel. On Saturday the 23rd, the flour and rice in store being nearly expended, the ration was altered to the following proportions of those articles, viz: To the officers, civil and military, soldiers, overseers, and the settlers from free people, were served, of biscuit or flour 2 pounds; wheat 2 pounds; Indian corn 5 pounds; peas 3 pints. To the male convicts were served, women and children receiving in the proportions always observed, (of biscuit or flour, none, and for the first time since the establishment of the colony) wheat 3 pounds; Indian corn 5 pounds; paddy 2 pints; gram 2 pints. This was universally felt as the worst ration that had ever been served from his Majesty's stores; and by the labouring convict particularly so, as no one article of grain was so prepared for him as to be immediately made use of. The quantity that was now to be ground, and the numbers who brought grain to the mill, kept it employed all the night as well as the day; and as, from the scarcity of mills, every man was compelled to wait for his turn, the day had broke, and the drum beat for labour, before many who went into the mill house at night had been able to get their corn ground. The consequence was, that many, not being able to wait, consumed their allowance unprepared. By the next Saturday, a quantity of wheat sufficient for one serving having been passed through the large mill at Parramatta, the convicts received their ration of that article ground coarse. The lumber yard near Sydney being completed, the convict millwright Wilkinson was preparing his new mill with as much expedition as he could use; and John Baughan, an ingenious man, formerly a convict, had undertaken to build another mill upon a construction somewhat different from that of Wilkinson's, in which he was assisted by some artificers of the regiment. Both these mills were to be erected on the open spot of ground formerly used as a parade by the marine battalion. Short as was the quantity of flour in store, we did not, however, despair of being able to issue some meal of this season's growth before it could be entirely expended. About the middle of the month, the wheat that was sown in April last, about ninety acres, being perfectly ripe, the harvest commenced, and from that quantity of ground it was calculated that upwards of twenty-two bushels an acre would be received. Most of the settlers had also begun to reap; and they, as well as others who had grown that grain, were informed, that 'Wheat properly dried and cleaned would be received at Sydney by the commissary at ten shillings the bushel; but that none could be purchased from any other persons than those who had grown it on their own farms; neither could any be taken into the stores at Parramatta.' The precaution of receiving wheat only from those persons who had raised it on their own farms was intended to prevent the petty and rascally traffic which would otherwise have been carried on between free people off the stores and persons who might employ them to sell the fruits of their depredations on the public and other grounds. December.] Early in this month a criminal court was assembled, at which Charles Williams, a boy of fourteen years of age, and John Bevan, a notorious offender, though also very young, were tried for breaking into a house at Toongabbie; but, for want of evidence, were acquitted. John Crow was also tried for the burglary in the hut at Parramatta, out of which he had stolen a quantity of wearing apparel and provisions; and, being clearly convicted, he received sentence of death. An idea very generally prevailed among the ignorant part of the convicts, that the lieutenant-governor was not authorised to cause a sentence of death to be carried into execution, a notion that was in their minds confirmed by the mercy which he had extended to Samuel Wright, who was pardoned by him in July. It became, therefore, absolutely necessary, for their own sakes, to let them see that he was not only possessed of the power, but that he would also exercise it. On this account the prisoner, after petitioning more than once for a respite, which he received, was executed on Tuesday the 10th, eight days after his trial. There did not exist in the colony at this time a fitter object for example than John Crow. Unfortunately, the poor wretch to his last moment cherished the idea that he should not suffer; and consequently could have been but ill prepared for the change he was about to experience. He had endeavoured to effect his escape by jumping down a privy a few hours before his execution; and it was afterwards found, that he had with much ingenuity removed some bricks in the wall of the hole in which he was confined, whence, had he obtained the respite of another day, he would easily have escaped. Independent of the consideration that this man had long been a proper object of severe punishment, to have pardoned him (even on any condition) would only have tended to strengthen the supposition that the lieutenant-governor had not the power of life and death; and many daring burglaries and other enormities would have followed. Crow pretended that he was in the secret respecting the watches which were stolen from the hospital in October last; but all that he knew amounted to nothing that could lead to a discovery either of them or of the thief. He did not appear to be at all commiserated or regretted by any of his fellow prisoners; a certain proof of the absence of every good quality in his character. In the night of the 6th, during a violent storm of rain and thunder, a long-boat, which had arrived in the evening from Parramatta with grain for the next day's serving, and was then lying at the wharf on the west side under the care of a sentinel, filled with the quantity of water which ran from the wharf, and sunk. By this accident two hundred and eighty bushels of Indian corn in cob, and a few bushels of wheaten meal, were totally lost. The natives who could dive availed themselves of the circumstance, and recovered a great quantity of the corn, of which they were very fond. The boats were not injured. Sudden storms of this kind were frequent; and gusts of wind have been so sudden and violent, that ships, loosely moored, have driven at their anchors in the cove. On Saturday the 7th a change took place in the ration; this was, the discontinuing of the three pints of peas which were served to the civil and military, and the three pints of gram which were served to the convicts, and giving them instead an equal quantity of wheat. Notwithstanding every supply of flour which had been purchased, or received into the store from England, it was at length entirely exhausted; the civil and military receiving the last on Monday the 9th. This total deprivation of so valuable, so essential an article in the food of man happened, fortunately, at a season when its place could in some measure be supplied immediately, the harvest having been all safely got in at Toongabbie by the beginning of this month. About the middle of it, eight hundred bushels were threshed out, and on Monday the 16th the civil and military received each seven pounds of wheat coarsely ground at the mill at Parramatta. This mill, from the brittleness of the timber with which it was constructed, was found to be unequal to the consumption of the settlements. The cogs frequently broke, and hence it was not of any very great utility. To remedy this inconvenience, a convict blacksmith undertook to produce one iron hand-mill each week, for which he was to be paid at the rate of two guineas; and by his means several mills were distributed in the settlements. The salt meat being the next article which threatened a speedy expenditure, on Saturday the 28th one pound was taken from the weekly allowance of beef; and but a small quantity of Indian corn remaining in store, the male convicts received eight pounds of new wheat, whole; and only three pounds of Indian corn, or paddy, were served. On Christmas day, the Reverend Mr. Johnson preached to between thirty and forty persons only, though on a provision day some four or five hundred heads were seen waiting round the storehouse doors. The evening produced a watchhouse full of prisoners; several were afterwards punished, among whom were some servants for stealing liquor from an officer. The passion for liquor was so predominant among the people, that it operated like a mania, there being nothing which they would not risk to obtain it: and while spirits were to be had, those who did any extra labour refused to be paid in money, or any other article than spirits, which were now, from their scarcity, sold at six shillings per bottle. Webb, the settler near Parramatta, having procured a small still from England, found it more advantageous to draw an ardent diabolical spirit from his wheat, than to send it to the store and receive ten shillings per bushel from the commissary. From one bushel of wheat he obtained nearly five quarts of spirit, which he sold or paid in exchange for labour at five and six shillings per quart. McDonald, a settler at the Field of Mars, made a different and a better use of the produce of his farm. Having a mill, he ground and dressed his wheat, and sold it to a baker at Sydney at fourpence per pound, procuring forty-four pounds of good flour from a bushel of wheat, which was taken at fifty-nine pounds. This person also killed a wether sheep (the produce of what had been given to him by Governor Phillip) at Christmas, and sold it at two shillings per pound, each quarter weighing about fifteen pounds. The town of Sydney had this year increased considerably; not fewer than one hundred and sixty huts, beside five barracks, having been added since the departure of Governor Phillip. Some of these huts were large, and to each of them upwards of fourteen hundred bricks were allowed for a chimney and floor. These huts extended nearly to the brickfields, whence others were building to meet them, and thus to unite that district with the town. About the latter end of the month a large party of the natives attacked some settlers who were returning from Parramatta to Toongabbie, and took from them all the provisions which they had just received from the store. By flying immediately into the woods, they eluded all pursuit and search. They were of the Hunter's or Woodman's tribe, people who seldom came among us, and who consequently were little known. The natives who lived about Sydney appeared to place the utmost confidence in us, choosing a clear spot between the town and the brickfield for the performance of any of their rites and ceremonies; and for three evenings the town had been amused with one of their spectacles, which might properly have been denominated a tragedy, for it was attended with a great effusion of blood. It appeared from the best account we could procure, that one or more murders having been committed in the night, the assassins, who were immediately known, were compelled, according to the custom of the country, to meet the relations of the deceased, who were to avenge their deaths by throwing spears, and drawing blood for blood. One native of the tribe of Cammerray, a very fine fellow named Carradah*, who had stabbed another in the night, but not mortally, was obliged to stand for two evenings exposed to the spears not only of the man whom he had wounded, but of several other natives. He was suffered indeed to cover himself with a bark shield, and behaved with the greatest courage and resolution. Whether his principal adversary (the wounded man) found that he possessed too much defensive skill to admit of his wounding him, or whether it was a necessary part of his punishment, was not known with any certainty; but on the second day that Carradah had been opposed to him and his party, after having received several of their spears on his shield, without sustaining any injury, he suffered the other to pin his left arm (below the elbow) to his side, without making any resistance; prevented, perhaps, by the uplifted spears of the other natives, who could easily have destroyed him, by throwing at him in different directions. Carradah stood, for some time after this, defending himself, although wounded in the arm which held the shield, until his adversaries had not a whole spear left, and had retired to collect the fragments and piece them together. On his sitting down his left hand appeared to be very much convulsed, and Mr. White was of opinion that the spear had pierced one of the nerves. The business was resumed when they had repaired their weapons, and the fray appeared to be general, men, women, and children mingling in it, giving and receiving many severe wounds, before night put an end to their warfare. [* So he was called among his own people before he knew us; but having exchanged names with Mr. Ball (who commanded the _Supply_,) he went afterwards by that name, which they had corrupted into Midjer Bool.] What rendered this sort of contest as unaccountable as it was extraordinary was, that friendship and alliance were known to subsist between several that were opposed to each other, who fought with all the ardour of the bitterest enemies, and who, though wounded, pronounced the party by whom they had been hurt to be good and brave, and their friends. Possessing by nature a good habit of body, the combatants very soon recovered of their wounds; and it was understood, that Carradah, or rather Midjer Bool, had not entirely expiated his offence, having yet another trial to undergo from some natives who had been prevented by absence from joining in the ceremonies of that evening. About this time several houses were attempted to be broken into; many thefts were committed; and the general behaviour of the convicts was far from that _propriety_ which ought to have marked them. The offences were various, and several punishments were of necessity inflicted. The Irish who came out in the last ships were, however, beginning to show symptoms of better dispositions than they landed with, and appeared only to dislike hard labour. Among the conveniencies that were now enjoyed in the colony must be mentioned the introduction of passage-boats, which, for the benefit of settlers and others, were allowed to go between Sydney and Parramatta. They were the property of persons who had served their respective terms of transportation; and from each passenger one shilling was required for his passage; luggage was paid for at the rate of one shilling per cwt; and the entire boat could be hired by one person for six shillings. This was a great accommodation to the description of people whom it was calculated to serve, and the proprietors of the boats found it very profitable to themselves. The boat-builders and shipwrights found occupation enough for their leisure hours, in building boats for those who could afford to pay them for their labour. Five and six gallons of spirits was the price, and five or six days would complete a boat fit to go up the harbour; but many of them were very badly put together, and threatened destruction to whoever might unfortunately be caught in them with a sail up in blowing weather. On the 24th ten grants of land passed the seal of the territory, and received the lieutenant-governor's signature. Five allotments of twenty-five acres each, and one of thirty, were given to six non-commissioned officers of the New South Wales corps, who had chosen an eligible situation nearly midway between Sydney and Parramatta; and who, in conjunction with four other settlers, occupied a district to be distinguished in future by the name of _Concord_. These allotments extended inland from the water's side, within two miles of the district named Liberty Plains. The settlers at this latter place appeared to have very unproductive crops, having sown their wheat late. They were, indeed, of opinion, that they had made a hasty and bad choice of situation; but this was nothing more than the language of disappointment, as little judgment could be formed of what any soil in this country would produce until it had been properly worked, dressed, cleansed, and purged of that sour quality that was naturally inherent in it, which it derived from the droppings of wet from the leaves of gum and other trees, and which were known to be of an acrid destructive nature. Another barrack for officers was got up this month at Sydney; but, for want of tiles, was only partly covered in. The millwrights Wilkinson and Baughan had got up the frames and roofs of their respective mill-houses, and, while waiting for their being tiled, were proceeding with preparing the wood-work of their mills. The great want of tiles that was occasionally felt, proceeded from there being only one person in the place who was capable of moulding tiles, and he could never burn more than thirty thousand tiles in six weeks, being obliged to burn a large quantity of bricks in the same kilns. It required near sixty-nine thousand bricks to complete the building of one barrack, and twenty-one thousand tiles to cover it in. The number of tiles rendered useless by carriage, and destroyed in the kilns, was estimated at about three thousand in each kiln, and fifteen thousand were generally burnt off at a time. To furnish bricks for these barracks, and other buildings, three gangs were constantly at work, finding employment for three overseers and about eighty convicts. To convey these materials from the brickfield to the barrack-ground, a distance of about three-quarters of a mile, three brick-carts were employed, each drawn by twelve men, under the direction of one overseer. Seven hundred tiles, or three hundred and fifty bricks, were brought by each cart, and every cart in the day brought either five loads of bricks, or four of tiles. To bring in the timber necessary for these and other buildings, four timber-carriages were employed, each being drawn by twenty-four men. In addition to these, to each carriage were annexed two fallers, and one overseer, making a total of two hundred and twenty-eight men, who must be employed in any such heavy labour as the building of a barrack or a storehouse, exclusive of the sawyers, carpenters, smiths, painters, glaziers, and stonemasons, without whose labour they could not be completed. The expense of victualling and clothing these people (both their provisions and the materials for making their clothes being augmented above their prime cost, by freight and by the cost of what might be damaged and useless) must be supposed to be considerable; and must be taken into account, together with the cost of tools and of such materials as were not to be procured in the country, when calculating the expenses of the public works erected in this colony. There died between the 1st of January and 31st of December, both inclusive, two settlers, seven soldiers, seventy-eight male convicts, twenty-six female convicts, and twenty-nine children. One male convict was executed; six male convicts were lost in the woods; one male convict was found dead in the woods; one male convict was killed by the fall of a tree, and two male convicts were killed by lightning; making a decrease by death and accidents of one hundred and fifty-three persons. To this decrease may be added, four male convicts, who found means to escape from the colony on board of some of the ships which had been here. The following were the prices of grain, live and dead stock, grocery, spirits, etc. as they were sold or valued at Sydney and Parramatta at the close of the year 1793: AT SYDNEY GRAIN Wheat per bushel, for cash, 10s Ditto, in payment for labour, 14s Maize per bushel, for cash, 7s Ditto, in payment for labour, 12s 6d Caffre corn 5s English flour per lb 6d Flour of this country, for cash, 3d Ditto, for labour, 4d VEGETABLES Potatoes per cwt 10s Ditto per lb 1½d LIVE AND DEAD STOCK Ewes (Cape) from £6 to £8 8s Wethers (Cape) from £4 to £5 10s She goats, full grown, £8 8s Ditto, half grown, £4 4s Male goat, full grown, £2 Breeding sows from £3 to £6 Sucking pigs 6s A full grown hog from £3 to £3 10s Turkeys per couple, nearly full grown, £2 ss Ducks per couple, nearly ditto, 10s Laying hens, each 5s A full grown cock 4s Half grown fowls 2s Chickens, six weeks old, per couple 2s Fresh pork per lb 9d Mutton per lb from 2s to 2s 6d Kangaroo per lb 4d Salt pork per lb 9d Salt beef per lb 6d GROCERIES Tea (green) from 12s to 16s Tea (black) from 10s to 12s Loaf sugar per lb 2s 6d Fine moist sugar per lb 2s Coarse moist sugar per lb 1s 6d Butter from 2s per lb to 2s 6d Cheese from 2s per lb to 2s 6d Soap per lb from 2s to 3s Tobacco per lb from 1s to 1s 6d Lamp oil, made from shark's liver, per gall 4s WINE--SPIRITS--PORTER Jamaica rum per gallon from £1 to £1 8s Rum (American) from 16s per gall to £1 Coniac brandy per gallon from £1 to £1 4s Cape brandy per gallon from 16s to £1 Cherry brandy per dozen £3 12s Wine (Cape Madeira) per gallon 12s Porter per gallon from 4s to 6s AT PARRAMATTA GRAIN Wheat per bushel, for cash, 10s Ditto, in payment for labour, 14s Maize per bushel, for cash, 7s 6d Ditto, in payment for labour, l0s Caffre corn, none English flour per lb 6d Flour of this country, for cash, 4d Ditto, for labour, 6d VEGETABLES Potatoes per lb 3d Greens per hundred 6s LIVE AND DEAD STOCK Ewes from £4 to £10 Wethers from £2 10s to £4 She goats from £4 to £10 10s A young male goat £3 Breeding sows from £3 to £7 Sucking pigs from 4s to 7s 6d Turkeys per couple, nearly full grown, £2 2s Ducks per couple, full grown, £1 1s Laying Hens, each from 4s to 7s 6d A full grown cock 5s Half grown fowls 3s Chickens, six weeks old, per couple 2s Fresh pork per lb 9d Mutton per lb from 2s to 2s 6d Kangaroo per lb 4d Salt pork per lb 9d Salt beef per lb 5d GROCERIES Tea (green) from 16s to £1 1s Black tea from 10s to 16s Moist sugar (coarse) 2s Butter per lb 2s 6d Cheese per lb 2s 6d Soap per lb 3s Tobacco per lb 2s Lamp oil, made from shark's liver, per gall 4s WINE--SPIRITS--PORTER Neat spirits per gallon from £1 10s to £2 Wine of the most inferior quality per gall 16s The high prices of wine, spirits, and porter, proceeded not only from their scarcity, but from the great avidity with which they were procured by the generality of the people in these settlements, with whom money was of so little value, that the purchaser had been often known (instead of asking) to name himself a price for the article he wanted, fixing it at as high again would otherwise have been required of him. The live stock in the country belonging to individuals was confined to three or four persons, who kept up the price in order to create an interest in the preservation of it. An English cow, in calf by the bull which was brought here in the _Gorgon_, was sold by one officer to another for eighty pounds; and the calf, which proved a male, was sold for fifteen pounds. A mare, brought in the _Britannia_ from the Cape, was valued at forty pounds, and, although aged and defective, was sold twice in the course of a few days for that sum. It must however be remarked, that in these sales stock itself was generally the currency of the country, one kind of animals being commonly exchanged for another. Labour was also proportionably high. For sawing one hundred feet of timber, in their own time, for individuals, a pair of sawyers demanded seven shillings; a carpenter for his day's work charged three shillings; and for splitting paling for fences, and bringing it in from the woods, they charged from one shilling and six-pence to two shillings and six-pence per hundred. An officer who had an allotment of one hundred acres of land near the town of Sydney having occasion for a hundred thousand bricks to build a dwelling-house, contracted with a brickmaker and his gang, and for that number of bricks paid him the sum of forty-two pounds ten shillings. In the fields, for cutting down the timber of an acre of ground, burning it off, and afterwards hoeing it for corn, the price was four pounds. Five-and-twenty shillings were demanded and paid for hoeing an acre of ground already cleared. For all this labour, where money was paid, it was taken at its reputed value; but where articles were given in lieu of labour, they were charged according to the prices stated. The masters of merchantmen, who generally made it their business immediately on their arrival to learn the prices of commodities in the colony, finding them so extravagantly high as before related, thought it not their concern to reduce them to anything like a fair equitable value; but, by asking themselves what must be considered a high price, after every proper allowance for risk, insurance, and loss, kept up the extravagant nominal value which every thing bore in the colony. CHAPTER XXIV A murder committed near Parramatta The _Francis_ sails for Norfolk Island Provisions Storm of wind at Parramatta Crops A Settlement fixed at the Hawkesbury Natives A burglary committed Samuel Burt emancipated Death of William Crozier Cook The watches recovered The _Francis_ returns from Norfolk Island Information The New Zealand natives sent to their own country Disturbance at Norfolk Island Court of inquiry at Sydney The _Francis_ returns to Norfolk Island Natives troublesome State of provisions 1794.] January.] The report that was spread in April last, of a murder having been committed on a watchman belonging to the township of Parramatta, never having been confirmed, either by finding the body among the stalks of Indian corn as was expected, or by any one subsequent circumstance, it was hoped that the story had been fabricated, and that murder was a crime which for many years to come would not stain the annals of the colony. In proportion, indeed, as our numbers increased, and the inhabitants began to possess those comforts or necessaries which might prove temptations to the idle and the vicious, that high and horrid offence might, in common with others of the same tendency, be expected to exist; but at this moment all thought their persons secure, though their property was frequently invaded. On the 5th of this month, however, John Lewis, an elderly convict, employed to go out with the cattle at Parramatta, was most barbarously murdered. The cattle, having lost their conductor, remained that night in the woods; and when they were found, the absence of Lewis excited an apprehension that some accident had happened to him. His body was not discovered however until the Wednesday following, when, by the snorting and great uneasiness of the cattle which had been driven out for the purpose, it was perceived lying in a hollow or ravine, into which it had been thrown by those who had butchered him, covered with logs, boughs, and grass. Some native dogs, led by the scent of human blood, had found it, and by gnawing off both the hands, and the entire flesh from one arm, had added considerably to the horrid spectacle which the body exhibited on being freed from the load of rubbish which had been heaped upon it. This unfortunate man had imprudently boasted of being worth much money, and that he always carried it with him sewed up in some part of his clothes, to guard against losing it while absent from his hut. If this was true, what he carried with him certainly proved his destruction; if not, the catastrophe must be attributed to his indiscreet declarations. By the various wounds which he had received, it appeared that he must have well defended himself, and could not have parted with his life until overpowered by numbers; for, though advanced in years, he was a stout, muscular man; and it was from this circumstance concluded, that more than one person was concerned in the murder of him. To discover, if possible, the perpetrators of this atrocious offence, one or two men of bad characters were taken up and examined, as well as all the people employed about the stockyard: but nothing came out that tended to fix it upon any one of them; and, desirable as it was that they should be brought to that punishment which sooner or later awaited them, it was feared that until some riot or disagreement among themselves should occur, no clue would be furnished that would lead to their detection. The body was therefore brought in from the spot where it had been concealed, about four miles from Parramatta, and buried at that place, after having been very carefully examined by the assistant-surgeon Mr. Arndell. In tracing the motives that could lead to this murder, the pernicious vice of _gaming_ presented itself as the first and grand cause. To such excess was this pursuit carried among the convicts, that some had been known, after losing provisions, money, and all their spare clothing, to have staked and lost the very clothes on their wretched backs, standing in the midst of their associates as naked, and as indifferent about it, as the unconscious natives of the country. Money was, however, the principal object with these people; for with money they could purchase spirits, or whatever else their passions made them covet, and the colony could furnish. They have been seen playing at their favourite games cribbage and all-fours, for six, eight, and ten dollars each game; and those who were not expert at these, instead of pence, tossed up for dollars. Their meetings were scenes of quarrelling, swearing, and every profaneness that might be expected from the dissolute manners of the people who composed them; and to this improper practice must undoubtedly be attributed most of the vices that existed in the colony, pilferings, garden-robberies, burglaries, profanation of the Sabbath, and murder. On the 5th the _Francis_ sailed for Norfolk Island. The last accounts from thence were dated in March 1793; and as we were uncertain that the supplies which had been sent in the April following by Mr. Bampton had been safely landed, we became extremely anxious to learn the exact state of the settlement there. This information was all the advantage that was expected to be derived from the voyage; for, whatever Mr. King's wants might be, the stores at Sydney were incapable of alleviating them. Little apprehension was however entertained of his being in any need of supplies, as, at the date of his last letter, he reckoned that his crops of wheat and maize would produce more grain than would be sufficient for twelve months consumption. At this time, an account of the salt provisions remaining in store at Sydney and Parramatta being taken, it appeared, that there were sufficient for only ten weeks at the ration then issued, viz three pounds per man per week. In this situation, every addition that could be made to the ration was eagerly sought after. Wheat was paid to the industrious in exchange for labour; and those who were allowed to subsist independent of the public stores availed themselves of that indulgence to its fullest extent. It might therefore have been expected, that every advantage was taken of such a situation, and that no opportunity would be lost from which any profit could be derived. As an instance of this, one Lane, a person who had been a convict, and who was allowed to support himself how he could, was detected in buying a kangaroo of a man employed by an officer to shoot for him. The game-killer, with the assistance of six or seven greyhounds, had killed three kangaroos, two of which he brought in; the third he sold or lent to Lane, but said he had cut it up for his dogs. As most of the officers in the colony were allowed people to shoot for them, it became necessary to make some example of the man who bought, rather than of him who sold; for it was a maxim pretty generally adopted, that the receiver was more culpable than the thief. The lieutenant-governor, therefore, ordered Lane to be punished with one hundred lashes, placed upon the commissary's books for provisions, and sent up to labour at Toongabbie. About the middle of the month one small cow and a Bengal steer, both private property, were killed, and issued to the non-commissioned officers and privates of two companies of the New South Wales corps. This was but the third time that fresh beef had been tasted by the colonists of this country; once, it may be remembered, in the year 1788, and a second time when the lieutenant-governor and the officers of the settlement were entertained by the Spanish captains. At that time however, had we not been informed that we were eating beef, we should never have discovered it by the flavour; and it certainly happened to more than one Englishman that day, to eat his favourite viand without recognising the taste.* [* We understood that the Spanish mode of roasting beef, or mutton, was, first to boil and then to brown the joint before the fire.] The beef that was killed at this time was deemed worth eighteen-pence per pound, and at that price was sold to the soldiers. The two animals together weighed three hundred and seventy-two pounds. About this time accounts were received from Parramatta of an uncommon storm of wind, accompanied with rain, having occurred there. In its violence it bordered on a hurricane, running in a vein, and in a direction from east to west. The west end of the governor's hut was injured, the paling round some farms which lay in its passage were levelled, and a great deal of Indian corn was much damaged. It was not however felt at Sydney, nor, fortunately, at Toongabbie; and was but of short duration; but the rain was represented as having been very heavy. The climate was well known to be subject to sudden gusts of wind and changes of weather; but nothing of this violence had been before experienced within our knowledge. It was found that the settlers, notwithstanding the plentiful crops which in general they might be said to have gathered, gave no assistance to government by sending any into store. Some small quantity (about one hundred and sixty bushels) indeed had been received; but nothing equal either to the wants or expectations of government. They appeared to be most sedulously endeavouring to get rid of their grain in any way they could; some by brewing and distilling it; some by baking it into bread, and indulging their own propensities in eating; others by paying debts contracted by gaming. Even the farms themselves were pledged and lost in this way; those very farms which undoubtedly were capable of furnishing them with an honest comfortable maintenance for life. No regular account had been obtained of what these farms had produced; but it was pretty well ascertained, that their crops had yielded at the least nearly seven thousand bushels of wheat. Of the different districts, that of Prospect Hill proved to be the most productive; some grounds there returned thirty bushels of wheat for one. Next to the district of Prospect Hill, the Northern Boundary farms were the best; but many of the settlers at the other districts ascribed their miscarriage more to the late periods at which their grounds were sown, than to any poverty in the soil; and seemed to have no doubt, if they could procure seed-wheat in proper time (that is, to be in the ground in April) and the season were favourable, of being repaid the expenses which they had been at, and of being enabled to supply themselves and families with grain sufficient for their sustenance without any aid from the public stores. The ground in cultivation on account of government, which had been sown with wheat (three hundred and sixty acres) was found to have produced about the same quantity as that raised by the settlers. Through the want of flour, the consumption of this article was however very great; and toward the latter end of the month half of the whole produce of the last season (reserving twelve hundred bushels for feed) had been issued. This afforded but a gloomy prospect; for it was much feared, that unless supplies arrived in time, the Indian corn would not be ripe soon enough to save the seed-wheat. On the 25th, the grain from Bengal being expended, and no more Indian corn of last year's growth remaining that could be served, the public were informed, that from that time no other grain than wheat could be issued; and accordingly on that day the male convicts received for their week's subsistence three pounds of pork and eight pounds of wheat. One pound of wheat more than was issued to the convicts was received on the Monday following by the civil and military. In this unprovided state of the settlement, the return of Mr. Bampton with his promised cargo of cattle, salt provisions, rice, and dholl, began to be daily and anxiously expected. The completion of the _Britannia's_ voyage was also looked forward to as a desirable event, though to be expected at a somewhat later period; and every shower of rain, as it tended to the benefit of the Indian corn then growing, was received as a sort of presage that at least the seed wheat, the hopes of next season, would be safe. Some very welcome rain had fallen during this month, which considerably revived the Indian corn that was first sown, and improved the appearance of that which had been sown later. Another division of settlers was this month added to the list of those already established. Williams and Ruse, having got rid of the money which they had respectively received for their farms, were permitted, with some others, to open ground on the banks of the Hawkesbury, at the distance of about twenty-four miles from Parramatta. They chose for themselves allotments of ground conveniently situated for fresh water, and not much burdened with timber, beginning with much spirit, and forming to themselves very sanguine hopes of success. At the end of the month they had been so active as to have cleared several acres, and were in some forwardness with a few huts. The natives had not given them any interruption. These people, however, though they had not been heard of where it might have been expected they would have proved troublesome, had not been so quiet in the neighbourhood of Parramatta. Between that settlement and Prospect Hill some settlers had been attacked by a party of armed natives and stripped of all their provisions. Reports of this nature had been frequently brought in, and many, perhaps, might have been fabricated to answer a purpose; but there was not a doubt that these people were very desirous of possessing our clothing and provisions; and it was noticed, that as the corn ripened, they constantly drew together round the settlers farms and round the public grounds, for the purpose of committing depredations. Several gardens were robbed and some houses broken into during this month, the certain effect of a reduced ration. One burglary which was committed was of some magnitude, and deserving of mention. A sergeant of the New South Wales corps having been on guard, on his return to his hut in the morning, had the mortification of finding he had been robbed during his absence of a large quantity of wearing apparel, and twenty-seven pounds in guineas and dollars; in fact the thief had stripped him of all his moveable property, except only a spare suit of regimentals. The hut stood the first of a new row just without the town, and ought not to have been left without some person to take care of it. The spoil, no doubt, soon passed from one hand to another in the practice of that vice which, as already mentioned, too generally prevailed among the lower class of the people in the colony. At Parramatta some people were taken up and punished, on being detected in issuing to themselves from the stores, where they were employed, a greater proportion of provisions than the ration. This offence had often been committed; and though it was always punished with severity, yet while convicts were employed, it was likely, notwithstanding the utmost vigilance, to continue. Vigilance seemed only to incite to deeper contrivances; and perhaps, though discoveries of this practice had often occurred, yet too many had been guilty of it with impunity, and, being alarmed, had withdrawn in time from the danger. But very few appeared deserving of confidence; for, sooner or later, wherever it had been placed, either temptation was too strong, or opportunity proved too favourable; and many who had been deemed honest enough to be trusted ended their services by being detected in a breach of that duty which they owed to the public as a return for the faith which had been reposed in them. This perhaps was owing to the uncertainty of reward for any services that they might render while in the class of convicts. As an exception to this rule, however, must be mentioned those people to whom unconditional emancipation had been held out at the expiration of a certain period, if then considered as deserving of his Majesty's mercy as at the time of making the promise. In the hope of this reward they continued to conduct themselves without incurring the slightest censure; and one of them, Samuel Burt, was deemed, through a conscientious and rigid discharge of his duty, to have merited the pardon he looked up to. Accordingly, on the last day of the month he was declared absolutely free. In the instrument of his emancipation it was stated, 'that the remainder of his term of transportation was remitted in consideration of his good conduct in discovering and thereby preventing the intended mutiny on board the _Scarborough_ in her voyage to this country in the year 1790, and his faithful services in the public stores under the commissary since his arrival.' Independent of his integrity as a storekeeper, he was certainly deserving of some distinguishing mark of favour for having been the means of saving the transport in which he came out at the risk of his own life. At the end of this month nearly four hundred acres were got ready for wheat at Sydney, and every exertion was making to increase that quantity. A large number of slops having been prepared, a frock, shirt, and trousers, were served out to each male convict at Sydney and the interior settlements. Shoes were become an article of exceeding scarcity; and the country had hitherto afforded nothing that could be substituted for them. A convict who understood the business of a tanner had shown that the skin of the kangaroo might be tanned; but the animal was not found in sufficient abundance to answer this purpose for any number of people; and the skin itself was not of a substance to be applied to the soling of shoes. Among the number of deaths this month was that of William Crozier Cook, who expired in consequence of eating two pounds of unground wheat, which was forced, by his immediately drinking a quantity of water, into the intestines, whence it could not pass; and though the most active medicines were administered a mortification took place in the lower part of his intestines, which put an end to his life. Cook had, for a length of time after his arrival in this country, been a worthless vagabond; but had latterly appeared sensible how much more to his advantage a different character would prove, and had gained the good word and opinion of the overseers and superintendants under whom he laboured. February.] On the 4th of this month the watches which had remained so long undiscovered were brought down from Parramatta by Lieutenant Macarthur. By a chain of circumstances it appeared that they had been stolen by John Bevan, who at the time had broken out of the prison hut at Toongabbie, and coming immediately down to Sydney, in conjunction with Sutton (the man who was tried for stealing Mr. Raven's watch in October 1792) committed the theft, returning with the spoil to his hut at Toongabbie before he had been missed from it by any of the watchmen. He afterwards played at cards with another convict, and exchanged the watches for a nankeen waistcoat and trousers. From this man they got into the possession of two or three other people, and were at last, by great accident, found to be in the possession of one Batty, an overseer, in the thatch of whose hut they, together with ten dollars, were found safe and uninjured. The dollars were supposed to be part of the money stolen at the same time from Walsh at the hospital*, with whom Bevan, some time before, had made acquaintance, winning from him not only a hundred weight of flour, which he had almost starved himself to lay by, but deluding him also out of the secret of his money, with every particular that was necessary to his design of stealing it. [* This wretched old man did not long survive the loss of his money.] This was the information given against Bevan by the people through whose hands the watches had passed; but as it was entirely unsupported by any corroborating circumstance, he was discharged without punishment; but Batty and another man, Luke Normington, of whose guilt there was not a doubt, received each a severe corporal punishment by order of the lieutenant-governor. In all the examinations which took place, nothing appeared that affected Sutton, farther than the unsupported assertions of one or two other convicts; but if Bevan was assisted by any one, Sutton, from his general character, having already dealt in the article of watches, was very probably his friend on the occasion The constancy of this wretched young man (Bevan) was astonishing. He most steadily denied knowing any thing of the transaction, treating with equal indifference both promises of rewards and threats of punishment. Crow, who was executed in December last, declared a short time before he suffered, that he had been shown the watches by Bevan in the corn ground between Parramatta and Toongabbie; but as they had never been found in his possession, he resolved on obstinately persisting in the declaration that, however guilty of others, he was at least innocent of this offence; and he thus escaped this time from justice, to be led, perhaps at no very distant period, if not sufficiently warned, with surer step to the gallows that he had so often merited, and in the high road to which he seemed daily to be walking. On the 12th the _Francis_ returned from Norfolk Island, having been absent five weeks and three days. The information received from that settlement was, that the _Shah Hormuzear_ and _Chesterfield_ arrived there from this place, on the 2nd day of May last, when, every article of stores and provisions which had been put on board of them being safely landed, both ships sailed for India on the 27th day of the same month; Captain Bampton purposing to attempt making the passage between New Holland and New Guinea, that was expected to be found to the northward of Endeavor Straits. While these ships were off Lord Howe Island, they experienced a heavy gale of wind, in which the _Shah Hormuzear_ lost her topmasts, and the _Chesterfield_ was in much danger from a leak which she sprung. Captain Bampton having, in some bad weather off Norfolk Island, lost his long-boat, he, with the assistance given him by Lieutenant-governor King, built, in ten days, a very fine one of thirty-two feet keel, with which he sailed, and without which it would not have been quite safe for him to have proceeded on a voyage where much of the navigation lay among islands and shoals, and where part of it had certainly been unexplored. Mr. King had the satisfaction of stating, that his crops had been abundant, plenty reigning among all descriptions of people in the island. His wheat was cut, the first of it on the 25th of November last, and the harvest was well got in by Christmas Day. About two thousand bushels were the calculated produce of this crop, which would have been greater had it not, during its growth, been hurt by the want of rain. Of the maize, the first crop (having always two) was gathering while the schooner was there, and, notwithstanding the drought turned out well; from one acre and a quarter of ground, one hundred and six bushels had been gathered; but it was pretty generally established on the island, that thirty-six bushels of maize might be taken as the average produce of an acre of ground. The superior fertility of the soil at Norfolk Island to that of New South Wales had never been doubted. The following account of last year's crop was transmitted to Lieutenant-governor King: From November 1792 to November 1793 the crop of maize amounted to 3247 bushels; wheat 1302 bushels; calavances 50 bushels. Purchased in the above time from settlers and others, at five shillings per bushel 3600 bushels. Reserved by them for seed 3000 bushels of maize; 300 bushels of wheat; 300 bushels of calavances; and 50 tons of potatoes. Which, together with 305 bushels of maize brought from thence with the detachment of the New South Wales corps at the relief in March 1793, made a total of 10,152 bushels of maize, 1602 bushels of wheat, 350 bushels of calavances, 50 tons of potatoes, raised on Norfolk Island in one twelvemonth, on about two hundred and fifty-six acres of ground. Of this crop, and of what had been purchased, there remained in the public stores, when the schooner left the island, forty-three weeks maize and wheat; in addition to which Lieutenant-governor King supposed he should have of this season's growth, after reserving five hundred bushels of wheat for seed, sufficient of that article for the consumption of six hundred and ninety-nine persons*, the whole number of people victualled there from the stores for fourteen weeks and a half, at the rate of ten pounds per man per week; and fifty-eight weeks maize at twelve pounds per man per week. He had besides, at the established ration, twelve weeks beef, twenty-nine weeks pork, five weeks molasses, and thirty weeks oi1 and sugar. The whole forming an abundance that seemed to place the evil hour of want and distress at too great a distance to excite much alarm or apprehension of its occurring there. [* The whole number in the settlement amounted to one thousand and eight persons.] The settlement had been so healthy, that no loss by death had happened since we last heard from them; and when the schooner sailed very few people were sick. There had died, between the 20th of November 1791 (the date of Lieutenant-governor King's return to the command at Norfolk Island) and the 27th of January 1794, only one soldier, forty male convicts, three female convicts, and nineteen children, making a total of sixty-three persons, in two years and sixty-eight days; and ninety-five* children had been born. Every description of stock, except some Cape sheep which did not breed, was equally healthy as the inhabitants, and were increasing fast. [* By the commissary's books there were, on the 20th of February 1794, two hundred and fifty-four children in the three settlements here. On the 30th of January, by Lieutenant-governor King's return, there were one hundred and forty-eight children at Norfolk; making a total of four hundred and two children here and at Norfolk Island.] On the 22nd of October the _Boddingtons_ and _Sugar Cane_ touched at that island, for the purpose of landing John Cole, a convict who had secreted himself on board the former of these ships. Many articles of comfort were sold among the settlers and others from the _Sugar Cane_. On the 2nd of the succeeding month Mr. Raven called there in the _Britannia_, in his way to Bengal, to procure a supply of fresh provisions and vegetables for his people. The two natives of New Zealand, who had been sent to Mr. King in April last by the _Shah Hormuzear_, having completed the purpose for which they had been sent thither, by giving such instruction in the process of preparing the flax plant, that even with very bad materials a few hands could manufacture thirty yards of good canvas in a week; and having manifested much anxiety, on the appearance of any ship, to return to their friends and native country, though treated with every attention and kindness that could dispel their fears and conciliate their good opinion; Mr. King thought this a favourable opportunity of gratifying their wishes; and that he might himself be a witness of their not experiencing on the voyage any interruption to the good treatment they had met with from every one while under his care, he determined to accompany them himself. He accordingly giving Mr. Raven the necessary order, embarked on board of the _Britannia_, with a guard from the New South Wales corps, and sailed for New Zealand on the 9th. Their passage thither was short; for on the fourth day, having rounded the North Cape, the two natives were landed among some of their friends and acquaintance, though not exactly at the district whereat their families and kindred resided (the Bay of islands); and Mr. King returned to Norfolk Island on the 18th, having been ten days on board the _Britannia_. Captain Nepean, who was proceeding in that ship to Europe by the way of India, remained on shore in the government of Norfolk Island during Mr. King's absence; but, on his return, reimbarked in the _Britannia_; and on the 20th of the same month she sailed on the further prosecution of her voyage. It was not imagined that this delay in the _Britannia's_ voyage would be of any consequence, as Mr. Raven purposed making what is called the Eastern Passage; that is, between the south end of Mindanao and Borneo; and it was known that the eastern monsoon did not set well in, nor was attended with good weather in those seas before December or January. Mr. King found himself compelled to send by the _Francis_ ten soldiers of the detachment of the New South Wales corps on duty there, under a charge of mutinous behaviour. A jealousy which had grown up between the soldiers and the free men, settlers and others, occasioned by some acts of violence and improper behaviour on either side, broke out in the evening of the 18th of last month, at a place in which the lieutenant-governor had permitted plays to be represented by the convicts, as an innocent recreation after labour. Mr. King, who was present, having thought it necessary to order one of the soldiers into confinement when the play was ended, the detachment repaired to their own commanding-officer, and demanded the release of their comrade. On his declaring his inability to comply with such request, they signified a resolution to release him themselves; upon which the officer remonstrated with them, and they dispersed. It did not appear that they made any attempts to release the prisoner; but on the following morning, when the lieutenant-governor was made acquainted with the above circumstances, he convened all the officers in the settlement, and laid before them what he had heard, together with an account of a determination among the soldiers, to release from the halberts any of their comrades who should be ordered punishment for any offence or injury done to a settler; all of which he had caused to be authenticated upon oath. The result of this meeting was, that the detachment should be disarmed, and that the settlers late of the marines, and _Sirius's_ ship's company, should be embodied and armed as a militia. This resolution was accordingly put in execution on the 21st, by sending the detachment from their quarters unarmed, upon different duties; while the new-raised militia took possession of their arms. On their return, twenty were selected as mutineers to be sent to this place, the remainder returning to their duty immediately, but of that number ten were, after a few days confinement, pardoned and liberated; and two days after Mr. King had restored good order in the settlement the _Francis_ appeared. By her he sent the ten prisoners under a guard of an officer and as many soldiers as the vessel could conveniently receive. A court of inquiry, composed of the officers of the regiment present at Sydney, was assembled immediately after the arrival of the _Francis_, to inquire into the complaint which had accompanied the soldiers from Norfolk Island; when, after five days deliberation, and examination of papers, witnesses, etc. they reported, that the conduct of the soldiers, in disobeying the orders of their officers, was reprehensible; but, on considering the provocations which had given birth to that disobedience. they recommended them to their commanding officer's clemency. On the 27th the schooner sailed a second time for Norfolk Island, for the purpose of conveying two officers of the New South Wales corps, and some non-commissioned officers and privates, in lieu of those who had been sent hither, and without whom the detachment on duty there would have been too much weakened. The natives were again troublesome this month. Two several accounts were sent down from Parramatta, of their having attacked, robbed, and beaten some of the settlers' wives who were repassing between their farms and Parramatta; and great quantities of corn continued to be stolen by them. One of these women (married to Trace, a settler at the foot of Prospect Hill) was so severely wounded by a party who robbed and stripped her of some of her wearing apparel, that she lay for a long time dangerously ill at the hospital. It was said, that the people who committed this and other acts of violence and cruelty were occasional visitors with others at Sydney. Could their persons have been properly identified, the lieutenant-governor would have taken serious notice of the offenders. Notwithstanding the woods were infested by these people, numbers of the male convicts, idle, and dreading labour as a greater evil than the risk of being murdered, absented from the new settlements, and, after wandering about for a few days, got at length to Sydney almost naked, and so nearly starved, that in most cases humanity interfered between them and the punishment which they merited. They in general pleaded the insufficiency of the present ration to support a labouring man; but it was well known that the labour required was infinitely short of what might have been justly exacted from them, even had the ration been much less. They mostly wrought by tasks, which were so proportioned to their situation, that after the hour of ten in the forenoon their time was left at their own disposal; and many found employment from settlers and other individuals who had the means of paying them for their labour. At this period, it was true, the labouring convict was menaced with the probability of suffering greater want than had ever been before experienced in the settlement. On Saturday the 22nd (the last provision-day in this month) there remained in store a quantity of salt meat only sufficient for the inhabitants until the middle of the second week in the next month, at which time there would not be an ounce of provisions left, if some supplies did not arrive before that period. But even this situation, bad as it certainly was, was still alleviated by the assistance that the officers, settlers, and others were able to afford to those whom they either retained in their service or occasionally hired for labour as they wanted them. Some who were off the store, and who well remembered their own distresses in the years 1789 and 1791, declared, that with a little industry, and being allowed the indulgence of going out in a boat, they could, even at this time, earn a better subsistence than if they were employed by Government, and fed from a full store. Nothing was lost; even the shark was found to be a certain supply; the oil which was procured from the liver was sold at one shilling the quart, and but very few houses in the colony were fortunate enough to enjoy the pleasant light of a candle. The seed-wheat as yet escaped, and might remain untouched for another fortnight. The Indian corn was ripening; and it was hoped, that by making some little deduction from the wheat, it would be ready in time to save all the seed that had been reserved for the next season. To lose the seed-wheat would be to repel every advance which had been made toward supporting ourselves, and to crush every hope of independence. All that had been done in cultivation, every acre which was preparing for the ensuing crop, would long have remained a memorial of our distress; and where existed the mind that could have returned to the labour of the field with that cheerful spirit or energy that would have been necessary to ensure future success? The watch at Parramatta, under the direction of Barrington the constable, ever on the look-out for the murderers of Lewis, detected a man of bad character in offering a dollar in payment for some article that he had purchased, and which dollar appeared to have been buried in the ground. He had been taken up before, and on searching him at that time was not in possession of any money. As nothing more, however, than this circumstance was adduced against him, he was discharged, it being admitted that he might have earned something since that time by his labour. The foundation of a second barrack for soldiers at Sydney was begun in the latter part of this month; and Baughan's mill-house was covered in with tiles. Mutton was this month sold for one shilling and nine-pence per pound. The Bengal sheep, by crossing the breed with the Cape ram, were found to improve considerably in appearance and size. CHAPTER XXV Alarming State of the provisions The _William_ arrives with supplies from England, and the _Arthur_ from Bengal The amor patriae natural to man in all parts of the earth Information Mr. Bampton Captain Bligh _Admiral Barrington_ transport lost Full ration issued Ingratitude and just punishment of the settlers Buffin's corn-mill set to work Gaming Honesty of a native The _Daedalus_ arrives from America Information Female inconstancy, and its consequences The _Arthur_ sails The _Francis_ returns from Norfolk Island A boat stolen Natives killed A new mill Disorder in the eyes prevalent March.] To save as much of the seed-wheat as possible, a deduction of two pounds was made in the allowance of that article which was served to the convicts on Saturday the first of the month. The provision-store was never in so reduced a state as at this time; one serving of salt-meat alone remained, and that was to be the food of only half a week. After that period, the prospect, unless we were speedily relieved, was miserable; mere bread and water appeared to be the portion of by far the greater part of the inhabitants of these settlements, of that part too whose bodily labour must be called forth to restore plenty, and attain such a state of independence on the parent country as would render delay or accident in the transport of supplies a matter of much less moment to the colony than it had ever hitherto been considered. As at this time the stock of swine in the possession of individuals was rather considerable, some saving of the salt provisions, it was thought, might be made, by purchasing a quantity sufficient to issue to the military at the rate of four pounds and a half to each man for the week, in lieu of the three pounds of salt meat. A quantity was therefore purchased by the commissary and issued in the above proportion, the soldiers receiving the fresh instead of the salt provisions (to which latter they must have given the preference, being able to make them go the farthest) with that cheerfulness which at all times marked their conduct when compliance with any wish of their commanding-officer was the question. Both public and private stock appeared to be threatened with destruction. The sheep and goats in the colony were not numbered far within one thousand. The cows had increased that species of stock by thirteen calves, which were produced in the last year. The exact number of hogs was not, nor could it well be ascertained; it must, however, have been considerable, as every industrious convict had been able to keep one or more breeding sows. All this wore, indeed, the appearance of a resource; yet what would it all have been (admitting that an equal partition had been made) when distributed among upwards of three thousand people? But an equal partition of private stock, as most of this was such, could not have been expected. The officers holding this stock in their own hands would certainly take care to keep it there, and from it would naturally supply their own people. How far, in an hour of such distress, the convicts would have sat quietly down on their return from labouring in the field to their scanty portion of bread and water, and looked patiently on while others were keeping want and hunger at a distance by the daily enjoyment of a comfortable meal of fresh viands? was a question with many who thought of their situation. Happily, however, for all descriptions of people, they were not this time to be put to the trial. On Saturday the 8th, at the critical moment when the doors of the provision-store had closed, and the convicts had received their last allowance of the salt provisions which remained, the signal for a sail was made at the South Head. We expected a ship from India in pursuance of the contract entered into with Mr. Bampton, who had been absent from us nearly eleven months. We also looked daily for the return of the _Daedalus_. We hoped for a ship from England. But whence the ship came for which the signal had been made was to remain for some time unknown. One boat alone, with an officer, went down; (in compliance with an order which had some days before been given to that purpose;) and on its return at night we were told that a ship with English colours flying had stood into the harbour as far as Middle-head; but meeting with a heavy squall of wind at south, in which she split her fore-top-sail, was compelled again to put to sea. It was conjectured that she was a stranger; for if any person on board her had had any knowledge of the harbour, she might have been run with much ease from the Middle-head into safety in Spring-cove. The officer who went down (Captain Johnston) unfortunately could not board her, such a sea ran within the Heads; and the wind blew with so much violence as to render any attempt to get near her extremely dangerous. At night the wind increased with much rain, and morning was anxiously looked for, to tell us where and who the stranger was. Nothing more however was known of her during that day (Sunday), the same causes as those of the preceding day operating against our receiving any other information, than that she was to be seen from the flagstaff, whence in the evening word was brought up over land, that another vessel, a brig, was in sight. Anxiety and curiosity, now strained to the utmost, were obliged to wait the passing of another night; but about three o'clock on Monday the 10th, the wind and weather having both changed, to our great satisfaction we saw the ship _William_, Mr. William Folger of London master, anchor safely in the cove. With her also came up the _Arthur_, a small brig of about ninety-five tons, from Bengal. The _William_, we found, had sailed from the river Thames on the first of July last, whence she proceeded to Cork, where she took on board a cargo of beef and pork for this colony*; but had not an ounce of flour. She left Ireland on the 20th of September, having waited some weeks for a convoy, (the war with France in which England was engaged having rendered the protection of some of his Majesty's ships necessary,) and made her passage to this country by the route of Rio de Janeiro. She arrived at that port on the 22nd day of November; left it the third of the following month; and made Van Dieman's Land on the second of this month. Mr. Folger reported, that his weather from the American coast to this port had been in general good. [* She had likewise on board a machine for dressing flour; a small quantity of iron; two pairs of millstones and some tools for the smiths; all which were received in the river.] We learned that Governor Phillip reached England in the _Atlantic_ on the 21st of May last. That ship (which it may be remembered sailed from this place on the 11th of December 1792) passed Cape Horn on the 17th of the following January; anchored at Rio de Janeiro on the 7th of February; and sailed thence on the 4th of March; arriving in the channel without any interruption, save what was given by a French privateer which chased her when within forty-eight hours sail of the land. The natives Bennillong and Yem-mer-ra-wan-nie were well, but not sufficiently divested of the genuine, natural love for liberty and their native country, to prefer London with its pleasures and its abundance to the woods of New South Wales. They requested that their wives might be taught to expect their return in the course of this year. Had it been possible to eradicate in any breast that love for the place of our birth, or where we have lived and grown from infancy to manhood, which is implanted in us by the kind hand of Nature, it surely would have been effected on two natives of New Holland, whose country did not possess a single charm in the eye even of a savage inhabitant of New Zealand.* But we now found that in every breast that sentiment is the same; and that a love for our native country is not the result of her being the seat of arts and arms; the residence of worth, beauty, truth, justice; of all the virtues that adorn and dignify human nature; and of all the pleasures and enjoyments that render life valuable; but that it can be excited even in a land where wretchedness, want, and ignorance have laid their iron hands on the inhabitants, and marked with misery all their days and nights. [* The New Zealanders who were brought hither in the _Daedalus_ in April last expressed both here and at Norfolk Island the utmost abhorrence of this country and its inhabitants.] In the _William_ arrived an assistant-chaplain, the Rev. Mr. Marsden, to divide the religious duties of the colony with Mr. Johnson. Had it been known on the evening of the 8th, when the report was received that the ship had been blown out to sea, that she contained so valuable a cargo as four months beef and pork (eleven hundred and seventy-three barrels of the former, and nine hundred and seven of the latter) at the full ration, how would our anxiety have been increased upon her account, particularly as it still lived in our remembrance, that the _Justinian_ with a similar cargo, after making the North of this harbour, was blown off to the Northward, was three weeks before she regained the port, and was once within that time nearly lost in a heavy gale of wind! Had the _William_ been blown off the coast for three weeks, how deeply would distress have been felt in these settlements! The brig from Bengal had on board a small quantity of beef and pork; some sugar, Bengal rum, and coarse callicoes. To the great surprise and regret of every one, it was heard from Mr. Barber the master, that at the time of his departure from Calcutta, no accounts had been received of the arrival of Mr. Bampton in any port in India. As well at his departure from Norfolk Island, as when he quitted this place, he had expressed his resolution of attempting a passage between this country and New Guinea, in the hope of being, if successful, the first to establish a fact that would be attended with singular advantages to his Majesty's settlements in this part of the world. Captain Bligh, of the happy conclusion of whose second voyage for the bread fruit we now heard by the _William_, was particularly instructed to survey the straits which separate New Holland from New Guinea. By the accounts of this voyage which reached us, we found that the two ships _Providence_ and _Assistance_ were twenty days from their entrance into the strait to their finding themselves again in an open sea. The navigation through this passage was described as the most dangerous ever performed by any navigator, abounding in every direction with islands, breakers, and shoals, through which they pursued their course with the utmost difficulty. In one day, on anchoring to avoid danger, the _Providence_ broke two of her anchors; and as the eastern monsoon was blowing, (the month of September 1792,) and the passage which they were exploring was extremely narrow, it became impossible to beat back. From some of the islands, eight canoes formed the daring attempt of attacking the armed tender, and with their arrows killed one and wounded two of the seamen. Some of these canoes were sixty or seventy feet long, and in one of them twenty-two persons were counted. This account excited many apprehensions for Mr. Bampton's safety. On taking his leave of Lieutenant-governor King, he assured him that he hoped to see Norfolk Island again in November, expecting to be here early in the month of October. It was known that he had on board some articles of merchandise which he meant to dispose of at Batavia; but by accounts received at Calcutta from that place a very short time before the _Arthur_ sailed, he had not touched at that port. It was therefore more than probable, that both the _Shah Hormuzear_ and _Chesterfield_ had been wrecked on some of the shoals with which the strait abounded, and that their officers and people, taking to their long-boats, had fallen sacrifices to the natives who had attacked the _Assistance_, by whose guns many had been wounded in their attempt to carry that vessel. To the disappointment which the colony sustained from the failure of the contract already mentioned for cattle and provisions which were to have been brought hither by Mr. Bampton, was added the regret which every thinking being among us felt on contemplating the calamitous moments that had, in all probability, brought destruction on so many of our fellow-creatures. Mr. Barber also informed us, that Captain Patrickson, who was here in the _Philadelphia_ brig in October 1792, had purchased or hired a large ship, on board of which he had actually put a quantity of provisions and other articles, with which he designed to return to this country; but under some apprehension that his cargo might possibly not be purchased, he gave up the intention, and when the _Arthur_ sailed was left proceeding to Europe under Imperial colours. The Government of Bengal too had advertised for terms to freight a vessel for this country with cattle and provisions; but were diverted from the design by the equipment of the armaments which it was necessary to enter into at that time. Thus had the infant colony of New South Wales still been doomed to be the sport of contingency, the jarring interests of men co-operating with the dangers of the sea to throw obstacles in the way of that long-desired independence which would free the mother country from a heavy expense, and would deliver the colonists from the constant apprehension under which they laboured, of being one day left to seek their subsistence among the woods of the country, or along the shores of its coast*. [* It had been proposed, on the account reaching Bengal of the loss of his Majesty's ship _Guardian_, to raise by subscription a sum sufficient to purchase and freight a ship with provisions to this country; but, from some accident or other, this benevolent purpose was never put in execution.] The report of the probable loss of the _Admiral Barrington_ transport which was received here in February 1793, was now confirmed. It appeared, that after sailing from Batavia she reached so near her port as to be in sight of the shipping at Bombay, but was driven off the coast by a gale of wind, in which she was forced on shore on one of the Malouine Islands, where she was wrecked, and her crew (the master, chief mate, and surgeon excepted) were murdered by the natives. These people saved themselves by swimming to an East-India country ship which was riding at anchor near the island. The sight of two vessels at anchor in the cove laden with provisions gave at this time greater satisfaction than had been known on any other arrival; for never before had the colony verged so near to the point of being without a pound of salt provisions. On Monday the 10th (the issuing-day to the civil and military), when all were served their provisions, there remained only eighteen hundred and three pounds of salt meat in store; and even this quantity had been saved by issuing fresh pork to the non-commissioned officers and men of the regiment on the two last serving-days*. [* Saved on the 3rd and 10th of March by issuing fresh pork to the non-commissioned officers and privates of the New South Wales corps, their wives and children, 1803 lbs There were issued to the above people, fresh pork, 5099 lbs The hogs that were purchased on this occasion from individuals cost government the sum of £254 19s 6d] In consequence of these fortunate arrivals, the full ration of salt meat was ordered to be issued; and as soon as part of the cargo was got on shore from the storeship, the deficiency on the last serving days was completed to the full allowance. The last of the wheat was served on the 17th (a proper quantity being reserved for seed) and on the next provision-day ten pounds of Indian corn were substituted instead of the allowance of wheat. Nothing but dire necessity could have induced the gathering and issuing this article in its present unripened state, the whole of it being soft, full of juice, and wholly unfit to grind. Had the settlers, with only a common share of honesty, returned the wheat which they had received from Government to sow their grounds the last season, the reproach which they drew upon themselves, by not stepping forward at this moment to assist Government, would not have been incurred; but though, to an individual, they all knew the anxiety which every one felt for the preservation of the seed-wheat, yet when applied to, and told (in addition to the sum of ten shillings per bushel) that any quantity which they might choose to put into the store should be brought from their farms without any expence of carriage to them, they all, or nearly all, pleaded an insufficiency to crop their ground for the ensuing season; a plea that was well known to be made without a shadow of truth. In consequence of this refusal, for their excuses amounted to as much, the lieutenant-governor directed all those settlers*, whose limited time** for being victualled from the public stores had expired, to be struck off the provision list, and left to provide for themselves, a very just punishment for their ingratitude; for some had been fed and supplied from the colonial stores for more than twelve months beyond the time prescribed for them when they were settled. This indulgence had been continued to them from quarter to quarter on account of bad crops, unfavourable seasons, and the reduced ration, with which all of them, more or less, had had to struggle; and every accommodation had constantly been afforded them which was consistent with the situation of the colony. It was, however, now seen, that they were not the description of settlers from whom, whatever indulgences they might receive, Government had any assistance to expect; their principal object was their own immediate interest; and to serve that, they would forget every claim which the public had upon them. [* Sixty-three in number] [** Eighteen months] The small cargo of salt provisions brought by the brig from Bengal was purchased on account of Government for £307 16s; the beef at five-pence and the pork at eight-pence per pound; the remainder of her cargo was purchased by the officers of the civil and military departments. The cargo of the _William_, which arrived in very good order, was all landed, and the ship cleared and discharged from Government employ on the 28th. The Rev. Mr. Marsden entered on the duties of his function the first Sunday after his arrival, preaching to the military in a barrack prepared for the occasion in the forenoon, and to the convicts at the church erected by Mr. Johnson in the afternoon. On the day when the _William_ anchored in the cove Buffin's new mill was completed and set to work; and Wilkinson' s was in some forwardness. At first it went rather heavily; but in a few days, with nine men's labour, it ground sixty-three pounds of wheat in seventeen minutes. It must be observed, that not any mill was yet erected in the colony whereat corn was ground for the public, the military as well as the convicts grinding their own grain themselves. Whenever wind or water-mills should be erected, this labour would be saved, and the allowance of wheat or Indian corn be issued ground and dressed. The late distress of the colony was not found to have made any amendment in the morals of the convicts. Gaming still prevailed among them in its fullest extent; and a theft which was committed at one of these meetings showed how far it was carried. Among those who made a daily practice of gaming was one who, in his situation as an overseer, had given such offence to some of his fellow-prisoners, that a plan was formed to plunder him the first time that he should have a sum worthy of their attention. He was accordingly surrounded when engaged at play, by a party who, watching their opportunity, rushed upon him when he had won a stake of five-and-twenty dollars, and, in the confusion that ensued, secured the whole. He was, however, fortunate enough to seize one of them, with ten of the dollars in his hand, but was not able to recover any more. The man whom he secured proved to be Samuel Wright, who in the month of July last had been reprieved at the foot of the gallows; so soon had he forgotten the terror of that moment. On this circumstance being reported to the lieutenant-governor, Wright received an immediate corporal punishment. McKoy, the overseer, confessed that gaming had been for many years his profession and subsistence, though born of honest and reputable parents; and he acknowledged, that but for his pursuit of that vice he should never have visited this country in the situation of a convict. A better principle showed itself shortly after in Ca-ru-ey, a native youth, who, from long residence among us, had contracted some of our distinctions between good and ill. Being fishing one morning in his canoe near the lieutenant-governor's farm, he perceived some convicts gathering and secreting the Indian corn which grew there; and, knowing that acts of that nature were always punished, he instantly came to the settlement, and gave an account of what he had seen, in time to secure the offenders on the spot, with the corn in their possession. As he made no secret of what he had done, it was apprehended that some revenge might, if they were punished, be levelled at him on a future opportunity, they were therefore pardoned; but Ca-ru-ey was nevertheless applauded and recompensed for his attention and honesty. Among other articles of information received by the _William_, we were assured, that it had been industriously circulated in England, that there was not in this country either grass for graminivorous animals, or vegetables for the use of man. This report was, however, rather forcibly contradicted by the abundant increase of all descriptions of live stock at this time in the colony, and by the plenty which was to be found in every garden, whether cultivated by the officer or by the convict. A striking instance of this plenty occurred at Parramatta a few days before the arrival of the storeship, when six tons and two hundred weight of potatoes were gathered as the produce of only three quarters of an acre of ground. From the then reduced state of the stores, they were sold for fifty pounds. Mutton was sold in this month for one shilling and nine-pence per pound. April.] in the forenoon of Thursday the 3rd of April, the signal was made at the South Head for a sail, and about four o'clock the _Daedalus_ storeship anchored in the cove from the north-west coast of America; but last from Owhyhee, one of the Sandwich Islands, from which place she sailed on the 8th day of February last. Lieutenant Hanson, on his arrival at Nootka Sound the 8th of last October, found only a letter from Captain Vancouver, directing him to follow the _Discovery_ to another port; between which and Nootka he fortunately met with her and the _Chatham_, and was afterwards obliged to proceed with them to the Sandwich Islands, before Captain Vancouver could take out of the _Daedalus_ the stores which were consigned to his charge. The harbour of Nootka was still in the hands of the Spaniards, and some jealousy on their part prevented the delivery of the stores from the vessel in any of the Spanish ports on the coast. Mr. Hanson was informed, that three natives of Whahoo (the island whereat his predecessor in the _Daedalus_, Lieutenant Hergest, with the astronomer, Mr. Gootch, and the seaman were killed) had been delivered up by the chief of the island to Captain Vancouver, for the purpose of being offered as an expiatory sacrifice for those murders; and that they were accordingly, after remaining some short time on board the _Discovery_, taken one by one into a canoe, and put to death alongside that ship by one of their chiefs. A pistol was the instrument made use of on this occasion, which certainly was as extraordinary as unexpected. The great accommodation which those islands proved to ships trading on the north-west coast of America rendered it absolutely necessary, that the inhabitants should be made to understand that we never would nor could pass unnoticed an act of such atrocity. With this view Captain Vancouver had demanded of the chief of Whahoo the murderers of Mr. Hergest and his unfortunate companions. It was not supposed that the people sacrificed were the actual perpetrators of these murders; but that an equal number of the natives had been given up as an atonement for the Europeans we had lost. The native of this country who accompanied Lieutenant Hanson we had the satisfaction of seeing return safe in the _Daedalus_. He had conducted himself with the greatest propriety during the voyage, readily complying with whatever was required of him, and not incurring, in any one instance, the dislike or ill-will of any person on board the ship. Wherever he went he readily adopted the manners of those about him; and when at Owhyhee, having discovered that favours from the females were to be procured at the easy exchange of a looking-glass, a nail, or a knife, he was not backward in presenting his little offering, and was as well received as any of the white people in the ship. It was noticed too that he always displayed some taste in selecting the object of his attentions. The king of Owhyhee earnestly wished to detain him on the island, making splendid offers to Mr. Hanson, of canoes, warlike instruments, and other curiosities, to purchase him; but if Mr. Hanson had been willing to have left him, Collins would not have consented, being very anxious to return to New South Wales. He did not appear to have acquired much of our language during his excursion; but seemed to comprehend a great deal more than he could find words to express. On his arrival at Sydney he found his wife, whom he had left in a state of pregnancy, in the possession of another native, a very fine young fellow, who since his coming among us had gone by the name of Wyatt. The circumstance of his return, and the novelty of his appearance, being habited like one of us, and very clean, drew many of his countrymen about him; and among others his rival, and his wife. Wyatt and Collins eyed each other with indignant sullenness, while the poor wife (who had recently been delivered of a female child, which shortly after died) appeared terrified, and as if not knowing which to cling to as her protector, but expecting that she should be the sufferer, whether ascertained to belong to her former or her present husband. A few days, however, determined the point: her travelled husband shivered a spear with Wyatt, who was wounded in the contest, and the wife became the prize of the victor, who, after thus ascertaining his right by arms, seemed indifferent about the reward, and was soon after seen traversing the country in search of another wife. Three young gentlemen of the _Discovery_ and _Chatham's_ quarterdecks arrived here in the _Daedalus_, to procure passages from hence to England. Among them was the Honourable Thomas Pitt, who on his arrival here first learnt the death of his father, the late Lord Camelford. Captain Vancouver not having room for all the provisions which were sent him from the public stores of this settlement, the greatest part of them were returned. While the _Daedalus_ was in the morning standing in for the harbour, the _Arthur_ went out, bound to that part of the world from which she was just arrived, the north-west coast of America. Four convicts whose terms of transportation had expired were permitted to quit the colony in her. She also took away the carpenter of the _Fairy_, American brig, who had been left on shore dangerously ill when Mr. Rogers sailed, but who had perfectly recovered through the great attention and medical assistance which he received at the hospital. The day following the arrival of the _Daedalus_, the _Francis_ schooner returned from Norfolk Island, having been absent five weeks and one day. In her arrived the Rev. Mr. Bayne, the chaplain of the New South Wales corps, and Mr. Grimes, the deputy-surveyor of lands, with some few other passengers. Lieutenant-governor King's second crop of Indian corn had been so productive, that he was enabled to make an offer of sending five thousand bushels of that article to this colony, if required. The peace and good order which universally prevailed at Norfolk Island having rendered unnecessary the keeping together the settlers as a militia, they had some time before the arrival of the _Francis_ returned to their several avocations on their respective farms. Notwithstanding the ill success which had hitherto attended the endeavours of the Irish convicts stationed at Toongabbie and Parramatta to find a way from this country to China, a few of them were again hardy enough to attempt effecting their escape, and getting thither in a small boat, which they took from a settler, and with which they got out of the harbour in the night of the 12th of this month. They had furnished themselves with some provisions; but the wretchedness of their boat must have ensured to them the same end which certainly befel Tarwood and his companions, particularly as it blew a gale of wind the day succeeding their departure. It was at first imagined that they would be heard of at the Hawkesbury; but there could be little doubt of their having perished. From the settlement on the banks of that river the best reports continued to be received from time to time: every where the settlers found a rich black mould of several feet depth, and one man had in three months planted and dug a crop of potatoes. The natives, however, had given them such interruption, as induced a necessity for firing upon them, by which, it was said, one man was killed. At Toongabbie, where the Indian corn was growing, their visits and their depredations were so frequent and extensive, that the watchmen stationed for the protection of the corn-grounds were obliged to fire on them, and one party, considerable in number, after having been driven off, returning directly to the plunder, was pursued by the watchmen for several miles, when a contest ensued, in which the natives were worsted, and three were left dead on the spot. The watchmen had so often come in with accounts of this nature, that, apprehensive lest the present transaction should not be credited, they brought in with them, as a testimonial not to be doubted, the head of one of those whom they had slain. With this witness to support them, they told many wonderful circumstances of the pursuit and subsequent fight, which they stated to have taken place at least fourteen miles from the settlement, and to have been very desperately and obstinately sustained on the part of the natives. It was remarked, however, that not one of the watchmen had received the slightest injury, a circumstance that threw a shade over their story, which, but for the production of the head, would have been altogether disbelieved. Whatever might have been the truth, it is certain that a party of natives appeared the following day about the corn grounds, but conducted themselves with a great deal of caution, stationing one of their party upon the stump of a tree which commanded an extensive view of the cultivated grounds, and retreating the instant they perceived themselves to be observed. From the quantities of husks and leaves of corn which were found scattered about the dwelling places of these people, their depredations this season must have been very extensive. At Sydney a large party of natives assembled for the purpose of burning the body of Carradah, the native mentioned in the transactions of the month of December last, by the name of Midjer Bool. He had been put to death while asleep in the night by some people who were inimical to his tribe; and the natives who witnessed the performance of the last rite assured us, that when the murderers should be discovered several severe contests would ensue. It was at this time that the rencounter between Collins and Wyatt took place; and some other points of honour which remained unsettled were then determined, not without much violence and bloodshed, though no one was killed. Cropping the ground with wheat formed the general and most material labour of this month. On the public account nearly four hundred acres were so sown with that essential grain. At this time wheat bore the price of twenty shillings a bushel. The crops of Indian corn in general turned out very productive. An officer who held an allotment of an hundred acres near Parramatta, from each acre of nineteen, on a light sandy soil, gathered fifty bushels of shelled corn; and a patch of Caffre corn, growing in the like soil, produced the same quantity per acre. This grain had been introduced into our settlement from the Cape of Good Hope by Captain Paterson, and was found to answer well for fattening of stock. No one having attempted to separate the farinaceous part of the grain from the husk, which was of an astringent quality, no judgment had been formed of its utility as a flour; but some who had ground it and mixed the whole together into a paste pronounced it to be equal to any preparation of oatmeal Wilkinson's grinding machine was set in motion this month. It was a walking mill, upon a larger construction than that at Parramatta. The diameter of the wheel in which the men walked was twenty-two feet, and it required six people to work it. Those who had been in both mills (this and Buffin's, which was worked by capstan-bars and nine men) gave the preference to the latter; and in a few days it was found to merit it; for, from the variety and number of the wheels in Wilkinson's machinery, something was constantly wrong about it. Finding, after a fair trial, that it was imperfect, it was taken to pieces; and Buffin was employed to replace it by another mill upon the same principle as that which he had himself constructed; and Wilkinson returned to Parramatta. An inflammation of the eyes appeared to be a disorder generally prevalent among all descriptions of people at this time. It raged at first among children; but when got into a house, hardly any person in it escaped the complaint. It was accounted for by the variable and unsettled weather which we had during this month. CHAPTER XXVI The _William_ sails Cultivation Excursion in search of a river A storeship arrives Captain Bampton Full ration The _Britannia_, _Speedy_, and _Halcyon_ arrive The _Indispensable_ and _Halcyon_ sail The _Fanny_ arrives from Bombay Information Two convicts executed The _Hope_ sails May.] Early in this month the _William_ sailed on her fishing voyage to the coast of Peru. Mr. Folger, her master, purposed trying what success might be met with on this coast for a few weeks, it being the wish of his owners in consequence of the reports brought home by some of the whaling ships which were here in 1792. If he should be at all fortunate, he intended to return to this port with the account; it being the anxious wish of every officer in the colony to hear of any thing that was likely to make a return to the mother country for the immense sums which must annually have been expended on this settlement. Some dispatches and returns being sent by this ship, it appeared, that here and at Norfolk Island were existing, at the latter end of last month, four thousand four hundred and fourteen persons of all descriptions, men, women, and children. Estimating the daily expense of these at two shillings a head, (a fair calculation, when every article of provisions, clothing, stores, freight of ships, allowance for civil and military establishments, damaged cargoes, etc., etc. was considered,) it will be found to amount annually to the sum of one hundred and sixty-one thousand one hundred and eleven pounds; an expense that called loudly for every exertion toward easing the mother country of such a burden, by doing away our dependence on her for many of the above articles, or by affording a return that would be equal to some part of this expence. Separated as we were from Europe, constantly liable to accidents interrupting our supplies, which it might not always be possible to guard against or foresee, how cheering, how grateful was it to every thinking mind among us, to observe the rapid strides we were making toward that desirable independence! The progress made in the cultivation of the country insured the consequent increase of live stock; and it must be remembered, that the colony had been supplied with no other grain than that raised within itself since the 16th day of last December. The permission given to officers to hold lands had operated powerfully in favour of the colony. They were liberal in their employment of people to cultivate those lands; and such had been their exertions, that it appeared by a survey taken in the last month by Mr. Alt, that nine hundred and eighty-two acres had been cleared by them since that permission had been received. Mr. Alt reported, that there had been cleared, since Governor Phillip's departure in December 1792, two thousand nine hundred and sixty-two acres and one quarter; which, added to seventeen hundred and three acres and a half that were cleared at that time, made a total of four thousand six hundred and sixty-five acres and three quarters of cleared ground in this territory. It must be farther remarked in favour of the gentlemen holding ground, that in the short period of fifteen months*, the officers, civil and military, had cleared more than half the whole quantity of ground that had been cleared by government and the settlers, from the establishment of the colony to the date of the governor's departure. The works of government, however vigilantly attended to, always proceeded slowly, and never with that spirit and energy that are created by interest. [* The officers did not begin to open ground until February 1793.] The people who were to labour for the public had in general been but scantily fed, and this operated against any great exertions. The settlers were not fed any better; and though they had an interest in working with spirit, yet they always looked to be supplied from the public stores beyond the time allowed them; and were consequently careless, indolent, and poor: while the officer, from the hour he received his grant, applied himself with activity to derive a benefit from it; and it was not too much to say, that the independence of the colony was more likely to be attained through their exertions, than by any other means. To encourage them, therefore, was absolutely necessary to accelerate and promote the prosperity of the colony. One woman and six men, whose terms of transportation had expired, were permitted to quit the colony in the _William_. Some natives, who had observed the increasing number of the settlers on the banks of the Hawkesbury, and had learned that we were solicitous to discover other fresh-water rivers, for the purpose of forming settlements, assured us, that at no very great distance from Botany Bay, there was a river of fresh water which ran into the sea. As very little of the coast to the southward was known, it was determined to send a small party in that direction, with provisions for a few days, it not being improbable that, in exploring the country, a river might be found which had hitherto escaped the observation of ships running along the coast. Two people of sufficient judgment and discretion for the purpose being found among the military, they set off from the south shore of Botany Bay on the 14th, well armed, and furnished with provisions for a week. They were accompanied by a young man, a native, as a guide, who professed a knowledge of the country, and named the place where the fresh water would be found to run. Great expectations were formed of this excursion, from the confidence with which the native repeatedly asserted the existence of a freshwater river; on the 20th, however, the party returned, with an account, that the native had soon walked beyond his own knowledge of the country, and trusted to them to bring him safe back; that having penetrated about twenty miles to the southward of Botany Bay, they came to a large inlet of the sea, which formed a small harbour; the head of this they rounded, without discovering any river of fresh water near it. The country they described as high and rocky in the neighbourhood of the harbour, which, on afterwards looking into the chart, was supposed to be somewhere about Red Point. The native returned with the soldiers as cheerfully and as well pleased as if he had led them to the banks of the first river in the world. An excursion of another nature was at this time framing among some discontented Irish convicts, and was on the point of being carried into execution when discovered. Among those who came out in the last ships from Ireland was a convict who had been an attorney in that kingdom, and who was weak enough to form the hazardous scheme with several others of seizing a long-boat, in which they were to endeavour to reach Batavia. A quantity of provisions, water-casks, sails, and other necessary articles, were provided, and were found, at the time of making the discovery, in the house of the principal. These people had much greater reason to rejoice at, than to regret, the discovery of their plot; for the wind, on the day succeeding the night in which they were to have gone off, blew a heavy gale; and, as there were no professed seamen in the party, it was more than probable that the boat would have been lost. The greatest evil that attended these desertions was the loss of the boats which were taken off, for the colony could not sustain much injury by the absence of a few wretches who were too idle to labour, and who must be constantly whispering their own discontents among the other convicts. On the 24th of this month we had the satisfaction of seeing the _Indispensable_, a storeship, anchor in the cove from England, with a cargo consisting principally of provisions for the colony. We understood that she was the first of six or seven ships which were all to bring out stores and provisions, and which, if no accident happened in the passage, might be expected to arrive in the course of two months. The supply of clothing and provisions intended to be conveyed by them, together with what had been received by the _William_, was calculated for the consumption of a twelvemonth. The quantity which now arrived in the _Indispensable_ formed a supply of flour for twelve weeks, beef for four ditto, pork for four ditto, and of peas for fourteen ditto. She sailed from Spithead the 26th of last December, touched at Teneriffe and at the Cape of Good Hope, from which place she sailed on the 30th of March last, and made the South Cape of this country the 17th of this month. Between the Cape of Good Hope and this port, the master stated that he found the weather in general very rough, and the prevailing winds to have blown from WNW to SW. At the Cape of Good Hope Mr. Wilkinson met with the _Chesterfield_, which sailed hence in April 1793 with the _Shah Hormuzear_; and one of her people, who had been formerly a convict in this country, wishing to return to it, we now collected from him some information respecting Mr. Bampton's voyage. He told us, that the two ships were six months in their passage hence to Timor, owing to the difficulty which they met with in the navigation of the straits between New Holland and New Guinea. On one of the islands in these straits they lost a boat, which had been sent on shore to trade with the natives. In this boat went, never to return (according to this person's account), Captain Hill; Mr. Carter, a friend of Mr. Bampton's;--Shaw, the first mate of the _Chesterfield_;--Ascott, who had been a convict here, and who had distinguished himself at the time the _Sirius_ was lost; and two or three black people belonging to the _Shah Hormuzear_. It was conjectured that they were, immediately after landing, murdered by the natives, as the people of a boat that was sent some hours after to look for them found only the clothes which they had on when they left the ship, and a lantern and tinder-box which they had taken with them; the clothes were torn into rags. At a fire they found three hands; but they were so black and disfigured by being burnt, that the people could not ascertain whether they had belonged to black or white men. If the account of this man might be credited, the end of these unfortunate gentlemen and their companions must have been truly horrid and deplorable; it was however certain that the ships sailed from the island without them, and their fate was left in uncertainty, though every possible effort to discover them was made by Mr. Bampton. At Timor Mr. Bampton took in a very valuable freight of sandal wood, with which he proceeded to Batavia; and when the _Chesterfield_ parted company, he hoped soon to return to this country. In consequence of the supplies received by the _Indispensable_, the full ration of flour was directed to be issued, and the commissary was ordered not to receive for the present any more Indian corn that might be brought to the public stores for sale. The following weekly ration was established until further orders, and commenced on the 27th: Flour eight pounds; beef seven pounds or pork four pounds; Indian corn three pints, in lieu of peas. The whole quantity of Indian corn purchased by the commissary on account of Government from settlers and others amounted to six thousand one hundred and sixty-three bushels and a quarter, which, taken at five shillings per bushel, came to the sum of £1540 16s 3d. Toward the latter end of this month, Wilkinson, the millwright, was drowned in a pond in the neighbourhood of the Hawkesbury River. He had been there on a Sunday with some of the settlers to shoot ducks, and getting entangled with the weeds in the pond was drowned, though a good swimmer; thus untimely perishing before he could reap any reward from his industry and abilities. Several people still continued to complain of sore eyes, but the disorder was disappearing fast. June.] The signal for a sail was made in the morning of the first of June, and was conjectured to be for one of the ships expected to arrive from England; but in a few hours word was brought that the _Britannia_ was safe within the harbour. This arrival gave general satisfaction, as many doubts about her return had been created by some accounts which the master of the _Indispensable_ had heard at the Cape of Good Hope, of the Bay of Bengal being full of French privateers. On Mr. Raven's arrival at the settlement, we learned that he had been forced to go to Batavia instead of Bengal, having been attacked in the Straits of Malacca by a fleet of piratical Proas, which engaged him for six hours, and from whom he might have found some difficulty to escape, had he not fortunately killed the captain of the one which was nearest to the _Britannia_ when in the act of making preparations for boarding him. At Batavia he was informed that his passage to Bengal was very precarious, from the number of French privateers which infested the bay, as well as the west coast of Sumatra, several vessels having arrived at Batavia which had been chased by them. Mr. Raven, therefore, determined to load the _Britannia_ at Batavia, and, after some necessary arrangements with the governor-general and council, purchased the following cargo at the annexed prices for the settlements in New South Wales, viz Rix dollars Stivers 250 Casks of beef--111,264¼ lbs. at 9 stivers* 20,862 2 250 Casks of pork--83,865½ lbs. at ditto 15,724 37 500 Pecols** of sugar, at 7 rix dollars 27 stivers per Pecol 3,781 12 35 Coyangs*** of rice, at 55 rix dollars per Coyang 1,925 0 [* Forty-eight stivers the rix dollar.] [** Pecol, one hundred and thirty-three pounds English.] [*** Coyang, three thousand three hundred and seventy-five pounds Dutch.] To these must be added for extra boat hire. Hire of twenty black people for twenty days, and commission on the purchase at 2½ per cent. 1493 0 ---------- Rix dollars 42,786 3 The bills drawn on the treasury for this cargo bearing a premium of 16 per cent, there was deducted from the whole 6,040 0 Which reduced the total amount to rix dollars 37,746 3 £ s d Or in sterling money of Great Britain 7,549 4 3 To which the hire* of the ship being added, 2,210 7 7 ------------ The whole of the expense amounted to £9,759 11 10 [* She was chartered at fourteen shillings and sixpence per ton per month, and to be paid for two hundred and ninety-six tons, her registered measurement.] Captain Nepean, who left this place as a passenger in the _Britannia_, and took with him some dispatches for government, and the private letters of the officers, left Batavia on the 17th of February last in the _Prince William Henry_, a fast sailing schooner, bound direct for England. The _Britannia_ arrived at Batavia on the 11th of February, and sailed for this country on the 10th of April following. While she lay at Batavia, the season was extremely unhealthy, and some of her people fell victims to the well-known insalubrity of the climate. At Batavia Mr. Raven learned that the _Shah Hormuzear_ sailed from thence for Bombay three months before he arrived there; and the report we had heard of the disaster which befel the boat and people from that ship, in the passage through the Straits between this country and New Guinea, was confirmed at Batavia. As, however, Mr. Bampton had not since been heard of, it was more than probable he had fallen a prize to some of the privateers which were to be met with in those seas. His Majesty's birthday did not pass without that distinction which we all, as Englishmen devoted to our sovereign, had infinite pleasure in showing it. On the 8th the _Speedy_, a storeship commanded by Mr. Melville, who was here in 1791 in the _Britannia_ whaler, anchored in the cove from England, with a cargo of stores and provisions for the colony, and clothing for the New South Wales corps. Mr. Melville sailed a few hours before the _Indispensable_, and touched at Rio de Janeiro, whence he had a long passage of several weeks. He made the south cape of this country the 2nd instant; and arrived here in a leaky and weak condition. Good fortune befriended us in the passage of this ship; for she ran safely through every part where there could be danger, without a gun on board to defend her from an enemy if she should have met with any. On the 14th, a few hours after the signal was made at the South Head, arrived in the harbour the _Halcyon_, a ship from Rhode Island, commanded by Mr. Benjamin Page, who was here in the ship _Hope_ at the close of the year 1792, and who had ventured here again with a cargo of provisions and spirits* on speculation. [* Eight hundred barrels of beef and pork, American cured. About five thousand gallons of spirits; a small quantity of tobacco, tea, nankeens, etc.] Mr. Page made his passage from Rhode Island in one hundred and fifteen days, and without touching at any port. His run from the south cape of New Holland was only five days. The ship he built himself at Providence, after his return from China in the _Hope_. That ship was only two months in her voyage from hence to Canton, and Mr. Page did not see any land until he made the Island of Tinian. This place he now represented as well calculated to furnish a freight of cattle for this colony. Of the convicts that Mr. Page was permitted to ship at this port in his last voyage, William Murphy behaved so extremely ill, having more than once endeavoured to excite the crew to mutiny, that at St Helena he delivered him to the captain of his Majesty's ship _Powerful_, whom he found there. This proved in the event a circumstance of great good fortune to Murphy, for, being directly rated on that ship's books (his abilities as a sail-maker entitling him to that situation), and a French East Indiamen being captured by the _Powerful_ a very few hours after, he became entitled to a seaman's share of the produce of her cargo, which was a very valuable one. Bateman he carried on with him to Rhode Island, where he married, but had more than once exhibited symptoms of returning to habits which he had not forgotten, and which would soon bring him to disgrace in his new situation. Shepherd he had put on board a ship bound to Ostend, and spoke well of his conduct. Captain Page at first thought he had come to a bad market with his provisions; for the day was arrived when we found ourselves enabled to say that we were not in want of any casual supplies; but by the end of the month he declared he had not made a bad voyage; his spirits and provisions were nearly all purchased by individuals; and what he at first thought an unprofitable circumstance to him (the sight of four ships at anchor in the cove) proved favourable, for the most of his provisions were disposed of among the shipping. The whole of the spirits were purchased by the officers of the settlement and of the garrison at the rate of six shillings per gallon; and afforded, together with what had been received from Batavia by the _Britannia_, a large and comfortable supply of that article for a considerable time. It might be safely pronounced, that the colony never wore so favourable an appearance as at this period: our public stores filled with wholesome provisions; five ships on the seas with additional supplies; and wheat enough in the ground to promise the realizing of many a golden dream; a rapidly increasing stock; a country gradually opening, and improving every where upon us as it opened; with a spirit universally prevalent of cultivating it. The ships which had lately arrived from England were fraught with the dismal and ill-founded accounts, which through some evil design continued to be insidiously propagated, of the wretched unprofitable soil of New South Wales. It was hoped, however, that when the present appearance and state of the colony should reach England, every attempt to mislead the public would cease; and such encouragement be held out as would induce individuals to settle in the country. In the _Halcyon_ arrived an American gentleman (Mr. W. Megee) in the character of supercargo. This person, on seeing the Toongabbie hills covered with a most promising crop of wheat, declared that be had never seen better in America, even at Rhode island, the garden of America; and on being shown some Indian corn of last year's growth, gave it as his opinion, that we wanted nothing but large herds of grazing cattle, to be a thriving, prosperous, and great colony, possessing within itself all the essential articles of life. We ourselves had long been impressed with an idea of the advantage that grazing cattle would give to the country; every possible care was taken of the little that was in it, and all means used to promote its increase. One step toward this was the keeping up the price; an article by which the proprietor was always certain of making a great profit, was as certain to be taken the greatest care of, every individual possessing stock found it his interest to preserve it in the highest order, that it might be deemed equal to the general high value which stock bore. By an account which was taken at the end of this month of the live stock in the colony, the following numbers appeared to be in the possession of government and of individuals, viz. HORSES Mares Stallions Government stock 6 6 Private stock 5 3 Total 11 9 ASSES Male Female Government stock - - Private stock 2 1 Total 2 1 OXEN Bulls Cows Government stock 14 18 Private stock 1 7 Total 15 25 SHEEP Ewes Rams and Wethers Government stock 59 49 Private stock 257 161 Total 316 210 GOATS Male Female Government stock 3 10 Private stock 167 342 Total 170 352 TOTAL Government stock 165 Private stock 946 Total 1111 In this account the hogs (from their being so disposed as not easily to be ascertained) were not included; but they were supposed to amount to several hundreds. As a reserve in time of great distress, when alone it could be made use of, this stock was, when compared with our numbers, no very great dependance; but it was every thing as a stock to breed from, and well deserving of attention to cherish it and promote its increase. On the last day of the month the _Francis_ schooner sailed for Norfolk Island, whither she was sent merely to apprise Mr. King that the _Daedalus_ would be dispatched to him immediately after the return of the schooner, with such stores and provisions as he should require. During this month the house of the Rev. Mr. Johnson was broken into at night, and robbed of sugar, coffee, arrack, Russia sheeting, and other articles to a large amount. There was little doubt but that some of his own people had either committed the burglary, or had given information to others how and when it might be committed, as the part of the house broken into was that which Mr. Johnson had applied to a store-room. Several people were taken up, and some of the articles found concealed in the woods; but those who stole them had address enough to avoid discovery. Very shortly after this a most daring burglary was committed in a house in the old marine quarters occupied by Mr. Kent, who arrived here in the _Boddingtons_ from Ireland in August last, as agent of convicts on the part of Government. He had secured the door with a padlock, and after sun-set had gone up to one of the officers' barracks, where he was spending the evening, when, before nine o'clock, word was brought him that his house had been broken into. On going down, he found that the staple, which was a very strong one, had been forced out, and a large chest that would require four men to convey it out of the door had been taken off. It contained a great quantity of wearing apparel, money, bills, and letters; but, though the theft could not have been long committed, all the search that twenty or thirty people made for some hours that night was ineffectual, no trace being seen of it, and nothing found but a large caulking-iron, with which it was supposed the staple was wrenched off. The chest was found the next morning behind a barrack (which had lately been fitted up as a place of divine worship for the accommodation of the chaplain of the New South Wales corps), and some of the wearing apparel was brought in from the woods; but Mr. Kent's loss was very little diminished by this recovery. In addition to these burglaries a highway robbery was committed on the supercargo of the _American_, who was attacked in the dusk of the evening, close by one of the barracks, by two men, who, in the moment of striking him, seized hold of his watch, and with a violent jerk wrenched off the seals, the watch falling on the ground. The place was, however, too public to risk staying to look for it; and the owner was fortunate enough to find it himself, but the seals, which were of gold, were carried off. All these offences against peace and good order were to be attributed to the horrid vice of gaming, which was still pursued in this place, and which, from the management and address of those who practised it, could not be prevented. The persons of the peace-officers were well known to them; and, that they might never be detected in the fact, one of the party, commonly the greatest loser, was always stationed on the look-out to alarm in time. During this month the millwright Buffin completed the mill which he was constructing in the room of Wilkinson's; and, on its being worked, it was found to answer still better than the first which he made. The body of Wilkinson, after being dragged for several days in vain, was found at last floating on the surface of the pond where he lost his life, and being brought into Parramatta was there decently interred. Of the few who died in this month was one, a male convict, of the name of Peter Gillies, who came out to this country in the _Neptune_ transport in the year 1791. His death took place on the morning of the arrival of the _Speedy_ from England, by which ship a letter was received addressed to him, admonishing him of the uncertainty of life, recommending him early to begin to think of the end of it, and acquainting him of the death of his wife, a child, and two other near relations. He had ceased to breathe before this unwelcome intelligence reached the hospital. July.] The signal for a sail was made at the South Head between seven and eight o'clock in the morning of the 5th of July; and soon after the _Hope_, an American ship from Rhode Island, anchored in the cove, having on board a cargo of salted provisions and spirits on speculation. This ship was here before with Captain Page, the commander of the _Halcyon_, and now came in the same employ, the house of Brown and Francis at Providence. Brown was the uncle of Page, between whom there being some misunderstanding, Page built and freighted the _Halcyon_ after the departure of the _Hope_, whose master being ordered to touch at the Falkland's Islands, Page determined to precede him, in his arrival at this country, and have the first of the market, in which he succeeded. This proved a great disappointment to the master of the _Hope_, who indeed sold his spirits at three shillings and sixpence per gallon; but his salted provisions no one would purchase. The _Hope_ was seven days in her passage from the South Cape to this port; and the master said, that off Cape St. George he met with a current which carried him during the space of three days a degree to the southward each day. On the 8th the _Indispensable_ and _Halcyon_ sailed on their respective voyages, the former for Bengal, and the latter for Canton. The _Indispensable_ was a large stout ship, provided with a letter of marque, well manned and armed; and had been captured from the French at the beginning of the present war. The master was permitted to receive on board several persons from the colony, on his representing that he was short of hands to navigate his ship; and two convicts found means to make their escape from the settlement. A third was discovered concealed on board for the same purpose, and being brought on shore, it appeared that the coxswain of the lieutenant-governor's boat had assisted him in his attempt; for which he was punished and turned out of the boat, such a breach of trust deserving and requiring to be particularly noticed. By the _Halcyon_ were sent some dispatches to be forwarded by the way of China to his Majesty's secretary of state for the home department. The day following the departure of these two ships, the _Fancy_ snow arrived from Bombay, having on board a small quantity of rice and dholl*, intended as part of the contract entered into by Captain Bampton, who, we now learned, had arrived safe at Bombay, after a long passage from this place of between six and seven months. This vessel was commanded by Mr. Thomas Edgar Dell, formerly chief mate of Mr. Bampton's ship the _Shah Hormuzear_, from whom the following information was received. [* Thirty-eight tons of rice, and thirty-eight tons of dholl. Captain Bampton also sent twenty-four bags of seed-wheat.] The ships _Shah Hormuzear_ and _Chesterfield_ sailed, as before related, from Norfolk Island on the 27th of May 1793. On the 2nd of the following month a reef was seen in latitude 19 degrees 28 minutes S and longitude 158 degrees 32 minutes 15 seconds East. On the 1st of July, being then in latitude 9 degrees 39 minutes 30 seconds S and longitude 142 degrees 59 minutes 15 seconds East of Greenwich, they fell in with an island which obtained the name of Tate's Island, and at which they had the misfortune to stave a boat as before mentioned. The circumstances of the murder of Captain Hill, Mr. Carter, Shaw the first mate of the _Chesterfield_, and the boat's crew, were related by Mr. Dell. It appeared from his account, that they had landed to search for fresh water, and purposed remaining one night on the island to barter with the natives, and procure emu feathers from them. The day after they were put on shore the weather changed, coming on to blow hard; the ship was driven to leeward of the bay in which they landed; and it was not until the third day that it was possible to send a boat after them. Mr. Dell himself was employed on this occasion, and returned with the melancholy account of his being unable to discover their lost companions. An armed force was then sent on shore, but succeeded only in burning the huts and inclosures of the natives. At a fire they found some incontestable proofs that their friends could not be living; of three human hands which they took up, one, by some particular marks, was positively thought by Mr. Dell to have belonged to Mr. Carter; their great coats were also found with the buttons cut off, a tinderbox, a lantern, a tomahawk, and other articles from the boat, were also found; but though they rowed entirely round the island, looking into every cove or creek, the boat could not be seen. Mr. Dell was, if possible, to procure two prisoners; but he could not succeed. In the intercourse, however, which he had with them, they gave him to understand by signs, that they had killed all who were in the boat, except two: at least, so Mr. Dell thought; but if it was so, nothing could be hoped from the exception, nor could any other conclusion be formed, than that they were reserved perhaps for more deliberate torture and a more horrid end. This island was described as abounding with the red sweet potato, sugar cane, plantains, bamboo, cocoa trees, and mangroves. The natives appeared stout, and were in height from five feet eight to six feet two inches; their colour dark, and their language harsh and disagreeable. The weapons which were seen were spears, lances made of a hard black wood, and clubs about four feet in length. They lived in huts resembling a hay-cock, with a pole driven through the middle, formed of long grass and the leaves of the cocoa tree. These huts might contain six or eight persons each, and were inclosed with a fence of bamboo. In a corner of some of the huts which they entered, they perceived a wooden image, intended to resemble a man; in others the figure of a bird, very rudely carved, daubed with red, and curiously decorated with the feathers of the emu. Over these images were suspended from the roof several strings of human hands, each string having five or six hands on it. In some they found small piles of human skulls; and in one, in which there was a much larger pile of skulls than in any other that they had visited, they observed some gum burning before a wooden image. This island was supposed to be about eight miles in length, five in breadth, and fifteen in circumference; a coral reef seemed to guard it from all approach, except on the north-west part which formed a bay, where the ship anchored in thirteen fathoms water. Fresh water was seen only in one place. Mr. Bampton did not arrive at Timor until the 11th of September, having been detained in the straits by a most difficult and dangerous navigation. By this passage he had an opportunity of discovering that the straits which were named after Torres, and supposed to have been passed first by him in the year 1606, and afterwards by Green in 1722, could never have existed; for Mr. Bampton now observed, that New Guinea extended ninety miles to the southward of this supposed track. Of the two convicts taken from hence by the _Shah Hormuzear_, John Ascot was killed by the natives with Captain Hill, and Catharine Pryor, Ascot's wife, died two days before the ship got to Batavia, of a spotted fever, the effect of frequent inebriety while at Timor. Ascot was the young man whose activity prevented the _Sirius_, with the stores and provisions on board, from being burnt the night after she was wrecked off Norfolk Island, and thereby saved that settlement from feeling absolute want at that time. Captain Dell was full three months in his passage from Bombay; during the latter part of which time the people on board suffered great distress from a shortness of water and fuel. Out of seventy-five persons, mostly Lascars, with whom he sailed, nine died, and a fever existed among those who remained on his arrival. The people who had broken into Mr. Kent's house were so daring as to send to that gentleman a letter in miserable verse, containing some invectives against one Bevan, a prisoner in confinement for a burglary, and a woman who they supposed had given information of the people that broke into the clergyman's storeroom, which affair they took upon themselves. The letter was accompanied by a pocket-book belonging to Mr. Kent, and some of his papers; but none of the bills which were in it when it was stolen were returned. The insolence of this proceeding, and the frequency of those nocturnal visits, surprised and put all persons on their guard; but that the enemy was within our own doors there was no doubt. An honest servant was in this country an invaluable treasure; we were compelled to take them as chance should direct from among the common herd; and if any one was found who had some remains of principle in him, he was sure to be soon corrupted by the vice which every where surrounded him. It became necessary at length for the criminal justice of the settlement to interfere, and three convicts were tried for burglaries. John Bevan, though tried on two charges, was acquitted from a want of evidence, and others, John Flemming and Archibald McDonald, were convicted. The latter of these two had broken into a soldier's hut the night before the court sat, and at a time when it was publicly known in the settlement that it was to sit for the trial of such offenders as might be brought before it. The state of the colony called loudly for their punishment, and they were both executed the third day after their conviction. It was afterwards said, that McDonald was one of the party who broke into the clergyman's house. Soon after these executions, Caesar*, still incorrigible, took up again his former practice of subsisting in the woods by plundering the farms and huts at the outskirts of the towns. He was soon taken; but on his being punished, and that with some severity, he declared with exultation and contempt, that 'all that would not make him better.' [* See Chapter VII, from "Toward the end of the month, some convicts having reported . . ." _et seq_.] The _Hope_ sailed this month for Canton, the master being suffered to take with him one man, John Pardo Watts, who had served his time of transportation. The _Britannia_ was also hired in this month by some of the officers of the civil and military departments, to procure them cattle and other articles at the Cape of Good Hope. During this month a building, consisting of four cells for prisoners, was added to the guard-house on the east side of the cove. This had long been greatly wanted; and, the whole being now inclosed with a strong high paling, some advantage was expected to be derived from confinement adopted only as a punishment. CHAPTER XXVII The _Speedy_ sails and returns Excursion to the western mountains The _Francis_ returns from Norfolk Island Corn bills not paid The _Britannia_ sails for the Cape, and the _Speedy_ on her fishing voyage Notification respecting the corn bills The _Resolution_ and _Salamander_ arrive from England Irish prisoners troublesome Gales of wind Natives _Daedalus_ sails for Norfolk Island Emancipations _The Fancy_ sails A death Bevan executed A settler murdered at Parramatta The _Mercury_ arrives Spanish ships Emancipation Settlers and natives Civil Court The _Surprize_ arrives Deaths _Resolution_ and _Salamander_ sail Transactions The _Daedalus_ returns from Norfolk Island The _Mercury_ sails for America The Lieutenant-Governor leaves the Settlement The _Daedalus_ sails for England, and the _Surprize_ for Bengal The Experiment arrives Captain Paterson assumes the government _pro tempore_ Ration Deaths in 1794 August.] Mr. Melville sailed on his intended fishing voyage on the second of this month. He talked of returning in about fourteen days, during which time he meant to visit Jervis and Bateman Bays to the southward, as well as to try once more what fortune might attend him as a whaler upon the coast. He returned, however, on the 8th, without having seen a fish, or visited either of the bays, having experienced a constant and heavy gale of wind at ESE since he left the port, which forced him to sail under a reefed foresail during the whole of its continuance. In the evening of the day on which he sailed hence, the people at the South Head made the signal for a sail; but it was imagined, that as they had lost sight of the _Speedy_ in the morning, they had perhaps seen her again in the evening on another tack, as the wind had shifted. But when this was mentioned to Mr. Melville at his return, he said that it was not possible for the _Speedy_ to have been seen in the evening of the day she sailed, as she stood right off the land; and he added, that he himself, in the close of the evening, imagined he saw a sail off Botany Bay. No ship, however, making her appearance during the month, it was generally supposed that the people at the Look-out must have been mistaken. A passage over the inland mountains which form the western boundary of the county of Cumberland being deemed practicable, Henry Hacking, a seaman (formerly quarter-master in the _Sirius_, but left here from the _Royal Admiral_), set off on the 20th of the month, with a companion or two, determined to try it. On the 27th they returned with an account of their having penetrated twenty miles further inland than any other European. Hacking reported, that on reaching the mountains, his further route lay over eighteen or nineteen ridges of high rocks; and that when he halted, determined to return, he still had in view before him the same wild and inaccessible kind of country. The summits of these rocks were of iron stone, large fragments of which had covered the intermediate valleys, in which water of a reddish tinge was observed to stagnate in many spots. The soil midway up the ascent appeared good, and afforded shelter and food for several red kangaroos. The ground every where bore signs of being frequently visited by high winds; for on the sides exposed to the south and south-east it was strewed with the trunks of large trees. They saw but one native in this desolate region, and he fled from their approach, preferring the enjoyments of his rocks and woods, with liberty, to any intercourse with them. These hills appearing to extend very far to the northward an impassable barrier seemed fixed to the westward; and southward, and little hope was left of our extending cultivation beyond the limits of the county of Cumberland. On the following day the _Francis_ schooner returned from Norfolk Island, having been absent about eight weeks and three days. Her passage thither was made in ten days, and her return in thirty-eight days, having met with very bad weather. From Mr. King we learned that his harvest had been prodigiously productive. He had purchased from the first crops which the settlers brought to market upwards of eleven thousand bushels of maize; and bills for the amount were drawn by him in favour of the respective settlers; but, requiring the sanction of the lieutenant-governor, they were now sent to Port Jackson. Mr. King had been partly induced to make this provisional kind of purchase, under an idea that the corn would be acceptable at Port Jackson, and also in compliance with the conditions on which the settlers had received their respective allotments under the regulations of Governor Phillip; that is to say, that their overplus grain and stock should be purchased from them at a fair market price. Being, however, well stocked with that article already, the lieutenant-governor did not think himself justifiable in putting the crown to so great an expense (nearly three thousand pounds sterling) and declined accepting the bills. Had we been in want of maize, Mr. King could have supplied us with twenty thousand bushels of it, much of which must now inevitably perish, unless the settlers would, agreeably to a notification which the governor intended to send them by the first opportunity, receive their corn again from the public stores. Mr. King had the satisfaction to write that every thing went on well in his little island, excepting that some discontent appeared among the marine settlers, and some others, on account of his not purchasing their second crops of corn. As some proof of the existence of this dissatisfaction, one marine settler and three others arrived in the schooner, who had given up their farms and entered into the New South Wales corps; and it was reported that most of the marine settlers intended to follow their example. This circumstance naturally gave rise to an inquiry, what would be the consequence if ever Government should, from farming on their own account, raise a quantity of wheat and maize sufficient for the consumption of those in the different settlements who were victualled by the crown. If such a system should be adopted, the settler would be deprived of a market for his overplus grain, would find himself cut off from the means of purchasing any of those comforts which his family must inevitably require, and would certainly quit a country that merely held out to him a daily subsistence; as he would look, if he was ordinarily wise, for something beyond that. It might be said, that the settler would raise stock for the public; but government would do the same, and so prevent him from every chance of providing for a family beyond the present day. As it was desirable that those settlers who had become such from convicts should remain in this country, the only inducement they could have would be that of raising to themselves a comfortable independence for the winter of their own lives and the summer of their progeny. Government must therefore, to encourage the settler, let him be the farmer, and be itself the purchaser. The Government can always fix its own price; and the settler will be satisfied if he can procure himself the comforts he finds requisite, and lay by a portion of his emoluments for that day when he can no longer till the field with the labour of his own hands. With this encouragement and prospect, New South Wales would hold out a most promising field for the industrious; and might even do more: it might prove a valuable resource and acceptable asylum for many broken and reduced families, who, for want of it, become through misfortunes chargeable to their respective parishes. Notwithstanding the weather was unfavourable during the whole of this month, the wheat every where looked well, particularly at the settlement near the Hawkesbury; the distance to which place had lately been ascertained by an officer who walked thither from Sydney in two minutes less than eight hours. He computed the distance to be thirty-two miles. The weather during the whole of this month was very unpleasant and turbulent. Much rain, and the wind strong at south, marked by far the greatest part of it. On the 25th, the hot land-wind visited us for the first time this season, blowing until evening with much violence, when it was succeeded (as usually happened after so hot a day) by the wind at south. September.] On the 1st of September the _Britannia_ sailed for the Cape of Good Hope, on a second voyage of speculation for some of the civil and military officers of the settlement. In her went, with dispatches, Mr. David Wake Bell, and Mr. Richard Kent (gentlemen who arrived here in the _Boddingtons_ and _Sugar Cane_ transports, charged with the superintendance and medical care of the convicts from Ireland). The _Speedy_ also sailed on her fishing voyage, the master intending not to consume any longer time in an unsuccessful trial of this coast. Several persons were permitted to take their passage in these ships; among others, Richard Blount, for whom a free pardon had some time since been received from the secretary of state's office. Soon after the departure of these ships, the lieutenant-governor, having previously transmitted with his other dispatches an account of the transaction to the secretary of state, thought it necessary to issue a public order, calculated to impress on the minds of those settlers and others at Norfolk Island who might think themselves aggrieved by his late determination of not ordering payment to be made for the corn purchased of them by Lieutenant-governor King, a conviction that although he should on all occasions be ready to adopt any plan which the lieutenant-governor might devise for the accommodation or advantage of the inhabitants at Norfolk Island, yet in this business he made objections, because he did not consider himself authorised to ratify the agreement. He proposed to those who held the bills to take back their corn; or, if they preferred leaving it in the public stores until such time as an answer could be received from the secretary of state, he assured them that they might depend on the earliest communication of whatever might be his decision; and that if such decision should be to refuse the payment of the bills, he promised that grain should be returned equal in quantity and quality to what had been received from them.* [* Governor Hunter on his arrival ordered the bills to be paid, which was afterwards confirmed by the secretary of state.] How far the settlers (who in return for the produce of their grounds looked for something more immediately beneficial to them and their families, than the waiting eighteen months or two years for a refusal, instead of payment of these bills) would be satisfied with this order, was very questionable. It has been seen already, that they were dissatisfied at the produce of their second crops not being purchased; what then must be their ideas on finding even the first received indeed, but not accounted for; purchased, but not paid for? it was fair to conclude, that on thus finding themselves without a market for their overplus grain, they would certainly give up the cultivation of their farms and quit the island. Should this happen, Lieutenant-governor King would have to lament the necessity of a measure having been adopted which in effect promised to depopulate his government. On the 10th and 11th of this month we had two very welcome arrivals from England, the _Resolution_ and _Salamander_ storeships. They were both freighted with stores and provisions for the colony; but immediately on their anchoring we were given to understand, that from meeting with uncommon bad weather between the Cape of Good Hope and Van Dieman's Land, the masters apprehended that their cargoes had sustained much damage. The _Resolution_ sailed in company with the _Salamander_ (from whom she parted in a heavy gale of wind about the longitude of the islands Amsterdam and St. Paul's) on the 20th of March last; anchored on the 16th of April at the Isle of May, whence she sailed on the 20th; crossed the equator on the 3rd of May; anchored on the 25th of the same month in the harbour of Rio de Janeiro; left it on the 10th of June, and, after a very boisterous passage, made the southern extremity of New Holland on the 30th of August, having been ninety-three days in her passage from the Brazils, during which time she endured several hard gales of wind, three of which the master, Mr. Matthew Lock, reported to have been as severe as any man on board his ship had ever witnessed. He stated, in the protest which he entered before the judge-advocate, that his ship was very much strained, the main piece of the rudder sprung, and most of the sails and rigging worn out. The _Salamander_ appeared to have met with weather equally bad; but she was at one time in greater hazard, having broached-to in a tremendous gale of wind; during which time, according to the tale of the superstitious seamen, and which they took care to insert in their protest, blue lights were seen dancing on each masthead and yard in the ship. By these ships we learned that the _Surprise_ transport, with male and female convicts for this country, was left by them lying at Spithead ready for sea, and that they might be shortly expected. The _Kitty_, which sailed from this place in June 1793, had arrived safely at Cork on the 5th of February last, not losing any of her passengers or people in so long a voyage and in such a season. His Majesty's appointment of John Hunter esq to be our governor, in the room of Captain Phillip who had resigned his office, we found had been officially notified in the London Gazette of the 5th of February last. Mr. Phillip's services, we understood, were remunerated by a pension of five hundred pounds per annum. The Irish prisoners were now again beginning to be troublesome; and some of them being missing from labour, it was directly rumoured that a plan was in agitation to seize the boat named the _Cumberland_, which had recently sailed with provisions for the settlers at the Hawkesbury. By several it was said, that she had actually been attacked without the Heads, and carried. Notice was therefore immediately sent overland to the river, to put the people in the boat on their guard, and to return should she reach that settlement safely: an armed long-boat was also sent to protect her passage round. After a few days suspense we found, that while providing against any accident happening to the _Cumberland_, some of the Irish prisoners at Parramatta had stolen from the wharf at that place a six-oar'd boat belonging to Lieutenant Macarthur, with which they got without the harbour undiscovered. She was found however, some days after, at Botany Bay. The people who were in her made some threats of resistance, but at length took to the woods, leaving the boat with nearly every thing that they had provided for their voyage. From the woods they visited the farms about Sydney for plunder, or rather for sustenance; but one of them being fired at and wounded, the rest thought it their wisest way to give themselves up. They made no hesitation in avowing that they never meant to return; but at the same time owned that they supposed they had reached Broken Bay instead of Botany Bay, ignorant whether it lay to the northward or southward of this harbour. The man who had been wounded died at the hospital the next day; and his companions appeared but very ill able to provide for themselves, even by those means which had occasioned our being troubled with them in this country. On the 17th, we were visited by a violent gale of wind at southwest, which blew so strong, that the _Resolution_ was at one time nearly on shore. At Parramatta, during the gale, a public granary, in which were upwards of two thousand four hundred bushels of shelled maize or Indian corn, caught fire, through the carelessness of some servants who were boiling food for stock close to the building (which was a thatched one), and all the corn, together with a number of fine hogs the property of an individual, were destroyed. Some severe contests among the natives took place during this month in and about the town of Sydney. In fact, we still knew very little of the manners and customs of these people, notwithstanding the advantage we possessed in the constant residence of many of them among us, and the desire that they showed of cultivating our friendship. At the Hawkesbury they were not so friendly; a settler there and his servant were nearly murdered in their hut by some natives from the woods, who stole upon them with such secrecy, as to wound and overpower them before they could procure assistance. The servant was so much hurt by them with spears and clubs, as to be in danger of losing his life. A few days after this circumstance, a body of natives having attacked the settlers, and carried off their clothes, provisions, and whatever else they could lay their hands on, the sufferers collected what arms they could, and following, them, seven or eight of the plunderers were killed on the spot. This mode of treating them had become absolutely necessary, from the frequency and evil effects of their visits; but whatever the settlers at the river suffered was entirely brought on them by their own misconduct: there was not a doubt but many natives had been wantonly fired upon; and when their children, after the flight of the parents, have fallen into the settlers hands, they have been detained at their huts, notwithstanding the earnest entreaties of the parents for their return. On the 26th, the _Daedalus_ sailed for Norfolk Island, having on board a quantity of the stores and provisions lately received from England, and a detachment of officers and men of the New South Wales corps to relieve those on duty there. Two female natives, wishing to withdraw from the cruelty which they, with others of their sex, experienced from their countrymen, were allowed to embark in the _Daedalus_, and were consigned to the care of the lieutenant-governor. One of them was sister to Bennillong; the other was connected with the young man his companion. Perhaps they wished to wait in peace and retirement the arrival of those who were bound to protect them. At the latter end of the month some warrants of emancipation passed the seal of the territory, and received the lieutenant-governor's signature. The objects of this indulgence were, Robert Sidaway, who received an unconditional pardon in consideration of his diligence, unremitting good conduct, and strict integrity in his employment for several years as the public baker of the settlement; and William Leach, who was permitted to quit this country, but not to return to England during the unexpired term of his sentence of transportation, which was for seven years. Eight convicts were pardoned on condition of their serving in the New South Wales corps until regularly discharged therefrom. James Larra, James Ruffler, and Richard Partridge (convicts for life), received a conditional pardon, or (as was the term among themselves on this occasion) were made free on the ground, to enable them to become settlers; as were also William Joyce and Benjamin Carver for the same purpose. Joyce had been transported for fourteen years, and Carver for life. Freedom on the ground was also given to William Waring, a convict for life. It was pleasing to see so many people withdrawing from the society of vice and wretchedness, and forming such a character for themselves as to be thought deserving of emancipation. On the 29th, the _Fancy_ snow left this port. Mr. Dell, the commander, purposed running to Norfolk Island, but affected a secrecy with respect to his subsequent destination. It was generally surmised, however, that he was bound to some island whereat timber fit for naval purposes was to be procured; and at which whatever ship Mr. Bampton should bring with him might touch and load with a cargo for India. The snow was armed, was about one hundred and seventy tons burden, had a large and expensive complement of officers and men, a guard of sepoys, and a commission from the Bombay marine*. New Zealand was by us supposed to be the place; as force, or at least the appearance of it, was there absolutely requisite. [* Mr. Dell had likewise on board a much greater number of cross-cut saws than were necessary to procure wood for the mere use of the vessel.] The wife of Griffin the drummer, whose hoarded guineas were supposed to have been stolen by Charles, or (as he was more commonly named) Pat Gray, killed herself with drinking, expiring in a fit of intoxication while the husband was employed in the lower part of the harbour in fishing for his family. She left him four children to provide for. October.] This month opened with an indispensable act of justice: John Bevan, a wretched convict, whose name has been frequently mentioned in this narrative, broke into the house of William Fielder at Sydney, and being caught in the fact, it was substantiated against him beyond the chance of escape; he was of course fully convicted, and received sentence of death. The trial was on the 1st, and at nine in the morning of the 6th he was executed. At the tree he confessed nothing, but seemed terrified when he found himself so near the ignominious death that he had so long merited. On being taken to hear divine service the Sunday preceding his execution, he seemed not to be in the smallest degree affected by the clergyman's discourse, which was composed for the occasion; but was visibly touched at the singing of the psalm intitled the 'Lamentation of a Sinner.' On the evening preceding the day of his execution, information was received from Parramatta, that Simon Burn, a settler, had been stabbed to the heart about eight o'clock in the evening before, of which wound he died in an hour. The man who perpetrated this atrocious act was a convict named Hill, a butcher by trade. It appeared on the trial, which lasted five hours, that Hill had borne the deceased much animosity for some time, and, having been all the day (which, to aggravate the offence, happened to be Sunday) in company drinking with him, took occasion to quarrel with a woman with whom he cohabited, and following her into an empty house, whither she had run to avoid a beating, the deceased, unhappily for him, interfered, and was by Hill stabbed to the heart; living, as has been said, about an hour, but having just strength enough to declare in the presence of several witnesses, that the butcher had killed him. The prisoner attempted to set up an alibi for his defence; but the fact of killing was incontrovertibly fixed upon him, as well as the malice which urged his hand to take away the life of his fellow-creature, and to send him, with the sin upon his head of having profaned the Lord's day by rioting and drunkenness, unprepared before his Maker. This poor man was buried by his widow (an Irish woman) in a corner of his own farm, attended by several settlers of that and the neighbouring districts, who celebrated the funeral rites in a manner and with orgies suitable to the disposition and habits of the deceased, his widow, and themselves. Hill was executed on the 16th, and his body dissected according to his sentence. On the 17th the _Mercury_, an American brig, commanded by Mr. William Barnet, anchored in the cove from Falkland's islands. He had nothing on board for sale, but brought us the very welcome information of his having seen the officers of the Spanish ship _Descuvierta_ at that place. Being in want of biscuit, he made application to the commodore Malaspina for a supply, proffering to settle the payment in any manner that he should choose to adopt; but the commodore, after sending him a greater quantity than he had required, assured him that he was sufficiently satisfied in having assisted a ship whose people, whether English or American, spoke the language of those gentlemen from whom himself and the officers of the ships under his command had received, while in New South Wales, such attention and hospitality. Mr. Barnet understood the _Atrevida_ was in the neighbourhood, and that no loss or accident had happened in either ship since their departure from Port Jackson. The _Mercury_ was bound to the north-west coast of America, and her master purposed quitting this port as soon as his people, who were all afflicted with that dreadful sea distemper the scurvy, should be sufficiently recovered. The period of probation which had been allotted by the late governor to the services of William Stephenson (one of the people serving in the stores) expiring this month, his pardon was delivered to him accordingly. No one among the prisoners could be found more deserving of this clemency; his conduct had been uniformly that of a good man, and he had shown that he was trustworthy by never having forfeited the good opinion of the commissary under whom he was placed in the provision-store. From the Hawkesbury were received accounts which corroborated the opinion that the settlers there merited the attacks which were from time to time made upon them by the natives. It was now said, that some of them had seized a native boy, and, after tying him hand and foot, had dragged him several times through a fire, or over a place covered with hot ashes, until his back was dreadfully scorched, and in that state threw him into the river, where they shot at and killed him. Such a report could not be heard without being followed by the closest examination, when it appeared that a boy had actually been shot when in the water, from a conviction of his having been detached as a spy upon the settlers from a large body of natives, and that he was returning to them with an account of their weakness, there being only one musket to be found among several farms. No person appearing to contradict this account, it was admitted as a truth; but many still considered it as a tale invented to cover the true circumstance, that a boy had been cruelly and wantonly murdered by them. The presence of some person with authority was becoming absolutely necessary among those settlers, who, finding themselves freed from bondage, instantly conceived that they were above all restrictions; and, being without any internal regulations, irregularities of the worst kind might be expected to happen. On the morning of the 25th a civil court was assembled, for the purpose of investigating an action brought by one Joyce (a convict lately emancipated) against Thomas Daveny, a free man and superintendant of convicts at Toongabbie, for an assault; when the defendant, availing himself of a mistake in his christian name, pleaded the misnomer. His plea being admitted, the business was for that time got over, and before another court could be assembled he had entered into a compromise with the plaintiff, and nothing more was heard of it. In the evening of the same day the _Surprise_ transport arrived from England, whence she sailed on the 2nd of last May, having on board sixty female and twenty-three male convicts, some stores and provisions, and three settlers for this colony. Among the prisoners were, Messrs. Muir, Palmer, Skirving, and Margarot, four gentlemen lately convicted in Scotland of the crime of sedition, considered as a public offence, and transported for the same to this country. We found also on board the _Surprise_ a Mr. James Thompson, late surgeon of the _Atlantic_ transport, but who now came in quality of assistant-surgeon to the settlement; and William Baker, formerly here a sergeant in the marine detachment, but now appointed a superintendant of convicts. A guard of an ensign and twenty-one privates of the New South Wales corps were on board the transport. Six of these people were deserters from other regiments brought from the Savoy; one of them, Joseph Draper, we understood had been tried for mutiny (of an aggravated kind) at Quebec. This mode of recruiting the regiment must have proved as disgusting to the officers as it was detrimental to the interests of the settlement. If the corps was raised for the purpose of protecting the civil establishment, and of bringing a counterpoise to the vices and crimes which might naturally be expected to exist among the convicts, it ought to have been carefully formed from the best characters; instead of which we now found a mutineer (a wretch who could deliberate with others, and consent himself to be the chosen instrument of the destruction of his sovereign's son) sent among us, to remain for life, perhaps, as a check upon sedition, now added to the catalogue of our other imported vices. This ship touched only at Rio de Janeiro, between which port and the south-west cape of this country the winds which they met with very much favoured, in the idea of Mr. Campbell the master, the opinion of a passage being readily made to the Cape of Good Hope, or to India, round by Van Dieman's Land. Among other articles of information now received, we learned that Governor Hunter, with the _Reliance_ and _Supply_, two ships intended to be employed in procuring cattle for the colony, might be expected to arrive in about three months. The governor was to bring out with him a patent for establishing a court of criminal judicature at Norfolk Island. The two natives in England were said to be in health, and anxious for the governor's departure, as they were to accompany him. They had made but little improvement in our language. The _Surprise_ anchoring in the cove after dark, she saluted at sunrise the following morning with fifteen guns. A theft was committed in the course of the month in one of the out-houses belonging to Government House, used as a regimental storeroom; the articles stolen were fifteen shirts and seventeen pair of shoes. In searching among the rocks and bushes for this property, three white and two check shirts, one pair of trousers, and one pair of stockings, were found; but so damaged by the weather as to be entirely useless. These must have been planted (to use the thiefs phrase) a considerable time; for every mark or trace which could lead to a discovery of the owner was entirely effaced. The storeships being cleared of their cargoes, a survey was made upon such part of them as was damaged, which was found to be very considerable. A serving of slops was immediately issued to the male and female convicts; the men receiving each one jacket, one waistcoat, one shirt, one hat, and one pair of breeches; the women one petticoat, one shift, one pair of stockings, one cap, one neck-handkerchief, one hat, and one jacket made of raven duck. A distinction was made in the articles of the slops served to watchmen and overseers, each receiving one coat instead of a jacket, one pair of duck trousers instead of a pair of breeches, and one pair of shoes. On the 21st died an industrious good young man, Joseph Webb, a settler at the district named Liberty Plains. He had been working in his ground, and suddenly fell down in an apoplectic fit. We have seen that another settler was murdered, and two male convicts were executed. Burn had been an unfortunate man; he had lost one of his eyes, when, as a convict, he was employed in splitting paling for government; his farm had never succeeded; himself and his wife were too fond of spirituous liquors to be very industrious; and he was at last forced out of the world in a state and in a manner shocking to human nature. November.] Since our establishment in this harbour but few accidents had happened to boats. On the 1st of this month, however, the longboat of the _Surprise_, though steered by one of the people belonging to the settlement, was overset on her passage from the cove to Parramatta, in a squall of wind she met with off Goat Island, with a number of convicts and stores on board. Fortunately, no other loss followed than that occasioned by the drowning of one very fine female goat, the property of Baker the superintendant. On the following day died Mr. Thomas Freeman, the deputy-commissary of stores and provisions employed at Parramatta. He was in his fifty-third year, and in this country ended a life the greater part of which had been actively and usefully employed in the king's service. His remains were interred in the burial-ground at Parramatta, and were attended by the gentlemen of the civil department residing in that township. On the morning of the 9th the ships _Resolution_ and _Salamander_ left the cove, purposing to sail on their fishing voyage; soon after which, it being discovered that three convicts, Mary Morgan and John Randall and his wife, were missing, a boat was sent down the harbour to search the _Resolution_, on board of which ship it was said they were concealed. No person being found, the boat returned for further orders, leaving a sergeant and four men on board; but before she could return, Mr. Locke the master, after forcing the party out of his ship, got under way and stood out to sea. Mr. Irish, the master of the _Salamander_, did not accompany him; but came up to the town, to testify to the lieutenant-governor his uneasiness at its being supposed that he could be capable of taking any person improperly from the colony. On the day following it appeared that several persons were missing, and two convicts in the night swam off to the _Salamander_, one of whom was supposed to have been drowned, but was afterwards found concealed in her hold and sent on shore. The _Resolution_ during this time was seen hovering about the coast, either waiting for her companion, or to pick up a boat with the runaways. On the 13th, the _Salamander_ got under way, with a southerly wind; but it falling calm when the ship was between the Heads, she drifted, and was set with the ebb tide so near the north head of the harbour as to be obliged to anchor suddenly in eighteen fathoms water. When anchored they got a kedge-anchor out, and began to heave; but the surf on the head and the swell from the sea were so great, occasioned by the late southerly winds, that in heaving the cable parted. Fortunately the stream-hawser hung her; and a breeze from the northward springing up, she was brought into the harbour with the loss of an anchor. This loss being repaired by her getting another from the _Surprise_, she was enabled to sail finally on the 15th. The impropriety of the conduct of the _Resolution's_ master was so glaring, that the lieutenant-governor caused some depositions to be taken respecting it, which he purposed transmitting to the navy-board. This man had been permitted to ship as many persons from the settlement as he stated to be necessary to complete his ship's company; notwithstanding which, there was not any doubt of his having received on board, without any permission, to the number of twelve or thirteen convicts whose terms of transportation had not been served. No difficulty had ever been found by any master of a ship, who would make the proper application, in obtaining any number of hands that he might be in want of, but to take clandestinely from the settlement the useful servants of the public was ungrateful and unpardonable. It was to be hoped that government, if the facts could be substantiated against him, would make his person a severe example to other masters of ships coming to this port. On the 23rd, after an absence of eight weeks and two days, the _Daedalus_ returned from Norfolk Island. Ten days of this time were passed in going thither, and sixteen in returning; the intermediate time was consumed in landing one, and receiving on board the other detachment, with their baggage. Several persons, whose sentences of transportation had expired, and who preferred residing in New South Wales, together with ten of the marine settlers, who had given up their grounds in consequence of the late disappointment which they experienced in respect of their corn bills, and had entered into the New South Wales corps, arrived in this ship. We understood that Phillip Island had been found to answer extremely well for the purpose of breeding stock. Some hogs which were allowed to be placed there in August 1793, the property of an individual, had increased so prodigiously, as to render the raising hogs there on account of government an object with the lieutenant-governor. The _Daedalus_ immediately began preparations for her departure for England; and Lieutenant-governor Grose signified his intention of quitting the settlement by that opportunity. The lieutenant-governor having set apart for each of the gentlemen who came from Scotland in the _Surprise_ a brick hut, in a row on the east side of the cove, they took possession of their new habitations, and soon declared that they found sufficient reason for thinking their situations 'on the bleak and desolate shores of New Holland' not quite so terrible as in England they had been taught to expect. The _Surprise_ was discharged this month from government employ, and Mr. Campbell began to prepare for making his passage to Bengal (whither he was bound) by the south cape of this country. Of the female prisoners who came out in this ship one was buried on the 21st; she had lain in of a dead child, and died shortly after of a milk fever. Her husband, a free man, came out with her to settle in the country. Reaping our wheat-harvest commenced this month. December.] The people of the _Mercury_ being perfectly recovered from the disorder which afflicted them when they arrived, that vessel sailed on the 7th of December for the north-west coast of America. The master had permission to ship five persons belonging to the colony, and on the day of his sailing several others were missing from the labouring gangs, and were supposed to have made their escape in her; but on the following morning they were all at their respective labours, not having been able to get on board. Some of the seamen belonging to this vessel, preferring the pleasures they met with in the society of the females and the free circulation of spirituous liquors which they found on shore, to accompanying Mr. Barnet to the north-west coast of America, had left his vessel some days previous to her sailing. Application being made to the lieutenant-governor, several orders were given out calculated to induce them to return to their duty, informing them, that if they remained behind they would be certainly sent to hard labour, and the persons who had harboured them severely punished. But our settlements had now become so extensive, that orders did not so readily find their way to the settlers, as runaways and vagrants, who never failed of finding employment among them, particularly among those at the river. On the 8th a farm of twenty-five acres of ground in the district of Concord was sold by public auction for thirteen pounds. Four acres were planted with Indian corn, and half an acre with potatoes; there was beside a tolerable hut on the premises. This farm was the property of Samuel Crane, a soldier, who, too industriously for himself, working on it on the Sunday preceding his death, received a hurt from a tree which fell upon him, and proved fatal. Every preparation for accommodating the lieutenant-governor and his family being completed on board the _Daedalus_, he embarked in the evening of the 15th. Previous to his departure, such convicts as were at that time confined in the cells, or who were under orders for punishment, were released; several grants of lands were signed, conveying chiefly small allotments of twenty-five acres each to such soldiers of the regiment as were desirous of, and made application for that favour; and some leases of town lots were given. With the lieutenant-governor went Mr. White, the principal surgeon of the colony; Mr. Bain, the chaplain, in whose absence the Rev. Mr. Marsden was to do his duty; Mr. Laing, assistant-surgeon of the settlement, and mate of the New South Wales corps; three soldiers; two women, and nine men. The master of the transport had permission to ship twelve men and two women, whose sentences of transportation had expired. The _Surprise_ sailed on the 17th. Mr. Campbell, being in want of hands, was allowed to receive on board sixteen men. He had shipped a greater number; but some, regardless of their own situation, and of the effect such an act might have on others, had been detected in the act of robbing the ship, and were turned on shore. Mr. Campbell at his departure expressed his determination of trying his passage to Bengal by the south cape of this country. The route of the _Daedalus_ was round the southern extremity of New Zealand. The lieutenant-governor took with him all the documents which were necessary to lay before government to explain the state of the different settlements under his command; such as the commissary's accounts, returns of stock, remains of provisions, etc, etc.; vouchers, in fact, of that true spirit of liberality which had marked the whole of his administration of the public affairs of this settlement. Our society was much weakened by this departure of our friends; they carried with them, however, letters to our connexions, and our earnest wishes for their speedy, pleasant, and safe passage to England. The number of small boats at this time in the settlement was considerable, although wretchedly put together. Two of them were stolen during the month by several Irish prisoners, accompanied by some who came out in the _Surprise_. In it they went down to the Southhead, whence they took what arms they could find, and made off to sea. In a very few days they were all brought in from the adjacent bays, and punished for their rashness and folly. No example seemed to deter these people from thinking it practicable to escape from the colony; the ill success and punishment which had befallen others affected not them, till woeful experience made it their own; and then they only regretted their ill fortune, never attributing the failure to their own ignorance and temerity. In the morning of Wednesday the 24th the signal was made at the South Head for a vessel (which they had seen the day before). She came in about three o'clock, and proved to be the _Experiment_, a snow from Bengal, laden with spirits, sugar, piece-goods, and a few casks of provisions; the speculation being suggested by Mr. Beyer, the agent for the _Sugar Cane_ and _Boddingtons_. Those ships had arrived safely at Bengal, and had sailed thence for England. The _Experiment_ had had a passage of three months from Calcutta, one month of which she had passed since she saw the southern extremity of this country. We learned from Mr. E. McClellan, the master, that a large ship named the _Neptune_ had been freighted with cattle, etc in pursuance of the contract entered into with Mr. Bampton, and had sailed from Bombay in July last, but was unfortunately lost in the river by sailing against the monsoon. When Mr. Bampton might be expected was uncertain. The direction of the colony during the absence of the governor and lieutenant-governor devolving upon the officer highest in rank then on service in the colony, Captain William Paterson, of the New South Wales corps, on Christmas Day took the oaths prescribed by his Majesty's letters patent for the person who should so take upon him the government of the settlement. This officer, expecting every day the arrival of Governor Hunter, made no alteration in the mode of carrying on the different duties of the settlement now entrusted to his care and guidance. At the latter end of the month a general muster was ordered of all the male convicts, together with the persons who had served their several terms of transportation, as well those residing at Sydney and Parramatta, as those on the banks of the river Hawkesbury. The following ration was also ordered, the maize being nearly expended, viz. To Civil, Military, Free People, and Free Settlers 8 lbs of flour, 7 lbs of beef, or 4 lbs of pork, 3 pints of peas, 6 oz of sugar. To Male Convicts 4 lbs of flour 7 lbs of beef, or 4 lbs of pork, 3 pints of peas, 6 ozs of sugar, and 3 pints of rice. Women and children were to receive the usual proportion, and a certain quantity of slops was directed to be issued to the male and female convicts who came out in the _Surprise_ transport, they being very much in want of clothing. A jail gang was also ordered to be established at Toongabbie, for the employment and punishment of all bad and suspicious characters. Wheat was this month directed to be purchased from the settlers at ten shillings per bushel. Much of that grain was found to have been blighted this season. The ground about Toongabbie was pronounced to be worn out, the produce of the last harvest not averaging more than six or seven bushels an acre, though at first it was computed at seventeen. The Northern farms had also failed through a blight. Our loss by death in the year 1794 was, two settlers; four soldiers; one soldier's wife; thirty-two male convicts; ten female convicts; and ten children; making a total of fifty-nine persons. CHAPTER XXVIII Gangs sent to till the public grounds The _Francis_ sails Regulations for the Hawkesbury Natives Works Weather Deaths Produce at the river Transactions there Natives The _Francis_ arrives from the Cape The _Fancy_ from New Zealand Information The _Experiment_ sails for India A native killed Weather Wheat Criminal Court Ration reduced The _Britannia_ hired to procure provisions Natives at the Hawkesbury The _Endeavour_ arrives with cattle from Bombay Deaths Returns of ground sown with wheat The _Britannia_ sails for India The _Fancy_ for Norfolk Island Convicts Casualties 1795.] January.] From the great numbers of labouring convicts who were employed in the town of Sydney, and at the grounds about Petersham; of others employed with officers and settlers; of those who, their terms of transportation having expired, were allowed to provide for themselves; and of others who had been permitted to leave the colony, public field-labour was entirely at a stand. The present commanding officer wishing to cultivate the grounds belonging to government, collecting as many labourers as could be got together, sent a large gang, formed of bricklayers, brickmakers, timber-carriage men, etc. etc. to Parramatta and Toongabbie, there to prepare the ground for wheat for the ensuing season. At the muster which had been lately taken fifty people were found without any employment, whose services still belonged to the public; most of these were laid hold of, and sent to hard labour; and it appeared at the same time that some few were at large in the woods, runaways, and vagabonds. These people began labouring in the grounds immediately after New Year's day, which as usual was observed as a holiday. On the 22nd, the convict women who had children attended at the store, when they received for each child three yards of flannel, one shirt, and two pounds of soap. On the day following, the colonial schooner sailed for the river, having on board a mill, provisions, etc. for the settlers there. A military guard was also ordered, the commanding officer of which was to introduce some regulations among the settlers, and to prevent, by the effect of his presence and authority, the commission of those enormities which disgraced that settlement. For the reception of such quantity of the Indian corn and wheat grown there this season as might be purchased by government, a store-house was to be erected under the inspection of the commissary; and Baker, the superintendant who arrived in the _Surprise_, was sent out to take the charge of it when finished. The master of the schooner was ordered, after discharging his cargo, to receive on board Mr. Charles Grimes, the deputy surveyor-general, and proceed with him to Port Stephens, for the purpose of examining that harbour. About the middle of the month a convict, on entering the door of his hut, was bit in the foot by a black snake; the effect was, an immediate swelling of the foot, leg, and thigh, and a large tumour in the groin. Mr. Thompson, the assistant-surgeon, was fortunately able to reduce all these swellings by frequently bathing the parts in oil, and saved the man's life without having recourse to amputation. While we lived in a wood, and might naturally have expected to have been troubled with them, snakes and other reptiles were by no means so often seen, as since, by clearing and opening the country about us, the natives had not had opportunities of setting the woods so frequently on fire. But now they were often met in the different paths about the settlements, basking at mid-day in the sunshine, and particularly after a shower of rain. We heard and saw much of the natives about this time. At the Hawkesbury a man had been wounded by some of the Wood tribe. Two women (natives) were murdered not far from the town of Sydney during the night, and another victim, a female of Pe-mul-wy's party (the man who killed McIntyre), having been secured by the males of a tribe inimical to Pe-mul-wy, dragged her into the woods, where they fatigued themselves with exercising acts of cruelty and lust upon her. The principal labour performed in January was preparing the ground for wheat. The Indian corn looked every where remarkably well; it was now ripening, and the settlers on the banks of the Hawkesbury supposed that at least thirty thousand bushels of that grain would be raised among them. Several native boys, from eight to fourteen years of age, were at this time living among the settlers in the different districts. They were found capable of being made extremely useful; they went cheerfully into the fields to labour, and the elder ones with ease hoed in a few hours a greater quantity of ground than that generally assigned to a convict for a day's work. Some of these were allowed a ration of provisions from the public stores. In consequence of the heavy rains, the river at the Hawkesbury rose many feet higher than it had been known to rise in other rains, by which several settlers were sufferers. At Toongabbie the wheat belonging to government was considerably injured. At Parramatta the damage was extensive; the bridge over the creek, which had been very well constructed, was entirely swept away; and the boats with their moorings carried down the river. At Sydney some chimneys in the new barracks fell in. Mr. Jones, the quarter-master sergeant of the New South Wales corps, a person of much respectability, and whose general demeanor indicated an education far beyond what is met with in the sphere of life in which he moved, died this month. A convict lad, in the service of Mr. William Smith the store-keeper, died on the 26th, having swallowed arsenic. It was remarkable in his untimely end, that he himself placed the poison with a view of destroying the rats with which the house was infested, and was particularly cautioned against it. How he came, after that, to take it himself, was not to be accounted for. February.] Early in February, the storehouse at the Hawkesbury being completed, the provisions which had been sent round in the schooner were landed and put under the care of Baker. Some officers who had made an excursion to that settlement, with a view of selecting eligible spots for farms, on their return spoke highly of the corn which they saw growing there, and of the picturesque appearance of many of the settlers' farms. The settlers told them, that in general their grounds which had been in wheat had produced from thirty to thirty-six bushels an acre; that they found one bushel (or on some spots five pecks) of seed sufficient to sow an acre; and that, if sown as early as the month of April or May, they imagined the ground would produce a second crop, and the season be not too far advanced to ripen it. Their kitchen gardens were plentifully stocked with vegetables. The master of the schooner complained that the navigation of the river was likely to be hurt. The settlers having fallen many trees into the water, he was apprehensive they would drift ashore on some of the points of the river where, in process of time, sand, etc. might lodge against them, and form dangerous obstructions in the way of craft which might be hereafter used on the river. No doubt remained of the ill and impolitic conduct of some of the settlers toward the natives. In revenge for some cruelties which they had experienced, they threatened to put to death three of the settlers, Michael Doyle, Robert Forrester, and ---- Nixon; and had actually attacked and cruelly wounded two other settlers, George Shadrach and John Akers, whose farms and persons they mistook for those of Doyle and Forrester. These particulars were procured through the means of one Wilson, a wild idle young man, who, his term of transportation being expired, preferred living among the natives in the vicinity of the river, to earning the wages of honest industry by working for settlers. He had formed an intermediate language between his own and theirs, with which he made shift to comprehend something of what they wished him to communicate; for they did not conceal the sense they entertained of the injuries which had been done them. The tribe with whom Wilson associated had given him a name, Bun-bo-e, but none of them had taken his in exchange. As the gratifying an idle wandering disposition was the sole object with Wilson in herding with these people, no good consequence was likely to ensue from it; and it was by no means improbable, that at some future time, if disgusted with the white people, he would join the blacks, and assist them in committing depredations, or make use of their assistance to punish or revenge his own injuries. Mr. Grimes purposed taking him with him in the schooner to Port Stephens. There were at this time several convicts in the woods subsisting by theft; and it being said that three had been met with arms, it became necessary to secure them as soon as possible. Watchmen and other people immediately went out, and in the afternoon of the 14th a wretched fellow of the name of Suffini was killed by one of them. This circumstance drove the rest to a greater distance from Sydney, and they were reported, some days afterwards, to have been met on their route to the river. Suffini would not have been shot at, had he not refused to surrender when called to by the watchman while in the act of plundering a garden. About the latter end of the month the natives adjusted some affairs of honour in a convenient spot near the brick-fields. The people who live about the south shore of Botany Bay brought with them a stranger of an extraordinary appearance and character; even his name had something extraordinary in the sound--Gome-boak. He had been several days on his journey from the place where he lived, which was far to the southward. In height he was not more than five feet two or three inches; but he was by far the most muscular, square, and well-formed native we had ever seen. He fought well; his spears were remarkably long, and he defended himself with a shield that covered his whole body. We had the satisfaction of seeing him engaged with some of our Sydney friends, and of observing that neither their persons nor reputations suffered any thing in the contest. When the fight was over, on our praising to them the martial talents of this stranger, the strength and muscle of his arm, and the excellence of his sight, they admitted the praise to be just (because when opposed to them he had not gained the slightest advantage); but, unwilling that we should think too highly of him, they assured us, with horror in their countenances, that Gome-boak was a cannibal.* [* Gome-boak, we learned, was afterwards killed among his own people in some affair to the southward.] March.] On the 1st of March the _Francis_ returned from Port Stephens. Mr. Grimes reported, that he went into two fresh-water branches, up which he rowed, until, at no very great distance from the entrance, he found them terminate in a swamp. He described the land on each side to be low and sandy, and had seen nothing while in this harbour which in his opinion could render a second visit necessary. The natives were so very unfriendly, that he made but few observations on them. He thought they were a taller and a stouter race of people than those about this settlement, and their language was entirely different. Their huts and canoes were something larger than those which we had seen here; their weapons were the same. They welcomed him on shore with a dance, joined hand in hand, round a tree, to express perhaps their unanimity; but one of them afterwards, drawing Mr. Grimes into the wood, poised a spear, and was on the point of throwing it, when he was prevented by young Wilson, who, having followed Mr. Grimes with a double-barrelled gun, levelled at the native, and fired it. He was supposed to be wounded, for he fell; but rising again, he attempted a second time to throw the spear, and was again prevented by Wilson. The effect of this second shot was supposed to be conclusive, as he was not seen to rise any more. Mr. Grimes got back to his boat without any other interruption. Mr. House in his way thither ran close along the shore, and saw not any shelter for a ship or vessel from Broken Bay to Port Stephens. The schooner was only fourteen hours on her return. About this time, the spirit of inquiry being on foot, Mr. Cummings, an officer of the corps, made an excursion to the southward of Botany Bay, and brought back with him some of the head bones of a marine animal, which, on inspection, Captain Paterson, the only naturalist in the country, pronounced to have belonged to the animal described by M. de Buffon, and named by him the Manatee. On this excursion Mr. Cummings received some information which led him to believe that the cattle that had been lost soon after our arrival were in existence. The natives who conversed with him were so particular in their account of having seen a large animal with horns, that he shortly after, taking some of them with him as guides, set off to seek them, but returned without success, not having met with any trace that could lead him to suppose they might ever be found. On the 4th the _Britannia_ returned from the Cape of Good Hope, having been absent six months and three days. Mr. Raven brought alive to his employers, one stallion, twenty-nine mares, three fillies, and twelve sheep. He sailed from the Cape with forty mares on board; but those that died were the worst, and had not been kept up long enough on dry food before they were embarked. It was evident, on visiting the ship, that every attention had been paid to their accommodation; but horses were generally supposed better calculated than other cattle to endure the weather usually met with between the Cape and this country*. [* It may be remembered, that in a former voyage to the Cape on a similar errand, she lost twenty-nine cows.] We had the gratification of hearing that our fleet under Earl Howe had been victorious in a gallant and severe action with the enemy. On the 15th, when anxiously expecting an arrival from England, we saw Mr. Dell come to anchor in the cove from Norfolk Island. Though this arrival proved a disappointment to most of us, yet the information we received by it was rather interesting. We now learned, that Mr. Dell had been at New Zealand, where he passed three months in the river named by Captain Cook the Thames, employed in cutting spars, for the purpose (as was conjectured here at the time of his departure) of freighting such ship as might arrive from India on Mr. Bampton's account. In the course of that time they cut down upwards of two hundred very fine trees, from sixty to one hundred and forty feet in length, fit for any use that the East India Company's ships might require. The longest of these trees measured three feet and a half in the butt, and differed from the Norfolk Island pines in having the turpentine in the centre of the tree instead of between the bark and the wood. From the natives they received very little interruption, being only upon one occasion obliged to fire on them. Like other uncivilised people, these islanders saw no crime in theft, and stole some axes from the people employed on shore, gratifying thereby their predilection for iron, which, strange as it may sound to us, they would have preferred to gold. Unfortunately, iron was too precious even here to part with, unless for an equivalent; and it became necessary to convince them of it. Two men and one woman were killed, the seamen who fired on them declaring (in their usual enlarged style of relation) that they had driven off and pursued upwards of three thousand of these cannibals. They readily parted with any quantity of their flax, bartering it for iron. As the valuable qualities of this flax were well known, it was not uninteresting to us to learn, that so small a vessel as the _Fancy_ had lain at an anchor for three months in the midst of numerous and warlike tribes of savages, without any attempt on their part to become the masters; and that an intercourse might safely and advantageously be opened between them and the colonists of New South Wales, whenever proper materials and persons should be sent out to manufacture the flax, if the governor of that country should ever think it an object worthy of his attention. From New Zealand the _Fancy_ proceeded to Norfolk Island, and now came hither in the hope of meeting with, or hearing of Mr. Bampton. From that settlement we gained the following information: The _Salamander_ touched there, and the _Resolution_ appeared off the island, but had no communication with the shore. A heavy gale of wind, accompanied with a slight shock of the earth, had done considerable damage, washing away a very useful wharf and crane at Cascade, but which the governor meant immediately to replace. The produce of the wheat this season on government's account amounted to three thousand bushels, and that of settlers to fifteen hundred. The Indian corn promised a very plentiful crop; but the settlers were much discouraged by their bills of the last year remaining still unpaid. Much of that corn was obliged to be surveyed, and two thousand bushels had been condemned. Swine were increasing so rapidly on Phillip Island, now stocked by government, that Mr. King thought he should be able for some time to issue fresh pork during four days in the week. The flour was expended; of salt meat there was a sufficiency in store for eight months. The whole number of persons on the island amounted to nine hundred and forty-five. A convict well known in this settlement, Benjamin Ingraham, being detected in the act of housebreaking, put an end to his own existence by hanging himself, thus terminating by his own hand a life of wretchedness and villany. On the 17th St. Patrick found many votaries in the settlement. Some Cape brandy lately imported in the _Britannia_ appeared to have arrived very seasonably; and libations to the saint were so plentifully poured, that at night the cells were full of prisoners. Settlers, and other persons who had Indian corn to dispose of, were this month informed, that they would receive five shillings per bushel for all they might bring to the public stores. They were likewise told, that a preference would be given to those who had disposed of their wheat to government. On the 23rd the _Experiment_ sailed for India. Mr. McClellan had been with his vessel to the Hawkesbury, where he had taken in sixty large logs of the tree which we had named the cedar. He had also purchased some of the mahogany of this country. Whether cedar and mahogany were or were not to be readily procured at Bengal, ought to have been well known to this gentleman before he put himself to the trouble, delay, and expence of procuring such a quantity*; but it was here generally looked upon as a speculation that would not produce him much profit. [* He was to allow one hundred pounds for as many trees; but we understood that it was to be in the way of barter with articles, sugar, spirits, etc.] On the day of his sailing, suspecting (as was reported) some design to seize his vessel, he sent on shore three people whom he had shipped here. They rendezvoused at a hut in the town occupied by one John Chapman Morris; and, on searching it, in the bed of one of them were found a dozen of new Indian shirts marked D. W.; twenty-two new pulicate handkerchiefs; and three pieces of striped gingham. On the possessor being questioned, he said, that they were sold to him while he was at Norfolk Island by the steward of Captain Manning's ship, the _Pitt_. As this was a very improbable story, the house they were in was ordered by the commanding officer to be pulled down. The property, having been disclaimed by Mr. McClennan, was lodged with the provost-marshal; and the parties given to understand, that a reference would be made to Norfolk Island by the first opportunity. On the 26th, some of our people witnessed an extraordinary transaction which took place among the natives at the brick-fields. A young man of the name of Bing-yi-wan-ne, well known in the settlement, being detected in the crisis of an amour with Maw-ber-ry, the companion of another native, Ye-ra-ni-be Go-ru-ey, the latter fell upon him with a club, and being a powerful man, and of superior strength, absolutely beat him to death. Bing-yi-wan-ne had some friends, who on the following day called Ye-ra-ni-be to an account for the murder; when, the affair being conducted with more regard to honour than justice, he came off with only a spear-wound in his thigh. The farmers began gathering their Indian corn about the latter end of this month. The weather during the former and latter part of it was wet. About the time of the equinox, the tides in the cove were observed to be very high. On the 28th Thomas Webb, a settler, who had removed from his farm at Liberty Plains to another on the banks of the Hawkesbury, was dangerously wounded there, while working on his grounds by some of the wood natives, who had previously plundered his but. About the same time a party of these people threw a spear at some soldiers who were going up the river in a small boat. All these unpleasant circumstances were to be attributed to the ill treatment the natives had received from the settlers. At Prospect Hill a woman was bitten by a snake; but by the timely application of some volatile salts by Mr. Irving, her life was saved. April.] It was determined to let the Toongabbie Hills remain fallow for a season, they being reported to be worn out. Other ground, which had been prepared, was now sown; a spot called the Ninety Acres, and the hills between Parramatta and Toongabbie. On the 15th, a criminal court was assembled for the trial of John Anderson and Joseph Marshall, settlers; and John Hyams, Joseph Dunstill, Richard Watson, and Morgan Bryan, convicts; for a rape committed on the body of one Mary Hartley, at the Hawkesbury. The court was obliged to acquit the prisoners, owing to glaring contradiction in the witnesses, no two of them, though several were examined, agreeing in the same point. But as such a crime could not be passed with impunity, they were recommitted, and on the 22nd tried for an assault, of which being very clearly convicted, the two settlers and Morgan Bryan were sentenced to receive each five hundred lashes, and the others three hundred each; of which sentence they received one half, and were forgiven the remainder. This was a most infamous transaction; and, though the sufferer was of bad character, would have well warranted the infliction of capital punishment on one of the offenders, if the witnesses had not prevaricated in their testimony. They appeared to have cast off all the feelings of civilised humanity, adopting as closely as they could follow them the manners of the savage inhabitants of the country. One prisoner, John Rayner, was also tried for a burglary, and being convicted received sentence of death. On the 29th, a liberal allowance of slops was issued to the male and female convicts in the different settlements, among which were some soap to the men, and some thread, tape, and soap to the women. A shed for the purpose of receiving their Indian corn was this month begun by the settlers at the river, they and their servants bringing in the materials, and government supplying the carpenters, tools, nails, etc. The farmers now every where began putting their wheat into the ground, except at the river, where they had scarcely made any preparations, consuming their time and substance in drinking and rioting; and trusting to the extreme fertility of the soil, which they declared would produce an ample crop at any time without much labour. So silly and thoughtless were these people, who were thus unworthily placed on the banks of a river which, from its fertility and the effect of its inundations, might not improperly be termed the _Nile_ of New South Wales. May.] From the reduced state of the salted provisions, it became necessary (such had often been the preamble of an order) to diminish the ration of that article weekly to each person, and half the beef and half the pork was stopped at once. In some measure to make this great deduction lighter, three pints of peas were added. This circumstance induced the commanding officer, on the day this alteration took place, to hire the _Britannia_ to proceed to India for a cargo of salted provisions. Supplies might arrive before she could return; but the war increased the chances against us. He therefore took her up at fifteen shillings and sixpence per ton per month; and, in order to save as much salt meat as was possible, he directed the commissary to purchase such fresh pork as the settlers and others might bring in good condition to the store, issuing two pounds of fresh, in lieu of one of salt meat. During the time this order continued, a barrow was killed and part sent to the store, which weighed five hundred pounds, and a sow which weighed three hundred and thirty-six pounds. They had both been fed a considerable time* on Indian corn, and, according to the rate they sold at (the pork one shilling per pound, and the corn five shillings per bushel) could neither of them have repaid the expence of their feed. [* The barrow two years and a half, and the sow about two years.] On the 21st the colonial schooner returned from the Hawkesbury, bringing upwards of eleven hundred bushels of remarkably fine Indian corn from the store there. The master again reported his apprehensions that the navigation of the river would be obstructed by the settlers, who continued the practice of falling and rolling trees into the stream. He found five feet less water at the store-wharf than when he was there in February last, owing to the dry weather which had for some time past prevailed. At that settlement an open war seemed about this time to have commenced between the natives and the settlers; and word was received over-land, that two people were killed by them; one a settler of the name of Wilson, and the other a freeman, one William Thorp, who had been left behind from the _Britannia_, and had hired himself to this Wilson as a labourer. The natives appeared in large bodies, men, women, and children, provided with blankets and nets to carry off the corn, of which they appeared as fond as the natives who lived among us, and seemed determined to take it whenever and wherever they could meet with opportunities. In their attacks they conducted themselves with much art; but where that failed they had recourse to force, and on the least appearance of resistance made use of their spears or clubs. To check at once, if possible, these dangerous depredators, Captain Paterson directed a party of the corps to be sent from Parramatta, with instructions to destroy as many as they could meet with of the wood tribe (Be-dia-gal); and, in the hope of striking terror, to erect gibbets in different places, whereon the bodies of all they might kill were to be hung. It was reported, that several of these people were killed in consequence of this order; but none of their bodies being found, (perhaps if any were killed they were carried off by their companions,) the number could not be ascertained. Some prisoners however were taken, and sent to Sydney; one man, (apparently a cripple,) five women, and some children. One of the women, with a child at her breast, had been shot through the shoulder, and the same shot had wounded the babe. They were immediately placed in a hut near our hospital, and every care taken of them that humanity suggested. The man was said, instead of being a cripple, to have been very active about the farms, and instrumental in some of the murders which had been committed. In a short time he found means to escape, and by swimming reached the north shore in safety; whence, no doubt, he got back to his friends. Captain Paterson hoped, by detaining the prisoners and treating them well, that some good effect might result; but finding, after some time, that coercion, not attention, was more likely to answer his ends, he sent the women back. While they were with us, the wounded child died, and one of the women was delivered of a boy, which died immediately. On our withdrawing the party, the natives attacked a farm nearly opposite Richmond Hill, belonging to one William Rowe, and put him and a very fine child to death, the wife, after receiving several wounds, crawled down the bank, and concealed herself among some reeds half immersed in the river, where she remained a considerable time without assistance: being at length found, this poor creature, after having seen her husband and her child slaughtered before her eyes, was brought into the hospital at Parramatta, where she recovered, though slowly, of her wounds. In consequence of this horrid circumstance, another party of the corps was sent out; and while they were there the natives kept at a distance. This duty now became permanent; and the soldiers were distributed among the settlers for their protection; a protection, however, that many of them did not merit. Pemulwy, or some of his party, were not idle about Sydney; they even ventured to appear within half a mile of the brickfield huts, and wound a convict who was going to a neighbouring farm on business. As one of our most frequent walks from the town was in that direction, this circumstance was rather unpleasant; but the natives were not seen there again. On Sunday the 31st, about one o'clock, the signal was made at the South Head for a sail; and about five there anchored in the cove the _Endeavour_, a ship of eight hundred tons from Bombay, under the command of Mr. Bampton, having on board one hundred and thirty-two head of cattle, a quantity of rice, and the other articles of the contract engaged by Lieutenant-governor Grose, except the salt provisions. She had been eleven weeks from Bombay. The cattle arrived, in general, in good condition; and Mr. Bampton had been very successful in his care of them. He embarked one hundred and thirty at Bombay, out of which he lost but one cow, and that died the morning before his arrival. On visiting the ship, the sight was truly gratifying; the cattle were ranged on each side of the gun-deck, fore and aft, and not confined in separate stalls; but so conveniently stowed, that they were a support to each other. They were well provided with mats, and were constantly cleaned; and when the ship tacked, the cattle which were to leeward were regularly laid with their heads to windward, by people (twenty in number) particularly appointed to look after them, independent of any duty in the ship. The grain which was their food was, together with their water, regularly given to them, and the deck they stood on was well aired, by scuttles in the sides, and by wind sails.* [* These circumstances are mentioned so particularly, in the hope that they may prove useful hints to any persons intending, or who may be in future employed, to convey cattle from India, or any other part of the world, to New South Wales.] Of this number of cattle forty were for draught, sixty for breeding, and the remainder calves; but some of them so large, as to be valued and taken at fifteen guineas per head. On their landing, we were concerned to find that many of the draught cattle were very aged; they were, it was true, in health; but younger animals undoubtedly ought to have been procured; for of little use could toothless, old, and blind beasts be to us. At the settlement at the Hawkesbury, a woman who had been drinking was found dead in her husband's arms. Webb the settler, who was wounded in March last, died; and one settler (Rowe) and his child were killed in this month. June.] On the 4th of this month, being the anniversary of his Majesty's birth, the commissary issued to each of the non-commissioned officers and privates of the New South Wales corps, one pound of fresh pork and half a pint of spirits; and to all other people victualled from the store one gill each. At noon the regiment fired three volleys; and at one o'clock the _Britannia_ and _Fancy_ twenty-one guns each in honour of the day. Preparatory to the departure of the _Britannia_, some returns were procured, which were necessary to be transmitted with the dispatches then making up. Among others it appeared, that the following quantity of ground had been this season sown with wheat: viz. Acres On account of government at and about Parramatta 340 Individuals at and about ditto 1214 Individuals at the River* 548½ Individuals at and about Sydney 618¾ Total 2721¼ [* This was the account given by the settlers; but their conduct gave little room to believe they had been so industrious: they certainly ought to have had a greater quantity.] On the 18th the _Britannia_ sailed for India. As the state of the settlement at the time of her departure required every exertion to be made in procuring an immediate supply of provisions, Mr. Raven was directed to repair to Batavia, to procure there if possible a cargo of European salted meat. The necessity of his immediate return was so urgent, that if he found on his arrival that only half a cargo could be got, he was to fill up the remainder of the stowage with rice and sugar, and make the best of his way back. If salted provisions were not to be got at Batavia, he was to proceed to Calcutta. Should circumstances run so much against us, as to cause his failure at both these ports, Mr. Raven was at liberty to return by way of the Cape of Good Hope, as provisions were at any rate to be procured, if possible. On the 21st, the _Fancy_ sailed for Norfolk Island, taking a cargo of rice and dholl for the use of that settlement; the Rev. Mr. Marsden also embarked in her to marry and baptise such as stood in need of those rites. On the 29th the colonial schooner brought another cargo of Indian corn (one thousand one hundred and twelve bushels) from the Hawkesbury. For want of storehouse room, great quantities were left lying before the door, exposed to, and suffering much by the weather. As it had not been measured or received by the store-keeper, the loss fell upon the owners. The cattle lately arrived seemed to suffer by their change of climate; one cow and several calves died; perhaps as much from mismanagement, as by the weather; for, with very few exceptions, it was impossible to select from among the prisoners, or those who had been such, any who would feel an honest interest in executing the service in which they were employed. They would pilfer half the grain entrusted to their care for the cattle; they would lead them into the woods for pasturage, and there leave them until obliged to conduct them in; they would neither clean them nor themselves. Indolent, and by long habit worthless, no dependance could be placed on them. In every instance they endeavoured to circumvent; and whenever their exertions were called for, they first looked about them to discover how those exertions might be turned to their own advantage. Could it then be wondered at, if little had been done since our establishment? and must it not rather excite admiration to see how much had been done? Whatever was to be seen was the effect of the most unremitting, and perhaps degrading vigilance on the part of those in whom the executive power had been from time to time vested, and of the interest that many individuals had felt in raising this country from its original insignificance to some degree of consequence. Among the casualties of the month must be noticed the death of a man unfortunately drowned in attempting to save the life of a woman who was overset with himself in a passage-boat, coming from Parramatta. He had just got her into safety when she pulled him under water, and he perished. It is extremely hazardous, and requires very great caution in those who meddle with persons that are drowning. On the 27th, two soldiers, going with their arms to Parramatta, stopped on the road to fire at a mark. One of them, inconsiderately, placing himself behind the tree which was the mark, and presenting himself in the unfortunate moment of his companion's firing, received the ball in his thigh near the groin. He was brought to Sydney as soon as it was possible, when Mr. Harris the surgeon of the regiment amputated the limb. The wound was so near the groin, however, that the tourniquet was fixed with much difficulty and hazard*. [* The patient's name was Nicholas Downie. He recovered, after several weeks care and attention on the part of Mr. Harris; but his comrade suffered much anxiety during the cure.] There was at this time under the care of the surgeon Joseph Hatton, a settler at the Eastern Farms, an elderly man, who had been dangerously stabbed in the belly by his wife, a young woman (named before their marriage Rosamond Sparrow), in a fit of jealousy and passion. On his recovery, he earnestly requested that no punishment might be inflicted on her, but that she might be put away from him. CHAPTER XXIX Ration A Criminal and a Civil Court held Circumstances of the death of Francis T. Daveney Salt made Wilson, Knight, and the natives The new mill _Providence_ arrives from England Four convicts brought from Port Stephens Public labour Storm The _Fancy_ arrives from Norfolk Island The _Supply_ and _Reliance_ arrive Governor Hunter's commission read Transactions The India ships sail Another arrival from England Military promotions Colonial regulations The _Providence_, _Supply_, and _Young William_ sail The _Sovereign_ storeship arrives from England Criminal court held Convict executed Printing-press employed Ration Information from Norfolk Island The Cattle lost in 1788 discovered Transactions Bennillong's Conduct after his return from England Civil Court held Harvest Regulations Natives Meteorological phenomenon at the Hawkesbury Mr. Barrow's death Deaths in 1795 July.] The salted provisions being all expended, except a few casks which were reserved for the non-commissioned officers and private soldiers of the corps, on Saturday the 11th of the month the convicts received the following ration: Indian corn 12 pounds (unground); Rice 5 ditto; Dholl 3 pints; Sugar 1½ pound; being the first time, since the establishment of the colony, that they had gone from the store without receiving either salted or fresh provisions. On the Monday following the military received, Salt pork 2 pounds; Indian corn 12 ditto (unground); Peas 3 pints; Rice 3 ditto; Sugar 6 ounces. This being the state of the stores, supplies were ardently to be desired. It was truly unfortunate, that Mr. Bampton had not been able to procure any salted provisions at Bombay, but in lieu thereof had brought us a quantity of rice. We now began to grow grain sufficient for our consumption from crop to crop, and grain that was at all times preferred to the imports from India. Dholl and rice were never well received by the prisoners as an equivalent for flour, particularly when peas formed a part of the ration; and it was to be lamented that a necessity ever existed, of forcing upon them such trash as they had from time to time been obliged to digest. The effects of this ration soon appeared; several attacks were made on individuals; the house occupied by Mr. Muir was broken into, and all or nearly all that gentleman's property stolen; some of his wearing apparel was laid in his way the next day; but he still remained a considerable sufferer by the visit. Some private stock yards were attacked; but finding them too vigilantly watched, a fellow played off a trick that he thought would go down with the hungry; he stole a very fine greyhound, and instead of secretly employing him in procuring occasionally a fresh meal, he actually killed the dog, and sold it to different people in the town for kangaroo at nine-pence per pound. Being detected in this villainous traffic, he was severely punished. A criminal court was assembled on the 20th for the trial of Mary Pawson, a settler's wife at the river, for the crime of arson. On the trial there was strong evidence of malice in the prisoner against the wife of the owner of the house; but not any that led directly to convict her of having set the house on fire. She was therefore acquitted; but the adjoining settlers disliking such a character in their neighbourhood, the husband, who had nothing against him but this wife, sold a very good farm which he possessed on a creek of the river, and withdrew to another situation, remote and less advantageous. At the same time a notorious offender, James Barry, was tried for attempting to break into a settler's house at the Ponds with an intent to steal, the proof of which was too clear to admit of his escape. He was sentenced to suffer one thousand lashes, and on the Saturday following received two hundred and seventy of them. On the same day a civil court was held for the purpose of granting probate of the will of Thomas Daveney, late a superintendant of convicts, who died on the 3rd of the month. The cause of his death was extraordinary. He had been appointed a superintendant of the convicts employed in agriculture at Toongabbie by the late Governor Phillip, who, considering him trust-worthy, placed great confidence in him. Some time after Governor Phillip's departure, his conduct was represented to the lieutenant-governor in such a light, that he dismissed him from his situation, and he retired to a farm which he had at Toongabbie. He had been always addicted to the use of spirituous liquors; but he now applied himself more closely to them, to drown the recollection of his disgrace. In this vice he continued until the 3rd of May last, on which day he came to Sydney in a state of insanity. He went to the house of a friend in the town, determined, as it seemed, to destroy himself, for he there drank, unknown to the people of the house, as fast as he could swallow, nearly half a gallon of Cape brandy. He fell directly upon the floor of the room he was in (which happened to be of brick); where the people, thinking nothing worse than intoxication ailed him, suffered him to lie for ten or twelve hours; in consequence he was seized with a violent inflammation which broke out on the arm, and that part of the body which lay next the ground; to this, after suppuration had taken place, and several operations had been performed to extract the pus, a mortification succeeded, and at last carried him off on the 3rd of July. A few hours before his death he requested to see the ludge-advocate, to whom he declared, that it had been told him that he had been suspected of having improperly and tyrannically abused the confidence which he had enjoyed under Governor Phillip; but that he could safely declare as he was shortly to appear before the last tribunal, that nothing lay on his conscience which could make his last moments in this life painful. At his own request he was interred in the burying ground at Parramatta. He had been advancing his means pretty rapidly; for, after his decease, his stock of goats, consisting of eighty-six males and females, sold by public auction for three hundred and fifty-seven pounds fifteen shillings. He left a widow (formerly Catharine Hounson) who had for several years been deranged in her intellects. In addition to the superintendant, there died in this month a woman, Jane Forbes, the wife of Butler, a settler at Prospect Hill, who fell into the fire while preparing their breakfast, and received such injury that she shortly after expired. August.] From the scantiness of salted provisions, the article salt was become as scarce. There came out in the _Surprise_, as a settler, a person of the name of Boston. Among other useful knowledge* which we were given to understand he possessed, he at this time offered his skill in making salt from sea-water. As it was much wanted, his offers were accepted, and, an eligible spot at Bennillong's Point (as the east point of the cove had long been named) being chosen, he began his operations, for which he had seven men allowed him, whose labour, however, only produced three or four bushels of salt in more than as many weeks. [* Having been sent out by government to supply us with salted fish, he had some time before offered to procure and salt fish for the settlement; but he required boats and men, and more assistance than it was possible to supply. He proposed to try Broken Bay.] His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales's birthday was duly noticed. At one o'clock the _Endeavour_ fired twenty-one guns. Wilson (Bun-bo-e), immediately after his return from Port Stephens with the deputy-surveyor, went off to the natives at the river. Another vagabond, who like himself had been a convict, one Knight, thinking there must be some sweets in the life which Wilson led, determined to share them with him, and went off to the woods. About the middle of this month they both came into the town, accompanied by some of their companions. On the day following it appeared that their visit was for the purpose of forcing a wife from among the women of this district; for in the midst of a considerable uproar, which was heard near the bridge, Wilson and Knight were discovered, each dragging a girl by the arm (whose age could not have been beyond nine or ten years) assisted by their new associates. The two white men being soon secured, and the children taken care of, the mob dispersed. Wilson and Knight were taken to the cells and punished, and it was intended to employ them both in hard labour; but they found means to escape, and soon mixed again with companions whom they preferred to our overseers. About this time the natives were, during two days, engaged in very severe contests. Much blood was shed, and many wounds inflicted; but no one was killed. It appeared to afford much diversion; for they were constantly well attended by all descriptions of people, notwithstanding the risk they ran of being wounded by a random spear. On the 26th that settlement was gratified by the arrival of his Majesty's ship _Providence_, of twenty-eight guns, commanded by Captain Broughton, from England. She sailed thence on the 25th of February last, in company with his Majesty's ships _Reliance_ and _Supply_, which ships she left at Rio de Janeiro some time in May last. We had the satisfaction of learning that Governor Hunter was on board the _Reliance_, and might be daily expected. The _Providence_ met with very bad weather on her passage from the Brazil coast, and was driven past this harbour as far to the northward as Port Stephens, in which she anchored. There, to the great surprise of Captain Broughton, he found and received on board four white people, (if four miserable, naked, dirty, and smoke-dried men could be called white,) runaways from this settlement. By referring to the transactions of the month of September 1790, it will be found that five convicts, John Tarwood, George Lee, George Connoway, John Watson, and Joseph Sutton, escaped from the settlement at Parramatta, and, providing themselves with a wretched weak boat, which they stole from the people at the South Head, disappeared, and were supposed to have met a death which, one might have imagined, they went without the Heads to seek. Four of these people (Joseph Sutton having died) were now met with in this harbour by the officers of the _Providence_, and brought back to the colony. They told a melancholy tale of their sufferings in the boat; and for many days after their arrival passed their time in detailing to the crowds both of black and white people which attended them their adventures in Port Stephens, the first harbour they made. Having lived like the savages among whom they dwelt, their change of food soon disagreed with them, and they were all taken ill, appearing to be principally affected with abdominal swellings. They spoke in high terms of the pacific disposition and gentle manners of the natives. They were at some distance inland when Mr. Grimes was in Port Stephens; but heard soon after of the schooner's visit, and well knew, and often afterwards saw, the man who had been fired at, but not killed at that time as was supposed, by Wilson. Each of them had had names given him, and given with several ceremonies. Wives also were allotted them, and one or two had children. They were never required to go out on any occasion of hostility, and were in general supplied by the natives with fish or other food, being considered by them (for so their situation only could be construed) as unfortunate strangers thrown upon their shore from the mouth of the yawning deep, and entitled to their protection. They told us a ridiculous story, that the natives appeared to worship them, often assuring them, when they began to understand each other, that they were undoubtedly the ancestors of some of them who had fallen in battle, and had returned from the sea to visit them again; and one native appeared firmly to believe that his father was come back in the person of either Lee or Connoway, and took him to the spot where his body had been burnt. On being told that immense numbers of people existed far beyond their little knowledge, they instantly pronounced them to be the spirits of their countrymen, which, after death, had migrated into other regions. It appeared from these four men, that the language to the northward differed wholly from any that we knew. Among the natives who lived with us, there were none who understood all that they said, and of those who occasionally came in, one only could converse with them. He was a very fine lad, of the name of Wur-gan. His mother had been born and bred beyond the mountains, but one luckless day, paying a visit with some of her tribe to the banks of the Dee-rab-bun (for so the Hawkesbury was named) she was forcibly prevented returning, and, being obliged to submit to the embraces of an amorous and powerful Be-dia-gal, the fruit of her visit was this boy. Speaking herself more dialects than one, she taught her son all she knew, and he, being of quick parts, and a roving disposition, caught all the different dialects from Botany Bay to Port Stephens. We understood that Lieutenant-governor Grose in the _Daedalus_ had reached Rio de Janeiro in eleven weeks from his sailing hence, and that all on board were in health. Public labour was scarcely anywhere performed in this month, owing to the extreme badness of the weather which prevailed. The rain and wind were so violent for some days after the arrival of the _Providence_, that neither that ship nor the _Endeavour_ had much communication with the shore. Accounts were received from the Hawkesbury, that several farms on the creeks were under water; and the person who brought the account was nearly drowned in his way over a plain named the Race-Ground. Paling could no where stand the force of the storm. Several chimnies and much plaster fell, and every house was wet. At Parramatta much damage was done; and at Toongabbie (a circumstance most acutely felt) a very large barn and threshing-floor were destroyed. The schooner had been loading with corn at the river, and, though she left the store on the 11th, did not reach Sydney until the 20th, having met with much bad weather. During the storm, the column at the South Head fell in. This, however, could be more readily repaired than the barn and the threshing-floor at Toongabbie, which were serious losses, and had cost government a much larger sum than the beacon. Several of the cattle lately arrived perished in this bad weather. To eke out the salt meat that was reserved for the military, two Cape cows, which would not breed, were killed and served out to them during this month. September.] After an absence of eleven weeks, the _Fancy_ arrived on the 3rd from Norfolk Island. Her passage thither was made in six days; but on her return she ran within one hundred and thirty miles of this port in three or four days; yet afterwards met with contrary and heavy gales of wind which kept her out a month. On the 28th of last month she was off the south head of Broken Bay in a heavy gale of wind, and was, by being close in with the land in thick weather, in extreme danger. Of a large quantity of stock (the property of Mr. Balmain, who left Norfolk Island to take upon him the charge of the general hospital here), but a very small quantity remained alive after the gale. The most favourable accounts were received from that settlement. Plenty reigned throughout. Every barn was full. Four thousand pounds of fresh pork having been cured, the lieutenant-governor had forty tons of salt provisions to spare, which he offered to this colony. The wharf and crane at Cascade were rather improved than simply repaired, and an overshot water-mill had been erected at the trifling expence of three ewe sheep to the constructor, which ground and dressed eighteen bushels of flour in a day. William Hogg, a prisoner well known and approved at this place for his abilities as a silversmith, and an actor in the walk of low comedy, put an end to his existence in a very deliberate manner a few days before the _Fancy_ sailed. Spirits being in circulation after her arrival, he went to the 'Grog-shop' as long as he had money; but, finding that he had no credit, he could no longer endure the loss of character which he thought attached to it; and though he did not 'make his quietus with a bare bodkin,' yet he found a convenient rope that put him out of the world. The 7th of September was marked by the arrival of the governor in chief of these settlements. The signal was made for two sail between eight and nine o'clock in the morning. The wind being from the northward, they did not reach the anchorage until late; his Majesty's ship the _Supply_, commanded by Lieutenant William Kent, getting in about sun-set; and the _Reliance_, with the governor on board, about eight at night. Their passage from Rio de Janeiro was long (fourteen weeks) and very rough, until the ships came off Van Dieman's Land. Of our late bad weather they had felt nothing. Situated as the colony was in point of provisions, we learned with infinite concern, that a storeship which had once been under Governor Hunter's orders, had, from being overloaded, been unavoidably left behind, and had yet to run the chance of being taken by the enemies' cruizers; and that by the two ships now arrived we had only gained a few barrels of provisions salted at Rio de Janeiro; a town clock; the principal parts of a large wind-mill; two officers of the New South Wales corps; Mr. S. Leeds an assistant-surgeon, and Mr. D. Payne a master boat-builder. His excellency did not take upon him the exercise of his authority until the 11th, on which day his Majesty's commission was publicly read by the judge-advocate, all descriptions of persons being present, His excellency, in a very pertinent speech, declared the expectations he had from every one's conduct, touching with much delicacy on that of the persons lately sent here for a certain offence, (some of whom were present, but who unfortunately kept at too great a distance to bear him,) and strongly urging the necessity of a general unanimity in support of his Majesty's government. He was afterwards sworn in by the judge-advocate at his office.* An address, signed by the civil and military officers on occasion of his return among them as governor, was presented to his excellency a few days after his public appearance in that important capacity. [* Before Captain Paterson gave up his command, all the prisoners in confinement were pardoned and liberated. Rayner, under sentence of death, was pardoned by the governor some time after. In consequence of this act of grace, several runaways gave themselves up.] That he might as speedily as possible be acquainted with the state of the colony, he ordered a general muster to be taken by the commissary, appointing different days at Sydney, Parramatta, and the Hawkesbury, in order that correct accounts might be obtained of the number and distribution of every person (the military excepted) in those districts; and he purposed in person to inspect the state of the different farms. He recommended it to all persons who had lands in cultivation to plant with Indian corn as much of them as might not at that time be under any other grain; urging them, as it was the proper season, not to let it pass by, it being an essential article in the nourishment of live stock, the increase of which was of such importance to the settlement, that he could not but advise the utmost care and economy in the use of what might then and in future be in the possession of settlers and other persons. Mr. Bampton having given his ship such repairs as he was able in this port, the _Endeavour_ and _Fancy_ sailed for India on the 18th. He purposed touching at New Zealand and at Norfolk Island. We found after their departure, that, notwithstanding so many as fifty persons whose transportation had expired had been permitted to leave the colony in the _Endeavour_, nearly as many more had found means to secrete themselves on board her. As she was to touch at Norfolk Island, hopes were entertained of getting the runaways back again, as the loss even of one man's labour was at this time an object of consequence. As many labouring people as could be got together were employed during the month in receiving such articles as had been brought in the king's ships for the colony. The weather during the month was very variable; and three women and two men died. Of these one was much regretted, as his loss would be severely felt; this was Mr. J. Irving, who, dying before the governor arrived, knew not that he had been appointed an assistant to the surgeons with a salary of fifty pounds per annum. October.] The police and civil duties of the town and district of Sydney were now regulated by civil magistrates. At Parramatta, Lieutenant McArthur continued to carry on the duties to which he had been appointed by Lieutenant-Governor Grose, the public service at that place requiring the inspection and superintendance of an officer. On Sunday the 4th of this month the _Young William_, the storeship whose unavoidable delay in her sailing we had regretted on the arrival of the governor without her, anchored safe in the cove from England, after a short passage of four months and nine days, with a cargo of provisions only. She sailed from Spithead in company with the _Sovereign_, another storeship, on the 25th of May, taking her route by the way of Rio de Janeiro, where she anchored on the 12th of July, leaving it on the 21st of the same month; and meeting with very bad weather nearly the whole of the voyage, she shipped great quantities of water; and, being very deeply laden, the vessel was considerably strained. By letters received from this ship we learned, that some promotions had taken place in the New South Wales corps. Captain Nicholas Nepean had obtained the commission of second major; Lieutenant John McArthur had succeeded to his company; Lieutenant John Townson had got the company late belonging to Captain Hill; and Ensigns Clephan and Piper were made lieutenants, all without purchase. Messrs. Kent and Bell, the naval agents, who left this country in the _Britannia_ in September 1794, arrived safely in England in March last. In consequence of this arrival the governor had it in his power to issue a better, though not so ample a ration of provisions as he could have desired. The supply had not been sufficient to allow him to order more than four pounds ten ounces and two thirds of an ounce of pork, and four pounds of flour, to the convicts. The same quantity of salt meat was ordered for the military; but they received two pounds of flour more than the prisoners. The other parts of the weekly ration remained nearly the same as before, except the article of sugar, the convicts receiving six ounces instead of one pound and a half of that article. The report of the general muster which was ordered in the last month having been laid before the governor, he thought proper to make some regulations in the assistance afforded by government to settlers and others holding grants of land. To the officers who occupied grounds was continued the number of men allowed them by lieutenant-governor Grose; viz ten for agriculture, and three for domestic purposes. Notwithstanding this far exceeded the number which had at home been thought necessary, the governor did not conceive this to be the moment for reducing it, much as he wanted men. A wheat harvest was approaching; ground was planting with Indian corn; not a man was unemployed; but he saw and explained that a reduction must take place; that government could not be supposed much longer to feed, maintain, and clothe the hands that wrought the ground, and at the same time pay for the produce of their labour, particularly when every public work was likely to stand still for want of labourers. He was sensible that the assistance which had been given had not been thrown away, and that the small number allowed by government could never have produced such rapid approaches toward that independence which he thought, from what he had already seen of the cultivation of the country, was now much nearer than at his leaving it in 1791 he could have conceived to be possible. To the settlers* who arrived in the _Surprise_ he allowed five male convicts; to the superintendants, constables, and store-keepers, four; to settlers from free people**, two; to settlers from prisoners, one; and to sergeants of the New South Wales corps, one. [* Messrs. Boston, Pearce, and Ellis.] [** Such as the marine settlers, those at Liberty Plains, and others who never had been prisoners.] As much inconvenience also was felt, and the end for which government gave up the services of these convicts to individuals liable to be defeated by their not residing at their respective farms, the settlers were directed as much as possible to prevent their servants from having any intercourse, particularly during the night, with the towns in their neighbourhood; as most of the robberies which were committed were not unjustly laid to their account. It appeared likewise by this muster, that one hundred and seventy-nine people subsisted themselves independent of the public stores, and resided in this town. To many of these, as well as to the servants of settlers, were to be attributed the offences that were daily heard of, they were the greatest nuisances we had to complain of; and there was not a doubt that they were concerned about this time in rolling two casks of meat from a pile at the store in a very hard storm of wind and rain. Enough to fill a cask was found concealed in different holes the following morning. An indulgence had been allowed to some of the military and others, which was now found to have produced an evil. Having been permitted to build themselves huts on each side of and near the stream of water which supplied the town of Sydney, they had, for the convenience of procuring water, opened the paling, and made paths from each hut; by which, in rainy weather, a great quantity of filth ran into the stream, polluting the water of which every one drank. It therefore became an object of police; and the governor prohibited removing the paling, or keeping hogs in the neighbourhood of the stream, under penalty to the offender that his house should be pulled down. On the 13th, the _Providence_ sailed for Nootka Sound. She was followed by the _Supply_, which sailed on the 16th for Norfolk Island, having on board three officers of the New South Wales corps, and a detachment of the regiment to relieve those now on duty there. On the 29th the _Young William_, having been expeditiously cleared of her cargo, sailed for Canton. Clearing the store-ship, which was completed on the 19th, and stowing in the public store the provisions she brought out, was the principal labour of the month. Every effort was made to collect together a sufficient number of working people to get in the ensuing harvest; and the muster and regulation respecting the servants fortunately produced some. The bricklayer and his gang were employed in repairing the column at the South Head; to do which, for want of bricks at the kiln, the little hut built formerly for Bennillong, being altogether forsaken by the natives, and tumbling down, the bricks of it were removed to the South Head. A person having undertaken to collect shells and burn them into lime, a quantity of that article was sent down; and the column, being finished with a thick coat of plaster, and whitened, was not only better guarded against the weather, but became a more conspicuous object at sea than it ever had been before. November.] On the 5th of November, the _Sovereign_ store-ship arrived from England; her cargo a welcome one, being provisions. Like the _Young William_, she touched at Rio de Janeiro, and like her also had met with very bad weather after she had left that port until her arrival; from making the south cape of this country to her anchoring she had a passage of three weeks. In this ship arrived Mr. Thomas Hibbins, the deputy judge-advocate for Norfolk Island; but unfortunately without the patent under the great seal for holding the court. One settler also arrived, a Mr. Kennedy and his family (a sister and three nieces); and Mr. Joseph Gerald, a prisoner, whose present situation afforded another melancholy proof of how little profit and honor were the endowments of nature and education to him who perverted them. In this gentleman we saw, that not even elegant manners (evidently caught from good company), great abilities, and a happy mode of placing them in the best point of view, the gifts of nature matured by education, could (because he misapplied them) save him from landing an exile, to call him by no worse a name, on a barbarous shore, where the few who were civilized must pity, while they admired him. He arrived in a very weak and impaired state of health. We learned that two other ships with convicts, the _Marquis Cornwallis_ and the _Maria_, might be expected to arrive in the course of this summer. On the 7th, a criminal court was assembled, when the following persons were tried; viz. Samuel Chinnery (a black) servant to Mr. Arndell*, the assistant surgeon, for robbing that gentleman; but he was acquitted. ---- Smith and Abraham Whitehouse, for breaking into the dwelling-house of William Potter, a settler at Prospect Hill, and after cruelly treating the only person in the house, William Thorn, a servant) stripping it of all the moveables they could find, and killing and taking away some valuable stock; these were found guilty, and condemned to die: and two settlers, and six convicts, for an assault on one Marianne Wilkinson (attended with like circumstances of infamy as that on Mary Hartley in April last) of which three were found guilty, and sentenced, ---- Merchant, alias Jones, the principal, to receive one thousand lashes; the others, Ladley and Everitt, eight hundred each. [* This gentleman had, on the arrival of Mr. Leeds, been permitted to retire from the civil duties of the colony with a salary of fifty pounds per annum.] These unmanly attacks of several men on a single woman had frequently happened, and had happened to some females who, through shame concealed the circumstance. To such a height indeed was this dissolute and abandoned practice carried, that it had obtained a cant name; and the poor unfortunate objects of this brutality were distinguished by a title expressive of the insults they had received. On the 16th the two prisoners Smith and Whitehouse were led out to execution. Smith suffered, after warning the crowd which attended him to guard against breaking the Sabbath. Whitehouse, being evidently the tool of Smith, and a much younger man, was pardoned by the governor. His excellency, after the execution, expressed in public orders, his hope that neither the example he had that day found himself compelled to make of one offender, nor the lenity which he had shown to another, would be without their effect: it would always be more grateful to him to spare than to punish; but he felt it necessary on that occasion to declare, that if neither the justice which had been done, nor the mercy which had been shown, tended to decrease the perpetration of offences, it was his determination in future to put in execution whatever sentence should be pronounced on offenders by the court of criminal judicature. A small printing-press, which had been brought into the settlement by Mr. Phillip, and had remained from that time unemployed, was now found very useful; a very decent young man, one George Hughes, of some abilities in the printing line, having been found equal to conducting the whole business of the press. All orders were now printed, and a number thrown off sufficient to ensure a more general publication of them than had hitherto been accomplished. Some time after the arrival of the _Sovereign_ the full allowance of salt meat was issued, and the hours of public labour regulated, more to the advantage of government than had for a considerable time, owing to the shortness of the ration, been the case. Instead of completing in a few hours the whole labour which was required of a man for the day, the convicts were now to work the whole day, with the intermission of two hours and a half of rest. Many advantages were gained by this regulation; among which not the least was, the diminution of idle time which the prisoners before had, and which, emphatically terming _their own time_, they applied as they chose, some industriously, but by far the greater part in improper pursuits, as gaming, drinking, and stealing. The full ration of flour was issued to the Military, on account of the 'hard duty which had lately fallen upon the regiment;' but they were informed, that the quantity of flour in the public store would not admit of their receiving such allowance for any length of time. Four pounds were issued to the prisoners, and some other grain given to them to make up the difference. On the 20th his Majesty's ship _Supply_ returned from Norfolk Island, having been absent four weeks and four days. She had a long passage back of seventeen days. When Mr. Kent left the island, the lieutenant-governor was dangerously ill with the gout in his stomach. We understood that cultivation was nearly at a stand there. The grounds were so over-run with two great enemies to agriculture, rats, and a pernicious weed called cow-itch*, that the settlers despaired of ever being able to get rid of either. [* The Pruriens, a species of the Dolichos.] A circumstance happened this month not less extraordinary and unexpected than the discovery of the four convicts at Port Stephens. The contests which had lately taken place very frequently in this town, and the neighbourhood of it, among the natives, had been attended by many of those people who inhabited the woods, and came from a great distance inland. Some of the prisoners gathering from time to time rumours and imperfect accounts of the existence of the cattle lost in 1788, two of them, who were employed by some officers in shooting, resolved on ascertaining the truth of these reports, and trying by different excursions to discover the place of their retreat. On their return from the first outset they made, which was subsequent to the governor's arrival, they reported, that they had seen them. Being, however, at that moment too much engaged in perfecting the civil regulations he had in view for the settlement, the governor could not himself go to that part of the country where they were said to have been found; but he detached Henry Hacking, a man on whom he could depend. His report was so satisfactory, that on the 18th the governor set off from Parramatta, attended by a small party, when after travelling two days, in a direction SSW from the settlement at Prospect Hill, he crossed the river named by Mr. Phillip the Nepean; and, to his great surprise and satisfaction, fell in with a very fine herd of cattle, upwards of forty in number, grazing in a pleasant and apparently fertile pasturage. The day being far advanced when he saw them, he rested for the night in their neighbourhood, hoping in the morning to be gratified with a sight of the whole herd. A doubt had been started of their being cattle produced from what we had brought into the country from the Cape; and it was suggested that they might be of longer standing. The governor thought this a circumstance worth determining, and directed the attendants who were with him (Hacking and the two men who had first found them) to endeavour in the morning to get near enough to kill a calf. This they were not able to effect; for, while lying in wait for the whole herd to pass (which now consisted of upwards of sixty young and old) they were furiously set upon by a bull, which brought up the rear, and which in their own defence they were compelled to kill. This however answered the purpose better perhaps than a calf might have done; for he had all the marks of the Cape cattle when full grown, such as wide-spreading horns, a moderate rising or hump between his shoulders, and a short thin tail. Being at this time seven or eight and thirty miles from Parramatta, a very small quantity of the meat only could be sent in; the remainder was left to the crows and dogs of the woods, much to the regret of the governor and his party*, who considered that the prisoners, particularly the sick at the hospital, had not lately received any meat either salt or fresh. [* Captain Waterhouse and Mr. Bass (surgeon) of the _Reliance_, and the writer of this Narrative.] The country where they were found grazing was remarkably pleasant to the eye; every where the foot trod on thick and luxuriant grass; the trees were thinly scattered, and free from underwood, except in particular spots; several beautiful flats presented large ponds, covered with ducks and the black swan, the margins of which were fringed with shrubs of the most delightful tints, and the ground rose from these levels into hills of easy ascent. The question how these cattle came hither appeared easy of solution. The few that were lost in 1788, two bulls and five cows, travelled without interruption in a western direction until they came to the banks of the Nepean. Arrived there, and finding the crossing as easy as when the governor forded it, they came at once into a well-watered country, and amply stored with grass. From this place why should they move? They found themselves in possession of a country equal to their support, and in which they remained undisturbed. We had not yet travelled quite so far westward; and but few natives were to be found thereabouts; they were likely therefore to remain for years unmolested, and securely to propagate their species. It was a pleasing circumstance to have in the woods of New Holland a thriving herd of wild cattle. Many proposals were made to bring them into the settlement; but in the day of want, if these should be sacrificed, in what better condition would the colony be for having possessed _a herd of cattle in the woods_?--a herd which, if suffered to remain undisturbed for some years, would, like the cattle of South America, always prove a market sufficient for the inhabitants of the country; and, perhaps, not only for their own consumption, but for exportation. The governor saw it in this light, and determined to guard, as much as was in his power, against any attempts to destroy them. On his return he found some very fine ground at the back of Prospect Hill. The weather during this excursion was so intensely hot, that one day as the party passed through a part of the country which was on fire, a terrier dog died by the way. Discharging the store-ship, some part of the cargo of which appeared to be injured by the weather she had met with, formed the principal labour of the month. On account of the small number of working men which could be got together, the governor required two able men to be sent in for this purpose from each farm having ten, to be returned as soon as the provisions were stowed in the public store. It having been the practice for some time past to shoot such hogs (pursuant to an order which their destructive qualities had rendered necessary in the lieutenant-governor's time) as were found trespassing in gardens or cultivated grounds, and the loss of the animals being greatly felt by the owners, as well as detrimental to the increase of that kind of stock, the governor directed, that instead of firing at them when found trespassing, they should be taken to the provost-marshal, by whom (if the damage done, which was to be ascertained before a magistrate, was not paid for within twenty-four hours) they were to be delivered to the commissary as public property, and the damages paid as far as the value of the animal would admit. A combination appearing among the labouring people to raise the price of reaping for a day, the governor, being as desirous to encourage industry as to check every attempt at imposition, thought it necessary, on comparing our's with the price usually paid in England, to direct that ten shillings, and no more, should be demanded of, or given by any settler, under pain of losing the assistance of government, for reaping an acre of wheat. It was much feared that this order would be but little attended to; and that some means would be devised on both sides to evade the letter of it. We heard nothing of the natives at the river; all was quiet there. About this settlement their attention had been for some time engrossed by Bennillong, who arrived with the governor. On his first appearance, he conducted himself with a polished familiarity toward his sisters and other relations; but to his acquaintance he was distant, and quite the man of consequence. He declared, in a tone and with an air that seemed to expect compliance, that he should no longer suffer them to fight and cut each other's throats, as they had done; that he should introduce peace among them, and make them love each other. He expressed his wish that when they visited him at Government-house they would contrive to be somewhat more cleanly in their persons, and less coarse in their manners; and he seemed absolutely offended at some little indelicacies which he observed in his sister Car-rang-ar-ang, who came in such haste from Botany Bay, with a little nephew on her back, to visit him, that she left all her habiliments behind her. Bennillong had certainly not been an inattentive observer of the manners of the people among whom he had lived; he conducted himself with the greatest propriety at table, particularly in the observance of those attentions which are chiefly requisite in the presence of women. His dress appeared to be an object of no small concern with him; and every one who knew him before he left the country, and who saw him now, pronounced without hesitation that Bennillong had not any desire to renounce the habits and comforts of the civilized life which he appeared so readily and so successfully to adopt. His inquiries were directed, immediately on his arrival, after his wife Go-roo-bar-roo-bool-lo; and her he found with Caruey. On producing a very fashionable rose-coloured petticoat and jacket made of a coarse stuff, accompanied with a gypsy bonnet of the same colour, she deserted her lover, and followed her former husband. In a few days however, to the surprise of every one, we saw the lady walking unencumbered with clothing of any kind, and Bennillong was missing. Caruey was sought for, and we heard that he had been severely beaten by Bennillong at Rose Bay, who retained so much of our customs, that he made use of his fists instead of the weapons of his country, to the great annoyance of Caruey, who would have preferred meeting his rival fairly in the field armed with the spear and the club. Caruey being much the younger man, the lady, every inch a woman, followed her inclination, and Bennillong was compelled to yield her without any further opposition. He seemed to have been satisfied with the beating he had given Caruey, and hinted, that resting for the present without a wife, he should look about him, and at some future period make a better choice. His absences from the governor's house now became frequent, and little attended to. When he went out he usually left his clothes behind, resuming them carefully on his return before he made his visit to the governor. During this month one man and a woman, attempting to cross one of the creeks at the Hawkesbury by a tree which had been thrown over, fell in, and were drowned; and one man had died there of the bite of a snake. Three male convicts* died at Sydney. [* One of them, William Locker, from the extraordinary deformity of his left leg, had been offered £100 for it in England.] December.] The court of civil judicature had hitherto been but rarely assembled. The few debts which had been contracted were not of sufficient moment, and had seldom remained long enough in doubt, to require an action to recover them. But now the possibility having been discovered of acquiring in this country a property worth preserving, it was probable, when the talents and disposition of the men of landed property (the settlers) in New South Wales were considered, that many disputes would occur among them which the civil court alone could decide. A court of civil judicature was assembled this month. Some debts were sworn to, and writs granted. An action for an assault was also tried. About the latter end of the month of October, a large sow, the property of Mr. J. Boston, having trespassed with two or three other hogs on a close belonging to an officer of the New South Wales corps, was shot by a soldier of the regiment (the officer's servant). The owner, Mr. Boston, repairing immediately to the spot, on seeing the sow, then near farrowing, lying dead on the ground, made use of some intemperate expressions; which being uttered in the hearing of two of the officers and some other soldiers of the corps, the officers were said by Mr. Boston to have encouraged and urged the soldiers to beat him. Mr. Boston had been struck, and, as it appeared on the trial, with a musket, which at the time was loaded. Mr. Boston laid his damage at five hundred pounds. The court however, after several days very attentive examination of the business, gave him a verdict against two of the defendants, with twenty shillings damages from each. One of these defendants, a soldier, was advised to appeal from the decision of the court to the governor, who, after hearing the appeal, confirmed the verdict of the civil court. On the 6th the _Francis_ schooner sailed for Norfolk Island. The governor, being anxious to learn the situation of the lieutenant-governor, sent her merely with a letter, that if unhappily any accident should have happened to him, a proper person might be sent in the _Reliance_ to command the settlement, until a successor could arrive from England. Having nothing to deliver or receive that could detain him, the master determined to try in what time his vessel could run thither and back again. The harvest was begun in this month. The Cape wheat (a bearded grain differing much from the English) was found universally to have failed. An officer who had sown seven acres with this seed at a farm in the district of Petersham Hill, on cutting it down, found it was not worth the reaping. This was owing to a blight; but every where the Cape wheat was pronounced not worth the labour of sowing. A quantity of useful timber having been for some time past indiscriminately cut down upon the banks of the River Hawkesbury, and the creeks running from it, which had been wasted or applied to purposes for which timber of less value might have answered, the governor, among other colonial regulations, thought it necessary to direct, that no timber whatever should be cut down on any ground which was not marked out on either the banks or creeks of that river: and, in order to preserve as much as possible such timber as might be of use either for building or for naval purposes, he ordered the king's mark to be immediately put on all such timber, after which any persons offending against the order were to be prosecuted. This order extended only to _grounds not granted to individuals_, there being a clause in all grants from the crown, expressly reserving, under pain of forfeiture, for the use thereof, 'such timber as might be growing or to grow hereafter upon the land so granted, which should be deemed fit for naval purposes.' It was feared, that the certainty of the existence of our cattle to the southward being incontrovertibly established, some of our vagabonds might be tempted to find them out, and satisfy their hunger on them from time to time, as they might find opportunity. We were therefore not surprised to hear that two of them had been killed. A very strict inquiry into the report, however, convinced us that it had been raised only for the purpose of trying how such a circumstance would be regarded. The governor thought it necessary therefore to state in public orders, that, Having heard it reported, that some person or persons, who had been permitted to carry arms for the protection of themselves and property, had lately employed that indulgence in an attempt to destroy the cattle belonging to government, which were at large in the woods; and as the preservation of that stock was of the utmost importance to the colony at large, he declared, that if it should be discovered that any person whatever should use any measure to destroy or otherwise annoy them, they would be prosecuted with the utmost severity of the law. A reward was also held out to any person giving information, and the order was made as public as possible that no one might plead ignorance of it. The harvest having commenced, the governor on the 22nd signified to the settlers, that although it had hitherto been the intention and the practice of government to give them every possible encouragement, as well as others who had employed themselves in growing corn, by taking off their hands all their surplus grain at such prices as had from time to time been thought fair and reasonable, it was not, however, to be expected, as the colony advanced in the means of supplying itself with bread, that such heavy expences could be continued. He therefore recommended to them to consider what reduction in the price of wheat and Indian corn they could at present submit to, as their offers in that respect would determine him how far it might be necessary in future to cultivate on the part of government, instead of taking or purchasing a quantity from individuals at so great a price. This proposal, he thought, could not be considered otherwise than as fair and reasonable, when they recollected that the means by which individuals had so far improved their farms had arisen from the very liberal manner in which government had given up the labour of so great a number of its own servants, to assist the industry of others. If this representation should not have the effect which he hoped and expected, by a reduction of the present high price of grain, he thought it his duty to propose, that those who were assisted with servants from government, should at least undertake to furnish those servants with bread. To those who had farms on the banks of the Hawkesbury he thought it necessary to observe, that, there not being any granaries in that district belonging to government, the expense of conveying their grain from thence to this part of the settlement rendered it absolutely necessary that they should lower their prices; otherwise they must be at that expence themselves, and bring their surplus corn to market either at Sydney or Parramatta, where government had stores where in to deposit it, and where only the commissary could be permitted to receive it. A report from the river was current about this time, that the natives had assembled in a large body, and attacked a few settlers who had chosen farms low down the river, and without the reach of protection from the other settlers, stripping them of every article they could find in their huts. An armed party was directly sent out, who, coming up with them, killed four men and one woman, badly wounded a child, and took four men prisoners. It might have been supposed that these punishments, following the enormities so immediately, would have taught the natives to keep at a greater distance; but nothing seemed to deter them from prosecuting the revenge they had vowed against the settlers for the injuries they had received at their hands. A savage of a darker hue, and full as far removed from civilisation, black Caesar, once more fled from honest labour to the woods, there to subsist by robbing the settlers. It was however reported, that he had done one meritorious action, killing Pe-mul-wy, who had just before wounded Collins (the native) so dangerously, that his recovery was a matter of very great doubt with the surgeons at our hospital, whose assistance Collins had requested as soon as he was brought into town by his friends. A barbed spear had been driven into his loins close by the vertebrae of the back, and was so completely fixed, that all the efforts of the surgeons to remove it with their instruments were ineffectual. Finding, after a day or two, that it could not be displaced by art, Collins left the hospital determined to trust to nature.* He was much esteemed by every white man who knew him, as well on account of his personal bravery, of which we had witnessed many distinguishing proofs, as on account of a gentleness of manners which strongly marked his disposition, and shaded off the harsher lines that his uncivilised life now and then forced into the fore-ground. [* And he did not trust in vain. We saw him from time to time for several weeks walking about with the spear unmoved, even after suppuration had taken place; but at last heard that his wife, or one of his male friends, had fixed their teeth in the wood and drawn it out; after which he recovered, and was able again to go into the field. His wife War-re-weer showed by an uncommon attention her great attachment to him.] On the 27th the _Sovereign_ sailed for Bengal; and on the last day of the year the signal for a sail was made at the South Head, too late in the day for it to be known what or whence the vessel was. The harvest formed the principal labour this month both public and private. At Sydney, another attempt being made to steal a cask of pork from the pile of provisions which stood before the storehouse, the whole was removed into one of the old marine barracks. The full ration of salt provisions being issued to every one, it was difficult to conceive what could be the inducement to these frequent and wanton attacks on the provisions, whenever necessity compelled the commissary to trust a quantity without the store. Perhaps, however, it was to gratify that strong, propensity to thieving, which could not suffer an opportunity of exercising their talents to pass, or to furnish them with means of indulging in the baneful vice of gaming. At the Hawkesbury, in the beginning of the month, an extraordinary meteorological phenomenon occurred. Four farms on the creek named Ruse's Creek were totally cut up by a fall, not of hail or of snow, but of large flakes of ice. It was stated by the officer who had the command of the military there, Lieutenant Abbott, that the shower passed in a direction NW taking such farms as fell within its course. The effect was extraordinary; the wheat then standing was beaten down, the ears cut off, and the grain perfectly threshed out. Of the Indian corn the large thick stalks were broken, and the cobs found lying at the roots, A man who was too far distant from a house to enter it in time was glad to take shelter in the hollow of a tree. The sides of the trees which were opposed to its fury appeared as if large shot had been discharged against them, and the ground was covered with small twigs from the branches. On that part of the race-ground which it crossed, the stronger shrubs were all found cut to pieces, while the weaker, by yielding to the storm, were only beaten down. The two succeeding days were remarkably mild; notwithstanding which the ice remained on the ground nearly as large as when it fell. Some flakes of it were brought to Lieutenant Abbott on the second day, which measured from six to eight inches long, and at that time were two fingers at the least in thickness. On this officer's representing to the governor the distress which the settlers had suffered whose farms had lain in the course of the shower such relief was given them as their situations required. Nothing of this kind had been felt either at Parramatta or at Sydney. There died this month Mr. Barrow, a midshipman belonging to his Majesty's ship _Supply_. His death, which was rather sudden, was occasioned by an obstruction in the bowels, brought on by bathing when very much heated and full. He had attended divine service on the Sunday preceding his death, and heard Mr. Johnson preach on uncertainty of human life, little thinking how soon he was himself to prove the verity of the principal point of his discourse--'That death stole upon us like a thief in the night.' Two male convicts died at Sydney. One of them, John Durham, had been for upwards of two years a venereal patient in the hospital; and died at last a wretched but exemplary spectacle to all who beheld him, or who knew his sufferings. There died, during the year 1795, one assistant to the surgeons; one sergeant of the New South Wales corps; two settlers; thirteen male convicts; seven female convicts and one child; and one male convict was executed. Making a total of twenty-six persons who lost their lives during the year. CHAPTER XXX The _Arthur_ arrives from India _Francis_ from Norfolk Island A playhouse opened Her Majesty's birthday kept Stills destroyed _Ceres_ storeship arrives and _Experiment_ from India Ship _Otter_ from America Natives Harvest got in Deaths A hut demolished by the military A Transport arrives with prisoners from Ireland A criminal court held Caesar shot General court martial _Otter_ takes away Mr. Muir _Abigail_ from America arrives A forgery committed Works The _Reliance_ Particulars respecting Mr. Bampton, and of the fate of Captain Hill and Mr. Carter A Schooner arrives from Duskey-Bay Crops bad Robberies committed _Supply_ for Norfolk Island Natives Bennillong _Cornwallis_ sails Gerald and Skirving die 1796.] January] On the first of this month, the _Arthur_ brig anchored in the cove from Calcutta. Mr. Barber, who was here in 1794 in the same vessel, had been induced by the success he then met with to pay us a second visit, with a cargo similar as to the nature of the articles, but of much larger value than that which he then sold. He had been thirteen weeks on his passage, and had heard nothing of the _Britannia_. It appeared from the information he brought us, that the Cape of Good Hope might at that time be in the possession of the English. Trincomale had surrendered to our arms; but of Batavia he could only say, that a strong party in the French interest existed there. The _Surprise_, Captain Campbell, had arrived at Bengal after a long passage of eight months from this port. In the evening of the following day the colonial vessel returned from Norfolk Island, having been absent just four weeks. Lieutenant-governor King continued extremely ill. In consequence of the order issued last month respecting a reduction in the price of wheat, the settlers, having consulted among themselves, deputed a certain number from the different districts to state to the governor the hardships they should be subjected to by a reduction in the price of grain, at least for that season. He therefore consented to purchase their present crops of wheat at ten shillings per bushel; but at the same time assured them, that a reduction would be made in the ensuing season, unless some unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances should occur to render it unnecessary. The officers who held ground offered to give up two of the number of men the governor had allowed them, and to take two others off the provision-store, which proposal was directed to be carried into execution. Some of the more decent class of prisoners, male and female, having some time since obtained permission to prepare a playhouse* at Sydney, it was opened on Saturday the 16th, under the management of John Sparrow, with the play of The Revenge and the entertainment of The Hotel. They had fitted up the house with more theatrical propriety than could have been expected, and their performance was far above contempt. Their motto was modest and well chosen--'We cannot command success, but will endeavour to deserve it.' Of their dresses the greater part was made by themselves; but we understood that some veteran articles from the York theatre were among the best that made their appearance. [* The he building cost upwards of one hundred pounds. The names of the principal performers were, H. Green, J. Sparrow (the manager), William Fowkes, G. H. Hughes, William Chapman, and Mrs. Davis. Of the men, Green best deserved to be called an actor.] At the licensing of this exhibition they were informed, that the slightest impropriety would be noticed, and a repetition punished by the banishment of their company to the other settlements; there was, however, more danger of improprieties being committed by some of the audience than by the players themselves. A seat in their gallery, which was by far the largest place in the house, as likely to be the most resorted to, was to be procured for one shilling. In the payment of this price for admission, one evil was observable, which in fact could not well be prevented; in lieu of a shilling, as much flour, or as much meat or spirits, as the manager would take for that sum, was often paid at the gallery door. It was feared that this, like gambling, would furnish another inducement to rob; and some of the worst of the convicts, ever on the watch for opportunities, looked on the playhouse as a certain harvest for them, not by picking the pockets of the audience of their purses or their watches, but by breaking into their houses while the whole family might be enjoying themselves in the gallery. This actually happened on the second night of their playing. The 18th was observed as the day on which her Majesty's birth is celebrated in England.* The troops fired three volleys at noon, and at one o'clock the king's ships fired twenty-one guns each, in honour of the day. [* The anniversary of her Majesty's birth might with greater propriety be kept in the colonies, particularly in New South Wales, on the 19th of May, the day on which it happened, than at any other time; the same reasons for observing it at a time distant from the king's not existing there. This is attended to in India.] Among other objects of civil regulation which required the governor's attention was one to remedy an evil of great magnitude. Some individuals formed the strange design of making application to the governor for his licence to erect stills in different parts of the settlement. On inquiry it appeared, that for a considerable time past they had been in the practice of making and vending a spirit, the quality of which was of so destructive a nature, that the health of the settlement in general was much endangered. A practice so iniquitous and ruinous, being not only a direct disobedience of his Majesty's commands, but destructive of the welfare of the colony in general, the governor in the most positive manner forbade all persons on any pretence whatsoever to distil spirituous liquors of any kind or quality, on pain of such steps being taken for their punishment as would effectually prevent a repetition of so dangerous an offence. The constables of the different districts, as well as all other persons whose duty it was to preserve order, were strictly enjoined to be extremely vigilant in discovering and giving information where and in whose possession any article or machine for the purpose of distilling spirits might then be, or should hereafter be erected in opposition to this notification of the governor's resolution. Information on this subject was to be given to the nearest magistrate, who was to send the earliest notice in his power to the judge-advocate at Sydney. In pursuance of these directions several stills were found and destroyed, to the great regret of the owners, who from a bushel of wheat (worth at the public store ten shillings) distilled a gallon of a new and poisonous spirit, which they retailed directly from the still at five shillings per quart bottle, and sometimes more. This was not merely paid away for labour, as was pretended, but sold for the purposes of intoxication to whoever would bring ready money. Little or no attention having been paid to the order issued in October last respecting removing the paling about the stream, the governor found it necessary to repeat it, and to declare in public orders, 'to every description of persons, that when an order was given by him, it was given to be obeyed.' This had become absolutely necessary, as there were some who, in open defiance of his directions, not only still opened the paling, but took with dirty vessels the water which they wanted above the tanks, thereby disturbing and polluting the whole stream below. Several attempts had been made by the commissary to ascertain the number of arms in the possession of individuals; it being feared, that, instead of their being properly distributed among the settlers for their protection, many were to be found in the hands of persons who used them in shooting, or in committing depredations. It was once more attempted to discover their number, by directing all persons (the military excepted) who were in possession of arms to bring them to the commissary's office, where, after registering them, they were to receive certificates signed by him, of their being permitted to carry such arms. Some few settlers, who valued their arms as necessary to their defence against the natives and against thieves, hastened to the office for their certificate; but of between two and three hundred stands of arms which belonged to the crown not fifty were accounted for. The many robberies which were almost daily and nightly committed rendered it expedient that some steps should be taken to put a stop to an evil so destructive of the happiness and comfort of the industrious inhabitants. Caesar was still in the woods, with several other vagabonds, all of whom were reported, by people who saw them from time to time, to be armed; and as he had sent us word, that he neither would come in, nor suffer himself to be taken alive, it became necessary to secure him. Notice was therefore given, that whoever should secure and bring him in with his arms should receive as a reward five gallons of spirits. The settlers, and those people who were occasionally supplied with ammunition by the officers, were informed, that if they should be hereafter discovered to have so abused the confidence placed in them, as to supply those common plunderers with any part of this ammunition, they would be deemed accomplices in the robberies committed by them, and steps would be taken to bring them to punishment as accessories. To relieve the mind from the contemplation of circumstances so irksome to humanity, on the 23rd the _Ceres_ store-ship arrived from England. It was impossible that a ship could ever reach this distant part of his Majesty's dominions, from England, or from any other part of the world, without bringing a change to our ideas, and a variety to our amusements. The introduction of a stranger among us had ever been an object of some moment; for every civility was considered to be due to him who had left the civilized world to visit us. The personal interest he might have in the visit we for a while forgot; and from our solicitude to hear news he was invited to our houses and treated at our tables. If he afterwards found himself neglected, it was not to be wondered at; his intelligence was exhausted, and he had sunk into the mere tradesman. This ship, whose master's name was Hedley, had on board stores and provisions for the settlement. She sailed from England on the 5th of August last; took the route of most other ships which had preceded her, anchoring at Rio de Janeiro on the 18th of October, whence she sailed on the 22nd of the same month, and made Van Dieman's Land on the 9th instant, her passage occupying something more than five months. We found that a ship (the _Marquis Cornwallis_) had sailed for Cork to take in her convicts three weeks before the _Ceres_ left England; and that it was reported at Rio de Janeiro, that the Cape of Good Hope was in our possession. The _Ceres_, touching at the island of Amsterdam in her way hither, took off four men, two French and two English, who had lived there three years, having been left from a brig (the _Emilia_), which was taken on to China by the _Lion_ man of war. One of the Frenchmen, M. Perron, apparently deserved a better kind of society than his companions supplied. He had kept an accurate and neatly-written journal of his proceedings, with some well-drawn views of the spot to which he was so long confined. It appeared that they had, in the hope of their own or some other vessel arriving to take them off, collected and cured several thousands of seal-skins, which, however, they were compelled to abandon. M. Perron had subsisted for the last eighteen months on the flesh of seals. On the day following this arrival the signal was again made; and before noon the snow _Experiment_, commanded by Mr. Edward McClellan, who was here in the same vessel in the year before last, from Bengal, and the ship _Otter_, Mr. Ebenezer Dorr master, from Boston in North America, anchored in the cove. Mr. McClellan had on board a large investment of India goods, muslins, calicoes, chintzes, soap, sugar, spirits, and a variety of small articles, apparently the sweepings of a Bengal bazar; the sale of which investment he expected would produce ten or twelve thousand pounds. The American, either finding the market overstocked, or having had some other motive for touching here, declared he had nothing for sale; but that he could, as a favour, spare two hogsheads of Jamaica rum, three pipes of Madeira, sixty-eight quarter casks of Lisbon wine, four chests and a half of Bohea tea, and two hogsheads of molasses. He had touched at the late residence of M. Perron, the island of Amsterdam, and brought off as many of the sealskins (his vessel being bound to China after visiting the north-west coast of America) as he could take on board. He had been five months and three days from Boston, touching no where but at the abovementioned island. We had the satisfaction of hearing, through Mr. McClellan, from the master of the _Britannia_. He had, according to his instructions, proceeded to Batavia, where judging from his own observation, and by what he heard, that it was unsafe to make any stay, he after four or five days left the port, and by that means fortunately escaped being detained, which, from information that he afterwards received at Bengal, he found would have happened to him. He was to leave Calcutta about the end of December. The report of the Cape of Good Hope being in our possession had reached that place before the _Experiment_ sailed. On this subject we were rather anxious, as the armed ships which had lately arrived, the _Reliance_ and _Supply_, were intended to proceed to that port as soon as the season would admit, for cattle for the colony. Bennillong's influence over his countrymen not extending to the natives at the river, we this month again heard of their violence. They attacked a man who had been allowed to ply with a passage-boat between the port of Sydney and the river, and wounded him, (it was feared mortally,) as he was going with his companion to the settlement; and they were beginning again to annoy the settlers there. Notwithstanding the reward that had been offered for apprehending black Caesar, he remained at large, and scarcely a morning arrived without a complaint being made to the magistrates of a loss of property supposed to have been occasioned by this man. In fact, every theft that was committed was ascribed to him; a cask of pork was stolen from the millhouse, the upper part of which was accessible, and, the sentinels who had the charge of that building being tried and acquitted, the theft was fixed upon Caesar, or some of the vagabonds who were in the woods, the number of whom at this time amounted to six or eight. The harvest was all well got in during this month. At Sydney, the labouring hands were employed in unloading the store-ship; for which purpose three men from each farm having ten were ordered in to public work. On the 21st of this month his Majesty's ship the _Reliance_ sailed for Norfolk Island. In her went Mr. Hibbins, the judge-advocate of that settlement who arrived from England in the _Sovereign_; and a captain of the New South Wales corps, to take the command of the troops there. On the 7th the surgeon's mate of the _Supply_ died of a dysenteric complaint. He had attended Mr. Barrow to his grave, who died in December last. On the evening of the 23rd a soldier of the name of Eades, having gone over to the north shore to collect thatch to cover a hut which he had built for the comfort of his family, fell from a rock and was drowned. He left a widow and five small children, mostly females, to lament his loss. He was a quiet man and a good soldier. February.] The players, with a politic generosity, on the 4th of this month performed the play of The Fair Penitent with a farce, for the benefit of the widow Eades and her family. The house was full, and it was said that she got upwards of twelve pounds by the night. A circumstance of a disagreeable nature occurred in the beginning of this month. John Baughan*, the master carpenter at this place, being at work in the shed allotted for the carpenters in one of the mill-houses, overheard himself grossly abused by the sentinel who was planted there, and who for that purpose had quitted his post, and placed himself within hearing of Baughan. This sentinel had formerly been a convict, and, while working as such under Baughan in the line of his business, thought himself in some circumstance or other ill-treated by him, for which he 'owed him a grudge', and took this way to satisfy his resentment. Baughan, a man of a sullen and vindictive disposition, perceiving that the sentinel was without his arms, took them, unobserved by him, from the post where he had left them, and delivered them to the sergeant of the guard. [* John Baughan, alias Buffin, alias Bingham. He had served the term of his transportation, and had for a considerable time been employed in the direction of the carpenters and sawyers at this place.] The sentinel being confined, the company to which he belonged, indignant at the injury done to their comrade, and too much irritated either to act with prudence, or to consider the conduct they determined to pursue, repaired the following morning to Baughan's house (a neat little cottage which he had built below the hospital), where in a few minutes they almost demolished his house, out-houses, and furniture, and Baughan himself suffered much personal outrage. They were so sudden in the execution of this business, that the mischief was done before any steps could be taken either by the civil or military power to prevent it. Baughan, after some days had elapsed, swearing positively to the persons of four of the principals in this transaction, a warrant was made out to apprehend them; but before it could be executed, the soldiers expressing themselves convinced of the great impropriety of their conduct, and offering to indemnify the sufferer for the damage they had done him, who also personally petitioned the governor in their behalf, the warrant was withdrawn. It was observed, that the most active of the soldiers in this affair had formerly been convicts, who, not having changed their principles with their condition, thus became the means of disgracing their fellow-soldiers. The corps certainly was not much improved by the introduction of people of this description among them. It might well have been supposed, that being taken as good characters from the class of prisoners, they would have felt themselves above mixing with any of them afterwards; but it happened otherwise; they had nothing in them of that pride which is termed _l'esprit du corps_; but at times mixed with the convicts familiarly as former cornpanions; yet when they chose to quarrel with, or complain of them, they meanly asserted their superiority as soldiers. This intercourse had been strongly prohibited by their officers; but living (as once before mentioned) in huts by themselves, it was carried on without their knowledge. Most of them were now, however, ordered into the barracks; but to give this regulation the full effect, a high brick wall, or an inclosure of strong paling, round the barracks, was requisite; the latter of these securities would have been put up some time before, had there not been a want of the labouring hands necessary to prepare and collect the materials. On the 11th of this month the ship _Marquis Cornwallis_ anchored in the cove from Ireland, with two hundred and thirty-three male and female convicts of that country. We understood from her commander, Mr. Michael Hogan, that a conspiracy had been formed to take the ship from him; but, the circumstances of it being happily disclosed in time, he was enabled to prevent it, and having sufficient evidence of the existence of the conspiracy, he caused the principal part of those concerned to be severely punished, first taking the opinions of all the free people who were on board. A military guard, consisting of two subalterns and a proportionate number of privates of the New South Wales corps (principally drafts from other regiments), was embarked in this ship. The prisoners were in general healthy; but some of those who had been punished were not quite recovered, and on landing were sent to the hospital. It appeared that the men were for the most part of the description of people termed Defenders, desperate, and ripe for any scheme from which danger and destruction were likely to ensue. The women were of the same complexion; and their ingenuity and cruelty were displayed in the part they were to take in the purposed insurrection, which was the preparing of pulverised glass to mix with the flour of which the seamen were to make their puddings. What an importation! A few months provisions for these people, and the remainder* of the mooring chains intended for his Majesty's ships the _Reliance_ and the _Supply_, together with a patent under the great seal for assembling criminal courts at Norfolk Island, arrived in this ship. She sailed from Cork on the 9th of August last, and touched at the island of St. Helena and the Cape of Good Hope, which latter place, we had the satisfaction of hearing, had surrendered to his Majesty's arms, and was in our possession. General Craig, the commander in chief on shore, and Commodore Blankett, each sent an official communication of this important circumstance to Governor Hunter, and stated their desire to assist in any circumstance that might be of service to the settlement, when the season should offer for sending the ships under his orders to the Cape for supplies. [* Some part had arrived in the _Reliance_ and _Supply_.] With infinite regret we heard of the death of Colonel Gordon, whose attentions to this settlement, when opportunities presented themselves, can never be forgotten. He was a favoured son of science, and liberally extended the advantages which that science gave him wherever he thought they could promote the welfare of his fellow-creatures. On Monday the 15th a criminal court was held for the trial of two prisoners, William Britton a soldier, and John Reid a convict, for a burglary in the house of the Rev. Mr. Johnson, committed in the night of Sunday the 7th of this month. The evidence, though strong, was not sufficient to convict them, and they were acquitted. While this court was sitting, however, information was received, that black Caesar had that morning been shot by one Wimbow. This man and another, allured by the reward, had been for some days in quest of him. Finding his haunt, they concealed themselves all night at the edge of a brush which they perceived him enter at dusk. In the morning he came out, when, looking round him and seeing his danger, he presented his musket; but before he could pull the trigger Wimbow fired and shot him. He was taken to the hut of Rose, a settler at Liberty Plains, where he died in a few hours. Thus ended a man, who certainly, during his life, could never have been estimated at more than one remove above the brute, and who had given more trouble than any other convict in the settlement. On the morning of the 18th the _Otter_ sailed for the north-west coast of America. In her went Mr. Thomas Muir (one of the persons sent out in the _Surprise_ for sedition) and several other convicts whose sentences of transportation were not expired. Mr. Muir conceived that in withdrawing (though clandestinely) from this country, he was only asserting his freedom; and meant, if he should arrive in safety, to enjoy what he deemed himself to have regained of it in America, until the time should come when he might return to his own country with credit and comfort. He purposed practising at the American bar as an advocate; a point of information which he left behind him in a letter. In this country he chiefly passed his time in literary ease and retirement, living out of the town at a little spot of ground which he had purchased for the purpose of seclusion. A few days after the departure of this ship, the _Abigail_, another American, arrived. As several prisoners had found a conveyance from this place in the _Otter_, the governor directed the _Abigail_ to be anchored in Neutral Bay (a bay on the north shore, a little below Rock Island), where he imagined the communication would not be so easy as the ships of that nation had found it in Sydney Cove. Her master, Christopher Thornton, gave out that he was bound to Manilla and Canton, having on board a cargo for those places. For part of that cargo, however, he met with purchasers at this place, notwithstanding the glut of articles which the late frequent arrivals must have thrown in. He expected to have found here a snow, named the _Susan_, which he knew had sailed from Rhode Island with a cargo expressly laid in for this market. He came direct from that port without touching any where. The frequent attacks and depredations to which the settlers situated on the banks of the Hawkesbury, and other places, were exposed from the natives, called upon them, for the protection of their families, and the preservation of their crops, mutually to afford each other their assistance upon every occasion of alarm, by assembling without delay whenever any numerous bodies of natives were reported to be lurking about their grounds; but they seldom or never showed the smallest disposition to assist each other. Indolent and improvident even for their own safety and interest, they in general neglected the means by which either could be secured. This disposition being soon manifested to the governor, he thought it necessary to issue a public order, stating his expectations and directions, that all the people residing in the different districts of the settlemerits, whether the alarm was on their own farms, or on the farm of any other person, should upon such occasions immediately render to each other such assistance as each man if attacked would himself wish to receive; and he assured them, that if it should be hereafter proved, that any settlers or other persons withdrew or kept back their assistance from those who might be threatened, or who might be in danger of being attacked, they would be proceeded against as persons disobeying the rules and orders of the settlement. Such as had fire-arms were also positively enjoined not wantonly to fire at, or take the lives of any of the natives, as such an act would be considered a deliberate murder, and subject the offender to such punishment as (if proved) the law might direct to be inflicted. It had been intimated to the governor, that two white men (Wilson and Knight) had been frequently seen with the natives in their excursions, and were supposed to direct and assist in those acts of hostility by which the settlers had lately suffered. He therefore recommended to every one who knew or had heard of these people, and particularly to the settlers who were so much annoyed by them, to use every means in their power to secure them, that they might be so disposed of as to prevent their being dangerous or troublesome in future. The settlers were at the same time strictly prohibited from giving any encouragement to the natives to lurk about their farms; as there could not be a doubt, that if they had never met with the shelter which some had afforded them, they would not at this time have furnished so much cause to complaint. Those natives who lived with the settlers had tasted the sweets of a different mode of living, and, willing that their friends and companions should partake, either stole from those with whom they were living, or communicated from time to time such favourable opportunities as offered of stealing from other settlers what they themselves were pleased with. At this time several persons who had served their term of transportation were applying for permission to provide for themselves. Of this description were Wilson and Knight; but they preferred a vagrant life with the natives; and the consideration that if taken they would be dealt with in a manner that would prevent their getting among them again, now led them on to every kind of mischief. They demonstrated to the natives of how little use a musket was when once discharged, and this effectually removed that terror of our fire-arms with which it had been our constant endeavour to inspire them. Several articles having been brought for sale in the _Marquis Cornwallis_, a shop was opened on shore. As money, or orders on or by any of the responsible officers* of the colony, were taken at this shop for goods, an opportunity was afforded to some knowing ones among the prisoners to play off, not only base money, as counterfeit Spanish dollars and rupees, but forged notes or orders. One forged note for ten pound ten shillings, bearing the commissary's name, was passed at the shop, but fortunately discovered before the recollection of the persons who offered it was effaced, though not in time to recover the property. The whole party was apprehended, and committed for trial. [* Such as the commissary, paymaster of the corps, and officers who paid companies.] Discharging the storeships formed the principal labour of this month; which being completed, the assistants required from the farms to unload them were returned. The bricklayers' gang were employed in erecting a small hut for the accommodation of an officer within the paling of the guardhouse at Sydney, the main guard being now commanded by a subaltern officer. Mr. Henry Brewer, the provost-marshal of the territory, worn out with age and infirmities, being incapable of the duties of his office, which now required a very active and a much younger man to execute, and at this time very much indisposed, the governor appointed to that situation Mr. Thomas Smyth, then acting as a storekeeper at this place, until Mr. Brewer should be able to return to the duties of it. During one or two hot days in this month the shrubs and brushwood about the west point of the cove caught fire, and burnt within a few yards of the magazine. On its being extinguished, the powder was removed for a few days on board the _Supply_, until some security against any future accident of that kind could be thrown up round the building. March.] Late in the evening of the 5th of March his Majesty's ship the _Reliance_ returned from Norfolk Island. In her came Mr. D'Arcy Wentworth. This person arrived at New South Wales in the _Neptune_ transport, and went immediately to Norfolk Island, where he was employed, first as a superintendant of convicts, and afterwards as an assistant to the surgeon at the hospital there, having been bred to that profession. By letters received from Mr. Bampton, who sailed from his place in the _Endeavour_ in the month of September last, we now heard, that on his reaching Dusky Bay in New Zealand his ship unfortunately proved so leaky, that with the advice and consent of his officers and people she was run on shore and scuttled. By good fortune the vessel which had been built by the carpenter of the _Britannia_ (when left there with Mr. John Leith the mate, and others, in that ship's first voyage hence to the Cape of Good Hope) being found in the same state as she had been left by them, they completed and launched her, according to a previous agreement between the two commanders. It may be remembered, that in addition to the large number of persons which Mr. Bampton had permission to ship at this port, nearly as many more found means to secrete themselves on board his ship and the _Fancy_. For these, as well as his officers and ship's company, he had now to provide a passage from the truly desolate shores of New Zealand. He accordingly, after fitting as a schooner the vessel which he had launched, and naming her the _Providence_, sailed with her and the _Fancy_ for Norfolk Island, having on board as many of the officers and people who reached Dusky Bay with him as they could contain, leaving the remainder to proceed in a vessel which one Hatherleigh (formerly a carpenter's mate of the _Sirius_, who happened to be with him) undertook to construct out of the _Endeavour's_ long-boat. The _Fancy_ and _Providence_ arrived safe at Norfolk Island, whence they sailed for China on the 31st day of January last. This unlucky termination of the voyage of the _Endeavour_ brought to our recollection the difficulties and dangers which Mr. Bampton met with in the _Shah Hormuzear_, when, on his return to India from this country, he attempted to ascertain a passage for future navigators between New Holland and New Guinea. In the course of this narrative, the different reports received respecting the fate of the boat which landed on Tate Island have been stated. In a Calcutta newspaper, brought here by Mr. McClellan in the _Experiment_, we now found a printed account of the whole of that transaction, which filled up that chasm in the story which the parties themselves alone could supply. By referring to the account given in the month of July 1794, as communicated by Mr. Dell, it will appear, that the ship, having been driven to leeward of the island after the boat left her, was three days before she could work up to it. When Mr. Dell went on shore to search for Captain Hill and his companions, he could only, at his return, produce, what he thought incontestable proofs of their having been murdered; such as their greatcoats, a lanthorn, tomahawk, etc. and three hands, one of which, from a certain mark, was supposed to have belonged to Mr. Carter. Of the boat, after the most diligent search round the island, he could find no trace. By the account now published, and which bore every mark of authenticity, it appeared, that when the boat, in which these unfortunate gentlemen were, had reached the island (on the 3rd of July 1793), the natives received them very kindly, and conducted them to a convenient place for landing. After distributing some presents among them, with which they appeared very much satisfied, it was proposed that Mr. Carter, Shaw (the mate of the _Chesterfield_), and Ascott, should proceed to the top of a high point of land which they had noticed, and that Captain Hill should stay by the boat, with her crew, consisting of four seamen belonging to the _Chesterfield_. The inland party, taking the precaution to arm, and provide themselves with a necessary quantity of ammunition, set off. Nothing unfriendly occurred during their walk, though several little circumstances happened, which induced Ascott to suspect that the natives had some design on them; an idea, however, which was scouted by his companions. On their return from the hill, hostile designs became apparent, and the natives seemed to be deterred from murdering them merely by the activity of Ascott, who, by presenting his musket occasionally, kept them off; but, notwithstanding his activity and vigilance, the natives at length made their attack. They began by attempting to take Ascott's musket from him, finding he was the most likely to annoy them; directly after which, Mr. Carter, who was the foremost of the party, was heard to exclaim, 'My God, my God, they have murdered me.' Ascott, who still retained his musket, immediately fired, on which the natives left them and fled into the bushes. Ascott now had time to look about him, and saw what he justly deemed a horrid spectacle, Mr. Carter lying bleeding on the ground, and Mr. Shaw with a large wound in his throat under the left jaw. They were both however able to rise, and proceed down the hill to the boat. On their arrival at the beach they called to their companions to fire; but, to their extreme horror, they perceived Captain Hill and one of the seamen lying dead on the sand, cut and mangled in a most barbarous manner. Two others of the seamen they saw floating on the water, with their throats cut from ear to ear. The fourth sailor they found dead in the boat, mangled in the same shocking manner. With much difficulty these unhappy people got into their boat, and, cutting her grapnel, pulled off from this treacherous shore. While this was performing, they clearly saw the natives, whom in their account they term voracious cannibals, dragging the bodies of Captain Hill and the seamen from the beach toward some large fires, which they supposed were prepared for the occasion, yelling and howling at the same time most dismally. These wretched survivors of their companions having seen, from the top of the hill whither their ill-fated curiosity had led them, a large sand-bank not far from the island, determined to run under the lee of it, as they very reasonably hoped that boats would the next morning be sent after them from the ship. They experienced very little rest or ease that night, and when daylight appeared found they had drifted nearly out of sight of the island, and to leeward of the sand-bank. Deeming it in vain to attempt reaching the bank, after examining what was left in the boat, (a few of the trifles which they had put into her to buy the friendship of the natives, and Ascott's greatcoat, but neither a compass nor a morsel of provisions,) they determined, by the advice of Shaw, who of these three miserable people was the only one that understood any thing of navigation, to run direct for Timor, for which place the wind was then happily fair. To the westward, therefore, they directed their course, trusting (as the printed account stated) to that Providence which had delivered them from the cannibals at Tate Island.* [* The narrative of this most horrible affair, as printed at Calcutta, was reprinted entire in the _European Magazine_ for May and June 1797.] Without provisions, destitute of water, and almost without bodily strength, it cannot be doubted that their sufferings were very great before they reached a place of safety and relief. They left the island on the 3rd of July, the day on which their companions were butchered. On the 7th, having the preceding day passed a sand-bank covered with birds, they providentially, in the morning, found two small birds in the boat, one of which they immediately divided into three parts, and were considerably relieved by eating it. On the 8th they found themselves with land on both sides. Through these straits they passed, and continued their course to the westward. All that could be done with their wounds was to keep them clean by opening them occasionally, and washing them with salt water. On the 11th they saw land, and pushed their boat into a bay, all agreeing that they had better trust to the chance of being well received on shore, than to that of perishing in the course of a day or two more at sea. Here they procured some water and a roasted yam from the natives, who also gave them to understand that Timor was to the southward of them. Not thinking themselves quite so safe here as they would be at Coupang, they again embarked. They soon after found a proa in chase of them, which they eluded by standing with their boat over a reef that the proa would not encounter. On the morning of the 13th they saw a point of land ahead, which, with the wind as it then was, they could not weather. They therefore ran into a small bay, where the natives received them, calling out 'Bligh! Bligh!' Here they landed, were hospitably received, and providentially saved from the horror of perishing by famine. This place was called by the natives Sarrett, and was distinct from Timor Land, which was the first place they refreshed at. They were also informed, that there was another small island to the northward, called by them Fardatte, but which in some charts was named Ta-na-bor. They also understood that a proa came yearly from Banda to trade at Tanabor, and that her arrival was expected in the course of seven or eight months. They were much gratified with this information, and soon found that they had fallen into the hands of a hospitable and humane race of people. On the 25th of July Mr. Carter's wound was entirely healed, after having had thirteen pieces of the fractured skull taken out. But this gentleman was fated not long to survive his sufferings. He remained in perfect health until the 17th of November, when he caught a fever, of which he died on the 10th of December, much regretted by his two friends (for adversity makes friends of those who perhaps, in other situations, would never have shaken hands). The two survivors waited in anxious expectation for the arrival of the annual trading proa from Banda. To their great joy she came on the 12th of March 1794. For Banda they sailed on the 10th of April, and arrived there on the 1st of May following, where they were received with the greatest hospitality by the governor, who supplied them with every thing necessary for people in their situation, and provided them with a passage on board an Indiaman bound to Batavia, where they arrived on the 10th of the following October; adding another to the many instances of escape from the perils which attend on those whose hard fate have driven them to navigate the ocean in an open boat. Hard indeed was the fate of Captain Hill and Mr. Carter. They were gentlemen of liberal education, qualified to adorn the circles of life in which their rank in society placed them. How lamentable thus to perish, the one by the hands and rude weapons of barbarous savages, cut off in the prime of life and most perfect enjoyment of his faculties, lost for ever to a mother and sister whom he tenderly loved, his body mangled, roasted, and devoured by cannibals; the other, after escaping from those cannibals, to perish* in a country where all were strangers to him, except his two companions in misery Shaw and Ascott, to give up all his future prospects in life, never more to meet the cheering eye of friendship or of love, and without having had the melancholy satisfaction of recounting his perils, his escape, and sufferings, to those who would sympathise with him in the tale of his sorrows. [* It is evident, if this account be true, that Mr. Dell must have been mistaken in his opinion of having carried on board the _Shah Hormuzear_ a hand which, from a certain mark on it, he knew to have belonged to Mr. Carter.] On the 17th the vessel built by the shipwright Hatherleigh at Dusky Bay arrived, with some of the people left behind by Mr. Bampton. They were so distressed for provisions, that the person who had the direction of the vessel could not bring away the whole; and it was singularly fortunate that he arrived as he did, for with all the economy that could be used, his small stock of provisions was consumed to the last mouthful the day before he made the land. This vessel, which the officer who commanded her (Waine, one of the mates of the _Endeavour_) not unappropriately named the _Assistance_, was built entirely of the timber of Dusky Bay, but appeared to be miserably constructed. She was of near sixty tons burden, and was now to be sold* for the benefit of Mr. Bampton. [* Notwithstanding all her imperfections, she was valued at and sold for two hundred and fifty pounds.] The situation of the people still remaining at Dusky Bay was not, we understood, the most enviable; their dependence for provisions being chiefly on the seals and birds which they might kill. They had all belonged to this colony, and one or two happened to be persons of good character. On the 10th the American sailed for the north-west coast of America. In her went Mr. James Fitzpatrick Knaresbro', a gentleman whose hard lot it was to be doomed to banishment for life from his native country, Ireland, and the enjoyment of a comfortable fortune which he there possessed. He arrived here in the _Sugar Cane_ transport, in the year 1793, and had lived constantly at Parramatta with the most rigid economy and severe self-denial even of the common comforts of life. It was seen with concern that the crops of this season proved in general bad, the wheat being almost every where mixed with a weed named by the farmers Drake. Every care was taken to prevent this circumstance from happening in the ensuing season, by cleaning with the greatest nicety not only such wheat as was intended for seed, but such as was received into the public store from settlers. It was occasioned by the ground being overwrought, from a greediness to make it produce golden harvests every season, without allowing it time to recruit itself from crop to crop, or being able to afford it manure. Had this not happened, the crops would most likely have been immense. At the Hawkesbury, where alone any promise of agricultural advantages was to be found, the settlers were immersed in intoxication. Riot and madness marked their conduct; and this was to be attributed to the spirits that, in defiance of every precaution, found their way thither. Early in the month a store-room belonging to Captain Paterson was broken into, and articles to a large amount stolen thereout. A sentinel was stationed in the front of the house; notwithstanding which, the thieves had time to remove, through a small hole that they made in a brick wall, all the property they stole. In the course of the month Captain Townson, another officer of the corps, was also robbed. He had that morning received in trust sixty pounds in dollars; these, together with his watch, were stolen from him in the following night. His servants were suspected, as were also Captain Paterson's; but nothing could be fixed upon them that bore the resemblance of proof. Robberies were more frequent now than they had been for some time past, scarcely a night passing without at least an attempt being made. On the 17th, the festival of St. Patrick, the night-watch were assaulted by two fellows, Matthew Farrel and Richard Sutton, (better known by the title of the Newgate Bully,) while the latter was pursued by them from a house which he was endeavouring to break into, to the house of Farrel, who tried to secrete him, and afford him protection. A woman was stopped in the street at night, and a piece of callico forcibly taken from her. A convict being taken up as the man who had robbed her, she at first was positive to his person, but when brought before a magistrate, on recollecting that his life might be in danger, she was ready to swear that, it being very dark at the time, it was not possible she should know his features. Thus difficult was it too often found to bring these people to justice. On the 24th his Majesty's ship _Supply_ sailed for Norfolk Island. The patent for holding criminal courts there, which was brought hither by the _Cornwallis_, was sent by this conveyance, together with R. Sutton (the Newgate Bully) and some other very bad characters, who, it was not unlikely, would soon entitle themselves to the benefit of the patent which accompanied them. Hogs again became such a public nuisance, by running loose in the town, without rings or yokes, that another order respecting them was given out, directing the owners either to shut them up, or appoint them to be watched when at large. Reports were again received this month of fresh outrages committed by the natives at the river. The schooner which had been sent round with provisions saw some of these people off a high point of land named Portland Head, who menaced them with their spears, and carried in their appearance every mark of hostility. The governor being at this time on an excursion to that settlement (by water), one of his party landed on the shore opposite Portland Head, and saw at a short distance a large body of natives, who he understood had assembled for the purpose of burning the corpse of a man who had been killed in some contest among themselves. About this time Bennillong, who occasionally shook off the habits of civilized life, and went for a few days into the woods with his sisters and other friends, sent in word that he had had a contest with his bosom friend Cole-be, in which he had been so much the sufferer, that until his wounds were healed he could not with any pleasure to himself appear at the governor's table. This notification was accompanied with a request, that his clothes, which he had left behind him when he went away, might be sent him, together with some victuals, of which he was much in want. On his coming among us again, he appeared with a wound on his mouth, which had divided the upper lip and broke two of the teeth of that jaw. His features, never very pleasing, now seemed out of all proportion, and his pronunciation was much altered. Finding himself badly received among the females (although improved by his travels in the little attentions that are supposed to have their weight with the sex) and not being able to endure a life of celibacy, which had been his condition from the day of his departure from this country until nearly the present hour, he made an attack upon his friend's favourite, Boo-ree-a, in which he was not only unsuccessful, but was punished for his breach of friendship, as above related, by Cole-be, who sarcastically asked him, 'if he meant that kind of conduct to be a specimen of English manners?' The _Ceres_, having been discharged from government employ, sailed in the beginning of the month for Canton. Being well manned, the master was not in want of any hands from this place; but eight convicts found means to secrete themselves on board a day or two before she sailed. They were however, by the great vigilance of Mr. Hedley, discovered in time to be sent back to their labour. Among them we were not surprised to find two or three of the last importation from Ireland. We lost four persons by death during this month. On the 6th died of a severe dysentery, Richard Hudson, the sergeant-major of the New South Wales corps. At three in the morning of the 16th Mr. Joseph Gerald breathed his last. A consumption which accompanied him from England, and which all his wishes and efforts to shake off could not overcome, at length brought him to that period when, perhaps, his strong enlightened mind must have perceived how full of vanity and vexation of spirit were the busiest concerns of this world; and into what a narrow limit was now to be thrust that frame which but of late trod firmly in the walk of life, elate and glowing with youthful hope, glorying in being a martyr to the cause which he termed that of Freedom, and considering as an honour that exile which brought him to an untimely grave.* He was followed in three days after by another victim to mistaken opinions, Mr. William Skirving. A dysentery was the apparent cause of his death, but his heart was broken. In the hope of receiving remittances from England, which might enable him to proceed with spirit and success in farming, of which he appeared to have a thorough knowledge, he had purchased from different persons, who had ground to sell, about one hundred acres of land adjacent to the town of Sydney. He soon found that a farm near the sea-coast was of no great value. His attention and his efforts to cultivate the ground were of no avail. Remittances he received none; he contracted some little debts, and found himself neglected by that party for whom he had sacrificed the dearest connexions in life, a wife and family; and finally yielded to the pressure of this accumulated weight. Among us, he was a pious, honest, worthy character. In this settlement his political principles never manifested themselves; but all his solicitude seemed to be to evince himself the friend of human nature. _Requiescat in pace_! [* He was buried in the garden of a little spot of ground which he had purchased at Farm Cove. Mr. F. Palmer, we understood, had written his epitaph at large.] CHAPTER XXXI Slops served Orders Licences granted The _Supply_ returns from Norfolk Island The _Susan_ from North America and the _Indispensable_ from England A Criminal and Civil Court held Sick Thefts committed The _Britannia_ arrives from Bengal Mr. Raven's opinion as to the time of making a passage to India A Civil Court The _Cornwallis_ and _Experiment_ sail for India Caution to masters of ships A Wind-mill begun Thefts committed State of the settlers The Governor goes to Mount Hunter Regulations Public works Deaths April.] In the beginning of this month a very liberal allowance of slops was served to the prisoners male and female. As it had been too much the practice for these people to sell the clothing they received from government as soon as it was issued to them, the governor on this occasion gave it out in public orders, that whenever it should be proved that any person had either sold or otherwise made away with any of the articles then issued, the buyer and seller or receiver thereof would both subject themselves to corporal or other punishment. Orders, however, had never yet been known to have much weight with these people. Thefts were still nightly committed. At the Hawkesbury the corn store was broken into, and a quantity of wheat and other articles stolen; and two people were apprehended for robbing the deputy-surveyor's fowl-house. All these depredations were chiefly committed by those public nuisances the people off the stores. Toward preventing the indiscriminate sale of spirits which at this time prevailed in all the settlements, the governor thought that granting licences to a few persons of good character might have a good effect. Ten persons were selected by the magistrates, and to them licences for twelve months, under the hands of three magistrates, were granted. The principals were bound in the usual penalties of twenty pounds each, and obliged to find two sureties in ten pounds: and as from the very frequent state of intoxication in which great numbers of the lower order of people had for some time past been seen, there was much reason to suspect that a greater quantity of spirituous liquors had been landed from the different ships which had entered this port than permits had been obtained for, it became highly necessary to put a stop, as early as possible, to a practice which was pregnant with all kinds of mischief. The governor judged it necessary, the more effectually to suppress the dangerous practice of retailing spirits in this indiscriminate way, not only to grant licences under the restrictions abovementioned, but to desire the aid of all officers, civil and military, and in a more particular manner of all magistrates, constables, etc. as they regarded the good of his Majesty's service, the peace, tranquillity, and good order of the colony, to use their utmost exertions for putting an end to a species of traffic, from which the destruction of health and the ruin of all industry were to be expected; and urged them to endeavour to discover who those people were, that, self-licenced only, had presumed to open public houses for this abominable purpose. He also informed those who might, after knowing his intentions, be daring enough to continue to act in opposition to them, that the house of every offender should be pulled down as a public nuisance, and such other steps be taken for his further punishment as might be deemed necessary. In the evening of the 18th his Majesty's ship _Supply_ returned from Norfolk Island, having been absent only three weeks and four days, the quickest passage that had yet been made to and from that island. At night word was sent up from the Look-out, that another vessel was off, and on the following evening the snow _Susan_ arrived from Rhode Island, having been at sea two hundred and thirty-one days, not touching any where on her passage. The Americans were observed to make these kind of voyages from motives of frugality, sailing direct for this port; but they were at the same time observed to bring in their people extremely healthy. On our enquiring what methods they took so to secure the health of their seamen, they told us that in general they found exercise the best preventive against the scurvy, and considered idleness as the surest means of introducing it. In addition to exercise, however, they made frequent use of acids in the diet of their seamen, and of fumigations from tobacco in their between-decks. Certain it was that none of our ships, which touched in their way out at other ports, arrived so generally healthy. A Mr. Trotter was the master of this vessel. He was an Irishman by birth, but but had for some time been a citizen of the United States. Strong currents and foul winds had been his enemies in the late voyage. His cargo consisted of spirits, broad-cloth, and a variety of useful and desirable articles, adapted to the necessities of this country. On the last day of this month the _Indispensable_ transport arrived from England, with one hundred and thirty-one female convicts, and a small quantity of provisions on board for their consumption. Mr. Wilkinson, who commanded this ship, we found, to our great regret, had not touched at the Cape of Good Hope; he had stopped only at the port of Rio de Janeiro. This was unfortunate, as it was intended that the king's ships should sail early in the ensuing month of September for that part of the world. That the war still raged in Europe we heard with concern, feeling as every humane mind must do for the sufferings of its fellow-creatures; but it was in the highest degree gratifying to us to know that our situation was not wholly forgotten at home, proof enough of which we experienced in the late frequent arrivals of ships from England. At a criminal court which was held in this month four prisoners were tried for forging, and uttering with a forged endorsement, the note which had been passed at Mr. Hogan's store in February last, when James McCarthy was convicted of the same, and received sentence of death; the others who were tried with him were acquitted. This trial had been delayed some time, McCarthy having found means to break out of the cells, and remain for some weeks sheltered at the Hawkesbury, the refuge of all the Sydney rogues when in danger of being apprehended. Three prisoners were tried for stealing some articles out of the store at the river, one of whom was found guilty, viz James Ashford, a young lad who had been formerly drummed out of the New South Wales corps. He was sentenced to seven years labour at Norfolk Island. One soldier was accused by an old man, a settler at the river, of an unnatural crime, but acquitted. Two people off the store were found guilty of stealing some geese, the property of Mr. Charles Grimes, the deputy-surveyor, and sentenced to receive corporal punishment. Another of the same class was found guilty of cutting and wounding a servant of the commissary, who had prevented his committing a theft, and was sentenced to receive eight hundred lashes; and one man, George Hyson, for an attempt to commit the abominable crime of bestiality, was sentenced to stand three times in the pillory, an hour each time. How unpleasing were the reflections that arose from this catalogue of criminals and their offences! No punishment however exemplary, no reward however great, could operate on the minds of these unthinking people. Equally indifferent to the pain which the former might occasion, and the gratification that the other might afford, they blindly pursued the dictates of their vicious inclinations, to whatever they prompted; and when stopped by the arm of justice, which sometimes reached them, they endured the consequences with an hardened obstinacy and indifference that effectually checked the sensations of pity which are naturally excited by the view of human sufferings. A civil court also was assembled this month, by which some writs and some probates of wills were granted. At the Hawkesbury, where the settlers were consuming their subsistence in drunkenness, a very excellent barrack was erecting for the use of the commandant, on a spot which had been selected sufficiently high to preclude any danger of the building being affected by a flood. In this and the preceding month many people, adults as well as children, were again afflicted with inflammations in the eyes. Having been visited by this disorder in the month of April 1794, about which time we had the same variable weather as was now experienced, we attributed its appearance among us at this time to the same cause. The medical gentlemen could not account for it on any other principle. One man, Sergeant-major Jones of the New South Wales corps, died. May.] Sixty of the women received by the _Indispensable_ were sent up to Parramatta, there to be employed in such labour as was suited to their sex and strength. The remainder were landed at this place. On the 4th the governor notified in public orders his appointment of Mr. D'Arcy Wentworth to the situation of assistant-surgeon to the settlement, in the room of Mr. Samuel Leeds, the gentleman who came out with Governor Hunter, he being permitted to return to England for the recovery of his health. Daily experience proved, that those people whose sentences of transportation had expired were greater evils than the convicts themselves. It was at this time impossible to spare the labour of a single man from the public work. Of course, no man was allowed to remove himself from that situation without permission. But, notwithstanding this had been declared in public orders, many were known to withdraw themselves from labour and the provision-store on the day of their servitude ceasing. On their being apprehended, punished for a breach of the order, and ordered again to labour, they seized the first opportunity of running away, taking either to the woods to subsist by depredations, or to the shelter which the Hawkesbury settlers afforded to every vagabond that asked it. By these people we were well convinced every theft was committed. Their information was good; they never attempted a house that was not an object of plunder; and wherever there was any property they were sure to pay a visit. The late robberies at the clergyman's and at Captain Townson's were among the most striking instances. It was on these occasions generally conjectured, that the domestics of the house must aid and assist in the theft; for the perpetrator of it always seemed to know where to lay his hand on the article for which he thus risked his neck; and we never found them make an attempt on the house of a poor individual. On Wednesday the 11th, to the great satisfaction of the settlement at large, the _Britannia_ storeship arrived safe from Calcutta and Madras, entering this port for the fifth time with a valuable cargo on board. She was now freighted with salted provisions, and a small quantity of rice on account of government, procured by order of the presidencies of Calcutta and Madras. On private account, the different officers of the civil and military departments received the various commissions which they had been allowed to put into the ship; and one young mare, five cows, and one cow-calf, of the Bengal breed, were brought for sale. On board of this ship arrived two officers of the Bengal army, Lieutenant Campbell and Mr. Phillips, a surgeon of the military establishment for the purpose of raising two hundred recruits from among those people who had served their respective terms of transportation. They were to be regularly enlisted and attested, and were to receive bounty-money; and a provisional engagement was made with Mr. Raven, to convey them to India, if no other service should offer for his ship. On the first view of this scheme it appeared very plausible, and we imagined that the execution of it would be attended with much good to the settlement, by ridding it of many of those wretches whom we had too much reason to deem our greatest nuisances: but when we found that the recruiting officer was instructed to be nice as to the characters of those he should enlist, and to entertain none that were of known bad morals, we perceived that the settlement would derive less benefit from it than was at first expected. There was also some reason to suppose, that several settlers would abandon their farms, and, leaving their families a burden to the store, embrace the change which was offered them by enlisting as East India soldiers. It was far better for us, if any were capable of bearing arms and becoming soldiers, to arm them in defence of their own lives and possessions, and, by embodying them from time to time as a militia, save to the public the expense of a regiment or corps raised for the mere purpose of protecting the public stores and the civil establishment of the colony. Recruiting, therefore, in this colony for the Bengal army, being a measure that required some consideration, and which the governor thought should first have obtained the sanction of administration, he determined to wait the result of a communication on the subject with the secretary of state, before he gave it his countenance. At the same time he meant to recommend it in a certain degree, as it was evident that many good recruits might be taken, without any injury to the interests of the settlement, from that class of our people who, being no longer prisoners, declined labouring for government, and, without any visible means of subsisting, lived where and how they chose. The _Britannia_, in her passage to Batavia, anchored in Gower's Harbour, New Ireland (on the 16th of July), where she completed her wood and water, and sailed on the 23rd. On the 2nd of September following she arrived at Batavia; and it appearing to Mr. Raven (as before observed) but too probable that he should be detained by the government if he ventured to wait even for their determination respecting supplying the provisions, he sailed on the 7th for Bengal, arriving in the Ganges on the 12th of October. Not being able to procure at Calcutta the full quantity of provisions that his ship could contain, he sailed for Madras on the 1st of February, where he anchored on the 15th. There he completed his cargo, and sailed, with five homeward-bound Indiamen, on the 27th of the same month. His passage to this country was long and tedious, owing to the prevalence of light and contrary winds; but we were all well pleased to be in possession of the comforts he brought us from that part of the world, and to congratulate him on his personal escape from the sickly and now inimical port of Batavia, as well as from the cruisers of the enemy, with which he had reason to suppose he might fall in on the Indian coast. On his return from this his second voyage to India, Mr. Raven gave it as his opinion, that the passage to be pursued from New South Wales to India depended wholly upon the season in which the ship might leave Port Jackson. From the month of November to April, or rather from October to the beginning of March, which ought to be the latest period that any ship should attempt a northern passage, he recommended making Norfolk Island; and thence, passing between the Loyalty islands* and New Caledonia, to keep as nearly as circumstances would allow in the longitude of 165 degrees East; until the ship should reach the latitude of 8 degrees South; and then shape a course to cross the equator in 160 degrees East; after which the master should steer to the NW by N or NNW until in the latitude of 5 degrees 20 minutes or 5 degrees 30 minutes North; in which latitude Mr. Raven would run down his longitude, and pass the south end of Mindanao, and between that island and Bascelan; and thence through the straits of Banguey into the China Sea. In running this passage, it would be necessary to pay attention to Mr. Dalrymple's charts of those islands, etc. which Mr. Raven found very accurate. [* The Loyalty Islands are situated between New Caledonia and the New Hebrides, and extend from about 21 degrees 30 minutes to 20 degrees 50 minutes S and from the longitude of 168 degrees to 167 degrees E. Mr. Raven supposed them to be a large group of islands, which, being pressed for time, he could not stop to survey. All that he had opportunity to determine was, the longitude and latitude of some of the head-lands. Many fires were seen on them in the night; the whole appeared to be full of wood, and in some places in high cultivation. These islands, certainly a discovery belonging to Mr. Raven, may be thought worthy of being explored at some future day, and become an object of consequence to the settlement in New South Wales.] If leaving Port Jackson any time between the beginning of March and the 1st of September, Mr. Raven would prefer passing through a strait in the longitude of 156 degrees 10 minutes E or thereabout; and from the latitude of 7 degrees 06 minutes E to 6 degrees 42 minutes S which divides some part of the islands of the New Georgia of Captain Shortland; thence through St. George's Channel to the northward of New Guinea, through Dampier's Strait, down Pitt's Passage, to the southward of Boutton, and through the Straits of Salayer, into the Banda or Amboyna Sea. This passage the _Britannia_ performed in sixty-five days from Port Jackson to Batavia; which, had it not been for calms she met with off the coast of New Guinea, would in all probability have been performed in six weeks, or thereabout. Mr. Raven furnished these observations in the hope that they might benefit the settlement, by proving useful to the commanders of any ships which the governor might have occasion to send into those seas on the service of the colony. The governor, convinced that an example was necessary to check the present practice of villainy, had ordered James McCarthy, the prisoner under sentence of death for forgery, to be executed on Saturday the 14th of this present month; but yielded to the request of Mr. Johnson (the clergyman who attended the prisoner) to spare his life, it appearing evidently on the trial, that, guilty though he certainly was, he had in the present instance been rather the victim of the vice of others, than of his own. He was accordingly pardoned, on condition of his serving for seven years at hard labour at Norfolk Island. About this time the _Marquis Cornwallis_ and _Experiment_ sailed for India. Previous to their departure, Mr. Hogan, the commander of the former, had requested an examination might be taken as to the circumstances of his conduct toward the convicts and others on board his ship during their passage from Ireland to this country. The examination upon oath was made by the judge-advocate, assisted by two other magistrates, to whom it appeared, that Mr. Hogan, but for the fortunate and timely discovery of it, would with his ship have fallen a sacrifice to as daring and alarming a conspiracy as, perhaps, ever had been entered into by a set of desperate wretches on board of any ship; and that nothing was left for him, to save himself from the danger of a similar circumstance occurring during the voyage, but to inflict immediate punishment, on the persons who were concerned in it. A civil court was assembled nearly about the same time, to try an assault, the action for which was brought by Mr. Matthew Austin (a gentleman who came out in the _Marquis Cornwallis_, as a superintending surgeon of the convicts in that ship, on the part of government) against Mr. Michael Hogan the commander, Mr. John Hogan the surgeon, and Henry Hacking the pilot. The circumstances of the assault being proved, the court adjudged Mr. M. Hogan to pay damages to the amount of fifty pounds; the others were acquitted. On Mr. McClellan's arrival from Bengal, he reminded us, that some property had been found concealed in the bed of one of our people, which property had been shown to him at the time, under a supposition that it might have been stolen from his ship. On his return to India, he found that a small bale, containing the very articles which had been shown him here, had been put on board him at Bengal, to be delivered as a present to a gentleman at Batavia, the initials of whose name were marked on the bale. On his stating these circumstances to the judge-advocate, that part of the property which had been found, and placed in the custody of the provost-marshal, was given up to Mr. McClellan. Rogers, who had been either the principal or the receiver, perhaps foreseeing that the offence might sooner or later be brought home to him, had taken himself off in the _Endeavour_, and was one of those persons who had been unavoidably left behind at Dusky Bay by Mr. Waine when he quitted that place in the _Assistance_. From the address with which this business must have been managed, masters of ships might see the necessity that existed for their keeping a vigilant eye over the people whom they admitted on their decks, and be perfectly assured, that many visited them for the express purpose of discovering what vigilance was observed by the master, his mates, and people. Many instances of this kind had occurred, although it might have been readily supposed, that a stranger would have been on his guard, and never have lost the idea of the description of people by whom he was likely to be visited. A large quantity of tobacco had been stolen out of the _Bellona_ storeship shortly after she arrived here; half a cask of gunpowder had been stolen out of the _Britannia_, at the very time that the master was entertaming some of the gentlemen of the settlement in the cabin; Mr. Page, the master of the American ship _Hope_, was robbed of several articles, and the buckles out of his shoes, which stood in the cabin wherein he lay asleep; and this theft of the bale from on board the _Experiment_ was an additional instance of the management and ability displayed by our people in conducting an affair of that kind. From this recapitulation of some of the offences which had been committed on board of ships while riding in this cove (to which many others might have been added), let the masters of those which may hereafter be sent out, and who may have perused this account, be cautious who they receive on board during the day, let their pretext of business, or coming from an officer, be what it may; never should they be suffered to mix with their seamen, nor to see where the stores of the ship are placed; nor should a boat be ever permitted to come alongside during the night, and in that case the people should not be allowed to come into the ship. The masters of ships were long since forbidden to receive any convict on board without a pass signed by the judge-advocate, who, from his official situation, was the best qualified to know the character of those who might apply; but the decks of ships were often filled with convicts, who went off with merely the sanction of the masters they lived with, although known perhaps at the time to be as suspicious characters as any in the settlement. Among the Irish prisoners who arrived in the _Marquis Cornwallis_ was one who professed to understand the business of a millwright, and who undertook with very little assistance to construct a mill at this place. He appeared rough and uncouth in his manners; but our want of a mill was so great, that it was determined to try what his abilities were, and place some hired artificers under his direction. A spot was chosen on the summit of the ground which forms the western side of the cove, and, saw-pits being dug for him, he began the work. With a mill once erected competent to the grinding of all our wheat, a reduction in the ration of flour would not be felt. So sensible of this advantage had the governor been, that he brought out with him the most material parts of a windmill, with a model, by which any millwright he might find here would be enabled to set up the different parts; and Thorp the millwright was employed in collecting and preparing the timber necessary for putting up this mill at Parramatta. The weather was very variable during the month. The cattle brought by Mr. Raven, though in Smithfield they would not all together have been worth fifty pounds, were sold by auction at enormous prices. The mares went at one hundred pounds, one of the cows at eighty-four pounds, and the others at prices something inferior. June.] His Majesty's birthday was observed by the settlement with that attention which, as English subjects, we were proud to pay to it. The _Susan_ (with American colours flying), though provided with only six or eight guns, contrived to fire at one o'clock with the king's ships, a well-timed salute of twenty-one guns in honour of the day. On this occasion the governor pardoned all culprits, except James McCarthy, who was under orders for Norfolk Island. It might be looked upon as a sort of encouragement to the commission of crimes, thus by a periodical pardon to render punishment less certain. If men were led to suppose, that on the King's birthday all culprits would be pardoned, they would be emboldened to offend, at least for a month or two previous to that time; but the governor did not mean to extend this act of mercy beyond the present occasion, being the first birthday of his sovereign that had occurred since his arrival. Several daring thefts were committed early in this month. William Waring, a prisoner who had been allowed to cultivate a farm of thirty acres on the banks of the Hawkesbury, having occasion to move a cask of salted provisions, which he had purchased from the master of a ship riding in this cove, entrusted it to the care of two people his servants, to convey it from his farm to that of a neighbouring settler. The temptation was too great to be resisted, and the cask was stolen out of the boat, while the servants landed for the night at some farm by the way. They pretended to have no concern in it; but as that was too improbable to be believed, they were ordered to make restitution by their labour. About the same time the brick hut occupied by Thomas Clark, a superintendant of convicts, was broken into; and, notwithstanding the door of the room in which he slept with his wife was open, they plundered the house of several articles to a great amount. Some runaways from the jail gang at this place were suspected; and our watch, being dispatched immediately on receipt of this information, were very near falling in with the thieves; but these latter descried them in time to make their escape. Information being afterwards received, that two runaway vagabonds were concealed at a house near the brick-fields, some of the watch repaired to the spot, and found two notorious offenders, James McManus and George Collins. These two people had repeatedly broken out of the jall-hut, and one of them, McManus, had some time since been fired at and wounded in an attempt to commit a burglary. On the present occasion, he had sufficient address to effect his escape from the watch; the other was secured and brought in. The hut in which they were found was pulled down the following morning, to deter others (if possible) from harbouring thieves and vagabonds. The settlers in the different districts, and particularly those at the Hawkesbury, had long been supposed to be considerably in debt; and it was suspected, that their crops for two or more seasons to come were pledged to pay these debts. As this was an evil of great magnitude, the governor set on foot such an inquiry as he thought would ascertain or contradict the report. By this inquiry, it appeared, that the settlers at the districts of Prospect Hill, the Ponds, the Field of Mars, the Eastern Farms, and Mulgrave Place on the banks of the river Hawkesbury, stood indebted in the sum of £5098. The inquiry was farther directed as well to the appearance of the farms, and the general character of the settlers, as to their debts. Many were reported to be industrious and thriving; but a great number were stated to be idle, vicious, given to drinking, gaming, and other such disorders as lead to poverty and ruin. One man, a settler at the Eastern Farms, Edward Elliot, had received a ewe sheep from the late Governor Phillip before his departure in the year 1792. He had resisted many temptations to sell it, and at the time this inquiry took place was found possessing a stock of twenty-two sheep, males and females. He had been fortunate in not meeting with any loss, but had not added to his stock by any purchase. This was a proof that industry did not go without its reward in this country. Other instances were found to corroborate this observation. At the settlement of the Hawkesbury one man had been drowned, and another killed by the natives. The gentlemen who conducted the inquiry found most of the settlers there oftener employed in carousing in the fronts of their houses, than in labouring themselves, or superintending the labour of their servants in their grounds. There was at this time a considerable quantity of spirits in the colony from the _Susan_, the _Britannia_, and _Indispensable_, and no doubt much of it had found its way to the settlers; but that they could be so lost to their own true interests, could be only accounted for by recollecting their former habits of life, in which the frequent use of intoxicating liquors formed a part of their education. With a view to check the drunkenness that prevailed in the different districts, the governor had directed licences for retailing spirituous liquors to be given to certain deserving characters in each; but it was not found to answer the effect he expected. Instead of the settlers being disposed to industry, they still indulged themselves in inebriety and idleness, and robberies now appeared to be committed more frequently than formerly. He therefore judged it necessary to direct, that none of those persons who had obtained licences should presume to carry on a traffic with settlers or others who might have grain to dispose of, by paying for such grain in spirits. He assured them, that should any persons he thereafter discovered to have carried on so destructive a trade, their licences would immediately be recalled, and such steps taken for their further punishment as they might be thought to deserve. He also desired it might be understood, that trading with spirits to the extent which he found practised was strictly forbidden to others, as well as to those who had licensed public houses. The practice of purchasing the crops of the settlers for spirits had too long prevailed in the settlement; and the governor thought it absolutely necessary, by all the means in his power, to put an end to it; for it was not possible that a farmer who should be idle enough to throw away the labour of twelve months, for the gratification of a few gallons of poisonous spirits, could expect to thrive, or enjoy those comforts which were only to be procured by sobriety and industry. From such characters he determined to withdraw the assistance of government, since when left to themselves they would have less time to waste in drunkenness and riot. In the night of the 19th of this month some thieves broke into the house of William Miller, (a young man who, on account of his good behaviour, had been allowed to exercise the trade of a baker,) and stole articles to the amount of fifty-six pounds, mostly property not belonging to himself. Suspicion falling upon some people off the store, they were apprehended; but in the morning the greater part of what had been stolen was found placed in a garden where it could be easily discovered, and restored to the owner. On the day following, the governor, with a small party, undertook a second excursion to the retreat of the cattle. A few days previous to the governor's departure, Mr. Bass, the surgeon of the _Reliance_, and two companions, set off in an attempt to round the mountains to the westward; but having soon attained the summit of the highest, they saw at the distance of forty or fifty miles another range of mountains, extending to the northward and southward. Mr. Bass reported, that he passed over some very fine land, and he brought in some specimens of a light wood which he met with. The governor was not long absent. He saw the cattle ranging as before, although not exactly in the same spot, in the finest country yet discovered in New South Wales, and ascended a hill which from every point of view had appeared the highest in our neighbourhood. He fixed, by means of an artificial horizon, its latitude to be 34 degrees 09 minutes S nine miles to the southward of Botany Bay. The height of this hill, which obtained the name of Mount Hunter, was supposed to be near a mile from the base; and the view from the summit was commanding, and full of grand objects, wood, water, plains, and mountains. Every where on that side of the Nepean, the soil was found to be good, and the ground eligible for cultivation. The sides of Mount Hunter, though very steep, were clothed with timber to the summit, and the ground filled with the Orchis root. The knowledge derived from this excursion was, that the cattle had not been disturbed, and that they had increased; ninety-four were at this time counted. About the same time the people of a fishing-boat returned from a bay near Port Stephens, into which they had been driven by bad weather, and brought in with them several large pieces of coal, which they said they found at some little distance from the beach, lying in considerable quantity on the surface of the ground. These people having conducted themselves improperly, while on shore, two of them were severely wounded by the natives, one of whom died soon after he reached the hospital. The _Francis_ schooner sailed on the 21st with dispatches for Norfolk Island; the king's ships, the _Reliance_ and _Supply_, began the necessary preparations for their intended voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, and the first day of September was fixed for their departure. Toward the latter end of the month two men from each officer were ordered to join the public gangs, it being found wholly impracticable to erect without more assistance any of the buildings which had now become indispensably necessary. Storehouses were much wanted; the barracks were yet unfinished; houses were to be built for the assistant-surgeons, those which had been erected soon after our arrival being now no longer tenable. A church too, of more substantial materials than lath and plaster, was wanted here and at Parramatta; as well as court-houses, or places where the courts of civil and criminal judicature might be held, and where the magistrates might meet to do the public business. At Sydney, the bricklayers' gang was employed during this month in erecting a temporary court-house of lath and plaster; as it was uncertain when one to be built of bricks could be begun; and great inconvenience was felt by the judge-advocate and other magistrates in being obliged to transact business at their own houses. We had at last the satisfaction of seeing usefully employed some of the cattle brought hither in the _Endeavour_. A careful person being found to conduct them, the timber-carriage was now, instead of men, drawn by six or eight stout oxen; and all the timber which was wanted for building, or other purposes, was brought to the pits by them, both here and at Parramatta. This was some saving of men, but eight people were still employed with each carriage. The carpenters continued erecting the temporary shed for provisions; the town gang was employed delivering the storeships; and at Toongabbie some women were employed in making hay, intended to be put on board the king's ships for the cattle to be purchased at the Cape for the colony. One man, Matthew Farrel, died in this month. He had been hurt in an affray with some watchmen in the night of the 17th of March last. CHAPTER XXXII Two men killed; consequent regulations The _Britannia_ hired to proceed to England Report of the natives The _Francis_ arrives from Norfolk Island Public works Deaths A criminal court assembled A settler executed for murder The _Susan_ sails A civil court held An American ship arrives from Boston A long-boat lost Deaths Weather A temporary church opened at Parramatta Appointments The _Supply_ sails for Norfolk Island and the Cape Account of stock Land in cultivation, and numbers in the colony A murder committed _Britannia_ sails for England General observations July.] Among the many evils that were daily seen flowing from that state of dissipation which had found its way into the different settlements, we had to regret that two men lost their lives by the hand of violence. On Tuesday the 4th of this month, John Smith, a seaman belonging to the _Indispensable_, was shot at Sydney in the house of Mr. Daniel Payne, the master boat-builder, by a convict-servant of his; and on the same day, at the Hawkesbury, David Lane was shot by his master, John Fenlow, a settler at that place. The latter of these unfortunate men lived but a few hours; Smith the seaman was taken to the hospital, where he languished until the 9th, and then died. Fenlow and the convict were taken into custody, and would have been immediately brought to trial; but, through the carelessness of one of the watchmen, Fenlow found means, though incumbered with heavy irons, to escape from the cells, and was not retaken until the latter end of the month, when some natives discovered him lurking near his own grounds at the river, and, giving information, he was easily apprehended and secured. These transactions were productive of some internal regulations which had long been wanting. Several settlers, with whose conduct the governor had had but too much cause to be displeased, were at length deprived of all assistance from government, and left to the exercise of their own abilities, pursuant to a notice which they received to that effect in the last month. Several other settlers also, who had been victualled from the public stores long beyond the period allowed them by the crown, were struck off from the victualling books. All persons off the stores, who of course did not labour for government, were ordered forthwith to appear at Sydney, in order to their being mustered and examined relative to their respective terms of transportation; when certificates were to be given to such as were regularly discharged from the commissary's books, and the settlers were directed not to employ any but such as could produce this certificate. Frequent visits were directed to be made by the magistrates, for the purpose of settling such differences as might arise among the settlers and other persons; and the governor signified his determination of inspecting their conduct himself from time to time, and of punishing such as were proved to afford shelter or employment to the thieves and vagabonds who ran to the river and other districts from this town and Parramatta. These regulations being made known as publicly and generally as was possible, in order that none might plead ignorance, the town of Sydney was shortly filled with people from the different settlements, who came to the judge-advocate for certificates of their having served their respective sentences. Among these were many who had run away from public labour before their time had expired; some who had escaped from confinement with crimes yet unpunished hanging over their heads; and some who, being for life, appeared by names different from those by which they were commonly known in the settlement. By the activity of the watchmen, and a minute investigation of the necessary books and papers, they were in general detected in the imposition, and were immediately sent to hard labour in the town and jail gangs. To the latter of these gangs additions were every day making; scarcely a day or a night passed but some enormity was committed or attempted either on the property or persons of individuals. Two notorious characters, Luke Normington and Richard Elliott, were detected on the night of the 13th in a very suspicious situation in the commissary's stock-yard, which was well filled at the time with sheep and other stock. These were sent to the jail-gang, in company with one Sharpless, a convict, who, after marrying a woman that was a perfect antidote to desire, pretended to be jealous, and gave her such a dreadful beating, that her life was for some time in danger. Stock of all denominations was at this time fast increasing in the different districts. An officer of the New South Wales corps, having obtained the governor's sanction for his quitting the colony in one of the ships now preparing for the Cape of Good Hope, sold to government a flock of goats, consisting of about one hundred animals, for £490 10s. This was a valuable acquisition, and promises of stock to several deserving settlers were now performed. The _Britannia_, being now cleared of the cargo she brought from Bengal on government account, was fitting again for sea, when Mr. Raven, the master, proffered her to the governor for the purpose of going direct to England, if his excellency should have any occasion to employ her in such a voyage. There were at this time several soldiers in the New South Wales corps wholly unfit for service; the governor had for some time intended to send home Mr. Clark, a superintendant of convicts, whose engagement with the crown had expired; and James Thorp, a person who had been sent out with a salary of £105 per annum, as a master millwright, but who was at this time unemployed in the settlement. To ease government at once of these expences, the governor thought it adviseable to charter the _Britannia_, for the purpose of taking home such invalids and passengers as might be ordered, at the rate of fifteen shillings per ton per month; the charter to be in force on the first day of the ensuing month. The public stores were opened during this month at Parramatta and the river for receiving Indian corn; which was taken in at five shillings per bushel for this season; but it was generally supposed, that there would not be occasion to give that price for it again. Fresh pork was at this time purchased by the commissary at one shilling per pound, and issued as a ration, in the proportion of two pounds of fresh for one of salt meat. It having been represented to the governor, that several people in the town of Sydney employed themselves in building boats for sale, and without obtaining any permission, a liberty which had crept into the settlement in opposition to all former orders and regulations on that head; and as it was well known that, notwithstanding the great convenience which must attend the having boats for various uses in this extensive harbour, many abuses were carried on through their means; it was ordered, that no boat whatever, of any size or description, should be built until applicationhad been made to the governor, and permission in writing obtained, either signed by the governor for the time being, or by some person properly authorised by him. It was also ordered, that all boats at that time in the possession of individuals should be forthwith taken to the master boat-builder, where a number was to be cut on the stern, and a register of such number was to be kept by the provost-marshal. All boats found without a number were to be liable to seizure. The natives appeared less troublesome lately than they had been for some time past. The people of a fishing-boat, which had been cast on shore in some bad weather near Port Stephens, met with some of these people, who without much entreaty, or any hope of reward, readily put them into a path from thence to Broken Bay, and conducted them the greatest part of the way. During their little journey, these friendly people made them understand, that they had seen a white woman among some natives to the northward. On their reporting this at Sydney, this unfortunate female was conjectured to be Mary Morgan, a prisoner, who it was now said had failed in her attempt to get on board the _Resolution_ store-ship, which sailed from hence in 1794. There was indeed a woman, one Ann Smith, who ran away a few days after our sitting down in this place, and whose fate was not exactly ascertaineds; if she could have survived the hardships and wretchedness of such a life as must have been hers during so many years residence among the natives of New Holland, how much information must it have been in her power to afford! But humanity shuddered at the idea of purchasing it at so dear a price. Toward the latter end of the month, there not remaining any more flour in the store than what was necessarily reserved for the use of his Majesty's ships _Reliance_ and _Supply_ to carry them to the Cape of Good Hope, nine pounds of wheat were added to the allowance of that article (three pounds) served to the civil, military, and free people. A court of civil judicature was held on the 27th and 28th, when several debts were sworn to, and writs taken out. In the night of the 29th, the _Francis_ schooner returned from Norfolk island, having been absent five weeks and three days. From her we learned, that the criminal court of judicature had been assembled, and one man, a convict, had suffered death, being convicted of a most daring burglary, which he and two others his accomplices effected with some circumstances of cruelty. The accomplices were sentenced to hard labour on Phillip Island for a certain term of years. It was observed that the gangs at this place employed in different public works were seldom to be seen in the afternoon. On inquiry, it appeared that, notwithstanding the orders which had been given for the regulation of the public labour, the superintendants had taken it upon themselves to task the working people in such manner as they thought proper, and upon no other authority than their own will. By this abuse the work of government was almost wholly neglected, and the time of the labourers applied to the use of private individuals. To remedy this evil, the governor repeated the order in which the hours of public labour were pointed out, and informed the superintendants and overseers, that if they should be known to take the liberty of applying to any other use or purpose the time designed to be employed for the public, they would be instantly dismissed from their employments, as persons who could not be depended upon; and they might rest assured, that any one, who had been proved unworthy the trust he had placed in him, would never be restored to a situation of which he was so little tenacious. During this month died Mr. Henry Brewer, the provost-marshal of the territory, at the age of fifty-seven years. He came out with Governor Phillip as his clerk, and on our landing was appointed to act as provost-marshal in the room of the person appointed by the crown, Mr. Alexander, who never came out. Mr. Brewer afterwards received his Majesty's commission appointing him to the vacancy. There also died Andrew Fishburn, a private in the New South Wales corps, but formerly belonging to the marine detachment serving in this country, who had been very useful as a carpenter in the settlement; a soldier, who came out in the _Cornwallis_; one male convict, who died suddenly; one unfortunate man, John Williams, who was crushed to death by the wheel of a timber-carriage going over his head; and the settler's servant who was killed at the Hawkesbury; beside the seaman belonging to the _Indispensable_ who was shot. August.] A court of criminal judicature was assembled early in the month for the trial of several offenders who were at that time in confinement under different charges. Four prisoners were tried for a burglary in the house of William Miller, but acquitted through a defect in evidence. David Lloyd was tried for the wilful murder of John Smith, the seaman belonging to the ship _Indispensable_. It appeared, that the seaman had repaired in a state of intoxication to the house of Mr. Payne, for the express purpose of taking from a female convict, (then living as a servant at Mr. Payne's, and with whom he, the seaman, had cohabited during the passage) some clothes which he had given her. A riot, the natural consequence of such a proceeding, ensued; and the prisoner endeavoured to make it appear that he had been compelled in his own defence to fire the pistol which caused the death of the seaman. The court admitted that the prisoner had not any of that malice in his heart against the deceased which is necessary to constitute the crime of murder, and therefore acquitted him of that charge; but found him guilty of manslaughter, and sentenced him to receive six hundred lashes. John Fenlow was tried for the wilful murder of his servant, David Lane. This charge was fully made out, and the prisoner received sentence to die. Matthew Farrel, who (with Richard Sutton, the Newgate Bully) assaulted the watch on the night of the 17th of March last, having in the course of that contest received a wound on the temple which proved incurable, and occasioned his death some time after, the watchmen were now brought forward to account for the death of the deceased. This they did very satisfactorily, and were discharged. Four vagabonds, who had repeatedly broken out of prison, and run away from the jall-gang, were tried as incorrigible rogues, and being found guilty, were sentenced to three years hard labour at Norfolk Island; and one man was tried for a rape, but acquitted. Fenlow, being tried on the Saturday, was executed on the following Monday. His body being delivered to the surgeons for dissection pursuant to his sentence, a stone was found in his gall bladder, of the size of a lark's egg. This unhappy man was remarkable for an extreme irascibility of temper: might it not have been occasioned by the torment that such a substance must produce in so irritable a situation? He however, the night before his execution, confessed that the murder which he committed was premeditated. Notwithstanding which, he had, the day before he was tried, prepared an opening through the brick wall of his cell, purposing, if it had not been discovered in time, to have availed himself of it to escape after his trial. It could scarcely be supposed, that among the description of people of which the lower class was formed in this place, any would have been found sufficiently curious to have attended the surgeons on such an occasion; but they had no sooner signified that the body was ready for inspection, than the hospital was filled with people, men, women, and children, to the number of several hundreds; none of whom appeared moved with pity for his fate, or in the least degree admonished by the sad spectacle before their eyes. On Monday the 8th the snow _Susan_ sailed on her voyage to Canton. Two women, Sarah Nitchell and Elizabeth Robinson, and a few men, were allowed to quit the colony in this vessel. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales's birthday was duly distinguished by us on the 12th of this month. Such days had never been neglected by the colonists of New South Wales. A civil court was again held on the day following, when several persons who had been arrested by writs issued from the last court were brought up; many of whom, being settlers, gave assignments on their coming crops of wheat for the different sums in which they were indebted. Several other debts were sworn to, and writs issued. Had those defendants who were thus suffered to give assignments on their crops then in the ground been thrown into prison at the suit of the different plaintiffs, their ruin would have been certain, and the debt would have remained unsatisfied. This method was tried, as being something more beneficial to both parties; but they were in general of such a thoughtless worthless description, that even this indulgence might induce them to be, if possible, more worthless and thoughtless than before, as, to use their own expression, they had now 'to work for a dead horse.' On the 23rd (the signal for a sail having been made at the South Head, the day before), there anchored in the stream, just without the two points of Sydney Cove, the ship _Grand Turk_, from Boston, after a passage of five months from that port. She had been twenty-three days from Van Dieman's Land, meeting with a current, during several days, that set her each day twenty-one miles either to the SE or NE. We found on board as supercargo, Mr. McGee, who was here before in the _Halcyon_ with Mr. Benjamin Page. He brought news from Europe as late as January last, by which we learned that the war still raged. Mr. McGee had on board for sale, spirits, tobacco, wine, soap, iron, linseed oil, broadcloth, etc., etc., for this market, Manilla, and Canton. The tobacco (eighteen hogsheads) were immediately bought for one shilling and three half-pence per pound, and government purchased some of his spirits at seven shillings per gallon. During this month a long-boat belonging to his Majesty's ship _Reliance_, which had been sent to Botany Bay in July to procure fish, was given up for lost, with five or six seamen. They were known to have quitted Botany Bay, and, not having been heard of for some weeks, were conjectured to have taken the boat away to the northward, where, being without compass or provisions, except the few fish they had caught, it was more than probable they had perished. The jail-gang at this time, notwithstanding the examples which had been made, consisted of upwards of twenty-five persons; and many of the female prisoners were found to be every whit as infamous as the men. One settler was executed this month, and one soldier lost his life by a tree falling on him at the Hawkesbury. The first and middle parts of the month were wet. The branch of the harbour named Duck River was so swollen as to overflow its banks, which were very steep. September.] A temporary church, formed out of the materials of two old huts, was opened at Parramatta by the Rev. Mr. Marsden on the first Sunday in this month. Decent places of worship were now to be seen at the two principal settlements. At the time when we were visited by the Spanish ships Mr. Johnson preached wherever he could find a shady spot. The priest belonging to the commodore's ship, observing that we had not any church built, lifted up his eyes with astonishment, and declared, that had the place been settled by his nation, a house for God would have been erected before any house for man. The ships being now on the point of sailing, the _Britannia_ for England, and the _Relianc _ and _Supply_ for the Cape of Good Hope, the following appointments were notified in the public orders: _viz_ Captain George Johnston, of the New South Wales corps, was appointed aid-de-camp to the governor. The Rev. Mr. Johnson and William Balmain Esq were nominated the acting magistrates in the district of the town of Sydney. Mr. James Williamson (a gentleman who came from England with the governor) was to do the duty of commissary in the absence of Mr. Palmer, who was returning to England on leave. Mr. Thomas Smyth was appointed provost-marshal, in the room of Mr. Henry Brewer, by warrant bearing date the day after his decease. Mr. Thomas Moore, carpenter of the ship _Britannia_, was appointed master boat-builder in the room of Mr. Daniel Payne. William Stephenson was placed under the commissary as a store-keeper, in the room of Mr. Thomas Smyth; and George Barrington, whose conduct, still uniform and upright, recommended him to the notice of the governor, was, after receiving an absolute pardon under the seal of the territory, appointed a superintendant of convicts, with a salary of fifty pounds per annum, in the room of Mr. Thomas Clark, returning to England.* [* Mr. Richard Atkins had some time before been nominated by the secretary of state to do the duty of judge-advocate, whenever Captain Collins should return to England.] On the 20th, his Majesty's ship _Supply_ sailed for Norfolk Island and the Cape of Good Hope, having on board part of the military relief intended for that settlement, and part of a thousand bushels of wheat which had been written for from thence. On the following day the ships _Indispensable_ and _Grand Turk_ sailed for Canton. The American had not succeeded in his speculation so well as he had expected; the market was over-stocked with goods, and by the governor's regulations he was compelled to take away, with many other articles, his ground-tier full of spirits, which he hoped to have sold here. The invalids and passengers who were returning to England in the _Britannia_ being embarked, that ship, the _Reliance_, and the _Francis_ schooner, hauled out of the cove preparatory to their departure. As a proof that stock was not falling in its value, Mr. Palmer, the commissary, sold two Cape cows and one steer for £189 sterling. The stock in the colony at this time was of considerable extent and value, as will appear by the following account of it, which was taken for the purpose of being transmitted to government: ACCOUNT OF LIVE STOCK IN THE POSSESSION OF GOVERNMENT AND THE CIVIL AND MILITARY OFFICERS OF THE SETTLEMENT, ON THE 1ST OF SEPTEMBER 1796 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- To whom Mares Cows Bulls Oxen Sheep Goats Hogs belonging and and and Horses Cow-calves Bull-calves ----------------------------------------------------------------------- To government 14 67 37 46 191 111 59 Officers civil and military 43 34 37 6 1310 1176 889 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Total of government and officers 57 101 74 52 1501 1287 948 To settlers - - - - 30 140 921 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- General total 57 101 74 52 1531 1427 1869 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The wild cattle to the westward of the river Nepean were not included in this account. All kinds of poultry were numerous. The following account of the land in cultivation was taken at the same time: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- To whom belonging Land in Observations Cultivation (Acres) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- To government 1700 (By our weakness in public labourers, (and wanting many necessary buildings, (the land cleared by government was (unemployed this year. Officers civil and military 1172 (About four fifths of which were at (this time sown with wheat. Total of government and officers 2872 To settlers 2547 {Of which much timber was cut down {but not burnt off. General total 5419 It was satisfactory to those gentlemen who were now about to quit the colony to reflect that they left it not only with a prospect of plenty before it, but with stores and granaries abundantly filled at the time. Of these, the judge-advocate and the commissary, who had been in the settlement from its establishment, had witnessed periods of distress and difficulty; but they had the gratification of seeing them fairly surmounted, and the probability of their ever recurring thrown to a very great distance. In the houses of individuals were to be found most of the comforts, and not a few of the luxuries of life. For these the island was indebted to the communications it had had with India, and other parts of the world; and the former years of famine, toil, and difficulty, were now exchanged for years of plenty, ease, and pleasure. The following state of the settlement was made up to the 31st of last month: SALT PROVISIONS AND GRAIN IN STORE. Quality To last at the established ration Weeks Days Beef 31 1 Pork 44 6 Total of salt meat 76 0 (75 weeks + 7 days) Peas 22 - Wheat 29 1 Maize 41 4 Sugar 4 - To consume this quantity of food, there were victualled at Sydney 2219 persons At Parramatta 965 At the Hawkesbury 454 Making a total of 3638 There were 321 people off the public stores, which, added to the 3638 who were victualled, gave a general total of 3959 persons in the different settlements, of all descriptions and ages; not including those at Norfolk Island, in which settlement were 119 persons; to which add 3959 persons in New South Wales; there will be found 4848 persons under the British government in New South Wales and its dependencies. A few days previous to the sailing of the ships, information was received of a most inhuman murder having been perpetrated on the body of ---- Williams, a settler's wife, at the district of the Ponds. A female neighbour of their's was accused by an accomplice of having committed this diabolical act, for the purpose of enriching herself with the property which she knew this unfortunate woman had in the house. She was immediately apprehended, and search made for the property which had been taken away. Some of this was found, and there was little doubt but the avenging arm of Justice would soon fall upon the head of the murderer. On the 29th his Majesty's ship _Reliance_, the _Britannia_ hired transport, and the _Francis_ schooner, sailed from Port Jackson. They were all to touch at Norfolk Island, whence the ships were to proceed to the Cape of Good Hope, and the schooner was to return to New South Wales. The _Britannia's_ call at Norfolk Island was for the purpose of taking on board lieutenant-governor King, who, from a long state of ill health, had found himself compelled to apply to Governor Hunter for leave to return to England, to which the governor had consented. On board of the _Reliance_ were the commissary, the remainder of the military relief, and such part of the thousand bushels of wheat as the _Supply_ did not receive. In the transport were Captain Paterson; Lieutenants Abbott and Clephan; one sergeant and seventeen privates (invalids) of the New South Wales corps, with their wives and children; the judge-advocate of the settlement, who was charged with dispatches from the governor; Mr. Leeds, an assistant-surgeon; Thomas Clark, late a superintendant of convicts; James Thorp, the master millwright; and several other persons, male and female, who had been allowed a passage to England by the governor. The following were the prices of various articles, as they were sold at Sydney about the time the ships sailed, viz Stock Groceries ----- --------- Cows £80 Hyson tea per lb £1 4s Horses £90 Coffee, ditto, 2s Sheep £7 10s Sugar (soft), ditto, 1s Goats £4 Soap, ditto, 2s Turkeys £1 1s Virginia leaf-tobacco, ditto, 5s Geese £1 1s Brazil roll, ditto, 7s Fowls, full grown, 5s Black pepper, ditto, 4s Ducks 5s Ginger, ditto, 3s Fresh pork per lb 1s 3d Pipes per gross £1 10s Mutton 2s WINE AND SPIRITS Goat per lb 1s 6d Red port per bottle 5s Kangaroo 6d Madeira, per bottle, 4s Barley, per bushel, 10s Cape wine, ditto, 3s Peas, ditto, 7s Rum, ditto, 5s Maize, ditto, 5s Gin, ditto, 6s Ditto ground, ditto, 5s Porter, ditto, 2s Cheese per lb 3s Beer made at Sydney 1s 6d Butter, ditto, 3s INDIA GOODS White-wine vinegar per gallon 6s Long cloth per yard from 3s to 6s Fish 2½d Callicoes, ditto, from 1s 6d to 2s 6d Eggs per dozen 2s Muslins, ditto, from 7s to 12s Salted pork per lb 1s Nankeen per piece 10s Salted beef, ditto, 8d Coarse printed callicoes, ditto, £1 5s Potatoes per cwt 12s Silk handkerchiefs, ditto, 12s Ditto per lb 3d ENGLISH GOODS Flour, ditto, 7½d Black hats from 15s to £2 Wheat-meal, sifted, 4½d Shoes per pair from 9s to 13s Ditto, unsifted, 3½d Cotton Stockings from 6s to 12s Wheat per bushel 12s Writing paper per quire 6s The beer mentioned in the preceding account as being made at Sydney was brewed from Indian corn, properly malted, and bittered with the leaves and stalks of the love-apple, (Lycopersicum, a species of Solarium) or, as it was more commonly called in the settlement, the Cape gooseberry. Mr. Boston found this succeeded so well, that he erected at some expense a building proper for the business, and was, when the ships sailed, engaged in brewing beer from the abovementioned materials, and in making soap. At this time the following prices were demanded and paid for labour and work done at Sydney and the different settlements, viz. £. s. d. A carpenter for a day's work 0 5 0 A labourer for a day's work 0 3 0 For clearing an acre of ground 3 0 0 For breaking up an acre of ground 1 0 0 For threshing a bushel of wheat 0 1 6 For reaping an acre of wheat 0 10 0 For felling an acre of timber 0 17 0 The price of ground was from 12s to £1 an acre For making a pair of men's shoes 0 3 6 For making a pair of women's shoes 0 3 0 For making a coat 0 6 0 For making a gown 0 5 0 For washing, three-pence for each article was paid; and the person who washed found soap, etc. If a woman was hired, she had one shilling and six-pence for the day, and her meals. It must here be remarked, that the mechanic and the labourer were generally contented to be paid the above prices in such articles as they or their families stood in need of, the values of which had not as yet been regulated by any other authority, or guided by any other rule, than the will of the purchaser. The want at this time of several public buildings in the settlement has already been mentioned. To this want must be added, as absolutely necessary to the well-being and comfort of the settlers and the prosperity of the colony in general, that of a public store, to be opened on a plan, though not exactly the same, yet as liberal as that of the island of St Helena, where the East India Company issue to their own servants European and Indian goods, at ten per cent advance on the prime cost. Considering our immense distance from England, a greater advance would be necessary; and the settlers and others would be well satisfied, and think it equally liberal, to pay fifty per cent on the prime cost of all goods brought from England; for at present they pay never less than one hundred, and frequently one thousand per cent on what they have occasion to purchase. It may be supposed that government would not choose to open an account, and be concerned in the retail of goods; but any individual would find it to his interest to do this, particularly if assisted by government in the freight; and the inhabitants would gladly prefer the manufactures of their own country to the sweepings of the Indian bazars. The great want of men in the colony must be supplied as soon as a peace shall take place; but the want of respectable settlers may, perhaps, be longer felt; by these are meant men of property, with whom the gentlemen of the colony could associate, and who should be thoroughly experienced in the business of agriculture. Should such men ever arrive, the administration of justice might assume a less military appearance, and the trial by jury, ever dear and most congenial to Englishmen, be seen in New South Wales. That we had not a thorough knowledge of the coast from Van Dieman's Land as far as Botany Bay, though to be regretted, was not to be wondered at. As a survey of the coast cannot very conveniently be made by any of the ships belonging to the settlement, it must be the business of government to provide proper vessels and persons for this service; and it is to be hoped that we shall not be much longer without a knowledge of the various ports, harbours, and rivers, and of the soil and productions of the country to the southward of the principal settlement. * * * * * The _Account of the English Colony of New South Wales_ must here be closed for a time, the writer being embarked in the _Britannia_ on his return to England. On reviewing the pages he has written, the question involuntarily arises in his mind, In what other colony under the British government has a narrator of its annals had such circumstances to record? No other colony was ever established under such circumstances. He has, it is true, occasionally had the gratification of recording the return of principle in some, whose want of that ingredient, so necessary to society, had sent them thither; but it has oftener been his task to show the predilection for immorality, perseverance in dissipation, and inveterate propensity to vice, which prevailed in many others. The difficulty under such disadvantages of establishing the blessings of a regular and civil government must have occurred to every well-informed mind that has reflected on our situation. The duties of a governor, of a judge-advocate, and of other magistrates and civil officers, could not be compared with those in other countries. From the disposition to crimes and the incorrigible characters of the major part of the colonists, an odium was, from the first, illiberally thrown upon the settlement; and the word 'Botany Bay' became a term of reproach that was indiscriminately cast on every one who resided in New South Wales. But let the reproach light on those who have used it as such. These pages were written to demonstrate, that the bread of government has not been eaten in idleness by its different officers; and that if the honour of having deserved well of one's country be attainable by sacrificing good name, domestic comforts, and dearest connections in her service, the officers of this settlement have justly merited that distinction. CONCLUSION: COMPRISING Particulars of the _BRITANNIA'S_ VOYAGE to ENGLAND; with Remarks on the STATE of NORFOLK ISLAND, and some Account of NEW ZEALAND. The _Britannia_ sailed from Port Jackson, in company with his Majesty's ship _Reliance_ and the _Francis_ colonial schooner, on the 29th of September. On the 4th of October, we had Ball Pyramid off Lord Howe's Island distant about five leagues, and were from that day until the 15th, owing to light and contrary winds, before we reached Norfolk Island; where we found his Majesty's ship _Supply_, which had been there several days. On the following morning we had communication with the shore. The interval between the 16th and 23rd was occupied in receiving on board the _Britannia_ Lieutenant-governor King and his family, who were returning to England. On the 25th the colonial schooner, which had attended for that purpose, received Captain King's letters to Governor Hunter, and the three ships made sail from the island. During the time we were there, the weather fortunately proved extremely favourable for communicating with the shore, and large quantities of stock and grain were received on board, in addition to what we brought from Port Jackson, and sufficient for a much longer passage than we had any reason to expect in the run to the Cape of Good Hope. With the following Particulars of the State of NORFOLK ISLAND to the time when the ships left it, the Writer has been favoured by LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR KING. COURT OF JUDICATURE A court of criminal judicature existed there similar to that in New South Wales, differing only in being composed of five instead of seven members. No civil court, however, had been established. NUMBER OF INHABITANTS The civil department consisted of a lieutenant-governor, a deputy judge-advocate, a deputy provost-marshal, and deputy commissary; a surgeon, a store-keeper, and four subordinate officers. The military consisted of a company of the New South Wales corps. The settlers were, four seamen who belonged to his Majesty's ship _Sirius_; fifteen marines who were discharged at the relief of that detachment; fifty-two settlers from among those whose respective terms of transportation had expired; three officers, and others who held ground by grant or lease, or had purchased allotments from settlers; fourteen from those whose terms of transportation were unexpired, but who held allotments exceeding five acres. The whole number (exclusive of the officers), with their families, was about two hundred and forty. One hundred and forty-nine men, and sixty-three women, whose terms of sentence had expired, supported themselves by hiring ground from settlers, working for individuals, or at their different callings, (some few were employed as overseers) and labouring for the public; for which they were clothed and fed from the stores, and received such other encouragement as their behaviour merited. The number of this class, with their women and children, was about one hundred and thirty. MALE CONVICTS The numbers of these who remained under the sentence of the law were as follow: For life 36 From 10 to 5 years 10 From 5 to 3 4 From 3 to 1 26 From 1 year to 6 months 60 --- Total 136 of which number fifty-seven were assigned to settlers and others, on condition of being maintained by them; the rest were occupied as hereafter stated; from which it will be obvious, that no progress in cultivation for the crown could be made, as not more than thirty men were employed in cultivating ground for the public advantage, and even these were much interrupted by incidental work, and by attending the artificers in carrying on the different buildings which were indispensable. STATE OF CULTIVATION The island contains about eleven thousand acres of ground. In the level parts where the earth cannot be washed away by the heavy rains, the soil varies from a rich brown mould to a light red earth, without any intermixture of sand. These are again varied by some extensive pieces of light black mould and fine gravel, which are found to produce the best wheat. The rains which fall during the winter months wash the mould from the sides of the steep hills into the bottoms, leaving a grey marly substance, which will not admit of cultivation in that state. This, however, is the case only among the very steep hills that are cleared of timber, and have been four or five years in cultivation. Those of an easy ascent preserve their depth of soil, and many of them have borne six successive crops of wheat. From the quantity of soil thus washed away from the sides of the steep hills into the bottom (some of which were only a water-way between the hills), there were level spots of ground covered to a great depth with the richest mould. Of the eleven thousand acres of ground in this island, there are not two hundred that might not be cultivated to the greatest advantage, if cleared of timber, and allowed a sufficiency of labourers, of cattle, and of ploughs. APPROPRIATION OF THE LAND The ground cleared of timber for the public use, and that marked out for the settlers lots, comprised one half of the island, and was distributed in the following manner: Acres Number cleared of of Acres Timber Ground allotted to settlers on grant or lease 3,239 920 Ground allotted to officers by grant, lease, or permission 132 132 Ground allotted to individuals of different descriptions 100 100 Ground reserved for government, and contiguous to the above allotments 1,400 - Ground cleared of timber, and occupied for the public benefit 376 376 ----- ----- Total quantity of ground occupied as above 5,247 1,528 Supposed contents of the island, about 11,000 Supposed quantity of ground unoccupied, about 5,753 Supposed quantity of ground not cleared of timber 9,472 Most of the ground cleared of timber was under cultivation in 1793 and 1794, and produced above thirty-four thousand bushels of grain; but, from the sudden and effectual check given to private industry during the year 1794, and the great proportion of the labourers working for their own support and other ways disposed of, not more than a third of the government-ground, and a fifth of the ground belonging to individuals, was in any state of cultivation during the last year. That portion of the ground thus neglected became over-run with rank and strong weeds, which formed a great cover to the numerous rats; beside that the injury done to the soil by the growth of these weeds was very much to be deplored. The humane attention, however, shown to the wants of the industrious individual by Governor Hunter, in directing the maize bills to be paid, it was hoped would not only relieve many deserving people, but also revive that industrious disposition which the settlers had in general manifested. The small number of convicts at public work, and the labour necessary for preparing the ground to receive wheat, did not admit of more than one hundred acres of wheat, and eighteen of maize being sown last year for the crown; the produce of which had been abundant; but the quantity was much reduced by the weeds that grew with it, and from an attack by lightning when in blossom. Cultivation was confined to maize, wheat, potatoes, and other garden-vegetables. The heat of the climate, occasional droughts, and blighting winds, rendered wheat an uncertain crop; nor could it be averaged at more than eighteen bushels an acre, though some had yielded twenty-five. Owing to the quick and constant growth of rank weeds few individuals could sow more wheat than was necessary to mix with their maize, which hitherto had rarely exceeded five acres each family. Some few indeed among the settlers, who were remarkably industrious, or who had greater advantages than others, had generally from five to eleven acres in wheat; but the number of these was very small. The harvests of maize were constant, certain, and plentiful; and two crops were generally procured in twelve months. The produce of one crop might be averaged at forty-five bushels per acre, and many had yielded from seventy to eighty. By the statement before given it appears, that there were five thousand two hundred and forty-seven acres occupied; of which only one thousand five hundred and twenty-eight were cleared of timber: that there also remained five thousand seven hundred and fifty-three neither occupied nor cleared, making in the whole nine thousand four hundred and seventy-two acres not cleared of timber. If six thousand of the nine thousand four hundred and seventy-two acres not cleared could be put under cultivation in addition to the one thousand five hundred and twenty-eight already cleared of timber, its produce at one crop only, and allowing no more than thirty bushels of maize to the acre, would be two hundred and twenty-five thousand eight hundred and forty bushels of grain; and even this might be doubled, if, as before said, there were labourers to procure a second crop. The remaining three thousand four hundred and seventy-two acres might be reserved for fuel, building-timber, and other purposes. From these data some calculation may be made of the number of people that the island might be made to maintain. The following is a statement of the stock belonging to government and individuals on the 18th October 1796: To whom belonging Male---Female---Male and Female Cattle ------ Government 3 3 Individuals - - Horses ------ Government - - Individuals 1 2 Asses ----- Government 2 4 Individuals 0 0 Sheep ----- Government 22 Individuals 148 Goats ----- Government 55 Individuals 328 Swine ----- Government 710 Individuals 4125 Poultry very great abundance ------- Exclusive of the above stock, five hundred and ninety-two thousand four hundred and eighty pounds of swine's flesh and mutton had been expended on the island and exported from it; all which were produced from the following quantity received from November 1791 to October 1796. Cattle Horses Asses Sheep Goats Swine (Male/Female) M F M F M F M F M F M F Total received 1 2 1 1 1 3 2 21 2 11 4 157 When the settlers were informed that payment for the maize lodged in the stores in January 1794 could not be made until orders were received from England, and that no more grain could be received, but that the purchase of fresh pork would be continued, the course of their industry became changed, though raising grain still continued necessary for rearing their stock. On most part of the nine thousand four hundred and seventy-two acres not cleared of timber the trees and underwood were covered with succulent herbage, which, with the fern and other soft roots, afford the best food for swine. Several individuals had taken advantage of this convenience, by inclosing from ten to one hundred acres of the uncleared parts, into which they turned their swine, whereof many had from twenty to one hundred and fifty, that required nothing more than a sufficiency of maize to accustom them to their owner's call. Another resource of animal food was on Phillip Island, which abounded with the best feed for swine. On it were at least three hundred and seventeen swine belonging to government, which were unconfined, and required no other attendance than the being called together occasionally by a man who resided there with his family. But those which were first sent, and their progeny, were so wild, that it was not thought an easy matter to take them. Several large hogs and boars had been brought from thence which had weighed, when fattened, from one hundred and eighty to three hundred and six pounds. Salting pork in the cool months had been successfully tried; but it would not answer in the summer. It was intended that the swine belonging to government which could be killed during the winter should be salted down, as a sufficiency of salt was making to answer that purpose. From these resources it might fairly be presumed, that if no unforeseen mortality should attack the stock, the settlers and other individuals would be able to continue supplying the stores with half the ration of animal food, and that government in the course of twelve months might furnish the other half. And farther, that if the industry of the settlers and other individuals were encouraged by their overplus grain and animal food being purchased at a fair price, the produce of the grounds cleared would be more than sufficient for the maintenance of the present inhabitants, three hundred and thirty-seven of whom supported themselves without any expense to the crown: and this might be further secured, if cattle and sheep could be sent there, as the former were much wanted for labour, and the latter for a change of food; for it is certain that sheep breed there as well as in any part of the world, and have not as yet been subject to the distempers common to that kind of stock. The Bengal ewes yean twice in the thirteen months, and have commonly two, often three, and sometimes four lambs at a yeaning; and these have increased so much, by being crossed with the Cape ram, that a lamb six weeks old is now as large as one of the old ewes. The goats too are extremely prolific, and generally breed thrice in the year, having commonly from two to four kids at a time. Any number of sheep and goats, and a large quantity of cattle might be bred here, as the cleared ground affords the best of pasture for those species of stock. But it will be a long time before the present stock will be of much use, unless more are sent thither. The want of artificers of all descriptions, and the scarcity of labourers at public work, much retarded the construction of a number of necessary buildings. The island possessed the best of stone, lime, and timber; but, unfortunately, there never had been but one mason (a marine settler) on the island. At Cascade Bay a great advantage had been obtained in the construction of a very strong wharf, one hundred and twenty-six feet long, which connects the shore with the landing rock. At the end of it is a swinging crane and capstern, by which boats are loaded and unloaded with the heaviest articles; and in bad weather are hoisted up with perfect safety. Near this wharf, a large storehouse, and barracks for the guard, are built. One of the great advantages attending this work is, that no risk need be run by ships keeping in Sydney Bay, as the landing is generally good at Cascade Bay, when it becomes in the least degree hazardous at the former place. And here it may be noticed, that no casualty by boats had happened since the lieutenant-governor's arrival in 1791. The utility of a well-constructed water-mill is sufficiently obvious. From an addition of three feet to the height of the dam, it ground twenty bushels of wheat daily; which had removed the great inconvenience of every man being obliged to grind his own ration before it could be dressed. The abundance of mill-stones, and the quantity of wood fit for millwrights' work, with the convenient situation of the different streams, will admit of any number of water-mills being erected. Two well-finished wind-mills had also been erected by settlers, which answered extremely well. Not more than ten settlers had been able to erect dwellings better than log-huts, which are neither warm nor durable. Better, indeed, could hardly be expected, when it was considered how much their labour and attention must have been employed in raising food for their families, and in procuring such articles of accommodation as they needed. Many, however, of this as well as of other descriptions were building comfortable framed and weather-boarded habitations at their own expense. Of schools there were two, viz one for young children, who were instructed by a woman of good character; and the other kept by a man, who taught reading, writing, and arithmetic, for which he was well qualified, and was very attentive. A third institution on a permanent footing was added, for the reception of such orphan female children as had lost or been deserted by their parents. Most of these were of such an age as to require a strict hand and careful eye over them. Unfortunately they, as well as the other children, were destitute of every article of clothing, except such as the store afforded, which was by no means calculated for children in that warm climate. By the application of fines imposed for breaches of the peace, etc. and a subscription raised among the officers, the orphan children had for some time past been clothed, and about twenty-eight pounds remained to be applied in the same manner. HOURS OF LABOUR To explain this article, it will be necessary to state the different descriptions that compose the inhabitants; to do which in a perspicuous form the following classification has been adopted: Class Description Numbers By whom supported --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st Civil and military 83 government 2nd Settlers, by grant or lease, and freemen who are under-tenants to the settler 104 labour Freemen who are hired by the year, etc or who hire themselves out daily 138 ditto Convicts who are taken off the stores by officers, etc 5 ditto 3rd Ditto assigned to officers, etc 67 government 4th Ditto employed as overseers, artificers, watchmen, etc for the public benefit, many of whom are invalids 106 ditto Ditto cultivating ground for the public use, and other incidental work 30 ditto Total males 533 5th Women belonging to civil and military, and at public labour 40 ditto Ditto, who belong to the second class of men 125 labour 6th Children belonging to the first and fourth classes 116 government Ditto to the second and third classes 73 labour Total females and children 354 From the foregoing statement it appears, that not more than one hundred and thirty-six men, composing the fourth class, are employed in carrying on public work, of which number only twenty-eight can be employed (when other works of public necessity do not intervene) in raising grain, etc. without expense to the crown, for the first, third, fourth, and a part of the fifth and sixth classes; making together four hundred and forty-two persons. Those of the fourth class who labour as carpenters, sawyers, blacksmiths, etc. work from daylight till eight o'clock; from nine till noon; and from two in the afternoon till sun-set; and as long as they do their work properly, they have Fridays and Saturdays to themselves, which they employ in working at their grounds, or in building, etc. for settlers and others who can employ them. As those works are in fact of a private nature, although in the end they become more or less of public utility, the artificers are indulged with the use of government-tools and such materials as can be spared. Those employed in cultivation, and other incidental labour, for the public benefit, work at all seasons from daylight until one o'clock, which is found much more advisable than dispersing them at the hours for meals, and collecting them again to resume their labour. As very few of this description have any persons to dress their meal, or grind their maize, they have by this management a great part of the day at their own disposal; and from the 21st of September to the 21st of February no public work is done on Saturdays. Those of this description who are industrious employ a great part of their leisure time in cultivating pieces of ground for their own use, or labouring for others. The second and a part of the fifth and sixth classes, making together three hundred and thirty-one persons, support themselves by the produce of their labour without expense to the crown; as the clothing with which they and the settlers are occasionally furnished from the stores is paid for in grain or stock. ORDINARY PRICE OF LABOUR To a convict taken off the stores by an officer or settler, from £5 to £5 per annurn To a freeman hired by the year, victualled and clothed, from £10 to £12 per annum. A day's work for a labourer, with victuals, is 3s; without, 5s Cutting down and burning off an acre of wood, £2 Cutting down and burning off an acre of weeds, £1 10s Threshing one bushel of wheat, 10lbs.; equal to 1s 8d. Other works are in proportion. The mode of payment for labour is various, and depends entirely on the employer's circumstances; but it is in general made by what arises from the grain or fresh pork put into the stores by settlers, etc.; sometimes (but very rarely) in cash; and often by equal labour, or by produce, which is rated as underneath. And, in order to prevent disputes respecting the payment, these agreements, as well as all others, are entered in a book kept by a person for that purpose, and properly witnessed. AVERAGE PRICES OF PROVISIONS RAISED ON THE ISLAND, EITHER FOR SALE, FOR BARTER, OR IN PAYMENT FOR LABOUR. Plentiful Articles. Fresh pork 6d per lb Pickled ditto 8d Wheat from 7s 6d to 10s per bushel Maize from 1s 6d to 5s Potatoes from 1s to 3s 6d per cwt Full-grown fowls from 6d to 1s each Ditto ducks 10d to 1s 3d each Ditto turkeys 7s 6d each Scarce Articles. Geese 10s each Female goats £8 each Goats' flesh or mutton to government 9d per lb Ditto to individuals 1s 6d ditto NB When the latter is taken into the stores for the sick, it is issued as five pounds of mutton for seven pounds of salt beef stopped in the stores; by which method government does not pay more than six-pence per pound as for fresh pork. ACCOUNT OF GRAIN RAISED BY THOSE EMPLOYED IN CULTIVATING GROUND FOR THE PUBLIC USE; AND THAT RAISED BY OFFICERS, SETTLERS, AND OTHERS, ON NORFOLK ISLAND, FROM THE 6TH OF MARCH 1788 (WHEN IT WAS FIRST SETTLED) TO OCTOBER 1796. Year By whom Quantity Bushels of maize raised of maize and wheat purchased and wheat from individuals in bushels for the public use From March 1788 to May 1789 government 46 individuals 10 May 1789 to May 1790 government 450 individuals 50 The lieutenant-governor was absent this year From May 1791 to May 1792 government 1688 individuals 391 40 May 1792 to May 1793 government 4549 individuals 6900 3610½ May 1793 to May 1794 government 6000 individuals 28,676 11,688 May 1794 to May 1795 government 3300 individuals 14,000 none. May 1795 to May 1796 government 1803 individuals 11,500 389 ACCOUNT OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS FROM NOVEMBER 12TH, 1791, TO SEPTEMBER 31st, 1796. Births ====== Civil 10 Military 3 Convicts 178 Total 191 Civil 1 Military 4 Convicts 94 Children 38 Total 137 From 1 month to 2 years 38 have died 2 years to 18 2 18 to 30 36 30 to 45 30 45 to 65 31 --- Total 137 Teething 23 have died Dysentery 45 Cholera morbus 1, obstipation 1 2 Fevers 7, consumptions 8 15 Debility 22 Lues venerea 5 Dropsy 3, putrid sore throat 1 4 Convulsions and epilepsy 4 Surfeit 2, scalded 1, abscess and canker 2 5 Eruptions, scald head, and mortifications 3 Iliac passion 1 Shot 1, casualties 2, executed 1, suicide 2 6 Ophthalmia 2 --- Total 137 STATE OF THE FLAX MANUFACTORY Not more than nine men and nine women can be employed in preparing and manufacturing the flax, which barely keeps them in practice. There is only one loom on the island, and the slay or reed is designed for coarse canvas; nor do they possess a single tool required by flax-dressers or weavers, beyond the poor substitutes which they are obliged to fabricate themselves. If there were introduced proper slays or reeds, brushes, and other articles indispensably necessary for flax-dressing and weaving, with more people to work the flax and a greater number of weavers, this island would soon require very little assistance in clothing the convicts; but, for the want of these necessary articles, the only cloth that can be made is a canvas something finer than No 7, which is thought to be equally strong and durable as that made from European flax. This useful plant needs no cultivation. An experiment has been made to cultivate it, and answered extremely well; but the produce was not so much superior to that growing in a natural state as to make it advisable to bestow any pains on its culture. Before the arrival of the two New Zealanders in May 1793, no effectual progress had been made in its manufacture; nor was it without much entreaty that our visitors were induced to furnish the information we required. And indeed, as this work is principally performed by the women in New Zealand, our friends were by no means competent to give us the fullest instructions. Sufficient, however, was obtained from them to improve upon. Since that time those women that could be spared from other work, not exceeding from six to twelve, had been employed in preparing the flax; and a flax-dresser, weaver, and three other assistants, in manufacturing it into canvas, rope, etc. When the leaves are gathered, the hard stalk running through the centre is taken out with the thumb-nail; and the red edges of the leaf are also stripped off. The two parts are then separated in the middle, making four slips of about three-quarters of an inch wide, and the length of from eighteen inches to three or four feet. These slips are cut across the centre with a muscle-shell, but not so deep as to separate the fibres, which is the flax. The slips thus prepared are held in the left hand, with the thumb resting on the upper part of the slip just above the cut. The muscle-shell held in the right hand is placed on the upper part just below the cut, with the thumb resting on the upper part. The shell is drawn to the end of the slip, which separates the vegetable covering from the flaxen filaments. The slip is then trimmed, and the same operation is performed on the remaining part, which leaves the flax entire. If it be designed for fishing-lines, or other coarse work, nothing more is done to it; but if intended for cloth, it is twisted and beaten for a considerable time in a clear stream of water; and when dried, twisted into such threads as the work requires. It has been before observed, that the New Zealand instructors were not very conversant in the mode of preparing the flax; but on what was learnt from them it was our business to improve. Instead of working it as soon as gathered, our people found it work better for being placed in a heap in a close room for five days or a week, after which it became softer and pleasanter to work. They also found it easier, and more expeditious, to scrape the vegetable covering from the fibres, which is done with three strokes of a knife. It is then twisted, and put into a tub of water, where it remains until the day's work is finished. The day following it is washed and beaten in a running stream. When sufficiently beaten it is dried, and needs no other preparation, until it is hackled and spun into yarn for weaving. The numbers employed at this work were as follow: Invalids gathering the flax 3 men Preparing it 7 women Beating and washing it 3 who are invalids Flax-dresser 1 Spinners 2 women Weaver and assistant 2 men -- Total 18 by whose weekly labour sixteen yards of canvas of the size of No 7 was made. It is to be remarked, that the women, and most of the men, could be employed at no other work; and that the labour of manuring and cultivating the ground; the loss of other crops; the many processes used in manufacturing the European hemp, and the accidents to which it is liable during its growth, are all, by using this flax, avoided, as it needs no cultivation, and grows in sufficient abundance on all the cliffs of the island (where nothing else will grow) to give constant employment to five hundred people. Indeed, should it be thought an object, any quantity of canvas, rope, or linen, might be made there, provided there were men and women, weavers, flax-dressers, spinners, and rope-makers, with the necessary tools; but destitute as our people were of these aids, all that could be done was to keep in employ the few that could be spared from other essential work. If a machine could be constructed to separate the vegetable covering from the flaxen filaments, any quantity of this useful article might be prepared with great expedition. The New Zealanders mentioned in the preceding account of the Flax Manufactory at Norfolk Island, remained, as has been already shown, six months at that settlement. As they resided at the Lieutenant-governor's, and under his constant observation some information respecting New Zealand, and its inhabitants, was procured, which was obligingly communicated by Governor King, in substance as follows: Hoo-doo Co-co-ty To-wa-ma-how-ey is about twenty-four years of age; five feet eight inches high; of an athletic make; his features like those of an European, and very interesting. He is of the district of Teer-a-witte, which, by the chart of Too-gee the other New Zealander, is a district of the same name, but does not lie so far to the southward as the part of Ea-hei-no-mawe, called Teer-a-witte by Captain Cook; for we are certain that Too-gee's residence is about the Bay of Islands; and they both agree that the distance between their dwellings is only two days journey by land, and one day by water.* That part called by Captain Cook Teer-a-witte is at a very considerable distance from the Bay of Islands. [* Since the return of the _Fancy_ from New Zealand, it appears that Too-gee's residence is at Doubtless Bay, in which place the _Fancy_ anchored, and Too-gee with his wife went on board; but he said that he would not return to Norfolk Island until Lieutenant-governor King came to fetch him. Two lads, at Too-gee's recommendation, were going thither; but as they became sea-sick were set on shore again. Hoo-doo's residence must be between the Bay of Islands and Doubtless Bay, according to the information given by Too-gee to the master of the _Fancy_.] Hoo-doo is nearly related to Po-vo-reek, who is the principal chief of Teer-a-witte. He had two wives and one child, about whose safety he seemed very apprehensive; and almost every evening at the close of the day, he, as well as Too-gee, lamented their separation in a sort of half-crying and half-singing, expressive of grief, and which was at times very affecting. Too-gee Te-ter-re-nu-e Warri-pe-do is of-the same age as Hoo-doo; but about three inches shorter; he is stout and well made, and like Hoo-doo of an olive complexion, with strong black hair. Both are tattooed on the hips. Too-gee's features are rather handsome and interesting; his nose is aquinine, and he has good teeth. He is a native of the district of Ho-do-doe, (which is in Doubtless Bay,) of which district Too-gee's father is the Etang-a-roah, or chief priest; and to that office the son succeeds on his father's death. Beside his father, who is a very old man, he has left a wife and child; about all of whom he is very anxious and uneasy, as well as about the chief, (Moo-de-wy,) whom he represents as a very worthy character. Too-gee has a decided preference to Hoo-doo both in disposition and manners; although the latter is not wanting in a certain degree of good-nature, but he can at times be very much of the savage. Hoo-doo, like a true patriot, thinks there is no country, people, nor customs, equal to his own; on which account he is much less curious as to what he sees about him than his companion Too-gee, who has the happy art of insinuating himself into every person's esteem. Except at times, when he is lamenting the absence of his family and friends, he is cheerful, often facetious, and very intelligent. And were it not for the different disposition of Hoo-doo, the most favourable opinion might be formed of the New Zealanders in general. It is not, however, meant to be said, that if Too-gee were not present, an indifferent opinion would have been formed of Hoo-doo; on the contrary, the manners and disposition of the latter are far more pleasing than could have been expected to be found in a native of that country. At the time they were taken from New Zealand, Too-gee was on a visit to Hoo-doo; and the mode of their capture was thus related by them*: The _Daedalus_ appeared in sight of Hoo-doo's habitation in the afternoon, and was seen the next morning, but at a great distance from the main land. Although she was near two islands which are inhabited, and which Toogee in his chart calls Ko-mootu-Kowa, and Opan-a-ke, curiosity, and the hopes of getting some iron, induced Povoreek the chief, Too-gee, and Hoo-doo, with his brother, one of his wives, and the priest, to launch their canoes. They went first to the largest of the two islands, where they were joined by Tee-ah-wor-rack, the chief of the island, by Komootookowa, who is Hoo-doo's father-in-law, and by the son of that chief who governs the smaller island, called Opan-a-ke. They were some time about the ship before the canoe in which were Too-gee and Hoo-doo ventured alongside, when a number of iron tools and other articles were given into the canoe. The agent, Lieutenant Hanson, (of whose kindness they speak in the highest terms,) invited and pressed them to go on board, with which Too-gee and Hoo-doo were anxious to comply immediately, but were prevented by the persuasion of their countrymen. At length they went on board, and, according to their own expression, they were blinded by the curious things they saw. Lieutenant Hanson prevailed on them to go below, where they ate some meat. At this time the ship made sail. One of them saw the canoes astern; and when they perceived that the ship was leaving them, they both became frantic with grief, and broke the cabin windows with an intention of leaping overboard, but were prevented. While those in the canoes remained within hearing, they advised Povereek to make the best of his way home, for fear that he also should be taken. [* This account has since been corroborated by Lieutenant Hanson.] For some time after their arrival at Norfolk Island they were very sullen, and as anxiously avoided giving any information respecting the flax, as our people were desirous of obtaining it. The apprehension of being obliged to work at it was afterwards found to have been a principal reason for their not complying so readily as was expected. By kind treatment, however, and indulgence in their own inclinations, they soon began to be more sociable. They were then given to understand the situation and short distance of New Zealand from Norfolk Island, and were assured that as soon as they had taught our women 'emou-ka ea-ra-ka-ke,' (i.e. to work the flax), they should be sent home again. On this promise they readily consented to give all the information they possessed, and which turned out to be very little. This operation was found to be among them the peculiar province of the women; and as Hoo-doo was a warrior, and Too-gee a priest, they gave the governor to understand that dressing of flax never made any part of their studies. When they began to understand each other, Too-gee was not only very inquisitive respecting England, etc. (the situation of which, as well as that of New Zealand, Norfolk Island, and Port Jackson, he well knew how to find by means of a coloured general chart); but was also very communicative respecting his own country. Perceiving he was not thoroughly understood, he delineated a sketch of New Zealand with chalk on the floor of a room set apart for that purpose. From a comparison which Governor King made with Captain Cook's plan of those islands, a sufficient similitude to the form of the northern island was discoverable to render this attempt an object of curiosity; and Too-gee was persuaded to describe his delineation on paper. This being done with a pencil, corrections and additions were occasionally made by him, in the course of different conversations; and the names of districts and other remarks were written from his information during the six months he remained there. According to Too-gee's chart and information, Ea-hei-no-maue, the place of his residence, and the northern island of New Zealand, is divided into eight districts governed by their respective chiefs, and others who are subordinate to them. The largest of those districts is T'Souduckey, the inhabitants of which are in a constant state of warfare with the other tribes, in which they are sometimes joined by the people of Moo-doo When-u-a, Tettua Whoo-doo, and Wangaroa; but these tribes are oftener united with those of Choke-han-ga, Teer-a-witte, and Ho-do-doe against T'Souduckey (the bounds of which district Governor King inclines to think is from about Captain Cook's Mount Egmont, to Cape Runaway). They are not, however, without long intervals of peace, at which times they visit, and carry on a traffic for flax and the green talc-stone, of which latter they make axes and ornaments. Toogee obstinately denied that the whole of the New Zealanders were cannibals*; it was not without much difficulty that he could be persuaded to enter on the subject, or to pay the least attention to it; and whenever an inquiry was made, he expressed the greatest horror at the idea. A few weeks after, he was brought to own, that all the inhabitants of Poo-nam-moo (i.e. the southern island) and those of T'Souduckey ate the enemies whom they took in battle, which Hoo-Doo corroborated, for his father was killed and eaten by the T'Souduckey people. 'Notwithstanding the general probity of our visitors, particularly Too-gee, (says Captain King,) I am inclined to think that horrible banquet is general through both islands.' [* During the _Fancy's_ stay in the river Thames, they had many and almost daily proofs of Too-gee's want of veracity on this head.] Too-gee described a large fresh-water river on the west side of Ea-hei-no-maue; but he said it was a bar river, and not navigable for larger vessels than the war canoes. The river, and the district around it, is called Cho-ke-han-ga. The chief, whose name is To-ko-ha, lives about half-way up on the north side of the river. The country he stated to be covered with pine-trees of an immense size. Captain King says, that he made Too-gee observe, that Captain Cook did not in his voyage notice any river on the west side, although he coasted along very near the shore. On this Too-gee asked with much earnestness, if Captain Cook had seen an island covered with birds. Gannet Island being pointed out, he immediately fixed on Albatross Point as the situation of the river, which Captain Cook's account seems to favour, who says, 'On the north side of this point (Albatross) the shore forms a bay, in which there appears to be anchorage and shelter for shipping.' Governor King on this subject remarks as follows: The probable situation of this river (if there be one) being thus far ascertained, leads me to suppose, that the district of T'Souduckey extends from Cape Runaway on the east side, to Cape Egmont on the west, and is bounded by Cook's Strait on the south side, which is nearly one half of the northern island. Of the river Thames I could not obtain any satisfactory account; but I have great reason to suppose, that the river he has marked in the district of Wonga-ro-ah is the Thames. Toogee's residence appears to be on the north side of the Bay of Islands, in the district called by him Ho-do-do, which he says contains about a thousand fighting men, and is subject to the following chiefs; i.e. Te-wy-te-wye, Wy-to-ah, Moo-de-wye, Wa-way, To-mo-co-mo-co, Pock-a-roo, and Tee-koo-ra, the latter of whom is the principal chief's son. The subordinate distinctions of persons at New Zealand are as follow: (We are told, that the inferior classes are perfectly subordinate to their superiors; and such I suppose to be the case by the great deference always paid by Too-gee to Hoo-doo.) Etang-a-teda Eti-ket-ti-ca, a principal chief, or man in very great authority. His superior consequence is signified by a repetition of the word eti-ket-ti-ca. This title appears hereditary. Etanga-roah, or E-ta-hon-ga, a priest, whose authority in many cases is equal, and in some superior to the etiketica. Etanga-teda Epo-di, a subordinate chief or gentleman. Ta-ha-ne Emo-ki, a labouring man.' * * * * * Respecting the customs and manners of these people, the governor favoured the writer with the following particulars: The New Zealanders inter their dead; they also believe that the third day after the interment the heart separates itself from the corpse; and that this separation is announced by a gentle breeze of wind, which gives warning of its approach to an inferior Ea-tooa (or dinity) that hovers over the grave, and who carries it to the clouds. In his chart Too-gee has marked an imaginary road which goes the lengthways of Ea-hei-no-maue, viz from Cook's Strait to the North Cape, which Too-gee calls Terry-inga. While the soul is received by the good Ea-tooa, an evil spirit is also in readiness to carry the impure part of the corpse to the above road, along which it is carried to Terry-inga, whence it is precipitated into the sea. Suicide is very common among the New Zealanders, and this they often commit by hanging themselves on the slightest occasions; thus a woman who has been beaten by her husband will perhaps hang herself immediately. In this mode of putting an end to their existence, both our visitors seemed to be perfect adepts, having often threatened to hang themselves, and sometimes made very serious promises of putting it into execution if they were not sent to their own country. As these threats, however, were used in their gloomy moments, they were soon laughed out of them. It could not be discovered that they have any other division of time than the revolution of the moon, until the number amounted to one hundred, which they term "Ta-iee E-tow," i.e. one Etow or hundred moons; and it is thus they count their age, and calculate all other events. Hoo-doo and Too-gee both agreed that a great quantity of manufactured flax might be obtained for trifles*, such as axes, chisels, etc., and said, that in most places the flax grows naturally in great quantities; in other parts it is cultivated by separating the roots, and planting them out, three in one hole, at the distance of a foot from each other. They give a decided preference to the flax-plant that grows here, both for quantity and size. [* This circumstance all the people belonging to the _Fancy_ fully confirmed; for during the three months that vessel lay in the Thames, they replaced all their running-rigging by ropes made of the flax-plant.] It may be expected (says Governor King) that after a six months acquaintance between us and the two New Zealanders, we should not be ignorant of each other's language. Myself and some of the officers (who were so kind as to communicate the observations they obtained from our visitors) could make our ideas known, and tolerably well understood by them. They too, by intermixing what English words they knew with what we knew of their language, could make themselves sufficiently understood by us. During the time they were with us I did not possess any account of Captain Cook's voyages; but since their departure, I find from his first voyage, that it has great similitude to the general language spoken in those seas. The vocabulary which I have appended to these memoranda was collected by myself and the surgeon, and is, I believe, very correct, particularly the numerals. Much other information was given us by our two friends; but as it may be liable to great errors, I forbear repeating it. It has been already said* [Footnote refers to Page 347 of the book, but there was no reference to this subject on that page. Ed.], that Governor King went himself to New Zealand to return Hoo-doo and Too-gee to their country and friends. The following are the governor's remarks on his voyage thither: Having rounded the north cape of New Zealand on the 12th of November 1793, the fourth day after leaving Norfolk, we saw a number of houses and a small hippah on an island which lies off the north cape, and called by Too-gee, Moo-de Moo-too. Soon after we opened a very considerable hippah or fortified place, situated on a high round hill, just within the cape, whence six large canoes were seen coming toward the ship. As soon as they came within hail, Too-gee was known by those in the canoes, which were soon increased to seven, with upwards of twenty men in each. They came alongside without any intreaty, and those who came on board were much rejoiced to meet with Too-gee whose first and earnest inquiries were after his family and chief. On those heads he received the most satisfactory intelligence from a woman, who, as he informed us, was a near relation of his mother. His father and chief were still inconsolable for his loss; the latter (whom Too-gee always mentioned in the most respectful manner) had been about a fortnight past on a visit to the chief of the hippah above mentioned, where he remained four days; and Te-wy-te-wye, the principal chief of Too-gee's district, was daily expected. With this information he was much pleased. It was remarked, that although there were upward of a hundred New Zealanders on board and alongside, yet Too-gee confined his caresses and conversation to his mother's relation, and one or two chiefs, who were distinguished by the marks (a-mo-ko) on their faces, and by the respectful behaviour which was shown them by the emokis (i.e. the working men who paddled the canoes, and who at times were beaten most unmercifully by the chiefs. To those who by Too-gee's account were epodis (subaltern chiefs), and well known to him, I gave some chissels, hand-axes, and other articles equally acceptable. A traffic soon commenced. Pieces of old iron hoop were given in exchange for abundance of manufactured flax, cloth, patoo-patoos, spears, talc ornaments, paddles, fish-hooks, and lines. At seven in the evening they left us, and we made sail with a light breeze at west, intending to run for the Bay of Islands (which we understood was Too-gee's residence,) and from which we were twenty-four leagues distant. At nine o'clock a canoe with four men came alongside, and jumped on board without any fear. The master of the _Britannia_ being desirous to obtain their canoe, the bargain was soon concluded (with Too-gee's assistance) much to the satisfaction of the proprietors, who did not discover the least reluctance at sleeping on board, and being carried to a distance from their homes. Our new guests very satisfactorily corroborated all the circumstances that Too-gee had heard before. After supper Too-gee and Hoo-doo asked the strangers for the news of their country since they had been taken away. This was complied with by the four strangers, who began a song, in which each of them took a part, sometimes using fierce and savage gestures, and at other times sinking their voices, according to the different passages or events that they were relating. Hoo-doo, who was paying great attention to the subject of their song, suddenly burst into tears, occasioned by an account which they were giving of the T'Souduckey tribe having made an irruption on Teer-a-witte (Hoo doo's district) and killed the chief's son with thirty warriors. He was too much affected to hear more; but retired into a corner of the cabin, where he gave vent to his grief, which was only interrupted by his threats of revenge. Owing to calm weather, little progress was made during the night. At daylight on the 13th, a number of canoes were seen coming from the hippah; in the largest of which was thirty-six men and a chief, who was standing up making signals with great earnestness. On his coming alongside, Too-gee recognised the chief to be Ko-to-ko-ke, who is the etiketica, or principal chief of the hippah whence the boats had come the preceding evening. The old chief, who appeared to be about seventy years of age, had not a visible feature, the whole of his face being tatooed with spiral lines. At his coming on board he embraced Too-gee with great affection; Too-gee then introduced me to him; and after the ceremony of 'ehong-i,' i.e. joining noses, he took off his ah-a-how, or mantle, and put it on my shoulders. In return I gave him a mantle made of green baize, and decorated with broad arrows. Soon after seven, other canoes, with upwards of twenty men and women in each, came alongside. At Too-gee's desire the poop was 'eta-boo,' i.e. all access to it by any others than the old chief forbidden. Not long before Ko-to-ko-ke came on board, I asked Too-gee and Hoo-doo if they would return to Norfolk Island or land at Moo-dee When-u-a in case the calm continued, or the wind came from the southward, of which there was some appearance. Too-gee was much averse to either. His reason for not returning to Norfolk was the natural wish to see his family and chief; nor did he like the idea of being landed at Moo-dee When-u-a, as, notwithstanding what he had heard respecting the good understanding there was between his district and that of Moo-dee When-u-a, the information might turn out to be not strictly true. Nothing more was said about it; and it was my intention to land them nearer to their homes, if it could be done in the course of the day, although it was then a perfect calm. Soon after the chief came on board they told me with tears of joy that they wished to go with Ko-toko-ke, who had fully confirmed all they had heard before, and had promised to take them the next morning to Too-gee's residence, where they would arrive by night. To wait the event of the calm, or the wind coming from the northward, might have detained the ship some days longer. Could I have reached in four days from leaving Norfolk the place where Too-gee lived, I certainly should have landed him there; but that not being the case (as this was the fifth day) I did not consider myself justifiable in detaining the ship longer than was absolutely necessary to land them in a place of safety, and from which they might get to their homes. Notwithstanding the information Too-gee had received, and the confidence he placed in the chief, I felt much anxiety about our two friends, and expressed to Too-gee my apprehensions that what he had heard might be an invention of Ko-to-ko-ke's and his people to get them and their effects into their power. I added, that as the ship could not be detained longer, I would rather take them back than leave them in the hands of suspicious people. To this Too-gee replied with an honest confidence, that 'etiketica no eteka,' i.e. a chief never deceives. I then took the chief into the cabin, and explained to him, assisted by Too-gee (who was present with Hoo-doo), how much I was interested in their getting to Ho-do-do; and added, that in two or three moons I should return to Ho-do-do, and if I found Too-gee and Hoo-doo were safe arrived with their effects, I would then return to Moo-dee When-u-a and make him some very considerable presents, in addition to those which I should now give him and his people for their trouble in conducting our two friends to their residence. I had so much reason to be convinced of the old man's sincerity, that I considered it injurious to threaten him with punishment for failing in his engagement. The only answer Ko-to-ko-ke made was, by putting both his hands to the sides of my head (making me perform the same ceremony) and joining our noses; in which position we remained three minutes, the old chief muttering what I did not understand. After this he went through the same ceremony with our two friends, which ended with a dance, when the two latter joined noses with me, and said that Ko-to-ko-ke was now become their father, and would in person conduct them to Ho-do-doe.* While I was preparing what I meant to give them, Too-gee (who I am now convinced was a priest) had made a circle of the New Zealanders round him, in the centre of which was the old chief, and recounted what he had seen during his absence. At many passages they gave a shout of admiration. On his telling them, that it was only three days sail from Norfolk to Moo-doo When-u-a, whether his veracity was doubted, or that he was not contented with the assertion alone, I cannot tell, but with much presence of mind he ran upon the poop, and brought a cabbage, which he informed them was cut five days ago in my garden. This convincing proof produced a general shout of surprise. [* Which was very faithfully performed.] Every thing being now arranged, and ready for their departure, our two friends requested that Ko-to-ko-ke might see the soldiers exercise and fire. To this I could have no objection, as the request came from them; but I took that opportunity of explaining to the chief (with Toogee's help) that he might see, by our treatment of him and his two countrymen, that it was our wish and intention to be good neighbours and friends with all Ea-hei-no-mau-e; that these weapons were never used but when we were injured, which I hoped would never happen; and that no other consideration than the satisfying of his curiosity could induce me to show what those instruments were intended for. About one hundred and fifty of the New Zealanders were seated on the larboard side of the deck, and the detachment paraded on the opposite side. After going through the manual, and firing three volleys, two great guns were fired, one loaded with a single ball, and the other with grape-shot, which surprised them greatly, as I made the chief observe the distance at which the shot fell from the ship. The wind had now the appearance of coming from the southward; and as that wind throws a great surf on the shore, they were anxious to get away. Too-gee and Hoo-doo took an affectionate leave of every person on board, and made me remember my promise of visiting them again, when they would return to Norfolk Island with their families. The venerable chief, after having taken great pains to pronounce my name, and made me well acquainted with his, got into his canoe and left us. On putting off from the ship, they were saluted with three cheers, which they returned as well as they could, by Toogee's directions. It was now seven in the morning of the 13th: at nine a breeze came from the north, with which we stood to the eastward. After a passage of five days from New Zealand (having had light winds) and ten days absence from Norfolk Island, I landed at three o'clock in the afternoon of the 18th. The little intercourse that I had with the New Zealanders (as I was only eighteen hours off that island, twelve of which were in the night) does not enable me to say much respecting them, or to form any decisive opinion of them, as much of their friendly behaviour in this slight interview might be owing to our connexion with Too-gee and Hoo-doo, and their being with us. These two worthy savages (if the term may be allowed) will, I am confident, ever retain the most grateful remembrance of the kindnesses they received on Norfolk Island; and if the greater part of the countrymen have but a small portion of the amiable disposition of Too-gee and Hoo-doo, they certainly are a people between whom and the English colonists a good understanding may with common prudence and precaution be cultivated. I regret very much that the service on which the _Britannia_ was ordered did not permit me to detain her longer; as in a few days, with the help of our two friends, much useful information might have been obtained respecting the quantity of manufactured flax that might be procured, which I think would be of high importance if better known. The great quantity that was procured in exchange for small pieces of iron hoop is a proof, that an abundance of this valuable article is manufactured among them. The articles that I gave Too-gee and Hoo-doo consisted of hand-axes; a small assortment of carpenters' tools, six spades, some hoes, with a few knives, scissors, and razors; two bushels of maize, one of wheat, two of peas, and a quantity of garden feeds; ten young sows, and two boars, which Too-gee and the chief faithfully promised should be preserved for breeding, a promise which I am inclined to think they will strictly observe.* [* The first place the _Fancy_ made at New Zealand was Doubtless Bay, which the master describes as a very dangerous place for a vessel to go into, and still worse to lie at, as it is open to the easterly winds. On their coming to an anchor, which was not till late in the evening (in December 1795), several canoes came round the vessel, but did not venture alongside until Too-gee was inquired for, when the New Zealanders exclaimed 'My-ty Governor King! My-ty Too-gee! My-ty Hoo-doo!' Some went on board, and others put in to shore, returning soon after with Too-gee and his wife. He had not forgotten his English, at least the more common expressions. He informed Captain Dell, that he had one pig remaining alive, and some peas growing; but what became of the rest of his stock he did not say. As Doubtless Bay was found a bad place to remain in, the _Fancy_ endeavoured to get out, but was obliged to return, when the two lads who wished to see Norfolk Island, being sea-sick, left her.] A SHORT VOCABULARY OF THE NEW ZEALAND LANGUAGE NEW ZEALAND ENGLISH ----------- ------- E-ha-ha Fire E-when-ua Earth, or ground E-wy Water E-mu-da Flame of thefire E-dou-ma-te Summer E-ho-ho-tou-ke Winter E-ma-ran-gi North E-sow-how-oo-doo South E-ton-ga East E-te-hu West E-te-te-do To see E-don-go To hear E-do-rni-do-mi To feel E-hon-gi To smell E-mei-te To taste He-te-te-show or Ye-te-de-how New moon E-po-po-e-e-nue Full moon E-de-de-ke Last quarter of the moon E-ma-ra-ma The moon E-da Sun E-pu-ta Sun-rise E-a-wa-tere Noon E-a-hi-au, or E-po Sunset E-wha-tu Star Ye-rew-a-new-a Rainbow E-Ma-tan-gee Wind E-bu-a Rain E-ue-da Lightning E-wet-e-te-cla Thunder Em-ma-ha-ne Hot Ma-ka-ree-dee Cold E-ko-how Fog E-po-ka-ka Dew E-paw-ha Smoke E-mo-an-na Salt water or the sea E-a-o The day E-po The night E-co-pec-ce To freeze, or ice E-wha-tu Snow In-an-hal Yesterday N'A-goo-nal To-day A-po-po To-morrow A-ta-hy-da Day after to-morrow A-wa-ka Day following A-wa-ke-ett ue Four days hence E-hon-gi The ceremony of joining noses as a salute Yen-gang The head He'-ho-do-ho-do The hair of the head Eta-din-ga The ear Etoude-Eta-din-ga Deaf E-da-ha The Forehead Ca-no-wei or E-ca-no-che The eye E-pu-di E'Ca-no-wei Blind Pa-pa-reen-gi The cheek Ec-Eee-shu The nose E-cou-wye The beard E-ka-ke The neck Po-co-fee-fee or Edinga-ringa The arm E-dal-ee The breast He-ooo (lengthened out) The nipple E-pee-too The navel Eu-wa The thigh E-tu-di-po-na or Ewa-wye The leg E-mata-ka-ra The fingers E-coro-E-te Finger-nails He-i-a-dar-re The skin Ing-oo-too The lips E-wa-ha The mouth In-ni-show The teeth Ecoro-coro The throat E-pa-ro The hand E-co-pu The belly E-to-to Blood E-tu-di-po-na Knees E-da-pa-ra-pa The feet E-too-o-ra The back E-cu-mo The backside E-kau-wal The chin E-ki The mouth E-u-de The penis E-ai The vulva E-tek-ke To copulate E-ma-mi To go to make water E-tu-tal To go to stool Pa-ke-da Bald-headed E-sha-pu Pregnant E-ko-ki A cripple E-ka-ta To laugh E-tan-ge To cry E-too-ha To spit E-co-we-ra To breathe E-ma-my To groan E-sha, (sounded expressive of the action) To sigh Te-zee-ou-wa, (sounded expressive of) Sneezing* [* A compliment is paid by the New Zealanders when one of the company sneezes, by repeating the following lines: 'Tee-zee, Tee-zee, Pa-way, Pa-way, wa-cou-te-ma-he co-to-ko-eee, drawn out very long. 'Tu-tu-ro a-te na tan-ga-ta kiti-po, Tu-tu-ra ma-hie na-ta-na-ta kit-eao Tee-zee, Tee-zee, etc.' as in the first line. All which means wishes for health from night to morning, and that no bones may be broken by the shock of sneezing.] E-co-show To hiccough E-mo-a To sleep E-ta-ko-te To lie down to sleep E-a-ra To rise from sleep E-kow-hae-ra To yawn E-to-u To break wind E-ku-pa To belch E-du-a-ke To puke E-da-hee Fat Eet pronounced as Eat Lean E-o-ra In health E-mat-tee means also death Sick E-pi Handsome, also clean E-ke-no Ugly, also dirty E-ni-a-ymi Pain in general In-ni-shou E-to-on-ga Tooth-ache E-hu-de Head-ache E-de-ka-ra-ka An itching E-huf-fe Love He-de-de Hatred, or being dissatisfied He-ma-ta-kd Fear E-ka-tou Joy E-ko-ko-pe Shame E-kow-wa Loathing E-wa-ra-wa-ra An error or mistake E-ko-cut A cut E-mo-to A blow E-hou-dang-e To faint He-kye To eat E-e-nue To drink E-matta-he-a-kye Hungry Ka-ke Satisfied E-i-ra To walk E-o-mu To run E-da-re To jump E-ka-ou To swim E-tu-ta-ke To meet any one Ke-o-ro-mi To make haste E-no-ho To sit down E-tu Standing up E-mo-ki To work Ka-ko-p-1 To shut a door Eu-wa-ke To open E-de-ding-ee To sell E-o-mi To give or reach Wha-ka-de-de I'll give you Z'Shocke-e-mai Ditto E-wa-k-a-tu To plant E-o-hoo-tee To pluck up E-da-fe To tie or bind E-wa-wat-te Untie E-ma-ca To throw away E-te-te-do To look or observe E-ko-re To break any thing, as a plate E-what-te To break any thing, as a stick E-hi-yi To tear, as paper Car-co-ree To pull down or destroy, as a building, ship, etc E-ko-cout To cut Ing-ha-roo To see or look for E-hu-na To hide Ea-ke-tere To find E-ke-no To stain or dirty any thing E-moo-roo To clean Eo-roo-ee To wash E-yhang-a To build a house or boat E-ka-wa Ill-tasted, bitter He-i-de-mal! Come here! Sey-ede or E-i-ra To go E-ko-re-roo To converse Pat-too pat-too To beat, also the name of a principal weapon E-te-ka To tell a lie E-po-no To tell truth E-wa-ka A canoe E-shoo To paddle a canoe E-1-ka A fish E-a-ho To catch a fish E-wa-du A fish-hook made of wood E-ma-ka A fishing-line E-nue Big, large E-mo-ro-ee-te Small My-ty Good Mack-row-a Bad Ki-e-dow Fit to eat E-whan-na To kick E-ha-ka To dance E-wy-ette To sing E-wa-du To dream E-ta-po-ke To drown E-ka-ya To steal E-ta-ro-na To hang one's self E-ee-ta I understand Na? Do you mean this? Ha ya-ha What is this? Ko-ai Who is this? An-ga There Pah-hee A ship, or very large canoe E-whar-re A house E-ta-o A spear E-da-kow A tree, or piece of wood E-ma-ta A sharp stone with which they cut their hair Pas-aa-te-ra A stone E-ko-ha-tue A rock E-ho-ne Sand-beach E-a-wha A harbour E-pa-pa A board E-to-ki An axe E-whow A chissel, nail, or iron E-va-te-to-ka A door E-pu-ki A hill E-poo-poo Shells E-wak-e-te-ca Ear-rings Etu-pu The flax plant when growing E-mu-ka The flax when dressed E-mu-ka Yera-ka-kee The operation of drawing the flax from the plant Eka-ka-how Cloth wove from the flax A-mo-ko The marks on their face and different parts of their bodies To-ko-hal-ya? How many? E-ma-ha A great many, speaking of things Ka-ta-puk-e-mai A great many, speaking of people Yen-ge-enge, (and sounded hard) Tired Eto-ho-ro-ha A whale E-he-nue Whale oil, or any other fat Emata-to-too-roo Thick E-da-ede-hi Thin E-do-aw High or tall, and long E-po-to Short E-wa-nue Wide E-wa-ete Narrow E-ti-ma-ha Heavy E-ma-ma Light E-de-ding-e Full E-ma-din-ge Empty E-ma-row Hard Ing-now-a-rey Soft E-ka-ra-de A dog E-kere A rat E-manu A bird E-wy-you Milk E-whairo Red E-ema White E-man-goe All dark colours Ka-de-da Green Ka-nap-pa Blue Ta-ah-ne-a sounded long A man Wha-hel-ne A woman E-co-ro-wa-ke An old man E-du-a-hel-ne An old woman E-Ta-ma-ree-kee A young man E-Ta-ma-hei-ne A young woman Ta-ma-i-ete A male child E-co-tero An infant Ma-tu-a-Ta-a-ne Father Ma-tu-a-wa-hei-ne Mother Tu-a-hel-ne Sister Tu-a-Can-na Elder brother Tei-ne Younger brother E-mi-yan-ga Twins Pah-pah Children call their father Hah-ty-yee Children call their mother E seems to be used as the article, pronounced as in the English. A is always sounded long, as in the French. NUMERALS Ta-hie One Du-o Two Too-roo Three Wha Four Dee-mah Five 0-no Six Whee-too Seven Wha-roo Eight E-wha Nine Ng-a-hu-du Ten Ca-te-cow signifies One Ten Ma-ta-hie Eleven Ma-duo Twelve, and so on, the numeral being preceded by Ma, until nineteen (Ma-Ew-ha) then . . . Ca-te-cow, Ca, du-o Twenty Ca-te-cow, Ca, Too-roo Thirty Ca-te-cow, Ca, Wha Forty and so on to . . . Ca-te-cow, Ca, E-wha Ninety Kah-row A hundred Carow, Ca, Ta-hie One hundred Carow, Ca, Du-o Two hundred and so on to nine hundred Kom-ma-roo A thousand Com-ma-no, Ca, Tahie One thousand Com-ma-no, Ca-du-o Two thousand and so on to nine thousand. Ca-tee-nee Ten thousand which appearsto be the extent of their numerals. {Thus far Lieutenant-Governor King.} From the 25th of October, the day on which the ships made sail from Norfolk Island, till the 31st of the same month, nothing material occurred. On that day Mr. Raven stated to Captain Waterhouse, the commander of the _Reliance_, the necessity there was for the _Britannia's_ making the best of her way to England; and as he thought she sailed rather better than that ship, he requested permission to part company, which Captain Waterhouse not objecting to, we separated and made sail from them. On the 5th of November we passed an island named by Lieutenant Watts (who first saw it in the _Lady Penrhyn_ transport) Macauley Island. Sunday the 6th was passed in examining an island, which Mr. Raven was decidedly of opinion had never been seen before. It was situated in the latitude of 29 degrees 15 minutes and longitude of 181 degrees 56 minutes E. We found the land high, and it appeared to be well covered with wood. On the south-west side of it is a bay in which, from the colour of the water, Mr. Raven thought there was good anchorage; but at this time there was too much surf breaking on the beach to render it prudent to send a boat in. The aspect on this side of the island was romantic and inviting; but on the other side the shore was bold, and in many parts rugged and bare. The whole appeared to consist, like Norfolk Island, of hills and dales. We conjectured that there was fresh water in the bay on the south-west side. The knowledge of the existence of this island can be of no other importance, than to cause navigators sailing in that route to keep a good look-out, particularly in the night-time, as many straggling rocks lie off the north side. From the circumstance of its being seen on a Sunday it obtained the name of Sunday island. Leaving this, we proceeded toward Cape Horn; but it was not till the 16th of December that we saw the southern part of the vast continent of America. Mr. Raven intended to have made the Jasons, and touched at Falkland's Islands in the hope of procuring some information respecting the Cape of Good Hope; but, after passing Cape Horn, and finding the wind hang to the northward, he altered his course for the Island of St Helena, or the Cape of Good Hope, as circumstances might direct. On the 21st, in latitude 51 degrees 56 minutes S and longitude 306 degrees 25 minutes E to our great surprise, we fell in with and joined our companions the _Reliance_ and _Supply_. We found that, by keeping nearer to the north end of New Zealand than we had done, they had met with more favourable winds. We now proceeded together toward the Cape of Good Hope. On the 23rd, being about the latitude of 50 degrees S we fell in with several islands of ice; which, however, we cleared without any accident, and stood more to the northward. Mr. Raven was of opinion, that ice would always be found in or about those latitudes, and recommended that all ships, after passing Cape Horn, should keep more to the northward than we did. On the 9th of January we crossed the three hundred and sixtieth degree of east longitude. Our weather now was much too moderate; for it was not till the 15th of January that we saw the coast of Africa. Some necessary precautions were taken by the king's ship on coming in with it; and, finding every thing as we wished, on the next day we completed our long voyage of sixteen weeks from Port Jackson by anchoring safely in Table Bay. Here, almost the whole of our ship's company having been pressed, or voluntarily entered into the king's service, and with difficulty getting some necessary repairs done to the ship, we were compelled most reluctantly to remain for eight weeks. The place was very unhealthy, and lodging and every article of comfort extravagantly high. A few days before we sailed, the ship _Ganges_, commanded by Mr. Patrickson, arrived with convicts from Cork. She sailed from Ireland with another ship, the _Britannia_, having on board a similar cargo; but the master, intending to touch at Rio de Janeiro, had parted company with the _Ganges_ off Palma. We learned by the _Ganges_, that two storeships, the _Sylph_ and _Prince of Wales_, had sailed in June last for New South Wales. Much as Governor Hunter wanted labourers, the provisions would be more welcome to him than the Irish convicts, who had hitherto always created more trouble than any other. Before we sailed we had the satisfaction of seeing seventy head of very fine young Cape cattle purchased by Mr. Palmer, the commissary for the colony, to be sent thither in the _Reliance_ and _Supply_; the latter of which ships sailed with her proportion a few days before we left Table Bay. These ships would return well stored with useful articles for the settlement, and comforts for every officer in it. We left the Cape on the 16th of March, and arrived at the pleasant island of St Helena on the 26th of the same month. Here we remained till the 17th of April, having waited some time for a convoy, and sailed at last without any, in company with the ship _Brothers_, a South-Sea whaler, who was returning loaded. During our stay at St Helena we made several excursions into the interior part of the island. A visit from the French was daily expected; but we saw with pleasure preparations made for their reception that caused every one to treat the probability of their coming as an event more to be wished for than dreaded. From the hospitality of Governor Brooke and his family, and the pleasant society of this place, we felt a regret at leaving the island, which nothing but the prospect of soon reaching our own happy shores alleviated. Every one now was anxious for the successful termination of the passage before us. On the 27th of April we crossed the equator in the longitude of 19 degrees 02 minutes W. On the 4th of May we spoke the ship _Elizabeth_, (an American,) Isaac Stone master. They had only been twenty-eight days from Dover, and gave us the first intelligence we received of the victory obtained by our fleet under Earl St. Vincent over that of the Spaniards. On the 7th of June we spoke a schooner under American colours, the _Federal George_ of Duxbury from Bourdeaux, bound to Boston. The master informed, us that the channel was full of the enemy's cruisers, who were looking out for our West-India fleet, then expected home. Though we felt persuaded that our cruisers would counteract their designs, Mr. Raven determined, from this information, and from the wind having long hung to the eastward, to stand to the northward. From this time to the 18th our weather was very unfavourable, and our wind mostly contrary. On the 18th we saw the rock laid down in the charts by the name of Isle Rokal, being then in the latitude of 57 degrees 51 minutes N and longitude 13 degrees 56 minutes W. The rock then bore N 23 degrees distant eight miles and a half. Our foul wind continued many days; but on the 23rd we found ourselves off Innishone on the north part of Ireland. Here a man came off, who, to our inquiries respecting the progress of the war, answered, that he knew nothing about war, except that the strongest party always got the better of the weakest, thus uttering a truth in the midst of the profoundest ignorance. We now determined to steer for Liverpool, at which port, after much anxiety, we arrived in safety on the 27th. On the 29th the judge-advocate delivered at the Duke of Portland's office the dispatches with which he was charged. He now learned, that previous to his arrival in London there had sailed for New South Wales, exclusive of the ships _Sylph_ and _Prince of Wales_, _Ganges_ and _Britannia_, the _Lady Shore_ transport, having on board two male and sixty-six female convicts. On the 6th of last November the _Barwell_ sailed, having on board Mr. Dore, the present judge-advocate of that territory, and two hundred and ninety-eight male convicts. The _Britannia_, a ship belonging to the house of Enderby and Co. sailed on the 17th of last February with ninety-six female convicts on board. This ship went out with orders to try the whale-fishery on the coast of New South Wales for one season. If this should succeed, the settlement and the public at large will owe much to the spirited exertions of the house of Enderby to promote a beneficial commerce from that country. The king's ships on that station being ill calculated for the services expected from them, having on board expensive complements of men and officers, and consequently but little room for cattle; and being beside so defective and impaired by time as to be unsafe to navigate much longer; two others have been provided, newer and more capable of rendering service to the colony. One of them, the _Buffalo_, commanded by Mr. William Raven, late master of the _Britannia_, is on the point of sailing, and is to take cattle to New South Wales from the Cape of Good Hope. The other is named the _Porpoise_, and has the same service to perform. A ship, called the _Minerva_, is also proceeding to Cork to take in a number of Irish convicts. * * * * * Letters have been received from New South Wales, dated about six weeks after the author sailed from that colony. Governor Hunter had received by the _Sylph_ and _Prince of Wales_ storeships two thousand six hundred and fifty casks of salted provisions. Several persons had been tried by the court of criminal judicature for robbing the public stores, and had been found guilty. One man had been executed for murder, and his body hung in chains on Rock Island, a small spot at the mouth of Sydney Cove, and by which every boat and ship coming into the cove must necessarily pass. The governor was on the point of visiting Portland Head, some high land on the banks of the Hawkesbury, where he purposed establishing a settlement. Had that river and its fertile banks been discovered before the establishment at Sydney Cove had proceeded too far to remove it, how eligible a place would it have been for the principal settlement! A navigable river possesses many advantages that are unknown in other situations. Much benefit, however, was to be derived from this even as an inferior settlement. Its extreme fertility would always insure a certain supply of grain; and the settlers on its banks must produce a quantity equal to the consumption of the civil and Military, and of their own families; and thus, while rendering a service to the state, they might in time become opulent farmers. Yet our pity is excited, when it is considered, that they are of so unworthy a description as has clearly been made appear in the preceding narrative. That a river justly termed the Nile of New South Wales should fall into such hands is to be lamented. In process of time, however, their productive farms will have yielded them all that they aspire to, and may then fall into the possession of persons who will look beyond the mere gratification of the moment, and cause the settlements in New South Wales to stand as high in the public estimation as any colonies in his Majesty's dominions. APPENDICES GENERAL REMARKS The reader of the preceding narrative will have seen, that after many untoward occurrences, and a considerable lapse of time, that friendly intercourse with the natives which had been so earnestly desired was at length established; and having never been materially interrupted, these remote islanders have been shown living in considerable numbers among us without fear or restraint; acquiring our language; readily falling in with our manners and customs; enjoying the comforts of our clothing, and relishing the variety of our food. We saw them die in our houses, and the places of the deceased instantly filled by others, who observed nothing in the fate of their predecessors to deter them from living with us, and placing that entire confidence in us which it was our interest and our pleasure to cultivate. They have been always allowed so far to be their own masters, that we never, or but rarely, interrupted them in any of their designs, judging that by suffering them to live with us as they were accustomed to do before we came among them, we should sooner attain a knowledge of their manners and customs, than by waiting till we had acquired a competent skill in their language to converse with them. On this principle, when they assembled to dance or to fight before our houses, we never dispersed, but freely attended their meetings. To them this attention of ours appeared to be agreeable and useful; for those who happened to be wounded in their contests instantly looked out for one of our surgeons, and displayed entire confidence in his skill, and great bravery in the firmness with which they bore the knife and the probe. By slow degrees we began mutually to be pleased with, and to understand each other. Language, indeed, is out of the question; for at the time of writing this (September 1796) nothing but a barbarous mixture of English with the Port Jackson dialect is spoken by either party; and it must be added, that even in this the natives have the advantage, comprehending, with much greater aptness than we can pretend to, every thing they hear us say. From a pretty close observation, however, assisted by the use of the barbarous dialect just mentioned, the following particulars respecting the natives of New South Wales have been collected. APPENDIX 1--GOVERNMENT AND RELIGION GOVERNMENT We found the natives about Botany Bay, Port Jackson, and Broken Bay, living in that state of nature which must have been common to all men previous to their uniting in society, and acknowledging but one authority. These people are distributed into families, the head or senior of which exacts compliance from the rest. In our early intercourse with them (and indeed at a much later period, on our meeting with families to whom we were unknown) we were always accosted by the person who appeared to be the eldest of the party, while the women, youths, and children, were kept at a distance. The word which in their language signifies father was applied to their old men; and when, after some time, and by close observation, they perceived the authority with which Governor Phillip commanded, and the obedience which he exacted, they bestowed on him the distinguishing appellation of (Be-anna) or Father. This title being conferred solely on him (although they perceived the authority of masters over their servants) places the true sense of the word beyond a doubt, and proves, that to those among them who enjoyed that distinction belonged the authority of a chief. When any of these came into the town, we have been immediately informed of their arrival, and they have been pointed out to our notice in a whisper, and with an eagerness of manner which, while it drew our attention, impressed us with an idea that we were looking at persons to whom some consequence was attached even among the savages of New Holland. Another acceptation of the word Be-anna, however, soon became evident; for we observed it to be frequently applied by children to men who we knew had not any children of their own. On inquiry we were informed, that in case a father should die, the nearest of kin, or some deputed friend, would take the care of his children; and for this reason those children styled them Be-anna, though in the lifetime of their natural parent. This Bennillong (the native who was some time in England) confirmed to us at the death of his first wife, by consigning the care of his infant daughter Dil-boong (who at the time of her mother's decease was at the breast) to his friend Governor Phillip, telling him that he was to become the Be-anna or Father of his little girl. Here, if the reader pauses for a moment to consider the difference between the general conduct of our baptismal sponsors (to whose duties this custom bears much resemblance) and the humane practice of these uncivilised people, will not the comparison suffuse his cheek with something like shame, at seeing the enlightened Christian so distanced in the race of humanity by the untutored savage, who has hitherto been the object of his pity and contempt? But sorry am I to recollect, and as a faithful narrator to be impelled to relate, one particular in their customs that is wholly irreconcilable with the humane duties which they have prescribed to themselves in the above instance; duties which relate only to those children who, in the event of losing the mother, could live without her immediate aid. A far different lot is reservea ror such as are at triat time at the breast, or in a state ot absolute helplessness, as will be seen hereafter. We have mentioned their being divided into families. Each family has a particular place of residence, from which is derived its distinguishing name. This is formed by adding the monosyllable Gal to the name of the place: thus the southern shore of Botany Bay is called Gwea, and the people who inhabit it style themselves Gweagal. Those who live on the north shore of Port Jackson are called Cam-mer-ray-gal, that part of the harbour being distinguished from others by the name of Cam-mer-ray. Of this last family or tribe we have heard Bennillong and other natives speak (before we knew them ourselves) as of a very powerful people, who could oblige them to attend wherever and whenever they directed. We afterwards found them to be by far the most numerous tribe of any within our knowledge. It so happened, that they were also the most robust and muscular, and that among them were several of the people styled Car-rah-dy and Car-rah-di-gang, of which extraordinary personages we shall have to speak particularly, under the article _Superstition_. To the tribe of Cam-mer-ray also belonged the exclusive and extraordinary privilege of exacting a tooth from the natives of other tribes inhabiting the sea-coast, or of all such as were within their authority. The exercise of this privilege places these people in a particular point of view; and there is no doubt of their decided superiority over all the tribes with whom we were acquainted. Many contests or decisions of honour (for such there are among them) have been delayed until the arrival of these people; and when they came, it was impossible not to observe the superiority and influence which their numbers and their muscular appearance gave them over the other tribes. These are all the traces that could ever be discovered among them of government or subordination; and we may imagine the deference which is paid to the tribe of Cam-mer-ray to be derived wholly from their superiority of numbers; but this superiority they may have maintained for a length of time before we knew them; and indeed the privilege of demanding a tooth from the young men of other families must have been of long standing, and coeval with the obedience which was paid to them: hence their superiority partakes something of the nature of a constituted authority; an authority which has the sanction of custom to plead for its continuance. RELIGION It has been asserted by an eminent divine*, that no country has yet been discovered where some trace of religion was not to be found. From every observation and inquiry I could make among these people, from the first to the last of my acquaintance with them, I can safely pronounce them an exception to this opinion. I am certain that they do not worship either sun, moon, or star; that, however necessary fire may be to them, it is not an object of adoration; neither have they respect for any particular beast, bird, or fish. I never could discover any object, either substantial or imaginary, that impelled them to the commissioin of good actions, or deterred them from the perpetration of what we deem crimes. There indeed existed among them some idea of a future state, but not connected in any wise with religion; for it had no influence whatever on their lives and actions. On their being often questioned as to what became of them after their decease, some answered that they went either on or beyond the great water; but by far the greater number signified, that they went to the clouds. Conversing with Bennillong after his return from England, where he had obtained much knowledge of our customs and manners, I wished to learn what were his ideas of the place from which his countrymen came, and led him to the subject by observing, that all the white men here came from England. I then asked him where the black men (or Eora) came from? He hesitated; did they come from any island? His answer was, that he knew of none: they came from the clouds (alluding perhaps to the aborigines of the country); and when they died, they returned to the clouds (Boo-row-e). He wished to make me understand that they ascended in the shape of little children, first hovering in the tops and in the branches of trees; and mentioned something about their eating, in that state, their favourite food, little fishes. [* Blair's Sermons, vol i Sermon I] If this idea of the immortality of the soul should excite a smile, is it more extraordinary than the belief which obtains among some of us, that at the last day the various disjointed bones of men shall find out each its proper owner, and be re-united? The savage here treads close upon the footsteps of the Christian. The natives who inhabit the harbour to the northward, called by us Port Stephens, believed that five white men who were cast away among them (as has been before shown) had formerly been their countrymen, and took one of them to the grave where, he told him, the body he at that time occupied had been interred. If this account, given us by men who may well be supposed to deal in the marvellous, can be depended upon, how much more ignorant are the natives of Port Stephens, who live only thirty leagues to the northward of us, than the natives of and about Port Jackson! The young people who resided in our houses were very desirous of going to church on Sundays, but knew not for what purpose we attended. I have often seen them take a book, and with much success imitate the clergyman in his manner (for better and readier mimics can no where be found), laughing and enjoying the applause which they received. I remember to have seen in a newspaper or pamphlet an account of a native throwing himself in the way of a man who was about to shoot a crow; and the person who wrote the account drew an inference, that the bird was an object of worship: but I can with confidence affirm, that so far from dreading to see a crow killed, they are very fond of eating it, and take the following particular method to ensnare that bird: a native will stretch himself on a rock as if asleep in the sun, holding a piece of fish in his open hand; the bird, be it hawk or crow, seeing the prey, and not observing any motion in the native, pounces on the fish, and, in the instant of seizing it, is caught by the native, who soon throws him on the fire and makes a meal of him. That they have ideas of a distinction between _good_ and _bad_ is evident from their having terms in their language significant of these qualities. Thus, the sting-ray was (wee-re) bad; it was a fish of which they never ate. The patta-go-rang or kangaroo was (bood-yer-re) good, and they ate it whenever they were fortunate enough to kill one of these animals. To exalt these people at all above the brute creation, it is necessary to show that they had the gift of reason, and that they knew the distinction between _right_ and _wrong_, as well as between what food was good and what was bad. Of these latter qualities their senses informed them; but the knowledge of right and wrong could only proceed from reason. It is true, they had no distinction in terms for these qualities--wee-re and bood-yer-re alike implying what was good and bad, and right and wrong. Instances however were not wanting of their using them to describe the sensations of the mind as well as of the senses; thus their enemies were wee-re; their friends bood-yer-re. On our speaking of cannibalism, they expressed great horror at the mention, and said it was wee-re. On seeing any of our people punished or reproved for ill-treating them, they expressed their approbation, and said it was bood-yer-re, it was right. Midnight murders, though frequently practised among them whenever passion or revenge were uppermost, they reprobated; but applauded acts of kindness and generosity, for of both these they were capable. A man who would not stand to have a spear thrown at him, but ran away, was a coward,jee-run, and wee-re. But their knowledge of the difference between right and wrong certainly never extended beyond their existence in this world; not leading them to believe that the practice of either had any relation to their future state; this was manifest from their idea of quitting this world, or rather of entering the next, in the form of little children, under which form they would re-appear in this. APPENDIX II-STATURE AND APPEARANCE We observed but few men or women among them who could be said to be tall, and still fewer who were well made. I once saw a dwarf, a female, who, when she stood upright, measured about four feet two inches. None of her limbs were disproportioned, nor were the features of her face unpleasant; she had a child at her back, and we were told came from the south shore of Botany Bay. I thought the other natives seemed to make her an object of their merriment. In general, indeed almost universally, the limbs of these people were small; of most of them the arms, legs, and thighs were thin. This, no doubt, is owing to the poorness of their living, which is chiefly on fish; otherwise the fineness of the climate, co-operating with the exercise which they take, might have rendered them more muscular. Those who live on the sea-coast depend entirely on fish for their sustenance; while the few who dwell in the woods subsist on such animals as they can catch. The very great labour necessary for taking these animals, and the scantiness of the supply, keep the wood natives in as poor a condition as their brethren on the coast. It has been remarked, that the natives who have been met with in the woods had longer arms and legs than those who lived about us. This might proceed from their being compelled to climb the trees after honey and the small animals which resort to them, such as the flying squirrel and opossum, which they effect by cutting with their stone hatchets notches in the bark of the tree of a sufficient depth and size to receive the ball of the great toe. The first notch being cut, the toe is placed in it; and while the left arm embraces the tree, a second is cut at a convenient distance to receive the other foot. By this method they ascend very quick, always cutting with the right hand and clinging with the left, resting the whole weight of the body on the ball of either foot. In an excursion to the westward with a party, we passed a tree (of the kind named by us the white gum, the bark of which is soft) that we judged to be about one hundred and thirty feet in height, and which had been notched by the natives at least eighty feet, before they attained the first branch where it was likely they could meet with any reward for so much toil. The features of many of these people were far from unpleasing, particularly of the women: in general, the black bushy beards of the men, and the bone or reed which they thrust through the cartilage of the nose, tended to give them a disgusting appearance; but in the women, that feminine delicacy which is to be found among white people was to be traced even upon their sable cheeks; and though entire strangers to the comforts and conveniencies of clothing, yet they sought with a native modesty to conceal by attitude what the want of covering would otherwise have revealed. They have often brought to my recollection, "The bending statue which enchants the world," though it must be owned that the resemblance consisted solely in the position. Both women and men use the disgusting practice of rubbing fish-oil into their skins; but they are compelled to this as a guard against the effects of the air and of mosquitoes, and flies; some of which are large, and bite or sting with much severity. But the oil, together with the perspiration from their bodies, produces, in hot weather, a most horrible stench. I have seen some with the entrails of fish frying in the burning sun upon their heads, until the oil ran down over their foreheads. A remarkable instance once came under my observation of the early use which they make of this curious unguent. Happening to be at Camp Cove at a time when these people were much pressed with hunger, we found in a miserable hut a poor wretched half-starved native and two children. The man was nearly reduced to a skeleton, but the children were in better condition. We gave them some salted beef and pork, and some bread, but this they would not touch. The eldest of the children was a female; and a piece of fat meat being given to her, she, instead of eating it instantly as we expected, squeezed it between her fingers until she had nearly pressed all the fat to a liquid; with this she oiled over her face two or three times, and then gave it to the other, a boy about two years of age, to do the like. Our wonder was naturally excited at seeing such knowledge in children so young. To their hair, by means of the yellow gum, they fasten the front teeth of the kangaroo, and the jaw-bones of large fish, human teeth, pieces of wood, feathers of birds, the tail of the dog, and certain bones taken out of the head of a fish, not unlike human teeth. The natives who inhabit the south shore of Botany Bay divide the hair into small parcels, each of which they mat together with gum, and form them into lengths like the thrums of a mop. On particular occasions they ornament themselves with red and white clay, using the former when preparing to fight, the latter for the more peaceful amusement of dancing. The fashion of these ornaments was left to each person's taste; and some, when decorated in their best manner, looked perfectly horrible. Nothing could appear more terrible than a black and dismal face, with a large white circle drawn round each eye. In general waved lines were marked down each arm, thigh, and leg; and in some the cheeks were daubed; and lines drawn over each rib, presented to the beholder a truly spectre-like figure. Previous either to a dance or a combat, we always found them busily employed in this necessary preliminary; and it must be observed, that when other liquid could not be readily procured, they moistened the clay with their own saliva. Both sexes are ornamented with scars upon the breast, arms, and back, which are cut with broken pieces of the shell they use at the end of the throwing stick. By keeping open these incisions, the flesh grows up between the sides of the wound, and after a time, skinning over, forms a large wale or seam. I have seen instances where these scars have been cut to resemble the feet of animals; and such boys as underwent the operation while they lived with us, appeared to be proud of the ornament, and to despise the pain which they must have endured. The operation is performed when they are young, and until they advance in years the scars look large and full; but on some of their old men I have been scarcely able to discern them. As a principal ornament, the men, on particular occasions, thrust a bone or reed through the _septum nasi_, the hole through which is bored when they are young. Some boys who went away from us for a few days, returned dignified with this strange ornament, having, in the mean time, had the operation performed upon them; they appeared to be from twelve to fifteen years of age. The bone that they wear is the small bone in the leg of the kangaroo, one end of which is sharpened to a point. I have seen several women who had their noses perforated in this extraordinary manner. The women are, besides, early subjected to an uncommon mutilation of the two first joints of the little finger of the left hand. The operation is performed when they are very young, and is done with a hair, or some other slight ligature. This being tied round at the joint, the flesh soon swells, and in a few days, the circulation being destroyed, the finger mortifies and drops off. I never saw but one instance where the finger was taken off from the right hand, and that was occasioned by the mistake of the mother. Before we knew them, we took it to be their marriage ceremony; but on seeing their mutilated children we were convinced of our mistake; and at last learned, that these joints of the little finger were supposed to be in the way when they wound their fishing lines over the hand. On our expressing a disgust of the appearance, they always applauded it, and said it was very good. They name it Mal-gun; and among the many women whom I saw, but very few had this finger perfect. On my pointing these out to those who were so distinguished, they appeared to look at and speak of them with some degree of contempt. The men too were not without their mutilation. Most of those who lived on the sea-coast we found to want the right front tooth; some, whom we met in the interior part of the country, had not been subjected to the authority of the tribe of Cam-mer-ray-gal; but a particular account of the ceremonies used on this occasion will be given under the article _Customs and Manners_. I noticed but few deformities of person among them; once or twice I have seen on the sand the print of inverted feet. Round shoulders or humpbacked people I never saw. Some who were lame, and assisted themselves with sticks, have been met with; but their lameness might proceed from spear wounds, or by accident from fire; for never were women so inattentive to their young as these. We often heard of children being injured by fire, while the mother lay fast asleep beside them, these people being extremely difficult to awaken when once asleep. A very fine little girl, belonging to a man well known and much beloved among us, of the name of Cole-be, had two of its toes burnt Off, and the sinews of the leg contracted in one night, by rolling into a fire out of its mother's arms, while they both lay asleep. Their sight is peculiarly fine, indeed their existence very often depends upon the accuracy of it; for a short-sighted man (a misfortune unknown to them, and not yet introduced by fashion, nor relieved by the use of a glass) would never be able to defend himself from their spears, which are thrown with amazing force and velocity. I have noticed two or three men with specks on one eye, and once at Broken Bay saw in a canoe an old man who was perfectly blind. He was accompanied by a youth who paddled his canoe, and who, to my great surprise, sat behind him in it. This may, however, be in conformity to the idea of respect which is always paid to old age. The colour of these people is not uniform. We have seen some who, even when cleansed from the smoke and filth which were always to be found on their persons, were nearly as black as the African negro; while others have exhibited only a copper or Malay colour. The natural covering of their heads is not wool as in most other black people, but hair; this particular may be remembered in the two natives who were in this country, Bennillong and Yem-mer-ra-wan-nie. The former, on his return, by having some attention paid to his dress while in London, was found to have very long black hair. Black indeed was the general colour of the hair, though I have seen some of a reddish cast; but being unaccompanied by any perceptible difference of complexion, it was perhaps more the effect of some outward cause than its natural appearance. Their noses are flat, nostrils wide, eyes much sunk in the head, and covered with thick eyebrows; in addition to which, they wear tied round the head, a net the breadth of the forehead, made of the fur of the opussum, which, when wishing to see very clearly, I have observed them draw over the eyebrows, thereby contracting the light. Their lips are thick, and the mouth extravagantly wide; but when opened discovering two rows of white, even, and sound teeth. Many had very prominent jaws; and there was one man who, but for the gift of speech, might very well have passed for an orangoutang. He was remarkably hairy; his arms appeared of an uncommon length; in his gait he was not perfectly upright; and in his whole manner seemed to have more of the brute and less of the human species about him than any of his countrymen. Those who have been in that country will, from this outline of him, recollect old We-rahng. APPENDIX III--HABITATIONS Their habitations are as rude as imagination can conceive. The hut of the woodman is made of the bark of a single tree, bent in the middle, and placed on its two ends on the ground, affording shelter to only one miserable tenant. These they never carry about with them; for where we found the hut, we constantly found the tree from which it had been taken withered and dead. On the sea-coast the huts were larger, formed of pieces of bark from several trees put together in the form of an oven with an entrance, and large enough to hold six or eight people. Their fire was always at the mouth of the hut, rather within than without; and the interior was in general the nastiest smoke-dried place that could be conceived. Their unserviceable canoes were commonly broken up and applied to this use. Beside these bark huts, they made use of excavations in the rock; and as the situations of these were various, they could always choose them out of the reach of wind and rain. At the mouths of these excavations we noticed a luxuriancy of soil; and on turning up the ground, found it rich with shells and other manure. These proved a valuable resource to us, and many loads of shells were burnt into lime, while the other parts were wheeled into our gardens. When in the woods I seldom met with a hut, but at the mouth of it was found an ant's nest, the dwelling of a tribe of insects about an inch in length, armed with a pair of forceps and a sting, which they applied, as many found to their cost, with a severity equal to a wound made by a knife. We conjectured, that these vermin had been drawn together by the bones and fragments of a venison feast, which had been left by the hunter. In their huts and in their caves they lie down indiscriminately mixed, men, women, and children together; and appear to possess under them much the same enjoyment as may be supposed to be found by the brute beast in his den, shelter from the weather, and, if not disturbed by external enemies, the comfort of sleep. The extreme soundness with which they sleep invites jealousy, or revenge for other wrongs, to arm the hand of the assassin. Several instances of this kind occurred during our acquaintance with them, one of which was too remarkable to pass unnoticed: Yel-lo-way, a native, who seemed endowed with more urbanity than the rest of our friends, having possessed himself (though not, as I could learn, by unfair means) of Noo-roo-ing the wife of Wat-te-wal, another native well known among us, was one night murdered in his sleep by this man, who could not brook the decided preference given by Noo-roo-ing to his rival. This murder he several months after repaid in his own person, his life being taken by Cole-be, one of Yel-lo-way's friends, who stole upon him in the night, and put him to death while asleep. It was remarkable, that Cole-be found an infant lying in his arms, whom he first removed, before he drove the fatal spear into the father; he afterwards brought the child with him into the town. Yel-lo-way was so much esteemed among us, that no one was sorry he had been so revenged. Being themselves sensible of the danger they ran in the night, they eagerly besought us to give them puppies of our spaniel and terrier breeds; which we did; and not a family was without one or more of these little watch-dogs, which they considered as invaluable guardians during the night; and were pleased when they found them readily devour the only regular food they had to give them, fish. APPENDIX IV--MODE OF LIVING The natives on the sea-coast are those with whom we happened to be the most acquainted. Fish is their chief support. Men, women, and children are employed in procuring them; but the means used are different according to the sex; the males always killing them with the fiz-gig, while the females use the hook and line. The fiz-gig is made of the wattle; has a joint in it, fastened by gum; is from fifteen to twenty feet in length, and armed with four barbed prongs; the barb being a piece of bone secured by gum. To each of these prongs they give a particular name; but I never could discover any sensible reason for the distinction. The lines used by the women are made by themselves of the bark of a small tree which they find in the neighbourhood. Their hooks are made of the mother-of-pearl oyster, which they rub on a stone until it assumes the shape they want. It must be remarked, that these hooks are not barbed; they nevertheless catch fish with them with great facility. While fishing, the women generally sing; and I have often seen them in their canoes chewing muscles or cockles, or boiled fish, which they spit into the water as a bait. In these canoes, they always carry a small fire laid upon sea-weed or sand; wherewith, when desirous of eating, they find a ready material for dressing their meal. This fire accounted for an appearance which we noticed in many of the women about the small of the back. We at first thought it must have been the effect of stripes; but the situation of them was questionable, and led us to make inquiry, when we found it to be the effect of the fires in the canoes. In addition to fish, they indulge themselves with a delicacy which I have seen them eager to procure. In the body of the dwarf gum tree are several large worms and grubs, which they speedily divest of antennae, legs, etc. and, to our wonder and disgust, devour. A servant of mine, an European, has often joined them in eating this luxury; and has assured me, that it was sweeter than any marrow he had ever tasted; and the natives themselves appeared to find a peculiar relish in it. The woods, exclusive of the animals which they occasionally find in their neighbourhood, afford them but little sustenance; a few berries, the yam and fern-root, the flowers of the different banksia, and at times some honey, make up the whole vegetable catalogue. The natives who live in the woods and on the margins of rivers are compelled to seek a different subsistence, and are driven to a harder exercise of their abilities to procure it. This is evinced in the hazard and toll with which they ascend the tallest trees after the opossum and flying squirrel. At the foot of Richmond Hill, I once found several places constructed expressly for the purpose of ensnaring animals or birds. These were wide enough at the entrance to admit a person without much difficulty; but tapering away gradually from the entrance to the end, and terminating in a small wickered grate. It was between forty and fifty feet in length; on each side the earth was thrown up; and the whole was constructed of weeds, rushes, and brambles: but so well secured, that an animal once within it could not possibly liberate itself. We supposed that the prey, be it beast or bird, was hunted and driven into this toil; and concluded, from finding one of them destroyed by fire, that they force it to the grated end, where it is soon killed by their spears. In one I saw a common rat, and in another the feathers of a quail. By the sides of lagoons I have met with holes which, on examining, were found excavated for some space, and their mouths so covered over with grass, that a bird or beast stepping on it would inevitably fall in, and from its depth be unable to escape. In an excursion to the Hawkesbury, we fell in with a native and his child on the banks of one of the creeks of that noble river. We had Cole-be with us, who endeavoured, but in vain, to bring him to a conference; he launched his canoe, and got away as expeditiously as he could, leaving behind him a specimen of his food and the delicacy of his stomach; a piece of water-soaked wood (part of the branch of a tree) full of holes, the lodgment of a large worm, named by them cah-bro, and which they extract and eat; but nothing could be more offensive than the smell of both the worm and its habitation. There is a tribe of natives dwelling inland, who, from the circumstance of their eating these loathsome worms, are named Cah-bro-gal. They resort at a certain season of the year (the month of April) to the lagoons, where they subsist on eels which they procure by laying hollow pieces of timber into the water, into which the eels creep, and are easily taken. These wood natives also make a paste formed of the fern-root and the large and small ant bruised together; in the season they also add the eggs of this insect. APPENDIX V--COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE How will the refined ear of gallantry be wounded at reading an account of the courtship of these people! I have said that there was a delicacy visible in the manners of the females. Is it not shocking then to think that the prelude to love in this country should be violence? Yet such it is, and of the most brutal nature of these unfortunate victims of lust and cruelty (I can call them by no better name) are, I believe, always selected from the women of a tribe different from that of the males (for they ought not to be dignified with the title of men) and with whom they are at enmity. Secrecy is necessarily observed, and the poor wretch is stolen upon in the absence of her protectors; being first stupified with blows, inflicted with clubs or wooden swords, on the head, back, and shoulders, every one of which is followed by a stream of blood, she is dragged through the woods by one arm, with a perseverance and violence that one might suppose would displace it from its socket; the lover, or rather the ravisher, is regardless of the stones or broken pieces of trees which may lie in his route, being anxious only to convey his prize in safety to his own party, where a scene ensues too shocking to relate. This outrage is not resented by the relations of the female, who only retaliate by a similar outrage when they find it in their power. This is so constantly the practice among them, that even the children make it a game or exercise; and I have often, on hearing the cries of the girls with whom they were playing, ran out of my house, thinking some murder was committed, but have found the whole party laughing at my mistake. The women thus ravished become their wives, are incorporated into the tribe to which the husband belongs, and but seldom quit him for another. Many of the men with whom we were acquainted did not confine themselves to one woman. Bennillong, previous to his visit to England, was possessed of two wives (if wives they may be called), both living with him and attending on him wherever he went. One named Ba-rang-a-roo, who was of the tribe of Cam-mer-ray (Bennillong himself was a Wahn-gal), lived with him at the time he was seized and brought a captive to the settlemerit with Cole-be; and before her death he had brought off from Botany Bay, by the violence before described, Go-roo-bar-roo-bool-lo, the daughter of an old man named Met-ty, a native of that district; and she continued with him until his departure for England. We were told, on the banks of the Hawkesbury, that all the men there, and inland, had two wives. Cole-be, Bennillong's friend, had two female companions; and we found, indeed, more instances of plurality of wives than of monogamy. I do not recollect ever noticing children by both; and observed, that in general, as might be expected, the two women were always jealous of and quarrelling with each other. I have heard them say, that the first wife claimed a priority of attachment and exclusive right to the conjugal embrace; while the second or latter choice was compelled to be the slave and drudge of both. Chastity was a virtue in which they certainly did not pride themselves; at least, we knew women who, for a loaf of bread, a blanket, or a shirt, gave up any claim to it, when either was offered by a white man; and many white men were found who held out the temptation. Several girls, who were protected in the settlement, had not any objection to passing the night on board of ships, though some had learned shame enough (for shame was not naturally inherent in them) to conceal, on their landing, the spoils they had procured during their stay. They had also discovered that we thought it shameful to be seen naked; and I have observed many of them extremely reserved and delicate in this respect when before us; but when in the presence of only their own people, perfectly indifferent about their appearance. APPENDIX VI--CUSTOMS AND MANNERS During the time of parturition these people suffer none but females to be present. War-re-weer, Bennillong's sister, being taken in labour in the town, an opportunity offered of observing them in that critical juncture, of which some of our women, who were favourites with the girl, were desired to avail themselves; and from them we learned, that during her labour one female, Boo-roong, was employed in pouring cold water from time to time on the abdomen, while another, tying one end of a small line round War-re-weer's neck, with the other end rubbed her own lips until they bled. She derived no actual assistance from those who were about her, the child coming into the world by the sole efforts of nature; neither did any one receive it from her; but, having let it drop, one of our women divided the umbilical cord; after which, she retired to a small hole which had been prepared for her, over which she sat until the after-birth took place. The person who cut the navel-string washed the child, which she readily permitted, though Boo-roong and the other natives objected to it. She appeared much exhausted, and, being faint, fell across a fire that was in the place, but without receiving any injury. I saw Bennillong's wife a few hours after she had been delivered of a child. To my great surprise she was walking about alone, and picking up sticks to mend her fire. The infant, whose skin appeared to have a reddish cast, was lying in a piece of soft bark on the ground, the umbilical cord depending about three inches from the navel. I remained with her for some time, during which she was endeavouring to get it off, to effect which she made use of the small bone of the leg of the kangaroo, round the point of which Bennillong had rolled some punk, so that it looked not unlike the button of a foil. She held it every now and then to the fire, then applied and pressed it to the navel until it cooled. This was persevered in, till the mother thought the cord sufficiently deadened, and then with a shell she separated it.* [* I here find in my papers a note, that for some offence Bennillong had severely beaten this woman in the morning, a short time before she was delivered.] The infant thus produced is by the mother carried about for some days on a piece of soft bark; and, as soon as it acquires strength enough, is removed to her shoulders, where it sits with its little legs across her neck; and, taught by necessity, soon catches hold of her hair to preserve itself from falling. The reddish cast of the skin soon gives place to the natural hue, a change that is much assisted by the smoke and dirt in which, from the moment of their existence, these children are nurtured. The parents begin early to decorate them after the custom of the country. As soon as the hair of the head can be taken hold of, fish-bones and the teeth of animals are fastened to it with gum. White clay ornaments their little limbs; and the females suffer the extraordinary amputation which they term mal-gun before they have quitted their seat on their mother's shoulders. In about a month or six weeks the child receives its name. This is generally taken from some of the objects constantly before their eyes, such as a bird, a beast, or a fish, and is given without any ceremony. Thus Bennillong's child Dilboong was so named after a small bird, which we often heard in low wet grounds and in copses. An elderly woman who occasionally visited us was named Mau-ber-ry, the term by which they distinguish the gurnet from other fish. Bennillong told me, his name was that of a large fish, but one that I never saw taken. Bal-loo-der-ry signified the fish named by us the leathern-jacket; and there were two girls in the town named Pat-ye-ga-rang, a corruption of Pat-ta-go-rang, the name of the large grey kangaroo. Other instances might be adduced; but these are sufficient to show the prevalence of the custom. At an early age the females wear round the waist a small line made of the twisted hair of the opossum, from the centre of which depend a few small uneven lines from two to five inches long, made of the same materials. This they term bar-rin, and wear it until they are grown into women and are attached to men. The union of the sexes takes place at an earlier period than is usual in colder regions. We have known several instances of very young girls having been much and shamefully abused by the males. From their earliest infancy the boys are accustomed to throwing the spear, and to the habit of defending themselves from it. They begin by throwing reeds at each other, and are soon very expert. They also, from the time when they can run, until prompted by manhood to realize their sports, amuse themselves with stealing the females, and treat them at this time very little worse than they do then. Among their juvenile exercises I observed that of throwing up a ball, and passing it from one to another. They also provide themselves with small sticks, and range themselves in a row, when the one at the upper end rolls a ball or any other round substance along the front of his companions, every one of whom endeavours to strike it as it passes. This is a favourite exercise with them, and of course they excel at it. Between the ages of eight and sixteen, the males and females undergo the operation which they term Gnah-noong, viz that of having the _septum nasi_ bored, to receive a bone or reed, which among them is deemed a great ornament, though I have seen many whose articulation was thereby rendered very imperfect. Between the same years also the males receive the qualifications which are given to them by losing one of the front teeth. This ceremony occurred twice during my residence in New South Wales; and in the second operation I was fortunate enough to attend them during the whole of the time, attended by a person well qualified to make drawings of every particular circumstance that occurred. A remarkable coincidence of time was noticed as to the season in which it took place. It was first performed in the beginning of the month of February 1791; and exactly at the same period in the year 1795 the second operation occurred. As they have not any idea of numbers beyond three, and of course have no regular computation of time, this can only be ascribed to chance, particularly as the season could not have much share in their choice, February being one of the hot months. On the 25th of January 1795 we found that the natives were assembling in numbers for the purpose of performing this ceremony. Several youths well known among us, never having submitted to the operation, were now to be made men. Pe-mul-wy, a wood native, and many strangers, came in; but the principals in the operation not being arrived from Cam-mer-ray, the intermediate nights were to be passed in dancing. Among them we observed one man painted white to the middle, his beard and eye-brows excepted, and all together a frightful object. Others were distinguished by large white circles round the eyes, which rendered them as terrific as can well be imagined. It was not until the 2nd of February that the party was complete. In the evening of that day the people from Cam-mer-ray arrived, among whom were those who were to perform the operation, all of whom appeared to have been impatiently expected by the other natives. They were painted after the manner of the country, were mostly provided with shields, and all armed with clubs, spears, and throwing sticks. The place selected for this extraordinary exhibition was at the head of Farm Cove, where a space had been for some days prepared by clearing it of grass, stumps, etc.; it was of an oval figure, the dimensions of it 27 feet by 18, and was named Yoo-lahng. When we arrived at the spot, we found the party from the north shore armed, and standing at one end of it; at the other we saw a party consisting of the boys who were to be given up for the purpose of losing each a tooth, and their several friends who accompanied them. They then began the ceremony. The armed party advanced from their end of the Yoo-lahng with a song or rather a shout peculiar to this occasion, clattering their shields and spears, and raising a dust with their feet that nearly obscured the objects around them. On reaching the farther end of the Yoo-lahng, where the children were placed, one of the party stepped from the crowd, and seizing his victim returned with him to his party, who received him with a shout louder than usual, placing him in the midst, where he seemed defended by a grove of spears from any attempts that his friends might make to rescue him. In this manner the whole were taken out, to the number of fifteen; among them appeared Ca-ru-ey, a youth of about sixteen or seventeen years of age, and a young man, a stranger to us, of about twenty-three. The number being collected that were to undergo the operation, they were seated at the upper end of the Yoo-lahng, each holding down the head; his hands clasped, and his legs crossed under him. In this position, awkward and painful as it must have been, we understood they were to remain all night; and, in short, that until the ceremony was concluded, they were neither to look up nor take any refreshment whatsoever. The carrahdis now began some of their mystical rites. One of them suddenly fell upon the ground, and throwing himself into a variety of attitudes, accompanied with every gesticulation that could be extorted by pain, appeared to be at length delivered of a bone, which was to be used in the ensuing ceremony. He was during this apparently painful process encircled by a crowd of natives, who danced around him, singing vociferously, while one or more beat him on the back until the bone was produced, and he was thereby freed from his pain. He had no sooner risen from the ground exhausted, drooping, and bathed in sweat, than another threw himself down with similar gesticulations, who went through the same ceremonies, and ended also with the production of a bone, with which he had taken care to provide himself, and to conceal it in a girdle which he wore. We were told, that by these mummeries (for they were in fact nothing else) the boys were assured that the ensuing operation would be attended with scarcely any pain, and that the more these carrahdis suffered, the less would be felt by them. It being now perfectly dark, we quitted the place, with an invitation to return early in the morning, and a promise of much entertainment from the ensuing ceremony. We left the boys sitting silent, and in the position before described, in which we were told they were to remain until morning. On repairing to the place soon after daylight, we found the natives sleeping in small detached parties; and it was not until the sun had shown himself that any of them began to stir. We observed that the people from the north shore slept by themselves, and the boys, though we heard they were not to be moved, were lying also by themselves at some little distance from the Yoo-lahng. Towards this, soon after sunrise, the carrahdis and their party advanced in quick movement, one after the other, shouting as they entered, and running twice or thrice round it. The boys were then brought to the Yoo-lahng, hanging their heads and clasping their hands. On their being seated in this manner, the ceremonies began, the principal performers in which appeared to be about twenty in number, and all of the tribe of Cammeray. The exhibitions now performed were numerous and various; but all of them in their tendency pointed toward the boys, and had some allusion to the principal act of the day, which was to be the concluding scene of it. The ceremony will be found pretty accurately represented in the annexed Engravings. [The HTML version of this ebook contains the engravings. Ed.] No. 1 Represents the young men, fifteen in number, seated at the head of the Yoo-lahng, while those who were to be the operators paraded several times round it, running upon their hands and feet, and imitating the dogs of the country. Their dress was adapted to this purpose; the wooden sword, stuck in the hinder part of the girdle which they wore round the waist, did not, when they were crawling on all fours, look much unlike the tail of a dog curled over his back. Every time they passed the place where the boys were seated, they threw up the sand and dust on them with their hands and their feet. During this ceremony the boys sat perfectly still and silent, never once moving themselves from the position in which they were placed, nor seeming in the least to notice the ridiculous appearance of the carrahdis and their associates. We understood that by this ceremony power over the dog was given to them, and that it endowed them with whatever good or beneficial qualities that animal might possess. The dogs of this country are of the jackal species; they never bark; are of two colours, the one red with some white about it; the other quite black. They have an invincible predilection for poultry, which the severest beatings could never repress. Some of them are very handsome. No. 2 Represents the young men seated as before. The first figure in the plate is a stout robust native, carrying on his shoulders a pat-ta-go-rang or kangaroo made of grass; the second is carrying a load of brush-wood. The other figures, seated about, are singing, and beating time to the steps of the two loaded men, who appeared as if they were almost unable to move under the weight of the burthen which they carried on their shoulders. Halting every now and then, and limping, they at last deposited their load at the feet of the young men, and retired from the Yoo-lahng as if they were excessively fatigued by what they had done. It must be noticed, that the man who carried the brush-wood had thrust one or two flowering shrubs through the _septum nasi_. He exhibited an extraordinary appearance in this scene. By this offering of the dead kangaroo was meant the power that was now given them of killing that animal; the brush-wood might represent its haunt. No. 3 The boys were left seated at the Yoo-lahng for about half an hour; during which the actors went down into a valley near the place, where they fitted themselves with long tails made of grass, which they fastened to the hinder part of their girdles, instead of the sword, which was laid aside during the scene. Being equipped, they put themselves in motion as a herd of kangaroos, now jumping along, then lying down and scratching themselves, as those animals do when basking in the sun. One man beat time to them with a club on a shield, while two others armed, attended them all the way, pretending to steal upon them unobserved and spear them. This was emblematical of one of their future exercises, the hunting of the kangaroo. The scene was altogether whimsical and curious; the valley where they equipped themselves was very romantic, and the occasion extraordinary and perfectly novel. No. 4 On the arrival of this curious party at the Yoo-lahng, it passed by the boys, as the herd of Kangaroo, and then quickly divesting themselves of their artificial tails, each man caught up a boy, and, placing him on his shoulders, carried him off in triumph toward the last scene of this extraordinary exhibition. It must be remarked, that the friends and relations of the young people by no means interfered, nor attempted to molest the north shore natives in the execution of their business. No. 5 After walking a short distance, the boys were let down from the shoulders of the men, and placed in a cluster, standing with their heads inclined on their breasts, and their hands clasped together. Some of the party disappeared for above ten minutes to arrange the figure of the next scene. I was not admitted to witness this business, about which they appeared to observe a greater degree of mystery and preparation than I had noticed in either of the preceding ceremonies. We were at length desired to come forward, when we found the figures as placed in the plate No. 5. The group on the left are the boys and those who attended them; fronting them were seen two men, one seated on the stump of a tree bearing another man on his shoulders, both with their arms extended: behind these were seen a number of bodies lying with their faces toward the ground, as close to each other as they could lie, and at the foot of another stump of a tree, on which were placed two other figures in the same position as the preceding. As the boys and their attendants approached the first of these figures, the men who formed it began to move themselves from side to side, lolling out their tongues, and staring as wide and horribly with their eyes as they could open them. After this mummery had continued some minutes, the men separated for them to pass, and the boys were now led over the bodies lying on the ground. These immediately began to move, writhing as if in agony, and uttering a mournful dismal sound, like very distant thunder. Having passed over these bodies, the boys were placed before the second figures, who went through the same series of grimaces as those who were seated on the former stump; after which the whole moved forward. A particular name, boo-roo-moo-roong, was given to this scene; but of its import I could learn very little. I made much inquiry; but could never obtain any other answer, than that it was very good; that the boys would now become brave men; that they would see well, and fight well. No. 6 At a little distance from the preceding scene the whole party halted; the boys were seated by each other, while opposite to them were drawn up in a half circle the other party, now armed with the spear and the shield. In the centre of this party, with his face toward them, stood Boo-der-ro, the native who had throughout taken the principal part in the business. He held his shield in one hand, and a club in the other, with which he gave them, as it were, the time for their exercise. Striking the shield with the club, at every third stroke the whole party poised and presented their spears at him, pointing them inwards, and touching the centre of his shield. This concluded the ceremonies previous to the operation; and it appeared significant of an exercise which was to form the principal business of their lives, the use of the spear. No. 7 They now commenced their preparations for striking out the tooth. The first subject they took out was a boy of about ten years of age: he was seated on the shoulders of another native who sat on the grass, as appears in this Plate. The bone was now produced which had been pretended to be taken from the stomach of the native the preceding evening; this, being made very sharp and fine at one end, was used for lancing the gum, and but for some such precaution it would have been impossible to have got out the tooth without breaking the jaw-bone. A throwing-stick was now to be cut about eight or ten inches from the end; and to effect this, much ceremony was used. The stick was laid upon a tree, and three attempts to hit it were made before it was struck. The wood being very hard, and the instrument a bad tomahawk, it took several blows to divide it; but three feints were constantly made before each stroke. When the gum was properly prepared, the operation began; the smallest end of the stick was applied as high up on the tooth as the gum would admit of, while the operator stood ready with a large stone apparently to drive the tooth down the throat of his patient. Here their attention to the number three was again manifest; no stroke was actually made until the operator had thrice attempted to hit the throwing-stick. They were full ten minutes about this first operation, the tooth being, unfortunately for the boy, fixed very firm in the gum. It was at last forced out, and the sufferer was taken away to a little distance, where the gum was closed by his friends, who now equipped him in the style he was to appear in for some days. A girdle was tied round his waist, in which was stuck a wooden sword; a ligature was put round his head, in which were stuck slips of the grass-gum tree, which, being white, had a curious and not unpleasing effect. The left hand was to be placed over the mouth, which was to be kept shut; he was on no account to speak; and for that day he was not to eat. In like manner were all the others treated, except one, a pretty boy about eight or nine years of age, who, after suffering his gum to be lanced, could not endure the pain of more than one blow with the stone, and breaking from them made his escape. During the whole of the operation the assistants made the most hideous noise in the ears of the patients*, sufficient to distract their attention, and to drown any cries they could possibly have uttered; but they made it a point of honour to bear the pain without a murmur. [* Crying e-wah e-wah, ga-ga ga-ga, repeatedly.] Some other peculiarities, however, were observed. The blood that issued from the lacerated gum was not wiped away, but suffered to run down the breast, and fall upon the head of the man on whose shoulders the patient sat, and whose name was added to his. I saw them several days afterwards, with the blood dried upon the breast. They were also termed Ke-bar-ra, a name which has reference in its construction to the singular instrument used on this occasion, Ke-bah in their language signifying a rock or stone. I heard them several months after address each other by this significant name. No. 8 This Plate represents the young men arranged and sitting upon the trunk of a tree, as they appeared in the evening after the operation was over. The man is Cole-be, who is applying a broiled fish to his relation Nan-bar-ray's gum, which had suffered from the stroke more than any of the others. Suddenly, on a signal being given, they all started up, and rushed into the town, driving before them men, women, and children, who were glad to get out of their way. They were now received into the class of men; were privileged to wield the spear and the club, and to oppose their persons in combat. They might now also seize such females as they chose for wives. All this, however, must be understood to import, that by having submitted to the operation, having endured the pain of it without a murmur, and having lost a front tooth, they received a qualification which they were to exercise whenever their years and their strength should be equal to it. Bennillong's sister, and Da-ring-ha, Cole-be's wife, hearing me express a great desire to be possessed of some of these teeth, procured three of them for me, one of which was that of Nan-bar-ray, Cole-be's relation. I found that they had fastened them to pieces of small line, and were wearing them round their necks. They were given to me with much secrecy and great dread of being observed, and with an injunction that I should never let it be known that they had made me such a present, as the Cam-mer-ray tribe, to whom they were to be given, would not fail to punish them for it; and they added that they should tell them the teeth were lost. Nan-bar-ray's tooth Da-ring-ha wished me to give to Mr. White, the principal surgeon of the settlement, with whom the boy had lived from his being brought into it, in the year 1789, to Mr. White's departure; thus with gratitude remembering, after the lapse of some years, the attention which that gentleman had shown to her relative. Having remained with them while the operation was performed on three or four of the boys, I went into town, and returned after sun-set, when I found the whole equipped and seated on the trunk of the tree, as described in the Plate. It was then that I received the three teeth, and was conjured by the women to leave the place, as they did not know what might ensue. In fact, I observed the natives arming themselves; much confusion and hurry was visible among them; the savage appeared to be predominating; perhaps the blood they had drawn, and which was still wet on the heads and breasts of many of them, began to make them fierce; and, when I was on the point of retiring, the signal was given, which animated the boys to the first exercise of the spirit which the business of the day had infused into them, (for I have no doubt that their young bosoms were warmed by the different ceremonies which they had witnessed, of which they had indeed been something more than mere spectators, and which they knew had been exhibited wholly on their account,) and they rushed into the town in the manner before described, every where as they passed along setting the grass on fire. On showing the teeth to our medical gentleman there, and to others since my return to England, they all declared that they could not have been better extracted, had the proper instrument been used, instead of the stone and piece of wood. On a view of all these circumstances, I certainly should not consider this ceremony in any other light than as a tribute, were I not obliged to hesitate, by observing that all the people of Cam-mer-ray, which were those who exacted the tooth, were themselves proofs that they had submitted to the operation. I never saw one among them who had not lost the front tooth. I well recollect Bennillong, in the early period of our acquaintance with him and his language, telling us, as we then thought, that a man of the name of Cam-mer-ra-gal wore all the teeth about his neck. But we afterwards found that this term was only the distinguishing title of the tribe which performed the ceremonies incident to the operation. Bennillong at other times told us, that his own tooth was bour-bil-liey pe-mul, buried in the earth, and that others were thrown into the sea. It is certain, however, that my female friends, who gave me the teeth, were very anxious that the gift should not come to the knowledge of the men of Cam-mer-ray, and repeatedly said that they were intended for them. In alluding to this ceremony, whether by pointing to the vacancy occasioned by the lost tooth, or by adverting to any of the curious scenes exhibited on the occasion, the words Yoo-lahng erah-ba-diahng were always used; but to denote the loss of any other tooth the word bool-bag-ga was applied. The term Yoo-lahng erah-ba-diahng must therefore be considered as applying solely to this extraordinary occasion; it appears to be compounded of the name given to the spot where the principal scenes take place, and of the most material qualification that is derived from the whole ceremony, that of throwing the spear. I conceive this to be the import of the word erah-ba-diahng, erah being a part of the verb to throw, erah, throw you, erailley, throwing. Being thus entered on 'the valued file,' they quickly assume the consequence due to the distinction, and as soon as possible bring their faculties into action. The procuring of food really seems to be but a secondary business with them; the management of the spear and the shield, dexterity in throwing the various clubs they have in use among them, agility in either attacking or defending, and a display of the constancy with which they endure pain, appearing to rank first among their concerns in life. The females too are accustomed to bear on their heads the traces of the superiority of the males, with which they dignify them almost as soon as they find strength in the arm to imprint the mark. We have seen some of these unfortunate beings with more scars upon their shorn heads, cut in every direction, than could be well distinguished or counted. The condition of these women is so wretched, that I have often, on seeing a female child borne on its mother's shoulders, anticipated the miseries to which it was born, and thought it would be a mercy to destroy it. Notwithstanding, however, that they are the mere slaves of the men, I have generally found, in tracing the causes of their quarrels, that the women were at the head of them, though in some cases remotely. They mingled in all the contests of the men; and one of these, that was in the beginning attended with some ceremony, was opened by a woman: We had been told for some days of their making great preparations for a fight, and gladly heard that they had chosen a clear spot near the town for the purpose. The contending parties consisted of most of our Sydney acquaintance, and some natives from the south shore of Botany Bay, among whom was Gome-boak, already mentioned in Chapter XXVIII ["About the latter end of the month . . ."]. We repaired to the spot an hour before sun-set, and found them seated opposite each other on a level piece of ground between two hills. As a prelude to the business, we observed our friends, after having waited some time, stand up, and each man stooping down, take water in the hollow of his hand (the place just before them being wet) which he drank. An elderly woman with a cloak on her shoulders (made of opossum skins very neatly sewn together) and provided with a club, then advanced from the opposite side, and, uttering much abusive language at the time, ran up to Cole-be, who was on the right, and gave him what I should have considered a severe blow on the head, which with seeming contempt he held out to her for the purpose. She went through the same ceremony with the rest, who made no resistance, until she came up to Ye-ra-ni-be, a very fine boy, who stood on the left. He, not admiring the blows that his companions received, which were followed by blood, struggled with her, and had he not been very active, I believe she would have stabbed him with his own spear, which she wrested from him. The men now advanced, and gave us many opportunities of witnessing the strength and dexterity with which they threw their spears, and the quickness of sight which was requisite to guard against them. The contest lasted until dark, when throwing the spear could no longer be accounted fair, and they beat each other with clubs, until they left off by mutual consent. In this part of the contest many severe wounds were given, and much blood was drawn from the heads of each party; but nothing material happened while they had light enough to guard against the spear. In the exercise of this weapon they are very expert. I have seen them strike with certainty at the distance of seventy measured yards. They are thrown with great force, and where they are barbed are very formidable instruments. The wo-mer-ra, or throwing-stick, is always made use of on such occasions. This is a stick about three feet long, with a hook at one end (and a shell at the other, secured by gum), to receive which there is a small hole at the head of the spear. Both are held in the right hand. the fingers of which are placed, two above the throwing-stick, and two between it and the spear, at about the distance of two feet from the hook. After poising it for some time, and measuring with the eye the distance from the object to be thrown at, the spear is discharged, the throwing-stick remaining in the hand. Of these instruments there are two kinds; the one, named Wo-mer-ra, is armed with the shell of a clam, which they term Kah-dien, and which they use for the same purposes that we employ a knife. The other, which they name Wig-goon, has a hook, but no shell, and is rounded at the end. With this they dig the fern-root and yam out of the earth, and it is formed of heavy wood, while the wo-mer-ra is only part of a wattle split. They have several varieties of spears, every difference in them being distinguished by a name. Some are only pointed; others have one or more barbs, either shaped from the solid piece of wood of which the spear is made, or fastened on with gum; and some are armed with pieces of broken oyster-shell for four or five inches from the point, and secured by gum. All these barbed spears are dangerous, from the difficulty of extracting them. Of shields they have but two sorts. One, named E-lee-mong, is cut from the bark of the gum tree, and is not so capable of resisting the spear as the Ar-rah-gong, which is formed of solid wood, and hardened by fire. This shield is not so much in use as the e-lee-mong, as I imagine from its greater weight, and perhaps also from the superior difficulty they meet with in procuring it. Of clubs they use several sorts, some of which are of very large dimensions. They have one, the head of which is flat, with a sharp point in the centre. The flat part is painted with red and white stripes from the centre, and does not look unlike what they term it, Gnal-lung-ul-la, the name given by them to a mushroom. They have yet another instrument, which they call Ta-war-rang. It is about three feet long, is narrow, but has three sides, in one of which is the handle, hollowed by fire. The other sides are rudely carved with curved and waved lines, and it is made use of in dancing, being struck upon for this purpose with a club. An instrument very common among them must not be omitted in this account of their weapons of hostility, for such, I fear, some of our miserable straggling convicts have found it to their cost, though it generally is applied to more peaceful purposes. This is the Mo-go*, or stone-hatchet. The stone is found in the shallows at the upper part of the Hawkesbury, and a handle being fixed round the head of it with gum, the under part is brought by friction to an edge fine enough to divide the bark of such trees as they take their canoes or hunters huts from, and even the shields which are cut from the body of the tree itself. There is no doubt of their readily applying this as a weapon, when no other offers to their necessities. [* A representation of this and other instruments is given in plate 11.] It must be observed, that the principal tribes have their peculiar weapons. Most of us had made collections of their spears, throwing-sticks, etc. as opportunities occurred; and on showing them to our Sydney friends, they have told us that such a one was used by the people who lived to the southward of Botany Bay; that another belonged to the tribe of Cam-mer-ray. The spear of the wood tribes, Be-dia-gal, Tu-ga-gal, and Boo-roo-bir-rong-gal, were known from being armed with bits of stone, instead of broken oyster-shells. The lines worn round the waist by the men belonged to a peculiar tribe, and came into the hands of others either by gift or plunder. The nets used by the people of the coast for carrying their fish, lines, etc differed in the mesh from those used by the wood natives; and they extend this peculiarity even to their dances, their songs, and their dialect. Among other customs which these people invariably practise, is one that is highly deserving of notice, as it carries with it some idea of retributive justice. The shedding of blood is always followed by punishment, the party offending being compelled to expose his person to the spears of all who choose to throw at him; for in these punishments the ties of consanguinity or friendship are of no avail. On the death of a person, whether male or female, old or young, the friends of the deceased must be punished, as if the death were occasioned by their neglect. This is sometimes carried farther than there seems occasion for, or than can be reconcilable with humanity. After the murder of Yel-lo-way by Wat-te-wall his widow Noo-roo-ing being obliged, according to the custom of her country, to avenge her husband's death on some of the relations of the murderer, meeting with a little girl named Go-nang-goo-lie, who was some way related to Wat-te-wal, walked with her and two other girls to a retired place, where with a club and a pointed stone they beat her so cruelly, that she was brought into the town almost dead. In the head were six or seven deep incisions, and one ear was divided to the bone, which, from the nature of the instrument with which they beat her, was much injured. This poor child was in a very dangerous way, and died in a few days afterwards. The natives to whom this circumstance was mentioned expressed little or no concern at it, but seemed to think it right, necessary, and inevitable; and we understood that whenever women have occasion for this sanguinary revenge, they never exercise it but on their own sex, not daring to strike a male. Noo-roo-ing, perceiving that her treatment of Go-nang-goo-lie did not meet our approbation, denied having beaten her, and said it was the other girls; but such men as we conversed with on the subject assured us it was Noo-roo-ing, and added, that she had done no more than what custom obliged her to. The little victim of her revenge was, from her quiet tractable manners, much beloved in the town; and what is a singular trait of the inhumanity of this proceeding, she had every day since Yel-loway's death requested that Noo-roo-ing might be fed at the officer's hut, where she herself resided. Savage indeed must be the custom and the feelings which could arm the hand against this child's life! Her death was not avenged, perhaps because they considered it as an expiatory sacrifice. Wat-te-wal, who committed the crime for which this little girl suffered so cruelly, escaped unhurt from the spears of Bennillong, Cole-be, and several other natives, and was afterwards received by them as usual, and actually lived with this very woman for some time, till he was killed in the night by Cole-be, as before related. This Wat-te-wal was in great union with Bennillong, who twice denied his having committed offences which he knew would forfeit our favour. In this last instance Bennillong betrayed more duplicity than we had given him credit for. On asking him with some earnestness if Wat-te-wal had killed Yel-loway, he assured us with much confidence that it was not Wat-te-wal who had killed him, but We-re-mur-rah. Little did we suspect that our friend had availed himself of a circumstance which he knew we were unacquainted with, that Wat-te-wal had more than one name. By giving us the second, he saved his friend, and knew that he could at all times boldly maintain that he had not concealed his name from us, We-re-murrah being as much his name as Wat-te-wal, though we had never known him by it. On apprising him some time afterwards, that we had discovered his artifice, and that it was a meanness we did not expect from him, he only laughed and went away. The violent death of Yel-lo-way we have seen followed by a cruel proceeding, which terminated in the death of the murderer's relation, Go-nang-goolie. I shall now show what followed where the person died a natural death. Bone-da, a very fine youth, who lived at my house for several months, died of a cold, which, settling in his face, terminated in a mortification of his upper and lower jaws, and carried him off. We were told that some blood must be spilt on this occasion; but six weeks elapsed before we heard of any thing having happened in consequence of his decease. About that time having passed, however, we heard that a large party of natives belonging to different tribes, being assembled at Pan-ner-rong* (or, as it is named with us, Rose Bay), the spot which they had often chosen for shedding blood, after dancing and feasting over-night, early in the morning, Mo-roo-ber-ra, the brother, and Cole-be, another relation of Bone-da, seized upon a lad named Tar-ra-bil-long, and with a club each gave him a wound in his head, which laid the skull bare. Dar-ring-ha, the sister of Bone-da, had her share in the bloody rite, and pushed at the unoffending boy with a doo-ull or short spear. He was brought into the town and placed at the hospital, and, though the surgeon pronounced from the nature of his wounds that his recovery was rather doubtful, he was seen walking about the day following. On being spoke to about the business, he said he did not weep or cry out like a boy, but like a man cried Ki-yah when they struck him; that the persons who treated him in this unfriendly manner were no longer his enemies, but would eat or drink or sit with him as friends [* Pan-ner-rong in the language of the country signifies Blood.] Three or four days after this, Go-roo-bine, a grey-headed man, apparently upwards of sixty years of age, who was related to Bone-da, came in with a severe wound on the back part of his head, given him on account of the boy's decease; neither youth nor old age appearing to be exempted from those sanguinary customs. When Ba-rang-a-roo, Bennillong's wife, died, several spears were thrown by the men at each other, by which many were wounded; and Bennillong had a severe contest with Wil-le-mer-ring, whom he wounded in the thigh. He had sent for him as a car-rah-dy to attend her when she was ill; but he either could not or would not obey the summons. Bennillong had chosen the time for celebrating these funeral games in honour of his deceased wife when a whale feast had assembled a large number of natives together, among whom were several people from the northward, who spoke a dialect very different to that with which we were acquainted. Some officers happening once to be present in the lower part of the harbour when a child died, perceived the men immediately retire, and throw their spears at one another with much apparent anger, while the females began their usual lamentations. When Dil-boong, Bennillong's infant child, died, several spears were thrown, and Bennillong, at the decease of her mother, said repeatedly, that he should not be satisfied until he had sacrificed some one to her _manes_. Ye-ra-ni-be Go-ru-ey having beaten a young woman, the wife of another man, and she having some time after exchanged a perilous and troublesome life for the repose and quiet of the grave, a contest ensued some days after, on account of her decease, between Bennillong and Go-ru-ey, and between the husband and Go-ru-ey, by both of whom he was wounded. Bennillong drove a spear into his knee, and the husband another into his left buttock. This wound he must have received by failing to catch the spear on his shield, and turning his body to let it pass beside him; other spears were thrown, but he alone appeared to be the victim of the day. Signifying a wish to have his wounds dressed by the surgeon, he was in the evening actually brought up to the hospital by the very man who had wounded him. The bay named Pan-ner-rong was the scene of this extraordinary transaction. Not a long time before I left the country, I witnessed another contest among them, which was attended with some degree of ceremony. The circumstance was this. A native of the Botany Bay district, named Collindiun, having taken off by force Go-roo-boo-roo-bal-lo, the former wife of Bennillong, but now the wife of Car-ru-ey, and carried her up the harbour, Car-ru-ey with his relation Cole-be, in revenge, stole upon this Collindiun one night while he lay asleep, and each fixed a spear in him. The wounds, though deep and severe, yet did not prove mortal, and on his recovery he demanded satisfaction. He came accompanied by a large party of natives from the south shore of Botany Bay, and rather reluctantly, for he had wished the business to be decided there, rather than among Car-ru-ey's friends, as many of his associates in arms were entire strangers to us. Thirsting after revenge, however, he was prevailed with to meet him on his own ground, and the Yoo-lahng formerly used for a different purpose was the place of rendezvous. At night they all danced, that is to say, both parties, but not mixed together; one side waiting until the other had concluded their dance. In the manner of dancing, of announcing themselves as ready to begin, and also in their song, there was an evident difference. Our friends appeared to have some apprehension of the event not proving favourable to them; for perceiving an officer there with a gun, Car-ru-ey strenuously urged him, if any thing should happen to him, to shoot the Botany Bay black fellows. The women, to induce us to comply with his request, told us that some of the opposite party had said they would kill Car-ru-ey. Some other guns making their appearance, the strangers were alarmed and uneasy, until assured that they were intended merely for our own security. The time for this business was just after ten in the forenoon. We found Car-ru-ey and Cole-be seated at one end of the Yoo-lahng, each armed with a spear and throwing-stick, and provided with a shield. Here they were obliged to sit until some one of their opponents got up; they also then arose and put themselves _en garde_. Some of the spears which were thrown at them they picked up and threw back; and others they returned with extraordinary violence. The affair was over before two o'clock; and, what was remarkable, we did not hear of any person being wounded. We understood, however, that this circumstance was to produce another meeting. In this as in all the contests I ever witnessed among them, the point of honour was rigidly observed. But spears were not the only instruments of warfare on these occasions. They had also to combat with words, in which the women sometimes bore a part. During this latter engagement I have seen them, when any very offensive word met their ears, suddenly place themselves in the attitude of throwing the spear, and at times let it drop on the ground without discharging; and others threw it with all their strength; but always scrupulously observing the situation of the person opposed, and never throwing at him until he covered himself with his shield. The most unaccountable trait in this business was, the party thrown at providing his enemy with weapons; for they have been repeatedly seen, when a spear has flown harmless beyond them, to pick it up and fling it carelessly back to their adversary. This might proceed from contempt, or from there being a scarcity of spears; and I have thought that when, instead of flinging it carelessly back, they have thrown it with much violence, it was because it had been thrown at them with a greater visible degree of malevolence than the others. This rigid attention to the point of honour, when fairly opposed to each other, is difficult to reconcile with their treacherous and midnight murders. Their mode of retaliating an insult or injury was extraordinary. Children, if when at play they received a blow or a push, resented it by a blow or a push of equal force to that which they felt. This retaliating spirit appeared also among the men, of a remarkable instance of which several of us were witnesses. A native of the name of Bur-ro-wan-nie had some time before been beaten by two natives of the tribe of Gwe-a, at the head of Botany Bay. One of these being fixed on, he was in return to be beaten by Bur-ro-wan-nie. For this purpose a large party attended over-night at the head of the stream near the settlement to dance; at which exercise they continued from nine till past twelve o'clock. The man who was to be beaten danced with the rest until they ceased, and then laid himself down among them to sleep. Early in the morning, while he was yet on the ground, and apparently asleep at the foot of a tree, Cole-be and Bur-ro-wan-me, armed each with a spear and a club, rushed upon him from among some trees. Cole-be made a push at him with his spear, but did not touch him, while the other, Bur-ro-wan-me, struck him with his club two severe blows on the hinder part of the head. The noise they made, if he was alseep, awaked him; and when he was struck, he was on his legs. He was perfectly unarmed, and hung his head in silence while Cole-be and his companion talked to him. No more blows were given, and Bennillong, who was present, wiped the blood from the wounds with some grass. As a proof that Bur-ro-wan-nie was satisfied with the redress he had taken, we saw him afterwards walking in the town with the object of his resentment, who, on being asked, said Bur-ro-ween-nie was good; and during the whole of the day, wheresoever he was seen, there also was this poor wretch with his breast and back covered with dried blood; for, according to the constant practice of his countrymen, he had not washed it off. In the evening I saw him with a ligature fastened very tight round his head, which certainly required something to alleviate the pain it must have endured. In some of these contests they have been seen on the field of battle attended by a person who appeared to be the friend of both parties. In a single combat which Mo-roo-ber-ra had with Bennillong, they were attended by Cole-be, who took a position on one side about half-way between them, armed with a spear and throwing-stick, but unprovided with a shield. This I saw he frequently shook, and talked a great deal, but never threw it. While in this situation he was styled Ca-bah-my. I had long wished to be a witness of a family party, in which I hoped and expected to see them divested of that restraint which perhaps they might put on in our houses. I was one day gratified in this wish when I little expected it. Having strolled down to the Point named Too-bow-gu-lie, I saw the sister and the young wife of Bennillong coming round the Point in the new canoe which the husband had cut in his last excursion to Parramatta. They had been out to procure fish, and were keeping time with their paddles, responsive to the words of a song, in which they joined with much good humour and harmony. They were almost immediately joined by Bennillong, who had his sister's child on his shoulders. The canoe was hauled on shore, and what fish they had caught the women brought up. I observed that the women seated themselves at some little distance from Bennillong, and then the group was thus disposed of--the husband was seated on a rock, preparing to dress and eat the fish he had just received. On the same rock lay his pretty sister War-re-weer asleep in the sun, with a new born infant in her arms; and at some little distance were seated, rather below him, his other sister and his wife, the wife opening and eating some rock-oysters, and the sister suckling her child, Kah-dier-rang, whom she had taken from Bennillong. I cannot omit mentioning the unaffected simplicity of the wife: immediately on her stepping out of her canoe, she gave way to the pressure of a certain necessity, without betraying any of that reserve which would have led another at least behind the adjoining bush. She blushed not, for the cheek of Go-roo-bar-roo-bool-lo was the cheek of rude nature, and not made for blushes. I remained with them till the whole party fell asleep. They have great difficulty in procuring fire, and are therefore seldom seen without it. Bennillong, or some other native, once showed me the process of procuring it. It is attended with infinite labour, and is performed by fixing the pointed end of a cylindrical piece of wood into a hollow made in a plane: the operator twirling the round piece swiftly between both his hands, sliding them up and down until fatigued, at which time he is relieved by another of his companions, who are all seated for this purpose in a circle, and each one takes his turn until fire is procured. Most of their instruments are ornamented with rude carved-work, effected with a piece of broken shell, and on the rocks I have seen various figures of fish, clubs, swords, animals, and even branches of trees, not contemptibly represented. APPENDIX VII--SUPERSTITION Like all other children of ignorance, these people are the slaves of superstition. I think I may term the car-rah-dy their high priest of superstition. The share they had in the tooth-drawing scenes was not the only instance, that induced me to suppose this. When Cole-be accompanied Governor Phillip to the banks of the Hawkesbury, he met with a car-rah-dy, Yel-lo-mun-dy, who, with much gesticulation and mummery, pretended to extract the barbs of two spears from his side, which never had been left there, or, if they had, required rather the aid of the knife than the incantations of Yel-lo-mun-dy to extract them; but his patient was satisfied with the car-rah-dy's efforts to serve him, and thought himself perfectly relieved. During the time that Boo-roong lived at the clergyman's house she paid occasional visits to the lower part of the harbour. From one of these she returned extremely ill. On questioning her as to the cause, for none was apparent, she told us that the women of Cam-mer-ray had made water in a path which they knew she was to cross, and it had made her ill. These women were inimical to her, as she belonged to the Botany Bay district. On her intimating to them that she found herself ill, they told her triumphantly what they had done. Not recovering, though bled in the arm by Mr. White, she underwent an extraordinary and superstitious operation, where the operator suffers more than the patient. She was seated on the ground, with one of the lines worn by the men passed round her head once, taking care to fix the knot in the centre of her forehead; the remainder of the line was taken by another girl, who sat at a small distance from her, and with the end of it fretted her lips until they bled very copiously; Boo-roong imagining all the time that the blood came from her head, and passed along the line until it ran into the girl's mouth, whence it was spit into a small vessel which she had beside her, half filled with water, and into which she occasionally dipped the end of the line. This operation they term be-an-ny, and is the peculiar province of the women. Another curious instance of their superstition occurred among some of our people belonging to a boat that was lying wind-bound in the lower part of the harbour. They had procured some shell-fish, and during the night were preparing to roast them, when they were observed by one of the natives, who shook his head and exclaimed, that the wind for which they were waiting would not rise if they roasted the fish. His argument not preventing the sailors from enjoying their treat, and the wind actually proving foul, they, in their turn, gave an instance of superstition by abusing the native, and attributing to him the foul wind which detained them. On questioning Ye-ra-ni-be respecting this circumstance, he assured me that the natives never broil fish by night. In a reach of the Hawkesbury, about midway up some high land, stands a rock which in its form is not unlike a sentry-box. Respecting this rock, they have a superstitious tradition, that while some natives were one day feasting under it, some of the company whistling, it happened to fall from a great height, and crushed the whole party under its weight. For this reason they make it an invariable rule never to whistle under a rock. Among their other superstitions was one which might be naturally expected from their ignorance, a belief in spirits. Of this belief we had at different times several accounts. Bennillong, during his first acquaintance with us, described an apparition as advancing to a person with an uncommon noise, and seizing hold of him by the throat. It came slowly along with its body bent, and the hands held together in a line with the face, moving on till it seized the party it meant to visit. We were told by him and others, and that after we understood each other, that by sleeping at the grave of a deceased person, they would, from what happened to them there, be freed from all future apprehensions respecting apparitions; for during that awful sleep the spirit of the deceased would visit them, seize them by the throat, and, opening them, take out their bowels, which they would replace and close up the wound. We understood that very few chose to encounter the darkness of the night, the solemnity of the grave, and the visitation of the spirit of the deceased; but that such as were so hardy became immediately car-rah-dys, and that all those who exercised that profession had gone through this ceremony. It is very certain, that even in the day-time they were strangely unwilling to pass a grave; but I believe that their tale of being seized by the throat by a ghost was nothing more than their having felt the effects of what we term the night-mare during an uneasy sleep. To the shooting of a star they attach a degree of importance; and I once, on an occasion of this kind, saw the girl Boo-roong greatly agitated, and prophesying much evil to befal all the white men and their habitations. Of thunder and lightning they are also much afraid; but have an ideal that by chanting some particular words, and breathing hard, they can dispel it. Instances of this have been seen. APPENDIX VIII--DISEASES Their living chiefly on fish (I speak of those whom we found on the sea coast) produces a disorder which greatly resembles the itch; they term it Djee-ball djee-ball; and at one time, about the year 1791, there was not one of the natives, man, woman, nor child, that came near us, but was covered with it. It raged violently among them, and some became very loathsome objects. The venereal disease also had got among them; but I fear our people have to answer for that; for though I believe none of our women had connection with then, yet there is no doubt but that several of the black women had not scrupled to connect themselves with the white men. Of the certainty of this an extraordinary instance occurred. A native woman had a child by one of our people. On its coming into the world she perceived a difference in its colour; for which not knowing how to account, she endeavoured to supply by art what she found deficient in nature, and actually held the poor babe, repeatedly, over the smoke of her fire, and rubbed its little body with ashes and dirt, to restore it to the hue with which her other children had been born. Her husband appeared as fond of it as if it had borne the undoubted sign of being his own, at least so far as complexion could ascertain to whom it belonged. Whether the mother had made use of any address on the occasion, I never learned. It was by no means ascertained whether the lues venerea had been among them before they knew us, or whether our people had to answer for having introduced that devouring plague. Thus far is certain, however, that they gave it a name, Goo-bah-rong; a circumstance that seems rather to imply a pre-knowledge of its dreadful effects. In the year 1789 they were visited by a disorder which raged among them with all the appearance and virulence of the small-pox. The number that it swept off, by their own accounts, was incredible. At that time a native was living with us; and on our taking him down to the harbour to look for his former companions, those who witnessed his expression and agony can never forget either. He looked anxiously around him in the different coves we visited; not a vestige on the sand was to be found of human foot; the excavations in the rocks were filled with the putrid bodies of those who had fallen victims to the disorder; not a living person was any where to be met with. It seemed as if, flying from the contagion, they had left the dead to bury the dead. He lifted up his hands and eyes in silent agony for some time; at last he exclaimed, 'All dead! all dead!' and then hung his head in mournful silence, which he preserved during the remainder of our excursion. Some days after he learned that the few of his companions who survived had fled up the harbour to avoid the pestilence that so dreadfully raged. His fate has been already mentioned. He fell a victim to his own humanity when Boo-roong, Nan-bar-ray, and others were brought into the town covered with the eruptions of the disorder. On visiting Broken Bay, we found that it had not confined its effects to Port Jackson, for in many places our path was covered with skeletons, and the same spectacles were to be met with in the hollows of most of the rocks of that harbour. Notwithstanding the town of Sydney was at this time filled with children, many of whom visited the natives that were ill of this disorder, not one of them caught it, though a North-American Indian, a sailor belonging to Captain Ball's vessel, the _Supply_, sickened of it and died. To this disorder they also gave a name, Gal-gal-la; and that it was the small-pox there was scarcely a doubt; for the person seized with it was affected exactly as Europeans are who have that disorder; and on many that had recovered from it we saw the traces, in some the ravages of it on the face. As a proof of the numbers of those miserable people who were carried off by this disorder, Bennillong told us, that his friend Cole-be's tribe being reduced by its effects to three persons, Cole-be, the boy Nan-bar-ray, and some one else, they found themselves compelled to unite with some other tribe, not only for their personal protection, but to prevent the extinction of their tribe. Whether this incorporation ever took place I cannot say; I only know that the natives themselves, when distinguishing between this man and another of the same name at Botany Bay, always styled him Cad-i Cole-be; Cad-i being the name of his district; and Cole-be, when he came into the field some time after, appeared to be attended by several very fine boys who kept close by his side, and were of his party. Whenever they feel a pain, they fasten a tight ligature round the part, thereby stopping the circulation, and easing the part immediately affected. I have before mentioned the quickness with which they recovered from wounds; but I have even known them get the better in a short time of a fractured skull. That their skulls should be fractured will be no wonder, when it is recollected that the club seems to be applied alone to the head. The women who are struck with this weapon always fall to the ground; but this seldom happens to the men though the blows are generally more severe. APPENDIX IX--PROPERTY Their spears and shields, their clubs and lines, etc are their own property; they are manufactured by themselves, and are the whole of their personal estate. But, strange as it may appear, they have also their real estates. Bennillong, both before he went to England and since his return, often assured me, that the island Me-mel (called by us Goat Island) close by Sydney Cove was his own property; that it was his father's, and that he should give it to By-gone, his particular friend and companion. To this little spot he appeared much attached; and we have often seen him and his wife Ba-rang-a-roo feasting and enjoying themselves on it. He told us of other people who possessed this kind of hereditary property, which they retained undisturbed. APPENDIX X--DISPOSITIONS From the different circumstances that have been related of these people in the foregoing account, a general idea of their character and disposition may be gathered. They are revengeful, jealous, courageous, and cunning. I have never considered their stealing on each other in the night for the purposes of murder as a want of bravery, but have looked on it rather as the effect of the diabolical spirit of revenge, which thus sought to make surer of its object than it could have done if only opposed man to man in the field. Their conduct when thus opposed, the constancy with which they endured pain, and the alacrity with which they accepted a summons to the fight, are surely proofs of their not wanting courage. They disclaim all idea of any superiority that is not personal; and I remember when Bennillong had a shield, made of tin and covered with leather, presented to him by Governor Phillip, he took it with him down the harbour, whence he returned without it, telling us that he had lost it; but in fact it had been taken from him by the people of the north shore district and destroyed; it being deemed unfair to cover himself with such a guard. They might have been honest before we came among them, not having much to covet from one another; but from us they often stole such things as we would not give them. While they pilfered what could gratify their appetites, it was not to be wondered at; but I have seen them steal articles of which they could not possibly know the use. Mr. White once being in the midst of a crowd of natives in the lower part of the harbour, one of them saw a small case of instruments in his pocket, which, watching an opportunity, he slyly stole, and ran away with; but, being observed, he was pursued and made to restore his prize. We were very little acquainted with them at this time, and therefore the native could not have known the contents of the case. Could he have been watched to his retreat, I have no doubt but he would have been seen to lay the case on his head, as an ornament, the place to which at first every thing we gave them was usually consigned. That they are not strangers to the occasional practice of falsehood, is apparent from the words truth and falsehood being found in their language; but, independent of this, we had many proofs of their being adepts in the arts of evasion and lying; and I have seen them, when we have expressed doubts of some of their tales, assure us with much earnestness of the truth of their assertions; and when speaking to us of other natives they have as anxiously wished us to believe that they had told us lies. Their talent for mimicry is very great. It was a favourite diversion with the children to imitate the peculiarities in any one's gait, and they would go through it with the happiest success. They are susceptible of friendship, and capable of feeling sorrow; but this latter sensation they are not in the habit of encouraging long. When Ba-loo-der-ry, a very fine lad who died among us, was buried, I saw the tears streaming silently down the sable cheek of his father Mau-go-ran; but in a little time they were dried, and the old man's countenance indicated nothing but the lapse of many years which had passed over his head. With attention and kind treatment, they certainly might be made a very serviceable people. I have seen them employed in a boat as usefully as any white person; and the settlers have found some among them, who would go out with their stock, and carefully bring home the right numbers, though they have not any knowledge of numeration beyond three or four. Their acquaintance with astronomy is limited to the names of the sun and moon, some few stars, the Magellanic clouds, and the milky way. Of the circular form of the earth they have not the smallest idea, but imagine that the sun returns over their heads during the night to the quarter whence he begins his course in the morning. As they never make provision for the morrow, except at a whale-feast, they always eat as long as they have any thing left to eat, and when satisfied, stretch themselves out in the sun to sleep, where they remain until hunger or some other cause calls them again into action. I have at times observed a great degree of indolence in their dispositions, which I have frequently seen the men indulge at the expence of the weaker vessel the women, who have been forced to sit in their canoe, exposed to the fervour of the mid-day sun, hour after hour, chanting their little song, and inviting the fish beneath them to take their bait; for without a sufficient quantity to make a meal for their tyrants, who were lying asleep at their ease, they would meet but a rude reception on their landing. APPENDIX XI--FUNERAL CEREMONIES The first peculiarity noticeable in their funeral ceremonies is the disposal of their dead; their young people they consign to the grave; those who have passed the middle age are burnt. Bennillong burnt the body of his first wife Ba-rang-a-roo, who, I suppose, was at the time of her decease turned fifty. I have attended them on both occasions. The interment of Ba-loo-der-ry was accompanied with many curious ceremonies. From being one day in apparent perfect health, he was brought in the next extremely ill, and attended by Bennillong, whom we found singing over him, and making use of those means which ignorance and superstition pointed out to him to recover his health. Ba-loo-der-ry lay extended on the ground, appearing to be in much pain. Bennillong applied his mouth to those parts of his patient's body which he thought were affected, breathing strongly on them, and singing: at times he waved over him some boughs dipped in water, holding one in each hand, and seemed to treat him with much attention and friendship. On the following morning he was visited by a car-rah-dy, who came express from the north shore. This man threw himself into various distortions, applied his mouth to different parts of his patient's body, and at length, after appearing to labour much, and to be in great pain, spit out a piece of a bone about an inch and a half long (which he had previously procured). Here the farce ended, and Ba-loo-der-ry's friends took the car-rah-dy with them and entertained him with such fare as they had to give him. He was at this time at our hospital; during the night his fever increased, and his friends, thinking he would be better with them, put him into a canoe, intending to take him to the north shore; but he died as they were carrying him over. This was immediately notified to us by a violent clamour among the women and children; and Bennillong soon after coming into the town, it was agreed upon between him and the governor that the body should be buried in the governor's garden. In the afternoon it was brought over in a canoe, and deposited in a hut at the bottom of the garden, several natives attending, and the women and children lamenting and howling most dismally. The body was wrapped up in the jacket which he usually wore, and some pieces of blanketting tied round it with bines. The men were all armed, and, without any provocation, two of them had a contest with clubs; at the same time a few blows passed between some of the women. Boo-roong had her head cut by Go-roo-ber-ra, the mother of the deceased. Spears were also thrown, but evidently as part of a ceremony, and not with an intention of doing injury to any one. At the request of Bennillong, a blanket was laid over the corpse, and Cole-be his friend sat by the body all night, nor could he be prevailed on to quit it. They remained rather silent till about one in the morning, when the women began to cry, and continued for some time. At daylight Bennillong brought his canoe to the place, and cutting it to a proper length, the body was placed in it, with a spear, a fiz-gig, a throwing-stick, and a line which Ba-loo-derry had worn round his waist. Some time was taken up in adjusting all this business, during which the men were silent, but the women, boys, and children uttered the most dismal lamentations. The father stood alone and unemployed, a silent observer of all that was doing about his deceased son, and a perfect picture of deep and unaffected sorrow. Every thing being ready, the men and boys all assisted in lifting the canoe with the body from the ground, and placing it on the heads of two natives, Collins and Yow-war-re. Some of the assistants had tufts of grass in their hands, which they waved backwards and forwards under the canoe, while it was lifting from the ground, as if they were exorcising some evil spirit. As soon as it was fixed on the heads of the bearers, they set off, preceded by Bennillong and another man, Wat-te-wal, both walking with a quick step towards the point of the cove where Bennillong's hut stood. Mau-go-ran, the father, attended them armed with his spear and throwing-stick, while Bennillong and Wat-te-wal had nothing in their hands but tufts of grass, which as they went they waved about, sometimes turning and facing the corpse, at others waving their tufts of grass among the bushes. When they fronted the corpse, the head of which was carried foremost, the bearers made a motion with their heads from side to side, as if endeavouring to avoid the people who fronted them. After proceeding thus to some little distance, Wat-te-wal turned aside from the path, and went up to a bush, into which he seemed to look very narrowly, as if searching for something that he could not find, and waving about the tufts of grass which he had in either hand. After this fruitless search, they all turned back, and went on in a somewhat quicker pace than before. On their drawing near the spot where the women and children were sitting with the other men, the father threw two spears towards, but (evidently intentionally) short of them. Here Bennillong took his infant child, Dil-boong in his arms, and held it up to the corpse, the bearers endeavouring to avoid it as before described. Be-dia Be-dia, the reputed brother of the deceased, a very fine boy of about five years of age, was then called for, but came forward very reluctantly, and was presented in the same manner as the other child. After this they proceeded to the grave which had been prepared in the governor's garden. Twice they changed the bearer who walked the foremost, but his friend Collins carried him the whole of the way. At the grave some delay took place, for unfortunately it was found not to be long enough; but after some time, it being completed according to their wishes, Yel-lo-way levelled the bottom with his hands and feet, and then strewed some grass in it, after which he stretched himself at his length in it, first on his back, and then on his right side. Bennillong had earnestly requested that some drums might be ordered to attend, which was granted, and two or three marches were beat while the grave was preparing; Bennillong highly approving, and pointing at the time first to the deceased and then to the skies, as if there was some connexion between them at that moment. When the grave was ready, the men to the number of five or six got in with the body, but being still somewhat too short, the ends of the canoe were cut, in doing which the bines were loosened and the corpse exposed to view. It appeared to be in a very putrid state. Every thing was however adjusted, and the grave was filled in by the natives and some of our people. On laying the body in the grave, great care was taken so to place it, that the sun might look at it as he passed, Bennillong and Cole-be taking their observations for that purpose, and cutting down every shrub that could at all obstruct the view. He was placed on his right side with his head to the NW. The native Yow-war-re appeared to have much to do in this ceremony. When the grave was covered in, and laid up round, he collected several branches of shrubs, and placed them in a half circle on the south side of the grave, extending them from the foot to the head of it. He also laid grass and boughs on the top of it, and crowned the whole with a large log of wood. This log appeared to be placed there for some particular purpose; for having fixed it he strewed some grass over it, and then laid himself on it at his length for some minutes, with his face towards the sky. Every rite being performed, the party retired, some of the men first speaking in a menacing tone to the women, and telling Boo-roong not to eat any fish nor meat that day. We understood that at night two of the men were to sleep at the grave, but I have reason to think that they did not. Cole-be and Wat-te-wal were painted red and white over the breast and shoulders, and on this occasion were distinguished by the title of Moo-by; and we learned from them that while so distinguished they were to be very sparing in their meals. They enjoined us on no account to mention the name of the deceased, a custom they rigidly attended to themselves whenever any one died; and in pursuance of this custom, Nan-bar-ray, one of whose names was Ba-loo-der-ry, had actually relinquished that, and obtained another name. The ceremony of sleeping at the grave of the deceased, we knew, was observed by Bennillong after the death of his little child Dil-boong, he and two or three other natives passing the night in the governor's garden, not very far from the spot where it was buried. Such were the ceremonies attendant on the interment of Ba-loo-derry. When Ba-rang-a-roo Da-ring-ha, Bennillong's wife, died, he determined at once to burn her, and requested Governor Phillip, Mr. White, and myself, to attend him. He was accompanied by his own sister Car-rang-ar-rang, Collins, Ca-ru-ey, Yem-mer-ra-wan-nie, and one or two other women. Collins prepared the spot whereon the pile was to be constructed, by excavating the ground with a stick, to the depth of three or four inches, and on this part so turned up were first placed small sticks and light brushwood; larger pieces were then laid on each side of these; and so on till the pile might be about three feet in height, the ends and sides of which were thus formed of large dry wood, while the middle of it consisted of small twigs and branches, broken for the purpose and thrown together. When wood enough had been procured, some grass was spread over the pile, and the corpse, covered with an old blanket, was borne to it by the men, and placed on it with the head to the northward. A basket with the fishing apparatus and other small furniture of the deceased was placed by her side; and, Bennillong having laid some large logs of wood over the body, the pile was lighted by one of the party. Being constructed of dry wood, it was quickly all in a flame, and Bennillong himself pointed out to us a black smoke, which proceeded from the centre of the pile where the body lay, and signified that the fire had reached it. We left the spot long before the last billet was consumed, and Bennillong appeared during the day more cheerful than we had expected, and spoke about finding a nurse from among the white women to suckle his child. The following day he invited us to see him rake the ashes of his wife together, and we accompanied him to the spot, unattended by any of his own people. He preceded us in a sort of solemn silence, speaking to no one until he had paid Ba-rang-a-roo the last duties of a husband. In his hand he had the spear with which he meant to punish the car-rah-dy Wil-le-me-ring for non-attendance on his wife when she was ill, with the end of which he raked the calcined bones and ashes together in a heap. Then, laying the spear upon the ground, he formed with a piece of bark a tumulus that would have done credit to a well-practised grave-digger, carefully laying the earth round, smoothing every little unevenness, and paying a scrupulous attention to the exact proportion of its form. On each side the tumulus he placed a log of wood, and on the top of it deposited the piece of bark with which he had so carefully effected its construction. When all was done he asked us 'if it was good,' and appeared pleased when we assured him that it was. His deportment on this occasion was solemn and manly; an expressive silence marked his conduct throughout the scene; in fact we attended him as silently, and with close observation. He did not suffer any thing to divert him from the business he had in hand, nor did he seem to be in the least desirous to have it quickly dispatched, but paid this last rite with an attention that did honour to his feelings as a man, as it seemed the result of an heartfelt affection for the object of it, of whose person nothing now remained but a piece or two of calcined bone. When his melancholy work was ended, he stood for a few minutes with his hands folded over his bosom, and his eye fixed upon his labours in the attitude of a man in profound thought. Perhaps in that small interval of time many ideas presented themselves to his imagination. His hands had just completed the last service he could render to a woman who, no doubt, had been useful to him; one to whom he was certainly attached (of many instances of which we had at different times been witness) and one who had left him a living pledge of some moments at least of endearment. Perhaps under the heap which his hands had raised, and on which his eyes were fixed, his imagination traced the form of her whom he might formerly have fought for, and whom he now was never to behold again. Perhaps when turning from the grave of his deceased companion, he directed all his thoughts to the preservation of the little one she had left him; and when he quitted the spot his anxiety might be directed to the child, in the idea that he might one day see his Ba-rang-aroo revive in his little motherless Dil-boong. Cole-be's wife, who bore the same names as the deceased, lost them both on this occasion, and was called by every one Bo-rahng-al-le-on. This peculiarity was also observed by them with respect to a little girl of ours, of whom Ba-rang-a-roo was so fond as to call her always by her own name. On her decease she too was styled Bo-rahng-al-le-on. Cole-be's wife, the namesake of the Ba-rang-a-roo I have just mentioned, did not survive her many months. She died of a consumption, brought on by suckling a little girl who was at her breast when she died. This circumstance led to the knowledge of a curious but horrid custom which obtains among these people. The mother died in the town, and when she was taken to the grave her corpse was carried to the door of every hut and house she had been accustomed to enter during the latter days of her illness, the bearers presenting her with the same ceremonies as were used at the funeral of Ba-loo-der-ry, when the little girl Dil-boong and the boy Be-dia were placed before his corpse. When the body was placed in the grave, the bye-standers were amazed to see the father himself place the living child in it with the mother. Having laid the child down, he threw upon it a large stone, and the grave was instantly filled in by the other natives. The whole business was so momentary, that our people had not time or presence of mind sufficient to prevent it; and on speaking about it to Cole-be, be, so far from thinking it inhuman, justified the extraordinary act by assuring us that as no woman could be found to nurse the child it must die a much worse death than that to which he had put it. As a similar circumstance occurred a short time after, we have every reason to suppose the custom always prevails among them; and this may in some degree account for the thinness of population which has been observed among the natives of the country.* [* Cole-be's child was about four or five months old, and seemed to have partaken of its mother's illness. I think it could not have lived.] I have said that these women were namesakes. Bennillong's wife was called Ba-rang-a-roo Daring-ha; Cole-be's, Daring-ha Ba-rang-a-roo. A peculiarity in their language occurs to me in this place. The males of the same name call each other Da-me-li, the women call each other Da-me-li-ghen. I have mentioned their taking particular names on certain occasions. The mutual friend who attends them to the field is styled Ca-bah-my; the persons who at their funerals are painted red and white, are named Moo-by; the namesake of a deceased person, if a male, is styled Bo-rahng; if a woman, Bo-rahn-gal-le-on. When Nor-roo-ing came into the town to acquaint us with the death of Yel-lo-way, she was perfectly a dismal sorrowing figure. She had covered herself entirely with ashes, was named while she continued so Go-lahng, and refused all kinds of sustenance. The annexed Plate represents the burning of the corpse of a native who was killed by a limb of a tree falling on him. He was brought to the spot with all the preceding ceremonies. His head was laid to the northward, and in his hands were deposited his spear and his throwing-stick. His ashes were afterwards raked together, and a tumulus erected over them, similar to that which Bennillong had raised over his wife. APPENDIX XII--LANGUAGE In giving an account of an unwritten language many difficulties occur. For things cognizable by the external senses, names may be easily procured; but not so for those which depend on action, or address themselves only to the mind: for instance, a spear was an object both visible and tangible, and a name for it was easily obtained; but the use of it went through a number of variations and inflexions, which it was extremely difficult to ascertain; indeed I never could, with any degree of certainty fix the infinitive mood of any one of their verbs. The following sketch is therefore very limited, though, as far as it does proceed, the reader may be assured of its accuracy. Their language is extremely grateful to the ear, being in many instances expressive and sonorous. It certainly has no analogy with any other known language (at least so far as my knowledge of any other language extends), one or two instances excepted, which will be noticed in the specimen. The dialect spoken by the natives at Sydney not only differs entirely from that left us by Captain Cook of the people with whom he had intercourse to the northward (about Endeavour river) but also from that spoken by those natives who lived at Port Stephens, and to the southward of Botany Bay (about Adventure Bay), as well as on the banks of the Hawkesbury. We often heard, that people from the northward had been met with, who could not be exactly understood by our friends; but this is not so wonderful as that people living at the distance of only fifty or sixty miles should call the sun and moon by different names; such, however, was the fact. In an excursion to the banks of the Hawkesbury, accompanied by two Sydney natives, we first discovered this difference; but our companions conversed with the river natives without any apparent difficulty, each understanding or comprehending the other. We have often remarked a sensible difference on hearing the same word sounded by two people; and, in fact, they have been observed sometimes to differ from themselves, substituting often the letter _b_ for _p_, and _g_ for _c_, and _vice versa_. In their alphabet they have neither _s_ nor _v_; and some of their letters would require a new character to ascertain them precisely. What follows is offered only as a specimen, not as a perfect vocabulary of their language. NEW SOUTH WALES ENGLISH --------------- ------- NAMES CHIEFLY OF OBJECTS OF SENSE Co-ing The sun Yen-na-dah The moon Bir-rong A star Mo-loo-mo-long The Pleiades War-re-wull The Milky Way Ca-ra-go-ro A cloud Boo-do-en-ong general name Cal-gal-le-on The Magellanic the greater clouds Gnar-rang-al-le-on the lesser Tu-ru-p A star falling Co-ing bi-bo-ba Sun-rising Bour-ra The sky Co-ing bur-re-goo-lah Sun-setting Gnoo-wing Night Carn-mar-roo Tar-re-ber-re Day Gwe-yong Fire Cad-jee Smoke Gil-le A spark Per-mul Earth Ta-go-ra Cold Yoo-roo-ga Heat Men-nie-no-long Dew Pan-na, and Wal-lan Rain Ba-do Water Chi-a-ra Name Car-rig-er-rang The sea Go-nie A hut Now-ey A canoe Beng-al-le A basket Car-rah-jun A fishing-line Gnam-mul A sinker [A small stone to sink the line] Bur-ra A hook Ke-ba A stone or rock Bwo-mar A grave Bow-wan A shadow Ma-hn A ghost Wir-roong Scars on the back Cong-ar-ray Scars on the breast jee-run A coward Can-ning A cave Me-diong A sore [On noticing a hole in any part of our dress they term it Me-diong] Ya-goo-na To-day Bo-ra-ne Yesterday Par-ry-boo-go To-morrow Mul-lin-ow-ool In the morning Jen-ni-be Laughter Boo-roo-wang An island [This word they applied to our ships] Gno-rang A place E-ring A valley Boo-do A torch made of reeds Mi-yal A stranger [This word has reference to sight; Mi, the eye.] Ar-rung-a A calm Moo-roo-bin Woman's milk Ew-ing Truth Ca-bahn An egg Yab-bun Instrumental music Yoo-long or Cleared ground for public ceremonies Yoo-lahng ADJECTIVES Bood-jer-re Good Wee-re Bad Mur-ray Great Gnar-rang Small Coo-rar-re Long Too-mur-ro Short Go-jy Rotten Go-jay-by Bin-nice Pregnant Par-rat-ber-ri Empty Bo-ruck Full Pe-mul-gine Dirty Bar-gat Afraid Frightened Ba-diel Ill Moo-la Sick Boo-row-a Above or upward Cad-i Below or under Bar-bug-gi Lost War-rang-i Right Doo-room-i Left Goo-lar-ra Angry Yu-ro-ra Passionate Wo-gul, and Wo-cul One Yoo-blow-re, and Boo-la Two Brew-y Three Mur-ray-too-lo A great many Gnal-le-a Both Moo-jel Red Ta-bo-a White Gna-na Black Bool-gi-ga Green Moo-ton-ore Lame Yu-roo, and Yu-roo-gur-ra Hungry Mo-rem-me Yes Beall No Mar-rey Wet PARTS OF THE HUMAN BODY Ca-ber-ra Head Gnul-lo Forehead Mi Eye Yin-ner-ry Eye-brow No-gro, or No-gur-ro Nose Kar-ga Mouth Wil-ling Lips Da-ra Teeth Tal-lang Tongue Wal-lo Chin Go-ray Ear Cad-le-ar Neck Cad-le-ang Na-bung Breast or Nipple Yar-rin Beard [This they often singe, and describe it as a painful operation] De-war-ra Hair [This is commonly full of vermin, which I have seen them eat, and change from one soil (sic) to another.] Bar-rong Belly Go-rook Knee Dar-ra Leg Ma-no-e Foot Tam-mir-ra Hand Ber-rll-le Fingers Car-rung-un Nail Bib-be Ribs Ba-rongle Vein Pa-di-el Flesh or lean Bog-gay, or Pog-gay Fat Tar-rang Arm 0-nur Elbow Wy-o-man-no Thumb Dar-ra-gal-lic Fore-finger Ba-roo-gal-lie Middle or ring'd Wel-leng-al-lie Little finger CONSANGUINITY Eo-ra The name common for the natives Mu-la A man Din A woman Din-al-le-ong Women [One of the few instances I could ever discover of a plural or dual number] Gin-al-le-ong Be-an-na; this they shorten to Be-an and Be-a, and when in pain, they exclaim Be-a-ri A father Wy-an-na, and Mother Wy-ang Go-mang Grandfather Ba-bun-na Brother Ma-mun-na Sister Go-roong A child We-row-ey A female child Wong-er-ra A male ditto Na-bung-ay wui-dal-liez Infant at the breast [Compounded of Na-bung its breast, and Wai-dal-liez relating to drinking] Bore-goo-roo Child eight months old Guy-a-nay-yong An old man Mau-gohn A wife Mau-gohn-nal-ly A temporary ditto Go-rah-gal-long A handsome man Go-rah-gal-long- al-le-ong A handsome woman Ma-lin, Nurkine, Mud-gin Gnar-ra-mat-ta A relation [To these I never could affix precise meanings] Cow-ul Male of animals We ring Female of ditto Do-roon A son Do-roon-e-nang A daughter Go-mul A term of friendship Cam-mar-rade, Terms of affection used by girls and Ca-mong-al-lay SPEARS AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS Goong-un A spear with four barbs cut in the wood, which they do not throw, but strike with hand to hand Noo-ro Ca-my A spear with one barb, fastened on Ca-my A spear with two barbs--This word is used for spear in general Bil-larr A spear with one barb, cut from the wood Wal-lang-al-le-ong A spear armed with pieces of shell Can-na-diul A spear armed with stones Ghe-rub-bine A spear without a barb Doci-ull A short spear No-roo-gal Ca-my Holes made by a shield E-lec-mong A shield made of bark Ar-ra-gong A shield cut out from the solid wood Moo-ting Cal-larr Fizgigs Car-rab-ba Prong of the moo-ting Dam-moo-ne Prong of the cal-larr. Woo-dah, Names of clubs. Can-na-tal-ling, Doo-win-null, Can-ni-cull, Car-ru-wang, Wo-mur-rang. Gnal-lung-ul-la, Tar-ril-ber-re, Mo-go, Stone hatchet. We-bat, Handle of ditto. Wo-mer-ra, Throwing-stick PRONOUNS, ADVERBS, AND MODE OF ADDRESS Gni-a, I, or myself Gnee-ne, You. Gnee-ne-de, Yours. Dan-nai, Mine. Dar-ring-al, His. Gna-ni, Whose. Wan, Where. De, There. Diam, Here. Diam o waw? Where are you? Diam o diam o, Here I am. Gnalm Chiara, gnahn? What is your name? Bir-rong, Appertaining. WINDS Bow-wan, North. Bal-gay-al-lang, South. Boo-roo-wee, East. Bain-mar-ray, West. Doo-loo-gal, North-west. Yare-ba-lahng, South-west. Go-me-mah, North-east. Gwar-ra, A high wind INFLEXIONS OF THE VERBS. Gnia-na, Sighing. Bwo-me, Breathing. Dere-rign-ang, Sneezing. Car-re-nar-re-bil-le, Coughing. Yen-no-ra, Walking. Yen-mow, I will walk or go. Yenn, Go or walk. Yen-ma-nia, We will walk or go. Yen-wor-ro, He is gone. Yen-nim-me, You are going. Yen-nool, Relating to walking. Yen-noong, Yen-nore-yen, Yen-nang-allea, Let us both walk. AI-locy, Stay. Wo-roo-wo-roo, Go away. War-re-war-re, Pat-ta-diow, I have eaten. Pat-td-die-mi, You have eaten. Pat-ty, He has eaten. Pat-ta-bow, I will eat. Pat-td-baw-me, You will eat, or will you eat? Pat-ta-ne, They eat. Wul-da-diow, I have drank. Wul-da-dic-mi, You have drank. Nwya jee-ming-a, Give me. Py-yay, Killed. Jung-ara py-yay, Killed by dogs. Par-rat-ben-ni-diow I have emptied. Py-ya-bow, I will strike or beat. Py-yee, He did beat. E-ra-bow, I will throw. E-ra, Throw you. E-rail-leiz, Throwing. Mahn-me-diow. I have taken it. Mahn-iow, Shall I, or I shall take. Goo-ra, Sunk. Ton-ga-bil-lie, Did cry. Wau-me, Scolding or abusing. Wau-me-bow I will scold or abuse Wau-me-diow I have scolded or abused Wau-me-diang-ha They have scolded or abused Nang-er-ra He sleeps Nang-a Nang-a-bow I will sleep Nang-a-diow I have slept Nang-a-diem-me You have slept Nang-a-bau-me? Will you sleep? Go-ro-da He snores Gna-na le-ma She or he breathes Al-lo-wan He lives or remains Al-lo-wah Stay here, or sit down Wal-loo-me-yen-wal-loo? Where are you going? War-re-me-war-re Where have you been? Gna-diow You have seen Gna-diem-me I have seen Gna-bow I will see Gna See Era-mad-jow-in-nia Forced from him Car-rah-ma Stealing Wor-ga-wee-na He whistles, or whistling Goo-lar-ra py-yel-la Snarling with anger Man-nie mong-alla Surprised Yare-ba Tired Pe-to-e Sought for Man-nie mal-lee He was startled Nwya-bow-in-nia I will give you Wan-ye-wan-yi He lies Ma-row-e He creeps Bang-a-ja-bun He did paddle Noy-ga Howling as a dog Toll Biting Co-e, Cow-e Cwoi, Cow-ana Come here Wad-be Swimming Bo-gay Diving Ta-yo-ra, Me-diang-a Severely cold. Me-diang-a is compounded of Me-diong, a sore Mul-la-ra Married. Compounded of Mulla, a man BEASTS Jung-o Common name Pat-a-go-rang A large grey kang-oo-roo Bag-gar-ray Small red ditto Wal-li-bah Black ditto Tein-go Din-go Wor-re-gal Dog Boo-roo-min Grey vulpine opossum Go-ra-go-ro Red ditto Wob-bin Flying squirrel Ga-ni-mong Kang-oo-roo rat Wee-ree-a-min Large fox rat Wee-ree-am-by Bo-gul Rat or mouse Me-rea-gine Spotted rat BIRDS Ma-ray-ong Emu Go-ree-all A parrot Mul-go A black swan Car-rang-a bo mur-ray A pelican. When they see this bird over their heads, they sing the following words: Yoo-rong-i A ivild duck. Goad-gang, A wild pigeon Wir-gan Bird named by us the Friar Gnoo-roo-me ta-twa-natwa na-twa--Gno-roo me ta-twa na-twa, na-twa, tar-ra wow, tar-ra wow* [* On seeing a shoal of porpoises, they sing while the fish is above water, Note-le-bre la-la, No-te-le-bre la-la, until it goes down, when they sing the words No-tee, No-tee, until it rises again] Go-gan-ne-gine the Laughing jack-Ass Po-book Musquito hawk Wau-gan Crow Jam-mul jam-mul Common hawk Gare-a-way White cockatoo Ca-rate Black ditto Ur-win-ner-ri-wing Curlew INSECTS, REPTILES Mar-rae-gong A spider Mi-a-nong A fly Go-ma-go-ma A beetle Gil-be-nong A grasshopper Bur-roo-die-ra A butterfly Go-na-long Caterpillar Can-nar-ray Centipede Calm Snake Po-boo-nang A black ant * * * * * PECULIARITIES OF LANGUAGE To the men when fishing they apply the word Mah-ni; to the women, Mahn. They make some distinction in another instance when speaking of crying, they say the men Tong-i; the women Tong-e. The following difference of dialect was observed between the natives at the Hawkesbury and at Sydney. COAST INLAND ENGLISH Ca-ber-ra Co-co Head De-war-ra Ke-war-ra Hair Gnul-lo Nar-ran Forehead Mi Me Eye Go-ray Ben-ne Ear Cad-lian Gang-a Neck Ba-rong Ben-di Belly Moo-nur-ro Boom-boong Navel Boong Bay-ley Buttocks Yen-na-dah Dil-luck Moon Co-ing Con-do-in Sun Go-ra Go-ri-ba Hail Go-gen-ne-gine Go-con-de Laughing jack-ass * * * * * WORDS OF A SONG Mdng-en-ny-wau-yen-go-nah, bar-ri-boo-lah, bar-re-mah. This they begin at the top of their voices, and continue as long as they can in one breath, sinking to the lowest note, and then rising again to the highest. The words are the names of deceased persons. E-i-ah wan-ge-wah, chian-go, wan-de-go. The words of another song, sung in the same manner as the preceding, and of the same meaning. I met with only two or three words which bore a resemblance to any other language. The middle head of Port Jackson is named Ca-ba Ca-ba--in Portuguese Caba signifies a head. Cam-ma-rade, a term of affection used among girls, has a strong resemblance to the French word Cammerade; and may not some similitude be traced between the word E-lee-mong, a shield, and the word Telamon, the name given to the greater Ajax, on account of his being lord of the seven-fold shield? How these words came into their language must be a mystery till we have a more intimate knowledge of it than I can pretend to. * * * * * I could have enlarged very much the foregoing account of the natives of New South Wales; but, both in describing their customs and in detailing their language, I have chosen to mention only those facts about which, after much attention and inquiry, I could satisfy my own mind. That they are ignorant savages cannot be disputed; but I hope they do not in the foregoing pages appear to be wholly incapable of becoming one day civilized and useful members of society. * * * * * POSTSCRIPT Since the preceding account was printed, letters have been received from New South Wales of as late date as the 20th of August 1797. By these it appears, that his Majesty's ship _Reliance_, in her passage from the Cape of Good Hope to Port Jackson, met with uncommon bad weather, which kept her out eleven weeks and one day. About the latitude of 41 degrees S and 77 degrees E longitude, the sea suddenly became violently agitated, and at last broke on board the ship, staving a boat which was over the stern, and doing considerable damage to the ship. Captain Waterhouse, however, landed safely thirty-nine head of black cattle, three mares, and near sixty sheep. Information was also received through the same channel, that a ship called the _Sydney Cove_ had been fitted out for Port Jackson from Bengal; but springing a leak at sea, she was run ashore on the southernmost part of the coast of New Holland: seventeen of the crew attempted to get to Port Jackson in their long-boat, but were driven on shore, and lost their boat. They then attempted to reach it by land, in which hazardous undertaking only three of them succeeded, the other either dying on the route or being killed by the natives. They were eighty days in performing this journey, and reported that in their way they had found great quantities of coal. This was afterwards confirmed by the surgeon of the _Reliance_, who went down to the wreck, and brought specimens of it back with him, having found immense strata of this useful article. Some part of the cargo was got on shore and housed where the ship was stranded. When these letters left the colony, it continued in as flourishing a state as when the _Britannia_ sailed. May it continue to prosper! THE END